Adsorption of Cationic Surface Active Agents at Barium Sulphate/Solution Interface

486-49

Yield and Palatability of Potential Indigenous Leafy Vegetable of Cold Arid trans-Himalayan Ladakh, India

Not much attention has been paid to a wide range of indigenous leafy vegetables that can grow in high altitude harsh climatic conditions with minimal care. Therefore, a study was carried out on yield potential and palatability of indigenous leafy vegetables (ILV) that grows in trans-Himalayan Ladakh. Seven ILV viz. Fagopyrum tataricum, Rumex patientia, Fagopyrum esculentum, Amaranthus cruentus, Malva vertisilester, Lepidium latifolium and Atriplex hortensis that are being used by native people of Ladakh were recorded for their morphological characters, earliness, yield and other consumer preference traits. The highest yield was recorded for A. hortensis (1.80±0.06 kg/m2). The study suggested that A. hortensis and A. crunteus have high palatability and are most preferred by the consumers. Yield potential of the cold hardy A. hortensis is significantly higher and it is an early maturing crop. Therefore, detail studies on A. hortensis are required, and efforts need to be made for large scale cultivation of the species

Effect of Nutrient Management Practices on Growth Yield and Nutrient Uptake in Basmati Rice

Basmati, pronounced is a variety of long, slender-grained aromatic rice which is traditionally grown in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal. As of 2019, India accounted for 65% of the international trade in basmati rice, while Pakistan accounted for the remaining 35%.Many countries use domestically grown basmati rice crops; however, basmati is geographically exclusive to certain districts of India and Pakistan.According to the Indian Government agency APEDA, a rice variety is eligible to be called basmati if it has a minimum average precooked milled rice length of 6.61 mm (0.260 in) and average precooked milled rice breadth of up to 2 mm (0.079 in), among other parameters. The areas which have GI tag for basmati rice production in India are in the states of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Uttarakhand, Western Uttar Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. India's total basmati production for the July 2011–June 2012 crop year was five million tonnes.From April 2018 to March 2019, India exported 4.4 million metric tons of basmati rice.In 2015–16, Saudi Arabia, Iran and UAE were the three biggest destinations for India's basmati rice exports and exports to these three countries accounted for more than half of India's total basmati exports.In 2015–16, basmati rice worth US$3.4 billion was exported from India

Investigation of the firing temperature effects on clay brick sample; Part-I: Mineralogical phase characterization

Present research work was focused to investigate the firing temperature effects on mineralogical phase composition of nine clay bricks collected from the brick factory of Kathmandu valley using X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra analyses. Main mineralogical phases of quartz, feldspars, spinel, mullite and hematite in the brick specimens fired at different firing temperatures including muscovite type of mica mineral in the sun-dried brick specimen are identified from XRD and FTIR analyses. Disappearance of the muscovite type of mica clay mineral with feldspars enhanced to form alumina rich spinel phase at firing 900° to 1000° C, and finally the primary mullite phase in the fired clay brick samples is clearly observed at 1100° C firing temperature.BIBECHANA 16 (2019) 122-130</p

Physical Education

Class 9 & 10 (Nepali Date: 2041); Language: Nepal

Efficiency of botanical extract against maize weevil Sitophilus zeamais (Motschulsky, 1855) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)

With the objective of studying the efficiency of locally available botanical extract on maize weevil, a lab experiment was conducted from Feb 3 to Feb 20 2017, at the entomology lab of Gokuleshwor Agriculture and Animal Science College, Gokuleshwor, Baitadi. The design setup was that of a completely randomized design, with 10 treatments, each treatment was replicated thrice. Two varieties of maize local and a commercial hybrid were treated with five locally available botanical extracts, i.e. Acorous, Rittha, Neem, Asuro and wood ash to examine the efficiency of these on maize weevil. One kilogram of maize grains adjusted to 14% MC was placed in 20 cm high × 8 cm diameter plastic buckets. 10 gram of the powdered botanical pesticides of each of the test materials was then thoroughly mixed with the grains in each bucket. The mortality rate was recorded at 24 hours interval. Herein, Acorous showed the highest mortality rate in both local and hybrid varieties. The order of efficiency was found to Bhojo, Ritha, Ash, Neem and Asuro

How Policy and Development Agencies Led to the Degradation of Indigenous Resources, Institutions, and Social-Ecological Systems in Nepal: Some Insights and Opinions

Rapid growth of environmental problems, economic volatilities, and social changes have increased the scopes of adopting environmentally friendly and resilient production systems. Regenerative farming and forestry practices are such systems appropriate for mountain communities in Nepal. They had performed better with indigenous resources, institutions, and social-ecological systems. Unfortunately, the assets have been degraded to extinction, mainly commencing works of national and international development agencies. Consequently, regenerative practices are disappearing. Despite appeals and commitments, the degradations of the assets are not halted and reversed. This study used secondary sources of data and work experiences and explained the working faults of the external agencies involved in the agriculture, forestry, and wildlife sectors. It elucidated that most regenerative practices had sustained well in forest and farm resource-integrated production systems and a modest degree of natural and human inputs and production environments. The production environments degraded when the government agencies provided foreign agencies opportunities to be involved actively in policy formulation and implementation of agriculture and forestry-related sectors. The foreign agencies meddled in the national policies and community practices and modified the production environments for their interests and benefits. They intervened in policies and local communities to practice a farming system based on extremely human-made and imported inputs and institutions and to manage forest-related resources in extremely intact natural systems. In the policy discourses and decisions, the farming inputs, practices, and institutions popularly practiced in developed countries are considered superior whereas the indigenous ones are considered inferior. Agricultural plans and policies have overvalued flash yield or other direct returned and undervalued environmental friendliness, indirect economic benefits, and social advantages to prioritize support of the government and other agencies. The introduced farming inputs and institutions displaced or hampered the indigenous ones. The foreign agencies also meddled in forest policies and practices of the country to address environmental and economic problems of developed countries which resulted in adverse impacts on the indigenous assets. They intervened in the resource management policies with financial and technical inputs to destroy some of the assets and make the forest-related resource management that results in better benefits (offsetting GHG emission, enhancing tranquility and serenity of recreational sites, and potentially expanding agricultural markets) to the people of developed countries. This study has explained how the officials and experts of both government and foreign agencies abused and misused some strategic tactics and overused, poorly used and disused, others in their work process to address their self-centered interests and problems. In essence, intentional destructive interventions of the policy and development agencies have resulted in degradation to the extinction of the indigenous assets in the communities