1. KAUTIR (Kerala Agricultural University Theses Information and Retrieval)
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Item Studies on growth ,flowering ,fruit set and fruit development in nutmeg (Myristica fragrans hout.)(Department of Plantations Crops, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 1979) Nazeem, P A; Sivaraman Nair, P CThe present investigations were carried out in the College of Horticulture, Kerala Agricultural University during the year 1978-’79. The object was to study the pattern of growth and flowering, floral biology, fruit set, fruit drop and fruit development in nutmeg. The studies were conducted on male and female trees of about 17 years old receiving cultural practices as recommended by Kerala Agricultural University. Shoot growth in nutmeg was found to be cyclic, a period of growth followed by a quiescence. Six flushes were observed during the period of one year. All the flushes were not seen in all the shoots which resulted in continuous growth in nutmeg. The mean growth varied significantly from month to month, with minimum in summer months. Two peaks were observed in May, June and September. Nutmeg trees were found to be slow growers when compared to other prerennial trees. Flowering pattern of male and female trees differed. There was monthly variation in the extent of flowering of both male and female trees. In females, flowering was constrained to seven months whereas in male, flowering was observed through out the year. Maximum flowering in both the cases was in July followed by October. The flower bud development in male and female trees followed specific pattern. The male flowers took only about half the period taken by the female flowers to develop. The female flowers took 154 days for complete development. Three types of flowers were observed in nutmeg which resembled and differed each other for different characters. In male flowers, peak anthesis was between 1900 hours and 0100 hour and in females, it was between 2100 hours and 0300 hours. Anther dehiscence occurred about 24 hours prior to anthesis. The stigmatic receptivity lasted for six days after anthesis with the maximum for the first three days. The chief agent of pollination was wind. Anther number and pollen production per flower varied from tree to tree. Sucrose at concentrations of 2, 4, 6 and 8 per cent, boric acid and calcium nitrate at concentrations of 25, 50, 75 and 100 ppm each were found to promote pollen germination. A combination of the three (4% sucrose, 25 ppm calcium nitrats and 75 ppm boric acid) gave maximum germination (96.9%). Pollen was found to be viable for three days in the dehisced bud condition and the viability was greatly reduced thereafter. The percentage set varied for different trees and for different aspects with maximum set on Western and eastern aspects. Hand pollination increased the percentage set than open pollination, indicating the possibilities of assisted pollination for better production. There was no apomictic fruit development. The mean percentage drop after set was 74.4 per cent. The number of fruits harvested accounted to only 8.47 per cent of the total flowers produced. The period of maximum drop after set coincided with the period of maximum development of the fruit. The fruits attained maturity in 206 to 237 days after fruit set. The developing fruits followed a sigmoid growth pattern. The peak harvest season ranged between April and July. The trees varied for the percentage drop and number of fruits harvested.Item Deficiency symptoms of mineral nutrients in clove (Syzygium aromaticum (L.) Merr. and Perry).(Department of Plantation Crops and Spices, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 1989) Nazeem, P A; Sivaraman Nair, P CExperiments were conducted at the College of Horticulture on nutritional aspects of clove, to study the nutrient deficiency symptoms as well as the distribution pattern of nutrients in starved clove plants. The deficiency symptoms were induced in clove seedlings in sand culture. The distribution pattern of P, S (anions) and Ca (cation) were studied in the nutrient-starved seedlings employing radio isotopes. Besides, the annual nutrient removal and the seasonal fluctuations in the foliar nutrient concentration were studied in bearing clove trees. Older leaves were the first to exhibit 'hunger signs' due to the stress induced by N, P, K and Mg starvation whereas the symptoms, were manifested on the younger growth due to deficiency of Ca, S, Fe, Mn, Cu, Zn and B. General yellowing of the older leaves and early defoliation were the symptoms expressed by N-starved plants. Phosphorus stress resulted in small brownish spots to appear on older leaves of clove seedlings which later coalesced to form necrotic patches.Item Leaf litter addition and nutrient recycling in two clones of rubber (Hevea brasiliensis Muell. Arg.) at Vellanikkara estate of Kerala Agricultural University(Department of Plantation Crops and Spices, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 1994) Rajan, S; Nazeem, P AThe present study deals with the quantification of leaf litter addition and nutrient recycling in two clones of rubber in the Vellanikkara Estate of kerala Agricultural University , Trichur . Two different methods of collection were adopted for litter collection in both the clones RRII 105 and RRII 118. Wintering was found to start on 23rd November, 1993 for clone RRII 105 and continued till 12th February , 1994 whereas in RRII 118 wintering strated by 25th November, 1993 and continued till 17th February , 1994. Peak leaf fall was noticed in the month of January for RRII 105 whereas it was in the month of February in the case of RRII 118. Thus clonal variation do exist for the wintering pattern. The total leaf litter production was estimated to the 4954.297 kg for RRII105 and 4584.558 kg for RRII 118. The nutrients contributed through leaf litter during wintering in the clone RRII 105 were 72 kg N, 2 kg p, 57 kg K, 59 kg ca and 12kg mg whereas for the clone RRII 118 it was 61kg N, 2kg p, 43kg k , 79 kg ca and 9kg mg . The clone RRII 105 contributed more litter as well as nutrients than the clone RRII 118. Contrary to the previous years the nutrient levels in the leaf litter did not follow a regular pattern during the wintering period . The presence of green leaves shed due to high wind velocity resulted in an increased level of nutrients in some collection s. It was also observed that the contribution of N, K and Ca were more during the wintering period whereas p was more prior to peak wintering and Mg was more after peak wintering. Comparison of nutrient status in soil samples collected from the area enclosed by net and outside sites showed that removal of leaf litter resulted in relatively lower levels of soil nutrients in the top soil . The leaf area worked out during the study was 6.44 for the clone RRII 105 and 5.53 for clone RRII118. The study also revealed that enclosing the trees with net is the best method to quantify the leaf litter addition . The expensive and cumbersome procedure of providing nets cannot be replaced by collecting the leaf litter from a marked area provided with 15 cm high fencing . The leaf litter accumulated in the fenced area was always less and varied from 27 to 71 per cent of the quantity of litter collected by providing net to cover the canopy all around the trees.Item Response of immature inflorescence for in vitro regeneration on coconut (cocos nucifera L)(Centre for Plant Biotechnology and Molecular Biology, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 2006) Siny, C V; Nazeem, P AInvestigations on 'Response of immature inflorescence for in vitro regeneration in coconut (Cocos nucifera L.)' were carried out at the Centre for Plant Biotechnology and Molecular Biology, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara during 2005 to 2006. Y3 medium was found to be the best basal medium for in vitro culture of immature inflorescence of coconut. Inflorescence of length 40 to 50 cm was found to posses male flowers at pollen mother cell stage of microsporogenesis. Wiping the spathe with 70 per cent ethyl alcohol before excising the immature inflorescence parts could effectively control contamination with 100 per cent culture establishment. The young inflorescence parts could survive up to 12 minutes treatment with 0.1 per cent HgCl2. Among the different explants tried, anthers at premeiotic stage and immature rachillae were found to be the best for callus induction and embryo formation. When the explants were inoculated the exudation of polyphenols from the explants adversely affected their survival. Polyphenol exudation was checked by incorporating PVP 0.1 per cent and activated charcoal 0.2 per cent in the medium and by incubation under dark condition. 2,4-D at 15 to 30 mgl-1 was found to be the most effective auxin for callus induction and proliferation. Y3 basal medium with growth regulator combinations of 15 mg l-1 2,4-D, 0.5 mg l-1 picloram, 1mg l-1 NAA and 0.1 mg l-1 TDZ was identified as the best medium for callus induction and embryogenesis of immature anther. Sucrose at 5 per cent concentration was identified as the optimum concentration for callus induction. Pretreatment of inflorescence at 4°C for 24 hrs or 30 hrs doubled the callus induction and reduced the browning of explant. Callus induction was observed from rachillae tissue in Y3 medium containing15 mg l-1 2,4-D, 1 mg l-1 picloram, 1 mg l-1 IAA and 0.1 mg l-1 TDZ.