No abstract

Fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum L.) locally known as 'Methi' in Hindi, is an important multiuse spice crop of arid and semi-arid regions of India. Fenugreek is an annual herb with trifoliate leaves and it can grow to be about two feet tall belongs to family Fabaceae. India is the largest producer of fenugreek in the world where Rajasthan,

The Egyptian clover L. is a winter season leguminous forage that supports a great diversity of insect pest populations in the Northern Indian Plains. In the context of evolving non-chemical approach for pest control, different trap crops viz. marigold, Tagetes erecta: chickpea, Cicer arietinum L.; and sunflower, Helianthus annuus, were planted as border rows around the clover plots to trap lepidopteran larvae. The push and pull strategy was further augmented by the help of neem seed kernel extract (NSKE) 3% spray on the main crop. Services of insectivorous birds were utilized through T-shaped bird perches for feeding on lepidopteran larvae. The lowest larval population of Helicoverpa armigera (2.29 individuals/m row length) was recorded in the plots with the trap crops such as marigold and bird perches, and those that received neem insecticidal sprays which indicated the decrease of larval population due to the repellant action of neem gave (75.8%) a reduction in larval population than the sole cropped plots, followed by chickpea (2.58 larvae; 72.8%) reduction in larval population and sunflower (3.53 larvae; 63%). Sunflower recorded the highest number of H. armigera population, at flowering stage of berseem which depicted the suitability of sunflower for the attractiveness of low number of the larvae (2.75 larvae/m row length) on berseem. The plots with berseem as a sole crop without any control measure exhibited significantly high H. armigera larvae (12.95 larvae per meter row length). The fecundity of pod borer on different trap crops revealed the highest fecundity population (7.25 larvae) of Helicoverpa on either chickpea or sunflower as trap crops. During the vegetative phase of berseem and the flowering stage of marigold and sunflower, these were recorded as favorable hosts. The highest green fodder yield (GFY; 1115 q/ha) was recorded in plots sown with marigold as the trap crop and with bird perches and in plots that received NSKE sprays as compared to sole cropped plots (700 q/ha). The data on seed yield also revealed superiority of berseem plots with sunflower, as a trap crop, and also a high parasitization by parasitoids.

The early season attack of Chilo partellus, in kharif sown fodder maize inflicts appreciable losses, if unchecked. Biointensive management with the use of egg parasitoid Trichogramma chilonis Ishii in fodder maize through different doses and release rate was standardized. The results of the trials from two years showed that damage parameters like Leaf Injury (LI), recorded three weeks after parasitoid release from 0.25-6.00 per cent across different treatments whereas in untreated control it was 6.50-13.25 %, respectively. Similarly the observations on percent DH patterns in different treatments varied from 0.62-3.75 % as compared to control (5.50-9.0 %). Furthermore, the per cent reduction in damage was substantially low with the second inundative release of the parasitoid than plots receiving a single release of bio-agent at a given dose. The proportion of DH recorded at three weeks after release was significantly lower (1.0 and 0.62%) in plots with t-cards @ 125,000 parasitized eggs in two releases as compared with other treatments. Additionally the green fodder yield obtained in promising treatment was statistically superior (445 q ha-1) to 392 q ha-1 GFY as recorded in the untreated control and other lower dose treatments except the plots receiving the highest dose of parasitoid release (450q ha-1). Thus the results suggested that field release of T. chilonis @ 125,000 parasitoids per hectare in two releases helps in substantial reduction of C. partellus inflicted damage with high economic returns.

An effort has been made to isolate individual catechin compounds from green tea leaves in their pure form by electrophoresis. In the present study total polyphenol extraction was carried out initially and estimated through spectrophotometric and HPLC methods. Extracted polyphenol was separated on 0.7% agarose gel and visualized at 360 nm. Fragmented individual compounds were gel eluted with methanol and confirmed as (-)-epigallocatechin (EGC), (-)-epicatechin (EC), (-)-epicatechin gallate (ECG), and (-)-epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) by HPLC. The method developed describes a suitable method for the isolation of valuable molecules in tea.