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EU supported urban agricultural market popular in Kerala

September 19, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Maradu (Kerala), Sept 18 (ANI): Agricultural Urban Wholesale Market at Maradu in Kerala has become popular among residents and farmers alike.

Fresh and cheap agricultural products are available here and the farmers have the storing, testing and other facilities.

The market is run by the Kerala Government and is financially aided by the European Union (EU). Fresh fruits, vegetables, spice and other agriculture produces are sold in the market.

The place is attracting hordes of customers, as the prices of products are cheaper compared to other shops.

“Most of the products sold in this market are fresh and of a good quality. Earlier, I used to go to main market. But this place is cheap, easy and products come directly from the farms as compared to other shops,” said Sebastian, a customer.

The setting up of warehousing, packaging and marine testing units for frozen or dried fish, vegetables and fruits at the Urban Market are some of the facilities available to farmers.

Prices are low since the farmers directly supply their produce in this market and own shops.

“Compared to other markets here, the prices are low as we have no labour cost involved During festival and other occasions, sellers used to charge high but here prices always remain low because we ourselves produce and later sell and for customers,” said Saji Kumar, a farmer and a shop owner.

Recently, various programmes and exhibitions have been introduced with the help of the State Government and horticulture mission to make the market more farmer-friendly.

The market was set up to improve the marketing infrastructure and enabling farmers to get a better price for their produce.

The market is developed at an area of 46 acres that can handle more than 2,500 tons of produce.

Facilities such as internet access enable the farmers keep track of the daily prices, Agmark certification for the produce is also available at the Agmark Testing Laboratory functioning at the market. By Juhan Samuel (ANI)

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Green tea may help improve bone health

September 17, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, Sept 17 (ANI): Green tea may help improve bone health, researchers in Hong Kong have reported.

The boffins found that the tea contains a group of chemicals that can stimulate bone formation and help slow its breakdown.

The study has been published in ACS’ Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, a bi-weekly publication.

In the study, Ping Chung Leung and colleagues noted that many scientific studies have linked tea to beneficial effects in preventing cancer, heart disease, and other conditions.

To reach the conclusion, scientists exposed a group of cultured bone-forming cells (osteoblasts) to three major green tea components – epigallocatechin (EGC), gallocatechin (GC), and gallocatechin gallate (GCG) – for several days. They found that one in particular, EGC, boosted the activity of a key enzyme that promotes bone growth by up to 79 percent. EGC also significantly boosted levels of bone mineralization in the cells, which strengthens bones.

The scientists also showed that high concentrations of ECG blocked the activity of a type of cell (osteoclast) that breaks down or weakens bones. The green tea components did not cause any toxic effects to the bone cells, they noted. (ANI)

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New test to detect tainted milk

September 14, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, Sept 13 (ANI): Researchers have developed a simple test that would help detect tainted milk within few hours.

Amer AbuGhazaleh, from Southern Illinois University Carbondale’s College of Agricultural Sciences, and Salam Ibrahim, a food microbiologist from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, have shown that the combination of certain bacteria and a common purple dye can reveal the presence of toxins in milk in just a few hours.

“To date, detecting the presence of toxins or pesticides has only been possible by sending samples to a laboratory and waiting a few days for the results,” said AbuGhazaleh.

“An important step toward improving the safety of our dairy supply would be the development of an effective, simple and rapid test that would allow farmers or processors to detect the presence of foreign substances,” the expert added.

During the study, the scientists decided to focus on the bacteria that ferment lactose (milk’s sugars), producing lactic acid.

“For one thing, these bacteria already exist in milk, so if you add some, you’re not doing anything strange,” said AbuGhazaleh.

“Second, they produce a change over time (the lactic acid) that we could monitor. If we didn’t see the change, we would know something was wrong,” the expert said.

They began in 2008 with a few bacterial strains they already had and cyanide, also readily available. Experiments showed not only that the toxin could slow or stop lactic acid production but that this effect increased with the toxic load. Further, the effect appeared in less than four hours.

They then added purple dye to milk samples containing both toxins and bacteria and to samples containing only bacteria.

After eight hours, dye in the non-toxic milk turned yellow, indicating the presence of increased lactic acid, while dye in the toxin-laden milk retained its original purple.

“This kind of colour test could be performed by farmers themselves,” AbuGhazleh said.

“They could add the bacteria and the dye to a sample, leave it alone for a little while and then come back to see if there is any change in the color. If there isn’t, there are problems with the milk,” he added. (ANI)

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World’s most advanced CT scanner to see through solids

September 12, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, September 11 (ANI): Researchers at The University of Nottingham, UK, have created the most advanced 3D X-ray micro Computed Tomography (CT) scanner in the world, which will help scientists from a wide variety of departments across the University literally see through solid materials, including soil.

Known as the ‘Nanotom’, the machine will make previously difficult and laborious research much easier as it allows researchers to probe inside objects without having to break into them.

The Nanotom will produce high-resolution 3D and slice images of solids with a pixel resolution of up to half micron or 500 nanometres.

It will be based at the School of Biosciences as the centrepiece of research into efforts to understand the microscopic interactions between plant root growth and soil structure.

The first project to use it will examine the sensing ability of roots to grow in the best direction for the health of the plant through the soil.

It aims to provide evidence of how the root reacts and adapts to soil stresses like drought and compaction by adjusting the genetic information in the tips of the root as it grows.

The Nanotom will allow researchers to follow the progress of the root growth and soil structural development for the first time without disturbing the sample of the plant growing in the soil.

The eventual aim of research like this is to contribute to worldwide efforts for food security and sustainable food production by preserving and improving the vital but finite soil resources of the planet.

It will enable scientists to come up with a recipe for the best soil composition and level of compaction as well as informing plant breeding programmes.

Accurate soil structure measurement will be also be essential in changing farming practices to cut CO2 which is released into the atmosphere during traditional ploughing of agricultural soil.

According to Dr Sacha Mooney from the University’s Division of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, “This new kit will completely revolutionize our work in trying to understand the key factors that control some of the many functions that soils perform.”

“Of course it’s not just soils we’ll be scanning, I think I am just as excited about the opportunity to look inside newly created environmental building materials, eco-friendly crops developed to improve yield and even chocolate bars for the food industry,” Mooney added. (ANI)

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Cities trap more CO2 than rain forests

September 10, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, September 9 (ANI): A surprising new study has found that cities trap more carbon dioxide (CO2) than rain forests.

According to a report in National Geographic News, compared with tropical rain forests, cities store more carbon, acre for acre, in their trees, buildings, and dirt.

“Everyone thinks about the tropical forests, but I don’t think people consider cities as a way to store carbon,” said study leader Galina Churkina of the Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research in Germany.

“Although a lot of studies have focused on carbon in forests, grasslands, and other natural ecosystems, looking at cities-which now house half of the world’s population-is relatively new,” Churkina said.

Intentionally storing carbon in cities could be one approach to counter global warming, she added.

Churkina and colleagues pulled together previous evidence looking at various stores of organic carbon, which comes from living things, as well as from such as plants and animals, wood, dirt, and even garbage.

Cities, including both dense metropolises and sprawling suburbs, store about a tenth of all the carbon in U.S. ecosystems, the study estimated.

In total, U.S. cities contain about 20 billion tons of organic carbon, mostly in dirt, according to the new study.

Some of this carbon-rich topsoil is in parks and under lawns, but it’s also sealed underneath buildings and roads-a remnant of grasslands or forests that were there before development.

Of all this urban carbon, about three billion tons are locked up in human-made materials-two-thirds of it in garbage dumps, and the rest in building materials such as wood.

Many cities have already launched ambitious plans for turning gray to green, such as Los Angeles’ Million Trees LA project, which aims to plant a million trees in the Californian city over several years.

Trees take up CO2 and turn it into carbon in their trunks, branches, and leaves, so planting more trees helps counter some of the excess CO2 in the air.

Likewise trees also cool cities and reduce the need for air-conditioning, according to urban forest expert David Nowak of the U.S. Forest Service in Syracuse, New York.

By planting trees around buildings, he added, “you avoid about four times more CO2 emissions than the trees sequester.”

Study leader Churkina added, “people could (also) try to store more carbon in gardens by smart management of the land. The carbon storage in lawns is quite amazing.” (ANI)

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Corruption cases against Pak PM’s wife withdrawn

September 6, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Karachi, Sep. 5 (ANI): The corruption cases filed against Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani’s wife have been withdrawn.

Fouzia Yousuf Gilani and five others were accused of obtaining two loans from the Agricultural Development Bank for their companies in the late 1980s and not returning the money, The Dawn reports.

But the National Accountability Bureau which had filed the cases against Gilani, Syeda Samina Abrar, Anwar Nasreen, Ziaur Rehman, Khalid Hussain and Nasreen Munawar Chaudhry in 2000 told the court that the matter has been settled and charges withdrawn.

According to the prosecution, the accused, who were directors of the Pakistan Green Fertiliser, had obtained a loan of 71.163 million rupees from the ADBP in November 1987 and not returned the amount after which the National Accountability Bureau had filed a reference against them.

The second reference pertained to a loan of 100 million rupees taken from the bank in July 1989 for the Multan Edible Oil Extraction Company.

The court had dismissed applications for acquittal in July.

The MD of the firms, Munawar Hussain Sindhu, was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment on March 10, 2001, while Gilani and others were awarded three-year terms in absentia for failing to appear before the court. (ANI)

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Kudzu extract shows promise as dietary supplement for metabolic syndrome

September 4, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, Sep 4 (ANI): Kudzu, the nuisance vine that has overgrown almost 10 million acres in the southeastern United States, can be used as a dietary supplement for metabolic syndrome.

Scientists in Alabama and Iowa have found that root extracts from kudzu show promise as a dietary supplement for metabolic syndrome that increases the risk of obesity, high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, and problems with their body”s ability to use insulin.

Those disorders mean a high risk for heart attacks, strokes, and other diseases.

Lead researcher J. Michael Wyss showed that kudzu root extract contains healthful substances called isoflavones.

People in China and Japan have long been using kudzu supplements as a health food.

The study found that a kudzu root extract had beneficial effects on lab rats with metabolic syndrome.

After two months of taking the extract, the rats had lower cholesterol, blood pressure, blood sugar, and insulin levels that a control group not given the extract.

Kudzu root “may provide a dietary supplement that significantly decreases the risk and severity of stroke and cardiovascular disease in at-risk individuals,” the article notes.

The study appears in Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. (ANI)

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“Blight” may play spoilsport for farmers’ hope of good crop in Punjab

September 1, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Amritsar, Aug.31 (ANI): Punjab farmers were full of optimism of harvesting a bumper crop of paddy despite a delayed monsoon, but now they fear crop damage due to attack of “Blight”, a bacterial disease.

Worried farmers allege that the agriculture department is not guiding them how to protect their crop from Blight. owever, at several places, the farmers, who had transplanted paddy, which was in good shape earlier, seem to be fighting a fast losing battle because of the widespread attack of “Blight”.

In various affected villages in the border districts of Amritsar and Gurdaspur, the farmers today estimate nearly 50 percent of damage to paddy due to “Blight”, if it’s not controlled in time.

“The disease appeared as yellowish green stripes running from tip downwards and the affected leaf started drying from the margins. Since most of the farmers are unaware about the remedies so agriculture department should come forward to educate the farmers to tackle this problem,” said Jagdev Singh, one of the farmers.

Mangdev Singh, Sarpanch (village head) of Chiina Pati Village said, “Blight has dashed our hopes. We were expecting very good returns from paddy. In all the 500 acres of village paddy was transplanted. “Blight” attack has started in patches. If we fail to control, this could cause damage of al the crop here.

Singh said that they have contacted the department. Though the Agricultural Department accepts the damage to crops, it is not prepared to quantify it as yet.

In Amritsar district alone, of the nearly 183,000 hectares of land, Basmati was transplanted in about 90,000 hectares of land and in the rest of the farming land other variety of paddy was transplanted.

According to Gurdeep Singh, an Agriculture Development Officer, the disease has been noticed in all varieties of paddy grown in the areas of border belt.

“Since the disease develops more in high humid conditions, farmers should not allow stagnation of water in the fields.

Farmers should not spray pesticides to control the disease, as these are not effective against it,” said Gurdeep Singh. By Ravinder Singh Robin (ANI)

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Deficit rainfall further aggravates water scarcity in Madhya Pradesh

August 9, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Datia (Madhya Pradesh), Aug. 9(ANI): Farmers are a worried lot in Madhya Pradesh’s Datia district as they are experiencing acute water scarcity, which has been further aggravated by deficit rainfall leading to a drought like situation in the region.

“Due to inadequate rains we are sitting idle. We have no work. Our crops are dying for want of water,” said Balram Singh, a farmer.

Meanwhile, concerned officials of the district administration say that they have initiated steps to tackle the situation.

“Our main source (of water) Ram Sagar Dam wasn’t able to fill due to scanty rainfall. Water for 35 days is remaining in the dam. We provide water to 80 percent area of Datia through filter plants and tanks. In remaining 20 percent of area, which has no lines for water supply, water is being provided through tankers,” said Ganda Lal, Commissioner of Municipal Corporation.

“For enhancing the water supply, a programme is being developed by the State Government at a cost of Rs 3.36 crore. It will be objective of the district administration and ours to ensure that the programme is implemented before Ram Sagar dam dries,” he added.

As for the trends leading to drought, agriculture scientists are of the view that farmers and others should wisely utilise water as the situation is grim.

“Farmers and people using water should ensure proper utilisation of water. We don’t have enough water. People should discretely fetch water from wells. If they try to fetch water in excess, wells will dry and it will be impossible to revive these wells,” said Y M Cool, Agronomist at Agricultural University in Gwalior.

Total rainfall in the country since the beginning of June was 19 percent below average, pulled down by the driest June in 83 years, data from the India Meteorological Department showed. (ANI)

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State level pineapple festival held in Imphal

July 11, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Imphal, July 11 (ANI): To bring all pineapple farmers of Manipur, a State known for pineapple production, on a common platform and promote agro-based tourism and horticulture crops, the 2nd State level pineapple festival cum youth festival was held recently in Imphal.

The festival was launched to encourage pineapple growers in Manipur.

Organised by the Development Organisation, Andro Kendra, it was held at Thambalnu Market, Yairipok in Imphal. The event saw 120 stalls being put up and pineapples produced by around 400 to 500 farmers put on public display.

Experts from Central Agricultural University, State Horticulture Department of the state provided technical training to farmers on the cultivation of pineapples.

The festival is a step forward in helping farmers become economically stable.

“Our aim is to help the farmers of the state benefit from pineapple cultivation. We have organised this festival, as we wanted to remove poverty from the state. The farmers will be able to assist their children’s studies through the income generated,” said K. Abungcha Singh, Organising Secretary, Pineapple Festival.

“This festival will help bring development to the state. This is the 2nd pineapple festival and it has encouraged us (pineapple farmers) as our hard work has been recognized. People will also get to know about pineapple cultivation in the state,” said O. Thambal Devi, a pineapple farmer in Manipur.

As a part of the festival, various cultural programmes were also held.

The state produces pineapples at about 10,000 tonnes per hectare annually and has become the highest producer and exporter in the country.

And, the festival is an opportunity for the farmers to display their products and market them not only at the state level but internationally as well.

Moreover, State horticulture department has recognized Queen and Kew variety of pineapple available in the state as priority crop from this year and will install a processing unit at Andro under the technology mission of the department. By L.C.K Singh (ANI)

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Scanty rains ring alarm bells in Agra

July 10, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Agra, July 9 (IANS) Poor agricultural yields, high irrigation costs and exorbitant prices of essential commodities – all this and more are causing alarm bells to ring as parts of western Uttar Pradesh are facing “drought-like” conditions. Farmers are concerned about the lack of action by the government.
The Agra division, which comprises the districts Mathura, Firozabad, Mainpuri, Etah and Agra, and the adjoining Aligarh division have yet to receive significant rain this year.

“Sowing has been delayed already, the yield will be poor, input costs and irrigation costs will shoot up, resulting in skyrocketing prices of essential commodities which will make life tough for the agricultural wage earners or the landless. We are definitely in the grip of a very serious crisis,” agricultural economist B.B. Barik told IANS.

“Unfortunately the government machinery has its lop-sided priorities and has not yet finalized its emergency plan to tackle the drought,” he added.

Across western Uttar Pradesh, at least 30 districts have been impacted by the prevailing dry conditions.

“A few scattered showers have been there but are hardly sufficient to start agricultural operations,” said Barik.

In Agra the situation has taken a grim turn, as of the more than 30 check dams and reservoirs in the district, only a few have a little water while most are dry. The water level in the biggest of them all, Tereh Mori dam in Fatehpur Sikri, is zero and so are the Utangan and Khari rivers. More than 700 community ponds in the districts are dry. What will happen after a couple of months is a question that is worrying farmers.

Sachchendra Kumar Singh, a farmer, said: “the situation is truly alarming. The water scarcity has affected the crops. The fields are dry and the standing summer crop has been partially scorched.”

“Government agencies should have woken up and done something to ensure that farmers did not suffer,” said Surendra Singh Chandel of Kachchpura village.

“These government agencies have squandered thousands of crores on the Taj Trapezium and other useless projects. If that money had gone on developing infrastructure, sprinklers and drip irrigation systems, the results would have been encouraging.

“The sad part is that the official machinery has not yet woken up to the fear of the farmers. If it rains in a few days or a low pressure area is created, there could be some relief in store, but if that doesn’t happen, we are in deep trouble for sure,” Chandel warned.

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Tamil Nadu halves interest rate on non-farm credit

July 8, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Chennai July 7 (IANS) The Tamil Nadu government has cut by half the interest rate on non-agricultural loans disbursed by cooperative banks, bringing it to 6 percent, and waived penal interest to reduce these banks’ non-performing assets (NPAs).
“The government has come to this decision after the appeals to waive the non-farm loans. Waiver of such loans is not possible as they were issued against securities,” Finance Minister K. Anbazhagan told the assembly Tuesday.

Borrowers can choose to make one-time settlement or in three instalments after paying 25 percent of their outstanding amount upfront, he said.

The state government’s decision will benefit around 132,000 debtors owing a total of around Rs.709.51 crore.

The state will bear four percent of the interest loss due to the waiver and the balance two percent will have to be borne by the banks.

A total of Rs.251.21 crore is being forgone, Anbazhagan said.

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Scottish man sets new world by running 259 ft with body set on fire

July 6, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, July 06 (ANI): A Scottish man slammed the previous world record of running 227ft with body set on fire by sprinting 259 ft.

Keith Malcolm, from Aberdeen, succeeded in his second attempt to break the record after he fell 40ft short of the record in his previous attempt in May.

The amateur stuntman, who now lives in Widley near Portsmouth, Hants, wore eight layers of protective clothing, including four layers of fireproof undergarments, a Formula One fireproof jacket and three overalls to avoid any harm.
He protected his head with three fire hoods and a helmet apart from coating himself in special protective “stunt gel” to save himself from flames that approximately reached 1000 degree Celsius.

“It was absolutely awesome. I managed it in 17 seconds and was running flat-out. I really did not want to hang around,” the Telegraph quoted Malcolm as saying.

“There wasn’t much left of the jacket at the end. To be honest, the heat I felt was what you would expect if you were wearing all those clothes and a helmet in hot weather and trying to run.

However, team of experts from Hampshire Fire and Rescue were at hand in case any accident had occurred.

The new world record was set at the Alton and North East Hampshire Agricultural Show, which aimed at raising money for Cancer Research. (ANI)

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Rajasthan Agricultural University ~ RAU Result ~ Rajasthan Agricultural University Education Results ~ Joint Entrance Test ~ RAU 2009 result ~ RAU JET 2009 Result ~ 2009Agricultural University Education

July 1, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Rajasthan Agricultural University ~ RAU Result ~ Rajasthan Agricultural University Education Results ~ Joint Entrance Test ~ RAU 2009 result ~ RAU JET 2009 Result ~ 2009Agricultural University Education

Rajasthan Agricultural University (RAU), has declared results of Joint Entrance Test – 2009

These Results are available on Rajasthan Agricultural University Website – http://www.raubikaner.org

Direct Web Link to Results – http://www.raubikaner.org/results.asp

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SKUAST introduces new techniques to improve agri-sector in Kashmir

June 26, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Srinagar, June 24 (ANI): The Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (SKUAST) in Kashmir have organized an exhibition-cum- science congress for the farmers to apprise them of new techniques in agriculture and horticulture.

“The main aim of this exhibition is to make latest technical innovations in agriculture, sericulture, animal husbandry and floriculture available to the farmers and to showcase the technical innovations from other countries so that the interaction takes place between both the countries,” said Fayaz Bandey, one of the organizers.

During the Congress experts, farmers and residents were provided information about new seeds, breeds and equipment.

Showkat Hussain, an apple fruit grower said that such exhibitions should be organized in all the districts in time so that the farmers get the information about the new seeds ahead of the sowing season.

” such exhibitions should take place in all the districts and from March because the season starts from March so that the growers get the information about the new seeds,” said Hussain.

Agriculture is the backbone of Kashmir economy because eighty percent people depend on this sector for their livelihood. By Afzal Bhat(ANI)

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Ancient granaries preceded Agricultural Revolution

June 23, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, June 23 (ANI): A new study has determined that it apparently took a long time to get the Agricultural Revolution off the ground, with discoveries at a Jordan site indicating that ancient granaries, more than 11,000 years old, preceded the advent of modern agriculture.

Excavations at Dhra’ near the Dead Sea in Jordan have uncovered remnants of four sophisticated granaries built between 11,300 and 11,175 years ago, about a millennium before domesticated plants were known to have been cultivated there.

Radiocarbon measurements from charred wood indicate that each structure was used to store wild plants for no more than 50 years, the first beginning around 11,300 years ago and the second starting shortly after abandonment of the first.

The excavations were carried out by archaeologists Ian Kuijt of the University of Notre Dame and Bill Finlayson of the Council for British Research in the Levant in Amman, Jordan.

Microscopic pieces of silica from barley husks were identified in one structure.

Though intact cereal grains have yet to be found, the granaries were situated between oval-shaped buildings where the researchers found stone tools for grinding wild plants.

Discoveries at Dhra’ represent the oldest known evidence for systematic storage of wild grains, according to the researchers.

A nearby site dating to at least 12,800 years ago contains pits that may have held wild plants, but no food remains have been found there.

Ancient residents of Dhra’ and several nearby settlements sowed wild cereals in fields and stored surplus food in granaries, making it possible to establish permanent communities before farming of domesticated plants began, Kuijt and Finlayson propose.

“The most important implication of our findings is that fundamental social changes occurred before plant domestication, including the establishment of fairly permanent settlements, with communal labor and storage, based on cultivated wild plants,” Kuijt said.

Researchers now generally accept that people in the Middle East and Asia must have cultivated wild plants for between 1,000 and 2,000 years, with annual harvests in the fall, before domesticated species appeared, remarked Harvard University archaeologist Ofer Bar-Yosef.

“The discovery in Dhra’ provides us with one of the earliest well-built examples of a food-storage structure from before plants were domesticated,” Bar-Yosef said.

Storage structures there support the argument that the sowing of wild plants beginning as early as 14,000 to 15,000 years ago led to agriculture, according to archaeologist Mordechai Kislev of Bar-Ilan University in Ramat-Gan, Israel. (ANI)

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Punjab Agricultural University develops 30-rupee water-testing kit

June 20, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Chandigarh, June 20 (ANI): Punjab Agricultural University’s microbiology department has developed a water testing kit to help people ward off numerous water borne diseases.

The kit, priced at just 30 rupees, was earlier used to test water samples from various offices, hospitals and other organisations, but now people can test water in their homes.

According to scientists, most of the water samples they received tested positive for microbiological contamination that could lead to diseases such as diarrhoea, typhoid and jaundice.

“85 percent of the water sample in Punjab, what I have surveyed is not portable. Mostly it is because of the microbiological contamination, which can lead to many diseases such as like jaundice, typhoid, and dysentery. So in the wake of these diseases the kit has been developed. We can check the microbiological portability of the water with this kit. This kit is simple to use,” said Parampal Kaur Sahota, scientist.

Farmers in Punjab are especially happy, as the user-friendly kit would save them a lot of time and money.

“It is going to save us a lot of time. Earlier we had to submit the sample and collect it after two days. The Punjab Agricultural University has started a good system. They are giving a kit for 30 rupees. It is very easy to test water with this kit. It saves us both money and time,” said Kuldeep Singh, farmer From Faridkot.

Water contamination is mostly caused by either chemicals used on farms, which affects the ground water or the sewerage pipes near water pipes.

The water kit is bound to facilitate the testing of water and be a great help to people. (ANI)

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Rural girls in Ludhiana drawn to professional education

June 20, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Ludhiana, June 19 (ANI): Several girls belonging to rural parts of Ludhiana are eager to gain self-reliance and lead a professional’s life.

A college here has given them a hope that they can realise such a dream and for this it has opened many new courses which can be joined just after matriculation.

Home science, a holistic field of study, aims at improving the quality of life of families. In Ludhiana, it is empowering girls and enabling them to be professionals and self-employed entrepreneurs.

Established in 1966, the College of Home Science at the Punjab Agricultural University in Ludhiana has been empowering girls. With 305 students enrolled, it offers a number of study programmes with different levels and streams of education.

Girls from rural areas are eligible to join it after secondary education for one-year Diploma Course in Fashion designing, Interior Decoration, Management of Creche and Nursery Schools.

After completing their matriculation, they can take certificate courses in’Souvenirs and Handicarfts’ and Child Care.

“I believe that it is very necessary for women to be independent. Nowadays there are no government jobs. If we can learn and use fashion technology, we can stand on our feet. After getting a fashion designing certificate you can start your own unit and can earn handsomely,” said Baljinder Kaur, a student.

Keeping in view that many rural areas do not have adequate infrastructure and facilities to offer quality programmes of study at their level, the College has recently changed its admission criteria for B.SC (Hons.) Home Science six-year-programme.

Candidates can now enrol themselves after matriculation and this presents better opportunities for rural candidates.

The College has modified its curriculum and added new courses like convenience and health foods and apparel industry management.

It has certainly helped the rural girls by increasing their competence to work in the private sector.

“Being a girl also it has lots of benefit because tomorrow we are going to be the homemakers. So it is going to be really beneficial otherwise also since girls are striding forward in their career this is a very good option it is related to there household work also and gives them a good option to work,” said Jas Keerth, a student.

“Along with agriculture, development of rural families is very important and its main mandate is to improve the quality of the life of women. Be it in the form of giving residents instructions through teaching of various courses or taking up community directed research programmes, then extending the knowledge of teaching as well as research to farm families,” said Dr. Neelam Grewal, Dean of the College of Home Science, Panjab Agricultural University.

Ludhiana-based Anita is one of the many successful women who have graduated from the College of Home Science. After completion of one year Diploma Course in Fashion Designing in 2002, Anita launched her own fashion brand ‘Venenzians’. By Karan Kapoor (ANI)

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NASA uses satellite to improve global crop forecasting

May 27, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, May 27 (ANI): NASA researchers are using satellite data to cultivate the most accurate estimates of soil moisture, which would improve global crop forecasting.

Soil moisture is essential for seeds to germinate and for crops to grow. But, record droughts and scorching temperatures in certain parts of the globe in recent years have caused soil to dry up, crippling crop production.

The falling food supply in some regions has forced prices upward, pushing staple foods out of reach for millions of poor people.

Now, NASA researchers are using satellite data to deliver a kind of space-based humanitarian assistance.

They are cultivating the most accurate estimates of soil moisture and improving global forecasts of how well food will grow at a time when the world is confronting shortages.

In this context, NASA scientist John Bolten described a new modeling product that uses data from the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer for EOS (AMSR-E) sensor on NASA’s Aqua satellite to improve the accuracy of West African soil moisture.

The group produced assessments of current soil moisture conditions, or “nowcasts,” and improved estimates by 5 percent over previous methods.

“Though seemingly small and incremental, the increase can make a big difference in the precision of crop forecasts,” Bolten said.

The modeling innovation comes at a time when crop analysts at agencies like the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) are working to meet the food shortage problem head on.

They combine soil moisture estimates with weather trends to produce up-to-date forecasts of crop harvests.

Those estimates help regional and national officials prepare for and prevent food crises.

“The USDA’s estimates of global crop yields are an objective, timely benchmark of food availability and help drive international commodity markets,” said Bolten, a physical scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland.

Crop analysts must estimate root-zone soil moisture, the amount of water beneath the surface available for plants to absorb.

But estimating the amount of water in soil has posed challenges and data gaps.

Under a new NASA-USDA collaboration known as the Global Agriculture Monitoring Project, Bolten and colleagues from the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service are using AMSR-E to fill the data gaps with daily soil moisture “snapshots.”

Since its launch in 2002, the instrument has “seen” through clouds, and light vegetation like crops and grasses to detect the amount of soil moisture beneath Earth’s surface.

Bolten says that results from AMSR-E are just a precursor to dramatic new improvements in data and prediction accuracy researchers expect from the Soil Moisture Active and Passive satellite, slated to launch in 2013. (ANI)

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Jordan bans meat imports from countries reporting swine flu cases

May 3, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Amman – Jordan on Monday banned the import of all types of meat, including pork, from countries with reported cases of swine flu including the United States and Mexico, a senior official announced. The government also set up a technical committee and tasked it with formulating precautionary measures to avert the outbreak of the epidemic in the country, Nasser Hawamdeh, Assistant Secretary General at the Agricultural Ministry, said.

“Despite the limited number of families who raise swine in Jordan, the ministry’s vets will intensify their visits to these farms to conduct the required tests on pigs and provide us with reports,” he said.

The ministry would also ask hunters to provide samples of pigs they hunt near the Jordanian-Israeli border, he added. The area, according to Hawamdeh, is known to be home to wild pigs.

Health authorities meanwhile distributed a circular to hospitals and primary health centres detailing the symptoms of swine influenza.(dpa)

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Rajasthan Agricultural University ~ RAU Result ~ Rajasthan Agricultural University Education Results ~ Joint Entrance Test ~ RAU 2009 result ~ RAU JET 2009 Result ~ 2009Agricultural University Education

SKUAST introduces new techniques to improve agri-sector in Kashmir

Punjab Agricultural University develops 30-rupee water-testing kit

Rural girls in Ludhiana drawn to professional education

Jordan bans meat imports from countries reporting swine flu cases

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