Journal of Applied and Natural Science
Not a member yet
2928 research outputs found
Sort by
In vitro regeneration of Momordica dioica (Roxb.)
Get PDFMomordica dioica, Roxb. (Family: Cucurbitaceae) commonly called as Kartoli, is an important medicinal plant, which has remained unexplored from the commercial point of view. Considering its scarce availability and the medicinal importance, in vitro cultures were established. Traditionally, M. dioica has been propagated mainly through its tuberous roots and less commonly by seeds. Germination through seeds is very difficult or impossible because of hard seed coat. As an alternative to traditional methods tissue culture offers an efficient method for propagation of M. dioica. Mature seeds were used for the regeneration of M. dioica. The decoated seeds of M. dioica were cultured on Murashige and Skoog basal medium (MS medium) supplemented with various combinations of Auxins (á – naphthaleneacetic acid) and Cytokinins (N6 - benzyl adenine). MS basal medium supplemented with 4.44 µM and 8.88 µM N6 - benzyl adenine (BA) gave rise to maximum number of shoots in 7-8 weeks. In vitro grown shoots were sub cultured on MS medium supplemented with different concentrations of indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) for root initiation. MS medium with 0.049mM indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) showed rooting in 45 days. The regenerated plantlets were successfully hardened in vermiculite
First record of avian cestode Variolepis podicepsi n.sp. from Podiceps rufficolis (Pallas) from Jhansi, U.P., India
Get PDFTwenty eight cestodes were obtained from three little grebs, Podiceps rufficolis (Pallas) from Jhansi. Morphological studies of the cestodes revealed that they belonged to the genus, Variolepis Spasskii and Spasskaja, 1954 of the sub family Hymenolepidinae Perrier, 1897 family Hymenolepidae Ralliet and Henery, 1909 and regarded as n.sp Variolepis podicepsi
Identification of geospatial variability of fluoride contamination in ground water of Mathura District, Uttar Pradesh, India
Get PDFGroundwater is one of the major sources of water in arid and semi-arid regions. Groundwater quality data and its spatial distribution are important for the purpose of planning and management. Geo-statistical methods are one of the most advanced techniques for interpolation of groundwater quality. In this study, kriging methods were used for predicting the spatial distribution of fluoride content in groundwater. Data were collected from 13 wells in Mathura district (Uttar Pradesh, India). After normalization of data, semivariogram was drawn, for selecting suitable model for fitness on experimental semivariogram, less residual sum of squares (RSS) value was used. Then fluoride endemic areas of the Mathura District (study area) were identified from developed semivariogram model and Geospatial variability (high and low fluoride containing areas) map was generated with the help of GeographicInformation System. In the analysis, spatial distribution characteristics and variation of fluoride concentration in shallow groundwater found to be 3.4 and 4.6 mg/l at Sahar, Shahpur were higher than the standard limits (1.5 mg/l) of drinking water and shows remarkable spatial variability
Drainage basin morphometric analysis and its relationship with altitude of Uttarkashi District
Get PDFThe area of investigation lies between Maneri and Gangnani along the Bhagirathi river in the lesser and central Himalayan block of Garhwal Himalayas. The rocks of Garhwal group are represented by quartzites, sericite quartzite’s and talc chlorite schist intruded by metabasics, whereas the Central crystallines are constituted by gneisses, schists, migmatites and amphibolites. For the purpose of drainage basin morphometric analysis 100 third order drainage basins were marked. Drainage basin morphometric parameters of 100 basins were calculated. On the basis of lithology and tectonic setup,the area was divided into three morphogenetic units viz Central crystallines, Thrust zone and Garhwal group. The basins which were situated below 2500 mts are categorized under low altitudes and above 2500 as basins of higher altitudes.The relationship between deainage basinmorphometric parameters and altitude suggest that basins situated at higher altitude have higher value of stream frequency, number of first and second order streams,fine texture and low drainage density
Status and conservation of avian fauna of Sultanpur National Park Gurgaon, Haryana (India)
Get PDFThe present study was conducted in Sultanpur National Park Gurgaon, Haryana (India) from February, 2011 to January, 2012 to analyze the avian diversity along with its status and abundance. During the study period, a total of 113 species of birds belonging to 14 orders, 35 families and 80 genera were identified. Maximum 41 species belonging to 12 families of order Passeriformes represented 36.28% of the total identified avian fauna while Podicipediformes and Strigiformes were the least represented avian orders (0.88%) with one species each,namely, Little Grebe, Tachybaptus ruficollis and Spotted Owlet, Athene brama respectively. Out of total reported 113 species, 64 were ‘resident’ species and 49 were ‘migrant’ species. Most of the migratory species were winter visitors except Red throated flycatcher, Ficedula parva; Orange Headed Thrush, Zoothera citrine and Eurasian Golden Oriole, Oriolus oriolus which were summer visitors. In all, 42 species were ‘common’, 33 species were ‘uncommon’ and 38 species were ‘occasional’ bird species. Based on sighting, White Breasted Kingfisher, Halcyonsmyrnensis; White Breasted Water Hen, Amaurornis phoenicurus; Common Moorhen, Gallinule chloropus; Black Wing Stilt, Himantopus himantopus; Red Wattled lapwing, Vanellus indicus; Cattle Egret, Bubulcus ibis and Indian Pond Heron, Ardeola grayii were common wetland bird species of Sultanpur National Park while Pied king fisher, Ceryle rudis and Coppersmith Barbet, Megalaima haemacephala were ‘rarely sighted’ bird species. During the study period, 7 ‘globally threatened’ species, namely, Painted Stork, Mycteria leucocephala; Black neck Stork, Ephippiorhynchus asiaticus; Black headed Ibis, Threskiornis melanocephalus; Darter, Anhinga melanogaster; Pacific Reef Egret, Egretta sacra; Sarus Crane, Grus antigone alongwith Hogson bushchat, Saxicola insignis were also recorded from the study area
Composition, productivity and impact of grazing on the biodiversity of a grazing land in Almora District
Get PDFBiodiversity of Almora district is heavily affected in the areas with heavy grazing pressure, although moderate grazing enhanced the biodiversity of the area. In the present study site a total of 45 herbaceous species were present and therophytes were dominant among them. Live shoot biomass of plants varied from 175.0±3.5 to 1862.0±5.75 kg/ha and 87.0±3.25 to 1303.0±7.50 kg/ha in ungrazed and grazed plots respectively. Aboveground primary productivity was significantly higher on control plot (3082.2 kg/ha) over grazed plot (2644.0 kg/ha). The average bite frequency per hour was recorded maximum for goats (1106.5 bite/hr) and least for buffalos (920 bites/hr). The monthly dry matter consumption per animal was amounted to 157.15, 154.51, 68.66 and 61.34 kg for cow, buffalo, sheep and goat respectively under nomadic open grazing. The percent herbage exploitation was observed maximum by sheep (9.82%) and minimum by buffalo (8.75%)
Cholinesterase and microbial inhibitory activities of Tetrapleura tetraptera
Get PDFThe cholinesterase and microbial inhibitory activities of different parts of Tetrapleura tetraptera plant were evaluated due to their local applications. The cholinesterase results revealed that the extracts showed some levels of inhibitory effects depending on the solvents used. Tetrapleura tetraptera leaves had better inhibitory effects with maximum inhibitory activity of 70.0% at a concentration of 1.00mg/l for the water extract. Tetrapleura tetraptera bark showed highest inhibitory effect of 71.05% and (84.34%) for the ethanol and chloroform extracts at concentrations of 0.5mg/l and 1.0 mg/l respectively. While for petroleum ether, T. tetraptera bark recorded 74.34% inhibitory effect at concentration of 2.0 mg/l and also showed continuous increase in inhibitory activity as the concentration increases for aqueous methanol. The results of the antimicrobial activities showed that among all the test organisms, theethanol and water extracts of the leaves, stem, bark and root of the plants had promising activity against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Proteus mirabilis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Klebsiella pneumonia bacteria and Aspergillus fumigatus and Rhizopus species fungi. There was no activity shown by the ethanol and water extracts ofthe parts of the plants with Fugarium oxysporum, Penicillium chrysogenum and Mucor species fungi. The bacteria strains were more sensitive to the tested extracts than the fungi strains
Assessment of traffic pollution by using mosses Entodon concinnus and Herpetineuron toccoae
Get PDFLead pollution resulting from vehicular traffic in Chandigarh,India was assessed by using two pleurocarpic, ectohydric mosses (Entodon concinnus and Herpetineuron toccoae) collected from pollution free area in Kasauli. Of the two mosses tested for lead accumulation, E. concinnus was found to be more efficient than H. toccoae (50.3ppm vs 34.4ppm)
Aphidicidal potential of Azadirachta indica, Adhatoda vasica, Vitex negundo, Parthenium hysterophorus and Lantana camara against mustard aphid, Lipaphis erysimi Kaltenbach (Hemiptera:Aphididae)
Get PDFUse of eco-friendly naturally occurring plant products in the management of the mustard aphid, Lipaphis erysimi Kaltenbach (Hemiptera:Aphididae) under laboratory conditions was carried out. The results revealed that the nymphs and adults mortality of mustard aphid varied significantly with three different concentrations (0.5, 1.0 and 2.0%) of five plant products. The mortality was high with seed kernel extracts of neem, Azadirachta indica killed nymphs and adults of L. erysimi (70.82 %) followed by leaves extracts of lagundi, Vitex negundo Linn. (69.40 %), leaves extract of Parthenium hysterophorus Linn. (65.38 %), leaves extract of arusa, Adhatoda vasica Nees. (55.81%), aerial parts of aripple, Lantana camara Linn. (51.70%) and untreated control (1.5 %), respectively. The seed kernel extracts of A. indica differed significantly from the remaining ones except V. negundo from which it does not differ significantly to one another. The effects of carrot grass, P. hysterophorus was recorded moderate aphidicidal action while L. camara caused the lowest mortality of nymphs and adults of L. erysimi among all treated natural products. Of the five plant products tested A. indica performed better under all the experimental conditions where as untreated control gave only 01.5% aphid mortality. The concentrations 2.0% are superior to concentration 1.0% and 0.5% concentrations. Similarly maximum aphid mortality was observed after 24 hours of exposure and minimum after 6hours. The exposure periods of 24 hours was significantly superior to 12 hours and 6 hours in both control and plant products
Growth pattern of Prinsepia. utilis (Bhenkal) at different girth classes growing naturally at inner Himalayan region
Get PDFPresent study was undertaken to evaluate the growth pattern of Prinsepia.utilis growing at Western Himalayan region at four study sites i.e. S1 (Jhala), S2 (Dharali), S3 (Jaspur) and S4 (Sukki) at Uttarkashi district at Garhwal Himalaya in the year 2008-09 The data recorded for different parameters related to growth of Prinsepia.utilis at different sites showed variation. Growth parameters viz. lengths of plants, branch number, length of seed, seed output etc. were examined during the present study. Maximum shoot length at 25.1-30 cm girth class (220.5±23.13 cm), maximum leaf area at girth class 5.1 – 10 cm (1.98) and the maximum fruit productivity at girth class 25.1 – 30 cm (1800.63g) were observed where as minimum production was recorded at girth class 10.1 – 15 cm (756.9g)