Current Status of Stylosanthes Seed Production in Southern India

India is a significant producer of Stylosanthes (stylo) seed (principally S. hamata). Most of this seed is produced by villagers and small farmers in the Anantpur district, Andhra Pradesh, southern India. This is one of the poorest regions in the State, with harsh climatic conditions, poor, zinc-deficient soils, and (in the stylo seed production area) farm sizes averaging less than 2 ha. Marketing is handled by an informal network of seed traders who distribute stylo seed within a 25-30 km radius and, via the next level of traders, to other parts of India. A survey of seed production in this area in 2002/03 indicated that stylo seed production in 2001 was about 800 t from more than 400 ha (Rao et al. 2004). A second survey, conducted in 2012, showed that the stylo seed production area had declined to 150 ha, and that annual seed production had declined to about 300 t. Most of the decline had occurred since 2007, when the purchase of seed for watershed rehabilitation in the States of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh was discontinued. In addition to the loss of this major market, other factors influenced the reduction in stylo seed production. These included the low price of stylo seed compared with groundnut (the crop mainly competing for land use); sales of land for other purposes, and diversion of one area as a Special Economic Zone; reduced availability and increased costs of labour, particularly after the establishment in 2005 of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Agency (NREGA) which provided an attractive employment option for rural workers; lack of technical support; and, in one case, delays in payment. Poor seed quality is another issue constraining prices. Despite these challenges, many farmers in the region remain positive and would continue to produce stylo seed if profitability could be improved

DETAIL STUDY OF MAHA SHANKHA VATI - A LITERARY REVIEW

In Ayurveda Classics Sankha Vati seems with two names Sankha Vati and Maha Shankha Vati.  Both these preparations are selected for the present study are comes under Khalveeya Rasa Kalpana & Sagandha and Niragni Moorchhana preparation. This study having the aim of detailed literary study of Maha Sankha Vati & Sankha Vati. In Ayurveda classics Four different references of MahaSankha vati & ten references of Sankha Vati found. In Ayurveda Formulary of India Maha Shankha Vati is prescribed from Bhaishjya Ratnavali, but this reference actually originated from Rasendra Chintamani. After considering various reference in text, it was found that fourteen drugs are common according to all the references, these are Parada, Gandhaka, Vatsanabha, Shankha Bhasma, Hingu, Chincha Kshara, Panchalavana, Maricha, Pippali & Sunthi. In Bharat Bhaishajya Ratnakar mentioned that, if Loha & Vanga added in Sankha Vati formulation it can be called as Maha Shankha Vati. After studying various reference mentioned in Ras Shastra, Standard operative procedure of Maha Shankha Vati can be classified into two types:- In above two SOP only difference in Shankha Processing, in first SOP Shankha Bhasma is prepared by giving Gaja Puta and in second SOP Shankha Marana has been done by Quenching method. Variations found in Bhavana Dravya, Bhavana Sankhya, Size, Anupana, Grahan Kala of Maha Sankha Vati among all classics. like There are found references about Apamarga Patra Swaras, Apamarga Mula Kwath. In AFI Chitrak Mula & Apamarga Panchanga, mentioned in the form of Kwatha. Bhavana of Amlavarga Dravya must be given upto it becomes Amla in test. To go to details go through this Study which having mentioned all the details

SOIL EROSION ESTIMATION OF WATERSHED USING GIS (A CASE STUDY OF MANJRA BASIN AT AURAD TALUKA)

To have any development activity especially for soil and water conservation measures, watershed management plays a vital role in conserving natural resources. Soil loss is a very serious problem which effects environment as it threatens agriculture and also surroundings. As the productivity of the land is caused by the soil loss and in turn down areas are adversely effected, soil conservation is a primary step for having any development activities. In reality, it is not possible to conserve all areas under threat of erosion because of the financial constraints. In practice, prioritization of watersheds is derived and vulnerable areas are prioritized and then taken for conservative methods and taking up the entire watershed would be financially not feasible. Many aspects are to be considered while prioritizing the watershed to be conserved like threats to lives, political suitability, social constraints etc, for the scope of this project the prioritization is not taken up as the study area is the catchment to small water body and the area considered is also small. Soil loss is Estimated using GIS technique which is the present most powerful software to easily and quickly ascertain the required for large areas. Universal soil loss equation is the most common method of evaluating the loss although many modifications were made to this equation but all are based on the factors considered in USLE only like rainfall erosivity, soil erodibility, slope length, slope class, land cover and land management practices are taken as directly proportional to the rate of annual soil erosion. In the present study, the watershed in Bidar district of Karnataka has been taken. The average annual erosion for the study area is estimated by USLE using GIS technique. The average soil loss from the watershed is estimated to be 892 tones/Ha/Year

Influence of pre-bloom sprays of benzyladenine on in vitro recovery of hybrid embryos from crosses of Thompson Seedless and 8 seeded varieties of grape (Vitis spp.)

The present investigations are part of a study to introgress downy mildew resistance in Thompson Seedless through breeding and in ovulo embryo rescue methods. The influence of sprays of benzyladenine (BA) at prebloom and bloom on the percentage of embryo recovery, germination and development of hybrid plants is described. BA gave mixed results among the 8 cross combinations. With some crosses, BA drastically improved these parameters. In almost all crosses, germination increased significantly with BA sprays. The influence on plant development and recovery depended on BA treatment and the male parent

Assessment of Drug Related Problems and Pharmacist Interventions in Inpatients with Cardiovascular Disease

Aim. To identify and evaluate the nature and incidence of drug-related problems (DRPs) and to manifest the role of a pharmacist in ensuring safe and efficient use of medications with cardiovascular disease patients by using PCNE Classification to assess and report drug-related problems.Material and Methods. An Observational and Prospective study was conducted in a tertiary care hospital of medicine department of general and intensive/critical care units for a period of 6 months to identify and evaluate the nature and incidence of DRP’s and to manifest the role of a pharmacist in ensuring safe and efficient use of medications with cardiovascular disease patients by using PCNE Classification to assess and report drug-related problems.Results. Of 94 Patient profiles were evaluated out of which 78 (82.9%) patient profiles were identified with 208 DRPs. Among 208, 140 (67.3%) drug interactions, 15 (7.2%) untreated indication, 12 (5.8%) adverse drug reactions, 10 (4.8%) drug use without indication, 8 (3.8%) drug underused, 8 (3.8%) duration of treatment too short, 5 (2.4%) dose unclear, 4 (1.9%) inappropriate drug form, 3 (1.4%) duration of treatment too long, 2 (1.0%) too many drugs prescribed for an indication, 1 (0.5%) drug overused. For 208 DRPs identified and provided with 74 interventions which includes 30 (41.6%) drug discontinuation, 24 (33.3%) addition of a new drug, 4 (5.55%) change of dosage form, and 14 (19.4%) decrease the dose.Conclusion. The present study revealed that patients with cardiovascular diseases suffer from numerous DRPs that can be identified, resolved, or prevented to some extent by pharmacist intervention. Hence the study addresses the importance of clinical pharmacist in the management of DRPs among cardiovascular patients

Identification of iron deficiency chlorosis tolerant sources from mini-core collection of groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.)

Iron deficiency chlorosis (IDC) is common among groundnut grown in calcareous and alkaline soils in India, China and Pakistan and causes considerable reduction in pod yield. To identify genetically diverse IDC tolerant accessions, the mini-core collection of groundnut representing geographical diversity was evaluated for IDC response over 2 years in iron-deficient calcareous soils. Enormous genetic variability was evident in the mini-core collection for IDC tolerance-related traits such as a visual chlorotic rating (VCR) and SPAD chlorophyll meter reading (SCMR) across five growth stages. Several IDC tolerant sources belonging to different botanical varieties such as hypogaea bunch (ICG # 5051, 6766, 5286, 6667, 4538, 14008, 5663, 9842, 11855), hypogaea runner (ICG 10479), fastigiata (ICG 10890) and vulgaris (ICG # 11651, 118) were identified. Among the six botanical varieties of groundnut, hypogaea bunch types were found most tolerant to IDC and this is the first report in groundnut. The IDC tolerant sources identified were irrespective of their country of origin. The principal component analysis based on VCR, SCMR, pod yield and its related traits revealed five major principal components that explained 80% of the total variation. The biplot generated using PC1 and PC2 revealed a distinct separation of IDC tolerant genotypes from the susceptible ones. The hierarchical clustering using five major principal components revealed seven major clusters that were mainly based on IDC response of the accessions

Inheritance of iron deficiency chlorosis resistance in groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.)

Iron-deficiency chlorosis (IDC) is an important abiotic constraint affecting the growth and yield of groundnut in calcareous and alkaline soils worldwide. The present study investigated the inheritance of IDC resistance among four straight crosses of groundnut involving four IDC susceptible cultivars as females and a common IDC resistant male parent. The F1's of all the four crosses were resistant to IDC indicating the dominant nature of IDC resistance. The F2's of all the four crosses showed a good fit to the ratio of 15 (IDC resistant): 1 (IDC susceptible) and their behavior among the F3's was as per the expected ratio of 7:4:4:1. The IDC resistance in groundnut is under the control of duplicate dominant genes wherein, the presence of a dominant allele at either of the loci results in IDC resistance, while duplicate recessive results in IDC susceptibility. This information would facilitate development of IDC resistant cultivars of groundnut

Genetic diversity revealed utility of SSR markers in classifying parental lines and elite genotypes of sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench)

Abstract Genetic diversity among 82 rainy and post-rainy sorghum genotypes from India was studied using a set of 35 SSR markers distributed across all the linkage groups. A total of 198 alleles were recorded with an average of 5.71 per primer pair. The polymorphism information content (PIC) values ranged from 0.02 (Xisep 0310) to 0.86 (sb5-206) with a mean of 0.49, indicating high discriminating ability of the SSR markers used. Jaccard's similarity coefficients and cluster analysis revealed substantial diversity among the genotypes. Very high estimate of fixation index (F ST = 0.35, P= 0.001) was obtained when genotypes were structured as rainy and post-rainy season adaptation, and a much higher estimate (F ST = 0.40, P= 0.001) was obtained when the genotypes were classified as varieties, maintainers, restorers and germplasm lines. This indicates strong distinction based on usage groups. Pairwise F ST values based on usage groups corresponded well with the Nei's genetic distances. We were able to distinguish parental lines of hybrids based on their fertility groups, especially lines from rainy season sorghum, using SSR markers. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report in sorghum demonstrating the utility of SSR markers in classifying lines based on their fertility groups. Our results have significant implications in classifying parental lines into heterotic groups for their use in heterosis breeding. The divergent maintainer and restorer lines identified based on Jaccard's similarity coefficients could serve as effective candidates for hybrid development

Morpho-Physiological Parameters Associated with Iron Deficiency Chlorosis Resistance and Their Effect on Yield and Its Related Traits in Groundnut

Iron deficiency chlorosis (IDC) causes a significant reduction in yield of groundnut grown in calcareous and alkaline soils in India. The main aim of the study was to assess genotypic differences for morpho-physiological parameters associated with IDC resistance across different stages and their effect on yield and its related traits. The factorial pot experiment was comprised of two major factors, i) soil-Fe status [normal-Fe, deficit-Fe], and ii) genotypes [five] with differential IDC response, constituting 10 treatments. They were assessed for five morpho-physiological parameters associated with IDC resistance across five crop growth stages and also yield and its related traits. Associations between these traits were also estimated. Under deficit-Fe conditions, IDC resistant genotypes recorded significantly lower visual chlorosis rating (VCR), higher SPAD values, active Fe, chlorophyll content, peroxidase activity, and high yield compared to susceptible ones. Between normal- to deficit-Fe soils, resistant compared to susceptible genotypes showed no change in VCR scores; a lower reduction in SPAD, chlorophyll, active Fe, peroxidase activity, and pod yield. Under deficit-Fe conditions, high yield among resistant genotypes could be attributed to higher seed weight, number of pods and haulm yield, while contrasting reduction in main stem height and number of primaries. The results indicate that for initial large-scale screening of groundnut genotypes for IDC resistance, SPAD values are most ideal while active Fe could be utilized for confirmation of identified lines