eChapters

Abstract

Investigations were carried out during 2005 at Rajgarh area of District Sirmaur in Himachal Pradesh for screening elite germplasm of Kaphal ( Myrica nagi Thunb). A wide range of variability was noticed for 14 fruit characters. Maximum fruit weight (834 mg), fruit length (12.94 mm), pulp weight (5.96 mg), pulp percentage (83.21%) and seed : pulp ratio (1 : 5.96) were recorded in Tree No. 35. maximum TSS (14.40 oB) was recorded in Tree No. 37. maximum fruit diameter (10.71 mm), fruit volume (650 µl), seed weight (154 mg) and seed breadth (7.51 mm) were recorded against Tree No. 25. maximum coefficient of variability was noticed for pulp weight followed by fruit weight and minimum for pulp percentage. Keeping in view the importance of large fruit size two elite trees (Tree No. 25 and 35) were marked which has fruit weight greater than 700 mg for collecting seeds to raise seedlings of this unexploited sub-temperate fruit

1. Introduction

Gloriosa superba L. (Liliaceae) is a striking tuberous climbing plant with brilliant wavy-edged yellow and red petaled flowers. Glory lilies are grown commercially for a chemical compound, colchicine. The annual foreign exchange through the export of glory lily seeds is estimated to be Rs.100 crores (Alice and Sundravadana, 2012). It is used as anthemirtic, alexiteric and useful in ulcers, piles, abdominal pains and itching. It has abortifacient, anti-pyretic, anti-inflammatory and anti-leprotic properties (Gupta et al., 2005). Leaf blight disease was first noticed in  G.. Superba in West Bengal, India in 2004. The leaf blight disease was observed during June to September. Early symptoms appeared as small, circular to oval, light brownish spots, 2-6 per leaf, scattered at the tip, margin and midrib of the leaves. Subsequently the spots enlarged and usually developed into concentric rings. At an advanced stage, the spots became dark brown to blackish in colour, gradually coalesced and became irregular in shape, then the affected leaf blighted completely. The causal organism was found to be a fungus namely Alternaria alternata (Fr.) Keissler. The pathogen is greatly influenced by weather with the highest disease incidence reported in wet seasons and in areas with relatively high rainfall (Meena et al., 2010). The growth of A. alternata was maximum in pH range of 6-6.5 and temperature range of 25-30°C (Hubballi et al., 2010).

1. Introduction

Phytochemicals are biologically active compounds found in plants, which act as a resistance system for host plants and protect them from biotic and abiotic stresses. Phytochemicals act as antioxidants, which react with the free radicals present in the cell. Free radicals are formed in the cell as a result of aerobic metabolism and these radicals are biologically active that damages the macromolecules like DNA, proteins and lipids resulting in oxidizing chain reactions (Moussa et al., 2011). Oxidative stress damage leads to various disorders like autoimmune disorders, cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, cataract, aging, cardiovascular diseases and other neurodegenerative disorders (Uttara et al., 2009). The major actions of antioxidant in the cells are to protect them against the damage caused by reactive oxygen species (ROS).

Medicinal plants are good sources of antioxidants such as vitamin E, ascorbic acid and carotenoids. There are huge numbers of medicinal plants that are veiled in the environment. In ancient times, different plant species have been used for the treatment of human ailments from fever to cancer (Devendrakumar et al., 2009).

ABSTRACT

Chickpea is an important pulse crop of India and most suited to the use of rhizobia for its nitrogen requirement. Mesorhizobium ciceri which interact with the crop are poorly understood. Attempt has been made to select M. ciceri with several beneficial properties. Sixty four isolates of M. ciceri collected from the nodules of several chickpea varieties and mutant lines were screened for their growth properties on nitrogen free medium. Isolates MC59 and MC 18-7 showed normal growth and had ARA values at half level to that of Azotobacter. PCR amplification results suggested the presence of ACC deaminase gene sequence both in Azotobacter and M. ciceri. Invariably all isolates showed the presence of one plasmid in the range of 35 kb to 40 kb size.

ABSTRACT

In oil palm there are three fruit forms viz. dura, tenera and pisifera. The commercial planting material is tenera produced by crossing dura and pisifera (D X P). Dura has thick shell and less economic part, where as pisifera is an abortic, female sterile type and cannot be reproduced in the normal ways. When tenera is selfed, segregation takes place in the monogenic Mendelian ratio; 1 dura: 2 tenera: 1 pisifera. Since all these palm types are morphologically alike, they can be confirmed only after fruiting, and verifying the internal fruit morphology. Fruiting in pisifera is highly erratic and often prolonged to several years. Proper technique in identifying these palms has been puzzling the breeder all over. Hence, a shell thickness marker is very important for early identification of the oil palm varieties.

An attempt has been taken to screen PCR primers and select the probable primers linked to the shell thickness in the present study. ‘Bulk segregation analysis’ approach was adopted for the study and DNA isolation was carried out from 25 dura and 25 pisifera palms. All the palms were developed from same tenera x tenera crosses. DNA from all the 25 duras and 25 pisiferas were pooled separately. Two pooled DNA samples were subjected to RAPD analysis with 50 random primers using the standard RAPD protocol. The amplified samples were electrophoresed and documented.

Both the pooled samples showed same banding pattern with all the primers, except 10 primers showing differences. Since the genetic configuration of the pooled dura DNA was likely to be same as that of the pisifera pooled DNA, the primers showing difference in banding pattern were the putative primers linked to shell thickness. All the 10 primers would be used for amplification of individual dura and pisifera DNA for confirmation of shell thickness marker.

Seabuckthorn or Siberian pineapple or Leh Berry is an emerging new horticultural crop of temperate region in the world. In India, its importance was realized in 1992 when the author found its wild abundance in cold desert of Leh /Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir State and named it as Leh Berry. Perhaps Chinese were the first to use this plant as medicine even before 8th century. In traditional Chinese medicines, seabuckthorn products are used as health drinks, for cardiovascular and digestive diseases and ailments related to lungs and skin. Chinese Olympic athletes were served seabuckthorn based health drinks to improve their physical performance and endurance. Seabuckthorn figures in folklore medicines of China, Mongolia, Tibet, India ,Russia, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Ancient Greeks were taken by surprise before 12th century to find their horses, strong and energetic again with a shine on their hair, which were let loose to die a natural death. These horses used seabuckthorn wild growth as their fodder.

India is the home to a number of fruit species including mango, banana citrus etc. which have global importance. The North-Eastern (NE) region is particularly endowed with tremendous diversity of banana and citrus and a number of wild/ minor species. However, India has been and continues to be highly interdependent for germplasm sharing with many countries. In the early times, development in Indian fruit industry brought about largely by making selections from indigenous variability for large scale production. Selection from natural or introduced diversity was performed by the local growers, often patronized by rulers, continued over the years and resulted in the development of several popular types of different fruits.

Fruits and vegetables are important supplement to the nutritional requirements in the human diet as they provide the essential minerals, vitamins, flavonoids/ antioxidants and dietary fiber required for maintaining health. India is the second largest producer of fruits and vegetables in the world after China. During 2012-13, fruits and vegetables have registered a production of about 77.7 million MT and 159.5 million MT respectively (NHB, 2013. However, increase in production has not matched with the improvement in infrastructure for post-harvest management and processing. Fruits and vegetables are highly susceptible to deterioration owing to their high moisture content and delicate nature. Besides, most of the fruits and vegetables are seasonal in nature leading to glut in the local market during peak season resulting in huge economic losses to the growers. According to an estimate, 6-18% of fruits and vegetables are lost in the supply chain right from harvest to consumption due to lack of infrastructure for postharvest management, processing and value addition (Nanda et al., 2012).

21.1. Aim

To familiarize the students with the machineries and equipments used in fruit and vegetable processing.

21.2. Theory

The students will visit the processing unit/pilot plant and familiarize with different machineries and equipment used in fruit processing units. The students will observe the layout and the details of the machinery for different unit operations viz; raw material receiving, washing, sorting/grading, peeling, slicing, pulping, heating, filling, exhausting, sealing, sterilization/processing, labelling and storage for different products. The list of the machineries and equipments and important chemicals used in fruit preservation is as under:

21.3. Apparatus/machineries/equipments used in food industries

21.3.1. Basic equipment/ accessories

Nursery is a place where planting material, such as seedlings, saplings, cuttings, etc., are raised, propagated and multiplied under favourable conditions for transplanting in prepared beds. In other words, “A vegetable nursery is a place or an establishment for raising or handling of young vegetable seedlings until they are ready for more permanent planting.” There are some vegetables whose seed need to be sown directly in the main plot such as cowpea, okra, bottle gourd, bitter gourd, pumpkin, sponge gourd, ridge gourd, peas, beans, and similar others. Similarly, certain vegetables cannot grow by seeds directly and need to multiply by vegetative means like pointed gourd, ivy gourd, kakrol, kartoli, garlic, zinger, colocasia, Aravi, water chestnut etc.

Floriculture is most diversified and potential component of horticultural industry in India. It is one of the fastest growing sectors in domestic and international trade markets and holds high business potential and prospects for trade. In ancient era, the flowers were used mainly for religious offering but now floriculture sector has emerged as a commercial venture. There is a dynamic shift from sustenance production to commercial production in this era and thereby significant increase in trade of flowers at domestic level because of rapid urbanization, increase in income level, etc. Flower business is considered as a most profitable business as commercial floriculture has higher potential. The cut and loose flowers have opened various avenues for establishment of flower business.

An emerging, promising, affordable, and sustainable method of providing micronutrients to a large population with limited access to varied meals and other micronutrient therapies is referred to as biofortification. The biofortified tuber crops, particularly sweet potato, cassava, yam, and taro, are giving the targeted people adequate amount of nutrients. When genetic diversity is present in a gene pool of targeted crop, biofortification through conventional breeding approaches has been most successful. The breeding strategies used to elevate micronutrients include pre-breeding, large-scale germplasm screening, molecular marker development and understanding genetic control and Genotype x Environment interaction (GxE).

Ecological engineering has recently emerged as a paradigm for considering pest management approaches that rely on the use of cultural techniques to manipulate farm habitat and to enhance biological control. In contrast to the intensive use of ecosystems, these days to enhance productivity can affect agro-ecosystems through soil and water depletion, biodiversity loss, challenging pest problems and disruption in flow of ecosystem services. Ecological engineering for pest management mainly focuses on increasing the abundance, diversity and function of natural enemies in horticultural crops habitats by providing refuges and alternate or supplementary food resources and also attracts different kinds of pollinators like honeybees.

Government of Andhra Pradesh has identified Horticulture sector as one of the growth engine with a focus to increase the production, productivity and quality all horticultural crops coupled with value chain development and marketing linkages for better price realization. Total area under horticultural crops is 17.95 lakh ha with a production of ` 314.78 lakh tonnes. Horticulture sector has recorded 10.17 % growth over previous year and contributing ` 49,189 crores during 2020-21 to GVA of Andhra Pradesh (DH, Govt. of Andhra Pradesh, 2021).

1.1. Terms and definitions

1.1.1. Landscape gardening

• Branch of floriculture deals with the study of ornamental gardening or garden features.
• Bringing an area or piece of land into a garden using naturally existing features like undulations, terraces and plain surface to have more naturalistic effect than artificial.

1.1.2. Ornamental gardening

• Place for growing plants which are consciously directed for ornamental or practical use.

1.1. Origin and distribution

• Also known as balsam pear or bitter cucumber.
• Old world origin and native of tropical Asia, particularly in Indo Burma region
• Widely grown in India, Indonesia, Malaysia, China and tropical Africa
• In India, it is cultivated in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Odisha, Assam, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

1.2. Economic importance

• Bitter gourd contains bitter principle (Glucoside) momordicin.
• Important vegetable in South Indian states, particularly in Kerala and grown for immature tuberculate fruits a unique bitter taste
• Fruits are
  • Rich source of vitamins and minerals

1.1. Origin and distribution

• Originated from wild non heading type, Cliff cabbage or Cole wort (Brassica oleracea var. sylvestris).
• Native to Mediterranean region.
• Three cultivated forms
  • Brassica oleracea var capitata f. alba- White cabbage
  • Brassica oleracea var capitata f. rubra- Red cabbage
  • Brassica oleracea var capitata f. sabauda- Savoy cabbage
• Major cabbage producing states are Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Bihar, Assam, West Bengal, Maharashtra and Karnataka.

1.2. Economic importance

• Contains all essential amino acids, particularly sulphur containing amino acids.
• Red cabbage is rich source of anthocyanin.

1.1. Origin and distribution

• Originated in Asia namely North West India, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Western Tien Shan
• According to Vavilov (1951), it was originated in Pakistan.
• Jones and Mann (1963) stated that areas comprising Pakistan, Iran and mountain areas to the North India are primary centres of origin
• India is the second largest producer in the world, next to China and ranks third in export of onions, next to Netherlands and Spain.
• Maharashtra is the leading onion producing state in India, followed by Karnataka and Gujarat.
• Grown in Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan and Bihar

1.2. Onion types in India

• Common onion (Allium cepa var. cepa) - Large bulbs born singly and propagated through seeds. Used as salad or in curries.
• Multiplier onion or potato onion (Allium cepa var. aggregatum) -Producing small bulbs, borne in clusters and generally propagated through small bulbs. Used for seasoning curries.

1.1. Origin and distribution

• Centre of origin is Peru, Bolivia, and South America in the Central Andean region.
• Introduced into India in early 17^th Century
• In India, cultivation of potato began first in Nilgiris in 1822.
• Mainly grown in Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Punjab, Karnataka, Assam and Madhya Pradesh.
• Commercial potato species - Solanum andigenum - not very common. Plants are thin and long stem, small and narrow leaflets. Flowers more profuse, long stolons and mostly coloured deep eyed tubers.
• Solanum tuberosum: More common, plants shorter and thicker stem,