N. Sunil

Genetic diversity studies in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.)

A study was conducted using nineteen exotic collections of tomato. Genetic divergence analysis following Mahalanobis D 2 statistics revealed considerable genetic diversity among 19 genotypes of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) for all the eighteen quantitative characters which was pertaining to the growth, earliness, yield and quality. Fruit weight, plant height and number of fruits per plant contributed 92.40% to the total divergence. Appreciable diversity within and between the clusters was observed. The characters fruit weight, number of fruits per plant and plant height were the potent factors in differentiating the germplasm of tomato under study. Five clusters were fanned from the D 2 analysis using Tochers method. Cluster II topped with maximum number of genotypes among cluster fanned, while maximum inter-cluster distance was observed

Cause And Effect Relationship For Yield And Shelf Life Attributes In Exotic Lines Of Tomato (Solanum Lycopersicum L.)

Cause and effect relationship studies were carried out in 59 tomato genotypes for fourteen yield attributes and four shelf life attributes. Cause and effect relationship analysis for fruit yield per plant revealed that the characters number of primary branches per plant and number of flowers per cluster had high positive direct effect on fruit yield per plant. Cause and effect relationship analysis for shelf-life had revealed that total soluble solids (TSS) had high positive direct effect on shelf-life. Hence, direct selection based on the characters number of primary branches per plant and number of flowers per cluster will be rewarding for improving fruit yield per plant. For improving shelf life in these genotypes direct selection based on high TSS will be rewarding.

Genetic Divergence Analysis of Inbred Lines of Okra [Abelmoschus esculentus (L.) Moench]

Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus (L.) Moench) belongs to the class dicotyledonae, order Malvales, family Malvaceae and genus Abelmoschus (Schippers, 2000). It is native to West Africa (Murdock, 1959). The crop was taken to other parts of the world by the Portuguese (Sinnadurai, 1992). It is one of the important vegetables grown for its immature green non-fibrous edible fruits in the tropical and subtropical parts of the world. Okra has a prominent position among fruit vegetables due to its multiple virtues like high nutritive and medicinal value, ease of cultivation, wide adaptability, year round cultivation, good portability, export potential and bountiful returns (Reddy, 2010). It is an excellent source of iodine, thus it could be used in the control of goitre (Purewal and Randhawa, 1947). Being an upright, quick growing and medium duration annual herb, it fits well into multiple cropping systems either as a sole crop or intercrop (Reddy, 2010). It is the main fruit vegetable crop in many parts of the world, predominantly in Asia and Africa. Okra is a drought and heat tolerant crop (Reddy et al., 2013). It is an important cash crop for marginal, small and large farmers, with a potential to boost food, nutritional and health security, foster rural development and support sustainable land care (Reddy, 2010). International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences ISSN: 2319-7706 Volume 6 Number 11 (2017) pp. 379-388 Journal homepage: http://www.ijcmas.com

Green leafy vegetables from two traditional agro-ecosystems of Peninsular India - their documentation and relevance

Two distinct agro-ecosystems viz., peri-urban and tribal were surveyed for collection of diversity in green leafy vegetables (GLVs). The survey resulted in the collection and documentation of germplasm of 85 accessions of cultivated and uncultivated GLVs that are in use in the two agro-ecosystems. The traditional farming practices of GLVs in the two agro-ecosytems were compared for understanding the factors influencing the cultivation practices. The agro-ecosytem in the tribal belt benefitted with the buffer food and nutritional security from uncultivated edible plant species. The indigenous traditional knowledge (ITK) associated with such uncultivated species was documented for scientific validation. The study reckons that there is an urgent need to diversify the GLV species under cultivation in the peri-urban region for food and nutritional security by exploring the three tier model that exists in the tribal niches for harnessing potential uncultivated plant species as GLVs in all kinds of situations.