Contents 

Field experiment was conducted at Mountain Research Centre for Field Crops, SKUAST-Kashmir, Khudwani during Kharif 2012 and 2013 on slity clay loam soils. The soil of the experimental field was neutral in reaction, testing medium in available P, K and organic carbon content and low in available N. The treatments comprising of three irrigation schedules: alternate wetting and drying (AWD), saturation conditions and continuous flooding and seven weed management practices including four herbicidal treatments (pyrazosulfuron ethyl @ 20 ga.i. / ha(3 DAT); cyhalofop butyl @ 80 ga.i., / ha(15 DAT); pyrazosulfuron ethyl 20 ga.i. fb cyhalofop butyl 80 g a.i., / ha(3 and 15 DAT); butachlor @ 1.5 kga.i. / ha(3 DAT); three Cono weedings (15, 25 and 35 DAT); along with control and weed free treatment replicated thrice were tested in split plot design to ascertain the most effective herbicide for the control of weeds in rice (Oryza sativa L.) under SRI. The data revealed that significant increase in dry matter accumulation by the crop and grain yield was recorded due to the saturation water regime, which was superior to AWD and continuous flooding during both the years of experimentation. However, continuous flooding recorded lower weed densities, dry matter and weed control efficiency. Higher weed index was recorded with saturation water regime. The data on weed management practices revealed that among the herbicides tested,sequential application of pyrazosulfuron-ethyl @ 20 g a.i./ ha(3 DAT) fb cyhalofop-butyl @ 80 g a.i./ ha(15 DAT) produced significantly higher grain yield and dry matter accumulation by the crop comparable to other weed management measures and weedy check treatment. The same treatment also recorded lower weed densities, weed dry matter and weed index but recorded higher weed control efficiency over other weed management practices and control during both the years.

To investigate the optimum sowing time of grass pea (Lathyrus sativus L.) in New Alluvial Zone of West Bengal, field experiment was conducted with grass pea (cv.: Prateek), sown on nine different dates from 26th October to 21st December at weekly interval during the winter season of 2016-17 at the Instructional Farm (22°58´ N, 88°31´ E), Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya, West Bengal, India. Grain yield and different yield attributes viz. numbers of pods per plant (PP), numbers of grains per pod (GP) and test weight of grains (TW) were observed and statistically analyzed. It was observed that sowing time greatly altered grain yield and yield attributes. Highest mean grain yield (994.4 kg/ha) was obtained from the crops sown on 16th November. TW showed highest correlation with grain yield (r = 0.88**). Test weight of grains seemed to be the most important yield attribute in terms of adjusted R2 values (0.752**), obtained from the regression analysis between grain yield and different yield attributes individually and in combination. It was clear that grass pea should be sown after 2nd November and not beyond 16th November to obtain the potential productivity in the New Alluvial Zone of West Bengal.

Strategic management and efficient application of inputs are the primary demands for sustainable, healthy and promising bio energy cropping system. Sweet sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) is identified as an industrial crop by virtue of accumulation of fermentable sugars in stem and the stalk syrup is an enriched source of bio ethanol. To make an increasing profit from cultivation of sweet sorghum in Gangetic plains of West Bengal, several agronomic practices have been proposed both in general parameters and nutrient management. This plot experiment was conducted in open pollinated field condition to evaluate the response of different N, K and P doses on growth and sugar yield of sweet sorghum in this agro climatic zone. The experiment was conducted at Visva Bharati Agriculture Farm, Birbhum during 2017 in a randomized block design (RBD) having three replications. The total number of treatment combinations were 18 (3N×2P×3K) with a total of 54 plots. Data were collected on every 30 days interval starting from 40 Days after Sowing (DAS) to 130 DAS. The results revealed that maximum plant height of 192.19 cm was observed in N3P2K2 treatment at 130 DAS. The maximum Green Biomass of 26.47 t/ha was observed with N3P1K3 treatment at 100 DAS. The maximum sugar concentration of 9.34% was observed with N3P2K3 treatment at 100 DAS and the highest sugar yield of 1717.62 kg/ha with the same ratio of fertilizer treatment. All the values of parameters statistically evaluated to identify the cost-effective status as well as the significance of the study.

The sensitivity level of plants to air pollutants is evaluated by air pollution tolerance index (APTI). Parameters of leaf like pH, relative water content, chlorophyll, ascorbic acid were analyzed for the computation of air pollution tolerance index (APTI). In the present research, leaf sample of different plant species like Ficus religiosa (Peepal), Nerium indicum (Kaner), Azadirachta indica (Neem), Mangifera indica (Aam), Cassia fistula (Amal tas), Eucalyptus (Nilgiri), Ficus religiosa (Peepal) and Calotropis procera (Aak) were taken from Pratapnagar Circle of Udaipur city, which is connected from national highways and has a heavy load of vehicles. The results obtained showed highest APTI values of Eucalyptus (Nilgiri), followed by Mangifera indica (Aam), Azadirachta indica (Neem), Ficus religiosa (Peepal) and Nerium indicum (Kaner).

The present study showed that the quality of producer gas obtained by thermo-chemical conversion of crop residues varied due to organic nature of biomass and the variation in operating parameters such as equivalence air fuel ratio and superficial velocity. The range of tar and particulate matters (TP) in producer gas obtained from downdraught gasifier generally varied from 110-14000 mg/Nm3, which makes it unsuitable for internal combustion (IC) engine operation. Hence, a reduction in TP below 150 mg/Nm3 is necessary for long run engine operation. Controlling operating parameters is a very sophisticated process and can be applicable only in laboratory experiments. Therefore, improvement in physical cleaning process to reduce TP and improve producer gas quality is very important for sustainable IC engine operation. The experiments were conducted by mixing jatropha oil with saw dust and wood shavings as filter media with the existing cooling and cleaning train (version 6). Result showed a reduction of TP (< 150 mg/Nm3) value in the range of 12-17 mg/Nm3, which was much below the recommended limit of TP as prescribed by Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Government of India for engine operation.

Phytofiltration is an ecofriendly technique, which use plants biomass to remove toxic heavy metals from aqueous waste. Lead (Pb) present in sewage induces oxidative stress and cause deleterious effects on living organism, hence it has to be removed. The aim of the study is to evaluate efficiency of Vigna radiata as phytofiltrator of lead. The efficiency was estimated in terms of growth attributes, stress marker and accumulated lead content of V. radiata. In the present experimental design, Vigna radiata (Mungbean) plants were grown hydroponically in sewage and 50% diluted sewage for 15-days. V. radiata grown in Hoagland media served as the control. Accumulated lead content was estimated by Atomic absorption spectroscopy. It was observed that, total height, fresh and dry weight of V. radiata was not changed significantly (p>0.05) in sewage as compared to control. Reduction in total height was significant (p<0.05) and fresh and dry weight was highly significant (p<0.01) in 50% sewage. Lead accumulation was observed in V. radiata grown using sewage. Malondialdehyde (MDA), peroxidase, and proline content increased significantly (p<0.05) in sewage when compared to control. In 50% diluted sewage, malondialdehyde, peroxidase reduced significantly (p<0.05), while proline content showed a significant increase (p<0.01) when compared to undiluted sewage. It was concluded that V. radiata has potential to phytofilter lead from sewage. Increased MDA level indicates oxidative stress. Increased antioxidative stress markers; proline and peroxidase activity shows that V. radiata has tolerance to lead stress. Use of 50% diluted sewage is effective in reducing oxidative stress but it also negatively affects plant growth when compared to undiluted sewage.

Organic waste from agricultural industries such as effluent from palm oil mills contains high organic material and can be used as a source of organic material to improve soil quality. The incubation experiment was carried out to evaluate the effect of organic waste from a mixture of palm oil mill effluent with zeolite and chicken manure on pH, total organic C, labile organic C, humic acid C and nutrient in an acid soil. The treatment consisted of a control and the addition of organic waste at 5, 10, 15 and 20 t/ha arranged in a randomized block design with three replications. The incubation experiment was performed for 10 weeks. The addition of organic wastes significantly increased the soil pH, total organic C, labile organic C, humic acid C and nutrients (N, P, and K) and cation exchange capacity (CEC). The addition of organic waste also showed a significant decrease in the exchangeable Al, which is a toxic element found in acid soils. Changes in soil organic C, nutrients and other soil chemical properties showed different trends during incubation. Increased incubation time led to the decreasing trend in pH, total organic C, labile organic C and available P. In contrast, total N, humic acid C, exchangeable K, Al and cation exchange capacity tended to increase with increasing incubation time. The results of this study indicated that organic C, nutrients and other acid soil chemical properties could be improved by the addition of organic waste.

Ophiorrhiza mungos var. angustifolia is a herbaceous medicinal plant belonging to the family Rubiaceae. It is a rich source of potent anticancer compound camptothecin (CPT). Massive uprooting of the species from its natural habitat for the extraction of CPT along with poor seed viability has led to the destruction of its population. At this context, the present study was proposed to develop in vitro protocol from leaf explant for the propagation and production of CPT from the species. In vitro multiple shoot cultures maintained in half strength Murashige and Skoog medium with 3% sucrose and 0.8% agar supplemented with 8.88 μM Benzyl Amino purine (BA) were served as the explant source. Multiple shoots were induced on leaf explant cultures on half strength MS solid medium fortified with different concentrations of (4.44- 22.19 μM BA, 4.67- 23.23 μM Kinetin, 0.49- 2.45 μM 2 isopentanyladinine, 4.57- 22.85 μM Zeatin) either individually or in a combination. Medium supplemented with 13.31 μM BA showed the best result with 52.33±3.06 shoots/explant. The synergic effect of BA with other cytokinins also favoured shoot induction in a higher rate but they were very minute in nature. The shoot buds initiated were repeatedly sub cultured and multiple shoot cultures were developed. The CPT content of thus produced multiple shoots were checked (0.13 ± 0.1 mg/g DW) and found comparable with that of the field grown plants (0.14 ± 0.1 mg/g DW). The authenticity of CPT was checked with HPLC analysis. Protocol developed in the present study can be used for the regeneration of adventitious shoots from leaf explant of O. mungos var. angustifolia.

The study to estimate genetic parameters and to identify agronomic traits correlated with the grain yield of maize hybrids using an experiment was conducted at the Research Farm, JNKVV Jabalpur (MP) during the year 2012-13 consisting of seven newly developed maize hybrids and one composite variety. The experimental design was a randomized block design with three replications. Analysis of variance revealed high significant difference for all the twelve characters studied. Phenotypic coefficient of variation (PCV) was higher than genotype coefficient of variation (GCV) for all the characters indicating the little influence of environment on the characters. All the qualitative characters illustrated high estimates of heritability, which indicates preponderance of additive gene action in the inheritance of these characters. High to moderate degree of genetic advance was observed for grain yield and stover yield, which was followed by cob weight and grains /cob. The genotypic correlations were higher in magnitude than phenotypic correlation and in the same direction. Grain yield had a significant positive correlation at both genotypic and phenotypic level with stover yield, grains/ cob, grains/ row, shelling percentage, grain rows /cob, cob /plant, harvest index, cob weight, cob girth and seed index. Thus, these characters may serve as effective selection parameters during the breeding programme for crop improvement.

The identification of variety has attained paramount importance in the context of plant variety protection as well as to harness the maximum yield potential of any crop. Molecular fingerprinting is one of the most important tools to authenticate the identity and purity of seed lots of crop variety/hybrids. The present investigation was undertaken to establish the identity and genetic purity of 12 commercial hybrid lots of Pusa Rice Hybrid 10 (PRH 10) procured from different public and private seed companies including a farmer’s seed through molecular fingerprinting. Ten most informative sequence tagged microsatellite markers (STMS) were employed for fingerprinting of PRH 10. These markers together produced a unique fingerprint of ‘PRH 10’, which was found to be effective in the identification of this hybrid. Variation could not be observed among the twelve commercial seed lots obtained from different sources with respect to molecular profile of PRH 10. The results indicated the practical usefulness of STMS markers in the protection and identification of hybrids and their parental lines. However, plant-to-plant allelic variation was found within hybrid plants using markers RM 206 and RM 228. These two markers revealed the homozygous pattern in one plant of PRH 10. The occurrence of inter-plant variation at unlinked marker confirmed the molecular heterogeneity. This highlighted the importance of STMS markers in maintaining the genetic purity of the parental lines and hybrids which would be quite effective in preventing the fraudulent marketing of the popular hybrid/variety.

Isozyme analyses were carried out on protein extracts of embryogenic and non- embryogenic callus derived from bract meristem of four diploid Musa cultivars using polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. We examined the isozyme pattern of peroxidase, catalase, malate dehydrogenase and alcohol dehydrogenase for their utility as biochemical markers of banana embryogenic callus cultures. Peroxidase, catalase and alcohol dehydrogenase exhibited high intensity bands in the embryogenic samples, while the corresponding bands were either absent or faint bands were observed in the non- embryogenic callus. Malate dehydrogenase enzyme pattern exhibited homogenous bands in both the embryogenic and non- embryogenic samples.

The present investigation consisting of genetic divergence of papaya genotypes was conducted during the year 2014-15 and 2015-16 at Horticultural Research farm of B. A. College of Agriculture, Anand Agricultural University, Anand. Molecular characterization of twelve papaya genotypes was carried out by 20 RAPD primers. The highest PIC value (0.97) was obtained with primer OPE-7, while the lowest (0.28) with primer OPA-18. Highest genetic similarity (0.714) was found between Pusa Dwarf and Madhu Bindu whereas the lowest (0.113) between CO 8 and Pune Selection 3. Dendogram analysis revealed that Pune selection 3 was genetically diverse from other papaya genotypes. Over all (63.40%) polymorphism was observed among all the 12 papaya genotypes.

Quercus leucotrichophora is an evergreen tree which is usually twisted and has wiry branches. Genetic diversity is an essential component for the effective implementation of a tree improvement program. Four populations collected from Jhungi Suket, Taradevi Shimla, Bhatwari-Taknor Range, Nohra-Shimla) of Q. leucotrichophora were studied using RAPD markers. Ten primers were screened out of which five showed polymorphism. Five primers were used to amplify the individuals from each population. In a multi population descriptive analysis, the total diversity (Ht) in the four populations of Quercus leucotrichophora ranged from 0.1620 to 0.3215 with the mean 0.2253. The within population gene diversity (Hs) ranged from 0.0928 to 0.2204 with the mean 0.1542. The among population differentiation (Gst) ranged from 0.0304 to 0.3177 with the mean 0.3155. The gene flow observed among the populations was 7.9677, which is greater than 1 indicating higher levels of gene flow in the studied populations. Highest similarity co-efficient of 0.1793 was observed between populations Jhungi Suket and Nohra Shimla. The highest percentage of polymorphic loci (89.06%) was found in the population from Jhungi Suket. RAPD markers indicated that the frequencies of the presence of these markers correlated with the result of UPGMA analysis. The genetic diversity of all the four populations from different regions were found to be low, so if the trees of one place is damaged by any means the trees of similar genetic diversity from other places could be planted. Genetic diversity also helps us to study the general characteristics of a species and also particular species can be free from diseases. In spite of the relatively short distances between populations three clearly distinct regional groups of populations could be identified. These findings have implications for decisions on in-situ and ex-situ genetic conservation and for forest management planning and practices.

Genotype environment interaction (GEI) is combination of genetic and non-genetic effects which causes differential relative performances of genotypes in different environments. The absence of GEI along with high yield indicates that the genotypes are suitable for general adaptation in those environments. Large number of parametric and non-parametric stability measures exists in literature, but the problem for plant breeder is to decide which of the stability measure is to be chosen for selecting stable genotypes. Several parametric and non-parametric stability measures were employed in the present study for identifying the stable wheat genotypes grown in north India. The measures used in this study included two parametric and eleven non-parametric stability measures. Significant positive correlation was found between all possible pairs of RS, RS2, Si(6) and grain yield, which suggested that these parameters play similar roles in determining high yielding stable genotypes. Dendrogram based on correlation coefficients between the 13 parametric and non-parametric measures including mean yield of 23 genotypes was used to group the stability measures into clusters. Among the different parametric and non-parametric stability analyzed, the Kang’s rank sum (RS) measure was found to be highly correlated with grain yield. It indicated that, use of to evaluate the stability of wheat genotypes in future selection programs would favor the simultaneous selection of a stable genotype with high yield in northern region of India. The genotypes DPW 621-50, HD 3132 and PBW 698 were found to be the high yielding and most stable genotypes in northern region of India. Genotypes TL 2995, WH 1156 and WH 1138 had very low yield and least stability.

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) occupies an enviable prime place among the food crops cultivated around the world. Biofortification refers to the development of micronutrient-dense staple crops using the best traditional breeding practices and modern biotechnology. F5 (278) and BC1F4 (212) plants derived from the cross between PAU201 (high yielding) and Palman 579 (Iron rich) were phenotype during 2013-14 crop season. The results showed 17.14% plants in F5 and 5.60 % plants in BC1F4 populations perform higher than Palman 579 for zinc content. Likewise, 1.07% F5 and 31.30% BC1F4 populations performed higher than PAU201 for grain yield/plant and 17.14% F5 population and 61.21% BC1F4 population performed higher than PAU201 for 1000-grain weight. Plants showed large variation for various grain yield related traits for iron and zinc contents. Pearson’s correlation coefficients showed Iron, zinc content and grain yield/plant were positively correlated to all the studied traits in both the populations except plant height in BC1F4 population. 1000-grain weight showed significant positive correlation in both the population with panicle length, grain yield/plant, iron content and zinc content. Notably, one F5 plant (plant number 48-14-3-2) had exceptionally high iron content (296.5 μg/g). The distribution curves showed normal parabolic distribution for effective number of tillers/plant and zinc content. Frequency distribution curves for iron content were skewed towards Palman 579 in F5 and BC1F4 populations. This indicated that available populations is feasible to plan a breeding program to develop high-yielding, mineral rich rice genotypes and to identify genomic location for micronutrients content.

The present study was taken up to estimate the influence of technology and policy on Rice production in India and its major states with objectives; measuring the magnitude of growth, estimating the instability and assessing the influence of technology and policy factors on Rice production in different states. The time series data of 25 years for the period 1990-91 to 2014-15, on area, production and yield of paddy for different states were collected from the website http://eands.dacnet.nic.in. Area and Yield variables were taken as proxy for policy and technology factors respectively. Analytical tools like Compound Growth Rate (CGR), Coefficient of Variation (C.V) and Component Analysis were employed to achieve the objectives. Results reveal that growth and instability in production were more contributed by yield than area. This indicates that growth in production should come from yield attributing factors like development of High Yielding farming system of specific varieties and improvement in input use efficiency. Immediate concern is about the transfer of technology know-how to farmer’s do-how.

Livestock plays an important role in the rural economy of the country. Livestock is a key source of supplementary income and livelihood, especially for small land holdings and landless rural poor households. India generates approximately 507.8 million tons of on-field crop residues, of which 43 per cent is rice and 23 per cent is wheat, remaining 16 per cent of crop residue is burnt on the field. In Thungabhadra project (TBP) command area 54 per cent were large farmers followed by medium farmers (21 %). Four methods of residue management practices were identified in TBP command area out of which removal of straw and burning of stubble method were found to be the highest (42.45%) and the major one. The main reason behind burning of residues are low cost and labour scarcity. Total cost of cultivation of paddy per acre was found to be marginally lower in case of burning of straw and stubbles method when compared (` 37577) to incorporating straw and stubbles (` 38838) method in case of high livestock density area. Among the different residue management practices the livestock possession per respondent was found to be the highest in case of the removal of straw and burning of stubbles (1.69) followed by removal of straw and incorporation of stubbles (1.52). The least was found in case of burning of straw and stubbles (1.09). Major constraints found during paddy fodder management practices were lack of technical knowledge about residue management and non-availability of custom hire service, especially reaping binder in TBP command area.

In India, cultivation of flowers is practiced from many centuries. In concern of steady increase in demand for flowers, floriculture has become one of the important activities in horticulture. Tuberose occupies a very special position among the ornamental plants for its beauty, elegance and sweet fragrance. Agro-economic data with regard to tuberose cultivation is important for further expansion of cultivation. Hence, the purpose of the present study is to locate the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT analysis) in the cultivation and marketing of tuberoses in Madanur village in Prakasam district of Andhra Pradesh. The result shows that cultivation and marketing of tuberoses generates employment and income for the rural poor.

This paper dealt with different level of surplus in the research problems relating to fisheries sector, faced by different communities and other related persons who are involved and related to fisheries. In this paper research works are categorized in different steps. First of all the collection of different type of research problems with the help of scientific and other related community was performed. Second step involved estimation of economic surplus, consumer surplus and producer surplus with the help of different variables. Then we estimated surplus for different research problems in social welfare and prioritized all the research problems in descending order. Some of more important citations are bio-diversity conservation and quarantine measures shifted from serial number 13 to 44, impact of Farakka barrage on breeding and production of Hilsa and Mahasheer, shifted from serial number 29 to 3, impact of Tehari Dam on breeding and production of fish species shifted from serial number 30 to 10 is an equally important research problem that is a concern of environmental scientist all over the country. Similarly, the priority genetic engineering for the evolution of new fish species of economic and medical importance shifted from serial number 4 to 5, which indicates nominal change on priority list showing its high importance for research.

Carcass and animal waste disposal are a vital part of livestock and poultry rearing and its improper disposal can cause the spread of diseases among animals and from animals to humans. A structured, pre-tested and peer-reviewed questionnaire containing both open and close ended questions on various aspects of zoonotic diseases, i.e., awareness, knowledge, risks, animal waste disposal, personal hygiene etc., were was used to interview 250 respondents from Puducherry. The attitude towards disposal of aborted foetus and retained placenta was 60.8% of the farmers tie to tree, which they consider as a belief followed from generation to generation implicating that tying the retained placenta to the branches of the milk secreting tree, will indirectly increase the milk secretion of the lactating cow or does. Although 31.3% of the farmers buried their aborted foetus and retained placenta, it indirectly indicated the awareness towards zoonosis in them. And the rest 10% of the people were disposing the placenta improperly. In diarrhoeic animals’ cases, about 40.9% of the livestock owners used water as a cleaning agent to clean their shed. With respect to dead animal carcass disposal, 67.6% of the farmers were burying their animals due to the knowledge toward zoonosis among livestock owners. About 28.4% sell their dead animal carcass for slaughtering for meat which is an offence and 4% were improperly disposing the carcass. From our present study it is concluded that the farmers need proper education towards the importance of waste disposal and its impact, both on their health and their animal health. The government requires better enforcement of existing policies aimed at environmental preservation and a lookout on the zoonotic diseases as a one health aspect.

Plant growth promoting bacteria (PGPB) play an important role in agricultural production and soil fertility. Wheat is a highly consumed cereal food crop of the world population and sustainable wheat productivity achieved by the application of bacterium in combination with NPK is promising. In the present study bacterial isolate (PR6) from soil of organic farm was included. The isolate (PR6) was screened for its morphological, biochemical and plant growth promoting characteristics, sequenced by 16S rDNA method and submitted to NCBI for the confirmation of strain identification. Further, the inoculation effect of the bacterial isolate in combination with NPK on growth and yield parameters of wheat var. AAI-W6 were analysed. The isolate (PR6) was identified as Erwinia sp. with NCBI Accession No. KP226572. The organism possessed multiple plant growth promoting (MPGP) traits such as production of ammonia, siderophore, indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), ACC Deaminase (ACCD) and showed phosphate solubilization activity. The organism was found tolerant to 10% salt, wide range of pH 5- 9, higher levels of trace elements and heavy metals and possessed resistant to multiple antibiotics. Inoculation of wheat variety AAI-W6 with the Erwinia species showed significant increase in seed germination and enhancement in elongation of root and shoot compared to untreated control. The combined application of PGPB (Erwinia sp.) along with NPK treatments showed similar significant results in all growth and yield parameters of wheat. This study is the first report on the beneficial effects of organic farm isolated Erwinia-NPK treatment combinations on sustainable wheat productivity.

Xylanase was used in paper industries as an alternate for toxic chemicals in bleaching and pulping processes. This potential has markedly increased the need for research on xylanase production. Hence this study was aimed at isolation of xylanase producing bacteria. The soil samples were collected from different regions in the reserve forests of Western Ghats of Nilgiri district in Tamil Nadu, India. Totally 154 bacterial strains were isolated from the soil samples. All the strains were screened for xylanolytic activity by xylan agar plate assay method. Based on the size of formation of the clear zone, six potential bacterial strains were selected for the further studies and identified by 16S rRNA sequence. Solid state fermentation (SsF) and submerged fermentation(s SmF) were done to identify strains that could produce maximum xylanase. Bacillus was found to be the dominating xylanase producer among the isolated strains. Bacillus subtilis showed maximum xylanase production of 15.55 IU/ml and 2.62 IU/ml in solid state and submerged fermentations, respectively.

The present study is carried out by optimization of microbial culture for improved production of secondary metabolites. The secondary metabolites work as an antibiotics that are responsible for inhibition of growth of bacterial pathogens. In this method total 14 soil samples were collected at different – different places from Lucknow according to the geographical location. Total 13 bacterial strains were isolated after pure culturing (C1- C13) and further they were tested against E. coli, S. aureus and P. aeruginosa by disc diffusion method. Out of 13 cultures best results were obtained for 4 cultures (C1, C11, C12 and C13). Further work involved biochemical tests by Bergey’s manual for identification of bacteria and optimization of culture conditions in which the best carbon source, best nitrogen source, best pH and best temperature were observed for improved production of secondary metabolites. The best carbon source was obtained as glucose, best nitrogen source was obtained as an ammonium chloride, best pH obtained was 7 and the best temperature was 37 °C for C1, C11, C12 and C13. Identification of bacterial isolates was performed by Bergey’s manual which indicates the presence of Bacillus culture.

Proteolytic enzymes are ubiquitous in nature present in all forms of life from viruses to animals. Among them microbial proteases secure most significant position due to their vast industrial applications. In this study 148 bacterial strains were isolated from 50 different soil samples of slaughter house, fish market and sewage wastes of Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India. Out of which fifty six strains competent of secreting extracellular alkaline protease. In preliminary screening the isolate SSB1 showed highest ability to hydrolyzed casein and skimmed milk which was done on skim milk agar media. The isolates showed positive for casein, gelatin, oxidase, starch, and catalase test and negative for gram staining, indole, methyl red, voges proskauer, urea, hemolysis and triple sugar iron (TSI) test and found to be motile. The culture conditions were optimized for utmost enzyme production. Many physical parameters were deliberated to optimize the maximum yield of alkaline protease. The optimum conditions for the maximum protease production were when cultivated for 36 h at 37°C in a medium containing 1% glucose, 1% yeast extract, 1M NaCl, and 1mM Zn2+ at pH 9.0. Strain SSB1 with the maximum yield alkaline protease was identified as Pseudomonas aeruginosa based on nucleotide homology and phylogenetic analysis. The study revealed that the bacterial strain of P. aeruginosa is a potent source of extracellular alkaline protease and optimization of culture conditions for the maximum yield and their applications in different industries.

Microalgae are the rapidly growing photosynthetic microorganisms and can be used as a source of renewable biofuels. The present investigation focuses on the perspectives regarding the use of newly isolated microalgae as a better biomass and lipids producer. The algal strain was isolated from local Godavari River and identified as Scenedesmus vacuolatus X56104 on the basis of 18s rRNA sequence. Microalgae were cultivated under controlled environment in the laboratory. Early stationary grown microalgae revealed 2.3 mg/ml biomass. Algae oil was extracted using soxhlet apparatus and found to be 26.7% of total biomass. Physiochemical properties of oil were recorded as density (0.85gm/cc), viscosity (4.2 mm2), moisture (1.8%), acid value%(0.5 mg of KOH/gm), flash point (130°C), calorific value (9110Kcal/Kg) and Cetane number (54). The fatty acid profile was evaluated by GCMS and showed Palmitic acid (5.81%), stearic acid (1.86%), Oleic acid (65.83%), Linoleic acid (20.10%), Linolenic acid (4.66%), Arachidic acid (0.52%) and Eicosenoic acid (1.22%). The total fatty acids were subjected to lipase based trans esterification so as to obtained FAME and finally the biodiesel. The biodiesel was characterized using FTIR and Mass spectroscopy. Spectroscopic data were compared with spectra of standard diesel which revealed 98% similarity. The values of physicochemical properties of biodiesel were compared with the standard diesel showing 80-90% similarities. The resulting experimental data proved that the microalgae Scenedesmus vacuolatus X56104 oil could be a potential source of biodiesel and therefore this alga can be used as a source of renewable biofuels.

The study area of Chhattisgarh, known as rice bowl of India is rich in mineral resource. This has made cultivation of rice and coal-based iron and power industries run simultaneously. The industrial release fly ash comes to the cultivated soil. The microorganisms especially decomposers are very important with regard to the fertility of the soil. The present study therefore, focuses only to understand the effect of fly as on growth of some soil fungi. These fungi were isolated from crop field affected with the fly ash, while pure fly ash was added as media supplement obtained from power industry located in Korba. Simpson diversity index with 0.090 indicates a low diversity of fungi in the study area. P. chrysogenum has maximum growth (142.13%) in the low concentration (10 mg L-1) of fly ash followed by C. lunata and A. niger, while increased concentration showed mixed findings that support and also suppress the growth of some fungi. The ANOVA comparison (P = 0.035) therefore indicates the different effect of fly ash on fungi. From the findings it is concluded that the affected crop field soil has a low diversity of fungi but the still surviving may adopt it and be showing enhancement in growth while adding fly ash as nutrient.

In the present piece of work, the caryopses of two wheat varieties (HUR-468 and HUW-234) were taken to study the effects of aging during germination. Accelerated aging (artificial aging) treatments were created by keeping the seeds (with initial moisture content of 12%) at 40oC and relative humidity of 90-95% for 24, 42, 72, 96, 120, 144, 168 and 192h periods. Seeds without any ageing treatment were considered as control (T1). The parameters like germination percentage, speed of germination (N), mean germination time (MGT), shoot and root lengths, root numbers, fresh and dry weights, α-amylase activity and soluble-insoluble sugar contents were studied upto 10 days after sowing (DAS) in artificially aged and non aged seeds during germination. Result suggested that aging affects the whole process of germination of seeds. The maximum values of the studied parameters were obtained from the 24h aged seeds followed by control and 42h aged seeds in both the varieties. Among the two varieties HUW-234 showed better performance for the above studied parameters.

A field experiment was conducted to study the management of root-knot nematode (Meloidogyne graminicola) in transplanted rice at Central Research Farm, Gayeshpur, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Nadia. The results revealed that all the treatments were significantly superior over check with respect to nematode population, root knot index and yield. Soil solarization of the nursery bed with 25 μm polythene sheet for 15 days during the month of May-June followed by soil application of Carbofuran 3G @ 1kg a.i. ha-1 at the 45th day after transplanting were reported to be the best way to manage the root knot nematode in rice with minimum soil and root nematode population (354.34 per 200 cc of soil and 363.91 per 5 gram root), root knot index (1.63) and maximum yield (2.35) with peak incremental cost benefit ratio. Highest percent reduction of soil and root nematode population with 53.59% of yield increase was recorded from the treated plots. However, nursery soil treatment with carbofuran 3G @ 0.3 g a.i. /m2 and soil application @ 1 kg a.i. ha-1 at 45 DAT can also effectively control the nematode in transplanted rice.