1. KAUTIR (Kerala Agricultural University Theses Information and Retrieval)
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Item Drought stress mitigation in Piper longum L.using chitosan(Department of Plantation, Spices, Medicinal and Aromatic Crops, College of Agriculture , Vellayani, 2024-12-12) Vishnu, V; Deepa, S NairItem Chitosan Mediated growth,yield and bioactivities of sweet basil [Ocimum basilicum (L.)](Department of Plantation Crops, Spices, Medicinal and Aromatic Crops, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, 2024-03-27) Amritha Lal,P.; Deepa, S NairThe present study entitled “Chitosan mediated growth, yield and bioactivities of sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum L.)” was conducted at the Department of Plantation, Spices, Medicinal and Aromatic Crops, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala during 2022- 2023 with the objective to evaluate the plant growth and biological activities of Ocimum basilicum L. in response to foliar application of chitosan at varying concentrations and frequencies. The seeds of O. basilicum used for the study were sourced from from Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, Bengaluru. The seeds were sown in portrays filled with potting mixture comprising of coir pith and vermicompost in the ratio 3:1. The 30-day-old seedlings were transplanted to grow bags and maintained organically up to 120 days after sowing (DAS). Chitosan was applied at varying concentrations (0.5 g L-1, 1 g L-1 and 2 g L-1) and frequencies viz., 15 days after transplanting (45 DAS) and 30 days after transplanting (65 DAS) to growbags. The experiment was laid out in completely randomized block design with fifteen treatments and three replications. The treatment consisted of base solution (chitosan 0 g L-1) sprayed at 15 DAT (T1), at 30 DAT (T2), at 15 & 30 DAT (T3), chitosan 0.5 g L-1 sprayed at 15 DAT (T4), at 30 DAT (T5), at 15 & 30 DAT (T6), chitosan 1 g L-1 sprayed at 15 DAT (T7), at 30 DAT (T8), at 15 & 30 DAT (T9), chitosan 2 g L-1 sprayed at 15 DAT (T10), at 30 DAT (T11), at 15 & 30 DAT (T12), water sprayed at 15 DAT (T13), at 30 DAT (T14), at 15 & 30 DAT (T15). The plant growth parameters viz., shoot length, number of branches, leaf area, collar girth and number of flowering branches were recorded at 30, 60, 90 and 120 days after sowing (DAS). The growth parameters exhibited a significant variation among the treatments. At harvest (90 DAS), the plants treated with chitosan 2 g L-1 at 15 & 30 DAT (T11) recorded the highest shoot length (59.37 cm) and number of branches (42), The highest 114 leaf area (8892.96 cm2) was observed in chitosan 1 g L-1 at 30 DAT (T8) and was on par with T11. The highest number of flowering branches was observed in treatment chitosan 2 g L-1 at 30 DAT (T11). The treatment chitosan 2 g L-1 at 15 & 30 DAT (T12) recorded early flowering (57.67 days). The data on yield parameters on leaf biomass, stem biomass and herbage yield were recorded at 90 DAS. The seed yield parameters viz., seed yield per plant and thousand seed weight were recorded at 120 DAS. The treatment chitosan 1 g L-1 at 30 DAT (T8) exhibited higher fresh leaf biomass (254.40 g per plant), dry leaf biomass (12.54 g per plant-1), fresh stem biomass (216.73 g plant-1), dry stem biomass (19.0 g plant-1), fresh herbage (485.24 g plant-1) and dry herbage (32.06 g plant-1) yield. The oil yield (210.36 g plant-1), seed yield (66.08 g plant-1) and test weight (10.57 g) were also observed to be maximum in treatment chitosan 1 g L-1 at 30 DAT (T8). The effect of chitosan on biochemical parameter, plant pigments were recorded at 30, 60, 90 and 120 DAS. The treatment T11 exhibited the highest chlorophyll and carotenoid content. The biochemical parameter, secondary metabolites viz., total alkaloids, flavonoids, total phenol content and tannins were recorded at 90 DAS and was found to be significantly influenced by the application of chitosan. The treatment T8 exhibited highest phenol (33.75 ug GAE mg-1) and alkaloid content (91.61 ug AE mg-1). The highest flavonoid and tannin content were recorded in the treatment T11. In HPTLC comparative chemical profiling analysis, the leaf extracts of O. basilicum showed 38 phytochemical constituents corresponding to specific Rf values. T8 had more number, 19 phytochemical constituents out of 38 total constituents recorded during the analysis. This was followed by T10 and T11 , which were observed to show 16 constituents among the 38 constituents recorded in the analysis. The treatment T8 (chitosan 1 g L-1 sprayed at 30 DAT) selected as the best treatment in terms of herbage and oil yield was compared with the corresponding control treatment, T14 (water sprayed at 30 DAT) to study the effect of chitosan on bioactivities. The study revealed that the defatted ethanolic leaf extract of T8 showed better performance in terms of antifungal (against Colletotrichum capsici MTCC 9691), antioxidant and enzyme 115 (peroxidase and catalase) activities compared to T14. Both the treatment (T8) as well as the control treatment (T14) did not show any antibacterial property when tried against Escherichia coli MTCC 40. The T14 leaf extract gave better cytotoxicity against HCT 116 colon cancer cell lines compared to that of T8. Among the treatments T8 (chitosan 1 gL-1 sprayed at 30 DAT) exhibited the best results in terms of yield, secondary metabolites and bioactivities. This was followed by T11 (chitosan 2 gL-1 sprayed at 30 DAT) with respect to these parameters. From the study it can be concluded that one time spray of chitosan 1 g L-1 at 30 DAT could be selected as the best treatment for enhancing yield, secondary metabolites and bioactivities of O. basilicum.Item Protocol development for gel stabilization and nutraceuticals in aloe vera (L.) Burm. f.(Department of Plantation Crops and Spices, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, 2021) Maheswari R S Nair; Sreekala, G SThe investigation entitled “Protocol development for gel stabilization and nutraceuticals in Aloe vera (L.) Burm. f.” was carried out in the Department of Plantation Crops and Spices, College of Agriculture, Vellayani during March 2016 to December 2019. The project envisaged formulation of a low cost stabilization technique for aloe gel using herbal extracts and aromatic oils and development of protocols for the preparation of dried latex and marketable nutraceuticals using aloe gel. The study was carried out as four experiments. The first experiment was to study the keeping quality and natural spoilage flora of fresh gel while the second experiment was for the standardization of curacao aloe (dried latex). The third experiment was on gel stabilization using herbal extracts and essential oils. Preparation of nutraceuticals from the stabilized liquidized aloe gel juice was the final experiment. The keeping quality and natural spoilage flora of fresh gel were assessed by subjecting the liquidized aloe gel juice to storage in glass bottles under ambient condition for seven days. The liqudized aloe gel juice was off white in colour for first three days of extraction with mild vegetative odour and got sedimented with foul smell from fourth day onwards. The liquidized aloe juice could not be stored for more than a day due to increased microbial population from the second day of storage. Preliminary trails conducted by pasteurizing the liquidized aloe gel juice at 65 0C and 15 psi pressure for 13 minutes followed by flash cooling registered no microbial population even after seven days of storage. The latex collected from aloe leaves was subjected to different methods of drying such as boiling followed by cooling, sun drying, shade drying and oven drying. Appearance, colour and aloin content (271.62 mg/ml) of dried latex was significantly higher for shade drying. Liquidized aloe gel juice was pasteurized and added with varying concentrations of three forms (aqueous, tincture, decoction) of herbal extracts and essential oils after adjusting the pH to 3.5 by adding 0.5 per cent of citric acid for gel stabilization. The treated samples were kept for a month and based on microbial population and minimum inhibitory concentration best treatment of each form was selected from preliminary trials for aloe gel stabilization. Gymnema sylvestre aqueous extract (1 ml), tincture (1 ml), decoction (2 ml), Centella asiatica aqueous extract (1 ml), tincture (2 ml), decoction (1 ml), Achyranthes aspera aqueous extract (2 ml), tincture (2 ml), decoction (1.50 ml), Tridax procumbens aqueous extract (2 ml), tincture (2 ml) , decoction (1 ml), Terminalia chebula aqueous extract (1 ml), tincture (1 ml), decoction (1 ml), Punica granatum aqueous extract (1 ml), tincture (2 ml), decoction (1 ml), green tea aqueous extract (2 ml), tincture (1 ml) and decotion (2 ml) and 1 ml each of sacred basil oil, lemon grass oil, cinnamon bark oil, clove oil and cardamom oil were selected and added to pH adjusted , pasteurized and liquidized aloe gel juice (25 ml) for gel stabilization. The gel stabilization was thus done using the selected twenty six treatments in a Completely Randomised Design replicated five times and compared with 0.08 per cent sodium benzoate as control and stored for six months. Appearance, colour and odour of all forms of the herbal extracts reduced on storage while those treatments with aromatic oils showed lesser percentage reduction in these parameters. Total solids, amylase and lipase activity decreased on storage. The amino acid content was the highest for liquidized aloe gel juice added with aqueous, tincture and decoction of Achyranthes aspera (0.08 ppm).Vitamin A and C were highest for treatment with green tea leaf aqueous extract which decreased subsequently on storage. An increase in microbial load was observed for all the treatments with herbal extracts from first month of storage. But addition of 1 ml clove oil resulted in stabilization of liquidized aloe gel juice which could be stored upto five months without microbial contamination or affecting the nutritive and sensory parameters. Nutraceuticals were prepared using stabilized liquidized aloe gel juice containing clove oil blended with lemon juice, orange juice and honey in proportions of 50 : 50, 75 : 25 and 90 : 10 followed by pasteurization, flash cooling and stored for 6 months. Appearance, colour and vitamin C were significantly higher for Lemon juice (50 ml) + Liquidized aloe gel juice (50 ml) + 2 ml clove oil while odour, taste, overall acceptability, pH, TSS, carbohydrates and calories were significantly superior for Honey (50 ml) + Liquidized aloe gel juice (50 ml) + 2 ml clove oil. Growth of microbes could be detected from third month of storage for all the treatments. Aloe health drink with honey in the ratio 50 : 50 added with clove oil were selected as the accepted drink which could be preserved for two months without microbial contamination. The preparation of aloe herbal powder by solar drying, air drying, oven drying or freeze drying resulted in a sticky product which could not be reconstituted with distilled water for quality comparison with fresh gel, thus warranting further investigation. The present study revealed that liquidized aloe gel juice pasteurized and mixed with clove oil (4 per cent) is a low cost stabilization method which can be taken as a base material for the preparation of health drink. The nutraceutical with liquidized and stabilized aloe gel juice mixed with equal proportion of honey and preserved with clove oil is a palatable drink having higher calories which could be stored for two months. The dried aloe latex a byproduct produced by shade drying is superior with high aloin content and can also be used for the development of marketable product.Item Economic impact of climate change and adaptation strategies in black pepper (Piper nigrum L.) cultivation in Kerala(Department of Agricultural Economics, Vellayani, 2017) Amogh P Kumar; Paul Lazarus, TItem Variations in seedling progenies of open pollinated cashew (Anacardium occidentale L.)(Department of .Horticulture (Pomology), College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 1978) Gopi Kumar, K; Aravindhakshan, MThe present investigations ware carried out in the College of Horticulture, Kerala Agricultural University, during the years 1976 to 1988 The study consisted of two aspects namely the variations of seedlings of different types of cashes in the nursery and the variations among seedling trees of a single selected mother tree, 2-20 in the main fields She object of this study was to find out the desirability or otherwise in selecting a single open pollinated mother tree for seedling purposes. She nursery studies were also intended to work out the relationship if any, that existed between the nut and seedling characters in order to fix a selection criterion of seeds or seedlings in cashew. The nursery studies revealed that the variation present in nut or seedling characters between different types or classes was more when compared to the variation within a type or class. Different types behaved differently in the extent of variation of nut and seedling characters. She fact that certain types recorded more variation in nuts and seedlings while others recorded least variation.Indicated the scope of selecting types with least variation.Seedlings from heavy nuts wore more vigorous in the nursery. Whether vigorous seedlings will continue to he vigorous and high yielding is an aspect for further investigations.Item Studies on the floral biology and fruit set in cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.)(Department of Plantation Crops, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 1981) Rajamony, L; Mohanakumaran, NStudies were conducted at the Regional Research Station, Pillicode during 1980-81 to gather information on the pattern of flowering and fruiting , aspects of floral biology, fruit set , fruit development etc. in cocoa. Though flowering was seen throughout the year, two peak seasons (may –June and November-December) could be identified . A double peaked pattern was also observed with regard to pod harvest, June –August being the major peak. Cherelle wilt occurred throughout the year , the maximum being in July. Cherelles did not wilt after the tenth week of development. Data on the commencement and completion of anthesis and anther dehiscence were collected . The stigma receptivity was found to be high between 12 noon to 2 pm . A medium for germinating pollen grains in vitro was identified . Keeping pollen grains in tissue paper packets under dry and comparatively cool conditions extended the viability up to five days . Seven Dipterous insects and five Formicid species were identified as floral visitors . The fifteen plants included in the studies were found to be cross-compatible ; but only four of them were self – compatible. Hand pollination increased the percentages of fruitset and pod harvest , indicating scope for assisted pollination in cocoa. Variation was observed between the main trunk and the fan shoots with regard to the percentage of fruit set, number of cherelles wilted and the percentage of cherelles carried to maturity . The cushions that supported developing pods up to the harvestable stage flowered less frequently than those which exhibited no set or complete wilting of cherelles. The development of cocoa pods was found to be a very gradual process. The pods took , on the average , about 140 days to reach the ripening stage.Item Indirect organogenesis and embryogenesis in Kaempferia Galanga L.(Department of Plantation Crops and Spices, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 1997) Mini Joseph; Lissamma Joseph