Impact of Globalization on Production and Export of Turmeric in India – An Economic Analysis

India is a major supplier of turmeric to the world with more than 60 per cent share in turmeric trade. The production and export performance of turmeric in India have been examined using secondary data for the period from 1974-75 to 2007-08 and exponential form of growth function has been used for the analysis. The growth in production and export of turmeric has been reported significant, because of the high demand coupled with inflation. Instability index has been worked for the production and export for preliberalization and post-liberalization periods. Instability has been observed high for production, export and prices of domestic and international markets and domestic and international prices have shown high integration. For the assessment of direction of trade, the Markov chain model has been used. The data regarding country-wise export of turmeric has shown that the previous export share retention for Indian turmeric has been high in minor importing countries (pooled under others category) (87 %), followed by UAE (49 %), Iran (41 %) and UK (35 %). The countries such as USA and Japan have not been the stable importers of Indian turmeric. The plans for export may be oriented towards these two countries and also plans should be formulated for stabilizing the export of turmeric to other countries. The farmers should be provided training on production of a quality product.Turmeric, Export of turmeric, Indian turmeric, Markov chain model, Agricultural and Food Policy, Q13, Q17,

Adoption and Impact of Eco-Friendly Conservation Practices in The Nilgiris District of Western Ghats

The study was under taken to find out the relationship between the profile of the farmers of The Nilgiris district and the impact in their adoption of Eco Friendly Conservation Practices. The study revealed that educational status, risk orientation, training undergone, progressiveness, self reliance, innovativeness and contact with extension agency were found  to have positively contributed to the adoption of Eco Friendly Conservation Practices. With respect to impact, majority of the farmers opined that the cost of cultivation decreased, followed by increased farmers confidence level, improved fertility status of the soil and improved biodiversity in the farm fields

Effect of low temperature on the survival of edible oyster Crassostrea madrasensis during transportation and storage

The survival of the tropical edible oyster (Crassostrea madrasensis) was examined under the condition of ice-storage in a rectangular thermocol-transport box for a period of 48 h. A total of 100 two-year old farmed oysters were used for the experimental transportation. Inside the box, all oysters were arranged in four layers covered with wet-gunny bags and lined on the top and bottom with ice. Surface and bottom temperature of the transport box varied from 9.7 to 25.2˚ C and 9.7 to 28.4˚ C respectively during the 48 h exposure. The patterns of changing temperature at both surface and bottom were found to be different. Recoveries of the oysters at every two hours till 48h were monitored by taking random samples from the box. All the oysters recovered within 1 h of being placed back into seawater and there was close to 100% recovery within 2 hours

Assessment of bio-accumulation of bacteria in oysters from shellfish growing waters in Ashtamudi Lake (Kerala, India): A RAMSAR wetland

Oysters are commercially cultured from the Ashtamudi Lake in India, and support 12,000 tonnes of bivalve fisheries/year. Oysters and oyster growing waters were sampled from July 2012 to June 2013 for analysis of total coliforms (TC), faecal coliforms (FC), Escherichia coli, faecal Streptococci (FS) and total plate counts (TPC). E. coli MPN values in oyster growing waters were below the threshold limits set by the USFDA and EU during the months of December to April. Seasonally, the highest MPN values for E. coli were obtained during the monsoon season (June–September), and this trend gradually decreased during the post-monsoon (October–January) and pre-monsoon (February–May) periods. E. coli displayed a significant (p < 0.01) variation in accumulation during different seasons. A strong negative correlation (R2 = −0.70, p < 0.05) between temperature and E. coli numbers in oysters was observed, while rainfall and E. coli were positively correlated (R2 = 0.695, p < 0.05). Hence, we strongly recommend depuration and proper cooking of oysters before consumption during the monsoon season

First record of long-tailed pelagic sea slug Stylocheilus longicauda (Gastropoda: Opisthobranchia) from southwest coast of India

The long-tailed sea slug Stylocheilus longicauda was recorded for the first time from southwest coast of India. A single specimen measuring a total length of 70.51mm was collected from a floating bottle, along with bunch of goose-neck barnacles from Arabian sea off Narakkal, Vypeen Island, Kochi. Earlier identifications were made based on the morphology of the animal without resorting to description of radula. This makes it difficult to differentiate the species from Stylocheilus striatus which has similar characters. The present description details the external and radular morphology of Stylocheilus longicauda

Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome in Children with 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome after Operative Intervention for Velopharyngeal Insufficiency

Introduction: Surgical treatment of velopharyngeal insufficiency (VPI) in 22q11.2 deletion syndrome is often warranted. In this patient population, VPI is characterized by poor palatal elevation and muscular hypotonia with an intact palate. We hypothesize that 22q11.2 deletion patients are at greater risk of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) after surgical correction of VPI, due, in part, to their functional hypotonia, large velopharyngeal gap size, and the need to surgically obstruct the velopharynx. Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of patients with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome treated at a tertiary pediatric hospital between the years of 2002-2012. The incidence of VPI, need for surgery, post-operative polysomnogram, post-operative VPI assessment, and OSA treatments were evaluated. Results: Forty-three patients (18 males, 25 females, ages 1-14 years) fitting the inclusion criteria were identified. Twenty-eight patients were evaluated by speech pathology due to hypernasality. Twenty-one patients had insufficient velopharyngeal function and required surgery. Fifteen underwent pharyngeal flap surgery, three underwent sphincter pharyngoplasty, two underwent Furlow palatoplasty, and one underwent combined sphincter pharyngoplasty with Furlow palatoplasty. Of these, eight had post-operative snoring. Six of these underwent polysomnography. Four patients were found to have OSA based on the results of the polysomnography (average apnea/hypopnea index of 4.9 events/hour, median=5.1, SD=2.1). Two required continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) due to moderate OSA.Conclusion: Surgery is often necessary to correct VPI in patients with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome. Monitoring for OSA should be considered after surgical correction of VPI due to a high occurrence in this population. Furthermore, families should be counseled of the risk of OSA after surgery and the potential need for treatment with CPAP

Restoration and natural revival of clam populations at Tuticorin Bay, Tamil Nadu after a mass mortality incident

Bivalves play key role in ecosystem stabilisation due to inherent filter feeding capability and clams are important components of soft bottom benthic communities. In the Tuticorin Bay, mass mortality of fishes and shellfishes was observed in Februay 2008. The probable cause for the large scale mortality has been indicated as increased levels of ammonia (Asha et al., 2009). A rapid survey was conducted in the bay to assess the impact on the bivalve fauna

Antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of salt stress callus of Brinjal (Solanum melongena L.)

Ethanolic and methanolic salt stress callus extracts of Solanum melongena L. were tested for in vitro antimicrobial and free radical scavenging assayssuch as DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl) and ABTS+(2,2\u27Azinobis (3-ethyl benzo-thizoline-6-sulfonic acid) . In both the extracts the zone of inhibition is higher in Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumonia, Staphylococcus aureusand Streptococcus pyogenesat 90 µl concentration against the control. The antifungal activity of these extracts also the zone of inhibition is higher at 90 µl concentration against the control. The DPPH activity of different concentration of solvent extracts (1 mg/ml to 5 mg/ml) along with standard ascorbic acid among the five different concentration (50 µg/ml to 250 µg/ml) of extracts tested, the higher percentage of inhibition was observed in 250 µg/ml of methanol extract followed by ethanolic extract against the standard ascorbic acid. In ABTS+ activity the absorbance was increased with the increasing concentrations of both methanolic and ethanolic callus extracts

Development of bivalve farming as a source of income generation for women’s self-help groups in coastal India

The existing technologies of mussel and oyster farming were converted into an income-generating activity for coastal fishers, particularly for women’s self-help groups. As a result of a concerted approach, coupled with novel extension techniques, commercial mussel and oyster farming became established in the States of India, Kerala and susequently in Karnataka. Production in 2009 was over 20 000 tonnes making India one of the top ten bivalve farming countries in Asia. Innovations in these bivalve farming technologies simplified them, which resulted in an increase in profitability and made them attractive to farmers. During this process, the entire gamut of bivalve farming operations such as site identification, seed and spatfall calendars, remote setting, mechanization in seeding and harvesting, quality and depuration protocols, ready-to-eat and ready-to-cook products, organic farming protocols and environmental impact assessments were worked out. The success in commercializing the technologies was mainly a result of a unique synergy that was actively pursued and developed by technology developers, promoters, and credit advancers. This development scenario can serve as a role model for other states and developing nations where a similar hydrological, social, and market environment exists

CHARACTERIZATION OF PHYLLOSPHERE BACTERIA ISOLATED FROM LEAF OF PEPPER BETEL AND ITS INDUSTRIAL APPLICTION

The great nutritional importance in food is amino acids. In general, serious problems of food and nutrition deficiencies of the world at present is confronted. Researchers to search for unconventionally sources of proteins and amino acids in increased demand of proteins .some devastating biotic invasions are facilitated by microbial symbionts are the growing evidence . Bacterial community structure within the betel was isolated and its metabolites were evaluated. In this study the aminoacid, organic acid and indole acetic acid producing capacity of several bacterial strains were tested and Streptomyces species was found to be novel isolates. Isolation and occurrence of Streptomyces species in betelis first time reported in this study and also found to be three different amino acid producer. The present study concludes that the isolated microbial strain can be used for the production of amino acids at very economical rates followed by optimizing natural source