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Mysore J. Agric. Sci., 51 (1) : 2017 ABSTRACT 145Abstracts of Ph. D. Theses submitted to the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bengaluru AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICSEnergy Use in Agriculture - An Econometric Analysis P. S. PRASANNAKUMARTHE present study was carried out to analyse the energy use in agriculture in terms of micro and macro perspectives. Theprimary data were collected from 180 farmers and time series data on various energy sources were collected for the period of53 years (1960 to 2013). Over the years the farm power availability from agricultural workers, tractors, power tillers, dieselengines electricity and fertilizer energy consumption had shown positive growth due to modernization of agriculturalproduction system, increased area under irrigation and high yielding crops. The power availability from draught animals hadregistered a negative growth rate due to non-availability of draught animals. The energy intensity has improved due toaccelerated growth of energy consumption in Indian. Engle and Granger causality analysis revealed the non-availability ofdraught animal power may adversely affect AgGDP and this phenomenon may push for other sources of energy mostlyelectricity and diesel forms. The energy budgeting of selected crops showed that parity cost of input energy was lowest inpaddy cultivation (Rs. 1.90 MJ/acre), followed by sugarcane, chilli and tomato cultivation with Rs. 1.95, Rs. 3.16, and Rs.3.6 MJ per acre, respectively. Tomato and chilli were more profitable crops in the study area with net income of Rs. 1, 81,094,and Rs. 70,802 per acre, respectively. Sample farmers viewed that inadequate power supply, frequent load shedding and highmaintenance cost of bore wells due to poor quality power were the major factors for inefficiency of electricity use inagriculture under free electricity policy regime. 2016 B. V. CHINNAPPA REDDYDepartment of Agricultural Economics Major Advisor UAS, GKVK, BengaluruAn Institutional Economic Analysis of Participatory Groundwater Management inAndhra Pradesh SRAVANTHI KOLLACOMMUNITY-LEVEL institutions have become more assertive in the management of local resources. Even though there areumpteen numbers of studies on participatory irrigation management (PIM) but most of the focus is on surface waterwhereas groundwater has been largely ignored. In this context, this study investigates the economic impact of participatorygroundwater management (PGM). For this purpose, the Andhra Pradesh Farmer Managed Groundwater Systems project(APFAMGS) was selected and a comparison was made between randomly selected sample of fifty farmers each fromparticipants of APFAMGS and non participants. The study was based on both primary and secondary data. The data wasanalyzed using descriptive statistics, Simpson Diversity Index, Regression with intercept and slope dummy variables,Transaction cost model and Heckman’s two-step model to meet the objectives set out for the study. The results revealedthat the farm income and on farm employment were significantly high in case of participant farmers than the non-participantsbut there was no significant difference in crop diversification between both the groups. The results indicated that for everyacre inch of groundwater applied per acre the gross returns increased additionally by Rs. 1600 per farm in case of participantfarmers than the non participant farmers. The negative externality per bore well was higher for non participant farmers(Rs.7535) than the participant farmers (Rs. 2472). The average annual transaction cost incurredby a participant farmer toattend groundwater management committee (GMC) and hydrological unit network (HUN) meetings ranges from Rs. 834 toRs. 1,279 and 78 per cent of the participant farmers were willing to pay Rs. 3435 for an external agency that organizes andmonitor the functions of GMC and HUN. This study recommends that more emphasis should be given for participatoryresource management to increase marginal productivity of scarce resource and to reduce negative externality. 2016 K. B. UMESHDepartment of Agricultural Economics Major Advisor UAS, GKVK, Bengaluru

146 ABSTRACT Mysore J. Agric. Sci., 51 (1) : 2017 AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION Sustainability of Farming Systems in Selected Agro-climatic Zones of Karnataka A. B. SUNITHATHE study was conducted in eastern and southern dry zones of Karnataka. The sample of the study included 120 farmers.The findings revealed that the farmers in the irrigated (40.00 %) and rainfed (46.67 %) situations of the two zones belongedto medium level of sustainability. Further, in the irrigated farming system of the two zones exhibited that 46.67 per cent ofeastern dry zone and 60.00 per cent of southern dry zone farmers belonged to medium level of sustainability. In the rainfedfarming system of two zones revealed that 46.67 per cent of eastern dry zone and 43.33 per cent of southern dry zone farmersbelonged to medium level of sustainability. A significant relationship was found between education, family size, level ofaspiration, achievement motivation, management orientation, risk orientation, value orientation, farming commitment, socialparticipation, innovative proneness, extension contact, extension participation with the sustainability of irrigated farmingsystem. In rainfed farming system education, family size, level of aspiration, economic motivation, achievement motivation,management orientation, farming commitment, decision making pattern, cosmopoliteness, extension contact and massmedia use had positive relationship with sustainability level. High cost of inputs was the major constraint in irrigatedfarming system and lack of water for irrigation was the major constraint of rainfed farming system. Development departmentswere expected to give importance to farm mechanization was one of the major suggestions by the farmers of irrigated farmingsystem and arranging irrigation facilities for cultivation was the major suggestion by the farmers of rainfed farming system. 2016 D. NANJAPPADepartment Agricultural Extension Major Advisor UAS, GKVK, BengaluruImpact of Joint Forest Planning and Management (JFPM) on People’s Livelihood Status and their Forest Management Behavior in Karnataka State ABDULLAH FAIZTHE present study was conducted during 2014-15 in Koppa, Karwar and Kodagu divisions of Karnataka. 180 VFC (VillageForest Committee) members from six VFC were selected as a sample size and data were collected by using pre-testedinterview schedule through personal interview method. Standard sized scales to measure live lihood status and managementbehaviour were developed and used in the study. The findings revealed that 60.0 per cent of VFC members had just securedlivelihood status in Koppa and Kodagu, while it was 57.0 per cent in Karwar division. Majority of the VFC members (53.0%)had average level of management behaviour in Koppa and Kodagu, while 50 per cent the VFC members in Karwar hadaverage level of management behaviour. The study also revealed that there is significant relationship between managementbehaviour and livelihood status of VFC members. The study enunciated that family size, experience in Joint Forest Planningand Management (JFPM) programmes, land holdings, participation in JFPM activities, family income, economic motivationand decision making ability were significantly influencing and contributing to livelihood status and management behaviourof VFC members. Lack of credit facilities, lack of awareness, non-proper specific micro plan for smaller unit and lack ofparticipation of VFC members in annual and general meeting were the common major problems faced in joint ForestManagement Programme. The Department of Forestry and other concerned agencies should provide credit facilities, createawareness regarding forest conservation, protection, development and management through extension contact, providingthe micro plan for smaller unitand motivate the VFC members to participate in annual and general meeting to overcome theproblems of VFC members. 2016 N. R. GANGADHARAPPADepartment Agricultural Extension Major Advisor UAS, GKVK, Bengaluru

Mysore J. Agric. Sci., 51 (1) : 2017 ABSTRACT 147A Study on Job Perception, Job Performance and Job Satisfaction of Teachers of State Agricultural Universities in Karnataka ABDUL SATTAR FAZELYTHE present study was carried out in three Colleges each from University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore and Universityof Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad during 2014-15 to analyze the job perception, job performance and job satisfaction ofteachers. Data was collected from a sample of 90 teachers from UAS(B) and 90 teachers from UAS(D) comprising ofProfessors, Associate Professors and Assistant Professors, using pre-tested questionnaire through personal interviewmethod. Standardized scales to measure job perception and job satisfaction of teachers were developed and used in thestudy. The study indicated that 38.89 per cent of UAS(B) teachers were found in high level of job perception category while36.67 per cent of UAS(D) teachers were belonging to high level of job perception category. An equal number (36.68 %) ofboth UAS(B) and UAS(D) teachers found to be in high level of job performance category. Most of the UAS(B) teachers(40.01%) had high level of job satisfaction whereas 38.88 per cent of UAS(D) teachers found to be in high level of jobsatisfaction. There was significant difference in the mean job perception and job performance scores of Professor andAssistant Professor. No significant difference was found between all category of teachers with respect to the mean jobsatisfaction score. Education, job experience, training undergone, perceived workload, achievement motivation, aspiration,organizational climate, attitude towards organization, and awards / recognition received were significantly influencing thejob perception, job performance and job satisfaction of teachers. Teachers burdened with non-academic / clerical activities,lack of opportunities to pursue post-doctoral programme and lack of LCD facilities in classrooms were the major problemsfaced by both UAS(B) and UAS(D) teachers. The ICAR and Universities’ authorities should develop suitable strategies toovercome the problems of teachers. 2016 M. S. NATARAJUDepartment Agricultural Extension Major Advisor UAS, GKVK, BengaluruAGRICULTURAL MICROBIOLOGYDiversity of Actinomycetes in Crop Rhizosphere of Arid, Semi Arid and Humid Regions (AER 3 and AER 6) and their Effect on Growth and Yield of Maize (Zea mays L.) and Chickpea (Cicer arietinum) T. K. RADHAACTINOMYCETES are one of the predominant microorganisms which play a major role in organic matter decomposition, plantgrowth promotion and biocontrol of plant diseases. In this study forty one actinomycete isolates were obtained from therhizosphere of different crops grown on red and black soils of arid, semi arid and humid regions of Karnataka, AndhraPradesh; Rajasthan and from pristine forest soils of Karnataka. Among the five different culture media tested, Humic acidvitamin agar was found best for cultivation of actinomycetes. The highest population of actinomycetes was observed inblack soils. The Shannon-Weaver diversity index (H) of the actinomycetes in arid and semi arid soil was 2.81 and the speciesevenness was 0.993. In humid region soil, the diversity index was 1.94 and species were found more evenly distributed(1.000). Screening of the isolates for plant growth promoting traits showed that out of 41 isolates, 35 produced indole aceticacid (IAA); sixteen produced gibberellic acid (GA). Thirty isolates solubilizedtri-calcium phosphate (TCP) and 15 were ableto solubilize potassium from muscovite mica. Thirty two isolates produced alkaline phosphate and sixteen isolates showedurea production. All the isolates showed negative for HCN production, nitrogen fixation, siderophore production, chitinaseactivity and for ACC deaminse. In vitro studies showed that 30 isolates were antagonists against fungal plant pathogens -viz., Macrophomina phaseolina, Sclerotium rolfsii, Rhizoctonia solani and Fusarium oxysporum. Glass house studiesshowed that out of 41 actinomycete isolates screened for plant growth promotion, eight isolates were found highly effective(> 35%) on maize and 9 were highly effective (> 30%) on chickpea in terms of increasing plant dry weight. Field evaluationstudies showed that out of the 17 actinomycete isolates studied, isolate A6 (Streptomyces) was found best for maizecultivation and actinomycete isolate A17 (Streptomyces) was best for Chickpea cultivation. 2016 K. R. SREERAMULUDepartment of Agricultural Microbiology Major Advisor UAS, GKVK, Bengaluru

148 ABSTRACT Mysore J. Agric. Sci., 51 (1) : 2017 Studies on the Effect of Microbial Inoculants on Growth, Yield and Wilt Suppression in Hybrid Castor (Ricinus Communis L.) J. AJAY KUMARSTUDIES on the effect of microbial inoculants on growth, yield and wilt suppression in hybrid castor (Ricinus communis L.)was studied under field conditions during Summer, 2015. In vitro experiments were also carried out to study the efficacy ofselected microbial biocontrol agents to control Fusarium oxysporum and made used in pot and field studies. The best twotreatments involving, the combination of Azotobacter chroococcum,+ Bacillus megaterium, + Trichoderma viride (T15) andAzotobacter chroococcum,+ Bacillus megaterium, + Bacillus subtilis (T14) were selected from pot culture experiment tostudy their effects on plant growth promotion, yield and disease suppression under field conditions. The results of the fieldstudy showed that the combination of Azotobacter chroococcum, Bacillus megaterium, Trichoderma viride with 100 percent NPK has significantly improved the plant growth parameters like plant height (103.07 cm), number of leaves (34.27),number of branches (11.53) and leaf area (8700.67 cm2 pl.-1) and also the yield parameters like number of spikes per plant(8.33), spike length (35.67 cm), capsules per spike (53.27), seed yield (2049.38 kg ha-1), test weight (29.69 g), oil content(49.32%), dry matter production (242.73 yield / pl-1) and least wilt disease incidence (3.33 %) was noticed. Microbialanalysis of rhizosphere soil at crop harvest in the above mentioned treatment combination has showed increased microbialpopulation of beneficial microflora, (Azotobacter spp. 18.74×104cfu g-1 soil, PSB 10.35×104 cfu g-1 soil, Trichoderma spp.13.27×103 cfu g-1 soil) and available nutrient content (Nitrogen 252.58 kg ha-1, Phosphorus 49.81 kg ha-1, Potassium363.70 kg ha-1) in soil after crop harvest. The results of this study has clearly brought out that conjunctive use of Azotobacterchroococcum + B. megaterium + T. viride as soil application is advantageous for the growth, yield and wilt disease controlin hybrid castor. 2015 L. KRISHNA NAIKDepartment of Agricultural Microbiology Major Advisor UAS, GKVK, Bengaluru Analysis of Microbial Communities and their Activities in Aerobic Rice (Oryza sativa L.) Rhizosphere Soil B. C. MEENAKSHITHE study was carried out to assess microbial communities at different depths of rhizosphere soil of the two varieties ofaerobic rice. The aerobic rice plants were raised in 3 feet PVC pipes for 80 days and microbial communities were enumeratedat 5, 10, 20, 40 60, 80 and 100 cm depth on 40th and 80th day after sowing. The highest population of bacteria including freeliving nitrogen fixers and phosphate solubilizers and fungi were recorded at 5 and 10 cm depths and population of theseorganisms decreased as depth of soil increased. However, the actinomycetes population increased as the depth increased.Soil enzymes viz., dehydrogenase, urease, acid and alkaline phosphatase activities also significantly increased in top soil(5-10 cm) and reduced as the depth increased in both the varieties. A free living nitrogen fixing bacterium and four phosphatesolubilizing bacteria were isolated and identified as Azotobacter salinestris, Pantoea sp. Pseudomonas nitroreducens,Bacillus subtilis, Acinetobacter calcoaceticus using 16S rRNA gene sequence and the phosphate solubilizing fungus wasidentified as Aspergillus awamorii using Internal Transcribed Sequence (ITS) region. The A. salinestris and A. calcoaceticusinoculated to rice either singly or in combinations increased the growth and yield of both the varieties (BI-33 and AM-72).The consortia of Azotobacter salinestris + Acinetobacter calcoaceticus + Glomus fasciculatum was found superior overdual and single inoculations. Further, the population of N2-fixer and PO4 solubilizers increased in the rhizosphere. Added tothis, the mycorrhizal root colonization and spore numbers in the rhizosphere soil were increased in G. fasciculatum inoculatedtreatments either singly or in combinations. 2015 N. EARANNADepartment of Agricultural Microbiology Major Advisor UAS, GKVK, Bengaluru

Mysore J. Agric. Sci., 51 (1) : 2017 ABSTRACT 149 AGRONOMYAgronomic Investigations for Maximising Seed Yield and Quality of Guar (Cyamopsis tetragonoloba L.) under Rainfed Condition K. S. SOMASHEKARFIELD experiments were conducted at ZARS, GKVK, Bengaluru during 2013 and 2014 on red sandy clay loam soil which wasmedium in available NPK to evaluate the response of guar varieties to different dates of sowing and spacing, to optimizeNPK dosage and to know the efficacy of pre-emergence herbicides for weed management on growth, yield and quality ofguar. The experiment on response of guar varieties to different dates of sowing and spacing was laid out in split split plotdesign with three replications. Guar variety, HG 563 grownduring first fortnight of July with spacing of 30 x 15 cm spacingrecorded significantly higher seed (875 kg ha-1), protein (234 kg ha-1) and gum yield (264.4 kg ha-1) and higher net returns(Rs. 30778 ha-1) and B: C ratio (2.65). Experiment on optimization of NPK dosage in guar was laid out in factorial RCBD withthree replications. Application of NPK @ 50:100:75 kg NPK ha-1 recorded significantly higher seed (954 kg ha-1), protein(259.9 kg ha-1) and gum yield (322.3 kg ha-1) and higher net returns (Rs. 33071 ha-1) and B: C ratio (2.61). Experiment onefficacy of pre-emergence herbicides for weed management in guar was laid out in RCBD with three replications.Pre-emergence application of metribuzin 70 per cent WP @ 0.5 kg a.i. + 1 HW @ 30 DAS recorded significantly higherseed (894.15 kg ha-1), protein (240.67 kg ha-1) and gum yield (284.76 kg ha-1) and higher net returns (Rs. 32613 ha-1) andB: C ratio (2.84). 2016 K. N. KALYAN MURTHYDepartment of Agronomy Major Advisor UAS, GKVK, BengaluruStudies on Canopy Architecture, Plant Population, Intercropping of Chilli and Protective Irrigation on Productivity of Castor (Ricinus communis) K. SUNIL KUMARFIELD experiments were conducted during the kharif season of 2013 and 2015 at ZARS, Gandhi KrishiVigyan Kendra,University of Agricultural Sciences, Bengaluru on red sandy clay loam soil which was medium in available NPK, to evaluatethe influence of periodical staggered nipping, spacing, intercropping of chilli and protective irrigation on growth, yield andeconomics of castor production. The experiment on response of castor to staggered nipping and spacing was laid out infactorial RCBD design with three replications and nine treatment combinations. Nipping and different spacings in castorsignificantly influenced the seed yield and net returns. Periodical staggered nipping leaving one spike in each branchrecorded significantly higher seed yield (17.47 q ha-1) and net returns (Rs. 35,979 ha-1) as compared to non-nipping treatments.The same treatment also recorded significantly reduced infestation of Botrytis disease (2.71) and chaffiness (6.43%).Among the different spacing levels significantly higher seed yield and net returns were obtained with the spacing of90 x 45 cm (15.67 q ha-1 and Rs. 31,105 ha-1, respectively). The interaction effects between nipping and spacings were non-significant. Experiment on protective irrigation, nippingandintercropping of chilli in castor was laid out in factorial RCBDwith twelve treatment combinations and replicated thrice. Protective irrigated castor recorded significantly higher seedyield (17.76 q ha-1) and net returns (Rs. 55,702 ha-1) compared to rainfed castor. Nipping leaving one spike in each branchrecorded significantly higher seed yield (20.49q ha-1), net returns (Rs. 65,439 ha-1) and reduced Botrytis disease (2.53) andchaffiness (6.36%). Intercropping of chilli in castor recorded significantly higher castor equivalent yield (27.74 q ha-1) andnet returns (Rs. 60,043 ha-1) compared to sole castor.The interaction effects between protective irrigation, nipping and chilliintercropping were not significant. 2016 H. S. SHIVARAMUDepartment of Agronomy Major Advisor UAS, GKVK, Bengaluru

150 ABSTRACT Mysore J. Agric. Sci., 51 (1) : 2017 Effect of Conservation Tillage and Nutrient Management Practices on Finger Millet in Alfisols under Rainfed Conditions VEERESH HATTIA field experiment was conducted at AICRP for Dryland Agriculture, GKVK, University of Agricultural Sciences, Bengaluruduring kharif 2014 and 2015 on red sandy clay loam soil with low soil available N, K O and medium P O to study the effect 2 25of conservation tillage and nutrient management practices on finger millet. The experiment was laid out in split plot designwith three main plots on different tillage treatments and five sub plots of different nutrient management practices replicatedthrice. Among different tillage practices, conventional tillage (2 ploughings + 1 harrowing + 2 inter cultivations at 25 and 50DAS) with sown finger millet has recorded significantly higher growth attributes resulting in significantly higher grain yield(3041 kg ha-1), straw yield (4687 kg ha-1), net returns (Rs. 54082 ha-1) and B:C ratio (3.77) apart from higher nutrient, rain waterand energy use efficiencies (58.12, 52.38 kg kg-1 N, 82.67, 74.41 kg kg-1 P O and 103.94, 93.81 kg kg-1 K O, during 2014 and 25 22015, 4.78 kg ha-mm-1 and 16.38, respectively) as compared to minimum and zero tillage practices. Among different nutrientmanagement practices, 100 per cent recommended NPK (50:40:25 kg NPK ha-1) + 7.5 t FYM ha-1recorded significantly highergrowth attributes resulting in significantly higher grain yield (3030 kg ha-1), straw yield (4685 kg ha-1), net returns (Rs. 50228ha-1), B:C ratio (3.14) and rain water use efficiency (4.76 kg ha-mm-1) apart from improvement in soil physical properties[higher infiltration rate (16.11 cm hr-1), cumulative infiltration (37.12 cm), maximum water holding capacity, lower bulk densityand soil penetration resistance)], chemical properties [higher organic carbon (0.60%)] and biological properties [higherpopulation of bacteria, fungi, actinomycetes, microbial biomass carbon (572.0 μg g soil-1), microbial biomass nitrogen(66.7 μg g soil-1), urease, dehydrogenase, acid phosphatase and alkaline phosphatase activity] as compared to othernutrient management practices. 2016 B. K. RAMACHANDRAPPADepartment of Agronomy Major Advisor UAS, GKVK, Bengaluru Precision Nutrient Management through Drip Irrigation in Maize (Zea mays L.) Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) Sequence D. C. HANUMANTHAPPAFIELD studies on precision nutrient management were conducted at research farm, GKVK, Bengaluru during kharif - rabi /summer seasons of 2014-15 and 2015-16. The experimental field was delineated into 36 grids of 9 m x 9 m each using GPS.Spatial variability for available NPK was 123 - 246, 86 - 185 kg for N, 5.4 - 10.0, 10.1 - 41.9 kg for P2O5 and 191 - 458, 166 - 402kg for K2O ha-1, respectively during 2014-15 and 2015-16, this was addressed through precision management strategy withSTCR approach. There were 12 treatment combinations; three nutrient management practices in main plots and fertilizers forfour targeted yield levels in sub plots, laid out in split plot design with three replications. Two years pooled data showedthat, NPK applied through drip irrigation in six equal splits at fortnightly interval to maize, saved 41.3 per cent P2O5 and 42.1per cent K O for subsequent groundnut crop. Application of NPK through drip irrigation in six equal splits at fortnightly 2interval recorded 11.1 (102.4 q ha-1) and 27.3 % (25.2 q ha-1) higher maize and groundnut yield respectively over blanket soilapplication as per UASB package (92.1 and 19.8 q ha-1 maize and groundnut yield respectively). This was attributed to higherNUE, growth and yield parameters of crops. Gross and net returns, B:C ratio of the maize - groundnut sequence was higherwith fertilizers applied through drip irrigation in six equal splits at fortnightly interval (Rs. 2,19,328, Rs.1,59,253 ha-1 and 3.65,respectively) over blanket soil application of fertilizers as per UASB package (Rs.1,85,130, Rs.1,25,682 ha-1 and 3.11,respectively). Among the targets, targeted yield of 105 q ha-1 maize and 25 q ha-1 groundnut recorded higher gross(Rs. 2,37,951 ha-1), net returns (Rs.1,70,529 ha-1) and B:C ratio (3.53) for maize - groundnut sequence. 2016 SHARANAPPADepartment of Agronomy Major Advisor UAS, GKVK, Bengaluru

Mysore J. Agric. Sci., 51 (1) : 2017 ABSTRACT 151 CROP PHYSIOLOGYDevelopment of Mapping Population and Identification of QTLs for High Zn Content in Pigeonpea [Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp.] BASAVARAJESHWARI R. MATHAPATIZINC plays key roles in plants and human health regulating several major physiological and biological processes. It hasemerged as the most widespread micronutrient deficiency in soils and crops worldwide, resulting in severe yield losses anddeterioration in nutritional quality, ultimately leading to human zinc deficiency. The short term interventions to curb humanzinc deficiency are mineral supplementation, dietary diversification and food fortification but they are not economicallyviable in the long run. So, biofortification through genetic or agronomic approaches, may be a long lasting solution to caterthe needs of both the rural and urban population. In this direction, 30 high and low zinc genotypes selected out of 217germplasm lines outsourced from ICRISAT were genotyped to analyze their genetic diversity using 50 SSR markers. Crosswere conducted between selected lines. Of the crosses, the cross ICP6443 x ICP10960 was used to develop mappingpopulation segregating for seed Zn content and subsequently used for phenotyping, linkage mapping and QTL analysis.Significant phenotypic variability was noticed for the seed zinc and other traits in the population. The polymorphic informationof 151 SSR markers were used to construct linkage map. Multipoint linkage analysis resulted in linkage map of 62 markersinto 10 linkage groups with a total map length of 1942.8 cm. QTLs for seed zinc, leaf zinc and yield traits were identified usinglinkage mapping. Several pleiotropic markers were identified for different traits in QTL analysis. Single marker analysis andcomposite interval mapping resulted in discovery of common markers (AHSSR93, AHSSR118 and ASSR280) for seed zinccontent. The study lead to discovery of several transgressive segregates with high seed zinc content, serving as potentialgenetic resources. An important genic marker bZIP transcription factor (ASSR20) speculated to regulate zinc deficiencyresponse is found to be linked to seed zinc content. 2016 A. G. SHANKARDepartment of Crop Physiology Major Advisor UAS, GKVK, Bengaluru FOOD SCIENCE AND NUTRITIONStudy of Selected Traditional Rice Varieties for the Development of Functional Foods GOPIKA C. MUTTAGIEVALUATION of twenty traditional rice varieties grown in Karnataka, as a dehusked grain was performed with respect tophysico-chemical, cooking characteristics, nutrients, and phytochemical composition. Products were prepared by incorporatingmodified starch extracted from selected traditional rice varieties and its glycemic index was studied. Amylose and totalstarch content ranged from 12.51 to 24.64 per cent and 68.31 to 75.64 per cent respectively. Insoluble, soluble and totaldietary fibre ranged from 4.34 to 9.79, 0.12 to 0.62, and 4.46 to 10.40 g per 100 g respectively. Total polyphenol content andtotal antioxidant capacity ranged from 47.82 to 160.71 mg gallic acid equivalent and 257.93 to 800.25 μM ascorbic acidequivalent per 100 g respectively. Formation of resistant starch due to cooling effect was more pronounced in the varietiesJeerige sanna (6.77 %), Kagisaale (6.40 %), and Krishnaleela (5.31 %) and selected for starch modification. In vitro resistantstarch was significantly (P<0.05) increased in autoclaved Jeerige sanna starch (15.63 %) and selected for standardization offunctional food products. Sweet cookies, masala cookies, banana nut muffin, khakhra and roti were standardized byincorporating modified rice starch served as test product group. The products were acceptable and no significant differenceswere observed between control and test products. Shelf life of sweet cookies, masala cookies and khakhra were evaluatedand acceptable up to 45, 60 and 90 days, respectively. The impact of test and control roti on postprandial glucose responsein 10 healthy adults was assessed in comparison with standard white bread. Test roti had low glycemic index (54.46) whencompared with standard (100) and control roti (88.89). 2016 USHA RAVINDRADepartment of Food Science and Nutrition Major Advisor UAS, GKVK, Bengaluru

152 ABSTRACT Mysore J. Agric. Sci., 51 (1) : 2017 GENETICS AND PLANT BREEDING Dissection of Genetic Variability in to Linear and Non-Linear Components for EconomicTraits and Yellow Vein Mosaic Virus Resistance in Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus L. Moench) BASAVARAJ M. PATILTWO separate experiments were conducted at experimental plots of K Block, Dept. of Genetics and Plant Breeding, UAS,GKVK and Virology laboratory, Department of Plant Pathology, Hebbal, Bengaluru. Experiment I comprised of unravelinggenetic variability and selection of contrasting genotypes for YVMV disease resistance, fruit yield and its component traits.From the 166 genotypes were screened for YVMV disease resistance studies, six moderately resistant and six susceptiblelines were selected for the further research. Similarly, based on the mean yield performance, eight genotypes with high yieldand eight genotypes with low fruit yield were selected in effecting half diallel crosses to unravel the genetics of fruit yieldand its component traits in okra. Experiment II comprised of deciphering genetics of YVMV disease resistance, fruit yieldand its components. The parents, P3 (Sel 7), P1 (P7) and P5 (IC 4792) and the crosses P5×P10, P9×P10 and P5×P8 were the goodgeneral and specific combinations, respectively. The crosses P1×P2, P1×P3 and P1×P4 manifested significant heterosis in adesirable direction for per cent disease infection. In general, higher GCA variance than the SCA variance suggested thepredominance of additive gene action in the inheritance of fruits per plant and fruit yield per plant. On the contrary, higherSCA variance than GCA variance for fruit weight and mean internodal length was observed. Among the parents, highestGCA effects was recorded by the IC 282240 for fruits per plant; and IC 45806 for fruit yield per plant. Among the crosses,P1×P8 (rabi 2012) and P2×P4 (summer 2013)for fruits per plant and P1×P8 (rabi 2012) and P1×P6 (summer 2013) for fruit yield perplant recorded the highest SCA effects. Maximum significant standard heterosis was observed in P ×P (rabi 2012)and 18P15×P16 (summer 2013) for fruits per plant and P1×P8 (rabi 2012) and P1×P6 (summer 2013) for fruit yield per plant. 2016 E. GANGAPPADepartment of Genetics and Plant Breeding Major Advisor UAS, GKVK, BengaluruGenome-wide Association Analysis of Blast Resistance QTLs / Genes in Landraces of Rice (Oryza sativa L.) by Whole Genome Resequencing H. B. MAHESHRICE is a major food crop cultivated in India, which occupies first and second position in area and production, respectively.Blast disease is a major constraint in all rice growing regions. Insufficient durability of resistance led us to characterizeMagnaporthe population in four rice growing regions of Southern India. The analysis of molecular data obtained usingmulti-marker system (SSRs, Avr gene-specific markers, Pot2, Grh and MAT locus) revealed high genetic diversity andclustering of Magnaporthe isolates based on host and geographical location. Overall results showed the existence ofdynamic Magnaporthe population in all locations of our study. The unavailability of reference rice genome in India led usto undertake whole genome sequencing of indica cultivar, HR-12. The whole genome sequencing and assembling processresulted the genome size of 389 Mb and predicted 56,284 protein-coding genes. Comprehensive comparative analysesbetween indica (HR-12 and 93-11) and japonica (Nipponbare) subspecies genomes revealed a large number of indicaspecific variants including SSRs, SNPs and InDels. In addition to HR-12, we sequenced extremely resistant and susceptiblevarieties and landraces to understand R-gene mutations. The whole genome sequencing of rice genotypes revealed highrate of mutations in defense related genes (NB-ARC, LRR and PK domains) in resistant cultivars as compared to susceptible.Genome-wide identification of SNPs and utilizing them in genome-wide association study (GWAS) is an evolving area tomap agronomically important traits in crop plants. Our efforts of screening 227 rice landraces for leaf and neck blastdisease, ddRAD sequencing and GWAS helped us to map several defense related genes across rice genome. Analysis ofmixed transcriptome in leaf and neck tissues revealed tissue-specific and infection-specific expression of genes in hostand pathogen. Overall, this sequencing effort will harnesses the use of germplasm for gene discovery, allele mining andgenetic improvement. 2016 SHAILAJA HITTALMANIDepartment of Genetics and Plant Breeding Major Advisor UAS, GKVK, Bengaluru

Mysore J. Agric. Sci., 51 (1) : 2017 ABSTRACT 153First- and Second Degree Statistics-Based Genetics of Quantitative Traits in Dolichos Bean (Lablab purpureus L. Sweet) M. S. SHIVAKUMARFIRST and second degree statistics-based genetics of quantitative traits, choice of the testers to discriminate advancedbreeding lines (ABL) for their general combining ability (GCA) and the relationship of parental genetic divergence (GD) asquantified by phenotype-based GCA and cross legume species / genera transferable simple sequence repeat (SSR) markeralleles with hybrid heterosis and specific combining ability (SCA) in dolichos bean were investigated at the Department ofGenetics and Plant Breeding (GPB), University of Agricultural Sciences (UAS), Bengaluru during 2013-2015. While first-degree statistics suggested predominance of dominance and dominance×dominance-based gene interaction effects, seconddegree statistics revealed predominance of genes with additive effects in the inheritance of most of the traits. The estimatesof additive genetic variance (ó2A) and dominance genetic variance (ó2D) and hence narrow-sense heritability were biased dueto epistasis but the magnitude and direction of the bias varied with the traits. The ability of low yielding testers (LYT) wasbetter than that of high yielding testers (HYT) to discriminate ABL for their GCA. While the, FPB 20 was desirable generalcombiner for dry pods plant-1, the variety HA 3 was a desirable general combiner for dry seed weight plant-1. One-hundredand twenty six (45.81%) of the 275 cross legume species / genera SSR markers were transferable to dolichos bean and theextent of transferability varied with the cross legume species / genera. Among these 126, 83.33 per cent of Medicagotruncatula, 78.57 per cent of green gram, 77.77 per cent of chickpea, 53.33 per cent of soybean and 33.33 per cent of cowpeaSSR markers were transferable to dolichos bean. The conditional probability that a given cross with high heterotic / scastatus is derived from parents of moderate GD was higher than that derived from parents of extreme GD. The study indicatedthe possible limits to parental GD for the occurrence of hybrid heterosis. 2016 S. RAMESHDepartment of Genetics and Plant Breeding Major Advisor UAS, GKVK, BengaluruPhenotypic Diversity and Association Mapping for Drought Resistance and Fruit Yield in Cultivated And Related Species of Tomato (Solanum Spp.) NGUYEN NGOC THIAN investigation was carried out to study the genotypic variability, correlation, identification of drought tolerant / susceptiblegenotypes and detection of marker-trait associations among 100 germplasm accessions of six cultivated tomato and relatedspecies along with three check varieties from 2013 to 2015. Standardization of days to root sampling resulted in rootsampling at 75 days after transplanting (DAT) would be appropriate for ‘cherry’ species and S. peruvianum. While for ‘lyco’species and S. pimpinellifolium was at 50 DAT. Genetic variability among four groups of species under normal and stressedcondition for 19 quantitative traits revealed highest magnitude of variation recorded for ‘wild’ species but was least in ‘lyco’species. Biplot analysis, three-dimensional plots and ranking method based on fifteen drought tolerant indices indicated LA2976, WIR 13708, EC 676809, EC 677123 and EC 771596 as highly drought tolerant genotypes. Fruit yield (FYPP) exhibitedpositive correlation with stem girth (STG), relative water content and SCMR under both conditions. While it had negativerelationship with leaf rolling (LR) under stressed condition. There were no common markers associated to root and shoottraits among ‘All’ spp, ‘cherry’ and S. peruvianum, ‘lyco’ and other species. While for other thirteen quantitative traits,markers detected as most powerful and common across years and conditions are SSR52 for SCMR under stressed conditionand TGS2002 for fruits per plant (FPP) and clusters per plant (CPP) under stressed condition in ‘lyco’ species; SSR14 andLELEUZIP for LR under stressed condition, SSR14 for FYPP and LR under stressed condition in ‘cherry’ species; SSR14 forSTG and FYPP in ‘wild’species; SSR218 for STG, TGS0142 for CPP, SSR128 for FPP, SSR49 and SSR593 for FYPP in ‘All’ spp,which could be validated and or can be used for marker assisted selection in specific or with combined species. 2016 H. SHIVANNADepartment of Genetics and Plant Breeding Major Advisor UAS, GKVK, Bengaluru

154 ABSTRACT Mysore J. Agric. Sci., 51 (1) : 2017 HORTICULTURE Integrated Nutrient and Water Management in Fig (Ficus carica L.) N. SRINIVASTHE experiment entitled Integrated nutrient and water management in fig (Ficus carica L.) cv. Poona was conducted atPrecision Farming Development Centre, Department of Horticulture, GKVK, Bengaluru during 2005 and 2006 to know theinfluence of irrigation levels and integrated nutrient management (INM) on growth, yield and quality parameters. The datarevealed that, 100 per cent Epan replenishment of water significantly influenced the growth parameters viz., plant height,plant spread, canopy volume, shoot length, trunk girth, number of secondary branches, leaf area, chlorophyll content andN, P and K in leaves. Further, the fruit length (4.87 cm), fruit breadth (4.66 cm), fruit weight (31.94 g), number of fruit per plant(116.33) and fruit yield (3.61 kg / plant) was significantly higher with 100 per cent Epan replenishment of water. While,the quality parameters viz., TSS (15.67o Brix) and total sugars (17.14%) were significantly higher with 75 per cent Epanreplenishment of water. Application of 100 per cent RDF+150 g each of Azospirillum sp.,T. harzianum and PSB per plantsignificantly influenced the fruit length (4.92 cm), fruit breadth (4.66 cm), number of fruit per plant (134.87) and fruit yield(4.30kg / plant), compared to 50 per cent RDF+150 g each Azospirillum sp., T. harzianum and PSB. Interaction effect ofirrigation and INM revealed that, 100 per cent Epan replenishment of water coupled with 100 per cent RDF+150g each ofAzospirillum sp.+T. harzianum+PSB recorded similar trend for growth and yield parameters. Microbial inoculants forrooting of fig cuttings under green house, revealed better shoot and root growth in ‘Dinakar’ compared to ‘Poona’. Further,the microbial consortium of Azospirillum sp., PSB, T. harzianum and G. fasciculatum inoculation recorded early sproutingand maximum shoot length, number of leaves per cutting, number of primary roots per cutting, root length, rooting percentageand survival percentage compared to individual inoculation. 2015 S. JAGANATHDepartment Horticulture Major AdvisorUAS, GKVK, Bengaluru PLANT PATHOLOGYCharacterization of Colletotrichum gloeosporioides isolates and Fructoplane Microflora with Emphasis on Bio-management of Post Harvest Anthracnose Disease of Mango S. SUDHAPOST harvest an thracnose incited by C. gloeosporioides, is the most important disease widely distributed in all mangogrowing regions of the world and is a major yield and market constraint causing 20-25 per cent loss. The cultural growth ofC. gloeosporioides was 90.00 mm by 8th day with dark grey colonies and orange pigmentation. Morphologically conidial sizeranged from 11.45-16.87 μm x 4.23-6.30 μm. Molecular characteristics using ITS1 and ITS4 primers were used for identificationand the pathogen was identified as Colletotrichum gloeosporioides (Penz.) Penz. and Sacc., the fungal antagonists isolatedfrom fructoplane were identified as Trichoderma harzianum, T. asperellum, Meyerozyma caribbica and Torulasporadelbruekii. Bacterial bioagents, Bacillus subtilis and Pseudomonas fluorescens were identified based on 16S rRNAamplification. Forty three antagonistic microflora were screened in vitro against C. gloeosporioides by dual culture techniqueandof the eleven Trichoderma isolates, T. asperellum Ta4, exhibited maximum inhibition (62.59%); greater chitinase activity(18.2±1.1 μmol / min / ml); and â-1, 3-glucanase specificity (19.5±1.2 μmol / min / ml). The yeast M. caribbica Y1 isolate, thebacterial bioagent, P. fluorescens Pf1 and B. subtilis Bs1isolates recorded maximum inhibition of 52.59, 57.40 and 55.55 percent, respectively. However, B. subtilis Bs1 and P. fluorescens Pf1 isolates were phosphate solubilizers (2.5cm dia); producedsiderophore (1.20 μg / ml and 1.30μg / ml); IAA production of 90 μg / ml and 91.50 μg / ml, respectively. Fruit bioassay withbacterial bio-agents viz., P. fluorescens Pf1 and B. subtilis Bs1 recorded the minimum per cent disease index (PDI 37.70 and33.81) on 10th day of incubation whereas, the per cent disease index in untreated fruits was 85.50 per cent. Further, thechallenge inoculation of bacterial bioagents, P. fluorescens Pf1 and B. subtilis Bs1 with pathogen revealed that theyrecorded minimum PDI of 38.00 and 35.15, respectively (45% in hibition of fruit anthracnose) and were most effective inreducing the anthracnose symptoms compared to compared to control (PDI 86.33) indicating their bioefficacy. 2016 T. NARENDRAPPADepartment of Plant Pathology Major Advisor UAS, GKVK, Bengaluru

Mysore J. Agric. Sci., 51 (1) : 2017 ABSTRACT 155Etiology and Management of Wilt Disease in Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus L. (Moench) B. HANUMANTHE GOWDAOKRA wilt is an important destructive disease in tropical and sub-tropical parts of the world caused by Fusarium oxysporumf. sp vasinfectum (FOV)causing 15% yield loss. Highest wilt incidence was recorded in Mysore district (41.50%) followedby Bangalore urban (40.49%) and the least was recorded in Chamarajanagar (27.95%). Twenty five Fusarium isolates weremolecularly identified that showed sequence similarity with sequences of FOV deposited in the NCBS. Sequence similarityamong the isolates was 94-100%. Among 25 Fusarium isolates, MYS-16 isolate showed highest radial growth (90.00mm)followed by RMNR-10 isolate (62.42mm). Richard’s agar was found best medium for growth of all the isolates both in solid(61.78 mm) and liquid (714.73 mg) media followed by Czapeck’s agar and PDA. Luxuriant growth of all the isolates wererecorded at temperature of 30°C (70.51 mm)followed by 25°C (60.35 mm) on solid medium. Optimum pH for the growth wasrecorded at 6.0 and 7.0 with maximum growth of 57.43 mm and 64.37 mm on solid medium respectively. Seven varieties andeleven hybrids showed resistance reaction under controlled conditions. Soil solarization + seed treatment with carbendazim(2g/Kg seed) + drenching with iporodione 25 per cent WP+ carbendazim 25 per cent WP (1g/l) at 35 DAS recorded wiltincidence of 17.17% and yield of 18.53 t/ha followed by seed treatment with carbendazim (2g/Kg seed) + drenching withiporodione 25 per cent WP+ carbendazim 25 per cent WP (1g/l) at 35 DAS which recorded18.00 per cent wilt disease andyield of 18.16 t/ha, where as control recorded the disease incidence of 38.50 per cent and yield of 10.13 t/ha. 2016 M. SAIFULLADepartment of Plant Pathology Major Advisor UAS, GKVK, Bengaluru SOIL SCIENCE AND AGRICULTURAL CHEMISTRYCharacterization and Utilization of Different Silicon Sources for Rice T. S. SANDHYADIFFERENT Si sources used in this studyvaried greatly in their physico - chemical properties and behavior in acidic, neutraland alkaline soils. Total Si content of the Si sources ranged from 2.20 – 34.84 per cent and alkalinity to Si ratio (A/Si) rangedfrom 1.29- 9.08. The relative Si extracted by various extractants irrespective of Si sources was in the order of HCl +HF (112.13 %) > 0.5 M HCl (79.22 %) > 5 per cent citric acid (55.51 %) > 0.5 M acetic acid (51.95 %) > 0.005 M H2SO4(42.56 %)> NaOAc (33.58 %) > 0.5 M NH4OAc (29.30 %) > 40mM P buffer (28.34 %) > Na2CO3+ NH4 NO3– 1 (21.98 %) > Na2CO3+ NH4NO3– 2 (19.32 %) > distilled water – 2 (11.94 %) > 0.01M CaCl2(4.80 %) > distilled water – 1 (3.52 %). Si extracted from differentSi sources with Na CO + NH NO – 2 method noticed higher correlation with total Si uptake by rice treated with Si @ 250 and23 43500 kg Si ha-1 in all the three soils. Application of Si sources significantly increased both CaCl2 and acetic acid extractable Siin all the three soils. 0.01M CaCl2 extractable Si was found to be the ideal measure for plant available Si in soils treated withdifferent Si sources. In acidic and neutral soil, significant correlation was obtained between R- PASc and RUSic at 60 DAI(r = 0.660** and 0.693**, respectively). In alkaline soil, significantly high correlation was obtained at 120 DAI (r = 0.732**).Similar trend was obtained with R- PASc and relative uptake in these soils. Application of calcium silicate and rice hull @ 500kg Si ha-1 in field experiments recorded the highest grain and straw yield in acidic and alkaline soils, respectively. 2016 N. B. PRAKASHDepartment of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry Major Advisor UAS, GKVK, Bengaluru

156 ABSTRACT Mysore J. Agric. Sci., 51 (1) : 2017Influence of Enriched Urban Solid Waste Composton Soil Properties, Yield and Uptake of Nutrients in Cereal-Pulse Cropping Systems B. C. PUNITHAMUNICIPAL solid waste (MSW) compost serves as an organic amendment and contributes nutrients to plant growth andimproves the soil fertility. Field experiments wereconducted to study the soil properties, yield and uptake of nutrientsincereal-pulse cropping systemswith eleven treatments replicated thrice using RCBD design atGKVK, University of AgriculturalSciences, Bengaluru during 2013-14.The results revealed supply of required quantity of N through enriched urban solidwaste compost (50 %) + inorganic N (50 %) recorded significantly higher grain andstraw yield of 4407 and 6537 kg ha-1infingermillet and 4568and 5306kg ha-1 in aerobic rice, respectively during kharif. Whereas in summer cowpea the treatmentwhich received residual 100 per cent N through enriched urban compostrecorded significantly higher grain and haulm yieldof 687and 2544 kgha-1 in fingermillet-cowpea and 815 and 2650 kg ha-1 inaerobic rice-cowpea cropping system, respectively.Theuptake of nutrients bygrain and straw of both fingermillet and aerobic rice cropswas significantly higher in50 per centN + 50per cent N through enriched urban compost. Whereas, ingrain andhaulm of cowpea, both cropping systemsrecordedsignificantly higher uptake of nutrients due to residual effect of 100 per cent N through enriched urban compost. The soilavailable nutrient status and enzymatic activities were also significantly higherin treatments which received 100 per centenriched organics. In case of 50 per cent N + 50per cent N through enriched urban compost recorded higher B:C ratio of 3.52and 3.49 as compared to 2.70 and 2.67 in 100 per cent N + FYM @ 10 t ha-1(POP)in fingermillet-cowpea and aerobic rice-cowpea cropping systems, respectively. 2016 H. C. PRAKASHDepartment of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry Major Advisor UAS, GKVK, Bengaluru Characterization of Salt Affected Soils in Selected Areas of Bhadra Command and Studies on Response of Rice to Amendments and Nutrients C. N. NALINASURVEY of salt affected soils in four selected areas of Bhadra command indicated that, the soils vary in texture from sandyloam to sandy clay loam, sandy clay, silt loam and clay, slightly saline to very strongly alkaline in reaction (8.03 to 9.73) withECe in the range of 0.75 to 9.31 dS m-1. Profile studies showed irregular trend of pH and ECe with depth. Ca was dominantexchangeable cation and ESP ranged from 0.84 to 81.03. Among the soluble ions Na and Cl were dominant, indicatingchloride type of salinity. The per cent samples falling under salinity and alkalinity or both were 93.5, 100, 96 and 65.5 inTyavanagi, Jerikatte, Javalaghatta and Hadadi villages respectively. Field experiments conducted in farmers field at Tyavanagivillage, Davanagere district, during summer and kharif 2013 to assess the response of rice to amendments and graded levelsof nutrients in saline sodic soil with three main treatments (amendments) and six sub treatments (nutrient levels) replicatedthrice using split plot design, revealed significantly higher yield, uptake, NUE and decreased pH, ECe and ESP withapplication of amendments and increased nutrient levels. Thus, study clearly showed that in saline sodic soils applicationof gypsum @ 100 per cent GR and 125 per cent RDF (NPK @ 150:75:75 kg ha-1) + FYM (@ 10 t ha-1) + ZnSO4 (@ 20 kg ha-1)was more beneficial in enhancing the crop yield, crop productivity as well as soil fertility. The study conducted on watertable depth and water quality aspects clearly showed that, in rice growing soils water table has raised to a critical zone of<1.5 m. Water samples studied belongs to irrigation water quality category C3S1, indicating water drained through soil weresaline in nature, hence not suitable for irrigation or for leaching the salts from salt affected soils. 2016 P. K. BASAVARAJADepartment of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry Major Advisor UAS, GKVK, Bengaluru

Mysore J. Agric. Sci., 51 (1) : 2017 ABSTRACT 157Abstracts of M.Sc. Theses submitted to the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bengaluru AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS Impact of Subsidized Food Grains on the Food Security of Rural Households – An Economic Analysis N. S. NAGESHTHE present study was undertaken with an overall objective of assessment of food consumption pattern, calorie andnutrient derivation. In Tumakuru district of Karnataka state, primary data were collected from 120 rural households. The ruralhouseholds inadequately consumed proteins, milk and milk products. In terms of vegetables, fruits and egg and meatconsumption, they were severely inadequate. Among the nutrients intake, the households were inadequate in fats, iron,riboflavin, niacin and carotene intake. The subsidized food items through PDS had greatly helped in attainment of caloriesecurity but had severely lacked in terms of providing balanced diet security. In the presence of food subsidy, share of totalexpenditure on food was 67.24 per cent among AAY farm households and 59.98 per cent among BPL farm households, whichwould rise to 75.16 per cent and 65.62 per cent, respectively in the absence of food subsidy. In the presence of food subsidy,proportion of income saved was 30.72 per cent among AAY farm households and 24.19 per cent among BPL farm households,which would decrease to 8.65 per cent and 11.76 per cent, respectively in the absence of food subsidy. In the presence offood subsidy, the vulnerability to food insecurity of AAY farm, AAY non-farm and BPL non-farm households reducedsignificantly. The optimized food expenditure per consumptive unit per day for major nutrients and all nutrients was `34.49and `36.56, respectively. The food basket of rural households needs to be expanded to ensure nutritional security. 2016 B. V. CHINNAPPA REDDYDepartment of Agricultural Economics Major Advisor UAS, GKVK, Bengaluru Production and Market Oppurtunities of Organic Agricultural Produce - An Economic Analysis M. MOHAN KUMARTHE study was undertaken in Chamarajanagar district to analyze the economics of organic and inorganic farming, consumerpreference and market potential for organic produce. Primary data was collected from 30 organic farmers, 30 conventionalfarmers, 30 consumers and 30 traders for the period 2014-15. The study uses descriptive statistics and tobit model. Resultsrevealed that, cost of production was more in case of organic ragi `3388.73/q compared to inorganic ragi `2366.35/q. Netreturn from organic ragi production was (`3388.73/acre) whereas the net return was negative in conventional ragi production(`2573.62 / acre). The cost of production of organic maize was (`1528.89) more compared to inorganic maize (`1042.62). Netreturn was `11136.8/acre and `4614.81/acre in organic and conventional maize production, respectively. The cost ofproduction of potato was more in case of organic farming (`1579.4/q) than in inorganic farming (`1261.57/q). Net return inorganic potato production was `27626.7/acre, whereas in conventional potato production it was `8866.75/acre. Marketpotential for organic agricultural produce was `43.02 crore and `2463.56 crore in domestic market and foreign market,respectively. Majority of organic consumers (53.33%) purchase organic produce as and when they need and 23 per cent ofthe consumers purchase organic produce once in a week. Majority of the sample consumers (96.66%) expressed the problemof fewer organic outlets, high price (93.33%), unavailability of the organic produce (83.33%). Organic cultivation was moreprofitable and there is huge market potential for organic produce. 2016 G. S. MAHADEVAIAHDepartment of Agricultural Economics Major Advisor UAS, GKVK, Bengaluru

158 ABSTRACT Mysore J. Agric. Sci., 51 (1) : 2017 Economic Optimum Crop Planning for Resource Use Efficiency, Sustainability and Maximization of Farm Net Income in Central Dry Zone of Karnataka K. R. HAMSATHIS study aimed at designing economic crop planning consistent with natural and economic endowments, achievingresource use efficiency for Central Dry Zone (CDZ) of Karnataka.Field data were collected from 45 sample farmers eachunder Rainfed and Borewell irrigated conditions of CDZ of Karnataka.The extent of efficiency in resource use and allocationis reflected in the costs incurred and net returns realized by valuing inputs at market prices, economic prices and naturalresource valuation.The cost of cultivation of crops indicated that, the net returns for borewell irrigated paddy were `34091/ha, `17278/ha, `26120/ha at market prices, economic prices and natural resource values, respectively. Thus, due to subsidiesoffered, the distortion of prices is to the tune of `16813/ha, while the distortion due to inclusion of GHGs (`1899/ha) andinclusion of groundwater cost (`41500/ha) is `43399/ha. The resource use efficiency of crops was estimated using Cobb-Douglas production function and results indicated that the ratio of MVP to MFC was differed from unity, in most of thecrops,indicating scope for reallocation of expenditure among various resources from over used to under used resources.Economic Optimal Crop Plan for Sustainability in the region developed using linear programming technique indicated that,40900 ha is to be allocated under borewell irrigated and 103673 ha for rainfed situation according to Economic pricing criteria.Total optimum area allocated would be 144574 ha which maximizes net returns at `73 crores for Tumakuru District in the CDZof Karnataka. 2016 P. S. SRIKANTHA MURTHYDepartment of Agricultural Economics Major Advisor UAS, GKVK, Bengaluru Economics of Pomegranate Cultivation in Chitradurga District of Karnataka R. T. SAHANAPOMEGRANATE is one of the commercially important fruit crops of India. The study was conducted to examine growth in area,production and productivity, resource use efficiency, costs and returns in pomegranate and document and analyse farmer’smethod of cultivation of pomegranate in comparison with scientific method. Primary data was collected from 60 samplefarmers each under traditional (Hiriyur taluk) and emerging (Hosadurga taluk) areas of Chitradurga district. The resultsshowed increasing trend in pomegranate area, production and productivity during study period (2002-2014) in Chitradurgadistrict. Similar trend was observed in Hosadurga taluk but the production and productivity were showing declining trendin Hiriyur taluk. The annual maintenance cost incurred by farmers in traditional area and emerging area was `3, 02,145 and`3, 06,882 per ha, respectively. The net return per hectare was almost same in both regions at ` 2, 92,030 and `2, 91,096,respectively.The average yield per ha of pomegranate obtained in traditional area it was 9.87 t. and in emerging area was9.56 t. The resource use efficiency analysis revealed that the resources were not optimally used in both the areas. Thedifference in farmer’s method and scientific method (Package of practice) of pomegranate cultivation revealed that, additionalthree crops were taken in farmer’s method due to reduction of establishment period to 1.5 years from 3 years (scientificmethod) and net gain of `4, 69,360 per ha was obtained in farmers method. The study indicated that pomegranate cultivationis a profitable enterprise. 2016 M. N. VENKATARAMANADepartment of Agricultural Economics Major Advisor UAS, GKVK, Bengaluru

Mysore J. Agric. Sci., 51 (1) : 2017 ABSTRACT 159 Income and Expenditure Pattern of Farm Households in Sira Taluk - Karnataka AFRIN ZAINAB BILINKAGE between size of land holdings and irrigation facility in altering the economic variables such as income, expenditure,savings, migration of family members and land fallows of the farm households was studied in Sira taluk of Karnataka during2014-15 with 120 sample households. The Sample consisted of 30 farmers each in small and large farmer categories, with andwithout irrigation. Analysis of data revealed that the impact of irrigation on the income of farm household was higher thanthat of size of landholdings. Irrigated farmers earned on an average 300 per cent more income than rainfed farmers with samearea under cultivation irrespective of crops grown.On an average 43 per cent of total household expenditure was on food.Irrigated farmers had major share of investment towards irrigation equipments (44.5%), whereas the rainfed farmers investedmore on livestock (64.7%).Rainfed farmers showed higher tendencies to migrate (31.66%) than irrigated farmers (21.66%).Decision to migrate was affected positively by number of persons per family. Farm income has negative relation withmigration in rainfed situation, whereas it is insignificant in case of irrigated farmers.The major reason for leaving the landfallow is scarcity of rainfall or lack of irrigation, followed by poor fertility status of soil. Among the constraints for incomegeneration, insufficient rainfall or irrigation was the most important one faced by the farmers followed by inadequate capitaland poor access to credit. Seasonality of agriculture was expressed by the farmers as the most important constraint forcontinuous employment generation, followed by small land holdings. 2016 P. S. SRIKANTHA MURTHYDepartment of Agricultural Economics Major Advisor UAS, GKVK, BengaluruAn Economic Analysis of Production and Marketing of Betel Leaf – A Study in Tumkur District, Karnataka H. K. PAVITHRATHE present study on betel leaf cultivation was undertaken in Tumkur district (Gubbi and Pavagada taluks) which has thehighest productivity of betel leaf in the state. The study assessed the economics, resource use efficiency (RUE), investmentfeasibility, marketing practices, price movements and identified factors influencing the price of betel leaves. Primary datawas collected from 30 farmers each in the two taluks. The results indicated that the cost of cultivation of betel leaf was higherin Gubbi taluk (`255480/ac) than in Pavagada taluk (`110265/ac) and the cultivation was profitable in both the taluks(`120522/ac and `28701/ac). RUE analysis indicated that the farmers were inefficient in using the inputs in both the taluksas inputs like land and FYM were underused in Gubbi and land, PPC and planting material were underused in Pavagadataluk. The cost of cultivation of arecanut based system (ABS) (`263448/ac) was more than the sesbania based system (SBS)(`239672/ac). However, the ABS was more profitable (`112392/ac) than SBS (`62941/ac). The betel vine cultivation waseconomically feasible with IRR of 29 per cent and 24 per cent and with Benefit Cost Ratio of 1.37 and 1.26 in Gubbi andPavagada, respectively. Pavagada taluk farmers incurred higher marketing cost (`160/Pindi) than the Gubbi taluk farmers(`83/Pindi) which was mainly due to transportation cost and commission. Seasonality was observed in arrival and prices ofbetel-leaves in the market. Colour and season were the main factors influencing the price of the leaves. Price fluctuation andlabour shortage were found to be the major constraints in betel-leaf cultivation. 2016 T. M. GAJANANADepartment of Agricultural Economics Major Advisor UAS, GKVK, Bengaluru

160 ABSTRACT Mysore J. Agric. Sci., 51 (1) : 2017 Sustainability and Resource Use Efficiency Lead Crop Planning for Eastern Dry Zone of Karnataka under different Risk Regimes U. DIVYA LEKSHMIFIELD data were collected from 45 sample farmers each under rainfed and borewell irrigated conditions of EDZ of Karnatakafor crop planning consistent with natural resource use efficiency. The net returns for borewell irrigated grapes were`5,01,403/ha, `4,76,141/ha, `3,97,614/ha at market prices, economic prices and natural resource values, respectively. Thus,due to subsidies offered in grapes, the distortion of market prices is to the tune of `25,262/ha, due to exclusion of GHG costof `190/ha and due to exclusion of groundwater cost of `78,337/ha. The resource use efficiency was estimated using Cobb-Douglas production function and the ratio of MVP to MFC for fertilizer (1.16) and human labour (1.46) indicated that theseare nearly optimally utilized in rainfed ragi.The optimum crop plan allocated area for rainfed crops as 47400 ha and bore wellirrigated crops as 40503 ha yielding a cumulative net return of `1,482 crores. When market prices are considered, theeconomic optimal crop plan allocated land for rainfed ragi (47400 ha) and bore well irrigated grapes (2702 ha), carrot (632 ha)and rose (37169 ha). Under the efficient crop plan for Chickballapur district, the vegetable crops fetched net return of `1,697crores higher than the net returns of `1,482 crores from reallocating existing crop plan in the district, because the allocationof area to potato (2362 ha), tomato (2233 ha), beans (569 ha) and onion (1177 ha) in addition to rainfed ragi, borewellirrigated grapes, carrot and rose. 2016 M. G. CHANDRAKANTHDepartment of Agricultural Economics Major Advisor UAS, GKVK, Bengaluru An Economic Analysis of Production Risks, Marketing Risks and Welfare Implications of Irrigated Maize on the Subsistence Farms of Southern Transition Zone in Karnataka M. V. SHIVASHANKARTHE present study was undertaken in Davanagere and Shivamogga districts of Southern Transition Zone (STZ) in Karnatakato analyse the costs and returns, resource use-efficiency (RUE), production and marketing risks, value chain of maize andwelfare implications on maize growing farmers. Primary data was collected from 60 maize cultivating farmers and 60 otherthan maize cultivating farmers in STZ. The study used Data Envelopment Analysis, Cobb-Douglas type of productionfunction and value chain mapping. Results revealed that, the cultivation of maize was found to be profitable in large farms(net return of `15477/ha) compared to small farms (net return of `13651/ha) under irrigated situation. RUE indicated that,resources (water, human labour, machine labour, bullock labour) were not optimally utilized in irrigated maize cultivation.Falling productivity of maize due to monocropping, labour scarcity, and market glut at the time of harvest were the majorconstraints in maize production. Asset formation, net income from the farm was high in maize cultivating farmers comparedto other than maize cultivating farmers in both the cases. Value chain mapping of maize in Davanagere has shown that thedegree of value addition was more at processing stage (55.68 %). Due to drastic expansion of area under maize and itsincreased cultivation, risk components have also increased. Serious attempts need to be made to find the coping strategiesto reduce the production and marketing risks, improve the value addition in maize and to educate farmers on efficient use ofresources to increase profitability. 2016 M. G. CHANDRAKANTHDepartment of Agricultural Economics Major Advisor UAS, GKVK, Bengaluru

Mysore J. Agric. Sci., 51 (1) : 2017 ABSTRACT 161 AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERING Development of Oyster Mushroom Slicer N. S. FASLUDEENENGINEERING properties such as physical and textural properties of the oyster mushrooms were analysed in order to design,develop and evaluate the oyster mushroom slicer. The developed oyster mushroom slicer consisted of different units for(i) feeding (ii) conveying (iii) slicing (iv) cubing (v) collection and (vi) power transmission. The slicer was evaluated withthree widths of cuts viz., 10, 15, 20 mm; three speed of cuts viz., 30, 50, 100 rpm and three feed rates viz., 36, 54, 90 kg/h. Thebest combination was observed to be 10 mm width of cut, 50 rpm speed of cut and 54 kg/h feed rate. The best performancefor the effective capacity of slicing, effective capacity of cubing, effectiveness of slicing, effectiveness of cubing, percentagedamage of slicing and percentage damage of cubing were found to be 52.41 kg/h, 53.48 kg/h, 87.4 per cent, 89.12 per cent,12.59 per cent, and 10.87 per cent, respectively. During drying studies, the quality of machine sliced mushrooms was foundsuperior to manually sliced mushroom and the cabinet drying was the best method for drying (at 60 °C for 3.5 h). Polypropylenewas found as the best packaging material for the storage of sliced mushroom. The total cost of developed mushroom slicerwas `62,500. The cost of operation of the developed oyster mushroom slicer was `81.79 /h. The cost for slicing of 1 kgmushroom by manual method was `18.75, whereas, `1.51 by the mushroom slicer. The cost-benefit ratio of developedmushroom slicer was 1:1.46. 2016 G. SENTHIL KUMARANDepartment of Agricultural Engineering Major Advisor UAS, GKVK, Bengaluru Development of A Process for Accelerated Ageing of Rice (Oryza sativa L.) Y. PREM SANTHINATURALLY aged rice is generally preferred in Indian subcontinent since, it swells better during cooking, cooked kernels areless sticky with more linear elongation and produces thin gruel. Natural ageing is done by storing harvested paddy for atleast 4-6 months before milling. Accelerated ageing is an artificial technique that induces ageing effect in rice within a shortperiod of time. In this study, four such techniques were employed for accelerated ageing of paddy. Using convectional traydryer, paddy at 24, 27 and 30 per cent initial moisture contents was given dry heat treatment at different temperature–timecombinations (110°C for 15 min, 130°C for 10 min and 150°C for 5 min) and then tempered for 30, 60, 90 and 120 min. Undermicrowave heat treatment, paddy at 14, 16 and 18 per cent moisture content was exposed at different power levels (540 720and 900 W) for 30, 60, 90 and 120 s. Under hydrothermal treatments, dry (@ 14 per cent moisture) and wetted (soaked in water@ room temperature for 2 min) paddy samples were steamed at three pressures (0.0, 0.5 and 1.0 kg/cm2 gauge) for 5, 10 and15 min. The treated paddy samples were milled to study milling, physico-chemical and cooking characteristics of rice.Among all the treatments studied, paddy @ 18 per cent initial moisture, exposed to microwave power of 720 W for 60 s wasfound to be best for accelerated ageing of rice. The cost of treatment was `6.05 per kg of paddy and the Benefit: Cost Ratiowas 1.50:1. 2016 V. PALANIMUTHUDepartment of Agricultural Engineering Major Advisor UAS, GKVK, Bengaluru

162 ABSTRACT Mysore J. Agric. Sci., 51 (1) : 2017 AGRICULTURAL ENTOMOLOGYAssessment of Anti-microbial Peptide Driven Immuno-Competence in Guilds of Dung Beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) K. MOHAMMAD ASHRAFDUNG beetles that live and breed in a microbe - rich environment are expected to have evolved a strong innate immunesystem comprising antimicrobial peptides (AMPs). Seven species of dung beetles were screened to assess the antimicrobialactivity of constitutively produced AMPs. The crude and lyophilized extracts of seven species were obtained by makingwhole body extracts in acetonitirile-water solvent system (50% v/v). Each extract was tested for antimicrobial activityagainst a multi-drug resistant strain of Escherichia coli, a Gram-negative bacterium and Staphylococcus aureus, a Gram-positive bacterium by Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion assay. The results of the bioassay showed that extracts from all sevenspecies showed significantly higher antibacterial activity against S. aureus compared to E. coli. The lyophilized extractfrom Onitis sp. showed the highest level of antimicrobial activity against both the microorganisms. The results suggest thatusing lyophilized extracts provides a better evaluation of antimicrobial activity in prospecting for AMPs from insects.Presence of several peptides was detected when the extracts were subjected to HPLC as indicated by the number of elutionpeaks in the chromatogram of all the species. The peptide richness in Liatongus rhadamistus was found to be the highestamong all the species. The results showed that dung beetles belonging to the guild of dwellers may have a stronger immuneresponse, in the sense that the extracts from such species showed a high level of antimicrobial activity as opposed to‘rollers’ and ‘tunnelers’ 2016 K. CHANDRASHEKARADepartment of Agricultural Entomology Major Advisor UAS, GKVK, Bengaluru Studies on Mass Production and Storage of Entomopathogenic Nematode, Heterorhabditis indica (Poinar et al.,) PRADEEP S. SAJJANAN investigation on effect of different diets on growth and development of greater wax moth (Galleria mellonella) wasconducted at Department of Agricultural Entomology, UAS, Bengaluru. Preliminary study with 9 diets along with standarddietrevealed that diet 10 (0.44±0.14 g) and 4 (0.43±0.06 g) showed maximum larval weight, diet 1 (28.33±2.91 mm) and 10(28.54±1.87 mm) showed maximum length, diet 2 (2.28±0.22 mm) and 7 (2.32±0.15 mm) showed highest head capsulewidth. The interrelationships observed on 25thday old larvae showed, length was strongly correlated with weight andweightvaried as a power function with head capsule widths. Diet 10, 7, 4, 1 and 8 were selected for further testing. The diet 1 and4 showed highest larval weights and length among the diets retested and followed logarithmic functions. The interrelationships showed weights and length of the larvae followed power relations with head capsule widthin all the diets.Pupal weight and maximum adult emergence were observed in diet 1 (0.34±0.03g, 2589.33±150.15), followed by diet 4(0.33±0.02 g, 1936.00±223.06). Average yields of EPNs showed linear increasing trend with age of the larvae. 20day oldlarvae yielded 55,725.9 (±30,331.28) IJs per larva whereas 35day old larvaeyielded 1,55,711.2 (±49,392.60) IJs per larva.Studies on formulation of cadavers of nematode infected larvae resulted in lack of emergence of nematodes in all kinds offormulations tested. However, under laboratory conditions Starch –kaolin formulation was acceptable for one week periodwhile the talc formulation was acceptable over a two week period. But, unformulated cadavers were found to be best overan extended period of two weeks. 2016 A. R. V. KUMARDepartment of Agricultural Entomology Major Advisor UAS, GKVK, Bengaluru

Mysore J. Agric. Sci., 51 (1) : 2017 ABSTRACT 163Mass Production of Predatory Mite Neoseiulus longispinosus (Evans) on Two Spotted Spider Mite, Tetranychus urticae Koch, using Pole Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) BAPUGOUDA KYATANAGOUDRAINVESTIGATIONS were carried out during 2014-15 on the biology, life table and mass production of Neoseiulus longispinosus(Evans) on Tetranychus urticae Koch reared on pole bean. Among five temperatures studied, developmental time from eggto adult for N. longispinosus (females and males) in the laboratory was lowest at 28°C (100.41 and 97.30 h, respectively) andwas highest at 36°C (114.43 and 106.3 h, respectively). The mean generation time (T) was 14.31 days, male to female ratio inthe progeny was 1:3.11, the finite rate of increase (ë) was 0.10, the female adult longevity was 22.55 days and R0, the numberof female off springs per female per generation was 29. In the polycarbonate house a maximum of 25,934 predatory mites perplant and a total of 7,00,203 predatory mites from 27 pole bean plants in 9.72 m2 area of pole bean were produced 80 daysafter sowing when the predatory mites were released on spider mites infested pole bean plant @ 4 predatory mites per leafleton 50 days old pole bean plants. Comparatively, a maximum of 1295.35 predatory mites per french bean plant and a total of1,86,530 predatory mites from 9.72 m2 ground area could be produced from 50 days old french bean plants. When theproductivity per unit area unit time was computed, on pole bean 2.4 folds increase in the production of predatory mitescould be obtained with 900.47 predatory mites per m2 per day could be harvested as against 384 predatory mites on frenchbean plant. 2016 C. CHINNAMADE GOWDADepartment of Agricultural Entomology Major Advisor UAS, GKVK, Bengaluru Susceptibility of Populations of Diamondback Moth, Plutella xylostella L. (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae) for Newer Insecticide Molecules G. D.VIKASDIAMONDBACK moth (DBM), a serious pest of crucifers has developed resistance to many new insecticide molecules withunique modes of action. Study was conducted to assess the variations in relative susceptibility levels among the populationsof DBM in major cabbage growing areas of South Karnataka. Bioassays for different populations of DBM from Devanahalli,Kolar, Shivamogga and Mysuru were conducted using leaf dip method. The results of the median lethal concentrationssuggested variations in susceptibility levels among field populations to newer insecticides. Maximum variation in LC50values across the populations was noticed on flubendiamide 39.35 SC (4.97 to 46.42 ppm) and minimum on cyantraniliprole10.26 OD (0.49 to 0.73 ppm). On yet to be commercialized molecule, spinetoram 12 SC, LC value varied from 0.03 to 0.20 ppm. 50Kolar and Devanahalli populations exhibited higher levels of resistance; whereas, Mysuru and Shivamogga populationswere relatively susceptible. Highest resistance ratio across the populations was recorded on flubendiamide 39.35 SC (828.33to 7736.66 folds) and lowest on cyantraniliprole 10.26 OD (1.20 to 1.48 folds). Survey conducted to understand the insecticideusage pattern suggested that farmers obtained information regarding plant protection measures from pesticide shops.Overall, on cabbage 13 types of insecticides were used and many of them belonged to newer insecticide groups. Kolar andShivamogga farmers sprayed ten and five types of insecticides, respectively for managing DBM. Flubendiamide 39.35 SCwas most commonly used in all locations and highest number of sprays per crop was recorded at Kolar (17.05) and least wasat Shivamogga (5.96). 2016 H. KHADER KHANDepartment of Agricultural Entomology Major Advisor UAS, GKVK, Bengaluru

164 ABSTRACT Mysore J. Agric. Sci., 51 (1) : 2017 Residual Effects of Agro-inputs and Crop Rotation on Soil Fauna in Organic Farming Ecosystem S. SHRINATH CHIMMALAGIEXPERIMENTS were carried out at ZARS, UAS, Bengaluru during Kharif 2015. Soybean was raised in 14 year long term plotunder ten treatments with varying combinations of FYM (0-20 t/ha, partially decomposed, with Glyricidia mulch) andconventional fertilizers (0, 25, 50, 75 and 100 per cent of 25:60:25 kg NPK/ha). Native fauna from grassland and subabul soilwas introduced equally to each treatment. Application of 20 t of FYM/ha recorded higher abundances of collembolans,cryptostigmatids, other Acari and other invertebrates compared to other treatments during cropping and non-croppingseasons. This treatment recorded significantly high soil organic carbon (0.92 %), available nitrogen (396.85 kg/ha),phosphorous (89.17 kg/ha), potassium (278.66 kg/ha), exchangeable calcium (6.30 meq/100g), microbial biomass carbon(4947.95 μg/g), no. of pods (80.47) and grain yield (38.87 q/ha) compared to recommended fertilizer alone and package ofpractices. The latter two treatments recorded significantly lower soil organic carbon (0.62 and 0.72 %), available nitrogen(315.47 and 335.63 kg/ha), phosphorous (63.78 and 74.64 kg/ha), potassium (172.93 and 228.48 kg/ha), exchangeable calcium(5.2 and 5.17 meq/100g), microbial biomass (2849.32 and 3397.26 μg/g), no. of pods (61.17 and 67) and grain yield (33.88 and33.53 q/ha), respectively. Soil invertebrate abundance was positively correlated with above soil chemical parameters andmicrobial biomass carbon except available phosphorous. Abiotic factors had 64.7 per cent impact on soil meso-fauna. Totalrainfall, soil moisture and relative humidity (maximum and minimum) were positively correlated with soil invertebrates.Influence of soil moisture on the meso-faunal activity was up to 63.1 per cent. 2016 N. G. KUMARDepartment of Agricultural Entomology Major Advisor UAS, GKVK, Bengaluru Studies on Flower Visitors of Sponge Gourd [Luffa cylindrica (L.) Roem] and their Role in Fruit Set MANJUUNATH KENCHANNAVARSPONGE gourd is an underutilised cucurbit gaining attention in recent years. It is a highly cross pollinated crop, pollinatorsplay a major role in fruit set. The present study focused on floral biology of sponge gourd, diversity and abundance offlower visitors, foraging behavior of efficient pollinators and their role in fruit set. Sponge gourd is a monoecious vineproducing staminate and pistillate flowers in 14:1 ratio. Flowering commenced around 45 days after planting. Staminateflowers opened between 04:00-05:30 h, while the pistillate flowers opened a little later. Longevity of both the flowers was oneday. Anther dehiscence commenced 15-20 minutes after anthesis. Stigma receptivity and pollen viability were maximumbetween 10:00 to 12:00 h. A diverse group of insects, comprising 19 species belonging to Hymenoptera (84.21%), Lepidoptera(5.20%), Coleoptera (5.20%) and Diptera (5.20%) visited sponge gourd flowers. Apis bees, constituted nearly 68.61 per centof all insect visitors. Bee activity commenced at 06.00 h with visits by A. cerana followed by A. dorsata (06:30 h) andA. florea (07:00 h). Activity peaks of all three bees distributed at different times of the day showing interspecific temporalresource partitioning. A. cerana appeared to be more efficient pollinator since it spent less time per trip (43.04±7.43min.),visiting more flowers (86.20±16.36) and covered greater distance (46.79±6.93 m). Fruit set with open pollination recordedhigher fruit weight (355.26 gm), fruit size (32.21 cm) and number of seeds (244.23) than that by hand pollination (317.20 gm,30.78 cm and 231.31 seeds). 2016 C. CHINNAMADE GOWDADepartment of Agricultural Entomology Major Advisor UAS, GKVK, Bengaluru

Mysore J. Agric. Sci., 51 (1) : 2017 ABSTRACT 165 Insect Pests of Custard Apple (Anonna squamosa L.) with Special Reference to Biology and Management of Mealybug H. SUNIL NAIKFOURTEEN species of insect and mite pests were recorded on custard apple at UAS, Bengaluru during 2015-16, of whicheleven were sucking pests, two were fruit borers and one was a mite species. Among sucking pests, three mealybugs(Maconellicoccus hirsutus (Green), Planococcus citri Rasso, Ferissia virgata Cockrl.), five scale insects (Trijuba oculata(Brain), Cardiococcus bivulvata (Green), Saissetia nigra (Nieter), Aspidiotus destructor Signoret and Icerya sp.) besides,Helopeltis antonii Signoret, Toxoptera (Aphis) aurantii (Boyer de Fonscolombe) and Leptocentrus sp. were recorded. Thetwo fruit borers were Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel) and Heterographis bengalella (Reg.), besides one mite, Brevipalpusyothersi Baker. On custard apple, the females of M. hirsutus exhibited three nymphal instars without pupal stage, whilemales had three nymphal instars, pre-pupal and pupal stages. Mean incubation, pre-pupal, pupal, pre-oviposition andovipositional periods occupied 5.80±1.31, 2.7±0.80, 5.1±0.73, 7.20±1.22 and 12.60±1.7 days, respectively. Total nymphalperiod (24.7±3.1 and 26.00±2.05 days) and longevity (3.9±0.73 and 27.3±1.7 days) was recorded in males and females,respectively, with fecundity of 407.8±23.72 eggs / ovisac. Fruit fly, B. dorsalis exhibited mean incubation, larval, pupal, totaldevelopmental and pre-ovipositional periods of 1.5±0.48, 8.50±0.84, 12.10±1.79, 20.3±0.82 and 12.10±1.28 days, respectively.Male and female had a longevity of 52.40±6.70 and 70.5±12.10 days, respectively, with a fecundity of 371.9±60.78 eggs/female. Among the eight insecticides evaluated against M. hirsutus, under field condition profenophos 50 EC @ 0.05 percent was significantly superior and gave the highest mean pest reduction of 76.98 per cent. 2016 K. S. JAGADISHDepartment of Agricultural Entomology Major Advisor UAS, GKVK, Bengaluru Prospecting Ponerine Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) as Potential Source of Insect Neurotoxins M. T. SUNIL KUMARANTS belonging to subfamily Ponerinae are expected to have evolved strong predatory / defence system comprisingneurotoxic and antimicrobial peptides. Four species of ants were evaluated for both antimicrobial and neurotoxic activity ofpeptides. Among five different extraction methods tested in Leptogenys processionalis ants, dipping the tip of gaster insolvent was best suited for extraction of venom from ponerine ants, which was confirmed by antimicrobial assay and HighPerformance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) profiling. Antimicrobial assay using lyophilized crude venom extracted by thismethod against Escherichia coli (Gram –ve) and Staphylococcus aureus (Gram +ve) bacteria recorded a higher zone ofinhibition compared to venom extracted by other methods. Extract obtained by suspending whole ants in the solventfollowed by sonication also showed antimicrobial activity against both test microbes. Crude venom obtained by dippingonly gaster in solvent, from the four species of ants was evaluated for antimicrobial activity. The venom from L. processionaliseffectively suppressed the growth of both microbes while the venom from D. rugosum showed activity against S. aureusonly.Neurotoxic activity of peptides present in venom extract was assessed by behavioural assay on six-day old silkworm larvaecomprising of three parameters, Movement, Twitching and feeding. Venom from two ant species L. processionalis andD. rugosum showed the neurotoxicicty by altered behaviour of the larvae, by decreasing frequency of movement, increasingthe rate of twitching and by decreasing the leaf area fed. Whereas, venom from L.chinensis and O.haematodus showedneurotoxicity through increased twitching (Freq./min) behaviour. 2016 K. CHANDRASHEKARADepartment of Agricultural Entomology Major Advisor UAS, GKVK, Bengaluru

166 ABSTRACT Mysore J. Agric. Sci., 51 (1) : 2017 AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION Decision Making and Participation of Farm Men and Women in Sugarcane Cultivation : A Study in Mandya District K. NISHITHATHE present study was carried out in Mandya district of Karnataka state during 2014-15 to analyze the decision making andparticipation of farm men and women in sugarcane cultivation activities. One hundred and twenty respondents (60 farm menand 60 farm women) from small and marginal farm households were interviewed using a pre-tested schedule. An overwhelmingmajority of farm men (93.34%) and women (81.65%) were belonging to medium to high and medium to low levels of decisionmaking category, respectively. Three- fourth of farm men (75.00%) were having medium to high level of participation, while76.66 per cent of farm women were having medium to low level of participation in sugarcane cultivation activities. Thereexisted a significant difference between farm men and women in respect of their decision making pattern and extent ofparticipation. Education, innovativeness, management orientation, economic motivation, mass media participation, extensionagency contact and extension participation of farm men and women had a positive and significant association with theirdecision making and extent of participation. Majority of farm men (64.00%) perceived drudgery while mixing and applicationof plant protection chemicals, whereas majority of farm women perceived that hand weeding (83.33%) and planting setts(60.00%) were the activities that involved drudgery. 2016 M. T. LAKSHMINARAYANDepartment of Agricultural Extension Major Advisor UAS, GKVK, Bengaluru Decision Making Pattern and Work Participation of Farm Women in Management of Coffee Plantation in Kodagu District D. SUPRIYATHE present study was carried out in Kodagu district of Karnataka state during 2014-15 to analyze the decision makingpattern and work participation of farm women in management of coffee plantation in Kodagu district. 90 respondents (farmwomen) from small and big planters were interviewed using a pre-tested schedule. More than half (66.67 %) of the farmwomen were belonging to medium level of decision making category.whereas 45.56 per cent of farm women belonged tomedium level of work participation in management of coffee plantation Education, economic orientation, extension contact,extension participation, mass media exposure, achievement motivation, management orientation and innovativeness of farmwomen had a positive and significant relationship with their decision making pattern and extent of work participation. Therewas 61.20 per cent of the variation in the decision making pattern and 59.99 per cent of the variation in work participation offarm women by personal, socio-economic, communication and psychological variables. Majority (76.66 %) of the farmwomen had greater problem in failure of blossom and backing showers followed by a little more than half (53.33%) of thefarm women faced insufficient subsidy as somewhat a problem, whereas majority (76.66 %) of the farm women faced greaterfluctuation in prices as a greater problem. 2016 B. KRISHNAMURTHYDepartment of Agricultural Extension Major Advisor UAS, GKVK, Bengaluru

Mysore J. Agric. Sci., 51 (1) : 2017 ABSTRACT 167A Study on Entrepreneurial Behaviour and Economic Performance of Sugarcane Growers in Chamarajanagar District of Karnataka S. RAJENDRA PRASADTHE study was conducted in two taluks of Chamarajanagar district of Karnataka during 2015-16 to know the entrepreneurialbehaviour and economic performance of sugarcane growers. A total of 120 sugarcane growers were selected by usingsimple random technique from four villages from each taluk. The data were collected through personal interview method andanalyzed by using appropriate statistical tools. The findings of the study revealed that 36.00 per cent of the sugarcanegrowers belonged to medium entrepreneurial behaviour category followed by 34.00 per cent and 30.00 per cent of thesugarcane growers in low and high entrepreneurial behaviour categories respectively. It was also found that majority (63.33%) of the sugarcane growers were in medium level of economic performance. There was no significant difference betweenKollegal and Yelandur taluk in both entrepreneurial behaviour and economic performance of sugarcane growers. Variablessuch as education, occupation, land holding, annual income, self-reliance, cosmopoliteness, deferred gratification, extensionparticipation, mass media participation and level of aspiration had significant association with entrepreneurial behaviour.A significant association was observed between economic performance and education, occupation, land holding, familysize, annual income, social participation, value orientation, cosmopoliteness, deferred gratification, level of aspiration,sugarcane farming experience, extension participation and self-reliance. Major constraints faced by the growers with respectto production of sugarcane were non availability of labourer, low price, irregular supply of electricity, high wages of labourerand delayed cash payment from sugarcane factories. 2016 N. S. SHIVALINGE GOWDADepartment of Agricultural Extension Major Advisor UAS, GKVK, BengaluruA Study on Impact of Climate Change on Agro Bio-diversity among Dry Land Farmers in Chikkaballapura District of Karnataka State M. LALITHATHE study was conducted in chikkaballapur district during the year 2014-16. This study included 120 respondents fromChintamani and Gouribidanur taluks of Chikkaballapura district in Karnataka state. The important findings of the studyrevealed that 47.50 per cent of the farmers belonged to medium level of agro bio-diversity. Whereas, 27.50 per cent werebelonged to low agro bio-diversity level and 25.00 per cent of the respondents belonged to high agro bio-diversity level.The variables viz., education, annual income, cropping intensity, irrigation potential, land holding, risk orientation, managementorientation, scientific orientation, decision taking ability, mass media participation and perception of farmers on climatechange had positive and significant relationship with agro bio-diversity level. In case of subsidiary activities initiated dueto climate change, majority of the farmers (59.16%) had cows (Rank I), 49.16 per cent of the farmers had sheeps (Rank II),46.66 per cent of the farmers had buffaloes (Rank III). With respect to constraints faced by the farmers in dry land farmingdifficult to work in the field due to severe temperature is found to be great constraint (Rank I) and other constraints like,higher labour wages (Rank II), lack of information on casualities of climate change (Rank III). Regarding suggestions givenby the dry land farmers, providing awareness on adoption of measures against climate change is very important and itranked I, followed by early warning has to be given to the farmers about environmental changes (Rank II), providingfinancial support for soil nutrient enrichment (Rank III). 2016 K. NAGABHUSHANAMDepartment of Agricultural Extension Major Advisor UAS, GKVK, Bengaluru

168 ABSTRACT Mysore J. Agric. Sci., 51 (1) : 2017 A Study on Social Exclusion of Adiya Tribal Community of Wayanad District, Kerala ASWATHY CHANDRAKUMARTHE present study was conducted in 2015-16 in Thirunelli and Panamaram panchayats of Wayanad district, Kerala. NinetyAdiyas were randomly selected from 3 villages and social exclusion was measured using five indicators viz., geographicalexclusion, economic exclusion, service exclusion, socio–cultural exclusion and political–legal exclusion. The salient findingsof the study revealed that Adiyas were socially excluded to an extent of 66.38 per cent and half (50.00 %) of the respondentsfelt medium level of exclusion. Economic exclusion was felt to an extent of 74.54 per cent followed by political-legal exclusion(69.89 %). Adiya tribe experienced geographical exclusionto an extent of 69.76 per cent followed by service exclusion(67.96%) and socio-cultural exclusion (48.92%).Adiyas in There was significant difference in the extent of social exclusionin Thirunellipanchayath (70.90%) and Panamarampanchayath (61.87%). The profile of the Adiyas were studied and it wasobserved that education, type of house, social capital and political orientation showed significant negative relationshipwith social exclusion at one per cent level while annual income, land holding, condition of house, mass media participation,social participation and achievement motivation showed significant negative relationship with social exclusion at five percent level. Principal component analysis was carried out and three factors viz., tribal characteristics, risk factor and socio –economic factor explained the maximum variation (78.24%) in social exclusion at community level. Strengthening ofOorukootams (93.33 %) was a major intervention suggested by Adiyas to overcome social exclusion. 2016 B. KRISHNA MURTHYDepartment of Agricultural Extension Major Advisor UAS, GKVK, Bengaluru Performance and Perception about different Farming Systems Adopted by Farmers of Chickaballapura District of Karnataka N. V. SHWETHATHE focus of the study is to analyze the performance and perception of the farmers about different farming systems andtechnological gaps existing in different enterprises. The present investigation included 120 respondents from the two taluksof Chickaballapura district. The key farming systems identified are: Crop production (FS-1), crop production and dairy(FS-2), crop production, dairy and sericulture (FS-3), crop production, dairy, sericulture and horticulture (FS-4). The overallperformance is highest in case of farmers practicing FS-4 (53.33 %) followed by FS-3 (50.00 %), FS-2 (46.66 %) and FS-1farmers (43.33 %). Half of the FS-1 (50.00 %) respondents belonged to medium level of perception, 43.33 per cent of FS-2farmers and half of the (50.00 %) FS-3 and FS-4 farmers belonged to high level of perception. Major technological gapsobserved in case of crop production are method of sowing, seed treatment practice, selection of variety etc. In case of dairyfarming, major technological gaps observed are housing type, washing of animals, feed management. In sericulture, majortechnological gaps found in case of spacing in mulberry cultivation followed by disease and pest management in silk worm.In Tomato production, gaps are found in selection of variety, spacing, farm yard manure application. Lack of irrigation, lackof technical advice, non-availability of DFL’s in time, non-availability of dry fodder are the major constraints faced by thefarmers. Farmers suggested that concerned organizations should promote soil and moisture conservation and labor savingtechnologies and provide technical guidance in appropriate time for sustainable development. 2016 Y. N. SHIVALINGAIAHDepartment of Agricultural Extension Major Advisor UAS, GKVK, Bengaluru

Mysore J. Agric. Sci., 51 (1) : 2017 ABSTRACT 169 Impact of Public and Private Agriculture Extension on Production and Income of Pomegranate Growers M. B. SHANABHOGATHE Pomegranate is cultivated as a commercial crop because of its high income generating capacity. The pomegranate needsa critical care at the production level and it enhances the need of consultancy service for the production. Hence, there arenumber of private people working as consultants along with public extension personnel. The affordability of the growers topay is a key factor for private extension in the area. The study was conducted in Hiriyuru, Hosdurga and Challakere taluk ofChitradurga district with a total sample size of 120 comprising 60 growers each under public extension and private extensionsystems. The Ex-post Fact research design was used in the study. Hiriyur taluk has recorded highest yield (5160 Kgs/acre)and obtained highest income of `257043.75 per acre in case of Public extension.Whereas, Challakere (6722.5 Kgs/acre)recorded highest yield andobtained highest income of `364823.75 per acre in case of private extension. Difference in yieldrecorded between two systems of extension was maximum in Hosadurga taluk. The difference of income among the threetaluks, Hosadurga taluk recorded highest and it was significant. The benefit to cost ratio is highest in Hosadurga taluk (3.59)in case of private extension and in public extension the highest return was found in Hiriyuru (3.10). The harvesting lossesfaced by the pomegranate growers in public extension was found to be high in Hosadurga taluk (358 Kgs/acre) and inprivate extension highest harvesting losses was found in Challakere taluk (290 Kgs/acre). 2016 S. V. SURESHADepartment of Agricultural Extension Major Advisor UAS, GKVK, BengaluruAGRICULTURAL MARKETING, CO-OPERATION AND BUSINESS MANAGEMENT A Study on Agri- Entrepreneurial Activities of SCand ST in Tumakuru District of Karnataka N. BHANU PRAKASHTHE study was conducted in Tumakuru district of Karnataka during the year 2013- 2014. Tumakuru district has beenpurposely selected for the study because of the availability of large number of both the SC and ST farmers. In Tumakurudistrict four taluk viz. Madhugiri, Sira Pavagada and Koratagere from each of the selected taluks, two villages were selectedfor the study. Thus, totally eight villages were selected for the study, viz. Nagenhalli, Chandragiri, Panjiganahalli Gungenahalli,Kottugudda, Ajampalli, Barka and Mallapanahalli Then, 10 farmers were selected from each village by using randomsampling procedure. Thus, the total sample size for the study constituted 80 respondents. The data was collected by directpersonal interview method using pretested structured schedules. The data was analyzed using statistical tools like frequency,percentage; mean, standard deviation, correlation coefficient and t-test. The respondents were in the middle age groupyears, entrepreneurs were illiterate, majority were males and many agri-entrepreneurs were having medium size family,. Morethan 50 per cent of the farmers belonged to joint family. The average size of the land holding was 6.07 acres, 63 members ofrespondents were members of institutes. About 42.50 per cent of the respondents belonged to low entrepreneurial behavior,followed by 33.75 and 23.75 per cent of them belonging to medium and high entrepreneurial behavior ability categoriesrespectively. The correlation coefficient values indicated that the characteristics, viz., education, size of land holding,annual income, mass media participation, extension participation and level of aspiration were positively and significantlycorrelated with entrepreneurial behaviors. According to Garatte’s ranking major constraints were Market availability(66.72),family background (59.52) and Social Barrier (57.47) with 1st, 2nd and 3rd Suggestions expressed by SC and ST farmers were:easy availability of finance (85.00%) and Improving marketing system (76.25 %). 2016 M. S. GANAPATHYDepartment of Agricultural Marketing, Co-operation Major Advisorand Business Management, UAS, GKVK, Bengaluru

170 ABSTRACT Mysore J. Agric. Sci., 51 (1) : 2017 Evaluation of Agro Processing Centre Established by UASB in Tumkur District L. G. RAMYAINDIA being an agrarian economy setting up Agro processing centres that make use of produces of agriculture directly andindirectly becomes imperative for sustained inclusive economic development. In agro based industries, the basic elementsare surplus inputs from agriculture and their processing to suit the requirements of the consumers. Agro processing notonly stimulates value addition but also generates direct and indirect employment particularly in rural areas to absorb thesurplus work force. In this context, the study made an attempt to analyze the functional performance of agro processingcentre and to assess economic benefits accrued to members of SHG’s. The study was conducted in Kuchangi village inTumkur taluk of Tumkur district during 2015. The results revealed that there is positive growth rate in savings of APCmembers, the highest growth rate was achieved in 2014 i.e., 155 per cent and the per capita savings of members also recordedan increase during the study period. With regard to processing activity carried, APC is running with profit since itslaunching, in spite of low tariff rates. Annual profit of APC is `29,520 in the year 2013-14 and on an average a member saves`2952 per month and 72.73 per cent of members utilize the income generated from APC to educate their children. From this,it can be concluded that with a small initial investment, APC will not only provide additional and regular income to SHG butalso provide employment and women empowerment. 2016 G. N. NAGARAJADepartment of Agricultural Marketing, Co-operation Major Advisorand Business Management, UAS, GKVK, Bengaluru An Economic Study of Ornamental Fish Business at Retailer Level in Bengaluru City M. K. VENKATESHTHE ornamental fish as a business activity is gaining popularity and importance in Bengaluru city. In this study, presentstudy main objectives are to study the economic viability of ornamental fish business at retailer level, consumer preferencefor ornamental fishes in Bengaluru city and constraints in the retail business. The primary data were collected from Bengalurucity by choosing ornamental aquarium retailing units across different socio-economic sections of Bengaluru city. The initialcapital investment on retailer businesswas about `3, 36,800. The fixed cost per unit of ornamental retail shop was `1, 54,266per annum and variable cost was `3, 25,683. The total cost of retailer business was `4,79,949. The gross revenue of retailerwas `6, 24,119 and the return over variable cost was `2, 98,436. The net income was `1, 44,169 for the ornamental fishretailer. The study revealed that the retailing business of ornamental fish was a profitable economic activity. The IRR, B: Cratio and NPV were 24.53 per cent, 1.09, and `285970, respectively; hence the business was economically viable. Theconsumer’s preference varied accordingly with various factors, mainly income (Rank I). Traders in Bengaluru city faced avariety of constraints and challenges in the trading of ornamental fish. Among the various constraints identified during thesurvey the major issue was high rental charge (Rank I) faced by traders. It can be concluded that the capital investment onornamental fish retail business is economically viable. Therefore, efforts may be initiated to encourage self-employmentthrough ornamental fish retailing business. 2016 B. V. CHINNAPPA REDDYDepartment of Agricultural Marketing, Co-operation Major Advisorand Business Management, UAS, GKVK, Bengaluru

Mysore J. Agric. Sci., 51 (1) : 2017 ABSTRACT 171 An Analysis of E-auctioning of FCV Tobacco in Karnataka C. M. HARINAKSHITOBACCO also called Golden Leaf is one of the important commercial crops of India and being so it is vital to the economy.India has a prominent place in the production of tobacco in the world due to varied agro-climatic conditions and tobaccocultivated in 4.93 hectares. Mysore district was selected as study area comprising of Periyapatna and Hunsur taluks. 120tobacco growing farmers covering 60 from Hunsur and Periyapatna auction centers was collected by using pre-testedschedules to assess the farmer’s perception one auction and post-harvest practice and the data pertaining to (September,2013 to March, 2014) bales sold, quantity sold, value, average price and sold (%) was collected from Hunsur and Periyapatnaauction platform . The difference in the bales and quantity sold between the study area for (September to December, 2013)recorded found to be significant and non-significant for (January and March, 2014). The overall average price per kg oftobacco found considerably higher in Periyapatna compare to Hunsur taluk for the period September, 2013 to March 2014.Positive result established bales sold (0.296 and 0.871) and quantity sold (0.158 and 0.700) in both Periyapatna and Hunsurtaluk. Characteristics like location, type of family, type of baren, type of fuel and fuel source with perception level. Andlocation, age, educational and type of family with practice level showed statistically significant association. 2016 B. M. RAMACHANDRA REDDYDepartment of Agricultural Marketing, Co-operation Major Advisorand Business Management, UAS, GKVK, Bengaluru AGRICULTURAL MICROBIOLOGY Microbial Processing of Linseed (Linum usitatissimum L.) to Develop a Nutraceutical Beverage N. NIVETHALINSEED (Linum usitatissimum L.) has high content of Alpha-Linolenic acid (ALA), dietary fiber, quality protein, minerals,vitamins and phytoestrogens but, presence of anti-nutritional factors (cyanogenic glycosides, phytases and phenolics) islimiting its use. Hence, an attempt was made to develop nutraceutical beverage with improved nutritional qualities. Lacticacid bacterial strains (LAB 1, LAB 2, LAB 3, LAB 4 and LAB 5) were isolated from linseed, biochemically characterized,screened with a reference strain Lactobacillus acidophilus. LAB 3 isolate was efficient with respect to fermentationduration (2 days), acid production (0.08 % TA), pH (4.60), taste and flavor. A protocol was standardized for pH, titrableacidity and sensory characteristics using reference organisms (Lactobacillus acidophilus and Saccharomyces ellipsoideus).Roasted, powdered seeds were inoculated for fermentation. Concentrations of substrate (10 and 5 %), sugar (6.6 and 10 %)and sugar: honey (80:20 and 65:35) was selected for bacteria and yeast inoculations respectively. Incubation temperature of30°C for 2 days with 8 % inoculum was found optimum. Beverages were standardized using isolate LAB-3, referenceorganisms and probiotic organisms (Bacillus mesentericus and Saccharomyces boulardii). Yeasts were effective withrespect to titrable acidity, pH and alcohol content. Significant reductions in phenolics (58 and 57 %), tannins (66 and 64 %)and cyanogenic glycosides (66 and 65 %) were recorded by Lactobacillus acidophilus and Isolate LAB-3, respectively.Lactobacillus acidophilus inoculation reduced significantly phytic acid (28 %). Lactobacillus acidophilus and LAB-3isolates proved efficient in beverage preparation with overall acceptability (7.5 and 7.0 out of 9.0, respectively). 2016 SUVARNA V. CHAVANNAVARDepartment of Agricultural Microbiology Major Advisor UAS, GKVK, Bengaluru

172 ABSTRACT Mysore J. Agric. Sci., 51 (1) : 2017 Microbial Diversity Analysis of Selected Agro-Ecological Sub-Regions of West Bengal DEBARSHI DASGUPTASOIL is a very complex, inter-related community of microorganisms which influence physico-chemical properties andvice-versa. This study was undertaken to enumerate the culturable populations of various agriculturally importantmicroorganisms from the soils of West Bengal. Three agro-ecological sub-regions (AESRs) were considered for this purpose,which show variation in physiography, climate and environment. The sampling of soils was done from June to July, 2015.Higher bacterial and actinomycetes populations were observed in soil samples from AESR 15.1, while in AESR 18.5 a higherfungal population was observed. This reflects the general observation that these two regions are more fertile than AESR12.3, which is predominantly hot and dry. In AESR 12.3 and AESR 15.1, the abundance of actinomycetes in soil was foundto be higher than that of fungi, indicating a significant influence of weather on the culturable microbial populations.Diversity indices were used to quantify the existing microbial diversity. It was noticed that the Ganga eastern plain showedthe highest Shannon-Wiener index (0.302) of diversity while the Chhotanagpur plateau showed the lowest value (0.286).The Eastern coastal plain displayed the highest Simpson’s index of diversity (0.373) whereas the Ganga eastern plainshowed the lowest value (0.350), indicating varying patterns of species richness and evenness among the three regions.The patterns of correlation between the microbes and soil properties were also noted and interpreted. This study revealsmicrobial diversity of soil to be a dynamic property, subject to various influencing factors. 2016 G.. P. BRAHMAPRAKASHDepartment of Agricultural Microbiology Major Advisor UAS, GKVK, Bengaluru Mycorrhizal Responsiveness of Leucaena leucocephala as Influenced by Application of Pendimethalin in an Alfisol K. R. REKHAA greenhouse investigation was conducted to determine the effect of pendimethalin application on mycorrhizal symbiosis.This research investigation consisted of 24 treatments resulting from factorial combination of two levels of soil solutionphosphorus, six levels of pendimethalin and two levels of Glomus aggregatum Inoculation. Mycorrhizal colonization wasnot affected by application of different level of pendimethalin. Higher level of pendimethlin application was found to bephytotoxic to Leucaena. Total biomass, phosphorus content and total phosphorus uptake increased significantly withVAM inoculation in two level of soil solution P application. The results of this investigation show that the applicationpendimethalin reduces the effectiveness of VAM fungi in association with Leucaena leucocephala. 2016 A. MANJUNATHDepartment of Agricultural Microbiology Major Advisor UAS, GKVK, Bengaluru

Mysore J. Agric. Sci., 51 (1) : 2017 ABSTRACT 173 AGRICULTURAL STATISTICS Statistical Analysis of Broiler Production of Karnataka State AMARESHTHE study was conducted to analyse the broiler production of Karnataka state with the help of time series data for a periodof 19 years from 1996-97 to 2014-15 and to know the causes for its disparity among the districts, 13 indicator variables for theperiod of 12 years from 2003-04 to 2014-15 were utilized. The state experienced progressive increase in broiler meat productionduring the study period. The growth of broiler production is not uniform across all the districts of the state. Hence, anattempt was made to construct growth models separately by grouping the districts based on their production as well asadministrative divisions. The different polynomial and exponential models were found to be more suitable for the broilermeat production in different groups and also for the divisions. The most appropriate model was determined by usingcoefficient of determination (R2) and Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) criteria. The disparity analysis using composite indexcomputed by Principal Component Analysis (PCA) indicates that there was a wide disparity in broiler production among thedistricts of Karnataka state during the study period and the inference is supported by Kendall’s coefficient of concordance.Based on the eigen values of PCA for each districts revealed that area under irrigated land, area under maize and area underpulses in agriculture sector, whereas number of veterinary institutions and road length in the infrastructure sector werefound to be the main causes for the disparity in broiler production among the districts of Karnataka state. 2016 V. MANJUNATHDepartment of Agricultural Statistics, Applied Mathematics Major Advisor and Computer Science, UAS, GKVK, BengaluruStatistical Analysis of Egg Production of Karnataka State R. MANJULATHE study is aimed at analysing the growth in egg production and to know causes of its disparity among the districts inKarnataka state. The thirty years district wise data to analyse the growth in egg production and last four sub periods eachof four years data were utilized to analyse causes for its disparity among the districts. Egg production has shown anincreasing trend over the period with varied growth rates among the districts. Hence, a attempt has been made to assess therealistic growth by grouping the districts using two criterions and obtaining the appropriate growth models. Among themodels fitted, the linear model was found to be most suitable for high producing groups based on both the criterion ofclassification. The disparity among districts in egg production has been analysed by composite index on agriculture andinfrastructure sectors separately. The wide disparity among the districts in egg production was ascertained by Kendall’sCo-efficients of Concordance. The strong positive association was found between the composite indices of agriculture andinfrastructure sectors. The influence of infrastructural indicators was higher in district with high egg production, whereasinfluence of agricultural sector indicators was high in high middle egg producing categories. The area under maize, irrigatedland from agriculture sector and number of agriculture workers, road length and veterinary institutions from infrastructuresector were proportionally higher under high and high middle egg producing categories. This indicated that the abovementioned variables were causes for disparity among the districts in egg production. 2016 V. MANJUNATHDepartment of Agricultural Statistics, Applied Mathematics Major Advisor and Computer Science, UAS, GKVK, Bengaluru

174 ABSTRACT Mysore J. Agric. Sci., 51 (1) : 2017 Comparison of Parametric and Non Parametric Stability Models for Yield of Finger Millet (Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn.) Genotypes H. R. CHAITHRATHE occurrence of genotype x environment (GE) interaction is clearly explained by several stability parameters whichdetermines the stable genotype for a particular environment. In the present investigation, 16 finger millet genotypes wereevaluated over 11 locations for consecutive 3 years (Kharif seasons of 2010, 2011 and 2012) in different finger milletgrowing States of India. One parametric and eight non parametric stability measures were used to identify the stablegenotypes. The parametric stability measure revealed highly significant genotype (G), environment (E) and GXE effectsover all the years. The AMMI analysis showed that in most of the years, the first two principal components (IPCA1, IPCA2)explained maximum G x E interaction. The biplot technique was used to identify appropriate genotypes to specificenvironments. The analysis revealed that the genotypes GPU 78, VR 708, VL 149 and KOPN 933 were stable for grain yield,whereas, for fodder yield GPU 78 and GPU 75 were stable genotypes. The eight nonparametric stability statistics proposedby Nassar and Huehn (1979) (viz., Si(1), Si(2), S (3) and Si(6)) and Thennarasu (1995) measures (viz., NP1, NP2, NP3 and NP4) were iused to identify stable genotypes across environments. This analysis showed that the genotypes GPU 78, VR 708 and GPU78, GPU 75 were stable for grain and fodder yield, respectively. The results of parametric and non parametric methodsrevealed that the genotypes GPU 78 and VR 708 were stable for grain yield and genotypes GPU 78 and GPU 75were stablefor fodder yield across environments. 2016 K. N. KRISHNAMURTHYDepartment of Agricultural Statistics, Applied Mathematics Major Advisor and Computer Science, UAS, GKVK, Bengaluru AGRONOMY Effect of Depth and Interval of Drip Irrigation on Growth and Yield of Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) MUNIYAPPAA field experiment was conducted during rabi 2014-15 at Gandhi Krishi Vignana Kendra, UAS, Bengaluru to study the effectof depth and interval of drip irrigation on growth and yield of chickpea in red sandy clay loam soil. The experiment consistedof twelve treatments which were replicated thrice in RCBD with factorial concept. The experiment consisted of two factorsviz., irrigation depths; 40 per cent (D1), 60 per cent (D2), 80 per cent (D3) and100 per cent pan evaporation (D4). Irrigationintervals; 3 days (I1) 5 days(I2) and 7 days interval (I3). The investigation revealed that scheduling of drip irrigation at 100per cent pan evaporation recorded significantly higher seed yield (1780 kg ha-1) which was on par with 80 per cent panevaporation (1723 kg ha-1). Among the drip irrigation intervals, drip irrigation scheduled at 7 days interval recoded significantlyhigher seed yield (1671 kg ha-1) which was on par with 5 days interval (1593 kg ha-1). Significantly higher water use efficiencywas recorded in drip irrigation scheduled at 40 per cent pan evaporation (72.14 kg ha-cm-1) and at 7 days interval (63.35 kgha-cm-1). Drip irrigation scheduled at 80 per cent pan evaporation recorded gross returns (`66,618 ha-1), net returns (`29,975ha-1) and B: C (1.82) almost equal to drip irrigation scheduled at 100 per cent pan evaporation. Drip irrigation scheduled at7 days interval recorded higher gross return (`64,654 ha-1), net returns (`29,399 ha-1) and B: C (1.83). 2016 MUDALAGIRIYAPPA Department of Agronomy Major Advisor UAS, GKVK, Bengaluru

Mysore J. Agric. Sci., 51 (1) : 2017 ABSTRACT 175 Efficacy of Organic Manures Fly Ash and Hydrogel on Moisture Retention and Productivity of Sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) in Alfisols S. PRATHIBHAA field experiment was conducted to study the efficacy of organic manures, fly ash and hydrogel on moisture retention andproductivity of sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) in alfisols at All India Coordinated Research Project on Sunflower, ZonalAgricultural Research Station, UAS, GKVK, Bengaluru during kharif-2015. The experiment was laid out in RCBD with ninetreatments replicated thrice. Treatments included application of RDF (Recommended Dose of Fertilizer) (90:90:60 kg NPKha-1) alone, RDF + FYM (2.5 and 5 t ha-1), RDF + hydrogel (2.5, 5.0 and 7.5 kg ha-1), RDF + humic acid (2.5 kg ha-1), RDF +vermicompost (2.5 t ha-1) at the time of sowing and RDF + fly ash (2 t ha-1) at 4th leaf stage. The treatment with RDF + hydrogel@ 7.5 kg ha-1 resulted significantly higher seed and oil yield (2461 kg ha-1and 907.3 kg ha-1, respectively). It was attributedby enhanced growth parameters viz., plant height (167.0 cm), number of leaves plant-1 (24.13), leaf area (6663 cm2 plant-1),total dry matter (58.19 g plant-1) at 60 DAS and yield attributes like increased head diameter (16.70 cm), test weight (5.03 g 100seeds-1), total seeds and filled seeds (1081 and 998.9 head-1, respectively) and lower chaffiness (7.65 %). Soil moistureretention and uptake of N, P and K (107.9, 23.72, 88.41 kg ha-1, respectively) also recorded higher values. Net returns(`60,128 ha-1) and benefit cost ratio (3.19) was higher with application of RDF + fly ash @ 2 t ha-1 at 4th leaf stage. 2016 K. N. GEETHADepartment of Agronomy Major Advisor UAS, GKVK, BengaluruEffect of Organic Liquid Formulations on Growth and Yield of Organic Frenchbean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) NINGANNA BIRADARFIELD experiment was conducted at Organic Farming Research and Demonstration block of RIOF, UAS, GKVK, Bengaluru,during summer 2016. The experiment was laid out in RCBD with twelve treatments replicated thrice. The results revealed thatapplication PoP + soil application of Jeevamrutha 2000 l/ac at 15, 30 and 45 DAS + foliar application of GSP at 15, 30 and 45DAS + foliar application of Panchagavya 5 per cent at 15, 30 and 45 DAS recorded significantly higher plant height (34.97cm), number of leaves plant-1 (26.40), number of pods plant-1 (10.67) and pod yield (13.33 t ha-1). It also recorded significantlyhigher available nitrogen (344.07 kg ha-1), phosphorus (42.47 kg ha-1), potassium (244.93 kg ha-1) content and also significantlyhigher bacteria, fungi, actinomycetes, P- solubilisers, N–fixers population, higher net returns and B:C ratioand it was on parwith the PoP + soil application of Jeevamrutha 2000 l/ac at 15, 30 and 45 DAS + foliar application of GSP at 15 and 30 DAS+ foliar application of Panchagavya 5 per cent at 30 and 45 DAS (33.15 cm, 25.33, 10.00 and 12.32 t ha-1, respectively) and PoP+ soil application of Jeevamrutha of 2000 l/ac at 15, 30 and 45 DAS + foliar application of GSP at 15 DAS + foliar applicationof Panchagavya 5 per cent at 30 and 45 DAS (32.43 cm, 23.93, 9.67 and 12.27 t ha-1, respectively) compared to control (24.98cm, 18.80, 8.27 and 9.73 t ha-1, respectively). 2016 K. MURALIDepartment of Agronomy Major Advisor UAS, GKVK, Bengaluru

176 ABSTRACT Mysore J. Agric. Sci., 51 (1) : 2017 Influence of Jeevamrutha and Panchagavya on Growth and Yield of Cowpea [Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp] RESHMA SUTARA field experiment was conducted at Organic Farming Research and Demonstration block of RIOF, University of AgriculturalSciences, GKVK, Bengaluru, during Kharif 2015. The experiment was laid out in factorial randomized complete block designwith two factors - Jeevamrutha (three levels) and Panchagavya (four levels) - with twelve treatments replicated thrice. Theresults of the experiment revealed that application of Jeevamrutha @ 1000 l ha-1 and Panchagavya @ 7.5 per cent recordedsignificantly higher grain yield (1478 kg ha-1) and haulm yield (5182.96 kg ha-1). Better growth and yield attributes - numberof leaves (28.60 plant-1), leaf area index (1.87), number of pods (22.16 plant-1), number of seeds (16.02 pod-1) and hundred seedweight (11.90g) were significantly influenced by interaction of Jeevamrutha and Panchagavya. Soil fertility status improvedwith higher available nitrogen (357.03 kg ha-1), phosphorus (53.83 kg ha-1) and potassium (254.79 kg ha-1) contents withapplication of Jeevamrutha (@ 1000 l ha-1) and Panchagavya (@ 7.5 %). Significantly higher bacteria, fungi, actinomycetes,P-solubilisers and N –fixers population were recorded with application of Jeevamrutha (@ 1000 l ha-1) and Panchagavya(@ 7.5%) both in rhizosphere and non-rhizosphere soil. Jeevamrutha and Panchagavya at their higher levels of applicationinfluenced crude protein content significantly. Higher net returns and B:C ratio were recorded with Jeevamrutha andPanchagavya at their higher levels of application. 2016 G. M. SUJITH Department of Agronomy Major Advisor UAS, GKVK, Bengaluru CROP PHYSIOLOGY Studies on Physiological and Molecular Basis for Variation in Phosphorus Uptake in Pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan) M. GOWTHAMIPHOSPHORUS (P) plays important role in the growth and development of plants, through its involvement in life sustainingreactions including energy transfer, activation of proteins and regulation of metabolic processes. Though a major plantnutrient, its availability to the plants has been a limiting factor due to its slow mobility in the soil and fixation. Plants adoptseveral mechanisms to cope up with P deficiency, increased synthesis and exudation of enzyme like acid phosphatases bythe roots into the rhizosphere is a well-known mechanism. The released acid phosphatases would help in solubilisingorganically bound P in the rhizosphere. In this study, based on the activity of acid phosphatase enzyme, pigeonpeagenotypes which were identified earlier as high P uptake types (ICP3226, BRG-2) and low P uptake types (ICP4557, ICP7025,ICP8863) were further analysed. The results confirmed ICP3226 and BRG-2 to be high P uptake types. These genotypes hadmore root dry weight, root to shoot ratio and increased acid phosphatase activity under P deficient condition. The activityof acid phosphatases was comparatively low in low P uptake types. Further, a strong correlation between enzyme activityand phosphorus accumulation in both shoot and root under P deficient condition was observed. Gene expression studiescarried out for five commonly expressed PAP genes under P deficient conditions viz., CcPAP10, CcPAP12, CcPAP15,CcPAP23, and CcPAP26 of PAP indicated higher expression levels of these genes particularly under deficient P conditionsindicating that these genes are being induced under P stress conditions in pigeonpea also. 2016 I. S. AFTAB HUSSAIN Department of Crop Physiology Major Advisor UAS, GKVK, Bengaluru

Mysore J. Agric. Sci., 51 (1) : 2017 ABSTRACT 177Characterization of Rice Transgenics Co-expressing Regulatory Genes such as OsAlfin-1 PgHSF-4, PDH-45 and PsAKR-1 for Root Growth and Stress Tolerance NGUYEN NGOC LONGAMONGST the several adaptive mechanisms the plants have evolved under stress, those which help to maintain plant waterrelations by mining water and enhancing cellular level tolerance for higher carbon gain seem to be important forsemi-irrigated aerobic rice cultivation. In this context, transgenic plants over expressing genes regulating these relevantand important mechanisms / traits was developed and characterized. The T1 generation rice transgenics co-expressingOsAlfin-1, PgHSF-4, PDH-45 and PsAKR-1 were screened along with WT under different selection pressures such assalinity, high temperature, dehydration and glyphosate. While, the Alfin-1 improves root growth, the AKR-1 providesoxidative stress tolerance with PDH-45 and HSF-4 improving the protein turnover mechanisms. Therefore, co-expressingthese genes would impart greater stress tolerance to transgenic plants. Accordingly, when T1 seeds were screened underdifferent selection pressures, only a few transgenic lines survived with no survival of WT seeds / seedlings. Further,T1transgenics plants showed higher chlorophyll and carotenoid content with less membrane damage under methyl viologeninduced oxidative stress and NaCl induced salinity stress compared to WT. Similarly, the transgenics also had high proteincontent and heat stable protein fraction with more root and shoot growth, productive tiller, TDM and seed yield comparedto WT with some of the putative T1 plants confirming the integration of transgenes by PCR analysis. Further, when T2generation transgenics were compared with T1 generation under salinity stress, higher percentage of seedling survival withmore seedling growth was observed in T2 transgenics to indicate that highly stress tolerant transgenic lines can be identifiedthrough screening and forwarding to next generations. 2016 B. MOHAN RAJUDepartment of Crop Physiology Major Advisor UAS, GKVK, BengaluruScreening Mungbean Accessions for Salinity Stress using Salinity Induction Response (SIR) Technique R. MANASAMUNGBEAN (Vigna radiata L.) is an economically important food grain legume with rich source of nutrients. However, itsstagnant production in last few decades is due to susceptibility towards various biotic and abiotic stresses. Among theabiotic stresses, salinity stress is more atrocious limiting growth and yield worldwide. Due to the complex nature of salinitystress and lack of suitable techniques for introgression of desirable agronomic traits a little progress has been made indeveloping salt tolerant mungbean varieties. In the present investigation an attempt has been made to screen the mungbeangenotypes for salinity. Forty mungbean genotypes were screenedand contrast lines were identified based on SalinityInduction Response (SIR) technique. As tolerance is developmental stage specific, the identified contrast lines were screenedat whole plant levelunder 150 mM and 300 mMNaCl stress. The results revealed that there is a considerable reduction in thegrowth and yield performances in both resistant and susceptible lines but few lines could maintain pod yield and biomassas like control plants. Based on seedling and whole plant level tolerance, few resistant (EC 693366, ML 1299, EC 693371) andsusceptible lines (NM 94) which showed consistency in their salinity response was identified. Further the higher expressionof few salinity induced genes like AVP1 and HKT1indicated the better tolerance mechanisms in the resistant lines. Therefore,the identified lines can be used in mungbean breeding programs as donar parents to increase the yield stability againstsaline patches. 2016 A. G. SHANKARDepartment of Crop Physiology Major Advisor UAS, GKVK, Bengaluru

178 ABSTRACT Mysore J. Agric. Sci., 51 (1) : 2017 Physiological and Biochemical Mechanism Underlying Plant Endophyte Interaction under Salinity Stress PRAJJAL DEYSALINITY stress is one of the most persistent among the abiotic stresses that drastically affects agricultural productivity. Inthe light of the increasing threat of salinization, number of efforts has been made to understand the mechanisms (molecular,biochemical and physiological) underlying salt stress tolerance to engineer plants tolerant to salinity stress. Among theapproaches, recently, attempts have been made to explore the role of endophytes in improving crop performance undersalinity stress. The endophytes, both bacterial and fungal, occur ubiquitously in plants and have been implicated inpromoting the growth and development of the plant, under both normal and stressed conditions. Against this background,in the present study, salt sensitive paddy genotype (IR-64) were treated with salt tolerant endophytes, Botryospaheriadothidea and Fusarium sp. Both the fungi successfully colonized the plant and significantly improved the growth of IR-64under salt stress (150 mM). Plants enriched with endophyte, maintained a significantly higher ratio of K+/Na+ under saltstress indicating an active mechanism to improve the ionic relation of the plant under stress. Cellular level toleranceparameters such as cell membrane stability, lipid peroxidation were better maintained in plants treated with the fungus.Theantioxidant levels were also higher in the fungus treated seedlings, imparting higher tolerance to stress by scavenging theROS produced. Though the exact mechanisms underlying the plant-endophyte interaction is not clearly understood, theresults indicate the potential of exploring endophytes as an efficient tool to ameliorate salinity stress in crop plants. 2016 R. UMASHAANKER Department of Crop Physiology Major Advisor UAS, GKVK, BengaluruEvaluation of Pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan [L] Mill sp.) Germplasm Lines for Seed Zinc Content and Physiological and Molecular Characterization of Contrast Lines J. MUKTHAZINC is necessary and indispensable micronutrient essential for human, animal and plant life. But zinc deficiency is widelyoccurring in majority of soils of India making staple crops deficient in zinc impairing growth and quality. Thus, it is importantto improve the zinc content in edible plant parts. In this regard, an attempt made to screen 100 accessions of pigeonpea fortheir seed zinc content showed a huge variability among which high and low seed zinc contrast types were selected forphysiological evaluation in field and pot conditions under control, 0.5 and 1.0 per cent zinc. The contrasts showed variationin plant height, chlorophyll content, and yield parameters. The high types maintained good growth even without zinc andalso showed high leaf zinc content but responded well to 0.5 per cent zinc while, the low types could perform well under1 per cent zinc indicating that high types are efficient zinc uptakers. The germplasm lines ICP5094, ICP6256, ICP5099,ICP7069, ICP6489 and ICP6784 are found to be high yielders but the germplasm lines ICP7348 and ICP7239 can be consideredas prospective lines for further work as they are coupled with high zinc content. Also, the high types performed better underwater stress conditions and zinc application was effective for low types to overcome stress situations. The study ofexpression analysis of zinc transporters revealed that even under deficient zinc conditions, high types showed enhancedexpression of CcZIP13477, CcZIP33570 and CcZIP47487 transporters, denoting that they are high affinity zinc transportersresponsible for zinc accumulation under zinc deprived conditions. 2016 A. G. SHANKAR Department of Crop Physiology Major Advisor UAS, GKVK, Bengaluru

Mysore J. Agric. Sci., 51 (1) : 2017 ABSTRACT 179 Screening of Selected Mungbean (Vigna radiata L.) Germplasm Lines for High Fruiting Efficiency and Abiotic Stress Tolerance SRIKANTMUNGBEAN is one of the important pulse crops of India which plays a vital role in meeting the protein demand of human diet.Many factors play a role in decreasing its production and productivity. Low fruiting efficiency is one among them. Inaddition, cultivation in marginal rainfed lands exposes the crop to harsh environmental conditions like high temperature anddrought. Hence, in this study an attempt was made to identify varieties with higher fruiting efficiency and yield and alsotolerant to high temperature and drought conditions. Physiological screening of 40 mungbean germplasm lines revealed thatNM92, VC6153B20 and VC6960 were low yielders with higher fruiting efficiency and EC693358, EC693361 and EC693368were high yielders with low fruiting efficiency. These results indicate negative correlation between seed yield and fruitingefficiency. Genotypes with a capacity to produce more flowers generally produce high seed yield although the fruitingefficiency is low. Further, to identify tolerant lines for high temperature, temperature induction response technique (TIR)was used. Amongst the genotypes used EC693358, EC693367 and PDM 139 showed tolerance, whereas EC693360, EC693362and VC 6153B20 showed susceptibility. These temperature tolerant lines were subjected to moisture stress at seedling leveland whole plant level. It was found that they maintained high RWC, leaf area and chlorophyll content and low membraneleakage and lipid peroxidation under stress conditions indicating that they are tolerant to moisture stress. 2016 I. S. AFTAB HUSSAINDepartment of Crop Physiology Major Advisor UAS, GKVK, BengaluruIsolation of Endophytic Fungi from Temperature Tolerant Plants and Evaluation of their Ability to Confer Temperature Tolerance SANGAMESH MALLIKARJUN BIRADARAMONG abiotic stresses, high temperature stress has become a subject of global concern, as it affects the growth andproductivity of crop plants. The average temperature within the Indian sub-continent has risen by 0.57°C in the last 100years and models project that it is likely to rise further to a maximum of 2.5°C by 2050. An emerging approach to mitigate theeffect of high temperature is the use of endophytic fungi. Endophytesare symptom less microorganisms, associated withinplants throughout their life cycle which has been shown to provide the latter, growth benefits, often referred to as habitat-adapted symbiosis. In this study, endophytes from plant adpated to extreme aridity, such as in Thar desert, were isolatedand evaluated for their ability to tolerate high temperatures and impart such tolerance to plants not adapted to hightemperature stress. Ten plant species from Thar desert and five from AFRI nursery, Rajasthan, were collected and processedfor endophytic fungi isolation. In total, 507 isolates belonging to 82 Operational Taxonomic Units (OTU’s) were obtained.Aspergillus flavus predominated followed by Aspergillus niger, Cheatomia sp. and Curvularia sp. Nine OTU’s were foundto be high temperature tolerant (retained their ability to grow even at 45°C). However, inoculation of these endophytes tomodel plant system such as rice, finger millet and green gram did not impart high temperature tolerance. The fungalresources developed in the study paves way to explore potential genes for high temperature tolerance that might be residingin the high temeprature tolerant endophytes. 2016 R. UMASHAANKERDepartment of Crop Physiology Major Advisor UAS, GKVK, Bengaluru

180 ABSTRACT Mysore J. Agric. Sci., 51 (1) : 2017Characterization of a Few Differentially Expressed Root Associated Genes Identified in Rice through Root Architecture I. K. VEENARICE cultivation under aerobic condition has phenomenal relevance in terms of saving water. But reduced water availabilityand high VPD leads to decreased crop growth and productivity. Hence, it is important to improve adaptation of aerobic riceto water deficit conditions in order to sustain productivity. Two important groups of traits which confer drought toleranceto rice are water relations and cellular level tolerance mechanisms. Water relations traits include root system architecture(RSA), waxes, stomata which helps to maintain cell turgor under stress. RSA helps in mining water from deeper layers andtherefore, is the most important water relation traits. From this context, an attempt has been made to identify the mostrelevant genes governing RSA in aerobic rice. Gene expression profiles of two contrasting rice genotypes differing in RSAwere studied by microarray and 44 Differentially Expressed Genes (DEG’s) were identified. These 44 DEG’s were analysedin-silico for spatio-temporal expression along with fold change levels and 9 genes were short listed for expression analysisby RT-PCR in contrast (3 high root types viz., AC39020, AC35573 and IET16348 and 3 low root type viz., BPT, THANU andJBT36 / 148) at 15 DAS. Among these 9 genes NTC, RLPK, CBP and APN were highly expressed in high root types. Basedon expression levels NTC was selected as a candidate gene for functional validation by over expression studies in tobacco.Agrobacterium mediated in vitro transformation of tobacco cultivar KST-19 was accomplished and gene integration wasconfirmed in putative transgenic lines by PCR analysis. 2016 P. CHANDRASHEKAR REDDY Department of Crop Physiology Major Advisor UAS, GKVK, BengaluruAssessment of the Physiological Basis of Drought Tolerance in Finger Millet (Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn.) Accessions Differing in Growth and Yield under Stress Conditions D. C. MANJULAFINGER millet is an important staple food crop of Southern Karnataka grown under dryland conditions during monsoonseason. Wherein intermittent moisture stress is a common feature which decreases the grain yield significantly. Identificationof genotypes for physiological traits of drought tolerance associated with grain yield would be highly effective. In thepresent study moisture stress created under rainout shelter at reproductive stage for 37 days. Moisture stress decreased allthe growth and yield attributes. Based on Drought |Susceptibility Index, the genotypes with less than 0.5 DSI for both grainyield and biomass with higher absolute biomass and grain yield under control were considered as tolerant and with morethan 1.5 DSI were termed as susceptible genotypes. The selected contrasting genotypes were revalidated for their differentialperformance in physiological traits by imposing stress at panicle initiation for 37 days. Moisture stress affected plantgrowth parameters to a lesser extent in tolerant genotypes compared to the susceptible genotypes. Hence, the selectionbased on DSI is valid and relevant. Of the parameters studied, the gas exchange parameters and chlorophyll content did notdiffer between the tolerant and susceptible genotypes. However, the tolerant genotypes maintained higher water relationswith higher root length, root weight, root volume, root / shoot ratio and membrane integrity compared to susceptiblegenotypes. Therefore, the physiological basis of drought adaptation in selected finger millet genotypes could be throughwater relations rather than gas exchange traits. 2016 Y. A. NANJA REDDY Department of Crop Physiology Major Advisor UAS, GKVK, Bengaluru

Mysore J. Agric. Sci., 51 (1) : 2017 ABSTRACT 181 FOOD SCIENCE AND NUTRITION Effect of Curry Leaf Coating on Mineral Accessibility and Shelf Life of Foxtail Millet (Setaria italica) JYOTI BOHRADEHUSKED and unpolished foxtail grain has lower shelf life which limits its commercial product diversity. Prasad variety offoxtail millet was dehusked to obtain brown, unpolished grains. The grains were coated with curry leaf paste (CFP) at 4, 3,2 per cent levels and hot aqueous extract, ethanol extract and aqueous+ ethanol extract (1:1) of curry leaves (7 treatments).Gum acacia was used as filming agent. Comparative evaluation with grains exposed to hydrothermal treatment at fourdurations (2, 4, 6 and 8 minutes) was made. The untreated and BHA treated foxtail millet were taken as control. Grains wereevaluated for mineral composition, iron and zinc bio-accessibility, total antioxidant activity, total polyphenol content cookingquality and sensory evaluation. Accelerated storage study at 40 ± 20C and 75 per cent RH was carried out for 18 days byestimating the moisture, TBARS value and colour change. Increase (p ≤ 0.05) in mineral content was observed in alltreatments. Total antioxidant activity and polyphenols were significantly higher (p ≤ 0.05) in curry leaf treated grains thanuntreated grains; while hydrothermal treatment showed slight reduction. Iron and zinc bio-accessibility was significantly(p ≤ 0.05) increased due to hydrothermal treatment and decreased slightly in curry leaf treatments. Lower increase inmoisture and TBARS valuewas observed in treated samples during storage. Cooking time was influenced due to treatments.The per cent increase in volume and weight and water uptake ratio while cooking was significantly higher (p ≤ 0.05) inhydrothermally treated grains and lower in coated samples. All treated cooked grains were accepted by the consumers. 2016 NEENA JOSHIDepartment of Food Science and Nutrition Major Advisor UAS, GKVK, BengaluruEvaluation and Development of Packed Lunch for School Children POOJA M. KOLARTHIS study was aimed at assessing the pattern of packed lunch of school children and development of ready to cook lunchmixes. The children in the age group of 13-15 were selected from UAS, Campus School, Hebbal, Bengaluru. The resultsrevealed that mean nutrient intake from packed lunch was low in both groups when compared to 1/4th of their RDA. Averageheight of both boys and girls in the age group of 13-15 was less, whereas, their weight was normal. Fifty seven per cent werehaving normal BMI, whereas 29 per cent were under weight, 12 and 3 per cent were over weight and obese. The mean midupper arm circumference and triceps skin fold thickness were lower when compared to IAP standards. Five ready to preparelunch mixes were developed. Low, medium and high levels of protein in the mixes were achieved by modifying the egg white/ milk powder and pulse ratio. Other ingredients remained constant. One meal kichidi mix was prepared using millet and pulsecombination along with dried vegetables using standard procedure. Egg white and milk powder based chapathi mix werebest accepted at high level protein, whereas, egg white powder based rice roti was best accepted at low level protein andmilk powder based at high level protein. Products stored for one month at ambient condition did not show any change insensory parameters when compared to fresh products. Pre and post evaluation of nutrition education showed enhancedscore for nutrition knowledge among children and parents. 2016 K. V. JAMUNADepartment of Food Science and Nutrition Major Advisor UAS, GKVK, Bengaluru

182 ABSTRACT Mysore J. Agric. Sci., 51 (1) : 2017 Effect of Hydrothermal Treatment on Storage Stability and Mineral Accessibility of Pearl Millet Flour SNEHAL S. GIRITO prevent rancidity and reduce anti nutritional factors, pearl millet grain was subjected to hydrothermal (microwave for 40,60, 80 and 100 sec and steamed for 4, 6, 8 and 10 min) and curry leaf extracts (Ethanol, Hot water and Ethanol + water extracts)treatments. Changes in moisture, TBARS, total antioxidant activity and colour during accelerated storage study (40 ± 2 0Cand 75% RH) for 9 days were observed to assess storage stability. Mineral composition, Fe and Zn accessibility, totalpolyphenol content, functional properties and cooking quality were assessed to evaluate the effect of these treatments ongrains. Treatments brought about an increase in accessibility of total minerals, iron and zinc and a decrease in the totalphenolics. Lower increase in moisture during storage was observed in treated grains. During storage treated grains exhibitedlower increases in TBARS values compared to control. Steaming treatment resulted in reducing total antioxidant activity infresh and stored samples; reverse being the case with curry leaf extract treatment; there were no changes in colour.Treatments influenced functional properties of flour of treated grains. All flours samples exhibited good cooking quality.Panel members accepted all the rotis made out of flour from treated grains. This suggests that shelf life of whole pearl milletflour can be stabilized utilizing the treatments described in this study. Based on storage, nutritional and functional parameters,use of hydrothermal and curry leaf extract treatments for pearl millet are appropriate technologies that can be applied byeven unskilled people. 2016 NEENA JOSHIDepartment of Food Science and Nutrition Major Advisor UAS, GKVK, Bengaluru Development of Value Added Tender Leaf Tamarind (Tamarindus indica L.) Products DEEPAKTAMARIND (Tamarindus indica L.) is an economically important and a multipurpose tropical tree grows wild in central andsouthern parts of India. Primarily, it was used for culinary purposes. Chutney powders based on tamarind leaves are verypopular among the rural population in south India. Fruit and tender leaves have therapeutic benefits. The present studyrevealed that tender tamarind leaves powder is good source of nutrients. The nutrient analysis of tender tamarind leavespowder showed that 100 gleaves powder contains 4.65 per cent of moisture, 4.08 g of protein, 1.52 g of fat, 1.0 g of crudefibre, 86.26 g of carbohydrate, 375 Kcal of energy, 2.5 g of ash per 100 g. The vitamins such as â-carotene and vitamin Ccontent were 166.8 ìg and 2.40 mg per 100 g, respectively. Minerals such as iron and calcium were 0.18 mg and 96.4 per100 g, respectively. Two chutney powders were developed by incorporating tender tamarind leaves powder at differentconcentration i.e., 20, 30 and 40 per cent in both chutney powders. Whereas, in hurigalu 10, 20 and 30 per cent with otheringredients. Sensory scores of the products revealed that the roasted bengal gram chutney powder, niger seed chutneypowder and hurigalu were best accepted at 20 per cent of incorporation. Developed products can be stored for 30 days inambient condition (27 0C) without affecting its quality. 2016 UMADEVI S. HIREMATHDepartment of Food Science and Nutrition Major Advisor UAS, GKVK, Bengaluru

Mysore J. Agric. Sci., 51 (1) : 2017 ABSTRACT 183Diversified Value Added Products from Sweet Potato (Ipomea batatas L.) M. SUGUNASWEET potato (Ipomea batatas L.) is a dicotyledonous plant that belongs to the family convolvulacea. It is a short seasonalcrop which reliably provides food on marginal and degraded land with little labor and few or no input outside the farm.Thepresent study revealed that, sweet potato products are good sourcesof nutrients.Sweet potato chips, flakes and biscuitswere prepared by using standard methods. Organoleptic evaluation was conducted. Results revealed that, SC-3 (sweetpotato chips), SPF-3 (value added sweet potato flakes) and SB-2 (sweet potato biscuits) scored higher in all the sensoryattributes. The nutrient composition of the products contained a good amount of protein, fat, energy, carbohydrate, ash,crude fibre, â-carotene and vitamin-C and also it contains better amount of minerals (potassium, magnesium, zinc, iron,copper, manganese and sodium). Shelf life study was carried out and the products were packed in an aluminium foil bags andkept for initial, 10th, 20th and 30th days of the interval. Results revealed that, the sensory scores for stored products werefound to be significantly decreased and found that increased the microbial population in all the products, as the number ofdays increased. Consumer acceptance was conducted for 50 under graduate students of the University which wererandomly selected. Results revealed that, the chips, flakes and biscuits were accepted by the consumers respectively. It canbe concluded that, the sweet potato products contain appreciable amount of nutrients which can be developed intodifferent products. 2016 UMADEVI S. HIREMATHDepartment of Food Science and Nutrition Major Advisor UAS, GKVK, Bengaluru ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE Studies on Decomposition of Leaf Litter and Nutrient Dynamics of Simarouba glauca and Calophyllum inophyllum Agro-Forestry Tree Species M. PRASANNA KUMARAFIELD experiment, Studies on decomposition of leaf litter and nutrient dynamics of Simarouba glauca and Calophylluminophyllum agro-forestry tree species was conducted at GKVK, Bengaluru and ARS, Hassan during winter and summer2014-15. The experiment comprising of sixteen treatments consisting of two tree species, two depths, two locations in twoseasons, laid out in factorial RCBD withthree replications. The leaf litter production quantified for two seasons duringwinter and summer (November to April 2015) in Simarouba and Calophyllum at two locations revealed that the highest leaflitter fall was recorded during winter in Simarouba (24.33 kg tree-1 month-1) and lowest in Calophyllum (2.7 kg tree-1month-1) during summer. The microbial activities showed significant differences at 90 days after leaf litter decomposition intwo tree species. The urease (102.09 µg NH4 -1 g-1 soil 2 hr-1), DHA (112.6 µg TPF g-1 soil day-1) and phosphatase (29.2 and23.3µg PNP g-1 soil) activity was recorded highest in Simarouba plantation compared to Calophyllum plantation. Theavailable soil nutrients were significantly higherat 90 days after leaf litter decomposition in Simarouba plantation (N-193.8kg ha-1, P-32.6 kg ha-1, K-362.6 kg ha-1 and S-29.7 ppm) compared to Calophyllum plantation (N-174.5 kg ha-1, P-25.6 kg ha-1,K-246.41 kg ha-1 and S-24 ppm), respectively. The Simarouba tree species litter had a higher initial nutrient content andreleased its nutrients faster with higher proportion than the Calophyllum tree thus significantly higher soil fertility wasobtained in Simarouba agro-forestry system. 2016 S. HATTAPPADepartment of Environmental Science Major Advisor UAS, GKVK, Bengaluru

184 ABSTRACT Mysore J. Agric. Sci., 51 (1) : 2017 Assessment of Wood Growth and Properties of Swampy and Non-Swampy Myristicaceae Members in Relation to Major Environmental Variables C. S. VENKATESHMYRISTICACEAE is one of the ancient families of flowering plants in tropical forests. India harbours 15 species belonging tofour genera that are distributed in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Meghalaya and Western Ghats. Western Ghats harboursfive species. Whereas, others occur in and around the swamps in upland conditions in evergreen forests. Most of thespecies are economically important, endemic and listed in the RET categories and wood is soft, used for several purposes.Present study was conducted in Western Ghats to understand the changes in wood growth and properties of obligateswampy (Gymnacranthera canarica) and non-swampy (Myristica malabarica) species with respect to major environmentalparameters. Based on preliminary survey, five ideal locations covering the three districts were selected. Following randomsampling quadrat method, demographic profile was enumerated. Wood core samples obtained from trees using incrementborer and three replications were maintained for each species in all the locations.The results indicated that, swampy speciespossess higher tree densities and show better regeneration compared to non swampy species. With regards to woodgrowth, significant variation was observed across the locations both swampy and nonswampy species. The swampyspecies showed higher wood growth and fibre length while non-swampy species possess higher specific gravity in all thelocations. Environmental parameters like mean annual temperature, rainfall and relative humidity showed no relationshipwith wood properties. In conclusion, Myristicaceae species with respect to wood growth and properties do not show anykind of relationship with environmental parameters. Therefore, further studies are needed to understand the underlyingfactors and methods. 2016 M. MAHADEVA MURTHYDepartment of Environmental Science Major Advisor UAS, GKVK, Bengaluru GENETICS AND PLANT BREEDNGGenetic Diversity and Combining Ability Studies among Selected Germplasm Accessions for Yield and its Attributes in Black gram (Vigna mungo (L.) Hepper) H. K. RAMAKRISHNAAVAILABILITY of genetic variation for productivity per se traits and combining ability studies among working germplasm isprerequisite for crop improvement in black gram. The total of 120 black gram germplasm accessions along with three checkswere evaluated in augmented design at experimental plot, Department of GPB, GKVK, UAS, Bengaluru during kharif-2015.Data were collected on eleven quantitative traits. Analysis of variance revealed that highly significant differences for all thetraits under study. High range of variation, PCV, GCV, high broad sense heritability coupled with expected GAM wasobserved for plant height, primary branches plant-1, clusters plant-1, pods cluster-1, pod length, seed yield plant-1 and 100seed weight. Using Mahalanobis D2 statistics, genotypes were grouped into eleven clusters. Maximum inter-cluster distance(37.78) observed between cluster VI and VII and maximum intracluster distance (12.82) was observed in cluster VII. Ninelines and four testers were selected based on per se performance and combining ability studies were carried out by followingL × T mating design to obtain thirty six F1 hybrids during rabi-2015. Among the parents, KU-5-527 was best general combinerfor total number of pods plant-1, MBG-1051 for early flowering, IC-436724 for clusters plant-1, AKH-15 for bold seed size andRashmi for all traits except seed size. Among these hybrids, IC-436784 ×Rashmi, IC-436724 × DU-1, MBG-1051 × IC-398958,BG-8 ×Rashmi and IC-436724 × IC-436566 had shown high SCA effect, high heterosis over Rashmi as a standard check andgood per se performance especially for seed yield. Such crosses can be forwarded to get desirable segregants. 2016 S. RANGAIAHDepartment of Genetics and Plant Breeding Major Advisor UAS, GKVK, Bengaluru

Mysore J. Agric. Sci., 51 (1) : 2017 ABSTRACT 185Heterosis and F2 Genetic Variability in Selected Crosses for Quantitative Traits in Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) NOOR E MUJJASSIMAN investigation was carried out to evaluate nine hybrids including three lines, three testers along with one check (JG 11)developed through L × T mating designat UAS, GKVK, Bengaluru, during kharif 2015 to assess general combining ability(GCA) of parents, specific combining ability (SCA) and heterosis of crosses, genetic variability of F population and to 2explore inter relationship among the seed yield and its component traits. JAKI 9218 and JG 11 among lines seemed topossess additive and increasing genetic effects with respect to days to 50 per cent flowering, plant height, seed yieldplant-1, 100 seed weight, days to maturity and JG 24 among the testers manifested significant GCA effects for days to 50 percent flowering, seed yield plant-1, 100 seed weight and days to maturity. Among crosses, JAKI 9218 × JG 315 exhibited highersca effect for four yield attributing traits. Lines viz., A-1, JG 11 and tester JG 24 were good general combiners. Phenotypiccorrelation coefficient depicted seed yield plant-1 had significant positive correlation with plant height and number of podsplant-1 in crosses viz., A-1 × JG 315, A-1 × HC 5, JG 11 × JG 24 and JAKI 9218 × HC 5. Higher estimates of phenotypiccoefficient of variation (PCV) were observed for number of primary branches, number of pods plant-1 and seed yieldplant-1 in all the four crosses viz., JAKI 9218 × HC 5, A-1 × JG 315, A-1 × HC 5and JG 11 × JG 24, of F2 population. 2016 S. D. NEHRUDepartment of Genetics and Plant Breeding Major Advisor UAS, GKVK, BengaluruMorphological and Molecular Diversity in Isolated Mutant Lines and Different Varieties of Bambara Groundnut [Vigna subtterranea (L.) Verdc.] M. D. MANUBAMBARA groundnut [Vigna subterranea (L.) Verdc.] is one of the most neglected and underutilized pulse crop grownmostly in the semi-arid tropics of the African continent. The present investigation was undertaken to detect possiblegenetic diversity among 46 stabilized mutant lines of Bambara groundnut genotypes developed using gamma rays basedon morphological diversity and molecular diversity using RAPD markers was studied during kharif 2015 in the Departmentof Genetics and Plant Breeding, UAS, GKVK and MRS, Hebbal, Bengaluru. Forty six genotypes of Bambara groundnut weresubjected to genetic divergence using D2 statistics. All the 46 genotypes were grouped into six clusters. Cluster I waslargest with twenty three genotypes. Intra-cluster and inter-cluster D2 values ranged from 0 to 26.56 and 30.24 to 103.16,respectively. The Maximum inter cluster distance was observed between cluster III and VI. The maximum contributiontowards genetic divergence was due to number of leaves per plant (64.53%). Genotypes from cluster II with VI, cluster I withVI and cluster I with V may serve as potential parents for hybridization programme. Genetic diversity was also evaluatedusing Random Ampliûed Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers. RAPDs revealed considerable levels of polymorphism amonggenotypes. The per cent polymorphism ranged from 0 to 100 per cent with an average of 71.42 per cent. The construction ofgenetic relationships using cluster analysis grouped the 46 genotypes into two major clusters. RAPDs are useful for thegenetic diversity studies in V. subterranea and can identify variation within genotypes. 2016 R. NANDINIDepartment of Genetics and Plant Breeding Major Advisor UAS, GKVK, Bengaluru

186 ABSTRACT Mysore J. Agric. Sci., 51 (1) : 2017 Combining Ability for Late Leaf Spot Disease Resistance, Pod Yield and it Component Traits in Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) ARUN SHIVALINGAPPA PATILAN investigation was carried out to study the combining ability, heterosis and reaction to late leaf spot disease in groundnut.The experiment was conducted by generating hybrids between five lines and six testers with varied resistance to late leafspot disease in line × tester mating design during summer 2015 to generate 30 hybrids. These hybrids were evaluated inkharif 2015 in RCBD with two replications comprising of two experiments, first experiment being the control for late leaf spotdisease and second experiment with stress of late leaf spot disease. The analysis of variance in both experiment revealedsignificant differences among the genotypes tested for all traits indicating the existence of sufficient amount of variability.Among the lines, GPBD 4 and GBFDS 272 and among six testers, TMV 2 and JL 24 were identified as good general combinersfor most of the traits studied. Among the hybrids, GBFDS 272 × TMV 2 has recorded high SCA for yield and yield attributingtraits with moderate resistance late leaf spot disease. Present study identifies ICGV 91177 × ICGV 86699, GBFDS 272 × ICGV86699 and ICGV 91177 × ICGV 86590 as good combiners for late leaf spot disease. The GCA to SCA variance ratio for traitsof disease resistance indicates the predominance of additive component of variance which will be useful for selection andimprovement of these traits hence provide good scope for exploitation of disease resistance in groundnut. 2016 D. L. SAVITHRAMMADepartment of Genetics and Plant Breeding Major Advisor UAS, GKVK, Bengaluru Assessment of Genetic Diversity in Elite Germplasm Lines of Little Millet (Panicum sumatrense Roth. Ex. Roemer and Schultes) N. GEETHALITTLE millet is a hardy crop, well known for its drought tolerance and has unique nutritional properties. Germplasmcharacterization and evaluation are important pre-requisites for its effective utilization. Hence, an attempt was made to studythe genetic variability for nutritional parameters, yield and yield related traits in a set of 64 elite germplasm lines at ZARS,GKVK, Bengaluru during kharif 2015. Field evaluation of 64 elite germplasm lines revealed highly significant differences forall the traits studied. High variability was observed for nutritional parameters among the genotypes. High genotypic andphenotypic coefficient of variability with less difference observed for grain yield and yield related traits indicating lessinfluence of environmental factors on their expression. High heritability and high genetic advance was recorded for plantheight, flag leaf length, flag leaf width, panicle length, test weight and grain yield per plant. This indicated that these traitswere predominantly controlled by additive gene action and more amenable for selection. Sixty four genotypes were groupedinto nine clusters based Mahalanobis D2 statistic analysis and found that genotypes are highly divergent in nature.Significant positive correlation was observed for grain yield with plant height, flag leaf length and panicle length. Pathanalysis revealed high positive direct effect of plant height on grain yield followed by panicle length. Hence, it would bedesirable to lay stress on these characters in selection programme for increasing the yield. The two germplasm linesGPMR- 193 and GPMR-677 were found to be promising for productivity and nutritional quality traits. 2016 M. S. UMADepartment of Genetics and Plant Breeding Major Advisor VC Farm, Mandya

Mysore J. Agric. Sci., 51 (1) : 2017 ABSTRACT 187 PLANT BIOTECNOLOGY Biochemical Studies on the Selected Fruit Wastes for their Nutritional Evaluation and Utilization M. MUKULFRUIT wastes (Pineapple, Jackfruit, Banana and Watermelon wastes) were collected from shops / roadside vendors in the cityof Bengaluru and their nutritional composition, mineral content, dietary fiber and its properties were determined. Fruitwastes could be used as potential feedstuff for growing fishes; thereby this part of biodegradable municipal waste could bemanaged as alternative feedstuff in fish and other animal diets, reducing the amount of biodegradable municipal wastegoing to landfills. Fish feeds were formulated with 50 per cent groundnut oil cake (GOC), 25 per cent rice bran (RB) anddifferent incorporation levels of fruit peels not exceeding 25 per cent to getiso-calorific value of 317.15 kcal per 100g. To eachof 50 grams of GOC and 25 grams of RB (Basal feed) the incorporation levels of test ingredients was calculated based onestimated energy levels and incorporated accordingly to obtain iso-calorific values. The composition was made 100 per centby incorporating carboxy methyl cellulose (CMC) as inert filler. The fishes were fed for six days a week, twice daily andfeeding was suspended on all Sundays, during general holidays and on days when the weather conditions were unfavourabledue to rain / continuous cloudiness. Sampling of fishes were conducted once in every ten days, which even checked thewater quality along with the survival, growth and development of fishes. The results showed that there was a significantincrease in the growth of fishes; in the pineapple peel followed by jackfruit rind and banana peel fortified feeds excludingcontrol feed. 2016 R. CHANDRUDepartment of Plant Biotechnology Major AdvisorUAS, GKVK, BengaluruBioevaluation of Cocculus hirsutus Trypsin Inhibitor (ChTI) against Plant Bacterial Pathogens and Nematode UDIT NANDAN MISHRAPROTEASE inhibitors (PIs), class of plant defense proteins usually present in seeds, tubers, leaves, thus becomes abundantdefensive proteins in plants. They act by attenuating enzyme function necessary for metabolic processes like proteinturnover or nutrient assimilation. Serine protease inhibitors play roles in plant defense system against biotic and abioticstresses. Serine protease (SPs) are component in all microbes and nematodes. The vast majority of SPs are digestiveproteases involved in metabolic food processing, host tissue penetration, reproduction and developmental processes. SPIsfrom plant origin have been reported to have inhibitory effect against bacterial pathogens and nematodes. Cocculushirsutus Trypsin Inhibitor; ChTI from Cocculus hirsutus leaves belonging to Menispermeaceae family has stability up to70°C with pH range 7.0 –9.0 and ORF of 366 bp encoding for 121 amino acids having 18KD and has been proven to haveinsecticidal activity against lepidopteran (Helicoverpa armigera, Spodoptera littoralis), coleopteran cowpea bruchid(Callosobruchus maculates) larvae, antifungal activity against various fungal pathogens. Evaluation of potentiality ofChTI against plant bacterial pathogens indicates it’s bactericidal effect against gram negative bacterial pathogens viz.,X. axonopodis pv. punicae, R. solanacearum, P. stewartii, E. coli and Gram positive strains viz., B. cereus, B. thuringiensisat a concentration range from 2.0 to 40 ug/ml of ChTI. The IC50 value for TLA of these organisms range from 1.4 to 1.9 ug/ml.Further, ChTI showed nematocidal activity on M. incognita with an IC50 of 1.75 ug/ml. The results put together suggest thata single gene, ChTI can combat multiple biotic stresses thus proving a potential for developing transgenic plant for multiplebiotic stress tolerance. 2016 D. THEERTHA PRASADDepartment of Plant Biotechnology Major Advisor UAS, GKVK, Bengaluru

188 ABSTRACT Mysore J. Agric. Sci., 51 (1) : 2017 Regeneration Studies on Anther Derived Callus of Rice (Oryza sativa L.) DEBANJANA SAHARICE (Oryza sativa L.) is one of the most important cereal crops, which supplies food for more than half of the world’spopulation. In rice, anther culture is an important biotechnological tool for immediate fixation of homozygosity therebycompressing the breeding cycle. In the present study, effect of plant growth regulators on androgenic callus induction andregeneration from anther derived callus in the two rice genotypes indica var. Jaya and japonica var. Moroberekan werestudied. Japonica var. Moroberekan showed higher callus induction and regeneration ability compared to indica var. Jaya.The growth regulator treatment NAA 2 mg l-1 + Kinetin 1 mg l-1 induced highest percentage of callus (57.50 %) in japonicavar. Moroberekan, whereas, the growth regulator treatment NAA 1 mg l-1 + Kinetin 0.5 mg l-1 induced highest percentage ofcallus (32.50%) in indica var. Jaya. The best growth regulator treatment for shoot regeneration in Moroberekan was NAA0.5 mg l-1 + Kinetin 0.5 mg l-1, in which shoot regeneration percentage was 62.50 per cent while for Jaya it was NAA 0.5 mgl-1 + Kinetin 1.5 mg l-1with a regeneration percentage of 29.13 per cent. Highest shoot multiplication (11 numbers) occurredin the treatment TDZ 0.75 mg l-1 + GA 0.75 mg l-1 in Moroberekan. The variety Jaya showed highest shoot multiplication (3numbers) in the treatment TDZ 1.50 mg l-1 + GA 1.00 mg l-1. The study showed that genotype and growth hormoneconcentration greatly influence in vitro androgenic callus induction and regeneration efficiency in rice. 2016 T. H. ASHOKDepartment of Plant Biotechnology Major Advisor UAS, GKVK, Bengaluru Expression and Molecular Characterization of Hepatitis B Protein Produced in Escherichia coli and Coleus forskohlii K. BHAVYAHEPATITIS B virus (HBV) infection is a worldwide health problem, which can lead to severe liver disease mainly hepatocellularcarcinoma and cirrhosis. The present investigation lays emphasis on expression of HBsAg gene in E. coli and C. forskohlii.The confirmed recombinant pET28A+ HBsAG clone was transformed into E. coli. The positive clones were used for proteinexpression studies and induction parameters viz., IPTG concentration, temperature, induction time and pH of the mediumwere standardized to produce optimum HBsAg protein yield. The clone 2 was selected for optimization of protein expression.The highest protein expression was recorded when cells were subjected to 1.5 µM IPTG (384 µg mL-1), pH at 8 (378µg mL-1) and induction time of 8 h (360 µg mL-1) with temperature of 35 °C. The purified protein was subjected to SDS-PAGEanalysis. The presence of ~25 kDa protein band confirmed the expression of HBsAg protein in E. coli which was furtherconfirmed through dot blot. The Agrobacterium strain LBA4404 carrying confirmed recombinant pHB118 vector was usedfor agroinfiltration of C. forskohlii leaves and the protein was extracted after 24, 48, 72, and 96 h. The extracted HBsAgprotein was subjected to SDS-PAGE analysis which showed the presence of ~25 kDa protein. Further this protein wasconfirmed by dot blot and ELISA for its specificity. The highest expression was observed in leaves harvested after72 h (1.5 mg g-1 fresh weight of C. forskohlii leaf). 2016 P. H. RAMANJINI GOWDADepartment of Plant Biotechnology Major Advisor UAS, GKVK, Bengaluru

Mysore J. Agric. Sci., 51 (1) : 2017 ABSTRACT 189 Differential Cell Wall Responses to Salinity and Drought in Rice (Oryza sativa L.) BILLY CHERIANPLANT response to drought stress is one of the most complex biological processes, and it involves numerous changes at thephysiological, cellular, and molecular levels. Many genes have been identified to be involved in the response of droughtstress in plants. The effect of drought on rice plants considerably varies with genotypes, developmental stages, and degreeand duration of drought stress. A better understanding of the complex physiological mechanisms underlying droughtresponse is important to improve rice yields under water-limited environments. Salinity on the other hand will create osmoticstress to the plant creating a physiological drought. The present study compares the effect of salinity and drought on fivedifferent varieties varying in their tolerance level towards these stresses. Chosen five varieties were grown in pipes atDepartment of Plant Biotechnology, UAS, GKVK, Bengaluru, during kharif 2016. ARB 6 which is an aerobic rice varietyshowed drought stress tolerance because of its longer roots, effective suberization and high passage cell density. Pokkaliwhich is saline tolerant variety undergone extensive suberization in its root cells to cope up with the ionic stress. Kalanamakexpressed saline tolerance by keeping its ionic concentration in cell sap low and moderate suberization and it performed wellin moderate drought. Performance of Jaya and IR 20 in both salinity and drought stress was not promising. 2016 H. V. VIJAYAKUMAR SWAMYDepartment of Plant Biotechnology Major Advisor UAS, GKVK, BengaluruEvaluation and Molecular Marker Analysis in Backcross Progenies (BC F ) 21 of Tomato for Shelf Life N. LAVANYATOMATO is second most important vegetable crop grown throughout the world. It experiences great post-harvest losses byits natural perishability, precarious transportation and storage conditions. In India upto 40 per cent of the fruit losses occurdue to excessive fruit softening. Hence, the present investigation was aimed to introgress the high shelf life character intocommercially well accepted variety which has low shelf life by backcross breeding method. Two backcross populations(BC2F1) of cross Pusa Ruby / L121 // Pusa Ruby and Vaibhav / RIL126 // Vaibhav were developed and grown in the fieldcondition. These were evaluated for morphological, yield, shelf life and fruit quality parameters in augmented design. Allcharacters studied were significant among backcross progenies and between checks and progenies except number of fruitsper cluster in both populations. The shelf life has positive significant correlation with number of fruits per cluster (0.22), rindthickness (0.45) and lycopene (0.35) in the population of the cross Pusa Ruby/L121//Pusa Ruby. In the other population ofthe cross Vaibhav/RIL126//Vaibhav shelf life have significant positive correlation with number of fruits per cluster (0.21) andlycopene content (0.21) whereas, rind thickness has no significant correlation (0.15). The SSR marker TGS 293 used toscreen the 40 backcross progenies of the cross Pusa Ruby/L121//Pusa Ruby. Out of these 21 progenies showed heterozygousbands and 19 progenies showed recurrent parental type of band which shows the approximate 1:1 ratio and the heterozygousprogenies was association with high shelf life character. Hence, this marker is linked to shelf life. 2016 P. H. RAMANJINI GOWDADepartment of Plant Biotechnology Major Advisor UAS, GKVK, Bengaluru

190 ABSTRACT Mysore J. Agric. Sci., 51 (1) : 2017 Molecular Marker Diversity of Micronutrients and Grain oil Content in Aromatic and Non-Aromatic Rice (Oryza sativa L.) Varieties B. R. VANISHRIMICRONUTRIENT malnutrition or hidden hunger is a serious problem. Biofortification of staple crop like rice is an effectivestrategy to combat hidden hunger. Rice, a source of carbohydrates is also good in aroma and fatty acids. Rice bran oil is aworthy source of minerals. Present study was conducted to dissect the relationship between micronutrient concentration,oil content and aroma. Fourteen varieties were grown in field of Department of Plant Biotechnology, UAS, Bengaluru, duringkharif 2015. Genotypes exhibited significant variation for all traits studied except brown rice iron. Highest zinc productivitywas recorded in ARB6. Evaluation of aroma showed nine genotypes were scented and five were non-scented. Oil contentshowed significant positive correlation for iron content in white rice and zinc content in both brown and white rice. Azucenaand Chittimuthyalu manifested highest oil and zinc content in brown rice. These two had highest micronutrient retentionafter polishing. Primers specific to genes associated with oil and aroma were designed. All 32 primers were monomorphic at3 per cent agarose gel. Sequencing of amplicons from three primers revealed significant nucleotide variations.2-Lysophosphatidate Acyltransferase, a candidate gene for oil manifested association. LPAATf and LPAATg showedsignificant association with iron, zinc, oil and aroma whereas, LPAATc was associated with iron and oil content only.Results indicate that aromatic genotypes were rich in oil and grain zinc content. Association of oil gene specific primers withmicronutrient and aroma indicate possible causative interlink in their biochemical pathways. 2016 H. E. SHASHIDHARDepartment of Plant Biotechnology Major Advisor UAS, GKVK, Bengaluru Screening Bush Type French Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) Accessions for Micronutrient Variations and Characterization of Selected Genotypes using Micronutrient Content Linked Markers M. N. MAMATHASHREEFRENCH bean is one of the main sources of protein, dietary fibers and minerals in diet, occupying very important role inhuman health. It is a good source of minerals, such as iron, zinc and other micronutrients compared to cereals or root crops.The deficiency of micronutrients is a global health problem, which is due to inadequate intake of balance diet. Realizing theimportance of micronutrients for human health, there are several approaches undertaken by researchers to enhance itscontents in grain legumes. Biofortification is seen as an upcoming strategy for dealing with micronutrient deficiency inworld. Common bean are a staple food crop and sources of protein and rich content of minerals especially Fe and Zn, thus,the present study was carried out to screen twenty four accessions for micronutrients Fe, Zn, Mn and Cu content. Thestudies revealed that the accessions IC342273 and EC531078 showed significantly higher pod yield and seed yield. Furtherthe accession IC538420 (177.31 ppm) exhibited significantly higher mean Fe and accession EC500226 showed significantlyhigher Zn (26.91 ppm), Mn (15.31 ppm) and Cu (8.55 ppm) content over other accessions and varieties. The above twentyfour accessions were screened using SSR markers linked to Fe and Zn content, twelve SSR primers amplified, the twogenomic SSR markers BM154 and BM211 exhibited higher polymorphism among the accessions used for screening ofmicronutrient content. The above SSR markers can be used in future crop improvement programmes involving biofortificationof french bean for micronutrients content. 2016 S. SHAMALAMMADepartment of Plant Biotechnology Major Advisor UAS, GKVK, Bengaluru

Mysore J. Agric. Sci., 51 (1) : 2017 ABSTRACT 191Molecular Genetics of Grain Number in Rice (Oryza sativa L.) SHRUTHILA KAKADERICE (Oryza sativa L.) is an economically important and staple food crop of in India and many Asian countries. Its instabilityto provide sufficient micronutrients, especially, zinc and iron which has led to hidden hunger. There is need for a combinedeffort to follow a breeding strategy which enhances the grain micronutrient status along with improving or stabilizing thegrain yield. This study is conducted to dissect the correlation between yield and micronutrient concentration of rice. Thematerial for the present investigation consisted of F4 population of ARB6×AM143, grown in the field of Department ofPlant Biotechnology, during kharif-2015. Significant phenotypic differences were noticed between two parents for manycharacters. Considerable amount of genetic variability was observed for grain yield related traits. The phenotypic correlationstudies revealed that highly significant positive association of grain yield per plant with grain number, grain length, numberof filled grains per plant, average grain area, number of chaffy grain per plant, harvest index, plant height, total number oftillers per plant, average panicle length and test weight in F4 population. Marker analysis was done using gene specificmarkers as well as SSRs but there was no association found and hence, there is a need for further in depth analysis of usingadvanced sequencing techniques. Grain length to width ratio manifested significant and positive correlation with grain zincand grain iron showed significant positive correlation with plant height. These traits can be used as an indicator forselection in breeding programmes of biofortification of rice. 2016 H. V. VIJAYAKUMAR SWAMYDepartment of Plant Biotechnology Major Advisor UAS, GKVK, BengaluruEffect of Moisture Stress on Pollen Grains of Maize (Zea mays L.) Inbred Lines and its Association with Plant Tolerance to Drought S. ASHWINIDROUGHT tolerance is a very complex trait at plant level. No single or few traits or biochemical parameters can be used forselection for drought tolerance. However, osmotic adjustment (OA) is proven as a fundamental mechanism for droughttolerance. There is an increased interest to screen the gametophytes as an alternative to sporophytic screening in cropplants for biotic and abiotic stress tolerance. The pollen OA (intrinsic and induced) under osmotic stress (PEG at 40 and50%) with and without supplementation of CaCl2 was estimated in sixteen maize inbred lines. Inbred lines BTM 6, BTM10,BTM13 and BTM8 had recorded significantly lower reduction in the pollen size under stress indicating tolerance at pollenlevel. We evaluated 16 inbred lines for drought tolerance in replications under field conditions. The inbred lines showeddifferences in sensitivity drought index (SDI). Inbred lines BTM2, BTM13, BTM10 and BTM8 recorded low SDI at bothgermination and at field condition. Negative correlation was observed between induced OA in pollen grains and SDI forgrain yield per plant, germination percentage and seedling root length. Thus, indicating a high correlation betweensporophytic and gametophytic drought tolerance in maize inbred lines. The in vitro pollen screening can be used as analternate reliable tool for drought tolerance in Maize. The molecular diversity analysis of 16 inbred lines using RAPD andSSR markers indicated the different clustering pattern. 2016 R. L. RAVIKUMARDepartment of Plant Biotechnology Major Advisor UAS, GKVK, Bengaluru

192 ABSTRACT Mysore J. Agric. Sci., 51 (1) : 2017 PLANT PATHOLOGY Studies on Early Blight of Potato Caused by Alternaria solani (Jones and Grout) R. N. RANGANATHAPOTATO is one of the most important staple food crop. Alternaria leaf spot is one of the most destructive disease on potato.cultural studies revealed that, the growth (78.1 mm) and dry matter (188 mg) weight of the pathogen was maximum in PotatoDextrose medium. The favourable temperature for the growth of the fungus was range between 30 to 35 ºC. The maximummycelial dry mater weight obtained at pH 6.0 (157 mg) to 6.5 (152 mg). In vitro evaluation of fungicides revealed that, thefungicide Tebuconazole (100%), Hexaconazole + Zineb (95.18%) and Trifloxystrobin + Tebuconazole (88.15%) inhibitedmaximum growth of pathogen at 1000 ppm concentrations. T. viride IIHR-21 (69.63%) and T. viride IIHR-22 (66.30%) werefound effective against A. solani. The crude leaf extracts from nine plants (Calotropis, Lantana and Lemon grass, Nagadhale,Neem, Pongamia, Simarouba, Subabul and Tulasi) were evaluated against A. solani and found that Simarouba leaf extract(54.44% at 1:1 dilution) showed maximum inhibition of the pathogen. Under glass house condition Tebuconazole (48.33%)reduced disease severity and increased yield in Potato. The field evaluation of fungicides and bioagents were evaluatedand found that spray of Mancozeb (0.2%) >Hexaconazole+Zineb (0.2%) >Tebuconazole (0.1%) > Metalaxyl+Mancozeb(0.2%) > Tebuconazole+ Trifloxystrobin (0.1%) > Fenamidone + Mancozeb (0.2%) were most effective in reducing severity(36.63% at 90 days) of early blight disease and increased tuber yield (61.33Kg / plot). In untreated check, the diseaseseverity was 83.03 per cent with plot yield of 32.66 kg / plot. The foliar spray of fungicide combination is useful in the bettermanagement of early blight of potato. 2016 Y. M. SOMASEKHARA Department of Plant Pathology Major Advisor UAS, GKVK, BengaluruStudies on Mungbean Yellow Mosaic Virus (MYMV) Infecting Mungbean (Vigna radiata L.) and its Management JAYAPPAMUNGBEAN Yellow Mosaic Virus (MYMV) disease is a major biotic constraint to Mungbean (Vigna radiata L.) productionin India. This disease is caused by MYMV and transmitted by whitefly (Bemisia tabaci). MYMV disease incidence insouthern Karnataka varied from zero to 58 per cent. Among the four districts of southern Karnataka surveyed, maximummean incidence (58.26 per cent) was recorded in Tumakuru district whereas, minimum mean incidence of 46.95 per cent wasrecorded in Chitradurga district during 2015-16. In surveyed area, vector population was ranged from 1.1 to 3.1 / plant.Highest disease incidence was recorded in mungbean sole crop as compared to intercrop. Among 100 genotypes screenedagainst MYMV, only three genotypes viz., LGG-593, KMP-24 and KMP-40 were found moderately resistant. Out of 24different plant species tested, only five crop plants viz., Soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.), Pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan (L.)Millsp.), Black gram (Vigna mungo (L.) Hepper), Horse gram (Macrotyloma uniflorum (Lam.) Verdc.) and Frenchbean(Phaseolus vulgaris L.) were infected with MYMV. Seed treatment with imidacloprid 17.8 per cent SL 5 ml / kg seeds and twosprays of imidacloprid 17.8 per cent SL 0.5 ml / l at 25 and 40 days after sowing (DAS) or two sprays of imidacloprid 17.8 percent SL 0.5 ml / l alone at 25 and 40 DAS were found effective in reducing the MYMV incidence, its vector and increasinggrain yield. Seed treatment with imidacloprid 17.8 per cent SL 5 ml / kg seeds plus two sprays of neemazal (5% Azadirachtin)3 ml / l at 25 and 40 DAS was also found effective. 2016 H. K. RAMAPPA Department of Plant Pathology Major Advisor UAS, GKVK, Bengaluru

Mysore J. Agric. Sci., 51 (1) : 2017 ABSTRACT 193Investigations on Leaf Blight of Kodo Millet (Paspalum scrobiculatum L.) K. HARIPRASADKODO millet is among the nutritious crops affected by several pathogens of which leaf blight is an important diseasehindering productivity. The pathogen from typical leaf blight was isolated and identified as Alternaria tenuissimacomparing with the original descriptions and pathogenicity was proved. Cultural studies revealed that among the solidmedia, highest radial growth was observed on Saboraud’s agar, but profuse sporulation was in Czapekdox agar and PDA+CaCO3. Mannitol and sodium nitrate were the best carbon and nitrogen sources respectively that showed maximum growth.Profuse sporulation was noticed in sucrose and glucose as carbon sources whereas, sodium nitrate was the ideal nitrogensource. Physiological studies revealed that the pathogen grows well at an optimum temperature of 25ºC and pH of 6.0-7.0.ITS rDNA region amplification was at 580 bp in all the seven isolates. PCR-RFLP with Hae-III enzyme showed distinctfragments between the isolates confirming variability. Eucalyptus plant extract recorded the highest inhibition of mycelialgrowth in vitro. Bio agent T. harzianum (NBAIR) showed 100 per cent inhibition of mycelial growth in vitro. Amongcontact fungicides mancozeb and captan at 0.20 per cent; combi-product hexaconazole + zineb (0.05, 0.075 and 0.10%) ;systemic fungicide azoxystrobin and carbendazim at 0.10 per were found to be superior in inhibiting growth. Among the 26kodo millet germplasm screened under natural conditions against leaf blight, while none of the genotype was resistant, butthe variety JK 41 was moderately resistant. 2016 A. NAGARAJADepartment of Plant Pathology Major Advisor UAS, GKVK, BengaluruMolecular Survey and Characterization of Tobacco Leaf Curl Virus Infecting Tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) T. DEEPATOBACCO leaf curl is one of the most common and serious viral disease in Karnataka. Survey conducted during 2014-15 toassess the leaf curl disease in tobacco growing areas viz., Mysuru, Shivamogga and Chamarajanagar revealed the occurrenceof disease in the range of 12.75 to 70.69 per cent. Among the districts surveyed, highest average disease incidence wasrecorded in Mysuru (65.37%) and least incidence was recorded in Chamarajanagar (42.95%). Tobacco leaf curl isolatescollected from surveyed areas were tested by PCR using Deng Primers. The virus was detected by coat protein (CP) specificprimers, which amplified ~780 bp. The sequence of CP of TbLCV-My-[Akk] shared nucleotide identity of 88 per centwith Jatropha leaf curl virus and 87 per cent with Indian cassava mosaic virus isolate whereas, TbLCV-Sh-[Hal] sharedmaximum identity of 95 per cent with Tomato leaf curl Karnataka virus isolate. Phylogenetic analysis of CP sequences ofboth isolates revealed that TbLCV-My from Akkihebbal isolate from Mysuru district (TbLCV-Sh-[Akk]) clustered withIndian cassava mosaic virus isolate and TbLCV-Sh from Haladahalli isolate from Shivamogga district (TbLCV-Sh-[Hal])clustered with Tomato leaf curl Karnataka virus isolate. TbLCV beta DNA satellite molecule of ~1.3 kb was amplified onlyfrom TbLCV-Sh-[Hal] and shared 94 per cent nucleotide sequence identity with Papaya Leaf Curl beta satellite molecule.Thus, indicates that there is an involvement of two distinct begomo viruses in causing tobacco leaf curl disease in southernKarnataka. Tobacco leaf curl virus isolate from Shivamogga (TbLCV-Sh-[Hal] was successfully transmitted to tobacco,tomato, chilly, sunflower, Euphorbia, Mirablis jalapa and Ageratum conizoides through whiteflies (Bemisia tabaci). 2016 K. T. RANGASWAMYDepartment of Plant Pathology Major Advisor UAS, GKVK, Bengaluru

194 ABSTRACT Mysore J. Agric. Sci., 51 (1) : 2017 Host-plant Resistance against Cucumber Mosaic Virus and its Organic Management in Gherkins (Cucumis sativus L.) H. L. VENKATESHCUCUMBER mosaic virus (CMV) is most widespread and destructive viral disease in gherkin. Survey of gherkin crop conductedduring 2015-16 in southern districts of Karnataka showed per cent disease incidence (PDI) of CMV ranging from 21.64 to52.49. The PDI was highest in Kolar (52.49%) and lowest in Bengaluru rural (21.64%). The presence of virus in infected leafsamples collected during the survey was detected serologically through DAS-ELISA using CMV subgroup I and II antibodies.All the surveyed samples showed positive reaction to CMV subgroup I indicating its presence. Among 179 gherkin genotypes(F3 families) screened for CMV, 7 genotypes viz., 17, 35 and 62 derived from cross Acc.1 x Acc. 50; 26 and 34 fromAcc.3 x Acc.50 and 11 and 47 from Acc.48 x Acc.50 found Immune and 17 genotypes found resistant. Optimum dosage ofdifferent seaweed extracts viz., Euchema spinosum J. Agardh, Kappaphycus alvarezii doty-1, Kappaphycus alvareziidoty-2 and Halymenia durvillae Bory saint-vincent against CMV was determined based on ELISA valuesof CMV infectedgherkin samples as 10 ml L-1, 4 ml L-1, 6 ml L-1 and 10 ml L-1, respectively. During kharif and rabi 2016 field experimentsrevealed that seaweed extracts Kappaphycus alvarezii-1 (4 ml L-1) recorded less mean PDI of 16.65 and 16.06 with anincreased mean yield (13.33 t ha-1) followed by Halymenia durvillae (10 ml L-1) with mean PDI (18.34 and 18.98) and meanyield (12.17 t ha-1) compared to control with mean PDI (31.77 and 31.96) and mean yield (8.74 t ha-1), respectively. 2016 N. NAGARAJU Department of Plant Pathology Major Advisor UAS, GKVK, Bengaluru Investigations on Root-knot Nematode (Meloidogyne incognita) Associated with Black Gram (Vigna mungo L.) D. M. HARILALROOT-KNOT nematode (Meloidogyne incognita) is a serious pest of pulse crops and is a major limiting factor in theproduction of black gram in many parts of the country, including Karnataka. Use of chemicals to manage nematodes affectssoil bio-diversity and environment besides their residual toxicity. The present studies were undertaken to survey for theoccurrence of root-knot nematode in major pulse growing areas in southern Karnataka districts, screening of availablevarieties / cultivars of black gram against root-knot nematode andeffect of root knot nematode on nodulation, growth andyield parameter in black gram. In the field survey, predominant occurrence of total soil and root population of M. incognita(657/200 cc soil and 71/5 g of root) followed by Helicotylenchus sp. (70 and 15), Rotylenchulus sp. (30 and 28) andPratylenchus sp. (22 and 17) were noticed in Chamarajanagar district followed by Tumkuru. Screening of fourteen blackgram cultivars viz., 2KU-60, ADT-05, BG-2, DU-1, G-333, IC-282007, IC-436545, K-5-572, KU-8-155, LKU-64, RASHMI,RU10-601, SU-509 and UH-04-04 under glass house condition, revealed that UH-04-04 was more susceptible and G-333 wasresistant to M. incognita. M. incognita infection significantly reduced the number of rhizobial nodules, nitrogen content,root length, shoot length, pod number and plant weight. A greater reduction was observed when the M. incognita wasestablished before the inoculation of the Rhizobium than the M. incognita and Rhizobium inoculated together or when theRhizobium was established before the inoculation of M. incognita. 2016 N. G. RAVICHANDRA Department of Plant Pathology Major Advisor UAS, GKVK, Bengaluru