Academically and professionally I am a hi-tech horticulturist having M.Sc. in Horticulture , Ph.D. in Horticulture with specialisation in plant tissue culture , Research Associateship in Plasticulture, Experienced apiculturist and professionally working as biotechnologist for horticultural crops.
Bitter apple or tumba (Citrullus colocynthis L.) is a prostrate annual herb belonging to the Cucu... more Bitter apple or tumba (Citrullus colocynthis L.) is a prostrate annual herb belonging to the Cucurbitaceae family. It is highly tolerant against multiple abiotic stresses like drought, heat, and soil salinity and can easily grow on very marginal soil, even on sand dunes in hot, arid regions. Tumba fruit is a fleshy berry 5–10 cm in diameter and of a pale yellow color at ripening. The tumba fruit used in this research was harvested from the ICAR-CIAH, Bikaner research farm. The seeds were separated, and their oil was extracted to analyze its physical characteristics and composition (phytochemical compounds, fatty acid profile, etc.). The seeds of the tumba fruit contained 23–25% golden-yellow-colored oil with a specific gravity of 0.92 g/mL. The extracted oil contained appreciable amounts of phytochemical (bioactive) compounds like phenolics (5.39 mg GAE/100 g), flavonoids (938 mg catechin eq./100 g), carotenoids (79.5 mg/kg), oryzanol (0.066%), and lignans (0.012%), along with 70–12...
In-vitro organogenesis is the best method to overcome the problem of somaclonal variations and ob... more In-vitro organogenesis is the best method to overcome the problem of somaclonal variations and obtain trueto-type date palm plants. In the present investigation, activated charcoal (AC) (1.5 and 3.0 g l−1), polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) (1.0 and 2.0 g l−1) and thiourea (250.0 and 500.0 mg l−1) were separately added to the half-strength Murashige and Skoog medium to test the survival, browning of tissue/media and suitability of the growth of explants. Date palm cv. Halawy seedlings shoot tip cultured under dark condition showed that AC (1.5 g l−1) was suitable for explant survival, minimized browning and supported growth for one month than other treatments. Half-strength MS medium supplemented with 1.5 g l−1 AC and different treatment combinations NAA (0.0, 0.1 and 1.0 mg l−1) with either 2-ip or TDZ (1.5 and 3.0 mg l−1) were used for axillary shoot production in dark conditions. Out of 12 treatments, 3.0 mg l−1 2-iP + 0.1 mg l−1 NAA was superior for axillary shoots production within th...
The potential in the area to respond to consumer demands and address public health issues through... more The potential in the area to respond to consumer demands and address public health issues through diet, has brought about the impetus to do further research by government, industry and research institutes to substantiate the science behind the health benefits from plant constituents. Marker Assisted Selection hold great potential for plant breeding as it promises to expedite the time taken to produce crop varieties with desirable characters. Progress has been made in mapping and tagging many horticultural important genes with morphological, biochemical and molecular markers which form the foundation for marker assisted selection in crops plants. They offer great scope for improving the efficiency of conventional plant breeding by carrying out selection not directly on the trait of interest but on molecular markers linked on those traits. Plant cell and callus culture systems have been emerged most potential area of bio processing and production of useful metabolites of nutraceutical...
Abstract Sixteen germplasm accessions of Prosopis cineraria with suitable horticultural traits we... more Abstract Sixteen germplasm accessions of Prosopis cineraria with suitable horticultural traits were identified from north-western Rajasthan, India, propagated clonally by budding on seedling rootstock and maintained in the field gene bank. Morphological characterization ...
Background: Calligonum polygonoides is an endemic plant species, belongs to Polygonaceae family, ... more Background: Calligonum polygonoides is an endemic plant species, belongs to Polygonaceae family, native to the "Thar Desert" of India. It is highly tolerant to multiple stresses with dominant biomass and phytochemical producer under extreme niche. It has significant ethnopharmacological applications, but not yet scientifically validated. Materials and Methods: The methanolic extract of C. polygonoides flower bud was subjected to gas chromatography mass spectroscopy (GC-MS) analysis and antioxidant potential assay was done on different radical scavenging scales. The phytochemicals were identified based on retention time and matching their mass spectra to spectra in NIST 14 library. Results: The results revealed the presence of fatty acids, phenolics, terpenoides, flavanoids, alkaloids, tannins, steroids, ketones, esters, and amino acid derivatives, which comprises 93 compounds. Most of the detected compounds have been proved to possess important bio-activities such as anti-...
Indian Journal of Genetics and Plant Breeding, 1997
Four hundred and fifty three pigeonpea germplasm including some improved cultivars/varieties were... more Four hundred and fifty three pigeonpea germplasm including some improved cultivars/varieties were screened for cold tolerance in 1992–93 and 1993–94. Observations on bud drop and flower drop were recorded twice in December and January when maximum and minimum temperature was very low. Out of 453 lines screened, 14 lines showed tolerance whereas 23 appeared to be moderately tolerant and rest of line were susceptible. The bud and flower drop during severe cold conditions ranged from 6 to 100 percent. The genotypes observed with high level of tolerance to cold were NDA 88-2, Najar, ICP-4193, DR-ll1, NDA91-1, NDA 91-2 and MA-2.
Promoter is a DNA sequence that regulates the expression of a particular gene. They are classifie... more Promoter is a DNA sequence that regulates the expression of a particular gene. They are classified on the basis of their function and spatio-temporal expression into constitutive, tissue-specific or development-stage-specific and inducible promoters. Plant genes associated with defence responses are activated by stress-factors and these genes are known to be regulated by promoters or the upstream elements. Promoters induced by abiotic stress factors in plants are fairly well studied compared to biotic stresses. This review presented information generated on promoters and regulatory elements involved in defence gene expression due to insect damage, pathogen and nematode attack to crop plants, mechanism and their utilization in crop improvement through genetic engineering.
In this investigation, NB-9 cultivar of bael (Aegle marmelos Correa.) was selected as mother plan... more In this investigation, NB-9 cultivar of bael (Aegle marmelos Correa.) was selected as mother plant for obtaining scion bud. The foliar spray of NAA, IBA and BA (25 and 50 ppm each) either on rootstock or/and scion branch was applied seven days prior to budding. The most responsive treatment was foliar spray on rootstocks with BA at 50 ppm concentration. Rootstocks treated with BA (50 ppm) resulted in early bud breaking (10.67 days), maximum bud sprouting percentage (100%), length of sprouted scion 30 days after budding (22 cm), diameter of sprouted scion (2.53 mm), number of leaves (7.13) and maximum scion growth initiation in plants (87.50%) as compared to other treatments. In another experiment, when plant growth regulators were applied to scion branch of mother plant at seven days prior to budding, did not respond satisfactorily with respect to almost all the parameters except bud sprouting percentage and bud survival percentage. These treatments failed to have promotive effect on length of scion shoot and percentage of plants with scion growth.
Calligonum polygonoides L. (Phog) is an endemic perennial herb that is highly resistant to all ty... more Calligonum polygonoides L. (Phog) is an endemic perennial herb that is highly resistant to all type of abiotic stresses and dominant biomass as well as phytochemicals producer in its natural habitat of the “Thar Desert” of Rajasthan, India. The present study was conducted to evaluate the effect of extreme environmental conditions on the phenolic, flavonoids, tannin content, and total antioxidant activities of C. polygonoides foliage harvested during different months. It exhibited a significant variation in the content of phenolic compounds, flavonoids, tannins, and antioxidant activity with harvesting time and all parameters are positively correlated to each other. The highest phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity was observed during severe winter and summer months, when monthly average environmental temperature was lowest and highest of the year, respectively. On the basis of the results, two harvests of C. polygonoides foliage during June and December are advised to maximize...
An intraspecific hybridization programme among Cucumis species involving eight genetically divers... more An intraspecific hybridization programme among Cucumis species involving eight genetically diverse parents of C. melo L. varietal group viz., IC-0599709, Punjab Sunehri, Pusa Madhuras, Kashi Madhu (C. melo L.), AHK-119 (C. melo var. callosus), AHLM-2 (C. melo var. utilissimus), AHS-82 (C. melo var. momordica) and Arya-1 (C. melo var. chate) were undertaken. Among the dessertic F1 hybrids, IC-0599709 × Punjab Sunehri resulted best with respect to first fruit harvest (73.33 days), fruit weight (938.00 g), fruit diameter (11.90 cm), flesh thickness (3.07 cm), total soluble solids (9.73%) and flesh colour (salmon orange). F2 population of AHK-119 × Kashi Madhu produced maximum number of marketable fruits per plant (11.2) weighing 350.00 g in 86.1 days. It was also found to be tolerant to high temperature. The F2 population of AHK-119 × Kashi Madhu were found to be tolerant to high temperature. The existing variability among the parents, intra-specific crosses and segregating generations...
The aim of this study was to study the genotype response for in-vitro propagation of date palm (P... more The aim of this study was to study the genotype response for in-vitro propagation of date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) and to ensure the genetic stability of plantlets produced by tissue culture via somatic embryogenesis through RAPD-PCR technique. To achieve this, three cultivars (Shamran, Halawy and Medjool) were used for callus induction. The nodular creamish-white callus was produced on Murashige and Skoog (1962) medium supplemented with 10 and 25 mg/l 2,4-D + BA (3 mg/l), 2-ip (1 mg/l) and activated charcoal (1.5 g/l). Somatic embryos were produced on MS medium with 0.1 mg/l BA in 30–40 days and they germinated into plantlets on the same medium. In RAPD-PCR of three cultivars, it was found that there was no variation between mother plant and their clones produced via somatic embryogenesis.
Bitter apple or tumba (Citrullus colocynthis L.) is a prostrate annual herb belonging to the Cucu... more Bitter apple or tumba (Citrullus colocynthis L.) is a prostrate annual herb belonging to the Cucurbitaceae family. It is highly tolerant against multiple abiotic stresses like drought, heat, and soil salinity and can easily grow on very marginal soil, even on sand dunes in hot, arid regions. Tumba fruit is a fleshy berry 5–10 cm in diameter and of a pale yellow color at ripening. The tumba fruit used in this research was harvested from the ICAR-CIAH, Bikaner research farm. The seeds were separated, and their oil was extracted to analyze its physical characteristics and composition (phytochemical compounds, fatty acid profile, etc.). The seeds of the tumba fruit contained 23–25% golden-yellow-colored oil with a specific gravity of 0.92 g/mL. The extracted oil contained appreciable amounts of phytochemical (bioactive) compounds like phenolics (5.39 mg GAE/100 g), flavonoids (938 mg catechin eq./100 g), carotenoids (79.5 mg/kg), oryzanol (0.066%), and lignans (0.012%), along with 70–12...
In-vitro organogenesis is the best method to overcome the problem of somaclonal variations and ob... more In-vitro organogenesis is the best method to overcome the problem of somaclonal variations and obtain trueto-type date palm plants. In the present investigation, activated charcoal (AC) (1.5 and 3.0 g l−1), polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) (1.0 and 2.0 g l−1) and thiourea (250.0 and 500.0 mg l−1) were separately added to the half-strength Murashige and Skoog medium to test the survival, browning of tissue/media and suitability of the growth of explants. Date palm cv. Halawy seedlings shoot tip cultured under dark condition showed that AC (1.5 g l−1) was suitable for explant survival, minimized browning and supported growth for one month than other treatments. Half-strength MS medium supplemented with 1.5 g l−1 AC and different treatment combinations NAA (0.0, 0.1 and 1.0 mg l−1) with either 2-ip or TDZ (1.5 and 3.0 mg l−1) were used for axillary shoot production in dark conditions. Out of 12 treatments, 3.0 mg l−1 2-iP + 0.1 mg l−1 NAA was superior for axillary shoots production within th...
The potential in the area to respond to consumer demands and address public health issues through... more The potential in the area to respond to consumer demands and address public health issues through diet, has brought about the impetus to do further research by government, industry and research institutes to substantiate the science behind the health benefits from plant constituents. Marker Assisted Selection hold great potential for plant breeding as it promises to expedite the time taken to produce crop varieties with desirable characters. Progress has been made in mapping and tagging many horticultural important genes with morphological, biochemical and molecular markers which form the foundation for marker assisted selection in crops plants. They offer great scope for improving the efficiency of conventional plant breeding by carrying out selection not directly on the trait of interest but on molecular markers linked on those traits. Plant cell and callus culture systems have been emerged most potential area of bio processing and production of useful metabolites of nutraceutical...
Abstract Sixteen germplasm accessions of Prosopis cineraria with suitable horticultural traits we... more Abstract Sixteen germplasm accessions of Prosopis cineraria with suitable horticultural traits were identified from north-western Rajasthan, India, propagated clonally by budding on seedling rootstock and maintained in the field gene bank. Morphological characterization ...
Background: Calligonum polygonoides is an endemic plant species, belongs to Polygonaceae family, ... more Background: Calligonum polygonoides is an endemic plant species, belongs to Polygonaceae family, native to the "Thar Desert" of India. It is highly tolerant to multiple stresses with dominant biomass and phytochemical producer under extreme niche. It has significant ethnopharmacological applications, but not yet scientifically validated. Materials and Methods: The methanolic extract of C. polygonoides flower bud was subjected to gas chromatography mass spectroscopy (GC-MS) analysis and antioxidant potential assay was done on different radical scavenging scales. The phytochemicals were identified based on retention time and matching their mass spectra to spectra in NIST 14 library. Results: The results revealed the presence of fatty acids, phenolics, terpenoides, flavanoids, alkaloids, tannins, steroids, ketones, esters, and amino acid derivatives, which comprises 93 compounds. Most of the detected compounds have been proved to possess important bio-activities such as anti-...
Indian Journal of Genetics and Plant Breeding, 1997
Four hundred and fifty three pigeonpea germplasm including some improved cultivars/varieties were... more Four hundred and fifty three pigeonpea germplasm including some improved cultivars/varieties were screened for cold tolerance in 1992–93 and 1993–94. Observations on bud drop and flower drop were recorded twice in December and January when maximum and minimum temperature was very low. Out of 453 lines screened, 14 lines showed tolerance whereas 23 appeared to be moderately tolerant and rest of line were susceptible. The bud and flower drop during severe cold conditions ranged from 6 to 100 percent. The genotypes observed with high level of tolerance to cold were NDA 88-2, Najar, ICP-4193, DR-ll1, NDA91-1, NDA 91-2 and MA-2.
Promoter is a DNA sequence that regulates the expression of a particular gene. They are classifie... more Promoter is a DNA sequence that regulates the expression of a particular gene. They are classified on the basis of their function and spatio-temporal expression into constitutive, tissue-specific or development-stage-specific and inducible promoters. Plant genes associated with defence responses are activated by stress-factors and these genes are known to be regulated by promoters or the upstream elements. Promoters induced by abiotic stress factors in plants are fairly well studied compared to biotic stresses. This review presented information generated on promoters and regulatory elements involved in defence gene expression due to insect damage, pathogen and nematode attack to crop plants, mechanism and their utilization in crop improvement through genetic engineering.
In this investigation, NB-9 cultivar of bael (Aegle marmelos Correa.) was selected as mother plan... more In this investigation, NB-9 cultivar of bael (Aegle marmelos Correa.) was selected as mother plant for obtaining scion bud. The foliar spray of NAA, IBA and BA (25 and 50 ppm each) either on rootstock or/and scion branch was applied seven days prior to budding. The most responsive treatment was foliar spray on rootstocks with BA at 50 ppm concentration. Rootstocks treated with BA (50 ppm) resulted in early bud breaking (10.67 days), maximum bud sprouting percentage (100%), length of sprouted scion 30 days after budding (22 cm), diameter of sprouted scion (2.53 mm), number of leaves (7.13) and maximum scion growth initiation in plants (87.50%) as compared to other treatments. In another experiment, when plant growth regulators were applied to scion branch of mother plant at seven days prior to budding, did not respond satisfactorily with respect to almost all the parameters except bud sprouting percentage and bud survival percentage. These treatments failed to have promotive effect on length of scion shoot and percentage of plants with scion growth.
Calligonum polygonoides L. (Phog) is an endemic perennial herb that is highly resistant to all ty... more Calligonum polygonoides L. (Phog) is an endemic perennial herb that is highly resistant to all type of abiotic stresses and dominant biomass as well as phytochemicals producer in its natural habitat of the “Thar Desert” of Rajasthan, India. The present study was conducted to evaluate the effect of extreme environmental conditions on the phenolic, flavonoids, tannin content, and total antioxidant activities of C. polygonoides foliage harvested during different months. It exhibited a significant variation in the content of phenolic compounds, flavonoids, tannins, and antioxidant activity with harvesting time and all parameters are positively correlated to each other. The highest phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity was observed during severe winter and summer months, when monthly average environmental temperature was lowest and highest of the year, respectively. On the basis of the results, two harvests of C. polygonoides foliage during June and December are advised to maximize...
An intraspecific hybridization programme among Cucumis species involving eight genetically divers... more An intraspecific hybridization programme among Cucumis species involving eight genetically diverse parents of C. melo L. varietal group viz., IC-0599709, Punjab Sunehri, Pusa Madhuras, Kashi Madhu (C. melo L.), AHK-119 (C. melo var. callosus), AHLM-2 (C. melo var. utilissimus), AHS-82 (C. melo var. momordica) and Arya-1 (C. melo var. chate) were undertaken. Among the dessertic F1 hybrids, IC-0599709 × Punjab Sunehri resulted best with respect to first fruit harvest (73.33 days), fruit weight (938.00 g), fruit diameter (11.90 cm), flesh thickness (3.07 cm), total soluble solids (9.73%) and flesh colour (salmon orange). F2 population of AHK-119 × Kashi Madhu produced maximum number of marketable fruits per plant (11.2) weighing 350.00 g in 86.1 days. It was also found to be tolerant to high temperature. The F2 population of AHK-119 × Kashi Madhu were found to be tolerant to high temperature. The existing variability among the parents, intra-specific crosses and segregating generations...
The aim of this study was to study the genotype response for in-vitro propagation of date palm (P... more The aim of this study was to study the genotype response for in-vitro propagation of date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) and to ensure the genetic stability of plantlets produced by tissue culture via somatic embryogenesis through RAPD-PCR technique. To achieve this, three cultivars (Shamran, Halawy and Medjool) were used for callus induction. The nodular creamish-white callus was produced on Murashige and Skoog (1962) medium supplemented with 10 and 25 mg/l 2,4-D + BA (3 mg/l), 2-ip (1 mg/l) and activated charcoal (1.5 g/l). Somatic embryos were produced on MS medium with 0.1 mg/l BA in 30–40 days and they germinated into plantlets on the same medium. In RAPD-PCR of three cultivars, it was found that there was no variation between mother plant and their clones produced via somatic embryogenesis.
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Papers by Dhurendra Singh