PG Thesis
Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://localhost:4000/handle/123456789/2
Browse
9 results
Search Results
Item Vegetative, Floral and fruit characters in mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana L.)(Department of Pomology and Floriculture, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 1996) Ajay Alex; Sarah T GeorgeThe present investigations on the growth habit, phases of growth, flowering and floral biology, fruit development, seed viability and storage life of mangosteen were carried out in the Department of Pomology and Floriculture, College of Horticulture, during the period 1994-96. The studies indicated that shoot growth in mangosteen coincided with the main flushing season from June to August and with a second one from January to February. Maximum shoot growth was observed during July. The growth of the tree was slow, with an extension growth of 6.91 cm in an year. The tree had a monopodial orthotropic trunk meristem which showed continuous growth. Laterals exhibited plagiotropy, sympodial growth and sylleptic branching habit. Leaf arrangement was spiral in the seedling stage but distichous on the branches of mature tree. Emerging leaves which were purplish red, later changed to dark green. The flowering season was from December to January. But development was completed in 28 days. Flowers were female and borne terminally on branchlets either singly or in groups of two to four. Flower drop was meager. Peak anthesis period was between 17.30 and 18.00 hours. Flowers had four scarlet red sepals and four yellow petals each having imbricate aestivation. Androecium consisted of 18-20 staminodes. Gynoecium was syncarpous with five to seven carpels having single ovule in each locule on axile placentation. Style was short and had a five to seven fid capitate stigma at its end. Anthers failed to dehisce until flower opening but a few showed signs of dehiscence after anthesis. Stigma showed no signs of receptivity. Anthers produced numerous non viable pollen grains which failed to germinate in vitro. Different methods of pollination had no effect on fruit set. Initial set was high but a fruit drop of 41 per cent occurred during first month. Though fruit development was parthenocarpic and seed development parthenogenetic, seeds produced were viable. Therefore, mangosteen can be considered as an obligate agamosperm where proembryos developing from integuments of embryosac mature into embryos. Pulp development took place from 42nd day onwards. Average weight of ripened fruit was 100 g. The percentage contribution of pulp towards total fruit weight at ripening stage was 33.00 per cent as against 62.30 and 4.70 per cent in the case of rind and seed, respectively. Chemical composition of pulp showed a decreasing trend. Total sugars, reducing sugars, non reducing sugars and sugar : acid ratio increased upto harvest. Season of harvest coincided with South West monsoon. Stage of harvest was identified as 90 days after fruitset. Such fruits ripened normally in two days at ambient temperature and showed no difference in quality as compared to that of tree ripened fruit. At this stage, 25 per cent of the fruit skin developed a purple colour and scar formed at the stalk end was smooth, without any exudation of gum. Mechanical injury should be avoided during harvesting and handling to save fruits from Transluscent Flesh Disorder. Yield varied from 650 to 3350 fruits/tree. Number of segments, which was same as that of stigmatic lobes, ranged from four to seven. However, number of viable seeds ranged from zero to three. Fruits caught in the rain were severely affected with gamboges, a disorder, which accounted to about 33.82 per cent fruit loss. Exudation of yellow gum from the rind was the characteristic symptom. The fruit pulp also became yellow, gummy, corky, bitter in taste and inedible. Biochemical analysis showed that ripened fruit contained water 76.57, protein 0.5, citric acid 0.32, total sugars 17.02, reducing sugars 3.22, non reducing sugars 13.80, nitrogen 0.28, phosphorus 0.01, potassium 0.13, calcium 0.01 and magnesium 0.24 on percentage basis. Sugar : acid ratio, TSS and ascorbic acid content was 53.18, 27.00 0brix and 5 mg/100 g, respectively. β carotene was only in traces. Fruits stored under refrigerated conditions showed no quality deterioration and fruit loss even after one month of storage. Fruits kept in bamboo baskets lasted for a fortnight. Keeping quality of fruits even without any treatment was more than a week. During storage TSS, sugars and sugar: acid ratio decreased, whereas acidity increased with the storage period. Seeds varied in size and shape. Viability was very high when sown immediately after harvest. Storage reduced the viability and was completely lost by 35 days of storage. Seeds took 20 days for germination. Germination was hypogeal with single seedlings arising normally, but 10 per cent polyembryony with 2-4 seedlings/seed was also noticed.Item Studies on the effect of F. W-450 and MH as male gametocides in chillies (Capsicum frutescens L.)(Division of Agricultural Botany, Agricultural College and Research Institute, Vellayani, 1967) Sadasivan Pillai, S; Kumara Pillai, PThe present investigation was undertaken in the Division of Agricultural Botany, Agricultural College and Research Institute, Vellayani during 1966-1967, with a view to evaluate the selectiveness of F.W 450 and MH on chillies as male gamotocides and to study their side effects on the general growth and yield of the crop. F.W -450 at 0.10, 0.15, 0.20, 0.25 and 0.30 and MH at 25, 50, 100, 200 and 400 ppm were applied as foliar spray at three stages of plant growth. The first spraying was given when the first flower was undergoing anthesis. Subsequent sprayings were given at an interval of 15 days in between two sprayings. Control plants (no spray) and plants sprayed with distilled water thrice, at the same stages of plant growth as the chemical spray, were also studied. Plants were raised in a randomised block design.Item Flowering, pollination and fruit set in Brinjal (Solanum melongena L)(Division of Agricultural Botany, Agricultural Botany, Agricultural College & Research Institute, Vellayani, 1965) Leelamma Mathew; Kumara Pillai, PItem Pollen morphology, fertility and compatibility studies in banana(Department of Pomology, Floriculture and Landscapping,College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 1984) Jay Krishna Lal Karmacharya; Aravindakshan, MItem Floral biology, Pollination and fruit development in pineapple (Ananas comosus L.)(Department of Processing Technology, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 1982) Jayachandran Nair, C S; Damodaran, V KItem Induction of genetic variability in ginger (zingiber officinale rosc.) through in vitro fertilization(Centre for Plant Biotechnology and Molecular Biology, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 2005) Rethidevi, A; Valsala, P AInvestigations on ‘Induction of genetic variability in ginger (Zingiber officinale Rosc.) through in vitro fertilization’ were carried out at the Centre for Plant Biotechnology and Molecular Biology, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara during 2004-2005. Molecular characterization studies of the eight ginger cultivars -Z-0-78 (V1) Kodakara Local (V3), Kuruppampady (V4), Mahima (V5), Maran (V6), Rejatha (V7), Rio-de-Janeiro (V8) and Varadha (V9)- by RAPD using nine random primers revealed that the genetic variability among the cultivars very narrow in the range of 5 to 19 per cent. The cultivar Rio-de-Janeiro was distinct with maximum variability. The variability among the released varieties from IISR ranged from 5 to 10 per cent. The flowering season in ginger extended from August to November. The cultivars showed variability with respect to duration for initiation of flowering and flowering duration. The mean pollen fertility and viability among the ginger cultivars were 35.76 per cent and 8.11 per cent respectively. The autotetraploids had high pollen fertility and viability compared to diploids. The range of pollen viability in autotetraploids was from 12.03 to 15.68 (Z-0-78) and in diploids it was from 3.68 to 8.90 per cent. Among the diploids the released varieties Varadha, Mahima and Rejatha had more pollen fertility and viability. Attempts were made to refine the in vitro pollination technique with respect to basal media combination, growth regulators, vitamins and gelling agent. Studies conducted in the cross Varadha X Z-0-78 using placental pollination technique. The basal medium of half MS with 2X vitamins was superior to B5 medium. As gelling agent phytagel 0.18 per cent was superior to agar 0.65 per cent. Among the various plant growth regulator combinations tried the combination of picloram and BA was found to be best. The medium of half MS with 2X vitamins + 3 per cent sucrose + BA 2.5 mgl-1+ picloram 0.2 mgl-1 + 0.18 per cent phytagel was the best with respect to maximum ovule swelling, percentage of cultures with ovule development and percentage setting per culture. Seed set and seed development in various crosses involving autotetraploids and diploids were assessed. The parental combination between autotetraploids (Z-0-78 X Z-0-86) produced seeds with very good swelling in maximum number of cultures with maximum setting per culture. The parental combination Z-078 X Varadha and its reciprocal also favoured very good ovule swelling. The parental combination Z-0-86 X Varadha as well as Varadha X Mahima and their reciprocals produced seeds with good swelling. The size increase of the developing ovules after in vitro pollination was monitored from the day of pollination to 60 DAP. The size increase upto 15 DAP was rapid. At 60 DAP the ovules attained four-fold increase in size. The pollinated ovules cultured, in the course of maturation turned pink and later blackened. The seeds showed complete endosperm filling at 10 DAP. The soft and jelly like endosperm became hard by 20 DAP. Viability test with tetrazolium showed that the seeds were viable up to 50 DAP. Embryo was found to be seated towards the chalazal end and endosperm constitutes the major portion of the seed. Germination studies were conducted in a number of plant growth regulator combinations. The 60 days old seed derived from the parental combination of Kuruppampady X Z-0-78 showed radicle emergence in the medium of half MS + 3 per cent sucrose + 0.65 per cent agar + IBA 3.0 mg l-1. The seeds of parental combination Z-0-78 X Varadha germinated through somatic embryogenesis in the medium of B5 + 3 per cent sucrose + 0.18 per cent phytagel + 2,4-D 0.2 mg l-1 + BA 2.5 mg l-1 105 days after in vitro pollination. The germination was 10 per cent It was found that the seed coat was pushed apart by the callusing embryo and it developed globular somatic embryoids. Embryoids developed root and shoot poles in the same medium. The somatic embryoid is in the initial stage of development. Embryo culture studies with embryos excised from seeds of 15 to 60 DAP in various media combinations did not give positive response. Prolonged culturing may give positive results.Item Floral biology and fruit development in varikka and koozha of jack (Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam.)(Department of Agricultural Botany, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 1983) Tessy Joseph; Kumaran, KThe present investigations were carried out in the Department of Agricultural Botany, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara during the year 1981-82. The object was to study the pattern of flowering, floral biology, fruit set, fruit drop and fruit development in jack types ‘Varikka’ and ‘Koozha’. The studies were conducted on 14 trees, eight belonging to ‘Varikka’ and six belonging to ‘Koozha’, which were about 50 years old, and maintained under uniform management conditions, located at the Instructional Farm and Research Station, Mannuthy. There was difference in pattern of male and female spike production. The male spike production commenced from October and extended for a period of five months, while female spike production was confined to only three months, starting from late November. The peak time of male and female spike production was in December-January. The inflorescence in jack is a catkin. The process of development of spike took on an average 33.7 days in male and 59.7 days in female. The individual flowers were radially arranged on a fleshy peduncle. The perianth tubes of male flowers were free from each other while that of female were fused in the middle. In a male spike anthesis continued upto 5 to 7 days, on a particular day, anthesis started at 6 am and reached a peak between 12 noon and 4 pm and continued upto 6 pm. The emergence of stigma on a female spike was highly eratic and continued for about three weeks. The peak time for anther dehiscence was between 6 pm and 7 pm, on the day of its emergence. In a female spike complete fading away of stigma occurred in 21 to 30 days after anthesis started. The percentage pollen fertility ranged from 89 to 93 per cent, and mean pollen diameter ranged from 16 to 22 u. 10 per cent sucrose-1 per cent agar media was found to be the best media for pollen germination. The viability of pollen was lost completely within 24 hours after dehiscence. The chief agent of pollination was found to be wind. Fruit set under natural conditions was 83.33 per cent. Hand pollination gave decreased set. Apomictic fruit development was absent in Jack. The percentage fruit drop ranged from 30 to 40 per cent. The whole spike after anthesis developed into a large composite fruit which was a ‘false fruit’, with the persistent perianth forming the bulk of the fruit. Among the flowers on a spike few showed normal development rest got aborted. The time required for full development of fruit ranged from 100 to 138 days, the growth showed a sigmoid pattern. The two types ‘Varikka’ and ‘Koozha’ did not vary significantly for most of the flower and fruit characters except for the texture of flakes; ‘Varikka’ had hard flakes while ‘Koozha’ had softy mushy flakes.Item Growth, flowering, fruit set and fruit development in kodampuli(Department of Pomology and Floriculture, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 1994) Sherly, R; Parameswaran, N KThe present investigations were carried out in the Department of Pomology and Floriculture, College of Horticulture, during the year 1993 – 94. The study was undertaken with the objectives of understanding the growth and flowering pattern of the tree, floral biology, fruit set, fruit development and fruit drop in ‘Kodampuli’. The studies were conducted on four male trees and three hermaphrodite trees of about seven years age, receiving similar cultural practices. The studies indicated that shoot growth in ‘Kodampuli’ was seasonal with one main flushing period commencing from January and extending upto May. The shoot activity noticed during the remaining period of the year was very low. However, scattered flushes occurred throughout the year. The mean growth varied significantly from month to month with a peak growth during the summer months. Individual trees also showed significant variation among them in mean growth. However, there was no significant difference among the two types of trees, viz., male and hermaphrodite trees. The colour of emerging leaves showed marked difference among the male and hermaphrodite trees. In male trees, the emerging leaves were light green in colour while they showed a pinkish red colour in hermaphrodite trees. Flowering pattern of male and hermaphrodite trees were almost similar. However, male trees of ‘Kodampuli’ showed a protracted period of flowering extending over four to five months starting from the month of November onwards. In hermaphrodite trees, flowering started a little later in December and confined only to two to three months. Peak flowering in both type of trees was during January to April. The flower bud development took 32 days from visual emergence to anthesis in male flowers but only 28 days in bisexual flowers. ‘Kodampuli’ was observed to be androdioecious with male and bisexual flowers borne on separate trees. In male trees, the flowers occurred as cymose inflorescence having three to seven flowers per inflorescence. Bisexual flowers of hermaphrodite trees were borne singly and rarely in groups. In male flowers peak anthesis was between 16 30 and 17 00 hours and in bisexual flowers it was between 17 00 and 17 30 hours. Anther dehiscence occurred 10 hours prior to anthesis. Stigma became receptive 30 hours before anthesis and retained receptivity upto 12 hours after anthesis. Anther number and pollen per flower varied significantly among the two types of flowers. Number of pollen produced per anther was significantly higher in male flowers. The pollen fertility was also higher for male flowers. Sucrose at concentrations of 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 and boric acid at concentrations of 25, 50, 75 and 100 ppm were found to promote pollen germination. However, calcium nitrate at all concentrations tried (25 to 100 ppm) drastically reduced the pollen germination. A combination of four per cent sucrose and 75 ppm boric acid gave maximum germination (67.00 per cent). Pollen was found to be viable for six days in the dehisced bud condition and the viability was greatly reduced thereafter. Low temperature storage conditions gave better results when stored as staminal column or as pollen grain alone. The pollination in ‘Kodampuli’ was found to be effected by insects. ‘Kodampuli’ was found to be an often cross pollinated crop. Hand pollination with pollen from male flowers increased the percentage fruit set as compared to self pollination or open pollination indicating the importance of male trees in a population for improved fruit set. There was no apomictic fruit development in ‘Kodampuli’. The fruit drop after set was found to be 35.50 per cent and the major part of the drop occurred during the first thirty days. The fruit attained maturity in 130 to 140 days after fruit set. The developing fruits followed a sigmoid growth pattern. The chemical composition of the rind showed an increase in T. S .S. content till maturity. Total acidity increased upto 80 days after fruit set and showed a gradual decline towards ripening. Ascorbic acid content was also high in the initial stages and decreased towards maturity at ripening the rind of the fruits had on an average 6.68 per cent acidity, 7.2 mg/100 g ascorbic acid, 80 Brix T. S. S. and 1.04 per cent reducing sugar. The mucilage developed around the seed towards ripening had 2.04 per cent reducing sugar and 3.3 per cent acidity. There was a loss of 75 per cent fresh weight on drying. The trees varied for the number of fruits harvested.Item In Vitro pollination in kacholam (Kaempferia galanga L.) for seed set(Department of Plantation Crops and Spices, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 2002) Vineel Vasudev Bhurke; Valsala, P A