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Fossil fuel and electricity-powered irrigation techniques boost the water availability expense and increase greenhouse gas emissions. Especially in developing countries, solar-powered irrigation is becoming more popular as a response to the growing energy and environmental issues associated with agriculture systems. The existing study used data from 1080 wheat farmers in Balochistan, Pakistan, to investigate the impact of solar-powered irrigation system (SPIS) usage on the technical efficiency (TE) of wheat production. The TE of wheat production is estimated using a stochastic frontier production function, and the potential self-selectivity bias is addressed using an endogenous switching regression model. The findings indicated that 13.7% of the wheat cultivators assessed used SPISs to produce their crops. Using an endogenous switching regression model shows that SPIS usage increases the TE of wheat growers by 6.657%, after controlling for self-selection bias. While using SPISs, wheat farmers with large farms and farming familiarity had stronger positive effects on TE. The results highlight the need for more investigation and research into evidence-based good practice for SPIS solutions at the site level to ensure that the rollout of modern equipment not only drives the energy sector forward but also contributes significantly to our level playing field and sustainable environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cystic echinococcosis (CE), or hydatid cyst disease (HCD), is a zoonosis of significant importance caused by the cestode of Echinococcus granulosus sensu lato (s. l.) that affects mainly nomadic populations and has substantial economic consequences. Due to the 76% rural and nomadic population, Baluchistan is a highly endemic region in Pakistan for CE; however, it has not yet been investigated for CE. For this purpose, this study was carried out to investigate the molecular epidemiology of CE in this region. In total, 23 human hydatid cyst samples were collected from tertiary health care units in Baluchistan and processed for DNA extraction, which was then followed by sequencing of the cox1 mitochondrial gene of all 23 collected samples, genotyping, and phylogenetic and haplotype analysis. Most subjects were livestock owners (39.13%) in rural settings (73.91%). Most patients (73.19%) were pet owners (dogs) and used water from open sources for drinking. The liver was the most affected organ (52.17%), followed by the lungs (17.39%). Sequence analysis based on the cox1 gene revealed that EG genotype 1 (G1) was the most prevalent (56.52%), followed by G3 (34.78%), while some samples (8.7%) were identified as the Echinococcus canadensis (G6/7) genotype. A total of five haplotypes were detected with high haplotype diversity (0.80) and low nucleotide diversity (0.033). Phylogenetic analysis revealed two diverse sub-clades, each of G1 and G3 isolates from Baluchistan, that were evolutionarily related to previously reported G1 and G3 isolates from Pakistan and China. On the other hand, the G6/7 isolates of this study were evolutionarily identical to the already reported G6/7 isolates from Pakistan, Turkey, and Kazakhstan. This study concludes that diverse G1 and G3 EG isolates are present in this part of Pakistan, while the G6/G7 genotype was reported for the first time from Baluchistan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]