eChapters

Morphological characteristics

Caesalpinia sappan is a thorny, small to medium-sized plant with prominent spines on the stem and leaf rachis that grows up to 10 metres tall. Branchlets are lenticellate, dull, and usually have paired, recurved stipular prickles. With 9–14 pairs of pinnae, the leaves are big, hairy, or glabrate.

Floral characteristics

The inflorescence is a supra-axillary and terminal raceme with golden yellow flowers that creates a huge panicle. The fruit is an elliptical pod that ranges in colour from brown to black. The peak flowering and fruiting season is from July to September, with November being a rare exception.

Distribution

The crop is native to the Indo-Malayan region. The species can be found throughout the Indian peninsula. It is also produced as a plantation crop in all of the Southern states, as well as in Odisha and Bengal to the north.

11.1. Origin and distribution

• Native of Atlantic Coast from Mexico to Brazil.

• Vanilla comes from orchids of the genus vanilla.

• Originally came from Mesoamerica, including parts of modern day Mexico and Guatemala.

• Major vanilla producing countries are Java, Mauritius Tahiti, Seychelles, Madagascar, Indonesia, Mexico, Cameroon and Reunion.

• Madagascar and Indonesia produce two thirds of the world’s supply of vanilla.

• In India, vanilla cultivation is gaining importance in Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu since early 1990s.

11.2. Economic importance

• Second most expensive spice after saffron

Morphological characteristics

The plant is an erect undershrub, 1.5–2.5 m tall. Leaves are elliptic-oblong to lanceolate or ovate to ovate–lanceolate, 12–25 × 5–11 cm, acute or acuminate at apex, acute or cuneate at base, glabrescent, crenate-dentate; densely stellate–tomentose beneath; petiole 4–12 mm long; Fruits globose, drupes or berries, white to yellowish-brown with or without fruit stalk, fresh being succulent, 1–3 mm in dia. Intact fruits are smooth and brownish in colour and exhibit centrally located bilocular carpel and 4 nutlets each embedded with a yellowish white seed, in a transversely cut surface of a fruit;

Floral characteristics

Flowers appear in July-November are small, 0.5 cm long, pink in colour and crowded in axillary peduncled globose cymes, solitary, pedunculate or sessile. Flowers are bisexual, actinomorphic and fragrant. Calyx 4 or rarely 5 toothed, pubescent, corolla infundibular, 4 or rarely 5 lobed. Stamens are 4, exserted, anthers oblong 2 loculed, dorsifixed. Ovary is superior, 4 lobed, 4 loculed, 1 ovule in each locule, style short, stigma 2 lobed. Flowering & fruiting occurs during June–Dec. Fruits when tasted at first are somewhat sweet, later bitterish; fruit has fragrant odour specially after slight bruising the fruit. The fruits of Callicarpa macrophylla are edible.

Distribution

Plants of this species grow in open and secondary forests along the upper Gangetic plains, West Bengal Plains, Eastern and Western Himalayas, Kashmir, Assam, and northern Andhra Pradesh up to an altitude of 1800 meters. The species grows in other places worldwide, such as Nepal, Indonesia, China and South Korea.

ABSTRACT

Protoplast isolation of Piper nigrum L.and Piper colubrinum Link. was attempted using axenic leaves at two different osmotic potentials viz. 0.60 and 0.65 molar (M) osmoticum. In Piper nigrum, highest protoplast yield (6.90 x 10⁴ protoplasts ml^-1) was observed in the enzyme combination 1.40 per cent cellulase and 0.310 per cent pectinase while in Piper colubrinum, highest protoplast yield (13.0 x 10⁴ protoplasts ml^-1) was observed in the enzyme combination 1.0 per cent cellulase and 0.217 per cent pectinase during 21 h of digestion. In both the species, 0.6 M osmoticum was found to be optimum to maintain the osmotic potential of the isolation solution. Filtration-centrifugation technique was found to be superior in purifying the protoplasts of Piper species compared to sucrose floatation method. Centrifugation at 1000 rpm for three minutes was found to be best in purifying Piper nigrum protoplasts. For purifying Piper colubrinum protoplasts, 600 rpm for three minutes was found optimum. The protocol developed for protoplast isolation in Piper species can be used for biotechnological means like somatic hybridization between the two and gene transfer to develop foot rot resistant black pepper lines.

Introduction

Functional food is a natural or processed food that contains biologically active compounds like nutraceauticals and phytochemicals which have health benefit and thus, an important source in the prevention, management and treatment of chronic diseases. For centuries consumption of fruits and vegetables has been attributed to beneficial health effects. Research studies stated that approximately one-third of cancer risk in humans could be attributed to diet. Free radical formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and subsequent oxidative stress have been correlated to many human disorders including those of the kidney, eye, lung, liver, nervous system, heart and cardiovascular system. Therefore, foods in our diet that can aid in prevention of these diseases are of major interest to both the scientific community and the general public. Biologically active plant chemicals including traditional nutrients have a beneficial effect on human health. Onion and garlic have received considerable attention for their healthful, functional benefits.

Onion and garlic are the most important vegetable crops grown and consumed almost all over the country. Both the crops belong to the family Alliaceae and have gained the importance of a cash crop in recent years. Maharashtra, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha are the major onion growing states whereas Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Odisha are the major garlic growing states. India is a leading producer of onion supporting 20.2% of the world production. Onion is grown in kharif, late kharif and rabi seasons whereas, garlic is grown in rabi season only except in Nilgiri Hills where summer crop is also taken. Onion is normally produced from seeds except multiplier onions where production is taken up vegetatively from bulblets. Garlic is produced vegetatively by planting cloves. Both the crops are rich source of bioactive compounds and have outstanding nutritive value. The nutritive value (per 100g edible portion) of onion and garlic are as follows.

Morphological characteristics

Kalimusli roots are 5–22 centimetres long, cylindrical, tuberous, and 0.5–0.8 centimetres thick. Brownish on the outside, with noticeable transverse creases that are loosely spaced. Externally, lateral roots are robust, fibrous, dull white in colour, and spongy, with a length of 5 cm or more. When freshly cut, tuberous rootstock has a starch-white colour within and is mucilaginous. Simple, sessile leaves are clustered on a short stem with sheathing leaf bases that taper into a little petiole, giving the plant an almost radical aspect. They are 15–45 cm long and 1.2–2.5 cm wide, linear or linear–lanceolate, membranous, glabrous or sparsely soft haired, and are linear or linear–lanceolate, membranous, glabrous or sparsely soft haired. When the leaf tip comes into contact with the earth, it develops roots and creates adventitious buds.

Floral characteristics

Flowers are epigynous, bright yellow, bisexual or unisexual, with a lanceolate and membranous bract. The perianth is found at the top of a lengthy, sterile ovarian extension that extends above the ground. With six equal lobes measuring 1.5 cm and sparsely hairy along nerves on the interior, the perianth is gamotepallus. The ovary is tricarpellary, syncarpous, and trilocular, with a long, slender beak (stipe). Flowering and fruiting occur largely from October to January, with intermittent flowering and fruiting occurring all year.

Curcuma zedoaria (zedoary or white turmeric) is a perennial herb and member of the genus Curcuma, family Zingiberaceae. The plant is native to South Asia and Southeast Asia but is now naturalized in other places including the US state of Florida. Zedoary was one of the ancient food plants of the Austronesian peoples. They were spread during prehistoric times to the Pacific Islands and Madagascar during the Austronesian expansion. Its use as a spice in the West today is extremely rare, having been replaced by ginger, and to a lesser extent, yellow turmeric. Curcuma Zedoaria (Berg.) Rosc.syn. C. zerumbet Roxb; Amomum zedoaria Christm., the Kasthurimanjal of commerce, is also known as Round zedoary in English, Kachura in Sanskrit and Kakhur in Hindi.

Morphological characteristics

Zedoary is a rhizomatous annual or biennial herb with a long, scented stem. It stands at 1.8 metres tall. On the inside, the rhizomes are large and pale yellow or yellowish. The roots are fragrant, and the tubers are ellipsoid in shape. With the exception of a bitter aftertaste, the edible root of the zedoary has a white interior and a mango-like scent; however, its flavour is more similar to ginger. Although there is no obvious aerial stem, the shoot has a pseudo stem made up of four to six long and densely overlapping sheathing leaf bases. The leaves are enormous, up to 1 m long, rectangular and strongly veined, and frequently violet in colour in the centre.

5.1. Origin and distribution

• True or black mustard: Brassica nigra Koch-Self sterile

• White mustard (Yellow mustard) : Brassica compestris, Syn: Sinapsis alba- Self sterile

• Indian or brown mustard: Brassica juncea (L.) Czern

• These three species are commonly used as condiment.

• White mustard is indigenous to Southern Europe, whereas brown mustard is from China introduced to Northern India.

• Black mustard is endemic in Southern Mediterranean region.

• White mustard is widely cultivated in Australia, China, Chili, Denmark, Italy, Japan, UK, Netherlands, North Africa, Canada and USA.

Morphological characteristics

Plant is terrestrial glabrous herb attends height of 20-25 cm. Tubers slightly flatten ed, palmately divided into 3-5, finger like lobes. Flower stalk upto 90 cm Long, erect, hollow, leafy throughout or the lower portion bear few sheathing scales. Leaves are 4-6, cauline, leaf blade oblong to linear lanceolate, 8.0-15.0cm x 1.5-3.0 cm in size, base sheathing, apex obtuse or acuminate.

Floral characteristics

Inflorescence is raceme, 5.0-15.0 cm long, crowded with many flowers. Flowers are purple and the bracts green, narrowly lance shaped, lower bract longer than the flowers, upper slightly shorter. Flowers are about 1.8 cm long, including the curved spur. Sepals and petals are nearly equal. Three of them form a hood and the two sides spread outwards. The lip is rounded and shallowly 3-lobed, spotted dark purple. Spur straight, cylindrical, nearly as long as the ovary; column very short; anther adnate to its face, cells diverging; pollinia 2, caudicles attached to 2 small globose, viscid glands enclosed in a minute pouch overhanging the broad, 2-lobed stigma.

Distribution

This attractive terrestrial orchid grows in damp pastures of Himalayas from Kashmir to Nepal at the altitude of 2500-5000 m MSL.

ABSTRACT

Cultivated turmeric consists of fertile short duration types with a chromosome number of 2n=84. In vivo crossing was done between two short duration types VK 70 and VK76 to develop a high yielding variety with high curcumin and curing percentage. Seed set and seed development was obtained by in vivo stigmatic pollination. Hybrid seed germination was obtained under in vitro in dark on moist filter paper and the seedlings were micropropagated to establish a population of six plantlets /seedling with in a period of 10 months. The multiple shoots were obtained in the medium of half strength MS + 3 per cent sucrose+ BA 2.5 mg l^-1+ NAA 0.5 mgl^-1. Coupling conventional breeding with tissue culture reduces the breeding time.

The genus Dioscorea comprises of approximately 600 species and sustains livelihood around the globe. Air yam, aerial yam, bitter yam, cheeky yam, potato yam, and parsnip yam are all names for Dioscorea bulbifera L., a traditional medicinal plant native to Asia, Northern Australia, America, and tropical Africa. It’s been used in traditional medicine for a long time and has a lot of potential.

Morphological characteristics

It is a perennial herbaceous climber that can reach a height of 10-20 metres and has multiple fibrous roots. The leaves are alternating, broadly cordate, and bright green in colour, with rounded basal lobes arising from one of them. Aerial tubers (bulbils) are circular, smooth-surfaced tubers that grow freely in leaf axils. Annual stems emerge from a tuberous, woody rootstock. These stems either creep along the ground or climb up the surrounding vegetation. Dioscoreaceae subfamilies are distinguished by the presence of bisexual and unisexual blooms. Seeds are trilocular, dark brown, and somewhat winged (1.2-1.6 by 0.5 cm).

Floral characteristics

Flowers are grouped in spikes that are hanging, axillary, solitary, or fascicled. The seeds are winged at the base, while the capsules are oblong and winged. The fruit has three valves and the perianth is tubular. From September to November, the plant blooms and bears fruit.

7.1. Pepper

7.1.1. Pollu beetle: Longitarsus nigripennis

Symptoms

• Grub feeds on growing tip, tender stem, leaf petiole, spikes and berry.

• Tunneling of tender stem causes drying up of shoot.

• Spikes tunneled by grubs turn black and cause dropping of spikes due to rotting.

• Grubs bore into the berries and feed on entire internal contents.

• Exit holes could be seen on dry berries and turn dark - called ’Pollu’ berries.

ABSTRACT

Protoplast isolation in orchids is considered to be a valuable tool for introduction of desirable traits through somatic cell fusion. The present work on the protoplast in Dendrobium var.sonia is undertaken with a view to standardize protocol for isolation and regeneration. Tender leaf mesophyll tissues of one-month-old Dendrobium var.sonia were used as explant for protoplast isolation. The leaf tissues were treated with enzyme mixture of cellulase 1per cent (Onozuka -R from Trichoderma viride) and macerase 0.25per cent (from Aspergillus niger) for 16 hours. Protoplast from the Dendrobium var. sonia was successfully isolated and regeneration of shoots and roots were obtained in MS medium containing BA 5mg l^-1+NAA 1mg l^-1.The plantlets were hardened in a span of five months.

Morphological characteristics

It is an annual/perennial herb with prostrate spreading branches in all directions. The root system is deep. Leaflets are 2.5-5 cm long, elliptical, oblong and rounded at base. Leaves are densely clothed with white appressed and long spreading hairs. In nature, seedlings appear after 2-3 showers during July-August. Generally, the seedlings are abundant under the canopy of trees or shrubs. The young seedling grows straight and produces lateral branches during first week of August. The lateral branches spread in all directions. The flowering starts during first week of August. Fruit formation takes place in the last week of August, while flowering still continues. The dispersal of the seeds takes place from September to December. Plant dries during November-December.

Floral characteristics

Flowers are blue in colour and axillary in position. They are either solitary or in pairs on the long stalk. Styles are two and each is bifid. Fruit is globose with four-valved capsule containing dark brown to black smooth seeds. The flower colour varies from dark purple to whitish-purple.

Distribution

Plant is commonly found growing in open and grassy places, almost throughout India, ascending upto 1500 meter in the Himalayas. It is cultivated also in the sub-tropical parts of India, ascending upto 1800 meter elevation.

ABSTRACT

Aprotocol for in vitro clonal multiplication of Dendrobium var. Betty Ho is reported. Aseptic shoot tip explants cultured in MS medium containing Benzyl Adenine (5 mg l^-1) and casein hydrolysate (1000 mg l^-1) recorded a maximum multiplication rate of 10 fold in 30 days. Explant cultured in LS) medium supplemented with 1-napthalene acetic acid (0.1 mg l^-1) and Kinetinetin (1 mg l^-1) developed a maximum of 8.3 shoots in 30 days. Shoots thus obtained were rooted on MS medium supplemented with BA (0. 1mg l^-1 ) and NAA (0.5mg l^-1). Rooted plantlets after hardening were transferred to green house.

ABSTRACT

Plants as a source of medicine are of special importance in the countries like India which has well developed traditional system of medicine which derive more than 90 per cent of medicaments from higher plants. Several of these also constitute important ingredients of Allopathic medicines. Most of the requirements for the medicinal plants are met from wild sources. But due to the changing ecological factors in the forests and unserupulous collection of medicinal plants, the wealth of medicinal plants is getting depleted and some types have already become extinct. The collection of these plants from the forests cannot cope up with the ever increasing and changing demand from the pharmaceutical, perfumery and cosmetic industry. In order to provide regular and sustained supply of medicinal plants, it is essential now to domesticate and systematically cultivate these plants for which large scale availability of planting material has to be ensured. In this context, in vitro multiplication protocols were standardised for rare, valuable and endangered medicinal plants such as Holostemma ada-kodien, Trichopus zylanicus, Aristolichia indica and Terminalia chebula. The study indicates the feasiblity of rapid multiplication of these plant species using in vitro techniques and the standardised protocols could be used to generate large number of true to type protocols within a short time.

Inula racemosa is an Asian plant in the daisy family native to the temperate and alpine western Himalayas of Xinjiang, Afghanistan, Kashmir, Nepal, Pakistan. Inula racemosa Hook. f., is a critically endangered perennial herb distributed throughout the Himalaya; commercially useful in pharmaceutical products.

Morphological characteristics

The species is a perennial herb that grows up to 1.5 metres tall & has a scented root and rootstock. Large number of stems ascend from the rootstock’s base. Leaves are leathery, rough above and densely hairy below, 25-50 cm long and 10-12 cm wide, and elliptic-lanceolate in shape, 25-50 cm long and 10-12 cm wide.

Floral biology

Flower heads are yellow with bisexual florets and arise in terminal racemes. Flowering takes place from January to July, while fruiting takes place from October to November. Fruits (achenes) are slender and about 0.5 cm long.

ABSTRACT

Medicinal plants are the most important source of life saving drugs for the majority of the world’s population. Therefore the biotechnological tools are important to select, multiply and conserve the critical genotypes of medicinal plants. With the increase in the demand for the crude drugs, the plants are being overexploited, threatening the survival of many rare species. Also, many medicinal plant species are disappearing at an alarming rate due to rapid agricultural and urban development, uncontrolled deforestation, and indiscriminate collection. Advanced biotechnological methods of culturing plant cells and tissues should provide new means for conserving and rapidly propagating valuable, rare, and endangered medicinal plants. Maintenance of germplasm in the green house or in the field has many difficulties and so there is a need for the in vitro conservation of these plant germplasm. In the present paper we report the in vitro conservation of two medicinal plants and each of it has its own medicinal value. The tuberous roots of Holostemma are medicinally important and are utilized as a major ingredient of the drug ‘jivanthi’. Tylophora is used as a herbal medicine and the plant has been traditionally used as a folk remedy for the treatment of bronchial asthma, bronchitis and dermatitis. Shoot buds of these plants were cultured in Murashige and Skoog’s (1962) medium with different strengths and with different concentrations of sucrose and mannitol. The different treatments induced varied response with respect to the slowing of growth of cultures. Sucrose was found essential in combination with mannitol to induce maximum reduction in the growth of the plant tissues. The cultures could be maintained without sub culturing for over one year and resumed normal growth on transfer to mannitol free medium. This method of conservation has many advantages.

ABSTRACT

Cashew (Anacardium occidentale L.) is a woody perennial tree of tropical origin, belonging to the family Anacardiaceae. Cashew is being cultivated in India, Brazil and Africa countries. It is well known for its food, noon food and medicinal uses. In vitro clonal propagation of cashew, which is an effective method for large-scale multiplication of trees was tried. Cashew plantlets were regenerated from shoot explants of 2 - 3 year old grafted plants, which were regularly sprayed with Bavistin 0.1 per cent at weekly intervals. Among the different surface sterilization treatments used, a combination of antioxidants, antibiotics and fungicides was found to be better with around 40 per cent contamination free cultures being obtained. MS medium containing full strength macro elements supplemented with Kinetin (5 mg l ^-1), NAA (1mg l ^-1) and Brassinolide (0.1 mg l ^-1) was found to be best for shoot proliferation and shoot elongation. Micro shoots were rooted in vitro at a frequency of 70-80 per cent, when cultured for 4-8 days in quarter MS liquid medium supplemented with IBA (1mg l ^-1) after the pulse treatment with IBA (100 mg l ^-1) for two minutes. The average number of roots ranged from 3 - 5 with an average length of 1.63 cm. About 50 - 60 per cent of the rooted microshoots survived wearing and produced healthy and vigorously growing plants, which were transferred successfully to the field.

ABSTRACT

Asuccessful micro grafting technique in Cashew (Anacardium occidentale L.) was developed using in vitro germinated seedling as root stock and shoots from stage II cultures as scions. Grafting success was dependent on the method of grafting, size of the scion and age of the root stock. Among the methods tried, side and cleft grafting were found to be suitable. Due to the ease of operation and faster union, side grafting was preferred. High levels of graft union were obtained when 2 - 3 cm long shoots from stage II cultures were grafted on to 8 - 9 days old in vitro raised root stocks in full strength MS (Murashige and Skoog) medium supplemented with Kinetin (2.5 mg l^-1), NAA (0.5 mg l^-1) and Brassinolide (1mg l^-1). The very high growth of grafted scion was obtained, when the micro grafts were transferred into MS medium containing full strength macroelements supplemented with Kinetin (5mg l^-1), NAA (1mg l^-1) and Brassinolide (1mg l^-1). The micro grafts after a process of hardening could be successfully transplanted into soil. Micro grafting techniques standardized could be used for rejuvenation of shoot explants of mature tree.