Rice wheat cropping system has been widely adopted in Nepal since very long, but much less been studied about the sustainability aspects of this practice. South Asian countries-, as well as other rice-growing countries, have already experienced different ecological and environmental impacts of the long-term rice-wheat system. Also,climate change seems to inflict the rice-based farming system to a varied extent depending uponagroecological regions. In the meantime, the growth in yield of rice is plateauing to less than 1.5% although productivity is well below other South Asian countries. With the heightening consumption of agrochemicals and its subsequent impact on air, water and soil have to be taken into consideration. Rice-wheat system being heavy consumer of nutrient and waterraises question about the sustainable consumption of resources. The increasing dominance of hybrid varieties posses' threat of extinction of local landraces of rice. Apart from environmental and agronomic issues it also maybe affected by socio-economic issues of Nepalese farming families. Extensive studies are yet to be done, but practices like conservation agriculture and sustainable intensification practices are found to make system more resilient. The aim of this review is to discuss such issues associated with sustainability and propose some probable sustainability measures.

Scarce availability of chemical fertilizers threatens sustainability of wheat production in Nepal. Combined application of chemical and biofertilizer can reduce chemical fertilizer and enhance the yield under limited fertilizer availability. A field experiment was carried out to assess the combined application of chemical and biofertilizer on the growth and yield of spring wheat at Rampur, Chitwan from November 2020 to April 2021. The experiment was laid out in strip plot design with four nitrogen and P2O5 levels (0, 50, 75 and 100% of recommended dose) in vertical plots and three biofertilizer application methods (not applied, seed applied and soil applied) in horizontal plots with three replications. The research results revealed significant interaction between nitrogen and P2O­5 levels and biofertilizer application methods. The highest grain yield (4624.48 kg ha-1) of wheat was obtained with 100% levels of N and P­­­2O5 with soil applied biofertilizer at par with 75% levels of N and P­­­2O5 with soil applied biofertilizer (4457.54 kg ha-1). The total nitrogen uptake was higher in biofertilizer applied wheat as compared with no application of biofertilizer although statistically not significant. The yield increment in 100% and 75% N and P­­­2O5 levels with soil applied biofertilizer over same level N and P­­­2O5 with no biofertilizer application were 10.96% and 29.60% respectively. The higher gross return, net return and B:C ratio were obtained with 75% and 100% N and P2O5 levels with soil and seed applied biofertilizers. The result indicates that 25% recommended dose of N and P2O5 could be reduced by soil application of biofertilizer without compromising the grain yield of wheat. Int. J. Appl. Sci. Biotechnol. Vol 10(4): 245-253.

Background: Antenatal care is medical supervision and care given to pregnant women to ensure, support and maintain maternal and fetal well-being throughout the pregnancy. Therefore, this study was done to find out the utilization of antenatal services among postnatal mothers.Methods: The descriptive cross sectional study design was used to identify the utilization of antenatal services among postnatal mothers who came in Maternal and Child Health Clinic for the immunization of baby. Total 367 postnatal mothers within one year of childbirth were recruited by simple random sampling technique, and data was collected with face-to-face interview by using semi structured interview schedule. Analysis was done by using descriptive and inferential statistics.Results: All postnatal mothers consumed iron and folic acid during pregnancy, 96.2% consumed until the childbirth, 94.0% got freely, 97.0% taken anti helminths drug, 98.1% did urine test, 98.1% did blood test, 97.8% got ultrasound service, and 96.5% received Td vaccine. Likewise, higher proportion had checked weight 98.6% and lower proportion had checked height 86.9%. Similarly, majority 90.2% received counselling on danger signs and only 26.2% received the counselling on preparation of items safe delivery and care of newborns. There is significant association of antenatal care service utilization with postnatal mothers’ educational level and her husband’s occupation (P<0.05 level).Conclusions: Although most of the postnatal mothers utilized antenatal care services, some aspect of antenatal education and counselling need to be improved such as preparation of item for delivery and new born care, finance, and blood donors. Keywords: Antenatal care; antenatal care utilization; satisfaction.

Intensive tillage with no crop residue after rice harvest in conventional wheat cultivation increases the turn around time, delays sowing and affects the yield. A field experiment was carried out to assess the effect of sowing dates, establishment methods and mulching and their interaction on growth, productivity and profitability of spring wheat at agronomy farm of AFU, Rampur Chitwan, Nepal from November 2020 to April 2021. The experiment was laid out in strip-split plot design, with three dates of sowing (20th November, 5th December and 20th December) in vertical plots, two establishment methods (Zero tillage and Conventional tillage) in horizontal plots and two levels of mulching (0 t ha-1 and 5 t ha-1 of rice straw mulch) in sub-plots and replicated thrice with Vijay as test variety. Data regarding the phenology, growth parameters, yield attributes and yield were recorded, analyzed and presented. The research results revealed that date of sowing and mulching significantly influenced phenology, growth, yield attributes, yield and their interactions. The higher grain yield was obtained in 5th December as well as 20th November sowing in conventional tillage with mulch (4511.49 & 4492.12 kg ha-1 respectively). These grain yields were statistically at par with 5th December and 20th November sowing in zero tillage with mulch (4363.74 & 4129.97 kg ha-1 respectively).  Net return and B:C ratio were significantly higher on 5th December and 20th November sowing with mulch in zero tillage than 20th December sowing in conventional tillage without mulch. Int. J. Appl. Sci. Biotechnol. Vol 10(4): 237-244.

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has rapidly spread to many countries and increased mortality worldwide. Most deaths were either elderly or have underlying medical problems and even relatively young individuals have died from COVID-19. This study aimed to analyze the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of COVID-19 related deaths in Karnali Province, Nepal. Materials and Methods: We studied COVID-19 deaths from 19 May 2020 to 25 December 2020. Information from all districts of Karnali Province were included in this study. Demographic characteristics and geographic distribution map of the death toll in each district over time was analyzed. Quantum GIS(QGIS) 3.16.2 version was used to plot the deaths on maps and IBM SPSS Statistics 25 to perform statistical analysis Results: As of December 25, 2020, a total of 25 deaths were reported. Mean age of death was 52 (SD 20.99) years. Most of the deaths were distributed in age group of 50 years and above. Additionally, the male to female ratio was 5:2. A total of 56% of the deaths in Karnali were with underlying diseases and was more pronounced among males. Most of the cases were centralized in Surkhet district with highest death rate in Birendranagar municipality. Conclusion: COVID-19 poses a greater threat to the elderly people with more devastating effects, particularly in the presence of underlying diseases. The geographical distributions show that the epidemic in the Surkhet district is more serious than that in the surrounding districts. Case investigation, Contract tracing and dedicated ICU ventilator service for critical cases are essential for response of Pandemic.