Socio-economic Dimensions of Equine-rearing in Himachal Pradesh

Since equines play an important role in the economy of Himachal Pradesh, this study has examined the growth trends in equine population and socio-economic characteristics of equine-rearers. The problems being faced have been identified and some policy recommendations have been made. It has been found that equine population had a compound growth rate of 2.57 per cent per annum during the period 1966-2003 and constituted about 1 per cent of the total livestock population in 2003. Amongst different constituents of equines, viz. horses, ponies, mules and donkeys, mules have shown the maximum rise in number. The contribution of equines has been assessed to be 40 per cent in the gross household income of rearers. A mule pair has been found to be highly profitable for load-carrying activities. Road links to the villages having modern means of transport have been perceived to be the greatest threat to equine-rearing activity, followed by its disliking by younger generations and nonavailability of locally-bred mules. The study has emphasized on increased supply of Chamurthi horses through identification of additional local breeders by adopting systematic breeding policy, particularly in the Pin Valley of Spiti area. Keeping in view the demand for mules, their breeding should be undertaken at both public and at private levels so that local-bred mules become available at affordable prices.Livestock Production/Industries,

Marketable Surplus and Price-Spread for Maize in Hamirpur District of Himachal Pradesh

A study has been conducted on the production, marketed surplus, disposal channels, margins and price-spread for maize cultivation in the Hamirpur district of Himachal Pradesh. A multi-stage stratified sampling technique has been used to select the sample of blocks (2), villages (10) and maize growers (120) for the year 2001-02. The study on factors affecting marketed surplus, and cost & margins in the marketing of maize has revealed that farm-level marketable surplus is comprised of 53.21 per cent of the total production. The practices of storing maize for sometime and selling at a later date for higher price have led to storage losses to the extent of 0.16 quintal (2.80% of marketable surplus). Much of the marketable surplus of maize (66.92%) was disposed of by a majority of farmers (74.56%) during the first quarter (October- December). Producer → Local trader → WS/ CA → Processor/ Consumer has been found as the main channel in the marketing of maize followed by about 71.93 per cent farmers, accounting for about 70 per cent of the produce. The producer’s share in consumer’s rupee has been estimated at 78.01 per cent in this channel.Agricultural and Food Policy,

Technical Efficiency in North-Western Himalayan Region: A Study of Himachal Pradesh Agriculture

The technical efficiency of Himachal farmers, studied using the frontier production function, has been found to vary widely across cereal crops in the state. It has been found that the average yield of all the major cereal crops is below the national average, except the maize crop, which has been found in surplus in the state. Maize → wheat and paddy → wheat have been noted as the major crop rotations being followed in the study area. The analysis of cross sectional data has revealed inefficiency in terms of inputs application. The mean technical efficiencies have revealed that a considerable portion of frontier output is left untapped, it is 35-42 per cent in maize, 44-50 per cent in paddy and 61-67 per cent in wheat. The ratio of marginal value productivity (MVP) and marginal factor cost (MFC) has been found to be more than one in case of 50 per cent inputs for all the crops. However, the female labour for most of the crops has values less than one and with negative signs as most of the work (agricultural operations) in the hills is being performed by women. The results have indicated that there is a scope to increase the returns from wheat production by using more farmyard manure, chemical fertilizers, male labour, female labour and bullock labour in zone I. Similarly, in the case of maize (local) in zone I, the yield could be increased by increasing the use of more of farmyard manure, chemical fertilizers, male labour and seeds. The analysis has also revealed that a majority of the farmers operate at low level of efficiency due to practising of traditional cultivation methods. It is felt that there is a need to educate females in resource management, preferably through female extension workers.Farm Management, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

Litterfall, decomposition and nutrient release patterns of different tree species in Taran Taran district of Punjab, India

The present investigation was attempted to assess the leaf litter production, decomposition rate and amount of major nutrient return in Populus deltoides, Eucalyptus tereticornis, Tectona grandis and Pyrus pyrifolia based agroforestry land use systems in Taran Taran district which falls in the north western agro-climatic zone of thePunjab state, India. The litter production in selected tree species was quantified using litter traps and decomposition pattern of leaf litter was investigated by litter bag technique. Litterfall in the selected tree species varied significantly (5 % level of significance) during different months of the study period. Among the four species, P. deltoides exhibited highest leaf litter production (7.8 tons/ha) followed by T. grandis (1.83 tons/ha) and E. tereticornis (1.77 tons/ha) whereas, lowest leaf litter production was observed in P. pyrifolia (0.34 tons/ha). The present study also showed that temperature as compared to rainfall play a significant (5 % level of significance) role in litter decomposition. In case of P. pyrifolia, P. deltoides and T. grandis decomposition take place 100 per cent, 98 per cent and 99 per cent respectively after 10 months whereas in E. tereticornis 87.7 per cent leaf decomposed after 10 months. The nutrients percentage through litter fall was maximum of nitrogen (2.27 %) followed by potassium (1.90 %) and phosphorous (0.32 %). Maximum and minimum N input through leaf litter was in P. deltoides (2.27 %) and P. pyrifolia (1.15 %). The K input (%) was maximum in leaves of T. grandis (0.32) and minimum in E. tereticornis (0.21). The maximum input of P (%) through leaf litter was in P. deltoides (1.90) whereas, minimum value was observed in E. tereticornis (1.27). Tree based agroforestry land use systems improve soil nutrient status as compared to traditional wheat and paddy based land use systems under this region of Punjab. Therefore tree based land use systems need to be promoted over the traditional field crops for realizing better environmental benefits in this region

Performance of poplar (populus deltoides bartr.) and its effect on wheat yield under agroforestry system in irrigated agro-ecosystem, India

The quantitative performance of wheat crop under 1-5 year old poplar plantations in irrigated agroecosystem was studied to ascertain the biological yield of tree and crop. Results revealed that growth and yield of wheat decreased significantly with the increase in poplar age. The per cent reduction in net grain yield was 17% under one year old poplar plantation, which increased to 52.15% under five year old plantation. The values of micro-meteorological parameters (light intensity and air temperature) were also low under plantations than in open condition and decreased with increase in plantation age. The current and mean annual increments in biomass and carbon storage curves exhibited a sharp increase of up to three years which thereafter increased with decreasing order. The carbon storage in the poplar biomass was estimated to be 34.075t/ha at the age of five years, which can be fixed as the maximum volume production rotation of this species under the prevailing conditions

Pigment Epithelium-derived Factor secreted by corneal epithelial cells regulates dendritic cell maturation in dry eye disease

Purpose: In this study, we quantify Pigment Epithelium-derived Factor (PEDF) secreted by corneal epithelial cells and evaluate its immunomodulatory functions in a murine model of dry eye disease (DED).Methods: We induced DED in female C57BL/6 mice using a controlled environment chamber for 14 days. We quantified mRNA expression of Serpinf1 gene and PEDF protein synthesis by corneal epithelial cells (CEpCs) using RT-PCR and ELISA. CEpCs from normal or DED mice were cultured with IFN gamma-stimulated-dendritic cells (DCs) for 24 h, and expression of MHC-II and CD86 by DCs was determined using flow cytometry. Next, we either added recombinant PEDF (rPEDF) or anti-PEDF antibody to co-culture, and DC expression of the above maturation markers was quantified. Lastly, we treated DED mice with either topical rPEDF, anti-PEDF Ab or murine serum albumin (MSA), and DC maturation, expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines, and DED severity were investigated.Results: Serpinf1 mRNA expression and PEDF protein production levels by CEpCs were upregulated in DED. CEpCs from DED mice exhibited an enhanced suppressive effect on the expression of MHC-II and CD86 by DCs, compared to normal mice. This effect was abolished by blocking endogenous PEDF with anti-PEDF Ab or enhanced by supplementing with rPEDF. Treatment with anti-PEDF antibody blocked the effect of endogenousPEDF and increased DC maturation, expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines in conjunctivae, and exacerbated disease severity in DED mice. Conversely, topical rPEDF enhanced the suppressive effect of endogenous PEDF on DC maturation, decreased expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines in conjunctivae, and reduced disease severity.Conclusions: The results from our study elucidate the role of PEDF in impeding DC maturation, and suppression of ocular surface inflammation, explicating a promising therapeutic potential of PEDF in limiting the corneal epitheliopathy as a consequence of DED

Restoration of regulatory T-cell function in dry eye disease by antagonizing substance P/neurokinin-1 receptor

Substance P (SP) is a tachykinin neuropeptide, implicated in the pathogenesis of various inflammatory conditions and a critical mediator in pain transmission. Recently, the role of SP was described in the pathogenesis of dry eye disease (DED) through its role in the maturation of antigen-presenting cells at the ocular surface after exposure to desiccating stress. However, the effect of SP on regulatory T cells (Tregs), which are functionally impaired in DED, remains unclear. This study examined the phenotypic and functional changes in Tregs in response to SP in DED. The in vitro cultures of normal Tregs in the presence of SP led to a significant reduction in both Treg frequencies and their suppressive function, which was prevented by the addition of an SP receptor (neurokinin-1 receptor) antagonist. Furthermore, in vivo treatment with the neurokinin-1 receptor antagonist in DED mice effectively restored Treg function, suppressed pathogenic T helper 17 response, and significantly ameliorated the disease. Our results show that a significant increase in SP levels promotes Treg dysfunction in DED, and blockade of SP effectively restores Treg function and suppresses DED severity

Theoretical study of lepton events in the atmospheric neutrino experiments at SuperK

Super-Kamiokande has reported the results for the lepton events in the atmospheric neutrino experiment. These results have been presented for a 22.5kT water fiducial mass on an exposure of 1489 days, and the events are divided into sub-GeV, multi-GeV and PC events. We present a study of nuclear medium effects in the sub-GeV energy region of atmospheric neutrino events for the quasielastic scattering, incoherent and coherent pion production processes, as they give the most dominant contribution to the lepton events in this energy region. We have used the atmospheric neutrino flux given by Honda et al. These calculations have been done in the local density approximation. We take into account the effect of Pauli blocking, Fermi motion, Coulomb effect, renormalization of weak transition strengths in the nuclear medium in the case of the quasielastic reactions. The inelastic reactions leading to production of leptons along with pions is calculated in a $\Delta$- dominance model by taking into account the renormalization of $\Delta$ properties in the nuclear medium and the final state interaction effects of the outgoing pions with the residual nucleus. We present the results for the lepton events obtained in our model with and without nuclear medium effects, and compare them with the Monte Carlo predictions used in the simulation and the experimentally observed events reported by the Super-Kamiokande collaboration.Comment: 23 pages, 13 figure