Status of the biodiversity of St. Martin's Island, Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh

A total of 234 species of fish have been recorded from the St Martin Island. Of which, 98 species are coral associated. The total number of recorded mollusc and crab species stands at 187 and 7 species respectively. A total of 66 coral species were recorded, of which 19 are fossil corals, 36 living corals and the rest are under 6 families of subclass Octocorallia (soft corals). A total of 14 species of algae have been recorded from the St. Martin's Island. There is an estimated amount of 1500 MT red sea weed biomass available around the St. Martin's Island. The island contains some of the most unique, benthic community associations in Bangladesh, not found anywhere else in the South Asian region. The unique marine communities have very high scientific value for research and monitoring and there are only a few examples worldwide, where coral-algal communities dominate rocky reefs. The economy of the island is based on fishing. It is estimated that, about 1650 MT of fish are caught annually. Over-exploitation of renewable marine and coastal resources (e.g., rocky reef fisheries, coral and shell extraction; removal of coastal vegetation from inter-tidal and sub-tidal habitats) is a major threat to this ecosystem. Destructive fishing practices, mainly the use of rock-weighted gill nets over the inshore boulder reefs is of prime aggravates. Proper implementation of the rules and regulation for Ecologically Critical Areas (ECA's), alternative livelihood for the local people and further research should be immediately taken for sustainable utilization and to save the rich biodiversity of the only coral island in Bangladesh

Digestible protein and energy value of fish meal, dextrin, fish oil and soybean oil for Thai sharpunti (Puntius gonionotus Bleeker)

A laboratory trial was conducted to determine the digestible protein and energy value of fish meal, dextrin, fish oil and soybean oil for Thai sharpunti (Puntius gonionotus Bleeker). A reference diet containing 35% protein was formulated in which fish meal was the sole source of protein. Five test diets were formulated using reference diet and individual test ingredients (fish meal, dextrin, fish oil and soybean oil). Each treatment had three replicates with 15 fish per replicate. Fish were fed twice daily at the rate of 5% of their body weight. The result of the study indicated that the dietary protein in both reference and test diets were well digested and the apparent protein digestibility (APD) values of test diets ranged between 82.81 and 85.99%. The APD value of fish meal protein was 88.05%. The apparent digestible energy (ADE) value for the test ingredients ranged between 70.79 and 85.80% with soybean oil having the highest and fish meal the lowest value. The ADE values calculated in terms of Kcal/g of ingredients were 3.68, 3.22, 4.38 and 4.44 Kcal/g for fish meal, dextrin, fish oil and soybean oil respectively

Natural convection flow from an isothermal horizontal cylinder in presence of heat generation

Natural convection laminar boundary layer flow from a horizontal circular cylinder with a uniform surface temperature at presence of heat generation has been investigated. The governing boundary layer equations are transformed into a non-dimensional form and the resulting nonlinear systems of partial differential equations are solved numerically applying two distinct methods namely (i) implicit finite difference method together with the Keller box scheme and (ii) series solution technique. The results of the surface shear stress in terms of the local skin friction and the surface rate of heat transfer in terms of the local Nusselt number for a selection of the heat generation parameter γ (= 0.0, 0.2, 0.5, 0.8, 1.0) are obtained and presented in both tabular and graphical formats. Without effect of the internal heat generation inside the fluid domain for which we take γ = 0.0, the present numerical results show an excellent agreement with those of Merkin [J.H. Merkin, Free convection boundary layer on an isothermal horizontal circular cylinders, in: ASME/AIChE, Heat Transfer Conference, St. Louis, MO, August 9–11, 1976]. The effects of γ on the fluid velocity, temperature distribution, streamlines and isotherms are examined

The mediating role of corporate governance and corporate image on the CSR-FP link

This study advances research on CSR through investigating the CSR-firm financial performance (FP) link. It develops a model based on legitimacy and institutional theories and considers two important intervening variables – corporate governance and corporate image. The CSR practices are supposed to affect the corporate governance codes and principles in different contexts, especially in developing countries. Empirical results, based on a sample of 155 firms in a developing country, support the link between CSR and FP; however, the effect is indirect while corporate governance and corporate image fully mediate this link. The findings indicate that the CSR engagements help better governance practice and improve corporate image through establishing good internal controls and monitoring that ultimately enhance financial performance. The implications are valuable for academics, managers, and policy makers who are interested to measure the impact of intervening variables on the CSR-FP relationship

Performance of chilli (Capsicum annuum L.) lines with different plantation time during rainy season

The experiment was conducted during April to September, 2016 at Spices Research Sub-Centre, Faridpur to evaluate the performances of four chilli lines with BARI Morich-2 as check and to select the suitable planting time during rainy season. The experimental field belongs to high land of Low Ganges River Floodplain (AEZ 12) with clay loam in texture. The experiment was laid out in RCB design with three replications. Four lines and a variety viz., C0711, C0712, C0713 and C0714 and BARI Morich-2 as check were evaluated with three planting time viz., 01April, 15 April and 30 April. Seedlings of 40 days old were transplanted maintaining of 50cm × 50cm spacing in each case. The crop (Green chilli) was started to harvest from July and completed on August-September, 2016.Among the lines, C0712 emerged as superior in terms of maximum number of fruits/plant (225.7) and weight of fruits/plant (478.6g) and fresh yield (15.43t/ha) while the highest single fruit weight (3.217 g) was found from C0714. The 15 April planting date emerged as best in terms of maximum weighed fruit (2.661g), weight of fruits/ plant (409.3 g), number of fruits/plant (182.5) and fresh yield (12.14 t/ha). The interaction effect showed that lineC0712 transplanted on 15 April gave the heavier fruits/plants (542.2 g) with maximum number of fruits/plant (241.3)and maximum fresh yield (16.73 t/ha). The 15 April planting was ideal for rainy season chilli evaluation and the line C0712 was the most stable performing line with respect to different planting dates

Effect of tillage and residue retention on maize productivity

In Bangladesh, maize is generally sown after extensive tilth and minimum residue retention. Conservation agriculture (CA) systems reduce the input costs, machinery use, CO2 emissions; and improve soil health (Raper et al., 1994). Crop residues are known to affect soil physical properties (Hulugalle et al., 1986), availability of nutrients (Wade and Sanchez, 1983; Asghar et al., 2006) and soil biological activity (Tian et al., 1993). Crop residue retention has been suggested to improve overall soil fertility and to support sustainable crop production. Crop residue retention under no tillage system reduce soil erosion, increase soil organic matter (SOM), and reduce requirement of labour and fuel under cereal grain and row crop culture (Salinas-Garcia et al., 1997). Kumar and Goh (2000) reported that incorporation of crop residues is essential for sustaining soil productivity through replenishing SOM that not only a key indicator of soil quality, but it also supplies essential nutrients upon mineralization (N, P, and S) and improves soil physical, chemical, and biological properties (Kumar et al., 2001). In our country, the crop residue is used mostly for cattle feed (Saadullah et al., 1991), fuel for stove and some cases burning. It is essential to estimate the amount of crop residue that should be retained in field to get the benefits. Therefore, the present research investigated to find out the minimum tillage with residue retention could be an effective element for maize production

IN VITRO BULB PRODUCTION IN HIPPEASTRUM (HIPPEASTRUM HYBRIDUM)

An in vitro experiment was conducted to find out the optimum hormonal supplement and sucrose level for the bulb production of Hippeastrum. Murashige and Skoog medium supplemented with different hormone concentrations of BAP (0.0, 2.0, 4.0, 6.0 and 8.0 mg/L) and CCC (0.0, 125, 250 and 500 mg/L) and sucrose levels (30, 60, 80, 90 and 110 g/L) were used in this study. Sucrose level at 90 g/L produced the maximum average weight as well as the highest regeneration percentage. The increasing rate of CCC increased the number and average weight of bulb. The maximum bulb formation observed in media supplement with 6.0 mg/L BAP and 500 mg/L CCC fortified with 90 g/L sucrose