Caralluma sarkariae is a succulent herb belongs to the family of Apocyanaceae.The population of Caralluma sarkariaeis found growing in a secluded area at Nagamalai hills of Madurai, Tamil Nadu.The crop with its immense medicinal value such as anti-obesity and anti-diabetic properties need to be explored and promoted in non-traditional areas.Hence the experiment was taken up to study the effect of growth regulators on rooting of cuttings in Caralluma sarkariae.The results revealed that, the use of growth regulators greatly influenced on growth parameters particularly shoot and root length, when side shoots were treated with IBA 200 ppm.
Root rot disease caused by Macrophomina phaseolina is a destructive disease in Gloriosa superba. The effect of organic amendments, fungicides and biocontrol agents in the management of root rot disease of G. superba was evaluated under field conditions. From the results, it was found that the combination treatment of soil application of Trichoderma viride (2.5 kg ha(-1)) along with mahua cake (150 kg ha(-1)), dipping the tubers in Pseudomonas fluorescens 0.2% followed by spraying tebuconazole + trifloxystrobin 0.1% twice on 30 and 60 days after planting was effective in managing the root rot disease and increasing the seed yield. The plant growth and yield parameters viz., plant height, number of flowers plant(-1), number of pods plant(-1) and number of seeds pod(-1) were the maximum in the combination treatment of soil application of T. viride (2.5 kg ha(-1)) along with mahua cake (150 kg ha(-1)), dipping the tubers in P. fluorescens 0.2% followed by spraying tebuconazole + trifloxystrobin 0.1% twice on 30 and 60 days after planting.
Gymnema sylvestre is an important medicinal woody climber belonging to the family Asclepidaceae. The leaves of this plant are in use for over 2000 years to treat diabetes, giving it a prominent place in the indigenous system of medicine. Sun drying is followed conventionally for drying Gymnema leaves. As sun drying has different varied environmental condition and contamination problem. Hence, to standardize the drying method with different type of dryers viz., sun, shade, polyethylene solar tunnel dryer, mixed mode compound parabolic solar dryer (CPSD) and solar biomass hybrid. The result revealed that polyethylene solar tunnel dryer records lowest drying time (6h) and highest drying rate (0.62 g/h). Compound parabolic solar dryer (CPSD) recorded highest value for phenol (16.96 mg/g), flavonoid (2.28 mg/g), protein (15.70 mg/g), Chlorophyll A (1.15 mg/g), chlorophyll B (0.562 mg/g) and total chlorophyll (1.712 mg/g). Bioactive compound of Gymnema i.e., gymnemagenin was (29.03µg/ml). Though, polyethylene tunnel dryer showed the lowest drying time but mixed mode CPSD captitulate the best quality standards.
To assess the influence of fertigation on nutrient use and yield improvement in papaya, investigations were carried out in papaya cv. Co.7 during 2006-2008 at Horticultural College and Research Institute, Coimbatore. Nitrogen and potassium were fed through drip as urea and muriate of potash while phosphorous was applied through soil as single super phosphate. The treatments include 100% recommended dose of N and K 2 O through drip (T 1 ), 75% recommended dose of N and K 2 O through drip (T 2 ), 50% recommended dose of N and K 2 O through drip (T 3 ) and soil application of recommended dose of fertilisers (50 g N:50 g P 2 O 5 :50 g K 2 O per plant) at bimonthly interval starting from 3 rd month after planting (MAP). Application of 100% recommended dose of N and K 2 O (50 g N and 50 g K 2 O) through drip irrigation (T 1 ) resulted in flowering at the shortest height (96.32 cm). Plant height, stem girth and number of leaves were also found significantly higher in T 1 . Leaf N and K showed significant changes while P exhibited no variations among the treatments. Treatment, T 1 resulted in more number of fruits, fruit weight, TSS and low fruit cavity index. The increase in number of fruits and fruit weight is attributed for higher fruit yield per tree (73.97 kg) and the resultant total fruit yield per hectare (184.9 tonnes) with high B:C ratio (1:1.97) in plants treated with 100% recommended dose of N and K 2 O (50 g N and 50 g K 2 O) through drip irrigation, in addition to soil application of 50 g P 2 O 5 . It is concluded that fertigation of papaya cv. Co.7 with 100% recommended dose of N and K 2 O through drip (50 g N at 6.25 g/plant/week and 50 g K 2 O at 6.25 g/plant/week for a two months period), in addition to soil application of 50 g P 2 O 5 in bimonthly intervals resulted in maximum fruit yield. The physiological as well as biochemical changes in plants due to fertigation are also discussed in this paper.
A study was conducted to investigate the selection criteria in 54 kantakari accessions based on 14 morphological and qualitative traits employing correlation, path analysis, principal component analysis and cluster analysis. The traits viz., plant spread (N-S), plant spread (E-W), number of branches per plant, number of flower clusters per plant, number of berries, fresh berry yield per plant, dry berry yield per plant, dry berry yield per hectare, total proteins, total phenols, total flavonoid content, total antioxidant activity, FRAP activity and solasodine were recorded. For seven quantitative attributes, simple descriptive statistics revealed a normal distribution. Plant spread (N-S) (1.309), fresh berry production per plant (0.751), dry berry yield per plant (0.808), dry berry yield per hectare (0.816) and total flavonoid content (1.215) were all significant and showed positive skewnesses. Plant spread, branches per plant, flower clusters per plant, number of berries per plant, fresh berry yield per plant, total flavonoid content and total proteins all exhibited highly positive significant correlations with dry berry yield per plant. The quantity of berries per plant, total protein content, total flavonoid content and fresh berry yield per plant all showed a significant direct effect on yield. Quantity of berries per plant and fresh berry yield revealed as the primary incidental variables for positive or negative correlation of a number of features with dry berry yield per plant. Principal component analysis revealed that the first five components with Eigen values greater than one accounted for a maximum of 74.32 percent of the variability. Number of berries per plant (0.901), fresh berry yield per plant (0.938), dry berry yield per plant (0.962), and dry berry yield per hectare were the attributes contributing to the most variance in PC1, which was responsible for 26.97% of the overall variation (0.964). The accessions were divided into two main clusters using the Wards method of hierarchical cluster analysis. Cluster II contributed more significantly to berry quality and solasodine content than Cluster I, which comprised of high yielding accessions. To effectively exploit promising genotypes in future breeding programmes, it would be advantageous to categorise kantakari accessions based on numerous yield and quality parameters. Keywords: Variability, correlation, path, Solanum surattense
Diabetes mellitus (DM) was characterized by chronic hyperglycemic condition occurs due to deficiency of insulin secretion or insulin action. Gymnema, the potent anti-diabetic medicinal plant was used in the treatment of diabetes by its bio active constituent called “Gymnemic acid”. The untreated and long term type 2 diabetes leads to the secondary complications such as micro and macro vascular diseases. This complication could be overcome by the intake of adequate quantity of folate, magnesium, lutein and chromium rich food sources. Hence, the instant gymnema soup powder has been formulated to overcome secondary complications of diabetes. Totally nine combinations were formulated for instant gymnema soup mix powder. Along with gymnema different proportions of broccoli, pumpkin, moringa and banana powders were added to fulfil the nutrient inadequacy. The ingredients like pepper powder, cumin powder, dried onion slices, corn flour, skimmed milk powder and salt were added for flavour, taste and satiety. Based on the sensory evaluation, the combination C1 scored best followed by C5 and C7 ranked the lowest score based on the quality attributes. In instant gymnema soup powder, the moisture, pH, protein, carbohydrates, ascorbic acid, magnesium and chromium contents were found to be 5.81%, 5.85, 20.05%, 57.00%, 30mg/100g, 368mg/100g, 572.02mcg/100g respectively.
Solanum nigrum is an important upcoming medicinal cum green leafy vegetable belonging to the family Solanaceae. Like other plants, medicinal plants too have to bear the devasting attack of injurious insect pests. Extensive monitoring and development of eco-friendly pest management practices are essential in the production of high quality, pesticide residue free produces. Field experiments were carried out in farmer's holdings at Coimbatore and Tirupur districts of Tamil Nadu during June 2012 to September 2012 to assess the efficacy of botanical pesticides against sucking pests and defoliators infesting Solanum nigrum. The results revealed that among the treatments, foliar application of profenophos at 2 mL L(-1) is found to be the best treatment for the management of sucking pests as well as defoliators and also recorded maximum leaf yield of 22.40 kg 12 m(-2) plot harvest(-1). Among the botanicals, azadirachtin 1 and 2% aqueous leaf extract of Andrographis paniculata recorded maximum reduction in pest population and also conserved more natural enemies. Another field experiment was carried out in a farmer's holdings at Edayarpalayam, Coimbatore district during November 2014 to April 2015 to develop an IPM module for the management of insect pests of S. nigrum. Results of the field experiment revealed that among the treatments, the IPM module comprising of designer seed treatment [Polymer (3 g) - carbendazim (2 g) - Gaucho (5 g) - Azospirillum (120 g) kg(-1) of seed] - cowpea as border crop - erecting yellow sticky traps at 12 ha(-1) - need based spraying of azadirachtin 10,000 ppm at 1 mL L(-1) recorded the lowest incidence of sucking pests viz., aphids (0.2 per three leaves plant(-1)), thrips (0.1 per three leaves plant(-1)) and whiteflies (0 per three leaves plant(-1)) at 25 days after sowing (DAS) and afforded protection up to 35 DAS, followed by farmer's practice (chemical control) as against the maximum population of 28.4 aphids per three leaves plant(-1), 3.8 thrips per three leaves plant(-1) and 4.7 whiteflies per three leaves plant(-1) in untreated control. At 35 DAS, maximum number of Menochilus sexmaculatus grubs was recorded in untreated control (6.1 plant(-1)) and in IPM plots (5.8 plant(-1)). Maximum harvestable leaf yield of 14.28 t ha(-1) was recorded in the IPM plot, followed by the farmer's practice (13.15 t ha(-1)), as against 5.25 t ha(-1) in the untreated control. Hence, the IPM module is adjudged as the best treatment in the management of insect pests of S. nigrum.
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