Ethnomedicinal Plants Used in the Health Care System: Survey of the Mid Hills of Solan District, Himachal Pradesh, India

The study was performed in the mid hills of the Dharampur region in Solan district of Himachal Pradesh, India. At the study site, a total of 115 medicinal plants were documented (38 trees, 37 herbs, 34 shrubs, 5 climbers, 1 fern, and 1 grass). In the study region, extensive field surveys were performed between March 2020 and August 2021. Indigenous knowledge of wild medicinal plants was collected through questionnaires, discussions, and personal interviews during field trips. Plants with their correct nomenclature were arranged by botanical name, family, common name, habitat, parts used, routes used, and diseases treated. In the present study, the predominant family was Rosaceae, which represented the maximum number of plant species, 10, followed by Asteraceae and Lamiaceae, which represented 8 plant species. The rural inhabitants of the Dharampur region in the Solan district have been using local plants for primary health care and the treatment of various diseases for a longer time. However, information related to the traditional knowledge of medicinal plants was not documented. The rural inhabitants of the Dharampur region reported that the new generation is not so interested in traditional knowledge of medicinal plants due to modernization in society, so there is an urgent need to document ethnomedicinal plants before such knowledge becomes inaccessible and extinct

Competitive Adsorption of Arsenic and Fluoride onto Economically Prepared Aluminum Oxide/Hydroxide Nanoparticles: Multicomponent Isotherms and Spent Adsorbent Management

The present study deals with adsorptive removal of arsenic and fluoride in single as well as bicomponent system using aluminum oxide/hydroxide nanoparticles (AHNP). For single component system, the Langmuir maximum adsorption capacity of the adsorbent is found as 833.33 μg/g for arsenic and 2000 μg/g for fluoride at optimum conditions. The adsorption process is well explained by Langmuir isotherm and pseudo-second-order kinetic models for both arsenic and fluoride. A real groundwater sample, having arsenic 512 μg/L and fluoride 6300 μg/L along with other ions, has also been treated successfully. Among different isotherms, the modified competitive Langmuir isotherm is found to be most suitable to represent the bicomponent system. Solidification of the spent adsorbent through brick formation is investigated, and this process is found to be an effective option for its management. Through economic evaluation, the adsorbent and treatment costs are found as ∼86.89 INR/kg and 0.36 INR/L, respectively

Efficient Nutrient Management Practices for Sustaining Soil Health and Improving Rice-Wheat Productivity: A Review

The challenge that the world is facing has been to maximize food production to feed the increasing population. Further, agriculture at present encompasses many problems such as stagnating food-grain production, multi-nutrient deficiency, declining fertilizer response, reduction in land availability for cultivation, environmental pollution and land degradation. To manage long term soil fertility, productivity as well as environment quality, efficient nutrient management practices integration can be the most sustainable practices to adopt. Among plant nutrients, nitrogen (N) is the most important. Its importance as a growth- and yield-determining nutrient has led to large and rapid increases in N application rates, but often with poor use efficiency. Nitrogen management requires special attention in its use so that the large losses can be minimized and the efficiency maximized. Site-specific nutrient management (SSNM) has been found especially useful to achieve the goals of improved productivity and higher N use efficiency (NUE). Leaf color charts and chlorophyll meters assist in the prediction of crop N needs for rice and wheat, leading to greater N-fertilizer efficiency at various yield levels. Remote sensing tools are also used to predict crop N demands precisely. At the same time, traditional techniques like balanced fertilization, integrated N management (INM), split application and nutrient budgeting, among others, are also used to supplement recent N management techniques to attain higher productivity and NUE, and reduce environmental pollution through the leakage of fertilizer N.This will definitely enhance the productivity of rice and wheat crops by improving soil fertility and ameliorating adverse soil physical conditions. This paper reviews the effect of efficient nutrient management practices on sustaining soil health improving the productivity of Rice-wheat cropping sequence

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Not AvailableThe challenge that the world is facing has been to maximize food production to feed the increasing population. Further, agriculture at present encompasses many problems such as stagnating food-grain production, multi-nutrient deficiency, declining fertilizer response, reduction in land availability for cultivation, environmental pollution and land degradation. To manage long term soil fertility, productivity as well as environment quality, efficient nutrient management practices integration can be the most sustainable practices to adopt. Among plant nutrients, nitrogen (N) is the most important. Its importance as a growth- and yield-determining nutrient has led to large and rapid increases in N application rates, but often with poor use efficiency. Nitrogen management requires special attention in its use so that the large losses can be minimized and the efficiency maximized. Site-specific nutrient management (SSNM) has been found especially useful to achieve the goals of improved productivity and higher N use efficiency (NUE). Leaf color charts and chlorophyll meters assist in the prediction of crop N needs for rice and wheat, leading to greater N-fertilizer efficiency at various yield levels. Remote sensing tools are also used to predict crop N demands precisely. At the same time, traditional techniques like balanced fertilization, integrated N management (INM), split application and nutrient budgeting, among others, are also used to supplement recent N management techniques to attain higher productivity and NUE, and reduce environmental pollution through the leakage of fertilizer N.This will definitely enhance the productivity of rice and wheat crops by improving soil fertility and ameliorating adverse soil physical conditions. This paper reviews the effect of efficient nutrient management practices on sustaining soil health improving the productivity of Rice-wheat cropping sequence.Not Availabl

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Not AvailableThe study aims to elucidate the impact of organic inputs on strength and structural stability of aggregates in a sandy loam soil of Indo-Gangetic Plain Zone of India. Tensile strength, friability and water stability of aggregates, and the carbon contents in bulk soil and in large macro (>2 mm), small macro (0.25-2 mm), micro (0.053-0.25 mm) and silt+ clay size (<0.053) The aggregate were evaluated in soils with different sources and amounts of organic C inputs as partial substitution of N fertilizer. Addition of organic substrates significantly improved soil organic C contents, but the type and source of input had different impacts. Tensile strength of aggregates decreased and friability increased through organic inputs, with a maximum effect under rice residue-farmyard manure and wheat residue substitution.The aggregate strength and density were lower with organic substitution (p < 0.05) while water retention by aggregates at field capacity was 2–4% higher with organic inputs. Macro-aggregates (>0.25 mm) constituted 58–92% of water stable aggregates and varied significantly among treatments and soil depths. Organic material incorporation improved soil aggregation and structural stability and resulted in higher C content in macro-aggregates. Higher macro-aggregates in the crop residue- and farmyard manure-treated soils resulted in a higher aggregate mean weight diameter, which also had higher soil organic C contents. The bulk soil organic C had a strong relation with the mean weight diameter of aggregates, but the soil organic c content in all aggregate fractions was not necessarily effective for aggregate stability. The soil organic C content in large macro-aggregates (2-8mm) had a significant positive effect on aggregate stability, although a reverse effect was observed for aggregates<0.25 mm. Partial substitution of nitrogen by organic substrates improved aggregate properties and the soil organic C content in bulk soil and aggregate fractions, although the relative effect varied with the source and amount of the organic inputsNot Availabl