BIOFORTIFICATION-A SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURAL STRATEGY FOR REDUCING MICRONUTRIENT MALNUTRITION

Malnutrition is of great public health significance in several parts of the world, especially the developing and underdeveloped countries. Micronutrient deficiencies in humans can be mitigated through the process biofortification. It is the strategy of increasing the nutrient content in the edible parts of staple food crops for better human nutrition. Staple crops such as maize, rice, and wheat provide most of the calories for low-income families around the globe. Biofortification includes the enhanced uptake of such minerals from soils, their transport to edible plant parts, and improving the bioavailability of these minerals to humans. In paper, crop biofortification and malnutrition of essential nutrient have been discussed

Use of statistical analysis to monitor novel coronavirus-19 cases in Jammu and Kashmir, India

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has been increasing slowly and steadily in all the districts of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It is essential for the government and health management system to monitor the districts affected due to COVID-19. The main objective of this study is to ascertain and categorize the COVID-19 affected districts into real clusters based on similarities within a cluster and differences among clusters in order to imply standard operating procedures (SOPs) policies, decisions, medical facilities, etc. could be improved for reducing the risk of infection and death and optimize the deployment of resources for preventing subsequent outbreaks. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.467747

Morpho-physiological responses in wheat (Triticum aestivum L) influenced by normal and water stress conditions

Drought is a disaster around the world accumulating salt and erosion in lands. Presently, a research was conducted to determine the mor-pho-physiological response in bread wheat under normal and stress irrigations. This experiment was conducted at the experimental field of Sindh Agriculture University, Tandojam, Hyderabad, Pakistan, for two consecutive years during the Rabi season of the year 2011-12 and 2012-13. Stress was imposed by withholding irrigations at three dif-ferent growth stages of the plant, i.e. T1: normal irrigations applied, T2: stress at tillering stage, and T3: stress at the booting stage. The progenies Sarsabz x Khirman and Sarsabz x TD-1 contributed the highest heritability% (81.0% and 85.5%) for osmotic potential (-MPa) at stress at booting stage. For grain yield spike-1(g), the progeny Kiran-95 x Khirman showed maximum heritability as 84.37 in T3. However, the progeny TD-1 x Imdad proved to be the best combiner progeny indicating highest heritability percentage (91.0%) among the progenies for grain yield at booting stress

Synergistic use of Punica granatum peel and Moringa oleifera leaf to develop a functional and sustainable decoction

The study aimed to formulate an aqueous decoction enriched with bioactive compounds of pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) peel and moringa (Moringa oleifera) leaf, combining the functional and therapeutic potential. Decoction prepared in ratios 50:50, 70:30, and 80:20 of pomegranate peel powder (PPP) and moringa leaf powder (ML) with warm water (20 mL), sugar (5 g), and lemon drops. The prepared decoctions were alkaline (pH 8–13), and the ratio 80:20 added with three lemon drops revealed significantly high (p < 0.05) total soluble solids (TSS), tannin, vitamin B1, vitamin B2, vitamin C, and no detectable caffeine hence considered caffeine-free. PPP: ML (80:20), along with three lemon drops, qualifies the highest sensory scores regarding appearance, taste, aroma, and color for the approved composition. The PPP decoction contains low sodium concentration but is rich in magnesium (36 mg/100g), calcium (198.7 mg/100g), zinc (8.75 mg/100g), and iron (2.79 mg/100g) compared to other ratios. The total flavonoid (3.88 mg/100g and 4.01 mg/100g), phenolic content (78.22 mg/100g and 85.61 mg/100g), ferric-reducing antioxidant potential (1.91 mg/100g and 1.51 mg/100g) and free radical scavenging IC50 5.92 μg/mL and 5.59 μg/mL, observed for the ratio 80:20 with and without lemon drops decoction. However, stronger antioxidant power, i.e., lowest IC50 3.50 μg/mL, was observed in PPP decoction. In conclusion, the PPP and ML decoctions ratios of 80:20 with or without lemon drops are considered caffeine-free and a rich cocktail of bioactive compounds and minerals of nutritional and functional importance. Therefore, PPP and ML decoctions may be adopted in the beverage industry, serving as an instant source of bioactive compounds, vitamins, and minerals extracted more simply and economically in an aqueous solution