Loading...
Kerala Agricultural University, Thrissur
The history of agricultural education in Kerala can be traced back to the year 1896 when a scheme was evolved in the erstwhile Travancore State to train a few young men in scientific agriculture at the Demonstration Farm, Karamana, Thiruvananthapuram, presently, the Cropping Systems Research Centre under Kerala Agricultural University. Agriculture was introduced as an optional subject in the middle school classes in the State in 1922 when an Agricultural Middle School was started at Aluva, Ernakulam District. The popularity and usefulness of this school led to the starting of similar institutions at Kottarakkara and Konni in 1928 and 1931 respectively.
Agriculture was later introduced as an optional subject for Intermediate Course in 1953. In 1955, the erstwhile Government of Travancore-Cochin started the Agricultural College and Research Institute at Vellayani, Thiruvananthapuram and the College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences at Mannuthy, Thrissur for imparting higher education in agricultural and veterinary sciences, respectively. These institutions were brought under the direct administrative control of the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Animal Husbandry, respectively. With the formation of Kerala State in 1956, these two colleges were affiliated to the University of Kerala. The post-graduate programmes leading to M.Sc. (Ag), M.V.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees were started in 1961, 1962 and 1965 respectively.
On the recommendation of the Second National Education Commission (1964-66) headed by Dr. D.S. Kothari, the then Chairman of the University Grants Commission, one Agricultural University in each State was established. The State Agricultural Universities (SAUs) were established in India as an integral part of the National Agricultural Research System to give the much needed impetus to Agriculture Education and Research in the Country. As a result the Kerala Agricultural University (KAU) was established on 24th February 1971 by virtue of the Act 33 of 1971 and started functioning on 1st February 1972. The Kerala Agricultural University is the 15th in the series of the SAUs.
In accordance with the provisions of KAU Act of 1971, the Agricultural College and Research Institute at Vellayani, and the College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Mannuthy, were brought under the Kerala Agricultural University. In addition, twenty one agricultural and animal husbandry research stations were also transferred to the KAU for taking up research and extension programmes on various crops, animals, birds, etc.
During 2011, Kerala Agricultural University was trifurcated into Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (KVASU), Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies (KUFOS) and Kerala Agricultural University (KAU).
Now the University has seven colleges (four Agriculture, one Agricultural Engineering, one Forestry, one Co-operation Banking & Management), six RARSs, seven KVKs, 15 Research Stations and 16 Research and Extension Units under the faculties of Agriculture, Agricultural Engineering and Forestry. In addition, one Academy on Climate Change Adaptation and one Institute of Agricultural Technology offering M.Sc. (Integrated) Climate Change Adaptation and Diploma in Agricultural Sciences respectively are also functioning in Kerala Agricultural University.
Browse
13 results
Search Results
ThesisItem Open Access Varietal evaluation of tuberose (Polianthes tuberosa L.) for yield growth and quality(Department of Floriculture and Landscaping, College of Agriculture, Padannakkad, 2020) Hasna, P M; KAU; Meera Manjusha, A VTuberose (Polianthes tuberosa L. Family: Amaryllidaceae) is one of the most popular tropical ornamental bulbous flowering plant grown on a commercial scale throughout different states of India. They are much adored by the aesthetic world for their colour, elegance and fragrance. As the commercial cultivation of tuberose is gaining importance, introduction and identification of high yielding varieties is necessary. The quality and production of any crop or variety largely influenced by its genetic makeup and climatic condition under which they are grown. Therefore, in order to select suitable and high yielding cultivar for a particular region it is very much necessary to collect and evaluate all the available genotypes. The study entitled “Varietal evaluation of tuberose (Polianthes tuberosa L.) for growth, yield and quality” was carried out at the Department of Floriculture and Landscaping, College of Agriculture, Padannakkad, Kasaragod and RARS Pilicode during 2019-2020. The experiment was laid out in Randomized block design with ten treatments and three replications. The varieties were screened for vegetative, floral, quality and post- harvest parameters. The study clearly indicated that genotypic differences among varieties and variation in environmental factors significantly influence vegetative and floral characters of tuberose. Minimum number of days to 50 % flowering (108.38 days), longest spike (111.80 cm) and maximum diameter of peduncle (3.05 cm) was recorded in variety Arka Prajwal. Variety Arka Suvasini recorded maximum value for rachis length (47.60 cm), longevity of spike (13.60 days), days to complete opening of spikes (26.15 days), diameter of floret (3.53 cm), weight of 100 florets (235.43 g), loose flower yield (131.31 g) and fresh weight of spike (133.52 g). Variety Arka Vaibhav recorded maximum number of florets per spike (63.00). Longest floret was observed in variety Culcutta Single (7.03 cm). Variety Culcutta Double found to be superior in terms of vase life (8.53 days) of spike. Concrete recovery found maximum in single petalled cultivars than semi double and double type cultivars. Stage of harvest, growing environmental condition, season and method of extraction have significant influence on the recovery of concrete. In the present study concrete recovery ranges from 0.012 to 0.117 % and maximum concrete obtained for the variety Arka Sugandhi. Out of the ten genotypes of tuberose (Polianthes tuberosa L.) comprising single, semi- double and double petalled cultivars, the variety Arka Prajwal, Arka Shringar, Arka Sugandhi and Culcutta Single among single petalled type, Arka Vaibhav the only semi petalled type and variety Arka Suvasini and Culcutta Double among double petalled type were found to be superior in terms of growth, yield and quality of flower under northern Kerala condition. Among these Arka Prajwal can be recommended for loose flower production, Arka Suvasini for cut flower production and Arka Sugandhi for oil extraction purpose.ThesisItem Open Access Evaluvation of China aster [Callistephus chinensis (L.) Nees.] for cultivation in tropical plains(Department of Floriculture and Landscaping, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 2019) Alfin, Santhosh; KAU; Anupama, T VChina aster [Callistephus chinenesis (L.) Nees.] is one of the most important annual flower crops grown in India for cut flower as well as loose flower purposes. It ranks third next to chrysanthemum and marigold among the annual flowers and has gained popularity due to ease of cultivation, diversity of colours and good vase life. It is also used for bedding purpose in landscapes and as pot plants. In Kerala, the demand for annual flower crops is on the rise, however the cultivation is limited. China aster due to its hardy nature can be grown as a pure crop as well as intercrop in coconut gardens. The investigation entitled ‘Evaluation of China aster [Callistephus chinenesis (L.) Nees.] for cultivation in tropical plains’ was conducted at the Department of Floriculture and Landscaping during 2018-2019 with an objective to evaluate the performance of China aster for cultivation in tropical plains. Ten varieties of China aster viz. Arka Kamini, Arka Shashank, Arka Archana, Phule Ganesh White, Phule Ganesh Violet, Phule Ganesh Pink, Phule Ganesh Purple, AAC-1, Local Pink and Mat White were evaluated for vegetative, floral and post harvest characters. The varieties showed significant variation for vegetative characters. In all the varieties, leaf dentation was present and leaf shape was ovate for all varieties except Arka Shashank which had linear leaf shape. Stem colouration and leaf mid rib colouration were absent in varieties such as Arka Shashank, Arka Archana, Phule Ganesh White and Mat White and the rest of the six varieties showed the presence of purplish stem and mid rib colouration. The variety Phule Ganesh Pink was superior in plant height (68.86 cm) at 3 months after planting. The characters like plant spread (50.08 cm), number of leaves (56.48), number of primary branches (14.25) and stem girth (11.09 cm) were also highest in variety Phule Ganesh Pink. Leaf area was the highest in variety Phule Ganesh White (34.31 cm2). The variety Mat White was significantly inferior for all the vegetative characters observed. Floral characters showed significant variation among the varieties. Powderpuff flower type was observed in Arka Shashank and all the other varieties had semi-double type flower. Days to bud initiation was minimum in variety Arka Shashank (44.40 days) and maximum in Phule Ganesh White (73.67 days). The same trend was observed for days to complete flower opening and days to 50 per cent flowering. The variety Local Pink had the highest duration of flowering (62.40 days) and variety Mat White (45.20 days) had the lowest duration of flowering. The variety Arka Shashank produced highest number of flowers per plant (20.20). The flower stalk length (21.13 cm), flower weight (6.94 g) and flower diameter (7.07 cm) were the highest in the variety Phule Ganesh Pink. The variety Phule Ganesh White was superior in terms of number of disc florets per head (251.00) whereas Phule Ganesh Pink had the highest number of ray florets per head (201.20). The flower yield per plant was highest in variety Phule Ganesh Pink (55.99 g). The variety Phule Ganesh White recorded the highest seed yield per flower (1.27 g) and seed germination (65.27 %). Longest shelf life was observed in variety Phule Ganesh Pink (3.67 days) which was on par with Phule Ganesh White (3.33 days) and physiological loss of weight was recorded highest in Phule Ganesh White (35.70 %). The variety Phule Ganesh Pink had the longest vase life (13.93 days) and total water uptake was also maximum in variety Phule Ganesh Pink (20.27 ml). Anthocyanin content of flowers was recorded highest in the variety Phule Ganesh Violet (51.87 mg/g) followed by Arka Kamini (48.62 mg/g). Dendrogram based on D2 statistics considering qualitative and quantitative characters indicated that high amount of variability is present among the varieties. Correlation and path analysis revealed that the characters such as number of primary branches (0.978), plant spread (0.894), leaf area (0.796) and flower weight (0.933) were having significant positive correlation with flower yield per plant with a direct effect of 0.150, 0.199, 0.281 and 0.498 respectively. Ranking of varieties was done individually for loose flower and cut flower types. In ranking for loose flower types, variety Phule Ganesh Pink scored first position which was followed by Phule Ganesh White and Local Pink. When varieties were ranked for cut flower types, first position was scored by Phule Ganesh Pink while second position was shared by Phule Ganesh White, Phule Ganesh Purple and Local Pink. In overall ranking the variety Phule Ganesh Pink occupied first position followed by Phule Ganesh White and Local Pink and these can be recommended for commercial cultivation in tropical plains of Kerala during winter season.ThesisItem Open Access Standardization of growing media and growth regulators for rose (Rosa ssp.) under top ventilated rain shelter(Department of Floriculture and Landscaping, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 2019) Sijo, John; KAU; Mini, SankarRose is acclaimed as ‘Queen of flowers’ because of its colour, fragrance and elegance. Cut roses are having very high demand in domestic as well as international market due to versatile uses. Roses can be successfully cultivated under top ventilated rain shelters in Kerala. Soilless media consist of vermiculite, perlite, and rockwool are popularly used for commercial production of rose under protected condition. These are costly and not easily available to farmers. Thus, there is a need to develop a cost effective growing media with locally available materials. Exogenous application of plant growth regulators improves the yield and quality of cut flowers by manipulating hormonal regulations in the plant system. Even though commercial formulations of different growth regulators are available in the market, the type and precise concentration of growth regulators are to be standardised. Hence the present study entitled “Standardization of growing media and growth regulators for rose (Rosa spp.) under top ventilated rain shelter” was carried out in the Department of Floriculture and Landscaping, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara during 2018-2019. Objective of the study was to standardize growing media and growth regulators for commercial production of cut roses in agroclimatic conditions of Kerala. The experiment consisted of twelve treatments, which included different combinations of three growing media viz; soil + M-sand + cocopeat + FYM (M1), soil + M-sand + cocopeat + vermicompost (M2) and soil + M-sand + cocopeat + poultry manure (M3) in 2:1:1:1 ratio and two levels each of two growth regulators viz; Benzyl adenine (BA) and Gibberellic acid (GA) at 200 and 250 ppm. Six months old grafts of rose variety ‘Tajmahal’ was used for the study. Observations on growth characters, yield, post harvest aspects as well as nutrient status of the growing media were recorded. With regard to vegetative characters, growing media, growth regulators and interaction between growing media and growth regulators had significant influence during the period of observation. Growing media containing FYM (M1) recorded the greatest plant height and was on par with growing media containing vermicompost (M2). Among growth regulators, GA 250 ppm was found to be superior in terms of plant height. With respect to interaction effect, greatest plant height was observed under the media containing FYM (M1) and GA at 250 ppm. Plant spread was highest under medium containing FYM (M1). Growth regulators had significant influence on plant spread and BA at 200 and 250 ppm were superior and on par in terms of this parameter. Regarding interaction, growing media containing FYM (M1) along with 200 ppm BA was observed to have the highest plant spread during the growth period. Media containing FYM (M1) as well as vermicompost (M2) were found to produce more number of branches and among growth regulators, BA at 200 and 250 ppm were on par and superior with respect to this parameter. Regarding interaction effect, highest number of branches was observed under growing media containing FYM (M1) and BA at 200 ppm. Significant effects of growing media could be observed on floral characters and media containing FYM (M1) was found to be superior with respect to floral characters viz; length of flower bud (3.37 cm), diameter of flower bud (2.16 cm), number of flowers /plant (5.04), number of petals/ flower (51.92), stalk length (47.94 cm) and flower diameter at fully opened stage (8.44 cm). Growing media containing FYM (M1) and growing media containing vermicompost (M2) were on par in terms of other floral characters viz; length of flower shoot, neck girth and stalk girth of flower. With respect to the influence of growth regulators on floral characters, a greater number of flowers/plant (5.38 and 5.10) as well as largest flowers at fully opened stage (8.33 and 7.99 cm) were observed under BA at 200 and 250 ppm. Stalk length of the flower was found to be maximum under GA at 200 ppm (47.92 cm). Highest length of flower shoot was observed in GA at 200 ppm and BA at 200 ppm which were on par with each other (38.79 and 36.94 cm respectively). Growing media and growth regulator interaction had significant influence on floral parameters viz; stalk length and number of petals per flower. Media containing FYM (M1) with GA 200 as well as 250 ppm were found to have maximum stalk length (52.48 and 50.09 cm respectively). Highest number of petals were observed under media containing FYM (M1) along with BA 200 and 250 ppm, media containing FYM (M1) along with GA 200 and 250 ppm, media containing vermicompost (M2) along with BA 200 ppm and GA 200 ppm as well as media containing poultry manure (M3) along with BA 200 ppm. Early initiation of flower bud was observed under media containing FYM (M1) along with BA 250 ppm (119.22 days). Regarding post harvest characters, media containing FYM (M1) was superior in terms of fresh weight of flower (16.36 g), total water uptake (49.48 ml) and vase life (8.46 days). Among growth regulators BA 200 ppm had longest vase life which was on par with GA at 200 ppm. Maximum fresh weight was observed under BA 200 ppm (15.17g). With regard to interaction effect, treatment combination of FYM + BA at 200 was found to have maximum vase life and fresh weight of flower (9.38 days and 18.71g respectively). Considering overall performance, growing media combination of soil + M-sand + cocopeat + FYM (2:1:1:1) along with monthly application of BA at 200 ppm can be recommended for commercial cultivation of rose under protected condition in Kerala.ThesisItem Open Access Standardization of production technology for African marigold(Tagetes erecta L.)(Department of Floriculture and Landscaping, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 2020) Jeevan, U; KAU; Sreelatha, UMarigold (Tagetes spp.), one of the commercially grown flower crops in India, is of multipurpose uses in floriculture, pharmaceutical, cosmetic and dye industries. The present investigation entitled “Standardization of production technology for African marigold (Tagetes erecta L.) was undertaken in the Department of Floriculture and Landscaping, during the year 2018-2020. The research programme consisted of five experiments. The first experiment was ‘Performance evaluation of African marigold and evaluation of other Tagetes spp. against bacterial wilt’. Thirty two marigold genotypes from three different species of Tagetes viz., T. erecta, T. patula and T. tenuifolia were evaluated in a wilt sick plot, for assessing bacterial wilt incidence during rainy (June-September) and winter (October–January) seasons. Genotypes of T. erecta M-1 and M-2 did not show bacterial wilt incidence during both seasons and these genotypes were categorised as completely resistant to bacterial wilt. Wilt incidence in other genotypes ranged from 4.16 per cent to 87.50 per cent during rainy season while during winter, it ranged from 27.7 per cent to 100.00 per cent. Compared to rainy season (43.00%), bacterial wilt incidence was more severe during winter season (70.00%). Days to wilt was also very early during winter (26.00 days) than rainy season (71.00 days). Significant negative correlation was observed between flavonoid content (leaves and petals) and bacterial wilt incidence. The causal organism of marigold wilt was characterized and identified as Enterobacter cloacae and this is first report of the bacterium in marigold. The 16SrDNA sequence data were deposited in NCBI (MT649902 and MT649903). From the performance evaluation, it could be observed that the genotypes viz., Bhagwati, Royal Orange, Maria-91, Rupa and P-4 were superior with respect to morphological characters. These F1 hybrids also recorded greater flower weight as well as petal weight. Genotypes P-4, Maria 91 and Bhagwati recorded significantly greater number of flowers per plant (59.10, 52.07, 51.23, respectively), and yield per plant (476.80g, 355.17g, 319.73g respectively). The highest carotenoid content was recorded in the genotype Bhagwati (0.105 mg/g). In the second experiment, twelve genotypes which were categorized as resistant as well as moderately resistant during field evaluation, were subjected to artificial inoculation studies. The genotypes M-1 and M-2 were found to be completely wilt resistant in artificial screening. Among other genotypes, Bhagwati showed a lower bacterial wilt incidence of 26.00 per cent. The third experiment was conducted with the objective to evaluate rootstocks for T. erecta. Two resistant genotypes viz., M-1 and M-2 were used as rootstocks for grafting nine susceptible genotypes which consisted five F1 hybrids (Bhagwati, Maria 91, Sakuara 031, Suvarna Orange and Suvarna Yellow) and four varieties (Pusa Narangi Gainda, Pusa Basanti Gainda, Double orange and Double Yellow). F1 hybrids recorded better graft survival compared to varieties. Significantly greater graft survival was recorded in Bhagwati and Maria 91, grafted on M-1 rootstock (60% and 54%, respectively) and M-2 rootstock (54% and 50%, respectively). The fourth experiment was conducted during rainy, winter and summer seasons under precision farming system using two selected genotypes viz., Bhagwati and M-1. Irrigation was given @ 75 and 100 per cent Epan and fertigation was given at 75, 100 and 125 per cent of IIHR recommendation (90:90:75 kg/ha) for marigold. During rainy season, fertigation @ 75 per cent RDF (F1) recorded a yield of 35.00 t/ha for Bhagwati and 13.00 t/ha for M-1 which were double the yield in the control treatments of respective genotypes. During winter and summer seasons, irrigation @ 100 per cent Epan along with fertigation @ 125 per cent RDF (I2F3) recorded the greatest yield of 12.50 and 10.00 t/ha respectively in Bhagwati. WUE was the highest in the treatment I2F3 for Bhagwati and M-1 during winter (10.92 kg/ha mm-1, 10.11 kg/ha mm-1) and summer (6.79 kg/ha mm-1, 7.02 kg/ha mm-1) seasons. The fifth experiment was conducted to study the effect of growth regulators on plant growth and yield by using F1 hybrid Bhagwati during rainy and winter season. Spraying growth retardant CCC @ 1000 mg/L during rainy season at 30 and 45 days after transplanting (DAT), was proved to be the best treatment for reducing the plant height (24%) and improvement of yield (14%). CCC @ 1000 mg/L delayed flowering by 12 days compared to control. During winter, spraying growth promoter GA3 @ 300 mg/ L (30 and 45 DAT) was the best for enhancing vegetative growth and yield (28.00%) over control. The study could identify a new wilt causal organism of bacterial wilt in marigold and it was identified as Enterobacter cloacae. Among the thirty two genotypes evaluated, two genotypes viz., M-1 and M-2 were identified as bacterial wilt resistant types. With regard to Tagetes erecta, among the F1 hybrids, Bhagwati, Maria- 91, P-4, Sakura 031 showed better performance in terms of flower yield whereas among the varieties, Double Orange, and Arka Agni and Arka Bangara-2 showed better performance with respect to floral parameters and flower yield. F1 hybrids with good yield but highly susceptible to bacterial wilt can be grafted on resistant rootstock genotypes. F1 hybrids showed better graft survival compared to varieties. Greater graft survival (60%) was recorded for Bhagwati on M-1 rootstock. During rainy season 75 % RDF (90:90:75) was the best with respect to the yield and quality parameters. During winter and summer I2F3 (100% Epan along with 125% RDF) was performing best. Hybrid Bhagwati was performing well during all the seasons studied, with the highest B:C ratio. Genotype M-1 can be suggested as an alternate variety during winter season. During rainy season spraying CCC @ 1000 mg/L (30 and 45 DAT) was found the best treatment for reduction in plant height (24%) and increased yield (14%) over control. CCC @ 1000 mg/L can also be used for delaying flowering in marigold. During winter, spraying GA3 @ 300 mg/L or 200 mg/L (30 and 45 DAT) enhanced the plant height (15%, 11% respectively) and yield per plant (28%, 22% respectively) over control.ThesisItem Open Access Spacing and nutrient management for Gomphrena globosa L.(Department of Floriculture and Landscaping, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 2020) Reshma, Shaji; KAU; Sobhana, AGomphrena globosa L. is a charming ornamental annual plant, commonly known as globe amaranth or bachelor’s button. Gomphrena is native to tropical and sub-tropical countries including India. It belongs to the family Amaranthaceae. Colourful and globular flower heads add colour and beauty to the garden and the flowers are suitable for cut and dried floral arrangements. Gomphrena is also an excellent choice for beds, borders and rock gardens. Among the various factors responsible for high crop yield, optimum spacing coupled with supply of appropriate quantity of nutrients at appropriate time plays a vital role in enhancing the productivity and the quality of the crop. For the commercialization of this crop, there is need to standardize optimum plant spacing and fertilizer levels. In this context, the study “Spacing and nutrient management for Gomphrena globosa L.” was carried out in the Department of Floriculture and Landscaping, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara during 2019- 2020. Objective of the study was to standardize the spacing and fertilizer requirement of Gomphrena globosa for cultivation in Kerala. The experiment was carried out in Randomized Block Design (RBD) with eight treatments comprising two levels of spacing i.e., 30x30 cm and 45x45 cm and three levels of fertilizers viz; NPK @ 50:25:50 kg/ha, 75:50:75 kg/ha and 100:50:100 kg/ha. Observations on growth characters, yield, post-harvest parameters, nutrient status of the soil, plant nutrient content and uptake were recorded. Among the growth characters, plant height was found significantly higher in the treatment with closer spacing of 30x30cm compared to 45x45cm spacing. Other growth characters including plant spread, number of branches per plant and dry matter production per plant showed significant improvement when grown under wider spacing (34.92 cm, 14.83, 52.53 g/plant respectively). However, dry matter production per unit area (4 t/ha) was found the highest under closer spacing. Different fertilizer doses were found to be on par with one another with respect to plant height and were superior over control. Similar trend was found in plant spread, number of branches per plant and dry matter production. There was no significant interaction effect of spacing and nutrients on growth parameters. Early bud initiation (46.81 days) and minimum number of days to 50% flowering (50.58 days) was observed under closer spacing of 30x30cm. Wider spacing of 45x45 cm produced greater number of flowers per plant (42.64), flower yield (40.90 g/plant) and seed yield per flower (0.29 g). The flower yield per hectare was found to be highest in closer spacing (2.50 t/ha). The different nutrient doses had significant effect on flower yield (g/plant). Application of N:P2O5:K2O @ 50:25:50 kg/ha produced greater flower yield (40.41 g/plant) which was on par with N:P2O5:K2O @ 75:50:75 kg/ha (35.11 g/plant) and superior over control treatments without fertilizers. The earliest bud initiation was observed in plants applied with N:P2O5:K2O @ 50:25:50 kg/ha along with closer spacing of 30x30 cm (42.78 days). Other floral characters and post-harvest parameters were not significantly influenced by spacing and fertilizer treatments. Nutrient content in the plants was found the highest in wider spacing (45x45 cm) and the content in the plant increased as the dose of nutrient applied increased. However, the nutrient uptake by the plants (kg/ha) was found to be the highest in plants grown under closer spacing (30x30 cm) and the uptake of the nutrients also increased with increase in fertilizer dose. Results showed that higher dose of fertilizers (N:P2O5:K2O @ 100:50:100 kg/ha) and wider spacing (45x45 cm) promoted vegetative growth of plants. Plants spaced at 30x30 cm and fertilized with N:P2O5:K2O @ 50:25:50 kg/ha produced more flowers and higher flower yield and can be recommended for improving the growth and flowering of gomphrena plants.ThesisItem Open Access Standardization of alternate media for potted ornamental foliage plants for export purpose(Department of Floriculture and Landscaping, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 2020) Rashida, C K; KAU; Mini, SankarThe investigation entitled “standardization of alternate media for potted ornamental foliage plants for export purpose” was carried out in Department of Floriculture and Landscaping, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara from June, 2019 to June, 2020. The objectives of the study were to standardize alternate media for potted ornamental foliage plants for export purpose and to work out the economics. The experiment was laid out in completely randomized block design with ten treatments and four replications. Treatments included ten different growing media containing soil, sand, FYM, cocopeat, vermicompost, rice husk, biochar, perlite and vermiculite in various proportions viz., T1 : soil, vermicompost and sand in 3:2:1, T2 : soil (75%) + vermicompost (15%) + sand (10%), T3: soil (50%) + cocopeat (25%) + vermicompost (15%) + sand (10%), T4 : soil (25%) + cocopeat (50%) + vermicompost (15%) + sand (10%), T5 : cocopeat (70%) + rice husk (10%) + vermicompost (10%) + sand (10% ), T6 : cocopeat (50%) + rice husk (25%) + vermicompost (15%) + sand (10%), T7 : cocopeat (50%) + biochar (25%) + vermicompost (15%) + sand (10%), T8 : cocopeat (25%) + biochar (25%) + vermicompost (25%) + sand (15%) + perlite (10%), T9 : soil: FYM : sand (1:1:1) (Control) and T10 : cocopeat (50%) + vermicompost (20%) + perlite (15%) + vermiculite (15%). Popular herbaceous foliage plant Aglaonema commutatum var. ‘silver frost’ was used for the study. Significant improvement in growth parameters viz., plant height and plant spread was observed in all soil based media (T1, T2, T3 and T9) as well as in two cocopeat based media (T4 and T5) during the study period. However, the treatment T10 [cocopeat (50%) + vermicompost (20%) + perlite (15%) + vermiculite (15%)] was found to satisfy the height (48.89 cm) and plant spread (50.78cm) as per the recommended grades and standards for potted aglaonema (FMA and FNGA, 1994). Even though significant improvement with respect to number of leaves was observed in various treatments during the period of experiment, T10 was found to have consistent performance confirming to the standards of potted plants. The treatments T4, T5 and T6 which were cocopeat based treatments showed more leaf width throughout the period of observation (7.89-7.29 cm). Composition of growing media significantly influenced the leaf area. T1, T7, T10 and T4 were found to have maximum leaf area (8091.26 - 8982.67 cm2) at the end of experiment. As the foliage enhances the beauty of potted plants, production of leaves at frequent intervals is a desirable character. In the present study, minimum interval for the production of successive leaves was observed in treatments T4, T10, T9, T5 and T3, whereas T8 was found to have more time interval between the production of leaves. Early emergence of first sucker (94.79 days) was observed in T8 [cocopeat (25%) + biochar (25%)+ vermicompost (25%)+ sand (15%) + perlite (10%)], whereas T2 [soil (75%)+ vermicompost (15%) + sand (10%)] took more time for emergence of first sucker (155.33 days). Number of suckers decides the fullness of the pot at the base and the medium composed of cocopeat (50%), vermicompost (20%), perlite (15%) and vermiculite (15%) (T10) was superior with regard to this parameter (6.10). The lowest shoot length will provide a compact appearance to the potted plants. The treatments T8 [cocopeat (25%), biochar (25%), vermicompost (25%), sand (15%) and perlite (10%)], T10 [cocopeat (50%)+ vermicompost (20%)+ perlite (15%)+ vermiculite (15%)], T7 [cocopeat (50%)+ biochar (25%)+ vermicompost (15%)+ sand (10%)] and T6 [cocopeat (50%)+ rice husk (25%)+ vermicompost (15%)+ sand (10%)] showed lowest shoot length. Fresh weight of leaves is an indication of quality of foliage and this parameter was found to be highest in media T1, T9, T4, T8 and T10. T5 was superior with regard to dry weight of leaves. With regard to root parameters, T4 and T5 were superior in terms of fresh weight of roots. Number of lateral roots was observed to be highest in T9, T1, T5, T4 and T2. Even though improvement in growth characters and root parameters was observed due to various treatments, potted ornamental foliage plants should satisfy certain quality criteria for export purpose. As per the recommended grades and standards for potted aglaonema for export, it should possess height and spread within the range of 40.64 cm to 50.80 cm and there should be 6-12 suckers per pot. The medium should be light in weight and it should have more water holding capacity so as to avoid irrigation at frequent intervals. In the present study, the medium composed of cocopeat (50%), vermicompost (20%), 6perlite (15%), vermiculite (15%) (T10) was found to possess all these characteristics and also it was superior with respect to number of leaves as well as number of suckers, which are the desirable characters for potted foliage plants for interiorscaping. In addition to this, the medium was found to have high porosity, low bulk density and high water holding capacity which helps to reduce irrigation requirement of potted plants. Hence this medium can be recommended as a medium for export purpose of potted ornamental foliage plants.ThesisItem Open Access Ecophysiology and Screening for climate change resilience in Mango (Mangifera indica L.) Genotypes(Department of Pomology and Floriculture College of Agriculture,Vellayani, 2019) Aswini, A; KAU; Jyothi BhaskarThe study on “Ecophysiology and screening for climate change resilience in mango (Mangifera indica L.) genotypes” was conducted with the objective of getting basic information on eco physiological responses among selected genotypes of mango on flushing, flowering and fruit development with a view to identify climate resilient genotypes that are suitable for future climate change scenario in Kerala. The study comprised of three experiments viz., evaluation of mango genotypes under normal planting system, evaluation of selected mango genotypes in high density planting system and development of a crop weather model for mango and screening of genotypes for climate resilience with developed crop weather models. Experiment on evaluation of mango genotypes under normal planting system was conducted with trees of same age group (23 years). Wide variation was observed among the morphological characters, physiological characters, biochemical characters and quality attributes of different mango genotypes. From the observations on tree characters, the plant height varied from 9.78 m (H 151) to 12.49 m (Chandrakaran), the trunk circumference ranged from 91.63 cm (Muvandan) to 196.53 cm (Swarnarekha), and the crown diameter varied from 7.07 m (H 151) to 13.46 m (Mulgoa). The qualitative data on morphological characters viz., tree, leaf, inflorescence, fruit, stone and seed characters were grouped into clusters based on the IBPGRI descriptor. The observation on leaf characters revealed that the leaf blade length varied from 19.78 cm (Chandrakaran) to 29.32 cm (Amrapali), leaf blade width ranged from 4.77 cm (Kalepady) to 8.12 cm (Vellaikolumban), and the petiole length varied from 1.56 cm (H 45) to 3.70 cm (Amrapali). Based on the observations on inflorescence character the inflorescence length varied from 12.58 cm (Dashehari) to 34.42 cm (Bennet Alphonso), the inflorescence width ranged from 9.32 cm to 3.40 cm (Vellaikolumban), the hermaphrodite flowers in the inflorescence varied from 14.00% (Mulgoa) to 67.83% (Neelum), and the number of stamens per flower ranged from 4 to 5. From the observations on fruit characters the fruit length varied from 7.60 cm (Chandrakaran) to 20.08 cm (Mulgoa), fruit diameter ranged from 17.05 cm (h 151) to 32.50 cm (Arka Aruna), the fruit weight ranged from 123.10 g (Chandrakaran) to 738.97 g (Mulgoa), the fruit yield varied from 9.75 kg/tree (Arka Aruna) to 52.13 kg/tree (Muvandan) and the shelf life ranged from 3.83 days (PKM 2) to 7 days (H 151). From the observations on stone characters stone length, varied from 5.60 cm (Muvandan and Neelum) to 14.05 cm (Mulgoa), stone width ranged from 3.17 cm (Muvandan) to 12.07 cm (H 45 ), the stone thickness varied from 1.20 cm (Muvandan) to 3.15 cm (Neelgoa) and the stone weight ranged from 15.93 g (Bennet Alphonso) to 47.13 g (Mulgoa). Based on the seed characters the seed length varied from 4.28 cm (Bennet Alphonso) to 11.22 cm (Mulgoa), the seed width ranged from 2.25 cm (Sindhu) to 8.88 cm (Banganapalli) and the seed weight ranged from 8.58 g (Vellaikoamban) to 28.98 g (Mulgoa). The results from the analysis of quality attributes of different genotypes indicated that the acidity ranged from 0.02 % (Kalepady and H 151) to 0.12 % (Himayuddin), the ascorbic acid ranged from 12.17 mg 100g-1 (Arka Aruna) to 72.49 mg 100g-1 (Muvandan), carotenoids varied from 0.16 mg 100g-1 (Neelum) to 8.47 mg 100g-1 (Alphonso), ß carotene ranged from 9.75 mg 100g-1 (Mulgoa) to 45.06 mg 100g-1 (Dashehari), the total sugar varied from 12.55 % (Tholikkaipan) to 27.81 % (Swarnarekha), the reducing sugar ranged from 5.37 % (Swarnarekha) to 10.38 % (Tholikkaipan), the crude fibre varied from 2.67 % (Alphonso) to 16.50 % (Arka Aruna) and the TSS ranged from 16.16 oBrix (Kalepady) to 27.68 oBrix (Himayyudin). The results from sensory evaluation indicated that Mallika secured the highest rank for appearance, flavour, sweetness and texture, whereas Ratna secured the highest rank for clour and taste. The studies on pollen characters showed that the pollen length varied from 26.40 μm (Neelgoa) to 45.72 μm (Himayuddin), the pollen breadth ranged from 22.92 μm (Muvandan) to 38.34 μm (Arka Aruna), the pollen fertility ranged from 82.70 μm (Mulgoa) to 93.60 μm (Tholikkaipan) and the pollen production varied from 299.00 (H 151) to 541.83 (Prior). The pollen shapes of different mango genotypes observared were oblong, oval and round. The pollen storage was standardized using the pollen grains of Mallika and it was found that keeping under refrigerated conditions at 4OC was ambient. In vitro pollen germination were tried by hanging drop technique in different concentrations of sucrose solution with 1% agar and 0.001% boric acid but no germination was observed. The studies on physiological characters of different mango genotypes revealed that the relative water content varied from 19.00% (Ratna) to 35.82% (Neelum), radiation interception varied from 0.68 μ mol m-2 s-2 (Tholikkaipan) to 0.92 m-2 s-2 (Mulgoa), stomatal index varied from 15.59 (Prior) to 22.44 (Mallika), the stomatal frequency ranged from 65.22 to 88.78 (Banganappalli), the variation on stomatal conductance among the mango genotypes was found to be non significant, the stomatal resistance ranged from 5.33 μ mol m-2 s-2 (Dashehari) to 37.92 μ mol m-2 s-2 (Swarnarekha), the photosynthetic rate varied from 7.57 μ mol m-2 s-2 (H 151) to 17.91 μ mol m-2 s-2 (Tholikkaipan), the transpiration rate varied from 1.41 μ mol m-2 s-2 (Vellaikolumban) to 4.15 μ mol m-2 s-2 ( Dashehari), the leaf area index varied from 0.69 ( Dashehari) to 2.07 (Muvandan), and atmospheric pollution tolerance index ranged from 42.07 (Muvandan) to 68.53 (Mallika). The biochemical studies revealed that total phenol content varied from 4.54 mg g-1 to 19.07 mg g-1 (Ratna), soluble protein varied from 8.60 mg g-1 (Prior ) to 20.04 mg g-1 (Muvandan), the ascorbic acid content varied from 63.29 mg g-1 (Swarnarekha) to 97.21 mg g-1 (Ratna), the leaf pH ranged from 5.14 (Muvandan) to 6.45 (PKM 2), the chlorophyll a content varied from 0.82 mg g-1 (Chandrakaran) to 1.31 mg g-1 (Sindhu), the chlrophyll b content ranged from 0.13 mg g-1 (Banganappalli) to 0.26 mg g-1 (Tholikaippan), and the total chlorophyll ranged from 0.99 mg g-1 (Chandrakaran) to 1.48 mg g-1 (H 45). For the study on evaluation of mango genotypes under high density planting the trees of same age group (5 years) were selected. The observation on tree characters indicated that the trunk circumference ranged from 20.51 cm (Prior) to 31.29 cm (Chandrakaran), crown diameter ranged from 2.39 m (Ratna) to 3.09 m (Vellaikolumban). The qualitative data on morphological characters viz., tree, leaf, inflorescence, fruit, stone and seed characters were grouped into clusters based on the IBPGRI descriptor. The observation on leaf characters revealed that the leaf blade length varied from 19.17 cm (Muvandan) to 25.40 cm (Ratna), leaf blade width ranged from 4.84 cm (Muvandan) to 7.68 cm (Vellaikolumban) and leaf petiole length varied from 2.29 cm (Chandrakaran) to 4.18 cm (Vellaikolumban). Based on the inflorescence characters, the inflorescence length varied from 22.14 cm (Prior) to 36.47 cm (Vellaikolumban), the hermaphrodite flowers ranged from 33.40% (Muvandan) to 85.80% (Chandrakaran) and the number of stamens varied from 3 to 4. The observation on fruit characters revealed that the fruit length varied from 7.49 cm (Chandrakaran) to 18.71 cm (Mallika), the fruit diameter ranged from 13.18 cm (Chandrakaran) to 25.25 cm (Mallika), the fruit weight ranged from 8.93 g (Muvandan) to 24.69 g (Mallika), the yield per tree ranged from 8.93 kg/tree (Muvandan) to 24.69 kg/tree (Mallika), and the shelf life of fruits varied from 4 to 6 days. The observations on stone and seed characters revealed that chandrakaran recorded the lowest stone length (5.58 cm), stone width (3.36 cm), stone thickness (1.23 cm), stone weight (17.79 g) and seed length (4.05 cm). The lowest seed width and seed weight was recorded by Prior (3.07cm) and Vellaikolumban (9.44 cm). The highest stone length was recorded by Mallika (11.67 cm), stone width by Ratna (8.67 cm), stone thickness by Vellaikolumban (2.19 cm), stone weight by Mallika (44.33 g) , seed weight by Prior (22.22 g) and seed length and width by Ratna (7.91 cm and 8.47 cm respectively). Based on the analysis on quality attributes on different mango genotyped under high density planting the TSS ranged from 14.78 oBrix (Muvandan), acidity varied from 0.02 % (Mallika) to 0.07 % (Muvandan), ascorbic acid varied from 28.26 mg 100g-1(Vellaikolumban) to 79.68 mg 100g-1 (Chandrakaran), carotenoids ranged from 1.40 mg 100g-1(Vellaikolumban) to 4.80 mg 100g-1(Ratna), and ß carotene ranged from 13.54 mg 100g-1(Vellaikolumban) to 39.93 mg 100g-1(Ratna). The results on sensory evaluation revealed that Ratna recorded the highest rank for colour, flavour, sweetness, texture and taste, whereas Mallika recorded the highest rank for appearance. The pollen studies indicated that the pollen length varied from 24.80 μm (Muvandan) to 44.00 μm (Prior), pollen breadth ranged from 22.62 μm (Muvandan) to 33.35 μm (Chandrakaran), pollen fertility ranged from 59.47% (Prior) to 79.29% (Mallika) and the pollen production ranged from 194.50 (Muvandan) to 306.10 (Vellaikolumban). The studies on physiolological characters showed that the radiation interception ranged from 0.77 μ mol m-2 s-2 (Ratna and Chandrakaran) to 0.61 μ mol m-2 s-2 (Prior), the stomatal index ranged from 17.87 (Mallika) to 21.37 (Ratna), the stomatal frequency varied from 63.73 (Mallika) to 81.40 (Ratna), stomatal conductance ranged from 0.09 μ mol m-2 s-2 (Prior) to 0.19 μ mol m- 2 s-2 (Muvandan), stomatal resistance ranged from 7.31 μ mol m-2 s-2 ( (Muvandan) to 19.79 μ mol m-2 s-2 (Prior), the photosynthetic rate varied from 3.17 μ mol m-2 s-2 (Chandrakaran) to 11.68 μ mol m-2 s-2 (Vellaikolumban), transpiration ranged from 2.44 μ mol m-2 s-2 (Chandrakaran) to 4.19 μ mol m-2 s-2 (Muvandan) and atmospheric pollution tolerance index ranged from 54.42 (Vellaikolumban) to 68.34 (Ratna). The studies on biochemical character revealed that total phenol content varied from 4.81 mg g-1 (Vellaikolumban) to 10.66 mg g-1 (Prior), soluble protein varied from 12.72 mg g-1 (Ratna) to 20.75 mg g-1 (Chandrakaran), ascorbic acid content ranged from 67.74 mg g-1 (Vellaikolumban) to 92.34 mg g-1 (Ratna), leaf pH varied from 5.57 (Ratna) to 6.15 (Muvandan), chlorophyll a content ranged from 1.09 mg g-1 (Muvandan) to 1.29 (Prior), chlorophyll b varied from 0.22 mg g-1 (Muvandan) to 0.29 mg g-1 (Chandrakaran) and total chlorophyll varied from 1.30 mg g-1 (Muvandan) to 1.55 mg g-1 (Prior). Future climate change projection for 2030, 2040 and 2050 based on RCP 4.5 was generated using ECHAM model and the performance of the various genotypes under projected climatic conditions was evaluated using the developed model. Correlation among different meteorological and phenological characters of mango genotypes were done for yield, regression equations were derived and the yield was predicted from the scenario. Three phenophases viz., flower initiation, fruit initiation and fruit maturation were taken for the study. In each phenophase, weather parameter for seven, fifteen and thirty days prior to date of expression were averaged individually for correlation. Sindhu, Vellaikolumban, Prior, Alphonso, Kalepady and Tholikaippan showed an increase in the predicted yield in spite of an increase in temperature in flowering phenophase under normal planting system. The predicted yield increased in spite of a decrease in solar radiation in H 45, Mulgoa and Tholikaippan,. The predicted yield increased in spite of a decrease in rainfall in Dashehari, Neelum and Muvandan. Amrapali, PKM 1, Alphonso, Himayuddin, Swarnarekha and Mulgoa showed an increase in predicted yield in spite of an increase in rainfall. Amrapali, PKM 1, Sindhu, Neelum, Himayyudin, Bennet Alphonso, Kalepady, Muvandan, Tholikaippan, Vellaikolumaban, Banganapalli and Prior, recorded an increase in predicted yield in spite of an increase in temperature in fruit initiation phenophase under normal planting system. The predicted yield increased in spite of a decrease in rainfall in PKM 1, Amrapali, H 151, H 45, Bennet Alphonso, Mulgoa, Tholikkaipan, Chandrakaran and Muvandan. Dashehari showed an increase in predicted yield in spite of an increase in rainfall. H 151, Kalepady and Swarnarekha showed an increase in the predicted yield in spite of an increase in rainfall in fruit maturation phenophase under normal planting system. Based on the performance of genotypes in all three phenophases, H 45 can be recommended for regions with lower rainfall and lower solar radiation among the hybrids under normal planting system, whereas, Amrapali and PKM 1 can be recommended for areas with higher temperature and for both higher and lower rainfall regions. Among the parents of the hybrids, Mulgoa can be recommended for regions with lower solar radiation and for both lower and higher rainfall regions. Among the local types, Tholikaippan can be recommended for the regions with higher temperature, lower rainfall and lower solar radiation. Vellaikolumban, Ratna and Muvandan showed an increase in the predicted yield in spite of an increase in temperature in flowering phenophase under high density planting system. Prior, Chandrakaran, Muvandan, Vellaikolumban, Ratna and Mallika recorded an increase in the predicted yield in spite of an increase in temperature in fruit initiation phenophase under high density planting system. Prior, Chandrakaran, Mallika, Ratna and Muvandan, showed an increase in the yield in spite of an increase in temperature in fruit maturation phenophase under high density planting system, whereas the predicted yield increased in spite of a decrease in rainfall in Mallika, Vellaikolumban and Ratna. Based on the performance of genotypes in all the three phenophases, all studied genotypes can be recommended for higher temperature regions under high density planting system. In conclusion, climate change may have a profound impact on mango genotypes since the flower initiation, fruit initiation and fruit maturation phenophases are strongly influenced by the environment. The projected scenario for 2030, 2040 and 2050 indicate that the temperature will tend to increase and the rainfall will decrease from the present condition leading to altered phenophases which necessitate changes in spectrum and distribution of varieties currently being grown. H 45, PKM 1, Amrapali, Mulgoa and Tholikaippan are the climate resilient genotypes for the normal planting systems and Mallika, Ratna, Muvandan, Vellaikolumban and Prior are the climate resilient genotypes for high density planting systems.ThesisItem Open Access Response of Ascocenda orchid to growth regulator and micronutrients(Department of Floriculture and Landscaping, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 2019) Jesabel George; KAU; Shobhana, AA study entitled ‘Response of Ascocenda orchid to growth regulator and micronutrients’ was carried out at Department of Floriculture and Landscaping, College of Horticulture Vellanikkara, from May 2018 to May 2019. Ascocenda is a monopodial, epiphytic, bigeneric hybrid, which is mainly grown as pot plant in hanging baskets using bricks, charcoal, coconut husk pieces etc. as growing media. The objective of the study was to evaluate the influence of foliar application of different micronutrient treatments on growth and yield of Ascocenda orchid. The experiment was conducted with eleven treatments viz., 0.01% zinc + 150 ppm benzyl adenine + PoP (T1), 0.025% zinc + 150 ppm benzyl adenine + PoP (T2), 0.01% manganese + 150 ppm benzyl adenine + PoP (T3), 0.025% manganese + 150 ppm benzyl adenine + PoP (T4), 0.01% boron + 150 ppm benzyl adenine + PoP (T5), 0.025% boron + 150 ppm benzyl adenine + PoP (T6), 0.01% iron + 150 ppm benzyl adenine + PoP (T7), 0.025% iron + 150 ppm benzyl adenine + PoP (T8), 0.01% molybdenum + 150 ppm benzyl adenine + PoP (T9), 0.025% molybdenum + 150 ppm benzyl adenine + PoP (T10), 150 ppm benzyl adenine + PoP (T11 – control). Three month old tissue cultured plants of Ascocenda var. Big Suksamran were used for the study. The micronutrients were applied at fortnightly intervals and benzyl adenine was applied at monthly intervals. Application of NPK (3:1:1) weekly twice @ 0.2% and cow dung slurry (1:5) at monthly intervals was given to all treatments as per PoP recommendation of KAU. Observations were taken at monthly intervals. The results indicated that foliar application of 0.025% manganese along with 150 ppm BA and recommended dose of NPK (T4) was best for improving plant height. The maximum plant height obtained at 12MAP was 8.86 cm. This was followed by T5 (8.81 cm) and T3 (8.63 cm) which were statistically on par with T4. The maximum shoot diameter was observed in T5 (10.20 mm) at 12 MAP which was on par with T4 and T3 (9.96 mm and 9.84 mm respectively). The treatment T3 was superior in terms of leaf characters like leaf length and leaf area up to 7 MAP and thereafter these parameters were highest in treatment T5. However, there was no significant difference between T5 and T3 in terms of leaf length at 12 MAP (16.70 cm and 16.48 cm respectively). The highest leaf area at 12 MAP was observed in T5 (23.17 cm2) followed by T3 (22.73 cm2). Number of leaves and leaf breadth were found highest with the application of 0.01% boron along with 150 ppm BA and recommended dose of NPK. A maximum of 13.69 leaves were observed in T5 at 12MAP. The maximum leaf breadth observed in T5 after 12 months of planting was 1.52 cm, which was closely followed by T3 and T4 (1.51 cm each), and no significant difference between these three treatments could be noticed. Regarding interval of leaf production, only 4 treatments (T3, T4, T5, and T11) could produce the highest number of eight leaves, within a period of 386 days. Among these, T4 took the shortest period of 337.45 days to produce the 8th leaf. T10 produced only five leaves within a period of 386 days. Among the root parameters, highest root length was observed in T3 (0.01% manganese + POP + 150 ppm BA) at 12 MAP (26.59 cm) whereas the treatment T4 (0.025% Mn + PoP + 150 ppm BA) was superior in terms of number of roots and root diameter. The best treatment with respect to number of roots varied during initial months, even though, from 6 MAP onwards, highest number of roots was observed in T4 with a value of 10.28 at 12 MAP. In the case of root diameter, a highest of 2.91 mm was recorded in T4 at 12 MAP, which was on par with T8 (2.86 mm), T3 (2.84 mm) and T5 (2.82 mm). Among the eleven treatments, T3 (Mn 0.01% + PoP + 150ppm BA), T4 (Mn 0.025% + PoP + 150ppm BA), and T5 (B 0.01% + PoP + 150ppm BA)were found to be best for improving the vegetative characters of Ascocenda orchid, while application of Mo @ 0.025% (T10) at fortnightly intervals was inhibitory to the plants in terms of all the vegetative characters studied. The objective of studying the floral and postharvest characters could not be achieved since the plant did not bloom within the period of study.ThesisItem Open Access Evaluation of propagation techniques and rootstock studies of mango (Mangifera indica L.)(Department of Pomology and Floriculture College of Agriculture, Vellayani, 2019) Reshma, U R; KAU; Simi, SAn investigation entitled “Evaluation of propagation techniques and rootstock studies of mango (Mangifera indica L.)” was carried out during 2016– 2019 at Department of Pomology and Floriculture, College of Agriculture, Vellayani. The investigation aimed to screen local mango varieties/ collections for polyembryony, to study the pre-sowing treatments, sowing positions and age of stone after extraction from fruit on germination of mango stones, to screen local mango varieties for use as dwarfing rootstocks and to study the effect of two propagation methods in three modified environments on three varieties of scions. Out of twenty local mango varieties collected from different parts of Thiruvananthapuram district of Kerala, seventeen were polyembryonic while three were monoembryonic. The mango var. Kappa Manga (T19) recorded the highest germination per cent (73.33 %), germination index (2.41) and seedling vigour index on growth basis (2795.20). The mean germination time (17.50 days) was the least in Vellari Varikka (T18). Kotookonam Varikka recorded the highest per cent polyembryony (65.13 %) and produced the highest number of plantlets per stone (5.00). Microsatellite analysis of all the plantlets from two varieties viz., Kotookonam Varikka and Kochu Kilichundan that exhibited the highest percentage of polyembryony were done using 20 SSR primers and the products were compared with their respective mother plants. All the seedlings obtained from the respective stones had identical SSR profile to the mother plant, which indicated nucellar origin of seedlings having similar genetic composition to the mother plant. The zygotic seedling might have degenerated at very early stage of growth and the remaining nucellar seedlings were all vigorous. To study the effect of pre-sowing treatments, sowing positions and age of stone after extraction from the fruit on germination of mango stones, an experiment was laid out in completely randomized design with 42 treatment combinations replicated thrice. The treatments comprised two sowing positions viz., flat (S1) and stalk end up (S2), three age of stones after extraction from fruit, viz., freshly extracted (A1), 10 days (A2) and 20 days after extraction (A3) and seven pre-sowing treatments viz., 100 ppm GA3 (T1), 200 ppm GA3 (T2), 1 ppm KNO3 (T3), 2 ppm KNO3 (T4), cow dung slurry(T5), water (T6), control [without treatment (T7)] and their combinations. The variety Kotookonam Varikka was utilized for the study. The stalk end up sowing method and freshly extracted stones proved to be the best with respect to germination and vigour of mango seedlings. The stones treated with 200 ppm GA3 required minimum number of days for initiation of germination (22.62 days), 50 % germination (31.78 days), exhibited the highest germination percentage (62.59 %), rate of germination (0.48), vigour index on growth basis (2310.02) and weight basis (657.09). Treatment with 100 ppm GA3 produced the highest seedling length (35.70 cm) and dry weight (10.39 g) at 4 month after sowing (MAS). Interaction effects also indicated that the freshly extracted stones sown by stalk end up method after treatment with 200 ppm GA3 for 24 hours resulted in significantly the highest germination rate (0.74) and the least number of days for initiation of germination (13.00 days). An attempt was made to identify the local mango varieties for use as dwarfing rootstock based on morphological, physiological and anatomical features. The experiment was laid out in completely randomized design (CRD) with ten genotypes replicated thrice. At 4 MAS, the lowest seedling length (29.48 cm) was noticed in Kochu Kilichundan (T4), followed by Unda Varikka (T10) and the highest seedling length (56.11 cm) was in Kappa Manga (T8). Moreover, the germination percentage of Kochu Kilichundan (46.67 %) was on par with all the varieties except Kappa Manga (71.11 %) along with the lowest vigour index-I and vigour index- II was on par with Unda Varikka. However, the least dry matter of seedling (9.66 g) was recorded in Unda Varikka. At 6 MAS, majority of the morphological features were the highest in Kappa Manga. The highest starch content (8.53 %) was estimated to be in Kasthuri (T2). Kochu Kilichundan and Unda Varikka exhibited dwarfism with less plant height (38.77 cm and 40.20 cm respectively), but the former had the least internodal length (3.16 cm). The highest values for number of leaves (23.20), leaf length (12.59 cm), leaf width (4.07 cm) and average leaf area (22.57 cm2) were recorded in Unda Varikka compared to Kochu Kilichundan. However, the highest number of roots (28.53), root length (35.02 cm), dry weight of root (3.10 g), dry weight of shoot (1.46 g) and stomatal density (51.68) were recorded in Kochu Kilichundan while total leaf area of the two varieties were on par. Moreover, Kochu Kilichundan had the highest phenol content in apical bud (60.57 mg/g) and leaves (29.03 mg/g) and bark percentage of root (23.69 %) and shoot (34.02 %) of all the varieties. Membrane stability index, relative water content, transpiration rate and leaf temperature were non-significant. The anatomical studies revealed the highest phloem-xylem ratio both in stem (0.99) and root (1.35) and the least total conduit area of root (6.38 mm2) in Unda Varikka while the least total conduit area of stem (5.42 mm2) was in Kochu Kilichundan, indicating the dwarfing potential of both Kochu Kilichundan and Unda Varikka. To study the effect of propagation methods and modified environments on different varieties of scion, an experiment was laid out in completely randomized design with eighteen treatment combinations replicated thrice. The treatments comprised two propagation methods viz., epicotyl (P1) and softwood grafting (P2), three modified environments viz., climate controlled [fan and pad (M1)], humid chamber (M2) and natural shade [75 % shade (M3)] and three varieties of scions, Kalapady (V1), Neelum (V2) and Kotookonam Varikka (V3) and their combinations. The grafts produced by epicotyl grafting resulted in significantly higher scion length (15.80 cm), had the least number of days for leaf opening (15.07days) , first (12.19 days) and last sprouting (22.02), higher number of grafts sprouted at weekly intervals, higher initial success percentage (83.21 %), graft establishment percentage (72.22 %), number of leaves per graft (15.40), leaf length (15.27 cm), leaf width (3.36 cm), leaf area (41.69 cm2), number of nodes on scion (21.63), internodal length (5.20 cm), number of growth flushes per graft (1.76), lower number of days taken between grafting to first vegetative flush (26.06 days) as well as to second vegetative flush (44.98 days) and higher final survival of grafts (65.19 %). The micro climate controlled by fan and pad system produced most conducive conditions for vegetative growth of mango grafts. Among the different varieties of scions, Kotookonam Varikka recorded the highest girth of rootstock, girth of scion, length of scion, graft height, spread of plant in N-S direction and E-W direction, number of grafts sprouted at weekly intervals, initial success percentage, percentage of graft establishment, leaf width, number of nodes on scion, internodal length, number of growth flushes per graft and the lowest number of days taken between grafting and second vegetative flush. Kalapady recorded the least number of days for first and last sprouting, leaf opening and for first vegetative flushing. The greatest sprout length, number of leaves, leaf length and leaf area were recorded in Neelum. The scion did not influence the final survival of grafts. The treatment combinations had no influence on root length. Interaction effects also confirmed that epicotyl grafting method with Kotookonam Varikka variety as scion under controlled conditions using fan and pad system resulted in grafts with higher scion length (16.80 cm), sprout length (6.05 cm), more number of growth flushes per graft (2.33) and earlier second vegetative flush (40.87 days). Based on the above findings it could be concluded that the highest percentage of polyembryony was in Kotookonam Varikka and microsatellite analysis revealed the nucellar origin of plantlets and confirmed higher vigour of nucellar seedlings over sexual seedling. Stalk end up sowing of freshly extracted stones treated with 200 ppm GA3 for 24 hours recorded better germination and vigour of mango seedlings. The mango variety Kochu Kilichundan and UndaVarikka were identified as promising rootstocks to impart dwarfness and Kochu Kilichundan was superior in most of the morphological and physiological characters. The epicotyl grafts of Kotookonam Varikka under controlled climate by fan and pad system recorded better graft establishment, survival, vegetative and growth parameters.
