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Kresoxim-methyl residue in green chilli and soil was estimated using gas chromatography equipped with microelectron capture detector (µECD, 63Ni) and analytical method was validated. The method sho...

This study aimed to evaluate the root crop digger for digging of the potato crop at the farmer’s field. The digger was tested at three levels of forward speeds (2.3, 2.8 and 3.3 kmh-1) and three levels of rake angles (170, 200, and 230). The experiment was replicated three times for the performance parameters of exposed,undug, cut, bruised percentage and the digging efficiency. The best performance of the digger was obtained at forward speed 2.3 km h-1 and blade angle 230 for potato crop at which the exposed, undug, cut, bruised percentage and the digging efficiency was found to be 90.62,2.10, 1.71, 2.48 and 97.90 per cent, respectively. About 54% savings in cost of digging could be achieved using digger compared to manual digging involving labour.

The modern agriculture is negatively affected due to the rapid exploitation of natural resources, indiscriminate use of pesticide application, and frequent weather events influenced by climate change. Biocontrol action is a significant tool for IPM, offers alternative management techniques that are safer for human and environmental health. It is also worth noting that biological control has worked in a versatile manner in different agricultural management systems and with different types of disease causing organisms existing in the nature. Several key pests and invasive pests were successfully controlled with the application of biological agents. Although biopesticides very slowly replace the use of pesticide that may be due to biopesticide exploration and application range. In India the main challenge for biopesticide is related to their shelf life, narrow host range for pathogens, variation in the lab to land performances, economic regulation, etc. Integrated approach will be beneficial for biopesticide application for this private and government sectors that come together with farmers to the village level and to build confidence in the use of biopesticides.

Microbes are constituting elements of the soil environment and their abundance, enzymatic activity, degradation process, and biodiversity indicate the balance in the agro-ecological system. It is necessary to keep strengthening the scientific basis of modern agriculture because pesticides may be purposefully used only if their persistence, bioaccumulation, and toxicity in agro-ecosystems are strictly controlled. The use of agrochemicals, such as chemical fertilisers and pesticides, is important in modern crop management strategies (mainly insecticides and herbicides). Pesticide poisoning affects three million people worldwide, according to the WHO. Long-term and indiscriminate pesticide use has serious negative consequences for soil microbes, the nutrient cycle, the decomposition process, and the atmosphere, resulting in long-term negative consequences for food stability, human health, and the environment. Pesticide application can alter microbial diversity, which can be detrimental to plant growth and development by decreasing nutrient availability or disrupting the nutrient cycle. Therefore, the qualitative, innovative, and demand-driven pest management is the need of the hour. Hence, this chapter covers the positive and negative consequences of pesticides on microbes and their environment and current issues about the extensive use of pesticides.

The sugarcane cultivation and sugar industry in India plays a vital role towards socio-economic development in the rural areas by mobilizing rural resources and generating higher income and employment opportunities. About 7.5 per cent of the rural population, covering about 45 million sugarcane farmers, their dependents and a large number of agricultural labour are involved in sugarcane cultivation, harvesting and ancillary activities. There are about nine States in India where sugarcane is grown on a large extent of area. There are a number of varieties that are grown in India depending on the suitability of the soil. The area, output and yield and sugarcane cultivation is subjected to fluctuate in response to policies of the government and also conditions of cultivation. Sugarcane is a labour intensive crop and shortage of labour and unavailability of labour at reasonable rate is the major concern in sugarcane cultivation. To combat the paucity of labour, mechanized sugarcane cultivation is the only option to carry out all the operations in time. The next phase of revolution in Indian agriculture is bound to come through the use of improved agricultural machinery suiting to local conditions. The performance evaluation of sugarcane handling equipments like tractor front mounted sugarcane loader, tractor operated sugarcane billets collector cum unloader and tractor PTO operated sugarcane trash shredder were conducted at Farm Machinery Testing Centre, CCSHAU, Hisar and the performance has been found to be satisfactory. Concerted efforts are required to formulate a strategy for mechanising sugarcane production in India with the sole aim of increasing production and productivity per unit time, area and input at reduced cost of unit operation to survive in the highly competitive international sugar market.

INTRODUCTION: Respiratory drug delivery is a surprisingly complex process with a number of physical and biological challenges. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is a scientific simulation technique that is capable of providing spatially and temporally resolved predictions of many aspects related to respiratory drug delivery from initial aerosol formation through respiratory cellular drug absorption. AREAS COVERED: This review article focuses on CFD-based deposition modeling applied to pharmaceutical aerosols. Areas covered include the development of new complete-airway CFD deposition models and the application of these models to develop a next generation of respiratory drug delivery strategies. EXPERT OPINION: Complete-airway deposition modeling is a valuable research tool that can improve our understanding of pharmaceutical aerosol delivery and is already supporting medical hypotheses, such as the expected under-treatment of the small airways in asthma. These complete-airway models are also being used to advance next generation aerosol delivery strategies, like controlled condensational growth. We envision future applications of CFD deposition modeling to reduce the need for human subject testing in developing new devices and formulations, to help establish bioequivalence for the accelerated approval of generic inhalers, and to provide valuable new insights related to drug dissolution and clearance leading to microdosimetry maps of drug absorption.

Background: To assess the effectiveness of planned teaching programme on practice of post natal exercises among mothers who have undergone Lower segment cesarean section (L.S.C.S) in selected hospital at Bangalore. Methods: compare the practice scores of postnatal exercises among LSCS mothers between control group and experimental group. Results: Results shows that in post test the control group had inadequate practice score with a mean of 16.33%, standard deviation of 9.44 and mean percentage of 19.60 % where as in post test the experimental group there was a significant mean practice score gain of 39.84 % and standard deviation of 12.58 and mean percentage 79.67 % with a differences of 60.07 %. Conclusions: Significant difference was found between control and experimental group practice score of mothers in all areas of post natal exercises.

Overall economics of the biomass to ethanol process is largely determined by the efficiency of biomass hydrolysis. Performance of cellulase cocktails used for saccharification of cellulose in biomass is often limited by lower amounts of β-glucosidases present, which catalyse hydrolysis of cellobiose, the product of endo and exocellulases to glucose. Inappropriate ratio of these enzymes in commercial cocktails leads to accumulation of cellobiose which inhibits the activity of cellulases. Thus, this rate limiting enzyme is of crucial importance in determining the efficiency of commercial cellulases. The saprophytic fungus Trichoderma sp., exploited for production of commercial cellulases, produces very minute quantities of β-glucosidases as compared to endo and exocellulases. However, several other organisms are known to produce β-glucosidases in higher quantities, over a broader substrate range. Strategies to get optimal ratio of exocellulases, endocellulases and β-glucosidases to enhance saccharification yields are, therefore, discussed. Appropriate levels of β-glucosidase activity in commercial cocktails have been obtained by supplementing with accessory β-glucosidases, transgenic approaches and by optimizing β-glucosidase production through manipulation of culture conditions. These approaches have resulted in achieving higher β-glucosidase activity in cellulase cocktails, facilitating higher sugar yields and thereby potentially improving enzymatic saccharification of biomass and eventually ethanol production.

Dry lands contribute 42% of the total food grain production of India. These areas produce 75% of pulses and more than 90% of sorghum, millet and groundnut from arid and semi-arid regions. Thus, dry lands/rainfed farming plays a dominant role in agricultural production. This target cannot be realized from irrigated areas alone as the irrigation potential is only for 178 million hectares. Therefore, an appropriate technology has to be developed for dry land farming. Due to dependency on rains the sowing is often delayed in dry land area which substantially reduces the yield of crop. A water application mechanism thus designed and developed wherein water will be given to the seed at the time of sowing. This will help farmer to sow crop on time, which will help to increase the production by attaining proper germination of crop at the time of sowing. The effective field capacity of water application attachment on seed drill was observed 0.420 ha/h at average operating speed of 2.5 km/h. The field efficiency calculated was 70%. Seed germination per cent in water application attachment on seed drill was 5.60% higher than normal seed drill with no attachment. Yield in water application attachment on seed drill was 16.74% higher than seed drill with no attachment.