Suppression of soil borne fungal pathogens associated with apple replant disease by cyclic application of native strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Plant growth promoting fluorescent Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains An-E and An- F were used for the suppression of replant disease organisms which were isolated from replant site of apple in Shimla district of Hima-chal Pradesh. Full and half concentration of individual and consortial strains were used for the experiment. Among all the treatments, full concentration of compatible consortial strains were quite effective in decreasing the deleterious rhizobacterial (197-99 cfu/g) and fungal population (7-0 cfu/g). Total rhizobacterial count starts decreasing after each cyclic application of fluorescent P. aeruginosa strains An-E and An-F due to root colonization property of these plant growth promoting strains in the replant site of apple. Establishment of Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains at replant site was inversely correlated with decreasing deleterious bacterial and fungal population in the replant site. 70 per cent survival of apple rootstocks was recorded in full concentration of consortial treatment (An-E and An- F) as compared to control after three years of plantation. Four major fungal pathogens viz. Dematophor anecatrix, Phytophthora cactorum, Pythium ultimum and Fusarium oxysporum were isolated and identified from National centre for fungal taxonomy, New Delhi. These strains can be further exploited and recommended for the management of replant problem of apple

Effect of different spawn rates and substrate supplementation on yield of Indian Oyster mushroom, Pleurotus pulmonarius (Fr.) Quel.

A study was conducted to evaluate the effect of different spawn rates and substrate supplementation on yield of Pleurotus pulmonarius (Fr.) Quel. Among six spawn rates viz., 0.5%, 1%, 2%, 4%, 6% and 8%, respectively tried on wheat straw substrate, the spawn run was fastest (10.50 days) when spawn dose was 8%, followed by 6%, 4%, 2%, 1% and 0.5%, respectively. The pinheads appeared in 12.27 days by using spawn @ 8%, which proved to be the best spawn dose followed by 6%, 4%, 2%, 1% and 0.5%, respectively. Highest yield of 168.7 per 200g dry substrate was achieved @ 8% spawn rate. Lesser yields were recorded when spawn rate was reduced. The results also reveals the significantly highest biological efficiency of 84.33% at 8% spawn rate followed by 6%, 4%, 2%, 1% and 0.5%, respectively. It was concluded that spawn run was rapid at higher spawn rate but there was not much difference in yield when spawn dose was increased from 4 to 8%. Considering spawn cost and performance shown by different doses, 2-4% was found optimum dose for its cultivation.In case of substrate supplementation, wheat straw supplemented with cotton seed meal supported maximum mycelial growth (10.50 days of inoculation) and took mini-mum time for pinheads initiation (13.67 days). Similarly, maximum yield (155.3g) with biological efficiency of 77.65% was recorded on wheat straw supplemented with cotton seed meal followed by supplementation of saw dust, wheat straw (control), calcium ammonium nitrate (CAN), ammonium nitrateand urea, respectively. These studies will help to mushroom growers for selecting the most suitable spawn rate and also opens viable option of supplementation as wheat straw + cotton seed meal for better growth behaviour and optimum yield potential of Pleurotus pulmonarius as well as other oyster mushrooms cultivation

Correlation of Vitamin D Levels with COVID-19 Severity and Outcome

Background and aims: Low vitamin D levels have been associated with an increase in inflammatory cytokines and a significantly increased risk of pneumonia and viral upper respiratory tract infections. Vitamin D deficiency is associated with an increase in thrombotic episodes, which are frequently observed in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). These conditions are reported to carry a higher mortality in COVID-19. So, we conducted a study to prove the correlation of vitamin D levels with COVID-19 infection and severity. Material and methods: The present study was conducted at RNT Medical College, Udaipur, Rajasthan. This study was done over a period of 2 months after getting approval from Institutional Ethics Committee. Written and informed consent was obtained from patients. In this study, 81 patients admitted in COVID wards and ICU, with COVID reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) positive reports were included. Results: Out of a total 81 patients, 37 (45.7%) were in the 41-60 years age group, 29 (35.8%) were more than 60 years of age and 15 (18.5%) were less than 40 years of age. Seventeen patients had severe vitamin D deficiency, 27 patients had moderate vitamin D deficiency, 20 patients had mild vitamin D deficiency and 17 patients had normal vitamin D level. Out of 17 patients who had severe vitamin D deficiency, 11 (64.7%) patients required invasive mechanical ventilation and out of these 17 patients, 13 (76.47%) patients died. Out of 17 patients who had normal level of vitamin D, 16 (94.1%) maintained SpO2 at room air and only 1 patient required invasive mechanical ventilation. As the level of vitamin D increased from severely low to normal level, requirement of high oxygen support decreased and SpO2 at room air increased. Mean of vitamin D among the patients who died was 10.4963 while mean of vitamin D level among patients who survived and were discharged was 27.2362. All 17 patients who had normal level of vitamin D were discharged from the hospital. Mean of serum ferritin and mean of interleukin (IL)-6 was high in patients who died and low in patients who were discharged. Conclusions: Vitamin D level plays an important role in COVID-19 disease. Vitamin D have significant role in protection from severe form of disease

Monitoring and Assessment of Soil Quality near Kashlog Limestone mine at Darlaghat District Solan, Himachal Pradesh, India

Limestone mining for an area is an economic activity but may lead to degradation of soil quality. Opencast mining operations involved displacement of large amount of overburden/rock mass materials to excavate the limestone for many purposes. In mining areas the soils are affected by various mining operations i.e blasting, drilling and storage of overburden dump materials, clearing of land, construction of ancillary facilities and movement of vehicles.  It is essential to determine the potential of soil in the area and identify the impacts of urbanization, industrialization and mining on soil quality. Present study is carried out to determine the soil characteristics, Impact of mining, industrialization and more importantly from agricultural point of view. Soil samples collected from ten locations were analyzed for physic- chemical characteristics. From the data it is observed that the concentration of total iron in 2 samples were above the permissible limit of 5.77%. Potassium levels were under the category very high whereas the levels of Phosphorus were reported to be in the category of less to medium. Higher potassium content of all the samples may be due to using fertilizers containing potassium. Cacium and magnesium levels are also higher than the prescribed safe limit in few samples. Key Words: Pollution, urbanization, industrialization, mining and fertilizer

Correlation of Vitamin D Levels with COVID-19 Severity and Outcome

Background and aims: Low vitamin D levels have been associated with an increase in inflammatory cytokines and a significantly increased risk of pneumonia and viral upper respiratory tract infections. Vitamin D deficiency is associated with an increase in thrombotic episodes, which are frequently observed in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). These conditions are reported to carry a higher mortality in COVID-19. So, we conducted a study to prove the correlation of vitamin D levels with COVID-19 infection and severity. Material and methods: The present study was conducted at RNT Medical College, Udaipur, Rajasthan. This study was done over a period of 2 months after getting approval from Institutional Ethics Committee. Written and informed consent was obtained from patients. In this study, 81 patients admitted in COVID wards and ICU, with COVID reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) positive reports were included. Results: Out of a total 81 patients, 37 (45.7%) were in the 41-60 years age group, 29 (35.8%) were more than 60 years of age and 15 (18.5%) were less than 40 years of age. Seventeen patients had severe vitamin D deficiency, 27 patients had moderate vitamin D deficiency, 20 patients had mild vitamin D deficiency and 17 patients had normal vitamin D level. Out of 17 patients who had severe vitamin D deficiency, 11 (64.7%) patients required invasive mechanical ventilation and out of these 17 patients, 13 (76.47%) patients died. Out of 17 patients who had normal level of vitamin D, 16 (94.1%) maintained SpO2 at room air and only 1 patient required invasive mechanical ventilation. As the level of vitamin D increased from severely low to normal level, requirement of high oxygen support decreased and SpO2 at room air increased. Mean of vitamin D among the patients who died was 10.4963 while mean of vitamin D level among patients who survived and were discharged was 27.2362. All 17 patients who had normal level of vitamin D were discharged from the hospital. Mean of serum ferritin and mean of interleukin (IL)-6 was high in patients who died and low in patients who were discharged. Conclusions: Vitamin D level plays an important role in COVID-19 disease. Vitamin D have significant role in protection from severe form of diseas

Discussion on the consequences of chickpea wilt and management through induced resistance

Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is a crucial source of dietary protein and accounts for 18% of global legume production. However, the crop faces a variety of biotic and abiotic constraints, with fusarium wilt being the most common soil-borne disease. This disease poses a significant threat to chickpeas, leading to yield losses of up to 80% worldwide. Fusarium wilt pathogens exhibit host specificity and characteristic symptoms in mature plants include brown to black discoloration of the xylem vessels, wilting, and leaf burning caused by phytotoxins produced by the pathogen. To combat this fungal disease, several cultural, biological, and chemical methods have been extensively employed. While chemical control methods have proven to be highly effective and widely adopted by growers, they come with several adverse consequences for humans, the environment, soil, and water. Moreover, improper and excessive use of fungicides can lead to the development of resistance in plant pathogens. Thus, there is a pressing need for an environmentally friendly approach that promotes plant resistance. One such approach is induced resistance, which involves enabling plants to build their own resistance mechanisms. Induced resistance can take different forms, such as systemic acquired resistance based on the salicylic acid pathway, and induced systemic resistance based on the jasmonic acid pathway

Effective recovery of microalgal biomass using various types of emulsion polymers

Microalgae biomass has been considered as one of the potential feedstocks in biofuel production. Yet, biomass harvesting poses a challenge to the overall production cost due to its low cell density. Flocculation has been marked as one of the promising processes in microalgae harvesting technology. In this study, the first screening of two anionic (A-230, and A-330E) and five cationic polymers (C-810E, C-810EL, C-810EB, C-810ELH, and C-810EMB) followed by gravity settling with the mixed microalgae concentration of 2.24 gTSS/L revealed that anionic polymers are less effective. Whereas all cationic polymers achieved above 90% harvesting efficiency. Therefore, the maximum mass recovery of 98.7% with 86.8 gTSS/L sediment content was achieved by adjusting pH to 6–0.6 mL/L (115.178 mg/gbiomass) of C-810E followed by 15-min settling. The cationic polymer addition followed by settling would enable cost-effective downstream processing of microalgal biomass.publishedVersio

Role of Endophytes in Apple Replant Disease

Apple replant disease (ARD) is a major problem in all the apple-growing areas of the world. It is a complex problem. The exact cause of the problem is unknown, but soil biotic factors play a major role. The repeated cultivation of same crop on same land and exhaustion of nutrients of soil, persistence of soil-borne pathogens and changes in the pH of soil. Symptoms include stunting of tree growth with short internodes, small and light green rosette leaves, development of few lateral or feeder roots, underdeveloped root systems, decayed and discolored roots, poor establishment and severe disease results in the death of young trees and, sometimes, whole orchards. The endophytes provide direct benefits to host plants as they live in close proximity. Once they enter inside the host tissue they get easily established as they feel no competition with other microorganisms. Endophytes have the capacity to produce different secondary metabolites, which saves the host plants from biotic and abiotic stresses the host plants become resistant to both biotic and abiotic stresses. An interesting facet of the interaction between endophytes and their hosts is the capacity of many microorganisms to improve the plant’s resistance by providing several bioactive metabolites. Therefore, the exploitation of soil microbial endophytes for the management of ARD is an important strategy