Swertia chirayita is one of the important medicinal and highly traded plant for commercial purpose. However, its production has significantly declined in recent days due to incidence of various diseases. Unfortunately, the knowledge on disease and its causative agent is insufficient. Therefore, the present study focuses on incidence and severity of disease and identification of causative agents. The disease incidence of plant of study cultivated field of Sankhuwasabha district was 53.20% and the disease severity was 23.87%. Leaf spot disease caused by Alternaria alternata, Botrytis cinera and Bipolaris sorokiniana, leaf blight caused by Colletotrichum gloeosporioides and Fusarium wilt by Fusarium oxysporum and rot disease caused by Trichoderma harzianium were identified in Swertia chirayita.
An ichthyological survey along with a desk study was carried out at Shuklaphanta National Park, Kanchanpur, Nepal which harbours varieties of fish fauna. To this end, field surveys were held during the spring (March to April) and the autumn (September to October) in 2020 aiming to determine the fish checklist present in the study area. Cast net of different mesh sizes, scoop net, hook and line, flow modification, and local traps of bamboo baskets were the sampling gears employed to collect fish samples. Based on the present survey along with historical records, a combined fish checklist depicted a total of 88 fish species belonging to 7 orders, 21families and 49 genera which apart from 35 fish species adopted from the past studies carried out from 1973 to 2019, and 53 species were recorded during our field survey in 2020. This paper indicates the need for further exploration and studies and proper sustainable management for conserving important fish fauna from being overexploited.
The population of Troides aeacus aeacus is declining due to habitat threats in many parts of central Nepal. The population survey was done by direct observation with a random walk in the morning sun from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m., considering its appropriate months of appearance. There was no issue with counting repetition since this species appeared in single or double individuals at each locality of this survey. This work, which covered an elevation range of 550 to 2000 m, was carried out in central Nepal between May and July of 2017 and April, May, and September of 2018. A total count of 56 individuals of this butterfly was recorded in this survey, which covered adjoining districts like Bhaktapur, Lalitpur, Kathmandu, Makwanpur, and Nuwakot. The observed small population and distribution gaps of this butterfly in a few locations were primarily caused by habitat loss, the absence of sufficient plants that provide nectar for adults and food for larvae, and tourism activity, which was particularly noticeable in Nagarkot (Bhaktapur) and Chitlang (Makwanpur). In addition, the impact was seen primarily as a result of road construction, forest fires, and small landslides in some of its habitat areas in Makwanpur and Chandragiri.
Bryophytes are small, photosynthetic plants, capable of growing on variety of habitats, so are pioneer of ecological succession. In Nepal bryophytes have been studied floristically in different parts of the country, but the impact of disturbance on floristic composition was lacking. Therefore, present study aimed to determine floristic composition of bryophytes especially on disturbed habitat generated by recently established Cable Car facility in Chandragiri hill, Kathmandu. The study area, highly disturbed at the base (1550-1600 m asl) and top of the hill (2400-2450 m asl), were selected for the collection of bryophytes. Altogether, 17 species of bryophytes including 5 liverworts, 11 mosses and 1 hornwort were recorded from the disturbed habitats. Among the 5 classes, Bryopsida was the most dominant class followed by the class Marchantiopsida, Polytrichopsida, Jungermanniopsida and Anthocerotopsida. Impact of elevation on diversity of bryophytes was observed in both sites of disturbed habitats. The diversity of bryophyte was found higher (13 species) at the base of the hill as compared to the top (8 species). Among the 17 species of bryophytes, 5 taxa (Aerobryidium filamentosum, Anomobryum auratum, Atrichum undulatum var. subserratum, Chiloscyphus profundus and Plagiomnium ellipticum) that have not been enumerated from the study site so far were also documented.
Wild edible plants refer to edible species that are not cultivated or domesticated for use. Different parts of wild plants collected from natural habitats are consumed as food in varied forms in different parts of Nepal. The main objective of this study was to review the wild edible plant species of Nepal. It compiled 436wild edible plant species from 110 families and 277 genera. Among them 208 (48%) species were herbs, 68 (16%) species shrubs, 120 (27%) species trees and 40 (9%) species were climbers. The study showed that 95 % of wild edible plant species were angiosperm, 5 % were pteridophytes and very negligible percentage (only one species) was gymnosperm. Fabaceae was the family with the highest number (27 sps.) followed by Moraceae and Rosaceae (24 sps.) and Polygonaceae and Asteraceae (19 sps.) of wild edible plants. Maximum numbers of plant species (208 sps.) were consumed as vegetables and the mostly used part of was found as the fruits (168 sps.) followed by leaves (93 sps.), shoots (52 sps.) and flowers (20 sps.).
