Cotton, known as “the King of fibers”, is the predominant fiber in the Indian textile industry. Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) represent a potential sustainable alternative for the enhancement and protection of crops. The germination and seedling growth of cotton can be optimized by inoculating with PGPR. An experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of different PGPR strains on seed germination and seedling establishment characters on cotton. The highest germination percentage, maximum vigour index and leaf area was obtained with the PPFM TNAU1 strain inoculation. The maximum shoot and root length were observed with seeds treated with Azospirillum strain sp7 with an increase of 24.4 and 42.8% over the control. Underground fresh and dry matter was higher in seedlings treated with Azospirillum sp7 strain compared to control, while the PPFM TNAU1 strain treatment increased the aerial fresh and dry matter content because of its larger leaf area. Seeds inoculated with individual strain of Azospirillum sp7 and PPFM TNAU1 outperformed the combined inoculation of PGPR strains. The increase in germination traits and seedling characters by PGPR strains indicates the positive influence on improving cotton seedling establishment traits associated to higher yield.

The aim of the study was to screen the sorghum varieties (TNAU released sorghum varieties viz., K 12, CO 30 and local variety) for popping. The physico -chemical characteristics of the raw and popped sorghum varieties were analysed. To optimize the pretreatment for the preparation of popped sorghum different soaking solutions were selected and studied their effect on popping. The sorghum grains were popped by using continuous popping machine at a temperature of 230 °C for 2.5 min. The popping characteristics were analysed for sorghum varieties pretreated with different soaking solutions. From the physico -chemical and popping characteristics, it was concluded that the K 12 variety showed the maximum values.