Livestock Census is a regular quinquennial exercise of Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying (DAHD). The first Livestock Census was conducted in the year 1919 and last census i.e. 20th Livestock Census was conducted in 2019. The 21st Livestock Census exercise has been launched across the country on 25th October, …
Most of the medicinal plants grow wild and are collected from forests. Hundreds, and possibly thousands, of plant species are being harvested by millions of poor rural population and used by millions around the world for treating a variety of illnesses. The present study is based mainly on primary data …
Kunapajala, an Ayurvedic plant growth promoter, has been mentioned in Vrikshayurveda to promote flowering, fruiting and vegetative growth of plants. Kunapajala was prepared in laboratory according to the standard procedure as available in the literature. To demonstrate the effect of Kunapajala, Senna was grown in Dhanvantari Garden of Gujarat Ayurved …
Rice and wheat are the two most important staple crops, which play a critical role in food security in India. The paper attempts to analyze the changing pattern of foodgrain production system and derive certain policy interventions in view of its relative importance in achieving avowed growth rates envisaged in …
the Punjab state farmers commission has recently asked the state government to make delayed-sowing of rice mandatory. The move comes at a time when agriculture in Punjab is facing its worst spell since 1970. Last year, the state recorded 1.86 per cent growth in farming. Moreover, groundwater resources in the …
a new study claims to turn toxic cottonseeds into nutritious dinners for millions of undernourished people across the world. Keerti Rathore, a scientist at the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station, has tinkered with the genes in cottonseeds to stop the release of gossypol, its naturally-occurring toxin. If cottonseeds become edible, it …
on february 28, 2007, the us department of agriculture (usda) gave preliminary draft approval to a biotech company to plant genetically modified rice to produce human proteins, amidst fears about its risk to human health. If the project, proposed by California-based Ventria Biosciences, gets final approval it will be the …
seed companies testing genetically modified (gm) crops will now have to seek permission from village panchayats and state agriculture universities before carrying out field trials. Responding to allegations of biosafety violations (and raids on gm trial plots across the country), the Genetically Engineering Approval Committee (geac) has passed an order …
October 2006: BKU activists ruined a gm rice plot in Karnal's Rampura village (Haryana) alleging serious violations of biosafety regulations November 5, 2006: BKU alleged a similar violation in Gorakhpur district's Rudrapur village (Uttar Pradesh). The village panchayat registered a police complaint November 10, 2006: Tamil Nadu Farmers' Association uprooted …
biofuel promise: Scientists have completed the first genome sequence of the black cottonwood, a tall and fast-growing poplar tree. Researchers have identified more than 45,000 protein-coding genes. These genes could be specifically selected through traditional plant breeding to efficiently produce the kind of cellulose needed to make biofuel production cost-effective …
I was the wrong person for the right story at the wrong time. But I didn't realise this when I got off at Rajahmundry station (location: East Godavari district, Andhra Pradesh). I called up Venkat Rao, who owns a plant nursery in nearby Kadiyam mandal. Over a laboured conversation featuring …
Why is government and public sector research promoting American varieties and their hybrids even after independence? There was a shortage of cotton after partition, as large cotton-growing areas were in Pakistan. Self-sufficiency was narrowly defined as self-sufficiency of long staple cotton and all research work has been directed on this …
they might well be the modern-day buccaneers. To further their research, agricultural and pharmaceutical companies often tap local communities for traditional knowledge relating to the use of biological resour ces. The conglomerates lose no time in appropriating this painstakingly assimilated information. And make a fast buck by developing products based …
How does vitamin A rice help solve poverty and malnutrition in developing countries? People whose staple diet is rice usually suffer from vitamin deficiencies. In Bangladesh, for instance, 75 per cent of the calories come from rice. Similarly, in countries like Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, rice accounts for 70 per …
A welcome stepM S Swaminathan i am happy that at last the Lok Sabha has passed the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Bill. This is a major step in incorporating the ethics and equity provisions of the convention on biological diversity in a sui generis system of varietal …
The UN world food body has reached a landmark agreement for saving the diversity of agricultural crops. Members of the body, including the US, have decided to make it mandatory for plant breeders and geneticists developing new crop varieties to pay for having access to public seed banks. The agreement, …
This book was initiated in 1989 and went into incubation for 11 long years. Over all, the book is good but has its share of imperfections. It successfully highlights the important relationship of birds and plants, but has many flaws. These, I hope will be removed in the next edition. …
the genetic makeup of a plant has been deciphered for the first time by a team of scientists. The decoding of the genetic makeup of Arabidopsis thaliana , also known as thale cress, will pave way for better crossbreeding without genetic engineering, believe some plant biologists. The decoding has been …
finally one can see some action. A lot has been said about the falling agricultural productivity in the Indo-Gangetic Plains ( igp). An inititative is on to check the decline in yields of rice and wheat in the area. 12 million hectares of igp includes parts of Bangladesh, India, Nepal …
friendly plastic: A new plastic made from plant sugar will be soon introduced in the market. The plastic called NatureWorks PLA is being manufactured by Cargill Dow Polymers, a Nebraska-based company. Unlike conventional plastic, NatureWorks can break down in a compost pile if subjected to the right combination of heat …
