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Soil carbon and its fractions are important in understanding the mechanism of soil carbon sequestration. The present study evaluated the impact of seven commercial bamboo species, viz., Bambusa balcooa, B. bambos, B. vulgaris, B. nutans, Dendrocalamus hamiltonii, D. stocksii, and D. strictus, on labile and non-labile carbon fractions. In the 0–15-cm layer, B. nutans had the highest very labile C (7.65 g kg−1) followed by B. vulgaris > B. balcooa > D. stocksii > D. hamiltonii > B. bambos > D. strictus > open. The active carbon pool was significantly low under the control plot (i.e. the open) indicating the positive influence of bamboo in soil C build-up in the top 0–15 cm soil layer. Amongst the different species of bamboo evaluated in this study, D. strictus accumulated the highest active C pool in 0–30-cm soil layer followed by B. vulgaris. Of the total organic C in the 0–30 cm soil depth, majority (55–60%) was contributed by the passive C pool comprising the less labile and the non-labile fraction of SOC. A high value of carbon stratification ratio (> 2) was observed for D. strictus, B. bambos, and D. hamiltonii which proves their potential for restoration of the degraded lands. The majority of bamboo species except for B. balcooa and D. stocksii showed a higher carbon management index than open systems, thereby indicating higher rates of soil C rehabilitation. Of the seven bamboo species, B. vulgaris, D. strictus, and B. nutans can be adopted for cultivation in the northwest Himalayas given their ability to positively impact the SOC and its fractions in both surface and sub-surface soil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bamboos due to high soil water conservation potential are gaining increased attention in plantation programs across the globe. Large-scale plantation of fast-growing bamboo, however, can have important hydrological consequences. The study aims to quantify the eco-hydrological parameters, viz., throughfall (TF), stemflow (SF), and interception (I) in seven important sympodial bamboo species in north western Himalayan foothills of India. The species selected include Bambusa balcooa, Bambusa bambos, Bambusa vulgaris., Bambusa nutans, Dendrocalamus hamiltonii, Dendrocalamus stocksii, and Dendrocalamus strictus. Throughfall versus gross rainfall (GR) relationship in different species indicated high throughfall production during high rainfall events with r2 > 0.90. Average throughfall was lowest (62.1%) in D. hamiltonii and highest in B. vulgaris (74.6%). SF ranged from 1.32% in B. nutans to 3.39% in D. hamiltonii. The correlation coefficient (r) between leaf area index (LAI), number of culms, and crown area with the interception were 0.746, 0.691, and 0.585, respectively. The funneling ratio (F) was highest (27.0) in D. hamiltonii and least in B. nutans. Canopy storage capacity was highest in D. strictus (3.57 mm) and least in D. hamiltonii (1.09 mm). Interception loss was highest (34.4%) in D. hamiltonii and lowest in B. vulgaris (23.5%) and D. strictus (23.6%). Higher interception in bamboos make them suitable for soil conservation, but careful selection of species is required in low rainfall areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Frieswal cattle is one of the crossbred strains having 5/8 Holstein Friesian and 3/8 Sahiwal inheritance, developed by ICAR-Central Institute for Research on Cattle, Meerut, in collaboration with Ministry of Defence. The project was started in 1987 for the evolution of a new crossbred national milch breed: Frieswal – (Holstein×Sahiwal), yielding 4,000 kg of milk with 4% butter fat in a mature lactation of 300 days. It is the only project in the country where such a huge population of animals (more than 20,000) is available with accurate production and pedigree records of each and every animal over generations, with well-established progeny testing network in 37 military farms to cover all the agro-climatic zones of the country. In this review, an attempt has been made to analyze the genesis, present status and future prospects of Frieswal cattle in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sustenance of food and nutritional security are the major challenges of the 21st century. The domestic food production needs to increase per annum at the rate of 2% for cereals and 0.6% for oilseeds and pulses to meet the demand by 2030. The Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP) and the black soil regions (BSR) are the two major food production zones of the country. Since irrigation potential is limited and expansion of irrigated area is tardy, rainfed agriculture holds promise to satisfy future food needs. Frontline demonstrations of these two regions have shown that there is a large gap at the farmers' and achievable levels of yields. This gap can be filled by adopting scientific approach of managing the natural resources. There is tremendous pressure of biotic and abiotic stresses hindering the crop production and that warrants for a systematic appraisal of natural resources. The National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning (NBSS&LUP) under the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) divided the country into 60 agro-ecological sub-regions (AESRs) in 1994 by superimposing maps on natural resources like soils, climate and length of growing period (LGP) for crops and other associated parameters. With the passage of nearly two decades and the advent of modern facilities of database management and improved knowledge base on natural resources, a need was felt to revise the existing AESR map to reach near the ground reality of crop performance. The new database stored in soil and terrain digital database (SOTER) has helped in modifying the AESR delineations of the BSR (76.4 m ha) and the IGP (52.01 m ha). The estimated available water content, saturated hydraulic conductivity and use of pedo-transfer functions in assessing the drainage conditions and soil quality have helped in computing with improved precision the LGP, and revise the earlier AESRs in BSR and IGP areas. This innovative exercise will be useful for the future AESR-based agricultural land use planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rampura-Agucha mines (RAM) has started journey o f capacity expansion from 1.8 Mt ore treatment (total excavation o f 11 Mt) per annum in 2003 to 5.52 Mt ore (total excavation 77 Mt) per annum in 2013-14. This exponential growth with steep business target and present depth of pit up to 300 meters warrants very innovative techniques in blasting practices with optimum use of explosive characteristics and latest initiation technology. To meet the production target and bench turnover on sustainable basis, bigger blasts by combining production and trim cut, segregate blasting to maximize ore recovery and wall stitching at geologically disturbed area are being practiced. In all these cases, selection of explosives also played an important part of the blast design and consequently, the obtainable results. With the use of blasting agents such as bulk SME, electronic detonator has been used with a desire to obtain maximum performance from the energy released by the explosives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information on soil hydraulic properties is a prerequisite in irrigation management decisions and crop planning. Such information on soils of the black soil region (BSR) occupying of India is sparse. Soil profile information for 49 representative sites (244 samples) was collected and used for analysis. Ten different functions were evaluated for their efficacy to describe soil water retention characteristics (SWRC) of the BSR soils. Campbell model fitted to measured SWRC data with relatively lower root mean square error (), higher degree of agreement ), and lower absolute error on average (). The next best description was by van Genuchten (VG) function with RMSE (), , and MAE (). Pedotransfer functions (PTF) were developed to predict field capacity (FC) and permanent wilting point (PWP) using nearest neighbor (kNN) algorithm and artificial neural networks (ANN). Four levels of input information used for point PTF development include (1) textural data (data on sand, silt, and clay fraction-SSC), (2) level 1+bulk density data (SSCBD), (3) level 2+organic matter (SSCBDOM), and (4) level 1+organic matter (SSCOM). The RMSE of predictions by kNN PTFs ranged from 0.0346 to with an average of . The ANN PTFs performed with an average RMSE of and a range of 0.0367 to . Relatively better estimates of were obtained using SSCBD-based PTF. Accuracy of FC and PWP estimates obtained by using analytical functions was relatively greater than the estimates by kNN and ANN PTFs. Campbell and VG functions were relatively more accurate. The study demonstrated the efficacy of kNN technique vis-a-vis neural regression with the additional benefit of appending the development data as and when desired. The proposed PTFs could be useful in making irrigation management decisions for BSR soils of India. Identification of the most suitable SWRC function for the study soils will help in crop modeling/water balance studies of the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Irrigation management in vertisols is one of the major challenges to increase agricultural productivity in India and many developing countries. Unfortunately, information on hydraulic properties of these soils is very sparse. In an attempt to understand these soils for better management, 10 different functions were evaluated for their efficacy to describe soil-water retention characteristics (SWRC) of vertisols of India, and point pedotransfer functions (PTFs) were developed by using a nearest neighbor (k-NN) algorithm as an alternative to widely used artificial neural networks (ANN) for prediction of available water capacity (AWC). Soil profile information of 26 representative sites comprising 157 soil samples was used for analysis. The Campbell model fit to measured SWRC data better than any other model, with relatively lower root mean square error (RMSE) (0.0199), higher degree of agreement (0.9867), and lower absolute error on an average (0.0134). Three other functions, namely, modified Cass-Hutson, Brooks-Corey, and van Genuchten, also described the SWRC data with acceptable accuracy. Four levels of input information were used for point pedotransfer function (PTF) development: (1) textural data [data on sand, silt, and clay fraction (SSC)]; (2) Level 1+bulk density data (SSCBD); (3) Level 2+organic matter (SSCBDOM); and (4) Level 1+organic matter (SSCOM). The RMSE in predictions by k-NN PTFs ranged from 0.0339 to 0.0450 m3 m-3 with an average of 0.0403 m3 m-3. The ANN PTFs performed with average RMSE 0.0426 m3 m-3 and a range of 0.0395 to 0.0474 m3 m-3. The k-NN algorithm provided a viable alternative to neural regression with marginally better performance and the benefit of flexibility in the appending reference database. The results are significant because SWRC data are still in the development stage in India, and k-NN PTFs would have a greater value because of the flexibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil loss tolerance limit (SLTL) is the maximum amount of soil which can be removed annually before the long-term soil productivity is adversely affected. In many situations, the establishment of a SLTL is intended to provide basic information for the maintenance of soil productivity, which becomes one of the foci of the sustainability of agricultural land use. In India a default soil loss tolerance limit of 11.2 Mg ha-1 yr -1 is followed for planning soil conservation activities. The objective of this study is to provide a methodology to estimate quantitative SLTLs for suggesting suitable soil conservation measures. The assessment framework used follows three basic steps; viz. indicator selection, indicator interpretation and integration into a soil quality (SQ) index value. A quantitative model was used to integrate potential soil indicators such as saturated hydraulic conductivity, bulk density, soil erodibility, organic carbon and pH to assess soil resistibility to erosion. Scaling functions were used to convert soil parameters to a unitless 0 to 1 scale. Normalized values of all these soil parameters were then multiplied by assigned weights based on relative importance and sensitivity analysis. Soils were grouped into 1, 2, and 3 depending on overall additive score. A general guideline developed by the USDA-Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) was followed, with certain modifications in depth categories, for estimation of SLTLs. The model was tested on 14.86 Mha of land in northern India comprising of the states of Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. SLTLs varied from 2.5 to 12.5 Mg ha-1 yr -1 compared to the single value applied earlier. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In view of the depleting availability of water for agriculture, higher emission of nitrous oxide and methane from low land rice cultivation and their deleterious impact on global warming phenomenon, the present study stressed the need for cultivation of aerobic rice. The study focuses on identifying and mapping suitable sites in eastern India through computation of rice aridity index from soils and climatic data and proposing suitability criteria model and assessing potential yield. This study gains further significance since aerobic rice cultivation could improve the upland production efficiency and helps reduction of greenhouse gases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the major factors in favor of soil conservation measures is the prevention of top fertile soil removal, which adversely affects the crop productivity, depending upon the type of crop, soil, and erosion intensity. This reasoning has generally been assigned qualitatively and has rarely been supported through a quantitative relationship between soil loss and crop productivity The soil loss tolerance limit (T value) is One of the several indicators to properly explain this phenomenon. The T value can be used as a guide to decide the maximum soil loss that can be removed before the long-term soil productivity is adversely affected. In this paper, two methods have been compared in determining T value on a regional scale for Doon Valley conditions in India. The first approach is based on assessment of the productivity index (P1) that considers permissible soil productivity loss rate (δ) and planning horizon (H) for sustainable land use. Productivity index is assessed and then related with tolerable rate of soil loss. The second approach is based on a quantitative weighted additive model, which has been used to define the current state of the soil resource. Both methods have been found to be good indices of sod loss tolerance value. However, the P1-based approach requires a complicated depth-wise dataset, including available water capacity, bulk density, and pH, which at present is not available for most of the ecological regions of India. Generating such a database may require long time and large investment. On the other hand, the weighted additive model requires a minimum data set of six soil attributes, which are readily available. Using the sensitivity index, the different T value at each of the study sites was separately compared. The overall mean of the sensitivity index was statistically insignificant at p C 0.05 for each location. Both methods were able to provide a reliable estimate of T value at different locations. However, the weighted additive model proved to be more reasonable as it requires a readily available dataset. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a study on the permissible erosion rates of several landforms in Delhi State, India. Permissible erosion rates, or soil loss tolerance, refers to the maximum erosion that can occur on a given soil without resulting to degradation. Although India has a default permissible erosion rate that is used for developing land restoration techniques, it is said that the ability of soil to resist degradation depends on soil types, depth and physico-chemical properties of soils. Among the factors considered in identifying permissible erosion rates of different landforms in Delhi are bulk density (BD), organic carbon and soil pH.

In India, a single soil loss tolerance ( T) value of 11.2 Mg/ha is by default used for formulating land restoration strategies for all soil types, climates and vegetation covers. However, this single ‘T’ value does not represent a true picture of soil loss tolerance under all land uses. The objective of our study was to develop adjusted ‘ T’ values for Central India using soil infiltration rate, bulk density, total organic carbon, erodibility and soil pH. Soil state was defined using a quantitative model involving different soil functions which were used to convert soil parameters to a 0 to 1 scale. The normalized values were then multiplied by appropriate weighing factors based on relative importance and sensitivity analysis of each indicator. Based on overall assessment, each soil mapping unit was categorized into soil groups I, II or III. A general guideline of USDA – Natural Resource Conservation Service (USDA-NRCS) was followed to calculate soil loss tolerance for each soil group using effective soil depth. Adjusted ‘ T’ values for Central India ranged from 2.5 to 12.5 Mg/ha compared with a default value of 11.2 Mg/ha. Use of these values for soil mapping units will improve conservation planning and assist with planning the development of sustainable agriculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tolerable soil toss (T) is defined as the maximum rate of annual soil erosion that economically and indefinitely will continue to sustain a high level of crop productivity. Currently a T value is assigned to a soil based on its current functional state and structural integrity. However, in India a default T value of 11.2 Mg ha-1 yr-1 (5.0 t ac-1 yr-1) is being followed. Our objective is to provide adjusted T values for India's Northwest Himalayan region by incorporating bulk density, water stable aggregate measurements, infiltration rate, soil carbon, and fertility status into the assessment. A quantitative model was used to sum up overall soil performance to define the current state of soil resource. Scaling functions were used to convert soil parameters to a 0 to 1 scale. The normalized values were then multiplied by appropriate weighting factors based on relative importance and sensitivity analysis of each indicator. A categorical ranking of soil 1, 2, or 3 was given to a soil group based on the overall assessment. A general guideline developed by the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) was followed to calculate soil loss tolerance for each soil group using effective soil depth. Adjusted T values for the area ranged between 5.0 and 12.5 Mg ha-1 yr-1 (2.2 and 5.6 t ac-1 yr1) compared to 11.2 Mg ha-1 yr-1 (5.0 t ac-1 yr1). Use of the adjusted T values will improve conservation planning, help meet erosion control regulations for development of sustainable farm operations, and improve watershed management in this portion of India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Humankind faces the need to achieve sustainable agriculture production, meanwhile increasing crop yields and reducing soil and water losses. Soil conservation through intercropping or crop canopy management is widely accepted as one of the ways of diversifying crop yields in rainfed agriculture in sloping landscapes. Field experiments were conducted between 2009 and 2014 to evaluate the effects of one or two rows of cowpea/okra intercropped with maize (planted either in 90 or 150 cm row spacing) on productivity, profitability, and resource conservation on 4% sloping crop land in the Himalayas. During five years of experimentation, a total of 110 runoff events were observed in the maize crop grown in rainy months of June to September. The results showed that by growing one row of cowpea in between two rows of maize (90 × 20 cm), no effect was observed on the productivity of rainfed maize. Productivity of the succeeding wheat crop was enhanced by 13% which resulted in a higher net return (117 US$ ha −1 ) than in a maize-wheat system. This system also reduced runoff and soil loss by 26% and 43%, respectively, compared to only a maize cropping system. Regression analysis revealed as runoff in maize crop increases, grain yield of succeeding rainfed wheat crop decreases due to the less availability of soil moisture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Markov chain and 3-dimensional log-linear models were attempted to model drought class transitions derived from the newly developed drought index the Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) at a 12 month time scale for six major drought prone areas of India. Log-linear modelling approach has been used to investigate differences relative to drought class transitions using SPEI-12 time series derived form 48 yeas monthly rainfall and temperature data. In this study, the probabilities of drought class transition, the mean residence time, the 1, 2 or 3 months ahead prediction of average transition time between drought classes and the drought severity class have been derived. Seasonality of precipitation has been derived for non-homogeneous Markov chains which could be used to explain the effect of the potential retreat of drought. Quasi-association and Quasi-symmetry log-linear models have been fitted to the drought class transitions derived from SPEI-12 time series. The estimates of odds along with their confidence intervals were obtained to explain the progression of drought and estimation of drought class transition probabilities. For initial months as the drought severity increases the calculated odds shows lower value and the odds decreases for the succeeding months. This indicates that the ratio of expected frequencies of occurrence of transition from drought class to the non-drought class decreases as compared to transition to any drought class when the drought severity of the present class increases. From 3-dimensional log-linear model it is clear that during the last 24 years the drought probability has increased for almost all the six regions. The findings from the present study will immensely help to assess the impact of drought on the gross primary production and to develop future contingent planning in similar regions worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Land evaluation is carried out to assess the suitability of land for a specific use. Land evaluation procedures focus increasingly on the use of quantitative procedures to enhance the qualitative interpretation of land resource surveys. Conventional Boolean retrieval of soil survey data and logical models for assessing land suitability, treat both spatial units and attribute value ranges as exactly specifiable quantities. They ignore the continuous nature of soil and landscape variation and uncertainties in measurement, which may result in the failure to correctly classify sites that just fail to match strictly defined requirements. The objective of this article is to apply fuzzy model to land suitability evaluation for major crops in the 15 benchmark sites of the Indo- Gangetic Plains (IGP) and 17 benchmark sites of the black soil regions (BSR). Minimum datasets of land characteristics considered relevant to rice and wheat in the IGP and cotton and soybean in the BSR were identified to enhance pragmatic value of land evaluation. The use of fuzzy model is intuitive, robust and helpful for land suitability evaluation and classification, especially in applications in which subtle differences in land characteristics are of a major interest, such as development of threshold values of land characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The articles presented in this special section emanated from the researches of consortium members of the National Agricultural Innovative Project (NAIP, Component 4) of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), New Delhi. These researches have helped develop a soil information system (SIS). In view of the changing scenario all over the world, the need of the hour is to get assistance from a host of researchers specialized in soils, crops, geology, geography and information technology to make proper use of the datasets. Equipped with the essential knowledge of data storage and retrieval for management recommendations, these experts should be able to address the issues of land degradation, biodiversity, food security, climate change and ultimately arrive at an appropriate agricultural land-use planning. Moreover, as the natural resource information is an essential prerequisite for monitoring and predicting global environmental change with special reference to climate and land use options, the SIS needs to be a dynamic exercise to accommodate temporal datasets, so that subsequently it should result in the evolution of the soil information technology. The database developed through this NAIP would serve as an example of the usefulness of the Consortium and the research initiative of ICAR involving experts from different fields to find out the potentials of the soils of humid and semi-arid bioclimatic systems of the country [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crop simulation models have emerged as powerful tools for estimating yield gaps, forecasting production of agricultural crops and analysing the impact of climate change. In this study, the genetic coefficients for Bt hybrids established from field experiments were used in the InfoCrop-cotton model, which was calibrated and validated earlier to simulate the cotton production under different agro-climatic conditions. The model simulated results for Bt hybrids were satisfactory with an R2 value of 0.55 (n = 22), d value of 0.85 and a root mean square error of 277 kg ha-1, which was 11.2% of the mean observed. Relative yield index (RYI) defined as the ratio between simulated rainfed (water-limited) yield to potential yield, was identified as a robust land quality index for rainfed cotton. RYI was derived for 16 representative benchmark (BM) locations of the black soil region from long-term simulation results of InfoCrop-cotton model (based on 11-40 years of weather data). The model could satisfactorily capture subtle differences in soil variables and weather patterns prevalent in the BM locations spread over 16 agro-ecological sub-regions (AESRs) resulting in a wide range of mean simulated rainfed cotton yields (482-4393 kg ha-1). The BM soils were ranked for their suitability for cotton cultivation based on RYI. The RYI of black soils (vertisols) ranged from 0.07 in Nimone to 0.80 in Panjari representing AESR (6.1) and AESR (10.2) respectively, suggesting that Panjri soils are better suited for rainfed cotton. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current status of land/soil resources of the Indo- Gangetic Plains (IGP) is analysed to highlight the issues that need to be tackled in near future for sustained agricultural productivity. There are intraregional variations in soil properties, cropping systems; status of land usage, groundwater utilization and irrigation development which vary across the subregions besides demographies. Framework for land use policy is suggested that includes acquisition of farm-level data, detailing capability of each unit to support a chosen land use, assess infrastructural support required to meet the projected challenges and finally develop skilled manpower to effectively monitor the dynamics of land use changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustaining soil and land quality under intensive land use and fast economic development is a major challenge for improving crop productivity in the developing world. Assessment of soil and land quality indicators is necessary to evaluate the degradation status and changing trends of different land use and management interventions. During the last four decades, the Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP) which covers an area of about 52.01 m ha has been the major food producing region of the country. However at present, the yield of crops in IGP has stagnated; one of the major reasons being deterioration of soil and land quality. The present article deals with the estimation of soil and land quality indicators of IGP, so that, proper soil and land management measures can be taken up to restore and improve the soil health. Use of principal component analysis is detailed to derive the minimum dataset or indicators for soil quality. The article also describes spatial distribution of soil and land quality with respect to major crops of IGP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Five benchmark soils, namely Fatehpur (Punjab) and Haldi (Uttarakhand) non-sodic soils, Zarifa Viran (Haryana), Sakit and Itwa sodic soils (Uttar Pradesh) representing Trans, Upper, Middle and Central Indo- Gangetic Plains (IGP) were revisited for studying the morphological, physical and chemical properties of soils at low and high management levels to monitor changes in soil properties due to the impact of landuse as well as management levels. The results indicate an increase in bulk density (BD) below the plough layer, and build up of organic carbon (OC) and decline in pH in surface layers of Zarifa Viran, Sakit and Itwa sodic soils under high management. The concentration of carbonates and bicarbonates in sodic soils decreased due to adaptation of rice-wheat system. The build-up of OC and decrease of pH in surface soils under rice- wheat system enhanced the soil health. Increase in BD in subsurface soils, however, is a cause of concern for sustaining rice-wheat cropping system. Soil management interventions such as tillage, conservation agriculture and alternate cropping system have been suggested for improved soil health and productivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study documents the biological properties of the black soil region (BSR) of India in terms of culturable microbial population. Besides surface microbial population, subsurface population of individual soil horizons is described to improve the soil information system. An effort has been made to study the depth-wise distribution and factors (bioclimates, cropping systems, land use, management practices and soil properties) influencing the microbial population in the soils of the selected benchmark spots representing different agro-ecological sub-regions of BSR. The microbial population declined with depth and maximum activity was recorded within 0-30 cm soil depth. The average microbial population (log10 cfu g-1) in different bioclimates is in decreasing order of SHm > SHd > SAd > arid. Within cropping systems, legumebased system recorded higher microbial population (6.12 log10 cfu g-1) followed by cereal-based system (6.09 log10 cfu g-1). The mean microbial population in different cropping systems in decreasing order is legume > cereal > sugarcane > cotton. Significantly higher (P < 0.05) microbial population has been recorded in high management (6.20 log10 cfu g-1) and irrigated agrosystems (6.33 log10 cfu g-1) compared to low management (6.12 log10 cfu g-1) and rainfed agrosystems (6.17 log10 cfu g-1). The pooled analysis of data inclusive of bioclimates, cropping systems, land use, management practices, and edaphic factors indicates that microbial population is positively influenced by clay, fine clay, water content, electrical conductivity, organic carbon, cation exchange capacity and base saturation, whereas bulk density, pH, calcium carbonate and exchangeable magnesium percentage have a negative effect on the microbial population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the physical quality of soil that influences its hydraulic behaviour helps in formulating appropriate water management strategies for sustainable crop production. Saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ks) is a key factor governing the hydraulic properties of soils. Ks can be estimated through various techniques. In the present article we have developed and validated the regression models to predict Ks of the soils of the Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP) and the black soil regions (BSR) under different bioclimatic systems. While particle size distribution was found to be a key factor to predict Ks of the BSR soils, organic carbon was found useful for the IGP soils. Moreover, the models for Ks of both soils were strengthened by putting in CaCO3 and exchangeable sodium percentage content. It seems there is ample scope to study the interaction process for revising Ks to desired levels through management practices in these two important food-growing zones. An index of soil physical quality, derived from the inflection points of the soil moisture characteristic curves could well explain the impact of management practices on soil physical quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The flood of Damodar river is a well-known fact which is used to the whole riverine society of the basin as well as to the eastern India. The study aims to estimate the spatio-temporal probability of floods and identify susceptible zones in the Lower Damodar Basin (LDB). A flood frequency analysis around 90 years hydrological series is performed using the Log-Pearson Type III model. The frequency ratio model has also been applied to determine the spatial context of flood. This reveals the extent to which the LDB could be inundated in response to peak discharge conditions, especially during the monsoon season. The findings indicate that 36.64% of the LDB falls under high to very high flood susceptibility categories, revealing an increasing downstream flood vulnerability trend. Hydro-geomorphic factors substantially contribute to the susceptibility of the LDB to high magnitude floods. A significant shift in flood recurrence intervals, from biennial occurrences in the pre-dam period to decadal or vicennial occurrences in the post-dam period, is observed. Despite a reduction in high-magnitude flood incidents due to dam and barrage construction, irregular flood events persist. The effect of flood in the LDB region is considered to be either positive as well as negative in terms of wholistic sense and impact. The analytical results of this research could serve to identify flood-prone zones and guide the development of flood resilience policies, thereby promoting sustainability within the LDB floodplain., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.)

The estuaries provide the key pathway for travelling carbon across the land-ocean interfaces and behave as both source and sink of greenhouse gases (GHGs) in water-atmosphere systems. The sink-source characteristics of estuaries for GHGs vary spatially. The primary driving factors are adjacent ecologies (agriculture, aquaculture, etc.) and proximities to the sea. To study the sink-source characteristics of estuaries for GHGs (methane (CH 4 ), nitrous oxide (N 2 O) and carbon dioxide (CO 2 )), the water samples were collected from 53 different locations in the estuaries for estimation of dissolved GHGs concentration and air-water GHGs exchanges. The locations represent five zones (Zone I, II, III, IV and V) based on the type and degradation status of mangroves (degraded and undisturbed), anthropogenic activities, and distance from the sea. Zone I, III, V represents to the degraded mangroves far from sea, whereas, Zone II, IV surrounded by undisturbed mangroves and nearer to sea. The average dissolved CH 4 concentrations were higher in the estuaries which were adjacent to degraded mangroves (154.4 nmol L -1 ) than undisturbed mangroves (81.7 nmol L -1 ). Further, the average dissolved N 2 O concentrations were 48% higher in the estuaries nearer to degraded mangroves than that of undisturbed ones. Among the degraded mangrove sites, the dissolved CO 2 concentrations were higher at Zone I (30.1 μmol L -1 ) followed by Zone III and IV, whereas in undisturbed sites, it was higher in Zone IV (22.3 μmol L -1 ) than Zone II (17.6 μmol L -1 ). Among the 53 locations, 36, 51 and 33 locations acted as a sink (negative value of exchanges) for CH 4 , N 2 O and CO 2 , respectively. The higher sink potential for CH 4 was recorded to those estuaries adjacent to undisturbed mangroves (-791.69 μmol m -2  d -1 ) than the degraded ones (-23.18 μmol m -2  d -1 ). Similarly, the average air-water N 2 O and CO 2 exchanges were more negative in the estuaries which were nearer to undisturbed mangroves indicating higher sink potential. The pH, and salinity of the estuary water were negatively correlated with air-water CH 4 and N 2 O exchanges, whereas those were positively correlated with CO 2 exchanges. Significantly lower dissolved GHGs and air-water GHGs exchange was observed in the estuaries adjacent to the undisturbed mangrove as compared to the degraded mangrove. The reason behind higher sink behaviours of estuaries nearer to undisturbed mangroves are higher intrusion of seawater, less nutrient availability, higher salinity, low carbon contents and alkaline pH compared to estuaries adjacent to degraded mangroves and far from sea., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper, (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Aims: Prevalence of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) may vary across a country like India. Risk factors and disease-pathogenesis were also not fully elucidated. This study aimed to examine prevalence of GDM among pregnant women visiting antenatal clinic of a tertiary-care hospital of Kolkata, India; possible mechanism of disease pathogenesis and potency of associated parameters as disease biomarkers were also explored., Methods: 735 pregnant women were screened for GDM according to DIPSI (Diabetes in Pregnancy Study Group India) guideline and risk-factors were analyzed. Case-control study was conducted with 114 GDM and 114 matched non-GDM control. Blood sample was collected before glucose load for complete blood count, measurement of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and assessment of DNA damage., Results: Prevalence of GDM was found to be 17.2%(127/735). Maternal age, diabetic family history and acanthosis nigricans seemed to be important risk factors. Total ROS, lymphocyte DNA damage (measured by comet-assay) and some inflammatory hematological parameters were significantly higher in GDM compared to control. ROS, comet-tail DNA%, WBC, neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and mean platelet volume (MPV) were established as independent determinants of disease condition after adjustment for pre-gestational body mass index. In receiver operating characteristic analysis, ROS>155.7 arbitrary fluorescent unit, NLR>2.12 and MPV>11.05 fL showed 82.5 & 98.2%, 71.9 & 84.2% and 71.9 & 82.5% sensitivity & specificity respectively in disease prediction., Conclusions: Prevalence of GDM seemed to be high in Kolkata on Indian scenario. Oxidative-stress, related DNA-damage and inflammation seemed to have important contribution in pathogenesis of GDM independent of obesity. ROS, NLR and MPV with respective cut-off scores might be used as diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers for better management of the disease., Competing Interests: No conflict of interest has been declared by the authors., (© Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.)

This study aims to examine the spatio-temporal urban expansion pattern and its impacts on green space variation as well as thermal behavior in Doon valley over the last two decades during 2000 and 2019. Landsat 5 and Landsat 8 images of February and May month of two study years 2000 and 2019 were used for the analysis. The land use change analysis revealed notable outgrowth of urbanization with 184% increase in Doon valley during 2000-2019. To examine the effects of locational factors on urban growth, relative Shannon entropy analysis was carried out based on two factors, i.e., distances from city center and roads. It was seen that all the roads and city center have witnessed consistent and higher urban spread in its surroundings with high relative entropy value more than 0.9. Further analysis shows that there was considerable loss of agriculture crop lands and fallow lands along the major roads and around city center. Forest area was mostly affected along the road towards Mussorie hill station (road 2) because of its hilly surroundings whereas in Subhash Nagar area (road 4), fallow land and cultivated land were mainly replaced by the development activities. Analysis was also carried out to assess the spatial-temporal distribution of land surface temperature (LST) and its changing dynamics with land covers. It revealed that LST has increased in all the land use types with overall increase of 1.86 °C and 8.62 °C in the months February and May, respectively, during the study period. It is also found that normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and LST are negatively correlated with R 2 0.46 and 0.28 for the months February and May, respectively. However, the correlation between NDVI and LST was found highly significant with P value less than 0.01. Therefore, spatial and temporal changes of different land use types especially rapid urbanization at the cost of green spaces with rampant anthropogenic activities is one of the main factor for LST increase in the study area. Moreover, this temperature rise with ever-increasing anthropogenic activities is not a healthy indication for the hilly region like Doon Valley which may adversely affect the ecosystem stability and its resources as well. The study may be used as reference for future ecological and urban management studies and policies.

Due to extensive root system, connected rhizome bamboos are considered suitable for improving soil properties within a short period, though most of the claims are anecdotal and need to be supported with quantified data. The study evaluates seven bamboo species viz., Bambusa balcooa, Bambusa bambos, Bambusa vulgaris, Bambusa nutans, Dendrocalamus hamiltonii, Dendrocalamus stocksii and Dendrocalamus strictus for their rooting pattern and impact on soil health properties. Coarse and fine root intensity was maximum in B. vulgaris. Coarse root biomass ranged from 0.6 kg m -3 in B. nutans to 2.0 kg m -3 in B. vulgaris and B. bambos. Fine root biomass ranged from 1.1 kg m -3 in B. nutans to 4.5 kg m -3 in D. hamiltonii. Contribution of fine roots in terms of intensity and biomass was much higher than coarse roots. Fine root biomass showed declining trend with increase in soil depth in all the species. During sixth year, the litter fall ranged from 8.1 Mg ha -1 in D. stocksii to 12.4 Mg ha -1 in D. hamiltonii. Among soil physical properties significant improvement were recorded in hydraulic conductivity, water stable aggregates and mean weight diameter. Soil pH, organic carbon and available phosphorus under different species did not reveal any significant changes, while significant reduction was observed in total nitrogen and potassium. Significant positive correlation was observed between WSA and iron content. Soil microbial population and enzyme activities were higher in control plot. Considering root distribution, biomass, soil hydraulic conductivity and water stable aggregates, B. bambos, B. vulgaris and D. hamiltonii are recommended for rehabilitation of degraded lands prone to soil erosion.

Background: Vitamin D is an immunomodulator, and its deficiency is associated with Tuberculosis (TB) infection. Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) is a rich milieu of macrophages that form the first line of defense against invading TB bacilli. As there is an increased prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in TB and human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) subjects, we intend exploring the possibility of a localized deficiency of vitamin D metabolites in BALF of these patients., Objective: The primary objective was to assess the level of 25D3 in serum and BALF of subjects and look for a significant difference among patients and controls. The secondary objective was to find a correlation between serum and BALF 25D3 levels., Methods: We performed a cross-sectional study with subjects divided into four groups: Controls (group 1), HIV positive without active TB (group 2), active TB without HIV (group 3), and HIV-TB coinfection (group 4). BALF and serum 25D3 levels were compared between the groups., Results: Among the 149 (an immunomodulator) successive subjects enrolled, there were 40 subjects in group 1 (HIV-TB-), 48 in group 2 (HIV+TB-), 37 in group 3 (HIV-TB+), and 24 in group 4 (HIV+TB+). Females constituted 31.6% of the study subjects. In groups 3 and 4, there were significantly lower serum 25D3 levels compared to group 1 (p-value group 3: 0.002; group 4: 0.012). In groups 2, 3, and 4, there were significantly lower BALF 25D3 levels compared to group 1 (p-value group 2: 0.000; group 3: 0.000; group 4: 0.001). There was a significant correlation between serum and BALF 25D3 levels (Spearman's rank correlation coefficient 0.318, p-value = 0.0001)., Conclusion: Lower levels of serum and BALF 25D3 were observed in HIV, TB, and HIV-TB coinfected patients. Localized deficiency of vitamin D metabolites might be associated with increased vulnerability to TB infection., (Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.)

Background and Objectives: People living with HIV/AIDS are at an increased risk of developing cancer. The goals of this study were to obtain data on the prevalence of HIV in the cancer population and vice versa at a major tertiary cancer and HIV center in North India., Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted over a 3-year period from July 2013 to June 2016, wherein successive HIV positive patients from an anti-retroviral therapy (ART) center were screened for malignancy. Simultaneously, successive cancer patients at the cancer center were screened for HIV. Baseline demographic details, risk factors, and laboratory investigations were obtained for all the patients., Results: Among the 999 HIV-positive patients at the ART center, the prevalence of malignancy was 2% (n=20; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.13, 2.87). Among the 998 patients with a malignancy, the prevalence of HIV infection was 0.9% (n=9; 95% CI 0.31, 1.49). Weight loss, loss of appetite, and fever were the most common symptoms in patients with HIV and cancer. Among 29 patients with HIV and cancer, AIDS-defining cancer was found in 19 patients; non-Hodgkin's lymphoma was the most common malignancy reported (n=13)., Interpretation and Conclusion: There is a low prevalence of HIV in cancer patients as well as a low prevalence of cancer in HIV patients. AIDS-defining cancers remain much more common than non-AIDS-defining cancers. With the increased coverage of ART, it is expected that non-AIDSdefining cancers will increase, as is evident from data from more developed countries., (Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.net.)

Malaria is a major public health problem in tropical and subtropical countries, including India. This study elucidates the cause of chloroquine treatment failure (for Plasmodium falciparum infection) before the introduction of artemisinin combination therapy. One hundred twenty-six patients were randomized to chloroquine treatment, and the therapeutic efficacy was monitored from days 1 to 28. An in vitro susceptibility test was performed with all isolates. Parasitic DNA was isolated, followed by PCR and restriction digestion of different codons of the pfcrt gene (codons 72 to 76) and the pfmdr1 gene (N86Y, Y184F, S1034C, N1042D, and D1246Y). Finally, sequencing was done to confirm the mutations. Forty-three (34.13%) early treatment failure cases and 16 (12.69%) late treatment failure cases were observed after chloroquine treatment. In vitro chloroquine resistance was found in 103 isolates (81.75%). Twenty-six (60.47%) early treatment failure cases and 6 (37.5%) late treatment failure cases were associated with the CVMNK-YYSNY allele (the underlined amino acids are those that were mutated). Moreover, the CVIEK-YYSNY allele was found in 8 early treatment failure (18.60%) and 2 late treatment failure (12.5%) cases. The presence of the wild-type pfcrt (CVMNK) and pfmdr1 (YYSNY) double mutant allele in chloroquine-nonresponsive cases was quite uncommon. In vivo chloroquine treatment failure and in vitro chloroquine resistance were strongly correlated with the CVMNK-YYSNY and CVIEK-YYSNY haplotypes (P < 0.01)., (Copyright © 2014, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.)

Although measles is a vaccine preventable disease, its occurrence and outbreaks are common in India. Four remote and inaccessible hamlets, inhabited by the Dukpa tribe, at Buxa Hills under Kalchini Block of Jalpaiguri District, West Bengal experienced a measles outbreak during the months of April-June, 2011. The authors conducted an investigation to assess vaccine coverage, vaccine efficacy (VE) and to describe the patterns of measles outbreaks in this community. The over-all attack rate was 14.3%; that among males and females were 12.6% and 16.0% respectively (P = 0.189). Attack rate was highest (40%) in 0 to <5 years followed by that in the 5 to <15 years (36.5%). VE was 66.3% (95% of the confidence interval 46.9-78.6%). There is an urgent need to increase the vaccination coverage through special tactics for reaching the unreached.

Objective: Takayasu's Arteritis (TA) is a rare inflammatory disease of medium and large size arteries that affects women of reproductive age. This study aims to highlight the antenatal management and analyze the obstetric outcome in women with TA., Methods: This retrospective study was carried out in the Department of O&G, Cardiology and Rheumatology--IPGME&R, Kolkata from June 2002 to July 2010. Sixteen patients with 29 pregnancy events were compared with 60 matched controls., Results: Clinical presentation of study population at admission included unequal or absent pulse, hypertension, congestive cardiac failure, retinopathy, aortic regurgitation and cerebrovascular accident (CVA). Mode of delivery was cesarean in 20 pregnancies (71.49%) and vaginal in nine pregnancies (31.03%). Significant maternal complications included pregnancy induced hypertension (100 vs. 1.66%; P < 0.001), preeclampsia (92.85 vs. 0%; P < 0.001), postpartum hemorrhage (17.24 vs. 1.66%; P < 0.001) and preterm labor (17.24 vs. 3.33%; P < 0.001). One maternal mortality was present due to CVA. Neonatal outcome showed 26 live births with increased incidence of intrauterine growth restriction (51.72 vs. 1.66%; P < 0.001) and neonates requiring NICU admissions (58.62 vs. 5.0%; P < 0.001)., Conclusion: Although conception was spontaneous in all these pregnancies, antenatal and intrapartum control of blood pressure played a pivotal role in pregnancy outcome. High rate of operative interference was present. All subsequent pregnancies had similar outcome due to slow progression of the disease. Although pregnancy was complicated by hypertension and its sequelae, successful outcome could be achieved with timely admission, judicious medication and multidisciplinary approach.

Objective: To analyze whether the obese women have an increased risk of pregnancy complications and adverse fetal outcome., Methods: The longitudinal prospective study was carried out in the Obst and Gynae department, IPGME and R, Kolkata. The study enrolled 422 pre-pregnant obese women with pregnancy as study population and equal number of non obese pregnant mothers as controls. Body mass index (BMI) was > or = 30.0 kg/m2 and 20-22 kg/m2 in obese and control group respectively., Results: In comparison to average weight pregnant women, obese pregnant women were at increased risk of gestational diabetes mellitus (19.43 vs 3.79%; p < 0.001), pregnancy induced hypertension (12.32 vs 2.36%; p < 0.001), pre-eclampsia (8.76 vs 3.31%; p < 0.001), preterm labor in less than 34 week gestation (7.58 vs 3.55%; p < 0.001), cesarean section (36.72 vs 17.53%; p < 0.001), instrumental deliveries (12.32 vs 5.21%; p < 0.001) and postpartum infection morbidities (9.95 vs 3.79%; p < 0.001). These women were more prone to develop overt diabetes (2.36% vs 0) and chronic hypertension (5.21 vs .47% ) in future as well. Neonates of obese women were mostly large for gestational age, macrosomic and they had high incidences of birth injuries, shoulder dystocia, premature deliveries, late fetal deaths and congenital malformations particularly spina bifida, cleft lip, cleft palate and heart defect., Conclusion: As obesity is considered to be a modifiable risk factor, preconception counseling and creating awareness regarding health risks associated with over weight and obesity should be encouraged.

Genetic subtyping has been a powerful tool in tracking the global spread of HIV. To determine the HIV-1 subtypes circulating in eastern and northeastern regions of India blood samples were collected from female sex workers in Calcutta and intravenous drug users (IDUs) in Manipur. Fifty-four samples from Calcutta and 25 samples from Manipur were analyzed for HIV-1 subtyping by heteroduplex mobility assay (HMA). Twenty-six samples from these regions were sequenced. HMA and sequencing of the samples from these regions revealed subtype C as the major subtype, circulating within both eastern and northeastern regions. In Manipur, subtype ThaiB was also detected as the second major subtype. Some of the IDUs from Manipur were found to be dual infected with subtype C and ThaiB.