Effect of growing conditions on seed yield and quality of cucumber (Cucumis stivus) hybrid

The present investigation was carried out at Centre for Protected Cultivation Technology (CPCT) farm at Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), New Delhi during summer and kharif seasons 2011 under naturally ventilated polyhouse, insect proof net house and open field conditions to study the influence of different growing conditions on seed yield and quality of cucumber (Cucumis sativus) hybrid (Cv Pant Shankar Khira 1) seed production. The seed parent and pollen parent were grown in 3:1 ratio. Water and nutrients were provided through drip fertigation in all three conditions. In all three growing conditions, vine length and number of leaf nodes were significantly more in kharif season compared to summer season. Number of fruit developed to maturity was significantly more in kharif (2.15) than summer (1.90). The vine length, number of leaves, fruit weight, fruit length and fruit width were significantly higher under naturally ventilated polyhouse and insect proof net house compared to open field in both of the seasons. The number of seeds/fruit was significantly higher in insect proof net house (204.15) and naturally ventilated polyhouse (188.35) as compared to open condition (126.05). The seed yield/fruit, seed yield/plant and seed yield per 1000 m2 were significantly higher in kharif season as compared to summer. Whereas higher seed yield was recorded in insect proof net house followed by naturally ventilated polyhouse and open field condition. The seed quality attributes, viz. germination percentage, seedling length, seedling dry weight, vigour index I and II and seed moisture content immediately after harvest were also significantly superior in naturally ventilated polyhouse and insect proof net house in comparison to open field conditions. The benefit-cost ratio (BCR) is higher in insect proof net house (1:2.25) followed by open condition (1:1.12) naturally ventilated polyhouse (1:0.37)

Effect of stage of harvest and post-harvest ripening of fruits on hybrid seed yield and quality in pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata)

The effect of stage of harvest and post-harvest ripening of fruits on seed yield and quality in Pusa Hybrid 1 pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata Duchesne ex Poir) was studied during summer 2008 and 2009 at Seed Production Unit Farm, IARI, New Delhi. Among the six different treatments of harvesting and post-harvest ripening stages, viz. H1-50 DAA, H2 - 60 DAA, H3 - 70 DAA, H1P1 - 50 DAA + 10 PHR, H1P2 - 50 DAA + 20 PHR and H2P1 - 60 DAA + 10 PHR, the fruits harvested at H3 stage outperformed others in respect of fruit weight (3.77 kg), fruit diameter (22.34 cm), cavity length (16.22 cm) and cavity diameter (16.06 cm). However, fruits obtained from H2P1 (60 DAA + 10 PHR) recorded significantly higher number of filled seeds (489.85), total number of seeds (494.35), 100 seed weight (14.68 g) and other seed quality attributes, viz. germination (93.44 %), seedling length (31.26 cm), seedling dry weight (54.96 mg), vigour index - I & II (2921.65 and 5141.64) compared to other treatments. The seed obtained from H2P1 also showed superiority in seed anatomical attributes such as weight of the seed coat (0.294 g), embryo (0.024 g) and cotyledons (1.413 g) as well as protein (399.5 mg/g) and oil (45.5 %) content indicating highest level of development and metabolic gain of the seed

Physiological maturity and its influence on seed yield and quality in cucumber (Cucumis sativus) under different growing environments

To study the physical and physiological changes occurred during maturation in fruit and seeds of cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) (cv. Pant Shankar Khira-1) grown under naturally ventilated polyhouse, insect proof net house and open field conditions at Centre for Protected Cultivation Technology (CPCT) farm, Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), New Delhi during summer and kharif seasons 2011. The fruits were harvested at 25, 30, 35, 40 and 45 days from anthesis (DFA) and seeds were extracted following fermentation. Various physical parameters, viz. fruit weight, fruit length, fruit width, number of filled seeds, number of unfilled seeds, 100 seed weight, seed yield/fruit, seed fresh weight, seed dry weight were recorded. The physiological maturity was evaluated by germinating seeds before and after drying. There were only small, non-significant difference in germinability among seed harvested at 35, 40 and 45 DFA, all of which were of higher quality than seeds which had been harvested at 25 and 30 DFA. The analysis of data showed that the seeds attained physiological maturity at 35 DFA under naturally ventilated poly house and insect proof net house, whereas at 40 DFA under open field condition