Leptospirosis, a worldwide anthropozoonosis infection with multisystemic involvement, is emerging in North India. These days, focus is to develop recombinant outer membrane protein-based diagnostic tests. In this study, three genes lipL41 (1088 bp), loa22 (608bp) and lipL21 (581bp) of Leptospira interrogans were cloned and sequenced. Multiple sequence alignment and phylogenetic analysis revealed that loa22 and lipL21gene sequences of L. interrogans serovars Grippotyphosa and Canicola respectively were conserved in nature but lipL41 gene sequence of L. interrogans serovars Grippotyphosa showed variation in nucleotide sequence which contributes to serovar evolution within species. For protein expression truncated lipL41 (1028 bp), loa22 (548bp) and lipL21 (472bp) genes were amplified, cloned and expressed in prokaryotic expression system and His-tagged ~45kDa (lipL41 gene), ~28kDa (loa22 gene) and ~17kDa (lipL21 gene) proteins were purified by nickel-nitriloacetic acid (Ni-NTA) affinity chromatography. Purified proteins were confirmed by sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and western blotting. For immunological characterization, total four doses of recombinant proteins were injected subcutaneously into Swiss-albino mice at 50µg quantity along with Freund’s adjuvant and after 21 days immunogenicity of expressed proteins was tested by blotting using mice raised serum.

Tomato is one of the most important vegetable crops in India. In vitro tissue culture of tomato could serve as an important means for its improvement through genetic transformation. To improve the regeneration capacity of tomato, the effect on plant regeneration of donor plant type, basal medium, and plant growth regulators were evaluated using explants derived from the cotyledon, hypocotyl, leaf and petioles. Cotyledon and hypocotyl excised from 10-15 days old and leaf and petiole excised from 25-30 days were optimal explants. Explants were cultured on MS (Murashige and Skoog) basal medium supplemented with different concentrations and combinations of BA-IAA, BA-NAA, Kn-IAA and Kn-NAA. The highest regeneration efficiency was obtained on MS basal medium containing combinations of BA-IAA and Kn-IAA. The best response in terms of the percentage of shoot regeneration (77%) was obtained from petiole explant cultured on MS basal medium supplemented with 1.0 mg/l Kn + 1.0 mg/l IAA. Successful rooting was achieved by placing the shoots onto MS basal medium supplemented with 0.20 mg/l NAA. The combination of sand: soil (1:1) was the best for plant acclimatization as 90% of the plants survived and became established.

Rice the most important staple grain with second highest worldwide production has offered a great potential for biotechnological advances, categorized broadly in areas like transgenics, structural and functional genomics and marker-assisted breeding to provide with vital breakthroughs to achieve improvements in both quality and quantity in a sustainable manner. The ever increasing demand, increasing anthropogenic activities has posed a challenge to boost the production of rice. To cope of with this alarming situation, the advent of genetic engineering has been utilized to remove natural barriers through gene transfer/exchange. Since then, sequences from various sources like bacteria, viruses and eukaryotic systems were used to develop transgenic crop varieties. Gene transfer techniques like direct DNA transfer through particle bombardment, polyethylene glycol or electroporation and indirectly mediated by Agrobacterium are increasingly applied. Unfortunately, DNA delivered by direct methods is often integrated into the genome as rearranged or multiple copies, presumably as a result of which the expression pattern of the gene of interest is often aberrant or unstable. In contrast to this, Agrobacterium-mediated transformation system offers higher transformation efficiency with discrete, unrearranged segments of DNA being inserted at fairly low copy number. Achievements, to date, through Agrobacterium-mediated transfer have surpassed all previous expectations and with the development of this successful technique for genetic improvement the future is even more promising.

The antioxidant activity of extracts of different polarity from seeds of Local variety of Coriandrum sativum was assessed via both in vitro and ex vivo models. Results indicate that hexane extract of coriander exhibited no appreciable effects at either of the concentrations in all the three in vitro free radical scavenging models i.e. hydroxyl radical, superoxide radical and nitric oxide radical. Instead, it showed pro-oxidant activity at higher concentrations. Whereas methanol: hexane extracts of coriander were found to be ineffective in quenching hydroxyl radical but revealed only moderate activity in quenching superoxide radical (EC50=711.81 μg/ml) and nitric oxide radical (EC50=569.02 μg/ml). Only methanolic extract of Local variety offered strong antioxidant activity in a concentration-dependent manner for the same three free radicals with EC50 of 18.33 µg/ml, 553.50 µg/ml and 179.53 µg/ml respectively. Even in vitro linoleic acid peroxidation model proved methanolic extract of coriander (80% inhibition till 48 h) to be far better than standard antioxidant ascorbic acid (70% inhibition till 12 h). EC50 and SC50 for ex vivo linoleic acid peroxidation of rat liver homogenate and erythrocytes were recorded as 383.10 µg/ml and 166.78 µg/ml respectively. The methanolic extract of Local variety was further evaluated for its protective effect on osmotic fragility and antioxidant enzymes of erythrocytes at various time intervals (24-96 h). The decrease in% hemolysis and protection of activities of antioxidant enzymes even for 96 h of incubation in test groups supplemented with coriander proved indubitably, the effectiveness of methanolic coriander extract in alleviating protective mechanisms.

Global climate change predictions suggest new scenarios with large arid areas and extreme climatologic events. Thus, it is essential to understand how plants respond to different abiotic stresses in order to improve crop performance. A pot experiment was carried in a net house in four replicates of normal (no waterlogging) and waterlogging stress. Excess soil moisture stress was imposed at 21 days after sowing by placing the pots of each genotype in water-filled troughs for 7 and 14 days. The data revealed that the genotypes ICPB 2039 and KPBR 80-2-1 were showed significant superiority during 7 and 14 days waterlogging stress and during recovery for survival percentage. However, during 7 days waterlogging stress genotype KPBR 80-2-1 was superior for plant height and chlorophyll content, ICPH 2431 for root length, ICPL 20128 for leaf area, JBP 110-B for relative water content and JKM 7 for total dry matter production. When the waterlogging duration exceeded 14 days the genotypes showed the highest plant height and relative water content by ICPL 87051, root length and total dry matter production by JKM 7, leaf area by ICPH 2431 and chlorophyll content by C 11 under waterlogged conditions.

To compare the effect of 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP) and thidiazuron (TDZ) on morphological abnormal plants or per-cent variant plantlets during secondary hardening period. Shoot tips of Musa spp. were cultured on MS medium supplemented with different concentrations (2.0 and 5.0 mg/L) of BAP and (0.2 and 0.3 mg/L) of TDZ and NAA 0.2 mg/L. Wherever, TDZ is present in the medium some morphological dwarf plants were observed. The maximum plant height (16.17 cm) and number of leaves (4.20) was in T2. Where, the maximum shoot diameter (4.97 mm), number of primary roots (4.53) and length of longest root (11.17 cm) was in T1. TDZ at 0.2 mg/L it increases the morphological abnormal plants like dwarf plants (20.00%). In conclusion BAP at 5.0 mg/L, TDZ at 0.2 mg/L and NAA at 0.2 mg/L and BAP at 2.0 mg/L, TDZ at 0.2 mg/L and NAA at 0.2 mg/L were assumed to be the most suitable for commercial micropropagation system with low frequency of abnormal shoot production for local banana cultivars.

The present investigation was carried out to different organic substrate for develop simple, cheap and effective method to suitable mass multiplication of biocontrol agent Pseudomonas fluorescens. Different organic substrates were treated by sterilizated method such as hot water, steam and chemical treatment at two incubation temperature separately. 200 g of each substrate was filled in polythene bag and 48 h KMB slant culture of P. fluorescens cell suspension of concentration of 108 cfu/ml was pipetted into the each bag. The observations were recorded on 7th, 14th, 21st, 28th, and 35 th DAI. One gram of substrate from each bag was used for assessment of difference in growth of P. fluorescens and data regarding number of colony forming units (cfu) of bioagent per gram of each substrate. After 35 DAI, found that significantly higher population in FYM followed by vermi compost and gram straw at both temperature (20-25°C) and (35-40°C) irrespective of three sterilization methods taken in the study and also observed that overall growth of isolate of P. fluorescens was maximum in steam followed by hot water and least in chemical method of sterilization. As far as method of sterilization was concerned, the trend was similar as in cooler and room temperature. In all, cooler temperature (20-25°C) supported the mass multiplication over the room temperature (35-40°C).

Plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) are a heterogeneous group of bacteria that can be found in the rhizosphere, which can improve the extent or quality of plant growth directly or indirectly. However, screening strategies for selecting the best rhizobacteria strain for rhizosphere competence with other microbial species in the plant rhizosphere will require more comprehensive knowledge. In the present investigation nine different strains were tested for their PGPR properties by using RFLP analysis on 16S rRNA gene or amplified rDNA restriction analysis (ARDRA). 16 S rDNA amplification was done and restriction profiling was done using two endonucleases i.e. msp1 and taq1. Depending upon banding pattern of all the nine strains dendrogram was created using NTsys software. A clear-cut difference was seen in genetic diversity among the strains. Pseudomonas was found to be the most effective strain among all. Depending upon the outcome we can conclude that ARDRA can be an effective tool for analyzing the genetic diversity among different bacteria and PGPR starin e.g. Pseudomonas, Bacillus can be used as a potent biofertilizer.

Brucellosis is a worldwide contagious and zoonotic bacterial infectious disease caused by Brucella. The aim of present study was therefore to establish the seroprevalence of brucellosis in cattle in North India and to know the exact causal species of Brucella organism. A total of 160 serum samples were analyzed. The seroprevalence of Brucellosis was 1.88 per cent and 3.13 per cent by Rose Bengal Plate Test (RBPT) and Standard Tube Agglutination Test (STAT), respectively. Seroprevalence was zero by both RBPT and STAT in organized dairy farm while in unorganized sector, 2.16 and 3.65 per cent by RBPT and STAT, respectively. Age-wise seroprevalence was higher in 4.5 to 6 years old cows than younger. Area-wise seroprevalence was higher in Satwari block of study area. On screening of 10 milk samples from serological positive and doubtful cows by milk ring test, two sample were positive (20%). On isolation of from samples, only one sample yielded Brucella abortus. The results showed that younger cattle were less infected than adults. Prevalence of Brucellosis was higher in Satwari block of Jammu province compared to other study area. The presence of Brucellosis in bovine may pose a significant economic loss to the farmer and a public health hazard to the general population.

An understanding of soil boron occurring in various forms and their release behaviour in soils needs to be examined extensively in major soil series. A laboratory incubation study was conducted to study the release pattern of boron fractions under maize growing sandy loam B deficit soils with different levels of B as 0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0 kg ha-1 were replicated thrice in a completely randomized design. The soils were incubated at field capacity for a month (30 days) period and destructive sampling was done at intervals viz., 0, 7, 15, 21 and 30 days after incubation. B fractions viz., specifically adsorbed, oxide bound, organically bound and residual B in soil were determined. The results revealed that with applied boron, the non-specifically adsorbed B fraction was higher next to residual form when compared to other forms of boron. Applied B converted to soluble form and attained peak values at 21 days after incubation in the treatment with application of 2 kg B ha-1 and thereafter a decrease was noted. Irrespective of location, the plant available form of B includes non- specifically adsorbed B fraction which was considerably higher (1.03 and 1.0 mg kg-1 mg kg-1) on 21st day after incubation (contributed towards 0.02 and 0.01% of total B) which coincides with the high demand for B by maize crop during vegetative phase. The data’s also revealed that the contribution of residual boron to total boron was the highest among the B fractions.

A field experiment was conducted during Rabi seasons of 2009-10 and 2010-11 at the Agricultural Research Farm, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi (U.P.) to study the effect of fertilizer levels, FYM and bioinoculants and their interaction effect on soil properties. The treatments consisted four levels of recommended dose of fertilizer (0, 50, 75 and 100% NPK), two levels of farmyard manure (0, 10 t ha-1) and four inoculation [no inoculation, PGPR (Azotobactor chroococum W5 + Azospirillum brasilence Cd+ Pseudomonas fluorescens BHU PSB06 + Bacillus megaterium BHU PSB14), VAM (vesicular arbuscular mycorrhiza) and PGPR+VAM]. The experiment was replicated thrice in a split plot design. The results revealed that the application of different treatments did not affect the pH, EC and bulk density decreased, water holding capacity, organic carbon and CEC significantly improved after harvest of wheat. The dehydrogenase, phosphatase enzyme activity and soil microbial biomass carbon (SMBC) and available N, P and K and microbial population of soil after the harvest of wheat were improved significantly due to the integration of inorganic fertilizers with FYM and bioinoculants. Positive impact of biological and organic manure application have been recorded with an additional advantage of the reduction of chemical fertilizer use.

The study was conducted on genetic variability, heritability, genetic advance and correlation coefficient for vegetative and floral characters of gerbera during April 2011 to March 2012. Nine varieties namely, Rionegro, Manizales, Galileo, Marinila, Palmira, Figaro, Teresa, Pia and Tecala were selected for their evaluation. The range of variation was high for a number of flowers per sq. m per year followed by number of ray florets and plant spread. Highest phenotypic and genotypic variances were observed for a number of flowers per sq. m per year. The estimates of phenotypic coefficient of variation were higher than genotypic coefficient of variation for all the traits. Maximum phenotypic coefficient of variation and heritability was observed for vase life. Genotypic coefficient of variance showed a range of variation from 2.58 to 32.01 for diameter of neck and vase life, respectively. However, the maximum genetic advance was observed in the number of flowers per sq. m per year. The high heritability was associated with high genetic advance percentage of the mean for vase life indicating the possible role of additive gene action. The magnitude of genotypic correlation was higher than their corresponding phenotypic correlation for most of the traits, indicating a strong inherent linkage between various traits under study. At genotypic level, number of leaves per plant exhibited positive significant correlation with diameter of flower and number of flowers per sq. m per year but highly significant and positive correlation with a number of flowers per sq. m per year at phenotypic level.

Present investigation was carried out for 3 years (2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14) at Varanasi, India to find out influence of various gamma doses i.e. 1.5, 2.5, 3.5, 4.5 and 5.5 kR along with untreated (control) in different varieties of gladiolus viz., Aldebaran, Jyotsana, Legend, Praha, Punjab Dawn, Pusa Kiran and Tiger Flame. Maximum number of opened florets in vase was recorded with control during 1st year, whereas during 2nd year it was higher with 2.5 kR. Among varieties maximum opened florets were exhibited with cvs. Jyotsana and Tiger Flame during 1st and 2nd, respectively. Gamma dose at 1.5 kR registered maximum number of opened florets at a time during both years. Longevity of first floret was more with 2.5 kR treatment. Maximum vase life was recorded with 5.5 and 2.5 kR during 1st and 2nd year respectively. Among the varieties, maximum vase life was recorded with cv. Punjab Dawn followed by cvs. Tiger Flame during 1st and 2nd years. Various morphological changes were observed with different doses (3.5, 4.5 and 5.5 kR) and an unstable mutant in variety Pusa Kiran was observed at 2.5 kR. However, a stable mutant during 3rd year of investigation was recorded in cv. Tiger Flame at 3.5 kR gamma irradiation. This mutant has orange-yellow colour flowers. Variation on flower shape, size and colour was exhibited than parent.

The present paper deals with observation on ethno medicinal uses of plants by the tribal people of Birbhum district, West Bengal. Tribal medicine is an age-old therapeutic system which is traditionally practiced among different tribal communities for their primary health care needs. The tribal people of this district mainly depend upon the forest flora for their livelihood and use herbal medicines in curing the ailments and diseases. Altogether 30 plant species belonging to different families have been recorded from the district. These plant species are effective for various common human ailments. Considering individual plant parts it is found that leaf is used in 20 cases, bark in 12 cases, fruits in 6 cases, stem in 3 cases, latex and flowers in 2 cases, sap and rhizome in 1 cases. Finally, the recorded plant taxa have been enumerated according to their botanical names along with families, local or tribal names, parts used, disease cured, mode of administration, etc. This folk knowledge on medicine should be documented immediately and therapeutic validation of these herbal medicines is emphasized. To avoid biodiversity extinction some measures would be taken, like, cultivation of rare medicinal plants, provision of training and extension services to farmers engaged in cultivation of medicinal plants, establishment of herbal gardens in forest areas and creation of seed bank.

Salacia fruticosa Heyne ex Lawson, one of the red listed medicinal plants belonging to the family Celastraceae which is categorised as threatened by IUCN due to unsustainable and indiscriminate harvesting for commercial purposes. Traditional propagation techniques cannot cater to large scale planting stock production of this valuable species due to poor fruit set and seed germination hence the vegetative propagation has to be resorted to meet the planting stock requirement. Present investigation was carried out at Kerala Forest Research Institute to standardize the vegetative propagation protocol of S. fruticosa through stem cuttings with growth regulators in different season. Semi-hard wood and hardwood cuttings were collected in three seasons (January-April, May-August and September- December) and treated with Indole Butyric Acid and Naphthalene Acetic Acid in different concentrations. Rooting response was measured after two weeks in the mist chamber. The adventitious rhizogenesis of S. fruticosa stem cuttings was influenced by type of cutting, season of collection, type of growth regulator and its concentration. Semi hardwood leafy cuttings, treated with 3000 mg/l of IBA during January – April was the successful method for vegetative propagation (80% rooting) to produce the planting stock. Significant increase in number of new leaves, root length also recorded for the same treatment. Hence, we recommend the same treatment combination for the large scale planting production in S. Fruticosa.

The ambient air quality monitoring data of Jalna City, India for SO2, NOx, PM10 and TSPM at two sites (residential and industrial) and over a one year period are presented within this paper. The diurnal and seasonal variation in concentrations of SO2, NOx, PM10 and TSPM has been analyzed. It has been observed that all pollutants showed higher concentration during daytime as compared to night. The seasonal cycle at both the sites generally showed for SO2, PM10 and TSPM higher concentrations during the winter season. At both the sites no distinct seasonal cycle could be detected for NOx. The annual mean concentrations recorded for SO2, NOx, PM10 and TSPM were 4.93µg/m3, 26.68µg/m3, 61.85µg/m3 and 166.11µg/m3 at residential site and 6.44µg/m3, 64.64µg/m3, 126.82µg/m3 and 306.27µg/m3 at industrial site. The annual mean concentrations of all four pollutants measured at residential site were found within the permissible limits of Indian National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) whereas annual PM10 concentration at residential and industrial site violated the prescribed standard.

A pot experiment was conducted in the screen-house of the Department of Horticulture, College of Agriculture, CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar during 2011-12 and 2012-13 to investigate the potential effect of biofertilizers (PSB and mycorrhiza) and different levels of phosphorus (0, 10, 15 and 20 g/m2) on growth, yield and quality of chrysanthemum. The conjunctive effect of biofertilizers and different levels of phosphorus was found to be significant for both the years. The maximum plant height (31.77 and 33.33 cm), fresh weight of plant (100.90 and 96.77 g) and dry weight of plant (10.85 and 10.15 g) were recorded with PSB + phosphorus 15 g/m2 in the year 2011-12 and 2012-13, respectively. The minimum number of days taken for bud initiation (61.67 and 63.33 days) and number of days to first flowering (75.00 and 75.67 days) were also obtained with PSB + phosphorus 15 g/m2 in both the years, respectively. The maximum number of buds per plant (32.33 and 32.00), number of flowers per plant (29.00 and 29.33), the longest flower stalk (6.33 and 6.33 cm) were noticed with PSB + phosphorus 15 g/m2 in the year 2011-12 and 2012-13, respectively. The maximum number of days taken for bud initiation (79.00 and 80.33 days) was recorded with mycorrhiza application (alone) during both the years, respectively. The interaction effect between the biofertilizers and levels of phosphorous on number of suckers per plant was found to be non-significant during both the years of experimentation.

In this manuscript, 19 research studies with 79 experiments from 9 countries of the world based on growth, yield and their components of Wheat (Tritium aestivum L.), under various CO2 levels was analyzed. Only the recently published research studies (excluding models and mathematical tools based research) were considered in the study. Most of the selected experiment confirmed that elevated CO2 have positive impact on growth, yield and its components. Majority of the observations confirm that the elevated CO2 improved the growth & development processes as well as the yield & yield attributes of Wheat crop. No doubt elevated CO2 have positive impact on various growth and yield parameters but when we consider the impact of climate change (elevated temperature, drought, and increasing concentration of anthropogenic gases like SO2, CO, CH4 etc.) the response of CO2 will become negative. Even though elevated levels of CO2 has potential to compensate the impact of other changes in climate and may create a path in future to meet the demand of burgeoning world population.

This paper presents a comparative study of the efficiency of biodegradation, adsorption and simultaneous adsorption and biodegradation (SAB) process for the remediation of industrial wastewaters containing both cyanide and phenol. Adsorption was carried out using granular activated carbon (GAC), while biodegradation was achieved by co-fermentation with Pseudomonas putida and Azotobacter chroococcum. During co-metabolism P. putida utilized phenol as carbon source while A. chroococcum utilized cyanide as nitrogen source for growth. The biodegradation efficiency decreased with increasing concentrations of phenol and cyanide and was observed as 99.99, 92.45, 86.12, 75.21 and 60.34% for cyanide and 99.61, 85.62, 79.15, 64.21 and 56.63% for phenol respectively after 60 h of agitation when initial concentration was increased from 50-350 mg L-1. With adsorption on GAC, the removal efficiencies were found to be 85.8, 77.67, 75.51, 58.25 and 50.73% for cyanide and 73.92, 72.99, 71.23, 60.13 and 51.55% for phenol respectively after 72 h of agitation. However SAB process was found to be better than biodegradation or adsorption alone in terms of both removal efficiency and time required for remediation with removal efficiencies > 94% for initial cyanide and phenol concentrations of 50 and 100 mg L-1.

India has diverse agro-climate and produces a wide range of fruits and vegetables. It is the 2nd largest producer of fruits and vegetables in the world. It produces 74 million tones of fruits and 146 million tonnes of vegetables. Fruits and vegetables not only provide us nutritional and healthy foods, but also generate a considerable cash income for growers. Quality assurance is a prerequisite for high value fresh fruits and vegetables. The quality of fresh fruits and vegetables has a decisive effect on their value. This is a particularly true when consumers have a high income and the market provides a wide choice of produce. Fruit and vegetables are rich sources of vitamins, minerals, and fibers and also have beneficial antioxidative effects. However, the intake of heavy metal-contaminated fruit and vegetables may pose a risk to human health; hence the heavy metal contamination of food is one of the most important aspects of food quality assurance.

Investigations were carried out on analysis of water samples for heavy metals viz. Arsenic, Cadmium, Lead, Iron and Zinc from surface and ground water from 39 sampling sites under different land uses (agriculture, forest and urban) during different seasons (rainy, winter and summer) in adjoining to Kandaghat town of Solan District of Himachal Pradesh, India. This study had been carried out from 2011-2012 in order to elucidate the fate of heavy metals in surface and ground water. The maximum As (0.39 ppb), Cd (0.07 ppb), Pb (0.66 ppb), Fe (0.03 ppb) and Zn (0.09 ppb) of surface water was recorded under urban land use. Maximum As (0.25 ppb), Cd (0.06 ppb), Pb (0.59 ppb) and Fe (0.03 ppb) of surface water was recorded during summer season whereas Zn (0.06 ppb) was recorded during rainy season. In ground water, maximum Cd (0.06 ppb), Pb (0.02 ppb) and Fe (0.03 ppb) was recorded under urban land use, whereas As (0.15 ppb), Pb (0.02 ppb) and Zn (0.15 ppb) were recorded under agriculture land use. Maximum Cd (0.06 ppb) and Fe (0.03 ppb) of ground water were recorded during summer season, whereas As (0.06 ppb), Pb (0.02 ppb) and Zn (0.15 ppb) were maximum during rainy season.

A field study was conducted at ZARS, V.C. Farm Mandya to determine bio efficacy and persistence of oxyfluorfen residue in soil and aerobic rice crop. Oxyfluorfen (23.5% EC) was applied (100 g a.i ha-1 and 200 g a.i ha-1) to crop (Var MAS 946-1). Soil samples were collected at 0, 5, 10, 20, 30, 45, 60, 90 days after sowing and at harvest. Plant samples were collected at 60, 90 days after sowing and at harvest. Both the samples were analyzed for oxyfluorfen residues by a validated high-performance liquid chromatography method with an accepted recovery of 82.6% for soil and 92.6% for plant samples at the minimum detectable concentration of 0.05 µg g-1. Higher persistence of oxyfluorfen was noticed in treatment which received oxyfluorfen at 200 g a.i ha-1 + FYM @ 10 t ha-1 ranging between 0.61 µg g-1 and 0.08 µg g-1 at 0 and 60 days after treatment whereas oxyfluorfen did not persist in rice at any growth stages. A higher half life of 7.0 days and lower rate constant of 9.8 × 10-3 day-1 were also recorded in the same treatment.

Field experiments were conducted at the Department of Agronomy, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore to study the effect of crop geometry, intercropping and topping on the productivity and biological efficiency of baby corn. Crop geometry (60 x 20 cm and 75 x 16 cm) and intercropping (baby corn alone, baby corn + fenugreek (greens), baby corn + fodder cowpea) were assigned to main plots. Four topping practices (detasseling alone, topping beyond 9th, 10th and 11th internodes) was allotted to sub plots. The results revealed that baby corn raised at 75 x 16 cm produced higher green cob yield over 60 x 20 cm. Intercropping systems did not have positive influence on yield of baby corn. The highest green cob yield was obtained with topping beyond 10th internode. Higher baby corn equivalent yield (BEY) was obtained with baby corn + fenugreek grown under 75 cm row spacing combined with topping beyond 10th internode. Biological use efficiency as measured by the indices like LER, AHER, LEC, MER and RNRI were higher with baby corn + fenugreek grown under 75 cm row spacing combined with topping beyond 10th internode. However, baby corn intercropped with fodder cowpea at 75 cm row spacing combined with topping beyond 10th internode registered the higher ATER than the other treatment combinations.

The harvesting period of winter crop of Baramasi lemon coincides with the cooler part of the year and there is often a glut like situation in the market at its peak harvest time. This results in low returns to the growers. A study was planned to enhance the storage life of baramasi lemon fruits and fruits were harvested at green mature stage along with small pedicel in the month of January. Only healthy fruits were dipped in 0.1% bavistin solution for 2 minutes and after shade drying fruits were packed (four fruits in each pack) in high density polyethylene (HDPE) and low density polyethylene (LDPE) bags. Fruits were also waxed with Citrashine wax in one treatment. Packed/treated fruits were packed in corrugated fibre board (CFB) boxes and kept at ambient conditions. Fruit samples were analysed after 20, 35 and 50 days of storage for various physico-chemical characteristics. Results revealed that fruits treated with bavistin @ 0.1% and packed in LDPE bags maintained the best fruit quality in terms of high sensory quality, juice content, acidity and low spoilage and physiological loss in weight during 50 days of ambient storage

Biogas is generated from anaerobic digestion of organic wastes by microorganisms. It is a relatively simple and economical method to produce a fuel from waste. It has a composition of methane as the main component with 50-70 percent, carbon dioxide around 30-40 percent and, hydrogen sulphide and moisture in trace quantities. The composition of biogas varies depending upon the substrates used. The raw biogas from the biogas digesters is properly scrubbed and purified to remove the unwanted gases like CO2, H2S and moisture up to a certain required level. In this work, a biogas upgrading system of 2 m3/h capacity has been developed for the removal of carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulphide from biogas, is indispensable to get Biomethane. Developed biogas upgrading system, upgrades the biogas up to 96- 97% Biomethane at 10 bar column-operating pressure with 1.5- 2.5 m3 /h of biogas in-flow rate and 1.75 m3/h of water inflow rate.

The study examined the technical efficiency of tomato production in Guyuk Local Government area of Adamawa State, Nigeria. Data were collected from 100 farmers using purposive and simple random sampling with aid of structured schedule.The result of the stochastic frontier production function analysis shows that the variance parameters, that is the sigma squared (δ2) and the gamma (γ) were statistically significant at 1% level for tomato production. The coefficient of farm size and seed were positive and significant at 1% level while family and hired labor was negative and insignificant. Profit level can be increased by increasing the farm size and quantity of seed, and decreasing the use of manual labor. Mean efficiency were 0.69, Farmers operated at 31.03% below frontier level due to variation in technical efficiency. The inefficiency model shows that the coefficient of Age, Gender and family size have negative prior sign and in consonance with the prior expectation. Better use of technology dissemination was suggested to enhance the production level at farmers field and optimum utilization of resources.

Sclerotinia rot of Ocimum sanctum caused by Sclerotinia sclerotiorum has been recorded for last three years during winter season (2011-2014) at Kalyani, Nadia, West Bengal. The disease appeared in first week of December and progress of the disease continued up to the end of February. Drooping of leaves in one or more young twigs was the first symptom of the disease. Light brown discolouration on the twig and presence of white sclerotia might be associated with the initial symptom. Gradually more and more twigs were affected followed by death and drying of the infected twigs. In humid condition, prominent cotton white mycelia developed on the affected tissue. Towards end of February many plants became dead. Black matured sclerotia were found on the dead branches. On artificial inoculation the causal organism, Sclerotinia sclerotiorum infected fifty plants indicating that the pathogen did not have host specificity. But susceptibility of seventeen plants (Capsicum annum var. grosser, Trichosanthes dioica, Cucurbita pepo, Abelmoschus esculentus, Raphanus sativus, Trigonella foenum-graecum, Amaranthus tricolor, Portulaca oleracea, Pachyrrhizus erosus, Ipomoea batatas, Lathyrus satires, Ricinus Communis, Allium sativum, Foeniculum vulgare, Carica papaya, Chrysanthemum indium, Chenopodium album) is recorded first time in India.

The temporal abundance of different floral visitors on Egyptian clover, Trifolium alexandrinum l. and correlation with weather parameters was studied at Forage Section, Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, CCS, Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar during 2012 and 2013. The mean temporal abundance of A. dorsata was the maximum (4.90/m2/5 min.) followed by A. mellifera (2.69), H. armigera (2.24), Eristalinus spp. (1.59) and A. florea (1.20/m2/5 min.) during 2012. During 2013, A. dorsata abundance decreased to and it 3.08/m2/5 min. followed by A. mellifera (2.61), P. brassicae (2.03), Eristalinus spp. (1.91), Coccinella septempunctata (1.63) and A. florea (1.62/m2/5 min.). A. cerana abundance during 2012 was 0.30/m2/5 min. but became almost negligible (0.06) in 2013. Floral visitor’s abundance was maximum at 1400 h (2.97/m2/5 min.) followed by at 1200 noon (2.66) and 1600 h (2.50) and least during the morning hours of 0600 (0.09) and 0800 h (0.42/m2/5 minutes). Abundance of A. mellifera and A. dorsata during 2012 had a highly significant positive correlation with wind speed (r=0.77 and 0.86) at 0800 h while the later was also correlated with maximum (negative) and minimum relative humidity at 1800 h (r=-0.89 and 0.85, respectively).