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The Red Palm Weevil (RPW) Rhynchophorus ferrugineus (Olivier) is a voracious pest of palm species. In recent decades its range has expanded greatly, particularly impacting the date palm industry in the Middle East. This has led to conjecture regarding the origins of invasive RPW populations. For example, in parts of the Middle East, RPW is commonly referred to as the "Pakistani weevil" in the belief that it originated there. We sought evidence to support or refute this belief. First reports of RPW in Pakistan were from the Punjab region in 1918, but it is unknown whether it is native or invasive there. We estimated genetic variation across five populations of RPW from two provinces of Pakistan, using sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I gene. Four haplotypes were detected; two (H1 and H5) were abundant, accounting for 88% of specimens across the sampled populations, and were previously known from the Middle East. The remaining haplotypes (H51 and H52) were newly detected (in global terms) and there was no geographic overlap in their distribution within Pakistan. Levels of haplotype diversity were much lower than those previously recorded in accepted parts of the native range of RPW, suggesting that the weevil may be invasive in Pakistan. The affinity of Pakistani haplotypes to those reported from India (and the geographical proximity of the two countries), make the latter a likely "native" source. With regards the validity of the name "Pakistani weevil", we found little genetic evidence to justify it.

China-Pakistan economic corridor (CPEC), a critical part of the Belt and Road initiative (BRI), is subjected to rapid infrastructure development, which may lead to potential eco-environmental vulnerability. This study uses multi-source geo-information, and the multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM)-based best–worst method (BWM) to quantify the baseline eco-environmental vulnerability of one key CPEC sector—the Punjab province. The Punjab province is an important connection between northern and southern CPEC routes in Pakistan. In this study, we have established an indicator system consisting of twenty-two influential factors in a geospatial database to conduct eco-environmental vulnerability analysis. The overall setup is supported by a geographic information system (GIS) to perform spatial analysis. The resulting map was categorized into five vulnerability levels: very low, low, medium, high, and very high. The results revealed that the overall eco-environmental health of the Punjab province is reasonably good as 4.64% and 59.45% area of the key sector lies in ‘very low’ and ‘low’ vulnerability categories; however, there also exist highly vulnerable areas, particularly in the proximity of CPEC projects. Although high vulnerability areas constitute a very small percentage, only 0.08% of the Punjab province, still, decision-makers need to be aware of those regions and make corresponding protection strategies. Our study demonstrated that the MCDM-BWM-based EVA model could be effectively used to quantify vulnerability in other areas of CPEC. The findings of the study emphasize that management policies should be aligned with research-based recommendations for ecological protection, natural resource utilization, and sustainable development in regions participating in BRI.

Food security is one of the leading issues of many governments globally. Kitchen gardening is the innovative project initiated by the Government of Punjab (Pakistan) to provide instant aid to dwellers by self-produced fresh vegetables. The present investigation was conducted in the district Bahawalpur. The objectives were to explore the main benefits of kitchen gardening, to identify the places used for this activity, to identify the growers’ perceptions and to give suggestions to improve the project. Two urban and one rural tehsils of district Bahawalpur were selected as study areas. Secondary data were collected from several sources while primary data gathered through a mobile phone survey and analyzed by applying descriptive and inferential statistics using SPSS software. The findings have justified that dominant share of growers have sown the seed kits for vegetables production, mostly for home consumption and was satisfied with the quality and price of seed kit. Most of the growers certified the efficiency of the project in the regular provision of fresh and healthy vegetables. Hence, the project is a successful endeavor and still continuing in the province, benefiting the masses and encouraging urban agriculture. The outcome of the investigation is suggestions to further improve this project.

Tularemia is an endemic zoonotic disease in many parts of the world including Asia. A cross-sectional study was conducted to determine genome-based prevalence of Francisella tularensis (Ft) in soil, assess an association between its occurrence in soil and likely predictors i.e., macro and micro-nutrients and several categorical variables, and determine seroconversion in small and large ruminants. The study included a total of 2,280 soil samples representing 456 villages in eight districts of the Punjab Province of Pakistan followed by an analysis of serum antibodies in 707 ruminants. The genome of Ft was detected in 3.25% (n = 74, 95% CI: 2.60–4.06) of soil samples. Soluble salts (OR: 1.276, 95% CI: 1.043–1.562, p = 0.015), Ni (OR: 2.910, 95%CI: 0.795–10.644, p = 0.106), Mn (OR:0.733, 95% CI:0.565–0.951, p = 0.019), Zn (OR: 4.922, 95% CI:0.929–26.064, p = 0.061) and nutrients clustered together as PC-1 (OR: 4.76, 95% CI: 2.37–9.54, p = 0.000) and PC-3 (OR: 0.357, 95% CI: 0.640, p = 0.001) were found to have a positive association for the presence of Ft in soil. The odds of occurrence of Ft DNA in soil were higher at locations close to a water source, including canals, streams or drains, [χ2 = 6.7, OR = 1.19, 95% CI:1.05–3.09, p = 0.004] as well as places where animals were present [χ2 = 4.09, OR = 2.06, 95% CI: 1.05–4.05, p = 0.02]. The seroconversion was detected in 6.22% (n = 44, 95% CI: 4.67–8.25) of domestic animals. An occurrence of Ft over a wide geographical region indicates its expansion to enzootic range, and demonstrates the need for further investigation among potential disease reservoirs and at-risk populations, such as farmers and veterinarians.

Tularemia is an endemic zoonotic disease in many parts of the world including Asia. A cross-sectional study was conducted to determine genome-based prevalence of Francisella tularensis (Ft) in soil, assess an association between its occurrence in soil and likely predictors i.e., macro and micro-nutrients and several categorical variables, and determine seroconversion in small and large ruminants. The study included a total of 2,280 soil samples representing 456 villages in eight districts of the Punjab Province of Pakistan followed by an analysis of serum antibodies in 707 ruminants. The genome of Ft was detected in 3.25% (n = 74, 95% CI: 2.60–4.06) of soil samples. Soluble salts (OR: 1.276, 95% CI: 1.043–1.562, p = 0.015), Ni (OR: 2.910, 95%CI: 0.795–10.644, p = 0.106), Mn (OR:0.733, 95% CI:0.565–0.951, p = 0.019), Zn (OR: 4.922, 95% CI:0.929–26.064, p = 0.061) and nutrients clustered together as PC-1 (OR: 4.76, 95% CI: 2.37–9.54, p = 0.000) and PC-3 (OR: 0.357, 95% CI: 0.640, p = 0.001) were found to have a positive association for the presence of Ft in soil. The odds of occurrence of Ft DNA in soil were higher at locations close to a water source, including canals, streams or drains, [χ2 = 6.7, OR = 1.19, 95% CI:1.05–3.09, p = 0.004] as well as places where animals were present [χ2 = 4.09, OR = 2.06, 95% CI: 1.05–4.05, p = 0.02]. The seroconversion was detected in 6.22% (n = 44, 95% CI: 4.67–8.25) of domestic animals. An occurrence of Ft over a wide geographical region indicates its expansion to enzootic range, and demonstrates the need for further investigation among potential disease reservoirs and at-risk populations, such as farmers and veterinarians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study primarily investigates the profitability of spring maize production in district Kasur of Punjab Province, using farm budgeting technique. Keeping in view the growing trend in maize area, data were collected through simple random sampling technique, and administered structured questionnaires to a total of 50 respondents. Analysis was performed using descriptive statistics, and analyzed net farm income of the maize farmers. The socio-economic indicators reflected that maize growers were found in productive age group (with average age of 41 years) but generally had lower literacy rate with 7 years of schooling, they were quite experienced as spent averagely 17 years in maize cultivation. The costs and returns analysis indicated that spring maize production was a profitable enterprise with an average net return of Rs.19803/acre and a gross ratio of 0.75. A production efficiency index (1.31) per farmer further supported the profitability of enterprise, that is, the returns sufficiently covered the costs of production. As maize being the staple diet and having profitability in the study area needs attention of policy makers for enhancing its area, production and yield. Strengthening the role of government in provision of quality inputs particularly seed and fertilizers as well as working for market integration is recommended for improving spring maize productivity and profitability on commercial lines.

The dramatic changes in land use are associated with various influencing factors such as socioeconomic, climatic, geophysical and proximity factors. Hence, understanding the driving mechanisms of land use changes is crucial to determine the pattern of future changes in land use. The aim of this study is to project the future land use and land cover changes from 2010 to 2030 in Punjab province under three scenarios: Business-as-Usual scenario (BAU), Rapid Economic Growth scenario (REG) and Coordinated Environmental Sustainability scenario (CES). This article used the previously developed Dynamics of Land System (DLS) model to simulate the land use changes in response to the driving mechanisms. The results indicate that cultivated land and built-up areas would expand while areas of water and grassland would face contraction under all three scenarios. Nevertheless, future land demand varies in different scenarios. Under the CES scenario; forest area would expand in the future while large reduction in unused land would be observed. Under the REG scenario, augmented expansion of built-up areas and drastic decrease in forest areas would be the main features of land use changes. Our findings in the scenario analysis of land use changes can provide a reference case for sustainable land use planning and management in Punjab province. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Food security is one of the leading issues of many governments globally. Kitchen gardening is the innovative project initiated by the Government of Punjab (Pakistan) to provide instant aid to dwellers by self-produced fresh vegetables. The present investigation was conducted in the district Bahawalpur. The objectives were to explore the main benefits of kitchen gardening, to identify the places used for this activity, to identify the growers’ perceptions and to give suggestions to improve the project. Two urban and one rural tehsils of district Bahawalpur were selected as study areas. Secondary data were collected from several sources while primary data gathered through a mobile phone survey and analyzed by applying descriptive and inferential statistics using SPSS software. The findings have justified that dominant share of growers have sown the seed kits for vegetables production, mostly for home consumption and was satisfied with the quality and price of seed kit. Most of the growers certified the efficiency of the project in the regular provision of fresh and healthy vegetables. Hence, the project is a successful endeavor and still continuing in the province, benefiting the masses and encouraging urban agriculture. The outcome of the investigation is suggestions to further improve this project. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The purpose of this quantitative investigation was to identify instructional practices used by special education teachers in classrooms of young children with deafness. The population of study involved all 388 teachers serving in 34 Government Deaf & Defective Hearing Schools located in four zones of the Punjab province. A sample of 68 teachers (two teachers from each school) teaching to young children with deafness in class K.G.I and K.G.II was selected. A self developed and validated questionnaire (cronbach Alpha: 0.92) was used to elicit teachers' responses on instructional practices made by them in teaching speech, speech reading, reading recognition, writing and mathematics, on parental involvement and evaluation. Data were collected personally, through email, and registered post. Collected data were analyzed on SPSS. Independent sample t-test and ANOVA was run to see differences in instructional practices on the basis of teachers' gender, position, qualification, number of children, and four zones of the Punjab. Major findings revealed that teachers were having problems in teaching to and working with young children with deafness due to overcrowded classrooms, lack of teaching staff, unavailability of hearing aids, lack of parental cooperation etc. conclusions were drawn and recommendations to Punjab Special Education Department of Pakistan were made. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High level of total dissolved solids (TDS) in drinking water may cause problems in human body such as, stiffness of the joints, kidney stones, gallstones, and it may also cause hardening of arteries and sometime blockage of arteries in severe conditions. The TDS level of groundwater with spatial domain Punjab province, Pakistan is considered as response variable (random field) in present paper. Model-based ordinary kriging (OK), Bayesian ordinary kriging (BOK), and Gaussian spatial predictive process are used to model the spatial distribution of response variable. These methods ultimately estimate predictions maps and probabilities with specified threshold limit. The BOK performs better than OK and Gaussian spatial predictive process in terms of root mean square prediction error. This study reveals that the elevated TDS level crossing WHO permissible limit (1,000 mg/l) found in 24 % sample. Bahawalpur, Dera Ghazi Khan, Hafizabad, Khushab, Nankana Shaib, Okara, and Toba Tek Singh districts of Punjab province are observed of great concern. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The major objective of the study was to elicit the effect of three instructional methods for teaching of mathematics on low, average and high achiever elementary school students. Three methods: traditional instructional method, computer assisted instruction (CAI) and teacher facilitated mathematics learning software were employed for the teaching of three chapters of six class mathematics textbook (Integers, Algebra and Geometry). Interactive software was developed, using the contents of these three chapters. Two urban and two rural schools were selected containing a male and a female school. Seventy eight students from each of the four randomly selected schools were randomly selected and assigned in to three groups. On the basis of pretest the students were identified as low, average and high achievers. After the treatment a post test was conducted. The score of the students were analyzed that revealed teacher facilitated mathematics instructional method produced better score when compared with CAI and traditional instructional methods of teaching mathematics for low and average achievers, but no significant difference was observed between instructional techniques for high achievers. It raises the questions; why instructional techniques not affected the high achievers scores? What kind of provisions may be added in the next version of the instructional software? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: An initial survey of the concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) compounds in air and soils across industrial and agricultural areas of Punjab Province, Pakistan, was conducted from January to March 2011. The total concentration of all PCBs (31 PCBs) ranged from 34 to 389pgm−3 in air and from 7 to 45ngg−1 dry weight in soils, where both ranges were similar to the average ranges in other areas of the world. PCBs were elevated across industrial regions near urban and industrial sources. Consistently low air concentrations of PCBs at the agricultural sites suggest that they are less widespread or uniformly distributed in the Pakistani atmosphere. The calculated air and soil fugacity fraction values indicated that soils are a potential secondary source of PCBs in agricultural areas, whereas they are in equilibrium or atmospheric deposition in industrial and urban areas. TEQ concentrations of dioxin-like PCBs for soil samples met the Canadian standard. However, local authorities should address the human health threats from urban and industrial soils in Punjab Province, Pakistan. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Natural and anthropogenic radioactivity of sand and water samples collected from the four big rivers of Punjab province, Pakistan, was measured using a high-purity germanium detector coupled with a high resolution multichannel analyser. The average concentration of the naturally occurring radionuclides 226Ra, 232Th and 40K in all the sand samples from the rivers Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi and Indus was found to be 22±0.6, 36±1 and 287±10 Bq kg −1, respectively, while the concentration of the anthropogenic radionuclide 137Cs was found to be below the minimum detectable activity, i.e. ∼ 1.2 Bq kg −1. All the sand samples have Raeq concentrations lower than the limit of 370 Bq kg −1. Indoor (H in) and outdoor (H out) radiation hazard indices were calculated for the samples to assess the radiation hazards arising due to the use of this sand in construction, and were found to be less than unity in the study area. Calculated values of the absorbed dose rate were less than the typical world average value of 59 nGy h −1, and the annual effective dose rate was also less than the typical world value of 70 μSv, except in the Indus river, in which it is slightly higher then the world average. Results show that the measured values are comparable with other global radioactivity measurements. None of the studied riverbeds was considered a radiological hazard, and their sand can be safely used in construction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An indoor radon survey has been carried in 120 schools situated in four districts of the Punjab province, namely Attock, Chakwal, Jhelum, and Rawalpindi. In each season, a total of 360 CR-39-based radon detectors were installed in the selected schools. After exposure the detectors were etched in 6M NaOH at 808C solution for 16 h and tracks densities, which are related to the radon concentration, were measured. Indoor radon concentration varied from 18±7 to 168±5Bq·m-3 with an average value of 52±9Bq·m-3. High indoor radon concentration values were found in the summer season, whereas lower values were recorded in autumn season. The mean annual radon effective dose equivalent was estimated to be 0.49mSv per year. Present indoor radon concentration values are higher than that of the world average value of 40 Bq·m-3, but lower than the action level recommended by the ICRP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China-Pakistan economic corridor (CPEC), a critical part of the Belt and Road initiative (BRI), is subjected to rapid infrastructure development, which may lead to potential eco-environmental vulnerability. This study uses multi-source geo-information, and the multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM)-based best–worst method (BWM) to quantify the baseline eco-environmental vulnerability of one key CPEC sector—the Punjab province. The Punjab province is an important connection between northern and southern CPEC routes in Pakistan. In this study, we have established an indicator system consisting of twenty-two influential factors in a geospatial database to conduct eco-environmental vulnerability analysis. The overall setup is supported by a geographic information system (GIS) to perform spatial analysis. The resulting map was categorized into five vulnerability levels: very low, low, medium, high, and very high. The results revealed that the overall eco-environmental health of the Punjab province is reasonably good as 4.64% and 59.45% area of the key sector lies in 'very low' and 'low' vulnerability categories; however, there also exist highly vulnerable areas, particularly in the proximity of CPEC projects. Although high vulnerability areas constitute a very small percentage, only 0.08% of the Punjab province, still, decision-makers need to be aware of those regions and make corresponding protection strategies. Our study demonstrated that the MCDM-BWM-based EVA model could be effectively used to quantify vulnerability in other areas of CPEC. The findings of the study emphasize that management policies should be aligned with research-based recommendations for ecological protection, natural resource utilization, and sustainable development in regions participating in BRI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The public policy of land allotment to agrarians has increased crop yield. • Non-agrarians have applied farm inputs more than target quantities. • Agrarians have used farm resources at targeted quantities. • Non-agricultural education is a reason for inefficient use of farm resources. • The public policy of land allotment is positively correlated to increase crop yield. The study estimates the impact of land allotment policy to agrarians on crop productivity in Punjab province of Pakistan. The term "agrarian" refers to a respondent who has formal education in agricultural sciences (agronomy, soil science, agricultrual economics, and horticulture etc.), otherwise known as "non-agrarian". In 2009 the Punjab government allotted agricultural plots to agrarians. A multistage sampling technique was used to collect data of 384 crop growers by using well-structured questionnaire from two main cop zones of Punjab province of Pakistan. From July to September 2017, the data of rice and sugarcane were collected from mixed crop zone, and cotton and wheat from cotton-wheat crop zone. Various econometric methods were used to approach study objectives. Results found that compared to non-agrarians, crop productivity of wheat, rice, cotton, and sugarcane was 28.9, 23.4, 19.8, and 8.3%, higher at agrarians' farms, respectively. Agricultural education and recommended use of farm inputs were main factors of getting higher crop yield at agrarians' farms. Artificial neural network (ANN) reported that at agrarian plots, farm inputs, particularly Pure N, Pure P, Pure K, and seed rate were used at recommended level for wheat, cotton, rice, and sugarcane crop. The overuse of Pure N and seed rate and underuse of Pure P, Pure K and farmyard manure (FYM) were found the main reasons for getting lower crop yield at non-agrarians' farms. Moreover, Cobb-Douglas (CD) production function evident that, although the farming experience of non-agrarians significantly increased the crop productivity, excessive use of Pure N and seed rate and non-agricultural education have no significant impact on crop yield. On the other hand, propensity score matching (PSM) method confirmed that public policy of land allotment to agrarians has significanlty increased the yield of wheat, rice, cotton, and sugarcane by 16.5, 14.2, 12.3, and 23.2%, respectively. The study results suggested that besides of land allotment to agrarians, the government should also focus on the provision of formal and informal agricultural education and training to non-agrarians. More specifically, it is necessary to provide knowledge of basic crop production technology to non-agrarians. Furthermore, to exploit maxim crop yield it is highly suggested to apply fertilizers at the recommend level estimated by the ANN method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the challenging problems of Punjab, the most populous province of Pakistan, is the surface water-quality problem of the Ravi River, which flows through the main cities of the province. At present, the overall status of water quality is very polluted, primarily due to residential and industrial wastewater directly discharged into the Ravi River through a network of drains. Due to the poor quality of the water, the river ecosystem is not favorable for the aquatic and surrounding environment. Hence, management options are proposed to reduce pollution. Therefore, the study was formulated to identify the main sources of pollution along the Ravi River and their potential impact on the course of the river channel. In addition, the study applied a numerical model WASP 8.1 (Water Quality Simulation Program) to discover the best strategy for the improvement of water quality. Through the model simulation it was found that, if the flow at headwater and link canals is increased up to 50%, along with 75% improvement in the pollution concentration of drains through wastewater-treatment facilities, the water quality of the Ravi River can be improved up to an acceptable limit of water-quality standards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]