Research Symposium-2013

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Determination of Cultivar Differences of Coconut on Heat Tolerance by In Vitro Pollen Germination
(Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, 2013) Kiriwandeniya, K.G.S.; Alwis, L.M.H.R.; Ranasinghe, C.S.
Coconut as one of the main commercial crops in Sri Lanka, it mainly grows in intermediate zone (around 50% of total land), wet zone (around 25% of total land) and the balance in the dry zone. Heat and drought stress are the main impacts of climate change on coconut production. Therefore, development of heat and drought tolerant coconut cultivars has been recognized as a major adaptation measure to climate change. Plant reproductive organs are more vulnerable to changes in short episodes of stress prior and during early stages of flowering (Ranasinghe et al., 2010). The major cause for failures in pollination under high temperature is reduced pollen germination at temperatures as high as 35 C to 39 C during some seasons. Therefore, it is imperative to develop tools for screening coconut for high temperature tolerance with respect to pollen germination. Several recent studies have used the in-vitro pollen germination and pollen tube growth under different temperatures to screen genotypes for high temperature tolerance. This type of pollen characteristics will provide useful insight into the reproductive tolerance of coconut to anticipated climate change. In-vitro pollen germination and pollen tube growth of typica and nana varieties were studied by Ranasinghe et al., (2010) and suggested that the response of in-vitro pollen germination to temperature will be an accurate method to screen coconut varieties to high temperature tolerance,. Therefore, this study focused on identifying the effect of temperature on pollen germination and pollen tube growth of new coconut hybrids. Methodology Six healthy coconut palms of Tall X Tall (TT), Dwarf Green X Tall (DGT), Tall x San Ramon (TSR), Brown Dwarf x Tall (DBT), Tall x Brown Dwarf (TBD), Brown Dwarf x Sa n Ramon (DBSR), Dwarf Green X San Ramon (DGSR) forms were selected randomly from Raddegoda and Mawathagama sites in Kurunegala, IL1a. The experimental design was Complete Randomized Design (CRD). Male flowers were collected from six palms of each cultivar and pollen of three randomly selected flowers was dusted into microfuge tubes with germination media and allowed to germinate in incubators. Incubators were maintained at predetermined temperatures from 16 C to 39 C within 2 C intervals (3 tubes per temperature regime). Pollen grains were counted for pollen germination (3 slides from each microfuge tube) after 22 hrs of incubation under light microscope. Germination percentage (% PG) was determined. The in- vitro elongation of pollen tubes was measured after 3 hrs of incubation by using an ocular micrometer fitted to the eye-piece of the microscope under a high power (x40). There were 18 pollen tubes per temperature regime for each variety. Maximum pollen germination percentage and pollen tube length recorded after incubation, at each temperature were analyzed using linear and non linear regression models (Ranasinghe et al., 2010). The bilinear equation (Equation 1) was used to estimate cardinal temperatures (Tmin ,Topt and Tmax) of all the varieties. Where; t is actual treatment temperature, and a, b1 and b2: equation constants. Topt: the optimum temperature for pollen germination or tube growth.
Determination of Effect of Pretreatment and Best Medium for Anther Culture for Selected Potato Varieties (Solanum tuberosum L.)
(Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, 2013) Chandrasoma, H.E.L.K.D.; Alwis, L.M.H.R.; Kumari, H.M.P.S.
Potato (Solanum tuberosum L) is a starchy, tuberous crop and extensively cultivated in Nuwara Eliya and Badulla districts. Among the cultivated varieties in Sri Lanka, Granola was introduced variety and variety Golden Star was developed by Agriculture Research Station, Sitha Eliya. Vegetatively propagated potato using seed tubers are highly susceptible for diseases. Because anther culture can ensure that potato plants are disease-free, objectives were to determine the effective pretreatment, best medium and best performing variety for anther culture to develop a protocol for anther culture. Under glass house conditions during May to September, Golden Star and Granola are the only varieties produced flowers. Flower buds (4 to 6 mm long) of Golden Star and Granola were kept in refrigerator under 4 C for 24 hours and 6 C for 48 hours for pretreatment. Anthers were inoculated in six media in first stage. Number of contaminated petri dishes, number of days taken to anther enlargement, days taken to color change, difference of anther length, callus percentage and average diameter of calli were recorded after 8 weeks from explant establishment. In second stage after callus induction, developed calli will be transferred to a recommended regeneration media containing MS medium + 0.2mg L GA3 + 0.01mg L NAA. Number of days taken to calli regeneration, regenerated calli percentage and total number of shoots were recorded after 6 weeks from transferred. The lowest contamination percentage (16.6%) was observed on anthers pretreated at 4 C for 24 hours. Days taken to anther enlargement, days taken to color change and difference of anther length are not differed significantly.
Determination of Optimal Auxin and Cytokinin Levels for Meristem Culture of Sugarcane (Saccharum Hybrid Spp.): Variety SL 96 328
(Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, 2013) Rathnayaka, R.M.B.S.; Alwis, L.M.H.R.; Wijesuriya, A.
Non-availability of quality sugarcane planting material is a major constraint for cane production and sugar industry expansion in Sri Lanka. The Crop Improvement Division of the Sugarcane Research Institute of Sri Lanka actively engaged in the development of protocols in quality planting material production through micro propagation and in the other rapid sugarcane multiplication techniques (Wijesuriya et al., 2010). Concentration of phyto-hormones has been identified as the most critical factor that controls and interacts with the varieties in formation of multiple shoots and root formation in culture (Wijesuriya and Teruya, 1988). The Sugarcane Research Institute usually uses the standard MS medium with the concentration of 0.2 mg/l 6 - Benzylaminopurine (BA) and 0.001 mg/l Kinetin (KIN) for multiple shoot formation and gelrite medium for first culture and liquid medium for passage culture. For root formation in multiple shoots, MS medium added with α-Naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) 0.2 mg/l, Indol-3 butyric acid (IBA) 2 mg/l and sucrose 60 g/l have been identified as the most effective combination. However these phyto-hormone combinations may or may not produce optimum output for different varieties under culture. This study was conducted to determine the optimal levels of shooting hormones (BA and KIN) and rooting hormones (NAA and IBA) in particular to the meristem culture of newly-bred sugarcane variety SL 96 328 that is needed rapid multiplication for commercialization. Methodology This experiment was conducted at the Sugarcane Research Institute, Uda Walawe, Sri Lanka during the period, May to August 2013. Five levels of BA and five levels of Kinetin (Table 1) were tested for their effects on multiple shoot formation and shoot multiplication in passage culture in variety SL 96 328. For root initiation and development in multiple shoots, five levels of NAA and five levels of IBA (Table 2) were tested. Ten and 30 replicates were used respectively, in culturing meristem ex-plants in gelrite medium and in passage culture of single shoots in liquid medium in each hormone combination tested. For rooting, 20 replicates of multiple shoots with more or less similar size and vigour were used for each hormone combination.
Development of a Flavored Herbal Tea using Broken Mixed Fannings and Moringa (Moringa oleifera) Leaves
(Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, 2013) Athapattu, A.M.D.T.; Alwis, L.M.H.R.; Bandara, S.M.I.P.G.; Thalagoda, U.
Tea (Camellia sinensis L.) is the second most widely consumed popular non-alcoholic beverage in the world for centuries due to its sensory attributes and health promoting effects. Herbal drinks gain more popularity in recent years due to its associated health benefits. The study was carried out to add value to the tea grade of Broken Mixed Fannings (BMF) by developing a flavored herbal tea by incorporating Moringa oleifera leaves which contains various health benefits. Moringa oleifera leaf powder was prepared. Five treatments were tested incorporating various quantities of Moringa leaf powder and BMF to make final quantity of 2.0 g of herbal tea blend for a tea bag. A sensory evaluation was conducted using ten experienced tea tasters to find out the best combination of Moringa oleifera leaf powder and Broken Mixed Fannings ratio for herbal tea development. Color, aroma, taste, mouth feel and overall acceptability were evaluated as sensory characteristics based on a five-point hedonic scale. Tea is flavored by using lemon flavor. The data was statistically analyzed by Kruskal-Wallis test and Conover-Inman method. 0.8 g of Moringa leaf powder and 1.2 g of BMF incorporated combination was selected as the best treatment for the herbal tea development among the five different treatments tested. Total polyphenol content and total antioxidant content of the newly developed product were 0.05 % (g/ml) and 0.19 % (g/ml) respectively as a percentage of the extract. The findings of the microbial studies showed that the newly developed herbal tea blend is safe for the consumption and the physico-chemical analysis revealed that pH and the moisture content of the new product were fulfilled the required standards.
Development of Ready to Drink Beverage from Coconut Water of DC Mills
(Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, 2013) Kumara, W.G.M.; Alwis, L.M.H.R.; Jayasundera, J.M.M.A.
Coconut (Cocos nucifera Linn.) is referred to as “Tree of Life”. However, the most used part of the palm is coconut fruit (Damar, 2006). Liquid endosperm is the inner most part of the coconut fruit and it is rich in sugars, vitamins, proteins, antioxidants, minerals etc (Rolle, 2007; Campos et al., 1996; Nadanasabapathy and Kumar, 1999). Although coconut water has numerous nutritional and medicinal properties, mature coconut water is considered as a waste and removed especially from desiccated coconut industries (Damar, 2006). Coconut water discharged from DC mills has a higher biological oxygen demand (BOD) and a chemical oxygen demand (COD) (Kumar et al., 2002). This active pollutant pollutes the surrounding environment mainly by producing bad odours. Growing consumer interest in coconut water as a refreshing beverage and as a sports drink has broadened its market opportunities. The major problem in coconut water beverage is the shorter shelf life. Processing, preservation and proper packaging may be a good solution for extending the shelf life of mature coconut water as a beverage. This study was aimed at developing a processing and preservation method for prolonging the shelf life of coconut water that is discharged from DC mills. Methodology Coconut water was collected from DC mills under hygienic conditions. The pH, titratable acidity, total soluble solids (TSS), total sugar and minerals (Ca, Mg, K, Na and Fe) of DC nut water were analyzed. Preliminary studies were carried out to find out the best TSS level (6.0.), the best acidulates (citric acid), the best pH value (pH 4.4), suitable flavor and appropriate flavor concentration (strawberry flavor with 0.2 % v/v). The pH and Brix value adjusted coconut water was pasteurized by heating at 80 C for 5 minutes (T1), heating at 80 C for10 minutes (T2), heating at 90 C for 5 minutes (T3) and heating at 90 C for 10 minutes (T4). KMS (100 ppm) and 0.05 % CMC were added as preservatives and stabilizers, respectively. The treated nut water with the better flavor was filled into sterilized glass bottles and aluminum pouches. Bottles and aluminum pouches were stored separately at both ambient (30±2 C) and refrigerated (4±2 C) temperature. The processed nut water was analyzed for TSS, titratable acidity, pH, mineral content, microbial infestation and sensory properties once in two weeks’ for a period of 2 months. Physio-chemical and microbial data were analyzed by SAS computer software. Kruskal Wallis one way ANOVA non-parametric statistical test was performed to analyze sensory data.
Effect of Different Potting Media for Vegetative Propagation of Tippili (Piper longum and Piper samentosum)
(Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, 2013) Sudasinghe, S.P.; Alwis, L.M.H.R.; Marasinghe, P.
Tippili is a widely used ayurvedic medicinal raw material in Sri Lanka. There are two types of tippili, known as, wal tippili and gas tippili (Personal contact ayurvedic physicians). Those two herbs were identified as separate species: Piper longum and Piper samentosum, which belong to the family Piperaceae and native to South and South East Asia. It is a dioecious, perennial herb with a thick, erect and branched rootstock and an ascending or prostrate stem (Huber, 1987). Although those plants can be grown in wet regions in Sri Lanka, tippili is highly cultivated in low country wet zone. The economic important parts are roots and dry spikes of female plant, which are generally used for its several medicinal and spicy properties. Availability of tippili as raw material in Sri Lanka is not sufficient to cater the requirement and the demand of the tippili plant has been increased. Therefore, Sri Lanka has to import tippili from South Bihar region in India (Abeywardana and Hettiarachchi, 2001). According to Department of Ayurveda (Technical branch), Sri Lanka has expended US $ 246485 for tippili spikes and US $ 43009 for tippili roots. India is a leading country which is producing ayurvedic products and they export adulterants due to high demand. Those adulterants do not have proper medicinal value. As a result final medicinal value of local ayurvedic products could be reduced. Therefore, it is better that local requirement of tippili to be produced within our country. Most of Sri Lankan tippili plants are female plants (Samuel, 1982) and the seed production is very low. Therefore, tippili plant is difficult to multiply through the seed propagation. According to Samuel (1982) it is grown as a medicinal plant to a limited extent in village homesteads in Sri Lanka. Stem cutting is a present method follows the multiplication of tippili plant. There are no recommended potting mixture, environmental requirements, cuttings and other planting materials available for vegetative propagation. The aim of this study was to find out the effective potting medium, polythene type and species for vegetative propagation of tippili for commercial scale cultivation using stem cuttings. Methodology This study was carried out at National Research Medicinal Plant Garden in Haldummulla using three factor factorial CRD design. The three factors considered that can be affected on vegetative propagation were two species of tippil (P. longum and P. samentosum), polythene treatment combinations were used with three replicates. Four different media: media 1 – M1 (Sand: Coir dust 1: 1), media 2 – M2 (Soil: Coir dust 1: 1), media 3 – M3 (Sand: Soil: Coir dust 1: 1: 1), media 4- M4 (Sand: Soil: Coir dust 1: 1: 1) were prepared as potting media which were sterilized using sunlight method. Three nodal cuttings (height-about 5 inches) were taken from each species. The performance of P. longum and P. samentosum plants was evaluated by recording dry weight of plant roots after 90 days of cuttings established, length of the root (length of longest root) and shoot height. Data analysis of the experiment was conducted using an Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) procedure of the Minitab version 16.
Effect of Seed Treatment on Seed Germination Areca nut (Areca catechu Linnaeus) Palm
(Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, 2013) Wanninayaka, R.P.P.; Alwis, L.M.H.R.
Areca nut (Areca catechu) palm is an evergreen plant which is highly restricted to the warmer regions of the world. There are numerous uses of Areca nut palm as food, fuel, timber, boundary plant (George et al., 2006) and landscaping palm (Orwa et al., 2009). As an ornamental palm, currently, Sri Lanka has great demand in export market because of their aesthetic and enormous tropical appearance, especially from Middle- East countries. Also it has higher local demand as landscaping plant and a boundary plant in agricultural fields. Ornamental palm exporters export 100,000 to 150,000 areca nut seedlings in one consignment. Seed germination is not uniform in large scale production of areca nut seedlings. Normally, it takes five to six months to germinate and inherently these palms have low germination percentage which is around 25% to 30%. Because of the low germination percentage of areca nut palm, growers have to sow at least 250,000 to 300,000 areca nut seeds to get 100,000 seedlings. Therefore, growers confronted many difficulties in nursery management of areca nut palm. Byusing proper treatments for seeds and controlling the temperature and moisture of the planting media, germination percentage can be significantly increased up to 80% to 90% and time taken to germinate can be reduced up to 3 to 4 weeks. As a result, seed requirement and cost of production can be significantly reduced. This will be a massive assistance for the palm growers of ornamental palm industry in Sri Lanka. Therefore, in this study, it attempts to find out the effect of seed treatment on seed germination in seed propagation of areca nut palms. Methodology In the experiment, 576 areca nut seeds were taken. As seed treatments, three di fferent soaking times: 24 hrs, 48 hrs and 72 hrs without soaking as control treatment were used. Black polythene, straw and paddy husk were used as mulching materials and control experiment kept without mulch. Coir dust and sand were taken as growing media in 1:1 ratio. Twelve seeds were sown in vertical position with calyx end covered in each plastic tray (Sheshagiri et al., 2004)for each treatment with different seed treatments and three replicates. All trays were kept in shade house. Temperature and Relative Humidity in shade house and temperature under mulching materials were measured in two days intervals. Rooting was observed daily and first sight of root emerging was taken as start of seed germination.
Evaluation and Multiplication of Common Bean Germplasms Collected from Uva Region
(Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, 2013) De Silva, D.C.K.; Alwis, L.M.H.R.
Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is one of the major and very popular vegetable crops in Sri Lanka. It belongs to family Leguminosae and genus Phaseolus. Uva region plays a major role in common bean cultivation of Sri Lanka as 2/3 of the common bean cultivation is commercially done in this region. There are mainly 23 common bean germplasms available among the farmers in Uva region (Bandara, 2012). There is a good demand for common beans in the international market (Ariyarathne, 2005). Therefore it is very essential to develop varieties comprised with promising characters. Thus this research was conducted to evaluate the common bean germplasm phenotypically and to multiply the collected germplasms which might be in assistance for the future plant breeding programs. Methodology This research was conducted at Uva Wellassa University, Badulla during the period of June to October 2012. Twenty three germplasms collected from Uva Region were phenotipycally characterized according to the characterization catalogue for common beans developed by Plant Genetic Resource Centre, Gannoruwa. There both qualitative and quantitative characters of leaves, stems, flowers, pods and seeds were considered. The collected germplasms are such as Kappetiola Nil (KN), Kentucky Wonder Green (KWG), Lanka Butter (LB), Cabri Kalu Ata (CKalu), Cabri Kaha Ata (CKaha), Maspanna Kaha Ata (MKaha) , Maspanna Kalu Ata (MKalu), Maspanna, Katugasthota Kaha Ata (KKaha), Katugasthota Kalu Ata (KKalu), Kalu Ata (Kalu), Kaha Ata (Kaha), Kalu Ata Roll (KAR), Kot Roll (KR1), Dik Roll Kalu (DRK), Dik Roll Sudu (DRS), Kola Roll (KR2), Kollu, Murunga Brown (MB), Gas Bonchi (GB), Sudu Bonchi (SB), Dumburu Ata (DA), Black Roll Murunga (BRM). Complete Randomized Design (CRD) with four replicates was considered as the experimental design. Collected data were analyzed using the Minitab 16 and SAS 9.2 Statistical Softwares. Quantitative data were analyzed with one way ANOVA with Fishers LSD value mean separation process. Qualitative data were tabulated and scores were given for those characters. A dendogram was created considering the scores of qualitative characters and the mean values of quantitative characters to identify the similarities of the germplsms. Results and Discussion The qualitative and quantitative characters shown in table 1 and 2 are the highly variable characters among the germplasm. KAR posses the highest inflorescence length and the shortest is from Maspanna, DRK and Kollu. No. of pods per inflorescence is highest in DRS. Maximum number of flower buds can be seen in MB and the minimum days to flowering can be observed in MB, KAR, Kaha, Kalu, KKaha and KR2. Even though the research was carried out for 23 germplasms, the evaluation was only completed for 18 due to the non viability condition of seeds used for planting.
Evaluation of Sugarcane Germplasm for Development of Core-collections for Directional Breeding of Sugarcane (Saccharum hybrid spp.)
(Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, 2013) Supuni, L.B.S.; Alwis, L.M.H.R.; Wijesuriya, A.
Sugarcane (Saccharum hybrid spp.) is cultivated globally as a main source of raw material for production of sugar. Currently, Sri Lanka produces about six percent of the local sugar requirement, which is around 650,000 tons per annum. The present government has launched programmes as per the Mahinda Chinthana Development Frame work (2005) to achieve 40% self-sufficiency in sugar by year 2020 and 100% by year 2030. Sugarcane variety improvement plays a major role in achieving the said targets by developing new varieties with commercial attributes and selecting of varieties suitable for growing in different agro-ecological regions in the country. Selection pressure is applied to select varieties with higher cane yields and sugar contents, equitable fiber and resistance to major pests and diseases. Germplasm evaluation, parental selection in hybridization and progeny selection using appropriate methodologies increase the efficiency of the sugarcane breeding programme. Most of the local collections belong to Saccharum officinarum and there were a few hybrids which could not be recognized visually. The imported varieties and standard varieties were hybrid derivatives of early nobilization work.The present study was carried out to assess the parental worth of 217 sugarcane accessions to identify the most suitable parent clones and I nclusion of them into the proven parents system for crossings directed to high cane yield, high sugar content in juice and moderate fiber content. The specific objectives of this study were to estimate breeding values of accessions for yield components, clustering of accessions for making core-collections and estimation of association between yield components of sugarcane. Methodology The experiment was laid out in a completely randomized design with two replicates. A uniformly prepared land with furrows opened 1.37 m apart were divided into 1 m plots across the furrow direction and 1 m space was given between two plots. A total of 217 accessions that comprised local collections (131), imported varieties (75) and standard varieties (11) were tested in plant crop and ratoon 1 crop. Data collected from the plant crop included plot weight (WT), stalk length (SL), stalk diameter (DM), number of stalks (ST) and, hand refractometer brix (HB). In addition, laboratory brix (BRIX), pol in juice (POL), purity (PUR), pure obtainable cane sugar (POCS) and fiber percentage (FIB) were recorded in the ratoon 1 crop. Analyses of variance for all the characteristics followed by means separation employing the unnett’s procedure against the commercial standard variety Co 775, and phenotypic correlation and cluster analysis using agglomerative hierarchical approach for the variables WT and HB for plant crop and WT and POCS ratoon 1 crop to characterize the accessions for cane yield and sugar content were done. Breeding values of the accessions were estimated as proposed by Marshall (2008) for all characteristics except FIB. The narrow-sense heritability values of the characteristics estimated by Wijesuriya et al. (2012) were used for the estimation of breeding values of the accessions.
Formulation and Development of Skin Care Cream by Using Tea Fluff
(Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, 2013) Maduwanthi, B.L.G.; Alakolanga, A.G.A.W.; Alwis, L.M.H.R.; Samaranayake, H.G.H.
Medicinal and aromatic plants are used in pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries all around the world as natural sources. There have been many research conducted to prove the skin care properties perform by Polyphenols and anti oxidants present in tea. During the course of fermentation, the Polyphenols of green tea are rapidly converted to the Polyphenols of black tea. Depending on the degree of fermentation, some green tea Polyphenols remain unconverted. (Coggon, Moss and Sanderson, 1973). Tea fluff is a waste product generated in secondary manufacturing and it is rich with Polyphenols as same as the black tea. There are many cosmetic products that made by both black tea and green tea as the term of value added product, but it was noted that skin care products that are made by using tea fluff are not present in the Sri Lankan market. Therefore this study was conducted to show the potential to make a tea based cosmetics by using tea fluff as the theme of value addition. Methodology DPPH (2,2-diphenylpicrylhydrazyl radicals) Assay and Folin –ciocalteu method were used to find the anti oxidant activity and total polyphenol content of tea fluff. Complete Randomize with 1%,2%,3%,4%,5% and 6% of tea fluff from the total weight. Then they were subjected to sensory evaluation using 30 panelists to evaluate visual smoothness, spreadability, greasiness and overall acceptability. Another sensory evaluation was conducted to evaluate visual appearance of the formulation in the jar, feel of the cream in the jar, skin feel during absorption and skin feel after absorption as advanced sensory session. Results were analyzed using the MINITAB statistical analysis package according to the Freedman test at 5 % level of significance and the best treatment level was selected. Four replicates from the selected best treatment were evaluated for aerobic plate count test and visually observed the physical determinants to study the shelf life. pH value, non volatile matters at 105 C, thermal stability and total non-aqueous content of final selected product were determined according to the SLSI standards as Quality Analysis.
Multiplication of Endangered Indian Sandalwood (Santalum album L.) through Vegetative Propagation Techniques
(Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, 2013) Wickramathilaka, M.A.A.C.; Alwis, L.M.H.R.; Alawathugoda, R.M.D.; Zuhry, A.L.M.
Santalum album is a highly demanded plant species, known for its fragrant heartwood and oil in ayurvedic and beauty industry trends towards natural products. Due to increase of worldwide demand and decline of sandalwood natural resource, currently Indian sandalwood has gained the interest as a plantation crop in Sri Lanka. As an alternative propagation for rapid multiplication of S. album, identification of potential multiplication techniques to get uniform plant stock to meet market demand quantitatively and qualitatively is an important task. The objectives were to find out suitable growth medium, effect of hormone, and suitable type of stem cuttings for rooting, and to study the potential use of juvenile coppice shoots of mother stock raised from seedlings for multiplication. For macro propagation, hard wood, semi-hard wood and soft-wood cuttings were taken from mother stock from seedlings. Two rooting media: sand and sand + coir dust; and two hormone treatments: with and without roocta commercial hormone, were used. Juvenile coppice shoots obtained from mother seedlings were planted in sand in humid chamber with two hormone treatments: with and without roocta. All soft wood cuttings died within few weeks. One hard wood cutting out of thirty planted in coir and sand medium, without supplement of hormone only rooted. All other hardwood and semi hardwood cuttings showed development of leaves and shoot elongation after two weeks of establishment but no rooting even after ten weeks of establishment. All juvenile coppice shoots planted on sand retained green colour and alive even after five weeks of establishment. Juvenile coppice shoots without hormone showed 40% rooting but 27% rooting with hormone treatment.Very limited success of rooting of stem cuttings might be probably due to factors such as collection date of cuttings, cutting characteristics, humid chamber parameters, stock plant maturation and clones used because presence of carbohydrate and translocation of auxine in leafy juvenile shoots leaves to base of cuttings and play an important role on rooting of cuttings. Various treatments used for rooting of stem cuttings were not suitable for rapid multiplication of S. album. Newly initiated shoots with new leaves do not always work as good indicator for rooting. Juvenile coppice shoots showed better rooting ability. Therefore, juvenile coppice shoots can be introduced as one of feasible rapid method for multiplication of Indian sandalwood.
Phenotyping of Breeding Populations in Complement with Molecular Markers to Select Submergence Tolerant Rice (Oryza sativa)
(Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, 2013) Gunadasa, J.G.D.C.; Alwis, L.M.H.R.; Samarasinghe, W.L.G.
Over 22 million hectares of lowland rain fed rice lands which occupy 18 % of global supply of rice are vulnerable to flash flooding worldwide and severe in Asian countries such as India, Bangladesh and Thailand. Most of these fields are cultivated with submergence tolerance landraces FR13A and FR43B with poor yield of 2 Mt/ha (Neeraja et al., 2007). As reported by the respective data sources, up to the end of January 2013, approximately 75,000 ha of paddy lands have been affected due to flood condition prevailed throughout the season. Therefore rice breeders should select the appropriate varieties for those areas with the higher yield. The study was undertaken to improve submergence tolerance in popular Sri Lankan rice variety Bg360 through identifying submergence tolerant individuals in BC2F1 population of Bg360 / Swarna Sub1 // Bg360 by phenotypic and molecular screening. Methodology This experiment was carried out in the field and laboratory at the Bio technology Division of Rice Research and Development Institute, Batalagoda which is in the Low country Intermediate Zone of Sri Lanka from May to October 2013. Two rice varieties namely Bg360 which is three and half month, submergence susceptible rice variety popularly grown in Sri Lanka, and Swarna sub1 which is a developed submergence tolerant rice variety grown in India and 526 seeds from BC2F1 population of cross of Bg360 and Swarna sub1 were grown in nursery trays for 10 days and submerged under 1 m height of water for 10 days. Number of survived plants were taken at de-submergence and number of recovered plants were numerated 14 days after de-submergence. Height difference was scored before and after submergence. A rapid DNA extraction protocol modified by Rice Research and Development Institute (RRDI), Bathalagoda was used for DNA extraction. Peatan a df DNA in she samples were confirmed by using agarose gel (1%) electrophoresis with 50 mV for 45 minutes. RM 219 microsatellite (Table 1) was used to dbtaeoa polymorphism between Bg360 and Swarna sub1. In PCR amplification, single preheat at 94 C, 35 cycles of denaturation at 94 C for 1 min, annealing at 59.1 C for 1 min and elongation for 72 C for 2 min and final extension at 72 C for 5 min were used for 15 µl of reaction volume which consist of 0.06 U Taq DNA Polymerase, 1X Buffer, 1.5 mM MgCl2, 0.1 nM dNTPs, 0.07 ϸmol forward and reverse Primers and 20 ng/µl template DNA. Agarose gel (2%) was used in 0.5X TBE buffer for electrophoresis for 2 hours under 50mV voltages to analyze the amplified DNA.
Study on Vegetative Propagation of Camellia japonica L. (Tea Rose)
(Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, 2013) Fernando, J.H.C.M.; Alwis, L.M.H.R.
Camellia japonica (the Japanese Camellia) is one of the best known species of the genus Camellia and this genus is comprising more than 200 species, includes evergreen shrubs and trees belonging to the Theaceae family, which are grown mainly for the preparation of tea with the leaves and buds, for the seeds in order to obtain oil, and as ornamental plants. Among the Camellia species, the economic value of the C japonica ranks the highest due to its beautiful ornamental flowers. C. japonica is highly spread in up country regions of Sri Lanka such as Nuwara Eliya and Hakgala. It is highly propagated vegetatively using stem cuttings. When vegetative propagation is being done, the nursery is the first and one of critical points in propagation. Nursery soil is highly affected for the vigorous growth of any plant. It affects for the rooting efficiency, presence of pests and diseases, nutrient availability, etc. Therefore, this study was aimed to identify the most effective propagation type and soil medium for two selected C. japonica varieties in the nursery. Methodology Two varieties of C. japonica which bloom white and pink color flowers were selected for the experiment. They were collected from the Hakgala Botanical Gardens and the experiment site was a land at Uva Wellassa University premises. In the experiment, four soil media, two propagation types were used. Foursoil media were, only top soil (control/M 0), Top soil and rooting hormone (M1),Top soil, coir dust (1:1) and rooting hormone (M2), Top soil (top layer), tea waste (bottom layer) (1:1) without mixing and rooting hormone ( M ). The number of roots and root length were measured in each cutting after85 days from planting.The average weighted root quantity (AWRQ) was calculated and analyzed by using three factor factorial CRD design (Minitab 16 version).
Taxonomical Identification of Maha Aratta (Alpinia galanga (L.) Sw.
(Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, 2013) Dissanayake, R.M.L.A.; Alwis, L.M.H.R.; Marasingh, P.
Alpinia galanga (L.). is one of the valuable rare plant amongst the important medicinal herbs used in traditional medicine. It is commonly known as ‘Maha Aratta’ in Sri Lanka, and has been recognized in different traditional system of medicines for the treatment of vario us diseases. Being a member of family Zingiberaceae, plant rhizomes are rich in volatile oils and other phytoconstituents. In Ayurveda, rhizome of this plant is used to prepare arishtas, asavas, bronchitis, anti-fungal, anti-tumor, antihelmintic, anti-diuretic, anti-ulcerative, disease of heart, rheumatic pains, chest pain, dyspepsia, fever, diabetes, liver and kidney diseases etc. (Chudiwal et al., 2009). This plant is adulterated in Sri Lanka due to similar morphological features of some other species, lack of identification knowledge and rare availability. In Sri Lanka, the main problem of this plant is that there are other closely similar plants that are misidentified as A. galanga (L.). The correct botanical identification of plants is one of the steps that will guarantee success of herbal drug technology, herbal treatments and herbal products etc. The present studydet dnwc saw to identify the genuine Maha Aratta which can be prescribed as a traditional medicine by local physicians without any doubt by developing a descriptor for identification. Methodology This study was carried out in wet and intermediate agro ecological zones of Uva Province. Six different species: Alpinia galanga (L.) Sw., Alpinia calcarata Roscoe, Alpinia malaccensis (Burm.f.) Roscoe, Hedychium flavescens [Carey ex] Roscoe, Hedychium coronarium Koenig, Hedychium coccineum [Buch.-Ham. Ex] were collected and used to differentiate each other by observing morphological features. In order to distinguish Alpinia galanga (L.) Sw. from the other similar plants, openion taken from Ayurvedic medicinal practitioners in Badulla and Bandarawela area, and information collected from the National Herbarium of Sri Lanka, Peradeniya were used. The qualitative characters: leaf arrangement, vein arrangement, leaf shape, leaf color, leaf fragrance, leaf blade shape of base, leaf blade shape of apex, leaf angle, leaf apex habit, flower color, flower fragrance, rhizome color, fresh rhizome fragrance, dry rhizome fragrance and oil gland density were observed. The Quantitative characters: height, number of leaves per tiller, mature leaf length, mature leaf width, internode length, ratio between leaf length and width, number of flowers per inflorescence, number of petals per flower, flower length, inflorescence length and rhizome perimeter were observed. The characters shown high variability were used in development of the descriptor. Results and Discussion Sixty four plant samples having similar characteristics and mis identified as maha aratta were collected from twenty locations from the eleven agro ecological zones in Uva province (Table 1). From 64 plants collected only Alpinia galanga (L.) Sw. plant was recorded in National Research Medicinal Plants Garden Haldumulla. It reveals that A. galanga (L.) Sw. plant is very rarely available plant in Uva region. Traditional Ayurvedic medicinal practitioners pointed out that due to the rare availability and lack of plant identification knowledge in Sri Lankan traditional medicine system, both A. calcarata Roscoe and A. malaccensis (Burm.f.) Roscoe plants are highly misidentified as A. galanga (L.) Sw. Also it showed that IU3c agro ecological zone hass favourable condition and therefore, all these species are well habitat in this area. Agro ecological zone IL2 does not have much favourable conditions for these plants.

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Browsing Research Symposium-2013 by Author "Alwis, L.M.H.R."

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