Abstract: Weather parameters influence all stages of plant growth and thereby affect the crop productivity. Each crop has its own set of optimum and tolerable environmental conditions under which it can grow efficiently. Knowledge about the relationships between crop growth stages and weather parameters is very important to maximize the production and productivity by adjusting the crop management practices. For a plant to be successful in a given region, the sequences of its growth phases must fit in the climate to ensure good growth and adequate production. Agro-climatological knowledge of individual crops and individual locations is thus very essential. Vegetable crops, the important component of horticulture, assume great significance in providing food and nutritional security. Even though India ranks second in the world production of vegetables (NHB, 2011), the availability of vegetables still continues to be much low below the dietary requirements. There is ample scope to increase the productivity by the development of location and situation specific technologies. But the challenges before us are to produce more from shrinking land and declined water in the scenario of climate change. Cauliflower (Brassica oleracea var. botrytis) belonging to the family brassicaceae is one among the most popular vegetable crops cultivated in India. Cauliflower is very sensitive to growing conditions and for the transformation from vegetative to curd initiation phase and for the development of curd, it needs distinct climatic conditions. So, we have to find out the relationships between the magnitude of yield fluctuations and environmental influences of the crop growing season.

Abstract: Water is an integral part of life on this planet but nowadays this precious thing is continuously getting polluted due to different activities. Industrial sector is one and most polluting agent among all of them. The effluents generated from the automobile industries, creates an environmental hazard near the disposal site and in its vicinity. Workers are exposed to occupational and other health hazards when they are exposed to the air and drinking water, which may get polluted due to spraying of the paints. Mostly alkyd paint is used for painting process. A large amount of water is used and polluted during such industrial processes. Wastewater of the automobile industries not only contains high levels of suspended and total solids such as oil and grease and colouring, at various stages of manufacturing but also, a significant amount of dissolved organics, resulting in high BOD or COD loads. The study reveals the performance evaluation of effluent treatment plant and its treatability. During the present study the samples were collected from each site at an interval of 10 days from an automobile industry located in IIE, SIDCUL Haridwar. The collected samples were analysed for Temperature, Total solid, Total dissolved solids, Total suspended solids, pH, Dissolved oxygen, Biological oxygen demand, Chemical oxygen demand and oil & grease. During the present study oil & grease in untreated effluent ranged from 19mg/l to 28mg/l and in treated effluent from 1.9mg/l to 4.1mg/l. Chemical oxygen demand in untreated effluent ranged from 2300mg/l to 2700mg/l and in treated effluent from 38mg/l to 57mg/l. pH in untreated effluent ranged from 7.1 to 8.3 and in treated effluent from 6.7 to 8.3. The results revealed that the performance of effluent treatment plant of automobile industry is satisfactory.

Abstract: The present study was carried out in oak (Quercus leucotrichophora) dominated forest of Pauri. Two permanent plots were selected of which one was BPS and other was UBPS. The vegetational data were analysed for both the sites i.e., floristic composition, density, basal cover, A/F, Shannon Wiener index and Simpson’s index of dominance (cd). A total of 6-8 trees species and 24-26 shrub species were found on both BPS and UBPS. BPS showed maximum density than UBPS. Contagious pattern of distribution was common. This paper represents a close association among man, fire and forest ecosystem.

Abstract: The Hindon River is an important River of western Uttar Pradesh. The river is highly polluted due to industrial, municipal and agricultural activities. Regular monitoring of the quality of water is essential because clean water is obligatory for human health and the integrity of aquatic ecosystems. Therefore an attempt has been made in this study to assess the Hindon river water quality by analysing various Physico- chemical parameters. The various Physico- chemical parameters analysed are temperature, pH, TDS, Turbidity, DO, BOD, COD, Free CO2, Electrical Conductivity, Acidity, Total Hardness (TH), Chloride(Cl) and Alkalinity. During the study DO ranged from 0.5 mg/l to 1.8 mg/l, BOD ranged from 44.3 mg/l to 105.4 mg/l, TDS ranged from 320 mg/l to 690 mg/l, EC ranged from 788 ?S/cm to 1625 ?S/cm and the pH ranged from 6.4 to 8.2. Temperature was fund strongly negatively correlated (-0.906) with DO while a strong positive correlation was found between pH and DO (0.909) and between TDS and COD (0.914).

Abstract: Quercus leucotrichophora A. Camus is a dominant forest forming species in Central Himalayan region between 1600 and 2100 m elevation. The species is under severe anthropogenic pressure and failing to regenerate in its natural environment. Climatic irregularities may further aggravate the problem as acorn ripening time may shift. Acorns of Q. leucotrichophora were collected from three sites located along the altitudinal limits of the species to determine the acorn maturation time. Across the sites the mean weight of acorns between the first and final collection ranged from 9.3±2.2 gm to 21.6±2.1. Inspite of variation in moisture content initial germination commenced at the same time across the sites. Maximum acorn germination was between 56.7±1.2 and 59.6±0.6. The mean acorn size was larger at the lower elevation site than higher elevation site across the collection dates. The change in acorn colour from green to dark brown, the removal of acorns cap with ease and acorn moisture content between 36.4±0.8 – 37.6±1.2 at the time of maximum germination appear to be reliable indication of maturity. Comparison with an earlier study indicates that acorns are now maturing earlier which can be severely affects its regeneration potential.

Abstract: The work presents microbial community structure of Gumki cave for bioactive compound production. This cave represents a unique atmosphere which is totally different from outer atmosphere. Total 49 isolates were recovered from cave samples. Morphological and biochemical characterization revealed a community that contains nine genera of bacteria: Bacillus (27%), Paenibacillus (21%), Staphylococcus (20%), Streptococcus (16%), Salimicrobium (8%), Lysisnibacillus (2%), Aeromonas (2%), Proteus (2%) and Clostridium (2%). All these microbes were screened for different enzyme production and about 90% isolates displayed positive results for these enzymes. 75.51% recovered isolates were lipase producers, 47% were producing amylase and 24% and 12% bacteria produced protease and cellulase, respectively.

Abstract: Field experiment was conducted on groundnut during kharif, 2014 at College of Agriculture, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad to study the effect of four organics (vermicompost with P enrichment using 3 % rock phosphate, vermicompost prepared with mushroom spent substrate, vermicompost and FYM) at two levels of nitrogen (100 % RDN i.e., 30 kg ha-1 and 75 % RDN i.e., 22.5 kg ha-1) along with control (No NPK but gypsum @ 500 kg ha-1 at flower initiation) and absolute control (no NPK and gypsum) to find out the effect of different organic sources on nutrient use efficiencies viz., partial factor productivity, agronomic efficiency, partial nutrient balance, apparent recovery efficiency, internal utilisation efficiency and physiological efficiency. Significantly higher agronomic efficiency and partial productivity factor of 86.7 and 174.63 are obtained due to application of 75% RDN through of P (3%) enriched vermicompost; while apparent recovery efficiency of N was significantly higher (4.08 and 4.03 to absolute control and control with applied gypsum) when applied at 100% RDN level.

Abstract: Endophytic bacteria are group of plant associated bacteria that infects different plant tissues without showing any visual symptoms. This has attracted a great interest of different researchers in the field of agriculture. Endophytes promote plant growth and yield, suppress pathogens, help phosphate solubilization and contribute nitrogen assimilation to plants. Some endophytes are seed borne, but others have mechanisms to colonize the plants. With the intention to provide studies on endophytic bacteria, this review focuses on the role of endophytes with respect to plant growth promotion, phytoremediation, bicontrol and their metabolic potential.

Abstract: The River Ganga (2,525 km long) is the largest River basin in India, covering 26.2 percent of India's total geographical area and recently granted living entity status by the court. It is the holiest River and also among the dirtiest in the world. That’s why it is mandatory to maintain its water quality (WQ). Though, monitoring and assessment of WQ of a River is a very challenging task. In this research work, Soft Computing (SC) based popular and commononly used Artificial Neural Network (ANN) technique has been used for modelling the WQ of the Ganga River by developing a prediction model based on six different training functions. Five sampling stations along this River stretch were selected from DEVPRAYAG to ROORKEE in the Uttarakhand state of India. The monthly data sets of five water quality parameters temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen (DO), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and total coliform (TC) for the time period from 2001 to 2015 have been taken. The feed forward error back propagation neural network method has been used to develop the WQ-prediction model by conducting various experiments following a neural network structure of 5-10-1, 0.1 as a training goal and various training functions. Using the Mean square error (MSE) statistical method the prediction performance of the developed model was evaluated. The model developed with traincgp (Conjugate Gradient with Polak-Ribiere Restarts) comes out to be the worst one (MSE=0.786) while the other model with trainlm (Levenberg-Marquardt backpropagation) rule proved to be the best one (MSE=0.163) among others. Consequently, it is found that ANNs are capable of predicting WQ of the River Ganga with acceptable results.

Abstract: Monitoring of heavy metals viz., Copper, Nickel, Zinc, Cobalt and Manganese has been done from 25 stations selected along Neeru stream and its tributaries for two years i.e., Jan 2014- Dec 2015. Ultra trace level analysis have been done on Ion Chromatograph by using Metro Sep C4 150 mm column taking 1.75 mM Oxalic acid and 2 mM Ascorbic acid as eluent and 0.15 mM PAR, 0.4 mM ammonia (25%) and 80 mM nitric acid as post column reagent with UV Visible detection. The observed values of Copper, Nickel, Zinc, Cobalt and Manganese at different sampling stations were found to be in the range BDL-0.199, BDL-0.258, 0.001-0.078, BDL-0.074 and BDL-2.050 ppm, respectively. All the analysed metals were found within the permissible limits except Nickel and Manganese at some stations.

Abstract: Tree-based farming systems have the potential to sequester large quantities of carbon. An agroforestry system, promoted among small farmers in rural development projects in India, combines fruit and forestry trees with annual crops. As the carbon sequestration potential of this system has not been quantitatively estimated, a study was conducted on 25 orchards each of amla (Emblica officinalis) and mango (Mangifera indica) in two districts of Rajasthan, India. The orchards, aged between 7-14 years, were selected randomly and biomass accumulation of the trees was estimated using non-destructive allometric methods with quadrate sampling. The mean accumulated carbon in above-ground woody biomass of an amla tree was 0.05 t and that of mango was 0.04 t at an average age of 10 years. Similarly, the estimated carbon sequestered by multipurpose forestry trees growing along the border of the orchard was 0.012 t m2. Besides the above-ground biomass, the orchards also accumulated 8.1 t carbon ha-1 in the upper 15 cm of the soil. The study estimated that the total above and below-ground biomass in a 10 year old agroforestry farm having amla or mango with forestry trees contained 23 t ha-1 of carbon which was equivalent to 84.67 t CO2 ha-1.

Abstract: Energy is needed for economic growth and more than 70% of the energy generation capacity in India is by using coal. The production of coal was 430.83 Mt out of which opencast contributed to around 373 Mt in 2006 with an estimated overburden removal of 600 million m3. In India, opencast mining is most prominent method of coal excavation. However, each year hundreds of acres of pristine forest and productive agricultural land are brought in the gambit of open cast coal mining. Moreover, open cast mining leaves behind a lot of over burden which is an environmental problem. Faced with a burgeoning population, agriculture in India must bring under its gambit the non-conventional or non-traditional area, to feed the teeming millions. Reclaimed coal mine areas could be the non-traditional areas. Among the two methods of restoration, physical methods are costly and not viable. Biological methods are of low cost hence most appropriate. Among biological technique using tree species to restore coal mine spoil holds great promise because it accelerate the soil-forming processes, control erosion, build up organic matter, develop microbial communities, initiate nutrient cycling, decreases air and water pollution, reduces geo-environmental disasters, maintain biodiversity and enhance overall aesthetics of the area.

Abstract: Plant drug Rasayana has always played an essential role to treat several diseases of human beings. Moreover, medicinal plants are the prime source of potentially useful structures for the development of novel chemotherapeutic agents. Historically, plants have provided a basis of the development for novel drugs and plant derived drugs which have made large contributions to human health and well being. Till now few plants have been scientifically proved by different researchers for their medicinal potential but the therapeutic ability of number of plants are still unknown. The regeneration of medicinal potential of such plants is thus strongly required. Several researchers have carried out bioassay for antimicrobial, antioxidant and phytochemical screening of various extracts of certain plants. Such works should be brought in the knowledge of every concern man. Present study is therefore an attempt for review on some of such medicinal plants.

Abstract: Pollen germination and pollen tube growth are prerequisites for fertilization in seed bearing plants. The present study deals with the morphology, production, pollen-ovule ratio, and effect of sucrose on in-vitro germination of pollen grains of Gloriosa superba L., family Colchicaceae. The G. superba L. pollen were radially symmetrical, prolate shape, 2-3 zonicolpate with striate surface. A single anther produced an average of 350,000 pollen grains. Pollen-ovule ratio was 58333.33/1. The maximum pollen germination (98.86%±0.641) along with 676.2µm pollen tube growth was observed in 5% sucrose solution, while in 20% sucrose concentration the germination percent decreased by 90% and the pollen grains’ cytoplasm also shrinked. The pollen viability was found 96.22% and 91.79% in IKI and acetocarmine stain respectively. The study is useful in determining the pollen production and potential pollination capacity of Gloriosa superba L., as it is found that the species is xenogamous (self-compatible). The findings will be useful in assessing the pollen vigour by monitoring the rate of germination over a period of time on the length of pollen tubes.

Abstract: The present study gives an account of different life form categories and biological spectrum of Nandini Wildlife Sanctuary. A total of 335 species belonging to 86 families and 251 genera has been recorded from the area and has been grouped into different life forms classes according to Raunkiaer’s lifeform classification. The result indicates Therophytes (40%), and Macrophanerophytes (20.59%) to be the dominant lifeforms followed by Nanophanerophytes (9.85%), Chamaephytes (9.25%) and Hemicryptophytes (9.25%). Biological spectrum on life form have also been prepared and compared with Raunkiaer’s normal biological spectrum as well as the spectra of the adjoining areas prepared by other workers. On comparison with Raunkiaer’s normal spectrum, the present study area depicts Thero-phanerophytic type of phytoclimate.

Abstract: Global positioning system (GPS) based surface (0-15cm) and subsurface (15-30 cm) soil samples were collected randomly from cultivated and pasture lands of cold arid Spiti valley in Himachal Pradesh. These samples were analyzed for physico-chemical properties, available NPKS and exchangeable Ca and Mg. In surface soils mean available N contents (182 kg ha-1) were in low category whereas, P (37 kg ha-1) and K (127 kg ha-1) were found in medium category under different land uses. Sand did not show significant relation with any of the physico-chemical properties studied in all the three land uses.

Abstract: Twenty-eight genotypes of maize were screened against Banded Leaf and Sheath blight disease of maize.Four accessions were found resistant viz.,Pragati,KH-94,Proagro-4212,MH117, three were found highly susceptible viz., Amar, Sweety, Suguna and remaining twenty one were found susceptible. None were found highly resistant.

Abstract: The reduction of rural poverty is a continuous paramount goal of the developing countries like India, so far various strategies (sericulture is most appropriate out of them) have been pursued to address this concern and rural empowerment creation is one of the major aspects. We ought to learn from the past experiences that suggest devising a frame work of equitable and sustainable development of her participation on a consistent basis. Keeping in view the involvement of rural women in sericulture and silk industry, their present status in society and need for their empowerment, strategies to be incorporated in the various developmental initiatives are suggested. The global scenario clearly indicates the enormous opportunities for the Indian silk industry, because India is the second largest producer of silk in the world. Sericulture provides many opportunities to rural women.

Abstract: The present communication deals with the distribution, diversity and phytosociology of an important medicinal shrub Berberis lycium along Neeru stream, a major left bank tributary of river Chenab with an elevational gradient of 848 m to 2200 m. Berberis lycium, during our phytosociological surveys has emerged as the most dominant species amongst its understorey associates. The highest values of IVI (180.2 & 160.6) in the riparian zone (Zone-I) were recorded for site 7 (left bank, Dranga) and site 8 (right bank upslope, Zone-II, Amiranagar), respectively. The diversity parameters revealed the highest value (H’ 2.60) at Zone-II along the left bank. The soil parameters (pH, moisture content, Nitrogen, Phosphorous & Potassium) too had a profound effect on the distribution of the plant species, which has been discussed in the paper.

Abstract: The present study was carried out to assess accumulation of fluoride in vegetables and cereal crop grown in potentially fluoridated area in Nalgonda district, Telangana, India. The results indicated that, accumulation of fluoride (F) was observed in different plant parts of crops irrigated with F contaminated ground water (0.73 to 3.25 and 1.12 to 4.67 mg L-1 during kharif and rabi seasons, respectively) grown in soil containing 0.41 to 2.32 and 0.68 to 2.63 mg kg-1 available fluoride during kharif and rabi seasons, respectively. The concentration range in plant parts of different crops is 0.12 to 3.35 mg kg-1 and 0.30 to 3.95 mg kg-1 in kharif and rabi, respectively. The values are lower than the maximum allowed level of 4.0 mg kg-1 in food and vegetable recommended by FAO and WHO. The implication of the results is that the use of the ground water for irrigation, and the contribution of fluoride to the soil and absorption by the crops, has no deleterious effect on the soil and some crops cultivated with ground water. The mean F levels in the economic part of the crops analyzed are follows the order; paddy > sorghum > red gram in kharif and groundnut > paddy > sorghum in rabi. Among the vegetables, tomato accumulated higher F followed by brinjal and bhendi. Maximum accumulation of F (mg kg-1 dry wt.) occurred in the roots followed by shoot and economic part.

Abstract: The present study was conducted to assess the accumulation of chromium in water hyacinth plant (Eichhornia crassipes) through its growing medium. The water hyacinth plant was collected from pond and treated with different concentration of K2Cr2O7. The effect of chromium accumulation on growth and biochemical parameters of plant was observed. The results revealed that the heavy metal uptake by plant root was increased with increase in concentration of Cr in test solution while the translocation of absorbed Cr was very low to other part of plant in comparison to root. Relative growth rate, biomass productivity, total chlorophyll and carotenoid content were reduced with increased concentration of Cr in test solution. However, ascorbic acid concentration showed negative correlation with other parameters. It was found to be increased with increasing concentration of Cr in test solution. Proline content in plant showed a different trend. It initially increased with increase in Cr concentration in test solution and time and then followed a decreasing order.

Abstract: Potassium monopersulphate (Oxone) is being widely used these days in various fields due to its unique properties which tend to make it an extremely viable option to be exercised. The oxidative nature of this compound is under study to extract the maximum benefits from this compound amongst which chemical, synthetic and environmental studies are prominent fields in which a steady research is underway. The objective of this review is to provide valuable information on various applications of oxone which are coming into light due to the diverse research work being carried out on it.

Abstract: Birds time their activities in synchronization with daily and provided by changes in day length (=photoperiod). Photoreceptor cells in an avian brain are localized in three independent neural structures, the retina of eyes, pineal gland and hypothalamus. Dee localised particularly in the paraventricular organ (PVO) and lateral septal area (LSO) of hypothalamus are implicated in regulation of photoperiod induced reproductive response. DBPs relay the photoperiodic information to the tuberalis thyroid hormone stimulating (TSH) expressing cells. The TSH mediated signalling mediates the photoperiod induced gonadotropins releasing hormone (GnRH) release from the pre optic area (POA). In addition to the GnRH, other neurohormones including the neuropeptides Y (NPY), vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP), and the neurosteroids, especially the brain derived testosterone contribute to regulation of the overt reproductive response and behaviour in seasonal breeding avian species. Here, we br hormone variations of the hypothalamus in the regulation of seasonal physiology, particularly in the long species.

Abstract: Green Building Concept is a sustainable approach in construction sector. It uses to reduce the impact on health of human and environment. Green Buildings developed through incorporating eco-friendly and energy efficient material, processes and operation. Adopting GBC in residential planning helps to develop sustainable environment. Thus, present investigation aimed to assess the attitude of people regarding Green Building Concept. For the purpose, a descriptive research was conducted in Udham Singh Nagar District of Uttarakhand where 60 male 60 females were randomly selected from 120 families for the assessment. An attitude scale (5 point- Likert scale-strongly disagree- strongly agree) was constructed, validated and used to congregate the required information. Cronbach’s alpha was calculated to measure the reliability/ internal consistency of the scale. The scale consisted of aspects namely- meaning of green building, measure of green building in terms of green material, energy and water saving, waste management and environmental issue. The data was analyzed in terms of frequency and percentage and chi square.

Abstract: The present study was carried out in Sahastradhara, a famous picnic spot of Doon Valley. During the tourist season, more than 5 lakh tourists visit the site for their recreation. The tourist activities has declined the native species diversity and promoted the introduction of 96 exotic species. Tropical America and Tropical South American plants have contributed to 45% and 2% of the total invasive diversity respectively. Asteraceae with 13 species is the most dominant family of the site.

Abstract: Present study has been taken up to monitor the ambient air quality status of Jammu city. The data for air quality parameters (sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, respirable suspended particulate matter, suspended particulate matter) has been collected for two heavy traffic areas vis. Satwari-Bikram Chowk road (Site-II) and Kunjwani-Narwal Byepass (Site-III) and compared with a reference location with low traffic area i.e. University of Jammu Campus (Site-I), for a period of two years i.e. December 2013- November 2015. Results revealed that sites- II and III recorded higher concentration of all the studied pollutants than Site-I. Further, all the sites registered higher concentrations of all the pollutants during winter season for both the years, while during monsoon season, the levels have been recorded to be least for all the sites. Air quality indices (AQI), computed from the selected data, revealed Sites-II and III to have moderate to severe air quality status whereas light to moderate air quality status have been recorded for Site-I.

Abstract: The experiments were conducted to observe the effect of different soil and sand ratios on the growth of cassia fistula. Three different ratios of sand and soil viz; 60:40(sand: soil), 80:20(sand: soil) and 100:00(without adding sand) were taken for the cultivation and the growth was observed every month. Different growth parameters were also taken for calculating the difference among all the plants under different soil conditions as well as under different weather conditions. Different soil nutrients percentage was also calculated to find out the best nutrients requirement for cassia fistula.After observing the experiments it was concluded that the ratio 60:40 was most suitable soil condition for the growth of Cassia fistula.

Abstract: The present study has been conducted to assess the status of noise levels in different commercial units of Samba District.. The noise levels of Tea shops, Sweet shops, Medical shops, Karyana stores, Restaurant, Bus Stand etc were measured using Sound Level Meter(Data logger model:407764A).The results showed that noise levels at maximum commercial units were above the permissible limits as prescribed by CPCB. Maximum noise level of 77.4±4.9 dB (A) was recorded at Commercial units with traffic flow rate up to 1600/hrs. and minimum of 69±0.2 dB (A) at Commercial units with traffic flow rate up to 500 /hr. Also, maximum indoor noise level of 81.7±5.1 dB (A)) was recorded at teashops located on National Highway with traffic flow rate up to 1600/hr. The execution of an appropriate management strategy for limiting noise pollution on affected sites is recommended.