Damage potential of Tyrophagus putrescentiae Schrank (Acari: Acaridae) in mushrooms

Tyrophagus putrescentiae Schrank (Acari: Acaridae), is one of the most serious pests of high protein food including mushrooms. It is known to feed and disperse various pathogenic fungi in stored grain and products. It causes economic losses in stored products in addition to allergic disorder in workers handling stored products. Understanding T. putrescentiaemultiplication on Agaricus bisporus compost, fruiting bodies, its role in transmission of disease is of paramount importance for the standardization of control measures. Documentation of the population abundance and selection of best compost for white button mushroom farming would open up new scope for farmers. Considering the above facts, efforts have been made to assemble the available literature in this article.

Yield and trace metal levels in colocasia (Colocasia esculenta L.)-potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) cropping sequence as influence by fly ash and fertilizer application

Experiments were conducted to see the effect of fly ash on growth, yield and quality of two tuber crops cropping sequence Colocasia and potato in red and lateritic soil of Chotanagpur Plateau. Result revealed a positive and significant effect of 4, 8 and 16 percent fly ash (w/w) incorporation in acidic soil (pH 5.9) on crop yield and on all growth attributes of both the tested vegetable crops. Tuber yield of Colocasia was recorded as 4.96, 5.66 and 6.95 t ha-1, respectively due to application of 4, 8 and 16% fly ash alone. Yield of Colocasia drastically increased over control and found higher (11.92 t ha-1) at 16% FA+NPK followed by 10.25 t ha-1 yield of Colocasia with 8% FA+NPK. Potato yield (22.39 t ha-1) was higher in 16% FA+NPK treatment followed by yield 20.63 t ha-1 at 8% FA+NPK applied treatment when grown on residual fly ash application. In control plot Pb, Co and Ni content were found 13.9, 15.2 and 5.0 mg kg-1, while at 16% fly ash application level, Pb, Co and Ni content were found 28.7, 35.6 and 15.7 mg kg-1, respectively in edible part of Colocasia (cormel). Fe (310 mg kg-1), Mn (28 mg kg-1), Zn (46.7 mg kg-1), Cu (35.8 mg kg-1), Pb (22.0 mg kg-1), Ni (20.9 mg kg-1) and Co (27.0 mg kg-1) content were higher in potato tuber, when grown on 16% residual fly ash in Colocasia-potato cropping sequence.

Bioremediation: An Eco-friendly Approach for Polluted Agricultural Soil

A wide variety of synthetic organic compounds are used in agricultural practices. These compounds are used mainly to control pests and increase crop productivity. However, after utilization these agricultural compounds enter into the soil, water, air and plant tissues.

Role of Biotechnology in Human Health Care

Biotechnology covers a broad spectrum of scientific applications that are applied in many sectors including health and agriculture. It involves the usage of living organisms, or its parts in order to deliver innovative methods of production and create new products e.g. new vaccine production (through disease diagnosis) to avoid disease-attack; genetically modified plants (to develop resistance against various pests); bacteria having the ability to cleaning up oil spills etc. All these features are related to biotechnology that is totally applicable to human health care. In other words, biotechnology related to human healthcare has a tremendous impact on the necessity of patients and their families as it not only revolves around medicines and diagnostics that are produced employing a biotechnological process, but also involve gene and cell therapies, recombinant DNA products, tissue engineered products and controlling environment pollution. Today, the majorities of innovative medicines either produced using biotechnology or through diagnostic products, are made readily available to the society by applying modern biotechnology in their development and or expansion processes.

Assessment of Life Cycle Terminology of Non-Mulberry Silk Insect

This review highlights several aspects considered while phrasing the life cycle of non-mulberry silk insect. It may improve the description style of the developmental history of the non-mulberry silk insect in scientific literature.

A Comparative Study of Land use Classification using Remote Sensing Techniques, in and around Selected Sacred Groves of Thiruvananthapuram District

Sacred groves are small forest patches or remnants of forests that are biodiversity-rich areas and revered in the name of God. Rapid urbanization and the concomitant development of infrastructure have taken a heavy toll on these unique ecosystems. The present study has identified and mapped seven selected Sacred groves in Thiruvananthapuram district and also analyzed the land use in the area using Remote Sensing data. The accuracy of unsupervised classification-based image and supervised classification-based predicted land use was compared and Kappa accuracy was assessed. The results showed moderate classification accuracy. The area-wise details of different land use categories were also obtained as part of the study.

Molecular Interactions in DMF Solutions of some Pyrazole Schiff Bases at 308.15 K

The density, ultrasonic velocity and viscosity of solutions of pyrazole Schiff bases in dimethyl formamide have been measured at 308.15 K. From the experimental data, various acoustical parameters such as specific Impedance, isentropic compressibility, Rao’s molar sound function, Van der Waals constant, relaxation strength, intermolecular free length, internal pressure, solvation number, relative association etc. have been evaluated, which helps in understanding the molecular interactions occurring in these solutions.