Popularization of improved maize (Zea mays L.) production technology through frontline demonstrations in semi arid zone IVA of Rajasthan

Front line demonstrations (FLD,s) on maize (Zea mays L.) were laid down at 661 farmers’ fields to demonstrate production potential and economic benefits of improved production technologies comprising high yielding varieties namely PM-3, PM-5, PEHM-2, Bio- 9681 and Mahyco 3765 in Rajsamand district of Semi Arid Zone IVa of Rajasthan state during kharif seasons from 2006 to 2012 in rainfed farming situation. The improved production technologies recorded an additional yield ranging from 2.50 to 15.78 qha-1 with a mean of 7.94 qha-1. The per cent increase yield under improved production technologies ranged from 33.17 to 68.16 (PM-3), 14.09 to 59.82 (PM-5), 46.61 to 66.97 (PEHM-2), 55.83 to 92.82 (Bio 9681) and 80.12 (Mahyco 3765) in respective years. The average extension gap, technology gap and technology index were 9.10 qha-1, 5.94 qha-1 and 20.08 per cent, respectively in different varieties of maize. The improved production technologies gave higher benefit cost ratio ranging from 1.28 to 3.00 with a mean of 2.45 compared to local checks (1.10) being grown by farmers under locality. The productivity of maize per unit area could be increased by adopting feasible scientific and sustainable management practices with a suitable variety. Considering the above facts, frontline demonstrations were carried out in a systematic and scientific manner on farmer’s field to show the worth of a new variety and convincing farming community about potentialities of improved production management technologies of maize for further adoption by the farming community

Evaluation of Productivity of Pearl Millet and Clusterbean and Growth Parameters of Neem Strains under Agro-Forestry System under Semi-Arid and Rainfed Condition

Neem (Azadirachta indica) tree is a native to Indian sub-continent and found throughout the India with maximum number of trees which are distributed over 70-75% geographical area of this country. It is distributed throughout south and southeast Asia, Australia, Africa and many other countries in central and south America including Carribean, Puer to Rica and Virgin Islands (Ram Mohan and Nair, 1993). The tree has been considered so invaluable and miraculous that it became a major inseparable component of the Indian ecosystem. Neem has been held in high esteem because of it provde medicinal and insecticidal properties. As a single tree it has maximum uses like medicines, bio-pesticides, mosquito repellents, fertilizers, diabetic foods, soaps, lubricants, gums, agriculture implements, tooth paste, tooth sticks, contraceptives etc. which is receiving worldwide recognition for its variety of bio-active principles. For a farmer the tree provided seeds, leaf and bark which could be converted into fertilizer and pest control material and medicine for livestock. Neem enjoys a wide range of climatic and edaphic factors. It is successfully grown in arid, semi-arid, wet tropical and sub-tropical climates. It is tolerant to high temperature up to 49oC but susceptible to excessive frost and water logged conditions (Hegde, 1993). Its performance is well on poor, shallow, stony or sandy soils and can be established easily without irrigation in hot and dry regions with low annual rainfall of 500 mm or less. It can be planted at farm/field boundaries, road sides, canal banks, river banks and wherever any space is vacant. Neem is the most ideal tree known to be successful under various agroforestry systems. Many Indian companies are currently engaged in processing neem seeds for extracting Azadirachtin. A large number of liquid and powdered formulations are being marketed in India. Although, this tree has tremendous potential, but till now it is to be exploited for full genetic potential in terms of growth and Azadirachtin content. By increasing Azadirachtin content more than 0.50 % in seed kernel much better price would be fetched (Gupta et. al. 2010). Realizing the economic potential of neem products in world market and good adaptability in wider climatic conditions and land situations in India, Central Agroforestry Research Institute, Jhansi collected a good amount of neem germplasm from nine states and evaluated critically for all the important characters and published in the form of “Neem catalogue” (Gupta et. al. 2011)

The Condition of the Washermen who do the laundry as shown ‘Koveru kazhuthaigal (Mules)’

Human beings are rational in God's creation. In the early years, the occupations which were divided among themselves separately for the betterment of man are later divided on the basis of class. Thereafter, they create caste and divide certain castes into lower castes and other castes into upper castes. In a town where all the people live together, the last street is named colony street, where the lower caste people are excluded. These lower caste people are not allowed to enter the village freely even for festival-like events. Though there is an economy to buy quality food and clothing, the upper castes do not allow them to buy it. Vannar Kudi (Washermen Colony) is one such divided society. This article explains the condition of the washer people who are engaged in the business of washing

SYNTHESIS OF ACTIVATED CARBONS FROM PUTRESCIBLE SOLID WASTE FOR TREATING TEXTILE DYE EFFLUENT

In the present study an attempt has been made to compare the adsorption efficiency of activated carbons (PVW and PFW) prepared from putrescible solid waste. Methylene blue dye (MB) was selected as the model compound. Activated carbons were characterized to find their adsorption capacity. Batch mode adsorption studies were conducted to evaluate the effect of various parameters. BET surface area was found to be 603.7 and 227.3 m2g-1 for PVW and PFW respectively. The adsorption followed pseudo second order kinetics for both the adsorbents. The isotherm data concluded that the adsorption of MB onto both the adsorbents is monolayer and chemisorption in nature. The adsorbents showed a maximum desorption of 40.2% for PVW and 70.1 % for PFW. Batch mode adsorption was carried out with textile dye effluent and the results confirmed that the activated carbons can be employed as effective adsorbents for improving their quality. Â

UTILIZATION OF E-RESOURCES BY THE DISTANCE LEARNERS OF MADURAI KAMARAJ UNIVERSITY, MADURAI, TAMILNADU: A STUDY

The paper analyses awareness and usage of the E-resources by the distance learners of Madurai Kamaraj University, Madurai. The users of resources and services like the internet, IT skills in the Madurai Kamaraj University study centre, Madurai are employed for the study. A well structured questionnaire methodology is used for collecting the data from post graduate students, research scholars, faculty members and study centre in Madurai Kamaraj University at Madurai. ICT based resources and services include OPCs, CD-ROMS online database, e-journals, e-books, internet resource, print on demand (POD), e-mail publishing, wireless publishing, electronic link and web publishing etc., are the main focus of the study on contemporary elite users

Electrical and Magnetic behaviour of PrFeAsO0.8F0.2 superconductor

The superconducting and ground state samples of PrFeAsO0.8F0.2 and PrFeAsO have been synthesised via easy and versatile single step solid state reaction route. X-ray & Reitveld refine parameters of the synthesised samples are in good agreement to the earlier reported value of the structure. The ground state of the pristine compound (PrFeAsO) exhibited a metallic like step in resistivity below 150K followed by another step at 12K. The former is associated with the spin density wave (SDW) like ordering of Fe spins and later to the anomalous magnetic ordering for Pr moments. Both the resistivity anomalies are absent in case of superconducting PrFeAsO0.8F0.2 sample. Detailed high field (up to 12Tesla) electrical and magnetization measurements are carried out for superconducting PrFeAsO0.8F0.2 sample. The PrFeAsO0.8F0.2 exhibited superconducting onset (Tconset) at around 47K with Tc({\rho} =0) at 38K. Though the Tconset remains nearly invariant, the Tc({\rho} =0) is decreased with applied field, and the same is around 23K under applied field of 12Tesla. The upper critical field (Hc2) is estimated from the Ginzburg Landau equation (GL) fitting, which is found to be ~ 182Tesla. Critical current density (Jc) being calculated from high field isothermal magnetization (MH) loops with the help of Beans critical state model, is found to be of the order of 103 A/cm2. Summarily, the superconductivity characterization of single step synthesised PrFeAsO0.8F0.2 superconductor is presented.Comment: 15 Pages Text + Fig

Structural, Magnetic and Magneto-caloric studies of Ni50Mn30Sn20Shape Memory Alloy

We have synthesized a nominal composition of Ni50Mn30Sn20 alloy using arc melting technique. Rietveld refinement confirms the austenite L21 structure in Fm-3m space group. Electrical resistivity has been found to clearly exhibiting two different phenomena viz. a magnetic transition from paramagnetic to ferromagnetic and a structural transition from austenite to martensitic phase. Thermo-magnetization measurements M(T) confirms ferromagnetic transition temperature TC at 222 K and martensitic transition starting at 127 K(MS). Magnetization measurement M(H) at 10 K confirms the ferromagnetic state. Frequency dependence of ac susceptibility \c{hi}' at low temperature suggests spin glass behavior in the system. The isothermal magnetic entropy change values have been found to be 1.14 J/Kg.K, 2.69 J/Kg.K and 3.9 J/Kg.K, with refrigeration capacities of 19.6 J/kg, 37.8 J/kg and 54.6 J/kg for the field change of 1, 2 and 3 Tesla respectively at 227 K.Comment: 16 pages text + Figs. Ni50Mn30Sn20 alloy: reasonable refrigeration capacity tunable to Room

Hikami-Larkin-Nagaoka (HLN) Fitting of Magneto Transport of Bi2Se3 Single Crystal in Different Magnetic Field Ranges

We report the detailed study of structural micro-structuraland high magnetic field magneto transport propertiesof Bi2Se3single crystal. Bi2Se3 single crystal is grown through conventional solid-state reaction route via the self-flux method. Rietveld analysis on Powder X-ray Diffraction showed that the studied Bi2Se3 crystal is crystallized in single-phase without any impurity. The surface morphology analyzed through Scanning Electron Microscopy study which shows that as-grown single crystal exhibit layered type structure and the quantitative weight of the atomic constituents (Bi and Se) are found to be closeto the stoichiometric amount in energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy analysis. Low temperature (2.5K) magneto-resistance (MR) exhibited a v-type cusp around origin at lower magnetic field, which is the sign of weak anti-localization effect. Further, Bi2Se3 single crystal magneto conductivity data is fitted by well-known HLN equation in different magnetic field range of 2Tesla, 4Tesla and 6Tesla and the resultant found that the conduction mechanism of Bi2Se3 is dominated by WAL state.Comment: 4 Pages Text + Fig