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Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University, Pusa
In the imperial Gazetteer of India 1878, Pusa was recorded as a government estate of about 1350 acres in Darbhanba. It was acquired by East India Company for running a stud farm to supply better breed of horses mainly for the army. Frequent incidence of glanders disease (swelling of glands), mostly affecting the valuable imported bloodstock made the civil veterinary department to shift the entire stock out of Pusa. A British tobacco concern Beg Sutherland & co. got the estate on lease but it also left in 1897 abandoning the government estate of Pusa.
Lord Mayo, The Viceroy and Governor General, had been repeatedly trying to get through his proposal for setting up a directorate general of Agriculture that would take care of the soil and its productivity, formulate newer techniques of cultivation, improve the quality of seeds and livestock and also arrange for imparting agricultural education. The government of India had invited a British expert. Dr. J. A. Voelcker who had submitted as report on the development of Indian agriculture. As a follow-up action, three experts in different fields were appointed for the first time during 1885 to 1895 namely, agricultural chemist (Dr. J. W. Leafer), cryptogamic botanist (Dr. R. A. Butler) and entomologist (Dr. H. Maxwell Lefroy) with headquarters at Dehradun (U.P.) in the forest Research Institute complex.
Surprisingly, until now Pusa, which was destined to become the centre of agricultural revolution in the country, was lying as before an abandoned government estate. In 1898. Lord Curzon took over as the viceroy. A widely traveled person and an administrator, he salvaged out the earlier proposal and got London’s approval for the appointment of the inspector General of Agriculture to which the first incumbent Mr. J. Mollison (Dy. Director of Agriculture, Bombay) joined in 1901 with headquarters at Nagpur
The then government of Bengal had mooted in 1902 a proposal to the centre for setting up a model cattle farm for improving the dilapidated condition of the livestock at Pusa estate where plenty of land, water and feed would be available, and with Mr. Mollison’s support this was accepted in principle. Around Pusa, there were many British planters and also an indigo research centre Dalsing Sarai (near Pusa). Mr. Mollison’s visits to this mini British kingdom and his strong recommendations. In favour of Pusa as the most ideal place for the Bengal government project obviously caught the attention for the viceroy.
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ThesisItem Open Access Effect of packaging material on shelf-life of Watermelon Jaggery(RPCAU, Pusa, 2023) REDDY, CHEPA TARUN TEJA; Kumar, VishalThe current research on the "Effect of Packaging Materials on the Shelf-Life of Watermelon Jaggery" was conducted to select suitable packaging materials and storage conditions for enhanced shelf life of watermelon jaggery based on physico-chemical properties, microbial count, and organoleptic attributes. This was done to assess its storability under the ambient (12-43°C) and refrigerated conditions (5±1°C) for commercial viability. Watermelon jaggery was prepared using different proportions of rind content (14.33% w/w), binding agent (9.86% w/w), and sweetening agent (12.50% w/w). Then it was stored in HDPE, LDPE, aluminum foil, glass jars, and hermetic pouches under ambient and refrigerated conditions and the quality analysis was carried out over a 160-day storage period at 20-day intervals. Quality parameters changed significantly with increase in storage period. By the end of storage under ambient condition, the moisture content decreased from 16.54% to 11.53%, pH decreased from 6.42 to 6.19, TSS increased from 74.4°Brix to 83.80°Brix, reducing sugars increased from 2.8% to 4.81%, total sugars increased from 4.5% to 6.73%, hardness increased from 36.13N to 40.67N, the colour index decreased from 42.5 to 35.47, and overall acceptability scores were declined from 8.55 to 6.81. Meanwhile, under refrigerated conditions, the moisture content decreased from 16.54% to 13.10%, pH decreased from 6.42 to 6.21, TSS increased from 74.4°Brix to 81.93°Brix, reducing sugars increased from 2.8% to 4.53%, total sugars increased from 4.5% to 6.51%, hardness increased from 36.13N to 42.63N, the colour index decreased from 42.5 to 37.57, and overall acceptability scores were declined from 8.55 to 7.10. These experimental results were subjected to statistical analysis using a completely randomized design (CRD) in GRAPES online statistical software. The total microbial count was observed at the end of storage duration, but their population were within the safe limit for consumption for the watermelon jaggery stored in refrigerated condition. From the economic analysis, it was found that B/C ratio was 1.51 and payback period is 0.32 years indicate quick recovery of initial investment. This study not only advances academic knowledge by providing valuable insights into the production, storage, and economic feasibility of this unique product but also offers entrepreneurs a compelling commercial opportunity.ThesisItem Open Access Development of fermentor for sugarcane juice vinegar production(RPCAU, Pusa, 2023) SINGH, SHABNAM; Amitabh, AnupamNaturally fermented vinegar is a byproduct of the two-step fermentation process, in which sugar is converted to ethanol and subsequently ethanol is converted to acetic acid. Brewed vinegar refers to a product produced by the fermentation of any suitable sugar-rich medium, such as fruits, malt (brewed solely from malted barley or other cereals), molasses, jaggery, sugarcane juice, etc, into alcohol and acetic acid. The developed prototype for the vinegar production can process the sugarcane juice for the production of vinegar in very short time. The developed fermentor had a fermentation efficiency of 81 per cent. Experiments were conducted using Box-Behnken design for the performance evaluation. The data obtained from the experiment was analysed using Design Expert 13 software. Multiple regression analysis was developed to build the response function and second-order model was fitted for each response. Numerical optimization of the processing parameters i.e., for the roller speed (64.438, rpm), concentration of acetobacter (8.285, % v/v), air flow rate (0.725 ft3/min) the corresponding values of dependent variables were yield of vinegar (81%), reducing sugar (0.255%), total sugar (2.637%), titratable acidity (5.127 %), acetic acid (3.960). The highest desirability as 0.866 was obtained.ThesisItem Open Access Impact of extrusion processing on physio-chemical and sensory attributes of broken rice - pearl millets and mushroom based extrudates(RPCAU, Pusa, 2023) Kumar , Mukesh; Sharma, P.D.The extrusion cooking process is a high temperature and short time process in which material is feed to the extruder for desired temperature, pressure, and residence time. Broken rice, Oyster mushroom and pearl millet was used to develop Ready- To-Eat (RTE) snack through extrusion cooking. Composite mixed flour was prepared using Broken rice flour, Oyster mushroom powder and Pearl millet flour. Broken rice and oyster mushroom powder proportion were fixed and only pearl millet flour in varying proportions. Extrusion cooking was carried out using a Twin-Screw Extruder. Extrusion cooking experiments were conducted employing CCRD for four independent variables with five level each feed proportion- 90:10, 85:15, 80:20, 75:25, 70:30; feed rate-6, 8, 10, 12, 14 kg/h; screw speed- 300, 325, 350, 375, 400 rpm; Barrel temperature 105, 120, 135, 150,165°C. A total 30 combinations of these independent variables were formed to see the effect on different dependent variable like Moisture content, Expansion ratio, Bulk density (kg/m3), Total colour index (E), Hardness (N) and Overall acceptability (OA). During experiments the best combination was generated on the basis of optimization by response surface methodology (Liang et al., 2012). Second order multiple regression equations were developed for all the dependent variables which were optimized using response surface methodology. The best product was prepared at optimum solution such as feed proportion- Pearl millet flour percentage 24.99% Feed rate - 8 kg/h, Screw speed 307 rpm and Barrel temperature 150°C, produced the most acceptable extrudates. The experimental data for response were in close experiment with the optimized solution obtained from RSM. Moisture content 6.2 %, expansion ratio 3.6, bulk density 113.3 kg/m3, hardness 6.24 N total colour index 75.29 and 7.5 overall acceptability. The prepared optimized extrudates also had well balanced acceptable range of the nutrition (moisture content 6.20%, total carbohydrate 81.02%, protein 9.92, fat 0.87, fibre 2.10% and ash content 1.49%.ThesisItem Open Access Development of Gas Fired Portable Maize Roaster-cum-Boiler(Dr.RPCAU, Pusa, 2021) SINHA, RUPAM; Amitabh, AnupamIn India, the street vendors practiced the traditional method for roasting or boiling the sweet corn. As these roasted or boiled corns are among the most popular snacks enjoyed by the people. The unavailability of an integrated corn roasting cum boiling unit is mainly due to the huge gap between the affordability of Indian street vendors and the high cost of the machines for roasting and boiling. Apart from this, the Indian vendors also experience another drawback in the form of drudgery involved during roasting and boiling where they are constantly exposed to heat. In the traditional practices, the uneven roasting of corns effects its outer beauty or attractiveness, which are disliked by the people. The use of power driven and automated equipments are impossible for Indian street vendors due to their economic conditions. Therefore, developing of a corn roasting device with increased efficiency, productivity and with affordable price is very much needed in order to face the stress and limitations during roasting. In the view of this, a gas fired portable maize roaster-cum-boiler was designed and developed and its performance evaluation was evaluated. The developed roaster-cum-boiler can roast around 30 maize and can boil around 28 maize in an hour. The average heat utilization factor in full load condition was 0.254. An average thermal efficiency of 61.88% was obtained for the unit. The mean roasting efficiency of the developed corn cob roaster cum boiler was determined to be 95.07 per cent. Total cost of the functional prototype is Rs 20,735. The net present worth calculated for next 5 years was Rs 2,10,881, internal rate of return 294.30%, benefit cost ratio 1.37 and payback period 0.33 years inferring that the developed unit is economically viable.ThesisItem Open Access Development of extruded snacks from rice broken-soybean meal-moringa leaves(DRPCAU, PUSA, 2021) VERMA, KARISHMA; Sharma, P.D.High temperature short time process in which mixture of moist flour is cater into the extrusion machine at a particular temperature, pressure and resident time is known as extrusion cooking. Food industry produced by-product was used to prepare ready to eat extruded snacks through extrusion cooking. Broken rice powder, defatted soybean meal and Moringa leaves powder were used in varying proportion to prepare composite flour. Laboratory twin screw extruder is used to prepare extruded food product. Central composite rotatable design was used to conduct the experiment having five level of four independent variable each (feed proportion- 85:10:5, 80:13.75:6.25, 75:17.5:7.5, 70:21.25:8.75, 65:25:10 ; feed rate - 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 kg/h, screw speed - 200, 250, 300, 350, 400 rpm, Barrel temperature- 100, 115, 130, 145, 160°C). Thirty treatments were prepared to investigate the effect of independent variables on different dependent variables like moisture content, expansion ratio, bulk density, true density, water activity and overall acceptability. During experiment RSM was used for optimization to obtain the best combination of independent variable and to generate the second order multiple regression equation for all the dependent variables. The best optimized product was prepared at optimum solution in which feed proportion (A) 75:17.5:7.5( 25% broken rice powder, 17.5% defatted soybean meal, 7.5% moringa leaves powder) feed rate(B) 11 kg/ h, screw speed(C) 250 rpm, barrel temperature (D) 145°C produced the most acceptable extruded productin terms of optimum values of Moisture content (MC)-5.6%, expansion ratio (ER)-2.99, bulk density (BD)-124.31 kg/m3, True density (TD)-128.34kg/m3, water activity(Aw)-0.4559, overall acceptability (OA)-7.68.The optimized extruded products have well-balanced acceptable range of the nutrition (moisture content 5.6%, total carbohydrate 69.70%, protein 18.99%, fat 1.98%, fibre 2.224%,ash content 1.49%).ThesisItem Open Access Development of osmo-dehydrated value-added products from Elephant Foot Yam (Amorphophallus paeoniifolius)(DRPCAU, PUSA, 2021) KUMAR, AMAN; Shrivastava, MukeshFresh and good quality corms of Elephant Foot Yam (EFY) (Gajendra variety) were procured from the TCA, Dholi campus, DrRPCAU, Pusa, and were washed thoroughly under running water followed by cutting into flakes of approx. 42 mm (L) x 26 mm (W) x 1.8 mm (T) using knife and kitchen grater. CCRD design was applied to carry out osmotic dehydration experiments for four independent variables with five levels each [Salt Concentration (SC) - 5,10, 15, 20, 25%; Solution Temperature (ST) - 30, 35, 40, 45, 50oC; Immersion Time (IT) - 60, 90, 120, 150, 180 min; Solution to Product Ratio (SPR) – 3:1, 4:1, 5:1, 6:1, 7:1]. The effect of these independent variables on different dependent variables like Water Loss (WL, %), Solute Gain (SG, %), Weight Reduction (WR %) and Water Loss/Solute Gain ratio (WL/SG) of osmo-dehydrated product was seen through different experimental combinations (30). The optimization technique by response surface methodology was applied to select the best combination out of these 30 experiments. Second order multiple regression equations were developed for all the dependent variables to know the effect of independent variables. Osmotic dehydration treatment facilitates better results with optimum solution of SC-10 %, ST- 45℃, IT - 90 minutes and SPR – 6:1 with an optimized yield as WL - 20.65%, SG - 3.6%, WR – 16.05 and WL/SG – 5.74 of with desirability 0.914. A laboratory model tray dryer was used for conducting drying experiments at three different drying air temperatures (50, 60 and 70oC) of raw fresh, blanched and optimized osmosed EFY flakes. On the basis of observed data of weight loss with elapsed drying time, the drying rate and moisture reduction were calculated. Drying of osmosed EFY flakes at 50oC drying air temperature resulted in shorter drying time to produce best quality dried product as compared to blanched and raw fresh EFY flake samples. The drying time of osmosed sample was reduced to 240 minutes as compared to 300 and 390 minutes taken by blanched and raw fresh EFY flake samples. The dehydrated EFY flake samples were taken for Quality evaluation by sensory method, textural properties and rehydration of final product was also carried out. The osmotically dehydrated EFY flake samples dried at 50oC, scored maximum overall acceptability of 7.93 with best rehydration characteristics like rehydration ratio of 3.042 to yield good quality rehydrated sample which can be preserved and used during off- season.ThesisItem Open Access Use of biopolymer-based coating material for enhancing the shelf life of sugarcane jaggery(DRPCAU, PUSA, 2022) Pandey, Vivek; Amitabh, AnupamIndia is the world‟s second largest producer of sugarcane after Brazil which is used for producing jaggery, but due to its hygroscopic nature, the storage of jaggery becomes one of the major problems in India. The present study was carried out to use biopolymer material coating to enhance shelf life of jaggery. The coating solution was prepared using zein (0.1-8%) as base material with polyethylene glycol (0.1-5%) as plasticizer and sodium tripolyphosphate (0.1-1%) as crosslinker. RSM based three factor three level Box-Behnken experimental design was used to optimize the response variables in terms of Moisture absorption, Puncture strength, Opacity, Total colour difference, Whiteness index and Antimicrobial activity. The optimum solution was obtained at 4.968% zein, 0.1% PEG and 0.655% STPP. Furthermore, storage study of coated and uncoated jaggery was performed for a period of 150 days. The moisture content, water activity, reducing sugar, total colour difference and total plate count increased throughout the storage period in both the jaggery samples (coated and uncoated) but the increment was more significant in uncoated jaggery compared to coated jaggery. Hardness reduced during the storage period with the greater reduction in uncoated jaggery sample compared to coated one. The sensory results of coated and uncoated jaggery were insignificantly different at the start of storage, showing no masking effect of coating on sensorial attributes. The overall study showed better stability of jaggery with biopolymer coating, which gives a scope of commercialization of the technology.ThesisItem Open Access Development of process technology for preparation of watermelon jaggery(2022) HANMANT, PURANIK PRATIKSHA; Kumar, VishalWatermelon is a nutritious alternative to energy drinks as it is a natural source of phenolic antioxidants; amino acid, carotenoid lycopene, vitamin A, potassium and magnesium. Watermelon biomass composed of four main components - flesh, peel, rind and seed. About one-third of the watermelon weight is comprised by its rind. Due to the rind's lack of sweetness, it is discarded as waste. Large quantities of watermelons are lost due to poor post-harvest techniques a huge volume of watermelons get damaged, spoilt, discarded and left on field itself by cultivars due to its low in brix value which fetches a very low price in market. The fruit can be used at this point of time for preparing the value added products from the watermelon which will fetch higher income to the farmers. Watermelon juice possesses similar chemical properties to that of sugarcane juice and possibility of preparation of jaggery from watermelon need was explored. The process of preparation of watermelon jaggery was studied by the Response Surface Methodology (RSM) using Box-Behnken Design. In this design, the low and high levels of the process variables were 10.00 and 15.00 % for rind content; 5 to 10 % (w/w) for binding agent; 7.5 -12.5 %w/w for sweetening agent, respectively. Responses studied comprised jaggery processing time, jaggery yield, moisture content, TSS pH, reducing sugar, non-reducing sugar, colour index, hardness and overall acceptability. The optimum conditions (desirability of 0.738) obtained by numerical optimization were of rind content 14.33 % (w/w), binding agent 9.86 % (w/w) and sweetening agent 12.50 %( w/w) to achieve minimum jaggery processing time, moisture content, reducing sugar and colour index and maximum jaggery yield TSS, pH, non-reducing sugar, hardness and overall acceptability. Corresponding to the optimum conditions, optimized yield as jaggery yield- 6.13 %, jaggery processing time- 236.54 minutes, moisture content- 25.11 (%, w.b.), TSS (ºBrix)-75.55, pH- 6.01, reducing sugar- 2.07%, non-reducing sugar- 1.71 %, colour- 42.42, hardness- 35.32 N, overall acceptability- 8.16. The optimised watermelon jaggery was acceptable for consumption during 60 days storage period w.r.t. coliform and total plate count.ThesisItem Open Access Study of Osmo-Dehydration of Mahua Flowers (Madhuca Indica)(DRPCAU, PUSA, 2022) Kavya, Pendram; Shrivastava, MukeshMahua flowers are underutilized forest produce which has a very high potential for nutritional and economic benefit for the people. There is a wide scope of its utilization in effective way using engineering interventions. Hence, the present research was executed to study an important processing aspect of Mahua flowers i.e. osmotic dehydration. The process of osmosis was carried out by employing BBD experimental design with four independent variables having three levels each which included sugar concentration (SG) – 45, 55 and 65%; solution temperature (ST) – 40, 45, 50°C; immersion time (IT) - 60, 120 and 180 min and solution to product ratio (SPR) - 3:1, 4:1 and 5:1. The impact of these independent variables on three dependent variables - weight reduction (WR%), solute gain (SG%) and water loss (WL%) of osmo-dehydrated commodities was studied with 29 experimental design variations. The results were analysed using ANOVA and a second order polynomial model was fitted to the data. The optimization was done using RSM, which gave an optimal solution as sugar concentration (SC)-59.31%, solution temperature (ST)- 49.39°C, immersion time (IT)-153.85 min and solution to product ratio (SPR)-3.32 :1 in order to obtain optimized yield of water loss (WL)-18.32%, solute gain (SG)-2.99%, and weight reduction (WR)- 15.97% with desirability value 1.0. Furthermore, three distinct drying air temperatures (50, 60 and 70°C) were employed in a laboratory model tray dryer to conduct drying investigations on raw fresh, blanched and osmosed Mahua flowers. On the basis of recorded data of weight loss with elapsed drying time, drying rate and moisture content reduction were evaluated. Drying of Osmosed Mahua flowers samples at 70°C drying air temperature resulted in shorter drying time as compared to raw fresh and blanched samples. The minimum time for drying was achieved by osmosed Mahua flowers at 70°C and it attained a final moisture content of 8.30%. The overall variation in bulk density was 0.414 – 0.467(g/cm3), in true density was 1.060 -1.435(g/cm3) and porosity was 0.582 -0.689 for different Mahua samples after drying. Osmo-dehydrated mahua flowers at 60°C showed the greatest hardness/peak force of 12.60 N with 0.580 second fracture time. the osmosed Mahua flowers dehydrated at 60°C resulted as the best acceptable product with overall acceptability of 6.93 with best rehydration characteristics. Good quality raisin like product could be obtained from drying of Mahua flowers by using osmotic dehydration technique followed by hot air tray drying at 60oC.
