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Papers by Gunjeet Kumar

The Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences

The present study was carried out to screen six promising varieties of chrysanthemum (Chrysanthem... more The present study was carried out to screen six promising varieties of chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum morifolium Ramat.), viz. Pusa Chitraksha, Lalit, Pusa Aditya, Basanti, Himanshu, and Pusa Sona in MS (Murashige and Skoog) media supplemented with 0, 50, 100 and 150 mM/NaCl. As the concentration of NaCl increased, there was a corresponding decrease in shoot length, fresh weight, number of leaves and rooting percentage. Number of shoots per plant exhibited not much significant difference. Maximum reduction in plant growth was recorded in the variety Pusa Sona (60.60%) while minimum reduction was observed in variety Pusa Aditya (35.60%). The highest fresh weight was recorded in variety Pusa Aditya and lowest in the varieties Himanshu and Pusa Sona, when the medium was supplemented with 150 mM NaCl. Variety Pusa Sona (57.00%) had the maximum reduction in the number of leaves per plant and minimum was found in the variety Lalit (29.10%). Increasing salt stress had an adverse effect on ro...

The Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences

In present study, different varieties of chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum × morifolium Ramat) were sc... more In present study, different varieties of chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum × morifolium Ramat) were screened for total carotenoids, phenolic content and antioxidant activities. Among the genotypes studied, variety Jubilee (32.82 mg/100g) exhibited high total carotenoids followed by varieties Haldighati (26.71 mg/100 g), Little Orange (22.25 mg/100g), Liliput (20.77 mg/100g) and Star Yellow (19.21 mg/100g). Variety Jubilee also showed highest antioxidant activities of carotenoids {CUPRAC-Cupric reducing antioxidant capacity (149.44 μmol trolox/g), FRAP- Ferrous reducing power (40.09 %), DPPH radical scavenging activity (11.24%)}. The total phenolic content varied from 1.26 mg GAE/g (Ram Lal Dada) to 31.14 mg GAE/g (Jubilee) on fresh weight basis. Further, five promising varieties having high carotenoids, were quantified for lutein and β-carotene using High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). Highest lutein content was found in variety Jubilee (19.90 μg/g) followed by varieties Haldi...

The Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences

The influence of different drying methods, viz. shade drying, hot air oven drying and microwave o... more The influence of different drying methods, viz. shade drying, hot air oven drying and microwave oven drying on total anthocyanin content, total phenolic content and their antioxidant activities (measured by CUPRAC, FRAP and DPPH assay) of dried ray florets of five anthocyanin rich chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum × morifolium Ramat.) varieties was studied in the present investigation. Microwave oven drying was the best method w.r.t. retaining its total anthocyanin content, total phenolic content and antioxidant activities. Microwave oven drying method had retained highest total anthocyanins (208.26 mg/100g), total phenolic content (36.17mg GAE/g DW) and antioxidant activities (CUPRAC= 280.74 μmol trolox/g dry weight, FRAP= 145.26 μmol trolox/g dry weight and DPPH= 31.44%) in variety Red Gold. In microwave oven drying method, total anthocyanin content of dried ray florets revealed significantly and positively correlation with total phenolic content (0.922) and CUPRAC (0.892), FRAP (0.976...

The Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences

In the present study, an effort was made to quantify the total endogenous ascorbic acid to reveal... more In the present study, an effort was made to quantify the total endogenous ascorbic acid to reveal if it has any association with vase life of chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum × morifolium Ramat) cultivars. Among 30 cultivars, maximum total ascorbic acid content (441.29 mg/100 g fresh weight) was recorded in cv. Red Gold followed by cv. Jaya (336.34 mg/100 g fresh weight) and minimum ascorbic acid content (93.55 mg/100 g fresh weight) was observed in cv. Arka Ravi followed by cv. Yellow Reflex (101.76 mg/100 g fresh weight). Chrysanthemum cultivars were found to contain maximum total ascorbic acid content in petals (235.00 mg/100 g fresh weight) and leaves (285.12 mg/100 g fresh weight) in stage II (fully opened flower). During all the stages of flower development total ascorbic acid content in leaves was recorded higher as compared to petals. It is concluded that there is a significant association between postharvest life and ascorbic acid content in leaves (r = 0.669) and petals (r = 0...

Indian Journal of Horticulture, Jun 29, 2023

Chrysanthemum is moderately sensitive to salt stress, and salinity largely affects its production... more Chrysanthemum is moderately sensitive to salt stress, and salinity largely affects its production. The experiment was undertaken at the research farm of the Division of Floriculture and Landscaping, ICAR-IARI, New Delhi, during the winter season. Ten chrysanthemum varieties were screened to understand their response to salt stress (150 mM NaCl) and tolerance mechanisms. Salt stress significantly affected osmolyte accumulation and physio-biochemical attributes of chrysanthemum varieties against control. Red Gold variety performed well in terms of growth and yield attributes, indicating its ability to tolerate the salt level of 150 mM NaCl. The highest leaf proline content was recorded in var. White Prolific followed by var. Tata Century. NaCl stress caused a 3/2-fold and 1/2-fold increase in the level of Na+ and K+ ions in leaf tissues of most varieties against control Shoot K+/Na+ ratio was recorded highest in variety Tata Century followed by variety Discovery. From the experiment, vars. White Prolific, Red Gold, Tata Century, and Discovery were found to be more tolerant due to better osmotic adjustments through the accumulation of proline, relative performance under salt stress for plant growth, flower yield, photosynthetic pigments and high K+/Na+ concentration to better sustain under saline condition than the susceptible varieties. PCA analysis revealed that the sum of principal components PC1 and PC2 explained 59.0% of the variations among the varieties. Plant height, chlorophyll content, and fresh weight number of branches had the highest positive loading value, i.e., ~0.7, and leaf proline content had the lowest loading value, i.e., ~0.08, indicating the strongest influence on PC1 and PC2.

Current horticulture, 2017

The seed dormancy in flower crops impacts both seed production and their germination. Flower crop... more The seed dormancy in flower crops impacts both seed production and their germination. Flower crops display diverse mechanisms for seed dormancy like hard seed coat, immature, rudimentary embryo and inhibitors. In some seeds which are dormant at harvesting, dormancy breaks down naturally over the time whereas other crops require some form of pre-treatment. There are several methods used for specific genera. It can be broken by soil melting and freezing, microorganism's activity, forest fires, soil activity and being eaten by animals, in normal conditions. This review surveys and categorizes of different seed dormancy conditions found in flowering plants. Flower crops are listed according to their dormancy types. There are two types of dormancy, primary and secondar. Specific examples are given for each type of dormancy along with their methods to alleviate dormancy

The Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences

Salinity tolerance of 22 varieties of chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum morifolium Ramat.) was studied... more Salinity tolerance of 22 varieties of chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum morifolium Ramat.) was studied in National Phytotron Facility, ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi at five different salinity levels (0, 50, 100, 150, 200 mmol/L). Salt tolerance was identified by measuring changes of different physiological as well as morphological parameters such as chlorophyll, proline, MSI (Membrane Stability Index), shoot length, root length, dry weight, etc. In the present study, it was found that the amount of chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b and total chlorophyll decreased with increase in the amount of salt concentration. At 100 mmol/L NaCl, the highest total chlorophyll content was found in Pusa Aditya, Haldighati, Lalit, Little Pink and Jaya, whereas lowest was observed in Pusa Sona, Yellow Gold and Himanshu. The rate of reduction in dry weight is dependent on the level of stress and variety. The greatest reduction in dry weight was found under 200 mmol/L NaCl treatment. The...

The Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences

In this study, leaves sample of eight turf grass genera were used to standardized the ISSR protoc... more In this study, leaves sample of eight turf grass genera were used to standardized the ISSR protocol and quantities of template DNA, dNTPs, MgCl2, Taq DNA polymerase, primer concentration and annealing temperature for each primer. Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA), Genetic diversity, Nei's gene diversity, Shannon's index, and Nei's unbiased genetic distance, partition, within- and among-group, of all parameters was analyzed. Levels of genetic divergence between samples were calculated with the fixation index PhiPT. Statistics with AMOVA revealed 84 and 16 % variance among and within various mutants, respectively. Cluster analysis based on the Unweighted-pair group method arithmetic average (UPGMA), Principal coordinate analysis (PCA) and Spatial correlation is a measured that looks at the relationship (genetic distance) amongst mutants. PCOA analysis of ISSR data showed that the first three factors comprised about 94.5% of total variance when the first, second and th...

The Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences

Mutations, induced or spontaneous, play an important role in inducing genetic variations in chrys... more Mutations, induced or spontaneous, play an important role in inducing genetic variations in chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum morifolium Ramat.). Isolation and purification of mutated tissue is impossible through conventional methods that results complete loss of the precious mutants due to lack of suitable techniques to isolate them through conventional methods. In the present investigation, an effort was made to develop efficient ray floret regeneration protocols to isolate, purify and establish a novel mutant which spontaneously appeared as chimera in the form of yellow flowers in chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum morifolium) cv. Lalit (white). Maximum survival (82.0%) and callus formation (90.28%) in minimum duration (6.6 days) were recorded when the ray florets were pre-treated with mancozeb-45 (0.2%) + carbendazim (0.2%) + 8-HQC (200 mg/l) for 3 h followed by surface sterilized with HgCl2 (0.1%) for a duration of four minutes and cultured on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented ...

The Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences

A field experiment was carried out to study the effect of zinc and iron on growth, yield and qual... more A field experiment was carried out to study the effect of zinc and iron on growth, yield and quality of chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum morifolium Ramat. ) cv. Mayur 5 during 2016 and 2017. The experiment was laid out in randomized block design with three replications comprising nine levels of micronutrients, i. e. control (T1), ZnSO4 @ 0. 1% (T2), ZnSO4 @ 0. 2% (T3), ZnSO4 @ 0. 5% (T4), FeSO4 @ 0. 2% (T5), FeSO4 @ 0. 5% (T6), FeSO4 @ 0. 8% (T7), FeSO4 + ZnSO4 @ 0. 5% each (T8) and FeSO4 + ZnSO4 @ 0. 7% each (T9). Combined foliar spray of FeSO4 + ZnSO4@ 0. 5% recorded best results for number of branches per plant (37. 00), minimum days for flower opening (94. 67), petal length (2. 17 cm), petal width (0. 63cm), flower bud diameter (1. 339 cm), flower longevity (28. 00 days), single flower weight (1. 27g), plant dry weight (98. 33 g), number of flowers per plant (218. 33), flower yield per plant (218. 33g) and flower yield/m2 (2988. 62g). Maximum flower diameter and chlorophyll content ...

The seed dormancy in flower crops impacts both seed production and their germination. Flower crop... more The seed dormancy in flower crops impacts both seed production and their germination. Flower crops display diverse mechanisms for seed dormancy like hard seed coat, immature, rudimentary embryo and inhibitors. In some seeds which are dormant at harvesting, dormancy breaks down naturally over the time whereas other crops require some form of pre-treatment. There are several methods used for specific genera. It can be broken by soil melting and freezing, microorganism's activity, forest fires, soil activity and being eaten by animals, in normal conditions. This review surveys and categorizes of different seed dormancy conditions found in flowering plants. Flower crops are listed according to their dormancy types. There are two types of dormancy, primary and secondar. Specific examples are given for each type of dormancy along with their methods to alleviate dormancy

In a pilot study, as a prelude for characterization of the entire Trigonella germplasm conserved ... more In a pilot study, as a prelude for characterization of the entire Trigonella germplasm conserved in the National Gene Bank, National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources, New Delhi, genetic relatedness among a selection of 49 accessions of fenugreek (Trigonella-foenum-graecum L.) was assessed using 19 morphometric and 186 inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) markers. An accession of T. corniculata L. was also assessed as an out-group. The accessions were collected from different eco-geographical sites located in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Manipur and Bihar; and one of the accessions was imported from Eritrea. Data for 12 qualitative and seven quantitative morphometric descriptors were recorded. Significant differences within the accessions were found for all the quantitative descriptors except primary branches and seeds/pod. Shannon- Wiener Diversity Index revealed substantial diversity for all the quantitative descriptors. The morphometric data differentiated the fenugreek accessions into two clusters (at -65% similarity). A total of 100 ISSR primers were used for initial screening, out of which only 21 primers were found polymorphic. ISSR analysis was performed with selected 21 primers to generate 186 amplicons, of which 92.4% were polymorphic. Cluster analysis put 47 accessions in a single group at -65% similarity. Though there was no agreement between the groupings based on morphometric and ISSR markers (Mantel statistic 0.096), specific cases of geographic groupings were supported by both the markers. Phylogenetic positioning of the accessions with no passport information was found to be possible. The ISSR markers complemented the morphometric data in understanding the genetic divergence among the fenugreek accessions.

Journal of Ornamental Horticulture

The variability parameters viz., genotypic coefficients of variation (GCV), phenotypic coefficien... more The variability parameters viz., genotypic coefficients of variation (GCV), phenotypic coefficients of variation (PCV), heritability and genetic advance were studied for agro-morphological and phyto-chemical traits in 30 genotypes of basil during kharif 2004 and 2005. Tremendous variability was observed for agro-morphological as well as phyto-chemical characters. The high and medium values of GCV and PCV for seed yield/plant and spike length respectively, showed presence of maximum amount of variability in the germplasm. High heritability estimates were observed for seed yield/plant, leaf stem ratio, 1000 seed weight and plant height. These attributes may be improved further by selection. The estimates of high genetic advance were observed for fresh herbage yield per plant, seed yield per plant, plant height and dry yield/plant. The genetic advance as percentage of mean was recorded high for characters like leaf-stem ratio and spike length. The high estimates of genetic advance coupled with high heritability estimates for seed yield/plant, leaf stem ratio and plant height may be helpful in formulating the selection criteria for improvement of this important medicinal plant.

The Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences

Chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum morifolium Ramat.) is one of the most popular cut flowers in the wor... more Chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum morifolium Ramat.) is one of the most popular cut flowers in the world and occupies important position in the world flower industry. An experiment was conducted to study the effect of saline stress on growth and biochemical indices on 10 chrysanthemum germplasm. It was determined by performance comparisons against control tests (without NaCl treatment) which acts as an indicator. Germplasm selected for the experiment were Garden Beauty, Shanti, Red Stone, Basanti, Yellow Reflex, Arka Ravikiran, Anmol, Mother Teresa, Sweta Singar and Jaya. Salt stress had significant effects on plant growth, assimilator pigment content and prolineconcentration. With application of 150 mM NaCl, there is reduction of shoot growth, root growth, leaf area, leaf number, shoot dry weight and chlorophyll content, whereas level of proline increased with increase salinity. Shoot elongation was less sensitive to salinity than root growth, with significant reductions in root growth ...

ABSTRACT Eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) is an important solanaceous vegetable crop of Indian ori... more ABSTRACT Eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) is an important solanaceous vegetable crop of Indian origin having immense variability in morphological descriptors evolved in different agro-ecological zones of the country. Among the 2,500 accessions conserved in the National Gene Bank at National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources, New Delhi, 20% were randomly selected for morphological diversity analysis. Wide range of variation was recorded for 21 descriptors studied. Shannon Diversity Index (H) for traits ranged from for fruit position (0.01), fruit curvature (0.20), plant growth habit (0.46), fruit apex shape (0.52), leaf blade tip angle (0.64), plant height (0.71), petiole color (0.76), leaf blade colour (0.77), leaf prickles on upper surface (0.84), fruit peduncle prickles (0.87), calyx spininess (0.95), calyx colour (0.99), plant spread(1.01), corolla colour (1.02), fruit seediness (1.03), fruit density (1.03), fruit colour distribution (1.10), leaf blade lobbing (1.15), fruit shape (1.30), fruit length breadth ratio (1.40) to a maximum of 1.51 for fruit colour. Morphological diversity and accessions’ collection site data are integrated using DIVA-GIS software for diversity analysis, and finding gaps relating to germplasm collection and conservation of eggplant germplasm. Grid maps generated for the diversity analysis of several fruit descriptors indicated the occurrence of diverse accessions for plant height from the states of Karnataka, Odisha, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, for fruit colour from Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal and for fruit shape from eastern states. The study would help in better management and utilization of eggplant genetic resources in the country.

Vegetable Science, 2016

India holds rich diversity of brinjal (Solanum melongena L.)and related species. Besides land rac... more India holds rich diversity of brinjal (Solanum melongena L.)and related species. Besides land races, many commercial cultivars prevalent in production system also exhibit diverse range of morphological features, particularly fruit characters. We analyzed the extent of diversity among 96 accessions of brinjal with morphologically diverse characters of domestication/evolutionary significance, representing all agro-ecological regions of the country and 19 accessions of exotic origin. The results could clearly distinguish prickly and non-prickly types of accessions, which could further be classified on the basis of growth habit and fruit characters like shape and colour. This distinctness could be due to more weightageto and high correlation among the prickliness of plant parts i.e. stem, leaves and calyx. The cluster analysis revealed low intra-cluster distances compared to the intercluster distances, suggesting homogenous and heterogenous nature of accessions within and between the cl...

Large collections of genetic resources held in Gene Banks poses a challenge for the maintenance o... more Large collections of genetic resources held in Gene Banks poses a challenge for the maintenance of both the accessions as well as the information documented for the germplasm characterized. The accessibility and knowledge of the landrace collections are the prerequisite for an efficient utilization of the genetic resources. Different sample sizes and sampling strategies, either random or non random, were proposed to obtain core sets in brinjal from entire collection of 622 landraces. The proposed strategy emphasizes on relatively smaller number (5) of highly variable descriptors for computing inertia score through Principal Component Score Strategy (PCSS) and thereby capturing maximum genetic diversity in the core set. This strategy is compared with three other strategies i.e. Random, Stratified and Principal Component Score Strategy based on the entire set (13) of quantitative descriptors. This strategy will help in developing core set with limited resources or when information on some descriptors is not available.

Plant Genetic Resources: Characterization and Utilization

Germplasm characterization is essential to estimate variation and identify desirable genotypes fo... more Germplasm characterization is essential to estimate variation and identify desirable genotypes for crop improvement. The current study was conducted on eight qualitative and 14 quantitative traits related to growth and floral attributes for characterization and grouping of 54 chrysanthemum genotypes. Wide variability was observed among most of the traits and principal component analysis revealed that the first two principal components explained most of the existing variation (>98%) in germplasm. Genotypic coefficient of variation exhibited a wide range from 9.41% (ratio of leaf length/width) to 105.99% (corolla tube length of ray florets), while phenotypic coefficient of variation varied from 10.49% (ratio of leaf length/width) to 106.38% (corolla tube length of ray florets). Broad sense heritability estimates were higher (>96%) for most of the characters, except for traits such as ratio of leaf length/width and peduncle thickness. Forty-four pair-wise inter-trait combinations...

Indian Journal of Horticulture, 2014

An experiment was conducted with 26 gladiolus cultivars at Research Farm of Directorate of Floric... more An experiment was conducted with 26 gladiolus cultivars at Research Farm of Directorate of Floricultural Research, New Delhi. The minimum days required for sprouting was recorded in cultivar Peter Pears (3.40 days), whereas earliest spike initiation (86.33 days) and first floret opening (100.33 days) were observed in cultivar Hunting Song. Maximum plant height (115.87 cm) and spike length (101.20 cm) were found in cultivar Amsterdam, whereas maximum rachis length (73.39 cm) was recorded in Snow Princess. Maximum number of florets per spike (18.60) and bigger florets size (97.72 mm) were recorded in Snow Princess and Priscilla, respectively. The cultivar Yellow Stone was found with maximum number of corms per plant (2.68), whereas highest average corm weight (71.60 g) and corm size (64.87 mm) were recorded in Forta Rosa, and highest cormels weight (17.50 g) in Argentina. Higher values of phenotypic coefficient of variation (PCV) and genotypic coefficient of variation (GCV) were recor...

The Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences

The present study was carried out to screen six promising varieties of chrysanthemum (Chrysanthem... more The present study was carried out to screen six promising varieties of chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum morifolium Ramat.), viz. Pusa Chitraksha, Lalit, Pusa Aditya, Basanti, Himanshu, and Pusa Sona in MS (Murashige and Skoog) media supplemented with 0, 50, 100 and 150 mM/NaCl. As the concentration of NaCl increased, there was a corresponding decrease in shoot length, fresh weight, number of leaves and rooting percentage. Number of shoots per plant exhibited not much significant difference. Maximum reduction in plant growth was recorded in the variety Pusa Sona (60.60%) while minimum reduction was observed in variety Pusa Aditya (35.60%). The highest fresh weight was recorded in variety Pusa Aditya and lowest in the varieties Himanshu and Pusa Sona, when the medium was supplemented with 150 mM NaCl. Variety Pusa Sona (57.00%) had the maximum reduction in the number of leaves per plant and minimum was found in the variety Lalit (29.10%). Increasing salt stress had an adverse effect on ro...

The Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences

In present study, different varieties of chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum × morifolium Ramat) were sc... more In present study, different varieties of chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum × morifolium Ramat) were screened for total carotenoids, phenolic content and antioxidant activities. Among the genotypes studied, variety Jubilee (32.82 mg/100g) exhibited high total carotenoids followed by varieties Haldighati (26.71 mg/100 g), Little Orange (22.25 mg/100g), Liliput (20.77 mg/100g) and Star Yellow (19.21 mg/100g). Variety Jubilee also showed highest antioxidant activities of carotenoids {CUPRAC-Cupric reducing antioxidant capacity (149.44 μmol trolox/g), FRAP- Ferrous reducing power (40.09 %), DPPH radical scavenging activity (11.24%)}. The total phenolic content varied from 1.26 mg GAE/g (Ram Lal Dada) to 31.14 mg GAE/g (Jubilee) on fresh weight basis. Further, five promising varieties having high carotenoids, were quantified for lutein and β-carotene using High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). Highest lutein content was found in variety Jubilee (19.90 μg/g) followed by varieties Haldi...

The Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences

The influence of different drying methods, viz. shade drying, hot air oven drying and microwave o... more The influence of different drying methods, viz. shade drying, hot air oven drying and microwave oven drying on total anthocyanin content, total phenolic content and their antioxidant activities (measured by CUPRAC, FRAP and DPPH assay) of dried ray florets of five anthocyanin rich chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum × morifolium Ramat.) varieties was studied in the present investigation. Microwave oven drying was the best method w.r.t. retaining its total anthocyanin content, total phenolic content and antioxidant activities. Microwave oven drying method had retained highest total anthocyanins (208.26 mg/100g), total phenolic content (36.17mg GAE/g DW) and antioxidant activities (CUPRAC= 280.74 μmol trolox/g dry weight, FRAP= 145.26 μmol trolox/g dry weight and DPPH= 31.44%) in variety Red Gold. In microwave oven drying method, total anthocyanin content of dried ray florets revealed significantly and positively correlation with total phenolic content (0.922) and CUPRAC (0.892), FRAP (0.976...

The Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences

In the present study, an effort was made to quantify the total endogenous ascorbic acid to reveal... more In the present study, an effort was made to quantify the total endogenous ascorbic acid to reveal if it has any association with vase life of chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum × morifolium Ramat) cultivars. Among 30 cultivars, maximum total ascorbic acid content (441.29 mg/100 g fresh weight) was recorded in cv. Red Gold followed by cv. Jaya (336.34 mg/100 g fresh weight) and minimum ascorbic acid content (93.55 mg/100 g fresh weight) was observed in cv. Arka Ravi followed by cv. Yellow Reflex (101.76 mg/100 g fresh weight). Chrysanthemum cultivars were found to contain maximum total ascorbic acid content in petals (235.00 mg/100 g fresh weight) and leaves (285.12 mg/100 g fresh weight) in stage II (fully opened flower). During all the stages of flower development total ascorbic acid content in leaves was recorded higher as compared to petals. It is concluded that there is a significant association between postharvest life and ascorbic acid content in leaves (r = 0.669) and petals (r = 0...

Indian Journal of Horticulture, Jun 29, 2023

Chrysanthemum is moderately sensitive to salt stress, and salinity largely affects its production... more Chrysanthemum is moderately sensitive to salt stress, and salinity largely affects its production. The experiment was undertaken at the research farm of the Division of Floriculture and Landscaping, ICAR-IARI, New Delhi, during the winter season. Ten chrysanthemum varieties were screened to understand their response to salt stress (150 mM NaCl) and tolerance mechanisms. Salt stress significantly affected osmolyte accumulation and physio-biochemical attributes of chrysanthemum varieties against control. Red Gold variety performed well in terms of growth and yield attributes, indicating its ability to tolerate the salt level of 150 mM NaCl. The highest leaf proline content was recorded in var. White Prolific followed by var. Tata Century. NaCl stress caused a 3/2-fold and 1/2-fold increase in the level of Na+ and K+ ions in leaf tissues of most varieties against control Shoot K+/Na+ ratio was recorded highest in variety Tata Century followed by variety Discovery. From the experiment, vars. White Prolific, Red Gold, Tata Century, and Discovery were found to be more tolerant due to better osmotic adjustments through the accumulation of proline, relative performance under salt stress for plant growth, flower yield, photosynthetic pigments and high K+/Na+ concentration to better sustain under saline condition than the susceptible varieties. PCA analysis revealed that the sum of principal components PC1 and PC2 explained 59.0% of the variations among the varieties. Plant height, chlorophyll content, and fresh weight number of branches had the highest positive loading value, i.e., ~0.7, and leaf proline content had the lowest loading value, i.e., ~0.08, indicating the strongest influence on PC1 and PC2.

Current horticulture, 2017

The seed dormancy in flower crops impacts both seed production and their germination. Flower crop... more The seed dormancy in flower crops impacts both seed production and their germination. Flower crops display diverse mechanisms for seed dormancy like hard seed coat, immature, rudimentary embryo and inhibitors. In some seeds which are dormant at harvesting, dormancy breaks down naturally over the time whereas other crops require some form of pre-treatment. There are several methods used for specific genera. It can be broken by soil melting and freezing, microorganism's activity, forest fires, soil activity and being eaten by animals, in normal conditions. This review surveys and categorizes of different seed dormancy conditions found in flowering plants. Flower crops are listed according to their dormancy types. There are two types of dormancy, primary and secondar. Specific examples are given for each type of dormancy along with their methods to alleviate dormancy

The Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences

Salinity tolerance of 22 varieties of chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum morifolium Ramat.) was studied... more Salinity tolerance of 22 varieties of chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum morifolium Ramat.) was studied in National Phytotron Facility, ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi at five different salinity levels (0, 50, 100, 150, 200 mmol/L). Salt tolerance was identified by measuring changes of different physiological as well as morphological parameters such as chlorophyll, proline, MSI (Membrane Stability Index), shoot length, root length, dry weight, etc. In the present study, it was found that the amount of chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b and total chlorophyll decreased with increase in the amount of salt concentration. At 100 mmol/L NaCl, the highest total chlorophyll content was found in Pusa Aditya, Haldighati, Lalit, Little Pink and Jaya, whereas lowest was observed in Pusa Sona, Yellow Gold and Himanshu. The rate of reduction in dry weight is dependent on the level of stress and variety. The greatest reduction in dry weight was found under 200 mmol/L NaCl treatment. The...

The Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences

In this study, leaves sample of eight turf grass genera were used to standardized the ISSR protoc... more In this study, leaves sample of eight turf grass genera were used to standardized the ISSR protocol and quantities of template DNA, dNTPs, MgCl2, Taq DNA polymerase, primer concentration and annealing temperature for each primer. Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA), Genetic diversity, Nei's gene diversity, Shannon's index, and Nei's unbiased genetic distance, partition, within- and among-group, of all parameters was analyzed. Levels of genetic divergence between samples were calculated with the fixation index PhiPT. Statistics with AMOVA revealed 84 and 16 % variance among and within various mutants, respectively. Cluster analysis based on the Unweighted-pair group method arithmetic average (UPGMA), Principal coordinate analysis (PCA) and Spatial correlation is a measured that looks at the relationship (genetic distance) amongst mutants. PCOA analysis of ISSR data showed that the first three factors comprised about 94.5% of total variance when the first, second and th...

The Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences

Mutations, induced or spontaneous, play an important role in inducing genetic variations in chrys... more Mutations, induced or spontaneous, play an important role in inducing genetic variations in chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum morifolium Ramat.). Isolation and purification of mutated tissue is impossible through conventional methods that results complete loss of the precious mutants due to lack of suitable techniques to isolate them through conventional methods. In the present investigation, an effort was made to develop efficient ray floret regeneration protocols to isolate, purify and establish a novel mutant which spontaneously appeared as chimera in the form of yellow flowers in chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum morifolium) cv. Lalit (white). Maximum survival (82.0%) and callus formation (90.28%) in minimum duration (6.6 days) were recorded when the ray florets were pre-treated with mancozeb-45 (0.2%) + carbendazim (0.2%) + 8-HQC (200 mg/l) for 3 h followed by surface sterilized with HgCl2 (0.1%) for a duration of four minutes and cultured on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented ...

The Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences

A field experiment was carried out to study the effect of zinc and iron on growth, yield and qual... more A field experiment was carried out to study the effect of zinc and iron on growth, yield and quality of chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum morifolium Ramat. ) cv. Mayur 5 during 2016 and 2017. The experiment was laid out in randomized block design with three replications comprising nine levels of micronutrients, i. e. control (T1), ZnSO4 @ 0. 1% (T2), ZnSO4 @ 0. 2% (T3), ZnSO4 @ 0. 5% (T4), FeSO4 @ 0. 2% (T5), FeSO4 @ 0. 5% (T6), FeSO4 @ 0. 8% (T7), FeSO4 + ZnSO4 @ 0. 5% each (T8) and FeSO4 + ZnSO4 @ 0. 7% each (T9). Combined foliar spray of FeSO4 + ZnSO4@ 0. 5% recorded best results for number of branches per plant (37. 00), minimum days for flower opening (94. 67), petal length (2. 17 cm), petal width (0. 63cm), flower bud diameter (1. 339 cm), flower longevity (28. 00 days), single flower weight (1. 27g), plant dry weight (98. 33 g), number of flowers per plant (218. 33), flower yield per plant (218. 33g) and flower yield/m2 (2988. 62g). Maximum flower diameter and chlorophyll content ...

The seed dormancy in flower crops impacts both seed production and their germination. Flower crop... more The seed dormancy in flower crops impacts both seed production and their germination. Flower crops display diverse mechanisms for seed dormancy like hard seed coat, immature, rudimentary embryo and inhibitors. In some seeds which are dormant at harvesting, dormancy breaks down naturally over the time whereas other crops require some form of pre-treatment. There are several methods used for specific genera. It can be broken by soil melting and freezing, microorganism's activity, forest fires, soil activity and being eaten by animals, in normal conditions. This review surveys and categorizes of different seed dormancy conditions found in flowering plants. Flower crops are listed according to their dormancy types. There are two types of dormancy, primary and secondar. Specific examples are given for each type of dormancy along with their methods to alleviate dormancy

In a pilot study, as a prelude for characterization of the entire Trigonella germplasm conserved ... more In a pilot study, as a prelude for characterization of the entire Trigonella germplasm conserved in the National Gene Bank, National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources, New Delhi, genetic relatedness among a selection of 49 accessions of fenugreek (Trigonella-foenum-graecum L.) was assessed using 19 morphometric and 186 inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) markers. An accession of T. corniculata L. was also assessed as an out-group. The accessions were collected from different eco-geographical sites located in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Manipur and Bihar; and one of the accessions was imported from Eritrea. Data for 12 qualitative and seven quantitative morphometric descriptors were recorded. Significant differences within the accessions were found for all the quantitative descriptors except primary branches and seeds/pod. Shannon- Wiener Diversity Index revealed substantial diversity for all the quantitative descriptors. The morphometric data differentiated the fenugreek accessions into two clusters (at -65% similarity). A total of 100 ISSR primers were used for initial screening, out of which only 21 primers were found polymorphic. ISSR analysis was performed with selected 21 primers to generate 186 amplicons, of which 92.4% were polymorphic. Cluster analysis put 47 accessions in a single group at -65% similarity. Though there was no agreement between the groupings based on morphometric and ISSR markers (Mantel statistic 0.096), specific cases of geographic groupings were supported by both the markers. Phylogenetic positioning of the accessions with no passport information was found to be possible. The ISSR markers complemented the morphometric data in understanding the genetic divergence among the fenugreek accessions.

Journal of Ornamental Horticulture

The variability parameters viz., genotypic coefficients of variation (GCV), phenotypic coefficien... more The variability parameters viz., genotypic coefficients of variation (GCV), phenotypic coefficients of variation (PCV), heritability and genetic advance were studied for agro-morphological and phyto-chemical traits in 30 genotypes of basil during kharif 2004 and 2005. Tremendous variability was observed for agro-morphological as well as phyto-chemical characters. The high and medium values of GCV and PCV for seed yield/plant and spike length respectively, showed presence of maximum amount of variability in the germplasm. High heritability estimates were observed for seed yield/plant, leaf stem ratio, 1000 seed weight and plant height. These attributes may be improved further by selection. The estimates of high genetic advance were observed for fresh herbage yield per plant, seed yield per plant, plant height and dry yield/plant. The genetic advance as percentage of mean was recorded high for characters like leaf-stem ratio and spike length. The high estimates of genetic advance coupled with high heritability estimates for seed yield/plant, leaf stem ratio and plant height may be helpful in formulating the selection criteria for improvement of this important medicinal plant.

The Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences

Chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum morifolium Ramat.) is one of the most popular cut flowers in the wor... more Chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum morifolium Ramat.) is one of the most popular cut flowers in the world and occupies important position in the world flower industry. An experiment was conducted to study the effect of saline stress on growth and biochemical indices on 10 chrysanthemum germplasm. It was determined by performance comparisons against control tests (without NaCl treatment) which acts as an indicator. Germplasm selected for the experiment were Garden Beauty, Shanti, Red Stone, Basanti, Yellow Reflex, Arka Ravikiran, Anmol, Mother Teresa, Sweta Singar and Jaya. Salt stress had significant effects on plant growth, assimilator pigment content and prolineconcentration. With application of 150 mM NaCl, there is reduction of shoot growth, root growth, leaf area, leaf number, shoot dry weight and chlorophyll content, whereas level of proline increased with increase salinity. Shoot elongation was less sensitive to salinity than root growth, with significant reductions in root growth ...

ABSTRACT Eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) is an important solanaceous vegetable crop of Indian ori... more ABSTRACT Eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) is an important solanaceous vegetable crop of Indian origin having immense variability in morphological descriptors evolved in different agro-ecological zones of the country. Among the 2,500 accessions conserved in the National Gene Bank at National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources, New Delhi, 20% were randomly selected for morphological diversity analysis. Wide range of variation was recorded for 21 descriptors studied. Shannon Diversity Index (H) for traits ranged from for fruit position (0.01), fruit curvature (0.20), plant growth habit (0.46), fruit apex shape (0.52), leaf blade tip angle (0.64), plant height (0.71), petiole color (0.76), leaf blade colour (0.77), leaf prickles on upper surface (0.84), fruit peduncle prickles (0.87), calyx spininess (0.95), calyx colour (0.99), plant spread(1.01), corolla colour (1.02), fruit seediness (1.03), fruit density (1.03), fruit colour distribution (1.10), leaf blade lobbing (1.15), fruit shape (1.30), fruit length breadth ratio (1.40) to a maximum of 1.51 for fruit colour. Morphological diversity and accessions’ collection site data are integrated using DIVA-GIS software for diversity analysis, and finding gaps relating to germplasm collection and conservation of eggplant germplasm. Grid maps generated for the diversity analysis of several fruit descriptors indicated the occurrence of diverse accessions for plant height from the states of Karnataka, Odisha, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, for fruit colour from Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal and for fruit shape from eastern states. The study would help in better management and utilization of eggplant genetic resources in the country.

Vegetable Science, 2016

India holds rich diversity of brinjal (Solanum melongena L.)and related species. Besides land rac... more India holds rich diversity of brinjal (Solanum melongena L.)and related species. Besides land races, many commercial cultivars prevalent in production system also exhibit diverse range of morphological features, particularly fruit characters. We analyzed the extent of diversity among 96 accessions of brinjal with morphologically diverse characters of domestication/evolutionary significance, representing all agro-ecological regions of the country and 19 accessions of exotic origin. The results could clearly distinguish prickly and non-prickly types of accessions, which could further be classified on the basis of growth habit and fruit characters like shape and colour. This distinctness could be due to more weightageto and high correlation among the prickliness of plant parts i.e. stem, leaves and calyx. The cluster analysis revealed low intra-cluster distances compared to the intercluster distances, suggesting homogenous and heterogenous nature of accessions within and between the cl...

Large collections of genetic resources held in Gene Banks poses a challenge for the maintenance o... more Large collections of genetic resources held in Gene Banks poses a challenge for the maintenance of both the accessions as well as the information documented for the germplasm characterized. The accessibility and knowledge of the landrace collections are the prerequisite for an efficient utilization of the genetic resources. Different sample sizes and sampling strategies, either random or non random, were proposed to obtain core sets in brinjal from entire collection of 622 landraces. The proposed strategy emphasizes on relatively smaller number (5) of highly variable descriptors for computing inertia score through Principal Component Score Strategy (PCSS) and thereby capturing maximum genetic diversity in the core set. This strategy is compared with three other strategies i.e. Random, Stratified and Principal Component Score Strategy based on the entire set (13) of quantitative descriptors. This strategy will help in developing core set with limited resources or when information on some descriptors is not available.

Plant Genetic Resources: Characterization and Utilization

Germplasm characterization is essential to estimate variation and identify desirable genotypes fo... more Germplasm characterization is essential to estimate variation and identify desirable genotypes for crop improvement. The current study was conducted on eight qualitative and 14 quantitative traits related to growth and floral attributes for characterization and grouping of 54 chrysanthemum genotypes. Wide variability was observed among most of the traits and principal component analysis revealed that the first two principal components explained most of the existing variation (>98%) in germplasm. Genotypic coefficient of variation exhibited a wide range from 9.41% (ratio of leaf length/width) to 105.99% (corolla tube length of ray florets), while phenotypic coefficient of variation varied from 10.49% (ratio of leaf length/width) to 106.38% (corolla tube length of ray florets). Broad sense heritability estimates were higher (>96%) for most of the characters, except for traits such as ratio of leaf length/width and peduncle thickness. Forty-four pair-wise inter-trait combinations...

Indian Journal of Horticulture, 2014

An experiment was conducted with 26 gladiolus cultivars at Research Farm of Directorate of Floric... more An experiment was conducted with 26 gladiolus cultivars at Research Farm of Directorate of Floricultural Research, New Delhi. The minimum days required for sprouting was recorded in cultivar Peter Pears (3.40 days), whereas earliest spike initiation (86.33 days) and first floret opening (100.33 days) were observed in cultivar Hunting Song. Maximum plant height (115.87 cm) and spike length (101.20 cm) were found in cultivar Amsterdam, whereas maximum rachis length (73.39 cm) was recorded in Snow Princess. Maximum number of florets per spike (18.60) and bigger florets size (97.72 mm) were recorded in Snow Princess and Priscilla, respectively. The cultivar Yellow Stone was found with maximum number of corms per plant (2.68), whereas highest average corm weight (71.60 g) and corm size (64.87 mm) were recorded in Forta Rosa, and highest cormels weight (17.50 g) in Argentina. Higher values of phenotypic coefficient of variation (PCV) and genotypic coefficient of variation (GCV) were recor...