One of the most important aspects of agricultural production is soil fertility and nutrient management which has a direct impact on crop output and quality. However in the long run intensive cropping and chemical fertilizers harmed soil fertility and crop productivity by causing soil erosion, loss of top fertile soil, nutrient leaching, and uneven fertilizer use or little organic manure addition have resulted which caused human and animal suffering. To avoid nutrient mining and fertilizer imbalance, integrated nutrient management (INM) is a strategy for increasing agricultural productivity while also protecting the environment for future generations. It’s a method that uses both organic and inorganic plant nutrients to boost crop yield, reduce soil degradation, and satisfy future food supply demands. So INM is a vital aspect in achieving increased and long-term soil fertility and crop output. This study discusses the importance ofINM in wheat production in today’s intensive farming.

A study was conducted to assess the productive and reproductive performance along with egg quality traits of 275 chicks of comb and crown ecotype which were obtained in six hatches at Instructional Poultry Farm of Govind Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar. The eggs from each group were collected, marked and weighed with the help of digital weighing balance up to 0.1 g accuracy at the beginning of 24, 28, 32, 36, 40 and 44th weeks of age. Various external and internal egg quality traits were measured at the 32nd week of age. The average egg production in crown ecotypes of Uttara fowl was found to be higher (p < 0.05) than the comb ecotypes of Uttara fowl with the cumulative mean of (177.35 +/- 6.34 eggs) and (153.54 +/- 5.64 eggs) at the 72nd week of age. At 28th week of age egg weight was found significantly (p < 0.05) higher in crown ecotype than comb ecotype Uttara. Egg shell and yolk weight were found to be significantly (p < 0.05) higher in crown type than comb ecotype. Thus Uttara has a better egg production potential and is emerging as a good option for rural backyard poultry

Nutrient sufficiency is the basis of good health, productive lives and longevity for human hence Understanding soil properties and their productiveness under different land use management have proved to be useful for sustainable development and efficient utilization of limited land resources. The current study seeks to assess sustainability of agricultural land use by identifying the effect of land use change on soil macronutrient status. To understand the effects of land use systems on soil macronutrient status, ten pedons from natural forest and different land use systems of southern Agro-climatic zones of Karnataka were determined. The soils were acidic in reaction, non-saline in nature (free of soluble salts) and low (subsurface soil) to high (surface soil) in organic carbon status. The clay distribution, cation exchange capacity and base saturation of the soils varied from 24.5 to 66.4 per cent, 7.60 to 19.8 cmol (p+) kg -1 and 4 to 32 per cent, respectively. The macronutrients status of the soil samples indicated that the available nitrogen content varied from low to medium in all the pedons, the soils were low in available phosphorus, low to medium in available potassium and available sulphur.

This study was designed to determine the effects of dietary supplementation of black cumin (Nigella sativa), garlic (Allium sativa) and turmeric (Curcuma longa) on the production performance and egg quality in laying hens. A total of 180, 26-weeks old White Leghorn layers were randomly assigned into nine dietary treatments each with four replicates having 5 birds in each, and reared for 12 weeks from 28 to 39 weeks of age. The experimental diets were prepared by supplementing basal diet (T1) with an antibiotic (Enramycin @ 2.5 g per quintal of feed) feed additive (T2), 1% black cumin powder (T3), 1% garlic powder (T4), 1% turmeric powder (T5), 1% mixture of black cumin and turmeric in equal proportion (T6), 1% mixture of black cumin and garlic in equal proportion (T7), 1% mixture of garlic and turmeric in equal proportion (T8) and 1% mixture of black cumin seed, garlic and turmeric in equal proportion (T9). Results indicated a significantly (P<0.05) higher egg production (87.14%) and egg weight (55.85g) in T9 group of birds with the best egg quality. Egg shell quality and organoleptic characteristics of eggs was not affected by dietary treatments. It is concluded that supplementation of one percent equi-proportional mixture of black cumin, garlic and turmeric powder in the diet not only influenced the egg production and egg quality but helped in lowering egg yolk cholesterol and triglycerides during first phase of laying period..

The effect of XPC (composed of yeast fermentation metabolites) supplementation on production performance of lactating buffaloes was studied. Forty-eight healthy lactating buffaloes (BW 540.20 +/- 17.96 kg) in early to mid lactation stages were blocked by body weight, lactation number, days in lactation and milk production during one week prior to the start of the experiment. Within blocks buffaloes were randomly distributed into 2 groups of 24 each control (no supplementation) or XPC (14 g/d of XPC (TM), Diamond V, USA). The experiment was conducted in four phases to minimize the variation in body weight, days in milk and milk yield. A 10-week study was performed with 8-week treatment feeding period plus a week of adaptation and a week of covariate period prior to the treatment feeding. The buffaloes were fed concentrate mixture with green fodders (maize and sorghum) with oat hay (9:1) ad libitum to meet their maintenance and production requirements. A 50 g premix was prepared in advance containing 14 g of XPC with 36 g of concentrate mixture and fed to XPC fed group daily before morning feeding, whereas 50 g of concentrate mixture without XPC was given to control animals. Feed consumption and milk yield changes were recorded daily. The results of the present study indicate that dietary supplementation of XPC improves milk yield of lactating buffaloes. Average milk yields in XPC treatment group (7.56 L/d) were significantly (P pound 0.01) higher than control group (7.14 L/d), resulting 5.89% improvement with supplementation of XPC having similar DMI. The supplementation of XPC also improved 4% fat-corrected milk yield and energy-corrected milk yield by 4.66 and 4.98%, respectively without any adverse non-significantly impact on daily DMI and fat percentage. Further it reduced feed cost (Rs.) per kg 4% FCM yield in XPC (16.39) than control (16.98) and high return of Rs. 327.57 per animal per day in XPC group. The net return in comparison to control was Rs. 21.01 in XPC which suggests that supplementation of XPC is economically feasible. It may be concluded that incorporating XPC in the diet of lactating buffaloes improve the production performance of buffaloes and enhance the profitability of the producers.

An experiment was conducted to discern the comparative effects of dietary supplementation of herbal methionine and synthetic DL-methionine on growth performance and nutrient utilization in broiler chicks during summer season. A total of 180, day-old commercial broiler chicks were divided into 6 treatments with 3 replicates each and 10 broiler chicks per replicate. There were 6 dietary treatments viz., treatments T1 to T6. The treatment T1 served as control, basal diet (maize-soyabean meal based) without methionine supplementation, whereas in treatments T2 to T6, the basal diet contained herbal methionine at 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100% levels by replacing synthetic DL-methionine, respectively. The total supplemental level of methionine in the diets was 0.20%. The feeding trial lasted for 42 days viz., 0–21 days (starter phase) and 21–42 days (finisher phase). During starter phase (0–21 days), the body weight gains were 576.20, 611.33, 598.13, 606.93, 596.10 and 636.09 g, respectively, in treatments T1, T2, T3, T4, T5 and T6 and there was higher (P<0.05) weight gain in broiler chicks of treatment T6 fed basal diet supplemented with 0.20% herbal methionine than broiler chicks of treatment T1 fed basal control diet only, whereas during finisher phase (21–42 days), there was no significant difference in body weight gain, feed conversion ratio, performance index, protein efficiency ratio and production efficiency factor amongst the various treatment groups of broiler chicks. During the entire feeding trial of 0–42 days, the cumulative average growth performance was similar in different treatments, however, the feed intake in broiler chicks was maximum in treatment T3 (3253.93 g) and minimum in treatment group T1 (3056.69 g). The cumulative average body weight gain was recorded lowest (1717.36 g) in control group T1 and highest (1857.24 g) in treatment T6. The nutrient was better in broiler chicks fed diets supplemented with either source of methionine than those fed control basal diet, however, the values of utilization of nutrients were comparable in broiler chicks fed basal finisher diets supplemented with herbal methionine as well as synthetic DL-methionine. It was inferred that the supplementation of herbal methionine could replace synthetic DL-methionine in the diet of broiler chicks as both the sources of methionine showed similar growth performance and nutrient utilization.

Objective : An attempt was made to study seasonal availability and utilization pattern of fluid milk in Nainital district of Uttarakhand. Statistical Analysis : The study was based on the primary data collected for liquid/processed milk varieties and milk products from the selected co-operative dairy plant of Nainital district. The pattern of utilization of milk in the manufacturing of product mix percentage was computed for various products after making an adjustment of loss of milk in transit, handling etc. Findings : Three distinct seasons in a year were observed. It has been found that there were three sources of milk to plant viz., primary co-operative societies, the State Milk Grid and the milk reconstituted at the plant from powder milk. Standardized milk and dahi was the major product for the plant. The study has observed that out of the total availability of milk more than 80 percent of milk was used for processed milk varieties and rest will be used for making different milk products. The study concluded that production was affected by calving season and weather condition. Further, there was no definite pattern observed in the production of milk and milk products. Its production mainly depends upon the local demand for dairy products. Improvements : The study has suggested that development of co-operative dairy industry in a sustainable manner, the co-operative dairy plants should formulate long-term vision and strategy.

A study was conducted to evaluate the impact of probiotic, prebiotic and synbiotic as feed additives on faecal counts of coliform and E. coli along with cell mediated immune response in crossbred calves. For this purpose fifteen days old, 24 crossbred calves were divided into 4 groups of 6 calves each. The calves were assigned to different dietary treatments viz T0(control group) -basal diet, T1 (probiotic group) - basal diet + Lactobacillus acidophilus @ 1 g/calf/day (2 x 1010 cfu/ g), T2 (prebiotic group)- basal diet + Mannan oligosaccharide (MOS) @ 4 g per calf/day and T3 (synbiotic group) basal diet +Lactobacillus acidophilus @ 0.5 gm (2 x 1010 cfu/ g) + 2 g MOS per calf/day respectively for a period of 90 days. Faecal samples for coliform and E. coli count were taken at 15 days interval. Blood samples were taken at 15 days interval for lymphocyte count. Blood samples were taken at 45th and 90th-day for lymphocyte stimulation test (LST) in EDTA coated vials. Skin fold test was done on 90th day of experimental study. The results of study showed that there was a significant reduction in faecal shedding of coliform and E. coli in T1, T2 and T3 groups indicating lesser proliferation of pathogenic bacteria in the gut. The treatment groups T2 and T3 showed a significant increase in lymphocyte count whereas all the treated groups had significantly higher values of the lymphocytic index on 45th and 90th day post supplementation indicating improved cell mediated immunity. Increased skin fold thickness was observed post 48 hours of phytohaemagglutinin injection in T2 and T3 groups. It may, therefore, be concluded that supplementation of prebiotic and synbiotic is advantageous in attaining gut conditioning and enhanced immunity which may be helpful in preventing calf scours in crossbred calves.

A delta operator based Discrete Sliding Mode Fuzzy Controller (DSMFC) for dc-dc buck Converter is described. The discrete systems by means of shift operator turns into mathematically disordered at an unexpected sampling rates. In order to face this difficulty, the delta operator is introduced. The delta operator can convert continuous-time system into discrete-time system and vice-versa. The main aim is to increase the rate of response, develop efficiency, get excellent Robustness and chattering phenomenon inhibition. This method is easy to implement and the overall system is efficient and cost-effective. During discretization, to circumvent any data damage, quick sampling has to be done which can be achieved with the help of delta operator because of its well defined mathematical properties even at rapid sampling. Keywords: DC-DC Converter, Delta Operator, Discrete Fuzzy Sliding Mode Controller, Discrete Sliding Mode Controller, Fuzzy logic controllers, Sliding Mode Controller

Lactating crossbred cows (15) in mid lactation were assessed for their performance after feeding mineral mixture containing diammonium phosphate (DAP) in replacement of dicalcium phosphate (DCP) at different levels. Cows were divided into three groups of five each in such a way that the average milk yield in all the groups was similar. The animals in group 1 were fed ration containing mineral mixture with 0% DAP while those in groups 2 and 3 were fed ration with mineral mixture containing 50 and 100% DAP, respectively by replacing DCP on P content basis. There was no significant effect on the milk yield, milk composition in terms of total solids, fat, protein, lactose, ash, SNF, calcium, phosphorus and gross energy content, gross and net energetic efficiencies and gross and net efficiency of nitrogen utilization for milk production, body weight changes, feed intake and digestibility of nutrients. The values of blood biochemical parameters viz., serum total protein, albumin and globulin contents, serum alkaline phosphatase, alanine amino transferase and aspartate amino transferase, Ca and P were similar in all the groups. However, the digestibility of ether extract was lower (P<0.01) in group 1 than groups 2 and 3. It was concluded that DAP could be incorporated in the mineral mixture up to 100% level on P content basis in place of DCP in the ration of crossbred cows as both supplements showed similar results in terms of milk yield, nutrient utilization and blood biochemical profile in a 60 days feeding trial, however, long term studies are required.

Background/Objectives: The present study conducted in the District of Udham Singh Nagar in Uttarakhand, has examined the impact of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) on the socio economic status of participants. Methods/Statistical analysis: The study was based on the information gathered from 80 households of four Gram Panchayats of an average performing block in the district. Twelve socio-economic indicators were evaluated using three point scale to assess the socio-economic impact of the scheme. The average days of employment in MGNREGA scheme observed to decrease slightly from 59.8 days in 2007-08 to 51.9 days in year 2013-14 and significant increase in 2013-14 over 2007-08 was noticed in socio-economic indicators namely, annual per capita food, non food, health and, per child education expenditures. Debts were found to increase along with asset possession though per capita saving declined. The value of socio-economic index indicated that in the initial years of implementation of the programme, about 36 per cent of the beneficiary households were in poor socio-economic strata which decreased to 12 per cent in 2013-14, while beneficiary households in good socio-economic strata increased from 30 per cent to55 per cent. Application/Improvements: Study suggested that implementing agencies should make conscious efforts to increase the person days employment in the area to meet the minimum specified target of employment under MGNREGA and also the scheme should be continued in future and expanded to other regions of the country involving more families under its ambit.

Milk is a complete food containing high-quality protein, the only source of lactose, and an excellent source of calcium. Thus, milk is prone to adulteration and to combat this menace, in India, the government appoints food safety officers who carry out chemical examination of milk and milk products. Formalin is the only legally permitted preservative for milk and milk products, in India, meant for analytical purposes. Scientific reports suggest that formalin interferes in maintaining the compositional profile; since accuracy in analysis of milk components is very important, these changes can be problematic. The other preservatives that have been described in the literature include mercuric chloride, potassium dichromate, hydrogen peroxide, bronopol, and azidiol Most of these preservatives are bactericidal but either involve a health hazard or environmental hazard or are unsuitable for long-term storage. Hence, there is a need to uncover combinations of antibacterial agents and bacteriostatic antibiotics for preserving milk and milk products until analyzed.

The present study was undertaken to assess season-wise feeding practices, availability, requirement, and nutritional gap of dairy buffaloes in Tehri Garhwal and Pithoragarh districts of Uttarakhand in year 2011-12. Feed samples were chemically analysed for proximate principles. Daily dry matter intake (DMI), crude protein (CP), metabolisable energy (ME), and nutritional gap were calculated. Results showed that both in Tehri Garhwal as well as in Pithoragarh, the lactating buffaloes were underfed in terms of quantity (DM). In Tehri, the shortage of dry matter was in the range of 25%, whereas protein shortage was 19% and energy deficit 17.3%. In Pithoragarh district the shortages were 27% (DM), 27% (CP) and 18.6% (ME). The approach of 'utilize better' (improving the quality of present feed stuffs), 'produce more' (increasing biomass production) and 'import' (bringing nutrient supplements) could be resorted to fill the nutritional gap and optimize milk production in both the districts.

A study was carried out to detect soybean oil and buffalo depot fat, when adulterated individually in cow and buffalo ghee @5, 10, 15% (v/v) respectively, by using normal phase thin layer chromatography (TLC). Unsaponifiable matter (USM) of all the samples were extracted by using diethyl ether after saponification with alcoholic potassium hydroxide and were made alkali free by washing with water, followed by drying and dissolving in chloroform. Spotting of USM from all the samples was done on TLC plates, along with some reference standards of sterols (cholesterol, cholesterol acetate, β-carotene, phytosterols and tocopherols) and the plates were developed by using suitable solvent system ( cyclohexane: ethyl acetate: water::600:200:1, v/v) . It was observed from the results that soybean oil was easily detected even at the level of 5%, in both types of the ghee studied, by getting three extra spots or bands (R f values 0.465, 0.512, 0.557) in the reference area as compared to pure samples, while buffalo depot fat didn’t show any additional marks in comparison to pure samples of cow and buffalo ghee.

Nitromethane is an organic nitro compound slightly viscous and polar in nature. It has wide applications in pharmaceuticals, explosives, fibers, pesticides and as a potential fuel additive because of its high anti-knock property and high combustion rate. Besides, there are associated risks in handling and storing nitromethane. The literature summarises the advantages and challenges associated with nitromethane as an alternative fuel.