Soil salinity is the major biotic stress, which restricts the distribution and productivity of the crops. Agricultural production in the future will increasingly rely on our ability to grow plants on salt affected and marginal lands using saline water. Ethyl methane sulphonate is the most commonly used chemical mutagen to increase genetic variability in crop plants and could be useful in increased plant tolerance to salinity. Clusterbean is one of the most important summer annual legume. In the present study, aseptically grown7-day old seedling explants of clusterbean viz. cotyledon, cotyledonary node, hypocotyl and the embryo axis (cut on radical side) were cultured on MS medium + B5 vitamins (MSB5 medium) supplemented with various growth regulators. Among various explant tried, cotyledonary node gave good response in terms of callus growth which was further selected for future experimentation. The best medium for callus growth was MSB5 with 2 mgl-1 2,4-D and 1 mgl-1 BAP. All the calli produced were compact and their color changed with increase of salt concentration from greenish to brownish green, dark brownish and finally blackish at 200 mM NaCl. Further, calli pieces dipped in sterile liquid MS medium adjuncted with aqueous filter sterilized solution of 0.5% EMS for a range of time duration (0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5, 3.0 and 3.5 h) were raised on MSB5 medium without NaCl. These calli were subcultured on the above medium with or without 200 mM NaCl. EMS treatment of 2.5, 3.0 and 3.5h duration improved callus growth on salt-amended medium; growth being maximum after 3.0h EMS treatment. It seems that exposing mutagen treated calli to salinity/ salt stress, forces these to face stress doubly-ionic toxicity and toxic effects of mutagen. The survival and regeneration of the putative variant calli is suppressed under such circumstances.

Protoplast technology endeavors a unique single cell system that promotes several aspects of modern biotechnology. In the present study, an efficient protocol to isolate the protoplast from callus culture of a valuable plantation crop, Anacardium occidentale was developed. The phenolic compound released during digestion process caused protoplast injury resulted in low yielding. Further investigations revealed that pH 5.0 and osmotic concentration 0.5M mannitol were found suitable for maximum protoplasts yield. The results also indicated that the age of the callus tissues plays a key role in the yield of protoplasts in A.occidentale. During the study, youngcalli showed maximum protoplast yield when treated with cellulase (2.5 %), pectinase (2.5 %), hemicellulase (1.5%) and 20mM CaCl2 in 0.5M mannitol. Meanwhile, an incubationperiod of 4hours with enzyme solution resulted in the maximum yield of protoplasts (4.71 ± 0.15)×103 protoplasts/g FW. In short, the results generated in the study can be used as a platform to work out the protoplast technology in A.occidentale.

Apart from insects, pests and diseases, physiological disorders are one of the major threats to fruit industry which cause economic losses worldwide. Many tropical and subtropical fruit crops (Mango, Banana, Citrus, Grape, Papaya, litchi, loquat etc.) are vulnerable to different physiological disorders like spongy tissue, chock throat, granulation, pink berries, bumpy fruits, fruit cracking and purple spot respectively. Adverse environmental conditions such as high or low temperature, moisture content, nutritional and hormonal imbalance, improper pollination or fertilization etc. cause abnormal external or internal conditions as well as abnormal growth pattern of fruits collectively known as physiological disorders. Most of the disorders associated with more than one factors like environment and nutrition but some disorders are mainly occur due to one factor only. So, there is need to understand the reason behind a particular cause and way to overcome it with a specific management approach. Among the nutritional disorders, the deficiencies of micronutrients (Zn, Bo, Mn etc.,) are more prevalent in Indian orchards rather than macronutrients. This review not only describes the cause of physiological disorders of fruit crops which lead to huge losses to fruit growers but also discusses the management practices to prevent it and retain the quality for higher market value.

Brown spot is one of the most common and damaging rice diseases and it has been reported to occur in all the rice growing countries. This disease infects the coleoptile, leaves, leaf sheath, panicle branches, glumes, and spikelets. It occurs at all crop stages, but infection is more severe during maximum tillering up to the ripening stages of the crop. In South and Southeast Asia, this disease causes 5% yield loss across all lowland rice production. In this study, 611 rice germplasm lines were evaluated for identification of resistant line against leaf brown spot disease at field level. Among them, 52 lines were resistant, 157 lines were moderately resistant and 408 rice lines were susceptible. In gene expression analysis, strong expression of SalT gene linked with Abscisic acid (ABA) signalling pathway was found in resistant and moderately resistant rice lines. Thus selected resistant rice lines will be useful in breeding programme to improve rice cultivars against brown spot disease.

Geminiviruses are small isometric particles which contain either one or two circular single stranded DNAs. The family Geminiviridae comprises of four genera: Mastrevirus, Curtovirus, Topocuvirus and Begomovirus. Among begomoviruses, one of the most important virus is TYLCV which infects an economically important food crop i.e. tomato [Lycopersicon esculentum), all over the world. TYLCV is also prevalent in different regions of India. Five samples from different tomato growing areas of Himachal Pradesh were collected for serological detection of TYLCV using DAS-ELISA. All samples reacted positively with the antisera. In further confirmation studies, CP (coat protein) gene based specific primer pairs for TYLCV were designed and tested. CP gene was amplified from two isolates and a 771 bp long CP sequence was amplified, sequenced and submitted to NCBI database (Acc no-KC253231). TYLCV, the test virus was confirmed to be a begomovirus on the basis of phylogenetic analysis while comparing it with other geminiviruses. On comparison with other Indian tomato leaf curl viral isolates, it was found to be closely related to Dharwad isolate (GI 1160428) and not to native isolate (GI 1244840), which indicates it’s origin in other than North Indian region and evolution of a new viral strain.

A two year field experiment was conducted during the the kharif season of 2014 and 2015 at Agricultural Farm, Institute of Agriculture, Visva-Bharati, Sriniketan, West Bengal, with blackgram variety ‘WBU-108’ to study the effect of imazethapyr and other herbicides on weed growth, productivity and economics of kharif blackgram. The experiment was laid out in a randomized block design with three replications and eight treatments. From the investigation it revealed that Digitaria sanguinalis among the grasses; Cyperus iria among the sedges and Ludwigia parviflora and Croton bonplandianum among the broadleaved weeds were predominant throughout the cropping period. Higher doses of imazethapyr (75, 100 and 125 g ha-1) applied at 20 DAS effectively controlled the grasses, broadleaved and sedges in blackgram at 45 DAS. Yield reduction due to weed competition was to the extent of 26-29% in kharif blackgram. Lower values of weed density, total weed dry weight, weed index and higher values of weed control efficiency, seed yield, net return and return per rupee invested were registered with application of imazethapyr at 75 g ha-1 at 20 DAS which was at par with by imazethapyr at 100 g ha-1 at 20 DAS. These treatments may be recommended for managing complex weed flora and obtaining higher yield and net return of kharif blackgram in the lateritic belt of West Bengal, India.

Field investigations were conducted at research farm JNKVV Jabalpur (Madhya Pradesh) during kharif season of 2010-11 and 2011-12 to study to the growth,development and production efficiency in rice by adopting suitable planting geometry, varieties and planting depth. The study revealed that the 30 cm × 30 cm planting geometry had superiority in parameters viz., plant height, and functional leaves/hill the 30 cm × 30 cm planting geometry had superiority in various parameters were significantly in plant geometry. Rice variety MR-219 with shallow depth of planting (2.5 cm) recorded better growth parameters viz., plant height, Number of tillers/m2 and functional leaves/hill were markedly superior in growth parameters. Grain and straw yields were superior with the MR-219 variety and 25 cm × 25 cm planting geometry with shallow depth of planting.

Sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.) is a low-input crop that can produce stable yields under suboptimal conditions. It is a nutritious and ample food source for humans and animals as well as a raw material for manufacturing. The experiment was carried out at the Horticulture Research Stationand AICRP Tuber Crops laboratory of Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya, West Bengal, India from 2012-2014 to study the variability existing among the tubers after harvest. It has been found that the different cultivars had plant length (79.26-130.36 cm.), number of shoots/plant (7-13.67), number of leaves/plant (56.33-120), and number of tubers/plant (2.67-7), tuber weight (80.23-175.87 gm.), length (17.07-24.05 cm.), girth (3.42-5.28 cm.), yield/plant (2.97-10.78 kg/plant)and these varied significantly among the cultivars. The cultivars were observed to have good biochemical properties with moisture content (74.74-150.74 %), dry matter (18.42-31.62 %), TSS (6.43-11.25 °Brix), ascorbic acid (12.84-25.91 mg/100gm), total sugars (2.17-3.68 %), carbohydrate (15.67-28.42 mg/100g), protein (1.09-3.08 %)and starch (8.23-15.56%).They have also high sensory scores (7.20-8.55) based on the results obtained from overall acceptability. Cultivar IGSP-15, S-61 and ST-14 were identified to be superior considering all qualitative aspects like morphological characteristics, overall acceptability, biochemical compositions like good nutritional value, antioxidant property and suitable for processing purposes which can be selected for further improvement and can be promoted for cultivation. Results show that these sweet potato varieties have potentials of biological properties and could have wide utility in food, alcohol and sugar industries. In addition, it could serve as a promising source of protein and its consumption could be utilized in the management of diseases that implicate free radicals.

Investigation was conducted for all the blocks in the district of Nadia, West Bengal to estimate the over exploitation of ground water and to examine the possibility of mitigation of it through artificial ground water recharge. There were approximately 1.16 × 109 m3 irrigation water requirement except monsoon month (June to September) for rice cultivation. The estimated ground water recharge was found approximately 0.82 × 109 m3. Thus, approximately 0.34 × 109 m3 of ground water was found over exploited every year if irrigation demands entirely satisfied through ground water. This 0.34 × 109 m3 of overexploitation could be mitigated if approximately 3.88 × 108 m2 roof top water harvesting structure along with the recharge facilities were created. The estimated cost for this purpose was approximately ` 666.488 billion. The creation of this facility may also contribute to large extent in domestic water supply along with the improvement of arsenic contaminated ground water of this district.

The level of development was estimated with the help of composite index based on optimum combination of socio-economic indicators. The level of development has been separately estimated for agriculture, Animal husbandry, industry and transport and communication. In case of transport and communication sector, Bengaluru district ranked first and Chamarajnagar was least in development. Wide disparities were obtained in the level of development among different districts. Positive and significant association is found between the agriculture and industrial sector. Karnataka require improvement in various dimensions for enhancing the level of overall socio-economic development for unified balanced integration of curative, preventive and promotional services.

In the present investigation was carried out to access the socio-economic characteristics of homegardens in Bhimtal block of Nainital district of Uttarakhand during 2014-15. The result show that the maximum number of respondents 34 (51.51%) were middle aged followed by 20 (30.30%) of respondents were in young age category and 12 (18.18%) respondents were in old age. The data showed that maximum number of respondents, 25 (37.87%) had education up to 12th followed by illiterate 17 (25.75%) followed by higher education above 12th respondent 14 (21.21%), whereas 10 (15.15%) had education up to 8th level. It was observed that maximum number of household families 26 (39.39%) belonged to farming which was the primary source of income followed by 22 (33.33%) belonged to service class followed by 13 (19.69%) families that were dependent in the business for their livelihood, followed by wage labourers 5 (7.57%) families. It was found that maximum number of land households 32 (48.48%) were marginal land followed by small landholding households 20 (30.30%), followed by large land holding 14 (21.21%). Almost 50% of the rural households in the hills were headed by women as the men folk migrated to augment the farm income. Data regarding awareness of the forestry programmes among the farmers revealed that majority of the farmers 49 (74.24%) were not aware of the forestry programmes and small number of farmers 17 (25.75%) were aware. About 90% of the total cultivated area is rainfed and irrigated area is only 10 per cent.

The aim of the contribution was to determine the Future strategies for sustainable livelihood of small and marginal farmers in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir. There are 160 Gram panchayats, 385 villages and 4 towns viz. Rajouri, Thanamandi, Nowshera and Sunderbani. The district constitutes 8.81 percent of the geographical area of the state. There are 7 revenue tehsils viz; Rajouri, Thanamandi, Nowshera, Sunderbani, Budhal and Darhal with a total of 9 revenue blocks. The study based on the primary data in Rajouri district covering equal samples under major farming systems was elicited through survey method for the period 2014-15. It was observed that there is a need to focus on sustaining the productivity gains in the irrigated agriculture, the major emphasis should, however, be on the development of rainfed agriculture, promotion of integrated farming, high value agriculture, transfer of technology, secondary and specialty agriculture need to be accorded high priority. Since the Rajouri district has focused on the organic production in the proposed plan so the high priority is to be given for the action research and extension relating to the organic cultivation. Organic cost/produce certification and marketing of farmers produce at reasonable prices is another crucial issues affecting farm profitability which need immediate attention

Organic matter is one of the sources of nitrogen in the soil. Nitrogen mineralization depends on application method, kind of organic matter, microbial activity, aeration and moisture. Soil samples were taken from Mathura tea garden and Uttar Banga Krishi Viswavidyalaya cultivated field, West Bengal. Nitrogen mineralization was studied on tea soil and cultivated soil. Seven organic matters were collected for this study. Vermicompost (VC), farm yard manure (FYM), poultry manure (PM) were decomposed, whereas, raw cow dung (RCD), fish meal (FM), tannery waste (TW) and mustard cake (MC) were undecomposed. The mean maximum and minimum soil temperature for the entire in situ incubation period were respectively 26.33°C and 16.03°C. Net mineralization data (mg N/kg soil) showed that over the period of 84 days it varied from 26.43 to 62.19 for VC, , 7.77 to 31.09 for FYM, 36.86 to 72.62 for PM, 32.65 to 76.19 for RCD, 59.08 to 106.51 for FM, 76.96 to 119.72 for TW and 29.54 to 108.06 for MC. The average of the weekly mineralized nitrogen from organic matter was in the decreasing order of TW >FM>MC >PM>RCD>VC>FYM.

Ramie (Boehmeria nivea L.) is one of the most valuable sources of natural fibre known to human civilization from ancient times. The yield and fiber quality of ramie are affected by soil nutrients, particularly nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K). Variation in organic carbon content of soil influences the fibre quality as it acts as a natural buffer. In the present study, we aimed to correlate the influence of inherent soil nutrients on yield and fiber quality of ramie fibre. Six ramie lines (R-1424, R-1415, R-67-34, R-1411, R-1418, R-1427) were grown in North Eastern hilly regions of India, under normal fertilizer dose was studied to evaluate for differences in plant height, stem diameter, filament length, yield and fiber quality of ramie. It was found that available nitrogen and potassium had significant effect on plant growth, yield, and fiber quality, whereas available phosphorous had strong positive correlation with fineness, strength and length of fibre.

A field experiment was conducted during rainy seasons of 2013-14 and 2014-15 at the Rajola Krishi Research Farm, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Mahatma Gandhi Chitrakoot Gramodaya Vishwa Vidyalaya, Chitrakoot – Satna, Madhya Pradesh, India to study the effect of phosphorus and biofertilizers on phosphorus use efficiency (PUE) and biological N-fixation (BNF) yield of pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan L.) variety UPAS-120. The agronomical and physiological PUE and its recovery were found significantly higher (10.40, 44.83 and 13.09 respectively) under the lowest level of phosphorus (P30). The reserve was true in case of P90. Dual biofertilizers (Rhizobium + PSB) gave significantly higher physiological PUE over single biofertilizer; where as agronomical PUE and recovery were found identical. Application of phosphorus up to 90 kg P2O5/ha gave maximum grain yield (16.06 q/ha). The dual biofertilizers also gave maximum yield up to 15.56 q/ha. The BNF was highest in these treatments. Hence the N-balance in soil was maximum (230 kg/ha).

In the present investigation was carried out to access the floristic structure, composition and functional characteristics of homegardens in Garhwal region, Uttarakhand during 2013-14. Here, we had selected two districts on the basis of maximum (Uttarkashi) and minimum (Rudraprayag) geographical area of the state. The result showed that floristic tree diversity was maximum contributed by agroforestry crops (64%, 53.84%, 62.5%, 66.7%) and followed by horticulture crops (36%, 46.16%, 37%, 33.3%) with respect to Malkhi, Khumera, Kurura and Panchan gaun village respectively. The contribution of forest and van panchayat for fuel-wood were 13.5 and 5 kg, 11.5 and 6.5 and 2.6 and 6.2 kg/day for group of farmers during rainy, winter and summer seasons, respectively. We observed that 35 species of trees (forest trees+ fruit trees), 18 species of agriculture crops, 13 species of vegetable crops, 9 species of grasses and 13 species of shrub were identified from the study area.

Bacterial blight of pomegranate caused by Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. punicae is a wide spread disease affecting pomegranate production and quality of fruit in Punjab. In-vitro evaluation of agrochemicals indicated that blitox at 3000 ppm followed by kocide 2500 ppm successfully managed the disease. A field experiment was also conducted for its management at New orchard, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana during, 2013. Three sprays of the agro-chemicals were done at 15 days interval starting from end June to end July on Mridula variety of pomegranate. Among the various treatments, blitox (0.3%) + streptocycline (250 ppm) proved most effective in reducing per cent disease index, per cent fruit cracking and providing maximum disease control. Quality parameters viz., TSS, acidity, weight, pulp colour, juice weight etc. were also studied. Maximum TSS, fruit weight, juice weight, pulp weight, 100 grain weight and total grain weight were observed in blitox (0.3%) + streptocycline (250 ppm) followed by kocide (0.25%) + streptocycline (250 ppm) sprayed fruits.

Insects and products derived from them have been consistently used as medicinal resources by human civilizations all over the world. The immunological, analgesic, antibacterial, diuretic, anesthetic and anti rheumatic property in the bodies of insects is now well recognized; however the immense scope for its exploration still remains untapped. The chemicals generated by insects for self defense can be used as medicinal drugs of enormous potentiality. Insects have long been utilized as significant dietary factor and remedy for illnesses in folk tradition. Such entomotherapeutic potential of insects can also make important contribution in conserving the biodiversity of insects. At present, insect based medicines are gradually on the rise and gaining popularity and relevance. Products based on insect-derived substances with conventional technologies will help in yielding further benefits. This review collates the most important works conducted on insects used for different medicine and includes a discussion of the potentialities of such medicines.

A field experiment was conducted to find out the effective dose of some newer insecticides for the management of sucking insect pests of green gram. The treatments of experiment were Diafenthiuron 50 WP @ 187.5g a.i./ha, Diafenthiuron 50 WP @ 250g a.i./ha, Diafenthiuron 50 WP @ 312g a.i./ha, Spiromesifen 240 SC @ 90g a.i./ha, Spiromesifen 240 SC @ 120g a.i./ha, Spiromesifen 240 SC @ 150g a.i./ha, Sseed treatment with Thiamethoxam 35 FS+ Thiamethoxam 25 WG @ 3g/kg seed+25g a.i./ha, Thiamethoxam 25 WG (Std. Check) @ 25g a.i./ha and Triazophos 40 EC (Std. Check) @ 500g a.i./ha. The results of experiment revealed that Diafenthiuron 50 WP @ 312g a.i./ha was most promising treatment in reducing population of whitefly (Bemisia tabaci), jassid (Empoasca kerri) and flower thrips (Caliothrips indicus) after both sprays followed by Spiromesifen 240 SC @ 150g a.i./ha as compared to standard checks Thiamethoxam 25 WG @ 25g a.i./ha and Triazophos 40 EC @ 500g a.i./ha.

Diamond back moth (DBM), Plutella xylostella (Lin.) has crippled the production of cabbage all over the world having the capacity to dwindle down yield and cause even up to 100% crop loss. Since chemical control has been the most effective means of management over decades, an attempt was made to evaluate diafenthiuron 50% WP on the basis of its bio-effectiveness, non-target toxicity and phytotoxicity in the present experiment. The results exhibited that diafenthiuron 50 % WP at the rate of 600 ml/ha provided most effective reduction of DBM population (88.68%-90.82% reduction of pest over control) with substantial increase in yield (184.75 q/ha) subsequently the highest cost benefit ratio of 1:5.89. All the doses of test molecule were found to be soft against prevailing coccinellids and hymenopteran parasitoids. Further it was observed that the test chemical did not produce any phytotoxic symptoms.

The present study was carried out to evaluate the genetic variations for fertility restorer gene among various sorghum (Sorghum bicolour (L.) Moench) genotypes by SSR analysis. The experiment was conducted in UG Plant Biotechnology Lab of the Deptt. of Genetics and Plant Breeding, G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar (U.S. Nagar). A total of five SSR primers were used for the estimation of allelic diversity in thirty sorghum genotypes consisting, ten male sterile lines (female), ten maintainer lines and ten pollinator (male) lines. All primers were found to be polymorphic for all sorghum genotypes with polymorphism ranged from 80% (Xtxp250 and TS304T) to 100% (Drenshsbm 95 and TS050). Among all 34 alleles, the number of alleles per locus varied from 5 (Xtxp250 and TS050) to 10 (TS304T), with average of 6.8 alleles per locus. The PIC for all 5 primers varied from 0.45 (Drenshsbm 95) to 0.88 (TS304T), with a mean of 0.70. The genetic similarity (GS) was varied from 0.70 to 1.0 for all genotypes. Dendrogram revealed that male sterile lines ICSA264, SP55609A, ICSA702, 32A2 and ICSA293 showed more genetic diversity (30%) with restorers UPC2, HC260 and M35-1 and these combinations can be used as heterotic parents in improvement breeding program of sorghum.

The present investigation was undertaken to study association between different characters, the direct and indirect contribution of the component characters on the yield, genetic advance, heritability for various characters and to assess the extent of variability through genetic divergence in 40 genotypes (38 inbreds and 2 hybrids) of maize. The treatment differences were statistically significant for all the characters and also the magnitude of genotypic and phenotypic coefficient of variation indicated the presence of good amount of variability. Grain yield per plant showed the highest heritability (98.00%) followed by plant height, number of kernels per row and 100 grain weight. Grain yield per plant exhibited highest genetic advance which was followed by plant height and ear head height. The grain yield per plant showed highly significant positive correlation with ear circumference, number of kernels per row, ear length and plant height. Path analysis studies revealed that days to maturity, plant height, ear length, numbers of kernel row per cob and 100 grain weight exhibited high direct effects on grain yield indicating true and perfect relationship between them. This also suggests that direct selection for these traits will help in improvement of grain yield in maize.

Replant problem is very serious problem which suppresses growth and yield of apple and pear in all major fruit growing areas of the world. Fluorescent Pseudomonas has potential to synthesize different secondary metabolites with diverse PGPR activities which enhance soil fertility and promote plant growth. Under this study, twenty- six Pseudomonas strains were isolated from the rhizosphere of apple and pear plants from their normal and replant sites. All the isolates were positive for catalase, oxidase, denitrification test, lecithinase test and tween 80 hydrolysis. They were further screened for antifungal and siderophore production. Maximum siderophore production was recorded in isolates AN-1-UHF, AN-3-UHF, PN- 7-UHF and PN-13-UHF whereas, maximum antifungal activity against Dematophora sp., Fusarium oxysporum, Alternaria sp. and Pythium sp. was recorded in isolates AN-1-UHF, AN-3-UHF and PN-13-UHF. It was found that Pseudomonas sp. isolated from the replant sites showed comparatively less siderophore and antifungal activities. These potential isolates could be further used as biocontrol agents against various fungal pathogens in apple and pear orchards.

The Objective of the present study was to develop regression models for forecasting spot blotch severity in susceptible and resistant genotypes of wheat crop under Irrigated timely sown condition (ITS), Irrigated late sown condition (ILS) and Rainfed timely sown condition (RFTS). CRI, tillering, jointing, flowering, milking and dough stages of wheat were considered for studying the effect of weather parameters on yearly spot blotch severity. Yearly disease severity data and weekly weather data during the period 1975 to 2012 of North eastern plains zones of India were used for this purpose. On the basis of 37 years data, the correlation coefficients between the yearly spot blotch severity and weekly weather parameters (Maximum temperature, maximum relative humidity and their joint effects) were calculated for measuring the quantitative relationship between these variables. These values of correlation coefficients were used for developing weighted weather indices of weather parameters. Values of rTw and rTRHw were found higher and positive in between jointing stage and flowering stage in both the genotypes. The lower RMSE value of MLR models at jointing stage suggested that forecasted value at jointing stage is more precise than other stages.

In the present piece of work, rice seeds were primed with distilled water and different concentrations of kinetin (0 to 30 ppm) T2 to T11, whereas; seeds without any treatment referred as control (non-primed) (T1). Various physio-morphological (shoot and root lengths, root number, fresh and dry weights) and biochemical (proline content, total chlorophyll content and superoxide dismutase activity (SOD at 20 days after sowing)) parameters were studied in the seedlings, obtained from 10, 15 and 20 DAS old primed and non-primed plants. Among treatments, 2.5 ppm treatment (T3) was found to perform best and the T1 was the poorest.