SELECTED CONTENTS

Department of Crop Science and Production, Botswana University of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Gaborone, Botswana.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.37855/jah.2017.v19i02.20

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Abstract: Growth and development response of parsley (Petroselinum crispum) to four application rates of organic fertilizers (treatments) was investigated in a field experiment at the Botswana University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (formerly Botswana College of Agriculture) from November 2014 to March 2015. The experiment was laid out in a complete randomised block design (RCBD) with each of the four treatments; 0, 5, 7.5 and 10 kg m^-2 replicated three times. Data on growth and development parameters viz., plant height, number of leaves, leaf area and plant canopy (spread) was recorded at weekly intervals whereas, stem diameter (thickness), and shoots fresh and dry weights were recorded at the termination of the experiment. In general, significant statistical differences (P<0.05) were revealed for plant height, leaf area, number of leaves, stem thickness, canopy diameter and shoots fresh and dry weights. Application rates of organic fertilizers of 10 kg m^-2 significantly enhanced the performance of the growth and development parameters of parsley with highest application rate revealing numerical superiority. Based on the findings, highest application rate of organic fertilizer is recommended to small scale farmers because its constituents are readily available and in abundance locally.

Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19717, USA.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.37855/jah.2017.v19i02.21

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Abstract: Two initial studies were conducted to determine the potential for greenhouse production of Scotch bonnet pepper (Capsicum chinense Jacq.). When these peppers are grown outdoors in Jamaica, fruit yield declines over time owing to increasing infections with several aphid-vectored viral pathogens. Production of Scotch bonnet peppers in greenhouses with insect-excluding screens covering the side- and end-walls would render the plants virus-free and would extend the harvest season which is limited by damaging rainfall during the wet season. We found in Delaware, USA (39.68° N) that fruit yields from greenhouse-grown plants were far greater than those expected from field-grown plants in Jamaica. Greater fruit number and weight of marketable fruits per plant were achieved from non-pruned plants compared to those from plants pruned to either of two Dutch V systems [plants pruned to two main stems and subsequent laterals pruned to one (V1) or to three (V3) nodes]. These differences were less pronounced when fruit yield was expressed on a per m^-2 basis since pruned plants were closer together (1.8 plans m^-2) than non-pruned plants (1.1 plants m^-2). Low-K fertilizer (21N-2.2P-16.6K) compared to high-K fertilizer (15N-2.2P-20.8K) resulted in a 75% early-season and an 8% full-season increase in marketable fruit fresh weight·m^-2 in non-pruned plants.

Horticulture Crops Research Department, Fars Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Center, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization, Shiraz, Iran.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.37855/jah.2017.v19i02.22

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Abstract: Present study was carried out to evaluate impact of micronutrients application (manganese, iron and zinc) with different methods (foliar or soil application) on quality parameters of ‘Belidi’ olive in Fars province. Chelated iron sequestrene 138, zinc and manganese sulfates were soil applied once a year and iron, zinc and manganese sulfate were foliar applied on plants, three times a year, alone or in combination. Results indicated that fertilizer application method did not have significant impact on tree productivity and fruit quality parameters in bearing or non-bearing years and alternate bearing in ‘Belidi’ olive trees was not correlated significantly with manganese, iron and zinc deficiency. It seems that foliar application of micronutrients fertilizers in regions with alkaline soils is a better strategy for improvement of olive production.

Suranaree University of Technology, 111 University Avenue, Muang District, Nakhon Ratchasima 30000, Thailand. School of Crop Production Technology, Suranaree University of Technology, 111 University Avenue, Muang District, Nakhon Ratchasima 30000, Thailand.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.37855/jah.2017.v19i02.23

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Abstract: In vitro chemical mutagenesis of Dendrobium ‘Earsakul’ protocorm-like bodies (PLBs) followed by in vitro selection with Phytophthora palmivora culture filtrate (CF) generated several putative mutants potentially resistant to black rot. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the black rot resistance levels of these putative mutants, to estimate the genetic variability among them and non-mutagenized controls using inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) analysis, and to identify candidate markers with significant associations to black rot resistance. When 3 non-mutagenized control lines and 8 putative mutants, derived from ethyl methane sulfonate (EMS) or sodium azide (NaN₃) induced mutation, followed by in vitro selection were evaluated for black rot resistance using detached leaf assay with a virulent isolate NK-53-9, it was found that all controls were susceptible to black rot, but the resistance levels of putative mutants varied. Four of eight putative mutants were moderately resistant or resistant to the disease, suggesting their usefulness in the breeding program. ISSR analysis of these controls and putative mutants with 7 ISSR primers yielded 7 to 29 reproducible bands per primer, ranging in size from 170 to 2100 bp. A total of 114 amplified ISSR fragments were obtained, 53 of which were polymorphic (46.5%). All controls have the same DNA patterns, while all 8 putative mutants showed altered genetic profiles compared to controls and were identified as mutants. The mutant SUT13E18-A appears to have distinct genetic profile compared to others as well as high level of resistance to black rot. Moreover, five ISSR markers significantly associated with black rot resistance were identified. These results suggest that ISSR analysis is efficient for mutant identification and characterization, and in vitro chemical mutagenesis followed by in vitro selection with P. palmivora CF provides a useful tool for future improvement of black rot resistant Dendrobium.

Department of Plant Pathology, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Mohanpur, Nadia, 741252, West Bengal, India.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.37855/jah.2017.v19i02.24

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Abstract: Betelvine (Piper betle L.) is a perennial dioecious creeper-belonging to the family Piperaceae usually grown under artificially erected structurals known as baroj that provides high moist and humid conditions favouring several diseases that in turn are major deterrents to good harvest. Betelvine suffers from many root and aerial diseases of which leaf rot caused by Phytophthora parasitica (Dastur) and leaf spot caused by Colletotrichum capsici Syd. (Butler and Bisby) are most important and are included in these studies for assessment. The extent of losses may vary from 20-40% for leaf rot and 10-20% for leaf spot, leading to almost total crop failure (Dasgupta and Sen, 1999). As the betel leaf is directly chewed immediately after harvest, it is not feasible to apply any pesticides that may cause toxic hazards to human being. An experiment was conducted for two consecutive years to study the effect of different crop canopy by maintaining three different plant to plant spacing (viz., 11.1, 9.53 and 8.3 cm.) on leaf yield, disease incidence and keeping quality (days to 50% rotting) of betelvine. With the above plant to plant spacing and standard row to row spacing (60cm), the plant population was maintained as 1.50, 1.75 and 2.00 lakh ha^-1. The results revealed that when crop canopy was increased by reducing the plant to plant spacing from 11.1 cm to 8.3 cm there were significant increases in both the diseases under investigation (rot disease 19.76 to 22.30%; leaf spot disease 22.68 to 25.42%). Significant increase in yield (26.29 to 33.63 lakh ha^-1year ^-1), decrease in fresh weight of 100 leaves (460.85 to 432.35g) and decrease in keeping quality of leaves (13.14 days to 10.28 days) were recorded when crop canopy was increased by reduction in plant to plant spacing from 11.1 cm to 8.3 cm. From these results it can be concluded that shifts in microclimate resulting from increase in canopy by reducing the plant spacing aggravated the spread and infection of disease.

Department of Floriculture and Landscaping,Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Mohanpur, Nadia.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.37855/jah.2017.v19i02.25

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Abstract: A field experiment was carried out in Entisol soil at Horticulture Research Station, BCKV, Nadia to study the response of integrated plant nutrient supply system on gerbera under poly house condition. Different combinations of chemical fertilizer (100, 75 and 50% RDF), organic manure (FYM and vermicompost) and bio-fertilizer (Azoztobacter and PSB) were evaluated in Randomized Block Design. Healthy disease free tissue culture gerbera plants with uniform growth were planted in the bed of a size 10 x 1 m with a spacing of 50 x 50 cm. The growth attributes, flowering characteristics, flowering quality (stalk length and flower size) was improved under the treatment receiving 75% RDF along with FYM, vermicompost and Azotobacter + PSB. The maximum numbers of flower with longest shelf life in field condition and vase life in room condition can be harvested with combined application of 75% RDF, FYM, vermicompost along with or without Azotobacter + PSB. The bio-fertilizer had significant role in flower quality improvement.

Department of Horticulture (Fruit and Fruit Technology), Bihar Agricultural University, Sabour, Bhagalpur, Bihar, India- 813210. Division of Fruits and Horticultural Technology, Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, India- 110012.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.37855/jah.2017.v19i02.26

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Abstract: Citrus is one of the most economically important fruit crops in the world, greatly valued as table fruit as well as in the processing industry. Among the different citrus fruits, pummelo plays a major role in the processing industry. However, the presence of a large number of seeds in pummelo greatly hinders processing quality. Therefore, induction of seedlessness in pummelo is one of the major goals around the world. Currently, irradiated pollen technique emerges as a novel tool for induction of seedlessness in any fruit. However, reduction of fruit size is a great concern in irradiated pollen technique. Hence, an experiment was conducted to study the effect of gamma ray irradiated pollen technique on fruit growth in citrus using pummelo (C. grandis (L.) Osb.) as seed parent while sweet orange (Citrus sinensis (L.) Osb.) cv. ‘Mosambi’ and sweet lemon (C. limetta Risso) as pollen sources. Irradiation of pollen grains was performed at 50, 100, 200, 300 and 400 Gray (Gy) by using ⁶⁰Co gamma ray and the experiment was laid out in complete randomized design with 5 replications. With the increased doses of irradiation, fruit growth in terms of length, diameter, weight and volume differed significantly throughout the period of observation starting from 35 days after pollination to till maturity. At maturity, maximum fruit length (387.70 mm), weight (590.27 g) and volume (885.27 cc) were recorded in C. grandis × C. limetta crosses at control while minimum fruit length (129.74 mm) and weight (211.54 g) were observed in C. grandis × C. sinensis crosses at 300 Gy. There was no fruit retention till maturity in either cross combination at 400 Gy. Among two different cross combinations, with the increased dose of irradiation, the rate of reduction in fruit growth in terms of length and weight as compared to respective control was much higher in C. grandis × C. sinensis crosses. However, for the production of marketable size fruits (not more than 300 g), irradiation of either pollen parent at 200-300 Gy was found to be the best while, doses below 200 Gy caused the production of fruits weighing more than 400 g, which do not have good market value.

Agrotechnology, Gunadarma University Jl. Margonda Raya No 100, Depok, Indonesia 16424. Department of Agronomy and Agriculture, Faculty of Agriculture, Bogor Agricultural University (IPB), Jl. Meranti Kampus IPB Darmaga, Bogor, Indonesia 16680. Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, Bogor Agricultural University (IPB), Jl. Kamper, Kampus IPB Darmaga, Bogor, Indonesia 16680. Center for Tropical Horticulture Studies, Jl. Raya Pajajaran, Bogor, Indonesia 16144.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.37855/jah.2017.v19i02.27

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Abstract: The melon aphid or cotton aphid (Aphis gossypii Glover) is one of the major pests of pepper. Chemical based crop protection is the major way to control aphid until now. The use of resistant varieties may help to reduce the use of insecticides, together with Integrated Pest Management. The objective of this research was to identify the antixenosis and antibiosis based resistance of melon aphids in several pepper genotypes that may be explored as sources of resistance in aphid resistance breeding program of pepper. We used choice and no-choice test, and detached leaf based experiments. Antixenosis based resistance was detected as shown by significant number of aphid per leaf, total aphid per plant, and total winged aphid per plant. Antibiosis based resistance was also detected as shown by significant difference in longevity time, reproduction time, number of aphid progeny per day, and the fecundity of the melon aphid among genotypes.

Faculty of Agricultural Technology, King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang, Bangkok, 10520, Thailand.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.37855/jah.2017.v19i02.28

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Abstract: This study examined fumigation toxicity of 18 medicinal plant essential oils (EOs) against adult of aphid (Aphid gossypii) and whitefly (Bemisia tabaci). Then, non-target effects of the EO mixtures on physiological changes of eggplant (Solanum melongena) were tested. The insecticidal property and physiological toxicity of the fumigation formulas were also examined and compared to methyl bromide (MB) fumigation. The results showed that the eggplant fumigated with clove (Syzygium aromaticum) and lemon grass (Cymbopogon citratus) EOs mixture at the ratio of 1:3 (Cl1Le3) showed no significant physiological changes when compared to the control treatment. The formula resulted in similarly high mortalities (82-100%) of both insects when compared to MB. However, MB fumigation caused complete senescence appeared before day 3 observations. On the contrary, the eggplant fumigated with Cl1Le3 at 3 µL/L air showed no differences in the physiological changes when compared to the control throughout the 9-day examinations.

Department of Horticulture, University of Georgia, 1111 Miller Plant Science Building, Athens, GA 30602. 111 Fieldstone Farms Dr. Coweta, GA 30278,

DOI: https://doi.org/10.37855/jah.2017.v19i02.29

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Abstract: Inoculation techniques were evaluated for the transmission of Zucchini Yellow Mosaic Virus (ZYMV) to susceptible squash (Cucurbita pepo L.) variety, Gentry. Two different types of airbrush sprayers (gravity fed and siphon fed) were evaluated in comparison to the standard method of rub inoculating leaves dusted with carborundum abrasive. In addition, the number of inoculations (1-3) with the airbrush sprayers and whether the carborundum dust was directly applied to leaves or mixed with the inoculum were also evaluated. The standard method consistently had high infection rates of 90% or greater, whereas the airbrush sprayers had inoculation rates of 30%-97%. Whether the carborundum was dusted or applied in the inoculum solution had no impact on infection rate. The greater the number of inoculations the greater the infection rate in two out of three experiments. In conclusion, the airbrush sprayer may be helpful during preliminary screening; however, it should not be relied on as the sole method of inoculation.

Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru College of Agriculture and Research Institute, Karaikal, Puducherry - 609603.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.37855/jah.2017.v19i02.30

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Abstract: To evaluate the efficiency of tank silt with organic manures, pot culture experiment was conducted at Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru College of Agriculture and Research Institute, Karaikal on Sorakudy soil series using okra as test crop with 13 treatments. Wherein, absolute control and application of 100% recommended dose of fertilizer (RDF) was compared with the application of tank silt (TS) alone @ 2 t ha^-1 and different organic manures viz., press mud (PM), sewage sludge (SS), water hyacinth compost (WHC), FYM and spent wash (SW). The same set of treatments were repeated with 100% RDF. The results revealed that fruit yield was higher with TS+PM+ remaining through fertilizer (RTF) and it was comparable with RDF, TS+RTF, TS+SS+RDF and TS+PM+RDF. With regard to the quality of fruits, the chlorophyll and ascorbic acid content was higher in TS+WHC+RDF and TS+PM+RDF, respectively. The mucilage content was more with TS+SW+RDF. The absolute control treatment recorded the highest crude fibre content and physiological loss in weight (PLW). The study revealed that addition of this organo mineral amendments could positively influence the yield and quality of okra when applied over and above the 100% RDF rather than accounting their nutrient contribution during fertilization.

Department of Botany, Kurukshetra University Kurukshetra, Haryana, 136119.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.37855/jah.2017.v19i02.31

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Abstract: The dominant AMF Glomus mosseae (G) and Acaulospora laevis (A) were isolated from the rhizosphere soil of Z. elegans Jacq. and mass produced in laboratory for further studies. A pot experiment was performed to see the interactive potential of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (G. mosseae and A. laevis) alone or in combination with Trichoderma viride (T) and Pseudomonas fluorescens (P) on Z. elegans under glass house conditions. The experiment were conducted in a factorial arrangement based completely randomized design with five replicates. Various morphological (plant height, shoot biomass, root biomass, root length, leaf area, flower number, diameter) and biochemical attributes (chlorophyll, carotenoids, flower anthocyanin content, P content, total sugar, starch and protein content) were measured after 60 days. The results indicated a variation in growth response of Z. elegans with different treatments. AMF alone or in combination helped in increasing the different parameters of Z. elegans. The combination of G+A showed maximum increase of growth parameters followed by G+T and G+A+P. Consortium inoculation of bioinoculants plants with G+A+T+P treatment proved to be the best treatment for total proteins and total chlorophyll content while flower anthocyanin content was best in G+A treatment. AMF promotes higher AM colonization and spore number enhancing nutrient acquisition especially phosphorus, producing plant growth hormones resulting in an improvement of rhizospheric condition of soil, altering the physiological and biochemical properties of Z. elegans. Based on different parameters studied, G. mosseae was found to be an efficient bioinoculant as compared to A. laevis for growth enhancement of Z. elegans.

Date palm Research Center of Excellence, King Faisal University, Saudi Arabia, Central Laboratory for Date palm Research and Development, Agriculture Research Center, Giza, Egypt.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.37855/jah.2017.v19i02.16

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Abstract: The rational of the study was to determine the effect of different concentrations of sucrose (20 and 40 g/L) and activated charcoal (0.5, 1 and 1.5 g/L) alone (control) and in combinations on the somatic embryogenesis of date palm cv. Sukkary. The results of two-factorial (sucrose and activated charcoal) randomized complete design indicated that no embryogenesis growth occurred when MS media was used without the addition of carbon source. The individual and combined effects of 40 g/L sucrose and 1 g/L activated charcoal produced sturdy embryogenesis and its related traits. The use of 40 g/L sucrose caused significant improvement in the number of somatic embryos (49.92), length of somatic embryos (1.08 cm), fresh weight of somatic embryos (1.54 g), dry weight of somatic embryos (0.148 g), germination of somatic embryos (4.92), and length of leaflets (2.14 cm). Similarly, use of 1 g/L of activated charcoal significantly increased the number (42.89), length (0.99 cm), fresh weight (1.29 g), dry weight (0.156 g), germination (3.22) of somatic embryos, and length of leaflets (1.47 cm) as compared to other treatments. Results also showed that the combined application of 40 g/L sucrose and 1 g/L activated charcoal significantly enhanced the number of somatic embryos (69.67), length of somatic embryos (1.37 cm), fresh weight of somatic embryos (2.18 g), dry weight of somatic embryos (0.262 g), germination of somatic embryos (6.33), and length of leaflets (2.57 cm) as compared to other treatment combinations. However, the same sucrose level with 0.5 g/L activated charcoal concentration also showed promising results.

Faculty of Agriculture, Ryukoku University, Otsu 529-2194, Japan, (Former affiliation, Kyoto Prefectural University). Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Kyoto Prefectural University, Kyoto 606-8522, Japan.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.37855/jah.2017.v19i02.17

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Abstract: Anthocyanins are natural pigments distributed widely among higher plants. Anthocyanins in plant-derived food are also important nutrient constituents, due to their dietary health benefits. Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) is an important vegetable crop grown worldwide, many with anthocyanins in their fruit tissues, but the pigmentation varies specially in the popular purple tomato. To develop tomatoes with a high anthocyanin content, we conducted cultivation experiments under natural temperature and sunlight conditions using two purple cherry tomato cultivars ‘Toscana Violet’ and ‘Blue Bingo’ and an ordinary cherry tomato cultivar ‘Amakko’ as a control to clarify problems which we may encounter during year-round cultivation of purple tomatoes. The content of anthocyanins was high in the tomatoes cultivated in the winter but extremely low in those cultivated in the summer. These findings suggested that the high temperature in summer may cause poor anthocyanin production resulting in less pigmented fruits, although the yield of fruits itself is not be affected greatly. Furthermore, treatment of ‘Blue Bingo’ fruits at late growth and maturation stage by a night (8 h)-and-day (16 h) temperature regime of 15-22 ?C resulted in marked accumulation of anthocyanins in skin and outer pericarp of the fruits, but those of 20-27 ?C and 25-32 ?C had no or little accumulation.

College of Agriculture, Universitas Sriwijaya, Inderalaya 30662, Indonesia. Graduate School, Universitas Sriwijaya, Palembang 30139, Indonesia. STIPER Sriwigama, Palembang 30137, Indonesia.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.37855/jah.2017.v19i01.03

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Abstract: Non-destructive measurement of leaf area (LA) is preferred in growth analysis and plant physiological studies. Many regression-based models have been developed for estimating LA using leaf length (L), leaf width (W), or imaginary rectangle of L x W (LW) as predictor or independent variable. Objective of this study was to develop and validate appropriate regression models for estimating snap bean trifoliate LA using easily measured L, W, or calculated LW. Snap bean used in this research was PV072 cultivar. Trifoliate-leaf samples were purposively collected from different individual plants, to represent wide range of leaf sizes, from the smallest leaf with fully open blade to the largest available leaf. Snap bean trifoliate leaf consists of three leaflets. The sampled leaves were alternately divided into two subgroups, based on length of terminal leaflet, for developing and validating LA estimation models. Linear, quadratic, and power regressions were evaluated for their appropriateness to be used for estimating LA. Intercept (a) was forced to zero to make the models more geometrically realistic. Results of this research indicated that: (1) zero-intercept quadratic and power regression models performed well if length of leaflet (Lt) or width of leaflet (Wt) was used as predictor, whereas zero-intercept linear model was appropriate and geometrically-sound if imaginary rectangular Lt x Wt (LtWt) was used for estimating surface area of both terminal and side leaflets (LtA); (2) for a practical, fast, and accurate estimation of LA, LtWt of terminal leaflet was the recommended option among other single or combination of predictors; and (3) recommended empirical model for LA estimation of snap bean trifoliate leaf is LA = 1.5198 LtWt.