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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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Author: Sharma, Krishna Kumar × Start date: 2022 ×
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Combining Ability and Heterosis Study in Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.)
    (DRPCAU, PUSA, 2022) Sharma, Krishna Kumar; Pramila, Dr.
    The present investigation entitled “Combining Ability and Heterosis Study in Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.)” was conducted at “Vegetable Research Farm, Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University, Pusa, Samastipur, Bihar”. The experiment material consisted of ten-line, three tester and thirty crosses of tomato including a check were grown studied for thirteen traits with two qualitative traits viz. “Plant height, number of primary branches per plant, number of days to first flower initiation, number of flowers per cluster, number of fruits per cluster, number of clusters per plant, number of days to first picking, polar diameter of fruit (cm), equatorial diameter of fruit (cm), average fruit weight (gm), total soluble solid content of the fruit (°brix), acidity of the fruit (%) and fruit yield per plant (kg)” in randomized block design (RBD) consist of three replications in rabi season of 2021-22. The analysis of variance showed highly significant differences among the genotypes for all the attributes studied. Significant differences indicating the presence of ample amount of variability among the research material. According to the results of the experiments, three parents viz. Kashi Hemant, Kashi Vishesh (lines) and Bhilai (tester) were found to be superior in terms of mean performance as well as having significant general combining ability effects; suggesting that these parental lines and tester may be used in hybridization programme to have the early maturing higher yielding recombinants. On the basis of specific combining ability high per se performance with positive significant effects, three cross combinations were found to be preferable for yield and yield component traits: EC 177371 x PKM-1, Pant T-3 x PKM-1 and S-12 x PDT-3-1 envisage that then cross combinations may be exploited to have heterotic recombination. In majority of the characters recorded high sca variance than the gca variance suggesting that there is major role of non-additive gene action as well as per the gene action studies that predominance of dominant effects on governing the majority of attributes indicated the heterosis breeding will be rewarding to improve yield of tomato. Positive significant economic heterosis were recorded in EC 177516 x PKM-1, S-12 x PDT-3-1 and Pant T-5 x Bhilai crosses for yield and most of the yield attribute traits. Consequently, these hybrid combinations may be studied further through multiplications before being released as a substitute for already existing hybrid tomato varieties in Bihar and throughout India.