Enter records

ID: 59605
Title: Is irrigation water causing degradation in black soils?
Author: D.G. PADEKAR, T. BHATTACHARYYA, P.D. DESHMUKH, S.K. RAY, P.CHANDRAN, P. TIWARY.
Editor: R. Srinivasan.
Year: 2014
Publisher: Current Science Association and Indian Academy of Sciences.
Source: Centre for Ecological Sciences
Reference: Current Science Vol. 106 (11) 1487-1489 (2014).
Subject: Current Science.
Keywords: irrigation water, degradation in black soils?
Abstract: Groundwater is the major or the only source of supplemental irrigation in the arid, semi-arid and coastal regions. Poor quality irrigation water shrink-swell soils (i.e. Vertisols or black cotton soils) causes poor drainage (due to low saturated hydraulic conductivity (sHC), increase in pH (due to soil reaction), high exchangeable sodium/magnesium percentage and increase in bulk density of soil. Therefore, quality of irrigation water is key issue in irrigated agriculture, particularly in black soils where due to high clay content of the shrink-swell type of soil, the drainage problem is more likely. In India, shrink-swell soils (Vertisols) developed in the alluvium derived from the weathering of Deccan basalt, are found mostly in the Peninsular region extending from 8? 45` to 26 ? ' N lat. and 68?0 ' E to 83?45`E long. Majority of shrink-swell soils (Vertisols) covering nearly 76.4 mha (ref.3) in India occur in the lower piedmont plains or valleys, or in microdepressions.
Location: TE 12 New Biology Building
Literature cited 1: Yadav, J. S. P., Bandyopadhyay, A. K. and Bandyopadhyay, B. K., Extent of coastal saline soils of India. Indian Society of Coastal Agriculture Research, 1983, 1, pp. 1-6. Murthy, R. S., Hirekerur, L. R., Deshpande, S. B. and Venkat Rao, B. V., Benchmark Soils of India. National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning (NBSS & LUP), Indian Council for Agricultural Research, Nagpur, 1982, p. 308.
Literature cited 2: Mandal, C. et al., In Proceedings of National Seminar on Geospatial Solutions for Resource Conservation and Management, 18-20 January 2012 (eds Prabhuraj, D.K. et al ), Karnataka State Remote Sensing Application Centre, Bangalore, 2012, pp. 43-55. Pal, D. K. and Deshpande, S. D., Pedologie (Ghent), 1987, 37, 259-275.

ID: 59604
Title: Chemical weathering of biotite in the Ganga Alluvial Plain.
Author: DHARMENDRA KUMAR JIGYASU, ROHIT KUVAR, SHAHINA, PRIYANKA SINGH, SANDEEP SINGH, INDRA BIR SINGH, MUNENDRA SINGH.
Editor: R. Srinivasan.
Year: 2014
Publisher: Current Science Association and Indian Academy of Sciences.
Source: Centre for Ecological Sciences
Reference: Current Science Vol. 106 (11) 1484-1486 (2014).
Subject: Current Science.
Keywords: Chemical weathering, biotite, Ganga Alluvial Plain.
Abstract: It is conceived that the physical and chemical weathering processes of the Himalaya release huge amounts of sediment and dissolved load, which are transported to the Indian Ocean. This has affected the character of sea water during the last 40 million years. The sediment eroded in the Himalaya comes to the Ganga Alluvial Plain, where it is stored over a reasonable length of time. Part of this sediment is preserved to make alluvial deposits of the plain, and part is moved to the Bay of Bengal. Sediments of the Ganga Alluvial Plain show much higher weathering indices than the sediments coming from the Himalayan source. Recently, chemical weathering of the sediments of Ganga Alluvial Plain has been highlighted. In the present study, we describe the chemical weathering of biotite grains of the Gomati River sediments and release of various elements in dissolved load.
Location: TE 12 New Biology Building
Literature cited 1: Plamer, M. R. and Edmond, J.M., Geochim, Cosmochim. Acta, 1986, 92, 11-26. Singh, I.B., J. Geol. Soc. India, 2004, 64, 431-454.
Literature cited 2: Rai, S. K., Singh, S. K. and Krishna-swami, S., Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta, 2010, 74, 2340-2355. Lupker, M. et al., Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta, 2012, 84, 410-432.

ID: 59603
Title: Livelihood security through Litchi (Litchi chinensis L.)-based agri-horticulture models for resource-poor communities of Indian Sub-Himalaya.
Author: AVINASH CHANDRA RATHORE, H. LAL, N.K. SHARMA, HARSH MEHTA, J. JAYAPRAKASH, O. P. CHATURVEDI.
Editor: R. Srinivasan.
Year: 2014
Publisher: Current Science Association and Indian Academy of Sciences.
Source: Centre for Ecological Sciences
Reference: Current Science Vol. 106 (11) 1481-1484 (2014).
Subject: Current Science.
Keywords: Livelihood security through Litchi (Litchi chinensis L.), agri-horticulture models, resource-poor communities of Indian sub-Himalaya.
Abstract: Horticulture sector has played a major role in ensuring livelihood security of marginal and resource-poor farmers of India. The diminishing land resources, water-induced land degradation and steep topography are major concerns for sustainable production and livelihood and soil health security in the Indian Sub-Himalayas, leading to low productivity. Horticulture enterprises face more challenges for maintaining their profitability and livelihood security under the changing scenario of climate and complex market forces. Approximately 35.2%, 71.7% and 29.0% area of Doon valley, Uttarakhand and India respectively is degraded due to water erosion. Such lands known as boulder riverbed lands, are either underutilized or under thin vegetation due to undulating topography, shallow soil depth, high gravel content (70.0% ), soil (30.0%), poor soil organic carbon (SOC) content, low water-holding capacity, etc. In spite of receiving an average rainfall 1600 mm/yr, soil remains dry during April to June due to erratic nature of the rains. Judicial use of land and water, integrated with other production resources, will improve the resource base and convert such rainfed degraded riverbed land for sustainable production for livelihood security. The rainfed areas contribute more than 65% of food production and 80% of horticultural production. In such areas, diversification into fruit-based models with a wider range of preferably legume/vegetable/flower crops is the need of the hour for livelihood security of resource-poor farmers and rehabilitation of degraded lands. Studies have shown that fruit-based models are the most suitable to harvest solar energy in a stratified manner, for the conservation of moisture, reduction of soil erosion, addition of organic carbon leading to increased biological activity and maintenance of sustainable income for poor communities and also creation of off-season employment. In this context, litchi (Litchi chinensis L) holds immense potential in the foothills of the lower Himalaya to utilize, conserve and restore degraded land for securing livelihood of resource-poor farmers. It also improves soil health by diversification with preferably legume intercrops. In the foothills of the Himalaya, the soils originated from limestone rich in calcium under humid subtropical climate, are essential for proper growth and production of litchi fruit in Uttarakhand. The state contributes 12% (about 9,000 ha) of total area and 4% (about 19,000 tonnes) of litchi production in India. Intercropping with litchi gives higher economic returns per unit area compared to other farming systems. Most of the research on litchi-based models has been carried out on arable land with assured input supply, but limited information is available on utilization of degraded lands with resource conservation. Thus, the present study was conducted to evaluate the performance of litchi-based agri-horticulture models for livelihood security on degraded lands of the Indian Sub-Himalaya.
Location: TE 12 New Biology Building
Literature cited 1: Suri, V.K., Sidhu, G.K and Kumar, A., In Climate Change and its Ecological Implications for the Western Himalaya (ed. Chopra, V. L.,), Scientific Publication, Jodhpur, 2013, pp. 1-48. Sharma, P. D., J. Indian Soc. Soil Sci., 2004, 52 (4), 314-331.
Literature cited 2: Kumar, P. and Mittal, A. K., Economics of Soil Erosion, Issues and Imperatives from India, Concept Publishing Company, New Delhi, 2004, p. 41. Kumar, K. N. K., In Climate Change and Sustainable Food Security (eds Shetty, P. K., Ayyappan, S. and Srivastava, H. S.), National Institute of Advanced Studies & ICAR, New Delhi, p. 321.

ID: 59602
Title: Our backyard wildlife: Challenges in coexisting with uneasy neighbours.
Author: Mewa Singh, M. Ananda Kumar
Editor: R. Srinivasan.
Year: 2014
Publisher: Current Science Association and Indian Academy of Sciences.
Source: Centre for Ecological Sciences
Reference: Current Science Vol. 106 (11) 1463-1464 (2014).
Subject: Current Science.
Keywords: Our backyard wildlife, Challenges in coexisting with uneasy neighbours.
Abstract: Our society faces some serious challenges and we are primed to think that there are always some administrative solutions to them. A careful analysis shows that socially relevant science can tackle such challenges. We discuss one such issue involving science, society, culture and administration-the challenge of dealing with human-wildlife conflict.
Location: TE 12 New Biology Building
Literature cited 1: None
Literature cited 2: None

ID: 59601
Title: Microbial diversity in termite nest.
Author: A. Manjula, S. Sathyavathi, M. Pushpanathan, P. Gunasekaran and J. Rajendhran
Editor: R. Srinivasan.
Year: 2014
Publisher: Current Science Association and Indian Academy of Sciences.
Source: Centre for Ecological Sciences
Reference: Current Science Vol. 106 (10) 1430-1434 (2014).
Subject: Current Science.
Keywords: Metagenome, microbial diversity, pyro-sequencing, termitarium.
Abstract: In the Present study, the microbial diversity of termite nest was studied using bacterial tag encoded amplicon pyrosequencing by both culture-dependent and culture-independent approaches. A total of 10, 793 and 4,777 high-quality reads were obtained in culture-independent and culture-dependent approaches respectively. The former approach revealed dominant phyla Proteobacteria (32%) and Actinobacteria (20%), whereas the latter approach revealed Firmicutes (74%) and Proteobacteria (22%) as the most dominant phyla. The significant variation in the microbial diversity and composition of termitarium assessed by the two approaches could be due to the fact that culture-dependent approach explored only selected groups of microbial population, whereas metagenomic approach explored complete microbial diversity of termitarium, which provides credence to the application of metagenomic strategy to explore novel microbial species.
Location: TE 12 New Biology Building
Literature cited 1: Lovely, D.R., Coates, J.D., Blunt-Harris, E.L., Phillips, E.J.P. and Woodward, J.C., Humic substances as electron acceptors for microbial respiration. Nature, 1996, 382, 445-448. Fall, S., Hamelin, J., Ndiaye, F., Assigbetse, K., Aragno, M., Chotte, J.L. and Brauman, A., Differences between bacterial communities in the gut of a soil-feeding termite (Cubitermes niokoloensis) and its mounds. Appl. Environ. Microbiol., 2007, 73, 5199-5208.
Literature cited 2: Ohkuma, M. and Kudo, T., Phylogenetic diversity of the intestinal bacterial community in the termite Reticulitermes speratus. Appl. Environ. Microbiol., 62, 461-468. Rajendhran, J. and Gunasekaran, P., Strategies for accessing soil metagenome for desired applications. Biotechnol. Adv., 2008, 26, 576-590.

ID: 59600
Title: Persistence of endosulfan in selected areas of Kasaragod district, Kerala.
Author: P.S. Harikumar, K. Jesitha, T. Megha and Kamalakshan Kokkal.
Editor: R. Srinivasan.
Year: 2014
Publisher: Current Science Association and Indian Academy of Sciences.
Source: Centre for Ecological Sciences
Reference: Current Science Vol. 106 (10) 1421-1429 (2014).
Subject: Current Science.
Keywords: Endosulfan, organochlorine pesticides, soil and sediment samples, water.
Abstract: The persistence of organochlorine pesticides in different environmental matrices is a matter of concern as the complete environmental fate of these chemicals is still an unexplored field. Water, soil and sediment samples were collected from selected panchayats of Kasaragod district, Kerala in four different phases to assess the contamination by endosulfan applied on cashew plantations. Endosulfan was detected in only 2 samples out of 22 water samples analysed during the second phase of sampling. Concentration of endosulfan was below detection limit in all the 22 samples analysed during third phase. A total of 14 sediment samples were analysed and during the third phase, the concentration of endosulfan was below detection limit in all the samples. Out of 13 soil samples, endosulfan was detected in 5 samples during the second phase and during the third phase it was detected in 3 samples. Endosulfan was detected in two soil samples from Panathadi and Muliyar Panchayats during the fourth phase. Also, comparison of results of the analysis of endosulfan during the third and fourth phase showed decrease in concentration in the three soil samples. The findings from the present study provide information on the current residue levels and persistence of organochlorine pesticide endosulfan in water, sediment and soil in selected areas of Kasaragod district. The study shows that combined toxic residues of endosulfan in the sediment and soil samples of selected areas of Kasaragod district were found to be persistent for a period of 1.5-2 years, but the persistence showed variations depending upon the climatic conditions and physico-chemical characteristics like pH, organic matter content and particle size of the soil in the area.
Location: TE 12 New Biology Building
Literature cited 1: Mutiyar, P.K., Mittal, A.K. and Pekdeger, A., Status of organochlorine pesticides in the drinking water well-field located in the Delhi region of the flood plains of river Yamuna. Drink. Water Eng. Sci., 2011, 4, 51-60; doi: 10.5194/dwes-4-51-2011. Jayashree, R. and Vasudevan, N., Organochlorine pesticide residues in ground water of Thiruvallur district, India. Environ. Monit. Assess., 2007, 128 (1-3), 209-215; doi: 10.1007/s10661-006-9306-6.
Literature cited 2: Ormad, P., Cortes, S., Puig, A. and Ovelleiro, J.L., Degradation of organochlorine compounds by O? and O? / H?O?. Water Res., 1997, 31 (9), 2387-2391. Arias-Estevez, M., Lopez-Periago, E., Martinez-Carballo, E., Simal-Gandara, J., Mejuto, J.C. and Garcia-Rio, L., The mobility and degradation of pesticides in soils and pollution of ground-water resources. Agric. Ecosyst. Environ., 2008, 123 (4), 247-260.

ID: 59599
Title: Impact of removal of invasive species Kappaphycus alvarezii from coral reef ecosystem in Gulf of Mannar, India.
Author: B. Kamalakannan, J. Joyson Joe Jeevamani, N. Arun Nagendran, D. Pandiaraja and S. Chandrasekaran.
Editor: R. Srinivasan.
Year: 2014
Publisher: Current Science Association and Indian Academy of Sciences.
Source: Centre for Ecological Sciences
Reference: Current Science Vol. 106 (10) 1401-1408 (2014).
Subject: Current Science.
Keywords: Coral reefs, Gulf of Mannar, invasive species, Kappaphycus alvarezii, manual removal.
Abstract: Kappaphycus alvarezii is a commercially important red alga being intentionally introduced in marine waters worldwide for the production of Kappa carrageenan. Its introduction into the Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve during the 1900s and its subsequent escape from cultivation sites have paved the way for its invasion into the coral reef ecosystem of Kurusadai Island. Since the report of its invasion in 2008, removal of K. alvarezii from the reefs has been started by means of manual removal (hand plucking). This article details the unsuccessful attempt and negative impact of the eradication programme. Regrowth of K. alvarezii from removal points and drifting broken fragments resulting during removal have led to further establishment in the reef environment. Variation in the morphology of K. alvarezii populations after their removal has been observed. A significant reduction in the cover of coral and native alga due to the increase in abundance of K. alvarezii was evident from the study. The need for immediate scientific control measures to eradicate the invasive alga is discussed.
Location: TE 12 New Biology Building
Literature cited 1: Grosholz, E., Ecological and evolutionary consequences of coastal invasions. Trends Ecol. Evol., 2002, 17, 22-27. Occhipinti-Ambrogi, A. and Savini, D., Biological invasions as a component of global change in stressed marine ecosystems. Mar. Pollut. Bull., 2003, 46, 542-551.
Literature cited 2: Piazzi, L., Ceccherelli, G. and Cinelli, F., Threat to macroalgal diversity: effects of the introduced green alga Caulerpa racemosa in the Mediterranean. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser., 2001, 210, 149-159. Casas, G., Sacrosati, R. and Piriz, M.L., The invasive kelp Undaria Pinnatifida (Phaeophyceae, Laminariales) reduces native seaweed diversity in Neuvo Gulf (Patagonia, Argentina). Biol. Invasions, 2004, 6, 411-416.

ID: 59598
Title: One-pot synthesis of biodiesel from high fatty acid Jatropha curcas oil using bio-based basic ionic liquid as a catalyst.
Author: Eragam Ramamohan Reddy, Mukesh Sharma, Jai Prakash Chaudhary, Hetal Bosamiya and Ramavatar Meena.
Editor: R. Srinivasan.
Year: 2014
Publisher: Current Science Association and Indian Academy of Sciences.
Source: Centre for Ecological Sciences
Reference: Current Science Vol. 106 (10) 1394-1400 (2014).
Subject: Current Science.
Keywords: Biodiesel, Jatropha curcus, ionic liquid, transesterification
Abstract: This article describes a facile one-pot synthesis of bio-diesel from non-treated Jatropha oil (J oil) with high acid value (ca. 17 mg KOH/g). Choline hydroxide exhibited superior catalytic activity than Choline imidazole in the transesterification that yields 95 ? 1% of biodiesel, when the reaction was carried out with 9: 1 molar ratio of methanol of J oil and 4 wt% catalysts at 60?C for 4 h. Further study showed that the catalyst exhibited almost constant activity for four successive trials after being recycled. The main fuel properties of the final product meets the ASTM standards. Moreover, the properties of biodiesel are identical to those obtained by conventional method (US 7, 666, 234 B2) and can be used as fuel in the existing diesel engines without any modification.
Location: TE 12 New Biology Building
Literature cited 1: Ma, F. and Hanna, M.A., Biodiesel production: a review. Bioresour. Technol., 1999, 70, 1-15. Carraretto, C. et al., Biodiesel as alternative fuel: experimental analysis and energetic evaluations. Energy, 2004, 29, 2195-2211.
Literature cited 2: Fukuda, H., Kondo, A. and Noda, H., Biodiesel fuel production by transestrification of oils. J. Biosci. Bioeng., 2001, 92, 405-416. Xue, J., Grift, T.E. and Hansen, A.C., Effect of biodiesel on engine performances and emissions. Renew. Sust. Energ. Rev., 2011, 15, 1098-1116.

ID: 59597
Title: Effect of Chromium (VI) on wheat seedlings and the role of chelating agents.
Author: Bishnu C. DAS, Aparajeya Panda, Pramod K. Sahoo, Somanath Jena and Payodhar Padhi.
Editor: R. Srinivasan.
Year: 2014
Publisher: Current Science Association and Indian Academy of Sciences.
Source: Centre for Ecological Sciences
Reference: Current Science Vol. 106 (10) 1387-1393 (2014).
Subject: Current Science.
Keywords: Chelating agents, chlorophyll, chromium, hydroponics, wheat seedlings
Abstract: Toxic effect of chromium concentration with and without chelating agents was studied on wheat seedlings grown hydroponically. Graded dry wheat seeds (Triticum aestivum L.C.V., UP 262) obtained from Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology, Bhubaneswar were sterilized and germinated under controlled condition at 25? C in darkness for two days. The seedlings were grown in growth chamber with 7 h/16 h light and dark period with a photon flux density of 52 ?eM??S??. The growth parameters, i.e. root and shoot length, and fresh and dry matter of 5-7 day-old seedlings were determined. Different chromium concentrations (5-100 ?M) with chelating agents (EDTA, citric acid, ZnSO?; 50 ?M) were used during growth. Biochemical analysis of chlorophyll content was made from 7-day-old primary leaves of seedlings grown in different Cr (VI) concentrations with or without chelating agents using spade meter. Cr (VI) contents in root and shoot were analysed on hydroponically grown 7-day-old seedlings with the help of AAS. The study showed overall growth retardation of wheat seedlings with increase in Cr (VI) concentration. However, lower concentration of Cr (VI) was found to be stimulating chlorophyll biosynthesis in wheat plants.
Location: TE 12 New Biology Building
Literature cited 1: Kakkar, P. and Taffery, F.N., Biological marker for metal toxicity. Environ. Toxicol. Pharmacol., 2005, 19, 335-349. Han, F.X., Su, Y., Monys, D. L., Plodine, M.J., Banin, A. and Triplett, G.B., Assessment of global industrial age anthropogenic arsenic contamination. Naturwissenschaften, 2003, 90, 395-401.
Literature cited 2: Han, F.X., Su, Y., Monys, D.L., Plodine, M.J., Banin, A. and Triplett, G.B., Assessment of global industrial age anthropogenic input of heavy metals into the pedosphere. Naturwissenschaften, 2002, 89, 497-504. Chandra, P., Sinha, S. and Rai, V.N., Bioremediation of chromium from water and soil by vascular aquatic plants. In Phytoremediation of Soil and Water Contaminants (eds Kruger, E.U., Anderson, T.A. and Coats, J.R.), American Chemical Society, Washington DC, USA, 1997, pp. 274-282.

ID: 59596
Title: Keystone food resources for honey bees in South Indian west coast during monsoon.
Author: C. Balachandran, M.D. Subash Chandran and T.V. Ramachandra.
Editor: R. Srinivasan.
Year: 2014
Publisher: Current Science Association and Indian Academy of Sciences.
Source: Centre for Ecological Sciences
Reference: Current Science Vol. 106 (10) 1379-1386 (2014).
Subject: Current Science.
Keywords: Flower visitation, food resource, honey bee, keystone, laterite.
Abstract: The low level, denuded, laterite landscape of coastal Uttara Kannada has a rich diversity of monsoon herbs, including threatened and newly discovered ones. Our study reveals that honey bees congregate on the ephemeral herb community of Utricularis, Eriocaulons and Impatients during their gregarious monsoon flowering period. Apis dorsata had highest visitations on Utricularias, Impatients, and Flacourtia indica, where as Trigona preferred Eriocaulons. Laterite herb flora merits conservation efforts as a keystone food resource for the insect community, especially for honey bees.
Location: TE 12 New Biology Building
Literature cited 1: Pradeep, A.K., Joseph, K.T. and Sivarajan, V.V., Rotala malabarica: a new species of Lythraceae from India. Bot. Bull. Acad. Sin, 1990, 31, 51-61. Joseph, K.T. and Sivarajan, V.V., A new species of Nymphoides from India. Nordic J. Bot., 1990, 10, 281-284.
Literature cited 2: Pradeep, A.K., Joseph, K.T. and Sivarajan, V.V., Justicia ekakusuma new species of Acanthaceae from peninsular Indaia. Rheedia, 1991, 1, 40-43. Madhusoodanan, P.V. and Singh, N.P., A new species of Lepidagathis (Acanthaceae) from South India. Kew Bull., 1992, 1, 19-22.

ID: 59595
Title: Watershed impact evaluation using remote sensing
Author: Gopal Kumar, D.R. Sena, R.S. Kurothe, V.C. Pande, B.K. Rao, A.K. Vishwakarma, G.L. Bagdi, and P.K. Mishra.
Editor: R. Srinivasan.
Year: 2014
Publisher: Current Science Association and Indian Academy of Sciences.
Source: Centre for Ecological Sciences
Reference: Current Science Vol. 106 (10) 1369-1378 (2014).
Subject: Current Science.
Keywords: Advantage watershed, change detection, impact evaluation, remote sensing, watershed management.
Abstract: Watershed management is considered as a way for sustainable rural development and thus impact evaluation is a must. The common approach of post-classification comparison of pre-and post-implementation satellite imageries for watershed impact evaluation suffers from serious limitations, mainly ignoring the changes which are not due to watershed interventions. To minimize such biases, control area approach is proposed and relative change in watershed compared to control area is attributed to watershed management. The studied four clusters of watershed in Vidarbha region, Maharashtra show that the effect of the watershed could stand out irrespective of pre-and post-implementation conditions of satellite imageries.
Location: TE 12 New Biology Building
Literature cited 1: Chakraborti, A.K., Strategies for watershed management planning using remote sensing techniques. J. Indian. Soc. Remote Sensing, 1993, 22, 87-97. Kumar, G., Sena, D.R. and Kurothe, R.S., Application of advance tools of watershed management. Indian Farmers Digest, 2010, 43, 21-26.
Literature cited 2: Saxena, R.K., Verma, K.S., and Chary, G.R., IRS-IC data application in watershed characterization and management .Int J. Remote Sensing, 2000, 21, 3197-3208. Chowdary, V.M., Paul, I.S., Sriniwas, T.K., Sudhakar, S. and Adiga, Rao, P.P.N., Remote Sensing and GIS approach for watershed monitoring and evaluation: a case study in Orissa state, India. In Proceeding of 22nd Asian Conference on Remote Sensing, Singapore, 2001, pp. 32-41.

ID: 59594
Title: Depeasantization in Punjab: status of farmers who left farming
Author: Sukhpal Singh and Shruti Bhogal.
Editor: R. Srinivasan.
Year: 2014
Publisher: Current Science Association and Indian Academy of Sciences.
Source: Centre for Ecological Sciences
Reference: Current Science Vol. 106 (10) 1364-1368 (2014).
Subject: Current Science.
Keywords: Depeasantization, land holding, marginal and small farmers, wage labour.
Abstract: The state of Punjab, earlier regarded as an agriculturally developed region of India, has been passing through a severe economic crisis. The capital-intensive mode of production, propagated by the green revolution in the mid -1960s, is turning out to be non-viable for the small peasantry and hence, they are being involuntarily manoeuvred towards shifting away from farming. Based on a field study in Punjab during the year 2012-13, it was observed that 14.39% of the farmers had left farming since 1991. A considerable proportion of marginal and small farmers who have been pushed out of agriculture become wage labourers.
Location: TE 12 New Biology Building
Literature cited 1: Singh, S., Kaur, M. and Kingra, H.s., Flow of funds to farmers and indebtedness in Punjab. The Punjab State Farmers Commission, Government of Punjab, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2007, pp.1-77. Singh, K., Singh, S. and Kingra, H.S., Status of farmers who left farming in Punjab. The Punjab State Farmers Commission, Government of Punjab, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2007, pp.1-51.
Literature cited 2: Singh, S., Kaur, M. and Kingra, H.S., Indebtness among farmers in Punjab. Econ. Polit. Wkly, 2008, XLIII (26 and 27), 130-136. Sidhu, R.S., Singh, S. Bhullar, A.S., Farmers ' suicides in Punjab: a census survey of the two most affected districts. Econ.Polit. Wkly, 2011, XLVI (26 and 27), 131-137.

ID: 59593
Title: Arid ecosystem: future option for carbon sinks using microbial community intelligence
Author: Leena Agarwal, Asifa Quereshi, Vipin Chandra Kalia, Atya Kapley, Hemant J. Purohit and R.N. Singh.
Editor: R. Srinivasan.
Year: 2014
Publisher: Current Science Association and Indian Academy of Sciences.
Source: Centre for Ecological Sciences
Reference: Current Science Vol. 106 (10) 1357-1363 (2014).
Subject: Current Science.
Keywords: Arid ecosystem, biological soil crust, carbon sequestration, metagenome, microbial intelligence.
Abstract: Desert, comprising one-third of the Earth ' s surface, was a synonym for ' no life ' as it supports very less or no life due to nutritional stress and extreme weather. Microbial autotrophic biochemistry is the principle source of carbon in arid environment, but understanding of these processes in arid ecosystem is limited. Emerging molecular tools have identified associations of phototrophic and chemolithoautotrophic communities often termed as ' biological soil crust ' or ' microbiotic crust ' . They are the sole sources of carbon and nitrogen, collectively providing soil stability to support vegetation. Here the curiosity arises, whether this phenomenon could be exploited in deserts for carbon sink using microbial community intelligence. By following the precipitation event under regulated nutrient supply that promotes that soil microbial intelligence for autography would enrich soil carbon and nitrogen which in turn support plant growth in desert. Additionally, bioaugmentation of rhizobacteria could enhance the process. This will enable us to refine and formulate our strategies to exploit CO?-fixing microorganisms in such niches vis-?-vis supporting the carbon sink using microbial community intelligence.
Location: TE 12 New Biology Building
Literature cited 1: Solomon, S., Plattner, G.K., Knutt, R. and Friedlingstein, P., Irreversible climate change due to carbon dioxide emissions. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 2009, 106 (6), 1704-1709. Warren-Rhodes, K.A. et al., Hypolithic cynobacteria, dry limit of photosynthesis, and microbial ecology in the hyperarid Atacama Desert. Microb.Ecol., 2006, 52 (3), 389-398.
Literature cited 2: Berg, I.A., Ecological aspects of distribution of different autotrophic CO? fixation pathways. Appl. Environ. Microbiol., 2011, 77 (6), 1925-1936. Jobbagy, E.G. and Jackson, R.B., The vertical distribution of soil organic carbon and its relation to climate and vegetation. Ecol. Appl., 2000, 10 (2), 423-436.

ID: 59592
Title: Occurrence of groundwater in the Ponnaiyar river catchment covering eastern parts of Bangalore city, Karnataka, India.
Author: K.C. SUBHASH CHANDRA, G.V. HEGDE.
Editor: R. Srinivasan.
Year: 2014
Publisher: Current Science Association and Indian Academy of Sciences.
Source: Centre for Ecological Sciences
Reference: Current Science Vol. 106 (10) 1353-1356 (2014).
Subject: Current Science.
Keywords: Occurrence of groundwater in the Ponnaiyar river, eastern parts of Bangalore city, Karnataka, India.
Abstract: The mega city Bangalore, spread over an extent of 800 sq. Km, located at more than 920 m amsl with N to NW stretch of high land extending from Kalasandra at the mid-southern boundary to almost Peenya in the north, and covering part of core area localities like Basavanagudi, High Grounds, Malleshwaram, Yeshwanthpura, etc forms a divide between the Arkavathi river catchment of the Cauvery Basin in the west and Ponnaiyar river (also called ' South Pennar ' or ' Dakshina Pinakini ' ) catchment in the east. The catchment part of these river systems in the city area is drained by first to fourth-order streams.
Location: TE 12 New Biology Building
Literature cited 1: Aleva, G. J. J., Classification of Laterites and their Textures, Geological Survey of India, Mem. 120, 1986, p.9. Hegde, G. V. and Subhash Chandra, K. C., Curr. Sci., 2012, 102 (8), 1102-1104.
Literature cited 2: Davis, D., Someshekhar, R.K., Prakash, K.L., Ravi Kumar and Shivanna, K., Hydrol. Curr. Res., 2012, S12:004. Doi: 10.4172/2157-7587, 1-8. Mehta, V. K., Goswami, R., Kemp-Benedict, E., Muddu, S. and Malghan, D., Econ. Polit. Wkly, 2013, XLVIII (15), 40-50.

ID: 59591
Title: Design of an ion trap for traping single 171 Yb+
Author: S. De, N. Batra, S. Chakraborty, S. Panja and A. Sen Gupta.
Editor: R. Srinivasan.
Year: 2014
Publisher: Current Science Association and Indian Academy of Sciences.
Source: Centre for Ecological Sciences
Reference: Current Science Vol. 106 (10) 1348-1352 (2014).
Subject: Current Science.
Keywords: Design of an ion, 171Yb+
Abstract: We present an ion trap design of end-cap geometry and numerically calculate its potential. An rf-resonator of quality factor 800 (20) has been fabricated for delivering high voltage to the trap. An optical frequency standard will be developed by trapping and laser cooling a single 171?Yb+. Optical arrangements for photoionization, laser cooling and detection are also described.
Location: TE 12 New Biology Building
Literature cited 1: Webb, J.K. Flambaum, V. V., Churchill, C.W., Drinkwater, M.J and Barrow, J.D., Phys. Rev. Lett., 1999, 82, 884-887. Rosenband, T. et al., Science, 2008, 319, 1808-1812.
Literature cited 2: Fischer, M. et al, Phys. Rev. Lett., 2004, 92, 230802. Blatt, S. et al., Phys. Rev. Lett., 2008, 100, 140801