HortFlora Research Spectrum

185-191

Authors: B. M. Bhardwajand Sukhdev Singh

Deteriorating air quality is peril to human health in urban areas. Vehicular traffic is the major contributor to air pollution in cities. Street trees, being nearest to the source, can effectively reduce pollutants from ambient air. Pollution tolerant species can be more effective in this process with minimal physiological damage to their system. Pollution tolerance of the abundant street tree species in Ludhiana was studied and most of them were found to have intermediate tolerance. 17.27 per cent of the trees were tolerant and 20.4 per cent were sensitive. The most abundant species, Alstonia scholaris was sensitive to air pollution and can be used as indicator. More number of pollution tolerant species should be planted in industrial and commercial areas which have higher pollution load.

200-203

Authors: J. S. Brar, H. S. Dhaliwal, M. S. Gill and Savreet Khehra

: Significant reduction in vegetative growth with increased severity of heading back was recorded in all years of observations. Although, the vegetative growth of senile (control) trees was remained highest and almost similar in all years of observations, but, among headed back plants, severely headed back (1.5 m) trees exhibited smaller canopies followed by 2.0 m and 2.5 m, respectively. The intensity of pruning also had significant effect on vegetative growth of trees. During the initial years, the canopy volume was decreased with the severity of pruning with minimum canopy volume in trees pruned at 75 % intensity in all levels of heading back. Un-pruned headed back plants exhibited higher canopy volume. The headed back plants exhibited about 50 per cent, 40 per cent and 30 per cent reduction in tree canopy volume in 1.5 m, 2.0 m and 2.5 m headed back trees as compared to un-headed back (senile trees) up to fifth years of rejuvenation, respectively.

209-213

Authors: Sukhpreet Kaur and Poonam Aggarwal

A technique for development of ready-to-fry dehydrated potato snack premix incorporating potato flour, rice flour and various spices was standardized. The prepared dehydrated potato snack premix was packed in LDPE bags and stored at room temperature for a period of 6 months to study the shelf-life and quality attributes of the prepared product. The physicochemical parameters including ash content, protein content, Free fatty acids and peroxide value of dehydrated premix remained unaffected during storage up to six months with the exception of moisture which increased significantly (p < 0.05) during storage. Slight but significant (p < 0.05) reductions in bioactive components including total phenolics and total antioxidant activity of dehydrated snack premix occurred during storage. The ready to eat fried potato snack prepared from dehydrated premix was found to be highly acceptable for up to 6 months of storage without any change in sensory quality.

220-223

Authors: Khushboo Kathayat, Anita Singh and Monisha Rawat

The present investigation was conducted during 2012 at Vegetable Research Centre, Pantnagar, U.S.Nagar, Uttarakhand. The field experiment was laid out in Randomized Block Design with 29 genotypes along with two checks in three replications. Genetic variability was studied for 17 quantitative characters. The results revealed significant differences among the genotypes for all the characters. High genotypic and phenotypic coefficient of variations were observed for number of fruit clusters per plant (49.84 and 51.16, respectively) and lowest for days to first fruit picking (1.51 and 1.41 respectively). Heritability was found low for days to first fruit picking (0.13%) and high for number of fruit clusters per plant (100%). High genetic advance was observed for 1000 seed weight (484.88) whereas lowest for fruit diameter (0.24). Genotypic correlation coefficient was higher than phenotypic correlation coefficient.

230-235

Authors: A.V. Barad, Nilima Bhosale and Pooja Maheta

The recently introduced under cultivation plant species Solidago canadensis L. is commonly known as ‘Goldenrod’ belongs to family Asteraceae. It is a perennial in nature and unexploited flower crop cultivated in limited areas for its flower stalks. Now a day farmers are growing this crop commercially in a limited area. The trial was conducted to evaluate the nitrogen levels and type of cuttings during two seasons (summer and rainy) with six nitrogen levels (0, 50, 100, 150, 200 and 250 kg N/ha). The nitrogen was applied once during main harvest. Main harvest had pronounced effect on vegetative parameters during summer and rainy plantings except number of suckers and fresh weight of plant, which was higher during both plantings. While earliest flowering (80.20 days) was observed in ratoon harvesting during summer planting. While, under rainy planting the main harvest provided more number of panicles per plant and per hectare. The application of 250 kg N/ha had pronounced effect on vegetative growth parameters which had increased all vegetative growth parameters. Nitrogen at 250 kg N/ha produced highest longevity of inflorescence, yield of panicles per plant and per hectare during summer and rainy planting, respectively Earliest flowering was found at 200 kg N/ha (73.70 days) during summer and at 250 kg N/ha (98.10 days) during rainy season

241-244

Authors: L. B. Basavaraj, D. G. Vilas and R. Vijayakumar

The present investigation was conducted to elucidate the genetic characters viz. variability and heritability between yield and yield components of different tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) genotypes. Eighteen genotypes including released varieties, landraces and germplasms were used in this investigation for assessment of quality, yield and yield components. The experiment was conducted during summer; 2013-14 at field of Department Vegetable Science, K.R.C. College of Horticulture, Arabhavi, Belagavi district Karnataka, India. Data on morphological characters were recorded from mean value of five randomly selected plants in each genotype. The genotypes exhibited a wide range of variability for all the characters studied. Analysis of variance showed significant variation among the genotypes for all tested characters. Phenotypic coefficient of variation (PCV) was higher than genotypic coefficient of variation (GCV) for all the characters studied. Days to first fruit maturity showed the highest genotypic and phenotypic variance (3427.10and 6531.93) whereas TSS (Brix) showed the lowest ones (0.55 and 0.63). High genotypic variance was observed for most of the characters indicating more contribution of genetic component for the total variation. Genotypic coefficient of variations (GCV) and phenotypic coefficient of variation (PCV) were highest for yield/ha (341.89 and 323.12), whereas the lowest ones were for days to first flowering (5.82 and 7.21). Higher GCV and PVC were recorded for most of the characters indicating higher magnitude of variability for these characters. The highest heritability was recorded for yield/ha (96.34%), while the lowest was for plant height (45.30%). High heritability (broad senses) estimates were observed for all the tested characters indicating that these characters are controlled by additive genes action which can be improved by simple selection.

250-254

Authors: Surya Narayan , Vijai Kumar and Surendra Singh

Five bio-pesticides viz., Trichoderma, Aspergillus, Penicillium, VAM and Biodynamic culture were tried to find out their lethal effects on muskmelon wilt caused by Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. melonis when applied through soil. Trichoderma and Biodynamic culture at 5% concentration (w/w) were effective as these significantly reduced the wilt incidence with improved clinical aspects. Least plumule decay was observed with Trichoderma treatment. Similarly, seedling and plant mortality, flower and fruit set and fruit yield parameters were significantly better with Trichoderma treatment. Other better results were observed in Biodynamic culture, VAM, Penicillium and Aspergillus, respectively. All the treatments were found significantly superior over control. Precisely, muskmelon wilt can be effectively controlled through soil application of Trichoderma fungus @ 5% concentration.

260-263

Authors: Rashmi Nigam and Joginder Singh

The present investigation was carried out on cowpea variety IFC-901, to study the efficacy of doses of bioagents on nodulation of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp) in pot condition consecutively for three years. In terms of nodulation status, the pooled data of three year revealed that all the treatments were significantly superior in increasing the nodules/plant as compared to control. Number of nodules was higher when the treatments were given with Trichoderma species. T. harzianum recorded the best results in increasing the number of nodules against M. phaseolina, R. solani and F. oxysporum infested plants. The study revealed that 15 g dose was most effective for all bioagents.

268-272

Authors: Rinchan Dolkar, M. B. Madalageri and G. Manjunath

Character association and path analysis in twelve advanced breeding lines of chilli was studied for 16 important traits. The phenotypic and genotypic association of fruit yield was significantly positive with per cent fruit set, number of fruits/plant, number of secondary branches/plant, plant height, fruit weight, total fruit chlorophyll content, pericarp weight and number of primary branches at both genotypic and phenotypic level. However, days to first flowering and days to 50 per cent flowering showed negative and significant correlation with total yield. The genotypic and phenotypic path coefficient revealed that total green chilli yield had high direct positive effect from number of fruit / plant and pericarp weight. So selection done based on number of fruits/plant and pericarp weight would be rewarding.

277-281

Authors: Jitendra Singh, P.S.Chauhan, Kavita A., Prerak Bhatnagar and R.R.Meena

The world over there is heavy reliance on three crops—rice, wheat and maize to fulfill dietary energy requirement of the mankind. There are many other crops of promise which can be utilized to share the dominating reliance on these crops. Jackfruit is one of them. Its ripe fruits contain 22.4–24 per cent carbohydrates and are rich source of it. They contain 0.8 per cent mineral matter. The seeds containing 32.6–38.4 per cent carbohydrates are richer than fruits. Their mineral matter content is 1.2–3.5 per cent and are hence better than fruits in this regard. Of the total weight of fruits, pulp constitutes about 30 per cent. It indicates good proportion of edible mass of fruits. The fruits can be hence popularized as one of the food crops of high utility. It can be grown on marigold soil with less input. It can go as one of the components in agr/horti based farming system under agroforestry.

285-287

Authors: Mukesh Kumar

An experiment was conducted with 53 garlic cultivars at Horticultural Research Centre (HRC) of SVPUA&T, Meerut, UP, India during the year 2013-14. Results on different growth characters showed that cultivar Roshni Mota exhibited the maximum plant height and Bhima Omkar gave maximum number of leaves per plant while cultivar CL Lamba produced maximum leaf length and cultivar PG-20 resulted in maximum leaf width. In regards to the yield characters, PG-20 gave maximum bulb weight, while Jawa exhibited maximum bulb diameter and clove weight, while cultivar F-2-R gave maximum number of cloves per bulb.

291-292

Authors: G. R. Kishore

A field trial with three levels of each of nitrogen, phosphorus and potash (50, 100 and 200 Kg/ha) by following a randomized block design was carried out at C.C.R. (P.G) College, Muzaffarnagar on tuberose cv. Single. The results revealed that application of higher dose of nitrogen resulted in profuse growth, while the doses of phosphorus and potash could not show significant differences in traits studied. Therefore, a fertilizer dose of 200kg, 100kg and 200 kg/ha of nitrogen, phosphorus and potash, respectively may be recommended for profitable cultivation of tuberose.

93-96

Authors: Pejman Dalir, Ramin Naghdi and Seyed Rostam Mousavi Mirkala

Soil bioengineering is the low-cost way for slope stabilization in forest roads. Considering economic efficiency, the focus of the present study was to reduce environmentally destructive effects of roads by finding out the appropriate native plants for bio stabilizing slopes and also aiming at providing soil bioengineering decision making skills. The research was carried out through 30 systematic randomly distributed plots at two slope classes. In each sample plot, geological features (slope steepness, aspect and altitude) and various plant species were recorded. Three extra sample plots were taken in upland slopes to illustrate the success and failure of vegetation’s presence. Geographical plan showed that roads were located at three land types where total existing land types were five. In total, five cores with 30 cm in diameter and 60 cm in depth created for laboratory tests of soil mechanical characteristics (liquid limit, solid limit and texture). Results revealed that there is a relation between plant species and variables such as land type, soil moisture, soil texture, aspect, slope, and soil depth of study area. The dominant tree species in the study area were Carpinus betulus with 24.5% followed by Parrotia persica with 17.3% which was followed by Quercus castanefolia (11.7 %), Fagus orientalis (8.2%), and Alnus subcordata (7.9%). Land type (A) is suitable for road structure, (B) is not suitable for road structure and (C) is relatively suitable for road structure.

102-107

Authors: Prerak Bhatnagar, C.B. Meena, Bhim Singh and Jitendra Singh

A definite increasing trend for carboxylation efficiency of Jamun plants was observed from March to October months followed by a reduction in photosynthetic rates during November and December months. Stomatal conductance and relative humidity percentage of Jamun leaves were low before monsoon months followed by a sharp increase from July to September months. Transpiration rates were found correspondingly high during June to August months and exhibited a positive correlation with leaf temperature. Vapour pressure deficit values of Jamun leaves were found positively correlated with leaf temperature and were at higher end during May, June and July months. From the experiment, it appeared characteristically that the leathery leaves of Jamun had lower transpiration rates during March to June months. Further, during this period the plant manifested maximum water use efficiency. It indicates better survivability of plants under acute water scarcity which is hallmark of arid and semi arid conditions. It can be utilized as potential underutilized fruit which holds promise for the future in view of adding diversity to fruit basket of the country.

116-122

Authors: Hariom Katiyar , Vijai Kumar, Kalpana Singh , Naveen Chandra, S. K. Lodhi and S. K. Verma

Significant mean squares during two years were observed for leaf area, dry matter content, total chlorophyll content and protein content in tuber exhibiting differential performance of genotypes over different environments. Mean performance of genotypes pooled over two years indicated superiority of Kufri Chipsona-1, J/93-139, Kufri Chipsona-2, J/95-229, J/96-17 and Kufri Anand for tuber yield (480.38, 461.50, 437.38, 431.88, 428.13 and 423.88 q/ha, respectively). Number of tubers per hill was highest in Kufri Pushkar (8.84), JW-160 (8.54) and Kufri Chipsona-1 (8.38). Genotypes exhibiting high values of number of stolon per hill were Kufri Chipsona-1 (19.39), J/95-158 (17.94) and J/96-80 (17.79). Genotypes J/95-80 (90.84g) and J/96-171 (90.67g) exhibited better tuber weight. Genotype PS/96-14 had maximum number of leaves per shoot (18.94) whereas, maximum leaf area occurred in J/96-171 (181.09 cm2). Dry matter content was maximum in Kufri Chipsona-2 (23.55%) followed by Kufri Chipsona-1 (23.22%). Ascorbic acid was found highest in Kufri Bahar (27.18 mg/100g fresh wt.) followed by Kufri Jyoti (26.48 mg/100g fresh wt.). Protein content was maximum in J/95-144 (1.91%) and Kufri Jawahar (1.86%). TSS content was highest in J/93-139 and Kufri Pukhraj (1.59 followed by Kufri Chipsona 2 (1.57 mg)and J/95-221, J-95-80 and J/96-80 (1.56 mg each) J/92-159 (7.39 B) followed by Kufri Chipsona-1 (7.27 B) and J/95-242 (7.25 B ). Total chlorophyll content was highest in J/95-80 and Kufri Pukhraj (1.59 mg/g fresh wt.).

129-134

Authors: Pradeep Kumar and Durvesh K. Singh

The present investigation, carried out during spring-summer season of 2009-10 at Vegetable Research Centre of G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, was aimed to optimize the dose of 2, 4-D used as a plant growth regulator in chilli to find out suitable genotypes assessing the variability of chilli crop occurred in India for cultivating in tarai region of Uttarakhand. The experiment was laid out in a Split Plot Design with three replications where the three levels of 2, 4-D i.e. 0, 2 and 4 ppm were applied in main plots and the 27 genotypes allotted to each main plot as subplot factor in each replication. The observations were recorded for growth and yield attributes viz. plant height, number of primary branches/ plant, fruit length, weight of fruits/plant, number of fruits/plant and fruit yield/ha. Among all the genotypes PC-7, PC-2064, PC-6, PC-4, and CCHO-5-8 performed better for growth and yield attributes and also produced significantly highest fruit yield (325.0, 270.0, 246.3, 246.3 and 240.9 q/ha, respectively) with application of 2, 4-D @ 4ppm . The results showed that 2,4-D @ 4 ppm had marked influence on growth and yield of chilli, followed by 2,4-D @2ppm produced highest fruit yield than check. Significant differences were also observed for genotypes and their interactions in respect of 2, 4-D for all the attributes.

139-143

Authors: Vandana Umrao, S. K. Sharma, Vijai Kumar, Rajeev Kumar, Alka Sharma and Jitendra Kumar

Phenotypic correlation and path coefficient analysis was worked out for eleven important characters in fifty genotypes of okra. The estimates of genotypic correlation coefficient were higher than the estimates of phenotypic correlation coefficient for all the character combinations. Fruit yield per plant (g) showed positive and significant correlation with number of first fruiting nodes / plant, final plant height (cm), no. of fruiting nodes /plant, length of fruit (cm), weight per fruit (g), and number of fruits per plant. The path coefficient analysis revealed that the magnitude of direct effect were higher for weight per fruit (0.506) followed by number of fruits per plant(0.326), length of fruit (0.2) and no. of first fruiting nodes /plant (0.190) while the magnitude of rest of the characters in all the environments were moderate to low. Further the indirect effect through weight per fruit and number of fruits per plant were important. Hence it is suggested that more emphasis should be given on weight per fruit, number of fruits per plant and plant height while executing the selection for genetic enhancement of fruit yield in okra.

150-154

Authors: Naghma Praween and Arun K. Singh

Euryale ferox Salisb, also known as fox nut, Makhana or gorgon nut, is the member of the family Nympheaceae. Fresh weight and dry weight as well quantitative and protein changes in the developing Makhana seeds and pericarp were described from 12 days after flowering until maturity. The results revealed that in immature fruit, the seeds were more proteinaceous in the control condition reaching up to an average of 25.03days followed by 0.0001% kinetin in the perisperm. In the controlled conditions, the development of pericarp and seeds were normal and gradually increased in the mature stage, while in the over- mature stage it just multiplied twice the rate of protein development. Of all the stages, it was observed that 0.01% Kinetin was more ideal for seed as well as for pericarp development as there is no drop out in the increasing protein concentration during each successive stage of development.

159-163

Authors: Agasimani A. Arif, Ravi Pujari and Shashidhar Doddamani

Ginger (Zingiber officinale Rosc.) is one of the important spice crop of Asia. India is one of the largest ginger producing country in the world. It is valued for its aroma, flavour and medicinal properties. In India, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh are the major states producing ginger. The productivity of ginger remains low in India due to constraints like diseases and improper management. There is a need to standardize the production technology which may help to improve the yield, quality so as to extend the farmers’ hand of reliability so that they can get high net returns per unit area. The present review is focused on production practices of ginger

168-171

Authors: Ritu Mahajan

Medicinal plants constitute an important natural wealth of the country. These are important sources of therapeutic agents and constitute raw materials for the manufacture of traditional and modern medicines. Inspite of their huge bio-diversity, many of the potential herbs are yet not known to the scientific world. Gloriosa superba L. has now been listed as endangered species due to its overexploitation or over-collection. It has large pharmacological value due to presence of an important alkaloid, colchicine and also other biologically active compounds. So, the key challenges now lie in developing new conservation strategies so as to increase its germplasm base. Both in situ and ex situ conservation methods can be chosen depending on its distribution and as well as the availability of resources in the areas of its occurrence.

176-178

Authors: T. Vijaya, V. Asha Krishna and P. Sujathamma

Alternative medicines are getting popularized these days because of various advantages like less or nil side effects and most of them have therapeutic values. Using of plants with medicinal values for various human ailments is a best method in alternative medicine. Among various medicinal plants Terminalia species are known for their potential uses. Bark of Terminalia arjuna contains triterpenoids, tannins, phenolic acids, glycosides, antioxidants, magnesium, copper and zinc salts. Presence of these compounds plays an important role in curing cardiac diseases, cancer treatment, urinary tract infections, lung diseases and edema. From ancient days, arjuna bark powder is used in Ayurveda as a cardio tonic, indigestion and bleeding disorders. Arjuna helps in maintaining the cholesterol level at the normal rate. In rural areas bark powder of arjuna is usedfor snake bite and scorpion sting. Leaf juice of arjuna is used to cure dysentery and ear ache. Regular therapy with Terminalia arjuna bark powder leads to significant regression endothelial abnormalities among smokers. Hence, in the present review paper an attempt has been made to consolidate medicinal properties of Terminalia species.

182-183

Authors: Virendra Singh, S.K. Acharya , D.K. Sarolia and Deepesh Panchori

Seven genotypes of turmeric (Curcuma longa L.) were evaluated under irrigated condition for two consecutive years at Fruit Research Station, Banswara (Rajasthan). The genotypes varied in their production potential, growth characters and curcumin content. Pooled data revealed that variety Suroma produced maximum plant height (134.17 cm), number of tillers per plant (5.39), single plant yield (0.431 kg) and yield per hectare of fresh rhizome (231.11 q/ha) and it was at par with the production of Roma (216.40 q/ha). These two varieties viz., Suroma and Roma were significantly superior among all the varieties during both the seasons and are suitable for general cultivation in the southern parts of Rajasthan, whereas, Pratibha variety exhibited highest curcumin content (3.12 g/100g) followed by Roma (2.69 g/100g).

1-6

Authors: Rouzbeh Rahmanian

: This research examines the financial performance of greenhouses in Guilan province in Iran. In order to do the research, questionnaires from 60 greenhouses were collected and features such as the general specifications of greenhouses, type of greenhouse covers, surface areas, infrastructure facilities, input raw material, energy and fuel costs, personal cost, production rate, sales prices of the produced products were considered. A financial performance measure developed from data envelopment analysis (DEA). According to the results, 7% of the greenhouses had an efficiency of 20%-40%, 22% between 40%-60%, 33% between 60%-80%, and 38% had more than 80%.

17-21

Authors: H. Tarula, J.M.S. Rawat, Krishan Kumar Singh , Vidyawati Rawat and Bhupendra Singh

Freshly harvested mature fruits of aonla (Emblica officinalis Gaertn) cultivars namely NA-7, NA-10, Chakaiya and a wild aonla were dipped in GA3 100 mg L1, 200 mg L1, 300 mg L1, MH 100 mg L1, 200 mg L1, 300 mg L1 and CaCl2 10 g L1 20 g L1, 30 g L1 solutions. Fruits were surface dried, packed in nylon net bags and kept in room temperature (15.5±4C) and RH 62.7%. Among the different post harvest treatments, it was found that GA3 200 mg L1 was best in reducing the physiological loss. No pathological loss was observed in all the treatments upto 14 days of storage. The maximum TSS content was recorded with GA3 treatment. GA3 300 mg L1 treatment gave better retention of ascorbic acid and malic acid during the storage of aonla.

28-33

Authors: Ravi Pujari, A. A. Arif and Shivanand Rayar

Curcuma longa L is an important sacred and spice crop of Asia, used in several culinary purposes and also for treatment of several diseases. It is cultivated for its rhizomes for extraction of curcumin forming the principal source of drugs and colouring principle. In India, Andra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu are the major state producing turmeric. There is a need to standardize the production technology which may help to improve the yield, quality so as to extend the farmers’ hand of reliability so that they can get high net returns per unit area. The present review is focusing on production practices of Curcuma longa L.

39-43

Authors: K. K. Singh and Y. K. Tomar

The study on effect of planting time and IBA levels on rooting of phalsa (Grewia asiatica L.) woody cuttings under mist house condition was undertaken in Horticulture Research Centre, Chauras Campus. HNBGU, Srinagar, Garhwal during 2013. The experiment was laid out in Factorial RBD with three replications. Cuttings were collected during winter season (mid January, February, March) and rainy season (mid June, July and August). The 20 cm long cuttings were prepared from 4 to 5 year old plants and treated with 1000, 1500, 2000 ppm IBA solutions by quick dip method. The cuttings treated with IBA 2000 ppm performed best in all aspects, as rooting percentage, length of shoot, length of root, thickening of root and leaf sprouting in shoot. Overall, M4C3 (mid June planting with 2000 ppm IBA) treatment combination was found best for all parameters studied.

48-51

Authors: Nilima Bhosale and A.V. Barad

The experiment to find out residual effect of pre-harvest spray of MH and storage conditions of bulbs for succeeding crop of spider lily (Hymenocallis littoralis L.) cv. Local was carried out at Department of Horticulture, College of Agriculture, Junagadh Agricultural University, Junagadh during 2012-2013. The experiment consisted of six levels of pre-harvest MH spray with four levels of storage conditions and it was laid out in Factorial Randomized Block Design (FCRD) with three replications. Minimum days taken to sprouting, maximum number of leaves at 1st flowering stage and leaf area were found in control (no maleic hydrazide spray, and bulbs stored in plastic carets at an ambient temperature). But, minimum days to first flower emergence were found in control (no maleic hydrazide spray) and net bags at an ambient temperature. Maximum plant height at 1st flowering stage was found in the MH 500 ppm with net bags at an ambient temperature. Maximum length of flower stalk was found in the MH 500 ppm with plastic carets at an ambient temperature. Maximum chlorophyll content in leaves, number of flower stalks/plant, number of flowers harvested per net plot and yield of flowers were found in MH 3000 ppm with plastic carets at an ambient temperature.

60-63

Authors: Ahmadullah Haider, Neelam Khare and Ateeq Khan

The study was conducted on performance of poplar cuttings with different growth regulators and potting media in the Forest Nursery and Research Centre of SHIATS, Allahabad. The experiment was laid out in RBD with four replications. There were six treatments of growth regulators, viz. T1-Control (distilled water), T2 - IBA(100 ppm),T3- IAA (100 ppm),T4- NAA (100 ppm), T5 -GA3 (100 ppm), T6-2,4-D (100 ppm), and seven treatments of potting media, viz. M1-Soil only, M2-Soil + Sand + FYM (1:1:1), M3- Soil + FYM + Neem cake (1:1:1), M4 - Soil + FYM + VC (1:1:1), M5- Neem cake + sand + VC (1:1:1), M6- Neem Cake + Soil + VC (1:1:1) and M7- Neem cake + FYM + VC (1:1:1).Ten cuttings per replication were used for each treatment. Among different growth regulators used, IAA @100 ppm showed maximum survival percentage (80.00%), shoot and root length ((35.30cm and 32.55cm, respectively), fresh shoot weight (20.00g),and fresh and dry weight of roots (13.00g and 6.47g, respectively), as well as total biomass (12.82g) compared to control and other treatments. Number of sprouts and no. of roots/cutting (2.25 and 27.00, respectively) and dry weight of shoot (6.70g) were found maximum with 100ppm IBA, while maximum root: shoot ratio of 1.15 was produced by 100 G 3 A . Among potting media combinations, most effective treatment was M2 (Soil + Sand+ FYM, 1:1:1) which resulted in maximum number of sprouts/cutting (2.55), survival percentage (63.33%), shoot length (24.45 cm), dry weight of shoot (5.17g) and fresh weight of root (10.17g ) over other treatments. Length of root (22.0cm), dry weight of roots (6.22g), root: shoot ratio (1.71) and total biomass (11.02g) were maximum in M7 (Neem cake + FYM + VC, 1:1:1).

67-69

Authors: Deepa H. Dwivedi, Sanjeev Rao, Shreesh Kumar Gautam and Pawan Kumar

Study on the effect of sowing time and spacing on the performance of Cape gooseberry (Physalis peruviana L.) in central Uttar Pradesh was conducted at Horticulture Research Farm, BBA University, Lucknow, India during 2011-12. The experiment was laid out in split plot design with three dates of sowing [D1 (3 Nov., 2011), D2 (8 Nov., 2011) and D2 (13 Nov., 2011)] and four spacing [S1 (35x90cm), S2 (40 x 90cm), S3 (45x90 cm) and S4 (50x90 cm)] and was replicated thrice. Results revealed that maximum plant height (54.25 cm.), number of leaves/plant (60.50), number of internodes (11.50), diameter of stem (5.65 cm), number of branches/plant (7.88), number of flowers/plant (4.66) and number of fruits (5.55) were obtained at first date of sowing i.e., D1 (3 Nov., 2011). The spacing of 40 90 gave significantly maximum plant height, number of internodes, diameter of stem, number of branches, number of flowers and number of fruits. The treatment D1 S2 (3 Nov. sowing with 45 x 90 cm spacing) was found to be the best for proper growth and development of the plant and fruiting performance of cape gooseberry.

73-75

Authors: R. Amith, Ravishankar M. Patil , T. Chetan, Abhishek Katagi and V. Chikkasubbanna

Gerbera cv. President was subjected to twelve different treatment combinations against control to study the vase life.Treatment with 100ppm silver nitrate + 6% sucrose + 400 ppm 8-HQS + 100ppm silver thiosulphate showed significant beneficial effect in extending the vase life of the cultivar to 9.63 days, as against 7.57 days of vase life in control. The findings provide an alternative for extending the vase life of cut gerbera flowers. Treated flower stems also showed minimum contamination of micro organisms.

79-81

Authors: R. Amith, Ravishankar M. Patil and V. Chikkasubbanna

Gerbera cv. Suncity was subjected to twelve different treatment combinations against control to evaluate vase life and quality. Treatment with 200ppm Aluminum sulphate + 4% sucrose + 200 ppm 8-HQS + 100ppm Silver thiosulphate showed significant beneficial effect in extending the vase life of the cut flower to 10 (9.5) days, as against 7 (7.47) days of vase life in control. Presence of microbes (Bacillus spp. and Pseudomonos spp.) was also recorded less on treated cut flower stems over control.

86-88

Authors: Seema Sonkar, Preeti Tiwari and Nand Kumar

The study was carried out by recipe standardization and assessment of their physico –chemical properties. The sensory quality analysis of Biscuit was 7.28 than other developed products which were reported by panel members. It was found that percentage of moisture, fat, protein, carbohydrate and fibre were increased but the quantity of ash decreased (but increase as quality wise). The other developed products acceptability on basis of organolaptically and nutritional were decreased as well as in quantity and quality wise. This type research is remarkable step in the context of development of products for health benefits of people in one and other hand.