Evaluation of Papaya (Carica papaya L.) Hybrids for Yield and Papain Recovery

Six papaya hybrids, viz., CO-1 × Pusa Nanha, CO-2 × Pusa Nanha, CO-4 × Pusa Nanha, CO-5 × Pusa Nanha, CO-6 × Pusa Nanha and CO-7 × Pusa Nanha, along with their respective parents, were evaluated for fruit yield and quality. Higher fruit yield was recorded in hybrids CO-2 × Pusa Nanha, CO-4 × Pusa Nanha and CO-5 × Pusa Nanha at first harvest. Higher papain recovery was seen in CO-2 × Pusa Nanha and CO-5 × Pusa Nanha and activity of this enzyme was highest in CO-5 × Pusa Nanha. For fruit yield at first harvest, hybrids CO-2 × Pusa Nanha, CO-4 × Pusa Nanha, CO-6 × Pusa Nanha and CO-5 × Pusa Nanha recorded higher heterosis over mid- and better parental values. Fruit yield at first harvest exhibited high genotypic and phenotypic coefficient of variation. Days to flowering had the least genotypic and phenotypic coefficient of variation. Highest heritability estimates were recorded for plant height at first flowering, ascorbic acid content and titrable acidity. Fruit yield at first harvest showed high genetic advance as percentage of mean and the least genetic advance was seen for days to flowering. CO-2 × Pusa Nanha, CO-4 × Pusa Nanha, CO-5 × Pusa Nanha and CO-6 × Pusa Nanha showed better yield and earliness, and are recommended for further evaluation

Standardization of Stage-Wise Requirement of Nutrients in Banana Cv. Grande Naine (AAA)

A field trial was conducted during 2009-2010 at College Orchard, Horticultural College and Research Institute, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, to standardize stage-wise requirement of nutrients in banana cv. Grand Naine (AAA). Treatment T16 where application of 100% RDF (165:52.5:495g NPK plant-1) at 4 critical growth stages, i.e., 40:52.5:25, 30:0:35, 30:0:25 and 0:0:15% at the 3rd, 5th, 7th and 9thmonths after planting (MAP), respectively, recorded maximum plant height, pseudostem girth and leaf area index. Maximum bunch weight of 32.15kg was recorded in T16. Higher yield was attributed to more number of (i) hands per bunch, (ii) fingers per hand and (iii) per bunch, besides the higher average weight of the finger. Better quality fruits, with higher TSS, total sugars, low acidity and better sugar:acid blend, were obtained in T16. In treatment T16, where 100% RDF was applied, increased N, P, and K content were seen in the index leaf of the crop. Lower soil-available nutrients, viz., N, P, K, at the higher level of split-application at critical stages of the crop revealed, that, the nutrients applied were utilized efficiently. This was reflected in the better yield and quality obtained. Economics were worked out which indicated T16 as giving the highest cost:benefit ratio (1:3.97)

Effect of Foliar Spray of Nitrogenous Chemicals on Flowering, Fruit Set and Yield in Mango (Mangifera indica L.) Cv. Alphonso

Effect of foliar application of various nitrogenous chemicals on flowering, fruit set and yield of mango cv. Alphonso was studied at the orchard of Horticultural College and Research Institute, Coimbatore, during 2010 - 2011. Maximum number of flowering shoots (68.7%), number of panicles (7.5/m2), panicle length (31.4cm), number of hermaphrodite flowers (282.5/panicle), fruit set (17.0%), number of fruits (146.0/tree) and fruit yield (43.8 kg/tree) was obtained with foliar spray of KNO3 at 2% concentration. Higher content of chlorophyll (1.7g mg-1), carbohydrate (14.5g 100g-1) and nitrogen (1.43%) and higher C/N ratio (10.18) were also recorded in plants sprayed with 2% KNO3, followed by 1% KNO3

Molecular Diversity Analysis in F3 Intergeneric Population of Papaya (Carica papaya L.)

Attempts were made to estimate molecular diversity present in F3 populations of intergeneric crosses between Carica papaya L. (Var. Pusa Nanha and CP 50) and Vasconcellea cauliflora. Molecular studies revealed that PCR amplification using five ISSR primers in 40 F3 progenies yielded 53 reproducible amplified bands. Of the 53 bands, 44 were polymorphic (83.02%). Polymorphic Information Content (PIC) value ranged between 0.90 (ISSR 807 x 810) and 0.66 (ISSR 834 x 810). Similarity coefficients based on five ISSR markers ranged from 0.05 to 0.96. Maximum similarity was observed for genotypes 1, 4 and 6 of Pusa Nanha x Vasconcellea cauliflora (0.96). Minimum similarity was observed between genotypes 3 and 14 of CP 50 x Vasconcellea cauliflora (0.04). This higher genetic diversity of papaya progenies stands to contribute to development of new varieties and, using the data, further hybridization and selection can be planned

Wax coating affects postharvest shelf-life of non-cooled sweet pepper

Investigations were carried out to determine the effect of wax coating on physical and quality parameters in sweet pepper (Capsicum annuum) cv. Indra under ambient storage (25±5 oC). Wax coating with carnauba wax at 2% produced the lowest physiological loss of weight (PLW), and increased shelf-life, total soluble solids (TSS), total sugar content and ascorbic acid. Wax concentration of > 2% coating had little or no effect, on physical and biochemical characters. This suggested that 2% wax coating increased the shelf life, while concentration of > 2% did not enhance its shelf life. &nbsp

Breaking the intergeneric hybridization barrier in Carica papaya and Vasconcellea cauliflora

The present investigation was undertaken to develop PRSV (Papaya ringspot virus) resistant hybrids through intergeneric hybridization. Intergeneric hybridization was done involving nine Carica papaya cultivars as female and Vasconcellea cauliflora as male. To break the intergeneric hybridization barrier, various nutrient combinations were used. Among the combinations used, sucrose 5%, sucrose 5% + boron 0.5% and sucrose 5% + CaCl2 0.5% improved the fruit set and seed set percentage. A total number of 1197 flowers were pollinated and 308 fruits were obtained. On extraction, 721 seeds were obtained from CO 7, Pusa Nanha and CP 50. Out of 721 F0 seeds (crossed seeds) sown, 419 seeds germinated and artificial screening for PRSV was carried out 27 days after sap inoculation. Out of 29 F1 hybrid plants from CO 7 x V. cauliflora cross, only six plants namely CO 7V1 to CO 7V6 were found free from PRSV symptoms. Similarly, out of 55 F1 hybrids from cross involving Pusa Nanha x V. cauliflora only 23 plants namely PNV1 to PNV23 were found free from the symptoms and 70 plants namely CPV1 to CPV70 out of 335 plants of CP50 x V. cauliflora cross were found free from PRSV symptoms. Among the crosses, Pusa Nanha x V. cauliflora had higher yield under PRSV infected conditions, however, total soluble solids and total sugars were found lesser than the CO 7 x V. cauliflora cross. The hybridity of the progenies were confirmed by using ISSR (Inter Simple Sequence Repeats) primers by the amplification of DNA from progenies and their parents. ISSR primers UBC 856, UBC807 and ISSR primer combinations UBC 856-817, UBC 810-817, UBC 861-817, UBC 856-810, UBC 861-810 and UBC 856-817 clearly amplified specific bands of the male parent, which were present in F1 progenies, but it was absent in female parents

Screening of Banana Hybrids for Resistance to Pratylenchus coffeae

The reaction of twenty-four new synthetic banana hybrids to Pratylenchus coffeae was studied under artificially inoculated pot conditions. Two banana hybrids, H-04-05 and H-04-06 were found to be resistant and ten hybrids, H-04-01, H-04-03, H-04-04, H-04-07, H-04-09, H-04-11, H-04-16, H-04-19, H-04-21 and H-04-24 were found to be tolerant to the lesion nematode, Pratylenchus coffeae and the remaining were rated as susceptible

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Not AvailableThe tremendous genetic diversity of kokum existing in Goa state has not been scientifically documented. Such rich diversity is posed to dangerous threats of genetic erosion due to urbanization and other developments. Systematic identification, documentation and conservation of genetic diversity of kokum either ex situ or in situ are the need of the hour. Therefore, this study was conducted to assess the genetic diversity using morphological traits and to identify the plus trees or mother trees for better fruit charactersAmong the accessions studied, average fruit weight ranged from 6.80 g to 47.60 g. Fourteen accessions were found in the promising cluster for fruit weight above 30 g. The two most promising accessions are Borim-2 from Ponda taluk and Kasarpal - 5 from Bicholim taluk. Average of observations on fruit length ranged from 1.19 (Acc.No. 224) to 4.36cm (Acc.No. 194) with a mean value of 2.63cm. The average fruit diameter varied widely from 1.80 (Acc.No. 188) to 5.51cm (Acc.No. 194) with a mean fruit diameter of 2.97 cm. The highest range of fruit diameter 4.80 to 5.50 cm was found in Bicholim and Pernem taluks. Such geographical pockets are rich potentials for future selection and evaluation. Among 268 accessions studied for fruit shape, 0.75 per cent had spherical fruits with pointed ends, 1.12 per cent had conical, 2.24 per cent had pear, 7.09 per cent had oblong and 88.81 per cent had spherical fruit shapeNot Availabl

Dangerous graphs

Anomalies and faults are inevitable in computer networks, today more than ever before. This is due to the large scale and dynamic nature of the networks used to process big data and to the ever-increasing number of ad-hoc devices. Beyond natural faults and anomalies occurring in a network, threats proceeding from attacks conducted by malicious intruders must be considered. Consequently, there is often a need to quickly isolate and even repair a fault in a network when it appears. Furthermore, despite the presence in a network of faults stemming from malicious entities, we need to identify the latter and their behaviours, and develop protocols resilient to their attacks. Thus, defining models to capture the dangers inherent to various faults, anomalies and threats in a network and studying such threats, has become increasingly important and popular. Threats in networks can be of two kinds: either mobile or stationary. A malicious mobile process can move along the network, whereas a stationary harmful process resides in a host. One of the most studied models for stationary harmful processes is the black hole, which was introduced by Dobrev, Flocchini, Prencipe and Santoro in 2001. A black hole models a network node in which a destructive process deletes any visiting agent or incoming data upon arrival, without leaving any observable trace. Conversely, a network may face one or more malicious mobile processes infecting one or more nodes. Given both kinds of threats, a first crucial task consists in searching for and reporting as quickly as possible the location all faulty nodes while using a minimum number of mobile agents. In general, the main issue is to identify the minimal hypotheses under which faulty nodes can be found. This problem has been investigated in both asynchronous and synchronous networks. A corollary task is to make sure that the protocols designed for solving problems such as gathering and transferring data still work despite the presence of one or more faulty nodes. In this chapter, we review the state-of-the-art of research pertaining to the presence of faulty nodes in a network. We discuss different models in synchronous and asynchronous networks and for different communication and computation capabilities of the agents. We also address relevant computational issues and present algorithmic techniques and impossibility results

Moving and Computing Models: Agents

International audienc