SLIIT International Conference on Advancements in Sciences and Humanities [SICASH] 2020
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Publication Embargo In Vitro Root Induction and Acclimatization of Cissampelos pareira: An Important Medicinal Plant(Faculty of Humanities and Sciences - SLIIT, 2021-03-26) De Silva, D.C.M; Fonseka, D.L.C.K.Cissampelos pareira, known in Sinhala as Diyamiththa, is a climbing herb with numerous medicinal properties and belongs to the family Menispermaceae. The plant has a number of phytochemicals which have the potential to produce drugs for various diseases. An in vitro establishment and multiplication method were developed previously for this important medicinal herb in order to extract phytochemicals. Establishment of field plantations is another option to harvest large quantities of this plant. Therefore, the current study was aimed at developing a suitable in vitro root induction and acclimatization method for in vitro generated shoot tips of this plant. For root induction, micro-shoots were transferred to half strength MS medium with various combinations and concentrations of Indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) (0.5and 1.0 mg/L) and Indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) (0.5, 1.0and 1.5 mg/L). The study was carried out in Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with 20 replicates. The highest percentage of root formation, the highest number of roots and the highest length of roots were recorded in half strength MS medium with 0.5 mgL-1 IAA and 1.0 mgL-1 IBA. Above values were significantly higher than all other treatments (p S 0.05). Five different potting media were tested for acclimatization and a significantly high rate of survival was recorded from plantlets established in coco pellets (95%) (p S 0.05). The findings of this study can be used for commercial cultivation and further studies of Cissampelos pareira.Publication Open Access Growth Parameters and Grain Yield of Rice (Oryza sativa L.) as Affected by Biofilm Biofertilizer Application(Faculty of Humanities and Sciences - SLIIT, 2021-03-26) Ketipearachchi, K.G.; Seneviratne, G.; Fonseka, D.L.C.K.Overuse of synthetic fertilizer causes a number of detrimental impacts on both human and environmental health. Hence, beneficial microbial biofilm-based Biofilm biofertilizers (BFBFs) have been developed to make agro ecosystems more eco- friendly. Accordingly, it has been revealed that the BFBFs can reduce current application of chemical fertilizers (CF) in rice even up to 50% without hampering grain yield in field experiments in research stations. Thus, the aim of the present study was to evaluate growth parameters and grain yield of rice after application of BFBF in farmers’ fields. The experiment was designed in block design for paired comparison with uniform, consecutive paddy fields in 12 farmer fields in the Polonnaruwa district. The farmers’ CF practice (N: P: K; 155:20:20) and BFBF practice (1 L BFBF with N: P: K; 59:15:16) were applied as treatments with 12 location replicates per treatment in the Yala 2018 season. Means of shoot and root dry weights per plant, thousand grain weight and yield of the two practices were evaluated. T-test was used for mean comparison. Results indicated that there is a significant increase (P < 0.05) in shoot (53%) and root (89%) dry weights per plant and thousand grain weight (18%) in BFBF practice compared to the farmers’ CF practice. Further, the average grain yield of the BFBF practice was 5,112 kg/ha whereas that of farmers’ CF practice was 4,238 kg/ha, a 21% increment in the grain yield. Hence, it can be concluded that the BFBF can enhance plant growth and grain yield while reducing farmers’ use of CF in paddy fields.Publication Open Access Impact of Spacing and Type of Planting Material on Dry Matter Percentage in Cinnamon Bark: At the Stage of First Harvest(Faculty of Humanities and Sciences - SLIIT, 2021-03-26) Aluthgamege, H.N.; Fonseka, D.L.C.K.; Benaragama, C.K.; Kumarasinghe, H.K.M.S.Cinnamomum verum J. Presl (cinnamon), is an evergreen aromatic plant with several uses and considered as a prominent spice throughout the world. Most familiar product of cinnamon is quills, produced by peeling and rolling the bark pieces in to a pipe like structure. Dry mater content in cinnamon bark is a determinant factor of income since weight of quills mainly depends on it. If the dry matter content in cinnamon bark can be increased, returns from cinnamon exports can be increased as well. Therefore, this study was aimed at identifying the effect of spacing and type of planting material on dry matter percentage in cinnamon bark at the stage of first harvest. Seedlings and vegetatively propagated plants of cinnamon variety Sri Gemunu were planted under three different spacings as 1.2×0.6 m with three plants per hill, 1.2×0.4 m with two plants per hill and 1.2×0.2 m with one plant per hill as two factor factorial RCBD at the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Ruhuna, Sri Lanka. First harvest was collected after two years from establishment and quills were produced with support of skilled cinnamon peelers. Weight of quills per plant was measured after air drying for three days and dry matter percentage in bark was determined by oven drying samples to a constant weight. The results revealed that the mean dry matter percentage in bark of cinnamon seedlings (37.84%) was significantly higher (P<0.05) than the mean dry matter percentage in bark of vegetatively propagated plants (31.69%). The mean quill weight per cinnamon seedling (45.93 g) was significantly higher (P<0.05) than the mean quill weight per vegetatively propagated plant (28.40 g). Interaction effect between spatial pattern and planting material was not significant for both bark dry matter percentage and weight of quills per plant. A moderate correlation between cinnamon bark dry matter percentage and quill weight was observed at the stage of first harvest (r = 0.429, p = 0.036) according to the Pearson’s correlation test. Findings of the current study can be used for further studies.