Effect of integrated nutrient management and planting dates on growth, yield and quality attributes of potato (Solanum tuberosum L.)

The present investigation entitled “Effect of integrated nutrient management and planting dates on growth, yield and quality attributes of potato (Solanum tuberosum L.)” was undertaken to standardise the suitable planting date and appropriate nutrition level for profitable yield of potato crop in Kashmir valley. The experiment was laid during kharif seasons of 2008 and 2009. The treatments comprised of the 3 planting dates (10th March, 25th March and 11th April) assigned to main plots and 6 nutrition levels ( RDF =160:100:100 N:P:K kg /ha, 75% RDF +FYM 20 t/ha, 75% RDF +8 t/ha vermicompost , 75%RDF +Azotobacter and PSB , 75% RDF +FYM 20 t/ha +Azotobacter and PSB and 75% RDF +8 t/ha vermicompost + Azotobacter and PSB) randomized in sub-plots. All climatological indices, viz., GDD, PTU and HTU favoured planting on 25th March with nutrition level of 75% RDF +8 t/ha vermicompost + Azotobacter and PSB whereas, late planting on 11th April (with 75%RDF + Azotobacter and PSB were found unfavourable for the crop. Amongst phenological parameters, late planting on 11th April produced tallest plants, maximum shoot number along with fresh and dry weight thereof but mid planting on 25th March proved superior in respect of LAI, number of stolons/plant, length of stolon and fresh and dry weight of tubers. Application of 75% RDF+8 t/ha vermicompost + Azotobecter and PSB proved superior in improving these parameters. Planting of potato crop during 13th standard meteorological week (25th March) was found most suitable in realizing highest yield (357.19 q/ha) of good quality tubers. Among nutrition levels 75% RDF+8 t/ha vermicompost + Azotobacter and PSB was found appropriate in improving yield potential (326.00 q/ha) and quality attributes of potato crop. Based on the findings of this study, application of 75% RDF + 8 t/ha vermicompost alongwith Azotobacter and PSB to potato crop planted on 25th March recorded higher average yield (385.30 q/ha) with quality tubers and also provided highest gross (Rs. 1,92,650.00 /ha) and net return (Rs. 1, 29, 050.00 /ha). The practice can be recommended for Kashmir valley after conducting confirmative trials

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Reversal of age-induced seed deterioration through priming in Vegetable crops-A ReviewVegetables play a vital role in human diet as well as in improving farm income. Good quality of seed is the basic input for success in vegetable production programme. However, age-induced seed deterioration of vegetable crops is an inexorable phenomenon which gets in the way of successful vegetable production. As such seed deterioration caused by ageing and its repair during early germination determine the success or failure of vegetable production system. Seed deterioration can be defined as the loss of quality, viability and vigour either due to ageing or effect of adverse environmental factors. While as ageing may be considered as progressive decline in biological functions accompanied by an increased risk of degenerative changes and death over time. The rate of deterioration rapidly increases with increase in seed moisture content, storage duration or temperature of storage. Loss of seed viability following ageing has been attributed to a series of metabolic defects that accumulate in embryonic and non-embryonic structures. At the cellular level, seed ageing is associated with various alterations including loss of membrane integrity, solute leakage, reduced energy metabolism, impairment of RNA (protein synthesis), and DNA degradation. Seed priming treatment i.e. slowly imbibing and then re-drying of seeds accomplished by soaking of seeds in a solution of low water potential, has been shown to reinvigourate the aged seeds. The reversal of ageing effects by seed priming has been explained by reduction of malondialdehyde (MDA) and free radicals production and maintenance of antioxidant activities due to DNA repair and favorable metabolic balance.Not Availabl

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EFFECT OF INTEGRATED NUTRIENT MANAGEMENT PRACTICES ON YIELD OF POTATOPotato is one of the leading commercial crops of Kashmir valley and is cultivated on an area of about 2500 ha with the production and productivity of 32.5 thousand t and 13 t/ha, respectively (Anonymous, 2009). Being a heavy feeder of nutrients, potato requires high amount of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. Chemical fertilizers are the main source of nutrients used for potato cropping.However, continuous dependence on chemical fertilizers causes nutritional imbalance and adverse effects on physico-chemical and biological properties of the soil. Integrated nutrient management (INM) is a better approach for supplying nutrition or food to the crop by including organic and inorganic sources of nutrients (Arora, 2008). Keeping the facts in view, the present investigation was planned to find out the appropriate combination of organic and inorganic sources of nutrients and bio-inoculants for improving yield of potato under temperate condition of Kashmir valley..Not Availabl

Abiotic Stresses and Their Management in Vegetable Crop Production

The stress concept, first proposed by Hans Selye in 1936, has also been applied to plants to describe adverse and environmental restrictions. The notion of plant stress, differs significantly from that of animals and humans. Due to ever fluctuating climatic circumstances and variables, the crop-environment interaction in horticultural crops leading to losses in yields and quality of produce occurs and thus climate change with respect to horticulture industry is attracting more attention. Abiotic stress is the leading cause of crop yield loss globally, lowering average yields by more than half for most main crop plants. Abiotic stressors are highly correlated and connected, causing morphological, biochemical, physiological and molecular changes in vegetable crops, leading in a significant profit drop. Water stress is the most common abiotic stress that causes significant losses in vegetable production, especially because it is often coupled by additional stresses like as salt, high temperatures, and nutritional deficits. Increased CO2 and temperature in the atmosphere, variation in amounts of precipitation causing more frequent droughts and floods, widespread runoffresulting in soil nutrient leaching and a loss in fresh-water availability are all contributing factors. Efforts to mitigate various pressures should be focused both throughout the growing season and after harvest. Stress-tolerant cultivars are being developed using a variety of methods, including traditional breeding and transgenic technology. Instead of genetic engineering, using vegetable breeding procedures or directed breeding is one the best options to improve stress tolerance in vegetables. Besides, post-harvest treatments, application of growth regulators, antioxidants, germplasm and in vitro selection, and modified environment packaging with different plastics may all help to improve tolerance and hence increase the shelf and nutritive life of vegetables

Mapping phenotypic performance and novel SNPs for cold tolerance in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) genotypes through GWAS and population genetics

Abstract The cold stress susceptibility of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) curtails its cultivation, with significant impact in temperate regions and on cropping seasons. To unravel genomic regions responsible for cold stress resilience, a diverse set of fifty genotypes encompassing cultivated, wild species, and landraces were genotyped using genotyping-by-sequencing. Over two years and six trials employing both early and late sowing, these lines were evaluated. Illumina-based next-generation sequencing produced up to 3 million reads per sample from individually sequenced library pools. The Tassel pipeline yielded 10,802 variants, subsequently filtered to 3,854 SNPs for genome-wide association analysis (GWAS). Employing clustering methods (population structure) via TASSEL, SNPhylo, and Kinship matrix, the fifty genotypes clustered into four distinct gene pools. The GWAS for cold tolerance in tomato integrated key traits including yield. Using six independent phenotypic datasets representing various environments, the study identified 4,517 significant marker-trait associations for cold tolerance traits. Notably, pivotal variations (> 10%) in cold stress tolerance, particularly proline content, were linked to marker-trait associations. Additionally, 5,727 significant marker-trait associations for yield and yield-related traits were unveiled, shedding light on fruit yield and directly associated attributes. The investigation pinpointed 685 candidate genes across all examined traits, including 60 genes associated with biological processes within these genomic regions. Remarkably, 7 out of the 60 genes were directly linked to abiotic stress tolerance, functioning as stress-responsive genes either directly or indirectly. The identified genes, particularly those associated with stress response, could hold the key to enhancing cold tolerance and overall crop productivity in tomato cultivation

Physiological Activity, Nutritional Composition, and Gene Expression in Apple (Malus domestica Borkh) Influenced by Different ETc Levels of Irrigation at Distinct Development Stages

Managing irrigation efficiently is paramount given the uncertainty in the future availability of water and rising demand for this resource. Scheduled irrigation significantly influences vegetative growth through improving crop physiology and nutrient uptake and use efficiency. Influence of different irrigation treatments (100%, 75%, and 50% volume of Class A pan evapotranspiration) applied at four different phenological stages (flowering and fruit set (C1), fruit growth stage (C2), pre-harvest stage (C3), and throughout the growing season (C4)) through drip along with a control (rainfed) on leaf physiology, nutrient content, and uptake through gene expression was studied on Super Chief Sandidge variety raised on M9T337 (5 and 6 years old) grown at a spacing of 1.5 × 3 m (2222 plants/ha) under high density condition of Kashmir Himalayan range of India. A comparison of data reveals that drip irrigation at 100% Crop evapotranspiration (ETc) increased leaf area by 60% compared to rainfed conditions. Leaf area significantly increased in plants irrigated throughout the growing season (C4) and during flowering and fruit set stage (C1). Irrigation amount likely does not have any influence on leaf development after the fruit growth stage. Stomatal opening and their size greatly vary from no irrigation to optimum irrigation in these plants. High density apple trees exposed to optimum irrigation levels (100% and 75% ET) had significantly higher concentrations of nutrients (N, P, and K) in their leaf tissues. The concentration of Ca and Mg content in leaf tissues are greatly influenced by the optimum supply of water during the early growth stages of apple growth. The availability of water significantly influences nutrient transporter gene expression and thus nutrient uptake by regulating such transporter genes. It is therefore observed that proper irrigation during C1 and stage C2 stage are the critical growth stages of apple for optimum leaf physiological activity and proper nutrient uptake