Weed suppressive ability of BRRI released popular monsoon rice varieties

Develoment of weed competitive crop cultivars is an attractive low-cost strategy of integrated weed management program that can reduce the heavy dependence of crop cultivation to chemical herbicides. Hence, to evaluate the weed competitiveness Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) released selected monsoon rice varieties, a field experiment was conducted during July to December 2018 at the Agronomy Field Laboratory of Bangladesh Agricultural University. Thirty-three rice varieties were grown under season long weedy and weed-free conditions. Plots without rice plants were also maintained to investigate the natural growth of weed in absence of rice. The experiment was conducted following randomized complete block design with three replicates. The results showed that rice varieties varied widely in yielding ability and weed competitiveness. Among rice varieties, BRRI dhan31 allowed the minimum weed growth (32.5 g m-2) while BRRI dhan51 allowed the maximum weed growth (155.3 g m-2). Grain yield ranged between 3.6 t ha-1 (BRRI dhan49) and 7.5 t ha-1 (BR10) under weed-free condition and between 2.2 t ha-1 (BRRI dhan70) and 3.9 t ha-1 (BRRI dhan34) under weedy condition. Weed imposed relative yield loss ranged from 10.2 to 66.9% among the rice varieties. BRRI dhan34 allowed the least yield penalty (10.2%) while BRRI dhan70 had the maximum yield penalty (66.9%) due to competition with weeds. Although BR10 appear as the most productive variety (7.5 t ha-1) its weed imposed relative yield loss was higher (51.3%) than many other varieties with low yield potential. On the other hand, BRRI dhan34 appeared as the most weed competitive variety (only 10.2% relative yield loss) with productivity of 3.9 t ha-1. Considering the yield, BR10 was the best but for weed suppressive ability BRRI dhan34 performed well

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the education of medical, dental and non-medical healthcare professionals in Bangladesh : findings and connotation

Lockdown measures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic had an appreciable impact on the education of all medical, dental, and non-medical healthcare professional (HCP) students. These included the closure of universities necessitating a rapid move to e-learning and new approaches to practical’s. However initially, there was a lack of knowledge and expertise regarding e-learning approaches and the affordability of internet bundles and equipment. We initially con-ducted two pilot studies to assess such current challenges, replaced by a two-stage approach including a full investigation involving 32 private and public universities during the early stages of the pandemic followed by a later study assessing the current environment brought about by the forced changes. Top challenges at the start of the pandemic included a lack of familiarity with e-learning approaches, cost of the internet, lack of IT equipment and the quality of the classes. Universities offered support to staff and students to a varying degree to address identified challenges. Since then, e-learning approaches have widened the possibilities for teaching and learning at convenient times. However, challenges remain. In conclusion, there were considerable challenges at the start of them pandemic. Several key issues have been addressed with hybrid learning here to stay. Remaining challenges include a lack of ICT equipment. However, new innovations will continue

Preliminary Reports on Comparative Weed Competitiveness of Bangladeshi Monsoon and Winter Rice Varieties under Puddled Transplanted Conditions

Weed-competitive rice cultivars, a viable tool for integrated weed management of rice-field weeds, may greatly reduce the weed pressure and excessive dependence on herbicide in controlling weeds. Based on this premise, field experiments were conducted in 2018 and 2019 during the monsoon and winter rice-growing seasons at the Agronomy Field Laboratory of Bangladesh Agricultural University, Bangladesh, to evaluate the weed competitiveness of the selected rice varieties. A total of 42 monsoon and 28 winter rice varieties from Bangladesh were evaluated under “weedy” and “weed-free” conditions in the puddled transplanted system of cultivation. The field experiments were designed with three replications in a randomized complete block design. The results revealed that weed competition greatly reduces the yield of rice, and relative yield loss was 15–68% and 20–50% in monsoon and winter season rice, respectively. The lowest relative yield losses were recorded in monsoon rice from the variety BU dhan 1 (18%) and from the winter rice BRRI hybrid dhan5 (23.7%), which exhibited high weed tolerance. The weed competitive index (WCI) greatly varied among the varieties in both seasons and the monsoon season, ranging from 0.4 to 2.8, and the highest value was recorded from the hybrid variety Dhani Gold followed by BU dhan 1. In winter season rice, the WCI varied 0.25 to 2.4 and the highest value was recorded from the variety BRRI hybrid dhan3, followed by hybrid variety Heera 6. In monsoon rice, hybrid Dhani Gold was the most productive, but BU dhan 1 was the most weed competitive variety. Among the winter-grown varieties, the hybrid Heera 6 was the most productive, and the most weed competitive. Our research confirmed a high degree of variability in weed competitiveness among the 70 Bangladeshi rice varieties tested