26 research outputs found
Utilization Of Weeds And Agriwaste By Popularizing Handpapermaking In Kerala, India
Kerala in south India grows several cash crops such as banana and
pineapple, the crop residues of which are sources of natural fibres that
can be used in hand papermaking. Kerala, however, does not have a
tradition in hand papermaking. The following is an account of an attempt
to popularize the art and craft of hand papermaking among self-help
groups as a means of self-employment and waste utilization, using fibres
extracted from agriwaste and local plantsCochin University of
Science and TechnologyBioResources 5(3), 1332-133
DNA polymorphism in Cab locus of tomato induced by tissue culture
Plants were regenerated from callus induced from leaf disc explants of a tomato F, hybrid heterozygous
for three marker loci (a), without anthocyanin (aw), and hairless (hl). Regenerants
were studied for somaclonal variation at the phenotypic level by scoring for variation in the marker loci,
and at the DNA level by probing geomic DNA blots with a chlorophyll a/b binding protein (Cab-3C)
cDNA sequence. While no variation was observed at the phenotypic level in over 950 somaclones studied,
DNA polymorphism for the Cab locus could be detected in two out of 17 somaclones tested. Tissue
culture induced variation at the phenotypic level for specific loci is very low (less than 0.001 for a, awor
hl) but DNA sequence changes are induced at much greater frequency (- 0.1 for a multicopy gene family
such as Cab)
Somatic embryogenesis in Triticum aestivum L. Morphological observations on germination
Somatic embryos were induced from scutellar callus of immature zygotic embryos of T aestivum cv.
Chinese Spring. Observations on precociously germinating somatic embryos revealed that: (i) In the initial
stages the coleoptile is split, exposes the shoot apex and forms a green trichomatous leafy structure.
In the germinating zygotic embryo, the coleoptile is tubular, (ii) Unlike what has been inferred earlier the
leafy structure is the coleoptile and not the scutellum, (iii) Bipolarity of the embryoid is established later
when root develops at the basal end
Effect of Antioxidants on the Shelf Life of Cashew Kernels
Cashew kernels have high
nutritive value. Upon exposure
to air kernels turn rancid and
their nutritive value decreases.
From this study it is concluded
that chemical treatment using
antioxidants reduced oxidative
rancidity but failed to prevent
deterioration in organoleptic
characteristics and decrease in
protein and carbohydrate
content of stored kernels
Pretreatment Of Agricultural Waste With Pleurotus Sp. For Ethanol Production
Bioethanol is a liquid fuel obtained from fermentation of sugar/starch crops. Lignocellulosic
biomass being less expensive is considered a future alternative for the food crops. One of the main
challenges for the use of lignocellulosics is the development of an efficient pre-treatment process.
Pretreatments are classified into three - physical, chemical, and biological pretreatment. Chemical process
has not been proven suitable so far, due to high costs and production of undesired by-products.
Biologically, hydrolysis can be enhanced by microbial or enzymatic pretreatment. Studies show that the
edible mushrooms of Pleurotus sp. produce several extracellular enzymes which reduce the structural and
chemical complexity of fibre. In the present study, P. ostreatus and P. eous were cultivated on paddy straw.
Spent substrate left after mushroom cultivation was powdered and used for ethanol production.
Saccharomyces sp. was used for fermentation studies. Untreated paddy straw was used as control.
Production of ethanol from P. ostreatus substrate was 5.5 times more when compared to untreated paddy
straw, while the spent substrate of P. eous gave 5 times increase in ethanol yield. Assays showed the
presence of several extracellular enzymes in the spent substrate of both species, which together contributed
to the increase in ethanol yieldCochin University of Science and
TechnologyInternational Journal of Plant, Animal and Environmental Sciences,vol 2,issue 2,april-june 201
Biopulping of Paddy Straw by Pleurotus eous
Biopulping being less energy intensive, inexpensive and causing lesser pollution, can be a viable alternative to chemical and
mechanical pulping in paper and pulp industry. In view of shrinking forest reserves, agricultural residues are considered as an
alternative raw material for making paper and board. By suitable treatment agriwaste can be converted into substrate for
mushroom cultivation. Mushrooms of Pleurotus sp. can preferentially remove lignin from agriwaste with limited degradation
to cellulose. The present study examines utilization of Pleurotus eous for biopulping of paddy straw by solid substrate
fermentation. SMS, the mushroom growing medium that results from cultivation process, is a good source of fibre and can be
pulped easily. Ligninases present in SMS were able to reduce lignin content to nearly half the initial amount by 21st day of
cultivation. Highest cellulose content (% dry weight) was observed on 21st day, while cellulase production commenced from
28th day of cultivation. SEM images revealed that SMS fibres are still associated with non-cellulosic materials when
compared to chemically (20% w/v NaOH) extracted fibres.Cochin University of Science and TechnologyAdvanced Biotech. Vol. 11 Issue 01 l July 201