203.64.245.61203.64.245.61/fulltext_pdf/EB/1900-2000/eb0035.pdf · 2 1999 SAVERNET II © 2000. Asian Vegetable Research and Development Center Shanhua, Tainan, Taiwan. AVRDC. 2000

Vegetable Research in South Asia

Proceedings of the South Asia Vegetable Research Network

Mid-term Review Meeting 5-9 February 1999 AVRDC, Taiwan

( SAVERNET-II)

S. Shanmugasundaram, Editor

organized by the

Asian Vegetable Research and Development Center and

Asian Development Bank

2 1999 SAVERNET II

© 2000. Asian Vegetable Research and Development Center Shanhua, Tainan, Taiwan.

AVRDC. 2000. Vegetable Research in South Asia: Proceedings of the South Asia Vegetable Research Network (SAVERNET-11) Mid-term Review Meeting, 5-9 February 1999, AVRDC, Taiwan. Asian Vegetable Research and Development Center. Shanhua, Tainan, Taiwan. 94 p.

ISBN: 92-9058-1 17-7 AVRDC publication no. 00-504

Technical editor: S. Shanmugasundaram Editors: John Stares and Ronald Mangubat Desktop publishing: Meng Shih-jung

Cover, clockwise from top left: SAVERNET members pose in front of a screenhouse at the National Agricultural Research Centre in Nepal; inspecting a screening for tomato yellow leaf curl virus at the University of Agricultural Sciences (UAS), Bangalore, India; inspecting MI2 chili from Sri Lanka, planted at Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute.

Mid-term Review Meeting 3

Contents

Foreword

Progress Achieved in Vegetable Research and Development: Reports from SAVERNET Member Countries

Bangladesh

Bhutan

India

Nepal

Pakistan

Sri Lanka

Minutes of 1999 SAVERNET-I1 Mid-term Review Meeting

List of Participants

4

5

7

31

35

53

68

79

87

92

.

4 1999 SAVERNET II

Foreword

Since the South Asia Vegetable Research Network (SAVERNET) was set up in Sep- tember 1991, a lot of changes have taken place in vegetable research and development in the region. Elite varieties have been exchanged and evaluated, crop and pest management research has intensified and progress has been made in identifying problem areas and solu- tions to those problems. The identified priority crops - onion, tomato, chili, okra, eggplant, cucurbits and crucifers - were assembled, multiplied, maintained, distributed and evaluated in the six SAVERNET partner countries. After six years, the proponents, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Asian Vegetable Research and Development Center (AVRDC), felt that in order for the project to achieve more impact of benefit to South Asian farmers, more would need to be done.

Thus, SAVERNET II was born in April 1997. The main objectives were to translate research into farmers’ applications and to continue the consolidation of the research progress made by SAVERNET I, particularly in the area of integrated disease and pest management.

This publication documents the mid-term review conducted at AVRDC headquarters in February 1999. It summarizes the research progress in Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The review addressed issues arising from the implementation of the master work plan, and sought to come up with ideas to strengthen and fine-tune strategies and courses of action for the coming years.

But more than an enumeration of facts and figures, we feel this report is timely now that development planners in Asia are seeking more ways and means to improve food production in light of the recent economic pneumonia that has plagued the continent over the past three years. The six SAVERNET partner countries still suffer poverty and malnutrition. Policymakers are in unison in saying that in order to address these problems, it is imperative to develop a strong alliance between the various national agricultural research systems and international research institutions. Such solid teamwork is reflected in the pages of this publication.

We hope that the material presented in this book, outlining the benefits accrued through collaborative partnership between national agricultural research systems and AVRDC, can help guide and further strengthen such research partnerships.

Samson C S Tsou Director General AVRDC


Progress Achieved in Vegetable Research and Development:

Reports from SAVERNET Member Countries


Bang lades h

Vegetable research and development

The climate in Bangladesh is suitable for growing warm and cool season vegetables. More than 90 different types of vegetables (local and exotic types) are grown in the country (Table 1), but production is far too low to meet the demand: availability of vegetables is about one-fifth of the recommended 200 g/person per day. There is therefore an urgent need to grow more vegetables.

Area and production The area under vegetables increased from nearly 172,000 to almost 196,000 ha between 1990 and 1997; over the same period, production of vegetables increased from 1.09 to 1.29 million t. Winter has the most favorable climate for vegetable growing, and 60% of total production is grown in this season. And pests are a worse problem in the summer than in the winter. Major winter vegetables include cabbage, cauliflower, tomato, eggplant, radish, hyacinth bean and bottle gourd; important vegetables for summer production include pumpkin, bitter gourd, teasle gourd, ribbed gourd, ash gourd, okra, yard-long bean and Indian spinach. Some vegetables, such as eggplant, pumpkin, okra, tomato and red amaranth, can be grown in both seasons.

Production system Vegetable farming in Bangladesh can be classified into three types, based on the scale and objectives of production.

Vegetable production on homesteads -traditional farm families using indigenous technologies to grow local varieties, mainly for family consumption, with a small surplus for sale. Women play the dominant role in this system

Vegetable production for the commercial market - commercial production using improved and indigenous varieties and technologies under irrigated and rainfed conditions. Peri-urban vegetable production system is increasing to supply the fresh vegetables to the cities and towns. This system makes use of high- yielding varieties, close planting, multiple cropping, efficient nutritive and field management along with proper marketing management. Some vegetables have localized areas of production because of favorable agroecological conditions and better marketing infrastructure. Some examples are pointed gourd in Bogra, onion in Faridpur, hyacinth bean in Chittagong, early cauliflower in Tangail, and tomato in Jessore and Chapi in Nowabganj. Some vegetables (e.g. bottle gourd, yard-long bean, lady’s finger, kakrol, snap bean) are grown for export on a limited scale

production- to meet the increasing demand resulting from intensive vegetable production. Good quality vegetable seeds are needed to improve the yield and quality of vegetables. The annual requirement for vegetable seed is estimated to be about 3000 t, but in 1997-98 seed production was only 1265 t (Table 2). The government is encouraging private seed companies to produce and market good quality seeds, and private seed companies have responded by strengthening their seed production program.

Vegetable farming for seed

Research and development The Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI) is primarily responsible for vegetable research. The Bangladesh Institute of Nuclear Agriculture (BINA) is conducting research on radiation- induced mutations to improve vegetables. Bangladesh Agricultural University and Bangabandhu Sheikh

8 1999 SAVERNET II

Table 1. Vegetables grown in Bangladesh

Family English name Local name Scientific name

Amaranth (leaf) Amaranth (red) Amaranth (spiny) Amaranth (stem) Chanchi Eddoe Elephant foot aroid Giant taro Taro Tannia Tannia Indian spinach (green) Indian spinach (red) Green papaya Beet Bathua Spinach Helencha Lettuce Kangkong Sweet potato Water spinach Broccoli Brussels sprouts

Cabbage Cauliflower Chinese cabbage Kohlrabi

Mustard green Petsai Radish Saishin Turnip Water cress Cucumber Cucumber (short) Gourd (bitter) Gourd (bitter) (small) Gourd (bottle) Gourd (ribbed) Gourd (snake) Gourd (sponge) Gourd (sweet) Gourd (teasle) Gourd (wax) Melon (musk) Melon (oriental) Melon (snap) Palwal Squash Watermelon

Shaknotey Lalsak Katanotey Danta Chanchi Mukhikachu Olkachu Mankachu Panikachu Dudkachu Moulavikachu Puishak (sabuj) Puishak (lal) Papay Beet Bathua Palongshak Helencha Lettuce Gimakalmi Misti alu Kalmi Sabuj phulkopi

Bandhakapi Phul kopi China kapi Olkapi

Sarisha sak Batisak Mula Chinasak Shalgom Shachi Shasha Khira Karala Ucchee Lau Jhinga Chichinga Dhundul Misti kumra Kakrol Chal kumra Bangi Chinar Futi Patal Squash Tarmuj

Amaranthus viridis L. Amaranthus gangeticus Amaranthus spinosus Amaranthus lividus Alternmanthera sessilis DC Colocasia schott Amorphophallus campanulatus Alocasia macrorrhiza Colocasia esculenta Xanthosoma violaceum Xanthosoma atrovirens Basella alba Basella rubra Carica papaya Beta vulgaris Chenopodium album Spinacia oleracea L. Enhydra fluctuans Lactuca sativa var. capitata Ipomoea reptans L. Ipomoea batatas (L.) Poir Ipomoea aquatica Forsk Brassica oleracea var. italica Brassica oleracea var. gemmifera Brassica oleracea var. capitata Brassica oleracea var. botrytis Brassica chinensis Brassica oleracea var. gongyloides Brassica campestris Brassica chinensis Raphanus sativus Brassica parachinensis Brassica rapa Nasturtium officinale Cucumis sativus Cucumis anguina Momordica charantia Momordica charantia Lagenaria siceraria Luffa acutangula Trichosanthes anguina Luffa cylindrica Cucurbita moschata Momordica dioica Benincasa hispida Cucumis melo Cucumis melo Cucumis melo Trichosanthes dioica Cucurbita pepo Citrullus lanatus

Amaranthaceae Amaranthaceae Amaranthaceae Amaranthaceae Amaranthaceae Araceae Araceae Araceae Araceae Araceae Araceae Basellacease Basellacease Caricaceae Chenopodiaceae Chenopodiaceae Chenopodiaceae Compositeae Compositeae Convolvualceae Convolvualceae Convolvualceae Cruciferae Cruciferae

Cruciferae Cruciferae Cruciferae Cruciferae

Cruciferae Cruciferae Cruciferae Cruciferae Cruciferae Cruciferae Cucurbitaceae Cucurbitaceae Cucurbitaceae Cucurbitaceae Cucurbitaceae Cucurbitaceae Cucurbitaceae Cucurbitaceae Cucurbitaceae Cucurbitaceae Cucurbitaceae Cucurbitaceae Cucurbitaceae Cucurbitaceae Cucurbitaceae Cucurbitaceae Cucurbitaceae .


Table 1. (Cont’d) Vegetables grown in Bangladesh

English name Local name Scientific name Family

Pestaalu White yam Cassava Baby corn Water plantain Bean (French) Bean (hyacinth) Bean (Lima) Bean (string) Bean (sword) Bean (winged) Bean (yam) Pea Tripatri leaves Vegetable soybean Asparagus Bunching onion Garlic Onion Okra

Rozelle Immature jack fruit Drumstick Plantain Water lily Lotus Malencha Amrul shak Giant carandilla Sorrel Fern Nunia Chili Eggplant (brinjal) Potato Pepper (sweet) Tomato Jute leaf

Pesta alu Matey alu Shimul alu Choto bhutta Shamkala Jhar seem Seem Rukuri Barbati Makhan seem Kamranga seem Sakalu Motor Tripatrishak Soyabean Asparagus Bunching onion

Dherosh

Chukur Echar Sajina Kanchkala Shapla Padma Malencha Amrulshak Sheeta lau Tak palang Dhekishak Nunia Jhal marich Begoon Alu Misti marich Tomato Patpata Gajor Celery

Parseley Thankuni

Dioscorea bulbifera Dioscorea alata Manihot utilissimma Zea mays var. saccharata Ottelia alismoides Phaseolus vulgaris Lablab putpureus Phaseolus lunatus Vigna sesquipedalis Canavalia ensiformis Psophocatpus tetragonolobus Pachyrhizus tuberosus Pisum sativum Desmodium trifolium DC Glycine max Asparagus officinalis L. Allium fistulosum Allium sativum Allium cepa Abelmoschus esculentus (L.) Moench Hibiscus sabdariffa Artocarpus integrifolia Moringa oleifera Musa paradisiaca Nymphaea stellata Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn Jussiaea repens L. Oxalis europaea Passiflora quadrangularis Rumex vasicarious Dryopteris filix-mas (L.) Portulaca oleracea L. Capsicum spp. Solanum melongena Solanum tuberosum Capsicum a n n u m Lycopersicon esculentum Corchorus capsularis L. Daucus carota Apium graveolens L. Coriandrum sativum Petroselinum crispum Centella japonica L.

Dioscoreaceae Dioscoreaceae Euphorbiaceae Graminae Hydrocharitaceae Leguminaceae Leguminaceae Leguminaceae Leguminaceae Leguminaceae Leguminaceae Leguminaceae Leguminaceae Leguminaceae Leguminaceae Liliaceae Liliaceae Liliaceae Liliaceae Malvaceae

Malvaceae Moraceae Moringaceae Musaceae Nymphaceae Nymphaeaceae Onagraceae Oxalidaceae Passifloraceae Polygonaceae Polypodiaceae Portulaceae Solanaceae Solanaceae Solanaceae

Carrot Celery Coriander Parsley Thankuni

Solanaceae Solanaceae Tiliaceae Umbelliferae Umbelliferae Umbelliferae Umbelliferae Umbelliferae

Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University (BSMRAU) also carry out research as part of their postgraduate research programs. The Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation (BADC), the newspapers). Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) and various NGOs are involved in

development activities such as technology transfer through demonstrations, training, distribution of leaflets, and the mass media (radio and

Appendix 1 contains a list of varieties/ hybrids developed by different research

10 1999 SAVERNET II

organizations. Appendix 2 lists some production technologies developed by BARI.

Subnetwork 1: Translating research results into farmers' applications The SAVERNET-I program in Bangladesh identified several varieties as promising: two chili (MI-2, KA-2), two onion (Arka Niketan, Agri Found Dark Red) and three eggplant (Pusa Kranti, Pusa Purple Long, Pant Rituraj). The status of the on-farm evaluation trial of these lit varieties is presented here.

Activity 1. On-farm evaluation of elite varieties The objective of this activity is to evaluate the performance of promising varieties of eggplant, chili and onion in farmers' fields under the supervision of concerned scientist in different locations.

Trials will be conducted from October 1998 to April 1999 in different locations.

Evaluating eggplant varieties at different locations

The specific objective of this evaluation is to understand the performance of the promising varieties of eggplant by

growing them in farmers' fields and determining their acceptance by farmers.

Six locations were selected across the country for this trial: Akbarpur, Hathazari, Jamalpur, Jessore, Joydebpur and Rahmatpur. Initially six farmers were selected in each location, but because seed germination was low (30- 35%), the trial of five varieties was set out in only one farmer's field in each location. Farmers were given seedlings and necessary inputs for the trial.

Four promising elite eggplant varieties - Pant Rituraj, Pusa Kranti, Pusa Purple Long (India) and Multan Selection (Pakistan) -were evaluated along with a local check (Uttara). The trial was laid out in a randomized complete block with five replications. Plot size was 1 x 10 m. Seeds were sown on 15 September 1998 in all locations, and 30 days old seedlings were transplanted to the trial plots in two rows, 70 cm apart, with 50 cm spacing between plants within rows (hence 20 plants per row). Manure and fertilizers were used at the rate of 10 t farmyard manure, 550 kg urea, 450 kg triple superphosphate (TSP) and 250 kg muriate of potash (MP) per hectare. The entire quantity of manure and TSP, and 1/3 of the urea and MP, were applied during land preparation. The rest of the urea and MP was applied in three equal

Table 2. Vegetable seed production by private seed companies, 1997-98

Vegetable Seed production Vegetable Seed production (t) (t)

Onion 25 Sweet gourd 50 Radish 198 Ash gourd 10 Red amaranth 135 Sponge gourd 10 Stem amaranth 50 Cucumber 38 Cauliflower 1 Yard long bean 15 Batisak 1 French bean 70 Indian spinach 25 Garden pea 5 Kangkong 20 Tomato 1 Spinach 50 Chili 20

Bitter gourd 30 Okra 190 Bottle gourd 20 Eggplant 30

Others (capsicum, squash) 1 Coriander 270 Total 1265 Source : Bangladesh Seed Merchant Association, 1998


i

parts, 15, 35 and 50 days after transplanting. Cultural operations were according to standard practices.

The plants are flowering in all the locations. Data are being collected on days to flowering, first and last harvest, number of fruits per plant, single fruit weight, yield per plant, number of borer infested fruits and percentage of plants infected by bacterial wilt.

Activity 2. Further testing of promising materials Eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) is one of the most important vegetable crops grown in Bangladesh. It has its origin in the Indo-Burma region, which includes Bangladesh, so plenty of germplasm is available in the subcontinent. During 1993-94,1994-95,1995-96 and 1996-97 about 18 elite varieties from South Asia were tested in Bangladesh. Four of these varieties were found promising in terms of yield, wilt tolerance, and fruit shape and color. The selected varieties were further evaluated during 1997-98.

The four varieties- Multan Selection, Pusa Kranti, Pusa Purple Long and Pant Rituraj -and a local check variety (Uttara) were cultivated at the experiment farm of the Horticulture Research Centre (HRC), Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI), during 1997-98. The trial was laid out as a randomized complete block with four

replications. Seeds were sown on 15 September and 35 day old seedlings were transplanted in the trial plot with a spacing of 1 x 0.75 m. Manure and fertilizers were used at the rate of 10 tons farmyard manure, 550 kg urea, 450 kg TSP and 250 kg MP per hectare. The entire quantity of manure and TSP, and 1/3 of the urea and MP, were applied during land preparation. The rest of urea and MP were applied in three equal parts, 15, 35 and 50 days after transplanting. The varieties were allowed to grow and reach their full potential.

Results are presented in Table 3. Yields were similar to those obtained in previous years, but the varieties differed significantly from each other in other factors. Based on yield potential, tolerance to bacterial wilt and consumer preference, variety Pant Rituraj was registered with the National Seed Board of Bangladesh under the name Nayantara.

Activity 3. Exchange and evaluation of elite varieties Seeds of four tomato varieties (BARI Tomato-2, BARI Tomato-3, BARI Tomato-4 and BARI Tomato-5), one bottle gourd (BARI Lau-1), two Dolichos (BARI Seem 1 and BARI Seem-2), two radish (BARI Mula-1 and BARI Mula-2), one red amaranth (BARI Lal sak-1) and one pea (BARI Motorshuti-1) were

Table 3. Performance of selected SAVERNET eggplant varieties Variety Plant Days to

height first (cm) harvest

Pant Rituraj 80.90 a 9 5 c Pusa Kranti 79.63 a 100 a Pusa Purple Long 72.33 b 90 b Multan Selection 70.00 c 95 c Uttara 80.00 a 105 a CV% 3.07 1.8

Fruit Fruit length diam- (cm) eter

(cm)

8.40 b 7.27 a 19.60 a 6.03 a 20.67 a 2.75 c

9.50 b 7.00 a 18.00 a 4.17 b 3.92 5.78

No. of Single Yield/ fruits/ fruit plant plant weight (kg)

(g)

25 d 142.47 a 3.85 b 35 c 125.00 e 4.43 a 68 b 65.00 c 4.22 a 35 c 105.00 b 3.75 b 74 a 55.00 d 4.00 a 12.46 7.26 12.42

51.32 b 55.67 a 56.32 c 45.00 c 53.28 b 14.95

% of plants with borer infestation

53.84 a 36.80 c 43.25 d 38.50 c 36.89 c 22.26

% of plants with bacterial wilt infection

13.33 d 25.00 c 45.0 0 a 35.00 b 25.00 c 34.82

Within columns, values followed by the same letter do not differ significantly at P<0.05 (Duncan's Multiple Range Test)

t

12 1999 SAVERNET I I

dispatched to the Coordinator of SAVERNET-I1 at AVRDC, Taiwan. Seeds of cabbage (Provati), onion (Taherpuri) and tomato (Ratan) were supplied to Mr Yoden Dorji of Bhutan. Also, requested seeds of eggplant (Uttara) and tomato (Manik, BARI Tomato-4, BARI Tomato-5) were sent to the SAVERNET-I1 coordinator in Nepal.

Vegetable seeds received by Bangladesh for evaluation are listed in Table 4. Details of vegetable seeds sent out from Bangladesh are shown in Table 5. Recommended cultural practices for eggplant, tomato, cabbage, onion and chili are summarized in Table 6. Fertilizer doses and application methods are summarized in Table 7.

Table 4. Vegetable seeds received by Bangladesh

Crop Variety Quantity (g) Source

Radish Korean-4 11.0 Pakistan Turnip Meon Red Top 27.0 Pakistan Chili KA-2 15.0 Sri Lanka

M 1-2 15.0 Sri Lanka Swiss chard Forkhood giant (a acc. 809) 80.0 Nepal Cucumber Kusle (1 acc. 0.6g) 0.6 Nepal Onion Agri Found Dark Red 5280.0 India

Arka Niketan 5640.0 India Eggplant Pant Rituraj 570.0 India

Table 5. Vegetable seeds dispatched from Bangladesh

Name of crop Variety Quantity (g)

Sent to Dr. S Shanmugasundaram, SAVERNET II Network Coordinator, AVRDC, PO Box 42 Shanhua, Tainan 741, Taiwan

Tomato BARI Tomato-3 56 BARI Tomato-4 50 BARI Tomato-5 50

Bottle gourd BARI Lau-1 200 Country bean BARI Seem-I 200

BARI Seem-I 200 Radish BARI Mula-I 200

BARI Mula-2 200 Red amaranth BARI Lalsak-1 100 Eggplant Shingnath 15 Pea BARI Motor Shuti-1 500 Sent to Mr Yoden Dorji, Renewable National Resources Research Centre, Research, Extension and Irrigation Division, Ministry of Agriculture, Bhutan

Cabbage Provati 20 Tomato Ratan 200 Onion Taherpuri 200

Sent to Ms Krishna Shrestha, SAVERNET-II Coordinator, Nepal, National Agricultural Research Centre, PO Box 1126. Khumaltar. Lalitpur. Nepal

Eggplant Tomato

Uttara Manik BARI Tomato-4 BARI Tomato-5

25 25 25 25


Table 6. Cultural practices for selected vegetables

Eggplant Tomato Cabbage Onion Chili

Seed rate (g/ha) 200-250 150-1 60 350-400 6000-8000 400-500 (direct sowing) (transplanting) [1000-1 200 2000-3000 kg bulb/ha (broadcast) (bulb planting)

Sowing time Sep. - Nov. October

Winter Sep. - Nov. Sep. - Dec. - Sep. - Nov.

Summer Mar. - Jul. Mar. - Jul. - Feb. - Apr.

Seedling raising In seedbed In seedbeda In seedbed Seed: in In seedbed seedtray/ seedbed Bulbs: direct into field

Age of seedlings 30-35 30-40 30-35 40-45 30-35 at transplanting to field (days)

Plant spacing 75 x 50 60 x 40 60 x 45 20x 10 40 x 40 (cm) (winter)

60 x 50 (summer)

Irrigation After fertilizer 4-5 times After At 15-20 day intervals, as application at 15-20 day fertilizer required, but no irrigation is and during intervals, or application allowed for the last 15-20 days growing as required and 5-6 of crop maturity season as times more required as required

Pest and For eggplant For whitefly: disease control fruit and spray

shoot borer: Dimecron spray malathion (1 ml/liter) /sumithion/ up to 10 days ripcord before first (1 ml/liter) harvest. For every 7-10 leaf minor: days. Some spray farmers diazinon or control insect ripcord by removing (1 ml/liter) as infested shoots required

Foraphids - and caterpillars: spray malathion/ sumithion

1.5 ml/liter) as required

(50 EC) (1-

For cercospora leaf spot: Bavistin (1 gl/iter). For damping- off: ridomil (2 g/liter. For insect pests: Dimecron- 100 WC (1 ml/liter)

Other practices Prune all side suckers when necessary. support plants with

After crop establishment done weeding and mulching are with hand implements

bamboo sticks in

*

14 1999 SAVERNET II

Table 6. (Cont'd) Cultural practices for selected vegetables

Eggplant Tomato Cabbage Onion Chili

Other practices inverted V structure. Use water- hyacinth or straw mulch to retain moisture and protect fruits from soil contact. Weeding and mulching continue up to first harvest

Harvesting For Uttara 89-90 days (BARI) by after hand once a transplanting week when in winter, and fruits are soft 60-70 days with immature after seeds transplanting

in summer. Harvest fruits when pistil starts to turn yellow/red

90-1 00 days Ready to Green 60-90 after sowing harvest when days after

plant tops transplanting, fall, breaking red 75-1 05 the neck. days after Farmers may transplanting break the neck to accelerate maturity for uniform harvesting

Yield 50-60 t/ha, 80-90 t/ha in Varies with - depending on winter; 20- variety. variety 25 t/ha in Provati

summer (BARI) 50-60 t/ha

a Polytunnels are required to protect plants from heavy rainfall during summer season. Seedlings are planted on raised bed (20-25 cm) for successful tomato cultivation in rainy season. For fruit setting, tomatotone, at 20 ml/liter water, is sprayed on flowers during full blooming stage, twice 7-10 days apart

Subnetwork 2: Integrated disease and pest management

lines were evaluated along with a susceptible check (MH-1). The experiment was conducted in

A. Bacterial wilt resistance in tomato and eggplant

randomized complete block with three replications. One-month old seedlings were transplanted with spacing of 50 cm between rows and 40 cm between plants within a row. Plot size was 1 x 4 m, and each plot had two rows of 10 plants each. One seedling of the susceptible check (MH1) was planted at the end of each row. Incidence of wilted plants was recorded at regular intervals, and yield was recorded at harvest. Results are presented in Table 8.

Activity 1. On-farm trial

The objective of the on-farm trials is to confirm resistance of promising tomato lines to bacterial wilt (Ralstonia solanacearum) in farmers' fields.

The trial was conducted at Chandona, Gazipur and Joydebpur. Five promising


Table 7. Fertilizer doses and application methods

Fertilizer Total amount Applied Application of remainder ( k g W during final

land preparation (kg/ha)

Eggplant Cowdung Urea

TSP

MP Gypsum

Tomato Cowdung Urea

TSP MP Gypsum

Cabbage Cowdung Urea

TSP MP

Gypsum

Onion Cowdung Urea

TSP MP Gypsum

Chili Cowdung Urea

TSP MP Gypsum ZnO

5000 280

140

21 0 35

5000 240

170 200 100

5000 280

140 200

100

5000 145

170 180 100

5000 145

200 130 50 10

All 126

63

All All

2500 170

85 All All

2500 0

70 0

All

All 72.5

All All All

All 72.5

All All All All

Four equal doses (38.5 kg):15 days after transplanting; when fruiting starts; after second harvest; and three weeks after third harvest Two equal doses (38.5 kg): after fruit bearing; and three weeks after third harvest

In pits before planting In two equal installments at 15 and 35 days after transplanting In pits before planting

In pits before planting In two equal installments at 15 and 35 days after transplanting In pits before planting In two equal installments at 15 and 35 days after transplanting

At first mulching, 25 to 30 days after transplanting

At pre-flowering stage, 30 days after transplanting, followed by irrigation

1997 fertilizer recommendation guide, Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council

16 1999 SAVERNET II

Activity 2. Evaluation of bacterial wilt (Ralstonia solanacearum) resistance in tomato and eggplant

The objective is to identify stable sources of resistance to bacterial wilt in tomato and eggplant for direct release to farmers, or for breeding.

two determinate tomato lines were found to be free of bacterial wilt. Among these, CLN1463 may be attractive to farmers because of its large fruit. The tomato lines were also sown but because temperatures were low (below 20°C), bacterial wilt was not observed in the field; plant and fruit characters recorded in the field are also shown in Table 9.

Tomato Seedlings of five indeterminate and 10 determinate tomato lines were grown in a steel tray and inoculated with R. solanacearum bacteria multiplied in the laboratory. There were 10 plants of each line in each of three replications. Temperature ranged from 13 to 28°C. Bacterial wilt incidence of the seedlings is shown in Table 9. One indeterminate and

Eggplant For the eggplant studies, seedlings of 37 locally available varieties/ lines were inoculated with R. solanacearum bacteria in the greenhouse. Two of the eggplant entries were highly resistant to bacterial wilt, 11 were moderately resistant, 9 were moderately susceptible and 15 were highly susceptible (Table 10). The

Table 8. Performance of five promising lines of tomato in on-farm trial

Variety/line Yield (t/ha) Bacterial wilt (%)

TM077 35.83 13.3 TM080 33.33 10.0 CL8d-0-7-1 36.1 7 6.7 TD 31.17 3.3 TC 32.67 0.0 MH1 (susceptible check) 11.67 36.7

Table 9. Reaction of tomato varieties/lines against bacterial wilt

Variety/line Type of plant Fruit characters Bacterial wilt

L390 Indeterminate Small, yellow 36.7 BL994 Indeterminate Small size, thin skin 16.7 BL989 Determinate medium 16.7 SX7611 Indeterminate Medium size, thick skin, 13.3

BL1009 indeterminate medium & small size 13.3

recorded in the field incidence (%)ª

good looking

SX7610 Determinate Big size, thick skin, 10.0

BL333 Determinate Irregular, big size 10.0

good looking KWR Determinate medium 10.0

BL1004 Determinate Small size 6.7 CLNl466-65-40-15-0-12-0 Determinate Medium size 6.7 BL985 Determinate medium 6.7 BL986 Determinate Medium size, red 3.3 L285 Indeterminate Small size 0.0 L180 Determinate Small size, grooved 0.0 CLN 1463-245-1 4-0-0 Determinate Big size 0.0 ª Recorded on seedlings planted in steel trays in the greenhouse and inoculated by drenching method


promising lines (the highly or moderately resistant entries) will be tested again to confirm these findings.

Activity 3. In-country training The objective is to increase researchers’ and extension workers’ knowledge and awareness of bacterial wilt in tomato and

eggplant. An in-country training program on resistance evaluation was conducted in April-May 1999.

Activity 4. Integrated disease management of tomato bacterial wilt The objective is to test an integrated

Table 10. Reaction of local eggplant varieties/lines against bacterial wilt

Variety/line Disease incidence (%) Disease reaction

Sufala 100.0 HS Nurpuri 100.0 HS BLS5 96.0 HS BL009 94.0 HS BL1 18 88.9 HS BL039 88.7 HS BL072 84.0 HS Katbirali 80.6 HS BL1 14(Joydebpur) 80.0 HS BLS, 78.7 HS BLS18(HQ) 78.0 HS BL034 76.0 HS Puta 75.0 HS Puta (Hathazari) 75.0 HS Suktara 71.3 HS BL032 69.3 MS BL06 66.7 MS lslampuri 65.3 MS BLS, 63.3 MS BLS, 63.3 MS Uttara 62.7 MS ISD001 58.0 MS ISD01 1 57.3 MS BL188 53.3 MS BLS, 50.0 MR BL117 49.3 MR BL056 46.7 MR Tarapuri 44.4 MR

44.0 MR 34.0 MR IRED

Black green long 30.6 MR BL099 28.7 MR Mixtute 27.8 MR Light green shoot 25.0 MR Black long 22.2 MR BL081 19.4 HR BL083 19.4 HR Disease reaction categories : Based on disease incidence 45 days after inoculation

Highly susceptible (HS) = 100-71% disease incidence Moderately susceptible (MS) = 70-51 % disease incidence Moderately resistant (MR) = 50-21% disease incidence Highly resistant (HR) = 20-0% disease incidence

BLS18

18 1999 SAVERNET II

disease management package for controlling bacterial wilt of tomato.

The experiment was conducted in the glasshouse of the Horticulture Research Centre, Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute, Joydebpur, Gazipur, during 1997-98. The trial was conducted as a completely randomized design (CRD) with four replications. Each replication consisted of two earthenware pots into which seedlings of a susceptible tomato variety would be planted. Each pot contained 4 kg of dry soil that had been sterilized with 5% formaldehyde. The pot soil was irrigated and three days later each pot was inoculated with 50 ml of a suspension of the bacterial wilt pathogen (OD,,, = 0.3). After another three days, various soil amendments and chemicals were mixed individually in the pot soil. Seven treatments were used:

neem oil cake sesame oil cake saw dust snail shell + chitin bleaching powder mustard oil cake control (no soil amendments or chemicals used) Ten days later, 30-day-old seedlings of

a susceptible variety, L390, were transplanted into each pot (10 seedlings per pot). Numbers of wilted plants were recorded 30 days later.

There were significant differences

among the treatments in their effectiveness in reducing bacterial wilt of tomato (Table 11). Bleaching powder gave the best results, but other chemicals were similarly effective. Further testing in a glasshouse and in infected fields is necessary for confirmation.

B. Leaf curl and other virus resistance in tomato and chili

Activity 1. Isolation and maintenance of tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV) in the screenhouse. The objective is to obtain a pure tomato yellow leaf curl virus culture for use in virus characterization and other further research (resistance screening, etc)

Infected plant samples (leaves) were collected from farmers’ fields. Leaf tissue squashes were prepared on nylon membranes and sent to AVRDC for identification by DNA hybridization tests.

probes were used - BD-1 (prepared against a TYLCV isolate from Bangladesh), and IND/Ban-1 (prepared against a TYLCV isolate from Bangalore, south India). Of the 24 samples tested, 23 gave positive reactions with the BD-1 probe (Table 12). When tested with the IND/Ban-1 probe, nine gave weak reactions, five positive reactions and 10 had no reaction.

Two different digoxygenin-labeled

Table 11. Effect of soil amendments and chemicals in controlling bacterial wilt of tomato

Treatment Wilt incidence 30 days after transplanting into treated soil (%)

Dose (% in soil mixture)

Neem oil cake 0.5 40.00 bc Sesame oil cake 0.5 70.00 a Saw dust 1.5 30.00 bc Snail shell + chitin 0.2 + 1 ml 42.00 bc Bleaching powder 0.3 25.00 c Mustard oil cake 0.5 55.00 ab Control 72.50 a Wilt means followed by the same letter do not differ significantly at P<0.05 (by Duncan’s Multiple Range Test)


Activity 2. Screening of Lycopersicon accessions for TYLCV resistance in the screen house

The objective is to determine which sources of resistance hold up against the different TYLCV isolated in the country.

Various Lycopersicon accessions were planted in the field and exposed to natural infection with tomato geminivirus(es). Numbers of infected plants were counted. Leaf squashes of infected plant samples (leaves) were prepared on nylon membranes and sent to AVRDC for verification and identification of the presence of geminivirus(es).

Table 13 shows the results of the field observations and laboratory tests. In only one case (ATY21) did the laboratory test give a positive reaction on plants that showed no visual symptoms; in two cases, diseased plants gave negative reactions to laboratory tests.

Activity 3. Alternative hosts (Le., pepper) of tomato TYLCV The objective is to determine whether the TYLCV from tomato can infect peppers.

Seedlings of selected AVRDC pepper lines were planted in earthenware pots and placed in a net-box containing TYLCV-viruliferous whiteflies. Following transplanting in the field, the plants were regularly visually inspected for disease

Table 12. Geminiviruses detected by DNA hybridization test, February 1998

Symptoms' Reactionb BD-1 probe IND/Ban-I probe

Samples collected from Narsingdi B + +/- P + +/- VB, Y, LC + +/- B + +/- B + + Samples collected from Gazipur VB, P + VB, P LC + +/- B, VB, LC + +I- LC, B + +/- LC + + Y + P, B + + /- LR + LC, B + +/- Y + Y + Y + + B + Y , LC + Y, LC + + Y , LC + Samples collected from Chittagong Y, LC + Y, LC + +

B = bunchy appearance; LC = leaf curling, VB = vein banding; Y = yellowing; Puck = puckering; LR = leaf rolling

- = no reaction; + = positive reaction; and +/- = Weak reaction


symptoms. Infected plant samples (leaves) were collected and leaf tissue squashes were prepared on nylon membranes and sent to AVRDC for virus identification.

DNA hybridization tests showed negative reactions, even though three accessions showed TYLCV-like symptoms (Table 14). There could be several explanations for this. For example, the leaf curl symptoms could be

transplanted to the field, and inspected regularly for virus-like symptoms. Leaves showing symptoms were collected and leaf tissue squashes were prepared on nylon membranes and sent to AVRDC for virus identification.

most of the accessions (Table 15), DNA hybridization tests found only one accession, PTY4 to be infected (positive reaction).

Although symptoms were observed on

caused by other agents, such as insects, or by another geminivirus that is C. IPM of eggplant fruit and shoot

borer and tomato fruitworm different from the tomato geminivirus and cannot be detected by the BD-1 probe. a. Leucinodes

Activity 4. Screening of peppers for leaf curl virus resistance Pepper lines with reported resistance to leaf curl virus, received from AVRDC, were exposed to TYLCV in the screenhouse. They were later

Activity 1. Physical barrier The objective is to determine the effectiveness of nylon net as a physical barrier for the control of Leucinodes orbonalis.

A field experiment was conducted at

Table 13. Incidence of tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV) in different Lycopersicon accessions

Accession % of plants infected DNA hybridization test (ED-I probe)

ATY1 25 + A N 5 27 ATY 7 14 ATY10 0 ATYl1 0 A N 1 3 (susceptible check) 75 + ATY 1 4 0 ATY15 20 + A N 1 6 0 ATY 1 7 0 ATYl8 0 + ATY21 17 + ATY22 0 A N 2 3 0

Table 14. Incidence of tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV) in accessions of pepper planted in the field after greenhouse exposure to viruliferous whiteflies

Accession % of plants infected DNA hybridization test (BD-1 probe)

PBC1 76 0 PBC346 50 PBC439 14 PBC491 0 PBC575 14

.


the HRC vegetable field at BARI, Joydebpur, during rabi season 1997-98. There were two treatments:

barrier: 2-m-high nylon net check: no barrier

spaced 1 m apart, and plant spacing was 75 cm. Seedlings were transplanted on 30 December 1997.

Because of a delay in obtaining the nylon net, the experiment was not done during 1997-98. The experiment was set up again in November 1998 and is continuing.

Activity 2. Destruction of infested shoots The objective is to determine the effectiveness of prompt destruction of mfested shoots in reducing the damage to fruits from eggplant shoot and fruit borer.

A field experiment was conducted at the HRC vegetable field at BARI, Joydebpur, during rabi season 1997-98. There were two treatments:

destruction of infested shoot each week untreated control (no destruction) Plot size was 600 m² (25 x 24 m). Plots

were spaced 1 m apart, and plant spacing was 75 cm. Seedlings were transplanted

Plot size was 600 m². Plots were

on 16 November 1997. Standard cultural practices were followed to raise a good crop. Shoot destruction started in the treated plot when the initial attack was noticed and continued at weekly intervals until the final harvest. At each harvest, the numbers of infested and healthy fruits were counted and weighed, and the percentages of infested fruits were calculated and recorded. The yield was recorded only from healthy fruits in each plot.

or 6% of its fruits infested, compared with 37.8% in the control plot: this difference was not significant (T-test at 5% level). Total marketable yield per plot was 166 kg from the test plot and 106 kg from the control plot; this difference, also, was not significant.

Activity 3. Host plant resistance The objective is to determine the effectiveness of Solanum viarum as a resistant species against eggplant shoot and fruit borer.

A field experiment was conducted at the HRC vegetable field, Joydebpur, during the rabi season 1997-98. Solanum viarum was used to screen for resistance, along with two local susceptible checks (Uttara and Singhnath). The experiment was laid out as a randomized complete

Over six harvests, the test plot had 35

Table 15. Determination of tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV) in different accessions of pepper Accession % of plants infected DNA hybridization test

Screenhouse Field (BD-1 probe)

PTY 1 8 14 PTY2 15 25 PTY4 25 22 + PTY5 25 22 PTY6 33 29 PTY7 71 50 PTY8 27 100 PTY9 75 100 PTY10 25 0 PTY11 11 PTY12 33 PTY 1 3 50 20 PTY 14 20 25

22 1999 SAVERNET II

block with four replications. Plot size was 5 x 1 m and plots were spaced 1 m apart. Each plot had five plants spaced 75 cm apart. Seedlings were planted on 14 December 1997. Standard cultural practices were followed to raise a good crop. The numbers of infested plants were counted every week. Shoot infestation was recorded when the initial attack was noticed and continued until the final harvest. At each harvest, the numbers of infested and healthy fruits were counted and weighed, and the percentage infestations of plants, shoots and fruits were calculated.

Results, presented in Table 16, indicate that S. viarum may be used as a source of resistance against fruit and shoot borer (L. orbonalis).

b. Helicoverpa

Activity 4. Survey of natural enemies A survey was conducted but natural enemies of the tomato fruitworm have not been detected so far.

(Entomologist), received one month training from Multan, Pakistan in 1997 on egg-parasite rearing.

Ms Kohinoor Begum, SO

D. Off-season vegetable production

Activity 1. On-farm trial for off- season vegetable production Tomato is primarily a winter vegetable in Bangladesh, but it is now possible to grow tomato in the summer. This is done by

providing polythene covers to protect plants from excess rainfall, using heat- tolerant varieties and applying Tomatotone to ensure fruit set. This summer production technology was disseminated through adaptive trials in farmers’ fields at different locations under the SAVERNET II program.

The objectives are to: observe the performance of improved summer tomato varieties in farmers’ fields disseminate to farmers the improved package of technologies for summer tomato production This work was planned for the period

May-September 1998, and was carried out at Akbarpur, Comilla, Dhaka, Ishurdi, Jamalpur, Jessore, Thakurgaon and Rahmatpur.

The unreplicated trials used four tomato varieties - BARI Tomato-4, BARI Tomato-5, BARI Tomato-6 (Chaiti) and BARI Tomato-10 (Anupoma, hybrid) - and two planting techniques - with and without polythene protective tunnels. Plot size was 20 x 2.3 m, comprising four beds raised 20 cm. Tunnels were spaced 75 cm apart, and were erected before seedlings were transplanted. There were four rows of plants per bed, spaced at 60 cm between rows and 40 cm between plants within a row (hence 48 plants per variety per bed). Tomatotone was applied as a 2% dilution. Manure and fertilizer rates were 10 t cowdung, 550 kg urea, 450 kg TSP and 250 kg MP per hectare. Half of the cowdung was applied during land preparation. The rest

Table 16. Mean percentage of plant shoot and fruit infestation and yield of different varieties of eggplant, Joydebpur, rabi 1997-98

Treatment % plant damage % shoot % fruit Healthy fruit Number of (infested)/plot infestation infestation yield harvests

/plant /plot (g/plot/ week)

Singhnath 70.0 a 12.0 a 46.5 b 755 4 Uttara 40.0 ab 9.2 ab 62.1 a 400 5 Solanum viarum 0.0 b 0.0 b 1.2 c 81 9 4 Within columns, means followed by the same letter do not differ significantly at P<0.05 (by Duncan’s Multiple Range Test)


of the cowdung, the entire amount of TSP and 1/3 of the urea and MI' were applied during pit preparation. The rest of the urea and MP were applied in two equal installments, 21 and 35 days after transplanting. Seedlings were transplanted in the first week of May 1998, when they were 25-30 days old

were: Diazinon, sprayed at 7-10 day intervals starting 15 days after transplanting and continuing until 10 days before the first harvest. Spraying was concentrated on the lower surfaces of the leaves, where whiteflies are found Bavistin, applied for Pseudocercospora disease on leaves Rovral + Ridomil (1:1), sprayed in the seedbed in case of early blight attack All side suckers were pruned twice,

preferably 21-35 days after transplanting. Plants were supported on bamboo poles before flowering. Tomatotone was sprayed on open flowers in the cluster at a week interval. It was sprayed on all the lines/varieties under tunnel except

The plant protection measures used

Anupoma, which is able to set fruits without this treatment.

Adaptive trial results of tomato were received from four stations (Table 17) the other four stations did not report results because the crop was heavily damaged by the rainfall and flood. Overall, the newly released variety Anupoma (hybrid), and Chaiti, performed better than BARI Tomato-4 and BARI Tomato-5. Anupoma had the highest yield at all locations, but performed least well at Thakurgaon (primarily because of rain damage). As the price of tomato was high, the farmers showed interest to cultivate tomato in spite of high temperatures, heavy rain and flooding.

The potential for growing all four varieties of tomato in the summer could not be properly assessed because of the severe flooding. The experiment should therefore be repeated with Anupoma, Chaiti and BARI Tomato-5.

Activity 2. Training for off-season vegetable production A training course at BARI headquarters, Joydebpur, had 30 participants

Table 17. On-farm trial of summer tomato in 1998

Variety/ No. of With tunnel Without tunnel Price/ Selling location farmers Time of No. of Yield/ Yield/ Time of No. of Yield/ Yield/ Kg (Tk.) Period

harvest fruits/ plant ha(t) harvest fruits/ plant ha(t) (days) plant (kg) (days) plant (kg)

Thakurgaon 6 BARI Tomato-4 53 17 0.45 19.0 20/- BARI Tomato-5 53 20 0.60 21.0 Plants were damaged by rainfall 20/- Anupoma 53 30 0.80 17.5 and 20/- Chaiti 75 15 0.56 15.0 the yields were negligible. 20/- lshurdi 3 BARI Tomato4 64 10 0.34 14.2 55 4 0.11 3.2 401- July - BARI Tomato-5 64 8 0.29 11.8 55 3 0.07 2.3 401- August Anupoma 60 22 0.61 25.6 65 15 0.35 10.8 40/- Chaiti 83 13 0.70 26.1 85 2 0.07 1.6 40/- Dhaka 6 BARI Tomato4 60 13 0.44 18.6 62 5 0.13 3.8 40/- BARI Tomato-5 60 12 0.42 17.0 62 4 0.06 1.9 40/- Anupoma 55 50 1.15 25.0 58 20 0.42 12.3 40/- Chaiti 85 15 0.82 27.8 88 3 0.08 2.2 40/- Jessore 4 BARI Tomato4 65 15 0.51 21.0 65 3 0.08 2.2 35/- BARI Tomato-5 65 13 0.44 17.8 65 3 0.04 1.4 35/- Anupoma 58 42 1.11 26.2 55 23 0.50 13.9 35/- Chaiti 87 11 0.62 20.2 85 4 0.11 2.7 35/-

1999 SAVERNET II 24

(including six farmers) from BARI (20), BADC (2), BRAC(2), PROSHIKA (2), production. East-West Seed Company (2) and Mollika Seed Store (2). At each of nine other locations (Akbarpur, Comilla, Dhaka, Hathazari, Ishurdi, Jamalpur, Jessore, Thakurgaon and Rahmatpur six local

farmers were trained on summer tomato

Three scientists of HRC (1 from Plant Pathology Section and 2 from Olericulture Division) received training from AVRDC under the SAVERNET II program.


Appendix 1 Vegetable varieties developed by different

organizations

Vegetable varieties developed by different organizations

Name of Variety Year of Main characters vegetable release

A. BARI varieties Eggplant Uttara

F1 Suktara

F1 Tarapuri

BARI Begun-4 (Kazla)

BARI Begun-5 (Nayantara)

Tomato Manik

Ratan

BARI Tomato-3

BARI Tomato-4

BARI Tomato-5

BARI Tomato-6 (Chaiti)

1985

1992

1992

1998

1998

1985

1985

1996

1996

1996

1998

Resistant to fruit and shoot borer. Fruit bearing ranges from 150-200/plant. Yield 60 t/ha. Fruits are purple. Yield is 100 t/ha (50% higher than the mother plant with 120 fruits/plant. Fruits are dark purple. Plants are prolific in bearing (70 fruits/plant) with yield potentiality of 80 t/ha). Fruit is long and shining purple color. Plant canopy is semi-erect in nature. Plant is medium high with moderately spreading purplish look. Single fruit weight average 55- 65g. Average fruit yield/ha 65t. Average number of fruit 70-80/plant. Fruit is round and shiny deep purple color. Plant is semi-erect medium high. Single fruit wt. average 120-130g. Average no. of fruit per plant 25. Yield 45-50 t/ha. Early bearing. Plants are resistant to bacterial wilt. Fruits are red and good in taste. Yield is 90-95 t/ha. Plants are resistant to bacterial wilt. Fruits have attractive red color. Yield is 85-90 t/ha. Plants are resistant to bacterial wilt. Fruits are fleshy semi globe and red in color. Yield is 88-90 t/ha. Suitable for winter. Plants are moderately resistant to bacterial wilt. Plants are semi determinate. Fruits are red, round with medium ribbed (av. 40 g/fruit). Yield is 24-26 t/ha. Suitable for summer and rainy season under polytunnel on raised bed with application of Tomatotone (hormone) Plants are moderately resistant to bacterial wilt. Plants are semi determinate with medium growth habit. Fruits are red, heart shaped slightly ribbed (av. 45 g/fruit). Yield is 20-23 t/ha. Plants are resistant to bacterial wilt. Year round variety. Yield during winter 90-95 t/ha and in summer 45-50 t/ha. Suitable for summer and rainy season under protective culture with hormone.

26 1999 SAVERNET II

(Cont’d) Vegetable varieties developed by different organizations


Cabbage

BARI Tomato-7 1998 (Apurba)

BARI Tomato-8 1998 (Shila)

BARI Tomato-9 1998 (La I i ma)

BARI Tomato-I 0 1998 (Anupama Hybrid)

Provati 1985

BARI Bandha 1998 Kopi-2

Cauliflower BARI Phulkopi-1 1998

Radish Tasaki Mula-I 1983

BARI Mula-2 1996

BARI Mula-3 1998 (Druti)

Watermelon F1 Padma 1992

Leafy vegetables Gimakalmi 1983

Tolerant to bacterial wilt. Rich in beta carotene (6.9 mg/100g edible portion). Attractive orange color of fruits. Yield is 95-100 t/ha. Suitable for winter. Heavy bearing (80-85 fruits/plant) with longer shelf life of fruits. Resistant to bacterial wilt. Yield 80-85 t/ha. Variety for summer and winter. Resistant to bacterial wilt. Ripe fruits possess longer shelf life. Yield 42-45 t/ha. Suitable for summer with hormone application. Hybrid variety for summer. Resistant to bacterial wilt. Ripe fruits possess longer shelf life. Yield 85-90 t/ha. Suitable for summer. Head is compact and medium size (2.5 kg/ head). Head is harvestable within 80 days after transplanting. It produces seeds (500-600 kg/ha) under Bangladesh climate. Head yield is 50-60 t/ha). Open pollinated variety and produces seeds locally (600-650 kg/ha). Head is compact and flat. Head yield is 65-70 t/ha. Suitable for winter. Open pollinated variety and produces abundant seed under local condition (500-600 kg/ha). White colored compact curd. Yield is 28-30 t/ha. Suitable for winter. Roots are ready for harvest after 45 days of sowing and remains edible up to 75 days without loss of quality. Root yield is 75 t/ha. Seed yield 2.5 t/ha. Roots (30 cm long x 7 cm dia) are pink with soft leaves. It becomes ready for harvest after 50-55 days of sowing and remains edible up to 75 days. Average root yield is 60 t/ha, while seed yield is 1.0 t/ha. Produce seeds under local climatic condition. White cylindrical roots becomes ready for harvest by 50-55 days of sowing. Average root yield is about 55 t/ha, produces seeds locally. Fruits are light dark green and oblong (23 cm long x 19 cm dia.) with an ave. wt. of 10 kg each. Flesh is red containing 11.8% TSS. It was found superior to top yield in terms of earliness and yield. Yield 100 t/ha. Suitable for summer season. Both leaves and petioles are edible. First harvesting starts after 30 days of sowing and subsequent harvest at 15 days interval. Yield is 40-45 t/ha (after four harvest).


(Cont'd) Vegetable varieties developed by different organizations


Batishak

China Shak

Chinese cabbage China copi-1

Hyacinth bean BARI Seem-I

BARI Seem-2

Bottle gourd BARI Lau-1

Okra BARI Dherosh-1

Garden pea BARI Motor Shuti-1

Edible podded BARI pea Motor Shuti-2

Bush bean/ BARI French bean Jhar Seem-I

1984

1984

1996

1996

1996

1996

1996

1996

1996

1996

Suitable for year round production, becomes harvestable within 50-55 days of sowing. Yield is 40-45 t/ha. Seed yield ranges from 700-800 kg/ha. Short duration crop requiring 40-45 days to harvest. Yield varies from 25-30 t/ha, while seed yield is 750 kglha. Bouquet shaped head with widened round top (750-1000 g/head). Leaves are light green and wrinkled. Head is harvestable from 65 to 75 days of sowing. It produces seeds 400-500 kg/ ha under Bangladesh climate. Head yield is 44- 52 t/ha. Suitable for both winter and summer seasons. Plants are free from virus. Pods are fleshy and soft. First harvest begins from November. Yield ranges from 20-22 t/ha. Photosensitive. Plants are free from virus. Pods are fleshy and soft. First harvest begins from third week of October. Yield ranges from 11-12 t/ha. Photosensitive . Moderately resistant to powdery and downy mildew. Fruits are light green, long, slender, bottle shaped. Each plant produces 10-1 2 fruits. Edible fruits are first harvested after 65-70 days of sowing. Yield is 42-45 t/ha. Suitable for planting during Sept-Oct. The variety is highly tolerant to common diseases and pests particularly to Yellow Vein Mosaic Virus. Plants are indeterminate, erect having 2-3 branches. Fruits are green with 5 marked ridges and 14-18 cm long. Each plant produces 24-28 fruits. Fresh edible yield is 14- 17 t/ha. Suitable for summer. Moderately resistant to powdery and downy mildew. Plants are short, green with white flowers. Each plant produces 20-25 pods. Dry seeds are wrinkled. Yield of green pod is 10-1 2 t/ha. Suitable for winter. The variety is free from any disease and pest. Pod at green stage is edible like country bean. Pods are light green, fiber-less and flat type unlike garden pea. The pod length is 8 cm and width is 2 cm. The average number of pod/ plant is 25. Green pod yield is 12-14 t/ha. Entire young pod is edible. The variety is tolerant to Bean Common Mosaic Virus and moderately resistant to Bean Yellow Mosaic Virus. Plants are determinate, bushy, medium growth with white flowers. Pod slightly curved. Fresh pod yield is 13-14 t/ha. Suitable for winter.

28 1999 SAVERNET II

(Cont’d) Vegetable varieties developed by different organizations


Red amaranth BARI Lal Shak-1

Onion BARI Piaj-1

Coriander BARI Dhonea-1

B. BINA varieties Tomato BlNA Tomato-I

(Bahar)

BlNA Tomato-I

Bina Tomato-3

C. IPSA varieties Country bean IPSA Seem-I

IPSA Seem-2

Cabbage IPSA Bandhacopi-1

1996

1996

1996

1992

1997

1997

1992

1992

The variety is tolerant to common insect pests and diseases. Short duration crop (30-40 days). Erect plant with ovate leaves. Pink colored leaves and stem. Stems remain succulent even up to 40 days, fiber in stem is less compared to Altapati. Yield is 12-14 t/ha. Year round variety. The variety is resistant to foot rot, damping off and also tolerant to Purple Blotch and Stem Phyllium Blight diseases. Yield is 12-16 t/ha, while seed yield is 800-1000 kg/ha. Storability is excellent under normal condition. Suitable for storability and seed-production. The variety is free from common diseases and pest. Big sized glossy green leaves. Leaves bearing vary 16-20 after 30-35 days. Seeds are medium and brown colored (400-420 seeds/ plant). Yield of leaves is 3.5-4.0 t/ha, while seed yield ranges 1.7-2.0tha.

Harvestable within 85-1 00 days after transplanting. Fruits are big, fleshy, less seeded. No. of fruits/plant 18-20. Average yield66 t/ha. Summer variety. Plant height 75-80 cm. Leaf color light green and a little curled. Fruits are round and slightly ribbed at the top. No. of fruits/plant 18-22. Average fruit wt. 50g. Harvestable within 55-60 days after transplanting. Yield 36-40 t/ha. Summer variety. Plant ht. 80-85 cm. Leaf color light green and a little curled. Fruits are slightly flattened and distinctly ribbed. No. of fruits/plant 12-14. Average fruit wt. 82g. Harvestable within 60-65 days after transplanting. Yield 38-42 t/ha.

Year round variety. Photosensitive. Violet flower, light purple pod. Yield 12-13 t/ha. Year round variety. Photosensitive. White flower, light green pod. Yield 11-12 t/ha. Heat tolerant. Produce seeds under local climate in winter. head formed. Good for late summer and early winter, tasty. Head yield is 65- 70 t/ha.

Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE), Bangladesh Rural Development Board (BRDB), Bangladesh Agriculture Development Corporation (BADC) and NGOs, such as Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC), Mennonite Central Committee (MCC), Proshika, Grameen Foundation, CARE, and others, are pioneers in transferring technology on vegetable crops.


Appendix 2 Technology developed by BARI

Effect of curd cutting on cauliflower seed production When a 5 cm diameter cut was made in the center of the curd, seed yield was 250 kg/ ha; a seed yield of 400 kg/ ha was obtained when the curd was cut fully across. Three applications of Dithane M-45 (2 g/liter) at 10 day intervals after curd cutting prevented infection of the curd wound.

Effect of boron, molybdenum, sulphur and zinc on cauliflower seed production Yield of cauliflower - both curd (32 t/ ha) and seed (550 kg/ ha) - increased with the application of boron (1 kg/ ha), molybdenum (1 kg/ ha), sulphur (40 kg/ha) and zinc (8 kg/ha) in addition to the normal application of urea, TSP and MP (250,150 and 200 kg/ha respectively).

Planting time and spacing on cabbage seed production Cabbage production by planting 30 days old seedlings within the first two weeks of November at a spacing of 30 x 30 cm produced higher seed yield (650 kg/ ha).

Root and seed yield of radish as affected by sowing time and spacing Mid-November seed sowing at spacing of 30 x 30 cm produced 75-80 t/ha edible root; seed sown at the same time at a spacing of 30 x 15 cm produced the highest seed yield (2.4 t/ha).

Seed yield as influenced by root and shoot cut in radish stock Forty-day-old plants with leaves and root were used. Plants produced the best seed yield when one-fourth of the root and one-half of the shoot were cut.

Effect of seedling age on tomato production For normal cultivation, transplanted tomato seedlings should be about 30 days old. If planting is delayed by bad weather, seedlings up to 60 days old can be transplanted using the ring method. The lower 1/3 of the tomato seedling is bent back on itself and then forward again, to shorten the stem, and the bent portion is secured with a rubber ring. The ring portion is placed in the prepared pit and covered with soil, and the top portion is kept upright: this will eventually promote root development and prevent lodging.

Effect of mulching on tomato production The yield of tomato could be increased by growing the plants over rice or wheat straw mulch and staking them with bamboo or Dhaincha (Sesbania aculeata).

Production of tomato during the rainy summer season Two heat-tolerant tomato varieties - BARI Tomato-4 and BARI Tomato-5 - can produce fruit successfully during the summer rainy season by using the raised (25 cm) bed technique under transparent polytunnels and applying Tomatotone (2,4-chlorophenoxyacetic acid, 0.15%) diluted 10 ml/liter water and sprayed until runoff on open flower clusters.

Hyacinth bean cultivation without support Normally hyacinth bean is cultivated by sowing seeds in June-July, but the plant needs trellis support because of their massive vegetative growth. When seeds are sown in late September to mid-October, plants became dwarf (due to quick

..

1999 SAVERNET II 30

transition of vegetable to reproductive phase) and need no support. Further, the closer planting (100 x 25 cm) produced almost the same yield to planting over trellises.

Grafting technique in eggplant and tomato Bacterial wilt is a severe problem for eggplant cultivation. To overcome this problem the cleft grafting technique had been developed. Forty-five-day-old eggplant and 25-30-day-old tomato seedlings are grafted on 70-day-old rootstock of Solanum torvum, a wild relative of Solanum which is resistant to bacterial wilt.

Grafting technique in watermelon Watermelon plants are susceptible to fusarium wilt and cold weather. These problems could be overcome by grafting (clipping method) 15-day-old watermelon seedlings onto 12-day-old bottle gourd seedling rootstock.

Seed production of Gimakalmi (kangkong) by puddling method Cuttings (15 cm) are made from 55-day- old plants and planted in well puddled land, in lines at a spacing of 50 x 50 cm. A water depth of 20-25 cm should be maintained up to 100 days. Urea at 125 kg/ ha is applied when roots are established. At 45 days after transplanting, 170 kg urea, 40 kg TSP and 35 kg MP per hectare are applied. More urea (45 kg/ha) and TSP (40 kg/ha) should be applied when plants are 60 days old. At 100 days after transplanting, 40 kg urea, 35 kg TSP and 45 kg MP per hectare need to be applied; any stagnant water should be drained before applying the fertilizer. Dithane M-45 or Redomil (2 g/liter) is usually required to spray on plants infected with leaf spots. Pods are ready for harvest when they turn light yellow. After proper drying the pods are threshed to extract seeds. The seeds should be dried to a moisture level of 6- 8% and then stored in airtight containers.


Bhutan


Vegetables play an important role in the Bhutanese economy, providing both nutrition and household income. Vegetables are grown mainly for household consumption, but still they provide some 10% of the rural household

crop management (crop establishment, pest control, nutrient management)

intensification - through improved crop rotation, intercropping, and promotion of kitchen gardening and peri-urban vegetable production

Research activities during 1997-98 concentrated mainly on germplasm evaluation and off-season production of selected vegetables (such as tomato, chili and cauliflower). Germplasm collection and conservation work also continued. income (Figure 1). Table 18 lists the most

Fruits ,Vegetables 10% Field crops 14%

Off farm 8%

Cardamom 2%

Livestock

21%

Fig. 1. Percent income contribution to the households by different sources

important vegetables grown in Bhutan. There is a growing trend towards large- scale production of vegetables, but because production is seasonal, urban demand is met largely by the imports. Some of the major constraints to vegetable production in Bhutan are lack of technology, training and experience for protected cultivation; inadequate planning of vegetable production at high altitudes in summer and at low altitudes in winter; and poor post harvest and storage facilities.

Vegetable research objectives The aims of vegetable research activities in Bhutan are:

diversification - through introduction and improvement of local germplasm, off-season production, and improved

Table 18. Important vegetable crops in Bhutan

Crop Percent Purpose farmers Home Home and cultivating consum- market %

ption

Radish 57.0 69.4 Chili 52.8 80.4 Leafy Mustard 51.2 78.8 Potato 42.5 64.3 Beans 25.8 65.2 Onion 24.4 56.8 Cabbage 18.6 50.8 Pumpkin 11.8 88.4 Turnip 10.7 85.2 Garlic 10.4 95.7 Brinjal 6.6 100.0 Ginger 2.7 30.0 Tomato 2.5 57.1 Cauliflower 2.2 25.0 Carrot 1.1 100.0 Pea 1.1 100.0 Coriander 0.8 100.0 Spinach >0.1 100.0

30.6 19.6 21.2 35.7 34.8 43.4 49.2 11.6 14.8 4.3

70.0 42.9 75.0

32 1999 SAVERNET II

Subnetwork 1. Translating research results into farmers' applications

Activity 1. On-farm evaluation of elite varieties The tomato varieties cultivated by farmers in Bhutan have a low level of tolerance to biophysical stresses. Efforts are therefore being made to identify new, more tolerant, varieties. Two promising varieties (Pusa Sheetal and Ratan), identified through the SAVERNET exchange program, performed extremely well under research station conditions. They have now been tested in farmers' fields under farmer-management conditions. The trials were conducted at two locations -Chuzomsa (altitude 1300 m) and Lobesa (altitude 1100 m). At each location the trial was set out as a randomized complete block with three replications of each variety. Plot size was 20 m², and plant spacing was 60 cm between rows and 50 cm between plants within a row. Fertilizer was applied at the rate of 60:75:20 kg NPK plus 30 t of farmyard manure per hectare. Plots were hand-weeded four times. Plants were watered daily until they were well established. Flood irrigation was started 15 days after transplanting, and repeated every 15 days. Two sprays of insecticide (Cybush 20EC) were applied - the first three weeks after transplanting, and the second 50 days after transplanting, when 50% of the plants had begun flowering. Six harvests were made between the 2nd week of May and the 2nd week of June. The harvest plot size was 10 m². The major diseases observed were anthracnose and blights. The main insect pest was Helicoverpa armigera, fruitworm. Fruit cracking, was also observed. Mean yields of Pusa Sheetal were 10.57 t/ha at Chuzomsa and 12.43 t/ha at Lobesa. Corresponding yields of Ratan were 10.87 and 12.87 t/ha. There was no

difference in yield between sites or varieties. In 1999, these varieties were tested at more locations. Maintenance breeding work was initiated to produce basic seeds of these varieties.

Subnetwork 2: Integrated disease and pest management During the development of the master workplan, Bhutan indicated that its most serious disease problem was blight of chili; bacterial wilt and yellow leaf curl virus are not problems. Therefore it was decided that Bhutan would focus on chili leaf blight.

I. Screening of chili varieties for resistance to blight A trial was conducted to screen local and introduced chili varieties for resistance to blight disease: entries were also evaluated for tolerance to low temperature, for early production in the spring season. Seeds were sown under polytunnels towards the end of November 1997 and transplanted at the end of February 1998: seedlings were pricked out into small pots 20 days before they were transplanted in the field. Plots were 1 m wide and 3.5 m long, with 14 plants in each plot. The trial was laid out as a randomized complete block with four replications. All recommended cultural practices were followed for crop management. Harvesting of the fruits was done in second week of May. Plants were found to be wilted not only because of blight disease, but also because of frost damage after transplanting. Disease was observed mostly after the first harvest, and diseased plants were distinguished from frost-damaged plants through visual assessment. Yield and plant damage are summarized in (Table 19). Hot Wax produced the highest fresh yield, followed by Khoma-Ema and Wangdue. All three had good tolerance


to frost, and were not affected by blight. The low yields of KII and Launghi were probably due to the inherent small size of the fruit. KII was also the most susceptible to frost and blight diseases. Sha-Ema, locally a popular variety, had moderate yield and good frost tolerance and was not affected by blight. The trial was repeated in the main chili growing season.

II. Off-season vegetable production The demand for vegetables in Bhutan is growing fast. Rural dwellers traditionally grow a small range of vegetable crops for their own consumption, but knowledge about growing a wide variety of vegetables on a commercial scale is limited. When vegetable supplies are scarce during off-seasons (and particularly when snow in the winter and landslides in the summer cause roadblocks), prices increase dramatically. Hence, there is an urgent need to increase and diversify vegetable cultivation, and to make available improved production technologies for both on and off-season vegetable production.

Renewable Natural Resources Research Center (RNRRC) East has started a pilot- scale campaign to help and encourage farmers in commercial-scale vegetable production. The specific objectives are to:

assess the potential for diversifying vegetable cultivation in the eastern region create awareness of the benefit of growing vegetables for the market

The work is being carried out in four villages - Jonlapam, Pangthang, Radhi and Yanphupam in Trashigang dzongkhag (district) - during winter at altitudes of 1000-1500 m. The project is now in its second year. The following vegetable varieties have been promoted and evaluated for growing at different times of the year:

bean (Top crop) carrot (Early Nantes) chili (Sha-Ema) onion (Shensu Red) pea (Usui) radish (SPTN) turnip (PTWG)

A topical participatory rural appraisal (PRA) has been scheduled to evaluate the project and to plan future work with the farmers.

Tomato Four new tomato varieties (BARI 4, BARI 5, Manik and Ratan) obtained through the SAVERNET exchange program, along with a local check variety (CARD CHT), were tested for off-season (winter)

Table 19. Yield and tolerance to frost and Phytophthora blight of eight chili varieties Variety Yield Total % wilted plants Blight

(t/ha) number from frost from score (0-3)ª of plants damage disease

Khoma-Ema 16.25 1395 10.70 0 0 Sha-Ema 12.89 1230 7.00 0 0 Korien 11.72 1406 10.60 0 0 KII 4.72 1395 30.40 46 3 Card III 14.87 1387 10.60 8 1 Luanghi 5.47 2514 5.30 11 2 Wangdue market 14.17 1365 10.70 0 0 Hot wax 18.42 1017 1.80 0 0 LSD (5%) 0.71 2.42 10.85

ª Blight score: 0=nil, 7=0-70% wilted, 2=10-20% wilted, 3=>20% wilted

34 1999 SAVERNET II

production under polytunnels. Seeds were sown on 10 October 1997. The seedlings were transplanted and the trial was established on 8 November at the RNRRC, Bajo, in the Punakha-Wangdue valley (altitude 1200 m). The experiment was laid out as a randomized complete block with three replications. Plant spacing was 60 cm between rows and 50 cm between plants within a row. There were two plants in every hill. BARI 4 was the first to flower. The varieties were ready for harvest in the first week of March 1998, at which time the polytunnels were removed. The harvest period continued until the end of April. Major pest problems were not encountered in this trial. There were slight incidences of powdery mildew after flowering; CARD CHT was found to be most susceptible, and Ratan and BARI 4 were least affected. There were significant differences between the yields of the five varieties (Table 20). Ratan produced the highest yield, and the local check was the Iowest. The trial demonstrated that tomato can be produced under plastic tunnels during the winter months at about 1200 m altitude. The next step is to evaluate the performance in farmers’ fields. In the meantime, the germplasm is being maintained through maintenance breeding at RNRRC, Bajo.

Early cauliflower production trial

Three cauliflower varieties - Pusa DeepaIi, Pusa Early Synthetic and Kauli Nepal - were obtained through the SAVERNET exchange program. They were tested along with a local check (Snowball-16) for early production. The trial was conducted at RNRRC, Bajo, in the Punakha-Wangdue valley at an altitude of about 1200 m. Seeds were sown in September 1997 and seedlings were transplanted in October. The trial was laid out as a randomized complete block with three replications. Plot size was 6 x 1 m and seedlings were spaced 60 cm between rows and also between plants within a row. There were two plots in each replication. Pusa Deepali and Pusa Early Synthetic bolted very early, forming green curds, so these varieties could not be evaluated. These varieties will be evaluated for summer production. Yields of the other two varieties were not significantly different (11.6 t/ha for Kauli Nepal and 9.1 t/ha for Snowball 16), but Kauli Nepal matured earlier (127 days) than did the local check variety (157 days). Kauli Nepal is potentially an early- maturing variety for growing in the mid- hills, and will be further evaluated.

Table 20. Performance of five tomato varieties grown under polyethylene tunnels during winter

Variety Average Powdery Fruit yield mildew quality

(kg/plant) scoreª

BARI 4 0.74 1 Poor, small fruits BARI 5 0.90 2 Good CARD CHT 0.31 3 Poor, very small (local check) Manik 0.81 2 Good Ratan 1.69 1 Very good LSD (5%) 0.41 CV% 24.50 ª 1 = least, 5 = highest


INDIA


India has made rapid progress in vegetable production and has become the second largest producer of vegetables in the world with a total production of 80.8 million t from 5.12 million ha. The productivity has risen from 9.82 t/ha in 1984-85 to 15.98 t/ha in 1996-97.

Vegetables have made important contributions to the food and nutritional security of the growing population of India. However, the current per capita availability of vegetables is only 175 g, well below the requirement of 200 g for a balanced diet. It has been estimated that India will need 100 million t of vegetables per year by the turn of the century, and 225 million t by 2020. With the rapid growth of the population and the shrinking of the arable land area, increasing productivity is the only option. Further, crop diversification and development of value-added products need to be considered, while export opportunities need to be explored.

More than 50 different vegetables are grown regularly in India. Research work is being conducted on more than half of these, with strong emphasis on such important vegetables as tomato, eggplant, chili, okra, cauliflower, melon, onion and pea. Under the All-India Coordinated Vegetable Improvement Project, 180 varieties (including 31 F1 hybrids) of 20 vegetable crops have been released for use in different climatic regions of the country. The project has also made a number of recommendations on production and protection technologies. Considerable progress has been made in vegetable research and development, but much still needs to be done. Major constraints to meeting the vegetable production requirements in

India include: lack of hybrid vegetable varieties adapted to the different agroclimatic conditions in India inadequate supplies of seeds of improved varieties/ hybrids high incidence of pests and diseases, for example, shoot and fruit borer in eggplant, fruit borer in tomato, diamondback moth in cabbage and cauliflower, leaf curl virus in tomato and chili, and bacterial wilt in tomato and eggplant high post-harvest losses (20-40%) due to inadequate infrastructure a long delay between technology generation and technology transfer fluctuating market prices due to unorganized marketing systems Considerable efforts are being made to

address and overcome these constraints. The objectives and strategies of the major vegetable research and development activities in India are summarized below.

Varietal development Various activities are being conducted to develop improved vegetable varieties (with emphasis on hybrids) adapted to different agroclimatic conditions, including:

collection, evaluation and conservation of vegetable germplasm, development of micropropagation protocols and molecular characterization of germplasm lines application of biotechnology hybrid development

Resources (NBPGR) is organizing extensive collection and evaluation of germplasm, and is establishing a germplasm database. Germplasm is conserved in a modern facility and both the database and the germplasm are made available to breeders in their efforts to develop improved varieties.

As well as conventional breeding methods, biotechnology techniques are

The National Bureau of Plant Genetic

36 1999 SAVERNET II

being applied to speed up variety development in tomato and eggplant. These techniques permit precise selection using molecular markers, and the transfer of desirable genes, particularly for resistance/ tolerance to important pests and diseases.

role in increasing productivity of vegetable crops, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has launched a network project to promote research on hybrids in vegetable crops. Under the National Agricultural Technology Project, at 12 centers in various agroclimatic zones of the country, the above network project will develop high-yielding and disease- resistant hybrids of tomato, eggplant, chili and onion. The agroclimatic zones of India is shown in Fig. 2.

Because F1 hybrids have played a vital

Seed production An important objective of vegetable research and development in India is to develop seed production technologies, particularly for hybrid seeds, to increase its availability and quality. To this end, ICAR has initiated a National Seed Project on Vegetable Crops, under which breeder seeds of released varieties are being produced at 16 centers across the country; the breeder seeds are supplied to the seed producing agencies for production of. foundation and certified seeds. In addition, State Agricultural Universities have been encouraged to produce quality seeds through revolving fund schemes.

Pests and diseases Important research activities in the fight against plant pests and diseases include work on integrated pest management (IPM). Current work is on development of IPM technology for the control of fruitworm in tomato, eggplant shoot and fruit borer, and diamondback moth in cauliflower and cabbage. .

Post-harvest losses There is a need to develop post-harvest handling, marketing and processing technologies and infrastructure, to reduce the gap between production and net availability of vegetables. Work will be concentrated on bulk handling systems for vegetables, including processing, controlled vegetable storage and efficient post-harvest handling. Pesticide residue management and newer product development will add value to the produce.

Technology transfer Once new technologies are developed they should be made available to farmers and other users as quickly as possible. Rapid transfer of improved technology packages can be facilitated by developing linkages between ICAR and the private sector for mutual transfer of technology and germplasm, and contract research.

Marketing systems By taking advantage of advances in information technology, valuable and needed information on supply, demand and prices of various vegetables in major production and distribution centers will be made available through the Internet, radio and television and other means. Based on the practices in countries such as Taiwan and Singapore, the system will be further improved to assist farmers, middlemen, retailers as well as consumers.

Other work Other strategies for improving vegetable production include:

development of production technologies: one important research area is efficient nutrient use . promotion of vegetable exports by developing varieties with desired qualities and longer shelf lives, and identifying suitable agroecological

37 Mid-term Review Meeting

Andaman and Nicobar

North eastern sub-tropical

8

Lanka

Fig. 2. Agroclimatic map of India

38 1999 SAVERNET II

regions for their cultivation human resource development in new emerging areas of vegetable research

Subnetwork I. Translating research results into farmers’ applications Work under this subnetwork is being carried out at the Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (IIHR), Bangalore; the Project Directorate of Vegetable Research (PDVR), Varanasi; and the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), New Delhi.

Activity 1. On-farm evaluation of elite varieties The objective of this activity is to translate the research results under phase I for application in farmers’ fields through testing of identified promising, high-yielding varieties of chili. Four elite chili varieties - MI2 and KA2 from Sri Lanka and Bhaskar and Arka Lohit from India - were evaluated on two farms in Mavalipura, Bangalore North by the Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (IIHR), Bangalore. Sowing dates were 1 and 20 December 1998. No results are yet available.

In 1998, three chili varieties - MI2, KA2 and Arka Lohit - were evaluated, along with one popular improved variety, LCA235. Entries were sown on 6 July 1998, and seedlings were transplanted on 8 August at Project Directorate of Vegetable Research PDVR Varanasi and on 9 August in two farmers fields in the villages of Mahawan (Varanasi) and Hardara (Mirzapur), in a randomized complete block design with five replications; plot size was 194.5 m², and plant spacing was 60 cm between rows and 45 cm between plants within rows. All the recommended cultural practices were adopted during the trial. The pesticide application regime at PDVR Varanasi was two applications of Monocrotophos on 4 and 21 September;

two applications of Dicofal on 23 September and 15 October; and two applications of Dithane M-45 on 11 November and 10 December. At the other two sites Monocrotophos was applied on 6 and 21 September, Dicofal on 24 September and 16 October, and Dithane M-45 on 13 November and 11 December. Weeds were controlled by stomp spray on 11 August at PDVR Varanasi and on 12 August at the other two sites. All crops received three irrigations, except for MI2, KA2 and LCA235 at Hardara (Mirzapur) which were irrigated four times.

Results and observations from five harvests are presented in Table 21. LCA235 gave highest fresh yields at PDVR, Varanasi, and at Mahawan village; at Hardara village KA2 was the highest yielder. LCA235 could be harvested earlier than the other varieties at PDVR and Mahawan village; at Hardara village MI2 was the earliest. All varieties had very good shelf life. LCA235 had very high pungency and very good quality characters, and was an acceptable variety among the consumers of this region.

Cabbage The main cabbage-cropping area in South Asia comprises tropical and subtropical regions having mild winters and hot summers. So there is a need to develop varieties suitable for growing under high-temperature conditions. Seeds of most of the cultivars grown in this region are produced in the temperate parts or imported from European countries. Therefore, the objective of this project at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), New Delhi is to develop suitable varieties for this region, with the ability to flower and set seeds in tropical conditions.

Three temperate inbred lines (Golden Acre, MR-1 and 83-1) and three tropical lines (DTC-507-4, DTC-528 and DTC-513)


were evaluated. The tropical lines were sown at IARI, New Delhi, on 17 September 1996 and seedlings were transplanted on 19 October. The temperate types were sown at IARI Regional Station Katrain, Kullu Valley, Himachal Pradesh, in the third week of August 1996 and seedlings were

transplanted one month later. Stumps of DTC-513 were shifted to Katrain in January 1997 and planted along with the temperate lines. DTC-513 was crossed with DTC-507-4 at Delhi in February and with all the three temperate lines at Katrain in April, giving a total of four crosses.

Table 21: Evaluation of elite chili varieties

Yield of Days to first Fruit type Fruit color Pungency Consumer green fruits harvesting acceptance

(t/ha) PDVR, Varanasi Arka Lohit 11.11 89 Long Dark green High Very good

KA2 12.31 84 Long Green Medium Good MI2 13.81 84 Medium Green Medium Good LCA-235 14.30 83 Long Green Very high Very good

Mahawan Village Varanasi Arka Lohit 12.73 92 Medium Green Medium Good KA2 12.80 87 Medium Green Medium Good MI2 13.1 1 90 Medium Green Medium Good LCA-235 13.80 86 Medium Light green Very high Very good

Hardara Village Mirzapur Arka Lohit 12.89 94 Medium Light green Very high Very good

KA2 13.88 86 Medium Green Medium Good MI2 13.47 83 Medium Green Medium Good LCA-235 13.38 87 Medium Light green Very high Very good

Table 22. Performance of cabbage crosses and tropical lines, 1997-98

Treatment Maturity Yield Head Head Plants Plants Seed Head (days to (t/ha) weight compactness forming forming yield shape

head (g) marketable seed stalk per plant formation) head (%) (%) (g)

DCT-513 x 83-1 62.0 37.87 1180 Very compact 89.0 100 9.0 Oblong Round

DCT-513 x MR-1 63.0 58.93 1533 Very compact 94.0 100 25.0 Flatish Round

DCT-513 X 60.0 60.27 1393 Very compact 93.0 90 2.0 Flatish Golden Acre Round DCT-513 x 56.0 45.32 1623 Less compact 95.0 100 17.0 Flatish

Golden Acreª 86.0 17.87 593 Compact 80.0 0 0.0 Round MR-1" 95.0 21.60 653 Compact 82.0 0 0.0 Round DTC-513 63.0 25.33 817 Less compact 68.0 100 15.0 Flatish DTC-507-4 60.0 37.33 1233 Less compact 96.0 100 10.0 Flatish DTC-528 66.0 31.20 908 Less compact 91.0 100 11.0 Flatish SE 1.0 1.87 - - 2.9 1.0 -

DCT-507-4

ª Could not achieve normal growth due to high temperature during the sowing and planting stages


The four crosses, three original tropical lines and two of the original temperate lines (Golden Acre and MR-1) were sown at the farm of the IARI Vegetable Crops Division, New Delhi, on 28 July 1997 and transplanted on 9 September 1997; spacing was 50 x 50 cm, in a randomized complete block with three replications. Data on time to maturity (days from transplanting to marketable head formation), marketable yield, head weight, head compactness, percentage of plants forming marketable heads, percentage of plants forming seed stalks, seed yield per plant and head shape were recorded. Seeds of these crosses were produced using a sibmating pollination system under Delhi conditions to get seeds of the F1 population of the crosses. Parents and F1 progeny were sown on 20 August and

transplanted on 23 September 1998. The performance of the crosses and

inbreds is presented in Table 22. For all the characters investigated, each of the four crosses was better than the mean value of its two parents, or even better than the value of the better parent. DTC-513 x Golden Acre had the highest yield and head size, and almost the fewest outer leaves. DTC-513 x DTC-507 was the first to mature and gave the highest head weight. DTC-513 x MR-1 gave the highest seed yield per plant. Among the crosses only DTC-513 x Golden Acre did not show 100% bolting. Among the inbreds DTC 5074 was on top for most of the characters. This line has been developed from a Japanese hybrid.

and MR-1 is attributed to high The poor performance of Golden Acre

Table 23. Distribution of germplasm to other countries for further testing of promising materials Recipient Country Crop Variety Seed quantity

Bangladesh Onion

Tomato

Bhutan

Nepal

Pakistan

Sri Lanka

Eggplant Onion

Cauliflower Tomato

Eggplant Tomato

Onion Tomato

AVRDC. Taiwan Tomato

Arka Niketan Agrifound Dark Red Arka Abha Avinash 2 Arka Alok Pant Rituraj Arka Niketan Arka Kalyan Agrifound Dark Red Pant Subra Arka Abha Arka Alok Avinash 2 Pant Samrat Pant Bahar Arka Alok Arka Abha Avinash 2 Arka Niketan Arka Abha Arka Alok Avinash 2 Avinash 2 Arka Alok Arka Abha


temperatures at sowing, transplanting and initial growth stages. Golden Acre is a popular land variety and MR-1 has multi-resistance against black rot, downy mildew, sclerotinia rot and rhizoctonia. The other temperate line used in crossing program (83-1) is self-incompatible and is being used at Katrain in breeding F1 hybrids.

Future work will include selecting crosses on the basis of their flowering and seed setting ability, selecting suitable F2 plants for further improvement program, and assessing DTC-5074 in demonstration trials.

Activity 2. Further testing of promising mate rials India has supplied seeds of 10 varieties of four vegetable crops to AVRDC, for further distribution to participating countries for conducting on-farm-trials. These materials have been distributed to

SAVERNET members (Table 23). Seeds of 15 varieties of five vegetable

crops have been received from Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Pakistan for conducting trials in India. These seeds have been distributed to IIHR, Bangalore, and PDVR, Varanasi, for trials under Subnetwork I and Subnetwork II (Table 24).

Subnetwork II. Integrated disease and pest management

A. Bacterial wilt resistance in tomato and eggplant Work on bacterial wilt resistance in tomato and eggplant is being carried out at the Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (IIHR), Bangalore.

Activity 1. On-farm trial The objectives of this activity were to confirm and demonstrate promising

Table 24. Distribution of seeds of six vegetables received from other countries for Subnetwork I

Crop Variety Quantity Seed Recipient institutes in India

source (g)

Chili MI-2 7 Sri Lanka IlHR and PDVR KA-2 7 Sri Lanka IlHR and PDVR

Pea Rondo 120 Pakistan PDVR Green Feast 100 Pakistan PDVR

Edible podded BARI Motor Shuti 80 Bangladesh PDVR Pea Radish Korean-4 11 Pakistan PDVR

BARI Mula-I 30 Bangladesh PDVR BARI Mula -2 30 Bangladesh PDVR

Eggplant Singnath 2 Bangladesh PDVR Tomato BARI 3 7 Bangladesh IlHR

BARI 4 7 Bangladesh IlHR BARI 5 7 Bangladesh IlHR Money Maker 5 Pakistan IlHR

for Subnetwork II

Crop Variety Quantity Seed Recipient (g) Source Institutes

in India

Tomato KWR 12 Sri Lanka IlHR King Kong 10 Taiwan IlHR

42 1999 SAVERNET II

bacterial wilt (BW) resistant tomato lines in farmers’ fields before releasing these lines to farmers.

Based on previous screening results, tomato varieties with BW resistance and acceptable fruit characteristics had been selected for further evaluation. Seeds of three resistant tomato varieties - Ratan, T-89 and Arka Alok - and of a susceptible check (Arka Vikas) were supplied to farmers for conducting demonstration trials at three locations near IIHR, Hessarghatta, Bangalore, during December 1998.

The experimental design was a randomized complete block with three replications of at least 20 plants each. Plant spacing was according to local farmers’ practice, or 50 cm between rows and 30 cm between plants within rows. Two plants of the susceptible line were planted at the end of each individual

To assess disease incidence (percentage of wilted plants) for each plot, trial sites will be visited at least every 20 days after transplanting, and each plant will be rated as wilted or nonwilted (no sign of wilt). The occurrence of other insects or diseases will also be recorded, and any plants dead from other causes will be treated as missing plants.

YieId (marketable and unmarketable) will be determined following farmers’ practices, but using the same methods for each plant type (indeterminate, semideterminate or determinate). Other information to be recorded will include:

plot.

descriptions of trial sites: latitude; elevation; soil pH (specify methods); soil types; previous crops (within one year); race and biovar of predominant strains of Ralstonia solanacearum present in the trial sites field management records: spray schedule of pesticides (for insects or diseases) and herbicide; irrigation method; staking method; amounts of fertilizer used, etc

meteorological data during the trial period (from transplanting to final rating): maximum and minimum temperature and total precipitation market price: an estimate of the price per unit weight of each entry

Activity 2. Evaluation of bacterial wilt resistance in tomato and eggplant The objective of this activity is to identify stable resistance to bacterial wilt in tomato and eggplant for direct release or breeding. Evaluations will be carried out in the greenhouse and in infested fields.

Greenhouse evaluation: tomato Fourteen advanced lines of tomato and 17 of eggplant, from AVRDC, were evaluated for bacterial wilt resistance in the greenhouse. Seedlings were raised in 150 cm diameter plastic pots by direct sowing. For each entry three replications of four plants/pot were maintained. At the 3-4 true leaf stage plants were inoculated with Ralstonia solanacearum by spreading 30 ml of a suspension of the pathogen (OD,,, = 0.3) on the soil surface of each pot.

Ralstonia solanacearum inoculum was prepared as follows:

the IIHR strain of the pathogen was streaked on triphenyl tetrazolium chloride (TTC) plates, which were then incubated at 30°C for two days several fluidal coIonies were transferred from TTC plates to nutrient agar (NA) plates a dense suspension was made with overnight culture on NA and 0.1 ml of it was spread onto another NA plate which was then incubated at 30°C for 24 hours this culture was suspended in water and its OD,, was adjusted with water to 0.3 Inoculated plants were kept in a

greenhouse a t a temperature of 25-35°C and observations of disease incidence


was observed every few days.

various lines of tomato and eggplant to bacterial wilt 24 days after inoculation. Only one tomato line showed 100% survival, and several totally succumbed to the disease. Most of the eggplant lines showed good resistance to the disease, only one showing high mortality.

Eggplant lines in general were very resistant in the greenhouse in comparison to tomato. Results of greenhouse screening of tomato lines confirmed the results of the previous screening.

Tables 25 and 26 show the reactions of

Field evaluation: tomato The following 17 tomato entries were evaluated for BW resistance and yield in a field where the soil was infested with BW.

AVRDC lines BL986, BL985, BL994, BL989, BL1004,

BL1009, BL333, L285, L180, CLN1463- 245-14-0-0, CLN1466-65-40-15-0-12-0/ L-390 (susceptible check)

Table 25. Reaction of tomato lines to bacterial wilt in the greenhouse 24 days after inoculation

Line Number of Number of plants plants planted surviving

CLN1463-245 4,4,4

L285 4,4,4 BL989 4,4,4 L180 4,4,4 L390 4,4,4 SX7611 4,4,4 KWR 4,4,4

CLN1466-65-40 4,4,4

SX7610 4,4,4 BL985 4,4,4 BL994 4,4,4 BL1009 4,4,4 BL1004 4,4,4 BL986 4.4.4

-1 4-0-0

-1 5-0-1 2-0

From NARS

From the private sector

India), King Kong-2 (Known You, Taiwan)

All the 17 entries were sown on 17 April 1998 and 36-day-old seedlings were transplanted on 22 May 1998 in BW- infested soil that had bacterial population of 10 7 cfu/g of soil. Ralstonia solanacearum identified at IIHR, Bangalore, belongs to the race 1 Biovar III. The experiment was laid as a randomized complete block with three replications. Plants were spaced at 90 cm between rows and 30 cm between plants within rows. The seedlings were inoculated artificially with a bacterial suspension (OD,, = 0.7) on 30 June 1998 (39 days after transplanting) by stem puncture method. The recommended dose of 120:80:50 kg NPK/ ha was supplied to all the entries except the three F1 hybrids from the private sector which received NPK at

KWR (Sri Lanka), Arka Abha (India)

Sun 7610 and Sun 7611 (Sun Seed,

Table 26. Reaction of eggplant lines to bacterial wilt in the greenhouse

Lines Number of Number of plants plants planted surviving

TS47 A 4,4,4 TS90 4,4,4 TS75 4,4,4 TS69 (Gelatik) 4,4,4 ST87 (Gelatik) 4,4,4

EG195 (BB49) 4,4,4 EG203 (Surya) 4,4,4 EG193 (Arka Nidhi) 4,4,4 EGO64 4,4,4 (Pusa Purple Long) EG219 (8844) 4,4,4 TS7 (MTE2) 4,4,4 TS3 4,4,4 EG190 (SM66) 4,4,4 EG192 4,4,4 (Arka Neelkant) TS64 (Jackpot) 4,4,4 TS56B 4,4,4 (Terong Hijau)

EG014 (Slim Jim) 4,4,4

4,4,4 4,4,4 4,4,4 4,4,4 3,2,4 4,4,4 4,4,4 4,4,4 4,4,4 1,1,1

4,4,4 4,4,4 4,4,4 1,4,4 3,4,4

4!4,4 4,4,4

44 1999 SAVERNET II

180:150:120 kg/ha. The three F1 hybrids were staked a month after planting.

(percentage of wilted plants) for each plot, trial sites were visited at least every 20 days after transplanting, and each plant was rated as wilted or nonwilted (no sign of wilt). The occurrence of other insects or diseases was also recorded, and any plants dead from other causes were treated as missing plants. Yield and average fruit weight were also recorded. Other information recorded included:

descriptions of trial sites: latitude; elevation; soil pH, soil types, previous crops (within one year); race and biovar of predominant strains of R. solanacearum present in the trial sites meteorological data during the trial

To assess disease incidence

period (from transplanting to final rating): maximum and minimum temperature and total precipitation Trial results are presented in Table 27.

Based on disease resistance and yield, entries BL1004, BL985, BL986, Sun 7611, KWR, BL1009 and BWR1 were found to be promising. Entries BL333, CLN1463- 245-14-0-0, Sun 7611 and King Kong-2 had good fruit qualities in terms of fruit weight and firmness.

Among 17 entries evaluated for BW resistance in wilt sick soil two lines - BL985 and BWR1 -had round and firm fruits with average fruit weight over 40 g. BWR1 is a released variety from IIHR and can be extended elsewhere because of its acceptable fruit weight and firmness.

Field evaluation: eggplant Eighteen entries -TS3, TS7 (MTE2),

Table 27. Evaluation of tomato lines against BW-infected soil, May-August 1998, IIHR, Bangalore

Entries Number % wilt Yield/pt Average Growth Fruits of incidence (kg) fruit

seedIing weight planted (g)

L390 (susceptible check) King Kong-2

L180 CLN1466 65-40-15-0-1 2-0

Sun 7610

L285 BL333 BL989 KWR BL994 CLN1463 round

BL1 009 BL986 Sun 761 1

-245-1 4-0-0

BL1004 BL985 BWR-1

67

38

48

24

35

42 40 48 42 51 42

48 51 43

48 50 24

100.0

32.6

19.7

17.7

10.3

9.7 9.0 6.7 6.0 4.0 4.3

4.0 3.7 2.7

2.0 0.0 0.0

0.55 60

0.60 29

0.43 79

0.70 57

0.70 25 0.55 111 0.30 42 0.69 31 0.35 16 0.33 65

0.66 25 0.71 40 0.62 50

0.81 37 0.60 40 0.52 46

indeterminate

Indeterminate

Determinate

Determinate

Determinate

Indeterminate Determinate Indeterminate Determinate Indeterminate Indeterminate

Indeterminate Determinate Indeterminate

Determinate Determinate Semi

High-round firm Round, soft

High-round, firm High-round, firm Round, soft Oblate firm Oblate round Oblate round Oblate Oblate-firm round Round soft Round small Cylindrical very firm Round small Round firm Oblate

-determinate


TS47A, TS56B (Terong Hijau), TS64 (Jackpot), TS69 (Gelatik), TS75, TS87 (Gelatik), TS90, EG014 (Slim Jim), EG219 (BB44), EG190 (SM6-6), EG191 (Arka Keshav), EG192 (Arka Neelkant), EG193 (Arka Nidhi), EG195 (BB49), EG203 (Surya) and EG064 (Pusa Purple Long) (susceptible check) -received from AVRDC were evaluated in BW-infested plots for BW resistance and yield.

The entries were sown on 17 April 1998 and 44-day-old seedlings were transplanted on 1 June 1998 in BW- infested plots. The experiment was laid out as a randomized complete block with three replications; plant spacing was 90 x 40 cm. Seedlings were inoculated on 15 July 1998 (45 days after planting) with bacterial suspension (OD,,, = 0.80) by stem puncture method.

The evaluation successfully identified

14 entries with less than 10% wilt (Table 28). Among the four entries without wilt infection, three had green fruits and the other one had purple fruit. Different colored fruits with less bacterial wilt incidence and good yield have been identified.

Activity 3. In-country training The main problem for BW resistance in tomato (and possibly in eggplant) is the instability of resistance. Based on the BW survey conducted in SAVERNET I, several hot spots have been identified in each member country. Therefore, it is important to set up a multilocational testing network in each country. In order to have the participation of regional scientists in this network, it is essential to train them on the evaluation of BW resistance in tomato and eggplant.

Table 28. Evaluation of eggplant lines against BW-infected soil, May-September 1998, IIHR, Bangalore

Entries Number of Wilt Yield/ Remarks seedling incidence plant planted (%) (kg)

EG014 (Slim Jim) 40 18.7 1.03 Purple, medium long fruits TS87 (Gelatik) 38 13.3 0.68 Pink long fruits TS75 40 12.3 0.74 Green, long fruits EG190 (SM6-6) 40 8.3 0.83 Light green fruits TS69 (Gelatik) 39 6.0 0.73 Small flat, round green fruits TS90 40 6.0 0.72 Small green round fruit TS47A 36 4.6 0.60 Green long fruits EG203 (Surya) 39 4.3 0.88 Purple, oval fruits TS64 (Jackpot) 40 4.0 0.92 Pink, long fruits EG192 (Arka Neelkant) 41 4.0 0.98 Dark purple, medium long fruits TS56B (Terong Hijau) 39 2.3 0.74 Small flat, round green fruits TS7 (MTE2) 40 2.0 0.90 Pink, medium long fruits EG193 (Arka Nidhi) 37 2.0 1.06 Dark purple, medium long fruits TS3 37 0.0 0.91 Green, round fruits EG191 (Arka Keshav) 40 0.0 0.89 Shiny purple, long fruits EG195 (BB49) 40 0 0 0.81 Green, oval fruits EG219 (BB44) 40 0.0 0.87 Green, medium long fruits EG064 (Pusa Purple Long) 38 83 3 0.20 Purple, long fruits

(susceptible check)

46 1999 SAVERNET II

A six-day in-country training program on “Bacterial wilt management on solanaceous vegetables” was organized on 22-27 June 1998 at IIHR, Bangalore. The participants were:

Agricultural Sciences (UAS), Bangalore gave a lecture on bacterial wilt research at the university. Laboratory and greenhouse practicals were conducted on:

Mr S A Ashtaputhre, Assistant Professor, Agricultural Research Station Kanabargi, University of Agricultural Sciences Dharwad, Karantaka Dr T N Narendrappa, Assistant Professor, Agricultural Research Station Nagenahalli, University of Agricultural Sciences Bangalore, Karantaka Dr Sally K Mathew, Associate Professor, College of Horticulture, Kerala Dr Koshy Abraham, Associate Professor, College of Horticulture, Kerala Dr J P Sharma. Central Horticultural Experiment Station, IIHR, Ranchi, Bihar

In addition, two scientists from Sunseeds (Dr Vasanth Kumar, Plant Pathologist, and Mr L M Suresh, Assistant Plant Pathologist), attended the lectures. The training program included lectures on:

biology and epidemiology of the pathogen and its control bacterial wilt resistance and resistance breeding in tomato and eggplant serological detection of Ralstonia solanacearum use of molecular markers in detecting resistance in the host vegetable crop improvement and production use of biotechnology in disease management

Dr Jaw-fen Wang, Associate Plant Pathologist at AVRDC, and coordinator of bacterial wilt program in SAVERNET, gave lectures on bacterial wilt research at AVRDC and breeding for bacterial wilt resistance in tomato. Dr A N A Khan, bacteriologist at the University of

identification of R. solanacearum culturing storage isolation population dynamics biovar and race determination aggressiveness pathotype determination inoculation techniques seedling screening ELISA detection of R. solanacearum

Practicals on field screening procedures, soil sampling, surveying and resistance breeding were conducted in the field.

The trainees rated the training good and timely. Most of them found the practicals on identification, strain characterization and inoculation techniques very useful. Lectures on these topics and also on breeding for resistance and biotechnology in disease management were considered informative. More field visits were suggested. All the trainees found the training to be very useful for their ongoing and future projects.

B. Leaf curl and other virus resistance in tomato and chili All the virus work, except for Activity 4 was carried out at the Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (IIHR), Bangalore. Activity 3 was carried out at the Project Directorate of Vegetable Research (PDVR), Varanasi.

Activity 1. Screening of Lycopersicon accessions for TYLCV resistance in the screen house The objective of this activity was to determine which sources of resistance hold up against the different TYLCV


isolates in different countries.

13,14,15,16,17,18,21, 22 and 23, along with Arka Saurabh (a susceptible check) and Avinash 2 (a commercial TYLCV- tolerant F1 hybrid) - were screened in the greenhouse against TYLCV. The lines were planted in a randomized complete block with two replications. Each row comprised 16 plants of one line, surrounded with whitefly-infested TYLCV-infected tomato source plants from the TYLCV stock cultures. The source plants were shaken regularly to make the whiteflies disperse and settle on the seedlings to be screened.

viruliferous whiteflies when they reached the two-leaf stage, and the exposure continued for eight weeks; the plants were then examined for visual disease symptoms. The total number of plants exposed and total number of plants with symptoms were recorded.

One leaf squash of each symptomless plant was made and sent to AVRDC for confirmation of the absence of virus. Symptomless plants were transplanted to the field for further observation and seed collection.

Accessions ATY1, 10,14,17 and 18 were found to be highly resistant.

Activity 2. Alternative hosts (i.e., pepper) of TYLCV The objective of this activity was to determine whether the tomato leaf curl virus can infect pepper.

Three pepper lines with no reported resistance to leaf curl virus (PBC139,176 and PBC576), received from AVRDC, were planted in the greenhouse. The trial layout was a randomized complete block with two replications. Each row of 16 plants of the same line was surrounded with whitefly-infested TYLCV-infected tomato source plants, obtained from the TYLCV stock culture. One leaf squash of each plant was made on a nylon membrane and sent to AVRDC for

Fourteen tomato lines - ATY 5,7,10,

The plants were exposed to

detection of virus using DNA hybridization.

None of the samples reacted positively when tested with the Ban-2 probe, which would indicate that the local tomato TYLCV does not readily infect peppers.

Activity 3. On farm trial-TYLCV- tolerant tomato hybrids The objective of this activity was to compare commercial TYLCV-tolerant tomato hybrids under high TYLCV disease pressure in the field with high- yielding TYLCV-susceptible hybrids, to determine if yields and farmers’ income from tolerant hybrids are significantly greater than those from a susceptible hybrid.

In Varanasi, Avinash-2 (a TYLCV- tolerant commercial hybrid) was sown on 10 July 1998 along with two TYLCV- resistant open pollinated (OP) lines (H24 and H36), one susceptible OP line (Punjab Chhuhara) and one susceptible commercial hybrid (ARTH-3). Seedlings were transplanted to the field on 13 August 1998, in a randomized complete block with three replications. Plot size was 50 m², and spacing was 60 cm between rows and 30 cm between plants within rows.

Disease incidence and severity were rated visually. Also, data were collected on marketable yield, total yield, fruit size and shape, pericarp thickness, defects and farmer perceptions.

Results are presented in Table 29. Avinash-2 had the highest total and marketable yields and showed the lowest TYLCV incidence. However, the other commercial hybrid (ARTH-3), with no previously reported resistance to TYLCV, also seemed to show some tolerance to TYLCV and had a good yield (only slightly less than that of Avinash-2). The thick pericarps and oblong fruit shapes of these two commercial hybrids were probably the reasons for their very good farmer acceptance.

The TYLCV-tolerant OP lines had

48 1999 SAVERNET II

Table 29. Performance of TYLCV-tolerant tomato varieties Observation Avinash-2 H-24 H-36 Punjab ARTH-3 (F1)

(F1) Chhuhara

Marketable yield (t/ha) 53.21 41.28 42.91 36.84 49.76 Total yield (t/ha) 62.44 47.80 48.52 39.38 55.28 Fruit size i) Fruit length (cm) 4.80 3.60 3.90 5.90 5.20 ii) Fruit diameter (cm) 5.00 4.60 4.80 4.50 4.30 Fruit shape Oblong Round Round Long Oblong Pericarp thickness (mm) 5.00 3.30 3.40 4.30 5.00 Farmers perception Very good Good Good Poor Very good

Virus severity +I- +/- +I- +++ ++ TYLCV incidence (%) 6 12 14 83 35 Virus seventy is rated as: +/- = very mild symptoms/slight yellowing

++ = leaf curling and yellowing, no stunting +++ = severe leaf curling and leaf blistering, severe yellowing, stunting of the plant

considerably higher yields than the commercial OP variety (Punjab Chhuhara), which was highly susceptible to TYLCV, with very severe symptoms.

AVRDC has developed some OP lines with the TYLCV-tolerant H24 as one of the parents and an AVRDC heat-tolerant and bacterial-wilt-resistant inbred line as the other parent. These lines should be clearly superior to Avinash-2, which is highly susceptible to bacterial wilt. However, the pericarp thickness should be improved and fruit shape made more oblong to be more acceptable to farmers.

Activity 4. Isolation and maintenance of the virus causing leaf curl disease of pepper The objective of this activity was to have a pure culture of the pepper leaf curl virus for later resistance screening.

Chili plants showing symptoms typical of geminivirus infection (yellowing, mottle, leaf curling, puckering of the leaf blade, stunting of the plants) were collected from farmers’ field, and leaf squashes were prepared on nylon membranes and sent to AVRDC for processing.

The samples did not react positively when tested with the TYLCV Ban-2 probe by DNA hybridization. This means that the symptoms were probably caused by

another distinct geminivirus which does not react with the Ban-2 probe. To verify this, PCR should be carried out followed by cloning and sequencing of this virus.

Activity 5. Screening of peppers for leaf curl virus resistance Work on this activity was carried out at the Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, Bangalore. The objective was to identify sources of resistance to the pepper leaf curl virus.

Nine pepper lines reported to be resistant to leaf curl virus (PTY1,2,3,4,6, 7,8,10 and 11), and three leaf curl susceptible checks (PTY13,14 and 15), all received from AVRDC, were sown in the greenhouse in a randomized complete block with two replications. Sixteen plants of each line to be screened were inoculated with viruliferous whiteflies obtained from the TYLCV infected source tomato plants obtained from the TYLCV stock culture. The source plants were shaken regularly to make the whiteflies disperse and settle on the seedlings to be screened. Leaf squashes of each plant were made on nylon membrane and sent to AVRDC for detection of virus using DNA hybridization.

As expected, none of the lines (even the TYLCV-susceptible checks) reacted positively when tested with TYLCV Ban-2

..*


probe. This means that the geminivirus (Ban-2) that infects tomatoes in the Bangalore area does not lnfect peppers.

Activity 6. Isolation of cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) and chili veinal mottle virus (ChiVMV) The objective of this activity was to have pure cultures of local isolates of CMV and ChiVMV for later use in strain identification and resistance screening.

Chili leaves showing symptoms of mottling, mosaic, necrosis, leaf narrowing and small leaf size were collected from farmers fields in Bangalore, and were tested by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using PVY (potato virus Y), CMV, TMV (tobacco mosaic virus) and ChiVMV antisera. Samples showing a positive ELISA reaction only for CMV or ChiVMV were inoculated to Cucumis sativus or N. tabacum White Burley, respectively. Pure cultures of CMV and ChiVMV have been obtained by four successive single local lesions on Chenopodium amaranticolor and on N . tabacum White Burley, respectively. Each virus is being propagated and maintained on N. glutinosa.

Activity 7. Screening for resistance to local isolates of CMV and ChiVMV The objective of this activity was to identify sources of resistance to CMV and ChiVMV (Bangalore isolates) for direct release or use in resistance breeding.

Eight pepper entries were screened for CMV, and 10 for ChiVMV. The lines were screened with pure isolates of CMV and CVMV by the following procedure:

the inoculum was diluted 1:4 with 0. 03 M Na2HPO4 buffer, pH 7.0, containing 0.5% Na2SO3, 1.7 g/liter Na-diethyldithiocarbamate and 0.1 g/liter activated charcoal

CMV at the five-leaf stage, cut off below the fourth leaf, and for ChiVMV at the three-leaf stage

24 plants per line were inoculated: for

two weeks after inoculation, the non- inoculated leaves were collected and tested by ELISA (El). If El was negative, the new shoots were re- inoculated. A second ELISA (E2) was conducted two weeks after the 2nd inoculation the percentage of virus-infected plants was recorded Results are presented in Tables 30 and

31. In most cases infected plants also gave positive ELISA reactions, but there were a few cases where plants with no visible symptoms of infection reacted positively when tested with CMV or ChiVMV antisera, indicating latent or slow infection.

Table 30. Reaction of chili lines against CMV

Pepper line Percentage ELISA of infected

plants C1 8.33 + C2 0.00 C4 12.50 + C5 0.00 + C6 0.00 C7 0.00 + C8 2.52 + C9 0.00

California Wonder 100.00 + (susceptible check)

Table 31. Reaction of chili lines against ChiVMV

Pepper line Percentage ELISA of infected

plants CV1 0.0 + CV2 0.0 CV3 0.0 CV5 0.0 + CV6 0.0 + CV7 0.0 CV8 37.5 + CV10 0.0 + CV12 0.0 CV22 0.0

California Wonder 100.0 + (check)

1999 SAVERNET II 50

The results indicate that resistance to CMV and ChiVMV is available in the germplasm supplied by AVRDC. A field test should be conducted with these resistant lines to check for agronomic characters and farmer and consumer acceptance. If no line with superior agronomic characteristics can be identified, the resistant germplasm from AVRDC can be used as breeding material.

C. IPM of eggplant fruit and shoot borer and tomato fruitworm

a. Leucinodes

Activities 1 and 2. Physical barrier (cultural control) and destruction of infested shoots (mechanical control)

The objectives of this experiment were to test whether erecting a barrier, 2 m high, around the eggplant field would prevent eggplant shoot and fruit borer (Leucinodes orbonalis) from landing and laying eggs on eggplant, and to test whether the removal of infested shoots would prevent the subsequent incidence of the eggplant shoot and fruit borer on eggplant in later harvests.

Eggplant (Arka Nidhi, a bacterial-wilt- resistant variety) seedlings were raised in field nursery. Monocrotophos (0.05% ai) was applied 15 days after germination to control nursery pests, leaf hoppers, etc. On 12 January 1998, when the seedlings were 40 days old, they were transplanted to three plots, each 300 m². All the recommended cultural practices were carried out; no insecticides were applied. When the plants were just about to flower (as soon as the first floral buds were noticed) a 2 m high nylon net was erected around one of the plots. Plants on the second plot were observed regularly and as soon as L. orbonalis were noticed

on developing shoots the infested shoots were cut off and the larvae destroyed. The third plot was used as the control; it had no barrier, and damaged shoots were not removed from plants.

Between 27 February and 3 April 1998 numbers of damaged and healthy plants on all three plots were recorded at weekly intervals.

Beginning on 19 March, fruits were harvested from all the three plots at regular intervals, and the numbers of pest-damaged and healthy fruits were recorded at each harvest.

Shoot damage due to L. orbonalis in eggplant was very low on all plots. On all six observation dates fewer than 1 % of the plants showed damage, and no shoot damage was seen after 3 April 1998.

nylon barrier, shoot clipping and control plots is summarized in Table 32. The greater damage on the later dates indicates the influence of weather more than any other factor in increase or decrease in the incidence of fruit borer. The results suggest both pest-control methods help to prevent fruit damage by this insect, and that the clipping of

Fruit damage to eggplants within the

Table 32. Eggplant fruit damage due to L. orbonalis in barrier and shoot clipping experiments, 1998

Date of Damaged fruits (%) harvest Barrier Shoot Control

clipping 19 March 5.1 2.7 8.0

2 April 8.5 5.5 11.4 15 April 10.4 8.5 15.6 24 April 15.7 12.1 21.9 30 April 11.0 8.5 15.3 17 June 17.1 13.0 20.0 30 June 17.0 15.0 20.5 6 July 20.0 21.0 27.5

14 July 20.0 21.0 35.0 22 July 33.3 31.0 34.0 Mean 13.42 9.15% 18.77%


infested shoots to remove larvae from the plants is perhaps the more effective of the two. However, it is possible that combining the two methods will give an even greater degree of control. Further studies are in progress.

clipping plots are shown in Table 33. Detailed analysis of these data is in progress.

Yields from control, barrier and shoot

Table 33. Marketable eggplant yield under different management strategies

Date of Total marketable yield (kg/plot) harvest Barrier Shoot Control

clipping

19 March 22 23 19 2 April 175 190 135

15 April 195 220 153 24 April 210 245 200 30 April 145 150 138 17 June 138 129 128 30 June 48 50 41 6 June 98 102 77

14 July 89 98 83 22 July 60 69 51

1180 1276 1025

Activity 3. Host plant resistance

The objective of this experiment was to assess and compare the level of resistance to eggplant fruit and shoot borer in wild Solanum species such as S. viarum with that in S. melongena.

The S. viarum seeds supplied by AVRDC were sown in the last week of October 1997 and transplanted on 15 November 1997. Seedlings of another wild species S. macrocarpon were also transplanted in addition to Arka Nidhi (S. melongena). Each species was planted in a single row, 5 m long, with 75 cm between plants and 1 m between rows, in a randomized complete block with four replications. The other cultivar raised (cv Kalpatharu) suffered extensively from

bacterial wilt and had to be abandoned.

The fruiting pattern and fruit size varied among the varieties. S. viarum produced many fruits, so 100 fruits were harvested at regular intervals to record fruit borer damage. The other species produced far fewer fruits, so all the fruits were harvested to record fruit borer damage.

The results (Table 34) show that S. melongena suffered the most damage from eggplant fruit and shoot borer. The wild species suffered less damage. However, in both wild species borer nibbling (which may not be due to eggplant fruit and shoot borer) was commonly observed and often there was no deep borer damage, unlike in eggplant.

Table 34. Eggplant fruit damage due to Leucinodes orbonalis, 1998

Date of Fruits harvested harvest Healthy Infested Damage %

Solanum viarum 18 February 85 15 24 February 87 13 7 March 85 15

27 March 90 10 3 April 91 9

12 April 88 12 Mean

Solanum macrocarpon 18 February 192 21 24 February 147 21

7 March 214 57 27 March 210 40

3 April 197 29 12 April 195 21

Solanum melongena 18 February 125 42 24 February 85 20 7 March 151 40

27 March 162 39 3 April 155 33

12 April 150 30

Mean

Mean

15.0 13.0 15.0 10.0 9.0

12.0 12.33

9.9 12.5 21.0 16.0 12.8 10.2 13.74

25.2 19.1 20.9 19.4 17.6 16.7 19.79

...*

52 1999 SAVERNET II


Activity 1. On-farm trial for off- season vegetable production Trials on the effect of Tomatotone on fruit set in tomato in farmers’ fields will be conducted during the summer season of 1999.

Activity 2. Training for off-season vegetable production

A four-week training course and workshop on off-season vegetable production was organized and sponsored by AVRDC (under SAVERNET) in Taiwan from 7 September to 2 October 1998. Dr R M Bhatt (Scientist, S scale) and Dr M Prabhakar, (Senior Scientist) attended the training program.

principles and practices of seedling

procedures and effects of grafting for

structures for protective cultivation

The training covered:

production

hot, wet season production

and mulches and row covers for off- season production the effect of fruit-set hormones, pruning and trellising on plant yield under the off-season cultivation

IPM hydroponics system for hot, wet season cultivation principles of heat and waterlogging damage and management to over come these problems use of the Internet for vegetable research economics of improved technologies for the summer cultivation of tomatoes water and nutrient requirements and their management for the hot wet season production of vegetable crop

The module on hormonal effect on fruit yield during the summer season covered the potential benefits of hormones (Tomatotone, (4-chlorophenoxy acetic acid, CPA), cycocel (CCC), B-Naphyoxy acetic acid (BNOA) and other compounds); economics, application and disadvantages of tomatotone; and the physiological basis of fruit-set hormones. AVRDC has developed the technology of tomatotone application during the off- season cultivation of tomato using 0.5 to 1 % spray concentration.

During the course, demonstrations of different technologies, methodologies and processes were given, and visits were arranged to farmers’ fields, seed companies, government research organizations and a summer tomato production area.


Nepal


Nepal ha5 extremely varied and diverse physiography and agroclimatic conditions (Fig. 3), so there is wide variation in the types of vegetables that can be grown in different seasons and parts of the country.

plant species are used as vegetables in Nepal, and 42 of these are commonly grown in kitchen gardens or on a commercial scale. The main vegetable crops include cauliflower, cabbage, radish, carrot, turnip, broad leaf mustard, Swiss chard, spinach, tomato, eggplant, okra, chili, sweet pepper, cucurbits, beans, peas, onion and garlic. To date, 25 varieties of different vegetable crops have been released by the National Seed Board for commercial cultivation.

In 1996-97, the total area under vegetable crops was about 146,500 ha - about 3.5% of total cultivated area in Nepal. Total national production and yield of vegetables were, respectively, about 1.36 million t and about 9.3 t/ha. Vegetable growing is concentrated in the Central Development Region of the country (Fig. 3).

Vegetable production in Nepal is increasing, a result of the growing population, rapid urbanization, the export potential of vegetable seeds and people’s awareness of the nutritional value of vegetables. Vegetables are now considered a high-value crop and vegetable growing is becoming a sustainable source of income for farmers. However, availability of fresh vegetables is only just over 56 g per person per day, which is far below the recommended level of 200 g.

Several factors constrain an increase in vegetable yield and production in Nepal, including lack of varieties suited to

More than 200 indigenous and exotic

specific locations in different agroecological regions and seasons, as well as pests and diseases. Farmers use pesticides indiscriminately on vegetable crops, without concern for the risks of environmental pollution, hazards to human health and development of resistance in the pests that they are trying to control.

Subnetwork I. Translating research results into farmers’ applications

Activity 1. On-farm evaluation of elite varieties

Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Miller) is an important popular and commercial vegetable crop in Nepal. The fruit is eaten cooked with other vegetables, as a salad, as juice and as pickles. Tomato is grown on the hills in the summer and on the terai (plains) during winter. It is becoming an income-generating crop for marginal farmers. Improved varieties, such as Roma, Pusa Ruby, Monprecos, Lapsi Gede (local) and CL1131, are gaining popularity in the country. In SAVERNET-I, a promising variety, Arka Vikas, gave good yield in on-station trials, so researchers wanted to evaluate its yield performance and farmers’ preference in on-farm trials.

Panchkhal area, in six selected farmers’ fields. Seeds of Arka Vikas and Lapsi Gede (local check) were sown on 14 August 1997, and seedlings were transplanted on 5 September. Plots size was 50 m², and plant spacing was 75 cm between rows and 50 cm between plants within a row. Recommended cultural practices were followed.

In 1998, four elite varieties were evaluated: Arka Vikas and Pusa Ruby from India, Monprecos from Pakistan and Manik from Bangladesh. The trials were conducted in the hills, at Khumaltar, and on the terai, at

In 1997 the trial was conducted in the

54 1999 SAVERNET II

E


Nawalpur; three farmers were selected at each site. In the hills seed was sown on 2 July and seedlings were transplanted on 26 July: on the terai seeds were sown on 12 July and seedlings were transplanted on 16 August. Plot size should have been 50 m², but the available seed was only enough for a 12 m² plot. Plant spacing was 75 cm between rows and 50 cm between plants within a row. NPK at 100: 60:60 kg/ha and 20 t/h of compost were applied. No irrigation was needed as there was heavy rainfall during the cropping season. Cultural practices were followed as and when needed. Metalaxyl was applied as and when needed to control late blight.

In 1997, harvesting at Panchkhal began on 13 December, and the seventh and last harvest was on 14 January 1998. Yields are shown in Table 35. Arka Vikas outyielded Lapsi Gede on every farm.

Table 35. On-farm evaluation of elite varieties of tomato

Farmer’s Total yield from six harvests (t/ha)

name Arka Vikas Lapsi Gede

(check)

T Leutal 8.1 4.9 D Dhangana 11.0 7.1 J P Dhungana 8.3 6.9

B N Sapkota 11.7 8.3 B Dahal 10.3 7.6

M B Mijar 5.9 3.9

Although Arka Vikas is a high- yielding variety, it fetches lower prices in the local market than does Lapsi Gede. The fruits of Arka Vikas are medium to large (80-100 g/fruit), flat type, juicy and with low flesh content. Farmers claim that the flat shape and low flesh content make the fruit more prone to damage during transportation. Local people choose the smaller fruits with a slightly sour taste, so farmers prefer to grow Lapsi Gede rather than larger varieties. The fruits of Arka Vikas may be used for salads by hotels and foreigners, and for

this reason, this variety may be recommended for growing near cities.

during the cropping period at the Khumaltar site made it difficult to maintain the plant population. Most of the plants died. Of those that survived, only a few set fruit, but late blight attacked all developing fruits, so none reached maturity. At Nawalpur, too, there was continuous rain after transplantation, and all plants were killed.

In 1998, continuous monsoon rainfall


A. Bacterial wilt resistance in tomato and eggplant Bacterial wilt, caused by Ralstonia solanacearum, is a major constraint to successful cultivation of solanaceous vegetables, especially tomato, eggplant and potato, in Nepal. The disease causes considerable losses in tomato and eggplant crops on the terai and in the foothills, and to potato crops in the hills. Tomato is cropped intensively, because of its high value, so crop rotation cannot be used to control the disease, and other means of control have to be found. The objective of this work is to identify sources of resistance to bacterial wilt in tomato and eggplant for direct release to farmers or for use in breeding.

Activity 1. On-farm trial The objective of the on-farm trial is to confirm and demonstrate promising bacterial wilt resistant tomato lines in farmers’ fields before releasing them to farmers.

The trial was conducted at Panchkhal in a naturally infested field where race 1, biovar 3, was prevalent. The trial evaluated six genotypes that had been found to be moderately resistant to resistant during screening in SAVERNET-I, against a local susceptible

56 1999 SAVERNET II

check (Lapsi Gede). To ensure uniform distribution of inoculum in the experimental plot, four-week-old seedlings of L390 dipped in suspension of 24 hour old culture of biovar 3 isolated from the same site were transplanted in the first week of June. When almost all plants were wilted, the field was prepared.

The experiment was laid out as a randomized complete block with three replications. Test varieties were transplanted in the second week of August 1998. Each variety was planted in two rows of 10 plants each, with one row of a local susceptible variety planted between the two rows. Plant spacing was 60 cm between rows and 40 cm between plants within rows. Chemical fertilizer was applied at the rate of 85:20:50 kg NPK/ ha. To control late blight disease Metalaxyl (1 g/liter) was sprayed three times at the recommended application rate.

weeks until the disease became stable. Ripened and/or matured fruits were hand picked as they became ready for harvesting

The disease started to appear early in September, two weeks after transplanting, and continued to progress up to seven weeks. Disease incidence and yield are shown in Table 36. BL333, BL323, and BL342 were again found to be resistant (with similar wilting rates) and they gave similar yields. BL355 showed a slightly

Wilt incidence was recorded every two

higher wilting rate, and its yield was comparatively low. BL333 and BL342 were susceptible to late blight and Alternaria leaf blight. Infection by late blight was the main reason for fruit being unmarketable.

The favorite local tomato variety among consumers is Lapsi Gede, which has small fruit; generally, local consumers do not prefer large fruits. BL355 found some favor among farmers, but the large fruits of the other tested varieties were not popular. An indication of this is the market price: in November the big fruits were selling for US$0.10-0. 12/ kg, compared with US$0.20-0.25/ kg for local tomato fruits. However, large fruits are sometimes popular with hotels, for use in salads, and by certain other groups of consumers.

BL355 is popular with farmers to some extent. The bacterial-wilt-resistant tomato genotypes with big fruits and high yield potential may be useful as sources of resistance in breeding work. They may also be promising in other countries where people like big fruits..

Activity 2. Evaluation of bacterial wilt in tomato and eggplant

Tomato: seedling evaluation

Seedlings for disease resistance can save time and resources, but findings need to be verified by field screening.

Lines sent by AVRDC and two local

Table 36. Wilt incidence and fruit yield of tomato lines in farmers’ fields, Panchkhal, 1997

Variety Wilt % Fruit yield (t/ha) Average fruit Marketable Unmarketable weight g/fruit

Lapsi Gede 53.3 11.51 1.143 21.97 (local susceptible check) BL341 35.2 27.49 3.32 150.35 BL355 20.1 13.42 2.91 55.09 BL342 18.9 38.46 8.69 133.54 BL333 9.7 22.80 12.54 118.21 BL323 6.3 26.14 10.63 142.63 CV% 25.4 61.24 54.10 LSD (5%) 12.7 ns 6.40


cultivars were inoculated in a screenhouse in the first week of July 1998. There were three replications with 10 plants of each genotype per replication. The methodology was basically as described in the master workplan, with some slight modifications, such as wounding the root system at one side with a knife during inoculation. The inoculum (OD,, = 0.245) used was 24 hour old virulent isolate of biovar 3 multiplied in 523 medium.

Disease symptoms started to appear one week after inoculation. Most of the 21 genotypes were immune or resistant, and only Avinash and BL1009 were evaluated as moderately resistant. The susceptible check (L390) as well as the local varieties Rampur and Bhairahawa were found to be susceptible. Disease reaction of the tested lines five weeks

after inoculation are shown in Table 37

Tomato: field evaluation The trial was conducted at Khumaltar

farm where bacterial wilt disease was observed in seed multiplication plots of the variety L390 in 1997. Khumaltar is located 1250 m above sea level. The soil in the experimental plot is clay loam type with pH 4.9.

Twenty-one entries were evaluated in a randomized complete block design with three replications. Seedlings were raised in sterilized soil, each entry having two rows of 10 plants each. Before the seedlings were transplanted, they were dipped in a turbid suspension of inoculum made from 24 hour old culture (khumal isolate, biovar 3 - the prevalent strain at the trial site) for 20 min; this practice ensured that all plants received

Table 37. Screenhouse (seedling) and field evaluations of tomato genotypes, Khumaltar, 1998

Seedling evaluation Field evaluation Genotype Wilt (%) Disease Wilt (%) Yield (t/ha) Disease

reaction (5 reaction weeks after inoculation)

CLN 1466 60.0 MS NI Avinash 55.2 MR 72.7 0.022 S BL1009 38.3 MR 22.5 19.190 MR King Kong 20.0 R 30.5 4.780 MR BL985 16.7 R 9.3 8.930 R Arka Alok 11.7 R 26.4 8.870 MR CLN1463 6.7 R 57.9 7.290 MS BL989 5.0 R 28.7 1.630 MR KWR 3.3 R 15.8 4.590 R L180 3.3 R 40.4 2.060 MS BL1004 3.3 R 28.1 14.650 MR SX7611 3.3 R 29.9 9.300 MR BL986 1.7 R 11.6 8.050 R Arka Abha 1.7 R 43.8 1.660 MS BL994 0.0 R 10.2 5.230 R BL333 0.0 R 11.6 14.920 R L285 0.0 R 17.1 10.750 R SX7610 0.0 R 21.7 6.030 MR Shital NI 65.5 0.750 S Rampur (local) 65.6 S 77.1 2.540 S Bhairahawa (local) 90.0 S 100.0 0.000 S L390 (susceptible check) 87.5 S 94.1 0.000 S Disease reactions: R = resistant; MR = moderately resistant; MS = moderately susceptible; S susceptible

NI = not included

58 1999 SAVERNET II

inoculum. Seedlings were transplanted in the last week of May 1998: spacing was 30 cm between rows and 50 cm between plants within rows. The recommended dose of chemical fertilizer (85:20:50 kg NPK/ ha) was applied. Hand irrigation was done at early stage, and other agronomical practices were employed as and when necessary. Survival rates of the plants were recorded in every week until the wilt incidence became stable. Plants killed by other causes were considered missing.

Plants started to wilt 10 days after transplanting, and wilt incidence increased over the following six weeks. Based on the last observation, at fruiting stage, most of the genotypes showed moderately resistant to resistant reactions, with wilt incidence ranging from 9.3 to 100% (see Table 37). Highest yield was from BL1009, followed by BL333, L285 and BL1004. The fruits of BL333 were very big, and cracking at the base of the fruit resulted in more unmarketable fruits. The plants of BL 994 were indeterminate, with fewer number of small, round and cherry type, fruits.

As the monsoon rain started, late blight disease severity also increased. Most of the fruit from the first and second harvests were found to be unmarketable due to late blight infection. Metalaxyl was sprayed twice, 10 days apart, but still some varieties, such as L180, were susceptible to late blight. BL1004, BL1009, BL994 and King Kong were also found to be susceptible to Septoria leaf blight.

Conclusion

field than in the screenhouse.

can give an indication of performance of genotypes against bacterial wilt, but the field evaluation is a more reliable way to screen germplasm against this disease. The trials will be continued for one more

Disease incidence was higher in the

Seedling evaluation in the screenhouse

year to verify the results. At the same time, selected genotypes such as BL1009, BL1004, BL333, L285, BL986, BL985 and SX7611 will be further evaluated for horticultural characters.

Eggplant: seedling evaluation

The experiment was conducted in a screenhouse at Khumaltar in 1997 and 1998. The experiment design was a randomized complete block with two replications. Seedlings of 24 genotypes (20 from AVRDC and 3 local improved varieties) were transplanted into sterilized soil in 3 inch plastic pots. The pathogen used was khumal isolate (biovar 3) of eggplant: the inoculum concentration was OD,,, = 0.340. Four- week-old seedlings were subjected to root wounding on one side, and then drenched with inoculum at the rate of 1: 10 v/w. Inoculation was done in the first week of May in 1997, and in the first week of August in 1998. In the 1997 trial, after inoculation the pots were covered for three days with plastic sheet with water mist to provide sufficient humidity for disease development. (In 1998 humidity was higher and this arrangement was not necessary,)

The disease started to appear in the susceptible check, EGO64 (Pusa Purple Long), one week after inoculation in 1997, but not until two weeks after inoculation in 1998. The high susceptibility of EG064 in both years indicates the effectiveness of the screening.

Results are presented in Table 38. In both years most of the genotypes from AVRDC were found to be resistant. The local varieties were generally found to be susceptible. With only one exception, disease reactions were the same in both years (although in some cases wilting rates did differ slightly); the local improved variety Kranti was found to be moderately susceptible in 1997, but showed no wilting in 1998.


Eggplant: field evaluation Field screening of eggplant genotypes was carried out at the Regional Agricultural Research Station, Tarahara (eastern terai, altitude 150 m: clay loam type soil, with pH 5.5), and at Khumaltar Farm (altitude 1250 m: clay loam type soil, with pH 5.1).

Before the trials, the fields were planted with bacterial-wilt-susceptible tomato variety L390. Although the tomato plant population was thin, about 70% plants were wilted, confirming that the field was adequately and uniformly infested with the disease.

The experiment design was a randomized complete block, with two replications at Tarahara and three

replications at Khumaltar. At both locations, plot size was 5.4 m² and plant spacing was 65 cm between rows and 45 cm between plants within rows, to give 20 plants per plot. (At Tarahara, however, poor germination reduced plant numbers of some genotypes.) Chemical fertilizer was applied at the rate of 85:20:50 kg NPK/ha. The field at Tarahara was also treated with, 20 t/ha of compost, but no compost was applied at Khumaltar. Five-week-old seedlings were transplanted in the third week of November 1997 at Tarahara, and in the third week of May 1998 at Khumaltar.

At Khumaltar, even though bacterial wilt had been confirmed at the trial site, all the seedlings were also artificially inoculated before transplanting. The root

Table 38. Screenhouse (seedling) evaluations of eggplant genotypes against bacterial wilt, Khumaltar, 1997 and 1998

Genotype 1997 Disease reaction 1998 Disease reaction Wilt % Wilt %

EG048 82.6 S 80.00 S Pant Samrat 78.0 S 25.00 MR EG120 73.3 S 54.80 MS TS90 16.7 R 0.00 R EG203 10.0 R 3.60 R TS75 10.0 R 18.80 R TS7 8.3 R 9.09 R EG192 6.3 R 0.00 R EG190 5.6 R 0.00 R EG191 5.0 R 0.00 R TS3 0.0 R 4.20 R TS47A 0.0 R 0.00 R TS56B 0.0 R 0.00 R TS64 0.0 R 10.00 R TS69 0.0 R 11.50 R TS87 0.0 R 0.00 R EG014 0.0 R 7.70 R EG193 0.0 R 3.60 R EG195 0.0 R 0.00 R EG064 95.8 S 81.80 S (Pusa Purple Long) Nurki (local check) 55.6 MS NI Kranti (local improved) 58.0 MS 0.00 R Lurki (local check) NI 3.80 R Neelam NI 48.80 MS Disease reactions: R = resistant, <20% of plants wilted; MR = moderately resistant, 20-40% plants wilted;

MS = moderately susceptible, 40-60% plants wilted; S = susceptible, >60% plants wilted NI = not included

60 1999 SAVERNET II

tips of the seedlings were trimmed with scissors and dipped in turbid suspension of 24 hour old culture of eggplant isolate for 20 minutes.

Results of wilt incidence was recorded on the basis of total number of surviving plants in the trial. Yield could not be taken at Khumaltar due to poor plant growth because of drought at early stage of the crop.

of bacterial wilt in eggplant was identified as biovar 3. Results are presented in Table 39.

At Tarahara, the winter was unusually cold and foggy, and the disease appeared late in the field; susceptible genotypes

At both locations the prevalent strain

did not start wilting untiI 10 weeks after transplanting. As in seedling evaluation, most of the lines from AVRDC were found resistant. Several resistant genotypes (such as EG014, TS64, EG190, EG195, EG219 and EG 203) produced satisfactory yields of marketable fruits.

At Khumaltar, plants started to wilt two weeks after transplanting and wilting increased for the next six weeks. At the last observations, eight weeks after transplanting (flowering to fruiting stage), most of the lines were found resistant to moderately resistant. Drought at the early stage of the crop led to poor growth, and no yield could be taken from this trial.

Table 39. Field evaluation of eggplant genotypes against bacterial wilt at Tarahara and Khumaltar, 1998

Genotypes Wilt % Total yield Disease Wilt % Disease (t/ha) reaction reaction

Tarahara Khumaltar

TS3 TS7 TS56B TS47A TS64 TS69 TS75 TS87 TS90 EG014 EG048 EG064 EG120 EG190 EG191 EG192 EG193 EG195 EG203 EG219 EG269 EG206 Neelam Lurki

15.0 25.0 66.3 35.0 20.0 15.0 30.0 0.0 0.0

10.0 100.0 80.0 97.5 12.5 5.0

20.0 25.0 10.0 20.0 20.0 NI NI 37.5 25.0

11.43 15.07 9.33

11.20 17.62 7.51

19.04 12.73 9.16

17.43 7.91

10.16

21.11 2.1 1 1.43 5.74

31.94 25.95 17.70

23.71 15.41

R MR S

MR R R

MR R R R S S S R R R

MR R R R

MR MR

11.8 21.4 10.0 12.9 21.9 56.4 31.5 22.2 22.7 30.4 NI 97.0 NI 23.1 NI 21.0 23.6 14.9 NI 3.8

31.2 6.5

NI 31.03

R MR R R

MR MS MR MR MR MR

S

MR

MR MR R

R MR R

MR Pant Samrat 70.0 S NI Disease reactions: R = resistant, <20% of plants wilted; MR = moderately resistant, 20-40% plants wilted;

MS = moderately susceptible, 40-60% plants wilted; S = susceptible, >60% plants wilted Nl = not included


Conclusion Wilt incidence was higher in the field than in the screenhouse. Furthermore, in most lines disease incidence was higher at Khumaltar than at Tarahara, possibly due to differences in aggressiveness of the bacterial strain and/or differences in the climate during the trial period. Some of the resistant lines that showed potential to produce high yields of marketable fruit will be further tested for their horticultural characters.

Activity 3. In-country training The objective of this activity is to train personnel on techniques for screening tomato and eggplant varieties for resistance to bacterial wilt, and to make them familiar with bacterial wilt disease in the field. Such training will be helpful in conducting multilocational screening trials against bacterial wilt disease.

A training course was held 7- 10 September 1998 at the Plant Pathology Division, Khumaltar, for six trainees from different farm and research stations.

The course comprised lectures on: laboratory techniques for Ralstonia solanacearum identification prevalence of bacterial wilt in solanaceous crops: its symptoms, mode of transmission and distribution in Nepal screening protocol and importance of sick plot in screening and wilt assessment techniques integrated management of bacterial wilt. bacterial wilt resistance in tomato bacterial wilt research at AVRDC as well as laboratory work and exercises/demonstration on: preparation of different media for R. solanacearum identification and for inoculum multiplication isolation of R. solanacearum from diseased plant material identification test such as hypersensitivity test, 3% KOH

solubility test, Levan test, fluorescent test pathogenicity tests inoculation techniques for seedling evaluation in the screenhouse

Resource persons The following resource persons were from Plant Pathology Division and one Pathologist from Potato Research Program, NARC

Mr. S P Dital, Senior Plant Pathologist, Potato Research Program Mrs. S Joshi, Senior Plant Pathologist, Plant Pathology Division Mrs. G Manandhar, Senior Plant Pathologist, Plant Pathology Division Mr. G P Parajuli, Senior Plant Pathologist, Plant Pathology Division Mrs. K Shrestha, Senior Plant Pathologist and National Coordinator for SAVERNET-II, Plant Pathology Division Dr. S K Shrestha, Chief Plant Pathologist, Plant Pathology Division Mrs. R D Timila, Senior Plant Pathologist, Plant Pathology Division

Activity 4. Integrated disease management of bacterial wilt in tomato

The objective of this activity is to identify the package of technology for the management of bacterial wilt disease.

Susceptible variety L390 was artificially inoculated in a screenhouse at Khumaltar in 1997 and 1998. The bacterial inoculum (OD,,, = 0.235) was thoroughly mixed with sterilized soil at the rate of 1:10 v/w. Treatments (Table 40) were four soil amendments (applied two days before transplanting in 1997, and one week before transplanting in 1998) and four seedling dips (for 20 min just before transplanting). One set of control plants received neither soil amendments nor seedling dips. Seedlings were transplanted into pots in May in the 1997

62 1999 SAVERNET II

trial and in July, 1998. Ten plants were used per treatment. The pots were arranged in a randomized complete block with three replications.

In both years, the disease started to appear four days after transplanting. Results of the final disease assessment, made four-five weeks after transplanting, are shown in Table 40. Bleaching powder was the most effective treatment in both years, but the next best treatments were different in the two trials: Zanthoxylum armatum was second best in 1998, followed by multineem solution; and garlic extract was second best in 1997 (when the Zanthoxylum armatum treatment was not included in the trial), again followed by multineem solution.

Conclusion Some soil amendments and seedling treatments were thus found to be effective in managing bacterial wilt under screenhouse conditions. These technologies need to be tested under field conditions.

B. Leaf curl and other virus resistance in tomato and chili Tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV) has become an important virus disease of tomato on the terai and inner terai (plain) of Nepal, where tomato is being grown on a commercial scale. Early infection of tomato crops causes considerable reductions in yield; sometimes there is no harvest at all. The disease is also becoming a problem in the crops of foothills. All the commercial exotic tomato varieties are susceptible to TYLCV, but indigenous indeterminate varieties are resistant.

Pepper is also prone to TYLCV, especially on the terai where it is grown on a commercial scale.

Activity 1. Isolation and maintenance of tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV) in the screen house The objective of this activity is to have a pure tomato yellow leaf curl virus culture available for future characterization of

Table 40. Effect of different soil treatments on bacterial wilt incidence in tomato under screenhouse conditions

Treatment Dose Method of Wilt incidence (%) (g/kg soil) or treatment 1997 1998

concentration

Compost 200 Soil amendment 100.0 a 75.0 ab Mustard cake 1 Soil amendment 100.0 a 61.7 bc Lime + urea 2.5 lime Soil amendment 92.9 ab 66.7 abc

Fluorescing Pseudomonas Turbid Seedling dip 84.9 bc 73.3 ab

Multineem solutiona 5% Seedling dip 71.7 cd 50.0 cd Garlic clove extractb 15% in 1997; Seedling dip 56.7 d 58.3 bcd

Bleaching powder 0,008 Soil amendment 47.2 d 40.0 d Zanthoxylum fruit extract c 20% Seedling dip NI 40.0 d Control 96.7 ab 80.0 a CV% 11.9 11.9 ª Prepared from stock solution, 5 ml/liter of water

The concentration used in 1997 appeared to induce some toxic reaction in plant leaves, so a lower concentration was used in 1998 Extract prepared by boiling 10 g fruit in 100 ml water for 15 min. This pure extract diluted with water to 20%

+ 0.25 urea

suspension

12% in 1998

Means followed by the same letter do not differ significantly at P<0.05 (by Duncan's Multiple Range Test) Nl = not included


the virus and for further research (resistance screening, etc).

A total of 63 samples of plants with disease symptoms, comprising 38 samples of tomato, 22 chili, 2 of A g e r a t u m sp and 1 of Sida sp, were collected from Banke and Bardia districts in the mid- western region, and from the Regional Agricultural Research Station (RARS), Nepalgunj. These samples were squashed onto nylon and nitrocellulose membranes and sent to AVRDC, where the nylon membrane squashes were tested for TYLCV against the Indian probe (Ban-2) and the Sri Lankan probe, and the nitrocellulose membrane squashes were tested for other chili viruses, such as cucumber mosaic virus (CMV), potato virus Y (PVY), chili veinal mottle virus (ChiVMV), tomato mosaic virus (ToMV) and pepper mild mottle virus (PMMV).

Of the 38 tomato samples, 35 were found positive for TYLCV, which shows uniform distribution of TYLCV in tomato crops in the mid-western region. Some of the positive samples were rooted, transplanted into pots and maintained in a screenhouse.

Of the 22 chili samples, six were found positive for TYLCV. Two A g e r a t u m sp weed samples showing yellowing symptom were also found to be positive for both TYLCV probes. But the Sida sp sample tested negative.

in Nepal tested positive to the TYLCV Indian Ban-2 and Sri Lankan probes, indicating that the TYLCV occurring in Nepal may be similar to the south Indian and Sri Lankan tomato geminiviruses. The Sri Lankan tomato geminivirus is known to be a strain of another tomato geminivirus Ban-2 which also occurs on tomato in south India.

Activity 2. Screening of tomato lines for TYLCV resistance Commercial F1 tomato hybrids with reported resistance or tolerance to TYLCV, other tomato lines developed by

In total, 41 of the 63 samples collected

the public sector with reported resistance or tolerance, wild species of tomato found resistant to the Taiwan tomato leaf curl virus and a susceptible check were screened for resistance to the local TYLCV. The unreplicated screening was conducted in the field at the Horticulture Farm, Sarlahi (10 plants of each line planted) and at the Regional Agricultural Research Station (RARS), Nepalgunj (8- 16 plants of each line planted).

Disease reactions at Sarlahi and Nepalgunj were assessed visually and results are summarized in Table 41. At Sarlahi, disease incidence ranged from 0 to 60%. At RARS, Nepalgunj, all nine test lines were infected with TYLCV, even some lines that were free of infection at Sarlahi.

,

Table 41. Screening of tomato lines against TYLCV, 1997/98

Lines % diseased plantsª Sarlahi b Nepalgunj

ATY2 ATY 3 ATY4 ATY5 ATY6 ATY7 ATY10 ATY13 (susceptible check) Big Strike BL982 Chepertyl 92 CL1131 Fiona Jackal Progress 736 Pusa Early Dwarf Manik Ratan Rosa RS8990 TM120 TY200 TY Gold TY King

0 0 0 0 0

50 0

10

40 40 10 10 0 0

60

10 10 60 10 20 20 0

40

19

25 44

13 25 25

38 13 19

ª Numbers of plants were 10 at Sarlahi and 8-1 6 at Nepalgunj. Disease incidence was assessed visually

- = not tested

64 1999 SAVERNET II

Incidence and severity of TYLCV in tomato crop in terai (Sarlahi) and Mid Western Region (Nepalgunj) is much higher than in other regions. This disease has become a serious constraint for growing tomato in this region. Some of the lines/varieties that showed low disease incidence will be tested again under both field and laboratory conditions.

Activity 3. Isolation of cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) and chili veinal mottle virus (ChiVMV) The objective of this activity was to survey the major pepper-growing areas of Nepal for the presence of CMV and ChiVMV and to obtain pure virus isolates for later use in strain identification and resistance screening.

Leaves and small branches of pepper plants showing such symptoms as mottle, mosaic, deformation, narrowing, shoestring, small size and necrosis were collected from farmers' fields. The samples were squashed on nitrocellulose membranes and tested by dot immunobinding assay at AVRDC. A

portion of each sample was dried over calcium chloride and stored in a refrigerator for future use in virus isolation, in accordance with the scheme prepared by AVRDC.

Results of the survey are presented in Table 42. Nine of the 38 chili samples were found to contain CMV, and four were found positive to ChiVMV.

CMV was isolated in pure culture CMV ELISA-positive pepper samples via passage on Cucumis sativus cv Vorgebirgstraube. Similarly, ChiVMV was isolated from ChiVMV-positive pepper samples via passage on Nicotiana tabacum White Burley, following the scheme prepared by AVRDC.

well as tomato crops in the terai of Mid Western Region: disease incidence ranged from 50 to 80% and disease severity was medium to high in some fields. Many of the CMV-infected samples were also found to be co- infected with TYLCV. ChiVMV was detected only on chili in both the hills and terai regions.

CMV appears to be common in chili as

Table 42. Occurrence and distribution of CMV and ChiVMV of tomato and chili in different districts of Nepal

Location Date Number CMV ChiVMV of samples

tested

Chili Tarai

Khairapur Bardia (MWR) RARS Nepalgunj (MWR) Nawalpur Sarlahi

Thimi Kathmandu Mid hill

Tomato Tarai

RARS Nepalgunj Sigau Banke (MWR) Chaudharypur Banke

Kathmandu Valley Mid hill

November 1997

November 1997 January 1998

August 1997

November 1997 November 1997 November 1997

November 1997

18 8

4 1 12

4

16 3 10 6 12 9

1

1

3

- = Not detected


Virus diseases of chili and tomato crops are complex problems in the terai region of Nepal where the crops are cultivated on a commercial scale. In chili crops, CMV associated with other viral diseases causes severe yield losses.


a. Leucinodes orbonalis G Eggplant is a popular vegetable crop in Nepal, equally important in the hills and on the terai of the country. It keeps well and is easily transported, and so is highly favored among vegetable growers, dealers and consumers in the Nepalese vegetable market.

is increasing, its production is seriously affected by infestation of eggplant shoot and fruit borer (Leucinodes orbonalis). Under Nepalese farming conditions, this insect is resistant to almost all chemical insecticides, so other methods must be sought to control this pest.

In accordance with the SAVERNET-I1 plan, three experiments were conducted at the Regional Agricultural Research Station, (RARS), Parwanipur, in 1997-98:

1. Physical barrier (cultural control

2. Destruction of infested shoots

Although market demand for eggplant

experiment)

(mechanical control experiment)

3. Host plant resistance

Activity 1. Physical barrier (cultural control)

Two plots, each 600 m², were selected for a nonreplicated experiment at the Regional Agricultural Research Station (RARS), Parwanipur. A 2 m high nylon net barrier was erected all round one plot: the other (control) plot had no barrier. Eggplant was sown on 5 October 1997 and transplanted in the plots on 10 November. Fertilizer was applied at the rate of 120:60:30 kg NPK/ha.

Numbers of damaged and healthy plants were recorded each week from 2 March 1998 until the last harvest. Yields of marketable and unmarketable fruits were estimated by harvesting from an 18.75 m² sample area.

Results are presented in Table 43. Statistical analysis (t-test) showed no significant differences in pest damage or yield in the test and control plots.

Activity 2. Destruction of infested shoots (mechanical control) Two plots, each 600 m², were selected for a nonreplicated experiment at the Regional Agriculture Research Station, (RARS), Parwanipur. Eggplant was sown on 5 October 1997 and transplanted in the plots on 10 November. Fertilizer was

Table 43. Barrier experiment conducted at RARS Parwanipur, 1997-98

Treatment Observation 2 March 22 March 1 April 19 April 1998 1998 1998 1998

Barrier Number of undamaged shoots 268 342 Control 31 8 429

Control 0 1 Barrier Number of undamaged fruits 73.00 89.00 Control 97.00 94.00 Barrier Number of damaged fruits 10.00 22.00 Control 8.00 21.00 Barrier Weight of undamaged fruits (kg) 3.45 4.50 Control 6.90 6.40 Barrier Weight of damaged fruits (kg) 2.00 1.70 Control 0.83 1.65

Barrier Number of damaged shoots 6 7

66 1999 SAVERNET II

applied at the rate of 120:60:30 kg NPK/ha. In the test plot, any pest damaged shoots and fruits were removed once a week; in the control plot all plants were left intact.

Numbers of damaged and healthy

plants were recorded each week from 2 March 1998 until the last harvest. Yields of marketable and unmarketable fruits were estimated by harvesting from an 18.75 m² sample area.

Results are presented in Table 44.

Table 44. Mechanical control experiment conducted at RARS Parwanipur, 1997-98

Treatment Observation 2 March 22 March 1 April 9 April 1998 1998 1998 1998

Barrier Number of undamaged shoots 254 364 Control 320 466 Barrier Number of damaged shoots 0 1 Control 1 1 Barrier Number of undamaged fruits 88.00 96.00 Control 128.00 119.00 Barrier Number of damaged fruits 14.00 17.00 Control 10.00 24.00 Barrier Weight of undamaged fruits (kg) 5.10 3.70 Control 4.90 8.10 Barrier Weight of damaged fruits (kg) 1.20 1.16 Control 0.75 1.60

Table 45. Varietal screening of eggplant against eggplant shoot and fruit borer, RARS Parwanipur, Bara, 1997-98

Variety 8 15 1 Average 1 15 4 15 Average Percent shoot damage Percent fruit damage

February February March March March April April

Black Round- F1 hyb Green Long- F1 hyb Kanhaiya- hyb Navkiran- hyb Neelum Neelum Long Supriya- F1 hyb PPL- hyb Green Long PS- 1 Sufal- F1 hyb Sonal Neelum Bunch Round Baramasi Pusa Kranti Sourabha Green Gola Classic- F1 hyb Goldee Pant Samrat Jeevan Green Solanum viarum Pant Rituraj

52.3 27.5

39.5 39.5

39.5 33.3 35.0 35.0 43.8 25.0 39.3 22.0 31.3 33.8 16.3 30.8 30.0 17.5 20.8 20.8 18.8 23.8 14.5 24.5 6.0 30.3

14.5 22.8 15.5 19.8 14.5 16.3 16.8 16.8 14.5 12.5 9.3 13.5 6.8 19.3 0.0 20.8 6.3 6.3 0.0 12.5

4.0

4.3

6.5 6.0 4.5 6.8 1.3 7.8 6.3 3.8 1.0 4.0 5.3 3.8 5.3 5.8 2.8 1.8 5.8 2.3 7.5 0.3 0.0

27.93

27.77

26.43 25.33 24.43 22.70 22.13 18.30 17.90 15.13 14.53 14.33 13.87 13.70 13.53 12.20 12.13 9.60 9.53 9.47 9.43 4.30 4.16

33.00 11.4 25.0 20.5

0.25 40.0 8.0 8.3

0.00 58.3 0.0 25.5 0.00 33.3 50.0 17.5 0.00 16.8 6.9 27.5 0.00 8.5 0.0 21.8

22.00 26.0 35.0 3.3 0.00 38.3 46.0 17.0 0.00 21.0 0.0 27.0 0.00 0.0 0.0 39.7 0.00 36.3 58.0 22.0 0.00 39.8 5.5 26.8 0.00 40.0 0.0 12.8

15.00 55.0 25.0 16.5 17.00 21.3 22.0 16.5 25.00 33.3 0.0 40.3 0.00 54.3 4.5 35.8 0.00 26.7 0.0 17.8 0.00 33.0 20.0 0.0 0.00 37.0 17.0 15.7 7.00 8.3 0.0 18.8 0.00 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.00 0.0 0.0 0.0

22.48

14.13

20.95 25.20 12.80 7.58

21.75 25.32 16.00 9.92

29.10 18.00 13.20 27.88 19.20 24.65 23.65 11.12 13.25 17.42 8.52 0.00 0.00


Statistical analysis (t-test) showed no significant differences in pest damage or yield in the test and control plots.

Activity 3. Host plant resistance In this experiment 23 eggplant varieties, including hybrids, other recommended and local cultivars and Solanum viarum, were screened for resistance to eggplant shoot and fruit borer. Seeds were sown on 11 September 1997, and seedlings were transplanted on 5 October in a randomized complete block with four replications. Plant spacing was 75 cm between rows and 1 m between plants within rows. Fertilizer was applied at the rate of 120:60:30 kg NPK/ha.

Beginning on 8 February 1998 (and every week thereafter), observations were made on shoot and fruit damage. In

each plot, 25 plants were selected at random and the numbers of healthy and damaged shoots and fruits were counted.

On average, shoot damage ranged from 4 to 28%, and fruit damage ranged from 0 to 29% (Table 45). Of the 23 varieties screened, 13 suffered less than 15% damage to shoots and 9 suffered less than 15% damage to fruits. Classic-F1 hyb, Jeevan Green, Neelum Bunch, Goldee, Pant Rituraj, PS-1 and Solanum viarum are selected for further evaluation.

Training

Mr M N Ghimire received training on rearing technique of Trichogramma chilonis in Pakistan in 1998. As a result, the Entomology Division can now produce Trichogramma on a mass scale.

68 1999 SAVERNET II

Pakistan

Vegetable research and deveIopment

In Pakistan, vegetable crops have always been held in high esteem: they have high cash value and high nutritional quality; their production offers good employment opportunities; and they are suitable for small holdings (about 10% of the four million or so farms in the country grow vegetables).

Topographically and ecologically, Pakistan is a land of contrasts, as it extends from sea level to some of the highest mountain peaks in the world, with many different types of ecological and climatic zones in between. These diverse climatic and ecological conditions offer opportunities to grow many kinds of vegetable crops.

In 1996-97 Pakistan had an area of about 400,000 hectares under different vegetable crops (including condiments), with total production of 4.2 million t. The average yield of 10.5 t/ha is low as compared to that in agriculturally advanced countries. At present, per capita consumption of vegetables in Pakistan is quite low, at 110 g per day. The level of nutrition and the demand for a greater variety of foods are both increasing, but the vegetable production level is not increasing correspondingly.

The constraints to increased vegetable production in Pakistan include non- availability of quality seed of improved varieties, serious insect, pest and disease problems, poor weed control by farmers, and low use of fertilizers. National development programs have not given vegetables the attention they deserve, so there is no solid technical base for vegetable research and an acute shortage of scientific staff. The result is poor dissemination of production technology and slow (if any) progress in vegetable development. In addition, there has been

little development in post-harvest handling, storage and marketing systems. The constraints to major vegetables are given in Table 46.

In-country vegetable research network Research on vegetable crops is conducted by federal and provincial government institutions, including the Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC), Islamabad, the Nuclear Institute for Agriculture and Biology, Faisalabad, the Nuclear Institute for Food and Agriculture, Peshawar, and four provincial agricultural research institutions. The departments of horticulture at four agricultural universities also conduct research on vegetable crops. PARC is conducting research on several commodities (elite wheat, rice, maize, etc) through the national coordinated projects; PARC formulated a cooperative research program on vegetable crops, which started in 1981 at the federal level, and is implemented by the PARC National Agricultural Research Centre (NARC) in Islamabad, which is the major center of research on vegetable crops.

The following bodies coordinate research on vegetable crops in Pakistan, under the cooperative research program on vegetable crops.

In Punjab: Vegetable Research Institute, Ayub Agricultural Research Institute (AARI), Faisalabad In Sindh: Vegetable Research Station, Sindh Horticultural Research Institute, Mirpur Khas In North West Frontier Province (NWFP): Vegetable Research Station, Agriculture Research Institute, Mingora, Swat In Balochistan: Vegetable Section, Agriculture Research Institute, Sariab, Quetta Vegetable Section, Department of


Agriculture, Muzaffarabad (Ajad Kashmir) Karakuram Agriculture Research Institute for Northern Areas, Juglot, Gilgit, NWFP Barani Agricultural Research Institute, Chakwal, Punjab The primary objective of research is

substantial increase in vegetable production. Studies focus mainly on varietal improvement, pest/insect and disease control, yield and quality improvement, production management and tissue culture on economically important major vegetables including chili, onion, tomato, pea, carrot, cauliflower, cucumber, eggplant and melon.

technologies for various agroclimatic zones including IPM and seed production. Develop low cost technology for off-season vegetable production. Home kitchen gardening Post-harvest handling, storage and processing of vegetables. Mushroom production technology Dissemination of developed technologies through training of scientists, extension workers, master trainers, farmers and household levels.

Subnetwork I. Translating research results into farmers’ applications

Vegetable research objectives Germplasm collection, evaluation and distribution of economically


important vegetables. Varietal improvement and cultural management of tomato, chilies, onion, radish, peas, okra, etc. Develop high yielding varieties resistant to specific biotic and abiotic stresses through introduction and breeding.

different vegetables Develop late and early variety of

Develop package of production

Observation trial of tomato in farmers’ fields Tomato varieties received from SAVERNET member countries were tested at the National Agricultural Research Centre (NARC), Islamabad. In SAVERNET-11, tomato varieties selected from those trials are being evaluated in farmers’ fields, to check their adaptation on different locations and to determine farmers’ preferences.

Table 46. Important problems in major vegetables

Crop Constraints

Potato Chili

Onion

Tomato

Carrot Cauliflower Pea Cucumber Okra Fusarium wilt, yellow vein Melon Eggplant

Early and late blight, viruses Phytophthora root rot, viruses, fusarium wilt, damping off and blossom end rot Purple blotch, downy mildew, damping off, adaptability, weed infestation and short shelf life

Viruses, Fusarium wilt, late and early blight, fruit borer, poor cold and heat tolerance Early maturity and low carotene content Poor heat tolerance, sequential maturity Powdery mildew, root rot, leaf miner Cucumber mosaic virus, powdery and downy mildew

Powdery and downy mildew, fruit fly, low sucrose content Angular leaf spot and fruit borer

70 1999 SAVERNET II

Kharif 1997

Location 1: Pothwar, central Punjab Two determinate (Roma and Pusa Early Dwarf) and three indeterminate varieties (Pusa Ruby, Pant Bahar and Marglobe) were sown on 28 February 1997 and seedlings were transplanted on 10 April 1997. The trial was set out as a randomized complete block with three replications. Plot size was 4 x 3 m², and plant spacing was 75 x 50 cm. Crop management was according to recommended practices for central Punjab. Dates of first and last harvests, number of harvests and marketable yield were recorded.

All three indeterminate varieties gave 16 harvests, spaced with 3-4 days apart. The determinate varieties gave fewer harvests (only 13); the main reason was heavy rainfall during July and August.

Results are shown in Table 47. Marglobe gave the highest marketable yield: it has large round fruits and produced more fruits per plant than the other entries. Pusa Early Dwarf gave the highest total yield (data not shown) but a low marketable yield; this variety has very small fruit that are disliked by farmers and consumers.

Location 2: Khushab, Swat Valley Two determinate (Roma and Pusa Early Dwarf) and three indeterminate varieties (Pusa Ruby, Pant Bahar and Marglobe) were sown on 28 February 1997 and seedlings were transplanted on 15 April 1997. The trial was set out as a randomized complete bIock with three replications. Plot size was 4 x 3 m², and plant spacing was 75 x 50 cm. Crop management was according to recommended practices for the Swat valley area.

As the soil was not prepared satisfactorily by the farmers, initial vegetative growth of crop was slow. Later, lack of irrigation water caused

Table 47. Evaluation of elite tomato varieties in farmers’ fields, 1997 and 1998

Varieties Number Marketable of yield

harvests (kg/12 m² plot)

Location 1 (1997): first harvest 21 June, last harvest 13 August Marglobe 16 25.2 Roma 13 16.9 Pusa Early Dwarf 13 14.7 Pusa Ruby 16 13.8 Pant Bahar 16 7.0 Location 1 (1998): first harvest 9 June, last harvest 10 July Punjab Chhuhara 4 69.4 Money maker 4 44.2

Pant Bahar 3 16.9

Location 2 (1998): first harvest 24 June, last harvest 21 July Moneymaker 1 31.6 Pant Bahar 3 19.0 Pusa Ruby 5 18.6 Punjab Chhuhara 3 16.3 DS96 1 2.6 Manik -- 2.3 Riogrande 1 1.2

Pusa Ruby 3 21.0

Riogrande 1 3.5

complete crop failure, and no observations could be made.

Kharif 1998

Location 1: Pothwar, central Punjab Two determinate (Punjab Chhuhara and Riogrande) and three indeterminate varieties (Pant Bahar, Pusa Ruby and Moneymaker) were sown on 12 January 1998. Determinate varieties were transplanted on 13 April and indeterminate varieties on 23 April 1998. The trial was set out as a randomized complete block with three replications. Plot size was 4 x 3 m², and plant spacing was 75 x 50 cm. Crop management was according to recommended practices for central Punjab. Dates of first and last harvests, number of harvests and marketable yield were recorded.


Results are shown in Table 47. Punjab Chhuhara gave the highest yield, and produced the most fruits per plant. The fruits of this variety are oblong in shape, and have good storage life. Only one harvest of Riogrande could be made, after which the plants died from some unknown fungal disease.

Location 2: Khushab, Swat Valley Three determinate varieties (Punjab Chhuhara, Riogrande and DS96) and four indeterminate varieties (Pant Bahar, Pusa Ruby, Moneymaker and Manik) were sown on 12 March 1998 and seedlings were transplanted on 12 April 1998. The trial was set out as a randomized complete block with three replications. Plot size was 4 x 3 m²/ and plant spacing was 75 x 50 cm. Crop management was according to recommended practices for the Swat valley area. Dates of first and last harvests, number of harvests and marketable yield were recorded.

Results are shown in Table 47. Moneymaker gave the highest yield, followed by Pant Bahar and Pusa Ruby. Riogrande, DS96 and Manik (from Bangladesh) gave extremely poor yields. At this location, all varieties were affected by phytophthora blight.


A. Bacterial wilt resistance in tomato and eggplant

Activity 1. On-farm trial The objective of the study was to confirm and demonstrate bacterial-wilt-resistant tomato lines in farmers’ fields before releasing them to farmers.

three bacterial-wilt-resistant tomato lines - CLN65BG F2-285-0-2/-0, BL312 and CLN65-34/ D5-2-0 - together with one susceptible variety (L390) from

The entries evaluated in this trial were

Taiwan and local variety (Roma). The trial was planted at two sites-in a farmer’s field at Gojargarhi, Mardan, NWFP and on station at the National Agricultural Research Centre, Islamabad. Entries were transplanted in the first week of March 1998. In another trial at Katha Sughral Punjab, entries were transplanted in September 1997, but untimely frosts killed most of the seedlings and the trial had to be abandoned.

randomized complete block with three replications, each replication comprising 20 plants of each line; two plants of a susceptible line were planted at the end of each individual plot. Local farmers’ cultural and other practices were followed. Fertilizer was applied at 57:55:60 kg NPK/ ha as basal dose with second dose of nitrogen applied at 57 kg/ha. Plots were hand-weeded and canal irrigation was applied as required by the crop. Numbers of wilted plants were recorded 30,60 and 100 days after transplanting in order to calculate the survival rates.

The experimental design was a

Trial at NARC The soil at NARC is sandy loam with a pH of 7.3. The previous crop on the trial plots was eggplant. Biovar III of Ralstonia solanacearum is present in this area.

The percentages of plants showing resistance to bacterial wilt are shown in Table 48.

Attack by leaf miner was especially severe on BL312; fruit borer was found on all the varieties. Karatte (1 ml/liter) was sprayed at the rate of 80 liter/ha.

Trial at Gojargarhi, Mardan, NWFP The soil in this field is an alkaline calcareous type, with a pH of 7.9; the previous crop was potato. Biovar III of Ralstonia solanacearum is present in this area.


The percentages of plants showing resistance to bacterial wilt are shown in Table 49.

All varieties were attacked by fruit borer. Karatte (1 ml/liter) was sprayed at the rate of 80 liter/ha.

Activity 2. Evaluation of bacterial wilt resistance in tomato and eggplant The objective of this study was to identify stable sources of resistance to bacterial wilt in tomato and eggplant for direct release or breeding. Fifteen lines - SX7610, BL1009, CLN1466-65-40-15-0-12-0, BL989, L285, CLN1463-245-14-0-0, BL333, L180, BL986, SX7611, KWR13, BL1004, BL985, BL994 and L390 (susceptible check) - were evaluated in the field and as seedlings in a greenhouse.

Tomato: field evaluation at NARC, Islamabad

The 15 tomato lines were transplanted

into the field at the National Agricultural Research Centre, Islamabad (soil pH 7.1). The experimental design was a randomized complete block with three replications, each replication comprising 20 plants of each line with two plants of L390 (the susceptible check) planted at the end of each individual plot.

A disease nursery was developed in a separate isolated field, using an isolate of Ralstonia solanacearum Biovar III that had been previously collected and stored. The nursery was developed at the same place where work was done during SAVERNET-I. The procedure used for the development of the nursery was that followed at AVRDC.

recorded 7 and 15 days after transplanting, in order to calculate the survival rates.

bacterial wilt (Table 50). Six entries appear to have survival rates of at least 70%.

Numbers of wilted plants were

All the entries were affected by

Table 48. Bacterial wilt resistance in tomato lines at the National Agricultural Research Centre (NARC). Islamabad

Lines Survival rate (%) Yield per plant

harvest (kg) After 30 days After 60 days After 100 days from one

CLN 65BG F2-285-0-2/-0 93 85 80 0.563 CLN 65-34/D5-2-0 92 77 78 0.468 BL312 95 82 75 0.500 Roma 88 73 63 0.573 L390 80 67 47 0.337

Table 49. Bacterial wilt resistance in tomato lines in a farmer’s field at Gojargarhi, Mardan, NWFP

Lines Survival rate (%) Yield per plant

harvest (kg) After 30 days After 60 days After 100 days from one

CLN 65BG F2-285-0-21-0 97 88 82 0.558 BL312 90 83 78 0.502 CLN 65-34/D5-2-0 90 82 73 0.468 Roma 87 73 67 0.537 L390 72 63 52 0.340

*


Tomato: seedling evaluation in a greenhouse at the Crop Diseases Research Institute (CDRI), Murree Seedlings of the 15 tomato lines were transplanted into a sterilized mixture of sand, soil and humus in 3 inch pots in the greenhouse. At the seven leaf stage, the seedlings were inoculated with 30 ml of a 10 8 cell/ml culture of Ralstonia solanacearum. Numbers of wilted plants were recorded 7 and 15 days after inoculation, in order to calculate the survival rates.

Results are presented in Table 51. CLN1463-245-140-0 showed the best bacterial wilt resistance in the greenhouse, where disease severity is higher than in the field.

Eggplant Eggplant evaluation was conducted in 1999. No data were available at press time.

Activity 3. in-country training In SAVERNET-I an assessment was made

Table 50. Field evaluation of bacterial wilt resistance in tomato at the National Agricultural Research Centre (NARC), Islamabad

Lines Survival rate (%) After 7 days After 15 days

CLN1 463-245 85 75 -1 4-0-0 BL1009 83 73 BL994 82 72 CLN1466-65 85 72

BL989 82 70 L285 78 70 SX7611 80 68 SX7610 83 68 BL333 75 67 KWR 73 65 BL1004 75 65 BL986 73 63 BL985 72 62 L180 70 60 L390 67 50

-40-1 5-0-1 2-0

of the distribution and prevalence of bacterial wilt of tomato and chili in Pakistan. For the first time it was found that the disease is present in areas where solanaceous vegetables are grown.

The objectives of in-country training are to increase knowledge on bacterial wilt so that a network on the disease development can be established in Pakistan to coordinate work in different agroecological zones of Pakistan in collaboration with AVRDC.

held at the Crop Diseases Research Institute (CDRI) of the National Agricultural Research Centre (NARC), Islamabad, from 1 to 8 July 1998, for research scientists from different areas of Pakistan. The trainers were:

Dr Jaw-fen Wang, Associate Plant

Dr Julian Smith, Scientist

A training course on bacterial wilt was

Pathologist, AVRDC, Taiwan

International Mycological Institute, UK

Pathologist/Director CDRI Dr Iftikhar Ahmad, Plant

Dr Irfan-Ul-Haque, Senior

Table 51. Greenhouse evaluation of bacterial wilt resistance in tomato seedlings at the Crop Diseases Research Institute (CDRI), Murree

Lines Survival rate (%) After 7 days After 15 days

CLN1463-245 -14-0-0

SX7610 CLN1466-65

-40-1 5-0-1 2-0 BL989 L285 BL1 009 BL333 BL985 BL994 BL1004 BL986 KWR SX7611 L180 L390

80

77 77

75 75 77 72 68 77 68 67 68 70 65 60

70

67 65

65 65 63 62 60 60 58 57 57 55 53 15

74 1999 SAVERNET II

Scientific Officer, CDRI The course comprised lectures on

biology and epidemiology of bacterial wilt caused by Ralstonia solanacearum work done on bacterial wilt in Pakistan control of bacterial wilt resistance to bacterial wilt in tomato and the AVRDC breeding program and laboratory work on

from diseased plants and soil samples purification and storage for future use strain collection, increase of inoculum and pathogenicity test selection of most virulent isolates to be used in resistance screening inoculation techniques for evaluating resistance to RaIstonia solanacearum.

isolation of Ralstonia solanacearum

as well as field visits to vegetable growing areas at Swat, NWFP, and to Murree hill station to see the CDRI greenhouse facility used for screening for bacterial wilt resistance.

As a result of the training, linkages are being developed in different parts of the country so that materials from AVRDC can be screened in different agroecological zones. These trainees can also work on applied research on validation of different management strategies such as biological control, use of biopesticides, cultural practices and on-farm trails of selected material.

Participants 1. Mr Jehangir Khan, Research

Officer, NWFP Agricultural Research Station, Mingora, Swat

2. Dr Fateh-Ullah Khan, Plant Pathologist, NWFP Agricultural Research institute, Dera Ismail Khan

3. Mr Abdul Hafeez, Research Officer, Directorate of Agriculture, AJK, Muzaffarabad

4. Mr Imtiaz Ahmad, Assistant Plant Pathologist, Ayub Agricultural Research Institute, Faisalabad

5. Mr Matloob Hussain, Assistant Fruit and Vegetable Specialist, Directorate of Agriculture AJK, Muzaffarabad

6 . Mr Ahmad Ali Hakro, SSO, CDRI Substation, Karachi

7. Mrs Nasreen Sultana, SO, CDRI Substation, Karachi.

8. Miss Shahida Parveen, PhD student, Quad-i-Azam University, Islamabad.

9. Mr Roshan Zada, SO, CDRI, Islamabad.

10. Mr Hidayat Ullah, SO, Vegetable Programme, NARC, Islamabad.

Activity 4. Integrated disease management of tomato bacterial wilt in tomato The objective of this activity is to identify cultural control methods or to test an integrated package for tomato bacterial wilt. Work on this activity started late, and is still in progress.

B. Leaf curl and other virus resistance in tomato and chili

Activity 1. Isolation and maintenance of tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV) in the screen house

Maintenance of whiteflies and leaf curl virus

(Bemisia tabaci Gennadius). Whiteflies used in this study originated from cotton in Multan. They were maintained at NARC, Islamabad, on cotton plants, and then transferred to potted tomato plants to adapt to this new crop. Whiteflies were regularly transferred to new tomato

TYLCV is transmitted by whitefly


plants in order always to have a fresh whitefly population. The tomato plants were kept in transparent perspex cages in a temperature controlled (28-35°C) room with artificial light to provide a 14- hour photoperiod.

TYLCV-infected tomato plants were increased via stem culture. Non- viruliferous whiteflies, reared on healthy tomato plants, were released on these TYLCV-infected plants to obtain a high population of viruliferous whiteflies for use in screening.

The virus source was obtained from naturally infected tomato plants, showing typical TYLCV symptoms, collected from Katha Sugral, Punjab, an area highly infected with TYLCV. The presence of virus was confirmed by triple antibody sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (TAS-ELISA), using polyclonal antiserum to African cassava mosaic virus (ACMV) and monoclonal antibodies (SCRI-60) prepared against Indian cassava mosaic virus (ICMV). The absence of other contaminating viruses (such as TMV, CMV, ChiVMV, PVX and PVY) was checked by ELISA using the appropriate antisera.

Activity 2. Screening of Lycopersicon accessions for TYLCV resistance in the screen house Six tomato lines (ATY1, ATY5, ATY7, ATY10, ATY13 and ATY14) were screened for TYLCV resistance. Seedlings were screened at the 3-4 leaf stage in the greenhouse by surrounding plants with TYLCV source plants infested with viruliferous whiteflies. The source plants were shaken twice a day to give the whiteflies a chance to move to the healthy tomato seedlings. The plants were observed visually for symptom appearance for eight weeks after exposure to the whiteflies. Samples of plants with and without symptoms were tested by ELISA using the ACMV and

ICMV antibodies mentioned above and/ or by nucleic acid hybridization (NAH) using the Ban-1 probe prepared from a TYLCV from south India (Bangalore).

Screening results are shown in Table 52. Only ATY1 ( L . esculentum, H24) and ATY10 (L. peruvianum, VL215-6-2) were not infected by TYLCV; although they showed very mild symptoms after eight weeks, ELISA and NAH tests were negative, even four months after exposure to whiteflies.

Activity 3. Alternative hosts (i.e., pepper) of TYLCV Seven pepper lines (PBC164, PBC176, PBC346, PBC439, PBC491, PBC575 and PBC576) were used in this study. Seedlings were screened at the 3-4 leaf stage in the greenhouse by surrounding plants with TYLCV source plants infested with viruliferous whiteflies. The source plants were shaken twice a day to give the whiteflies a chance to move to the pepper seedlings. The plants were observed visually for symptom appearance for eight weeks after exposure to the whiteflies. Samples of plants with and without symptoms were tested by nucleic acid hybridization (NAH) using the Ban-1 probe, and/or by ELISA using the ACMV and ICMV antibodies mentioned above.

to appear as early as seven days after exposure to the whiteflies. All lines were susceptible, with severe curling, slight vein thickening, except PBC491 which showed only moderate symptoms and a low percentage of infected plants three weeks after exposure (Table 53).

TYLCV that infects tomato in Pakistan can also infect peppers.

Activity 4. Isolation of cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) and chili veinal mottle virus (ChiVMV)

Isolation and maintenance of ChiVMV

In most pepper lines symptoms started

It is evident from these results that the

..t

76 1999 SAVERNET II

Surveys were conducted in farmers’ fields in chili-growing areas of Punjab, Sindh and NWFP. Leaves were collected from plants showing mottling, mosaic, deformation, necrosis, leaf narrowing and leaf deformation. The samples were tested by ELISA for the presence of CMV, ChiVMV PVY and TMV using commercially available ELISA kits. Samples positive only for ChiVMV were selected and inoculated on selected test plants as suggested by AVRDC, to obtain a pure

ChiVMV isolate which was cv Samsun NN before being used for inoculation

Inoculum preparation and inoculation were as described in the handout provided by AVRDC, with the exception that K-phosphate buffer was used instead of Na-phosphate buffer.

Eleven Capsicum spp lines, resistant to the Taiwan isolate of ChiVMV, were screened by mechanical inoculation. The presence of ChiVMV was confirmed by ELISA.

Table 52. Response of tomato lines exposed to whiteflies carrying tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV) Lineª replication Number of Number of plants Type of ELISA/NAH

plants with symptoms symptoms result exposed eight weeks after

to exposure to whiteflies viruliferous

whiteflies

ATY 1 R1 16 All plants appeared to have very mild symptoms, which may be the characteristic of line

R2 16 ATY5 R1 16 16 Severe curling +

R2 14 11 Severe curling + ATY7 R1 04 4 Moderate curling and mild vein thickening +

R2 00 ATY1 0 R1 16 Very mild symptoms

R2 00 ATY13 R1 16 16 Severe curling and vein thickening +

R2 05 5 Severe curling and vein thickening + ATY 14

R1 16 15 Moderate curling and vein thickening + R2 04 4 Moderate curling and vein thickening +

ª ATY1: L. esculentum, H24; ATY5: L. esculentum, Fiona F1; ATY7: L. esculentum, Ty52; ATY10: L. peruvianum, VL215-6-2; ATY13: L. esculentum, TK70, susceptible check; ATY14: L. esculentum, FL744-6-9

Table 53. Response of pepper lines as alternative hosts of TYLCV inoculated through whiteflies during May 1998

ELISA/NAH Line Number. of % of plants with symptoms Type of plants exposed three weeks after exposure to symptoms result

to whitefly viruliferous whiteflies

PBC164 6 66 Severe curling + PBC176 20 100 Severe curling + PBC346 17 94 Severe curling + PBC439 18 89 Severe curling + PBC491 18 22 (67)” Moderate curling + PBC575 20 100 Severe curling + PBC576 20 100 Severe curling +

ª Figure in parentheses is the disease incidence eight weeks after exposure

.


Most lines were resistant (no plants testing positive by ELISA) or segregating for resistance (Table 54). The resistant plants remained resistant after being topped and re-inoculated. This means that resistance to the ChiVMV strain common in Pakistan is available in the AVRDC germplasm. However, the occurrence of other strains should be verified


Helicoverpa

Activity 1. Nuclear polyhedrosis virus (NPV) testing Nuclear polyhedrosis virus (NPV) is a microbial pesticide which could offer a safe means to control HeIicoverpa armigera.

An experiment was set up at the National Agricultural Research Centre (NARC), Islamabad, during February 1998. A nursery was transplanted on 27 March 1998 on a 6 x 15 m plot, according to the procedure established by AVRDC. The plot was divided into two areas. On one area NPV spraying began on 29 April

1998 and continued at weekly intervals until maturity of the crop. The other area was left as a control (no spraying). Both areas were regularly surveyed for insect attack.

Of fruits harvested from the plot sprayed with NPV, 18.4% were damaged, compared with 23.1 % from the control plot. The small difference between these results indicates that effective control is not possible with NPV alone; other techniques should also be included for effective control of this pest.

Activity 2. Survey of natural enemies

Trichogramma testing Trichogramma adults were released at the rate of 1000 per week on each of six tomato plots (4 x 5 m) at Multan. Six similar plots were used as a control: these were treated on the same days when the Trichogramma were released.

Infestation of tomato fruitworm in the Trichogramma treated plots varied from 7. 2 to 11.0% (mean 9.0%) compared with 8. 7-11.0% (mean 10.0%) in the control plots.

The harvest was 106 marketable fruits per week from the Trichogramma treated

Table 54. Reaction of pepper lines against chili veinal mottle virus (ChiVMV) E l

Variety Pedigree Number of Number of % of plants ELISA plants plants positive reactiona

inoculated tested

CV1 VC16a 24 22 0 CV2 VC58a 29 24 0 CV3 VC1609-1 30 24 0 CV5 VC237-1-1 28 21 5 +++ CV6 VC240-1-1 27 22 14 +++ CV7 VC241-1-1 32 22 0 CV8 PBC491 22 20 85 +++

c v 1 0 PBC524-1-1 29 24 17 +++ CV11 PBC549 35 22 0 CV12 PBC569 29 22 0 CV21 VC235-5 30 23 22 +++

(susceptible check)

ª ELlSA reaction: - = no reaction; +++ = very strong reaction, OD,, > 2

78 1999 SAVERNET II

Table 55. Effect of set size on bulb weight and yield in onion

Set size Average bulb Average bulb Average bulb (mm diameter) weight diameter yield

6-1 0 69.2 5.9 36.1 10-14 102.7 6.2 50.0 14-18 131.9 6.5 66.7

(g) (mm) (t/ha)

plots compared with 103 fruits from the control plots.


Activity 1. On-farm trial for off- season vegetable production

Tomato Moneymaker, Pusa Ruby and Pant Bahar were evaluated under plastic tunnels at NARC, Islamabad. Seeds were sown on 15 September 1997 and seedlings were transplanted on 15 October in 1.5 x 3.0 m (4.5 m²) plots; plant spacing was 75 cm between rows and 50 cm between plants within rows. Harvesting began on 13 February 1998 and the fourth and last harvest was on 7 March.

marketable yield, at 9.1 t/ha: Pant Bahar gave 4.2 t/ ha and Pusa Ruby 3.6 t/ ha. Seeds of all three varieties was multiplied for future use in on-farm trials and demonstration on growing off-season tomatoes under plastic tunnels in Pothohar areas.

Moneymaker gave the highest

Off-season onion production from sets An experiment to study the effect of onion set size on onion bulb yield was conducted at NARC, Islamabad, during

1998. In a randomized complete block with four replications, three sizes of sets - 6-10,10-14 and 14-18 mm diameter - of the cultivar Phulkara were planted in the field on 28 August 1998. Each treatment consisted of two rows, each 20 m long and 30 cm apart; within the rows the sets were planted 10 cm apart. The crop was irrigated immediately after planting and every 10 days thereafter. Plants were sprayed with vitigran blue (2 g/liter of water) twice at two-week interval as a preventive measure against fungal diseases. Bulb weight, bulb diameter and total bulb yield were recorded.

Results are presented in Table 55. Average bulb weight increased linearly with increasing set size, and both bulb diameter and bulb yield increased with increasing set size. These results confirm previous findings reported in the literature.

produced successfully from sets in the off-season. Large sets are recommended because they produce larger bulbs than smaller sets.

Activity 2. Training for off-season vegetable production Dr M. H. Bhatti, Coordinator, Vegetable Program, underwent training on off- season vegetable production at AVRDC, Taiwan, from 6 September to 2 October 1998.

The study has shown that onion can be


Sri Lanka

Vegetable research and develop men t

Sri Lanka has a total land area of 6.56 million ha and is divided into three main climatic zones - dry, wet and intermediate (Figure 4). Wide variations in precipitation rates, topography and soil types in Sri Lanka make it possible to grow a wide range of both temperate and tropical vegetables. Table 56 shows some of the more important vegetables grown in Sri Lanka. Nutritionists recommend the average per capita availability of vegetables per day to be 200 g. There is a wide gap between the recommended (200 g) quantity of vegetables and their availability in Sri Lanka (156 g). However, this figure does not reflect the true situation, because growing vegetables in home gardens is a common feature in the villages. In Sri Lanka, there is a total extent of 60,000 hectares under vegetable cultivation and annual

production is estimated to be 450,000 t. Constraints encountered in vegetable

cultivation in Sri Lanka are lack of improved varieties, poor pest and disease management strategies, heavy post harvest losses and seasonality of vegetable production. The Department of Agriculture is developing technologies to overcome the above constraints. The various activities undertaken by the Department of Agriculture in this regard, are research, extension, seed production, seed certification and quarantine measures.

Subnetwork 1: Translating research into farmers’ applications


The objective of this activity is to test the adaptability and farmer acceptability of promising varieties that came from the early investigations. The crops investigated were tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) and bulb onion (Allium cepa).

Table 56. Area, productivity and production of different vegetable crops in Sri Lanka

Crop Area (ha) Productivity (t/ha) Production (t)

Tomato 6,729 6.22 42,470 Capsicum 2,812 3.42 10,381 Bean 7,109 4.25 28,939 Okra 7,066 5.08 37,330 Eggplant 9, 51 7 6.76 68,164 Pumpkin 6,374 8.68 60,990 Bitter gourd 3,597 5.79 20,449 Snake gourd 2,615 7.42 19,412 Cucumber 2,196 8.28 18,002 Ash gourd 826 7.29 6,442 Cabbage 3,246 10.49 40,126 Carrot 2,170 12.75 24,374 Radish 2,241 8.62 19,830 Knool khol 1,425 8.53 12,063 Beetroot 1,487 9.01 13,301 Leek 1,139 14.77 15,227 Total 60,549 437,500 Source: Department of Census and Statistics

1999 SAVERNET I I 80

Monthly histogram KEY at

for AGRO 76% rainfall probability

REGIONS respective region Zone boundary Agro ecological boundary

.

Fig. 4. Agroecological map of Sri Lanka

*


Tomato

Three elite varieties of tomato - BL355 (AVRDC), CLN65 (AVRDC) and Manik (Bangladesh) -and a local check, T245, were tested in an unreplicated trial in six farmer locations in two districts (Matale and Kandy) of the mid-country wet zone. Plot size was 8 x 5 m, and plant spacing was 50 x 80 cm, giving 100 plants per plot: the harvested area within each plot was 6.4 x 4 m. At Matale seeds were sown on 18 March 1998 and seedlings were transplanted on 6 April: there were eight harvests, the first on 10 June. At Kandy seeds were sown on 29 March 1998 and seedlings were transplanted on 21 April: there were five harvests, the first on 27 June. Across all six farms, BL355 gave the highest average yield of 14.08 t/ha (Table 57); this was significantly higher than the yields of the other two elite varieties, but was not better than the local check. The same

pattern was seen within each district. Yields at Matale appeared to be higher than those at Kandy, but the district means for each variety could not be compared statistically with each other.

Regional Agricultural Research and Development Centre (RARDC), Bandarawela, in the upcountry dry zone. The same varieties, plus Ratan (Bangladesh), were tested in six farmer locations. Plot size was 3 x 5 m, and plant spacing was 75 x 50 cm: the harvested area within each plot was 4.5 m². Seeds were sown on 30 December 1997 and seedlings were transplanted on 23 January 1998. BL355, CLN65 and T245 gave similar yields (Table 58). CLN65 produced fruits with preferable characters.

From the results obtained from both trials, variety BL355 can be tentatively recommended to the farmers in these regions. Variety CLN65 can also be

A second study was carried out at the

Table 57. Average fruit yield (t/ha) of four varieties of tomato in two districts of Sri Lanka, 1998

Location BL355 CLN65 MANIK T245 Location (local check) mean

Matale Pamunuwa Aluthgama Walawela District mean Kandy Ali kewela Thalathuoya Marassana District mean Overall varietal mean

20.50 17.20 19.20 19.00a

8.20 16.20 3.20 9.20a

14.008a

16.50 10.20 8.20

11.60b

5.50 3.50 1.80 3.60b 7.61 b

9.75 6.00

10.00 8.60b

3.00 2.00 2.30 2.40b 5.51 b

19.00 16.44 19.00 13.10 17.40 13.70 18.50a

12.30 7.25 10.20 7.98 5.60 3.22 9.40a

13.91 a Within a row, means followed by the same letter do not differ significantly at P<0.05 (by Duncan's Multiple Range Test)

Table 58. Yield performance and fruit characteristics of varieties of tomato in the upcountry dry zone of Sri Lanka. 1998

Variety Total yield Fruit shape Fruit color Fruit firmness (t/ha)

CLN65 31.56 Round Red to orange Good BL355 34.48 Round elongated Red Medium Ratan 19.85 Round Yellow to red Good T245 (local check) 33.48 Round Orange Good

82 1999 SAVERNET II

recommended for farmers in the upcountry region. However, to release these varieties officially, further investigations are imperative.

Bulb onion (Allium cepa) Bulb onion is a cash crop grown by farmers in the dry zone of Sri Lanka. Six varieties - Pusa Red (India), Pusa Madhavi (India), Arka Niketan (India), Rampure (local), Dambulla Red (local) and Kalpitiya (local) -were tested in a randomized complete block with two replications in 14 farmer locations in the dry zone during 1998. Plot size was 1 x 2 m, and plant spacing was 10 x 10 cm, giving 200 plants per plot: the harvested area within each plot was 1 x 2 m. Seeds were sown in the fourth week of May 1998, and seedlings were transplanted in the first week of July. Harvesting was from the fourth week of September to the first week of October. Pusa Red and Pusa Madhavi were found to be not adaptable to local conditions; they were completely destroyed by anthracnose (Colletotrichum gloeosporioides) in some locations. Arka Niketan did not germinate, so no data could be collected. The three local varieties gave the highest yields (Table 59), but further studies are needed.

Subnetwork 2: Integrated disease and pest management

Bacterial wilt resistance in tomato and eggplant

Activity 1. On farm trial On-farm trials to test bacterial wilt (BW) resistance in tomato were carried out in two regions - Kandy (mid-country) and Bandarawela (upcountry). Different varieties were tested in each region. In Kandy, varieties BL333 (AVRDC), BL312 (AVRDC), BL315 (AVRDC) and Heat Master (imported hybrid) were tested. All were found to be resistant to BW, and so can be used as genetic material in breeding programs. However, farmers preferred Heat Master its fruit suffer less damage in transport (probably because of their thick pericarp). In Bandarawela,

(AVRDC), BL312 (AVRDC), Ratan (Bangladesh) and Marglobe (local check) are being tested.

Activity 2. Evaluation of bacterial wilt resistance in tomato and eggplant Evaluation of bacterial wilt resistance in tomato and eggplant was carried out at the Horticulture Crop Research and Development Institute (HORDI),

CLN65-349-D5-2-0 (AVRDC), BL162

Table 59. Yields (t/ha) of five varieties of bulb onion at 14 locations in Sri Lanka, 1998

Location Pusa Red Pusa Madhavi Rampure Dambulla Kalpitiya . -

1 9.60 22.50 27.00 23.70 13.80 2 21.00 17.10 25.50 18.00 20.40 3 0.00 0.00 18.00 20.40 25.50 4 0.00 0.00 22.50 34.50 31.50 5 6.60 3.60 9.90 14.70 6.90 6 6.30 3.30 9.90 11.40 7.20 7 16.80 7.20 9.80 17.40 10.50 8 15.00 0.00 14.90 17.70 15.00 9 14.10 0.00 27.30 28.80 18.60

10 9.60 6.60 25.50 19.50 13.80 11 6.60 3.60 10.50 14.70 6.90 12 6.60 3.60 10.20 1 1.40 8.10 13 20.70 17.10 25.50 19.50 20.40 14 9.60 22.80 27.00 23.70 13.20

Mean 10.18 7.67 18.82 19.67 15.12


Gannoruwa, and at RARDC Bandarawela on germplasm received from AVRDC using stem and root inoculation for potted plants, and field screening in a heavily infested field

Tomato In HORDI trials of stem and root inoculations, bacterial wilt affected plants were not found in tomato varieties BL985, BL986, BL1004 and KWR (local check) (Table 60). In field evaluations, BL985 and BL1004 showed very low bacterial wilt incidence (see Table 60). These results indicate that these varieties are highly tolerant to bacterial wilt.

In studies carried out at the upcountry research station at Bandarawela, BW intensity was higher after artificial inoculation than after natural infection. However, in the field infection, varieties BL994, SX7610, BL1004, BL1009 and L180 exhibited a considerable degree of tolerance to the disease (Table 61).

Eggplant Of the eggplant varieties tested at HORDI, five (TS3, TS90, Akra Nidhi, Surya, SM6-6) recorded less than 3% wilt in field screening (Table 62). Field evaluations have to be repeated for confirmation of these results. By stem and root inoculation, only three entries had wilt-infected plants: Pusa Purple Long (100% stem; 85.7% root), Black Beauty (71.3% stem; 28.3% root) and Bonne (75.0% stem; 38.5% root); all other entries showed no infection.

Most of the eggplant varieties tested at Bandarawela were susceptible to bacterial wilt (Table 63). Only TS3, TS47A and TS69 were resistant (less than 3% wilt) in the field trials and showed less than 8% by the artificial inoculation method.

Activity 3. Training A training program was carried out at HORDI, Gannoruwa, on 23-24 June 1998.

Table 60. Reactions of tomato germplasm to bacterial wilt under greenhouse and field conditions at the Horticulture Crop Research and Development Institute (HORDI), Gannoruwa, Sri Lanka

Greenhouse Variety Origin % of plants showing disease Field

inoculation inoculation showing disease Stem Root % of plants Yield (t/ha)

BL985 AVRDC 0.0 0.0 3.3 9.2 BL986 AVRDC 0.0 0.0 BL989 AVRDC 100.0 70.0 (susceptible check) BL994 AVRDC 70.0 50.0 BL1004 AVRDC 0.0 0.0 BL1 009 AVRDC 62.5 12.5 SX7610 AVRDC SX7611 AVRDC 70.0 55.5 CLN1463 AVRDC 30.0 50.0 L180 AVRDC L285 AVRDC L390 (check) AVRDC KWR Local 100.0 0.0 (resistant check) Marglobe Local (susceptible check) T245 (check) Local 100.0

8.3

5.0 3.3 0.6 0.6 0.6

100.0

12.5

15.2 11.2 8.8

10.0 5.3 0.0

84 1999 SAVERNET II

Table 61. Percentage wilt incidence in tomato varieties/lines tested under natural infection and artificial inoculation at the Regional Agricultural Research and Development Centre (RARDC), Bandarawela, Sri Lanka

Wilt incidence (%) Variety Natural Artificial

infection inoculation

SX7610 SX7611 BL1004 L360 L285 BL989 BL985 BL994 BL1009 CLN1463 BL986 L180 KWR (resistant check) T89

3.3 10.0

1.6 100.0

8.3 6.6 6.6 0.0 3.3 5.0 6.6 1.6 0.0

48.3

20.0 30.0 8.5

97.0 20.0 25.0 15.0 0.5 8.5

10.0 30.0 8.0 0.0

80.0

Seven scientists from Regional Research Stations participated. Dr J F Wang from AVRDC, Dr I J de Zoysa from HORDI and Dr D B Kelaniyangoda from RARDC Bandarawela worked as resource persons. In addition to lectures, the training included laboratory demonstrations on isolation and identification of pathogens, inoculation of plants and field visits.

Leaf curl and other virus resistance in tomato and chili

Activity 1. Screening of Lycopersicon accessions for TYLCV resistance in the screen house Screening of tomato lines for tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV) resistance will commence soon. Thirty lines received from AVRDC will be screened against TYLCV through vector transmission. Screenhouses have been

Table 62. Percentage wilt incidence in eggplant varieties tested under natural and artificial inoculation at the Horticulture Crop Research and Development Institute (HORDI), Gannoruwa, Sri Lanka

Wilt incidence in the Varieties field by natural

infection (%)

TS3 MTE2 TS47A Terong Hyau (check) Jackpot Gelatik TS75 Galatic TS90 Slim Jim

Arka Keshav Akra Shirish Akra Nidhi BB49 Surya BB44 Pusa Purple Long Black beauty Bonne

SM6-6

0.0 5.0 3.3

13.3 15.0 6.7 3.3 5.0 0.0

10.0 1.7

10.0 5.0 0.0 6.7 1.7 6.7

85.0 91.7

100.0

constructed and sufficient whiteflies are available.

Activity 2. Screening of peppers for leaf curl virus resistance Chili samples showing leaf-curl-virus- like symptoms were collected from the field and a geminivirus was identified by DNA hybridization at AVRDC. Chili plants positive for the virus are being maintained by grafting.

Activity 3. Isolation of cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) and chili veinal mottle virus (ChiVMV) Plants exhibiting CMV and ChiVMV symptoms are being collected at FCRDI. Two sets of samples were sent to AVRDC for identification. Three samples were positive for the cucumber mosaic virus (CMV), and another was positive for


tomato mosaic virus (ToMV) and pepper mild mottle virus (PMMV).

Screening of AVRDC tomato lines for CMV was carried at HORDI during 1998. Eight tomato lines received from AVRDC were inoculated with a CMV isolate collected from tomato in Matale district and were confirmed by host- range studies and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Five lines were susceptible and three were symptomless (Table 64). The three symptomless lines were tested by ELISA; in two (VL262-6-12-1-1 and CLN1494- B1F1) ELISA confirmed the presence of CMV.

Table 63. Percentage wilt incidence in eggplant varieties tested under natural and artificial inoculation at the Regional Agricultural Research and Development Centre (RARDC), Bandarawela, Sri Lanka

Varieties Wilt incidence (%) /lines Natural Artificial

infection infection

TS3 2.08 8.0 TS7 16.20 12.0 TS47A 0.00 5.0 TS56B 9.90 5.5 TS64 15.90 33.0 TS69 0.00 5.0 TS75 26.50 12.0 TS87 16.30 22.5 TS90 13.10 10.0 EG014 53.70 23.0 EG190 12.20 23.5 EG191 14.60 22.0 EG192 19.90 12.5 EG193 17.20 12.5 EG195 33.00 25.0 EG203 24.40 20.0 EG064 91.00 100.0 EG219 8.30 8.5 EG120 91.60 100.0 EG048 70.90 100.0 BW1 1 6.67 8.3 Lenairri 23.80 20.0

Table 64. AVRDC tomato lines and symptoms exhibited after inoculation with cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) collected from Matale, Sri Lanka, 1998

Tomato line Symptoms by visual % CMV infection

observation

CLN1499-F1 CLN1 499-B1F1 CLN1507-F1 CLN1 507-B1F1

CLN1501-B1F1 C LN 1 494-F , CLN1494-B1F1 VL262-6- 1 2- 1 - 1

Small leaves Small leaves No symptoms Severe mosaic and leaf distortion Mild mottle No symptoms Mild mosaic No svmptoms

11.11 91.76 0.00

23.08

58.33 0.00

42.86 0.00

Integrated pest management (IPM) of eggplant fruit and shoot borer and tomato fruitworm

Eggplant fruit and shoot borer

Activity 1. Physical barrier An experiment was conducted at RARDC, Bandarawela, to control eggplant fruit and shoot borer (Leucinodes orbondis) by placing a physical barrier of 2 m high wire mesh around the crop. The barrier had no significant effect on pest infestation. Even though L. orbonalis is a weak flier, it may be able to fly over the wire mesh. The topography of the land was also a problem in this experiment, as moths flying from higher elevation could land on the plot without hindrance. This method may therefore only be suitable for low country locations.

Activity 2. Destruction of infested shoots (mechanical control) In an experiment conducted at RARC, Bandarawela, it was observed that eggplant fruit and shoot borer damage could be reduced by a moderate level (5-10%) by removing infested shoots and fruits at regular intervals. However, it has not given a significant level of difference as a sole control method. This


Table 65. Tomato production with and without protective cover in two farmers’ fields in Bandarawela, 1997-98

Cultural practice/ Location 1, Mahaulpotha Location 2, Pittapola observations With cover Without cover With cover Without cover

Number of fungicide applications Number of insecticide applications Number of plants harvested Date of first harvest

Date of last harvest Number of harvests Total yield (kg) Marketable yield (kg) Total number of fruits Marketable number of fruits

9 13 4 2

102 20 December 1997 23 March 1998

18 160.2 159.5

4223 4200

- indicates that nothing could be harvested

method could be an important component in a IPM program in small fields and home gardens.

Activity 3. Host plant resistance Host plant resistance studies identified that Solanum viarum as highly resistant to Leucinodes orbonalis as well as other sucking pests such as white flies, aphids and thrips.

Activity 4. Nuclear polyhedrosis virus (NPV) testing In tomato nuclear polyhedrosis virus (NPV) studies conducted in 1998, owing to low infestation of the pest, no conclusions were drawn on the efficacy of NPV in the control of tomato fruitworm.

Activity 5. Survey of natural enemies A survey conducted on tomato fruitworm, high level of larval predation was recorded, while no parasitism was observed either in farmer fields as well as in research station sites.

8 26 5 7

102 84 22 December 30 December 1997 1997 9 March 1998 2 March 1998

23 17 205.1 82.6 204.0 69.5

3880 2388 3858 1918

Off season vegetable production

Activity 1. On-farm trial for off- season vegetable production Studies on tomato cultivation under polytunnels were carried out during the off-season in farmers’ fields in Bandarawela. (Another trial in Matale began only in November 1998, and results are not yet available.) In 5 x 10 m plots, 102 plants of variety T245 were planted with a spacing of 75 x 50 cm on 7 October 1997 at Mahaulpotha and on 10 October 1997 at Pittapola. Cultural practices, harvesting data and yields are shown in Table 65. Higher yield and better quality fruits were obtained from the protected plots than from the open field. At one location, the open field crop failed, but the protected plot yielded 160 kg. A cost analysis indicated that net income from protected cultivation was about 40% higher than from open field cultivation. The success of tomato under polytunnels is due to protection from heavy rain, especially during peak flowering period.

.


Minutes of SAVERNET-II Steering committee/national coordinators meeting

Date February 5-6,1999

Venue

Chandler Hall, DG's Conference Room

Members

Dr. M.M. Rashid, Director General/ BARI, Bangladesh Dr. Monowar Hossain, Chief Sci. Officer, Olericulture/ BARI, Bangladesh Mr. Pirthiman Pradhan, Director/ RNRRC-East, Bhutan Dr. S. P. Ghosh, Deputy Director General (Hort.)/ ICAR, India Dr. B. S. Dhankar, Asst. Director General (VC-Hort.)/ ICAR, India Dr. Sundar K. Shrestha, Chief Plant Pathologist/ NARC, Nepal Dr. Ali Asghar Hashmi, Director/ NARC, Pakistan Dr. M.H. Bhatti, Coordinator, Veg. Crops Res. Program/ NARC, Pakistan Mr. Asoka Palamakumbura, Res. Officer, Veg. Res. Div./ HCRDI, Sri Lanka Dr. Dimyati Nangju, Asian Development Bank Dr. S.C.S. Tsou, Director General/ AVRDC Dr. G.C. Kuo, Director, Program 3/ AVRDC Dr. D.P. Singh, Resident Scientist/ AVRDC-USAID-Bangladesh Project Dr. S. Shanmugasundaram, SAVERNET Coordinator

Agenda

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Election of Chairman and Vice-chairman Major issues arising from implementation of the project Financial statement related issues Tentative dates and location for the final workshop Time and agenda for the next meeting Other matters

Election of Chairman and Vice-chairman

The network coordinator, S. Shanmugasundaram (Sundar) informed all the members that the Chairman, Dr. Sarath Amarasiri from Sri Lanka retired as of 31 December 1998. The Vice-chairman, Mrs. Krishna Shrestha went on sabbatical leave for a year and therefore,

88 1999 SAVERNET II

she has been replaced by Dr. Sundar K. Shrestha and the national coordinator for Nepal. Therefore, the first order of business will be to elect a Chairman and Vice Chairman so that we can continue the business meeting.

Resolution 99-1: The meeting elected Dr. S.P. Ghosh as the Chairman and Dr. M.H. Bhatti as the Vice Chairman.

Financial issues

It was pointed out that SAVERNET-I1 commenced with a proposed work plan developed in May 1997. SAVERNET-I1 will officially end in April 2000. The Chairman recognized that a number of financial, institutional, technical issues have hampered proper implementation of the project activities. The Chairman alerted the members and requested them to try to come up with resolutions to resolve the issues to successfully implement the project. The issues that need to be addressed include the timely liquidation of funds from each country and prompt submission of half yearly financial and technical reports to AVRDC so that half yearly reports can be submitted to the Bank. Secondly, identify ways and means to overcome the shortage of seeds and management of seasonal factors and other factors that hamper the successful implementation of the project. Therefore, the Chairman requested the members to review the situation and issues carefully and come up with concrete proposals with necessary minor modifications in the work plan and the time needed to successfully implement the revised plan.

All the countries mentioned that due to frequent change in the personnel, both administrative and technical, the fund utilization and the implementation of the proposed work plan suffered. However, at present the institutional set up and the personnel situation has stabilized satisfactorily and all the countries are committed to implement the project as per the proposed plan

Resolution 99-2: The members resolved that all the countries should send their financial liquidation statement (Original) for the period ending 31st December 1998 by March 1,1999. Since Bhutan has a special situation, Bhutan should send its liquidation statement by March 31,1999. All the countries should send their financial liquidation statements and technical progress reports to AVRDC once every six months so that AVRDC can send the same to the Bank every six months.

Designation of steering committee members/national coordinators

In almost all the countries, either the steering committee member or the national coordinator or both have changed. Such changes caused delay in coordination, fund transfer, and project management and implementation. It is necessary to have a mechanism to buffer or minimize the problems that arise due to such changes. Based on the memorandum of agreement, signed by all the six South Asian countries, which established the SAVERNET, each country is expected to designate a steering committee member and a national coordinator. The Chairman pointed out that it will be better if each country can identify a member by designation from a specific institution so that whoever occupies that position


can automatically become the member. For example, in India the Deputy Director General (Horticulture) and the Assistant Director General (Horticulture at the Indian Council of Agriculture (ICAR) has been designated as the steering committee member and national coordinator, respectively. Similarly, in Bangladesh the Director General of Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute and Chief Scientific Officer of the Olericulture Division have been designated as the steering committee member and national coordinator, respectively. For those countries where there is no such arrangement, the Chairman requested the current members to see that such an arrangement is made by discussing with the senior administrative official so that there is continuity in the membership of the committee. All the countries agreed to that suggestion.

Resolution 99-3 To ensure membership continuity each country is requested to identify candidates by designation of their position for the steering committee and the national coordinator, respectively. For countries without this type of arrangement, they should inform the network coordinator the designation and the institutional affiliation no later than April 30,1999.

The Director General of Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute retired on May 1999. Similarly the Director General of the Department of Agriculture in Sri Lanka will also retire soon. However, in those two countries, the next Director General will automatically become the steering committee member and therefore, there should be no problem.

Technical issues

For subnetwork-I, seed availability in sufficient quantity at the appropriate time limited the proper implementation of the project. The Chairman also brought to the attention of the members that for the on-farm trials, the plot size and the number of locations have deviated from the proposed plan and he suggested that all the members should agree upon a uniform plot size for plains and for the hills.

Resolution 99-4. It was resolved that for the on-farm trial the plot size will be 100 sq.m. for the plains and 50 sq.m. for the hills per entry. The number of locations should be at least two and the number of farmers in each location should be at least three. Num- ber of locations can be increased. In such cases, the number of farmers per location may be decreased. In addition to improved cultivars identified during Phase 1, the appropriate local check should be included in on-farm trials.

Environmental and management factors

Based on the presentations of the progress from each country and discussions thereafter the Chairman mentioned that each country should carefully review and agree upon the choice of cultivars to be tested between now and the end of the project. The country representatives should also make sure that they have sufficient quantity of seeds available to conduct the trials. He emphasized that each country should take the responsibility to multiply the required quantity of seeds by themselves instead of making a request every time from

90 1999 SAVERNET II

another country or AVRDC. The personnel changes and crop failures and changes in the institutional infrastructures have forced some of the countries to make the request for the seeds again. In such inevitable circumstances the donor country be sympathetic and comply with the request so that everyone can smoothly implement the project and benefit from this mutual cooperation. The Chairman also suggested that it will be good if each country can record for each location, the major cultural practices used by the farmers. It will be also valuable to record the exceptional situations like floods, cyclones, droughts, severe diseases or insect outbreaks which drastically reduced the yield or exceptionally favorable weather which has helped to get unusually high yield.

Resolution 99-5. All the countries should commit themselves to provide the needed seeds of agreed cultivars in sufficient quanti- ties and at appropriate time to successfully implement the agreed workplan.

Resolution 99-6. For the on-farm trial, all the countries should collect necessary observations on environmental and cultural factors used by each farmer to better understand the factors responsible for the low or high yields.

Preparation of revised work plan and financing plan

The Chairman opened the meeting and suggested that based upon the review of the progress presented and the discussions ensued thereafter, it is necessary to request the Asian Development Bank to extend the duration of the project without additional funding. After considerable discussion, the following resolutions were arrived at.

Resolution 99-7. The members of the steering committee based on the progress reports presented by the six countries and discussion among the members, unanimously decided that AVRDC, on behalf of SAVERNET-I1 members request ADB to extend the duration of the project by one year to enable NARSs to successfully implement the project.

Resolution 99-8. The members of the steering committee unanimously requested that AVRDC SAVERNET coordinator consoli- date the minor modifications suggested by each country during the report presentation and discussion. Based on the discussion during the meeting, a revised work plan should be prepared in consultation with all the members and a revised financing plan should also be prepared. The revised work and financial plans should be reviewed by the members before it is submitted to ADB for approval.

*

mid-term Review Meeting 91

Final workshop

The choice of location for the final workshop was discussed. Based on economy, efficiency and to bring together the participants from SAVERNET, AVNET, CLVNET and China the following resolutions were made.

Resolution 99-9. The members proposed to have the final workshop in Bangkok or Chiang Mai, Thailand in June 2001 assuming that the ADB approves the one year extension of the project.

Resolution 99-10. The participation of AVNET members in the SAVERNET-I1 midterm meeting was very helpful in exchanging information and facilitating exchange of materials among the two networks. To further strengthen the two network interactions, it was decided to earmark some of the contingency funds from SAVERNET-I1 for inviting the AVNET-II members for the SAVERNET-I1 final workshop.

Resolution 99-11. For the final workshop members unanimously decided to invite AVNET-II, CLVNET and members from China. The members suggested that AVRDC may also consider inviting the private sector to encourage three-way interaction. It was also suggested that members may think about possible mechanisms for collaboration with the private sector.

Publicity

The Chairman pointed out that success stories generated from the experiences of SAVERNET-I1 or from SAVERNET-I may be published to have wide publicity. Furthermore, vegetable seed production is an important area and is a major limiting factor in extending the new cultivars to the farmers. Members may like to consider requesting AVRDC to offer training and also develop suitable proposals for funding by the donor community.

The Chairman thanked all the members for their cooperation and support.

92 1999 SAVERNET II

SAVERNET-II Mid-term Review Meeting (February 4-9, 1999)

List of participants

Bangladesh: Dr. Syed Md. Monowar Hossain Chief Scientific Officer Olericulture, Horticulture Research

Centre Bangladesh Agricultural Research

Institute Joydebpur, Gazipur 1701 Bangladesh Tel: 880-2-9332340; 9004172 (home) Fax: 880-2-841678; or 883416

Email: [email protected] (c/o Dr. D.P. Singh)

Dr. Mohammad Mamunur Rashid Director General Bangladesh Agricultural Research

Institute Joydebpur, Gazipur-1701 Bangladesh Tel: 880-2-9332340; 885622 (home) Fax: 880-2-841678 Email: [email protected] (home)

Bhutan: Mr. Pirthiman Pradhan Director RNR Research Centre - East P.O. Kanglung, Trashigang Bhutan Tel: 975-4-35122 Fax: 975-4-35122, 35115 Email: [email protected]

c/o Dr. D.P. Singh

India: Dr. Bhup Singh Dhankhar Asst. Director General (Veg. Crops) Horticulture Indian Council of Agricultural Research Krishi Bhawan New Delhi-110001 India

Tel: 91-11-3383859 Fax: 91-11-3387293 Email: [email protected] Dr. Saurindra Prasad Ghosh Deputy Director General Horticulture Indian Council of Agricultural Research Krishi Bhawan New Delhi-110001 India Tel: 91-11-3382534; 6443196 (home) Fax: 91-11-3382534 Email: [email protected]

Indonesia: Mr. Azis Azirin Asandhi Senior Researcher Research Institute for Vegetables Tangkuban Perahu 517 Lembang, Bandung 40391 Indonesia Tel: 62-22-2786245; 2786247 (home) Fax: 62-22-2786416 Email: [email protected]

Mrs. Ati Srie Duriat Head of Plant Virologist Pest and Disease Research Institute for Vegetables JI. Tangkuban Perahu 517 Lembang, Bandung 40391 Indonesia Tel: 62-22-2786245 Fax: 62-22-2786416 Email: [email protected]

Mr. Sabari Soerodihajo Head of Programme Division & Senior

Central Research Institute for

JI. Raya Ragunan No. 19 Pasarminggu, Jakarta Selatan 12520

Scientist

Horticulture

mailto:[email protected]



Indonesia Tel: 62-21-7805768; 7818729 (home) Fax: 62-21-7805135

Malaysia: Mr. Ah-Chye Leong Senior Research Officer Horticulture Malaysian Agriculture Research and

Development Institute MARDI Station Jalan Kebun P.O. Box 186 41720 Kelang, Selangor Malaysia Tel: 60-3-3211588 Fax: 60-3-3213967 Email: [email protected]

Dr. Ramli Bin Mohd Nor Asst. Director Horticultural Research Center MARDI P.O. Box 12301, G.P. Office 50774 Kuala Lumpur Malaysia Tel: 60-3-9437622; 8257361 (home) Fax: 60-3-9437623 Email: [email protected]

Dr. Mohamad Roff bin Mohd. Noor Research Officer Horticulture Research Center Malaysian Agricultural Research and

Development Institute MARDI Station Jalan Kebun P.O. Box 186, GPO 41720 Kelang, Selangor Malaysia Tel: 60-313211588; 3231259 (home) Fax: 60-3-3213967 Email: [email protected]

Nepal: Dr. Sundar Kumar Shrestha Chief Plant Pathologist Plant Pathology Division Nepal Agricultural Research Council Khumaltar, Lalitpur Nepal Tel: 977-1-523143; 251616/255819 (home) Fax: 977-1-532672 Email: [email protected]

Pakistan: Dr. Muhammad Hussain Bhatti National Coordinator Vegetable Crops Research Programme Horticulture Research Institute National Agricultural Research Centre Chak Shahzad, Islamabad 45500 Pakistan Tel: 92-51-241461 ext. 3071; 264134 (home) Fax: 92-51-240909 Email: [email protected]

Dr. Ali Asghar Hashmi Director General National Agricultural Research Centre Park Road, Islamabad Pakistan Tel: 92-51-240794/241461 ext. 3068;

Fax: 92-51-240909 293726/211245 (home)

Philippines: Dr. Jocelyn E. Eusebio Asst. Director Crops Research Division Philippine Council for Agriculture,

Forestry and Resources Research and Development

Los Banos, Laguna 4030 Philippines Tel: 63-49-5360014 - 20 ext. 16;

Fax: 63-49-5360016 or 5360132 Email: [email protected]

5361874 (home)

Dr. Belen Morallo Rejesus Professor Entomology Dept., College of

Univ. of Philippines at Los Banos College, Laguna 4031 Philippines Tel: 63-49-5363527; 5360652 (home) Fax: 63-2-8135697 Email: [email protected]

Mrs. Adoracion A. Virtucio Sr. Agriculturist Research Bureau of Plant Industry

Agriculture


94

Los Banos, Laguna 4030 Philippines Tel: 63-49-5360104 Fax: 6349-5360104 Email: [email protected]

Sri Lanka: Mr. Asok Palamakumbura Research Officer Vegetable Research Division Horticulture Crop Research and

Development Institute P.O. Box 11 Gannoruwa, Peradeniya Sri Lanka Tel: 94-8-388011/3; 388312 (home) Fax: 94-8-389312 Email: [email protected]

Thailand Mrs. Piyarat Keinmeesuke Entomologist Entomology & Zoology Division Department of Agriculture Phaholyothin Road, Bangkok 10900 Thailand Tel: 66-2-5798541 Fax: 66-2-9428057 Email: [email protected]

Dr. Samson C.S. Tsou Dr. S. Shanmugasundaram Dr. Lowell L. Black Dr. George C. Kuo Dr. Terry Berke Dr. Nung-Che Chen Dr. Liwayway M. Engle Dr. Sylvia K. Green

Mr. Krung Sitadhani Researcher Tropical Vegetable Research Center Kasetsart University Kamphaengsaen, Nakhon Pathom Thailand Tel: 66-34-281509 Fax: 66-34-351393 Email: [email protected]

Mrs. Sutevee Sukprakarn Head Tropical Vegetable Research Center Kasetsart University Bangkok 10900 Thailand Tel: 66-2-5794720; 5380791 (home) Fax: 66-2-9428057 Email: [email protected]

Asian Development Bank: Dr. Dimyati Nangju Technical Advisor Agriculture and Social Sectors

Department (West) Asian Development Bank P.O. Box 789, Manila 0980 Philippines Tel: 63-2-6325542; 8952244 (home) Fax: 63-2-6362444 Email: [email protected]

AVRDC participants

Dr. Peter Hanson Dr. N.S. Talekar Dr. Jaw-Fen Wang Mr. John Stares Dr. D.P. Singh Ms. Teresa S.C. Liang Ms. Macy Lo

Private sector

Mr. Leonard Ho (APSA member), President/Evergrow Seed Company Ltd., 21 Hsin- Chung Road, Tainan 702, Taiwan, ROC (Tel: 886-6-2630463, Fax: 886-6-2642088)



Documents

203.64.245.61203.64.245.61/fulltext_pdf/EB/1900-2000/eb0035.pdf · 2 1999 SAVERNET II © 2000. Asian Vegetable Research and Development Center Shanhua, Tainan, Taiwan. AVRDC. 2000