Combining Ability Studies in Muskmelon (Cucumis melo L.)

The parent Hara Madhu in E1, AMM-01-18 and AMM-02 -26 in E2 and AMM-01-18, AMM-02-26 and Hara Madhu on pooled basis exhibited positive and significant GCA effects for fruit yield per plant. Thus these three parents appeared to be good general combiners for fruit yield. Out of these parents AMM-01-18 had a good combining ability for fruit yield per plant, number of primary branches, number of fruits per plant, fruit weight, moisture content, total soluble solids, acidity and total soluble sugars on pooled basis. Specific combining ability effects for fruit yield and yield attributing traits revealed significant and positive SCA effects in fourteen crosses for number of primary branches per plant, nine for fruit length, twelve for fruit girth, ten for fruits per plant, eleven for fruit weight, nine for fruit yield per plant, eleven for flesh thickness, nine for moisture content, twenty for total soluble solids, twenty for acidity and fifteen for total soluble sugars data in the desired direction in pooled analysis. However, some crosses like AMM-01-18 x AMM-02-26, Hara Madhu x RM-50 and AMM- 01-18 x DM-1 exhibited significant SCA effects for fruit yield per plant over environments along with some of the component traits in different environments

Heterosis Studies in Muskmelon (Cucumis melo L.)

Ten parental lines and 45 F1 hybrids of muskmelon obtained from half dialleles were studied to investigate the extent of heterosis in muskmelon. Heterotic effects over the better parent were observed to be higher for number of the node on which first female flower appeared, fruits per plant, fruit weight, fruit yield per plant, moisture content and total soluble sugars in E2 than in E1. The hybrids AMM-01-18 x AMM-02-26, Hara Madhu x RM- 50, AMM-00-25 x AMM-00-11 and AMM-01-18 x DM-1 were found to be high-yielding and heterotic in both the seasons studied and even when averaged over the two environments, with other yield attributes and quality traits. Hence, after sufficient evaluation, these hybrids were identified as potential hybrids for widespread cultivation and commercial exploitation

Study on fungicidal effect of plant extracts on plant pathogenic fungi and the economy of extract preparation and efficacy in comparison to synthetic/chemical fungicides

Providing food security to devastatingly increasing population with limited natural resources along with destruction caused by pre- and post-harvest pathogens are the foremost concerns for the developing countries. Numerous pesticides, herbicides and chemical fertilizers are being applied by the farmers to deal with the existing situation but leave very disastrous and undesirable after effects on ecosystem as non-degradable molecules.. Botanicals can be utilized as an ecofriendly and effective alternative against chemical as they are of natural origin. In this context, two chemical/synthetic fungicides namely Manzate and Nystanin in three different concentrations namely 500ppm, 1000 ppm and 1500 ppm were evaluated against Sclerotium rolfsii, Alternaria alternata, Fusarium monilifrome, Rhizoctonia solani and Aspergillus niger in vitro to compare them with ethanolic botanical extracts of spices (clove, cinnamon, thyme) and weeds (parthenium and calotropis) at 5%, 10%, 15%, 20% and 25%. Results revealed the high efficacy of botanicals i.e. clove extracts showed maximum inhibition (100%), followed by reduced inhibition in cinnamon, thyme, Parthenium and Calotropis treated plates against all five pathogens even at 5% concentration in comparison to chemical of 500 ppm concentration i.e. 100% in case of S.rolfsii only. Hence the herbal products can be further analyzed and applied as a potent, ecofriendly and economical substitute to chemicals

A Posteriori Error Estimates for Nonconforming Approximations of Evolutionary Convection-Diffusion Problems

We derive computable upper bounds for the difference between an exact solution of the evolutionary convection-diffusion problem and an approximation of this solution. The estimates are obtained by certain transformations of the integral identity that defines the generalized solution. These estimates depend on neither special properties of the exact solution nor its approximation, and involve only global constants coming from embedding inequalities. The estimates are first derived for functions in the corresponding energy space, and then possible extensions to classes of piecewise continuous approximations are discussed.Comment: 10 page

CAUSES OF DISPOSAL OF MURRAH BUFFALO FROM AN ORGANISED HERD

The present study comprised of 602 disposal records of adult Murrah buffaloes , spread over a period of 16 years from 1985 to 2000 at NDRI, Karnal, Haryana. Analysed data showed that the reproductive problems (38.62), low milk production (24.01) and udder problems (22.76) were the three major reasons of culling in adult Murrah buffaloes . The culling of cows due to involuntary reason (reproductive problems, udder problems and locomotive disorders) accounted for nearly 63.68 percent of total culling in Murrah buffaloes in the NDRI herd. The data revealed that maximum mortality occurred due to digestive problems accounting for 30.89 percent followed by cardio-vascular problems (26.02 percent), respiratory problems (21.14 percent), parasitic problems (8.13 percent) and uro-genital problems (5.69 percent). The results showed that there is a scope for further improvement in production and reproductive efficiency through better monitoring of reproduction and udder health status of the buffaloes. The high involuntary culling rate not only makes the dairy enterprises economically less profitable but also reduces the genetic improvement by lowering the selection differential for milk production

Relationship between macrobenthos and abiotic characteristics of river Alaknanda in a stretch from Chamoli to Devprayag in Garhwal Himalayan region of Uttarakhand, India

Macrobenthos is the best water quality indicator for ecosystem health assessment. The present study aimed to examine the interrelationship between macrobenthos and different water quality parameters of the river Alaknanda at Garhwal Himalaya. Four demarcated sampling zones viz. zone-A (Chamoli to Nandprayag), zone-B (Karanprayag to Rudraprayag), zone-C (Rudraprayag to Srinagar) and zone-D (Srinagar to Devprayag) were taken from its approximately 170 km long stretch during 2016-2018.  River water characteristics were analyzed for the important parameters viz. substratum, water temperature (WT), water velocity, pH, electrical conductivity (EC), total dissolved solids (TDS), calcium (Ca), and magnesium (Mg) using standard methods. The results indicated that the river water velocity was the highest 1.02 m/s at zone-C, TDS of 114.19 mgl-1 was maximum at zone-A ; and Ca and Mg were recorded highest 23.17 mgl-1 and 5.44 mgl-1 at zone-A and zone-B, respectively. All abiotic parameters (pH, EC, TDS, DO, Ca and Mg) were recorded to be below BIS/WHO limits. A total of 27 macrobenthos taxa belonging to the five orders such as Coleoptera (6 ind./m2), Diptera (5 ind./m2), Ephemeroptera (8 ind./m2), Hemiptera (4 ind./m2),  and Odonata (4 ind./m2) were recorded. Macrobenthos represented an important relationship between the water current and water temperature. The lowest number was reported at zone-C due to the river's high water velocity (1.02 m/s). The changes like biota loss, presence of some  pollution indicator species (Cloeon sp., Bateis sp., Emphemera sp.) at zone-C, in sediment structure of habitat were due to the anthropogenic activities on the riverbank of different zones. The study will help in the conservation of macrobenthos diversity of the river Alaknanda.             

Development of ANFIS Control System for Seismic Response Reduction using Multi-Objective Genetic Algorithm

Adaptive neuro fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) and Genetic algorithm (GA) was proposed in this study to reduce dynamic responses of a seismically excited building. A multi-objective genetic algorithm (MOGA) was used to optimize the ANFIS+GA controller. Two MR dampers were used as multiple control devices and a scaled five-story building model was selected as an example structure. A fuzzy control algorithm was compared with the proposed ANFIS and ANFIS+GA controller. Adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) and Ganetic algorithm with several outputs was proposed. In case study, after numerical simulation, it has been verified that the ANFIS control algorithm can present better control performance compared to the fuzzy control algorithm in reducing both displacement and acceleration responses