PhD Thesis

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    Identifying resilient rice based cropping systems involving tuber crops for lowlands
    (Department of agronomy, college of agriculture ,Vellayani, 2023-10-09) Anju, B Raj.; Jacob John
    The study entitled “Identifying resilient rice based cropping systems involving tuber crops for lowlands” was conducted at Department of Agronomy, College of Agriculture, Vellayani during the period from 2019-2023. The major objectives of the study were to evaluate the performance, in terms of yield and economics, of different rice based cropping systems involving tuber crops in lowlands under different nutrient levels, to analyse weed dynamics, soil health and carbon dioxide emission, and to assess the residual effect on the succeeding virippu rice crop. It could be concluded that, among different rice based cropping systems involving tuber crops in lowlands, rice-rice-sweet potato (C2) performed better in terms of yield, economics and weed control. Grain yield of succeeding crop of rice, recorded with F2 and F1 were comparable. Thus it was concluded that FYM, N and P could be reduced by 25 per cent in rice based cropping systems. Rice-(cassava+bush cowpea)-daincha (C4) recorded significantly higher available nutrients, carbon fractions with less CO2 emission. Hence, rice-(cassava+bush cowpea)-daincha (C4) could be adjudged as the resilient rice based cropping system involving tuber crops in lowlands.
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    Crop intensification and nutrient management in coconut based multistoried cropping system in southern laterities (AEU 8)
    (Department of agronomy, college of agriculture,Vellayani, 2023-10-30) Namitha, V V.; Sheeja, K Raj
    The study entitled “Crop intensification and Nutrient Management in Coconut Based Multistoried cropping system in Southern Laterites (AEU 8)” was undertaken at College of Agriculture, Vellayani during 2019-2023. The field experiments were conducted at Coconut Research Station, Balaramapuram, Kerala, India, and it comprised of two parts. First experiment was conducted during 2021-22 with an objective to identify the most productive and economic coconut based cropping system for AEU 8 and the second experiment was conducted during 2022-23 to evaluate the moisture utilization pattern and physiological parameters of the system. The first experiment was laid out in RBD with two factors and five replications. The treatments comprised eight crop combinations (C1: coconut + banana+ turmeric, C2: coconut + banana + ginger, C3: coconut + banana + cassava, C4: coconut + banana + elephant foot yam, C5: coconut + papaya + turmeric, C6: coconut + papaya + ginger, C7: coconut + papaya + cassava, C8: coconut + papaya + elephant foot yam) and two nutrient levels for the floor crop (N1: RDF for the floor crop and N2: 75 per cent RDF for the floor crop). The crops used for the experiment were banana (var. Nendran), papaya (var. Red Lady), turmeric (var. Varna), ginger (var. Maran), cassava (var. Vellyanai Hraswa) and elephant foot yam (var. Gajendra). Inter row space available between the four coconut palms (60 years) planted at a spacing of 7.5 m x 7.5 m was treated as one unit (56.25 m2). In the inter row spaces 12 no.’s of banana/papaya were planted as per the treatment. Coconut, banana and papaya were manured as per POP recommendations and for the floor crops, RDF were given as per the treatments and FYM were given as per POP recommendations. From the results it could be concluded that, among the crop combinations coconut (RDF) + banana (RDF) + turmeric (75 per cent RDF) (c1n2) resulted in the highest nut equivalent yield, system productivity, net return and BCR. The results of physiological parameters viz., stomatal frequency, soluble protein content, chlorophyll content and CO2 emission, competition indices viz., land equivalent ratio, aggressivity, relative crowding co-efficient and competition ratio and the energy equivalence viz., energy output and energy ratio also confirmed the superiority of c1n2. The soluble protein content of coconut leaf and the root density of coconut were not significantly influenced by crop combination and floor crop nutrition. Hence, coconut + banana + turmeric could be adjudged as the most productive and economic crop combination for coconut based multistoried cropping system in Southern Laterites (AEU 8).
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    Management and utilization of chocolate weed(Melochia corchorifolia L.) in sesame (Sesamum indicum L.)
    (Department agronomy, college of agriculture,Vellayani, 2023-08-01) Dhanu Unnikrishnan; Sheeja, K Raju
    Field experiment entitled “Management and utilization of chocolate weed (Melochia corchorifolia) in sesame” was undertaken at College of Agriculture, Vellyani during 2019- 2022. The objectives of the experiment were to study the ecology and distribution of M. corchorifolia in Onattukara Sandy Plains (AEU3); to develop an integrated management strategy for the control of M. corchorifolia in sesame; to investigate the allelopathic potential of sesame on M. corchorifolia; to assess the allelopathic effect of M. corchorifolia on Cyperus difformis; to examine the insecticidal property of M. corchorifolia against storage pests viz., Sitophilus oryzae L. and Callosobruchus maculatus F. M. corchorifolia infestation was very severe in Karthikapally taluk. The phenological traits of M. corchorifolia did not vary among the taluks. Seed burial depth of 2 cm was optimal for seedling emergence and had a positive correlation with seedling growth and vigour indices of the weed. Whole plant leachate and blended extract of sesame had stimulatory effect on the germination and growth attributes of M. corchorifolia seedlings. Direct spray of whole plant leachate of M. corchorifolia (15%) recorded significantly higher mortality rates of rice weevil and pulse beetle revealing its insecticidal potential against S. oryzae and C. maculatus. Stale seedbed + PE pendimethalin 500 g ha-1 fb post direct application of carfentrazone ethyl 20 g ha-1 using crop protective applicator at 20 DAS supplemented with WHW at 45 DAS could be adjudged as the best practice for the management of M. corchorifolia in line sown sesame in Onattukara Sandy Plains (AEU 3)
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    Development of gynoecious genotypes with superior fruit quality in bitter gourd (Momordica Charantia L.) through marker assisted breeding
    (Department of Vegetable Science, College of Agriculture ,Vellanikkara, 2024-02-06) Anju M Sunny.; Pradeepkumar, T
    The doctoral study entitled ‘Development of gynoecious genotypes with superior fruit quality in bitter gourd (Momordica charantia L.) through marker assisted breeding’ was undertaken with the objective of developing gynoecious bitter gourd lines with superior fruit quality through marker assisted breeding and to analyze the genetics of sex expression and fruit quality by generating F2 and back cross population. The work was carried out in the experimental field of the Department of Vegetable Science, College of Agriculture, Vellanikkara. Gynoecious line KAUMCGy- 101, identified from the Department of Vegetable Science, and three monoecious lines viz., Preethi, Priyanka, and MC 133 were used for the hybridization. Six hybrids were produced by crossing gynoecious inbred as both male and female parents. The hybrids were, Preethi × KAU-MCGy-101, Priyanka × KAUMCGy- 101, MC133 × KAU-MCGy-101, KAU-MCGy-101 × Preethi, KAU-MCGy- 101 × Priyanka and KAU-MCGy-101 × MC133. All the hybrids with gynoecious line as male or female parent exhibited high heterosis for earliness attributing traits like days to first female flower opening, node bearing first female flower, and days to first harvest. The traits such as a lower sex ratio and a greater number of fruits per plant contributed to higher yields in these hybrids. The superiority of hybrids having a gynoecious line as a maternal parent is prominent in the present study. The correlation studies revealed a positive correlation between fruit length (0.569), fruit weight (0.612), number of seeds (0.507), and number of harvests (0.619) with yield. While days to first female flower opening (-0.386), node bearing first female flower (-0.244), fruit girth (-0.018), and days to first harvest (-0.285) showed a non-significant negative correlation. Path analysis showed a positive direct effect of fruit weight (0.568), fruit girth (0.155), number of seeds (0.579), days to first harvest (0.009), number of harvests (0.755), and number of fruits per plant (0.036) on yield per plant. The sensory attributes, nutritional potentials, and shelf life of six bitter gourd hybrids and their parents were evaluated. Bitter gourd fruits with white or light green fruits were found to have a more appealing flavor and appearance than dark green fruits, resulting in a higher overall acceptability rating. The hybrid, KAU-MCGy-101 × MC 133 was found superior with 17.05 mg/100g calcium. Preethi and KAUMCGy- 101 × Priyanka exhibited maximum shelf life among the parents and hybrids, respectively. Among the hybrids, the cross KAU-MCGy-101 × Priyanka was superior with respect to yield and quality traits (fruit weight- 172.47 g, number of fruits per plant- 69.67 and yield per plant- 9.15 kg). The genetics of economically significant horticultural traits in the cross KAU-MCGy-101 x Priyanka was studied resorting generation mean analysis. The results of the A, B, C, and D scaling tests indicate that all the traits, except for days to the first female flower opening, do not adhere to an additive dominance model. The significant and positive additive effect (d) was observed for the number of tubercles and number of fruits per plant, indicating that the additive effect of the genes is predominant and that the selection of these traits should be delayed to later generations. Regarding the yield, the interaction effect of dominance x dominance (l) was highly significant, while the other interaction effects were insignificant. Therefore, recurrent selection is necessary for improving this trait. A complementary type of epistasis was observed for the number of fruits per plant, while all other traits were observed to be of the duplicate type. The χ2 analysis for goodness of fit indicated that gynoecy in the line KAUMCGy- 101 is controlled by a single recessive gene (gy-1). The inheritance pattern of fruit color indicates that green fruit color is dominant over white. The present study identified two gynoecious lines from the F2 population namely, KAU-MCGy-101-1 and KAU-MCGy-101-2 (green and light green fruited respectively). These gynoecious lines had better fruit quality and hold immense potential for future breeding programs in bitter gourd improvement. Marker-assisted selection is considered one of the important strategies for identifying different sex forms in crop plants. The present investigation resulted in identifying one SNP primer that could produce polymorphism between the monoecious and gynoecious parents. The six exonic regions with flanking introns of the gene floral homeotic protein AGAMOUS-like (McAG2) and two exonic regions with flanking introns of the gene ACO1 were sequenced by designing exons-specific primer pairs. The primer NETBG2 developed based on the exon 2 region of the gene ACO1 accounts for eight valid SNPs within the sequenced region of the gynoecious parent used in this study. The study confirmed the monogenic recessive nature of gynoecy. The improved gynoecious lines identified will help in developing cultivars with a higher proportion of female flowers. The results of the molecular work revealed the role of the 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate oxidase (ACO1) gene in the sex expression of the bitter gourd. The SNPs identified can be used for further studies on the SNP-based marker development for identifying gynoecious plants and have the potential in marker assisted breeding based on gynoecy in bitter gourd.
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    Magnetized irrigation water for enhancing production of brinjal (Solanum melongena L.)
    (Department of Agronomy, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, 2022-11-05) Vijayakumar, Pullagura; Sajitha Rani, T
    The investigation entitled “Magnetized irrigation water for enhancing production of brinjal (Solanum melongena L.)” was carried out as two experiments at the Instructional Farm, College of Agriculture, Vellayani during 2018-2021, to study the effect of magnetization on quality of irrigation water, to assess the impact of magnetized water on growth, yield and quality of brinjal, to evaluate the effect of magnetized irrigation water on soil properties and to work out the economics. The present investigation revealed that employing magnetic strength of 2000G was effective for getting good quality irrigation water, and scheduling of irrigation with this water at IW/CPE ratio of 0.8 along with 75 per cent RDF could be recommended for obtaining higher growth, yield and monetary returns from both plant and ratoon crop of brinjal.