An experiment was conducted to study the effect of iron fortification in morphology, minerals and antioxidantcomposition of watercress under organic soilless culture for testing the possibility of increase in iron contentin its edible parts at Dept. of Horticulture, Sikkim University, Gangtok during 2017-2018. Plants weregrown in a solution of 500 g vermicompost and 5 g citric acid in trays filled with cocopeat +coarse perlite(1:1). The experiment was laid out under the protected condition. Four different concentrations ofFeSO4@0.2%, 0.3%, 0.4% and 0.5% were used. All the morphological parameters like leaf length, number ofleaves per plant, leaf thickness, plant height, plant fresh weight and plant dry weight showed significantincrease at 0.5% concentration of FeSO4 fortification. Minerals like Fe, Cu, Zn and Mn contentin plant werealso significantly increased at given concentration. In contrast, the maximum concentration of FeSO4 showedthe opposite effect on the antioxidant content in the watercress plant. Overall, the watercress plants grownin increased amount of FeSO4 media were luxuriant in their growth with increased number of essentialelements especially iron. Therefore, the findings suggest that FeSO4 can be used in the growing media foriron fortification in watercress with yield enhancement.
The present study was conducted to investigate diversity of mallero (Elaegnus latifolia) across differentagro-ecological systems in East Sikkim and to observe variations in physico-chemical parameters of themallero fruits with variation in agro-ecological system. The study was conducted in mixed farming basedagro-ecological system, farm based agro-ecological system, forest habitat based agro-ecological system,cardamom based agro-ecological system and sikkim mandarin based agro-ecological systems. Theexperiment was laid out in Completely Randomized Design with five treatments and three replications.Studies regarding growth parameters like highest plant population (4.66) and number of fruits per tree(308.00) was found in mixed farming agro-ecological system (T1). However, the number of fruits per branch(27.00) and plant spread (4.06 m) was found maximum in farm based agro-ecological system (T2). Similarly,plant leaf area (41.93 cm2) was found maximum in forest based agro-ecological system (T3). Qualityparameters like length of fruit (4.46 cm) and juice (3.50 ml) was found maximum in mixed farm based Agroecological system (T1). The highest total acidity (8.59) and organoleptic test value (2.76) were found in farmbased agro-ecological system (T2). Similarly, maximum fruit weight (22.16 g) and maximum shelf life inroom temperature (21.66) was recorded in cardamom based agro-ecological system (T4). However, thehighest TSS (13.33) was recorded in mandarin agro-ecological system (T5) and maximum shelf life of fruitin refrigerator (41.93 days) was found in forest based agro-ecological system (T3).
Qualitative parameters of acid lime (Citrus aurantifolia Swingle) were found to be influenced with the different concentrations of plant growth regulators and chemical during hasta bahar. GA3 @ 50 ppm in June -Cycocel @ 1000 ppm in September -KNO3 @ 2% in October resulted in maximum titrable acidity (7.19), total soluble solids (7.25), total sugar (1.81), reducing sugars (0.87), non-reducing sugars (0.94) and minimum number of seeds (8.06). However, the maximum juice percent (49.31) and least rind thickness were found in GA3 @ 50 ppm in June -Cycocel @ 2000 ppm in September -KNO3 @ 2% in October. Similarly, the maximum ascorbic acid (30.46) and least weight of seeds per fruit (0.62) were found in GA3 @ 50 ppm in June -Cycocel @ 1500 ppm in September -KNO3 @ 2% in October and GA3 @ 50 ppm in June respectively.
A field experiment was conducted to study the effect of plant growth regulators and chemical on growth, flowering and yield of hasta bahar acid lime (Citrus aurantifolia Swingle). The experiment was laid out in split plot design with two main plot treatments and nine sub-plot treatments and three replications. The study revealed that, the application of GA 3 @ 50 ppm in June + Cycocel @ 1000 ppm in September + KNO 3 @ 2 % in October showed superior performance in regard to number of flowers per shoot (8.18), number of fruits per tree (382.50), initial fruit set (54.74) and fruit retention (39.73), yield (4.13) and percentage increase in yield over control (52.43). GA 3 @ 50 ppm in June recorded highest increase in plant height, canopy spreads, canopy volume, shoot length and also resulted in highest days taken to flowering. However, KNO 3 @ 2 % in October induced earliest flowering in acid lime.
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