Papers by George V Thomas
Tuber crops are highly suitable for intercropping in coconut gardens at all growth stages. Hence ... more Tuber crops are highly suitable for intercropping in coconut gardens at all growth stages. Hence these crops were included as the major intercrops for enhancing the livelihood security of coconut farmers under two projects funded by International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)/The Coconut Genetic Resources Network (COGENT) and National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) operated through Community Based Organizations (CBOs) under the aegis of Central Plantation Crops Research Institute (CPCRI). The projects were implemented in four coconut communities,Thekkekkara (under NABARD), Pathiyoor, and Devikulangara of Alappuzha District and Thodiyoor of Kollam District of Kerala (IFAD). Data related to area under intercrops, extent of adoption, income derived from the intercrops and the utilization pattern were recorded before and after the project using a standardized questionnaire template during 2005-2012 period. Data collection was done through personal intervi...
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Journal of Agriculture …, 2011
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Climate-Resilient Horticulture: Adaptation and Mitigation Strategies, 2013
Plantation crops, mainly coconut, rubber, tea, coffee, oil palm, areca nut, cashew, and cocoa, ar... more Plantation crops, mainly coconut, rubber, tea, coffee, oil palm, areca nut, cashew, and cocoa, are grown in ecologically sensitive areas such as coastal belts, hilly areas, and areas with high rainfall and high humidity. Among these coconut is a major multi-utility crop that plays a significant role in the economy of the countries, including 10 million farming communities in India. Climate change will affect coconut plantation through higher temperatures, elevated CO2 concentration, precipitation changes, and increased weeds, incidence of pests and disease, and increased vulnerability of organic carbon pools. Unlike in seasonal crops, the impact of climate change will have long-standing ill effects in coconut since it is a perennial crop. In general, various approaches are used to mitigate risks associated with seasonal climate variability, including the adoption of the tolerant crop varieties and best management practices. In this chapter the response and adaptive strategies of coconut are discussed with respect to climate change and its associated consequences.
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The Coconut Palm (Cocos nucifera L.) - Research and Development Perspectives, 2018
Improved agro-techniques have been standardized, through research conducted over several decades,... more Improved agro-techniques have been standardized, through research conducted over several decades, to achieve sustainable productivity and profitability in coconut farming. Adoption of refined nursery techniques enables production of quality planting material. Poly bag nursery technique with bio-priming of biofertilizer formulations helps in production of superior quality seedlings. The good management practices validated to improve the productivity in adult coconut palms include integrated nutrient management, green manuring/cover cropping, soil and water conservation measures, weed management, irrigation, fertigation and cropping/farming system approach. Fertigation helps to increase the fertilizer use efficiency, saves fertilizer costs, reduces labour requirement and ensures continuous nutrient supply in tune with crop requirement. Sustainable cropping system models are evolved to optimize utilization of natural resources and to enhance the economic viability. Integrated farming involving cultivation of fodder grass in the interspaces of coconut and integration of animal husbandry enterprises offer significant ecological and economic benefits. Effective formulations of agriculturally important microorganisms such as nitrogen fixers, plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi have been developed as valuable inputs for sustainable crop production. Lignocellulosic residues from coconut plantations can be converted into brown, granular vermicastings using earthworms. Organic farming practices with focus on building soil biological fertility foundations through integrated application of organic and bio-inputs including recycling of waste biomass, in situ cultivation and incorporation of leguminous cover crops and biofertilizers of Azospirillum and Bacillus and other cultural practices are combined with micro-irrigation techniques to obviate moisture stress and enable sustainable coconut production, in an environment-friendly way.
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Current Science, Oct 10, 2013
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Symbiosis
Degree of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) association and its diversity were investigated in the coco... more Degree of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) association and its diversity were investigated in the coconut palm (Cocos nucifera L.) cultivated in crop mixed system under rain-fed condition in a highly productive humid tropical zone in Malappuram district of Kerala, India. Forty AM species belonging to ten genera viz. Acaulospora, Claroideoglomus, Dentiscutata, Diversispora, Funneliformis, Gigaspora, Glomus, Redeckera, Scutellospora and Septoglomus were recorded indicating high level of AM richness in coconut rhizosphere. Of these, eighteen AM fungal species are being reported for first time from this palm. Claroideoglomus, Glomus and Gigaspora were the most commonly present genera and Claroideoglomus etunicatum and Glomus aggregatum the common species. The diversity indices (Shannon indices values) of AM fungi associated with coconut palm in a crop mixed system and mono crop varied significantly. The Shannon index, Simpson’s index and evenness ranged from 1.40 ± 0.10 to 2.70 ± 0.01, 0.65 ...
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Proceedings / Indian Academy of Sciences
Vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal colonisation was assessed on one year old coconut seedlings of 1... more Vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal colonisation was assessed on one year old coconut seedlings of 17 cultivars and 4 hybrids, growing in a sandy loam soil. The proportion of root segments with vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizae ranged from 56·8–95·2%. In general, more root segments of tall cultivars were infected (68·8–95·2%) than those of dwarf cultivars (62·4–75·2) and hybrids (56·8–86·4%). Similar trends were detected in the
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Biochar
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CORD
Coconut (Cocos nucifera) is one of the important tropical oilseed crops grown in more than 80 cou... more Coconut (Cocos nucifera) is one of the important tropical oilseed crops grown in more than 80 countries. It is called the ‘Tree of Life’ because every part of the palm finds one or other use in everyday life. India is one of the leading coconut producing countries in the world and many millions of Indians are dependent on this crop for their livelihood. Many research experiments are in progress to increase the yield of this crop as well as develop post-harvest products that will improve the socio-economic status of the farmers who cultivate it. The coconut cropping system, being unique, offers a wide range of ecosystem services which has not been studied in much detail. A recent paper from Philippines, however, throws some light on the importance of ecosystem services offered by coconut types. In this article we attempt to enunciate the ecosystem services provided by coconut in Indian scenario and the possibility of sustaining it through the recycling of coconut leaf litter as vermi...
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Waste and Biomass Valorization
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Antonie van Leeuwenhoek, Jan 9, 2017
To understand bacterial community dynamics during the vermicomposting of lignin-rich coconut leav... more To understand bacterial community dynamics during the vermicomposting of lignin-rich coconut leaves using an indigenous isolate of an epigeic earthworm, Eudrilus sp., we employed amplicon-based pyrosequencing of the V1 to V3 region of the 16S rRNA genes. Total community DNA was isolated from two separate vermicomposting tanks in triplicate at four different stages of the process: pre-decomposition (15th day), initial vermicomposting (45th day), 50-70% vermicomposting (75th day) and mature vermicompost (105th day). Alpha diversity measurements revealed an increase in bacterial diversity till the 75th day, which then declined in the mature vermicompost. Beta diversity comparisons showed formation of distinct, stage-specific communities. In terms of relative abundance, the Acidobacteria, Actinobacteria, Chloroflexi, Gemmatimonadetes, Nitrospirae, Planctomycetes, TM7 and WS3 groups increased until the 50-70% vermicomposting stage (p = 0.05). During the same time, the abundance of Bacter...
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Symbiosis, 2015
ABSTRACT Degree of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) association and its diversity were investigated in... more ABSTRACT Degree of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) association and its diversity were investigated in the coconut palm (Cocos nucifera L.) cultivated in crop mixed system under rain-fed condition in a highly productive humid tropical zone in Malappuram district of Kerala, India. Forty AM species belonging to ten genera viz. Acaulospora, Claroideoglomus, Dentiscutata, Diversispora, Funneliformis, Gigaspora, Glomus, Redeckera, Scutellospora and Septoglomus were recorded indicating high level of AM richness in coconut rhizosphere. Of these, eighteen AM fungal species are being reported for first time from this palm. Claroideoglomus, Glomus and Gigaspora were the most commonly present genera and Claroideoglomus etunicatum and Glomus aggregatum the common species. The diversity indices (Shannon indices values) of AM fungi associated with coconut palm in a crop mixed system and mono crop varied significantly. The Shannon index, Simpson’s index and evenness ranged from 1.40 ± 0.10 to 2.70 ± 0.01, 0.65 ± 0.033 to 0.90 ± 0.004, 0.51 ± 0.01 to 0.82 ± 0.01, respectively. Correlation between soil physio chemical characters and mycorrhizal parameters were worked out. Soil pH had negative correlation with spore count, root colonization, species richness, Shannon H and Simpson indices but had positive correlation with species evenness. Electrical conductivity showed positive correlation with root mycorrhizal colonization which indicated active AMF mediated uptake of nutrients.
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Current Science, 2015
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ABSTRACT
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Biological control has assumed significance in the research programmes on disease management of c... more Biological control has assumed significance in the research programmes on disease management of cocoa due to the increasing concern on the detrimental effect of agrochemicals on environment and the presence of residues in food products. This study was conducted to evaluate the potential of Bacillus spp. and fluorescent Pseudomonas spp. isolated from cocoa roots and rhizosphere for their antagonistic reaction against Phytophthora palmivora (Butl.) Butl., causing black pod disease of cocoa. A total of 519 isolates obtained from the rhizosphere and roots of cocoa trees in different locations in South India were evaluated for their antagonistic reaction to P. palmivora, under in vitro conditions on Carrot Dextrose Agar (CDA). Out of the 519 cocoa isolates (359 Bacillus spp. and 160 fluorescent Pseudomonas spp.), 95 isolates (44 rhizospheric and 45 endophytic Bacillus spp; and 6 rhizospheric fluorescent Pseudomonas spp.) were found to be antagonistic to P. palmivora. Four Bacillus spp., ...
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Papers by George V Thomas