Sustainable Urban Development: Bioregionalistic Vision for Small Towns

Cities and towns are the social constructs in regional settings. They physically manifest and exist as power centres through various layers of culture, economy, politics, and religion. There was a symbiotic relationship between the ‘setting’ and the ‘construct’ in the past. With time and advent of technology, haphazard developments led to degradation of ecological systems and have become a confronted affair. Global warming, its adverse effects and the constant references to the words ‘sustainability’ and ‘resilience’ pose questions on the existing planning models. Small towns experiencing a tremendous pressure of urbanisation and rich in natural resources, coherence and identity are fast changing. An indispensable change in the planning models is necessary to mitigate this existential crisis and condition the emerging urbanism in small towns sustainably. This paper unearths the role and possibilities of bioregional planning as a sustainable urban development paradigm and suggests few indicative parameters for envisioning bioregionalism in small towns

Enhancement of Shelf-Life of Tomatoes Using Herbal Extracts

A study was taken up to enhance the shelf life of tomatoes by using Garlic (Allium sativam Linn) and Ginger (Zingiber officinale Rose) extracts at different concentrations viz, 1%, 5% and 10%. Tomatoes keeping quality was improved by spraying 10% garlic and ginger extracts, which reduced the spoilage, physiological loss and microbial load on the surface of the fruits. Among these, 10% garlic extract was more efficient in controlling spoilage microorganisms, enhancing shelf life and redicing physiological weight loss.   This study revealed the possibility of utilization of Garlic (Allium sativam Linn) and Ginger (Zingiber officinale Rose) extracts to enhance the keeping quality of tomatoes

Successful outcome of a triplet pregnancy following laparoscopic myomectomy for infertility: a unique case report

Infertility is a burning problem affecting 10-15% of the couples globally. The female factors contribute to about 40- 45% among which uterine factor is up to 10%. Presence of uterine myomas also significantly contribute to infertility. A conservative surgical approach like myomectomy is indicated for women in reproductive age both for psychological reasons as well as to preserve their reproductive potential. In recent years laparoscopic myomectomy (LM) has become the procedure of choice. Pregnancy outcome after myomectomy is a more significant concern especially with regard to the obstetric calamity of sudden uterine rupture due to the presence of an operative scar. The intensity of such complication will be considerably high when a triplet pregnancy occurs with a LM scar in the upper uterine segment with history of uterine cavity being opened during the myomectomy surgery. Managing such a case will be a difficult task to the attending clinician posing many unexpected clinical dilemmas. We are reporting a unique case of triplet pregnancy occurred following a LM resulting in successful maternal and fetal outcome. During the course of this pregnancy apart from considerable maternal distress due to uterine over distension many clinical problems like cervical insufficiency, pre eclampsia, polyhydraminos, intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) and last but not the least severe postpartum haemorrhage (PPH) have been encountered and could be managed efficiently. An elective Caesarean section was performed at 33+4 weeks gestation delivering live triplets. Mother and all the three babies discharged from the hospital in good condition

Growth Response of Amaranthus gangeticus to Azotobacter chroococcum Isolated from Different Agroclimatic Zones of Karnataka

In the present study Azotobacter chroococcum was isolated from various agro climatic zones of Karnataka. The effect of A. chroococcum isolates on seed germination of Amaranthus.gangeticus was studied and also the effect of A.chroococcum isolates on growth, biomass and nutrient content of Amaranthus gangeticus was studied under green house conditions. In seed germination studies the length of plumule and radicle was higher with inoculation of A. chroococcum isolates than uninoculated control plants. Treatments of A.chroococcum isolates from ten different zones of Karnataka were given to seedlings of Amaranthus gangeticus to study plant growth parameters such as plant height, number of leaves, number of branches, root length, shoot and root fresh and dry weight and nutrient uptake. Plants inoculated with Azotobacter isolates performed well when compared to uninoculated control plants. In Biochemical analysis chlorophyll content, nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium content was higher when compared to uninoculated control plants. The results of these experiments concluded that plants inoculated with Azotobacter isolates showed better growth response, biomass yield and nutrient content when compared with uninoculated control plants. Hence plants inoculated with A.chroococcum isolates were found to enhance the plant growth, biomass and nutrient content

Validation of organic management in cassava intercropped in coconut plantation in the humid coastal tropics of Kerala, India

Crop diversification and alternatives like organic farming assume importance for sustainable food production, especially during climate change. Besides, organic farming enables environmentally benign and clean food production. Cassava, an important food-cum-nutritional security crop with diversified uses in feed and industrial sectors, is a common intercrop in coconut plantations. On-station field experiments at ICAR-Central Tuber Crops Research Institute (ICAR-CTCRI), Thiruvananthapuram conclusively proved that organic management promoted productivity, tuber quality and soil properties in cassava. Cost-effective technologies were also developed, which required large scale field validation. Hence, a field experiment was conducted under Network Project on Organic Horticulture during 2015-2017 at the Research Farm, ICAR-Central Plantation Crops Research Institute, Kasaragod, to validate the ICAR-CTCRI developed organic farming technologies in cassava under intercropping in an organically raised mature coconut garden. Three varieties of cassava (Sree Vijaya, Vellayani Hraswa and H-165) were tested under four production systems viz., traditional, conventional, integrated and organic, and replicated thrice in split-plot design in a 48-year-old coconut (var. Kera Keralam) garden. Organic and conventional practices were equally efficient in crop growth, yield, tuber quality and soil chemical properties. Averaging over the years, yield under organic management was 76 per cent of conventional farming. The domestic and industrial varieties of cassava performed similarly under the different production systems, with almost the same yield reduction (24%) under organic over conventional management. The organic technology package comprising farmyard manure, green manure cowpea, cassava crop residue and biofertilizers, resulted in significantly higher available N in soil and improvement in P, K, Mg, Mn and Zn contents in cassava tubers. However, cassava var. Vellayani Hraswa under an integrated production system resulted in the highest net income (` 1,97,830 ha-1) and B:C ratio (1.99) when intercropped in coconut