http://repo.lib.sab.ac.lk:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/638 2026-04-28T08:08:40Z http://repo.lib.sab.ac.lk:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/852 INFLUENCE OF PHYSIOLOGICAL STATE OF FRESH AND DRY EXPLANTS ON IN VITRO CULTURE RESPONSE IN RICE (Oryza sativa L.) Zhao, Y; Li, X.L; Amarasinghe, A. A. Y; Yang, Y.S Fresh or dry naked seed-explants of different maturity were cultured in vitro and their responses were investigated on a medium containing 2mg/l 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) as growth regulator. It was found that the explants at lower maturity had lower rates of callus induction and lower production of callus masses than those with the more matured ones in the original cultures. However, the quality of the callus induced from the younger explants was much better since the ratio of somatic embryogenic to non somatic embryogenic callus produced by younger explants was higher and grew faster in the subsequent proliferation cultures. In comparison with fresh young seed-explants and dry ones at the same maturity, dry ones generally responded better in terms of the rate of callus induction and the quality of callus. The strategy of using immature naked seed-explants for obtaining more embryogenic callus was highly effective especially for those varieties with relatively poor in vitro culture response. 2009-01-01T00:00:00Z http://repo.lib.sab.ac.lk:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/849 PRECIPITATION TRENDS IN THE KALU GANGA BASIN IN SRI LANKA Ampitiyawatta, A.D; Guo, Shenglian Kalu Ganga basin is one of the most important river basins in Sri Lanka which receives very high rainfalls and has higher discharges. Due to its hydrological and topographical characteristics, the lower flood plain suffers from frequent floods and it affects socioeconomic profile greatly. During the past several years, many researchers have investigated climatic changes of main river basins of the country, but no studies have been done on climatic changes in Kalu Ganga basin. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate precipitation trends in Kalu Ganga basin. Annual and monthly precipitation trends were detected with Mann-Kendall statistical test. Negative trends of annual precipitation were found in all the analyzed rainfall gauging stations. As an average, -0.98 trend with the annual rainfall reduction of 12.03 mm/year was found. April and August were observed to have strong decreasing trends. July and November displayed strong increasing trends. In conclusion, whole the Kalu Ganga basin has a decreasing trend of annual precipitation and it is clear that slight climatic changes may have affected the magnitude and timing of the precipitation within the study area 2009-01-01T00:00:00Z http://repo.lib.sab.ac.lk:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/846 EFFECT OF PAIRED ROW PLANTING OF RADISH (Raphanus sativus L.) INTERCROPPED WITH VEGETABLE AMARANTHUS (Amaranthus tricolor L.) ON YIELD COMPONENTS OF RADISH IN SANDY REGOSOL Brintha, I; Seran, T. H This study was aimed to evaluate the effect of paired row planting of radish (Raphanus sativus L.) intercropped with vegetable amaranthus (Amaranthus tricolor L.) on yield components of radish in sandy regosol at Agronomy farm, Eastern University, Sri Lanka in Yala 2007. This experiment was laid out in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with four replicates and six treatments. Base crop (T1) and intercrop (T2) were grown in pure stands and other treatments were 20/50 cm paired row planting of radish with three (T3) or four (T4) rows of vegetable amaranthus in between paired rows of radish and 25/40 cm paired row planting of radish with three (T5) or two (T6) rows of vegetable amaranthus in between paired rows of radish. Growth parameters were recorded at regular intervals. The results showed that land equivalent ratio was superior in all tested intercropping treatments. In T3, radish yield was high (37.8 tons/ha) and most of the yield components exhibited high average values as compared with other intercropping treatments. The present study revealed that 20/50 cm paired row planting of radish with three rows of vegetable amaranthus in between paired rows of radish (T3) would be the most suitable planting system in sandy regosol. 2009-01-01T00:00:00Z http://repo.lib.sab.ac.lk:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/844 DEVELOPMENT OF A CULTURED MILK BEVERAGE USING CHEDDER CHEES WHEY Senarathna, I.W.P; Bandara, R.M.A.S; Wickramanayaka, D; Udayathilaka, E.U; Wijeratne, A.W Presently there is a growing interest in utilization of whey by products. The study was carried out to develop a cultured milk beverage using Cheddar cheese whey. Used ingredients were Cheddar cheese whey, Mango pulp, Sugar, Full cream milk powder and yoghurt culture (DVS) and the role of each ingredient in the processing of the product was examined. Shelf life of most sensory scored sample was determined by evaluating chemical and microbial properties. According to the two factor factorial model 9 samples were obtained by mixing different levels of ingredients. A sensory evaluation was carried out to detect the appropriate levels of ingredients in the final product. Data were collected from 9 samples and were analyzed by using the Friedman test of the Minitab 15 software. Treatment with 1L of whey, 100ml of Mango pulp, 180g of sugar and 40g of milk powder exhibited the highest overall acceptability with 11 days of shelf life. There was no treatment effect on viscosity. 2009-01-01T00:00:00Z