progressive horticulture

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get impetus for the nutritional security of our rural mass- es. The main ...... ments involved the application of inorganic fertilizers (urea, SSP and MOP), FYM, vermicompost, biofertilizers and green ...... Amitabh Panda and Dinesh Kumar Singh*.
Print: ISSN-0970-3020

Online: ISSN-2249-5258

PROGRESSIVE HORTICULTURE Volume 49, No. 1 June, 2017

Indian Society of Horticultural Research and Development (ISHRD)

Online available at: www.indianjournals.com | E-mail: [email protected]

INDIAN SOCIETY OF HORTICULTURAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT (ISHRD) Registered under the Societies Registration Act XXI, 1860, was established with a view to promote interdisciplinary research in the field of horticulture and to provide a forum for expressing views on policies and programmes relating to horticultural research and development. Progressive Horticulture, an official scientific publication of ISHRD, is a peer reviewed journal published since the year 1969. Presently the journal is published twice every year, in the month of June & December. Original contributions covering fundamental and applied research relating to various disciplines of horticultural crops, post harvest management, biotechnology, diversification, policy issues, trade, market, case studies and success stories related to horticultural field are considered for publication. Review articles, summarizing the existing state of knowledge in horticultural research, are published by invitation only.

-Executive CommitteePresident R.K. Pathak, Former Director, ICAR-CISH-Lucknow (UP) Vice Presidents B.S. Negi, Director, Horticulture & Food Processing Uttarakhand General Secretary S.S. Singh, GBPUAT, KVK-Dhakrani, Dehradun, (UK) Joint Secretary O.P. Awasthi, ICAR-IARI-New Delhi Editor-in-Chief Sanjai K. Dwivedi, DIBER, DRDO-Haldwani (UK) Associate Editors Sandhya Gupta, ICAR-NBPGR-New Delhi Ajay K. Sharma, ICAR-NRC for Grapes-Pune (MS) Treasurer Prabhat Kumar, IARI-New Delhi Executive Members A.K. Singh, DDG (Hort)-ICAR-New Delhi Nazeer Ahmed, SKUAST-Srinagar (J&K) P.L. Saroj, ICAR-CIAH, Bikaner (Raj) D. B. Singh, ICAR-CITH-Srinagar (J&K) Vikramaditya Pandey, ICAR-New Delhi Biswajit Das, ICAR-Agartala (Tripura)

S.K. Malhotra, Agriculture Commissioner-New Delhi B. Singh, ICAR-IIVR-Varanasi (UP) Shailendra Rajan, ICAR-CISH-Lucknow (UP) Vishal Nath, ICAR-NRC for Litchi-Muzaffarpur (Bihar) R.A. Ram, ICAR-CISH-Lucknow (UP) Mayank Rai, SVVP Univ of Ag & Tech-Meerut (UP)

Editorial Board P. C. Tripathi, IIHR- Banglore (Ktk) Deepa H. Dwivedi, BBA University Lucknow S. L. Chawla, NAU-Navsari (Guj) B.L. Attrey, ICAR-DMR-Solan (HP) Rajnarayan, ICAR-CITH-Mukteshwar (UK) F. U. Khan, SKUAST-Srinagar (J&K) Ashish Yadav-ICAR Sikkim Ratan Kumar, Dte of Horticulture, Uttarakhand(UK)

Ranjan Srivastava, GBPUAT-Pantnagar (UK) I.B. Maurya, AU, Kota Campus-Jhalawar (Raj) T. Parimelazhagan, Bharathiar Univ. Coimbatore (TN) Sudhakar Pandey, ICAR-IIVR, Varanasi (UP) Manivannan, Central University, Gangtok (Sikkim) Ankur Agarwal, DIBER, DRDO- Haldwani (UK) Surabhi Pandey, Dte of Horticulture, Dehradun (UK) Basant Ballabh, DIBER, DRDO, Haldwani (UK)

Category Patron Life membership Annual Membership

Indian (in Rs.) 50,000.00 and above 5,000.00 Upto Dec. 2017 1,000.00 Upto Dec 2017

Overseas (US$) 700.00 200.00

The payments should be made by bank draft in favour of Editor, Progressive Horticulture, payable at SBI, and should be posted to Dr S. S. Singh, Secretary, ISHRD, C/o G.B.P.U.A. T., KVK, Dhakrani, Dehradun (Uttarakhand), or may also be paid in cash to the Secretary, Joint Secretary or Editor-in-Chief in person.

Print: ISSN-0970-3020

Online: ISSN-2249-5258

Progressive Horticulture Vol. 49, No. 1, June, 2017

Indian Society of Horticultural Research and Development (ISHRD)

Directorate of Horticulture, Govt. of Uttarakhand, Circuit House, Dehradun-248142 (Uttarakhand) Online available at: www.indianjournals.com | E-mail: [email protected]

Progressive Horticulture, Vol. 49, No. 1, June 2017 © Copyright ISHRD, Printed in India DOI : 10.5958/2249-5258.2017.00001.X

[Research Article]

Effect of Aloe vera gel coating on quality and shelf life of plum (Prunus salicina) D.B. Singh1 and Nisha Narula2

Central Institute of Post Harvest Engineering and Technology, Abohar, Punjab, India 1 Central Institute of Temperate Horticulture, Srinagar, J & K, India 2 Ch. Devi Lal University, Sirsa. Haryana, India. E-mail: [email protected]

ABSTRACT

An experiment was conducted to observe the effect of different concentrations of Aloe vera gel coatings on quality and shelf life of plum stored at room temperature and refrigerated /cold store. Under both the storage conditions uncoated fruits showed significant increase in weight loss , reduction in colour stability, firmness and quality compositions/standards during the storage (16 days at room temperature and 36 days at low temperature; Plums treated with Aloe vera gel 1:2 ratio significantly reduced weight loss (4.2±0.20%) compared to control (8.7 ±1.8 %) when stored at room temperature and 3.9 ± 0.2 % compared to 7.3 ± 0.2 % in control when stored at low temperature, and also maintained colour, firmness and quality characteristics of fruits. Colour of fruits was also maintained by edible coatings. Aloe vera gel coatings were also found effective to stabilize cell membrane and cell structure. The sensory evaluation for aroma, texture, firmness further confirmed the findings. KEY WORDS: plum, edible coating, Aloe vera gel, storage, quality Plum (Prunus salicina), which belongs to the genus Prunus and family Rosaceae is one of the most important stone fruits of the world and appreciated for its excellent quality. Plums are generally consumed fresh, with the exception of a small quantity used for canning and beverage preparation. Plums with high sugar content, minerals such as K, Na, Ca, Mg, Fe, Zn with firm flesh are dried without the removal of stone and are called prunes (Rozmyslova, 1989). It has very little starch and no sucrose at the immature stage, but during ripening and its concentration exceed the reducing sugar content (Landenhoven et al., 1991). The major organic acid found on plums is mallic and quinic acid, which impart an acidic taste to the fruit. The colour of the fruit is mostly contributed by anthocyanins, which are located in the epidermal layer (Mountounet, 1976). The plum is considered to be a climacteric fruit and during ripening, pectin substances in the cell walls change from an insoluble to a soluble form, resulting in softening of the fruit. The chlorophyll content of the skin decreases and carotenoid content increases. As maturity approaches, these contents decreases to minimum and but increases irreversibly to a maximum during ripening (Cambrink, 1993). At this stage, the fruit is soft and sweet, with a characteristic Online version available at: www.indianjournals.com

flavor and is ideal for eating. Subsequently, senescence sets in, whereupon the respiration rate decreases and the fruit become overripe. The main quality indices are skin colour, which is related to fruit ripening and affected by anthocyanin concentration and sugar – acid ratio at harvest. Both these parameters along with limited keeping quality determine consumer acceptance. Fruit firmness is also an important attribute and is directly related to enhancement of storability potential and induction of storability potential and induction of greater resistance to decay and mechanical damage. Plum fruit deteriorate rapidly after harvest and in some cases do not reach consumers at optical quality after transport and marketing. The main causes of plum deterioration are weight loss, colour change, softening and loss of acidity. Several pre and postharvest technologies have been used to control decay, but the post harvest use of chemicals as fungicide is restricted in most countries and consumers demand agricultural commodities without pesticide residues (Wilcock et al., 2004.). Edible coatings are traditionally used to improve food appearance and quality maintenance and act as barriers during processing, handling and storage and do not solely retard food deterioration and enhance its quality but are safe due to natural

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biocide activity or to the incorporation of antimicrobial compounds (Peterson et al., 1999). Composite coating of polysaccharide lipids are known to increase water barrier efficiency with increased lipid content and in turn more reduction of weight loss could be achieved (ParezGago et al., 2002).Different compounds like wax, milk proteins, cellulose, lipids starch, zeatin, alginate have been used as edible coatings to prevent weight loss and maintain quality during storage of horticultural commodities. (Cha and Chinnan, 2004). Now–a-days, Aloe vera (Aloe barbadensis) is commonly used part of the plant has been processed and used in different products and post harvest industries. Today, the industry is flourishing and the Aloe vera gel is being used in ‘fresh gel juice’ (Rolf, 2004) and there is an increasing interest in the use of Aloe vera gel in the food industry, being used as a source of functional foods in drinks, beverages and ice creams (Moore and MacAnalley, 1995). Thus, the aim of this work is to study the effect of edible coatings of Aloe vera gel on change in fruit texture, colour and physicochemical parameters related to plum fruit quality during cold storage.

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as force required in grams. Cell wall structure of experimental material (control and treated fruits at different stages of storage) was recorded using Olympus Phase Contrast Microscope, Model (C X 31RTS-F). The TSS of fruit juice was measured by using hand held Refractrometer. Titrable acidity (%) and ascorbic acid (mg/100g) of fruit juice was estimated as the methods given by Rangana (1986) and, AOAC (1995). Storage life of coated fruits was recorded up to 16 days at room temperature and 36 days at low temperature. Whereas, sensory analysis to compare the quality of coated and uncoated plum fruits was carried out by 10 trained adults. The panel was trained in a pre test in which plum with extremely low or high attributes (colour, firmness, flavour and visual appearance) were evaluated. For each treatment and sampling date, judges were served with two plum fruits for each lot. Briefly, panelists were instructed to cleanse their mouth with distilled water, chew the plum fruits and evaluate the sample using the binary response of yes or no.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Physiological loss in weight (PLW)

Plums fruits of variety Sutlej Purple were harvested from the Research Orchard of Central Institute of Post Harvest Engineering and Technology, Abohar (Punjab). Fruits of uniform size, colour, free of injuries and, blemishes and with healthy greenish stem were selected and sorted before storing in a cold room at 4±°1 C. About 0.5 kg fruits were analysed for initial properties. The treatments were performed at 20° C by immersing the fruits for 5 minutes in solution of I. Aloe vera gel 1: 1 distilled water, II. Aloe vera gel 1: 2 distilled water, III. Aloe vera gel 1: 3 distilled water and IV. Control (treated in cold distilled water). Following the experiment the plum fruits were air dried randomly divided in to 10 lots of 20 fruits each and stored at low temperature (5±1° C and RH 90-95%) and room temperature (20±1°C). 10 lots of both treated and control were taken out after 4, 8, 12, 16 days in case of storage at room temperature (RT) and 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, 24, 32 and 36 days in case of storage at low temperature (LT). For calculation of physiological loss of weight (PLW), weight of individual lot was recorded following treatments (0 days) at different sampling dates. Cumulative weight losses were expressed as percentage loss of original weight. The colour of the plum fruits was measured using Hunter Lab mini scan XE plus colorimeter (Hunter Associates Laboratory, Virginia, USA, model 45/0-L) indicating L* (luminance), a* (red/green) and b* (yellow/ blue) chromaticity co-ordinates. For each fruit firmness was determined using fruit pressure tester PT011 with 2 mm plunger and average expressed

Physiological loss in weight was significantly less in fruits coated with different Aloe vera gel concentrations (Fig. 1) compared to control (untreated) fruits at both the storage temperatures, however, minimum physiological loss of weight (4.2 ± 0.20%) was recorded in case of TII (1:2 ratio) and maximum in control (8.7 ±0.18%) when stored at room temperature (RT) and (3.9 ±0.20%) compared to maximum (7.3 ±0.18%) in control when stored at low temperature. Aloe vera gel coating of plum fruits inhibited the moisture loss and thereby reduced the physiological loss of weight. The mechanism for these positive effects is based on their hygroscopic properties which enable formation of a barrier to water diffusion between fruit and environment, thus avoiding its external transference (Morillon et al., 2002). Aloe vera gel contains mainly polysaccharides (Ni et el., 2004), and are highly effective as a moisture barrier without lipid incorporation. Reduction in PLW of strawberry fruits due to Aloe vera gel coatings was also reported by MartinezRomero et al. (2006) and Singh et al. (2011).

Firmness Aloe vera gel coating have significantly influenced fruit firmness of plums (Fig. 2). Significant accelerated softening process was observed in control fruits at the end of study when stored at low temperature. Fruit treated with Aloe vera gel coating (1:2 ratios) showed maximum firmness (537 gm/kg) at room temperature compared to control when stored at room temperature

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at 16 days of storage (300gm/kg) and 521 gm/kg compared to control (297 gm/kg)when stored at low temperature at 36 days of storage. Similar results showing retention of firmness in Aloe vera gel coated sweet cherry were reported by Martinez-Romero et al. (2006) and in strawberry by Singh et al. (2011). Higher firmness of plums coated with Aloe vera gel may be due to reduction of PLE in such fruits.

Total soluble solids (TSS) Total soluble solids significantly (P>0.05) increased with storage time for all treatments (Fig. 3) and control as well. The increase was more up to 12 days of storage both at low temperature and room temperature. Among treatments, Aloe vera gel 1:2 was found significantly superior for maintaining the TSS during storage (19.30° Brix) compared to control fruits when stored at room temperature or low temperature. Our studies are in accordance with the studies of Tanada Palmu (2000) on strawberry in which gluten based coatings were used and that of Martinez-Romero (2006) who used Aloe vera gel coatings in strawberry.

Acidity Titrable acidity (TA) decreased significantly during storage for all treatments studied (Fig. 4). The decrease in TA was significantly slow in Aloe vera gel coated fruits as compared to control. Aloe vera gel coating (1:2) retained maximum acidity during storage (2.07 %) compared to control (2.04%) when stored at room temperature or at low temperature. Similar results have also been reported by Tanada Palmu (2005) on strawberry who used gluten based film coating and by Martinez-Romero (2006) and Singh et al. (2011) who used by Aloe vera gel coatings.

Ascorbic acid mg/100 g Ascorbic content of the plum fruits reduced during the storage irrespective of storage conditions and coatings of Aloe vera gel. However, the Aloe vera gel (1:2 ratio) coated plum fruits retained maximum ascorbic acid (10.55 mg/100 g) compared to control (8.18mg/100g) when stored at room temperature or at low temperature. Among storage conditions the rate of decrease in ascorbic acid content was rapid in fruits stored at room temperature (RT) than those stored at low temperature (Fig. 5). Similar results have also been reported by Singh et al. (2011) in strawberry using Aloe vera gel coatings.

Colour values Changes in external colour of the plum were monitored by measuring lightness (L), red colour (a), yellow-

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ness (b) during 16 days of storage at LT (5°C) (Fig 6,7 and 8).The main colour changes were observed for ‘L’, ‘a’ and ‘b’ values which diminished during both cold storage and subsequent at room temperature. However significant differences were found between control and Aloe vera treated fruits (P> 0.05). Both control and Aloe vera gel treated (coated) plum initially showed a decrease in ‘L’ value. Upon subsequent storage Aloe vera gel treated fruits had higher ‘L’ value compared to control. Among different combinations of Aloe vera treatment, T II (1:2 ratio) was found significantly (p>0.05) superior in maintaining the higher ‘L’ values. Similar value showing maximum retention of ,L, and ,a, value of fruits by edible coatings of Aloe vera gel were also reported in strawberry fruits by Singh et al. (2011). However, differences in external colour between coated and uncoated samples during the storage period at RT (20±1°C) were more acute than those reported by other workers (Garcia et al., 1998). Aloe vera gel (1:2 ratios) was noted as superior treatment compared to other formulations of Aloe vera gel coatings. ‘b’ value indicating the vivid colour was noted significantly at lower value for fruits stored at room temperature compared to fruits stored at low temperature.

Sensory evaluation The sensory evaluation of shelf life of plum showed that consumers approved the global appearance, colour and brightness of control on day 1, but they dislike the fruit of control on 36 days in low temperature storage (LT) and Aloe vera treatment fruits because colour appeared red/overripe. From the results of sensory evaluation of shelf life of plum, it can be seen that Aloe vera coated gel significantly (P>0.05) improved the shelf life of plum while maintaining the visual qualities (colour, shape, appearance etc) scoring>6 (Table 1). Edible coatings have long been known to protect perishable food products from deterioration by retarding dehydration, suppressing respiration, improving cell structural and textural qualities, helping retain firmness, volatile flavor compounds and reducing microbial growth (Debeaufort et al., 1998). Studies on cell structure, turgidity and maintenance of firmness taken time to time during storage reveals that coating of the plum fruits with Aloe vera gel were found effective to maintain the cell structure intact (Plate 1 and 2) than control (uncoated). The firming effect can be explained by the formation of cross links between the carboxyl group of polyuronide chains found in the middle lamella of the cell wall; edible coatings also increases cell turgor pressure (Mastrangelo et al., 2000) and stabilizes the cell membrane (Picchioni et al., 1995).

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Progressive Horticulture, 49 (1)

Fig. 1: Effect of Aloe vera gel coatings on PLW (%) of plum fruits stored at different temperatures (*

Fig. 4: Effect of Aloe vera gel coatings on acidity (%) of fruits stored at different temperatures (* Data are

Fig. 2: Effect of Aloe vera gel coatings on firmness of plum fruits stored at different temperatures (*

Fig. 5: Effect of Aloe vera gel coatings on ascorbic acid content fruits stored at different temperatures (*Data are the mean ±SE LT: Low Temperature, RT: Room

Fig. 3: Effect of Aloe vera gel coatings on TSS of the plum fruits stored at different temperatures

Fig. 6: Effect of Aloe vera gel coatings on L value of plum of plum fruits stored at different temperatures (*Data are the mean ±SE LT: Low Temperature, RT:

Data are the mean ±SE LT: Low Temperature, RT: Room Temperature)

Data are the mean ±SE, LT: Low Temperature, RT: Room Temperature)

*Data are the mean ±SE LT: Low Temperature, RT: Room Temperature)

the mean ±SE LT: Low Temperature, RT: Room Temperature)

Temperature

Room Temperature)

Temperature)

Temperature)

Fig. 8: Effect of Aloe vera gel coatings on ‘b’ value of the plum fruits stored at different temperatures (*Data are the mean ±SE, LT: Low Temperature, RT: Room

Plate 1: Cell structure of Aloe vera gel coated fruits stored up to 36 days at low temperature showing cell wall intact 18

27

36

0

9

18

27

36

0

9

18

27

36

0

9

18

27

36

5.9

5.50 7.12 6.90 6.00 5.60 5.00 7.20 6.90 6.30 5.70 5.00 7.60 6.30 5.90 5.50 5.00

7.36 6.66 7.12 7.20 6.90 6.30 5.70 5.00

9

Control

0

7.36 7.00 7.50 7.80 7.50 7.20 7.00 7.00 7.04 7.00 7.50 7.33 7.21 7.18 7.10 7.80 7.50 7.20 7.00 7.00 7.50 7.40 7.25 7.20 7.10

36

Days after storage

Aloe vera gel 1:3

27

Days after storage

7.38 7.20 7.66 7.60 7.60 7.50 7.30 7.20 7.10 7.00 7.66 7.50 7.40 7.30 7.21 7.60 7.60 7.50 7.30 7.20 7.50 7.20 7.29 7.28 7.18

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Days after storage

Over all acceptability

Aloe vera gel 1:2

9

Days after storage

Days after storage

Colour

7.40 6.66 7.40 7.70 7.50 7.30 7.20 7.00 7.50 7.20 7.40 7.21 7.10 7.10 7.00 7.70 7.50 7.30 7.20 7.00 7.60 7.20 7.18 7.15 7.12

0

Firmness

Appearance

Aloe vera gel 1:1

Treatment (Gel: Water)

Taste

Fig. 7: Effect of Aloe vera gel coatings on ‘a’ value of plum fruits stored at different temperatures (*Data are the mean ±SE, LT: Low Temperature, RT: Room

Table 1: Organoleptic evaluation of plum having edible coatings stored at low temperature

Progressive Horticulture, 49 (1) 5

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Mastrangelo, M.M.; Rojas, A.M.; Castro, M.A.; Gerschenson, L.N. and S.M. Alzamora. 2000. Texture and structure of glucose-infused melon. J. Sci. Food Agric., 80: 769-776. Moldao Martins, M.; Beirao-da-Costa, S.M. and Beiraoda-Costa M.L., 2003. The effects of edible coatings on postharvest quality of the ‘Bravo de Esmolfe’ apple. Eur. Food Res. Technol., 7: 325-328.

Plate 2: Cell structure of control (Untreated) fruits stored up to 36 days of storage at low temperature showing loosening of cell wall References AOAC 1995. Official methods of analysis. 16th edn. Association of Official Analyti­cal Chemists, Washington DC. Cambrink, J.C. 1993. Plums and related fruits, Encyclopaedia of Food Science, Food Technology and Nutrition (R. MaCre, R. K. Robinson, and M. J. Sadler, eds.), Academic Press, London. Cha, D.S. and Chinnan, M. 2004. Biopolymer based antimicrobial packaging a review. Crit. Rev. Food. Sci. Nutr., 44: 223-237. Choo, C. 2003. Vital vera. Asia Pacific Food Ind., 15(6): 36-37. Debeaufort, E.; Quezada-Gallo, J.A. and Voilley, A. 1998. Edible films and coatings tomorrow’s packagings: a review. Crit. Rev. Food Sci., 38: 299-313. Garcia, M.A.; Martino, M.N. and Zaritzky, N.E. 1998. Plasticized starch based coatings to improve strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa) quality and stability. J. Agric. Food Chem., 46: 3758-3767. Kittur, F.S.; Saroja, N. and Haibibunnisa Tharanathan, R.N. 2001. Polysaccharide-based composite coating formulations for shelf-life extension of fresh banana and mango. Eur. Food Res. Technol., 213: 306-311. Landenhoven. M.L.;. Kruger, M.; Gouws, F. and M. Faber. 1991. MPC food Composition Tables, 3rd Edition, South African Medical Research Council, Parow, South Africa. Martinez Romero, N.; Alburquerque Valverda, J.M. ; Guillen, S.F. ; Castillo Valero D. and Serrano, M. 2006. Post Harvest Sweet Cherry quality and safety maintenance by Aloe vera treatments: A new edible coating. Post Harvest Biol. and Technol., 39: 93-100.

Moore, E.D. and Macanalley, B.H. 1995. A drink containing mucilaginous polysaccharides and its preparation. US Patent, 5: 443-830. Morillon, V.; F. Debeaufort, F.; Blond, G.; Capelie, M. and Voilley, A. 2002. Factors affecting the moisture permeability of lipid-based edible films: a review. Crit. Rev. Food Sci. Nutr., 42: 67-89. Moutounet, M. 1976. Carotenoids in d’Ente variety plums and in prunes made there from. Ann. Technol. Agr., 25: 73. Ni, Y.; Turner, D.; Yates, K.M. and Tizard, I. 2004. Isolation and charac­terization of structural components of Aloe vera L. leaf pulp. Int. Immunopharmacol, 4: 1745-1755. Paul, S. 2003, Aloe vera. http://wholeleaf.com Perez Gago, M.B.; Rojas, C. and Del Rio, M.A. 2002. Effect of lipid type and amount of edible hydroxypropyl methylcellulose-lipid composite coatings used to protect postharvest quality of Mandarins cv. Fortune. J. Food Sci., 67: 2903-2910. Peterson, K.; Neilson, P.V. ; Lawther, M.; Olson, N.H. and Mortensen, G. 1999. Potential of biobased materials for food packaging. Trends in Food Sci. Technol., 10: 52-68. Picchioni, G.A.; Watada, A.E.; Conway, W.S.; Whitaker, B.D. and C. Sams. 1995. Phospholipid, galactolipid, and steryl lipid composition of apple fruit cortical tissue following postharvest CaCl2 infiltration. Phytochemistry, 39: 763-769. Ranganna, S. 1986. In: Handbook of analysis and quality control for fruit and vegetable products. Tata McGraw-Hill Publ. Co Ltd, New Delhi, pp. 25-126. Rolf C. Zimmerli. 2004. Aloe vera the ancient plant remedy for today’s stressful life style, < http:// wholeleaf. Com> Rozmyslova, A.G. 1989. Chemical composition of Japanese plum fruit in Krasnoderarea, Sbornik Vouchnykh trudov po Prikladnoi Botanika Genetika-iSlelektsii, 123: 90.

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Singh, D.B.; Singh, Rajbir; Kingsly, A.R.P. and Sharma, R.R. 2011. Effect of Aloe vera coatings on fruit quality and storability of strawberry (Fragaria x Ananassa). Indian J. Agr. Science, 81: 407-412. Tanada Palmu, P.S.; Helen, H. and Hyvonen., L. 2000.

Preparation, properties and applications of wheat gluten edible films. Agric. Food Sci. Finland, 9: 23-35. Wilcock, A.P.; Khanona, P.M. and Aung., M. 2004. Consumer attitudes, knowledge and behavior: a review of food safety issues. Trends Food Sci. Technol., 15: 56-66.

Received on 16 September 2015 and accepted on 03 May 2016

Progressive Horticulture, Vol. 49, No. 1, June 2017 © Copyright ISHRD, Printed in India DOI : 10.5958/2249-5258.2017.00002.1

[Research Article]

Enhanced shelf life of Thompson Seedless grapes by application of chitosan Ajay Kumar Sharma*, Ahammed Shabeer T.P., Sandip Hingmire, R.G. Somkuwar, Sharmistha Naik and Pratiksha Kadam ICAR-National Research Centre for Grapes, Manjri Farm PO, Solapur Road, Pune -412307, India *E-mail: [email protected]

ABSTRACT

Shelf life of fruits has important role in attracting consumers. Longer shelf life in grapes results in better returns from the market and gives a chance to make available fruits in distant market also with retaining freshness in the supply chain. Edible coating of berries acts as barriers during processing, handling and storage, retarding deterioration in appearance as well as nutritional values and enhances physical, biochemical and sensory properties. Considering importance of chitosan and its application in fruits and vegetables, present study was carried out.A commercial product contained 10% of chitosan was applied as 2 g/L (T1), 4 g/L (T2) and control (T3), 7 days before harvesting of Thompson Seedless grapes. The stored grapes at 0±2 °C with 93±25 humidity for 15 days (A1) and 30 days (A2) were placed on ambient conditions for a period of 5 days to study the effect on post-harvest quality. Significant differences were noted in TSS content of berries among the levels of chitosan application in comparison to control, initially. The storage duration couldn’t affect TSS and acidity significantly. In case of PLW, fallen and rotten berries, minimum values were recorded in T2 and almost same trend was observed in A1. Interaction data of levels of chitosan with storage of grapes at low temperature for 15 days and 30 days before placing them for study showed significant differences. T2A2 noted lower PLW (8.83%) on 5th day of storage and it was very closely followed by T2A1 (10.48%). However, T2A1 recorded with minimum fallen and rotten berries during the study. On the basis of present study, it may concluded that application of chitosan contained product (10%) @4 g/L before 7 days of grape harvesting and placing these grapes for 15 days at 0 °C found better to improve keeping quality. Key words: Berries, PLW, shelf life, TSS, grape, chitosan Commercial grape production in India is mainly confined in tropical belts of Maharashtra and Karnataka. About 95% of total production comes from these states only. As per an estimate, total grape production in India was 2597 thousand tones from an area of 121 thousand hectareduring 2015-16 (Anonymous, 2016). The consumption behaviour of Indian consumers is entirely different from those in other parts of the world. About 71 per cent of total production is consumed as fresh and nearly 27 per cent is dried for raisin makingwhile rest is utilized for wine and juice purpose. Among the white seedless varieties, Thompson Seedless and its clonal selections are mainly grown in the country. Grape bunches are harvested during January to April in major grape growing areas of country and harvested fresh berries face high temperature and low humidity just after Online version available at: www.indianjournals.com

harvesting. Prevailing conditions during and after harvest conditions, have impact on shelf life of fruits. The grape berries having thin skin, losses water very fast which leads to deterioration in quality in terms of rachis browning, berry shattering, shrinkages on skin and ultimately lower net return from the market. To obtain more return and sending the grapes in distant market within country, extended post harvest life plays an important role and has paramount importance in supply chain of grapes which directly affects return from market and satisfies the consumers also. Many research reports are available on use of edible coatings and films to diminish crop losses and maintain the quality of fresh fruit for a longer period. Many edible coating techniques are being used to extend the

Progressive Horticulture, 49 (1)

shelf life and prolong freshness of fruits by using polyethylene wax emulsion, bee wax, chitosan, and paraffin. Chitosan-based coating was concerned in recent years owing to its non-toxic, biodegradable, and biocompatible properties (Jianglian and Shaoying, 2013).Treated berries showed less weight loss, decay, browning, shattering, and cracking. Total soluble solids (TSS), titratable acidity (TA), and TSS/TA ratio levels were higher in treated fruits; however, there was no significant difference between the fruits treated with 0.5% and 1% chitosan (Shiri et al., 2013). As compared with other polysaccharides, chitosan has several important advantages, including biocompatibility, biodegradability, no toxicity and it has antimicrobial properties. Systemic investigations have been reported on the effects of chitosan on the mechanical properties and barrier characteristic of chitosan based edible coating (Suseno et al., 2014). As chitosan application has been recorded positive effects on shelf life of different fruits and vegetables (Youwei and Yinzhe, 2013), present study was conducted to know the effects of chitosan application on shelf life of Thompson Seedless grape grown under tropical conditions of India.

MATERIALS AND METHODS Present study was conducted at ICAR-NRC for Grapes, Pune during the fruiting season of 2014-15. Thompson Seedless vines grafted on 110R rootstock and spaced at a distance of 8x5 ft,were selected for experimentation. Recommended Good Agricultural Practices were followed to achieve desired crop under Pune conditions. A commercial product having 10% of chitosan was used. Doses of 2 g/L (T1) and 4 g/L (T2) were sprayed one week before harvesting of grapes, and compared with control (T3). Ten vines in each treatment with uniform bunch load were labelled and chitosan was applied. Each treatment was replicated thrice. The grape bunches were harvested at maturity and placed in punnetts separately. The punnetts were placed at 0 ±2 °C temperature and 93±2% humidity for 15 (A1) and 30 (A2) days. After completion of cold storage duration the punnets were placed at ambient conditions (25-30 °C) for 5 days to study various parameters namely Total Soluble Solids (TSS), Acidity, Physiological Loss in Weight (PLW), fallen and rotten berries. Two punnets in each replication were placed for each day study. For recording TSS and Acidity, Oeno Foss (a FTIR based analyzer) was used. The berries were crushed and juice was collected. The juices were centrifuged at 500 rpm for 5 minutes and the TSS and acidity was measured and expressed in °B and per cent, respectively. The weight of bunches were noted from initial to last day of storage. Physiological loss in weight (PLW) was recorded by subtracting final weight from the initial weight of the bunch

9

and then expressed as percent weight loss with reference to the initial weight.

During the storage of bunches at ambient conditions, the dropped and decayed berries were collected every day in punnets and counted. The numbers of these berries were presented. Data were recorded in each day and analyzed by using CRD method of analysis. To observe shrinkage on skin of berries, the pictures were captured by using Olympus microscope BX 51.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Data on changes in TSS and acidity in berries of Thompson Seedless grapes are presented in Table 1. Differences were noted among the levels of chitosan application for recorded parameters like TSS, acidity, PLW, fallen and rotten berries. In case of PLW, fallen and rotten berries, minimum values were recorded in T2 and almost same trend was observed in A1. However, nonsignificant differences were noted for TSS and acidity between A1 and A2. Significant differences were noted in TSS content of berries among the levels of chitosan application in comparison to control, initially. The results of present investigation are in conformity with (Shiri et al., 2013). They also recorded higher levels of TSS and acidity in treated fruits but differences with control were non-significant. More PLW, rotten berries and fallen berries were noted in control (Table 2). The concentrations of TSS and acidity decreased over time during shelf life evaluation, which was consistent with fruit quality decline. The bunches having Chitosan coating delayed the reduction in concentrations of total soluble solids and titratable acidity. Reduced PLW, rotten berries and fallen berries were noted in T1 and T2 in comparison to control. Similar results were noted by (Meng et al., 2008). The reduction in weight loss might be due to the increased temperature, which results in an increase of respiration metabolism of the fruit and loss of water absorbed by the chitosan film on the fruit surface. Effect of coating on preventing the water loss from fruit was related to the composition of film-forming solution and hydrophobe adding was helpful (Butler et al., 1996; Olivas and Barbosa-Ca´novas, 2005). Interaction data of levels of chitosan with storage of grapes at low temperature for 15 days and 30 days before placing them for study, showed superiority of T2A2 (8.83%) in reduction of PLW on 5th day of storage and it was very closely followed by T2A1 (10.48%) (Fig. 3). However, T2A1 recorded with minimum fallen (5.33) and rotten berries (2.33) during the study (Fig. 4 and 5). While maximum fallen (23.00)

Progressive Horticulture, 49 (1)

TSS (°B)

27 T1A1

26

T1A2

25

T2A2

23

T3A1

1 day 2 day 3 day 4 day 5 day

T3A2

T1A1 T1A2 T2A1 T2A2 T3A1 2 day

3 day

4 day

5 day

T3A2

Fig. 3: Dynamics of PLW in grape berries affected by chitosan application

25

T1A1

20

T1A2

15

T2A1

10

T2A2

5

T3A1

0

T2A1

24

14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 1 day

Fallen berries

and rotten berries (15.67) were noted in T3A2. The lesser changes in TSS and acidity content of berries were noted in interaction of chitosan applications with 30 Days storage (Fig. 2 and 3). The extended storage-life of chitosan coated bunches might be due to the formation of a semipermeable layer that regulates gas exchanges, reducing transpiration loss (Shiri et al., 2013). Romanazzi (2010) reported that application of chitosan coating inhibited respiration rates of table grapes. More and deep shrinkages were noted on the skin of berries in control than chitosan treated berries (Fig. 6). The berries without chitosan coating respire higher and faster water loss which results in more and deeper shrinkage on the skin than chitosan treated berries. On the basis of present study, it may concluded that application of chitosan contained product (10%) @4 g/L before 7 days of grape harvesting and keeping for 15 days at 0 °C found better to improve quality and maintain taste. Berries treated with chitosan were fresher than control and found enhanced shelf life of Thompson Seedless grapes.

PLW in %

10

1 day

2 day

3 day

4 day

5 day

T3A2

Fig. 4: Fallen barries in grape bunches as affecetd by chitosan application

Total acidity (%)

0.7 T1A1

0.65

T1A2

0.6

T2A1

0.55

T2A2

0.5

T3A1

0.45 1 day

2 day

3 day

4 day

5 day

No. of rotten berries

Fig. 1: Dynamics of TSS in grape berries affected by chitosan application 20

T1A1

15

T1A2

10

T2A1

5

T2A2 T3A1

0 1 day

2 day

3 day

4 day

5 day

T3A2

T3A2

Fig. 2: Changes in acidity content of grape berries affected by chitosan application

Fig. 5: Number of rotten berries per bunch affeted by chitosan application

Progressive Horticulture, 49 (1)

T2 15 days storage at low temperature

T3

5th day of storage

1st day of storage

T1

11

5th day of storage

1st day of storage

30 days storage at low temperature

Fig. 6: Effect of chitosan application on shrinkages developed on skin of berries during storage

12

Progressive Horticulture, 49 (1)

Table 1: Effect of chitosan application on TSS and acidity in Thompson seedless grapes stored at ambient conditions Treatments A Level of conc. 1 T1 26.12 T2 25.17 T3 25.06 LSD (5%) 1.229 S.E (mean diff. ) ± 0.551 B Storage period A1 25.73 A2 25.16 LSD (5%) NS S.E (mean diff. ) ± 0.450 Interaction of A and B T1A1 26.50 T1A2 25.73 T2A1 25.93 T2A2 24.40 T3A1 24.77 T3A2 25.37 LSD (5%) 1.738 S.E (mean diff. ) ± 0.780

Days (TSS) OB 2 3 4 26.37 25.80 25.63 24.87 24.63 24.28 25.03 24.73 24.43 1.207 1.040 NS 0.542 0.4668 0.545

5 25.38 24.07 24.18 1.174 0.527

1 0.62 0.59 0.57 NS 0.023

2 0.54 0.62 0.55 0.043 0.019

Acidity (%) 3 0.57 0.57 0.54 NS 0.017

4 0.54 0.54 0.54 NS 0.018

5 0.49 0.52 0.52 NS 0.020

25.52 25.32 NS 0.442

25.07 25.04 NS 0.381

24.69 24.88 NS 0.445

24.45 24.63 NS 0.430

0.61 0.57 NS 0.019

0.58 0.56 NS 0.015

0.58 0.54 0.031 0.014

0.55 0.53 NS 0.014

0.51 0.52 NS 0.016

26.07 26.67 25.77 23.97 24.73 25.33 1.708 0.766

25.47 26.13 25.40 23.87 24.33 25.13 1.471 0.660

25.23 26.03 24.90 23.67 23.93 24.93 1.718 0.771

24.97 25.80 24.63 23.50 23.77 24.60 1.661 0.745

0.69 0.54 0.60 0.57 0.55 0.59 0.074 0.033

0.54 0.54 0.69 0.56 0.53 0.58 0.061 0.027

0.61 0.53 0.61 0.53 0.52 0.57 0.054 0.024

0.56 0.52 0.57 0.52 0.51 0.56 0.057 0.025

0.48 0.51 0.54 0.51 0.50 0.54 0.065 0.029

Table 2: Effect of chitosan application on PLW and fallen and rotten berries per bunch Treatments A. Level of conc. 1 T1 2.37 T2 3.12 T3 2.39 LSD (5%) 0.455 S.E (mean diff.) ± 0.204 B. Storage period A1 2.26 A2 2.99 LSD (5%) 0.372 S.E (mean diff.) ± 0.372 Interaction of A and B T1A1 2.07 T1A2 2.67 T2A1 2.56 T2A2 3.70 T3A1 2.16 T3A2 2.63 LSD (5%) 0.644 S.E (mean diff.) ± 0.289

Days PLW (%) 2 3 4 4.47 7.31 9.66 2.77 5.20 7.33 3.33 6.30 8.48 2.079 NS 2.329 0.933 0.985 1.045

5 11.97 9.65 11.29 2.290 1.027

1 0 0 0 0 0

Fallen berries/bunch 2 3 4 5 5.17 7.50 9.33 11.83 3.00 6.17 7.50 9.50 7.50 11.17 14.3 16.50 1.621 2.002 1.655 2.643 0.727 0.898 0.742 1.186

4.11 6.96 8.93 11.18 2.93 5.59 8.06 10.76 NS NS NS NS 0.761 0.804 0.853 0.839

0 0 0 0

1.56 4.44 5.89 7.33 8.89 12.11 14.89 17.89 1.323 1.634 1.351 2.158 0.594 0.733 0.606 0.968

0 0 0 0

1.89 6.22 8.89 6.22 8.78 11.78 14.44 11.78 3.343 1.671 2.587 1.671 1.500 0.750 1.161 0.750

4.78 7.51 9.62 4.16 7.12 9.71 3.51 6.07 8.14 2.03 4.33 6.53 4.05 7.28 9.03 2.61 5.32 7.93 2.940 3.104 NS 1.319 1.393 1.478

0 0 0 0 0 0 0‘ 0

0 10.33 0 6.00 4.67 10.33 2.293 1.029

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0.33 6.00 0.33 7.67 5.00 12.67 5.791 2.599

11.38 12.56 10.48 8.83 11.69 10.90 3.238 1.453

2.67 12.33 3.67 8.67 7.00 15.33 2.831 1.270

4.33 14.33 4.67 10.33 8.67 20.00 2.340 1.050

6.67 17.00 5.33 13.67 10.00 23.00 3.738 1.677

1 0 0 0 0 0

Rotten berries/bunch 2 3 4 5 3.17 8.67 11.67 8.67 4.00 5.50 7.00 5.50 8.83 12.83 16.33 12.8 4.095 2.047 3.168 2.047 1.837 0.918 1.422 0.918

6.33 11.00 2.33 8.67 10.00 15.67 2.895 1.299

9 14.33 3.67 10.33 14.00 18.67 4.480 2.011

6.33 11.00 2.33 8.67 10.00 15.67 2.895 1.299

Progressive Horticulture, 49 (1)

13

References Anonymous 2016. 3rd advance Estimate of Area and Production of Horticulture crops 2015-2016. National Horticulture Board: Area Production Statistics.http:// nhb.gov.in/PDFViwer.aspx?enc=3ZOO8K5CzcdC/ Yq6HcdIxC0U1kZZenFuNVXacDLxz28. Butler, B.L.; Vergano, P.J.; Testin, R.F.; Bunn, J.M. and Wiles, J. L. 1996. Mechanical andbarrier properties of edible chitosan films as affected by composition and storage. J. Food Sci., 61: 953–955. Jianglian, D. and Shaoying, Z. 2013. Application of Chitosan Based Coating in Fruit and Vegetable Preservation: A Review. Food Process Technology, 4: 227. Meng, X.; Li, B.; Liu, J. and Tian, S. 2008. Physiological responses and quality attributes of table grape fruit to chitosan preharvest spray and postharvest coating during storage. Food Chemistry, 106: 501–508.

Olivas, G.I. and Barbosa-Ca´novas, G.V. 2005. Edible coatings for fresh-cut fruits.Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition, 45: 657–670. Romanazzi,G. 2010. Chitosan treatment for the control of postharvest decay of table grapes,strawberries and sweet cherries. Fresh Produce, 4: 111–115. Shiri, M.A.; Bakshi, D.; Ghasemezhad, M.; Dadi, M.; Papachatzis, andKalorizou,S. 2013. Chitosan coating improves the shelf life and postharvest quality of table grape (Vitisvinifera) cultivar Shahroudi. Turk J. Agric. For., 37: 148-156. Suseno, N.; Savitria, E.; Sapei, L. and Padmawijaya,K. S. 2014. Improving shelf-life ofCavendish banana using chitosan edible coating. Procedia Chemistry, 9: 113–120. Youwei,Y. and Yinzhe, R. 2013. Effect of chitosan coating on preserving character of post-harvest fruit and vegetable: A Review. J. Food Process Technol., 4: 254.

Received on 11 June 2015 and accepted on 13 February 2016

Progressive Horticulture, Vol. 49, No. 1, June 2017 © Copyright ISHRD, Printed in India DOI : 10.5958/2249-5258.2017.00003.3

[Research Article]

Nutrient uptake by strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa Duch.) cv. Chandler and weeds under different weed management practices Kirti Jamwal and V.K.Wali

Division of Fruit Science Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agriculture Sciences & Technology, Jammu (J&K), India E-mail: [email protected]

ABSTRACT

Studies were conducted on strawberry employing nineteen weed control treatments. All the weed control measures were effective in reducing the removal of NPK by weeds at harvest which ultimately led to more NPK uptake by fruit due to efficient weed control. Highest NPK uptake by weeds was recorded in weedy check whereas, highest NPK uptake by berries was observed in weed free treatment followed by polythene mulch and oxyfluorfen @ 0.55 kg a.i./ha. KEY WORDS: Strawberry, weeds, oxyfluorfen, napropamide Strawberry is an important fruit crop of temperate and sub-tropical regions of the world. Its cultivation is besieged with several limitations including weed control (Dwivedi, et. al., 2004). Weeds deplete appreciable amount of nutrients and moisture from the soil. Weed competition for nutrients in general and for nitrogen in particular has been reported to be the most serious factor in limiting the crop yield. Fertilizer being costly and one of the major inputs in crop production, warrant their judicious use for obtaining maximum efficiency. Control of weeds can enhance uptake of nutrients by crop by way of checking wasteful removal of nutrients by weeds. The present study was therefore carried out to acquaint with the effect of various weed control practices on nutrient uptake pattern by strawberry and associated weeds.

MATERIALS AND METHODS The present study was conducted in the experimental orchard of the Division of Fruit Science, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Jammu, Udheywalla (J&K) during 2007-08. Nineteen treatments comprising weedy check, weed free, polythene mulch, hand weeding at 15 days interval, oxyfluorfen @ 0.50, 0.55 and 0.60 kg a.i./ha (pre-planting), napropamide @ 4.00, 4.50 and 5.00 kg a.i./ha (postplanting), oxyfluorfen + napropamide @ 0.50 + 4.00, 0.50+4.50, Online version available at: www.indianjournals.com

0.50+5.00, 0.55+4.00, 0.55+4.50, 0.55+5.00, 0.60+4.00, 0.60+4.50, 0.60+5.00 kg a.i ./ha (pre-planting) were tested in Randomized Block Design with three replications. The soil of the experimental field was sandy loam and was neutral in reaction. The available nitrogen was in low range while available phosphorus and potassium were in medium range. Pre-plant herbicidal treatments were given three weeks before planting while post-plant herbicidal treatments were carried out two weeks after planting of runners. Runners were planted with a spacing of 40 cm from row to row and 25 cm from plant to plant. The nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium content in strawberry fruit and weeds at harvest was determined as per the method outlined by Piper (1966). The predominant weed species infesting the crop in experimental field were Cyperus rotundus, Sorghum halpense, Cynodon dactylon, Chenopodium album, Anagalis arvensis, Medicago denticulata, Erodium spp., Vicia sativa, Fumaria parviflora, Rumex spp., Cannabis sativa and Parthenium hysterophorus.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Nutrient uptake by weeds at harvest The data on the nutrient uptake (NPK) by weeds at harvest is presented in Table 1. It is evident from the data that the weedy check plots removed nitrogen (6.96

Progressive Horticulture, 49 (1)

15

Table 1: N, P, K uptake (kg ha-1) by weeds at harvest as influenced by weed control treatments in strawberry cv. Chandler Treatment

Dose (kg ai/ha)

Nitrogen

Phosphorus

Potassium

Weed bio mass at harvest

T1 Oxyfluorfen

0.50

2.39 (4.75)

1.24 (0.55)

2.51 (5.33)

4.76 (21.74)

T2 Oxyfluorfen

0.55

2.17 (3.75)

1.17 (0.38)

2.10 (3.45)

4.19 (16.64)

T3 Oxyfluorfen

0.60

1.98 (2.95)

1.11 (0.24)

2.08 (3.36)

3.68 (12.58)

T4 Napropamide

4.00

3.97 (14.80)

1.67 (1.82)

4.22 (16.88)

8.51 (71.44)

T5 Napropamide

4.50

3.71 (12.81)

1.53 (1.34)

3.79 (13.41)

7.58 (56.56)

T6 Napropamide

5.00

3.38 (10.49)

1.36 (0.87)

3.36 (10.34)

6.68 (43.71)

T7 Oxyfluorfen + Napropamide

0.50+4.00

2.20 (3.90)

1.19 (0.42)

2.34 (4.52)

4.43 (18.64)

T8 Oxyfluorfen + Napropamide

0.50+4.50

2.11 (3.53)

1.15 (0.34)

2.14 (3.60)

4.05 (15.45)

T9 Oxyfluorfen + Napropamide

0.50+5.00

1.94 (2.68)

1.07 (0.14)

2.04 (3.17)

3.80 (13.48)

T10 Oxyfluorfen +Napropamide

0.55+4.00

1.90 (2.80)

1.17 (0.39)

2.10 (3.43)

4.04 (15.34)

T11 Oxyfluorfen + Napropamide

0.55+4.50

1.88 (2.63)

1.16 (0.35)

2.11 (3.46)

3.91 (14.30)

T12 Oxyfluorfen + Napropamide

0.55+5.00

1.89 (2.59)

1.11 (0.23)

1.95 (2.82)

3.56 (11.70)

T13 Oxyfluorfen + Napropamide

0.60+4.00

1.89 (2.60)

1.14 (0.32)

2.08 (3.33)

3.80 (13.45)

T14 Oxyfluorfen + Napropamide

0.60+4.50

1.85 (2.36)

1.10 (0.21)

1.88 (2.54)

3.46 (11. 01)

0.60+5.00

1.55 (1.43)

1.07 (0.14)

1.74 (2.04)

3.05 (8.36)

At 15 days interval

1.82 (2.35)

1.08 (0.17)

1.85 (2.45)

3.43 (10.78)

1.00 (0.00)

1.00 (0.00)

1.00 (0.00)

1.00 (0.00)

T15 Oxyfluorfen + Napropamide T16 Hand Weeding T17 Weed Free T18 Polythene Mulch

1.87 (2.56)

1.10 (0.21)

1.90 (2.62)

3.49 (11.23)

T19 Weedy Check

6.96 (47.48)

2.31 (4.34)

7.67 (51.54)

15.00 (223.99)

S.Em (±)

0.091

0.007

0.030

0.066

CD

0.263

0.019

0.086

0.190

kg/ha), phospuorus (2.31 kg/ha) and potassium (7.67 kg/ha) significantly as compared to other weed control treatments. Among these three nutrients, the nitrogen removal by weed in all weed control treatments ranged from 1 to 3.97 kg/ha where as phosphorus and potassium removal ranged from 1.00 to 1.67 kg/ha and 1 to 4.22 kg/ha, respectively. Besides weed free plots, minimum depletion of the nutrients were recorded in the plots where oxyfluorfen and napropamide @ 0.60+5.00 was applied which was closely followed by the plots where hand weeding was done at 15 days interval. The reduction in the macro-nutrient removal by weeds may be due to efficient control of weed population and reduced dry weight. The control of weeds either with the use of herbicides or mulch help to a varying degree by killing and suppression of weed growth either by interfering in the germination of weed seeds or their growth phase. Hand weeding also effectively checked the weed population through mechanical means. Among the herbicides, napropamide at different levels of concentration when applied alone was ineffective in reducing the nutrient removal as compared to the herbicidal treatment contain-

ing oxyfluorfen alone or in combination with napropamide. In general, it has been concluded that with the increase in concentration of oxyfluorfen applied alone or in combination with napropamide decreased the nutrient removal by weeds significantly. The results obtained are in agreement with Halliday, (1975), Mani et al. (1976), Pillai et al. (1976), Chitkara et al. (1979), Bhan, (1980), Baruah and Sharma, (1990), Singh et al. (1994), Das and Yamdagni, (1998) and Chatha and Chanana, (2007).

Nutrient uptake by fruit at harvest The data on the nutrient uptake by fruit at harvest presented in Table 2 clearly shows that the macro-nutrient levels (NPK) were significantly influenced by different weed control treatments. The fruits obtained from the weed free plots significantly removed nitrogen (32.14 kg/ha), phosphorus (2.91 kg/ha) and potassium (26.05 kg/ha) as compared to the fruits obtained from the weedy check plots where nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium removal was 15.71 kg/ha, 1.16 kg/ha and 12.59 kg/ha, respectively. Besides, the fruits obtained from weed free plots, the nitrogen and the potassium removal

16

Progressive Horticulture, 49 (1)

Table 2: N, P, K uptake (kg ha-1) by fruit at harvest as influenced by weed control treatments in strawberry cv. Chandler Dose (kg ai/ha)

Nitrogen

Phosphorus

Potassium

Yield/plant (g)

T1 Oxyfluorfen

0.50

29.15

2.53

21.93

169.00

T2 Oxyfluorfen

0.55

31.10

2.75

24.80

172.66

T3 Oxyfluorfen

0.60

27.56

2.43

21.44

162.66

T4 Napropamide

4.00

22.88

1.95

17.39

132.00

T5 Napropamide

4.50

21.29

1.93

18.58

137.33

T6 Napropamide

5.00

23.26

1.97

18.47

142.33

T7 Oxyfluorfen + Napropamide

0.50+4.00

26.01

2.43

19.25

152.00

T8 Oxyfluorfen + Napropamide

0.50+4.50

26.71

2.27

20.51

162.66

T9 Oxyfluorfen + Napropamide

0.50+5.00

27.81

2.31

21.39

166.33

T10 Oxyfluorfen +Napropamide

0.55+4.00

25.49

2.36

20.29

157.66

T11 Oxyfluorfen + Napropamide

0.55+4.50

24.61

1.97

19.12

153.66

T12 Oxyfluorfen + Napropamide

0.55+5.00

22.58

1.84

17.79

143.00

T13 Oxyfluorfen + Napropamide

0.60+4.00

24.15

1.80

18.94

150.00

T14 Oxyfluorfen + Napropamide

0.60+4.50

23.69

1.62

18.22

148.33

T15 Oxyfluorfen + Napropamide

0.60+5.00

20.52

1.50

16.63

137.00

At 15 days interval

30.01

2.67

23.65

172.00

T17 Weed Free

32.14

2.91

26.05

182.00

T18 Polythene Mulch

30.64

2.75

25.50

179.33

T19 Weedy Check

15.71

1.16

12.59

106.66

S.Em (±)

0.841

0.015

0.677

1.437

CD

2.422

0.042

1.950

4.137

Treatment

T16 Hand Weeding

was significantly higher under T2 (oxyfluorfen @ 0.55 kg a.i./ha) and T18 (polythene mulch) and were at par with the fruits obtained from weed free plots. Though the phosphorus removal under these treatments was higher but differed significantly from the fruits obtained from weed free plots. The effect of these treatments enhancing the nutrients may be due to the effective control of surface competing vegetation resulting into reduced competition for nutrients and moisture thus resulting in more availability of water supply and ultimately more uptake of nutrients by the strawberry plant. The mulch materials have additional benefit of checking moisture loss through evaporation from the soil. Similar responses have been obtained by Mage, (1982), M-G (1985), Miller and Glenn, (1985), Neilson and Hogue, (1985), Neilson et al. (1986), Bhargava et al. (1987), Ghanta et al. (1993), Singh et al. (1994).

REFERENCES Baruah, K. and Sharma, B.B. 1990. Nutrient status of citrus rootstock seedlings as influenced by various weed

control measures. Indian J. Hort., 47(4): 382-384. Bhan, S. 1980. Studies on chemical weed control in plum (Prunus salicina lindl. cv. Santa rosa) M.Sc. Thesis, Himachal Pradesh Krishi Vishwa Vidayalaya, Palampur (H.P.) Bhargava, J.N.; Sharma, J.P. and Sharma. Y.P. 1987. Effect of herbicides on the nutrient uptake by July Elberta peach trees. Prog. Hort., 19(3&4): 227-230. Chatha, R.P.S. and Chanana, Y.R. 2007. Studies on weed management in young peach orchards. Indian J. Hort., 64(3): 300-303. Chitkara, S.D.; Kamali, A.G. and Khera, A.P. 1979. Studies on the effects of various weed control treatments on nutrient removal by weeds and nutrient status of ‘Perlette’ cultivar of grapes (Vitis vinifera L.). Haryana J. Hort. Sci., 8: 17-20. Das, R.P. and Yamdagni, R. 1998. A note on nutrient removal by weed in the grape nursrery. Haryana J. Hort. Sci., 27(1): 35-36.

Progressive Horticulture, 49 (1)

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Dwivedi, S.K; Kareem, A. and Raut, B. 2004. Introduction and evaluation of strawberry cultivars in cold arid Ladakh. Prog. Hort. 36(2) : 207-210. Ghanta, P.K.; Dhua, R.S. and Mitra, S.K. 1993. Chemical weed control in Papaya (carica papaya L.) orchards. Prog. Hort., 25(1-2): 101-107. Halliday, D.J. 1975. Weed control as a mean of increasing the effectiveness of limited fertilizer resources. Paper presented at the working session II. Proc. of the F.A.I.F.A.C. seminar on optimizing agricultural production under limited availability of fertilizers. The Fertilizer Association of India, New Delhi, pp. 253-265. Mage, F. 1982. Black plastic mulching compared to other soil management methods, Scienti. Hort., 16: 131-136. Mani, V.S.; Gautam, K.C. and Kulshrestha, G. 1976. Weeds of rice and their control. National seminar on control of pests of rice and Jowar. Pesticides Association of India, New Delhi, Oct. 12-13. Miller, S.S. and Glenn, D.M. 1985. Influence of various rates of Ca(NO3)2 fertilizer and soil management on

young apple trees. J. Amer. Soc. Hort. Sci., 110:237-243. Neilson, G.H. and Hogue, E.J. 1985. Effect of orchard soil management on the growth and leaf nutrient concentration of young dwarf Red Delicious apple trees. Canadian J. Soil Sci., 65: 309-315. Neilson, G.H.; Hogue, E.J. and Drought, B.G. 1986. The effect of orchard soil management on soil temperature and apple tree nutrition. Can. J. Soil Sci., 66: 701-711. Pillai, K.G.; Vamadevan, V.K. and Pubhaian, S.V. 1976. Weed problems in rice and possibilities of chemical weed control. Indian J. Weed Sci., 8: 88-87. Piper,C.S. 1966. Soil and Plant Analysis. Hans Publishers, Bombay, pp. 40-51. Singh, H.; Singh, J.S. and Brar, L.S. 1994. Weed control studies in soyabean (Glycine max L. Merrill). Indian J. Weed Sci., 26(3&4): 148-151. Singh, H.; Singh, J.S. and Brar, L.S. 1994. Weed control studies in soyabean (Glycine max L. Merrill). Indian J. Weed Sci., 26(3&4): 148-151.

Received on 14 March 2015 and accepted on 07 January 2016

Progressive Horticulture, Vol. 49, No. 1, June 2017 © Copyright ISHRD, Printed in India DOI : 10.5958/2249-5258.2017.00004.5

[Research Article]

Effect of growth regulators and micronutrients on growth, production and quality of strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa Duch) cv. Winter Dawn Indira Yadav, Jitendra Singh, Prerak Bhatnagar, M.K. Sharma, S.K. Jain, M.C. Jain and I.B. Maurya College of Horticulture and Forestry, Agriculture University, Kota Campus Jhalarapatan, Jhalawar-326 023 (Rajasthan) India E-mail: [email protected]

ABSTRACT

The effect of foliar application of growth regulators and micronutrients on growth, production and quality of Strawberry (Fragaria x ananassaDuch) cv. Winter Dawn under open field condition was studied. The study consist of seventeen treatments, viz., Control (T0), NAA 5 ppm (T1), NAA 10 ppm (T2), NAA 15 ppm (T3), GA3 25 ppm (T4), GA3 50 ppm (T5), GA3 75 ppm (T6), BA 5 ppm (T7), BA 10 ppm (T8), BA 15 ppm (T9), Morphactin 25 ppm (T10), Morphactin 50 ppm (T11), Morphactin 75 ppm (T12), Boric acid 0.2% (T13), Boric acid 0.4% (T14), Zinc sulphate 0.2% (T15) and Zinc sulphate 0.4% (T16). The result of the study showed that foliar spray of T6- (GA3 75 ppm) and T14- (Boric acid 0.4%) after 45 days of transplanting was found superior over all other treatments with respect to growth as well as production parameters and for quality parameters respectively. KEY WORDS: Strawberry, growth regulators and micronutrients, growth, production, quality The cultivated strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa Duch.) is a hybrid of two native American sp; F. chiloensis and F. virginiana. Strawberry is one of the most delicious, attractive, nutritious and refreshing soft fruits of the world. Strawberries are good source of natural anti-oxidant (Heinonen et al., 1998). Lower calorific value, absence of cholesterol and higher level of minerals like phosphorus, potassium, calcium, iron and especially vitamin C (40100 mg/100g), vitamin-B, proteins, further makes strawberry ideal for health conscious consumers. In India, it is mainly grown in Maharashtra and in hills of Himachal Pradesh, J&K and Uttarakhand (Dwivedi, et.al. 2004). There are many factors which influence plant health. PGRS and micronutrients are such type of input factors. Plant growth regulators (PGRS) have proven their role in augmenting yield and quality in many fruits. PGRS are either synthetic or natural compounds that modify plant physiological processes at very minute concentrations. Use of GA3 in strawberry has been reported in early flowering, increased duration of flowering, harvesting and yield. Gibberellins increase growth in most plant species especially in rosette plants (Arteca, 1996). Application of NAA increases fruit size and delays ripening Online version available at: www.indianjournals.com

and increases anthocyanin accumulation in strawberry fruits. It also increases duration of flowering, improves yield and quality of fruits.BA, as a plant growth regulator is used for different purposes in fruit production. It enhances the size and shape of fruits, lateral bud break and lateral shoot growth, leading to improved branching in fruit trees. It influences fruit size and weight by increasing the number of cells per fruit through the stimulation of cell division.Morphactins are a group of substances which act on morphogenesis and modulate the expression of plants. Chemically they are methyl 2chloro-9-hydroxyfluorene-9-carboxylate. In the presence of other natural hormones, morphactins exhibit both synergistic and antagonistic effects. However, the effect depends upon the relative concentrations. Strangely, some morphactins stimulate flowering in certain short day plants. Micronutrients forming constituent part of plant are considered essential for the plants. Proper supply of these nutrients is sure to increase yield and positive effect on crop production. Zinc (Zn) is an essential micro element for plants. It is involved in many enzymatic reactions. For growth and development of plant, zinc is necessary. It is also involved in regulating the protein and carbohydrate metabolism. Boron is a heavy

Progressive Horticulture, 49 (1)

non-metal micronutrient. It is absorbed by plant in the form of boric acid (H3BO3). For translocation of sugar; reproduction of plants and germination of pollen grains boron is necessary. The cultivated strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa Duch.) is a hybrid of two natives American sp; F. chiloensis and F. virginiana. The above explanation clearly highlights the effectivity of PGRS and micronutrients on growth, production and Quality of plants. Hence, it was attempted to quantify their effect on strawberry culture in the present study.

MATERIALS AND METHODS The present studies were carried out at the Department of Fruit Science and the Protected Cultivation Unit, College of Horticulture & Forestry, Jhalrapatan city, Jhalawar (Rajasthan) during the year 2014-15. Raised bed planting system at 60 x 30 cm spacing was adapted to grow the crop. Strawberry prefers slight acidic soil with a pH of 5.8-6.5. The experiment was laid out under RBD design comprising different growth regulators and micronutrients, viz. Control (T0), NAA 5 ppm (T1), NAA 10 ppm (T2), NAA 15 ppm (T3), GA3 25 ppm (T4), GA3 50 ppm (T5), GA3 75 ppm (T6), BA 5 ppm (T7), BA 10 ppm (T8), BA 15 ppm (T9), Morphactin 25 ppm (T10), Morphactin 50 ppm (T11), Morphactin 75 ppm (T12), Boric acid 0.2% (T13), Boric acid 0.4% (T14), Zinc sulphate 0.2% (T15) and Zinc sulphate 0.4% (T16) with three replicates. The planting was done on 18th October 2014. Observations were recorded on growth parameters like plant height (cm) and plant spread (cm) were measured using meter scale; number of leaves per plant by counting entire foliage on the plant; and total chlorophyll content of leaves (mg/g), Production parameters like days taken to first harvest, days taken to final harvest, number of pickings, number of flowers/plant, number of fruits/plant, fruit length (cm), fruit width (cm), fruit weight (g), fruit yield/plant (g), were observed. Quality parameters like TSS (°Brix) was recorded using hand refractrometer and titratable acidity (%), TSS/ acid ratio, vitamin C (mg/g), sugar (%), juice (%) were also recorded. Analysis of variance for individual character was done on the basis of mean values as suggested by Panse and Sukhatme (1967).

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Plant Growth Parameters Data presented in Table 1 revealed that the various plant growth parameters were significantly influenced by different growth regulators and micronutrients. The maximum plant height (40.58 cm), number of leaves (57.09), chlorophyll content of leaves (2.05 mg g-1), plant E-W spread (54.05 cm) and N-S spread (48.33cm) were

19

obtained in treatment T6- GA375 ppm. By and large, the minimum plant height (10.48 cm), number of leaves per plant (31.94), chlorophyll content of leaves (1.75 mg g-1), plant E-W spread (23.44 cm) and N-S spread (23.26 cm) were recorded in treatment T12- Morphactin 75 ppm. Increase in growth parameters (plant height, number of leaves, plant spread, chlorophyll content) following use of GA3 may be due to its effect in cell division and cell enlargement (O’ Neil and Ross, 2002) and these results are in conformity with those of Pathak and Singh (1971), Qureshi et al. (2013), Dwivedi et. al. (2004) and Singh and Tripathi (2010) in strawberry.

Production Parameters Figure1-4 revealed that the plant production parameters were significantly influenced by different growth regulators and micronutrients. GA375 ppm resulted in the first harvest (53.15 days), maximum harvesting duration (96.00 days), number of pickings (34.17), fruit length (4.91 cm), length:diameter ratio (1.92), number of flowers per plant (58.60), number of fruits per plant (44.92) and fruit yield (503.48 g) per plant, whereas, it took more number of days for first harvest (71.00 days), minimum (81.82 days) productive period, minimum number of pickings (18.86), number of flowers per plant (58.60), fruits per plant (44.92) and fruit yield per plant (503.48 g) in treatment T12- Morphactin 75 ppm. Maximum fruit width (4.20 cm) was reported in treatment T14-Boric acid 0.4%, while minimum in T12-Morphactin 75ppm. Maximum fruit weight- fresh weight (28.09 g) as well as dry weight (2.05 g) were found in treatment T16-Zinc sulphate 0.4%, whereas minimum in treatment T12-Morphactin 75 ppm. Minimum days to first harvesting and maximum harvesting period as well as pickings were observed in T6- GA3 75 ppm, might be due to the fact that exogenous application of GA3 application increases the level of endogenous gibberelins and plays an important role in breaking dormancy which ultimately took less days to first harvesting and maximum harvesting period and pickings (Tripathi and Shukla, 2008). Increase in fruit length (cm) and length:diameter ratio following use of GA3 might be due to its effect in cell division and cell elongation. (Richard, 2006). Increase in number of flowers per plant, fruits per plant and fruit yield per plant with the use of GA3 might be due to fact that gibberellic acid causes the production of large number of flowers with rapid elongation of peduncle, leading to full development of flower buds having all reproductive parts functional which increases the fruit set and number of berries per plant. Similar results have been reported by Ozgvuen and Kasaka (1990) and Paroussi et al. (2002). Increment in fruit width (cm) in treatment T14- Boric acid

20

Progressive Horticulture, 49 (1)

Table 1: Effect of growth regulators and micronutrients on plant height, number of leaves per plant, chlorophyll content of leaves and plant E-W and N-Sspread of strawberry (Fragaria×ananassa Duch.) cv. Winter Dawn Treatments

Plant No. of Chlorophyll height leaves/ content of (cm) plant leaves (mg/g)

Plant spread E-W

N-S

T0- Control

16.12

40.42

1.83

30.43 30.03

T1- NAA 5ppm

16.59

41.08

1.81

33.41 36.05

T2- NAA 10ppm

17.15

41.63

1.80

33.03 37.02

T3- NAA 15ppm

21.66

43.18

1.83

38.31 37.64

T4- GA3 25ppm

T6- GA3 75ppm

28.67

45.03

1.86

36.05 37.02

T5- GA3 50ppm

30.24

51.71

1.88

41.47 39.43

40.58

57.09

2.05

54.05 48.33

T7- BA 5ppm

16.17

35.67

1.82

37.29 36.77

T8- BA 10ppm

17.80

41.23

1.81

35.50 36.03

T9- BA 15ppm

20.06

41.16

1.83

30.34 35.94

T10-Morphactin 25ppm

13.94

38.35

1.78

31.16 28.52

T11-Morphactin 50ppm

11.47

33.96

1.77

28.99 27.77

T12-Morphactin 75ppm

10.48

31.94

1.75

23.44 23.26

T13- Boric acid 0.2%

22.11

44.14

1.82

40.42 37.76

T14- Boric acid 0.4%

23.82

46.04

1.83

36.64 40.27

T15- Zinc sulphate 0.2%

23.55

43.46

1.81

31.59 37.71

T16- Zinc sulphate 0.4%

24.69

44.25

1.84

39.14 39.08

CD at 5%

1.53

1.27

0.05

5.43

4.26

SEm±

0.75

0.62

0.02

2.67

2.72

Days taken to first harvest

Days taken to final harvest

Number of pickings

Fruit length (cm)

Length: diameter ratio

5 4 3 2 1 0 T0

T1

T2

T3

T4

T5

T6

T7

T8

T9 T10 T11 T12 T13 T14 T15 T16

Fig. 2: Effect of growth regulators and micronutrients on fruit length, fruit width and length:diameter ratio of strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa Duch.) cv.Winter Dawn Fresh fruit weight (g)

Dry fruit weight (g)

30 25 20 15 10 5 0 T0

T1

T2

T3

T4

T5

T6

T7

T8

T9

T10 T11 T12 T13 T14 T15 T16

Fig. 3: Effect of growth regulators and micronutrients on fresh weight and dry weight of fruit of strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa Duch.) cv. Winter Dawn Number of flowers/ plant

Number of fruits/ plant

Fruit yield/ plant (g)

600 500

120

400

100

300

80

Fruit width (cm)

6

200

60

100

40

0

20

T0

0 T0

T1

T2

T3

T4

T5

T6

T7

T8

T9

T1

T2

T3

T4

T5

T6

T7

T8

T9 T10 T11 T12 T13 T14 T15 T16

T10 T11 T12 T13 T14 T15 T16

Fig. 1: Effect of growth regulators and micronutrients on days taken to first harvest, days taken to final harvest and number of pickings of strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa Duch.) cv. Winter Dawn

Fig. 4: Effect of growth regulators and micronutrients on number of flowers/plant, number of fruits/ plant and fruit yield/plant of strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa Duch.) cv.Winter Dawn

Progressive Horticulture, 49 (1)

21

Table 2: Effect of growth regulators and micronutrients on TSS, titratable acidity, TSS/acid ratio, total sugars and reducing sugars of strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa Duch.) cv. Winter Dawn Treatments T0- Control T1- NAA 5ppm T2- NAA 10ppm T3- NAA 15ppm T4- GA3 25ppm T5- GA3 50ppm T6- GA3 75ppm T7- BA 5ppm T8- BA 10ppm T9- BA 15ppm T10-Morphactin 25ppm T11-Morphactin 50ppm T12-Morphactin 75ppm T13- Boric acid 0.2% T14- Boric acid 0.4% T15- Zinc sulphate 0.2% T16- Zinc sulphate 0.4% CD at 5% SEm±

TSS (°B) 6.34 6.67

Tit. Acidity* (%) TSS/acid ratio 0.77 (5.02) 8.47 0.74 (4.93) 9.03

6.85 6.43 7.09 7.35 6.49 6.51 7.11 7.35 7.32 6.85 7.19 7.31 7.38 7.08 7.30 0.29 0.14

0.71 (4.83) 0.72 (4.86) 0.78 (5.06) 0.75 (4.96) 0.81(5.16) 0.75 (4.96) 0.74 (4.93) 0.75 (4.96) 0.79 (5.10) 0.72 (4.88) 0.80 (5.13) 0.73 (4.90) 0.67 (4.70) 0.75 (4.98) 0.70 (4.80) NS 0.04 (0.09)

* Figures in parentheses indicate arc sine

9.68 9.05 9.14 9.83 7.83 8.69 9.60 9.81 9.32 9.47 8.99 10.04 11.00 9.40 10.43 1.13 0.55

Total sugars* (%) 3.99 (11.50) 4.06 (11.62)

Reducing sugars* (%) 1.98 (8.08) 2.06 (8.25)

4.95 (12.85) 5.35 (13.37) 4.38 (12.07) 5.28 (13.28) 4.13 (11.72) 4.08 (11.65) 4.75 (12.58) 5.01 (12.93) 4.33 (12.00) 4.69 (12.50) 4.22 (11.85) 4.72 (12.55) 5.62 (13.71) 5.08 (13.02) 5.21 (13.19) 0.17 (0.24) 0.08 (0.08)

2.71 (8.46) 2.97 (9.91) 2.36 (8.83) 2.82 (9.66) 2.16 (8.44) 2.15 (8.42) 2.54 (9.17) 2.67 (9.40) 2.29 (8.70) 2.47 (9.03) 2.24 (8.60) 2.53 (8.15) 3.48 (10.75) 2.81 (9.65) 3.06 (10.07) 0.12 (0.21) 0.06 (0.07)

transformed value

Table 3: Effect of growth regulators and micronutrients on juice, Vit.C and anthocyanin content of strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa Duch.) cv. Winter Dawn Treatments T0- Control T1- NAA 5ppm T2- NAA 10ppm T3- NAA 15ppm T4- GA3 25ppm T5- GA3 50ppm T6- GA3 75ppm T7- BA 5ppm T8- BA 10ppm T9- BA 15ppm T10-Morphactin 25ppm T11-Morphactin 50ppm T12-Morphactin 75ppm T13- Boric acid 0.2% T14- Boric acid 0.4% T15- Zinc sulphate 0.2% T16- Zinc sulphate 0.4% CD at 5%

SEm±

Juice *(%) 74.19 (59.44) 87.21 (69.06) 87.60 (69.37) 86.49 (68.41) 85.77 (67.81) 86.79 (68.66) 84.01 (66.41) 77.48 (61.65) 78.02 (62.02) 80.88 (64.04) 72.86 (58.58) 71.40 (57.65) 70.26 (56.93) 84.64 (66.90) 86.16 (68.14) 83.66 (66.14) 90.56 (72.09) 1.45 (1.19)

Vitamin C (mg/100g) 49.79 51.94 52.93 57.49 55.29 52.09 56.08 52.03 53.64 54.41 49.88 49.98 50.91 50.83 52.56 53.54 53.67 0.84

Anthocyanin content (mg/100g) 35.35 37.40 37.39 40.58 37.85 40.82 42.02 40.33 40.41 40.35 39.50 38.80 37.13 40.35 41.34 39.99 41.35 2.41

0.71 (0.41)

0.41

1.18

*Figures in parentheses indicate arc sine transformed value

22

0.4%might be due to its role in plant metabolism (Dixit et al., 2013) in terms of better supply of water, nutrients and other compounds vital for their proper growth and development (Datta and Banik, 2007). Maximum fruit weight- fresh weight as well as dry weight in treatment T16- Zinc sulphate may be due to the fact that zinc has been identified as a component of almost 60 enzymes and it has a role in synthesis of growth promoter hormone (auxin) which may be found directly associated with improvement of fruit weight (Shivanandam et al., 2007).

Quality parameters Data pertaining to various quality parameters are presented in Table 2-3. The results obtained in various treatments differ from each other. The maximum TSS (7.38°B), total (5.62 per cent) and reducing (3.48 per cent) sugar were observed in T14- Boric acid 0.4%. The minimum TSS (6.34°B), total (3.99 per cent) and reducing (1.98 per cent) sugar were recorded in T0-Control. The maximum juice content (90.56 per cent) was noted in treatment T16- Zinc sulphate 0.4% while minimum (70.26 per cent) in T12-Morphactin 75ppm. The maximum vitamin C (57.49 mg100g-1) and sensory score (8.94) was observed in T3- NAA 15ppm while minimum vitamin C (49.79 mg100g-1) and in T0-Control. The maximum decrease in titratable acidity (0.67 per cent) and also TSS/ acid ratio (11.00) were found in T14- Boric acid 0.4%, whereas, minimum decrease in titratable acidity (0.81 per cent) and TSS/acid ratio (7.83) in T6- GA3 75ppm. The maximum anthocyanin content (42.02 mg100g-1) was recorded in T6- GA375ppm, while minimum (35.35 mg100g-1) in T0-Control. Maximum TSS in T14-Boric acid 0.4% might be attributed to rapid mobilization of sugars and other soluble solids to developing fruits (Sarkar et al. 1984). The decrease in acidity in boron treated plants (T14-Boric acid 0.4%) might be due to their better utilization in respiration and rapid metabolic transformation of organic acids into sugars (Brahmahachari et al., 1997).Increase in TSS and decrease in acidity of fruits might result in higher TSS/acid ratio in the influence of T14-Boric acid 0.4%. These results are in conformity with the findings those of Pathak and Mitra (2008). The maximum total and reducing gsugar were recorded in fruits in treatment T14- Boric acid 0.4%. It may be due to fact that boron increases transportation of sugars in plants. The beneficial effect of boron on sugar is corroborated by the finding of Sarkar et al. (1984) in litchi.The maximum vitamin C content in treatment T3- NAA 15ppm was observed by Singh et al. (2002). Higher levels of sugar due to NAA application might be explained behind increase in ascorbic acid content which is synthesized from sugar (Mengel

Progressive Horticulture, 49 (1)

and Kirkby, 1987). Maximum juice content was observed in the treatment T16- Zinc sulphate 0.4%. Increase in juice content due to zinc can be attributed to regulated water relation in plants (Gurjar and Rana, 2014).The maximum anthocyanin content was observed in T6- GA375ppm. Sugar influx into the berry has been considered to be a factor influencing the rate of anthocyanin accumulation. Maintenance of sugar influx in the fruit by GA might had influenced the maximum accumulation of anthocyanin in T6- GA3 75 ppm (Spayd et al., 2002).

REFERENCES Arteca, R.N. 1996. Plant growth substance, principles and applications. Chapman and Hall, New York, USA. Brahmhachari, V.S.; Yadav, G.S. and Naresh, K. 1997. Effect of feeding of calcium, zinc and boron on yield and quality attributes of litchi (Litchi chinensis Sonn.) Orissa J. Hort., 25(1): 49-52. Datta, P. and Banik, A.K. 2007. Effect of foliar feeding of nutrients and plant growth regulators on physicchemical quality of sardar guava grown in red and lateritic tract of West Bengal. Acta Hortic., 735. Dixit, A.; Shaw, S.S. and Pal, V. 2013. Effect of micronutrients and plant growth regulators on fruiting of litchi. HortFlora Research Spectrum, 2(1): 77-80. Dwivedi, S.K.; Kareem, A. and Raut, B. 2004. Introduction and evaluation of strawberry cultivars in cold arid Ladakh. Prog. Hort., 36(2): 207-210. Gurjar, P.S. and Rana, G.S. 2014. Influence of foliar application of nutrients and growth regulator on fruit drop, yield, fruit size and quality in kinnow mandarin. Indian J. Hort., 71(1): 109-111. Heinonen, M.I.; Meyer, A.S. and Frankel, E.N. 1998. Antioxidant activity of berry phenolics on human low-density lipoprotein and liposome oxidation. J. Ag. and Food Chemistry, 46: 4107-4112. Mengel, K. and Kirkby, E.A. 1987. Principles of plant nutrition, International Potash Institute, Berns, Switzerland, pp. 453-461. O’ Neil., D.P. and Ross., J.J. 2002. Regulation of gibberalin pathway in pea. Plant Physiol., 130: 1974-1982. Ozguven, A.I. and Kasaka, N. 1990. The effect of GA3 application on the yield and quality of strawberries grown in high tunnels. I. Summer Planting. Bachu., 19(1-2): 41-52. Panse, V.G. and Sukhantme, P.V. 1967. Statistical Methods for Agricultural Workers. ICAR, New Delhi.

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Paroussi, G.; Voyiatzis, D.G.; Paroussis, E. and Drogoudi, P. D. 2002. Growth, flowering and yield responses to GA3 on strawberry grown under different environmental conditions. Scientia Hort., 96(1/4): 103-113. Pathak, P.K. and Mitra, S.K. 2008. Effect of phosphorus, potassium, sulphur and boron on litchi. Indian J. Hort., 65: 137-140. Pathak, R.K. and Singh, R. 1971. Effect of some external factors on the growth and fruiting of strawberry. II Effect of GA, growth retardants and colching on flowering and yield. Prog. Hort., 3(3): 53-63. Qureshi, K.M.; Chughtai, S.; Qureshi, U.S. and Abbasi, N.A. 2013. Impact of exogenous application of salt and growth regulators on growth and yield of strawberry. Pak. J. Bot., 45(4): 1179-1185. Richard, M. 2006. How to grow big peaches.Dep.of Hort. Virginia Tech. Blacksberg, VA 24061. www.Rce. Rutgers.edu. 8 pages, August. Sarkar, G. K.; Sinha, M. M.; Mishra, R. S. and Srivastava, R. P. 1984. Effect of foliar application of mineral elements on cracking of litchi fruits. Haryana J. Hort. Sci.,

13: 18-21. Shivanandam, V.N.; Pradeep, S.L.; Rajanna, K.M. and Shivappa 2007. Effect of zinc sulphate on growth and yield of mango varieties and hybrids. J. Soil Crops, 17: 225-229. Singh, R.; Godara, N.R. and Ahlawat, V.P. 2002. Qualitative attributes as affected by foliar sprays of nutrients and growth regulators in ber (Zizyphus mauritiana Lamk.) cv. Umran. Haryana J. Hort. Sci., 31: 23-25. Singh, V.K. and Tripathi, V.K. 2010. Efficacy of GA3, boric acid and zinc sulphate on growth, flowering, yield and quality of strawberry cv. Chandler. Prog. Agri., 10(2): 345-348. Spayd, S.E.; Tarara, J.M.; Mee, D.L. and Ferguson, J.C. 2002. Separation of sunlight and temperature effects on the composition of Vitisvinifera cv. Merlot berries. Am. J. Enol. and Vitic., pp. 13-15. Tripathi, V.K. and Shukla, P.K. 2008. Influence of plant bio-regulators and micronutrients on flowering and yield of strawberry cv. Chandler. Annals Hort., 1(1): 45-48.

Received on 22 July 2015 and accepted on 06 April 2016

Progressive Horticulture, Vol. 49, No. 1, June 2017 © Copyright ISHRD, Printed in India DOI : 10.5958/2249-5258.2017.00005.7

[Research Article]

Effect of plant growth regulators and chemicals on seed germination of ker (Capparis decidua L.) and phalsa (Grewia subinaequalis) B.M. Muralidhara, R.S. Singh1 and G.L. Veena

ICAR- Central Institute for Subtropical Horticulture, Rehmankhera, Lucknow (U.P.) 1 ICAR- Central Institute for Arid Horticulture, Bikaner, Rajasthan E-mail : [email protected]

Abstract

Phalsa and Ker commonly propagated through seeds. Cuttings are difficult to root due to the presence of mucilage.The seedling plants of phalsa are fairly true to typem i.e., similar to mother plant, where ker germination and growth of the seedlings is one of the major problem. The investigation was carried by using different growth regulators and chemicals at different concentrations. The significant differences were found among the different treatments for Ker germination. The initiation and 50 per cent of germination was early in 300 ppm GA3 treated seeds (7.2 and 7.8 days, respectively) which is at par with GA3 200 ppm (7.4 and 8.0 days) and GA3 100 ppm (7.6 and 8.4 days) and delayed germination was observed in control (11.80 and 14.2 days). The maximum germination percentage was noticed in the seeds treated with GA3 300 ppm (97.33 %) which was on par with GA3 200 (94.66 %) and GA3 100 ppm (91.99 %) and minimum was in control (64.0 %). The survival per cent of seedlings varies from 22 to 30 per cent. Where as in Phalsa, initiation of germination was observed from 7th day to 11th day and 50 % of germination was completed within 10th day to 15th day. The range of germination varies from 62 to 86 % and Survival per cent of seedlings are 70 to 96 per cent. Key words: Ker, phalsa, seeds, germination and gibberellic acid Ker belongs to the family Capparidaceae is distributed throughout the arid regions of India and other countries. The plant is xerophytic in nature and generally found in dessert area. It is highly drought resistant crop which can survive for long period. The plant is used traditionally as anti-inflammatory, laxative, anti-diabetic, anthelmintic, antibacterial, astringent, digestive, diaphoretic and anodyne. It is reported to possess beneficial effects in various ailments. Phalsa (Grewia asiatica L.) is an indigenous fruit and is commercially cultivated in many states. It belongs to the family Tiliaceae. It is capable of growing under neglected and water scarcity conditions where only a few other crops would survive. It is mostly used as fresh fruit and has cooling effect. The unripe phalsa fruits have alleviate inflammation and are also being administered in respiratory, cardiac, and blood disorders. Phalsa is considered to be antioxidant in nature due to its colored fruit and juice. Phalsa and Ker commonly propagated through seeds. Cuttings are difficult to root due to the presence of mucilage. The seedOnline version available at: www.indianjournals.com

ling plants of phalsa are fairly true to type i.e. similar to mother plant, where ker germination and growth of the seedlings is the major problem. Hence the experiment is formulated to know the effect of different growth regulators and chemicals on germination of Ker and phalsa.

MaterialS and Methods The present study was carried out at ICAR-Central Institute for Arid Horticulture, Bikaner, Rajasthan, under shade net house condition. The experimental design selected was CRD. Fifteen seeds were used for each treatment, which was replicated thrice in two crops.

Ker Fully ripped Ker fruits are harvested and soaked in water for 12 hours for easy extraction of seeds. Seeds are extracted by crushing the fruits by hand. The different growth regulators and chemical solutions are prepared and seeds are soaked in ten different growth regulators

Progressive Horticulture, 49 (1)

25

and chemical treatments such as, GA3 100 ppm, GA3 200 ppm, GA3 300 ppm, KNO3- 1%, KNO3- 2%, KNO3- 5%, Salicylic acid- 100 ppm, Salicylic acid 200 ppm, Hydration, Control (No treatment) for 12 hours and shade dried for 12 hours. Then the seeds are sown in polythene bags containing pot mixture on 20-05-14 and irrigated after sowing. The weight of 45 seeds is around 1.6 g.

Phalsa Fully ripped fruits are harvested and soaked in water for 12 hours for easy extraction of seeds. Seeds are extracted by crushing the fruits by hand. The different treatments such as GA3 100 ppm, KNO3 - 1%, Hydration and Control (No treatment).are imposed for 12 hours. The seeds are sown in polythene bags containing pot mixture on 20-05-14. The weight of 45 seeds is weighed around 1.8 g. They were examined daily for germination counts since the date of sowing. The date of first plumule emergence from the seeds above soil level was recorded and computing the difference between date of sowing and plumule emergence was recorded as a days required for germination The seeds which showed the emergence of Cotyledonous leaves were considered as germinated. After 30 days, the number of seeds germinated in each replication were added and calculated on percentage basis as below (Stephen, 2008). Number of seeds germinated Germination (%) = X 100 Total number of seeds sown The experimental values were analyzed statistically by using completely randomized design (CRD) with three replications of each. Means were compared using WASP (WEB Agri Stat Package ICAR Research Complex Goa) test at 1% level of significance.

Results and Discussion In ker, the data in Table 1 showed that, the significant differences were found among the treatments for germination. The days taken for initiation and 50 per cent germination were very less in seeds treated with GA3 300 ppm (7.2 and 7.8 days, respectively) which is at par with GA3 200 (7.4 and 8 days, respectively) and GA3 100 ppm (7.6 and 8.4 days, respectively). Maximum number of days were taken in control (11.8 and 14.2 days) respectively. The initiation of germination was earlier in GA3 treatments due to the stimulative effect of gibberellins on germination of seeds, it acts on the embryo and causes denova synthesis of hydrolyzing enzymes particularly amylase and protease and this hydrolyzed food is utilized for growth of embryo and thereby enhanced the germination (Paleg, 1965) Similar result was reported by Rodriguez et al. (1985), Chandra and Govind (1990) and Suryakanth et al. (2005) in Guava and which has also been widely reported by (Muralidhara et al., 2014; Rao and Reddy 2005; Shalini et al., 1999; Padma and Reddy, 1998) in mango, (Bankar, 1987) in Karonda and Reddy and Khan (2001) in Khirni. Presowing treatments will help for the suppression of inhibitors present in the seeds which in turn fasten germination process. The highest percentage of germination (97.33 %) was noticed, in seeds which were treated with GA3 300 ppm prior to sowing which was found to be at par with GA3 200 (94.66) and GA3 100 ppm (91.99). whereas, minimum germination percentage was recorded in control (64 %). There is no significant difference for survival percent of seedlings. The increased germination with GA3 might be due to fact that either GA3 involved in the activation of cytological enzymes with GA3 stimulates seed germination of an amylase enzyme which convert insoluble starch into soluble sugars or might have antagonized the effect of inhibitors present in seeds (Kalyani et al., 2014).

Table 1: Effect of presowing seed treatments on germination of ker Ker

Days taken for Initiation of germination

Days taken for Initiation of 50% germination

Germination (%)

Survival (%)

GA3 100 ppm GA3 200 ppm GA3 300 ppm KNO3 1% KNO3 2% KNO3 5% Salicylic acid 100 ppm Salicylic acid 200 ppm Water soaking Control CD (0.01)

7.60 7.40 7.20 8.40 8.40 9.40 9.40 9.40 10.20 11.80 0.88

8.40 8.00 7.80 10.00 9.40 12.40 11.40 10.80 12.60 14.20 1.38

91.99 94.66 97.33 84.00 89.33 81.33 81.33 80.00 81.33 64.00 7.39

29.01 28.19 30.19 27.05 26.92 27.89 27.94 25.14 23.02 22.88 NS

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Progressive Horticulture, 49 (1)

Table 2: Effect of presowing seed treatments on germination of phalsa Phalsa

Days taken for initiation of germination

Days taken for initiation of 50 % germination

Germination %

Survival

9.20

10.80

86.67

84.62

KNO3 1 %

10.20

11.60

82.66

74.23

Hydration

10.80

13.20

78.66

71.21

Control

11.40

15.20

62.66

65.83

CD (0.01)

0.87

0.87

7.02

6.31

GA3 100 ppm

In phalsa, the data (Table 2) showed that, the significant differences were found among the treatments for germination. The days taken for initiation and 50 per cent of germination were very less in seeds treated with GA3 100 ppm (9.2 and 10.8 days, respectively) followed by KNo3 1 per cent (10.2 and 11.6 days respectively. The more number of days were taken in control (11.4 and 15.2 days, respectively). The highest percentage of germination and survival per cent (86.67 and 84.62 % respectively) was noticed, when the seeds were treated with GA3 100 ppm followed by KNO3 1 per cent (82.66 and 74.23 %, respectively). Whereas, minimum germination and survival per cent was recorded in control (62.66 and 65.83 %, respectively).

REFERENCES Bankar, G.J. 1987. A note on influence of gibberellic acid on seed germination and vigour of seedlings in Karonda (Carissa carandas L.). Prog. Hort., 19: 90-92. Chandra, R. and Govind, S. 1990. Gibberellic acid, thiourea, ethrel and acid treatments in relation to seed germination and seedling growth in guava (Psidium guajava L.). Prog. Hort., 22: 40-43. Kalyani, M.; Bharad, S.G. and Polu, Parameshwar 2014. Effect of growth regulators on seed germination in guava. Int. J. Bio. Sci., 5: 81-91. Muralidhara, B.M.; Reddy, Y.T.N.; Akshitha, H.J. and Srilatha, V. 2015. Effect of presowing treatments on germination, growth and vigor of polyembryonic mango seedlings. Env. and Eco., 33(3): 1014-1018.

(%)

Padma, M. and Narayana Reddy, Y., 1998, Effect of presowing treatment of stones and kernels on mango (Mangifera indica L.) germination. J. Res. Angrau., 26(2): 17-21. Paleg, L. 1965. Physiological effects of gibberellins. Annuals Reviews of Plant Physiol., 16: 291-322. Reddy, Y.T.N. and Khan, M.M. 2001, Effect of osmopriming on germination, seedling growth and vigour of khirni (Mimusops hexandra) seeds. Seed Res., 29(1): 24-27. Rodrfquez, N. 1986. Influence of soaking in distilled water, gibberellic acid and erogistim on guava (Psidium guajava) seed germination. Seed Abstract., 9(6): 1779. Pillewan, Shalini; Bagde, T.R. and Bhaisare, Bharti. 1999, Growth of mango (Mangifera indica L.) seedlings as influenced by stone treatment. J. Soils & crops, 9(2): 227-230. Stephen, 2008. http://www.employees. csbsju.edu / ssaupe/index.html Suryakanth, L.B.; Mukunda, G.K. and Raghavendra Prasad, G.C. 2005. Studies on seed germination in guava cvs. Taiwan guava and Allahabad Safeda. Karnataka J. Horti., 1(3): 47-50. Rao, Venkata and Reddy, Y.T.N., 2005. Effect of osmopriming on germination, seedling growth and vigour of mango (Mangifera indica L.) stones. The Karnataka J. Hort., 1(4): 29-35.

Received on 03 June 2015 and accepted on 27 February 2016

Progressive Horticulture, Vol. 49, No. 1, June 2017 © Copyright ISHRD, Printed in India DOI : 10.5958/2249-5258.2017.00006.9

[Research Article]

Standardization of harvesting methods in litchi (Litchi chinensis Sonn.) cv. Bombai A. Sarkar1, C. S. Maiti1 and B. Ghosh2

1. Deptt. of Horticulture, SASRD, Nagaland University, Medziphema Campus, Medziphema-797106, Nagaland 2. B.C.K.V., F/O Horticulture, Deptt. of Pomology, W.B. E-mail: [email protected]

Abstract

Standardization of harvesting methods with different intensity of pruning (non removal of fruiting branch i.e. removal of fruits from the branch only; harvesting of fruits along with the fruiting branch from the base; pruning of 5, 10, 15 and 20 cm branches along with fruiting branch) during harvesting and their effect on flowering and fruiting was studied at the farmer’s field, Beniagram, New Farakka, Murshidabad, West Bengal during 2009. The experiment was conducted in a randomized block design with four replications on 25 years old plant at spacing of 10 m x 10 m. Pruning of 10 cm branches produced the maximum number of primary (1.94) and secondary rachis (19.58) per panicle with more number of hermaphrodite flowers (390.86) and the lowest sex ratio (2.81, M/F) whereas maximum number of flowers (1499.38) per panicle was noted due to 15 cm pruning. Initial (61.80 fruits/panicle) as well as final (20.47 fruits/panicle) fruit set per panicle was found maximum by pruning of 10 cm branches followed by 15 cm branches with 59.73 and 17.51 fruits/panicle, respectively. Pruning of 20 cm branches increased fruit weight (22.06 g), pulp weight (15.96 g) and size (3.94 x 3.53 cm) of fruit. Higher cumulative yield per plant by pruning of 10 cm (91.59 kg) and 15 cm (85.86 kg) branches was noticed as compared non removal of fruiting branch (64.06). From the investigation it was suggested that moderate pruning of 10 to 15 cm branches during harvesting is beneficial to obtain higher yield with quality fruits. KEY WORDS: Litchi, Bombai, pruning, harvesting, yield The litchi (Litchi chinensis Sonn.) is one of the most important evergreen sub-tropical fruit plant of family sapindaceae having excellent fruit quality, pleasant flavour with juicy aril and attractive appearance. In litchi, pruning plays an important role in regulating and controlling growth, flowering and fruiting. Fully grown trees are pruned to maintain the canopy height, spread and density required for easy spraying, fruit thinning and harvesting. However, the main reason of pruning of mature litchi trees is to encourage better fruiting by maintaining a balance between vegetative and reproductive growth and synchronous flowering of the two sexes for better pollination and fruit set. In litchi, pruning is automatically done during harvesting. But there is no scientific information regarding the amount and extent of pruning in litchi required during harvesting. Therefore, the standardization of harvesting methods with different intensity of pruning was conducted in litchi cv. Bombai under this study. Online version available at: www.indianjournals.com

MATERIALS AND METHODS The experiment was carried out at the farmer’s field, Beniagram, New Farakka, Murshidabad, West Bengal during the year 2009. The experiment was conducted in a randomized block design with four replications and six treatments, viz., T1: Non removal of fruiting branch, i.e., removal of fruits from the branch only, ­­­­T2: Harvesting of fruits along with the fruiting branch from the base, T3: Pruning of 5 cm branches along with fruiting branch, T4: Pruning of 10 cm branches along with fruiting branch, T5: Pruning of 15 cm branches along with fruiting branch, T6: Pruning of 20 cm branches along with fruiting branch. The experiment was done on 25 years old plant at spacing of 10 m x 10 m. A nutrient mixture of 100 kg FYM +1000 g N2 + 700 g P2O5 + 1000 g K2O per plant per year were applied in two split doses. Full amount of FYM + P2O5 and half of N­2 and K2O were given after fruit harvest (July). Rest N2 and K2O were applied 15 days after fruit set during March followed by irrigation with ring

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Progressive Horticulture, 49 (1)

and basin method. The plant nutrients were supplied in the form of urea, single super phosphate and muriate of potash. Growth of new shoot, emergence of panicle, flowering details, fruit set, fruit yield and morphological characters of harvested fruit were recorded.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Standardization of harvesting methods with different intensity of pruning during harvesting and their effect on flowering and fruit quality was studied in this experiment. The highest number of new shoots were recorded by pruning of 20 cm branches (2.81) along with fruiting branch followed by pruning of 10 cm branches (2.78) compared with non removal of fruiting branch i.e. removal of fruits from the branch only (1.92) in Table 1. Similar results were obtained by Joubert (1983). He reported that 50 cm of branch along with fruits at harvesting encouraged terminal shoot formation and improved subsequent fruiting. The linear growth of shoot was found to increase steadily from July to October and thereafter, increment in shoot growth was at a slower rate. Control of tree size and manipulation were achieved effectively by 30 cm pruning during harvesting noticed by Oosthuizen et al. (1995). However, in the

present investigation it was found that moderate pruning has some influences on growth compared with no pruning. Production of panicle in the new shoots was recorded maximum by removal of fruiting panicle along with 10 cm branches (66.68%) and the lowest by the plants pruned with non removal of fruiting branches (45.79%). The length and breadth of panicle were also influenced significantly by different pruning treatments. The plants pruned with 10 cm branches during harvesting caused the highest increase in length (34.24 cm) and breadth (16.96 cm) of panicle followed by pruning with 15 cm branches (34.05 cm and 16.84 cm, respectively) in Table 1. All the pruning treatments showed significant increase in the number of primary and secondary rachis per panicle and pruning of 10 cm branches produced the maximum number of primary (1.94) and secondary rachis (19.58) per panicle followed by pruning of 15 cm branches (1.89 and 18.54 respectively) in Table 1. Due to more number of primary and secondary rachis per panicle, the number of flowers per panicle increased and subsequently an increase in yield. 15 cm pruning showed the highest number of flowers (1499.38) per panicle. The number of hermaphrodite flowers (390.86) increased significantly with lowest sex ratio (2.81) due to 10 cm pruning in Table 2. The ratio between stami-

Table 1: Plant morphological characters due to different intensity of pruning in litchi cv. Bombai Treatment T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 T6 S.Em (±) C.D. (P=0.05)

No. of new shoot 1.92 2.11 2.53 2.78 2.47 2.81 0.38 1.09

Panicle emergence(%) 45.79 (42.55)* 54.55 (47.65) 59.82 (50.79) 66.68 (54.92) 60.60 (51.20) 56.19 (48.60) 1.00 2.90

Panicle length (cm) 32.05 31.35 32.53 34.24 34.05 31.71 0.90 2.59

Panicle breadth (cm) 15.63 15.11 16.38 16.96 16.84 15.47 0.69 1.98

No. of primary rachis/panicle 1.40 1.58 1.83 1.94 1.89 1.68 0.17 0.49

No. of secondary rachis/panicle 14.07 15.54 17.79 19.58 18.54 15.16 1.04 2.99

*Angular transformed values in parenthesis

Table 2: Effect of pruning on flowering and fruit set in litchi cv. Bombai Treatment T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 T6 S.Em (±) C.D. (P=0.05)

No. of flowers/ panicle 1296.57 1343.38 1395.61 1488.95 1499.38 1357.82 38.53 111.27

Hermaphrodite flowers 298.18 319.34 345.08 390.86 387.06 330.12 11.88 34.31

*Angular transformed values in parenthesis

Sex ratio (M1+M2) : F 3.35 3.21 3.04 2.81 2.87 3.11 -

Initial fruit set/ panicle 45.59 50.44 55.81 61.80 59.73 54.88 3.38 12.29

Fruits retention %(at harvest) 22.58 (28.29)* 24.64 (29.70) 26.91 (31.21) 33.27 (35.21) 29.54 (32.90) 24.55 (29.62) 0.95 2.75

Fruits/panicle(at harvest) 10.08 12.13 14.82 20.47 17.51 13.28 2.28 7.31

Progressive Horticulture, 49 (1)

29

Table 3: Effect of pruning on yield and physical characters of fruit in litchi cv. Bombai Treatment T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 T6 S.Em (±) C.D. (P=0.05)

Yield/plant (kg) 64.06 70.66 79.15 91.59 85.86 75.95 2.11 6.09

Fruit weight (g) 19.99 20.47 21.01 21.52 21.48 22.06 0.50 1.46

Pulp wt. (g) 14.52 14.91 15.34 15.81 15.76 15.96 0.22 0.64

nate and hermaphrodite flowers reduced considerably at moderate pruning level. Initial fruit set per panicle was also influenced by different pruning treatments and maximum number of initial fruit set (61.80) per panicle was recorded by pruning of 10 cm branches followed by 15 cm branches (59.73 fruits/panicle) while the lowest was recorded from non-removal of fruiting branch, i.e., T1 (45.59 fruits/panicle) in Table 2. The relative abscission pattern at different stages of fruit growth varied significantly in different pruning treatments. The abscission rate was very high at initial stage (upto two weeks after anthesis) and thereafter declined gradually with the advance of fruit growth and development. Similar abscission pattern in litchi cv. Bombai was recorded by Mitra et al. (2005). Pruning of 10 cm branches recorded the lowest abscission rate and subsequently increased the highest retention percentage of harvestable fruits (33.27%) followed by pruning of 15 cm branches (29.54%). Finally, it was observed that pruning of 10 cm branches at harvesting produced the maximum number of fruits (20.47 fruits) per panicle followed by pruning of 15 cm branches (17.51 fruits per panicle) and the lowest (10.08 fruits/ panicle) in non-removal of fruiting branch (T1) in Table 2. These results are also corroborated with the findings obtained by Hasan (1989) who exhibited that different intensity of pruning during harvesting significantly increased flowering as well as fruit set per panicle in the subsequent year as compared to non removal of fruiting branch. Highest yield (91.59 kg fruit) per plant was recorded from the plants pruned with 10 cm branches followed by pruning of 15 cm branches (85.86kg fruits/ plant) compared with non removal of fruiting branch (64.06 kg/plant) in Table 3. Other pruning treatments also gave the positive response in increasing yield. Similar observation was recorded by Roychoudhury and Banik (1993). Fruit weight (22.06g), size (3.94 cm x 3.53 cm) and pulp content (15.96g) were found to increase by pruning of 20 cm branches. And the mean value of pulp/stone ratio (5.96) was the highest in plants pruned with 10 cm branches followed by 15 cm branches (5.87) compared with non-removal of fruiting branch (5.33) in

Pulp/stone ratio 5.33 5.50 5.56 5.96 5.87 5.50 -

Fruit length (cm) 3.59 3.71 3.75 3.86 3.84 3.94 0.12 0.34

Fruit diameter (cm) 3.17 3.28 3.36 3.43 3.42 3.53 0.07 0.19

Table 3. Hasan and Chattopadhyay (1995) and Singh et. al. (2014) have also reported to increase in fruit weight by pruning of 15.24 cm branches along with panicle in different varieties of litchi and moderate to heavy pruning caused maximum increase in length and diameter of fruits. From the results of the present investigation it may be suggested that moderate pruning of 10 to 15 cm branches during harvesting is beneficial to obtain higher yield with quality fruits.

REFERENCES Hasan, M.A. 1989. Studies on the improvement in the methods of litchi (Litchi chinensis Sonn.) production in West Bengal. Ph.D. thesis, Faculty of Agriculture, BCKV, Nadia, West Bengal, India. Hasan, M.A. and Chattopadhyay, P.K. 1995. Effect of pruning on the physico-chemical composition of different litchi cultivars. Environment and Ecology., 13(1): 110-16. Joubert, A.J. 1983. Litchis. G.I. Pruning of litchi trees. En Farming in South Africa. Department of Agriculture, Pretoria. Mitra, S.K.; Pereira, L.S.; Pathak, P.K. and Majumdar, D. 2005. Fruit abscission pattern of lychee cultivars. Acta Hort., 665: 215-18. Oosthuizen, J.H.; Froneman, I.J. and Roe, D.J. 1995. The long term effect of growth regulators and pruning on the size, yield and fruit quality of litchi trees. Yearbook South African Litchi Growers’ Association, 7: 5-10. Roychoudhary, N. and Banik, B.C. 1993. Pruning trial in litchi. All India Co-ordinated Research Project on Subtropical Fruits. Research Reports, ICAR, New Delhi. Singh, S.S; Nath, V. and Dwivedi, S.K. 2014. Production and management techniques in litchi (In hindi). GBPUAT, KVK-Dhakarani, Dehradun (Uttarakhand).

Received on 08 May 2015 and accepted on 23 January 2016

Progressive Horticulture, Vol. 49, No. 1, June 2017 © Copyright ISHRD, Printed in India DOI : 10.5958/2249-5258.2017.00007.0

[Research Article]

Character association and path analysis studies in guava (Psidium guajava L.) for bioactive and antioxidant attributes Dharamjit Kherwar* and K. Usha

Division of Fruits and Horticultural Technology, Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi- 110012, India * E-mail: [email protected]

ABSTRACT

Character association and path analysis in fifty diverse indigenous genotypes of guava were studied during the year 2011 & 2012 for eleven major bioactive and antioxidant compound. The phenotypic and genotypic association of reducing and non reducing sugar was significantly positive with total sugar content, titrable acidity revealed positive and significant association with reducing sugar and ascorbic acid. Lycopene had positive and highly significant correlation with ascorbic acid, acidity and pectin. In path analysis pectin showed the highest positive direct effect (G 0.780, P 0.762) on total antioxidant followed by anthocyanin (G 0.16380, P 0.16438), lycopene (G 0.144, P 0.146), total soluble solid (G 0.136, P 0.138), non reducing sugar (G 0.129, P 0.078) and ascorbic acid (G -0.302, P -0.272), sugar: acid ratio (G 0.272, P -0.242), total sugar (G -0.196, P -0.120), acidity (G -0.020, P -0.013), and reducing sugar (G -0.017, P -0.043) showed negative direct effects on total antioxidant (µmol TE/100 g). Overall the path analysis confined that direct effect of pectin, anthocyanin, lycopene, TSS, non reducing sugar whereas indirect effect of ascorbic acid, sugar: acid ratio, total sugar, acidity, and reducing sugar should be considered simultaneously for amenability in bioactive and antioxidant compounds of guava. Key words: Character association, correlation, direct effect, path analysis, guava Guava, the miracle fruit of waste land with inbuilt hardiness has immense potential to exploitation for the welfare of human beings. Being nutritionally rich, it is rightly called the apple of tropics (Bihari et al., 2009). Guava is indigenous to tropical America, but it is cultivated in all the tropical and subtropical countries of the world. It is a delicious fruit, rich in vitamin C, pectin and several minerals. At present, it is the fifth most important fruit crops in India with annual production of 1.68 million tonnes from 0.19 million hectares, accounting for 4.0 percent of total production (NHB, 2013). On average, the fruit contains 74–87% moisture, 13–26% dry matter, 0.5–1% ash, 0.4–0.7% fat and 0.8–1.5% protein (Chin and Yong, 1980). It is rich in ascorbic acid (vitamin C), at levels far higher than most imported and local fruits. The fruit, in particular the pink flesh cultivar, has a fair amount of vitamin A (beta-carotene), anthocyanin and lycopene. In addition, it also contains a fair amount of phosphorous, calcium, iron, potassium and sodium (Lim and Khoo, 1990). Like other fruits and vegetables, guava is also a rich source of antioxidants and thus can Online version available at: www.indianjournals.com

help to prevent degenerative diseases. The presence of antioxidants in guava has been previously documented (Patthamakanokporn  et al., 2008). Genetic variation and genetic relationship among genotypes is an important consideration for classification, utilization of germplasm resources and breeding (Kumar et al., 2013). Apart from this correlations as well as path coefficient are important tools for the selection of desirable traits and to enhance the beneficial chemical and antioxidant properties of the guava. Path Coefficient and Correlation coefficient measures the degree of mutual relationship between two or more variables and it is also essential for improvement in quality produce of the crop. Once Path coefficient among the characters is analyzed, the further improvement may get impetus for the nutritional security of our rural masses. The main objective for a plant breeder is to evolve guava with high yielding and quality attributes. It is therefore, desirable for plant breeder to know the extent of relationship between various bioactive compounds and its components, which will facilitate selection based on desirable traits (Prasad et al., 2011). Keeping in view

Progressive Horticulture, 49 (1)

the above facts present investigation was undertaken with an objective to analyze and determine the traits having greater interrelationship with bioactive and antioxidant compounds, the correlation and path analysis and to help breeders in improvement of guava quality.

MATERIALS AND METHODS This study was conducted during year 2011 to 2012 on fifty guava genotypes (Allahabad safeda, Lalit, H Sel1, H Sel-2, H Sel-3, H Sel-4, H Sel-5, H Sel-6, H Sel-7, H Sel-8, H Sel-9, H Sel-10, H Sel-11, H Sel-12, H Sel-13, H Sel-14, H Sel-15, H Sel-16, H Sel-17, M Sel-1, M Sel-2, M Sel-3, M Sel-4, M Sel-5, M Sel-6, M Sel-7, M Sel-8, M Sel-9, R Sel-1, R Sel-2, R Sel-3, R Sel-4, R Sel-5, R Sel-6, R Sel-7, R Sel-8, R Sel-9, R Sel-10, R Sel-11, R Sel-12, R Sel-13, R Sel-14, R Sel-15, R Sel-16, R Sel-17, R Sel-18, R Sel-19, R Sel-20, R Sel-21) location and sources from various pockets of India. Randomly collected fruits of guava were brought to labs at temperature of 18+ 2 and relative humidity of 95%. The fruits were squeezed manually under ice, filtered with a sieve and centrifuged for 5 min at 500 g. Chemical parameters, viz., TSS, acidity, total sugar, reducing sugar and non-reducing sugar were analyzed as per standard procedure (AOAC, 1998). Pectin was extracted by following the standard procedure (Ranganna S, 2001). Total antioxidant potential measures in terms of 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and determined according to the method used by (Benzie and Strain, 5) with some modifications. Anthocyanins were determined according to (Shin et al., 2008) with some modifications. Fruit juice was analyzed for lycopene content by a spectrophotometric method adapted by Anthon and Barrett (2001). Genotypic and phenotypic correlations were calculated as per Al-Jibouri et al. (1958) using an ANOVA and covariance matrix in which total variability was split into replications, genotypes, and errors. The genotypic and phenotypic correlation coefficients were used to determine direct and indirect contribution toward total antioxidant potential. The direct and indirect paths were obtained according to the method of Dewey and Lu (1958).

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The phenotypic correlations were normally of genetic and environmental interaction which provided information about the association between the two characters. Genotypic correlation provided a measure of genetic association between the characters and normally used in selection, while environmental as well as genetic architecture of a genotype plays a great role in achieving higher yield combined with better quality. The genotypic and phenotypic correlation for bioactive

31

constituents’ and its components in guava are presented in Table 1 and the only significant correlations are discussed here. The findings clearly indicated that genotypic correlations were of higher magnitude to the corresponding phenotypic ones, thereby establishing strong inherent relationship among the characters studied. The low phenotypic value might be due to appreciable interaction of the genotypes with the environments. The reducing sugar had positive and significant correlation with ascorbic acid at both phenotypic and genotypic level respectively. Non-reducing sugar showed positively highly significant association with reducing sugar however non significant association with ascorbic acid at both genotypic and phenotypic level. Total sugar content showed positive and highly significant correlation with reducing sugar and non reducing sugar but non significant relationship with ascorbic acid. Total soluble solid showed positive non -significant with ascorbic acid and sugar content whereas acidity had positive and significant correlation with reducing sugar and ascorbic acid however positively non significant association with non reducing sugar and total sugar. Sugar: acid ratio had negative and significant correlation with non reducing sugar, highly negative and significant association with ascorbic acid, reducing sugar, total sugar and acidity, however positively non significant relationship with total soluble solid at both genotypic and phenotypic level. Pectin content showed positive and highly significant with ascorbic acid and highly negatively significant association with acidity and sugar: acid ratio at phenotypic and genotypic level. Similar association between traits studied have also been reported by Raghawa and Tiwari (2008), Bihari et al. (2009) and Thimmappaiah et al. (1985) in guava. Among antioxident components lycopene had positive and highly significant correlation with ascorbic acid, acidity and pectin whereas showed negatively significant correlation with TSS and highly significant negatively association with sugar: acid ratio at both genotypic and phenotypic level. The anthocyanin content showed significant and negatively correlation with total soluble solid, sugar: acid ratio however positive and highly significant correlation with ascorbic acid, acidity, lycopene and anthocyanin. The total antioxidant had positive and highly significant correlation with ascorbic acid, acidity, sugar: acid ratio, pectin, lycopene and anthocyanin at both phenotypic and genotypic level. Path coefficient analysis is an important tool for partitioning the correlation coefficients into the direct and indirect effects of independent variables on a dependent variable. With the inclusion of more variables in correlation study, their indirect association becomes more complex. Two characters may show correlation, just because

P 0.016

**

P 0.484

G 0.487**

P 0.644**

**correlation is significant at the 0.01 level

P 0.043

NS

NS

P 0.028

NS

P -0.018

P 0.117NS G 0.028NS

P 0.111NS

G 0.117

NS

P 0.144NS

G 0.144NS

P 0.071NS

G 0.069NS

P -0.220**

G -0.220 **

P 0.140NS

G 0.140NS

P 0.029 NS

G 0.030NS

P 1.000

G 1.000 

Total sugar (g/100 g)

G -0.017NS G 0.043NS

P 0.120NS

NS

G 0.111

NS

G 0.121

G 0.646 **

P 0.141NS

P 0.133NS

P 0.623**

G 0.141NS

P 0.084NS

G 0.133NS

P 0.019NS

P 0.514**

G 0.084NS

P -0.197*

G 0.624**

G 0.020NS

P -0.254**

G 0.518**

P -0.870**

*

G -0.198

**

G -0.255

G -0.874 **

P 0.114NS

P 0.193*

P 0.812**

G 0.115NS

G 0.193*

NS

P 0.066 NS

G 0.015NS

G 0.066NS

P 0.900**

G 0.817**

NS

P - 0.113

G -0.115NS

P 0.143NS P 0.985**

G 0.990**

G 0.907

G 0.143 **

P 1.000

NS

P 0.826**

P 0.117NS

G 1.000 

Non reducing sugar (g/100 g)

G 0.830**

P 1.000  

G 1.000 

Reducing sugar (g/100 g)

G 0.118NS

P 0.193 *

G 0.195*

P 1.000

G 1.000 

Ascorbic acid (mg/100 g)

*Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level,

Total antioxidant (µmol TE/100 g)

Anthocyanin (mg/100 g)

Lycopene (mg/100 g)

Pectin (g/100 g)

Sugar: acid (g/100 g)

Acidity (mg/100 g)

TSS (0Brix)

Total sugar (g/100 g)

Non reducing sugar (g/100 g)

Reducing sugar (g/100 g)

Ascorbic acid (mg/100 g)

Character Acidity (mg/100 g)

P -0.803**

P 0.698**

G 0.701

**

P 0.668**

G 0.670**

P 0.618**

P -0.008

NS

P 0.607

**

G -0.010NS G 0.614**

P -0.208*

G -0.209

*

P -0.224**

G -0.225**

P -0.123NS

Sugar: acid (%)

Pectin (g/100 g)

P 1.000

Lycopene (mg/100 g)

P 0.716**

G 0.720

**

P 0.649**

P 0.915**

G 0.916**

P 1.000

P -0.445

**

P 0.908

**

P 0.694

**

G -0.450** G 0.918** G 0.698**

P -0.510**

G -0.511

**

P -0.514**

G -0.515** G 0.653** G 1.000 

P -0.420**

G -0.422** G 1.000 

P 1.000

G -0.806** G 1.000 

P 1.000

G -0.124NS G 0.624**

P 0.055NS

G 0.057 NS

P -0.142NS

G -0.143NS G 1.000 

P 1.000

G 1.000 

TSS (0Brix)

Table 1: Genotypic and phenotypic correlation among important characters in guava

P 0.743

**

G 0.748**

P 1.000

G 1.000 

Anthocyanin (mg/100 g)

P 1.000

G 1.000 

Total antioxidant (µmol TE/100 g)

32 Progressive Horticulture, 49 (1)

P 0.644** G 0.487** P 0.484**

P0.11775 G0.15000 P 0.15042 G 0.16380 P 0.16438

P -0.075 G 0.094 P 0.094 G 0.144 P 0.146

P 0.470 G -0.329 P -0.320 G 0.780 P 0.762

P -0.013 G 0.220 P 0.194 G -0.272 P -0.242

P -0.002 G 0.003 P 0.002 G -0.020 P -0.013

P 0.002 G 0.004 P 0.004 G 0.136 P 0.138

P -0.118 G -0.196 P -0.120

P 0.078

G -0.002 P -0.005

P -0.176

P -0.006

P -0.170

G -0.195

G -0.002

P -0.001

P -0.140

G -0.188

G 0.000

P 0.011

P 0.237

G -0.156

G 0.004

P -0.008

P -0.221

G 0.264

G -0.003

P -0.003

P 0.031

G -0.247

G -0.001

P -0.038

P -0.039

G 0.035

G -0.015

G -0.043

P -0.035

P -0.032

Residual effect (P) 0.11727

P 0.009

G 0.014

P 0.011

G 0.018

P 0.007

G 0.011

P -0.015

G -0.026

P 0.009

G 0.015

P 0.001

G 0.002

P 0.076

G 0.128

P -0.014

G -0.023

P -0.017

G -0.028

P -0.008

G -0.014

P 0.026

G 0.043

P -0.017

G -0.028

P -0.004

G -0.006

P -0.029

G -0.029

P -0.031

G -0.031

P -0.017

G -0.017

P 0.008

G 0.008

P -0.020

G -0.020

G 0.002

P -0.009

G -0.014

P -0.008

G -0.014

P -0.008

G -0.013

P 0.010

G 0.016

G -0.003

P -0.001

G -0.002

P 0.124

G 0.139

P 0.124

G 0.140

P 0.102

G 0.115

G -0.015

P 0.053

G 0.060

P 0.048

G 0.054

P 0.062

P 0.546

G 0.562

P 0.494

G 0.509

G 0.486

P -0.093

G -0.097

P 0.054

G 0.054

P 0.064

G 0.066

P 0.015

P 0.133

G 0.132

G -0.074

P 0.097

G 0.096

P -0.033

G -0.032

P 0.021

G 0.021

P 0.021

G 0.020

P 0.019

G 0.019

P 0.091

G0.11797

P-0.08386

G -0.08374

P 0.11467

G 0.11479

P -0.03425

G -0.03427

P 0.01928

G 0.01923

P 0.01818

G 0.01819

P 0.01970

G 0.01974

P 0.10587

G 0.646**

P 0.623**

G 0.624**

P 0.514**

G 0.518**

P -0.870**

G -0.874**

P 0.812**

G 0.817**

P - 0.113NS

G -0.115NS

P 0.143NS

G 0.143NS

P 0.117NS

G 0.118NS

P 0.193*

G 0.195*

G -0.194

P -0.002

G 0.016

P 0.391

G 0.10581

G 0.129

G -0.014

G -0.036

P 0.009

G 0.069

P 0.211

G 0.090

P -0.108

G -0.004

P -0.010

G 0.404

P 0.064

G 0.009

P -0.016

G 0.238

P -0.043

G -0.178

P -0.017

G -0.017

P -0.053

Genotypic correlation with TA (µmol TE/100 g)

G 0.107

Anthocyanin (mg/100 g)

G -0.017

Lycopene (mg/100 g)

G -0.059

Pectin (g/100 g)

P 0.009

G -0.016

Sugar: acid (g/100 g)

P -0.008

G -0.028

Acidity (mg/100 g)

P -0.272

G 0.015

TSS (0Brix)

G -0.003

Total sugar (g/100 g)

G -0.302

Non reducing sugar (g/100 g)

Reducing sugar (g/100 g)

Ascorbic acid (mg/100 g)

Residual effect (G) 0.09960

Anthocyanin (mg/100 g)

Lycopene (mg/100 g)

Pectin (g/100 g)

Sugar: acid (g/100 g)

Acidity (mg/100 g)

TSS (0Brix)

Total sugar (g/100 g)

Non reducing sugar (g/100 g)

Reducing sugar (g/100 g)

Ascorbic acid (mg/100 g)

Character

Table 2: Direct and indirect effects of different yield attributes on fruit yield of guava

Progressive Horticulture, 49 (1) 33

34

they are correlated with a common third one. In such circumstances, path coefficient analysis provides an effective means of a critical examination of specific forces action to produce a given correlation and measure the relative importance of each factor. In this analysis, total antioxidant was taken as dependent variable and the rest of the characters were considered as independable variables. The path coefficient analysis, which splits total correlation coefficient of different characters into direct and indirect effects on total antioxidant in such a manner that the sum of direct and indirect effects is equal to total genotypic correlation (Table 2). The data revealed that pectin content showed the highest positive direct effect (G 0.780, P 0.762) on total antioxidant followed by anthocyanin (G 0.16380, P 0.16438), lycopene (G 0.144, P 0.146), total soluble solid (G 0.136, P 0.138), non reducing sugar (G 0.129, P 0.078) and ascorbic acid (G -0.302, P -0.272), sugar: acid ratio (G 0.272, P -0.242), total sugar (G -0.196, P -0.120), acidity (G -0.020, P -0.013), and reducing sugar (G -0.017, P -0.043) showed negative direct effects on total antioxidant (µmol TE/100 g). Whereas, the sum of direct and indirect effects of total soluble solid (G 0.817**, P 0.812**) showed positive effect on total antioxidant. Ascorbic acid showed positive indirect effect on total antioxidant via non reducing sugar (G 0.015, P 0.009), sugar: acid ratio (G 0.238, P 0.211), pectin (G 0.404, P 0.391), lycopene (G 0.090, P 0.091) and anthocyanin (G 0.10581, P 0.10587) however negative indirect effect through reducing sugar (G-0.003, P-0.008), total sugar (G-0.028, P-0.017), TSS (G-0.016, P-0.017) and acidity (G-0.17, P-0.10). Reducing sugar exhibited positive indirect effect on total antioxidant via non reducing sugar (G 0.107, P 0.064), TSS (G 0.009, P 0.009), sugar: acid ratio (G 0.069, P 0.062), pectin (G 0.016, P 0.015), lycopene (G 0.019, P 0.019) and anthocyanin (G 0.01974, P 0.01970) however negative indirect effect through ascorbic acid (G -0.059, P -0.053), total sugar (G -0.178, P -0.108) and acidity (G -0.004, P -0.002). Non reducing sugar exhibited positive indirect effect on total antioxidant through TSS (G 0.002, P 0.002), sugar: acid ratio (G 0.054, P 0.048), pectin (G 0.066, P 0.064), lycopene (G 0.020, P 0.021) and anthocyanin (G 0.01819, P 0.01818) and negative indirect effect via ascorbic acid (G -0.036, P -0.032), reducing sugar (G -0.014, P -0.035), total sugar (G -0.194, P -0.118) and acidity (G -0.002, P -0.001). Total sugar had positive indirect effect on total antioxidant through non reducing sugar (G 0.128, P 0.076), TSS (G 0.004, P 0.004), sugar: acid ratio (G 0.060, P 0.053), pectin (G 0.054, P 0.054), lycopene (G 0.021, P 0.021) and anthocyanin (G 0.01923, P 0.01928) and negative indirect effect via ascorbic acid (G -0.043, P -0.039), reducing sugar (G -0.015, P -0.038) and acidity (G -0.003, P -0.002). TSS showed positive indirect via ascorbic acid

Progressive Horticulture, 49 (1)

(G 0.035, P 0.031), non reducing sugar (G 0.002, P 0.001) and acidity (G 0.003, P 0.002), whereas negative indirect effect through reducing sugar (G -0.001, P -0.003), total sugar (G -0.006, P -0.004), sugar: acid ratio (G -0.015, P -0.013), pectin (G -0.097, P -0.093), lycopene (G -0.032, P -0.033) and anthocyanin (G -0.03427, P -0.03425). Acidity showed positive indirect effect on total antioxidant via non reducing sugar (G 0.015, P 0.009), sugar: acid ratio (G 0.220, P 0.194), pectin (G 0.486, P 0.470), lycopene (G 0.096, P 0.097), anthocyanin (G 0.11479, P 0.11467) however negative indirect effect via ascorbic acid (G -0.247, P -0.221), reducing sugar (G -0.003, P -0.008), total sugar (G -0.028, P -0.017) and TSS (G -0.020, P -0.020). Sugar: acid ratio had positive indirect effect via ascorbic acid (G 0.264, P 0.237), reducing sugar (G 0.004, P 0.011), total sugar (G 0.043, P 0.026) , TSS (G 0.008, P 0.008) and acidity (G 0.016, P 0.010), whereas negative indirect effect via non reducing sugar (G -0.026, P -0.015), pectin (G -0.329, P -0.320), lycopene (G -0.074, P -0.075) and anthocyanin (G -0.08374, P-0.08386) on total antioxidant. Pectin showed positive indirect effect on total antioxidant via Reducing sugar (G 0.000, P -0.001), Non reducing sugar (G 0.011, P 0.007), Sugar: acid ratio (G 0.115, P 0.102), Lycopene (G 0.094, P 0.094), Anthocyanin (G0.11797, P0.11775) however negative indirect effect through ascorbic acid (G -0.156, P -0.140), total sugar (G -0.014, P -0.008) , total soluble solid (G -0.017, P -0.017), and Acidity (G -0.013, P -0.008). Lycopene showed positive indirect via non reducing sugar (G 0.018, P 0.011), sugar: acid ratio (G 0.140, P 0.124), pectin(G 0.509, P 0.494) and anthocyanin (G0.15000, P 0.15042), whereas negative indirect effect through ascorbic acid (G -0.188, P -0.170), reducing sugar (G -0.002, P -0.006), total sugar (G -0.028, P -0.017), TSS (G -0.031, P -0.031) and acidity (G -0.014, P -0.008). anthocyanin had positive indirect effect via non reducing sugar (G 0.014, P 0.009), sugar: acid ratio (G 0.139, P 0.124), pectin (G 0.562, P 0.546) , and lycopene (G 0.132, P 0.133), whereas negative indirect effect via ascorbic acid (G -0.195, P -0.176), reducing sugar (G -0.002, P -0.005), total sugar (G -0.023, P -0.014), TSS (G -0.029, P -0.029) and acidity (G -0.014, P -0.009) on total antioxidant. Path analysis revealed high direct contribution of non reducing sugar, total soluble solid, sugar: acid ratio, pectin, lycopene and anthocyanin on total antioxidant. In present investigation lycopene, anthocyanin, acidity, sugar: acid, TSS and pectin showed high positive and direct effect had significant positive correlation with total antioxidant. Therefore, the fruits with higher lycopene, anthocyanin, acidity, sugar: acid, TSS and pectin should be considered in selection criteria for increasing fruit quality and total antioxidant contents and more emphasis should be given to selecting genotypes with high lycopene, and anthocyanin. Overall the path analysis confined that positive direct effect of pectin, anthocyan-

Progressive Horticulture, 49 (1)

35

in, lycopene, total soluble solid, non reducing sugar and negative direct effect of ascorbic acid, sugar: acid ratio, total sugar, acidity and reducing sugar whereas indirect effect of ascorbic acid, reducing sugar, total sugar and acidity should be considered simultaneously for amenability in fruit’s total antioxidant content of guava. The unexplained variation in genotypic and phenotypic path coefficient was 0.0996 and 0.117, respectively. It predicted that 0.9004 and 0.883 per cent variation at genotypic and phenotypic level had been determined and further indicated that some more factors not considered in this study contributed to total antioxidant content in fruit. Therefore, some more traits may be considered while selecting the genotypes for increasing total antioxidant in guava fruit.

REFERENCES Al-Jibouri.; Miller, P.A. and Robinson, H.F. 1958. Genotypic and environmental variation and co-variance of upland cotton crop interspecific origin. Agron. J. 50: 530-533. Anthon, G. and Barrett, D.M. 2001. Lycopene content of Californiagrown tomato varieties. Acta Hort., 542: 165–173. A.O.A.C. 1998. Official Methods of Analysis. 14th edn, Association of Official AgriculturalChemists, Washington, DC. Bihari, M.; Narayan, S. and Pandey, A.K. 2009. Path coefficient and correlation studies in guava crop (Psidium guajava L.). Prog. Hort., 41: 107-109. Chin, H.F. and Yong, H.S. 1980. Malaysian fruits in colour. Kuala Lumpur: Tropical Press, Malaysia. Dewey, D.R. and Lu, K.H. 1959. A correlation and path coefficient analysis of components of crested wheat grass seed production. Agron. J., 14: 210- 55.

Kumar, M.; Parthiban, S.; Saraladevi, D. and Ponnuswami, V. 2013. Genetic diversity analysis of acid lime (Citrus aurantifolia Swingle) cultivars. The Bioscan., 8: 481-484. Lim, T.K. and Khoo, K.C. 1990. Guava in Malaysia: Production, pests and diseases. Kuala Lumpur: Tropical Press, Malaysia. NHB. 2013. National Horticulture Board (NHB), Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India. Web: http:// nhb.gov.in/ Patthamakanokporn, O.; Puwastien, P.; Nitithamyong, A. and Sirichakwal, P.P. 2008. Changes of antioxidant activity and total phenolic compounds during storage of selected fruits, J. Food Composition Anal., 21: 241–248. Prasad, Y.; Kumar, K. and Mishra, S.B. 2011. Studies on genetic parameters and inter-relationships among yield and yield contributing traits in Pigeonpea [Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp.]. The Bioscan., 8:207-211. Raghava, M. and Tiwari, J.P. 2008. Genetic variability and correlation analysis in guava, Indian J. Hort., 65: 263-270. Ranganna, S. 2001. Proximate constituents. In: Handbook of Analysis and Quality Control for Fruit and Vegetable Products (2nd edn.), Tata McGraw-Hill, New Delhi, India, pp. 12–17. Shin, Y.; Ryu, J.A.; Liu, R.H.; Nock, J.F. and Watkins, C.B. 2008. Harvest maturity, storage temperature and relative humidity affect fruit quality, antioxidant contents and activity, and inhibition of cell proliferation of strawberry fruit. Postharvest Biol. Technol., 49: 201–209. Thimmappaiah, Yadav, I.S. and Suman, C.L. 1985. Genetic variability and association analysis in guava. Indian J. Agri. Sci., 55: 679-82.

Received on 23 August 2015 and accepted on 10 May 2016

Progressive Horticulture, Vol. 49, No. 1, June 2017 © Copyright ISHRD, Printed in India DOI : 10.5958/2249-5258.2017.00008.2

[Research Article]

Maintenance of quality attributes of cold stored Patharnakh pear through post-harvest application of antioxidant (Diphenylamine) Sumanjit Kaur* and W.S. Dhillon

Fruit Research Station, Gangian, Dasuya, Punjab Horticulture Post Harvest Technology Centre, PAU campus, Ludhiana, (Punjab) India E-mail: [email protected] *

ABSTRACT

An investigation was carried out to observe the effects of antioxidant (diphenylamine) on cold storage behavior of Patharnakh pear. Fruits were harvested at proper maturity and treated with diphenylamine (0.05%, 0.1% and 0.15%) and were then stored in cold storage at 1-3oC temperature with 90-95% relative humidity (RH) for 45, 60, 75 and 90 days. After every storage interval, fruits were subjected to physical and biochemical analysis. Physiological loss in weight (PLW), spoilage percentage, core browning, total soluble solids (TSS) and reducing sugars increased with increase in storage time, while firmness and organoleptic rating decreased. Pear cv. treated diphenylamine (0.15%) had low rate of physiological loss in weight, spoilage losses, core browning and fruit colour degradation. Higher concentration of antioxidant (diphenylamine) also maintained higher fruit firmness, total soluble solids, reducing sugars and acidity throughout storage period. Key words : Patharnakh, pear, storage, diphenylamine, antioxidant Pear fruits are climacteric in nature and are very delicious and juicy fruit and is consumed fresh, cooked, dried or preserved. It is a rich source of proteins and minerals like calcium, iron and vitamin A, B and C. A variety of products like jam, jelly, nectar, RTS, squash and murabha can be made from pear. As any other fruits pears are perishable in nature. During harvest season there is glut in market leading to low rates as well as spoilage. Phased selling of produce is possible with aid of suitable storage treatments. It holds back the produce when there is glut and prices are unfavourable in the market. After harvesting, the mature fruits undergo a series of metabolic processes, which lead the fruit towards ripening. The tissue continues to respire and transpire during these metabolic processes, and looses a significant quantity of moisture and other chemical ingredients. Softening of tissue is another significant feature occurring during the storage of pear fruits, which is brought about by the changes in cell wall composition, which accompany the softening of fruit apparently results from the action of enzymes produced by the fruit. During storage, changes in physiological characteristics, viz., PLW, spoilage, decrease in fruit firmness and organoleptic ratOnline version available at: www.indianjournals.com

ing are the common one but core browning is the major problem, which affects the quality of pear fruits. Core browning may be due to the oxidative stress, which is an undesirable consequence for any aerobic organism. These reactions are mediated by reactive oxygen species such as superoxide radicals and hydrogen peroxide (Kondo et al., 2002). Antioxidants scavenge free radicals by inhibiting reaction within cells brought about by di-oxygen and peroxide molecules. Diphenylamine (DPA) and ethoxyquin are the antioxidants which are being practiced in many countries since 1960 as Smock (1957) reported that DPA has been used commercially as pre-storage dips, but little work has been done in India. DPA not only helpful in reducing weight loss, spoilage losses and core browning but also maintain fruit firmness, fruit colour and organoleptic rating. Post-harvest application of DPA 0.15% yielded the fruits with highest flesh firmness throughout the storage period (Mahajan and Chopra, 1995). DPA significantly inhibit the incidence of internal browning (IB) and flesh browning (FB) in apple fruits stored in air after two months of storage as compared to

Progressive Horticulture, 49 (1)

1-MCP. Therefore, an attempt has been made to study the effect of antioxidant (DPA) on quality attributes of pear cv. Patharmakh.

MATERIALS AND METHODS Fruits of pear cv. Patharnakh were harvested on 1st August during 2006 and 2007 from New Orchard, Department of Horticulture in collaboration with PHPTC, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana. Disease free fruits of uniform shape and size were sorted out and dipped in diphenylamine at three concentrations (0.05%, 0.1% and 0.15%) for 5 minutes and water dip was given to control fruits. Treatments were replicated thrice employing RBD Factorial Design. Two Kg of fruits for each replication were packed in Corrugated Fiber Board (CFB) cartons and these cartons were placed in cold store at 1-30C and 90-95 per cent relative humidity (RH). After 45, 60, 75 and 90 days of storage interval fruits were taken out for physical and biochemical observations. Physiological loss in weight (PLW), spoilage and core browning were calculated on per cent basis. Organoleptic rating was evaluated by a panel of five judges on basis of Hedonic scale (1-9 points) keeping in view the grittiness and palatability rating. The scale is as follows: extremely desirable (9), Very much desirable (8), Moderately desirable (7), Slightly desirable (6), Neither desirable nor undesirable (5), Slightly undesirable (4), Moderately undesirable (3), Very much undesirable (2), Extremely undesirable (1) The fruit firmness was recorded with the help of ‘Penetrometer’ after removing about one square inch of skin from shoulder of the fruit and pressure reading was taken in Kg per square centimeter. Fruits colour was observed with the help of Royal Horticultural Society Colour Chart (Wilson, 1938) after each interval of storage. TSS were determined with the hand refractrometer and acidity by titrating the juice against 0.1 per cent NaOH by using phenolphthalein indicator and expressed as per cent maleic acid. The reducing sugars were determined by method of Lane and Eynon (AOAC, 1990).

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Antioxidant (diphenylamine) treatment and storage days significantly affected the PLW of pear cv. Patharnakh in refrigerator. The highest concentration of 0.15% checked the weight lost significantly over other treatments (Table 1). The increase in storage days from 45 to 90 days resulted in linear increase in PLW. The PLW was significantly reduced by all the diphenylamine treatment as compared with control fruits. The loss of water from fruits after harvest might be associated to transpiration and respiration trigged by physiological, metabolic and

37

enzymatic activities (Ben Yahoshua, 1985). Wax coatings containing diphenylamine (DPA) reduced weight loss from apples and pears in storage, kept the fruit firmer and greener, improved its external appearance and significantly reduced rates of respiration, transpiration and ethylene production Farooqi and Hall (1973). Apple fruits treated with 0.15% diphenylamine combined with Frutox (6%) wax reduced the loss in weight to the lowest level (Mahajan and Chopra, 1995). On the day of harvest fruit firmness was recorded maximum which was significantly higher and decreased with the advancement of storage days (Table 1). Fruit firmness recorded after 45 days (6.34 kg/cm2) and 60 days (6.01 kg/ cm2) were found at par with each other but significantly higher than after 75 days (5.54 kg/ cm2) and 90 days (5.01 kg/ cm2). Among diphenylamine treatments, DPA (0.15%) recorded the maximum retention of fruit firmness throughout the storage period and it was found at par with diphenylamine (0.1%) treatment. However minimum retention of fruit firmness was observed in control (5.13 kg/ cm2). The interaction between treatments and storage intervals was found non-significant. Findings are in accordance with findings of Mahajan and Chopra (1995) in apples that post-harvest application of DPA 0.15 % maintained highest flesh firmness throughout the storage period. Spoilage is the deterioration in the quality of fruits, making it unpleasant, unsafe to eat which is caused by bacterial contamination. The data of spoilage per cent depicts that spoilage increased during whole storage period (Table 1). Significantly higher percentage of spoilage was noticed after 90 days of storage (4.56 %) whereas minimum after 45 days of storage. Minimum average spoilage (1.14 %) was recorded with the DPA (0.15%) treatment followed by (0.1 and 0.05%). The interaction between treatments and storage interval was also found significant. No spoilage was recorded with DPA (0.15%) up to 45 and 60 days of storage whereas up to 45 days with diphenylamine (0.1%). However maximum spoilage was observed in control after 90 days of storage (7.73 %). Singh et al (2010) reported that DPA (0.15%) application proved effective in lowering the spoilage of fruits as compared to control and other treatments. Drake et al. (2006) also advocated the findings in D’Anjou pears packed in boxes with ethoxyquin (ETH) and Cu paper wraps and recorded less decay and scald than pears in polyethylene bags. No browning was recorded after 45 days in all the treatments. Maximum browning was observed after 90 days of storage in fruits under control (Table 1). Different treatments effect significantly with regard to core browning. Fruits treated with DPA (0.15% and 0.1%) were found to be free from core browning. However core

38

Progressive Horticulture, 49 (1)

Table 1: Effect of antioxidant (DPA) on physiological parameters of Patharnakh pear fruits Physiological parameters PLW (%)

Treatments

Storage intervals (Days) 45

60

75

90

Mean

Control

3.52

4.82

6.30

9.18

5.96

DPA 0.05%

1.78

3.65

5.40

8.16

4.75

DPA 0.1%

1.42

3.46

5.43

7.73

4.51

DPA 0.15%

1.16

3.06

4.41

7.32

3.99

Mean

1.97

3.75

5.39

8.10

-

CD ( 5%) : T: 0.38; SI: 0.38; T x SI: NS Firmness (Kg/cm2)

Control

5.92

5.50

4.91

4.20

5.13

DPA 0.05%

6.29

5.95

5.33

4.72

5.57

DPA 0.1%

6.46

6.14

5.75

5.36

5.93

DPA 0.15%

6.70

6.45

6.15

5.75

6.26

Mean

6.34

6.01

5.54

5.01

-

5.66

7.73

4.56

Base value: 7.72  CD (5%) : T : 0.34; SI : 0.34; T x SI: NS Spoilage (%)

Control

1.47

3.37

DPA 0.05%

0.87

2.63

3.14

4.22

2.72

DPA 0.1%

0.00

0.93

2.75

3.47

1.79

DPA 0.15%

0.00

0.00

1.88

2.69

1.14

Mean

0.58

1.73

3.36

4.53

-

CD (5%): T : 0.32; SI : 0.32; T x SI: 0.63 Core browning (%)

Control

0.00

0.65

2.83

3.60

1.77

DPA 0.05%

0.00

0.00

0.72

1.03

0.44

DPA 0.1%

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

DPA 0.15%

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

Mean

0.00

0.16

0.89

1.16

-

CD (5%): T : 0.42; SI : 0.42; T x SI: 0.84 Organoleptic rating (Point basis)

Control

8.00

7.17

6.33

5.67

6.79

DPA 0.05%

8.00

7.50

6.83

6.50

7.21

DPA 0.1%

8.00

7.67

7.17

6.67

7.38

DPA 0.15%

8.00

7.67

7.17

6.67

7.38

Mean

8.00

7.50

6.88

6.38

-

Base value: 8.5  CD (5%) : T: 0.26; SI: 0.26; T x SI: NS *T=Treatment, SI=Storage Interval, T x SI=Interaction between Treatment and Storge Interval, NS= Non Significant, S= Significant

browning (0.44%) was occurred in fruits treated with DPA (0.05%) and maximum in control fruits (1.77%). The results are in accordance with findings of Kupferman and Gtuzwiler (2003) that shield DPA (0.20%), ethoxyquin (0.27%) is effective to control the internal browning (IB) in Anjou Pear. The data with regard to organoleptic rating was conducted by evaluating the likings of panel of judges on 0 to

9 point basis (Table 1). Organoleptic rating (OR) reduced significantly after harvest of fruit. On the day of harvest it was maximum (8.50) but significantly decreased after 45 days of storage (8.00) and went on decreasing after each storage interval and minimum after 90 days of storage (6.38). On the other hand highest OR score (7.38) was recorded with DPA (0.15% and 0.1%) treatment which was found at par with DPA (0.05%) but significantly higher than control (6.79). The interaction between stor-

Progressive Horticulture, 49 (1)

39

Table 2: Effect of antioxidant (DPA) on biochemical parameters of Patharnakh pear fruits Biochemical parameters TSS (%)

Treatments

Storage intervals (Days) 45

60

75

90

Mean

Control

12.5

13.1

13.5

12.9

13.00

DPA 0.05%

12.5

12.7

13.4

13.1

12.93

DPA 0.1%

12.4

12.4

13.5

13.4

12.93

DPA 0.15%

12.1

12.4

13.1

13.1

12.68

Mean

12.4

12.7

13.3

13.1

-

Base value:11.3CD (5%): T : NS ; SI: 0.34 ; T x SI : NS Acidity (%)

Control

0.317

0.283

0.234

0.214

0.262

DPA 0.05%

0.337

0.312

0.268

0.232

0.287

DPA 0.1%

0.344

0.320

0.296

0.243

0.301

DPA 0.15%

0.347

0.331

0.308

0.268

0.314

Mean

0.336

0.311

0.276

0.240

-

Base value: 0.362CD (5%): T : 0.34 ; SI: 0.29; T x SI : NS Reducing sugars (%)

Control

5.68

6.40

5.95

5.28

5.83

DPA 0.05%

5.51

6.05

6.46

5.37

5.85

DPA 0.1%

5.44

5.85

6.55

5.65

5.87

DPA 0.15%

5.38

5.86

6.58

5.74

5.89

Mean

5.50

6.04

6.38

5.51

-

Base value: 4.63CD (5%): T: NS ; SI: 0.47 ; T x SI: NS *T=Treatment, SI=Storage Interval, T x SI=Interaction between Treatment and Storage Interval, NS= Non Significant, S= Significant

age interval and treatment was found non-significant. The balance between sugars and acids decides the organoleptic score. Due to the production of ethylene the quality traits improved with the storage of fruits and rewarming there after (Lilievre et al., 1997). The ethylene production favours the synthesis of complex mixture of organic compounds responsible for flavour in pears (Seymour et al., 1993). Results are in confirmation with findings of Scott et al. (1962) in Granny Smith apples treated with DPA in combination with 5 per cent carbon dioxide and 2.5 per cent oxygen had better customer acceptance when cold stored for seven months. An examination of the data (Table 2) clearly shows the effect of storage time and treatments on TSS contents of Patharnakh pear fruits. TSS level of cold stored fruits varied significantly when analyzed after different storage intervals after 45, 60, 75 and 90 days. The mean values were 12.4, 12.7, 13.3 and 13.1 percent, respectively. Different treatments showed their non-significant effect with regard to TSS. The level of TSS lowest levels (12.7%) were recorded in fruits dipped in DPA (0.15 and 0.1%) while maximum (13.0%) in control fruits. The TSS increased due to the sudden influence of ethylene, which might have hydrolyzed the starch and other polysaccha-

rides such as pectin into simple sugars (Lilievre et al., 1997). Mahajan and Chopra (1995) in Apple fruits treated with DPA (0.15% + Frutox wax 6 per cent) recorded higher TSS content as compared to the control and DPA (0.15%) alone. The titrable acidity measured in terms of total maleic acid content in the juice showed a descending trend as the storage period advanced (Table 2). Storage intervals significantly effected acidity. Minimum mean acidity was recorded after 90 days of storage and maximum after 45 days. Effect of different treatments on acidity level was recorded highest (0.313) in the fruits dipped in DPA (0.15%) followed by fruits treated with DPA @ 0.1% (0.301), however lowest acidity (0.287%) was noted in fruits under control after 90 days of storage. The decrease in acidity of juice with advancement of storage period might be due to conversion of acids into sugars (Pool et al., 1972). Results are in confirmation with Mahajan and Chopra (1995) in apple fruits that were given dip treatment with DPA (0.15% + 6% Frutox wax) and recorded higher titratable acidity as compared to the untreated fruits. The data with respect to reducing sugars content recorded under various treatments and days of storage in

40

Progressive Horticulture, 49 (1)

Patharnakh fruits stored at cool temperature showed a steep rise up to 75 days and then fell down (Table 2). Reducing sugars were reported highest after 75 days (6.38%) whereas lowest reducing sugars content (5.50%) was observed after 45 days of storage. The maximum reducing sugars were recorded in fruits dipped in DPA (0.15 and 0.1%). The lowest reducing sugars (5.82%) were recorded in fruits under control after 90 days of cold storage. The higher level of sugars in these treatments might be due to retained respiratory breakdown of polysaccharides. Singh (2007) treated Patharnakh pear fruits with DPA and reported an increase in reducing sugars content up to 60 days of cold storage and then gradual decline however non-reducing sugars content increased up to 75 days and then started decreasing. Sharp decline in reducing sugar contents after 75 days of storage, indicating the possible role of DPA in delaying metabolic activity of fruits during ripening and storage Mahajan and Chopra (1995).

REFERENCES AOAC 1990. Official methods of analysis. 12th Edition, Washington, DC, USA. Ben-Yeshoshua, S. 1985. Individual seal packing of fruits and vegetables in plastic films-A post harvest-technique. Hort Sci, 20: 32-37. Drake, S.R.; Elfving, D.; Pusey, P.L. and Kupferman, E.M. 2006. Fruit quality of “D’Anjou” pears after bin storage and late-season packing. J. Food Processing and Preservation, 30(4): 420-432. Farooqi, W.A. and Hall, E.G. 1973. Effect of wax coatings containing diphenylamine on apples and pears during storage and ripening. Aust. J. Experi. Agri. and Animal Husb., 13(61): 200–204. Kondo, S.; Tsuda, K.; Muto, N. and Ueda, J.E. 2002. Antioxidative activity of apple skin or flesh extract associated with fruit development on selected apple cultivars. Scientia Hort., 96: 177-185. Kupferman, E. and Gutzwiler, J. 2003. Use of diphe-

nylamine, ethoxyquin and semperfresh on Anjou pears. Article post-harvest information network, Washington State Uni. Bulletin Tree Fruit Research and Extension center. Lilivre, J.M.; Tirchit, L.; Dao, P.; Filhion, L.; Woo Nam-YoUng, Pech J.L.; Latche, A. and Nam, Y.W. 1997. Effect of chilling on the expression of ethylene biosynthesis gene in Passe-Crassane pears. Plant Molecular Bio., 33: 847-55. Mahajan, B.V.C. and Chopra, S.K. 1995. Effect of postharvest treatments on the quality and storage behaviour of Red Delicious apple. Haryana J. Hort. Sci., 24(2): 85-93. Pool, R.M.; Weaver, R. and Kilwer, W.M. 1972. The effect of growth regulators on change in fruits of Thompson seedless grape during cold storage. J. Amer. Soc. Hort. Sci., 97: 67-70 Scott, K.J.; Hall, E.G.; Rile, T.J. and Finlay, D.E. 1962. Quality of diphenylamine treated Granny Smith apples in relation to the composition of the storage atmosphere. Aust. J. Exp. Agri. & Anim Husb., 2: 153. Seymour, G.B., Taylor, J.E. and Tucker, G.A. 1993. Biochemistry of fruit Ripening. Champman Hall, London. pp. 325-39. Singh, K. 2007. Effect of pre-storage treatment on storage behaviour of pear (Pyrus pyrifolia (Burm) Nakai) cv. Patharnakh. M.Sc. Thesis, PAU, Ludhiana. Singh, Kuldeep; Mahajan, B.V.C. and Dhillon, W.S. 2010. Effect of pre-storage application of diphenylamine (DPA) on storage life and quality of pear fruits. Indian J. Hort. Sci., 67: 413-418. Smock, R.M. 1957. A comparison of treatments for control of the apple scalds disease. J. Amer Soc. Hort. Sci., 69: 91-100. Wilson, R.R. 1938. Horticultural colour charts. Wilson Colours Ltd. In collaboration with Royal Horticultural society and British council.

Received on 08 October 2015 and accepted on 13 March 2016

Progressive Horticulture, Vol. 49, No. 1, June 2017 © Copyright ISHRD, Printed in India DOI : 10.5958/2249-5258.2017.00009.4

[Research Article]

Effect of season and growing environment on success of soft wood grafting in cashew (Anacardium occidentale L.) nut under south Gujarat agro climatic conditions Deepak Vaghela and D. K. Sharma*

Agriculture Experimental Station (NAU)- Paria, Ta. Pardi, Dist. Valsad (Guj.) 396145, India E-mail: [email protected]

Abstract

The present investigation (Anacardium occidentale L.) was conducted at Agriculture Experimental Station, Navsari Agricultural University, Paria (Gujarat) under heavy rainfall zone - I and situation - II during the year 2013-14 with the objective to find out the most suitable time period for soft wood grafting and to study the effect of rootstock growing on success of soft wood grafting in cashew cv. V-4. Among different treatment combination of season of grafting and growing environment of rootstocks tried, soft wood grafting in the month of August under in situ conditions (S2E3) was found to be the best. The maximum number of sprouted grafts (8.83/10), sprouting percentage (86.66%), number of leaves per graft (5.63), length of the graft (23.50 cm) , girth of graft (0.81cm) and highest percentage of survival was recorded with treatment combination S2E3, grafting in August under in situ conditions. Key words: Cashew nut, softwood grafting, season of grafting and growing environment Cashew nut (Anacardium occidentale L.) a member of the family Anacardiaceae, is commercially produced in India, Brazil, Philipines, Kenya, Malaysia and Sri Lanka. At present it is the popular nut crop in the Konkan region of Maharashtra, Goa and Karnataka and also grown as a rainfed horticultural crop of coastal regions of Kerala, Tamilnadu, Orissa and West Bengal states on large scale and in Tripura, Pondicherry and Gujarat on small scale. Cashew is an important foreign exchange earning crop of India, contributing 29% (2nd rank) in international trade of nuts. Globally, the market of cashew kernel is growing at nearly 10 per cent every year. India is emerging as a leading producer, processor, exporter and consumer of cashew globally (Wadkar et al., 2007). India has an area of about 8,93,000 ha under cashew with an estimated annual production of about 6,95,000 metric tons with a productivity of 0.8 MT/ha during the year of 2008-09 (Anon., 2009a). In Gujarat, area under cashew cultivation is 6,000 ha with production of 4,000 metric tons during the year of 2008-09. (Anon., 2009b). With efforts of government and NGOs, the area under cashew is increasing and there is great demand for cashew grafts in South Gujarat. On the other hand, not a single recognized nursery is engaged in production of cashew grafts Online version available at: www.indianjournals.com

in Gujarat. Un availability of quality planting material within the state is a major bottleneck in its rapid expansion. Cashew can be multiplied successfully by softwood grafting, but the time of grafting, proper maturity of scion and the growing environment for raising rootstock has to be standardized under local agro-climatic conditions. Hence to meet out the local demand of quality material of cashew nut cv. V-4, a research trial on “Effect of season and growing environment on success of soft wood grafting in cashew cv. Vengrula-4” was conducted to find out most suitable time period for soft wood grafting and to study the effect of root stock growing on success of soft wood grafting in cashew cv. V-4.

MaterialS and methods The experiment was conducted at Agriculture Experimental Station, Navsari Agricultural University, Paria (Gujarat) under heavy rainfall zone - I and situation - II during the year 2013-14 with the objective to find out the most suitable time period for soft wood grafting and to study the effect of rootstock growing on success of soft wood grafting in cashew cv. V-4. The experiment was

42

Progressive Horticulture, 49 (1)

Table 1: Effect of different season of grafting and growing environment on sprouting percentage, growth and survival of grafts of cashew cv. Vengurla-4 Treatment

Graft sprouting (%)

No. of leaves/ graft

Length of the graft (cm)

30 DAG*

60 DAG

90 DAG

30 DAG

60 DAG

90 DAG

Graft Survival percentage (120 DAG)

T1 (S1E1)

55.00

2.50

3.60

4.20

16.33

18.46

19.80

43.33

T2 (S1E2)

46.66

3.26

4.36

4.76

19.00

19.66

23.26

36.66

T3 (S1E3)

75.00

2.83

4.10

4.36

16.26

19.50

21.26

48.33

T4 (S2E1)

71.66

2.63

4.13

4.66

18.06

21.43

21.73

51.66

T5 (S2E2)

65.00

2.96

3.53

4.16

17.66

20.06

21.46

56.66

T6 (S2E3)

86.66

3.73

5.20

5.63

20.23

22.70

23.50

66.66

T7 (S3E1)

61.66

2.90

3.20

3.73

17.06

19.60

20.73

31.66

T8 (S3E2)

46.66

2.46

4.26

4.80

16.83

18.93

20.20

33.33

T9 (S3E3)

58.33

3.63

4.53

5.00

18.26

19.83

20.73

38.33

T10 (S4E1)

28.33

2.76

4.10

4.63

12.96

14.86

15.93

21.66

T11 (S4E2)

56.66

2.73

3.80

4.43

12.83

15.80

16.60

36.66

T12 (S4E3)

53.33

3.43

3.93

4.56

15.36

16.50

17.63

28.33

T13 (S5E1)

50.00

2.60

3.16

3.70

12.00

13.86

15.93

25.00

T14 (S5E2)

43.33

2.33

3.13

3.90

14.03

14.63

15.13

16.66

T15 (S5E3)

46.66

2.10

2.90

3.56

11.46

13.86

14.30

28.33

S.Em.±

1.63

0.17

0.1875

0.1595

0.2090

0.3439

0.3421

1.6981

C.D.at 5%

4.72

0.51

0.543

0.462

0.605

0.996

0.990

4.918

C.V.%

5.01

10.71

8.41

6.27

2.27

3.31

3.08

7.83

* DAG: Das after grafting

laid out in a Factorial randomized block design (FRBD) with three replication and fifteen treatments. Three type of transplanted rootstock growing environment viz.E1: Open condition, E2: Net house condition, and E3: in situ condition, five season of grafting, viz., S1: Grafting on 20th July, S2: Grafting on 20th August, S3: Grafting on 20th September, S4: Grafting on 20th October and S5: Grafting on 20th November were tested on three month old seedling rootstocks using soft wood method of grafting. Various effects of these treatments on time taken for sprouting, sprouting percentage, number of leaves per graft, height and girth of the graft and survival of grafted plants were studied. The data obtained on growth and development of grafted plants was statistically analysis under Factorial randomized block design (FRBD) as described by Panse and Sukhatme (1985).

ResultS and Discussion Growing environment of rootstock, season of grafting and their interactions have played an important role in the success of grafting in cashew. The maximum sprouting percentage (86.66) was recorded when grafting was done in the month of August under in situ condition. Similar results were obtained by Sawke et al.,

(1985) and Sarada et al., (1991) in cashew. Similarly maximum number of leaves per graft (3.73, 5.20, and 5.63), graft height (20.23, 22.70 and 23.50 cm), girth of graft (0.59 cm, 0.73 cm and 0.81 cm) and highest percentage of survival (88.33, 85.00, and 66.66 per cent) at 30, 60, and 90 days after grafting, respectively, was recorded when grafting was done in the month of August under in situ conditions (S2E3) as compared to open condition and net house raised rootstock. Similar results were obtained by Dhakal and Honda (1986) and Amin (1974) in mango. Success of grafting depends to a great extent on the environmental conditions, which may vary from place to place. The month of August under West Indian conditions particularly South Gujarat and surrounding areas receives maximum rainfall. With the result maximum humidity and optimum temperature prevails during August month, which is found to be are very conducive for graft set, emergence of new shoot, growth and overall success of the graft. The most likely reason for better growth and survival of soft wood grafting under in situ condition could be that rootstocks raised in in-situ conditions find good environment for its growth as compared to polybag conditions. Therefore, a healthy, vigorous and robust rootstock raised in in-situ condition would lead to good graft union and subsequent quick sprouting

Progressive Horticulture, 49 (1)

43

of new Shoot as explained by (Patil et al., 1983) in mango.

State, Gandhinagar.

It can be concluded that treatment combination S2E3 i.e. grafting in August season using in-situ raised rootstocks required minimum days to sprouting along with highest number of graft sprouted, sprouting percentage, total number of leaves, height and girth of newly emerged shoot and survival percentage of graft in Cashew nut cv.Vengrula-4, under south Gujarat agro-climatic conditions.

Dhakal, B.R. and Honda, M.N. 1986. Vigour of mango veener grafts in relation to defoliation period and storage of scion shoots. South Indian Hort., 34 : 184-186.

References

Sarada, C.; Rao, V.P.; Sankar, R. and Rao, N.S. 1991. Studies on soft wood grafting cashew. South Indian Hort., 39(3): 119-123.

Amin, R.S. 1974. A study on the establishment of mango orchard with wedge graft on in situ grown mango seedling in dry region of the Gujarat State. Haryana J. Hort. Sci., 3(3/4) : 160-7. Anonymous 2009a. Indian Horticulture Database, NHB, Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India. Anonymous, 2009b. Department of Horticulture, Gujarat

Panse,V.G. and Sukhatme, P.V. 1985. Statistical Method for Agriculture Workers. ICAR, New Delhi. Patil, J.D.; Worke, D.C.; Patil, V.K. and Gunjkar, S.N. 1983. Studies on wedge grafting in mango. Panjab Hort. J., 23(1): 29-33.

Sawke, D.P.; Salvi, M.J. and Patil, M.M. 1985. Prospects of clonal propagation in Cashew nut by soft wood grafting. Indian Cashew J., 17(4): 15-18. Wadkar, S.S.; Bagade, S.R. and Jalgaonkar, V.N. 2007. Indian Cashew: Processing and Export. Pointer Publisher, Jaipur 302 003 (Raj.), India, pp.1-11.

Received on 16 May 2015 and accepted on 18 January 2016

Progressive Horticulture, Vol. 49, No. 1, June 2017 © Copyright ISHRD, Printed in India DOI : 10.5958/2249-5258.2017.00010.0

[Research Article]

Conjunct use of organic manures, biofertilizers and inorganic fertilizers for improving plant health of plum cv. Santa Rosa Nidhika Thakur* and B. S. Thakur

Department of Fruit Science, Dr Y S Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, 173230, Himachal Pradesh, India *E-mail: [email protected]

ABSTRACT

A field trial was conducted on plum orchards during 2011 and 2012 under north Indian conditions. The treatments involved the application of inorganic fertilizers (urea, SSP and MOP), FYM, vermicompost, biofertilizers and green manure in different combinations. The results showed highest annual shoot growth (55.27 cm), tree height (4.98 m), tree volume (18.62 m3), leaf N (2.98%), K (3.44%) and Ca (2.86%) content with the treatment ‘T5’ 75% NPK + Biofertilizers (60 g each/tree basin) + Green manuring (Sunhemp @ 25 g seeds/tree basin). Whereas, the highest trunk girth (71.47 cm), leaf area (13.12 cm2), leaf Fe (265.16 ppm) and Zn (28.04 ppm) were observed with ‘T7’ - 50% NPK + Biofertilizers (60g each/tree basin) + Green manuring (Sunhemp @ 25 g seeds/tree basin) + FYM (40 kg) + Vermicompost (11.5 kg). Thus the combined application of nutrients in treatments T5 and T7 were found to be superior as compared to other treatments for enhancing the tree growth and leaf nutrients which in turn lead to increase in fruit yield and quality. Key words: Plum, integrated nutrient management, nutrient, growth, vermicompost Plum (Prunus salicina Lindl.) is one of the important fruit crop of the temperate region. It has proved to be a money spinner for the people of mid hills. Proper nutrition to the plant is an important aspect to achieve higher production. Fertilizer is one of the major inputs accounting for nearly one third of the cost of cultivation and its production consumes a lot of energy used in horticulture. The continuous use of chemical fertilizers has degraded the soil health in terms of fertility and has caused soil pollution. The reduction in soil fertility has resulted in low productivity of the crop. Besides, the increasing cost of fertilizers and their negative effect on soil health has led to intensified attempts to the use of organic matter and biofertilizers along with inorganic fertilizers through integrated nutrient management. Keeping in view the significance of judicious use of the organic minerals along with chemical fertilizers in regulating tree growth and leaf nutrient status which directly affects the fruit yield and quality, the present investigation was conducted to find out the most efficient manuring schedule for plum.

MATERIALS AND METHODS The present study was conducted on plum orchards of Horticulture Research Station, Kandaghat, Dr. Y. S. Online version available at: www.indianjournals.com

Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, Solan. The experiment comprised of eight treatments viz. T1:Biofertilizers (Azotobacter, AMF, PSB @ 60g each/ tree basin) + FYM (40 kg) + Vermicompost (25 kg), T2:Biofertilizers (60g each/tree basin) + Green manuring (Sunhemp @ 25g seeds/tree basin) + FYM (40 kg) + Vermicompost (24 kg), T3:75% NPK + Biofertilizers (60 g each/tree basin), T4:50% NPK + Biofertilizers (60 g each/ tree basin), T5:75% NPK + Biofertilizers (60 g each/tree basin) + Green manuring (Sunhemp @ 25 g seeds/tree basin), T6:50% NPK + Biofertilizers (60 g each/tree basin) + Green manuring (Sunhemp @ 25 g seeds/tree basin) + FYM (40kg), T7:50% NPK + Biofertilizers (60g each/tree basin) + Green manuring (Sunhemp @ 25 g seeds/tree basin) + FYM (40 kg) + Vermicompost (11.5 kg) and T8:500g N + 250g P + 700g K + 40 kg FYM. The trial was laid out in randomized block design with three replications. The required quantity of inorganic fertilizers (SSP and MOP) were applied during mid December along with FYM. The nitrogen (urea) was applied in split doses, half during spring before flowering and remaining half dose was applied one month after first application. Biofertilizers along with vermicompost were used one month after chemical fertilizers application. The seeds of sunhemp

1.60 1.67 1.64 0.50 0.55 0.49 0.34 0.39 0.30

** B- Biofertilizers; GM- Green manure

* V1-25 kg vermicompost; V2-24 kg vermicompost; V3-11.5 kg vermicompost

3.02 2.06 0.65

0.52 0.40 CD at 5 %

3.90

11.72 12.27 11.17 14.77 14.02 15.52 4.44 4.49 4.39 70.78 45.78 45.46 46.10 T8(500gN+250gP+700gK+FYM)

70.63 70.92

13.12 14.20 12.04 17.51 17.21 17.81 4.78 4.94 4.61 71.47 50.94 50.06 51.83 T7(50%NPK+B+GM+FYM+V3)

71.09 71.85

11.97 12.68 11.26 16.01 15.48 16.54 4.59 4.68 4.50 69.74 47.86 47.51 48.21 T6 (50%NPK+B+GM+FYM)

69.42 70.07

12.30 13.18 11.42 18.62 18.12 19.13 4.98 5.00 4.95 69.74 55.27 54.26 56.29 T5 (75%NPK+B+GM)

69.43 70.05

9.78 9.17 10.38 13.48 12.42 14.54 4.18 4.24 4.13 69.48 41.72 40.10 43.33 T4 (50%NPK+B)

69.37 69.60

10.06 9.33 10.78 14.21 13.77 14.66 4.35 4.46 4.23 66.75 44.26 43.25 45.27 T3 (75%NPK+B)

66.43 67.06

8.89 7.75 10.03 12.56 11.68 13.44 4.17 4.22 4.12 65.94 40.34 38.38 42.31 T2 (B+GM+FYM+V2)

65.87 66.01

7.28 9.98 11.72 11.35 12.08 4.00 4.04 3.95 66.06 37.72 35.74 39.71 T1 (B+FYM+V1)

65.95 66.17

2012 2011 Pooled 2012 2011 Pooled 2011 2012 Pooled 2012 2011 Pooled 2012 2011

Tree volume (cc) Tree height (m) Trunk girth (cm) Annual shoot growth (cm) Treatment

The results obtained on the effect of integrated nutrient management on the growth characteristics of plum (Table 1) exhibited the best performance with 75% NPK + Biofertilizers (60 g each/tree basin) + Green manuring (Sunhemp @ 25 g seeds/tree basin), where highest annual shoot growth (55.27 cm), tree height (4.98 m) and tree volume (18.62 m3) were observed while the highest trunk girth (71.47 cm) and leaf area (13.12 cm2) were observed with 50% NPK + Biofertilizers (60g each/tree basin) + Green manuring (Sunhemp @ 25 g seeds/tree basin) + FYM (40 kg) + Vermicompost (11.5 kg). Similar results were obtained by Gautam et al. (2012) who reported maximum vegetative growth with application of FYM and vermicompost along with chemical fertilizers. This might be due to the increased photosynthetic rate and carbohydrate accumulation as a result of multiferous role of FYM and vermicompost to allow most favourable conditions of soil with increased availability of plant nutrients responsible for better plant growth (Sharma and Bhutani, 1998; Tiwari et al., 1999; Dutta et al., 2009). Goswami (2012) and Pathak and Ram (2005) also observed improved vegetative growth in guava with the application of different fertilizers, organic manures and biofertilizers. This increase in tree height, spread, volume, shoot length and number of shoot emergence per branch might be attributed to the stimulative activity of microflora in the rhizosphere leading to increased nutrient availability and hence vigorous plant growth (Singh et al., 2000; Aseri et al., 2008). The biofertilizers inoculation helps the plants to increase the dehydrogenase, alkaline phosphatase, nitrogenase and hydrolysis enzyme activities mainly due to increase in the rhizosphere microbial population as a consequence of the inoculation treatments (Aseri and Tarafdar, 2006). The free living

Table 1: Effect of integrated nutrient management on growth of plum cv. Santa Rosa

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Leaf area (cm2)

were sown during June. The tree growth parameters viz., annual shoot growth, trunk girth, tree height and tree volume were recorded at the end of growing season. Leaf samples were collected from middle of current season’s growth around the periphery of the trees in the last week of June as recommended by Kenworthy (1964) during both the years. The leaf samples were kept in hot air oven for drying. After drying, the leaf samples were ground to pass a 0.5 mm mesh and analysed for nutrient content. Nitrogen was estimated by using Kjeltech 2300 auto analyzer unit. Phosphorus was determined by Vanadomolybdo phosphoric yellow colour method (Jackson, 1967) in double beam UV-VIS spectrophotometer. Potassium and calcium were determined by flame photometer. Zinc, copper, iron and manganese were determined by atomic absorption method using Perkin Elmer Analyst 400 atomic absorption spectrophotometer.

8.63

45

Pooled

Progressive Horticulture, 49 (1)

1.67 1.96 2.57 2.36 3.44 3.22 3.28 2.61

1.55 1.69 2.10 1.89 2.53 2.25 2.41 2.24 0.65

T1 (B+FYM+V1)

T2 (B+GM+FYM+V2)

T3 (75%NPK+B)

T4 (50%NPK+B)

T5 (75%NPK+B+GM)

T6 (50%NPK+B+GM+FYM)

T7(50%NPK+B+GM+FYM+V3)

T8(500gN+250gP+700gK+FYM)

CD at 5 %

0.67

2.43

2.85

2.74

2.98

2.12

2.34

1.82

1.61

Pooled

0.06

0.21

0.23

0.22

0.26

0.20

0.18

0.18

0.18

NS

0.23

0.25

0.24

0.27

0.23

0.22

0.21

0.20

Pooled

0.51

2.27

3.30

3.10

3.08

2.38

2.82

2.20

2.16

2011

0.75

2.66

3.32

3.21

3.80

2.82

3.15

2.51

2.60

2012

0.48 0.50 0.54 0.63 0.72 0.65 0.71 0.68

0.35 0.41 0.50 0.53 0.68 0.59 0.64 0.60 0.33

T1 (B+FYM+V1)

T2 (B+GM+FYM+V2)

T3 (75%NPK+B)

T4 (50%NPK+B)

T5 (75%NPK+B+GM)

T6 (50%NPK+B+GM+FYM)

T7(50%NPK+B+GM+FYM+V3)

T8(500gN+250gP+700gK+FYM)

CD at 5 %

NS

0.64

0.67

0.62

0.70

0.58

0.52

0.45

0.41

Pooled

0.66

252.33

264.42

261.80

259.92

255.38

254.81

249.62

245.87

2011

** B- Biofertilizers; GM- Green manure

* V1-25 kg vermicompost; V2-24 kg vermicompost; V3-11.5 kg vermicompost

0.32

2012

Magnesium (%) 2011

Treatment

0.67

255.16

265.91

260.99

260.28

258.88

257.28

253.19

251.57

2012

Iron (ppm)

0.64

253.74

265.16

261.39

260.10

257.13

256.05

251.4

248.72

Pooled

2.06

10.46

11.65

11.29

11.56

11.66

12.35

11.88

9.90

2011

2.55

10.02

12.05

12.46

12.55

12.91

13.58

13.74

14.23

2012

NS

12.01

12.70

11.22

12.73

12.20

12.54

12.28

10.24

Pooled

Copper (ppm)

0.62

2.46

3.31

3.16

3.44

2.60

2.98

2.35

2.38

Pooled

Potassium (%)

Table 3: Effect of integrated nutrient management on leaf nutrient status of plum cv. Santa Rosa

** B- Biofertilizers; GM- Green manure

0.03

0.26

0.27

0.26

0.29

0.26

0.26

0.24

0.23

2012

Phosphorus (%) 2011

* V1-25 kg vermicompost; V2-24 kg vermicompost; V3-11.5 kg vermicompost

0.72

2012

Nitrogen (%) 2011

Treatment

Table 2: Effect of integrated nutrient management on leaf nutrient status of plum cv. Santa Rosa

0.54

21.93

26.96

26.11

24.99

23.71

24.98

22.28

22.11

2011

0.63

2.46

2.49

2.26

2.79

2.19

1.88

1.83

1.80

2011

0.92

22.99

29.13

28.54

27.93

26.59

27.53

26.20

25.47

2012

Zinc (ppm)

0.35

2.56

2.80

2.51

2.93

2.41

2.35

2.24

2.04

2012

Calcium (%)

0.73

22.46

28.04

27.32

26.46

25.15

26.25

24.24

23.79

Pooled

0.49

2.51

2.65

2.39

2.86

2.30

2.12

2.04

1.92

Pooled

46 Progressive Horticulture, 49 (1)

Progressive Horticulture, 49 (1)

47

nitrogen fixer can affect plant growth not only by fixing nitrogen but also by altering microbial balance, solublizing fixed soil phosphorus, suppressing pathogenic micro organisms and by producing metabolites that stimulate plant development. This is an indication of the fact that biofertilizers and compost hasten the vegetative growth by virtue of their nutrient releasing properties. Leaf nutrient status increased markedly with integrated application of inorganic fertilizers, FYM, vermicompost, biofertilizers and green manures (Table 2 and 3). The leaf nitrogen (2.98%), potassium (3.44%) and calcium (2.86%) content were maximum with the application of 75% NPK + Biofertilizers (60 g each/tree basin) + Green manuring (Sunhemp @ 25 g seeds/tree basin) while the application of 50% NPK + Biofertilizers (60g each/tree basin) + Green manuring (Sunhemp @ 25 g seeds/tree basin) + FYM (40 kg) + Vermicompost (11.5 kg) recorded maximum leaf iron (265.16 ppm) and zinc (28.04 ppm) content. However, the effect on leaf phosphorus, magnesium and copper was found to be non significant. Higher N might be attributed to the improvement in soil aeration, better soil moisture retention in root zone, increased microbial nitrogen fixation due to conjoint application and thus improved its availability to the plants. The addition of vermicompost improved physical properties of soil, moisture retention in soil rhizosphere, improved root development by mycelia network of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, thus increased the water absorption and nutrients and thus improved the nutrient contents of leaf (Morselli et al., 2004; Gupta et al., 2005). Marathe et al. (2012) observed the highest concentration of N, P, K, Mg, Zn and Cu in the leaves with the combined application of FYM along with 50% dose of inorganic fertilizers and Ca with green manuring with sunhemp along with 50% dose of inorganic fertilizers. Sole application of FYM recorded highest Mn and Fe contents followed by combined application of FYM along with Azotobacter and PSB. These observations clearly indicated that Azotobacter and PSB play key role in nitrogen fixation and phosphorus solubilization respectively and can compensate or save 25% dose of inorganic fertilizers supplied for N and P nutrition. Hence, it can be concluded from the present investigation that combined application of nutrients through organic and inorganic sources was found to be superior as compared to other treatments for enhancing the tree growth and leaf nutrients which in turn lead to increase in fruit yield and quality.

REFERENCES Aseri, G.K. and Tafardar, J.C. 2006. Fluorescein diacetate: A potential biological indicator for arid soils. Arid Land Res. Mgmt., 20: 87-89.

Aseri, G.K.; Jain, N.; Panwar, J.; Rao, A.V. and Meghwal, P. R. 2008. Biofertilizers improve plant growth, fruit yield, nuitrition, metabolism and rhizosphere enzymes activities of pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) in Indian Thar desert. Scientia Hort., 117: 130-35. Dutta, P.; Moji, S.B. and Das, B.S. 2009. Studies on the response of biofertilizer on growth and productivity of guava. Indian J. Hort., 66: 99-42. Gautam, U.S.; Singh, Rajesh; Tiwari, Neelam; Gurjar, P.S. and Kumar, Ashish. 2012. Effect of integrated nutrient management in mango cv. Sunderja. Indian J. Hort., 69(2): 151-155. Goswami, A.K.; Lal, Shant and Misra, K.K. 2012. Integrated nutrient management improves growth and leaf nutrient status of guava cv. Pant Prabhat. Indian J. Hort., 69(2): 168-172. Gupta, R.K.; Sharma, K.N.; Singh, B.; Singh, Y. and Arora, B.R. 2005. Effect of urea and manure addition on changes in mineral nitrogen content in soil profile at various growth stages of wheat. J. Indian Soc. Soil Sci., 53: 74-80. Jackson, M.L. 1967. Soil chemical analysis. Asia Publishing House, Bombay. 498p. Kenworthy, A.L. 1964. Fruit, nut and plantation crops, deciduous and evergreen : A guide for collecting foliar samples for nutrient elements analysis. Horticulture Department of Michigan State University, Mieneo. pp. 1-39. Marathe, R.A.; Bharambe, P.R.; Sharma, Rajvir; and Sharma, U.C. 2012. Leaf nutrient composition, its correlation with yield and quality of sweet orange and soil microbial population as influenced by INM in vertisol of Central India. Indian J. Hort., 69(3): 317-321. Morselli, T.B.; Sallis, M.G.; Terra, S. and Fernandes, H.S. 2004. Response of lettuce to application of vermicompost. Revista Cientifica Rural, 9(1): 1-7. Pathak, R.K. and Ram, R.A. 2005. Integration of organic farming practice for sustainable production of guava. In: First International Guava Symposium, 5-8 Dec. 2005, CISH, Lucknow, India, pp. 144-145. Sharma, S.D.; Bhutani, V.P. and Dohroo, N.P. 1998. Occurance of VAM fungi under old apple orchards. J. Indian Society of Soil Sci., 46(1): 143-144. Singh, C.; Saxena, S.K.; Goswami, A.M. and Sharma, R. 2000. Effect of fertilizers on growth, yield and quality of sweet orange (Citrus sinensis) cv. Mosambi. Indian J. Hort., 57(2): 114-117. Tiwari, D.K.; Hasan, M. A. and Chattopadhyay, P.K. 1999. Effect of biofertilizers on soil nutrient status and microbial population in banana plantation. Environment and Ecology, 17(2): 338-341.

Received on 30 July 2015 and accepted on 03 March 2016

Progressive Horticulture, Vol. 49, No. 1, June 2017 © Copyright ISHRD, Printed in India DOI : 10.5958/2249-5258.2017.00011.2

[Research Article]

Response of guava (Psidium guajava L.) varieties to different time of softwood grafting Anjana Kholia*, S.G. Bharad and Kuntal Satkar

Department of Horticulture, Dr. Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth, Akola- 444 104, Maharashtra, India *E-mail: [email protected]

ABSTRACT

The present experiment was carried out during the year 2013-2014 at Department of Horticulture, Dr. Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth, Akola (M.S.) India. The experiment was laid out in a Factorial Randomised Block Design, comprised of four different time of softwood grafting 1st forth night of January, 2nd forth night of January, 1st forth night of February, 2nd forth night of February and three guava varieties L-49, Lalit, Shweta with 12 treatment combinations replicated three times. The result indicated that amongst the four different time of grafting; 2nd forth night of February take minimum days for bud sprouting (14 days) , also gave maximum percentage of graft take (98.33%), percentage of bud sprouting (98.33 %) and final survival of graft (93.89 %). Among the three different varieties taken as scion, the maximum percentage of bud sprouting (96.25%) and final survival of graft (93.34 %) observed with the scion of cultivar Shweta. KEY WORDS: Guava, L-49, Lalit, Shweta, softwood grafting Guava (Psidium guajava L.) is belongs to the family Myrtaceae, is one of the most promising fruit crop of India and is considered to be exquisite, nutritionally valuable and remunerative crop (Singh et al., 2005). With the expansion of area under guava cultivation coupled with high density planting techniques in guava is emerged as a boon and farmers adopting this technology very fast due to its high yield potential and other benefits, viz., reduced cost of production, ease in intercultural operation, harvesting etc. The demand of quality planting material is very high to coup up this increasing demand. A rapid multiplication method requires which fulfill the demand of huge quantity of planting material at a time for both expanded area and high density planting in guava. The traditional methods of guava propagation are tedious, slow and produce less number of propagules. Soft wood grafting is successful in mango, avocado, sapota and tamarind. The method resulted in 100% success with Grewia asiatica, 91% success with sapodilla and at least 70% success with guava, cashew and Phyllanthus emblica (Amin, 1978). Success of propagation method like softwood grafting depends on several factors out of which time of grafting and compatibility of scion variety are major factors. The time of grafting play the crucial role on Online version available at: www.indianjournals.com

which the final survival of grafts depends e.g. maximum survival of grafts was obtained in guava when grafting operation performed on 15th February under Faizabad conditions (Beer et al., 2013). Also at the same time the appropriate scion which is highly suitable for grafting is also important for the final survival of grafts e.g. scion of guava varieties Allahabad Safeda and L-49 gave the maximum survival on grafting under Varanasi conditions (Syamal et al., 2012). Considering the importance of time of grafting and scion variety, it was felt necessary to undertake studies on response of guava varieties to different time of softwood grafting with the objectives to find out appropriate time for respective scion varieties for higher grafting success in guava under semi-arid climatic conditions of Vidarbha region of Maharashtra.

MATERIALS AND METHODS The experiment was conducted at Propagation Unit, Department of Horticulture, Dr. Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth, Akola (Maharashtra), India (22042’N Latitude and 770­02’E Longitude) during the year 201415. The experiment was laid out in Factorial Randomized Block Design (FRBD) with 12 treatment combinations

Progressive Horticulture, 49 (1)

comprising of four different time of grafting; 1st forth night of January, 2nd forth night of January, 1st forth night of February, 2nd forth night of Februaryand three different varieties; L-49, Lalit, Shweta.The grafting operation performed on uniform and healthy guava seedlings of about eight month old were selected for rootstock. The scion material was collected from the identified guava cultivar, viz., L-49, Lalit and Shweta. For collection of scion material the past season growths of respective cultivar were tagged and defoliated 7 days prior to grafting operation. Twenty centimeter in length with 4 to 5 activated but unsprouted buds scion wood were selected for grafting operation. The observation on percentage of graft take, days required for bud sprouting, percentage of bud sprouting, final survival percentage of grafts were recorded up to 120 days from grafting. The data obtained were analyzed according to the procedure as described by Panse and Sukhatme (1985).

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The results obtained from the present investigation are summarized and presented in Table 1 and 2.

Effect of time The time of grafting had significant effect on graft take percentage, days required for bud sprouting, percentage bud sprouting and final survival of grafts (Table 1). Amongst the different time the overall performance was found superior when grafting operation performed during 2nd forth night of February. The maximum graft take percentage (98.33%) was observed in the plants which were grafted during 2nd forth night of February which was found at par with grafting done during 1st forth night of February (94.48%). Whereas, the minimum graft take obtained in the plants grafted during 2nd forth night of January (83.74%). It might be attributed due to the fact that, grafting operation done during spring (February) had the favorable temperature, humidity and other weather parameters which might be help in better sap flowing condition that ultimately reflect in better graft take (Grjaziv,1960).The results are in conformity with those of Rajput (2006) and Gadekar (2007) in jamun. The data presented in Table 1 indicated that plants grafted during 2nd forth night of February took shortest duration for bud sprouting (14 days) which was found to be significantly superior over all the treatments. Whereas, the longest duration for bud sprouting were taken in the plant grafted during 1st forth night of January (47.89 days).The above results might be due to the fact that congenial weather conditions like optimum temperature and high relative humidity helped in early sprouting and better graft success because of fast establishment

49

of vascular tissue of rootstock and scion (Hartmann and Kester, 1993). Similar kind of results obtained by Syamal et al. (2012) and Beer et al. (2013) in guava. The maximum bud sprouting (98.33%) were obtained when grafting operation performed during 2nd forth night of February which was found to be significantly superior over all the other treatment. However minimum bud sprouting (72.22%) was obtained when grafting operation performed during 1st forth night of January. This could be attributed to the fact that in present study the maximum bud sprouting was observed when, the grafting operation done during 2nd forth night February which might due to the fact that there is a establishment of intimate contact of a considerable amount of the cambium region of both stock and scion under favorable environmental conditions (Hartmann and Kester, 1993).These observation are in agreement with the finding of Bharad et al. (2010) in jamun, Syamal et al. (2012) and Beer et al. (2013) in guava. The plants in which grafting operation performed during 2nd forth night of February maximum final survival of grafts (93.89%) were obtained which is significantly superior over all the treatment. However minimum survival of graft was obtained when grafting operation performed during 1st forth night of January (71.67%) were found at par with 2nd forth night of January (75%). This might be due to congenial climatic conditions and there by encourage early contact of cambium layers of stock and scion resulting in early callus formation, initiation of subsequent growth and ultimately results in better survival of grafts (Hatmann and Kester, 1993).Bharad et al. (1999) in tamarind, Rajput (2006), Gadekar (2010) and Ghojage et al. (2011) in jamun, Syamal et al. (2012) and Beer et al. (2013) in guava also obtained the significant effect of time of grafting on final survival of graft which was in agreement with present study.

Effect of source of scion The data presented in Table 1 indicated that, an effect of source of scion on graft take percentage was found to be non significant. However maximum graft take observed from the scion of cultivar Shweta (97.42 %) and the minimum graft take observed from the scion of cultivar Lalit (87.51 %). The significant effect of source of scion on days required for bud sprouting (Table 1) was found. Among the scion minimum days for sprouting were taken by the scion of cultivar Lalit (21.25 days), whereas the scion of cultivar L-49 took maximum days (30.25 days) for bud sprouting. This could be attributed to the fact that the genetic performance of the cultivar (Syamal et al., 2012). The results of present investigation are in similar line as finding obtained by Prasantha et al. (2007) in mango, Visen et al. (2010) and Syamal et al.

50

Progressive Horticulture, 49 (1)

(2012) in guava. Significantly the maximum bud sprouting was noted from the scion of cultivar Shweta (96.25%) over all other scion. Whereas the minimum bud sprouting was noted from the scion of cultivar Lalit (81.67%). In present study maximum bud sprouting was observed when grafting operation done using the scion of cultivar Shweta this might be due to the genotype of the variety (Visen et al. 2010). The above results are in similar line of earlier findings reported by Alam et al. (2006) and Prasantha et al.,

(2007) in mango, Chakraborty and Singh (2007) in peach and Syamal et al. (2012) in guava. Among different source of scion the grafts prepared with the scion of cultivar Shweta (93.34%) shows maximum final survival over all the cultivar (Table 1). However the minimum final survival was observed from the scion of cultivar Lalit (71.25%), It might due to the genetic makeup of Shweta cultivar may be having the more of live parenchymatous cells, less of vessels and higher meristematic acitivity at the bud level, which turn helps

Table 1: Effect of time of grafting and source of scion on graft take, bud sprouting and final survival of guava grafts Treatment

Graft take percentage (%)

Days required for bud sprouting

Bud sprouting percentage (%)

Final survival of graft (%)

90.19 (77.04)

47.89

77.22 (65.36)

71.67 (61.89)

T1 : (1st forth night of January) T2 : (2 forth night of January)

83.74 (68.53)

27.33

90.00 (76.52)

75.00 (60.85)

T3 : (1st forth night of February)

94.48 (79.95)

19.67

92.78 (77.91)

85.00 (69.44)

T4 : (2nd forth night of February)

98.33 (85.69)

14.00

98.33 (86.52)

93.89 (78.33)

3.38

0.64

2.15

2.02

9.92

1.89

6.30

5.93

90.14 (74.66)

30.25

90.83 (76.07)

79.58 (63.84)

S2 : Lalit

87.51 (74.70)

21.25

81.67 (70.78)

71.25 (60.48)

S3 : Shweta

97.42 (84.05)

30.17

96.25 (82.88)

93.34 (78.57)

2.93

0.56

1.86

1.75



1.64

5.46

5.14

nd

SE(m)+ Source of Scion CD at 5% S1 : L-49

SE(m)+ CD at 5%

Table 2: Interaction effect of time of grafting and source of scion on graft take, bud sprouting and final survival of guava grafts Treatment

Graft take percentage (%)

Days required for bud sprouting

Bud sprouting percentage (%)

Final survival of graft (%)

T1S1

93.78 (78.25)

56.00

83.33 (66.26)

78.33 (62.79)

T1S2

76.80 (62.87)

32.00

51.67 (45.97)

40.00 (39.03)

T1S3

100.00(90.00)

55.67

96.67 (83.86)

96.67 (83.86)

T2S1

78.33 (62.91)

30.00

100.00 (90.00)

78.33 (62.91)

T2S2

79.90 (67.85)

24.00

76.67 (61.46)

60.00 (50.79)

T2S3

93.00 (74.82)

28.00

93.33 (78.10)

86.67 (68.86)

T3S1

90.12 (71.77)

19.00

85.00 (68.48)

71.67 (58.07)

T3S2

95.00 (82.40)

18.00

98.33 (85.69)

90.00 (72.53)

T3S3

98.33 (85.69)

22.00

95.00 (79.55)

93.33 (77.71)

T4S1

98.33 (85.69)

16.00

95.00 (79.55)

90.00 (71.57)

T4S2

98.33 (85.69)

11.00

100.00 (90.00)

95.00 (79.55)

T4S3

98.33 (85.69)

15.00

100.00 (90.00)

96.67 (83.86)

5.86

1.12

3.72

3.50



3.27

10.91

10.28

SE(m)+ CD at 5%

Progressive Horticulture, 49 (1)

51

in better sap flow and good callus (Prasanth et al., 2007). Results obtained are in accordance with the results of Prasantha et al. (2007) in mango Dwivedi et al. (2000) in apricot and Syamal et al. (2012) in guava.

Interaction effect of time and source of scion The interaction effect of time of grafting and source of scion on graft take percentage was found to be nonsignificant (Table 2). The cent percent graft take obtained from the plants grafted during 1st forth night of January with scion of cultivar Shweta. While the minimum graft take found in the plants grafted during 1st forth night of January with scion of cultivar Lalit (76.80 %).In interaction effect (Table 2) the grafting performed during 2nd forth night of February with the scion of cultivar Lalit took minimum days for bud sprouting (11 days) which was found significantly superior over all the other treatment combination followed by T4S3 (15 days), T4S1 (16 days) and T3S2 (18 days). While the grafting performed during 1st forth night of January with L -49 took maximum days for sprouting (56 days). The above findings are in close agreement with Chakraborty and Singh (2007) in peach, Prasantha et al. (2007) in mango and Visen et al. (2010) in guava. The interaction effect due to time and source of scion on bud sprouting percentage was also found to be significant (Table 2). The treatment combination T2S1, T4S2 and T4S3 were showed cent percent bud sprouting (100%) which were also found to be at par with the treatment combination T3S2 (98.33%), T1S3 (96.67%), T3S3 (95%) and T4S1(95%). However, the minimum bud sprouting was

observed from the treatment combination T1S2 (51.67%). The grafting operation should be carried out at the time when favorable temperature and relative humidity is expected and the scion having highly active cambium tissue, which favours for callus formation for better graft take of the scion (Hartmann and Kester, 1993).Khattak et al. (2002) in guava, Prasantha et al. (2007) in mango recorded similar trends of results. The desirable stonic ratio nearer to one was obtained from the plant grafted on 1st forth night of February with scion of cultivar Shweta closely followed by treatment combination 1st forth night of January with scion of cultivar Shweta (0.99) and 1st forth night of February with scion of cultivar Lalit (1.01) and the minimum stonic ratio obtained from the plant grafted during 2nd forth night of January with scion of cultivar Lalit and Shweta (0.89) (Fig. 1). An interaction effect due to the time of grafting and source of scion on final survival of graft was also found to be the significant Table 2 and Fig. (3). Treatment combination T1S3 (1st forth night of January +Shweta) and T4S3 (2ndforth night of February+ Shweta) shows maximum (96.77%) final survival of grafts were also found to be at par with T1S1 (93.33%) followed by T4S2 (95%) and T3S3 (93.33%). Whereas the minimum survival was obtained from the plants grafted during 1st forth night of January with the scion of cultivar L-49(40%).The better final survival of graft attributed to the genetical performance of the source of scion (Syamal et al., 2012) under suitable climatological environment which encourage the early callus formation and establishment of scion and stock union. (Hartmann and Kesters, 1993).Similar results were also observed by Syamal et al. (2012) in guava.

1.05 1

Stonic ratio

0.95 0.9 0.85 0.8 T1S1

T1S2

T1S3

T2S1

T2S2

T2S3

T3S1

T3S2

T3S3

T4S1

Treatment Fig. 1: Interaction effect of time of grafting and source of scion on stonic ratio

T4S2

T4S3

52

Progressive Horticulture, 49 (1)

tiplication of Syzygium cumini L. under semi-arid climatic conditions of India. Acta Horti., 890: 111-116. Bharad, S.G.; Gholap, S.V.; Dod, V.N. and Bhople, S.R. 1999. Seasonal variation in success of softwood grafting of tamarind (Tamarindus indica L.).J. Appl. Hort., 1(1): 57-58. Dwivedi, S.K.; Singh, B. and Pljor, E. 2000. Studies on vegetative propagation of apricot through grafting in Ladakh. Ind. J. Hort. 57(1): 39-41. Chakraborty, Binayak and Singh, P.N. 2011. Effect of rootstock and time of grafting in low – chill peach cultivars. Prog. Hort., 43(2): 281-284. Gadekar, Alka 2007. Studies on time and method of vegetative propagation in jamun. M.sc. Thesis (unpubl). Dr. PDKV, Akola.

Fig. 2: Softwood grafted propagule

Ghojage, A.H.; Swamy, G.S.K. ; Kanamadi, V.C.; Jagdeesh, R.C.; Kumar, P. ; Patil, C.P. and Reddy, B.S. 2011. Effect of season on softwood grafting in jamun (Syzygiumcumini, Skeels.). Acta Hort., 890: 123-127. Grjazev, V.A. 1960. The influence of temperature and moisture on establishment of buds. Sadovodstvo, 7: 30-31. Hartmann , H.T. and Kester, D.S. 1993. Plant Propagation : Principles and Practices. Prientice- Hall of India Pvt. Ltd. New Delhi, pp: 320-321. Khattak, M.S.; Malik, M. N. and Khan, M. A. 2002. Guava propagation through chip budding. Pakistan J. Agric. Res., 1(17): 178-181.

Fig. 3: Final survival of grafts REFERENCES Alam, M.A.; Mortuza, M.G. ; Uddin, M.Z.; Sarker, D. and Barman, J.C. 2006. Effect of length of scion in grafting of mango. Int. J. Sustain. Crop Prod., 1(2): 07-11. Beer, Karma; Yadav, A.L. and Sharma, M.M. 2013. Influence of environment and time of grafting on the cleft grafting in guava (Psidium guajava Linn.). Plant Archives., 13(2): 753-756. Bharad, S. and Mahorkar, V. 2010. Softwood grafting as useful method of propagation for commercial mul-

Prasantha, J.M.; Reddy, P.N.; S.R. Patil and Pampanagouda, B. 2007. Effect of cultivars and time of softwood grafting on graft success and survival in Mango. Agric. Sci. Digest., 27(1): 18-21. Rajput, Lalan. 2006. Propagation studies in jamun. M.Sc. Thesis (Unpub.), Dr.PDKV, Akola. Singh, G.; Gupta, Soni; Mishra, Rajneesh and Singh, G.P. 2005. Wedge grafting in guava – A novel vegetative propagation technique. Extension Bull., 27(1): 1-12. Syamal, M.M.; Kumar, R. and Joshi, Mamta 2012. Performance of wedge grafting in guava under different growing conditions. Indian J. Hort., 69(3): 424-427. Visen, A.; Singh, J.N. and Singh, S.P. 2010. Standardization of wedge grafting in guava under North Indian plains. Indian J. Hort., 67: 111-114.

Received on 22 November 2015 and accepted on 08 June 2016

Progressive Horticulture, Vol. 49, No. 1, June 2017 © Copyright ISHRD, Printed in India DOI : 10.5958/2249-5258.2017.00012.4

[Research Article]

Preservation of guava ( Psidium guajava L.) juice with sodium benzoate and ginger extract Piyush Shrivastava*1, V. M. Prashad2, Jitendra Kumar3, Praveen Kumar Mishra1 and Ravindra Kumar Singh1 Department of Horticulture (Fruit and Fruit Technology), Bihar Agricultural University, Sabour, Bhagalpur, 813210, (Bihar), India Department of Horticulture, Sam Higginbottom Institute of Agriculture, Technology and Sciences, (Deemed to be University), Naini, Allahabad, 211007, (U.P.), India 3 Birsa Agricultural University, Kanke, Ranchi, 834006, (Jharkhand), India *E-mail: [email protected] 1 2

ABSTRACT

The present work aimed to study the effect of different levels of ginger extract and sodium benzoate as preservative on guava juice of cultivar Apple Colour during storage. Three levels of sodium benzoate viz.400 ppm, 600 ppm and 800 ppm and three levels of ginger extract viz. 0.5 per cent, 1.0 per cent and 1.5 per cent were taken. Nine treatments were made with combination of sodium benzoate and ginger extract levels and each treatment was replicated thrice. The juice was stored up to 90 days in ambient temperature. Ascorbic acid (mg/100 ml), acidity (%) pH, total soluble solid (0Brix) and organoleptic quality were observed at 30 days interval during storage. After three months of storage, treatment of 800 ppm sodium benzoate with 1.0 per cent ginger extract was found best in terms of maximum retention of ascorbic acid (103.48 mg/100 ml), acidity (0.3557%), TSS (13.07 0Brix), organoleptic score (5.74) and minimum amount of pH (4.33) followed by guava juice added with 1.5 per cent ginger extract and 600 ppm sodium benzoate. Key words: Guava juice, ginger extract, preservative, sodium benzoate, storage life Guava is one of the most common fruits grown in India. It is prized for its very pleasant, sub acidic and aromatic pulp and also known as the “poor men’s apple of the tropics”. Guava fruit is a good source of vitamin C, carbohydrate, protein, minerals, pectin, calcium and phosphorus (Garg et al., 2007). The fruit contains high amount of ascorbic acid (88.2 to 250.8 mg/100 g), total soluble solids (8 to 18 0 Brix), total sugars (10 to 15.3 %), acids (1.0 to 1.5 %) and pectin (0.62 %) (Kaur et al., 2009). It is fifth most important fruit in India after banana, mango, citrus and papaya in terms of fruit production (NHB, 2013). It is grown in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra at large scale and Allahabad has the reputation of growing the best guava in the country as well as in the world. Guava fruits are highly perishable and cannot be kept for long duration thus there is great opportunity for processing the fruit in to different quality products to keep it for longer duration (Shankar et al., 2006). ProOnline version available at: www.indianjournals.com

cessing the fruits into juice is a promising and useful approach as well as an important alternative to natural fruit to enhance the availability of its nutritive compounds for longer duration which could play an important role in enhancing human health (Jagtiani et al., 1988). The composition of a fruit juice depends on the variety, origin and growing conditions of the fruit and quality of the juice depends on the processing and storage procedures. Ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe) is an herbaceous, rhizomatous, perennial plant widely cultivated all over India and used as a spice for over 2000 years (Bartley and Jacobs, 2000). Its rhizome contains high antioxidant activity and polyphenol compounds (6-gingerol and its derivatives) (Herrmann, 1994), which can be used as natural preservative for the foods and also improve the flavour (Al-Jalay et al., 1987). For the preservation of the fruit beverages the sodium salt of the benzoic acid is widely used. This salt is

54

more water soluble than the free acid and acid formed from the salt dissolve in solution delay the spoilage of foods and beverages, which is optimum at a pH value ranging from 2.5 to 4 (Akpan and Kovo, 2005). The permitted amount of benzoic acid and sodium benzoate are up to a maximum level of 0.1 per cent (Anon, 1988). Addition of chemical preservatives is a general practice to improve the shelf life of any processed product. But these chemicals have been found having harmful effect on human health if used in higher amount. So there is a need of other alternatives for this purpose. Many natural juices have been reported to have such preservative properties like lime juice, pineapple juice, ginger extract etc. If such fruit juices are combined with chemical preservatives then these not only reduce the level of chemical preservatives but add extra flavour to the juice also. Keeping the above points in view the present investigation was conducted.

MATERIALS AND METHODS This experiment was carried out in Post-harvest Laboratory of Department of Horticulture, Sam Higginbottom Institute of Agriculture, Technology and Sciences (Deemed to be University), Allahabad during January to April 2010. Fresh mature fruits of guava cultivar Apple colour were collected from a 15 year old orchard at Chaka block, Allahabad and brought to department in corrugated fibre boxes to avoid any mechanical injury to the fruit. The fruits were washed in tap water, cut in to small pieces added to sterilized water 1: 1 ratio (w/v) during juice extraction by using a home grinder (Zainal et al., 2000). Then juice was filtered with sterilized muslin cloth to remove coarse particles of the fruit. The healthy ginger rhizomes were purchased from local Maheva market in Allahabad and brought to departmental lab. The rhizomes were washed in tap water, peeled, grated and juice was extracted by using a home grinder and strained with sterilized muslin cloth. Collected guava juice was heated at 85 0C adding 10 per cent sugar and mixed well. in guava juice total 9 treatments viz. 400 ppm sodium benzoate and 0.5 per cent ginger extract (T1), 400 ppm sodium benzoate and 1.0 per cent ginger extract (T2), 400 ppm sodium benzoate and 1.5 per cent ginger extract (T3), 600 ppm sodium benzoate and 0.5 per cent ginger extract (T4), 600 ppm sodium benzoate and 1.0 per cent ginger extract (T5), 600 ppm sodium benzoate and 1.5 per cent ginger extract (T6), 800 ppm sodium benzoate and 0.5 per cent ginger extract (T7), 800 ppm sodium benzoate and 1.0 per cent ginger extract (T8) and 800 ppm sodium benzoate and 1.5 per cent ginger extract (T9) were added separately and final volume of each treatment were maintained to 900

Progressive Horticulture, 49 (1)

ml with guava juice which were subsequently divided in three replications of equal amount. Bottles were sealed and pasteurized in steam and cooled in water and stored at ambient temperature for three months storage study. The chemical analysis of prepared juice was conducted at monthly interval. Titration method with 2, 6-dichlorophenol indophenols- Dye was used to determine ascorbic acid (mg/100 ml) (A.O.A.C., 2002). The total titrable acidity (%) was determined by the A.O.A.C., (2002) method. The total soluble solids (0Brix) were determined by using Erma hand refractometer (0-320Brix) and values were corrected at 200C. Inolab digital pH meter was used for pH determination. A panel of 10 judges including professors, postgraduate boy and girl students, evaluated the organoleptic quality of different treatments at nine point hedonic scale which ranged from 1 being regarded as dislike extremely to 9 being the highest point as like extremely (Amrine et al., 1965). The qualities assessed were taste, flavour, appearance, texture and overall acceptance. Three times replicated data obtained from the experiment was analysed using factorial CRD (Complete Randomized Design) as described by Panse, and Sukhatme, (1967). The significant differences among the treatments were compared using the Fisher’s analysis of variance at the 5 % level of probability.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Ascorbic acid The data in Table 1 indicated that the ascorbic acid content decreased with the advancement of storage period in all treatments and it was influenced significantly by different levels of sodium benzoate and ginger extracts. 800 ppm sodium benzoate treatment retained maximum ascorbic acid content followed by 600 ppm sodium benzoate treatment which was found to be at par. Slow degradation of ascorbic acid in fruit juice when treated with sodium benzoate was also reported by Hussain et al. (2011). Among different levels of ginger extracts 1.5 per cent and 1.0 per cent were found at par with maximum retention of ascorbic acid content. It might be due to slow oxidation of ascorbic acid in the fruit juice treated by the ginger extract. Among the combinations 600 ppm sodium benzoate and 1.5 per cent ginger extract was superior with maximum retention of the ascorbic acid. Decreasing ascorbic acid content in the fruit juice might be due to oxidation of ascorbic acid in to dihydric ascorbic acid by oxygen. Reducing Ascorbic acid content in carambola fruit juice during storage was also reported by Singh (2000).

Progressive Horticulture, 49 (1)

55

Table 1: Effect of levels of sodium benzoate, ginger extract and their interaction on Ascorbic acid (mg/100 ml) on guava juice during storage 0 Days

30 Days

Ginger extract

Ginger extract

Sodium Benzoate

0.5%

1.0%

1.5%

Mean

0.5%

1.0%

1.5%

Mean

400 ppm

119.50

119.57

119.63

119.56

109.69

109.74

109.81

109.74

600 ppm

119.56

119.81

119.86

119.74

110.36

110.57

110.74

110.55

800 ppm

119.97

120.17

120.27

120.13

110.81

111.28

111.19

111.09

Mean

119.61

119.85

119.92

110.28

110.53

110.58

Sod Ben (SB)

Ginger extract (G)

Interaction (SBXG)

Sod Ben (SB)

Ginger extract (G)

Interaction (SBXG)

0.037

0.037

0.064

0.059

0.059

0.117

CD @ 5 %

60 Days

90 Days

400 ppm

96.67

97.28

97.79

97.24

81.13

81.47

81.63

81.41

600 ppm

97.98

98.23

99.17

98.46

81.97

82.60

83.27

82.61

800 ppm

98.96

99.43

98.99

99.12

82.37

83.07

82.36

82.60

Mean

97.87

98.31

98.65

81.82

82.38

82.42

Sod Ben (SB)

Ginger extract (G)

Interaction (SBXG)

Sod Ben (SB)

Ginger extract (G)

Interaction (SBXG)

0.067

0.067

0.117

0.124

0.124

0.215

CD @ 5 %

Table 2: Effect of levels of sodium benzoate, ginger extract and their interaction on Acidity (%) on guava juice during storage Sodium Benzoate

0.5%

0 Days

30 Days

Ginger extract

Ginger extract

1.0%

1.5%

Mean

0.5%

1.0%

1.5%

Mean

400 ppm

0.324

0.328

0.330

0.327

0.357

0.353

0.353

0.354

600 ppm

0.331

0.334

0.336

0.334

0.351

0.356

0.351

0.352

800 ppm

0.332

0.335

0.338

0.335

0.354

0.352

0.354

0.353

Mean

0.329

0.332

0.335

0.354

0.353

0.352

Sod Ben (SB)

Ginger extract (G)

Interaction (SBXG)

Sod Ben (SB)

Ginger extract (G)

Interaction (SBXG)

0.00057

0.00057

NS

0.00053

0.00053

0.00091

CD @ 5 %

60 Days

90 Days

400 ppm

0.379

0.373

0.371

0.374

0.394

0.391

0.388

0.391

600 ppm

0.369

0.367

0.364

0.366

0.387

0.385

0.384

0.385

0.363

0.384

800 ppm

0.365

0.361

0.363

0.385

0.383

0.386

Mean

0.371

0.367

0.366

0.388

0.386

0.386

Sod Ben (SB)

Ginger extract (G)

Interaction (SBXG)

Sod Ben (SB)

Ginger extract (G)

Interaction (SBXG)

0.00046

0.00046

0.00081

0.00057

0.00057

0.00099

CD @ 5 %

56

Progressive Horticulture, 49 (1)

Table 3: Effect of levels of sodium benzoate, ginger extract and their interaction on pH on guava juice during storage Sodium Benzoate

0.5%

0 Days

30 Days

Ginger extract

Ginger extract

1.0%

1.5%

Mean

0.5%

1.0%

1.5%

Mean

400 ppm

4.40

4.39

4.38

4.39

4.27

4.26

4.25

4.26

600 ppm

4.38

4.36

4.36

4.37

4.25

4.23

4.23

4.24

800 ppm

4.35

4.35

4.34

4.35

4.22

4.22

4.21

4.22

Mean

4.38

4.37

4.36

4.25

4.24

4.23

Sod Ben (SB)

Ginger extract(G)

nteraction (SBXG)

Sod Ben (SB)

Ginger extract(G)

Interaction (SBXG)

0.004

0.007

0.0033

0.0033

0.0057

CD @ 5 %

0.004

60 Days

90 Days

400 ppm

4.10

4.09

4.08

4.09

3.93

3.92

3.92

3.92

600 ppm

4.08

4.06

4.06

4.07

3.92

3.90

3.90

3.90

800 ppm

4.05

4.05

4.04

4.05

3.89

3.89

3.88

3.89

Mean

4.08

4.07

4.06

3.91

3.90

3.90

Sod Ben (SB)

Ginger extract(G)

Interaction (SBXG)

Sod Ben (SB)

Ginger extract (G)

Interaction (SBXG)

0.0035

0.0035

0.0060

0.0066

0.0066

0.0114

CD @ 5 %

Table 4: Effect of levels of sodium benzoate, ginger extract and their interaction on total soluble solid on guava juice during storage Sodium Benzoate

0.5%

0 Days

30 Days

Ginger extract

Ginger extract

1.0%

1.5%

Mean

0.5%

1.0%

1.5%

Mean

400 ppm

12.17

12.24

12.26

12.22

12.33

12.50

12.54

12.46

600 ppm

12.43

12.51

12.59

12.51

12.67

12.72

12.77

12.72

800 ppm

12.79

12.84

12.89

12.84

12.93

12.98

13.00

12.97

Mean

12.46

12.53

12.58

12.64

12.73

12.77

Sod Ben (SB)

Ginger extract(G)

Interaction (SBXG)

Sod Ben (SB)

Ginger extract(G)

Interaction (SBXG)

0.0113

0.0113

0.0197

0.0137

0.0135

0.0236

CD @ 5 %

60 Days

90 Days

400 ppm

12.57

12.66

12.72

12.65

13.07

13.11

13.17

13.12

600 ppm

12.78

12.83

13.07

12.89

13.33

13.41

13.73

13.49

800 ppm

12.98

13.13

13.08

13.06

13.27

13.34

13.16

13.26

Mean

12.77

12.87

12.96

13.22

13.29

13.35

Sod Ben (SB)

Ginger extract(G)

Interaction (SBXG)

Sod Ben (SB)

Ginger extract(G)

Interaction (SBXG)

0.0104

0.0104

0.0181

0.0148

0.0148

0.0255

CD @ 5 %

Progressive Horticulture, 49 (1)

57

Table 5: Effect of levels of sodium benzoate, ginger extract and their interaction on overall acceptability on guava juice during storage Treatment

Storage period 0 Day

30 Days

60 Days

90 Days

T1

8.31

LVM

8.04

LVM

7.43

LS

6.47

L

T2

8.34

LVM

8.11

LVM

7.58

LVM

6.84

LS

T3

8.58

LE

8.18

LVM

7.65

LVM

6.93

LS

T4

8.32

LVM

8.09

LVM

7.53

LVM

6.81

LS

T5

8.34

LVM

8.20

LVM

7.74

LVM

6.98

LS

T6

8.63

LE

8.58

LE

7.87

LVM

7.31

LS

T7

8.33

LVM

8.19

LVM

7.79

LVM

7.43

LS

T8

8.37

LVM

8.23

LVM

7.86

LVM

7.51

LVM

T9

8.65

LE

8.53

LE

8.04

LVM

7.65

LVM

LE- Like Extremely, LVM – Like very much, LS- Like Satisfactory and L- Like

Total titrable acidity As per the observations of Table 2, acidity in different treatments increased significantly and affected by the different levels of sodium benzoate, ginger extract and their combinations during storage. Among different levels of sodium benzoate and ginger extract minimum increase in acidity was observed with 800 ppm sodium benzoate and 1.5 per cent ginger extract, respectively. This was due to antioxidant property of gingerand sodium benzoate slows the rate of chemical reaction in the fruit juice (Kang et al., 2003). Among different combinations 800 ppm sodium benzoate and 1.5 per centginger extract was most effective to maintain acidity during storage among the combinations. The increase in acidity was possibly due to degradation of pectin substances into pectenic acid of the guava juice. Singh (1985) also reported increase in acidity of guava nectar and RTS during storage.

pH Data presented in Table 3 showed that pH of the juice was decreased gradually with the progress in storage period. pH was affected significantly by both the ginger extract as well as sodium benzoate. The minimum change in pH was maintained by 1.5 per cent ginger extract. It might be due to slow change in acidity due to antioxidant property of the ginger. Among the different concentrations of sodium benzoate, 800 ppm was more effective with minimum change in pH. Reduced rate of increase in acidity in fruit juice by sodium benzoate might be the cause of less change in pH. Among all combinations minimum change was observed in 800 ppm sodium benzoate and 1.0 per cent ginger extract. Formation of the carboxylic acid in the juice resulting increase acidity which lowers the pH as storage prolonged

(Adeniyi et al., 2010). Similar kind of result was obtained in case of pomegranate squash by Chaube (1999).

Total soluble solid Table 4 showed that total soluble solids were increased gradually during storage in all the treatments and it was affected significantly by all treatments as well as treatment combinations. The 800 ppm of sodium benzoate and 1.5 per cent ginger extract maintained maximum total soluble solids contents separately while among different combinations of both treatments 800 ppm sodium benzoate and 1.0 per cent ginger extract was most effective with maximum total soluble solids content. Increase in total soluble solids content may be due to hydrolysis of polysaccharides and disaccharides in to monosaccharaides and increasing amount of sodium benzoate and ginger extract content affect significantly. Similar results were also reported in guava juice (Prabhakar et al., 2007) mango juice (Rabbani, 1992) and Dwivedi et. al. (2004) in seabuckthorn.

Sensory evaluation Overall acceptability of all treated samples in terms of taste, flavour, appearance and texture of the fruit juice have been presented as mean data of organoleptic rating in Table 5. Data showed that overall acceptability was decreased gradually during storage of the fruit juice in all the treatment. Initially which treatments were containing higher amount of ginger extract liked extremely and ginger extract was found best over the sodium benzoate. After three month of storage 800 ppm sodium benzoate and 1.5 per cent ginger extract maintained highest acceptability among the treatments followed by 800 ppm sodium benzoate and 1.0 per cent ginger extract. Loss of taste, flavour, appearance and texture of the

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Progressive Horticulture, 49 (1)

fruit juice due to degradation of ascorbic acid, increase in acidity and decrease in pH which resulted increase in microbial growth and spoiled the fruit juice (Gardner, 1972), which were the reasons for loss of the overall acceptability of fruit juice. Loss of overall acceptability was also observed in litchi beverages by Singh and Singh (1994) and in guava fruit beverages by Harsimrat and Dhawan (2001).

References A.O.A.C. 2002. Official Methods of Analysis. 14th ed., Association of Official Agricultural Chemists, Washington, DC. Adeniyi, M.I.; Aberuagba, F. and Adeniyi, O. D. 2010. Production and Preservation of Fruit Juice from African Locust Bean (Parkia biglobosa). AU J.T., 14 (2): 111-118. Akpan, U.G. and Kovo, A.S. 2005. Preservation of passion fruit juice. Leonardo J. Sci., 7: 17-22. Al-Jalay, B.; Blank, G.; Mc Connell, B. and Kl-Khayat, M., 1987. Antioxidant activity of selected spices used in fermented meat sausage. J. Food Protect., 50: 25-27. Amrine, M.A.; Pangbron, R.M. and Rossler, E.B. 1965. Principal of Sensory Evaluation of Foods. Academic Press Inc., New York, USA. Anon. 1988. Code of Federal Regulations, Title 21, Section 184.1021 and 184, 1733. United States: US Food and Drug Administration. Bartley, J. and Jacobs, A. 2000. Effects of drying on flavour compounds in Australian-grown ginger (Zingiber officinale). J. Sci. Food Agri., 80: 209–215. Chobe, R.S., 1999. Studies on extraction, clarification, preservation and storage of pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) Juice. M. Tech. (Ag. Engg.).Thesis submitted to MPAU, Rahuri (Maharashtra), India. Dwivedi, S.K.; Attrey, D.P. and Chaurasia, O.P. 2004. Studies on preparation and preservation of seabuck thorn squash beverage. Ind. J. Hort., 61(1): 78-80. Gardner, W.H. 1972. Hand Book of Food Additives in CRC Press, 2nd ed., Cleveland, Ohio, pp. 34-35. Harsimrat, K. and Dhawan, S. S. I. 2001. Studies on the preparation and storage of guava fruit beverage. Hariyana J. Horti. Sci., 30(3/4): 187-189. Herrmann, K. 1994. Antioxidativ wiksame Pflanzen phenolsowie Carotinoideal swichtige Inhaltsstoffe von Gewu¨rzen. Gordian, 94: 113–117.

Hussain, I.; Zeb, A. and Ayub, M. 2011. Evaluation of Apple and Apricot Blend Juice Preserved with Sodium Benzoate at Refrigeration Temperature. World J. Dairy & Food Sci., 6 (1): 79-85. Jagtiani, J.; Chang, H. T. and Sakai, W. S. 1988.Guava. In: Tropical Fruit Processing. Academic Press, New York. Kang, D. H.; Dougherty, R. H. and Swanson, B. 2003. Controlling Alicyclobacillus acidoterrestris in fruit juices by high pressure and high temperature. Nutr. Rep. Food Sci. Hum. Nutr. ,pp: 311-316. Kaur, S.; Sarkar, B. C.; Sharma, H. K. and Singh, C., 2009. Optimization of enzymatic hydrolysis pretreatment conditions for enhanced juice recovery from guava fruit using response surface methodology. Food Bioprocess. Technol., 2: 96-100. NHB, 2013. Indian horticulture Database, National Horticulture Board, Gurgaon, Haryana. Panse, V. G. and Sukhatme, P. V. 1967. Statistical Methods for Agricultural workers. ICAR, New Delhi. Prabhakar, S.; Abha, S.; Singh, R. and Singh, A. K. 2007. Utilization of guava juice by value addition through blended beverages. Acta Hort., 735: 639-645. Rabbani, A. 1992. Studies on post-harvest technology of sucking mangoes. Ph.D. Thesis, Narendra Deva University of Agriculture and Technology, Faizabad, U.P. Shankar, S.; Dilip, J. and Narayana, R. Y. 2006. Fermentation of guava pulp with grape grown yeast (S. cerevisae var. ellipsoideus) for wine production. Indian J. Hort., 60: 171-173. Singh, A. K. 1985. Studies on preparation and storage of guava (Psidium guajava L.) Beverages. M.Sc. Thesis, Narendra Deva University of Agriculture and Technology, Faizabad. Singh, J. 2000. Studies on processing of carambola (Averrhoea carambola Linn.) fruit. M.Sc. Thesis, Narendra Deva University of Agriculture and Technology, Faizabad. Singh, P. and Singh, I. S. 1994. Physico-chemical changes during storage of litchi (Litchi chinensis) beverages. Indian J. Agric. Sci., 64(3): 168-170. Zainal, B.S.; Abdul Rahman, R.; Arif, A.B.; Saari, B.N. and Asbi, B. A. 2000. Effects of temperature on the physical properties of pink guava juice at two different concentrations. J. Food Engineering, 43: 55-59.

Received on 18 August 2015 and accepted on 07 February 2016

Progressive Horticulture, Vol. 49, No. 1, June 2017 © Copyright ISHRD, Printed in India DOI : 10.5958/2249-5258.2017.00013.6

[Research Article]

Formulation and storage studies of guava (Psidium guajava L.) – soybean (Glycine max) toffee A.P. Khapre*1 and A.A. Kulthe2

College of Food Technology, Vasantrao Naik Marathwada Krishi Vidyapeeth, Parbhani – 431 402 (M.S.) India Department of Food Science and Technology, Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth, Rahuri – 413 722 (M.S.) India *E-mail: [email protected]

1 2

ABSTRACT

Toffees were prepared by blending Guava (Psidium guajava L.) pulp with soyabeen (Glycine max) slurry in different proportions (100:00, 93:07, 85:15 and 78:22). Addition of guava increased the level of ascorbic acid, fiber, calcium and phosphorous contents. With increase in concentration of soya slurry, the level of protein and fat in the toffees was observed higher as a result of which the concentration of sugar decreased. However, the combination of 85 % fruit pulp and 15 % soya slurry recorded highest score in sensory attributes revealing better consumer acceptability. Toffees could be stored safely for 2 months under ambient conditions (27 + 0.5°C) while for 120 days at refrigerated conditions (5 + 1°C). KEY WORDS: Guava pulp, sensory evaluation, soya slurry, storage and toffee Guava (Psidium guajava L.) is cultivated in all parts of India. The tree is almost naturalised in our country and it is common to find this spreading shrub laden with aromatic fruits in some remote corner. The guava is known by different names such as amrud, piyara, peru, koyya, jamakaya, sede pandu (Nwinyi et al., 2008). The guava fruit is an excellent source of vitamin C (Rathore, 1976) up to 2000 mg/100g fruit. Guava fruit is abundant in dietary fiber (7%), vitamin A, pectin, phosphorus, calcium and potassium. Guava was also found to contain alphatocopherol (vitamin E) at nearly 1.7 mg/100g (Ching and Mohamed, 2001), which is an important fat-soluble dietary antioxidant. The predominant non-volatile organic compounds of guava fruit include citric, malic, lactic, ascorbic and galacturonic acids (Chan et al., 1971). The strong aroma of guava fruits is attributed to carbonyl compounds. Soybean belongs to the family Leguminasae. Its botanical name is Glycine max. A unique characteristic of soybean as compared to the other legumes is of its high protein content. Soybean is a cheap source of quality protein (40-42%) and fat (18-20%). Combination of guava pulp and soybean slurry in development of toffee providing the basic nutrients like protein, fat, ascorbic acid, fiber and some minerals. It is also beneficial to afford the Online version available at: www.indianjournals.com

healthful product to masses suffering from protein-energy malnutrition (PEM).

Materials and Methods Ripe guava fruits of cultivar ‘Sardar’ were obtained from Department of Horticulture, Marathwada Agricultural University, Parbhani. Pulp was extracted after proper washing of fruit by hot method (Lal and Sharma, 1987) by adding water (100 ml/kg of fruit), heated for 5-7 minutes and passed through pulper. Soybean was procured from the local market and ground to flour. Soya slurry was prepared by mixing soya flour to water (1:5) in a blender, followed by heating to boiling (5 min) and passing through a pulper (Chauhan et al., 1993). Guava soya toffees were prepared by following the standard recipe generally used for the preparation of fruit toffees. Only the proportions of fruit pulp and soya slurry were varied to find out the acceptable combinations. Different combinations of guava pulp and soya slurry used were 100:00 (T1), 93:07 (T2), 85:15 (T3) and 78:22 (T4). Besides guava pulp and soya slurry, other ingredients of a standard recipe used were sugar (350 g), liquid glucose (40 g), milk powder (80 g) and edible

60

fat (50 g) per 500 g of the mixture. The prepared mixture was concentrated to about half of its volume by heating with continuous stirring, followed by addition of sugar, liquid glucose, milk powder and edible fat. The mass was heated to a thick consistency (75-80oBx.), followed by spreading as sheet of 1 cm thickness on a flat stainless steel tray smeared with edible fat and then it was cut into toffees of uniform size and wrapped first in butter paper followed by wrapping in toffee wrapper and stored in cool and dry place. Finally, toffees were analyzed for sensory and nutritional properties. The sensory evaluation of Guava-Soya Toffee samples were examined by trained/semi-trained judges on nine point Hedonic scale for its color and appearance, taste, flavor, texture and overall acceptability (Amerine et al., 1965). Protein (Micro Kjeldahl, N x 6.25), fat (Solvent extraction), fiber, moisture and ash were determined by the A.O.A.C. (1990) methods. The titratable acidity and ascorbic acid content were estimated as per Ranganna (1986) methods. The toffee samples were stored at ambient (27 + 0.5°C) and refrigerated temperature (5 + 1°C) for 120 days. The samples were drawn at an interval of 15 days and evaluated for sensory quality. The data obtained was analyzed statistically to determine statistical significance of treatments. Completely Randomized Design (CRD) was used to test the significance of results (Panse and Sukhatme, 1967).

Results and Discussion Sensory evaluation The data regarding sensory evaluation of toffees are presented in Table 1. Highest total sensory score obtained by T3 treatment shows that 15% soya slurry with 85% guava pulp was the best combination for the preparation of guava-soya toffees. Addition of milk powder improved the taste of toffees. Edible fat contributed to the better mealiness of toffees. The smooth texture of toffees was due to addition of liquid glucose.

Proximate composition Chemical characteristics of guava pulp and soya slurry have been given in the Table 2 and freshly prepared guava-soya toffees in Table 3. The protein and fat content of guava-soya toffees increased with the increase in the content of soya slurry as a result of high protein and fat content in soybean. The addition of guava caused increase in the level of ascorbic acid and carbohydrate contents of toffee. However, no significant differences were observed among all the treatments with respect to the moisture content of toffees.

Progressive Horticulture, 49 (1)

Table 1: Sensory evaluation scores of Guava-Soya Toffees Sample

T1 T2 T3 T4 SE + CD at 5%

Color and Flavor Texture Taste Overall appearacceptance ability 7.28 7.74 8.12 7.74 0.13 0.39

7.28 7.54 8.16 7.82 0.10 0.30

7.08 7.64 8.12 7.74 0.12 0.38

7.06 7.56 8.24 7.66 0.13 0.41

7.60 7.92 8.20 8.04 0.15 0.47

Each observation is a mean of ten determinations

Table 2: Chemical characteristics of Guava pulp and Soybean slurry Characteristics Moisture (%) Ash (%) Titratable acidity (%) Ascorbic acid (mg/100g) Carbohydrate (%) Protein (%) Fat (%) Fiber (%)

Guava pulp

Soya slurry

81.4 1.1 0.52 215 11.2 0.9 0.3 2.3

86.9 0.4 0.34 19 2.2 7.6 3.5 3.1

Each observation is a mean of four determinations

Table 3: Chemical characteristics of guava-soya roffees Characteristics Moisture (%) Ash (%) Titratable acidity (%) Ascorbic acid (mg/100g) Carbohydrate (%) Protein (%) Fat (%)Fiber (%)

Guava-soya toffees (T3) 14.8 3.3 0.41 13.8 62.3 6.4 11.14.1

Each observation is a mean of four determinations

Storage studies Changes in the sensory quality of guava-soya toffee during storage are presented in Table 4. The sensory score of all parameters decreased continuously during storage. Overall acceptability score of guava-soya toffee suggested that toffees could be stored for about 2 months under ambient conditions. At the end of 3 months storage at ambient temperature (27 + 0.5°C) mouth-feel characteristics were found to be affected adversely. Dryness was indicated in toffees stored at ambient temperature.

Progressive Horticulture, 49 (1)

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Samples stored at refrigerated temperature (5 + 1°C) for about 4 months scored fairly high on sensory evaluation. Beyond 4 months fungal growth was observed in some samples.

Table 4: Sensory quality of Guava-Soya Toffees (T3) during storage for 120 days Test

Fresh Toffee

After 120 days storage AT

RT

SE +

CD at 5%

Colour & appearance

8.12

7.67

6.33

0.10

0.30

Flavour

8.16

7.23

6.06

0.13

0.41

Texture

8.12

7.28

6.33

0.13

0.39

Taste

8.24

6.74

7.28

0.15

0.47

Overall acceptability

8.20

7.24

8.04

0.12

0.38

Each observation is a mean of ten determinations AT-Ambient temperature, RT- Refrigerated temperature

REFERENCES A.O.A.C. 1990. Official Methods of Analysis. Association of Official Analytical Chemists, Washington D.C.

Amerine, M.A.; Pangborn, R.M. and Rossler, E.A. 1965. Principles of Sensory Evaluation of Food. Academic Press Inc., London. pp: 315. Chan, H.T., Brekke, J.E. and Chan, T. 1971. Non-volatile organic acids in guava. J.Food Sci.Technol., 36: 237-239. Chauhan, S.K.; Joshi, V.K. and Lal, B.B. 1993. Apricot soya fruit bar: A new protein enriched product. J.Food Sci. Technol., 30: 457. Ching, L. and Mohamed, S. 2001. Alpha-tocopherol content in 62 edible tropical plants. J. Agric. Food Chem., 49: 3101-2105. Lal, B.B. and Sharma, T.R. 1987. Apricot is a potential fruit for processing. Ind. J. Agric. Sci., : 44. Nwinyi, O.C.; Chinedu, N.S. and Ajani, O.O. 2008. Evaluation of antibacterial activity of Psidium guajava and Gongronema Latifolium, J. Med. Plants Res., 2(8): 189192. Panse, V.S. and Sukhatme, P.V. 1967. Statistical Methods for Agricultural Workers, I.C.A.R., New Delhi. pp: 70-72. Ranganna, S. 1986. Handbook of Analysis and Quality Control for Fruits and Vegetable Products. 2nd Edn. Tata Mc Grow Hill, New Delhi. pp: 7-12.

Received on 20 October 2015 and accepted on 28 February 2016

Progressive Horticulture, Vol. 49, No. 1, June 2017 © Copyright ISHRD, Printed in India DOI : 10.5958/2249-5258.2017.00014.8

[Research Article]

Protein profile study in bittergourd (Momordica charantia L.) Amitabh Panda and Dinesh Kumar Singh*

Department of Vegetable Science, College of Agriculture, G.B.Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pant Nagar-263145 (Uttarakhand), India *E-mail : [email protected]

ABSTRACT

The protein profile study in bitter gourd (Momordica charantia L.) was carried out at G.B.PANT Univ. of Agric & Tech., Pantnagar. Composite seed samples collected from 17 genotypes (6 indigenous &11F1s) grown under polyhouse condition were utilized for total seed protein electrophoresis. Similarity coefficient among 6 parents ranged from 0.27 to 0.93 with the divergence ranging from 7 to 73 %. Cluster dendrogram constructed using UPGMA method showed two main clusters. Parents PBIG-4 & Kalyanpur Baramasi was distantly related with PBIG-2, PBIG-1, Kalyanpur Sona and Priya White. So any one of each cluster can be used for developing heterotic hybrid among the members of other clusters. Similarity co-efficient between two lines were approximately 0.38, whereas similarity coefficient between two main clusters was 0.27 (divergence73%). Key words : Momordica charantia, similarity coefficient, genetic divergence, SDS-PAGE Bittergourd or Balsam pear (Momordica charantia L.), family Cucurbitaceae is one of the most nutritive and commercially important vegetable crops grown throughout India from plain to an altitude of 1500 m. There are many (about 60) species in the genus Momordica, out of which Momordica charantia is widely cultivated, (Chadha & Lal, 1993). It is believed to be originated in the tropics of old world. Bitter gourd is known for its anti-diabetic properties due to its potent oxygen free radical scavanging activity of fruit juice. Cucurbits form a distinct group with respect to methods of improvement since they have a wide range of sex forms and sex expressions, which ultimately favour out-breeding. Improvement in these crops can be brought about by assembling the genetic variability, locating the best combiners, exploiting the genetic diversity & heterosis. In addition to these, characterization of the genetic polymorphism at molecular level will be helpful for hybrid development, studying phylogeny and registration of the lines under Plant Breeders Right Act. Seed proteins have the advantage of being scorable from inviable organs or tissues and the electrophoretic protocol for bulk protein assay is simpler than that for isozymes (Cookes, 1984 and Gepts, 1990). Keeping in view of above facts, the present experiment was carried out with the objective of characterization of present cultivars and phylogenetic study by performOnline version available at: www.indianjournals.com

ing sodium dodecyl poly acrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) of total proteins in bitter gourd.

MATERIALS AND METHODS The present investigation entitled “Protein profile study in bittergourd (Momordica charantia L.)” was carried out at P.G. laboratory of department of Vegetable Science, College of Agriculture & Technology, Pantnagar, Uttarakhand, India. The experimental material consisted of 6 indigenous strains (PBIG-2, PBIG-4, PBIG-1, Kalyanpur Sona, Kalyanpur Baramasi and Priya white) collected from various sources and their 11 F1s out of 15 F1s developed by crossing them in diallel fashion excluding reciprocals. Composite seed samples collected from 17 genotypes grown during winter 2004 under poly house conditions were utilized for total seed protein electrophoresis or SDS page following the method described by Lamelli (1970) with slight modifications. Seeds were cut into two halves and the embryo halves were saved in small packets. Packets were labeled as per the gel no. & well no. The half of seed with embryo was crushed with the brush-end of the seed between a folded butter papers by a hammer on a metal plate. Alternatively 20 mg of crushed sample was used for extraction of protein. Transfer the crushed seeds into an eppendof tube

Progressive Horticulture, 49 (1)

and add 2% mercapto-ethanol. Extraction was done for 1 hr. in a 37oC incubator, later centrifuged for 10 minutes at 10000 rpm just before loading the supernatant in the gel slots (20 micro litre per well with a 20 well comb and 1 mm thick gel). A vertical slab gel electrophoresis apparatus (commercial or home made version) with all accessories including glass plates, platinum electrodes, spacer, comb (preferably 20 well) and buffer tank were used for gel running. After fitting of glass plates, prepared separating gel was poured in the space between two glass plates leaving 2.5 cm. spaces from the top. 1 ml of water was carefully layered over the separating gel to seal off the gel from air inhibiting gel polymerisation. It was allowed to solidify in same position for 30 minutes. The setting was visible by the formation of a separate layer of gel and water. The excess of water was removed from top of gel using a 1 ml. syringe. Stacking gel was poured over separating gel. Immediately the comb was put. It took around 15 min. to set. The prepared electrode buffer was diluted with distilled water @1:9. Each time around 500 ml. of fresh electrode buffer stock solution was prepared. After the gel was set the combs were removed .The wells were cleaned with a 1 ml. syringe. The grooves may be marked with an O.H.P. marker. The lower spacer was removed and whole slab was put in the lower tank of assembly already filled with electrode buffer. Air bubble if any, was removed by slightly tilting the assembly. Finally, a protein sample of 20 microlitres was loaded with a micro syringe. The apparatus was run at constant current of 40 mili A. and the voltage was increased accordingly. The run was performed when the bromophenol dye migrated at about 0.5 cm from the bottom of separating gel. After completion of the run, the power supply was switched off. The gel was transferred to a tray with around 300 ml. of stirring solution. A mark was put on the gel for easy identification. It was left in the staining solution for 12-24hrs. The stained gel was transferred to another tray with 300 ml. of 3%NaCl solution for destaining. It took 3 hrs to get a clear background. The zymograms of seed protein profiles were prepared and the gels were photographed and stored in sealed plastic bags. One gel containing 6 parents and standard molecular marker was taken for construction of dendrogram using UPGMA method with the help of Phospho-Imager corresponding to the standard molecular weight.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION SDS –PAGE analysis of parents & 11 F1 hybrids of bitter gourd were conducted by taking total seed protein. The representative gel photographs are represented in plate no.1, 2 & 3.The dendrogram was constructed for the parental lines to study genetic divergence. The first

63

plate showed 18 bands (including major and minor) vertically showing significant polymorphisms between parent cultivars. Total distance of gel was 13.2 cm and the first band appeared at 1.2 cm. This gel comprised of 0.8% C (cross-linking).

Plate No. 1 : Total Seed Storage Protein Profiles of Different Bittergourd Lines

Plate No. 2 : Total Seed Storage Protein Profiles of Different Bittergourd Lines

Plate No. 3 : Total Seed Storage Protein Profiles of Different Bittergourd F1 Hybrids

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Progressive Horticulture, 49 (1)

14.5 cm. Total no. of bands were 25. The fig. no. 2 showed the relative molecular weight of proteins corresponding to standard molecular marker.The unknown bands was characterized with the help of Phospho-Imager. The analysis revealed that similarity coefficient among the 6 parents ranged from 0.27 to 0.93 (divergence ranged from 7 to 73%). These co-efficient were used to construct cluster dendrogram by using UPGMA method (Fig. 1). The dendrogram showed two main clusters. The first smaller cluster consisted of parental lines such as Kalyanpur Sona (K.S.) and PBIG-4 and the bigger cluster had some sub-cluster. One such sub-cluster consisted of lines Kalyanpur Baramasi (K.B.) and Priya White (P.W.), which are having more of similarity coefficient. In another two sub-clusters, one was the line PBIG-1 which is diverse from line PBIG-2. Similarity coefficient between two lines were approximately 0.38 where as similarity coefficient between two main cluster was 0.27 (divergence 73%). 1. PBIG-2, 2. PBIG-4, 3. PBIG-1, 4. K.S., 5. K.B., 6. P.W.

Fig. 1 : Construction of dendrogram using UPGMA cluster analysis The second plate showed polymorphism between cultivars and the molecular weights of proteins corresponding to standard marker. The molecular protein was a Genei marker having 9 different known molecular weights. The total distance of gel was 12 cm. The first band appeared at 1.4 cm. There were total 16 bands vertically arranged (including major and minor). The third plate showed protein profiles of 11 bitter gourd F1 hybrids along with standard Genei Marker protein. The concentration of gel was 0.8% C. Total distance of gel was

REFERENCES Chadha, M.L. and Lal,T. 1993. Improvement of cucurbits. In: Chadha,k.l. and Kalloo,G, (eds)Adv. In Hort., vol. 5, Malhotra publishing pp. 137-179. Cooke, R.J. 1984. The characterization and identification of crop cultivars by electrophoresis. Electrophoresis, 5: 59-72. Gepts, P. 1990. Genetic diversity of seed storage protein in plants .In: A.H.D. Brown, M T. Clegg, A.L. Kahler and Wer: B.S. (eds) Plant Population Genetics, Breeding and Genetic Resources Standard, Sinauer Assoc.

Received on 18 April 2015 and accepted on 24 December 2015

Progressive Horticulture, Vol. 49, No. 1, June 2017 © Copyright ISHRD, Printed in India DOI : 10.5958/2249-5258.2017.00015.X

[Research Article]

Influence of foliar fertilization of boron on broccoli (Brassica oleracea var. italica) in boron deficient soil of Doon Valley, India Ratan Kumar* and Kavita Kandpal

G. B. Pant University of Agriculture & Technology, Horticulture Research & Extension Centre, Dhakrani, Dehradun-248 142, Uttarakhand, India *Present Address: Dept. of Horticulture & Food Processing, Govt. Garden , Circuit House, Dehradun-248003, Uttarakhand, India *E-mail: [email protected]

ABSTRACT

Boron deficiency is widespread in Indian soils. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the influence of foliar application of B on growth, yield and quality of broccoli through field experiment during winter season for two consecutive years in boron deficient soil of Doon Valley. Foliar application of all treatments of B had no significant effect on growth characters viz. plant height, number of leaves per plant and average plant spread. However, the days taken to curd initiation and curd maturity were minimum with the application of disodium octaborate @ 0.1% followed by borax @ 0.2%. Curd formation and curd weight per plant were maximum with disodium octaborate @ 0.1%. Other quality parameters like curd diameter and curd depth were also maximum with disodium octaborate @ 0.1%. All the B treatments significantly affected curd yield. The maximum curd yield was obtained with the application of disodium octaborate @ 0.1% which was 95.64% higher than the control. Thus, foliar application of B as disodium octaborate @ 0.1% was found most effective in the present investigation for maximization of yield and quality of broccoli. KEY WORDS: Broccoli, boron application, vegetative growth, curd yield and quality Foliar application of nutrients is an important crop management strategy in maximizing crop yields. Through foliar spray, the nutrients penetrate the cuticle of the leaf or the stomata and then enter the cells. Hence, crop response occurs in short time in foliar application compared to soil application (Fageria et al., 2009). Application of micronutients by foliar spray is more effective because of small amount required. Boron deficiency is now widespread in Indian soils. The availability of B becomes difficult, particularly in areas with acid sandy soils receiving fair amount of rainfall. These conditions are common in Doon Valley soils of Uttarakhand (Saran and Kumar, 2011). It results in reduced yield and quality of many vegetables. Broccoli is a highly nutritious cruciferous vegetable crop. Its sprouts are exceptionally rich source of inducers of enzymes that protect against chemical carcinogens (Fahey et al., 1997). The isothiocyanate sulforaphane is abundant in broccoli sprouts, which is powerfully bactericidal

Online version available at: www.indianjournals.com

against Helicobacter pylori infections associated with the risk of gastric cancer (Yanaka et al., 2009). Owing to its increasing demand, its cultivation is becoming very popular in India. Among cole crops, broccoli is sensitive to B deficiency. Aggravation of B deficiency is also believed to be associated with the development of hollow stem disorder in broccoli (Shelp et al., 1992; Brown and Shelp, 1997). Foliar application of B is often more efficient than soil application to ameliorate the B deficiency. Shelp et al. (1996) concluded that foliar B fertilization may be more effective for preventing B deficiency than soil derived B in leaves of broccoli plants. The increasing need of B fertilization makes it desirable to generate the additional information on the effect of foliar applied B on the growth and yield of broccoli. Hence, the present investigation was carried out to evaluate the influence of foliar application of B on growth, yield and quality of broccoli through a field experiment during winter season in a sandy loam soil, low in available boron.

66

MATERIALS AND METHODS The field experiments were conducted at Horticulture Research and Experiment Centre, G B Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Dhakrani, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India (elev. 600 m; lat. 28o 42’ N and long. 77o 35’-81o 5’ E) during winter seasons in two consecutive years, i.e., 2010-11 and 2011-12. Representative soil samples were collected from the experimental field prior to the start of the experiment. The pH of the soil was determined in 1:2.5 soil water extract, organic carbon by Walkley and Black’s titrimetric method and boron was estimated by Azomethine-H method (Wolf, 1971). Recommended doses of FYM and NPK were applied in the planting furrow before transplantation of seedlings of broccoli cv. Titanic at 45 cm x 45 cm spacing. B was applied twice through foliar application of disodium tetraborate (borax), boric acid and disodium octaborate (solu-B) at 30 and 50 days after transplantation. The treatments comprised of foliar fertilization with various sources of B, viz., T­1- borax @ 0.2%, T­2- borax @ 0.4%, T3- boric acid @ 0.1%, T4-boric acid @ 0.2%, T5- disodium octaborate @ 0.05%, T6- disodium octaborate @ 0.1%, T7- disodium octaborate @ 0.2% and T8-control (water spray). Thus, there were eight treatments which were replicated thrice under randomized block design. Irrigation, weeding and other intercultural operations were done as and when required. The data were recorded on various vegetative and phenological characters, viz., plant height, number of leaves, average plant spread and days to curd initiation and maturity. The observations on yield and yield contributing characters such as curd diameter, curd depth, curd weight, marketable curd formation were also recorded. The data recorded in both the years were pooled together and analyzed statistically for analysis of variance with the help of computer using Statistical Programme for Social Sciences (SPSS) software (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). Critical difference (CD) was calculated at 0.05 level of probability for comparing treatment mean.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The data of soil analysis of the experimental field are shown in Table 1. With increasing soil depth, the pH and organic carbon decreased coupled with reduction in available boron. The soil of the experimental field was slightly acidic and considering 0.5 mg kg-1 as the critical level of B in soil for most of the crops (Mengel and Kirkby, 1987), the soil was deficient in B at the soil depth of 0-50 cm. As evident from Table 2, foliar application of all treatments of B had no significant effect on growth characters, viz., plant height, number of leaves and average plant spread. However, maximum plant height (36.9

Progressive Horticulture, 49 (1)

cm) was recorded with disodium octaborate @ 0.05 per cent. Number of leaves were maximum (20.3) in control. Maximum plant spread (68.9 cm) was recorded with borax @ 0.2 %. Firoz et al. (2008) also observed that vegetative characters, viz., plant height, outer leaves per plant in broccoli remained unaffected by B application. Phenological characters such as days to curd initiation and curd maturity were also affected with foliar spray of B (Table 2). The number of days taken for curd initiation was significantly reduced with the application of disodium octaborate @ 0.1 per cent (63 days) followed by borax @ 0.2 per cent (64.33 days), while curd initiation took maximum days (72.67 days) in control. Similarly, the number of days taken for curd maturity was also significantly reduced (82 days) with disodium octaborate @ 0.1 per cent followed by borax @ 0.2 per cent (83.66 days) whereas, maximum days to curd maturity (93.66 days) were recorded with control. Thus, application of disodium octaborate @ 0.1 per cent reduced the number of days to curd maturity by 11.66 days in comparison to control. The yield contributing characters, viz., curd diameter, curd depth, curd weight and curd formation were significantly affected by foliar sprays of different sources of boron (Table 3). Maximum curd diameter (15.17 cm) was recorded with disodium octaborate @ 0.1 per cent, which was statistically at par with foliar spray of borax @ 0.2 per cent (15.03 cm) and disodium octaborate @ 0.2 per cent (14.50 cm). Maximum curd depth (15.00 cm) was also recorded with disodium octaborate @ 0.1 per cent. Maximum curd weight (288.6 g) was recorded with both disodium octaborate @ 0.1 per cent and borax @ 0.2 per cent. Foliar application of all the boron fertilizers led to enhanced formation of marketable curds in comparison to control. However, disodium octaborate @ 0.1 per cent resulted in maximum curd formation (87.89%). Maximum curd yield (125.27 qha-1) was obtained with the application of disodium octaborate @ 0.1 per cent which was at par with the yield obtained with borax @ 0.2 per cent (122.80 qha-1) and was 95.64 per cent higher than the control (Fig. 1). The enhancement in curd yield due to boron fertilizer application has also been observed by Pizetta et al. (2005) in broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage planted in sandy soil. Thus, foliar application of B as disodium octaborate @ 0.1% was found most effective for maximization of yield and quality of broccoli.

Table 1: Some chemical properties of soil of the experimental site Soil depth (cm)

pH

Available boron (mg kg-1)

Organic carbon (%)

0-25

6.5

0.41

0.69

25-50

6.1

0.37

0.51

Progressive Horticulture, 49 (1)

67

Table 2: Influence of boron application on vegetative and phenological characters of broccoli (Data are pooled mean of two years) Treatments

Plant height (cm)

Number of leaves per plant

Average plant spread (cm)

Days to curd initiation

Day to curd maturity

T1: borax @ 0.2%

36.4

20.1

68.9

64.33

83.66

T2: borax @ 0.4%

35.0

20.1

67.8

67.00

88.00

T3: boric acid @ 0.1%

34.8

19.7

62.6

66.67

87.33

T4: boric acid @ 0.2%

33.6

19.4

64.2

64.67

88.00

T5: disodium octaborate @ 0.05%

36.9

18.9

66.5

65.00

87.66

T6: disodium octaborate @ 0.1%

36.4

19.5

65.8

63.00

82.00

T7: disodium octaborate @ 0.2%

34.9

19.6

67.9

66.33

86.33

T8: control (water spray)

32.8

20.3

63.4

72.67

93.66

SEm ±

0.02

0.52

1.40

0.94

0.83

ns

ns

ns

2.85

2.51

CD at 5%

Table 3: Yield contributing characters of broccoli as influenced by boron application (Data are pooled mean of two years) Treatments

Curd diameter (cm)

Curd depth (cm)

Curd weight/plant (g)

Marketable curd formation (%)

T1: borax @ 0.2%

15.03

13.73

288.6

86.17

T2: borax @ 0.4%

13.30

12.83

241.0

72.89

T3: boric acid @ 0.1%

13.73

13.90

268.2

65.22

T4: boric acid @ 0.2%

14.00

13.00

245.0

72.21

T5: disodium octaborate @ 0.05%

14.00

14.17

258.9

77.88

T6: disodium octaborate @ 0.1%

15.17

15.00

288.6

87.89

T7: disodium octaborate @ 0.2%

14.50

13.07

275.7

84.18

T8: control (water spray)

11.77

11.17

232.1

55.89

SEm ±

0.35

0.68

5.23

2.28

CD at 5%

1.09

2.07

15.89

6.93

140 120

80 (q/ha)

Yield (q/ha)

100

60 40 20

0 T1

T2

T3

T4

T5

T6

T7

T8

Treatments

Fig. 1: Effect of foliar B application on yield of broccoli (Data are pooled mean of two years). Vertical bars represent standard error (CD at 5%=6.78).

Since the range in critical tissue concentrations between boron deficiency and toxicity is narrow (Gupta et al., 1985), the possibility of negative impact of soil B fertilization (Wojcik et al., 2008) could not be denied. Furthermore, B fertilizers applied as basal dressing are very easily leached from sandy soils. Hence, the foliar application often shows good and steady response as found in the present investigation. Shelp et al. (1996) also concluded that foliar-B fertilization in broccoli plants may be more effective for preventing B deficiency than soil derived B in leaves. It is concluded from the present study that foliar application of B at 30 and 50 days after transplantation led to early curd initiation/ maturity, enhanced yield and quality in broccoli and twice foliar sprays of disodium octaborate @ 0.1 per cent might be recommended particularly in those soils which are low or deficient in available boron content.

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Progressive Horticulture, 49 (1)

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The authors are grateful to Officer in-charge, HREC, Dhakrani, Dehradun for providing necessary facilities during the period of investigation.

REFERENCES Brown, H.P. and Shelp, B.J. 1997. Boron mobility in plants. Plant Soil, 193: 85-101. Fageria, N.K.; Filho, M.P.B.; Moreira, A. and Guimaraes, C.M. 2009. Foliar fertilization of field plants. J. Plant Nutrition, 32: 1044-1064. Fahey, J.W.; Zhang, Y. and Talalay, P. 1997. Broccoli sprouts: an exceptionally rich source of inducers of enzymes that protect against chemical carcinogens. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science of the USA., 94: 10367-10372. Firoz, Z.A.; Jaman, M.M.; Alam, M.S. and Alam, M.K. 2008. Effect of boron application on the yield of different varieties of broccoli in hill valley. Bangladesh J. Agril. Res., 33: 655-657. Gupta, U.C.; Jame, Y.W.; Campbell, C.A.; Leyshon, A.J. and Nicholaichuk, W. 1985. Boron toxicity and deficiency: a review. Can. J. Soil Sci., 65: 381-409. Mengel, K. and Kirkby, E.A. 1987. Principles of Plant Nutrition. Fourth Edition. Intl. Potash Inst., WorblaufenBern, Switzerland. Pizetta, L.C.; Ferreira, M.E.; da Cruz, M.C.P. and Barbosa,

J.C. 2005. Response of boron fertilization on broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage planted in sandy soil. Horticultura Brasileira, 23: 51-56. Saran P.L. and Kumar, R. 2011. Boron deficiency disorders in mango (Mangifera indica): field screening, nutrient composition and amelioration by boron application. Indian J. Ag. Sci., 81: 506-510. Shelp, B.J.; Shattuck, V.I.; McLellan, D. and Liu, L. 1992. Boron nutrition and the composition of glucosinolate and soluble nitrogen compound in two broccoli cultivars. Can. J. Plant Sci., 72: 889-899. Shelp, B.J.; Vivekanandan, P.; Vanderpool, R.A. and Kitheka, A.M. 1996. Translocation and effectiveness of foliar-fertilized boron in broccoli plants of varying boron status. Plant Soil, 183: 309-313. Wojcik, P.; Wojcik, M. and Klamkowski, K. 2008. Response of apple trees to boron fertilization under conditions of low soil boron availability. Scientia Hort., 116: 58-64. Wolf, B. 1971. The determination of boron in soil extracts, plant materials, composts, manures, water and nutrient solutions. Communications in Soil and Plant Analysis, 2: 363-374. Yanaka, A.; Fahey, J.W.; Fukumoto, A.; Nakayama, M.; Inoue, S.; Zhang, S.; Tauchi, M.; Suzuki, H.; Hyodo, I. and Yamamoto, M. 2009. Dietary sulforaphane-rich broccoli sprouts reduce colonization and attenuate gastritis in Helicobactor pylori-infected mice and humans. Cancer Prevention Research, 2: 353-360.

Received on 27 July 2015 and accepted on 03 April 2016

Progressive Horticulture, Vol. 49, No. 1, June 2017 © Copyright ISHRD, Printed in India DOI : 10.5958/2249-5258.2017.00016.1

[Research Article]

Postharvest quality of tuberose (Polianthes tuberosa) loose flower as affected by elecitor treatment N.K.L. Khongwir1, M.C. Singh2*, Krishan P. Singh1 and Ajay Arora3

Division of Floriculture and Landscaping, 2 Centre for Protected Cultivation Technology, Division of Plant Physiology, ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi-110012, India *E-mail: [email protected]

1 3

ABSTRACT

Tuberose (Polianthes tuberosa L.)is one of the most important commercial loose and cut flower crops grown in India and other countries. Its florets (loose flowers) retain their freshness only for a few days under ordinary condition. The objective of the present study was to investigate role of elicitors on shelf life and physiological traits in florets of tuberose cultivars Mexican Single, Prajwal and Sikkim Selection. There were ten treatments i.e., three elicitors (boric acid, salicylic acid and nitric acid) and their three concentrations (50,100 and 200 ppm each) and a control (distilled water), replicated thrice in completely randomized design. The statistically analysed data revealed that in cvs. Mexican Single, Prajwal and Sikkim Selection the greater floret diameter retention (4.64, 5.00 and 5.39 mm, respectively), floret weight retention (0.65,0.70 and 0.89g, respectively), relative water content (84.03, 81.97 and 88.86 %, respectively) and membrane stability index (76.90, 77.32 and 79.81%, respectively) were obtained with treating of florets in 200 ppm boric acid solution. Significantly lower for above mentioned parameters were recorded under control treatment. Higher freshness index (5 for all 3 cultivars) and shelf life (5.1, 6.0 and 5.0 day, respectively) of florets were expressed with treatment of 200 ppm each of boric acid, salicylic acid and nitric acid solution and the lower values under control treatment. Total sample weight and physiological loss in weight of florets did not differ significantly by application of different treatments. KEY WORDS: Boric acid, elicitor, loose flower, nitric acid, salicylic acid, tuberose Tuberose (Polianthes tuberosa) is one of the most important loose flower as well as cut flower crops in tropical and sub-tropical regions of the world including India. It belongs to the family Agavacaeae and originated in Mexico. It is a perennial herbaceous plant usually produces flowering spikes almost round the year, but it blooms profusely during summer and rainy seasons. Waxy white flowers of tuberose impregnate the surroundings with their sweet lingering fragrance. The larger yield of tuberose flowers is consumed in the form of loose flowers followed by cut flowers and extraction of concrete. Loose flowers of tuberose are largely used for making garlands, floral ornamentals, hair decoration, offering at religious, social and official functions, etc. For loose flower utilization its Single petalled cultivars are preferred over the Double petalled cultivars. Tuberose florets (loose flowers) retain their freshness only for a few days under ordinary condition, thus bring down their market value. It is an established fact that certain Online version available at: www.indianjournals.com

preservative chemicals (elicitors) significantly regulate the shelf life of loose flowers (florets), where a single day enhancement of shelf life is an important issue to extend the availability for consumer (Kumar, 2002). The present investigation was conducted to ascertain the role of elicitors viz., boric acid, salicylic acid and nitric acid on shelf life and postharvest physiological traits of loose flowers of tuberose.

MATERIALS AND METHODS Three selected tuberose cultivars were cultivated at the Research Farm of ICAR- Directorate of Floricultural Research, IARI Campus,New Delhi. New Delhi is located at 28035IN latitude, 77012IE longitude and an altitude of 228.16 m above mean sea level. Uniform package of practices were followed to grow healthy crop (Singh et al. 2010). The experiments were carried out in laboratory of the Centre for Protected Cultivation Technol-

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Progressive Horticulture, 49 (1)

ogy, ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, during 2014 and 2015. The laboratory was maintained with day and night temperature at 20-22 0C, light levels between 180-220µ mol m-2sec-1 over the experiment benches and a relative humidity of 60-65%. Three cultivars of Single petalled tuberose namely, Mexican Single, Prajwal and Sikkim Selection were selected for this study. Fully developed mature florets (loose flowers) were hand-plucked from flowering spikes of growing plants early in the morning (6 to 8 a.m.), collected in muslin cloth bags and brought to the laboratory for experimentation. The experiments included 10 treatments, i.e., three elicitors, viz., boric acid, salicylic acid and nitric acid (procured from Sigma-Aldrich®) and their three concentrations (50,100 and 200 ppm) along with a control (distilled water).Loose flowers (florets) were dipped for a few minutes in a solution containing as follows : T1= control (distilled water), T2= boric acid -50 ppm, T3= boric acid -100 ppm, T4= boric acid-200 ppm, T5=salicylic acid-50 ppm, T6=salicylic acid -100 ppm, T7=salicylic acid -200 ppm, T8= nitric acid -50 ppm, T9= nitric acid100 ppm and T10= nitric acid-200 ppm. The experiments were arranged in completely randomized design with three replications. Each treatment contained 150 g quantum of florets. The experiments were conducted under ambient laboratory condition.

During the course of experimentation, data on the following physiological parameters were recorded time to time: Initial floret diameter (mm) was measured

of 10 randomly selected florets and mean was calculated. The individual floret diameter (mm) was measured by digital varnier calliper. The relative water content (RWC) was measured by taking 100 g of fresh floret strips and putting in into a test tube containing double distilled water. Fresh weight and treatment weight of these florets were noted after they were dried into hot air oven. The formula for calculating relative water content is given below:

Fresh weight –Dry weight

Relative Water Content (RWC) = ———————— x 100 Treatment weight – Dry weight The membrane stability index (MSI) was determined according to the methods of Premchand et al. (1990), as modified by Sairam (1994). Floret strips (10 g) of uniform size were taken in a test tube containing 100 ml of double distilled water in two sets. Test tube in one set were kept at 40C in a water bath for 30 minute and electrical conductivity of the water containing sample was measured (C1) using a conductivity bridge. Test tube in the other set incubated at 1000C in the boiling water bath for 15 minute and their electrical conductivity was measured as above (C2), was calculated using formula given below:

Membrane Stability Index (MSI) = (1-C1/C2 ) x 100 The final weight of total sample of florets was taken at the termination of shelf life of florets. The initial fresh weight of florets was recorded before initiating the experiments and final weight was recorded at the termination of shelf life stage and was expressed in percentage. It was calculated using the following formula: Final weight (g)- Initial weight (g) Weight change = —————————————— x100

Initial weight (g)

For calculating of fresh weight of the florets, observations were recorded at an interval of two days starting from the first day of experimentation till these florets were presentable (depending upon the shelf life of loose flowers). Loose flowers were assigned A, B and C grades which were given points as shown below: Grade

Point

Florets with original bright colour

Freshness/ Appearance

A

5

Florets with moderately faded from original colour

B

3

Florets severely faded from original colour

C

1

Shelf life of florets was observed when time taken for development of necrotic sysmptoms was recorded and shelf life was determined as number of days taken for placing for the loose flowers till wilting and fading of petals of these loose flowers. The recorded data were statistically analysed for the completely randomized design, viz., computation of mean, standard error and critical difference (CD) value P = 0.05 were carried out using SAS 9.4 package.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Table 1 revealed that in tuberose cv. Mexican Single, significant difference was estimated for floret diameter retention under the influence of different treatments. The higher floret diameter (4.64 cm) was recorded by the florets kept after dipping in 200 ppm boric acid.The higher retention of floret weight (0.65 g) was obtained by loose flowers treated with 200 ppm boric acid, followed by 50, 100 and 200 ppm salicylic acid (0.55, 0.53 and 0.60, respectively). The higher water content retention and membrane stability index (84.03% and 76.90%, respectively) were recorded by dipping of florets in 200 ppm boric acid. Two important parameters viz., total sample weight and physiological loss in weight of florets did not differ significantly due to application of different treatments. On the other hand, the more physiological loss in weight (123.28 g) was recorded under control treatment

Progressive Horticulture, 49 (1)

and lesser (100.82 g) under 200 ppm boric acid treatment. The freshness index was calculated observing the physiological condition of florets (loose flowers) at the termination stage of shelf life and found that highest grade denoted as A and awarded with 5 points, for the florets treated with 200 ppm each of boric acid, salicylic acid and nitric acid treatments, followed by grades B and awarded with 3 points in dipping of florets in 100 ppm each of boric acid, salicylic acid and nitric acid solutions. The C grade and with 1 point award was recorded in florets treated with 50 ppm each of boric acid, salicylic acid and nitric acid and control treatments. The higher shelf life of florets was recorded when florets were treated with 200 ppm each of boric acid, salicylic acid and nitric acid solution. Table 1 also revealed that significantly the lower floret diameter (3.24 mm), floret weight (0.27g), relative water content (58.57%), membrane stability index (53.85 %) and shelf life (3.0 day) of loose flowers were recorded in control treatment. Table 2 revealed that in tuberose cv. Prajwal , significantly higher floret diameter (5.00 mm) was obtained by dipping of florets (loose flowers ) in 200 ppm boric acid solution , followed (4.98 mm) by 100 ppm boric acid treatment. The higher retention of floret weight (0.70g) was recorded by treating of loose flowers in 200 ppm boric acid solution and all elicitor treatments were recorded to be statistically at par with each other. The higher relative water content (82.97 %) and membrane stability index (77.32%) were recorded by treating loose flowers in 200 ppm boric acid solution. Total sample weight and physiological loss in weight parameters did not differ significantly due to application of different treatments including control. Freshness index (appearance) was reported highest grade denoted as A and awarded with 5 points for the florets treated with 100 to 200 ppm boric acid and 200 ppm of each salicylic acid and nitric acid solution, followed by grade B and awarded with 3 points when florets were treated in 50 ppm boric acid and 50 to 100 ppm salicylic acid and nitric acid solution. Grade C with 1 point was obtained in control treatment. The higher shelf life (6.00 day) of florets was recorded when loose flowers were treated with 100-200 ppm boric acid and 200 ppm each of salicylic acid and nitric acid solution. Table 1 revealed that significantly lower floret diameter (3.47 cm), floret weight (0.51g), relative water content (56.11 %) , membrane stability index (61.09 %) and shelf life (4.0 day) were obtained in control treatment. Table 3 revealed that in tuberose cv. Sikkim Selection, significantly higher floret diameter (5.58 mm) was obtained by dipping of florets in 200 ppm of boric acid solution and remained at par with treatments of 50 and 100 ppm boric acid and all concentration of salicylic acid solution. The higher floret weight (0.89 g), relative water

71

content (88.86 %) and membrane stability index (79.81%) were recorded by dipping of loose flowers in 200 ppm boric acid solution. Total sample weight and physiological loss in weight parameters did not significantly affected by imposing of all treatments. The freshness index was reported the highest grade denoted as A and awarded with 5 points for the florets treated with 200 ppm each of boric acid, salicylic acid and nitric solution, followed by grade B and awarded with 3 points when florets were treated in 50 to 100 ppm boric acid, salicylic acid and nitric acid solution. The lowest grade C awarded with 1 point was obtained under control treatment. The longer shelf life (5.00 day) was recorded by treating of florets in 200 ppm each of boric acid, salicylic acid and nitric acid solution. Table 3 also indicated that significantly lower floret diameter (2.94 mm), floret weight (0.55 g), relative water content (56.23%) and shelf life (3.00 day) of florets were obtained under control treatment. From the aforementioned results presented in Tables 1,2, and 3, it is evident that treating of tuberose cvs. Mexican Single, Prajwal and Sikkim Selection florets (loose flowers) in 200 ppm boric acid, salicylic acid and nitric acid solution greatly extended freshness index and shelf life of florets. And also treatment of florets with 200 ppm boric acid solution significantly improved postharvest parameters viz., floret diameter, floret weight, water retention content and membrane stability index. Asif et al. (2016) observed that treatment of tuberose cv. Single cut spikes with 5 % salicylic acid with or without 10% sucrose proved effective for extending vase life and improving postharvest performance of cut spikes. Majumdar et al. (2012) stated that tuberose cvs. Mexican Single, Prajwal and Arka Nirantara florets maintained better shelf life and colour retention and also delayed development of brown colour when florets were treated with 2 %boric acid solution. Vase solution composed of 50 and 100 ppm salicylic acid was found to be the best in extending vase life of cut spikes of tuberose cvs. Vaibhavi and Mexican Single (Kumari et al., 2014). Jawaharlal et al. (2013) reported that in jasmine (Jasminum sambac Ait.) flowers, among the chemical treatments ( boric acid-2 and 4%, salicylic acid -25 and 50 ppm and NAA -50 and 100 ppm), application of boric acid at 4% resulted in the maximum freshness index, colour retention index, membrane stability index and physiological loss in weight. Jasmine (Jasminum sambac) loose flowers pre-treated with 4% boric acid solution and packed in 200 micron thick polyethylene bags recorded significantly lower levels of total phenols, 50.90 µgg-1, as compared to storage of flowers in open tray (control), 61.80 µgg-1 (Lavanya et al., 2014). Vase life of rose cut flowers was increased by treatment with salicylic acid (50,100, 200 and 400 ppm) irrespective of its concentration when compared to control treatment (Alaey et al., 2011). Our results are closer to

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Progressive Horticulture, 49 (1)

the findings of above discussed researchers in different flower crops. In the present study, among three elicitor treatments, dipping of florets in 200 ppm boric acid treatment proved effective in extending shelf life of florets and registering higher levels of florets diameter retention, florets weight retention and relative water content. These in turn, reduced solute leakage from flowers, indicating increased membrane stability index of flowers. All these factors might have proved effective in retaining freshness index of flowers, thus delaying wilting process and enhanced

shelf life. Boric acid was earlier used as a mineral salt that could increase osmotic concentration and pressure potential of tepal cells, thus improving their water balance and longevity in different flowers (Halevy, 1976; Van Meeteren, 1989; Thamariselvi et al., 2010). Treating of flowers with biocide leads to preventing of rapid multiplication of bacterial growth and mechanical rigidity of flowers by inducing cell wall thickening. Salicylic acid and its derivatives are suitable chemical treatments in order to prolong vase life of cut spikes of tuberose (Hajizadeh and Aliloo, 2014).

Table 1: Postharvest quality parameters of tuberose cv. Mexican Single as affected by concentrations of elicitors treatment Treatment (Concentration) Control ( Distilled water) Boric acid @ 50ppm Boric acid @100ppm Boric acid @200ppm Salicylic acid @ 50ppm Salicylic acid @ 100ppm Salicylic acid @ 200ppm Nitric oxide@ 50 ppm Nitric oxide@ 100 ppm Nitric oxide@ 200 ppm CD (P=0.05)

Floret diameter (mm) 3.24c 4.02b 4.61ab 4.64a 4.47ab 4.36ab 4.56ab 4.38ab 4.29a 4.26ab 0.53

Floret weight (g) 0.27c 0.41b 0.49ab 0.65a 0.55a 0.53a 0.60a 0.51ab 0.52ab 0.51ab 0.14

Relative water content (%) 58.57f 76.06cde 71.87cde 84.03a 67.52e 68.68de 72.74cdeb 67.95e 78.45cab 80.17ab 9.31

Membrane stability index (%) 53.85d 68.79c 68.46c 76.90a 75.58ab 71.86cb 75.20ab 75.34ab 70.11c 69.98c 15.34

Total Physiologisample cal loss in weight (g) weight (g) 77.58a 123.28a 78.54a 117.63a a 81.85 110.76a 79.97a 119.87a 83.23a 106.10a a 85.60 100.82a 80.74a 114.73a a 84.55 102.91a 84.76a 103.69a a 81.18 113.01a N.S. N.S.

Freshnessindex 1 1 3 5 1 3 5 3 5 3 —

Shelf life (day) 3.0b 3.1b 4.0ab 5.1a 3.0b 4.0ab 5.1a 4.1ab 5.1a 4.0ab 0.01

Note: Means denoted with same letter are not significantly different; Freshness index is expressed as grades, where grade A denotes 5 points, B3 points and C1 point

Table 2: Postharvest quality parameters of tuberose cv. Prajwal as affected by concentrations of elicitors treatment Treatment (Concentration)

Floret diameter (mm) Control ( Distilled water) 3.47d Boric acid @ 50ppm 4.10c Boric acid @100ppm 4.98a Boric acid @200ppm 5.00a Salicylic acid @ 50ppm 4.49cb Salicylic acid @ 100ppm 4.64ab Salicylic acid @ 200ppm 4.68ab Nitric oxide@ 50 ppm 4.45cb Nitric oxide@ 100 ppm 4.42cb Nitric oxide@ 200 ppm 4.56cab CD (P=0.05) 0.60

Floret weight (g) 0.51b 0.68a 0.67a 0.70a 0.65a 0.69a 0.67a 0.65a 0.64a 0.66a 0.12

Relative water content (%) 56.11f 76.07cb 72.10cd 82.97a 68.01ed 69.14ed 72.98cd 68.42ed 63.96e 81.04ab 7.23

Membrane stability index (%) 61.09f 73.40dcb 68.60e 77.32a 74.96ab 73.70cb 75.36ab 75.84ab 70.97dce 70.46de 7.12

Total sample weight (g) 87.31a 96.49a 96.87a 100.69a 98.36a 97.50a 96.18a 98.66a 99.56a 98.09a N.S.

Physiological loss in weight (g) 82.93a 69.19a 68.69a 66.68a 64.82a 61.25a 68.72a 64.64a 62.71a 64.65a N.S.

Freshness index 1 3 5 5 3 3 5 3 3 5 —

Shelf life (day) 4.0b 5.1ab 6.0a 6.0a 5.0ab 5.0ab 6.0a 5.1ab 5.0ab 6.0a 0.01

Note: Means denoted with same letter are not significantly different, Freshness index is expressed as grades, where grade A denotes 5 points, B3 points and C1 point

Progressive Horticulture, 49 (1)

73

Table 3: Postharvest quality parameters of tuberose cv. Sikkim Selection as affected by concentrations of elicitors treatment Treatment ( Concentration)

Floret diameter (mm)

Floret weight (g)

Relative water content (%)

Membrane stability index (%)

Control (Distilled water)

2.94c

0.55d

56.23e

62.23d

70.85a

126.62a

1

3.0b

Boric acid @ 50ppm

5.56a

0.76cb

78.93cb

74.01bc

77.88a

120.1a

3

4.0ab

Boric acid @100ppm

5.23a

0.75c

77.30dcb

77.24ab

80.81a

113.83a

3

4.0ab

Boric acid @200ppm

5.58a

0.82a

88.86a

79.81a

79.22a

122.83a

5

5.0a

Salicylic acid @ 50ppm

5.16a

0.82cab

78.93cb

67.95d

82.37a

106.34a

3

4.0ab

Salicylic acid @ 100ppm

5.39a

0.84cab

67.76e

74.45cb

84.49a

104.29a

5

4.0ab

Salicylic acid @ 200ppm

5.39a

0.82ab

82.77ab

74.97cb

79.85a

118.26a

5

5.0a

Nitric oxide@ 50 ppm

4.39b

0.82cab

69.75de

70.95cd

83.72a

105.71a

3

4.0ab

Nitric oxide@ 100 ppm

5.53a

0.75cb

72.83dce

74.36cb

83.82a

107.13a

3

4.0ab

Nitric oxide@ 200 ppm

4.46b

0.89ab

74.88ceb

68.75a

80.21a

117.75a

5

5.0a

0.9

0.14

13.6

6.8

N.S.

N.S.



0.01

CD (P=0.05)

Total Physiologi- Freshness sample cal loss in index weight (g) weight (g)

Shelf life (day)

Note: Means denoted with same letter are not significantly different, Freshness index is expressed as grades, where grade A denotes 5 points, B 3 points and C1 point

AcknowledgmentS First author acknowledges the receipt of Junior Research Fellowship from Post Graduate School of ICAR –Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi during his M.Sc. programme. The authors gratefully acknowledge the Director, ICAR-Directorate of Floricultural Research, New Delhi, Head of Division of Floriculture and Landscaping and Incharge, Centre for Protected Cultivation Technology, ICAR- Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi for providing required facilities for carrying out the research work.

REFERENCES Alacey, M.; Babalar, M.; Naderi, R. and Kaji, M. 2011. Effect of pre and postharvest salicylic acid treatment on physio-chemical attributes in relation to vase life of rose cut flowers. Postharvest Bio. and Tech., 61: 91-94. Asif, M.; Ahmed, I.; Qasim, M. and Ahmed, R. 2016. Effect of pulsing with various preservatives on postharvest performance of cut Polianthes tuberosa L. Single spikes. Pakistan J. Ag. Sci., 53(2): 331-338. Halevy, A.H. 1976. Treatments to improve water balance of cut flowers. Acta Hort., 64: 223-230. Hajizadeh, H.S. and Aliloo, A.S. 2014. Postharvest quality studies in tuberose (Polianthes tuberosa cv. Pearl) cut flower as affected by vase preservative solutions.

Inter. J. Ag. Inn. Res., 2(6): 895-899. Jawaharlal, M.; Thamaraihselvi. S.P. and Ganga, M. 2013. Standardization of export packaging technology for jasmine (Jasminum sambac Ait.) flowers. Acta Hort., 970: 81-91. Kumar, V. 2002. Studies on storage of flower. M.Sc. in Horticulture Thesis submitted to the Post Graduate School, ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, India. Kumari, S.; Singh, K.P.; Arora , A. and Singh, M.C. 2014. Regulation of tuberose cut flower senescence by using certain chemicals.Progressive Hort., 46(2): 322-329. Lavanya , V.; Nidoni, V.; Sharanagouda ,H.; Ramchandra, C.T.; Kurubar, A.R. and Ramya, V. 2014. Petal senescence in jasmine (Jasminum sambac) flower during storage by using different packaging materials and pre-treatment : Role of phenolics. Inter. J. Sci. , Envi. and Tech., 3(6):2130-2135. Majumdar, J.; Singh, K.P.; Sellam, P.; Singh, B. and Rai, P. 2014. Effect of various chemicals with packaging and storage on tuberose (Polianthes tuberosa L.). Hort Flora Research Spectrum, 3(2): 138-141. Premchand, G.S.; Sangroka, T. and Ogatta,S.1990. Cell memberane stability as indicators of drought tolerance as affected by applied nitrogen in soyabean J. Agric. Sci. 115: 63-66.

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Progressive Horticulture, 49 (1)

Sairam, R.K. 1994. Effect of moisture stress on physiological activities of two contrasting wheat genotypes. Indian J. Exp. Biol., 32: 584-593. Singh, K.P.; Kadam, G.B. and Jyothi, R. 2010. Production Manual on Tuberose (Polinathes tuberosa Linn.). DFR Extension Bulletin No. 1. Published by Director, ICAR-Directorate of Floricultural Resaerch, New

Delhi, pp. 1-28. Thamavaiselvi, S.P.; Jawaharlal, M.; Ganga, M. and Varadhavaju, N. 2010. Packaging technology for long term storage of jasmine (Jasminum sambac Ait.) flowers. J. Orna. Hort., 13(3): 171-181. Van Meeteren, U.1989. Water relations and early wilting of cut chrysanthemums. Acta Hort., 261: 129-135.

Received on 12 February 2015 and accepted on 30 October 2015

Progressive Horticulture, Vol. 49, No. 1, June 2017 © Copyright ISHRD, Printed in India DOI : 10.5958/2249-5258.2017.00017.3

[Research Article]

Effect of planting geometry and nitrogen on growth, flowering and yield of chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum coronarium L.) Gopi Lal Mali*, S.K. Moond, A. Mishra, M.K. Sharma and Bhim Singh College of Horticulture and Forestry Maharana Pratap University of Agriculture& Technology, Udaipur Jhalarapatan, Jhalawar-326023 (Rajasthan), India *E-mail: [email protected]

ABSTRACT

A field experiment was conducted during Rabi season of the year 2013-14 to study effect of planting geometry and nitrogen on growth, flowering and yield of chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum coronarium L.) at College of Horticulture & Forestry, Jhalawar (Raj.). The experiment consisted of 16 treatment combinations of four spacings (S1- 30 cm x 30 cm, S2- 30 cm x 45 cm, S3- 45 cm x 45 cm, S4- 45 cm x 60 cm) and four nitrogen levels (N0- 0 kg, N1- 100 kg, N2- 150 kg, N3- 200 kg N/ha). The treatment S4N3 (45 cm x 60 cm spacing + N 200 kg/ha) recorded the maximum plant spread (2643.24 cm2), number of primary branches per plant (41.90), number of leaves per plant (1013.20), leaf width (3.85 cm), leaf length (6.34 cm) and duration of flowering (64.33 days while the treatment S1N3 (30 cm x 30 cm spacing + N 200 kg/ha) had the maximum plant height (92.58 cm), flower yield per plot (11.85 kg) and flower yield per ha (182.87 q). Application of nitrogen at different levels and planting geometries significantly influenced the number of days taken for first flower bud appearance and 50 percent flowering with the earliest first flower bud appearance (47.33 days) and 50 percent flowering (64.83 days) at S1 (30 cm x 30 cm spacing), similarly nitrogen at N0 (N 0 kg/ha) had the earliest first flower bud appearance (46.75 days) and 50 per cent flowering (63.25 days), while nitrogen at N3 (200kg/ha)had the latest first flower bud appearance (55.33 days) and 50 per cent flowering (69.42 days). Key words: Plant densities, nitrogen, annual chrysanthemum Chrysanthemum is an important member of family Asteraceae comprising of about 160 speciesamongst which the garland chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum coronarium L.) finds the most important position in commercial cultivation of annual chrysanthemums in India, following the florist’s chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum morifolium) which is the most commonly grown perennial species propagated through suckers and cuttings. The annual chrysanthemums are propagated through seeds. It is different from the florist’s chrysanthemum in many aspects such as, relatively of short duration, less photosensitive, grows taller and is more vigorous and hardy. Its flowers are in various shades of yellow and white having single or double forms. It is a native of the Mediterranean region distributed throughout Europe, northern Africa and Asia. Flowers are edible and usually petals are used fresh or dried as a garnish or to brew a tea. The center of the flower is bitter therefore the petals Online version available at: www.indianjournals.com

are normally used. In some countries, young leaves and seedlings are used as a vegetable (FAO, 2014). Chrysanthemum coronarium was found effective against root-knot nematodes Meloidogyne incognita and M. javanica when applied to the soil as a green manure. Its nematostatic activity was also expressed against other phytonematode species such as Heteroderaavenae and Pratylenchusmediterraneus, but did not affect the beneficial entomopathogenic nematode, Steinernemafeltiae (Bar-Eyal et al., 2006).

MATERIALS AND METHODS A field experiment was conducted during winter season of the year 2013-14 at the Instructional Farm, Department of Floriculture & Landscaping, College of Horticulture & Forestry, Jhalarapatan, Jhalawar. The experiment was conducted in open field of black cot-

76

ton soil having pH 7.91, Organic carbon (00.48%), total nitrogen(243.75 kg ha-1),available phosphorus (20.83 kg h-1) and potash (298 kg ha-1). The experiment consisted of 16 treatment combinations having four levels of each of spacing (S1-30x30 cm, S2-30x45 cm, S3-45x45 cm, S3-45x60 cm) and nitrogen (N0-0 kg, N1-100 kg, N2-150 kg, N3-200 kg N/ha) and laid out in factorial randomized block design with three replications.The source of nitrogen was urea. The observations recorded were plant height, plant spread, number of primary branches per plant, number of leaves per plant, leaf width, leaf length, flower yield per plot, flower yield per ha, duration of flowering, days taken for first flower bud appearance and days taken for 50 percent flowering.Duration of flowering was counted from the day of first opening of flower till the day of final harvesting of flowers for each treatment. The plant spread was measured in centimeters asaverage of the two values of East-West and North-South directions. Then radius (r) was calculated by dividing the average plant canopy diameter by two and was used in the following formula for calculating plant spread in square centimeters: Plant spread (cm2) =

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The effects of various planting geometries, nitrogen levels and their interactions were found to be significant for the various vegetative growth charactersstudied(Table 1).The maximum plant spread (2643.24 cm2), number of primary branches per plant (41.90), number of leaves per plant (1013.20), leaf width (3.85 cm), leaf length (6.34 cm) were recorded with S4N3 while the maximum plant height (92.58 cm) was recoded with S1N3 and least plant spread (753.65 cm2), minimum number of primary branches per plant (22.08), number of leaves per plant (711.87), leaf length (4.78 cm), leaf width (2.95 cm) were recorded with S1N0 while the minimum plant height (75.73 cm) was recorded at S4N0. The higher plant height at S1N3 (30 cm x 30 cm spacing + N 200 kg/ha) might be due to heavy competition among the plants for light and space resulting in vertical growth of plants rather than horizontal growth along with combined effect of nitrogen application on improved vegetative growth. The results of present experiment are in line with reports of Belgaonkar et al. (1996), Karavadia and Dhaduk (2002) and Dorajeerao and Mokashi (2012). The maximum plant spread, number of primary branches per plant, number of leaves per plant and leaf width with S4N3 (45 cm x 60 cm spacing + N 200 kg/ha) might be due to availability of more space and lower competition for light, water and nutrients which could have facilitated for sprouting of more branches and vegetative growth of the plants. Similar results have been also reported by Srivastava et al. (2002), Acharya and Dashora (2004) and Sunitha et al.

Progressive Horticulture, 49 (1)

Table 1: Effect of planting geometry and nitrogen on growth, flowering and yield of chrysanthemum Treatment

Plant Plant height spread (cm) (cm2)

NumNum- Leaf Leaf ber of ber of width length primary leaves (cm) (cm) branches per per plant plant

Spacing S1

88.44

938.26

24.41

768

3.18

5.07

S2

86.12

1281.79

27.98

853

3.33

5.35

S3

83.82

1684.15

31.74

909

3.45

5.58

S4

81.58

2461.50

34.72

978

4.89

5.83

CD (p=0.05)

0.57

37.42

0.75

7.27

0.038

0.034

N0

Nitrogen 79.78

1373.08

23.21

816

3.11

5.00

N1

84.57

1580.04

28.61

860

3.31

5.26

N2

86.74

1615.74

32.25

895

3.49

5.67

N3

88.86

1796.85

34.78

937

3.63

5.89

CD (p=0.05)

0.57

37.42

0.75

7.27

0.038

0.034

S1N0

Interaction 83.47

753.6

22.08

712

2.95

4.78

S1N1

87.62

856.12

23.55

744

3.16

4.94

S1N2

90.09

1122.99

24.91

780

3.26

5.18

S1N3

92.58

1020.29

27.10

836

3.37

5.36

S2N0

81.40

1020.21

22.48

768

3.06

4.88

S2N1

86.80

1217.68

26.83

848

3.29

5.13

S2N2

87.20

1340.18

30.01

870

3.40

5.59

S2N3

89.07

1549.10

32.58

926

3.58

5.77

S3N0

78.53

1401.58

23.17

855

3.17

5.08

S3N1

83.27

1728.73

30.14

881

3.35

5.40

S3N2

85.80

1631.53

36.12

924

3.58

5.75

S3N3

87.67

1974.77

37.54

975

3.71

6.08

S4N0

75.73

2316.88

25.13

927

3.26

5.26

S4N1

80.60

2417.27

33.90

966

3.45

5.57

S4N2

83.87

2468.27

37.94

1006

3.74

6.15

S4N3

86.13

2643.24

41.90

1013

3.85

6.34

CD (p=0.05)

1.14

74.83

1.49

14.55

0.076

0.068

(2007) in African marigold, Dalvi et al. (2008) in gladiolusand Joshi et al. (2013) in chrysanthemum. The treatment S4N3 (45 cm x 60 cm spacing + N 200 kg/ha)recorded thelongest duration of flowering (64.33 days), whereas the maximum flower yield per plot (11.85 kg) and flower yield per ha (182.87 q) were recorded with S1N3 (30 cm x 30 cm spacing + N 200 kg/ha)and the shortest duration of flowering (52.00 days) was recorded with S1N0 while minimum flower yield per plot (7.47 kg) and flower yield per ha (115.28 q) were recorded with

Progressive Horticulture, 49 (1)

77

Table 2: Effect of planting geometry and nitrogen on growth, flowering and yield of chrysanthemum Treatment

Flower Flow- Days taken yield erYield for first per per flower bud plot hectare appearance (kg) (q)

Days taken for 50% flowering

Duration of flowering (days)

Spacing S1

10.71

165.23

47.33

64.83

54.00

S2

9.09

140.33

49.33

65.25

55.67

S3

8.31

128.30

50.92

67.83

58.50

S4

8.13

125.47

52.58

68.75

60.25

CD (p=0.05)

0.05

0.80

0.74

1.38

0.67

N0

Nitrogen

8.39

129.45

46.75

63.25

52.33

N1

8.70

134.25

49.00

65.67

56.83

N2

9.33

143.94

51.08

68.33

58.92

N3

9.83

151.70

53.33

69.42

60.33

CD(p=0.05)

0.05

0.80

0.74

1.38

0.67

Interaction S1N0

9.59

148.04

44.33

62.33

52.00

S1N1

10.15

156.69

46.33

63.00

52.67

S1N2

11.23

173.30

48.00

66.00

55.00

S1N3

11.85

182.87

50.67

68.00

56.33

S2N0

8.71

134.42

46.00

63.33

52.33

S2N1

8.88

137.09

48.00

65.00

55.00

S2N2

9.14

141.05

50.67

67.00

57.00

S2N3

9.64

148.77

52.67

65.67

58.33

S3N0

7.78

120.06

47.00

64.00

52.00

S3N1

7.92

122.27

50.00

66.67

58.00

S3N2

8.66

133.64

52.33

69.33

61.67

S3N3

8.89

137.24

54.33

71.33

62.33

S4N0

7.47

115.28

49.67

63.33

53.00

S4N1

7.84

120.93

51.67

68.00

61.67

S4N2

8.28

127.78

53.33

71.00

62.00

S4N3

8.94

137.91

55.67

72.67

64.33

CD (p=0.05)

0.10

1.59

N.S.

N.S.

1.34

S4N0. Higher availability of nitrogen and space for plant growth and spread at S4N3 had promoted branching and foliage production in plants which resulted elongated duration of flowering. The results are in conformation with the findings of Srivastava et al. (2005) and Dhatt and Kumar (2008). The highest flower yield per plot and flower yield per hectare at S1N3 appeared to be due to accommodation of more number of plants per plot and per hectare along with higher nutritional supply resulting in higher yield per unit area. The results find support from reports of Rao et al. (1992), Belgoankar et al. (1996), Kour

et al. (2009) and Dorajeerao and Mokashi (2013) in annual chrysanthemum, and Srivastava et al. (2002) and Pal and Pandey (2007) in African marigold. The narrowest spacing at S1 had the earliest first flower bud appearance (47.33 days) and 50 per cent flowering (64.83 days) whereas the widest spacing at S4 had the latest first flower bud appearance(52.58 days) and 50 per cent flowering (68.75 days). Application of nitrogen resulted in delayed flowering with the earliest first flower bud appearance (46.75 days) and 50 percent flowering (63.25 day) at N0 whereas the latest first flower bud appearance (55.33 days) and 50 per cent flowering (69.42 days) at N3.The delay in flower bud appearance and 50% flowering with S4N3 (45 cm x 60 cm spacing + N 200 kg/ ha) could be attributed to promoted vegetative growth of plants resulting in delayed reproductive phase. Similar results were found by Hugar et al. (1997) in gaillardia, Srivastava et al. (2005) in marigold and Kour et al. (2009) in chrysanthemum.

References Acharya, M.M. and Dashora, L.K. 2004. Response of graded levels of nitrogen and phosphorus on vegetative growth and flowering in African marigold.J. Orn. Hort.,7(2): 179-183. Bar-Eyal, M.; Sharon, E. and Spiegel, Y. 2006. Nematicidal activity of Chrysanthemum coronarium. European J. Plant Pathol., 114(4): 427- 433. Belgaonkar, D.V.; Bist, M.A. and Wakde, M.B. 1996. Effect of levels of nitrogen and phosphorus with different spacing on growth and yield of annual chrysanthemum.J. Soils Crops., 6(2): 154-158. Dalvi, N.V.; Rangawala, A.D. and Joshi, G.D. 2008. Effect of spacing and graded levels of fertilizers on yield attributes of gladiolus. J. Maharashtra Agric. Univ., 33(2): 167-170. Dhatt, K.K. and Kumar, Ramesh. 2008, Effect of planting time and planting density on plant growth and seed yield of Gaillardia aristata. Environ. Ecol., 26(3A): 1314-1317. Dorajeerao, A.V.D. and Mokashi, A.N. 2013. Growth analysis as influenced by planting geometry in garland chrysanthemum. Global J. BioSci.Biotech.,2(1): 21-26. Dorajeerao, A.V.D. and Mokashi, A.N. 2012.Effect of graded levels of nitrogen and phosphorus on uptake and yield in garland chrysanthemum.Global J. Biosci. Biotech., 1(2): 234-241. FAO. 2014. Chrysanthemum coronariumvar. Coronarium. In: Food and Agriculture Organization of UN web-

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site. accessed on 29.04.2014.

growth, flowering and yield of China aster. Agric. Sci. Digest, 28(2): 97-100.

Hugar, A.H. 1997. Influence of spacing, nitrogen and growth regulator on growth, flower yield and seed yield in gaillardia (Gaillardia pulchella). Ph.D Thesis, Univ. Agril. Sci., Dharwad, Karnataka (India).

Pal, A. and Pandey, A.K. 2007. Effect of plant spacing on growth and flowering in African marigold (Tageteserecta L.) under Bundelkhand Region.Prog. Res., 2(1/2): 70-72.

Joshi, N.S.; Barad, A.V. and Pathak, D.M. 2013. Response of chrysanthemum varieties to different levels of nitrogen, phosphorus and potash. J. Chem. Biol. Physic. Sci., 3(2):1584-1593

Srivastava, S.K.; Singh, H.K. and Srivastava, A.K. 2005. Spacing and pinching as factors for regulating flowering in marigold cv. Pusa Basanti Gainda. Haryana J. Hort. Sci., 34(1- 2): 75-77.

Karavadia, B.N. and Dhaduk, B.K. 2002.Effect of spacing and nitrogen on annual chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum coronarium) cv. Local white.J. Orn. Hort., 5(1): 65 66.

Srivastava, S.K.; Singh, H.K. and Srivastava, A.K. 2002. Effect of spacing and pinching on growth and flowering of ‘Pusa Narangi Gainda’ marigold (Tagetes erecta L.). Indian J. Agric. Sci., 72(1): 611-612.

Kour, R. 2009. Flowering production as effected by spacing and pinching in chrysanthemum cv. Flirt. Int.J. Agric. Sci., 5(2): 588-589.

Sunitha, H.M.; Hunje, R.; Vyakaranahal, B.S. and Bablad, H.B. 2007.Effect of plant spacing and integrated nutrient management on yield and quality of seed and vegetative growth parameters in African marigold (Tagetes erecta Linn.).J. Orn. Hort., 10(4): 245-249.

Monish, M.; Umrao, V.K.; Tyagi, A.K. and Meena, A.M. 2008. Effect of nitrogen and phosphorus levels on

Received on 20 August 2015 and accepted on 13 April 2016

Progressive Horticulture, Vol. 49, No. 1, June 2017 © Copyright ISHRD, Printed in India DOI : 10.5958/2249-5258.2017.00018.5

[Research Article]

Effect of various chemicals as vase solutions on post harvest flower quality parameters in tuberose (Polianthes tuberosa) cut spikes Radhika Jadeja*, Alka Singh, T.R. Ahlawat1, R.D. Baghale and S. L. Chawla.

Department of Floriculture and Landscape Architecture, Navsari Agriculture University, Navsari-396450, Gujarat, India 1 Department of Fruit Science, Navsari Agriculture University, Navsari-396450, Gujarat, India *NAU Campus, Eru Char Rasta, Navsari-396450, Gujarat, India *E-mail: [email protected]

ABSTRACT

Present experiment was undertaken to study the effect of various chemicals as holding? solutions on few qualitative and quantitative parameters of tuberose cv. Prajwal. Out of ten treatments (including control), viz., 400 ppm 8-HQ, 100 ppm GA, 100 ppm TDZ, 50 ppm α-Lipoic acid, 25 ppm calcium chloride, 100 ppm benzoic acid, 50 ppm spermine, 50 ppm spermidine, 100 ppm benzyladenine, all in combination with 4% sucrose S and 250 ppm citric acid (CA) and control (RO water), 100 ppm benzoic acid + 4% S + 250 ppm CA, 50 ppm α-Lipoic acid+ 4% S + 250 ppm CA and 400 ppm 8-HQ + 4% S + 250 ppm CA were evaluated as the three best treatments for prolonging the vase life and improving qualitative parameters like overall flower quality and quantitative parameters, viz., percent change in fresh weight, maximum number of florets per spike at one time and diameter of florets in tuberose cv. Prajwal. KEY WORDS: Chemicals, post harvest flower quality, tuberose, vase solutions Tuberose, (Polianthes tuberosa Linn.) is one of the most important bulbous ornamentals of tropical and sub tropical areas and is in great demand due to its attractive and fragrant flower spikes. Its blooms are also used for making garlands, bouquets, floral ornaments for bridal makeup and other floral arrangements. The flowers remain fresh for days together and impart sweet and lingering pleasant fragrance to the atmosphere. Highly valued essential oil is extracted from tuberose flowers and is used in the perfumery industry. Prajwal, is a hybrid (Shringar x Mexican Single) which bears single flowers on tall stiff spikes. The flower buds are slightly pinkish in colour, while the flowers are white. The individual flowers are large in size and fragrant and can be used for both cut flower and loose flower purpose. Different chemicals like PGR (GA3, BA, TDZ, NAA), sugars, acidifying agents (citric acid) have been known to improve post harvest flower quality in different flowers like gerbera (Jabeen et al., 2008), tuberose (Kumar et al., 2007), gladiolus (Singh et al., 2008), rose (Singh and Mishra, 1996). However, use of some chemicals like polyamines (spermine, spermidine), antioxidants (α-lipoic acid, calcium chloride, albumin, sodium benzoate) has been reOnline version available at: www.indianjournals.com

stricted to highly ethylene sensitive flowers like carnation (Bagni and Tassoni, 2006). These chemicals are yet to be explored for cut flowers like tuberose, gerbera, etc. Therefore this experiment was conducted to evaluate and standardize chemical treatment (as holding? solution) for improving the post harvest quality and life in tuberose cut spikes cv. Prajwal.

MATERIALS AND METHODS The cut inflorescence of tuberose cv. Prajwal used in this study were obtained from Floriculture Research Farm, Department of Floriculture and Landscape Architecture, ASPEE College of Horticulture and Forestry, Navsari Agricultural University, Navsari. The inflorescence of tuberose were harvested at two lower floret open stage, freshly in the early morning, and brought to the Laboratory of the Department. The experiment was laid out in Completely Randomized Design (CRD) in 2011-12. The treatments were replicated thrice with five spikes per replication. Various chemicals were used as vase solutions in combination with 4% sucrose (S) and 250 ppm citric acid (CA). RO water was used as control.

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4 % sucrose solution was prepared by dissolving 40 g sucrose in one litre of distilled water. 250 ppm Citric acid solution was prepared by dissolving the 250 mg citric acid in one litre of distilled water. 400 ppm 8- HQC was prepared by dissolving the 400 mg 8-HQC in one liter of distilled water and boiling until the powder was completely dissolved. 100 ppm GA solution was prepared by dissolving 100 mg gibbrelic acid in small quantity of 0.1N NaOH and make final volume one liter by adding distilled water. Similarly, 100 ppm Thiadizuron (TDZ) solution was prepared by dissolving the 100 mg TDZ in small quantity of 0.1N NaOH and making final volume of one liter by adding distilled water. α-lipoic acid solution of 50 ppm concentration was prepared by dissolving 50 mg α-lipoic acid first in few drops of alcohol then by adding one liter of distilled water. 25 ppm calcium chloride, 100 ppm benzoic acid and 50 ppm spermine solutions, respectively, were made by dissolving 25mg, 100mg and 50mg of the above mentioned chemicals in one litre water. 50 ppm spermidine was prepared by dissolving 50 microliter spermidine in 1 liter of distilled water and 100 ppm benzyl adenine (BA) was prepared by dissolving 100 mg BA in small quantity of 0.1N NaOH and make final volume one liter by adding distilled water. Fresh and uniform tuberose spikes of cv. Prajwal were harvested from the university farm in the morning hours and brought to the laboratory and various physiological parameters, viz., change in fresh weight, change in stage, number of open florets per spike at one time, diameter of florets, visual quality and vase life were studied. Change in percent fresh weight was recorded on every alternate day till the end of vase life according to the below given formula. (Initial FW – FW on particular days) X 100 Change in FW% = Initial FW Five different stages on the basis of number of florets open were selected and numbers were given from 1 to 5 as follows and the scores were given accordingly. 1. Senescence 2. 75% florets open 3. 50% florets open 4. 25% florets open 5. 1-2 florets open from bottom. Number of open florets was counted at every alternate day during the vase life. The diameter of the fully open florets was measured by digital vernier callipers. Overall flower quality was measured on visual basis with regard to floret freshness, and turgidity of cut spikes on every alternate day of vase life. Parameters were graded

Progressive Horticulture, 49 (1)

with five categories as below: 1. Very poor 2. Poor 3. Good 4. Very good 5. Excellent Vase life was measured in days at the time of keeping the flowers in vase until the first sign of wilting or necrotic drying to the death of the 50 % flowers.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The process of senescence starts soon after the spikes are harvested. As recorded and depicted in Table 1, all the treatments showed an increase in percent fresh weight and a decrease thereafter. On the 2nd day of vase life all treatments along with control showed increase in percent fresh weight. On the 4th day, some treatments showed gain in fresh weight while some showed loss in fresh weight. Significantly maximum gain in fresh weight (10.55%) was observed in T6 (100 ppm Benzoic Acid + 4% S + 250 ppm CA). Maximum decrease (3.17%) was recorded in T3 (100 ppm TDZ + 4% S + 250 ppm CA) while minimum decrease (1.61%) was recorded in T9 (100 ppm BA + 4% S + 250 ppm CA). Control recorded a decrease of 2.16%. From the 6th day, all treatments showed a trend of loss in fresh weight. Significantly minimum loss in fresh weight (1.25%) was recorded in T6 (100 ppm Benzoic Acid + 4% S + 250 ppm CA), followed by T4 (1.45% - 50 ppm α-Lipoic acid + 4% S + 250 ppm CA) which was at par with T1 (1.47% - 400 ppm 8-HQ + 4% S + 250 ppm CA). Whereas maximum loss in fresh weight (3.87%) was recorded in T3 (100 ppm TDZ + 4% S + 250 ppm CA). The trend of decrease in fresh weight was observed on 8th, 10th and 12th day also. On the 12th day, significantly minimum loss in fresh weight (4.10%) was observed in T6 (100 ppm Benzoic Acid + 4% S + 250 ppm CA), followed by T4 (4.25% - 50 ppm α-Lipoic acid + 4% S + 250ppm CA) and T1 (4.55% - 400 ppm 8-HQ + 4% S + 250 ppm CA). The effect of vase solutions on change in flower stage was visually examined on 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, 11th and 13th day on the basis of percentage of floret opening on the spike and accordingly scores were given (based on a 5 point scale). The result with regard to the change in stage has been shown in Table 2. The scores were given according to the percentage of floret opening on the spike as below. 0- 1- 2- 3- 4-

Senescence Bottom two florets open 25% florets open 50% florets open 75% florets open

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As depicted in the table given below, it was observed that there was a very slow change in the stages of tuberose cut spikes held in the vase solution T6 - 100 ppm Benzoic Acid + 4% S + 250 ppm CA (3.50, 4.00, 4.00, 3.75, 3.50 and 3.00 on 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, 11th and 13th day respectively) which was followed by T4 - 50 ppm α-Lipoic acid + 4% S + 250 ppm CA (2.50, 3.50, 4.00, 3.50, 2.50 and 2.00 on 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, 11th and 13th day respectively) and T1 - 400 ppm 8-HQ + 4% S + 250 ppm CA (2.00, 4.00, 3.67, 3.00, 2.00 and 1.50 on 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, 11th and 13th day respectively). While in control, the change in stages was very quick and this is revealed by the values 3.00 and 1.50 on the 3rd and the 5th day of the vase life. As shown in Table 3, significantly maximum percent number of open florets per spike at one time (12.33) was observed in tuberose cut spikes held in vase solution T6 (100 ppm Benzoic Acid + 4% S + 250 ppm CA), which was followed by T4 (9.80 50 ppm α-Lipoic acid + 4% S + 250 ppm CA) which was at par with T1 (9.33 - 400 ppm 8-HQ + 4% S + 250 ppm CA). Minimum number of open florets at one time (4.93) was recorded in T10 (control). The effect of vase solution on overall flower quality was visually examined on the basis of qualitative parameters, viz., freshness, turgidity and overall acceptability and accordingly score was given (based on 5 point scale, as shown in Table 3). Parameters were graded into five categories as below. 1. Dull 2. Poor 3. Fair 4. Very good 5. Excellent Cut tuberose inflorescence held in vase solution T6 (100 ppm Benzoic Acid + 4% S + 250 ppm CA) secured the highest overall quality score (4.90) which was followed by (4.67) T4 (50 ppm α-Lipoic acid + 4% S + 250 ppm CA) and (4.33) T1 (400 ppm 8-HQ + 4% S + 250 ppm CA). Maximum floret diameter (44.12 mm) was observed in cut tuberose inflorescence held in vase solution T6 (100 ppm Benzoic Acid + 4% S + 250 ppm CA) followed by (41.22 mm) T4 (50 ppm α-Lipoic acid + 4% S + 250ppm CA) which was at par with (40.13 mm) T5 (25 ppm CaCl2 + 4% S + 250 ppm CA). Minimum floret diameter (23.42 mm) was observed in T10 (control). Maximum vase life (15.67 days) was recorded in cut tuberose inflorescence held in vase solution T6 (100 ppm Benzoic Acid + 4% S + 250 ppm CA) followed by (13.33 days) T4 (50 ppm α-Lipoic acid + 4% S + 250 ppm CA) and (12.67 days) T1 (400 ppm 8-HQ + 4% S + 250 ppm CA). Minimum vase life (5.67 days) was observed in T10 (control). Role of sucrose in influencing osmotic potential of petal cells and maintaining of better balance in flowers is well known (Borochov et al., 1976 and Ichimura and Suto, 1999). Thus, sucrose being taken up through vascu-

81

lar tissues and upon accumulation in the petal cells (Ho and Nichols, 1975 and Mayak and Halevy, 1974) in the form of vase solution might have also enhanced water uptake and further retention of fresh weight in tuberose cut spikes cv. Prajwal. Citric acid has been known to increase the vase life of many flowers by the acidification of solution, improvement of water balance and reduction in stem plugging (Bhattacharjee and De, 2005). Increased water uptake with 8-HQC could be attributed to its strong antimicrobial activity (Marousky, 1972) that restricted the growth of microorganisms in the solution, eliminated the vascular occlusion in xylem and ultimately resulted in resistance free flow of solution (Singh et al., 2005). Improved water uptake and fresh weight retention has been reported with 8-HQC and sucrose as vase solution in orchids (Ketsa and Kosonmethakul 2001 and Dineshbabu et al., 2002), in roses (Bhattacharjee, S. K. 1993 and Madhubala et al., 2008), in tuberose (Kumar et al., 2007) in chrysanthemum (Suresha et al., 2009). Benzoic acid (Keim et al., 2010) and α-lipoic acid (Khanna et al., 1999; Sen and Packer, 2000) being anti-oxidants and anti-ageing agents act as free radical scavengers and consequently delay senescence (indicated by enhanced vase life, Table 3) that, further may have contributed in increased water uptake and fresh weight retention. Benzoic acid has been reported to possess antimicrobial and antifungal properties (Kumar et al., 2010) which may have enhanced the water uptake and thereby, retention of fresh weight. Similar kind of beneficial effects of benzoic acid and α-lipoic acid have been earlier reported in other cut flowers like gladious (Singh and Jegadheesan, 2003) and orchid (Auty, 2011). Bud opening and increased floret diameter in general are known to be influenced by petal turgidity (Toree et al., 1999) and the up-regulation of optimum metabolic activities (Halevy and Mayak, 1981). In support to this, Van der Meuler et al. (2001) had stated the failure of opening of flowering buds due to limited supply of carbohydrates. Thus, higher fresh weight retention with T6 (Benzoic Acid 100 ppm + S 4% + CA 250 ppm) followed by T4 (α-Lipoic acid 50 ppm + S 4% + 250 ppm CA) and T1 (8-HQ 400 ppm + S 4% + CA 250 ppm) led to higher bud opening percentage in tuberose cut spikes cv. Prajwal, with maximum number of open florets at one time per spike (Table 3). The treatments retained a consistent score for change in stage (Table 2) till a longer time which indicated gradual and maximum bud opening during the vase life of the treated cut tuberose spikes. Higher respiratory substrate and petal sugars are known to influence cell division and cell enlargement (Ho and Nichols, 1977) which led to increased floret diameter as shown in Table 3. The enhanced vase life of tuberose cut spikes kept in these treatments can be attributed to higher retention of fresh weight which was a result of high and

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Progressive Horticulture, 49 (1)

Table 1: Effect of different chemicals as vase solutions on change in per cent fresh weight of Tuberose cut spikes cv. Prajwal Treatments

Per cent fresh weight (%) 2 Day

4 Day

6thDay

8thDay

10thDay

12thDay

T1- (400 ppm 8-HQ + 4% S + 250 ppm CA)

10.19

10.22

-1.47

-2.19

-3.26

-4.55

T2- (100 ppm GA3+ 4% S + 250 ppm CA)

6.13

6.91

-3.42

0.00

0.00

0.00

nd

th

T3- (100 ppm TDZ + 4% S + 250 ppm CA )

4.97

-3.17

-3.87

0.00

0.00

0.00

T4- ( 50 ppm α-Lipoic acid + 4% S + 250ppm CA)

10.17

10.30

-1.45

-2.11

-3.15

-4.25

T5- (25 mg CaCl2 + 4% S + 250 ppm CA )

10.15

10.20

-1.60

-2.74

-3.62

0.00

T6 - (100 ppm Benzoic Acid + 4% S + 250 ppm CA)

10.35

10.55

-1.25

-2.03

-3.05

-4.10

T7- (50 ppm Spermine + 4% S + 250 ppm CA)

7.63

8.17

-2.59

-3.19

0.00

0.00

T8 - (50 mM Spermidine + 4% S + 250 ppm CA)

8.87

9.04

-2.19

-3.09

-4.30

0.00

T9 - (100 ppm BA + 4% S + 250 ppm CA)

3.53

-1.61

-2.39

0.00

0.00

0.00

T10- (Control)

4.09

-2.16

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

S.Em. +

0.07

0.05

0.04

0.04

0.02

0.02

C.D. 5%

0.21

0.16

0.11

0.11

0.06

0.07

C.V. %

1.61

1.28

3.17

4.32

1.97

3.20

(-) sign shows decrease in fresh weight. Zero (0) values indicates that these cut spikes had completed their vase life.

Table 2: Effect of different chemicals as vase solutions on change in stage of Tuberose cut spikes cv. Prajwal Treatments

Change in Stage(score given on percent bud opening) 3 Day rd

5thDay

7thDay

9thDay

11thDay

13thDay

T1- (400 ppm 8-HQ + 4% S + 250 ppm CA)

2.00

4.00

3.67

3.00

2.00

1.50

T2- (100 ppm GA3+ 4% S + 250 ppm CA)

3.00

2.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

T3- (100 ppm TDZ + 4% S + 250 ppm CA )

3.00

1.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

T4- ( 50 ppm α-Lipoic acid + 4% S + 250ppm CA)

2.50

3.50

4.00

3.50

2.50

2.00

T5- (25 mg CaCl2 + 4% S + 250 ppm CA )

2.25

3.00

3.75

2.00

1.50

0.00

T6 - (100 ppm Benzoic Acid + 4% S + 250 ppm CA) 3.50

4.00

4.00

3.75

3.50

3.00

T7- (50 ppm Spermine + 4% S + 250 ppm CA)

2.25

2.67

3.25

0.00

0.00

0.00

T8 - (50 mM Spermidine + 4% S + 250 ppm CA)

2.50

3.33

3.75

2.00

0.00

0.00

T9 - (100 ppm BA + 4% S + 250 ppm CA)

3.00

2.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

T10- (Control)

3.00

1.50

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

continued water uptake. These conditions are known to contribute to optimum continuation of the cell metabolism that facilitates cell growth and development, formation of cellular constituents and the liberation of energy for other cellular functions. The effect of 8-HQC in enhancing vase life of cut flowers had been attributed to its antibacterial property as noted by Serini and Banfi (1974). According to Lal et al. (1990) the chelating properties of the quinoline easters might chelate metal ions for enzyme activity and eradicate the stem blockage (Marousky, 1972) and water uptake. Dieuaide et al. (1992)

correlated sugar starvation in the petal cells with petal senescence. Use of antioxidants in retaining membrane integrity and for antisenescence effects during aging has been known (Singh, 2005). Scavenging reactive oxygen species (ROS) properties of benzoic acid (Szwajgier et al., 2005) and α-lipoic acid (Singh, 2005) further contributed to enhance vase life of tuberose cut spikes cv. Prajwal. Benzoic acid (Keim et al., 2010) and α-lipoic acid being antioxidants (Singh and Jegadheesan, 2003) also aided in delaying senescence and enhancing vase life. The antimicrobial properties of benzoic acid that inhibits growth

Progressive Horticulture, 49 (1)

83

Table 3: Effect of various chemicals as vase solutions on maximum number of open florets per spike at one time in Tuberose cv. Prajwal Treatments

Max. no. of open florets per spike

Quality

Floret diameter (mm)

Vase life (Days)

T1- (400 ppm 8-HQ + 4% S + 250 ppm CA)

9.33

4.33

39.37

12.67

T2- (100 ppm GA3+ 4% S + 250 ppm CA)

6.53

2.50

36.89

6.67

T3- (100 ppm TDZ + 4% S + 250 ppm CA )

5.07

2.00

31.25

6.00

T4- ( 50 ppm α-Lipoic acid + 4% S+ 250ppm CA)

9.80

4.67

41.22

13.33

T5- (25 mg CaCl2 + 4% S + 250 ppm CA )

8.00

3.75

40.13

11.33

T6 - (100 ppm Benzoic Acid + 4% S + 250 ppm CA)

12.33

4.90

44.12

15.67

T7- (50 ppm Spermine + 4% S + 250 ppm CA)

6.00

2.75

29.59

8.33

T8 - (50 mM Spermidine + 4% S + 250 ppm CA)

6.80

3.25

35.45

10.67

T9 - (100 ppm BA + 4% S + 250 ppm CA)

5.53

1.31

33.15

6.33

T10- (Control)

4.93

1.23

23.42

5.67

S.Em. +

0.19

-

0.45

0.22

C. D. 5 %

0.57

-

1.32

0.65

C. V. %

4.50

-

2.19

3.93

T10 (At 5th Day)

T1 (At 12th Day)



T4 (At 13th Day)

T6 (At 14th Day)

Plate 1 : Bud opening as affected by vase solution treatments in comparision with control of mould, yeast and bacteria (Kumar et al., 2010) may have aided in enhancing the vase life of the treated tuberose cut spikes of cv. Prajwal. Similar effects of improving vase life (Singh and Jegadheesan, 2003 and Pal et al., 2003) and delaying petal abscission (Van Doorn et al., 1994) with α-lipoic acid and with 8-HQC and sucrose in Dendrobium cv. hybrid Sonia-17 (Dineshbabu et al., 2002), in golden rod (Brahmankar et al., 2005) have been recorded.

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Received on 22 November 2015 and accepted on 08 June 2016

Progressive Horticulture, Vol. 49, No. 1, June 2017 © Copyright ISHRD, Printed in India DOI : 10.5958/2249-5258.2017.00019.7

[Case Study]

Perceived influence of trees, greens in open spaces on microclimate: A case study of the Federal University of Technology, Akure A.I. Okunlola, T.A Ewulo, K.E. Owolabi and J.O. Okunlola Department of Crop, Soil and Pest Management, Department of Agricultural Extension and Communication The Federal University of Technology P.M.B 704 Akure Ondo state, Nigeria E-mail: [email protected]

Abstract

Trees and green in open spaces impact people’s lives positively by ameliorating the effect of climate change. The study therefore assessed perceived influences of trees and greens in open spaces on microclimate of the Federal University of Technology, Akure. Specifically, the study evaluated the perception of staff and students about the university landscape and its effects on the microclimate and residents on campus. Multistage sampling techniques were used to select 90 respondents including staff and students from which data were collected with the use of well structured interview schedule. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The study indicated that majority (59.1%) of the respondents were male, while (47.7%) of the respondents were between the ages of 21-30 years. Respondents asserted that good landscaping contribute to the serenity of the environment (80.2%), 61.7% believe that landscape contributes to environmental quality while (47.6%) asserted that landscape provides comfort to life, in all (48.9%) asserted that the university is beautifully landscaped to ameliorate microclimate. Therefore, green and trees should be incorporated to the built environment within the campus to enhance environmental quality. Key words: Landscape, green space, environmental quality, thermal comfort The built environment as a part of the physical environment and surroundings encompassing buildings, spaces, constructed elements of the environment created or modified by man. Man has always been known to create amenities to meet various needs (Fadamiro and Atolagbe, 2006). These amenities according to Bartuska (2011) are intended to serve human needs, want and values. However, in serving mans’ needs, Pearce and Vanegas (2002) noted that these amenities over time create positive and negative impacts that may not be immediately noticeable and whose collective effects need to be minimized in order to meet the needs of man in the present without limiting the ability of future generation in meeting their own needs. A built environment therefore, must be able to provide a physical, social and psychological environment in harmony with the human behavior. In order to improve and not impact adversely on the present or future generations, green areas are created through landscaping in order to improve the visual perceptions, aesthetics and health of the individual. Online version available at: www.indianjournals.com

There is a strong public interest in creating pleasant open spaces, and in this sense, thermal comfort is as important as acoustic or visual comfort. The use of open spaces is influenced by the microclimatic conditions provided, whereas microclimate and thermal perception definitely depend on urban design and show a high temporal and spatial variation. The outdoor thermal environment, is impacted by the built environment, through anthropogenic heat, ground surface covering (Lin et al., 2010), evaporation and evapo-transpiration of plants (Robitu et al., 2006), and shading by trees or constructed objects (Lin et al., 2010). There is a strong public interest in the quality of open urban spaces that can contribute to the quality of life within cities. However, there is a significant lack of information on comfort conditions in outdoor spaces (Dimoudi and Nikolopoulou, 2003). In times of excessive heat, it is important to maximize the cooling potential for people. Trees are important as they can be used effectively to improve radiant

Progressive Horticulture, 49 (1)

conditions. Vegetation has a low heat capacity and uses a large proportion of the received radiation resulting from the surface below the leaves being cooler. However, as tree canopies are elevated, they not only cool the surface in shade, but allow people shelter from the sun. This shelter creates cool oases where a person feeling heat stress can shelter from the direct short-wave radiation of the sun and improve their thermal comfort (Georgi and Dimitriou, 2010).

87

MaterialS and Methods The study was conducted within the university campus of the Federal University of Technology (F.U.T), Akure, Ondo State, which lies between longitudes 70E and 70451E, and latitudes 60N and 70N of the equator in Nigeria. The Federal University of Technology, Akure has a population of over 10,000 students and staff. Snow balling technique was used to select 90 respondents across the University including staff and students. A well structured interview schedule was used to collect data from selected respondents. Data obtained from the study was analyzed using descriptive statistics such as mean (µ) and percentages.

Results and Discussion Socio economic characteristics of respondents Majority (59.1%) of the respondents’ were male, while 47.7% of the respondents were between age brackets of 21 and 30 years of age. This implies that both post graduates students and members of academics staff were young adults that take out time to enjoy and appreciate the benefit of greening. The study showed further that a higher proportion (36.4%) were academic staff.

Table 1: Socio-economic charateristics Frequency

Percentage (%)

Male

52

59.1

Female

36

40.9

Below 20

2

2.3

21-30

42

47.7

31-40

27

30.7

41-50

16

15.4

51-60

1

1.1

Undergraduate

15

17.0

Post-graduate

25

28.4

Non academics Staff

16

18.2

Academics Staff

32

36.4

Sex

Age

Fig. 1: The impact of the radiation reduction provided by trees upon the human radiant energy balance (Georgi and Dimitriou, 2010). Aim and objectives of the study The main objective of the study is to determine the effect of trees, greens in open spaces on the behavioural and social perceptions of both staff and students;

Specific Objectives The set objectives are to; • Assess the Behavioural and Social Perception of Staff and Students about the University Landscape • Assess the Thermal Comfort from Trees, greens in Open space

Status

Green consciousness In Fig. 2, 97.7% of respondents were aware of the effect of environmental quality and over 90% of them were aware of greens and open spaces within the university environment. Looking at the socio-economic characteristics, it was observed that those within the middle age among staff and students utilize the greening within the

88

Progressive Horticulture, 49 (1)

university and were aware of the impact and benefit of greens. This they attributed to the fact that taking out time to relax is really a good thing to do, and that it helps to contribute to their healthy living.

Fig. 2: Level of Awareness of Greens and Open spaces Respondent perception of the University landscape Table 2 shows respondents’ perception of the University landscape. 48.9% of the respondents’ agrees that the university is beautifully landscaped which in conclusion (µ=4.14) of the respondent agrees to the statement while 80.2% of respondent strongly asserted that, good landscaping contributes to the serenity of the environment (µ= 4.78). This is in agreement with Habib and Is-

maila, (2008) assertion that provision of quality living and learning sets is crucial for staff and student in the University campuses. Other respondents’ perception about the university landscape include; 50% of the respondents agrees that there are adequate green spaces within the university environment (µ=3.88), open spaces serve as reading location for students (µ=3.80) and that there are adequate trees to provide shade within the university. The quality of an environment is dependent on its landscaping, this can be attributed to the unity and harmony of landscape principle incorporated into the element of landscape whereby leading to a healthy and organized social and cultural lives of both staff and students, this according to respondent perception, 61.7 % agrees that the university landscaping contributes to the environment quality which can be concluded that that the total mean(µ=4.54). This is in agreement to Tzoulas (2007), in campus, greenery promotes healthy society. This means greenery and open spaces are not just amenities but also an interconnected network of ecological systems that conserve air, water, microclimate, energy resources and enriches human quality of life. Also students’ perception weren’t left out where 40.9 % strongly agrees that open spaces serves as reading location. This is n agreement to Tolley (1996) that, University with a vast green area is a conducive place of study.

Table 2: Respondents’ perception of the university landscape STATEMENT

SA

A

U

D

SD

MEAN (µ)

5 (5.7)

5 (5.7)

2 (2.3)

4.1364

The university is beautifully landscaped

33 (37.5) 43 (48.9)

There are no adequate green spaces within the university environment

9 (12.7)

There are adequate trees to provide shade within the university community

13 (15.1) 43 (50.0) 17 (19.8) 10 (11.6)

FUTA has a better landscape compared to other universities

9 (11.5)

14 (17.9) 33 (42.3)

Open space serve as reading location for students.

9 (12.7)

16 (22.5) 20 (28.2) 17 (23.9)

2.6197

3 (3.5)

3.6163

9 (11.5)

13 (16.7)

2.9615

36 (40.9) 22 (25.0) 15 (17.0)

6 (6.8)

9 (10.2)

3.7955

The trees used for landscaping are the right ones.

13 (14.8) 49 (55.7) 22 (25.0)

2 (2.3)

2 (2.3)

3.7841

Good landscaping contributes to serenity of the environment.

65 (80.2) 14 (17.3)

-

-

4.7778

2 (2.5)

Landscaping doesn’t contribute to serenity of the environment.

2 (2.8)

4 (5.6)

The university landscape contributes to environmental quality.

50(61.7)

25 (30.9)

6 (7.4)

-

-

4.5432

Does the university landscape provide comfort to life?

39(47.6)

34 (41.5)

7 (8.5)

-

2 (2.4)

4.3171

2(2.9)

4(5.7)

The university landscape doesn’t provide comfort to life

20 (28.2) 17 (23.9) 28 (39.4)

22(31.4) 17 (24.3) 25(35.7)

1.4152

1.8429

Progressive Horticulture, 49 (1)

89

Respondent and preferred spaces The result in Fig. 3 shows that 90.9% of respondents love to relax and prefers to take out time to relax under trees with green. This is in agreement with Toccolini (2006) that green area are network of greening and interconnected open spaces formed by tree-streets, waterways and drainage ways around and between urban areas, at all spatial scales where people can use it to reach places of work or study . Campus green area is composed of tree-street, walkways (Benedine and Adamu, 2007). Green area allows campus residents to undergo their daily activities such as walking, jogging, experiencing nature, watching people, meeting friends, displaying artworks and many more.

Fig. 4: showing the concept of weather

Fig. 3: Showing where respondent love to relax Influence of weather on respondent.

Fig. 5: Effect of weather parameters on respondent

Preference to different seasons of the year by people may vary on the basis of how the respondents viewed it. It may be from a bio-aspect, agro-aspect, aviation-aspect e.t.c. The two seasons in Nigeria as defined by (Omotosho, 1983 and Adefolalu, 1984) are the summer season popularly known as rainy season (which is dominated by ‘warm and moist’ south-west monsoon flow from the Atlantic ocean) and winter season also known as dry season (dominated by ‘cold and dry’ north-east trade wind from the Sahara desert). Having a good idea of weather helps to have a better understanding of the physiological aspect of thermal sensation, generally recognized that heat gained or lost by the body to its environment is directly related to the temperature of the surroundings, humidity, wind velocity, amount of radiation within that environment and type of activity been carried out.

Respondent perception of green space Figure 6 shows that 52.3% of the respondent moderately enjoys the comfort of green spaces which could be compare to the comfort derived from sitting or standing under a tree to when not sitting or standing under a tree. 40.7% asserted that green spaces can act as a place of comfort while 48.8 % asserted that green space contributes to good health. This can be attributed to the fact that the radiant energy reduction made by a tree will vary depending on the tree canopy size and density, but as a result of tree shade, a person radiates more energy away than he receive resulting in feeling cooler (Georgi and Dimitriou, 2010). In addition to the reduced solar energy, the built surfaces in shade will have lower temperatures and further energy can be lost to these surfaces, furthering the cooling value.

90

Progressive Horticulture, 49 (1)

Shading from trees can act to cool the atmosphere below by simply intercepting solar radiation. Vegetation and the presence of open green spaces can also change the surface roughness of the landscape, which may affect air movements and therefore, in turn, local temperatures comes to be. Water in the leaf is vaporized and released through the stomata. This release of vapour is known as evapotranspiration and this not only uses the received energy, but also the water vapour released “warms the air less” resulting in cooler air temperatures around the area of vegetation (Dimoudi and Nikolopoulou, 2003; Gill, 2006). At longwave radiation levels, leaves absorb and emit longwave radiation efficiently and are considered almost perfect full radiators (0.94 d” ε d” 0.99) and by emitting heat to the atmosphere and through efficient convective transfer leaves maintain low temperatures (Kuttler, 2008). This factor, and the fact that they have a large surface area comparative to their mass results in them being effective heat exchangers, but poor heat stores (Kuttler, 2008). The low heat capacity results in very little energy being stored for re-radiation or heating through convection (sensible heat) and much of the received solar energy is used for transpiration (latent heat), cooling the surrounding air temperature. The ratio of sensible heat and latent heat varies as a result of many factors, not least air temperature and water availability, and is quantified by the Bowen ratio (Monteith and Unsworth, 1990).

Table : Respondents’ perception of green space Statement

Not at all Moderately Highly (percentage) (percentage) (percentage)

Green space offer same comfort as normal spaces

19 (20.9)

46 (52.3)

23 (26.7)

Effective force of tree as a place of comfort

21 (24.4)

31 (34.9)

35 (40.7)

Green space contributes to good health

20 (23.3)

25 (27.9)

43 (48.8)

Health benefits derived from greening In Fig. 7, 23% and 20% of respondents’ are relieved of stressed and fatigue respectively,this explains that, people who were exposed to natural environment, the level of stress decreased rapidly as compared to people who were exposed to urban environment, their stress level remains high (Heidt and Neef, 2008). This is a clear indication that urban green spaces can increase the physical and psychological well-being of urban citizens. Certainly, improvements in air quality due to vegetation have a positive impact on physical health with such obvious benefits as decrease in illness. The connection between

people and nature is important for everyday enjoyment, work productivity and general mental health (Grahn and Stigsodotter, 2003). At the level of organization, in agreement to Westphal (2003), workers report greater productivity when they have a view of green space from their place of work, and their supervisors also feel that these workers are more productive.

Fig. 7: Various human healths derived from greening. The study has established that green spaces are tools in networking between both students and staff and means for community integration for comfortable and pleasant settings. Green area in campus also offers an opportunity to preserve the disappearing green spaces from campus due to the physical developmental pressure. Over the past decades, with the uncertainty in future campus development, it is anticipated that universities will continue to add new buildings and facilities in their campuses to accommodate more students with the increase in faculty and staff. Campus is growing each year with the enrolment of new students; more space will be needed to accommodate hostels, road signage for managing traffic flows, new schools for new courses as well as parking space (Lim, 2006). In other words, the green network connects one cluster of buildings and spaces to another that facilitates users’ interaction with ease and safe under shaded and pleasant conditions. There is a clear indication that greening plays an important role in keeping campus microclimate comfortable and gives more benefits for outdoor activity users.

REFERENCES Bartuska, T.J. 2011. The Built Environment: Definition and Scope. In W. R. McClure and T. J. Bartuska (Eds.), The Built Environment: A Collaborative Enquiry Into Design and Planning West Sussex: John Willey And Sons.

Progressive Horticulture, 49 (1)

91

Benedine, A. and Ahmed, A. 2007. Pattern and Explanation of Encroachment into Green Areas in Zaria Metropolis. J. Environ. Stud., 2(8): 44-53.

Lin, T.P.; A. Matzarakis, and Hwang, R.L. 2010. Shading Effect on Long-Term Outdoor Thermal Comfort. Building and Environment. 45(1): 213–21.

Conine, A. 2004. Planning for Multi-purpose Greenways in Concord, North Carolina. Landscape Urban Planning., 68: 271-287.

Monteith, J. and Unsworth, M. 1990. Principles of environmental physics. Academic Press (Elsevier), London.

Fadamiro, J.A. and Atolagbe, A.M.O. 2006. Urban Environmental Sustainability: A Challenge to Effective Landscaping in Nigeria. Dimensi Teknik Arsitetur, 34(1): 44-51. Dimoudi, A. and Nikolopoulou, M., 2003. Vegetation in the Urban Environment: Microclimate Analysis and Benefits. Energy and Buildings, 35(1): 69-76. Georgi, N.J. and Dimitriou, D., 2010. The Contribution of Urban Green Spaces to the Improvement of Environment in Cities: Case study of Chania, Greece. Building and Environment, 45(6): 1401-1414. Habib M.A., Ismaila A. 2008. An integrated approach to achieving campus sustainability: Assessment of the current campus environmental management practices. J. Cleaner Prod., 3(1): 1-9 . Lim Y.M, 2006. The University in a Garden: Development Proposal. Universiti Sains Malaysia, Pulau Pinang, p.19.

Pearce, A.R. and Vanegas, J.A, 2002. Defining Sustainability for Built Environment Systems. Int. J. Environ. Tech. and Management, 2(1): 94-113 Robitu, M., Musy, M., Inard, C., and D. Groleau. 2006. Modeling the Influence of Vegetation and Water Pond on Urban Microclimate. Solar Energy, 80: 435–47. Tan, K.W. 2006. A. Green Area Network for Singapore. Landscape Urban Plann., 76: 45-66. Toccolini A. 2006. Greenways Planning in Italy: The Lambro River Valley Green Area System. Landscape Urban Plann., 6: 98-111. Tolley, R. 1996. Green campuses: Cutting the Environmental Cost of Commuting. J. Transport Geogr., 4(3): 213-217. Tzoulas, K.E. 2007. Promoting Ecosystem and Human Health in Urban Areas Using Green Infrastructure: A literature review. Landscape Urban Plann., 81: 167-178.

Received on 16 July 2015 and accepted on 18 March 2016

Progressive Horticulture, Vol. 49, No. 1, June 2017 © Copyright ISHRD, Printed in India DOI : 10.5958/2249-5258.2017.00020.3

[Short Communication]

A novel method of propagation in pomegranate: Mound layering N.V. Singh*, Ram Chandra, C.M. Awachare1, K.D. Babu and R.K. Pal

ICAR-NRC on Pomegranate, NH-65 Solapur-Pune Road, Kegaon Solapur-413255, Maharastra, India ICAR-IIHR, Hessaragatta Lake Post, Bengaluru - 560 089, Karnataka, India *E-mail: [email protected]

*

1

ABSTRACT

The experiment was conducted to elucidate the effects of different spacings on regeneration of stool shoots in pomegranate (Punica granatum L.). The report may be the first experiment based documentation of pomegranate propagation through mound layering. Plant height (cm), rooting percentage (%), length of longest root, number of roots per plant, average root length (cm), number of total and rooted shoots per plant, per m2 and per plot (3 x 2 m) were recorded. The results suggest that the performance of stool shoots were significantly influenced by spacing between mother stocks. The total shoot production per plot and per m2 (217.25 and 36.37, respectively) and rooted shoot production per plot and per m2 (117.15 and 19.51, respectively) were found significantly higher at the spacing of 0.5 x 0.5 m. The rooting of stool shoots found increased from 55.50 to 70.95 % with the increase in spacing from 0.5 x 0.5 m to 1 x 1 m. KEY WORDS: Stool layering, planting material, spacing, rooted shoot Pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) is one of the most important horticultural crop associated with mankind due to its huge neutraceutical and therapeutic values. It is considered to be the native of Iran and popular worldwide owing to the great demand for its fruits and meager resource demanding nature of the plant. Today, pomegranate is cultivated throughout the world in subtropical and tropical areas in many variable climatic conditions, indicating its flexibility and adaptability (da Silva et al., 2013). In India, pomegranate is geographically distributed in the states of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat, Telangana and to limited extent in Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. Quality planting material is a key to success for healthy orchard establishment and optimum production in pomegranate. Traditional propagation methods need to be complimented with alternative propagation methods to fulfill the ever increasing demand of quality planting material in pomegranate. Seed propagation in pomegranate is not followed at commercial scale as the plants raised from seeds show variability with respect to tree vigour, precocity and quality of fruits (Olmez et al., 2007; Sharma et al., 2009). Therefore, vegetative propagation is utmost desirable to propagate true to type plants. Online version available at: www.indianjournals.com

Though, the air layering is successful in pomegranate but is expensive and cumbersome and need to be supported by alternative propagation methods (Purohit, 1981;gh mound layering is the novel (probably the first report of propagation through mound layering in pomegranate), convenient, and cheap technique of obtaining planting material. This method of propagation is successful in multiplication of apple rootstocks, quince, guava and some ornamentals. Exploitation of ground layering as an alternative method of pomegranate propagation has earlier been suggested by Chadha (2001). Through this method it is possible to produce more number of plantlets per unit area. The per unit (m2) production of air layered planting material from a well established pomegranate orchard of cv. Bhagawa planted at standard spacing of 4.5 x 3.0 m is about 11.11 rooted plants per m2 (150 rooted air layered saplings per tree) as compared to rooted stool shots which is as high as 19.51 per m2. Keeping above in view, the present study was initiated to see the effect of spacing on quality and quantity stool shoots production. The present experiment was carried out during 20092012 at research farm of ICAR-National Research Centre on Pomegranate, Solapur (MS) on pomegranate cultivar

Progressive Horticulture, 49 (1)

93

Bhagawa. The farm is located at 17°68’ N latitude, 75°91’ E longitude and 457 m altitude. The experiment was laid out in Randomized Block Design with four replications. There were six treatments in different spacing, viz., (i) 0.5x0.5 m; (ii) 0.75x0.5 m; (iii) 0.75x0.75 m; (iv)1 x 0.5 m; (v) 1 x 0.75 m; and (vi) 1 x 1 m. Stool beds were raised to the height of 15 cm from ground level. Source of planting material was mother stools of cultivar Bhagawa. In all the treatments mother stool were headed back at 5 cm height above ground level in March. In late June lanolin paste having 2500 ppm IBA was applied after wounding/girdling at the base of stool shoots when stool shoots have reached approximately 45 cm of height and there after treated shoots were covered up manually with field soil upto 20 cm above ground level. The shoot tip was removed at the height of one meter of stool shoot from ground level. Observations on various shoot and root characteristics were recorded at 50 days after mounding with soil. The mean data of two years was subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA) and differences among the treatment means were determined for significance at P < 0.05. The data recorded on different parameters were subjected to statistical analysis by using WASP 2.0 developed by ICAR-Central Costal Agricultural Research Institute, Goa. In the present investigation as depicted in table 1, the stool shoots planted at spacing of 1 x 0.75 m and 1 x 1 m produced at par and higher number of rooted shoots per plant (8.73 and 8.82, respectively) as compared to other treatments. Total shoot production per plant was also significantly more in T3, T4, T5 and T6 as compared to T1 and T2. However, the maximum total and rooted shoot production per sq. m and per plot (3 x 2 m) were produced at spacing of 0.5 x 0.5 m. The total shoot production

(217.25) and rooted shoot production per plot (117.15) were found significantly higher at the spacing of 0.5 x 0.5 m. Subsequently, the total and rooted shoot production per m2 were also highest in stool shoots planted at spacing of 0.5 x 0.5 m (36.37 and 19.51, respectively) as compared to stool shoots planted at other spacings (Table 1). As higher number of mother stocks can be accommodated per square meter and per plot with the spacing of 0.5 x 0.5 m, so the number of rooted shoots is more. But on per plant basis, the optimum spacing found to be 1 x 0.5 m. At par rooting of stool shoots were obtained at 1 x 1 m (70.95 %), 1 x 0.75 m (69.30 %) and 1 x 0.5 m (65.20 %). This indicates that as spacing increases, rooting percentage also increases. The length of longest root of 28.86 cm was observed in at spacing of 1 x 1 m and lowest root length of 14.56 cm was recorded in spacing of 0.5 x 0.5 m as compared to other treatments. However, the average root length was found significantly higher at spacing 1 x 1 m (17.15 cm) and 1 x 0.5 m (16.38 cm) as compared to other spacings (Table 2). Various rooting based observations found to improve at spacing equal and above 1 x 0.5 m indicating optimum soil exploration volume by mother stock and stool shoot as 0.5 m2 and above. The exogenous application of IBA and wounding of stool shoots had direct influence on rooting of stool shoots (Quamme and Brownlee, 1990). Erdogan and Smith (2005) while working with hazelnut reported that adoption of mound layering with girdling and IBA treatments was useful for the production of strong, well-rooted planting material and this method was suitable for directly planting in the orchard. The at par tallest shoot height of 84.99, 82.40 and 81.55 cm was recorded with spacing of 0.5 x 0.5 m , 1 x 0.5 m and 0.75 x 0.5 m, respectively and the results were significantly superior to rest of the treatments (Table 2).

Table 1: Total and rooted shoot production in stool layering at different spacings Treatment

Rooted shoots / plant

Total shoot production per plant

Rooted shoot production / m2

Total Shoot Production/ m2

Rooted shoot production / plot (3x2 m)

Total shoot production / plot (3x2 m)

T1 (0.5 x 0.5 m) -24

4.89c

9.05b

19.51a

36.37a

117.13a

217.25a

T2 (0.75 x 0.5 m) -16

5.46c

10.12b

13.50c

27.00b

81.00c

161.75b

T3 (0.75 x 0.75 m ) -10

7.14b

12.32a

9.53d

16.37d

57.13d

98.62d

T4 (1.0 x 0.5 m) - 12

7.74ab

11.72a

15.94b

23.37c

95.63b

140.62c

T5 (1 x 0.75 m) -8

8.73a

12.77a

11.61c

17.00d

69.75c

102.12d

T6 (1 x 1 m) - 6

8.82a

12.72a

8.80d

12.87e

52.88d

76.37e

CD (p)=0.05

1.12

1.32

2.02

2.71

12.11

16.25

94

Progressive Horticulture, 49 (1)

Table 2: Root and shoot characteristics of stool shoots at different spacings Treatment

Average root length (cm)

Longest root length (cm)

Tallest shoot length (cm)

No. of primary roots per plant

Rooting (%)

9.86c

14.56c

84.99a

14.83c

55.50c

T2 (0.75 x 0.5 m) -16

14.42

19.24

81.55

13.20

c

55.60c

T3 (0.75 x 0.75 m ) -10

12.63bc

17.27bc

70.29d

22.90b

59.00bc

T4 (1.0 x 0.5 m) - 12

16.38a

18.83b

82.40ab

20.31b

65.20ab

T5 (1 x 0.75 m) -8

14.55

15.88

75.79

25.90

a

69.30a

T6 (1 x 1 m) - 6

17.15a

28.86a

73.85cd

16.00c

70.95a

2.86

2.87

8.20

2.96

7.37

T1 (0.5 x 0.5 m) -24

CD (p)=0.05

ab

ab

b

c

REFERENCES Chadha, K.L. 2001. Handbook of Horticulture (1st Edn), Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi, 299 pp. Da Silva, J.A.T.; Rana, T.S.; Narzary, D.; Verma, N.; Meshram, D.T. and Ranade, S.A. 2013.  Pomegranate biology and biotechnology: A review. Sci. Hort., 160: 87-107. Erdogan, V. and Smith, D.C. 2005. Effect of tissue removal and hormone application on rooting of hazelnut layers. HortSci., 40: 1457-1460. Olmez, Z.; Temel, F.; Gokturk, A. and Yahyaoglu, Z. 2007. Effect of sulphuric acid and cold stratification pretreatments on germination of pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) seeds. Asian J. Plant Sci., 6: 427-430.

abc

bcd

Purohit, A.G. and Shekharappa, K.E. 1985. Effect of type of cutting and IBA on rooting of hard wood cuttings of pomegranate (Punica granatum L.). Indian J. Hort., 40: 302-304. Quamme, H.A. and Brownlee, R.T. 1990. Stool layering ability of thirty one apple rootstocks cultivar. Fruit Var. J., 44: 165-169. Sharma, N.; Anand, R. and Kumar, D. 2009. Standardization of pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) propagation through cuttings. Biological Forum – An International Journal, 1(1): 75-80. Singh, N. V.; Singh, S. K.; Singh, A. K.; Meshram, D. T.; Suroshe, S. S. and Mishra, D. C. 2012. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) induced hardening of micropropagated Pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) plantlets. Sci. Hort., 136: 122-127.

Received on 05 September 2015 and accepted on 27 March 2016

Progressive Horticulture, Vol. 49, No. 1, June 2017 © Copyright ISHRD, Printed in India DOI : 10.5958/2249-5258.2017.00021.5

[Short Communication]

Litchi (Litchi Chinensis Sonn.) cultivation in Karnataka and Kerala- A survey P.C. Tripathi, G. Karunakaran,V. Sankar and R. Senthil Kumar Central Horticultural Experiment Station Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (ICAR), Chettalli – 571 248, Kodagu, Karnataka, India E-mail: [email protected]

Litchi has a special place among the fruits by virtue of it’s attractive colour, distinct flavour and taste. India ranks second in the world in production of litchi production after China. In India, litchi is grown in almost 83 thousand hectares of area with a production of 5.75 lakh metric tonnes. Bihar, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Uttarakhand are the major litchi growing states of the country. (Annonymous, 2015 Singh et. al., 2014). The litchi requires specific climate for flowering and fruiting. Thus its commercial cultivation is limited few states located in certain latitudes( Singh et al., 2012) ). In the northern states of India, litchi fruits mature in the months of May and June. Contrary to this, the litchi matures in the months of December and January in some of the non-traditional litchi growing regions of South India (Nath et al., 2015; Tripathi et al., 2013 & 2014). Litchi is grown as home stead trees or as isolated trees in coffee plantations in parts of Coorg in Karnataka, Waynad in Kerala and Dharmapuri, Vellore, Tirunalvelli and Krishnagiri Lower Puleny hills, Kallar and Burliar of Nilgiri hills and some parts of Kanyakumari district

Random survey was made at farmer’s field of Kodagu district of Karnataka and Wynyard district of Kerala during 2013 and 2014. The climatic conditions of this district are given in Fig 1 &2. The tree age, source of the planting material and the yield were collected from farmers. The fruits were collected from surveyed farmers and analysed at CHES Chettalli for various fruits quality characters using standards methods described by Ranganna (1982). The data were analyzed statistically as described by Panse and Sukhatme (1995).

Temp(oC)/ Realtive Humidity(%)

TempMax RHMAX 500 450 400 350 300

Temp/RH

250 200 150 100 50 Jan

Feb March April May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov. Dec

Months

0



100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0

Rainfall (cm) Max.Temp (0C)

Fig. 1: Climatic conditions of Chettalli (A), Karnataka and Waynad district of Kerala Online version available at: www.indianjournals.com

Min Temp(0C) RH.Max(%)

120 100 80 60 40 20 0

Rainfall(cm)

100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0

AV.rainfall Temp Min RH Min.

of Tamil Nadu. The exact area of litchi in this region in not well known except Tamil Nadu. In Tamilnadu litchi was grown in 6 ha area mainly in Dharmapuri, Vellore, Tirunalvelli and Krishnagiri(Anonymous, 2006) . There are many apprehensions about cultivation, fruiting and quality of the litchi in these areas. Because the higher rainfall lacking proper low temperature exposure due the climatic conditions of these region. Thus survey s were conducted to find out the yield and quality of litchi in parts of Karnataka and Kerala.

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Progressive Horticulture, 49 (1)

The study revealed that most of the litchi growers in the surveyed areas have less than 5 trees in their plantations. These plants are planted in backyard and fruits are consumed for own purpose only little surplus quantity is sold through middle men. Only 8 % farmers have 5-100 plants. And most of them are planted as intercrop with coffee. only 2 % farmers have more than 5 acres under litchi .the mono crops of litchi was almost negligible. As far as the varieties are concerned there is no record of the varieties in most of the cases but the plants belongs to Shahi, china, Rose Scented, Early Seedless, Dehra, Shahi, Bedana varieties . These plants were brought from Assam (14%), Bihar (8%), U.P. ( 20 %) and local nurseries (58 %) (Table 1).

Table 1: Size and source of litchi plantation in surveyed areas of Karnataka and Kerala Size of plantation No. of trees/ plantation Cropping system Source of planting material Varieties

< 1acre 1-5 acres (8%) (94%) < 5 (80%) 5-100 (16%)

>5 acres (2%)

Back yard planting (80 %) U.P. Local (20%) nurseries (58 %) Shahi, china, Rose Scented, Early Seedless, Dehra, Shahi, Bedana

Table 2: yield and quality of litchi trees surveyed in Karnataka and Kerala

Age of plants (years) Yield /per tree (kg) Fruit weight(g) Fruit length(cm) Fruit width(cm) Fruit volume(ml) Rind weight (cm) Seed weight (g) Pulp weight(g) TSS (OBrix) Acidity (%) Ascorbic acid (mg/100g) Reducing sugar (%) Total sugar (%)

Mini- Maxi- Aver- Standard mum mum age deviation 3 60 24.4 0 200 65.0 10.72 23.28 17.77 2.98 2.88 3.96 3.52 0.24 2.64 3.49 3.14 0.20 10.68 23.50 17.54 2.94 1.40 3.38 2.49 0.54 0.58 5.13 2.22 0.99 7.88 19.55 13.15 2.65 17.0 21.8 18.57 1.17 0.09 0.40 0.29 0.10 4.0 35.20 13.26 6.41 2.87 25.0

10.23 51.92

7.27 25.0

The cost of production is high as compared to North India due to cost of nets etc for prevention of fruit damage from the bats, birds and squirrels.

Table 3: Constraints/ problems faced by the growers

>100 (4%)

Mono Intercrop with crop (2%) coffee (12 %) Assam Bihar (8%) (14%)

Characters

surveyed plantation ranged between 4 to 60years. Most of the old trees are very big and attained heights of 8-10 meters. The fruits of most of the trees matures in the month of December and January. The fruits of cv. Early seedless matured first in the second week of December while China fruits matures late in the month of January. The yield of plants varied from 0 to 200kg. No yield was recorded in some of the trees because the fruits were dropped due to infestation of fruit borer or fruit bats. As far as the quality of the fruits is concerns, the fruit weight ranged from 10.72 g to 23.28 g with average fruit weight of 17.77 g. The fruit volume shown similar trends with highest 23.5 ml and lowest 10.68 ml. The fruit length ranged from 2.88 cm to 3.96 cm while fruit width ranged from 2.64 to 3.49 cm.

1.44 7.34

As far as the age of plants is concerned, there of the

Problems

% Grower

Erratic flowering

45

Insects- fruit Borer

95

Red velvet mites

95

Flying foxes(bats)

95

Lack of quality planting materials

75

Lack of suitable package of practices

86

The climatic conditions of the region and the farmers experience shows that litchi can be grown successfully in the region but there are some constraints in cultivation of litchi. The erratic flowering was mentioned by the 45 % farmers one of the constraints. It was noticed that some of the are not a all flowering while some trees are flowering both in February and September. The higher infection of Red velvet mite may be one reason of no flowering in some of the trees. More than 95 percent farmers consider red velvet mites as major problem. The insects –pests is considered major constraints by the growers. Ninety five percent farmers told that they are unable to get even single fruit because of higher fruit borers. The bats problem is another major problem in Coorg and waynad. Ninety five percent farmers faced this problem. The non availability of quality planting material is mentioned by 75 % growers as an important constraint. The lack of standardized package of practices is another constraint and 86 percent farmers found is important (Table 3). Though litchi was introduced in the region long back but due to limited area and less commercial importance, little research work done was on the evaluation of suitable verities ,production and plant protection technolo-

Progressive Horticulture, 49 (1)

97

gies of litchi cultivation for this region. Recently varietal evaluation trials and plant protection experiment were conducted at the CHES Chettalli. Litchi cultivation have a bright future in the region because of the off season production. Most of the growers indicated that combined efforts are required at Research and development level for commercial cultivation of litchi in the region. This may be helpful in crop diversification and income enhancement of farmers of these areas.

REFERENCES Anonymous. 2015. Horticulture Data book. NHB. pp. 297. Anonymous. 2006. Season and crop Report 2005-06. Department of Economics & Statistics. Govt. of Tamil Nadu. Panse, V.G. and Sukhatme V.G. 1995. Statistical Methods for Agricultural Workers, ICAR, 2nd Edition New Delhi. Ranganna, S. 1986. Handbook of analysis and quality con-

trol for fruit and vegetable products. Tata Mc Grow Hill Publishing company Ltd., New Delhi. Singh, Gorakh; Nath, Vishal; Pandey, S.D.; Ray, P.K. and Singh, H.S. 2012. The Litchi, FAO New Delhi, India, Pp. 219. Singh, S.S.; Nath, V. and Dwivedi, S.K. 2014. Production and management techniques in litchi. GBPUAT, KVKDhakarani, Dehradun (Uttrakhand). Tripathi, P.C.; Karunakaran and Sakthivel, T. 2013. Performance of Litchi cultivars for off season production under Coorg conditions of Karnataka, Indian J. Hortic. (submitted) Tripathi, P.C.; Sankar, V. and Senthilkumar, R. 2014. Off season litchi cultivation in Coorg. Coffee land News Oct -pp. 7-8. Nath, Vishal; Kumar, Amrendra; Pandey, S. D. and Tripathi, P.C. 2015. Litchi in winter season-a way forward. Indian Hort., 60(2): 26-27.

Received on 10 November 2015 and accepted on 17 June 2016

Progressive Horticulture, Vol. 49, No. 1, June 2017 © Copyright ISHRD, Printed in India DOI : 10.5958/2249-5258.2017.00022.7

[Report]

Bijasal (Pterocarpus marsupium) wood - A potential in reducing blood sugar level in diabetes patients Chandra Shekhar Sanwal1 and Sanjai K. Dwivedi2

Divisional Forest Officer, Haldwani Division, Haldwani, (Uttrakhand), India 2 Defence Institue of Bio Energy Research (DIBER) DRDO, Haldwani (Uttrakhand) India Email: [email protected]

1

KEY WORDS: Brijsal, diabetes, blood sugar Diabetes is a national health priority. The number of people with type 2 diabetes is growing, most likely the result of rising overweight and obesity rates, lifestyle and dietary changes, and an ageing population. The number of people with diabetes worldwide is projected to increase to 36.6 million by 2030 (Hossain et. al., 2007). This rate is expected to increase greatly over the next half century. Along with the increase in incidence of diabetes, both individual and societal expectations concerning the management of diabetes have also increased. Although new treatments and medicines have aided in controlling the disease in many individuals yet the long term treatment for diabetes management is still a challenge. Hence the revival of traditional herbal medicine and change in life style can be the best option for treatment of Diabetes in modern days. Pterocarpus marsupium (Bijasal) is one of the potential trees belonging to family fabaceae used as scared potential antidiabetic drug since ancient times. The heart wood of this leguminous tree is medicinally important and posses novel anti-diabetic principle. Its heart wood is official part used as antidiabetic drug. Aqueous infusions of the bark possess antidiabetic potential hence wood of the tree is useful in making the water glasses of the diabetic patients (Reddy, 2008). Aqueous infusions of the bark possess antidiabetic potential (Anonymous, 1969). Looking the potential of the wood the study was conducted to measure the efficacy of the aqueous infusion of the wood in reducing blood sugar level in type 2 diabetes patients using HbA1c test. HbA1c or glycated haemoglobin test has recently been endorsed as a diagnostic test for diabetes by the World Health Organization. This test for diabetic patients has become a marker for evaluating long-term control of diabetes as it gives an Online version available at: www.indianjournals.com

average blood sugar level over a period of 8 -12 weeks. Hence voluntarily using traditional knowledge patients adopted the traditional daily intake of aqueous infusion of 50 gm of Bijasal wood. The traditional treatment continued for three months. HbA1c test value was taken before and after the intake of this herbal drug. Both values were compared to measure the efficacy of this traditional medicine. The value of HbA1c value reduced up to 0.25 in the patients (For instance from 6.85 to 6.70%) in the first phase of the study just after the span of three months. This clearly indicates the potential of Pterocarpus marsupium’s wood in reducing blood sugar level in type-2 diabetes patients. ICMR study group (2005) has evaluated the efficacy of Bijasal (P. marsupium) in newly non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus. They reported that blood glucose level and mean HbAlc levels were decreased significantly from 151-216mg/dl to 32-45mg/ dl and 9.8 to 9.4 % respectively indicating the utility of Bijasal in NIDDM patients. However, due to overexploitation of the tree for its various useful applications coupled with low germinability, Pterocarpus marsupium has been included in the list of depleted plant species. Today, the tree is enrolled in the “Red list” due to over-exploration for its various medicinal applications and is on the verge of extinction. Therefore, the propagation and conservation of this tree having potential and natural anti-diabetic drug properties has become inevitable and urgent need so that the future generation could use it for their health benefits in times to come in future.

References Anonymous 1969. The wealth of India: a dictionary of

Progressive Horticulture, 49 (1)

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raw material and Industrial products. Vol. VII. New Delhi: Council of scientific and Industrial Research, pp 303-305.

patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: a flexible dose double blind multicenter randomized controlled trial. Diabalogia Croatica, 34(1):13-20.

Hossain, P.; Kawar, B.; Nahas, M.E. 2007. Obesity and diabetes in the developing world- a growing challenge. NEJM 356(3): 213-215.

Reddy, K.N.; Pattanaik, C.; Reddy, C.S.; Murthy, E.N. and Raju, V.S. 2008. Plants used in traditional handicrafts in north eastern Andhra Pradesh. Indian J. of Indian Knowledge, 7(1): 162-165.

ICMR study group, (2005). Efficacy of vijayasar (Pterocarpus marsupium) in the treatment of newly diagnosed

Received on 10 December 2015 and accepted on 18 October 2016

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CONTENTS

PROGRESSIVE HORTICULTURE, Vol. 49, No. 1, June, 2017 Preservation of guava ( Psidium guajava L.) juice with sodium benzoate and ginger extract- Piyush Shrivastava, V. M. Prashad, Jitendra Kumar, Praveen Kumar Mishra and Ravindra Kumar Singh

53

Formulation and storage studies of guava (Psidium guajava L.) – soybean (Glycine max) toffee - A.P. Khapre and A.A. Kulthe

59

Protein profile study in bitter gourd (Momordica charantia L.)- Amitabh Panda and Dinesh Kumar Singh

62

Influence of foliar fertilization of boron on broccoli (Brassica oleracea var. italica) in boron deficient soil of Doon Valley, India- Ratan Kumar and Kavita Kandpal

65

69

24

Postharvest quality of tuberose (Polianthes tuberosa) loose flower as affected by elecitor treatment- N.K.L. Khongwir, M.C. Singh, Krishan P. Singh and Ajay Arora

75

Standardization of harvesting methods of litchi (Litchi chinensis Sonn.) cv. Bombai- A. Sarkar, C. S. Maiti and B. Ghosh

27

Effect of planting geometry and nitrogen on growth, flowering and yield of chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum coronarium L.)- Gopi Lal Mali, S.K. Moond, A. Mishra, M.K. Sharma and Bhim Singh

79

Character association and path analysis studies in guava (Psidium guajava L.) for bioactive and antioxidant attributes- Dharamjit Kherwar and K. Usha

30

Effect of various chemicals as vase solutions on post harvest flower quality parameters in tuberose (Polianthes tuberosa Linn.) cut spikes- Radhika Jadeja, Alka Singh, T.R. Ahlawat, R.D. Baghale and S.L. Chawla

86

Maintenance of quality attributes of cold stored Patharnakh pear through post-harvest application of antioxidant (Diphenylamine)- Sumanjit Kaur and W.S. Dhillon

36

Perceived influence of trees, greens in open spaces on microclimate: A case study of the Federal University of Technology, Akure- A.I., Okunlola, T.A, Ewulo, K.E. Owolabi, and J.O. Okunlola

41

A novel method of propagation in pomegranate: Mound layering- N.V. Singh, Ram Chandra, C.M. Awachare, K.D. Babu and R.K. Pal

92

Effect of season and growing environment on success of soft wood grafting in cashew (Anacardium occidentale L.) nut under south Gujarat agro climatic conditionsDeepak Vaghela and D K. Sharma

95

Conjunct use of organic manures, biofertilizers and inorganic fertilizers for improving plant health of plum cv. Santa Rosa- Nidhika Thakur and B. S. Thakur

44

Litchi (Litchi Chinensis Sonn.) cultivation in Karnataka and Kerala- A survey- P.C. Tripathi, G. Karunakaran,V. Sankar and R. Senthil Kumar

98

Response of guava (Psidium guajava L.) varieties to different time of softwood grafting- Anjana Kholia, S.G. Bharad and Kuntal Satkar

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Bijasal (Pterocarpus marsupium) wood - A potential in reducing blood sugar level in diabetes patients- C.S. Sanwal and SK Dwivedi

Effect of Aloe vera gel coating on quality and shelf life of plum (Prunus salicina)- D.B. Singh and Nisha Narula

01

Enhanced shelf life of Thompson Seedless grapes by application of chitosan- Ajay Kumar Sharma, Ahammed Shabeer T.P., Sandip Hingmire, R.G. Somkuwar, Sharmistha Naik and Pratiksha Kadam

08

Nutrient uptake by strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa Duch.) cv. Chandler and weeds under different weed management practices- Kirti Jamwal and V.K. Wali

14

Effect of growth regulators and micronutrients on growth, production and quality of strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa Duch) cv. Winter Dawn - Indira Yadav, Jitendra Singh, Prerak Bhatnagar, M.K. Sharma, S.K. Jain, M.C. Jain and I.B. Maurya

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Effect of plant growth regulators and chemicals on seed germination of ker (Capparis decidua L.) and phalsa (Grewia subinaequalis)- B.M. Muralidhara, R.S. Singh and G.L. Veena

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