Morphological and Physiological Analysis of VRI-3 Cashew Plantations under Different Planting Density Systems

Cashewnut (Anacardium occidentale L.) is an export-oriented plantation crop. The VRI-3 cashew plantation, utilizing a 7 x 7 m low-density (LD) system with approximately 200 plants ha-1, falls short of meeting the country's import and export demands. Consequently, a high-density planting (HDP) system was developed in Tamil Nadu to enhance India's cashew production. Further advancement through ultra-high-density planting (U-HDP) has proven effective, achieving a plant population of about 1250–1600 plants per hectare. In addition to the increased number of plants in the U-HDP approach, morphological characteristics such as tree height, trunk height, trunk girth, and canopy ground coverage were studied. The impact of these morphological changes resulting from an increased tree population on physiological parameters like Leaf Area Index (LAI) and light extinction coefficient (k) was also analysed. This analysis was carried out using the ‘Ceptometer’ model AccuPAR LP-80 device, aiming to determine how these changes might interfere with productivity and subsequently influence the cashew plantation's production capacity.

Mitigation of Salinity Stress by Application of Plant Growth Promoting Substances in Rice

Aim: Salt stress adversely affects plant growth and development. Various mitigating strategies have been employed to enhance the adaptability of plants to salt stress. The present study was conducted with the objective of evaluating the recently developed CO55 rice variety's ability to withstand salt-induced stress during seedling growth. This evaluation included foliar spraying of plant growth promoting substances like melatonin, salicylic acid, silicon, and selenium, along with the identification of effective plant growth-promoting substances that exhibit tolerance to salinity. This study is required to develop salt-tolerant varieties capable of withstanding salinity stress during the seedling stage. The seedling stage is more susceptible to salinity, and also to increase the growth and yield of rice, thereby satisfying the country's agricultural needs.Study Design: Completely randomized design.Place and Duration of Study: Department of Crop Physiology, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore; March-April 2023.Methodology: In the hydroponics experiment, the CO55 rice variety was subjected to foliar spraying of various plant growth promoting substances such as melatonin, salicylic acid, orthosilicic acid, and sodium selenate. Parameters like leaf drying score, osmotic potential, osmotic adjustment, sodium content, potassium content, and Na+/K+ ratio were assessed. One-way ANOVA was used to analyze the data.Results: Specific pairwise differences between means were assessed at the 0.05 significance level using Fisher's least significant difference (LSD) test. Among the treatments applied, salicylic acid recorded the highest potassium content (3.94%), and the lowest potassium content (2.60%) was found in orthosilicic acid. On the other hand, from the standard evaluation score, it was observed that CO55 rice variety seedlings were found to be tolerant when treated with salicylic acid, whereas it was susceptible under orthosilicic acid treatment.Conclusion: Observations indicated that foliar application of salicylic acid at the concentrations of 50µM and 100µM exhibited higher tolerance towards salinity during the seedling growth stages.

Influence of Fruit Bagging on the Physical Qualities and Shelf Life of Mango cv. Alphonso under Ultra-High-Density Planting

The present experiment was conducted to study the effect of preharvest fruit bagging on the physical parameters and shelf life of mango cv. Alphonso during 2023. Mango fruits were bagged 35 days after the fruit set with various types of bags viz: T1: Brown paper bag; T2: Double layered bag; T3: Transparent bag; T4: Non-woven bag; T5: Butter paper bag; T6: Control (no bagging). The experiment was conducted in Randomized Block Design (RBD) with six treatments and four replications. The result indicated that preharvest fruit bagging had a significant effect on physical parameters, shelf life and days required for harvest after bagging. Bagging with Double layered bag increased fruit retention (75.03%), fruit length (9.35cm), fruit weight (295.36g), pulp weight (228.30g), shelf life (18.5 days) and decreased physiological loss of weight (8.16%). Therefore, preharvest fruit bagging improved fruit retention, physical parameters and shelf life in mango cv. Alphonso.

Variability in the origin of the obturator artery

INTRODUCTION: General surgeons dealing with laparoscopic herniorrhaphy should be aware of the aberrant obturator artery that crosses the superior pubic ramus and is susceptible to injuries during dissection of the Bogros space and mesh stapling onto Cooper's ligament. The obturator artery is usually described as a branch of the anterior division of the internal iliac artery, although variations have been reported. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The present study was conducted on 98 pelvic halves of embalmed cadavers, and the origin and course of the obturator artery were traced and noted. RESULTS: In 79 percent of the specimens, the obturator artery was a branch of the internal iliac artery. It branched off at different levels either from the anterior division or posterior division, individually or with other named branches. In 19 percent of the cases, the obturator artery branched off from the external iliac artery as a separate branch or with the inferior epigastric artery. However, in the remaining 2 percent of the specimens, both the internal and the external iliac arteries branched to form an anastomotic structure within the pelvic cavity. CONCLUSION: The data obtained in this study show that it is more common to find an abnormal obturator artery than was reported previously, and this observation has implications for pelvic surgeons and is of academic interest to anatomists. Surgeons dealing with direct, indirect, femoral, or obturator hernias need to be aware of these variations and their close proximity to the femoral ring.