Journal of Applied and Natural Science
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Risk of cardiovascular diseases and gastrointestinal tract disorders in relation to the impact of shift work among male workers of textile mills in Pali district of Rajasthan, India
Get PDFhe present study was conducted in textile mill of Pali city with the objective to study the risk of cardiac and gastric problems in relation to shift work among male workers. The results showed significant difference between Body Mass Index (?2=14.2, p=0.0008) and waist hip ratio (?2=5.2, p=0.0226) of shift and non shift workers. Results on food intake showed comparatively more deficient daily intake of nutrients like fiber (7.21 g), ? carotene (1842.89 ?g), and folic acid (99.03 ?g) in shift workers with respect to recommended dietary allowances and an overconsumption of fats (37.72 g). Alcoholism (?2=17.3, p=0.0001) and smoking habit (?2=14, p=0.0029) was found to be significantly higher among shift workers. Comparatively higher segment of shift workers suffered from hypertension (56.0%), disturbed appetite (87.50%), stomach upsets (90.0%), nausea (88.50%), heartburn (85.0%) and breathlessness (34.0%). Shift workers also had higher mean levels of lipid profile fractions and relatively more subjects fell into the category of high risk (20.50%) of CVD. Longer duration of involvement in shift work also influenced the occurrence of gastric and cardiac problems like disturbed appetite (?2=9.96, p=0.0411), stomach upsets (?2=9.73, p=0.0452), stomach ache (?2=10.1, p=0.0389), constipation (?2=9.88, p=0.0424), dizziness (47.37%), breathlessness (50.0%) and swollen feet (44.74%). The study concludes that shift work affects food intake, BMI, WHR, BP, alcohol intake, smoking habits and lipid profile of the subjects, thus increasing the risk of health problems like cardiovascular and gastric diseases
Comparison of wheat yield and soil properties under open and poplar based agroforestry system
Get PDFField experiment was conducted during the Rabi season of 2013-14 on an established plantation at old site of Agroforestry Research Centre, Patharchatta of G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantna-gar, District Udham Singh Nagar, Uttarakhand, India to evaluate the effect of poplar based agroforestry system and open system (without poplar) on yield of different wheat varieties and soil physico-chemical properties.The experi-ment was laid out in randomized block design with 4 treatments and each replicated thrice under both the growing conditions. The crop treatments are wheat varieties viz. UP-2572, PBW-550, DBW-711 and PBW-373. The highest grain yield of all the wheat varieties was obtained under open farming system. Highest grain yield of wheat was rec-orded in UP-2572 (45.3 q/ha) under open farming system. Agroforestry is proven land use system for vertically en-hancing soil health against unsuitable weather condition. The distribution of soil properties was detected from the depth 0-15 cm in poplar based agroforestry system and as well as in open system. During the experiment it was found that agroforestry add more nutrients to the soil compared to open system i.e. highest pH (7.9), EC (0.43 dSm-1), available soil nitrogen (253.48 kg/ha), potassium (219.63 kg/ha) were achieved with UP-2572 while organic car-bon (1.07%) and available soil phosphorus (22.72 kg/ha) were attained with DBW-711
Morphological and cultural characterization of Phyllosticta zingiberi (Ramkr.) causing leaf spot disease of ginger
Get PDFIsolation of ginger (Zingiber officinale) leaf spot pathogen form the UBKV farm field was done in the laboratory. The isolated pathogen was identified as Phyllosticta zingiberi on the basis of morphological characters as documented in taxonomic keys. The microscopic observation revealed that the pycnidia were globose to subglobose with dark brown colour measuring 124.16 ?m × 2.35 ?m in average. The pycnidio spores were hyaline, oval to bullet shaped, monoguttulate measuring 4.02 ?m × 2.35 ?m in average. Among the different media tested for growth highest growth was recorded in Oat meal agar (26.44 cm2) followed by malt extract agar (24.04 cm2) which was statistically at par. The temperature of 25?C favoured maximum growth (24.20 cm2). However, higher sporulation was observed in 30?C. Among the different carbon source tested, mannitol supported the highest growth of the pathogen (27.67 cm2)
Isolation, virulence gene profiling with molecular cloning of ibeA gene and antibiogram of Escherichia coli from respiratory tract infections of broiler chicken in Kashmir, India
Get PDFhe present study has determined prevalence, serological diversity, virulence gene profileand in vitro antibiogram of Escherichia coli (E. coli) isolates from respiratory tract of broiler chicken in Kashmir valley along with molecular cloning of ibeA gene, an important zoonotic among invasion-associated genes responsible for neonatal meningitis in humans. A total of 224 broilerchickens with a history of respiratory tract infections, in a flock size of 2692 birds from organised and unorganised poultry farms of Kashmir valley, were screened for E. coli isolation. The prevalence of E. coli in birds with respiratory tract infection was found to be 6.38 per cent. Serogrouping revealed that the E. coli isolates were typeable into 10 serogroups with prevalence rate of 8.8% for serogroup O2, along with few isolates rough or untypeable. The screening of E. coli isolates for virulence gene profile revealed the presence of iss in (89.53%), iucDin (85.46 %), tsh in (51.74 %), cva/cvi in (33.14 %), irp2in (55.23 %), papCin (33.72 %), vat in (31.39 %), astAin (38.95 %), fimCin (93.60 %) and ibeAin (1.16 %) isolates. The antibiogram screening of E. coli isolates revealed majority of isolates to be resistant to tetracycline (94.71%), ampicillin (92.67%) and cephalaxin (79.67%).However, most of the isolates were sensitive to amikacin (74.41%) followed by amoxacillin-sulbactam (68.60%) and gentamicin (67.44%). The study thus, suggests that the E. coli isolates from respiratory tract infection of poultry harbour differential virulence genes along with the genes of zoonotic interest and variable antimicrobial resistance, thus, opening the areas for devising dynamic, emergent and effective treatment line
Statistical investigation through stratified random sampling for apple production in Himachal Pradesh
Get PDFThe present study focuses on standardization of sampling technique and comparison of different types of sample allocation methods in combination with various stratification tools (optimum strata boundaries, number of strata and optimum sample size etc.) for obtaining efficient estimators of area and production of apple in Himachal Pradesh. Forth is purpose, various aspects involved in optimum stratification with reference todata collected from the selected or chardists in district Shimla, during the year 2011-12 have been analyzed. The variable "Area under Apple" was chosen as the stratification variable as it had high correlation(r=0.96) with the estimation variable "Production of Apple". Four methods of construction of strata viz., equalization of strata total, equalization of cumulative of ?f(y) , equalization of cumulative of ½{r(y)+f(y)} and equalization of cumulative of were used and their relative efficiencies for estimating total production of apple in the study district of the state have been analyzed. The critical examination of the result revealed that with the increase in number of strata from 2 to 4 and sample size from 10 to 40, equalization of cumulative of method along with Neyman allocation resulted in least variance (0.89) and maximum percentage gain in efficiency (20418.16). Thus, equalization of cumulative of method with L>2 can profitably be applied for the estimation of apple production in the study district of the state Himachal Pradesh, India
Impact of elevated carbon dioxide and temperature on wheat production under sub temperate climate in north western Himalayas, India
Get PDFWheat is the second most important cereal crop and plays a key role in food and nutritional security. The study examines the impact of elevated carbon dioxide and temperature under limited irrigations on wheat crop using crop growth simulation models under sub temperate climate. The Info Crop model was validated using the historical data generated by the research trials of All India Coordinated Research Improvement Project at Palampur, Himachal Pradesh. The model was run for 20 years from 1991 to 2010 for Palampur weather station. The results revealed 3.6 to 4.0 percent and 1.7 to 7.5 percent increase in simulated crop yield with 420 and 470 ppm CO2 respectively. The elevated maximum and minimum temperature by 1 and 20C with 370 ppm carbon dioxide reduced the anthesis period by 5-7 and 9-11 days respectively over the sowing window of November 15th to December 30th. Similarly, days to maturity also reduced by 4-5 and 7-8 days with 1 and 20C rise in temperature respectively. The simulated crop yield showed increase by 17.9 to 63.0 and 33.2 to 133.4 percent with 1 and 20C rise in temperature at 370 ppm CO2 under limited irrigations. The simulated grain yield at 420 ppm CO2 showed an increase of 23 to 69.7 percent with 10C and 39.5 to 123.5 percent with 20C whereas at 470 ppm CO2 level the increase was 27.9 to 76.1 at 10C and 46.4 to 133.0 percent with 20C rise in maximum and minimum temperatures respectively. Hence, simulated results of elevated temperature and CO2 levels proved to be beneficial in rabi wheat with adaptations strategy of limited irrigations under sub temperate climate of North Western Himalaya
Suppression of soil borne fungal pathogens associated with apple replant disease by cyclic application of native strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa
Get PDFPlant growth promoting fluorescent Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains An-E and An- F were used for the suppression of replant disease organisms which were isolated from replant site of apple in Shimla district of Hima-chal Pradesh. Full and half concentration of individual and consortial strains were used for the experiment. Among all the treatments, full concentration of compatible consortial strains were quite effective in decreasing the deleterious rhizobacterial (197-99 cfu/g) and fungal population (7-0 cfu/g). Total rhizobacterial count starts decreasing after each cyclic application of fluorescent P. aeruginosa strains An-E and An-F due to root colonization property of these plant growth promoting strains in the replant site of apple. Establishment of Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains at replant site was inversely correlated with decreasing deleterious bacterial and fungal population in the replant site. 70 per cent survival of apple rootstocks was recorded in full concentration of consortial treatment (An-E and An- F) as compared to control after three years of plantation. Four major fungal pathogens viz. Dematophor anecatrix, Phytophthora cactorum, Pythium ultimum and Fusarium oxysporum were isolated and identified from National centre for fungal taxonomy, New Delhi. These strains can be further exploited and recommended for the management of replant problem of apple
Effect of microencapsulated plant extracts on mosquito repellency
Get PDFMosquitoes are the most important single group of insects in terms of public health importance. Mosqui-toes not only cause nuisance by their bites but also transmit deadly diseases. The activity of mosquitoes is affected by climate, light and temperature. In tropical areas like India, the population of mosquitoes is found huge day by day. Repeated use of synthetic insecticides for mosquito control has disrupted environment as well as human health. To overcome this problem, plant derived compounds may be the better alternate over synthetic insecticides. To enhance the health and hygiene qualities by means of use of medicinal plants through effective application technique on textiles, marigold (petals) and nirgundi (leaves) methanol extract was used as mosquito repellent finish on 100 % woven cotton. For applying mosquito repellent finish on fabric, complex coacervation technique of microencapsulation was used through pad-dry-cure method. Finished cotton samples were tested against Anopheles stephensi by using laboratory cage method for their efficacy and durability to washing and sun-drying as per standard test methods. Marigold (petals)and nirgundi (leaves) extract finished fabric samples showed 96 and 94 % repellency respectively after 60 minutes of observation. It remained 56 % and 54 % (after 15 washes) and 54 and 52 % (after expo-sure in sun for 3 hours) by the application of marigold and nirgundi extracts respectively. Hence, microencapsulation technique on selected cotton textile proved effective to repel mosquitoes up to acceptable level according to WHO (1996)
A field study on hydraulic performance of drip irrigation system for optimization of operating pressure
Get PDFDrip irrigation technology will undoubtedly plays an important role in the future of the agriculture. A field experiment was conducted to evaluate the performance of drip system with five operating pressure viz. I1 (0.4 kg/ cm2), I2 (0.6 kg/cm2), I3 (0.8 kg/cm2), I4 (1.0 kg/cm2), I5 (1.2 kg/cm2). It was observed that the average discharge of drippers was 1.08 lph, 1.24 lph, 1.50 lph, 1.62 lph and 1.74 lph and emission uniformity was 80.55%, 84.89%, 86.30%, 88.88% and 90.80 in each treatment respectively and coefficient of variation was observed 0.12, 0.13, 0.12, 0.11, and 0.09. Flow component was found 0.450 and the value of k was 0.572 while R2 was observed 0.986.Based on the result it can be concluded that the operation of drip irrigation system at 1.2 kg/cm2 pressure head, gives the maximum efficiency in respect of discharge, emission uniformity and coefficient of variation
Bio-efficacy of Trichoderma species against Pigeonpea wilt pathogen
Get PDFThree biocontrol agent viz., Trichoderma viride, Trichoderma virens and Trichoderma harzianum were evaluated to test the antagonism against Fusarium udum under in vitro conditions. All the three biocontrol agents have the potential of parasitizing the growth of Fusarium udum in vitro. The rate of parasitism was found fastest in T. viride (61.12% over growth in 96 hrs) than T. virens and T. harzianum. The volatile compounds from Trichoderma viride suppressed the mycelial growth of Fusarium udum by 43.13% and found effective when compared to Tricho-derma virens and Trichoderma harzianum. Non-volatile compounds or culture filtrate from Trichoderma virens at 15% concentration shows complete mycelial inhibition of the test fungi. The antagonist T. virens was chosen to be the most promising bio-control agent for F. udum