Advances in coconut micropropagation: prospects, constraints and way forward

Coconut is widely referred to as the "Tree of Life," holds immense value due to its versatility and significant role in numerous sectors including industry, agriculture, food and health. In recent years, a troubling decline in coconut production has been observed due to factors such as palm senility, pests, diseases and natural calamities which poses serious threats to industries and communities that rely highly on this crop thereby creating a gap between demand and supply. Addressing this gap requires innovative solutions and plant tissue culture techniques offer a promising path forward. Tissue culture techniques such as zygotic embryogenesis (mature embryo culture and sliced embryo culture), organogenesis (axillary bud culture and embryo derived shoot tip culture) and somatic embryogenesis have shown great potential for regenerating coconut plants. Axillary bud culture, offers a reliable alternative for producing elite plants with the added benefit of being free from the risk of somaclonal variation, while somatic embryogenesis, in particular has proven to be highly effective for producing large numbers of high-quality planting materials. However, each technique has its own share of shortcomings. Overcoming these challenges and closing the gap between demand and supply is critical for the mass production of elite coconut seedlings. This review explores the different micropropagation techniques, the hurdles facing coconut tissue culture and the potential for future breakthroughs

Design and development of three-row improved pull-type rice transplanter for small farmers

A pull-type transplanter was developed by improvising the functional components of existing six-row manual IRRI rice transplanter. The improved transplanter is capable of planting seedlings in three rows at 250 mm row spacing. Picker mechanism was designed in such a way to perform the planting operation simultaneously as the equipment is being pulled with handle. Thus the push-pull mechanism adopted in the existing transplanter has been eliminated in this improved model, reducing drudgery of operation. While evaluating the unit in different puddling conditions as well as textural conditions, the field capacity was observed as 0.058 ha/h with field efficiency of 85.4% at the draft of 261.7 N. Percentage of missing hills was found as 9.61 with the optimized growing density of seedling of 60 g/mat. The ground wheel diameter was optimized as 500 mm based on intra-row spacing as well as force requirement for pulling the unit. The picker-finger width of 3 mm was optimized as there was high mortality rate observed with other fingers. For the optimized picker-finger width, single seedling was observed in 12.1% hills, double seedlings in 30.4% hills, triple seedlings in 31.7% hills, and 25.8% hills are planted with more than three seedlings. By employing ergonomic consideration in seedling picking mechanism, the energy requirement with improved transplanter was reduced to 19.84 kJ/min from 26.41 as in existing transplanter, and hence there was 24.9% reduction in drudgery. Although energy cost with improved transplanter is graded as ‘heavy’, the unit can be operated effectively with the recommended rest-pause of 12.5 min for every 45 min. Cost of transplanting with the equipment worked out ` 1 150 per ha with a cost-saving of 80.8% in addition to time-saving of 91.3% compared to hand transplanting. The improved transplanter has good scope for introduction in marginal farms

Not Available

Not AvailableA pull-type transplanter was developed by improvising the functional components of existing six-row manual IRRI rice transplanter. The improved transplanter is capable of planting seedlings in three rows at 250 mm row spacing. Picker mechanism was designed in such a way to perform the planting operation simultaneously as the equipment is being pulled with handle. Thus the push-pull mechanism adopted in the existing transplanter has been eliminated in this improved model, reducing drudgery of operation. While evaluating the unit in different puddling conditions as well as textural conditions, the field capacity was observed as 0.058 ha/h with field efficiency of 85.4% at the draft of 261.7 N. Percentage of missing hills was found as 9.61 with the optimized growing density of seedling of 60 g/mat. The ground wheel diameter was optimized as 500 mm based on intra-row spacing as well as force requirement for pulling the unit. The picker-finger width of 3 mm was optimized as there was high mortality rate observed with other fingers. For the optimized picker-finger width, single seedling was observed in 12.1% hills, double seedlings in 30.4% hills, triple seedlings in 31.7% hills, and 25.8% hills are planted with more than three seedlings. By employing ergonomic consideration in seedling picking mechanism, the energy requirement with improved transplanter was reduced to 19.84 kJ/min from 26.41 as in existing transplanter, and hence there was 24.9% reduction in drudgery. Although energy cost with improved transplanter is graded as ‘heavy’, the unit can be operated effectively with the recommended rest-pause of 12.5 min for every 45 min. Cost of transplanting with the equipment worked out Rs. 1150 per ha with a cost-saving of 80.8% in addition to time-saving of 91.3% compared to hand transplanting. The improved transplanter has good scope for introduction in marginal farms.Not Availabl