A survey of abandoned and neglected Tea Plantations in Sikkim for assessing the possibility of their Rejuvenation and Extension

25-29Sikkim is one of the hilly states in India where tea is cultivated. The developed as well as abandoned and neglected tea plantations exist in the state. A survey of the abandoned and neglected tea plantations in the state revealed that the soil and weather parameters suit the requirements for tea cultivation, and such plantations could be revived by adopting the rejuvenation technology package developed for tea gardens in hills at Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology which has been successfully implemented for development of such type of plantations in Himachal Pradesh

Non-destructive estimation of chlorophyll and nitrogen content in leaf of Rosa damascena (Mill)

Chlorophyll (Chl) and nitrogen (N) status of leaves provide valuable information about the physiological condition of plants. The conventional methods for measuring Chl and N contents in leaves are destructive, costly, time-consuming, and do not allow repetitive measurement of the same sample. The Damask Rose (Rosa damascena Mill) is an important aromatic crop in the western Himalaya region in India. Generally, flower yield and oil yield of the Damask rose are correlated with nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium (NPK) levels in the leaf at the bud development stage. The dynamics of N within the rose plant have not been reported clearly. Thus, there is a pressing need for non-destructive techniques to estimate Chl and N content in the leaf of the Damask rose. Our objective was to establish an appropriate mathematical relationship between the Chl content index (CCI) value and the total Chl/N contents for non-destructive estimation of total Chl and N in the leaf of the Damask rose. The regression models were developed with destructively measured parameters (total Chl and N) as the dependent variable and a parameter derived from CCM-200 as the independent variable (CCI). We found that polynomial regression models are suitable for non-destructive estimation of total Chl, and the model predicted values were very close to traditionally measured values with a root mean square prediction error (RMSEp) less than 0.20 mgg ˉ1 of Chl. In the case of N estimation, a power regression model was appropriate with lowest Akaike’s information criteria (AIC) and root mean square validated error (RMSEv) value. Significant correlations (P≤0.001) were observed between traditionally measured values and our model predicted values in both cases

Analysis of the essential oil of large cardamom (Amomum subulatum Roxb.) growing in different agro-climatic zones of Himachal Pradesh, India

BACKGROUND: The aim of the present study was to investigate variations in the chemical composition of the essential oil from seeds of large cardamom grown at different altitudes in Himachal Pradesh, India. The composition of the essential oil was determined by gas chromatography (GC), gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and gas chromatography–olfactometry (GC-O). RESULTS: The oil components showed qualitative and quantitative variations in the composition. GC and GC-MS analysis led to the identification of 55 compounds representing 98% of total oil. Major components in the oil were 1,8-cineole, α-terpineol, DL-limonene, nerolidol, 4-terpineol, δ-terpineol, δ-3-carene, β-myrcene, germacrene D, α-terpinene and longifolenaldehyde. The oil yields obtained were 9.8–19.5 g kg−1. Cardamom oil from Himachal Pradesh was found to contain new compounds, viz. 4-terpineol, δ-3-carene, trans-sabinene hydrate, 1-phellandrene, α-terpinene, bicyclo-germacrene, isopinocarveol and ledenoxid-II. α-Terpenyl acetate, the major constituent of small cardamom, was also detected in the oil of large cardamom grown in Himachal Pradesh. Application of aroma extract dilution analysis revealed 35 compounds having aroma impact with the flavour dilution factor ranging from 2 to 1024, and 34 of these compounds were identified. The five most intense aromatic components are DL-limonene, 1,8-cineole, β-myrcene, α-pinene, α-basabolol. This is the first time that the characterisation of odour-active compounds has been carried out on large cardamom. CONCLUSION: The presence of 4-terpineol, δ-3-carene, trans-sabinene hydrate, 1-phellandrene, α-terpinene, 1-terpineol, bicyclogermacrene, isopinocarveol, ledenoxid-II, longifolenaldehyde and α-terpenyl acetate make the aroma of the oil different from large cardamom oil of Sikkim and could offer potential as a new food flavour

Effect of agro-techniques on the performance of natural sweetener plant–stevia (Stevia rebaudiana) under western Himalayan conditions

Two separate field experiments were conducted during 2007, 2008 and 2009 to evaluate the effect of agrotechniques on the performance of natural sweetener plant–stevia (Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni) under western Himalayan conditions. In the first experiment during 2007 and 2008 two doses of farm yard manure (FYM) and seven inorganic fertilizers were compared with untreated plot (control). Application of 50:60:50 kg NPK/ha recorded significantly higher plant height, stem, flower and total weight/plant (dry) and consequently recorded higher dry leaf yield as compared to other treatments. However, stevioside and rebaudioside contents were found to reduce due to the application of manures/fertilizers. FYM application recorded higher marker compounds than inorganic fertilizers. Owing to higher dry leaf yield, 50:60:50 kg NPK/ha recorded highest steviol glycoside (stevioside and rebaudioside A) yield/ha than other treatments. In second experiment during 2008 and 2009, effect of land configuration and harvesting time on growth, yield and steviol glycosides of stevia was evaluated. Planting stevia in broad bed and furrow (BBF) recorded 31 and 23% higher leaf biomass over flat and camber bed methods, respectively. Steviol glycosides (stevioside and rebaudioside-A) concentration was higher when stevia was planted in camber bed as compared to flat and BBF. Significantly higher leaf biomass was obtained from stevia plants which were harvested once at 50% flower bud stage compared with those harvested once at the 60 and 90 days after transplanting (DAT). Rebaudioside -A content was higher when leaves were harvested at 50% flower bud stage. Owing to higher dry leaf yield, stevia planted in BBF and harvested at 50% flower bud stage recorded highest net return and B:C ratio than other treatments

Evolutionary characterization of lung adenocarcinoma morphology in TRACERx

Lung adenocarcinomas (LUADs) display a broad histological spectrum from low-grade lepidic tumors through to mid-grade acinar and papillary and high-grade solid, cribriform and micropapillary tumors. How morphology reflects tumor evolution and disease progression is poorly understood. Whole-exome sequencing data generated from 805 primary tumor regions and 121 paired metastatic samples across 248 LUADs from the TRACERx 421 cohort, together with RNA-sequencing data from 463 primary tumor regions, were integrated with detailed whole-tumor and regional histopathological analysis. Tumors with predominantly high-grade patterns showed increased chromosomal complexity, with higher burden of loss of heterozygosity and subclonal somatic copy number alterations. Individual regions in predominantly high-grade pattern tumors exhibited higher proliferation and lower clonal diversity, potentially reflecting large recent subclonal expansions. Co-occurrence of truncal loss of chromosomes 3p and 3q was enriched in predominantly low-/mid-grade tumors, while purely undifferentiated solid-pattern tumors had a higher frequency of truncal arm or focal 3q gains and SMARCA4 gene alterations compared with mixed-pattern tumors with a solid component, suggesting distinct evolutionary trajectories. Clonal evolution analysis revealed that tumors tend to evolve toward higher-grade patterns. The presence of micropapillary pattern and ‘tumor spread through air spaces’ were associated with intrathoracic recurrence, in contrast to the presence of solid/cribriform patterns, necrosis and preoperative circulating tumor DNA detection, which were associated with extra-thoracic recurrence. These data provide insights into the relationship between LUAD morphology, the underlying evolutionary genomic landscape, and clinical and anatomical relapse risk