Effect of plastic mulches on growth and yield of potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) in Dadeldhura, Nepal

A field experiment was conducted from February to June, 2020 at Bhatkanda, Dadeldhura, Nepal to assess the effectiveness of plastic mulches in potato production. The experiment was laid out in Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with four replications comprising of five treatments viz: T1: white plastic mulch (white on black colored), T2: silver plastic mulch (silver on black colored), T3: perforated black plastic mulch, T4: black plastic mulch and T5: control (without mulch). Results revealed that the black plastic mulch significantly increased the rate of emergence while perforated black plastic exhibited highest values of all other studied growth parameters, yield components and quality parameters. The highest marketable tuber yield was obtained in perforated black plastic (6.05 kg/m2) followed by silver plastic (5.62 kg/m2), white plastic (5.46 kg/m2), black plastic (5.14 kg/m2) and lowest marketable tuber yield was obtained in control condition (4.07 kg/m2). Similarly, temperature difference between controlled and mulched condition at 15 cm depth of soil was observed up to 2.8°C with its highest value in black plastic mulch and lowest in control condition. The perforated black plastic mulch was found most economical with maximum value of net return (NRs. 1904.31 thousands/ha) and B: C ratio (5.83). This study concludes that the use of perforated black plastic mulch is most economical with optimum plant growth and yield, producing best quality potatoes under climatic condition of Dadeldhura, Nepal

Burden of injuries in Nepal, 1990–2017: Findings from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017

Background: Nepal is a low-income country undergoing rapid political, economic and social development. To date, there has been little evidence published on the burden of injuries during this period of transition.Methods: The Global Burden of Disease Study (GBD) is a comprehensive measurement of population health outcomes in terms of morbidity and mortality. We analysed the GBD 2017 estimates for deaths, years of life lost, years lived with disability, incidence and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) from injuries to ascertain the burden of injuries in Nepal from 1990 to 2017.Results: There were 16 831 (95% uncertainty interval 13 323 to 20 579) deaths caused by injuries (9.21% of all-cause deaths (7.45% to 11.25%)) in 2017 while the proportion of deaths from injuries was 6.31% in 1990. Overall, the injury-specific age-standardised mortality rate declined from 88.91 (71.54 to 105.31) per 100 000 in 1990 to 70.25 (56.75 to 85.11) per 100 000 in 2017. In 2017, 4.11% (2.47% to 6.10%) of all deaths in Nepal were attributed to transport injuries, 3.54% (2.86% to 4.08%) were attributed to unintentional injuries and 1.55% (1.16% to 1.85%) were attributed to self-harm and interpersonal violence. From 1990 to 2017, road injuries, falls and self-harm all rose in rank for all causes of death.Conclusions: The increase in injury-related deaths and DALYs in Nepal between 1990 and 2017 indicates the need for further research and prevention interventions. Injuries remain an important public health burden in Nepal with the magnitude and trend of burden varying over time by cause-specific, sex and age group. Findings from this study may be used by the federal, provincial and local governments in Nepal to prioritise injury prevention as a public health agenda and as evidence for country-specific interventions

Production and Profitability of Hybrid Rice Is Influenced by Different Nutrient Management Practices

The government of Nepal has recommended blanket fertilizer application for rice cultivation, which results in lower nutrient use efficiency (NUE) particularly under rainfed conditions. With the aim of finding an appropriate nutrient management practices concerning rice production and profitability, a field experiment was conducted during rainy season of 2017 and 2018 at Kavrepalanchowk and Dang district of Nepal. Altogether, five treatments comprising various nutrient management practices viz. Nutrient Expert Model (NE), use of Leaf Color Chart (LCC), Government Recommended Fertilizer Dose (GON), Farm Yard Manure (FYM), and Farmers’ Field Practice (FFP), were laid out in RCBD with four replications in farmers’ fields. The analysis of variance showed significant difference between treatments for test weight and grain yield in Kavrepalanchowk whereas all traits except number of effective tillers were significant in Dang. The significantly higher grain yield and harvest index were obtained in NE, followed by LCC; and the overall straw yield was highest in LCC, followed by NE in both the locations. Also, yield gap analysis suggested the NE had 44.44% and 23.97% increase in yield as compared to FPP in Kavrepalanchowk and Dang, respectively. The combined analysis with Best Linear Unbiased Estimator revealed the interaction of nutrient management and location significantly effects the straw yield and harvest index across both the locations. The estimated mean straw yield and harvest index were 10.93 t/ha and 34.98%, respectively. Both correlation study and biplot of principal component analysis signaled grain yield had positive correlation with all other traits. Furthermore, the net revenue was maximum for NE, followed by LCC in both the locations. The benefit: cost ratio was highest for NE which was 1.55 in Kavrepalanchowk and 2.61 in Dang. On the basis of these findings, NE and LCC can be effectively used as nutrient management practice by the farmers to obtain maximum production and profitability in Rice

Production and Profitability of Hybrid Rice Is Influenced by Different Nutrient Management Practices

The government of Nepal has recommended blanket fertilizer application for rice cultivation, which results in lower nutrient use efficiency (NUE) particularly under rainfed conditions. With the aim of finding an appropriate nutrient management practices concerning rice production and profitability, a field experiment was conducted during rainy season of 2017 and 2018 at Kavrepalanchowk and Dang district of Nepal. Altogether, five treatments comprising various nutrient management practices viz. Nutrient Expert Model (NE), use of Leaf Color Chart (LCC), Government Recommended Fertilizer Dose (GON), Farm Yard Manure (FYM), and Farmers’ Field Practice (FFP), were laid out in RCBD with four replications in farmers’ fields. The analysis of variance showed significant difference between treatments for test weight and grain yield in Kavrepalanchowk whereas all traits except number of effective tillers were significant in Dang. The significantly higher grain yield and harvest index were obtained in NE, followed by LCC; and the overall straw yield was highest in LCC, followed by NE in both the locations. Also, yield gap analysis suggested the NE had 44.44% and 23.97% increase in yield as compared to FPP in Kavrepalanchowk and Dang, respectively. The combined analysis with Best Linear Unbiased Estimator revealed the interaction of nutrient management and location significantly effects the straw yield and harvest index across both the locations. The estimated mean straw yield and harvest index were 10.93 t/ha and 34.98%, respectively. Both correlation study and biplot of principal component analysis signaled grain yield had positive correlation with all other traits. Furthermore, the net revenue was maximum for NE, followed by LCC in both the locations. The benefit: cost ratio was highest for NE which was 1.55 in Kavrepalanchowk and 2.61 in Dang. On the basis of these findings, NE and LCC can be effectively used as nutrient management practice by the farmers to obtain maximum production and profitability in Rice

COVIDiSTRESS diverse dataset on psychological and behavioural outcomes one year into the COVID-19 pandemic

During the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the COVIDiSTRESS Consortium launched an open-access global survey to understand and improve individuals’ experiences related to the crisis. A year later, we extended this line of research by launching a new survey to address the dynamic landscape of the pandemic. This survey was released with the goal of addressing diversity, equity, and inclusion by working with over 150 researchers across the globe who collected data in 48 languages and dialects across 137 countries. The resulting cleaned dataset described here includes 15,740 of over 20,000 responses. The dataset allows cross-cultural study of psychological wellbeing and behaviours a year into the pandemic. It includes measures of stress, resilience, vaccine attitudes, trust in government and scientists, compliance, and information acquisition and misperceptions regarding COVID-19. Open-access raw and cleaned datasets with computed scores are available. Just as our initial COVIDiSTRESS dataset has facilitated government policy decisions regarding health crises, this dataset can be used by researchers and policy makers to inform research, decisions, and policy.</jats:p