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X-ray radiography is a valuable, non-destructive tool and can be used to examine the internal components or quality attributes of agricultural commodities, including arecanut. The true quality of an arecanut can be determined using destructive methods through visual inspection. However, dissected arecanuts do not have a shelf life. There is no non-destructive method available for grading arecanuts. We employ X-ray imaging as an aid to conduct internal examinations of arecanuts, allowing for thorough inspection without causing damage. A custom X-ray image dataset of arecanuts is created for automated interpretation of grades. We developed a hybrid arecanut grading model using YOLOv5s architecture incorporating the Stem, the GhostNet and the Transformer blocks. The proposed hybrid architecture outperforms in comparison with state-of-the-art models with a mean average precision (mAP) of 97.30%. The proposed 9.5 MB lightweight model can easily fit into X-ray devices, making it ideal for detecting arecanut grades in the industry. This method could transform the standards of quality inspection for arecanut. Its incorporation could establish a new industry benchmark for unparalleled quality assessment using X-ray technology as a non-destructive tool. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The performance of five known ginger cultivars of eastern India, namely Gorubathan, Suruchi, Suprabha, Bhaisay and a Local collection, were studied in an eight-year-old 2.7 m × 2.7 m spaced arecanut plantation at Uttar Banga Krishi Vishwavidyalaya within the Teraiagro-ecological region of West Bengal. Plantlets of ginger were raised through single bud sprout techniques (SBT) using 5 g cut piece of rhizome with a plump bud and transplanted under an arecanut-based high density crop model along with bay leaf and citrus as component crops. Different ginger cultivars showed considerable variations with respect to their growth behavior and yield. The Local cultivar produced vigorous growth with a higher average number of tillers (5.83) per plant with maximum height (57.6 cm). However, the cultivar Suprabha proved its superiority over other cultivars with respect to rhizome yield, producing 2.45 tons from one hectare of crop model, with 11% net cropped area of ginger and possessing a higher benefit cost ratio (6.51). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT: Introduction: Like general health, oral health also depends upon their occupational environment and occupational health policies. Workplace exposure to environmental tobacco smoke and its harmful effect is well known. The consumption of tobacco, arecanut, and alcohol is the leading preventable cause for development of oral potentially malignant disorders. Aim: To determine prevalence of habit-induced oral lesions in different occupations in different geographical places of West Bengal and compare among them. Method: A total of 841 people aged 15 years and above were selected from different parts of West Bengal. Face-to-face interview was conducted using a structured questionnaire, and oral cavity examination was done in daylight. Data were summarized, and statistical analysis was done. Statistical Analysis Used: Chi-square test and univariate logistic regression done. Results: The people in armed forces had cancer-causing habits most, and managers had cancer-causing habits least. People in armed forces had cancer-causing habits most, and people with Group-1 occupation/managers had cancer-causing habits least. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The performance of five known ginger cultivars of eastern India, namely Gorubathan, Suruchi, Suprabha, Bhaisay and a Local collection, were studied in an eight-year-old 2.7 m × 2.7 m spaced arecanut plantation at Uttar Banga Krishi Vishwavidyalaya within the Teraiagro-ecological region of West Bengal. Plantlets of ginger were raised through single bud sprout techniques (SBT) using 5 g cut piece of rhizome with a plump bud and transplanted under an arecanut-based high density crop model along with bay leaf and citrus as component crops. Different ginger cultivars showed considerable variations with respect to their growth behavior and yield. The Local cultivar produced vigorous growth with a higher average number of tillers (5.83) per plant with maximum height (57.6 cm). However, the cultivar Suprabha proved its superiority over other cultivars with respect to rhizome yield, producing 2.45 tons from one hectare of crop model, with 11% net cropped area of ginger and possessing a higher benefit cost ratio (6.51).

Arecanut is one of the most significant commercial crops in Southeast Asia and plays a major role in the religious and cultural functions impacting the socio-economic life of the people. Arecanut is also used in Ayurvedic and Veterinary medicines. Arecanut is used to manufacture toothpaste, soap, tea powder, vita, and wine. Accurate segmentation of the arecanut bunch removing unwanted surrounding information helps monitoring its health, maturity, and yield. Yield estimation facilitates the farmer to plan for harvesting, storage and sale. Arecanut segmentation is complex because the color of the crop changes with the brightness quality in the outdoor field and the sharpness of the color. Another common problem in arecanut crop bunch segmentation and yield count is that of partial occlusion and overlapping of nuts. Segmentation is obtained using Simple Linear Iterative Clustering (SLIC) and graph cut algorithm. Segmentation of an arecanut bunch is achieved by first converting the picture elements into superpixels employing SLIC to lower the computational costs and the effect of noise. Graph cut produces accurate and precise segmentation considering local and global information capturing fine details and contours of objects. Watershed algorithm is used to count the arecanuts from a segmented image is presented in this paper. Segmentation resulted in 85.78% IoU and 93.15% Dice score and are better compared to benchmarks. Yield count resulted in 5.4% Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE), which is very good compared to other methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A study was conducted to test the efficacy of different lures against Red Palm Weevil, Rhynchophorus ferrugineus (Olivier) at selected arecanut plantation in the hill ecosystem of Tigani village in Sirsi taluk of Uttara Kannada district during rabi 2021-22. The bucket traps with red palm weevil aggregation pheromone from different firms with or without food bait was used for conducting experiment. A total of 24 traps were installed for a trapping period of 1st week of November 2021 until 4th week of May 2022. The experimental design used for the present study is randomized block design (RBD) with six treatments and was replicated four times. The observations were taken on weekly basis after the installation of traps where the number of RPW attracted to the individual treatments were collected and counted. Results showed that among the treatments, trap with commercial polypropylene lure (700 mg ferrolure) + banana as food bait and ICARNBAIR, Bengaluru lure + banana as food bait exhibited highest weevils catches. Temperature and relative humidity were also found to be vital factors and exhibited highly significant positive and negative correlation, respectively with weevil attraction. Relatively higher number of females than males were attracted and trapped with commercial polypropylene lure + banana baits. Almost at all the locations, the number of females was significantly higher than males; the highest male to female ratio recorded in the study was 1:1.34. The higher capture of females RPW in pheromone traps may be attributed to their higher activity in the field than males. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Arecanut (Areca catechu L) is one of the important cash crops in India and ranks first in terms of both area and production of arecanut in world. Meghalaya holds 4th position in the production of arecanut in India producing 51,000 tonnes in 2019. The total of 200 samples was selected for the study. The marketing channels were identified based on various intermediaries involved in the marketing process. A total of 4 marketing channels found in the study area of which Channel II (Producer - Village Trader - Whole seller - Consumer) was the most effective channel for marketing arecanut, accounting for nearly 40% of the total marketed quantity. In terms of marketing margin earned by the different marketing channel, channel III was found to be earned the highest marketing margin consists of the marketing margin earned by the wholesaler, village traders and retailer. The Producers share in Consumer's Rupee (%) was found to be highest in Channel I. The study of arecanut marketing channels offers valuable lessons for the broader agricultural sector, suggesting pathways to enhance producer income, reduce marketing costs, and improve the overall efficiency of agricultural marketing systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phytophthora meadii causes fruit rot disease (FRD) in arecanut palm trees in the Western Ghats of Southern India. The control of this disease is challenging due to intrinsic factors like continuous rainfall, skilled climbers being required and the emergence of virulent biotypes. Farmers have been relying on the fungicides for the FRD control, however efficacy of these fungicides is largely dependent on application strategy, schedule and timings. The main aim of this investigation was to evaluate commonly used and newly developed 12 oomycete-specific fungicidal products with different application strategies in 2018 and 2019 at Malnad regions. Fungicides viz., Bordeaux mixture, Mandipropamid, Metalaxyl + Mancozeb and Fosetyl-Al were the most effective in reducing FRD and efficiently controlling (70–80%) the disease with a statistically significant difference compared to untreated control (p ≤ 0.05). However, the efficacy of the evaluated fungicides greatly varied over the years. In terms of application strategies, the pre-monsoon application proved to be more effective in controlling FRD under field conditions. Further, this study suggests that a calendar-based approach to fungicidal application is recommended for effective management of FRD.

The outbreak of leaf spot disease of arecanut caused by Colletotrichum spp. created havoc in hill and coastal zones of Karnataka. Colletotrichum is one among the top ten widespread plant-pathogenic fungi. The symptoms which are predominant on leaves were also noticed on nuts with circular or oblong to irregular brownish spots surrounded by larger yellow halo. Cultural characteristic of the isolated pathogen on potato dextrose agar produced dense, cottony, whitish to slight greyish mycelium with even margin without any zonation. Microscopic observation revealed that conidia with single celled, hyaline and cylindrical with rounded ends besides that length of the conidia varied from 12.06 to 12.30 um and width 3.8 to 4 um having 2-3 oil globules. The ITS based sequence analysis revealed that Colletotrichum gloeosporioides is associated with leaf spot disease of arecanut. It is concluded that the C. gloeosporioides was found predominant among the isolated cultures and sole responsible for epidemic of leaf spot disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A facile and sustainable method is adopted for the synthesis of activated carbon from arecanut husk biomass. The inherent potassium enrichment in arecanut husk is exploited for an in-situ activation process. The activated samples exhibited an optimal porosity with abundant meso/micro pores and channels making them a promising candidate for supercapacitor applications with a specific capacitance value as high as 217 Fg−1 as calculated from the CV curves. The values for non activated and KOH activated carbon samples derived from arecanut husk were only 60 and 80 % of this value respectively. A fully functional symmetric supercapacitor prototype was also fabricated which exhibited a capacitance value of 46.2 Fg−1 with an energy density of 6.1 Whkg−1 at a power density of 270 Wkg−1.

Areca leaf sheath, a by-product which was earlier wasted by farmers in the field, has now found utility in agrobased industries. Several areca leaf plates and bowl manufacturing units have mushroomed in the hinterland, which escalated the demand for leaf sheaths. Due to the rapid growth of arecanut production, the state has a vast supply of raw materials. However, the existing areca leaf product industries cannot fully utilise this abundance. As a result, entrepreneurs can explore alternative uses for this valuable resource. Start-up India, a flagship scheme of the Government of India that encourages entrepreneurs, has resulted in an enterprise in Shivammogga, Karnataka that converts waste in the form of areca leaf sheath to wealth in the form of palm leather. The innovation lies in the manufacturing of palm leather without causing environmental pollution. The present study examined the economics, economic viability and SWOT factors of this start-up. Arecanut growers reaped net returns of Rs 38,000 from the sale of leaf sheaths. The entrepreneur made net returns of Rs 116.22 from indoor slippers, Rs 76.98 from diary covers and Rs 253.52 from vanity bags. The positive net present worth of Rs 7.2 crores, benefit: cost ratio of 1.49 and internal rate of returns of 134% revealed economic viability. Strengths and opportunities emerged as crucial SWOT elements. The challenge lies in scaling up the enterprise to encash the glaring demand for palm leather. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Arecanut is an important commercial plantation crop in India, and many farm families depend solely on the arecanut industry. In July 2018, immature nuts were shed heavily due to fruit rot disease in the Western-Ghats region. Though the symptoms were suggestive of common fruit rot disease, they appeared to be unusual. The associated pathogen was isolated from the infected tissue using the standard isolation technique, and an oomycete fungus was consistently isolated from infected nuts. Based on the colony and spore morphology, the pathogen was identified as Phytophthora sp. and by multi-gene sequencing (ITS, β-tub, TEF-1α, and Cox-II) confirmed it as Phytophthora parsiana. The pathogenicity of the isolate (P25) was established by inoculating healthy arecanut fruits with the pin-prick method. To our knowledge, this is the pioneering work that represents the first report of Phytophthora parsiana infecting arecanut in Western-Ghats of Southern India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The traditional approach for analyzing the quality of arecanuts is based on their external appearance. However, using machine learning and deep learning techniques, automated classifications were performed. But the true quality can only be analyzed when the internal structure of the arecanut is examined. Therefore, we use the X-ray imaging technique to determine the internal quality of arecanuts. We prepared a novel dataset of arecanut X-ray images and used a YOLOv5 based deep learning architecture for classification. The present study employs an adaptive genetic algorithm based approach for hyperparameter optimization to enhance the mean average precision (mAP) using a light weight model generated using a ghost network and a feature pyramid network (FPN). We have achieved the highest mAP of 97.84% using our method with a lower model size of 15 MB. Our method has excelled in detecting the arecanut compared to cutting-edge object detection algorithms such as YOLOv3, YOLOv4, Detetron, YOLOv6, YOLOv8, and YOLOX. We also acknowledged the performance enhancement using the adaptive genetic algorithm on the Pascal VOC 2007 image dataset. Despite of significant computational requirements for executing genetic algorithms, we proved that genetic algorithms can boost mAP. Additionally, the methodology developed in this investigation produced multiple models with the best mAP featuring optimized hyperparameters. This methodical strategy is helpful for the design of an automatic, non-destructive, integrated X-ray image based classification system. This system has the potential to revolutionize the quality assessment of arecanuts by offering a more efficient evaluation method.

Purpose: Oral potentially malignant disorders are associated with a risk of undergoing malignant transformation and a concomitant increase in morbidity and mortality. Moreover, epidemiological studies, especially from rural areas, are important in assessing their prevalence and the identification of determinants of these disorders so that preventive strategies can be employed in tackling them. Methods: Cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted based on guidelines of the World Health Organization's Guide Epidemiology and Diagnosis of Oral Mucosal Disease and Conditions 1995 in rural areas of south India. Results: Prevalence of oral potentially malignant disorders (OPMDs) in the studied population was 13.28%, with oral submucous fibrosis (OSMF) accounting to 6.21% and erythroplakia at 1.3%. Regression analysis revealed, age 40--54 years (odds ratio [OR] = 3.8, confidence interval [CI] at 95%--1.5--4.0, P < 0.05), lower socioeconomic groups (OR = 2.1, CI at 95%--1.4--3.1, P < 0.05), habits (OR = 3.2, CI at 95%--1.9--3.8, P < 0.05), smoke form of tobacco-beedi (OR = 2.5, CI at 95%--1.6--2.8, P < 0.05), smokeless form of tobacco-areca nut lime and leaf and tobacco (OR = 3.1, CI at 95%--1.9--3.4, P < 0.05) to be the possible determinants for OPMDs. Conclusions: The overall prevalence of OPMDs in the studied population was 13.28%. The most common OPMDs were OSMF. Identified determinants were age, socioeconomic group, ethnicity, diet, body mass index, and associated harmful habits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In agricultural domain research, image processing and machine learning techniques play an important role. This paper provides a unique solution for classifying the good and defective arecanuts based on their color, texture, and density value. In the market different varieties of arecanut are available. Usually, qualitative sorting is done manually, and this can be replaced by applying machine vision techniques to grade the arecanut. Classification of arecanut based on quality is done using various machine learning techniques and it is observed that artificial neural networks give good results compared to other classifiers like logistic regression, k-nearest neighbor, naive Bayes classifiers, and support vector machine. A unique density feature is considered here for better classification. The result of classifiers without considering the density feature is compared with respect to the density feature and it is observed that artificial neural networks work better than the others. The proposed method works effectively for classifying arecanut with an accuracy of 98.8%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Arecanut (Areca catechu L.) is an important plantation crop of India belongs to the family Arecaceae. As it is a highly cross-pollinated crop there is a significant difference among the genotypes. Morphological traits used for determining diversity and relationships among genotypes or variety are prone to environmental influences. Thus, the usefulness of molecular markers has been investigated as a means of characterizing and discriminating difference more precisely. Therefore, the present study was carried out to assess the genetic relationship and diversity among the arecanut genotypes by employing RAPD, ISSR and SSR markers. Methods: A total of 11 genotypes are being grown in University of Agricultural and Horticultural Sciences (UAHS), Shivamogga, Karnataka, India, which includes both local and exotic collections. These 11 genotypes were evaluated for genetic variations using molecular markers viz., random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD), inter-simple sequence repeats (ISSR) and simple sequence repeats (SSR). Result: All the markers studied showed significant polymorphism among the genotypes. Jaccard's genetic similarity coefficient values of RAPD, ISSR and SSR markers were found in the range of 0.56-0.76, 0.55-0.74 and 0.52-0.91. The higher similarity was observed between the genotypes Mohitnagar and Mangala, as well as Theerthahalli Local and Hirehalli Dwarf. The genotypes Maidan Local and Cameroon were placed in very distinct clusters, showing that they are having very distinct traits. The dendrogram prepared using SSR data separately and combining data of RAPD, ISSR, SSR markers showed similar results. Therefore, employing SSR markers for further studies will be more useful for identifying germplasm for varietal improvement programmes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Arecanut (Areca catechu L.) commonly called as betel nut is a high value commercial crop of coastal and Malnad region of Kerala and Karnataka. The present study was carried out at Agricultural and Horticultural Research Station, Sringeri, UAHS Shivamogga in 2018. The study attempts the correlation studies in the germplasm will help to understand the mutual relationship among various traits and thereby assist in selecting the character contributing to the yield. In addition to this the selection for yield directly is ineffective as yield is affected by many other traits. The highest positive significant for the association of fruit yield per palm was with the fresh kernel weight per palm (0.96g) followed by dry weight of husk per palm (0.89g) and fresh weight of husk per palm (0.89g). Path analysis revealed that nineteen out of thirty-four characters recorded that fruit volume (2.40cc) had highest positive direct effect on fruit yield per palm followed by fresh fruit weight (2.17g) and breadth of leaf sheath (2.11m). It can be concluded that growth and yield characters may be considered in selection criteria for the improvement of yield in arecanut. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a country such as India, popularly known for its rich diversity and traditions, chewing tobacco and its many other forms is a commonly practised entity. The resultant of this leads to oral submucous fibrosis (OSMF) which causes permanent morbidity in the form of trismus and also can lead to potential possibility of oral cancer. Intra oral injections of steroids such as hyaluronidase and placentrex have been postulated by many studies. But this study was done to evaluate the efficacy of both these commonly used treatment modalities. A 1 year hospital based study was performed over 30 patients diagnosed to be having oral submucosal fibrosis. They were randomly given injection hyaluronidase and injection placentrex. In addition to this, routine haemogram was done and the inter incisor distance was measured before and after the treatment along with histopathological study of the oral lesions. With a prevalence of 0.31%, the males out numbered females. Majority of the patients were in their third decade. All patients chewed tobacco in one or the other form and 90% of them presented with burning sensation in the mouth. The mean inter incisor distance in our patients was 3.1%. A third of the cases were anaemic and two thirds had an elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate and serum globulin level. More than half the cases had an elevated absolute eosinophil count. All 30 biopsy specimens showed atrophic oral mucosa with subepithelial dense collagenised fibrous tissue. The group of patients who were treated with injection placentrex showed slightly better results than corticosteroids. The results were not statistically significant although clinically they were noteworthy. Being a silent, chronic disease, oral submucosal fibrosis affects the most productive population fraction of our country causing morbidity and also acts as precursor for oral cancer. Since the etiological agent is chewing areacnut in one form or the other, considerable efforts have to be made in sensitizing the workforce of the nation at the community level in understanding the ill effects of chewing tobacco. Understanding the associated conditions such as anaemia, elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate, serum globulins and absolute eosinophil count should prompt the otolaryngologist in treating these patients holistically. Though injection placentrex yielded better improvement in the inter incisor distance, the results with steroid injection was also comparable with no statistical significance. Hence, keeping the premalignant nature of the disease, screening the patients promptly and treating them on time would lead to considerable reduction in the morbidity caused by the disease. Coupled with health education, the results could be even more encouraging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A study on genetic variability and correlation for nut and yield characters was carried out among 25 arecanut accessions of diverse geographic origins. High GCV and PCV values were observed for the number of female flowers/ inflorescence/palm/year, the number of nut/inflorescence, the number of nuts/palm/year, dry weight of husk, fresh fruit weight, dry weight of nut, dry weight of kernel and fresh nut yield. High estimates of heritability coupled with high genetic advance as per cent mean (GAM) were observed for stem girth above the fixed mark, the number of female flowers/inflorescence/palm/year, fruit length, fruit breadth, fresh fruit weight, kernel length, kernel breadth, dry weight of nuts, dry weight of kernel, fresh nut yield, dry kernel yield and kernel recovery indicating amenability for phenotypic selection of these characters in early generations. The observations revealed that the palm height, kernel breadth and dry weight of kernel can be considered for improvement of arecanut as these characters had high positive direct effects on the dry weight of kernel.

Arecanut (Areca catechu L.) commonly called as betel nut is a high value commercial cropof coastal and Malnad region of Kerala and Karnataka. The present study was carried outat Agricultural and Horticultural research station Sringeri, UAHS Shivamogga in 2018. Thestudy attempts the correlation studies in the germplasm will help to understand the mutualrelationship among various traits and thereby assist in selecting the character contributingto the yield. In addition to this the selection for yield directly is ineffective as yield is affected by many other traits. The highest positive significant for the association of fruit yield per palm was with the fresh kernel weight per palm (0.96g) followed by dry weight of husk per palm (0.89g) and fresh weight of husk per palm (0.89g). Path analysis revealed that nineteen out of thirty-four characters recorded that fruit volume (2.40cc) had highest positive direct effect on fruit yield per palm followed by fresh fruit weight (2.17g) and breadth of leaf sheath (2.11m). It can be concluded that growth and yield characters may be considered in selection criteria for the improvement of yield in arecanut.

Arecanut, an industrial crop prevalent in tropical regions such as India, Sri Lanka, and parts of Southeast Asia, generates significant agricultural waste during processing. This study explores a waste-to-wealth approach by incorporating arecanut organic residue into Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) - Chitosan blends via an eco-friendly continuous stirring method to develop an adsorbent film for removing chromium (VI) from water. Morphological analyses confirmed enhanced surface area, porosity, and roughness in the blended films. XRD and FTIR analyses indicated a semi-crystalline nature with a decrease in the characteristic peak intensity of PVA and chitosan, confirming the incorporation of arecanut residue. Optimal conditions identified OR-4 film, using 0.4 g of adsorbent, achieving 88.68 % removal of 173 mg/L chromium (VI) at pH 9.0, within 45 minutes at 40°C. SEM images demonstrated significant surface roughness reduction before and after adsorption, confirming chromium adsorption. Kinetic studies revealed a pseudo-second-order model and adsorption isotherms confirmed film surface heterogeneity. This research advances eco-friendly materials for water purification and offers a sustainable solution for managing agricultural residues. [Display omitted] • Arecanut organic residue, incorporated with PVA-Chitosan polymer blend is used as an eco-friendly adsorbent for Cr(VI) removal from water. • Arecanut-PVA-Chitosan blend synthesized via an eco-friendly continuous stirring method for Cr(VI) removal. • XRD, FTIR, Stylus Profilometry, and SEM confirm Cr(VI) adsorption on the Arecanut polymer blend surface. • The film's enhanced adsorption efficiency is due to its porous structure, increased surface area, and surface roughness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Arecanut is one of the economically important plantation crops. Among the various diseases, inflorescence dieback and leaf spot/blight diseases caused by Colletotrichum spp. have re-emerged as major factors impeding arecanut production in India in the last few years. To understand the Colletotrichum species complex in the arecanut system, we have characterized Colletotrichum spp. associated with inflorescence dieback and leaf spot/blight of arecanut based on a combination of phenotypic, multi-locus (ITS , ACT , CHS-1 , GAPDH , HIS3 and TUB2) phylogeny and pathogenicity studies. A total of 26 Colletotrichum isolates were obtained from arecanut inflorescence dieback (13 isolates) and leaf spot/blight (13 isolates) infected tissues collected from disease-endemic regions of Karnataka, Kerala and Tripura states of India. The combined multi-locus sequence analyses and a critical examination of phenotypic characters revealed the association of Colletotrichum aoteaora as a dominant species with arecanut inflorescence dieback disease. On the other hand, two Colletotrichum species, viz., C. siamense and C. fructicola, were distinctly associated with leaf spot/blight disease. All the Colletotrichum isolates studied were pathogenic to arecanut. Significant variations in lesion size were observed among the different species with cross-infection ability on inflorescence and leaves. This study represents the first comprehensive study of Colletotrichum spp. associated with arecanut inflorescence dieback and leaf spot/blight diseases. In addition, the study is the first record of C. aoteaora, C. siamense, and C. fructicola associated with the arecanut crop in this country. It provides valuable information for implementing effective IDM strategies against these diseases in India. • First comprehensive study which reports three new Colletotrichum species associated with Areca catechu. • Multi-locus sequence analyses revealed Colletotrichum aoteaora as the dominant species causing arecanut inflorescence dieback. • Colletotrichum siamense and Colletotrichum fructicola, were associated with leaf spot/blight disease. • The Colletotrichum isolates showed notable phenotypic and genetic diversity. • This study provides valuable information for implementing plant quarantine and effective IDM strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Investigations were carried out in major arecanut growing districts of Karnataka during 2019-2020 to know the species composition of sternorrhynchan pests viz., mealybugs, scales and aphids. A total of 14 species of sternorrhynchan sucking insect pests were recorded in the arecanut growing districts. These belong to five families viz., Coccidae Stephens, Diaspididae Maskell, Pseudococcidae (Heymons) and Aphididae (Buckton). Among these, Coccidae was the species rich. Prococcus acutissimus (Green) was the most predominant species followed by Pseudococcus longispinus (Targioni Tozzetti), Ceroplastes sp. nr. rusci (L.), Chrysomphalus aonidum (L.), Parasaissetia nigra (Neitner), Coccus viridis (Green), Coccus hesperidum L., Pseudaulacaspis cockerelli (Cooley), Pinnaspis aspidistrae (Signoret), Lepidosaphes gloveri (Packard), Ferrisia virgata (Cockerell), Dysmicoccus brevipes (Cockerell) and Cerataphis lataniae (Boisduval). Diagnostics of these with descriptions of taxonomic characters and a key to genera is also provided herein. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To understand the spatio-temporal dynamics and the effect of climate on fruit rot occurrence in arecanut plantations, we evaluated the intensity of fruit rot in three major growing regions of Karnataka, India for two consecutive years (2018 and 2019). A total of 27 sampling sites from the selected regions were monitored and the percentage disease intensity (PDI) was assessed on 50 randomly selected palms. Spatial interpolation technique, ordinary kriging (OK) was employed to predict the disease occurrence at unsampled locations. OK resulted in aggregated spatial maps, where the disease intensity was substantial (40.25–72.45%) at sampling sites of the Malnad and coastal regions. Further, Moran's I spatial autocorrelation test confirmed the presence of significant spatial clusters (p ≤ 0.01) across the regions studied. Temporal analysis indicated the initiation of disease on different weeks dependent on the sampling sites and evaluated years with significant variation in PDI, which ranged from 9.25% to 72.45%. The occurrence of disease over time revealed that the epidemic was initiated early in the season (July) at the Malnad and coastal regions in contrary to the Maidan region where the occurrence was delayed up to the end of the season (September). Correlations between environmental variables and PDI revealed that, the estimated temperature (T), relative humidity (RH) and total rainfall (TRF) significantly positively associated (p = 0.01) with disease occurrence. Regression model analysis revealed that the association between Tmax, RH1 and TRF with PDI statistically significant and the coefficients for the predictors Tmax, RH1 and TRF are 1.731, 1.330 and 0.541, respectively. The information generated in the present study will provide a scientific decision support system, to generate forecasting models and a better surveillance system to develop adequate strategies to curtail the fruit rot of arecanut. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Polyphenols have been studied for their potential involvement in the prevention of various chronic diseases as well as for their antimicrobial potential. The crude extracts of arecanut have been reported to have antiinfective properties. We aimed to explore the endosperm of Areca catechu (arecanut) for the extraction of polyphenol components and to study the antituberculosis activity of these polyphenol against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv. Method: A comparative extraction was performed using microwave and Soxlet apparatus. High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) technique was used for the estimation of the extracted polyphenols. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values against M.tuberculosis H37Rv stain, Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli were estimated by resazurin microtiter assay. Results: There was a 11-fold increase in the total phenolic content by microwave assisted extraction compared to the Soxhlet extraction. The powdered extract was found to be active with MIC value of 0.975 ± 0.02 μg/mL. Fractionation and HPLC-based estimation of the extract revealed catechin, epicatechin, and epigallocatechin gallate to be the polyphenol components in the ethanol fraction. Conclusions: The bioactivity of these polyphenols confirmed their presence and complementary effect in the extract form. Because the toxic alkaloid arecoline, known to be present in arecanut, did not show any activity individually, the bioactivity of the extract was attributed to the nontoxic polyphenols present. This extract also showed selective inhibition of M. tuberculosis over other gram positive and gram-negative bacteria, thereby establishing that arecanut is an exploitable selective source of polyphenols acting against M. tuberculosis.

During 2018 summer season (April–May), several young (1–3-year-old) arecanut seedlings exhibited yellowing, drying, drooping and wilting symptoms in farmer's gardens located in Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka, India. The longitudinal section of the infected seedlings showed extensive decaying of fibrous roots which extended up to the collar region and ultimately resulted in the death of young seedlings. A series of cultural, morphological, molecular characterization using multi-gene phylogeny and pathogenicity assays with Koch's postulates confirmed the association of Fusarium falciforme (FSSC 3 + 4) as the causal organism of arecanut root decay disease. To the best of our knowledge, the present study confirms the first report of root decay disease caused by F. falciforme in arecanut. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel neutral polysaccharide designated as PAP1b was isolated from Areca catechu L. by hot water extraction, ethanol precipitation, and column chromatography. PAP1b was mainly composed of mannose, galactose, xylose, and arabinose in a ratio of 4.1:3.3:0.9:1.7, with an average molecular weight of 37.3 kDa. Structural characterization indicated that the backbone of PAP1b appeared to be composed mainly of → 6-β-Manp-(1 →, → 4)-α-Galp-(1 → and → 3,6)-β-Manp-(1 →) residues with some branches, and terminal of (1 →)-linked-β-Manp residues. The results of bioactivity experiments showed that PAP1b had antioxidant in vitro, esspecially on scavenging DPPH and hydroxyl radicals. Therefore, the polysaccharide from Areca catechu L. could be used as a potential antioxidant in functional food.

Arecanut is an important cash crop in our country. The study was carried out to ascertain the constraints faced by arecanut farmers in Salem district of Tamil Nadu with a sample size of 120, by employing proportionate random sampling technique. Majority of the respondents expressed lack of specific grading of nuts in marketing as a constraint. More than three-fourths of the respondents suggested that there should be a mechanism to regulate import of nuts from other countries and to create market potential for nuts in the local markets.

Arecanut (Areca catechu L.) is an important plantation crop cultivated predominantly in the Indian states of Karnataka, Kerala, Assam, West Bengal, and Maharashtra in an area of 5.19 lakh ha, with Karnataka State alone accounting for about 68.41% of the area and 79.97% of production. Arecanut production has recently been hampered due to environmental and disease pressures, especially the escalating incidence of Yellow Leaf Disease (YLD). The involvement of phytoplasma as the etiological agent of YLD has been reported. Symptoms include yellowing at the tip of leaflets of two or three fronds of the outer most whorl which gradually spreads to the inner whorl of leaves. As the disease progresses, the entire crown becomes yellow leaving only the spear leaf green. In severe cases, the affected leaves often show necrosis from their tips. In advanced stages, the leaves are reduced in size and become stiff and pointed and the crown ultimately falls off. Degeneration of cortex is commonly observed in the diseased roots. The kernel of affected nuts shows discolouration and later turns blackish. The reduction in yield over a period of three years, immediately after the incidence of the disease, has been estimated to be around 50%. Harnessing the arecanut–microbiome interactions to address the biotic and abiotic stresses of the host plant offers immense opportunity to increase arecanut production sustainably. Here, we report a comprehensive analysis of the structural composition of the arecanut rhizosphere bacterial diversity utilizing next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology. We have used amplicon sequencing (V3-V4 regions of the 16S rRNA gene) of bulk soil and rhizosphere samples collected from YLD endemic regions of Aranthodu, Sullia Taluk, Dakshina Kannada District, Karnataka State, India, to assess the microbial diversity. The results revealed that while there is a great diversity of bacterial communities, relatively few bacterial phyla predominate with higher relative abundance. The phyla viz., Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes, Acidobacteria, Planctomycetes, Patescibacteria, Chloroflexi, Actinobacteria, Fusobacteria, and Verrucomicrobia were found to be dominant in the rhizosphere of the arecanut.

A study on genetic variability and correlation for nut and yield characters was carried out among 25 arecanut accessions of diverse geographic origins. High GCV and PCV values were observed for the number of female flowers/ inflorescence/palm/year, the number of nut/inflorescence, the number of nuts/palm/year, dry weight of husk, fresh fruit weight, dry weight of nut, dry weight of kernel and fresh nut yield. High estimates of heritability coupled with high genetic advance as per cent mean (GAM) were observed for stem girth above the fixed mark, the number of female flowers/inflorescence/palm/year, fruit length, fruit breadth, fresh fruit weight, kernel length, kernel breadth, dry weight of nuts, dry weight of kernel, fresh nut yield, dry kernel yield and kernel recovery indicating amenability for phenotypic selection of these characters in early generations. The observations revealed that the palm height, kernel breadth and dry weight of kernel can be considered for improvement of arecanut as these characters had high positive direct effects on the dry weight of kernel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phytophthora meadii (McRae) is a hemibiotrophic oomycete fungus that infects tender nuts, growing buds, and crown regions, resulting in fruit, bud, and crown rot diseases in arecanut (Areca catechu L.), respectively. Among them, fruit rot disease (FRD) causes serious economic losses that are borne by the growers, making it the greatest yield-limiting factor in arecanut crops. FRD has been known to occur in traditional growing areas since 1910, particularly in Malnad and coastal tracts of Karnataka. Systemic surveys were conducted on the disease several decades ago. The design of appropriate management approaches to curtail the impacts of the disease requires information on the spatial distribution of the risks posed by the disease. In this study, we used exploratory survey data to determine areas that are most at risk. Point pattern (spatial autocorrelation and Ripley’s K function) analyses confirmed the existence of moderate clustering across sampling points and optimized hotspots of FRD were determined. Geospatial techniques such as inverse distance weighting (IDW), ordinary kriging (OK), and indicator kriging (IK) were performed to predict the percent severity rates at unsampled sites. IDW and OK generated identical maps, whereby the FRD severity rates were higher in areas adjacent to the Western Ghats and the seashore. Additionally, IK was used to identify both disease-prone and disease-free areas in Karnataka. After fitting the semivariograms with different models, the exponential model showed the best fit with the semivariogram. Using this model information, OK and IK maps were generated. The identified FRD risk areas in our study, which showed higher disease probability rates (>20%) exceeding the threshold level, need to be monitored with the utmost care to contain and reduce the further spread of the disease in Karnataka. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phytophthora, a ubiquitous filamentous oomycete, causes huge yield losses and is fatal to arecanut palms in case of severe infection. From 2014 onwards, a severe fruit rot epidemic has been recorded during the South-West monsoon season in major arecanut-growing states of South India. We have assessed the diversity and delineated the population structure of Phytophthora isolates infecting arecanut in India using a combination of morphological traits, multi-gene profiling, haplotype analysis, and pathogenicity. Ninety-eight Phytophthora isolates were obtained from infected samples collected from disease-endemic regions of Karnataka, Kerala, and Goa states in southern India from 2014 to 2019. Morphological traits coupled with phylogenetic analysis using the loci ITS , β-tub , TEF-1α, and Cox-II identified the A2 mating type of P. meadii as the predominant species together with two isolates of homothallic P. heveae. Linkage disequilibrium analysis revealed significant diversity in the form of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from the concatenated sequence dataset. Population structure analysis using 590 SNPs demonstrated the existence of four population groups (sub-populations at K = 4 and K = 2) and significant diversity in the geo-distant Phytophthora populations. In summary, 22 haplotypes were identified from the representative 40 isolates with higher haplotype diversity of 1.23 and relatively varying haplotype frequency. Pathogenicity assays confirmed that both the species of Phytophthora were pathogenic to arecanut, while P. meadii coastal region isolates exhibited more virulence compared to others. • A2 mating type of P. meadii is the predominant species infecting arecanut palms. • The isolates showed notable genetic diversity, demonstrated by SNPs analysis. • Population analysis revealed four distinct groups among Phytophthora isolates. • 22 haplotypes were identified among the 40 isolates, indicating high diversity. • Results indicate complex genetic variation within Phytophthora infecting arecanut. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oral submucous fibrosis (OSMF) is a chronic debilitating irreversible oral potentially malignant disorder affecting any part of the oral cavity. It is usually seen in adults but rarely noticed in children and adolescents. Since the paucity of the cases, there exists a gap of knowledge in the causative habits, root reasons of habit initiation, age of habit initiation, and the common clinical representation of this disorder. The current article aims to bridge this gap by presenting unusual 36 cases of children and adolescents reported at the tertiary care hospital of Vadodara, Gujarat, India, with specific areca nut chewing habit and distinct features of OSMF. Furthermore, the present case series is the first of its kind in the scientific literature with a high number of OSMF cases in children and adolescents.