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Sinu, Palatty Allesh

Flower Sex Expression in Cucurbit Crops of Kerala: Implications for Pollination and Fruitset

Abstract Views :321 | PDF Views:136

Authors

T. Anusree ¹, C. Abhina ¹, P. P. Lishiba ¹, T. V. Rasna ¹, Sangeetha Varma ¹, Palatty Allesh Sinu ¹

Affiliations
1 Department of Animal Science, Central University of Kerala, Padannakad PO 671 314, IN

Source

Current Science, Vol 109, No 12 (2015), Pagination: 2299-2302

Abstract

Cucurbits are monoecious in general; the female flowers occur lower than the male flowers in fields. Often farmers are not aware of this type of sex expression, and are concerned about the low fruit set despite 'profuse' flowering and abundant pollinators in the crop fields. We assessed flower sex expression during the peak (female) flowering and fruiting period in three widely grown cucurbit crops, Cucurbita maxima, Benincasa hispida and Momordica charantia in a village ecosystem of northern Kerala. Sex expression was male-biased in two species. In M. charantia, 97.65% of the flowers produced were staminate. In this condition, the farmers should ensure that effective pollinators are available in plenty to achieve maximum fruit set from the low number of pistillate flowers. C. maxima produced an average of 75.39% of staminate flowers, which varied across the fields; three fields consistently produced 100% pistillate flowers in all the 14 days of observations. The fruit set in fields with only pistillate flowers is likely to be affected by pollen limitation, rather than pollinator limitation. These fields may require supplementary manual pollination to enhance the fruit set. B. hispida produced more or less equal proportion of staminate and pistillate flowers across the fields and days studied. This kind of information may help the farmers to manage pollination services in their fields as well as to predict a realistic yield.

Keywords

Benincasa hispida, Cucurbita maxima, Flower Sex Expression, Momordica charantia, Pollination.

Full Text

References

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Human-Wildlife Conflict or Coexistence: What do we Want?

Ecology of Plant-Animal Interactions: Pollination, Seed Dispersal and Tritrophic Interactions

Human-Wildlife Conflict or Co-Existence:What do we Want?

Molecular phylogeny of the dung beetle fauna (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) of the Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot

Abstract Views :259 | PDF Views:117

Authors

G. Asha ¹, Palatty Allesh Sinu ¹

Affiliations
1 Department of Zoology, Central University of Kerala, Periya 671 316, IN

Source

Current Science, Vol 122, No 5 (2022), Pagination: 623-628

Abstract

The tribal and generic-level phylogeny of Scarabaeinae (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) dung beetles have been often debated globally. However, fauna from India have not been a part of these analyses due to lack of data. We used partial sequences of 16S mtDNA gene of dung beetles collected from different parts of the Western Ghats, India, to examine (i) the tribal positions of Onthophagini, Onitini and Oniticellini, and (ii) the phylogenetic position of different genera of Onthophagini. We found that Oniticellini nested within Onthophagini, suggesting the invalid position of Oniticellini. The non-Onthophagus genera of Onthophagini – Caccobius, Cleptocaccobius, Milichus – nested within Onthophagus, suggesting that these three genera might be invalid and could be subgenera of Onthophagus. Onitini formed a separate clade in the phylogenetic tree. The results suggest for tribal-level reclassification of dung beetles, as noted in previous studies. The present study may enrich the molecular data of the Indian dung beetles, which are currently lacking.

Keywords

Biodiversity hotspot, dung beetles, molecular phylogeny.

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Ants Indicate Urbanization Pressure in Sacred Groves of Southwest India:A Pilot Study

Abstract Views :486 | PDF Views:118

Authors

T. P. Rajesh ¹, U. Prashanth Ballullaya ¹, Parvathy Surendran ¹, Palatty Allesh Sinu ¹

Affiliations
1 Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Laboratory, Department of Animal Science, Central University of Kerala, Padannakad 671 314, IN

Source

Current Science, Vol 113, No 02 (2017), Pagination: 317-322

Abstract

Sacred groves may contain remnants of pristine and primary forests outside the state-owned protected area system. As they are small fragments and located in the neighbourhood of human settlements, towns, and cities, they are likely to be affected by urbanization. We studied the effect of urbanization on the ecosystem health of sacred groves of Kerala using litterdwelling ants as the indicator taxa. Ants were pitfalltrapped (10-12 traps/sacred grove) from three rural and two urban sacred groves, and identified to species. Overall, 1,119 ants of 32 species and 6 subfamilies (Aenictinae, Dolichoderinae, Ectatomminae, Formicinae, Myrmicinae and Ponerinae) were collected. This corresponds to 76.54% of the estimated species richness. Urbanization had little impact on the species diversity of ants. Abundance was remarkably high in urban sacred groves, mainly due to higher abundance of generalist and invasive species. The effect of urbanization was indicated by different ant assemblages. Rural sacred groves had nine species and three subfamilies exclusive to them as against the five exclusive species of urban sacred groves. Urban sacred groves were characterized by high abundance of Anoplolepis gracilipes, a globally important invasive species. Sacred groves were clustered based on the rural-urban gradient as hypothesized by the study.

Keywords

Biodiversity, Urbanization, Sacred Grove, Ants, Anoplolepis gracilipes, Invasive Species, Western Ghats, Biotic Invasion.

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Temporal Consistency in Foraging Time and Bouts of a Carpenter Bee in a Specialized Pollination System

Abstract Views :322 | PDF Views:103

Authors

Neethu Sinu ¹, Palatty Allesh Sinu ²

Affiliations
1 438/XIIIA, Mutthappanarkavu, Kanhangad South 671 531, IN
2 438/XIIIA, Mutthappanarkavu, Kanhangad South 671 531, India; Department of Zoology, Central University of Kerala, Padannakad 671 314, IN

Source

Current Science, Vol 122, No 2 (2022), Pagination: 213-216

Abstract

While site and plant fidelity are reported for bees, consistency in foraging pattern is less studied in field conditions. We monitored three marked carpenter bees – one female and two males – on the sword bean for 25 straight days of flowering to examine whether (1) the bee is consistent on the time of its first visit and the number of foraging bouts and (2) the number of flowers on the plant predicts foraging bouts of the bees. The female bee was consistent on the first arrival time and the number of visitation bouts, but the male bees were not. The median first arrival time of the female bee was 06:22 h. Number of visitation bouts of female bee was unaffected by the crop size. The duration the bees spent on the plant on subsequent visits increased with the duration they spent on the first visit. This study suggests that the carpenter bee, in particular the female, has a consistent visitation pattern to the flowers

Keywords

Carpenter Bees, Flower Constancy, Foraging, Sword Bean, Visitation Rate.

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Sinu, Palatty Allesh

Flower Sex Expression in Cucurbit Crops of Kerala: Implications for Pollination and Fruitset

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Human-Wildlife Conflict or Coexistence: What do we Want?

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Ecology of Plant-Animal Interactions: Pollination, Seed Dispersal and Tritrophic Interactions

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Human-Wildlife Conflict or Co-Existence:What do we Want?

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Molecular phylogeny of the dung beetle fauna (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) of the Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot

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Ants Indicate Urbanization Pressure in Sacred Groves of Southwest India:A Pilot Study

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Temporal Consistency in Foraging Time and Bouts of a Carpenter Bee in a Specialized Pollination System

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Overhauling the Communicational Inconsistencies in Indian Science

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