Journal of Applied and Natural Science
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Role of salt precursors for the synthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles and in imparting variable antimicrobial activity
Get PDFSynthesis of nanoparticles (NPs) having unique potentials and properties is of great importance in nanotechnology. The NP synthesis techniques may include the wet chemistry to microbial incubation reduction methods. This work reports generation of ZnO NPs by identical preparation including incubation of different zinc salts i.e. zinc acetate, zinc chloride and zinc sulphate as precursors with cell free extracts of Bacillus circulans MTCC 7906 (Bc7906) and Pleurotus florida (Pf). The synthesized NPs exhibited variation in their absorption peaks in UV-Vis spectra which appeared at 275 nm, 325 nm and 375 nm with P. florida for the three salt precursors respectively while the Bc7906 generated ZnO NPs showed peaks between 300-350 nm. A variation in ZnO NP morphology ranged from 50 to 120 nm in size and spherical, oval, cylindrical to trigonal anisotropic in shape by transmission EM. Further, the rough and corrugated surface topography of ZnO NPs was observed in Scanning EM. The % weight for Zn element surface composition as recorded by SEM-EDS was observed to be highest for zinc acetate (2.34%) and zinc sulphate (7.54 %) on microbial synthesis from Bc7906 and Pf respectively. The antimicrobial potential of the synthesized ZnO NPs on human pathogenic and plant beneficial bacteria was tested and it was observed to be highest for microbially synthesized ZnO NPs using zinc acetate (15 mm) and zinc sulphate (14 mm) as salt precursors @ 10 ppm. This is the first report on differential antimicrobial behavior of ZnO NPs on human pathogenic and plant beneficial microbes
Evaluation of some plant extracts in management of dry bubble (Verticillium fungicola) disease of white button mushroom [Agaricus bisporus (Lange) Imbach]
Get PDFThe study was undertaken to determine antifungal potentials of some plant extracts against dry bubble (Verticillium fungicola) disease of white button mushroom (Agaricus bisporus). Twelve botanicals namely, Allium cepa, A. sativum, Saraca asoca, Aloe vera, Azadirachta indica, Lantana camara, Ocimum sanctum, Solanum lycopersicum (Lycopersicon esculentum), Tagetes erecta, Psidium guajava, Catharanthus roseus and Aparagus racemosus were evaluated in-vitro and in-vivo for their efficacy against both A. bisporus and V. fungicola, causing dry bubble disease of mushroom. The efficacy of botanicals was examined by poison food technique in in-vitro. The percent inhibition produced by botanicals against V. Fungicola recorded in-vitro was; A. cepa (25.87%), A. sativum (24.70%), S. asoca (12.35%), A. vera (22.35%), A. indica (35.11%), L. camara (28.48%), O. sanctum (20.59%), S. lycopersicum (20.34%), T. erecta (14.11%), P. guajava (15.11%), C. roseus (18.11%) and A. racemosus (13.52%). Among these plant extracts, A. indica was found best treatment followed by L. Camara and A. Cepa. Plant extracts showing maximum efficacy against V. fungicola and minimum inhibition against mushroom were further evaluated against V. fungicola infection in mushroom crop room (in-vivo test). In in-vivo test, the polybags which receive A. indica show maximum mean increase in yield (43.46%) over control and exhibited minimum mean disease incidence (27.7%)
Isolation, purification, and characterization of xylanase produced by three species of bacillus under submerged fermentation conditions
Get PDFThis study focuses on the screening and identification of bacteria, which can produce alkaline xylanase at alkaline pH and high temperature. Bacterial isolates from enriched decaying soil, capable of hydrolyzing xylan were screened. Selected and purified 13 bacterial colonies (Bacilli and Kurthia) grown on xylan- nutrient agar slants, were activated and transferred into the fermentation medium. Three highest xylanase producing isolates (Bacillus badius, Kurthia gibsonii, Bacillus circulans) were selected for further studies and the xylanase produced by them were screened for their kinetic properties. The optimum temperature for the activity of the xylanase from Isolates A was 50oC; and for Isolate B was 40oC, while that of Isolate C was 30oC. The optimum pH value for the xylanase from isolate A and B was 9.0. In addition, the xylanase was also capable of producing high-quality xylo-oligosaccharides, which indicated its application potential not only in pulp bio-bleaching processes but also in the nutraceutical industry
Prevalence and morphological characterization of Aspergillus isolates of maize ear rot in Punjab
Get PDFAmong six fungal species viz.Aspergillus spp., Fusarium spp., Penicillum spp., Rhizopus spp., Trichoderma spp. and Alternaria spp. isolated from maize ear rot samples collected from five different districts of Punjab, the incidence of A. flavus was highest (42.15%) followed by Penicillium spp. (20.75%). The maximum frequency of A. flavus (57.10%) was found in Hoshiarpur district, closely followed by Jalandhar. In all, thirty nine isolates of Aspergillus spp. (33 isolates of A. flavus and 6 isolates of A. niger) were characterized morphologically. Twenty isolates of A. flavus producing sclerotia were of L-type strains having sclerotia diameter >400 ?m. Isolates of A. flavusproduced yellowish green, dark green and light green colonies and isolates of A. niger produced dark black colonies. Sterigmata in all the isolates of Aspergillus spp. were of uniseriate type. Based on colony diameter and growth rate per day all the 39 isolates of Aspergillus spp. were grouped into fast, medium and slow growing categories. Based on multivariate cluster analysis, the isolates of A. flavus were grouped into three distinct clusters each having 13, 17 and 3 isolates respectively.In the present study, Aspergillus flavus was found predominantly associated species with the maize ear rot. Further, the morphological variation observed within Aspergillus flavus and A. niger indicated the need for proper surveillance and monitoring exclusively for the prevention of moulds in maize produce in Punjab before it reaches the consumer
Development and storage characteristics of shrimp (Solenocera crassicornis) based snack food using extrusion technology
Get PDFAn attempt was made to develop nutrient rich extruded snacks from lesser utilized protein rich shrimp (Solenocera crassicornis) flour using twin screw extruder. The extruded were in order to fried and packed in to High Density Polyethelene (HDPE). The extruded were analyzed for physical, texture profile, proximate composition and sensory characteristics at the interval of 10 days for 50 days of storage (DOS). The experiment shows the physical property like expansion ratio (mm) and texture profile characteristics such as hardness (gmF) and crispiness (gm) were not affected at the end of storage period. Among the different studies, the product made from rice/shrimp T1 based extruded scored as higher as 5 (out of 5) by sensory evaluation for all attributes. Consequently, all the extruded were maintained the physical properties, nutritional quality and overall acceptability. This research demonstrated that shrimp flour at 15% can be successfully incorporated for development of extruded were: expansion ratio 3.32, 2.75 and 3.06 (mm), crispiness 291, 252 and 210 (gm), protein 12.69, 18.74 and 15.09 (%), enegy value 540, 489 and 524 (Kcal), TPC 0.36, 0.34 and 0.34 (log cfu/gm) in rice T1, wheat T2 and corn T3 based extruded respectively. Overall, the quality assessment of extruded were not changed significantly (P>0.05) throughout study
Preparation, acceptability and quality evaluation of fermented fish product Mowa shidal prepared from the Mola carplet (Amblypharyngodon mola, Hamilton, 1822)
Get PDFMowa shidal was prepared from sundried Amblypharyngodon mola by the traditional fermentation process at ambient temperature, maintaining all possible hygienic conditions. Biochemical, microbiological and sensory qualities at the different stages of fermentation of Mowa shidal was monitored. The product was perfectly matured after 120 days of fermentation showing the characteristic shidal smell and a moist and sticky surface. The fermentation process did not show any significant effect (P>0.05) on the proximate composition. The product had a high nutritional quality. The protein and ash content of the sample were recorded to be 31.28-31.70% and 9.95-11.11%, respectively and pH showed 5.8-6.5 in 180 days of fermentation. The physicochemical analysis revealed that the fermented product was of acceptable quality. The TPC of Mowa shidal was 5.86 log cfu/g in the first month of fermentation and it reached 4.82 log cfu/g after 120 days. The counts gradually decreased with the increasing duration of fermentation. Most of the isolate was found to be Staphylococcus aureus. After the second month of fermentation S. aureus reached 54% of total count and might play an important role in the fermentation process. Pathogenic bacteria like Salmonella spp. and E. coli were absent, which indicate good sanitary practice during processing. Thus, the good quality shidal can be produced from A. mola with a high nutritional quality and consumer acceptability
Taxonomic studies of Eulophid parasitoids (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea) collected from Uttarakhand, India
Get PDFA sound taxonomic knowledge base is a prerequisite for effective conservation, environment assessment, ecological research, management and sustainable use of biological resources. Parasitoids are the major component of the biocontrol, so the correct identification of the parasitoid is very important task. Eulophidae is a large family of the superfamily Chalcidoidea and comprises promising biocontrol agents for the control of insect pests causing harm to agricultural ecosystem. The present study has been done to provide the account and occurrence of 4 genera belonging to subfamily Entedoninae, Eulophinae and Tetrastichinae. Entedon costalis Dalman, Diglyphus horticola Khan, Hemiptarsenus varicornis (Girault), and Neotrichoporoides viridimaculatus (Fullaway) was collected from Uttarakhand (India) and described in detail with additional morphological characters that aids in clear identification of the parasitoids. Entedon costalis is recorded from this region with additional characters for identification
Performance of hymenopteran insects as pollinators of pumpkin in Meghalaya
Get PDFPumpkin is a major cultivated crop particularly in north eastern states of India that depends on insects for the pollination, as the pollens of these plants are large sized and sticky. In the present study, field and lab experiments were conducted to determine the efficiency of the pollinators of pumpkin based on their diversity, relativeabundance and foraging activity. Total four hymenopteran insect pollinators were observed in field viz., bumble bee, little honey bee, Indian honey bee and Digger bee. On the basis of abundance and relative abundance bumble bee was identified as most abundant pollinator of pumpkin with 69.69 per cent mean relative abundance as other pollinators mean relative abundance was less than 25 per cent and it was only 3.49 per cent for Indian honey bee. Foraging speed and foraging rate of bumble bee was 7.13 sec/flower and foraging rate was 3.80 flower/minute. To ensure the efficient pollinator of pumpkin flower, pollen carrying capacity, pollen deposition and percent deposition of viable pollen was studied for all the pollinators in field and laboratory condition. The pollen carrying capacity of pollinators ranged from more than 7 mg to 1 mg. It was highest for bumble bee which was 7.33 mg followed by little honey bee (6.66 mg) and least pollen carrying capacity was observed in Digger bee (1.67 mg). Pollen depositions by pollinators on stigma in a single visit was again highest for bumble bee (565 pollen grains) with maximum number of viable pollen deposition 224.33 pollen grains out of which 39.7 per cent pollen was viable. So on the basis of above result it can be concluded that bumble bee was the most abundant and most efficient pollinator of pumpkin
Impact of different tillage methods on growth, development and productivity of maize (Zea mays)-wheat (Tritcum aestivum) cropping system
Get PDFAn experiment was conducted on a silty clay loam soil of Palampur during 2009–2011, to study the effect of different tillage methods in maize (Zea mays L.) wheat {Triticum aestivum (L.) emend. Fiori & Paol.} cropping system. Results revealed that in maize crop, tillage methods in kharif season resulted in significantly highest emergence count (27.1 plant/m2) under manual seed drill. While, multi-crop planter recorded in significantly taller plants (55.4 cm) at 30 DAS; higher dry matter accumulation 81.0, 990.0 and 4184.4 g/m2 at 30, 60 and 90 DAS, respectively and CGR (30.3 g/day/m2) at 30-60 DAS. Tillage methods in rabi season resulted in higher emergence count (17.6 plant/m2) under zero tillage. This treatment also recorded advanced emergence by 1.2 to 1.5 days. In wheat crop, tillage methods in kharif season resulted in significantly highest emergence count (307.6 plant/m2), taller plants (13.1 cm) at 30 DAS, dry matter accumulation (625.3 g/m2) at 120 DAS and CGR (14.4 g/day/m2) at 90-120 DAS under conventional tillage. While, tillage methods in rabi season resulted in significantly highest emergence count (369.5 plants/m2), tallest plants (17.7, 92.6 and 101.0 cm at 60, 120 and at harvest, respectively) with multi-crop planter. While, zero tillage recorded significantly higher CGR (15.8 g/day/m2) and RGR (0.027 g/g/day) during 120-harvest stage. Zero tillage produced statistically at par crop yield and rainwater-use efficiency of both crops with other tillage treatments. Hence, zero tillage can be as good as other intensive tillage system besides lower input cost and environmental security
Study on genetic diversity in chilli (Capsicum annuum) based on multivariate analysis and isozyme analysis
Get PDFThirty seven diverse chilli (Capsicum annuum) genotypes were studied for 22 growth, yield and fruit quality traits. Multivariate analysis grouped the genotypes into 7 clusters. Cluster IV was largest containing 14 genotypes. Inter cluster distance was maximum between cluster V and VII (248.09), and minimum between cluster I and II (57.80). Cluster VII was most heterogeneous (intra-cluster divergence value 191.25) and Cluster II was most homogeneous (30.25). Genotypes were also analyzed for peroxidase enzyme polymorphism using gel electrophoresis which resulted seven electrophoretic bands (Rf 0.19 to 0.59) and grouped the genotypes into 6 zymotypes. Zymotype P4 included maximum (13) number of genotypes. Number of clusters in peroxidase and multivariate analysis were almost same but distribution of genotypes varied. 73% of total genotypes showed similar pattern of grouping suggesting that the two methods are complementary to each other and should be carried out simultaneously to determine genetic diversity more effectively. Considering variability and diversity analysis of the genotypes, CUCH-4 from Cluster-II (& Zymotype-P2) and CUCH-31, CUCH-34 and CUCH-35 from Cluster-VII (& Zymotype-P4) were identified as promising genotypes which can be used in further crop improvement programme