Search

Background: The solid wastes and the wastewater (effluent) generated in the pulp and paper industry can be used to improve the soil fertility. However, the cation concentration in these residues can influence the bioavailability of some nutrients and soil properties. The objective of this study is to experiment the availability of the cations namely Ca, Mg, Na and K in laboratory (column) and the field. Methods: An experiment with PVC column was carried out in the laboratory to study the availability of cations as influenced by 13 irrigations with papermill effluent vis-à-vis in a field experiment in the Department of Environmental Sciences, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore during 2019-2020. Result: The pH, EC and the concentration of the cations were higher in the field soil compared to the column soil barring magnesium. This may be due to the clogging of pores resulting in decreased infiltration in field soil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Second International Conference on Advances in Plasma Science and Technology (ICAPST-21) was held during May 27–29, in 2021, at the Sri Shakthi Institute of Engineering and Technology, Coimbatore, India. As Dr. K. Navaneetha Pandiyaraj, the Organizing Chair of the Conference, states in the Preface of the conference’s Book of Abstracts: [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pulses are an important protein source for vegetarian people across the world and they have a great potential to improve the human health, contribute to global food and nutritional security. Variety of pulses were grown in India with 25% of global production and 27% of global consumption. Though India is the largest pulses producer in the world, it imports around 3.5 million tons annually to meet the ever-increasing requirement. Less adoption of improved Agro techniques, low fertile soils and unpredictable environment conditions are major factor for low production of pulses. As a results of increasing population, the projected pulses requirement will be 32 million tons by 2030 which necessitate annual growth rate of 4.2%. With adoption of suitable agronomic strategies, the productivity has to be enhanced to meet the demand. This review work was done at Department of Agronomy, Agricultural College and Research Institute, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India. Collected review and research papers were screened from various data base like TNAU e library, ARCC journals, google scholar, research gate and scopus used to write this paper. This review article documented information gathered on importance of pulses, area, production and productivity of pulses. Nipping is important agronomic practices that removes the apical bud dominance and promotes the lateral growth which turn better maintenance of source and sink relationship and enhance the pulses yield. Influence of nipping on growth and yield of various pluses crops has been discussed here. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The International Conference on Advances in Plasma Science and Technology (ICAPST-20) was held for the first time on February 12–14, 2020. The host institution was the Sri Shakthi Institute of Engineering and Technology, Coimbatore, India. As Dr. K. Navaneetha Pandiyaraj, the Organizing Chair of the Conference, states in the Preface of the conference’s Book of Abstracts: [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The primary objectives were to determine the proportion of modern menstrual method (MMM) users among college going women in Coimbatore district, Tamil Nadu; and to estimate the unmet needs associated with use of MMMs in comparison with other menstrual hygiene methods (MHMs). We also assessed the factors that determine MMM use among college going women. Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted among college going women in Coimbatore district, Tamil Nadu, India between October 2022 and January 2023 using a purpose predesigned, pretested, semi-structured proforma that included validated Menstrual Practice Needs Scale (MPNS-36). Results: Only 1.4% of the study participants used MMMs – menstrual cups (1.3%) and tampons (0.1%). Sanitary pads were the most common MHM of choice (96.3%); of which majority (98.6%) used disposable pads and more than half (50.4%) used non-biodegradable pads. Importantly, one in six (16.5%) were not aware of nature of sanitary pads (biodegradable or nonbiodegradable) used. The unmet needs associated with MMMs (menstrual cups and tampons) were significantly lower than that for other MHMs (including sanitary pads), in particular, the unmet material and home environment needs, unmet material reliability concerns, unmet reuse needs and unmet reuse insecurity. However, we found no significant difference between MMMs, sanitary pads and other MHMs in terms of unmet transport, college environment, change and disposal insecurity needs. The significant predictors of use of MMMs were age (more than 21 years of age), residence (urban), type of stay (off campus including home), socioeconomic status (upper), fathers' and mothers' education (high school and above), and presence of personal income. Discussions with friends (or peers) both before and after menarche regarding menstruation resulted in higher adoption of modern menstrual methods. Conclusion: MMMs provided comparative advantage with lesser unmet needs for material reliability and reuse insecurity concerns, particularly in home environment. However, none of the MHMs fulfilled the user expectations for transport and disposal insecurity concerns, particularly outdoors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Insecticide applications are typically being carried out with traditional manual spraying equipment in redgram, which leads to inadequate control of insects due to higher crop height. The modern deployment of tractor-drawn spray machines causes serious damage to the crop. In this connection, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) spray technology has great potential for precise insecticide application in redgram crops. One of the important machine parameters influencing droplet deposition and drift characteristics in UAV sprayers is downwash airflow generated by a multi-rotor propeller. A field experiment was carried out at the redgram research field (N11.01, E76.92), Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, during 2021–2022 to study the spray drift and deposition characteristics of an autonomous UAV sprayer. The Imidacloprid (a.i. 17.8SL) insecticide mixed with water in a ratio of 1 mL per liter was sprayed with a UAV sprayer. Water-sensitive paper samples were kept at upper, middle, and bottom positions on the leaves, and data were analyzed for the spray droplet size, deposition rate, droplet density, and area coverage both in target and non-target areas using Spray Deposit Scanner software. UAV spray droplet deposition rate (2.93 ± 0.17, 2.01 ± 0.08, and 2.21 ± 0.162.38 μL cm−2), droplet density (47 ± 4.04, 53 ± 3.61, and 52 ± 8.74 droplets cm−2), and area coverage (15.72 ± 0.39, 16.60 ± 0.71, and 14.99 ± 0.39%) were highest in the upper layer as compared to the middle layer (droplet deposition rate: 1.21 ± 0.08, 1.07 ± 0.03, and 0.77 ± 0.02 μL cm−2; droplet density: 42 ± 2.52, 43 ± 8.50, and 38 ± 2.52 droplets cm−2; area coverage: 10.95 ± 0.81, 11.22 ± 0.56, and 8.57 ± 0.44%) and bottom layer (droplet deposition rate: 0.41 ± 0.06, 0.35 ± 0.03, and 0.33 ± 0.03 μL cm−2; droplet density: 22 ± 4.36, 17 ± 3.51, and 19 ± 4.51 droplets cm−2; area coverage: 2.78 ± 0.29, 2.95 ± 0.45, and 2.46 ± 0.20%, respectively). In the spray drift test, there was a higher droplet deposition rate (1.63 ± 0.09, 1.93 ± 0.05, and 1.82 ± 0.06 μL cm−2), area coverage (14.40 ± 0.07, 17.54 ± 0.36, and 16.42 ± 0.30%), and droplet density (46 ± 3.61, 54 ± 2.08, and 45 ± 3.21 No's cm−2) in the target area as compared to the non-target area (droplet deposition rate: 0.88 ± 0.02, 0.46 ± 0.03, 0.22 ± 0.05, and 0.00 μL cm−2; droplet density: 23 ± 1.53, 11 ± 2.08, 6 ± 1.53, and 0.00 droplets cm−2; area coverage: 7.58 ± 0.34, 4.41 ± 0.19, 2.16 ± 0.05, and 0.00%, respectively), which may have been due to the downwash airflow produced by the multi-rotor propeller of the UAV sprayer. Finally, the UAV-based spraying technology results showed that the downwash air produced by the six-rotor propeller improved the penetrability of insecticide to crop leaves and led to a higher droplet deposition rate, droplet density, area coverage, and droplet penetrability on the upper layer, middle layer, and bottom layer of the plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Weather forecasting become important tool for the planning of everyday farming activities, particularly the medium range weather forecast is highly required to reduce both input and production loss. Tamil Nadu Agricultural University is providing block level medium range weather forecast for next six days with Weather Research Forecast (WRF) Model and having accuracy of 50 -70 per cent, varies with season. An attempt was made at Agro Climate Research Centre, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore during 2019-21 to improve the accuracy of medium range rainfall forecast over different Agro Climate Zones of Tamil Nadu state by increasing the resolution from block level (9 km) to village level (3km) and altering the microphysics options in WRF v 4.2.1. The performance study tested four microphysics schemes viz., Kessler, WSM3, WSM5 and WSM6 for all the four seasons of 2020. The results obtained for the Southern Zone (SZ) is discussed in this paper and study concluded that the performance of high resolution village level (3km) rainfall forecast at Southern Agro Climatic Zone of Tamil Nadu generated from WRFv4.2.1 model was best with the WSM3 microphysics scheme followed by Kessler scheme, WSM5 and WSM6. Between the major rainfall seasons, Forecast Accuracy Index (FAI) was higher in NEM (0.56 to 0.73) than SWM (0.38 to 0.70), whereas the Forecast Usability Percent (FUP) was almost similar during both the South West Monsoon (SWM, 53.0 to 81.4) and North East Monsoon (NEM, 52.9 to 85.9). There was overestimation observed irrespective of season and microphysics options. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents a quantitative and qualitative dimensions of congenital heart defect (CHD) research output in India, based on publications data (1335) indexed in Scopus database during 2000-19. CHD research registered 10.0% growth, averaged 7.07 citations per paper, contributed 3.04% share to the global output and constitute 13.48% share of India's research as international collaborative. CHD research is skewed as top 10 countries account for 83.23% of global output. India ranks as the 10th most productive country in the world. The distribution of CHD research by type of research reveal that Tetralogy of Fallout accounted for the highest share (34.31% share), followed by Aortic Stenosis (30.41%), Atrial Septal Defects (28.16%), Ventricular Septal Defects (26.22%), etc. AIIMS - New Delhi, Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences, Coimbatore and PGIMER - Chandigarh lead the country as the most productive organizations (with 222, 73 and 64 papers). Besides, Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences, Coimbatore (33.88 and 4.79), SCTIMST - Trivandrum (30.73 and 4.35) and Institute of Medical Sciences, BHU, Varanasi (17.20 and 2.43) lead the country as the most impactful organizations in terms of citation per paper and relative citation index. B. Airan, A. Saxena and S. Talwar have been the most productive authors (with 63, 63 and 59 papers) and P. Khairy (16.31 and 2.31), B. Vaidyanathan (14.3 and 2.03) and R.K. Kumar (10.53 and 1.49) have been the most impactful authors. Indian Heart Journal, Annals of Pediatric Cardiology (84 papers) and Annals of Cardiac Anaesian (53 papers) topped the list of most productive journals (with 110, 84 and 53 papers). International Journal of Cardiology (18.62), Catheterization and Cardiovascular Interventions (16.64) and Journal of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Anesthesia (11.65) leads in ranking in terms of citation per paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scientometrics analysis the quantitative as well as the qualitative aspects of scientific parameters for better understanding of the mechanism of research activities. The paper attempts to present a quantitative and qualitative analysis of the publication output of Kumaraguru College of Technology, Coimbatore. Data have been collected from the Scopus database for the period 1997 to 2020. Among the 2110 papers published in the span of 24 years, the highest numbers of 404 papers were published in 2018 and 2019. 1792 papers (85.3%) were published during the last ten years from 2011 to 2020. Journal is the most preferred channel of publication with 1665 papers. This study reveals that Kumaraguru College of Technology has largely contributed to research in Science, Engineering and Technology and the publication output of faculty has increased considerably during the recent years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many reinforced concrete frame buildings were developed and constructed in Coimbatore zone III before 2002. In 2002, the seismic code IS 1893 was updated. As a result, structures constructed earlier in 2002 do not meet the codal criterion. The majority of structures through infilled walls were nondesigned with infills in consideration. This paper goals to appraise seismic exposure of an advanced reinforced present concrete building with infilled and without infilled frames. A pushover analysis was used to conduct this analysis. According to ATC40, the analysis shows the comportment levels of several building components for various stated concert objectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper examines the dichotomous world of sanitation management in Coimbatore, India. Sanitation management is a process of safely managing and disposing human excreta and wastewater. As it flows from the private sphere to the public, many actors have social aspirations and discriminate according to class, thus maintaining a dichotomous world – the purity (clean, orderly, simple, and aesthetically appealing) and the pollution (filthy, dirty, poor, complex) – in their everyday struggle to manage. The paper examines the micro-politics of actors using the lens of 'purity and pollution' as they engage in managing sanitation in Coimbatore. It combines semi-structured, and in-depth interviews with sanitation workers, government officials and private companies. The paper reveals that government and international agencies take a narrow view of sanitation management, embeds its approach on the stigmatic practice, and adopts a backdoor form of governance in the city. The lens of purity and pollution reveals structurally distinct, mutually reinforcing, and dynamic approaches by actors to keep sanitation a 'matter out of place' and limit opportunities to professionalize the workers. It calls for an inclusive sanitation governance that do not separate between the imported sanitation fixtures and the socially embedded practices, rather contextualises sanitation management practices. • Sanitation management has been a 'matter out of place' for development. • The paper applies a 'purity and pollution' lens to understand sanitation. • It reveals the social stigma, cost-sensitivity, and backdoor sanitation governance. • It calls for a paradigm shift in the approach to sanitation management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The operating temperature of the photovoltaic (PV) cell is essential in converting the renewable radiant energy emitted by the sun into direct current to meet various energy demands. It should be remembered that the photovoltaic efficiency and temperature of the solar PV cell are indirectly proportional. The performance of the PV module can be greatly enriched by minimizing the operating temperature of the semiconducting PV cells, and this is accomplished by removing the surplus heat from the PV module. This paper proposes a novel sandwich- glazed photovoltaic (SGPV) module as an alternative to the standard PV module for overheating protection and assessment of the photovoltaic, thermal, and overall efficiency of the sandwich-glazed photovoltaic thermal (SGPV/T) system. Effects on photovoltaic efficiency and temperature distribution in the SGPV/T system and the standard PV module are also compared. Furthermore, the programmed electrical and thermal models are simulated using MATLAB for comparative analysis. Experiments were conducted in India under the climatic conditions prevailing at Coimbatore (latitude: 11.10ºN; longitude: 76.96ºE). Subsequently, the performance and outlet water temperature of the SGPV/T system are significantly improved with an average photovoltaic, thermal, and overall efficiency of 9.67, 41.34, and 66.78%, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Large-scale secondary data show that water access is improving in Indian slums; however, women still need to procure water from multiple sources. Based on field research conducted in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, this paper examines the everyday negotiations that urban women from slums undertake at different water sources. The study finds that women depend on street taps, water vendors, water tankers, and in-house connections in varying degrees. The results show variation in negotiations that women engage in at multiple sites and sources. These variations have emerged as a result of the characteristics of the water sources and household-level water storage capacity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Good scientific writing must be characterized by clear expression, conciseness, accuracy, and perhaps most importantly, honesty. Unfortunately, modern scientific research often takes place within all sorts of constraints and competing pressures. As a result, a portion of the scientific literature, whether generated by students of science or by seasoned professionals, is likely to be deficient in one or more of the above components. The present study attempted to present the positive and negative attitudes towards Plagiarism and examine the Subjective norms on plagiarism activities. Attitudes toward Plagiarism questionnaire was developed, with good psychometric characteristics. TPB is a relevant predictive model of academic dishonesty that explains behavior as a final act anticipated by logical thinking. Simple random sampling adopted for the study to collect data from the students, research scholars and faculty members of Arts and Science colleges in Coimbatore. The present study results show positive, negative and subjectivity norms attitudes of PG students. Research Scholars and faculty members towards plagiarism. Faculty members were relatively better informed and against plagiarism compared to post graduates. There by highlighting the need to address the issue of plagiarism among students. If the carry out of plagiarism is not in use care of, scientific research turns into a mere repetition of previous papers and lacks uniqueness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new method for the annotation of multispectral satellite images based on image segmentation is proposed in this paper. This method performs the multispectral image annotation by incorporating a modified locally excitatory globally inhibitory oscillatory network (LEGION) algorithm and cascaded support vector machine (SVM) classifier. Initially, images in the training set are represented with semantic concepts. The testing image is segmented into various image regions based on the color information. Segmented image regions are classified using cascaded SVM classifier based on the probabilities of semantic classes. Experiments are conducted on multispectral images of Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India and the result validates the effectiveness of the proposed image annotation algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Water cooling over the bottom surface of the panel has significant performance improvement. • Efficiency of the panel, pump and system were improved under the influence of cooling. • PVWPS have significant reduction in carbon dioxide emissions. • PVWPS have a payback period of 7.3 years. In this paper, the performance of a photovoltaic water pumping system was experimentally investigated under the influence of panel cooling using air and water as working fluids. The experimental observations have been made under the climatic conditions of Coimbatore city in India during the year 2017. The system performance was evaluated in four different cooling modes such as: (a) with air cooling over the top surface of the panel; (b) with air cooling over the bottom surface of the panel; (c) with water cooling over the top surface of the panel and (d) with water cooling over the bottom surface of the panel. The performances of a photovoltaic water pumping system working with four different panel cooling modes are compared with the system without panel cooling. The economical and environmental impacts have been assessed for a period of twenty years. The results showed that, the water cooling provided over the bottom surface of the panel has significant performance enhancement when compared to other cooling modes. The economic assessment results showed that, the photovoltaic water pumping systems using water cooling over the bottom surface of the panel has payback period of 7.3 years with 13.7% return on investment and 10.9% internal rate of return. The trial experiments confirmed that, it is possible to reduce the carbon-dioxide emissions by about 20.4 tons during the period of twenty years life when compared to the grid connected water pumping systems powered by coal based power plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research paper deals with the experimental thermodynamic analysis of a forced convection solar air heater using pin-fin absorber plate and compared with the standard flat absorber plate. The experiments were carried out during the months of February 2018 and March 2018 at Coimbatore city in India. The performance parameters such as, outlet air temperature, energy efficiency, thermohydraulic efficiency, and exergy efficiency are used for performance comparisons. The results showed that the pin-fin absorber plate has about 17 °C higher outlet air temperature when compared to the flat absorber plate. The energy efficiency of a forced convection solar air heater using pin-fin absorber plate was found to be 3% to 12% higher when compared to flat absorber plate with 2% to 11% higher exergy efficiency. The results confirmed that forced convection solar air heaters using pin-fin absorber plate is having significant performance improvement in thermodynamic performance with minimum pressure drop across the air heater duct. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vegetables are any part of the plant such as root, tuber, bulb, stem, leaf, flower and seed. The local inhabitants of Coimbatore District mainly depend on wild indigenous vegetables around their locality for food. This paper deals about the proximate and mineral analysis of eight edible flowers used by the local people of Coimbatore District. Carbohydrate and crude fibre were maximum in the flowers of Cucurbita maxima (29.37±0.02% per g and 4.63±0.21% per g respectively), protein and moisture content were maximum in Cassia auriculata (22.95±0.01% per g and 91.83±0.54% per g respectively), lipid was maximum in Benincasa hispida (3.57±0.01% per g) and ash content was maximum in Sesbania grandiflora (1.76±0.04% per g). The contents of calcium was high in B. hispida (1.92±0.06 mg/ g), magnesium and potassium was high in C. maxima (0.98±0. mg/g and 0. 39±0.67 mg/g respectively). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the healing practices of samayācāra Śrīvidyā, a Hindu Tantric tradition. This study is based on field research conducted in the Śrī Lalitāmbikā temple in Coimbatore, India. The tradition not only advocates inner ritualism, but also focuses on healing practices derived from Tantric sources. By using both emic and etic approaches, this paper attempts to show how the rituals and Śrīvidyā meditative practices became incorporated into this system of healing and well-being. A further aim of this paper is to indicate how various forms of embodiment and healing define the spiritual practice of Lalitāmbikā Śrīvidyā. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The two main challenges of predicting the wind speed depend on various atmospheric factors and random variables. This paper explores the possibility of developing a wind speed prediction model using different Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) and Categorical Regression empirical model which could be used to estimate the wind speed in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India using SPSS software. The proposed Neural Network models are tested on real time wind data and enhanced with statistical capabilities. The objective is to predict accurate wind speed and to perform better in terms of minimization of errors using Multi Layer Perception Neural Network (MLPNN), Radial Basis Function Neural Network (RBFNN) and Categorical Regression (CATREG). Results from the paper have shown good agreement between the estimated and measured values of wind speed. According to the result, it can be concluded that ANN model with MLPNN could produce the acceptable prediction of the wind speed for given on wind direction. • To predict the wind speed (m/sec) at 65 m height. • To build the ANN Models and Categorical Regression (CATREG) for wind speed prediction. • To produce the validated and acceptable prediction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The efficacy of whole plant extracts of Leucas aspera and Bacillus sphaericus has been proven against larvicidal and pupicidal activities of the malarial vector, Anopheles stephensi. The present study investigated the larvicidal and pupicidal activity against the first to fourth instar lavae and pupae of the laboratory-reared mosquitoes, A. stephensi. The medicinal plants were collected from the area around Maruthamalai hills, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India. L. aspera whole plant was washed with tap water and shade dried at room temperature. The dried plant materials were powdered by an electric blender. From the powder, 100 g of the plant materials was extracted with 300 ml of organic solvents of ethanol for 8 h using a Soxhlet apparatus. The extracts were filtered through a Buchner funnel with Whatman number 1 filter paper. The crude plant extracts were evaporated to dryness in a rotary vacuum evaporator. The plant extract showed larvicidal and pupicidal effects after 24 h of exposure. All larval instars and pupae have considerably moderate mortality; however, the highest larval mortality was the ethanolic extract of whole plant L. aspera against the first to fourth instar larvae and pupae values of LC = I instar was 9.695%, II instar was 10.272%, III instar was 10.823%, and IV instar was 11.303%, and pupae was 12.732%. B. spaericus against the first to fouth instar larvae and pupae had the following values: I instar was 0.051%, II instar was 0.057%, III instar was 0.062%, IV instar was 0.066%, and for the pupae was 0.073%. No mortality was observed in the control. The present results suggest that the ethanolic extracts of L. aspera and B. sphaericus provided an excellent potential for controlling of malarial vector, A. stephensi. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explains a survey of 32 engineering colleges with 25 respondents from students of each college totaling to 800 respondents belonging to various engineering colleges in Coimbatore was conducted. Studies on the reference sources collection, i. e., functioning of the library, book availability, library environment is helpful in reading, and reading materials are sufficient, responds visit to library, present library timing, staffs supportive utilizing, arrangement of library books, were the important aspects taken into consideration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fecal Sludge Treatment or Septage Management is increasingly being recognised as an effective and appropriate method to scale urban sanitation systems to achieve safe sanitation, particularly in small towns and cities. As implementation progresses, data-based evidence is emerging, highlighting the challenges faced on the ground, and the requisite planning necessary to address them. This paper presents the findings, challenges and possible ways ahead from a study conducted to provide data for Fecal Sludge Management (FSM) planning for a small town in a state in southern India. With the objective of understanding the nature of containment structures and on-ground desludging practices, 8,001 households and 1,667 establishments were studied in Periyanaicken-Palayam (PNP), a non-sewered Town Panchayat in Coimbatore District, Tamil Nadu, to provide evidence for effective decision-making. The study showed wide variations in the sizing and design of the containment systems, which, when combined with the irregular frequency of desludging, has implications for FSM planning by municipal bodies. This study also highlights the methodological difficulties in studying containment systems, exposes a significant response bias given the limited understanding of containment systems within households, and spotlights the difficulty in physically verifying the reported data given the underground nature of these systems. • Wastewater treatment, an SDG6 focus, requires broadening scope of urban sanitation. • Methodological difficulties exist in data collection on containment systems. • Containments design and construction deviations from norms impact sanitation chain. • Methods and practices to standardise new, and retrofit old containments needed. • FSM planning needs to be cogniscant of variations in containment systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Groundnut, Arachis hypogaea L., crop is an important oil seed crop in India and is prone to attack by numerous fungal and viral diseases, among the soil-borne diseases, stem rot caused by Sclerotium rolfsii Sacc. is economically important. Incidence (86.6%) of the stem rot disease was recorded in Coimbatore district, Tamil Nadu, India, during the roving survey. For its management, an attempt was made to isolate bacterial endophyte from peanut seeds of different groundnut cultivars by culture-dependent analysis. Totally, 16 bacterial endophytes (endophytes groundnut (EGN) 1 to EGN 16 along with standards TNAU-Pf1 and EPC 5) were obtained and characterized through morphological, biochemical and molecular studies and also phytostimulation activities were performed. Among the isolates, EGN 1 and EGN 4 showed positive results for indole acetic acid (IAA), siderophore, phosphate solubilization and protease tests in vitro. The dual culture analysis showed inhibition rates of 60.1% (dual plate assay), 68.23% (filter paper disc assay) and 100% (triangle method of streaking and culture filtrate assay) for EGN 1 against S. rolfsii. Further, the crude metabolite assay showed 97.7% inhibition in EGN 1, followed by 87.7% in EGN 4. The roll towel study showed a high vigour index of 4286.7 in EGN 1; hence, this isolate was chosen. Further, thin-layer chromatography (TLC) analysis showed various bands at 0.72 Rf, whereas GC-MS analysis indicated the prominent peaks of hexadecanoic acid and cis-vaccenic acid that may responsible for antifungal activity. In a molecular approach, the genomic DNA of EGN 1 strain was used to amplify a 1200 bp PCR-fragment and sequenced. Short conclusion: The overall outcome of this study showed that Pseudomonas spp. EGN 1 had a great potential as a bio-stimulant and biocontrol agent to manage effectively the stem rot in peanut. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]