Journal of Applied and Natural Science
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Efficacy of fungicide ‘Kavach’ against Beauveria bassiana L. in silkworm Bombyx mori L.
Get PDFSilkworm Bombyx mori L. is prone to be attacked by pathogen and more notably Beauveria bassiana L. Bed disinfectant Kavach was inoculated in different dosages (0.2%-1.6%) to IV and V instar silkworms of both bivoltine and cross breeds. Potency of disinfectant was assessed for the parameters such as survivability, larval duration, physiological, chemo and bio-assay tests. It was revealed that, bivoltine (NB4D2) silkworms were highly susceptible to diseases compared to cross breeds (PMxNB4D2). In bivoltine silkworms, survivability was found to be 61.15% at 1.6% of Kavach, when dusted twice during IV and V instar and crossbreed silkworms exhibited better resistance of 63.10% with the same treatments. Kavach treated silkworms showed decreased larval duration compared to control worms. Crossbreed silkworms were capable of maintaining high level of soluble proteins in spite of infection on 3rd day (17.40%), 4th day (20.50%) and 5th day (21.55%) whereas in bivoltine silkworms soluble protein level was brought down on 3rd day (19.30%), 4th day (22.40%) and 5th day (23.40%). Total soluble sugarsvaried from third day till fifth day in both the races. Kavach dusted twice at 1% proved to be very useful in the improvement of various commercial cocoons characters
Economics and yield performance of some short duration fruit and medicinal crops under agrisilvicultural system in rainfed uplands of Odisha
Get PDFA field experiment was conducted during 2011-12 in an agrisilvicultural system consisting of two silvicultural species viz. Acacia mangium (mangium) and Gmelina arborea (gamhar) planted in 2000 at a spacing of 8m x 2m and four agricultural crops viz. Ananas comosus (pineapple), Aloe vera (aloevera), Andrographis paniculata(kalmegh) and Curcuma amada (mangoginger) were raised in the 1st week of July, 2011.The maximum volume increment were achieved by mangium with pineapple (16.53 m3/ha). Pineapple also registered the maximum fruit yield of 9981Kgha-1 under mangium and minimum under gamhar (9106 Kgha-1). The fresh leave yield of aloevera (8635Kg ha-1) was maximum under mangium which is statistically at par with gamhar. However, kalmegh recorded maximum dry plant yield of 1239 Kgha-1 under open condition followed by 1072 Kgha-1 under gamhar and 823 Kgha-1 under mangium. Similarly, mangoginger exhibited maximum rhizome yield of 3300 Kgha-1 under open condition followed by 1979 Kgha-1 under gamhar and 1597 Kgha-1 under mangium. The trend of crop yield under both the trees and open condition was: Pineapple >Aloevera>Mangoginger>Kalmegh. A. mangium with pineapple based agrisilvicultural system recorded the highest gross return, net return and BCR as compared to other agrisilvicultural systems and sole crops
Effect of foliar application of GA3, ethrel and copper sulphate on flowering behaviour and sex ratio of Jatropha curcas L.
Get PDFEffect of various plant growth substances viz., GA3 (25, 50,100 ppm), ethrel (1500, 2000, 2500 ppm), copper sulphate (0.1, 0.2, 0.5%) as foliar spray treatment applied during January to October was studied at 15 days intervals. The flowering behaviour and sex-expression of Jatropha curcas was investigated during in randomized block design (RBD) at the College Farm, Navsari. Looking to the results, it was noticed that GA3 50 ppm resulted in increased number of inflorescence per plant (31.25), number of flower per inflorescence (76.87), number of (male 94.75/female 4.01) flowers, flower sex ratio (24.22) in J. curcas. The Male: Female flower ratio was the lowest at 14th spray stage under majority of treatments indicating increased number of female flowers which is ultimately reflected by increased fruit and seed yield of J. curcas
Effect of dietary supplementation of marigold oleoresin on growth, survival and total muscle carotenoid of Koi carp, Cyprinus carpio L.
Get PDFThe experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of dietary supplementation of carotenoid (marigold oleoresin) on growth, survival and total body carotenoid of Koi carp (Cyprinus carpio). The experiment was carried out in 12 fiber aquarium tanks of size 12"×6"×6"(20l capacity). Each tank was stocked with15 fishes of uniform size. The marigold oleoresin were as dietary supplement at levels 60, 120, 180, 240, 300 ppm/kg of the feed and designated as treatment T1, T2, T3, T4 and T5 respectively and diet without marigold oleoresin supplementationserved as a control (T0). The result of the experiment showed that there was significant difference found in absolute growth rate and specific growth rate of the fish (P >0.05). However, 180ppm marigold oleoresin fed fishes showed higher mean weight gain of 3.98±0.22g and lower feed conversion ratio (FCR) of 2.81±0.04 than the other treatment groups. The body coloration and total carotenoid concentration of muscle tissue (30.16±0.60?g/g) was significantly higher in fish fed with 180 ppm marigold oleoresin diet. The study showed that incorporation of 180ppm of marigold oleoresin in diet was found better to enhance the growth and coloration in C. carpio
Salinity induced physiological and biochemical changes in chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) genotypes
Get PDFPlant growth and development are adversely affected by salinity- a major environmental stress that limits agricultural production. Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is sensitive to salinity that affects its yield and there is need to identify the tolerant genotypes. The present study was conducted to evaluate the effect of salinity on chickpea genotypes with specific physiological and biochemical attributes contributing to their adaptability to salinity stress. Seven chickpea genotypes both desi (ICC8950, ICCV10, ICC15868, GL26054) and kabuli (BG1053, L550, L552) were evaluated for salinity tolerance. Maximum decrease in relative leaf water content and chlorophyll content was observed with ICC15868 and GL26054 among the desi and L552 from the kabuli genotypes. The photosynthetic pigments, activity of nitrate reductase and relative leaf water content was also reduced in response to salt application with effect being more pronounced in ICC15868, GL26054 and L552 as compared to ICC8950, ICCV10, BG1053 and L550. Lipid peroxidation increases with the increase in NaCl concentration, maximum increment was observed in genotypes ICC15868, GL26054 and L552. Accumulation of proline in response to environmental stresses seems to be widespread among plants. Higher protein fractions were observed with tolerant genotypes in contrast to sensitive genotypes. Salt imposed stress finally caused a higher decline in number of filled pods. On the basis of physiological and biochemical parameters genotypes ICC8950 and ICCV10 from the desi genotypes and BG1053 and L550 from kabuli were identified as the tolerant while ICC15868, GL26054 as the sensitive ones and L552 as the moderately tolerant genotypes. These genotypes could be used as a source of tolerance in breeding programme to develop salt tolerant genotypes
Biochemical attributes of Indian mustard (Brassica juncea) and rapeseed (B. napus) as influenced by salicylic acid and benzothiadiazole
Get PDFA field experiment was conducted during 2011-12 at Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, India to assess the effect of foliar application of elicitors viz., salicylic acid (SA) and benzothiadiazole (BTH) on biochemical constituents of Brassica seeds. Seeds of Brassica juncea and B. napus were sown in the field during rabi season. Four different treatments of elicitors along with a fungicide and control were given to 10 week old plants up to four consecutive weeks. After harvesting, the seeds were analyzed for oil, total soluble protein and glucosinolate content. Results indicated that the elicitor treatments increased the oil, total soluble protein and glucosinolate content in seeds of both the Brassica species. In B. juncea, BTH (7 ppm) + SA (17 ppm) showed 12.5% higher oil content than control. In B. napus, the combinations of elicitors viz., BTH (3 ppm) + SA (33 ppm) and BTH (7 ppm) + SA (17 ppm) exhibited 15% increase in oil content compared to control. Treatment containing BTH (3 ppm) + SA (33 ppm) showed 18.72 and 15.86% higher total soluble protein content in B. juncea and B. napus seeds, respectively compared to control. In B. juncea, BTH (3 ppm) + SA (33 ppm) exhibited 7.13% higher glucosinolate content compared to control. In B. napus, BTH (7 ppm) + SA (17 ppm) showed 11.23% higher glucosinolate content than control. In conclusion, the application of elicitors, i.e., SA and BTH could be a useful tool for improving the nutritive value of B. juncea and B. napus seeds
Comparative study of some non-linear models for predicting the yield of Gmelina arborea plantation
Get PDFYield models are important for effective forest management and as such were developed for the University of Benin Gmelina arborea plantation, Nigeria. The objectives of the study were to develop, evaluate and compare predictions from some non-linear models for timber volume estimation. A total of nine non-linear models comprising of three models each for weibull, logistic and log-normal models were developed using the three independent variables combinations (Basal area and merchantable height, diameter at base and merchantable height, diameter at middle and merchantable height). The assessment criteria (correlation coefficient (R), coefficient of determination (R2), standard error of estimate (SE)) with the validation results (using percentage bias and probability plots of residuals) showed that all categories of weibull and logistic models generated in this study discovered to be very adequate for tree volume estimation. The highest R2 (93.80), lowest SE (0.25) and lowest bias% (1.29) in the study were achieved from Weibull model 1a. The log-normal models were the least adequate for tree volume estimation with the highest bias%. The one way analysis of variance revealed that there were no significant differences in the performance of the non-linear models when varying predictor variables were used. The weibull, logistic models were therefore recommended for further use in this ecosystem and in any other forest ecosystem with similar site condition
Effects of wildfires on flora, fauna and physico-chemical properties of soil-An overview
Get PDFFire is one of the most destructive threats faced by our forests. Fire is good servant but a bad master. The fire season starts in March/April continues up to June. Wildfires destroy not only flora (tree, herbs, grassland, forbs, etc.) and their diversity but also considerable long term negative impact on fauna including wild endangered species. Repeated fires can convert some shrub-lands to grass and fire exclusion converts some grassland to shrub-land and forest. Fires affect animals mainly through effects on their habitat. The extent of fire effects on animal communities generally depends on the extent of change in habitat structure and species composition caused by fire. Fire can also influence a physico-chemical property of soil including texture, color, bulk density, pH, porosity, organic matter, nutrient availability and soil biota. Drought, disease, insect infestation, overgrazing or a combination of these factors mayincrease the impact of fire on an individual plant species or communities. Common effects include plant mortality, increase flowering, seed production and numerous communal affects. Fire affected area showed reduction in species diversity both in flora and fauna. In a social context, fire directly affects people, property and infrastructure, thereby directly affecting the health and livelihood of individuals and communities
Zinc in relation to type 1 and type 2 diabetes: An overview
Get PDFIn type 1 diabetes, there is a lack of insulin production and in type 2, diabetes resistances to the effects of insulin are predominant. Both type 1 and type 2 have the same long-term complications. Diabetes effects zinc homeostasis in many ways, although it is most probably the hyperglycemia which is responsible for the increased urinary loss and decreases in total body zinc. The role of Zn deficiency exacerbates the cytokine-induced damage in the autoimmune attack which destroys the islet cell in type 1 diabetes, is unclear. Since Zn plays a clear role in the synthesis, storage and secretion of insulin as well as conformational integrity of insulin in the hexameric form, the decreased Zn, which affects the ability of the islet cell to produce and secrete insulin in type 2 diabetes. Oxidative stress and cellular dysfunction in diabetes may be related to increased intracellular oxidants and free radicals associated with decrease in intracellular Zn and in Zn dependent antioxidant enzymes. There appears to be a complex interrelationship between Zn and both type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Zn plays a key role in the cellular antioxidative defense. Dysfunctional zinc signaling is associated with a number of chronic disease states including cancer, cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and diabetes. Cellular homeostasis requires mechanisms that tightly control the uptake, storage, and distribution of zinc. This is achieved through the coordinated actions of zinc transporters and metallothioneins
Trends in breeding oat for nutritional grain quality - An overview
Get PDFOat is an economically important crop and ranks sixth in world cereal production after maize, wheat, rice, barley and sorghum. It has been primarily utilized as livestock feed. However, the utilization of oats for human consumption has increased progressively, owing to its dietary and health benefits which relies mainly on the total dietary fibre and ?-glucan content, which significantly reduces postprandial blood glucose, insulin and blood lipids, especially serum total and low density lipoprotein cholesterol. Henceforth, enhancing Oat b-glucan content forhuman consumption is desirable. As it is a polygenic trait controlled mainly by genes with additive effects, phenotypic selection for greater b-glucan content would be effective for developing cultivars with elevated b-glucan contents. Oat b-glucan concentration has been found to be positively correlated with protein content and negatively correlated with oil content. ?-glucan yield (i.e., Product of grain yield and ?-glucan content) has been found to correlate positively with both grain yield (r = 0.92) and ?-glucan content (r = 0.66). Hence, this nutritional oat grain quality has been improved through selection for improved grain yield as they both increase simultaneously. Among wild accessions, A. atlantica genotypes have high ?-glucan content (2·2–11·3%) and have been used in breeding programmes for increasing the ?-glucan content of adapted elite local germplasm. Besides conventional breeding approaches, molecular breeding approaches have made possible to identify several molecular markers linked to ?-glucan rich regions across oat genome hence enabling mapping and dissection of ?-glucan rich genomic regions and accelerating the improvement in nutritional grain quality