1. KAUTIR (Kerala Agricultural University Theses Information and Retrieval)
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Item Standardization of technology for microgreen production(Department of Vegetable Science, College of Agriculture, Vellanikkara, 2021) Arya, K S; Sangeetha Kutty, MMicrogreens are new class of vegetables that are gaining popularity in the recent years due to their attractive appearance coupled with vivid flavors. They are young immature greens produced from seeds of vegetables or herbs which are harvested at its true leaf stage. Most of the research works in this area are carried out with temperate species of crops whose seeds are very expensive. Hence there is a need to popularize the microgreens of tropical species at an affordable price with minimum inputs, so that it is easily accessible to common people. The study entitled “Standardization of technology for microgreen production” was conducted at the Department of Vegetable Science, College of Agriculture, Vellanikkara during January to October 2021. The study was experimented with wheat, ragi, green gram, horse gram, amaranthus and mustard whose seeds were collected from the local market. It was conducted as four experiments (standardization of seed treatment, standardization of media, standardization of seed density and to assess the nutritional value and yield under different growing conditions). The first experiment was to standardize seed treatment done using two chemicals hydrogen peroxide and vinegar treated at different concentrations. The observations on germination percentage, seedling vigour and yield were recorded. The seed treatment did not show any effect on growth of microgreens when compared to the control on the parameters recorded. The microscopic observation of freshly harvested microgreens for fungal contamination indicated absence of any contamination in the fresh microgreens. The experiment on standardizing growing media was carried out using five media viz, sterile sand, cocopeat, coir mat, tissue paper and newspaper. The observation on yield, seedling height, nutritional value of microgreens and microscopic observation on fungal growth were recorded. Yield was observed to be highest in microgreens grown on cocopeat media and lowest was recorded in microgreen grown on newspaper media and among the crops it was highest for green gram microgreens (1.03 to 1.49 kg/m2). The seedling height showed a slight decrease in ragi and mustard microgreens grown on newspaper and comparing the crops, it was observed to be maximum in green gram microgreens (10.23- 10.54 cm). The nutritional parameters recorded were not showing any difference when sown in different media. The wheat microgreens were observed to rich source of vitamin C, beta carotene and protein, ragi microgreens were showing more calcium and vitamin C and beta carotene content, green gram microgreen were rich in protein, vitamin C and calcium, horse gram microgreens were rich in vitamin C, chlorophyll, beta carotene and crude protein, amaranthus microgreens possess high iron, calcium, beta carotene and vitamin C content and mustard microgreens were rich in protein and beta carotene, iron and vitamin C. Microscopic observation on freshly harvested produce revealed that there is absence of fungal contamination in microgreens. The seed density for microgreen production was standardized in the third experiment. The seeds were sown at three densities viz, low, medium and high density for each crop. The observations recorded included yield, seedling height and microscopic observation on fungal growth. The yield was recorded to be highest when sown at high density for wheat (705 g seeds/m2), ragi (520g seeds/m2) and amaranthus(120g seeds/m2) microgreens and medium density planting yielded highest for green gram (850g seeds/m2), horse gram (617 g seeds/m2) and mustard (440 g seeds/m2) microgreens. The seedling height recorded was observed to be on par except for green gram and horse gram microgreens, where highest seedling height was found in medium density planting. No fungal contamination was observed in microscopic observation of fresh produce. Nutritional value and yield of microgreens grown under two conditions (room condition and rain shelter) were studied in fourth experiment. The parameters recorded were yield, seedling height, nutrient content under two conditions, organoleptic evaluation and shelf life of microgreens. The yield was observed to be significantly high when raised under rain shelter condition than room condition. Among the crops it was highest for green gram microgreens (2.261 kg/m2). The seedling height was observed to reduce under rain shelter condition. Nutritional content was also observed to be high when planted under rain shelter for all parameters viz, iron, calcium, beta carotene, vitamin C, crude protein, crude fibre, chlorophyll, oxalates and nitrates. Organoleptic evaluation revealed highest total mean rank for mustard microgreens (54.56) raised under room condition. The shelf life study revealed that the storage period of microgreens can be extended when it is stored in ziplock PPE bag under low temperature condition. In this study, several aspects of microgreens production viz, seed treatment, growing media, seed density, growth conditions and shelf life were standardized. The results indicate that microgreen cultivation can be recommended both as a commercial and household venture.Item Genetic diversity analysis of horse gram [Macrotyloma uniflorum (Lam.) Verdc.] for moisture stress tolerance in south central laterites of Kerala(Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, 2022) Visakh, R L; Bindu, M RThe study entitled “Genetic diversity analysis of horse gram [Macrotyloma uniflorum (Lam.) Verdc.] for moisture stress tolerance in south central laterites of Kerala” was carried out at Farming Systems Research station, Sadanandapuram during October, 2020 – March, 2021 with the objective to identify superior genotypes of horse gram with moisture stress tolerance having high yield and quality, suitable for south central laterites of Kerala. The 30 horse gram genotypes collected from RARS Pattambi under KAU and other SAUs were evaluated for moisture stress tolerance at seedling stage in laboratory using two different concentrations of PEG 6000 (10% and 20%), in factorial completely randomized design replicated thrice. These 30 genotypes were further evaluated for water stress tolerance in field by withholding irrigation for 15 days at reproductive stage, in randomized block design replicated thrice. The seeds were sown on raised beds of 2.25 m2 size at a spacing of 30 cm х 30 cm and cultural operations were adopted as per the “Package of Practices Recommendations Crops 2016” of Kerala Agricultural University. The soil moisture was also measured during water stress-imposed period at weekly interval by following gravimetric method. In laboratory experiment, genotypes were evaluated for six different morphophysiological characters and in field experiment, genotypes were evaluated for 31 characters which included biometric, physiological, biochemical and seed quality characters. The genotypes showed significant differences for all the characters studied. Genetic parameter analysis was performed for nineteen characters and for all the characters PCV values were higher than GCV values indicating the influence of environment. High heritability coupled with high GAM was observed in days to 50% flowering, number of primary branches per plant, plant height, number of pods per plant, haulm yield per plant, harvest index, days to maturity, leaf area index, total phenol content of the seed, root dry weight, proline content, total chlorophyll content and seed yield per plant. 124 The correlation studies revealed significant positive correlation of the characters RWC, number of pods per plant, number of seeds per pod, total chlorophyll content, harvest index, proline content, root dry weight, root length, LAI and hundred seed weight with seed yield. However, days to 50% flowering, days to maturity, plant height and number of primary branches showed a significant negative correlation with yield. Path analysis of the thirteen characters showing significant correlation with seed yield revealed high positive direct effect of the number of pods per plant on seed yield. High indirect effect on yield was observed for number of seeds per pod through number of pods per plant. Genetic divergence analysis using Mahanalobis D2 statistic following Tocher’s method grouped the 30 genotypes into four clusters. Cluster II with 14 genotypes was the largest followed by cluster I (9 genotypes), cluster III (6 genotypes) and clusters IV was solitary cluster. Highest intra cluster distance was recorded among the genotypes of cluster II and lowest in cluster IV whereas highest inter cluster distance was observed between the genotypes of the clusters I and III, while lowest inter cluster distance was between the genotypes of the clusters III and IV. The present study revealed that the genotypes IC71841, IC139464 and IC22785 as water stress tolerant ones in laboratory experiment and in field experiment, genotypes IC22785, IC221105, IC22759 and IC139464 were identified as high yielding and moisture stress tolerant ones. The superior genotypes identified in the study can be recommended for cultivation and future breeding programs.