International Journal of Applied Sciences and Biotechnology

Development and Evaluation of a Liquid Formulation of Trichoderma viride as a Bio-Pesticide for Pest Management

Kalpesh Sorathiya, Kuldip Sorathiya, Shreya Kalariya, Lensi Patel — Thu, 29 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The use of bio pesticides in modern agriculture is acknowledged as an efficient substitute for chemical pesticides because they are based on natural ingredients. Fungal bio pesticides are the most widely used and have a lot of success stories among the various bio pesticides. Trichoderma is a genus of filamentous fungi that has several promising bio control agents for different plant diseases. Trichoderma viride uses a variety of strategies to fight plant diseases, including high reproducibility, adaptability, production of enzymes and antibiotics, capacity to colonies the rhizosphere, and significant inhibitory effects against phytophathogenic fungi. The prospective Trichoderma viride isolates are produced utilizing various carriers either through solid or liquid fermentation technologies, however solid fermentation produces the highest levels of reproductive capacity. High cost of substrate and storge methods are major problems to accelerate the production. The aim of our research is commercially available substrates were carried out to screen out stabilization of formulations for small scale production of Trichoderma vride.

Int. J. Appl. Sci. Biotechnol. Vol 11(2): 60-65.

Bacteriological Profile and Detection of β-Lactamase Producing Bacteria Isolated from Blood Samples of Neonates

Sharmila Sigdel, Aruna Khanal, Subhash Kumar Thakur — Thu, 29 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The clinical impact of β-lactamase has become a public health problem around the world in terms of increased morbidity and mortality, especially in the child population. This study was aimed at determining the bacteriological profile and detection of β-lactamase producing bacteria isolated from the blood samples of neonates. For this study, a total of 1335 blood samples of neonates admitted in NICU, SCBU, and sepsis-suspected neonates visiting Paropakar Maternity and Women’s Hospital, Thapathali, Kathmandu, Nepal were collected and processed. Blood culture was performed and the identification of bacteria was done by following standard microbiological methods. Antibiotic susceptibility testing was done by using the Kirby Bauer Disk Diffusion method and confirmation of ESBL, MBL, and KPC-producing bacteria was done by Combined Disk Test. The prevalence rate of neonatal sepsis was found to be 17%. K. pneumoniae 116 (50.2%) was the predominant Gram-negative bacteria followed by K. oxytoca 31 (13.4%) whereas S. aureus 39 (16.9%) was the predominant Gram-positive bacteria causing neonatal sepsis. Among 182 Gram-negative bacterial isolates, 69 (37.9%), 22 (12.1%), and 14(31.1%) were found to be ESBL, MBL, and KPC producers respectively. K. oxytoca (54.8%), Enterobacter spp. (25%) and Citrobacter spp. (14.3%) were the predominant ESBL, MBL, and KPC producers respectively. The co-production of ESBL, MBL, and KPC was also found among the 5 Gram-negative bacteria. Colistin, Meropenem, and Imipenem seem to be the choice of the drug against Gram-negative bacteria, whereas Vancomycin and Cefoxitin seem to be the choice of the drug against Gram-positive bacteria. Therefore, to lessen the burden of antibiotic resistance, it is essential to conduct regular antimicrobial susceptibility surveillance, periodic reviews of hospital settings, and early detection of beta-lactamase-producing bacteria.

Int. J. Appl. Sci. Biotechnol. Vol 11(2): 66-77.

Screening of Anaerobic Germination Rice Genotypes in Nepal

Thu, 29 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Poor germination has been the main obstacles to the widespread adoption of rainfed lowland rice production due to the saturated state of the soil, . In order to produce rice types appropriate for direct seeded culture, the current experiment was conducted to find rice with anaerobic germination tolerance. The screening techniques of the tray method were used to assess the anaerobic germination tolerance of 402 different rice genotypes. Under anaerobic conditions, the genotypes 10 genotypes namely, IR 129077:1-1-6-8-B, IR 129077:1-1-6-9-B, IR 129077:2-1-16-8-B, IR 129077:1-1-36-5-B, IR 129077:1-1-41-7-B, IR 129077:1-1-46-6-B, IR 129077:2-1-17-6-B, IR 129077:1-1-31-5-B, IR 129077:1-1-39-8-B, IR 129077:2-1-13-7-B, IR 129077:2-1-17-7-B and IR 129077:2-1-28-7-B recorded the highest germination percentages (> 80%). Under anaerobic germination, the recorded coleoptile length for all genotypes ranged from 0.50 to 10.6 cm. The best performing genotypes were chosen for genotyping using previously published SSR markers based on the screening results. On QTL analysis, anaerobic germination QTL (qAG) present on Chromosome number 11 and chromosome 12 for higher germination and QTL (qCL) on chromosome 12 for longer coleoptile.

Int. J. Appl. Sci. Biotechnol. Vol 11(2): 78-84.

Bioaccumulation and Health Risk Assessment of Heavy Metals in Some Fish Species Available in Local Fish Markets of Kathmandu, Nepal

Thu, 29 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0000

In this study, concentrations of Cd, Cr, Mn, Pb, and Zn were determined by flame atomic absorption spectrophotometer (FAAS) in edible muscle tissues of a total of 25 fish samples belonging to five fish species viz., Hypophthalmichthys nobilis (Bighead), Wallago attu (Buhari), Catla catla (Catla), Clarias batrachus (Mugree), and Labeo rohita (Rohu) marketed in Kathmandu, Nepal and evaluated potential health risks for adults using USEPA deterministic approaches. The average metal accumulation in all fish species followed the order of Zn (27.89) > Mn (5.36) > Pb (2.37) > Cr (1.12) > Cd (0.44) mg/kg, exceeding the FAO/WHO guidelines except for Zn. Likewise, the sum of average metal concentrations (∑₅HM) followed the descending order of C. catla (49.61) > C. batrachus (44.49) > W. attu (34.51)> H. nobilis (32.10) > L. rohita (25.18) mg/kg. The correlation matrix showed significant correlations among some HMs indicating their common sources of origin in the examined fish species. The estimated daily intakes (EDIs) of HMs were lower than the maximum tolerable daily intake (MTDI). The target hazard quotients (THQs) of a single element in all fish species were less than 1.0 while the total target hazard quotients (TTHQs) in C. batrachus, C. catla, and H. nobilis exceeded the safe limit of 1.0 suggesting a potential non-carcinogenic risk. Moreover, the target cancer risks (TRs) of Cd and Cr were higher than the acceptable risk limit (10⁻⁴) in all fish species suggesting that their consumption might pose a lifetime cancer risk for adults. Therefore, the study recommends regular monitoring of HMs in commercial fish to ensure the safety of consumer health.

Int. J. Appl. Sci. Biotechnol. Vol 11(2): 85-98.

The Study on Genetic Variability and Heritability in F4 Population of Rain-fed Rice (Oryza sativa L.)

Tasnia Ferdous, Iffat Jahan Nur, Monirul Haque Romel, Shahidur Rashid Bhuiyan — Thu, 29 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Population establishment, selection, and evaluation are key components of plant breeding program. This study was designed to observe the genetic variability and the heritability of the selected yield component traits in F4 rice population. A field experiment was carried out with 16 F4 materials and 4 check varieties of Oryza sativa L. at Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, Dhaka to identify the suitable traits for the augmentation of rice yield. The F4 populations obtained from BR21×BR26, BR21× BRRI dhan28, BR 21× BRRI dhan29, BR24× BRRI dhan29, BR24× BRRI dhan36, BR26× BRRI dhan36 were utilized as breeding materials. Nine characters were considered i.e., days to 50% flowering, 80% maturity, plant height, tiller per panicle, panicle length(cm), filled grain per panicle, yield per plant(g), thousand-grain weight(g) and yield (t/ha). The selected genotypes were found significantly variable for all of the characters. The lowest days to maturity (92.00 days) were observed in G11 (BR21 × BRRI dhan29, F4, S7P2) following as G4 (BR21 × BRRI dhan29, F4, S1P2) (95.33 days) and G5 (BR21 ×BRRI dhan29, F4, S1P5) (96 days). The highest yield among F4 population was recorded in G6 (BR21 × BRRI dhan29, F4, S6P3) (6.08 t/ha) followed by G10 (BR21× BRRI dhan29, F4, S7P1) (5.30 t/ha) and G7 (BR21 × BRRI dhan29, F4, S6P8) (4.68ton/ha). All the traits showed remarkably higher phenotypic variances than the genotypic variances. Besides, all characters showed high heritability and higher PCV than the GCV. High heritability along with moderate to high genetic advance in percent mean is controlled by additive gene action which is better for selection.

Int. J. Appl. Sci. Biotechnol. Vol 11(2): 99-105.

Economic Analysis of Mandarin (Citrus reticulata) Production in Salyan District of Nepal

Thu, 29 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Mandarin (Citrus reticulata) is the major sub-tropical fruit popularly grown in slopy terraces of mid-hills which has high domestic and foreign market potentialities. Scientific studies are hardly carried out to assess the socio-economic aspects of mandarin production in this area. So, this research was aimed to assess the production and profitability of mandarin production in Salyan district. For this, 61 respondents of Baghchaur municipality and 59 of Chhatreshwari rural municipality were selected using random sampling procedure which makes altogether 120 respondents in the study area. Pretested semi structured questionnaire were asked with farm decision makers for primary data collection. Collected data were encoded in MS excel version 2021, and required inferences on socio-economic and demographic characteristics, BC ratio, cobb-douglas production function and problem ranking were made by using SPSS version 26. Independent t test was used to compare the means between two municipalities. The results revealed that the annual mandarin production was 3560.58 Kgs per household with productivity of 14.60 tons per hectare. Average annual variable cost of production and revenue were NRs 227309.41 and NRs 988963.52 per hectare respectively. BC ratio was 5.07 indicating it as profitable business with the benefit of NRs 4.07 per rupee invested. Among the various determinants, cost of organic manure, human labor and plant protection materials had significantly increased while cost of irrigation had decreased the returns from the enterprise at different significance levels. The return of scale was 0.936 indicating decreasing rate of return of mandarin production.

Int. J. Appl. Sci. Biotechnol. Vol 11(2): 106-115.

Policy Implementation Basic Education Driving School Program (DSP) in Palu City

Mohammad Askari Masyhuda, Hasbullah, Hj. Mustainah, Daswati, Siti Chaeriah Ahsan — Thu, 29 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0000

This study aims to analyze the implementation of the basic education Driving School Program (DSP) policy in Palu City and obtain a new concept in the development of public policy science using qualitative methods, and descriptive analysis on 4 basic education units implementing the Driving School Program in Palu City. Parties who are interested in being influenced by implementers and target groups outside implementers and the community in the context of implementing DSP policies on the basic description of education in Palu City, socially and economically, have no influence. The benefits that will be generated are for increasing the competence of school principals and teachers, as well as accelerated reporting of Pancasila student profiles. The findings have not shown significant changes in multi-stakeholder participation that has not been optimal. Policy makers have implemented it well and involved stakeholders and considered the complexity. Driving school program implementers apply the DSP policy quite well. The support of local government resources in Palu City is still low. DSP policy implementation has not yet become a driving force for DSP policy content policies. Institutional and authority characteristics have not supported the implementation of DSP policies in Palu City. Compliance and responsiveness have not been optimal in responding to the policy context properly, constrained humbly to support the Palu City Government.

Int. J. Appl. Sci. Biotechnol. Vol 11(2): 116-122.

A Prospect for Genome Wide Association Studies in Crops

Shreesha Uprety — Thu, 29 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) test hundreds of thousands of genetic variants across many genomes to find those statistically associated with a specific trait or disease. A Comprehensive review of studies on biotic resistance, abiotic tolerance, yield-associated characteristics, and metabolic composition is provided. Genome-wide SNP maps have characterized population structure concerning the geographic origin and morphological type and identified patterns of ancient crop diffusion to diverse agroclimatic regions. To better understand the genomic patterns of crop diversification, nucleotide diversity variation, linkage disequilibrium, and recombination rates across the genome are quantified. Results from GWAS can be used for a range of applications. The GWAS approach has proven highly suitable for identifying common SNP-based variants with moderate to significant effects on phenotype. However, the genetic factors underlying some of these associations have been characterized. The vast majority remain unexplained. The development of next-generation sequencing and bioinformatics tools has dramatically improved and is currently being implemented to decipher the genetic diversity of targeted traits. The significant drawbacks are the need for large population size, the cost of preparing DNA samples, and less knowledge about the risk of the quality. To overcome this drawback, researchers have upgraded the statistical approaches, proper imputation of genotypes, and advanced approaches such as nested association mapping and candidate gene association mapping. The primary benefit is one-time genotyping and repeated phenotyping in different environmental conditions.

Int. J. Appl. Sci. Biotechnol. Vol 11(2): 54-59.