angrau.ac.in4)_2013.pdf · The Journal of Research ANGRAU (Published quarterly in March, June, September and December) Dr. T. Pradeep Principal Scientist(Breeding), Maize Research

J. Res. ANGRAU Vol. XLI No.4 pp 1-120, Oct.-Dec., 2013

The Journal of Research ANGRAU(Published quarterly in March, June, September and December)

Dr. T. PradeepPrincipal Scientist(Breeding),Maize Research Station,ARI Campus, Rajendranagar,Hyderabad

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Preservation of foods & beverages using pulsed electric fields-a non thermal method- a reviewM.Penchala Raju, P.Mukhesh and A.Poshadri 1

Effect of Inorganic fertilizers and farmyardmanure application on soil enzyme activitiesat different growth stages of rice.M. Srilatha, P. Chandrasekhar Rao, S. H. K. Sharma, G. Padmaja and K.B. Suneetha Devi 15

Response functions and economics of potassium application to bt. cotton hybrid with inorganic and(Gossypium Hirsutum) integrated supply of nutrientsD. Mohan Das. R. Raghavaiah, G. Srinivas, V. Sailaja and A. Siva Sankar 20

Effect of varied plant densities and irrigation levels of pigeonpea on soil moisture statusK.Suresh, V.Praveen Rao, A.Srinivas, A.Siva Sankar and V.Ggovardhan 25

Influence of inorganic fertilizers and integrated nutrient management at differentlevels of potassium on crop growth, yield attributes, yield of seed cotton, oil andlint in Bt. cotton hybrid (Gossypium Hirsutum)D. Mohan Das, R. Raghavaiah, G. Srinivas, V. Sailaja and A.Siva Sankar 38

Study on effect of age of the leaf and gel preparation method on antioxidants andmicrobial count of aloe gel in (Aloe vera L.)M. Parimala Jyothi, M. Padma and R. Chadrasekhar 44

PART II : SOCIAL SCIENCE

A glimpse on British and American englishG. Shravan Kumar and P. Ramesh Babu 32

Extent of adoption of system of rice intensification (sri) cultivation by farmers ofmahabubnagar district of Andhra Pradesh: a critiqueK Nirmala and R Vasantha 49

Knowledge and adoption of recommended production technology by cotton farmersO.Sarada and G.V.Suneel Kumar 54

Factors affecting gender participation in the agricultural sector of Andhra PradeshAmtul Waris and B Nirmala 61

PART III : HOME SCIENCE

Parenting styles and emotional intelligence of adolescentsL. Uma Devi and M. Uma 68

PART IV : RESEARCH NOTE

Study on association of spad chlorophyll meter reading (scmr), photosynthesis and transpirationrate with grain yield in sorghum genotypes under post flowering moisture stress conditionsD. Dev Kumar, V. Padma, H. S. Talwar and Farzana Jabeen 73

A study on trends in area, production and productivity of soybean in kota district of Rajasthan

CONTENTSPART I : PLANT SCIENCE

Pavan Kumar Sen, P.Radhika and Seema 78

A study on price spread and marketing efficiency of makhana in madhubani district of BiharNitesh Kumar Sah, P. Radhika and Seema 81

Influence of seed rates on chickpea varieties grown in scarce rainfall zone of Andhra PradeshP.Munirathnam, K. Ashok Kumar, S.Neelima and Y.Padmalatha 88

Constraints and enabling environment for macherla brown sheep production in Andhra PradeshP.Venugopal Choudary, B.Ekambaram, M. Gnana Prakash and N.rajanna 91

Comparision between glycemic index and in-vitro carbohydrate digestibility in idli using ricerawa vs jowar rawaAfifa Jahan, Usha Rani, K. Aparna and Nasreen Banu 93

Estimation of physico-chemical properties, nutrient composition and antioxidant activity ofacerola Malpighia emarginata dc.S. Blessy Sagar, Aparna Kuna, T.V.N. Padmavathi, C. Kavitha, T. Supraja and Ch.V. Durga Rani 97

Estimation of iron and zinc content in different fractions of elite rice lines developed by markerassisted selectionFarha Hussain, K. Manorama, V. Vijayalakshmi, Mary Swarnalatha and N.Sarla 102

Effect of humic substances on growth and yield of sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.)Harshad Thakur, K. Bhanu Rekha, S.N. Sudhakara Babu and G. Padmaja 106

PRESERVATION OF FOODS & BEVERAGES USING PULSED ELECTRIC FIELDS-A NON THERMAL METHOD- A REVIEW

M.PENCHALA RAJU, P.MUKHESH AND A.POSHADRIDepartment of Food Technology, College of Food Science and Technology

Acharya N.G. Ranga Agricultural University, Pulivendula-516390

ABSTRACT

Presently, most liquid foods are preserved commercially by Ultra high temperature (UHT) or HighTemperature Short Time (HTST) processes. Although heating inactivates enzymes and microorganisms, theorganoleptic and nutritional properties of the food suffer because of protein denaturation and the loss of vitaminsand volatile flavours. There is a great need for a non-thermal method for inactivating microorganisms. Consumersare also increasingly demanding high quality, minimally processed foods. The current study presents a non thermalmethod for the inactivation of the microorganisms in liquid foods and beverages by pulsed electric fields (PEF).Thispaper provides current information about PEF processing system, and identifies a list of research needs to furtherdevelop PEF technology for food processing and preservation. Principles of PEF, effect of PEF for the inactivation ofenzymes and limitations of PEF are reviewed in this paper.

Date of Receipt : 15.2.2013 Date of Acceptance : 08.07.2013

INTRODUCTION TO PEF

Non-thermal processes have gainedimportance in recent years due to the increasingdemand for foods with high nutritional characteristics,representing an alternative to conventional thermaltreatments. Pulsed electric field (PEF) is an emergingtechnology that has been extensively studied for non-thermal food processing. First applications ofelectrical current for food treatment took place at theend of the nineteenth century when Cortes et al.(2007) investigated the bactericidal effects of directand alternating electrical current. In the 1920s aprocess called ‘Electropure’ was introduced in Europeand the USA for milk pasteurization in order toimprove consumer health (Hemar et al., 2011).

Charles-Rodriguez et al. (2007) reported thatPulsed discharges of high voltage electricity acrosstwo electrodes for microbial inactivation were firstinvestigated in the 1950s through the so-called‘electrohydraulic treatment’. In 1960, Gosslingreported microbial inactivation for Streptococcuslactis dependent on treatment intensity and proposedsmall scale batch and continuous treatmentchambers (Aguilo-Aguayo et al., 2009).Conventionalpreservation methods such as heat treatment oftenfail to produce microbiologically stable food at the

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desired quality level (Anna Vallverdu-Queralt et al.,2013). It has already been demonstrated that highintensity pulsed electric fields (PEF) processing canalternatively be applied to deliver safe and shelf-stable products such as fruit juices or milk with highnutritional value (Toepfl et al., 2007). However,commercial exploitation of PEF as an alternative totraditional preservation techniques requires a detailedanalysis of process safety, cost-effectiveness, andconsumer benefits (Sampedro et al., 2013).

A considerable amount of research papershave been published on the microbial aspects of foodpreservation by PEF, a lesser amount of informationis available about the effect of this technology onfood constituents and overall quality and acceptability(Mhemdi et al.2013). Recently, the interest inapplication of pulsed electric fields (PEF) for foodprocessing has revived. The PEF treatment wasshown to be very effective for inactivation ofmicroorganisms, increasing the pressing efficiencyand enhancing the juice extraction from food plants,and for intensification of the food dehydration anddrying (Taiwo et al., 2009).

The objective of this paper is to provide somebasic information about the pulsed electric fieldtechnology for preservation of food and beverages.

J.Res. ANGRAU 41(4) 1-14, 2013

Pulsed Electric Fields (PEF)

Pulsed electric fields (PEF) is a non-thermalmethod of food preservation that uses short pulsesof electricity for microbial inactivation and causesminimal detrimental effect on food quality attributes.PEF technology aims to offer consumers high-qualityfoods and quality attributes, PEF technology isconsidered superior to traditional thermal processingmethods because it avoids or greatly reducesdetrimental changes in the sensory and physicalproperties of foods (Min et al., 2007).

PEF technology has been presented asadvantageous in comparision to, for instance, heattreatments, because it kills microorganisms whilebetter preserving of the original color, flavor, texture,and nutritional value of the unprocessed food. PEFtechnology involves the application of pulses of highvoltage to liquid or semi-solid foods placed betweentwo electrodes. Most PEF studies have focused onPEF treatments effects on the microbial inactivationin milk, milk products, egg products, juice and otherliquid foods (Barba et al., 2010).

The concept of pulsed electric fields (PEF)was first proposed in 1967 to change the behavior ofmicroorganisms. The electric field phenomenon wasidentified as membrane rupture theory in the 1980s.Increasing the membrane permeability led to theapplication of PEF assisted extraction of cellularcontent and transfer of genetic material across thecell membrane. The lethal effects of PEF tomicroorganisms were studied in 1990s whenlaboratory and pilot plant equipment were developedto evaluate the effect of the PEF as a non thermalfood process to provide consumers withmicrobiologically-safe and good quality foods.Application of high voltage electric field at a certainlevel for a very short time by PEF not only inactivatespathogenic and spoilage microorganisms, but alsoresults in the retention of flavor, aroma, nutrients,and color of foods. The first commercial PEFpasteurization of apple cider products took place in2005 in the United States (Fellows, 2009).

PEF processing is a technique in which afood is pumped between paired electrodes andexposed to a pulsed high voltage field (typically 20-

80 kv/cm for anti-microbial purposes) (Barba et al.2010). Treatment times are of the order of less than1 second for pasteurization applications. This processreduces levels of microorganisms whilst minimizingundesirable changes in the sensory properties of thefood. The electric field may be applied in the form ofexponentially decaying, square wave, bipolar, oroscillatory pulses and at ambient, sub-ambient, orslightly above-ambient temperature. After thetreatment, the food is packaged and stored underrefrigeration. PEF treatment has lethal effects onvarious vegetative bacteria, mold, and yeast. Efficacyof spore inactivation by PEF in combination with heator other hurdles is a subject of current research. Aseries of short, high-voltage pulses breaks the cellmembranes of vegetative microorganisms in liquidmedia by expanding existing pores (electroporation)or creating new ones. Pore formation is reversible orirreversible depending on factors such as the electricfield intensity, the pulse duration, and number ofpulses. The membranes of PEF-treated cells becomepermeable to small molecules; permeation causesswelling and eventual rupture of the cell membrane.Application of PEF processing is restricted to foodproducts with no air bubbles and with low electricalconductivity. The maximum particle size in the liquidmust be smaller than the gap of the treatment regionin the chamber in order to ensure proper treatment.PEF is a continuous processing method, which isnot suitable for solid food products that are not pump-able PEF is also applied to enhance extraction ofsugars and other cellular content from plant cells,such as sugar beets. PEF also found application inreducing the solid volume (sludge) of wastewater(Hemar et al., 2011).

Non-thermal processes have gainedimportance in recent years due to the increasingdemand for foods with high nutritional characteristics,representing an alternative to conventional thermaltreatments. PEF is an emerging technology that hasbeen extensively studied for non-thermal foodprocessing. PEF processing has been studied by anumber of researchers across a wide range of liquidfoods. Apple and orange juices are among the foodsmost often treated in PEF studies. The sensoryattributes of juices are reported to be well preserved,

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and the shelf life is extended. Yogurt drinks, applesauce, and salad dressing have also been shown toretain a good quality with extended shelf life afterprocessing. Other PEF-processed foods include milk,tomato juice, carrot juice, pea soup, liquid whole eggand liquid egg products (Min et al., 2003).

A number of studies have demonstrated thatgood retention of product quality was achieved usingPEF processing. For example, PEF treatment didnot significantly influence the colour of orange juice(Cortes, 2007; Cserhalmi et al. 2006), blueberry juice(Barba et al., 2010), apple juice (Charles-Rodriguez,2007), carrot juice (Quitao-Teixeira et al. 2007) lemonor grapefruit juice (Cserhalmi et al., 2006). Studieshave also shown that carotenoid concentrationincreased in orange-carrot juice. When intensitieslower than 30kV/cm were applied, carotenoid contentwas higher than in thermally pasteurized juices(Torregrosa et al., 2005). In paprika juice, the carotenecontent was higher than in enzyme treated juice (60%vs 44%) (Ade-Omowaye, 2001). PEF processingoffers high quality liquid foods with excellent flavor,nutritional value, and shelf-life. Since it preserves

pumpable homogenous products. Pasteurization offoods having large particulates is not feasiblebecause of the physical restrictions relating to thegap between electrodes. Products having a high saltcontent are also unsuitable for PEF treatmentbecause their higher electrical conductivity reducesthe resistance of the chamber. This requires moreenergy to reach the appropriate electrical fieldstrength for pasteurization (Michalac et al., 2003).

In general, the shelf-life of PEF-treated andthermally pasteurized foods is comparable. PEFpasteurization kills microorganisms and inactivatessome enzymes and, unless the product is acidic, itrequires refrigerated storage. For heat-sensitive liquidfoods where thermal pasteurization is not an option(due to flavor, texture, or color changes), PEFtreatment would be advantageous. PEF pasteurizedproducts are currently refrigerated in some cases (forexample, milk), and this is necessary for preventingthe growth of spores in low-acid foods. For acid foods,refrigeration is not necessary for microbial stability,but is used to preserve flavor quality for extendedperiods of time. PEF equipment is also safe for the

foods without using heat, foods treated in this mannerretain their fresh aroma, taste, and appearance.Pasteurization using PEF is ideally suited to

environment as this process uses ordinary electricity.The facility meets electrical safety standards and noharmful environmental by-products are produced. An

Fig 1. Schematic diagram of a pulsed electric fields operation (Fellows, 2009).

PRESERVATION OF FOODS & BEVERAGES USING PULSED ELECTRIC FIELDS

integrated PEF system consists of a fluid handlingunit, high voltage pulse generator, PEF treatmentchambers, and a packaging machine. The fluidhandling unit delivers stable, uniform flow with sterilize-in-place (SIP) and clean –in-place (CIP) functions.The pulse generator supplies high voltage pulses intofoods flowing through PEF treatment chambers.Treated foods are packaged continuously (Fellows,2009).

PEF System

The high intensity pulsed electric fieldprocessing system is a simple electrical systemconsisting of a high voltage source, capacitor bank,switch, and treatment chamber. Generation of pulsedelectric fields requires a fast discharge of electricalenergy within a short period of time. This isaccomplished by the pulse-forming network (PFN),an electrical circuit consisting of one or more powersupplies with the ability to charge voltages (up to 60kv), switches (ignitron, thyratron , tetrode, spark gap,semiconductors), capacitors (0.1-10 ìF), resistors(2 -1O M µ ), and treatment chambers (Gongora-Nieto et al. 2002).

A PEF system for food processing in generalconsists of three basic components shown in (Fig.1).Ahigh voltage pulse generator, a treatment chamber

and a control system for monitoring the processparameters are also part of the system (Loeffler,2006).

An oscilloscope is used to observe the pulsewaveform. The power source, a high voltage DCgenerator, converts voltage from an utility line (110V) into high voltage AC, then rectifies to a high voltageDC. Energy from the power source is stored in thecapacitor and is discharged through the treatmentchamber to generate an electric field in the foodmaterial. The maximum voltage across the capacitoris equal to the voltage across the generator. The bankof capacitors is charged by a direct current powersource obtained from amplified and rectified regularalternative current main source. An electrical switchis used to discharge energy (instantaneously inmillionth of a second) stored in the capacitor storagebank across the food held in the treatment chamber.Apart from those major components, some adjunctparts are also necessary. In case of continuoussystems, a pump is used to convey the food throughthe treatment chamber. A chamber cooling systemmay be used to diminish the ohmic heating effectand control food temperature during treatment. High-voltage and high-current probes are used to measurethe voltage and current delivered to the chamber.(Floury et al., 2006; Amiali et al., 2006).

Fig 2. Diagrammatic representation of the PEF treatment chambers (Mhemdi et al., 2013)

µ

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Over several decades, static or continuoustreatment chambers have evolved and variousresearchers have designed and custom-madedifferent types of chambers for various products (Fialaet al., 2001). Figure 3 shows a classification of thestatic and continuous-flow treatment chambers forpulsed electric field treatment. Kambiz Shamsi andFrank Sherkat (2009) designed a cross-field chamberwhere the electric field is perpendicular to fluid flow,

while Ohshima et al. (2007) designed a parallel platechamber. However, the cofield chambers in whichtwo stainless steel tubes are separated by an insulatorand the electric field and the food flow concurrently,are more commonly used (Fig 3). The cofield designsare more reliable since the chance of electrodeerosion is reduced. Furthermore, the chance of localbubble formation that may result in partial dischargesis also reduced in this chamber (Fox et al., 2007).

Fig 3. Classification of the static and continuous-flow treatment chambers for pulsed electric fieldtreatment (Vallverdu-Queralt et al., 2013).

In continuous flow PEF treatment chambersthe liquid food is pumped through pulsing electrodesand is therefore more suitable for large-scaleoperations. A continuous flow cofield PEF chamberwas developed by Kambiz Shamsi and Frank Sherkat(2009) in which the electric fields were enhanced byusing conical insulators. In this chamber the voltageacross the treatment zone was almost equal to thesupplied voltage (Fig3 ).

A coaxial chamber is basically composedof an inner cylinder surrounded by an outer annularcylindrical electrode that allows food to flow betweenthem (Fig 4). This treatment chamber has beensuccessfully used in the inactivation of pathogenicand non-pathogenic bacteria, moulds, yeasts andenzymes present in liquid food such as fruit juice,milk and liquid egg pulp (Fiala et al. 2001).


Fig 4. Equipment for continuous PEF treatment of liquid products (Floury et al.2006).

[Control panel: A: power supply; B: programing andcontrol drawer; C: computer, D and E: high voltagemonitor and power supply (50 kV, 2 kW); F: sparkgap switch (0–815 Hz); G: high voltage energy storage(50 ns, 100 ns, 250 ns, 500 ns, 1 ìs, 2 ìs and 3 ìs).Hydraulic line: 1: supply tank (12 L); 2: magneticstirrer; 3: peristaltic pump (0–25 L·h–1); 4: PEFtreatment chamber; 5: tubular heat exchanger; T1,T2: thermocouples.]

The Principles of Pulsed Electric Field

The basic principle of the PEFtechnology is the application of short pulses of highelectric fields with duration of micro seconds micro-to milliseconds and intensity in the order of 10- 80kV/cm. The processing time is calculated bymultiplying the number of pulses times with effectivepulse duration. The process is based on pulsedelectrical currents delivered to a product placedbetween a set of electrodes; the distance betweenelectrodes is termed as the treatment gap of the PEFchamber. The applied high voltage results in anelectric field that causes microbial inactivation. Theelectric field may be applied in the form ofexponentially decaying, square wave, bipolar, oroscillatory pulses and at ambient, sub-ambient, orslightly above-ambient temperature. After thetreatment, the food is packaged aseptically andstored under refrigeration. Applied to a food productheld between two electrodes inside a chamber,usually at room temperature. Food is capable oftransferring electricity because of the presence ofseveral ions, giving the product in question a certaindegree of electrical conductivity. So, when anelectrical field is applied, electrical current flows into

the liquid food and is transferred to each point in theliquid because of the charged molecules present(Fellows, 2009; Hemar et al., 2011).

Several non-thermal processing technologieswere proposed on the basis of the same basic principleof keeping food below temperatures normally usedin thermal processing. This would retain the nutritionalquality of food including vitamins, minerals, andessential flavors while consuming less energy thanthermal processing. High hydrostatic pressure,oscillating magnetic fields, intense light pulses,irradiation, the use of chemicals and biochemicals,high intensity pulse electric fields, and the hurdleconcept were all recognized as emerging nonthermaltechnologies in recent years (Barbosa-Canovas etal., 2000). As a result of this permanent membranedamage, microorganisms are inactivated. Someapplications of PEF technology are in biotechnologyand genetic engineering for electroporation in cellhybridization (Sobrino-Lopez and Martin-Belloso,2008). Several nonthermal processing technologieswere proposed on the basis of the same.

Wouters et al. (2001) mentioned that, Pulsedelectric field technology (PEF) is viewed as one ofthe most promising nonthermal methods forinactivating microorganisms in foods. Electric fieldsin the range of 5-50 kV/cm generated by theapplication of short high voltage pulses (ìs) betweentwo electrodes cause microbial inactivation attemperatures below those used in thermalprocessing. The precise mechanisms by whichmicroorganisms are inactivated by pulsed electricfields are not well understood; however, it is generallyaccepted that PEF leads to the penneabilization ofmicrobial membranes.

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PEF technology has the potential to economicallyand efficiently improve energy usage, besides theadvantage of providing microbiologically safe andminimally processed foods. Successful applicationof PEF technology suggests an alternative substitutefor conventional thermal processing of liquid foodproducts such as fruit juices, milk, and liquid egg(Bendicho et al. 2002; Hodgins et al., 2002).

Effect of Pulsed Electric Field Processing

The effect of pulsed electric field (PEF) onthe size of the casein micelles in skim milk and onthe viscosity of milk concentrates was investigated(Hemar et al. 2011). It was found that PEF reducedboth the size and the viscosity of these milk systemscompared to the untreated product. However, uponstorage these reductions reverted to those of theoriginal non- treated milks. In addition, it was foundthat similar reductions were observed in samplescirculated through the feed pump of the PEFprocessing unit without applying PEF treatment. Thisindicated that the observed reductions with continuousflow PEF were not attributed to the PEF treatmentper second but due to the high shear experienced bythe milks when processed through the PEF systemused (Hemar et al., 2011).

Swami (2010) reported that there was noeffect of PEF treatment (35kvcm-1 field strength,188ìs treatment time) on the protein, total solids,color, particle size, density and electrical conductivityof skim milk and ultra high temperature treated skimmilk.

Bermudez-Aguirre et al. (2010) studied theprocessing of strawberry flavoured milk under pulsedelectric field processing. Few studies exist onflavoured milk processed by pulsed electric fields(PEF). The main concern is product stability. Thisstudy aimed to analyze the degradation of the coloringagent ‘Allura Red’ in strawberry milk under PEF. Foursystems were tested containing Allura Red: twocommercial milks and two model systems. PEFconditions were 40 kV/cm, 48 pulses (2.5ìs), and 55°C; the coloring agent was quantified by reversephase HPLC. After processing, only minor changeswere observed in color, Allura Red concentration, andpH. During storage (32 days) at refrigerated conditions(4 °C) commercial samples maintained a pH above6. Model systems dropped below pH 6 after 10 days

of storage. Color of samples showed a decrease in ahue angle and the chroma changed during storage.HPLC analysis reported a bi-phasic effect in AlluraRed concentrations over time. Concentration changed,reaching a maximum value during the middle ofstorage, possibly attributed to microbial growth, pHreduction, or interaction of proteins. However, PEFaffected the stability of Allura Red in milk whenadditional ingredients were not added to the product.

PEF is a good alternative to conventionalcell membrane permeabilization methods such asthermal treatments and the addition of chemicals aswell as of enzymes. The effect of some processparameters on the cellular membranepermeabilization of different plant foods by means ofPulsed Electric Fields was studied (Min et al., 2007).PEF treatment was carried out in a laboratory batchequipment set-up. Plant tissues were exposed torectangular pulses varying the intensity of thetreatment. The measurement of the electricalimpedance of untreated and PEF treated tissues asa function of the frequency was used to detect cellmembrane permeabilization. The relative complexconductivity was also introduced to characterize thedegree of permeabilization as a function of the appliedelectrical variables.

De Vito et al. (2005) carr ied outpermeabilization studies on apple and potato tissuehave demonstrated that the electric field strength andthe number of pulses are the main process parametersdetermining the effectiveness of the treatment. Thedegree of permeabilization increased with increasingthe electric field strength and the pulse number. At afixed number of pulses, a threshold level of tissuepermeabilization is achieved. At 10 pulses, for potatotissue the electric field strength necessary forpermeabilization was 1 kV/cm, while a higher valuewas found for apple i.e. 1.5 kV/cm. By means of thedeveloped methodology, total permeabilizationconditions were determined. By applying criticalelectric field strength to potato and apple tissue, totalpermeabilization was achieved at 500 pulses. Theapplicability of PEF as pre-treatment stage ofconventional thermal drying was also investigated.Whatever the intensity of the treatment, theapplication of PEF determined the initial loss of wateras a consequence of the rupture of the cell membrane.At 1.5 kv/cm with increasing the number of pulses


from 10 to 100 a higher dehydration rate was detected,while no significant enhancement was observed athigher number of pulses. However, the electricaltreatment improved the dehydration rate only in theinitial stage. The final water content was the samefor untreated and PEF-treated samples.Characterization tests were also carried out toinvestigate the effect of PEF on the quality of thefinal product. After PEF at 1,5kv/cm and 500 pulsesa better rehydration of samples was achieved. Texturemeasurements of the rehydrated samples revealedthat PEF determined the softening of the tissue dueto the loss of turgor caused by the permeabilization.

The use of PEF as a pre-treatment stage inthe extraction of anthocyanins from grape tissue wasalso tested (De Vito et al., 2005). The completeprocess was developed and the use of distilled wateras solvent was proposed. The malvidine-3- glucoside,the major anthocyanin in the extract composition wasidentified. PEF allowed to preserve the integrity ofpigments and to increase the extraction yield. Forinstance, treatment of grape skins after PEF at 3kV/cm and 100 pulses the increase of 15% in themalvidine content was observed.

PEF is an innovative non-thermal technologywhich could be used as an alternative to thetraditional thermal process to inactivate themicroorganisms and enzymes in liquid foods suchas milk. Compared to thermal processing, the PEFprocess is considered more energy efficient as themicrobial or enzymatic inactivation is achieved atambient or mild temperatures by the application ofshort bursts of high intensity electric fields to liquidfood flowing between two electrodes. Extensiveresearch has been conducted since 1990s on thedevelopment of PEF in the food industry.

Cortes et al., (2007) evaluated the shelf-lifeof reconstituted orange juice treated with anintegrated PEF pilot plant system. The PEF systemconsisted of a series of co-field chambers.Temperatures were maintained near ambient withcooling devices between chambers. Three waveshape pulses were used to compare theeffectiveness of the processing conditions. Theirresults confirmed that square wave is the mosteffective pulse shape. In addition, the authorsreported that total aerobic counts were reduces by 3-

to 4-log cycles under 32kvcm-1. When stored at 4oCboth heat-and PEF-treated juices had a shelf-life ofmore than 5 months. Vitamin losses were lower andcolor was generally better preserved in PEF-treatedjuices compared to the heat –treated ones up to 90days (storage temperature of 4oC or 22oC) or 15 days( storage temperature of 37oC) after processing.

Hemar et al. (2011) conducted a challengetest and shelf-life study with homogenized milkinoculated with 36.7kvcm-1 and 40 pulses over a 25-minute time period. Salmonella Dublin was notdetected after PEF treatment or after storage at 7-9ÚC for 8days. The naturally occurring milk bacterialpopulation increased to 107cfu/ml in the untreatedmilk, where as the treated milk showed approximately4x102cfu/ml.

Floury et al. (2006) reported that milk (2%milk fat) subjected to 2 steps of 7 pulses each and 1step of 6 pulses with an electric field of 40kvcm-1

achieved a shelf-life of 2 weeks at refrigerationtemperature. There was no apparent change in itsphysical and chemical properties and no significantdifferences in sensory attributes between heatpasteurized and PEF treated milk.

Benjamin Ruiz et al. (2006) reported that theelectromembrane process yields can be enhancedby using pulsed electric field. Electrodialysisexperiments carried out on brackish water solutionsshow that the same level of desalination can bereached faster under pulsed field conditions. A modelbased on the Nernst–Planck equations is developedto explain this behavior. In order to increase theperformance of the electrodialysis process theyapplied a pulsed electric field with different duty cycle.

Raso and Heinz (2006) reported a markeddecrease in both the viscosity (20%) and the particlesize (25 nm) when skim milk was treated with highfield strengths (45-55kv/cm) with cumulated treatmenttime (2.1-3.5ìs).They hypothesized that this reductionin particle size and in viscosity was due to themodification of the apparent charge of the caseinmicelles after exposure to intense electrical fieldsand consequent modification of the ionic interactionsbetween the caseins. PEF did not affect the ph ofskim milk.

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Effect of PEF Process Parameters on EnzymaticInactivation

Traditionally, heat treatment is used to avoidadverse effect in processed foods caused byperoxidase (POD). POD is generally considered tobe a thermostable enzyme (Clemente, 2002).Therefore, long heat treatment times to ensure PODinactivation are recommended (Tomas and Espin,2003). Unfortunately, intensive thermal methods leadto important undesirable effects such as colorchanges, cooked flavours and loss of vitamins andnutritients (Ginger et al., 2003). Moreover, consumersdemand safer and better quality products withminimum processing and original characteristics.Thus, the food industry demands new processingalternatives that avoid the drawbacks and limitationsof conventional preservation methods.

Among non-thermal treatments, high-intensity pulsed electric fields (HIPEF) are claimedto be able to kill microorganisms and inactivateenzymes in juices without significant loss of flavour,color, taste or nutrients (Espachs-Barroso et al.,2003).

Alvarez et al. (2003) investigated theinfluence of the electric field strength, the treatmenttime, the total specific energy and the conductivityof the treatment medium on the Listeriamonocytogenes inactivation by pulsed electric fields(PEF). L. monocytogenes inactivation increased withthe field strength, treatment time and specific energy.A maximum inactivation of 4.77 log10 cycles wasobserved after a treatment of 28 kV/cm, 2000 asand 3490 kJ/kg. The lethal effect of PEF treatmentson L.monocytogenes was not influenced by theconductivity of the treatment medium in a range of2, 3 and 4 mS/cm when the total specific energywas used as a PEF control parameter. A mathematicalmodel based on the Weibull distribution was fitted tothe experimental data when the field strength (15–28kV/cm), treatment time (0–2000 as) and specificenergy (0 – 3490 kJ/kg) were used as PEF controlparameters. A linear relationship was obtainedbetween the log10 of the scale factor and the electricfield strength when the treatment time and the totalspecific energy were used to control the process.The total specific energy, in addition to the electricfield strength and the treatment time, should bereported in order to evaluate the microbial inactivation

by PEF. The inactivation of orange juice peroxidase(POD) under high-intensity pulsed electric fields(HIPEF) was studied. The effects of HIPEFparameters (electric field strength, treatment time,pulse polarity, frequency and pulse width) wereevaluated and compared with conventional heatpasteurization. Samples were exposed to electric fieldstrengths from 5 to 35 kvcm-1 for up to 1500ìs usingsquare wave pulses in mono-and bipolar mode. Effectof pulse frequency (50-450Hz), pulse width (1-10ìs)and electric energy on POD inactivation by HIPEFwere also studied. The extent of POD inactivationdepended on HIPEF processing parameters. Orangejuice POD inhibition was greater when the electricfield strength, the treatment time, the pulse frequencyand the pulse width increased. Monopolar pulses weremore effective than bipolar pulses. Orange juice PODactivity decreased with electric energy density input(Elez-Martinez et al., 2006).

The HIPEF process parameters such aselectric field strength, pulse width, pulse frequency,pulse number, treatment time and pulse polarity seemto be important factors in the inactivation of enzymesby HIPEF (Bendicho et al., 2002).

Elez-Martinez et al. (2006) reported that theactivity of orange juice POD was completelyinactivated by HIPEF treatment when orange juicewas processed at 35kvcm-1 for 1500ìs with bipolarpulses of 4ìs at 200 Hz with a temperature lowerthan 35Úc. The effectiveness of HIPEF treatmentsdepended on the electrical conditions such as electricfield strength, treatment time, pulse frequency, widthand polarity.

HIPEF processing of orange juice led to atotal inactivation of POD with a temperature duringprocessing always lower than 35oC (Elez-Martinezet al., 2006). A thermal treatment of 90 oC for 1minute was needed to inactivate 98% of orange juicePOD. Therefore, HIPEF was mainly responsible forthe inactivation of orange juice POD as the enzymeinhibition could not only be attributed to thetemperature reached during HIPEF treatment.Moreover, it is important to remark that HIPEFprocessing with temperatures lower than 35 oC led togreater values of POD inactivation than commercialheat pasteurization (90 oC, 1 min). Therefore, PODis a thermostable, but HIPEF-sensitive, enzyme.


The evaluated HIPEF process conditions ledto high levels of enzyme inactivation. Thus, HIPEFmay cause denaturation of the enzyme, probably bychanging its conformational state and, owing to thealteration in the enzyme conformation; the substratecould not fit the active site, preventing the conversionof the substrates into products. Moreover, it is knownthat the effects of pulsed electric fields on proteinscould entail polarization of the protein molecules,dissociation of non-covalently linked protein subunitsinvolved in quaternary structure, changes in theprotein conformation so that buried hydrophobic aminoacids or sulfhydryl groups are exposed, attraction ofpolarized structures by electrostatic forces and, ifthe duration of the electric pulse is high enough,hydrophobic interactions or covalent bonds formingaggregates. Changed groups and structures are highlysusceptible to various types of electric fieldperturbations, and these changes cause the loss ofits structure and consequently the reduction ofactivity due to the difficulty of assembling thesubstrate with the active site (Perez and Pilosof,2004).

The literature concerning the effect of HIPEFon POD is scarce. Yang et al. (2004) observed adecrease of 25% on the activity of POD in milk whenit was processed at 21.5kv cm-1 with 20 pulses. Whensoybean POD suspended in a phosphate buffersolution was treated for 60ìs at 75 kvcm-1 with pulsesof 2ìs at 20 f C, a 30% enzyme inactivation wasachieved and also observed an 18.1% inactivationin POD from soybean suspended in a phosphatebuffer solution after a treatment of 34.9kvcm-1 for126ìs with bipolar pulses of 2ìs at 800Hz. Thedifferences between the results reported in theliterature could be mainly due to diverse HIPPEoperation conditions applied to the samples.Moreover, some other factors, such as the differentequipment used as well as the dissimilar enzymesource and the treatment medium in which theenzyme was suspended, could be also responsiblefor the diversity in POD inactivation.

On the other hand, Van Loey et al. (2002)did not find any effect of HIPEF on milk POD aftertreating the samples for 500ìs at19kvcm-1. In addition,they processed POD from horseradish in distilled waterwith treatment times from 0.5 to 4000ìs and electric

field strengths up to 20kvcm-1, and they achieved amaximum of a10% enzyme inactivation.

Garcia et al. (2003) investigated theoccurrence of sub lethal injury in Escherichia coli bypulsed electric fields (PEF) at different pH values.The occurrence of sub lethal injury in PEF-treated E.coli cells depended on the pH of the treatmentmedium. Whereas a slight sub lethal injury wasdetected at pH 7, 95% of survivors were injured whencells were treated at pH 4 for 400ìs at 19 kV. ThePEF-injured cells were progressively inactivated bya subsequent holding at pH 4. PEF cause sub lethalinjury in E. coli. The measurement of sub lethal injuryusing a selective medium plating technique allowedprediction of the number of cells that would beinactivated by subsequent storage in acidicconditions.

Non-thermal processing was tested in applejuice pasteurization in order to verify its feasibility inmicrobial inactivation, as well as its possibility ofrendering a product impaired in terms of sensoryattributes (Charles-Rodriguez et al., 2007). The non-thermal technique of high voltage pulsed electricfields (PEF) treatment, was compared withconventional high temperature-short time (HTST)pasteurization. Effects of process variables, suchas voltage intensity and frequency for the PEFtreatment, as well as temperature and time for theHTST pasteurization were investigated overinactivation of Escherichia coli and changes of pHand colour. Both techniques achieved more than fivelog reductions in microbial inactivation, normallyconsidered the standard for fruit juices pasteurization.Apparently, PEF preserved better the pH than HTSTas the thermal treatment showed an increase in thisphysicochemical property. Some variability wasobserved in terms of colour for all the treatments.

Safe Practice for food processes, (2012)reported that apple juice from concentrate treated withPEF at 50kvcm-1, 10 pulses, pulse width of 2ìs andmaximum processing temperature of 45 oC had ashelf-life of 28 days compared to a shelf-life of 21days of fresh- squeezed apple juice. There were nophysical or chemical changes in ascorbic acid orsugars in the PEF-treated apple juice and a sensorypanel found no significant differences betweenuntreated and electric field treated juices.

RAJU et al.

Kuldiloke et al. (2008) investigated the effectof high electric field pulses (HELP) on celldisintegration of sugar cane and the effect of pulsenumber and field strength on juice yield and masstransfer. The sugar cane was treated at different fieldstrength (4 to 5 kV) and pulse number (10 to 80pulses). The juice yield as well as mass transfer ofPEF pre-treated sample was measured and comparedwith heated (20 min, 70º C) or untreated sample. Theresults showed that using PEF treatment at 4 to 5kV the sugar cane cells could be effectivelydisintegrated. The mass transfers of PEF treatedsamples were comparable to heat treated samples.The juice yield of PEF pretreated samples was higher(74.5% at 5kv, 20 pulses) than heat treated (73.2%)and untreated sugar cane (65.5%). The energyconsumption for PEF disintegration of sugar cane(17 kJ/ kg at 5kv and 20 pulses) was 10 times lesswhen compared to heat treatment (171 kJ/ kg).Additionally the cell disintegration using PEFoccurred faster (less than 2 min with 1Hz pulsesfrequency and 80 pulses) than thermal disintegration(20 min at 70 oC).

The effects of PEF and heat treatment onan extracellular lipase from Pseudomonas fluorescenssuspended in simulated milk ultrafiltrate (SMUF) havebeen studied by Bendicho et al. (2002). The treatmentchambers used were of parallel and co-axialconfigurations for batch and continuous flow modes,respectively. Samples were treated with 80 pulsesat field intensities of 16 to 37 kv/cm. Batch-modePEF equipment was used to expose SMUF to 80pulses at 27.4 kv/cm (unknown treatment time) whichresulted in 62.1% drop in lipase activity. However,when SMUF was exposed to PEF treatments of 80pulses at 37.3 kv/cm and 3.5 Hz in the continuousflow mode, an inactivation rate of only 13% wasachieved. The treatment temperature never exceeded34°C. The greater “unexpected” inactivation in batchmode was attributed to the higher energy level input(505 kJ/L) compared to continues mode (424 kJ/L)despite the fact that the field intensity in the formerwas higher. As a comparison, HTST and LTLTpasteurization of samples inactivated only 5 and 20%of lipase, respectively.

In addition to color analysis of eggs productsPerez and Pilosof (2004) evaluated the density offresh and PEF-treated liquid whole egg (LWE)

(indicator of egg protein-foaming ability), as well asthe strength of sponge cake baked with PEF-treatedeggs. The stepwise process used by Perez andPilosof, (2004) did not cause any difference in densityor whiteness between the PEF-treated and freshLWE. The strength of the sponge cakes preparedwith PEF-treated eggs was greater than the cakemade with non-processed eggs. This difference instrength was attributed to the lower volume obtainedafter baking with PEF-treated eggs. The statisticalanalysis of the sensory evaluation revealed nodifferences between cakes prepared from PEFprocessed and fresh LWE.

Rasa and Heinz (2006) exposed pea soupto 2 steps of pulses at 35kvcm-1 to prevent an increasein temperature beyond 55 oC during treatment. Theshelf-life of the PEF-treated pea soup stored atrefrigeration temperature exceeded 4weeks, while 22or 32 oC were found inappropriate to store the product.There were no apparent changes in the physical andchemical properties or sensory attributes of the peasoup directly after PEF processing or during the4weeks of storage at refrigeration temperatures.

Limitations of PEF

The presence of bubbles, which may lead tonon-uniform treatment as well as operational andsafety problems. When the applied electric fieldexceeds the dielectric strength of the gas bubbles,partial discharges take place inside the bubbles thatcan volatize the liquid and therefore increase thevolume of the bubbles. The bubbles may becomebig enough to bridge the gap between the 2 electrodesand may produce a spark. Therefore, air bubbles inthe food must be removed, particularly with batchsystems. Vacuum degassing or pressurizing thetreatment media during processing, using positiveback pressure, can minimize the presence of gas. Ingeneral, however, the PEF method is not suitable formost of the solid food products containing air bubbleswhen placed in the treatment chamber. The dielectricproperty of a food is closely related to its physicalstructure and chemical composition. Homogeneousliquids with low electric conductivity provide idealconditions for continuous treatment with the PEFmethod. The maximum particle size in the liquid mustbe smaller than the gap of the treatment region in thechamber in order to maintain a proper processingoperation.


PEF technology may be applied to obtainsafe and stable liquid foods without significantdepletion of their fresh bioactive potential. In-depthresearch is needed in order to study the factorsinvolved in the generation/destruction of thesecompounds, as well as to elucidate the mechanisticinsight of the changes. Furthermore, in-depth researchis needed in order to understand the kinetics ofgeneration, retention or degradation of health-relatedcompounds as affected by PEF treatments.

Future Perspectives for the IndustrialImplementation of PEF

Application of pulsed electric fields for foodpreservation offers excellent perspectives regardingthe successful implementation of this environmentallyfriendly technology, in terms of energy consumption,at an industrial level. PEF have been shown to be aninteresting technology to process acidic productssuch as fruit juices or even low acidic commodities,if properly combined with other processingtechniques. Hence, high-quality, safe and shelf stableliquid foods can be obtained without significantdepletion of their fresh bioactive potential. In-depthresearch is needed in order to study the factorsinvolved in the generation/destruction of these

compounds, as well as to elucidate the mechanisticinsight of the changes. However, some challengesand bottlenecks still preclude the industrialimplementation of PEF. On the one hand, manygroups are currently studying the effects of PEFtreatments with systems that greatly differ in building-up, way of operation, and construction materials. Thisgreatly complicates the comparision of results. Onthe other hand, because of the intrinsic characteristicsof the technology, it is not easy to on-time monitorthe process conditions that determine the boundaryregions delimiting areas in which the primarytreatment effects, caused by the electrical treatment,outweigh the secondary effects, caused bytemperature (Soliva-Fortuny et al.,2009).Furthermore, industrial equipment needs to bedesigned considering energy recovery systems, aswell as operation conditions that minimize undesirablephenomena such as electrochemical reactionsleading to electrode corrosion. The development ofimproved PEF systems capable of adapting workingconditions to different fluid characteristics and flowrates represents a significant design challenge thatneeds to be overcome to facilitate the commercialexploitation of this non thermal technology.

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ABSTRACT

A field experiment was conducted during 2010-11 and 2011-12 on black soil at Regional AgriculturalResearch Station, Acharya N.G.Ranga Agricultural University, Jagtial in rice – rice cropping system. It showed thatapplication of 100%NPK (120-60-40 kg ha-1) along with FYM @ 10 t ha-1 recorded significantly higher urease activityat 30DAT (4.31 and 3.46 mg NH4

+ released g-1 soil h-1 in kharif and rabi respectively), 60DAT (8.52 and 8.56 mg NH4+

released g-1 soil h-1 in kharif and rabi respectively), 90 DAT (3.97 and 6.54 mg NH4+ released g-1 soil h-1 in kharif and

rabi respectively) and harvest (3.30 and 2.77 mg NH4+ released g-1 soil h-1 in kharif and rabi respectively) of rice.

Dehydrogenase activity at 30DAT (2.42 and 3.11 mg TPF produced g-1 soil d-1 in kharif and rabi respectively),60DAT (4.69 and 5.66 mg TPF produced g-1 soil d-1 in kharif and rabi respectively), 90 DAT (3.66 and 5.78 mg TPFproduced g-1 soil d-1 in kharif and rabi respectively) and harvest (2.60 and 2.63 mg TPF produced g-1 soil d-1 in kharifand rabi respectively).In general both the enzymes activity increased sharply up to 60 days after transplanting andthere after declined gradually.

EFFECT OF INORGANIC FERTILIZERS AND FARMYARDMANURE APPLICATIONON SOIL ENZYME ACTIVITIES AT DIFFERENT GROWTH STAGES OF RICE

M. SRILATHA, P. CHANDRASEKHAR RAO, S. H. K. SHARMA, G. PADMAJA ANDK.B. SUNEETHA DEVI

Regional Agricultural Research Station, Acharya N.G.Ranga Agricultural University, Jagtial - 505 327



Soil microbial act ivit ies can not beoverlooked while considering the soil health becausemicroorganisms constitute living entity of the soil andperform various functions like transformation ofnutrients to usable forms, decomposition of organicresidues, bio chemical activities and soil enzymaticactivit ies. Soil enzyme activit ies are easilymeasureable soil quality indicators since theyintegrate information about microbial status andphysico – chemical conditions of soil in relation tonutrients availability (Aon and Colaneri, 2001).

Soil respiration rate and microbial metabolicquotient reflect soil microbial activities and areobviously affected by the eco- environment changes.Soil enzyme activities are also biological indicesreflecting soil fertility. Soil microorganisms and soilenzyme activities, influenced by their eco –environment, can sensitively reflect soil environmentminute changes. Soil urease showed close relationwith urea hydrolysis and increases the utilisation rateof nitrogen fertilizer.

The enzyme dehydrogenase transfers oneelectrons from one substance to another substanceand is involved in degradation of carbohydrates, lipidsetc. The measurement of soil dehydrogenase activityprovides an index of the act ivity of soil

microorganisms which in turn bring about thetransformation and availability of nutrients to cropplants by acting on organic matter.

However, similar studies mostly paidattention to soil microorganism and soil enzymaticactivities at certain growth stage, few to those atwhole rice developmental stages. So the objectiveof the present work was to investigate the soilenzymatic activities at a certain growth stages 30,60, 90 DAT and at harvest of rice – rice croppingsystem in clay soil.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A field study on clay soil during 2010-11 and2011-12 at Regional Agricultural Research Station,Acharya N.G. Ranga Agricultural University, Polasa,Jagtial was conducted in the long – term fertilizerexperiment initiated during kharif 2000-01; the soil ofthe experimental field is clay in texture, slightlyalkaline in reaction (pH 8.2), non-saline (EC 0.47dSm-1) and high in organic carbon (0.79%). The soilis low in available nitrogen (107.6 kg ha-1), mediumin available P (19.6 kg ha-1) and high in available K(364 kg ha-1).

The experiment consisted of 12 (11+1)treatments replicated four times in a randomised

J.Res. ANGRAU 41(4) 15-19, 2013

block design. The treatment details are as follows:T1 – 50%NPK , T2 – 100%NPK, T3 – 150%NPK,T4 – 100%NPK +Hand weeding, T5 –100%NPK+ZnSO4 @ 10 kg ha-1(in kharif), T6 –100%NP, T7 – 100%N alone, T8 – 100%NPK+FYM@5 t ha-1(in each kharif), T9 – 100%NPK-S, T10 – FYM@ 10 t ha-1( in each kharif and rabi), T11 – Control (Nofertilizers, No manures), T12 – Fallow (No crop , Nofertilizers).

The recommended dose of NPK used was120-60-40 kg ha-1. The nutrients were applied throughurea, single super phosphate, muriate of potash andZinc sulphate, in T9 where DAP was used as a sourceof P. Recommended chemical control and handweeding measures were adopted in all the treatmentsexcept T4 where fertilizers only hand weeding waspracticed.

Soil samples were collected (0-15cm depth)at 30, 60, 90 Days after transplanting (DAT) andharvest of the rice. Urease activity was assayed byquantifying the rate of release of NH4

+ from thehydrolysis of urea as described by Tabatabai andBremner (1972). Dehydrogenase activity byquantifying the µg of 2, 3, 5 – triphenyl formazon

(TPF) produced and expressed as µg of TPF producedg-1 soil d-1 as described by Cassida et al. (1964). Allresults were expressed on an oven dry soil basisand were the mean of four replications.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Urease

Changes in soil enzyme activities at differentcrop growth stages are presented in Table 1 & 2.Soil urease activity ascended gradually with ricegrowth at early stage and reached the highest valueon 60 DAT. Soil urease activity increased in all thetreatments over control. There is a significantincrease in urease activity with increasing levels ofrecommended dose of fertilizer up to 150%. Theurease activity mg NH4

+ released g-1 soil h-1 rangedfrom 2.55 (control) to 4.31 (100%NPK+FYM) at 30DAT. The combined treatment of FYM and inorganicsources (100%NPK+FYM) showed higher values forurease activity compared to inorganic fertilizer alone.Balanced nutrition of crop, responsible for betterproliferation of root (rhizosphere) was responsible forthe maximum activity enzymes. These findings arecorroborating with the findings of Gupta and Bharadwaj(1999).

Table1. Changes in soil urease activity (mg NH4+ g-1 soil h-1) at various growth stages of rice (pooled

values of two years i.e. 2010-11 and 2011-12)

Treatments Kharif Rabi

30DAT 60DAT 90DAT Harvest 30DAT 60DAT 90DAT Harvest

50% NPK 2.76 6.47 2.96 2.02 2.97 6.14 4.47 1.82

100%NPK 3.48 7.45 3.30 2.49 3.01 7.06 4.64 2.2

150% NPK 3.91 7.78 3.67 3.13 3.31 7.62 5.87 2.66

100%NPK + HW 2.97 7.07 3.26 2.45 2.83 6.56 5.13 1.98

100%NPK + Zn 3.05 6.85 3.41 2.88 2.51 6.78 5.36 2.45

100%NP 3.37 6.85 2.96 3.02 2.35 6.37 5.97 2.57

100%N 2.95 6.80 2.44 2.41 2.28 5.75 3.28 2.06

100%NPK + FYM 4.31 8.52 3.97 3.30 3.46 8.56 6.54 2.77

100%NPK - S 2.78 6.74 3.24 2.45 2.54 5.96 4.99 2.10

FYM 3.40 6.66 3.38 3.20 3.31 6.38 5.38 2.62

Control 2.55 4.27 2.23 1.85 1.98 4.09 3.66 1.54

Fallow 3.74 6.51 3.62 3.34 3.06 6.42 3.81 2.72

CD (0.05) 0.29 0.45 0.2 0.33 0.18 0.53 0.47 0.27

CV (%) 6.28 4.60 4.69 8.73 4.53 5.62 6.61 8.37

at 5%

SRILATHA et al

Table 2. Changes in soil dehydrogenase activity (mg TPF g-1 soil d-1) at various growth stages ofrice (pooled values of two years i.e. 2010-11 and 2011-12)

Treatments Kharif rabi

30DAT 60DAT 90DAT Harvest 30DAT 60DAT 90DAT Harvest

50% NPK 1.81 3.56 2.72 1.58 2.67 5.46 3.81 1.73

100%NPK 2.12 4.1 3.04 1.96 2.71 6.28 4.1 2.09

150% NPK 2.14 4.28 3.38 2.46 2.98 6.79 5.19 2.53

100%NPK + HW 1.95 3.90 3.00 1.93 2.55 5.84 4.53 1.87

100%NPK + Zn 1.97 3.77 3.14 2.26 2.26 6.04 4.72 2.32

100%NP 1.71 3.52 2.73 2.37 2.11 5.68 4.9 2.35

100%N 1.60 3.37 2.24 1.90 2.05 5.12 2.9 1.95

100%NPK + FYM 2.42 4.69 3.66 2.60 3.11 7.62 5.78 2.63

100%NPK - S 1.88 3.71 2.98 1.92 2.29 5.31 4.41 2.00

FYM 1.85 3.73 3.11 2.46 2.97 5.68 4.75 2.48

Control 1.37 2.35 2.05 1.45 1.78 3.64 3.23 1.46

Fallow 1.94 3.62 3.33 2.62 2.75 5.72 3.37 2.57

CD at 5 % 0.14 0.29 0.22 0.18 0.16 0.47 0.31 0.18

CV (%) 5.31 5.13 5.4 5.92 4.52 5.61 4.93 5.92

A sharp increase in urease activity wasobserved at 60DAT due to all treatments. However,activity of enzyme declined gradually lower than thatof 30DAT at crop maturity/ harvest. These resultsare in conformity with trends reported in literature byvarious workers (Vandana et al. 2012 and Rai andYadav, 2011).

Only organic manure treatment (FYM@10 tha-1) recorded significantly higher values (3.40, 6.66,3.38 and 3.20 mg NH4

+ released g-1 soil h-1 30,60,90DAT and harvest stages respectively) over all theinorganic fertilizer treatments except 150%NPK andFallow.

Fig1. Soil urease activity (mg NH4+ g-1 soil h-1) at various growth stages of rice (Pooled values of twoyears i.e. 2010-11 and 2011-12)

Rabi

EFFECT OF INORGANIC FERTILIZERS AND FARMYARDMANURE APPLICATION ON SOIL ENZYME

Fig 2. Soil dehydrogenase activity (mg TPF g-1 soil d-1) at various growth stages of rice (pooled valuesof two years i.e. 2010-11 and 2011-12).

On the basis of pooled data (kharif), ingeneral the urease activity in soil increased with plantage up to 60DAT. The increase ranged from 2.55 to4.31 (mean of two years), 4.27 to 8.52, 2.23 to 3.97and 1.85 to 3.30 mg NH4

+ released g-1 soil h-1 at 30,60,90 DAT and harvest respectively.

Rao and Raman (1998) reported that therewas 2 to 2.5 fold increase in enzyme activity incropping treatments during active growth stages ofthe crop. The increase attributed to the activity ofplant roots and rhizosphere effect.

Similar to the kharif season urease activity(mg NH4

+ released g-1 soil h-1) ranged from 1.93 to3.37, 3.99 to 8.34, 3.58 to 6.41 and 1.45 to 2.62 at30, 60, 90 DAT and harvest in rabi 2010-11 and in2011-12 it varied from 2.02 to 3.55, 4.19 to 8.76,3.72 to 6.67 and 1.61 to 2.91 mg NH4

+ released g-1

soil h-1. On the pooled data these values varied from1.98 to 3.46.

Dehydrogenase

The results indicated that the activity ofdehydrogenase activity in both the seasons showedsimilar trend as that of urease enzyme ( Table 2).

Among the different fertilizer treatments,significantly highest dehydrogenase activity of 2.42,4.69,3.66 and 2.60 mg of TPF g-1 soil d-1 was recorded

in 100%NPK+FYM at 30,60,90 DAT and harveststages of rice respectively in kharif. The lowestdehydrogenase activity was found in treatment controlat different growth stages. The dehydrogenaseactivity was found to be low in 100%N, 100%NPtreatments compared to other treatments exceptcontrol in both the seasons. This may be due to lackof sufficient substrate i.e. OC which acts as energysource for proliferating microbial population (Reddyand Reddy, 2012). All the treatments registeredincreased enzymatic activity over control.

The sharp increase in dehydrogenase activityat 0 DAT (in both the seasons) which coincides withthe active growth stage of the crop, enhanced rootactivity and the release of cellular enzyme likedehydrogenase in to soil solution during the activegrowth phase which resulted in higher rate ofmineralisation of nutrients in the soil. These resultsare in consonance with the findings of Chaitanya etal. (2011); Reddy et al. (2010) and Reddy et al.(2012).

In a study conducted by Sheng et al. (2005),the soil urease activity ascended gradually with ricegrowth at early stage from the tillering to filling stages,the rice was just at the most flourished stage andthe soil enzymatic activities were strong, as the riceroots excreted more organic acid and carbohydrates,which stimulated the correlative soil enzymatic ac-tivities.

SRILATHA et al

Treatments 2010 2011 Mean

50% NPK 0.81 0.78 0.80

100%NPK 0.80 0.84 0.82

150% NPK 0.81 0.85 0.83

100%NPK + HW 0.83 0.83 0.83

100%NPK + Zn 0.83 0.87 0.85

100%NP 0.74 0.82 0.78

100%N 0.81 0.80 0.81

100%NPK + FYM 1.01 1.08 1.05

100%NPK - S 0.88 0.86 0.87

FYM 1.04 1.09 1.07

Control 0.80 0.81 0.80

CD (0.05) 0.16 0.18 0.12

CV (%) 13.91 14.44 9.7

Table 3. Soil organic carbon content (%) after harvest of rabi rice

REFERENCES

Aon, M.A and Colaneri,A.C.2001. II. Temporal andspatial evaluation of enzymatic activities andphysico – chemical properties in an agriculturalsoil. Applied Soil Ecology.18, 255 – 270.

Cassida, L.E., Klein, D.A and Santoro, J. 1964. Soildehydrogenase activity. Soil Science. 98: 371-376.

Chaitanya, T., Padmaja, G., Rao, P.C and SuneethaDevi, K.B.2011. Effect of integrated nutrientmanagement on soil dehydrogenase activity,nutrient uptake and fruit yield of tomato(Lycopersican esculentum L.) . Journal ofResearch, ANGRAU. 39 (4): 63 -65.

Gupta, R.D and Bharadwaj, K.K.1999. Phosphataseand urease enzymatic activites in some soilproperties of North West Himalayas. Journal ofthe Indian Society of Soil Science. 38:756 -759.

Rai, T.N and Yadav, J.2011. influence of inorganicand organic nutrient sources on soil enzymeactivities. Journal of the Indian Society of soilScience.59 (1): 54 -59.

Rao, P. C and Raman, S.1998. Effect of herbicideson soil dehydrogenase activity in flooded rice

soil. Journal of the Indian Society of Soil Science.46 (3): 470-471.

Reddy, R.U and Reddy, M.S.2012. Influence ofintegrated nutrient management on hydrogenaseactivity of soil in tomato – onion cropping system.Jouranl of Reseacrh ANGRAU. 40(2): 75 -76.

Reddy, T.P., Padmaja, G and Rao,P.C.2010.Integrated effect of vermicompost and nitroegenfertilizers on soil dehydrogenase enzyme activityand yield of onion – raddish cropping system.Journal of Soils and Crops.20(2): 189 -195.

Sheng, ZENG.LU., Min, LIAO.,Cheng – li, CHEN.,Chang – Young, HUANG. 2005. Variation of soilmicrobial biomass and enzyme activities atdifferent growth stages of rice (oryza sativa).RiceScience.12 (4):283-288.

Tabatabai, M.A and Bremner, J. M. 1972. Assay ofurease activity in soils. Soil Biology andBiochemistry 4: 479-489.

Vandana, L.J., Rao, P.C and Padmaja, G. 2012.Effect of crop cover on soil enzyme activity.Jouranl of Reseacrh ANGRAU. 40 (4): 1 -5.

at 5%

EFFECT OF INORGANIC FERTILIZERS AND FARMYARDMANURE APPLICATION ON SOIL ENZYME

RESPONSE FUNCTIONS AND ECONOMICS OF POTASSIUM APPLICATIONTO Bt. COTTON HYBRID (Gossypium hirsutum) WITH INORGANIC AND

INTEGRATED SUPPLY OF NUTRIENTSD. MOHAN DAS, R. RAGHAVAIAH, G. SRINIVAS, V. SAILAJA and A. SIVA SANKAR

Department of Agronomy, College of Agriculture,Acharya N.G Ranga Agricultural University, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad 500 030

Date of Receipt : 25.05.2013 Date of Acceptance : 15..07.2013

ABSTRACT

A field experiment was conducted during kharif 2009 and 2010 at the Agricultural Research Station,Adilabad in Andhra Pradesh to elicit information on the response functions of Bt. seed cotton yield to levelsof K application with the recommended dose of inorganic fertilizers @ 120:60 kg/ha N:P and the integratednutrient management by the substitution of 25, 50 or 75% N fertilizer with vermicompost. The soil was avertisol having medium status in available nitrogen (320 kg/ha N) and potassium (240 kg/ha K), but rich inavailable phosphorus (36 kg/ha P). There was a rainfall of 627.5 mm during the crop growth period in 2009and 1145 mm in 2010.

The seed cotton yield showed quadraticresponses to increase in the level of K in all thetreatments both during 2009 and 2010. The estimatedyield from the equations showed that the yieldincreased progressively up to 60 kg/ha when appliedwith the inorganic fertilizers or the integrated supplyof nutrients by the substitution of 25% N fertilizerwith vermicompost. The crop grown with integratednutrient supply produced more seed cotton yield thanwith the inorganic fertilizers at different levels of Kapplication in the second year with high rainfall whilethe production levels were almost similar in the firstyear which had prolonged and intermittent dry spells.The economics of cultivation showed that thevermicompost is highly expensive. The cost of 3.33t vermicompost to substitute 25% N fertilizer wasRs 13220. Therefore, the net returns per hectare andper rupee investment from the cultivation expensesof cotton were less than due to the inorganic fertilizerapplication. The most profitable level of potassiumwas 60 kg/ha. But, considering the response function,the estimated economic optimum was 47 kg/ha Kwhen applied with the recommended dose of 120:60kg/ha N and P both in years of moisture deficit andsurplus. The economic optimum dose was 76 kg/haK if the crop was raised with the integrated supply of

nutrients by the substitution of 25% N fertilizer insituations of continuous moist regime of the soil.

Cotton is cultivated on 12.18 M ha area inIndia. The production is 34.09 M t and the productivityis 476 kg/ha. In Andhra Pradesh, it is cultivated on18.79 lakh ha of which the Bt. cotton occupies 17.06lakh ha. The introgression of Bt. gene and commercialexploitation of these hybrids since 2002 in India hasrevolutionized its adoption by the farmers for the

control of the three boll worm damage. The pesticideuse reduced to 50 – 75% and high yields are realized.

The agronomic requirements of these Bt. hybrids have

also changed due to a change in the morphology,phenology and physiology of the crop (Chen et al.2002). Their water and nutrient requirement alsoincrease due to more boll load and efficient

translocation of the photosynthates into the bolls.

Cotton is mostly cultivated under rain fed conditionsand frequently encounter moisture stress. The

absorption of potassium by the roots inducestolerance to moisture stress. It imparts osmotic pull

to draw water into the plant roots (Nagdeve et al.2008). Cotton is one of the most sensitive crops to Kdeficiencies (Cope, 1981). It is inefficient in Kabsorption because of its less dense rooting pattern


J.Res. ANGRAU 41(4) 20-24, 2013

(Gerrik et al. 1987). The early maturing genotypesare also sensitive to low availability of K. The fertilizershortage since recent past and limited availability oforganic sources of nutrients to meet the increasingrequirement of high yielding new genotypes is anotherserious lacuna in efficient crop production. Therefore,the present experiment was conducted to evaluatethe requirement of K with recommended dose ofinorganic N and P through fertilizers and integratedsupply of nutrients by substituting part of the Nfertilizer in Bt. cotton hybrid.


A field experiment was conducted in thekharif season during 2009 and 2010 at the AgriculturalResearch Station Adilabad in Andhra Pradesh. Thesoil was clayey in texture with slightly alkaline reaction(pH 8.03) and normal in salt concentration (EC 0.384d S/m). The O C was 0.62%. The status in soilavailable nitrogen (320 kg/ha N) and potassium (240kg/ha K) was medium while, it was rich in phosphorus(36 kg/ha P). There was a rainfall of 627.5 mm withprolonged and intermittent dry spells during the cropgrowth period in 2009. The soil was moist throughoutthe crop growth period in 2010 due to well distributionof 1145 mm rainfall. Cotton seed of the hybrid Mallikawas sown on 27 June in 2009 and 7 June in 2010.The spacing was 90 cm between the rows and 60cm within the row. The nitrogenous fertilizer wasapplied in two spits i.e. half at sowing with entiredose of 60 kg/ha P at sowing and rest top dressed amonth later. Potassium was applied in 3 splits i.e 1/3 each at sowing, a month and 2 months later.Vermicompost was incorporated into the main plotsbefore sowing of the crop.

The layout of the experiment was split plotdesign. The treatments were replicated thrice. Therewere 4 main plot and 4 sub plot treatments. The mainplot treatments were F1 – Recommended dose of120:60 kg/ha N:P : F21 – 75% N- Fertilizer + 25% Nvermicompost ; F3 – 50% N – Fertilizer + 50% Nvermicompost and F4 – 25% N – Fertilizer + 75% N– vermicompost. The sub plot treatments were 0,30, 60 and 90 kg/ha K. The lot of the vermicompostused had 1.5% N, 0.9% P and 1.5% K. It had 40%

moisture at the time of incorporation in the soil. Thequantity of vermicompost to be added to substitute25, 50 or 75% recommended N was calculated fromthe relationship Q = R/C x 100 and FQ = Q (100-Moisture content) x 100, where Q = Quantity ofvermicompost on dry weight basis, R =Recommended rate of nutrient concentration to besubstituted and C = Nutrient concentration in thesampled lot and FQ = Quantity of vermicompost tobe applied on fresh weight basis. In the presentinvestigation, the nutrient concentration and moisturepercent were almost similar in the vermicompost bothin 2009 and 2010 prepared with the same material atthe Research Station. The quantity of vermicompostadded to substitute 25, 50, 75% recommended levelof 120 kg/ha N was estimated at 3.33, 6.66 and 10 t/ha respectively. There were 6 pickings of seed cottonin each year. The last picking was on 20 Decemberin 2009 and 25 November in 2010. The responseequations to K were developed as described by AndreGuinard (1982). The Economic optimum dose of Kwas worked out from the relation

Economic opt = (Px/Py – b) 2 c Where, Pxis the price of K @ Rs 7.40/kg and Py is the cost ofseed cotton. The price of seed cotton was Rs 36.0/kg in 2009 and Rs 41.0 in 2010; b is the regressioncoefficient and c is the constant or quadratic term inthe equation. The input cost and labour wages wereconsidered for cost of cultivation. The cost ofvermicompost was Rs 4.0/kg, Rs 10.50/kg N and Rs16.60/kg P.


The second degree polynomial equationsprecisely described the response of seed cotton yieldto levels of K application with inorganic or integratedsupply of nutrients (Table 1). The coefficients ofdetermination ranged from 0.80 to 0.99 in 2009. Therange was from 0.97 to 0.99. It implies that thevariation in estimated seed cotton yield wasexplained to the extent of these R2 range values inthe two years. The Observed and estimated yielddue to different treatments are shown in table 2. Theseed cotton yield was invariably more in the secondthan in the first year because of high rainfall and even

RESPONSE FUNCTIONS AND ECONOMICS OF POTASSIUM APPLICATION TO Bt. COTTON HYBRID

distribution over the crop growth period. The yieldincreased progressively with fertilizer application upto 60 kg/ha in different treatments. The productionwas invariably more in cotton grown with theintegrated supply of nutrients by substituting 25% Nfertilizer with vermicompost than the inorganicfertilizers at any level of K application in the secondyear while there was no such distinct variation in thefirst year. But. There was a substantial yield reductionin seed cotton yield by decreasing the proportion ofN fertilizer to 50 and 75% combined with proportionateincrease in vermicompost. This drastic yield reduction

occurred in both the years of investigation. Thisnegative impact could probably be due to the limitedsupply of ready to absorb nutrients in the inorganicform through the fertilizers during their peakrequirement while the decomposition of vermicompostis a slow process. They released the nutrients lateby the time the crop advanced towards maturity.Therefore, 60 kg/ha K applied with the integratednutrient management treatment by substituting 25%N fertilizer is the best option to sustain the yield aswith inorganic fertilizers in events of periodic moisturestress and realize more yield in events of well

Treatment a bx cx2 R2 K opt 2009

Y1 – 120:60 kg/ha NP 1962 9.70 -0.09999 0.80 47 Y2 - 75% N – F + 25% N – VC 2012 7.77 -0.08527 0.88 45 Y3 - 50% N – F + 50% N - VC 1465 11.33 -0.10833 0.95 52 Y4 - 25% N – F + 7% N - VC 1170 9.35 -0.07750 0.99 59

2010 Y1 - 120 : 60 kg/ha NP 2723 11.37 -0.11861 0.99 47 Y2 - 75% N – F + 25% N - VC 2928 17.48 -0.11305 0.99 76 Y3 - 50% N - F + 50% N - VC 2480 16.62 -0.11111 0.97 74 Y4 - 25% N – F + 75% N - VC 2283 9.91 -0.04055 0.98 120

Table 1. Response functions for level of K fertilization with inorganic and integrated nutrientmanagement treatments in Bt. cotton

Table 2. Seed cotton yield (kg/ha) observed in the experiment and estimated from the responsefunctions

Treatment 2009 - 10 2010 – 11

Observed Estimated Observed Estimated F1 : 120 : 60 kg/ha NP K - 0 1983 1962 2716 2723 K – 30 2101 2164 3106 2957 K - 60 2251 2188 3363 2978 K - 90 2013 2033 3326 2785 F 2: 75% N – F + 25% N – VC K - 0 2016 2012 2933 2928 K - 30 2123 2170 3340 3351 K - 60 2200 2171 3583 3570 K - 90 2000 2020 3583 3586 F 3: 50% N – F + 50% N – VC K – 0 1477 1465 2463 2480

K - 30 1673 1707 2930 2878 K - 60 1790 1756 3026 3077 K - 90 1596 1607 3093 3076 F 4: 25% N – F + 75% N – VC K - 0 1209 1170 2297 2283 K - 30 1387 1380 2503 2544 K - 60 1447 1452 2773 2732 K - 90 1346 1384 2833 2846

DAS et al

distribution pattern of rainfall. The economic optimumdose of K was 47 kg/ha when applied with inorganicdose of 120:60 kg/ha N:P both in situations of lowand erratic rainfall distribution as well as high rainfalland uniform distribution. But, the economic optimumdose increased to 76 kg/ha by managing the crop

The economics of cotton cultivation showedthat the vermicompost is a highly expensive organicinput. The cost of cultivation increased by Rs 13,320for 3.33 t to substitute 25% N fertilizer. The costincreased with proportionate increase in the quantityof vermicompost to substitute 50 and 75% N fertilizer.

Treatment Cost of cultivation Rs/ha

Gross returns (Rs/ha)

Net returns (Rs/ha

Net returns Rs/Re

2009 2010 2009 2010 2009 2010 T1 – 120 :60 kg/ha NP + K0 41018 71388 111356 30370 70248 0.74 1.71 T2 - 120:60 kg/ha NP + K30 41240 73728 127346 32488 86106 0.79 2.09 T3 - 120:60 kg/ha NP +- K60 41462 81026 137883 39564 96421 0.95 2.32 T4 - 120 :60 kg/ha NP + k90 41674 72468 136366 30794 94682 0.74 2.27 T5 - 75% N – F + 25% N – VC + K0

54023 71388 120253 17365 66230 0.34 1.22

T6 - 75% N – F + 25% N – VC + K30

54245 76428 126280 22183 72035 0.41 1.33

T7 - 75% N – F + 25% N – VC + K60

54267 71848 137760 17381 83293 0.32 1.53

T8 – 75% N – F + 25% N – VC + K90

54684 72000 146903 17316 92219 0.31 1.69

T9 – 50% N - F + 50 % N – VC + K0

67028 53172 100983 - 13856

33955 -0.21 0.51

T10 – 50% N – F+ 50% N – VC + K30

67250 60228 114800 -7022 47550 -0.10 0.71

T11- 50% N – F + 50% N – VC + K60

67472 64440 116276 -3032 48804 -0.14 0.72

T12 – 50%N – F + 50% N – VC + K90

67594 57456 126813 -10238 59119 -1.28 0.87

T13 – 25% N – F + 75% N- VC + K0

80073 43524 94136 -36551 14063 -0.46 0.17

T14 – 25% N – F + 75% N – VC +K30

80295 49896 102623 -3399 22328 -0.38 0.28

T15 - 25% N – F + 75% N – VC + K60

80517 52056 113693 -28461 35176 -0.35 0.41

T16 - 25% N – F + 75% N – VC + K90

80739 48456 116153 -32283 35414 -0.40 0.44

Table 3. Economics of inorganic and integrated nutrient management treatments at different levels of Kapplication in Bt. cotton hybrid

nutrition with the integrated supply by the substitutionof 25% N fertilizer in events of good rainfall with moistsoil. Therefore farmers should monitor to apply moreK in the second and third split depending on the rainfallpattern to realize high profit from investment on thisnutrient and integrated supply of nutrients.

The cost of each increment of 30 kg K was Rs222.Although the seed cotton yield was more by theintegrated nutrient management treatment due to thesubstitution of 25% N fertilizer with vermicompostthe gross value of the produce was not substantiallymore than the value of the produce obtained frominorganic fertilizers at any level of K. This was mainly

RESPONSE FUNCTIONS AND ECONOMICS OF POTASSIUM APPLICATION TO Bt. COTTON HYBRID

due to the reason that the increase in yield was notproportionately high. Maximum net returns of Rs39564 and Rs 96,421/ha were realized by theapplication of 60 kg/ha K with the recommended levelof 120:60 kg/ha NP in 2009 and 2010. The net returnswere Rs 22,183 by the application of 60 kg/ha K withthe integrated supply of nutrients by the substitutionof 25% N fertilizer with vermi compost in 2009.Maximum profit of Rs 92,219/ha was obtained bythe application of 90 kg/ha K with this integratednutrient management treatment in 2010. The lowprofits due to the integrated nutrient managementowes to the enormously high cost of vermi compost.But, Hulihalli and Patil (2004) recorded increasedproductivity and net returns by the application ofrecommended dose of N PK with 5 t/ha poultrymanure or FYM. The net returns per rupee investmentwere Rs 0.95 in 2009 and Rs 2.32 in 2010 from thetreatment 120:60:60 kg/ha NPK. The per rupee returnswere Rs 0.41 by the application of 30 kg/h K with theintegrated supply of nutrients by the substitution of25% N fertilizer with vermicompost in 2009. It wasRs 1.69 by the application of 90 kg/ha K combined

with this integrated nutrient management treatmentin 2010. These trends indicate the need to apply 60kg/ha K with the recommended dose of 120:60 kg/ha NP to realize maximum profit per hectare and perrupee invested on the cost of this nutrient. Since the

optimum economic dose is 47 kg/ha K, the estimated

profitability with the existing price of inputs tend to

slide at still higher levels. Therefore, farmers growing

cotton with the recommended dose of fertilizers

should necessarily apply about 47 kg/ha K to minimize

the risk of moisture stress and realize optimum profit.

Farmers who can afford to expend additional Rs

13,320 on 3.33 t vermicompost or those who can

prepare it themselves should opt the integrated

supply of nutrients while the application of K depends

on the rainfall pattern. They should apply 45 kg/ha K

if the crop is subjected to frequent moisture stress,

but fertilize the crop liberally with 76 kg/ha K to

harvest more seed cotton yield and realize optimumprofit as well as the unseen but long felt advantagesof improved soil fertility and moisture retentioncapacity.

REFERENCES

Andre Guinard.1982. Economic optimization offertilizer applications; a method for field staffbased on response curves and surfaces. TropicalAgriculture Trinidad. 59 (3):257 – 259.

Chen, D. H., Yang, C.Q,, Chen, Y, and Wu, Y.K.2002.The effects on the boll weight and the source-sink chararacteristic in the co ordination ofnitrogen fertilizer and DPC in Bt. transgeniccotton . Cotton Science. 3: 147 – 150.

Cope, Jr. J, T. 1981. Effect of 50 years of fertilizationwith phosphorus and potassium on soil testlevels and yields at six locations. Soil ScienceSociety of American Journal. 45: 342-347.

Gerrik, T. T., Morrison. J. E and Chichester, F. W.1987. Effect of controlled traffic on soil physicalproperties and crop rooting. Agronomy Journal.79: 434-438.

Hulihalli, U.K and Patil, V.C. 2004. Response of rainfed cotton cv. Jayadhar (Gossypium herbaceum)to NPK levels and organic manures. Internationalsymposium on strategies for sustainable cottonproduction. A Global Vision to crop production23-25 November. 2004. University of AgriculturalSciences, Dharwad, Karnataka

Nagdeve, M.B., Giri, M.D and Ganvir, M.M. 2008.Effect of potassium application and moistureconservation practices on yield of cotton(Gossypium hirsutum). Indian Journal of Dry landAgricultural Research and Development. 23 (2):10-13.

DAS et al

Pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan (L) Mill Sp.)remains one of the most hardy and drought-tolerantlegumes (Valenzuela and Smith, 2002) and is oftenthe only crop that gives considerable yield during dryspells when other legumes fail (Okiror,1986). Theability of pigeonpea to withstand severe drought betterthan many legumes is attributed to its deep roots(Flower and Ludlow, 1987) and osmotic adjustmentin the leaves (Subbarao et al., 2000). These traitsallow its cultivation in a wide range of environmentsand cropping systems. In India, pigeonpea is secondmost important pulse crop next to Chickpea producing2.36 m tons annually from 3.56 m ha accounting for15.5% and 14.5% of pulse production and area inthe country, respectively (Singh et al., 2009).

Unimodal rainfall pattern of Telangana regionoffers a lot of runoff potential and provides opportunityand scope for rain water harvesting during the peakrainfall months (Athawale, 2003). Such harvestedwater could be used for limited irrigation at mostcritical reproductive growth stages of the crop in theabsence of rains, especially for pigeonpea which isoften encountered with mid-season and terminaldroughts. Even small amounts of water applied (10–15 mm) at critical growth stages were highly beneficial(Pathak and Laryea, 1990).

EFFECT OF VARIED PLANT DENSITIES AND IRRIGATION LEVELS OFPIGEONPEA ON SOIL MOISTURE STATUS

K.SURESH, V.PRAVEEN RAO, A.SRINIVAS, A.SIVA SANKAR AND V.GOVARDHANFarmer’s Call Center, Acharya N.G. Ranga Agricultural University, Secunderabad-500061

ABSTRACT

Field experiments were conducted during kharif seasons of 2009 and 2010 at Agricultural ResearchStation, Basanthpur, Medak district to study the effect of plant densities and irrigation levels of pigeonpea on soilmoisture status. LRG-41 was used as test variety and sown at three varied plant densities D1 (55,555 plants ha-1), D2

(41,666 plants ha-1) and D3 (33,333 plants ha-1) as main plots and four irrigation levels viz., I1 (rainfed control), I2(supplemental irrigation through drip at flowering), I3 (supplemental irrigation through drip at pod development) andI4 (supplemental irrigation through drip at flowering and pod development stages). Results revealed that, the competitionamong plants for moisture was more with increasing plant densities (D1 and D2) leading to faster depletion of soilmoisture and reaching the permanent wilting point much 5-7 days earlier than that of lesser plant density (D3).Based on the availability of quantum of runoff water, irrigating the crop at flowering and pod development stages isrecommended so as to enable the soil moisture status to remain available to the crop. Under limited irrigation wateravailability impact of supplemental irrigation at pod development stage is more pronounced on yield and contributedto higher WUE in pigeonpea grown under lesser plant densities.

Benefits of supplemental irrigation in termsof increasing and stabilizing crop productivity havebeen impressive, even in the semi arid tropic areaswith dependable rainfall. Excellent responses tosupplemental irrigation have been reported fromseveral locations in SAT India (Gunnell andKrishnamurthy, 2003) and SAT Africa (Rockstrom etal., 2007). However, only limited amount of waterharvested would be available for supplementalirrigation. The primary limiting factor for crop yieldstabilization in semi-arid rainfed regions is the amountof crop water available in the root zone (Lal, 1991).Under such conditions modification of plantinggeometry plays a key role in order to efficiently usethe limited water resource.

Plant density is an important agronomicfactor that manipulates micro environment of the fieldand affects growth, development and yield of crops.Within certain limits, increase of plant populationdensity decreases the growth and yield per plant butthe reverse occurs for yield per unit area (Caliskanet al., 2007). Thus, changes in the soil moisturestatus need to be studied under different plantingdensities and irrigation levels for identifying anoptimum plant population which provides bestenvironment to express its full potential and ensureminimum competition among the plants that makesbetter use of limited water resources available.



J.Res. ANGRAU 41(4) 25-31, 2013


A field experiment was conducted duringkharif seasons of 2009 and 2010 at AgriculturalResearch Station, Basanthpur, Medak district in orderto assess the soil moisture status at varied plantdensities and irrigation levels on pigeonpea. Thechemical properties of experimental soil revealed thatthe soil was low in nitrogen (188.2 kg ha-1) andphosphorus (31.0 kg ha-1), and medium in potassium(146.3 kg ha-1). The hydraulic conductivity varied from

Date Jul-09 Aug-09 Sep-09 Oct-09 Nov-09 Dec-09 Jan-10 1 0.0 0.0 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 2 0.0 0.0 23.1 10.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 3 0.0 0.0 89.0 160.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 4 0.0 0.0 16.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 5 0.0 0.0 14.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 6 0.0 0.0 9.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 7 0.0 0.0 1.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 8 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

9 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

10 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

11 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 22.1 0.0 0.0 12 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

13 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 14 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 15 32.2 15.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 16 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 DOH 17 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 18 DOS 59.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 19 0 5.9 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 20 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 21 10.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 22 5.6 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 23 0.0 15.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 24 0.0 64.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 25 0.0 32.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 26 0.0 7.3 9.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 27 0.0 7.0 30.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 28 3.4 0.0 20.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 29 0.0 0.0 18.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 30 0.0 0.0 8.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 31 0.0 16.0 -- 0.0 -- 0.0

Total 19.0 221.9 237.7 170.0 22.1 0.0 0.0 Normal 197.0 209.0 159.0 106.0 28.0 30.0 15.0 Rainy days

3 9 10 2 1 0 0

1.64 cm hr-1 to 2.59 cm hr-1. Three varied plantdensities of pigeonpea (D1–55,555 plants ha-1, D2–41,666 plants ha-1 and D3–33,333 plants ha-1) weretested as 3 main treatments with 4 irrigation levelsas sub treatments involving control (I1 - rainfed), 20mm of supplemental irrigation through drip atflowering (I2), 20 mm of supplemental irrigationthrough drip at pod development (I3) and 20 mm ofsupplemental irrigation through drip each at flowering

Table 1. Rainfall (mm) during the crop growth period for the year 2009

SURESH et al

Date Jul-10 Aug-10 Sep-10 Oct-10 Nov-10 Dec-10 Jan-11 1 93.3 0.0 2.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

2 5.3 0.0 5.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

3 0.0 0.0 11.4 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

4 2.4 22.0 11.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

5 20.0 0.0 4.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

6 29.1 0.0 3.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

7 11.1 0.0 4.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

8 0.0 0.0 6.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

9 0.0 0.0 3.4 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

10 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

11 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

12 0.0 15.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

13 0.0 47.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

14 0.0 0.0 70.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

15 13.2 44.2 4.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

16 0.0 0.0 14.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

17 DOS 3.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 DOH 18 0.0 0.0 12.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

19 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

20 0.0 29.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

21 61.2 34.1 21.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

22 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

23 23.2 2.4 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

24 15.1 20.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

25 4.0 29.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

26 0.0 2.0 5.4 0.0 0.0 0.0

27 6.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

28 18.4 5.4 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

29 0.0 8.1 1.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

30 12.1 10.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

31 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

Total 140.1 272.1 179.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 Normal 197.0 209.0 159.0 106.0 28.0 30.0 15.0 Rainy days

7 13 14 0 0 0 0

and pod development (I4) stages. The experiment waslaid out in a split plot design with three replications.The variety tested was LRG-41 and the drip systemadopted was 16 mm integral surface dripper line.

Periodical soil samples at 15 cm and 30 cm soildepths were collected for moisture estimation usingscrew auger from sowing to harvest at 15 day interval(at sowing, 15, 30, 45, 60, 75, 90, 105, 120, 135,

Table 2. Rainfall (mm) during the crop growth period for the year 2010

EFFECT OF VARIED PLANT DENSITIES AND IRRIGATION LEVELS OF PIGEONPEA ON SOIL

150, 165 DAS and at harvest). The amount of soilmoisture was estimated by gravimetric method asgiven by Black (1965). The soil moisture status at 0-15 cm and 15-30 cm soil depth at saturation was43.4 mm and 44.6 mm, at field capacity was 29.1mm and 30.5 mm and at permanent wilting point was16.2 mm and 16.7 mm respectively. The amount ofrainfall received during 2009 and 2010 were 670.7mm (Table 1) and 591.2 mm (Table 2) in 25 and 34rainy days respectively.


During 2009, the availability of soil moisturewas low till 30 DAS and increased above field capacity(FC) till 90 DAS at both depths. As rainfall receded,the soil moisture at both the depths depleted andreached 75% available soil moisture depletion(ASMD). At flowering, there was an incidental rainfallof 22.1 mm which increased the soil moisture to 25%available soil moisture depletion. Application of 20mm of supplemental irrigation at flowering (I2)increased the soil moisture and 25% available soilmoisture depletion was sustained until 135 DAS.From thereon, the available soil moisture depletedand reached permanent wilting point (PWP) at harvest.Supplemental irrigation of 20 mm at pod development(I3) corresponded to 75% ASMD and increased to25% ASMD. Irrigating the crop twice at flowering andpod development (I4) more or less maintained thesoil moisture status from 50% ASMD to 25% ASMDfrom 120 to 155 DAS thereby evading the moisturestress during critical stages of the crop. Once therainfall receded at 120 DAS, there was severe moisturestress in the crop grown under rainfed control (I1) andthe soil moisture status almost reached PWP beforethe harvest of the crop. Similar trend of soil moistureavailability during the whole cropping period at 30cm soil depth was observed. However, the quantumof availability of the moisture was marginally morethan that of 15 cm soil depth (Figure 3 and 4).

Soil moisture status during the croppingseason (2009) varied with different plant densitiestested. In densely sown crop (D1-55,555 plant ha-1),soil moisture depleted at a faster rate compared tothat of crop sown at a density of 41,666 plants ha-1

(D2), followed by the crop sown at a density of 33,333plants ha-1 (D3) (Figure 1 and 3). The competitionamong plants for moisture was more with increasing

plant densities (D1 and D2) leading to faster depletionof soil moisture and reaching the PWP much earlierthan that of lesser plant densities (D3). Ball et al.(2000) also found similar depletion of soil moistureat higher plant densities.

The crop sown during 2010 was relativelysubjected to more moisture stress due to earlycessation of rainfall. Available soil moisture statusdepleted below field capacity (FC) from 60 -70 DASand thereafter reached 75% ASMD at 105 DAS.Irrigating the crop at flowering (I2) increased the soilmoisture status to 50% ASMD. Subsequently, thesoil moisture got depleted reaching PWP at 160 DAS.By the time the crop reached pod development stage,the soil moisture reached to PWP. Imposition ofsupplemental irrigation at this stage (I3), the soilmoisture increased to 50% ASMD and decreasedthereafter reaching PWP at crop harvest. Irrigatingthe crop at flowering and pod development (I4) enabledto maintain the soil moisture status at 50% ASMDfrom 120 to 170 DAS thereby mitigating the terminalmoisture stress which was otherwise seen in therainfed control (I1). In the rainfed control (I1), the soilmoisture status constantly depleted from 60 DASreaching the PWP at 135 DAS which affected thecrop severely (Figure 6 and 8).

Irrespective of irrigation treatments, plantdensities affected the soil moisture status of the cropduring 2010. For the crop sown at 150 cm x 20 cm(D3), relatively higher available soil moisture statusat 0-15 cm and 15-30 cm soil depth was recordedduring the growth period (Figure 5 and 7). The cropsown at higher plant densities (D1-55,555 plants ha-1)reached PWP much earlier than that of crop sown atless denser rates (D2-41,666 plants ha-1 and D3-33,333 plants ha-1). This shows that moisture stressis more severe and apparent at higher plant densitiesmore so at deficit and limited irrigation conditions.These findings are in conformity with Lemma et al.(2009).

The water use efficiency was markedlyaffected by different plant densities. Increase in plantdensity markedly reduced the water use efficiencyin both the years. Based on mean of both the yearsthe lower plant density of D3 (33,333 plants ha-1)registered 8.8% and 18.9% higher water useefficiency over intermediate, D2 (41,666 plants ha-1)

SURESH et al

and higher, D1 (55,555 plants ha-1) plant density,respectively (Table 3). These trends could be traced

Treatments Yield (kg ha-1) ETc (mm) Water use efficiency (kg ha-1 mm-1)

Plant densities 2009 2010 Mean 2009 2010 Mean 2009 2010 Mean D1 978 906 942 359.3 341.5 350.4 2.72 2.65 2.69 D2 1052 1008 1030 359.2 341.3 350.3 2.93 2.95 2.94 D3 1161 1084 1123 359.5 340.9 350.2 3.23 3.18 3.20

Irrigation levels I1 760 730 745 339.3 321.5 330.4 2.24 2.27 2.26 I2 1048 1003 1026 359.1 340.4 349.8 2.92 2.95 2.93 I3 1183 1078 1131 358.9 341.5 350.2 3.30 3.16 3.23 I4 1263 1185 1224 379.9 361.4 370.7 3.32 3.28 3.30

Mean 1064 999 1031 359.3 341.2 350.3 2.95 2.92 2.94

to marginal variation in seasonal ETc with varyingplant densities but higher yield under lower plantdensity of D3 (33,333 plants ha-1)

Table 3. Crop evapotranspiration (ETc) and Water Use Efficiency (WUE) as influenced by plant densitiesand supplemental irrigation

Fig 1. Variation of soil moisture (mm) in 0-15 cmsoil depth as influenced by plant densities in2009

Fig 2. Variation of soil moisture (mm) in 0-15 cmsoil depth as influenced by irrigation levels in2009

Fig 3. Variation of soil moisture (mm) in 15-30cm soil depth as influenced by plant densitiesin 2009

Fig 4. Variation of soil moisture (mm) in 15-30cm soil depth as influenced by irrigation levelsin 2009

FC – Field Capacity, PWP-Permanent Wilting Point, ASMD-Available Soil Moisture Depletion, At H- AtHarvest,


Fig 5. Variation of soil moisture (mm) in 0-15 cmsoil depth as influenced by plant densities in 2010

Fig 6. Variation of soil moisture (mm) in 0-15 cmsoil depth as influenced by irrigation levels in2010

Fig 7. Variation of soil moisture (mm) in 15-30cm soil depth as influenced by plant densitiesin 2010

Fig 8. Variation of soil moisture (mm) in 15-30cm soil depth as influenced by irrigation levelsin 2010

Irrigation treatments also influenced the

water use efficiency. Application of two irrigations of

20 mm depth each at flowering and pod development

stages in I4 treatment registered 46.0%, 12.6% and

2.1% higher water use efficiency (3.3kg ha-1mm-1)

over I1, I2 and I3, respectively on mean basis (Table

3). The crop in I3 treatment which was given one

irrigation of 20 mm depth had higher water use

efficiency in comparison to I2 wherein one irrigation

of 20 mm depth was scheduled at flowering stage.

These f indings indicate that the impact of

supplemental irrigation at pod development stage is

more pronounced on yield and contributed to higher

WUE. Sudhakar (1996) also registered higher WUE

with increased level of irrigations in pigeonpea. Lowest

water use efficiency was registered under non-

irrigated rainfed treatment. These variations in water

use efficiency could be traced to variation in seed

yield and seasonal ETc.

CONCLUSION

The present study has shown a relationshipbetween soil moisture and planting density indicatingthe importance of adjusting density levels to availablemoisture supply. Under the prevailing unimodal natureof rainfall conditions, where in which the criticalperiods of pigeonpea crop growth i.e., flowering andpod development stages are affected by the terminalmoisture stress, minimal supplemental irrigation usingthe runoff rain water is an viable option. To ensureincreased efficiency of the applied water lower plantdensities of 33,333 plants ha-1 can be adopted so asto enable the crop to evade the moisture stress for alonger period of its duration. Based on the availabilityof quantum of runoff water, irrigating the crop atflowering and pod development stages isrecommended so as to enable the soil moisturestatus to remain available to the crop. Under limitedirrigation water availability impact of supplementalirrigation at pod development stage is morepronounced on yield and contributed to higher WUEin pigeonpea grown under lesser plant densities.

SURESH et al

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Ball, R.A., Purcell, L.C and Vories, E.D. 2000. Shortseason soybean yield compensation in responseto population and water regime. Crop Science.40: 1071-1078.

Black, C.A. 1965. Methods of Soil Analysis: Part IPhysical and mineralogical properties. AmericanSociety of Agronomy, Madison, Wisconsin,USA.

Caliskan, S.M., Aslan, M., Uremis, I and Caliskan,M.E. 2007. The effect of row spacing on yieldand yield components of full season and doublecropped soybean. Turkish Journal of Agricultureand Forestry. 31: 147-154.

Flower, D.J and Ludlow, M.M. 1987. Variation amongaccessions of pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan) inosmotic adjustment and dehydration toleranceof leaves. Field Crops Research. 17: 229-243.

Gunnell, Y and Krishnamurthy, A. 2003. Past andpresent status of run-off harvesting s y s t em sin dryland peninsular India: a critical review.Ambio. 32(4): 320-323.

Lal, R. 1991. Current research on crop water balanceand implications for the future. In:Sivakumar,M.V.K., Wallace, J.S., Renard, C., Giroux, C.(Eds.). Proceedings of International Workshopon Soil Water Balance in the Soudano SahelianZone, Niamey, Niger. Publication no. 199, IAHS,Niger.

Lemma, G., Worku, W and Woldemichael, A. 2009.Moisture and planting density interactionsaffect productiv ity in Cowpea (Vignaunguiculata). Journal of Agronomy. 8 (4): 117-123.

Okiror, M.A. 1986. Breeding for Resistance toFusarium wilt. Ph D thesis. University ofNairobi.

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266-278.

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D.(ed.) Water for Food, Water for Life: a

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Singh, P., Aggarwal, P.K., Bhatia, V.S., Murty,

M.V.R., Pala, M., Oweis, T., Benli., Rao, K.P.C

and Wani, S.P. 2009. Yield gap analysis :

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The introgression of Bacillus thuringiensisbacteria in cotton has changed the crop morphology,phenology, physiology (Chen et al., 2002) andtranslocation efficiency of photosynthates into thebolls. The nutrient and water requirements alsoincreased. Kefyalew et al. (2007) reported that thereplacement of old cultures of cotton with transgenicsremoved the pressure of boll weevils and therebychanged the yield potential. This has driven increasednutrient uptake especially of nitrogen. Therefore, newmanagement practices are to be developed. Theapplication of K is the key to withstand moisturestress. It provides osmotic pull to draw water intothe plant roots (Nagdeve et al. 2008). Cotton isconsidered inefficient in K absorption due to its poorroot activity (Cassman et al. 1989).The early maturinggenotypes are more susceptible to K deficiency. Sincecurrent day trends of crop improvement are to hastenmaturity, the K requirement should be assessed(Pettigrew et al., 1996). Cope (1981) reported thatcotton is more sensitive to K deficiencies than manyother row crops. This is because of the reason thatcotton has less dense root system than the cereal

INFLUENCE OF INORGANIC FERTILIZERS AND INTEGRATED NUTRIENTMANAGEMENT AT DIFFERENT LEVELS OF POTASSIUM ON CROP GROWTH,YIELD ATTRIBUTES, YIELD OF SEED COTTON, OIL AND LINT IN BT. COTTON

HYBRID (Gossypium hirsutum)D. MOHAN DAS, R. RAGHAVAIAH, G. SRINIVAS, V. SAILAJA AND A.SIVA SANKARDepartment of Agronomy, College of Agriculture, Rajendranagar – Hyderabad. 500 030

ABSTRACT

A field experiment was conducted to evaluate the influence of integrated vs inorganic nutrient supply to theBt. cotton hybrid Mallika in the kharif season during 2009 and 2010 at the Agricultural Research Station Adilabad inAndhra Pradesh. The soil texture was vertisol. It was medium in available nitrogen (320 kg/ha N) and potassium(240 kg/ha K) and rich in available phosphorus (36 kg/ha K). There was a rainfall of 627.5 mm with prolongedintermittent dry spells in 2009. There was a high and well distributed rainfall of 1015 mm in 2010. The experimentwas evaluated in split plot design. There were 4 main plot treatments viz., substitution of 25, 50 and 75 %recommended dose of N fertilizer with vermicompost and inorganic fertilizer application with 120;60 kg/ha NP.There were 4 sub plot treatments viz., 0, 30 ,60 and 90 kg/ha K.

The results showed that the substitution of 25% N fertilizer with vermicompost significantly increased theplant height compared to inorganic fertilizer application in 2010 while, the leaf area and dry matter accumulation/plant increased significantly in 2009 and 2010.The crop raised on this integrated nutrient management treatmentremoved significantly more N in 2010, but more P and k both in 2009 and 2010.The crop responded up to 60 kg/hato remove significantly more NPK, increase the plant height and dry matter/plant. The yield attributes viz., number ofbolls/plant, seeds/boll and seed index also exhibited similar trend. The integrated supply of nutrients by the substitutionof 25% N fertilizer with vermicompost increased the oil% significantly in both the years. The oil and seed cotton yieldincreased significantly in the second year while, the lint and stalk yield increased significantly only in the first yeardue to this integrated nutrient management treatment. The oil % increased progressively up to 90 kg/ha K both in2009 and 2010. The response to increase in lint yield ceased at 60 kg/ha K. The seed cotton yield increased up to60 kg/ha in 2009 while a high dose of 90 kg/ha K further increased the production significantly in 2010.

crops (Gerrik et al. 1987). Bhalerao et al. (2012)reported that the introduction of Bt. gene in cottonhas changed the vegetative and reproductive growthpattern. The vegetative growth is restricted due tomaximum setting of bolls. These manipulations needhigh levels of nutrient application for better yield.Therefore, there is a need to re- examine the newchallenges. Paradoxically, the shortage of fertilizersin the recent years, continuous depletion of soilavailable nutrients and acute shortage of organicmanures have further added to the lacuna ofundernourished husbandry of the long duration cottoncrop. Potassium has become the most frequentlyforgotten nutrient. Its deficit situation under rain fedconditions become critical. Of late vermicompost iswidely recognized as an improved bulky organicmanure than others with high concentration ofnutrients and low C:N ratio. Hence, the presentinvestigation was taken up with a view to study theusefulness of integrated nutrient management on cropgrowth, nutrients removed, yield attributes, yield ofseed cotton, oil and lint.


J.Res. ANGRAU 41(4) 38-43, 2013



A field experiment was conducted at theAgricultural Research Station, Adilabad district inAndhra Pradesh in the rainy season during 2009 and2010. The geographical location of the site is at 19o

39' N latitude, 78o 32' E longitude and an altitude of268.92 M above mean sea level. The soil was clayin texture with 150 mm water holding capacity, slightlyalkaline in reaction with 8.03 pH, normal electricalconductivity with 0.384 d S/m, medium status inorganic carbon (0.62%) and available nitrogen (320kg/ha N), rich in phosphorus ( 36 kg/ha P) and mediumin potassium ( 240 kg/ha K). The mean annual rainfallis 1145 mm. The rainfall received during the cropgrowth period was 627.5 mm in 2009 and 1015.0 mmin 2010 ( Fig.1). The seed of Bt. cotton hybrid Mallikawas sown at a spacing of 90 cm between the rowsand 60 cm within the rows on 27 June in 2009 and6June in 2010. There was a dry spell of 18 days from23 July to 10 August, for 41 days from 7 Septemberto 16 November and again for 30 days from 17November to 20 December in 2009. The rainfall waswell distributed throughout the crop growth period in2010. The stored soil moisture of the previous weekand rainfall in the current week exceeded the PETand thereby maintained moist soil.

The experiment was conducted in a split plotdesign with 4 main plot and 4 sub plot treatments.There were 3 replications. The main plot treatmentswere F1 - Recommended fertilizer dose of 120:60kg/ha NP, F2 - 75% N – Fertilizer and 25 % N –Vermicompost, F3 - 50% N – Fertilizer and 50% N –Vermicompost and F4 25% N – Fertilizer and 75%N – Vermicompost. The sub plot treatments were 0,30, 60 and 90 kg/ha K. The lot of the vermicompostused had 1.5% N, 0.9% P and 1.5% K. It had 40%moisture at the time of incorporation in the soil. Thequantity of vermicompost to be added to substitute25, 50 or 75% recommended N was calculated fromthe relationship Q = R/C x 100 and FQ = Q (100-Moisture content) x 100, where Q = Quantity ofvermicompost on dry weight basis, R =Recommended rate of nutrient concentration to besubstituted and C = Nutrient concentration in thesampled lot and FQ = Quantity of vermicompost tobe applied on fresh weight basis. In the presentinvestigation, the nutrient concentration and moisturepercent were almost similar in the vermicompost both

in 2009 and 2010 prepared with the same material atthe Research Station. The quantity of vermicompostadded to substitute 25, 50, 75% recommended levelof 120 kg/ha N was estimated at 3.33, 6.66 and 10 t/ha respectively. The nitrogenous fertilizer was splitapplied twice i.e half at sowing along with entirequantity of P and rest one month later. Potassiumwas applied thrice i.e 1/3 each at sowing, after onemonth and two months after sowing. There were 6pickings of seed cotton in each year. The last pickingwas on 20 December in 2009 and 25 November in2010. The nutrient content in the crop was estimatedby following the standard laboratory procedures. Thepooled analyses of variance for seed cotton yieldwas done by adopting the procedure for fixed siteand fixed lay out described by McIntosh (1981).


Crop growth and nutrients removed

The integrated nutrient management and thelevel of K application to the Bt. hybrid cotton had asignificant influence on the crop growth and yieldattributes (Table1). The integrated supply of nutrientsby substituting 25% N fertilizer with 3.33 t/havermicompost significantly increased the plant heightof the crop in 2010, but retained significantly morenumber of leaves per plant at harvest in 2009 and2010 compared to the inorganic fertilizer treatment.The crop also accumulated significantly large drymatter/plant consistently in 2 years due to thesubstitution of 25% N fertilizer with vermicompost.Reduction in the proportion of fertilizer and increasein organic manure reduced these growth parameters.The mean number of monopodial and sympodialbranches per plant was not influenced by thetreatments in either of the two years (Data notpresented). The improvement in crop vigor to growtall, retain more leaves and accumulate large drymatter due to the integrated supply of nutrients bythe substitution of 25% N fertilizer was probably theconsequence of substantial increase in the availabilityof nutrients and their absorption by the roots indicatedby significant increase in quantity of NPK removedby the crop consistently in two years. Theincorporation of 3.3 t/ha vermicompost to substitute25% N fertilizer also added an estimated quantity of18 kg P and 30 kg/ha K every year. The addition ofmicronutrients and increased biological activity

INFLUENCE OF INORGANIC FERTILIZERS AND INTEGRATED NUTRIENT MANAGEMENT

DAS et al

through the addition of humus are also the probablereasons for this improvement in crop performance.Relatively higher proportion of inorganic nutrientsubstitution added more P and K along withmicronutrients and more humus. But, there was noimprovement in growth and the crop removedsignificantly low quantity of NPK. This phenomenoncould probably be substantiated to the reason thatthough incorporation of 6.6 t/ha vermicompost added36 kg P and 60 kg/ha K, while the additional input ofthese nutrients was 54 kg P and 90 kg/ha K by theaddition of 10 t/ha vermicompost besides largerquantity of humus and micronutrient additions, theavailability of nutrients in the ready to absorb inorganicforms were not available in sufficient quantity to beabsorbed by the crop in the initial stages of bollformation and development. The plant roots absorbnutrients in their inorganic form. Hence higherproportion of fertilizers are an instant source ofnutrient release in larger quantity in the soil, But, theorganic manures decompose slowly and release thenutrients late depending on several confoundingfactors. This mismatch in demand and supply ofnutrients is not ideal for good vigor of crop.Rananavare et al. (2006) recorded significant increasein plant height, number of leaves, sympodial branchesand dry matter per plant by the addition of 2 t/havermicompost with the recommended dose offertilizers.

Cotton responded to the application ofmoderate dose of 60 kg/ha K. A significant increasein plant height and dry matter accumulation per plantwas recorded. The crop also removed more NPK.The interactions were significant for plant height andnitrogen removed by the crop. The synergistic effectof K application with the incorporation of 3.3 t havermicompost substituting 25% N fertilizer overinorganic fertilizers was consistently recorded bothin 2009 and 2010 for these two variables.

Yield attributes

Seed cotton yield is governed by thecombined influence of number of bolls/plant, bollweight, number of seeds/boll and seed index. Theintegrated supply of nutrients through 25% Nsubstitution with vermicompost significantlyincreased the number of bolls/plant, seeds/boll andthe seed index consistently in 2009 and 2010. The

boll weight did not change due to any integratednutrient management treatment (Table 2)

The application of 60 kg/ha K significantlyincreased the number of bolls/plant and seed indexduring the two years. The number of seeds/boll alsoexhibited similar response in the first year while, theresponse increased further to a high dose of 90 kg/ha K in the second year. The interaction wassignificant only for the number of bolls/plant. Theresponse to 60 kg/ha was more effective to increasethe load of bolls/plant when applied with the integratedsupply of nutrients by the substitution of 25% Nfertilizer than with the inorganic source of nutrients.This is an important consideration in fertilizerrecommendation packages for cotton grown on soilshaving medium status in available K.

Oil, lint, stalk and seed cotton yield

Cotton seed oil is one of the most valuedproducts to partly overcome the import of oil fromthe conventional oilseed crops. There was asignificant increase in oil% due to the integratedsupply of nutrients by the substitution of 25% Nfertilizer with vermicompost compared to the inorganicsource of nutrients applied to the crop both in 2009and 2010. But, the oil yield increased significantlyonly in 2010. The lint and stalk yield increasedsignificantly due to this integrated nutrientmanagement treatment only in 2009. The Bt. cottonhybrid Mallika supplied with the recommended levelof fertilizers produced seed cotton yield of 2087 kg/ha in 2009 and 3128 kg/ha in 2010. The crop nurturedwith the integrated supply of nutrients by thesubstitution of 25% N fertilizer with vermicompostyielded 2000 kg seed cotton in 2009 and 3360 kg/hain 2010. The increase in the second year wassignificant. This positive influence could probably bedue to the cumulative effect of good rainfall leadingto relatively early decomposition of the vermicompostand the release of nutrients in the current seasonand the residual effect of the manure in the previousseason. The pooled analysis showed that the meanyield due to integrated supply of nutrients by thesubstitution of 25% N fertilizer with vermicompostwas significantly more than due to inorganic fertilizerapplication. The seed cotton yield reducedsignificantly at higher proportions of organicsupplements and less proportion of nitrogenous

fertilizer. This trend was persistent in the two yearsand also on the basis of pooled analysis. Previousexperiments demonstrated the usefulness ofcombined application of recommended dose offertilizers with the application of 2.0 t vermicompost

by Ranamnavare et al. ( 2006), 3.0 t by Hosmath etal. (2011) and 10.0 t/ha by Solanke et al. (2010). Theapplication of high dose of 90 kg/ha maximized theoil to 19.97% during 2009 and 23.30% in 2010. Butthe response to increase in oil yield was not

Table 1. Influence of inorganic and integrated nutrient management treatments and level of K oncrop growth and nutrients removed by Bt. cotton hybrid

Treatment

Plant height (cm)

Leaf area/ plant (cm2 )

Dry matter/ plant (g)

Nutrients removed/plant (g)

2009

2010

2009

2010

2009

2010

Nitrogen Phosphorus Potassium 2009 2010 2009 2010 2009 2010

F1 – 120:60kg/ ha NP

99.0 168.2 354 394 275 564 4.91 10.63 1.03 2.77 5.23 11.29

F2 - 75% N – F + 25% N - VC

103.7 173.3 413 441 283 583 5.17 11.41 1.64 2.99 6.42 11.72

F3 – 50% N - F + 50% N - VC

98.3 160.1 335 375 237 540 4.75 10.82 1.64 2.59 7.98 10.70

F4 – 25% N – F + 75% N - VC

91.0 164.3 343 423 234 546 4.44 10.77 1.38 2.53 6.65 10.67

SE m ± 2.6 1.4 13 11 2 4 0.05 0.04 0.05 0.05 0.15 0.11 CD at 5 % 9.0 5.0 44 38 6 15 0.19 0.15 0.19 0.19 0.53 0.39 K1 - 0 91.9 166.6 366 402 233 536 4.58 10.62 1.21 2.56 6.65 10.61 K2 - 30 95.4 162.4 378 428 257 591 4.86 10.70 1.36 2.69 7.47 10.82 K3 - 60

102.7 167.0 344 411 285 558 4.98 11.10 1.53 2.78 7.94 11.36

K4 - 90 104.5 170.4 358 391 255 548 5.20 11.21 1.58 2.85 6.20 11.59 SE m ± 2.0 1.06 14 17 2 4 0.04 0.05 0.04 0.06 0.14 0.11 CD at 5 % 6.0 3.1 NS NS 5 13 0.14 0.16 0.14 0.19 0.41 0.33 Interaction SE m ± 4.1 2.1 29 35 4 9 0.15 0.11 0.89 0.13 0.36 0.23 CD at 5 % 12.0 6.2 NS NS NS NS 0.45 0.33 NS NS NS NS

Table 2. Influence of inorganic and integrated nutrient management and level of K on yield attributes

of Bt. cotton hybrid

Treatment Bolls/plant Boll weight (g) Seeds/boll Seed index (g) 2009 2010 2009 2010 2009 2010 2009 2010

F1 – 120:60 kg/ha NP 63.4 98.9 5.1 5.6 15.3 16.4 7.3 12.0 F2 – 75% N – F + 25% N – VC 73.3 103.5 5.2 6.1 20.2 21.8 12.5 12.3 F3 - 50% N - F + 50% N – VC 57.1 93.4 4.9 5.5 16.1 16.3 11.2 11.4 F4 - 25% N - F + 75% N – VC

55.1 91.6 5.1 5.2 13.4 13.3 10.6 10.4

SE m ± 0.9 1.0 0.1 0.04 0.2 1.1 0.1 0.07 CD at 5 % 3.2 3.4 NS NS 0.7 3.9 0.5 0.20 K1 - 0 56.1 90.6 5.1 5.2 15.0 15.5 10.8 11.1 K2 - 30 56.3 95.0 5.2 5.6 16.1 16.4 11.0 11.5 K3 - 60 64.6 99.2 5.1 5.6 16.5 17.2 11.3 11.5 K4 - 90 69.8 102.2 4.9 5.7 17.3 18.7 12.4 11.9 SE m ± 1.5 1.1 0.1 0.07 0.4 0.8 0.2 0.07 CD at 5 % 4.6 3.1 NS NS 1.2 2.4 0.6 0.20 Interaction SE m ± 3.1 2.1 0.2 0.14 0.8 1.7 0.4 0.21 CD at 5 % 9.2 6.4 NS NS NS NS NS NS


DAS et al

Table 3. Influence of inorganic and integrated nutrient management treatments on oil% and yield ofoil, lint and stalk of Bt. cotton hybrid

Treatment

Oil %

Oil yield (lg/ha )

Lint yield kg/ha

Stalk yield kg/ha

Seed cotton yield kg/ha

Pooled mean 2009 2010 2009 2010 2009 2010 2009 2010 2009 2010

F1 – 120:60 kg/ha NP

19.94 22.27 265 452 673 1079 7652 8878 2087 3128 2607

F2 - 75% N – F + 25% N – VC

20.37 23.65 273 519 718 1118 7974 8866 2000 3360 2722

F3 - 50% N - F + 50% N – VC

18.64 22.86 208 440 512 923 7271 8289 1635 2878 2256

F4 - 25% N - F + 75% N - VC

17.24 22.90 169 403 434 839 7137 8094 1347 2601 1974

SE m ± 0.07 0.24 11 16 11 25 83 77 46 27 54 CD at 5 % 0.24 0.83 37 57 36 86 286 266 160 96 117 K1 - 0 18.27 22.38 206 413 535 867 7363 85 1588 2602 2136 K2 - 30 18.66 22.62 228 437 587 948 7370 8548 1822 2970 2395 K3 - 60 19.28 23.37 255 473 632 1043 7662 8551 1922 3186 2554 K4 - 90 19.97 23.30 226 490 583 1101 7639 8571 1736 3209 2474 SE m± 0.07 0.21 8 11 17 17 93 73 68 52 61 CD at 5 % 0.20 0.62 24 32 93 51 272 NS 200 151 119 Interactions SE m± 0.14 0.54 16 23 34.6 35 186 148 137 103 121 CD at 5 % NS NS NS NS NS NS NS NS NS NS NS

REFERENCES

Bhalerao, P.D., Deshmukh, P.W., Gaikwad, G.S andImade, S.R.2012. Response of Bt. cotton(Gossypium hirsutum) to spacing and fertilizerlevels under rain fed conditions. Indian Journalof Agronomy. 57(2):176-179

Cassmann K.G., Roerts, B.A., Kery, T.K and Higashi,S.L. 1989. Soil potassium balance andcumulative cotton responses to annualpotassium additions on a vermiculitic soil. SoilScience Society of America Journal. 53:805 –812.

Chen, D. H., Yang, C.Q,, Chen, Y, and Wu, Y.K.2002.The effects on the boll weight and the source-sink chararacteristic in the co ordination ofnitrogen fertilizer and DPC in Bt. transgeniccotton. Cotton Science. 3: 147 – 150.

Cope, Jr. J, T. 1981. Effect of 50 years of fertilizationwith phosphorus and potassium on soil testlevels and yields at six locations. Soil ScienceSociety of American Journal. 45: 342-347.

Gerrik, T. T., Morrison. J. E and Chichester, F. W.1987. Effect of controlled traffic on soilphysical properties and crop rooting. AgronomyJournal. 79: 434-438.

Hosmath, J. A. Biradar, D. P and Deshpande, S.K.2011. Response of Bt. cotton to organic andinorganic nutrient management under rain fedand irrigated systems. International ResearchJournal of Plant Science.18: 244 – 248.

Kefyalew, G., Roger, K.T., Freeman, K.W., Randal,K.B and William, R.R. 2007. Cotton lint yieldand quality as affected by application of N, P

significant beyond the moderate dose of 60 kg/ha K.The lint and seed cotton yield increased significantlywith increase in the application of potassium up to60 kg/ha in 2009 and 90 kg/ha K in 2010. Thesetrends indicate that the Bt. cotton hybrid requires 60kg/ha K to realize more oil, lint and seed cotton yield.

The study showed that the Bt. hybrid cottonMallika can be grown by substituting 25% N fertilizerwith vermicompost and application of 60 kg/ha K toincrease the seed cotton and lint yield as well as theoil content of seed.

and K fertilizers. The Journal of CottonScience. 11: 12-19.

McIntosh, M.S. 1983. Analysis of combinedexperiments. Agronomy Journal.75: 153-155.

Nagdeve, M.B., Giri, M.D and Ganvir, M.M. 2008.Effect of potassium application and moistureconservation practices on yield of cotton(Gossypium hirsutum). Indian Journal of Dryland Agricultural Research and Development.23 (2): 10-13.

Pette grew W.T, Heitholi. J. J and Meredith, W.R.1996. Genotypic interactions with potassiumand nitrogen in cotton of varied maturity.Agronomy Journal. 88: 89-93.

Rananavare, S.M.,Navlakhe, S.M and Solunke,P.S.2006. Influence of organics and inorganicson production of desi cotton (Gossypiumarboretum L). Journal of Indian Society ofCotton Improvement. 156-160

Solanke, P.S and Sangita ,U. Fatak. 2010. Effect oforganic manures, inorganic fertilizers and plantprotection on quality and economics of desicotton. Cotton Research Development. 24 (1):174 – 181.


Aloe can be used as a potential source todevelop a wide variety of food products. It can alsobe incorporated in other food products to enhancetheir nutritional value like refreshing juice, ready toserve drink, sport drink, soft drink, diet drink, laxativedrink, sherbets etc. The fleshy portion can also beconverted into candies, squash, jam, bar, munch etc.Additionally, it can be incorporated to dairy productse.g. Yoghurt, curd, lassi, ice creams as a dairyalternatives. The gel can be dried using suitable dryingtechniques and the dried powder can be used in thedevelopment of various products. Aloe gel is alsoused in pharmaceutical industry for preparation ofointments, gel preparation, production of tablets andcapsules (Hamman Josias, 2008). Antioxidants area class compounds which prevent certain types ofchemical damage caused by an excess of freeradicals, charged molecules that are generated byvariety of sources.

Antioxidants destroy the free radicals whichmay help to fight cancer, heart diseases and strokesetc. In the present study, Antioxidant activity of Aloegel was measured in the form of per cent TBARSand per cent inhibition of peroxidation.

STUDY 0N EFFECT OF AGE OF THE LEAF AND GEL PREPARATION METHODON ANTIOXIDANTS AND MICROBIAL COUNT OF ALOE GEL IN Aloe Vera L

M. PARIMALA JYOTHI, M. PADMA AND R. CHADRASEKHARCollege of Horticulture, Dr. YSR Horticultural University, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad- 500030



ABSTRACT

An experiment was conducted at College of Horticulture, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad during 2009 to studythe effect of age of the leaf and method of gel preparation on antioxidants and microbial count of Aloe gel. Theexperiment was carried out in Completely Randomized Block design with factorial concept with Aloe leaves of fourdifferent ages and four methods of gel preparation, replicated thrice with three leaves per replication. Four agegroups comprised 8 months, 10 months,12 months and 14 months aged leaves. Similarly four methods of gelpreparations were used comprising Aloe leaf with skin with filtering, Aloe leaf with skin without filtering, Aloe leafwithout skin with filtering and Aloe leaf without skin without filtering which consisted of a total of 16 treatments. Theresults showed that among four age groups of aloe leaves, 14 months aged leaves recorded significantly higherantioxidant activity (65.73% Inhibition of peroxidation and 429.33% Thiobarbituric acid reactive substances) thanthe rest of the ages of leaves. Among the methods of gel preparation significantly highest antioxidant activity wasrecorded with skin with filtering ( 48.35% inhibition of peroxidation and 453.42% Thiobarbituric acid reactivesubstances) than rest of the methods. Regarding the microbial count in Aloe gel microbial count was noticed in caseof 8 months aged leaf recording less bacterial and yeast / mould count (4 and 3 cfu/ml). Higher microbial count wasrecorded with aloe gel obtained from 14 months aged leaf (12 and 6 cfu/ml). The lowest microbial count was noticedin case of method with skin and with filtering and highest microbial count with gel obtained through the methodwithout skin and without filtering


The experiment was carried out in CompletelyRandomized block Design (CRD) with factorialconcept. Experiment was planned with leaves of fourdifferent ages and four methods of gel preparation,replicated thrice with three leaves per replication.Four Leaf ages comprised of T1 - Aloe leaf of 8months age , T2 - Aloe leaf of 10 months age ,T3 -Aloe leaf of 12 months age and T4 - Aloe leaf of 14months age. Four Methods of gel preparationconsisted of G1 - Aloe leaf with skin with filtering,G2

- Aloe leaf with skin without filtering, G3 - Aloe leafwithout skin with filtering and G4 - Aloe leaf withoutskin without filtering. The experiment consisted a totalnumber of 16 treatments.

Extraction of gel

Aloe leaves collected were processed withintwo to three hours after harvest. Leaves of differentage groups were collected as per the requirement ofthe experimental treatments. After harvesting, Aloeleaves are washed thoroughly with clean water forimposing treatments without skin. The Aloetic sap isseparated from the leaves by cutting the leavestransversely at the base and kept the cut portion

J.Res. ANGRAU 41(4) 44-48, 2013

touching the ground and allowed the leaf to stand inslanting position for half an hour. Thus, it helps foreasy removal of yellow coloured sap. The leaveswere again washed thoroughly and the upper thornytips, side two margins and lower epidermis layer wereremoved with the help of a sharp knife. A transversecut was given to the leaf and the gel was scoopedout by using knife. The extracted gel was thoroughlyhomogenized with a blending machine for 15 minutes.Half of this homogenized gel was filtered using astrainer. Thus gel prepared without filtration and theother with filtration were used for experimentalpurpose.

For the treatments where Aloe leaves withskin to be used were thoroughly washed with cleanwater. The Aloetic sap was separated from the leavesby cutting the leaves transversely at the base andkept the cut portion touching the ground and allowedthe leaf to stand in slanting position for half an hour.Thus, it helps for easy removal of yellow colouredsap. The leaves were again washed thoroughly andthe thorns on the sides of the leaves were removedwith the help of a sharp knife and a transverse cutwas given to the leaf and the entire leaf along withskin is cut into small pieces and was thoroughlyhomogenized with a blending machine for 15 minutes.Half of this prepared gel was filtered using a strainer.Both the prepared gels, one without filtration and theother with filtration were used for estimation ofantioxidants and microbial count (after storage). Thedata recorded on parameters were analysed followingstandard statistical analysis of varience techniquesuggested by Panse and Sukhatme (1985).


Antioxidants

The antioxidant activity expressed in formof per cent inhibition of per oxidation was presentedin table-1.The results showed that Aloe gel is havingantioxidant activity. Antioxidants significantlydiffered among the different age groups of leavesand method of gel preparation.

Out of four different age groups of leaves, highestantioxidants were recorded with 14 months agedleaves (65.73%) which was significantly superior tothe rest of the treatments and was followed by 12

months aged leaf (45.01%). The lowest antioxidantswere recorded with 8 months aged leaves (38.17%).

Among the different methods of gelpreparation, significantly highest antioxidants(48.35%) were recorded with the treatment (G1) gelobtained with skin and with filtering method followedby the treatment (G4) gel prepared without skinwithout filtering (48.14%). The lowest antioxidants(46.44%) were recorded with the gel prepared withoutskin and with filtering.

The interaction between age groups of leavesand method of gel preparation was significant onantioxidants. Significantly highest inhibition ofperoxidation (69.73%) was recorded with thetreatment combination 14 months aged leaves andmethod of gel preparation with skin and with filtration(T4G1) followed by 14 months aged leaves and methodof gel preparation with skin and with filtering T4G4

(68.30%). The lowest per cent inhibition was recordedwith T1G4 gel obtained from 8 months aged leavesand method of gel preparation without skin and withoutfiltering (37.40%).

Aloe gel was measured in the form of percent Thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS)and presented in table-2 .There is an inverserelationship between the per cent TBARS andantioxidant activity (Amruta Pritam and PurushottamKale, 2007). The minimum per cent of TBARS wasrecorded with 14 months aged leaf (429.33%) followedby 12 months aged leaf (438.66%). The maximumper cent of TBARS was recorded with 8 months agedleaf (560.08%). The highest antioxidant activity wasnoticed with 14 months aged leaf followed by 12months aged leaf and lowest antioxidant activity wasrecorded with 8 months aged leaf. Measurement ofbioactivity such as antioxidant capacity becomesmore useful for assessing the healthiness of foodsthan measurement of specific micronutrients (VanBeckel and Jongen, 1997) All the Aloe extractsshowed significant antioxidant activity. Hence growthstage plays a vital role in the composition ofantioxidant constituents and antioxidant activity ofAloe vera (Hu Yun Xu Juan QiuHui, 2003). Amongthe methods of gel preparation lowest percent TBARS(453.42%) was noticed with skin and with filteringand highest was recorded without skin with filtering(506.08%).

EFFECT OF AGE OF THE LEAF AND METHOD OF GEL PREPARATION ON ANTIOXIDANTS

JYOTHI et al

Regarding the interaction between age groupsof leaves and method of gel preparation wassignificant on per cent TBARS. Aloe 14 months aged

leaf with skin with filtering recorded lowest per centTBARS(401.33%) followed by 12 months leaf withskin with filtering ( 420.00%) . There is an inverse

Table 1. Effect of leaf age and method of gel preparation on inhibition of peroxidation (%) of Aloe gel.

G1 : Aloe leaf with skin with filtering G2 : Aloe leaf with skin without filteringG3 : Aloe leaf without skin with filtering G4 : Aloe leaf without skin without filtering

Table 2. Effect of leaf age and method of gel preparation on Thiobarbituric acid reactive substances(%TBARS) of Aloe gel.

G1 : Aloe leaf with skin with filtering G2 : Aloe leaf with skin without filtering

G3 : Aloe leaf without skin with filtering G4 : Aloe leaf without skin without filtering

Leaf age

Method of gel preparation

G1 G2 G3 G4 Mean

T1 (8 months) 38.00 38.90 38.40 37.40 38.17

T2 (10 months) 40.60 40.53 42.36 43.06 41.64

T3 (12 months) 45.10 46.63 44.50 43.80 45.01 T4 (14 months) 69.73 64.36 60.50 68.30 65.73

Mean 48.35 47.61 46.44 48.14

Leaf age (T)

Method of gel preparation (G)

Interaction (TXG)

SE(m)± 0.03 0.03 0.06

CD at 5% 0.09 0.09 0.19

Leaf age Method of gel preparation G1 G2 G3 G4 Mean

T1 (8 months) 532.33 566.00 587.00 555.00 560.08 T2 (10 months) 460.00 489.00 520.00

477.00 486.50

T3 (12 months) 420.00 440.00

457.33 437.33 438.66

T4 (14 months) 401.33 435.00 460.00 421.00

429.33

Mean 453.42 482.50 506.08 472.58

Leaf age (T)

Method of gel preparation (G)

Interaction (TXG)

SE(m)±

2.08

2.08 4.16

CD at 5%

6.1 6.1 12.01

Treatments

Microbial count

B y/m

T1- Leaf matured for 8 months + with skin with filtering 4 3 T2- Leaf matured for 8 months + with skin without filtering 5 3 T3- Leaf matured for 8 months + without skin with filtering 5 3

T4- Leaf matured for 8 months + without skin without filtering 5 4

T5- Leaf matured for 10 months + with skin with filtering 6 3

T6- Leaf matured for 10 months + with skin without filtering 7 4

T7- Leaf matured for 10 months + without skin with filtering 5 5

T8- Leaf matured for 10 months + without skin without filtering 6 6


T10- Leaf matured for 12 months + with skin without filtering 6 3 T11- Leaf matured for 12 months + without skin with filtering 4 4 T12- Leaf matured for 12 months + without skin without filtering 5 4


T14- Leaf matured for 14 months + with skin without filtering 12 6

T15- Leaf matured for 14 months + without skin with filtering 5 4 T16- Leaf matured for 14 months + without skin without filtering 6 5

SE(m)± 0.135 0.105

CD at 5% 0.390 0.304

relationship between per cent TBARS and Antioxidantactivity. The highest antioxidant activity wasrecorded with 14 months aged leaf with skin withfiltering.

bacterial count, 6, 6, 4 and 5 yeast/mould count atdifferent gel preparation methods) was noticed in caseof 14 months aged leaves compared to minimumaged leaves (12, 10 and 8 months aged leaves

Table 3: Effect of leaf age and method of gel preparation on Microbial count of Aloe gel.

Microbial count

The results obtained for microbial count incase of gel obtained from different age groups ofleaves and by different methods of gel preparationwere presented in table-3. There were significantdifferences in the microbial count of Aloe gel due todifferent age groups of leaves and method of gelpreparation.

Aloe gel and leaf itself has an antimicrobialactivity. Highest microbial count (9, 12, 5 and 6

respectively). From the results, gel obtained from 8months aged leaf recorded less bacterial and yeast/mould count. Higher amount of microbial count wasnoticed with aloe gel obtained from 14 months agedleaf is due to the fact that it has higher amount ofsubstrate for the microbes to grow. Similarobservation was made by Ismet (2008) where Aloeextract of 1 year aged leaf showed no sensitivity but2 and 3 years aged leaves showed significantsensitivity to microbes. The comparative antimicrobial

EFFECT OF AGE OF THE LEAF AND METHOD OF GEL PREPARATION ON ANTIOXIDANTS

activities of the gel and leaf of Aloe vera were testedagainst certain inoculum’s strains and the results tendto support to the popular use of both Aloe vera geland leaf (Agarry et al. 2005).

Significantly highest bacterial and yeast/mould count was noticed with treatment T14 (12 and6 cfu/ml respectively) where gel obtained from 14months aged leaves by the method of gel preparationwith skin without filtering followed by treatment T13

(9 and 6 cfu/ml respectively) gel obtained from 14months aged leaves by the method of gel preparation

with skin with filtering. The lowest bacterial and yeast/mould count was noticed with the treatment T1 (4 and3 cfu/ml respectively) where the gel obtained from 8months aged and method of gel preparation with skinwith filtering.

It can be inferred from the results obtainedthat 14 months aged leaf is having higher antioxidantactivity and more of microbial count when comparedto the remaining aged leaves. The method of gelpreparation with skin with filtering was found to bethe best method for gel extraction in Aloe vera.

REFERENCES

Aggary ,O. O., Olaleye, M. T and Bello-Michael, C.O. 2005. Comparitive antimicrobial activities ofvera gel laef. African Journal of Biotechnology4: 12, 1413-1414.

Amruta Pritam and Purushottam ,G. Kale. 2007.Alteration in the antioxidant potential of Aloe veradue to fungal infection. Plant Pathology Journal6 (2) : 169-173.

Hamman Josias, H. 2008. Composition andapplications of Aloe vera leaf gel. Molecules 13:1599- 1616.

Hu Yun Xu Juan Hu QiuHui. 2003. Evaluation ofantioxidant potential of Aloe vera (Aloebarbadensis Miller) extracts. Journal ofAgricultural and Food Chemistry 51(26) : 7788-7791.

Ismet ara Jahan Fakir shahidulla Tarek M shahidulIslam Jasim Uddin Chowdhury Fawizia Begumand M Abdus Sattar, 2008. Chemical andAntimicrobial Studies on the skin of Aloe veraLeaves at Different Ages of Plants. BangladeshJournal of Scintific and Industrial Research 43(4): 467-478.

Panse V G and Sukhatme, P .V. 1985 Statisticalmethods for agricultural workers. ICAR NewDelhi.

Van Beckel and Jongen, N. 1997. High-performanceliquid chromatographic determination of phenoliccompounds in Aloe species. Journal ofChromatography 746(3): 225-231.

JYOTHI et al

A GLIMPSE ON BRITISH AND AMERICAN ENGLISHG. SHRAVAN KUMAR AND P. RAMESH BABUDepartment of English, College of Agriculture,

Acharya NG Ranga Agricultural University, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad-500030

ABSTRACT

The English Language was first introduced to the Americans by British colorization, beginning in 1607.Over the past 400 years the form of the language used in America and that used in the United Kingdom havediverged in a few ways, leading to the versions now referred to as American English and British English.

While there are certainly many more varieties of English, American and British English are the two varietiesthat are most important for the students and teachers. This article throws light on the differences of grammar,vocabulary, spelling and punctuations of both British and American English.

Grammatical differences

In British English the present perfect is usedto express an action that has occurred in the recentpast that has an effect on the present moment. The

A There are two forms to express “Possession” in English, have or have got. Americans don’t use“got” after has and have.

C. The past participate of the veb get is gotren in American English but in British it is got Americansuse ‘been’ instead of gone to convey the meaning

British American

I have been to my home recently I have gone to my home recently

Have you ever been to England? Have you ever gone to England?

J.Res. ANGRAU 41(4) 32-37, 2013

words such as just, just now, already, yet ever, neveretc. are used in present perfect tense. But in AmericanEnglish simple past tense is used.

British English American English

Ravi has just gone to college. Ravi just went to college.

I have come here just now. I came here just now.

We have already seen this movie. We already saw this movie.

Hasn’t she got up yet? Didn’t she get up yet ?

Have you ever seen the Tajmahal ? Did you ever see the Tajmahal ?

I have never drunk I never drank.

B There are two forms to express “Possession” in English, have or have got. Americans don’t use“got” after has and have.

American English British English

We have a son we have got a son

She has a long hair She has got a long hair


D. Some more differences in verb forms

British American

Burn – burnt Burn – burned

Dream – dreamt Dream – dreamed

Lean – leant Learn – learned

Smell – smelt Smell – smelled

Spell – spelt Spell – spelled

Spill – spilt Spill – spilled

Spoil - spoilt Spoil – spoiled

E. To denote future action in British English “Shall” or “Will” is used but in American English only ‘will’is used.

British American

I shall / will go to Bombay tomorrow I will go to Bombay tomorrow

We shall/will participated in it We will participate in it

F. There are some difference in the usage of Preposition, adverb participles

British American

In the street On the street

From Monday to Saturday From Monday through Saturday

Check the fuse Check the fuse out

Do it again Do it over

Write to Ravi Write Ravi / Write to Ravi

Visit him Visit with him / visit him

Talk to her Talk with / to her

Stay at home Stay home

Protest about / against government economic policy

Protest government economic policy

Fill in / up the form Fill out / in / up the form

Meet Hari Meet with Hari

At the weekend On the weekend

Player in the team Player on the team

A student on the course A student in the course

Ten (minutes) past nine Ten (minutes) after nine

Ten (minutes) to nine Ten (minutes) of nine

Different from / to Different than / from

The second of July / July the second July second

A GLIMPSE ON BRITISH AND AMERICAN ENGLISH

Differences in Vocabulary:

British English American English British English American English

access road slip road Curtains Drapes

Aerial Antenna Dessert spoon Table spoon

Anywhere Anyplace Dining hall Mess hall

At sunrise At sunup Diversion Detour

At sunset At sundown Dustbin Garbage can

Barrister Attorney Dynamo Generator

Biscuit Cookie Engine driver Engineer (on train)

Car park Parking lot Engine Motor

Cock Rooster Estate agent Realtor / real estate

Conference Parley Film Movie

Constable Patrolman Finished Through

Cooker Stove Fire engine Fire truck

Corn / wheat Wheat Flat Apartment

Cot Crib Flyover Overpass

Cotton Thread Ground floor First floor

Crisps potato Chips Tennis-shoes Sneakers

Crossroads Intersection Pram Baby carriage

Cupboard Closet Post Mail

Current account Checking account Postcode Zip code

Curriculum vitae / CV Resume Postman Mailman / mail carrier

Handbag Pocket book / purse Pub Bar

Hire Rent Public toilet Rest room

Hoarding Bill board Puncture / flat tyre Flat

Holidays Vacation Puncture Blow-out

Homework Assignment Push – chair Stroller

Housewife Homemaker Queue Line

Ill Sick Railway Railroad

Interval Intermission Reel of cotton Spool of thread

SHRAVAN KUMAR and RAMESH BABU


Journalist Newsman Return (ticket) Round-trip

Jug Pitcher Round about Traffic circle

Lift Elevator Rubber Eraser

Lodger Roomer Rubbish Garbage / trash

Luggage Baggage Shop Store

Madam Ma’am/madam Shopping bag Carrier bag

Main road Highway Solicitor Attorney

Maize Corn Somewhere Someplace

Maths Math Staff (of a University) Faculty

Mean (opposite of Stingy Sweet Dessert

generous)

Motor way Expressway Sweets Candy

Motorway Freeway Tablespoon Serving spoon

Mum Mom Underpants Shorts

Nappy Diaper Until Through

Nowhere Noplace Van/lorry Truck

Nursing home Private hospital Vest Undershirt

Oculist / optician Optometrist Waist coast Vest

Paraffin Kerosene Wardrobe Closet

Pavement Sidewalk

Peep Peek

Petrol station Filling station

Term Semester

Timetable Schedule

Tin Can

British American British American

Clamour Clamor Labour Labor

Colour Color Neighbour Neighbor

Favour Favor Odour Odor

Flavour Flavor Parlour Parlor

Harbour Harbor Rumour Rumor

Honour Honor Tumour Tumor

Mould Mold Valour Valor

Aesthetic Esthetic Vapour Vapor

Aetiology Etiology Centre Center

Amoeba Ameba Fibre Fiber

Anaemia Anemia Litre Liter

Anaesthesia Anesthesia Metre Meter

Encyclopaedia Encyclopedia Theatre Theater

Foetus Fetus Analogue Analog

Gynaecology Gynecology Catalogue Catalog

Haemorrhage Hemorrhage Dialogue Dialog

Mediaeval Medieval Monologue Monolog

Centralise Centralize Prologue prolog

Civilise Civilize Abridgement Adridgment

Dramatise Dramatize cancelled canceled

Economise Economize travelled traveled

Organise Organize jewellery jewelry

Penalise Penalize Although Altho/although

Rationalise Rationalize Annexe Annex / annexe

Realise Realize Defence Defense

Sermonise Sermonize Offence Offense

Utilise Utilize Grey Gray / grey

Visualise Visualize Pretence Pretense

Vulgarise Vulgarize Gaol / jail Jail

Differences in Spelling:

SHRAVAN KUMAR and RAMESH BABU

Differences in punctuation

a. We enjoyed the movie ‘Air Force One’ (British English)

We enjoyed the movie “Air Force one” (American English)

Americans use single quotation marks in places of double quotation marks of British English.

b. Full stop ( . ) is called period in American English and exclamation mark ( ! ) is called exclamationpoint.

c. While writing letters, after salutation comma ( , ) is used in British English but colon ( : ) is used inAmerican English.

d. A change in mention of time is also different as follows:

6.30 pm (British English) full stop ( . ) is used after hours

6:30 pm (American English) colon ( : ) is used after hours.

Though these differences are seen clearly the language is intelligible and well understood by the natives ofboth the countries.


Westernise/westernize Westernize Plough Plow

Programme Program Skilful Skillful

Marvellous Marvelous Aluminium Aluminum

Dependence Dependance Disc Disk

Sceptic Skeptic

REFERENCES

Flower, Henry: Winchester, Simon (introduction)(2003 reprint) A Dictionary of Modern EnglishUsage (Oxford language classics series).Oxford Press. ISBN 0 -19-860506-4.

Mencken. H.L (1921). “Chapter 8 American Spelling.The American language: An inquiry into thedevelopment of English in United States. (2nd

ed., rev. and enl. ed). New York : A.A. Knopf.ISBN 1-58734-087-9.

INTRODUCTION

Rice is a staple food for millions of people inthe world, particularly in developing countries likeIndia. The demand for rice is growing with ever-increasing population. In India, more than 70 percentof the ground and surface water is being used forAgriculture and out of this, 70 percent is allocated torice cultivation. Each kg of rice produced withirrigation requires 3000-5000 litres of water(Anonymous, 2009).

Any efforts that successfully reduce thewater allocation for rice even by 20-30% will help inaverting both the food and water crises as farmerscan continue to grow more rice with less water.Therefore a more efficient and fundamental approachfor reducing the water requirement is the need of thehour. In this context, System of Rice Intensification(SRI) was tried as an alternative practice to mitigatethe water crisis.

System of Rice Intensification (SRI) emergedin the 1980’s as a synthesis of locally advantageousrice production practices encountered in Madagascarby Fr Henri de Laulanie, a Jesuit Priest and steadilythis approach spread across world including India.

In India, Andhra Pradesh is one of the major ricegrowing states and rice is cultivated in all 22 districts

EXTENT OF ADOPTION OF SYSTEM OF RICE INTENSIFICATION (SRI)CULTIVATION BY FARMERS OF MAHABUBNAGAR DISTRICT OF ANDHRA

PRADESH: A CRITIQUEK NIRMALA AND R VASANTHA

Department of Agricultural Extension, College of Agriculture,Acharya N.G. Ranga Agricultural University, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad - 500030

ABSTRACT

The present investigation was carried out in Mahabubnagar district of Andhra Pradesh with 120 SRI cultivatingfarmers as respondents. Ex-post facto research design was adopted in the investigation. The respondents wereselected at random from twelve villages of four mandals of the district. The findings revealed that the extent ofadoption of SRI cultivation practices by majority of respondents is low. Correlation analysis revealed that, thevariables viz. education, training in SRI, extension contact, sources of information utilization, perception of respondentson SRI, risk orientation, innovativeness, input availability and labour availability were found positively and significantlycorrelated to the extent of adoption of SRI by respondents. Item analysis of extent of adoption of SRI practicesrevealed that none of the respondents are forming drainage channels for every 2 mts and a small percent ofrespondents were found to adopt practices such as application of finely powdered organic manures, usage ofmarkers and conoweeders.

email:[email protected]


of the state. The productivity of rice in Andhra Pradesh(3333 kg/ha) is higher than the national average (2001kg/ha) (source http://www.rkmp.co.in). The netcontribution to the national food basket increased from1.8 million tonnes in 1993-94 to 5.6 million tonnes in2010-11 (Anonymous, 2012).

Frequent drought over the past 10 years hasleft the rice farmers in the doldrums. Andhra Pradeshexperienced severe drought in 1999-2000,characterized by water shortages, falling groundwaterlevels, and increased risk of contamination of surfacewater. The drought, followed by low rainfall (534 mmannual rainfall) in the southwest and northeastmonsoons during 1999 was exacerbated bygroundwater extraction. Agricultural production wasseriously reduced in kharif 1999. Thereafter, thethrust for conjunctive water-use became the majorconcern for scientists and farmers. Depleted waterresources, stagnated rice productivity, the growingimportance of organic agriculture, increasedproduction costs and the need for better utilizationof family labour among small and marginal farmers,calls for a shift in cultivation practice. The Systemof Rice Intensification (SRI) offers a way not to justreduce the demand of water for growing irrigated rice,but also of simultaneously increasing rice production.SRI was introduced during kharif 2003 in all 22

J.Res. ANGRAU 41(4) 79-53, 2013

NIRMALA AND VASANTHA

districts of the state by Acharya N.G. RangaAgricultural University (ANGRAU). Since thenANGRAU and Department of Agriculture, Governmentof Andhra Pradesh have been taken severalinitiatives to promote SRI in the state. With thisbackground, the present study was conceived to findout the extent of adoption of recommended practicesand associated attributes of SRI by farmers of AndhraPradesh.

METHODOLOGY

The study was conducted in theMahaboobnagar district with a sample of 120 SRIcultivating farmers. Ex-post facto research design

was followed in the present study. Respondents wereselected from 12 villages of four mandals of the districtat random. The extent of adoption of SRI cultivationpractices by the rice farmers was assessed with helpof a structured schedule, which comprised of 20items. The answers of respondents on each statementwas measured on three point continuum that is fullyadopted, partially adopted and not adopted byassigning weightages of 3, 2 and 1 respectively. Thescores so obtained under various questions weresummed up to get total score for that respondent.For further analysis suitable statistical tools wereused.


Table: 1. Distribution of the respondents based on their extent of adoption of SRI technology

(n=120)

S.No Adoption categories * Frequency Percentage 1 Low 61 50.83 2 Medium 48 40.00 3 High 11 9.17 Total 120 100.00

From Table 1 it is evident that, majority ofthe farmers (50.83%) had low level of adoptionfollowed by medium (40.00%) and high (9.17%)adoption. The reason might be their medium to lowlevels of knowledge, education, training’s, Extensioncontacts, sources of information utilization, riskorientation, innovativeness,input availability andlabour availability. The results are in line withBalakrishan and Vasanthakumar (2010).

Item analysis of extent of adoption ofrecommended package of practices in SRIcultivation

It could be observed from table 2 that highmajority (96 %) of respondents were using 2kg/acreseed rate, since it is economic and easy practicebesides they would have possessed high knowledge.Nearly 92 per cent of them are soaking seeds for 24hrs as per recommendation. As this practice ismatching their old practice, a large majority were foundto adopt this.

equal class interval followed

While 83.33 percent of respondents were adoptingpractice of pulling the seedlings along with seed andmud without disturbing roots. As this practice do notrequire high financial investments and more overextension officers might have enlightened the farmerson the role of this practice in determining the numberof tillers and yields this result had appeared.

It is evident from Table 2 that nearly morethan 60 percent of respondents are adoptingincubation for 24-36 hrs, practicing deep ploughingand transplanting 8-12 days old seedlings. Becauseof difficulty in handling young seedlings, rest of therespondents were not adopting this practice. Theresults are in line with Balakrishnan andVasanthakumar (2010).

Less than 50 percent of respondents wereadopting practices such as seed treatment,preparation of raised seed bed, application of organicmanure, thin spreading of seeds, perfect leveling,

running of marker and weeder, planting single seedling

at 25 cm x 25 cm spacing at shallow depth. The

reason for non adoption of these practices by more

than 50 per cent of respondents could be due tolaborious nature of practices, non availability of FYM

S.No

Statement Adoption Partial adoption Non adoption

N % N % N %

1 Seed rate @ 2 kg/acre 115 95.84 5 4.16 0 0

2 Seed treatment 26 21.67 0 0 94 78.33

3 Soaking seed for 24 hrs 110 91.68 5 4.16 5 4.16

4 Incubation for 24-36 hrs 91 75.84 26 21.66 3 2.50

5 Preparation of raised seed bed 11 9.17 47 39.16 62 51.67

6 Application of finely powdered organic manure before & after spreading of seed in nursery

23 19.17 52 43.34 45 37.50

7 Thin spreading of seeds to avoid congestion 22 18.33 19 15.84 79 65.83

8 Deep ploughing 91 75.83 23 19.17 6 5.00

9 Perfect leveling 12 10.00 25 20.83 83 69.17

10 Formation of drainage channels for every 2mts

0 0 0 0 120 100

11 Running of marker to draw lines between drainage channels 41 34.67 24 20.00 55 45.83

12 Transplanting 8-12 days old seedlings with 2-3 leaves

76 63.33 41 34.17 3 2.5

13 Pulling the seedlings along with seed and mud without disturbing roots.

100 83.33 13 10.83 7 5.84

14 Planting at 25 cm x 25 cm spacing 39 32.50 35 29.17 46 38.33

15 Planting only one seedling per hill 20 16.67 31 25.84 69 57.50

16 Planting in shallow depth 25 20.83 30 25.00 65 54.17

17 Maintaining thin film of water while transplanting 31 25.84 79 65.83 10 8.33

18 Maintaining the field in saturated condition always without water stagnation

68 56.66 46 38.34 6 5.00

19 Weeding with cono weeder at 10 days interval

10 8.33 73 60.84 37 30.83

20 Incorporation of weeds into soil 79 65.84 41 34.16 0 0

Table 2. Item analysis of extent of adoption of recommended package of practices in SRI cultivation

(n=120)

and lack of skills in operating implements or nonavailability.

The results on relationship between profilecharacteristics and extent of adoption of SRIpresented in table 3 indicated that calculated ‘r’ values

o o o

EXTENT OF ADOPTION OF SYSTEM OF RICE INTENSIFICATION (SRI) CULTIVATION

between education, training in SRI, Extensioncontact, sources of information utilization, perceptionof respondents, risk orientation, innovativeness, input

availability and labour availability and the extent ofadoption of SRI practices by the respondents weregreater than table ‘r’ value.

Table 3. Relationship between independent variables and extent of adoption of SRI technology

The results also revealed that there was a

positive and significant relationship between

education, trainings, extension contact, sources of

information utilization and extent of adoption of

respondents. It is quite natural that frequent contacts

of farmers with extension agencies, attending

trainings and utilization of various sources of

information tends to increase their knowledge. Hence

this kind of relationship might have appeared. This

finding is in agreement with that of Chanda (1997),

Hemanth Kumar (2002), Vasantha (2002), and

Gopinath (2005).

A positive and significant relationship

between innovativeness, risk orientation and extent

of adoption of the respondents can be noticed in the

present study. The reason might be that a farmer

who is more innovative and risk oriented will try to

be ahead of others and adopts a new technology first.

* Significant at 0.05 level of probability

** Significant at 0.01 level of probability NS –Non Significant

For these farmers risk orientation levels are high,

hence their adoption levels are also high and vice

versa. The finding is in conformity with Gopinath

(2005).

The results revealed that there was a positive and

significant relationship between labour and input

availability and extent of adoption of SRI by

respondents the reason might be that, timely

availability of quality inputs like markers and weeders

at reasonable cost and labour may encourage the

respondents to adopt the technology. Similar findings

were observed by Prasad (1996).

CONCLUSION

All the concerned stakeholders should make best of

their efforts in removing operational difficulties in SRI

cultivation. Though many farmers have knowledge

on many items their adoption rates are very poor the

S. No. Characteristics Correlation coefficient (r )

1. Age 0.032 NS

2. Education 0.198*

3. Farm size 0.181 NS

4. Farming experience 0.033 NS

5. Training in SRI 0.212 *

6. Extension contact 0.208*

7. Sources of Information utilization 0.196*

8. Perception of respondents on SRI 0.219*

9. Risk orientation 0.266*

10. Innovativeness 0.320*

11 Input availability 0.182 * *

12 Labour availability 0.169 **

NIRMALA AND VASANTHA

reason could be financial, resource, management and

technical difficulties at field level. When steps are

taken to remove these diff iculties such as

development of battery operated weeders, markers,

furrow makers etc and organising training’s,

demonstrations etc for improving skills then only

REFERENCES

Anonymous, 2011. http://www.rkmp.co.in

Anonymous, 2012. www.rbi.org.in

Balakrishnan and Vasanthakumar 2010. Adoption ofSystem of Rice Intensif ication (SRI)Technology among farmers in Cuddaloredistrict of Tamil Nadu Journal of Globalcommunication. Vol 3(2) : 62-65.

Chanda Srivastava 1997. impact of coconut basedmultit ier cropping system in Andaman.M.Sc.Thesis submitted to Acharya N G RangaAgricultural University, Hyderabad.

Gopinath, M. 2005. Knowledge and adoption ofBengal gram farmers in Kurnool district ofAndhra Pradesh. M.Sc. Thesis submitted toAcharya N G Ranga Agricultural University,Hyderabad.

Hemanthkumar, B. 2002. A study on attitude,knowledge and adoption of recommendedpractices by oriental tobacco farmers inChittoor District of Andhra Pradesh. M.Sc.Thesis submitted to Acharya N G RangaAgricultural University, Hyderabad.

Prasad, G L K 1996. A critical study on cashewcultivation in Guntur and Prakasam district ofAndhra Pradesh. M.Sc. Thesis submitted toAcharya N G Ranga Agricultural University,Hyderabad.

further promotion of SRI cultivation in the district is

possible. Also these findings provide ample scope

for NGO’s and Government Organisations to develop

location specific alternative technologies or methods

that are user friendly, in terms of availability, price

and use.

EXTENT OF ADOPTION OF SYSTEM OF RICE INTENSIFICATION (SRI) CULTIVATION

In an agro-based economy of the country, cottonis one of the most important commercial crops. Byvirtue of its wider adaptability it is grown in irrigatedas well as rain fed conditions in India contributing 85per cent to the national production. Among the majorcotton producing states, Andhra Pradesh ranks 3rd

position with an area of 17.10 lakh hectares andproduction of 85.68 lakh bales. In Prakasam districtof Andhra Pradesh cotton is principal cash croptraditionally grown by the farmers in about 54,393 haover the normal area of 39,682 ha, with an averagekapas yield of 653 kg/ha. Now after the introductionof Bt cotton hybrids in cotton farming system, about99.00 per cent area is under Bt hybrids in Prakasamdistrict.

Knowledge is one of the most importantcomponents of behavior and plays a major role incognitive, conative and affective domains of cottonfarmers with reference to improved practices ofcotton leading to adoption at farm level. The cottonarea and productivity has shown an increasing trendover the years in Prakasam district. However, widegap exists between the potential and realizedproductivity. This might be because of environmentalfactors and technological factors like low leveladoption of recommended cultivation practices.Hence a need was felt to assess the farmer’sknowledge and adoption level with respect to

KNOWLEDGE AND ADOPTION OF RECOMMENDED PRODUCTIONTECHNOLOGY BY COTTON FARMERS

O.SARADA AND G.V.SUNEEL KUMARKrishi Vigyan Kendra, Acharya N.G. Ranga Agricultural University, Darsi – 523 247



ABSTRACT

The study was conducted in Prakasam district of Andhra Pradesh, during 2011-12 to assess knowledgeand adoption levels of cotton farmers. The data was collected from 120 cotton farmers distributed in 6 adoptedvillages of Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Darsi. Majority of the cotton farmers had good knowledge and adoption levels onrecommended Bt hybrids (100.00%), suitable soils (71.67% & 58.33%), sowing time (93.33% & 84.17%), seed rateand spacing (88.33% & 76.66%) and timely intercultural operations in cotton cultivation (81.67% & 71.67%). Whereas they had poor knowledge and adoption on fertilizers management, herbicides and need based pest management.The major constraints encountered by them were high cost of Bt cotton seed (100.00%), high cost of fertilizers andpesticides (95.00%), low market price (93.33%), more infestation of sucking pests (89.16%), inadequate capital(85.00%), lower yields (82.50%), and micro nutrient deficiencies (81.67%).

recommended cotton cultivation practices with thefollowing objectives.

1. To study farmers knowledge level onrecommended cotton cultivation practices

2. To study the extent adoption of farmers onrecommended cotton cultivation practices

3. To analyze the production constraints involvedin cotton cultivation


The present study was undertaken in the cottongrowing areas of Prakasam district in AndhraPradesh. An Ex-Post-Facto research design wasadopted for the study purpose. Six adopted villagesof Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK), Darsi Viz.,Aravallipadu, Tellabadu villages of Donakondamandal, Umamaheswarapuram, Purimetla villages ofMundlamuru mandal and Nagambotlapalem andLakkavaram villages of Talluru mandal werepurposively selected for the study on the basis oflarger area under Bt cotton. Twenty cotton farmerswere randomly selected from each selected village,thus forming a total of 120 respondents constitutedpopulation for the study. Schedules were constructedto study the knowledge and adoption levels of cottonfarmers using ANGRAU recommended cottonproduction technology mainly on ten components

J.Res. ANGRAU 41(4) 54-60, 2013

which were considered primafacie essential for cottonfarmers.

Knowledge was operationalized as the amountof information and understanding possessed by thecotton farmers about recommended cotton productiontechnology. Adoption was operationalized for thepurpose of investigat ion as practic ing therecommended package of practices by therespondents. The data on knowledge, adoption levelsand constraints encountered were collected from theselected sample of cotton farmers through personalinterview technique by using the pre tested schedule.Respondents were categorized in to three categoriesViz., low, medium and high based on their knowledgeand adoption scores using mean and standarddeviation as a measure of check. Frequencies andpercentages were worked out to know the knowledgeand adoption of individual component under a majorsubject area of recommended practices of cottonproduction technology. Simple correlation was workedout to find out relationship between knowledge andadoption levels. To analyze the constraints faced bycotton farmers, open ended questions were used andbased on the frequency and percentages majorconstraints were identified.


Over all knowledge of cotton farmers onrecommended package of practices

Table 1. clearly indicates that almost sixty(57.50%) per cent of cotton farmers had medium levelof knowledge followed by 31.67 per cent with lowand only 10.83 per cent with high knowledge levels.Similar results were reported by Praveen andSandhya Shenoy (2009)

Component wise knowledge levels of cottonfarmers on recommended cotton cultivationpractices

Knowledge levels of farmers on eachrecommended practice was presented in Table II. Itis evident from the table that cent per cent of thefarmers had correct knowledge on recommended Bthybrids to their particular area, where as greatmajority of cotton farmers had correct knowledge onsowing time (93.33%), seed rate and spacing

(88.33%), inter cultivation (81.67%), method offertilizer application (74.16%), soils suitable for cottoncultivation (71.67%) and use of manures (68.33%).Cent per cent of cotton farmers did not possessknowledge in growing 3-4 rows of non Bt cotton as incrop refuge area around Bt cotton which is the mainstrategy for resistance management to extend thesustainability of Bt cotton. More than three fourth ofthe respondents had poor knowledge onrecommended dose of chemical fertilizers (84.17%),right time of application (80.00%), herbicide use(86.67%), symptoms /reasons for micro nutrientdef iciencies, rect if ication of micronutrientdeficiencies (85.83%) and need based pest anddisease management (78.33%). Despite theirinvolvement in cotton farming to a greater extent theyhad poor knowledge in these areas which might bedue to the lack of education and awareness, lessextension contact and mass media exposure onthese aspects. More over cotton farmers were nothaving clarity in identification of pest, diseasesymptoms and micro nutrient deficiencies leading tounnecessary increase in cost of cultivation.

Over all adoption of recommended cottoncultivation practices by cotton farmers

The results on adoption pattern of cottonfarmers were presented in Table III. Almost sixty oneper cent of the farmers had medium adoption followedby one third (34.17 %) with low adoption. Only fiveper cent of the farmers had high level of adoption.Farmers expressed their poor knowledge level onrecommended cotton production technology was themajor hindrance for adoption.

Extent of adoption of recommended cottoncultivation practices by cotton farmers

The findings presented in Table IV clearlyindicated that cent per cent of cotton farmers adoptedrecommended Bt hybrids. While a large majority ofthe farmers (84.17%) found to complete their sowingoperations in time, majority of them (76.67%) adoptedproper seed rate and spacing. High cost of Bt cottonseed might be the probable reason for usingrecommended seed rate. Nearly three fourth (71.67%)of cotton farmers adopted proper inter cultural

KNOWLEDGE AND ADOPTION OF RECOMMENDED PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGY

SARADA AND SUNEEL

operations and nearly sixty per cent of the cottonfarmers (58.33%) cultivated cotton in suitable soils.

The data revealed that the application ofrecommended dose of FYM was followed only by19.16 per cent cotton farmers. However 43.33 percent respondents used less than the recommendeddue to non availability of required quantity atreasonable rate and at required time. The use of micronutrients like Mg, Boron for correcting deficienciesas per the recommendations was followed by 13.33per cent of the respondents only and 78.33 per centof the respondents were found applying the micronutrients less than the recommendation. The reasonfarmers expressed for this was they were confusedmicronutrient deficiency symptoms with that of pestand disease symptoms. Hence KVK has developedvisual aids on micronutrient deficiency, pest anddisease damage symptoms to use in trainingprogrammes on cotton production technology.Further, majority of the respondents (57.50%) werefound partially adopting the recommended dose ofchemical N, P, K fertilizers. The reason behind thiswas farmers had poor knowledge on recommendeddose of fertilizers and time of application along withthe influence of neighbor farmers. Similar behaviorwas observed with respect to method and time ofchemical fertilizer application by (55.00 and 40.00%)cotton farmers respectively.

Fifty- seven per cent of cotton farmers werenot applying recommended herbicides, followed byone third with partial adoption as they were lackingknowledge on crop specific herbicides and time ofapplication in cotton cultivation. Similar results werealso reported by Ban et al (2010). It was also observedthat, cent per cent of the cotton farmers were nonadopters of in-crop refugia in Bt cotton cultivation asrecommended. This might be because of their poorknowledge on insect resistance managementstrategies and also invisible impact of refugia crop.With respect to need based insect pest and diseasemanagement almost equal per cent of cotton growers(42.50% and 45.80%) were partially and not adoptingthe recommended plant protection measures. Thereasons for non adoption of need based pest anddisease management practices were poor knowledgeabout IPM practices, lack of correct knowledge on

pest and disease identification, compatibility ofpesticides and high cost of plant protectionchemicals. This has hindered the adoption of plantprotection measures.

Relationship between knowledge and adoptionlevels of cotton growers

Since knowledge is a postulate in adopting anypractice, highly significant positive relationship couldbe observed from table V between knowledge andadoption levels of cotton farmers with respect to cottoncultivation practices. This gives clear indication thatthe knowledge increases, the adoption levels offarmers on recommended cotton production practicesalso increases. This is quite relevant since higherknowledge enhances the scientific orientation offarmers towards the recommended productionpractices, which ultimately leads to higher adoption.At the same time low and poor knowledge on variousrecommended cotton production practices were themajor reasons for non adoption.

Production constraints encountered by cottongrowers

The data with respect to the constraintsencountered by the cotton farmers were classifiedinto three categories based on their nature (Table 6)

Socio- Economic constraints

It could be observed from the table that cent percent of the cotton farmers felt the cost of Bt cottonhybrid seed is very high due to fixation of hugeroyalties while giving sub-license to the Indian seedcompanies. It was found that 95.00 per cent and 93.33per cent of the respondents expressed constraintslike high cost of fertilizers and pesticides and lowmarket price for the produced kapas respectively.The high cost of fertilizer might be because ofgovernment policy to reduce the subsidy componentstep by step and higher prices for the branded plantprotection chemicals. Inadequate capital (85.00%),low yields (82.50%) and high cost of labor at all thetimes of cotton cultivation (77.50%) were the othersocio-economic constraints experienced by the cottongrowers in the area. The problem of high cost of laborwas due to simultaneous operations by the farmersin most of the cotton fields at a time.

Table 1. Overall Knowledge level of cotton growers on recommended package of practices

N=120Category Frequency Percentage

Low 38 31.67

Medium 69 57.50

High 13 10.83

Total 120 100.00

Table 2. Knowledge levels of cotton farmers on recommended package of practicesN=120

S.No Package of practices recommended Knowledge CK ICK Frq % Frq %

1. Suitable soils 86 71.67 34 28.33

2. Varieties / Bt Hybrids 120 100.00 0 0.00

3. Sowing time 112 93.33 8 6.67

4. Seed rate and spacing 106 88.33 14 11.67

5. Use of manures 82 68.33 38 31.67

6. i. ii. iii.

Fertilizer management Dose as per the recommendation Time of application Method of application

19 24 89

15.83 20.00 74.16

101 96 31

84.17 80.00 25.83

7.

i.

ii.

Weed management

Inter cultivation

Herbicides

98 16

81.67 13.33

22 104

18.33 86.67

8. Micro nutrients 17 14.16 103 85.83

9. Non Bt cotton rows around Bt cotton as in- crop refugia

0 0 120 100.00

10. Need based pest management 26 21.67 94 78.33

CK- Correct Knowledge ICK- Incorrect Knowledge Frq- Frequency

Table 3. Overall adoption levels of cotton growers in respect of recommended production technology

N=120Category Frequency Percentage

Low 41 34.17

Medium 73 60.83

High 6 5.00

Total 120 100.00

CK


S.No Recommended package of practices Extent of adoption FA PA NA

Frq % Frq % Frq %

1. Suitable soils 70 58.33 35 29.16 15 12.50

2. Varieties / Hybrids 120 100.00 0 0.00 0 0.00

3. Sowing time 101 84.17 16 13.33 3 2.50

4 Seed rate and spacing 92 76.66 19 15.83 9 7.50

5 Use of manures 23 19.16 52 43.33 45 37.50

6.

i.

ii.

iii.

Fertilizer management

Dose as per the recommendation

Time of application

Method of application

10 19 21

8.33 15.83 17.50

69 48 66

57.50 40.00 55.00

41 53 33

34.17 44.17 27.50

7.

i.

ii.

Weed management

Inter cultivation

Herbicides

86 11

71.67 9.170

34 40

28.33 33.33

0 69

0.00 57.50

8. Use of micro nutrients 16 13.33 94 78.33 10 8.33

9. Non Bt cotton rows around Bt cotton 0 0 4 3.33 116 96.66

10. Need based pest management 14 11.67 51 42.50 55 45.80

Table 4. Extent of adoption of recommended cotton cultivation practices N=120

-Full Adoption PA- Partial Adoption NA-Non adoption Frq- Frequency

Table 5. Relationship between knowledge of cotton growers and their adoption level of recommendedcotton cultivation practices

(N=120)

Character Karl Pearson ‘r’ value

Knowledge 0.85*

Situational constraints

Great majority of the cotton farmers expressed

constraints viz., more infestation of sucking pests

(89.16%), followed by micro nutrient deficiencies

(81.67%) and insufficient soil moisture due toprolonged drought (71.67%). Fifty per cent of the

cotton farmers felt the problem of cyclones at thetime of picking as most of the times the cycloneswere coinciding with the cotton pickings whichadversely affects the quality of lint. Besides, thirtyeight per cent of the farmers expressed the poor seedquality as a problem due to which they wereencountering germination failures

0.85*

SARADA AND SUNEEL

Sl.No Constraint Number Per cent 1. Socio-Economic constraints a) High cost of Bt. Cotton hybrid seeds 120 100.00 b) High cost of fertilizers and pesticides 114 95.00 c) Low market price 112 93.33 d) Inadequate capital 102 85.00 e) Low yields 99 82.50 f) High cost of labour 93 77.50 2. Situational constraints a) More infestation of sucking pests 107 89.16 b) Micro nutrient deficiencies 98 81.67 c) Insufficient soil moisture due to prolonged drought 86 71.67 d) Cyclones at the time of pickings 59 49.16 e) Poor seed quality (germination failure) 46 38.33 3. Personal constraints a) Lack of knowledge on correct dose of fertilizers

and pesticides 95 79.16

b) Over exploitation of dealers by recommending unnecessary pesticides

89 74.16

c) Lack of knowledge on pests and diseases 87 72.5 d) Lack of awareness on Integrated Pest

management practices 58 48.33

e) Non availability of required fertilizers and pesticides locally

33 27.50

Table 6 Production Constraints encountered by cotton growers of KVK adopted villages

Personal constraints

Lack of knowledge on in-crop refuge area in Bt

cot ton (100.00%) as an insect resistance

management strategy which delays the development

of resistance to Bt gene by boll worms, lack of

knowledge on correct doses of fertilizers and

pesticides (79.16%), over exploitation of pesticide

dealers by recommending unnecessary pesticides

leading to increased cost of cultivation (74.16%), lack

of knowledge about pest and disease identification

(72.50%), lack of knowledge about IPM practices

were the personal constraints faced by a majority of

farmers in cotton production. These problems were

encountered because of improper functioning of

extension network in the study area which ultimately

resulted in poor knowledge of farmers. The constraint

like non availability of NPK fertilizers and plant

protection chemicals were not a major problem for

the cotton growers as they are available locally in

plenty. The observed constraints were in agreement

with that of Ban et al.(2010)

Implications of the study

1. Majority of the cotton farmers of KVK adopted

villages were found with poor knowledge on

fertilizer management, herbicide use and need

based pest and disease management ultimately

leading for poor adoption levels. Hence KVK

planned demonstrations, training programmes on

these aspects to increase the knowledge levels

and consequently adoption levels for profitable

and sustainable cotton production which is the

need of the hour.

2. Majority of the cotton farmers were getting

confused with micronutrient deficiencies with that

of pest damage hence front line demonstrations

were organized to popularize the technology and

to acquaint farmers with micro nutrient

management.

3. For effective dissemination of recommended

cotton production technology leaflets and posters

were prepared.


The results of the study clearly indicated that

majority of the cotton farmers were with medium

knowledge levels consequently with medium adoption

levels. Hence to improve knowledge and adoption

levels of cotton farmers on recommended production

technology pre seasonal training programmes,

discussions, demonstrations and field visits need to

be organized by KVKs, State department of

Agriculture and NGOs at village level

REFERENCES

Ban,S.H., Thorat, K.S. and Suryawanshi.D.B.,2010.Adoption of recommended cotton productiontechnology by Bt cotton growers, The MysoreJournal of Agricultural Sciences , 44(4),852-855

Praveen, D. and Sandya Shenoy,N. 2009. Knowledgeof cotton farmers on health hazards ofpesticides in Kurnool district of AndhraPradesh- An analysis, The Andhra AgriculturalJournal,56(1),119-122

SARADA AND SUNEEL

INTRODUCTION

The current human workforce at all-Indialevel were 47.2 crore. Nearly half the population (49%)were engaged in agriculture, while 24% were estimatedas working in secondary sector and 27% in tertiarysector. And in agriculture, it is the women whodominate in all spheres. In the rural areas, 59% mencontribute in agriculture, while it was 75% for womenlabour. The involvement of women in the agriculturesector is more even in the urban areas with 11% asagainst that of men with 6%.

Gender disaggregated data constitutes thebasis for gender sensitive policy formulation andprogramme planning. The need for gender statisticsin formulating policies and programmes can hardlybe over-emphasized. The Census of India is averitable mine of information on demographic, socialand economic aspects of population. It is the onlysource of population characteristics at the lowestadministrative levels; i.e. village in rural areas andward wise in urban areas.

This paper analysed the trends and patternof gender participation in agriculture sector of AndhraPradesh with the help of data from two censuses2001 and 2011 periods. The paper has analysed thefactors affecting gender participation in theagricultural sector through OLS regression analysis.

FACTORS AFFECTING GENDER PARTICIPATION IN THE AGRICULTURALSECTOR OF ANDHRA PRADESH

AMTUL WARIS AND B NIRMALADirectorate of Rice Research, Rajendra Nagar, Hyderabad-500030

ABSTRACT

In the present study an attempt was made to analyse the trends and patterns of female workforce participationin Andhra Pradesh during 2001 and 2011.An inter district variation was observed in labour participation betweenmales and females. It was observed that the proportion of both cultivators and agricultural labour has fallen for malesand females in 2011. The proportion of women agricultural labour was higher than males in all the districts of thestudy area. One of the reasons could be that more number of males have moved out of the agricultural labour forcebut women still tend to be employed as wage labour in agricultural activities. It is imperative therefore, to providetechnical knowledge and skills to build capacity of women agricultural labour to harness their potential to contributetowards sustainable agricultural growth. The variables sex ratio, female literacy rate were found to be negative andsignificantly correlated with female work participation rate whereas percentage Scheduled Caste population waspositive. The suggestions and strategies were to, give women farmers’ equal access to equipment and servicessuch as seeds, tools, credit, organizing women’s groups as contractual labor to provide labor during peak activitiesmay enable us to improve the position of women labour participation for sustainable agricultural growth.



OBJECTIVES

1. To understand the gender gap and trends andpattern of gender participation in agriculture atthe district level in Andhra Pradesh between2001and 2011 periods

2. To identify and explain various demographic andsocio-economic factors responsible for theobserved levels and changing patterns of genderparticipation rate across the state.


The present study was based on secondarydata taken from the census of 2001 and 2011 for thestate of Andhra Pradesh. The analysis of data fromthe 2001 and 2011 census was undertaken tounderstand either the increasing or decreasing trendsof women agricultural workers or the implications inrelation to the agricultural sector. The State PrimaryCensus Abstract 2011, Figures at a Glance-census2011 of the Directorate of Census Operations APwere primarily referred to arrive at the different maleand female work participation rates used in the study.

The variables in the study have been definedand derived in the following manner:

Worker-Based on the definition of work incensus 2011, a worker is a person who hasparticipated in any economically productive activitywith or without compensation or profit.

J.Res. ANGRAU 41(4) 61-67, 2013

AMTUL AND NIRMALA

Work Participation Rate: is defined as the numberof workers per hundred population Female Workparticipation Rate and Male Work Participation Ratewas worked out in the following manner:

Percent male/female cultivator =

main cultivators + marginal cultivators —————————————————x 100

Total workers (male/female)

Percent agricultural labour =

main agric. labour + marginal agric. labour —————————————————x 100


Percent Household industry =

main household worker + marginal household worker————————————————————x 100


Percent other worker =

main other worker + marginal other worker———————————————————x 100


Gender Gap= The difference between the female –male participation was calculated to find the gapbetween the sexes.

Sex Ratio: was defined as the number of femalesper 1000 males in a population

% Scheduled Caste Population: percent ofScheduled Caste persons to total population

In order to analyse the factors affectingfemale labour force participation OLS Regression wasworked out. Sex ratio, female literacy rate, percentScheduled Caste population and male workparticipation rate were the independent variables andfemale labour force participation was dependentvariable.

The OLS model fitted was as follows:

Yi=βo+ βiXi+Dt+U

Where,

Yi= Female Work Force Participation Rate (FWFP)

βo = Coefficient for the constant/intercept

X1 to X4are the independent variables/regressors

X1= Female literacy rate

X2= Sex ratio

X3= Percent Scheduled Caste population

X4= Male work participation rate

βi =coefficients of the respective independent

variables / regressors

Dt=0 for 2001

Dt=1 for 2011

U=Constant variance disturbance term


Rural Women always make essentialcontributions to the agricultural and rural economy inour country. Their activities typically includeproducing agricultural crops, tending animals,processing and preparing food, working for wages inagricultural or other rural enterprises, collecting fueland water, engaging in small trade activities, caringfor family members and maintaining their homes.They often pursue multiple livelihood strategies tomanage household food security. Many of theseactivities are not defined as “economically activeemployment” in national accounts but they areessential to the well-being of rural households.Genderstatistics plays a vital role in facilitating theassessment of gender gaps in various aspects ofdevelopment, understanding the present situation anddesigning the future course of action to achieve theset goals along with a concurrent assessment of theprogress made. Based on the Census data of 2001and 2011, the following interpretations have beenmade and presented.

Proportion of workers in AP

In AP according to 2011 census, thepopulation of the state was 846.65 lakh which was762.10 lakhs in 2001 and women were 421.55 lakhsand 376.82 lakh respectively according to 2011 and2001 Census. About 66.6 percent of the populationliving in rural areas depend on agriculture and alliedactivities.The distribution of workers into main,marginal and total workers in AP(table 1) indicatedthat majority (83 %) of the overall population and themale (88 %) and female (75%) fell in the main workercategory. However the proportion of females wasmore in the marginal workers category whencompared with males data.

Women agricultural workers constitutemajority of the work force in Andhra Pradesh. Themain agricultural operations performed by women inpaddy cultivation are transplanting, weedingharvesting, sowing, harvesting and threshing of othercrops like sorghum, ground nut, cotton and maize.Except for ploughing all other agricultural work iscarried out by women labour. The proportion of womenagricultural labour was high than males in all thecensus years of the last four decades (table 1) whichreiterates the fact that women form an importanthuman resource in the agricultural sector. As per the2011 census, there has been a significant fall in thenumber of cultivators in Andhra Pradesh during thedecade. The percentage of cultivators has declinedfrom 22.52 per cent in 2001 to 16.47 per cent in2011(Shiva Kumar 2013).

Work participation rate in Andhra Pradesh in 2001and 2011

The rural female work force participationrates in Andhra Pradesh during 2001 and 2011(table2) indicated that the female work participation ratewas 35.11 in 2001 and has declined to 36.16 in 2011indicating an increase of 1.05 percent over the lastdecade which was twice as that of male workparticipation rate. This may be due to the change inthe definition of work, which according to the 2011census defines a worker as a person who hasparticipated in any economically productive activitywith or without compensation or profit and the workparticipation rate is defined as the number of workersper 100 population (Primary Census Abstract2011).The work participation rate for females hasshown an increasing trend. District wise workparticipation rate in AP (table 2a) indicated thatVizianagaram and Mahbubnagar recorded the highestwork participation rate in 2001 with a slight fall inboth the districts in 2011. Districts like Hyderabad,Vishakapatnam and Khammam recorded increaseprobably due to their commercial status.

Distribution of workers and percentage ofcultivators, agricultural labour, householdindustry workers and other workers in AP during2001 and 2011 census

The proportion of male cultivators in AP in2001(figure1) was 24.01 percent and it has decreasedto 11.05 percent in 2011 and female cultivators in

2001 were 20.08 percent and it is 5.41 percent in2011.This shows that the proportion of both male andfemale cultivators has decreased in 2011. The femaleagricultural labour which was 55.67 percent in 2001has decreased to 22.42 percent in 2011. The reductionin the women agricultural labour force was consistentwith the overall reduction in the agricultural work forcebetween the census periods of 2001 and 2011. Therewas a marked decline in the cultivators andagricultural labour category of workers for both malesand females. It can be observed from the table thatthere was a shift from cultivators to agricultural labourin AP. This shift at all India level was 24.60 in 2011from 31.65 in 2001 (figure1).An increase in the workersin the other category can be observed both at allIndia and AP level from 2001 to 2011 census yearwhich is not a healthy sign for an agrarian countrylike India.

District wise Female and Male Agricultural labourand Gender gap in AP in 2001 and 2011

The findings of the study (table 3) indicatedthe female, male agricultural labour and gender gapin the work participation according to 2001 and 2011Census. The Female-Male gender gap in agriculturallabour based on 2001 census indicated that thelowest gap 0.78 was recorded in Hyderabad and thehighest 35.86 was in Krishna district. Moreover thegender gap greater than 30% was recorded in thedistricts of Mahbubnagar, Warangal, Nalgonda,Khammam and Nellore. Based on 2011 Census itcan be observed that the participation rate for bothmale and female agricultural labour was low comparedto 2001 in accordance with the overall fall in thefarming category for both male and female. Thus thefemale-male gender gap ranged from negative inHyderabad to highest of 32% in Nalgonda. Moreoveronly four districts recorded a 30% gap in favour ofwomen agricultural labour. However, it can beobserved that female work participation was higherthan males in both the census years. The movementof men out of agriculture has led to an increase inwomen’s share of the agricultural workforce and anexpansion of their role in the sector. More than twothirds of women workers were self-employed, workingas managers and helpers on the family farm withoutany remuneration. Those who continue to work ascasual labourer earn wages less than the statutoryminimum. Therefore, there is an urgent need for

FACTORS AFFECTING GENDER PARTICIPATION IN THE AGRICULTURAL SECTOR

capacity building of women agricultural labour forceto carry out the various farm based activities to helpthem to form collectives/groups which will enhancetheir bargaining power through their collectivestrength.

Factors affecting Female Labour Participation inagriculture sector in Andhra Pradesh

In the agricultural sector, there was anegative relationship between literacy and rural femalelabour participation as literacy enhances theiremployability and aspirations for better jobs and toshift from agriculture to non-farm work. The factorslike sex ratio, percentage of male agricultural workersto total agricultural workers, percent of scheduledcaste population and female literacy percentage areexpected to have a direct effect on female rural workparticipation. To study the relationship between ruralwork participation rate and the socio-economic factorsthe OLS regression was worked out.

The relationship between the female literacyrate and female labour participation was negative. Itis clear that that the female labour participation was

affected by literacy and it is found to be significant(at 0.01 level of significance with a P value of0.002184). It implies that higher the level of educationlower is the level of women’s participation inagriculture. Similar findings have been reported byMazumdar and Guruswamy (2006), Kaur and Kaur(2012), and Smita (2012).

Another variable, which is considered as thedeterminant of Female Labour Force Participation ratewas the sex ratio. The relationship between sex ratioand female labour force participation rate is negativeand significant with a P value of 0.017966 at 0.05level of significance. This means to say that, thedistricts with higher sex ratio have fewer womenavailable to join labour force and low femaleparticipation in economic activities.

Male Work Participation rate was theimportant variable included in the model to capturethe inter district variations in female labour forceparticipation in Andhra Pradesh. The sign of co-efficient of variable for percent Scheduled Castepopulation was positive, which implies that higherworkforce participation of Scheduled Caste population

Table1. Proportion of Total Workers, Main Workers and Marginal Workers in Andhra Pradesh 2011

Percentages Total Workers Main Worker Percentage Marginal

Workers

Percentage

Persons 3,94,22,906 3,30,37,378 83.80 63,85,528 16.20

Males 2,41,85,595 2,14,60,081 88.73 27,25,514 11.27

Females 1,52,37,311 1,15,77,297 75.98 36,60,014 24.02

Source: State Primary Census Abstract of AP-2011

Category of workers (main+ marginal)

1981 1991 2001 2011

Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female

Cultivators 36.51 19.16 30.39 19.58 24.01 20.08 11.05 5.41

Agricultural labour 26.26 47.57 30.36 52.82 29.79 55.76 20.62 22.42

Workers in household industry

4.46 4.14 2.69 4.01 3.27 7.04 1.64 2.01

Other workers 31.81 9.66 35.92 11.12 42.92 17.11 28.04 8.80

Table 1 a. Distribution of different categories of workers in Andhra Pradesh from 1981 to 2011

Source: Primary Census Abstract 2011

AMTUL AND NIRMALA

Table 2. Work Participation Rate Andhra Pradesh: 2001 and 2011

Residence Sex 2001 2011 Change Total Persons 45.79 46.61 +0.82 Males 56.23 56.98 +0.75 Females 35.11 36.16 +1.05

Table 2a. Male and Female Work participation rate in Andhra Pradesh in 2001 and 2011

Worked out from State Primary Census Abstract 2011

Fig 1. Distribution of workers and percentage of cultivators, agricultural labour, household industryworkers and other workers in AP during 2001 and 2011 census

Work participation rate

Districts 2001 2011

Male Female Male Female

Adilabad 52.80 37.4 50.43 18.78

Nizamabad 54.40 44.6 54.71 44.34

Karimnagar 54.70 43.30 55.79 43.64

Medak 55.30 41.40 55.14 40.01

Hyderabad 47.30 9.90 51.79 19.10

Rangareddy 53.40 26.30 47.10 27.24

Mahbubnagar 56.20 47.40 55.60 47.06

Nalgonda 54.90 43.00 55.48 44.26

Warangal 54.40 42.00 54.62 42.47

Khammam 56.70 39.60 57.72 43.17

Srikakulam 56.40 38.40 57.13 38.47

Vizianagaram 59.80 44.60 58.48 40.46

Visakhapatnam 55.40 28.00 57.92 30.25

East Godavari 58.40 20.60 60.16 21.20

West Godavari 60.00 28.20 61.04 29.10

Krishna 58.20 29.50 58.54 32.06

Guntur 59.10 38.90 59.10 38.37

Prakasam 57.70 42.60 57.84 42.12

Sri Potti Sriramulu Nellore 58.30 32.30 57.59 30.92

Y.S.R. 56.60 32.70 56.75 34.70

Kurnool 56.30 42.40 57.10 42.95

Anantapur 57.80 39.40 58.54 41.04

Chittoor 58.00 35.40 57.52 35.10

AP 56.20 35.10 56.98 36.16


Table3. District wise Female and Male Agricultural labour and Gender gap in AP in 2001 and 2011

District Work participation rate of agricultural labour(Main +Marginal) 2001 2011 Female Male Gap Female Male Gap Adilabad 42.23 22.40 19.83 47.23 28.35 18.88 Nizamabad 33.84 26.28 7.56 38.71 32.88 5.83 Karimnagar 43.91 25.11 18.80 50.11 32.62 17.49 Medak 50.85 27.84 23.01 52.45 30.33 22.12 Hyderabad 1.27 0.49 0.78 2.25 13.97 -11.72 Rangareddy 39.45 12.18 27.27 28.38 9.96 18.42 Mahbubnagar 59.53 28.99 30.54 59.76 32.27 27.49 Nalgonda 61.22 27.60 33.62 67.61 35.41 32.20 Warangal 56.09 25.61 30.48 62.32 30.58 31.74 Khammam 67.50 36.71 30.79 72.89 45.08 27.81 Srikakulam 61.27 36.05 25.22 69.35 44.04 25.31 Vizianagaram 54.15 29.60 24.55 62.61 37.91 24.7 Visakhapatnam 39.81 19.57 20.24 44.40 23.40 20.64 East Godavari 66.34 45.37 20.97 66.66 48.96 17.70 West Godavari 74.72 48.31 26.41 74.94 52.68 22.26 Krishna 71.61 35.75 35.86 67.65 39.09 28.56 Guntur 66.99 37.36 29.63 69.85 39.64 30.21 Prakasam 58.78 32.99 25.79 69.53 39.97 29.56 Sri Potti Sriramulu Nellore 64.69 33.83 30.86 67.66 36.94 30.72 Y.S.R. 57.49 28.62 28.87 59.29 30.10 29.19 Kurnool 62.27 34.15 28.12 65.66 40.29 25.37 Anantapur 54.50 26.80 27.70 58.62 32.63 25.99 Chittoor 48.61 28.30 20.31 51.19 31.09 20.10 AP 53.34 46.65 6.69 58.00 33.61 24.39

Calculated from State Primary Census Abstract-2011

Variables Coefficients t-ratio p-values

Constant 177.3358 2.6196 0.0124**

FL -0.3393 -2.9204 0.0057*

SR -0.1610 -2.3743 0.0225**

%SC 0.4481 1.4908 0.1439

MWFP 1.4958 9.8426 3.0457E-12*

Dummy 0.6716 0.2707 0.7880 Adjusted R square 0.8230

F-statistics 42.86

p-value (t) 4.96E-15

Table 4. OLS Estimation of Regression Equation

** at 0.05 %Level of significance *at 0.01%Level of significance

AMTUL AND NIRMALA

REFERENCES

Anuradha Y.V. 2011. Figures at a Glance – Census2011 (Primary Census Abstract), Directorate

of Census Operations, Andhra Pradesh.

Census of India 2001 and 2011. RGI, GOI. http://

www.censusindia.gov.in/2011-prov- results/

prov_results_paper1_india.html

Pardeep Kaur and Gian Kaur 2012 Factors affecting

female labour force participation in Punjab: An

inter-district analysis. Journal of Research in

Peace, Gender and Development (ISSN: 2251-

0036) Vol. 2(4) pp. 81-88 April 2012

National Sample Survey Organization (NSSO), 2012.

Employment and Unemployment Situation in

India - 2009-2010, Round 68th, Report No. 538,

Ministry of Statistics and ProgrammeImplementation, Government of India, NewDelhi.

is more likely to bring about high level of femaleworkforce. Earlier studies have indicated that thescheduled caste women workers have significantlyhigher odds ratio of being an agricultural labourer.Similarly, in the districts selected for the study theproportion of scheduled caste population was high(20.62%) especially in West Godavari district whichhas the highest percentage of women agriculturallabour (74.94%).

The adjusted R for the OLS model fitted for

the study was found to be 0.8275 .The equation was

found to be a good fit as it explains as much as 82

percent variation in rural female labour participation.

However among the explanatory variables, sex ratio,

female literacy rate and percent Scheduled Castepopulation were found to be statistically significant.

Shiva Kumar, ND. Unemployment rate increases inIndia Times News Network | Jun 23, 2013.Retrieved on June 23, 2013 from http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-06-23/india/40146190_1_urban-india-urban-women-rural-women.

Sumit Mazumdar and Guruswamy, M. 2006. FemaleLabour Force Participation in Kerala: Problemsand Prospects. International Institute forPopulation Sciences, Mumbai, Indiawww.iipsindia.org.

Shilen Patel, 2012. Determinants of Women’s LabourForce Partic ipat ion Rate in India: AnEconometric Analysis, University ofNottingham, UK. Project presented in partfulf ilment of the requirements for thecompletion of an undergraduate degree in theSchool of Economics, University ofNottingham.


INTRODUCTION

Discipline is often considered essential forthe growth and development of a child. It is a veryimportant instrument in the process of socializationin which parents guide the child in the direction ofwhat is socially acceptable in his/herculture(Hurlock,1978). The essentials of disciplineincludes rules consistency, punishment and reward.Baumrind (1971) classified the techniques ofdisciplining in a threefold scheme authoritarian,authoritative and permissive.

Adolescence is the crucial period in humandevelopment because it is during this period that theindividual begins to develop a stance towards theworld. The adolescent’s social horizon broadens andthey are confronted with many new feelings andemotions. If he can not perceive, understand andregulate and function with their emotions, it will leaveindelible marks on their personality and behaviour.When psychologists began to write and think aboutintelligence, they focused on cognitive aspects suchas memory and problem solving. However ,there wereresearchers who recognized that the non cognitiveaspect was also important. Salovey et al (1991)defines emotional intelligence as a type of socialintelligence that involves the ability to monitor one’sown and others emotions to discriminate among themand to use the information to guide one’s thinkingand action.

PARENTING STYLES AND EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE OF ADOLESCENTS

L. UMA DEVI AND M. UMADepartment of Human Development & Family Studies, College of Home Science,

Acharya N.G Ranga Agricultural University, Hyderabad-500 004

ABSTRACT

Parents occupy the most important place in the perceptual world of the child. In spite of rapid changes withinthe modern family parental disciplining is still considered very essential for building healthy emotionality and personalityof the child. The present study is an attempt to examine the influence of parenting styles on the emotional intelligenceof adolescents. The parental interactional style questionnaire developed by Vivekan Reddy (1996) was used toknow the parenting styles adopted by the parents. Emotional intelligence inventory developed by Uma Devi (2003)was used to find out the emotional intelligence of the adolescents. The sample comprised of 120 parents with equalnumber of parents in each parenting styles and their children between the age range of 15-17 years from the city ofVisakhapatnam of Andhra Pradesh state. Results of the study revealed that in the authoritative parenting style mostof the adolescents had above average scores on emotional intelligence. It is Interesting to note from the results thatadolescents of different parenting differed significantly on different dimensions of emotional intelligence and also ondifferent components of emotional intelligence favouring the authoritative parenting style in most of the dimensionslike assertiveness,, social responsibility, reality testing, impulse control and happiness.



Family life is the first school for emotionalwell learning. The extent to which an adult givesevidence of mastery over his emotions is rooted inhis/ her emot ional development, emotionalexperience, parental discipline, their stimulation andtheir treatment from early childhood throughadolescence. Recent conceptualization of parentchild attachment endorse the view that children’semotionality and regulation of emotions are relatedto the quality of parent child relationships.Attachment styles and relationships have beenviewed as reflecting strategies for regulating emotionsin interpersonal relationships. Specific emotionrelated parental practices are associated withchildren’s expression of appropriate emotion.

As this is relatively a new concept and thereare very few studies on parenting styles and emotionalintelligence the present study was taken up with thefollowing objectives.

To assess the different parenting styles adoptedon adolescents.

To find out the emotional intelligence levels ofadolescents.

To see the differences if any between parentingstyles and emotional intelligence.

J.Res. ANGRAU 41(4) 68-72, 2013

METHOD

Sample

The study was carried out in the city ofVisakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh. Co-educationalinstitutions with plus two classes / intermediateclasses were selected for the purpose of study. Thesample comprised of 120 parents with equal numberof parents in each parenting style and their adolescentchildren in the age range of 15+ to 17 years.

Tools used

a) Parental Interactional Style Questionnaire byVivekan Reddy(1996) to find out the parentingstyles adopted by parents on their children.

b) Emotional intelligence inventory developed byUma Devi (2003) was used to assess theemotional intelligence levels of respondents.

Data collection procedure

The principals of selected schools andcoeducational junior colleges were contacted andpermission was taken for data collection. The parentswere invited to the institutions and were requested toanswer the parenting style questionnaire. Thequestionnaires were scored to identify the differentparenting styles adopted by them. The Emotionalintelligence inventory was administered on theselected adolescents. Necessary instructions weregiven regarding the answering of the test items.Scoring was done according to the instructions givenin the manual.

Statistical analysis used

The Emotional intelligence levels weresubjected to Frequencies and percentages and wereclassified into various categories like low, belowaverage, average, above average and high.

‘t’ and ‘F’ ratios were used to present the data onemotional intelligence levels of adolescents underdifferent parenting styles.

RESULTS and DISCUSSION

General Profile of the Sample : From thegeneral profile of the respondents it was found thatthere were equal number of adolescents in thr agegroup og 15 and 16 years(46% & 47%). Sixty percentof them were in their junior intermediate and nearlythree fourh of them were from nuclear families and

80 percent of them were Hindus. Nearly fifty percentof the fathers were government employees andmajority (80%) of mothers were house wives.

Levels of Emotional Intelligence ofAdolescents : The Emotional Intelligence ofadolescents was measured by using the EmotionalIntelligence inventory developed and standardized bythe investigator. The data collected is scored andbased on the scores obtained the adolescents wereclassified into different categories ranging from low,below average, average, above average and highcategories. From the table -1, it is clearly evidentthat in the total sample nearly two thirds of thesample were average on emotional intelligence levelsand the rest of them fell under the above averagecategory. In the authoritative parenting style 47percent were average and 53 percent were aboveaverage in their emotional intelligence score levels.In the authoritarian type of parenting style it is seenthat 60 percent of adolescents have average scoreon emotional intelligence and only 40 percent hasabove average scores. Interestingly in permissiveparenting style 72 percent had average scores and28 percent had above average scores. From theresults it is very clear that children from authoritative/democratic parenting style were better on Emotionalintelligence scores compared to other two types ofparenting style. This is because the democraticparents direct the children a reasonable manner thatis oriented to issues rather than formal aspects ofbehaviour. The child is shown the reasoning behindthe parental policies and demands.

Differences in dimensions of emotionalintelligence of adolescence in different parentingstyles : Analysis of variance results indicatingdifferences in the mean scores of dimensions ofemotional intelligence of different parenting styles arepresented in tables 2-6.

Intrapersonal subscale : In authoritativeparenting style reciprocal pattern of child rearing isassociated with personality characteristics of childrenas independent, socially responsible, have ability tocontrol aggression with high self confidence and selfesteem. It is interesting to note from the results thatadolescents of different parenting styles differedsignificantly at 5% level in two out of five dimensionsof intrapersonal sub scale and in total intra-personal


DEVI AND UMA

sub scale favouring adolescents with authoritativeparents than authoritarian and permissive parents inself awareness and independence dimensions. Thismay be due to the fact that in authoritative homesparents exercise authority but encourage individualresponsibility, decision making, initiative autonomyand through guidance. It is seen that children withdemocratic parents were forth right and confident andcan openly express thoughts, beliefs and feelings ina constructive manner.

Interpersonal subscale : It is interesting tonote from the results that significant differences werenoticed on empathy and social responsibilitydimensions and total inter personal subscalesfavouring again the authoritative/democratic parentingstyle where the adolescents of democratic parentsstudied scored high on empathy and socialresponsibility and total inter personal skills.

Adaptability sub scale : It is surprising tonote from the results that adolescents from differentparenting styles did not differ significantly on totaladaptability sub scale and its dimensions, i.eproblem solving, flexibility and reality testing as the‘F’ values were very low.

Stress Management : From the results ofthe study it is clearly evident that adolescents ofdifferent parenting styles do got similar scores onstress management sub scale and its three two

components stress tolerance and impulse control,hence the respective ‘F’ values were low and nonsignificant.

General mood sub scale : In the generalmood subscale the results showed significantdifference between mean scores of adolescents ofthree different parenting styles favouring again theauthoritative parenting style. When the parents aredemocratic in their approach, Their children werefound to be well satisfied with life most of the timeand they usually enjoy the company of others, areable to derive a great deal of pleasure and fun fromlife and have an optimistic outlook.

CONCLUSION

The study shows that the adolescents withauthoritative parents had higher scores on 5 out of15 dimensions and three out of five sub scales ofemotional intelligence compared to the adolescentsof authoritarian and permissive parents. They wereaware of their feelings, shows empathy for others,were highly assertive, highly socially responsible andwere happy compared to the adolescents reared byparents with authoritarian and permissive attitudes.Hence measures should be taken to enhanceparenting skills emphasizing authoritative parentingstyles through parent education programme becauseauthoritative parenting style produces emotionallyintelligent children who are the successful citizensof tomorrow.

Sl. No.

Emotional Intelligence Score Range

Category Details

Total sample

Authoritative parenting style

Authoritarian parenting style

Permissive parenting style

No. % No. % No. % No. %

1. Below 266 Low 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

2. 267 – 385 below average

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

3. 386 – 504 Average 71 59 19 47 24 60 29 73

4. 505 –623 above average

49 41 21 53 16 40 11 27

5. 624 & above High 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Table 1. Frequency Distribution of Adolescents Based on Total Emotional Intelligence ScoresN=120

Sl. No.

Intra personal dimensions




‘F’ value

Mean S.D Mean S.D Mean S.D

1. Self Awareness 36.350 3.592 34.700 5.234 33.500 4.585 3.7989*

2. Assertiveness 31.000 3.573 32.175 4.924 30.575 4.454 1.4469

3. Self Actualization 32.725 2.864 32.525 2.882 32.625 3.208 0.0462

4. Self Regard 35.425 5.012 34.350 5.072 32.800 4.525 2.9317

5. Independence 36.700 4.542 36.000 4.243 33.625 4.476 3.4085*

6. Total intra-personal score

171.200 11.570 169.750 13.387 163.175 13.272 4.4331*

Table 2. Mean differences in Dimensions of intra personal subscale of emotional intelligence ofadolescence in different parenting styles N=120

*P>.05; **P>.01

Sl. No.

Interpersonal dimensions




‘F’ value


1. Empathy 40.025 5.347 39.650 5.167 36.125 4.496 7.3816**

2. Interpersonal relationships

35.375 3.959 35.500 3.588 35.100 3.499 0.1249

3. Social Responsibility 36.525 3.850 35.175 4.379 33.325 4.599 5.7545**

4. Total interpersonal score

111.925 10.176 110.325 9.846 104.550 8.861 6.5934**

Table 3. Mean differences in Dimensions of inter personal subscale of emotional intelligence ofadolescence in different parenting styles N=120

Sl. No.

Adaptability dimensions




‘F’ value

Mean S.D Mean S.D Mean S.D 1. Problem solving 37.750 5.257 36.425 5.098 35.175 3.816 2.856 2. Flexibility 31.200 3.917 30.350 4.016 32.375 3.326 2.886 3. Reality testing 31.875 3.337 31.825 3.350 30.500 3.226 0.524 4. Total adaptability

score 100.825 7.699 98.600 8.454 98.050 6.373 0.891

Table 4. Mean differences in Dimensions of Adaptability subscale of emotional intelligence ofadolescence in different parenting styles N=120

*P>.05; **P>.01


Table 5. Mean differences in Dimensions of Stress management subscale of emotional intelligenceof adolescence in different parenting styles N=120

Sl. No.

Stress Management




‘F’ value


1. Stress tolerance 32.825 4.166 33.025 3.806 32.375 3.691 0.4711

2. Impulse control 32.000 5.888 32.250 5.803 31.400 4.331 0.0592

3. Total stress

management score

64.225 8.056 65.275 7.729 63.775 6.608 0.1981

*P>.05; **P>.01

Table 6. Mean differences in Dimensions of General mood subscale of emotional intelligence ofadolescence in different parenting styles N=120

Sl. No.

General Mood dimensions




‘F’ value


1. Happiness 35.000 3.948 33.750 5.118 32.500 3.588 3.4437**

2. Optimism 33.600 4.618 32.150 5.304 31.400 4.241 2.2023

3. Total general mood score

68.600 6.578 65.900 8.070 63.900 6.193 4.5531**

*P>.05; **P>.01

REFERENCES

Baumarind,D.(1971).Current patterns ofauthority.Developmental psychologymonograph,4(1).

Hurlock,E.B.(1973). Adolescent Development,4th

Edn,Mc Graw Hill Inc.New York,22-40.

Salovey,Mayer and Cauruso(1991). The MultifactorEmotional Intelligence scale at http://www.eiconsortium.org/mies/ei.htm.

Uma Devi, L.(2003). Emotional Intelligence andPersonality Profile of adolescents.Ph.D. thesissubmitted to Acharya NG Ranga AgriculturalUniversity, Hyderabad.

Vivekan Reddy,M (1996). Parenting styles and itsinfluence on their children’s adjustment andachievement. Ph.D. thesis submitted to OsmaniaUniversity, Hyderabad.

DEVI AND UMA

Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) is oneof the world’s most important nutritional cereal cropsand also the major staple food crop of millions ofpeople in semi-arid tropics (SAT). It is considered asthe king of millets and extensively grown in Africa,China, USA, Mexico and India. Sorghum ranks fourthamong the world’s most important crops after wheat,rice and maize. Its current world production standsat 64.6 million tonnes while in India current productionis 7.4 million tonnes. In India, Sorghum is cultivatedin both rainy and post rainy (rabi) season, mainly asa rain fed crop with about 85% of the productionconcentrated in Maharashtra, Karnataka and AndhraPradesh. The national average productivity ofSorghum is very low (880 kg/ha). In India, it is themajor dry land crop currently grown in about 7.69 mha during both kharif (3.2 m ha) and rabi (4.50 m ha)seasons with a production of 7.73 m t.

The rabi Sorghum is normally grown understored and receding soil moisture conditions withincreasing temperature after flowering. Thus, itexperiences both soil and atmospheric water deficit(drought). The limited availability of water causesmoisture stress which affects various metabolicprocesses of the plant. The limited availability ofwater causes moisture stress which affects variousmetabolic processes of the plant. The majorlimitations for Sorghum productivity are theoccurrence of various biotic (shoot fly, stem borer,charcoal rot etc) and abiotic (drought, salinity andtemperature, etc.) stresses at different crop growthstages.

A field experiment was carried out during rabi2012-13 at Research experimental farm Directorateof Sorghum, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad. Theexperiment was laid out in split plot design with 10Sorghum genotypes viz; CSV-18, M 35-1, Phule

STUDY ON ASSOCIATION OF SPAD CHLOROPHYLL METER READING (SCMR),PHOTOSYNTHESIS AND TRANSPIRATION RATE WITH GRAIN YIELD IN SORGHUM

GENOTYPES UNDER POST FLOWERING MOISTURE STRESS CONDITIONS

D. DEV KUMAR, V. PADMA, H. S. TALWAR AND FARZANA JABEEN Department of Crop Physiology, College of Agriculture,

Acharya N.G Ranga Agricultural University, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad-500030



chitra, Phule maulee, CRS 1, CRS 4, CRS 19, CRS20, EP 57 and PEC 17 as main treatments and twoirrigation treatments as sub treatments (stress andno stress) and it was replicated thrice. The SPAD-502 (Soil Plant Analytical Development) meter wasused for measuring the relative chlorophyll contentof leaves. The readings were taken from top thirdfully expanded leaf. Mean of five values from fivehills was obtained. The photosynthetic rate andtranspiration rate were measured in the 3rd fullyexpanded leaf from the top by using Infra Red GasAnalyzer (Model TPS-1). The data on were analyzedstatistically by applying the technique of split plotdesign taken from (Panse and Sukhatme, 1978). Thespacing maintained was 60 cm between rows and 15cm between plants. A basal dose of 20 kg ha-1 N and20 kg ha-1 P2O5 was applied before final ploughing.The seed were hand sown and the field was irrigatedto saturate the soil profile with water to ensure uniformgermination. The crop was thinned to two plants perhill after 10 days of emergence and then to one plantper hill after about a week. Around 20 days afteremergence, an additional 20 kg ha-1 N as urea wasapplied and irrigated.

SPAD Chlorophyll meter reading (SCMR)

The data on SPAD reading revealed significantdifferences among the genotypes both at 15 and 30DAF and the maximum SPAD readings was recordedat 15 DAF by all the genotypes compared to 30 DAFare presented in table 1.

At 15 DAF, the genotype PEC 17 (51) hadthe maximum SPAD reading and the lowest SPADreading was CRS 1 (38). At 30 DAF the maximumSPAD readings was recorded in PEC 17 (37). Thelowest SPAD reading at this stage was recorded inthe genotype CRS 1 (24). Significant differences

Research NotesJ.Res. ANGRAU 41(4) 73-77, 2013

KUMAR et al

were also observed between the treatments, duringstress and no stress conditions. The SPAD readingsdecreased in all the genotypes due to the moisturestress imposed during post flowering period. TheSPAD chlorophyll meter readings had significant andpositive correlation with grain yield both at 15 DAF(r = 0.80) and 30 DAF (r = 0.50)

values can be taken as an index for evaluation ofSorghum genotypes for drought tolerance. Theresults observed in the present study are inconfirmity with the results of Xu et al. (2000) Rao etal. (2003) (Talwar et al, 2011) and Sudhakar et al.(2006).

Photosynthetic rate (m mol CO2 m-2 s-1)

So, SCMR can be used to evaluate theperformance of Sorghum genotypes under postflowering drought condition. In general, higher SCMRmeans greater nitrogen and chlorophyll and thus these

The data on photosynthetic rate revealedsignificant differences among the genotypes both at15 and 30 DAF and the maximum photosyntheticrate was recorded at 15 DAF by all the genotypescompared to 30 DAF (Table 2).

Genotypes

SPAD – 15DAF SPAD – 30DAF

Stress No Stress Mean Stress No Stress Mean

CRS 4 45 50 48 28 32 30

CRS 19 40 44 42 30 33 32

CRS 20 43 48 46 25 27 26

PEC 17 49 52 51 35 38 37

CSV 18 45 46 46 32 32 32

M35-1 45 49 47 31 34 33

Phule Chitra 43 45 44 29 32 31

Phule Moulee 41 45 43 34 37 36

EP 57 42 46 44 31 33 32

CRS 1 37 39 38 23 24 24

Mean 43 46 45 30 32 31

CD at 5% Genotypes (G) 4.63 4.23 Treatments (T)

2.25 2.23 G X T

7.12 7.06 CV

9.33 13.37

Table 1. SPAD chlorophyll readings Sorghum genotypes at 15 DAF and 30 DAF of under post floweringmoisture stress and no stress conditions

Genotypes

Photosynthetic rate - 15DAF Photosynthetic rate - 30DAF

Stress No Stress Mean Stress No Stress Mean CRS 4

30 31 30.5 19 20 19.5 CRS 19

27 30 28.5 20 20 20.0 CRS 20

26 27 26.5 17 18 17.5 PEC 17

36 37 36.5 26 27 26.5 CSV 18

32 33 32.5 20 21 20.5 M35-1

35 36 35.5 25 26 25.5 Phule Chitra

26 27 26.5 16 18 17.0 Phule Moulee

26 28 27.0 17 19 18.0 EP 57

31 33 32.0 20 22 21.0 CRS 1

25 26 25.5 16 17 16.0 Mean

30 31 30.5 20 21 20.5 CD at 5% Genotypes (G)

2.22 1.67 Treatments (T)

0.84 0.84 G X T

2.66 2.66 CV

7.77 3.26

Table 2. Photosynthetic rate (ì mol CO2 m2 s-1) Sorghum genotypes at 15 DAF and 30 DAF of under postflowering moisture stress and no stress conditions

At 15 DAF, the genotype PEC 17 (36.5 mmolCO2 m2 s-1) had the maximum photosynthetic ratefollowed by M 35-1 (35.5 ìmol CO2 m2 s-1) and CSV18 (32.5 mmol CO2 m2 s -1), and the lowestphotosynthetic rate was in CRS 1 (25.5 mmol CO2

m2 s-1). At 30 DAF the maximum photosynthetic ratewas recorded in PEC 17 (26.5 mmol CO2 m2 s-1)followed by M 35-1 (25.5 mmol CO2 m2 s-1). The lowestphotosynthetic rate at this stage was recorded bythe same genotype CRS 1 (16.5 mmol CO2 m2 s-1).Such variation in photosynthetic rate amonggenotypes was also reported by Watling et al. (2003),Rao et al. (2001), Pawar et al. (2005) and

Channappagoudar et al. (2008). There was significantdifference between the treatments, during stress andno stress conditions. The photosynthetic ratedecreased in all the genotypes due to the moisturestress impose during post flowering period. Thephotosynthetic rate was positively and significantlycorrelated with grain yield at 15DAF (r = 0.71) and 30DAF (r = 0.57)

Transpiration rate (ì mol H2O m2 s-1)

The data on transpiration rate revealedsignificant differences among the genotypes at 15and 30 DAF and the maximum transpiration rate wasrecorded at 15 DAF compared to 30 DAF (Table 3).

STUDY ON ASSOCIATION OF SPAD CHLOROPHYLL METER READING

Genotypes

Transpiration rate -

15DAF

Transpiration rate -

30DAF

Grain yield (kg ha-1)

Stress

No

Stress

Mea

n

Stre

ss

No

Stress Mean Stress

No

Stress Mean

CRS 4 3.73 3.40 3.56 2.42 2.27 2.35 951 1045 998

CRS 19 3.34 3.20 3.27 2.11 2.07 2.09 667 761 714

CRS 20 4.18 4.15 4.17 2.63 2.53 2.58 912 1005 959

PEC 17 2.53 2.32 2.43 0.89 0.84 0.87 1082 1192 1137

CSV 18 3.10 2.93 3.02 1.17 1.14 1.16 1035 1128 1082

M35-1 2.84 2.54 2.69 1.00 0.91 0.96 1078 1190 1134

Phule Chitra 3.74 3.57 3.66 2.40 2.33 2.37 845 960 903

Phule Moulee 4.06 4.01 4.04 2.72 2.64 2.68 919 999 959

EP 57 3.12 3.05 3.09 1.24 1.19 1.22 827 915 871

CRS 1 4.33 4.23 4.28 2.74 2.65 2.70 772 875 824

Mean 3.50 3.34 3.42 1.93 1.86 1.90 909 1007 958

CD at 5%

Genotypes (G) 0.14 0.08

115.63

Treatments

(T) 0.06 0.06

36.91

G X T 0.19 0.19

16.74

CV 3.26 6.08

7.15

Table 3. Transpiration rate (ì mol H2O m2 s-1) Sorghum genotypes at 15 DAF and 30 DAF of under postflowering moisture stress and no stress conditions

At 15 DAF, maximum transpiration rate wasrecorded in CRS 1 (4.28 mmol H2O m2 s-1) followedby CRS 20 (4.17 mmol H2O m2 s-1). The lowesttranspiration rate at this stage was recorded in thegenotype PEC 17 (2.43 ì mol H2O m2 s-1) and M 35-1 (2.69 mmol H2O m2 s-1). Similarly, at 30 DAF,the maximum transpiration rate was recorded in CRS1 (2.70 ì mol H2O m2 s-1) followed by CRS 20 (2.58 mmol H2O m2 s-1). The lowest transpiration rate was

recorded in PEC 17 (0.87 mmol H2O m2 s-1) and M35-1 (0.96 mmol H2O m2 s-1). Similarly, the genotypicvariations in transpiration rate were also reported byseveral workers (Dhopte et al, 1987 and Yadav etal., 1991). Significant differences were also observedbetween the treatments, during stress and no stressconditions. There was increase in transpiration ratein all the genotypes due to the moisture stressinduced during post flowering period. Higher

KUMAR et al

transpiration efficiency was desirable for higher grainyield and biomass productivity under post anthesisdrought stress situations was earlier reported by Raoet al, 2001. The transpiration rate was negatively andsignificantly correlated with grain yield both at 15 DAF(r=-0.54) and 30 DAF (r=-0.56).

Under receding soil moisture situation,maintenance of low transpiration rate is an importantfactor for yield stability. The lower transpiration rateas a trait can be incorporated into the hybrids forbetter yields under receding soil moisture situation(Ashok Surveshi et al, 2011).

REFERENCES

Ashok Surwenshi, V.P., Chimmad, R.L., Ravikumar.2007. Comparative Studies of Hybrids andParents for Physiological Parameters andYield in Sorghum. Karnataka Journal ofAgricultural Sciences. 20 (1): 25 - 28.

Channappagoudar, B.B. , Biradar, N.R.,Bharamagoudar, T.D and Rokhade, J. 2008.Morpho-physiological Traits of SorghumParental Lines Determining Grain Yield andBiomass; Karnataka Journal of AgriculturalSciences. 21(2): 168-170.

Dhopte, A.M., Raghangadale, S.L and Jamadar, S.L.1987. Physiological evaluation of forty exoticand wild sorghum lines in relation to stomatalfactors involved in drought resistance. Annalsof Plant Physiology 1 : 143 – 150.

Pawar, K.N., Biradar, B.D., ShamaraoJahagirdar,M.R and Ravikumar. 2005. Identiafication ofGermplasm sources for adaptation underreceding soil moisture situations in rabiSorghum Agriculture Science Digest 25 (1):56 – 58.

Rao, S.S., Seetharama, N., Kiran Kumar, K.A andVanderlip, R.L. 2001.Characterization ofsorghum growth stages NRCS Bulletin SeriesNO. 14. National Research Centre for SorghumRajendranagar. Hyderabad AP. pp: 1-15.

Rao, S.S., More, P.R., Solunke, V.D., kusalkar,D.V., J irali , D. I., Pawar, K.N.,Channappagoudar, B.B., Chimmad, V.P.,Prabhakar and Rana, B.S. 2003. Physiologicalapproaches for improving drought tolerance inrabi Sorghum. Proceedings of National

Seminar on ‘Role of Plant Physiology forSustaining Quality and Quantity of FoodProduction in relation to Environment’. held atUniversity of Agricultural Sciences. Dharwad.26-32.

Sudhakar, P., Latha, P., Babitha, M., Prasanthi, L.,Reddy, P.V. 2006. Physiological traitscontributing to grain yields under drought inblack gram and green gram; Indian Journal ofPlant Physiology.11 (4): 391-396.

Talwar, H.S., Prabhakar, M., Elangovan, Aruna, K.,Rao,S.S., Mishra, J and Patil,V.J. 2011.Strategies to Improve Post flowering DroughtTolerance in Rabi Sorghum for PredictedClimate Change Scenario. CropImprovement.37 (2): 93-98.

Watling, J.R., Press, M.C., and Quick, W.P. 2003.Elevated CO2 induces biochemical and ultrastructural changes in leaves of the C4 cerealSorghum. Plant Physiology. 123(3): 1143-1152.

Xu, W., Rosenow, D.T and Nguyen, H.T. 2000. Staygreen trait in grain sorghum: relationshipbetween visual rating and leaf chlorophyllconcentration. Plant Breeding. 119(4):365-367.

Yadav, S., Jyothi Lakshmi, N., Maheshwari, M. andVenkateswarlu, B. 1991. Influence of waterdeficit at vegetative, anthesis and grain fillingsstages on water relation and grain yield insorghum. Indian Journal of Plant Physiology.10(1): 20-24.

STUDY ON ASSOCIATION OF SPAD CHLOROPHYLL METER READING

Soybean (Glycine max (L) Merrill) is a fieldcrop that belongs to the family of legumes. It is anannual herbaceous plant which is bushy and erectwith leafy plant structure. Its height is 40 –100cm.Soybean grows well in warm and moist climate. Soiltemperature of 15.50C or above favours rapidgeneration and vigorous seeding growth. Seeds aresown from the beginning of July, the plants developpods during mid July and the crop is harvested in themid of September or early October.

World soybean production has increased by19 per cent and crossed 251million metric tonnes in2010-11 from 211 million metric tonnes in 2008-09.United States of America with 83.2 million metrictonnes (33.09 %) ranks first in the production ofsoybean followed by Brazil with 72.0 million metrictonnes (28.64%), Argentina with 48.0 million metrictonnes (19.09%) and China with 13.5 million metrictonnes production (5.37%).

In India, soybean cultivation was negligibleuntil 1970 but it grew rapidly thereafter crossing over10 million metric tonnes in 2009-10 and India todayis the fifth largest producer of soya bean in the world.Production increased from 5.96 million metric tonnesin 2000-01 to this level because of increase in areaunder cultivation of soybean from 6.34 millionhectares with yield of 940 kg per hectare in 2000-01to 9.73 million hectares with yield of 1024 kg perhectare in 2009-10.

In India, Soybean production is mainlyconfined to Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan,Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, UttarPradesh and Chhattisgarh. Out of 11 million tonnes,Madhya Pradesh produces 5.85 million tonescontributing approximately 60 per cent to totalproduction of India followed by Maharashtra with 2.76

A STUDY ON TRENDS IN AREA, PRODUCTION AND PRODUCTIVITY OFSOYBEAN IN KOTA DISTRICT OF RAJASTHAN

PAVAN KUMAR SEN, P.RADHIKA AND SEEMADepartment of Agribusiness Management, College of Agriculture,

Acharya N.G. Ranga Agricultural University, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad -500030



million tonnes and Rajasthan with 0.81 milliontonnes.

The area under Soybean in Rajasthan during 2011-12 was 8.97 lakh hectare and the production was13.85 lakh tonnes. In Rajasthan major soybeanproducing districts are Kota, Jhalawar, Baran, Bundiand Chittorgarh. Kota district ranks second in areaand production of soybean in Rajasthan.

Compound growth rates were estimated tostudy the trends in area, production and productivityof soybean in Kota district of Rajasthan. TheCompound Growth Rate (CGR) and per cent changein area, production and productivity of the soybeanin Kota district of Rajasthan were calculated bydrawing the data from various secondary sources forthe period 2001-02 to 2010-2011.

The area, production and productivity ofsoybean in Kota district of Rajasthan from 2001-02to 2010-11 is presented in Table 1. For the year 2001-02 the data showed that the area under soybeancultivation was 1.09 lakh hectares. The areadecreased to 0.85 lakh hectares i.e., -22.01 per centin the year 2002-03 and it has increased to 1.05 lakhhectares (23.52 per cent) in the year 2003-04. Thearea has increased to 1.18 lakh hectares (12.38 percent) in the year 2004-05 and again it has increasedto 1.27 lakh hectares (7.62 per cent) in the year2005-06 and decreased to 0.75 lakh hectares (-40.94per cent) in the year 2006-07 and it has surprisinglyincreased to 1.24 lakh hectares (65.33 per cent) in2007-08. The increasing trend continued and the areawas 1.32 lakh hectares (1.70 per cent) in the year2008-09, and in 2009-10 it was 1.22 lakh hectares (-7.57 per cent). The area under soybean cultivationdecreased in the year 2010-11 to 1.17 lakh hectare (-4.09 per cent).


The data with respect to soybean productionin Kota district of Rajasthan showed that theproduction of soybean in the year 2001-02 was 1.38lakh tonnes and it has steeply decreased to 0.28lakh tonnes (-79.71 per cent) in the year 2002-03 dueto heavy pest infestation whereas it has increasedto 1.69 lakh tonne (503.57 per cent) in the year 2003-04. In the year 2004-05 production increased to 1.89lakh tonne(11.83 per cent) and again slightlydecreased to 1.67 lakh tonne (-11.64 per cent) in theyear 2005-06 and it has steadily decreased in theyear 2006-07 to 0.98 lakh tonne(-41.31 per cent) andin the year 2007-08 it has increased to 1.69 lakh tonne(72.44 per cent). The production of soybean furtherdecreased to 1.11 lakh tonne(-34.31 per cent ) in theyear 2008-09 followed by continuous increase in

2009-10 and 2010-11 to 1.45 lakh tonne (30.63 percent) and 1.49 lakh tonne (2.75 per cent),respectively.

The data on productivity of soybean in Kotadistrict of Rajasthan showed that the productivity ofsoybean in the year 2001-02 was 1116 kg/ha and ithas drastically decreased to 333 kg/ha (-70.16 percent) in the year 2002-03 and again it increased to1610 kg/ha (383.48 per cent) in the year 2003-04.The productivity of soybean again slightly decreasedto 1600 kg/ha (-0.62 per cent) in the year 2004-05and further decreased to 1317 kg/ha (-17.68 per cent)in the year 2005-06. The productivity trend of soybeanfollowed similar pattern in comparison with theprevious years i.e., decreased in 2006-07 to 1309

Sl.No. Year Area (in

lakh ha)

% change over previous year

Production (in lakh tonnes)


Productivity (in Kg/ha)


1 2001-02 1.09 _ 1.38 _ 1116 _

2 2002-03 0.85 - 22.01 0.28 -79.71 333 -70.16

3 2003-04 1.05 23.52 1.69 503.57 1610 383.48

4 2004-05 1.18 12.38 1.89 11.83 1600 -0.62

5 2005-06 1.27 7.62 1.67 -11.64 1317 -17.68

6 2006-07 0.75 - 40.94 0.98 -41.31 1309 -0.60

7 2007-08 1.24 65.33 1.69 72.44 1582 20.85

8 2008-09 1.32 6.45 1.11 -34.31 823 -47.97

9 2009-10 1.22 -7.57 1.45 30.63 1190 44.59

10 2010-11 1.17 - 4.09 1.49 2.75 1230 3.36

% change in

2010-11 over

2001-02

_

7.33

_

7.97

_

10.21

CGR

2.41 (1.20)

5.75 (0.89

3.95 (0.72)

Source: www.krishi.rajasthan.gov.in

Figures in parentheses are‘t’ values; CGR: Compound growth rate

Table 1. Percentage Change and Growth Rates In Area ,Production and Productivity of Soybean inKota Diistrict of Rajasthan (2001-02 to 2010-11)

A STUDY ON TRENDS IN AREA, PRODUCTION AND PRODUCTIVITY OF SOYBEAN IN KOTA

kg/ha and again increased to 1582 kg/ha(20.85percent) in 2007-08. Whereas in 2008-09 productivitydecreased to 823 kg/ha (-47.97 percent) andincreased to1190 kg/ha (44.59 per cent) respectively.In the year 2010-11 the productivity slightly increasedto 1230 kg/ha (3.36 per cent) over the previous year.

The compound growth rates for area,production and productivity were 2.41 per cent, 5.75per cent and 3.95 per cent respectively. Among allthe three variables, none of variables have shownsignificant growth rates.

REFERENCES

Anantha, K and Dave, B. K. 1988. Trend Analysis ofSesame Production in Arid Rajasthan.Annals of Arid Zones. 27(3): 161-164.

Choudhary, K., Kulkarni, V., Yeledhalli, R. A and Patil.C. 2011. Trends in Area, Production andProductivity of Mustard in India. InternationalJournal of Agricultural Science. 7(2): 362-365.

Gudmewad, S.G., Sarsamkar, R.A and Mate., A.S.2008. Dynamics of Area, Production andProductivity of Oilseed Crops grown in Nanded,India. Agricultural Update. 3(1): 86-90.

Lawwa., R and Kumar, A. 2008. Growth performanceof Oilseed in India. Agricultural Situation inIndia. 65(9): 589-592.

PAVAN et al

Makhana (Euryale ferox) is an aquatic crop.It belongs to family of Nympheace. It is commonlyknown as gorgon nut or fox nut. Makhana is grown instagnant perennial water bodies like ponds, landdepressions, swamps and ditches. From the pastfew years makhana is also being cultivated in fieldsystem. In this system, makhana cultivation is carriedout in agricultural fields at a water depth of one totwo foot. Though makhana is also found in wild formin China, Japan, and Russia, India is the only countrywhere makhana is cultivated as crop, mainly in thestates of Bihar and some parts of Assam and Manipur.Bihar accounts for more than 85% of the makhanaproduced in the country. Northern part of Bihar,constituting districts of Madhubani, Darbhnaga,Katihar and Purnia is highly suitable for makhanacultivation.

Cultivation of makhana is highlycumbersome, labour intensive and involves humandrudgery as seeds have to be collected from bottomof the pond. It is followed by processing of raw seeds,which is equally painstaking activity. Fishermencommunity belonging to the weaker sections of thesociety is mainly involved in makhana sector.

Makhana is an organic, nutritional, non-cereal edible crop. It was mostly used in religiousceremonies, however with increase in productionnumber of delicious sweet dishes are made from itand roasted popped makhana is consumed as snack.Due to presence of high carbohydrate it is used intextile industry for making high quality cottondresses. It is also used for medicine formulations.

Makhana is a good source of carbohydrates, proteinsand minerals. The chemical constituents of thepopped kernels in percentages are 12.8% moisture,76.9% carbohydrate, 9.7% protein, 0.1% fat, 0.5%total minerals, 0.02% calcium, 0.9% phosphorous,

A STUDY ON PRICE SPREAD AND MARKETING EFFICIENCY OF MAKHANA INMADHUBANI DISTRICT OF BIHAR

NITESH KUMAR SAH, P.RADHIKA and SEEMASchool of Agribusiness Management College of Agriculture,

Acharya N.G. Ranga Agricultural University, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad -500 030



0.0014% iron according to Shankar et al.(2010).Bilgrami et al. (1983) found makhana superior to dryfruits such as almond, walnut, cashew nut andcoconut in contents of sugar, proteins, ascorbic acidand phenol.

In traditional makhana markets, poppedmakhana are distinguished into four qualities namelylava, murha, turi, mix. The differences in quality arealmost exclusively linked with the size of the pop.

During the last decade makhana cultivation hasgained a lot of importance due to various promotionalactivities taken by the government agencies andNational Horticultural Mission (NHM). Under NHMmakhana is considered as fruit crop. As makhana isnow increasingly accepted as health food all overthe world, it has huge export potential and offerssignificant opportunities for value addition.

One hundred fifty farmers, ten processors,twenty retailers, five local wholesalers, five distantwholesalers, five distant retailers were selected tostudy the marketing costs and margins involved atvarious level of marketing of makhana. The studywas conducted from December 2012 to May 2013.

The price spread, marketing channel efficiency andmarketing constraints were worked out by usingfollowing methods:

1. Cost of marketing

The total cost incurred on marketing, in cashor in kind, by the producer-seller and by variousintermediaries involved in the sale and purchase ofthe commodity till the commodity reaches the ultimateconsumer was computed as follows.

C = Cf + Cm1 + Cm2 + Cm3 + ……………….Cmn

Where,

C = total cost of marketing of the commodity


KUMAR et al

Cf = cost paid by the producer from the time, theproduce leaves the farm till sale.

Cmn = cost incurred by the nth middleman in theprocess of buying and selling the product.

2. Producer’s Share in Consumer’s rupee

It is the price received by the producer as apercentage in the consumer’s price.

If (Pc) is a consumer’s price and (PF) is theproducer’s price then the producer’s share inconsumer’s rupee (Ps) may be expressed as follows.

Ps = (PF/PC) X 100

3. Marketing margin of middleman

This is the difference between the total payments(cost + purchase price) and receipts (sale price) ofthe middleman (ith agency).

Absolute margin of the ith middleman (Ami) = PRi –(Ppi + Cmi)

Where,

PRi = Total value of receipts per unittable (sale price)

Ppi = Purchase value of goods per unit(purchase price)

Cmi = Cost incurred on marketing perunit

4. Analysis of price spread under differentchannels

It is the difference between the price paid bythe consumer and the price received by the producer.The price spread was worked out by using followingmethod

Price spread = Pp - Pf

Where,

Pp = price paid by the consumer

Pf = price received by the farmer

5. Analysis of marketing efficiency under differentchannels

Marketing efficiency is a measure of marketperformance. The movement of goods from producersto the ultimate consumers at the lowest possible cost

consistent with the provision of service desired bythe consumers is termed as efficient marketing.

In this study the marketing efficiency iscalculated by Acharya method using the followingformula,

MME = FP/ (MC+ MM)

Where,

MME is Modified Marketing Efficiency

Total marketing costs (MC)

Net marketing margins (MM)

Net prices received by the farmer (FP)

Price paid by the consumer (CP)

Makhana is marketed through three differentmarket channels. Channel-I consists of farmer ’!processor ’! retailer ’!consumer. Channel-II consistsof farmer ’! processor ’! wholesaler ’! retailer ’!consumer. Channel –III consists of farmer ’!processor ’! local wholesaler ’! distant wholesaler ’!distant retailer ’! consumer.

Channel I: ( Farmer-processor-retailer-consumer)

The channel I comprised of farmer,processor, retailer and consumer. Gross Pricereceived by farmer was Rs 157.14 per kg of makhanapop which was 78.34 per cent of consumer rupee.The processor incurred on processing cost (Rs 20.95)and on transportation cost (Rs 2.49) per kilogram ofmakhana pop. These two costs accounted to Rs23.44 per kg which was 11.68 per cent of consumerrupee. The selling price of processor to retailer wasRs 185.19 per kg. Market cost accounted by theretailer included market fee (Rs 1.85), loading andunloading (Rs 0.64) and transportation cost (Rs 3.61).The total market cost incurred by retailer was Rs6.10 which was 3.04 per cent of consumer rupee.Total marketing cost involved in entire channel wasRs 32.54 in which major contribution was ofprocessing and transportation. Transportation costwas high due to voluminous or bulkiness of themakhana pop. The price spread in channel I was Rs43.45 per kg of makhana pop. Marketing efficiencyof channel-I was 3.31 which was more than othertwo channels. So, channel-I was more efficient thanother two channels.

S. No. Particulars Per kilogram of

makhana pop

Percentage of

consumer price

Farmer

1 Gross price received by farmer 157.14 78.34

2 Packaging cost 1.25 0.62

3 Transportation cost 1.75 0.87

4 Market cost incurred by farmer (2+3) 3.00 1.49

5 Net price received by farmer 154.14 76.84

Processor

6 Sale price of farmer / purchase price of processor 157.14 78.33

7 Processing cost 20.95 10.44


9 Market cost incurred by processor (7+8) 23.44 11.68

10 Margin of processor {11-(6+9)} 4.61 2.30

Retailer

11 Sale price of processor/ purchase price of retailer 185.19 92.32

12 Market fee @ 1% 1.85 0.92

13 Loading and unloading charges 0.64 0.32


15 Market cost by retailer (12+13+14) 6.10 3.04

16 Margin of retailer 9.30 4.63

17 Purchase price of consumer 200.59 100

18 Total marketing cost (4+9+15) 32.54

19 Price spread (17-1) 43.45

20 Marketing efficiency Acharya approach 3.31

Table 1. Price spread analysis in channel I

Channel –II: (Farmer-processor-wholesaler-retailer)

Channel II comprises of farmer, processor, wholesalerand retailer. Net price received by farmer in channelII was Rs 154.14 which was 69.26 per cent ofconsumer rupee. Marketing cost incurred byprocessor was Rs 23.44 per kg of makhana pop whichwas 10.53 per cent of consumer price. Marketing costof processor included processing cost (Rs 20.95) andtransportation cost (Rs 2.49) per kg of makhana pop.Margin of processor was only Rs 3.61 per kg of

makhana pop which was 1.62 per cent of consumerprice. Purchase price of wholesaler was Rs184.19per kg of makhana pop which was 82.76 per cent ofconsumer price. Market cost incurred by wholesalerconsisted of market fee (Rs 1.84), loading andunloading (Rs 0.98), grading (Rs 0.57), packaging(Rs 5.58), storage (Rs 1.48), rottage and shrinkage(Rs 1.52) and transportation cost (Rs 4.89) per kg ofmakhana pop. Total market cost incurred bywholesaler was Rs 16.86 per kg of makhana popwhich was 7.57 per cent of consumer price. Margin

A STUDY ON PRICE SPREAD AND MARKETING EFFICIENCY OF MAKHANA IN MADHUBANI

S. No Particulars Per kg of makhana pop

Percentage of consumer

price Farmer 1 Gross price received by farmer 157.14 70.60 2 Packaging cost 1.25 0.56 3 Transportation cost 1.75 0.78 4 Market cost incurred by farmer (2+3) 3.00 1.35 5 Net price received by farmer 154.14 69.26 Processor 6 purchase price of processor 157.14 70.60 7 Processing cost 20.95 9.41 8 Transportation cost 2.49 1.12 9 Market cost incurred by processor (7+8) 23.44 10.53 10 Margin of processor{11-(6+9)} 3.61 1.62 Wholesaler 11 purchase price of wholesaler 184.19 82.76 12 Market fee @ 1% 1.84 0.82 13 Loading and unloading 0.98 0.44 14 Grading 0.57 0.26 15 Packaging 5.58 2.51 16 Storage 1.48 0.66 17 Rottage and shrinkage 1.52 0.68 18 Transportation cost 4.89 2.20 19 Market cost incurred by wholesaler (add 12 to 18) 16.86 7.57 20 Margin of wholesaler {21-(11+19)} 7.65 3.44 Retailer 21 purchase price of retailer 208.70 93.77 22 Market fee @ 1% 2.08 0.93 23 Loading and unloading charges 0.98 0.44 24 Transportation cost 2.05 0.92 25 Market cost incurred by retailer (22+23+24) 5.11 2.29 26 Margin of retailer {27-(21+25)} 8.75 3.93 27 Purchase price of consumer 222.56 100 28 Total marketing cost (4+9+19+25) 48.41 29 Price spread (27-1) 65.42 30 Marketing efficiency Acharya approach 2.25

Table 2. Price spread analysis in channel II

of wholesaler was Rs 7.65 per kg or Rs76.50 per bagof ten kg. Total marketing cost incurred by retailerwas Rs 5.11 per kg of makhana pop which was 2.29per cent of consumer price. Marketing cost of retailerincludes market fee (Rs 2.08), loading and unloadingcharges (Rs 0.98) and transportation cost (Rs 2.05)per kg of makhana pop. Margin of retailer was Rs8.75 per kg of makhana pop which was 3.93 per cent

of consumer price. In this channel maximum marginwas taken by retailer. Purchase price of consumerwas Rs 222.56. Price spread in market channel IIwas Rs 65.42 per kg of makhana pop. Market channelefficiency of channel-II was 2.25 which was lowerthan channel-I and higher than channel-III. From 26-06-2012 value added tax (VAT) on makhana pop hasbeen removed in Bihar. Earlier a VAT of 5 per centwas levied on makhana pop.

KUMAR et al

Table 3. Price spread analysis in channel III

S. No. Particulars Per kilogram of makhana pop

Percentage of consumer rupee

Farmer

1 Gross price received by farmer 157.14 59.64

2 Packaging cost 1.25 0.47


4 Market cost incurred by farmer (2+3) 3.00 1.13

5 Net price received by farmer 154.14 58.50

Processor

6 Purchase price of processor 157.14 59.64

7 Processing cost 20.95 7,95


9 Market cost incurred by processor (7+8) 23.44 8.89

10 Margin of processor 3.05 1.15

Local wholesaler

11 Sale price of processor / purchase price of

wholesaler

183.63 69.69

12 Market fee @ 1% 1.83 0.69

13 Transportation charge up to Kanpur market 11.89 4.51

14 Loading and unloading 1.96 0.74

15 Grading 0.57 0.21

16 Packaging 5.58 2.11

17 Storage 3.24 1.23

18 Rottage and shrinkage 2.52 0.95

19 Commission agent’s share @ 4% of wholesale

selling price

9.25 3.51

20 Market cost incurred by local wholesaler 36.83 13.97

21 Margin of wholesaler {22-(11+20)} 10.76 4.08

22 Selling price of local wholesaler / purchase price of

distant wholesaler

231.22 87.76

23 Transportation charge 3.24 1.22

24 Storage charge 1.55 0.58

25 Market charge 2.31 0.87

26 Market cost incurred by distant wholesaler

(23+24+25)

7.10 2.69

Table - 3 (contd.)


S. No. Particulars Per kilogram of

makhana pop

Percentage of

consumer rupee

Distant wholesaler

27 Margin of distant wholesaler {28-(22+26)} 7.56 2.87

Distant retailer

28 Purchase price of retailer 245.88 93.32

29 Market fee @ 1% 2.45 0.93

30 Loading and unloading 1.96 0.74


32 Market cost incurred by retailer

(29+30+31)

8.02 3.04

33 Margin of retailer{34-(28+32)} 9.56 3.63

34 Purchase price of consumer 263.46 100

35 Total marketing cost 78.39

36 Price spread (35-1) 106.32

37 Marketing efficiency Acharya approach 1.41

Channel III: (Farmer-local wholesaler-distantwholesaler- distant retailer-consumer)

Channel III comprises of farmer, processor,wholesaler, distant wholesaler, distant retailer andconsumer. In this channel Kanpur market wasselected as distant market. Net price received byfarmer was Rs 154.14 which was 58.50 per cent ofconsumer rupee. Total market cost incurred by localwholesaler was Rs 36.83 per kg of makhana popwhich was 13.97 per cent of consumer rupee.Commission agent charged @ 4% of local wholesalerselling price. The commission taken by commissionagent was Rs 9.25 per kg of makhana pop whichwas 3.51 per cent of consumer rupee. The role ofcommission agent in makhana marketing was mainlyto arrange contact between local wholesaler andwholesaler of Kanpur and he does not incur anymarketing cost. Total cost incurred and risk takenby local wholesaler is higher so the margin of localwholesaler is also higher. It was Rs 10.76 which was4.08 per cent of consumer rupee. The market costincurred by distant wholesaler was Rs 7.10 per kgwhich was 2.69 per cent of consumer price. Marginof distant wholesaler was Rs 7.56 per kg which was2.87 per cent of consumer rupee. Total market costincurred by distant retailer is Rs 8.02 per kg ofmakhana pop which was 3.04 per cent of consumer

rupee. Margin of retailer was Rs 9.56 per kg ofmakhana pop or Rs 95.60 per bag of 10 kg. Purchaseprice of consumer was Rs 263.46. Price spread inthis channel was Rs 106.32 per kg of makhana pop.Marketing efficiency of channel-III is 1.41 which waslowest among all the three channels.

The price received by the farmer and themargin received by the processor was same in allthe three marketing channels adapted to marketmakhana pop. So, the farmers and processor canchoose any of the marketing channels according totheir convenience. Price paid by consumer in channel-I was less than other channels. So for consumerchannel-I is most efficient.

Among the first two channels it is better toadapt channel-I (farmer ’! processor ’! retailer ’!consumer) than channel-II (farmer ’! processor ’!wholesaler ’! retailer ’! consumer) if the product isbeing sold in the local markets. However in case ofdistant markets only one channel is available formarketing of makhana pop ,hence farmers inevitablyhave to choose that channel.

In all the marketing channels adopted formakhana pop margins of intermediaries are higherthan the margin received by the processors.

KUMAR et al

REFERENCESBilgrami, K. S., Sinha, K. K and Singh, A. 1983.

Chemical changes in dry fruits during aflatoxinelaboration by Aspergillus flavus. CurrentScience. 52(20): 960-964.

Prakash, O and Choudhary, J. N. 1994. A study onmarketing of makhana in Bihar. Bihar Journalof Agricultural Marketing. 2(3): 217-225.

Shankar, M., Chaudhary, N and Singh, D. 2010. Areview on gorgon nut. International Journal ofPharmaceutical & Biological Archives. 1(2):101-107.

Kumar, L., Gupta,V.K., Jha, B.K., Singh, I.S., Bhatt,B.P and Singh, A. K. 2011. Status of makhana(Euryale ferox) cultivation in India. ICAR-Research complex for eastern region, Patna.19.

Uma Devi, K., Pandurangaro, A and Raju, V.T. 2004.Economics of coffee cultivation and itsmarketing in Visakhapatnam district of AndhraPradesh. Agricultural marketing. 47(1): 30-35.


Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is an importantpulse crop and one of the most important protein richlegume crop grown during winter (rabi) season in India.In Andhra Pradesh, it is grown in 5.70 lakh ha with aproduction of 5.49 mt. Chickpea is an important pulsecrop of scarce rainfall zone predominantly grown asrainfed crop. Among the agronomic factorsresponsible for low productivity of chickpea, choiceof suitable variety and seed rate are of primeimportance to increase the productivity. Appropriateplanting arrangement would provide more efficient useof available resources, viz. soil moisture, nutrientsand allow the crop to exert greater inter specificcompetition. Chickpea varieties at higher plantpopulation gave significantly higher seed yield thanat normal plant population (Roy and Sharma, 1986).Good yields even from the high yielding varietiescannot be achieved without the adoption of improvedpackage of technology. Seeding densities,appropriate adjustment between the rows, judicioususe of fertilizer, timely sowing and irrigation play aremarkable role in increasing the yield of crops. Theincrease in seeding densities after a certain limit leadsto a decreased seed yield of chickpea (Hernandezand Hill, 1983). Further, farmers are not in a positionto know the optimum seed rate for desi and kabulivarieties as kabuli varieties require more seed ratethan desi varieties. Information on these aspects ofthe crop is meager for this region. The presentexperiment was, therefore, undertaken to find outsuitable chickpea variety and its optimum seed rateunder rainfed conditions of scarce rainfall zone ofAndhra Pradesh.

The experiment was conducted at RegionalAgricultural Research Station, Nandyal during 2009-10. Three varieties (Annigeri, JG 11 and KAK 2) andfive seed rates (62.5, 75,87.5, 100 and 112.5 kg/ha)

INFLUENCE OF SEED RATES ON CHICKPEA VARIETIES GROWN IN SCARCERAINFALL ZONE OF ANDHRA PRADESH

P.MUNIRATHNAM, K. ASHOK KUMAR, S.NEELIMA and Y.PADMALATHARegional Agricultural Research Station, Acharya N G Ranga Agricultural University, Nandyal-518 502



were tested in split plot design with three replications.The experimental soil had pH 8.8, available nitrogen

163 kg/ha, available P2O5 65 kg/ha and availableK2O 420 kg/ha. Sowing was done in furrows at a

distance of 30 cm between rows and 10 cm between

plants within a row. There were winter rains of about51.8 mm. The mean maximum and minimum ambient

temperatures during the crop growth period were 32.30C and 17.3 0C respectively. The mean values of

relative humidity for the corresponding periods were

84 % and 34 %, respectively.

Among the different varieties evaluated,Annigeri (1927 kg/ha) out yielded significantly over

KAK 2 (1044 kg/ha) but it was on par with JG 11(1831 kg/ha). Significantly higher number of pods/

plant was noted in Annigeri (47) compared to KAK 2

(22) but on par with JG 11 (39). Significantly higher100 seed weight was noticed with KAK 2 (39 g) over

JG 11 (24.3 g) which in turn was significantly higherover Annigeri (18.9 g). Dahiya and Waldia (1981) also

reported yield variation in chickpea varieties.

However, the dry matter production in all the varietieswas statistically comparable.

Seed yield of chickpea and 100 seed weight

were not influenced by different seed rates tested.However, significantly higher number of pods/plant

was noticed with 62.5 kg/ha (41) over seeding with

100 kg/ha (33.1) and was on par with other seed rates(75, 87.5 and 112.5 kg/ha). Khan et al ., 1997 reported

significant increase in seed yield with 80 kg/ha seedrate over 40 and 60 kg/ha. Sharar et al., 2001 got

maximum seed yield of 2300 kg/ha at a sowingdensity of 70 kg/ha. Sowing at 75 kg seed/ha had

significantly higher yield than sowing at 50 kg seeds/ha (Singh et al. 1988).


Treatments Dry matter

production at harvest (g/plant)

Number of pods/plant

100 seed weight (g)

Seed yield (kg/ha)

Varieties

Annigeri 17.7 47.3 18.9 1927

JG-11 18.6 39.0 24.3 1831

KAK-2 17.8 21.8 39.0 1044

SEm+ 1.9 4.2 0.2 128

CD @ 5 % NS 16.7 0.9 503

Seed rates (kg/ha)

62.5 20.8 41.0 27.5 1625

75 18.0 36.8 27.1 1614

87.5 18.1 34.3 27.3 1607

100 15.9 33.1 27.6 1537

112.5 17.5 35.1 27.5 1621

SEm+ 1.0 2.6 0.3 125

CD @ 5 % 2.9 7.7 NS NS

Table 1. Yield attributes and yield of chickpea varieties as influenced by different seed rates

Table 2:Interaction effect between chickpea varieties and seed rates on seed yield (kg/ha)

Treatments Annigeri JG 11 KAK2

Seed rate (kg/ha)

62.5 1974 1904 998

75 2070 1812 960

87.5 1933 1871 1019

100 1834 1789 989

112.5 1826 1781 1257

CD @ 5 % 636

INFLUENCE OF SEED RATES ON CHICKPEA VARIETIES GROWN

REFERENCES

Dahiya, B.S and Waldia, R.S. 1981. A strategy forincreasing chickpea production in NorthIndia. International Chickpea News letter 5: 7.

Hernandez, L.G and Hill, G.D. 1983. Effect of plantpopulation and inoculation on yield and yieldcomponents of Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.)Pro.Agron. Soc. New Zealand, 13:75-79 (FieldCrop Abstracts. 37 (10):732, 1984).

Roy, R.K and Sharma, R.P. 1986. Performance ofchickpea genotypes at varying plant populationand fertility levels under late sown conditions.International Chickpea Newsletter 14: 19-20.

Khan R.U., Abdul Rasshid, Khan S.G., Rashid, Aand Khan A. 1997. Chickpea production as

Annigeri and JG11 produced comparableyields at different seed rates ranging from 62.5 to112.5 kg/ha. However, these yields were significantlysuperior to the yields produced by KAK-2 at all the

seed rates. For scarce rainfall zone of AndhraPradesh Annigeri and JG 11 were found suitable andhigher yields could be obtained with lower seed ratesof 62.5-75 kg/ha.

influenced by seed rate under rainfed conditionof Dera Ismail Khan. Sarhad Journal ofAgriculture. 13(6):551-557.

Sharar, M.S., Ayub, M., Nadeem, M.A and Noori,S.A. 2001. Effect of different row spacings andseeding densities on the growth and yield ofgram (Cicer arietinum L.) Pakistan Journal ofAgricultural Sciences, 2001, 38:(3-4): 51-53.

Singh R.C., Mehar Singh and Singh, M. 1988.Studies on the spacing and seed rate of smalland bold seeded gram varieties under rainfedconditions. Haryana Journal of Agronomy.4(1): 28-30.

MUNIRATHNAM et al

Sheep biodiversity in India is characterized byhigh degree of endemism. The variations in agroclimatic conditions of the different regions have ledto the development of various breeds/strains that arewell adapted to specific set of environmentalconditions.

Andhra Pradesh is having the highest sheeppopulation (25.53 millions) that accounts for 34.18percent of Indian sheep population (BAHS, 2010) andranks first in India. The most widely distributed nativesheep breeds of Andhra Pradesh are Nellore (thetallest and famous mutton breed) and Deccani (dual-purpose breed).

The information on constraints and enablingenvironment for Macherla Brown sheep for the presentstudy was collected during April to July, 2012 fromsheep farmers in the villages located on banks ofKrishna River. Three mandals each in Guntur andNalgonda districts and two mandals each inPrakasam and Krishna districts were selected for thepresent investigation. From each of the selectedmandal 3 to 4 villages and from each village, 3 to 4sheep farmers were chosen randomly to record data(Snedecor and Cochran, 1994). Thus, a total of 104farmers spread over 10 mandals and 32 villages werecontacted to collect the information. The possibleconstraints and enabling environment were listedbased on the consultation with development workers,animal husbandry officials and sheep farmers of nonsample areas and also from related constraintstudies. Accordingly, 11 constraints and enablingenvironment of Macherla Brown sheep farming wereidentified for eliciting the response from the farmers.The constraints and enabling environment of sheepfarming perceived by the respondents in the studyarea were measured by a pre structured interviewschedule. The responses of each constraint and

CONSTRAINTS AND ENABLING ENVIRONMENT FOR MACHERLA BROWNSHEEP PRODUCTION IN ANDHRA PRADESH

P.VENUGOPAL CHOUDARY, B.EKAMBARAM, M. GNANA PRAKASH AND N.RAJANNADepartment of Animal Genetics and Breeding, College of Veterinary Science,Sri Venkateswara Veterinary University, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad- 500030



enabling environment for sheep farming were placedon a 2-point continuum, viz. agree and disagree.Based on farmers’ responses, frequency andpercentages were calculated . The study showed thatamong the constraints perceived by sheep farmersincidence of diseases was a major constraint followedby high lamb mortality, shrinkage of grazing land,drinking water scarcity, exploitation by middlemen,no compensation for deaths, labour problem, lack ofcredit facility, non availability of breeding rams, lackof veterinary aid in the decreasing order of perceptionby the farmers.

Majority (96.15%) of sheep farmers felt thatincidence of diseases is one of the most severeconstraints. Inadequate knowledge on the diseasemanagement, poor housing and inadequateavailability of vaccines against Blue Tongue andsheep pox are the major causes for disease outbreaks and mortality. Majority of sheep flocks weremigratory in nature and poor accessibility to veterinaryservices in the migratory route is the major reasonfor death of animals due to diseases. Similar resultswere reported by Dineshkumar (2003) and Selvakumar(2003).

High lamb mortality was next importantconstraint as felt by 91.35 % farmers. This findinghas close conformity with the report of Sagar andBiswas (2008). This might be due to improper careand sanitation at the time of lambing, fluctuatingnutritional and management conditions and thermalstress besides poor ventilation in sheds. Nonavailability of Veterinary assistance during migrationof the flocks could also be a reason for high lambmortality.

Shrinkage of grazing lands was a third constraintin Macherla Brown sheep rearing with 90.38 % sheepfarmer agreeing for it. This may be due to overgrazing


and conversion of these lands for purposes likeSpecial Economic Zone (SEZ), allotment of land toweaker section of the society. The result of presentstudy was in accordance with the findings of Rajannaet al (2012).Scarcity of drinking water for animalswas observed in majority of the farms (85.58%) asthe village tanks are being occupied for humaninhabitation. Exploitation by middlemen (79.81%farmers) due to unorganized and traditional live animalmarket in the investigation area is the next majorconstraint. Hence, existing sheep co-operativesocieties should be strengthened to provide forwardlinkages in the marketing. The observed results underpresent investigation are in close conformity with thefindings of Selvam and Mohamed Safiullah (2002).

No compensation for deaths (77.89%),inaccessibility of sheep growers to credit facility(51.92%) hampering the farmers to expand their flocksize or to start new enterprises, non availability ofbreeding rams (38.46%) and poor veterinary facilities(37.5%) were other constraints as perceived byshepherds in study area.

It was evident from the present study that amongthe enabling environment for sheep production as

perceived by sheep farmers less managerial skills

required (96.15), was a major enabling environment

for sheep production followed by low feed requirement

(89.42 ) high demand for meat (84.62), easy for grazing

( 82.69), better adaptability for varying environments

(76.92 ), traditional occupation ( 73.08), low

investment ( 72.12), ban on goat rearing(65.39 ),

demand for manure ( 58.65), easy marketability

(55.77) and income from penning ( 49.04) in

decreasing order of perception by the farmers.

These results were in agreement with Rajanna

et al. (2012), traditional occupation, income from

penning, demand for meat, demand for manure, no

damage to agriculture crops, low investment, easy

for grazing, easy marketability, less managerial

inputs, better adaptability for varying environments

were the factors that favoured sheep rearing inTelangana region of Andhra Pradesh.

REFERENCES

Basic Animal Husbandry Statistics (2010), Ministryof Animal Husbandry, Governament of India

Dinesh Kumar, 2003. A study on problemsencountered in sheep rearing in Rajasthan.Indian Journal of Small Ruminants. 9(1):43-46.

Rajanna, N., Mahender, M., Thammiraju, D.,Raghunanadan, D and Nagalakshmi, D.2012.Constraints in sheep farming inTelangana region of Andhra Pradesh: Farmers’perception. Current Advances in AgriculturalSciences 4(1):90-91

Sagar, R.L and Biswas, A. 2008. Constraints in Garolesheep rearing in Sunder bans: Farmer’s

perception. Indian Journal of Small Ruminants14: 89-92.

Selvakumar, K.N. 2003. Planning and strategies fordevelopment of livestock in Tamil Nadu.Department of Animal Husbandry Economics,Madras Veterinary College, Chennai 7.

Selvam, S and Mohamed Safiullah, A. 2002. Currentstatus of small ruminants in Tamil Nadu. IndianJournal of Animal Science 72: 695-698.

Snedecor, G .W and Cochran W .G 1994 Statisticalmethods. 8th Edn.lowa, State University Press,Ames, lowa.

VENUGOPAL et al



Idli, a very popular fermented breakfast foodconsumed in the Indian subcontinent, consists mainlyof rice and black gram. Idli fermentation was carriedout in the conventional way in a batter having rice toblack gram in the ratios of 2:1, 3:1 and 4:1 at roomtemperature. It makes an important contribution tothe diet as a source of protein, calories and vitamins,especially B-complex vitamins, compared to the rawunfermented ingredients. It can be produced locallyand used as a dietary supplement in developingcountries to treat people suffering from protein caloriemalnutrition and kwashiorkor (Nagaraju and Manohar,2000). Fermented foods prepared from cereals andlegumes are an important part of the human diet inSoutheast Asia and parts of East Africa. Thepopularity of legume based fermented foods is dueto desirable changes including texture andorganoleptic characteristics,improvement indigestibility and enhancement of keeping quality,partial or complete elimination of anti-nutritionalfactors or natural toxins, increased nutritive value,and reduced cooking time.

Mil lets like jowar can serve as anindispensable food for millions of people inhabitingthe semi arid tropics. It is used primary for humanfood and remains a major source of calories and is avital component of food security in the semi arid areasof the developing world (FAO, 1995).Millets containssome anti-nutrients and toxic substances which hinderthe efficient utilization of its nutrients. They include

COMPARISION BETWEEN GLYCEMIC INDEX AND IN-VITRO CARBOHYDRATEDIGESTIBILITY IN IDLI USING RICE RAWA VS JOWAR RAWA

AFIFA JAHAN, USHA RANI, K. APARNA AND NASREEN BANUDepartment of Foods and Nutrition , Post Graduate and Research Centre,

Acharya N.G. Ranga Agricultural University , Rajendranagar, Hyderabad- 500030

phytates and tannins (antinutrients).However,available evidence indicates that these antinutritionalfactors and toxic substances reduced digestion ofmillets and controls diabetes.

Objectives

To prepare breakfast items-idli using rice rawaand jowarrawa

To study the ef fect of selected foodpreparations on the area under curve of glucose levelsand compare with the control in selected subjects.

To study the in-vitro digestibi lity ofcarbohydrates in the selected food preparations.

To study comparison between carbohydratesdigestibility and glycemic index of foods.

The idli was developed using rice rawa and jowarrawa and analysis of these products was plannedand conducted in the Department of Foods andNutrition, Post Graduate and Research Centre,Acharya N. G. Ranga Agricultural University,Rajendranagar, Hyderabad. The Glycemic index trialswere conducted in Vasanthanilayam women’s hostel,ANGRAU, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad.

The ingredients required for the preparation ofidli were obtained from the local market in bulk fromHyderabad. Jowar rawa for making idli was procuredfrom Directorate of Sorghum Research (DSR)Rajendranagar, Hyderabad.

TABLE 1. DEVELOPMENT OF IDLI USING RICE RAWA AND JOWAR RAWA

Type of Idli

Rice rawa Jowarrawa Black gram dal

Total grams

Available CHO in Grams

Rice rawaidli 49 gm - 24.5 gm 73.5 gm 50gm

Jowar rawaidli - 47gm 23.5 gm 70.5 gm 50gm


AFIFA et al

Method for Glycemic Index

The method used for measuring andcalculating the GI of idli was in accordance with WHO/FAO recommendations. Subjects attended eachglucose testing session after 10hrs overnight fastbut not exceeding 16 hrs and had been instructednot to consume unusually large meals and exercisevigorously on the previous day. On the first sixoccasions, the subjects were given the standardreference food (Glucose). The 50g glucose was madeup with 250 ml water, and subjects were given 250ml of glucose water to drink.

Again on the next six occasions, 73.5g ofexperimental rice rawa idlis (five idlis) were given toprovide 50 g of carbohydrates for each subject. Onthe next six occasions, 70.5g of experimental jowarrawa idlis (six idlis) were given to provide 50 g ofcarbohydrates for each subject.

Blood glucose levels were measuredby using Horizon one touch Glucometer in capillarywhole blood obtained by finger prick in the fastedstate and at 30, 60, 90 120 mins after theconsumption of the idli.

DETERMINATION OF GLYCEMIC INDEX

The incremental area under two hour glucoseresponse curve (IAUC) was calculated according tothe formula used by Wolever et al (1991). Glycemicindex of the test idlis (made with rice rawa andjowarrawa) were calculated by applying the followingformula

IAUC of test food Glycemic index = X 100 IAUC of reference food

Glycemic load = GI/100 ´ dietarycarbohydrate content of serving

IVSD: In vitro starch digestibility wasestimated as mg of maltose released per gramsample according to the procedure of Singh andJambunathan (1982).

Mean IAUC of the IDLI’S

The incremental area under the curve (IAUC)was calculated according to the formula used byWoleveret al (1991).The IAUC values for the idlis andglucose are given in Table 2.

Table 2. MEAN INCREMENTAL AREA UNDER CURVE OF THE EXPERIMENTAL IDLIS (IDLI MADEWITH RICE RAWA AND IDLI MADE WITH JOWAR RAWA)

It can be seen from Table 2 that the mean total IAUC of experimental idli with jowarrawa is least whencompared to idli made with rice rawa and glucose

DETERMINATION OF GLYCEMIC INDEX AND GLYCEMIC LOAD ON EXPERIMENTAL IDLI

Table 3. GLYCEMIC INDEX OF RICE RAWA IDLI AND JOWAR RAWA IDLI

DAYS GLYCEMIC INDEX OF RICE RAWA IDLI

GLYCEMIC INDEX OF JOWAR RAWA IDLI

1 53.3 50.6 2 55.2 52.3 3 54 50.4 4 57.5 51.2 5 58 50.8 6 59.9 51.9

Mean 56.3 51.2 S.D 2.560 0.756 G.I Medium G.I. Low G.I.

Product Mean IAUC (mg/dl) Glucose 1110 Idli made with rice rawa 592.5 Idli made with jowar rawa 562.5

Two sample t-test was doneto know the significantdifference between glycemic index of rice rawaidliand jowarrawaidli andit was found that P=O.OO35**(i-e) there significant difference between glycemicindex of rice rawaidli and jowarrawaidli at 1% level.

Glycemic load was calculated by applying thefollowing formula.

Glycemic load = GI/100 ´ dietary carbohydratecontent of serving

Glycemic load made with rice rawa= 26.65. Theglycemic load of rice rawa idli is high.

Glycemic load made with jowr rawa=25.3. Theglycemic load of jowar rawa idli is high.

INVITRO STARCH DIGESTIBILTYGelatinization or any other treatment that

destroy the granular structure of starch increases thedigestibility of starch to enzyme action. The in-vitromethods of starch hydrolysis provide useful meansof assessing the degree of gelatinization of starch ina product, in predicting bioavailability of starch in-vivo and selecting starchy foods according to thespecific needs of different groups of consumers.Several workers have shown significant correlationin starch availability in-vitro and in-vivo. Hence, in-vitro method of starch digestibility based on theavailability of maltose was used in the present study.The results of IVSD of idli made with rice rawa andjowar rawa are given in Table 4

Table 4. INVITRO STARCH DIGESTIBILTY

Days Invitro Starch Digestibility Of Rice RawaIdli.

Invitro Starch Digestibility Of JowarRawaIdli.

1 18.6 19.62 2 18.5 22.5 3 18.2 20.4 4 18.9 20.0 5 19.7 21.0 6 19.9 22.0

Mean 18.9 20.92 S.D 0.68 1.13

Two sample t-test was done to know the

significant difference between in-vitro starchdigestibility of rice rawaidli and jowarrawaidli and itwas found that P=O.OO66** (i-e) there significantdifference between in-vitro starch digestibility of ricerawaidli and jowarrawaidli at 1% level.

CORRELATION OF GLYCEMIC INDEX ANDINVITRO STARCH DIGESTIBILTY

Six days of glycemic index values of breakfast itemidli (made with rice rawa and jowarrawa) wascorrelated using pearson correlation with invitro-starch digestibility values of rice rawa idli and jowarrawa idli.

Correlation value jowar idli is 0.8499, whichis found significant at 5% level (p<0.05). Correlation

value of rice rawa idli is 0.899,which is foundsignificant at 5% level (p<0.05).

The results indicated that consumption ofjowar idli lowers plasma glucose more than rice rawaidli. The lower glycemic response shown by jowaridli may be due to higher content of dietary fiber andprotein, which are known to affect carbohydrateingestion and absorpt ion. In addition someantinutrients such as phytic acid also affects theGlycemic Response.

Hence, from the above study it may beinferred that the millets and legume blends especiallyhigh fiber and protein source such as jowar idli useas a breakfast product should be encouraged forachieving a good glycemic control in diabetes.

REFERENCES

Agostoni, C and Brighenti, F. (2010) Dietary choicesfor breakfast in children and adolescents.Critical Review Food Science, 50, 120" 128

Ashley Pruett, 2010. Comparision of the glycemicindex of sorghum and other commonlyconsumed grains. PhD Thesis. Food Science.Kansas State University.

COMPARISION BETWEEN GLYCEMIC INDEX AND IN-VITRO CARBOHYDRATE DIGESTIBILITY

FAO,1995. Sorghum and Millets in human nutrition.(FAO food and nutrition series, no 27).Foodand agriculture organization of the unitednations. Rome, Italy.

Furion, B., Christina, C.M and Christina, B. 2012.Resistant starch in the Italian diet. BritishJournal of Nutrition. 80: 333-341.

Giuberti, G., Gallo, A and Masoero, F. 2012. Plasmaglucose response and glycemic indices in pigsfed on diets differing in invitro hydrolysisindices. Animal. 6(7): 1068-1076.

Jambunathan, R., Mertz, E.T and Axtell, J.D. 1975.Fractionation of soluble proteins of high-lysineand normal sorghum grain. Cereal Chemistry.52: 119–121.

Jyothi, G.K., Renjushan, M., Padmaja, G.Moothandassery, S.K and Narayana, S.M.2011. Nutritional and functional characteristicsof protein – fortified pasta from sweet potato.Food and Nutrition Sciences.2:944-955.

Liyong, C.M.D., Ruiping,L.M.D., Chengyong, Q.M.D.,Yan Meng, M.P.H., Jie Zhang, M.P.H., Wang,Y.M.P.H and Guifa Xu, M.D. 2010. Sourcesand intake of resistant starch in the Chinesediet. Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition.19(2): 274-282.

Mohan, B.H.,Malleshi, N.G and Koseki, T.2010.Physico-chemical characteristics andnon-starch polysaccharide contents of Indicaand Japonica brown rice and their malts, LWT-Food Science and Technology. 43: 784-791.

Nagaraju V.D and Manohar B. (2000). Rheology andparticle size changes during Idli fermentation,Journal of Food Engineering, 43, 167-171.

Qiu Y. Liu Q and Beta T. (2010). Antioxidantproperties of commercial wild rice and analysisof soluble and insoluble phenolic acids, Foodchemistry, 121, 140-147.

Taylor, J.R.N and Emmambux, M.N. 2010.Developments in Our Understanding ofSorghum Polysaccharides and Their HealthBenefits. Cereal Chemistry [serial online] 87:263-271.

Wolever, T.M.S., Jenkins, D.J.A., Jenkins, A.L andJosse, R.G. 1991. The glycemic index:methodology and clinical implications.American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 54: 846-854

Xialo Xu. 2003. Invitro digestibility of starch differingin endosperm hardness and flour particle size.PhD Thesis submitted to Department of grainscience. Kansas State University.

Young, V.R and Pellet, P.L. 1985. Wheat proteins inrelation to protein requirements and availabilityof amino acids. American journal of clinicalnutrition. 41: 1077-1090.

Zhu, F., Cai, Y.Z., Bao, J and Corke, H. 2010. Effectof ã-irradiation on phenolic compounds in ricegrain. Food Chemistry. 120: 74-77.

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Acerola (Malpighia emarginata DC.) fruit alsoknown as Barbados cherry, as any other minor non-conventional fruit plants, creates doubt on its origin.It was introduced in Brazil about 50 years back, inthe state of Sao Paulo, brought from Puerto Rico(Dinizi et al., 2003). It is round shaped, with diametervarying from 3 to 6 cm, fleshy and succulent pulp isencased by a very thin protection peel that quicklyripens. At the initial stages of ripening, the fruit is afull green color, changing to yellow-reddish and finallyto red when completely ripened. Its main appealingfeature is the high Vitamin C content, which mightvary from 1247.10 to 1845.79 mg/100 g, but it is alsorich in carotenes, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, proteinsand mineral salts, mainly iron, calcium andphosphorus (Marques et al., 2007).

Various studies have highlighted acerola fruit asone of the best natural sources of vitamin C,surpassing fruits like guava, cashew, orange andlemon,which are excellent sources of “Vitamin C”(Santos et al., 2012). Recently, much attention hasbeen paid to their content in carotenoids andbioflavonoids for their antioxidant properties (Mezadriet al., 2008).

The association between the consumption of fruitand vegetables and a decreased risk of cardiovasculardisease and cancer is supported by considerableepidemiological evidence. This beneficial effect isdue to the action of antioxidant compounds, whichare capable of neutralizing free radicals and reduceoxidative damage in the body (WHO, 2003).

Procurement and Preparation of the samples

The acerola (Malpighia emarginata DC.) fruitsevaluated in this study were harvested during theSeptember - October 2012, from different trees in

ESTIMATION OF PHYSICO-CHEMICAL PROPERTIES, NUTRIENT COMPOSITIONAND ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY OF ACEROLA Malpighia emarginata DC.

S. BLESSY SAGAR, APARNA KUNA, T.V.N. PADMAVATHI, C. KAVITHA,T. SUPRAJA AND CH.V. DURGA RANI

Post Graduate and Research Centre,Acharya N G Ranga Agricultural University, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad-500030



the botanical garden of Acharya N G RangaAgricultural University, Hyderabad, India.

Sample preparation

Extract was prepared by using acetone, methanoland water (250ml). The extracts were centrifuged,filtered and kept in amber coloured screw cap bottlesat -200C until further analysis. The extract was usedfor analyzing scavenging DPPH radicals, totalphenolic compounds and total flavonoid content

Physicochemical and nutrient composition

Physicochemical properties such as pH, titarbleacidity and total soluble solids of acerola fruits wereanalysed by AOAC (Association of Official AnalyticalChemists) (2000) methods. Similarly nutrientcomposition (Moisture, protein, fat, carbohydrate,crude fiber, ascorbic acid and total carotenoids wereestimated by AOAC (2000) methods. Colormeasurements were made using the head 15mm indiameter of the Hunter Colorlab and were expressedin CIELAB units of L*, a* and b*.

Scavenging DPPH radicals (Dorman et al., 2004)

The free radical scavenging capacity of theextracts was determined using 1, 1- diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazil (DPPH). 2ml of methanol solution of DPPHradical in the concentration of 0.05 mg/ml and 1ml ofextract were placed in cuvettes. The mixture wasshaken vigorously and allowed to stand at roomtemperature for 30 min. Then the absorbance wasmeasured at 517 nm against methanol as blank inspectrophotometer. The DPPH free radicalconcentration was calculated using the followingequation:

DPPH scavenging effect (%) = (A0 - A1 / A0) X 100

Where, A0 was the absorbance of the negative controlor blank and A 1 was the absorbance of reactionmixture or standards.


BLESSY et al

Total phenolic compounds

Total soluble phenolic compounds in the acerolafruit extract were determined with Folin-Ciocalteureagent according to the method of Slinkard andSlingleton (1997) using pyrocatechol (PE) as astandard phenolic compound. 1ml of the extract wasdiluted with 46 ml of distilled water, then 1ml of FolinCiocalteu reagent was added and the mixture wasstirred vigorously. 3ml of Na2CO3 (2%) was addedafter 3 min and was allowed to stand for 2hrs withintermittent shaking. After that, absorbance wasmeasured at 760nm in spectrophotometer againstblank consisting of all the reaction agents exceptthe extract. The total phenol content in the extractwas determined as micro gram of PE according tothe equation that was obtained from standardpyrocatechol standard graph as

Absorbance = 0.0021 × Total phenols [µgpyrocatechol equivalent] - 0.0092

Total flavonoid content

The total flavonoid content was determined using theDowd method (Meda et al., 2005). 2 ml of the extractsolution was mixed with 2ml of 2% aluminiumtrichloride (AlCl3) in methanol. The mixture wasincubated for 10 min at room temperature and theabsorbance was measured at 415nm inspectrophotometer against blank samples. The totalconcentration of flavonoids in the extract wasdetermined as micro gram of rutin equivalent (RE)according to the formula that was obtained fromstandard rutin graph as

Absorbance = 0.0144 × Total flavonoid [µg rutinequivalent] + 0.0556

Statistical analysis

The results were subjected to statistical analysiswith the window STAT programme. Mean andstandard deviation for three parallel replicates werecalculated.

Physico-chemical properties of acerola

Physico-chemical and nutrient composition ofacerola is summarized in the Table1. The values oftotal soluble solids found in acerola fruits was 6.2 ±0.2 0Brix. These results are similar to those found bySilva (2008), which were between 4.65 to 12.10 °Brix,and they are lower than the values reported by Brunini

et al. (2004), who found 8.71 and 5.67 to 8.22,respectively. However, there are no reference valuesfor the TSS content of acerola varieties grown inIndia.

Regarding titratable acidity (TA), the valueobtained was 1.17 ± 0.9 % citric acid. Moura et al.(2007), evaluating 45 clones of acerola, found valuesranging from 0.53% (clone FP3) to 1.52% (clone II37 / 3), while Santos (2009), working with acerolafast cooling by forced air, found values rangingbetween 1.21 and 0.63% of malic acid.

pH in raw acerola was found to be 3.2 ± 0.2 inour study. Santos et al. (2012) reported pH valuesbetween 3.39 and 3.52. Similar results were reposedby Brunini et al. (2004), Moura et al., (2007) andMamede et al. (2009). According to these authors,pH is a parameter that has a low variability. This facthas been confirmed in our research.

The maturity index (MI), calculated as the totalsoluble solids/acidity (TSS/TA) ratio are linked to theflavor of the fruit, which is higher in sweet fruit. Theresults of our study showed MI value of 5.29 in theacerola fruits. Similar results were observed bySantos et al. (2012) who reported MI in the range of5.33 to 5.74.This ratio increases with the maturationof the fruit as a result of increase in soluble solids.

Color of acerola

The hunter L*, a*, b* colour was used tomeasure the colour of acerola and the results aregiven in Table 2. Color denotes the visual appearanceof the fruit that impart the observed color. L* is ameasure of ‘lightness’; a* is a measure of hue and b*is a measure of brightness. Positive values of a* arein the direction of redness and negative values in thedirection of the complement green. Positive valuesof b* are the vector for ‘yellowness’, and negative for‘blueness’. The L*, a* and b* values of acerola fruitwere 18.075±0.075, 35.49±0.07 and 20±0.42respectively. L* values with 100 denotes whitenessand as the number decreases, it indicates darkness.The acerola fruit had L* value of 18.075±0.075indicating darkness of the fruit. The positive a* andb* values indicate the redness and yellowness of thefruit. The results of our study indicate that the acerolafruit was dark red in colour. Vendramini and Trugo(2000) studied on colour of acerola fruit at differentstages - immature to intermediate mature and full

maturity by using colour Hunter. The luminosity ofthe fruit increased from immature stages (L*- 27.92,a* - 8.67and b* - 11.37) to intermediate mature stage

(L* - 30.80-, a* - 21.97 and b* - 12.13) and showedsome degree of fading when the fruit reached fullmaturity (L* - 9.34, a* - 25.97 and b* - 6.34).

Table 1. Physico-chemical and Nutrient Composition of Acerola

Nutrient and Chemical Composition Raw Acerola

Moisture (%) 92.3 ± 1.50

Protein (%) 0.8 ± 0.04

Fat (%) 1.4 ± 0.2

Carbohydrate (%) 7.7 ± 0.4

Crude Fiber (%) 1.3 ± 0.2

Ascorbic acid (mg/100gm) 1568.8 ± 90.0

Total carotenoids (mg/100g) 16.8 ± 0.5

Titrable acidity (TA) (%) 1.17 ± 0.9

Total soluble solids (TSS) (0brix) 6.2 ± 0.2

pH 3.2 ± 0.2

Maturity Index (TSS/TA) 5.29

Values are represented as Mean ± SD from triplicate observations

Table 2. Colour of acerola

Colour parameter Value L* (Lightness) 18.075±0.075

a* (Hue) 35.49±0.07 b* (Brightness) 20±0.42

Values are represented as Mean ± SD from triplicate observations Nutrient Composition of Acerola

Nutrient Composition of acerola is given inthe Table 1. The moisture (%), protein (%),carbohydrates (CHO %), fat (%) and total carotenoidsin raw fruit were 92.3 ± 1.50, 0.8 ± 0.04(%), 7.7 ±0.4(%),1.4 ± 0.2(%) and 16.8 ± 0.5 respectively.

Crude fiber content of raw fruit was 1.3 ± 0.2(%). The components of acerola fruit (per kg), aswell as the concentration ranges found in a study byMezadri et al. (2008) and FAO, (2007) are:carbohydrates (35.7–78 g), proteins (2.1–8 g), lipids(2.3–8 g), phosphorus (171 mg), calcium (117 mg),iron (2.4 mg), pyridoxine (87 mg), riboflavin (0.7 mg),thiamine (0.2 mg), water (906–920 g) and dietetic fibre(30 g).

Vitamin C content in acerola fruit was 1568± 90.0 (mg/100 gm). Paiva et al. (2003) found fruits

with high concentrations of vitamin C, with valuesabove 1600 mg100-1 g of pulp, in 11% of the studiedclones. The varieties studied by Ritzinger et al. (2003)showed vitamin C content ranging from 1500 to 2200mg/100-1 g.

Antioxidant activity

Scavenging DPPH radicals

DPPH assay has been widely used todetermine the free radical scavenging activity ofvarious plants and pure compounds. Free radicalscavenging action is considered to be one amongthe various mechanisms for antioxidation (Sini andDevi 2004). Scavenging DPPH radicals of acerola isgiven in Table 3. In fresh fruit it was found to be89.76 ± 0.42% inhibition. The results of the study

ESTIMATION OF PHYSICO-CHEMICAL PROPERTIES, NUTRIENT COMPOSITION

BLESSY et al

are similar to a study conducted by Mezadri et al.(2008) who reported that DPPH activity in Brazilianvariety of acerola pulp, juice and frozen productranges between 36.56 ± 56 to 91.80 ± 1.35Mm TEAC(Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity) equivalent.

Total phenolic content

The Folin-Ciocalteu method (Slinkard andSlingleton 1997) was used to measure total amountof phenolic compounds in given sample. The numberof –OH or potentially oxidizable groups in eachsample creates a color change. (Barbara et al. 2005).The antioxidant activity of phenolic compounds ismainly attributed for their redox actions, neutralizing

free radicals, quenching singlet and triplet oxygenor decomposing peroxides. The results of totalphenolic content of acerola fruit are given in Table 3.The total phenolic content in raw acerola was foundto be 809.14 ± 37.80 ìg of PE (pyrocatecholequivalent). Verdramini and Trugo (2004) reported thatthe phenolic compounds detected in acerola may beclassified in two categories; phenolic anthocyaninpigments and non-anthocyanin phenolics. Thepigments detected were a 3,5-diglycosilated malvidin,a 3-monoglycosilated cyanidin and pelargonidin.Nonanthocyanin phenolic compounds identified inacerola were p-coumaric acid, ferulic acid, caffeicacid, chlorogenic acid, kaempferol and quercetin.

Table 3. Antioxidant activity of Acerola

Method of Antioxidant activity Value

DPPH (%) 89.12 0.42

TP (μg PE) 809.14 37.80

TF (μg RE) 47.94 0.36

Values are represented in Mean±SD from triplicate observationsDPPH : 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl, activity is expressed in %TP : Total phenolics is expressed in ìg pyrocatechol equivalent (PE)TF : Total flavonoid is expressed in ìg rutin equivalent (RE)

Total flavonoid content

The protective effect of flavonoids is due toseveral mechanisms such as free radicals trapping,enzymes inhibition and metallic ions chelation. Theseproperties depend on the structure of the flavonoidsand the degree of substitution and saturation. Fruitsand vegetables are rich source of flavonoids.(Ioannou et al., 2012). The results of total flavonoidscontent of acerola are mentioned in table: 3. Totalflavonoids content in raw acerola was 47.94 ± 0.36ìg of rutin equivalent (RE).

Relationship between chemical composition ofacerola and antioxidant activity

Antioxidant activity of acerola depends onthe synergistic action of the constituents of thedifferent f ractions, with the most important

components being phenolic compounds and vitaminC (Righetto et al., 2005). The phenolic and vitaminC content in acerola was 809.14 ± 37.80 PE and1568.8 ± 90.0mg/100gm respectively. Otherphytochemicals, mainly flavonoid content would beresponsible for the remaining antioxidant activity.Total flavonoid content in the acerola sample in ourstudy was 47.94 ± 0.36 RE, explaining the highfigures obtained for the antioxidant activity. Therelative contribution of the flavonoid fractions to thetotal antioxidant activity was shown by Mezadri etal. (2008). The remaining activity is due to otherantioxidant compounds, such as carotenoids. Thecarotenoid content in the acerola samples studied is16.8 ± 0.5mg/100g. It could be concluded thatantioxidant activity of acerola does not rely on onesingle phytochemical compound, but on the sum ofthem.

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WHO, 2003. Diet, Nutrition and the Prevention ofChronic Diseases. World Health Organization,Geneva, 916pp. Technical Report Series p.149.

ESTIMATION OF PHYSICO-CHEMICAL PROPERTIES, NUTRIENT COMPOSITION

An investigation was carried out to estimatethe iron and zinc content of 22 rice lines. Rice (Oryzasativa L.) is the staple food for more than three billionpeople, over half the world’s population. It provides27% of dietary energy and 20% of dietary protein inthe developing world. Rice is cultivated in at least114, mostly developing, countries and is the primarysource of income and employment for more than 100million households in Asia and Africa (FAO, 2004).

China and India combinedly account for morethan half of the world’s rice area, and, along withIndonesia, consume more than three-fourths of theglobal rice production (Hossain, 1997). Globally, riceis cultivated on 154 million hectares with annualproduction of 3.9 t/ha (FAO, 2006). Rice productionin India amounts to 96,430 million tons and of AndhraPradesh 132.26 lakh tons (CMIE, 2009).

The human body requires more than 22mineral elements that can be supplied by anappropriate diet (Philip and Martin, 2005) for theirnormal growth and development. The demand formost nutrients is supplied by cereals, particularly ricedue to its staple role. Among these nutrients, mineralelements play numerous beneficial roles due to theirdirect or indirect effect in both plant and humanmetabolism and the deficiencies.

Studies have indicated widespreadoccurrence of deficiencies for mineral elements suchas anaemia for iron and osteoporoses for calcium inmost developing countries as well as developedcountries (Welch and Graham, 1999). Zinc is thefourth important micronutrient after vitamin A, ironand iodine, and is now receiving increasing globalattention.

However, since brown rice is not commonlyconsumed, distribution of minerals in differentfractions needs to be understood to evaluate whether



ESTIMATION OF IRON AND ZINC CONTENT IN DIFFERENT FRACTIONS OF ELITE RICE LINESDEVELOPED BY MARKER ASSISTED SELECTION

FARHA HUSSAIN, K. MANORAMA, V. VIJAYALAKSHMI, MARY SWARNALATHA AND N.SARLADepartment of Foods and Nutrition, College of Home Science,

Acharya N.G. Ranga Agricultural University, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad – 500030.

the breeding programme to increase micronutrientcontent of the grains has been successful. Hence,the present study is being proposed to estimate ironand zinc content in different rice lines of F6-F7generation previously introgressed by back crossingnew unused varieties viz., Jalmagna, Madhukar andO.Rufipogon with popular varieties like Swarna andBPT 5204.

Rice bioforti f icat ion is increasinglyrecognized as an effective approach to improve themicronutrient status of large parts of the populationsviz., India, Myanmar, and Indonesia etc. by improvingnutritional quality of rice grains through geneticmodification in the rice genome. Therefore, even asmall improvement in nutritional content of rice seedscan have a dramatic impact on human healthespecially to the rural poor (Hossain et al, 2012).

Rice breeders are now concentrating onincreasing the total nutrient content in the endospermof the grain, the part that remains after milling. Aglobal Challenge Program on biofortification with aproposed funding of US$90 million over 10 years hasbeen approved by the Consultative Group onInternational Agricultural Research (CGIAR). Programresearchers in collaborating agricultural and publichealth (nutrition) disciplines will apply food systemsstrategies to deliver more nutritious staple crops toresource-poor consumers. The improved grain willbe richer in the five most prevalent micronutrientdeficiencies (iron, zinc, vitamin A, selenium andiodine) affecting 4-5 billion people. Of these fivedeficiencies, only three can be addressed by use offertilizer for increasing the concentration in the grain,namely, zinc, selenium and iodine (Graham et al.,2001 ); and the other two, iron and vitamin A (ß-carotene), can only be meaningfully improved by plantbreeding / biotechnology.


The elite rice lines that were developed by markerassisted breeding for increased iron and zinc contentat the Directorate of Rice Research were assessedfor their total iron and zinc content by AtomicAbsorption Spectrophotometer. Marker assistedselection is a process whereby a marker(morphological, biochemical or one based on DNA/RNA variation) is used for indirect selection of agenetic determinant or determinants of a trait ofinterest (e.g. productivity, disease resistance, abioticstress tolerance, and/or quality). This process is usedin plant and animal breeding. The elite rice lines arethe lines that have been developed by the markerassisted selection for introducing or changing aparticular trait of interest that adds to the quality ofthat particular line.

In the present study the total iron content of theelite rice lines ranges from 23 to 266 ppm.(Table1).Based on the results obtained, it can be indicated

that unpolished rice contains high amount of iron ascompared with polished rice and bran. The lines

containing high total iron are 236 (K), 185(M), 196

(M), BPT 5204 and Madhukar. 236(K) is obtainedfrom Swarna and O.nivara; 185(M) and 196(M) are

of F8 population and are a result of a cross betweenMadhukar and Swarna; whereas BPT 5204 is a

popular irrigated variety and Madhukar is a semi deep

water rice variety. The rice lines that are found topossess high zinc are 185(M), 195(M) andMadhukar(Table 2).

S.no. Unpolished rice

ppm S.no. Polished rice

ppm S.no. Bran ppm

1 14(S) 58.1 23 14(S) 37.2 45 14(S) 35.77 2 14-3 56.8 24 14-3 51.2 46 14-3 43.05 3 65(S) 44.35 25 65(S) 16.3 47 65(S) 48.65 4 24(K) 28.45 26 24(K) 23.65 48 24(K) 108.97 5 233(K) 35.85 27 233(K) 23.35 49 233(K) 42.47 6 236(K) 86.55 28 236(K) 38.3 50 236(K) 68.57 7 142(S) 52.6 29 142(S) 29.85 51 142(S) 34.6 8 51(B) 38.6 30 51(B) 34.95 52 51(B) 32.57 9 28(B) 50.9 31 28(B) 43.65 53 28(B) 48.92 10 117(B) 44 32 117(B) 25.1 54 117(B) 53.57 11 140(M) 34.45 33 140(M) 34.15 55 140(M) 78.15 12 166(M) 29.55 34 166(M) 25.9 56 166(M) 58.52 13 176(M) 53.35 35 176(M) 38.55 57 176(M) 66.27 14 185(M) 266.75 36 185(M) 37.9 58 185(M) 105.8 15 196(M) 162.35 37 196(M) 33.35 59 196(M) 49.52 16 N-22(M) 52.45 38 N-22(M) 25.75 60 N-22(M) 54.37 17 SM-686 31.15 39 SM-686 29 61 SM-686 60.4 18 SM-787 32.25 40 SM-787 29 62 SM-787 30.5 19 BPT 5204 74.95 41 BPT 5204 25.2 63 BPT 5204 53.37 20 Swarna 51.55 42 Swarna 27.1 64 Swarna 37.02 21 Madhukar 222.6 43 Madhukar 59.35 65 Madhukar 65.07 22 Jalamagna 26.4 44 Jalamagna 56.95 66 Jalamagna 28.47

Table 1.Total iron content of different fractions of rice (ppm)

ESTIMATION OF IRON AND ZINC CONTENT IN DIFFERENT FRACTIONS OF ELITE RICE LINES

FARHA et al

Table 2.Total zinc content of different fractions of rice (ppm)

S.no. Unpolished rice

ppm S.no. Polished rice

ppm S.no. Bran ppm

1 14(S) 40.335 23 14(S) 27.5 45 14(S) 19.90 2 14-3 38.515 24 14-3 32.915 46 14-3 27.44 3 65(S) 34.65 25 65(S) 6.6 47 65(S) 33.04 4 24(K) 4.265 26 24(K) 13.95 48 24(K) 67.28 5 233(K) 26.15 27 233(K) 13.65 49 233(K) 26.86 6 236(K) 3.165 28 236(K) 28.6 50 236(K) 69.63 7 142(S) 34.415 29 142(S) 20.15 51 142(S) 18.99 8 51(B) 28.9 30 51(B) 25.25 52 51(B) 16.96 9 28(B) 32.615 31 28(B) 33.95 53 28(B) 33.31

10 117(B) 34.3 32 117(B) 15.4 54 117(B) 37.96 11 140(M) 24.75 33 140(M) 24.45 55 140(M) 62.54 12 166(M) 19.85 34 166(M) 16.2 56 166(M) 42.91 13 176(M) 35.065 35 176(M) 28.85 57 176(M) 50.66 14 185(M) 183.365 36 185(M) 28.2 58 185(M) 64.10 15 196(M) 78.965 37 196(M) 23.65 59 196(M) 33.91 16 N-22(M) 34.165 38 N-22(M) 16.05 60 N-22(M) 38.76 17 SM-686 21.45 39 SM-686 19.3 61 SM-686 44.79 18 SM-787 22.55 40 SM-787 19.3 62 SM-787 14.89 19 BPT 5204 43.735 41 BPT 5204 15.5 63 BPT 5204 37.76 20 Swarna 20.335 42 Swarna 17.4 64 Swarna 21.41 21 Madhukar 139.215 43 Madhukar 41.065 65 Madhukar 49.46 22 Jalamagna 16.7 44 Jalamagna 38.665 66 Jalamagna 12.69

The bioavailability of iron was estimated forboth raw and cooked rice for the lines 176(M), 196(M),185(M) and Swarna. 176M is also from F8 populationas a result of a cross between Madhukar and Swarna.The bioavailability of cooked rice of these particular

lines indicated an availability of 16 ppm to 9 ppm inacidic medium while it was 7 ppm to 4 ppm in basicmedium. On the other hand the availability of rawrice was about 4 ppm in acidic medium and about 2ppm in basic medium.

Table 3.Bioaccessible iron in cooked rice (ppm) 1.35pH 7.5 pH

R1 R2 R3 (Mean) ppm

R1 R2 R3 (Mean) ppm

1 176-M 15.89 16.54 15.69 16.04 7.895 7.253 7.785 7.64

2 196-M 12.458 12.893 12.998 12.78 5.993 6.687 6.745 6.47

3 185-M 13.876 13.572 13.292 13.58 6.134 5.987 5.752 5.95

4 Swarna 9.71 9.899 9.868 9.82 4.31 3.995 4.357 4.22

The phytic acid content of these lines varies

from 0.4 mg/100mg to 0.875 mg/100mg. Sincebioavailability of iron is likely to be affected by the

phytate content, cooked rice, while retaining waterresults in a decrease in the phytic acid compositionof rice (Almana, 2000). It has been also observed in

this study that cooking increases bioaccessibility ofiron.(Table 3)

The bioavailability of iron was also analyzedin four varieties of rice which are found to have highiron. The invitro bioavailability of iron in cooked ricewas found to have increased, and this can be

explained by the fact that cooking destroys the anti-nutritional factors that are present in rice and bindthe micronutrient, preventing its absorption. Hencebiofortification of rice offers a promising opportunityto reduce iron deficiency, in addition to other diet-based strategies such as dietary diversification andhealth education.

REFERENCES

Almana, H. A. 2000. Extent of phytate degradationin breads and various foods consumed inSaudi Arabia. Food Chemistry. 70:451-456.

Centre for monitoring Indian economy‘ (CMIE). 2009.Economic Intelligence Service, monthly reviewof Indian Economy. Dec. pg 37-38 and 365-368.

Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). 2004. Riceis Life. Italy: FAO. http:// w w w . f a o . o r g /newsroom/en/focus/200436887/ index.html.

FAO 2006. Food and agricultural organization of theUN, Rome, updated July 2006 (web: http://faostat.fao.org).

Graham, R. D., Welch, R. M and Bouis, H. E. 2001.Addressing micronutrient malnutrition throughenhancing the nutrient quality of staple foods:Principles, perspectives and knowledge gaps.Advance Agronomy 70: 77-141.

Hossain, M. 1997. Rice supply and demand in Asia:A socioeconomic and biophysical analysis.

In: Applications of Systems Approaches at theFarm and Regional Levels.

Hossain, S. M and A.K.M. Mohiuddin. 2012. Studyon biofortification of rice by targeted. Geneticengineering. Int. J. Agril. Res. Innov. & Tech.2 (2): 25-35.

Philip, J. W and Martin, R. B. 2005. Biofortifyingcrops with essential mineral elements. TrendsPlant Sci. 10: 586–593.

Welch, R. M and Graham, R. D. 1999. A newparadigm for world agriculture: meeting humanneeds. Productive, sustainable, nutritious.Field Crops Res. 60: 1–10.

ESTIMATION OF IRON AND ZINC CONTENT IN DIFFERENT FRACTIONS OF ELITE RICE LINES



With the ever increasing demographicpressure there is increasing demand for edible oils inthe country. During 2010-11, the country importedabout 9.2 M t of vegetable oils.(Hegde,2012).Sunflower can play a key role in meeting outthe shortage of edible oils in the country. Among

oilseed crops, sunflower has gained much popularity

because of its short duration, photo-insensitivity,

wider adaptability to different agro-climatic regions

and soil types. Prolonged use of chemical fertilizers

alone in intensive cropping systems leads to

unfavourable soil nutrient status, harmful effects on

soil physico-chemical and biological properties and

thus defies the concept of sustainable crop

production.

Natural organic substances such as humic

and fulvic acids play an essential role in ensuring

soil fertility and plant nutrition. Addition of such

molecules either to the soil or through foliar spray

along with adequate amount of conventional fertilizers

improves the efficiency of applied fertilizers apart

from promoting the conversion of unavailable formof nutrients to available forms. The organic

compounds prepared from humic and fulvicsubstances have chelating, plant growth stimulating

effects and positive effect on the growth of variousgroups of microorganismsFlaiget al., (1975).

A field experiment was conducted duringKharif season 2012 at the college farm, college of

agriculture, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad. The soil wassandy loam in texture, neutral in reaction (pH 7.3),

low in organic carbon (0.41%), medium in phosphorus(25.9 kg ha-1), medium in available potassium (240.3

kg ha-1) and low in available nitrogen (244.6 kg ha-1).

EFFECT OF HUMIC SUBSTANCES ON GROWTH AND YIELDOF SUNFLOWER(Helianthus annuus L.)

HARSHAD THAKUR, K. BHANU REKHA, S.N. SUDHAKARA BABU and G. PADMAJADepartment of Agronomy, College of Agriculture

Acharya N.G. Ranga Agricultural University, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad- 500030

The experiment was laid out in randomizedblock design consisting of seven treatments andreplicated thrice.T1 - RDF (Recommended dose offertilizer through inorganics), T2 - RDF + FYM @ 5 tha-1, T3 - RDF + 12.5 kg ha-1humic acid granules (soilapplication as basal), T4 - RDF + foliar spray of humicacid @ 0.5 %, T5 – RDF + foliar spray of humic acid@ 1.0 %, T6 – RDF + foliar spray of fulvic acid @ 0.5%, T7 - RDF + foliar spray of fulvic acid @ 1.0 %.Foliar spray of humic and fulvic acid was done atcapitulum initiation and flowering stages respectively.

Sunflower hybrid (DRSH-1) was sown on 6th

of July 2012 adopting a spacing 60 x 30 cm.irrigationwas given as and when required considering therainfall. During the crop period a total of 519.2 mmrainfall was received in 33 rainy days. No specificpest and disease incidence was noticed. Pre-emergence herbicide pendimethalin 30 % EC @ 240ml ha-1 was sprayed one day after sowing. The cropwas harvested on 7thOctober, threshed, dried and seedyield was recorded.

Combined application of RDF + humic acidgranules @ 12.5 kg ha-1(as basal) significantlyinfluenced the growth parameters, yield attributes,seed and stalk yield of sunflower. Application of RDF+ humic acid granules @ 12.5 kg ha-1 (as basal)registered significantly taller plants (183.3 cm) overRDF alone and combined application of RDF + FYM@ 5 t ha-1 and total dry matter accumulation (170.5 gplant-1) was also significantly higher with the sametreatment over RDF + foliar spray of fulvic acid @0.5 and 1.0 % at capitulum initiation and floweringstage, RDF alone and combined application of RDF+ FYM @ 5 t ha-1(Table 1).Humic acid with its auxinactivity, induced harmonal effect on respiratorycatalytic activity, cell permeability and increasednutrient uptake might have contributed to greater plantheight and dry matter accumulation. Similarly,Swayamprabhaet al. 1989 in groundnut and


Singaravelet al. 1993 in sesame observed improvedplant growth, yield attributes and yield with thecombined application of humic substances andinorganic fertilisers over inorganics alone.

Head diameter (20.78 cm), number of filledseeds head-1 (799), seed and stalk yield (1875 and4677 kg ha-1) significantly higher with combinedapplication of RDF + humic acid granules @ 12.5 kgha-1 over rest of the treatments. While, the unfilledseeds (139) were lower with same treatment. Thismight be due to the efficient translocation of

photosynthates due to adequate amount of availablenutrients resulting from the conversion of unavailableform to available from that favoured higher head

diameter and better seed filling thus reflecting in

increased number of filled seeds head-1 besides

higher seed and stalk yield.

Similarly Balasubramanianet al.,(2000) and

Kadamet al.,(2010) recorded higher yield attributes,

and seed yield of soybean with the soil application ofhumic acid and foliar spray of fulvic acid respectively

Treatments

Plant

height

(cm)

Dry matter accumulation

(g plant-1)

Head diameter

(cm)

Filled seeds head-1

Unfilled seeds head-1

Seed

yield

(kg ha-1)

Stalk

yield (kg

ha-1)

At harvest

T1 – RDF (60:60:30 kg N, P2O5 and K2O ha-1)

161.5 139.2 16.9 694 190 1369 3789

T2 – RDF + FYM @ 5 t ha-1

166.3 144.4 17.9 699 185 1472 4385

T3 – RDF + 12.5 kg ha-1humic acid granules(soil application)

183.3 170.5 20.7 799 139 1875 4677

T4 – RDF + FS of HA @ 0.5 %

176.6 159.2 19.7 765 166 1723 4501

T5 – RDF + FS of HA @ 1.0 %

176.7 160.7 19.8 767 173 1723 4676

T6 – RDF + FS of FA @ 0.5 %

175.3 157.3 19.3 758 171 1708 4496

T7 – RDF + FS of FA @ 1.0 %

172.6 155.2 18.3 753 169 1632 4236

S.Em. ± 4.0 4.0 0.7 22 5.8 49 174

CD (P=0.05) 12.3 12.4 2.2 67 17.7 150 539

Table 1.Effect of humic substances on growth, yield attributes and yield of sunflower

Note*: FS: Foliar spray at capitulum initiation and flowering stage, HA: Humic acid and FA: Fulvic acid

at 5%

EFFECT OF HUMIC SUBSTANCES ON GROWTH AND YIELDOF SUNFLOWER

REFERENCES

Balasubramanian, P., Govindasamy, R andChandrasekaran, S. 2000. Yield attributes ofsoybean influenced by humic acid andrhizobium in TypicChromustert. Indian Journalof Agricultural Chemistry. 33 (1): 11-15.

Flaig, W., Beutelspacher, H and Rietz, E.1975.Chemicalcomposition and physicalproperties of humic substances in soilComponents. Organic Components, J.E.Giesekinged, Volume 1, Springer-Verlag,New York, 1-211.

Hegde, D.M. 2012.Technology for high yields.Surveyof Indian Agriculture.

Kadam, R.S., Amrutsagar, M.V and Deshpande, N.A.2010. Influence of organic nitrogen sourceswith fulvic acid spray on yield and nutrient

uptake of soybean on inceptisol.Journal ofSoils and Crops.20(1): 58-63.

Singaravel, R., Balasubramanian, N.T andGovindasamy, R. 1993. Effect of humic acidon sesame (Sesamumindicum) growth andyield under two nitrogen levels. Indian Journalof Agronomy.38 (1): 147-149.

SwayamPrabha, K., Govidasamy, R andChandrashekaran, S. 1989. Effect of humicacids on the yield and nutrient content ofpeanut.National seminar on Humus Acid inAgriculture.Annamalai University. pp. 175-181.

HARSHAD et al

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6. The manuscript should be submitted in duplicate as per the guidelines of the Journal to ManagingEditor, the Journal of Research of Research ANGRAU, AI&CC and ANGRAU Press, ARI Campus,Rajendranagar, Hyderabad.

7. The manuscript should accompany the declaration certificate and subscription enrolment form.

8. The authors should accept the editorial / references comments until the quality of the article is im-proved.

9. The revised manuscript should be submitted in duplicate along with a compact disk.

10. DD may be drawn in favour of “Managing Editor, Journal of Research, ANGRAU” Payable at Hyderabad.

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1. Publications : Managing Editor - Journal of Research ANGRAU, AI&CC and ANGRAU Press,ARI Campus, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad.

2. Publications : The DD should be mailed to the Managing Editor - Journal of Research, ANGRAU- Press Agricultural Research Institute, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad - 500 030.

least in short forms if they are lengthy, but not abbreviated as T1, T2 and T3 etc. The weights andmeasures should be given in the metric system following the latest units eg. kg ha-1, kg ha-1 cm, mgg-1, ds m-1, g m-3, C mol kg-1 etc.

Typing : The article should be typed in 12pt font on A4 size paper leaving a margin of 2 cm on all sides.There should be a single line space between the rows in abstract and double line in rest.

Note : Latest issue of the Journal may be consulted. Further details can be obtained from the book“Editors style Manual, edn 4. American Institute of Biological Sciences, Washington DC”.

URL : http://www.angrau.ac.in/Publications.aspx

Printed at ANGRAU Press, Hyderabad and Published by Dr. P. Chandrasekhar Rao, Professor &University Head (Soil Science) and Editor of Journal of Research ANGRAU, Collegeof Agriculture,

Acharya N.G. Ranga Agricultural University, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad - 500 030,e-mail: [email protected], [email protected]

Documents

angrau.ac.in4)_2013.pdf · The Journal of Research ANGRAU (Published quarterly in March, June, September and December) Dr. T. Pradeep Principal Scientist(Breeding), Maize Research