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Among the myxozoan parasites, the genus Myxobolus is considered as the emerging parasite in freshwater aquaculture. In the present study, a disease outbreak associated with mass mortality was investigated in a carp farm located at North and Middle Andaman district of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The affected rohu fry exhibited the clinical signs such as lethargic movement, dark body colouration, loss of appetite, excess mucus secretion, 1-2 mm multifocal white nodules on the body surface and skeletal deformities including spinal curvatures. Molecular characterization using 18S rRNA along with clinical signs identified the causative agent as muscle infecting Myxobolus sp. (GenBank accession number MK128509) which showed 95.45% identity with Myxobolus musculi and 95.23% identity with Myxobolus pseudodispar. Genetic distance and phylogenetic tree analysis were performed to elucidate the relationship between the Myxobolus sp. obtained in the present study and the members of other congeners. This investigation serves as the first report of Myxobolus sp. outbreak from Andaman and Nicobar Islands and also reiterates the need for implementation of strict biosecurity measures to preserve the freshwater aquatic fauna of these Islands.

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Areca nut (Areca catechu L) also known as betel nut or supari is the second most important plantation crop of Andaman and Nicobar Islands (ANI) after coconut It has been observed that wide differences in productivity of areca nut exist among the farmers with in a village due to socio-economic status. A survey based study was conducted to understand the knowledge level of areca nut growers and link to productivity vis-a-vis socio-economic status. For this purpose, 120 areca nut farmers from four villages of Harinagar Panchayat were randomly selected. Data collected were analysed following standard statistical procedures. The results showed that 52.5% of areca nut growers had poor knowledge of cultivation and marketing. The study also revealed that about 45% growers had poor knowledge about selection of suitable site, soil and spacing requirement for plants. The analysis of socio-economic factors with knowledge level of farmers revealed that knowledge of respondents increased with the increase in their education and land holdings whereas it was negatively correlated with age and annual income. Further, the study also suggests that, educating the farmers through mass media, capacity building and demonstration will help them in learning/ adopting new technologies, which in turn help them to increase their productivity level and farming income on sustainable basis.

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