Genetic Variability in Indian Spinach (Basella alba L.)

Evaluation of eleven germplasm lines of the Indian spinach (basella) revealed maximum leaf weight/plant in IIHR-1 (160.5g), followed by IIHR-18 (111.6g) and IIHR-3 (98.3g). Results of genetic studies revealed that phenotypic coefficient of variation was higher than genotypic coefficient of variation for all the traits studied, indicating environmental influence on expression of these characters. Moderate heritability along with high genetic advance was recorded for leaf weight and total plant weight, indicating the presence of additive gene effects. Hence, selection can be employed for improvement of these characters in basella. Higher plant weight was found to be significantly and positively associated with branch number, leaf number, leaf weight and stem weight. Leaf number had the maximum direct positive effect on total plant weight, followed by leaf length. Indirect effects of other characters through these characters were also seen to be positive. Thus, for yield improvement in basella, emphasis may be laid on indirect selection through leaf characters like leaf number, leaf length and leaf weight

Characterization, inheritance of male sterility and development of male sterile and maintainer lines in ridge gourd (Luffa acutangula (Roxb.) L.)

Two male sterile mutants IIHRRG-12MS (long fruited) and IIHRRG-28MS (medium long fruited) were identified from the ridge gourd germplasm IIHR-12 and IIHR-28 respectively at ICAR-IIHR, Bengaluru. These two male-sterile (ms) sources were characterized by the production of rudimentary male flowers in the racemes in contrast to the bright yellow flowers with fertile pollen and healthy anthers in male fertile, monoecious plants. Using these ms lines the inheritance of male sterility was worked out, which is cytoplasmic genic male sterility (CGMS) type, with single dominant gene either in homozygous or heterozygous condition restoring male fertility in the presence of sterile cytoplasm. In order to develop F1 hybrids using male sterility, several male sterile and maintainer lines were developed in different genetic back grounds such as green/dark green fruit colour and short/medium long/long fruit length

IN VITRO BIOMOLECULAR PROTECTIVE EFFECT OF CINNAMOMUM ZEYLANICUM BARK EXTRACTS AGAINST OXIDATIVE DAMAGE

Objective: Free radicals play an important role in the pathogenesis of many disorders by damaging important biomolecules such as lipids, proteins and DNA. Natural antioxidants are safer, cheaper and potential therapeutics to scavenge free radicals. Hence, this study was aimed to assess the biomolecular protective effect of Cinnamomum zeylanicum bark, a culinary spice, on the oxidant-treated membrane lipids and DNA in cell-free systems.Methods: The total phenolics and flavonoid content of the bark were estimated. The extent of inhibition of lipid peroxidation (LPO) by aqueous, methanolic and chloroform extracts of bark was studied in vitro in three different membrane models such as goat RBC ghosts, goat liver homogenate, and goat liver slices which differ in architecture and lipid composition. The extent of inhibition of oxidant-induced DNA damage by the bark extracts was assessed in commercial DNA preparations such as pBR322, herring sperm, and calf thymus DNA.Results: The total phenolic content was 153.33±23.09 mg of pyrocatechol equivalents/g, and flavonoid was 33.66±1.15 mg of catechin equivalents/g of powdered bark. All the three extracts exhibited a considerable inhibition of LPO in all the membrane systems, and most significant inhibition was exerted by methanolic extract on the RBC ghosts. All the three extracts were able to revert the oxidant-induced DNA damage, and more significant DNA protection was rendered by methanolic extract on calf thymus DNA.Conclusion: The present study showed that C. zeylanicum bark is a nutraceutical rich in phenolic antioxidants that can protect biomolecules against oxidative stress.Keywords: Lipid and DNA models, Lipid peroxidation (LPO), DNA damage, Antioxidant activity, C. zeylanicum bar

Genetic variability, correlation and path analysis in bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria (Mol. Standl.) germplasm

The present investigation was conducted to determine the variability, heritability, genetic advance and correlation of fruit yield and ten different yield contributing characters in bottle gourd. Wide range of variation was observed for most of the characters like fruit yield/vine, fruit number/vine, fruit weight, fruit yield/ha and node number for first female flower appearance. Phenotypic coefficient of variation was higher than genotypic coefficient of variation for all the traits studied, indicating environmental influence on expression of these characters. However, high heritability (broad sense) along with high genetic advance was recorded by vinelength, branch number, fruit length, fruit width, fruit yield/vine and yield/ha indicating the presence of additive gene effects, hence selection can be employed for the improvement of these parameters. Fruit yield/ ha was significantly and positively associated with fruit number/vine and fruit yield/vine both at genotypic as well as phenotypic levels. Fruit number had maximum direct effect (0.812) on fruit yield/ha followed by fruit weight (0.407), fruit length (0.339), fruit width (0.310), fruit yield/vine (0.249), days taken for first female flower appearance (0.224) and vine length (0.173). Therefore for the yield improvement in bottle gourd, emphasismay be given for indirect selection through fruit parameters like fruit weight, fruit length, fruit number and fruit yield/vine

Antioxidant-Rich Amaranth Varieties, Arka Samraksha and Arka Varna

Amaranth improvement in India hither to was concerned with development of high-yielding varieties, and hardly any research efforts have been made for its nutritional improvement. Keeping this in view, at Indian Institute of Horticultural Research two high-yielding amaranth varieties, Arka Samraksha and Arka Varna with high antioxidant activity, low amounts of nitrates and oxalates were developed using modified bulk method of selection from segregating population of the crosses IIHR-4 x IIHR-70 and IIHR-7 x IIHR-30 . Arka Samraksha is a high-yielding (10.9 t/ha in 30-35 days), pulling-type variety with green leaves and stem, antioxidant activity of 499mg (AEAC units) and minimum nitrate content of 27.3 mg and 1.34 g oxalates per 100 g fresh leaf weight. Arka Varna also a pulling type, high-yielding variety (10.6 t/ha in 30-35 days) with green leaves and a pink stem, high antioxidant activity of 417 mg (AEAC units), low nitrate content of 37.6 mg and 1.42 g oxalates per 100 g fresh leaf weight

Heterosis and combining ability for yield and its related traits in ridge gourd [Luffa acutangula (L.)Roxb.]

Line × Tester analysis involving three lines and four testers was carried out in ridge gourd [Luffa acutangula (Roxb.) L.]. Significant variation was noticed in the mean performance of the parents and hybrids for all the characters studied except for vine length and fruit girth. The results from GCA and SCA variance indicated the predominance of non-additive gene action for all the traits except fruit girth. Significant heterosis of 177.78% over standard check, Arka Sumeet for fruit weight per plant was expressed by the cross GARG-1 × CO-1. The best general combiners were GARG-1 and Pusa Nutan among the lines, and Jaipur long and CO-1 among testers. Best specific combining ability effects for fruit length and yield (t/ ha) were recorded by the crosses Pusa Nasdar × Arka Sumeet and GARG-1 × CO-1

Genetic Diversity in Early Cauliflower (Brassica oleracea Var. botrytis L.) Germplasm

An experiment was conducted to study genetic divergence in 51 genotypes of cauliflower. Data was recorded for 16 quantitative characters. The genotypes were grouped into 14 clusters. A majority of the genotypes grouped together in Cluster 14 (with 14 genotypes), followed by Cluster 12 (with 8 genotypes). Intra-cluster value was maximum in Cluster 8 and minimum in Cluster 2. Maximum inter-cluster distance was observed between Clusters 8 and 10, followed by that between Clusters 10 and 13 and between Clusters 8 and 12. Hence, genotypes IIHR-323-13, IIHR-214- 5 and IIHR-277-14 of Cluster 8, and genotypes IIHR-263 and IIHR-272 of cluster 10 present the best choice for hybridization. Highest mean value for plant weight, leaf number, curd diameter, curd size, net curd-weight , net plot yield, yield per hectare and marketable curd-weight was also observed in Cluster 10, which indicates that genotypes included in this cluster are potential parents for hybridization programmes aimed at increasing cauliflower yields

High-Yielding Multicut Coriander Variety, Arka Isha

Coriander (Coriandrum sativum L.) is one of the important leafy vegetables having a pleasant aroma. Very little research work has been done on improvement of leafy coriander and only a few local varieties, low-yielding and with low aroma, are available in the market. Research work at Indian Institute of Horticultural Research has resulted in development of a leafy coriander variety, Arka Isha, with a high yield potential and good aroma. It is a multicut variety where the plants are bushy, leaves are broad and leaf lobes are short, and the variety is late flowering. Yield is 3.74t ha-1 by pulling at 40 days after sowing, and 11.98t ha-1 by cutting. Leaves have 167.05mg 100g-1 of Vitamin C, with good aroma and keeping-quality

Identification of Sickle Cell Anemia Using Deep Neural Networks

A molecule called hemoglobin is found in red blood cells that holds oxygen all over the body. Hemoglobin is elastic, round, and stable in a healthy human. This makes it possible to float across red blood cells. But the composition of hemoglobin is unhealthy if you have sickle cell disease. It refers to compact and bent red blood cells. The odd cells obstruct the flow of blood. It is dangerous and can result in severe discomfort, organ damage, heart strokes, and other symptoms. The human life expectancy can be shortened as well. The early identification of sickle calls will help people recognize signs that can assist antibiotics, supplements, blood transfusion, pain-relieving medications, and treatments etc. The manual assessment, diagnosis, and cell count are time consuming process and may result in misclassification and count since millions of red blood cells are in one spell. When utilizing data mining techniques such as the multilayer perceptron classifier algorithm, sickle cells can be effectively detected with high precision in the human body. The proposed approach tackles the limitations of manual research by implementing a powerful and efficient MLP (Multi-Layer Perceptron) classification algorithm that distinguishes Sickle Cell Anemia (SCA) into three classes: Normal (N), Sickle Cells(S) and Thalassemia (T) in red blood cells. This paper also presents the precision degree of the MLP classifier algorithm with other popular mining and machine learning algorithms on the dataset obtained from the Thalassemia and Sickle Cell Society (TSCS) located in Rajendra Nagar, Hyderabad, Telangana, India. Doi: 10.28991/esj-2021-01270 Full Text: PD

Genetic Variability, Correlation and Path Analysis in Ridge Gourd [Luffa acutangula (Roxb.) L.]

The present investigation was made to determine variability, heritability, genetic advance and correlation of fruit yield with 10 yield-contributing traits in ridge gourd. A wide variability was observed for days taken to first female flower appearance, fruit length, fruit number/plant, fruit weight and fruit yield/ha. Phenotypic coefficient of variation was higher than genotypic coefficient of variation for all the traits studied, indicating environmental influence on the expression of these traits. However, high heritability (broad-sense), along with high genetic advance, was recorded in node number at which first female-flower appeared, number of branches, fruit length, number of fruits/plant and fruit weight, indicating presence of additive gene effects. Fruit yield/ha was significantly and positively associated with peduncle length, fruit length, number of fruits/plant (at the phenotypic level), fruit weight and fruit yield/plant. Fruit weight had the highest direct effect (0.847) on fruit yield/ha, followed by fruit yield/plant (0.793), fruit number (0.344), peduncle length (0.237) and number of branches (0.216). Therefore, for yield improvement in ridge gourd, emphasis may be laid on indirect selection using fruit parameters like fruit weight, number of fruits/plant and fruit yield/plant. &nbsp