M Sc

Allium L. is one of the largest genera in the Amaryllidaceae, with around
900 species distributed throughout the world. Indian gene centre is fairly rich in
wild species (about 30) mostly confined to Himalayas. Allium species may differ
in appearance and flavour, yet biochemically, they are quite similar. Wild Allium
species are the good source of biologically active phytomolecules, including
organosulphur compounds, phenolic acids, flavonols, vitamins and nutrients.
Underutilised Alliums can be an excellent substitute for onion and garlic in different
regions of India, due to their wider adaptability and multipurpose usage, especially
under the current unpredictable climatic conditions. It is in this context that, the
current experiment entitled Performance evaluation of underutilized edible
Alliums was taken up with the broad objective of morphological characterization
and biochemical analysis of underutilised edible Alliums namely Allium tuberosum
and Allium chinense under Kerala conditions and to standardise the storage
methods.
The study used a completely randomised design with four treatment
combinations and four replications of the two species, A. tuberosum and A.
chinense, which were cultivated in grow bags under rain shelter and open field
conditions, separately. The observations recorded are number of leaves per plant,
number of tillers per plant, number of leaves per tiller, plant height, leaf length, leaf
breadth, leaf area and foliage yield. Physiological and biochemical parameters such
as total chlorophyll, chlorophyll ‘a’, chlorophyll ‘b’, total carotenoides, dry matter,
moisture content, relative water content, TSS, ascorbic acid, phenol, flavonoids,
total sugar, reducing sugar, non-reducing sugar, and sulphur content were studied.
The findings reveal that variability was present between the Allium species, as well
as between the growing conditions under study. For storage study, the experiment
was set up in completely randomised design with twelve treatment combinations
and three replications. The treatment combinations included of three distinct
storage conditions such as, refrigerated condition, cold storage and
ambientcondition and four types of packaging materials such as, 200-gauge LDPE, 200-
gauge LDPE with perforation, brown paper bag and tissue paper wrapping, the
observations with respect to physiological loss of weight and organoleptic
properties were examined.
Among Allium species, morphological characteristics like plant height,
number of tillers, leaf length, leaf breadth, leaf area and leaf yield were found to be
significantly higher in Allium chinense than Allium tuberosum, whereas number of
leaves per plant and number of leaves per tiller were significantly higher in A.
tuberosum when compared to A. chinense. Physiological characteristics like total
chlorophyll, chlorophyll ‘a’, chlorophyll ‘b’, total carotenoids, moisture content
and relative water content was found to be highest in A. tuberosum compared to A.
chinense, whereas dry matter content and TSS were found to be highest in A.
chinense when compared to A. tuberosum. Biochemical characteristics such as
ascorbic acid, total phenols, total flavonoids, total sugars, reducing sugar and non-
reducing sugar was high in A. chinense compared to A. tuberosum, whereas sulphur
content was found to be highest in A. tuberosum.
Among the growing conditions, all the morphological characteristics such
as number of leaves per plant, number of tillers, number of leaves per tiller, plant
height, leaf length, leaf breadth, leaf area and leaf yield were found significantly
higher under open condition when compared to rain shelter. Physiological
characteristics such as total chlorophyll, chlorophyll ‘a’, chlorophyll ‘b’, total
carotenoids, moisture content and relative water content was found significantly
higher when grown in rain shelter compared to open condition, whereas dry matter
content and TSS was found significantly higher when grown under open condition
compared to rain shelter. Biochemical parameters such as ascorbic acid content,
phenol content, total flavonoids, total sugars, reducing sugar and sulphur content
was found significantly higher when grown under open condition compared to rain
shelter, whereas non-reducing sugar was found significantly higher when grown in
rain shelter in A. tuberosum and it is found higher under open condition in case of
A. chinense.Storage study revealed that, storage conditions and packaging materials
influenced the physiological loss of weight and organoleptic quality of Allium
leaves during storage. The leaves of Allium tuberosum and Allium chinense stored
in ambient conditions exhibited the most PLW compared to those held in cold
storage and refrigerated conditions. In all storage conditions, the leaves packed in
200-gauge LDPE with perforation had the lowest PLW, followed by 200-gauge
LDPE, and it was greatest in tissue paper wrapping, followed by brown paper bag.
Among the Allium species, A. chinense showed lesser loss in physiological weight
irrespective of storage conditions and packaging materials when compared to A.
tuberosum. Regardless of storage conditions or packing materials, the organoleptic
score for appearance, colour, texture, aroma, and overall acceptability decreased
with prolonged storage. Leaves packed in 200-gauge LDPE with perforation and
stored in refrigerated condition was found to be effective in maintaining the lowest
PLW, appearance, colour, texture, odour, and overall acceptability throughout the
storage period and with maximum shelf life of 15 days for Allium chinense and 12
days for Allium tuberosum.
Allium tuberosum produces fragrant, white six-stellate flowers in umbels,
and the plants are hermaphroditic. There were about an average of 59 flowers
present in each umbel. The flowers opened 12 days after the emergence of buds
and reached full flowering stage in 6.8 days. Seed set occurred 67 days after
flowering in capsules. There were about 80 seeds present in each umbel.