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Dr. Y. S. Parmar University of Horticulture & Forestry, Solan
Dr. Yashwant Singh Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Solan, was established on 1st December, 1985 with the objective to promote education, research and extension education in the fields of Horticulture, Forestry and allied disciplines. Late Dr. Yashwant Singh Parmar, the first Chief Minister and the architect of Himachal Pradesh perceived the importance of Horticulture and Forestry to develop and improve the State economy which led to the establishment of this University. Its history lies in erstwhile Himachal Agricultural College, Solan, established in 1962 and affiliated to the Panjab University. It became one of the campuses of Agriculture Complex of Himachal Pradesh University on its formation in 1970. Consequent upon the establishment of Himachal Pradesh Krishi Vishvavidyalaya in 1978, this campus became its Horticulture Complex and finally in 1985, assumed the status of a State University, being the only University in the country engaged exclusively in teaching, research and extension in Horticulture and Forestry.
The University is located at Nauni in Solan District of Himachal Pradesh, 13 km from Solan on Solan-Rajgarh Road, at an elevation of 1300 metres above mean sea level. Solan town is situated on national highway (NH-22) and is well connected by train and bus services.
The University has four constituent colleges, out of which, two are located at the main campus Nauni, one for horticulture and the other for forestry, having 9 and 7 departments, respectively. The third College i.e., College of Horticulture & Forestry is located at Neri in Hamirpur District on Nadaun-Hamirpur state highway, about 6 Km from Hamirpur town and is well connected with bus service. The college offers three Undergraduate Degree Programmes i.e. BSc (Hons.) Horticulture, BSc (Hons.) Forestry and B. Tech. Biotechnology and MSc degree programme in a few subjects. The fourth college i.e. College of Horticulture and Forestry, Thunag (Mandi) is located at Thunag District Mandi. This college offer BSc (Hons.) Horticulture and BSc (Hons.) Forestry degree programme. In addition, there are five Regional Research Stations, 12 Satellite Stations and five Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) situated in different zones of the State.
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ThesisItem Open Access IDENTIFICATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF MUSHROOM GROWTH PROMOTING BACTERIA FROM CASING SOIL AND THEIR EFFECT ON YIELD AND QUALITY OF BUTTON MUSHROOM(UHF Nauni, 2024-05-25) JYOTI NUGHAL; Dharmesh GuptaGlobally, Agaricus bisporus (Lange) Imbach is cultivated as a food source, undergoing a crucial transition from vegetative to reproductive stages facilitated by a specific casing layer. In the present investigation 90 bacterial isolates from casing soil were collected and screened to see the effect of mushroom growth promoting bacteria (MGPB) on quality and yield of Agaricus bisporus (Lange) Imbach. The bacterial isolates were isolated on nutrient agar medium. Out of 90 isolates, 52 were selected for exhibiting all the traits associated with Mushroom Growth Promotion (MGP). SNG9 exhibited (226.39%) maximum qualitative P-solubilization and PRG10 showed maximum (173.51 μg/ml) quantitative P-solubilization. SNG10 demonstrated maximum siderophore production efficiency (158.15%) and per cent siderophore unit (201.57%). SNG10 also produced the highest IAA (41.59 μg/ml), while SNG9 had maximum gibberellic acid (55.31 μg/ml) and 85.56 per cent isolates demonstrated nitrogen-fixing ability. Chitinase activity was observed in 53.85 per cent of isolates, with PRG10 (4.22) having the highest enzyme index. Fifty per cent showed cellulase activity and KLH8 (5.55) exhibited the highest enzyme index. Protease activity was observed in 55.77 per cent with PRG10 having the highest enzyme index (4.43). Twelve isolates produced HCN and six showed antagonistic effects (>25%) against Trichoderma harzianum. Five highly effective bacterial antagonists exhibited >25% antagonistic effects against Mycogone perniciosa. Through morphological, biochemical and molecular characterization, the bacterial isolates were identified as Stenotrophomonas rhizophila (PRG10), Sphingobacterium nematocida (SNG9), Pseudomonas putida (SNG10) and Bacillus proteolyticus (KLH8). In field experiments, these isolates, either individually or in combination (PRG10, SNG9, SNG10 and KLH8) at concentrations of 2.5, 5, 7.5 and 10 ml were tested for white button mushroom growth. Treatments like PRG10+SNG9 at 5ml, SNG9+SNG10 at 5ml, SNG10+KLH8 at 7.5ml and KLH8 at 7.5ml exhibited a significant increase in yield (31.17%, 24.58%, 21.48% and 18.79%) and various growth parameters compared to the uninoculated control. Moreover, these treatments improved the physio-chemical properties of the casing soil, contributing to enhanced nutritional status in mushrooms. Therefore, these bacterial isolates possess significant potential for enhancing the yield and quality of button mushrooms.ThesisItem Open Access MOLECULAR VARIABILITY AND MANAGEMENT OF XANTHOMONAS CITRI SUBSP. CITRI CAUSING CITRUS BACTERIAL CANKER(UHF Nauni, 2024-06-14) DINESH KUMAR; Monica SharmaThe present investigation entitled “Molecular variability and management of Xanthomonas citri subsp. citri causing citrus bacterial canker” was undertaken to record the amount of molecular variability exists in different isolates of the pathogen and different management strategies were assessed for the management of the disease. Different isolates of the pathogen were collected from four districts (Hamirpur, Una, Sirmour and Kangra) of Himachal Pradesh and one was collected form Punjab and one from Karnataka. The isolates were isolated from different hosts such as Citrus sinensis, C. reticulata, C. aurantifolia, C. limon and C. jambhiri. The isolates exhibited variable colony colour from yellow, light yellow, dark yellow and pale colour on nutrient agar medium. The variation in incubation period of isolates ranged from 2.2 to 4.4 days, in final symptom development period ranged from 19.6 to 24 days and in per cent disease index ranged from 40 to 90 per cent in detached leaf pathogenicity assay. The isolates showed variation under attached leaf pathogenicity assay on seedlings of sweet orange and incubation period ranged from 7.2 to 10.4 days and final symptoms development ranged from 32.4 to 40 days and per cent disease index varied from 37.50 to 79.17 days. Molecular identification confirmed the presence of single band in all isolates for 16S rDNA at 591 bp, for glpF gene two isolates with a single band at 690 bp and for species specific rpf gene in seven isolates producing single band near 581 bp. Moleclar variability among isolates was confirmed by using RAPD and ISSR markers which showed high amount of genetic variability among the isolates and both markers were polymorphic in nature. Both the markers clustered the isolates in three groups and combined clustering grouped them in two groups. For disease management, different resistance inducing chemicals at three different concentrations were analysed and salicylic acid, β-amino butyric acid, acibenzolar -S- methyl and potassium chloride were effective and effectiveness increased from low to high concentration of chemicals. All these chemicals were found to improve the plant’s phenolic and chlorophyll content and the peroxidase, polyphenol oxidase and phenylalanine ammonia lyase activity was also enhanced with their application in comparison to inoculated control, un-inoculated control and other treatments. Green silver and copper nanoparticles using leaf extract exhibited the effectiveness for inhibition of the pathogen as well as disease under semi-controlled conditions with highest efficacy in green silver nanoparticles of Ocimum sanctum and Tagetes erecta followed by green copper nanoparticles of Eucalyptus hybrida. Metal nanoparticles were effective in disease management under controlled conditions and pathogen inhibition under in vitro conditions.ThesisItem Open Access STUDIES ON PATHOGENIC VARIABILITY OF MYCOGONE PERNICIOSA CAUSING WET BUBBLE DISEASE OF AGARICUS BISPORUS AND ITS MANAGEMENT(UHF Nauni, 2024-05-22) PRATIBHA; Dharmesh GuptaThe present studies entitled “Studies on pathogenic variability of Mycogone perniciosa causing wet bubble disease of Agaricus bisporus and its management” were carried out during 2022 and 2023. Extensive surveys conducted revealed that the incidence of wet bubble disease in different districts of Himachal Pradesh ranged from 3.28 to 16.42 per cent. The disease was prevalent in all mushroom growing districts with intensity in the range of 19.33 to 42.0 per cent over years. The per cent yield loss caused by wet bubble disease on white button mushroom data was reported to be maximum (25.12%) at Baba Dera in district Una with all overall yield loss ranging from 5.83 to 25.12 per cent. The mycopathogen Mycogone perniciosa was found to be persistently linked with the wet bubble disease. The fungal pathogen exhibited typical and distinctive symptoms of wet bubble disease. In vitro studies were conducted to assess symptomatological, morphological, physiological and genetic variability among eighteen isolates collected from major mushroom cultivation areas. Different isolates of the pathogen were observed to exhibit varying symptoms e.g., appearance of cauliflower like fruiting bodies, scattered sclerodermoid mass with amber-coloured droplets thickened stipe and interior stipe browning. Symptoms such as gill infection, foul smell, and appearance of brown, amber-coloured droplets and thickened stipe were used to characterize these isolates into highly virulent, moderately virulent and less virulent categories. Isolates MP-4, MP-7, MP-3 and MP-15 were highly virulent, isolates MP-2 and MP-18 were less virulent while remaining twelve isolates were categorized as moderately virulent isolates. The isolates were observed to produce light brown to pale white coloured colonies, with texture ranging from uneven striate to even and fluffy and growth rate ranging from 17.00 to 51.00 mm per week. Bi-celled aleurospores were seen in all the isolates while eleven out of eighteen isolates were seen to produce single- celled conidia with size range of 5.7-22.5 × 1.5-6.4 μm. The dendrograms constructed by using similarity matrix on the basis of RAPD and ISSR primers revealed that isolates MP-13 and MP-15 showed highest similarity coefficient (0.89) while MP-4 and MP-10 showed minimum similarity coefficient (0.04). The results showed that temperature range of 22-25 ℃ and pH 7 was most suitable for optimum growth of the pathogen. The primary inoculum of the pathogen was observed in the contaminated casing soil with which it reaches the farms during the interval of button mushroom crop production. Spent mushroom compost and garden soil were found to contain propagules of the pathogen. Among bacterial isolates, B-1 (Bacillus subtilis strain MPS1), B-8 (Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain MPS2) and B-9 (Bacillus velezensis strain MPS3) exhibited effective mycelial inhibition of 75.11, 73.09 and 70.41 per cent, respectively of the pathogen fungus under in vitro conditions while, under in vivo conditions maximum yield (14.01 kg per 100 kg compost) and minimum per cent disease intensity (4.45 %) was seen in treatments with consortia of B-1+B-8+B-9. In-vitro evaluation of ZnO nanoparticles synthesized using bacterial atagonists against M. perniciosa revealed that maximum (79.49 per cent) mycelial inhibition was recorded in case of ZnO-NP2, followed by ZnO-NP3 (78.46 per cent) and ZnO-NP1(73.39 per cent) at 1000 ppm concentration. Under in vivo conditions, maximum yield (13.24 kg per 100 kg of compost) and minimum per cent disease intensity (4.75 %) was obtained in treatments with consortia NP-1+NP-2+NP-3.ThesisItem Open Access EFFECT OF NANOPARTICLES SEED PRIMING AND FOLIAR SPRAY ON GROWTH, SEED YIELD AND QUALITY ATTRIBUTES IN OKRA [ABELMOSCHUS ESCULENTUS (L.) MOENCH](UHF Nauni, 2024-04-24) AKSHAY KUMAR WALIA; Ashok ThakurThe present investigations entitled, “Effect of nanoparticles seed priming and foliar spray on growth, seed yield and quality attributes in okra [Abelmoschus esculentus (L.) Moench]” were carried out at Dr Yashwant Singh Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, Solan (HP) during 2022 to 2023. The first experiment was laid out in Completely Randomized Design (CRD) in laboratory having 74 treatment combinations of four nanoparticles (zinc, magnesium, iron and boron) and their bulk counterparts (at 50, 100 and 150 ppm concentrations and for 18, 24 and 30 hours) with hydropriming for 24 hours and a control. Experimental results showed that the maximum values for seed quality parameters were observed when seed priming was done with ZnO NPs @ 150 ppm for 18 h with maximum germination (93.75%), shoot length, (20.55 cm), root length (12.90 cm), seedling length (32.37 cm), seedling dry weight (261.00 mg), seedling vigor index - I (3033.75), seedling vigor index – II (24.46) and germination after accelerated ageing (86.75 %). In the second experiment, the best performing treatments were compared with hydropriming and control, highest physiological quality was also recorded when priming was done with ZnO NPs @ 150 ppm for 18 h with maximum dehydrogenase activity (0.449), α-amylase activity (11.25 mm), mobilization efficiency (175.37 %), shoot length (13.98 cm), root length (9.30 cm), seedling fresh weight (698.73 mg), seedling dry weight (354.91 mg) and leaf area (7.39 cm2). The third experiment was carried out in the experimental field in randomized block design with 17 treatment and a control. Among the treatment under study, seed priming with ZnO NPs @ 150 ppm for 18 h along with ZnO NPs spray @ 150 ppm at flowering initiation and 50 % flowering was the best performing treatment with maximum values for growth, seed yield and quality parameters with highest emergence percentage (87.50 %), plant height at first and second spray (40.12 cm and 57.18 cm), number of primary branches per plant (8.10), Number of fruits per plant (15.51), fruit length (19.20 cm), number of pods per plant (14.13), seeds per pod (48.52), seed yield (29.64 g/plant, 0.65 kg/plot, 17.97 q/ha) and minimum number of days to pod harvest (96.53 DAS). Moreover, this treatment also recorded maximum values for seed quality of harvested seed viz., seed index (5.03 g), germination (92.62 %), seedling length (31.66 cm), seedling dry weight (256.63 mg), seedling vigor index - I (2932.44), seedling vigor index - II (23.77), germination after accelerated ageing (83.88 %) and minimum electrical conductivity (0.079 dSm-1). The maximum benefit cost ratio was also observed in the same treatment with a ratio of 2.94:1. Hence, it may be inferred from the outcomes of the investigation that seed priming with ZnO NPs @ 150 ppm for 18 h along with ZnO NPs spray @ 150 ppm at flowering initiation and 50 % flowering is an appropriate treatment combination for promoting the growth, seed yield as well as quality attributes in Okra.ThesisItem Open Access EVALUATION OF BARLEY GERMPLASM FOR GROWTH, SEED YIELD AND QUALITY ATTRIBUTES IN THE MID HILLS OF HP(UHF Nauni, 2024-03-04) BHAVNA RAJKUMARI; BS DiltaThe investigation titled, "Evaluation of barley germplasm for growth, seed yield and seed quality attributes in the mid hills of HP" was carried out at Research Farm and Laboratory of the Department of Seed Science and Technology, Dr YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, Solan (HP) during 2021-22 and 2022-23. It involved analyzing variations among 65 barley genotypes which included various attributes such as plant height, number of tillers per plant, number of spikes per plant, spike length, awn length, seeds or grains per spike days to heading, days to maturity, seed weight per plot, seed weight per plant, seed weight per hectare, growth habit, presence of awns, hullness of seeds, seed germination percentage, seedling length, seedling dry weight, seedling vigour index I, seedling vigour index II, seed moisture content, test weight, total starch content, total phenol content, crude protein content, β-glucans content, and seed weight. The results showed that all the attributes under investigation showed significance for variation among the barley genotypes. The genotypic coefficient of variation was higher than the phenotypic coefficient of variation, with minimal differences between the two. The seed weight per plot, seed weight per plant, and seed weight per hectare showed high genotypic and phenotypic coefficients of variation. Spike length indicated low phenotypic coefficient of variation (12.61%) and moderate genotypic coefficient of variation (19.99%). Awn length, days to heading, days to maturity, germination percentage, seedling length, seedling dry weight, seedling vigour index I, seedling vigour index II, seed moisture content, crude protein content, β-glucans content, and total starch content all exhibited low phenotypic and genotypic coefficients of variation, respectively. Moderate heritability with high genetic gain was displayed by seed weight, while high heritability with moderate genetic gain was displayed by plant height, number of tillers per plant, number of spikes per plant, grains per spike, seedling length, seedling dry weight, seedling vigour indices I & II, test weight, total starch content and β-glucans content. The genotypic correlation coefficients for nearly all features surpassed the corresponding phenotypic correlation coefficients. The maximum direct positive effect on seed weight was imposed by seedling length (3.072) followed by seedling vigour index II (2.218), number of tillers per plant (0.166), germination percentage (0.148), awn length (0.147), crude protein content (0.142), β-glucans content (0.103), spike length (0.082) and grains per spike (0.037).Seven distinct clusters were identified during cluster analysis using Mahalanobis D2 distance, with maximum intra-cluster distance measured in cluster 1 (255.32), followed by cluster 3 (226.68), cluster 4 (203.31), cluster 6 (183.69), cluster 7 (181.16), cluster 2 (96.05) and cluster 5 (93.68). All in all, thirteen barley genotypes exhibited the best results with regards to the growth, seed yield and quality parameters.ThesisItem Open Access DIFFERENTIAL TRANSCRIPTOME ANALYSIS OF IN VITRO MUTAGENIZED FUSARIUM TOLERANT PLANTS OF GINGER (Zingiber officinale Rosc.) cv. HIMGIRI(UHF Nauni, 2024-05-27) POOJA SHARMA; Manisha ThakurGinger (Zingiber officinale Rosc.) is the most widely used medicinal herb of the ancient ‘Ayurveda’ and ‘Unani’ system of medicine due to bioactive compounds present in its rhizomes i.e. volatile oils (terpenoids), diarylheptanoids (curcuminoids), and gingerols (phenols), which serve as an important panacea for treating arthritis, heart diseases, cancer, diarrhea, and respiratory disorders. It is a vegetatively propagated crop through underground rhizomes and its production is hampered by various soil-borne pathogens which predominantly include Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. zingiberi. The technique of in vitro mutagenesis and selection was employed in ginger cv. Himgiri for the development of Fusarium tolerant lines, resulting in mutant Himgiri-17.5 which displayed improved accumulation of gingerol and demonstrated enhanced tolerance to Fusarium wilt. At morpho-physiological and biochemical levels, Himgiri-17.5 outperformed for superior traits including shoot number, rhizome characteristics, photosynthesis rate, protein, carbohydrate, phenol and flavonoid content, demonstrating its potential for enhanced productivity and nutritional superiority. The firstever transcriptome analysis of in vitro-raised Himgiri-17.5 was conducted to identify defense-related genes, their role in plant-pathogen interaction, gingerol biosynthesis, and MAPK-dependent hormonal signaling pathways in imparting tolerance to Fusarium wilt in comparison to conventionally propagated Himgiri (control). A total of 13.84 GB data was generated encoding 57939 genes, out of which 3745 were differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in both the samples with 351 up-regulated and 3394 down-regulated. Fifty three DEGs, exclusively related to disease resistance (R) proteins spanning diverse domains, including transmembrane, kinases, nucleotide-binding site, leucine-rich repeats, coiled-coil, and Toll/Interleukin-1 receptors were identified in Himgiri-17.5. Functional annotation revealed the involvement of DEGs in positive regulation of transcription and response to pathogenic stimuli, emphasizing their role in plant defense mechanism. The expression pattern of genes linked to antioxidant activity and MAPK-dependent hormonal signaling exhibited notable up-regulation in Himgiri-17.5. Additionally, the investigation provided insights into volatile oil, diarylheptanoids, and gingerol biosynthetic pathway governed by crucial regulatory genes, namely DCS, CURS2, and ClPKS10. Fourteen InDels associated with R-genes were also mapped on various chromosomes, representing invaluable genetic markers to identify genomic regions affiliated to disease resistance to serve as potential targets for genetic modification and marker-assisted selection. The examination also revealed the presence of 165 up-regulated TFs primarily belonging to the ERF, bHLH, MYB, NAC, and bZIP families which indicated their possible part in governing gene expression during defense mechanism. This research contributes in understanding the key genetic aspects including R-genes, pathogen recognition, signal transduction, hormonal signaling, gingerol biosynthetic pathway and TFs, crucial for Fusarium wilt tolerance which holds the foundation for future studies to enhance disease resistance through biotechnological interventions.ThesisItem Open Access WORK ENVIRONMENT SETTING VARIABLES INFLUENCING OCCUPATIONAL STRESS AND WORK EFFICIENCY AMONG POLICE PERSONNEL IN THE STATE OF HIMACHAL PRADESH(UHF Nauni, 2024-05-18) ANCHAL THAKUR; Piyush MehtaThe present study has been carried out on work environment setting variables influencing occupational stress and work efficiency among police personnel in the state of Himachal Pradesh. Multistage random sampling technique was done with a total sample size of 288 police personnel. Primary data was collected through a well -designed pre-tested schedule by survey method. The required secondary data was collected from various publications and government departments. Therefore, data was analyzed through a combination of statistical tools like Principal Component Analysis, Garrett Mean Score Analysis, Likert Scale Ranking Analysis, Chi-Square Test Analysis and other statistical tools. It was observed that the maximum sampled police personnel had good job experience. The various variables related to work environment among police personnel in the study area were ranked on the 5 point Likert scale which showed that the variables i.e., work pressure attains Ist rank followed by supervisor support which attains IInd rank, peer cohesion which was ranked IIIrd. The results of factor analysis revealed that statements of operational police stress were associated with non- understanding, work bound, limited social strata and harassed. In case of organizational police stress, the result of PCA revealed that the first factors extracted were spare time, overburdened, idleness, answerable, incompatible and management which explained the maximum variability in police personnel in the study area whereas, maximum variability in statements related to work efficiency among police personnel were compensation, remunerated, usage, payoff and embolden. Since, at an overall level, the trauma prevention training program was reported as the major intervention programme. It was also found that Police personnel were influenced with their peer group and family so some amount of training coverage may eventually reach larger groups. Therefore, it was suggested that services should be revamped and strengthen to cater for the existing needs of the police personnel in the study areaThesisItem Open Access BEHAVIOURAL ISSUES AND CHALLENGES IN MANAGEMENT OF FARMER PRODUCER ORGANISATION (FPOs) IN THE STATE OF HIMACHAL PRADESH(UHF Nauni, 2024-05-28) ASHIMA SHARMA; Krishan Kumar RainaThe present study on behavioural issues and challenges in the management of FPOs aimed at identifying the organisation structure, the behaviour issues and challenges of farmers and management functionaries’ suggestion for effective management of FPOs in the state of Himachal Pradesh. 7 FPOs was studied, data was analysed. The aggregate sample was 400 consisting of 350 farmer producers and 50 management functionaries. Statistical tools like Five-point Likert scale, Response importance analyses, Linear regression, Principal component method Multiple response analysis and other Statistical tools. The average land holding was 1.96ha with per cent irrigated land. The highest ranking was given by Saindhar Producer Company. Regression analysis was not found much significant. An effective enterprise encourages more members to join the FPOs which in turn improve the business performance of the FPO, whereas a bad performance of the enterprise could lead to member disengagement and result to dysfunctionality of the enterprise. It was important to understand that better business performance will not occur in the absence of effective mechanismThesisItem Open Access A STUDY OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOR FOR HERBAL PRODUCTS IN CHANDIGARH AND SHIMLA CITIES(UHF Nauni, 2024-05-31) RISHABH SINGH CHAUHAN; Kapil KathuriaA trend can be seen amongst the consumer who has started shifting more towards healthy consumption. Over a period of time we have started to see them expressing positive attitude towards herbal products. The aim of the study was to study the consumer behavior and satisfaction level of consumers for herbal products of different categories and to identify behavioral segments of market for herbal products. The study was descriptive in nature. For this research a well-structured questionnaire was made where close ended questions were asked. One way ANOVA analysis, Chi Square and Cluster analysis were used on the primary data obtained to understand manifest the consumer behavior and further segment the markets, accordingly four clusters were identified. The effort was to relate the consumption behavior with demographic variables and media graphics variables with the four segments identified. This resulted in the four segments being described. For Ayurvedic inclined customers qualitative researches may help in understanding why they prefer ayurvedic products and guide them with effective marketing strategies. For frequent purchaser older customers of herbal products dissatisfaction could be enhanced through reducing gap between product and market. For moderate purchaser engaged private sector employees boosting awareness through different channels of media graphics could be done. While for less engaged younger professionals having positive attitude and targeting them for making frequent purchases could be done
