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Sub-acute toxicity of Caladium bicolor (Aiton) leaf extract in Wistar rats
Herbal medicinal plants constitute an integral component of plant biodiversity whose application for therapeutic purposes has been a common practice since antiquity. However, studies have reported tissue pathologies following exposure to herbal medicinal plants or extracts. This study was carried out to assess the possible pathological effects of sub-acute exposure of methanol extract of Caladium bicolor on the hepatic histomorphology of experimental Wistar rats. Twenty four Wistar rats were divided into four groups A-D. Group A was administered with distilled water (2 ml/kg b.w) and groups B-D administered with 100 ml/kg, 200ml/kg and 300ml/kg b.w. of the extract respectively for twenty eight days. The bodyweight of experimental animals was recorded at regular intervals during the study period. After the treatment period, hepatic tissue was harvested, weighed and processed for histopathological study. The results showed that exposure to the extract causes significant (p<0.05) body and organ weight reduction, a significant increase in serum level of ALT and AST as well as prominent hepatic histopathological changes such as inflammation, necrosis and steatosis. Sub-acute exposure to methanol extract of C. bicolor thereby causes dose-independent hepatopathy in experimental animals. Hence, its application for therapeutic purposes needs to be re-evaluated and preferably discontinued to avoid these associated hepatic tissue pathologies
Assessment of crop loss in Arabica coffee due to white stem borer, Xylotrechus quadripes Chevrolat (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) infestation
The coffee white stem borer (CWSB) is the most dreaded pest of Arabica coffee in India. Due to the concealed nature of this pest, the management measures are difficult and require the timely implementation of control measures. The recommended practices for the management of CWSB mainly targets on eggs and early instar larvae, apart from tracing and uprooting of infested plants before the commencement of flight periods (April-May and Oct-Dec). In general, youngArabica coffee plants infested by CWSB die within a year, whereas aged plants withstand the attack for few more years. However, such plants become less productive, susceptible to diseases and also serve as inoculum for further spreading of the infestation. A study was undertaken to assess the crop loss due to CWSB infestation on established Arabica plantation in Tamil Nadu. The result indicated a significant difference between healthy and infested plants and the crop loss was to the tune of 17.7 per cent. Further, quantitative data on out-turn percentages recorded at different stages of coffee processing (right from harvesting of fruits to marketable green coffee bean) are discussed in this paper
Seasonality in sprouting and growth of black pepper rooted cuttings under sub-Himalayan Terai region
Carbon storage and mineralization potential of soils under major plantation crops in the Western Ghats region of Kerala
Effect of phosphorus and determination of optimum nitrogen for bread wheat in Kofele District, West Arsi Zone of Oromia, Ethiopia
Optimum nutrients are basic for proper and balanced fertilizer recommendations as paramount importance in order to confirm food security and increase crop productivity in a sustainable way for farmers and other stakeholders. Soil test based crop response phosphorus calibration study for bread wheat at kofole district in 2016 with objectives to determine the optimum nitrogen of bread wheat to nitrogen-fertilizer applications in soils and to give quantitative guidelines and recommendations of nitrogen-fertilizer for bread wheat on Eutric Vertisols. The study was conducted on farmers’ fields across the district. The treatments considered for optimum nitrogen determination were four levels of nitrogen (0, 46, 69 & 92) and phosphorus (0, 23, 46 & 92) fertilizer included in the treatments. The treatments were arranged in a factorial combination of complete block design with two replications. The plot size of 5mx4m with a seed rate of 150kg/ha a variety of Ogolcho which had been recommended for the area was used. The analysis of variance showed that there were significant differences (p<0.05) among treatments application for all locations. The highest grain yield was obtained on the application 69N kg/ha with no application of phosphorus fertilizers on Eutric Vertisols. Minimum grain yield was obtained on the control plots at all sites. Optimum determination with the partial budget analysis made using the annual average bread wheat grains prices showed that 69 kg N ha-1 gave a marginal rate of return of 122.41%, which is above the acceptable minimum rate of return. Therefore, future research should focus on soil test crop response based phosphorus calibration study of on the result optimum nitrogen of the farmland could be a pre request of the technology before to the end user
Occurrence of teleomorphic phase of Colletotrichum gloeosporioides sensu lato, the incitant of black pepper anthracnose
Anthracnose caused by Colletotrichum gloeosporioides sensu lato, the ascomycetous pathogen is a major constraint in black pepper cultivation. In the present study, surveys carried out in black pepper cultivating regions of Karnataka, India revealed the prevalence of anthracnose disease manifested as diverse array of foliar symptoms. An atypical foliar symptom was also noticed in the black pepper nurseries, characterized by grayish necrotic lesions with brown-blackish margins and randomly distributed blackish structures of pin-head size in the lesion area manifested particularly on the older leaves. The pin-head structures produced orangish exudation embedded with asci, ascospores and perithecia, when incubated under high humid conditions. Typical anthracnose symptoms were developed on susceptible host in pathogenicity studies and subsequent isolation yielded two distinct colonies designated as black and orange. The perithecia were induced artificially under in vitro conditions, which retained fertility and infectivity more than three months. Alternation of generation was observed when the perithecia were cultured on potato dextrose medium which resulted in the formation of acervuli with abundant conidiation. The results of present investigation shed light into the occurrence and potential role of perithecial (teleomorphic) phase in the survival of C. gloeosporioides s. l. infecting black pepper
Exploring the knowledge of social media platforms among higher education institute students’ of Rangpur, Bangladesh
Social media (SM) is one of the best indicators of the technological era. Nowadays people are witnessing the rapid increase of SM in almost every field of our lives from education to politics, society, and economics. It attracts all ages of people. Especially students show an intense interest in social media. The purpose of the study was to know the most preferred SM and the using pattern knowledgeability of respondents regarding various social media platforms (SMPs). A questionnaire-based survey was conducted over 100 students (60 males and 40 females) who were selected randomly from two largest universities in Rangpur, northern part of Bangladesh, studying in undergraduate and postgraduate programs in 2019 between ages 18 and 26. 95% of the respondents used different social media platforms where the top preferred social media platforms are Facebook (88%), YouTube (81%), and IMO (45%). The mean values of the respondents' using pattern knowledgeability level were between 4.46 and 1.88, with standard deviations ranging from 1.10 to 1.83. Most of the respondents have enough using pattern knowledgeability of being a user of Facebook with a wide range of mean scores in both the variables. Respondents have less using pattern knowledgeability of being a user of Viber with a tight range of mean scores in both the variables. All the dependent variables (features), except one (r-value 0.253), showed positive and significant correlations with the usage period where both the features of Twitter have the highest positive significance (r-value 0.945, 0.941 respectively). These scores were significant at p<0.05 level of probability
IAA production and maize crop growth promoting potential of endophyte Aspergillus niger (AO11) under salt stress
Maize is cultivated under a broad range of soil conditions and environments. Maize is slightly vulnerable to salt stress and therefore it is seriously affected by soil salinity all over the world. Recognizing the responses of maize to salt stress and making a good strategy to overcome this problem could aid to develop solutions in saline areas to improve maize productivity. We investigated in this research the impacts, tolerance and salt stress management in corn. Many endophytic fungi can produce the Indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) is known for their role in plant growth and development both with and without salt stress conditions. The current study was focused on the production of IAA by endophytic fungi (Aspergillus niger) and maize seeds germination and promotion of seedling growth and vigor. In order to evaluate the defense response of maize plant, in relation to A. niger, an experiment was designed with three replications of treatments (control, salt stressed, salt stressed inoculated with A. niger, and only A. niger inoculated plants. It was determined that A. niger has the ability to produce the IAA in NaCl and KCl stress peaking 53 μg/ml and was not significantly by alternating the nitrogen and carbon sources in the nutrient broth but increasing the tryptophan concentration raised its production level. High concentration stress of sodium chloride and potassium chloride decrease maize plant seeds germination percentage, shoot and root length also affected the fresh and dry weight of maize. A. niger improves salt resistance in maize and also increased the germination percentage up to 30%, also improved the chlorophyll level and it was proved an effective approach for improving maize germination and growth under salt stress
Floristic diversity and vegetation analysis of the community forests of South-West Haryana, India
Community forestry is an important form of forests and provides resources to over a half billion people in developing countries. They also play a significant part in mitigating the CO2 levels by sequestering a significant amount of carbon in the soil as well as biomass. The present paper assessed floristic diversity and vegetation structure in three different community forests of southwest Haryana which is a part of tropical dry deciduous forests. The vegetation sampling and data analysis were done following standard procedures. A total of 76 plant species belonging to 37 families in the form of 11 trees, 13 species of shrubs, 46 species of herbs, and 6 species of climbers are documented from all three sites. Poaceae was the most specious family in three sites. The highest tree diversity was recorded in Bhera forest followed by Daya and Dhanger. Regarding understory, the forest of Daya has a greater diversity than Bhera and Dhanger forests. Salavadora oleoides was the dominant tree species in Daya site and Dhanger site while in Bhera the dominant tree species was Ailanthus excelsa. The incidence of rampant livestock grazing and other anthropogenic disturbances were visible in all three sites which are primarily responsible for the degradation of these already fragmented village community forests
Trichome diversity studies in selected species of Sida
Sida (Family: Malvaceae) belongs to the genus of flowering plants that possess high medicinal value and is used traditionally in almost all parts of the world. There were about 18 species reported from the state of Kerala (India). Among these, some are with taxonomic controversies. Hence micro-morphological characters of leaves such as trichomes can be used as a taxonomic tool for the identification of plants. Their type, presence, absence and distribution are important diagnostic characters in plant identification and plant taxonomy. Plant samples were collected from different localities of Kerala. Foliar epidermal studies were carried out in order to identify the diversity and distribution of trichomes in the selected species of Sida viz., S. acuta, S. alnifolia, S. beddomei, S. cordata, S. cordifolia, S. fryxelli, S. ravii, S. rhombifolia and S. rhomboidea. Six types of trichomes were identified; they were stellate, conical, forked, capitate (short stalked), uniseriate multicellular and peltate. Stellate trichomes were observed in all the species. Conical trichomes were observed in S. beddomei, S cordata and S. fryxelli. Forked trichome was observed in S. acuta, S. cordata, S. cordifolia, S. ravii, S. rhombifolia and S. rhomboidea. Capitate (short stalked) trichomes were observed in S. acuta, S. alnifolia, S. rhombifolia and S. rhomboidea. Uniseriate multicellular trichomes were observed in S. cordifolia, S. fryxelli and S. ravii. Peltate trichomes are observed in all species except S. beddomei, S. cordifolia and S. fryxelli. However, these species could be easily distinguished by their conical trichomes. A bracketed dichotomous key was prepared for the identification of the species considered for the study