Central Agricultural University

About: Central Agricultural University is a education organization based out in Imphal, Manipur, India. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Agriculture. The organization has 1116 authors who have published 1157 publications receiving 9217 citations.

Augmentation of crop productivity through interventions of omics technologies in India: challenges and opportunities

Abstract: With the continuous increase in the population of developing countries and decline of natural resources, there is an urgent need to qualitatively and quantitatively augment crop productivity by using new tools and technologies for improvement of agriculturally important traits. The new scientific and technological omics-based approaches have enabled us to deal with several issues and challenges faced by modern agricultural system and provided us novel opportunities for ensuring food and nutritional security. Recent developments in sequencing techniques have made available huge amount of genomic and transcriptomic data on model and cultivated crop plants including Arabidopsis thaliana, Oryza sativa, Triticum aestivum etc. The sequencing data along with other data generated through several omics platforms have significantly influenced the disciplines of crop sciences. Gene discovery and expression profiling-based technologies are offering enormous opportunities to the scientific community which can now apply marker-assisted selection technology to assess and enhance diversity in their collected germplasm, introgress essential traits from new sources and investigate genes that control key traits of crop plants. Utilization of omics science and technologies for crop productivity, protection and management has recently been receiving a lot of attention; the majority of the efforts have been put into signifying the possible applications of various omics technologies in crop plant sciences. This article highlights the background of challenges and opportunities for augmentation of crop productivity through interventions of omics technologies in India.

Effects of paddy straw and sugarcane bagasse on water quality, bacterial biofilm production and growth and survival of rohu, Labeo rohita (Hamilton)

Abstract: Sugarcane bagasse (T1), paddy straw (T2) and their mixture (T3) were added to mud-bottomed, manured cement tanks in triplicate to study the effect on bacterial biofilm production and growth and survival of rohu, Labeo rohita. All tanks were stocked with fingerling rohu at 10 000 ha−1. The total plate count (TPC) of bacteria in water and on substrate did not differ significantly between treatments. The mean phytoplankton and zooplankton density in water was the highest in T2, followed by T3 and T1. The growth of fish was significantly (P<0.05) higher in T2 and T3 compared with T1. Significantly higher RNA values were recorded in T2 and T3 compared with T1. Similarly, T2 and T3 registered higher DNA values than T1. RNA:DNA ratio was higher in T2 compared with T1. However, T3 did not differ significantly from T1 and T2. Both intestinal and hepatopancreatic protease and lipase activity was higher in T1 and T2 compared with T3 and both differ significantly from T1. Intestinal amylase activity was higher in T2 and T3 compared with T1, whereas hepatopancreatic amylase activity was higher in T2 compared with T1 and T3. The results demonstrated that production of L. rohita can be significantly increased by the introduction of biodegradable substrates into culture systems where fertilization is employed.

Potential bioactive molecules from natural products to combat against coronavirus

Abstract: Covid-19 is terribly spreading around the globes and there is no stoppage. It is causing mass destruction in mankind allowing them to lock inside home to contain the disease. At present, there are no remedial medicines, drugs, or vaccines available in the market. Researchers are trying their best level to produce drugs to fight againts the disease. Various efforts are being considered by using different directions of scientific knowledge and technologies on treating the disease. The existing antiviral drugs such as lopinavir/ritonavir, pitavastatin, nelfinavir, perampanel, and praziquantel are being administered as remedies of covid-19 patients. Unfortunately, none of these drugs works absolutely against the current pandemic. Therefore, bioactive molecules from plants, animals, and microorganisms could be a better option to treat against the covid-19 and its family. Plants can treat many diseases due to the presence of bioactive molecules and their antiviral properties. Presence of secondary metabolites such as flavonoids, alkaloids, terpenoids, polyphenols, curcumin, kaempferol, catechin, naringenin, quercetin, apigenin-7-glucoside, luteolin-7-glucoside, demethoxycurcumin, oleuropein, and epigallocatechin can fight against the coronavirus including covid-19. The listed plants such as litchi seeds, Houttuynia cordata, Chinese Rhubarb extracts, beta-sistosterol from Isatis indigotica root extract have capacity to obstruct the enzymatic activity of SARS. In this article, we have highlighted the bioactive molecules from different plants, animals, and microorganism and their potential activity against the coronavirus. It is a need of the hour to come together to explore more on such bioactive compounds of plants, animals and other microorganism to fight against the covid-19.

Aquaculture practices in Northeast India: Current status and future directions

Abstract: The northeast region of India, comprised of the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, and Tripura, is blessed with rich biodiversity and fisheries resources. With more than 90% of population being fish eaters, there is heavy demand for fish but a wide gap exists between supply and demand. The region produces over 0.214 million tons of fish annually, with almost 50% coming from aquaculture. Aquaculture development in the region is taking place at a rapid rate. However, efforts are necessary to increase the present level of production through both horizontal and vertical expansion. The region has rivers, coldwater streams, floodplain wet lands, reservoirs, lakes, ponds, paddy fields, and mini-barrages to support large-scale aquaculture activities, which can not only produce fish to meet regional requirements, but also export the surplus. This paper describes and discusses the current status of aquaculture, production level, constraints, and future directions towards achieving “fish for all” in the region.