Efficacy of dormancy breaking methods in paddy genotypes

Paddy plays a pivotal role in Indian agriculture. It also possesses dormancy which needs to be studied thoroughly. Duration of dormancy usually ranges from 7 to 35 days. Environmental conditions that facilitate after-ripening in paddy is generally cool, moist substrate conditions referred to as stratification, chilling, or moist chilling, oxygen and other gases. 12 paddy genotypes were selected for the present investigation with various physical and chemical dormancy, breaking methods for freshly harvested seeds and the standard germination test was conducted thereafter. At 1% level of significance, heat treatment at 45°C for 72 h showed significantly highest mean germination (82.86%), seedling vigour index (2753), dehydrogenase activity (0.0449) and alpha amylase activity (12.14 mm) compared to other treatments and control.. The vigour index increased to 2753 (GA3 @ 50 ppm) from 985 in control. Significantly higher EC leachates was recorded in control (0.602) and lowest in heat treatment at 45°C for 72 hr (0.182) followed by HNO3 @ 1.5% (0.202) and GA3 @ 50 ppm (0.250) irrespective of the genotypes at 1% level of significance. Pre-heat treatment was followed by, HNO3 @ 1.5% and GA3 @ 50 ppm for germination (80.75%, 77.72%), dehydrogenase activity (0.0446,0.0443) and alpha amylase activity (12.10 cm,11.60 cm) respectively. The study is an exploration of cost effective treatment to alleviate seed dormancy in paddy with the background of biochemical observations for scientific explanation

Common morbidities and felt needs of salt pan workers in a coastal area of Tamil Nadu, India

Background: The occupational hazards faced by salt pan workers during their occupation are myriad, a fact compounded by the lack of basic amenities at their workplace and lack of awareness regarding usage of personal protection equipment.Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out among fifty-six salt pan workers in Marakkanam, Tamil Nadu to assess their common health problems and a qualitative component was added to assess their felt needs in work place and daily living. Data was collected using pre-designed data collection sheet for assessing the common morbidities. For the qualitative aspect of the study, in-depth interviews were conducted among twenty workers based on convenient sampling, using open ended questions. Data was collected after obtaining informed consent and steps were taken to ensure confidentiality at all stages.Results: The most common health problem of the workers in present study area included dental caries (41.7%), skin conditions (38.1%) musculoskeletal problems (36.7%) and anemia (35.1%) being other significant health problems. The qualitative aspect of the study revealed that the felt needs were improvement of their working conditions and more social support from the Government and the employers. There was very little awareness among the workers regarding use of PPE and none of them used any form of PPE.Conclusions: Salt pan workers had dental problems, dermatological problems and musculoskeletal problems as most common morbidities among them. Harsh working conditions, financial insecurity etc. are some of their work-related problems. Provision of housing facility and financial assistance during off- season by the government, basic amenities at the work place, paid leave in case of injuries, and insurance schemes for them by employer are their main felt needs. They also had no awareness regarding usage of personal protective equipment at the work place