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Like all other sectors, higher education in the agriculture sector has been affected by the COVID-19. Both teachers and students have faced problems in communication, learning and motivation during online education. The major issues include the limited internet access coupled with poor supply of electricity especially in rural areas, in most of the developing countries. In this article, we have discussed various challenges faced by agricultural students and teachers during online teaching and learning after the COVID-19 pandemic. The article also discusses prospects and strategies to improve online teaching and learning in the higher education of the agriculture sector of developing countries.

Simple Summary: The red flour beetle is the most destructive pest of stored grain commodities, including flour, food grains, biscuits, pasta, nuts, cereals, and beans. Warehouse owners mostly use fumigants to control its infestation; however, these fumigants are toxic. The Indo–Pakistan region is rich in certain plant species that have repellent or deterrent effects on insects, and these plants are safer for humans. Among these plants are Mexican tea, long leaf Indian pine, rattan pepper, garden cress, neem, Baccharis teindalensis (a Columbian native herb also found in Pakistan), and marjoram. Hence, in the present study, we determined the toxic effect of these essential oil extracts against red flour beetle. The toxicity and repellent activities of these plant oils were determined through four-arm olfactometer bioassays. Mortality was recorded 1 day, 2 days, and 3 days after oil extract exposure. Data were analyzed using statistical software. Means were compared through LSD at the 5% level of significance. Overall, Mexican tea and Indian native palm oil were effective repellents. This study concludes that Mexican tea and Indian native palm oil can be used as alternative repellents against red flour beetle infestation. Tribolium castaneum (Herbst) (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) is the most destructive pest of stored grain commodities. To control the attack of this insect pest, it is important to develop non-hazardous alternatives to replace fumigants. This study examined the fumigant toxicity and repellent activity of seven essential oils (Chinopodium ambrosiodes, Pinus roxburghii, Zanthoxylum armatum, Lepidium sativum, Azadirachta indica, Baccharis teindalensis, and Origanum majorana) against adult T. castaneum under controlled laboratory conditions. The fumigant toxicity and repellent activities of essential oils were tested using five different doses (62.5, 125, 250, 500, and 1000 µg) in vapour-phase fumigation and four-arm olfactometer bioassays, respectively. In vapor-phase fumigation bioassays, mortality data were recorded after 24, 48, and 72 h. The results showed that C. ambrosiodes and P. roxburghii essential oils are potential fumigants against adult T. castaneum. In repellency bioassays, a one-week-old adult population of T. castaneum was used to test the repellency potential of the essential oils. The results indicated that C. ambrosiodes and P. roxburghii had significant repellency potential against T. castaneum. Overall, we conclude that these essential oils have strong repellent and fumigant properties and can be used as potential repellent compounds to deter the insects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Soybean meal is the main constituent of poultry feed, and the global supply of soybeans has decreased because of an imbalance between its demand and supply, primarily caused by the growing world population and reduced cultivation area. Therefore, a cheap and environmentally sustainable alternative protein source is urgently needed to maintain the sustainability of poultry production. In this study, we demonstrated that substituting 12% of soybean meal with either fall armyworm larvae or black soldier fly larvae enhances the growth, blood haematology, gut morphometry, and meat quality of broiler chickens. Consequently, soybean meal can be substituted with protein-rich insects in the poultry feed. The primary challenge facing the global animal industry is the scarcity of protein feed resources. Various insects are gaining prominence as innovative feed sources due to their economic, environmentally friendly, and nutritious attributes. The purpose of the present study was to determine the effects of a partial replacement of soybean meal with fall armyworm Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) and black soldier fly Hermetia illucens (Diptera: Stratiomyidae) on the growth performances, blood parameters, gut histology, and meat quality of broilers. A total of 350 1-day-old (40 ± 0.15 g) male chicks (Ross 308) were randomly assigned to seven experimental meals. Each treatment was repeated five times with 50 birds per dietary treatment. The seven dietary treatments included 4, 8, and 12% replacements of SBM with larvae of S. frugiperda and H. illucens. SBM was the basal diet considered the control. The data showed that broilers fed 12% S. frugiperda or H. illucens exhibited a significantly higher (p < 0.05) live weight, average daily weight gain, and improved the feed conversion ratio. Meals with 12% S. frugiperda or H. illucens significantly enhanced (p < 0.05) haematological and gut histological parameters, including villus height, crypt depth, villus width, and villus height/crypt depth ratios. The meat of broilers fed the 12% S. frugiperda diet showed significantly higher (p < 0.05) lightness and yellowness. Replacing soybean meal up to 12% with either S. frugiperda or H. illucens larvae improves the growth performance, blood haematology, gut morphometry, and meat quality traits of broilers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Minerals play an essential role in the reproductive performance of dairy animals, especially in buffaloes. The present study aimed to evaluate the mineral concentrations in different types of samples, including soil used for fodder cultivation, canal water used for fodder irrigation, drinking water for buffaloes, fodder used for buffalo feeding, and serum of buffaloes and their effects on the reproductive efficiency of buffaloes. Materials and methods: The current study was carried out for three months and samples were analyzed twice at the beginning and the end of the study. The concentrations of calcium, magnesium, and inorganic phosphorus in the soil were checked through the versinate method. The concentration of calcium, magnesium, and inorganic phosphorus in water was checked through the titration method and the concentration of calcium, magnesium, and inorganic phosphorus contents in fodder was checked through the wet digestion method. The minerals of blood serum (n = 80) were analyzed through commercial kits. Results: In canal water, calcium concentration was higher for irrigation compared to buffalo drinking water. Similarly, on the upper surface of the soil compared to its lower surface, the level of calcium was high. Calcium values of serum were higher in cyclic buffaloes compared to buffalo heifers. In comparison to all groups, the levels of inorganic phosphorus were found to be lower in non-cyclic buffaloes. Similarly, the calcium-tophosphorus ratio was found to be lower in non-cyclic buffaloes and heifers compared to repeat breeders and cyclic buffaloes. At the beginning of the study, cyclic buffaloes had higher magnesium levels than all other groups, except for non-cyclic buffaloes. By the end of the study, magnesium concentrations were higher in non-cyclic buffaloes and heifers compared to repeat breeders and cyclic buffaloes. Conclusion: The mineral deficiencies in water and soil can affect the fodder content in the feed of buffaloes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Mosquitoes are the deadliest insects alive due to the transmission of pathogens that cause diseases. Plant essential oils are considered an alternative to synthetic repellents for controlling mosquitoes. We have investigated the repellent and larvicidal activity of six plant essential oils against adult female mosquitos and the larvae of yellow fever mosquitos, Aedes aegypti. The essential oils extracted from Mentha longifolia, Zanthoxylum armatum, Erigeron bonariensis, and E. canadensis have the potential to manage Ae. aegypti at the larval stage. Moreover, M. longifolia, E. canadensis, E. bonariensis, and Salsola imbricata essential oils exhibited prolonged mosquito-repellent activity against adult female Ae. Aegypti; these oils might be used to develop formulations that are efficient and cost-effective as mosquito repellents without harming humans and the environment. Bio-degradable and eco-friendly essential oils (EOs) extracted from Mentha longifolia, Salsola imbricata, Erigeron bonariensis, E. canadensis, Ailanthus altissima, and Zanthoxylum armatum were investigated for their repellent and larvicidal potential against Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. The EOs of M. longifolia, S. imbricata, E. bonariensis, E. canadensis, A. altissima, and Z. armatum exhibited 99.0%, 96.8%, 40.2%, 41.7%, 29.1%, and 13.2% repellency against mosquitoes at a tested dose of 33.3 μg/cm2, respectively. In time span bioassays, the EOs of M. longifolia, S. imbricata, E. bonariensis, and E. canadensis showed more than 40% repellency for 60 min at a tested dose of 330 μg/cm2. Larvicidal bioassays revealed that larvae of Ae. aegypti were the most susceptible to M. longifolia (LC50, 39.3 mg/L), E. bonariensis (LC50, 26.0 mg/L), E. canadensis (LC50, 35.7 mg/L), and Z. armatum (LC50, 35.9 mg/L) EOs upon 48 h exposure. The most abundant constituents in the EOs of M. longifolia, S. imbricata, E. bonariensis, E. canadensis and A. altissima were piperitone oxide (45.5%), carvone (39.9%), matricaria ester (43.1%), (31.7%) and eugenol (24.4%), respectively. Our study demonstrates that EOs of M. longifolia, S. imbricata, E. bonariensis, and E. canadensis might be used to control Ae. aegypti mosquitoes without harming humans or the environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spotted bollworm, Earias vittella Fab (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) is serious Asiatic pest, particularly associated with cotton in Pakistan. The study was planned to determine response of long and short duration cotton genotypes to E. vittella infestation. Field experiment was conducted at the Central Cotton Research Institute, Multan for two years. Long and short duration genotypes were sown during the 3rd week of May to investigate their response to E. vittella. E. vittella infestation (damage in fruits and larval population) was almost similar during both the years of experimentation. However, the fruiting parts were higher during second year as compared to the first year. The response of the genotypes CIM-496 and CIM-506 was variable to E. vittella infestation in fruiting parts and damage in mature bolls. Treatments showed significant impact on fruiting parts, number of damage fruits and larval population. However, no significant interaction was observed between the varieties and treatments. The most critical months were August and September in which the rate of IMF damaged by single larva was 4.5 and 4.1 and MB at the rate of 1.5 and 1.6 in CIM-496 while 3.6 and 4.1 IMF and 1.7 MB damage per larva in CIM-506, respectively. By controlling the pest infestation up to70-80% damage or 66% larval population, the yield was increased by 22-24% in long or short duration genotypes. Inevitable losses due to E. vittella were 0.8% in IMF or 0.3-0.4% in MB even with 10 applications in both the genotypes. The critical tolerance period for the long duration genotype CIM 496 was the last week of August and for short duration genotype CIM-506 was the second week of August. Similarly losses compensation was 4.5 and 9.1% higher in long duration genotypes as compared to short duration genotype in 1%TL and TL2, respectively. It was concluded that E. vittella can cause 22-24% fruiting losses if the pest is not controlled. Plant protection measures should therefore be taken before the critical tolerance period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The knowledge of oviposition preference by female insects is a basic requirement for developing insect pest scouting methods to determine the potential damage and to apply control measures for key pest like Earias vittella in cotton. Field experiments were conducted to assess the distribution of E. vittella eggs within the cotton plant. Out of 240 plants inspected, E. vittella females laid 204 and 194 eggs on 40.9% and 36.9%of the plants in 2011 and 2012, respectively. Spearman Rank Correlation showed that a significant and positive relationship (association) existed between the number of infested plants or plant parts and number of eggs laid. In every week, an average of 6.1±1.2 plants were infested with13.6±2.7 eggs in 2011 and 5.5±1.1 plants with 12.9±2.2 eggs in 2012. Four and three peak egg-laying periods were observed in 2011 and 2012, respectively. Taylor's power law of regression showed an aggregate spatial pattern distribution of eggs for E. vittella in plants in both years. Variance-to-mean ratio, the chi-square test index, and Lloyd index of patchiness indicated uniform eggs distribution for both years. Within the plants, the most preferred oviposition sites were just below the terminal portion on such structures as the leaves, terminal buds and NE leaves. The current study regarding the site selection for oviposition provides information that can be used to develop guidelines for E. vittella management in cotton production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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