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Vinod Kumar ¹, R.K. Sharma ¹, K.D. Sharma ¹

Affiliations
1 Department of Agricultural Economics, Extension Education and Rural Sociology, CSK Himachal Pradesh Krishi Vishvavidyalaya, Palampur-176062, IN

Abstract

The study was carried out in Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh during 2002-03 to examine the labour employment in hill agriculture under risk. Stratified two stage random sampling technique was adopted to select the sample. A total of 150 households were selected from different sub-ecological regions viz. Low Hills, Mid Hills and High Hills. The risk efficient farm plans were developed using the Minimisation of Total Absolute Deviation (MOTAD) Model. The plans were existing resources with existing technology,( Plan I) and existing technology with augmented resources (Plan IV). In addition, two plans in between these two were developed. The study revealed that the per farm as well as per hectare labour use was higher during kharif season as compared to rabi season, as more labour intensive crops (paddy and vegetables) were grown during kharif season. With the introduction of dairy, the human labour employment increased by 59 per cent in plan-I whereas in plan-IV, it increased by 60 per cent in low hill region. In mid hills, this increase was estimated as high as 162 and 148 per cent. The corresponding figures in high hills were to the extent of 74 and 58 per cent. This clearly indicates that crops + dairy farming provided higher farm labour employment than crops enterprise alone. It was important to examine that the dairy activity with crops enterprise also reduced the risk. Thus, to increase the employment and minimise the risk in hill agriculture, emphasis needs to be given to encourage mixed farming. The crossbred cows were found to be the best dairy animals in the study area in terms of profitability as well as employment generation. Vegetables were found to be important in the cropping pattern particularly in plan IV. Thus, there is a need to popularise cultivation of vegetable crops in which the role of the Department of Agriculture is crucial in promoting scientific cultivation and orderly marketing to reduce risk.

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Harpreet Bedi ¹, Manpreet Kaur ¹, R.K. Sharma ¹, Pankaj Verma ¹

Affiliations
1 Department of ECE, Lovely Professional University, Phagwara − 144402, Jalandhar, Punjab, IN

Abstract

In the present Investigation we have used sol-gel and spin coating method to synthesize zinc oxide Nano particles having modified parameters with a comprehensive overview of their structural and experimental study. To evaluate its electrical, structural and optical properties as synthesized particles were analyzed by X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), UV spectroscopy and Particle size analysis. These crystalline size nano particles were utilized in sensors to detect volatile organic compound (Ethanol, Methanol and Formaldehyde) and was found to have high sensitivity and quick response time. In this paper we increase the overall band gap with the increase in concentration of aluminum and at the same time electrical conductivity of ZnO is also changed with the concentration of aluminum.

Keywords

Sol-Gel Method, ZnO2 Nano Particles.

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J. D. Kottawa-Arachchi ¹, M.A.B. Ranatunga ¹, A.M.T. Amarakoon ¹, M.T.K. Gunasekare ¹, R.K. Sharma ¹, H.K. Chaudhary ¹, V.K. Sood ¹, R. Katoch ¹, D.K. Banyal ¹, E.N.U. Edirisinghe ¹, R.N. Attanayake ¹

Affiliations
1 Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, College of Agriculture CSK Himachal Pradesh Krishi Vishvavidyalaya, Palampur-176 062, IN

Abstract

The quality of made tea is largely dependent on the key metabolites viz. caffeine and flavan-3-ols. The aim of the present study was to quantify flavan-3-ols and caffeine of Sri Lankan exotic tea germplam. Fresh leaf flavan-3- ols; catechin (+C), epicatechin (EC), epicatechingallate (ECg), epigallocatechin (EGC) and epigallocatechingallate (EGCg), caffeine and gallic acid of 58 accessions (54 exotic and 4 improved cultivars) were performed by High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). Variation in metabolites among cultivars and seasons were determined. Among the flavan-3-ols, EGCg was the most abundant followed by EGC, ECg, EC and +C. Hierarchical clustering of 58 accessions based on metabolite diversity resulted in two major clusters. High caffeine containing accessions (>30 mg g-1) of Indian origin and improved TRI cultivars clustered together. Low caffeine accessions such as PBGT10, PBGT27, PBGT35, PBGT71, PBGT48, PBGT53 and PBGT54 (< 20 mg g-1) grouped separately. Higher variations in catechins and caffeine content in exotic germplasm is useful in developing tea cultivars of high quality tea.

Keywords

Tea quality, Camellia sinensis, flavan-3-ols, caffeine, seasonal variations

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