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Ecological impact of alien plant invasion in national parks of an Indo-Burma biodiversity hotspot in India
No full textThe present study aims to evaluate the ecological impact of invasion in two protected areas and provides the first authentic inventory of alien plants with their invasion status. Random sampling technique was followed along with nested quadrats to investigate the phytosociological status of invasion by the alien plants. The ecological studies revealed the occurrence of 207 alien plant species 193 genera under 59 families. The family Asteraceae exhibited the highest species diversity with 38 plant species followed by families like Fabaceae (20 species), Euphorbiaceae (8 species), Convolvulaceae (8 species) and Amaranthaceae (7 species). Most of the alien plants (31%) belonged to American origin followed by 9.18 % from Mexican, 9.17 % from African and 5.31% from European origin. Out of the total species recorded, it was observed that 60.38% herbs, 12.56% trees and 11.11% were shrubs. Phytosociological investigation showed that the lowest reading of Shannon diversity index (H’=1.897) was found in the herb layer of disturbed habitats in the middle altitude of Murlen national park in comparison to the disturbed habitats in the middle altitude of Phawngpui national park (H’=2.198). Ageratina adenophora, Mikania micrantha, Ageratina riparia and Chromolaena odorata were observed as the most noxious invasive alien plants. This database may be utilized to prepare the area's conservation or forest management plans
Impact of foliar spray of thiourea on growth attributes of two cultivars of soybean
No full textSoybean is one of the major oilseed crops cultivated in India and globally. In India, it is mainly cultivated in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Karnataka and Telangana. Despite being grown in large areas, the importance of soybean and its oil is still very prevalent. The objective was to investigate the impact of foliar spraying of thiourea at three different concentrations (250, 500, and 750 ppm) during two growth stages (20-25 days after sowing and 50-55 days after sowing) on two soybean varieties, PS1347 and SL958. Several growth parameters were recorded and then analysed, such as plant height, plant dry weight, stem girth, leaf chlorophyll content, intercepted PAR, crop growth rate and relative growth rate. It was found that thiourea brought a positive influence on the crop, and the maximum improvement was recorded by foliar spraying of 750 ppm thiourea, which was statistically at par with the foliar spray of thiourea at the concentration of 500 ppm
Evaluation of different fungicides against afla rot, Aspergillus flavus Link in groundnut
No full textFour systemic, four non-systemic and two combined fungicides at different concentrations were tested in vitro through poison food technique against Aspergillus flavus (Link), a causal organism of afla rot of groundnut. All the fungicides with their respective concentration were found inhibitory to the radial growth of A. flavus. Among all the systemic fungicides the highest growth inhibition of 99.99 per cent was recorded with tebuconazole 25% EC at all concentration (100, 250 and 500 ppm) followed by carbendazim 50% WP at 500 ppm (99.99%), 250 ppm (85.64%) and 100 ppm (82.64%) and hexaconazole 5% EC at 500 ppm (99.99%), 250 ppm (84.75%) and 100 ppm (77.58%). Among non-systemic fungicides, the highest growth inhibition of 90.88, 86.01 and 81.19 per cent were recorded with mancozeb 75% WP at 1500, 1000 and 500 ppm concentration, respectively. Among the combined fungicides, the highest growth inhibition 99.99 per cent was recorded with Carbendazim 12% + Mancozeb 63% WP at concentrations of 1500, 1000 and 500 ppm, respectively
The ocean carbon pool: a vital component of the global carbon cycle
No full textThe global carbon cycle is an integral part of the Earth System. Of the land, atmosphere, and ocean components of the global carbon cycle that exchange carbon on the timescales of decades to centuries, the ocean contains more than 90% of carbon. The ocean carbon pool represents a critical component of the Earth's carbon cycle, playing a pivotal role in regulating atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) levels and influencing climate dynamics. The exponential increase of total anthropogenic CO2 emissions in the industrial era implies the ocean's uptake has increased exponentially, reaching 2.5 ± 0.6 Pg C yr-1 for 2009-2018. Without the ocean and land sinks, atmospheric CO2 levels would be close to 600 ppm. The ocean carbon pool comprises dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC), organic carbon, and particulate organic matter, collectively responsible for the sequestration and release of carbon into the atmosphere. Phytoplankton, the microscopic marine plants, play a fundamental role in the oceanic carbon cycle by photosynthesizing and fixing atmospheric CO2 into organic matter. This organic matter can be transferred to the deep ocean through the biological pump, further contributing to the storage of carbon in the form of sinking particles. The bulk of the global ocean margin represents a carbon sink of ~0.1-0.2 Pg C. Oceanic processes, such as ocean circulation and upwelling, help redistribute carbon from surface waters to the deep ocean. The solubility pump, which is driven by changes in temperature and salinity, also affects the solubility of CO2 in seawater. These natural processes work to mitigate the increase in atmospheric CO2 concentrations and help regulate global temperatures
Spatial and temporal distribution of donkey and mule population in India
No full textThe donkeys and mules are members of the Equidae family. Spiti, Halari and Kachchhi are registered breeds of donkeys in India. They are well acclimatized to the different agro-climatic conditions to which they belong. Donkeys and mules constitute about 37% of the total Indian equine population and play multifarious roles in human life, especially for the poorest of the poor section of society. They are mainly reared by underprivileged and weaker communities of the society and used for various purposes like transportation of goods, farm produces, pack animals at brick kilns, transportation of garbage, building materials and by nomadic pastoralists etc. The severe decreasing trend observed in Livestock Census elicited us to understand the present status of donkeys and mules. The total donkey and mule populations decreased by 61.23% and 57.10%, respectively in 2019 over the last census. This can be due to their decreased working utility, as alternate economic sources of mechanization are available. Further, motorized vehicles are replacing donkeys and mules in plains and hilly regions where there is a road network. Presently, donkeys and mules are more in rural area than urban area of the country, indicating their utility still exists among rural masses and rural transport depends on these equids. The density of mules is high in the hilly states of India, indicating their utility in difficult hilly terrains
Efficacy of organic inputs on nutrient management and cost-benefit ratio on pulse crops in organic farming
No full textThe wide range of external solid organic sources of nutrients viz., FYM, vermicompost, goat manure, etc., are available, out of them, FYM & vermicompost are found to good in terms of yield and quality of the different pulse crops. Several options are available for liquid manures, among them higher yield, quality and cost-benefit ratio of the produce reported with the application of Panchagavya and jeevamrut. Crop residue mulching with organic manures was also found effective. Integrated application of organic and natural inputs as solid and liquid manures gave better results than sole application
Seasonal incidence of major insect pests of bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria) in South-western Haryana
No full textBottle gourd is an important vegetable crop that fetches recurrent income from farmers. The present investigation was carried out during the kharif season of 2019 to study the incidence of prevailing four insect pests of bottle gourd in relation to weather. The seasonal incidence of major insect pests such as Aulacophora foveicollis Lucas, Bactrocera cucurbitae Coquillett, Aphis gossypii Glover and Bemicia tabaci Gennadius was studied. The fruit infestation by Bactrocera cucurbitae was initiated in the 34th SMW, and the maximum infestation was noticed in the 36th SMW. The fruit fly infestation was significant and positively correlated with evening relative humidity and rainfall. Aulacophora foveicollis incidence in bottle gourd was maximum in the 38th SMW. The beetle population was significantly and negatively correlated with minimum temperature and evening relative humidity. The maximum infestation of aphids and whitefly was noticed in the later stage of the crop during the 39th SMW, and the aphid population was significantly correlated with minimum temperature, evening relative humidity and rainfall, whereas the whitefly population was correlated significantly with evening relative humidity and rainfall
Effect of spacing and harvest duration of moringa leaves in Arid Region
No full textMoringa oleifera Lam, a member of the Moringaceae family, is highly prized and grows in many tropical and subtropical countries. It has a broad spectrum of medicinal uses and is highly nutritious. An experiment was conducted to investigate how spacing and harvest duration impact the growth, leaf yield, and quality of Moringa oleifera Lam at the College of Agriculture, Jodhpur, Rajasthan. The study involved spacing treatments of 60 x 60 cm, 60 x 45 cm, and 45 x 45 cm as well as harvest durations of 30, 45, and 60 days. Randomly selected individual plants from each harvest plot were analyzed to record the fresh leaves and air-dried weights. Additionally, the plant's average stem diameter, height, and branches were recorded. According to the results, over a 60-day period after sowing, there was a steady increase in plant height. The 60 x 60 cm, 60 x 45 cm, and 45 x 45 cm spacings resulted in plant heights of 92 cm, 96 cm, and 102 cm, respectively. The number of branches produced per plant also increased with time, reaching 10 and 12 for medium and wide spacings, respectively. Although the wider spacing produced a more significant number of branches and higher yield per plant compared to the medium and close spacings, the total shoot yield per hectare was higher in the close spacing than in the medium and wide spacings. According to the study, the growth and yield of Moringa were significantly influenced by spacing, with leaf production, branches, and overall yield being particularly affected
Plant-insect interaction in underutilized horticultural crops for sustainable production
No full textPlants and insects have been living together for more than 350 million years. In co-evolution, both have evolved strategies to avoid each other’s defense systems. This evolutionary arms race between plants and insects has resulted in the development of an elegant defense system in plants that can recognise the non-self-molecules or signals from damaged cells, much like animals. It activates the plant’s immune response against the herbivores. Differences in genotypes of plant characters may affect insect-plant herbivore interactions, and variations in genotype traits are responsible for modifying the bottom-up effects. Recent evidence shows that the simultaneous occurrence of abiotic and biotic stress can positively affect plant performance by reducing the susceptibility to biotic stress, a positive sign for pest management. Plant responses to these stresses are multifaceted and involve copious antibiosis, physiological, antixenotic, molecular, molecular and cellular adaptations. Plants with antibiosis characteristics such as flavonoids, phenols, tannins, alkaloids, etc., may cause reduced insect survival, prolonged development time, decreased size and reduced new generation fitness. Quality and quantity of constitutive secondary metabolites production is species as well as cultivar specific and can be expressed as the signature of a particular plant or species and leads to the phenomenon of host-plant resistance. Hence, such plant resistance mechanisms have been effectively and widely used for managing insect pests in fields of underutilized crops. Natural defences are mediated through plant characteristics that affect insect biology, such as mechanical protection on the surface of the plants (e.g., hairs, trichomes, thorns, spines and thicker leaves) that either kill or retard the development of the herbivores. These phenomena of host plant resistance to insects can be exploited for the development of resistance crop cultivars which readily produce the inducible response upon mild infestation and can perform as one of the integrated pest management for sustainable crop production
Climate regulation in protected structures: a review
No full textThe regulation of greenhouses microclimate is crucial for better plant development and higher yields. Chief microclimate parameters such as solar radiation, temperature, relative humidity, light and CO2 can be manipulated by various control actions, such as heating, natural or forced ventilation, CO2 dosing, humidification and dehumidification to provide suitable environmental conditions for all greenhouse crops. However, these modifications require further energy and fuel usage in the production process. Furthermore, greenhouse microclimate can be adversely affected by extreme climatic conditions and, therefore, optimal ambient control is required to perform complex operations involved in energy balancing, including low emissions and reduced cost of production. This paper presents the information on various parameters concerned with greenhouse climate regulation, their controlling methods and their influence on the crops cultivated inside the protected structure