Phosphorus Fertilizer Response to Onion (Allium cepa L.) Yield in Punjab, Pakistan

Background: Onion (Allium cepa L.) is one of the most essential plants in food with high nutritional value. However, application of right dose of phosphorous (P) is one of the constraints to the profitable onion yields in soils deficient in P.Methods: A systematic study to confirm the best dose of P was conducted for six years in the P deficient soil in farmers’ fields. Based on the findings obtained from 2008-09 to 2010-11, the research was undertaken to determine the effect of different phosphorus levels on the yield of onion in the Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with a total of 114 replicates  in 2011-12 to 2012-13. Four treatments (160, 210, 260 and 310 kg P2O5 ha-1) were tested with N and K at 100 kg ha-1.Results: From the results of this investigation, the variance analysis showed the substantial P impact. The maximum marketable bulb yield (19.03 t ha-1) was obtained from the fertilizer combination NPK @ 100-310-100 kg ha-1 and was shown to be statistically higher than all other treatments.Conclusion: Nonetheless, the nutshell of the overall economic study is that poor farmers (Land holders >12 acres) may have options to select the NPK fertilizer combination @ 100:210:100 kg ha-1 and the average farmer may have options to select the NPK fertilizer combination @ 100:260:100 kg ha-1. But rich farmers (Land holders >25 acres) who can spend more money on fertilizers and are interested in the higher gross margin should follow the combination of NPK fertilizers @ 100:310:100 kg ha-1 to profitably increase their gross margin and maintain soil fertility for onion cultivation in Punjab, Pakistan.   Keywords: Onion; NPK; Plant nutrition; Phosphorus; Pungency

EXPLORING THE BEST NP RATIO FOR WHEAT IN PERSPECTIVE OF PRESENT FARMER FERTILIZER BUDGET

Farming community has a limited budget for various inputs like fertilizers for crops. Farmers usually allocate more money to nitrogen fertilizers while spending less money on phosphorus. Field experiments were carried out at farmers’ fields to explore the effect of various ratios of nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizer while keeping the farmers’ budget constant. Fertilizer experiments were conducted on wheat in Punjab Pakistan during years 2015-16 to 2017-18 at different locations in Punjab. Five different ratios (4:1, 3:1, 2:1, 1.7:1) of N and P were used with treatments of 152-37-0, 137-46-0, 117-58-0, 108-64-0, 160-114-0. Recommended dose of 160-114-60 kg ha-1 of N-P2O5-K2O was also applied for additional information. At maturity, crop was harvested and data of wheat grain for each site were recorded. During the year 2015-16, 12 sites produced higher wheat yield with NP ratio of 1.7:1 (T4) out of 14 field sites. Similarly in 2016-17, out of 19, 18 experimental sites produced higher grain yield with T4 as economically best fertilizer combination. Similar results were obtained during 2017-18 with T4 and out of 17, 15 experimental sites produced comparatively higher grain yield. Recommended dose @ 160-114-60 kg ha-1 produced highest grain yield. However, among farmer budget treatments, T4-a combination of nitrogen@108 kg ha-1 and phosphorus@64 kg ha-1 gave higher wheat production. It is concluded that farmers can increase the yield of wheat just by balancing the fertilizer and increasing the phosphorus use in place of nitrogen

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on patients with paediatric cancer in low-income, middle-income and high-income countries: a multicentre, international, observational cohort study

OBJECTIVES: Paediatric cancer is a leading cause of death for children. Children in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) were four times more likely to die than children in high-income countries (HICs). This study aimed to test the hypothesis that the COVID-19 pandemic had affected the delivery of healthcare services worldwide, and exacerbated the disparity in paediatric cancer outcomes between LMICs and HICs. DESIGN: A multicentre, international, collaborative cohort study. SETTING: 91 hospitals and cancer centres in 39 countries providing cancer treatment to paediatric patients between March and December 2020. PARTICIPANTS: Patients were included if they were under the age of 18 years, and newly diagnosed with or undergoing active cancer treatment for Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, Hodgkin lymphoma, Wilms' tumour, sarcoma, retinoblastoma, gliomas, medulloblastomas or neuroblastomas, in keeping with the WHO Global Initiative for Childhood Cancer. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: All-cause mortality at 30 days and 90 days. RESULTS: 1660 patients were recruited. 219 children had changes to their treatment due to the pandemic. Patients in LMICs were primarily affected (n=182/219, 83.1%). Relative to patients with paediatric cancer in HICs, patients with paediatric cancer in LMICs had 12.1 (95% CI 2.93 to 50.3) and 7.9 (95% CI 3.2 to 19.7) times the odds of death at 30 days and 90 days, respectively, after presentation during the COVID-19 pandemic (p<0.001). After adjusting for confounders, patients with paediatric cancer in LMICs had 15.6 (95% CI 3.7 to 65.8) times the odds of death at 30 days (p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The COVID-19 pandemic has affected paediatric oncology service provision. It has disproportionately affected patients in LMICs, highlighting and compounding existing disparities in healthcare systems globally that need addressing urgently. However, many patients with paediatric cancer continued to receive their normal standard of care. This speaks to the adaptability and resilience of healthcare systems and healthcare workers globally

Twelve-month observational study of children with cancer in 41 countries during the COVID-19 pandemic

Childhood cancer is a leading cause of death. It is unclear whether the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted childhood cancer mortality. In this study, we aimed to establish all-cause mortality rates for childhood cancers during the COVID-19 pandemic and determine the factors associated with mortality