Effect of Cladding Material and Date of Transplanting on Growth and Yield of Greenhouse Broccoli During Winter in High Altitude Ladakh, India

Broccoli is a cool-season crop. The optimum temperature for initiation of flowering and head growth is 15-20°C. Due to subfreezing temperatures at night, the crop is not traditionally cultivated in winter in the high-altitude Ladakh region. We found that growing broccoli in a passive solar greenhouse in winter is feasible. The choice of greenhouse cladding material and the date of transplanting are important factors that need to be considered. The mean marketable head weight of the cv. Fiesta and KTS-1 in a passive solar trench greenhouse with polycarbonate cladding material transplanted on 8 September were 403±106 and 169±100 g, respectively. Delayed transplanting on 8 October did not produce any marketable head. Covering the greenhouse with a polyethylene sheet did not result in marketable heads on both transplanting dates. We anticipate our study to be a starting point for researchers and the farming community to optimize the greenhouse production of broccoli during freezing winter-months in high-altitude regions

Growing Cauliflower in Winter under Passive Solar Greenhouse in Trans Himalayan Ladakh, India

Traditionally cauliflower is not grown during winter months in the trans-Himalayan Ladakh region due to sub-zero degree celsius at night. Accordingly, the feasibility of growing cauliflower, a temperature-sensitive crop, was studied during winter months in a passive solar greenhouse in the high altitude (elevation 3340 m) trans-Himalayan Ladakh region. Studies were conducted during 2017-2020 with three commercial varieties. Curd was formed in all the varieties despite the temperature extremes (0.0±1.6 to 39.5±0.9 ºC) in the greenhouse. Harvesting was done in the month of February. The mean marketable curd weight ranged from 258±113 to 743±62 g depending on variety and year, which suggested that cauliflower can be successfully grown during winter months in the trans-Himalaya. However, the marketable curd weight was significantly lower as compared to the yield potential of the varieties. High temperature inside the greenhouse resulted in the occurrence of fuzziness, and it ranged from 0-35% of the harvested curd depending on the year and variety. Fuzziness was not observed in cv Shentha while 10.4-35% of cv Amazing exhibited fuzziness

Character association studies in grape accessions selected from Leh district of Jammu and Kashmir

Characters association and path analysis was studied in fifty genotypically diverse grape (Vitis vinifera L.) accessions for 20 important quantitative characters. The genotypic and phenotypic association of yield was signifi-cantly positive with most of the studied characters except yield efficiency, berry weight and chemical characters. Yield was positively and significantly correlated (r) with bunch length (0.652), bunch breadth (0.584), bunch weight (0.946), number of bunches per vine (0.289), number of berries per bunch (0.672), berry length (0.337), berry breadth (0.363) and number of seeds per berry (0.612). Direct and positive effect was observed between yield and bunch and berry characters. Bunch breadth (1.538), number of bunches per vine (0.708), berry weight (1.112) ex-hibited a good amount of direct effect on yield and its correlation with yield was also positive. Hence it is clear from the present study that for selection of any accession in the crop due emphasis must be given on the yield and the associated characters which have direct and positive effect on the yield

Growing Muskmelon (Cucumis melo L.) under Low-input System in Arid trans-Himalayan Ladakh, India

Feasibility of growing muskmelon (Cucumis melo L.), a warm season crop, was studied under a low-input cultivation system in open field condition in high altitude (elevation 3344 m) trans-Himalayan Ladakh region. The marketable yield of five cultivars in different treatments varied from 5.4±0.4 t.ha-1 to 18.8±1.7 t.ha-1 and 4.0±0.2 t.ha-1 to 15.8±1.0 t.ha-1 in 2014 and 2015, respectively. Treatment of black polyethylene mulch (BPM) increased marketable yield by 25 per cent to 155 per cent depending on year and cultivar. The marketable yield of the best performing cultivar (Pusa Madhuras) under BPM was 17.3 t.ha-1, which suggested that muskmelon can successfully be grown in open field condition in trans-Himalaya. The fruit become ready for harvest in mid-August. Number of fruit per plant ranged from 2.3 to 6.3, and TSS ranged from 8.9 to 14.1 °Brix depending on cultivar. Temperature 10 cm beneath the BPM was 2.9±0.4 ºC higher than in bare soil. BPM reduced 74 per cent weed and save 77 per cent time in manual weeding

The effects of social norms on motivation crowding: experimental evidence from the Tibetan Plateau

A growing literature examines conditions under which financial incentives for behavior change can undermine "crowd out" or reinforce ("crowd in") other sources of motivation for the behavior in question. Some of this literature points to a potential role of social norms, but it has not attempted to quantify that role. We present an interdisciplinary model from economics and communication science that measures the effects of financial incentives on social norms and their joint effects on behavior, including after incentives have ended. In a framed field experiment with Tibetan herders in Qinghai, China, we find that a temporary payment for participation in a patrol against illegal wildlife trapping reinforces a perceived injunctive norm that this conservation behavior meets with social approval. This norm remains heightened even after the payment has ended, continuing to positively influence the decision to participate in anti-trapping patrols in the experiment. This finding suggests that, under certain circumstances, a carefully framed incentive for conservation behavior can support injunctive norms in favor of conservation behavior.USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Hatch project [MICL02244, MICL02173, MICL02362]; National Science Foundation [SMA-1328503]This item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at [email protected]

Sensitivity and Response of Bhutanese Glaciers to Atmospheric Warming

Glacierized change in the Himalayas affects river-discharge, hydro-energy and agricultural production, and Glacial Lake Outburst Flood potential, but its quantification and extent of impacts remains highly uncertain. Here we present conservative, comprehensive and quantitative predictions for glacier area and meltwater flux changes in Bhutan, monsoonal Himalayas. In particular, we quantify the uncertainties associated with the glacier area and meltwater flux changes due to uncertainty in climate data, a critical problem for much of High Asia. Based on a suite of gridded climate data and a robust glacier melt model, our results show that glacier area and meltwater change projections can vary by an order of magnitude for different climate datasets. However, the most conservative results indicate that, even if climate were to remain at the present-day mean values, almost 10% of Bhutan s glacierized area would vanish and the meltwater flux would drop by as much as 30%. Under the conservative scenario of an additional 1 C regional warming, glacier retreat is going to continue until about 25% of Bhutan s glacierized area will have disappeared and the annual meltwater flux, after an initial spike, would drop by as much as 65%. Citatio

Paleoproteomic evidence reveals dairying supported prehistoric occupation of the highland Tibetan Plateau

The extreme environments of the Tibetan Plateau offer considerable challenges to human survival, demanding novel adaptations. While the role of biological and agricultural adaptations in enabling early human colonization of the plateau has been widely discussed, the contribution of pastoralism is less well understood, especially the dairy pastoralism that has historically been central to Tibetan diets. Here, we analyze ancient proteins from the dental calculus (n = 40) of all human individuals with sufficient calculus preservation from the interior plateau. Our paleoproteomic results demonstrate that dairy pastoralism began on the highland plateau by ~3500 years ago. Patterns of milk protein recovery point to the importance of dairy for individuals who lived in agriculturally poor regions above 3700 m above sea level. Our study suggests that dairy was a critical cultural adaptation that supported expansion of early pastoralists into the region’s vast, non-arable highlands, opening the Tibetan Plateau up to widespread, permanent human occupation

Widespread Climate Change in the Himalayas and Associated Changes in Local Ecosystems

Background: Climate change in the Himalayas, a biodiversity hotspot, home of many sacred landscapes, and the source of eight largest rivers of Asia, is likely to impact the well-being of $\sim$20% of humanity. However, despite the extraordinary environmental, cultural, and socio-economic importance of the Himalayas, and despite their rapidly increasing ecological degradation, not much is known about actual changes in the two most critical climatic variables: temperature and rainfall. Nor do we know how changes in these parameters might impact the ecosystems including vegetation phenology. Methodology/Principal Findings: By analyzing temperature and rainfall data, and NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) values from remotely sensed imagery, we report significant changes in temperature, rainfall, and vegetation phenology across the Himalayas between 1982 and 2006. The average annual mean temperature during the 25 year period has increased by 1.5$^\circ$C with an average increase of 0.06$^\circ$C yr$^{−1}$. The average annual precipitation has increased by 163 mm or 6.52 mmyr$^{−1}$. Since changes in temperature and precipitation are immediately manifested as changes in phenology of local ecosystems, we examined phenological changes in all major ecoregions. The average start of the growing season (SOS) seems to have advanced by 4.7 days or 0.19 days yr$^{−1}$ and the length of growing season (LOS) appears to have advanced by 4.7 days or 0.19 days yr$^{−1}$, but there has been no change in the end of the growing season (EOS). There is considerable spatial and seasonal variation in changes in climate and phenological parameters. Conclusions/Significance: This is the first time that large scale climatic and phenological changes at the landscape level have been documented for the Himalayas. The rate of warming in the Himalayas is greater than the global average, confirming that the Himalayas are among the regions most vulnerable to climate change

Minimal information for studies of extracellular vesicles (MISEV2023): From basic to advanced approaches

Extracellular vesicles (EVs), through their complex cargo, can reflect the state of their cell of origin and change the functions and phenotypes of other cells. These features indicate strong biomarker and therapeutic potential and have generated broad interest, as evidenced by the steady year-on-year increase in the numbers of scientific publications about EVs. Important advances have been made in EV metrology and in understanding and applying EV biology. However, hurdles remain to realising the potential of EVs in domains ranging from basic biology to clinical applications due to challenges in EV nomenclature, separation from non-vesicular extracellular particles, characterisation and functional studies. To address the challenges and opportunities in this rapidly evolving field, the International Society for Extracellular Vesicles (ISEV) updates its 'Minimal Information for Studies of Extracellular Vesicles', which was first published in 2014 and then in 2018 as MISEV2014 and MISEV2018, respectively. The goal of the current document, MISEV2023, is to provide researchers with an updated snapshot of available approaches and their advantages and limitations for production, separation and characterisation of EVs from multiple sources, including cell culture, body fluids and solid tissues. In addition to presenting the latest state of the art in basic principles of EV research, this document also covers advanced techniques and approaches that are currently expanding the boundaries of the field. MISEV2023 also includes new sections on EV release and uptake and a brief discussion of in vivo approaches to study EVs. Compiling feedback from ISEV expert task forces and more than 1000 researchers, this document conveys the current state of EV research to facilitate robust scientific discoveries and move the field forward even more rapidly