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Palm oil is an important source of vegetable oil used in a wide range of products. In India, an area of 19.33 lakh ha in 18 states is identified as the potential area for oil palm cultivation by various Expert Committees constituted by the Government of India. Oil palm (Elaeis guineensis), being a potential carbon-sequestering perennial crop by biological means, has helped in mitigating global warming and climatic fluctuations. Considering the need for potentially high-yielding oil palm variety for plantation, ICAR-Indian Institute of Oil Palm Research (IIOPR), Pedavegi, supplied ten new hybrids for testing their performance under different agro-climatic conditions in India. The present study conducted under the All India Coordinated Research Project (AICRP) on Palms (Oil palm) at the College of Horticulture, Mulde, Maharashtra revealed that out of ten different hybrids (NRCOP-01 to NRCOP-10), hybrid NRCOP-2 performed consistently better in terms of yield. NRCOP-2 recorded the highest bunch weight (19.22 kg bunch-1), number of fresh fruit bunches per palm (8.14), highest fresh fruit bunches (FFBs) yield (22.14 t ha-1) and highest oil yield (5.36 t ha-1) as compared to other hybrids. Based on twelve years of evaluation, NRCOP-2 was consistently found to be high oil yielding and hence was released for cultivation in the coastal region of Maharashtra and Western Ghat under the name Godavari Ratna during the 2019 Annual Group Meeting of AICRP on Palms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam.) seeds are used for raising the rootstock for softwood grafting. Availability of seeds throughout the year is a major hurdle in raising rootstock for grafting. Jackfruit seeds are recalcitrant by nature and hence they lose viability on drying or exposure to chilling temperature and are difficult to store for longer periods. Hence, an investigation on seed viability of jackfruit and methods to prolong it under artificial storage conditions was conducted during the year 2017 and 2018 at College of Horticulture, Mulde, Sindhudurg under Konkan coastal region of Maharashtra. The experiment was carried out in a factorial randomised block design with two distinct treatments namely eight seed storage methods and six storage periods in all possible combinations with two replications. Significantly the highest germination percentage (93%) was observed in treatment where seeds were stored in a screw cap plastic bottle for a period of 150 days followed by storing the seeds in a polybag and keeping it in a screw cap plastic bottle for 150 days recorded 91% germination. The data revealed that fast deterioration in germinability was observed in the treatment where seeds were kept under ambient conditions (at room temperature 32°C). Seeds stored in an earthen pot buried in the soil had already germinated at 90, 120 and 150 days of storage and attained 50% germination at the earliest (17.25 days), exhibited a span of 17.25 to 27.75 days in all the treatments of storage period. Thus, the study revealed that jackfruit seeds can be effectively stored in wide mouth screw cap plastic bottles or in polybags of 300 gauge with a screw cap plastic bottle for a period of 150 days. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An experiment was carried out to assess the effect of potting media on seed germination and seedling growth for obtaining the vigorous rootstock for softwood grafting in jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam.). Healthy seeds of more than 3 g weight were thoroughly washed and treated with Carbendazim (50% WP @ 2 g L-1) for 5 minutes and sown in polybags having size 15 × 20 cm containing five different growing media viz., M1 - soil + FYM (3:1), M2 - soil + vermicompost + rice husk (2:1:1), M3 - soil + vermicompost + sawdust (2:1:1), M4- soil + vermicompost + cocopeat (2:1:1) and M5 - soil + vermicompost + rice husk + cocopeat (1:1:1:1). The potting mixture containing soil, vermicompost, cocopeat and rice husk in 1:1:1:1 proportion was found to be best for obtaining the highest germination percentage (93.0 %), 11.88 days for initiation of germination, 22.88 days for 50% germination and 24.25 days for total germination. The inclusion of sawdust in media showed an inhibitory effect for all the aspects under study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zucchini (Cucurbita pepo L.) belongs to the family Cucurbitaceae and has been regarded as a highly polymorphic vegetable. A field research was conducted to study the effect of spacing and fertilizer levels on flowering and yield of zucchini. Trial was conducted in a split plot design with four spacing and three nitrogen levels. The parameters assessed were flowering and yield characters. Results showed that the interaction effects of spacing and nitrogen treatments had significant effect on flowering and yield traits. Highest number of female flowers (8.85), lowest sex ratio (15.33), highest number of fruits per plant (8.21), fruit yield per plant (3.86 kg), yield per plot (138.45 kg) and yield per hectare (74.78 t) was recorded in S (60cm x 60cm). Among the various nitrogen levels, treatment N (150 kg N ha) produced maximum days to last harvest (68.05 days), highest number of fruits per plant (6.66), fruit yield per plant (3.19 kg), yield per plot (99.82 kg) and yield per hectare (53.9 t). Treatment combination S N (60 cm x 60 cm and 150 kg N ha) produced significantly highest number of fruits per plant (8.26), fruit yield per plant (3.92 kg), yield per plot (139.94 kg) and yield per hectare (75.59 t). Based on the results of this study, it is recommended to apply 150 kg N ha and follow 60 cm x 60 cm spacing for getting highest production of Zucchini. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]