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Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat

Assam Agricultural University is the first institution of its kind in the whole of North-Eastern Region of India. The main goal of this institution is to produce globally competitive human resources in farm sectorand to carry out research in both conventional and frontier areas for production optimization as well as to disseminate the generated technologies as public good for benefitting the food growers/produces and traders involved in the sector while emphasizing on sustainability, equity and overall food security at household level. Genesis of AAU - The embryo of the agricultural research in the state of Assam was formed as early as 1897 with the establishment of the Upper Shillong Experimental Farm (now in Meghalaya) just after about a decade of creation of the agricultural department in 1882. However, the seeds of agricultural research in today’s Assam were sown in the dawn of the twentieth century with the establishment of two Rice Experimental Stations, one at Karimganj in Barak valley in 1913 and the other at Titabor in Brahmaputra valley in 1923. Subsequent to these research stations, a number of research stations were established to conduct research on important crops, more specifically, jute, pulses, oilseeds etc. The Assam Agricultural University was established on April 1, 1969 under The Assam Agricultural University Act, 1968’ with the mandate of imparting farm education, conduct research in agriculture and allied sciences and to effectively disseminate technologies so generated. Before establishment of the University, there were altogether 17 research schemes/projects in the state under the Department of Agriculture. By July 1973, all the research projects and 10 experimental farms were transferred by the Government of Assam to the AAU which already inherited the College of Agriculture and its farm at Barbheta, Jorhat and College of Veterinary Sciences at Khanapara, Guwahati. Subsequently, College of Community Science at Jorhat (1969), College of Fisheries at Raha (1988), Biswanath College of Agriculture at Biswanath Chariali (1988) and Lakhimpur College of Veterinary Science at Joyhing, North Lakhimpur (1988) were established. Presently, the University has three more colleges under its jurisdiction, viz., Sarat Chandra Singha College of Agriculture, Chapar, College of Horticulture, Nalbari & College of Sericulture, Titabar. Similarly, few more regional research stations at Shillongani, Diphu, Gossaigaon, Lakhimpur; and commodity research stations at Kahikuchi, Buralikson, Tinsukia, Kharua, Burnihat and Mandira were added to generate location and crop specific agricultural production packages.

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Subject: Plant Pathology × Author: SAIKIA, BANDANA × End date: 2018 × Start date: 2018 × Thesis Type: M.Sc ×
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    TAXONOMIC STUDIES OF FUNGI ASSOCIATED WITH RICE AND RICE BASED TRADITIONAL FOOD PRODUCTS OF ASSAM
    (AAU, Jorhat, 2018) SAIKIA, BANDANA; Ali, S.
    Rice is a major crop of Assam. Different communities in the state produces peculiar fermented and non-fermented products like rice beer, sweets and snacks etc. using rice as a substrate. Production of rice beer involves two steps; starter culture preparation and brewing. The starter culture is made of rice and herbal combinations and believed to act as inoculants for brewing. These products often contain mixed microbial population due to allowance of natural fermentation. The present study was undertaken to study the fungi associated with stored rice, starter culture and rice beer. Seven districts of Assam viz., Jorhat, Sivasagar, Golaghat, Lakhimpur, Dhemaji, Majuli and Karbi Anglong were surveyed and samples of three stored rice, six starter culture and six rice beer samples were collected. Nine filamentous fungi from rice, thirtytwo yeast isolates and two filamentous fungi from rice beer and starter cultures were isolated. Morphological identification reveals the presence of Penicillium chrysogenum, P. purpurogenum, Penicillium sp., Acremonium strictum, Cheatomium globosum, Paecilomyces sp., Gibellula sp., Aspergillus niger and Cladosporium sp. in stored rice samples; whereas A.niger and A. oryzae was found to be associated with starter culture. A polyphasic approach encompassing morphological characterization, molecular characterization and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) was undertaken for yeasts identification. Ten yeasts genera were morphologically identified and grouped accordingly as Saccharomyces cerevisiae (Group I), Saccharomycopsis fibuligera (Group II), Candida spp. (G III), Debaromyces hansenii (Group IV), Pichia chambardii (Group V), Mereozyma sp. (Group VI), Saccharomycodes ludwigii (Group VII), Kluyveromyces sp. (Group VIII), Sterigmatomyces sp. (Group IX) and Torulaspora sp. (Group X),. Molecular characterization of yeast were done by amplification of ITS-PCR region, gel electrophoresis of which showed three dominant banding pattern of 900 bp (Group A), 700 bp (Group B) and 600 bp (Group C). All the isolates of morphological Group I showed 900 bp, Group II showed 700bp whereas Group III, IV, V and VI showed 600bp bands. Sequencing of representative samples from each molecular group showed that samples of Group A, Group B and Group C belongs to S. cerevisiae , S. fibuligera and C.tropicalis respectively thus confirming the morphological and molecular grouping. SEM images also confirmed the three yeast species S. cerevisiae, S. fibuligera and C. tropicalis.