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Thermal modification or heat treatment was performed on the samples of Toonaciliataat various temperatures (80°C, 120°C, 160°C, 200°C) and durations (2h, 4h, and 6h) which revealed that chemical and mechanical properties of the wood improved at particular temperature with certain time duration. These results suggest that thermal treatment considerably improves wood properties like dimensional stability and durability. Vacuumoven was used to assess the process of thermal modification and different procedures were used to study the chemicaland mechanical properties of Toona wood. In chemical properties the maximum value of holocellulose content (71.73%) and lignin content (27.52%), were observed at 200°C. While, the minimum value of holocellulose content (61.29%) and lignin content (24.42%), were found to be at 200°C and at control, respectively. In mechanical properties the maximum value of tensile strength (0.072), bending strength 0.022), compression parallel to the grain (0.052) and compression perpendicular (0.039) to the grain was observed at 120°C. Whereas, the minimum tensile strength (0.039), bending strength (0.008), compression parallel (0,041) the grain and perpendicular (0.027) to the grain was found at 200°C.All the chemical and mechanical properties of Toona wood improved after heat treatment at particular temperature and duration.

AimsRosmarinus officinalis (rosemary) is most extensively used culinary herbs rich in antioxidants and several other secondary metabolites. Soil quality affects the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites thereby reducing their quality. An approach to improve soil quality and boosting plant productivity in a sustainable manner is the use of plant growth promoting (PGP) endophytic bacteria. Previously three endophytic bacteria associated with roots of R. officinalis were characterized for in vitro PGP traits. The purpose of this study was to assess (1) the compatibility of isolated potential indigenous endophytic bacteria for PGP traits to develop potential consortium biofertilizer, and (ii) how the coordinated interaction among these strains mediates the response for productivity and nutrient acquisition of R. officinalis.MethodsIn vitro synergistic interactions among isolated strains (Bacillus subtilis KU21, Pseudomonas aeruginosa SI12 and Cedecea lapagei KU14) were examined for multiple PGP traits. In vivo studies were carried out to assess synergistic effects of theses strains on productivity and soil quality of R. officinalis. ResultsThe consortia of strains exhibited higher production of IAA, siderophore and phosphorus solubilization. Further, assessment of consortia of these strains significantly improved rosemary growth parameters, nutrient acquisition and soil quality over single inoculation and uninoculated control. Conclusions This is the first field report that describes the efficacy of novel endophytic strains i.e., B. subtilis KU21+ C. lapagei KU14 for improving rosemary production and soil health simultaneously, may be recommended for sustainable production of R. officinalis in Northwest Himalayan region.

Wood is being a biological asset for timber purpose, liable to degrade easily than other material products. For its protection and longevity, chemical preservative industries are using chemicals and fixatives for their treatment under pressure. Mostly chemical used in wood preservative industries are heavy metals (Chromium) and have harmful impacts. AS chromate-production workers are exposed to a variety of chromium compounds, including hexavalent (VI) and trivalent (III) compounds. According to US ATSDR 2000 report, about 52% of all chromium compounds used in the U.S. chemical industries was used in the production of wood preservatives; the rest were used about 7-13% in pigments, tanning metals, leather finishing, etc. Environmental exposure from chromium (VI) compounds is difficult to quantify. The chromium (VI) compounds in the environment may be reduced to chromium (III) compounds, but hexavalent forms can persist under some conditions. People who live near industrial facilities that use chromium (VI) compounds have the greatest potential for exposure as it leaches out with prolong use and can become carcinogenic. Not only humans but chemicals from industrial effluents are affecting aquatic biodiversity too. On this serious note, researchers and wood technologists are trying to use herbal extracts in place of chemical preservatives. In this experiment extract of Acorus calamus (monocot-marshy plant) has been tried as biopreservative which could fix chromium in wood samples substantially. A difference in chromium (preservative fixative) retention was observed with different concentration of application of Acorus calamus extract on the studied wood samples.

Pinus roxburghii (Chir Pine) belonging to family Pinaceae, is native to the tropical forests of Himachal Pradesh which is being commercially tapped for oleoresin in India. Resin industry, which use oleoresin as a raw material is one of the foremost industry thriving on this product and has got an ever increasing importance in our national economy. Keeping in view the value and importance of oleoresin, progeny trial was conducted to evaluate the oleoresin yielding potential of half-sib progenies of Chir Pine. Experiment was laid out in the main campus area of Dr Y.S. Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, Solan (HP) and data was collected on oleoresin yield at the end of season. The trees of progenies having more than 30 cm dbh were segregated for oleoresin tapping experiment. In total, 22 out of 60 progenies had minimum one tree above 30 cm dbh in at least two replications. Hence, these progenies were selected for oleoresin tapping. The method employed for oleoresin collection was borehole method. The data pertaining to the oleoresin yield from different selected progenies revealed significant differences. The maximum oleoresin yield (625.00g/season) was noticed in Kaldoo- P3 and minimum in Rakni-P8 (130.00 g/season).

An efficient direct in vitro plant regeneration protocol for Saussurea costus (kuth) was developed using shoot tip explants derived from in vitro grown seedlings to generate genetically uniform plants. Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with 1.14 µM thiadiazuron and 2.68 µM naphthalene acetic acid was found to be most optimal for highest for average shoot regeneration (73.33%) with maximum average number of shoots (11.4) and average shoot length (4.17 cm). For in vitro multiplication, shoots cultured on MS medium supplemented with 4.44 µM benzyl adenine, 2.32 µM kinetin and 1.44 µM gibberellic acid were found to grow best with 20.7 average shoot multiplication rate after 5–6 weeks. MS medium supplemented with 2.46 µM indole butyric acid was found to be the best medium for rooting of microshoots (77.78% rooting with 6.0 average number of roots and 3.07 cm average root length). The in vitro raised plantlets were successfully acclimatized under ex vitro conditions. The true to type nature of the in vitro raised plants was confirmed using DNA based ISSR markers for assessment of genetic stability of micropropagated plants. The standardized micropropagation protocol under present study may be tuned towards mass production of roots which are the most economical part of the plant. This would be useful as prerequisite for carrying out any genetic transformation studies while concentrating on any desirable trait in the same herb.

Wood is most preferred structural material throughout the world and is considered as a complex biological composite with ubiquitous nature. Throughout the world there is an immense pressure on primary durable timbers due to their ever increasing demand. To reduce pressure on the primary species like; Teak, Sal and Deodar etc. one has to look for the other lesser known or secondary species as an alternative. Durability of these species can be enhanced with application of different preservatives and for this one of the best approach is to use herbal based ecofriendly preservatives rather than hazardous chemicals. In this study, the antifungal activity of Acorus calamus rhizome extract was tested on less durable local wood species. The results showed that average growth of Polyporus fungus on taken wood samples were retarded up to 69.44% after applying 2% concentration of rhizome extract and act as suitable bio-preservative for non durable wood species.

Ocimum species have tremendous value in pharmaceutical, perfumery, food processing and cosmetic industries, also in traditional rituals and medicines. These are a rich source of terpenoids and phenolic compounds. Therefore, determination of these bioactive constituents is significant for quality evaluation of Ocimum species. In this study, we have developed and validated a rapid and highly sensitive method for simultaneous determination of sixteen bioactive constituents in the leaf extracts of six Ocimum species using ultra high performance liquid chromatography-hybrid linear ion trap triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (UHPLC-QqQLIT-MS/MS). The developed method is applied in the leaf extracts of six Ocimum species to investigate variations in the content of sixteen bioactive constituents. Quantitative analysis was performed by UHPLC-QqQLIT-MS/MS operating under multiple reaction monitoring mode in negative electrospray ionization. Chromatographic separation was accomplished on an Acquity UPLC BEH C18 column using a gradient elution of 0.1% formic acid in water and 0.1% formic acid in acetonitrile. The calibration curves of all sixteen analytes showed good linearity (r2 ≥ 0.9989) over the concentration range of 0.5–500 ng mL−1. The intra- and inter-day precisions and accuracy were within RSDs ≤ 1.95% and ≤ 1.68%, respectively. The results indicated that ursolic acid and rosmarinic acid were the major constituents in almost all the investigated Ocimum species except for O. americanum. All the results obtained from this study demonstrated that the developed method is rapid, sensitive and efficient for the quantification of multiple constituents. Therefore, it could be reliably utilized for the quality control and authenticity establishment of Ocimum species.

The present investigations on“Evaluation of some essentials oils against pulse beetle (Callosobruchus chinensis L.) in pea seeds” were carried out during 2014-15 in the Department of Seed Science and Technology, College of Horticulture, Dr. Y.S. Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni–solan (H.P). The essentials oils of camphor, wild marigold, cone-bearing sage, eucalypts, lemongrass and sweet flag at 2.5 ml/kg, 1.25 ml/kg, 0.60 ml/kg and 0.30 ml /kg (v/w basis)were evaluated against C. chinensis L. infesting pea seeds. Among the six essentials oils, sweet flag possessed reasonably high and immediate toxicity resulting in 78.33 percent and 96.67 percent (2.5 ml/kg and 1.25 ml/kg doses resulted 100 % mortality) mortality in 1 and 3 days after treatment. After 7 days, cent per cent mortality was observed in seeds coated with sweet flag essential oil followed by eucalypts (85.83%) cone - bearing sage (77.50%), camphor (74.17%), lemongrass (71.66%) and wild marigold (61.67%) in descending order. After 10- days of exposure, eucalypts essential oil also resulted in complete kill even at the lowest dose (0.30ml/kg). On day -15, mortality in control had substantially increased to 67.50 percent. Egg laying was minimum on sweet flag essential oil treated pea seeds (5.25 eggs/5 females) on 7th – day of observations. In untreated pea seeds, increases in egg laying was negligible in 20 – days observations (7th day 94.08- 20th day 101.92). Progeny development from the eggs laid on pea seed treated with sweet flag essentials oil was (1 beetle).

A survey was carried out in the Sangla Valley of tribal District Kinnaur in Himachal Pradesh to collect information on plants of religious beliefs. As a result of interaction with the local people the information on 8 plant species belonging to 7 genera from 7 families was collected. The present paper highlights the information on sacred plants.

The investigations were carried out to study the effect of morphological and environmental parameters on oleoresin yield. The experiment was carried out in Jelly UPF –167, Unprotected Forest of Mashobra Range of Shimla Forest Division of Himachal Pradesh. Borehole method of tapping was used to extract the oleoresin from Pinus wallichiana. The trees having the diameter of 30-35 cm were selected for tapping. Highly significant and positive simple correlation coefficients and genotypic and phenotypic correlation coefficients were observed between oleoresin yield vs. needle length and oleoresin yield vs. height of trees. The correlation studies between oleoresin yield and environmental factors showed that the oleoresin yield was directly correlated with temperature and negatively correlated with rainfall.

Background: Phytodermatitis refers to inflammation of the skin caused by a plant. The clinical patterns of dermatitis due to plants can present as allergic phytodermatitis, photophytodermatitis, irritant contact dermatitis or in the form of mechanical injury. The commonest plant causing allergic contact dermatitis in India is Parthenium hysterophorus, followed by other plants. Phytodermatitis due to Toxicodendron succedaneum is not uncommon in sub Himalayan range of North India and it has variable clinical presentation.The aim of the study was to study and evaluate the patients of allergic contact dermatitis due to T. succedaneum.Methods: All patients having allergic contact dermatitis due to T. succedaneum from August 2015 to July 2016 were enrolled for the study.Results: Our study included 13 (76.4%) males and 4 (23.5%) females with a mean age of 32 years. 76.4% patients developed lesions within 24-48 hours after contact with plant, 17.6% after 48 hours and 5.8% developed in less than 24 hours. Most of the (88.2%) patients presented with disseminated lesions and 11.7% had localised lesions involving only hands and forearms. Urticaria (41.1% ) was the commonest finding followed by papuloplaque lesions (in 29.4% patients), further followed by erythema multiforme like lesions (in 11.7% patients) and maculopapular, vesiculobullous lesions and angiodema (in 5.8% of each patients). Patch test was positive in 16 (94.1%) cases. Majority of patients required systemic steroids to settle the dermatitis. Conclusions: Allergic contact dermatitis due to T. succedaneum is very common in this region. Although it presents with widespread clinical presentations but adequate literature was not found on this plant. This plant further requires more study to know the dermatitis caused by it.

We provide a check list of the vascular plants of Theog Forest Division, Himachal Pradesh, Western Himalaya. Himachal Pradesh has been extensively surveyed in terms of flora by a large number of workers, albeit highly confined to prioritized areas. The floristic inventorization resulted in a total of 442 vascular plant species belonging to 311 genera and 117 families from an area of 512 km2. Out of these, 408 species belonged to Angiosperms, 7 to Gymnosperms and 27 to Pteridophytes. The predominant families among Dicotyledons were Asteraceae, Rosaceae and Lamiaceae. Among the Monocotyledons, the most represented family was Poaceae, followed by Liliaceae and Cyperaceae. Pinaceae and Pteridaceae were found to be the most represented families among the Gymnosperms and Pteridophytes, respectively. Species richness was highest in shrubberies, which formed an ideal habitat for many herbaceous species within different habitat types. Strategic eradication of weed species, especially obnoxious species such as Lantana camara and Parthenium hysterophorus is required for effective management in the area.

Ethnobotanical studies provide helpful clues for crop domestication and folk selection for better utilization of resources to meet local needs. The rural folks and tribals in India even today depend largely on the local herbal resources for curing different types of diseases. The present study was undertaken to assess the ethno medicinal uses of plants by the tribal people of remote tribal Pangi valley of Himachal Pradesh, revealed 45 plant species belonging to 20 different families having ethno medicinal value. The information on ethno medicinal uses of plants was collected through interviews, questionnaires, direct observations and also by consulting local elderly people, Gujjars or Gaddies and Vaids. The local people believe in the efficacy of these herbs along with some divine power, but the knowledge is restricted to very few elderly folks only. Therefore, this valuable information needs to be systematically collected, documented and preserved so that it can serve the mankind in generation to come and will also act as an important tool in conserving and preserving the traditional usages of these precious plant resources of high economic value. The collected information has been documented and presented in the current study.