experiments

J.Res. ANGRAU 37(1&2)1-6, 2009
EVALUATION OF SYSTEM OF RICE (Oryza sativa L.)
INTENSIFICATION (SRI) IN IRRIGATED AGRO-ECOSYSTEM OF
PUNJAB
GULSHAN MAHAJAN and P.S. SARAO
Rice Section, Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics
Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana – 141004
ABSTRACT
The system of rice intensification (SRI) is a new technique for rice culture. The main features of this
system are: transplanting of young seedlings singly in a square pattern with wide spacing, using organic
fertilizer, hand weeding and keeping the paddy soil moist during the vegetative growth phase. Two experiments
were conducted at rice research farm of Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana during 2006 and 2007
to evaluate the performance of SRI against conventional transplanting method. The results revealed that
significant phenotypic changes occurred in plant structure and function but no significant yield differences
were observed in SRI system in comparison to conventional transplanting system. During 2006, no significant
yield differences were observed in SRI system in comparison to conventional transplanting system. The SRI
system gave 79.8 q/ha grain yield when the nursery date was kept same and 78.4 q/ha grain yield when
transplanting date was kept same against 78.9 q/ha in conventional transplanting method. During 2007,
varietal performance was studied in SRI system. SRI transplanting (10 days old seedling) resulted 11.8 and
27.9 per cent increase in yield over conventional transplanting method and SRI direct seeding method,
respectively. The cultivar 17A/R10 showed superiority in SRI transplanting system (10 days old seedlings) as
compared to cultivar PR-115 and HRI-152, respectively in terms of grain yield.
Punjab has earned the name of food basket of the country and granary of India, as
it has been contributing 40-50 per cent of rice to the central pool for the last four decades and
thus playing a major role in the food security of India. India needs to increase production by
at least 2.5 million tonnes of milled rice every year to sustain present level of self sufficiency.
This additional rice will have to produce on less land with less water, less labour and few
chemicals. Crop improvement and management have played an important role in increasing
the production of major food crops in the past. There is no doubt that the task of making
grains becomes even more difficult when rice yield is already at the higher level. The SRI
developed in Madagascar over a 20- year period and synthesized in the early 1980s (Uphoff
et al., 2002 and Stoop et al., 2002), offers opportunities to researchers and farmers to expand
their understanding of potential already existing in the rice genome. Experience with SRI
methods suggests that average rice yields can be about double the present world average
without requiring a change in cultivar or the use of purchased inputs (Wang et al., 2002). The
SRI methodology for raising rice production makes three major changes in irrigated rice
production: transplanting young seedling and preferably 10-12 days old before the plants
enter their fourth phyllochron of growth, planting the seedling and singly rather than in clumps
Email: mahajangulshan@rediffmail.com
1

MAHAJAN and RAO
of 3-6 plants and keeping the paddy soil moist but not continuously saturated during vegetative
growth phase. To achieve a super high yield, we conducted the study of SRI in Punjab. This
paper is the review of research progress on SRI in Punjab under irrigated agro-eco system.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Two different experiments were conducted at the research farm of Rice Section,
Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana during kharif 2006 and 2007 on the same field having
history of rice-wheat cropping system for the past five years. The soil was loamy sand in
texture. In the first year, six treatments (Table 1) were evaluated in randomized block design
replicated thrice. The cultivar PR-115 was used for experimental study. The treatment included
two methods of crop establishment viz, system of rice intensification (SRI) with 10 days old
seedlings with spacing of 25x25 cm and integrated crop management (ICM) with 20 days old
seedling with spacing of 20x20 cm were compared by keeping the nursery and transplanting
date same with conventional transplanting methods with 30 and 45 days old seedlings at a
spacing of 20x15 cm. For the SRI practice: 10 days old seedlings were transplanted in the
puddle field, irrigation was given to a depth of 2.5 cm upto flowering and later was similar to
conventional practice; weeds were incorporated into the soil during weeding with cono-weeder
and prior to transplanting, half the dose of recommended nitrogen was applied through
vermicompost and green leaf manuring. In integrated crop management practices, weeds
were removed with hand hoe, nitrogen was applied with the leaf colour chart, submergence
was done upto 15 days after transplanting of nursery and thereafter irrigation was done at 2
days interval. In conventional practice weeds were controlled with application of butachlor
1.5 kg/ha 3 DAT. Recommended dose of 120 kg N/ha was applied through urea, submergence
was done upto 15 days after transplanting of nursery and thereafter irrigation was done at 2
days interval. In the second year, the treatments were modified and performance of different
rice cultivars were studied under different crop establishment methods. In this experiment,
three method of crop establishment viz, SRI with direct seeding, SRI with 10 days old nursery
and conventional transplanting method were evaluated along with three rice cultivars viz,
PR-115, HRI-152 and 17A/R10 in split plot design replicated thrice. The methods of crop
establishment were kept in main plots and cultivars were kept in sub-plots. In SRI and
conventional transplanting methods, the same principles as in the previous year were followed
for raising the crop. The net plot size was 9 sqm. in both the years. Observations on insectpests
infestation namely leaf folder and stem borer were also recorded from 5 plants randomly
selected from each treatment and percent damage was worked out. The data was analysed
statistically using analysis of variance technique and significant means were separated
using least significance difference test (LSD) for comparing the treatment means (Gomez
and Gomez, 1984).
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EVALUATION OF SYSTEM OF RICE
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The grain yield found to be same in all the crop establishment methods (Table 1). It
was found that growth and yield attributes were also not influenced significantly under different
crop establishment methods. Our study demonstrated that the tillers/sqm did not increase to
such an extent as reported by Uphoff et al. (2002) that could cause significant improvement
in yield in SRI. This could probably the reason that we could not find any yield advantage in
SRI system as compared to conventional transplanting system. In effect, rice plants adapt
well to decreased plant density by increasing the yield per individual plant, but this was
apparently not sufficient to compensate for the 50% reduction in plant density (33– 16 plants
m -2 (Table 1), as also reported by Sheehy et al. (2004) and Latif et al. (2005). Wider plant
spacing have been suggested by SRI proponents (Uphoff et al., 2002), which imply a 5.0 fold
decrease in plant density and an unlikely equivalent increase in per-plant productivity to
obtain similar yields per field. This is only possible if the base yield potential is very low,
which the only case was where McDonald et al. (2005) noted SRI to have been successful.
So, it was concluded from this study that SRI technology may be varietal and location
specific. To further confirm this, we did another study to evaluate the performance of different
cultivars in SRI system.
In that experiment, we found that among the different crop establishment methods,
SRI with 10 days old seedlings performed better and gave highest plant height of 109.7 cm.
But number of panicles/sqm., filled grains/panicle and test weight were not increase in the
SRI method significantly (Table 2). The transplanted rice with 10 days old seedlings following
the method of SRI commenced earhead formation 12 days later and was infested with 41.2%
leaf damage due to leaf folder attack compared to 20.4% in conventional method (Table 2).
Ravi et al. (2006) also reported higher incidence of leaf folder in SRI fields. The transplanting
of 10 days old seedlings following the method of SRI scored significance with seed yield of
66.9 q/ha over the yield of 59.8q/ha from the conventional transplanting with 30 days old
seedlings. Rice cultivation by direct seeding following rest of the components of SRI reduced
the yield significantly to 52.3 q/ha. Among the different cultivars evaluated, HRI-152 produced
significantly more seed yield of 66.2 q/ha than 17A/R10 which yielded 52.0 q/ha. The plant
height, filled grains/panicle and test weight of the two cultivars were on par. The leaf folder
damage was 31.1% in HRI-152 compared to 17.5% in 17A/R10 and get the sterility of grains
was only 13% compared to 30.5% in the latter. Hence, HRI-152 produced more yield. The
cultivar PR-115 produced yield on par with HRI-152. The sterility of grain in this variety was
also low. It produced significantly less number of grains but the test weight was more than in
the other two genotypes. The interaction was not significant between the varieties and method
of planting. Hence, there were no genotypic variations in their response to the method of
planting.
3

MAHAJAN and RAO
4

EVALUATION OF SYSTEM OF RICE
5

MAHAJAN and RAO
REFERENCES
Gomez, K.A and Gomez, A.A. 1984. Statistical procedures for agricultural research. 2 nd edn.
Wiley-Interscience, New York, USA. pp. 953
Latif, M.A., Islam, M.R., Ali, M.Y and Saleque, M.A. 2005. Validation of the system of rice
intensification (SRI) in Bangladesh. Field Crops Research 93: 281–292.
Mcdonald, A.J., Hobbs, P.R and Riha, S.J. 2005. Does the system of rice intensification
outperform conventional best management? A synopsis of the empirical record. Field
Crops Research 96 : 31–36.
Ravi, G., Rajendran, R., Raju, N., Murlidharan, V., Chandrasekaran, B and Balasubramanian,
V. 2006. Impact of System of Rice Intensification (SRI) on insect pests and arthropod
biodiversity: A case study in irrigated rice ecosystem. In : 26 th International Rice
Congress, Oct. 9-13, New Delhi, pp 421-422.
Sheehy, J.E., Peng, S., Dobermann, A., Mitchell, P.L., Ferrer, A., Yang, J.C., Zou, Y.B.,
Zhong, X.H and Huang, J.L. 2004. Fantastic yields in the system of rice intensification:
fact or fallacy? Field Crops Research 88 : 1–8.
Stoop, W.A., Uphoff, N and Kassam, A. 2002. A review of agricultural research issues
raised by the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) from Madagascar: opportunities for
improving farming systems for resource-poor farmers. Agricultural Systems
71: 249-274.
Uphoff, N., Fernandes, E.C., Yuan, L.P., Peng, J., Rafaralahy, S and Rabenandrasana, J.
2002. Assessing the System of Rice Intensification. Proceedings of an International
Conference, Sanya, China, April 1-4, Ithaca, New York, Cornell International Institute
for Food, Agriculture and Development (Eds.).
Wang, S., Cao, W., Jiang, D., Dai, T and ZHU, 2002. Physiological characteristics and high
yield technique for SRI rice. In Assessment of the SRI: Proceeding of an International
Conference, Sanya, China, April, 1-4, 2002, 116-124.
6

J.Res. ANGRAU 37(1&2)7-13, 2009
A NOVEL METHOD OF MICROTITRATION AND RAPID EXTRACTION
OF (-) HYDROXYCITRIC ACID FOR IDENTIFICATION OF ELITE
CHEMOTYPES OF Garcinia cambogia (Gaertn.) DESR. (Clusiaceae)
CHANDU VIJAY and PARVATHI CHARY
Department of Biosciences, Sri Sathya Sai University,
Prasanthi Nilayam Campus, Puttaparthi, A.P. - 560016
ABSTRACT
The fruit of the tree Garcinia cambogia ( Gaertn.) Desr., belonging to the family Clusiaceae, is unique in
possessing a constituent called (-) hydroxycitric acid [HCA] in its rinds, which is known to exist at the highest known
percentage reported thus far. This component of the fruit rind is gaining importance as an anti-obesity factor in
addition to several medicinal properties such as, anti-inflammatory, anti-tumour, hypoglycemic and hypolipidemic
properties. The method followed for extraction of (-) HCA from these fruit rinds was significantly simplified by
eliminating several steps from the already established procedures. The (-) HCA which is sensitive enough for
detection by HPLC analysis and Mass Spectroscopy could be obtained even without using a cation exchange resin
Dowex column. The amount of this compound thus extracted was found to be more than that obtained after passing
through the Dowex column. Furthermore, estimation of the (-) HCA by a novel and rapid microtitration analysis
improvised in our laboratory proved to be highly efficient and economical in yielding values comparable to those of
HPLC analysis. This would help in the rapid identification of elite chemotypes of G. cambogia which is of critical
importance, especially with the increasing exploitation of the only available resource in the Western Ghats of India.
Garcinia cambogia (Gaertn.) Desr. (Family: Clusiaceae), commonly known as Malabar
tamarind, is indigenous to the Western Ghats of India, predominantly native to the state of
Kerala. It has also been subsequently cultivated in other countries like Sri Lanka, Thailand
and Cambodia. Garcinia. cambogia, today is an endangered species that has already been
red-listed (Rai, 2003 and Bhatti and Prabhakaran., 2004). The fruit has been well documented
for both its medicinal and culinary uses, right from ancient times. In Ayurveda it is known as
“Amlavetasa” or “Shatavedhi”, the juice from which has been traditionally used for the treatment
of wind (vatha) related diseases as mentioned in the ancient text of “Charaka Samhita”
(Charak., 2003). The fruit rinds are a rich source of secondary metabolites such as
benzophenones, xanthones, flavinoids and esters, but above all it contains approximately
30% by weight a unique acid called the (-) hydroxycitric acid (Gustafon et al., 1992).
Studies have shown that (-) HCA is primordially effective in lowering the lipid-levels
(Jena et al., 2002) besides the other secondary metabolites serving as anti-inflammatory
agents (Weng et al., 2003), cancer and chemo-preventive agents and depsidones (Ito et al.,
2001), and even being inhibitory to the HIV virus (Gustafson et al., 1992).
To prevent the loss of these precious resources, rapid identification of elite
chemotypes with high (-) HCA content is the need for the day, such that these accessions
can be genotyped and also micropropagated for clonal multiplication.
E mail : pchary2000@yahoo.com
7

VIJAY and CHARY
The (-) HCA which is a structural analogue to citric acid, was isolated and identified
for the first time by Lewis and Neelakantam (1965). These fruits have been exploited mainly
for their powerful anti-obesity factor (Beynen et al., 1982 and Greenwood et al., 1981), antiinflammatory,
anti-tumour (Pan et al., 2001), hypoglycemic and hypolipidemic properties
(Khare., 2004), thus leading to rapid depletion of these resources (Bhatti and Prabhakaran.,
2004). The (-) HCA inhibits the activity of the enzyme ATP citrate lyase which catalyses the
extra-mitochondrial cleavage of citrate to oxaloacetate and acetyl CoA (Watson et al., 1969
and 1970). Acetyl CoA is the ultimate source of all the carbon atoms of fatty acids. Decreased
production of acetyl CoA leads therefore to decreased production of triglycerides which
reduces its inhibition on Carnitine Palmitoyl Transferase I activity and consequently increases
fat oxidation (Hasegawa et al., 2001 and Lee et al., 2007, Vijay and Chary., 2009). Therefore,
the rising demand for (-) HCA especially in the Western countries has led to intense harvesting
of the fruit, even at the expense of exploiting the crop, by the collection of immature fruits.
Thus, it has endangered the survival of the tree (Bhatti and Prabakaran., 2004).
However, with the impetus of the myriad of medicinal properties, we have devised a
simple and rapid method of microtitration of (-) HCA to quantify the content of the acid in the
fruit rind extracts of G. cambogia. This novel method has been found to yield results
comparable to HPLC analysis. It was further tested with extraction methods without using
Dowex columns that yielded higher (-) HCA than by using Dowex columns (Lewis and
Neelakantan, 1965 and Singh et al.; 1995).
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Microtitration of (-) HCA
For microtitration analysis, standard (-) HCA extract purchased from Arjuna National
Extracts (Ernakulam, Kerala, India) was utilized. The 60% acid stock was serially diluted to
0.6% and 1 ml of this acid was neutralized with 0.5N NaOH, using 5ìL phenolphthalein as the
indicator, in an eppendorf tube. About 60ìL of 0.5N NaOH was required to neutralize the
0.6% acid. Using the chemical formula, N 1
V 1
= N 2
V 2
, the molarity of the acid was determined
to be 30mM which amounted to 6.24 g of (-) HCA (MW: 208) in 1 litre of extract or 0.624%.
This value tallied with the dilution of the acid used.
In essence, the above values were obtained in the following manner :
a. N 1
V 1
(for NaOH) = N 2
V 2
(for (-) HCA)
0.5N x 0.06ml = xN x 1 ml (i.e. =0.6% HCA)
Therefore, x = (0.030N/m1)/1 ml = 0.03N or 0.03M or 33 mM is the molarity of (-)
HCA utilized for neutralization.
8

A NOVEL METHOD OF MICROTITRATION AND RAPID EXTRACTION
b. Next, given that the Mol. Weight of (-) HCA is 208,
1 Molar solution of (-) HCA will have 208 gm dissolved in 1 liter of distilled water.
Therefore, 30 mM solution of (-) HCA will have the following weight in gm
= (30/1000) x 208 = 6.24 gm of (-) HCA
c. Therefore, now 6.24 gm (-) HCA is in 30mM solution of (-) HCA per liter of solution.
d. Or, 0.624 gm (-) HCA is in 100 ml of solution.
e. Thus, it can be said that 0.624% (-) HCA, comparable to 30 mM is required to neutralize
60 µl of 0.5 N, NaOH.
f. Therefore, our microtitration values (0.624%) are close to the actual dilution of (-) HCA
utilized in the experiment, which is 0.6% (-) HCA.
The above method was used for analyzing (-) HCA from the various fruit samples of
G. cambogia collected from Kerala (Fig. 1). About 5 g of air-dried fruit rind (Fig. 2) was used
for preparing the (-) HCA extract. Using the percentage of (-) HCA obtained by the procedure
outlined above, the amount of (-) HCA in 100g of fruit rind was calculated, which then yielded
the % (-) HCA by weight / % weight of fruit rind.
Simplified extraction of (-) HCA from fruit rinds
To expedite the process of (-) HCA extraction, which yielded acid that is sensitive
enough to be detected by HPLC, we tested procedures with and without Dowex columns.
The original procedures used by Lewis and Neelakantam (1965) and Singh et al. (1995), were
adapted to obtain the acid in micro-quantities. Essentially, about 5 g of air-dried fruit rinds of
G. cambogia (Fig. 2) was autoclaved with 150ml of distilled water and blended into a fine
paste. The paste was repeatedly passed through a cheese cloth and the filtrate was
concentrated down to about 10ml. This was treated with 2 to 3 volumes of absolute alcohol
(Merck, Germany) and the precipitated pectin was filtered through a cheese cloth. The pectinfree
acid extract was neutralized using excess of 2N NaOH. The salt which settled down as
a viscous amber coloured liquid was washed thrice with 70% ethanol, dried overnight at
60°C, resuspended in 10ml of sterile distilled water, and finally passed through an activated
Dowex cation exchange resin column. The eluent, thus obtained, was analysed by HPLC or
microtitration for estimation of (-) HCA.
Furthermore, in our modified and simplified method, steps of neutralizing with NaOH
and beyond were eliminated and the acid was estimated directly. This eliminated the step of
lactone formation and the subsequent procedure to bring it back to the free-acid stage from
its golden yellow oily-salt form. HPLC analysis of these samples were performed by utilizing
9

VIJAY and CHARY
Fig 1 : Fresh ripe fruits of Garcinia cambogia
Fig 2 : Air-dried ripe fruits of Garcinia cambogia
10

A NOVEL METHOD OF MICROTITRATION AND RAPID EXTRACTION
an aliquot of 20 µl for quantifying the (-) HCA at a retention time of 5 min. and detected at 214
nm (Jayaprakash and Sakariah; 1998). The analysis was further confirmed by Mass
Spectroscopy (Manuscript in Preparation). Care was taken to compare the peaks of (-) HCA
obtained from samples that were passed through the Dowex column and also those samples
that were analyzed directly. Clearly, both of them exhibited prominent peaks at a retention
time of 5 min and detected at 214 nm through HPLC analysis, with a final confirmation
through Mass Spectroscopy.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
In the samples analyzed by microtitration, the (-) HCA content determined was
comparable to the values obtained by HPLC analysis. While the values of (-) HCA ranged
from 6.17 to 20.17%/ wt. of fruit rind as obtained by HPLC, comparable values ranging from
8.23 to 21.2%/ wt. of fruit rind were calculated by the novel microtitration method (Table 1).
Furthermore, it pointed to the efficacy of this method in terms of time and equipment. This
procedure does not involve the use of an expensive apparatus such as HPLC, and instead it
can be easily performed using eppendorf tubes and micro-pipettes which can measure microlitre
quantities of acid accurately in a very short time frame.
This simplified method of extraction of (-) HCA without passing through the Dowex
column was found to be more efficient than the procedure we used by utilizing the Dowex
column. The (-) HCA thus obtained was sensitive enough to be detected by HPLC analysis
at an absorbance of 215nm and yielded accurate results. Thus, the procedure of (-) HCA
extraction without passing through the Dowex column was found to be 10% to about 53%
more efficient than by passing through the Dowex column (Table 2).
Although the Dowex resin column is routinely used for purifying acid samples in
general, our procedures however involving the elimination of this step clearly showed the
presence of a distinct peak using HPLC with a retention time being 5 min and detected at
214 nm in both sets of experiments, i.e with and without the passage through a Dowex
column. This was further confirmed by a distinct peak at approximately 207 MW for both the
sets of samples tested by Mass Spectroscopy, thus clearly indicating the presence of (-)
HCA.
The HPLC analysis of samples from both these procedures clearly showed peaks
for malic acid and tartaric acid that were distinct from the peak for (-) HCA. This was confirmed
by the retention times for these acids and other isomers as shown originally by Jayaprakash
and Sakariah, (1998).
This simple and rapid method of estimation and extraction of (-) HCA could help us
in accurate and efficient chemotyping of Garcinia cambogia and simultaneously conserving
11

VIJAY and CHARY
Table 1. Values of Microtitration and HPLC analyses
% / wt. (-) HCA
Sample No. Microtitration HPLC
1 21.21 20.27
2 3.33 4.67
3 1.66 1.64
4 10.4 9.72
5 8.32 9.76
6 10.40 9.30
7 7.06 7.13
8 10.40 9.50
9 10.40 11.90
10 8.32 7.56
11 8.32 7.10
12 8.32 9.86
13 8.32 7.94
14 8.32 6.17
Table 2. Efficiency of simplified method of (-) HCA extraction
Sample
Free (-) HCA % / weight
No. With Dowex column Without Dowex column % Comparison
1 11.50 14.47 20.60
2 12.50 13.87 9.86
3 11.33 19.62 42.25
4 3.07 6.52 52.88
5 4.46 6.46 30.90
time and resources, especially Dowex which is very expensive. The above method can be
followed for all studies in biodiversity dealing with large samples of about 100 in number, at
a time.
12

A NOVEL METHOD OF MICROTITRATION VIJAY and CHARY AND RAPID EXTRACTION
REFERENCES
Bhatti, R.D and Prabhakaran, V. 2004. Medplant Network News; 4:1-4.
Beynen, A.C and Geelen, M.J. 1982. Endokrinologie; 79:308-310.
Charak, 2003. Charaka Samhita : Text with English translation. Editor- Translator : Priyavrat
Sharma. Publishers: Varanasi: Chaukhanbha Orion Italia, 4:2520.
Greenwood, M.R., Cleary, M.P., Gruen, R., Blase, D., Stern, J.S., Triscari, J and Sullivan,
A.C. 1981. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 240:72-78.
Gustafson, K.R., Blunt, J.W., Munro, M.H.G., Fuller, R.W., Mckee, T.C., Cardellina, J.H.I.I.,
Mcmahon, J.B., Cragg, G.M and Boyd, M.R. 1992. Tetrahedron, 48:10093-10102.
Hasegawa, N. 2001. Phytotherapy Research, 15 (2) :172 – 173.
ITO, C., Itoigawa, M and Mishina, Y. 2001. Journal of Natural Products, 64(2):147-150
Jayaprakasha, G.K and Sakariah, K.K. 1998. Journal of Chromatography, 806: 337-339.
Jena, B.S., Jayaprakasha, G.K., Singh, R.P and Sakariah, K.K. 2002. Journal of Agriculture
and Food Chemistry, 50:10-22.
Khare, C.P. 2004. Encyclopedia of Indian Medicinal Plants, Springer - Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
1:65-66.
Lee, H.K and Lee, M.B. 2007. Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, 70: 388-
392.
Lewis, Y.S and Neelakantan. 1965. Journal of Phytochemistry 4: 619-625.
Pan, M., Chang, W., Shoei-yn L., HO, C and Lin, J. 2001. Journal of Agriculture and Food
Chemistry, 49 (3):1464 -1474.
Rai, N.D. 2003. Symposium in Pennysylvania State University, on Human Use, Reproductive
Ecology, And Life History Of Garcinia gummigutta- A Non Timber Forest Product, In
the Western Ghats, India. pp 8-9.
Singh, R.P., Jayaprakasha, G.K and Sakariah, K.K. 1995. Biological Memoirs, 21: 27-33.
Vijay, C. and Chary, P. 2009. Science and Culture, 75(3-4):146-151
Watson, J.A., Fang, M and Lowenstein, J.M. 1969. Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics,
135: 209-217.
Watson, J.A and Lowenstein, J. 1970. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 245: 61-83.
Weng, J., Lin, C., Tsao, L and Wang, J. 2003. European Journal of Chemistry,
9:1956-1963.
13

J.Res. ANGRAU 37(1&2)14-17, 2009
EFFECT OF PLANTING GEOMETRY AND NITROGEN LEVELS ON
GROWTH AND YIELD OF SORGHUM
(Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench)
M.YAKADRI and V.MURALI
Department of Agronomy, College of Agriculture, Acharya N.G. Ranga Agricultural
University, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad-500 030
ABSTRACT
A field study was conducted at Students’ Farm, College of Agriculture, Rajendranagar, during late
kharif seasons of 2006 and 2007 to find out the effect of planting geometry and nitrogen levels on grain yield
of sorghum. Crop was sown during the last week of August with varied inter row spacings and nitrogen levels.
The results showed that sorghum grown in wider inter row spacing of 60 cm grew significantly tall in height,
accumulated more dry matter plant -1 and produced more grain yield per plant compared to the crop grown at
40 cm row spacing both in 2006 and 2007. But, the crop sown at 40 cm spacing produced significantly more
grain yield of 18.8 and 19.3 q ha -1 and fodder yield of 60.2 and 61.1 q ha -1 during the 2 years. The crop
responded to increasing level of nitrogen upto 100 kg ha -1 . The plant height, dry matter accumulation and grain
weight per panicle and uptake of nitrogen increased consistently with increase in the level of nitrogen.
Consequently maximum grain yield of 21.5 and 22.4 q ha -1 as well as fodder yield of 65.7 and 66.5 q ha -1 was
obtained at 100 kg N ha -1 during two years.
Sorghum is the principal dry land cereal crop grown in India for food, feed and fodder.
The area has decreased to 9.5 Mha from 17.0 Mha in the last 30 years because of low yields
under rainfed conditions as well as lack of demand in recent past. But now-a-days its
importance in dietary requirement and production of biofuels assumed significance due to
unabated increase of diabetic patients and soaring prices of crude oil in international market.
Under conditions of delayed onset of monsoon, there is a need to refine the existing agronomic
recommendations to meet the future demand of sorghum production. Sorghum is an exhaustive
crop and needs more nutrients especially nitrogen. Optimum dose of nitrogen depends on
planting geometry besides the inherent soil fertility among several other factors. The present
investigation was carried out to elicit the geometry as well as optimum nitrogen dose under
late kharif situation in Southern Telangana Zone of Andhra Pradesh.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
A field experiment was conducted during late kharif season of 2006 and 2007 at
students’ farm, College of Agriculture, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad. The soil of the experimental
site was sandy loam, low in available N (205 kg ha -1 ) and high in available P(55 kg P 2
O 5
ha -1 ) and K (302 kg K 2
O ha -1 ). The pH of the soil was 7.8. The experiment was conducted in
split plot design with twelve treatment combinations of three inter row spacings of 40, 50 and
Email ID : ekadri_m@rediffmail.com
14

EFFECT OF PLANTING GEOMETRY
60 cm as main plot treatments and four subplot treatments involving 40, 60, 80 and 100 kg
N ha -1 with three replications. Sorghum variety CSV-10 was sown during last week of August.
The intra row spacing was uniform at 12 cm. There was a rainfall of 421.3 and 370.7 mm in
41and 47 rainy days during the crop growth period in 2006 and 2007 respectively. The uptake
of nitrogen was estimated by micro Kjeldahl method (Piper, 1966) at the time of harvest. The
climatic conditions were congenial for crop growth during both the seasons.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The results showed that sorghum was responsive to variation in inter row spacing
and the level of nitrogen applied (Table 1). The plants grew significantly tall to a height of
184.9 cm during 2006 and 186.3 cm during 2007 when grown at wide row spacing of 60 than
50 or 40 cm. The dry matter production per plant also increased significantly in sorghum
spaced at 60 or 50 cm than 40 cm. This trend was uniform during the two years. Because of
less plant population per unit area in 60 cm or 50 cm inter row spaced sorghum crop, the
availability of natural resources was adequate for proper growth and development. So that
the plants attained more height and dry matter accumulation. There was a tough competition
among the plants spaced at 40 cm inter row spacing for natural resources due to more
number of plants per unit area. This might have disrupted the normal growth and development
of the plants causing decreased plant height and dry matter production. Similar findings were
also observed by Kaushik and Shaktawat (2005). The grain weight per panicle increased
with increase in the row width from 40 to 60 cm during both the years. On the other hand
maximum grain yield of 18.8 and 19.3 q ha -1 was realised from the crop sown at 40 cm inter
row spacing. The yield reduced significantly at wider row spacing of 50 or 60 cm. The uptake
of nitrogen was also more at wider row spacings but it was on par with that of 40 cm inter row
spaced crop. The fodder yield reduced significantly due to wider row spacing. Maximum
fodder yield of 60.2 and 61.1 q ha -1 was obtained from the crop sown at 40 cm row spacing
during 2006 and 2007 respectively. The grain weight per panicle was more in sorghum spaced
wide at 60 or 50 cm compared to 40 cm. But, the yield per hectare was relatively low because
of less number of ear heads.
The impact of increasing level of nitrogen was significant on crop growth, yield
attributes and yield. There was a significant improvement in plant height and dry matter
production per plant with increase in the level of this fertilizer upto 100 kg N ha -1 . This
response was true in both the years. Maximum grain weight per panicle was also obtained at
this level of nitrogen. The nutrient uptake increased consistently with successive increase in
the level of nitrogen. Hence, significant increase in grain and stover yield was also recorded.
The crop yielded 21.5 and 22.4 q ha -1 grain while the fodder yield was maximized to 65.7 and
15

YAKADRI and MURALI
16

EFFECT OF PLANTING GEOMETRY
66.5 q ha -1 during 2006 and 2007 respectively. Because of the poor ‘N’ status of the soil,
increasing nitrogen level increased the nitrogen uptake that supported proper growth and
development. This inturn helped in increasing plant height, dry matter production per plant,
grain weight for panicle. These associated characters contributed for more grain and also
more stover yield in both the years. The response of rainfed sorghum to increased levels of
nitrogen was also observed by Singh et al. (1993) and Kaushik and Shaktawat (2005).
The interaction effect due to planting geometry and nitrogen levels was not significant
during both years except for plant height, dry matter and stover yield. The results thus
showed that the inter row spacing of 40 cm and fertilizer application of 100 kg N ha -1 is ideal
for rainfed sorghum.
REFERENCES
Kaushik, M.K and Shaktawat 2005. Effect of row spacing, nitrogen and weed control on
growth, yield and nutrient uptake of sorghum. Indian Journal of Agronomy. 50 (3):
140-142.
Piper, C.S. 1966. Soil and plant analysis. International science publications, New York.
pp. 47-49.
Singh, I., Chouhan, G.S and Choudhary, L.S. 1993. Response of sorghum to nitrogen and
phosphate under Western Rajasthan condition. Indian Journal of Agronomy. 38 (2):
305-306.
17

J.Res. ANGRAU 37(1&2)18-25, 2009
LEAF ACTIVE IRON, SAP pH, TOTAL CHLOROPHYLL CONTENT
AND LEAF CHLOROSIS AS INFLUENCED BY NUTRIENT
MANAGEMENT FOR ACID LIME (Citrus aurantifolia Swingle) IN
CALCAREOUS SOILS
M.A. AARIFF KHAN, G. SWARAJYA LAKSHMI and HAMEEDUNNISA BEGUM
AICRP on Agroforestry, Acharya N.G. Ranga Agricultural University,
Hyderabad, A.P – 500030
ABSTRACT
A field experiment was conducted on three old acid lime plants for two consecutive years from 1999-
2001 at Citrus Research Station, Petlur to study the effect of nutrient management of organics, inorganics and
biofertilizer on fresh leaf contents and leaf chlorosis of acid lime in calcareous soils. Application of organic
manures - FYM and press mud , biofertilizer (VAM) and inorganic agricultural grade iron pyrites either alone
or in combinations significantly influenced the active iron, sap pH and total chlorophyll content of acid lime.
Application of FYM either alone @ 50 kg per plant or in combination i.e. FYM @ 25 kg + Press mud 2 kg + Iron
pyrites 200 g per plant were superior to other treatments in both the years. Leaf chlorosis also followed same
trend. At the end of second year maximum recovery and least chlorotic symptoms with chlorosis scale 1 were
recorded by these treatments. Severe visual chlorotic symptoms with chlorosis scale as 5 was observed in
control treatment.
Acid lime (Citrus aurantifolia Swingle) is the most important citrus species grown in
red and black calcareous soils of Nellore district needs special attention and management of
nutrients. The iron chlorosis is very common in citrus orchards of calcareous soils. Nutritional
problems can be minimized if proper care is taken from planting by using available
organic manures, biofertilizers and inorganic agricultural grade iron pyrites (Aariff Khan
and Hameedunnisa Begum, 2006). Hence, an attempt was made to find out the effect
of nutrient management on leaf active iron , total chlorophyll, sap pH and the leaf chlorosis
in acid lime in calcareous soils.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
A field experiment was conducted on three year old acid lime plants for two
consecutive years from 1999 to 2001 at Citrus Research Station, Petlur. The experimental
soil was sandy clay to sandy clay loam, alkaline in reaction and highly calcareous in nature
with very low organic carbon content, deficient in available S, Zn and adequate in Mn, Cu
and Fe (Table 1). The experiment was laid out in randomized block design with 19 treatments
and three replications. Recommended dose of N, P 2
O 5
and K 2
O @ 1125-450-600 and 1500-
E mail : abdulaariffkhan@yahoo.co.in
18

LEAF ACTIVE IRON, SAP pH, TOTAL CHLOROPHYLL CONTENT
Table 1. Initial soil characteristics of experimental site
Soil properties
Depth (cm)
0-30 30-60 60-90
pH 8.25 8.46 8.69
E C (dSm -1 ) 0.24 0.25 0.32
O C (%) 0.28 0.21 0.12
HCO 3
(mg kg -1 ) 310 323 345
CaCO 3
(%) 16.5 19.8 20.5
Available S (mg kg -1 ) 8.56 6.58 3.82
Available Fe (mg kg -1 ) 8.46 6.12 5.03
Available Zn (mg kg -1 ) 0.55 0.35 0.24
Available Cu (mg kg -1 ) 0.91 0.88 1.02
Available Mn (mg kg -1 ) 42.20 36.50 29.15
600-800 g per plant were applied for third and fourth year aged plants respectively. The
fertilizers were applied in two split doses in the month of January and August. Half of the N
was applied through urea and remaining through FYM and neem cake. The initial composite
soil samples were collected at 0-30, 30-60 and 60-90 cm depth in plant basins and analysed
for pH, EC, OC, HCO 3
, free CaCO 3
content and available micronutrient status by following
the standard methods (AOAC, 1980). The fresh index leaf samples from non-fruiting terminals
at the end of first and second year were collected for analysis of active iron (Fe 2+ ), total
chlorophyll and sap pH contents. The active iron content was estimated by 1, 10 Ortho
Phenanthroline method and measured by Spectrophotometer as out lined by Katyal and
Sharma (1980) and expressed on oven dry basis in mg per kg. The total chlorophyll content
was estimated by DSMO method as described by Hiscox and Isreal Sham (1978) and values
are expressed on fresh weight basis in mg per g. Leaf sap pH was estimated from leaf
extracts in 1:10 leaf water suspension using combined glass electrode digital pH meter
(Patel, 1997). The initial chlorosis rating was recorded 10 days before imposing the treatments
in the first year. The final chlorosis rating at the end of first year was recorded in the last
week of October, 2000 and during second year in last week of November, 2001. The leaf
chlorosis scoring rating was graded as 1 : Healthy green leaves (0-20 %, very slight yellowing),
2 : Yellowish green interveinal areas with green veins (21-40%, slight yellowing), 3 : Greenish
yellow interveinal areas with green veins (41- 60%, moderate yellowing), 4 : Yellowish white
interveinal areas with green veins (61- 80%, intense yellowing) and 5 : Entirely yellow leaves
(81-100%, severe yellowing necrotic spots) was recorded by the method out lined by Patel
(1997).
19

KHAN et.al
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The results on active iron, reaction of leaf sap and total chlorophyll content in acid
lime as influenced by different nutrient management treatments is shown in table 2. The
leaves had low iron and chlorophyll content with out the addition of external input of nutrient.
ACTIVE IRON (mg kg -1 ) :
The application of FYM @ 25 kg + Press mud 2 kg + Iron pyrites 200 g per plant was
the best treatment. It maximized the active Fe 2+ content of the leaves from 20.85 mg kg -1 in
control to as high as 37.60 mg kg -1 in the first year. This was on par with Fe 2+ content of
34.86 mg kg -1 due to the application of FYM @ 25 kg + Iron pyrites 200 g per plant.
Maximum Fe 2+ content of 44.76 mg kg -1 in acid lime was also recorded by the conjoint use of
FYM @ 25 kg + Press mud 2 kg + Iron pyrites 200 g per plant in the second year. This effect
was on par with the nutrient management by the application of FYM @ 25 kg + Press mud 2
kg + Iron pyrites 100 g per plant or by the application of FYM @ 50 kg per plant. These
results imply the importance of supplying the nutrients through FYM, Press mud and Iron
pyrites to substantially improve the leaf active Fe 2+ . Gajipara (1988) and Patel et al. (2001)
also reported similar results in citrus. The increase in active iron concentration in leaf will
increase the peroxidase and catalase enzyme activities. Iron as a transition element is
characterized by easy change in oxidation state (Fe III ! Fe II ). It is known that Fe must be
reduced before it can be taken up into cell. At high sap pH, organic compounds such as
citrate and anions (HNO 3
-
and NO 3-
) accumulates. They inactivate the iron and make it immobile
(Alcaraz, 1985 et al. and Mengel, 1995).
SAP pH:
The more the acidic condition more is the active iron content which in turn increase
the photosynthetic and metabolic activity (Patel et al. 2001). In the present investigation, all
the treatments except Iron pyrites applied at 100 g per plant significantly reduced sap pH
than in control (Table 2). Once the sap pH decreases there will be less precipitation of Fe
and it reduces the influence of anions like HCO 3
-
and NO 3
-
content in leaves. The results are
in accordance with the findings of Patel et al. (2001), who reported that chlorotic plants
grown on calcareous soils showed high sap pH content in leaf apoplast which in turn brought
the precipitation of Fe as Fe 3+ .
TOTAL CHLOROPHYLL (mg g -1 ) :
All the nutrient management treatments except the application of VAM @ 150 g per
plant during both the years and the application of Iron pyrites @ 100g per plant in second
year did not improve the chlorophyll content over control. The total chlorophyll content of
20

LEAF ACTIVE IRON, SAP pH, TOTAL CHLOROPHYLL CONTENT
21

KHAN et.al
citrus leaves was 0.93 mg kg -1 in the first year and 1.04 mg kg -1 in the second year with out
the external application of nutrients. It increased to a maximum of 1.69 and 2.35 mg kg -1
during the corresponding years by the application of FYM 25 kg + Press mud 2 kg + Iron
pyrites 200 g per plant. The application of FYM @ 50 kg per plant also improved the chlorophyll
content on par with this treatment during the two years.
The beneficial effect of iron application in increasing the chlorophyll and ferrodoxin
content was reported in acid lime by Aariff Khan and Hameedunnisa Begum (2007) and in
sugarcane by Dey and Yadav (1996). In chlorotic leaves of control plants, pigments are
destructed due to chlorophyllase activity towards hydrolysis as : chlorophyll ! chlorophyllide
+ Phytol (Mortvedt, 1991and Patel, 1997).
LEAF CHLOROSIS (%) :
Initially, all the plants were highly chlorotic measuring 5 on the chlorosis scale
before imposing the treatments. The percentage of chlorotic leaves ranged from 89.12 to
94.50 (Table 3). The chlorosis reduced both in control and nutrient management treatments
after first year ranging from 62.0 to 89.1 per cent. In the second year the percentage chlorosis
was sharply reduced with in the range of 12.0 to 85.1 per cent. The chlorosis remained
unchanged even after the completion of one year of crop age in control and the application of
Iron pyrites @ 100 g per plant and application of VAM @ 150 g per plant. Rest of the
treatments were beneficial. The chlorosis scale was reduced to 4. At the end of second year,
the chlorosis was as severe as in the beginning recording a scale of 5. The application of
Iron pyrites @ 100 g per plant significantly reduced the chlorosis from 85.1 to 57.7 per cent
and the scale narrowed down to 3. Similarly, the application of VAM @ 150 g per plant either
alone or in combination with Iron pyrites @ 100 g per plant also reduced the percentage of
chlorosis to 60.1 and 51.3 per cent. The scale was reduced to 3. But most outstanding effect
was recorded by the application of FYM @ 25 kg + Press mud 2 kg + Iron pyrites 200 g per
plant. The incidence of chlorosis was minimized to as low as 12 per cent and chlorotic scale
was slotted down to a bare low of 1. The influence of nutrient management by the application
of FYM @ 50 kg per plant, Press mud 8 kg per plant, FYM @ 25 kg + Iron pyrites 200 g per
plant, Press mud @ 4 kg + Iron pyrites 200 g per plant, FYM @ 12.5 kg + Press mud 2 kg
+ Iron pyrites 200 g per plant and FYM @ 25 kg + Press mud 2 kg + Iron pyrites 100 g per
plant were also equally effective in minimizing the rate of chlorosis to 1. This indicates the
influence of treatments on recovery of plants from chlorosis due to change in total chlorophyll,
active iron and sap pH. The cause and affect of relationship through simple correlation
coefficient exhibited that the chlorophyll content on fresh weight leaf basis had a negative
association (r = -0.971** and -0.947**) with leaf chlorosis. Similarly the active iron in leaf
22

LEAF ACTIVE IRON, SAP pH, TOTAL CHLOROPHYLL CONTENT
23

KHAN et.al
exhibited highly negative significant correlation coefficient (r = -0. 952** and -0.953**) with
chlorosis. On the other hand the leaf sap pH showed a positive and highly significant correlation
coefficient (r = 0.966** and 0.956**) with chlorosis in 1999-2000 and 2000-2001 (Aariff Khan,
2001).
The results therefore, imply that the nutrient management through FYM @ 25 kg +
Press mud 2 kg + Iron pyrites 200 g per plant is the best practice in calcareous soils to
minimize the chlorosis in acid lime.
REFERENCES
Aariff Khan, M.A. 2001. Nutrient status and integrated nutrient management in acid lime
(Citrus aurantifolia. Swingle) orchards grown on red calcareous soils of Nellore district.
Ph.D Thesis submitted to Acharya. N.G. Ranga Agricultural University, Hyderabad.
Aariff Khan, M.A and Hameedunnisa Begum. 2006. Influence of components of INM on
plant growth of acid lime. International Journal of Agricultural Science. 2: 652-653.
Aariff Khan, M.A and Hameedunnisa Begum. 2007. Effect of organic, inorganic and biofertilizer
on plant growth and chlorophyll content of acid lime (Citrus aurantifolia Swingle.).
Asian Journal of Horticulture. 2 : 161-165.
Alcaraz, C.F., Hellin, E., Sevilla, F and Martinez Sanchez, F. 1985. Influence of the leaf iron
contents on the ferrodoxin levels in citrus plants. Journal of Plant Nutrition 8: 6031-
6041.
AOAC. 1980. Association of official analytical chemists. Official and Tentative Methods of
Analysis. Washington, D.C.
Dey, P and Yadav, D.V. 1996. Chlorophyll scan, yield and juice quality of chlorotic sugarcane
ratoon as influenced by foliar application of ferrous sulphate. Indian Journal of Sugarcane
Technology. 11: 131-133.
Gajipara, N.N. 1988. Nature and prevention of chlorosis of Kagzi lime (Citrus aurantifolia
Swingle.) in Udaipur. Ph.D Thesis submitted to Rajasthan Agricultural of Agriculture,
Udaipur.
Hiscox, J.D and Israel Sham, J.P. 1978. A method for the extraction of chlorophyll from leaf
tissue with out maceration. Canadian Journal of Botany. 57: 1332-1334.
Katyal, J.C and Sharma, B.D. 1980. A new technique of plant analysis to resolve from
chlorosis. Plant and Soil 55 : 105-119.
24

LEAF ACTIVE IRON, SAP pH, TOTAL CHLOROPHYLL CONTENT
Mengel, K. 1995. Iron availability in plant tissues-iron chlorosis on calcareous soils. In: Iron
nutrition in soils and plants. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Netherlands. pp: 389-397.
Mortvedt, J.J. 1991. Correcting iron chlorosis in annual and perennial plants: Present
technologies and future prospects. Plant and Soil. 130: 273-279.
Patel, P.C. 1997. Studies on iron chlorosis in Kagzilime (Citrus aurantifolia, Swingle). Ph.D.
Thesis submitted to Gujarat Agricultural University, Sardar Krishinagar.
Patel, P.C., Patel, M.S and Kalyanasundaram, N.K. 2001. Response of chlorotic acid lime
to iron and sulphur fertilization. Journal of Indian Society of Soil Science. 49: 295-300.
25

J.Res. ANGRAU 37(1&2)26-33, 2009
GENETIC ANALYSIS FOR QUALITY TRAITS IN LARGE SEEDED
GROUNDNUT(Arachis hypogeae L) GENOTYPES
P. SUMATHI and V. MURALIDHARAN
Centre for Plant Breeding and Genetics, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University,
Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu-641003
ABSTRACT
The experimental material comprising of 48 large seeded groundnut genotypes were raised to study
the genetic variability, character association and path coefficient analysis for the qualitative traits viz., pod
yield per plant (g), shelling percentage, sound mature kernel number , sound mature kernel weight (g), total
sugars (%), reducing sugars (%), non reducing sugars(%), protein (%) and oil content (%).The traits, total
sugars, reducing sugars, non reducing sugars, sound mature kernel weight and pod yield per plant recorded
high GCV and PCV estimates. High heritability combined with high genetic advance as percent of mean was
observed for total sugars, reducing sugars, non reducing sugars, shelling percentage, sound mature kernel
weight and pod yield per plant. Oil content showed high heritability with low genetic advance as per cent of
mean. The trait sound mature kernel weight only had significant positive correlation with pod yield per plant.
Total sugars exerted maximum positive direct effect on pod yield per plant followed by sound mature kernel
weight. Total sugars exerted high positive indirect effects through non reducing sugars and shelling percentage.
Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) is one of the major oilseeds and food legumes in
the world. It is an excellent food crop to reduce malnutrition due to rich nutritional properties
of its oil and protein. Although groundnut in India is primarily used as an oilseed, it is also
consumed directly as food because of its palatability. Besides, oil and protein, groundnut
contain carbohydrates, minerals and B complex vitamins especially thiamin and niacin.
Handpicked selected seeds of groundnut are important and also exported to different countries
for confectionery purposes. Hence handpicked selection or large seeded groundnut is gaining
much more importance in recent years in view of its export potential. The studies on the
genetic systems governing these valuable confectionery traits like oil, protein and sugars in
addition to trade yield components like kernel weight, sound mature kernels and shelling per
cent with appropriate breeding methodologies involving large seeded genotypes are essential.
The first step in the success of any crop improvement programme depends on amount of
genetic variability present in the population and extent to which it is heritabe, which set the
limit of progress that can be achieved through selection.
The study of interrelationship of yield components and quality traits and path analysis
of these traits on yield and other qualitative traits is imperative to enable the selection of
genotypes for the ultimate usage in groundnut improvement programme along with quality
characters. Keeping in view of the aforesaid objectives, the present investigation was taken
up.
E-mail : sumivetri@yahoo.com
26

GENETIC ANALYSIS FOR QUALITY TRAITS IN LARGE SEEDED
MATERIALS AND METHODS
In the present study, the material comprising of 48 confectioneries, large seeded
groundnut genotypes were raised in randomized block design with three replications at the
department of oilseeds, TNAU, Coimbatore during rabi 2005-06. The plant to plant distance
of 10 cm was maintained within rows which were spaced at 30 cm. Each entry was sown in
5 rows of 3 m length. All the recommended package of practices were followed to raise a
good crop. Observations were recorded on 10 randomly chosen competitive plants from
each entry in each replication for the characters viz., pod yield per plant (g), shelling
percentage, sound mature kernel number , sound mature kernel weight (g), total sugars
(%), reducing sugars (%), non reducing sugars(%), protein (%) and oil content (%). The total
sugars were estimated by anthrone reagent method (Hedge and Hofreiter, 1962), reducing
sugars by dinitrososalicylic acid method (Miller, 1972), protein by Bradford method (Bradford,
1976) and oil content by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) method. The data was subjected
to statistical analysis. The phenotypic and genotypic coefficient of variability was computed
as per Burton (1952). Heritability in broad sense was computed by the formula suggested by
Lush (1940). Genetic advance was worked out as per the formula given by Johnson et al.,
(1955). Correlation coefficient for pod yield and quality traits was estimated utilizing the
formula suggested by Al-jibouri et al., (1958). Further partitioning of correlations into direct
and indirect effects by path coefficient analysis was estimated by Dewey and Lu (1959).
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The analysis of variance indicated high and significant variation for all the characters
under study, indicating considerable amount of genetic variation present in the material.
High magnitude of variation in the experimental material was also reflected by high values of
mean and range for almost all the characters.Total sugars ranged from 4.10 – 8.65 % ,
protein from 18.2 – 25.10 % and oil content varied between 43.95 – 49.95 . Rajagopal et al.,
(2000) reported that the oil content ranged from 48.1 – 51.4 % and protein content from 19.3
– 23.5 %. The reducing sugar ranged from 0.20 – 0.65 %, Manivel, et al., (2000) reported that
it ranged from 0.16 to 1.21 %. The estimates of genetic parameters like genotypic coefficient
of variation, heritability and genetic advance are presented in Table 1. The genotypic and
phenotypic variance was highly significant for the traits shelling percentage and pod yield
per plant. Though the phenotypic variance was greater than the genotypic variance, the
difference between these two is very meager, except for the traits shelling percentage and
pod yield. This indicated that the traits were stable and yet little influenced by the environment.
27

SUMATHI and MURALIDHARAN
28

GENETIC ANALYSIS FOR QUALITY TRAITS IN LARGE SEEDED
29

SUMATHI and MURALIDHARAN
30

GENETIC ANALYSIS FOR QUALITY TRAITS IN LARGE SEEDED
Coefficient of variation
The phenotypic coefficient of variation (PCV) was also greater than genotypic
coefficient of variation (GCV) for all the characters studied, indicating the close resemblance
between the corresponding estimates of PCV and GCV in almost all the characters suggesting
that the environment had little role in the expression of these characters.
The traits, total sugars, reducing sugars, non reducing sugars, sound mature kernel
weight and pod yield per plant recorded high GCV and PCV estimates. High coefficient of
variation for pod yield was recorded by Gowda et al. (1996). There is enough scope for
selection based on the above said characters, and the diverse genotypes can provide materials
for a sound breeding programme. The traits shelling percentage and sound mature kernel
number showed moderate PCV and GCV and the remaining traits recorded low PCV and
GCV.
Hertitability
The heritability and genetic advance estimates were interpreted as low, medium and
high as per the classification of Johnson et al. (1955). In the present study, the maximum
broad sense heritability was observed for total sugars (99.5%) and minimum heritability was
observed for sound mature kernel number (62.73 %). It was high in all the characters studied.
Estimates of heritability and genetic advance in combination are more important for selection
than heritability alone.
High heritability combined with high genetic advance as percent of mean was observed
for total sugars, reducing sugars, non reducing sugars, shelling percentage, sound mature
kernel weight and pod yield per plant. This indicates the lesser influence of environment in
expression of these characters and prevalence of additive gene action in their inheritance,
hence amenable for simple selection. High heritability with moderate genetic advance as per
cent of mean was recorded for protein and sound mature kernel number indicating that these
characters were also governed by additive gene action. Oil content showed high heritability
with low genetic advance as per cent of mean. Such situation may arise due to non-additive
gene action.
Selection based on the characters, sound mature kernel weight, total sugars, reducing
sugar, non reducing sugars and pod yield per plant would be effective for the development of
confectionery type ground nut variety through recombination breeding.
Correlation coefficients
Among the nine characters studied, the trait sound mature kernel weight only had
significant positive correlation with pod yield per plant. Similarly, the trait, total sugars had
31

SUMATHI and MURALIDHARAN
Significant positive association with only non-reducing sugars. The other traits showed non
significant association with pod yield. This indicates that the improvement in these quality
traits do not affect the pod yield per plant.
While correlation coefficients generally describe association between the characters
in statistical terms, they are inadequate in interpreting the cause and effect relationship.
Hence, correlation coefficients between various characters are partitioned into direct and
indirect relationship by the path analysis. Genotypic correlations were partitioned into direct
and indirect effects on pod yield. Among nine characters studied, total sugars exerted
maximum positive direct effect on pod yield per plant followed by sound mature kernel weight.
All the other traits showed negative direct effect on pod yield per plant. Total sugars exerted
high positive indirect effects through non reducing sugars and shelling percentage. The trait
non reducing sugars also showed high positive indirect effect through oil content. The positive
correlation between sound mature kernel weight and pod yield per plant may be due to
positive indirect effect of shelling percentage and sound mature kernel number.
When both direct and indirect positive contributions were considered, total sugars,
shelling percentage, and sound mature kernel weight proved to be outstanding characters to
influence pod yield per plant in groundnut.
Further, the residual factor was low which suggests that the variables chosen in the
present study were sufficient to explain pod yield per plant and qualitative traits. These
findings are in agreement with the findings of Azad and Hamid (2000 ).
REFERENCES
Al- jibouri, H. A., Miller, P. A and Robinson, H. E. 1958. Genotypic and environmental
variances and covariance in upland cotton cross of interspecific origin. Agronomy
Journal 50: 633-35.
Azad, M. A. K and Hamid, M. A. 2000. Genetic variability, character association and path
analysis in groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L). Thailand J. Agric. Sciences,
33: 153-157.
Bradford, M. M. 1976. Estimation of protein. Anal. Biochem. 72: 248 – 254.
Burton, G. W. 1952. Quantitative inheritance in grasses. Proc. Sixth Int. Grassland Congr.
1: 277-283.
Dewey, D. R and Lu, K. H. 1959. A correlation and path coefficient analysis of components
of crested wheat grass seed production. Agronomy Journal 51: 515-18.
32

GENETIC ANALYSIS FOR QUALITY TRAITS IN LARGE SEEDED
Gowda, M. V. C., Prabhu, T. G and Bhat, R. S. 1996. Variability and association of late leaf
spot resistance and productivity traits in two crosses of groundnut. Crop Improvement,
23 : 44-48.
Hedge, J. E and Hofreiter, B. T. 1962. Carbohydrate chemistry (Editors: Whistler, R.L. and
Be Miller, J.N.). Academic Press, New York.
Johnson, H. W., Robinson, H. F and Comstock, R .E. 1955. Estimation of genetic and
environmental variability in soybean. Agronomy Journal 47: 314-318.
Lush, J. L. 1940. Intrasine correlation and regression of offspring on dams as a method of
estimating heritability of characters. Proceedings of American Society Animal Nutrition
32: 293-301.
Manivel, P., Mathur, R. K., Bandyopadhyay A., Samdur, M. Y and Misra, J. B. 2000.
Evaluation of some confectionery type advanced breeding lines of groundnut.
International Arachis News letter. 20: 20-22.
Miller, G. L.1972. Estimation of reducing sugars. Anal.Chem. 31: 426
Rajagopal, K., Chandran, K., Misra, J. B., Bharodia, P. K and Mathur, R .S. 2000. Evaluation
of bold seeded groundnut accessions of confectionery attributes. International Arachis
News letter. 20: 20-22.
33

J.Res. ANGRAU 37(1&2)34-37, 2009
PRODUCTIVITY OF PEARLMILLET (Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.)
AS INFLUENCED BY PLANTING PATTERN AND NITROGEN
LEVELS DURING SUMMER
M.YAKADRI and A. PRATAP KUMAR REDDY
Department of Agronomy, College of Agriculture, Acharya N.G. Ranga Agricultural
University, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad-500 030
ABSTRACT
Study was conducted during summer seasons of 2006 and 2007 at Students’ Farm, College of
Agriculture, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad to find the effects of different planting pattern and nitrogen levels on
pearlmillet. The soil of the experimental plot was low in available nitrogen, but rich in available phosphorus and
potassium. The soil was a sandy loam with a pH of 7.8. Results indicated that among planting patterns, ridge
and furrow method of sowing 40 cm apart recorded higher growth, earheads m -2 and N uptake for obtaining
more yield. Among different levels of nitrogen, 80 kg ha -1 was optimum as it gave significantly higher grain and
stover yield compared to 40, 60 kg N ha -1 and on par yield at 100 kg N ha -1 in both the years. There was no
interactions effect except for plant height during both the years.
Pearlmillet (Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.) is an important kharif cereal crop that
occupies fifth position in India. It is grown in arid and semi arid regions under intense heat
and chronic drought. It produces, food and fodder within a short period of 75 to 80 days for
resource poor farmers. Though its importance as food crop declined over time, its significance
as feed in various agro-enterprises like poultry and fortified foods has gone up. The cost of
the pearlmillet grain is high because of low production and high demand. In Andhra Pradesh
farmers cultivate this crop during summer for seed production. It is an exhaustive crop that
requires more nitrogen. Quantity of nitrogen requirement depends on the inherent fertility
status of the soil, season and planting pattern besides several other factors. So there is a
need to bring down the cost of the production by refining the existing agronomic practices.
Pertinent information regarding optimum nitrogen dose and planting method for pearlmillet
during summer season is lacking in Southern Telangana Zone of Andhra Pradesh. Therefore,
the present experiment was conducted.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
The field experiment was conducted during summer seasons of 2006 and 2007 at
Students’ Farm, College of Agriculture, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad. The soil was sandy loam,
low in available nitrogen (225 kg ha -1 ) and high in available phosphorus (55 kg P 2
O 5
ha -1 ) and
potassium (302 kg K 2
O ha -1 ). It had a pH of 7.8. The experiment was laid out in split-plot
Email ID : ekadri_m@rediffmail.com
34

PRODUCTIVITY OF PEARLMILLET
design with twelve treatment combinations consisting three planting patterns i.e., uniform
sowing at 40 cm apart, ridge and furrow method 40 and 50 cm apart as main plots and four
levels of N at 40, 60, 80 and 100 kg ha -1 as sub plots. They were replicated thrice. Pearlmillet
variety WCC-75 was sown during second week of February. Crop received five irrigations
during its life cycle. The required agronomic and pest management operations were followed.
The crop growth and development was normal. Nitrogen uptake was estimated by micro
Kjeldahl method (Piper, 1966) at the time of harvest.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The method of planting in pearlmillet and the level of N applied had a significant
influence on its performance (Table 1). The method of planting the crop at a spacing of 40
cm by following ridges and furrows was better than on flat beds. This helped the crop to grow
significantly tall and produce more number of ear heads per square meter both during 2006
and 2007. This advantage might have been derived from the conserved moisture in ridges
that was adequate at all the stages of crop growth. With help of adequate soil moisture and
good anchorage from ridges the crop plants were able to grow tall and initiate more number
of ear heads. The advantage of planting bajra in ridge and furrow method over uniform row
system was also recorded by Jat and Gautam (2001), Upadhyay et al (2001) and Rathore et
al (2006). The better conservation of moisture in ridge and furrow method helped the crop to
remove significantly more quantity of nitrogen. Hence the crop produced significantly more
yield of 26.1 and 26.5 q ha -1 during 2006 and 2007 respectively compared to the yield of 23.9
and 24.3 q ha -1 from the crop grown on flat beds. The stover yield also increased significantly
due to the adoption of ridge and furrow method of planting. The production of stover and grain
as well as the nutrient uptake was similar by adopting 50 cm spacing between the rows as 40
cm in ridge and furrow method of planting.
The application of nitrogen had a significant influence on crop growth, yield attributes
and yield. The plant height, dry matter per plant, number of ears per square meter and up
take of nitrogen increased significantly with successive increase in the level of nitrogen up
to 80 kg ha -1 during both the years. The crop yielded 26.3 q ha -1 grain in the first year and
26.6 q ha -1 in the second year. The high dose of 100 kg N ha -1 did not increase the grain yield
as well as stover yield significantly over 80 kg N ha -1 . The increased yield response up to a
dose of 80 kg N ha -1 compared to a higher dose of 100 kg N ha -1 can be attributed to
increased uptake of nitrogen. As the soil was deficient in available nitrogen, the crop absorbed
this nutrient efficiently and thereby enhanced the dry matter. This might have resulted in
more number of ear heads per square meter that supported higher grain and stover yield. The
increase in yield due to increased levels of nitrogen was also noticed by Jat et al. (1994) and
35

YAKADRI and REDDY
36

PRODUCTIVITY OF PEARLMILLET
Sharma et al. (1999). However, the interaction effect due to planting methods and nitrogen
levels was not significant in both the years except for plant height.
Therefore pearlmillet can be grown successfully during summer season by following
ridge and furrow method of planting 40 cm apart with a fertilizer dose of 80 kg N ha -1 under
similar agro-ecological conditions.
REFERENCES
Jat, M.L and Gautam, R.C. 2001. Productivity and water use of rainfed pearlmillet (Pennisetum
glaucum (L.) R. Br.) as influenced by summer ploughing and in-situ moistureconservation
practices under semi-arid conditions of north-west India. Indian Journal
of Agronomy, 46 (2): 266-272.
Jat, Rameshwar, Mali, A.L and Chaudhary, G.R. 1994. Studies on integrated nutrient
management in pearlmillet (Pennisetum americamum (L.) R. Br.) (In) Proceedings of
XIII National Symposium on Integrated Nutrient Management for Efficient Crop
Production, held at Coimbatore, 22-25 February 1994, pp.145.
Piper, C.S. 1966. Soil and Plant analysis. International Science Publications, New York,
pp.47-49.
Rathore, V.S., Punjab Singh and Gautam R.C. 2006. Productivity and water-use efficiency
of rainfed pearlmillet (Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R.Br.) as influenced by planting patterns
and integrated nutrient management. Indian Journal of Agronomy. 51 (1): 46-48.
Sharma, P.K., Yadav G.L., Fageria V.D., Sudesh Kumar and Sharma, B.L. 1999. Response
of pearlmillet (Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.) varieties to different levels of nitrogen
under late-sown rainfed conditions. Indian Journal of Agronomy. 44 (4): 765-767.
Upadhyay, P.N., Dixit A.G., Patel, J and Chavda, J.R. 2001. Response of summer pearlmillet
(Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.) to time and method of planting, age of seedling and
phosphorus grown on loamy sand soils of Gujarat. Indian Journal of Agronomy. 46 (1):
126-130.
37

J.Res. ANGRAU 37(1&2)38-42, 2009
DRY SPELL PROBABILITY BY MARKOV CHAIN AND ITS
APPLICATION TO COTTON (Gossypium hirsutum L.)
CULTIVATION IN WARANGAL
P. RAGHU RAMI REDDY and SHAIK MOHAMMAD
Regional Agricultural Research Station, Warangal
Department of Agronomy, College of Agriculture
Rajendranagar, Hyderabad-500 030
ABSTRACT
Initial and conditional probabilities for expected threshold limits of rainfall are provided for different
weeks to plan cultural operations during the growing period of cotton in Warangal district of Andhra Pradesh.
Standard week of 22 to 24 were estimated to be optimum for land preparation as the soils are partially moist
and rainfall of > 30 mm per week between 24 to 26 week ensure good germination in cotton. Rainfall during
vegetative, square formation and early boll development of cotton is fairly adequate. The relatively low
probability for a threshold limit of 30 mm rainfall per week from 33 to 40 week is the major constraint for kapas
yield in cotton.
Rainfall is the most important climatic factor for crop production. It is essential to
plan agriculture on a scientific basis in terms of making best use of rainfall pattern of an
area. This necessitates to study the sequence of dry and wet spells so that necessary steps
can be taken up for sustaining crop yield ( Panigrahi and Panda, 2002).
Markov chain probability model has been extensively used to find out the wet and
dry weather spells (Victor and Sastry, 1979) and for computation of probability of occurrence
of daily precipitation (Stern, 1982). Earlier Agarwal et al,(1984), Pandarinath (1991) and
Dalabehara and Sahoo (1993) used Markov chain probability model for dry and wet spell
analysis in terms of shortest period like week and demonstrated practical utility in agricultural
planning. Such studies are lacking for Warangal district to plan agricultural operations for the
cultivation of cotton.
Warangal is one of the premier cotton growing district in the state ranking second in
area covering 1.71 lakh ha next to Adilabad . Area under cotton is expanding fast in this
districtl as rainfed crop mostly in alfisols of low to moderate fertility. The district receives
about 1000 mm mean annual rainfall of which about 80% precipitates during the rainy season
of June to September.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
The experimental site selected is a rainfed belt of Warangal that lies in Andhra
Pradesh. It is located at 18 0 00’ N latitude and 79 0 36’ E longitude with an altitude of 540 m
Email : pakanati_raghu@yahoo.co.in
38

DRY SPELL PROBABILITY BY MARKOV CHAIN AND ITS APPLICATION
above msl. The water holding capacity of the soils is 110 mm per meter depth. Weekly
rainfall data for 14 years from 1991-2005 was collected from meteorological observatory of
Agricultural Research Station Warangal.
The method of computing initial and conditional probabilities of occurance of rainfall
using the first order Markov chain model described by Gabriel and Neumann (1962), Gates
and Tong (1976) and Hann et al. (1976) was followed.
Step - 1 :
Compute for each week the number of occasions the weekly rainfall of week i (Ri)>
the threshold limit x. If this condition is satisfied in ‘n’ years out of the total N years then the
probability of a given week i is wet (W i) is given as
Þ (W i) = (n/N) x 100, %
and thus a given week i is dry (D i) is given as
Þ (Ði) = 100 – Þ (W i) ,%
These estimates present the initial probabilities of a given week i is wet or dry.
Step - 2 :
Compute for each week, the number of occasions
Ri > x
and R i+k
> x
It is seen in step-1 that of the N years in n years Ri > x in week i and thus if in n’
years out of n years, R i+k
> x , then the probability of getting a wet in week i and week i + k,
namely a wet week followed by a wet week (if k=1 [cw/w]) is given as
Þ (W /W )i = (n’/n) x 100, %
and thus a dry week followed by a wet week, (D/W ) is given as
Þ (D/W )i = 100 – (W /W )i , %
These two estimates present the conditional probabilities of a wet or dry week (i + 1)
followed by a wet week (i).
Step - 3 :
Compute for each week, the number of occasions,
Ri < x but R i + k
> x
39

REDDY and MOHAMMAD
It is seen in step-1 that of the N years in N-n years Ri < x in week i and thus in n”
years out of N – n years R i + k
> x, then the probability of getting dry spell on week i and wet
on week i+k, namely a wet week followed by a dry week (if k = 1) [(W/Ð) i
] is given as
P (W /D) i = [n”/(N-n)] x 100 ,%
and thus a dry week followed by a dry week, (D /D) is given as
P (D/D) i = 100 – (W /D) i’, %
These two estimates present the conditional probabilities of a wet or dry week (i + 1)
followed by a dry week (i).
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The initial and conditional probability estimates of rainfall for different standard weeks
are presented in table 1. The probability of > 30 mm rainfall in 22 standard week was 7%.
The conditional probability for 23 week also to be wet was 50% of the previous wet week. In
23 standard week, the initial probability for this threshold value of rainfall was 14% and the
conditional probability for following week to be wet was 17%. In 24 week, the initial probability
of this rainfall was 43% and the conditional probability of 25 week being wet was 50% out of
the initial probability. In the 24 week, the probability of receiving < 30 mm rainfall was 57%
but the following 25 week is expected to receive more than 30 mm rainfall in 25 out of the
57% level of initial probability. The land preparation can be done between 22 to 24 week
when the soils are partially moist and are not saturated to create any problem.
The period between 24 to 26 standard week is estimated to be the sowing time
Rainfall of > 30 mm per week is expected to ensure good germination. The initial probability
for this threshold value was 43% in 24 week, 36% in 25 week and 29% in 26 week. The
conditional probabilities for the subsequent 25, 26 and 27 weeks also being wet were 50, 20
and 20 % respectively. Dry seeding can be done during this period. The moist period range
from 26 to 38 meteorological weeks. A minimum of < 10 mm rainfall is considered essential
for the establishment of seedlings. The probability of this threshold limit was 86% in 27
standard week and 79% in 28 week. The conditional probabilities for the subsequent weeks
being wet are fairly high. The estimated conditional probability was 40% in 28 week and 71%
in 29 week being wet. A threshold limit of >15 mm rainfall during next four weeks is considered
optimum to meet the water requirement of cotton. The probability of this rainfall ranged from
50 to 93% during this period. Water requirement of crop increases from 33 to 40 standard
week. During this crucial period of peak reproductive growth, a rainfall of > 30 mm is expected
to adequately meet the water requirement of the crop. But, the initial probabilities showed
that such events are not fairly high. The probability ranged from 29 to 57% during this period
except in 36 week when the chance of getting < 30 mm rainfall was only 14%. The conditional
probabilities of the subsequent wet weeks ranged from 50 to 67% except in 37 week which
40

DRY SPELL PROBABILITY BY MARKOV CHAIN AND ITS APPLICATION
41

REDDY and MOHAMMAD
had a probability of only 14% to be wet. However, the stored soil moisture during this period
is likely to partly compensate the shortfall in precipitation during years of less than the
threshold limit of rainfall. The water requirement of the crop is also less and is mainly dependent
on stored soil moisture. The expected > 20 mm rainfall from 41 to 43 standard weeks had an
initial probability of 36%. The conditional probability for this threshold value of rainfall was
20% during the subsequent 42 and 43 week and 80% during 44 week.
The analysis revealed that monsoon starts effectively from 24 th week in Warangal
and remain active upto 39 th week. One can therefore expect good monsoon shower for about
16 weeks in the district. Cotton hybrid of 150 days duration can be successfully grown with
this rainfall and stored moisture in the soil without much yield reduction. These trends imply
that the relatively low probability for a threshold limit of 30 mm rainfall per week from 33 to 40
week is the major constraint for significant variation in seed cotton yield in different years.
REFERENCES
Agarwal, A., Singh, R.V and Chauhan, H.S. 1984. Probability of sequences of wet and dry
days in Naintal Tarai Region. Journal of Agricultural Engineering 21 (4): 61-70.
Dalabehera, M and Sahoo, J. 1993. On the chances of occurrence of wet and dry days at
regional research station. Bhawanipatna of Kalahandi District of Orissa. Indian Power
and River valley Development. 44(Feb-March): 37-40.
Gabriel, K.R and Newmann, J. 1962. A Markov chain model for daily rainfall occurrence at
Tel Aviv. Quarterly Journal Royal Meteorological Society 88:90-95.
Gates, P. R and Tong, H. 1976. On Markov chain modeling to some weather data. Journal of
Applied Meteorology 15:1145-1151.
Hann, T., Allen, P.M and street, J.D. 1976. A Markov chain model for daily rainfall. Water
Resources Research 12:433
Pandarinath, N. 1991. Markov chain model probability of dry and wet weeks during monsoon
periods over Andhra Pradesh Mausam. 42(4):393-400.
Panigrahi, B and Panda, S.N. 2002. Dry spell probability by Markov chain model and its
application to crop planning in Khargapur. Indian Journal of Soil Conservation 30(1):
95-100.
Stern, R.D. 1982. Computing a probability distribution for the start of rains from a Markov
chain model for precipitation. Journal of applied Meterology 21(3):420-423.
Victor, V.S and Sastry, P.S.N. 1979. Dry spell probability by Markov chain model and its
application to crop development stage Mausam. 30:479-484.
42

J.Res. ANGRAU 37(1&2)43-47, 2009
EFFECT OF THERAPEUTIC FOOD SUPPLEMENTATION ON
SEVERE UNDER NUTRITION
P.YASODA DEVI and VIJAYA KHADER
Department of Foods and Nutrition, PG and Research centre,
Acharya N.G. Ranga Agricultural University, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad - 500 030
ABSTRACT
The effect of single vs. double rations of food supplementation on the nutritional status of Pre-school
children was tested in the rural and tribal Projects of Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) scheme
of Government of India. A wheat based therapeutic food supplement, was fed to 1-3 years children for one
year and its effect on the body weight of children was assessed. The results suggested that weight gain of
children who received double ration of 120 g was significantly higher than those who received single ration of
60 g. Significant improvements were found in 1-2 year old children compared to 2-3 year olds. Improvement
in weight of tribal children was significantly more than in rural children. Within nine months period, 49-100%of
children moved from grade III nutritional status to grade II in different intervention groups.
Under nutrition in the pre school age children is a major public health problem in
developing countries. In India 51% of children, under five years of age are stunted (Black,
2008).The proportion of under weight preschool children is 55%, while that of severe
underweight is 18% in India (National Nutrition Monitoring Bureau rural Survey Report, 2005-
06).There are several socio economic and environmental factors responsible for this situation
.The low food intake is one of the main causes (Das et al., 1988,Simondon et al., 1996 and
Hossan et al., 2005).Hence there is a need to enrich the diet for pre school children.
Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) scheme of India, aims to reduce
severe forms of malnutrition in children of age 6-36 months and there by increase the normal
and grade I children (Ministry of Social Welfare Document, 1982). The Government of Andhra
Pradesh introduced amylase rich therapeutic food supplementation as an intervention in the
ICDS scheme. The use of amylase rich food, obtained by germinating and malting the grain,
have beneficial effects, when administered as a food supplement, since it reduces the
viscosity of food and dietary bulk ( Das et al. 1988).The therapeutic food was formulated
and tested for acceptability on a small scale by the RTE foods factory of government of
Andhra Pradesh, located at Hyderabad. The present study was undertaken to test the effect
of feeding this therapeutic food, single ration of 60 g vs. double ration of 120 g on the growth
status of pre school children and to assess the time required to shift malnourished children
from a higher grade of malnutrition to a lower grade.
Email : palasalayasoda@yahoo.com
43

DEVI and KHADER
MATERIALS AND METHODS
One rural and one tribal Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) project of
Srikakulam district was selected by randomized sampling. From each of the two projects,
one control and another experimental sector were selected at random. All the seven hundred
and twelve children of 1-3 years of both sexes attending anganwadi centers of the selected
ICDS sectors were included as sample for the study.
The Growth status of the children was assessed, measuring the weight on electronic machine,
initially and at regular intervals of 3 months until the end of one year. Children were
divided into different grades of nutritional status using National Center for Health Statistics
standards (WHO, 1983) and Gomez classification (Gomez, 1956).
The food supplement was manufactured and packed carefully in double layered
polythene sacks of 20 kg and delivered to the feeding centers, once a month by the RTE
foods factory, Hyderabad. The composition of the supplement is shown in Table 1.
Table 1. Composition of the therapeutic food supplement
Food stuff
Quantity (g)
Wheat 45.0
Full fat Soya flour 15.0
Hydrogenated fat 15.0
Sugar 25.0
Calcium Carbonate 0.33
Vitamin Premix 0.04
The selected children were divided into four groups depending on the quantity of the
food supplement fed and the location of the feeding centre. The amount of proteins and
calories provided by the daily supplement is shown in Table 2.
The supplement was distributed, in the feeding centers either in the form of ‘laddoo’
made using hot water or in the form of dry powder every day around 11 a.m to the beneficiaries.
The effect of the feeding intervention on the growth status of children at the end of
one year feeding was assessed using Chi Square tests.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Process evaluation conducted during the study period revealed that the feeding
programme was smooth in all the centers without any interruption, as the food was supplied
44

EFFECT OF THERAPEUTIC FOOD SUPPLEMENTATION
Table 2. Intervention groups of the study and nutrient content of the Supplement
Intervention Group Quantity fed(g) Protein(g) Calories(KCals)
T 1
Rural 60 7.5 285
T 1
Tribal 60 7.5 285
T 2
Rural 120 15.2 570
T 2
Tribal 120 15.2 570
regularly. The absence of children from the feeding centre was 3-5%. On the days when the
child could not attend the anganwadi center ,any member of the family collected the supplement
and fed the child at home.
The weight gain of the children at three months interval in different intervention
groups is shown in Table 3.
Table 3. Weight gain (kg) of children at different intervals in intervention groups
Intervention Initial Weight gain (kg) after a period of
Group Weight (kg) 3 rd month 6 th month 9 th month 12 th month
Mean ± SD
Single ration 8.40 ± 1.35 0.44 ± 0.03 0.75±0.03 1.24 ± 0.03 1.45 ± 0.03
Double ration 8.59 ± 1.45 0.45 ± 0.05 0.99 ± 0.06 1.35 ± 0.06 1.95 ± 0.07
P>0.05 P

DEVI and KHADER
Table 4. Percent improvement in grades of nutritional status (weight %) by age, sex
and area of study
Details
% of children improved in weight

EFFECT OF THERAPEUTIC FOOD SUPPLEMENTATION
grade II, while 72% children could improve with double ration. This indicates the need for
double ration for early recovery. Even by the end of one year, only 50% of rural children and
55% of tribal children could improve in their nutritional status due to the supplement of single
ration. But this improvement was 86% and 100% respectively due to the feeding of double
ration. Since the therapeutic food is rich in amylase, it was not bulky. Hence, the children
could easily consume double ration as a supplement to their home diet. This might have
helped to meet their nutrient requirements and to improve their weight and nutritional status.
These results are in confirmation with those reported by John and Das (1988), Simondon
(1996), Herforth and Moussa (2005) and Hossan et. al (2005). The present study indicated
that therapeutic food supplementation is beneficial to reduce malnutrition among preschool
grade III children. They should be fed with double ration of therapeutic food weighing 120 g/
child /day to improve the nutritional status.
REFERENCES
Black, R.E., Landsay, H., Allen, Zulfar, A and Bhutta .2008. Maternal and child undernutrition.
The Lancet., 371:243-257.
Gomez, F., Galvan, R., Frank, S., Carvioto, J., Charej and Vasquez, J. 1956. Mortality in
second and third degree malnutrition. Journal of Tropical Paediatrics, 2:77-83
Das,T., Suneeta Deshpande and Chinnamma John. 1988. Studies on a wheat- based amylase
rich food. Food and Nutrition Bulletin, 10,3.
Herforth, A and Moussa, S. 2005 Food, Nutrients, Child Growth: The role of specific foods
and nutrients in child malnutrition and implications for food assistance programmes.
Food and Nutrition Bulletin. 26(4):397-402.
Hossan, M., Washed, M.A and Ahmed,S. 2005. Increased food intake after the addition of
amylase rich flour to supplementary food for malnourished children in rural communities
of Bangladesh. Food and Nutrition Bulletin. 26(4):323-329
John, C and Gopaldas, T. 1988. Reduction in the dietary bulk of soya-fortified bulgar wheat
gruels with wheat based amylase rich food. Food and Nutrition Bulletin 10(4) : 50-53.
Ministry of Social Welfare, Government of India, New Delhi. July 1982. Document on integrated
child development services scheme (Revised).
National Nutrition Monitoring Bureau Rural Survey Report. 2005-06. Indian Council of Medical
Research, Hyderabad.
Simondon, K.B., Gartner, A., Bergu, J., Cornu, A., Massamba, J.S.M., Misssotte, C I.,
Simodon, F., Traissae, P., Delpench, F and Marie, B. 1996. Efect of early, shortterm
supplementation on weight and linear growth of 4-7 month old infants in developing
countries : a four country randomized trial. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 64
: 537-545.
World Health Organisation, Geneva. 1983. Measuring Change in nutritional status.
47

Research Note
J.Res. ANGRAU 37(1&2)48-50, 2009
EFFECT OF INTEGRATED NITROGEN MANAGEMENT ON NUTRIENT
UPTAKE AND YIELD OF MAIZE (Zea mays. L.)
B. VAJANTHA, K. SREENIVASULU REDDY and M.V.S. NAIDU
Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry,
S.V. Agricultural College, Tirupathi - 517502
The advent of high yielding varieties and increased area under assured irrigation led
to a major shift from organic based nutrient application to chemical fertilizers. Consequently
their excess and imbalanced application led to soil fertility degradation and reduction in
yield. The concept of integrated use of chemical fertilizers and organic manures has emerged
as an effective approach to sustain the yield of crops and soil productivity. Hence, an
investigation was made to study the effect of organic manures and inorganic sources of
nitrogen on nutrient uptake and yield of maize.
The experiment was conducted during rabi 2004-05 at dry land farm, S.V. Agricultural
College, Tirupati. The soil was red sandy loam in texture, neutral in reaction (6.9) and non
saline (0.15 dS m -1 ). It was low in organic carbon (0.48 %) and available nitrogen (214 kg
ha -1 ), medium in available phosphorus (13.25 kg P ha -1 ) and available potassium (205 kg
K ha -1 ). The experiment was laidout in a randomized block design with maize as test crop.
The treatments comprised factorial combination of four levels of 100, 75, 50 and 25 %
substitution of recommended dose of 120 kg ha -1 nitrogen through poultry manure,
vermicompost, farm yard manure and sulfitation pressmud. The N, P 2
O 5
and K 2
O were applied
in the form of urea, single super phosphate and muriate of potash, respectively. The inorganic
nitrogen was applied in three equal splits at basal, 30 and 50 days after sowing.
The entire P and K were applied as basal. Plant samples were collected and analysed
at 25, 50 DAS and at harvest for their nutrient concentration and uptake by following standard
analytical procedures.
The uptake of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium was significantly influenced by
sources, levels as well as their interactions. The highest nitrogen uptake of 36.33, 169 and
260 kg ha -1 at 25, 50 days after sowing and at harvest was observed in poultry manure with
50 % organic nitrogen level treated plants at all stages of crop growth. The addition of poultry
manure might have helped in elongation of root system (Madhavi et al., 1996). The addition
of mineral nitrogen along with organic nitrogen sources perhaps reduced the C : N ratio and
E – Mail: vajantha@gmail.com
48

EFFECT OF INTEGRATED NITROGEN MANAGEMENT
thus increased the rate of decomposition resulting in faster availability of nutrients from
organic sources. The uptake of phosphorus was also highest in poultry manure treated plants
with 50 % organic nitrogen level at all stages of crop growth. This may be due to the reason
that poultry manure improves ramification of roots in search of nutrients leading to increased
uptake of phosphorus. The conjunctive use of organic and inorganic nitrogen sources on
equivalent basis may be attributed to organic acids produced during decomposition of organic
matter which are capable of releasing phosphorus associated with clay minerals. The probable
reason could be the ligand exchange on mineral surface which resulted in more release of
native and applied phosphorus from soil (Gopal Reddy and Suryanarayana Reddy, 1998 and
Sharma and Saxena, 1985). Similarly uptake of potassium was highest in poultry manure
with 50 % organic nitrogen treated plants at all stages of crop growth. The crop removed
35.94, 159 and 212 kg K ha -1 at 25, 50 days after sowing and at harvest, respectively. This
might be attributed to the increased availability of nutrients from the native as well as from
the mineralized organic manures, which increased the concentration of potassium in soil
solution in readily available form for absorption.
The poultry manure with 50 % organic nitrogen resulted in the highest cob yield (5.77
t ha -1 ) of maize. This could be attributed to the improved soil physical and biological conditions
and increased nutrient availability which resulted in improved yields (Kataraki et al., 2004).
REFERENCES
Gopal Reddy, B and Suryanarayana Reddy, M. 1998. Effect of organic manures and nitrogen
levels on soil available nutrient status in maize – soybean cropping system. Journal
of the Indian Society of Soil Science 46(3): 474-476.
Kataraki, N. G., Desel, B. K and Pujari, B. T. 2004. Integrated nutrient management in
irrigated maize. Karnataka Journal of Agricultural Sciences 17(1): 1-4.
Madhavi, B. L., Reddy, M. S and Reddy, B. G. 1996. Effect of poultry manure and fertilizers
on yield and nutrient uptake by maize. Journal of Research APAU 24(1-2): 154-156.
Sharma, J. P and Saxena, S. N. 1985. Utilization of P by maize as influenced by various
sources of organic matter and applied phosphorus. Journal of the Indian Society of
Soil Science 33: 561-567.
49

VAJANTHA et. al
50

Research Note
J.Res. ANGRAU 37(1&2)51-54, 2009
FRUIT YIELD, SOIL PROPERTIES AND AVAILABLE NUTRIENT
STATUS OF YOUNG ACID LIME (Citrus aurantifolia, Swingle.)
ORCHARDS OF NELLORE DISTRICT OF ANDHRA PRADESH
M.A. AARIFF KHAN, G. SWARAJYALAKSHMI and HAMEEDUNNISA BEGUM
AICRP on Agroforestry, Acharya N.G. Ranga Agricultural University,
Hyderabad, A.P - 500030
Acid lime cv. Kagzi lime (Citrus aurantifolia Swingle.) is a popular and remunerative
fruit crop of Nellore district in Andhra Pradesh. Nearly 50 per cent area and production is
confined to this district in the state. The fruits produced in this district have a great demand
in North Indian states due to their superior quality. The productivity of acid lime depends on
many factors such as climate, site, variety, fertilization, irrigation soil management practices,
pests and disease control. Among many factors, adequate supply of nutrients and good
soil physical properties are important in regulating the productivity of fruits. The longevity of
orchards can be maintained by adopting proper measures in accordance with the soil properties
and nutrient status. Therefore, the present study was under taken to determine the nutritional
status and soil properties as well as yield bearing capacity of acid lime orchards.
The survey was conducted in 16 young orchards of < 8 years old during 2000-2001.
They were selected at random in different villages of Nellore district covering similar range of
management practices. In each orchard four pits were dug in four directions i.e. North,
South, East and West. Composite soil samples were collected in May, 2001 at a depth of
0-30 cm. The physico-chemical properties and available nutrient status of soil samples
were analysed by standard procedures following AOAC (1980).
The fruits were picked up 3-4 times from April to June, 2001 depending on the local
market. The weight of fruits was recorded from 25 trees in each orchard. The high and low
yielding capacity of the trees was worked out by adopting the procedure of third quartile
method (Rao, 1983). The yield data was arranged in on ascending order. The third quartile is
3N + 1 = 12.25 th value, The value obtained is the dividing line for identifying 4 high and low
yielding orchard.
Where,
N = number of orchards
12.25 th value = 12 th value + [ 0.25 (13 th – 12 th value) ]
12 th value = 1.44 t ha -1
13 th value 1.52 t ha -1
Email : abdulaariffkhan@yahoo.co.in
51

KHAN et.al
The results showed that 12 orchards were low yielding and 4 were high yielding
based on the dividing yield level of 1.46 t ha -1 (Table 1). Out of 4 high yielding orchards 3 were
under alfisols and one under vertisols. The yield of citrus ranged from 0.81 to 1.44 t ha -1 in
low yielding orchards. High fruit yield of 2.36 t ha -1 was in orchard 1 and 2.24 t ha -1 in orchard
2. Low yield of 0.81 t ha -1 was in orchard 16. The wide variation in yield was due to the
difference in soil physico-chemical properties, available nutrient status and management
practices. In general, the alfisols are relatively more productive for acid lime. They have a
granite gneiss parent material. They are gravel with medium texture, and good drainage.
Hence these soils are more productive than vertisols which are derived from basaltic parent
material. They have heavy texture with less gravel content that favour ill drained condition
(Aariff Khan et al. 2004). Srivastava and Shyam Singh (2001) identified causes for low yield
as improper management and unsuitable soil characteristics such as high pH, free CaCO 3
,
bicarbonate and low organic content.
The high yielding orchards had relatively low pH ranging from 7.43 to 7.84 confirming
that the neutral to slightly alkaline soils support good crop growth of acid lime (Aariff Khan,
2001). The bicarbonate content of these orchards ranged from 110 to 232 mg kg -1 , while
those in low yielding orchards ranged from 192 to 378 mg kg -1 . Large quantities of bicarbonate
content in the soil induce leaf chlorosis is injurious for effective photosynthesis and thereby
reduce the yield. The calcareous soil do not support good crop growth and reduce the yield
(Kharkar, et al. 1991). The free CaCO 3
content of the high yielding orchards was in the range
of 10.1 to 13.2 per cent and those of low yielding orchards it was in the range of 10 to 20 per
cent.
The organic carbon content of the high yielding orchards ranged from 3.4 to 5.2 g kg -
1
in contrast to the low values of 1.2 to 4.3 g kg -1 in low yielding orchards. The bicarbonate
content in the soil ranging from 186 to 232 mg kg -1 and that of free CaCO 3
10.1 to 13.2 per
cent is considered optimum for citrus orchards as this limit do not interfere with the availability
of nutrients (Aariff Khan and Hameedunnisa Begum, 2007). Soils rich in organic carbon
content are in general rich in available N, P, K and S. This trend was amply detected in this
investigation. The soil available N ranged from 157 to 329; P from 9.52 to 17.69; K from
163.4 to 300.9 kg ha -1 and S from 8.0 to 25.0 mg kg -1 .
The investigation revealed that the near neutral pH, relatively low quantity of
bicarbonate and non calcareous soils with high organic carbon content, more quantity of
available N, P, K and S were the major determinants of acid lime production largely in the
alfisols.
52

FRUIT YIELD, SOIL PROPERTIES AND AVAILABLE NUTRIENT
53

KHAN et.al
REFERENCES
Aariff Khan, M.A. 2001. Nutrient status and integrated nutrient management in acid lime
(Citrus aurantifolia. Swingle) orchards grown on red calcareous soils of Nellore district.
Ph.D. Thesis submitted to Acharya. N.G. Ranga Agricultural University. Hyderabad.
Aariff Khan, M.A and Hameedunnisa Begum. 2007. Nutrient status and soil properties of
calcareous soils of young acid lime orchards of Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh.
International Journal of Agricultural Sciences. 3 (1): 254-255.
Aariff Khan, M.A., Hameedunnisa Begum and Swarajyalakshmi, G. 2004. Influence of
components of INM on fruit yield and quality of acid lime in red calcareous soil. Annals
of Agricultural Research. 25 (1): 124-128.
AOAC. 1980. Association of official analytical chemists, Official and Tentative Methods of
Analysis. Washington, D.C.
Kharkar, P.T., Deshmukh, P.P., Bagde, T.P., Zade, K.B and Diware, D.V. 1991. Nutritional
status of healthy and declined orchards of Nagpur mandarin in Vidharba region. Annals
of Plant Physiology. 5 (1) : 24 -29.
Rao, G.N. 1983. Statistics for Agricultural Sciences. Oxford and IBH Publishing Company,
New Delhi.
Srivastava, A.K and Shyam Singh. 2001. Soil properties influencing yield and quality of
Nagpur mandarin (Citrus reticulata Blanco). Journal of Indian Society of Soil Science.
49: 226-249.
54

Research Note
J.Res. ANGRAU 37(1&2)55-57, 2009
INFLUENCE OF LEVEL AND FREQUENCY OF NITROGEN
APPLICATION ON NUTRIENT UPTAKE, YIELD AND
ECONOMICS OF Bt. COTTON HYBRIDS
D. MOHAN DAS and M. GOVIND REDDY
Department of Agronomy, College of Agriculture, Rajendra Nagar, Hyderabad-500030.
The introduction of transgenics in cotton during 2001 in India greatly minimized the
suicidal attempts of farmers from the threat of crop devastation by the bollworms. The Bt.
Cotton is cultivated over an area of 2,70,000 hectares in Adilabad district of Andhra Pradesh.
Hallikeri et al (2004) reported that the Bt. Cotton hybrids produce 78-105% more seed cotton
yield than the non Bt. hybrids. They also reported that these transgenics require only 75% of
the recommended dose of fertilizers by the non Bt. Hybrids. Therefore an attempt was made
to estimate the quantity of nitrogen and its schedule of split application to maximize the
production and profit of Bt. Cotton hybrids in the soils of Adilabad district under rain fed
conditions.
A field experiment was conducted at Agricultural Research Station, Adilabad during
Kharif 2006. The soil was a vertisol with alkaline reaction having 8.5 pH. Its nutritional status
was low in available Nitrogen (232 kg/ha -1 ) medium in available Phosphorus (29.5 kg
P2O5/ha -1 ) and high in available Potassium (371 kg K 2
Oha -1 ). The experiment involved 18
treatments with the combination of three levels of nitrogen, three schedules of its application
and two Bt. genotypes of cotton.
The layout of the experiment was a split plot design; the main plots consisted of a
random allocation of factorial combination of genotypes and level of nitrogen at random. The
subplots consisted of three treatments with frequency of split application of nitrogen. The
gross plot size was 9x9 m. and net plot measured 8.1x8.1m. The spacing 90x90 cm. The
crop was sown on 12-7-2006 and harvested on 22-11-2006.
The Bt. Cotton hybrid Bunny produced significantly more quantity of 2746 kg kapas
and 9466 kg/ha -1 stalks compared to the hybrid RCH-2 which produced 2495 kg kapas and
6241 kg/ha stalks. The superiority of Bunny for higher production was probably due to significant
improvement in uptake of NPK.
Bunny fetched higher gross returns of Rs 60412. The net profit per hectare was Rs
47454 and Rs 3.66 per rupee spent compared to Rs 44932 per hectare and rupees 3.24 per
55

DAS and REDDY
56

INFLUENCE OF LEVEL AND FREQUENCY OF NITROGEN APPLICATION
rupee invested on RCH-2. Patel et al. (2004) also observed that Bunny was more productive
and profitable than RCH-2.
Cotton needed 120 kg N ha -1 to produce significantly more kapas yield of 2760
Kg ha -1 compared to the production of 2283 Kgha -1 obtained by the application of 90 Kgha -1 .
The stalk yield increased with each increment of 30kg N from 92152 Kg ha -1 nitrogen. The
uptake of NP and K was significantly more at 150 kg N/ha compared to the lower levels.
Maximum profit of Rs 48714 per hectare was recorded by the application of 150 kg
N/ha. However for poor farmers application of 120 kg N ha -1 seems to be optimum since the
per rupee net returns were maximized to 3.68 compared to 3.66 by the application of 150 kg
Nha 1 .
The frequency of nitrogen application had a significant impact on the production,
nutrient uptake and profitability of the Bt .Cotton hybrid. The best interval was to apply
nitrogen at 25-55-85 and 115 days after sowing of the crop. It produced significantly larger
quantity of 2615 kg kapas and 8051 kg stalk yield ha 1 while it removed significantly larger
quantity of NPK and there by accrued maximum gross returns and profit per hectare as well
as per rupee returns Brar et al. (2000)) also observed that the split application of 225 kg
nitrogen after sowing was economically sound to obtain more profit per hectare.
REFERENCES
Brar,Z.S. Anupam Singh and Thakar Singh.2000.Response of hybrid cotton to nitrogen and
canopy modification practices. Indian Journal of Agronomy 45(2):395-400.
Hallikeri, H.L. Halemani, S. S., Nandagavi, R .A and Nooli, S. S. 2004 Performance of Bt.
Cotton hybrids at different levels of fertilizers under protective irrigation: International
Symposium on strategies for sustainable cotton production. A global vision held at
University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad 23-26 November 2004 PP. 153-155.
Patel, M. H.,Patel, J.A and Patel, P. G. 2004. Response of newly released Indo-American
cotton hybrids to nitrogen and phosphorus levels. International symposium on strategies
for sustainable cotton production. Aglobal vision held at University of Agricultural
Sciences, Dharwad.23-26 November 2004, pp 23-25.
57

Research Note
J.Res. ANGRAU 37(1&2)58-61, 2008
VARIABILITY STUDIES IN YARD LONG BEAN (Vigna unguiculata
sub sp. sesquipedalis (L.) Verdc.)
MADHU KUMAR. K and D. S. RADHA DEVI
Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics, College of Agriculture, Vellayani,
Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, 695522
The yard long bean(Vigna unguiculata sub sp. sesquipedalis (L.) Verdc. (Syn.
String bean, asparagus bean, sitao and snake bean) is a distinct form of cowpea grown
as a vegetable crop in India, Indonesia, Philippines and Sri Lanka. The traditional
vernaculars viz., achingapayar, kurutholapayar, vanpayar, pathinettumaniyan etc., are
used to refer vegetable cowpea/yard long bean indicates that Kerala is the land of yard
long bean. Crop improvement works in yard long bean are considerably less. Since the
present study aimed at evaluating genetic parameters of 30 yard long bean genotypes for
yield and yield components.
In the present investigation 30 yard long bean genotypes collected from different
agro climatic regions of Kerala including released varieties of Kerala Agricultural University
were evaluated for yield and yield components in Randomized Block Design with three
replications at College of Agriculture, Vellayani during kharif, 2004. The crop was raised
as per the recommendations of Package of Practices of the Kerala Agricultural University.
Observations were recorded on various yield and yield contributing traits viz., days to50
per cent flowering, days to first harvest, length of harvest period, crop duration, primary
branches per plant, main stem length, fresh weight of shoot per plant, dry weight of shoot
per plant, pod clusters per plant, pods per plant, pod yield per plant, pods per cluster, pod
weight, pod length, pod breadth ,seeds per pod, 100-seed weight, crude fibre content,
crude protein content and total phenols and data was subjected to statistical analysis by
adopting analysis of variance (Panse and Sukhatme, 1985). The genetic parameters
viz., phenotypic coefficient of variation (PCV) and genotypic coefficient of variation (GCV)
were estimated. The heritability in broad sense and genetic advance as percentage of
mean were estimated employing the methods suggested by Lush (1949) and Miller et al.
(1958) respectively.
There were significant differences among the 30 genotypes of yard long bean
and high variability was observed for all the characters considered. Existence of high
Email : madhuagrico1998@gmail.com
58

VARIABILITY STUDIES IN YARD LONG BEAN
variability for different characters among yard long bean was earlier reported by Resmi
(1998), Pournami (2000) and Vidya (2000). The genetic parameters viz., phenotypic and
genotypic coefficients of variation, heritability in broad sense and genetic advance as
percentage of mean worked out on yield and yield components in yard long bean are
presented in the table 1. High GCV and PCV were recorded for pod yield per plant followed
by pod clusters per plant, pods per plant, pods per cluster and pod weight indicating high
genetic variability and better scope for improvement through selection. Vidya (2000)
recorded high PCV and GCV for pod yield per plant, pods per cluster and pod weight in
yard long bean. Vineetakumari et al. (2003) reported high GCV and PCV for pod clusters
per plant and pods per plant in cowpea.
Genotypic coefficient of variation along with heritability estimates give better
idea about the amount of genetic advance in the next generation (Burton, 1952). Heritability
estimates were high for all the characters studied except for days to 50 per cent flowering,
days to first harvest, length of harvest period and pod breadth which had moderate
heritability and least for pod breadth. Genetic advance recorded was high for characters,
pod clusters per plant, pods per plant, pod yield per plant, pods per cluster and pod
weight and medium for fresh weight of shoots per plant, dry weight of shoots per plant
and crude fibre content. The characters days to 50 per cent flowering, days to first harvest,
length of harvest period, crop duration, primary branches per plant, main stem length,
pod length, pod breadth, seeds per pod, 100 seed weight, crude fibre content and total
phenols had low genetic advance.
Estimation of GCV alone is not enough to determine the amount of heritable
variation. Heritable variation can be found out with greater degree of accuracy, if the
heritability is coupled with genetic advance (Johnson et al., 1955). Pod clusters per
plant, pods per plant, pod yield per plant, pods per cluster and pod weight had high
heritability coupled with high genetic advance. It indicates the additive gene action
suggesting the possibility of genetic improvement of these characters through selection.
Similar reports have been given by Sawant et al. (1994) for pod clusters per plant
and pods per plant in cowpea. Pournami (2000) observed high heritability coupled with
genetic advance for pods per plant, pod yield per plant and pod weight and Vidya (2000)
for pods per cluster, pods per plant, pod yield per plant and pod weight in yard long bean.
Kutty et al. (2003) observed high heritability coupled with genetic advance for pods per
plant, pod yield per plant and pods per cluster in cowpea.
59

KUMAR and DEVI
60

VARIABILITY STUDIES IN YARD LONG BEAN
High estimates of genotypic coefficient of variation, heritability and genetic
advance recorded for characters pod yield per plant, pod clusters per plant, pods per
plant, pods per cluster and pod weight in the present study reveal that genetic improvement
in these characters can be achieved through selection which indicates that selection for
these traits may lead to an improvement in yield.
REFERENCES
Burton, G.N. 1952. Quantitative inheritance in grasses. Proceedings of 6 th International
Grassland congress. 1: 277-283.
Johnson, H.W., Robinson, H.F and Comstock, R.E. 1955. Estimation of genetical and
environmental variability in soyabeans. Agronomy Journal. 47: 314-318.
Kutty, C.N., Mili, R and Jaikumaran, U. 2003. Correlation and path coefficient analysis in
vegetable cowpea [Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.]. Indian Journal of Horticulture. 60
(3): 257-261.
Lush, J.L. 1949. Animal Breeding Plans. Iowa State University Press, pp.473.
Miller, P.A., Williams, V.C., Robinson, H.P and Comstock, R.E. 1958.Estimation of
genotypic and environmental variances and covariance in upland cotton and their
implication in selection. Agronomy Journal. 5:126-131.
Panse, V. G and Sukhatme, P. V. 1985. Statistical Methods for Agricultural Workers. ICAR,
New Delhi. pp. 356.
Pournami, R.P. 2000. Evaluation of vegetable cowpea (Vigna unguiculata subsp.
Sesquipedalis (L.) Verdcourt.) for legume pod borer, Maruca vitrata (Fab.) resistance
and yield. M.Sc. (Ag.) thesis submitted to Kerala Agricultural University, Thrissur.
Resmi, P.S. 1998. Genetic availability in yard long bean [Vigna sesquipedalis (L.)
Verdcourt]. M.Sc. (Ag.) thesis submitted to Kerala Agricultural University, Thrissur.
Sawant, D.S. 1994. Association and path analysis in cowpea. Ann. agric. Res. 15: 134-
139.
Vidya, C. 2000. Legume pod borer resistance and genetic divergence in domestic
germplasm of yard long bean [Vigna unguiculata ssp. sesquipedalis (L.) Verdc.].
M.Sc. (Ag.) thesis submitted to Kerala Agricultural University, Thrissur.
Vineetakumari, V., Arora, R.N., Singh, J.V., Kumari, V and Singh, N.B. 2003. Variability
and path analysis in grain cowpea. Proceedings of national Symposium- Arid
Legumes, Hisar, India, 15-16 May 2002. pp. 59-62.
61

ABSTRACTS
Abstracts of Theses Accepted for the Award of Post-Graduate and
Doctorate Degrees in the Acharya N.G. Ranga Agricultural University,
Rajendranagar, Hyderabad - 500 030
A Study on Sales Achievement through Customer Management in Palakol Territory
Student: B. Jaya Prakash
Major Advisor: P. Radhika
Department of Agribusiness Management
The project was carried out in Palakol territory of West Godavari District for Rallis India Ltd. This
area is taken as the study area as there is high potential for agri inputs due to extensive cropping area, good
cropping pattern and use of pesticides, fertilizers and seeds.
The project study revealed that most of the customers were experienced not only in pesticides
business but also in fertilizer and seeds business. The dealers have good opinion on farmer’s creditability in
repaying the dues, and the dealers have also expressed that Rallis products enjoy good brand image in the
area of operation.
The dealers were satisfied with brand and quality but not satisfied with the margin price and field
staff. Hence 50% of dealers also stocking other brands.
The dealers appreciated the timely supply of products. The dealers also expressed that the prices
are high, discount rates are low and credit period is also low.
The important suggestions that were given after analysis of the results are that Rallis should
increase the number of field staff and promotional activities. Rallis can also streamline the prices of the
products in accordance with competitor’s products. Rallis can also think about the number of technical field
assistants (T.F.A’s) in Palakol territory.
A Study on Analysis of Best Practices in Cotton and Chilli in Warangal District of
Andhra Pradesh
Student: A. Anitha
Major Advisor: Dr. Seema
Department of Agribusiness Management
The project study was done for the Nagarjuna Fertilizers and Chemicals Limited. The main purpose
of the study is to find out what are the practices that are in use in farming community, specially cotton and chilli
growers. The important findings of the study are, while selecting the seed none of the farmers have taken
advice from the scientists ‘or’ research stations. And there is 100% gap in both cotton and chilli crops. Nearly
33.3% and 40% of the farmers were not aware of soil sampling in cotton and chilli crops respectively. Which
include mostly marginal and small farmers. Reason being that most of the awareness programmes are
oriented more towards large farmers. None of the farmers who have gone for soil analysis didn’t received the
reports in this study area. Nearly 25% of the sampled farmers in cotton crop and 47 % in chilli crop are not
aware of recommended dosages of fertilizers. Nearly 97 % of the farmers in cotton crop and 100 % of the
farmers in chilli crop are not willing to follow the right recommended dosages if suggested. This situation
warrants that the farmers should be educated and made aware of the consequences due to excessive
fertilizer usage in long run.
62

ABSTRACTS
Mapping Profile of Market Participants Trade Practices, Regions and their modus
operandi in commodity futures trade of chilli and devising marketing strategies to
make futures trading in chilli popular on NMCE platform”
Student: Laxminarayana Gajula
Major Advisor: Dr. Seema
Department of Agribusiness Management
National Multi-Commodity Exchange of India Ltd., (NMCE) was promoted by commodity relevant
public institutions.
NMCE is the only Exchange in India to have such investment and technical support from the
commodity relevant institutions. These institutions are represented on the Board of Directors of the Exchange
and also on various committees set up by the Exchange to ensure good corporate governance.
The primary objective of the study was to find out the profile of market participants, trade practices,
regions and their modus-operandi and competitor analysis of the commodity in Chilli Furtures trading and
devising marketing strategies to make future trading popular on N.M.C.E platform in Andhra Pradesh.
India exports around 80 to 100 thousand tonnes of chillies every year whose value comes to around
Rs. 600 crore. India exports chillies in the form of dried chillies, chilly powder, pickled chillies and chilly
oleoresins. Indian chilli is mainly exported to USA, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Middle East and Far East.
The commodity displays high volatility, with the prices heavily dependent on season, production in
different areas, demand from exporters and stocks available at the cold storages.
In chilli trading the market charges of 1% of the sale value paid to the Agricultural Market Committee
by the Commission agent, and a 4% value added tax has to be paid by the buyer of the produce if interstate
transaction has occurred.
The present traders who are participating in chilli futures are very few and confined only to the
Guntur region and none participated in chilli futures from other two chilli growing regions and the type of trading
that is going on mainly is speculation rather than hedging. All the trading is done for only one variety of chilli i.e.,
LCA-334(Pala) a Sannam variety and only on NCDEX platform.
“A Study on distribution channel effectiveness of ice cream market
(Amul and Kwality Walls) in Hyderabad”
Student: L. Ramana Prakash
Major Advisor: Dr. Seema
Department of Agri Business Management
The main purpose of the study is to find out the distribution channel effectiveness of Amul ice creams
and the influence of the company’s offers and schemes for improving their sales. The study also includes the
extent of distributors and retailers satisfaction regarding the service and the profit margins. The important
findings of the study are, most of the retailers of Amul were quite satisfied with its services as they have good
relationship with distributors.Good demand and quality are the major reasons for distributors and retailers for
promoting and opting for brand Amul. Amul stands first announcing special consumer offers and is the major
prime motivation for the retailers preferring the brand. The retailers have problem of product range, replacement
policy and availability of stock (especially in peak season) with regard to Amul ice cream. The distribution
channel is less effective in Amul ice cream during the peak season. Consumers prefer Amul brand because
of special offers and quality of the product as expressed by retailers.
63

ABSTRACTS
Study on Emerging farmers need in Bt I
& Bt II
Post – 2007
Student: N. Nagesh Babu
Major Advisor: Mrs. P. Radhika
Department of Agri Business Management
Cotton, which is the world’s oldest commercial crop and is one of the most important fibre crops in
the global textile industry, is no exception to this phenomenon. In our country an estimated 9 million hectares
is under Cotton cultivation with the production of 242.5 lakh bales in the year 2005-2006 season and a
productivity of 321 kg/ha.
Cotton crop gained importance in agribusiness because India’s Cotton farmers spend about $350
millions or Rs. 1575 crores annually on pesticides and about Rs. 208 crores on seed. In trade India has
exported about 25 lakh bales and has imported 6 lakh bales in 2005-06
The methodology over the three districts of the study viz. Khammam, Nalgonda, Nizamabad was
broadly the same, and the focus of the study is more specifically on the experiences of small farmers. The total
sample size was 150, from 48 randomly selected villages and convenience sampling has been adopted to
select the respondents.
The hybrids in which the Mahyco Company incorporated Bt. gene were not agronomically superior
which is the main reason for low production during the initial years though technology successfully controlled
the bollworm pest. Farmers growing Cotton as a remunerative crop without considering the factors, whether
they are growing on the Suitable soils or not in the other reason for low productivity.
Indiscriminate use of pesticides is putting the farmer in difficult situation. For achieving reduced
reliance on, use of and risk from chemical pesticides ‘whole farm’ approach to pest management, has to be
adopted which simply cannot be provided by substituting a gene altered plant. The path to reduced reliance on
pesticides has to be paved with training farmers in different farm management practices, spraying techniques,
Integrated Pest Management practices etc.
Most of the farmers are unaware of herbicides availability and its usage in Cotton, even if they know;
there are uncertainties about how fast this substitution will happen and in which markets it will happen. This will
hinge largely on farmer economics. In future the herbicides will continue to play an important role in Integrated
Weed Management systems. Chemicals, which are environmentally safer and more selective and applied in
less dosage, are more preferred as they fit well into Integrated Management Programs, on the other side farm
mechanization in India may force Cottton farmer to go for complete mechanical harvest for that induced
defoliation will become a necessary event; chemical companies have to keep an eye on this.
Planting Time and Density Effects on the Productivity of soybean (Glycine max (L.)
Merrill) during post-rainy season.
Student: B. Meena
Major Advisor: Dr. Y. Hanumantha Rao
Department of Agronomy
A field experiment entitled “Planting time and density effects on the productivity of soybean (Glycine
max (L.) Merill) during post-rainy season” was conducted at the Agricultural College Farm, Bapatla during rabi,
2005-06 on clay loam soils.
64

ABSTRACTS
The results revealed that sowing dates, spacings and their interaction significantly influenced the
growth parameters, yield attributes and yield of soybean crop.
Among the five different sowing dates studied, soybean sown early on November 20 showed better
performance in plant height, drymatter production, light interception, leaf area index and more number of days
to maturity than other sowing dates.
The yield attributes (pods plant -1 and test weight), yield (seed and haulm) harvest index and protein
content were also higher with the November 20 sowing date as compared to other sowing dates up to
December 30. All these parameters of soybean decreased considerably due to delay in the sowing time
beyond November 20.
Soybean sown at closer spacing of 30 cm x 5 cm recorded taller plants, more dry matter production,
light interception and leaf area index. Wider spacing of 30 cm x 15 cm took more number of days to mature
than other spacing (30 cm x 5 cm and 30 cm x 10 cm).
Higher number of pods plant -1 was recorder at wider spacing 30 cm x 15 cm with the November 20
sowing date. However, the highest seed yield was recorded with the November 20 sowing date at 30 cm x 10
cm spacing. Dry matter production and haulm yields were the highest with November 20 sowing date at 30 cm
x 5 cm spacing followed by 30 cm x 10 cm spacing.
From the present investigation, it can be inferred that soybean can be grown successfully if sown
early from November 20 to November 30 with a plant spacing of 30 cm x 10 cm during post-rainy season
under Bapatla conditions. A few more years of field testing; however, is necessary before making it as a
general recommendation.
Interventions in nutrient management for rice (Oryza sativa L.) under the System of
Rice Intensification
Student: K. Venkata Vishwanath Major Advisor: Dr. R. Veeraraghavaiah
Department of Agronomy
A field experiment was conducted at the Agricultural College Farm, Bapatla on a sandy clay loam soil
during rabi season of 2005-2006 to study the influence of different interventions in nutrient management for
rice under the SRI.
The differences observed in growth parameters also reflected in yield attributing characters. Effective
tillers per m 2 , filled grains per panicle and test weight were significantly increased with increasing rate of
fertilizer application together with FYM application @ 5 or 10 t ha -1 . The highest filled grains per panicle, lowest
ill-filled grains per panicle, highest filled per m 2
test weight were recorded by the application of 125% RDF for CR either with 5 t or 10 t FYM ha -1. The
differences noticed in yield attributes reflected in grain straw yields.
Quality parameters measured viz., head rice recovery, amylase content, L/B ratio, volume expansion,
grain density, grain protein, Zinc and Iron contents were significantly differed with treatments imposed. Overall,
better quality registered with application of 125% RDF for CR along with 5 t or 10 t FYM ha -1 , while addition of
10 t FYM ha -1 with RDF for better head rice recovery and amylase content than rest of the treatments showing
the positive influence of application of FYM over and above the fertilizer rate recommended on grain quality of
rice.Grain density and L/B ration were found less elastic to changes made in nutrient management.
Overall, the study indicated the need to intervene in nutrient management for rice under the SRI and
application of 125% recommended NPK for conventional rice together with 5 t or 10 t FYM ha -1 , can be followed
for obtained higher yields under the SRI, on sandy clay loam soils of Bapatla region of Andhra Pradesh.
65

ABSTRACTS
Planting density and N P K rate influence on the productivity of rabi rice.
Student: B. Padmanabham
Major Advisor: Dr. G. Subbaiah
Department of Agronomy
An investigation was carried out on sandy clay loam soils of Agricultural College Farm, Bapatla
during rabi 2005 to evaluate the effect of planting density and N P K rates on growth and yield of rice.
The findings of the experiment revealed that the growth parameters viz.,plant height, drymatter
production, tiller number at all the stages of crop growth, days to 50 per cent flowering and days to maturity
were significantly influenced due to planting densities and N P K levels. However, the interaction between
planting densities and N P K rates was found to be non-significant.
Among different planting densities, the highest density of 50 hills m -2 resulted in taller plants and gave
the maximum plant height at 45 days after transplanting and harvest, but plant height at 60 days after
transplanting was comparable with each other.
There was significant improvement in all the growth parameters viz.,plant height, drymatter production
and number of tillers m -2 with increase in N P K rates from 0 to 120-60-60 kg ha -1 . Flowering and maturity were
delayed at higher rates of N P K.
The yield attributes viz., productive tillers, total and filled grains per panicle, test weight, grain and
straw yield, harvest index and nutrient uptake were significantly influenced due to different planting densities
and N P K rates. The highest density of 50 hills m -2 produced the highest number of fields grains per panicle,
grain and straw yields, harvest index and nutrient (N, P and K) uptake at all the stages of crop growth but the
highest number of grains per panicle and test-weight were observed with the lowest density (33 hill m -2 ).
The benefits cost ratio was also influenced due to planting densities and N P K rates. The highest
planting density of 50 hills m -2 resulted in the highest benefit cost ration (1.98). Among N P K rates, the highest
level of 120-60-60 kg N P K ha -1 recorded the maximum benefits cost ration of 1.90 followed by 90-50-45 kg
N P K ha -1 (1.88).
From the present investigation, it can be concluded that under sandy clayloam soils of Bapatla
during rabi season, adopting planting density of 50 hills m -2 and application of N P K at the rate of 120-60-60 kg
ha -1 resulted in the maximum grains ad straw yields and the highest benefits cost ratio.
Rice (Oryza sativa L.) cultivars response to time of potassium application
Student: Basavaraj. M. Yalasangi
Major Advisor: Dr. A. Ravi Kumar
Department of Agronomy
A field experiment was conducted during kharif, 2005 on a sandy clay loam soil of the Agricultural
College Farm, Bapatla of Andhra Pradesh to find out the “Growth, yield attributes and yield of rice cultivars as
influenced by time of potassium application”.
Results of the investigation revealed that the growth parameters such as plant height, drymatter
production, tiller number, days to 50 per cent flowering and maturity were significantly influenced by the
66

ABSTRACTS
cultivars, but not due to time of potassium application and their interaction. Among the different cultivars
Bapatla Sannalu gave the maximum plant height at PI and maturity.
Swarnamukhi and Swarna recorded more number of tillers m -2 at PI and maturity, respectively.
There was no significant improvement in all growth parameters due to times of potassium application.
But application of potassium in three splits (T 3
) exhibited significant influence on the drymatter production at PI
and maturity.
The highest number of productive tiller m -2, number of filled grains panicle -1 , grain yield and harvest
index were recorded with Swarna, while maximum test weight was recorded with Swarnamukhi. On the other
hand the highest panicle weight and straw yield were recorded with Bapatla Sannalu. All the yield attributing
characters and yield showed significant improvement by the application of potassium in three spilts (T 3
) over
entire basal application (T 1
).
Among the cultivars, Swarna proved highly resistant to pest and diseases. Application of potassium
in three spilts (T 3
) exhibits the lowest incidence of pest and diseases over other treatments.
The potassium content and uptake at maturity was significantly influenced by the cultivars and time
of potassium application but not due to their interaction.
Grain quality parameters were significantly superior with Samba Mahasuri compared to that other
cultivars. Significantly improvement in head rice recovery and protein content was noticed in the treatments
receiving potassium in three spilts (T 3
).
Overall, from the present study it can be concluded that Swarna was found to be better that the other cultivars
tried, in terms of yield attributing characters and yield, pest and disease tolerance and K uptake, while grain
quality parameters such as head rice recovery and protein content were significantly superior with Samba
Mahsuri. Application of potassium in three spilts viz., 50% as basal + 25% AT + 25% at PI stages not only
increased the growth parameters, yield attributing characters and yield, but also offered tolerance to pest and
disease in rice crop on a sandy clay loam soils of Bapatla under irrigated conditions during kharif season of
2005.
Productivity and Quality of finger millet [Eleusine coracana (l.) Gaertn.] Cultivars as
affected by nutrient management system
Student: B. Giri Babu
Major Advisor: Dr. M. Martin Luther
Department of Agronomy
An investigation was carried out on sandy soil at the Agricultural College Farm, Bapatla, during rabi
2005 to evaluate the effect of cultivars and nutrient management system on productivity and quality of finger
millet.
Among the cultivars, the growth parameters such as plant height, number of tillers m -2 and drymatter
production were significantly higher with the CV. Ratnagiri compared to those of cultivars Godavari and VMZ
1 at different times of sampling during crop growth. The grain and straw yields were significantly higher with
Ratnagiri and Godavari than CV. VZM1. Whereas harvest index was recorded significantly higher with the cv.
Godavari than that of cultivars Ratnagiri and VZM 1.
Among the nutrient management systems, the nutrient management system with the application of
100 percent RDF plus 3 t FYM ha -1 (Integrated System – II) significantly increased the growth parameters
such as plant height, tiller number and drymatter production over the other nutrient management systems.
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ABSTRACTS
The nutrient management system i.e., Integrated system -I and Inorganic harvest System were
produced comparable grain yield, straw yield and harvest index, which were significantly superior to those of
the Organic System.
Irrespective of nutrient management systems studied, all the cultivars showed similar trend in their
productivity and quality. Over all, the study indicated the need for application of FYM @ 3 t ha -1 in addition to
recommended NPK through fertilizers for increased productivity and quality of finger millet on sandy soils of
Bapatla, Andhra Pradesh.
“Studies on the Effect of pinching at different levels on growth and flowering of
three cultivars of carnation (Dianthus caryophyllus Linn.)”
Student: K. Uma maheshwara Rao
Major Advisor: Dr. K. Chandra Sekhar
Department of Horticulture
The present investigation on “Studies on the effect of pinching at different levels on growth and
flowering of three cultivars of carnation (Dianthus caryophyllus Linn.)” was undertaken at commercial
Floriculture Farm of a farmer at Ibrahimpatnam, Ranga Reddy district, A.P during July 2005 to March 2006.
The experiment was laid out in randomized block design with factorial concept.
Pinching of carnation plants at 20 DAP proved to be superior with regard to all the growth and
flowering characters studied during the experiment period.
Among the cultivars, cv. Domingo has performed superior over other two cultivars i.e., cvs. Angelica
and Goldenboy.
Pinching and without pinching treatments have significantly influenced all the growth and flowering
parameters of carnation plants.
Pinching at 10 cm height has significantly influenced all the growth and flowering parameters of
carnation plants.
Pinching at 10 cm height has significantly influenced lateral length, number of flower stalk, stalk
diameter, flower length, flower diameter and number of flower stalks. Flowering characters like number of
days taken for first flower bud appearance, 50 percent flower bud appearance, for colour break stage and
harvesting of flower stalks was minimum with pinching at 10 cm height.
Number of buds per plant and number of flowers stalks per plant were maximum with pinching at 6 th
node. Lateral lengths, stalk length, diameter of the stalk were maximum with pinching at 3 rd node. Pinching at
4 th node registered less number of days for first bud appearance.
The plants used for experiment IV were pinched at 20 DAP upto 6 th node during the first season.
They were harvested by leaving behind 10 cm shoot and were studied for various growth and flower yield
parameters in three cultivars of carnation during second flush.
During the second flush cv. Domingo performed significantly superior for all the growth and flowering
characters.
During the second flush the treatment combination 20 DAP + pinching at 6thnode leaving a shoot
of10 am recorded maximum number of flower stalk per plant over the first season in all the cultivars studied.
68

ABSTRACTS
Studies on evaluation of yellow cultivars and influenced of staggered planting on
growth, flowering and yield of three cultivars of chrysanthemum (Dendranthema
grandiflora L.)
Student: Peddi Laxmi
Major Advisor: M. Pratap
Department of Horticulture
“Studies on evaluation of yellow cultivars and influenced of staggered planting on growth, flowering
and yield of three cultivars of chrysanthemum (Dendranthena grandiflora L.)” was conducted at Agricultural
Research Institute, Rajedranagar, Hyderabad during 2005-06.
During evaluation studies with seven cultivars positive and significant variations were observed for
growth, flowering and yield. Among the varieties, maximum plant height was observed with Raichur, while the
cultivars Basanthi recorded maximum plant spread, number of branches per plant and maximum number of
sucker per plant.
Days taken for flower bud initiation and full bloom varied with the varieties, Co-1 was early to flower,
comparatively cultivars Raichur was late to flower. However, the other varieties by recording more yield per
plant and plot (2.4 x 1.5 m). The flowers of the variety also hold preference for fresh flowers relatively with
more keeping quality.
Chrysanthemum varieties planted at different planting dates showed significant influence on growth
and yield of flowers. Transplanting of chrysanthemum rooted cutting on 15 th July, the growth parameters of all
the varieties were significantly superior over that of other planting dates. Maximum plant height was observed
with Raichur planting on 15 th July.
The floral characters of the cultivars were also very much influenced by planting dates. The plants
planted on 15 th July had the advantage of being exposed to long days forcing vegetative growth. Thus, the
plants were carried late to attain the flowering stage which fairly influenced the floral characters with maximum
yield of flowers per plants and plot. Early planting was also helpful in enhancing the post harvest keeping
quality of flowers. Among three varieties tested, Raichur planted early on 15 th July recorded more number of
flowers per plant with increased yields. Late plating of this cultivar on 15 th October had a negative response for
initiation of floral primordia even at final harvesting of the flowers of other varieties under trial, planting on the
same date needs further investigation.
Thus, practical and promisable inference could be drawn from the experimentation for selecting
suitable yellow chrysanthemum cultivars. Selecting the varieties like Raichur, Silper and Basanthi hold a
promising preference for the growth and flowering. Further, selecting of c.v. Raichur and transplanting the
plants early on 15 th July was found optimum for attaining highest flower yield under Hyderabad conditions.
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ABSTRACTS
“Effect of Post Harvest treatments on shelf life and quality of Guava
(Psidium guajava L.) c.v. L-49"
Student: Abhishek Roy
Major Advisor: Dr. P. Veeranna Goud
Department of Horticulture
Five sets of experiments were conducted to study the effect of post harvest treatment with chemicals,
growth regulators, different gauges of polythene bag with percentage of ventilation and CFB boxes on the shelf
life of guava fruits cv. Luckow-49 at Department of Horticulture, College of Agriculture, Rajendranagar,
Hyderabad during the year 2005.
The titrable acidity was low in fruits with the post harvest application of chemicals, growth regulators,
different gauges of polythene bag and 1% of ventilation and CFB boxes compared with control.
The total chlorophyll content (mg/100g) in fruits decreased with advance of storage period. The
highest in Ca (NO 3
) 2
at 1% (1.073), kinetin at 50 ppm (0.780), 200 guage polythene bag + 1% ventilation(1.092),
1% Ca(NO 3
) 2
+ 200 gauge polythene bag + 1% ventilation(1.639) and CFB boxes with 1% Ca (NO 3
) 2
+ 200
guage polythene bag with 1% ventilation (1.193) in 9 th day of storage in their respective treatments.
The total, reducing and non reducing sugar (%) content increased upto six days of storage and then
declined. Among the respective treatments the highest total, reducing and non reducing sugar (%) and TSS
(%) recorded in fruits treated with both at Ca (NO 3
) 2
1 and 2%, kinetin at 50 ppm, 200 guage polythene bag +
1% ventilation, 1% Ca (NO 3
) 2
+ 200 guage polythene bag with 1% ventilation and CFB boxes with Ca (NO 3
) 2
+ 200 guage polythene bag with 1% ventilation.
Studies on the Evaluation of Precursor – Inoculum Interactions in Pomegranate
(Punica granatum L.) Orchard Establishement and Induction of Flowering
Student: Bheemireddi Venkateshwarlu
Major Advisor: Dr. Y. Narayana Reddy
Department of Horticulture
In an experiment conducted to study the effect of precursor-inoculum interactions on pomegranate.
In pomegranate plants, planted in the fields, treated at four months after planting with different levels of
methionine alone and in combination with Pseudomonas fluorescens recorded maximum amount of leaf fall
(50%) by 11 DAT compared to no leaf fall in control.
Maximum leaf fall (91.25 per cent), number of flowers (30.00) and minimum period taken for leaf fall
(5.00 days) and period taken for renewed growth (12.00 days) was in the treatment with ethrel 1000 ppm
followed by ethrel 500 ppm treatment (76.25%, 27.25, 6.00 days and 13.00 days respectively). Whereas in
methionine 5.0 ppm and 2.5 ppm in combination with Pseudomonas fluorescens recorded only 50 percent ad
40 per cent leaf fall respectively and period taken for reewed growth was 18 days 19 days respectively. This
indicates the possibility of using methionine in combination with Pseudomonas fluorescens for defoliation and
induction of flowering in pomegranate.
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ABSTRACTS
Effect of chemicals and growth regulators on breaking of seed dormancy and
rooting of cutting in sarpagandha (Rauvolfia serpentine (Linn.) Benth. Ex Kurz)
Student: P. Ponkumar
Major Advisor: Dr. M. Padma
Department of Horticulture
An experiment entitled “Effect of chemicals and growth regulators on breaking of seed dormancy
and rooting of cutting in sarpagandha (Rauvolfia serpentine (Linn.) Benth. Ex Kurz)” was conducted at Herbal
garden, ANGRAU, Hyderabad during the period from June 2005 to February 2006.
In experiment with seed propagation, maximum germination percentage and seedling growth was
recorded by the seeds pre-soaked in GA 3
100ppm solution. Acid scarification for 10 minutes also has
recorded considerably higher percentage of germination and growth. With regard to plant height the seeds
pre-soaked in KNO 3
0.25 per cent and GA 3
150 PPM solution have recorded maximum height. The seeds of
absolute control and pre-soaking in tap water treatments have recorded poor results in different parameters
viz., germination percentage, plant height, time taken to initiate germination, length of tap root fresh weight of
the roots.
The stem cutting responded well to quick dipping in plant regulator solutions. The maximum sprouting
and establishment was recorded with quick dipping of stem cuttings in 3000 ppm of IBM combined with 0 ppm
of NAA solution (i.e. sole 3000 ppm IBM combined with 0 ppm of IBM solution (i.e. sole 4000 ppm of NAA
solution). The stem cuttings quick dipped with solution of high concentration performed poorly when compared
to cuttings dipped with low concentration solutions. There was a drastic decline in sprouting and establishment
of IBM treated stem cuttings when concentration of IBM was increased from 3000 ppm to 5000 ppm.
The root cuttings also responded well to their quick dipping in the plant growth regulator solutions. In
this solution all concentrations of IBM have recorded with maximum establishment and growth.
Studies on critical period of crop weed competition in rainfed groundnut
Student: T. Lavanya
Major Advisor: Dr. G. Prabhakar Reddy
Department of Agronomy
Field experiment entitled “Studies on critical period of crop weed competition in rainfed groundnut”
was carried out during kharif, 2005 at Dryland Farm, S. V. Agricultural College, Tirupathi, Andhra Pradesh.
The density and dry weight of weeds tended to decrease with increasing weed free condition up to
harvest. The lower weed density and dry weight were registered with weed free check.
Growth parameters (viz., plant height, leaf area index and dry matter production), yield attributes
(viz.,number of pegs plant -1 , filled and unfilled pods plant -1 , total number of pods plant -1 ,100 pod weight
and 100 kernel weight) pod and haulm yield, harvest index and nutrient uptake by groundnut crop were
significantly influenced by varying periods of weed free and weed interference conditions.
The highest growth parameters were realized with weed free check where as the lowest growth
parameters were recorded with weedy check. Plant height and LAI were non-significant at 20 DAS. Maximum
dry matter production was noticed with weed free check, which was on par with WFC up to 6 WAS.
As regards the pod yield and haulm yield, increasing trend was noticed with increase in weed free
condition up to harvest. The highest pod yield was registered with weed free check, which was however, on
71

ABSTRACTS
par with WFC up to 6 WAS and WI up to 2 WAS. While the haulm yield was significantly highest with weed free
check.
Significantly disparity with regard to nutrient uptake by groundnut crop was noticed due to varying
periods of weed free and weed interference conditions.
The highest gross returns were realizing with weed free check, which were closely followed by WFC
up to 6 WAS and WI up to 2 WAS, while the net returns were the highest with WFC up to 6 WAS, which were
on par with WI up to 2 WAS and weed free check. WI up to 2 WAS resulted in the highest B:C ratio, which was
comparable with WFC up to 6 WAS. Weedy check resulted in the lowest gross returns, whereas WFC up to
2 WAS resulted in the lowest net returns and B:C ratio.
In conclusion, it can be stated that the most exact critical period of crop weed competition in rainfed
groundnut in alfisols of Southern Agro climatic Zone of Andhra Pradesh was from 3 to 4 WAS.
Performance of rainfed GUAR (Cyamopsis tetragonloba (l.) taub.
Under varied time of sowing
Student: Desam Lakshmi Kalyani
Major Advisor: Dr. P. Maheswara Reddy
Department of Agronomy
Field experiment entitled “Performance of rainfed guar under varied time of sowing” was carried out
during kharif, 2005 at Dryland Farm S.V. Agricultural College, Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh with a view to find out
suitable cultivar and optimum time of sowing for guar in this region.
Different cultivars, time of sowing as well as their interaction significantly influenced the growth
characters, yield attributes, yield and economic returns of guar.
Among different times of sowing, crop sown during second fortnight of July resulted in taller plants,
which were on par with fortnight of July, while the highest leaf area index was recorded with second fortnight
of August.
The cultivars GAUG 9703 sown during fortnight of July resulted in the highest plant height, which
was on par with first fortnight of July while the same cultivar sown during second fortnight of August resulted
in higher leaf area index. The highest dry matter production was observed with GAUG 9703 when sown during
second fortnight of July compared to any other combination.
Sowing during first fortnight of July registered maximum number of cluster plant -1 , number of pods
cluster -1 , number of pods plant -1 , number of seeds pods -1 , pod length and test weight compared to other times
of sowing. All these parameters were at their lowest with second fortnight of August sowing. The highest yield
attributes characters were recorded with RGM 112, which was on par with HG 563, while all of them were the
lowest with GUAG 9703.
The highest seed yield was recorded with RGM 112, which was on par with HG 563, while higher
stalk yield was obtained with GAUG 9703. The crop sown during first fortnight of July resulted in the highest
seed yield and stalk yield, while all of them were at their lowest with second fortnight of August.
The highest gross returns, net returns and benefit cost ratio were realized with RGM 112 sown
during first fortnight of July, which was on par with HG 563 sown during the same time.
In conclusion, the study has revealed that guar cultivars RGM 112 performed well, when sown
during first fortnight of July, which has resulted in higher yield and economic returns.
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ABSTRACTS
Performance of sweet sorghum genotypes under varied planting pattern
Student: B. Prathap
Major Advisor: Dr. G. Krishna Reddy
Department of Agronomy
The field experiment was conducted during kharif, 2005 on sandy loam soils of S. V. Agricultural
College Farm, Tirupati campus of Acharya N. G. Ranga Agricultural University of Andhra Pradesh to study the
“Performance of sweet sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) genotypes under varied planting pattern”.
Growth parameters viz., plant height and dry matter production were higher with the genotypes
ICSV 700 than the other three genotypes. In case of plant height, the planting patterns did not vary at initial
stages of 30 and 60 days after sowing, but at harvest, 30 x 30 cm and 90 x 10 cm performed better and were
comparable to each other. In contrast, the dry matter production, due to the planting patterns varied at all
stages. At 30 days after sowing, 90 x 10 cm and 30 x 30 cm planting patterns were comparable, while at later
two stages (60 days after sowing and at harvest), planting pattern of 90 x 10 cm was superior over the rest.
Among the yield attributes, stalk diameter was maximum with the genotypes RSSV 9 while the fresh
stalk yield, fresh millable green cane yield and juice yield were highest with ICSV 700. Maximum thousand
grain weight and grain yield were obtained with the genotypes SSV 84 and AKSSV 22, which were at par with
each other. Among the planting patterns, maximum and comparable stalk diameter was recorded with 60 x 15
cm, 90 x 10 cm, which was on par with 30 x 30 cm.
Highest ethanol yield was obtained with genotypes ICSV 700 at 24 hours after extraction and AKSSV
22 at 48 hours after extraction and both were at par at both these time intervals. However, at 72 hours after
extraction, the genotypes did not differ significantly. In case of planting patterns, 90 x 10 cm, 30 x 30 cm and
45 x 20 cm proved better at 24, 48 and 72 hours after extraction respectively.
The highest gross returns, net returns and benefit cost ration was recoded with AKSSV 22, which
was on par with genotypes ICSV 700. The planting pattern did not influence the economics.
Interaction effect due to genotypes and planting patterns was found to be significant in case of dry
matter production at 60 days after sowing and at harvest, stalk diameter, fresh stalk yield, ethanol content of
juice at 24, 48 and 72 hours after extraction.
The experimental results revealed that performance of genotypes AKSSV 22 and ICSV 700 under
planting pattern of 90 x 10 cm or 30 x 30 cm were found to be superior over the rest of the treatment
combinations. Hence, it can be recommended.
Integrated nitrogen management for baby corn
Student: K. Arun Kumar
Major Advisor: Dr. G. Karuna Sagar
Department of Agronomy
A field experiment was conducted during rabi, 2005 on sandy loam soils of Tiruputi campus of
Acharya N. G. Ranga Agricultural University, Andhra Pradesh to study integrated nitrogen management for
maximization of yield and quality of baby corn.
Integrated nitrogen management practices significantly influenced the plant growth characters, yield
attribute, yield, quality parameters, economic returns and nitrogen uptake of baby corn as well as the post
harvest soil fertility status.
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ABSTRACTS
All the yield attributes of baby corn viz., number of cobs plant -1 ,cob length and cob weight were found
to be the highest with 100 per cent N through fertilizer (F N 100
), which were comparable with 75 per cent N
through fertilizer + 25 per cent N through poultry manure(F N 75
+ PM N 25
), or sheep manure (F N 75
+ SM N 25
)
or farmyard manure (F N 75
+ FYM N 25
), while all of them were at their lowest with 100 percent N through
farmyard manure (FYM N 100
), which were on par with 100 percent N through sheep manure (SM N 100
) or
poultry manure (PM N 100
) or 25 per cent N through fertilizer + 75 per cent N through farmyard manure (F N 25
+ FYM N 75
) or sheep manure (F N 25
+ SM N 75
) or poultry manure (F N 25
+ PM N 25
)
Supply of 100 per cent N through fertilizer (F N 100
) has resulted in the highest baby corn yield and
green fodder yield, which were, at par with 75 per cent N though fertilizer along with 25 per cent N through
poultry manure (F N 75
+ PM N 25
) or sheep manure (F N 75
+ SM N 25
) or farmyard manure (F N 75
+ FYM N 25
).
Uptake of nitrogen was found to be the highest with 100 per cent N through fertilizer (F N 100
), which
was on par with 75 per cent N fertilizer along with 25 per cent N through poultry manure (F N 75
+ PM N 25
) or
sheep manure (F N 75
+ SM N 25
),or farmyard manure (F N 75
+ FYM N 25
) at all the stages of crop growth.
The highest post harvest soil organic carbon, available nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium status
were recorded with 100 per cent N through farmyard manure (FYM N 100
) or sheep manure (SM N 100
) or poultry
manure (PM N 100
) or 25 per cent N through fertilizer along with 75 per cent N through farmyard manure (F N 25
+ FYM N 75
) or sheep manure (F N 25
+ SM N 75
) or poultry manure (F N 25
+ PM N 75
).
The highest gross returns, net returns and benefit cost ratio were recorded with 100 percent N
through fertilizer (F N 100
), which were however comparable with 75 per cent N through fertilizer + 52 per cent
N through poultry manure (F N 75
+ PM N 25
) or sheep manure (F N 75
+ SM N 25
) or farmyard manure (F N 75
+ FYM
N 25
), while all of them were at their lowest with 100 per cent N through farmyard manure (FYM N 100
), which were
on par with 100 per cent N through sheep manure (SM N 100
) on poultry manure (PM N 100
) and 25 per cent N
through fertilizer + 75 per cent N through farmyard manure (F N 25
+ FYM N 75
) or sheep manure (F N 25
+ SM N 75
)
poultry manure (F N 25
+ PM N 75
).
In conclusion, the study has revealed that through higher yield of baby corn with high remunerative
returns could be produced with 100 per cent recommended dose of fertilizer nitrogen, equally high yield and
economic returns with slightly better quality of baby corns as well as green fodder can be produced with 25 per
cent substitution of recommended nitrogen through organic sources like poultry manure of sheep manure of
farmyard manure (which ever is available in abundance in the locality).
Optimum of planting Pattern and nutrient management practices
for tropical sugarbeet
Student: B. Balakrishna Babu
Major Advisor: Dr. D. Srinivasulu Reddy
Department of Agronomy
A field experiment was conducted during rabi, 2005 on sandy loam soils of Agricultural Research
Station, Perumallapalle (Acharya N. G. Ranga Agricultural University), Andhra Pradesh, to find the optimum
planting pattern and nutrient levels for realizing reasonable productivity of tropical sugarbeet with remunerative
economic returns.
Planting patterns and nutrient levels as well as their interaction effect have exerted significant
influence on all the growth parameters, all the yield attributes, tuber yield, tops, sugar yield, juice quality
parameters (total soluble solids, sucrose content and purity), nutrient uptake (N, P and K), economics (gross
returns, net returns and benefit cost ratio) of sugarbeet as well
as the post harvest soil nutrient (N, P2O5 and K2o) status.
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ABSTRACTS
Planting patterns of 60 x 20 cm resulted in the highest number of leaves plant-1, while the lowest
number of leaves plant-1 was produced with 40 x 20 cm.
Application of 140:70:70 kg ha-1, N, P 2
O 5
and K 2
O resulted in the highest number of leaves plant-1,
largest LAI, highest accumulation of total dry matter in the whole plant as well as in the tuber and tops, while all
the above mentioned growth parameters were at their lowest, all the crops growth stages of observation.
The planting pattern of 40 x 40 cm produced the lengthiest, while the shortest tubers resulted with 60
x 20 cm.
Regarding the interaction effect, the lengthiest tubers were observed with the planting pattern of 40
x 20 cm in combination with 140:70:70 kg ha -1 , N, P 2
O 5
and K 2
O, while the tubers of largest girth and highest
mean weight were produced with the combination of the planting pattern of 60 x 20 cm and nutrient level of
140:70:70 kg ha -1 , N, P 2
O 5
and K 2
O, which were comparable with 120:60:60 kg ha -1 , N, P 2
O 5
and K 2
O.
Tuber yield and sugar yield of sugarbeet were the highest with the planting pattern of 50 x 20 cm
and the lowest with 60 x 20 cm, while the top yield was highest with the planting pattern of 40 x 20 cm and the
lowest with 60 x 20 cm.
Regarding the interaction effect, the highest tuber yield was recorded with planting pattern of 50 x 20
cm along with 140:70:70 kg ha-1, N, P 2
O 5
and K 2
O, which was comparable with 120:60:60 kg ha -1 , N, P 2
O 5
and
K 2
O with the same planting pattern and the lowest tuber yield was registered with the planting pattern of 60 x
20 cm in combination with 80:40:40 kg ha-1, N, P 2
O 5
and K 2
O.
Quality parameters of sugarbeet juice such as TSS, sucrose content and purity were at their best
with the planting pattern of 40 x 20 cm, while all of them were found to be the lowest with the planting pattern
of 60 x 20 cm.
The highest nitrogen and phosphorus uptake was registered with the planting pattern of 40 x 20 cm,
while their uptake was the lowest with the plating pattern of 60 x 20 cm.
Potassium uptake was the highest with the planting pattern of 60 x 20 cm and it was the lowest with
the planting pattern of 40 x 20 cm.
The highest gross returns, net returns and benefit cost ratio were obtained with the planting pattern
of 50 x 20 cm in combination with 140:70:70 kg ha -1 , N, P 2
O 5
and K 2
O, which were however, comparable with
120:60:60 kg ha -1 , N, P 2
O 5
and K 2
O with the same planting pattern, while they were found the lowest with
combination of 60 x 20 cm along with 80:40:40kg
ha -1 , N, P 2
O 5
and K 2
O.
The highest post harvest soil available nitrogen and phosphorus was recorded with the planting
pattern of 60 x 20 cm along with 140:70:70 kg ha -1 , N, P 2
O 5
and K 2
O, while their status was the lowest with the
combination of 40 x 20 cm with 80:40:40 kg ha -1 , N, P 2
O 5
and K 2
O. The highest post harvest soil available
potassium was recorded with the combination of 40 x 20 cm with 140:70:70 kg ha -1 , N, P 2
O 5
and K 2
O and it
was found the lowest with 60 x 20 cm and 80:40:40 kg ha -1 , N, P 2
O 5
and K 2
O.
In conclusion, the study has revealed that sugarbeet crop could be successfully raised in the
present domain of study, with higher productivity and quality as well as remunerative economic returns, with
the combination of planting pattern of 50 x 20 cm along with nutrient level of 120:60:60 kg ha -1 , N, P 2
O 5
and
K 2
O.
75

ABSTRACTS
“Value Addition to tamarind”
Student: Kiran Mai. E
Major Advisor: Dr. K. Uma Maheswari
Department of Food and Nutrition
A study was conducted in the Department of Foods & Nutrition, Post Graduate and Research
Centre, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad to evaluate the physicochemical and sensory quality characteristic and
storage stability of products prepared with tamarind by blending with mango pulp.
No significant changes were observed with regards to moisture, total soluble solids and acidity of
jam, squash, candy and toffee after three months of storage period. Reducing sugar content in all products
increased significantly. However, total sugars decreased non-significantly in all the products after three
months storage.
Products stored were accepted till months of storage. However, a slight decrease through not
significant in sensory scores was observed. The microbial growth was also negligible in all the products after
three months of storage period.
Profit estimated for 1kg of the tamarind products was Rs. 123 for candy Rs. 57.00 for toffee, Rs.
25.00 for jam and Rs. 25.00 for squash when compared with locally available products.
Thus, it was found that the prepared tamarind products can be well stored for three months without
any deterioration in quality.
Hence, it can be concluded that blending with mango pulp can bring value addition to tamarind to
tamarind products.
“Utilization of Buttermilk powder and Soyabean products
for the manufacture of Ice-cream”
Student: G. Pradeep
Major Advisor: Dr. Kamini Devi
Department of Food and Nutrition
Ice cream, a most palatable and nourishing food which was one considered to be a sophisticated
item is becoming more and more popular among all sections of the people in recent times. The popularity and
higher consumption of ice cream could be attributed to its refreshing, cool and delightfully sweet characteristics.
Frozen dairy desserts contain relatively high amount of SFA and cholesterol. Partial substitution oils
(high in unsaturated fatty acids) for milk fat would reduce the incidence of coronary heart disease. Soya oil has
been tested and it would meet the requirement.
Keeping these health and economic benefits in view, a study was carried to develop and evaluate
the acceptability and nutrient profile of frozen desert by substitution of skin milk powder (SMP) with soya
protein isolate (SPI) and buttermilk powder (BMP) at 1.1:1, 1.3:1, 1.5:1 and 2:1 and partial substitution of milk
fat with soya oil at 25, 50, 75 percent levels. The development ice cream frozen desserts were stored in HDPE
cups at -8 0 C for a period of 30 days. The products were analyzed for sensory characteristics, nutrient profile
and microbial load.
Substitution of SMP with SPI and BMP increased the protein content of frozen desserts from 4.85 to
6.52 percent.
76

ABSTRACTS
After storage for 30 days there was a significant difference in the sensory attributes i.e. taste and
flavor however there was no significant difference observed in appearance, texture and overall acceptability
of the product at 5 per cent level of significance.
After storing the products for 30 days the sample were tested for microbial quality for SPC and PCT.
SPC was under safe limit as per BIS standards i.e. below 200000/ml and PCT was negative for all the samples.
SMP substituted with 1.1:1 SPI and BMP and partial substitution of milk fat with 25 percent soya fat
was most acceptable.
Production of wine from mango (Mangifera Indica L.)
varieties using different yeast strains.
Student: Beera Vimala
Major Advisor: Dr. K. Malla Reddy
Department of Food and Nutrition
An experiment was conducted to study the recovery and its quality from different mango cultivars
using different strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae at the Department of Horticulture, Department of Agriculture
Microbiology & Bioenergy, College of Agriculture and at Post Graduate and Research Centre, College of
Home Science, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad.
The study revealed that the TSS and total sugars reduced significantly upon fermentation into
alcohol in different varieties of mango with different strains. Between the two yeast strains,
Saccharomyces cerevisiae MTCC 172was found more efficient in producing higher quantity of wine from
different varieties of mango compared to Saccharomyces cerevisiae AM 113. The treatment combinations cv.
Totapari + Saccharomyces cerevisiae AM 113 recorded the lowest alcohol content (12.6%) followed by cv.
Mallik (12.13%), cv. Manjeera (11.53%), cv. Suvarnarekha (11.46%) and cv. Cherukurasam (10.33%).
The titrable acidity and tannin contents in wines increased upon fermentation of yeast and ranged
from 0.62 to 0.67 % and 0.01 – 0.02% respectively 90 days after storage. Upon storage to 90 days, the quality
of the wines improved with the decrease in TSS, total sugars, P H and total carotenoids.
The sensory analysis revealed that cv. Baneshan recorded maximum score (15.6) followed by cvs.
Suvarnarekha (14.8), Manjeera (13.6), Mallika (13.2), Totapari (12.8) and Cherukurasam (12.8) with
Sachharomyces cerevisiae MTCC 172 90 days after storage.
Higher recovery of wine was recorded in cv. Baneshan (3.14 L) followed by cv. Manjeera (2.78L),
cv.Mallika (2.73 L), cv Suvarnarekha (2.59L), cv. Cherukurasam (2.08 L) and cv. Totapari (1.83 L) of 5.0 kg
fruits employed in such variety.
The study revealed that among the mango varieties, Baneshan followed by Suvarnarekha, Manjeera,
Mallika and Totapari can be used with Sachharomyces cerevisiae MTCC 172 for production of quality wine.
77

ABSTRACTS
“Development of Value added Mango and Papaya Toffees”
Student: Sajjan Kumar
Major Advisor: Dr. K. Lakshmi Devi
Department of Food and Nutrition
The present study was aimed to develop value added mango, papaya & blend (50:50) toffees by
incorporating various protein rich sources like Defatted Soya Flour (DSF), Soya Protein Isolate (SPI) and
Whey Protein Concentrate (WPC) at 5%, 10% & 15% levels respectively by replacing Skimmed Milk Powder
(SMP) in the control toffees.
The most acceptable level of incorporation was evaluated using sensory evaluation at 5-point
hedonic scale.
The results of sensory and objective evaluation revealed that 10% level of incorporation of protein
sources was well accepted. The acceptable toffees were packed individually in butter paper followed by twist
wrapping with metalized LDPE and stored in 150-guage polythene pouches at ambient conditions for a period
of 90 days. The stored toffees were evaluated for moisture content, sensory and microbiological quality
parameters at intervals of 0, 30 60 and 90 days of storage.
The nutritional evaluation results revealed that replacement of SMP in control toffees with different
protein sources viz. DSF, SPI & WPC increased the protein content of experimental toffees significantly. The
protein content of DSF incorporated toffees increased 1.2 times (20%), WPC incorporated toffees 1.5 times
(50%) and SPI incorporated toffees 1.75 times (75%) with respect to their control toffees respectively. The
cost of value added toffees ranged from 41.50 to 58.50 rupees per kilogram.
There was a slight increase in moisture content of mango, papaya and its blend toffees during
storage. However, increased moisture content was less than the limit prescribed in BIS standards of toffees.
There was no microbial count observed initially in all the fruit toffees. However, it increased during
the storage period but was found to be within safe limits for human consumption.
From the present study, it can be inferred that upto 10% levels of DSF, SPI & WPC can be
incorporated in the fruit toffees to improve the quality of protein. Hence, these value added toffees can be
explored for commercialization to satisfy the organoleptic and nutritional needs of growing children.
“Value added products using foxtail millet “(Setaria italic)”
Student: Priyanka Prabhakar
Major Advisor: Dr. P. Rajyalakshmi
Department of Foods Science & Technology
Eight traditional convenience foods namely Idly mix (IM), Dhokla mix (DM), Pancake mix (PM),
Upma mix (UM), Chakli mix (CM), Vada mix (VD), Payasam mix (PaM) and Noodles (N) were prepared by
incorporated of raw/popped FM flour or semolina substituting the main ingredient (cereal/ legume) in the
control receipt and by dry blending of all ingrediants.
To assess the storage stability of the selected convenience mix and noodles, estimation of chemical
(Moisture, Alcoholic acidity and Free fatty acid), microbiological (Total Plate Count) and sensory quality
parameters was carried out at monthly intervals for a period of three months. Results indicated that there was
a gradual but significant (p

ABSTRACTS
showed a decreasing trend) from initial to 90 days storage. However, all the products were found to be
acceptable at the end of 90 days storage period and the mixes and noodles were found to be within safe limits
with respect to microbiological quality.
The present study emphasized the feasibility of developing and popularization of various traditional
convenience foods incorporating Foxtail millet, which shows a wide scope for commercial exploitation as
value added nutritive health foods to meet the challenges of the fast growing industry.
Effect of maize and soya based breakfast products on
Glycaemic response in NIDDM subjects
Student: Susritha Sahu
Major Advisor: Dr. M. Usha Rani
Department of Foods and Nutrition
Diabetes Mellitus is a metabolic disorder with many potential complications over the long term. It is
always preferable to modify the diet based on the individuals life style considering the traditional eating
patterns and food habits. Hence two commonly consumed breakfast products namely dosa and roti were
selected for the present study. The products were substituted with maize and defatted soya flour in order to
determine the glyaemic response to these items.
The products made with different properties of maize and defatted soya flour were subjected to
organoleptic evaluation along with the control product for better case of assessment.
The effect of these breakfast products on glycaemic response was studied in six non-insulin
dependent diabetic men. All the breakfast products were planned to be isocaloric and contained almost same
amounts of carbohydrate. An oral glucose tolerance test was conducted for all the subjects using 75g glucose
load.
Results obtained indicate that least glycaemic response was observed with roti-R4 (0.66) followed
by R3 (0.69), D2 (0.72), D1 (0.74), CR (0.76) and CD (0.81). Similar trend was also observed for break rise
over fasting levels and the area under curve. Thus the inclusion of maize and soya based breakfast products
may be recommended to the habitual diet for achieving a good glucaemic control in diabetics.
Eco-friendly Finishing of Bamboo and Bamboo Blended Fabrics
Student: G. Mahesh
Major Advisor: Dr. (Mrs.) Sharada Devi
Department of Apparel and Textile
The present study was undertaken to assess the performance characteristics of the enzyme
treated bamboo and its blend at two different concentrations (1% and 2%) with cellulose enzyme Biosofy L+.
After enzyme treatment the rest fabrics were dyed with two natural sources of pomegranate rind and flame of
forest. The standard extraction and dyeing conditions of the selected dyes were adopted from the research
work of scientists of AICRP –CT on Home science ICAR (1999).
The selected fabrics were subjected to various laboratory tests to evaluate the geometrical, handle,
comfort and mechanical, antimicrobial and colourfastness properties of the fabrics. The standard BIS and
AATCC procedures were followed for the above.

ABSTRACTS
The yarn count of the fabric was increased from control to treatment for bamboo cotton blends
(50:50). The fabric count and fabric weight were also increased due to the treatment.
The mechanical properties of the fabric were decreased with increased enzyme concentrations.
The fabric extended higher after the treatment. The shear rigidity was decreased and formability was increased
with the both concentrations.
The tensile, tear and bursting strength and resistance were decreased confirming the changes in
the molecular structure and arrangement. The pilling was decreased enhancing the aesthetics.
The colour strength and L*, a*, b* values of naturally dyed fabrics were increased after treatment,
indicating the positive impact of the treatment on dyeability of the fabrics. The colour fastness of the fabric was
good in the treatment than the control.
The subjective evaluation on aesthetic qualities of fabrics revealed that treated fabrics receive high
ranking than the untreated fabrics.
Overall with enzyme treatment of bamboo and bamboo blended textiles improved on several important
properties such as surface smoothness, handle property, formability and dyeability necessary for enhancing
their suitability to apparels.
Attachment Styles and Emotional Intelligence of Adolescents
Student: Ipsita Mohanty
Major Advisor: Dr. (Mrs.) L. Uma Devi
Department Human Development and Family Studies
The present study, an attempt was made to find out the perception of adolescents about different
attachment style and their intelligent levels. It also examined the relationship between the attachment style and
emotional intelligence, as well as the demographic variables and the emotional intelligence of adolescents of
three different attachment styles.
The attachment scale developed by Hazen and Shaver (1987) was used to elicit information regarding
attachment style perceived by the adolescents. Emotional intelligence inventory development by Uma
Devi(2003) was used to find out the emotional intelligence of adolescents. The sample comprised of 180
adolescents with equal with number of boys and girls age range of 16-18 years studying intermediate from the
twin cities: Hyderabad and Secunderabad. The data collected were subjected to correlation co-efficient,
analysis of variance (‘f’ ratios), means and standard deviations. Part of the data were presented in frequencies
and percentages.
Majority of the adolescents perceived secure attachment style followed by anxious ambivalent and
avoidantly attached fell under above average, average and below average categories of emotional intelligence
respectively.
Findings of the present study help us to understand the influence of attachment style on the emotional
intelligence of adolescents. It can create awareness among parents, educators and counselors and help them
to have a closer look at attachment styles and emotional intelligence and its role in making an individual
successful.

CONTENTS
PART I : PLANT SCIENCE
Evaluation of system of rice (Oryza sativa l.) intensification (SRI) in irrigated 1
agro-ecosystem of Punjab
GULSHAN MAHAJAN and P.S. SARAO
A novel method of microtitration and rapid extraction of (-) hydroxycitric acid 7
for identification of elite chemotypes of Garcinia cambogia (gaertn.) desr. (Clusiaceae)
CHANDU VIJAY and PARVATHI CHARY
Effect of planting geometry and nitrogen levels on growth and yield of sorghum 14
(Sorghum bicolor (l.) Moench)
M.YAKADRI and V.MURALI
Leaf active iron, sap pH, total chlorophyll content and leaf chlorosis as influenced 18
by nutrient management for acid lime (Citrus aurantifolia swingle) in calcareous soils
M.A. AARIFF KHAN, G. SWARAJYA LAKSHMI and HAMEEDUNNISA BEGUM
Genetic analysis for quality traits in large seeded groundnut(Arachis hypogeae l) 26
genotypes
P. SUMATHI and V. MURALIDHARAN
Productivity of pearlmillet (Pennisetum glaucum (l.) r. Br.) as influenced by 34
planting pattern and nitrogen levels during summer
M.YAKADRI and A. PRATAP KUMAR REDDY
Dry spell probability by Markov chain and its application to cotton 38
(Gossypium hirsutum l.) cultivation in Warangal
P. RAGHU RAMI REDDY and SHAIK MOHAMMAD
PART II : HOME SCEIENCE
Effect of therapeutic food supplementation on Severe under nutrition 43
P.YASODA DEVI and VIJAYA KHADER
PART III : RESEARCH NOTES
Effect of integrated nitrogen management on nutrient uptake and yield of maize 48
(Zea mays L.)
B. VAJANTHA, K. SREENIVASULU REDDY and M.V.S. NAIDU
Fruit yield, soil properties and available nutrient status of young acid lime 51
(Citrus aurantifolia swingle.) orchards of Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh
M.A. AARIFF KHAN, G. SWARAJYALAKSHMI and HAMEEDUNNISA BEGUM
Influence of level and frequency of nitrogen application on nutrient uptake, 55
yield and economics of Bt. cotton hybrids
D. MOHAN DAS and M. GOVIND REDDY
Variability studies in Yard long bean (Vigna unguiculata sub sp. sesquipedalis 58
(l.) verdc.)
MADHU KUMAR. K and D. S. RADHA DEVI
Abstracts 62

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Journals and Bulletins
Abdul Salam, M and Mazrooe, S.A. 2007. Water requirement of maize (Zea mays L.) as
influenced by planting dates in Kuwait. Journal of Agrometeorology. 9 (1) : 34-41

Hu, J., Yue, B and Vick, B.A. 2007. Integration of trap makers onto a sunflower SSR
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30 (46) :25-36.
Books
AOAC. 1990. Official methods of analysis. Association of official analytical chemists.
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pp. 298-305
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Ibrahim, F. 2007. Genetic variability for resistance to sorghum aphid (Melanaphis sacchari,
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Bind, M and Howden, M. 2004. Challenges and opportunities for cropping systems in a
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(www.cropscience 2004.com 03-11-2004)
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