Micronutrient deficiency (Iron and Zinc) is the major problem worldwide mostly in the developing countries with high dependence on staple foods. Biofortification of staple cereal and tuber crops has been considered and taken up as the most effective, feasible and economic approach for alleviating micronutrient deficiency. The present study was the initiative towards biofortification of wheat where the previous work of wide hybridization between HD2687 and Aegilops longissima accession 3506 and subsequent backcrossing with Triticum aestivum cultivar WL711 has been continued. In this study the alien chromosome introgression, chromosomal stability of BC1F6 and BC2F4 wheat-Ae. longissima derivatives has been investigated for their potential as germplasm for future breeding and biofortification program through morphological, cytological and biochemical analysis. We found that the selected derivatives showed stable 42, 44 and 46 chromosomes for most of the plants where single plant reported for each 41, 43 and 45 chromosomes with 19-22 bivalents and few

trivalent. The GISH analysis of derivative 79-1-4-8-1-2-2 revealed introgression of two univalent Sl chromosomes. Finally four derivatives were selected from BC1F6 (79-1-4-8-10-2-2, 79-1-4-8-10-2-5, 79-2-4-4-1-1-3 and 79-2-4-4-1-1- 5) and three from BC2F4 (HD2687/L3506//WL711-3///WL711-1-2-7-1, D2687/L3506//WL711-3///WL711-1-2-7-3, HD2687/L3506//WL711-3///WL711-1-2-7-5) as stable biofortified lines for future breeding to alleviate hidden hunger.

An efficient in vitro propagation protocol via shoot multiplication was developed for Rauvolfia hookeri, a rare medicinal species endemic to the southern Western Ghats of India. Shoot tip explants cultured on half strength Murashige and Skoog medium supplemented with various cytokinins (6-benzylaminopurine, 6-furfurylaminopurine and Thidiazuron) either alone or in combinations produced multiple shoots. When either cytokinin was used alone, 6- enzylaminopurine

was found nearly twice more successful than 6-urfurylaminopurine. The highest shoot proliferation was obtained when 6-benzylaminopurine and 6-furfurylaminopurine was used at 22.2 µM and 4.64 µM respectively. Thidiazuron gave the lowest response for shoot proliferation. The effect of indole-3-butyric acid and naphthalene acetic acid was evaluated for in vitro root induction. Rhizogenesis of excised shoots was of the shoots was readily achieved on half strength Murashige and Skoog medium containing various concentrations of indole-3-butyric acid and naphthale ne acetic acid. Indole-3- butyric acid was found to be more effective than naphthalene acetic acid and resulted in the highest frequency of shoots that rooted (86.5%) and mean number of roots per shoot (3.66) when used at 7.38 µM concentration. The micropropagated plants were hardened and transferred to green house condition wherein 70% plants established and were morphologically similar to mother plant. Genetic stability of regenerated plants has been checked by Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA using ten selected decamer primers.

The standardization of anther culture media for callus induction, and regeneration from anther derived callus of Azucena and Budda rice varieties. Anthers from panicles in which the distance between flag leaf and subtending leaf was 11cm in Azucena and 8 cm in Budda were used for anther culture.At this stage of development, anthers contained uni-nucleate pollen grains. Panicles were subjected to cold pretreatment of 5°C for 8 days. Callus induction frequency in different media combination ranged from 0.66% to 6.66% was observed in N6 medium supplemented with 1.0 mg-l,2,

4-Dichlorophenoxy acetic acid, 2.0 mg-l α-Naphthalene acetic acid and 0.5 mg-l Kinetin. In Azucena variety, highest callus induction (6.66%) while no callusing was found in Budda variety. Highest shoot regeneration (0.33%) from callus was observed in MS medium supplemented with 0.5 mg-l 6- Benzyl amino purine, 0.5 mg-l Kinetin and 80 mg-ladenine sulphate.

A field experiment was conducted at Ludhiana, during kharif 2008 to study effects of sowing time, variety and weed control on weed dynamics and productivity of dry/direct seeded rice. Six sowing dates (dry seeding on 0 (June 5), 7, 14, 21, 28 days after nursery sowing (DANS) and transplanting 28 DANS) in main plots and combinations of two varieties (PR 115 and PAU 201) and two weed control treatments (3 hand hoeings at 20, 40, 60 days and pendimethalin 0.75 kg pre-emergence followed by bispyribac-sodium 0.030 kg/ha as post emergence) in sub plots were evaluated in a split plot design with three replications. Transplanted crop recorded the lower population of all weeds sp and similar in dry seeding on 0 DANS. Population of all weed sp was lower under early sowing of crop on 0, 7 and 14 DANS as compared to delayed sowings. Population of Echinochloa sp, Leptochloa chinensis, Digitaria sanguinalis, Cyperus rotundus and Cyperus iria did not vary among seeding dates; Ammania baccifera and Caesulia axillaris intensity was significantly higher in 21 and 28 DANS as compared to early seeding dates. Weed density did not vary among rice varieties. Sequential application of herbicides effectively controlled Echinochloa sp and D sanguinalis while control of Eragrostis sp and L chinensis was very poor. Herbicides control broad leaf weeds and sedges except Cyperus rotundus. Transplanted crop recorded the highest rice grain yield and was at par to dry seeding 0 DANS but significantly higher than dry seeding on later dates. The grain yield of transplanted crop was 11.9, 22.1, 20.8, 41.7 and 71.4% higher as compared to dry seeding

on 0, 7, 14, 21 and 28 DANS, respectively. Rice varieties recorded similar grain yield. Three hand hoeings gave significantly higher grain yield than herbicides. Rice seeding directly on 0, 7 and 14 DANS produced similar grain yield under herbicides and three hand hoeings; further delay in seeding significantly reduced grain yield under herbicides as compared to hand hoeings.

In many crop species, seed germination and early seedling growth are the most sensitive stages to any stress. In order to evaluate the effect of different seed priming techniques on germination of paddy under different temperatures a factorial experiment was conducted with six varieties. Seeds were primed for 12h in seven priming media (salicylic acid 50 ppm, ascorbic acid 200ppm, citric acid 200ppm, proline 0.2%, calcium chloride 2%, Na2HPO4 100ppm and distilled water) at three different temperatures (300C, 380C and 430C) to observe the germination and related parameters. Results indicated that an increase in heat stress decreased germination components such as germination percentage, speed of germination, root length, shoot length and vigour index. Ascorbic acid and salicylic acid pre-treatment @ 200ppm and 50ppm respectively results in improvement of germination properties of paddy under heat stress condition because of its antioxidant capacity.The other treatments also enhanced the germination properties. Priming treatments including hydropriming resulted in the increased activity of α-amylase which in turn has resulted in better mobilization of stored carbohydrate reserves resulted in improvement of germination and other related parameters.

A study was conducted for the assessment of an appropriate storage device for long term storage of cowpea seeds. Cowpea seeds were stored in four different containers viz. tin container, polythene bag, earthen pot and gunny bag for six months at room temperature. Samples were taken out at monthly interval beginning from the first month of storage to determine the moisture content, germination percentage, vigor index and different fungi associated during storage. The seed moisture content and prevalence of fungi associated during storage were found highest in gunny bag resulting in lowest germination percentage and vigor. Fungal contamination and moisture content increased and seed germination and vigor decreased with the increase in storage period. But seeds stored in tin container maintained excellent germination percentage and vigor index as the moisture content and fungal contamination were less compared to other storage

devices throughout the storage period. Comparing all the storage devices, it was found that tin container is the best and secure device for long term storage of cowpea seeds.

Overexpression studies in plants have demonstrated the ability of metallothioneins (MTs) to hyperaccumulate heavy metals, but comparative analysis of heavy metal accumulation by different types of MTs from the same species is largely unavailable. Our previous study on three types of MTs (PjMT1, PjMT2, PjMT3) from heavy metal accumulating phreatophyte Prosopis juliflora reported that PjMT1 showed enhanced binding to cadmium, copper and zinc than other two types in E. coli. The present study, an extension of the previous work, compares the ability of PjMT1 and PjMT2 to

impart heavy metal tolerance in transgenic tobacco plants. PjMT1 and PjMT2 were cloned separately in plant transformation vector under constitutive promoter along with GUS screening marker and transformed into Nicotiana tabacum. When  subjected to 0.3 mM CdSO4, both PjMT1 and PjMT2 expressing transgenic plants demonstrated better survival and higher accumulation of Cd than wild type plants. Atomic absorption spectrometry revealed PjMT1 and PjMT2 transformed tobacco plants exhibiting nine fold and five fold higher Cd accumulation respectively, in comparison to non-transgenic plants. Measurement of chlorophyll degradation upon cadmium stress also indicated more chlorophyll retention in PjMT1

and PjMT2 transgenics compared to wild type plants. The results of the study identify PjMT1 as a better candidate gene for phytoremediation of cadmium.

Genetic diversity using Mahalanobis D-square (D2) techniques was studied for yield and yield contributing traits for 19 potato genotypes at West Bengal. These genotypes were grouped into seven clusters. Cluster VII had maximum divergence with four genotypes followed by cluster IV having maximum five genotypes. Rest five clusters are digenotypic having two genotypes each. The inter cluster distance were greater than the intra cluster distance revealing that considerable amount of genetic diversity existed among the accession. The maximum and minimum divergence was revealed between cluster VI with IV and cluster I with III respectively. Cluster VI exhibited high mean values for characters like total tuber yield, marketable tuber yield, dry matter%, harvest index, polar and equatorial diameter of tuber. These characters

combining with plant height are the major traits causing genetic divergence among the accessions. The genotypes belonging to different clusters are having maximum divergence and can be successfully utilized in hybridization programmes to get desirable transgressive segregants. It is assumed that maximum amount of heterosis will be manifested in cross combinations involving the parents belonging to most divergent clusters.

Genetic diversity plays an important role in crop improvement, because the segregants between lines of diverse origin generally display an improved performance than those between closely related parental genotypes. Sixty genotypes of roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa L.) were evaluated to study genetic divergence of fibre yield contributing quantitative characters by using principal component and cluster analysis. Principal component analysis (PCA) identified four principal components with eigen values more than one which contributed 73.859 percent of cumulative variance. The first principal component (PC1-) contributed maximum towards variability with significant loading of plant height, fibre length per plant, and fibre yield per plant. The plot of PC1and PC2 showed characters differentiation of genotypes according to their cluster membership for each cluster. The mean scores of genotypes were used as input for clustering in order to group the genotypes into

various clusters. Hierarchical clustering procedure (complete linkage dendrogram) was followed to group the genotypes into 8 clusters, the clustering pattern of genotypes was to be independent of their eco-geographical origin. The comparative study of PCA and Complete Linkage Dendrogram indicated the similarity in the clustering pattern, resulted to clustering of divergent genotypes into different clusters against the geographical origin. The genotypes REX-1, ER-1, AHS-188, AMV-5, AMV-4, AHS-161, HS-4270, AR-104, JRRM-9-2 and R-83 in the different clusters if inter crossed may generate wider variability for sustainable improvement of fibre yield.

Role of antioxidative enzyme activity in salt stress and salinity screening was studied in the callus of two rice cultivars (White ponni and BPT-5204). The antioxidant activities of the rice callus were determined by analyzing three enzymes activity namely, Superoxide Dismutase (SOD), Catalase (CAT) and Ascorbate Peroxidase (APX) grown under saline condition. Enzymes were analysed in 15 days old rice callus culture grown under slat stress and non-saline conditions. All the three enzyme activities were varied according to salt concentrations in the medium. SOD and CAT activities were higher in BPT-5204 but APX activities were higher in White ponni. Among the NaCl treatment, medium contained 40 mM NaCl observed higher enzyme activity than 20, 30 mM NaCl. Under non saline condition there is no significant difference were noticed in the enzymatic activities and callus growth parameter in both the cultivars. Observation was carried out on

the change in callus growth parameter like weight and color of the callus. There was a significant reduction in weight and also change in colour of the callus was noticed with respect to higher salt concentration (30 and 40 mM NaCl) in the medium for both the cultivars. The observed data indicated that rice plant responds well to salt-induced oxidative stress by increasing their enzymatic antioxidant defense systems. The antioxidant enzyme activity play vital role in defense against salt stress and this may help to screen the salt tolerant line grown under in vitro condition in early callus stage itself.

The present study was carried out for the comparison of ISSR and RAPD markers for polymorphism pattern andmolecular diversity analysis among ten cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L.) genotypes. Out of 50 ISSR primers, 18 primers produced total 103 bands across ten cowpea genotypes, of which 49 bands were polymorphic. A maximum polymorphism (85.70%) was obtained by UBC 815. Average numbers of polymorphic bands per UBC primer was 2.72. The UBC 834 was the best primer resulting good amplification with maximum PIC value (0.890). However, out of 50 RAPD primers,

14 RAPD primers produced 120 bands across ten genotypes, of which 81 bands were polymorphic. A maximum polymorphism (90.0%) was obtained with OPV-16 primer. Average number of polymorphic bands per RAPD primer was 5.78. The primer OPD-08 was the best primer resulting good amplification with maximum PIC value (0.923). Jaccard’s similarity coefficient ranged from 68.40% to 92.90% for ISSR, for RAPD are 57.10% to 81.00% and for ISSR-RAPD coefficient data ranged from 85.70% to 63.50%.

Evaluation of genotype by environment interaction (GEI) is very important for development of crop varieties with good potential. In this study, Eberhart - Russell’ and AMMI approaches were used to analyse the pattern of stability under targeted environment. The pattern of stability parameters of seed yield indicated that two genotype viz., G2 and G36 exhibited high mean seed yield with non-significant s2di, whereas G33 showed average seed yield (mean) and nonsignificant s2di. Environmental indices indicated that environment A and environment B were most favourable for most of

the yield component traits, whereas environment C was unfavourable for almost all the yield and yield component traits.

Based on AMMI 1; G1, G2, G18, G4, G3, G24, G22 and G25 were found stable for seed yield. For seed yield; genotypes and environments were grouped into nine sectors (AMMI 2). The first sector consist of with environment B with high IPCA score for some outlier genotypes i.e. G25, G14 and G22, indicated that the environment B was better than other environments and three genotypes were found stable for SYP. The selected genotypes may be utilized in Vigna radiata improvement programme at targeted location with true type of breeding lines.

Present study on screening of urdbean germplasm for resistance against Rhizoctonia solani kühn causing web blight disease revealed that in detached leaf technique, 42 genotypes of Urdbean were evaluated for web blight resistance. Out of these fourteen genotypes i.e. IPU-2-43, KPU-1-10, KU-1106, CoBG-10-5, LBG 752, VBG-10-024, NUL-7, ACM 05- 007, Uttara-3, UH-08-05, UH-07-06, CoBG-761, NDU-11-202 and KUG-580 were found moderately resistant to web blight. During field screening in 2011 and 2012, lines LBG-752, VBG-10-024, NUL-7, ACM-05-007, Uttara-3, UH-08-05, UH-07-06, CoBG-761, NDU-11-202, KUG-586, IPU-2-43, KPU-1-10, KU-1106 and CoBG-10-5 showed moderately resistant reaction to web blight disease and rest of the lines shows susceptible reaction.

Variability of wood density and fibre length was determined in 36 genotypes of Salix alba L. procured from seven different European countries namely Italy, Hungary, U.K, Netherlands, Turkey, Yugoslavia and Croatia. Genetic parameters were worked

out with regards to estimate of heritability (broad sense), genetic advance, genetic gain as per cent of mean and correlation coefficient among them. Wood density was recorded in the range of 0.30-0.53 with mean value 0.40gcm-3 whereas fibre length ranged from 0.45-0.65 with mean 0.55mm. High heritability values show that the genetic control is stronger for wood density (h2=90.30) than for fibre length (h2=78.20). Both the characters were having high heritability with good genetic gain. Clone 84/22 from Turkey had given best performance in view of both the character. Further control crossing is underway to produce ideotype with regard to different end users.

One of the major constraint in anthurium cut flower production is bacterial blight incited by Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. Dieffenbachiae (Xad). It causes considerable economic loss. Considering the serious nature of the disease the present investigation was undertaken to harness the potential of  ntagonistic endophytes against bacterial blight pathogen. Endophytic microorganisms were isolated from healthy anthurium plants collected from different locations. A quantitative estimation

of endophytic micro organisms revealed the abundance of bacteria than fungi. Moreover, more number of endophytes were isolated from roots than from petiole and leaves. Based on cultural characters of endophytic microorganisms, 14 fungal and 37 bacterial endophytes were selected. Antagonistic action of these endophytes against pathogen was studied in comparison with that of reference culture of Pseudomonas fluorescens (KAU), P.fluorescens (TNAU), Trichoderma viride (KAU) and T. harzianum (IISR). The study revealed that, only eight bacterial and two fungal cultures showed antagonistic action against the pathogen. Since fungal endophytes showed less inhibition, they were not selected for further studies. The selected endophytes were subjected to various tests for understanding parameters that may act to produce antagonism as well as enhanced growth of the plants. All the antagonists inhibited growth of the pathogen, promoted plant growth, produced IAA and ammonia. Only two isolates viz., EB-14 and EB-31 are found cyanogenic.Only four isolates viz., EB-15, EB-31, EB-26 and EB-12 were found capable of solubilizing hosphate. All isolates except EB-12 were found capable of producing siderophores.

Field experiments of a 2% W.P. Trichoderma viride (Strain No. BHU-2953, Accession No. NAIMCC-F-02976) formulation were conducted at experimental farms of Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi and SASRD, Nagaland University, Medziphema. The experiments were conducted in two seasons during 2007-08 & 2008-09 to test the bioefficacy of the formulation against the tomato wilt pathogen, Fusarium oxysporum and chilli damping-off pathogen, Pythium aphanidermatum. The formulation was applied as seed treatment and furrow application. The results revealed that the seed and furrow application of the formulation significantly reduced the wilt disease of tomato and damping-off of chilli. The yields of tomato and chilli were also significantly enhanced. Further, the formulation did not have any phyto-toxic effect either on tomato or chilli plants at all the doses levels tested for field bio-efficacy. The T. viride formulation also did not have any adverse effect on the beneficial rhizospheric microbes, like Arbuscular Mycorrhizae (Glomus spp.) in tomato and chilli rhizosphere at all dosages as confirmed with microscopic observations. Based on the above findings, the T. viride 2% W.P. formulation is found safe and effective for using as an efficient and ecologically-safe alternative to chemical fungicides for the management of wilt of tomato and damping-off of chilli as well as for obtaining higher yields.

Screening of a set of 12 different composite and commercial hybrid varieties/land races against Turcicum leaf blight disease showed differences in disease reaction. These varieties differed  ignificantly and Percent Disease index (PDI) ranged from 10 to 62 %. Among the different varieties, Allrounder, Prabal, DKC- 9081 showed significantly less (P=0.05) disease as compared to other varieties. Keeping this in mind, they were classified as Tolerant Type and Susceptible Type. The studies on leaf structural anatomy of the both the types reveled that difference in number of stomata per unit area, size of vascular bundle, lower and upper epidermis and number of trichomes per unit area. It may be concluded that the

structural anatomy of maize leaf may play an important role in resistance and susceptibility to the Turcicum leaf blight disease.

Fibrous root distribution pattern of mature trees of sweet orange cultivar Blood Red budded on rough lemon with her cleoptera and troyer citrange rootstocks were studied by root excavation method. The roots excavated from four radial distances i.e.0-75,75-150,150-225 and 225-300 cm from the tree trunk and three depths i.e.0-15, 15-30 and 30-60 cm from the ground level indicated that fibrous root dry weight density and proportion of dry weight differed significantly at various depths and radial distances. Cleoptera has more feeder roots as compared to rough lemon and troyer. Feeder root dry weight density and dry weight proportion was almost the same between 0-15 & 15-30 cm depth and at deeper horizon there was significant decrease in all the root stocks. Approximately 70% of the total feeder roots in all rootstocks were within 0-30 cm depth i.e. intensive vertical development. The highest feeder root dry weight density was recorded at 0-75cm radial distance after that there was a sharp decrease. Troyer citrange, cleoptera and rough lemon contain about 65, 61 and 50% feeder roots up to 150 cm radial distance from the trunk. Hence, feeder roots, in troyer citrange and cleoptera may be exemplified as intensive lateral development. Rough lemon bears extensive lateral development as it has substantial amount of feeder roots at 150-225cm radial distance. 

Inevitable presence of pesticides in foods demands development of efficient multiresidue methods for risk evaluation. Extraction of pesticide trace contaminants from foodstuffs is a laborious task. Development of reliable sample preparation procedures, characterized by the simplicity of both the operations and the devices involved in analytical process is need of the hour. Effective minimization of sample sizes; and the amount of solvents used in extraction is also a priority. Traditional solvent dedicated approach such as liquid- liquid extraction have been taken over by integrated techniques (SFE, SPE, MSPD) and automated microextraction based methods. Moreover, introduction of solventless techniques

have become a benchmark to so-called “green chemistry”, in analytical perspective. The review accounts upcoming trends and aspects of extraction methodologies, involved in pesticide analysis of food and future prospects in the view of same.

A field experiment was conducted to study the field efficacy, net profit and cost benefit ratio of certain insecticides against fruit borer, Helicoverpa armigera (Hubner) in tomato during Rabi season 2008. The pooled and statistical data indicated that spraying of endosulfan 35 EC was found to be most effective as it recorded lowest larval population (2.33 larvae per plant) as compared to control (7.02 larvae per plant). Endosulfan 35 EC recorded significantly lowest fruit damage (22.85 per cent). Further, the present findings revealed that the per cent of fruit damage caused by fruit borer was highest at the beginning of the picking seasons and as the number of pickings increased there was a decrease in the fruit damage. All the insecticidal treatments significantly recorded lower fruit yield losses as compared to control (50.85

per cent). Maximum fruit yield was registered by treatment endosulfan (69.50 q/ha) which was followed by cypermethrin

(64 q /ha) and fenvalerate (61.33 q/ha) and lowest in control (20.33 q/ha). The net profit ranged from ` 7,424/- per ha (ë-cyhalothrin) to ` 38,528/- per ha (endosulfan). Spraying of cypermethrin twice on tomato crop, gave maximum cost benefit ratio (1:0.98) which was obviously due to its low price as compared to other insecticides.

Presence of pesticide residues in tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) leaf matrix increases health risk of the consumer, and hence, determination of pesticide residues in tobacco is an issue of serious concern around the world. Present study details the sample preparation and analysis of imidacloprid residues in the Flue Cured Virginia (FCV) tobacco by highperformance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled with ultra-violet (UV) detector. The extraction method involves mechanical agitation of tobacco leaf matrix with acetone (1:10) for 45 min at 200 rpm, followed by sequential liquidliquid- partitioning and clean-up with florisil. The method provided 83.7-97.5% recovery with precision relative standard deviation (RSD) less than 10%. Matrix induced signal suppression was recorded at lower level of pesticide spike mention concentration to specify what do mean by lower level). The method provided acceptable intra-laboratory precision (HorRat ratio mostly < 0.5) and global uncertainty (11.72% at guidance residue level (GRL) of 5 µg g-1 for imidacloprid in tobacco), which complies with the international regulatory specifications. By considering efficiency of method, economics of analysis and analyst’s safety, the present method can be adopted by laboratories to monitor imidacloprid residue in FCV tobacco leaf matrix for consumers’ safety.

In the present study, In vivo antioxidant activity of fungal pigment extract of Thermomyces sp was evaluated in animal model using albino mice. The pigment extract was orally administrated at doses of 25, 50, 100 and 200 mg/kg for 30 days. The Enzymatic antioxidant such as Superoxide dismutase (SOD), Catalase (CAT) and Glutathione peroxidase (GPx) non enzymatic antioxidant Glutathione (GSH) was analyzed in kidney and liver tissues. The fungal pigment treated

groups recorded higher antioxidant activity compare to control animals.

A survey was conducted during 2013 in different regions of Tamil Nadu, India and a total of 51 poultry feed samples were collected from poultry farms and poultry feed dealers. The presence of Aspergillus flavus in the feeds was detected by a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay using specific primers based on the O-methyltransferase gene (omt-A) that is involved in the aflatoxin B1 biosynthesis. The contamination levels of Aflatoxin (AFB1, AFB2, AFG1 and AFG2) were determined using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The results indicated that 98% of the tested samples were contaminated with AFB1 and the levels ranged from 0 to 160.7 ppb and the levels of AFB1 in 29% of the samples exceeded 20 ppb. Aflatoxin B2 contamination was observed in more than 82 % of the samples tested and the levels of

AFB2 in 17 % of the samples exceeded 20 ppb. The levels of AFB2 ranged from 0 to 95.5 ppb. AFG1 and AFG2 were not detected in any of these samples. In the PCR analysis using omt-A primers, A. flavus specific 300-bp PCR product was amplified from DNA extracted from most of the AFB1 contaminated feeds. However, some of the feed samples even though contain AFB1 failed to amplify the 300-bp product in PCR.

Mangroves occupy a relatively unexplored site in endophytic microorganism isolation so they can represent a new source in obtaining more enzymes with different potentialities. The present study was carried out to evaluate the ability of Bacillus sp isolated from mangrove species Rhizophora mucronata for the production of Cellulase enzyme. After production, Proteins from the culture filtrate were precipitated by Ammonium Sulfate (60%). The precipitate was reconstituted with assay buffer and dialyzed against same buffer. Then the dialyzed sample applied on DEAE Cellulose column and eluted with 1M NaCl in buffer. Purified enzyme was found to be 65KDa by SDS PAGE. The optimum conditions for the enzyme activity were found to be at a temperature 37°C and PH 7.0. The Km and Vmax values of the enzyme were 1.25mg/ml and 14.6 IU/ml, respectively.

Extremophilic organisms are primarily prokaryotic (archaea and bacteria), with few eukaryotic examples. Extremophiles are defined by the environmental conditions in which they grow optimally. The organisms may be described as acidophilic (optimal growth between pH 1 and pH 5); alkaliphilic (optimal growth above pH 9); halophilic (optimal growth in environments with high concentrations of salt); thermophilic (optimal growth between 60 and 80 °C); hyperthermophilic (optimal growth above 80 °C); psychrophilic (optimal growth at 15 °C or lower, with a maximum tolerant temperature of 20 °C and minimal growth at or below 0 °C); piezophilic, or barophilic (optimal growth at high hydrostatic pressure); oligotrophic (growth in nutritionally limitedenvironments); endolithic (growth within rock or within pores of mineral grains); and xerophilic (growth in dry conditions, with low water availability). Some extremophiles are adapted  imultaneously to multiple stresses (polyextremophile); common examples include hermoacidophiles and haloalkaliphiles. Extremophiles are of biotechnological interest, as they produce extremozymes, defined as enzymes that are functional under extreme conditions. Extremozymes are useful in industrial production procedures and research applications because of their ability to remain active under the severe conditions typically employed in these processes. The study of extremophiles provides an understanding of the physicochemical parameters defining life on Earth and may provide insight into how life on Earth originated. The postulations that extreme environmental conditions existed on primitive Earth and that life arose in hot environments have led to the theory that extremophiles are vestiges of primordial organisms and thus are models of ancient life.

Quality standards are usually related to improving the safety of food products suitable for consumption in accordance to specifications by food regulatory bodies. This study noted that although steps have been taken in Nigeria to address an aspect of food security (increasing food production to prevent hunger) in the issue of food safety, another aspect of food security, received only little attention. Findings of this study revealed that Educational level and amount of assets owned by respondents have direct relationships with their awareness about the need for food safety regulations. The number of years spent in school also influenced the ease of adoption of technological innovations associated with food safety regulations. The negative signs of X1 and X4 (age and years of experience) means due to lack of education of most of the respondents, even as they continue growing older and stay longer in business they may not see the need to spend additional money on safety measures as it does not have much meaning to them 

In this study we compared between six RILs of (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) in growth, nodulation, phosphorus use efficiency for N2 fixation and proton release in response to two levels of P in nutrient solution. For plants grown at 250 and 75 ìmol P pl-1 week-1 for 42 days. For this propose Glass house experiment in rhizobox was conducted to evaluate six common bean genotypes for their growth behavior at two levels of soil phosphorus, deficient (75 µmol week-1 plant-1) and sufficient (250 µmol week-1 plant-1) using 24g soil per rhizobox. Genotypes showed differential behavior at both P levels for all parameters. Shoot biomass and nodule biomass were observed higher in sufficient P than in deficient P. Difference

for phosphorus utilization efficiency and phosphorus uptake were also observed where RILs 34,75 and 147 were the higher efficient in use and uptake of P under sufficient P than deficient P. and also greater in H+ efflux for these RILs under sufficient than deficient P. It concluded that these RILs have the possibility to enrich the poor phosphorus soils by available P and improve the soil fertility.

The tribal agriculture is mostly on primitive lines, as evidenced by shifting cultivation, use of indigenous technologies, small size of land holdings and lack of diversification of occupations. The adoption of new agricultural technology in the form of HYV seeds, chemical fertilizers, agro-chemicals, method of cultivation, etc. can improve the production and productivity of agricultural sector leading to improvement in economic condition of the tribal people. Ignorance of the tribal farmers, lack of irrigation facility, poor credit supports, etc. are some of the factors that restrict its spread. The

present study was taken up to delineate the existing problems among the tribal farmers which create hindrance in adoption of new agricultural technology in district Bijnor of Western Uttar Pradesh. For this purpose 72 tribal farmers were selected and interviewed with the help of a questionnaire for collection of data