Standardization of Growing Media for Ornamental Plant Species Grown in A Vertical Garden System in Assam

An experiment was carried out with an aim to standardize the growing media for five ornamental plant species in a vertical garden system in the Department of Horticulture, Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat, Assam. The experiment was laid out in a completely randomized block design with three replications, comprising of five ornamental plant species grown in five different media compositions. The experiment was conducted to study the influence of soil, vermicompost, cocopeat and sand on the plant species in the vertical garden system. The five different media compositions under study were M1: soil + cocopeat + vermicompost + sand (3 : 0.25 : 1 : 1.5), M2: soil + cocopeat + vermicompost + sand (2.5 : 0.5 : 1.5 : 1.25), M3: soil + cocopeat + vermicompost + sand (2 : 0.75 : 2 : 1), M4: soil + cocopeat + vermicompost + sand (1.5 : 1 : 2.5 : 0.75) and M5: Soil. The ornamental species selected were: S1 : Philodendron Ceylon (Philodendron erubescens ‘Gold’ K. Koch), S2: Spider Plant (Chlorophytum comosum Variegatum (Thunb.)), S3: Fern (Nephrolepis exaltata (L.) Schott), S4: Moses-in-the-cradle (Rhoeo discolor Sw. (syn. Tradescantia spathacea)) and S5: Baby Doll Cordyline (Cordyline compacta Purple (L.)). Among the five growing media compositions used, medium M3: soil + cocopeat + vermicompost + sand (2 : 0.75 : 2 : 1) performed better in terms of all the growth parameters recorded in the five plants species in the vertical garden system.

Dietary Phytochemical Screening of Spider Plant (Gynandropsis gynandra (L.) Briq.) Accessions From Africa and Asia to Identify Genotypes for Use in Nutraceutical Breeding

Increased public awareness of healthy foods and healthy living, coupled with escalating medicinal costs and recent advances in research and technology, has sparked a paradigm shift to nutraceuticals, which guarantee human health and disease prevention. Spider plant (Gynandropsis gynandra) contains dietary phytochemicals with high nutritional and medicinal properties that can contribute to healthy living. A study was conducted to identify spider plant (Gynandropsis gynandra (L.) Briq.) accessions with superior levels of dietary phytochemicals and anti-oxidative activity for use in nutraceutical breeding. Thirty-three accessions of spider plant, representing a wide genetic diversity based on geographic areas of origin (Asia, East Africa, Southern Africa, and West Africa), were used. Total phenolic acids, tannins, and anthocyanins were extracted and quantified using the Folin-Ciocalteau colorimetric, spectrophotometric, and pH differential methods, respectively. Antioxidant activity was determined using phosphomolybdenum method. Results showed significant variation in levels of total phenolic compounds, tannins, anthocyanins, and antioxidant activity (P < 0.05) amongst the spider plant accessions and regions of origin; ODS-15-037 (464 mg TAE/g DW), ODS-15-053 (270 mg GAE/g DW), and BC-02A (127 mg cyanidin-3-glucoside/g DW) had the highest levels of total tannins, phenolic compounds, and anthocyanins, respectively. Antioxidant activity was high in ODS-15-053 (492.2 mg AAE/100 g DW), NAM 2232 (445.3 mg AAE/100 g DW), and NAM-6 (432.5 mg AAE/100 g DW). On average, West African accessions had significantly high tannin concentrations (239 mg TAE/g DW), while Southern Africa accessions contained significantly high anthocyanin content (58.9 mg cyanidin-3-glucoside/g DW). The superior accessions are potential candidates for use in nutraceutical breeding, while the regions of origin could be used as gene pools for specific phytochemicals for improving dietary supplements of nutraceuticals. The strong antioxidant activity exhibited by spider plant accessions suggests the presence of compounds responsible for scavenging free oxygen or nitrogen radicals. Further studies are recommended to identify the chromosomal regions that contain genes controlling the dietary nutraceuticals in the genetic materials and to determine their association with foliage yield and other phenotypes, which can be utilized in spider plant improvement.

LEAF COLOR SEGMENTATION AND POT VOLUME INFLUENCE ON THE CO2 ABSORPTION EFFICIENCY IN TWO COMMON GREEN-WALL PLANTS

ABSTRACT Green walls can improve indoor air-quality by reducing concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other air pollutants. Our study focused on the spider plant, Chlorophytum comosum, and devil’s ivy, Epipremnum aureum, both common green-wall plants that have been found to be efficient CO2 absorbers. Both species have multiple variants with varying degrees of leaf green-white segmentation. Since photosynthesis depends on the concentration of leaf chlorophylls, we hypothesized that green variants are more efficient carbon absorbers than green-white variants. In addition, we tested the hypothesis that the photosynthetic rate of plants is affected by pot volume, as suggested by previous studies. We used a portable gas exchange system to determine the rate of photosynthesis of the study plants. No evidence was found for better photosynthetic performance in the green vs. green-white variants of each species. In fact, our results suggest the opposite. It was observed that a spider plants assimilated carbon more efficiently when grown in a larger pot volume. In conclusion, our study shows that in terms of carbon assimilation, green-white variants of spider plants are the better choice for indoor green walls. Their efficiency can be improved dramatically by increasing pot volume.

Evaluation of Leaf Mineral, Flavonoid, and Total Phenolic Content in Spider Plant Germplasm

Spider plant (Cleome gynandra L.) is an important leafy vegetable that grows naturally in many parts of the world. The leaves are highly nutritious and are used mainly for human consumption. The mineral content and phenolic compounds of 17 genotypes (local and exotic) of spider plant and four standards (swiss chard, jute mallow, cowpea, and pumpkin) were investigated. Leaf samples were harvested from plants raised at Thohoyandou, South Africa. Exotic genotypes were superior to local genotypes for most of the minerals. Swiss chard possessed significantly high levels of some minerals such as iron and manganese in comparison with exotic spider plant genotypes. The calcium content in the local (‘MP-B-3-CG’) and exotic (‘GPS’) genotypes was >30.0% and >60.0% higher than in swiss chard, respectively. Total phenolics among spider plant genotypes ranged from 9.86 to 12.21 mg GAE/g DW and were superior to pumpkin. In addition, the spider plant genotypes varied significantly in the antioxidant capacity as estimated by the 2,2 diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl method and ferric-reducing antioxidant power. The main flavonoid in the leaves of spider plant genotypes was quercetin-3-rutinoside. Crotonoside (glycoside) was detected in all the spider plant genotypes and swiss chard. A positive correlation was observed between total phenolic content and each of the three flavonoids. The PCA biplot associated exotic genotypes (‘ML-SF-29′, ‘PS’, ‘TZ-1’, and ‘GPS’) and local genotypes (‘ML-3-KK’, ‘ML-13-SDM’, and ‘ML-12-TMP’) with high Al, Fe, Zn, N, and TPC. Cluster analysis indicated high “distant groups” between exotic and local genotypes of spider plant. These results indicated that some of the local germplasm of spider plant was largely inferior to the exotic germplasm in terms of their mineral composition but contained considerable quantities of quercetin-3-rutinoside, particularly in the local genotypes ‘MP-B-2-CG’ and ‘MP-B-1-CG’. There is a need for genetic improvement of the local germplasm in some of the minerals particularly to benefit the end-users.

Performance of spider plant (Chlorophytum comosum) in modular vertical green walls under various media and nutrients

An investigation was carried out to study the performance of various media and nutrients for spider plant (Chlorophytum comosum) in modular vertical walls under vertical green walls in the Department of Horticulture, Annamalai University, Annamalai Nagar (Tamil Nadu) during 2018 to 2020. The experiment comprised of four media viz., coco peat, greenosil, perlite and vermiculite and their combinations and two nutrients viz., foliar nutrition (Grosure NPK 19:19:19 and @ 1% twice (30 and 90 days after planting)) and fertilizer stick (Greenstix sticks were inserted to the modular containers @ one per container at 30 and 90 days after planting). Results revealed that, among the media, plants grown under vermiculite showed better performance in exhibiting maximum values for plant height (24.9 cm), number of leaves (21.6), leaf length (23.8 cm), leaf width (2.43), leaf area (30.9 cm2), shoot weight (15.1 g plant-1), root weight (3.4 g plant-1), biomass (18.4 g plant-1), size index (24.7 cm), and visual quality (9.08). However, among the nutrients, plants inserted with fertilizer stick recorded highest values for plant height (20.9 cm), number of leaves (18.8), leaf length (20.9 cm), leaf width (2.21), leaf area (30.2 cm2), shoot weight (14.8 g plant-1), root weight (3.24 g plant-1), biomass (18.1 g plant-1), size index (22.5 cm), and visual quality (8.49). compared with foliar nutrition. The interaction between media and nutrients was significant and plants grown under vermiculite and containers inserted with fertilizer stick showed superior performance in exerting maximum values for all the characters than other treatment combinations.

Biofumigation efficacy of spider plant (Cleome gynandra L.) accessions on nematode control in tuberose (Polianthes tuberosa L.)

Tuberose (Polianthes tuberosa L.) is a perennial summer flower grown by smallholders in Kenya for export. However, its production and export volumes have declined drastically due to nematodes infestation. This study evaluated the effect of Cleome gynandra accessions on nematode management on tuberose. Experiment was conducted at the Horticulture Research Field, Egerton University, Kenya using a randomized complete block design with four replications. The treatments were: five accessions of C. gynandra namely ‘Simlaw’, ‘Egerton’, ‘Taastrup’, ‘PS’ and ‘IP8’, applied at 6 kg/m2 and compared with Brassica napus, solarization and untreated control. Data was collected on growth and yield parameters, nematode infestation and quality of tuberose. Data collected was subjected to analysis of variance at p≤0.05 and means separated using Tukey’s test. Biofumigation with Cleome gynandra accessions helped to reduce nematode population by 34%, gall numbers by 83% and galling index by be 96% when compared with the control. Use of biofumigation helped to improve plant height and leaf number of tuberose by 16% and 87%, respectively, when compared with the control. Use of biofumigation helped to improve spike length by 32%, marketable spikes by 80%, and flower yield by 90% and reduced nonmarketable spikes by 95% when compared with the control. Based on the above results, use of Cleome gynandra accessions and other biofumigants such as rape seed can be used to manage nematodes and improve growth, yield and quality of tuberose.

Isolation of Bile Salt Hydrolase and Uricase Producing Lactobacillus brevis SF121 from Pak Sian Dong (Fermented Spider Plant) for using as Probiotics

The interesting application of bile salt hydrolase enzyme is reduction of cholesterol in serum and amelioration lipid profile. While uricase enzyme can be applied to convert insoluble uric acid to be soluble form and excrete from the body. Probiotics are living organisms with generally know that they can provide beneficial effects to their host. Several reports show that probiotic bacteria with bile salt hydrolase and uricase can improve hypercholesterolemia and hyperuricemia patient. The novel isolate of Lactobacillus from Pak Sian Dong in this study is identified as L. brevis SF121 and probably use as probiotic bacteria in the future. However, this isolate still need further experiments to investigate and improve properties of probiotics. Moreover, this finding suggests that Pak Sian Dong or fermented spider plant can be designated as a good source for probiotic screening and also defines as health-promoting diet.