1 technology for processing and waste utilization of water ... · which is the bitter yellow sap...

ISO 9001:2008 OrganizationVolume 24 No. 3ISSN 2394-3289

July-September 2018

Water melon [Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.) Mastu and Nakai] is animportant vegetable vis-à-vis fruit belonging to Cucurbitaceaefamily. Fruits comprise of three main components viz. flesh, rindand seeds. Water melon constitutes approximately 64% flesh,33% rind and 2% seeds of the total weight. The sweet, juicy pulpof ripe fruits is eaten fresh throughout the tropical and subtropicalregion. The fleshy part of water melon is being used for preparationof RTS drink or sweetened juice on small scale without any specificstandard recipes and procedures. During the process of juiceextraction nearly one third of fruit consists of rind which is usuallydiscarded. The disposal of rind invites various problems for foodindustrialist due to overcoming pressures of pollution controlagencies. However, the rind of water melon fruit is known to berich source of carbohydrates (3.80%), proteins (0.98%), minerals(0.20%) and fibers and possesses several health beneficial effects.At present, the left over rind after juice extraction is dumped as

Technology for processing and wasteutilization of water melon

Promising Technologies

Technology for processing and waste 1utilization of water melon

Processing of Aloe vera for value-added 2products

Bio-intensive management of mango 4leafhoppers

New Initiatives

Role of ozone in extending shelf life 5of strawberry

Harvesting table size hilsa 6

Molecular characterization of NKEF 6gene in rohu

Natural Resource Management

Exploration of maize, chilli, brinjal and 7wild Solanum sp. germplasm fromChhattisgarh

Soil quality management through 8Zero Budget Natural Farming

Isolating aloin from yellow sap of 10Aloe vera

Profile

ICAR-The Central Arid Zone Research 11Institute (CAZRI)

Spectrum

Impact of Hydrocolloids on nutrition 17of blueberry

Application of Nanotechnology in 18agriculture

Isolating aloin from yellow sap of 21Aloe vera

Production of desired sex embryos: 21an innovative approach

Management of Leaf Curl Disease 22of Chilli

Way Forward 24

Water melon rind candy

2ICAR NEWS

PROMISING TECHNOLOGIESsolid waste. So, an urgent need is being felt to utilizeleft over rind for preparation of value added products.The water melon rind can be used for preparation ofcandy and thus can help in reducing waste generation,besides providing better remuneration to farmers, foodprocessors and more importantly will reduce the badenvironmental impacts. Candy is produced from fruitsand vegetables by osmo-dehydration process in whichsugar is the main preservative. Osmotic dehydration(OD) is a technique applied to fruit and vegetableproducts to reduce their moisture content and increasesoluble solids content. In osmotic dehydration, the rawmaterial is immersed in hypertonic solution having ahigh osmotic pressure, thus resulting mass transfer fromthe region of higher concentration to the lowerconcentration. At present there is no standard processavailable for the preparation of water melon rind candyby osmotic dehydration technique. The maintenance oftexture, taste and aroma are major problems inpreparation of candy.

An urgent need was felt to standardize the process forpreparation of water melon nectar and rind utilize forpreparation of water melon rind candy. Department ofPost Harvest Technology, ACHF at Navsari AgriculturalUniversity has developed the appropriate technologyfor utilization of water melon juice and rind forpreparation of nectar and candy, respectively.

Methodology for preparation of water melon rindcandyThe mature water melon of good quality, must beprocured, washed thoroughly in clean water and thefruits should be cut into halves and quarters manuallyusing stainless steel knife. The seeds and white rindalong with the peel can be separated from juicy pulp.The green portion of rind can be peeled using stainlesssteel knife and white edible portion cut into cuboids(1.5 cmx1.5 cm) having thickness of 1.0-1.50 cm. Thencuboids must be blanched in boiling water for 5 min.After that 100g sugar should bedirectly mixed with 100gblanched rind cuboids along with 0.20% citric acid forosmotic dehydration. After 24 hours, syrup should be

drained out. TSS and weight of syrup may be recorded.Then TSS of drained out syrup should be raised 10°Brixby adding table sugar and cuboids must be again keptin syrup overnight. The process should be repeated tillthe TSS of syrup reaches to 70° Brix. Then candy cuboidsmust be rinsed in boiling water for 5 to 10 seconds.Then cuboids must be air dried in cabinet drier attemperature of 60°C for 8 hours. After air dehydration,water melon rind candy can be packed in polypropylenebags (300 guage), sealed airtight and stored at roomtemperature.

Methodology for preparation of water melonnectarMature water melonof good quality, mustbe procured andwashed thoroughly inclean water. It shouldbe cut into halves andquarters manuallyusing stainless steelknife. The seeds andwhite rind along withthe peel can be separated from juicy pulp. The ediblepulpy portion is cut into small pieces and passed throughthe fine screen juice extractor. Sugar syrup can beprepared by adding cane sugar to hot water. Thestrength of sugar syrup (16°Brix) should be measuredusing hand refractometer. 25% water melon juice shouldbe mixed thoroughly in freshly prepared syrupon weightbasis and the mixture must be boiled by adding 0.30%of citric acid to get consistent product. The preparednectar can be filled into pre-sterilized glass bottles of200 ml and sealed airtight with crown caps. The productmust be processed at 96±1°C in boiling water for 30minutes followed by cooling and storage at roomtemperature.

Dev Raj, Chethan HP and Vaghashiya JMNavsari Agricultural University,

Navsari 396 450 (GJ)email: [email protected]

Processing of Aloe vera for value-added products

Water melon nectar

30-50 cm long and 10 cm broad at the base having anindented margin. The leaves are pea green in colour.Each leaf is composed of three layers. The inner layerconsists of clear gel that contains around 99% waterand rest is made of glucomannans, amino acids, lipids,

Aloe vera (Aloe barbadensis Miller) belongs to Liliaceaefamily, traditionally being utilized as contemporary folkremedy. Aloe vera is a succulent, almost sessile perennialplant with multiple tuberous roots and many fibroussupporting roots penetrating into the soil. Each leaf is

3 July-September 2018

PROMISING TECHNOLOGIESUniversity has developed the technologies forprocessing and value addition of Aloe vera into differentprocessed products. These include the methods forextraction of aloin free Aloe vera juice, utilization ofAloe vera juice for preparation of health drink andvermicelli and technology for dehydration of Aloe veragel which can be utilized for preparation of Aloe verabased nutraceutical. A brief description of thetechnologies developed at department of PHT forpreparation of different products is detailed as under:-

Methodology for extraction of Aloe vera juiceAfter sorting and washing, the traditional hand-filletingmethod can be used for preparation of Aloe leaves/slips for juice extraction. In this method, the lower 1inch of the leaf base (the white part attached to thelarge rosette stem of the plant), the tapering point (2-4 inch) of the leaf top and the short sharp spines locatedalong the leaf margins must be removed by the sharpSS knife. After removal of base, tapering point and sharpspines, the Aloe vera gel can be extracted using sharpSS knife. All the green peel/ skin of Aloe vera leaf shouldbe removed to avoid presence of bitter compound i.e.aloin content in the gel. The gel must be extensivelywashed with drinkable water followed by pre-treatmentwith soybean extract (1.5% for 12 h) to remove aloincontent (US Patent, 2007). After pre-treatment, the Aloevera gel should be again washed. The juice can then beextracted from gel using crusher type juice extractor.

Methodology for preparation of Aloe vera basedblended health drink (Nectar)Health drink in the form of nectar can be prepared fromthe juice/ pulp of Aloe vera, bitter gourd, aonla andguava. Sugar syrup can be prepared by adding canesugar to boiling water. The strength of sugar syrup(15°Brix) should be measured using hand refractometer.12% Aloe vera juice, 2% Bitter gourd juice, 2% Aonlajuice and 4% Guava pulp should be mixed thoroughly infreshly prepared syrup on weight basis and the mixture

sterols and vitamins. The middle layer is made of latex,which is the bitter yellow sap and containsanthraquinones and glycosides. The outer thick layerconsists of 15-20 cells called as rind has protectivefunction and synthesizes carbohydrates and proteins.Aloe vera contains 75 potentially active constituents:vitamins, enzymes, minerals, sugars, lignin, saponins,salicylic acids and amino acids. The use of gel hasincreased dramatically in the field of health care andcosmetics. It is being utilized as a valuable ingredientfor food application due to its biological activities andfunctional properties. Aloes have long been in use forseveral diseases, particularly connected with thedigestive system; they have also been used for wounds,burns and skin problems. The term Aloe stand for thedried juice, which flows from transversely cut base ofits leaves. It is the best herbal answer to support thehealth and healing mechanisms of the body.Pharmacologically it is an immunity booster anddetoxifies the system. It is recommended in adjuvanttherapy with antibiotics, NSAIDs (Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs) and chemotherapy to eliminatedrug induced gastritis and other adverse effects. It isuseful in various diseases such as Type II diabetes,arthritis, eye disease, tumor, spleen enlargement, livercomplaints, vomiting, bronchitis, asthma, jaundice andulcers. It relieves constipation, maintains a good gastricpH, help in inflammatory bowel disease, non-ulcerdyspepsia, gastric and duodenal ulcers. It is used as adietary supplement in pre and post-operative patients,post-menopausal women and in cases of osteoporosis.

Aloe juice is utilized as functional foods especially forthe preparation of health drinks. Dehydrated Aloe veragel can be utilized for preparation of value addedproducts in food, pharmaceutical and cosmeticsindustries. It can also be used in other food productsincluding health foods by blending with cereals viz.,bread, extruded products, etc. Department of PostHarvest Technology, ACHF at Navsari Agricultural

Aloin free Aloe vera juice in wrapping Aloe vera based blended health drink (Nectar)

4ICAR NEWS

PROMISING TECHNOLOGIESmanual peeling method. All the green peel/ skin of Aloevera leaf should be removed to avoid presence of bittercompound i.e. aloin content in the gel. The gel must beextensively washed with drinkable water followed by pre-treatment withsoybean extract(1.5% for 12 hours)to remove aloincontent (US Patent,2007). After pre-treatment, the Aloevera gel should bewashed again.Dehydration of Aloevera gel can becarried out incabinet dryer (8.5 kg Aloe vera gel loaded in 12 trays) atfour stage dehydration temperature (75°C for 2 hours,70°C for 3 hours, 65°C for 4 hours and 60°C till drying) upto final moisture content of about 8 %. The drying of gelcan be considered complete when there is no variationin weight of dried gel due to moisture removal duringfalling period of drying curve. After drying, dried Aloevera gel can be packed in 200 gauge PP bags and storedat room temperature.

Vaghashiya JM and Dev RajNavsari Agricultural University,

Navsari 396 450 (GJ)email: [email protected]

must be boiled by adding 0.30% of citric acid to getconsistent product (as per FPO specification). Theprepared nectar can be filled into pre-sterilized glassbottles of 200 ml and sealed air tight with crown caps.The product must be processed at 96±1°C in boilingwater for 30 minutes followed by cooling and storage atroom temperature.

Methodology for preparation of Aloe vera basedvermicelliAloe vera based vermicelli can be prepared using 24%Aloe vera juice, 1% isabgol husk and 75% wheat flour.Vermicelli can be prepared using ‘Dolly extruder’ bykneading the entireingredient in feedingsection of extruderfollowed by coldextrusion. Extrudedvermicelli should bedried in dryer at 50°Ctemperature for 10minutes to removemoisture up to 8%followed by cooling at room temperature, packing in 200gauge PP bags and storage at room temperature.

Methodology for dehydration of Aloe vera gelAloe vera gel can be obtained by washing and removalof basal as well as apex part of leaf along with serrationfollowed by separation of gel (without crushing) by the

Bio-intensive management ofmango leafhoppers

fluorescens + Pochonia chlamydosporia) enriched FarmYard manure/neemcake hads u c c e s s f u l l yc o n t r o l l e dinsect pests andplant parasiticn e m a t o d e s ,respectively inbroccoli underp o l y h o u s econditions. Shri Raju, a progressive farmer fromDoddaballapur, Karnataka adopted these eco-friendlytechnologies and accrued an income of ̀ 7.5 lakh per acreand fetched 30% more yield than chemical methods. Iteffectively reduced insect pests and root-knot nematodepopulation by 90%.

DirectorICAR-IIHR, Bengaluru

email: [email protected] use of ICAR-IIHR technologies of Neem soap

and Biopesticides (Trichoderma viride + Pseudomonas

Managing pests and nematodesin broccoli under protected

conditions

Leafhoppers (Idioscopus spp., Amritodus atkinsoni)are the serious pests ofmango and the oilformulation ofMetarhizium anisopliaedeveloped by ICAR-IIHRwas effective againstthem @ 0.5 ml/l whichgave 85% reduction ofpest population.


Role of ozone in extending shelf lifeof strawberry

Strawberry is a non-climacteric fruit, famous for itsattractive appearance, taste and high nutritional value.The fragile fruit, susceptible to attack by post harvestpathogens, results in significant losses. Conventionally,synthetic fungicides are applied to protect this cropfrom post harvest pathogens as well as to maintain itsquality during storage. Harmful residual effects of thesechemicals lead to health problems. Moreover, in thepresent era consumers have become health consciousand prefer natural foods with less chemical residues.This perception has stimulated interest in research fornatural, eco-friendly, effective alternative measures offood preservation. Ozone is one such compound thathas the capacity to reduce the microbial as well aspesticidal load from the fresh produce and prolong theirstorage life. With its approval as a GRAS ingredient byUSFDA in 2001, application of ozone (O3) has gainedrecognition as a sanitizing agent. Ozone inactivates cellsas a result of oxidative stress caused by reactive oxygenspecies (ROS) such as OOH., OH. and H2O2 which areproduced by ozone decomposition. Ozone is used for

delaying ripening process, sanitizing agent for barrels inwine industry, water sterilization as well as surfacesanitizer in fruits. This work was done to study theeffects of ozone in aqueous mode on post harvestdisease incidence and maintenance of quality duringstorage of strawberry cv. Winter Dawn.

Results• Lesser decay incidence and microbial growth was

observed in ozone treated fruits.• Untreated fruits showed nearly 37% and 50% higher

decay incidence in low and ambient storageconditions respectively than the ozone treated ones.

• Treated strawberry fruits showed 50% lesser colourchange in 14 days of low temperature storage and15% lesser colour change in 2 days of ambienttemperature storage.

• Exposure of strawberry fruits to aqueous ozone couldsuccessfully extend storage life of strawberry fruitstill 14 days under low temperature and 2 days underambient storage conditions with minimal decay andsuppressed changes in fruit quality.

NEW INITIATIVES

6ICAR NEWS

NEW INITIATIVES

Harvesting table size hilsaFreshwater pond culturedtable size hilsa Tenualosailisha, was harvested for thefirst time on 14 June, 2018at ICAR-CIFA, Kalyani FieldStation of RRC, Rahara, WestBengal. The techniques ofartificial fecundation of wild caught hilsa in the river andthen incubation of fertilized eggs, larval rearing andsubsequently raising fry and fingerling at the researchstation were developed by a team of scientists (Dr DNChattopadhyaya, Dr RN Mandal and Mr A Das) underthe recently completed ICAR-NASF funded projectentitled, “Stock characterization, captive breeding, seed

production and culture of hilsa (Tenualosa ilisha)”.

This stock of hilsa was raised starting from artificialfecundation of wild caught hilsa from the Hooghly riverduring March, 2016 and subsequent hatching and rearingof larvae under controlled condition in FRP tanks followedby culture of fry to fingerlings stage in concrete ponds.For further growth, the advanced fingerlings of the size146-196 mm/29.5-68.4 g were stocked in an earthern pondof 0.2 ha, where they grew to the size of 230-309 mm/120-310 g after nine and a half months of culture.

DirectorICAR-CIFA, Bhubaneshwar, Odisha

email: [email protected]

• Aqueous ozone is a potential technology forenhancing storage life and safety of fresh produce.

Advantages of ozonation technique• It is an eco-friendly technology.• Ozone has been recognized as GRAS.• It does not leave any toxic residues.• Ozone is generated on site, thus a fewer safety

problems associated with shipping and handling.• It is highly reactive, can kill pathogens in seconds.• It is effective over a much wider spectrum of

microorganism.

Swarajya Laxmi Nayak and Shruti SethiICAR-IARI New Delhi 110 012


2 days after storage at ambient temperature;control (left ); treated (right)

14 days after storage at low temperature;control (left ); treated (right)

NKEF gene was functionally characterized by using MICassay, insulin assay and analysis of expression pattern inlecukocyte samples treated with Con A and Aeromonashydrophila. Up-regulation of NKEF transcripts expressionwas observed in leukocyte samples isolated fromhead-kidney treated with A. hydrophila and Con A.The recombinant protein of NKEF was able to inhibit thebacteria A. hydrophila, Edwardsiella tarda andStaphylococcus aureus at a concentration of 100 µg at24 h post incubation. In insulin reduction assay, theturbidity was increased from 20-140 min in dose dependent

Molecular characterization of NKEF gene in rohumanner at differentconcentration of rNKEFwith DTT (15.62 µg,31.25 µg, 62.5 µg and125 µg). From the aboveresults it was concludedthat rNKEF has bothanti-microbial and

anti-oxidant activity. DirectorICAR-CIFA, Bhubaneshwar, Odisha



Chhattisgarh in the South Eastern partof India, is a mineral and agro-biodiversity rich state predominated bytribal population (31.8%) viz. Kol, Gond,Bhunjia, Korwa, Rajgond, Baiga, Kawar,Bhaiyana, Binjwar, Dhanwar, Munda,Oraon etc. Its diverse topography,forests and climate have evolved andsupport the natural growth of many wildrelatives of crops including belonging toSolanaceae family. Taking into accountthe possibility of collecting uniquegermplasm and collection gaps, an exploration trip wasconducted from 21st to 30th September, 2017 in Jaspur,Korba and Koriya districts of Chhattisgarh. During theexploration, a total of 85 accessions belonging to 10species were collected. The collected species comprisedof Zea mays (43), Capsicum frutescens (7), Capsicumannuum (12), Solamum melongena (3) and Oryza sativa(2) while crop wild relatives include Solamumxanthocarpum (7), Solamum nigrum (3), Solamum viarum(6), Solamum torvum (1) and Ocimum basilicum (1).

Maize germplasm represents considerable diversity inqualitative and quantitative traits of cobs and seeds. Thecob color ranged from light yellow, dark yellow, white todark purple. Other traits viz. the cob length (7.33-26.67cm), cob girth (8.00-16.33 cm), number of rows per cob(8-18), number of seeds per row (12-45), cob weight(25.45-204.88 g) and 100 seed weight (9.74-38.66 g),

showed considerable variability among the accessions.Cob weight, seed weight, number of seeds per row andcob length have high variability, while cob girth and rowsper cob showed moderate variability. Similarly highdiversity was observed in germplasm of Capsicumannuum and Capsicum frutescens. Accessions of boththese species differ significantly in fruit shape, size andin pungency. A few landraces (Dhan mircha, Gach mircha,Gol mircha etc.) of highly pungent chilli were alsocollected, among these “Dhan Mircha” is popularlandrace of Capsicum frutescens. This is a small fruit sized,perennial and highly pungent chilli, mostly planted in thebackyards for domestic consumption. Besides these, twoearly maturing named landraces of rice viz. “Chainadhaan” and “Daani dhaan” were also collected.

The wild species of Solanaceae family were mostly found inand collected from forests, hills, wastelands, river banks

and dam sites. Solamum xanthocarpumis called by various names likebhainskateyiya, ghaskatiya and used incough, asthama and toothache by thelocals. It was reported to be veryeffective for these ailments. Solanumviarum was collected from high altitude(>1000 msl) of Jaspur viz. Rauni, whereit was found sporadically in the forestsand forest peripheries. Its broth is usedin cold and cough by local people.Solanum nigrum was found in a varietyof habitats i.e. natural wild, farmer’sfields, village streets and wastelandsareas etc. Its small, black, round, juicyfruits are edible and relished particularlyby the children. Solanum torvum has a

Exploration of maize, chilli, brinjal and wild Solanumsp. germplasm from Chhattisgarh

NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

8ICAR NEWS

wide distribution among different habitats. However, it was mostcommon in natural wild hilly terrain. Unripe fruits of S. torvum are oil-fried into vegetable and liked very much by the locals. Herbariumspecimens of fifteen species of crop wild relatives viz. Solanum viarum,Solanum torvum, Solanum insanum, Solanum nigrum, Tephrosiapurpurea, Abelmoschus ficulneus, Atylosia scarabaeoides, Crotalaria sp.,Vigna hainiana, Vigna vexillata, Abelmoschus tetraphyllus, Solanumsurattense, Oryza nivara, Abelmoschus pungens and Costus speciosuswere collected and submitted to National Herbarium of Cultivated Plants(NHCP). These areas have large diversity in rice, millets, vegetables,pulses and horticultural species, and need interventions to sustainablysupport and conserve on-farm diversity.

SK Bishnoi1, PK Malav2, SP Ahlawat3 andKuldeep Singh4

1ICAR- NBPGR, Regional Station, Ranchi2ICAR- NBPGR, New Delhi


Imbalanced and indiscriminate use of chemical inputs inthe present day agriculture has adversely affected thesoil quality and crop ecosystem and threatens future foodproduction by reducing biodiversity, declining factorproductivity, and contributing to environmentaldegradation of the existing system. Further, the ever-increasing crop production costs and farmer distressposes a big challenge to the scientists and planners toachieve the objective of the Union Government todouble the farmers’ income by 2022.

Mountainous agro-ecosystem of Himachal Pradeshis one of the most vulnerable ecosystems, whichneeds to be supported by sustainable farmingpractices without any adverse effect on soil andenvironment. Indigenous a cow based ‘Zero BudgetNatural Farming’ (ZBNF) is a holistic farmingtechnique, which will reduce crop productioncosts, market dependency on farm inputs, and will

Soil quality management throughZero Budget Natural Farming

increase farm carrying capacity to sustain the vitallivelihood source of resource-poor farmers. ZBNFfocuses on utilizing cheap and local inputs withabsolutely no place for fertilizers and plantprotection chemicals.

Soils provide numerous ecosystem services, andenhancing soil quality is important for sustaining cropproductivity and environmental quality. The agriculturalpractices like cow-urine and cow-dung based ZBNF areexpected to improve the soil quality. Among biologicalindicators, enzyme activities are important dynamicindicators of soil quality because of their quick responseto changes in soil environment and managementpractices (pesticides, fertilizers, amendments, land use,different management and farming systems etc) andthe metabolic activity of soil microorganisms, whichinfluence soil fertility, nutrient cycles andtransformations. Dehydrogenases (DHA) are intracellular

enzymes that are involved in microbialoxido-reductase metabolism and theiractivity is considered an indicator ofmicrobial oxidative activity, which isclosely correlated with respiratoryactivity and organic matterdecomposition. It is used to determinethe influence of various chemicals (likepesticides or excessive fertilization) andmanagement practices on the soil.


Beejamrit Jeevamrit

S. xanthocarpum

S. viarum S. niigrum


Strong negative impact of intensive fertilizer and pesticideuse on DHA has been reported in literature. Phosphatasecatalyses the hydrolysis of both organic phosphate estersand anhydrides of phosphoric acid into inorganicphosphorus (P) and are crucial in accelerating the cyclingof P between soil organic matter and plant uptake.

indicators (DHA and phosphataseactivity) as compared toconventional (recommendedfertilizers and pesticides) andorganic farming (FYM) under pea(var. P-89) cultivation were studiedat Dr YSP UHF, Nauni. The initialsoil pH of the experimental field was6.3 and soil organic carbon was7.50 g kg-1. The available nitrogen,phosphorus and potassium were

329, 13.4 and 154.6 kg ha-1, respectively. The inputs usedin the ZBNF were beejamrit and jeevamirit. Beejamritwas used for seed treatment. Jeevamirit was appliedtwice a month in the irrigation water or as a 10% foliarspray. Jeevamrit provides nutrients and acts as a catalyticagent that promotes the activity of microorganisms inthe soil. The yield obtained under ZBNF (10 t ha-1) wascomparable to that in conventional farming.

The ZBNF increased the enzyme activity, indicator of soilquality, in comparison to the conventional and organicfarming. DHA increased from 6.9 µg TPF g-1 h-1 underconventional farming to 7.3 µg TPF g-1 h-1 under organicfarming and was highest under ZBNF (8.4 µg TPF g-1 h-1).

A similar response pattern was observed in the alkalineand acid phosphatase activity. Under ZBNF the alkalinephosphatase activity increased to 105 µg PNP g-1 h-1 incomparison to 65 µg PNP g-1 h-1 and 71 µg PNP g-1 h-1

under conventional and organic farming, respectively. Theacid phosphatase activity was alsohighest under ZBNF (112 µg PNP g-

1 h-1) followed by organic farming (99µg PNP g-1 h-1) and conventionalfarming (84 µg PNP g-1 h-1). Thus, theZBNF practice showed animprovement in soil quality withina single cropping season, asindicated by increase in the activityof soil enzymes (DHA andphosphatase).

The studies need to be continued to assess the long-termsustainability of the ZBNF and its impact on soil, cropand environmental quality. This has opened new vistasto scientific community for further validation andrefinement of the low cost and eco-friendly ZBNF systemin present farming scenario.

Sudhir Verma1, R S Chandel1, Rajesh Kaushal1,Panma Yankit1 and Sandeep Sharma2

1Dr YSPUHF, Nauni (HP), 2PAU, Ludhiana (Punjab)email: [email protected]


Effect of farm management practices on dehydrogenase activity (DHA)

Pea crop under Zero Budget Natural Farming

Effect of management practices on phosphatase activity

In 2018, the Himachal Pradesh government launchedZBNF project to prevent soil degradation, promoteclimate resilient agriculture practices, increase farmincome and make the farmers’ self-reliant. Keeping thisin view, the short-term effects of ZBNF on soil quality

ERRATUM

ICAR NEWS, April-June 2018, Photograph on page 4pertains to “New Indigenous ornamental fish speciesParasilorhynchus swaini discovered in Odisha” on page 7of the same issue.

10ICAR NEWS

The Central Arid Zone Research Institute (CAZRI) owesits origin to the Desert Afforestation Research Station,which was established in 1952 at Jodhpur which wasupgraded to the Desert Afforestation and SoilConservation Station in 1957. In order to put appropriateemphasis on arid zone research and development,Government of India in 1958 sought the advice ofUNESCO expert, Mr CS Christian, upon whoserecommendation the Institute came into existence onOctober 1, 1959.

The Institute conducts multi- disciplinary research to seeksolutions to the problems of arid zones (hot and cold)which occupies about 12% geographical area of thecountry. About 32 million ha area in the states ofRajasthan, Gujarat, Punjab, Haryana, Karnataka andTelangana comprises the hot arid regions and about 7million ha in the states of Jammu & Kashmir andHimachal Pradesh comes under the cold arid region of

ICAR-The Central Arid Zone Research Institute (CAZRI)Pioneering research on combating desertification

the country. Interestingly approximately 61% of the hotarid zone of the country is in western Rajasthan whichincludes the vast Indian Thar desert, the most denselypopulated desert of the world.

MANDATE OF INSTITUTE

• Basic and applied research on sustainable farmingsystems in the arid ecosystem

• Repository of information on the state of naturalresources and desertification processes

• Livestock-based farming systems and rangemanagement practices for the chronically drought-affected areas

• Generating and transferring location-specifictechnologies.

Organisational structureThe Institute is located at Jodhpur in Rajasthan stateand comprises of six research Divisions. It has five

PROFILE


undertaking the stabilization of sand dunes covering over4 lakh ha in the state of Rajasthan.

CAZRI’s recommendations for shelterbelt plantations forreducing sand movement is well recognized. Planting ofshelterbelts with neem (Azadirachta indica), Israeli babool(Acacia tortilis) and desi babool (A. nilotica) trees havebeen found to reduce wind speed by 20-30% andconsequently wind erosion by about 50%. This also resultsin conservation of soil moisture and nutrients. Thetechnology has been adopted along 400 km in westernRajasthan and at many places micro-environment forpracticing agriculture has been provided.

Integrated farming system (IFS) for sustainability andlivelihood securityThe Institute has identified several agroforestry,agri-horticulture, horti-pastoral and silvi-pastoralsystems for livelihood security of farmers. Growing treeslike Prosospis cineraria, Hardwickia binata, Acacia senegal,Tecomella undulata, Ailanthus excels and Ziziphusmauritiana in combination with different crops andgrasses have been shown to give high and assuredreturns to the farmers under harsh climatic conditionsof arid zone.

Regional Research Stations across different states: threeof these are situated in Rajasthan at Pali, Bikaner andJaisalmer; one in Gujarat at Bhuj; and one in Jammuand Kashmir at Leh (Ladakh). The Krishi Vigyan Kendrasworking at Jodhpur, Pali and Bhuj and the All IndiaNetwork Project on Vertebrate Pest Management arealso under the domain of the Institute. Scientists of 32different subjects work on diverse fields of relevance toagriculture in arid environment. These include crops,trees, fruit trees, grasses, livestock, solar energy,agricultural engineering, natural resources,geomorphology, soils, and technology transfer. This givesthe Institute a unique identity of being among a fewagricultural Institutes in the world workingsimultaneously on such a wide ranging fields.

AchievementsCAZRI has strategically addressed various issues inresearch taking cognizance of challenges andopportunities in arid production environments. Theapproach of the Institute has been dynamic andcurrently high priority is being attached to sustainabilityand livelihood security of farmers. Some of the salientachievements of the Institute are given below:

Technologies for combating desertificationCAZRI has done pioneering research on combatingdesertification through sand dune stabilization andshelterbelt plantations. The Institute devised suitabletechnology for stabilizing sand dunes which includedfencing/protecting the dune area; establishing micro-wind breaks and planting of adapted bush-woodmaterial. This technology has been helpful in

Plantation on dunes

PROFILE

12ICAR NEWS

PROFILEIntegrated Farming System model for 7 ha landincorporating crop and system diversification andlivestock component has been developed. The model cangenerate an employment of more than 845 man daysand give net returns up to `2.5 lakh. The model cansustain a family of 4 persons and 7 adult cattle units.The system diversification components included in theIFS are arable cropping (15%); agri-horticulture (10%);agroforestry (35%); silvipasture (30%); and boundaryplantation (10%).

Crop production technologiesVarious technologies have been developed for sustainablecrop production under rainfed conditions. These include

application of FYM on rows to prevent crust formation,optimum tillage to capture sufficient rainwater, paired-row planting for efficient utilization of soil moisture,intercropping to reduce risk of crop failure duringaberrant weather, rainwater harvesting, incorporationof amendments and composted crop residues to improvesoil moisture and fertility, application of life-savingirrigation, use of pressurized irrigation, and adoption ofpearl millet-cluster bean rotation under rainfed and pearlmillet-mustard rotation under irrigated arid conditions.

Varieties developedThe Institute has developed several varieties of crops,grasses and horticulture crops. These include CZP 9802and CZ-IC 923 of pearl millet; Maru Guar of cluster bean;CAZRI Moth 1, 2, 3 of moth bean; Maru Kulthi of horsegram; CAZRI 75, CAZRI 358 and CAZRI 2178 ofCenchrusciliaris; CAZRI 76 ofC. setigerus, and CAZRISewan-1 of Lasiuruss indicus. Similarly, in horticulture,Maru Gaurav in Karunda (Carissa carandas) and MaruSamridhi in Lasora (Cordiamyxa) have been identified ashigh yielding varieties suitable for cultivation under aridzone conditions.

A farmers’ variety of wheat Kharchia Local wassuccessfully registered under Protection of Plant Varietiesand Farmers’ Rights Authority (PPVFRA), India for aperiod of six years in 2015 by the Institute.

Technologies for efficient rainwater managementImproved designs of traditional rainwater harvestingstructures like tanka (cistern), nadi (pond) and khadin(run off cultivation on conserved soil moisture) have beendeveloped to maximize collection of rain water. Theimproved design of tanka developed by the Institute has

been adopted under the Rajiv Gandhi Drinking WaterMission of the government.

CAZRI has also explored several courses of their buriedSaraswati and Drishadvati rivers from the Himalayas aswell as other buried streams in the Thar Desert.

The Institute is well recognized for their work onwatershed management and was awarded ‘Saving theDryland’ appreciation certificate for work on Jhanwarwatershed by UNEP in the year 1996.

Biosynthesis of nanoparticlesThe Institute has spearheaded green synthesis andevaluation programmes related to agriculturallyimportant nanoparticles. Biosynthetic approach usingspecific fungi, bacteria and plant extracts fornanoparticles has been standardized and some of thesetechnologies are under commercialization. A commonprotocol for synthesis of nanoparticles of many elementshas been standardized.

New potassic fertilizer developedA new form of potassic fertilizer has been developed using


of soil borne pathogens. The Institute has developed atechnique for the management of drying syndrome inkhejri tree.

It involves the regulated application of phorate,Trichoderma mixed with Prosopis julijflora compost andAspergillus terreus with onion residue near the roots ofaffected tree.

Neem oil emulsion has been found effective against insectpests viz. pod borer (Helicoverpa armigera), castor semi-

looper (Achaea janata) and army worm (Spodopteraexigua). Neem seed pellets developed by the Institutehave been recommended for control of termites.

Root-knot nematode is important pest of horticulturecrops, hence a simple and reliable method for asepticscreening of chilli germplasm against the nematode wasdeveloped. Biologicalcontrol agents, especiallyPaecilomyces lilacinus,Pasteuria penetrans andArbuscular Mycorrhizalfungus (Glomusfasciculatum) have beenfound effective in themanagement of root-knot nematode in chilli.Technique for massmultiplication of P. lilaciuson locally availableplant material inpolypropylene bags wasdeveloped.

low-grade feldspar and leonardite, an oxidized form oflignite that is abundantly available in the country. Theresponse of pearl millet, wheat and mung bean to thisform of potassic fertilizer has been found superior tomuriate of potash (the conventional potassic fertilizeravailable in the country).

Introduction of new arid fruit and fodder cropsA large number of improved fruit crops and varieties ofber (Ziziphus mauritiana), pomegranate, aonla, datepalm, lasora, karonda, bael(Aegle marmelos), phalsa(Grewia subinaequalis),napier grass, fodder beet(Beta vulgarissub sp.meritima) etc. have beenintroduced by the Institutefor cultivation in the aridregions. Protocol for rapidmultiplication of date palmplants through repetitivesomatic embryogenesis hasbeen developed.

Identification of forest trees suitable for arid regionA number of tree and shrub species from iso-climaticregions of the world have been evaluated by the Institutefor fuel, fodder and other economic products. The mostpromising ones identified are Acacia tortilis, Prosopisjuliflora, Acacia bivenosa, Simmondsia chinensis, etc. wasgiven for work. The ICAR Team award on theimprovement and multiplication of khejri (Prosopiscineraria) received. Air layering method for vegetativepropagation of khejri tree has been developed. Techniquefor mass multiplication of rohida (Tecomella undulata)through axillary bud proliferation has been developed.

Bio-saline tree species and fodder halophytesidentifiedIn Bikaner region under saline water logged conditions,A. nilotica, A. tortilis and Eucalyptus spp. have beenidentified best for higher biomass production andimproving soil properties in terms of soil organic carbonand reducing ECe and SAR values. Under Bhuj conditions,based on fodder quality assessment, Sporobolusmarginatus, Aleuropus logopoides, Suaeda nudiflora andCressa cretica have been identified best palatablehalophytes for the livestock of the region.

Management of plant diseases and insect pestsSoil solarization and incorporation of mustard oil-cake,Aspergillus versicolor and Bacillus firmus in the soilhave been successfully used to minimize the population

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Vertebrate pests identified and their managementInstitute has reported 18 rodent species from arid soils.The species causing damage to crops have beeneffectively managed through technologies evolved by theInstitute that include use of Sherman traps and burrowbaiting with freshly prepared pearl millet-based zincphosphide rodenticide baits followed by bromoadiolone(0.005%) baiting.

The Institute has alsoreported four rodentspecies viz., Indian fieldmice, Turkish rat,Blyth’s vole andHimalayan marmotfrom cold arid region ofLeh-Ladakh. The Indian field mice reported for the firsttime has been identified as the major pest of crops inLeh-Ladakh region.

Plant biodiversity and conservationThe Thar Desert is endowed with number of unique plantspecies. Their existence is threatened due to overexploitation. These include Commiphora wightii (Guggal),Acacia jacquemontii (Bawli), Calligonum polygonoides(Phog), Moringa concanensis (Sarguda), Ephedra ciliata,Caralluma edulis (Pimpa) etc. Institute has successfullymade efforts to conserve and multiply these plants in itsDesert Botanical Garden.

Enhancing gum exudation from trees: An additionalsource of income for farmersTechnology to enhance good edible gum exudation fromKumat (Acacia senegal) tree without endangering plantsurvival has been developed. Injecting standardized doseof gum inducer, 250 g to 500 g good quality gum pertree per year in themonth of April-Maycan be harvested. Thetechnology has nowspread to more than45 villages in Jodhpur,Nagaur, Bikaner andBarmer districts ofRajasthan.

Animal feed block from locally available materialsdevelopedInstitute has developed economical area-specificComplete and Supplementary Feed Blocks as per thenutritional need of livestock (cattle, sheep and goat). Thefeed blocks have been prepared by mixing locally availablefeed, fodder and concentrates in fixed proportions. Thisincludes grasses (C. ciliaris,C. setigerus, Lasiurussindicus),tree leaves (P. cineraria, Ziziphus spp., Acacia nilotica)

and concentrate feeds i.e. cakes/meals (castor,Colocynthis, sesame, mustard) along with unconventionalsources i.e. urea, molasses, animal jaggery, vitamins andminerals. The feed blocks have reduced the cost offeeding lactating cows and growing goat kids effectively.The Institute has also developed multi-nutrient feedblocks to provide relief to the cattle from mineraldeficiencies.

Solar devices developedThe Institute has designed and fabricated several solarenergy-based devices for use in agriculture. Theseinclude the animal feed solar cooker, PV winnower-cum-dryer, collector-cum-storage type solar water

heater, solar water heater-cum-still, solar waterheater-cum-steam cooker, solar cabinet dryer, solarPV duster and solar PV pump-based drip irrigationsystem. Several of these devices have been adoptedby farmers of Rajasthan. Commercialization ofthe devices is underway through transfer oftechnical know-how to the private firms. A solar dryer(400 kg capacity) developed by the Institute for thedrying of horticultural produce has been installed inPali district.

Agri-photovoltaic system for farming, electricitygeneration and water harvestingGenerating electricity using photo-voltaic panels,harvesting water and cultivating crops simultaneously ona single unit of land has been conceptualized,

PROFILE


implemented and demonstrated by the Institute. An Agri-voltaic system has been established with 105 KW capacitypower generation, 1.2 lakh litre capacity waterharvesting and crop production components comprisingof mung bean, clusterbean, isabgol, cumin and senna.The system can generate an annual income of ` 7.50lakh per acre.

Passive cool chamber for perishable food itemsLow-cost double brick-walled passive cool chambersuitable for regions with low atmospheric humidity hasbeen designed and developed. This cool chamber reducesthe ambient temperature by 8-10°C and maintains highrelative humidity conditions conducive for longerpreservation of fresh farm produce like vegetables, fruits,milk etc.

Farm implements for arid soilsA number of farmer-friendly farm implements have beendesigned and developed. These include a tractor drawn

three-furrow (six-row) multi-crop seed-cum-fertilizer drillfor sowing on specially created slant surfaces to useconserved moisture, and tractor-operated two-rowplanter for kharif crops. A single or double-slotted weederhas been developed for increasing weeding efficiency andreducing women drudgery. It has been recommended bythe Government of Rajasthan under various schemes.

Socio-economic aspectsThe socio-economic aspects of the desert dwellers arecontinually monitored by the Institute. Varioustechnologies developed at the Institute are also assessedfor their socio-economic viability. The cost-benefitanalyses of various land use systems have established that

pasture-based livestock system has positive net presentvalue and annuity as compared to arable farming.

Transfer of technologiesTrainings, field days, farmer fairs, scientist-farmerinteraction meetings and exhibitions are organized atperiodic interval, both at the Institute and in adoptedvillages to enrich the knowledge of farmers. Theseevents have helped farmers in interacting with the scientistsand in rapid dissemination of improved technologiesdeveloped by the Institute. The technological interventionsare also evaluated and fine-tuned through on-farm

research, on-farm trial and verification trials. Field daysand on-farm and off-farm trainings are also organized toincrease awareness amongst the technology users.

Use of ICT in technology disseminationThe Institute was among the leaders in setting up anISRO-sponsored satellite-based Village Resource Centrefor interactive and rapid communication of technologicalsolutions to the farming community of arid zone. Nowagro-advisories are being issued to the farmers on mobilethrough SMS using the m-kisan portal. Farmers fromJodhpur, Barmer, Pali, Nagaur, Jaisalmer, Ganganagar,Chittorgarh, Jhunjhunu, Jalore, Jaipur, Bikaner, Churu,Ajmer and Hanumangarh districts of Rajasthan are beingbenefitted by this mode. The Institute is also connected

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Package of practices included in the StaterecommendationsMany agricultural practices developed at the Institutehave been adopted and recommended to the farmers ofthe arid zone in Rajasthan. These include the model ofintegrated farming system for 7 ha holding; cultivationof varieties developed by Institute, round-the-yearfodder production; organic til and mung beanproduction; stress management in clusterbean by foliarapplication of sulpho-salicylic acid, nitrogen doses andirrigation scheduling in groundnut and wheat.

ConsultanciesThe technologies and expertise developed by theInstitute are widely sought after by the government,non-government and private agencies or entities. TheInstitute has earned many consultancies from differentorganizations. Prominent among them are NTPC, Noida;Duraline India Pvt. Ltd., Telengana; Suratgarh ThermalPower Station, Suratgarh, Rajasthan; IFFCO, New Delhi;Indian Railways; Space Application Center, Ahmedabad;TCS, Pune; Barmer Lignite Mining Company, Jaipur;Hyundai Motor India Ltd., Tamil Nadu, etc. The trainingson rodent control are regularly organized with the Postand Telegraphs, Railways and the Health departmentsbeing among the important beneficiaries.

PatentsThe Institute has filed 14 applications for patents. Threepatents have already been granted. These are:• Jaisalmeri preserve and candy from fruit of Tumba

(Citrullus colocynthis)• Preparation and method of processing of Aloe candy

from Aloe species• A novel method for isolating aloin by extraction from

yellow sap of Aloe vera.

LinkagesSince inception, the Institute has undertaken jointcollaborative research and development programmeswith institutions and organizations across the world.These include institutions from USA, Australia, Japan,USSR, Europe, South East Asia and several CGIARInstitutes like ICARDA, ICRISAT, ILRI etc. At nationallevel, the Institute has linkages with various State andcentral Govt. organizations (SAUs, DBT, DST, Dept. ofSpace, MOEF, MoES, IMD, ATMA, State Agricultural LineDepartments etc.

ICAR-Central Arid Zone Research InstituteJodhpur 342 003

email: [email protected];Website: www.cazri.res.in

with the farmers through CAZRI Mobile App (CAZRI Krishi)and You-Tube. Based on the weather data, the Instituteissues bi-weekly agro-advisories for farmers of the region.

A comprehensive website (www.cazri.res.in) furtherboosts the Institutes presence among leading Institutesof the country.

Value-added productsFor increasing income of the farming community, theInstitute has developed a number of technologies forvalue-addition of farm produce. These include preserves,juice, candies and pickle from ber, date palm andColocynthis. Technologies for preparing shampoo,moisturizing cream, lotions, pickle and candy from Aloevera have been developed. Institute has successfullyprepared goat milk products like ice-cream, curd, cheese

and whey after removing characteristic goaty odour fromthe milk. The Institute has also demonstrated the valueof grain pearling in increasing the shelf life of pearl milletflour and prepared nutritionally enriched biscuits of pearlmillet.

Agricultural Technology Information CentreThe Institute has in operation a single window systemunder the Agricultural Technology Information Centre tomeet the diverse needs of farmers, including improvedseed material and technology information. Since itsinception in 2002, more than 88,000 farmers have beenbenefitted.

TrainingsApart from trainings to grass-root workers, specializednational and international trainings for scientists onrelevant areas of arid zone agriculture are continuallyorganized by the Institute. A number of training coursesfor research officers of Afro-Asian countries sponsoredby International institutions like UNESCO, UNEP, FAO,DANIDA, etc. were successfully organized. In recentyears, scientists have come to the Institute from severalcountries such as Sri Lanka, Egypt, Iraq and Afghanistan.During the last five years the Institute imparted trainingto more than 2500 farmers, farm women and youth onvarious aspects related to arid agriculture.

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Impact of Hydrocolloids onnutrition of blueberry

Blueberry is a deciduous or evergreen prostrate shrubwhich bears the fruit from April to June. Fruit rangesfrom pea-to-marble in size. Fruits often have anepicuticular waxy layer on the peel known as ‘bloom’.The fruit colour is red at immature stage to purplecolour at ripened stage. There are mainly three types ofcultivars in blueberry namely highbush blueberry(Vaccinium corymbosum), lowbush blueberry (Vacciniumangustifolium) and rabbit eye blueberry (Vacciniumashei). Fresh blueberries are very rich source ofantioxidants than other fruits. Its fruits are rich in vitaminC, essential dietary fibres and minerals. Fruits are alsomajor source of anthocyanins and phenolic compound,resveratrol and have low calorific value. Thesecompounds play major role in combating inflammation,cancer and improve the gut microbes.

Now-a-days, due to health benefits of blueberry, itscultivation and demand is increasing day by day in allparts of the world. In India, some cultivars of blueberry

have been introduced in hilly states such as HP, J and K,and Uttarakhand but its cultivation has not picked upbecause of paucity of planting material and non-availability of suitable land with ph 4.5 or so.

Like other berries, the shelf life of blueberry is only4-5 days at ambient conditions and about 3 weeks incold storage. Hence, there is urgent need to usepostharvest management strategies to extend its shelflife for increased availability in the season.For instance, the natural waxy bloom develops inblueberry fruits during the maturation and ripeningprocesses, which protects the fruits and keep themfresh for longer period. However, during handling offruits, this is removed and bruising occurs in the fruits.Thus, replenishment of this natural layer withcommercially available edible coating especially withhydrocolloids, is required to reduce to increase thefreshness of such a valuable fruit and to reduce thepostharvest losses.

18ICAR NEWS

SPECTRUM

Application of Nanotechnologyin agriculture

The current global population is nearly 6 billion with 50%living in Asia. A large proportion of those living indeveloping countries face daily food shortages as a resultof environmental impact or political instability, while inthe developed world there is a food surplus. Fordeveloping countries the drive is to develop droughtand pest resistant crops, which also maximize yield. Indeveloped countries, the food industry is driven byconsumer demand which is currently for fresher andhealthier foodstuff.

Agriculture forms the backbone of third world economics.Research in agriculture has always dealt with improvingthe efficiency or crop production, food processing, foodsafety and environmental consequences of food production,storage and distribution. Nanotechnology provides a newtool to pursue these historically relevant goals. A reappraisalof attitudes towards food security, increasing emphasis onenvironmental compliance and alternations to the CommonAgricultural Policy, all combine to make farming and rural

• Improves the freshness of fruits for longer time.• Hydrocolloids help to reduce the transpirational loss

from the fruit surfaces.• It helps to control the respiration rate.• It acts as an effective physical barrier against

mechanical damage.• Hydrocolloids can be applied with different

postharvest fungicides and chemicals.

Monika G. Totad and R. R. Sharma*

ICAR-IARI New Delhi-110 012email: [email protected]

The TechnologyThe fruits of blueberry variety ‘Misty’ were harvested atfull maturity stage. After sorting and grading fruits werecoated with four different hydrocolloids such as carboxymethyl cellulose (1%), xanthan gum (0.3%), guar gum(1.5%), gum Arabic (10%). These coatings were preparedin luke warm water and the blueberries were dipped intoeach coatings for 5 min. After treatment, the fruits weredried under fan and after drying, fruits were packed inplastic punnets (250 g). After packaging, fruits werestored at 1±1°C and 85-90% relative humidity for 35 days.

We observed that all the coatings were effective inmaintaining quality of blueberry fruits over non-coatedfruits. However, the CMC (1%)-coated fruits was foundto be the best coating as the fruits maintainedacceptable limits for physiological loss in weight, qualityattributes and over all acceptability of fruits up to 35days (Table 1) at 1±1°C and 85-90% relative humidity. Incontrast, non-coated fruits could remain acceptable onlyup to 21 days.

Advantages of the technology• It is very easy to apply coatings to fruits.• It is a cheap and user-friendly technology.• Coatings improve the cosmetic appeal of fruits• It improves the glossiness of fruits.

Table 1. Quality of blueberry coated with differenthydrocolloids

Treatment Functional parameters

Total Total Anti- Ascorbic Fruitsoluble phenolic oxidant acid decaysolids content activity content (%)(OB) (mg GAE/ (µmol (mg/

100g) TE/g) 100g)

Carboxy 17.3 139.0 17.2 19.9 2.4methylcellulose

Xanthan gum 17.1 130.2 15.7 13.6 7.4

Guar gum 17.2 131.7 15.7 15.1 4.5

Gum Arabic 17.2 133.1 16.9 16.3 4.2

Control 17.1 119.4 15.3 12.0 8.5

land owning far less profitable than in previous times. Inagriculture and food systems, the fundamental lifeprocesses are explored through research in molecular andcellular biology. New tools for molecular and cellular biologyare needed that are specifically designed for separation,identification and quantification of individual molecules. Thisis possible with nanotechnology and could permit rapidadvances in agricultural research, such as reproductivescience and technology, conversion of agricultural and foodwastes to energy and other useful by-products throughenzymatic nano bioprocessing, disease prevention andtreatment in plants and animals. To excel in these and otherareas of agriculture novel tools are required that allow usto work and explore living cells and biomolecules at themolecule scale. Nanotechnology holds such a promise.

Nanotechnology is manipulation or self-assembly ofindividual atoms, molecules or molecular dusters intostructures to create materials and devices with new orvastly different properties.


SPECTRUMNanotechnology can work fromthe top down (which meansreducing the size of the smalleststructures to the nanoscalesmallest e.g. photonicsapplications in nanoelectronicsand nanoengineering) or thebottom up (which involvesmanipulating individual atoms andmolecules into nanostructures andmore closely resembles chemistryor biology).

The word mono meaning dwarf inGreek language refers to dimensionson the order of magnitude 10.Nanotechnology, focuses on specialproperties of materials emergingfrom nanometer size, for e.g., inbiological systems, the first level oforganization occurs at thenanoscale structure where all thefundamental and functions aredefined systematically.

The definition of nanotechnology is based on the prefix“nano” meaning dwarf in Greek. In technical terms, theword “nano” means 10-9, or one billionth of a meter. Forcomparison, a virus is roughly 100 nanometers (nm) in size.The word nanotechnology is generally used when referringto materials with the size of 0.1 to 100 nanometres.

Applications and BenefitsNanotechnology has the potential to revolutionize theagricultural and food industry with new tools for themolecular treatment of diseases, rapid diseasedetection, enhancing the ability of plants to absorbnutrients etc. Smart sensors and smart delivery systemswill help the agricultural industry combat viruses andother crop pathogens.

An agricultural methodology widely used in the USA,Europe and Japan, which efficiently utilises moderntechnology for crop management, is called ControlledEnvironment Agriculture (CEA). CEA is an advanced andintensive form of hydroponically-based agriculture. Plantsare grown within a controlled environment so thathorticultural practices can be optimized. Thecomputerized system monitors and regulates localizedenvironments such as fields of crops. CEA technology, asit exists today, provides an excellent platform for theintroduction of nanotechnology to agriculture. With manyof the monitoring and control systems already in place,

nanotechnological devices for CEA that provide“scouting” capabilities could tremendously improve thegrower’s ability to determine the best time of harvestfor the crop, the vitality of the crop, and food securityissues, such as microbial or chemical contamination.

Precision farming has been a long-desired goal tomaximize output (i.e. crop yields) while minimizing input(i.e. fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, etc.) throughmonitoring environmental variables and applyingtargeted action. Precision farming makes use ofcomputers, global satellite positioning systems, andremote sensing devices to measure highly localizedenviromnental conditions thus determining whethercrops are growing at maximum efficiency or preciselyidentifying the nature and location of problems.

By using centralised data to determine soil conditionsand plant development, seeding, fertilizer, chemicaland water use can he line-tuned to lower productioncosts and potentially increase production - allbenefiting the farmer. Precision farming can alsohelp to reduce agricultural waste and thus keepenvironmental pollution to a minimum. Althoughnot fully implemented yet, tiny sensors andmonitoring systems enabled by nanotechnologywill have a large impact on future precision farmingmethodologies.

Nanotechnology in Agriculture

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remarkable improvement in ensuring the safety and securityof packaged food. However, there is concern over the useof nanoparticles in food and its manipulation usingnanotechnologies, which has the potential to elicit the sameissues raised in the GM debate.

ChallengesThere are new challenges in this sector including a growingdemand for healthy, safe food; an increasing risk of disease:and threats to agricultural and fishery production fromchanging weather patterns. However, creating a bioeconomy is a challenging and complex process involving theconvergence of different branches of science.

Future prospectsIn the near future nanostructured catalysts will beavailable which will increase the efficiency of pesticidesand herbicides, allowing lower doses to be used.Nanotechnology will also protect the environmentindirectly through the use of alternative (renewable)energy supplies and filters or catalysts to reducepollution and clean-up existing pollutants.

Agriculture is the backbone of most developing countries,with more than 60% of the population reliant on it for theirlivelihood. As well as developing improved systems formonitoring environmental conditions and delivering nutrientsor pesticides as appropriate, nanotechnology can improveour understanding of the biology of different crops and thuspotentially enhance yields or nutritional values. In addition,it can offer routes to added value crops or environmentalremediation. Particle farming is one such example, whichyields nanoparticles for industrial use by growing plants indefined soils. For example, research has shown that alfalfaplants grown in gold rich soil, absorb gold nanoparticlesthrough their roots and accumulate these in their tissues.The gold nanoparticles can be mechanically separated fromthe plant tissue following harvest.

Nanotechnology can also be used to clean ground water.The US company Argonide is using 2 nm diameteraluminium oxide nano-fibres (NanoCeram) as a waterpurifier. Filters made from these fibres can removeviruses, bacteria and protozoan cysts from water. Similarprojects are taking place elsewhere, particularly indeveloping countries such as India and South Africa. Thefuture will definitely show new applications ofnanotechnology in the field of food and agriculture.

RS Sengar, Alok Kumar Singh and Ashu SinghSardar Vallabhbhai Patel University of Agriculture and

Technologyemail: [email protected]

One of the major roles for nanotechnology-enableddevices is the increased use of autonomous nanosensorslinked into the GPS system for real-time monitoring. Thesenano sensors could be distributed throughout the fieldwhere they can monitor soil conditions and crop growth.Wireless sensors are already being used in certain partsof the USA and Australia.

The use of pesticides increased in the second half of the20th century with DDT becoming one of the most effectiveand widespread throughout the world. However, manyof these pesticides, including DDT were later found tobe highly toxic, affecting human and animal health andas a result whole ecosystems. As a consequence, theywere banned. To maintain crop yields, integrated PestManagement systems, which mix traditional methods ofcrop rotation with biological pest control methods, arebecoming popular and implemented in many countries,such as India. In the future, nano scale devices with novelproperties could be used to make agricultural systems“smart”. For example, devices could be used to identifyplant health issues before these become visible to thefarmer. Such devices may be capable of responding todifferent situations by taking appropriate remedialaction. If not, they will alert the farmer to the problem.

Scientists are working on various technologies to make fertilizerand pesticide delivery systems which can respond toenvironmental changes. The ultimate aim is to tailor theseproducts in such a way that they will release their cargo in acontrolled manner (slowly or quickly) in response to differentsignals e.g. magnetic fields, heat, ultrasound, moisture, etc.New research also aims to make plants use water, pesticidesand fertilizers more efficiently, to reduce pollution and tomake agriculture more environmentally friendly.

Status of Nanotechnology in IndiaIndia has allocated 22.6 million USD in its 2006 budgetto the Punjab Agricultural University in Ludhiana, inacknowledgement of its pioneering contribution to theGreen Revolution. Its research on high-yielding cropvarieties helped boost food production in the1960s andnew projects include the development of new toolsand techniques for the agriculture industry.

ConcernsWhatever the major impact of nanotechnology on the foodindustry and products entering the market, the safety offood will remain the prime concern. This need willstrengthen the adoption of nanotechnology in sensingapplications which will ensure food safety and security, aswell as technology which alerts customers and shopkeeperswhen a food is nearing the end of its shelf-life. Newantimicrobial coatings and dirt repellent plastic bags are a

SPECTRUM


Production of desired sex embryos:an innovative approach

Producing offspring of desired sex is one of the majorchallenges of livestock industry in the current days. Nationalemphasis is on semen sorting, which is necessary to getdesired sexed calf. Though globally many methods have beenreported for sperm sorting, however, most of them need tobe scientifically validated. Further, the sorting procedureincurs alterations of sperm membrane and other changessuch as pre-capacitation of the sorted sperm leading todecrease in fertility. Therefore, an alternative method tosex sorted semen is to produce sexed embryos in vitro.

Success of in vitro embryo production depends uponfactors such as temperature, gas composition (O2/CO2),pH, media composition and air quality. Embryosproduced in vitro are not at par with that of in vivoderived embryos. The oxidative status of in vitroembryos are always more than that of the in vivo derivedembryos and the most common difference in both theconditions are the O2 concentration at which embryosgrow. The ambiguity is that whether all the factorsdetermining embryo survivability affect the survivabilityof particular sex of embryo or not. Reports reflect maleembryos develop faster than female embryos in vitro,but it is reverse under in vivo condition. Suboptimalculture conditions result in loss of female embryos invitro. Therefore, it is hypothesized that differences in

ROS production (oxidative status) under in vitro and invivo conditions might be hindering the developmentalpotential of particular sex of embryos. Comprehensivestudies were carried out at the ICAR-National Instituteof Animal Nutrition and Physiology, Bengaluru to assesswhether oxidative stress has any role on sex ratio of theembryos. Sex of the in vitro produced embryos wasdetermined by the PCR based expression of sex specificgenes present in the genomic DNA of the embryos.

It was observed that majority of the embryos produced invitro were biased towards male. The level of oxidative stressunder in vitro culture condition was directly related to theproportion of female embryos produced. Reduction of O2

concentration under the in vitro culture environment from20% (atmospheric concentration) to 5% (uterine

Isolating aloin from yellow sap of Aloe veraAloin is a non-edible bio-constituent of Aloe vera havingsystemic and therapeutic significance which is isolatedthrough a novel method developed by ICAR-CentralArid Zone Research Institute, Jodhpur that has beengranted patent.

Aloe vera a hardy perennial tropical plant that can becultivated in drought areas in low rainfall regions withless input, has active ingredient located in three separatesections of the aloe leaf - a fillet, rind (or cortex) and thevascular bundle (yellow sap).

Aloin, also known as barbaloin, is one of the majorconstituents of yellow sap that is present in vascularbundle of at least 68 Aloe species commonly known asbitter Aloe. This is a naturally occurring bitter, lemon-yellow colored substance having medicinal value aslaxative, antirheumatic, antiarthritic and otherpharmaceutical properties besides being used as astabilizer in the preparation of gold and silver

nanoparticles. They are in great demand in national andinternational market.

The patented method is simple and requires low inputsfor isolating aloin under ambient temperature (22-35°C), directly from naturally occurring yellow sap of Aloesp. as the starting material. The method gives more than70% yield of about 95% purity.

DirectorICAR-CAZRI, Jodhpur


Sexes of embryos determined from gDNA

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22ICAR NEWS

Management of Leaf Curl Disease of Chilli

incidence and yield lossamong other begomovirusescausing infection in chilli.In severe cases, 100% lossesof marketable fruit havebeen reported. The typicalsymptoms consists of leafcurling, rolling, puckering;blistering of inter veinalareas, thickening andswelling of veins, shorteningof internodes and petioles,crowding of leaves andstunting of the whole plant.Farmers resort to spraying ofpesticides to controlwhiteflies as the only optionto protect as there are notmuch resistant varieties orhybrids released. Due toindiscriminate spraying ofpesticides, chillies sent fromIndia to different countriessuch as Germany, Spain andFinland have been rejecteddue to presence of pesticideresidues. Moreover, evasivemeasures have not been

much successful.Exploitation of host plantresistance is effective,economical, ecologicallysafe for diseasemanagement, especiallythe ones caused by viruses.

Leaf curl disease is also amajor problem in tomatocrop and considerablelevel of success has been

India is the largest producer,consumer and exporter ofchillies in the world. India isshares about 40% of thetotal world production ofchilli and exports 17% of itstotal production. The largestimporter of Indian chilli isMalaysia (30%), followed byother traditional importerslike Bangladesh (20%), SriLanka (15%), the USA (9%)and the UAE (8%) (FAO2014). The export iscomposed of chilli powder,dried chillies, pickled chilliesand chilli oleoresin. However,chilli is susceptible to variouspathogens including viruses,which cause heavyproduction losses. Chilli leafcurl disease is a major threatto chilli cultivation in India.The disease is caused bybegomovirus and spread bywhiteflies as vectors. Chillileaf curl virus is the mostdestructive virus in terms of

Immune response of Capsicum flexuousum (top). SusceptibleCapsicum annuum lines (bottom).

Response of C. flexuousum and C. annuum to leaf curldisease under natural epiphytotic conditions

concentration) doubled the proportion of female embryosproduced. Further, it was observed that the addition of freeradical scavenger into culture medium increased theproportion of female embryos by 7 folds. The results indicatethat by manipulating oxidative status of culture condition,desired sexed embryos can be produced followed by desiredsexed calves through embryo transfer. The findings areexpected to have great impact under Indian scenario

towards producing desired sexed animals either femaleoffsprings to increase livestock productivity through milkproduction or male offsprings for meat production toaddress national food security.

Ashish Mishra, Arindam Dhali,Ippala Janardhan Reddy and Raghavendra Bhatta

ICAR-NIANP, Bangalore 560 030email: [email protected]

Susceptible Capsicum annuum genotypeCapsicum flexuousum with no leaf curl

SPECTRUM

23 July-September 2018Published by Dr Satendra Kumar Singh, Project Director, Directorate of Knowledge Management in Agriculture, Indian Council of AgriculturalResearch, New Delhi 110 012. Phone: 011-25842787; Fax: 011-25843285; e-mail: [email protected]. Lasertypeset by M/s Print-O-World,Shadipur, New Delhi 110 008, and printed in India at M/s Royal Offset Printers, A-89/1, Naraina Industrial Area, Phase I, New Delhi 110 028.

Editing : Seema Burman Design & Production : Dr VK Bharti and Punit Bhasin

EDITORIAL BOARD

ChairmanDr T Mohapatra

Secretary, DARE and DG, ICAR

MembersDr K Alagusundaram, DDG

(Agric. Engg. and Natural Resource Management)

Dr JK Jena, DDG(Fisheries Science and Animal Science)

Dr NS Rathore, DDG(Agric Edu)

Dr AK Singh, DDG(Agric. Ext)

Dr AK Singh, DDG(Horticultural Science and Crop Science)

Member-SecretaryDr Satendra Kumar Singh, Project Director (DKMA)

species is late flowering also. It takes approximatelyfour months to start flowering. It was observed for itsresponse to leaf curl disease in field for threecontinuous years from 2015-2017. Even after threeyears the plants were free of disease. We screenedthe species through challenge inoculation underlaboratory condition using viruliferous whiteflies withChilli leaf curl virus (ChiLCV) and Tomato leaf curlNew Delhi Virus (ToLCNDV) in 2018, as they have beenidentified as pre-dominant viruses causing leaf curlat New Delhi region in previous studies. HoweverC. flexuousum was found to be immune to both theseviruses.

Capsicum flexuousum appears to be a potential sourcefor leaf curl resistance. We attempted some initialcrosses with C. annuum to get hybrid fruits but thecrosses failed. Hence more focused and elaborateefforts need to be made to recover hybrids from crossof C. annuum and C. flexuousum. Advanced techniqueslike embryo rescue, use of bridging species or hormoneapplication need to be attempted to achieve successfulcrosses between them.

Arpita Srivastava1, Manisha Mangal2,V K Sharma3 and B S Tomar4

1Division of Vegetable Science, ICAR-Indian AgriculturalResearch Institute, New Delhi 110 012

2ICAR-National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources

achieved in resistance breeding programs.Resistant genes namely Ty1, Ty2, Ty3, Ty4 and Ty5 hasbeen isolated from wild species like Solanumperuvianum, Solanum chilense and Solanumhabrochaites, introgressed into cultivated backgroundand many varieties with leaf curl resistance have alsobeen released. Intensive genetic studies have beencarried out on these resistance sources, which haveso far led to the mapping of five TYLCV resistanceloci for commercial breeding. The first mappedTYLCV resistance locus was the Ty1 locus from S.chilense LA1969 which has been found to be aDFDGD-class RNA-dependent RNA polymerase and waslater shown to be allelic to the Ty3 locus onchromosome 6. The source of resistance locus Ty2was S. habrochaites B6013 and this locus was mappedto a 300 kb region on chromosome 11. A recessivegene Ty5 for resistance against TYLCV was found to beoriginated from S. peruvianum. Similar efforts in thisdirection need to be made in chilli crop also. Till datethe wild species in chilli have not been screened toidentify resistance to leaf curl. Many workersthroughout India are working to identify resistantsources to leaf curl disease in chilli but all lines arefrom C. annuum background. Resistance to leaf curlhas been reported but immunity to the disease is stillnot reported.

Division of Vegetable Science, ICAR-IARI has screeneddifferent Capsicum species for resistance to leaf curldisease. We have identified Capsicum flexuousum asimmune to leaf curl disease (Fig.). This species isperennial in nature and the crop stays for three yearsin the field without reduction in fruiting ability.It has narrow serrated leaves, height of about 1 meterand round fruits with cluster erect habit. Further the

Screening of Capsicum flexuousum throughchallenge inoculation

SPECTRUM

WAY FORWARD

EFFECTS of climate change is now being felt globally.As per latest IPCCC (AR-5) report the global averagetemperature has risen by 0.85°C (between 1880 to2012) and several evidences of climate change (glacialmelting, sea level rise, weather aberrations, rise in seasurface temperature, ocean acidification, increasedintensity of cyclones, frequency of occurrence of heatwaves etc.) were also mentioned in the IPCCC report.For Indian subcontinent the temperatures are projectedto increase by 1.7 to 2°C by 2030. Apart from ‘climatechange’ which is a long term phenomenon, ‘climaticvariability’ is of immediate concern for Indian agricultureconsisting of variable rainfall, severe weatheraberrations and extreme events which are influencingagriculture production, farmers’ income and livelihoods.The frequency and intensity of the weather aberrationsare likely to increase in years to come which willsignificantly impact agriculture production in thecountry. In the last 18 years, 13 years received deficientrainfall with significant variability in distribution atseveral locations of the country. This resulted in prolongeddry spells and drought like situation impacting cropgrowth and production. Besides this, several parts of thecountry experienced heat wave, cold wave, unseasonalrains and hailstorms.

The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) hastaken up a flagship programme, National Innovations inClimate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA) in the year 2011to comprehensively address the impacts of climaticchange and variability on crops, horticulture, livestock,fisheries and aims at developing adaptation andmitigation practices to minimize losses and to enhanceresilience of Indian agriculture.

The project has two components viz., research,technology demonstration and capacity building.The research component has been undertaken by 41ICAR institutes and several universities across the countryto assess the impact of climate change and developresilient technologies for various sectors such as crops,livestock, horticulture, fisheries and natural resourcemanagement. The technology demonstrationcomponent aims at demonstrating location specifictechnologies to minimise impacts of climate change infarmers’ fields. It is being taken up in 151 climaticallyvulnerable districts across the country by taking onerepresentative village in each district.

The technologies demonstrated can be categorised intofour modules viz., Natural Resource Management, Cropproduction and Horticulture, Livestock and Fisheriesand creation of institutions in the village. Thetechnologies for demonstration were identified based

on climatic vulnerability, predominant farming systemsin the village and the resource availability. Relevantstakeholders such as research institutions, stateagriculture universities, line departments, NGOs, KVKsand the farmers were involved in identification ofresilient technologies to be demonstrated. Thesedemonstrations for the past six years led to minimizingthe impacts of climatic variability and stabilizedproduction leading to their adoption. Resilient practiceswere made accessible to all farmers in the NICRAvi l lages leading to Climate Resi l ient Vi l lages.Convergence with various developmental programmes,operational at the village level were established reachmaximum farmers.

In order to effectively address the concerns of climatechange there is a need to consolidate theseprogrammes at the village level so as to enhance theadaptive capacity of communities. There is a need totake multiple resilient technologies to the farmer. Forexample, water harvesting, improved crop variety,livestock related interventions so as to minimize theadverse effects of climate change and to stabiliseproductivity and income at the household level. Henceconvergence of multiple interventions at the householdlevel is essential for climate resilience. In order toeffectively bring convergence of the developmentalprogrammes at the village level and at the householdlevel there is a need for an integrated scheme whichaddresses the climate change issues by mergingongoing schemes. The suggested title of such schemecould be “Integrated Climate Resilient AgricultureProgramme” (INCRAP).

(T Mohapatra)e-mail: [email protected]

Dr T Mohapatra, Secretary (DARE) and Director General (ICAR)

1 technology for processing and waste utilization of water ... · which is the bitter yellow sap...

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