agrotechniques

J.Res. ANGRAU 36(4)1-4, 2008
STUDIES ON GROWTH PERFORMANCE OF JATROPHA ( Jatropha
curcas L.) UNDER PRUNING AND SOURCES OF NUTRIENTS
K. MURALI KRISHNA, G.NEERAJA PRABHAKAR, M.V.R. SUBRAHMANYAM
and A. SIVA SANKAR
Department of Forestry, College of Agriculture, ANGRAU
Rajendranagar, Hyderabad- 500 030
ABSTRACT
A field experiment was initiated during the year 2004 on Alfisols at students’ farm, College of Agriculture,
Rajendranagar, Hyderabad to study influence of different sources of nutrients applied to pruned and unpruned
Jatropha on its growth for three years from 2005 to 2007.The results showed that the plant height and stem
girth of unpruned Jatropha increased significantly in the years by the application of 5 kg FYM per plant
compared to control. The plant height of pruned Jatropha was not influenced by this organic source of
nutrients, while stem girth improved significantly only in the third year. The application of 46:50:25 kg ha -1 NPK
significantly increased the plant height and number of branches per plant of the pruned Jatropha compared to
the organic source of nutrient supply in the third year. The response of unpruned crop to fertilizer application
was of a higher magnitude. The integrated supply of nutrients by the application of 46:50:25 kg ha -1 NPK and
5 kg FYM per plant to the unpruned crop was the best. It maximized the plant height, number of branches per
plant and the stem girth in the three years consistently.
Jatropha (Greek: Jatros – doctor, trophe: nutrition), referring to its medicinal use
belongs to the family Euphorbiaceae. It is well adapted for cultivation with in the vast areas
of marginal and degraded lands in semiarid and arid tropics. Jatropha helps in increasing
rural economy and self sustainability for agro industries (Openshawm,2000). Presently
production of jatropha is constrained by non availability of quality planting material and agrotechniques.
Hence, the present investigation was initiated to suggest appropriate agrotechniques
for improvement of growth and productivity in dry lands.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
The field investigation was initiated during the year 2004 on Alfisols at students’farm,
College of Agriculture, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad. The pits dug in the month of April 2004,
were filled with 2 parts of soil, 1 part of FYM and 100 g of DAP. Two month old Jatropha
seedlings raised in polybags were planted at 3 x 3 m spacing in the pits of 30 x 30 x 45 cm
in June 2004. There were 7 treatments in 3 replications. The layout was a randomized block
design. The treatments involved combination of 2 methods of managing the seedlings –
pruned and unpruned and 3 techniques of nutrient management i.e. FYM @ 5 kg / plant,
NPK @ 46:50:25 kg ha -1 and one control without pruning and no external input of nutrients.
e-mail : kmurali73@yahoo.com
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KRISHNA et.al.
The pruning treatment was done 30 cm above the ground level after one year of planting. The
requisite quantity of FYM and FYM + NPK as per the treatments were applied both to pruned
and unpruned plants every year from 2005 to 2007.The growth characters were recorded one
year after plantation from 2005 onwards. It was observed that fruit setting was not initiated
during the third year after plantation.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The results showed that the application of 5 kg FYM per plant to the unpruned
Jatropha significantly increased the plant height compared to control consistently in the
three years. The number of branches per plant and stem girth improved significantly only in
the third year. The role of organic manures in improving the aggregation of soil particles with
more pore space and better aeration as well as higher uptake of nutrients by the crop was
emphasized by Hegde (1998). The inorganic fertilizer application
@ 46:50:25 kg ha -1 NPK significantly increased the plant height of unpruned Jatropha compared
to the organic manuring through FYM @ 5 kg per plant only in the third year. But, the
unpruned crop responded to grow significantly tall due to inorganic fertilizer application in 2
out of 3 years compared to the organic manuring. The number of branches per plant and
stem girth also increased significantly due to the inorganic source of nutrients consistently
in three years. The integrated nutrient supply through the application of 46:50:25 kg ha -1 NPK
and 5 kg FYM per plant to the pruned Jatropha did not increase the plant height significantly
compared to the effect of inorganic fertilizer application in any of the three years. However,
the number of branches per plant increased significantly in three and stem girth in two years
due to the conjunctive use of nutrients. The unpruned Jatropha was highly responsive to the
nutrient management treatments. The crop attained maximum plant height, produced more
number of branches per plant and attained larger girth by the integrated nutrient management
treatments, which were significantly superior to the fertilized crop. The conjunctive use of
organic and inorganic sources of nitrogen might have increased physical condition of the soil
with subsequent increase in the availability of nutrients due to improved microbial activity
leading to better plant growth. (Dhoble, 1998, Sugarve et al., 1998 and Jayabal et al., 2000).
The results indicated that the growth of Jatropha can be best improved without
pruning and nutrient management by the application of 46:50:25 kg ha -1 NPK along with 5 kg
FYM per plant during the initial three years of its plantation.
2

STUDIES ON GROWTH PERFORMANCE OF JATROPHA
Table 2. Effect of integrated nutrient management on chemical properties of soil in sorghum- wheat
cropping sequence
Treat.
No.
Treatment Initial value
(1999-2000)
Kharif Rabi pH EC
Organic
dS m -1 carbon
(%)
After harvest of sorghum After harvest of wheat
pH EC Organic
dS m -1 carbon
(%)
pH EC Organic
dS m -1 carbon
(%)
T1 Control control 8.2 0.26 0.37 8.2 0.26 0.40 8.2 0.25 0.39
T2 50% RDF* 100%RDF* 8.1 0.25 0.45 8.1 0.30 0.46 8.2 0.26 0.46
T3 75% RDF 75%RDF 8.2 0.25 0.50 8.0 0.28 0.52 8.3 0.24 0.53
T4 100%RDF 100%RDF 8.2 0.26 0.53 8.1 0.30 0.56 8.2 0.25 0.55
T5 50% RDF
+50% N
(FYM)*
100%RDF 8.1 0.25 0.73 8.0 0.32 0.74 8.1 0.26 0.73
T6 75%RDF
+25% N (FYM)
75%RDF 8.1 0.23 0.71 8.1 0.30 0.70 8.1 0.28 0.74
T7 50% RDF
+50% N (WS)*
100%RDF 8.2 0.25 0.71 8.0 0.34 0.70 8.2 0.30 0.69
T8 75%RDF
+25% N (WS)
75%RDF 8.1 0.25 0.68 8.1 0.32 0.68 8.1 0.24 0.68
T9 50% RDF
+50% N
(GLM)*
100%RDF 8.2 0.24 0.69 8.1 0.32 0.68 8.1 0.24 0.70
T10 75%RDF
+25% N
(GLM)
75%RDF 8.1 0.23 0.65 8.1 0.30 0.64 8.2 0.26 0.67
SE ± 0.07 0.02 0.01 0.06 0.02 0.03 0.11 0.11 0.01
CD at 5% NS NS 0.02 NS 0.04 0.05 NS 0.022 0.03
* RDF - Recommended dose of fertilisers WS - Wheat straw
GLM - Glyricidia leaf manure FYM - Farm Yard Manure
3

KRISHNA et.al
REFERENCES
Dhoble, M.V. 1998. Response of sunflower hybrids to nitrogen and phosphorus in rainfed
conditions. Indian Journal of Agro foresty 43 (1): 138-141
Hegde, D.M. 1998. Integrated nutrient management for production and sustainability of oil
seeds, a review. Journal of Oil Seeds Research 15 (1): 1-17
Jayabal, A., Palaniappan, Y. P. and Chellaiah, S. 2000. Effect of integrated nutrient
management techniques on yield attributes and yield of sunflower. Indian Journal of
Agronomy 45 (2): 348-388
Openshawm, K. 2000. A review of Jatropha curcas, an oil plant of unfulfilled promise. Biomass
and Bio-energy. 19 (1): 1-15
Sugarve, G. T., Quadri, S. J. and Dhoble, M.V. 1998 Response of sunflower to the
graded levels of fertilizers and fly ash. Journal of Maharashtra Agricultural
Universities 22 (3): 318-319
4

J.Res. ANGRAU 36(4)5-13, 2008
RED STRIPE DISEASE IN RICE (Oryza sativa L.) -AN OVERVIEW
S. Krishnam Raju, K. Vijay Krishna Kumar, M. R. B. Raju and Hari Sudini
Plant Pathology Section, A. P. Rice Research Institute and
Regional Agricultural Research Station, Maruteru - 534 122
INTRODUCTION
ABSTRACT
Red stripe in rice is becoming a serious problem in rice cultivation in most parts of India. In Andhra
Pradesh, this disease was first observed in East and West Godavari districts causing significant economic
losses. In other parts of the world, various fungi and bacteria were constantly isolated from diseased leaves
showing red stripe symptoms. However, various aspects of disease, viz., etiology, symptomatology,
epidemiological studies, resulting losses and disease management strategies are yet to be established.
Several reports suggested foliar application of benzimidazoles and copper compounds for the management of
this new emerging problem.
Rice is the most important staple food grain for more than two billion people living in Asia.
Diseases are among the most important limiting factors that affect rice production, causing
annual yield loss conservatively estimated at 5% (Mew et al. 2004). Biological agents like
fungi, bacteria, viruses, or nematodes account for more than 70 diseases on rice (Ou 1984),
among which rice blast (Magnaporthe grisea) and sheath blight (Rhizoctonia solani) are the
most serious fungal constraints for high productivity. Among different diseases of rice (Oryza
sativa L.), red stripe is an emerging one that has been observed in the recent years in
intensive rice production areas of the world especially in tropical countries such as Vietnam,
Thailand and the Philippines. The disease was first reported in Indonesia in 1988 (Mogi et
al., 1988). Since then it has been reported in Vietnam (Du et al., 1991), Phillippines (Barroga
and Mew, 1994), Malaysia (Yazid et al., 1996), Thailand (Dhitikiattipong et al., 1999) and in
Cambodia (Du et al., 2001). The disease is also described as bacterial red stripe, bacterial
leaf stripe, yellow leaf syndrome and rice leaf yellowing (Mogi et al., 1988).
In India, the disease was first observed during the year 2000 in a sporadic manner
on the rice varieties viz. PLA-1100 and MTU-1001 in East and West Godavari districts of
Andhra Pradesh (Rajamannar et al., 2007). Subsequently, it appeared during the years 2001
and 2002 at moderate levels in these districts. Red stripe is one such disease wherein the
etiology is not yet confirmed and still control measures are to be developed to manage the
disease from causing alarming losses (Du et al., 1991and Noda and Chau, 1999).
e-mail : rajupathol@yahoo.co.in
5

RAJU et.al
This paper comprehensively reviews update information on the history, occurrence
distribution, symptomatology, etiology, histopathology, epidemiology and transmission, present
lines of research and the status of etiological confirmation, management studies in lab,
green house and at field level.
Occurrence and Distribution
The red stripe disease manifested in the Makong Delta region of Vietnam during
1988 and spread rapidly in the summer and autumn of 1990 causing up to 50% yield losses
owing to premature senescence and high ratio of unfilled grains (Du et al., 1991). The disease
popularly known as brown stripe caused by Acidovorax avenae sub sp. avenae is geographically
distributed in Egypt, Ethiopia, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Malawi,
Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Reunion, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda,
Zaire, Zimbabwe, Bangladesh, Burma, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Iran,
Iraq, Japan, Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, Australia, Fiji, Guam, Papua New Guinea, Tahiti,
Italy, Portugal, Turkey, Mexico, USA, Barbados, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, E1
Salvador, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Martinique, Nicaragua, Panama,
Puerto Rico, St. Kitts, Trinidad, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru,
Surinam, Uruguay and Venezuela (Saddler,1998). It was found to be one of the major
production constraints along with sheath blight, blast and other insect pests in the same
region of Vietnam (Noda and Chau, 1999). The disease occurred during spring, summer and
winter seasons in Tan Phu Thanh village of Mekong Delta in Vietnam (Dinh et al., 2000). In
Phillippines, the disease was found occasionally in Mindanao but occurred erratically (Mew,
2001). In Tokyo, Japan also the disease was reported by Wakimoto et al., (1998). They
studied the pathogenicity and summarised that the causal agent is not bacterium but a kind
of fungus.
In India, surveys were carried out in the potential rice growing areas along the transect
of East and West Godavari districts of Andhra Pradesh during the years 2001 to 2005. The
data on red stripe incidence of rice grown in 4.5 lakh ha in kharif and 4.2 lakh ha in rabi in
these districts is presented in table 1. Among the nine rice cultivars, MTU-1001 and PLA-
1100 were susceptible to red stripe disease (Rajamannar et al., 2007). The symptoms of the
disease were observed through out the infected field. The infected panicles were abnormal
and had more unfilled grains at the time of harvest.
6

RED STRIPE DISEASE IN RICE
Table 1. Reaction of different rice cultivars to Red stripe disease in East and West
Godavari districts of Andhra Pradesh, India
Cultivar
Area covered(%)
Kharif
Rabi
Duration
(Days)
Mean Disease Incidence (%)
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
MTU -1001 8 16 125 59.2 58.1 17.5 12.2 21.7
PLA -1100 5 0 160 56.5 57.8 13.5 11.4 28.3
MTU-3626 2 26 125 39.3 40.1 5.4 1.8 0.0
IR-64 0 1 120 36.2 37.2 2.6 1.5 0.0
MTU-1071 1 0 155 35.9 36.4 5.8 2.1 0.0
MTU-1061 8 0 150 30.4 31.3 2.4 1.9 0.0
BPT-5204 17 0 150 30.2 28.3 1.0 1.6 0.0
MTU-1010 2 57 120 25.3 26.7 0.0 1.4 0.0
MTU-7029 57 0 150 22.0 26.3 1.1 0.0 0.0
The disease was moderate to severe during 2001 and 2002. The mean incidence
ranged from 22.0 to 59.2%, and from 26.3 to 58.1% during the corresponding years. It was
very low during the subsequent years. The disease ranged from nil to 17.5% in 2003 and
from nil to 12.2% in 2004. It was noticed only on PLA-1100 and MTU-1001 varieties during
2005.
Symptomatology
The symptoms of red stripe disease at different stages of growth and plant parts has
been variedly described by different authors. Bien et al., (1992) reported that the red stripe
disease occurs as primary lesions on any leaf at different positions of the plant under high
humidity and that it can easily infect rice seedlings. Saddler (1998) also reported that the
symptoms of the disease were more severe on seedlings and immature plants and sometimes
they lead to seed discolouration. The leaf streaks and stripes extend into the sheaths and
occasionally a red stalk rot develop. Mew et al., (2001) presented an elaborate description of
the symptoms. The red stripe lesions are peculiar, sometimes they resemble foliar diseases
caused by fungal pathogens. Initial lesions are pin point sized spots often light yellowish
green to light orange at the base of the leaf blades, ultimately blighting is common on the
7

RAJU et.al
leaves. The lesions also extend on the sheath. The symptoms occur from flowering to ripening
stage of the crop. Elazegui et al., (2004) also confirmed that the typical symptoms of this
disease are usually manifested from flowering to ripening stage of rice. They described the
characteristic symptoms as yellow orange spots which gradually turn to streaks advancing
towards the leaf tips. They distinguished that the symptoms are more common on the leaves,
while, the lesions also extend on to leaf sheaths and culms.
Etiology
Toxin production and red stripe
Mew et al., (2001) reported that the production of the toxin by the causal organism
may be the reason for the development of red stripe developing from the base of the lesion.
This stripe is always seen advancing towards the tip of the leaves. Hence, it may probably
be water soluble and mobile within the xylem and may also has a low molecular weight. The
histopathological studies showed that the causal bacterium, Microbacterium sp remain
attached to the vessel walls. It did not affect the plant unlike the other rice wilt pathogen
Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Kaku, 2004). One possible reason propounded for this
efficient pathogenesis is that it enters the vascular tissues of rice leaves and produce the
toxin. Evidence for the toxin is expressed in the typical lesion of red stripe accompanied by
a lone halo running length-wise from the spot upward
Fungi
Elaborative studies on the etiology aspects of the red stripe disease were taken up
all over the world. Du et al., (1991) isolated the causal organism and later identified it as
Curvularia lunata (Cochliobolus lunatus) and confirmed its pathogenicity. Rice plants sprayed
with fungicides like carbendazim, benomyl, copper oxychloride + benomyl and triphenyl
tinacetate had fewer red stripe lesions than the untreated check. Several fungal species
isolated from leaf tissues with stripe lesions on nutrient media included Curvularia lunata,
Nigrospora oryzae, Cercospora spp, Alternaria spp, Helminthosporium spp, Colletotrichum
spp and Fusarium sp. However, pathogenicity could not be proved with any of these fungal
isolates (Du et al., 1991; Vinh, 1997; Wakimoto et al., 1998, Vinh et al., 1999 and Saad,
2001). The results of studies conducted to determine whether the red stripe of rice is caused
by a biotic agent, its possible causal agent and its association in toxin production and the
transmission of the disease to healthy plants were reviewed by Mew et al., (2001). Various
experimental results suggest that red stripe is caused by an infectious or biotic agent and
can be transmitted from diseased to healthy plants (Suparyono, 1999 and Vinh et al., 1999).
8

RED STRIPE DISEASE IN RICE
Attempts made to isolate that causal agent of red stripe pathogen from diseased
tissues has so far been unsuccessful. It is important that Koch’s postulates must be satisfied
before a biotic agent can be regarded as a pathogen of red stripe. Elazegui and Castilla
(2004) included several natural and synthetic media to isolate the causal agent. They isolated
a fungus consistently from leaves with red stripe symptoms using a blotter method and
subsequently Koch’s postulates were proved.
Bacteria
Severeal others detected Acidovorax avenae subsp. avenae as the causal agent.
Shakya et al., (1985) reported that the bacterium can be easily isolated and characterized
from rice leaves. On the basis of biochemical tests and fatty acid profile, Tuat (1999) also
isolated bacterium formerly Pseudomonas avenae from rice seedlings with typical red stripe
symptoms. Saddler (1998) reported that this bacterium is a host on Agropyron intermedium,
Agropyron. trichophorum, Avena sativa, Bromus catharticus, Bromus marginatus, Camellia
sinensis, Caryota mitis, Digitaria sanguinalis, Echinochloa crusgalli, Eleusine coracana,
Euchlaena mexicana, Oryza sativa, Panicum hirsutum, Panicum miliaceum, Paspalum
mutans, Paspalum paniculatum, Paspalum urvillei, Pennisetum americanum, Saccharum
officinarum, Setaria italica, Setaria lutescens, Setaria viridis, Sorghum bicolor and Zea mays.
This bacterium also causes bacterial brown stripe disease in rice.
Song et al., (2004) reported that this is a seed borne bacterium. But there is no
reliable seed assay to confirm this. In addition to red stripe disease in rice, it is also the
causal agent for bacterial stalk rot of corn, bacterial leaf blight of oats and red stripe of
sugarcane and millets. It is also reported that bio-PCR is a sensitive and reliable tool to
detect Acidovorax avenae subsp. avenae in rice seeds. They observed that the population
of target bacterium reached detectable levels in seed samples with even 1-2 target cells.
Tuat (1999) isolated a bacterium from rice seedlings with typical red stripe symptoms
and the bacterium was identified as Acidovorax avenae sub sp. avenae (formerly
Pseudomonas avenae) based on biochemical tests and fatty acid analysis. Webster and
Gunnell (1992) explained the typical symptoms of bacterial brown stripe which are brown,
water soaked stripes on the leaf blades and leaf sheaths and it differs from the spot of a red
stripe lesion on the leaf blades which are not water soaked. Moreover, red stripe lesions are
rarely observed on the sheath.
Viruses, Viroids and Mollicutes
Thin sections of red stripe lesion tissues examined under the transmission electron
microscopy were devoid of any virus-like particles (Vinh et al., 1999). Stunting or any
9

RAJU et.al
abnormality in plant growth was also not observed in the infected plants and there was no
evidence of transmission of the causal agent (Mew et al., 2001). Experiments by Vinh et al.,
(1999) involved allowing of brown plant hopper, Nilaparvata lugens to feed on plants with red
stripe lesions and placed hoppers in cages with healthy plants. The severity of red stripe did
not significantly differ between cages with and without the brown plant hopper.
Histopathology
Kaku et al., (2000) histologically confirmed that the red stripe disease is caused by
the bacterium., Microbacterium sp and the bacterial masses were observed in the lumen of
xylem vessels in the infected area, especially in those of connecting strands. Analysis of
the 16S rDNA gave the best matches to the 16S rDNA sequence of Microbacterium. Later,
Kaku (2004) investigated the mode of infection in artificially inoculated and naturally infected
red stripe samples. The bacterial cells enter through stomata and multiplied in the intercellular
spaces of substomatal parenchymatous tissues during the stage of pin-point-sized spots
which were induced at 3 days after inoculation. With the early appearance of small yellow
spots at 4 to 5 days after inoculation, the bacterium was detected in some xylem vessels as
well as in parenchymatous tissues and it had apparently translocated directly from
parenchymatous tissues to transverse vascular systems through spiral vessel walls. However,
at development of typical stripe symptoms with orange lesions and halos at 8 days after
inoculation, the bacterial masses were present in transverse and longitudinal vascular bundles
in areas with orange lesions. Chloroplasts were seen disorganized in the halo areas.
Epidemiology
Experiments conducted by Du et al., (2001) at Cuu Long Delta Rice Research Institute
indicated that the disease occurred even without N, P, K fertilization. Application of potassium
at the rate of 30 kg ha -1 reduced the severity of red stripe. Whereas, phosphorus application
enhanced the disease. Phung and Man (1999) reported that the incidence of disease was
more severe due to application of excess nitrogen,
Transmission
The mode of transmission of the organism of red stripe disease is not yet perfectly
known. Saddler (1998) reported that the disease caused by Acidovorax avenae sub sp.
avenae is transmitted through seed. Further, Shakya et al., (1985) reported that this bacterium
is located between the glumes and pericarp or deeper in the seed and there is evidence that
mature rice plants which survive infection in the seedling stage harbour the bacterium without
symptoms.
10

RED STRIPE DISEASE IN RICE
Mew et al., (2001) reported that plants placed 10-15 cm away from those with red
stripe lesions had significantly more diseased tillers than those placed 20-25 cm away.
Therefore it is possible that tissue contact facilitate the transmission of the causal agent.
The unpublished data of Tisalona and Mew showed that this organism is neither soil or seed
borne.
Disease Management
Management of red stripe disease in the field is difficult. Its etiology is not confirmed.
Yet there is a clue of fungal etiology based on the signs of recovery when the infected crop
was sprayed with fungicides like carbendazim, benomyl, copper+ benomyl and triphenyl tin
acetate (Du et al., 2001). Mew et al., (2001) in his review on red stripe reported the findings
of IRRI on the disease management. The results indicated that spraying with benomyl
significantly lowered the red stripe incidence.
Green house experiments conducted by Elazegui and Castilla (2004) at the
International Rice Research Institute, Philippines also showed that plants sprayed with
benzimidazole fungicides had lower disease severity than those sprayed with other groups
of fungicides and bactericides.
Phung and Man (1999) reported that lime amendment with nitrogen reduced the
infection.. Tuat (1999) indicated the efficacy of Viben C 50WP (25% benzimidazole +25%
copper oxychloride) on red stripe management.
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Barroga, J.F. and Mew, T. W. 1994. “Red Stripe”: a new disease of rice in the Philippines.
Paper presented at the 25 th Anniversary and Annual Scientific Convention of the Pest
Management Council of the Philippines, 3-6 May 1994, Cagayan de Oro City,
Philippines.
Bien, P.V., Sang P.M., Minh, P.N., Chen, H.Q. and Vinh, M.T. 1992. Yellow leaf syndrome
in South Veitnam and some methods of controlling it. Annual Scientific Report, Vietnam:
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Dhitikiattipong, R., Nilpanit, N., Surin, A., Arunyanart, P. and Chettanachit, D. 1999. Study
on rice red stripe in Thailand. Paper presented at the Planning Workshop on Red
Stripe, 15-18 March 1999. Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
Dinh, H. D., Cuong, N. D., Tai, N. D., Du, P. V., Hiraoka, H. and Kobayashi, H. 2000. The
first year of survey in Tan Phu Thanh Village on rice pest constraints in an intensive
cropping systems of Mekong Delta (data unpublished)
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Du, P. V., Dinh, H. D., Lan, N. T. P., Sau, T. T. and Ba, D. X 1991. Field evaluation to control
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Du, P. V., Lan, N. T. P., Dinh, H. D. and Van, D. P. 1991. Red Stripe, a newly reported
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Du, P., V. Noda, T. and Lai, V. E. 2001. Studies on some aspects of red stripe disease of
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Elazegui, F. A. and Castilla, N. P. 2004. Causal agent of red stripe disease of rice. Plant
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Kaku, H. 2004. Histopathology of red stripe of rice. Plant Disease 88(12): 1304-1309
Kaku, H., Subandiyah, S. and Ochiai, H. 2000. Red stripe of rice is caused by a bacterium,
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Mew, T. W. 2001. Planning workshop on red stripe. Limited Proceedings. Pp 1-56.
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Ou, S. H. 1984. Rice diseases. Second Edition. Commonwealth Mycological Institute, Kew,
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Phung, C. V. and Man, L. H. 1999. Effects of soil and nutrients on red stripe symptoms of
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RED STRIPE DISEASE IN RICE
Saad, A. 2001. The occurrence of red stripe disease in Malaysia. Paper presented at the
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Saddler, G. S. 1998. Acidovorax avenae subsp. avenae. Descriptions of fungi and bacteria.
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Shakya, D. D., Chung, H. S., Vinther, F. 1985. Transmission of Pseudomonas avenae, the
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Song, W.Y., Kim, H.M., Hwang, C.Y. and Schaad, N.W. 2004. Detection of Acidovorax
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Suparyono, 1999. An overview on the study of bacterial orange leaf blight of rice in Indonesia.
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Vinh, M. T. 1997. Etiological studies on the yellow leaf syndrome of rice (Oryza sativa L.).
M. S. Thesis. University of the Phillippines Los Banos. College, Laguna p. 77.
Vinh, M. T., Mew, T. W., Bien, P. V. 1999. Etiological studies on the yellow leaf syndrome
of rice ( Oryza sativa L.) Paper presented at the International workshop on red stripe,
15-18 th March 1999, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Wakimoto, S., Kim, P. V., Thuy, T. T., Tsuno, K., Kardin, M. K., Hartini, R. H., Surang,
S., Sunetra, P., Nipalnit, N., Negishi, H. and Suyama, K. 1998. Micro-fungus closely
associated with the lesions of red stripe disease of rice. Int.Congr.Plant Pathol.
Abstracts of papers. Vol 3. Edinburgh. Scotland P3:6-11
Webster, R. K. and Gunnell, P. S. 1992. Compendium of rice diseases. St. Paul, Minnesota:
American Phytopathological Society.
Yazid, M. E., Saad, A., Jatil, A. T. 1996. Historical profile and current rice disease management
practices in Malaysia. Paper presented at the International Workshop on Rice Disease
Management Technology in the Tropics, 11-13 June 1996, Sungai Petani, Kedah,
Malaysia.
13

J.Res. ANGRAU 36(4)14-23, 2008
EFFECT OF IRRADIATION ON SHELF LIFE AND MICROBIOLOGICAL
QUALITY OF MANGOES (Mangifera indica L.)
P. PRABHU PRASADINI, MD. AJAZ ALI KHAN and P. GOPAL REDDY
Department of Environmental Science and Technology, College of Agriculture,
Rajendranagar, Hyderabad - 500 030
ABSTRACT
An experiment on improving the quality of mango variety Baneshan was conducted at Department
of Environmental Science and Technology, College of Agriculture, ANGRAU, Hyderabad in 2006. Three
treatments namely irradiation at 0.25, 0.50 and 0.75 kGy on the day of harvest and unirradiated control were
tested in ten replications following completely randomized design. The result showed that the irradiation of
mango fruits at 0.25 kGy improved several quality parameters. It reduced physiological loss in weight and kept
the fruit without shriveling or development of spots with a firm skin and deterred the microbial load by two log
cycles in the mango pulp from 7 to 15 days and three log cycles in fruit stalk base from 5 to 15 days. However,
it increased citric acid while decreasing the total and reducing sugars during the period of study (17 days)
compared to control. The reverse trend in increase in titratable acidity and reduction in total as well as
reducing sugars in comparison to control is an important consideration for increasing the storage life of the
fruits without deterioration.
Mango is the most popular fruit crop grown in tropical and sub tropical parts of the
world. India is the major producer contributing 60% to the world mango production (FAO,
2002). In Andhra Pradesh, it is cultivated in more than 2.29 lakh hectares with 18.35 lakh
tonnes production annually. The demand for Indian mango in the export market is high. But,
its share is low. This is attributed to the poor post harvest quality of the fruit. The short period
of availability is due to low shelf life, poor wholesomeness, hygiene damage by pests, diseases
and microbes. It is estimated that improved post harvest quality can enhance the exports by
25-30% by properly treating them to overcome quarantine barriers. Irradiation is one of the
post harvest technique for preservation of fruits and vegetables to improve the quality for
mango export. The ionizing radiation improves the storage life and hygiene.
Hence, experiments were conducted to evaluate the effect of different irradiation
treatments on the shelf life and post harvest quality of mangoes.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Green mature mangoes variety namely Baneshan were manually harvested without
stalks from the Fruit Research Station, Sangareddy, ANGR Agricultural University. There
were three treatments and unirradiated control in 10 replications. Mangoes in each treatment
were subjected to 0.25, 0.50 and 0.75 kGy irradiations and compared with unirradiated control.
The source of irradiation- ã-rays was 60 Co-Metal (Half life 5.3 years and Energy of 1.17 MeV
and 1.33 MeV) in the Gamma chamber at the post harvest technology laboratory. The fruits
were studied for physico-chemical/physiological parameters and shelf life. Physico-chemical
parameters were studied for fresh mass, titratable acidity (Ranganna, 1986), ascorbic acid
e-mail : prabhuprasadini@rediffmail.com
14

EFFECT OF IRRADIATION ON SHELF LIFE AND MICROBIOLOGICAL QUALITY
(phosphoric acid method), total sugars and reducing sugars (AOAC, 1965). The microbiological
parameters studied were total bacterial count in fruit pulp and petiole portion on SPC agar
plates. The data was subjected to completely randomized design (Snedecor and Cochran,
1973).
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The physiological loss as percent by dry weight of Baneshan mango increased
progressively upto 15 days after harvest (Table 1). The mean loss was 2.43 % the next day
after harvest and it increased to 21.09 % after 15 days. This trend was similar with the
untreated or the irradiated mangoes at different radiation doses. Continuous loss in fresh
weight of mango from the day of harvest to ripe stage was reported in Amrapali and Dashehari
varieties (Zeng Yanru et al., 1995) and in Baneshan variety (Reddy and Srivastava, 2003).
They attributed the weight loss to the consumption of biomass in the respiratory process
which is the major pathway for carbon skeleton for synthesis of various metabolites.
Irradiation at 0.25 or 0.50 kGy significantly reduced the weight loss (%) from the
very day of observation compared to the unirradiated fruits. But irradiation at high dose of
0.75 kGy had no significant difference on the magnitude of loss in weight. Similarly El-salhy
et al. (2006) observed significant reduction in the physiological weight of Awais mangoes
irradiated at lower doses of 0.50 and 1.0 kGy compared to those irradiated at higher doses of
1.5 and 2.0 kGy and control. They reported a weight loss percentage of 3.9, 5.7 and 5.8 in
fruits irradiated at 0.50 kGy, 2.0 kGy and untreated control, respectively.
Table 1. Effect of irradiation on physiological loss in weight (%)
Days after irradiation
Irradiation dose (kGy)
Untreated 0.25 0.50 0.75
Mean
1 3.66 1.23 1.23 3.61 2.43
5 13.41 12.35 11.11 13.25 12.53
7 14.64 12.35 12.35 14.46 13.45
9 17.07 16.04 16.04 16.87 16.51
11 18.29 16.04 16.04 16.87 16.81
13 19.51 17.28 17.28 19.28 18.35
15 21.95 19.75 20.99 21.69 21.09
Mean 15.50 13.57 13.57 15.14 14.45
SE ± CD at 5%
Irradiation 0.48 0.96
Days 0.64 1.27
Irradiation X Days 1.27 NS
15

PRASADINI et.al
The effect of different treatments on ripening of mangoes as judged by the
development of colour and firmness of the skin upto 10 days and 13 days of storage are
furnished in Figures 1 and 2. The physical observations are described in Table 2. Irradiation
of mangoes at 0.25 kGy was ideal. Mangoes remained green on 10 th day after harvest in
contrast to unirradiated mangoes which turned yellow but remained firm. By 13 th day the
unirradiated mangoes attained an attractive golden colour but the skin shrivelled and became
soft. This is not liked by the consumers. But irradiation at 0.25 kGy kept the mangoes quite
firm with no shrivelling and just turning golden yellow in colour. This is preferred by the
consumers. Mangoes irradiated with 0.50 kGy developed spots on 10 th day and shriveled
with soft but firm skin on 13 th day. El-salhy et al. (2006) concluded that higher dose of
irradiation caused black spots in Awais mangoes through weight loss percentage and fruit
decay. At a high dose of irradiation the spots magnified on 10 th day and by 13 days the fruits
shriveled. Therefore irradiation of mangoes at 0.50 or 0.75 kGy reduced the quality and
thereby its market value owing to less preference by the consumers.
Table 2. Quality of mangoes on 10 th and 13 th days after irradiation
Visual
observation
Irradiation dose(kGy)
Untreated 0.25 0.50 0.75
10 th day Yellow but firm Still green Less spots Spotted
Plate No 1 2 3 4
13 th day Gold Colour, No shrivelleing,
S p o t t e d , Spotted,
shrivelled and
no shrivelled, soft shriveled,
soft. Not preferred
spots and very and firm. Less soft. Not
by the firm. It is preferred by the preferred
consumer since preferred by consumer. because of
the skin shrivelled the consumer.
spots and
and was not firm.
shriveling
even at this
stage.
Plate No 1 2 3 4
16

EFFECT OF IRRADIATION ON SHELF LIFE AND MICROBIOLOGICAL QUALITY
PLATE -1 PLATE - 2
PLATE - 3 PLATE - 4
Fig. 1. Effect of irradiation on development of colour and firmness of skin in mangoes
during storage upto 10 days
PLATE - 5 PLATE - 6
PLATE - 7 PLATE - 8
Fig. 2. Effect of irradiation on development of colour and firmness of skin in mangoes during
storage upto 13 days
17

PRASADINI et.al
The data on titratable acidity indicating the % citric acid is presented in Table 3. The
freshly harvested fruits were rich in titratable acidity having a mean of 0.66 % citric acid on
5 th day. It fell sharp with increase in the period of storage until 17 days having as low as 0.14
% citric acid. Similar results of decline in citric acid content towards ripening were reported
by Kumar et al. (1993) in Dasheri. The unirradiated fruits possessed significantly less quantity
of citric acid althrough the period of storage compared to the dose irradiated at 0.25 kGy. It
reduced at a higher dose of 0.50 kGy irradiation. This reduction was much higher at a high
dose of 0.75 kGy irradiation. Such a steady fall in the citric acid content with irradiation, with
progress of storage was reported by Bustos et al. (2004) and El-salhy et al. (2006) in Awais
mangoes.
Table 3. Effect of irradiation on Titratable acidity (% citric acid)
Days after irradiation
Irradiation dose (kGy)
Untreated 0.25 0.50 0.75
Mean
1 3.66 1.23 1.23 3.61 2.43
5 0.64 0.78 0.70 0.51 0.66
7 0.45 0.58 0.51 0.45 0.49
9 0.38 0.45 0.45 0.38 0.42
11 0.32 0.38 0.45 0.19 0.33
13 0.26 0.32 0.19 0.13 0.23
15 0.19 0.26 0.19 0.19 0.21
17 0.13 0.19 0.13 0.13 0.14
Mean 0.34 0.42 0.37 0.28 0.35
SE ± CD at 5%
Irradiation 0.01 0.03
Days 0.01 0.04
Irradiation X Days 0.04 0.07
Initial value 0.92
The Ascorbic acid content exhibited gradual fall from mean 5.40 mg/100 mg from 5
days until 2.00 mg/100 mg to 15 days after storage (Fig 3). Initial value (before irradiation) of
ascorbic acid was 6.4 mg/100 mg. This trend was stable in the control and irradiated mangoes.
18

EFFECT OF IRRADIATION ON SHELF LIFE AND MICROBIOLOGICAL QUALITY
But the relative quantity of ascorbic acid reduced significantly at different stages of observation
from 7 th to 13 th days after storage. Irradiated samples showed more loss of ascorbic acid
than control samples. Irradiated samples showed more loss of ascorbic acid than control
samples.
The total sugars increased progressively from 5 to 17 days after harvest in all the
treatments (Table 4). The mangoes harvested after 5 days had a low mean sugar content of
5.62 % and it increased almost three fold to 14.5 % by 17 th day. The sweetness reduced in
the irradiated mangoes. This reduction was perhaps due to the conversion of metabolic
sugar vis-à-vis the continued respiratory loss. High sugar % and low acidity are known to
give the fruit pulp a pleasant appetizing taste (Tandon and Kalra, 1983; Zeng Yanru et al.,
1995). Irradiation in the present investigation reduced the acidity at a fast rate but also
reduced the sugar content in comparison to control samples.
19

PRASADINI et.al
Days after irradiation
Table 4. Effect of irradiation on total sugars (%)
Irradiation dose (kGy)
Untreated 0.25 0.50 0.75
Mean
5 6.06 5.18 5.48 5.78 5.62
7 8.64 7.13 7.31 7.70 7.69
9 9.83 7.92 8.14 8.91 8.70
11 11.04 9.19 9.83 10.56 10.15
13 13.57 10.18 11.40 12.39 11.88
15 15.00 11.40 12.39 13.57 13.09
17 15.83 12.95 14.25 15.00 14.50
Mean 11.42 9.13 9.82 10.55 10.23
SE ± CD at 5%
Irradiation 0.31 0.63
Days 0.41 0.84
Irradiation X Days 0.83 1.69
Initial value 4.38
The reducing sugars also increased continuously from a low mean of 1.95 % after 5
days of harvest to 4.89 % at 17 days (Table 5). The unirradiated mangoes invariably had
significantly more quantity of reducing sugars at any time during the period of storage upto
17 days. This reduction was relatively more at 0.25 kGy than at 0.50 or 0.75 kGy.
Days after irradiation
Table 5. Effect of irradiation on reducing sugars (%)
Irradiation dose (kGy)
Untreated 0.25 0.50 0.75
Mean
5 2.33 1.73 1.81 1.93 1.95
7 3.00 2.07 2.19 2.38 2.41
9 3.45 2.38 2.53 2.78 2.78
11 4.07 2.71 2.92 3.26 3.24
13 4.96 2.85 3.08 3.93 3.70
15 5.43 3.17 3.45 3.80 3.96
17 6.00 4.07 4.56 4.96 4.89
Mean 4.17 2.71 2.93 3.29 3.27
- - - -
SE ± CD at 5%
Irradiation 0.09 0.21
Days 0.13 0.27
Irradiation X Days 0.27 0.55
Initial value 1.27
20

EFFECT OF IRRADIATION ON SHELF LIFE AND MICROBIOLOGICAL QUALITY
The colony forming units of microbial load were 0.027 millions/ml in the pulp of
untreated mangoes after 5 days of harvest (Table 6). But the microbial load recorded a
sudden spurt and within 2 days > 1 log cycle increase in the colony forming units of microbial
load was observed. Irradiation at 0.25 kGy and 0.50 kGy significantly reduced microbial load
by about one log cycle on 5 th day but by two log cylces from 7 to 15 days after harvest.
Higher dose of irradiation at 0.75 kGy was relatively less effective. The reduction of microbial
load was by one log cycle compared to control from 7 to 15 days. Therefore irradiation at
0.25 kGy reduced chances of spoilage of fruits several fold compared to the control.
Table 6. Effect of irradiation on Total bacterial count in mango pulp expressed as
Colony Forming Units (millions/ml)
Days after irradiation
Irradiation dose (kGy)
Untreated 0.25 0.50 0.75
Mean
5 0.027 0.0028 0.0025 0.028 0.008
7 0.28 0.0029 0.0028 0.027 0.078
9 0.25 0.0029 0.0029 0.024 0.069
11 0.28 0.0028 0.0030 0.029 0.079
13 0.28 0.0029 0.0028 0.026 0.078
15 0.29 0.0027 0.0030 0.029 0.081
Mean 0.234 0.0028 0.0028 0.027 0.065
SE ± CD at 5%
Irradiation 0.004 0.01
Days 0.005 0.01
Irradiation X Days 0.01 0.02
The colonization of microbia at the stalk base of mangoes were very high than the
pulp, since this is the entry point for the microbes (Table 7). The unirradiated mangoes were
heavily loaded to the extent of 2.66 to 2.90 millions/ml at different times of storage from 5 to
15 days after harvest. The irradiation treatments reduced this microbial load by three log
cylces. The effect of irradiation at 0.25 kGy was on par with 0.50 or 0.75 kGy.
21

PRASADINI et.al
Table 7. Effect of irradiation on Total bacterial count in mango fruit stalk base
expressed as Colony Forming Units (millions/ml)
Days after irradiation
Irradiation dose (kGy)
Untreated 0.25 0.50 0.75
Mean
5 2.90 0.026 0.029 0.030 0.746
7 2.76 0.024 0.028 0.029 0.710
9 2.66 0.025 0.030 0.023 0.685
11 2.77 0.025 0.022 0.028 0.711
13 2.75 0.028 0.028 0.029 0.709
15 2.80 0.027 0.028 0.028 0.721
Mean 2.77 0.025 0.027 0.027 0.713
SE ± CD at 5%
Irradiation 0.03 0.05
Days 0.03 NS
Irradiation X Days 0.06 NS
The result indicates that the irradiation of mangoes at 0.25 kGy improved the quality
of mangoes by reducing physiological loss in weight, reducing the acidity and substantially
reducing the microbial load in the pulp and stalk base while keeping the fruits fresh with firm
skin without the development of spots until 13 days compared with control. The reverse
trend in increasing titratable acidity and reduction in total sugars as well as reducing sugars
compared to control is an important consideration to increase the time of storage of the fruits
without deterioration.
REFERENCES
AOAC. 1965. Methods of Analysis of the Association of Official Agricultural Chemists. 10 th
Edn. Washington. DC. USA. pp. 212
Bustos, M.E., Enkerlin W., Royes J. and Toledo, T. 2004. Irradiation of mangoes as post
harvest quarantine treatment for fruit flies (Dipteroi Tephritidae): Acta Horticulture.
553(1): 79-81
22

EFFECT OF IRRADIATION ON SHELF LIFE AND MICROBIOLOGICAL QUALITY
El-salhy, F.T.A., Khafagy, S.A.A. and Haggag, L.F. 2006. The changes that occur in
mango fruits treated by irradiation and hot water during cold storage. Journal of Applied
Sciences Research. 2(11): 864-868
FAO Statistics 2002. http://apps.fao.org/page/collections?subset=agriculture date of
download: January 10, 2002.
Kumar, S., Das, D.K., Singh, A.K. and Prasad, U.S. 1993. Change in non-volatile organic
acid composition and pH during maturation and ripening of two mango cultivars.
Indian Journal of Plant Physiology XXXIV(2): 107-111.
Ranganna, S. 1986. Hand Book of Analysis and Quality Control for Fruit and Vegetable
Products. Second Edn. Tata McGraw Hill Book Co. New Delhi. pp 1-112
Reddy, Y.V. and Srivastava, G.C. 2003. Superoxide dismutase and peroxidase activities in
ripening mango (Mangifera indica L.) fruits. Indian Journal of Plant Physiology. 8(2):
115-119
Snedecor, G.W. and Cochran, W.G. 1973. Statistical methods. 6 th Edition Iowa state University
Press, Ames, Iowa, USA.
Tandon, D. K. and Kalra, S. K. 1983. Changes in sugars, starch and amylase activity during
development of mango fruit cv. Dashehari. Journal of Horticultural Science. 58(3):
449-453
Zeng Yanru, Pandey, M., Prasad, N.K. and Srivastava, G.C. 1995. Ripening associated
changes in enzymes and respiratory activities in three varieties of mango (Mangifera
indica L.). Indian Journal of Plant Physiology. 38(1): 73-76.
23

J.Res. ANGRAU 36(4)24-32,2008
COMBINING ABILITY AND HETEROSIS FOR FRUIT YIELD AND
YIELD COMPONENTS IN RIDGE GOURD (Luffa acutangula L.)
B. NEERAJA PRABHAKAR
Vegetable Breeding Station, ARI,
Acharya N.G.Ranga Agricultural University,
Rajendranagar, Hyderabad - 500 030
ABSTRACT
Nature of gene action was estimated in 18 Ridge gourd hybrids derived by crossing six lines namely
Jagtial long, Jaipur long, Chitrada beera, Pusa Nasdar, Errabalam local and LA-9 and three testers namely
LA-12, LA-17 and LA-97.They were evaluated for fruit yield and yield components during summer 2000 and
2001 at Vegetable Breeding Station, ARI, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad. The genotypic differences were significant
for all the characters. The L X T sum of squares were significant for fruit yield per plant indicating predominant
role of non-additive gene action for fruit yield and most of it’s components.
The parental lines Pusa Nasdar, Jagtial long and LA-17 were good general
combiners for fruit yield and contributed maximum favourable genes. For number of fruits
per vine and fruit length, Pusa Nasdar, Jagtial Long were good general combiners and can
be used in improving these characters in breeding programme. The cross combinations
Jaipur long X LA-97, Pusa Nasdar X LA-12 were best specific crosses for both the seasons.
In Jaipur long X LA-97, both the parents were poor combiners therefore this cross can be
used for heterosis breeding. In the cross Pusa Nasdar X LA-12 both the parents were good
combiners and governed by additive gene action which is fixable in nature. Therefore following
pedigree method or any selection scheme, good progenies can be identified from the
segregating generations. The crosses Pusa Nasdar X LA-12, Pusa Nasdar X LA-17 have
recorded maximum standard heterosis of more than 23% over the high yielding commercial
hybrid Surekha.
Ridge gourd (Luffa acutangula L.) being monoceious is highly cross pollinated and
manifestation of heterosis offers good potentialities for increasing yield. Heterosis in cucumber
was first reported by Hayes and Jones (1961). Abusaleh and Dutta (1995) reported that
the F1-hybrids were early fruiting and high yielding and better in size, number and weight
of fruits when compared to their corresponding parents in sponge gourd. Line X Tester analysis
is useful for preliminary evaluation of genetic stock for use in hybridization programmes with
a view to identify good combiners, which may be used to build up population with favourable
email: drboganeeraja@gmail.com
24

COMBINING ABILITY AND HETEROSIS
fixable genes for effective yield improvement. The present study was conducted to determine
the extent of heterosis, general and specific combining ability of parents and crosses
respectively in certain selected genotypes of ridge gourd.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Six lines viz., Jagtial Long, Jaipur long, Chitrada beera, Pusa Nasadar, Errabalem
local and LA-9 were crossed with three testers viz.,LA-12 , LA-17 and LA-97 which were
selected on the basis of better adoption and desirable traits. The 18 F 1
hybrids along with
their parents and two commercial hybrids viz; Surekha, NS-3 from private sector and LA-37
a local check variety, were evaluated during summer 2000 and 2001 in Randomized Block
Design with two repeats at Vegetable Research Section, Agricultural Research Institute,
Rajendranagar, Acharya N.G. Ranga Agricultural University, Hyderabad. The plants were
raised in channels adopting a spacing of 2.5 m x 0.5 m between and within row respectively.
Observations were recorded on five randomly selected plants for nine characters viz., vine
length, number of branches per vine, days to 50% flowering (female flowering), node no. at
which first female flower appeared, no. of fruits per vine, yield (g) per vine, average fruit
weight, fruit length and girth. Standard heterosis was calculated over the high yielding
commercial hybrid Surekha as per cent increase in yield of F 1
. Genetic analysis for evaluating
parents and hybrids was done as per the procedure suggested by Kempthorne (1957).
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The analysis of variance for fruit yield and its variables (Table–1) revealed highly
significant differences among all parents and hybrids for all the characters indicating the
presence of considerable amount of genetic variability. The parents vs crosses comparision
was significant for all the characters during summer 2000, except for vine length, number of
branches per vine, node no. at which first female flower appeared and fruit length. During
summer, 2001 also they were significant for all the characters except node no. at which first
female flower appeared indicating the expression of heterotic effects for the remaining traits.
The mean squares due to hybrids were highly significant for all the characters. Lines were
significant for days to 50% flowering during summer, 2000, while for average fruit weight,
fruit length and girth during summer, 2001. They differed significantly for fruit yield in both
the years. Testers were non-significant for all the character in both the years indicating not
much variation among the testers. Line x tester effects were significant for all the characters
except for number of branches per vine during summer, 2000.
The estimates of gca effects along with per se performance for various characters
are presented in Table-2. Among lines Pusa Nasadar, Jagtial Long recorded higher per se
for fruit yield and contributed maximum favourable genes in respect of yield in both the
years. These lines turned out to be good general combiners and can be used as donors in
yield improvement programme.
25

NEERAJA
Among the testers, LA-17 significantly contributed maximum favourable genes for
fruit yield during summer 2001 and number of fruits per vine in both the years.
Among the lines Pusa Nasdar is also a good combiner in respect of early flowering,
average fruit weight, fruit length, no. of fruits per vine and fruit yield. Jagtial long is found
to be a good combiner in respect of no. of fruits per vine and fruit yield per vine. LA-9
contributed favourable genes for lesser node no. at which first female flower appeared.
Therefore, these parental lines can be used to improve these specific characters.
The specific combining ability (sca) effects are presented in Table – 3. The best
specific combinations of crosses for fruit yield were Pusa Nasdar x LA-17, Pusa Nasadar x
LA-12, Jaipur long x LA-97, Jagtial long x LA-12. The cross combinations Jaipur long x
LA-97, Pusa Nasadar x LA-12 were the best specific crosses in both the years. The increased
yield in cross Pusa Nasdar x LA-17 was due to early 50% female flowering (-6.86% heterosis);
lower node no. at which first female appeared (-19.23% heterosis); fruit length (33.5% heterosis)
and fruit girth (9.27% heterosis) and number of fruits per vine (83.33% heterosis). Gill et al.,
(1971) also reported in summer squash that there was the tendency for hybrids to bear the
first female flower at lower node which results in more number of female flowers, and serves
as an index of earliness and increased fruit yield respectively. In cross Pusa Nasadar x LA-
17, both the parents are good combiners and governed by additive gene action which is
fixable in nature. Therefore, following pedigree method or any other selection procedure,
true breeding good progenies can be identified from the segregating population in succeeding
generations. In the cross combination Pusa Nasadar x LA-12 and Jaipur long x LA-97 only
one of the parent is a good combiner; and higher fruit yield in these crosses can be exploited
by heterosis breeding. Abusaleha and Dutta (1994) also observed involvement of one high
yielding parent in best specific crosses in ridge gourd.
Heterosis over mid parent, better parent and standard check were estimated for fruit
yield considering the mean data of the two years (Table-4). The percent of heterosis ranged
from –56.52 in Jaipur long x LA-12 to 112.34% in Chitrada beera x LA-17 and heteorbeltiosis
– 58.33 in Jaipur long x LA-17 to 97.92% in Jagtial long x LA-12 and standard heterosis from
–74.09% in Jaipur long x LA-12 to 24.04% in Pusa Nasadar x LA-17. For exploiting heterosis
commercially the hybrid must be superior to check variety/hybrid. In the present investigation,
the positive standard heterosis over commercial hybrid Surekha was observed only in two F 1
hybrids i.e., Pusa Nasdar x LA-17 (24.04%) and Pusa Nasadar x LA-12 (23.47%). In the first
hybrid, expression of higher yield is due to accumulation of favourable genes for earliness,
number of fruits per vine, fruit size from both the parents while in other hybrid only one parent
is good combiner. Though both the hybrids can be commercially exploited for heterosis
breeding, the cross Pusa Nasdar x LA-17 where both parents are good combiners and can
be used in spotting higher yielding segregants through selection.
26

COMBINING ABILITY AND HETEROSIS
Table 1. Analysis of variance for parents and F1’s in ridge gourd (summer, 2000 and 2001)
Crosses DF Vine length
(m)
2000
No. of
branches /
vine
Days to
50%
flowering
Node no. at
which first
flower
appeared
Average fruit
wt.(g)
No. of
fruit/vine
Fruit length Fruit girth Yield g /vine
2001 2000 2001 2000 2001 2000 2001 2000 2001 2000 2001 2000 2001 2000 2001 2000 2001
Replications 1 0.21 0.039 0.46 0.01 0.47 2.24 0.76 1.19 16.07 9.76 0.07 0.91 0.02 1.13 5.87* 0.07 1667.11 4267.33
Treatments 26 0.64 ** 0.35 ** 4.00 * 4.04 30.7 ** 29.8 ** 8.95 ** 14.6 ** 838.58 ** 2629.58 ** 10.5 ** 6.36 ** 36.0 ** 45.4 ** 10.3 ** 8.05 ** 199694.61 ** 87916.84 **
Parents 8 0.99 0.50** 4.84 * 5.6 ** 18.9 ** 32.6 ** 4.07 ** 5.95 652.57 ** 473.00 ** 2.57 ** 3.72 ** 52.8 ** 24.5 ** 22.0 ** 9.49 ** 37250.00 ** 75088.89 **
Lines 5 0.73 0.23 0.44 4.79 80.3** 45.78 2.05 24.95 1757.99 8875.20 ** 11.98 10.51 33.76 115.31 ** 4.30 14.15 * 426737.84 * 198133.34 **
Testers 2
0.62 0.00 9.84 0.17 6.86 7.12 10.46 4.82 206.81 214.75 3.07 5.44 4.24 6.21 9.22 7.58 19144.67 53733.33
L’s x T’s 10 0.39 ** 0.29 ** 3.94 3.3 ** 20.59 18.3 ** 16.9 ** 19.4 ** 697.15 ** 1845.65 ** 11.91 ** 5.58 ** 33.1 ** 37.2 ** 4.77 ** 4.18 ** 3557.73 ** 43586.66 **
Crosses 17 0.52 0.24** 3.61 3.4 ** 36.5 ** 25.1 ** 11.8 ** 19.3 ** 951.48 ** 3721.29 ** 10.9 ** 7.01 ** 29.90 ** 56.5 ** 5.16 ** 7.52 ** 218091.50 ** 90235.2 **
Parents x
crosses
Error 26
2 gca 0.03
2 sca 0.14
2 gca/
2 sca
1 0.02 0.95** 4.08 2.7 ** 26.0 ** 88.9 ** 0.45 3.63 407.42 ** 1323.00 65.9 ** 16.3 ** 4.90 23.0 ** 4.48 * 5.60 ** 86504.50 ** 151126.89 **
0.12 0.02 1.93 0.14 1.62 3.16 0.51 2.77 24.33 70.88 0.41 0.89 1.74 2.14 0.95 0.26 1928.19 3112.80
-0.02 0.13 -0.09 2.55 0.90 -1.18 -0.50 31.69 299.93 -0.49 0.27 -1.57 2.62 0.22 0.74 7709.28 9149.63
0.14 1.00 1.60 9.49 7.56 8.17 8.33 336.41 887.39 5.75 2.34 15.68 17.53 1.91 1.96 75814.78 20236.93
0.23 -0.15 0.13 0.06 0.27 0.12 -0.14 0.06 0.094 0.34 0.08 0.11 0.10 0.15 0.12 0.39 0.10 0.45
27

NEERAJA
Table 2. Estimates of general combining ability effects of parents for yield and it’s components in ridge gourd
Parents Vine length
(m)
No. of
branches /
vine
Days to 50%
female
flowering
Node no. at
which first
flower
appeared
Average fruit
weight (g.)
No. of
fruit/vine
Fruit length
(cm)
Fruit girth
(cm)
Yield g/vine
Lines 2000 2001 2000 2001 2000 2001 2000 2001 2000 2001 2000 2001 2000 2001 2000 2001 2000 2001
JagtialLong 0.46** -0.17 0.36 0.33* 0.69 -0.22 -0.04 -1.46* 20.27 ** -11.00 ** 0.81 ** 1.06 ** 1.14 * -3.54 ** 0.56 -0.75 85.56** 160.00 **
Jaipur long -0.41 ** 0.14 0.11 0.16 3.69** 3.78 ** 0.594 1.61 * 0.26 -7.50* -1.37 ** -1.61 ** -0.44 -2.97** 0.54 1.02** -264.45 ** -200.00 **
Chitrada
beera
Pusa
Nasadar
Errabalam
local
-0.21 0.25 -0.31 0.93** 4.69 ** 2.11 * 0.19 2.41** 16.49 ** 65.50 ** -1.22 ** 0.06 -3.19** 4.19 ** -0.79 2.52** -164.44 ** 163.33 **
-0.02 0.08 -0.06 -0.01 -4.14** -4.22 ** -0.31 0.81 22.09** 21.50 ** 2.38 ** 1.39 ** 3.63 6.83** 0.52 -0.05 478.89** 116.67 **
-0.21 -0.26 -0.31 -1.71** -3.31 ** -1.22 0.53 -0.26 -1.51 -26.50** -0.05 0.72 0.58 -1.84* 0.52 -1.12** 12.22 3.33
LA-9 0.38* -0.04 0.19 0.29 -1.64** -0.22 -0.97** -3.09 ** -17.07 ** -42.00 ** -0.55 * -1.61 ** -1.72 -2.67 -1.34** -1.62 ** -147.78 ** -243.33 **
S.E (gi) 0.14 6.33 0.57 0.15 0.52 0.73 0.29 0.68 2.01 3.44
0.26 0.39 0.54 0.60 0.40 0.21 17.93 22.77
Testers
LA-12 0.18 0.01 1.03 * 0.08 0.11 0.44 -0.56* 0.64 1.09 1.08 -0.56** -0.11 0.69 0.83 0.55 -0.83** 23.89 6.67
LA-17 0.08 0.00 -0.68 -0.14 -0.81 -0.89 1.08 ** 0.02 -4.59** 3.58 0.43* 0.72 ** -0.36
-0.47 0.46 0.08 22.22 63.33**
LA-97 -0.26* -0.00 -0.35 0.06 0.69 0.44 -0.52* 0.62 3.49* -4.67 0.13 -0.61 * -0.32 -0.36 -1.01** 0.75 ** -46.11 ** -70.00 **
S.E (gi) 0.10 4.48 0.40 0.11 0.37 0.51 0.21 0.48 1.42 2.43
0.19 0.27 0.38 0.42 0.28 0.15 12.68 16.11
28

COMBINING ABILITY AND HETEROSIS
Table 3 . Estimates of Sca’ effects of 18 hybrids for yield and yield components
Crosses Vine length(m) Days to 50% female
flowering
Node no. of first
female flower
Length of the fruit (cm) Girth of the fruit (cm)
2000 2001 2000 2001 2000 2001 2000 2001 2000 2001
Jagtial Long x LA-12 0.22 0.44 ** 0.89 0.56 1.84 ** -2.76 * 3.164 ** -0.96 1.63 * -0.43
Jagtial Long x LA-17 -0.23 -0.05 1.19 -0.11 2.52 ** -2.72 0.56 1.14 1.10 1.05 **
JagtialLlong x LA-97 0.01 -0.39 ** 0.31 -0.44 -0.68 5.48 ** -3.73 ** -0.18 0.53 -0.62
Jaipur long x LA-12 -0.66 * 0.31 ** 1.89 0.56 -0.78 1.48 -3.50 ** -4.03 ** -0.21 -1.30 **
Jaipur long x LA-17 0.89 ** -0.24 * -3.19 ** -2.11 1.59 ** 0.31 -4.35 ** 2.07 0.62 -0.62
Jaipur long x LA-97 -0.23 -0.07 1.31 1.56 -0.81 -1.79 7.86 ** 1.96 -0.41 1.92 **
Chitrada beera x LA-12 -0.06 0.06 1.89 * 1.22 3.62 ** -0.12 -1.15 ** 0.41 1.42 0.40
Chitrada beera x LA-17 -0.06 0.07 -1.19 -1.44 -5.01 ** -0.49 1.55 ** 4.12 ** -0.05 1.28 **
Chitrada beera x LA-97 0.12 -0.13 -0.69 0.22 1.39 * 0.61 -0.39 -4.51 ** -1.37 -1.68
Pusa Nasadar x LA-12 0.01 -0.12 -4.78 ** -3.44 ** -2.38 ** 1.48 -1.77 ** -0.43 0.25 0.07
Pusa Nasadar x LA-17 -0.34 0.34 ** 5.64 ** 3.89 ** -1.21 * 1.81 1.58 ** 0.72 0.39 0.75
Pusa Nasadar x LA-97 0.34 -0.23 * -0.86 -0.44 3.59 ** -3.29 ** 0.19 -0.34 -0.64 -0.82 *
Errabalam local x LA-12 0.39 -0.11 2.89 ** 4.56 ** 0.59 3.04 * 0.48 6.34 ** 1.80 * 1.53 **
Errabalam local x LA-17 -0.06 -0.14 -1.19 -1.11 0.66 -1.12 -1.42 ** -8.56 -1.21 -2.08 **
Errabalam local x LA-97 -0.33 0.25 * -1.69 -3.44 * -1.24 * -1.92 0.94 ** 2.22 * -0.59 0.55
LA-9 x LA-12 0.11 -0.59 ** -2.78 ** -3.44 * 0.79 -3.12 * 2.78 ** -1.33 -1.63 -0.27
LA-9 x LA-17 -0.19 0.02 1.14 0.89 1.46 ** 2.21 2.08 ** 0.47 -0.85 -0.38
LA-9 x LA-97 0.09 0.57 ** 1.64 2.56 -2.24 ** 0.91 -4.86 ** 0.86 2.48 ** 0.65
SE(Sii) 0.25 0.11 0.90 1.26 0.51 1.18 0.45 1.04 0.69 0.36
Table3 contd….
29

NEERAJA
Crosses Wt. of the fruit (g.) No. of fruits / vine No. of branches / vine Yield(g)/ vine
2000 2001 2000 2001 2000 2001 2000 2001
Jagtial Long x LA-12 1.04 -4.08 0.11 0.78 -0.28 1.36 ** 139.44 ** 13.33
Jagtial Long x LA-17 2.52 6.42 -1.03 * -1.06 -1.07 -0.43 -148.89 ** -33.33
Jagtial Long x LA-97 -3.56 -2.33 0.92 0.28 1.35 -0.93 ** 9.44 20.00
Jaipur long x LA-12 -21.09 ** -14.58 * -3.16 ** -1.56 * 2.72 * 0.52 -400.56 ** -236.67 **
Jaipur long x LA-17 7.09 -17.58 ** -0.10 * -0.39 -0.57 -0.76 ** 1.11 -43.33
Jaipur long x LA-97 14.01 ** 32.17 ** 4.16 ** 1.94 ** -2.15 * 0.24 399.45 ** 280.00 **
Chitrada beera x LA-12 22.67 ** 11.92 -1.05 * -0.22 0.14 -0.24 -170.56 ** 90.00 *
Chitrada beera x LA-17 -32.45 ** 12.92 * 2.30 ** -0.06 0.60 -0.53 241.11 ** -66.67
Chitrada beera x LA-97 9.77 ** -24.83 ** -1.25 * 0.28 -0.74 0.77 ** -70.56 * -23.33
Pusa Nasadar x LA-12 -5.23 -1.58 1.49 ** 2.44 ** -0.86 1.19 ** 146.11 ** 106.67 *
Pusa Nasadar x LA-17 17.96 ** 43.92 ** 1.51 ** -0.39 0.35 -0.39 167.78 50.00
Pusa Nasadar x LA-97 -12.73 ** -33.33 ** -2.10 ** -2.06 ** 0.51 -0.79 ** -313.89 ** -156.67 **
Errabalam local x LA-12 13.97 ** 30.42 ** 1.89 -1.89 ** -0.86 -0.41 272.78 ** 60.00
Errabalam local x LA-17 -8.24 * -45.08 ** -1.82 ** 2.28 ** 0.35 0.81 ** -295.56 ** 73.33
Errabalam local x LA-97 -5.73 14.67 * -0.07 -0.39 0.51 -0.39 22.78 -133.33 **
LA-9 x LA-12 -11.36 ** -13.08 * 0.72 0.44 -0.86 -2.41 ** 12.78 -33.33
LA-9 x LA-17 13.12 ** -0.58 0.04 -0.39 0.35 1.31 ** 34.44 20.00
LA-9 x LA-97 -1.76 13.67 * -0.76 -0.06 0.51 1.11 ** -47.22 13.33
SE (Sii) 3.49 5.95 0.45 0.67 0.98 0.26 31.05 39.45
30

COMBINING ABILITY AND HETEROSIS
Table 4. Per cent heterosis, heterobeltiosis and standard heterosis for yield in ridge gourd
(Mean of two years)
S.No.
Crosses
FruitYield
t/ha
Heterosis Heterobeltiosis
Standard Heterosis
(over Surekha)
1 Jagtial Long x LA-12 14.35 100.00 97.92 -0.04
2 Jagtial Long x LA-17 12.23 63.863 55.80 -14.80
3 Jagtial Long x LA-97 12.56 27.56 125 -12.55
4 Jaipur long x LA-12 3.72 -56.52 -58.33 -74.09
5 Jaipur long x LA-17 7.85 8.33 0.00 -45.30
6 Jaipur long x LA-97 11.93 30.00 -2.50 -16.87
7 Chitrada beera x LA-12 10.65 97.22 47.92 -25.81
8 Chitrada beera x LA-17 13.16 112.34 65.38 -8.34
9 Chitrada beera x LA-97 9.39 15.60 -21.25 -34.61
10 Pusa Nasadar x LA-12 17.73 101.72 72.06 23.47
11 Pusa Nasadar x LA-17 17.81 96.67 73.55 24.04
12 Pusa Nasadar x LA-97 11.25 0.00 -7.50 -21.65
13 Errabalam local x LA-12 13.89 84.00 76.92 -3.25
14 Errabalam local x LA-17 10.18 28.85 28.85 -29.08
15 Errabalam local x LA-97 9.64 4.55 -21.25 -32.89
16 LA-9 x LA-12 8.11 20.00 12.50 -43.54
17 LA-9 x LA-17 9.21 22.00 17.31 -35.81
18 LA-9 x LA-97 7.03 -24.59 -42.50 -51.00
31

NEERAJA
REFERENCES
Abusaleha and Dutta O.P. 1994. Manifestation of heterosis in ridge gourd. Indian Journal of
Horticulture. 51(4) : 389-392.
Abusaleha and Dutta O.P. 1995. Studies on heterosis in Sponge gourd. Indian Journal of
Horticulture. 52(3) 222-225
Gill, H.S., Singh, J.P. and Singh, R. 1971. Studies on heterosis in summer squash Progressive
Horticulture. 32: 105-106
Hayes, H.K. and Jones, D.F. 1916a. First generation crosses in cucumber. Report of
Conon Agricultural Experimental Station. 5: 319-20.
Kempthorne, C. (1957). An introduction to genetical statistics. John Wiley and Sons Inc.,
New York.
32

J.Res. ANGRAU 36(4)33-40, 2008
AWARENESS AND ADOPTION OF COTTON (Gossypium hirsutum L.)
INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES BY THE FARMERS
OF WARANGAL DISTRICT IN ANDHRA PRADESH
G. SIVANARAYANA, M. RAMADEVI and P. VENKATA RAMAIAH
District Agricultural Advisory and Transfer of Technology Center, Warangal
Acharya N.G. Ranga Agricultural University, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad - 500 030
Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L) is one of the main cash crops in India. In Andhra
Pradesh it is cultivated in 10 lakh hectares out of which 1.6 lakh hectares was in Warangal
district during 2006 - 2007. It occupies only 5% of the cultivated area in India but 55% of the
total pesticides are applied to this crop alone(Agricultural statistics at a glance, 1997). In
spite of dramatic advances in pest control through chemical pesticides over the last half
century, pests have become an increasingly serious constraint in the agricultural production.
Simultaneously, the problems of pest resistance and resurgence vis-à-vis minor pests
becoming major have increased dramatically.. The only amicable solution is Integrated
Pest Management. This is a system approach involving the use of cultural practices, crop
husbandry, resistant varieties, biological and chemical control strategies. The purpose of
this investigation was to study the level of awareness and adoption of Integrated Pest Management
practices by the farmers in cotton.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
ABSTRACT
The results of the study revealed that majority of the respondents were of young age, literate,
belonged to forward caste, had a medium level of experience and took up farming as a sole occupation on 1-
2 hectares of land, belonged to nucleus family with size upto 5 members, annual income of upto Rs.50,000/-
and had medium level of extension contact. An overview of the findings indicated that 91.66 per cent and 93.33
per cent of the respondents had medium to low levels of awareness and adoption respectively. Therefore, it
stresses the need that the extension agency should gear up its various programmes to improve the adoption
level of the cotton IPM practices. Social participation and extension contact were the positive and significant
relationship with adoption of cotton IPM practices. Major reasons i.e., the lack of co-operation among the
farmers to adopt IPM on a community basis, availability of treated seed in the market, non-availability of NPV,
Bt., trichogramma cards, risk of the practice, availability of effective pesticides, time taking process to prepare
5% Neem Seed Kernel Extract, difficulty of intercultivation with intercropping, lack of interest were quoted by
70 to 93.33 per cent of farmers for non-adoption of IPM practices in cotton.
The study was conducted by using Ex-post-facto research design duly following the
random sampling procedure in Geesugonda and Sangem mandals of Warangal district in
Andhra Pradesh with a total of 60 respondents chosen from six selected villages viz., Ookal,
e mail : genikala_siva @yahoo.co.in
33

NARAYANA et.al.
Geesugonda, Elukurthy, Chitalapalli, Katrapally and Gandhinagar. Data were collected with
the help of pre-tested interview schedule. The scores were given to each practice like 1 and
2 for non-adoption and adoption category respectively. Based on the total awareness and
adoption scores obtained the respondents were grouped into three categories using arithmetic
mean and standard deviation as low, medium and high.
Eleven independent variables – age, education, caste, occupation, experience in
farming, family type, family size, size of land holding, annual income, social participation
and extension contact were selected for the study and their relationship with adoption were
tested by using correlation coefficient analysis. The respondents were grouped into three
categories based on the arithmetic mean and standard deviation as low, medium and high.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The data presented in table 1, revealed that 85 per cent of the farmers cultivating
cotton were young with age

AWARENESS AND ADOPTION OF COTTON
destruction of grown up larvae. It was observed that less than 12% of the respondents
adopted used Nucleo Polyhedrosis Virus (NPV) solution, followed acid delinting, used Bt.
(Bacillus thuringiensis var kurstaki) formulation and trichogramma cards. The possible reason
for adoption of all the practices could be observability, relative advantage, compatibility,
divisibility and complexity..
An analysis of the relationship between the profile of farmers and the adoption of
Integrated Pest Management practices through correlation coefficients is presented in table
4. The results showed that only 2 parameters- social participation and extension contacts
had positive and significant correlations. This implies that awareness and adoption practices
of integrated Pest Management in cotton can be motivated by encouraging the farmers in
social participation and extension contact more frequently.
The constraint analysis exhibited two major reasons i.e., the lack of co-operation
among the farmers to adopt Integrated Pest Management on a community basis and availability
of treated seed in the market (Table 5). The second order constraints expressed by 70
to 86% of the farmers were non-availability of NPV, Bt., trichogramma cards, risk of the
practice, availability of effective pesticides, time taking process to prepare 5% Neem seed
kernel extract difficulty of intercultural operations with intercropping and lack of interest.
In addition to the above, 36.67 to 63% of the farmers expressed the following reasons
in the non-adoption of cotton Integrated Pest Management practices, viz., may not
give quick result, not effective, high cost of the practice, require more labour, pest may
increase and negligence/carelessness, lack of knowledge about benefit of the practice, less
useful than pesticides, lack of confidence about the practices, yield reduction with intercropping,
laborious process and lack of awareness. This result was similar to the findings reported
by Anand Singh (1995) and Dharmindra Singh and Ravinder Kaur (2004). The constraints
expressed for non-adoption of recommended cotton Integrated Pest Management
practices should be taken care by the researchers and extension personnel to reorient their
activities for higher adoption of recommended cotton Integrated Pest Management practices
for maximum production.
35

NARAYANA et.al.
Table 1. Distribution of respondents according to their profile.
(n = 60)
Sl.No. Variable Category Frequency Percentage
1. Age 55 years 2 3.33
2. Illiterate 4 6.67
Primary 19 31.67
Education
High school 23 38.33
Intermediate 13 21.67
Graduate 1 1.66
3. Caste SC/ST 2 3.33
BC 19 31.67
FC 39 65.00
4. Farming 53 88.33
Occupation
Farming + Agrl. Labour - -
Farming + Caste occupation 1 1.67
Farming + Business 4 6.67
Farming + Service 2 3.33
5. Experience in Low 12 20.00
farming Medium 35 58.33
High 13 21.67
6. Family type Nuclear 43 71.67
Joint 17 28.33
7. Family size Upto 5 42 70.00
>5 18 30.00
8. Size of land holding < 1 ha. 15 25.00
1 – 2 ha. 45 75.00
> 2 ha. - -
9. Annual income Upto 50,000/- 43 71.67
50001 – 1,00,000/- 17 28.33
> 1,00,000/- - -
36

AWARENESS AND ADOPTION OF COTTON
1 2 3 4 5
10. Social participation No membership 46 76.67
Membership in > one 14 23.33
organization
11. Extension contact Low - -
Medium 51 85.00
High 9 15.00
Table 2. Distribution of respondents based on their awareness and adoption scores
on cotton IPM Practices
(n = 60)
S.No.
Category
Awareness
Adoption
Frequency Percentage Frequency Percentage
1. Low 8 13.33 5 8.33
2. Medium 47 78.33 51 85.00
3. High 5 8.33 4 6.67
Table 3. Extent of adoption of recommended IPM practices on cotton
S.No.
Practice
Respondents (n=60)
Adopted
Not adopted
Frequency Percentage Frequency Percentage
1. Removal and burning of 52 86.67 8 13.33
previous crop stubbles
2. Summer ploughing 54 9.00 6 10.00
3. Crop rotation 44 73.33 16 26.67
4. Application of organic manures 50 83.33 10 16.67
5. Acid delinting 3 5.00 57 95.00
6. Seed treatment 14 23.33 46 76.67
7. Growing of guard crops 16 26.67 44 73.33
8. Growing of inter crops 18 30.00 42 70.00
9. Growing of trap crops 45 75.00 15 25.00
10. Stem application of Mono- 15 25.00 45 75.00
crotophos
37

NARAYANA et.al.
1 2 3 4 5 6
11. Using pheromone traps 16 26.67 44 73.33
12. Using yellow traps 12 20.00 48 80.00
13. Using light traps 32 53.33 28 46.67
14. Topping 47 78.33 13 21.67
15. Using bird perches 21 35.00 39 65.00
16. Using 5% Neem Seed Kernel 19 31.67 41 68.33
Extract
17. Using NPV solution 7 11.67 53 88.33
18. Using Bt. Bacillus thuringiensis 4 6.67 56 93.33
var kurstaki
19. Using trichogramma cards 4 6.67 56 93.33
20. Collection and destruction of 26 43.33 34 56.67
grown up larvae
21. Poison baiting for Spodoptera 37 61.67 23 38.33
22. Need based plant protection 18 30.00 42 70.00
measures
Table 4. Relationship between adoption and profile of the respondents
Sl.No. Independent Variable 'r' value
1. Age - 0.200
2. Education 0.240
3. Caste - 0.090
4. Occupation 0.176
5. Experience in farming 0.178
6. Family type 0.144
7. Family size 0.163
8. Size of land holding 0.090
9. Annual income - 0.070
10. Social participation 0.307 *
11. Extension contact 0.357**
38

AWARENESS AND ADOPTION OF COTTON
Table 5. Reasons for non-adoption of recommended cotton IPM practices
Sl.No. Constraint Frequency Percentage
1. Risk of the practice 47 78.33
2. Lack of knowledge about benefit of the practice 28 46.67
3. Non-availability of Nucleo Polyhedrosis Virus 52 86.67
(NPV), Bacillus thuringiensis var kurstaki (Bt.),
Trichogramma cards
4. Not effective 38 63.33
5. Difficulty of intercultural operations with 44 73.33
intercropping
6. Laborious process 23 38.33
7. Lack of awareness 22 36.67
8. IPM practices are less useful than pesticides 28 46.67
9. High cost of the practice 34 56.67
10. Lack of interest 43 71.67
11. Negligence/carelessness 30 50.00
12. Lack of confidence about the practices 26 43.33
13. Pest may increase 32 53.33
14. May not give quick result 38 63.33
15. Availability of effective pesticides 47 78.33
16. Needs community approach 56 93.33
17. Require more labour 33 55.00
18. Time taking process to prepare 5% Neem 45 75.00
Seed Kernel Extract
19. Availability of treated seed in the market 54 90.00
20. Yield reduction with intercropping 26 43.33
39

NARAYANA et.al.
REFERENCES
Anand Singh, K. 1995. Analysis of farmers constraints in cotton production. Maharashtra
journal of Extension Education. XIV : 111 – 116.
Agricultural statistics at a glance, 1997. Directorate of Economics and statistics, Ministry of
Agriculture, Government of India. pp.148.
Dharmindra Singh and Ravinder Kaur, 2004. Knowledge level of the cotton growers regarding
IPM practices. Journal of Extension Education. 15 (2&3) : 3611 – 3618.
40

J.Res. ANGRAU 36(4)41-48, 2008
ZONATION OF RABI SORGHUM (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) AREA
OF MAHARASHTRA ON THE BASIS OF POTENTIAL YIELD
V. Ravi Kumar, S. R. Kumar and M. Anji Reddy
National Research Centre for Sorghum, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad - 500 030
ABSTRACT
Cluster analysis for rabi sorghum grain yield of similar pattern of years in 22 out of 34 districts of
Maharashtra was carried out from the yield levels of 25 years from 1980 to 2004 by following Ward’s minimum
variance method. Three clusters were identified. The most consistent production level was represented by
cluster-2 for 14 out of 25 years. A total of three zones were identified through the cluster-2 representing mean
yield levels of Zone 1 as low i.e., less than 550 kg ha -1 , Zone 2 as medium with yield ranging from 550 to 1000
kg ha -1 and Zone 3 as high with yield more than 1000 kg ha -1 . A dendrogram was prepared and coherent yield
zones were identified. The map depicts the districts Ahmednagar, Pune and Solapur in Zone 1A, and Bhandara,
Chandrapur, Gadchiroli, Nagpur and Wardha in Zone 1B. Contiguous blocks of districts comprising of Dhule,
Nashik, Aurangabad, Bid and Buldana are termed as Zone 2A, two districts Satara and Sangli as Zone 2B. The
districts under Maratwada region, Jalna, Parbhani, Nanded, Latur and Osmanabad are demarcated as Zone
2C. The most potential zone was 3A with yield >1000 kg ha -1 consisted of two districts Jalgaon and Kolhapur.
In India, rabi sorghum is predominantly grown on residual soil moisture in the medium
to deep vertisols in Deccan plateau regions of Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.
There is a regional imbalance in the productivity of the crop owing to highly variable edaphic
and climatic conditions vis-à-vis the cultivation practices adopted by the farmers. This provides
an opportunity to cluster homogenous areas like districts within a state to identify the
production constraints. The formations of coherent zones are also useful in regional yield
forecasting. Several approaches have been adopted to classify regions of similar ecology,
rainfall pattern, moisture regime and yield etc. The most prominent approaches are based on
geographical and physiographic features (Anonymous, 1998) or climatic conditions
(Thornthwaite, 1948) and were based on GIS, remote sensing and empirical approach.
A scientifically appropriate statistical approach (Hierarchical clustering) was applied
for the first time for classifying districts of Uttar Pradesh on the basis of variability in wheat
yields by Nain et al. (2002). In the context of regional yield forecasting, the utility of this
approach increases as within a zone the crop yields behave in similar manner. This approach
forms basis for not only avoiding lengthy process of validation of simulation model, collection
of weather data and other inputs for each district, but also save money and time.
e-mail : vemularavi@gmail.com
41

KUMAR et.al.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
The data on mean rabi sorghum yield from the most predominant 22 out of 34 districts
in Maharashtra were gathered for the past 25 years from 1980 – 2004. Data were collected
from the web-site http://agri.mah.nic.in/agri/stat for area, production and yield. Cluster analysis
was carried out using Ward’s Minimum Variance Method by SYSTAT 9.0 statistical software.
The spatial variations among the regions can be readily studied by applying the
procedures of cluster analysis. Suppose there are ‘m’ regions to be classified. Corresponding
to the i th region, let X i
be the observational vector consisting of k variables (i=1,…m). These
variables represent characters such as monthly rainfall, proportion of area under crops and
the productivity of crops. The data on the m-regions provide estimate of the covariance
matrix of the variables. From this matrix, regions can be clustered on the basis of either the
principal component scores in the multi-dimensional plane or the inter-region squared
standardized distances d 2 (ij) (i#j= 1,.., m).
Among the various clustering methods, those based on Principal Component scores
(Ordination Techniques) fail to identify the closer regions than the distant ones (Rohlf, 1970).
The procedures developed under Hierarchical approach are less subjective and the clusters
can be readily studied through the tree diagram, known as the dendogram. The clustering
methods categorized under this approach such as the average linkage method or a more
precise to it, the Ward’s Minimum Variance method can be applied.
In Ward’s Minimum Variance and hierarchical methods, the regions are classified on
the basis of a criterion assumed to measure the similarity between the regions. A comparison
of such similarity coefficients among the pairs of regions finally leads to a tree diagram,
known as the Dendrogram, which helps in identifying the clusters.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The results showed that, cluster 2 represented a high consistency in yield for 14 out
of 25 years. This was true for all the 22 districts studied. Cluster 1 had a low consistency,
the mean yield represented only 1/3 of the total period of 25 years. Cluster 3 was highly
inconsistent representing only 1/8 th of the total number of years (Table 1). Therefore, cluster
2 was chosen for further analysis into zones of similar yield pattern. It was observed that
there were 3 distinct zones (Fig. 2).
A total of 8 districts viz., Ahmadnagar, Bhandara, Chandrapur, Gadchiroli, Nagpur,
Pune, Solapur and Wardha were characterized in Zone 1. The yield level was less than 550
kg ha -1 . But, a majority of 12 districts viz. Aurangabad, Buldhana, Bid, Dhule, Jalna, Latur,
Nanded, Nasik, Osmanabad, Parbhani, Sangli and Satara in Zone 2 produced moderate
42

ZONATION OF RABI SORGHUM
yield of 550 – 1000 kg ha -1 . Nonetheless, two districts Jalgaon in extreme North and Kolhapur
in South were the most potential and were characterized as Zone 3. The yield exceeded
1000 kg ha -1 in this zone.
Spatially contiguous districts in each zone obtained through the dendrogram in Fig.1
are displayed in the map (Fig. 3). The dendrogram characterized Nagpur, Solapur and Pune
as one group while Bhandra, Gadchiroli, Wardha, Chandrapur, and Ahmadnagar formed another
group within Zone 1. But, considering the coherent level of production, Ahmadnagar, Pune
and Solapur districts of Western Maharashtra region was a contiguous block termed as
Zone-1A with a mean yield of 450 kg ha -1 while districts Bhandara, Chandrapur, Gadchiroli,
Nagpur, and Wardha of Vidharbha region formed Zone-1B which had a relatively better average
yield of 500 kg ha -1 .
Zone-2A on the basis of geographical location with a mean yield of 550 kg ha -1 was
in Dhule and Nashik districts of Western Maharashtra, Aurangabad and Bid of Marthwada
and Buldana of vidharbha regions respectively. The districts of Satara and Sangli were
designated as Zone-2B with a mean yield of 600 kg ha -1 . A still high yield of 650 kg ha -1 was
represented by the contiguous block comprising of five districts Jalna, Parbhani, Nanded,
Latur, and Osmanabad in the Marathwada region classified as Zone-2C.
The most potent region with a mean yield of 1093 kg ha -1 identified was Zone-3A in
the exterior parts of Maharashtra, i.e. Jalgaon in the North and Kolhapur in the South.
Comparison of yield estimation zones with the regional boundaries and NARP zones
is furnished in Table 2. The characterization of zones on the basis of grain production per
unit area delineate, the agro-ecological blocks of similar yield levels to forecast the yield
trends from different regions and also to identify the technological interventions to be prioritized.
Table 1. Clusters on basis of years of similar yield pattern
Name Cluster 1 Cluster 2 Cluster 3
(8 Years) (14 Years) (3 Years)
Ahmadnagar 307* 423* 317*
Aurangabad 329* 645* 508*
Bhandara 461* 387* 402*
Buldhana 481* 623* 390*
Bid 449* 635* 617*
43

KUMAR et.al.
1 2 3 4
Chandrapur 430* 407* 334*
Dhule 596* 812* 1255*
Gadchiroli 403* 395* 340*
Jalgaon 888* 1209* 1380*
Jalna 516* 729* 579*
Kolhapur 540* 1241* 1607*
Latur 440* 690* 422*
Nagpur 405* 462* 166*
Nanded 544* 811* 808*
Nashik 336* 583* 540*
Osmanabad 420* 705* 289*
Parbhani 504* 711* 452*
Pune 411* 496* 412*
Sangli 345* 556* 447*
Satara 661* 745* 694*
Solapur 301* 481* 235*
Wardha 434* 407* 272*
* Average yield of rabi sorghum for respective years
Table 2. Comparison of identified coherent zones to region and ICAR N.A.R.P zones
Sl.No. Name Average Zone Region N.A.R.P.
grain
yield(kg ha -1 )
1 Ahmadnagar 373 1A W 6
2 Pune 459 1A W 4-5-6
3 Solapur 394 1A W 6
4 Bhandara 412 1B V 9
44

ZONATION OF RABI SORGHUM
1 2 3 4 5 6
5 Chandrapur 406 1B V 8-9
6 Gadchiroli 391 1B V 9
7 Nagpur 429 1B V 8
8 Wardha 410 1B V 8
9 Aurangabad 528 2A M 6-7
10 Buldhana 553 2A V 7
11 Bid 573 2A M 6-7
12 Dhule 796 2A W 5-6
13 Nashik 499 2A W 4-5-6
14 Sangli 476 2B W 5-6
15 Satara 712 2B W 5-6
16 Jalna 648 2C M 7
17 Latur 584 2C M 7
18 Nanded 725 2C M 7-8
19 Osmanabad 564 2C M 6-7
20 Parbhani 614 2C M 7-8
21 Jalgaon 1127 3A W 7
22 Kolhapur 1060 3A W 4
REGION: W – Western Maharashtra, V – Vidharbha, and M – Marthwada.
AGRO – CLIMATIC ZONES AS PER N.A.R.P - 4: Transition Zone – I, 5: Transition
Zone – II, 6: Scarcity Zone, 7: Assured Rainfall Zone, 8: Moderate to Moderately
High Rainfall Zone, and 9: High Rainfall Zone with Soils formed from Rocks of
mixed origin.
45

KUMAR et.al.
0 5 10 15 20 25
Fig. 1. Dendrogram of inter-district distances of districts in Maharashtra
46

ZONATION OF RABI SORGHUM
Fig. 2. Rabi sorghum yield variability zones of Maharashtra
Fig. 3. Coherent rabi sorghum yield variability zones of Maharashtra
47

KUMAR et.al.
REFERENCES
Anonymous, 1998. Agro-climate Regional Planning – Recent developments. Working Paper
No. 10, ARPU, Ahmedabad. pp. 220.
Rohlf, F.J. 1970. Adaptive hierarchical clustering schemes. Systematic zoology 18:58-82.
Nain, A.S., Dadhwal, V.K., Sehgal, V.K., Vyas, S.P. and Parihar, J.S. 2002. Wheat yield
forecast in Uttar Pradesh using crop simulation models. Scientific Note. RSAM/SAC/
FASAL-TD/SN/15/2002. Space Applications Centre, ISRO, Ahmedaabd. pp. 75.
Thorthwaite, C.W. 1948. An approach toward a rational classification of climate. Georgr.
Rev. 38:55-94.
48

Research Note
J.Res. ANGRAU 36(4)49-53, 2008
TRANSIENT GUS GENE EXPRESSION IN SAFFLOWER (Carthamus
tinctorius L.) USING PARTICLE BOMBARDMENT
B. JYOTHI, N. A ANSARI and M. SUJATHA
Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, College of Agriculture,
ANGRAU, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad - 500 030
Genetic improvement of safflower is complicated. It involves simultaneous
improvement of both seed yield and oil content. Recent advances in biotechnology made it
possible to develop superior safflower genotypes through the application of classical breeding
techniques together with tissue culture and modern biotechnology tools. Conventional breeding
helped in developing several elite cultivars, while in-vitro technology served as an alternate
means for further genetic improvement. The successful methods of plant transformation are
Agrobacterium mediated gene transfer and Biolistics among others (Poulsen, 1996). The
ability to deliver foreign DNA directly into regenerable cells, tissues or organs appear to
provide the best method at present to achieve truly genotype independent transformation in
many agronomic crops, bypassing Agrobacterium host specificity and tissue culture related
regeneration difficulties. Microprojectile bombardment (Sanford, 1998) employs high velocity
metal particles to deliver biologically active DNA into plant cells. Presence of foreign DNA in
plant tissues is known by including a reporter gene expressing protein that can be conveniently
assayed. The µid gene (Gus gene) of Escherchia coli coding for ß-glucuronidase (Jefferson
et al., 1987) is the most widely used reporter gene in plants. Hence, this experiment was
conducted to study the transient Gus gene expression in mature embryos, different seedling
explants and calli derived from them of selected safflower genotypes using histochemical
assay.
The material for the present investigation was procured from Directorate of Oil Seeds
Research, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad. Four week callus derived from mature embryos and
four direct explants were placed on the osmoticum medium four hours before and after
bombardment to increase the efficiency of transformation. (Vain et al., 1993). Gene Pro
2000 He provides an inexpensive simple to operate and locally built device for particle
bombardment of cells for the transfer of selected DNA into a variety of target tissues. Tungsten
stock suspension was prepared after sterilizing tungsten particles in ethanol. 50 ml of tungsten,
10 µl of CaCl 2
and 20 µl of 100 ml spermidine were mixed and placed at 4 0 C. After 5 minutes,
100 µl of supernatant was removed and discarded. For bombardment, micro centrifuge tube
e-mail : jyothi_rishik@yahoo.com
49

JYOTHI et.al.
containing plasmid /DNA mixture was aliquoted onto the screen in the filter holder. Plant
tissue in petri plates along with baffle was placed on the adjustable tray at distance of 15 cm
from the screen. A vacuum of 550 mm Hg was applied and the particles were discharged
when the He gas was released following activation of the solenoid by the timer relay button.
Histochemical assay was done to detect the integration of the reporter gene (Gus gene) into
the target tissue. Four hours after bombardment, the plant tissue was incubated in X-gluc
solution at 37 0 C overnight and ß-glucuronidase activity was determined microscopically.
Microphotographs of the results were taken.
The Gus expression was highly variable among different explants and genotypes of
safflower. The expression was 100% in mature embryos and cotyledonary leaves of two
genotypes Bhima and A-1. The expression of this gene was 80.0 and 85.71 % in the hypocotyls
of the corresponding genotypes. This transient expression was superior even to the mature
embryos of the genotype JSI-7 which expressed 66.67% transformation. The expression of
Gus was 88.89% in the mature embryos of Co-1. The cotyledonary leaf of this genotype also
had a high expression of 80.0% compared to the mature embryo of JSI-7. The hypocotyls of
Co-1 and roots of Bhima, A-1 and JSI-7 recorded less expression of Gus compared to other
explants of the respective genotypes. The callus derived from mature embryos of Bhima
and A-1 genotypes of safflower recorded high expression of Gus to the extent of 90.0 and
93.54% than from the other explants.
The callus derived from the cotyledonary leaves of Co-1 exhibited a high expression
of 92.31% than others. This was higher than the direct explants of this genotype. The callus
derived from the roots of JSI-7 had Gus expression of 66.67%. This was as high as the
direct explant of mature embryo and higher than others. Rohini and Rao (2000), employed
embryo axes of safflower cultivars A-1 and A-300 for Agrobacterium mediated transformation
and obtained a transformation frequency of 5.3 % in A-1 and 1.3 % in A-300 following
histochemical assay and screening using southern blotting. An ideal target for particle
bombardment for production of transgenic plants should be capable of integrating introduced
DNA and regenerating intact plants. Particle bombardment of zygotic embryo has been used
as transformation system in cotton (Banerjee et al., 2002) and maize (Kennedy et al.,
2001). Zygotic embryos were used in Agrobacterium mediated transformation of maize (Frame
et al., 2002), Carica papaya (Azad and Rabbani, 2005) and cotton (Banerjee et al., 2002).
The suitability of zygotic embryos for particle bombardment was earlier reported by Lappara
et al., (1995). Aulinger et al., (2003) reported that in maize zygotic embryos were more
efficient for transformation than gametic embryos though the latter can be more potentially
transformed than the former.
50

TRANSIENT GUS GENE EXPRESSION IN SAFFLOWER
Ying et al., (1992) reported that direct shoot regeneration from leaf tissue of safflower may
be a useful alternative to regeneration from callus. Directly regenerated transgenic shoots
would retain the desirable agronomic traits of the starting material and thus eliminate the
necessity of extensive backcrossing after introducing novel genes. The results in the present
investigation suggest that mature embryos are more suited as target tissue for particle
bombardment as they can be cultured in-vitro for direct morphogenesis without callus phase
and somaclonal variation associated with callus cultures could be avoided.
Table 1. Transient Gus expression (%) of different explants mature embryo, root, hypocotyl
and cotyledonary leaf of the four safflower genotypes.
Explant Bhima CO-1 A-1 JSI-7 Mean
Mature embryo 100.00 88.89 100.00 66.67 88.89
Root 77.78 62.50 57.14 28.57 56.49
Hypocotyl 80.00 40.00 85.71 57.14 65.71
Cotyledonary leaf 100.00 80.00 100.00 55.56 83.89
Mean 89.45 67.85 85.71 51.99 73.75
Table 2. Transient Gus expression (%) of callus derived from different explants mature
embryo, root, hypocotyl and cotyledonary leaf of the four safflower genotypes.
Explant Bhima CO-1 A-1 JSI-7 Mean
Mature embryo 90.00 69.23 93.54 59.16 77.98
Root 76.92 61.54 75.00 66.67 70.03
Hypocotyl 80.00 50.85 76.92 61.53 67.33
Cotyledonary leaf 84.62 92.31 84.62 44.44 76.49
Mean 82.89 68.48 82.52 57.95 72.90
51

JYOTHI et.al.
Plate 1 Microphotograph of mature embryo explant of Bhima showing Gus expression
Plate 2 Microphotograph of callus derived from mature embryo of Bhima
52

TRANSIENT GUS GENE EXPRESSION IN SAFFLOWER
REFERENCES
Aulinger, I.E., Peter, S.O., Schmid, I.E and Stamp, P. 2003. Gametic embryos of maize as
a target for biolistic transformation: comparison to immature zygotic embryos. Plant
Cell Reports. 21(6): 585-591
Azad, M.A.K. and Rabbani, M. A. 2005. Genetic transformation of Carica papaya by infecting
mature zygotic embryos with Agrobacterium tumefaciens strains LBA-4404.
Biotechnology. 4 (3): 235-237
Banarjee, A. K., Agarwal, D. C., Nalawade, S. M and Krishnamurthy, K. V. 2002. Transient
expression of beta-glucuronidase in embryo axes of cotton by Agrobacterium and
particle bombardment methods. Biologia-Plantarum. 45 (3): 359-365
Frame, B. R., Shou, H. X., Chikwamba, R. K., Zhang, Z.Y., Xiang, C. B., Fonger, T. M.,
Pegg, S. E. K., Li, B. C., Nettleton, D. S., Pei, D. Q and Wang, K. 2002. Agrobacterium
tumefaciens mediated transformation of maize embryos using a standard binary vector
system. Plant Physiology. 129 (1): 13-22
Jefferson, R. A., Kavanagh, T. A. and Bevan, M. V. 1987. Gus as sensitive and versatile
fusion marker in higher plants. EMBO. 6: 3901-3907.
Kennedy, O. M. M., Burger, J. T and Berger, D. K. 2001. Transformation of elite white maize
using the particle inflow gun and detailed analysis of a low- copy integration event.
Plant Cell Reports. 20 (8): 721-730
Lappara, H., Burrus, M., Hunold, R., Damm, B., Bravo-Angel, A., Bronner, R and Hahne, G.
1995. Expression pf foreign genes in sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.)- evaluation of
three gene transfer methods. Euphytica. 85: 63-74
Poulson, G.B. 1996. Genetic transformation of Brassica. Plant Breeding. 209-225. 115:
Rohini, V.K and Rao, K.S. 2000. Embryo transformation, a practical approach for realizing
transgenic plants of safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.). Annals of Botany. 86 (5):
1043-1049.
Sanford, J.C. 1998. The biolistic process. Trends Biotechnolgy. 6: 299-302.
Vain, P., Finer, J.J. and MC Mullen, M.D 1993. Osmotic treatment enhances particle
bombardment –mediated transient and stable transformation of maize. Plant Cell
Reports. 12: 84-88.
Ying, M., Dyer, W.E and Bergman, J.W. 1992. Agrobacterium tumefaciens – mediated
transformation of safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) cv. ‘Centennial’. Plant Cell
Reports. 11: 581-585.
53

Research Note
J.Res. ANGRAU 36(4)54-56, 2008
MEMBRANE THERMOSTABILITY TEST AS AN INDICATION OF HEAT
TOLERANCE IN WHEAT (Triticum aestivum L. Em.Thell.)
S. R. REDDY, A. K. CHHABRA, R. K. BEHL and N. P. E. REDDY
Department of Plant Breeding
CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar – 125 004
Wheat (Triticum aestivum) is one of the most important cereal crops of the world. In
India, it is the second most important cereal after rice and grown under diverse agro-climatic
conditions. Sometimes the crop is subjected to heat stress at maturity phase because of
delayed sowing due to various reasons. To screen for the heat stress tolerant genotype,
membrane thermo stability test was used. By using this method we can accurately decide
which of the genotypes can tolerate heat stress based on the percentage of electrolyte
leakage, which is an indication of tolerance or susceptibility index of genotype.
The seed material of 5 wheat genotypes viz., PBW 452, RAJ 3765, LOK 45, PBW
343, CBW 12 and their F 1
s, F 2
s, BC 1
s as well as BC s were provided by the Department of
2
Plant Breeding. These generations were grown in the field under two dates of sowing on 25 th
November to provide optimum environment and on 25 th December for heat stress environment
during the winter season 2002.
Flag leaf of parents and F 1
progenies of five crosses viz., PBW 452 x RAJ 3765,
PBW 452 × LOK 45, PBW 452× PBW 343, CBW12 × RAJ 3765 and CBW 12× LOK 45 were
used for membrane thermostability test. Three flag leaf samples of each parent as well as
their F 1
s were taken at the time of anthesis to conduct the test. Ten cm part of each flag leaf
was taken and its midrib was removed and leaf was cut into two equal halves length wise.
Each half was further cut in to two pieces, one piece for use as control and the other for
giving the treatment. The leaf pieces were washed with distilled water and put into thoroughly
washed glass test tubes. The mouth of test tubes were covered with sarren wrap and incubated
in the water bath at 52 0 C for 15 minutes. It was ensured that the test tubes were completely
dipped in to the water. After the treatment was over, 10 ml of distilled water was added to
each test tube including controlled one. Then all the test tubes were held at 10 0 C over night
to allow diffusion of electrolytes from plant material to water. The electrical conductivity (EC)
of control and treated test tubes was recorded. The test tubes were then autoclaved at 15
e mail : ramanareddysiddu@gmail.com
54

MEMBRANE THERMOSTABILITY TEST
PSI pressure for 2 minutes to allow complete electrolyte leakage. Test tubes were cooled at
room temperature and final EC was recorded. The membrane thermostability expressed as
relative injury was calculated using the formula given by Blum (1998).
Relative Injury (%) = 1-[{1-(T 1
/T 2
)}/ {1-(C 1
/C 2
)}] x 100
Where, T and C refer to conductance values for treated and control test tubes, respectively
and the subscripts 1 and 2 refer to initial and final conductance readings, T 1
represents the
leachate due to treatment which is the cellular response to the stress treatment and T 2
represents total leachates in cells whose membranes are challenged. Proportion of T 1
and T 2
provide an index of membrane thermostability.
The results showed that the relative injury of five female parents ranged from 32.13
to 33.10%. The male parents were more susceptible to the heat stress. The parent PBW 343
was most susceptible (Table 1). The relative injury was 50%. The hybrid obtained by crossing
this parent with PBW 452 was most vulnerable with 40.5% relative injury. High temperature
disrupts cell membranes (Ibrahim and Quick, 2001) and leads to temperature induced leakage
of ions as indicated by the electrical conductivity measurements. It has previously been
observed that heat tolerance correlates well with the tolerance for stress and other plant
physiological functions (Blum, 1988; Premchandra et al., 1989 and Deshmukh et al., 1991).
Heat stress leads to increased leakage due to transition in membrane lipid phase. Heat
treatment of 49ºC in winter wheat exhibited greater relative injury as compared to heat shock
treatment at 48ºC (Saadalla et al., 1990). Electrolyte leakage has also been reported to be a
good index of heat stress tolerance character in pear (Wu and Stephen, 1983). Among the
five crosses PBW 452 X LOK 45 was the most heat tolerant with relative injury of 26.26%
which was less severe than either of the parents (Table1). The two parents involved in this
cross were also tolerant to heat stress as they had lower injury levels compared to other
parents. This phenomenon is generally controlled by genes. The crosses involving parents
PBW 452, LOK 45 and RAJ 3765 performed relatively better under drought stress due to
greater plasticity. It would therefore be logical to select transgressive segregants combining
thermotolerance and per se performance in these crosses in early generations of F 2
and F 3
.
These can be ultimately established into purelines, thermotolerant high yielding cultivars for
terminal heat stress during grain formation stage.
55

REDDY et.al.
Table 1. Relative injury per plant as determined by the membrane thermostability
in five wheat crosses
Crosses P 1
P 2
F 1
PBW 452 x RAJ 3765 32.13±0.01 37.34±0.21 31.93±0.29
PBW452xLOK 45 32.13±0.01 37.94±0.13 26.26±0.14
PBW452xPBW343 32.13±0.01 50.00±0.17 40.50±0.18
CBW12xRAJ 3765 33.10±0.20 37.34±0.19 32.50±0.06
CBW12xLOK 45 33.10±0.20 37.94±0.10 35.96±0.20
P 1
=Female parent, P 2
=Male parent, F 1
=Hybrid between P 1
and P 2
REFERENCES
Blum, A. 1988. Plant breeding for stress environments (4 th ed.), CRS Press, Florida.pp.352
Deshmukh, P.S., Sairam, R.K. and Sukha, D.S. 1991. Measurement of ion leakage as a
screening technique for drought resistant in wheat genotypes. Indian Journal of Plant
Physiology. 34 (1): 89-91.
Ibrahim, A. M. H. and Quick, J. S. 2001. Genetic control of high temperature tolerance in
wheat as measured by membrane thermostability. Crop Science. 41 (4): 1405-1407.
Premchandra, G. S., Sameoka, H. and Ogata, S. 1989. Nutrio- physiological evaluation of
the polyethylene glycol test of cell membrane stability in maize. Crop Science. 29 (5):
1287-1292.
Saadalla, M. M., Shanahan, J. F. and Quick, J.S.1990. Heat tolerance in winter wheat:
I.Hardening and genetic effects on membrane thermostability. Crop Science. 30:1243-
1247.
Wu, M.T. and Stephen, J.W. 1983. Heat stress responses in cultured plant cells. Heat
tolerance induced by shock vs elevated growing temperature. Plant Physiology. 72:
817-820.
56

Research Note
J.Res. ANGRAU 36(4)57-60, 2008
UTILIZATION OF HEALTH SERVICES AND IMMUNIZATIONAL
STATUS OF GRAMASIRI FAMILIES
V. SANTHI SRI KOTAMAMBA and P.YASHODA DEVI
Department of Food and Nutrition,
Post Graduate and Research Centre, ANGRAU,
Rajendranagar, Hyderabad - 500 030
Gramasiri is a voluntary organization working for the development of rural population
in 36 villages of Bapatla and Karlapalem mandals. It is providing health benefits through
organization of health camps, maternal and child health services. Utilization of health services
is one of the important indicators to assess the impact of development programme. Hence
this study was taken up.
An impact analysis of Gramasiri adopted villages was made from 4 out of the 8
villages in Bapatla. They were Nandirajuthota, Vengalvihar, Prabhavathi Nagar and Sivaram
Nagar. This was compared with the maternal and child health programme in 4 villages-
K.B.Palem, Gulam Hussain thota, Kotha palem and Mulapalem not adopted by Gramasiri.
Assessment was made for the relative health service utilization and immunization status
between the two groups through a structured and pretested schedule. Thirty families were
selected at random from each village. One preschool child was selected from each of these
families. Thus there were a total of 120 children from each group. The data collected was
tabulated and statistically analyzed using Chi-square test.
The outcome of health utilization services by the farmers of Gramasiri adopted and
non-adopted villages is furnished in table 1. All the mothers sampled in Gramasiri villages
received prenatal care unlike only 69.2% in the non-adopted villages. Prenatal care of mothers
is essential for the development of child. This calls for awareness in the villages not adopted
by this organization. The type of prenatal care received by mothers was wholistic. All the
mothers took tablets of iron and folic acid, received T.T. injections and attended the periodical
medical check ups. But the percentages of mothers receiving these prenatal care types
were 68.3, 69.2 and 39.2 respectively in the non-adopted villages. The only source of these
medical services was through the Gramasiri hospital health staff. The Government paramedical
staff was the major source for 30 % of the mothers, private doctors for 23.3% and Government
hospital for 15.83% of those in non-adopted villages. The village Dais were the prominent
source for delivery of 55.8% mothers while 32.5% deliveries were done through private doctors.
But 70.8% of mothers in Gramasiri villages approached the trained multipurpose health workers
only 10.8% approached the village Dais. The source of medical service for child health care
e-mail: santhi2020@rediffmail.com
57

KOTAMAMBA and DEVI
was in Gramasiri group largely through the Gramasiri hospital and trained multipurpose health
workers (74.2%). But the medical service for child health care in non Grama siri group was
by the Government hospital staff (53.3%) and by private doctors.(43.3%)
The study indicated that the health seeking behaviour was better in Gramasiri
families as evidenced by the prenatal care received by all the mothers. This improvement
was due to the awareness and motivation created by the multi purpose health workers who
stay in each village.
Table 1. Utilization of health services for mother and child
Treatments Gramasiri Non-Gramasiri
No. % No. %
1. Pre-natal care
No. of mothers received 120 100 83 69.2
No. of mothers not received 0 0 37 30.8
2. Type of Pre-natal care received.
Iron + folic acid tablets 120 100 82 68.3
T.T. Injection 120 100 83 69.2
Periodical medical check-ups 120 100 47 39.2
3. Source of Medical service for pre-natal care
Govt. Para Medical staff 0 0 36 30.0
Gramasiri hospital health staff 120 100 0 0
Private doctors 0 0 28 23.3
Government hospital 0 0 19 15.8
4. Agent at delivery
Village Dai 13 10.8 67 55.8
Nurse 0 0 14 11.7
Trained Multipurpose health worker(M.H.W) 85 70.8 0 0
Doctor 22 18.3 39 32.5
5. Source of Medical service for child care
Govt. hospital staff 0 0 64 53.3
Private doctor 4 3.3 52 43.3
Gramasiri hospital +M.H.W 89 74.2 0 0
Govt.+ Private doctor 1 0.8 4 3.3
Govt. doctor+ M.H.W. 7 5.8 0 0
Private doctor+ M.H.W. 15 12.5 0 0
GGov Govt. doctor + Primary Doctor + M.H.W 4 3.3 0 0
58

UTILIZATION OF HEALTH SERVICES
The age old saying, “Prevention is better than cure”- applies so very aptly to the
immunization services. Immunization is another important service under Gramasiri
programme, to safeguard the health of beneficiaries against vaccine preventable diseases
Table 2. Extent of vaccines administered in preschool children
Type of Gramasiri Non-Gramasiri Chi square
Vaccine
test value
B.C.G 120 100 81 67.5
D.P.T 120 100 96 80.0
Polio 120 100 96 80.0
Measles 98 81.7 39 32.5
10.96*
* Significant at 5 % level.
The data on immunizational coverage of preschool children with vaccines is presented
in table-2. All the children in Gramasiri villages were administered with BCG, DPT and Polio
vaccines while 81.7% of them were administered with measles vaccine. This was mainly
due to the door-to-door service by the staff. The extent of coverage was 67.5, 80.0 and 80.0
% for with BCG, DPT and Polio while only 32.5 % children received the vaccines for measles
in the non-adopted village. The irregular visits of Government paramedical staff in the villages
to immunize the children on one hand and nonawareness of its benefits by the mothers were
the main reasons for low coverage in non-Gramasiri villages. Better immunizational status of
Gramasiri village children led to low infection rates and better nutritional status. The importance
of lowering the rate of infection for better nutritional status has been emphasized by several
research workers. (W.H.O, 1984; Mata, 1986; Koster et al, 1987; Nabarro, 1988; King &
Bratt, 1988; Melville, et al. 1988 and Gracey, 1991.)
REFERENCES
Gracey, M .1991. Diarrhoea and Malnutrition. In. International Child Health. A Digest of
Current information. An International Paediatric Association Publication in
collaboration with UNICEF and W.H.O. pp 61-68.
King, J and Bratt, D. 1988. Socio economic dietary and cultural factors associated with
diarrhoeal diseases in Trinidad and Jabago. Journal of Tropical Paediatrics 34: pp
104- 107.
59

KOTAMAMBA and DEVI
Koster, F. J., Palmer, D. L., Chakrabarthy, J., Jackson, and J. Curlin, G. C. 1987. Cellular
Immuno Competence and Diarrhoeal morbidity in malnourished Bangladeshi children;
A Prospective field study. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 46 (1) : pp 115-120.
Mata, L. 1986. How harmful is diarrhoea? World Health Organization, Geneva.
Melville, B., Williams, M., Prancis, U., Lawrence, D. and Lee Collins. 1988. Determinants
of Childhood malnutrition in Jamaica. Food and Nutrition Bulletin 10: pp 43-47.
Nabarro, D 1988. malnutrition and Infection. A deadly synergy. Courier, Belgium, No- 108. pp
66-68.
World Health Organization. 1984. Recent advances and researches on feeding during and
after acute diarrhoea. Report of the scientific working group on drug development and
management of acute diarrhoea.(CDD/D.D.M/85.2), Geneva.
60

Research Note
J.Res. ANGRAU 36(4)61-67, 2008
HETEROSIS AND INBREEDING DEPRESSION IN RABI SORGHUM
(Sorghum bicolor L. Moench)
K. JHANSI RANI, S. S. RAO and M. GANESH
Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, College of Agriculture,
ANGRAU, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad-500 030
Sorghum is an important cereal crop cultivated for food and fodder .It is extensively
grown in south Indian states of Karnataka, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Tamilnadu.
Though rabi sorghum area has consistently remained same over the years , the productivity
is much lower (640 kg/ha) than in kharif (1040 kg/ha). Lack of suitable hybrids to rabi
situation is the major cause of low productivity. Though a couple of productive rabi hybrids
have been released recently, there is need to improve the grain quality to gain the farmers
acceptability. Drought tolerance under receding moisture and stability of yield should be
enhanced to achieve high yield in rabi (Madhusudhana et al., 2003). The present investigation
was aimed at assessing the level of heterosis for different characters accompanied by
the reduction in vigour in F 2.
. Ten F 1
hybrids comprising five experimental hybrids viz., 104
B x SPV 86, 104 B x swati, R 98-82 x SPV 86, R98-82 x R98-264 and R98-264 x SPV 86 and
five commercial hybrids CSH 15R, CSH 19R, CSH 17, SPH 1026 and SPH 992 were evaluated,
along with corresponding F 2
progenies during rabi season of 2001-2002 at National
Research Center for Sorghum, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad. The experiment was laid out in a
randomized block design with three replications.
Recommended package of practices were followed. Observations on morpho physiological
characters and protein content were recorded on 5 and 40 randomly selected plants
in F 1
and F 2
generations respectively. Leaf area index (LAI) was calculated as per the
method of Stickler and Pauli (1961) and relative water content (RWC) was estimated by
following Smart (1974). Protein content was estimated by multiplying nitrogen content of
seed with 6.25 (AOAC, 1980). Heterobeltiosis and inbreeding depression were calculated
following standard procedures. The results showed that the experimental and commercial
hybrids recorded significant values for heterobeltiosis and inbreeding depression for grain
yield per plant. The trends were also similar for fodder yield except that the inbreeding
depression was not significant for only two hybrids viz.,104 B x SPV 86 and 104 B x Swati
. Patel et al. (1983) and Reddy and Joshi (1993) also observed high heterobeltiosis and
inbreeding depression for yield. Kulkarni et al. (1977) and Goyal and Joshi (1984) reported
high variations in the magnitude of inbreeding depression for grain yield in sorghum in F 1
, F 2
e-mail: jhansisagar@yahoo.com
61

RANI et.al.
and F 3
generations. The heterobeltiosis ranged from 47.3 to 78.2 % for grain yield and from
11.7 to 38.9 % for fodder yield in experimental hybrids(Table1).It ranged from 19.2 to 81.6%
for grain yield and from 24.6 to 66.1% for fodder yield in commercial hybrids( Table 2)
.Hence there was scope to improve the production of both grain and fodder yield in rabi
sorghum through heterosis breeding. Kaul and Rana (1997) also recorded high heterosis for
grain yield up to 81% due to the breeding of rabi based CMS and restorer lines.
Improvement in heterobeltiosis for grain yield is the cumulative effect of positive
influence through different components of the crop. This effect was most prominent through
plant height,days to 50% flowering ,number of primary branches per panicle and number of
grains per panicle in the experimental hybrids. The heterobeltiosis was significant for all the
characters except for plant height in 104 B x Swati ,days to 50% flowering and number of
grains per primary branch in 104 B x SPV 86 and number of primary branches per panicle
in R98-82 x SPV 86.The inbreeding depression was also significant in F 2
for most of these
hybrids. The heterobeltiosis for plant height and number of primary branches per panicle
were significant in all the commercial hybrids. The heterobeltiosis and inbreeding depression
were significant but negative for number of leaves per plant in all except CSH 19 R sorghum
hybrid. Similarly, heterobeltiosis and inbreeding depression turned negative and significant
for relative water content in four hybrids except SPH 1026.
The per cent green leaves at maturity and relative water content in the leaves besides
leaf area index and harvest index are the important physiological traits to impart drought
tolerance in crops.(Rao et.al.,1998). Among the experimental hybrids positive and significant
heterobeltiosis was recorded for all these parameters only in R98-82 x SPV 86.The
heterobeltiosis was positive and significant for percent green leaves at maturity and harvest
index in R 98-82 x R 98-264.Hence, the parental lines R 98-82 , R 98-264 and SPV 86 can
be utilized to develop commercial hybrids to endure drought. On the other hand heterobeltiosis
for most of these parameters was negative and significant in commercial hybrids. It may be
attributed to the occurrence of transgressive segregants in the F 2
population which leads to
increased expression of the trait. Selection for desirable plants in the F 2
may bring improvement
in these traits. As grain yield and its important components are found to be governed
by genes with both additive and non additive effects in these crosses, heterosis breeding
can be successfully employed to achieve considerable improvement over existing hybrids.
62

HETEROSIS AND INBREEDING DEPRESSION IN RABI SORGHUM
Table1. Heterobeltiosis and inbreeding depression for grain yield and other characters of
experimental hybrids of sorghum
Character
104 B x SPV 86 104 B x Swati R98-82 x SPV 86 R 98-82 x R 98-264 R 98-264 x SPV 86
Heterobelt
iosis
Inbreeding
depression
Heterob
eltiosis
Inbreeding
depression
Heterob
eltiosis
Inbreeding
depression
Heterob
eltiosis
Inbreeding
depression
Heterob
eltiosis
Inbreeding
depression
Plant
height(cm)
10.5** 8.7* 2.9 13.6** 4.5** 23.3** 20.9** -1.4** 9.6** 4.6**
Number of
leaves per plant
-4.6 -4.4 -8.1 16.1** -4.6 -1.6 -11.5** -10.4** 4.9 -3.2
Leaf area index -8.9 -14.4** -4.1 6.3** 14.8* 1.7 29.0 -3.8 26.1** 28.2**
Days to 50%
flowering
0.5 0.9* 6.1** -2.7** 4.5** 3.9** 20.9** 10.0** 1.8* -7.5**
Per cent green
leaves at
maturity
10.9 -8.2** 21.2* -32.2** 60.4** 21.1* 36.0** -24.0 15.3 34.1**
Dry weight of
stem at
flowering(g)
14.2** 8.0** 0.4 17.4** 46.9** 19.7** 3.2 -5.4** 17.5** 6.9**
Relative water
content(%)
-22.6 -9.4** -6.6 32.2 14.2** -30.6** -4.0 -3.9 -5.9 -20.7**
Panicle
length(cm)
11.8** 18.2** 1.3 2.4 -2.6 4.9** 3.2 -2.6 3.3 9.3**
Panicle
width(cm)
15.4** -1.9 22.94* 6.1** -25.4** -13.9** 2.1 5.6** 8.3* 11.5**
Number of
primary
branches /
panicle
12.5** 8.7** 21.7** 15.3** 4.0 14.3** 15.3** 13.2** 58.5* 33.0
Number of
grains/primary
branch
6.6 4.1* 16.6* 13.4** 25.9* 27.7** 11.3** 30.5** 33.6* 39.4**
63

RANI et.al.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
100 grain
weight(g)
-1.3 4.6** -1.2 1.7 -1.7 9.2** 13.7** 3.8** 2.2 6.4**
Grain yield /
plant(g)
48.8** 32.3** 78.2** 31.4** 47.3* 34.8** 49.2** 29.7** 47.5** 21.4**
Fodder yield /
plant(g)
11.7** 19.3** 14.0** 14.2* 38.9** 20.2** 34.5** 8.7** 38.2** 19.3**
Harvest
index(%)
1.3 6.7** 0.3 4.6** 3.2** 3.4** 5.3** 13.6** 2.7 1.0
Protein (%) -7.3** 5.8** 1.9 1.2 2.1 -1.4 6.7** 8.5** -2.5 4.1**
64

HETEROSIS AND INBREEDING DEPRESSION IN RABI SORGHUM
Table 2. Heterobeltiosis and inbreeding depression for grain yield and other characters of commercial hybrids of
sorghum
Character
SPH 992 SPH 1026 CSH 15 R CSH 17 CSH 19 R
Heterobe
ltiosis
Inbreedin
depression
Heterob
eltiosis
Inbreeding
depression
Heterob
eltiosis
Inbreeding
depression
Heterobel
tiosis
nbreeding
depression
Heterob
eltiosis
Inbreeding
depression
Plant height(cm) 21.3** 18.0* 33.9** 26.3 34.3** 13.6* 41.9* 9.9 31.3* 15.1**
Number of
leaves per plant
-30.0** -27.6** -30.0** -27.6** -17.9** -21.7** -14.0** -34.0** 8.3 0.91
Leaf area index -30.0** -25.7 -30.0** -25.7 6.1 11.9 29.0 -42.5 -14.6 2.1
Days to 50%
flowering
0.47 -24.2 11.0** 3.7** 1.43 7.51** 21.3** 8.6**
-2.7 -13.0*
Per cent green
leaves at
maturity
-27.7** -25.7** -13.6* 10.8* -44.6* -12.3** -6.3 31.3** -3.2 25.0**
Dry weight of
stem at
flowering(g)
83.3** 36.1** 56.9** 41.8** 16.4** 36.4** 11.0 44.0** 1.4 31.6**
Relative water
content(%)
-29.9** -19.4** 6.4 6.3 -13.7** -0.5 -11.6**
22.9** -30.6** -30.4**
Panicle
length(cm)
-6.1 -1.5 26.9** 11.9** 16.8** 9.9** 17.6** 22.6** 7.3 12.9**
65

RANI et.al.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
Panicle
width(cm)
16.0** -3.3 12.4* -20.6* 1.92 37.2** -9.6 -13.7 29.9 -14.4
Number of
primary
branches /
panicle
28.1** 34.4** 14.6** 38.3 59.7** 20.3 14.2** 30.5** 13.6* -6.2*
Number
grains/primary
branch
42.8** 31.4** 23.1** 25.1** -5.5 5.1* 4.11 24.6** -14.4** 21.1**
100 grain
weight(g)
-17.3 1.1 25.5** 17.9* -3.4 17.9 -14.9** 7.7 -1.6 23.3**
Grain yield /
plant(g)
81.6** 3.4** 19.2** 23.9** 50.6* 28.9** 37.0** 15.5** 60.3** 34.3**
Fodder yield /
plant(g)
66.1** 0.98 24.6** 12.8** 40.9** 30.2** 29.2** 0.8 42.7** 21.9**
Harvest
index(%)
11.7** 3.5* -6.5** 0.8 1.8 -.9.2 1.6 6.7** 4.3 9.1
Protein (%) 5.8 3.4 -10.7 6.0 8.3 12.6 -14.5 10.0 8.5** 15.0
66

HETEROSIS AND INBREEDING DEPRESSION IN RABI SORGHUM
REFERENCES
AOAC.1980. Official methods of analysis. Association of official analytical chemists.12 th
Ed. Washington DC.pp.206.
Goyal,S.N. and Joshi,P.1984 .Genetics of yield and panicle components in grain sorghum
hybrids. Indian Journal of Genetics and Plant Breeding. 44: 96-101.
Kaul Swarnalata and Rana, B. S. 1997. Heterosis in post rainy season sorghum hybrids.Proc.
The international symposium on “ Genetics and exploitation of heterosis in crops’’
CIMMYT, Mexico, pp 228-229.
Kulkarni, N., Murty, K .N. and Sahib, K. H. 1977. Inbreeding depression for grain yield in
sorghum hybrids. Sorghum Newsletter 20: 15-16.
Madhusudhana, R., Umakanth, A. V, Kaul, S. L. and Rana, B. S. 2003.Stability analysis for
grain yield in rabi sorghum. Indian Journal of Genetics and Plant Breeding 63(3) 255-
256.
Patel, R.H., Desai, K. B., Tikka,S.B. S. and Raja, K .R .V .1983. Heterosis and inbreeding
depression in sorghum. Gujarat Agricultural University Research Journal. 8 (2):
121-124.
Rao,S .S, Rao, M. H., Krishna, T.K. and Rana, B.S. 1998. Characterization of sorghum
hybrids and varieties for growth parameters, biomass accumulation and yield potential
in rainy season. Indian Journal of Plant Physiology 3 (4): 269-275.
Reddy, J.N. and Joshi, P. 1993. Heterosis, inbreeding depression and combining ability in
sorghum. Indian Journal of Genetics and Plant Breeding, 53 (2): 138-146.
Smart, R. E. 1974. Rapid estimation of relative water content .Plant Physiology 53:
258-260.
Stickler, F. C. and Pauli, A .W.1961. Leaf removal in grain sorghum I. Effects of certain
defoliation treatments in yield and components of yield. Agronomy Journal 53:99-
102.
67

Research Note
J.Res. ANGRAU 36(4)68-72, 2008
INHERITANCE OF GRAIN YIELD IN WHEAT (Triticum aestivum
L. Em.Thell.) UNDER TERMINAL HEAT STRESS
S. R. REDDY, A. K. CHHABRA, R. K. BEHL and A. R. KRISHNA
Department of Plant Breeding
CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar-125 004
Achieving high grain yield per plant has been the aim of any plant breeding programme.
Grain yield is a quantitative character and understanding the gene effects and mode of
inheritance of this character is of utmost importance in deciding a suitable breeding technique.
Diallele analysis does not provide the estimates of different non-allelic gene action operating
in inheritance, which could be obtained by generation mean analysis. The non-allelic interaction
could inflate the measure of additive and dominant components. It is therefore, important to
identify and estimate additive and dominant epistatic components, so that these could be
exploited by using suitable breeding techniques. Hence, the present study was planned to
investigate genetics of grain yield per plant for six generations employing five crosses under
normal (E 1
) and late sown (E 2
) conditions.
The experimental material comprised five crosses namely, PBW 452×
RAJ3765, PBW 452 × LOK 45, PBW 452× PBW 343, CBW12 × RAJ 3765 and CBW 12×
LOK 45, generated from five diverse parents. The seed material of the six generations
namely Parent 1 (P 1
), Parent 2 (P 2
) F 1
, F 2
, BC 1
(cross between F 1
×P 1
) and BC 2
(cross between
F 1
×P 2
) was obtained from the Department of Plant Breeding, CCS HAU, Hisar
All these populations were raised together in randomized block design with three
replications on two dates of sowing i.e. 25 November for optimum environment and on 25
December 2002 when heat stress during grain filling stage was felt. Two meter long rows,
spaced 30 cm apart with 10 cm distance between the plants was allocated to parents and F 1
while ten row and two row plots were used for segregating generations i.e. F 2
and back cross
populations.
The gene effects were estimated in all the five crosses for six generations by employing
generation mean analysis of Mather (1949), Hayman and Mather (1955) and Jinks and Jones
(1958).
e-mail : ramanareddysiddu@gmail.com.
68

INHERITANCE OF GRAIN YIELD IN WHEAT
Results of joint scaling test indicated that the inheritance of grain yield could be
explained on the basis of six parameter model in all the cases except in the cross PBW 452
× PBW 343 grown in normal sown condition, where 3 parameter model was adequate (Table
1). Thus genetic variation which could not be ascribed to additive dominance effects rather
revealed the presence of epitasis. Mather (1949) explained that until experimentally proved,
the absence of epitasis can not be assumed when dealing with quantitative traits.
Additive gene effects were found to be significant in the crosses PBW
452×RAJ 3765 (E 1
) and PBW 452 × PBW 343 (E 1
). Significant additive effects were also
reported earlier for this trait by Uppal et al. (1998) and Yadav and Behl (2002). Dominance
effect was found to be significant in the crosses PBW 452 × RAJ 3765 and PBW 452 × PBW
343 (E 1
and E 2
), CBW 12× RAJ 3765 (E 2
) and CBW 12 × LOK 45 (E 1
). These results are in
conformity with those reported earlier for grain yield per plant by Vitkare and Atale (1996) and
Khalifa et al.(1997). Gamble (1962) suggested that when the inheritance of quantitative traits
become complex, the contribution of pooled additive gene effects (d) to their inheritance
becomes more. Also the sign of dominant gene effects (h) has an enhancing effect on
expression in that particular direction. The di-genic epistatic interaction was significant in
majority of the cases. In some of the crosses (PBW 452 X RAJ 3765 and CBW 12 X LOK
45) predominance of duplicate type of gene effects were found. In certain cases, the additive
dominance model was inadequate, but when they were subjected to six parameter model,
they failed to show any of the significant gene effects. This may be due to the presence of
higher order interaction or Gene X Environment (G X E) interaction or linkage. This situation
was observed in PBW 452 × LOK 45 (E 2
) and CBW 12 × RAJ 3765 (E 1
). Such trends were
reported by Tripathi et al. (1983) in Barley and Jindal (1990) in wheat.
In the present study, parents having different responses to photoperiod and
temperature with varying potential for various morpho-physiological characters were involved.
This offers a great promise to select genotypes combining high temperature tolerance and
good yield attributes. Considerably large additive gene effects somehow would facilitate
selection of desirable segregates from E 2
even if the E 2
mean is lower provided the range is
considerably large. Therefore, simple selection should be practised in PBW 452×RAJ 3765
(E 1
) and PBW 452×PBW343 (E 1
). Since the dominant gene effects are ephemeral, tangible
improvement therefore, can be made by exploiting additive× additive type of epistasis also.
In such cases the improvement could either be realized by straight simple selection or by
inter-mating the parents to accumulate more favorable alleles in individual genotypes. As
the objective is to combine photo- thermal responses along with grain yield components, a
serious thought should also be given to the gene effects for morpho-physiological characters
like days to anthesis and plant height for effective selection.
69

REDDY et.al.
However, there were large numbers of cases where dominance and non
fixable di-genic interaction were also important. Selection in the early generations of these
crosses would not be effective for want of fixable components of variation. Such gene effects,
can, however be exploited by intermating the selected plants in advanced generations. The
other possibilities could be diallele selective mating (Jenson, 1970) or recurrent selection
procedures (Singh and Pawar, 1990) for the exploitation of non additive genetic variability.
70

INHERITANCE OF GRAIN YIELD IN WHEAT
Table 1. Estimates of components of generation mean (3 and 6 parameter model) in five crosses for grain yield of
wheat under normal (E1) and late sown (E2) environments
Grain yield
per plant
(g)
m d h i j l 2 Epistasis
PBW 452 x
RAJ 3765
E1 10.59
±0.714
3.56**
±1.34
16.701**
±4.1
15.28**
±3.91
-29.72**
±6.45
-28.72**
±5.47
24.6** D
E2 7.34
±0.56
1.45
±0.72
-4.29*
±1.93
-4.34**
±1.47
13.74**
±3.85
14.84**
±3.82
13.03** D
PBW 452 x
LOK 45
E1 12.83
±1.33
-2.10
±1.88
14.53
±3.01
15.77*
±4.86
-27.7*
±5.09
-28.7*
±11.09
9.33* -
E2 7.49
±1.13
-2.20
±0.51
3.18
±1.75
1.69
±0.64
-9.05
±2.38
-10.05
±2.38
10.96* -
PBW 452 x
PBW 343
E1 14.51
±0.63
-1.50*
±0.66
-3.37**
±0.88
–– –– –– 1.08 Nil
E2 11.34
±0.54
2.80
±1.47
-12.46**
±3.82
-11.98**
±3.66
3.59
±0.65
4.60
±0.59
60.6** -
CBW 12 x
RAJ 3765
E1 11.86
±1.42
-1.17
±0.69
4.28
±2.78
3.96
±1.61
-14.62
±3.31
-14.66
±4.33
15.3** -
E2 9.29
±.058
-2.80
±1.43
-8.97**
±3.26
-8.20**
±2.87
10.18
±2.51
12.28
±3.51
45.45** -
CBW 12 x
LOK 45
E1 10.10
±0.70
1.53
±0.81
10.03**
±3.43
12.23**
±3.27
-26.12**
±4.79
-26.72**
±4.79
34.17** D
E2 7.78
±0.49
-1.48
±1.21
6.26
±1.22
5.94
±1.13
-18.6**
±4.42
-19.6**
±5.46
21.9** -
m=mean effect, d=Pooled additive gene effect , h= Pooled dominance gene effect E1=Normal sown environment, E2= Late sown
environment i = Pooled additive x additive epistatic effect , j= Pooled additive x dominance epistatic effect, l= Pooled dominance x dominance
epistatic effect
71

REDDY et.al.
REFERENCES
Cavalli, L.L. 1952. An analysis of linkage of quantitative inheritance (E.C.R. Reeve and C.H.
Weddington eds.), HMSC, London pp: 135-144.
Gamble, E.E. 1962. Gene effects in corn (Zea mays L.) separation and relative importance
of gene effects for yield. Canadian Journal of Plant Science 42: 339-348.
Hayman, B.I and Mather, K. 1955. The description of genic interaction in continuous variation.
Biometrics 11: 69-82.
Jenson, N.F. 1970. A diallel selective mating system for cereal breeding. Crop Science
10 (1): 629-635.
Jindal, Y.K. 1990. Genetic analysis of wheat (Triticum aestivum L. em Thell) cross involving
photo-thermo responsive parents. M.Sc. Thesis submitted to Haryana. Agricultural university,
Hisar.
Jinks, J.L. and Jones, R.M. 1958. Estimation of components of heterosis. Genetics 43 (3):
223-234.
Khalifa, M.A., Shalaby, E.M., Ali, A.A. and Towfelis, M.B. 1997. Inheritance of some
physiological traits, yield and its components in durum wheat. II. Grain yield and its
components. Australian Journal of Agricultural Sciences 28 (4): 163-180.
Mather, K. 1949. Biometrical Genetics 1 st Ed., Methuen, London. pp 192-197
Singh, S. and Pawar, I.S. 1990. An appraisal of selection methods in self fertilized crops.
Trends in crop improvement 44 (1): 17-26.
Tripathi, I.D., Chandra, S and Singh, M. 1983. Inheritance of metric traits in three barley
populations in normal and saline-alkali soils. Theoretical and Applied Genetics 66 (2): 15-21.
Uppal, S., Chawla, V., Singh, V.P. and Sehrawat, A.R. 1998. Genetic architecture of some
quantitative traits in bread wheat. Annals of Agricultural Bio Research 3 (1): 55-60.
Vitkare, D.G and Atale, S.B. 1996. Gene effects of some yield components in bread wheat
(Triticum aestivum L.). PKV Research Journal 20 (2): 122-125.
Yadav, R and Behl, R.K. 2002. Genetics of morpho-physiological characters and grain yield
in wheat. National Journal of Plant Improvement 4 (2): 26-29.

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
Physiological and Biochemical Characterization of Staygreen and Rabi Adapted
Genotypes for Terminal Drought Tolerance in Sorghum
(Sorghum Bicolor (L.) Moench)
Student: K. A. kiran kumar Major Advisor: Dr. S. S. Rao
Department of Plant Physiology
Field experiments were conducted with an objective of characterizing the physiological and biochemical
differences of staygreen and rabi adapted genotypes for terminal drought tolerance in sorghum
during rabi season, 2003/04 and summer season, 2004 at National Research Centre for Sorghum Farm,
Rajendranagar, Hyderabad. The experiments were laid out in a split-plot design with three replications having
two main treatments (stress and nonstress) and sixteen sub-treatments (staygreen and rabi adapted genotypes).
For stress treatments, water stress was imposed after flowering in both seasons. The results of the
investigation revealed that plant height reduced by 4% and 7% due to stress over nonstress in rabi and
summer seasons, respectively.
At maturity, (E 36-1 x R 16)-8-1 in rabi season and (ICSP 2B x E 36-1) progeny in summer season
had higher leaf dry weights coupled with higher grain yield besides possessing slow rate of leaf senescence.
Panicle dry weights reduced by 20% and 14% in stress during rabi and summer seasons, respectively. It has
shown positive relationship with leaf area, biomass and components of grain yield. Total dry matter (TDM)
production was reduced by 16% and 12% under stress compared to nonstress conditions in rabi and summer
seasons, respectively.
The rate of leaf senescence was less in SG by 17% and 24% in rabi and summer seasons,
respectively compared to RA genotypes. Further, the rate of senescence was significantly less in SG genotypes
such as E 36-1, QL 10, and B 35 in rabi season and (ICSP 2B x E 36-1) progeny followed by QL 10 and
B 35 in summer season than the checks. SG entries such as B35, QL 10, (ICSP 2B x E 36-1) progeny has
-2
consistently recorded higher photosynthetic rate (15.0-19.3 µ moles CO 2
m sec -1 ) over RA ones (11.8-15.7
-2
µ moles CO 2
m sec -1 ) at hard dought stage in both seasons under severe water stress.
Terminal drought stress resulted in accumulation of 99 and 103% higher proline in the leaves of
stressed plants over non-stresses in rabi and summer, respectively. Higher proline content was accumulated
by B35, and CRS 1 during rabi and none was found superior to checks in summer. CRS 1 and RSP 1 had
accumulated high total soluble sugars under stress.
E 36-1 rabi and (ICSP 2B x E 36 -1) progeny in summer season had recorded relatively low “ 13 C
values (4.86 and 4.92%) under stress situations which also produced relatively higher yield. Significantly
higher grain number was recorded by (E 36-1 x R 16)-8-1 and CRS 4 under stress in rabi and (IS 23399 X NR
1349)-2-2-4-1, (ICSP 2B x E 36-1) progeny, Maulee and CRS 4 in summer.
From the above results, it can be concluded that the physiological and biochemical traits associated
with staygreen such as SCMR, RWC, SLN, total chlorophyll, delayed rate of leaf senescence and high
sources-sink ratio could be as a criterion for evaluating drought tolerance. Potential sources identified for
drought tolerance from this study include (IS 23399 x NR 1349)-2-2-4-1-1, (ICSP 2 B x E 36-1) progeny, (E
36-1 x R 16)-8-1, B35, QL 10 and BJ 111. These sources can be utilized immediately as parents for
developing mapping population in MAS for drought tolerance.

ABSTRACTS
Taxonomic Studies on Certain Genera of Typhlocybinae (Cicadellidae: Hemiptera) of
Andhra Pradesh
Student: P. Seetha ramu Major advisor: Dr. V. Rama subba rao
Department of Entomology
The taxonomic studies on certain genera of the subfamily Typhlocybinae from different districts of
Andhra Pradesh were undertaken in the Department of Entomology, Agricultural College, Bapatla during 2003-
2006. Among the leafhoppers collected from different crop ecosystems as well as from weeds, grasses and
light domes, 26 species of leafhoppers belonging to 13 genera under three tribes were identified. The species
viz., Tautoneura ficaria Dworakaowska, Tautoneura prima Dworakaowska, Thaia (Nlunga) drutoidea
Dworakowska and Thaia (Nlunga) lankaensis Dworakaowska from India and nine species viz., Uzeldikra
citrina (Melichar), Alebroides clavatus Sohi and Dworakowska, Empoasca (Sabourasca) albizziae Mahmood,
Ahmed and Aslam, Empoasca (Empoasca) lillae Dworakowska, Ficiana pruthii Ghauri, Jacobiasca boninenis
(Matsumura), Cubnara pattambiensis Mathew and Ramakrishnan, Thaia (Nlunga) indica Ramakrishna and
Menon, Zyginopsis verticalis Ahmed from Andhra Pradesh are reported for the first time. A checklist for
genera and species of Typhlocybinae of Indian subcontinent was prepared. Among all the leafhoppers,
Amrasca biguttula bigguttula (Ishida), Empoasca (Empoasca) motti Pruthi and E. (E.) kerri Pruthi were distributed
in majority of the districts of Andhra Pradesh causing accountable losses on some of the economically
important crops. Empoasca (Sabourasca) albizziae Sohi and Dworakaowska, Ficiana pruthii Ghauri and
Cubnara pattambiensis Mathew and Ramakrishnan are affecting the avenue trees like Albizzea lebbeck,
Delonix regia, Pongamia sp., Cassia sp. And Samania saman causing some economic losses. Earlier the
species like Empoascanara maculifrons (Motschulsky) and Seriana jaina (Distant) were reported on rice and
grasses but in the present investigation these were reported on wide range of crops in more than 50 per cent
of the districts. It indicates the rapid distribution of the leafhoppers on different crop ecosystems. Hence, there
is every need to regular monitoring of the leafhoppers on different crop ecosystems as they may attain pest
status in due course of time.
Determination of Efficacy of Different Helicoverpa Armigera Nucleopolyhedrovirus
(HaNPV) Strains And Standardization of Production Procedures
Student: K. Sireesha Major advisor: Dr. P. Arjuna Rao
Department of Entomology
Investigations were carried out on the “Determination of efficacy of different Helicoverpa armigera
nucleopolyhedrovirus (HaNPV) strains and standardization of production procedures” during 2003-2005 at
ICRISAT, Patancheru centre.
Quality and efficacy of HaNPV multiplied on field collected larvae as well as laboratory reared larvae
were assessed by conducting bioassay studies and by estimating bacterial population. For mass multiplication
of HaNPV, fourth instar larvae were inoculated with 10 8 POBs/ml and reared in the laboratory. There was
75.6% mortality with field collected larvae where as laboratory reared ones recorded 72.6% mortality.
Bioassays conducted to test the efficacy of Ha NPV multiplied on field collected larvae and laboratory
reared larvae showed the LC 50
values of 1.78X10 3 POBs/ml and 2.15x10 3 POBs/ml, respectively.
Bioassays were conducted with second and third instar larvae of H. armigera to study the virulence
of six HaNPV isolates from different places of India. Among the six isolates ICRISAT-HaNPV was found
superior which was followed by GAU-HaNPV, PAU-HaNPV, TN-HaNPV, AK-HaNPV, UASD-HaNPV.The LT 50
values also revealed the same.
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Under TEM observation, the extract of the diseased larvae showed the presence of large polyhedral
particles of diameter ca. 78 nm. After the dissolution with alkali, empty polyhedral sacs of 2.31 µm length and
2.05 µm width were observed.
Harvesting of NPV infected larvae before 9 th day after inoculation was better to get the maximum
virus yield as well as to reduce the development of bacterial contamination. Early harvesting of NPV infected
larvae on 5 th and 6 th days was also not feasible. Harvesting of all the infected larvae after 7 th and 8 th day and
immediate processing helped to decrease the bacterial contamination level instead of waiting for the complete
death of all the larvae.
Chemical used, as preservatives for NPV were effective in minimizing the bad odour problem in
storage and reduced the bacterial contamination level. NPV samples treated with acetone, ethyl alcohol and
phenyl gave 73.33%, 70.00% and 63.33% mortality, respectively at the end of one year storage and phenyl
was found effective in suppressing the bacterial growth, which was followed by ethyl acetate. All the chemicals
used were cost effective with an extra cost involvement of Rs. 3-12.5 ha -1 only.
Heterosis and Stability Studies on Petiolaris and Argophyllus Cytoplasm Based
Hybrids In Sunflower (Helianthus Annus L.)
Student : S. Sobhan Babu
Major Advisor : Dr. K. Raja Reddy
Department of Genetics & Plant Breeding
The commercial production of hybrid sunflower has been based on a single source of cytoplasmic
male sterility, PET 1 (Helianthus Petiolaris) for the past three decades. Diversification of CMS source is
inevitable in heterosis breeding programme to avoid potential risk of vulnerability to any new strain of pathogen.
The investigation was aimed at identifying restorers to PET (Petiolaris) and ARG (Argophyllus) cytoplasmic
male sterile source, to study the extent of heterosis, inbreeding depression, stability, cytoplasmic effects of
male-sterile cytoplasm on the nuclear background of male inbreds and the reaction of the hybrids to Alternaria
blight and sunflower necrosis diseases. The experiment was conducted at Directorate of Oilseeds Research,
Rajendranagar, Hyderabad during 2002-2003 using six CMS lines, three each from PET and ARG sources,
their maintainer lines and 40 inbred lines. All the inbred lines which restored fertility in CMS PET 1 also restored
fertility in CMS ARG except DSI-70 which behaved as a maintainer for CMS ARG. The hybrids exhibited
significant heterosis over better parent and standard check in desirable direction for all the characters studied.
Pooled analysis of variance indicated significant differences between genotypes and environments. Highly
significant genotypes x environment interaction and its linear component revealed differential response of
genotypes in varying environments for all the characters. The variance due to environment (linear) was highly
significant for all the characters except head diameter suggesting the presence of variation among the
environments. The variance due to pooled deviations was significant for all the characters revealing fluctuating
performances of genotypes from linearity of response to varying environments. Differences in mean
performance of F 1
s produced by crossing CMS line (A) and the respective maintainer line (B) to the same male
parent (R) for any character under study indicates the influence of respective parent. In the present study, B
x R hybrids outperformed the A x R hybrids for all the characters except oil content indicating the influence of
male sterile cytoplasm on the nuclear back ground of male parents. In the disease screening studies, the
hybrids CMS 234A x RHA 265, DCMS 42 x RHA 273 and DCMS-43 x DSI-218 displayed resistant reaction for
Alternaria blight and sunflower necrosis disease while CMS 378A and CMS 234A exhibited resistance reaction
for sunflower necrosis disease.
As indicated by the results, the restorer genes were same for the PET 1 and ARG cytoplasms
hence, the new source i.e., ARG cytoplasm can be useful in widening the genetic base of the hybrids and
reducing the vulnerability in new races of pathogens and insect-pests. The hybrids which produced stable and
better performance with minimum reduction in vigour are to be advanced for further testing. Studies are to be
conducted to overcome the effects of male sterile cytoplasm on the nuclear background of male parents.
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ABSTRACTS
Studies on F 2
Screen for Resistance Alleles Against Cry Toxin And Insecticides to
Diamondback Moth Plutella Xylostella (Linn.)
Student : V. Ramesh babu Major Advisor : Prof. T.V.K. Singh
Department of Entomology
Field population of Diamondback moth (DBM) infesting cabbage and cauliflower in and around
Hyderabad was used in the F 2
screen for detecting the presence of resistance alleles confirming resistance
to Cry 1 Ac, cartap hydrochloride and novaluron. Eleven F 2
larvae belonging to five isofemale lines survived in
the F2 generation after bioassay and were re-evaluated for confirming the presence of resistance alleles and
were proved as false positives. None of the F2 survivors confirmed the presence of resistance alleles in their
single pairs suggesting the absence of resistance alleles or confirming the presence of SS genotypes. The
estimated frequency of resistance alleles in the present study using Bayesian inference was 8.6 x 10 -3 and
associated variance was 6.93 x 10 -5 . The 95% Credibility Intervals for this isofemales was 2.1 x 10 -4 to 3.3 x
10 -2 (these are the lower and upper limit for the expected frequency of resistance alleles) with an experimentwise
detection probability of 52 per cent. No resistance allele confirming resistance to the toxin and chemicals
tested was detected in the present study. A further sampling of few more isofemales lines would suggest the
implication of refugia concept for successful implementation of Bt cabbage and Bt cauliflower cultivation in
coming years.
Varietal Screening and Insecticidal Evaluation Against
Maruca Vitrata (Geyer) in Pigeonpea
Student : V. Sunitha
Major Advisor : Dr. K. Vijaya Lakshmi
Department of Entomology
The present study was under taken on the “V arietal screening and insecticidal evaluation against
Maruca vitrata (Geyer) in pigeonpea” at International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics
(ICRISAT), Patancheru, Andhra Pradesh during 2004-2005 crop season. Six selected short duration pigeonpea
genotypes viz., ICPL 98001, ICPL 98002, ICPL 98003, ICPL 98008, ICPL 98012 AND ICPL 88034 were tested
against M. vitrata in the field, greenhouse and laboratory conditions. The relative efficacy of six insecticides
was evaluated against 3 rd instar larvae of M. vitrata under laboratory conditions.Greenhouse and laboratory
studies showed less consumption of food and reduced larval and pupal weights of M. vitrata when reared on
highly resistant genotypes (ICPL 98003 and 98008), while the larvae reared on the susceptible genotype ICPL
88034 consumed more food, showed more larval and pupal weights and recorded highest growth rate as
compared to the highly resistant genotypes. The laboratory studies conducted with newer and ecofriendly
insecticides against M. vitrata revealed that the indoxacarb and spinosad were highly effective at recommended
doses. The biopesticides, Bacillus thuringiensis and Metarhizium anisopliae showed moderate efficacy and
the botanical insecticide neem fruit extract was least effective to M.vitratea.
Soil Test Crop Response Correlation Studies in
Indian Mustard (Brassica Juncea L.)
Student : Binoy Chhetri
Major Advisor : Dr. Shaik Mohammad
Department of Agronomy
A field experiment was conducted on soil test crop response correlation studies in Indian mustard in
sequence to the fertility gradient trial at the students’ farm, College of Agriculture, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad.
The fertility gradient experiment was conducted by growing fodder sorghum variety SSG 59-3 on 30.06.05
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during Kharif 2005. The results showed a wide variability in the soil nutrient available status between the strips
after the harvest of the crop. In the subsequent rabi season mustard variety Pusa Jaikisan was sown on
25.11.05 for soil test crop response correlation studies. A total number of 24 treatments involving 21 combination
levels of NPK through fertilizers and three controls were executed in each of the three fertility gradients. The
oil content increased by the application of 40 kg N/ha and decreased with futher increase up to 120 kg N/ha.
Application of 20 kg P 2
O 5
/ha also increased the oil per cent. Oil yield increased by the application of fertilizers
up to 80 kg N, 60 kg P 2
O 5
and 40 kg K 2
O/ha. Mustard produced 5.4 q/ha seed yield by the application of 120
kg N/ ha in the 0 X fertility gradient but 80 kg N / ha was sufficient to harvest 6.3 and 5.4 q / ha seed yield in the
1X and 2 X fertility gradients. Stover yield increased to maximum by the application 120 kg N / ha. The crop
produce maximum seed yield of 4.5 q/ha by the application of 60 kg P 2
O 5
/ ha in the 0 X fertility gradient. It
required only 20 kg P 2
O 5
/ ha and yet produced more seed yield of 5.7 q/ha in the 1 X and 2 X fertility gradients.
Maximum stover yield was obtained by the application of 60 kg P 2
O 5
/ha. The crop required 60 kg K 2
O /ha to
produce 5.4 q seed yield in the 0 X fertility gradient. But, it produced 6.5 and 5.2 q/ ha seed yield by the
application of only 20 kg K 2
O / ha in the 1 X and 2X fertility gradient. Maximum stover yield was obtained by the
application of 60 kg K 2
O / ha. The nutrient budgeting recorded higher balance of nitrogen in 0 X and 1 X fertility
gradient than the initial value. Phosphorus was build up to more than the initial soil test value in the three
gradients. The actual balance of potassium was also more than the initial soil test value in the 0 X and 1 X
gradients while it was low in the 2 X fertility gradient.
Carbon Sequestration Studies under Major Crops in Nalgonda District Using
Remote Sensing and GIS
Student: D. Gopal Reddy Major Advisor: Dr.(Mrs.) G. Jayasree
Department of Soil Science & Agril. Chemistry
A Study was conducted to delineate the major crops grown in Nalgonda District, Andhra Pradesh to
estimate the soil organic carbon density and to find out the relationship between soil organic carbon and
spectral reflectance from the soil. A total of 31 sites were chose basen in the soil resource map produced by
NBSS & LUP and samples were collected from the profiles dug up to 1 m depth both before sowing and after
harvest of the Kharif crops. The overall classification accuracy for all the classes was 85.71 percent and the
overall kappa statistics obtained was 0.8379. The change in soil organic carbon density was found to be more
in the sparsely vegetated forest lands than in cultivated crop lands. Among the cultivated crop lands the
change in the soil organic carbon density was found to be more in castor-redgram cropping system. The
spectral reflectance from the soil revealed that finely sieved sample showed higher reflectance that the
unsieved coarse sample. A significant negative correlation was observed between spectral reflectance and
organic carbon content for both sieved and unsieved samples. The wavelength bands ranging from 1335 –
1350 and 1450 – 1800 nm were found to be sensitive for detection of organic carbon.
Urban Household Consumption Behaviour And Products of
Multinational Companies
Student: Jyoti Panday Major Advisor: Dr. Vijaya Nambiar
Department of Resource Management & Consumer Sciences
Consumers are the pillars of economic development in any country as the entire economy revolves
around them. India has always been known for centuries for its trade, exotic market and bazaars. Consumers
in developing countries can get affected due to a large participation of MNCs in their market, also because of
the uncertainty that might arise in the domestic availability and prices of goods as the MNCs tend to replace
the domestic products with their own brands. International trade has brought about changes within societies
as individuals and families modify their consumption pattern and initiate new and greater demands for consumer
products acquired through external sources such as trade rather than indigenous sources.
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ABSTRACTS
The present study was exploratory in nature. The sample comprised 300 respondents, 100 each
belonging to three income categories. The sample was drawn randomly from the four zones of the twin cities
of Hyderabad and Secunderabad in Andhra Pradesh. To study the urban household consumption behaviors
with effect of MNCPs, five scales were developed name by – The Consumer Ethnocentrism Scale, Goal
Congruency Scale, Consumer Product Susceptibility and Innovativeness Scale, Product Influence on Attitude
Scale, Enculturation – Acculturation scale. The findings of the study revealed that majority of the respondents
were having medium level of MNCP use segmentation. Nearly cent percent of the respondents stated that
MNCP had medium level of goal congruency.
With regards to personality, with increase in MNCP information package, products goal congruency,
expenditure pattern, MNCP use segmentation, there was increase in level of susceptibility – Innovativeness.
Regarding perception level, it was found that majority of the respondents perceived that MNCP attributed level
was high in comparison with Indian product. The financial risk was the most pronounced risk faced by
consumers of MNCPs. The findings indicate that when age, income and respondent’s spouse educational
status increased, then the level of enculturation – acculturation also increased. The foremost reason for
consumers’ shift in consumption from Indian to MNCPs was ‘quality of MNCP’. With the increase in educational
and occupational status, the MNCP influence on consumer attitude also started increasing. The present
findings can have important implications for theories of consumption behavior, for policy makers for formulation
of consumer welfare programmes for consumer psychologist to screen the consumers according to their
ethnocentrism level, enculturations – acculturation level, susceptibility – innovativeness level. Overall the
findings of the study have direct implications on consumers, manufacturers, producers, marketers, policy
makers, consumer activists / bodies, government and nongovernment organizations.
Influence of Organic Manuring on The Incidence of Insect Pests of Rice
Student: R. Jothimani Major Advisor: Dr. K. Vijaya Lakshmi
Department of Entomology
A field experiment entitled “ Influence of organic manuring on the incidence of insect pests of rice”
was carried out at College Farm, College of Agriculture, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad and Directorate of Rice
Research (DRR), Rajendranagar, Hyderabad under unprotected and protected conditions during Kharif 2005
and efficacy of neem formulation Fortune Aza (300 ppm) (3%) against rice pests in the protected block.
Laboratory studies were conducted at All India Coordinated research project (AICRP) on biocontrol to study
the effect of neem formulations on the adult emergence of egg parasitoid Trichogramma japonicum Ashmead.
Neem formulation Fortune Aza (300 ppm) (3%) sprayed on organic manure treatments at College Farm,
recorded less incidence of rice pests in neem cake and vermicompost plots which were on par with 100 per
cent recommended. Significantly higher grain yield was recorded in plots treated with 100 per cent recommended
dose of fertilizers and 50 per cent green manure + 50 per cent recommended dose of fertilizers. Among the
organic treatments neem cake treatment recorded more yield. Laboratory studies conducted with different
neem formulations on T. japonicum showed that vijayneem recorded significantly higher adults emergence of
T. japonicum at recommended concentrated (3%).
Quality Hybrid Seed Production By Regulation of Sex Expression In Castor
(Ricinus Communis L.)
Student : P. Sujatha
Major Advisor : Dr. R. Ankaiah
Department of Seed Science & Technology
In the present investigation, the parental lines of DCH-177 hybrid i.e., DPC-9 (female line) and DCS-
9(male line) were sown at 3:1 ratio in three different dates. The seed parents, DPC-9 was studied in order to
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know the influence of environment (September, October, November sowings) and growth regulators on sex
expression and hybrid seed quality. The experiment was taken up during rabi, 2005 at National Seed Project,
Acharya N. G. Ranga Agricultural University, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad.
The environment (dated of sowing) showed significant effect on sex expression. September 16 th
sowing recorded more number of pistillate plants with less number if interspersed staminate flowers followed
by October 16 th sowing, whereas sowings done in November had very little influence on sex expression with
less number of pistillate plants/plot.
Seed quality parameters like germination per cent, seedling vigour index and field emergence index
were recorded high in the seed obtained from September and October sowings as compared to November
sowing. Hybrid seed obtained from September to October sown crops recorded high genetic purity and it was
above certification standard (>85%) while seed obtained from November sown crop had very low genetic
purity and it was below certification standard.
Ethrel treatment enhanced the quality of the seed quality parameters as compared to GA 3
treatment,
water spray and control. Manual removal of ISF in seed parent during seed production resulted in higher
genetic purity (95.9%) and it was on par with Ethrel treatment (94.0-96.2%). Ethrel treatment resulted in high
genetic purity of hybrid seed due to suppression of ISF and maintenance of stable pistillate plants, while seed
obtained from GA 3
sprayed plots recorded very low genetic purity (70.1-78.8%) as a result of more number of
ISF in seed parent. It was concluded that September and October sowings were congenial for quality hybrid
seed production. Ethral @ 0.1% was found very effective for obtaining better quality seed by suppression of
ISF in seed parent.
A Study of Temporal Variations in Area, Production and Productivity of Certain
Important Horticulture Crops in Andhra Pradesh
Student: K. Srinivasa Rao Major Advisor: Sri. M.H.V. Bhave
Department of Statistics & Mathematics
The study entitled “A STUDY OF TEMPORAL VARIATIONS IN AREA, PRODUCTION AND
PRODUCTIVITY OF CERTAIN IMPORTANT HORTICULTURE CROPS IN ANDHRA PRADESH” was
undertaken to estimate the growth rates of the selected important horticulture crops viz: Tomato, Brinjal
(Vegetable crops) Mango, Citrus, Banana Guava (Fruit crops) Coconut, Cashew nut (Plantation crops) and
to fit the adequate trend equation for the future projections by 2010 AD.
The reference period of study was from 1991-92 to 2002 -03 and the study was carried for Andhra
Pradesh state as a whole. Linear and Compound growth rates were calculated to examine the trends in area,
production and productivity of selected horticultural crops.
The study revealed that the area and production of tomato marked a significant increasing trend whereas the
productivity exhibited negative trend. Brinjal also showed significant increasing trend in area, production and
insignificant positive trend in case of productivity. In case of mango, there was a substantial increase in area
rather than in production and productivity. Banana, citrus and guava too exhibited a significant increasing
trend in area, production and productivity and the same was observed in future projections by 2010 AD. It was
revealed from increasing production of coconut that it was attributed by increasing area. In case of Cashew
nut, a significant upward trend in area and non significant upward trend in production with negative trend in
productivity was observed.
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Water Requirement and Nitrogen Dynamics in Soil Under SRI (System of Rice
Intensification) and Flooded System of Rice Cultivation During Rabi Season
Student: K. Nagaraju Major Advisor: Dr. M. Singa Rao
Department of Soil Science & Agricultural Chemistry
A field experiment was conducted on sandy clay loam soil at college farm, college of Agriculture,
Rajendranagar, Hyderabad during rabi 2005-06 to study the “Water requirement and nitrogen dynamics in soil
under SRI (System of Rice Intensification) and flooded system of rice cultivation during rabi season.” The
experiment was laid out in spilt plot design consisting of two systems of cultivation viz., system of rice
intensification and flooded system of cultivation which were allotted to the main plot treatments. The urea forms
viz., control, uncoated urea, neem cake treated urea and neem oil treated urea were included as subplot
treatments.
The water use efficiency (i.e. kg of grain produced for the total water used during the entire crop
growth period, i.e. nursery, main field, rain water and land preparation), under flooded system of rice cultivation
was 2.51 kg grain ha -1 mm -1 where as under SRI it was 4.6 kg grain ha -1 mm -1 .
The highest urease activity was recorded at 60 DAT in both the system of cultivation due to close
relation between magnitude of NH 4
-N and urease activity. The flooded system of cultivation recorded significantly
higher N-uptake by the plant during 30 DAT, than that of SRI method.
The bulk density decreased with increasing crop growth and at harvest it was lowest, irrespective
of methods of cultivation. Flooded system of cultivation (15.28 kg -1 grain kg N) registered higher N- response
when compare to SRI (14.10 kg -1 grain kg N) with respect to the urea forms, NOC (16.49 kg grain kg -1 N) was
recorded highest N-response followed by NCU (15.04 kg -1 grain kg -1 N) and lowest N-
recovery was observed in control (12.51 kg grain kg -1 N).
Effect of Pollen Blend and Pollination Methods on Yield and Seed Quality in
Sunflower (Helianthus Annuus L.) Genotypes
Student: G. Ramulu Major Advisor: Dr.K. Radhika
Department of Seed Science & Technology
The present study entitled “Effect of pollens blend and pollination methods on yield and seed quality
in sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) genotypes” was conducted to asses the influence of various pollination
methods on seed set, test weight, yield, oil content and quality of seed in sunflower. The seed material for the
study comprising eight genotypes viz. two hybrids, two populations, four inbreds (two self compatible and two
self incompatible lines) was obtained from the Directorate of Oil Seed Research, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad.
The analysis of variance revealed that significant differences existed among the five pollination
methods (Selfing, Supplimental hand pollination, Simple blend, Mixed blend and Open pollination), genotypes
and there interactions.
Among the pollination methods, pollination with a mixed blend of pollen enhanced seed set and also
recorded higher oil content in the genotypes. The higher seed set reflected through mixed blend was attributed
to effective transfer of viable pollen to the receptive stigma there by overcoming self incompatibility by intra
allelic interaction.
The test weight which is one of the important yield components was directly influenced by number of
filled seeds per capitulum. Though less number of seeds was recorded in selfing, the test weight increased in
bagging due to less competition among the sink and the availability of more nutrient supply per fertile achene.
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The seed yield had significant positive association with total number of seeds, oil content, seed set,
germination and other seed quality parameters. From the present study, it can be concluded that in future the
breeders can concentrate on the development of synthetics, use of varietal mixtures and blends, which can
yield on par with hybrids.
Influence of Restorer Lines on Seed Setting, Quality Seed Production and
Storability in Sunflower Hybrids
Student: M. Sreelatha Major Advisor: Dr. K.V.S. Meena Kumari
Department of Seed Science & Technology
Among all the biotic and abiotic factors, seed setting is the major constraint for seed production.
Being oilseed crop, the storage potential of sunflower seed is for a limited period. The experimental material
comprised four male sterile lines and ten restorer lines. Forty hybrids were produced on crossing four CGMS
lines with ten restorer lines and studied for quantitative characters viz., seed setting (%), seed yield/plant (g)
test weight, oil content. Two hybrids, KBSH-1 and DRSH-1 were packed in four containers under ambient
conditions of Seed Research and Technology Centre, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad and observations were
recorded on seed quality parameters viz., germination percentage, vigour index, seed health, electrical
conductivity, seed moisture percentage at biomonthly intervals for a 10 months.
Among all the genotypes, DRS-1 recorded minimum days to 50 per cent flowering. Among the
restorer lines, DRS-2 followed by DRS-1, DRS-6, DRS-7 produced highest quantity of pollen and when these
were crossed with CGMS lines viz., 7-1A, 234A, 1-A, 4-A produced hybrids with higher seed set per cent,
seed yield/plant. Irrespective of restorer lines, male sterile line, 7-1A pollinated with restorer lines produced F 1
hybrids with higher seed set (%), seed yield/plant and test weight.
Among different dormancy breaking treatments GA 3
@ 300 ppm followed by ethrel @ 25 ppm and
KNO 3
@ 0.2% was found most effective for both hybrids viz., KBSH-1 and DRSH-1.
The germination percentage and other seed quality attributes decreased gradually with increased
period of seed storage. Seed packed in moisture impervious containers like aluminium foil pouch and tyvek
bag were found effective for storagibility for improving the shelf-life of seed as against cloth bag for ten months
of storage period.
Growth and Supply Response of Groundnut In Rayalaseema Districts of
Andhra Pradesh
Student: S. Mailerinathan
Major Advisor: Sri G. Krishnakanth
Department of Statistics & Mathametics
The growth and supply response of groundnut Rayalaseema districts of Andhra Pradesh, were
studied by using the time series data from 1970-71 to 2002-03. The growth pattern was examined by fitting an
exponential function (Y = AB 1 ) and the supply response was evaluated by applying Nerlovian Lagged Adjustment
model separately for area, production and yield in the respective seasons.
The overall growth pattern of groundnut in Kharif season indicated an upward trend in respect of
area and production in all the Rayalaseema districts except Chittoor district with respect to production.
The Kharif season area response function of groundnut revealed that the impact of previous year’s
price of the groundnut sowing period rainfall and the lagged area on the current year’s area allocation were
significantly positive in all the districts except the sowing period rainfall in Kurnool district and previous year’s
price in Chittoor district where, those impacts were only positive.
81

ABSTRACTS
In rabi season area response, the impact of previous year’s price of groundnut and lagged area
under groundnut were significantly positive in all the districts except Kurnool district where, lagged area under
groundnut showed non significant positive impact.
In case of Kharif season production response functions of groundnut, the influence of previous
year’s price, production lagged by one year, sowing period rainfall and South West Monsoon were positive in
all the districts except Ananthapur and Chittoor district, those exhibited a negative influence in lagged year
production and a significantly negative influence in the previous year’s price respectively.
The rabi season production response function of groundnut revealed that previous year’s price and
production were the key factors in determining the production of groundnut in all the four districts with the
significant influence of price in Chittoor and Kuddapah districts.
The Kharif season yield response function of groundnut exhibited that the influence of South West
Monsoon was significantly positive in all the districts except Kurnool district where, it was a non significant
positive influence.
In rabi season, the yield response of groundnut revealed that the previous year’s price had significantly
positive impact on current year’s yield except Ananthapur district where, it was only positive impact.
In respect of area, there were positive price elasticities of groundnut in both the seasons in all the
districts except Chittoor district in Kharif season area, which indicates that farmers of all districts except
Chittor district were more responsive to price changes in the long run.
In Kharif season yield response of groundnut price elasticities revealed that Kurnool district farmers
experienced good yield by adopting yield improving technologies besides responding to price changes.
The coefficient of adjustment for groundnut, in kharif season was highest in Ananthapur and Kuddapah
districts for area response.
In case of rabi season, the coefficient of adjustment was highest in Kurnool district for area and
production. But for yield response, it was highest in Ananthapur district followed by Chittoor district. This
indicates that the above-mentioned districts farmers were keen on improving yield to get more profit.
Studies on Planting Geometry and Intercropping in Sugarcane
Student: M.B.G.S. Kumari Major Advisor: Dr. P. Maheshwara Reddy
Department of Agronomy
A field experiment entitled “Studies on Planting Geometry and Intercropping in Sugarcane” was
conducted for two consecutive years during 2002-03 and 2003-04 at Regional Agricultural Research Station,
Anakapalle to find out the suitable planting geometry of sugarcane to accommodate various intercrops for
enhancing the productivity and profitability of sugarcane based intercropping system. The experiment was
laid out in spilt plot design, replicated thrice.
The treatments comprised three planting geometries (M 1
: Normal planting of sugarcane with 80 cm
between rows, M 2
: Paired row planting of 40/120 cm and M 3
: Wide row planting of 160 cm, by placing two
budded setts horizontally) assigned to main plots and five intercrops (C 1
: Maize, C 2
: coriander for leafy
vegetable, C 3
: greengram, C 4
: soybean, C 5
: coriander for leafy vegetable followed by ginger) and Sole crop
of sugarcane (C 6
) allocated to sub plots. The intercrops were raised by adjusting inter and intra row spacing
of respective crops to accommodate 100 per cent recommended plant population.
Varied planting geometry of sugarcane as well as intercropping with different crops exerted variable
influence on the growth, yield and quality of sugarcane, while the interaction effect was not statistically
traceable with respect to any of the parameters studied.
82

ABSTRACTS
Either varied planting geometry or intercropping with different crops did not exert any significant
influence on the germination per cent of sugarcane. The highest tiller population at 120 DAP as well as 270
DAP and highest number of millable canes at harvest were noticed with paired row planting (M 2
), which were
comparable with normal row planting (M 1
), while they were found to be the lowest with wide row planting (M 3
).
Sole crop of sugarcane (C 6
) resulted in the highest tiller population at 120 DAP and at 270 DAP,
highest number of lengthiest millable canes ha -1 , while all the above mentioned parameters were at their lowest
with intercropping of maize with sugarcane (C 1
). Either varied planting geometries of sugarcane or intercropping
with different crops did not exert any significant influence on the number of internodes cane -1 , length of
internode and single cane weight during both the years of study and girth of the cane during the first year of
study.
Cane yield was the highest under paired row planting (M 2
), which was comparable with normal row
planting (M 1
). The lowest cane yield was produced with wide row normal row planting (M 3
). Sole crop of
sugarcane (C 6
) produced the highest cane yield, which was on par with coriander (C 2
) or greengram (C 3
)
intercropped with sugarcane. Intercropping of maize (C 1
) resulted in the lowest cane yield.
Sucrose content of cane at harvest, CCS and juice purity were not significantly influenced by either
with planting geometry or intercropping. Different planting geometries did not exert any significant influence on
post harvest soil available nutrient status. The highest cane equivalent yield of the cropping system was
noticed with paired row planting (M 2
), which was comparable with normal planting (M 1
). Wide row planting (M 3
)
resulted in the lowest cane equivalent yield.
Varied planting geometries of sugarcane did not exert any significant influence on the post harvest
status of soil available nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium.
The highest gross as well as net returns and B: C ratio was registered with paired row planting of
sugarcane (M 2
), which were comparable with normal row planting (M 1
). Wide row planting (M 3
) resulted in the
lowest gross returns, net returns and B:C ratio.
Intercropping of coriander followed by ginger (C 5
) resulted in the highest gross as well as net
returns. The lowest gross and net returns were registered with intercropping of coriander with sugarcane (C 2
),
which were comparable with the sole crop of sugarcane (C 6
) and the net returns were not comparable
between sole crop of sugarcane (C 6
) and coriander intercropped with sugarcane (C 2
) during the first year of
study. Intercropping of greengram (C 3
) resulted in the highest B:C ratio, whereas, coriander intercropped with
sugarcane (C 2
) resulted in the lowest B:C ratio.
In conclusion, it could be inferred from the study that paired row system of planting of sugarcane
could be preferred owing to its higher cane and sugar yield as well as higher net returns. Intercropping of
ginger can be suggested for realizing higher net returns, while Intercropping of greengram can be suggested
for sustained soil fertility, without any conspicuous discount in economic returns. The total productivity of
sugarcane intercropping system can be enhanced by intercropping with greengram in the paired rows of
sugarcane.
Studies on Organic Farming in Maize – Sunflower – Greengram Cropping System
Student: K. Tejeswara Rao
Major Advisor: Dr. D. Srinivasulu Reddy
Department of Agronomy
Investigations entitiled “Studies on Organic Farming in Maize – Sunflower – Greengram Cropping
System” were carried out for two consecutive years (2003-04 and 2004-05) at S.V. Agricultural College Farm
(ANGRAU), Tirupati (Southern Agro-Climatic Zone of Andhra Pradesh). In these investigations, maize was
grown during late Kharif season and sunflower during late rabi. Greengram was raised as residual crop during
summer. The experiment was laid out in a randomized block design, replicated thrice and the same layout was
83

ABSTRACTS
followed during both the years of study. There were fourteen treatments comprising six different sources of
nitrogen viz., farm yard manure, vermicompost, neem leaf, poultry manure, pig manure and fertilizer to supply
recommended dose of nitrogen on equal nitrogen basis and one treatment of no manuring through any source.
All the seven treatments were tried with or without the foliar application of panchagavya, thus making the total
treatments to fourteen. The treatments were imposed to maize and sunflower crops, while their residual effect
was studied on succeeding greengram crop without imposing any treatments. The test cultivars of maize,
sunflower and greengram were DHM-103, MSFH-17 and LGG-460, respectively. Various parameters of the
three crops in the cropping system and the system as a whole was influenced differently by varied manurial
practices tried. The highest phosphorus uptake of maize was recorded with poultry manure, while the potassium
uptake was the highest with vermicompost. The highest benefit-cost ratio was recorded with poultry
manure in combination with panchagavya spray, which was however, comparable with poultry manure alone
or farm yard manure along with panchagavya spray. All the growth and yield attributes, yield, nutrient uptake,
harvest index, grain quality parameters and economic returns of maize were at their lowest with non-manuring
through any source, which were statistically similar to those with foliar application of panchagavya alone.
All the growth and yield attributes, yield (seed as well stalk) harvest index , nitrogen uptake and
gross returns as well as net returns of sunflower were at their best with recommended dose of fertilizer either
with or without panchagavya spray. The highest phosphorus uptake of sunflower was recorded with poultry
manure wither with or without the spray of panchagavya, while the potassium uptake was the highest with
vermicompost either with or without spray of panchagavya. All the growth and yield attributes, yield, nutrient
uptake, harvest index, oil content of the seed and economic returns of sunflower were at their lowest with
nonmanuring through any source, which were statistically similar to those with foliar application of panchagavya
alone.
All the growth and yield attributes, yield (seed as well as haulm), harvest index, gross returns, net
returns and benefit-cost ratio of greengram were at their best with the residual effect of poultry manure either
with or without the use of panchagavya. The highest phosphorus uptake of greengram was recorded with the
residual effect of poultry manure either with or without the spray of panchagavya, while the potassium uptake
was the highest with vermicompost either with or without the spray of panchagavya.
All the growth and yield attributes, yield, nutrient uptake, harvest index, protein content of the seed
and economic returns of greengram were at their lowest with the residual effect of non-manuring through any
source to either maize or sunflower, which were statistically similar to those with foliar application of
panchagavya alone to the preceding two crops.
The highest biomass production and economic yield (maize grain equivalent yield) by the cropping
system was produced with recommended dose of fertilizer in combination with spray panchagavya applied to
maize and sunflower.
The highest gross and net returns from the cropping system were realized with recommended dose
of fertilizer in combination with panchagavya applied to maize and sunflower.
Performance of the cropping system in terms of productivity and economic returns was obviously
the poorest with non-manuring through any source to any of the crops in the cropping system, which was
statistically similar to that with foliar application of panchagavya alone to maize and sunflower.
Regarding the dynamics of various soil fertility parameters viz., soil organic carbon, available
nitrogen, available phosphorus and available potassium, all of them were found built up to a considerable
extent with the use of organic manures to maize and sunflower, while the application of fertilizer to maize and
sunflower could just maintain the soil fertility status with neither considerable replenishment nor deterioration.
In conclusion, it can be inferred from the investigation that maize crop can be sustained with the farm
yard manure or pig manure or vermicompost along with foliar application of panchagavya. Sunflower crop can
be sustained with the neem leaf manure or poultry manure along with foliar spray of panchagavya as pure
organic additives, as they performed nearly equal with that of recommended dose of fertilizers. In case of
residual effect of organic manures on greengram, poultry manure performed better over others. Considering
the cropping system as a whole, maize- sunflower greengram cropping system can be sustained with organic
84

ABSTRACTS
manures along with combination of panchagavya not only in terms of productivity and economic returns, but
also in terms of sustaining the soil fertility status at fairly high level. Supply of N through exclusive organic
sources could nearly meet the crop demand for nutrient and performed equally with that of recommended
dose of fertilizer. Foliar application of panchagavya seems to be promising in improving the productivity and
quality of maize and sunflower crops.
Studies on Contingent Cropping in Drylands
Student: U. Obulamma
Major Advisor: Dr. P. Maheswara Reddy
Department of Agronomy
Field experiments were conducted at S.V. Agricultural College Farm, Tirupati campus of Acharya
N.G.Ranga Agricultural University for two consecutive kharif seasons of 2000 and 2001 under rainfed conditions
to study the alternative and contingent crops for the late onset of monsoon in Rayalaseema region of
Andhra Pradesh. The present investigation was laidout in a spilt-plot design with five replications. The treatments
comprised four dates of sowing viz., July second fortnight (D 1
), August first fortnight (D 2
), August
second fortnight (D 3
) and September first fortnight (D 4
) allocated to main plots and six crops viz., groundnut
(C 1
), greengram (C 2
), redgram (C 3
) castor (C 4
), sunflower (C 5
) and clusterbean (C 6
) allotted to sub plots.
The results indicated that the plant height, LAI and drymatter accumulation at all the stages of
groundnut were highest with July second fortnight sowing which were on par with August first fortnight sowing
during both the years.
At all the crop growth stages of observation, plant height and LAI of greengram did not differ due to
time of sowing during both the years. The highest drymatter was accumulated during July second fortnight
sowing which was on par with August first fortnight sowing. The yield attributes of greengram viz., number of
pods plant -1 , number of seeds pod -1 during first year were the highest with July second fortnight sowing which
were on par with August first fortnight sowing.
During first year, the highest seed and haulm yield of greengram were produced with July second
fortnight sowing and they were at their lowest with September first fortnight sowing. However, while during
second year, there was no significant difference in seed and haulm yield.
The tallest plants, the highest LAI and drymatter production of redgram were recorded with July
second fortnight sowing during both the years. All the yield attributes of redgram viz., number of pods plants -
1
, number of seeds pod -1 , hundred pod weight and hundred seed weight were significantly the highest with July
second fortnight sowing during both the years.
Castor crop recorded the tallest plants, largest LAI and highest drymatter accumulation during July
second fortnight sowing which were on par with August first fortnight sowing during both the years,. The
highest number of spikes plant -1 , capsules spike -1 of castor were observed with July second fortnight sowing
and were on par with August first fortnight sowing.
During first year, the tallest plants, largest LAI and highest drymatter of sunflower was produced with
July second fortnight sowing which was on par with August first fortnight sowing. However, while during
second year, the highest plant height, LAI and drymatter accumulation was attained with September first
fortnight sowing which was on par with August second fortnight sowing.
During first year, the highest plant height, largest LAI and highest drymatter production of clusterbean
was attained with July second fortnight which were on par with August second fortnight sowing at all the growth
stages. During second year, the highest plant height and LAI were with July second fortnight sowing and
lowest were with September first fortnight sowing.
85

ABSTRACTS
The highest drymatter productions of all crops were highest with July second fortnight sowing during
both the years. Among all the crops tried,redgram registered the highest drymatter production. As regards the
interaction, the highest drymatter production was attained when redgram was sown during july second
fortnight the highest groundnut pod equivalent yields of all crops was sowing altained with july second fortnight
sowing during both the year. During both the years, highest gross and net returns were obtained during July
second fortnight sowing. Among the various crops tried, redgram recorded the highest gross and net returns
during both the years.
The higher Benefit – cost ratio was recorded when all the crops were sown during July second
fortnight.
During both the years, the highest N, P and K uptake was recorded when all the crops were sown
during July second fortnight. During both the years, the highest post harvest organic carbon and available
nitrogen were recorded with July second fortnight sowing. Post harvest soil available P 2
0 5
was highest during
July second fortnight sowing during second year.
As regards the interaction effect, there was no significant difference in post harvest organic carbon
available N, P 2
O 5
and K 2
O during both the years.
In conclusion, the present study has revealed that redgram performed better that groundnut even
under normal and delayed onset of monsoons. In areas where labour availability is cheaper, and high marketable
price as vegetable, clusterbean also performs better even under delayed sowings. So redgram, clusterbean
can be introduced as a contingent crop to groundnut when the onset of monsoon is later for the Rayalaseema
region of Andhra Pradesh. For small and marginal farmer with meagre resources, castor can be suggested as
an alternative crop to groundnut under normal and delayed sowings provided plant protection is carried out
effectively.

CONTENTS
PART I : PLANT SCIENCE
Page No.
Studies on growth performance of jatropha (jatropha curcas L.) 1
under pruning and sources of nutrients
K. MURALI KRISHNA, G.NEERAJA PRABHAKAR, M.V.R. SUBRAHMANYAM
and A. SIVA SANKAR
Red stripe disease in rice (Oryza sativa L.) - an overview 5
S. KRISHNAM RAJU, K. VIJAY KRISHNA KUMAR, M. R. B. RAJU and HARI SUDINI
Effect of irradiation on shelf life and microbiological quality of mangoes 14
(mangifera indica L.)
P. PRABHU PRASADINI, MD. AJAZ ALI KHAN and P. GOPAL REDDY
Combining ability and heterosis for fruit yield and yield components in 24
ridge gourd (luffa acutangula L.)
B.NEERAJA PRABHAKAR
PART II : SOCIAL SCIENCE
Awareness and adoption of cotton (gossypium hirsutum L.) integrated 33
pest management practices by the farmers of warangal district in Andhra Pradesh
G. SIVANARAYANA, M. RAMADEVI and P. VENKATA RAMAIAH
Zonation of rabi sorghum (sorghum bicolor L. Moench) area of Maharashtra 41
on the basis of potential yield
V. RAVI KUMAR, S.R. KUMAR and M. ANJI REDDY
PART III : RESEARCH NOTES
Transient gus gene expression in safflower (carthamus tinctorius L.) 49
using particle bombardment
B. JYOTHI, N. A ANSARI and M. SUJATHA
Membrane thermostability test as an indication of heat tolerance in 54
wheat (triticum aestivum L.em.thell.)
S.R. REDDY, A.K. CHHABRA, R.K. BEHL and N.P.E. REDDY
Utilization of health services and immunizational status of gramasiri families 57
V. SANTHI SRI KOTAMAMBA and P.YASHODA DEVI
Heterosis and inbreeding depression in rabi sorghum 61
(sorghum bicolor L.Moench)
K. JHANSI RANI, S.S. RAO and M. GANESH
Inheritance of grain yield in wheat (triticum aestivum L.em.thell.) under 68
terminal heat stress
S.R. REDDY, A.K. CHHABRA, R.K. BEHL and A.R. KRISHNA
Abstracts

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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
marker linkage map constructed from 92 recombinant inbred lines. Helia.
30 (46) :25-36.
Books
AOAC. 1990. Official methods of analysis. Association of official analytical chemists.
15 th Ed. Washington DC. USA. pp. 256
Federer, W.T. 1993. Statistical design and analysis for intercropping experiments. Volume
I: two crops. Springer – Verlag, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA.
pp. 298-305
Thesis
Ibrahim, F. 2007. Genetic variability for resistance to sorghum aphid (Melanaphis sacchari,
Zentner) in sorghum. Ph.D. Thesis submitted to Acharya N.G. Ranga Agricultural
University, Hyderabad.
Seminars / Symposia / Workshops
Naveen Kumar, P.G. and Shaik Mohammad 2007. Farming Systems approach – A way
towards organic farming. Paper presented at the National symposium on integrated
farming systems and its role towards livelihood improvement. Jaipur, 26 – 28
October 2007. pp.43-46
Proceedings of Seminars / Symposia
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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