7 research outputs found
Traditional cultivation and management practices of agarwood (Aquilaria malaccensis) in Golaghat district of Assam
No full text783-790A few plant species of the Thymelaeceae family are highly valuable and demanding because it contains resinous oil in
their stem, branches, and roots. Agarwood (Aquilaria malaccensis) is one of them, which is found primarily in Assam and
adjoining region of North Eastern parts of India as well as in other countries of South and South East India. In Assam, the
plant is profusely cultivated in Golaghat, Jorhat and Sivasagar districts. Naturally, stem of the older plant is infected by
fungal consortia via the holes made by stem borer. The blackish infection appears inside the stem along the line of the borer
tunnel and valuable resinous oil can be extracted through water distillation from the black, infected wood. The agar oil has
great demand in international market and is used in manufacturing perfume, incense stick, fragrant smoke, and
pharmaceuticals industry. Since ancient time, people of this region have been cultivating Aquilaria with the methods
adopted from traditional knowledge and found better success of infection and oil yield. Documentation of this traditional
knowledge of Aquilaria malaccensis is of significant importance for promoting its cultivation among the people of this
region before the knowledge is lost forever. The knowledge will also be useful for developing scientific method of
commercial cultivation of this perennial tree. In this paper, we are discussing the traditional method of cultivation of
Aquilaria malaccensis including seedling preparation, cultivation, intercropping and management practices. Agar is
propagated through seeds for growing healthy seedlings; and cultivation practices of the plant are of utmost concern for
harvesting valuable oil. Extensive field survey has been conducted at Golaghat district of Assam, India to document the
method of cultivation and management practices of the plant. The results obtained from the field study were analyzed and
interpreted for understanding the importance of this traditional cultivation practice
Identification of the New High Oil and Rhizome Yielding Variety of <i>Kaempferia galanga</i> (Jor Lab K-1): A Highly Important Indigenous Medicinal Plants of North East India
No full textA high performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC) method for the quality assessment of agarwood (<i>Aquilaria malaccensis</i>) oil from Northeast India
No full textThe high-value agarwood oil, largely used in perfumery is generally graded by the traditional method of sensorial assessment. The compositional complexity and variation made its quality control challenging. Besides, non-volatile contaminants and adulterants are the bottlenecks in gas-chromatographic detection. Herein, a HPTLC based technique was developed for the quality assessment of agarwood oil from Northeast India. A ‘marker band’ (anisylacetone and oxygenated sesquiterpene rich) on HPTLC profile, containing major peaks of the oil and characteristic agarwood aroma was quantified to assess the quality. The developed method was validated in terms of specificity, linearity, sensitivity, recovery and precision. The application of the method in test samples of three different grades indicated a positive correlation between ‘marker band’ quantity and oil quality. Its abundance in the superior grade oil was >50% and <20% in poor grade. It can be an efficient analytical tool for the quality assessment and grading of agarwood oil.</p
Identification of High Herbage and Oil Yielding Variety (Jor Lab P-1) of <i>Pogostemon cablin</i> (Blanco) Benth Through Mutation Breeding
No full textTraditional cultivation and management practices of agarwood (Aquilaria malaccensis) in Golaghat district of Assam
Get PDFA few plant species of the Thymelaeceae family are highly valuable and demanding because it contains resinous oil in their stem, branches, and roots. Agarwood (Aquilaria malaccensis) is one of them, which is found primarily in Assam and adjoining region of North Eastern parts of India as well as in other countries of South and South East India. In Assam, the plant is profusely cultivated in Golaghat, Jorhat and Sivasagar districts. Naturally, stem of the older plant is infected by fungal consortia via the holes made by stem borer. The blackish infection appears inside the stem along the line of the borer tunnel and valuable resinous oil can be extracted through water distillation from the black, infected wood. The agar oil has great demand in international market and is used in manufacturing perfume, incense stick, fragrant smoke, and pharmaceuticals industry. Since ancient time, people of this region have been cultivating Aquilaria with the methods adopted from traditional knowledge and found better success of infection and oil yield. Documentation of this traditional knowledge of Aquilaria malaccensis is of significant importance for promoting its cultivation among the people of this region before the knowledge is lost forever. The knowledge will also be useful for developing scientific method of commercial cultivation of this perennial tree. In this paper, we are discussing the traditional method of cultivation of Aquilaria malaccensis including seedling preparation, cultivation, intercropping and management practices. Agar is propagated through seeds for growing healthy seedlings; and cultivation practices of the plant are of utmost concern for harvesting valuable oil. Extensive field survey has been conducted at Golaghat district of Assam, India to document the method of cultivation and management practices of the plant. The results obtained from the field study were analyzed and interpreted for understanding the importance of this traditional cultivation practice.
Electro-chemical arsenic remediation: Field trials in West Bengal
Get PDFMillions of people in rural South Asia are exposed to high levels of arsenic through groundwater used for drinking. Many deployed arsenic remediation technologies quickly fail because they are not maintained, repaired, accepted, or affordable. It is therefore imperative that arsenic remediation technologies be evaluated for their ability to perform within a sustainable and scalable business model that addresses these challenges. We present field trial results of a 600 L Electro-Chemical Arsenic Remediation (ECAR) reactor operating over 3.5 months in West Bengal. These results are evaluated through the lens of a community scale micro-utility business model as a potential sustainable and scalable safe water solution for rural communities in South Asia. We demonstrate ECAR's ability to consistently reduce arsenic concentrations of ~266 μg/L to <5 μg/L in real groundwater, simultaneously meeting the international standards for iron and aluminum in drinking water. ECAR operating costs (amortized capital plus consumables) are estimated as 1.04/m(3) under realistic conditions. We discuss the implications of these results against the constraints of a sustainable and scalable business model to argue that ECAR is a promising technology to help provide a clean water solution in arsenic-affected areas of South Asia
