Nurse telephone triage in out of hours primary care: a pilot study

No description supplie

Diversification of coconut based farming system through community based organizations for income generation and sustaining productivity

Community based organizations (CBO) were formed in three coconut growing areas in Kerala during 2005-2008 and through farmer participatory process, various technological interventions for diversification of cropping system appropriate to the local community as well as subsidiary enterprises were taken up for income generation. The interventions included (a)intercropping with various crop species (cash and food security crops) aiming at year round farm income, (b) subsidiary enterprise comprising of animal husbandry component, (c) product diversification and value addition of coconut and intercrops as well as, (d) recycling of waste biomass through vermicomposting. The project not only brought out significant change in area put under crop diversification by way of inter/mixed cropping, but also in the average income derived from such farming system. Significant improvement in income was achieved through crop and enterprise diversification. While inclusion of various intercrops improved the share by 83 per cent compared to the income from coconut alone, it was up by 195 per cent when subsidiary enterprises like rearing of live stock and value addition were also considered, thus indicating the sustainability of crop and enterprise diversification in the project areas. The significant reduction in the value of Herfindahl Index, a measure of diversification, from 0.70 to 0.57 signified the improvement in the extent of diversification in various CBOs. Diversification of crops and adoption of coconut-based subsidiary enterprises through CBOs were found to be ideal strategies for sustaining productivity and rural upliftment in terms of income generation

Antagonistic activity of coconut rhizospheric and endophytic Bacillus spp. against Ganoderma applanatum and Thielaviopsis paradoxa

A screening study was carried out to detect the antagonistic potential of Bacillus spp. against Ganoderma applanatum and Thielaviopsis paradoxa, fungal pathogens of coconut. A total of 327 heat resistant, endospore producing bacilli were isolated from the rhizospheric soil and roots of coconut growing in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra. All the isolates were tested for antifungal activity against G. applanatum and T. paradoxa by dual cultural technique on nutrient agar medium. The zone of inhibition was measured and percentage of inhibition was calculated. More than 90 % of the rhizospheric and root endophytic isolates were found to effectively inhibit the mycelial growth of G. applanatum, with a maximum inhibition zone of 12 mm and percentage inhibition ranging from 44 to 91. About 86 % of the isolates inhibited the mycelial growth of T. paradoxa, with a maximum inhibition zone of 14 mm and percentage inhibition ranging from 42 to 93. Further tests of potent antagonists revealed that more than one mode of mechanisms like production of chitinase, siderophores, HCN, antibiotics, ammonia, β-1,3- glucanase and salicylic acid may be involved in the antagonistic activities. The results of this study revealed 13 Bacillus spp. having potential for use as biocontrol agents against G. applanatum and T. paradoxa, fungal pathogens of coconut

In vitro antagonism of rhizospheric fluorescent pseudomonads of coconut against Ganoderma applanatum and Thielaviopsis paradoxa, fungal pathogens of coconut

A total of 156 fluorescent pseudomonads were tested for antagonistic activity towards G. applanatum and T. paradoxa in a dual-plate assay on King’s B agar plates. Eight percent of the total fluorescent pseudomonads showed antagonism towards G. applanatum (inhibition ranging from 39% to 73%) and 16% of the isolates inhibited T. paradoxa in the range of 20% - 76%. Moreover, eight percent of the fluorescent pseudomonads significantly inhibited both pathogens tested. They were found to possess some important biocontrol traits such as HCN, siderophores, ammonia and antibiotics. Among them fluorescent Pseudomonas spp. KiSF 17 and KiSF 16 exhibited strong antagonistic activity. They were identified as P. aeruginosa by Biolog® GEN III microplate identification system and confirmed by 16S rDNA sequencing. The present studies revealed the survival of useful bacterial antagonists in the rhizosphere of coconut palm, which have the potential to be used as a biocontrol agent