Basic biosecurity manual for tilapia hatchery technicians in Bangladesh

With the onset of Tilapia Lake Virus (TiLV) outbreaks in several Asian countries, WorldFish, in collaboration with Bangladesh’s Department of Fisheries, has developed a program to improve biosecurity in the tilapia industry throughout the country. As the first step, a training program has been designed and conducted to train a group of specialists called Master Trainers on improving tilapia hatchery biosecurity. This manual is a result of that program. The Master Trainers will use this manual for training tilapia hatchery technicians countrywide on how to improve biosecurity in hatcheries

Comparison of relapse rates of depot and oral antipsychotics in patients with schizophrenia

Introduction: Antipsychotics are the mainstay of treatment in schizophrenia. First-generation and second-generation antipsychotics are available as oral and depot formulations. The aim of this study was to compare the relapse rate in patients with schizophrenia treated with depot and oral antipsychotics. Methods: All patients diagnosed with schizophrenia under the Top End Mental Health Service in Darwin, Australia during a period of five years were included. Their medications and history of relapses were retrieved from electronic records. Mean relapses-per-month was calculated and compared using the independent t-test and ANOVA. Results and discussion: The study sample contained 193 patients; 137 were males. The mean relapses-per-month for oral formulations was significantly higher than for depot formulations. Second-generation antipsychotic depot formulations had significantly reduced mean relapses-permonth compared to oral second-generation formulations. The mean relapses-per-month for firstgeneration antipsychotics depot was not significantly different from first-generation depot formulations. First-generation antipsychotics depot formulations were significantly more effective than oral second-generation. Zuclopenthixol appeared to be the best first-generation antipsychotics depot compared to flupenazine and flupenthixol. First-generation antipsychotics depot formulations were equally effective as Second-generation antipsychotics depot formulations. Conclusion: Depot formulations overcome some of the adherence problems with oral therapy, and the resultant continuous therapy is effective in reducing relapse rates

Aquaculture for income and nutrition: Final report

The United States Agency for International Development-Aquaculture for Income and Nutrition (USAID-AIN) project, implemented by WorldFish, emphasized technology development for improved fish strains, and capacity building in hatcheries and nurseries for wider dissemination and uptake among small- and medium-scale household and commercial producers. Improving nutritional benefits from household aquaculture investment was also an important activity of the project. Specifically, AIN aimed to increase aquaculture production by developing hatcheries and nurseries, disseminating improved fish and shrimp seed, enhancing farm management skills of smallholder farmers, promoting new technologies to expand commercial aquaculture, developing backward and forward market linkages, supporting policy reform and building capacity of the public and private sectors, which resulted in increased productivity and revenue for farmers. This report also highlights the major achievements of the AIN project between 2011 and 2016

A Comparison of Resources Usage for Two White-Leg Shrimp (Penaeus vannamei) Farming Systems (Earthen Pond System and Round Tank System)

Shrimp farming plays an important role in providing nutritious food and generating livelihoods for many millions of people worldwide. Asia is the biggest producer of shrimp contributing nearly 80% of the global shrimp aquaculture production. Black tiger shrimp (Penaeus monodon) is the main brackish water aquaculture species in Sri Lanka before 2018. White-leg shrimp (Penaeus vannamei) was a new species that was introduced in 2018 expecting a rapid increase in production in the country. Shrimp farming is classified into several categories: extensive, semi-intensive, intensive, and super-intensive based on the intensity of management practices such as stocking density, supply of feed and fertilizer, and management of water qualities. The round tank system is round-shaped and is a type of lined pond that uses an impermeable geomembrane for the retention of water. It belongs to the super-intensive category. The earthen pond is a water body that is basically enclosed by the earth. It belongs to the intensive category. The purpose of this study was to assess the amounts of land, water, and energy required per ton of harvested shrimp in two different production systems and identify the most sustainable system that is used minimum natural resources. The round tank system is located in the Erukkalampiddy area in the Mannar district, Sri Lanka. The earthen pond system is located in the Maikkulama area in the Puttalam district, Sri Lanka. Data on water usage, electricity usage, land area usage, and weight of harvested shrimp were collected during two cycles of production from August 2021 to May 2022. The t-tests were performed to compare resource usages. Land usage of the earthen pond system (950.00 m2/t shrimp, 1266.67 m2/t shrimp) is significantly greater than the round tank system (190.77 m2/t shrimp, 139.33 m2/t shrimp). Water usage of the earthen pond system (950.00 m3/t shrimp, 1266.67 m3/t shrimp) is significantly greater than the round tank system (190.77 m3/t shrimp, 139.33 m3/t shrimp). Energy usage of the round tank system (473.84 kWh/t shrimp, 591.46 kWh/t shrimp) is significantly greater than the earthen pond system (119.91 kWh/t shrimp, 154.78 kWh/t shrimp). It concludes that less land and water resources and high energy usage are required for a round tank system compared to an earthen pond system. Although establishing a round tank system will need more capital, compared to that of an earthen pond system, it is evident that the round tanksystem is more environmentally sustainable.  Keywords: Shrimp farming, Round tank system, Earthen pond system, White-leg shrimp (Penaeus vannamei

Geotourism as a Tool for Tourism Development in Sri Lanka: An Exploration

Geotourism is a tourism activity witnessing ABC attributes, abiotic, biotic, and culture focusing on abiotic properties of the natural setting.  This investigation explores whether Geotourism could be a lucrative tool for sustainable tourism development. An interpretive exploratory approach was entrusted for the study given its applicability to trace deeper feelings, thought, and attitudes of individuals. Twenty in-depth interviews from tourism stakeholders including tourists, the local community, and government officers at two different geologically significant sites were conducted over 04 months. Transcriptions were thematically analysed by coding and axial coding. The study revealed that lack of awareness towards Geotourism concept causes Geotourism in Sri Lanka in its infancy, though Sri Lanka is having an abundant marketable opportunity for its diversified tourist locations to initiate Geotourism developments. Geotourism can be used as a lucrative tool for tourism development by addressing certain issues like improper place management, lack of promotion by examining two excellent heritage sites. Keywords: Geotourism, Geotourists, Geoheritage sites, Tourism development, Ussangoda National Park, Mahapelessa hot sprin

STUDY ON GROWTH PERFORMANCES OF VANILLA AS AFFECTED BY DIFFERENT CUTTING TYPES AND MEDIA (Vanilla fragrans)

Vanilla is an orchid spice originated in Mexico It is climbing, branching, andterrestrial orchid growing on trees and shrubs. There is good potential for thevanilla pods in Sri Lanka. At present, 1-2 m long mature Vainila cuttingswere used for propagation but demand cannot meet since it is used longcuttings (I-2m) as planting material. Therefore it is important to get morenumber of cuttings per unit length of the Vanila to meet the existing demand.In this regard, present study was conducted to investigate the effect of cuttinglength and growing media on growth performances of Vanila. In experiment01 (Pot experiment), four potting media (coir dust, sand: coir dust 1:1, sand:coir dust: top soil 1:1:1, sand: topsoil: organic matter 1:1:1) and four cuttinglengths (one nodded cuttings, two nodded cuttings, three nodded cuttings,four nodded cuttings) were used for the study in the nursery. Experimentaldesign was factorial CRD with 4 replicates. In experiment 02 (fieldexperiment), plants taken from the cuttings with two maturity stages (matureand immature) and three cutting lengths (one nodded cuttings, two noddedcuttings, three nodded cuttings) were used for the field establishment. Theexperimental design was RCBD with six replicates. Data (Number of leaves,Number of roots and Leaf area) were measured once in three weeks in thenursery and once in four weeks in the field. Data were statistically analyzedby using ANOVA and means were separated by DMRT. In experiment 01,sand: top soil: organic matter 1:1:1 potting media gives good growthperformances. Four nodded cuttings are more suitable than others. Maturityand cutting length are significantly affected on growth of Vanilla. Maturecuttings with two nodes shows higher growth performance followed bymature cuttings with three nodes, mature cuttings with one node, immaturecuttings with three nodes, immature cuttings with two nodes, and immaturecuttings with one node. Therefore potting media of sand: top soil: organicmatter 1:1:1 is suitable for filling the poly bags to grow vanilla cuttings innursery and mature cuttings with two nodes are shown better growthperformance in the field

IN· VITRO PROPAGATION OF BLACK PEPPER (Piper nigrum)

Black pepper (Piper nigrum) is an important spice crop among minor export crops. Inconventional vegetative propagation systems of black pepper, cuttings and seeds havebeen used. But these methods provide limited quantities of planting materials, and alsospread certain pests and diseases. These problems can be overcome by adopting apropagation method through tissue culture techniquesAll experiments were set up according to completely randomized design. The beststerilization was obtained in 0.1 % HgCb solution for 10 minutes immersion prior todissection of the final explants. Bud length was maximized (4.6 ±..0.84) after 8 weeks inWP medium supplemented with 2 mgll BA and I mgll Kn. The highest survival rate (78%) was observed, when surface sterilized in leaf sections of third leaf with 0.1 % HgCI2in 10 minutes followed by dipping in 90 % alcohol solution. MS medium supplementedwith 0 mgll Kn and I mgll 2,4- D was the most suitable medium for callus formation ofpepper leaf culture.According to the experiment results, 0.1 % HgCI2 with 10 minutes was best treatment forsurface sterilization of buds. For multiplication of pepper buds, 2 mgll BA and I mg/I Kncombination was superior to other treatments. When surface sterilized in leaf sections ofthird leaf with 0.1 %HgCI2 in 10 minutes and dipped in 90 %alcohol solution was bestfor pepper leaf culture and MS medium supplemented with 0 mg/I Kn and I mg/I 2,4- Dwas superior treatment for callus formation.