Agro-Morphological Variability Assessment of Common Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) Genotypes in High Hill Jumla, Nepal

Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is the most important leguminous crop widely grown from Terai to high hills of Nepal covering 10,529 hectare land producing 15550 mt with the productivity of 1477 kgha-1 and Jumla occupies almost 21% of the total bean cultivated area of the country. For the experiment, twelve genotypes of common bean were collected from different locations of Nepal. The experiment was conducted at Agricultural Research Station Vijayanagar, Jumla Nepal from July, 2016 to October, 2016 in Randomized Complete Block Design with three replications and twelve treatments. Different agro-morphological characters were observed and wide variability was recorded in growth habit, flower color, seed color, seed shape, seed length (0.76-1.7cm), pod color, pod length(9.1-14.3 cm), plant height (57.1-116.5 cm), days to flowering (38-52 days) and maturity (74-90 days), number of pods plant-1 (9-22 seeds), number of seeds pod-1 (4-8 pods), hundred grain weight (18.3-54.7gm) and yield (2339-4164KgHa-1). Significant differences were found among genotypes for days to flowering, pod length, no of seeds pod-1 and yield hectare-1.The coefficients of determination illustrate the positive and significant association of grain yield hectare-1 with number of seeds pods-1, therefore these traits should be considered for genetic improvement through breeding

Non-Edible Plant Oils as New Sources for Biodiesel Production

Due to the concern on the availability of recoverable fossil fuel reserves and the environmental problems caused by the use those fossil fuels, considerable attention has been given to biodiesel production as an alternative to petrodiesel. However, as the biodiesel is produced from vegetable oils and animal fats, there are concerns that biodiesel feedstock may compete with food supply in the long-term. Hence, the recent focus is to find oil bearing plants that produce non-edible oils as the feedstock for biodiesel production. In this paper, two plant species, soapnut (Sapindus mukorossi) and jatropha (jatropha curcas, L.) are discussed as newer sources of oil for biodiesel production. Experimental analysis showed that both oils have great potential to be used as feedstock for biodiesel production. Fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) from cold pressed soapnut seed oil was envisaged as biodiesel source for the first time. Soapnut oil was found to have average of 9.1% free FA, 84.43% triglycerides, 4.88% sterol and 1.59% others. Jatropha oil contains approximately 14% free FA, approximately 5% higher than soapnut oil. Soapnut oil biodiesel contains approximately 85% unsaturated FA while jatropha oil biodiesel was found to have approximately 80% unsaturated FA. Oleic acid was found to be the dominant FA in both soapnut and jatropha biodiesel. Over 97% conversion to FAME was achieved for both soapnut and jatropha oil

Waste Cooking Oil as an Alternate Feedstock for Biodiesel Production

As crude oil price reach a new high, the need for developing alternate fuels has become acute. Alternate fuels should be economically attractive in order to compete with currently used fossil fuels. In this work, biodiesel (ethyl ester) was prepared from waste cooking oil collected from a local restaurant in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Ethyl alcohol with sodium hydroxide as a catalyst was used for the transesterification process. The fatty acid composition of the final biodiesel esters was determined by gas chromatography. The biodiesel was characterized by its physical and fuel properties including density, viscosity, acid value, flash point, cloud point, pour point, cetane index, water and sediment content, total and free glycerin content, diglycerides and monoglycerides, phosphorus content and sulfur content according to ASTM standards. The viscosity of the biodiesel ethyl ester was found to be 5.03 mm2/sec at 40oC. The viscosity of waste cooking oil measured in room temperature (at 21° C) was 72 mm2/sec. From the tests, the flash point was found to be 164oC, the phosphorous content was 2 ppm, those of calcium and magnesium were 1 ppm combined, water and sediment was 0 %, sulfur content was 2 ppm, total acid number was 0.29 mgKOH/g, cetane index was 61, cloud point was -1oC and pour point was -16oC. Production of biodiesel from waste cooking oils for diesel substitute is particularly important because of the decreasing trend of economical oil reserves, environmental problems caused due to fossil fuel use and the high price of petroleum products in the international market

A Review of Electrospun Carbon Nanofiber-Based Negative Electrode Materials for Supercapacitors

The development of smart negative electrode materials with high capacitance for the uses in supercapacitors remains challenging. Although several types of electrode materials with high capacitance in energy storage have been reported, carbon-based materials are the most reliable electrodes due to their high conductivity, high power density, and excellent stability. The most common complaint about general carbon materials is that these electrode materials can hardly ever be used as free-standing electrodes. Free-standing carbon-based electrodes are in high demand and are a passionate topic of energy storage research. Electrospun nanofibers are a potential candidate to fill this gap. However, the as-spun carbon nanofibers (ECNFs) have low capacitance and low energy density on their own. To overcome the limitations of pure CNFs, increasing surface area, heteroatom doping and metal doping have been chosen. In this review, we introduce the negative electrode materials that have been developed so far. Moreover, this review focuses on the advances of electrospun nanofiber-based negative electrode materials and their limitations. We put forth a future perspective on how these limitations can be overcome to meet the demands of next-generation smart devices

Screening of Maize Genotypes against Southern Leaf Blight (Bipolaris maydis) during Summer Season in Nepal

Abstract A study was conducted from 29 March 2014 to 27 July 2014 at the Institute of Agriculture and Animal Science, Paklihawa, Rupandehi with the objective of screening 13 maize genotypes against southern leaf blight caused by Bipolaris maydis. Field experiment was laid out in a randomized complete block design with three replications. Disease scoring was done as percentage of leaf area infected on individual plant at 5 days intervals starting from 63 days after sowing, for 3 times, and disease severity and mean AUDPC were calculated and yield was recorded. Among the tested genotypes, disease severity varies significantly. Disease symptoms appeared first in Yellow Popcorn, 64.00 days after sowing (DAS) with the highest severity and at last in RML-32/RML-17 (79.00 DAS) with the least score in field. The 13 genotypes differed significantly in mean AUDPC values. RML-32/RML-17 (AUDPC value 5.90) appeared most resistant, followed by RML-4/RML-17 (AUDPC value 11.50), while Yellow Popcorn (AUDPC value 71.99) was most susceptible among the tested genotypes. Highest maize yield (3.43 metric ton ha ) on Yellow Popcorn. Maximum SPAD value above cob was recorded in RML-4/RML-17 (45.62) followed by S03TLYQ-AB-01 (44.88) while minimum in Yellow popcorn (30.60). So, Yellow popcorn has the highest (3.16) and RML-32/RML-17 (0.08) lowest total AUDPC above cob. Similarly maximum SPAD value below cob was recorded in RML-4/RML-17 (44.37), while minimum in Yellow popcorn (28.82). So, Yellow popcorn has the highest (8.75) and RML-32/RML-17 (0.41) has lowest total AUDPC below cob. The genotypes RML-4/RML-17 and RML-32/RML-17 appeared resistant to SLB with maximum yield. These genotypes could be used as the sources of resistance in breeding program and could be developed to resistant varieties grown under tropical and subtropical climatic conditions during summer season. The genotype Yellow popcorn being highly susceptible to SLB with a maximum mean AUDPC and minimum yield, can be used as susceptible check for breeding purpose and different varietal screening

Data from: Ecological correlates of Himalayan musk deer Moschus leucogaster

Himalayan musk deer (Moschus leucogaster; hereafter musk deer) are endangered as a result of poaching and habitat loss. The species is nocturnal, crepuscular and elusive, making direct observation of habitat use and behavior difficult. However, musk deer establish and repeatedly use the same latrines for defecation. To quantify musk deer habitat correlates, we used observational spatial data based on presence-absence of musk deer latrines, as well as a range of fine spatial-scale ecological covariates. To determine presence-absence of musk deer, we exhaustively searched randomly selected forest trails using a 20-m belt transect in different study sites within the Neshyang Valley in the Annapurna Conservation Area. Subsequently, study sites were classified as habitat or non-habitat for musk deer. A total of 252 plots, 20×20 m were systematically established every 100 m along 51 transects (each ~0.5km long) laid out at different elevations to record a range of ecological habitat variables. We used mixed-effect models and principal component analysis to characterize relationships between deer presence-absence data and habitat variables. We confirmed musk deer use latrines in forests located at higher elevations (3200 - 4200 m) throughout multiple seasons and years. Himalayan birch (Betula utilis) dominated forest, mixed Himalayan fir (Abies spectabilis) and birch forest were preferred over pure Himalayan fir and blue pine (Pinus wallichiana) forest. Greater crown cover and shrub diversity were associated with the presence of musk deer whereas tree height, diameter and diversity were weakly correlated. Topographical attributes including aspect, elevation, distance to water source, and slope were also discriminated by musk deer. Over- and under-story forest management can be used to protect forests likely to have musk deer as predicted by the models to ensure long-term conservation of this rare deer