Sunita Koodi’s research while affiliated with Maharana Pratap University of Agriculture and Technology and other places

Valan kakri is an underexploited vegetable and has great potential for genetic improvement through systematic approach. In this study, variability parameters were evaluated in 30 genotypes of Valan kakri collected from different villages across Udaipur during September 2019 and morphological studies were done at Rajasthan College of Agriculture, Udaipur. The genotypic coefficient of variation (GCV) and phenotypic coefficient of variation (PCV) were highest for fruit length (34.48%, 35.43%) followed by fruit weight (61.64 % and 62.04). Estimates for heritability (Broad sense) ranged from 69.70% for seed cavity breadth to 99.24% for acidity of fruit. Traits like fruit length, fruit weight, seed cavity length, acidity of fruit, ascorbic acid content had high GCV, PCV and heritability along with high genetic advance as percentage of mean. Therefore, selection can be effective for these traits in crop improvement programme.

To overcome the limitations of soil fertility and provide high crop output, soil fertility management, including the sensible use of mixes of organic and inorganic fertilizers, is a realistic approach. The strategy of integrated nutrient usage was used since there was a decrease in soil characteristics and crop productivity as a result of the overuse of chemical fertilizers. The present study was designed in 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 at the high-tech unit, Department of Horticulture, Udaipur to investigate the integrated use of FYM and inorganic fertilizers along with silicon on the development and output parameters of cauliflower (Brassica oleracea var. botrytis L.). The field experiment was carried out with fourteen treatments as a soil application under randomized block design. The results revealed that treatment T14 (50% recommended dose of nitrogen by FYM + 50% recommended dose of fertilizers + 100 kg Silicon/ha) showed maximum plant height at harvest (65.73 cm), number of leaves per plant (24.27), leaf area index (11.83), chlorophyll content at 50 days after transplanting (1.99 mg/g), stalk length (8.23 cm) and stem girth (7.41 cm), minimum number of days to curd initiation after transplanting (66.37), minimum number of days required for marketable curd maturity after transplanting (89.17), maximum plant weight (1154.74 g), diameter of curd (15.75 cm), curd yield (277.53 q/ha) and dry weight of curd (91.41 g) as compared to control. In the end, the results showed that the growth and yield of cauliflower were better when silicon, manure, and chemical fertilizers were used together. Citation: Koodi, S.; Ameta, K.D.; Kaushik, R.A.; Choudhary, A.; Jain, D.; Dudwal, B.L.; Kumar, U.; Farooq,

The present investigation entitled "Effect of drying techniques and embedding media on dried flower quality of Rose (Rosa chinensis Jacq.) and Water lily (Nymphaea alba L.)" was conducted in the.The experiment had 22 treatments studied on Rose and Water lily, including drying conditions viz. air drying without embedding (control), hot air oven drying (At 40 0 C, 50 0 C and 60 0 C for 24 hours) and microwave oven drying (2 minutes, 3 minutes and 4 minutes at 350 Hz) in a combination with three different embedding media was sand, borax and silica gel. The experiment was laid out in completely randomized design (CRD) with three replications The results obtained show that the Minimum pigment loss in dried flowers of rose (20.27 %) was recorded in silica gel in microwave oven at 350 Hz for 2 minutes and maximum (63.14 %) in without embedding (control). Among the different drying conditions, temperature and duration the flowers dried in silica gel in microwave oven at 350 Hz for 3 minutes had the highest sensory scores for shape (8.57 and 7.87) for dried flowers of rose and water lily, respectively whereas the minimum scores for shape (5.04 and 4.93) were recorded with T1 (control). Introduction Today floriculture is seen as a profession of higher potential returns per unit area as compared to the other horticultural crops. Commercial floriculture has attracted attention in India due to enormous export potential and increased domestic use of flowers in daily life with the improvement in living standards of people. There is an increasing demand all over the world for the decoration of living and working places with eco-friendly things like fresh flowers and foliages, dried plant parts and dry flowers. Fresh flowers though exquisite in their beauty are highly expensive. Also, they are perishable and delicate in nature and cannot retain their beauty and fresh look for a long time in spite of using best chemicals for enhancing vase life. Moreover, there is a non-availability of fresh flowers and foliages all round the year in all places. The dried flowers are near to natural, having beauty as well as an everlasting value, if preserved and processed with appropriate dehydration technology. Hence, the dried flowers are extra special as they can be kept and cherished for years together (Singhwi, 1996) [14]. The dry flower industry in India is about fifty years old and was introduced by the British. India stands fourth in dry flower exports worldwide. Potpourris being the major segment of drying flower industry valuing at Rs. 55 crores in India alone (Nirmala et al., 2008) [8]. In recent floriculture trade, the export of dry flowers from India during 2013-2014 was Rs. 363.3 crores (Periban et al., 2014) [9]. Rose is one of the top ranking cut flowers in the international flower trade and the dry cut flowers of roses are the most expensive and exquisite of all dried flowers traded in the international market (Barnett and Moore, 1999) [2]. Similarly, white water lily is a beautiful aquatic plant. It is a very popular plant for cultivation in ornamental ponds. Hence, considering the premium potential of rose and water lily in dry flower industry, the present study was planned to find out the most effective drying techniques and embedding media on dried flower quality of rose and water lily.