Study Region: Kamala River Basin (sub-basin of Koshi Basin) within Nepal. Study Focus: We integrate a hydro-economic model (HEM) and cost-benefit analysis (CBA) to evaluate water resource development strategies under contrasting rural development scenarios. Scenarios illustrate outcomes in 2040 arising from three uncertain driving forces: (1) sectoral focus of development; (2) downward responsiveness of governance; and (3) quality of agricultural knowledge and innovation systems. The HEM optimizes net benefits from agriculture and hydropower within water, land, and institutional constraints, while the CBA assesses costs, timelines, and long-term viability of combinations of groundwater; small storages; Kamala Irrigation Project revitalization; and Sunkoshi-Kamala inter-basin diversion. New Hydrological Insights for the Region: Groundwater and small storage options have favourable benefit-cost ratios but cannot maximize land and water resource use. Revitalizing the Kamala Irrigation Project and implementing a Sunkoshi-Kamala inter-basin diversion could triple net benefits in agriculture and hydropower. However, economically viable water infrastructure portfolios (internal rate of return >= 6 % or >= 9 %) require concurrent, timely and effective investment (respecting strict cost-benefit bounds) to increase crop yields, agricultural extensification and intensification. Allocating 20 % of river flows for environmental uses does not significantly undermine economic benefits.
Goat augments small and marginal farmer's income by providing livelihood support to landless and economically weaker section of the society. An experiment was conducted to evaluate the suitability of B. diffusa L. as green fodder for goats under ravenous soil condition. Twelve male Barbari goats were randomly divided into two groups. In one group, B. diffusa was offered alone as green fodder and in second group, B. diffusa along with 200g chickpea straw was offered for a period of 21 days. The dry matter content in fresh B. diffusa biomass was only 10.07 percent. A metabolism trial was conducted using metabolic cages. Significant (P<0.001) difference was observed between two treatment groups in DMI, live body weight and CPI. However, DCP%, CP, NDF, EE digestibility were statistically similar between both the groups. TDN % was 49.61 with sole feeding of B. diffusa (P<0.05). Mineral balances for Ca, K and N were recorded higher (P<0.001) with chickpea straw + B. diffusa fed group. Rumen fermentation and haematological parameters remain unchanged for both the groups. Study indicates that B. diffusa can be used as non-conventional feed resource with adequate supplementation of chickpea straw.
The present study investigates the genetic polymorphism of the kappa casein (CSN3) gene and its association with milk production and composition traits in Gir and Mulki cattle breeds from Narmadapuram Division of Madhya Pradesh state, India. A total of 256 cows, including 167 Mulki and 89 Gir, were analyzed. Genomic DNA was extracted from blood samples, and PCR-RFLP was employed to identify polymorphisms in the kappa casein gene. The study identified three genotypes-AA, AB, and BB—at the kappa casein locus. Allelic frequencies were found to be 0.83 (A) and 0.17 (B) in Gir cattle, and 0.89 (A) and 0.11 (B) in Mulki cattle. Statistical analysis revealed that Gir cattle exhibited significantly higher milk yield and daily milk yield across all genotypes compared to Mulki cattle. The BB genotype was associated with superior milk yield in both breeds. However, no significant associations were observed between kappa casein polymorphisms and milk composition traits such as fat percentage, protein content, SNF, density, pH, and freezing point. This study underscores the importance of kappa casein genetic variants in improving milk yield in indigenous cattle breeds, providing valuable insights for breed selection and dairy management practices.
Formalin has been reported to be added to milk to prolong the shelf life of milk. The present study was conducted to develop and validate liquid-phase and paper-based strip methods for the rapid detection of formalin in milk using four different procedures i.e., A, B, C and D. Among all the procedures, procedure A worked successfully both in the liquid-phase and paper-based assays. The developed strip-based method involved the dipping of the strips in milk followed by visualization of change in colour. Formalin adulterated milk gave yellow colour to the strip, while for normal milk, it remained colourless. Limit of detection of developed strips was 0.05
The present study was conducted during the year January, 2016 to December, 2018 in which metagenomics approaches were utilized to identify presence of probiotics species in the river Ganga at Kanpur and Farakka stretches; and stretch of the river Yamuna. It was observed that a huge quantity of probiotic bacterial species are present in these sediments belonging to genus Lactobacillus including L. brevis, L. curvatus, L. helveticus, L. fermentum, L. reuteri, etc; Bacillus including B. clausii, B. circulans, B. subtilis, B coagulans, etc.; Bifidobacterium species including B. animalis, B. bifidum, B. longum, etc. We have found that abundance of Pediococcus pentosaceus was significantly higher in Farakka stretches of Ganga, whereas Pediococcus acidilactici was found in very higher proportion in Kanpur stretch. In this study we present the taxonomic diversity, species of different probiotics and also their relationship with different geographical locations using metagenomic approaches to provide unparalleled insight into probiotics bacteria presents in the river deposits of Ganga and Yamuna. Open Reading Frame (ORF) prediction using CLC genomics, we found one GO-term (GO:0016868) enriched in Molecular Function, 3 GO-terms (GO:0005737, GO:0044424 and GO:0005622) significantly enriched in Cellular Component and one single pathway (00500) is enriched in KEGG Pathways. The STRING functional assignment of Lactobacillus kisonensis-ORF1 encoded protein predicted it as a Heavy metal-associated domain (HMA) and HMA conserved site (copA, zntA). Our sediment metagenomics study able to identify important genes which can be applied for industrial use for the benefit of animal and human welfare.
