Performance of coconut hybrids and varieties in the East coast of Andhra Pradesh

Coconut (Cocos nucifera L.) is one of the plantation crops with more life span, so suitability of a variety or hybrid for particular region may improve the productivity of the coconut. An experiment was carried out with seven hybrids and two varieties viz. Chandra Sankara (COD × WCT), Chandra Laksha (LCT x COD), VHC1 (ECT × MGD), VHC-2 (ECT × MYD), Kera Ganga (WCT × GBGD), Laksha Ganga (LCT × GBGD), Godavari Ganga (ECT x GBGD), Kera Chandra (Double Century) and Chandra Kalpa at Dr.YSRHUHorticultural Research Station, Ambajipeta, Dr. B. R. Ambedkar Konaseema Dist., Andhra Pradesh. The experiment was initiated in 2002, in Randomized Block Design in three replicated blocks. The compiled data for six years (2015- 2021) revealed that, Godavari Ganga recorded significantly highest nut yield /palm/year (144.40 nuts) followed by VHC-2 (134.93 nuts) and Kera Ganga (133.33 nuts). Godavari Ganga recorded maximum copra yield of 3.20 t/ha and oil yield of 2.20 t/ha. Tender nut water quantity was recorded more (322.5 mL) in VHC-2 and Godavari Ganga. Due to its superior nut, copra and oil yield, Godavari Ganga and VHC-2 can be recommended for cultivation Andhra Pradesh

New report on the invasive Bondar's Nesting Whitefly (Paraleyrodes bondari Peracchi) on oil palm in India

This communication is the new report of the neotropical invasive Bondar's Nesting Whitefly (BNW) , Paraleyrodes bondari Peracchi (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae)incidence in oil palm in India. A typical feature of BNW infestation is the presence of woolly wax nests on the abaxial surface of oil palm leaflets. The nesting whitefly population was observed to increase phenomenally on oil palm and within a year ie., from 2021 to 2022, a 100 per cent palm infestation was observed. During this period the intensity per palm increased by 24.49 per cent and per leaf increased by 63.28 per cent. Analysis of the partial mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (CO1) sequences from adult specimens indicated 100% nucleotide identity with Bondar's Nesting Whitefly from coconut

Methicillin sensitive Staphylococcus aureus producing Panton-Valentine leukocidin toxin in Trinidad & Tobago: a case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>Certain <it>Staphylococcus aureus </it>strains produce Panton-Valentine leukocidin, a toxin that lyses white blood cells causing extensive tissue necrosis and chronic, recurrent or severe infection. This report documents a confirmed case of methicillin-sensitive <it>Staphylococcus aureus </it>strain harboring Panton-Valentine leukocidin genes from Trinidad and Tobago. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that such a case has been identified and reported from this country.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>A 13-year-old Trinidadian boy of African descent presented with upper respiratory symptoms and gastroenteritis-like syptoms. About two weeks later he was re-admitted to our hospital complaining of pain and weakness affecting his left leg, where he had received an intramuscular injection of an anti-emetic drug. He deteriorated and developed septic arthritis, necrotizing fasciitis and septic shock with acute respiratory distress syndrome, leading to death within 48 hours of admission despite intensive care treatment. The infection was caused by <it>S. aureus</it>. Bacterial isolates from specimens recovered from our patient before and after his death were analyzed using microarray DNA analysis and <it>spa </it>typing, and the results revealed that the <it>S. aureus </it>isolates belonged to clonal complex 8, were methicillin-susceptible and positive for Panton-Valentine leukocidin. An autopsy revealed multi-organ failure and histological tissue stains of several organs were also performed and showed involvement of his lungs, liver, kidneys and thymus, which showed Hassal's corpuscles.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Rapid identification of Panton-Valentine leukocidin in methicillin-sensitive <it>S. aureus </it>isolates causing severe infections is necessary so as not to miss their potentially devastating consequences. Early feedback from the clinical laboratories is crucial.</p

Methicillin sensitive Staphylococcus aureus producing Panton-Valentine leukocidin toxin in Trinidad & Tobago: a case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>Certain <it>Staphylococcus aureus </it>strains produce Panton-Valentine leukocidin, a toxin that lyses white blood cells causing extensive tissue necrosis and chronic, recurrent or severe infection. This report documents a confirmed case of methicillin-sensitive <it>Staphylococcus aureus </it>strain harboring Panton-Valentine leukocidin genes from Trinidad and Tobago. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that such a case has been identified and reported from this country.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>A 13-year-old Trinidadian boy of African descent presented with upper respiratory symptoms and gastroenteritis-like syptoms. About two weeks later he was re-admitted to our hospital complaining of pain and weakness affecting his left leg, where he had received an intramuscular injection of an anti-emetic drug. He deteriorated and developed septic arthritis, necrotizing fasciitis and septic shock with acute respiratory distress syndrome, leading to death within 48 hours of admission despite intensive care treatment. The infection was caused by <it>S. aureus</it>. Bacterial isolates from specimens recovered from our patient before and after his death were analyzed using microarray DNA analysis and <it>spa </it>typing, and the results revealed that the <it>S. aureus </it>isolates belonged to clonal complex 8, were methicillin-susceptible and positive for Panton-Valentine leukocidin. An autopsy revealed multi-organ failure and histological tissue stains of several organs were also performed and showed involvement of his lungs, liver, kidneys and thymus, which showed Hassal's corpuscles.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Rapid identification of Panton-Valentine leukocidin in methicillin-sensitive <it>S. aureus </it>isolates causing severe infections is necessary so as not to miss their potentially devastating consequences. Early feedback from the clinical laboratories is crucial.</p

Limestone xenolith in Siddanpalli kimberlite, Gadwal granite‐greenstone terrain, eastern Dharwar Craton, southern India: remnant of Proterozoic platformal cover sequence of Bhima/Kurnool age?

We report an interesting occurrence of a limestone xenolith in the Siddanpalli kimberlite that intrudes the Gadwal granite‐greenstone terrain, Eastern Dharwar craton, southern India. The xenolith is unmetamorphosed, is extremely fine grained (micritic), and displays laminations characteristic of sedimentary carbonate rocks. Its mineralogy, major‐ and trace‐element (including rare earth element) geochemistry, and stable isotopes (C and O) are also consistent with a sedimentary origin. However, no sedimentary rocks have ever been found in the immediate vicinity of the Siddanpalli kimberlite field. The Bhima and Kurnool basins that are widely considered to be homotaxial, having a terminal Neoproterozoic age, based on fossil evidences and lithostratigraphic correlation, are the closest (∼50 km) known sedimentary rocks containing similar carbonate lithounits. Therefore, the Siddanpalli carbonate xenolith is inferred to be their preserved remnant. This implies that (i) the platformal sediments of the Bhima/Kurnool basins extended at least up to the Siddanpalli kimberlite cluster; (ii) these two basins were possibly interconnected at the time of kimberlite eruption; and (iii) in contrast to present consensus favoring a terminal Neoproterozoic age for the two basins, the carbonate xenolith and its source unit is of at least late Mesoproterozoic age because the kimberlite emplacement was at 1090 Ma. A recent proposal for an adjustment of ∼500 Ma in the age of the “Neoproterozoic” Chattisgarh basin, elsewhere in central India, which was also long considered to be homotaxial with Kurnool/Bhima basins, finds support from our study in that many of the Proterozoic (Purana) sedimentary basins of peninsular India could be, in fact, not younger than the Mesoproterozoic

New Proterozoic K-Ar ages for some kimberlites and lamproites from the Cuddapah Basin and Dharwar Craton, south India: evidence for non-contemporaneous emplacement

We report new K-Ar age determinations carried out on mica separates from kimberlites and lamproites that occur within and adjacent to the intra-cratonic Cuddapah basin in southern India. This work includes the first ages obtained from the Ramannapeta lamproite (at the northeastern margin of the Cuddapah basin) and from one of the kimberlites in the Mahbubnagar district. The Ramannapeta lamproite and the Kotakonda kimberlite were both emplaced in the Proterozoic and have ages of 1384 ± 18 and 1363 ± 48 Ma, respectively. These dates are similar to the 1350 ± 52 Ma age obtained here for the Chelima lamproite (within the Cuddapah basin). The Muligiripalle kimberlite (Pipe 5 of the Anantapur district) on the other hand yielded a much lower age of 1153 ± 17 Ma. Our results demonstrate that the emplacement of the Indian kimberlites and lamproites during the Proterozoic did not take place within the span of 30 Ma around 1090 Ma as some workers have recently advocated, but occurred over a period of 300 Ma. The Chelima (within the Cuddapah basin) and Ramannapeta lamproites represent some of the oldest lamproites world-wide and, together with the Kotakonda kimberlite, they might constitute a hitherto unrecognised Proterozoic episode of potassic magmatism at ∼ 1350–1380 Ma

Petrogenesis of the Mesoproterozoic Lamproites from the Krishna Valley, Eastern Dharwar Craton, Southern India

Petrology and geochemistry of eleven Mesoproterozoic lamproites from the Krishna valley, Eastern Dharwar craton, are presented. The Krishna lamproites show wide variation in their petrography and modal mineralogy and constitute excellent examples of rare phenomenon of heteromorphism. Ti-phlogopite, clinopyroxene, richterite, Fe-rich sanidine, sphene, F-rich apatite, ilmenite, and rutile are the major minerals present in varying proportions. Their mineral compositions overlap with those present in world-wide Phanerozoic lamproites and casts doubt on recent suggestions regarding the absence of archetypal lamproites and kimberlites from the Indian cratons. Incompatible trace element ratios (i) rule out the Krishna lamproites to be products of direct plume- (asthenospheric) derived mantle as well as subduction-related components and (ii) demonstrate their derivation from sources similar to those of the co-spatial Cuddapah basin lamproites and Wajrakarur- and Narayanpet-kimberlites from the Eastern Dharwar craton. The source enrichment of the Krishna lamproites is related to the period of global-scale mantle upwelling at ∼1.9 Ga that included the emplacement of Large igneous provinces of similar age and magmatism in the Dharwar and Bastar cratons (India), the Superior Craton (Canada) and the Kaapvaal craton (southern Africa). We find that the observed petrological and geochemical characteristics of the Krishna lamproites can be best explained by the vein-plus-wall-rock model involving phlogopite + amphibole + rutile + clinopyroxene + apatite + titanite occuring as metasomatic veins in a depleted lithospheric mantle, within the garnet stability field. Our study illustrates the significant role of the lithospheric thickness and its attendant metasomatism in influencing petrogenesis of the co-spatial Mesoproterozoic lamproites and kimberlites from the Eastern Dharwar craton

Diamond prospectivity of Mesoproterozoic lamproites from the Krishna valley, eastern Dharwar craton, southern India: insights from whole-rock geochemistry

Diamond prospectivity of Mesoproterozoic lamproites in the Krishna valley at the northern and north-eastern margin of the Cuddapah Basin, southern India, is a matter of significance since several historically world-famous alluvial diamonds were recovered from their near vicinity. As the Krishna lamproites presently expose their root zones the possibility of diamond occurrence in their now-eroded uppermost portions remains an open question and renders assessment of their diamond prospectivity a challenging task. Based on newly developed models from a global data base, that predict diamond potential of hypabyssal facies lamproite/kimberlite from whole-rock geochemistry, we infer the Krishna lamproites to be non-diamondiferous. The non-prospective nature of Krishna lamproites is also additionally corroborated by the (i) non-recovery of macro diamond from bulk processing of samples to date, (ii) relatively larger degree melting of their source regions compared to those of diamondiferous kimberlites from Wajrakarur kimberlite field (Dharwar craton) and also the poorly diamondiferous lamproites from Chelima and Zangamarajupalle (Cuddapah basin) and (iii) their relatively highly fractionated nature. If our proposal is correct, then the primary source(s) for the historically renowned diamonds recovered from the Krishna valley may lie elsewhere or be from host rocks yet to be discovered

Biological suppression of coconut black headed caterpillar Opisina arenosella outbreak in East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh – eco friendly technology

Not AvailableThe leaf eating black headed caterpillar Opisina arenosella is a serious pest of coconut palm causing significant yield loss in all the coconut growing tracts of India. During 2015–16, a high infestation of black headed caterpillar was observed in all the coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh, and an incidence ranging from 42.82% to 62.86% was recorded. From October 2015 to April 2016 inundative releases of about 3,788,000 larval parasitoids Bracon hebetor and Goniozus nephantidis were carried out in pest affected gardens in Allavaram and Uppalaguptam mandals of East Godavari. To study the impact of the parasitoid releases, 10 leaflets/palm were randomly collected from 10 sample gardens in seven villages of these mandals and the pest population recorded. After three months of parasitoid release, the larval population of O. arenosella decreased by 34.08–75.88%, pupal population by 33.33–94.52%, and the paralysed larval population recovered was 8.30–26.92%. After six months, the larval population decreased by 59.65–100%, the pupal population up to 92.77–100% and the paralysed larval population recovery was also high, ranging from 18.68% to 34.61%. The impact of inundative release of bio agents for suppression of leaf eating caterpillar was prominent, after six months providing impetus to the role of biological control in pest management. The assumed overall economic loss prevented due to this intervention was 192.6 million rupees