Tag Archives: 2 (4)

COMPARATIVE IMPACT OF DAIRY FARMING ON THE HEALTH STATUS OF DAIRY FARMERS AND NON FARMERS OF LAHORE

Muhammad Athar Khan1, Hina Ijaz2, Ayesha Saeed1 and Farwa Amjad1*
1Department of Epidemiology & Public Health, 2Food Sciences and Human Nutrition,
University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences Lahore
 
ABSTRACT
Pakistan is an agriculture country and most of its economy depends on this sector. The contribution of agriculture in the GDP is 21% and that of livestock sector is 11.7%. Livestock is the major contributor subsector of agriculture. Farmer’s health is a major issue in Pakistan. Very few studies focused on this issue and no study found to estimate disease trend among farmers and non-farmers. Purpose of study is the estimation of disease trend among farm workers and non-farm workers, so that health policies can be given accordingly. The data was collected by using a validated and pretested questionnaire. Interviews were taken according to questionnaire. Data was analyzed through SPSS. Chi square test was applied. Cross tabulation was done to check association. Results Most of the respondents were illiterate (41.6%), married (77.1%), male (90%) and above age 36 years (40.3%). Most of the respondents were resident of semi urban areas (44.2%). Obesity is more common among farmers than non-farmers. Farm workers claimed more injuries, musculoskeletal disorders, skin infections, depression as compared with non-farm workers. But the occurrence of asthma is more frequent among non-farmers. The poor literacy rate, lack of knowledge about health parameters, ignorant behavior are more common reasons of farmers to have a different disease trend compared with non-farmers.
Keywords: Dairy Farming, Health, Farmers, Non-Farmers

INFLUENCE OF BIOENGINEERED ZINC NANOPARTICLES AND ZINC METAL ON CICER ARIETINUM SEEDLINGS GROWTH

K. V. Pavani*, V. Divya, I. Veena, M. Aditya, G. V. S Devakinandan
Department of Biotechnology, Gokaraju Rangaraju Institute of Engineering
and Technology, Bachupally, Hyderabad 500090, Telangana, India
 
ABSTRACT
Metal nanoparticles are newly emerging alternate source of carriers to transmit and maintain the desired plant food sources available for plant growth and development. Their accumulation in agriculture lands is accompanied by both positive and negative effects on plants. Considering their impact on plants, it is necessary to evaluate them on seed germination and seedling growth. The main objective of this study was to investigate whether the treatment of Cicer arietinum seeds with relatively low concentrations of bioengineered ZnNPs and zinc metal would affect the seed germination and seedlings growth. Zinc nanoparticles were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). There were differences in germination (2%), root length (0.18cm), shoot length (0.17cm), fresh weight (0.52cm) and dry weight (0.03cm) between seeds grown in control and Zn NPs. There also existed significant differences in germination (2.67%), root length (4.94cm), shoot length (1.29cm), fresh weight (0.50cm) and dry weight (0.09cm) between seeds grown in control and ZnSO4. Cicer arietinum seeds grown in zinc nanoparticles showed increase in germination, shoot length, root length, fresh weight and dry weight, whereas seeds grown in zinc metal decreased growth. Our findings suggest that bioengineered zinc nanoparticles showed positive effect on seedlings growth.
Keywords: Zinc nanoparticles, zinc metal, Cicerarietinum, positive effect, seedlings growth

IMPACT OF SMALL-SCALE IRRIGATION ON FARM HOUSEHOLDS’ TECHNICAL EFFICIENCY: THE CASE OF EASTERN OROMIA, ETHIOPIA

Beyan Ahmed1* and Jema Haji.2
1Department of Agricultural Economics, Haramaya University. 2 Department of Agricultural Economics, College of Agriculture and Environmental Science, Haramaya University, Dire Dawa, Ethiopia
 
ABSTRACT
This study evaluated the impact of small-scale irrigation on farm households‟ technical efficiency of production in Eastern, Oromia, Ethiopia. Both primary and secondary data were collected for the study. Primary data were collected from 200 sample respondents drawn from both participant and non-participant households in 2012 production year. Stochastic production frontier model was used for technical efficiency estimation and Propensity score matching method was applied to analyze the impact of small-scale irrigation on the farm household‟s technical efficiency with the help of logistic regression function to estimate propensity scores. In matching processes, kernel matching with band width of 0.5 was found to be the best matching algorism. Households that participate in irrigation practice have got an improvement of 8.92% in technical efficiency than those households that were not participating in irrigation practice. Participation in irrigation has a significant, positive and robust impact on the outcome variables. The sensitivity analysis also showed that the impact estimates are insensitive to unobserved selection bias. All results obtained from different models revealed the positive impact of irrigation on farm household technical efficiency. Therefore, policy makers should give due emphasis to the aforementioned variables to increase participation in irrigation farming and improve the livelihood of rural households.
Keywords: Irrigation, technical efficiency, propensity score matching and stochastic frontier.

EFFECTS OF TERMINALIA CHEBULA ON BLOOD BIOCHEMICAL PROFILE AND PANCREATIC TISSUE IN DIABETIC RATS.

Daniyal Kazmi*, Dr. Imtiaz Rabbani, Prof. Dr. Habib ur Rehman, Dr. Saima Masood
Department of Physiology, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore.
 
ABSTRACT
The field of herbal medicine has been gaining importance since last many years and many natural products are being used to treat diabetes. Fruit of Terminalia chebula has been reported to have anti-diabetic activity. The present study was aimed to evaluate the anti-diabetic effects of aqueous extract of Terminalia chebula by evaluating different serological parameters. It was observed that treatment of alloxan-induced diabetic Wistar rats with aqueous extract of Terminalia chebula (500 mg/kg body weight) resulted in a significant decrease in blood glucose level. There was no significant increase in serum ALT and AST levels indicating no hepatotoxicity to aqueous extract of Terminalia chebula. There was a significant decrease in serum urea and serum creatinine levels upon treatment with aqueous extract of Terminalia chebula indicating decreased renal toxicity. Aqueous extract of Terminalia chebula induced an improvement in lipid profile values, causing significant decrease in serum cholesterol and serum triglyceride level. In conclusion the present study indicated a significant antidiabetic activity of aqueous extract of Terminalia chebula and supported its traditional usage in the control of diabetes and its complications. It can be stated convincingly that use of Terminalia chebula alone or in combination of conventional antidiabetic drugs may be beneficial and therefore can reduce the side effects and cost of allopathic treatment for diabetes. However, further studies are needed to evaluate its antidiabetic effects more and its further use as a potential therapy for diabetes.
Keywords: Terminalia chebula, Diabetes mellitus, Pancreas,

EFFICACY OF DIFFERENT CHEMICALS FOR THE IN VITRO CONTROL OF ALTERNARIA SOLANI ISOLATES COLLECTED FROM VARIOUS AREAS OF PESHAWAR

Ihsan Ul Khaliq*, Afaq Ahmad and Haneef Raza
Department of Plant Pathology, The University of Agriculture, Peshawar-Pakistan.
 
ABSTRACT
A research was conducted at the department of Plant Pathology Kyber Pakhtunkhwa agricultural university Peshawar to evaluate different fungicides in vitro for the control of Alternaria solani isolated from infected tomato leaves. Three isolates of A.solani were obtained from the department of plant pathology Khyber Pakhtunkhwa agricultural university peshawer. For the In vitro control of A.solani, three fungicides i.e., Dithane M-45, Topsin-M and Cupravit were tested by Poison food technique at concentration of 500mg/L. In case of Drench method, a fungicide suspension was prepared by dissolving 0.05g of each fungicide in sterile distilled water to give a concentration of 500mg/L whereas control treatment had no fungicide. The pure culture of three isolates were cut with 5 mm diameter sterile cork borer. These inoculm discs were treated with fungicides by dipping in the fungicides suspension for 1-2 minutes and were seeded in the centre of each petri dish. The petri dishes were incubated at 250C for 10 days. In case of poison food technique, the lowest colony diameter (32.53mm) was recorded in treatment with Dithane M-45 followed by Cupravit (46.26mm) and Topsin M (55.93mm). Dithane m-45 also inhibited spore concentration significantly (42.45%) where the mean highest colony growth (62.76mm) was in control.
Keywords: Alternaria solani, fungicides, Poison Food Technique, Drench Method

L-TRYPTOPHAN AMENDMENTS ENHANCED AUXIN PRODUCTION AND GROWTH OF TRITICUM AESTIVUM L. BY RHIZOBACTERIA

Anam Jamil and Basharat Ali*
Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of the Punjab,
Quaid-e-Azam Campus, Lahore-54590, Pakistan
 
ABSTRACT
The objective of the present study was to evaluate the effect of co-inoculations of auxin producing Bacillus and Streptomyces strains to enhance the growth of Triticum aestivum L. For auxin production, Bacillus cereus McR-3, B. subtilis McR-7, Enterobacter cloacae FR, Streptomyces sp. RSF, S. macrosporeus SCF and S. griseoincarnatus CTF were screened by using colorimetric method. Auxin production was determined in the absence and presence of precursor i.e. L-tryptophan (0, 100, 300, 500 μg ml-I). Highest auxin production was recorded with B. subtilis McR-7 (31 μg ml-I), B. cereus McR-3 (28 μg ml-I) and E. cloacae (95 μg ml-I), respectively, in the presence of 100, 500, 500 μg ml-I L-tryptophan. After in vitro auxin screening, strains were evaluated for their growth stimulatory effects on T. aestivum under axenic conditions. In pot trials, strains showed variable growth responses when inoculated with single or mixed cultures. In single cultures, significant increase for root length (49%), shoot length (42%) and shoot fresh biomass (31%) was recorded respectively with Streptomyces sp. RSF and S. macrosporeus SCF. For mixed cultures, McR-3+SCF, FR+RSF and McR-7+SCF were the most promising to enhance shoot length (35%), root length (18%) and shoot fresh biomass (20%), respectively, over control. Overall, single and a few combinations of mixed cultures were most suitable to enhance growth of T. aestivum under axenic conditions. Results also indicated that consortia comprising of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) and Streptomyces offer good potential for the formulations of bio-inoculants for field trials.
Keywords: Bacterial auxin production, L-tryptophan, Rhizobacteria, Triticum aestivum, Plant growth promotion

CRITICAL TEMPERATURE CHANGE AS IMPORTANT FACTOR OF CALLOSOBRUCHUS CHINENSIS L. MANAGEMENT IN CHICKPEA GRAINS

Farid Asif Shaheen*
Department of Entomology, Pir Mehr Ali Shah Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi
 
ABSTRACT
Pulse beetle, Callosobruchus chinensis L., is a major pest of stored chickpea. To reduce infestation of chickpea grains by this pest, the impact of short temperature changes on various life cycle aspects of this pest on chickpea grains was studied. Shifts of temperatures, from the average storage temperature of 30oC, of plus or minus 5, 10 or 15 oC for either five or ten minutes each day for two days, was sufficient to affect the life cycle of the pest and reduce infestation. In general the larger the temperature shift and the longer the time at the shifted temperature, the greater was the effect. The treatment of 15oC for 10 minutes proved to be the most effective reducing the number of days to death from 19.77 to 4.97 days, the number of eggs laid per grain from 3.92 to 1.21 eggs, the number of F1 adults per test sample from 13.71 to 0.93 adults, the lifespan of F1 adults from 18.39 to 2.75 days, the number of holes per grain from 1.63 to 0.18 holes and the percent weight loss of grains from 29.61 to 8.69%. These data suggest that short, but significant, changes in temperature can adversely affect the physiology of this pest and provides a potential method for reducing product loss.
Keywords: Temperature, Callosobruchus chinensis, mortality, chickpea grains, weight loss

PREVALENCE OF EARLY BLIGHT OF TOMATO AND DIFFERENCES AMONG ISOLATES OF ALTERNARIA SOLANI IN PESHAWAR DIVISION

Afaq Ahmad, Ihsan Ul Khaliq* and Maid Zaman
Department of Plant Pathology,The University of Agriculture,Peshawar-Pakistan.
 
ABSTRACT
A survey was conducted in Peshawar division to determine the incidence of early blight of tomato caused by Alternari asolani. High disease incidence (100%) was recorded in Pathwarbala, Sufaid sang, kanderysadin and Shahibala. Regiaftezai and Malakandhir had the lowest (50%) incidence of the disease. Alternaria solani was successfully isolated on PDA medium from the infected tomato leaves of three locations. Comparison of the isolates showed Regilalma isolate to be the most vigorous. The conidia of this isolate were found to be wider than those of the other isolates. All the three isolates grew better at pH 6.0 and 5.5 as compared to pH4.5. Regilalma and Nasir bagh isolates registered more abundant growth than the Malakandhir isolate. These result shows that isolates of Alternaria solani may differ in their growth and virulence over short distances.
Keywords: Alternaria solani, disease incidence, PDA medium, pH, isolates.