An experiment was done at Rambagh, Chitwan during March to May 2018 with the objective to evaluate the effect of plant growth regulators on growth, flowering and yield of cucumber (Cucumis sativus.) cv. Malini. The experiment consisted of nine treatments viz., control (no spray), silver nitrate 250 ppm spray, ethephon 250 ppm spray, gibberellic acid (GA3) 300 ppm spray, napthalene acetic acid (NAA) 50 ppm spray, silver nitrate 500 ppm spray, ethephon 250 ppm spray, gibberellic acid (GA3) 500 ppm spry, and napthalene acetic acid (NAA) 100 ppm spray; each treatment was replicated thrice. Findings revealed that use of plant growth regulators significantly affected growth, flowering and fruit yield of cucumber. The highest plant height was measured for GA3 300 ppm spray whereas lowest plant height was measured for NAA 100 ppm spray. Likewise, GA3 300 ppm spray had produced highest number of lateral branches. On the other hand, highest number of male flower was recorded in control, but highest number of female flower was recorded for ethephon 250 ppm spray whereas it was lowest for control (14.00). The highest and lowest fruit length was recorded if GA3 500 ppm and ethephon 250 ppm were sprayed, respectively. Likewise, the highest fruit numbers per plant was recorded in GA3 300 ppm application whereas the control had the lowest number of fruit produced. The highest fruit yield was produced from the application of GA3 300 ppm (109.7 t/ha) while the lowest fruit yield was recorded in control (40.53 t/ha). The B: C ratio was high in GA3 300 ppm (4.37) application as well. These results indicate the benefit of spraying GA3 300 ppm to have a better performance and fruit yield of cucumber compared to the other treatments with varied concentrations of NAA and GA3.

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Field experiments were conducted in 2018 and 2019 at the National Potato Research Programme (NPRP), Lalitpur (1360 masl), Nepal, to determine the effect of crop geometry on the growth, yield, and quality of sweet potato genotypes. The experiment was laid out on sandy loam soil in a factorial randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications and comprised of a total of twelve treatment combinations of four crop geometry (60cm×25 cm, 60cm×30 cm, 70cm×25 cm, and 70cm×30 cm) and three genotypes (CIP 440015, CIP 440267 and Local White). Among the different crop geometries and genotypes evaluated, 70cm×30 cm plant spacing and Local White genotype were found statistically superior to enhance marketable tuberous root weight per plant (0.572 and 0.541 kg), tuberous root diameter (62.59 and 61.0 mm), shoot fresh weight (509 and 524 g), and tuberous root yield per plant (616 and 620 g). The genotype, Local White yielded higher among the genotypes. The reducing sugar content was influenced significantly by crop geometry and genotypes. The pooled mean showed the highest (15.48 and 17.26 %) reducing sugar in closer geometry 60 cm × 25 cm and Local White genotype respectively and the lowest (11.54 %) in the genotype CIP 440015. CIP genotypes, on the other hand, were high in ß carotene content, whereas the Local genotype had a negligible amount (0.35 mg/100g). On hectare level, our result showed that highest plant density of 66,666 plants ha-1 (60 cm × 25 cm) could give the highest yield per unit area due to greater crop biomass. Our findings suggest that crop geometry can have a considerable impact on sweet potato production. As a result, the geometry of sweet potatoes can be wide or narrow depending on our needs and the area available in our study area or a similar situation.

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Background and objectiveMost breast diseases present as palpable lumps. The accuracy of their diagnosis can be enhanced by a combination of clinical examination, mammography, fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC), and core needle biopsy (CNB) preoperatively. The ultimate aim of FNAC or CNB of the breast mass is to confirm the diagnosis of cancer preoperatively, which may help avoid unnecessary surgeries for benign conditions. Histopathology is the gold standard to establish the diagnosis of a breast mass. In this study, we aimed to compare the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV), and diagnostic accuracy of FNAC with those of trucut biopsy, and provide a combined assessment of FNAC and CNB against the final histopathological diagnosis of excised breast mass in suspected breast malignancies. Materials and methodsThis was a prospective, observational, cross-sectional study conducted for a duration of one year involving 42 patients with suspected breast cancer cases who underwent FNAC, CNB, and surgical excision followed by a histopathological examination. Data were collected and analyzed in terms of sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV, and diagnostic accuracy of FNAC and CNB in comparison with histopathology. ResultsThe majority of the patients in the study (78.6%) were in the age group of 31-50 years. In our study, FNAC showed a sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV, and diagnostic accuracy of 74.1%, 76.9%, 87.0%, 64.7%, and 75% respectively. CNB had a sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV, and diagnostic accuracy of 85.2%, 92.8%, 95.8%, 76.5%, and 87.8% respectively. The level of agreement between the two modalities (FNAC and CNB) was moderate and statistically significant (k=0.543; p<0.001). In the combined assessment of FNAC and CNB against final histopathological diagnosis for malignancy/borderline diagnosis, the sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV, and diagnostic accuracy were 89.3%, 85.7%, 92.6%, 80%, and 88.1% respectively. ConclusionThe diagnostic accuracy of the combined assessment of FNAC and CNB against final histopathological diagnosis for malignancy/borderline diagnosis was better than that of FNAC or CNB alone. This finding shows that both the techniques complement each other. FNAC and CNB are used as the first-and secondline methods of pathological diagnosis respectively.