Volume 11, Issue 4, 2023

A laboratory experiment was undertaken during 2021-22 and 2022-23 to assess the impact of entomopathogen, Metarhizium rileyi
infected larvae on cannibalism behavior in Spodoptera frugiperda. It helps to study how this behavior will affect cannibalism. M.
rileyi is a signi

icant contributor to natural epizootics, causing mortality among S. frugiperda larvae. Upon analyzing the combined
data, it became evident that varying degrees of cannibalism were observed among different instar healthy larvae of S. frugiperda.
Furthermore, when interactions occurred between healthy and diseased larvae of different instars, the instances of cannibalism
escalated. Notably, a pronounced increase in cannibalism was noted in smaller healthy larvae when exposed to larger diseased
larvae, in contrast to cannibalism rates between larvae of the same age. This phenomenon also had an impact on the biological
characteristics and pupal weight of the cannibalistic individuals.

The present study was under-taken with a view to finding out the socio-economic profile of
vegetable-growing farmers; and to finding out the relationship between the socio-economic
characteristics of the respondents the vegetable adoption in river sand mining areas. It is observed that
source of irrigation gets reduced per village after river sand mining. The availability of ground water
and fresh water also decreased. Educated young farmers were found highly inclined towards water
conservation technologies like mulching. Land holding size recorded positive significant correlation
with the mulching technology, more land holding size easy to demonstrated technology and better
results. It is revealed that own land holding respondents have more earnings and had good income to
adopt vegetable cultivation. In this study, extent of adoption of twelve selected, scientific vegetable
cultivation practices was measured. A totalof 86 respondents were selected for the study. The practice
of a higher percentage in the unknown category was knew about protected cultivation and diseases
management and their control (95.34 %), followed by the selection of mulching sheets (93.02%) and
other charactericts. In the case of after training i.e., trained farmers, the practices of a higher
percentage grouped into complete knowledge category revealed that maximum knowledge gain was
recorded for marketing of vegetables (95.34%), followed by storage of fresh vegetables (76.74%),
while trained tribal women grouped into partial knowledge category were knowing the technology of

vegetable cultivation and scientific method of nursery raising (76.60%), followed by use of organic
fertilizers (74.47%). Overall knowledge gaps for the selected practices before and after training of
tribal women farmers were obtained (78.92) and (27.12) percent respectively and the “t” test is
reported significant for all vegetable cultivation practices with the use of mulching technologies. It
means training was significant for the women farmers. Trained farmers adopt technology in a better
way.

Groundnut is an important food legume and oilseed crop of tropical and subtropical areas and cultivated on about 25 million hectare
of land in more than 90 countries in the world, under different agro-climatic regions where rainfall during the growing season
exceeds 500 mm. Though, nutritionally groundnut is an energy rich crop, it is grown mainly on energy-starved conditions of poor
fertility soils and about 70% of the its production in the world occurs in the semi-arid tropics with average yield is around 800 kg ha.
In past the combination of improved varieties and nutrient management practices have contributed signi

icantly to increase in
production and productivity. However, India could not maintain the required growth rate of the productivity and became a decade
behind of China mainly because, in India, the groundnut crop is mostly grown as rainfed in dry lands, on problem soils under low
fertility, and low input management. Long term use of fertilizers like acidic or basic or neutral may affect the physico chemical
properties of soil which may be long term or short term. Therefore, it is imperative to study the In

luence of methods of irrigation and
fertilizer application on Physical and Physico – Chemical properties and available nutrient status of soil under Groundnut cultivation.
Hence the
ield experiment was conducted at Agricultural Research Station, Bhavanisagar, Erode district of Tamil Nadu to study the
in
luence of various methods of irrigation and fertilizer application on Physical properties viz., bulk density, particle density, pore
space and Physico – Chemical properties viz., pH, EC, organic carbon and CEC and available nutrient status (Nitrogen, Phosphorus
and Potassium) of post harvest soil in Groundnut under maize – groundnut cropping system. The various irrigation methods (main
plot treatments) followed were I – Drip irrigation, I – Drip fertigation, I – Sub surface drip irrigation, I – Sub surface drip 1 2 3 4
fertigation, I – Sprinkler irrigation and I – Conventional method of irrigation and the various methods of application of fertilizers 5 6
were imposed as subplot treatments, ie., S – Absolute control (No fertilizer), S – Recommended dose of NPK fertilizers through 1 2
normal fertilizers / Recommended dose of NPK fertilizers through water soluble fertilizers (According to the irrigation treatment)
-1 and S – S + Vermicompost @ 5 t ha and the treatments were replicated thrice. The experiment was laid out in strip plot design in a 3 2

2

plot size of 15 M . The crop rotation followed was maize – groundnut. The second crop in the cropping system i.e., groundnut was
sown by following a spacing of 30 cm between rows and 10 cm between plants. The intercultural were followed as per crop
production guide. The irrigation and fertilizer application were followed as per the treatment schedule. The crop was harvested at
maturity. After the harvest of the crop, the post harvest soil samples were collected, processed and analysed for their physical and
physico – chemical properties and available nutrient status. The results of the study indicated that there was a slight increase in the
bulk density, particle density and EC, but the increase was not signi

icant. There was no improvement in the pH of the soil. With
respect to organic carbon, CEC and available nutrient status viz., available N, available P and available K also there was no
improvement when compared to the initial soil properties. With regard to various irrigation methods and fertilizer applications, the
-1 sub surface drip fertigation with recommended dose of NPK fertilizers + vermicompost @ 5 t ha (I S ) is superior in enhancing post 4 3
harvest soil physical and physico – chemical properties and available nutrient status of groundnut when compared to other
treatment combinations.

Uncultivated green leafy vegetables (UCGLVs) play a signi

icant role in socio socio-economic, cultural, nutritional and

ethnomedicinal status of tribal and rural people of underdeveloped and developing countries. However, scienti

ic studies on the
nutritional, pharmaceutical activities and value addition of these UCGLVs are limited. Hence, the present study dealt with the
standardization and nutritional quality evaluation of Aerva lanataincorporated instant chutney powders. Aerva lanata is a
seasonal, naturally grown underutilised green leafy vegetable used in Nalgonda district, Telangana state, India. Consumption of
instant chutney powders with rice and some breakfast items is a common practice in rural areas of Nalgonda district. And so, the
freshly collected Aerva lanata leaves were washed, shade-dried, and incorporated into instant chutney powders. The developed
products along with its control were analyzed for organoleptic and nutritional quality. The results of the study found that 50% leaf
powder incorporated chutney powder was best accepted. The incorporation of leaf powder signi

icantly (p≤0.01) increased the

protein, crude

iber, ash, total and beta carotenoid content of instant chutney powders. When compared to the control (ICC), calcium
(25.49%), iron (48.31%), zinc (43.05%), copper (36.49%), manganese (97.86%), phosphorus (3.13%), sodium (38.01%) and
potassium (46.27%) content as well as antioxidants activity of selected chutney powder was highly increased. The study found that
instant chutney powders developed from Aerva lanatawere are not only attractive in sensory parameters due to the color, but they
are also bene

icial in maximizing the health bene

its due to the rich source of nutrients, antioxidants and radical scavenging activity

present in the products.

A lab experiment was carried out to study the Seed quality of stored soybean (Glycine max) seeds as influenced by packaging materials and storage conditions. Soybean seeds (JS-335) were stored in different packaging materials viz., gunny bags and high-density polythene bags and vacuum-packed bags stored at room temperature (25 ± 2º C) and cold storage (4 ± 1º C) for a period of 18 months during 2020-21. The treatments having six combinations and consisting of different containers viz., gunny bags, high-density polythene bags, and vacuum-packed bags were replicated four times in both cold and ambient storage conditions in a completely randomized design. The results of the study revealed that the seed quality parameters viz., Seed germination, moisture content and electrical conductivity, seedling length, SVI, and seed physiological parameters such as mineral content (Cu, Mn, Zn and Mn) values were higher in vacuum-packed seeds than gunny, HDPE bags for soybean seeds stored under cold storage compared to room temperature throughout the storage period. Among the containers, the seeds stored in vacuum-packed bags maintained the seed quality and seed physiological parameters with least deterioration compared to seeds stored in gunny bags and high-density polythene bags.

Resistant starch is the sum of starch and products of starch hydrolysis that are not absorbed in small intestine. Resistant starch helps in management of diabetes, cardio vascular diseases and plays important role in weight management and anti-inflammatory processes. Resistant starch (g/100 g) content of Indian foods ranges from 1.2 to 1.8 in cereals, 2 to 3.4 in legumes, 0.3 to 1.3 in vegetables. This indicates that Indian diets are low in resistant starch. Thus, attention can be shifted to increasing resistant starch content of foods. Therefore, in the present study browntop millet was subjected to physical and enzymatic debranching method for increasing resistant starch content. The resulting resistant starch rich browntop millet flour was used for the development of ready to reconstitute mix along with other ingredients. It was found that proportion of ingredients in best accepted ready to reconstitute resistant starch rich browntop millet-based health mix (RR-RS-BHM) were RS-BTMF: 60 per cent, roasted bengal gram flour: 15 per cent, milk powder: 12 per cent, soya protein isolate: 6 per cent, beet root powder: 2.4 per cent, gaur gum 0.4 per cent, salt:1.8 per cent, cumin: 0.6 per cent and pepper: 0.6 percent.

With the ever growing population globally, there is a consistent demand for protein, that is produced in a sustainable and economic way to maintain the environmental equilibrium. New concepts of food production are pivotal, where waste is efficiently utilized and transformed into value added products. Hence a study was designed to utilize oilseed cake – a byproduct of oil industry to produce protein isolates. This work evaluated the nutrient composition, anti-nutrients, physico-chemical characteristics, functional properties, and fatty acid profile of defatted white sesame cake and protein isolates produced from sesame seed cake, which were obtained through alkaline extraction under optimal conditions. The nutrient composition revealed that protein content was high in protein isolates (93.83±0.34%) than in defatted flour (48.37±0.34%). Bulk density and tapped density were higher in defatted flours than in protein isolates. The fatty acid profile of the defatted flour and protein isolate was composed of saturated fatty acids (SFA) ranging between 16.10 to 19.47%, 37.25 to 43.89% monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) and 43.28 to 43.09% polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA). The major MUFA and PUFA were oleic acid (37.04 to 40.58%) and linoleic acid (41.69 to 41.93%). The results showed that defatted white sesame flour and protein isolates are components suitable to be included in a healthy diet

Background: Anemia and iron deficiency adversely affect women of reproductive age and young children in middle and low-income countries. It is considered a major health problem worldwide. In India, the prevalence of anemia is very high, about 53% of women are suffering from anemia. The Government of India and other research institutes have been promoting nutrition education to increase knowledge and awareness of dietary habits and intake, health and nutritional status among women. The present study aimed to determine the effectiveness of nutrition education on iron deficiency anemia among women of reproductive age.
Methods: An experimental (pre-posttest) research design was selected for the study. The respondents were categorized into experimental groups and control groups. A total of 300 women were selected from five villages. A structured questionnaire was used to collect the data and the data was analyzed using SPSS.
Results: The results revealed that the majority of the respondents were within the age group of 15–26 years, had a high school education, and had mild anemia. The study found that the nutritional education intervention had a significant increase in the scores of knowledge and perception levels of the respondents in the experimental group.

The mortality and morbidity due to non-communicable diseases are on the rise. Millets are the one-stop solution for ensuring food, nutrition and agricultural security. Due to their low glycemic index, high dietary fibre and nutritional content, they are the best alternative to keep lifestyle disorders at bay. Among millets, browntop millet is the least explored and the nutrients found in browntop millet are abundant and can help with a variety of health issues including diabetes but it also contains antinutrients that hinder their absorption. Therefore, in the present study, the most common processing techniques used by Indian families like soaking for 12 and 24 h, germination for 12, 24, 36, and 48h, and pressure cooking for 10 minutes were studied regarding their influence on antinutritional components, antioxidant properties and carbohydrate fractions of browntop millet. The results revealed that soaking and germination significantly affected the phytates, oxalates, tannins, starch digestibility and predicted glycemic index of browntop millet. The comparative examination of nine treatments revealed that the browntop millet sample soaked for 24 hours and germinated for 36 hours had an adequate reduction in phytates by 47.96% from 368.33 to 191.66 mg/100g and oxalates by 41.99% from 4.12 to 2.39 mg/100g and the starch digestibility was 75.67% without exceeding the glycemic score of 55. Soaking and germination significantly decreased total starch content and increased total, reducing and non-reducing sugars of browntop millet samples. Nevertheless, 24h soaking and 36h germination (BTM 7) was found with an optimal decrease in antinutrients while maintaining the low glycemic index of browntop millet flour. Therefore, 24h soaking and 36h germination (BTM 7) can be used for the development of various hypoglycemic food products.

The present paper studies the awareness levels of rural and urban consumers about the branded food products because brand awareness is one of the prerequisites for consumers for making buying decisions. The respondents were administered with interview schedule. The schedule consists of questions related to 13 different food products and their available brands. The study reveals that majority of the respondents from both rural and urban area were aware about the food brands like Daawat, India Gate, Aashirvaad, Annapurna,Maggie, Yippie, Five Star, Dairy Milk, Kit – Kat, Britannia 50 – 50, Marie Gold, Achi,MTR, Priya, Freedom, Gold Drop, Gold Winner, Gemini, Taj Mahal, Red Label, Bru, Nescafe, Kissan, Fanta, Real, Jersey, Dodla, Vijaya etc. About 65.8 per cent of the total respondents were having the moderate awareness about the branded food products followed by 21.7 per cent were having low awareness and 12.5 were having the high awareness about different food products.