Evaluation of Lilium Hybrids (Lilium x hybrida) for Growth, Flowering and Bulb Attributes in the Hilly Regions of Uttarakhand

The present study was initiated to elucidate performance of 18 exotic lilium hybrids (Lilium x hybrida) to assess their suitability for commercial cultivation in the hilly regions of Uttarakhand. The investigation was carried out at Jilling Floritech farm during 2014-15 under protected conditions in Randomised Block Design. All the 18 hybrid varieties showed significant variation for vegetative, flowering and bulb attributes. Analysis of data indicated that among the cultivars studied, earliest sprout emergence (4.66 days) was recorded in 'Yellow Diamond'. Earliest flower-bud initiation (30.33 days) was recorded in 'Bach', and flower-bud colour break stage (46.33 days) and flowering (50.00 days) in 'Detroit'. Maximum number of flower buds/plant (8.66) was recorded in 'Pollyana', longest inflorescences (25.23cm) in I'ndian Summerset', maximum flower diameter (17.66cm) in 'Creil' and 'Golden Tycoon', maximum plant height (145.13cm) in 'Bright Dimond', and maximum stem thickness (1.86cm) in 'Novana'. However, maximum number of bulblets (6.66) per plant was recorded in 'Ceb Dazzle'

Nutritional Properties, Nutraceutical Potential of Different Millets, and Their Value-Added Food Products

Millets are one of the oldest food grains known to mankind. They are considered underutilized crops and can sustain in harsh environments with limited water resources where other crops grow or yield poorly. Millets are very adaptable: they thrive in dry regions, on clay soils, in wet lowlands, or alluvial lands. Their root systems are powerful, able to descend very quickly to a great depth of soil to extract water and minerals, and thus have high adaptability to climate change, especially drought. Millets have a good nutritional profile along with good nutraceutical potential and thus can be considered a great crop for combating food nutritional security globally

Effect of nano and macro iron sprays on growth, flowering, seed and oil yielding attributes in calendula (Calendula officinalis L.)

The investigation was executed with nine treatments viz. nano forms of ferrous sulfide (7, 14, 21, 28 ppm) and macro ferrous sulphate (0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8 per cent) along with control, and were applied as foliar sprays after 30 days of transplanting on two varieties of calendula namely Fiesta Gitana Mix’ and ‘Fiesta Yellow’ during 2018 and 2019. The experiment was laid out in factorial randomized block design with three replications. Application of 0.8 % FeSO4 recorded maximum number of branches (26.75), plant height (29.73 cm), plant spread(45.17 cm), number of leaves (22.63) and seed test weight (15.63 g) and number of flowers per plant (134.04). However, application of 0.2% macro FeSO4 resulted in early bud appearance (50.50 days) and higher flower diameter (8.09 cm). ‘Fiesta Gitana Mix’ outperformed over ‘Fiesta Yellow’ for most of the vegetative and floral characters. The ‘Fiesta Yellow’ variety with oil content (13.97%) had an edge over ‘Fiesta Gitana Mix’

CARBAMATE AND ORGANOPHOSPHATE RESIDUE ANALYSIS IN VEGETABLES BY RAPID BIOASSAY PESTICIDE RESIDUE

Farmers are using pesticides without or with little knowledge about their doses, rate, waiting periods, residual health hazards, etc. It is necessary to have good knowledge of safe consumption for both producers and consumers. The purpose of this study was to analyze the residue percentage in vegetables that reach the central vegetable market, Kalimati fruits and vegetable market, Kathmandu, from where we collected a total of 80 samples with a purposive sampling method and tested in the laboratory, 40 samples were tested for organophosphate (OP), and 40 for carbamate (C) residue percentage, using the RBPR kit. The highest and lowest OP% were found in cauliflower of Dhading (77.09%C) and okra of Chitwan (0.11%C) respectively. The highest and lowest carbamate% were found in the bitter gourds of Dhading (22.82%) and okra of Chitwan (0.31%) respectively. Two samples of cauliflower (77.09% OP) and bitter gourd (50.13% OP) from Dhading were observed to have an inhibiting percentage of more than 45% which meant unsafe for consumption. This shows that among the 100% samples, 2.50% are unsafe for consumption and others are safe. For cent % safe consumption, the waiting period needs to be followed properly before harvesting and consumption

Rhizospheric bacteria: the key to sustainable heavy metal detoxification strategies

The increasing rate of industrialization, anthropogenic, and geological activities have expedited the release of heavy metals (HMs) at higher concentration in environment. HM contamination resulting due to its persistent nature, injudicious use poses a potential threat by causing metal toxicities in humans and animals as well as severe damage to aquatic organisms. Bioremediation is an emerging and reliable solution for mitigation of these contaminants using rhizospheric microorganisms in an environmentally safe manner. The strategies are based on exploiting microbial metabolism and various approaches developed by plant growth promoting bacteria (PGPB) to minimize the toxicity concentration of HM at optimum levels for the environmental clean-up. Rhizospheric bacteria are employed for significant growth of plants in soil contaminated with HM. Exploitation of bacteria possessing plant-beneficial traits as well as metal detoxifying property is an economical and promising approach for bioremediation of HM. Microbial cells exhibit different mechanisms of HM resistance such as active transport, extra cellular barrier, extracellular and intracellular sequestration, and reduction of HM. Tolerance of HM in microorganisms may be chromosomal or plasmid originated. Proteins such as MerT and MerA of mer operon and czcCBA, ArsR, ArsA, ArsD, ArsB, and ArsC genes are responsible for metal detoxification in bacterial cell. This review gives insights about the potential of rhizospheric bacteria in HM removal from various polluted areas. In addition, it also gives deep insights about different mechanism of action expressed by microorganisms for HM detoxification. The dual-purpose use of biological agent as plant growth enhancement and remediation of HM contaminated site is the most significant future prospect of this article

Harmful Impacts of Heavy Metals and Utility of Biosorption Technique for Their Removal from Wastewater: A Review

The increasing number of efluents discharged from the source of water (urban, industrial, agricultural etc.), is resulting in a higher concentration of heavy metals in the source. Heavy metals have a density of over 5g/cm3 to the metals. These are toxic, mutagenic, carcinogenic and resistant in watery and non-aquatic environments and impact water and non-water bodies seriously by substituting the basic metals of the same function. The extraction from the wastewater can be done in numerous techniques for example using an ion replacement, membrane filtration, osmosis, etc. This study discusses the adverse effects of heavy metals on the human body, the benefits of biosorption over traditional approaches for removal of heavy metals, the different biosorbents used to extract heavy metals and concerning issues regarding its commercial use, offering a wider viewpoint for the diversity of biosorbents and utilization of biosorption technique. It is evident from the profound literature survey that pH, biosorbent particle size, contact time, initial metal ion concentration, presence of chelating ligands etc. are some factors that affect the rate and extent of biosorption.&nbsp

Biosorption Study of Pb(II) Ions onto Treated Eupatorium adinoforum (AEA) and Acer Oblongum (AAO): Thermodynamic and Equilibrium Studies

In the present study, dried activated biomass of Eupatorium adinoforum (AEA) and Acer oblongum (AAO) used for removal of Pb (II) from synthetic wastewater. The batch operation was conducted with effect of variation of contact time, biosorbent dose, pH, concentration of metal ions and temperature on biosorption of metal ions on biosorbent. Maximum adsorption was recorded for initial metal ion concentration of 10 mg/l, biosorbent dose of 2.5 gm, at pH 5 with 105 minutes of contact time for activated AEA and AAO biomass. The adsorption equilibrium conditions were well described by Langmuir, Freundlich and Temkin isotherm models. The Langmuir isotherm model has provided a better fit with the experimental data in comparison to that of Freundlich and Temkin isotherm models. Thermodynamic data suggest that the bisorption process was spontaneous, feasible and endothermic. The values of thermodynamic parameters suggest that the biosorption process was spontaneous, feasible and endothermic. The kinetics of the biosorption for the reaction mechanism and types of biosorption process onto activated AEA and AAO biosorbent were also discussed

The effect of pre-operative carbohydrate loading in femur fracture:a randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND: Femur fracture is a major burden among elderly people, leading patients to be bedridden for a long time in the hospital. The body is more likely to be in a catabolic state as a result of the prolonged fasting period required for surgery, leading to an increase in insulin resistance. Pre-operative carbohydrate loading has been shown to improve postoperative outcomes in several countries. The study aimed to evaluate the effect of pre-operative carbohydrate loading in femur fracture surgery. METHODS: This study was single-center, hospital-based, open-label, parallel-group randomized controlled trial conducted between August 2020 and November 2021. A total of 66 participants, aged 50 years and above having femur fractures planned for surgery were included in this study and assigned to the control (n = 33) and study (n = 33) groups through computer-generated random numbers. The control group was kept fasting from midnight to the next morning as in existence while the study group was intervened with carbohydrate loading according to the Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) protocol. The pre-operative nutritional status was identified and the postoperative outcomes were measured using the Visual Analogue Score (VAS), Cumulative Ambulatory Score (CAS), and Modified Barthel Index (MBI) scoring systems. Statistical analyses were performed using the Chi-square test and the Student’s two-sample t-test to compare the outcomes between the two groups. RESULTS: All the participants completed the study. There was a significant reduction in the average postoperative pain in the carbohydrate loading group (VAS: 4.8 (SD ± 1.8), 95% CI: 4.7–5.4) as compared to the control group (VAS: 6.1 (SD ± 2.1), 95% CI: 5.3–6.8). The average CAS showed a significant improvement in regaining the mobility function of participants in the study group (CAS: 8.1 (SD ± 2.8), 95% CI: 7.1–9.1) than that of the control group (CAS: 6.8 (SD ± 2.8), 95% CI: 5.8–7.8). The mean MBI score of the participants at the time of discharge from the hospital was higher in the study group (MBI:13.1 (SD ± 2.3), 95% CI: 12.2–13.9) compared to the control group (MBI: 11.8 (SD ± 3.1), 95% CI:10.6–12.9). Similarly, the length of hospital stay after surgery had decreased in the study group than in the control group. CONCLUSIONS: The uptake of carbohydrate loading showed reduced post-operative pain, enhanced functional mobility, and decreased length of hospital stay. This study warrants larger trials to show the effect of pre-operative carbohydrate loading in a clinical setting. TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT04838366, first registered on 09/042021 (https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04838366). SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12891-022-05766-z