Search

Finger millet (Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn) is one of the most auspicious crops of Asia and Africa. It can adapt to harsh environmental conditions and be cultivated in various agroecological areas. The Garhwal Himalayas region contains a wide diversity of finger millet that remains unexplored. Therefore, the present investigation was designed to describe the finger millet accessions from the Garhwal region using distinctness, uniformity, and stability (DUS) guidelines to evaluate variability among accessions. An assortment of sixty-six finger millet accessions and two varieties were categorized using twenty agro-morphological traits during the summers of 2023 and 2024. The observations were recorded per DUS guidelines standardized by the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers' Rights Authority (PPV & FR). A few more characters were recorded that were not part of the DUS guidelines, such as the presence of the whorl, which was further divided into two categories: 1. One finger in the second whorl, and 2. Multiple fingers in the second whorl. The arrangement of leaves, inflorescence type, seed density, and seed discontinuity on the fingers were also noted. This study documented the arrangement of leaves and types of multiple whorls in finger millet for the first time. On PCA analysis, the first two components showed a variation of 28.1%. The maximum contribution was found in PC 1 (15.55%), while component 2 (PC 2) contributed 12.38% to the total variability. This study highlights the importance of detailed phenotyping in uncovering the genetic potentials of finger millet and developing crop improvement initiatives for sustainable agriculture and food security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Angular leaf spot (ALS) caused by Pseudocercospora griseola is a major disease of french bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) worldwide. A good diversity of French bean is present in the Garhwal Himalayas of Uttarakhand, India, which is unexplored. The purpose of this study was to identify ALS-resistant accessions among local landraces of French bean in this region. One hundred seventy-six local accessions were collected from different villages of Garhwal, Uttarakhand. All the accessions were screened by four SCAR primers SN02 (Phg- 2), SAA19, SM02, SBA16 (Phg- 3), one STS primer TGA1.1 (Phg-1) and one SSR primer Pv-at006 (Phg- 5). All the accessions were also screened for ALS resistance under field condition in the years 2019 and 2020. The disease-resistant score was recorded on 1–9 scale. After field screening, 48 accessions (19 resistant, 24 moderately resistant and five susceptible) were selected for in-vitro screening under screen house condition. These 46 accessions were artificially inoculated by two different isolates of P. griseola P5 and P9, which are the most virulent pathotype characterized by microbiology lab, College of Forestry, Tehri, Uttarakhand. After in-vitro screening, seven accessions (GFB-25, GFB-26, GFB-30, GFB-32, GFB-93, GFB-97 and GFB-136) were found resistant to both the isolates P5 and P9. The P. griseola -resistant accessions may further be used in future breeding programmes to develop new and more resistant varieties of French bean against ALS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plant Growth Promoting Bacteria Enhance Nutrient Use Efficiency and Crop Yield Under Organic CultivationYogesh Kumar Negi1*, Chitra Pandey1, Deepti Prabha2, Jai Singh Chauhan21Deptt. of Basic Sciences, College of Forestry (VCSG UUHF), Ranichauri, Tehri Garhwal, Uttarakhand (India), 2 Dept. of Seed Science & Technology, HNB Garhwal University, Srinagar Garhwal, Uttarakhand (India)* Corresponding author: yknegi@rediffmail.com; Phone: +91-9758202462, Fax: +911376252128AbstractApplication of fertilizers is an essential practice to optimize crop production but it is posing harmful effects in declining the soil fertility and contamination of surface and groundwater, eventually leading to deteriorating the health of agroecosystem. Traces of such chemicals have also been reported to be deposited in agricultural produce that may cause serious health problems in human beings. Considering such facts, organic farming is being promoted worldwide to strengthen agroecosystem, soil health, biodiversity, and biological activities in soil. Use of plant growth promoting bacteria (PGPB) is one of the most important components and are known to enhance nutrient availability, plant growth and yield to maintain sustainable agriculture. In view of the above, we are focused to promote the use of putative PGPB trains to enhance the nutrient use efficiency and yield of the agricultural crops under organic cultivation. The study exposed that biopriming of amaranth (Amaranthus hypochondriacus) seeds with the selected PGPBs significantly enhanced plant growth (46%) and yield (37%) under field conditions. A significant increase (36.18%, 32.45 and 17.11%) in soil nutrients (NPK) and their uptake (68.01%, 104.16 and 116.46%) was recorded in different treatments. Results also showed that the utilization efficiency (EU) of different nutrients (NPK) was increased and ranged between 21.33–102.74 kg/kg in different treatments. Principal component analysis revealed a positive correlation between soil nutrients and their uptake by host plants. The analysis also confirmed the positive correlation between the treatments and nutrient use efficiency. This suggested the potential of selected PGPBs to enhance the nutrient use efficiency by endorsing the conversion of the maximum amount of available nutrients into yield. Similar findings were also recorded in a different study done on strawberry (Fragaria ananassa Duch.) where the application of organic manures and root dip with PGPBs was more effective in maintaining the high levels of NPK in the soil. Further, a significant increase in the nitrogen (2.67%), phosphorous (0.50%) and potassium (1.96 %) content in strawberry leaves was recorded. The application of organic manures and PGPBs also showed higher plant growth and yield than using organic manures alone. Our studies show that PGPBs can enhance the nutrient use efficiency of the host plant that further contributes to increase the crop yield. In addition, the significant residual amounts of nutrients (NPK) remain available in soil even after harvesting the crop. These residual amounts of nutrients remain available to the next crop and thus can reduce the use of the recommended dose of fertilizer therein. This suggests that PGPBs help in releasing the nutrients sustainably and can contribute towards achieving the goal of sustainable agriculture and soil health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and aims: Amaranth is an important underutilized crop with high nutritional value but due to acidic soils and low nutrient availability, its production is low in Uttarakhand hills. Use of inorganic chemicals is restricted as they may disturb the fragile Himalayan ecosystem. Therefore, native cold tolerant Bacillus spp. isolates were used to assess their effect on growth and yield enhancement in amaranth.Methods: A repository of 120 isolates of Bacillus spp. was developed and evaluated for their cold tolerance ability and PGP (Plant Growth Promoting) traits. Among these isolates, three potential isolates (BS-27, BS-41, BS-58) were selected for the field experiments to assess their effects on plant growth, soil nutrients (N, P and K) availability, nutrient uptake and yield of amaranth. Effect of different treatments on the nutrient use efficiency of amaranth was also determined.Results: Biopriming of amaranth seeds by the selected three isolates exhibited a significant enhancement in plant growth and yield under field conditions. Among the different treatments, T-8 (BS-27 + BS-58) exhibited a maximum increase in grain yield (36.94%) closely followed by T-4 (BS-27; 33.80%). A significant increase (36.18%, 32.45 and 17.11%) in soil nutrients (NPK) and their uptake (68.01%, 104.16 and 116.46%) was recorded in different treatments. Principal component analysis revealed a positive correlation between soil nutrients and their uptake by host plants. The rpoB gene sequencing and phylogenetic analysis suggested the identity of BS-27 and BS-41 as B. pumilus and BS-58 as B. subtilis.Conclusion: Our study shows that plant growth promoting bacteria (PGPB) can enhance the nutrient use efficiency of the host plant that further contributes to increase the crop yield. A significant increase in crop yield suggests that regular use of such effective PGPBs by farmers may increase the soil fertility and crop yield. Ultimately, this will lead towards food security under the organic farming framework in general, and sustainable crop production in particular. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]