Seasonal Variation in Eri Spun Yarn Quality Enhanced by Digestive Enzymes-Enriched Castor Leaves

North Eastern Region of India occupies a distinct position in the country with flourishing green forests and conducive climatic condition harbouring varied flora and fauna including sericigenous insects and their host plants producing Muga, Eri, Mulberry and Oak Tasar silks. The region is recognized as one of the biodiversity hotspots among 34 biodiversity hotspots of the world. The Indian Sub-Himalayan belt extending from Jammu and Kashmir in the North West and North Eastern states in the extreme east is the natural abode of many wild sericigenous species. Among the culture of vanya silks, ericulture is emerging as one of the most vibrant socio-economic activities among all vanya silk culture in North Eastern India providing gainful occupation to about 4.00 lakh families with 70% involvement of women from weaker sections of the society. During 2022-23, total production of raw silk in the country was 36,582MT comprising of 27654 MT Mulberry (75.59%) and 8928 MT Vanya or wild silk (24.41% ) and production of eri raw silk was 7349 MT contributing about 82.31% of total vanya silk produced in the country. Production of eri raw silk in the country has increased manifold from 3116 MT during 2012-13 to 7349 MT during 2022-2023 in the last ten years with CAGR of 8.96% and ericulture is expanding in other states of the country other than north eastern states by virtue of its feasible economic implications. Presently, seven eco-races and six strains of eri silkworm are being maintained at R& D institutes of CSB for commercial exploitation while wild eri silk moth Samia canningi (Hutton) available in the foothills of the region needs to be conserved for future exploration. The paper highlights the diversity of eri silkworm and its host plants in North East India, needs for conservation of bio-resources along with prospects of utilizing their products and by-products for sustainable livelihood and upliftment of rural economy.. KEYWORDS :Ser-biodiversity, Samia ricini, Samia canningi, Conservation, Sustainable development.

The eri silkworm (Samia ricini) is a vital non-mulberry silk producer in North East India, yet its production is frequently threatened by microbial diseases. In the present study, bacteria were isolated from diseased larvae and screened for pathogenicity. One isolate, designated S2_11, formed creamy white, irregular-edged colonies and was identified as Enterobacter cloacae through 16S rRNA gene sequencing and phylogenetic analysis (GenBank accession PP506516; 99.2% similarity). Experimental infection of healthy fifth-instar larvae revealed dose- and time-dependent mortality, accompanied by typical septic symptoms. Probit analysis yielded median lethal concentration (LC50 ) values of 9.86 × 107, 1.24 × 107, 4.45 × 106, and 3.08 × 10³ CFU/ mℓ at 24, 48, 72, and 96 h post-injection, respectively. These findings establish E. cloacae as a pathogenic bacterium of S. ricini and highlight the importance of molecular surveillance in developing effective disease management strategies for sericulture.

Eri silkworms, or Samia ricini, have gut microbiota that is essential to host physiology, especially for digestion, immunity, and silk production. The diversity of bacteria in S. ricini's midgut was examined in this work using 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Using BLASTn comparison with the NCBI GenBank database, four sample sequences (PPAI01, PPAI02, PETAI01, and PETAI02) were examined. Bacillus licheniformis, Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus amyloliquefaciens, and Lysinibacillus fusiformis are among the bacterial species in the Bacillaceae family with which the sequences showed a high degree of similarity (96.53%–98.29%). The production of digestive enzymes, antibacterial substances, and phytohormones by these bacteria suggests a possible symbiotic interaction with the host. According to the results, these microbial species improve gut health, aid in the manufacture of silk, and improve nutrient absorption. Future probiotic tactics aiming at enhancing larval health and sustainable sericulture can build on the findings of this work.

Abstract. Testing was conducted at a western commercial cotton gin to evaluate the effect of humid air moisture addition on fiber quality, bale value, and operating costs; when applied at the gin stand feeder conditioning hopper and battery condenser lint slide. Two tests each with 19 conventional modules of upland cotton were conducted over two consecutive days. The moisture treatments included feeder hopper moisture on or off and lint slide moisture on or off, resulting in four treatment combinations: 1) no moisture added (No Addition), 2) moisture added at the feeder hopper only (Hopper Only), 3) moisture added at the lint slide only (Slide Only), and 4) moisture added at the both the feeder hopper and lint slide moisture (Hopper+Slide). Results showed that seed cotton moisture content at the gin stand was about 0.1 percentage points higher when moisture was added at the feeder hopper and lint moisture content in the bale was about 0.9 percentage points higher when moisture was added at the lint slide. Adding moisture at the feeder hopper resulted in small, but significant (p-value = 0.05), improvements in HVI length [+0.21 mm (0.008 in.)], uniformity (+0.16 percentage points), and strength (+0.25 g/tex), and AFIS length [+0.4 mm (0.016 in.)] and short fiber content (-0.52 percentage points). However, fiber yellowness also increased (+0.12 +b) when moisture was added at the feeder hopper. Adding moisture at the lint slide had very little effect on fiber quality. Moisture addition at either location did not significantly affect spinning performance or yarn quality. Lint produced with moisture added only at the feeder hopper had the highest average value [$1.254/kg (56.88 ¢/lb)] and lint with moisture added only at the lint slide had the lowest value [$1.234/kg (55.98 ¢/lb)]. Bales produced with added moisture were heavier, 9 kg (20 lb) heavier on average for the Hopper+Slide moisture addition than for No Addition. Bales produced using moisture addition not only contained more moisture, but also more lint. This could be due to easier bale pressing, which was supported by measurements which showed that about 2 kW less press power was required to press bales with moisture added at the lint slide. Moisture added at the feeder hopper resulted in the greatest overall increase in value over the value of cotton ginned with no moisture addition, more than $32,000 when extrapolated over 10,000 bales. The moisture addition treatments required more energy to produce bales, mainly due to the additional natural gas required for air humidifying equipment. However, since bales with added moisture contained more dry lint resulting in fewer bales pressed for the same amount of dry lint in bales produced with no moisture addition, savings in bale packaging materials and labor costs made operating the moisture systems slightly less expensive than not, up to about $1400 less for 10,000 bales with the Hopper+Slide moisture addition. Although the results showed little impact on cotton quality by adding moisture, the subtle differences and heavier bales containing more lint could have a significant effect on the value to a producer over an entire cotton crop or to a gin over an entire season. Keywords: Cost benefit analysis, Cotton ginning, Energy, Fiber quality, Humid air, Moisture addition.

We studied seasonal patterns of swine hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection in China. From 2008 to 2011, 4200 swine bile specimens were collected for the detection of HEV RNA. A total of 92/2400 (3·83%) specimens in eastern China and 47/1800 (2·61%) specimens in southwestern China were positive for HEV. Seasonal patterns differing by geographical area were suggested. In eastern China, the major peak of HEV RNA prevalence was during March-April, with a minor peak during September-October, and a dip during July-August. In southwestern China, the peak was during September-October and the dip during March-April. The majority of subtype 4a cases (63/82, 76·83%) were detected in the first half of the year, while the majority of subtype 4b cases (26/29, 89·66%) were concentrated in the second half of the year, suggesting that different subtypes contribute to different peaks. Our results indicate that the distribution of HEV subtypes is associated with seasonal patterns.

The purpose of this study was to determine the growth response of meat chickens due to the addition of probiotics and digestive enzymes in the fermented diet containing maggot flour and local materials. The research was carried out at Field Laboratory of Animal Science, University of Syiah Kuala-Banda Aceh, Indonesia for 66 days. A total of 100 meat chickens were designed using a completely randomized design (CRD) consisting of 5 treatments, namely P0 = 100% fermented ration (control), P1 = 0.5% probiotic + 0% digestive enzymes + 100% fermented diet, P2 = 0% probiotic + 0.5% digestive enzymes + 100% fermented diet, P3 = 0.5% probiotic + 1% digestive enzymes + 100% fermented diet, P4 = 1% probiotic + 0.5% digestive enzymes + 100% fermented diet with 4 replications. The data obtained were analyzed using ANOVA (Analysis of variance) and significant difference of data was analyzed by Duncan’s multiple distance test. The results showed that the addition of probiotics and digestive enzymes with different levels of administration in the fermented diet had a significant effect (P<0.05) on the increase in final body weight and percentage of protein retention. The best results were obtained on chicken fed on fermented diet contained 0, 5% digestive enzymes by increasing on final body weight, protein retention, feed conversion and feed efficiency which were higher than fermented feed containing probiotics. In conclusion, it was well known that digestive enzyme effected synergistically on fermented diet in increasing protein retention resulted a higher final body weight of meat chicken.

Eri-silkworm Samia ricini (Donovan) is multivoltine and polyphagus in nature that can feed on various food plants and the yield of silkworm largely depends on the availability and supply of preferred food plants having good agronomics and nutritional value. Among all food plants, castor (Ricinus communis) is the primary food plant for eri-silkworm and kesseru stands second. The rearing performance of a high yielding breed of eri-silkworm C2 developed by central silk board, CMER&amp;TI, Ladoigarh, Jorhat also differ significantly when reared on different food plants. As successful production of eri silk rely on nutritive value of castor leaves and the economic parameters of eri silkworm are influenced by the food plant and their nutritive contents. Thus the study evaluation of economic characters of C2 breed of Eri-silkworm (Samia ricini, Donovan) reared on castor (Ricinus communis) and kesseru (Heteropanax fragrans) food plant was carried out in the laboratory of Nowgong College and all the quantitative parameters are noted accordingly. The results of the study revealed that performance of C2 breed with Castor leaves and it shows higher productivity in larval and cocoon parameters in comparison to Kesseru as a food plant.

Sipahutar pineapple (Ananas comosus L.) is a indigenous of pineapple grown in Sipahutar district, North Sumatra, Indonesia. Propagation of Sipahutar pineapple that being done traditionally is less effective, because the number of seeds that produced is very limited and requires a long time. Propagation through in vitro culture is an alternative solution to solve this problem. It is necessary to add plant growth regulator (PGR) to stimulate callus formation in Sipahutar pineapple explants (Ananas comosus L.). Callus induction of pineapple from Sipahutar was carried out by PGR treatment on MS medium. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect MS medium treatment with added dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) and benzyl amino purin (BAP) PGR on Sipahutar pineapple callus formation (Ananas comosus L.) with light and dark treatment. This callus induction research used a completely randomized design (CRD) with 2 factors, the first factor was treatment 2,4-D (0, 1, 2) ppm. The second factor is BAP (0, 0.5, 1) ppm. Nine combinations of treatments are obtained. Each combination of treatments is treated in both light and dark conditions. The parameters of this study were the percentage (%) of explants that formed callus, the time of callus formed, callus texture, callus biomass, callus surface height and callus surface area. Data were analyzed with two-way ANOVA, followed by Duncan Multiple Rate Test (DMRT). The study showed that the interaction between 2,4-D and BAP significantly affected the time of callus formed but 2,4-D and BAP did not significantly affect callus biomass, callus surface height and callus surface area. All explants can form callus, except explants without the addition of 2,4-D and BAP. The callus formed on 10 days after induction (DAI) and 12 DAI with the treatment of light and dark. The color of the produced callus were white, yellowish white, greenish white, brown, brownish yellow, brownish white, brownish green, yellowish green and greenish white. The callus formed is generally compact textures, except for explants which by giving 1 ppm 2,4-D produce friable callus.

Samia cynthia ricini (Lepidoptera:Saturniidae), the Indian eri silkworm, contributes significantly to the production of commercial silk and is widely distributed in the Brahmaputra river valley in North-Eastern India. Due to over exploitation coupled with rapid deforestation, most of the natural populations of S. cynthia ricini are dwindling rapidly and its preservation has become an important goal. Assessment of the genetic structure of each population is a prerequisite for a sustainable conservation program. DNA fingerprinting to detect genetic variation has been used in different insect species not only between populations, but also between individuals within a population. Since, information on the genetic basis of phenotypic variability and genetic diversity within the S. cynthia ricini populations is scanty, inter simple sequence repeat (ISSR) system was used to assess genetic diversity and differentiation among six commercially exploited S. cynthia ricini populations. Twenty ISSR primers produced 87% of inter population variability among the six populations. Genetic distance was lowest between the populations Khanapara (E5) and Mendipathar (E6) (0.0654) and highest between Dhanubhanga (E4) and Titabar (E3) (0.3811). Within population, heterozygosity was higher in Borduar (E2) (0.1093) and lowest in Titabar (E3) (0.0510). Highest gene flow (0.9035) was between E5 and E6 and the lowest (0.2172) was between E3 and E5. Regression analysis showed positive correlation between genetic distance and geographic distance among the populations. The high GST value (0.657) among the populations combined with low gene flow contributes significantly to the genetic differentiation among the S. cynthia ricini populations. Based on genetic diversity, these populations can be considered as different ecotypes and in situ conservation of them is recommended.

The current study, Effect of Different Potting Mixture on Seedling Growth and Performance of Wild Jackfruit (Artocarpus lacucha Buch.) was laid out in 2023-2024 in the Herbal Garden of IGKV, Raipur, under nursery conditions. It used a complete randomized design (CRD), with seven treatments and three replications. Using a complete randomized design (CRD) with seven treatments, the experiment of various potting mixture treatment blends for nursery production was carried out. For both species, the treatment consists of soil + sand (1:1), soil + lemon grass compost (1:1), FYM + sand (1:1), soil + lemon grass compost + sand (1:1:1), and FYM + soil, sand, and control (soil). Growth performance of seedling were recorded after each month, including the percentage of germination and survival, the number of leaves, the diameter of the collar, and the height of seeding. The best treatment combinations were discovered to be T4 (lemon grass compost + soil + sand) at a ratio of 1:1:1, however other treatments also made a significant contribution to the seedlings' growth metrics.

The majority of plant tissue culture experiments are set up as factorial experiments in completely randomized designs (CRD), randomized complete block designs (RCBD) or split-plot designs (SPD) that require a great number of stabilized cultures. For various reasons, an insufficient number of explants may prevent the employment of CRD, RCBD or SPD with factorial treatments and hinder the optimization of factors affecting culture response. To prioritize the optimization of “the most important” factors affecting culture response, we explored the applicability of Plackett–Burman Design (PBD) and Fractional Factorial Design (FFD) with a limited number of explants. To test the effects of 8 factors (genotype, 6-benzyladenine (BA), CuSO4 5H2O, Fe source, agar, pH, myo-inositol and cold treatment following inoculation of explants) at 2 levels on response of single-node grape vine cultures, 12 treatment combinations were generated according to the PBD and 16 treatment combinations were generated according to the FFD. These designs require many fewer explants since a typical experiment with eight factors, each at two levels of will require 256 (28) treatment combinations. However, the costs of the PBD and FFD are that there is limited, if any information, on interactions and if available may be more difficult to interpret. Of the factors tested, cultivar, BA and agar concentrations were found to be the most important factors affecting culture response. The types of culture response were in agreement with previous reports indicating that PBD and FFD can effectively be employed with limited number of explants to test effects of several factors and prioritize the “most important” factors.

A pot experiment was carried out during autumn growing season of 2016-2017 at the Gerdarasha field of College of Agriculture Engineering Sciences, to study the effect of three dominant soil orders (Mollisols (M), Vertisols (V) and Aridisols (A)), five levelsof applied triple super phosphate (TSP) fertilizer (0, 80, 160, 240 and 320 kg TSP ha-1) and combination between them on chemical availability of phosphorus (P) using solubility diagram at elongation stage and wheat yield. The factorial experiment was depended using a completely randomized design (CRD) with three replicates. The results indicated that the soil orders were affected on phosphorus status, it has appeared that the studied soil order was located between TCP and HA for both Aridisols and Vertisols it means the solubility of phosphorus is low. but in Mollisols is slightly more than Vertisols and Aridisols. It is the P-status and availability was very low since shifting towards TCP, it means precipitation of P in a non-available form then decrease in its availability. The application of phosphorus fertilizers caused shifting the points towards a more soluble form of phosphorus. The results indicated that the application of TSP fertilizer increased the solubility of P in the studied dominate soil orders. Then, the treatment combination (M, V, A) TSP0 were the nearest point to TCP falling between TCP and OCP which were the lowest soluble of phosphorus there less available, phosphorus application of phosphorus caused to shifting towards DCP In contrast, for treatment combination (M,V and A) TSP320 kg ha-1 were located between OCP and DCP the nearest point treatment combination for DCP

About 800 Microtus ochrogaster were live—trapped at biweekly intervals from May 1971 through March 1973 in 3 grassland study areas in eastern Kansas, USA. Details of reproduction were determined by autopsy. Population density increased through the first winter, reached a peak in April 1972, then declined sharply during that summer and beyond. Body length, but not body mass, tended to be positively related to density. Both sexes matured at about the same weight; development was somewhat prolonged during the winter months, especially in the winter preceding the population peak. Pregnancy rates were high, approaching maximal iteroparity, throughout the study, with intervals of nonbreeding in both Julys, and in August and December of the population decline. Embryo counts increased significantly during the months of peak density but did not diminish in the period of the population decline. There was no association between either maternal weight or parity and number of embryos. Corpora counts were not higher in heavy or multiparious ♀ ♀, nor did the level of prenatal mortality increase during the period of greatest density. Except for a few individuals taken in July and August 1971, ♂ ♂ with a mass 30 g or more were judged to be fertile, as were a majority of the 20 to 29—g ♂ ♂. Body weight and testes weight were significantly correlated in fertile ♂ ♂ but not in nonfertile ♂ ♂. These reproductive findings were applied to a model of population regulation of microtine cycles. The pattern of reproduction of Kansas and Indiana prairie voles was compared. Three concordant lines of evidence seem to indicate that Kansas and possibly other geographical populations of prairie voles have adjusted the breeding schedule to accommodate both hot and dry summers and cold, snowy winters. Pregnancy rate, litter size, and adjusted testes weight all show a significant increase in March–April and September–October and a decrease in midsummer and midwinter. Thus the pattern of reproduction of Kansas prairie voles may represent a composite of the patterns shown by the dry—adapted species, such as Microtus californicus, and the cold—adapted microtines, such as Microtus pennsylvanicus. Based on the observations of this study, Kansas prairie voles seem to have adjusted to both harsh seasons by breeding more or less continuously, with the midsummer depression possibly reflecting the Great Plains origin of the species, and the winter depression being a facultative response to weather, density, or quality of habitat.

Large-scale variations of global groundwater from satellite gravimetry and hydrological models, 2002–2012

Observations of atmospheric waves in the tropical Pacific with radars and radiosondes