Journal of Applied and Natural Science
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Effect of supplementary sugar feeding on colony growth of Asiatic hive bee, Apis cerana indica F.
Get PDFHoney bees also known as "Angels of Agriculture" are arguably the most vital insects on the planet. Bee nutrition is an important aspect of colony management. Supplementary feeding is essential for maintaining the strength and health of honey bee colonies, especially during dearth periods. Experiments were conducted to evaluate a suitable, cheaper carbohydrate supplement and its effect on the colony growth of the Asiatic hive bee Apis cerana indica. Four different sugar syrup components, viz., sugar, water, milk and glucose, were combined to form seven treatments : T1-Sugar: water (1:1), T2-Sugar: water (1:1) + Glucose (2%),T3- Sugar: water (1:1) + Desi cow’s milk (2%),T4- Sugar + water (2:1), T5- Sugar + water (2:1) + Glucose (2%) ,T6- Sugar + water (2:1) + Desi cow’s milk (2%) and T7-Control and evaluated to select honey bee colonies . Among the different sugar syrup feeding treatments, the colonies fed with T2 - Sugar: water (1:1) + Glucose (2%) had a profound effect within a month and the colonies recorded an increase in sealed brood area from 175.66 cm2 to 425.00 cm2, honey store area from 49.00 cm2 to 130.33 cm2, pollen store area from 47. 33 cm2 to 125.33 cm2, adult bee population from 4318.66 bees/colony to 4933.33 bees/colony. The work is new to A. cerana indica. Many of their bee colonies suffer from poor nutrition and absconding during the dearth period. The present study will help the beekeeping farmers maintain these Asiatic honey bee colonies during the starved period and will be useful in income generation.
Groundwater quality assessment by Water quality index (WQI) and Multivariate statistical analysis (MSA) for coastal zones of Srikakulam district, Andhra Pradesh
Get PDFGroundwater is a vital resource for the drinking water supply to the people in the areas residing in the coastal zones. Rapid industrialization increased the human population, and anthropogenic activities led to groundwater pollution. The water quality should be continuously monitored to analyse the suitability of the water, and it is only possible by the water quality index. In the current study, we attempted to determine the groundwater quality of the Mandal headquarters of the coastal zones of the Srikakulam district, Andhra Pradesh, by using the water quality index (WQi) considering the parameters pH, Electrical conductivity, Total Dissolved Solids, Total Hardness, calcium and magnesium, potassium, and sodium, human health assessment tool, and multivariate statistical analysis. The results found that the WQi of the coastal zones ranged from 49.6 to 361.7, and in the post-monsoon season, the Etcherla Mandal station water was not advisable for drinking. Human health risk assessment showed that children in these sampling stations are more prone to the non-carcinogenic health risks associated with nitrate pollution. Proper reduction measures in the sampling areas must be taken to depreciate nitrate and seepage into the groundwater. Piper plots and correlation matrices showed the anion-cation interaction, and the principal component analyzed and showed the pollution sources. The current study concluded that anthropogenic activities continuously deteriorate groundwater quality, indirect saltwater intrusion was identified, and groundwater treatment is necessary before consumption.
Pollen storage, viability and effect of growth hormones on in vitro pollen germination in two medicinal plants (Clerodendrum colebrookianum Walp. and Clerodendrum infortunatum L.) of the tropical moist forest of North-east India
Get PDFClerodendrum colebrookianum Walp. and Clerodendrum infortunatum L. are well known for their medicinal uses in treating various human ailments traditionally. Pollen biology study was done in both plant species to decipher pollen viability, in vitro pollen germination, and pollen storage in varied temperature conditions. Pollen viability tests was done by 2, 3, 5-triphenyl tetrazolium chloride (TTC test) for which pollen grains were collected at the anthesis stage that ascertained high viability, ranged between 71.97%±4.30 % in C. colebrookianum and 81.63%±3.23 in C. infortunatum. In vitro pollen germination was conducted under different hormones (IBA, IAA, GA3, and Kinetin) with concentrations of 100 mg L-1, 200 mg L-1 and 300 mg L-1. Highest germination percentage of 52.10±5.30% and 61.91±1.76% in GA3 (200 mg L-1) was the most suitable growth hormone concentration for inducing in vitro pollen germination in both Clerodendrum species. Statistically, the response of all the concentrations of treatments, sucrose, and hormones, with their time on in vitro pollen germination of C. colebrookianum and C. infortunatum was found significantly different (p<0.05). In contrast, non-significant differences were recorded for in vitro pollen germination between the medicinal plant species. Pollen storage under temperature gradient conditions exhibited a similar trend in the viability for both C. colebrookianum, and C. infortunatum, i.e., the pollen remained viable up to 28 days at -20°C and 6°C, respectively. This study will be helpful in future breeding, hybridization, and conservation efforts for both the Clerodendrum species.
Antibacterial, antioxidant, and phytochemical analysis of Piper longum fruit extracts against multi-drug resistant non-typhoidal Salmonella strains in vitro
Get PDFMost bacteria are becoming resistant to almost all of the currently recommended drugs, leading to difficulty in their treatment. The present study focused on evaluating the therapeutic potential of Piper longum fruit extracts in terms of bactericidal, antioxidant and phytochemical evaluation by conducting antibacterial sensitivity tests against four multidrug-resistant Salmonella strains (Salmonella enterica subsp. arizonae, Salmonella Newport, Salmonella enterica ser. Typhi, and Salmonella enterica ser. Paratyphi) obtained from the Institute of Microbial Technology (IMTECH), Chandigarh. The Agar Well Diffusion method and the Minimum Inhibitory concentration (MIC) methods were performed to implement the anti-sensitivity test of crude extracts of the plant. The present study showed that the MIC of the P. longum was between 0.25-0.0625mg/ml, which was lowest in the aqueous extract at 0.5mg/100µl, and the highest in the methanol extract (1mg/100µl). The Minimum Bactericidal Concentration (MBC) was lowest in aqueous (0.5mg/100µl) and highest in methanol plant extract (1mg/100µl). The methanol extract had the maximum antibacterial potency, whereas the aqueous extract had the lowest. The antioxidant capacity of the plant extracts was determined using a DPPH assay. Methanol plant extract revealed the highest antioxidant power (81.92%) and the lowest was found in the aqueous extract (62.84%). The GC-MS approach identified active bioingredients, important botanicals including caryophyllene, eicosane, and piperazine (potent antibacterial agent) as naphthyridine (having antimicrobial, anticancer, and anti-inflammatory activities), among others. The unique aspect of the study was the effectiveness of P. longum against Salmonella strains that are resistant to multiple antibiotics. This suggests that P. longum can be a great source of novel antibacterial compound for the development of herbal formulations
Development and validation of integrated pest management modules against spotted pod borer Maruca vitrata Fabricius on garden bean Lablab purpureus var. typicus (L.)
Get PDFTo reduce the detrimental effect of insecticides, an effective Integrated Pest Management (IPM) module is necessary for the eco-friendly management of Maruca vitrata in garden bean ecosystem. Two field trials were carried out to evaluate the efficacy of different insecticides and botanicals against M. vitrata on Lablab purpureus var. typicus. Two seasons field evaluation of insecticides revealed that chlorantraniliprole 18.5 SC was the most effective treatment to control the pest recorded 0.11 and 0.36 larva/plant in two seasons, respectively after two rounds of spray followed by flubendiamide 20 WG (0.46 and 0.92 larva/ plant) and emamectin benzoate 5 SG (0.50 and 0.95 larva/plant). Among botanicals tested, commercial neem formulation and 5% Ageratina adenophora recorded the least larval count of 1.64 & 1.05 larva/plant and 2.24 & 1.45 larva/plant in two seasons, respectively. IPM modules were developed with three effective insecticides (chlorantraniliprole 18.5 SC, flubendiamide 20 WG and emamectin benzoate 5 SG), two effective botanicals (commercial neem formulation 1500 ppm and 5% A. adenophora) along with the pheromone trap for validation. All the IPM modules were equally effective in managing M. vitrata population on L. purpureus and recorded a significantly (at 5 %) lower larval population than the farmer’s practice. The residues of chlorantraniliprole, flubendiamide and emamectin benzoate reached below the detectable level at the time of harvest. The population reduction of predatory coccinellids and spiders was also lower in IPM modules than in farmer’s practice. An increased benefit cost (1.95 to 1.99) ratio was observed in IPM modules.
Study on developmental biochemical characteristics of Leishmania donovani promastigote and inhibitory effect of Achyranthes aspera Linn plant extract on it
Get PDFLeishmania donovani is an obligatory intracellular digenetic parasite transmitted by insects, causing serious global health problems as it is endemic to most developing countries. Extensive use of antimony compounds as drugs poses high toxicity and cost; therefore, herbal medicine has identified a position. This study explored the developmental and biochemical characteristics of L. donovani promastigote and the effect of ethanolic extract of Achyranthes aspera Linn (Amaranthaceae) plant on it. The parasites were incubated at 2.5×106 cells/well for 72 h at 23 °C in the presence of various concentrations of extract (µg/mL) dissolved in 1% dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) with sterile phosphate-buffered saline and 1% DMSO as negative controls and meglumine antimoniate as positive control. Friedman’s repeated measures analysis showed that 96hr of development is the junction point in promastigotes ontogeny. Post 96hr, it grows with a long stationary phase with higher enzymatic activities of acid phosphatase, superoxide dismutase and glutathione (oxidized and reduced). Total protein estimated showed a linear relationship (R2 = 0.999). Phytochemical screening of the plant extract showed the presence of alkaloid, flavonoid, fixed oil and fats, saponin, tannin and phenolic compounds. It showed an effectual free radical scavenging in the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay with an inhibitory concentration IC50 value of 61.70 µg/ml. At a concentration of 250 µg/mL, the plant extract completely inhibited the promastigotes in vitro while at 50 µg/mL and 100 µg/mL, the survival level declined by 25-50%. These findings corroborate the ethnopharmacological use of this plant for the treatment of leishmaniasis caused by L. donovani
Development of a simplified technique for gap filling of Normalize Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) time series data
Get PDFThe presence of gaps or missing values in time series prevents the practical use of such data. The current research aims at developing a simplified, straightforward technique for gap-filling the time series data of the Normalize Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) generated using Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS). This research assumes that a relationship exists between the pixel location, date of acquisition and its NDVI value within a defined timeline. Therefore, two relatively simple methods were tested: the Multiple Linear Regression (MLR) analysis and the Artificial Neural Networks (ANN)to fill the NDVI missing values. While MLR is a well-known simple statistical method, the ANN has been successfully applied for the analysis of various scientific data, including the gap-filling of time series data. Nevertheless, ANN proved its supremacy in such approach. The accuracy of estimation utilizing the developed ANN model reached an average of r2 of 0.8, while the average accuracy of MLR was about 0.3. Nevertheless, the developed model could only be applied within the same timeframe of the images used for developing the model. Otherwise, the accuracy of determination was reduced significantly. The results showed that according to its performance, ANN are promising for filling missing data of NDVI time series and could be applied to any other vegetation indices as well
Approaches of material selection, alignment and methods of fabrication for natural fiber polymer composites: A review
Get PDFThe recent superiority of the composite materials is cautiously focusing on environmental adoption of natural fiber composites. The major source of the natural fiber materials covered in the globe, especially natural fibers, is plant-based, animal-based and mineral-based. Eco friendly based material can save the environment and recycling of the material is possible, as well as important criteria. Hence engineers ultimately focused on natural fiber polymer matrix materials to save the environment, pollution control, plastic manipulation, etc. The literature work was studied to identify natural fiber material possession. The major goal of the present review was to identify material characterization and appropriate application, mainly offering to enhance mechanical properties, flexural strength, electrical properties, thermal properties etc. The major consequence of the natural fiber is hydrophilic treatment. There is poor interfacial adhesion between the addition/filling substances and poor mechanical characteristics. All of these shortcomings constitute a critical issue. This review presents numerous sorts of natural and synthetic polymers, natural fibres such as jute, ramie, banana, pineapple leaf fibre, and kenaf, etc.; short and long fibre loading methods, fibre fillers in micro and nanoparticle, American society of testing and materials (ASTM) standard plate dimensions, fabrication methods such as hand lay-up process, spray lay-up process, vacuumed-bag, continuous pultrusion, and pulforming process, etc.; industries and home appliances such as automotive parts, building construction, sports kits, domestic goods, and electronic devices. The review lists various material combinations, fibre loading, fillers, and matrix that can aid in the improvement of material properties and the reduction of failures during mechanical testing of composites.
Effect of salinity stress on phytochemical characteristics of Centella asiatica
Get PDFSalinity is one of the predominant abiotic stresses which affects plant growth by inducing excessive production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) that leads to oxidative damage of plant cells. Plants alleviate salinity stress by regulating intracellular concentrations of various phytochemicals like phenol, tannin, antioxidants, etc. The present work aimed to study the impact of salt stress on the production of various phytochemicals like phenol, tannin, flavonoids, antioxidants, total protein content, etc. The Salt stress response of the test plant Centella asiatica was studied by irrigating variant concentrations (50mM, 100mm, 150mm, 200mM, 250mm) of salt (NaCl). The phytochemical activity of the plants grown under salinity stress was estimated by using an appropriate biochemical assay. Comparative analysis of the photochemical activity of the test plants in comparison with the control revealed that various phytochemicals were increased in response to salt stress. Salt stress increased the levels of antioxidants from 10.79 to 14.31 μg/ml), phenol from 30.8 to 43.3 in μg/ml, flavonoids (from 490 to 683.33 in μg/ml), tannin from 55.5 to 64.5 in μg/ml, and proteins from 5720 to 6080 in μg/ml in the C. asiatica plants. To sum up, salt stress elicited phytochemical accumulation in the C. asiatica plant, thereby improving the plant\u27s growth by enhancing its resistance to salt stress. This finding may play an important role in the sustainable cultivation of commercially important crops like C. asiatica
Farmers\u27 perceptions of climate change and its impact on gum Talha (Acacia seyal var. seyal) production in Bahar Alarab locality, East Darfur State, Sudan
Get PDFAcacia seyal var. seyal is an essential source of income to farmers in the Bahar Alarab locality in Sudan. Farmers’ perceptions of current climate conditions and their subsequent repercussions on Gum Talha (Acacia seyal var. seyal) production remains poorly investigated and understood. To fill this gap, a survey was carried out within six villages at Bahar Alarab locality in East Darfur State, Sudan, and a total of 391 randomly selected farmers were included in the study. Moreover, rainfall and temperature data over 30 years (1988 – 2020) were analysed. The results revealed that climate change signs were perceived by farmers based on the size of gum production (27.4%), early falling of leaves (26.1%), decline in production (24.3%), and persistent insect attack (22.3%). Moreover, farmers also reported increases (65%) and decreases (19%) in temperature. In contrast, 46.5% of farmers reported that rainfall deficiency was a decreasing factor of production. Accordingly, 69% of respondents perceived an increase in temperature, whereas 49.4% reported a decrease in rainfall frequency. Additionally, the results showed that there was long-term variability in temperature over the past three decades. The results of multinomial logistic regression highlighted that household size is an important factor contributing to the increasing trend of temperature. In addition, the growth and productivity of acacia trees were found to be determinants of farmers’ perception of temperature and precipitation change over the past 30 years. The study suggests a tailored policy that could reduce climate-induced impacts on gum Talha productivity and increase farmers’ gain to avoid poverty in this locality