Some Non-price Explanatory Variables in Fertiliser Demand: The Case of Irrigated Pakistan

It follows from the experience of World economies that rising and balanced use of fertilisers is the key factor in agricultural productivity [FAO (1995); SFS and STI (1996); Habib-ur-Rehman (1982) and Pinstrup-Anderson (1976)]. In the case of Pakistan the stepped up fertiliser use has been argued to be incritable to realise existing untapped yield potential of major crops [Johnston and Kilby (1975)] and to induce yield increasing technological change in future [John Mellor Associates and Asianics Agro-Dev. International (1993)]. Although proper malnutrition involves the use of primary, secondary and micro-nutrients, Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus and Potassium (K) or NPK is generally considered to be sufficient to harvest normal crop yields [FAO and IFA (1999)]. Given this situation, this paper looks at various factors that determine fertiliser use in Pakistan. Although price of fertiliser is a critical factor in this respect [Schultz (1965) and Johnston and Cownie (1969)], only non-price factors are considered in this paper due to limitations of data. Apart from this introductory section, the paper comprises of three more sections. The following Section 2 explains the data and the empirical model. Section 3 presents the results. Section 4 summarises the main findings along with their policy implications.

Growth of Livestock Production in Pakistan: An Analysis

Agriculture is the backbone and single largest sector of Pakistan’s economy as its contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) exceeded 25.3 percent during 1997-98. Crops, livestock, fishing and forestry sub-sectors being its main components, only crop and livestock sub-sectors are of critical importance. They accounted for 59.6 and 36.2 percent of the sector’s output respectively. Because of the ongoing process of structural transformation, agriculture’s share in the national economy is shrinking. From 39 percent of GDP in 1969-70 it has fallen to its current levels [Pakistan (1999a)]. The livestock sub-sector however has not followed suit. It has risen from 27.3 percent in 1969-70 to 36.2 percent in 1997-98. This trend in fact would be more pronounced if the national accounts did not underestimate the sub-sector’s components such as farm yard manure, dung cakes for household fuels and animal draft power. Apart from its contributions to national income, the livestock sub-sector is an active employer of thousands of landless poor and subsistence and semi-subsistence small farming families. Being a household activity, women are a special beneficiary of employment in the sub-sector. It is a major source of nourishment like milk, butter oil, eggs and meat and adds immensely to the health, nutrition and well being of rural as well as urban people. While animal fat and butter oil supplies are helpful in containing vegetable oil imports, many products of livestock origin such as wool and wool products, leather and leather made-ups and animal casings are exported and contribute significantly to hard earned foreign exchange [Ahmad, Ahmad and Chaudhry (1996)]. It follows from the above that the livestock sub-sector is likely to maintain its position as the dominant sub-sector of Pakistan’s agricultural sector or even that of the national economy for quite sometime in the future. Despite the rising and critical importance of the sub-sector, there, however, is no corresponding emphasis on analysing its achievements, problems and future prospects and likely policies to brighten these up. In view of this limitation, the present paper makes a limited attempt to study the growth process of the livestock sub-sector.

Effect of selected postemergence herbicides on growth, nodulation, and nitrogen fixation of soybeans (Glycine max)

Call number: LD2668 .T4 1983 C43Master of Scienc

Wheat Productivity, Efficiency, and Sustainability: A Stochastic Production Frontier Analysis

The agriculture sector plays a crucial role in the overall development of the country. The sector shares about 24 percent of the GDP and employs about 44 percent of the workforce in the country. Crops sub-sector is the major contributor towards agriculture, sharing more than 53 percent of the value-added. Wheat, being the staple food of Pakistanis, carries immense importance: it contributes about 12 percent of sector value-added, is sown on about 37 percent of the total cropped area, and shares 80 percent in consumption of food grains, while its share in food grain production is around 70 percent. As primary diet, wheat alone shares about 50 percent of the total calories’ and proteins intake in Pakistan, and contributes about 8 percent of the total fat consumed [FAO (Various Issues]. Consequently, overall dietary well being of our people especially the urban and rural poor is largely dependent on the performance of wheat economy. Despite serious efforts made by the wheat breeders in developing new highyielding varieties during the past three decades, wheat production in Pakistan remained short of demand and thus import has been the only alternative to fill the gap. The present wheat requirement of the country is more than 20 million tonnes. It has been estimated that by the year 2020 wheat import would rise up to 15 million tones costing 2 billion US dollars [PARC (1996)]. The situation could worsen further if Pakistan fails to achieve a higher level of growth rate in wheat production and sustain it.

Wheat Productivity, Efficiency, and Sustainability: A Stochastic Production Frontier Analysis

This paper uses the farm-level survey data to estimate the stochastic frontier production function incorporating inefficiency effects. Sufficient evidence of positive relationship between wheat productivity and higher and balanced use of fertiliser nutrients was present. The productivity showed an inverse relationship with the proportionate farm area allocated to rice production and illustrated no association with the proportion of farm area under cotton. The average technical efficiency at wheat farms was about 68 percent. An inverse relationship was observed between technical efficiency and farm size. The farmers with greater access to credit and located closer to the markets were found more efficient. The small farmers are not only producing at a lower level but are also operating relatively farther from the production frontier. The results also revealed that wheat growers in Punjab are comparatively more efficient than their counterparts in Sindh and NWFP.stochastic frontier production function; technical efficiency; small farmer; Pakistan; productivity

Analysis of Gene Expression in Normal and Cancer Cells Exposed to γ-Radiation

The expression of many genes is modulated after exposure to ionizing radiation. Identification of specific genes may allow the determination of pathways important in radiation responses. We previously identified modulation of the expression of several genes in response to ionizing radiation treatment. In the present study, we monitored the expression of RGS1, CC3, THBS1, vWF, MADH7, and a novel gene encoding a secreted protein in irradiated Jurkat, TK6, HeLa, and HFL1 cells. The RGS1 is involved in G-protein signaling pathway, CC3 belongs to the complement system, THBS1 is a component of the extracellular matrix, vWF takes part in blood coagulation, and MADH7 is a member of the TGF-β signal transduction pathway. Our objective was to find similarities and differences in the expression of these genes in ionizing radiation-exposed diverse cell types. RGS1 was downregulated in Jurkat cells but was upregulated in TK6 and HFL1 cells. The expression of CC3 was repressed in Jurkat and HFL1 cells but was induced in TK6 and HeLa cells. THBS1 was downregulated in irradiated TK6 and HFL1 cells. vWF was induced in radiation-exposed HeLa cells, but its expression was downregulated in Jurkat cells. The expression of MADH7 was induced in all the cell types examined. These results indicate cell specific modulation of gene expression and suggest the involvement of different pathways in cellular response to radiation treatment in different cells

Base excision repair of ionizing radiation-induced DNA damage in G1 and G2 cell cycle phases

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Major genomic surveillance mechanisms regulated in response to DNA damage exist at the G₁/S and G₂/M checkpoints. It is presumed that these delays provide time for the repair of damaged DNA. Cells have developed multiple DNA repair pathways to protect themselves from different types of DNA damage. Oxidative DNA damage is processed by the base excision repair (BER) pathway. Little is known about the BER of ionizing radiation-induced DNA damage and putative heterogeneity of BER in the cell cycle context. We measured the activities of three BER enzymes throughout the cell cycle to investigate the cell cycle-specific repair of ionizing radiation-induced DNA damage. We further examined BER activities in G2 arrested human cells after exposure to ionizing radiation.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Using an <it>in vitro </it>incision assay involving radiolabeled oligonucleotides with specific DNA lesions, we examined the activities of several BER enzymes in the whole cell extracts prepared from synchronized human HeLa cells irradiated in G1 and G2 phase of the cell cycle. The activities of human endonuclease III (hNTH1), a glycosylase/lyase that removes several damaged bases from DNA including dihydrouracil (DHU), 8-oxoguanine-DNA glycosylase (hOGG1) that recognizes 7,8-dihydro-8-oxo-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-oxoG) lesion and apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease (hAPE1) that acts on abasic sites including synthetic analog furan were examined.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Overall the repair activities of hNTH1 and hAPE1 were higher in the G1 compared to G2 phase of the cell cycle. The percent cleavages of oligonucleotide substrate with furan were greater than substrate with DHU in both G1 and G2 phases. The irradiation of cells enhanced the cleavage of substrates with furan and DHU only in G1 phase. The activity of hOGG1 was much lower and did not vary within the cell cycle. These results demonstrate the cell cycle phase dependence on the BER of ionizing radiation-induced DNA damage. Interestingly no evidence of enhanced BER activities was found in irradiated cells arrested in G2 phase.</p

Opto-mechanical design of synchrotron radiation-based far-infrared spectroscopic ellipsometer with strong magnetic-field

The objective of this dissertation is to present opto-mechanical design of a synchrotron radiation based far-infrared spectroscopic ellipsometer with a strong external magnetic-field capability. Since high magnetic field has enabled major breakthrough in science such instrument will be highly important to the field of condensed matter physics and characterization of advanced electronic materials. This instrument will be installed at the multi-User facility with the most advanced synchrotron light source: Natonal Synchrotron Source (NSLS-II) at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL).The proposed here instrument is capable to measure full Mueller matrix spectroscopic ellipsometry spectra in high magnetic fields of up to 9 Tesla. The designed instrument consists of Polarization State Generator (PSG) chamber, Spectromag optical solenoid (high magnetic field up to 9 T), cryogenic sample stage, Polarization State Analyzer (PSA) chamber, and a bolometer. The PSG and PSA vacuum chambers are separated from the magnet volume with two pairs of gate valves equipped with optical windows. This instrument is capable of using synchrotron radiation in the spectral range of 20 cm-1 and 4000 cm-1. The sample stage could operate in the low temperature range down to 4 K with an option to cool sample down to 1.6 K. This instrument allows User to switch between Faraday and Voigt configurations for external magnetic field. This ellipsometer will be able to measure the full-Mueller matrix spectra using rotating retarders and rotating polarizers

Some Non-price Explanatory Variables in Fertiliser Demand: The Case of Irrigated Pakistan

It follows from the experience of World economies that rising and balanced use of fertilisers is the key factor in agricultural productivity [FAO (1995); SFS and STI (1996); Habib-ur-Rehman (1982) and Pinstrup-Anderson (1976)]. In the case of Pakistan the stepped up fertiliser use has been argued to be incritable to realise existing untapped yield potential of major crops [Johnston and Kilby (1975)] and to induce yield increasing technological change in future [John Mellor Associates and Asianics Agro-Dev. International (1993)]. Although proper malnutrition involves the use of primary, secondary and micro-nutrients, Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus and Potassium (K) or NPK is generally considered to be sufficient to harvest normal crop yields [FAO and IFA (1999)]. Given this situation, this paper looks at various factors that determine fertiliser use in Pakistan. Although price of fertiliser is a critical factor in this respect [Schultz (1965) and Johnston and Cownie (1969)], only non-price factors are considered in this paper due to limitations of data. Apart from this introductory section, the paper comprises of three more sections. The following Section 2 explains the data and the empirical model. Section 3 presents the results. Section 4 summarises the main findings along with their policy implications