Synthesis, Characterization, and Biological Studies of Binuclear Copper(II) Complexes of (2E)-2-(2-Hydroxy-3-Methoxybenzylidene)-4N-Substituted Hydrazinecarbothioamides

Four novel binuclear copper(II) complexes [1–4] of (2E)-2-(2-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzylidene)-4N-substituted hydrazinecarbothioamides, (OH)(OCH3)C6H4CH=NNHC(S)NHR, where R = H (L1), Me (L2), Et (L3), or Ph (L4), have been synthesized and characterized. The FT-IR spectral data suggested the attachment of copper(II) ion to ligand moiety through the azomethine nitrogen, thioketonic sulphur, and phenolic-O. The spectroscopic characterization indicates the dissociation of dimeric complex into mononuclear [Cu(L)Cl] units in polar solvents like DMSO, where L is monoanionic thiosemicarbazone. The DNA binding properties of the complexes with calf thymus (CT) DNA were studied by spectroscopic titration. The complexes show binding affinity to CT DNA with binding constant (Kb) values in the order of 106 M−1. The ligands and their metal complexes were tested for antibacterial and antifungal activities by agar disc diffusion method. Except for complex 4, all complexes showed considerable activity almost equal to the activity of ciprofloxacin. These complexes did not show any effect on Gram-negative bacteria, whereas they showed moderate activity for Gram-positive strains

Synthesis, Characterization, and Antibacterial Activity of Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II), Zn(II), Cd(II), and Hg(II) Complexes of Schiff's Base Type Ligands Containing Benzofuran Moiety

Six new complexes of Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II), Zn(II), Cd(II), and Hg(II) with substituted benzofuran derivatives have been synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis, magnetic moments, conductance measurements, spectral characterization, and so forth. Elemental data coincide with the general formula MLC1n, where L = (E)-7-Methoxy-N1-(2,4,5-trimethoxy benzylidene) benzofuran-2-carbohydrazide (L1) or (E)-N1-(2,6-dichloro benzylidene)-7-methoxy benzofuran-2-carbohydrazide (L2), of the complexes. The ligands coordinate to the metal ions through the oxygen of the carbonyl group and the nitrogen of the hydrazine group. Electronic spectral data of the complexes suggests the probable geometry is octahedral in nature. All the complexes and ligands were screened for their antibacterial activity. Among them, Co, Ni, and Cu complexes of L2 showed good activity against all microbes

Protected Cultivation of Horticultural Crops as a Livelihood Opportunity in Western India: An Economic Assessment

Protected cultivation is an innovative way of raising seasonal and off-seasonal crops under a controlled environment. Vegetables and flower crops have tremendous potential to augment productivity, generate employment, utilize land efficiently and enhance export. This study was undertaken to assess the economic feasibility of protected cultivation in the high export potential zones of the Pune and Nasik districts of Maharashtra, India, by employing project analytical tools and the regression model. The results revealed that the cultivation of flowers and vegetables under protected cultivation was highly lucrative with high investment. The protected cultivation of rose and capsicum had higher cultivation cost (300%), gross return (250%) and net return (190%) as compared to open cultivation. Moreover, most of the crops grown in polyhouses are highly profitable at different discount rates (7%, 10% and 12%), whereas a few crops were rewarding under shade net condition with subsidies. Factors such as literacy (p p p p < 0.01) were found statistically significant in technology adoption. In the context of a changing climate and shrinking land resources, water scarcity, incidence of pests and diseases, an ever-increasing population, low productivity under open conditions and changes in consumer’s preference are the drivers for switching over to protected cultivation. In the recent past, protected cultivation has been gaining importance in different parts of the country, including Maharashtra. The policy implications are creating modern infrastructure, enhanced application of ICTs, maximum crop production with minimum utilization of land and institutional support to promote technology on a commercial scale

Protected Cultivation of Horticultural Crops as a Livelihood Opportunity in Western India: An Economic Assessment

Protected cultivation is an innovative way of raising seasonal and off-seasonal crops under a controlled environment. Vegetables and flower crops have tremendous potential to augment productivity, generate employment, utilize land efficiently and enhance export. This study was undertaken to assess the economic feasibility of protected cultivation in the high export potential zones of the Pune and Nasik districts of Maharashtra, India, by employing project analytical tools and the regression model. The results revealed that the cultivation of flowers and vegetables under protected cultivation was highly lucrative with high investment. The protected cultivation of rose and capsicum had higher cultivation cost (300%), gross return (250%) and net return (190%) as compared to open cultivation. Moreover, most of the crops grown in polyhouses are highly profitable at different discount rates (7%, 10% and 12%), whereas a few crops were rewarding under shade net condition with subsidies. Factors such as literacy (p &lt; 0.05), income (p &lt; 0.05), access to subsidy (p &lt; 0.05) and the risk orientation index (p &lt; 0.01) were found statistically significant in technology adoption. In the context of a changing climate and shrinking land resources, water scarcity, incidence of pests and diseases, an ever-increasing population, low productivity under open conditions and changes in consumer&rsquo;s preference are the drivers for switching over to protected cultivation. In the recent past, protected cultivation has been gaining importance in different parts of the country, including Maharashtra. The policy implications are creating modern infrastructure, enhanced application of ICTs, maximum crop production with minimum utilization of land and institutional support to promote technology on a commercial scale

Not Available

Not AvailableProtected cultivation is an innovative way of raising seasonal and off-seasonal crops under a controlled environment. Vegetables and flower crops have tremendous potential to augment productivity, generate employment, utilize land efficiently and enhance export. This study was undertaken to assess the economic feasibility of protected cultivation in the high export potential zones of the Pune and Nasik districts of Maharashtra, India, by employing project analytical tools and the regression model. The results revealed that the cultivation of flowers and vegetables under protectedcultivationwashighlylucrativewithhighinvestment. Theprotectedcultivationofroseand capsicum had higher cultivation cost (300%), gross return (250%) and net return (190%) as compared toopencultivation. Moreover,mostofthecropsgrowninpolyhousesarehighlyprofitableatdifferent discount rates (7%, 10% and 12%), whereas a few crops were rewarding under shade net condition with subsidies. Factors such as literacy (p < 0.05), income (p < 0.05), access to subsidy (p < 0.05) and the risk orientation index (p < 0.01) were found statistically significant in technology adoption. In the context of a changing climate and shrinking land resources, water scarcity, incidence of pests and diseases, an ever-increasing population, low productivity under open conditions and changes in consumer’s preference are the drivers for switching over to protected cultivation. In the recent past, protected cultivation has been gaining importance in different parts of the country, including Maharashtra. The policy implications are creating modern infrastructure, enhanced application of ICTs, maximum crop production with minimum utilization of land and institutional support to promote technology on a commercial scale.Not Availabl

Sunflower and climate change: Possibilities of adaptation through breeding and genomic selection

Due to its ability to grow in different agroecological conditions and its moderate drought tolerance, sunflower may become the oil crop of preference in the future, especially in the light of global environmental changes. In the field conditions, sunflower crop is often simultaneously challenged by different biotic and abiotic stresses, and understanding the shared mechanisms contributing to two or more stresses occurring individually or simultaneously is important to improve crop productivity under foreseeable complex stress situations. Exploitation of the available plant genetic resources in combination with the use of modern molecular tools for genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and application of genomic selection (GS) could lead to considerable improvements in sunflower, especially with regard to different stresses and better adaptation to the climate change. In this chapter we present a review of climate-smart (CS) traits and respective genetic resources and tools for their introduction into the cultivated sunflower, thus making it the oil crop resilient to the extreme climatic conditions and well-known and emerging pests and diseases. © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019