Sustainable Market Development for Non Timber Forest Products in Pakistan

Non timber forest products (NTFPs) consist of goods of biological origin other than timber. Pakistan has great diversity in its relief feature, giving arise to unique floral compositions. 80% of the forest dwellers are dependent on NTFPs in one way or the other due to poverty. Forest dwellers rely on their indigenous knowledge for collecting, processing, packing, drying, marketing and consumption of various NTFPs. Some of the important NTFPs produced in Pakistan are: morels, honey, fruits and nuts, vegetable, condiments and spices, mazri palm, silk cocoon, and many others. 131 species are reported during the study. About 34% of local people are dependent on NTFPs for income generation. The prices and production of many NTFPs are fluctuating in different years. Some of NTFPs are exported, earning valuable foreign exchange like chalghoza, morels, walnuts etc. There was an export of 1384.72 million in 1999-00. These products, after collection and processing, are sold to the middleman who than sells into main market. 65% of the product is lost during the way to final product. The study reveals present situation of trade and marketing of NTFPs and future guidelines for proper planning and management

الجملة الإسمية في شعر " بانت سعاد " لكعب بن زهير بن أبي سلمى

مستخلص البحث: فإن شعر بنات سعاد لكعب بن زهير بن أبي سلمى من أمتع الشعر في عصر الرسول صلى الله عليه وسلم لأنه اول المدح من قريش وتأثر من بعده قرونا أجيال بعد أجيال وهو مؤثر في بردة الإمام البشري. اهتم الباحث هنا البحث  من ناحية الجملة الإسمية. استخدم الباحث في هذا البحث المنهج الوصفي الكيفي بنوع الدراسة المكتبية (Library Research)، ومصادر البحث في هذا البحث جمع الكتب والبحث التي تتعلق بالجملة الإسمية . أما نتائج البحث التي حصلها الباحث في هذا البحث فهي: أن الجملة الإسمية في شعر " بنات سعاد " 23 من تركيب المبتداء والخبر ظاهرا كان أو مضمرا، وفي بعض الشعر هناك خبر كان الذي بني بالضم لتفاوق الشعر .  وأما من حيث الإعراب أكثرها من الإسم الظاهر ويتكون من العوامل النواسخ التي دخلت المبتداء والخبر مثل كان وأخواتها وإن وأخواتها وظن وأخواتها.   الكلمات المفتاحية: الشعر, الجملة, الإسمية, بانت سعاد     Abstract: The poetry of “Banat Suad” by Ka’ab bin Zuhair bin Abi Salma is one of the most interesting poetry in the era of the Messenger, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him, because it was the first to be praised by the Quraysh, and it was influenced by him for centuries after generations, and it is influential in the apostasy of the human Imam. The researcher here focused on the research in terms of the nominal sentence. In this research, the researcher used the qualitative descriptive approach by the type of library research, and the sources of research in this research are the collection of books and research related to the nominal sentence. The results of the research obtained by the researcher in this research are: The nominal sentence in the poetry of “Banat Su’ad” 23 is from the structure of the beginner and the predicate, whether apparent or implied, and in some poetry there is a predicate that was built with inclusion to transcend the poetry. In terms of syntax, most of them are from the apparent noun, and it consists of the transcriber factors that entered the beginner and the predicate, such as Kaan and her sisters, An and her sisters, and Thought and her sisters. Keywords: Poetry, Banat Sua’d, Ka’ab bin Zuhair bin Abi Salm

The phytomicrobiome: solving plant stress tolerance under climate change

With extraordinary global climate changes, increased episodes of extreme conditions result in continuous but complex interaction of environmental variables with plant life. Exploring natural phytomicrobiome species can provide a crucial resource of beneficial microbes that can improve plant growth and productivity through nutrient uptake, secondary metabolite production, and resistance against pathogenicity and abiotic stresses. The phytomicrobiome composition, diversity, and function strongly depend on the plant’s genotype and climatic conditions. Currently, most studies have focused on elucidating microbial community abundance and diversity in the phytomicrobiome, covering bacterial communities. However, least is known about understanding the holistic phytomicrobiome composition and how they interact and function in stress conditions. This review identifies several gaps and essential questions that could enhance understanding of the complex interaction of microbiome, plant, and climate change. Utilizing eco-friendly approaches of naturally occurring synthetic microbial communities that enhance plant stress tolerance and leave fewer carbon-foot prints has been emphasized. However, understanding the mechanisms involved in stress signaling and responses by phytomicrobiome species under spatial and temporal climate changes is extremely important. Furthermore, the bacterial and fungal biome have been studied extensively, but the holistic interactome with archaea, viruses, oomycetes, protozoa, algae, and nematodes has seldom been studied. The inter-kingdom diversity, function, and potential role in improving environmental stress responses of plants are considerably important. In addition, much remains to be understood across organismal and ecosystem-level responses under dynamic and complex climate change conditions

Potential and Market Status of Mushrooms as Non-Timber Forest Products in Pakistan

The total area covered by forest in Pakistan is 4.8%. Forest resources directly contribute to 80% of livelihood of people living in extreme poverty. Important NTFPs are; morels, honey, fruits and nuts, vegetable, condiments and spices, mazri palm, silk cocoon, and many other. 17 species of mushrooms are reported during the study and about 34% of local people are dependent on NTFPs for income generation from these products. Local people rely on their indigenous knowledge for collection, processing, packing, drying, marketing and consumption of various Non Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) especially mushrooms. Mushrooms, after collection and processing are sold to the middleman who then sells into main market. More than 65% of the product is lost during the way to main market with finished product. About 532280 kg were produced in 1997-98. There are problems like lack of awareness about collection and processing of various products and knowledge about marketing among local collectors. Extensive research is needed to study market trends and monopolies, wastage and unsustainability during different steps of processing, and govt. attitude toward NTFPs etc. Studies to be conducted through bottom-up approach for proper planning, better levels of production, sustainable income through sustainable utilization, training and capacity building of related personals, sustainable marketing and community for conservation

Potential and Market Status of Mushrooms as Non-Timber Forest Products in Pakistan

The total area covered by forest in Pakistan is 4.8%. Forest resources directly contribute to 80% of livelihood of people living in extreme poverty. Important Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) are: morels, honey, fruits and nuts, vegetable, condiments and spices, mazri palm, silk cocoon, and many other. 17 species of mushrooms are reported during the study and about 34% of local people are dependent on NTFPs for income generation from these products. Local people rely on their indigenous knowledge for collection, processing, packing, drying, marketing and consumption of various NTFPs, especially mushrooms. Mushrooms, after collection and processing, are sold to the middleman who then sells into main market. More than 65% of the product is lost during the way to main market with finished product. About 532,280 kg were produced in 1997-98. There are problems like lack of awareness about collection and processing of various products and knowledge about marketing among local collectors. Extensive research is needed to study market trends and monopolies, wastage and unsustainability during different steps of processing, and govt. attitude toward NTFPs, etc. Studies to be conducted through bottom-up approach for proper planning, better levels of production, sustainable income through sustainable utilization, training and capacity building of related personnel, sustainable marketing and community for conservation

MATERNAL WELL-BEING THERAPY IN TREATING DEPRESSION IN JOHOR CITY OF MALAYSIA

Maternal depression during pregnancy appears to be the most common and complicated psychological disorder in the world. Although maternal depression can be treated medically, consumption of antidepressant drugs could leave some kind of negative side effects on mother’s body and the baby in the womb. Therefore, the purpose of the current study is to determine the effectiveness of Maternal Well-being Therapy (MWT) in treating women with maternal depression. It is a qualitative study adapting case study research design. From the state of Johor city of Malaysia, four pregnant women who has scored 12 or more with suicidal thoughts symptoms on EPDS are identified and all the other volunteered women are at 3rd Tri-semester of pregnancy during the first session. Instrument such as Edinburg Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), Short Form 36-Item Health Survey (SF-36) and Maternal Well-being Therapy (MWT) was administrated in this research. Maternal Well-being Therapy has been very effective in treating women with maternal depression and suicidal thoughts. Results indicates that depression level has decreased from 33.33% to 43.33%, well-being has increased around 36% to 52% and no suicidal thoughts found after the first session of counselling. By the end of third session, all clients were ready for termination of sessions since no depression and suicidal thoughts traced, in which, all the women found to be with good emotional well-being. Maternal Well-being Therapy (MWT) has shown a favourable result in treating woman with maternal depression. In conjunction to this, more research should be done using counselling therapy as a treatment option in treating maternal depression

Unraveling the chloroplast genomes of two Prosopis species to identify its genomic information, comparative analyses and phylogenetic relationship

Genus Prosopis (family Fabaceae) are shrubby trees, native to arid and semi-arid regions of Asia, Africa, and America and known for nitrogen fixation. Here, we have sequenced the complete chloroplast (cp) genomes of two Prosopis species (P. juliflora and P. cineraria) and compared them with previously sequenced P. glandulosa, Adenanthera microsperma, and Parkia javanica belonging to the same family. The complete genome sequences of Prosopis species and related species ranged from 159,389 bp (A. microsperma) to 163,677 bp (P. cineraria). The overall GC contents of the genomes were almost the similar (35.9–36.6%). The P. juliflora and P. cineraria genomes encoded 132 and 131 genes, respectively, whereas both the species comprised of 85 protein-coding genes higher than other compared species. About 140, 134, and 129 repeats were identified in P. juliflora, P. cineraria and P. glandulosa cp genomes, respectively. Similarly, the maximum number of simple sequence repeats were determined in P. juliflora (88), P. cineraria (84), and P. glandulosa (78). Moreover, complete cp genome comparison determined a high degree of sequence similarity among P. juliflora, P. cineraria, and P. glandulosa, however some divergence in the intergenic spacers of A. microsperma and Parkia javanica were observed. The phylogenetic analysis showed that P. juliflora is closer to P. cineraria than P. glandulosa.publishedVersio

Impact of GnRH Agonists and GnRH Antagonists on Embryo Quality, Endometrial Thickness and Pregnancy Rate in In-vitro Fertilization

Objective: To compare the effects of GnRH agonists (long protocol) and GnRH antagonists (short protocol) on embryo quality, endometrial thickness (ET) and pregnancy rate in human in vitro fertilization (IVF). Subjects & Methods: In this quasi experimental study 237 patients underwent short protocol and 175 long protocol of IVF. hCG was administrated when 2 or more follicles reached the size of 18mm. After 34-36 hours’ oocytes were retrieved transvaginally. ET was carried out after 3-5 days under ultrasound guidance. Rising β-hCG concentration confirmed the diagnosis of pregnancy. Results: There was no significant difference in proportion of primary and secondary sub fertility between the two groups. Regarding female age, embryo quality and endometrial thickness no significant difference was found between two groups. Number of attempts, no of oocytes, fertilization & cleavage rate, maturation of oocytes and embryos transferred were significantly associated with both long and short protocols. Conclusion: Ongoing research in assisted reproductive technology has identified some issues which are important from the patient point of view such as ovarian hyper stimulation and safe successful pregnancy. This study shows that pregnancy rate is better with long protocol but that is not statistically significant. More studies should be designed with increase power for suitable comparison of long GnRH agonist protocols with short GnRH antagonist protocols.&nbsp

Complete chloroplast genomes of Vachellia nilotica and Senegalia senegal : Comparative genomics and phylogenomic placement in a new generic system

Vachellia and Senegalia are the most important genera in the subfamily Mimosoideae (Fabaceae). Recently, species from both genera were separated from the long-characterized Acacia due to their macro-morphological characteristics. However, this morpho-taxonomic differentiation struggles to discriminate some species, for example, Vachellia nilotica and Senegalia senegal. Therefore, sequencing the chloroplast (cp) genomes of these species and determining their phylogenetic placement via conserved genes may help to validate the taxonomy. Hence, we sequenced the cp genomes of V. nilotica and S. senegal, and the results showed that the sizes of the genomes are 165.3 and 162.7 kb, respectively. The cp genomes of both species comprised large single-copy regions (93,849~91,791 bp) and pairs of inverted repeats (IR; 26,093~26,008 bp). The total numbers of genes found in the V. nilotica and S. senegal cp genomes were 135 and 132, respectively. Approximately 123:130 repeats and 290:281 simple sequence repeats were found in the S. senegal and V. nilotica cp genomes, respectively. Genomic characterization was undertaken by comparing these genomes with those of 17 species belonging to related genera in Fabaceae. A phylogenetic analysis of the whole genome dataset and 56 shared genes was undertaken by generating cladograms with the same topologies and placing both species in a new generic system. These results support the likelihood of identifying segregate genera from Acacia with phylogenomic disposition of both V. nilotica and S. senegal in the subfamily Mimosoideae. The current study is the first to obtain complete genomic information on both species and may help to elucidate the genome architecture of these species and evaluate the genetic diversity among species.publishedVersio

Assessing Water Consumption of Major Crops in the Command Area of Malwah Distributary, Shaheed Benazirabad, Sindh.

Soil and water are vital natural resources on which agriculture sector growth and village livelihood depend and having the proper knowledge of the Soil, Plant, and water relationship are extremely important to achieve sustainable agricultural productivity. Pakistan has entered the 21st century with the rising challenge to meet food and fiber requirements for its population for domestic consumption and export. Without having appropriate knowledge about the intense water need of plants, most of the agricultural land in Pakistan is still being irrigated by conventional methods, which in turn produces so many problems and reduces the agricultural productivity putting extra stress on the country’s economy, so to avoid these issues, it is extremely necessary to provide the required quantity of water to plant, which will only be possible by consideration and accurate estimation of Evapotranspiration of plant so to enhance awareness and practice of water-saving agriculture in Pakistan to increase the agricultural commodities. In this study, estimation of Actual Evapotranspiration ( ETa ) of Malwah Distributary located in Shaheed Benazirbad, Sindh was selected from Command area of Rohri Canal, ET of four different crops; Cotton, Fallow, Rice and Sugarcane for the period of Rabi 2019-2020 and Kharif 2020 was estimated by using satellite-based evapotranspiration mapping tool namely METRIC REFLUX. The actual ET for each season was obtained using the Reference ET fraction (ETrf) of satellite data and reference ET(ETr) obtained from the literature. The classified crop mask was obtained using maximum likelihood classification on bands 8,4, and 3 of sentinel-2 images of the year 2020. The overall accuracy obtained is 93% with a kappa coefficient 0.921841. The average Actual Evapotranspiration of different crops namely, banana, cotton, rice, and sugarcane were found to be 1527.2 mm, 536.6 mm, 386.80 mm, and 814.02 m