In surveys of apple (Malus domestica) orchards in various parts of Himachal Pradesh, samples from trees showing necrotic symptoms on the leaves were collected and tested for detection of Prunus necrotic ringspot virus (PNRSV) initially by ELISA followed by RT-PCR using coat protein gene primers. Positive results were obtained in samples from Kullu and Kalpa regions. The virus gene sequences showed 88-97% similarity to corresponding sequences of other PNRSV isolates deposited in the GenBank database using ncbi.nih.nlm.gov. Although the similarity was high, there were some distinct differences with the Spanish isolate. This is the first report of PNRSV in apple from India.
The study aim at utilization of bulk availability of low cost ripe pumpkin into processed products possessing health benefits. A fruit bar was developed using pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata) at 40°Brix, 1.5% citric acid and 2% pectin by varying cooking method (with and without cooking of ingredients; with and without cooking of ingredients using concentrated pumpkin pulp (PP)). Pumpkin bar prepared using concentrated pulp and with cooking of ingredients had obtained maximum sensory score, as well as maximum content of β-carotene (9.89 mg/100 g) and ascorbic acid (8.75 mg/100 g). Pumpkin bar was evaluated for quality and stability during storage. The values for chemical and sensory parameters decreased significantly during storage but the bar was of good quality up to six months under ambient conditions. Aluminium Laminated Pouches (ALP) was observed to be better packaging material as compared to Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE) and Polypropylene (PP) boxes. Hence, it was concluded that ripe pumpkin can be utilized for the production of good quality and nutritionally enriched bar at remunerative cost.
Apple scar skin viroid (ASSVd) infection is a major limitation to apple fruit quality and causes huge economic losses. In surveys of apple orchards in the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh, fruits with dappling symptoms were noticed. ASSVd was detected from these fruits and molecularly characterized. Ten clones from three isolates were sequenced, of which seven were new sequence variants of ASSVd. The clones had significant sequence variability (94-100%) with each other. Variability was more common in the pathogenic domain of the viroid genome. Four of the clones were 330 nucleotides (nt) long, and the other six had an additional nucleotide. Phylogenetic analysis showed close affinity of the present isolates with some Chinese and Korean isolates. The study reports seven new variants of ASSVd and also provides the first molecular evidence of viroid infection (ASSVd) in apple in India.
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