Rainfed agriculture: unlocking the potential

Rainfed farming / Soil degradation / Crop production / Climate change / Irrigation methods / Water harvesting / Yield gap / Models / Supplemental irrigation / Water productivity / Watershed management / India

Effect of incorporation levels of oat and green pea flour on the properties of an extruded product and their optimization

An extruded product was made based on oats and dried green pea using central composite rotatable design. Effects of incorporation level of oat flour (OF, 15.86 to 44.14%) and dried green pea flour (DGPF, 7.93 to 22.07%) on the physical and functional characteristics of extruded products based on composite flour were studied using response surface methodology. Second order polynomial equation was used to describe the effect of OF and DGPF on lateral expansion (LE), bulk density (BD), water solubility index (WSI), water absorption index (WAI), and hardness (HD). Results indicated that OF had negative effect on LE, while positive effect on BD, WSI, WAI, and HD. On increasing DGPF, LE and WSI increased, but it had negative effect on BD, WAI, and HD. Numerical optimization resulted in 41.91% OF and 7.93% DGPF to produce acceptable extrudates. The results suggest that oats and dried green pea flour can be extruded with rice flour and corn flour into an acceptable snack food

Quantification of yield gaps in rain-fed rice, wheat, cotton and mustard in India

Rainfed farming / Crop yield / Simulation / Rice / Wheat / Cotton / Mustard / India

Urological implications associated with the use of recreational drugs: A narrative review

About 275 million people worldwide aged between 15 and 64 years used drugs at least once since 2016. Initial estimations suggest that 13.8 million young people between 15 and 16 years used cannabis every year. Recreational drug use contributes significantly to mortality as well as physical and mental health problems. A number of urological complications can arise from the use of common and emerging recreational drugs which can present as wide spectrum affecting lower and upper urinary tracts, kidneys, sexual organs as well as sexual dysfunction. In order to effectively manage these issues, urologists need to be cognizant of these complications in their patients, particularly among youths. This review attempted to consolidate available data and provide insight into this issue; however, further population-based epidemiological studies are needed to provide necessary guidelines

Strengthening Food Security through Technologies

Securing food for 1.35 billion Indians and doubling the income of farmers by 2022, as stated by the government, are challenging tasks. India’s performance is below average in all three aspects of food security: availability, affordability, and quality and safety. It is an irony that the nation with largest cultivable land in the world (142 million ha) is facing food insecurity in spite of wide agro-ecoregions that enable cultivation of land even for three seasons in the large area. A large population (58%) depends on agriculture for its livelihood but the contribution of this sector to country's gross domestic product (GDP) has declined continuously since 1950 and was 15% in 2018. Although, the country has transformed itself from dependency on imports to selfsufficiency still the challenge is to remove the farm distress in the country. Current farmers’ field yields are lower by two to four folds than the achievable potential. In addition, the value realisation from the market is 30 to 35% only. This is because 59 % of the farmers in India do not get essential information from any agency. The major hurdles for achieving the goals set by the government are low investment in agricultural technologies, low adoption of key technologies by the farmers largely due to lack of knowledge/information, poor physical infrastructure, and involvement of large number of intermediaries in the value chains. Lack of awareness among farmers about good agricultural management practices is a key factor for stagnant productivity levels. The mind-set of all actors involved in agriculture needs to change so that they work collectively as a team instead of working independently in silos if the agrarian situation is to be transformed

Biotoxic effects of the herbicides on growth, seed yield, and grain protein of greengram

We studied the effects of atrazine, isoproturon, metribuzin and sulfosulfuron on plant vigour, nodulation, chlorophyll content, seed yield and protein content in seeds, in greengram inoculated with Bradyrhizobium sp. (vigna). The pre-emergence application of the four herbicides at 400 µg kg-1 of soil adversely affected the measured parameters. The average maximum increase of 10 % in seed yield occurred at 200 µg kg-1 of sulfosulfuron, while atrazine at 200 and 400 µg kg-1 of soil decreased the seed yield by 25 % and 40%, respectively. The average maximum chlorophyll content of 1.2 mg g-1 was obtained at 200 µg kg-1 of sulfosulfuron which declined consistently for all herbicides and increasing dose rates. Sulfosulfuron at 200 µg kg-1 increased the number of nodules found per plant by 7 % at 45 days after seeding the greengram. In contrast, the tested dose rates of atrazine, isoproturon and metribuzin significantly reduced the nodulation (nodule number and dry mass). The average maximum grain protein of 182 mg g-1 was obtained for sulfosulfuron at 400 µg kg-1, while minimum grain protein was obtained at 400 µg kg-1- of isoproturon (124 mg g-1) and atrazine (125 mg g-1) application. Among the herbicides tested, atrazine and metribuzin showed a large degree of phytotoxicity to the crop, inhibiting its vegetative growth and was thus incompatible with greengram. Journal of Applied Sciences and Environmental Management Vol. 10(3) 2006: 141-14

The acceptability of HIV testing among women receiving post abortion care

Introduction: In South Sudan few women have heard about the HIV. The prevalence of HIV infection in the country is 2.6%. Post abortion care (PAC) accounts for over 50% of all gynaecological admissions at the Juba Teaching Hospital (JTH). HIV testing is not routinely offered as part of PAC services.Objective: To determine factors associated with acceptability of HIV testing among women receiving PAC at JTH.Methods: This was a cross-sectional study, conducted at the Gynaecological Unit of JTH. Three hundred and forty patients were interviewed using a structured questionnaire.Results: The mean age of the participants was 24.7 years with 50.5% aged <25years, 31.5% were employed, and 31.8% had no formal education. Acceptability of HIV testing was 70.9% and the prevalence of HIV was 2.7%. The most common reason for not accepting, was the belief, based on previous results, that they were HIV negative. Patients aged ≥25 years and those with primary and secondary education were twice as likely to accept HIV testing than those <25 years and those with no formal education, respectively. Employment status, religion and marital status were not statistically associated with acceptability of HIV testing. Patients previously tested for HIV were more likely to accept testing.Conclusion: Routine HIV testing should be integrated into PAC services with efforts to increase awareness of HIV and importance of testingKeywords: HIV, abortion, post-abortion care, South SudanSouth Sudan Medical Journal Vol 12 No 3 August 201

Chorioangioma with pre-eclampsia and IUGR: a case report

Chorioangioma is a non-trophoblastic benign tumour of the placenta, arising from the primitive chorionic mesenchyme with an estimated incidence of 0.6% diagnosed antenatal on ultrasound imaging. Small chorioangiomas are often asymptomatic with a frequency of about 1%, giant chorioangiomas more than >5 cm in diameter, are rare seen in 1:3500 to 1:16000 births and are associated with maternal and fetal complications. We report a case of 23-year-old, primigravida 36.4 weeks of gestation with pre-eclampsia with asymmetrical intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), ultrasound suggestive of large placental chorioangioma 8×6.8 cm. This patient despite having large tumour and being diagnosed late at 35 weeks had a favourable maternal and fetal outcome. Histopathology confirmed the diagnosis

Big change with small doses

At times big changes require small interventions. The application of small doses of deficient microelements boron and sulphur to the soil in the watersheds being developed by ICRISAT has resulted in significant increase in crop productivity. The success was achieved in the watershed projects being implemented by an ICRISAT-led consortium of institutions in Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan in India. The Andhra Pradesh project is being implemented under the Andhra Pradesh Rural Livelihood Programme (APRLP) of the state government. The Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan projects are implemented under the Sir Dorabjee Tata Trust

Grey to green – literally

Rajasthan in western India. Images that come to mind are those of camels stretching their legs over desert sand, hot, dry and rocky land, thirsty underfed livestock, and villagers wearing brilliant colors to offset their drab surroundings. This is just imagination one might argue, but it takes even more imagination to picture this landscape with green meadows, shady trees, and cool spots where the Nilgai (blue bull) rests...........