Muhammad Mazhar Iqbal — новинки

Cotton is an important fiber crop of Pakistan and is also the second most important oilseed crop in the world. The cotton plant possesses a narrow range of ecological adaptability and is very much influenced by the climatic conditions. Among many factors causing low yield, sowing time and plant spacing are more important. Therefore, the present study was designed to investigate the effect of different sowing times and plant distances on the growth, seed cotton yield and quality of cotton genotype BH-160 under the agro-ecological conditions of Rahim Yar Khan in irrigated environment. It may be concluded from this study that the boll number, boll weight and yield per plant decreased with closer spacing but seed cotton yield per hectare increased. The 15 cm plant to plant spacing produced more seed cotton yield due to more number to of plants per hectare, which compensated the other, yield components. Plants spacing however did not affect G.O.T%, seed index and fibre quality and plant height. Sowing date of 15th May gave maximum seed cotton yield and did not effect on monopodial branches.

Phosphorus and Zn deficiencies are common nutritional restrictions to crop production in the soils of Pakistan. The P-Zn interactions in plants have been examined in the past but their interaction effects on economic yield of crops are still confusing, particularly in sandy clay loam soils. For these reasons, a field experiment was laid out in RCBD-factorial with three replications. It is concluded from this experiment that the treatment with 40 kg P and 8 kg Zn ha-1 gave the best combination of phosphorus and zinc levels at 100 kg N ha-1. It is also the most suitable from economic point of view as it gave maximum benefit cost ratio and value cost ratio along with high net income.

Soils of Pakistan have free CaCO3, alkaline pH and low organic matter. Consequently, nutrient disorders seem among the most critical factors of crop production, particularly in salt-affected soils. The essentially of P and Zn for plants has been established long ago but interaction effects on economic yields of crops are still controversial. Wheat is the most important cereal crop in the world. In a pot study on wheat grown on salt-affected soil, results indicated that mean number of tillers per pot, height of fertile tillers, straw dry weight, 1000-grain weight and P uptake in straw was recorded maximum with control closely followed by T5 (P @ 150 kg ha-1 + Zn @ 10 kg ha-1) while Zn concentration was maximum in straw and grains, P uptake by grains, Zn uptake by straw and grains with P @ 150 kg ha-1 + Zn @ 10 kg ha-1. However, when P-Zn interactions were investigated, it was observed that application of 150 kg P ha-1 & 10 kg Zn ha-1 could be the appropriate fertilizer combination for significant increase in growth and yield of wheat in salt-affected soil. Moreover, adverse effect of salinity/sodicity can be minimized by increasing the fertility status of the salt-affected soil.

Pakistan is facing an acute shortage of edible oil. In order to overcome the prevailing situation, there is a dire need to increase per acre yield of non-conventional oilseed crops. Plant density and nitrogen fertilizer levels are among factors affecting sunflower yield and seed oil percentage. The interaction between plant spacing and N rate significantly affected seed and oil yields. In this context, the OILCROP-SUN model has been tested with sunflower and results indicated that achene yield of sunflower hybrid cultivar among various planting densities was related to their photosynthetic activity. The data suggested that there is considerable scope to exploit the yield potential of sunflower hybrid with variable planting density and nitrogen rates, depending upon the prevailing climatic conditions. It may be concluded from this study that planting density of 8.33 plants m-2band nitrogen rate N2, 125 kg ha-1 (recommended dose) is recommended for achieving high yield under agro ecological conditions of Faisalabad.

In pakistan, Cotton crop is naturally vulnerable to many species of arthropod pests, from the time of its germination to its final picking. The use of chemicals as a pest control measure is a two edged sword with both positive and negative impacts. The B. hebetor wasp is a good biocontrol agent partly because it feeds rapidly and has gut enzymes that quickly break down two major blood proteins in moth larvae. The main objective of the present study was to screen out the insecticides which were environment friendly, less hazardous to health and least toxic to the laboratory reared strains of natural enemies like Bracon hebetor (Say) Hymenoptera: Braconidae). The results showed that Fenpropethrin was the most toxic. Fenvalerate and Cyhalothrin were the least toxic, while Deltamethrin and Bifenthrin were moderately toxic against Bracon hebetor.

Meat and its products enjoy a unique status in human diet but meat also serves as an excellent substrate for the growth of most microorganisms, and is associated with hypertension and cardiovascular disease due to the presence of high sodium and fat contents. In the functional examination of minced beef patties, estimation for total sodium contents is essential to assess the level of risk. The minced beef patties were also treated with chitosan-mint mixture to minimize the presence of microorganisms, oxidation and to increase the shelf life of the product by acting as a natural antioxidant as well as antimicrobial agent. The recommendations from this research work are; the microbiological quality of minced beef should be monitored regularly and properly to ensure consumer’s safety. Different formulations for patties can be developed by using masking agents, cold pressure storage and use of less quantity of beef to ensure lower amounts of Na contents. Suitability of different oils and fats available for proper structure and other quality parameters of patties should be checked to ensure good quality products with lower levels of fat.

Ziziphus jujuba is the most commonly grown fruit in Pakistan, having essential oil that can be utilized for the purposes of preservation like jujuboside and other flavoniides. In Pakistan it is used for the treatment of ulcers, wounds, eye diseases and bronchitis. Antioxidants are naturally occurring or synthetic substances which prevent oxidation or chemical reaction involving oxygen. The main focus of this investigation was to study the chemical constituents, antioxidant activity and phytochemicals present in the Ziziphus jujuba L. The results indicated that different extracts fractions from methanol, n-hexane, ethyl acetate and chloroform ranges from 20 to 100% concentration indicated that noticeable antioxidant properties were present in jujuba species that were determined by spectrophotometric techniques. The maximum antioxidant properties were observed in 100% chloroform and in M3 (60% methanol and 40% chloroform) and minimum were analyzed in E1 (20% ethyl acetate and 80% n-hexane) and M1 (20% methanol and 80% chloroform). The extraction techniques and extracting solvent were of great importance in this study that showed the extractability of various solvent.