Insights into Exploitation of Jute (Corchorus sp.) as Leafy Vegetables | Chapter 7 | Research Perspective on Biological Science Vol. 6

 

Jute is one of the most important cash crops for India, widely known for its natural plant-based fibre. Among its various parts, jute leaves are rich in valuable chemical compounds and play a significant role in both national and international markets. Demand for unconventional potherbs is increasing, and known medicinal values or high content of vitamin A or protein or vitamin C has increased the popularity of jute as an affordable nutritional source. Traditional use of jute leaves as “pat shak” or potherbs (edible plant parts such as leaves, flowers, and stems used for cooking or seasoning) is still practised in select regions of India.

 

The present study was undertaken with five varieties each of Corchorus olitorius (C. olitorius) and Corchorus capsularis (C. capsularis) grown in the teaching Farm Mondouri, BCKV, in a Randomised Block Design (RBD) with four replications during 2018- 2019 (4 rows of 4 m each) following recommended agronomic practices.

 

The experiment was conducted in the Teaching Farm located at Mondouri, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavdyalay, West Bengal, India. Planting was done in the first week of April and was harvested after one month. Biomass traits like leaf length (cm), number of leaves per plant, leaf width (cm), petiole length (cm), plant height(cm), weight per plant (gm) were recorded along with an estimation of Vitamin A, Vitamin C and protein content in the leaves.

 

In C. olitorius, heritability was moderately high in all the traits except for the number of leaves, along with moderate Genetic Advance as per cent of Mean (GAM) for Leaf length, fresh weight, indicating that these may be due to additive gene effects and selection for these types of traits may always be rewarding.  In C. capsularis, heritability was moderately high for all traits except for the leaf length and leaf width. Moderate GAM for other traits like petiole length, plant height, leaf numbers, and fresh weight indicates that this may be due to additive gene effects and selection for these types of traits may be rewarding. C. olitorius recorded high biomass yield along with high content of vitamin A (5780 IU, approximately 30 % that found in carrot), which can serve as a cheap source of vitamin A in the eastern and northeast provinces where it can be successfully taken as a vegetable as it happens to be one among the twenty-five popularly cultivated leafy vegetables (shaks) in West Bengal. Young jute leaves, being flavourful, tender and rich in beta-carotene, iron, calcium, and vitamin C, can be a lucrative alternative. The criteria of selection for improvement of yield can be taken in terms of wt (g) per 10 plants, as suggested particularly for both the species, along with the width of leaves, or leaf length in case of C. olitorius. It can be stated that the traits, like the number of leaves in the case of C. olitorius and the traits like plant height or leaf length, in the case of C. capsularis, are more affected by environmental variations.

 

 

Author(s) Details

Debjani Mondal
Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswvavidyalaya, Nadia, West Bengal, 741252, India.

 

Amrita Kumari
Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswvavidyalaya, Nadia, West Bengal, 741252, India.

 

Sourav Hazari
Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswvavidyalaya, Nadia, West Bengal, 741252, India.

 

K Pramanik
Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswvavidyalaya, Nadia, West Bengal, 741252, India.

 

Sri Sai Subramanyam Dash
Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswvavidyalaya, Nadia, West Bengal, 741252, India.

 

Anita Roy
Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswvavidyalaya, Nadia, West Bengal, 741252, India.

 

 

Please see the book here:- https://doi.org/10.9734/bpi/rpbs/v6/5960

New Breeding Paradigms to Enhance Jute (Corchorus spp.) Production and Their Achievements | Chapter 4 | Agricultural Sciences: Techniques and Innovations Vol. 4

 

Jute (Corchorus capsularis and Corchorus olitorius), often known as the "golden fibre," is an essential natural bast fibre crop that is important for the environment and economy, especially in South Asia and Southeast Asia. Although it is valuable but it has its own difficulties like biotic and abiotic stresses, as well as the requirement for higher fibre yield and quality to stay competitive. The history of jute, its geographical distribution, important breeding goals, such as increasing fibre yield, improving fibre quality and creating resistance to pests, diseases, and environmental stresses like drought and waterlogging, are all covered in this chapter. Numerous successful jute varieties such as JRC 321, JRC 212, etc., have been developed with the help of conventional breeding techniques, which include mass selection, pedigree selection, bulk breeding, hybridisation, and mutation breeding. The emphasis is then shifted to more recent developments, such as the introduction of unique traits through genetic engineering, the use of molecular markers (such as SSRs and SNPs) for marker-assisted selection, and the potential uses of genomics, bioinformatics and breakthrough tools like CRISPR gene editing. The chapter also covers some of the achievements of jute improvement- from developing high-yielding, pest-resistant varieties to developing varieties that can withstand drought, waterlogging and other climate challenges.  In order to secure the sustainable and competitive future of this vital fibre crop, the chapter concludes by describing future directions of jute breeding, mainly focusing on developing climate-resilient varieties, improving fibre and implementing innovative methods like genomic selection and the study of wild relatives. The blend of traditional breeding methods and newer breeding advancements is shaping a stronger, more sustainable future for this crop.

Author(s) Details

Kumar Aryan
Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat-785013, Assam, India.

 

Bhaswati Saikia
Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat-785013, Assam, India.

 

Meghali Kutum
Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat-785013, Assam, India.

 

R G Phukan
Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat-785013, Assam, India.

 

P K Goswami
Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat-785013, Assam, India.

 

G C Bora
Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat-785013, Assam, India.

 

Please see the book here:- https://doi.org/10.9734/bpi/asti/v4/6117

The Performance of Jute Mallow (Corchorus olitorius) under Different Intra-Row Spacings and Organic Manures for Sustainable Productivity and Enhanced Market-Economic Potentials in Nigeria | Chapter 1 | Agricultural Sciences: Techniques and Innovations Vol. 1

Most Savannah soils are inherently low in fertility, especially with low organic matter (OM) contents. This results in poor crop productivity. The jute crop removes large quantities of plant nutrients from the soil and therefore responds well to organic manures as well as other agronomic practices such as plant spacing for sustainable crop yields. It is high in protein and eaten as a vegetable. The fibre is strong and durable and used to manufacture packaging materials like sacks, bags, ropes, home textiles etc. Hence, it holds great economic potential. It is against this backdrop, that this study examined the effect of different intra-row spacings and organic manures on the growth, yield and fibre colour of jute mallow (Corchorus olitorius). The field experiment was conducted at the Teaching and Research Farm, Federal University, Wukari, Taraba State, Nigeria. Two intra-row spacings, three manures (poultry, goat, cow dung) and control were laid in a 2 x 4 factorial experiment in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications. Data was collected on growth, yield, and jute quality parameters and subjected to Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and where means of treatments were significant at (p≤ 0.05) level of probability, they were separated using the Turkey-HSD. Results showed that at 4WAT, the survival rate (70 - 79%) of the plants in all treatments showed no significant difference. Meanwhile, the highest leaf fresh weight plant^-1, highest stem girth, fiber yield at harvest, plant height, stem fresh weight plant^-1, leaf area (LA), fiber length and width at harvest (10 WAT) were recorded from the jute crop sown at 20cm intra-row spacing. Conversely, at 10WAT, higher plant heights, LA and fibre length at harvest were recorded using cow dung; while goat manure recorded the highest leaf fresh weight plant^-1 at 10WAT, stem fresh weight plant^-1 at 6WAT coupled with stem girth and fiber width at harvest. Poultry manure produced the highest stem fresh weight plant^-1 at 10WAT and fiber weight at harvest. Generally, the control plots significantly recorded the lowest growth, yield and jute fibre colour indices. It is concluded that the intra-row spacings used in this study and the addition of organic manure enhanced the growth, yield and fibre colour of jute mallow. The golden color fibre, adjudged best, was obtained with the application of poultry manure at 5t ha^-1 and the closest (10cm) intra-row spacing. The jute fibre is now accepted as an environmentally friendly and cost-effective material than reinforced plastic due to its biodegradable qualities and is replacing forest wood in the pulp and paper industry. Thus, it is considered the potential fiber of the future.

 

Author (s) Details

 

Sambo, B. E.
Department of Crop Production and Protection, Federal University Wukari, Taraba State, Nigeria.

 

Egbeadumah, M. O
Department of Agricultural Economics and Extension, Federal University Wukari, Taraba State, Nigeria.

 

Amos, E.
Department of Crop Production and Protection, Federal University Wukari, Taraba State, Nigeria.

 

Iyue, I. S.
Department of Crop Production and Protection, Federal University Wukari, Taraba State, Nigeria.

 

Ochugudu, G.
Department of Crop Production and Protection, Federal University Wukari, Taraba State, Nigeria.

 

 

Please see the book here:- https://doi.org/10.9734/bpi/asti/v1/3992