High Density Strawberry Cultivation

Volume 11 No. 4

October–December 2005

Promising Technologies

CONTENTS Promising Technologies • High density strawberry 1 cultivation with plasticulture . . . • Inter simple sequence 4 repeat markers for genetic analysis in coconut New Initiatives • A PCR–RFLP tool for differentiating two species of Helicoverpa

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Management of Natural Resources • Ber with Indian Aloe: 6 An economically viable combination for arid region • Green grafting on rootstock 7 in grapes is beneficial under adverse environment Profile • Central Plantation Crops Research Institute, Kerala

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Spectrum

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Last page

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High density strawberry cultivation with plasticulture is profitable in semi-arid regions Strawberry is a major fruit of temperate region, but with the advent of day-neutral cultivars, it grows profitably well in the sub-tropical regions also. Its commercial cultivation could not become popular in semi-arid regions of northern India due to vagries of climatic conditions and lack of adequate knowledge on

its cultivation. Plasticulture techniques can play very important role in the manipulation of microclimate favourable for its cultivation. Scientific findings have revealed that use of plasticulture techniques in strawberry cultivation could revolutionize its commercial cultivation for higher profitability in semi-arid regions of North India.

A view of strawberry crop in field

Planting techniques For commercial cultivation of strawberry, raised bed cultivation is found quite feasible which ensures proper drainage, easy intercultural operations and facilitates installation of micro irrigation system. After land preparation, beds of 25 cm height and 105 cm width of convenient length should be made at a distance of 50

Indian Council of Agricultural Research, Krishi Bhavan, New Delhi 110 001, India • Dr Mangala Rai, Secretary (DARE) and Director-General, ICAR Tel.: 91-011-2338 2629; Fax: 91-011-2338 4773; e-mail: [email protected] • Shri Kuldeep Sharma, Incharge (DIPA), ICAR Tel.: 91-011-2584 2649; e-mail: [email protected]

Promising Technologies

A view of unmulched strawberry

Drip system installed on beds

cm. Planting of runners should be done at 25 cm x 25 cm spacing with four rows of plants per bed. About one lakh fresh and healthy runners are required for planting in an area of one hectare. Planting time is considered as one of the most important factors for profitable cultivation of strawberry. In north-India it is usually planted after second fortnight of October with traditional methods. As a result, availability of fruit is restricted to oneand-half-month only (March–April), which reduces the profit of farmers considerably. With the use of micro irrigation system, its planting can be enhanced up to mid-September for early establishment of runners and consequently early and higher yield of quality fruits. However, staggered planting from mid-September to mid October at weekly/bi-weekly interval is quite remunerative for longer period of availability of fruits (January to April). Micro-irrigation Strawberry being a low surface creeping herb having shallow root 2

Mulching with black film Strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa Duch.) is one of the most fascinating fruits of the world, which is a rich source of vitamins and minerals and has fabulous flavour and tantalizing aroma. It contains numerous important dietary components and is a rich source of vitamin C. It also contains significant levels of ellagic acid, which is thought to be an anticarcinogenic.

system, hence, water management is one of the most crucial factors for its cultivation in semi-arid regions. Microirrigation system (drip system + micro sprinkler system), helps in supplying

precise water to the crop according to the stage of growth of the crop. After bed preparation, micro-irrigation system (MIS) should be installed in the field. During planting and early vegetative growth, irrigation is given through micro sprinkler system. Microsprinklers (69 lph) should be installed at a spacing of 3 meter for uniform application of water by running 2–3 hours daily. During reproductive phase (flowering and fruiting), micro sprinkler system is replaced by drip system, which provides uniform and timely irrigation and facilitates fertigation. Two lines of laterals (16 mm) should be placed on each bed with drippers (4 1 ph) at a spacing of 50 cm. For fertigation, water soluble fertilizers like polyfeed (19-19-19), multi-K (16-0-48) etc are desirable for better fertilizers use efficiency. Drip system should be run twice or thrice a week as per the need of plants and fertigation should be given fortnightly for proper growth and development of the crop.

Time and stages of micro-irrigation system for strawberry cultivation System

Phase of growth

Micro-sprinkler Vegetative phase system (Early growth)

Drip system

Irrigation duration

Benefits

Daily 2–3 hrs during noon at interval of 1–2 hr

Early and easy plant establishment Vigorous growth of plant Creation of better micro climate

Reproductive phase Twice or thrice a week Easy and timely irrigation (flowering and fruiting) for 1–2 hr depending Facilitates fertigation on weather conditions Uniform application of water and fertilizers

Micro sprinkler Runner development system

Daily for 2–3 hr

Creation of better microclimate Healthy runner development Vigorous runners

ICAR NEWS

Promising Technologies

View of straw mulch

Low plastic tunnel on strawberry beds during winter

Runner productions of strawberry

Plastic mulching Mulching is an essential cultural practice for strawberry cultivation. Black polyethylene file (50 micron) has been found to be very effective for strawberry for higher yield as it helps in soil moisture conservation, weed control and keeps the fruits clean and avoids fruit rotting due to soil contamination. Mulching should be done after proper establishment of runners and before flowering (30–45 days after planting). Before mulching, microsprinkler should be replaced by drip system. Mulching should be done by making holes in such a way that plants come above the film and drip system remain below the plastic mulch.

months of planting. The fruits should be picked when half to three-fourth of fruit portion attains the natural crimson colour. The fruits should be harvested in shallow plastic trays as they are highly perishable and get damaged, if bulky containers are used. After harvesting, fruits should be packed in small plastic punnets and piled in CFB boxes for marketing. For transportation, refrigerated vans should be preferred. By following above mentioned cultural practices, 15–20 tonnes of strawberry fruits can be harvested from one hectare.

Economics* of strawberry cultivation on per hectare basis per year

Use of plastic tunnels During winter (December– February) prevailing low temperature hinder proper growth and development of strawberry, hence, low tunnels (50- cm height) for transparent polyethylene film (50 micron) should be installed with the help of GI wire over the raised beds to protect the strawberry plants from frost and chilly winds. These tunnels should be opened during daytime and closed during the night, which, facilitate higher soil temperature consequently leading to early flowering, and higher fruit yield. These tunnels should be removed when the temperature starts rising (end of February). Fruit harvesting The plants start fruiting after 3–4 OCTOBER–DECEMBER 2005

Runner production Strawberry is usually propagated by runners produced by established plants. Generally, runner production is very difficult under prevailing climatic conditions in semi-arid regions. With certain modifications, runner can be produced for next season. After fruiting is over, mulching is removed and plants are allowed to produce runners on the beds. During runner production, fast growing plants like Sesbania cannabina; syn S.

Description of materials

Approximate cost (Lakh/ha)

Planting material (1,00,000 plants/ha) @ Rs 1/plant

1.00

Micro-irrigation system (MIS)

1.50

Land preparation, planting and intercultural operation

0.20

Plastic film for mulching and low tunnel

0.30

Manure, fertilizers and pesticides

0.25

Labour charge

0.50

Packaging materials and transportation

0.50

Miscellaneous charges Total cost Income Sales of fruits (15 tonnes/ha@ Rs 50/kg) Sales of runners (1 lakh @ Rs 1/plant)

0.25 4.50 7.50 1.00

Total income

8.50

Net profit

4.00

*Simple calculations without use of discounting procedures

Time and stages of plastic mulching and low tunnel Cultural practices

Phase of growth

Uses/remarks

Mulching (black polyethylene)

Reproductive phase (flowering and fruiting)

Check weed growth Better hydro-thermal regimes in soil

Plastic tunnel (transparent polyethylene)

Reproductive phase (flowering and fruiting)

Check frost damage Protection from chilled winds Better micro climate Enhances earliness in fruiting Higher and early fruit yield

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Promising Technologies

Fruits of strawberry

Strawberry fruits packed in plastic punnets

Plastic punnets packed in CFB boxes for transportations

aculeata should be raised in space between the alternate beds and around the field, which can save the crop from direct heating. Irrigation should be applied through micro sprinkler system. By using plasticulture techniques

like micro irrigation, plastic mulching and tunnel, plastic punnets as packaging material for proper marketing, can revolutionize high density strawberry cultivation and its name should be rechristened from strawberry as ‘plastic berry’.

Rajbir Singh and Ram Asrey* AICRP on Application of Plastics in Agriculture, Central Institute for Post-harvest Engineering and Technology, Abohar 152 116 *Division of post harvest technology, Indian Agricultural Research Institute New Delhi 110 012

Inter Simple Sequence Repeat markers for genetic analysis in coconut

ISSR marker profile of coconut germplasm accessions produced by UBC 808

DNA of 33 coconut germplasm accessions were amplified with primers targeting to microsatellite regions. A total of 19 primers were used to amplify the DNA. The ISSR primers exhibited high level of polymorphism (86%) reflecting its high informativeness. The number of markers per primer ranged from 5 to

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17 with a mean of 10.50. Polymorphism Information Content (PIC) values for primers ranged from 0.2 to 0.386. A set of informative primers were identified based on high marker index. High correlation between the similarity matrices of informative primers and total has been observed. The minimal number of primers will be helpful in

future for rapid screening of large germplasm accessions and to establish core collection.

R. Manimekalai Scientist (Biotechnology) Central Plantation Crops Research Institute Kasaragod, Kerala 671 124

ICAR NEWS

New Initiatives

A PCR-RFLP tool for differentiating two species of Helicoverpa Family Noctuidae includes some of the most damaging agricultural pests worldwide. In India two species of Helicoverpa and one of Heliothis have been recorded, viz. Helicoverpa armigera, Helicoverpa assulta and Heliothis peltigera. H. armigera and H. assulta are found throughout Africa, Asia, parts of Australasia and the South Pacific. H. armigera is polyphagous and insecticide resistant. H. assulta is an oligophagous pest. Its principal hosts are tobacco, chillies, bell pepper and wild hosts in the genus Datura. There are no reports of control failures or insecticide resistance in this species in the Indian subcontinent. However, control failures of H. assulta on capsicum have been attributed to insecticide resistance in South Korea. During field collections of H. armigera eggs and larvae in India it was common to come across mixed populations of H. armigera and H. assulta on tobacco and on wild hosts in the family Solanaceae. In view of this overlapping host range a possibility exists in confusing H. armigera, a polyphagous, migratory and insecticide resistant pest with H. assulta, an oligophagous, insecticide susceptible species. H. assulta is considered to be a minor pest but its importance may be undermined because of the similarity of both larvae and moths to those of H. armigera. It requires the services of a trained entomologist to differentiate the two species in the adult stage applying taxonomic keys as described by Hardwick and Mathews. Eggs and neonates are virtually indistinguishable in mixed populations. A molecular, stage

OCTOBER–DECEMBER 2005

independent tool based on the mitochondrial genome is being proposed for distinguishing the two species of Helicoverpa. The mid CO-1 (Cytochrome Oxidase) region has a high functional significance and was therefore chosen for the study. Primers were designed to amplify the specific CO1 region -Cl-J2090 and C1-N-2659 whose sequences are 5’-AGT TTT AGC AGG AGC AAT TAC TAT-3’ and 5’ -GCT AAT CCA GTA AAT AAA GG-3’, respectively. A PCR reaction in a volume of 25 µl was programmed as follows: 94°C for 2 min, 94°C for 45 sec, an annealing temperature of 50°C for 45 sec, 72°C for 1.3 sec, in 38 cycles, 72°C for 10 min and 4°C to end the reaction. The amplified fragment was sequenced (Accession numbers AY 264944, AY 264943). The sequence was subjected to a search (Premier Primer 5.0, premier Biosoft International, CA, USA) for the identification of unique restriction sites specific to one species in the sequenced region with respect to the other. One of the unique restriction enzymes (RE) Rsa I, which cuts at 5’ -GT ↓ AC-3’, was obtained from Q Biogene, India. The PCR product was directly digested at 37°C for 6 hr with Rsa I in a 20 µl reaction containing 2 U restriction enzyme, 2 µl 10X x RE buffer and distilled water. Digested DNA bands were separated on 2% agarose and were visualized on Kodak EDAS 230 gel documentation system. The primers used in the study were designed to amplify a 598 bp fragment corresponding to mid to near terminal region of CO I. Sequence of the amplified fragment was subjected to multiple sequence alignment using Clustal X. Nucleotide sequence and

translated amino acid sequences, with the invertebrate mitochondrial genetic code in each of the strains resulting in high level of consensus between the two Helicoverpa species. Rsa I was chosen for the study as it demonstrated the ability of cutting the sequenced region approximately in the centre resulting in two fragments of approximately 333 bp and 265 bp each. Its recognition site is masked by a mutation- GT ↓ AC in H. armigera that is replaced with GT ↓ TC in H. assulta, which is responsible for the absence of restriction digestion. PCR-RFLP as a tool demonstrates reliable differentiation of the two species. It offers support to the conventional taxonomic differentiation based on morphological features. Both techniques however require skill and expertise. Mutilated museum specimens that are difficult to study using the taxonomic key can be readily identified with this tool. This method can be used as a molecular tool for the identification of H. armigera from H. assulta especially in ecosystems that harbour a mixture of both species. Species identification in Helicoverpa would significantly influence the adoption of pest management strategies especially with H. armigera being insecticide resistant and H. assulta being insecticide susceptible.

S. Kranthi, K.R. Kranthi, A.A. Bharose, S.N. Syed and Sheoraj Crop Protection Division The Central Institute for Cotton Research Post Bag No. 2 Shankar Nagar P.O. Nagpur 440 010

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Management of Natural Resources

Ber with Indian Aloe: An economically viable combination for arid region Monocropping of annual crops under complex, diverse and risk prone situations of hot arid region of northwestern Rajasthan is often uneconomical. Under such circumstances, crop diversification by integrating various components on the same land management unit seems to be a better alternative. In fact, under irrigated resource situation of hot arid region, groundnut-wheat is the main crop rotation adopted by the farming community; which

experimental site was very poor with high infiltration rate. The ber (Ziziphus mauritiana) cultivar Gola was planted in-situ as overstorey component at 16 x 4 m spacing in hedge row system and suckers of Indian Aloe (Aloe barbadensis)- a succulent medicinal plant were planted at 75 x 75 cm spacing as ground storey component in the interspaces of ber hedge rows. Besides medicinal and cosmetic uses, this species of Indian Aloe is also used for delicious culinary preparations like

Ber cultivar Gola planted in situ as overstorey component with suckers of Indian Aloe as groundstorey component

require not only high amount of irrigation water but is also less remunerative. Therefore, an experiment was initiated under hot arid ecosystem after leveling the sand dunes to reduce the amount of irrigation water by selecting appropriate crop combination without any loss to the economic returns. The fertility status of

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vegetable, pickle and laddu. The ground storey crop, i.e. Indian Aloe was only irrigated by using sprinkler system of irrigation, whereas manures and fertilizers were applied separately to both overstorey and ground storey components as per need. The ground storey crop should not be irrigated during fruit ripping period of ber, i.e. mid of January to mid of February. The

plants of ber should also be trained properly and no branches should be allowed below one meter from the ground level. The drooping branches must be removed besides regular and timely pruning of ber plants (middle of April), which will be additional source of fuel and fodder. After five years of experimentation it was found that the survival and vegetative vigour of ber plants were better with Indian Aloe as compared to sole plantation of ber. Under proper management, Aloe starts yielding just after 6–8 months of transplanting. From the second harvest, more than 20 q/ha/cut leaf pad yield was obtained without any adverse effect on the overstorey component. In a year, 3–4 cuts of Indian Aloe can be taken. The ber plant starts yielding from second year onward by giving fruit yield of 41.18 q/ha, fuel wood 8.79 q/ha and green fodder 12.50 ha. The system had given net return of about Rs 35,000/ha as compared to only Rs 1,203/ha by groundnut–wheat and Rs 3,040/ha by sole plantation of ber. The income obtained with Indian Aloe can be doubled by selling the Aloe suckers. The water applied to the system was about 3 times less than groundnut- wheat rotation. Therefore, by using just one third amount of irrigation water than existing farmer’s practice, which is a precious commodity in the hot arid ecosystem it is suggested that Ber + Indian Aloe is an economically viable combination with diversified outputs in arid regions. P.L. Saroj Principal Investigator (NAIP) Cooperating Centre, CIAH Bikaner 334 006, Rajasthan

ICAR NEWS

Management of Natural Resources

Green grafting on rootstock in grapes is beneficial under adverse environment Due to continuous drought in the country particularly in Maharashtra, the grape growers have realized the importance of use of rootstock in grape cultivation. The rootstock plants are now used in establishment of new grape vineyard in the entire grape growing regions of the country. Rootstock offers an opportunity for grapevine to adopt to the varied adverse environmental factors as well in many cases, the grapes can be grown in the places where it would be otherwise non-productive or impossible. To propagate grapes, several propagation techniques are employed by the growers but the major techniques are budding and grafting. As budding is tedious and less successful, grafting is preferred over budding by the grape growers to establish their vineyard on rootstock. Grafting in grape is followed for following reasons: • Use of rootstock is becoming mandatory in grape cultivation due to the adverse situation of soil and water in the grape growing areas. • Grafting allows the grapevine to grow under adverse condition with its desirable characters as it has the capacity to sustain these conditions. • Some of the rootstocks are tolerant to the drought situation, the conditions prevailing in grape growing areas. • The rootstock improves the grape quality by increasing berry diameter. Grafting involves the joining of two different species/varieties of a crop to continue the growth as a

OCTOBER–DECEMBER 2005

single plant. The lower portion of the graft joint is referred as rootstock whereas the upper portion of the joint is called as scion. The scion used for grafting is the choice variety used as per the consumers preference but the rootstock used is as per the soil and water condition of the field where grape is to be grown. The grafting success depends on the following major factors. • Planting material used for grafting, i.e. thickness of scion and the food material available in it. • Sap flow condition in rootstock plants (physiological status of rootstock) • The weather condition prevailing during the period of grafting (high temperature of 32 to 35°C high relative humidity above 80%) and

• The skill of the person involved in grafting. If any of these factors are unfavorable, there will be failure of graft and the grower has to wait till the next season which may lead to non-uniformity of vines in a vineyard. To avoid such circumstances, green grafting can be followed. Green grafting is nothing but performing grafting on young or green shoots of rootstock with well matured scion shoots. Green grafting helps in quick filling of gaps of the last grafting season in the main field. Green grafting can be performed once the minimum temperature starts rising above 15°C, which usually occurs during the month of February. The scion selected should be true to type from high yielding, disease free and healthy vines. The research recently has indicated that it is maturity status of scion with active buds, which determines the success percent rather than maturity of rootstock shoots. Only pre requisite is rootstock should be in active sap flow condition. For maintaining active sap flow in rootstock, they should be irrigated 2–3 days before grafting. The operation of green grafting is similar to regular grafting done on matured rootstock shoots. This technique is generally followed for screening virus resistance. However, in India, this technique can also be promoted for rapid production of grafted plants. R.G. Somkuwar and J. Satisha National Research Centre for Grapes, Manjri Farm Pune (Maharashtra)

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Profile

Central Plantation Crops Research Institute Kasaragod, Kerala

The Central Plantation Crops Research Institute was established in 1970 as one of the agricultural research institutes in the National Agricultural Research System under the Indian Council of Agricultural Research. The Institute was established by merging the erstwhile Central Coconut Research Station, Kasaragod, Central Coconut Research Station, Kayangulam as well as Central Arecanut Research Station, Vittal and its five substations at Palode and Kannara (Kerala), Hirehalli (Karnataka), Mohitnagar (West Bengal) and Kahikuchi (Assam). The present mandate of the institute was to improve the productivity of coconut, arecanut, and cocoa. All India Coordinated Research Project on Palms (AICRP Palms) is functioning at CPCRI since 1972. 8

Location and organisational structure The headquarters is located at Kasaragod in North Kerala region. The campus area extends to 78 ha above 10.7 m above MSL. Director, Heads of Divisions, Senior Administrative Officer and Senior Finance and Accounts Officer are located at the Headquarters. In addition to these officers, Scientists in Genetics and Breeding, Biotechnology, Horticulture, Agronomy, Soil science, Microbiology, Plant Pathology, Entomology, Nematology, Physiology, Biochemistry and Post-harvest Technology, Agricultural Extension, Agricultural Statistics, Agricultural Economics, Computer Applications in Agriculture and majority of administrative activities are performed from the headquarters.

The institute has three regional stations and four regional centers located at various parts of the country. CPCRI (Regional Station) Kayangulam This is one of the regional stations of CPCRI, located in Alappuzha district of Kerala state. The campus extends in an area of 27 ha above 3 m above MSL. Here the priority is given to investigations on etiology of root (wilt) disease, breeding for resistance to root (wilt), and studies on other diseases and pest management in coconut. CPCRI (Regional Station) Vittal This is a regional station located in the inland region of Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka. The campus extends to an area of 69 ha at 58 m above MSL. ICAR NEWS

Profile

Director

RAC

IMC

Project Co-ordinator

Research

Administration

Head Quarter

Regional Stations

Research Centres

Service Units

PC Unit

Head of Division

Heads of Station

Sci. Incharge

Library

Coconut 10

Administration SAO

Crop Improvement

Kayangulam

Kannara

Farm

Oilpalm 4

Finance and Accounts SFAO

Crop Production

Vittal

Mohitnagar

PMT

Palmyrah 2

Crop Protection

Lakshadweep

Kahikuchi

ARIS

Kidu

KVK

Phy, Biochem and Technology Social Sciences

ATIC Art & Photo

CPCRI (Regional Station) Minicoy This regional station serves as ICAR research complex for Lakshadweep region. The station undertakes various aspects of applied agricultural research without affecting the fragile agro-ecosystem for the benefit of these groups of coral islands. CPCRI (Regional Station) Kidu This centre is located in the Kidu Reserve Forest, Puttur Taluk, Dakshina Kannada District of Karnataka State. This centre was established with an aim to produce genetically superior planting materials of coconut, arecanut, cocoa and OCTOBER–DECEMBER 2005

CPCRI (Regional Centre) Kannara The Centre at Kannara was established in the year 1958 with a view to solve the problems of areca cultivation in the northern parts of Kerala. The total farm area is 14 ha and the soil in the upper layer is alluvial type and the lower strata is lateritic with pH 5.6–6.8. The center is located at 50 m above MSL.

cashew. The campus is to the extent of 120 ha above 281 m above MSL. Coconut is cultivated in 80 ha, Arecanut in 7.5 ha, Cocoa in 2.5 and Cashew in 12.5 ha. International Coconut Gene Bank for South Asia under Coconut Genetic Resources Network (COGENT) was established at CPCRI, RC, Kidu during 1996.

Library and information centre The research activities of the Institute are ably supported by adequate library facilities at the headquarters and regional stations. The Main Campus Library with the world’s largest collection of references pertaining to coconut caters to the needs of research and development personnel as well as farmers and students. The library is computerized with CD SERVER facilities and cataloguing is done with the latest software.

CPCRI (Regional Centre) Mohitnagar CPCRI, Mohitnagar, Jalpaiguri, West Bengal was established in the year 1958 with a view to solve the problems of arecanut cultivation in West Bengal. The total area under the Centre is 50 ha and the soil is alluvial with pH 4.5–6.0. The centre is located at 5 m above MSL.

Bioinformatics centre The bioinformatics centre of the institute provides databases on coconut cultivar identification, coconut biotechnology literature, coconut germplasm management system. The centre also provides services like molecular biology and tissue culture protocols on the websites and training on topics related to bioinformatics.

CPCRI (Regional Centre) Kahikuchi Kahikuchi is situated 22 km away

Facilities available Modern facilities, state-of-the art

Organizational structure of CPCRI

The station is devoted for research on arecanut and cocoa breeding, production, protection and drought tolerance studies.

from Guwahati, Assam. Total area under the centre is about 15 hectares. and it is located about 48 m above MSL The soil is mainly alluvial with lower lateritic strata with pH 4.4–4.8. The center was established with a view to solve the problems of arecanut cultivation in Assam and other Northeastern states. Presently, research on arecanut cropping system, crop protection and seedling production aspects are under progress.

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Profile equipments, instruments required for high quality research on plantation crops such as Electron microscope, AAS, Fermenter, TE, Spectrophotometer, Centrifuges, HPLC, GC, Deep freezers, GPS, Kjeltec, PCR, Growth chambers, Gel documentation system, etc., are available at the Institute. A pesticide residue analysis and quality control laboratory was also established during the year 2004.

• High yielding varieties of arecanut, Mangala, Sumangala, Sreemangala, Mohitnagar and Calicut-17 which can yield 8.8 to 15 kg ripe nuts/palm/year, have been released. • Protocols for safe exchange of embryos and successful development of somatic embryogenesis in coconut and areca were developed. • Super palms that have field tolerance to root (wilt) to be used as source palms for breeding resistance were identified.

• Molecular markers linked with tolerance / resistance against root (wilt) disease have been identified. • Developed several models of coconut and arecanut based high density multispecies cropping systems, that provides higher net returns per unit area. • Developed automatic irrigation system and standardized fertigation for palms. • Worked out the integrated nutrient management schedule for palms. • Recycling organic wastes for production of vermicompost has been achieved through an indigenous, highly efficient Eudrilus sp. • Standardised and popularised management practices for leaf rot disease; the main cause for loss of productivity and palm health in root (wilt) affected palms. • Proper Integrated Disease Management and Integrated Nutrient Management practices standardized to achieve sustainable yields from yellow leaf disease affected arecanut and root (wilt) affected coconut palms. • Developed highly effective IDM measures to manage stem bleeding disease with special emphasis on biocontrol. • Formulated Integrated Disease Management for the management of bud rot disease of coconut. • Formulated effective Integrated Pest Management packages for

Coconut based high density multispecies cropping system

Vermicompost production from coconut leaves

Significant Achievements • CPCRI has the largest assemblage of coconut germplasm, consisting of 210 indigenous and 132 exotic genotypes from 28 countries. • Three high yielding varieties of coconut produced by crossing the tall varieties with dwarfs and vice versa (Chandrasankara - COD x Embryo cultured plantlet of coconut

COD × WCT coconut hybrid

WCT; Kera Sankara - WCT x COD and Chandra Laksha - LO x COD) have been released. Three varieties of high yielding coconut Laccadive Ordinary, Phillipines Ordinary and Chowghat Orange Dwarf have also been released for large scale cultivation. 10

ICAR NEWS

Profile

Snow ball tendernut

• Designed dryers which use solar / waster / electricity as energy source. • Fabricated electronic moisture metre to evaluate the quality of copra. • Developed value added products like snow ball tender nut and coconut chips. • Worked out the economics and market dynamics of plantation crops. • Developed highly effective and single window extension service through ATIC and KVK. • Released interactive CDs on cultivation, disease and pest management of mandate crops. • Use of IT tools for information, communication and cyber extension activities.

rhinoceros beetle, red palm weevil and black-headed caterpillar through biocontrol measures. • Worked out the mechanism of drought and detection of characters associated with drought tolerance in coconut and cocoa.

Services offered to the farmers/ clients The Agricultural Technology Information Centre is functioning at the institute to cater to the various needs of the farmers. Other facilities available are Farmer’s help line

Farmer–scientist interaction

services through telephone, agroclinic services and touch screen monitor. In order to know the farmer’s interest and need, the institute is organizing face-to face programme between farmers and scientists by way of interactive field visits to the successful farmers who have adopted technologies either developed or disseminated by CPCRI/KVK by a team of scientists. Two Krishi Vigyan Kendras, one each at Kasaragod and Kayangulam are being operated from CPCRI. Dr V. Rajagopal Central Plantation Crops Research Institute Kasaragod 671 124

Flowers of Butea monosperma, a potential source of food grade bio-colours Sanskrit-palasha; Hindi- palas, dhak is commonly found throughout India, except in very arid parts. Its bright red/reddish yellow flowers bloom in great profusion at the beginning of the summer, before the appearance of new leaves. Flowers are terminal, appearing before the leaves on naked branches, giving the appearance of a fire flame from distance, hence the name, ‘‘flame of the forest’’. Flowers in dried state are known as tesu or palas. These flowers start appearing in March and stay on nearly up to the end of April. The size is nearly 2 to 4 cm in diameter. The flowers are densely crowded on leafless branches. These give the plant a handsome look despite being leaf less during spring season. The entire terrain having palas/dhak trees wears a kind of exquisite orange and red hue. Petals of these flowers are a good source of dye/ bio-colours.

OCTOBER–DECEMBER 2005

The dye was extracted from fresh, shade dried and field dropped and dried flowers.

Orange dye extracted from flowers of Butea monosperma

A good quantity of crude dye was recovered to the extent of 3, 15 and 12% respectively on weight basis at Indian Lac Research Institute Ranchi. There are an estimated 200 million palas trees in India. If 100 million trees flowers (with an average yield of 1.0 kg dried flowers/tree) are collected the estimated quantity would be 0.1 million tonnes of dry flowers yielding 0.01 to 0.015 million tonnes of crude dye. This dye after further purification and refining has tremendous potential as a colouring material in soft drinks and other food products like ham/sausages, jam, chowmin noodle etc. Efforts to improve purity and recovery are in progress. S. Srivastava and B. Baloo Indian Lac Research Institute Namkum, Ranchi Jharkhand 834 010

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Spectrum Remote Sensing for finding actual crop area Under the project ‘‘Developing Remote Sensing based Methodology for Collection of Agricultural Statistics in Meghalaya’’ a pilot study has been conducted to develop a suitable survey methodology for estimation of area under paddy crop in Rhi-boi district of Meghalaya. In this study, LISS III images of IRS 1D and IRS P6 satellites have been used. The area under paddy has been obtained by maximum likelihood classification method. But due to undulating topography of the region,

Buffer zone of 500 × 500 m2 created along the road overlaid on satellite image

misclassification errors, topographic geometry, sun-synchronous sensors, there is significant difference of area under crop in the image and actual area under crop on the ground. In order to rectify the area under paddy crop due to undulating topography and misclassification errors, relationship between area under paddy in the classified image and actual area under paddy crop on the ground has been established. The roads are conceptually divided into grids of 500 x 500 m2, which act as the sampling units. Two estimators have been developed to estimate the area under paddy in this buffer zone. One based on all surveyed grids (Method I) and another based on only those grids, which contain the area under paddy crop (Method II). Further, the vector layer of this buffer was 12

overlaid on the satellite classified image and the corresponding area from the image was extracted. Using these estimates, the area under paddy in the entire district has been estimated as 7204 ha (Method I) and 7215 ha (Method II) with standard error of 5.88 and 9.24, respectively. S.D. Sharma Director, Indian Agricultural Statistics Research Institute, Pusa New Delhi 110 012

Sword bean—A potential genotype for crop diversification in hot arid regions Sword bean (Canavalia gladiata) is an under exploited drought hardy perennial leguminous vegetable for nutritive tender pods. During the course of various explorations undertaken for surveys and collections of arid horticultural crops variability under NATP on sustainable management of plant bio-diversity from 2000 to 2002, it was observed that in tribal dominating areas of Southern Rajasthan and Northern Gujarat, very few tribal families are cultivating sword bean for domestic uses and also to earn some family contingencies by selling tender pods in near by hatts (weekly markets). This facilitated its collection with the aim to evaluate the sword bean Pod development stages in swordbean

germplasm under hot and arid agroclimatic conditions. At last, all the collected seeds were sown as five source population samples in relation to the five district boundaries of the two states. Individual plants were observed for recording characters on growth, flowering and fruiting behaviour and pod yield and quality components at CIAH, Bikaner as a rainy-winter season crop. Among the white flowered population, few plants were early to harvest with high quality pods for vegetable at tender stages and therefore, selfed seeds were collected from the marked plants for further purification. The uniform and early harvesting line sword bean AHSB 1 is high yielding and could be potential for crop diversification in the arid region. The plant germplasm registration committee of NBPGR, New Delhi, has now registered this line as a potential genotype INGGR 04056. Developed by recurrent selection from the local germplasm grown in tribal areas of south Rajasthan and northern Gujarat, this drought tolerating genotype is very early for harvesting under extremes of arid conditions of north-western India and produces uniform pods for vegetable use at tender stages. Light green coloured immature pods of about 20– 25 cm length, 3.0–3.5 cm width and 50–60 g weight are excellent for organoleptic quality of vegetable curries. Climbing plants are medium in growth habit with dark green leaves and white colour flowers. Flowering starts in 68–72 days, where first picking is from 90–95 days of sowing as a rainy season crop. The final pod retention is varied from 2 to 5 per spike (raceme) there by yield of marketable tender pods per plant ranged between 1.2 to 1.5 kg/season. On an average, there are 4 seeds in a pod. The creamy white colour seeds are large and kidney shaped. The seeds are about 2.52 cm in length, ICAR NEWS

Spectrum and 1.61 cm in width. The weight of 1000 seeds is 2.152 kg. D.K. Samadia and D. G. Dhandar Central Institute for Arid Horticulture, Bikaner Rajasthan 334 006

Alcohol resistant bacteria The significance of this finding is that while ethanol is normally considered as a universal disinfectant, which readily kills vegetative bacterial cells, this particular bacterium (identified as Bacillus pumilus based on partial 16S rDNA sequence data) was found to be highly tolerant to alcohol. Bacterial spores are known to be tolerant to extreme conditions but there are no clear documented reports on how long they can withstand alcohol. This spore-forming gram positive bacterium showed high tolerance to alcohol and survive in it from weeks to over four months depending on the concentration of ethanol.

Spot testing of B. pumulus samples (1 µl) dispersed in nutrient both (row 1), distilled water (row 2), ethanol 25% (row 3), 50% (row 4), 70% (row 5), 80% (row 6) 90% (row 7) or rectified spirit 90% (row 8) after 1 hr (A), d1 (B), d2 (C), d7 (D), d14 (E), 1 month (F) 2 months (G) or 4 months (H)

cultures from contaminating bacteria. The bacterium was a hazard to in vitro cultures in general because of the potential threat of transmitting across to other cultures through alcohol flamed tools. While remaining in latent form in grape cultures, it showed hazardous effects on the cultures of other crops like papaya and watermelon. Grape micro cuttings inoculated with this bacterium showed both epiphytic and endophytic colonization of the shoot and root in vitro. The resultant plantlets showed more rooting compared with uninoculated control cultures. Director Indian Institute of Horticultural Research Hessaraghatta, Lake Post, Bangalore Karnataka 560 089

Twenty four transferable embryos recovered in a single flush from a microsheep The Garole is a rare and less known microsheep breed found in the low lying, hot and humid, Sunderban region in West Bengal. This sheep generally produces multiple births with an average litter size of 2.27 lambs. Historical evidence has revealed that the import of Garole germplasm from India in the late 18th century led to the development of a prolific Australian Booroola merino sheep having a fecundity gene (FecB), which has A donor sheep of Garole breed

View of ovaries with multiple ovulations

been recently confirmed by DNA analysis. Extensive utilization of Garole sheep in the form of spermatozoa, ova and embryos assume significance because of the presence of FecB gene in this valuable genetic resource. Artificial insemination of non-prolific ewes using fresh diluted garole semen has successfully resulted in the birth of highly fertile crossbred lambs. However, there is a need to conserve this prolific breed of sheep and multiply its number through use of embryo biotechnology. The present study is a first case report of a superovulated Garole ewe in which 24 transferable embryos were collected in a single flush for transfer in non-prolific native recipient sheep. An adult parous Garole ewe belonged to a flock that was procured from the Sunderban area in October 2000 and raised under the semi-intensive management system at the institute farm. It weighed 12.5 kg and was induced for superovulation in late Embryos recovered from a Garole sheep in a single flush

Ethanol concentration of 90% was more effective in eliminating its spores than the universally recommended bactericidal levels of 70–80%. This alcohol-defying organism was isolated from in vitro culture of grape as a covert contaminant during the efforts to sanitize the micro propagated OCTOBER–DECEMBER 2005

13

Spectrum autumn of the year 2004 under the multiple ovulation embryo transfer programme being conducted at the institute farm. The ewe was subjected to mating twice a day (morning and evening) with Garole ram of proven fertility. The ovarian response in terms of number of ovulation was determined by Iaparoscopy on day 3 to 4 after mating followed by surgical embryo collection. The total number of corpus leuteum observed in the left and right ovaries were 24. There was no leutinizing follicle in either of the two ovaries. The recovery after flushing was 100 per cent and all the 24 embryos were of morula stage and their quality was good. The embryos were transferred in 7 recipient ewes of Awassi x Malpura cross (3 embryos per ewe) aged 2.5–5.0 years and 3–4 times that of donor’s weight ranging between 35 to 46 kg (38.8 ± 3.42 kg). The remaining embryos were frozen and stored in liquid nitrogen for long-term storage. S.M.K. Naqvi, R. Gulyani, A. Joshi, V.P. Maurya, D. Kumar, J.P. Mittal and V.K. Singh Central Sheep and Wool Research Institute, Avikanagar, via Jaipur, Rajasthan 304 501

Nicorock under cage management system

named as Nicorock suitable for rural poultry production, which has found wide acceptability in Andaman. During the process of development, traits which are important from rural poultry production view point like coloured plumage, better resistance to diseases, moderate body weight, better egg production and adaptability for backyard farming etc. have been taken into consideration. Nicobari fowls are reared under backyard farming system with minimum feed and health cover. There are three strains of Nicobari fowl, namely brown, black and white Nicobari. Black Nicobari can produce about 130 eggs under backyard but have lower growth rate and smaller egg size. Pure black rock, RIR, Carcass quality traits of Nicorock

Nicorock – a dual purpose chicken for backyard Backyard farming improves the economic status of the majority of tribal and rural families from lower socio-economic strata in the rural / tribal areas. It is a well known fact that eggs and birds reared in backyard farming are in considerable demand and sold at a premium price. Systematic research efforts at the Central Agricultural Research Institute, Port Blair, led to the development of a dual purpose bird 14

Particulars

Meaan ±SE

Percentage of Live weight (g) Live weight (g) Eviscerated carcass (%) Neck Back Wings Breast Shank Thigh

2132.50±139.76 73.67±3.28 4.80±0.31 15.17±0.94 8.08±0.27 17.74±0.77 3.98±0.22 23.90±1.33

Percentage of Eviscerated weight wings 11.01±0.36 Back 20.53±0.44 Neck 6.50±0.23 Legs 37.83±0.56 Breast 23.63±0.90

Giriraja, the progeny of the crosses of Black Rock with Black Nicobari and RIR with Brown Nicobari were evaluated under intensive and backyard conditions in these Islands. It was observed that survivability of the progeny of Black Rock males with Black Nicobari females was better under backyard system with better growth and production performance. These progeny are at present supplied to the farmers through IVLP and KVK, CARI, Port Blair. These birds are named as Nicorock. Black rock and black Nicobari fowls are selected for better growth and production performance and are being used as parent lines of Nicorock. The pooled (male and female) body weights of the birds at 10, 12 and 14 weeks of age were 885.71, 1146.96 and 1472.86 g, respectively under deep litter system of management. The body weights of the males were still higher. The birds were shifted to cages at 16 weeks of ages to observe their individual production performance. The average age and weight at sexual maturity were 161.25 days and 1741.36 g, respectively. The Performance of Nicorock under intensive and backyard management Trait

Intensive

Backyard

10 week body weight (g)

885.71 a ±45.13

687.06b ±54.27

12 week body weight (g)

1146.96 a ±45.28

910.15b ±64.04

14 week body weight (g)

1472.86 a ±153.74

1080.87 b ±191.82

Age at sexual maturity (days)

161.25 b ±2.66

193.12a ±5.92

Weight at maturity (g)

1741.36 a ±40.17

1487.46 b ±58.34

Annual egg 171.88 a production (in no.) ±6.69

142.66b ±9.57

Egg weight (g)

52.50 ±0.52

50.85 ±0.68

Laying period mortality (%)

7.89

9.12

–

1200

Net profit/100 birds/ month (Rs)

ICAR NEWS

Spectrum average annual egg production and egg weight were 171.88 in number per year and 52.5 g, respectively. The laying period mortality was 7.89%. The pooled (male and female) body weights of the birds at 10, 12, and 14th weeks of age under backyard system were 687.06, 910.15 and 1,080.87 g, respectively. The average age and weight at sexual maturity were 193.12 days and 1,487.46 g, respectively. The average annual egg production and egg weight were 142.66 in number and 50.85 g, respectively under backyard. Laying period mortality was 9.12%. The birds are provided with some amount of supplementary feed in the form of kitchen waste, rice or wheat and allowed to go to the nearby field or forest in search of feed. They come back at dusk and take shelter. The amount of supplementary feed provided by the farmers varied from 35–45 g/ bird/ day during later part of growing and in laying period. Small low cost houses made of local materials are used as shelter during night. In corner of the house bamboo baskets are provided for laying. It was observed that if a farmer rears 100 Nicorock birds (50 males and 50 females) under backyard can earn up to Rs 1,200 per month. Six males were selected at random from the birds kept under intensive Egg quality traits of Nicorock Traits Egg weight (g) Shape index Albumen height (mm) Albumen weight (g) Yolk weight (g) Yolk height (mm) Albumen: yolk weight Shell weight (g) Albumen (%) Yolk (%) Shell (%) Shell thickness (mm)

Mean±SE 53.25±1.40 73.25±1.39 3.54±0.21 28.88±0.76 17.08±0.82 3.04±0.16 1.69±0.65 6.71±0.14 54.23±0.72 32.08±0.79 12.60±0.16 0.50±0.03

OCTOBER–DECEMBER 2005

management to study the carcass quality traits. The birds were slaughtered at 24 weeks of age after taking the live weight as per the standard procedure. Birds were bled, plucked and weighed. The weight of the eviscerated carcass, neck, wings, breast, shank and thigh were recorded and expressed as percentage of live weight. Eviscerated carcass were cut into five parts, namely, wings, back, neck, legs and breast. The weight of the cut-up parts were recorded and expressed as percentage of evisceration weight. The average live weight of males (n=6) at 24 weeks of age was 2,132.50 g with 73.67% evisceration percentage. The average weights of neck, back, wings, breast, shank and thigh were 4.80, 15.17, 8.08, 17.74, 3.98 and 23.90% of live weight, respectively. The average weights of cut-up parts like wings, back, neck, legs and breast were 11.01, 20.53, 6.50, 37.83 and 23.63%, respectively. A total of 20 eggs were selected at random from the birds reared in cages. Eggs were collected on the day of lay at 45 weeks of age. Eggs were weighed individually (on electronic balance) to the accuracy of 0.01 g. Egg quality traits were determined following standard procedure. The weights of albumen, yolk and shell were recorded and expressed as percentage of egg weight. The average egg weight was 53.25 g. The shell weight and thickness, albumen%, yolk% and shell% were 6.71 g, 0.50 mm, 54.23%, 32.08% and 12.60%, respectively. The backyard farming improves the economic status of majority of tribal and rural people and requires less investment with good economic return. R.N. Chatterjee, R.B. Rai, A.Kundu, S. Senani, Jai Sunder and S.C. Pramanik Central Agricultural Research Institute Post Box 181, Port Blair Andamans 744 101

Export of cured product from jelly-fish Appropriate technology was developed, standardised and transferred to the industry for utilizing jelly-fish by treating with varying concentrations of salt and alum for export market. A team comprising Drs R. Badonia, L.N. Murthy, S.K. Panda and K. Devdasan worked on utilization of jelly fish resource in Gujarat. Till now jelly-fish was considered as a menace, waste and

Landing of jelly fish on the vessel Sagar Kripa

nuisance to the fishermen rather than a fishery resource. During jelly-fish abundance other fish catch is reduced considerably. Many times the presence of large number of jelly-fish creates problem in fishing operations. Many varieties of jelly-fish cause itching to human skin on contact. In Gujarat the jelly-fish is available in abundance in costal waters. However there is no information available on the quantity presently landed. Locally it is called as Jharko, Tarbala and Topala. Jelly fish caught on the CIFT 15

Spectrum

Water content of whole jelly fish is more than 96%, minerals 2.30% and 1% protein

research vessel Sagar Kripa were found with weight range of 5-15 kg each and diameter of the umbrella up to 60 cm. In Gujarat 4-5 species of jelly-fish are commonly found. The most commonly available species is the common jelly-fish-Aurilia spp. The availability of jelly-fish is highly seasonal. At times the coastal waters can be full of jelly-fish while during other season not a single jelly-fish is found. They are found drifting along with water current. In Gujarat the main fishing season is during November– March. Fishing is carried out at 15–20 meter depth. The main fishing gears used include seine nets, drift nets, and scoop-nets. In Gujarat, fishing is carried out during night to minimize spoilage, as temperature is lower during the night. Water content of whole jelly-fish is more than 96%, minerals 2.3% and 1% protein. Umbrella and tentacles (arms) Jelly fish is kept in seawater containing 10% salt and 4% alum and 1% bleaching powder for 1–2 days

constitute 60% and 30% of total fish weight respectively. Remaining 10% is the waste comprising of intestine and gonads. The entire process requires 10 to 15 days to produce a salted product with 60–70% moisture and 16–25% salt. Fresh jelly-fish are washed properly in seawater and two halves are separated. Upper halves comprise of Umbrella and lower half arms and stomach cavity. The stomach cavity is separated and discarded, while arms are used for processing. In first stage umbrellas and arms are kept in seawater tanks made of wood or cement and lined with polyethylene. After 4–5 hours the umbrellas are taken out and white scum like substance, thin membranes and spine are removed using steel or bamboo knives. Care is taken not to cut or scar the umbrella. In the second phase the material is immersed in seawater containing 10% salt and 4% alum and 1% bleaching powder for 1– 2 days. The pH is to be maintained at 4 by adding lime in the solution. Salt removes moisture and alum helps to coagulate proteins and reduces the solubility and acts as a disinfectant. Sodium and potassium alum is used and aluminum and iron alum is avoided. At pH 4 the dissolution of solid particles is minimum. During this stage 35% weight loss takes place. After the process solution gets diluted and contaminated and is discarded. In the next stage the material is immersed in solution containing 15% salt and 2% alum for 2 days. By this

time the weight loss is about 50%. For the next four days the umbrella and tentacles are treated with 20% salt solution and 1–2% alum. The thickness of umbrella is reduced to 2 mm and weight loss of 90% takes place. After the process is over the umbrellas are stacked over sloping board for draining, preferably under chilled temperature for 2–4 days. The finished product has moisture content of 60%. The umbrellas are graded size wise depending on the diameter. The finished product is flat, round and spongy with diameter of 15–20 cm weighing 70–160 g each The yield of the final product is 6–7%. The demand is more for jelly-fish of more than 25– 30 cm in diameter. For retail market the dried jelly-fish is packed in thick polyethylene with holes in one kg pack. Bulk pack is packed in 20 kg pack in polyethylene lined woven poly bag. The storage temperature is 0°C. The salted product has a shelf-life of one year at room temperature and 2 years under chilled condition and is not refrigerated. Cured jelly-fish in semidried form is having export demand in south-east Asian countries, viz. Japan, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Korea and Malaysia etc. Now, three processors in Veraval and in Okha are processing jelly-fish for export. Jelly fish which was discarded as waste in the sea is now fetching a price of Rs 2–3 per kg.

ICAR News

Efficacy of chlorine on elimination of Vibrio cholerae in seafood

from the Year 2000 onwards is available on the Internet at DIPA Website. Log on to: www.icar.org.in/dipa/icarnews.htm

16

R. Badonia, Scientist Central Institute of Fisheries Technology Veraval Research Centre, Gujarat 362 269

In the seafood industry Vibrio cholerae is a zero tolerant organism, and hence should be absent in the processed seafood. Washing the raw material with potable water containing chlorine is a critical step in the ICAR NEWS

Spectrum Inactivation of V cholerae present on seafood by different residual chlorine levels and exposure time Particulars of trial

No. of Initial cell Residual level % Time for complete trials No. Cfu/g# chlorine ppm death of inactivation of V. cholerae min

Vibrio cholerae cells suspended in sterile water

3

10 5* 10 3*

2 2

100 100

30 20

Vibrio cholerae cell in cooked peeled shrimp meat

3

106 105 103

4 4 4

99.81 100 100

10 10 5

Vibrio cholerae cells in headless raw shrimp shell-on

3

105 103

7 7

96 100

10 10

Captive breeding, rearing and sea ranching of seahorse successful Seahorses are listed as vulnerable in the IUCN-list and therefore they need urgent conservational measures, Seahorses are being

* cfu/ml; # Inoculated

elimination of Vibrio cholerae. In spite of the drastic measures taken to clean the raw material with process water having appropriate chlorine levels, there are cases of detection of V cholerae in processed shrimp. The level of residual chlorine stipulated by EU for process water for washing raw shrimp is only 2 ppm. On the other hand, USFDA approves 5 ppm of residual chlorine in process water. Under these circumstances, a study became inevitable to arrive at the right level of residual chlorine in process water that will completely destroy any V. cholerae cells present in the raw material. A systematic study was carried out in the Microbiology Fermentation and Biotechnology Division of CIFT Cochin, on elimination of Vibrio cholerae present on whole shrimp and peeled meat by washing with potable water carrying various levels of residual chlorine. It is very evident from the data that there is close relationship among initial cell number of V. cholerae, chlorine level and exposure time. Vibrio cholerae cells having a cell density of 103 cells/ml, when suspended in sterile water containing 2 ppm of residual chlorine was completely eliminated in 20 minutes. However at higher cell density of 10 5 cells/ml, longer exposure time was necessary to achieve complete death. V. cholerae at 103 cells/g, artificially contaminated OCTOBER–DECEMBER 2005

in cooked peeled shrimp meat, when exposed to 4 ppm residual chlorine, was completely eliminated in 5 minutes. At higher cell number of 105 cells/g it took 10 minutes for complete destruction. V. cholerae having cell density of 103 cells/g when present in headless (HL) raw shrimp with shell, were completely inactivated by 7 ppm residual chlorine in 10 minutes. The findings indicate that presence of shell and organic matter of the shrimp sample affects the efficacy of chlorine as a disinfectant on V. cholerae cells. It also reveals that effective residual chlorine level depends on the contamination level and exposure time. In actual practice, presence of V. cholerae is not expected in raw shrimp. However, aquacultured shrimp could be an exception. But even in extreme cases, the V. cholerae contamination never exceeds 10 to 1,000 cells/g, so that a lower level of residual chlorine can eliminate the pathogen. The study indicates that the safe level of residual chlorine in process water has to be at least 7 ppm and an exposure time of 10 min need to be emphasized for complete destruction of V. cholerae if present in the raw seafood, particularly if shell–on shrimp is being processed. Nirmala Thampuran, K. Sree Ganga and P.K. Surendran Central Institute of Fisheries Technology Matsyapuri P.O. Cochin 682 029

Female (left) and male (right) seahorse

collected in large quantities, shade dried and traded outside the country at a cost of Rs 5,000 and above per kg for use as an ingredient in the traditional Chinese medicine. Indiscriminate exploitation of these organisms has led to an alarming decrease in their population leading to a ban on their exports by the

32

Diagram illustrating conical FRP rearing tank for rearing seahorse babies

17

Spectrum

Collar-tagged seahorse

government of India. Work on breeding of seahorses has been undertaken at the Tuticorin and Vizhinjam Research Centres of CMFRI. Seahorses (Hippocampus kuda) collected from the southern coast of India were reared under captive condition for more than two years as brood stocks at the Vizhinjam centre. Fifty spawning trials and rearing of babies were carried out. About 65% survival of seahorse babies after one month of rearing was achieved in a rearing system provided with a conical bottom fibre-reinforced plastic tanks with mild aeration. Full embryonic development takes place in 21–24 days. Baby seahorse expelled from the male’s brood pouch in the early morning hours start feeding live feed such as nauplii of Artemia, rotifer and nauplii of Mysids and reach maturity after 110 days of birth. To study the natural growth, migration and recruitment pattern of seahorses, a total of 366 laboratoryreared baby seahorses Hippocampus kuda were floy-tagged (tied in the neck region) using thin plastic sheets of 7 x 5 mm, engraved with respective serial number. The average length and weight of seahorse was 106 ± 14.08 mm and 2.57 ± 1.22 g respectively. They were released at depths ranging from 5 to 6 m, comprising sea grass and soft coral beds off Puthupattinam and Mullimunai, along the Palk Bay (near Rameswaram) of Tamil Nadu in the month of June 2004. About 10,000 fishers residing in adjoining coastal 18

villages were appraised about the release of tagged seahorses and distributed with pamphlets explaining the importance of tagged seahorses. Data from recaptured seahorses indicated that they grow to about 4.15 mm in length per month in the natural habitat. This technique of captive breeding, rearing and sea ranching of young ones of seahorses will be of use to sustain their population in the natural habitats. A.P. Lipton and M. Thangaraj Vizhinjam Research Centre of CMFRI Vizhinjam

A new aluminium craft for traditional fisheries sector The Central Institute of Fisheries Technology, Cochin has been evaluating different materials suitable for construction of fishing vessels for the artisanal as well as mechanized sectors. Different types of conventional woods were tried and wood like Venteak was found to be good for boat construction, so that costly teak could be spared. In later years, materials like ferrocement and fibreglass were also tried. Availability of underutilized rubberwood prompted the institute to treat it chemically and then use it for boat construction. This technology succeeded and extensive field trials were done using canoes made of treated rubberwood. Other Aluminium craft under operation

underutilized wood like coconut wood is also being tried as alternate and cost effective. Steel has always been the most successful and popular material for fishing boat construction. Fuel efficient steel fishing vessel designs have been developed and popularized by the institute. Now for the first time it has come out with a fishing craft made of aluminium alloy to study its properties and behaviour in inland and marine conditions. The properties such as light weight, dent resistance, high corrosion resistance, high ratio of strength to weight, toughness, resilience, elasticity and resistance to electrolytic action makes it a very good material for the construction of marine crafts. Considering the above advantages aluminium alloy sheets were used for the construction of an inland fishing boat. The dimension of the prototype aluminium craft christened as ‘Kayal’ is 5.20 m LoA, 1.10 m breadth and 0.55 m depth. The hull shape is that of a catamaran. The hull is welded using TIG method. Dye penetration test was carried out to check the welding and quality was found good. Two seats are provided in the craft. An awning is made for the open deck area using aluminium pipes. A buoyancy chamber is made in the forward end of the craft for safety. The craft is strengthened for fitting an OBM. Rings are fitted for pulling the boat. The construction was carried out by M/s Parur Metal Industries, Parur. The trials were conducted with OBM in the backwaters and found to give good performance. The cost of the boat is Rs 1,20,000 without engine. The boat can be worked with inboard as well as outboard engines. For inland and coastal waters, OBM is ideal. After successful trials, the aluminium can be popularized as a material for construction of fishing boats in view of the advantages mentioned earlier. As aluminium is available in large quantities in India ICAR NEWS

Spectrum this can be a viable alternative to wood, and can in due course save our already depleting forests. K. Devadasan Director Central Institute of Fisheries Technology Willingdon Island, Matsyapuri Kochi 682 029

Software packages developed by IASRI Statistical Package for Augmented Designs (SPAD) is useful for designing agricultural experiments conducted for comparing existing practices/check varieties, called controls, with new practices/varieties/germplasm collections, called tests, where the experimental material for the tests is limited and it is not possible to replicate them in the design. The package generates a randomized layout of an augmented randomized complete block (RCB) design and augmented complete block design with equal or unequal block sizes. The optimal replication number of the control treatments in every block is obtained by maximizing the efficiency per observation for making tests vs controls comparisons. The package generates randomized layout of the design as per the procedure of Federer (1956), which is generally overlooked while conducting such experiments. The package also performs the analysis of data generated from augmented block designs (complete or incomplete). The treatment sum of squares is partitioned into different components of interest viz. (i) among test treatments, (ii) among control treatments and (iii) among test treatments and control treatments. Multiple comparison procedures for making all possible pair-wise treatment comparisons can also be employed through this package.

A null hypothesis on any other contrast of interest can also be tested. Statistical Package for Agricultural Research data analysis (SPAR 2.0) is useful for the analysis of experimental research data in Plant Breeding and Genetics. The package consists of eight modules (i) Data Management Module (ii) Descriptive Statistics Module (ii) Estimation of Breeding values Modules (iii) Correlation and Regression Analysis Module (iv) Variance and Covariance Components Estimation Module (v) Stability Analysis Module (vi) Multivariate Analysis Module (vii) Matting Design Analysis Module. The cost of each of these packages is Rs 1,000 + Rs 50 for postage for National Agricultural Research System (NARS) and Rs 2,500 + Rs 50 for postage for the organizations outside NARS. For each additional license, the organization from NARS has to pay Rs 500 and the organization from outside the NARS has to pay Rs 1,000. S.D. Sharma Director Indian Agricultural Statistics Research Institute, New Delhi 110 012

Electromechanical tracker developed at CAZRI An experimental light sensitive solar tracker has been developed that helps the solar device to turn itself towards the sun with the first beam of sunlight in the morning. The tracker comprises simple electronic circuit and a mechanical unit. The electronic circuit senses light through LDR and small PV cell and trigger circuit, which mobilizes tracking platform toward the maximum light with the help of a 12V DC motor and battery. The mechanical unit consists of a worm gear assembly,

which rotates the platform of tracker as well as holds (self-lock) it to overcome wind load. The experimental tracker was evaluated along with non-tracked solar cooker. On an average 25% higher output is obtained from the tracked cooker. Drs H.L. Kushwaha, Harpal Singh and N.M. Nahar Central Arid Zone Research Institute Jodhpur 342 003

EDITORIAL BOARD Chairman Dr P. Das DDG (Agricultural Extension) Members Dr G. Kalloo DDG (Horticulture & Crop Sciences) Dr J.S. Samra DDG (Natural Resource Management) Dr V.K. Taneja DDG (Animal Sciences) Dr R.C. Maheshwari, ADG (TC) Dr Mruthyunjaya, National Director (NAIP) Member-Secretary Shri Kuldeep Sharma, Incharge (DIPA)

Published by Shri Kuldeep Sharma, Incharge (DIPA), Directorate of Information and Publications of Agriculture, Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi 110 012. Lasertypeset by M/s Xpedite Computer Systems, B-587, IInd Floor, Pandav Nagar, New Delhi 110 008, and printed in India at M/s Royal Offset Printers, A-89/1, Naraina Industrial Area, Phase I, New Delhi 110 028.

Editing : Reena Kandwal; Production : Punit Bhasin; Art : Suresh Dhawale OCTOBER–DECEMBER 2005

19

The Last Page

W ATER is a precious and finite

resource that is essential for the very survival of life on earth and most critical input of food production. Presently about 20% of the globally cultivated area is irrigated, utilizing an estimated 70% of the global water use and accounts for nearly 40% of the total food production. Only 10% of the water is used in homes and 20% by the industry. The total water received annually in India is about 4,400 km 3, from precipitation and inflowing rivers which originate outside the country. India’s share of water at global level is about 4.2%. Currently only 29% of the total precipitation is conserved and water use efficiency seldom exceeds 40%. India has 162 Mha of arable area of which 55 Mha is irrigated. About half of the irrigated area in our country receives water through exploitation of ground water. Dr Mangala Even if the entire irrigation potential of the country is used still about half of the cultivated land will remain rainfed. Farming in rainfed areas can be made productive and profitable by rainwater harvesting and using it for supplementary/life saving irrigation in times of short-term droughts to save the crop that could eventually make a significant impact on agricultural production. This is equally applicable in case of the livestock to supplement their drinking water requirement. Indian farming is characterized by inequitable distribution of irrigation water; over and under exploitation of groundwater in different regions; recurrence of frequent floods and droughts, often co-occuring. Under this condition, some approaches that 20

status of the soil, and plant response to fertilizer. There are several technologies to develop and exploit water resources for agriculture. Examples are groundwater extraction, pressurized irrigation system, construction of farm ponds for rainwater harvesting, techniques of in situ water and soil conservation and the like but when their interrelation with the environment is overlooked, an overall decline and deterioration in the utilizable resources takes place. The key to successful agriculture is therefore, finding ways to stretch the availability of rainwater beyond the period of its occurrence. The quantity and quality of groundwater govern the production potential of the land. The poor quality water constitutes 32–84% of the total groundwater development and poses severe constraints in terms Rai, Secretary (DARE) and Director-General, ICAR of salinity, alkalinity Reviving degraded lands and polluted and toxicity hazards. Urban waste water (sewage environment. Intensive methods of agriculture water) and/or industrial effluents can including its diversification are now felt be gainfully used since these waters extremely important despite the fear of have high organic load and contain their being associated with gradual beneficial plant nutrients. Therefore, adoption of precision environmental degradation. The challenge of the day is, therefore, to in all the activities pertaining to find ways to make them sustainable. agriculture is the key for attaining The introduction of precision irrigation enhanced production, sustainability methods (drip, sprinkler, micro- of the land and the water resources, sprinkler) and controlled environment and optimization of the input use in cultivation is relatively new. A number agriculture. An integrated use of water of factors such as the inputs, operations resources for enhancing productivity, and resources comprise precision livelihood, income, employment, farming. An accurate knowledge of environmental services and equity is physiology of the crop being grown called upon. helps to ensure uniform distribution of irrigation water and fertilizer vis-à-vis (Mangala Rai) the kind of fertilizer, current nutrient ICAR NEWS could be adopted for conservation and integrated use of water are, System approach on multiple water uses in crop, livestock, fish and horticulture production; Simultaneous and multiple use of water for integrated farming and wet land systems; Conservation of rainwater; Recycling of waste water; Efficiency improvement of modern methods of irrigation (drips, sprinklers, etc.); Evolving innovative methods and efficient crops/varieties; Water use efficiency in conjunction with other inputs (energy, nutrients, etc.); and