Effect of Seed Priming with Some Plant Leaf Extract on Seedling Growth Characteristics and Root Rot Disease in Tomato

Tomato is one of the important vegetable crops. The problem of seedling establishment is found in tomato due to several soil borne diseases. One of them is root rot caused by Fusarium oxysproum. There are many chemical methods available to control this disease, but use of chemicals deplete the soil micro-environment and causes soil and water pollution and also do not fit within the framework of ‘Organic farming’. Seed priming with certain phytochemicals may be an economic and ecofriendly alternative to such chemicals. In present study we primed tomato seeds with leaf extract of six different plants (White musale, Periwinkle, Neem, Wood apple, Lantana and White cedar). Different leaf extracts of dose of 2% was taken independently for seed priming. We found that priming with White musale, Periwinkle, Neem and wood apple leaf extract had an improvement in different seed and seedling growth parameters in presence of pathogen. Priming with Lantana and white cedar leaf extract showed a reduction in some of the parameters that may be due to allelopathic nature of these plants. Seed priming with leaf extract of Wood apple exhibited maximum survival rate (76.50 %) followed by Neem (68.46 %) and White Musale (52.60 %)

SACRED LANDSCAPES AS REPOSITORIES OF BIODIVERSITY. A CASE STUDY FROM THE HARIYALI DEVI SACRED LANDSCAPE, UTTARAKHAND

The present study was carried out in the Hariyali Devi sacred landscape of Garhwal Himalaya in Uttarakhand State of India. The study area falls under the jurisdiction of the Forest Department, having the status of reserve forest. The land scape is dedicated to the deity “Hariyali Devi” and that plays a major role in conserving the biodiversity of this land scape. Taboos, rituals and socio-cultural practices are associated with conservation practices. The study recorded 98 plant species, representing 88 genera and 46 families with different economic values. The dominant family was Rosaceae, which recorded the highest (10) number of species. Out of 98 plant species the dominant life form contribution was of herbs (52), shrubs (26) and tree species (21). Almost 82 plants species in the landscape are of medicinal importance, 15 species are used for timber and construction purposes, 19 species with different edible plant parts, such as fruits, flowers, seeds and rhizomes. The information about the uses/economic value of different plant species was gathered directly by interviewing knowledgeable elderly local villagers (including women)

A study on the differentiation of filamentous cyanobacterial isolates using DNA fingerprinting approach

337-345The present study investigates the implication of DNA fingerprinting in discrimination of class isolates collected from a spread of habitats in south west Khasi Hills district of Meghalaya, India. Five totally different primers i.e., M13, enterbacterial repetitive intergenic consensus (ERIC), short tandem repetitive repeats (STRRs) 1A & B and long tandem repetitive repeats (LTRRs), derived from repetitive sequences gift within the ordering of true bacteria, were utilized. The generated knowledge was then evaluated for fingerprinting exploitation procedure and unweighted pairgroup method of arithmetic average (UPGMA) based dendrograms. Clear and variable stripe patterns were obtained for every of the targeted genomic regions used, LTRR being the sole exception. The stripe patterns delineate the existence of 2 basic distinct populations of true bacteria among the 19 isolates. The UPGMA cluster analyses in addition, disclosed the presence of numerous lineages among the isolates. On examination the resolution capability of the four genomic regions studied, it had been seen that, with the exception of LTRR, all the opposite regions hold smart resolution and therefore the ability to differentiate between numerous class populations. The results of the current study indicate the incidence of genetic variants among the 19 morphologically identical isolates of filiform cyanobacteria. Additionally, the study additionally explicates the quality of DNA fingerprinting supplemented with UPGMA cluster analysis as a speedy, economical and value effective tool for differentiating among morphologically identical populations

Challenges in path planning of high energy density beams for additive manufacturing

As there are no cutting forces in High Energy Density (HED) beams like lasers and Electron Beam (EB), their speeds are limited only by their positioning systems. On the other hand, as the entire matrix of the 3D printed part has to be addressed by the thin beam in multiple passes in multiple layers, they have to travel several kilometers in tiny motions. Therefore, the acceleration of the motion system becomes the limiting factor than velocity or precision. The authors have proposed an area-filling strategy for EB to fill the layer with optimal squares to exploit analog and hardware computing. 3D printing requires uniform intensity slanged as flat hat shape whereas the default is Gaussian. The authors have proposed an optimal algorithm that takes into account the maximum velocity and acceleration for achieving a flat hat without any compromise on productivity

Time-aging time-stress superposition in soft glass under tensile deformation field

We have studied the tensile deformation behaviour of thin films of aging aqueous suspension of Laponite, a model soft glassy material, when subjected to a creep flow field generated by a constant engineering normal stress. Aqueous suspension of Laponite demonstrates aging behaviour wherein it undergoes time dependent enhancement of its elastic modulus as well as its characteristic relaxation time. However, under application of the normal stress, the rate of aging decreases and in the limit of high stress, the aging stops with the suspension now undergoing a plastic deformation. Overall, it is observed that the aging that occurs over short creep times at small normal stresses is same as the aging that occurs over long creep times at large normal stresses. This observation allows us to suggest an aging time - process time - normal stress superposition principle, which can predict rheological behaviour at longer times by carrying out short time tests.Comment: 26 pages, 7 figures, To appear in Rheologica Act

Genetic variability in different growth forms of Dendrocalamus strictus: Deogun revisited

Abstract Background Bamboo is among the important plants that help shape the socio-economic fabric of rural India. It provides employment, sustains business ventures, has medicinal applications and even helps in carbon sequestration. Out of 125 indigenous species, Dendrocalamus strictus (Roxb.) Nees occupies 53% of the area of bamboo in the country. Moreover, D. strictus may be used in afforestation of wastelands and rural development programmes due to its adaptability in wider landscapes. Dendrocalamus strictus has different growth forms based on edaphic factors and climatic conditions. DNA profiling was used to analyse the genetic diversity among the different growth forms of D. strictus present in three different locations of Uttarakhand. Methods The study area includes three locations, first, reserve forest of the Forest Research Institute (FRI), Dehradun; second, Shivpuri near Byasi, Rishikesh; and third, Chiriapur range (Haridwar district). A standard method was used to isolate DNA from young leaves from ten clumps of each growth form. Ten RAPD primers were screened for polymorphism from A and N operon primers and a standard PCR protocol was followed to amplify and visualise DNA bands. The data matrix was analysed and interpreted using statistical software and methods. Results The cluster analysis, genetic structure parameters, moderate coefficient of gene differentiation and low gene flow value all indicated that these growth forms are genetically dissimilar and that geographic separation as well as physiological/flowering barriers has influenced these variations. These genetically different growth forms can be called ecotypes. Conclusions Such a study has not been attempted previously with bamboo and will help inform the conservation of the genetic pool of bamboo ecotypes. Seeds of these ecotypes are monocarpic in nature, which means that bamboo plants flower once in their lifetime, so they must be collected and multiplied (as plantations) in their respective habitats

Potential of Pine Needle Biomass as an Alternative Fuel to Mitigate Forest Fire in Uttarakhand Himalayas - A Review

Pine needle is a typical biomass which is abundantly available in Uttarakhand hills. This shredded biomass contributes significantly in forest fire occurring regularly in Uttarakhand. Different energy harnessing routes as direct combustion, anaerobic digestion, pyrolysis, gasification, and briquetting for pine needle were reviewed. These routes were further compared on the basis of energy consumption and energy efficiency of the processes as per the available literature. The review suggested that briquetting of pine needle and its anaerobic digestion are two most energy efficient methods having energy efficiency of 88% and 41.6%, respectively. The estimated energy required for briquetting of 1 ton pine needle was 1370.5 MJ, whereas for gasification it was 1170 MJ

Effect of plant growth promoting Bacillus spp. on nutritional properties of Amaranthus hypochondriacus grains

Amaranth (Amaranthus hypochondriacus Linn.) is an important pseudocereal crop having important nutrients along with the indispensable amino-acids. The present study was aimed to study the effect of plant growth promoting bacilli on proximate constituents of amaranth grains, including three of the essential amino acids (methionine, lysine and, tryptophan). The combination of Bacillus pumilus and Bacillus subtilis showed a significant increase in different proximate constituents, including crude protein (22.13%), dry matter (32.25%), fat (30.77%), and carbohydrate (49.08%) in amaranth grains. Similarly, a significant increase in essential amino-acids (methionine 47.68%, lysine 59.41% and, tryptophan 38.05%) was recorded. This study suggests that the combination of Bacillus pumilus BS-27 and Bacillus subtilis BS-58 provides the natural, persistent and durable potential to enhance the nutritive value of the crop. Therefore, present study was designed to explore the enhancement of most desirable amino acid synthesis in amaranth due to application of plant growth promoting Bacillus spp. Keywords: Amaranth, Bacillus spp., Essential amino-acids, Proximate complete analysi