Purslane (Portulaca oleracea L.) is an important plant naturally found as a weed in field crops and lawns. Purslane is widely distributed around the globe and is popular as a potherb in many areas of Europe, Asia, and the Mediterranean region. This plant possesses mucilaginous substances which are of medicinal importance. It is a rich source of potassium (494 mg/100 g) followed by magnesium (68 mg/100 g) and calcium (65 mg/100 g) and possesses the potential to be used as vegetable source of omega-3 fatty acid. It is very good source of alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) and gamma-linolenic acid (LNA, 18 : 3 w3) (4 mg/g fresh weight) of any green leafy vegetable. It contained the highest amount (22.2 mg and 130 mg per 100 g of fresh and dry weight, resp.) of alpha-tocopherol and ascorbic acid (26.6 mg and 506 mg per 100 g of fresh and dry weight, resp.). The oxalate content of purslane leaves was reported as 671–869 mg/100 g fresh weight. The antioxidant content and nutritional value of purslane are important for human consumption. It revealed tremendous nutritional potential and has indicated the potential use of this herb for the future.

The research was conducted to study the effect of heat stress on behavior, some physiological and blood parameters with nine goats of almost similar in age, sex and weight into three groups. Three groups were divided as zero hour (T 0 ), four hours (T 4 ) and eight hours (T 8 ) heat exposure. Temperature-humidity index (THI) value was calculated as 28.17 which indicate the experimental animals were in extreme severe heat stress. Skin and rectal temperature had no significant differences among the treatment groups but respiration/panting and pulse rate were increased with the increased of heat stress from T 0 to T 8 group (P<0.01). Significant difference was found in standing time and lying time (P<0.01) in experimental groups. There were significant changes (P<0.01) in number of urination and defecation per hour but no significant changes was found in duration per urination in heat treated groups. The amount of RBC, PCV%, Hb%, WBC were increased with the increased of heat stress (P<0.01). Neutrophil, eosinophil, lymphocyte and monocyte numbers increased significantly (P<0.01) in heat treated groups. It can be concluded that heat stress had significant changes on some behavioral, physiological and blood parameters of goat.

A study on heat tolerance in sweet pepper was conducted at the Asian Vegetable Research and Development Centre (AVRDC), Taiwan from December 1999 to May 2000. Experiments were carried out to investigate the influence of 29/23°C and 24/18°C stress on 12 sweet pepper genotypes on growth, development, reproductive behaviour and yield potentialities and to verify the results of the phytotron study. Performance of 12 sweet pepper genotypes was evaluated under two different temperature regimes of 24/18° C and 29/23° C in the phytotron. Plant height was found higher at 29/23° C compared to 24/18° C. High temperature reduced percent fruit set as well as size of fruits. Individual fruit weight was higher (7.44-125.00 g) when grown at 24/18°C and lower (5.35-103.80 g) at 29/23°C. Out of 12 genotypes, SP00l, SP002, SP004, and SP012 performed poor in respect of per plant yield at higher temperature compared to the lower temperature. So, these four genotypes were considered to be heat sensitive than the others. Leaf proline content of the sensitive genotypes decreased under the high temperature conditions and the heat tolerant lines produced higher amount of proline indicating the role of proline in expressing the heat tolerant capability of sweet pepper genotypes concerned. Keywords: High temperature stress; performance; sweet pepper. DOI: 10.3329/bjar.v35i3.6459Bangladesh J. Agril. Res. 35(3) : 525-534

Shoot and fruit borer, Leucinodes orbonalis Guenee, is a serious pest of eggplant (Solanum melongena L.). Management practices of this obnoxious pest are limited to frequent spray of chemical insecticides. Due to increasing levels of resistance of L. orbonalis to different insecticides there is an urgent need to test new chemicals. In this study, nine insecticides such as azadirachtin 0.03EC, abamectin 1.8EC, flubendiamide 24WG, chlorpyriphos 20EC, cartap 50SP, carbosulfan 20EC, thiodicarb 75WP, cypermethrin 10EC, and lambdacyhalothrin 2.5EC belonging to different chemical groups were tested against eggplant shoot and fruit borer in laboratory and field. In laboratory trial, carbosulfan and flubendiamide showed the highest toxicity against fourth instar larvae of L. orbonalis after 24 and 48 h of exposure, respectively. In field trials, they reduced more than 80% shoot and fruit infestation in winter, and 80% shoot and 70% fruit infestation in summer over control. Carbosulfan protected the highest amount of healthy fruit yield in both cropping seasons. Flubendiamide also showed the similar efficacy. Cartap and thiodicarb were moderately effective in both the seasons. Efficacy of cypermethrin and abamectin was moderate in winter but low in summer. Lambdacyhalothrin and chlorpyriphos although reduced shoot and fruit infestation of eggplant and protected higher yield as compared to control, their effectiveness was not satisfactory. The performance of azadirachtin against the pest both in the laboratory and field trials was the poorest while that of carbosulfan and flubendiamide was the best. Thus, it is suggested that carbosulfan and flubendiamide may be used for the control of L. orbonalis in eggplant.

The aim of this study was to estimate different body measurements and derive prediction equation for live weight of Jamuna basin sheep using different body measurement. A total of 520 individual records of sheep (47 males and 473 females) including all temporary at nine-month age (320), first pair permanent at 1.6 year age (161) and 2nd pair permanent at two years age (39) were collected from two Upazila of Sherpur district. Body weight (BW) was taken using a weighing scale and different measurements were taken using the tailor's tape measure and measuring stick while animals were on standing position. Data were analyzed with the help of SPSS-v-20 computer package program. Average BW, wither height(WH), rump height(RH), body length(BL), sternum height(SH), body depth(RD), bi-costal diameter(BD), ear length(EL), rump width(RW), head width(HW), rump length(RL), head length(HL), heart girth(HG), cannon bone circumference(CC) and muzzle diameter(MD) were 12.28±2.75 kg, 49.42±3.78, 54.04±3.88, 49.38±4.57, 28.06±3.00, 53.09±4.40, 15.07±2.58, 8.66±3.32, 15.72±2.33, 12.87±2.20, 14.30±2.29, 18.23±2.30, 55.02±4.71, 9.22±1.01, and 16.65±1.73cm, respectively. According to sex BW, WH, RH, SH, RD and CC were found significant (p<0.001), HG and MD were found significant(p<0.01). Stepwise multiple regression analysis according to agein all temporary groups showed that the body weight was found the best fitted equation having the highest R2value 64% (BW = - 15.53+0.24HG+0.13WH+0.16BD-.1RW+0.05EL) whereas in 1.3-1.6 and 1.9-2 years age group the R2 value for BD was 56 (BW = - 15.65+0.31HG+0.22WH)and 83% (BW = -24.51+0.21RH+0.35HG+0. 19BL-0.78RL+1.2RW-0.87HW), respectively. R2value for BD in male (BW = -28.91+0.43HG+0.35WH) and female (BW = -10.62+0.27HG+ 0.13WH+0.06BD-0.13HW+0.07BL-0.10SH-0.10RL) was 88and 59%, respectively. It is concluded that the best prediction parameter of BW was HG, WH, BD, RW, EL, RH, BL and HW. SAARC J. Agri., 18(1): 183-196 (2020)