Jawaharlal Nehru Agricultural University

About: Jawaharlal Nehru Agricultural University is a education organization based out in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, India. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Agriculture. The organization has 495 authors who have published 318 publications receiving 3500 citations.

Application of Biodegradable Polymers in Food Packaging Industry: A Comprehensive Review

Abstract: For last 50 years plastics are widely used for manufacturing of packaging materials because of their performance and ease in production. With the advent of food processing industries there is a great demand for petroleum based packaging materials for food applications. However, increased use of plastics has created serious ecological problems to the environment because of their resistance to biodegradation. Biopolymers can be used as a solution to the problems posed by plastics as they easily degrade in the environment and also mimic the properties of conventional polymers. Biopolymers can be classified into three categories according to their origins of production. These are polymers extracted from biomass, synthesized from bio-derived monomers and produced from microorganisms. There are different film formation methods for biopolymers like solution casting method, melt mix method, electro spinning method, thermo pressing and casting, extrusion blown film method. The quality of polymers can be expressed as different properties like physical, thermal, mechanical and barrier properties. This review highlights the different kinds of biodegradable polymers, their characteristics with special emphasis on their market potential for food packaging applications. The review revels that presently starch based, PLA, PHA and different blends have been manufactured by industries, film properties compared with petrochemical based polymer for MAP and other food packaging applications. Since information on biopolymers is widely scattered over many sources and are very scarce compared to the conventional polymers, this article intends to give an overview of the state of the art on biodegradable polymer packages for food applications.

Genetic, Physiological, and Gene Expression Analyses Reveal That Multiple QTL Enhance Yield of Rice Mega-Variety IR64 under Drought

Abstract: Background Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is a highly drought sensitive crop, and most semi dwarf rice varieties suffer severe yield losses from reproductive stage drought stress. The genetic complexity of drought tolerance has deterred the identification of agronomically relevant quantitative trait loci (QTL) that can be deployed to improve rice yield under drought in rice. Convergent evidence from physiological characterization, genetic mapping, and multi-location field evaluation was used to address this challenge.

Seed treatments for sustainable agriculture-A review

Abstract: Seed treatment refers to the application of certain agents physical, chemical or biological to the seed prior to sowing in order to suppress, control or repel pathogens, insects and other pests that attack seeds, seedlings or plants and it ranges from a basic dressing to coating and pelleting. Introduction and ban of arsenic (used from 1740 until 1808) is the key milestones in the history of modern seed treatment till then a continuous research and advancement in this technology is going on. The technological advancement prepared a roadmap for refiningexisting seed treatment technologies and future work on technologies like fluid drilling as a way to sow germinated seeds where gel can also serve as a delivery system for other materials, seed priming advances the early phase of germination without redicle emergence. Another advanced technology, solid matrix priming (SMP) has been evaluated as a means to advances the germination of seeds and serve as a carrier for useful material too. Physical and biological seed treatments alone an alternative to chemicals or in combination with a chemical treatment are being used worldwide because of their environmental safety and socioeconomic aspects. Biological seed treatments are expected to be one of the fastest growing seed treatment sectors in the near future, in part because they are easier to register at Environment Protection Agency (EPA). Lack of awareness to seed treatments at farmer’s level is one of the limiting factors in disease management and hence, efforts should be made at farmer’s level to adopt the technology. Keeping the all above facts in mind, selected seed treatment technologies with their improvement and significance will be discussed in this review.