On the typology and the worship status of sacred trees with a special reference to the Middle East

This article contains the reasons for the establishment of sacred trees in Israel based on a field study. It includes 97 interviews with Muslim and Druze informants. While Muslims (Arabs and Bedouins) consider sacred trees especially as an abode of righteous figures' (Wellis') souls or as having a connection to their graves, the Druze relate sacred trees especially to the events or deeds in the lives of prophets and religious leaders. A literary review shows the existence of 24 known reasons for the establishment of sacred trees worldwide, 11 of which are known in Israel one of these is reported here for the first time. We found different trends in monotheistic and polytheistic religions concerning their current worship of sacred trees

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Not AvailableSikkim lies in the eastern Himalayas between 27° to 28° North latitude and 88° to 89° east longitudes. Its North border is connecting with the vast stretch of tibetan Plateau, Nepal in the west, Bhutan and Chumbi valley of tibet in the east and Darjeeling District of west Bengal in the South. Sikkim climate varies from the Sub-tropical to the Alpine depending upon the altitude. the populace of Sikkim comprises of 14 hill tribes and many plainsmen communities. According to FIBL & IFoAM year Book 2018, India's rank 9th in terms of world's organic Agricultural land and 1st in terms of total number of producers. During 2017–18, India produced around 1.70 million MT of certified organic products which includes all varieties of food products. Sikkim has distinct advantages of continuing traditional farming and farmers have certain level of knowledge and skills for organic farming. the state possesses range of agro-climatic conditions and unique commodities indigenous to the farming viz., large cardamom, red cherry pepper, cymbidium orchids, ginger, Sikkim mandarin etc. Farmers prefer traditional varieties of crops as these are adapted to the region and superior in quality and taste. The crops are grown mostly in traditional way but farmers are now adopting improved technologies in organic farming system and thus adding value to the crops which hold the promise to become niche commodities for national and international markets.Not Availabl

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Not AvailableAgriculture and animal husbandry are the first two mainstay sub-sectors in India. However, faulty management practices, coupled with increasing human and animal population threaten livelihood and food security. The challenge of bringing in meaningful strategy and workable action plans for necessary adjustments in agricultural production systems and traditional wisdom of people keeping in view of social and developmental priorities needs to be addressed very urgently and consistently. This suggests for a revamping of existing production systems and addition of new components including fisheries-based to the existing ones. While accepting watershed as an naturally defined, but hydrologically independent unit, topographically delineated area drained at a common point by a network of channels and streams forms an ideal unit of development progress than administrative boundaries, it is also proved beyond doubt that fisheries sector plays a major role in meeting the national agenda of eradicating malnutrition, poverty, unemployment bug and ecological degradation as one of the fastest growing sectors worldwide that needs proper characterization and introduction in Integrated Watershed Management (IWM) programmes in India. Ecosystem diversity, fragility, marginality, poor accessibility, bio-diversity and cultural heritage, and heterogeneity are major issues of livelihood and resource conservation in various agro-eco-regions of India. The continued dependence of growing population on finite resources, lack of viable technologies befitting to growing demands pose threat of resource depletion and continuation of poverty. The process of industrializations and population pressure threatens streams/rivers and their environments, the major reserves of aquatic species, which require scientific care and conservative management in order to sustain their services and functions. All these bring a necessity for Watershed-based fisheries development to rationalize natural resources for social and environmental demands.Not Availabl

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Not AvailableFrontline demonstration on potato (Kufri Sindhuri) was conducted by Krishi Vigyan Kendra,East Sikkim, India. A total 158 nos. of demonstration were conducted in rice-fallow (farm-ers’ practice) at farmer’s field in nine numbers of villages during the year 2019-20. Resultsrevealed that average yield of rice and potato recorded was 2.09 t/ha and 14.13 t/ha, respec-tively. Higher system rice equivalent yield (REY) was recorded 16.22 t/ha in rice-potato and 2.1t/ha and rice-fallow system. System production efficiency (SPE) was also higher in rice-potato(62.14 kg/ha/day) as compared to rice-fallow (14.51 kg/ha/day). Land use efficiency (LUE)was recorded 71.51 % and 39.45 % in rice-potato and rice-fallow system, respectively. Netreturn was found Rs.16032/ha in rice-fallow and Rs.183952/- with rice-potato system duringthe years of demonstration. Higher benefit to cost (B: C) ratio was found 2.82:1 in rice-potatothan in rice-fallow (1.62:1) system. Economic efficiency was also recorded higher in rice -potato(704.80 Rs/ha/day) than rice-fallow (111.33 Rs/ha/day) during the demonstrated year. Hence,it may be concluded that the inclusion of potato in rice -fallow is an option for increasing theadditional income of the farmers for their livelihood improvementNot Availabl

Exploring possibilities of Potato cultivation in Rice-Fallow of Sikkim

Frontline demonstration on potato (Kufri Sindhuri) was conducted by Krishi Vigyan Kendra, East Sikkim, India. A total 158 nos. of demonstration were conducted in rice-fallow (farmers’ practice) at farmer’s field in nine numbers of villages during the year 2019-20. Results revealed that average yield of rice and potato recorded was 2.09 t/ha and 14.13 t/ha, respectively. Higher system rice equivalent yield (REY) was recorded 16.22 t/ha in rice-potato and 2.1 t/ha and rice-fallow system. System production efficiency (SPE) was also higher in rice-potato (62.14 kg/ha/day) as compared to rice-fallow (14.51 kg/ha/day). Land use efficiency (LUE) was recorded 71.51 % and 39.45 % in rice-potato and rice-fallow system, respectively. Net return was found Rs.16032/ha in rice-fallow and Rs.183952/- with rice-potato system during the years of demonstration. Higher benefit to cost (B: C) ratio was found 2.82:1 in rice-potato than in rice-fallow (1.62:1) system. Economic efficiency was also recorded higher in rice -potato (704.80 Rs/ha/day) than rice-fallow (111.33 Rs/ha/day) during the demonstrated year. Hence, it may be concluded that the inclusion of potato in rice -fallow is an option for increasing the additional income of the farmers for their livelihood improvement.</jats:p

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Not AvailableDrought is a common occurrence in Bundelkhand, a drought prone region of Central India and agriculture is the primary economic sector affected. The present study is based on the 44 years rainfall data for the period 1968 to 2011 compiled from the meteorological observatory of CSWCRTI, Research Centre, Datia, Madhya Pradesh. In the present study we have used Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) to assess the vulnerability of meteorological droughts in Bundelkhand region of India. The worst drought was observed during July, 1970 as indicated by the lowest ever SPI value of -2.48. Highest drought magnitude (5.93) has been observed during June to October 1979 with a return period of 96 years followed by May to August, 1987 with a magnitude of 3.43 and return period of 48 years. In the last decades maximum drought magnitude was observed during July–August, 1993 and in most recent past a drought magnitude of 1.59 was observed during July to October, 2009. The multi period Markov Model has been applied for prediction of occurrence of droughts in next five years in the region. Based on the drought analysis we conclude that there is a possibility of one severe drought of magnitude up to 2 within a period of 8 years. This information will be useful to agricultural planners and irrigation engineers for planning on long term drought mitigation strategy.Not Availabl