"Greener agriculture and environment through convergence of technologies", Proceedings of the International Symposium on Agriculture and Environment - ISAE 2017, 19th January 2017, University of Ruhuna, Sri Lanka, 2017
Microbial Biocontrol: Food Security and Post Harvest Management, 2022
Crop losses incurred by major plant pathogens, fungi, bacteria, nematodes and viruses are in a su... more Crop losses incurred by major plant pathogens, fungi, bacteria, nematodes and viruses are in a surge. The detrimental impacts of current disease management practices create an urgent need to develop non-chemical and eco-friendly methods. Biological control or biocontrol of phytopathogens is a sustainable and sound approach to overwhelm various threats caused by the existing control measures. Among the biocontrol agents (BCAs), avirulent, filamentous mycoparasitic Trichoderma spp. are well-known for their agricultural application versatility. The host plant-Trichoderma-pathogen interaction plays a pivotal role in plant disease management. Trichoderma spp. network with plant pathogens via direct mechanisms of mycoparasitism, antibiosis and competition while indirectly inducing systemic disease resistance and promoting plant growth and yield when Trichoderma-plant interaction is switched on. The interactions support efficient biological disease control and overall crop recovery from various diseases and ultimately lead to successful crop production. Trichoderma-based BCAs offer significant contributions in the arena of plant protection and disease management. An array of Trichoderma spp. have proven effective against a broad range of plant pathogens by enhancing the plants' overall health and improving their yield. The biocontrol activity, plant-Trichoderma interactions and the efficacy could vary with the type of the pathogens, Trichoderma strain and host plant. Besides, the efficacy and stability of widely used and newly recognized strains of Trichoderma still need to be evaluated under different environmental conditions in the field for successful outcomes.
Production of functional beverage is an excellent method for incorporation of phyto-chemicals, an... more Production of functional beverage is an excellent method for incorporation of phyto-chemicals, anti-oxidants and beneficial components. In the present investigation, an effort has been made to prepare a Ready-To-Serve (RTS) functional beverage by exploiting the medicinal, nutritional and organoleptic properties of ginger, lime juice and palmyra sugar candy to find out the most suitable proportion of ginger and lime extracts and to assess the shelf life of the formulated beverages. The beverage combinations were prepared by blending of ginger and lime juices at different % of 20:0, 18:2, 16:4, 14:6, 12:8, and 10:10 and sweetened by 15% of plamyra sugar candy. Physico-chemical, microbial and sensory analyses were carried out immediately after preparation and storage. The declining trends in pH, TSS and ascorbic acid and an increasing trend in titratable acidity and total sugar were noted with advancement of storage period. Based on the quality evaluation, it was concluded that the for...
Vegetables make up a major portion of the diet for human in various parts of the world, play a mo... more Vegetables make up a major portion of the diet for human in various parts of the world, play a momentous ingredient in human nutrition and their postharvest losses range from 40-60% following harvest. Therefore, the development of Ready-to-cook (RTC) dehydrated vegetable mixture is one of the value additions to preserve the nutritional content of the vegetables. Accordingly, a study was conducted to develop a RTC dehydrated vegetable mixture by using five different vegetables such as carrot (Daucus carota), cabbage (Brassica oleracea), eggplant (Solanum melongena), green bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) and pumpkin (Cucurbita maxima). The dehydrated RTC vegetable mixtures were prepared to different levels 1.0%, 1.2%, 1.4% and 1.6% (w/w) of pumpkin pulp which served as binding agent while keeping other ingredients as constant. Physico-chemical parameters such as pH, Total soluble solids (TSS), moisture and fiber content were raged between 5.6-5.8, 3.8-5.7?Brix, 20.6-23.9 and 3.86 -6.89 % re...
A field experiment was conducted at the Integrated Research Farm of Himalayan College of Agricult... more A field experiment was conducted at the Integrated Research Farm of Himalayan College of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (HICAST) at Bandegaon, Lalitpur, Nepal during 2009 to scrutinize the effect of Integrated Nutrient Management (INM) on the growth, yield and soil nutrient status to tomato (Lycopersicon lycopersicum (L.) Karsten). Following a randomized complete block design, 9 treatments with 3 replications were maintained. The study revealed that the integration of organic manures in combination with inorganic fertilizers was found significant in improving the overall plant growth, yield and soil macro nutrient status than the sole application of either of these nutrients. Maximum plant height and number of leaves per plant were observed with treatment 16.66 mt/ha FYM + 8.33 mt/ha Vermicompost + NPK. The earlier of days to 50% flowering was observed in treatment 20 mt/ha FYM. Highest number of fruit clusters, maximum fruit weight and fruit yield (25.74 mt/ha) were recorded ...
Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology, 2021
Phytopathogenic fungal species can cause enormous losses in quantity and quality of crop yields a... more Phytopathogenic fungal species can cause enormous losses in quantity and quality of crop yields and this is a major economic issue in the global agricultural sector. Precise and rapid detection and identification of plant infecting fungi are essential to facilitate effective management of disease. DNA-based methods have become popular methods for accurate plant disease diagnostics. Recent developments in standard and variant polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays including nested, multiplex, quantitative, bio and magnetic-capture hybridization PCR techniques, post and isothermal amplification methods, DNA and RNA based probe development, and next-generation sequencing provide novel tools in molecular diagnostics in fungal detection and differentiation fields. These molecular based detection techniques are effective in detecting symptomatic and asymptomatic diseases of both culturable and unculturable fungal pathogens in sole and co-infections. Even though the molecular diagnostic ap...
Phytopathogenic fungal species can cause enormous losses in quantity and quality of crop yields a... more Phytopathogenic fungal species can cause enormous losses in quantity and quality of crop yields and this is a major economic issue in the global agricultural sector. Precise and rapid detection and identification of plant infecting fungi are essential to facilitate effective management of disease. DNA-based methods have become popular methods for accurate plant disease diagnostics. Recent developments in standard and variant polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays including nested, multiplex, quantitative, bio and magnetic-capture hybridization PCR techniques, post and isothermal amplification methods, DNA and RNA based probe development, and next-generation sequencing provide novel tools in molecular diagnostics in fungal detection and differentiation fields. These molecular based detection techniques are effective in detecting symptomatic and asymptomatic diseases of both culturable and unculturable fungal pathogens in sole and co-infections. Even though the molecular diagnostic approaches have expanded substantially in the recent past, there is a long way to go in the development and application of molecular diagnostics in plant diseases. Molecular techniques used in plant disease diagnostics need to be more reliable, faster, and easier than conventional methods. Now the challenges are with scientists to develop practical techniques to be used for molecular diagnostics of plant diseases. Recent advancement in the improvement and application of molecular methods for diagnosing the widespread and emerging plant pathogenic fungi are discussed in this review.
A field experiment was conducted to study the effect of combined application of organic manures w... more A field experiment was conducted to study the effect of combined application of organic manures with recommended inorganic fertilizers (RIF) and to find out the best combination of applications on green pod yield of chilli cv. MIPC-01 (Mahailluppallama Kaludawali Selection). The following five treatment combinations viz. T1-No fertilizer (control plot), T2-100% RIF, T3-50% RIF + 15 t ha-1 cattle manure, T4-50% RIF + 15 t ha-1 cattle manure + 250 kg ha-1 partially burnt paddy husk, T5-50% RIF + 15 t ha-1 cattle manure + 500 kg ha-1 partially burnt paddy husk were laid out in a Randomised Completely Block Design and replicated four times. The measurements related to growth and yield parameters were taken using destructive random sampling method. The results revealed that among the tested fertilizer combinations, there were significant differences (p<0.05) in plant height, root length, number of flowers, average numbers of pod per plant and pod length compared to the control treatment. The application of 50% RIF, 15 t ha-1 cattle manure along with 500 kg ha-1 partially burnt paddy husk produced higher number of pods per plant (10.50 and 24.50) and average pod weight per plant (40.42 g cm and 90.16 g) over the control treatment at 120 and 150 DAT (days after transplanting) respectively. It is concluded that application of 50% RIF with 15 t ha-1 cattle manure and 500 kg ha-1 partially burnt paddy husk is the best combination to obtain higher green pod yield of chilli.
Sri Lanka is one of the nine major producers of natural rubber (NR) in the world. In terms of pro... more Sri Lanka is one of the nine major producers of natural rubber (NR) in the world. In terms of productivity, it is now the third best. Sri Lanka's national rubber production is immensely contributed by the smallholder rubber producers. Therefore, this study was carried out to assess the existing status of rubber cultivation, socioeconomic conditions and the issues of smallholder rubber farmers in Monaragala district. Five Divisional Secretariat (DS) divisions of Monaragala district were selected and twenty respondents (rubber producers) were chosen by using simple random sampling method from each selected DS divisions as the total sample size of 100. Pre-tested, structured and an interviewer administrated questionnaires were used to collect primary data from farmers. Descriptive statistics, chi-square analysis and multiple regression analysis were done. The results of the study indicates that majority of the farmers (54%) were between the age range of 41-60 years. Rubber cultivation was predominantly a male occupation and majority of the farmers (52%) had attended primary level education. The average farming experience of the respondents was 7.5 years and more than half of the respondents (57%) had the farming experience of less than 7 years. The average extent of land cultivated was 1.7 acres and it was observed that 93% of respondents' cultivated land size was less than 3 acres. About 47% of rubber farmers had produced 50 – 100 kilograms of rubber per month. Average number of untapped trees was 112 and average tapped trees were 205. Yield per month was 160 sheets and the average of cost of production per month was Rs. 6,240. Results of multiple regression analysis revealed that the experience in rubber farming and number of tapped trees had positive and highly significant relationship, whereas extent of land used had negative significant relationship with rubber production. Despite impressive progress in the Sri Lankan rubber industry, it is still overwhelmed by a series of critical issues such as declining planted area, labour shortage-more specifically skilled tappers, low land and labour productivity, an ageing labour force, inadequate resources, and high cost of production. The foremost challenge before research institutions and the rubber industry here is to develop a golden clone which will not only be very high yielding but also have other positive attributes, such as compatibility with over exploitation, low frequency tapping without loss of yield and so on. Research efforts have to be given top priority. ________________________________________________________________________________ INTRODUCTION Rubber (Hevea brasiliensis) is a major export and profit valued crop which has seen rapid emergence and growth across Asia in the last several decades. Nowadays, strong global and local demand for natural rubber (NR) is contributing to the dynamic expansion of industrial scale and smallholder monoculture rubber plantations especially in the NR producing countries.
Production of functional beverage is an excellent method for incorporation of phyto-chemicals, an... more Production of functional beverage is an excellent method for incorporation of phyto-chemicals, anti-oxidants and beneficial components. In the present investigation, an effort has been made to prepare a Ready-To-Serve (RTS) functional beverage by exploiting the medicinal, nutritional and organoleptic properties of ginger, lime juice and palmyra sugar candy to find out the most suitable proportion of ginger and lime extracts and to assess the shelf life of the formulated beverages. The beverage combinations were prepared by blending of ginger and lime juices at different % of 20:0, 18:2, 16:4, 14:6, 12:8, and 10:10 and sweetened by 15% of plamyra sugar candy. Physico-chemical, microbial and sensory analyses were carried out immediately after preparation and storage. The declining trends in pH, TSS and ascorbic acid and an increasing trend in titratable acidity and total sugar were noted with advancement of storage period. Based on the quality evaluation, it was concluded that the formulation with 12% of ginger and 8% of lime juice extract had highest mean scores for organoleptic characteristics that could be stored at 30±1°C temperature and 70-75% of RH for a period of 12 weeks and which is safe for human consumption.
"Greener agriculture and environment through convergence of technologies", Proceedings of the International Symposium on Agriculture and Environment - ISAE 2017, 19th January 2017, University of Ruhuna, Sri Lanka, 2017
Microbial Biocontrol: Food Security and Post Harvest Management, 2022
Crop losses incurred by major plant pathogens, fungi, bacteria, nematodes and viruses are in a su... more Crop losses incurred by major plant pathogens, fungi, bacteria, nematodes and viruses are in a surge. The detrimental impacts of current disease management practices create an urgent need to develop non-chemical and eco-friendly methods. Biological control or biocontrol of phytopathogens is a sustainable and sound approach to overwhelm various threats caused by the existing control measures. Among the biocontrol agents (BCAs), avirulent, filamentous mycoparasitic Trichoderma spp. are well-known for their agricultural application versatility. The host plant-Trichoderma-pathogen interaction plays a pivotal role in plant disease management. Trichoderma spp. network with plant pathogens via direct mechanisms of mycoparasitism, antibiosis and competition while indirectly inducing systemic disease resistance and promoting plant growth and yield when Trichoderma-plant interaction is switched on. The interactions support efficient biological disease control and overall crop recovery from various diseases and ultimately lead to successful crop production. Trichoderma-based BCAs offer significant contributions in the arena of plant protection and disease management. An array of Trichoderma spp. have proven effective against a broad range of plant pathogens by enhancing the plants&#39; overall health and improving their yield. The biocontrol activity, plant-Trichoderma interactions and the efficacy could vary with the type of the pathogens, Trichoderma strain and host plant. Besides, the efficacy and stability of widely used and newly recognized strains of Trichoderma still need to be evaluated under different environmental conditions in the field for successful outcomes.
Production of functional beverage is an excellent method for incorporation of phyto-chemicals, an... more Production of functional beverage is an excellent method for incorporation of phyto-chemicals, anti-oxidants and beneficial components. In the present investigation, an effort has been made to prepare a Ready-To-Serve (RTS) functional beverage by exploiting the medicinal, nutritional and organoleptic properties of ginger, lime juice and palmyra sugar candy to find out the most suitable proportion of ginger and lime extracts and to assess the shelf life of the formulated beverages. The beverage combinations were prepared by blending of ginger and lime juices at different % of 20:0, 18:2, 16:4, 14:6, 12:8, and 10:10 and sweetened by 15% of plamyra sugar candy. Physico-chemical, microbial and sensory analyses were carried out immediately after preparation and storage. The declining trends in pH, TSS and ascorbic acid and an increasing trend in titratable acidity and total sugar were noted with advancement of storage period. Based on the quality evaluation, it was concluded that the for...
Vegetables make up a major portion of the diet for human in various parts of the world, play a mo... more Vegetables make up a major portion of the diet for human in various parts of the world, play a momentous ingredient in human nutrition and their postharvest losses range from 40-60% following harvest. Therefore, the development of Ready-to-cook (RTC) dehydrated vegetable mixture is one of the value additions to preserve the nutritional content of the vegetables. Accordingly, a study was conducted to develop a RTC dehydrated vegetable mixture by using five different vegetables such as carrot (Daucus carota), cabbage (Brassica oleracea), eggplant (Solanum melongena), green bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) and pumpkin (Cucurbita maxima). The dehydrated RTC vegetable mixtures were prepared to different levels 1.0%, 1.2%, 1.4% and 1.6% (w/w) of pumpkin pulp which served as binding agent while keeping other ingredients as constant. Physico-chemical parameters such as pH, Total soluble solids (TSS), moisture and fiber content were raged between 5.6-5.8, 3.8-5.7?Brix, 20.6-23.9 and 3.86 -6.89 % re...
A field experiment was conducted at the Integrated Research Farm of Himalayan College of Agricult... more A field experiment was conducted at the Integrated Research Farm of Himalayan College of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (HICAST) at Bandegaon, Lalitpur, Nepal during 2009 to scrutinize the effect of Integrated Nutrient Management (INM) on the growth, yield and soil nutrient status to tomato (Lycopersicon lycopersicum (L.) Karsten). Following a randomized complete block design, 9 treatments with 3 replications were maintained. The study revealed that the integration of organic manures in combination with inorganic fertilizers was found significant in improving the overall plant growth, yield and soil macro nutrient status than the sole application of either of these nutrients. Maximum plant height and number of leaves per plant were observed with treatment 16.66 mt/ha FYM + 8.33 mt/ha Vermicompost + NPK. The earlier of days to 50% flowering was observed in treatment 20 mt/ha FYM. Highest number of fruit clusters, maximum fruit weight and fruit yield (25.74 mt/ha) were recorded ...
Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology, 2021
Phytopathogenic fungal species can cause enormous losses in quantity and quality of crop yields a... more Phytopathogenic fungal species can cause enormous losses in quantity and quality of crop yields and this is a major economic issue in the global agricultural sector. Precise and rapid detection and identification of plant infecting fungi are essential to facilitate effective management of disease. DNA-based methods have become popular methods for accurate plant disease diagnostics. Recent developments in standard and variant polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays including nested, multiplex, quantitative, bio and magnetic-capture hybridization PCR techniques, post and isothermal amplification methods, DNA and RNA based probe development, and next-generation sequencing provide novel tools in molecular diagnostics in fungal detection and differentiation fields. These molecular based detection techniques are effective in detecting symptomatic and asymptomatic diseases of both culturable and unculturable fungal pathogens in sole and co-infections. Even though the molecular diagnostic ap...
Phytopathogenic fungal species can cause enormous losses in quantity and quality of crop yields a... more Phytopathogenic fungal species can cause enormous losses in quantity and quality of crop yields and this is a major economic issue in the global agricultural sector. Precise and rapid detection and identification of plant infecting fungi are essential to facilitate effective management of disease. DNA-based methods have become popular methods for accurate plant disease diagnostics. Recent developments in standard and variant polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays including nested, multiplex, quantitative, bio and magnetic-capture hybridization PCR techniques, post and isothermal amplification methods, DNA and RNA based probe development, and next-generation sequencing provide novel tools in molecular diagnostics in fungal detection and differentiation fields. These molecular based detection techniques are effective in detecting symptomatic and asymptomatic diseases of both culturable and unculturable fungal pathogens in sole and co-infections. Even though the molecular diagnostic approaches have expanded substantially in the recent past, there is a long way to go in the development and application of molecular diagnostics in plant diseases. Molecular techniques used in plant disease diagnostics need to be more reliable, faster, and easier than conventional methods. Now the challenges are with scientists to develop practical techniques to be used for molecular diagnostics of plant diseases. Recent advancement in the improvement and application of molecular methods for diagnosing the widespread and emerging plant pathogenic fungi are discussed in this review.
A field experiment was conducted to study the effect of combined application of organic manures w... more A field experiment was conducted to study the effect of combined application of organic manures with recommended inorganic fertilizers (RIF) and to find out the best combination of applications on green pod yield of chilli cv. MIPC-01 (Mahailluppallama Kaludawali Selection). The following five treatment combinations viz. T1-No fertilizer (control plot), T2-100% RIF, T3-50% RIF + 15 t ha-1 cattle manure, T4-50% RIF + 15 t ha-1 cattle manure + 250 kg ha-1 partially burnt paddy husk, T5-50% RIF + 15 t ha-1 cattle manure + 500 kg ha-1 partially burnt paddy husk were laid out in a Randomised Completely Block Design and replicated four times. The measurements related to growth and yield parameters were taken using destructive random sampling method. The results revealed that among the tested fertilizer combinations, there were significant differences (p<0.05) in plant height, root length, number of flowers, average numbers of pod per plant and pod length compared to the control treatment. The application of 50% RIF, 15 t ha-1 cattle manure along with 500 kg ha-1 partially burnt paddy husk produced higher number of pods per plant (10.50 and 24.50) and average pod weight per plant (40.42 g cm and 90.16 g) over the control treatment at 120 and 150 DAT (days after transplanting) respectively. It is concluded that application of 50% RIF with 15 t ha-1 cattle manure and 500 kg ha-1 partially burnt paddy husk is the best combination to obtain higher green pod yield of chilli.
Sri Lanka is one of the nine major producers of natural rubber (NR) in the world. In terms of pro... more Sri Lanka is one of the nine major producers of natural rubber (NR) in the world. In terms of productivity, it is now the third best. Sri Lanka's national rubber production is immensely contributed by the smallholder rubber producers. Therefore, this study was carried out to assess the existing status of rubber cultivation, socioeconomic conditions and the issues of smallholder rubber farmers in Monaragala district. Five Divisional Secretariat (DS) divisions of Monaragala district were selected and twenty respondents (rubber producers) were chosen by using simple random sampling method from each selected DS divisions as the total sample size of 100. Pre-tested, structured and an interviewer administrated questionnaires were used to collect primary data from farmers. Descriptive statistics, chi-square analysis and multiple regression analysis were done. The results of the study indicates that majority of the farmers (54%) were between the age range of 41-60 years. Rubber cultivation was predominantly a male occupation and majority of the farmers (52%) had attended primary level education. The average farming experience of the respondents was 7.5 years and more than half of the respondents (57%) had the farming experience of less than 7 years. The average extent of land cultivated was 1.7 acres and it was observed that 93% of respondents' cultivated land size was less than 3 acres. About 47% of rubber farmers had produced 50 – 100 kilograms of rubber per month. Average number of untapped trees was 112 and average tapped trees were 205. Yield per month was 160 sheets and the average of cost of production per month was Rs. 6,240. Results of multiple regression analysis revealed that the experience in rubber farming and number of tapped trees had positive and highly significant relationship, whereas extent of land used had negative significant relationship with rubber production. Despite impressive progress in the Sri Lankan rubber industry, it is still overwhelmed by a series of critical issues such as declining planted area, labour shortage-more specifically skilled tappers, low land and labour productivity, an ageing labour force, inadequate resources, and high cost of production. The foremost challenge before research institutions and the rubber industry here is to develop a golden clone which will not only be very high yielding but also have other positive attributes, such as compatibility with over exploitation, low frequency tapping without loss of yield and so on. Research efforts have to be given top priority. ________________________________________________________________________________ INTRODUCTION Rubber (Hevea brasiliensis) is a major export and profit valued crop which has seen rapid emergence and growth across Asia in the last several decades. Nowadays, strong global and local demand for natural rubber (NR) is contributing to the dynamic expansion of industrial scale and smallholder monoculture rubber plantations especially in the NR producing countries.
Production of functional beverage is an excellent method for incorporation of phyto-chemicals, an... more Production of functional beverage is an excellent method for incorporation of phyto-chemicals, anti-oxidants and beneficial components. In the present investigation, an effort has been made to prepare a Ready-To-Serve (RTS) functional beverage by exploiting the medicinal, nutritional and organoleptic properties of ginger, lime juice and palmyra sugar candy to find out the most suitable proportion of ginger and lime extracts and to assess the shelf life of the formulated beverages. The beverage combinations were prepared by blending of ginger and lime juices at different % of 20:0, 18:2, 16:4, 14:6, 12:8, and 10:10 and sweetened by 15% of plamyra sugar candy. Physico-chemical, microbial and sensory analyses were carried out immediately after preparation and storage. The declining trends in pH, TSS and ascorbic acid and an increasing trend in titratable acidity and total sugar were noted with advancement of storage period. Based on the quality evaluation, it was concluded that the formulation with 12% of ginger and 8% of lime juice extract had highest mean scores for organoleptic characteristics that could be stored at 30±1°C temperature and 70-75% of RH for a period of 12 weeks and which is safe for human consumption.
Microbial Biocontrol: Food Security and Post Harvest Management, 2022
Crop losses incurred by major plant pathogens, fungi, bacteria, nematodes and viruses are in a su... more Crop losses incurred by major plant pathogens, fungi, bacteria, nematodes and viruses are in a surge. The detrimental impacts of current disease management practices create an urgent need to develop non-chemical and eco-friendly methods. Biological control or biocontrol of phytopathogens is a sustainable and sound approach to overwhelm various threats caused by the existing control measures. Among the biocontrol agents (BCAs), avirulent, filamentous mycoparasitic Trichoderma spp. are well-known for their agricultural application versatility. The host plant-Trichoderma-pathogen interaction plays a pivotal role in plant disease management. Trichoderma spp. network with plant pathogens via direct mechanisms of mycoparasitism, antibiosis and competition while indirectly inducing systemic disease resistance and promoting plant growth and yield when Trichoderma-plant interaction is switched on. The interactions support efficient biological disease control and overall crop recovery from various diseases and ultimately lead to successful crop production. Trichoderma-based BCAs offer significant contributions in the arena of plant protection and disease management. An array of Trichoderma spp. have proven effective against a broad range of plant pathogens by enhancing the plants' overall health and improving their yield. The biocontrol activity, plant-Trichoderma interactions and the efficacy could vary with the type of the pathogens, Trichoderma strain and host plant. Besides, the efficacy and stability of widely used and newly recognized strains of Trichoderma still need to be evaluated under different environmental conditions in the field for successful outcomes.
Uploads
Papers by Ganeshamoorthy Hariharan