The present study is carried out into March-April 2010 determine the economic of onion cultivation, price spread, marketing channels and marketing efficiency of onion in Satara district. Satara district is leading in onion production it covers 12.38 per cent of total in the State. A study was conducted in western part of the Satara district. A sample of 180 onion growers was selected randomly from 20 villages in ten tahsils of Satara district of Maharashtra State. Onion cultivation is concentrated in the eastern part of the Satara district. The selected cultivator were classified into three categories i.e. small (below 2 ha.), medium (2-4 ha.) and large (above 4 ha.) based on land holding size of the farmers. The primary data were collected by survey method with the help of pre-tested schedule of questionnaire through personal interview. In view of this, an attempt in this study is made to study profitability and resource productivity in onion production in Satara district.

The present manuscript covers the toxicological studies of some amides of sulphosalicylic acid which are synthesized by reported method using reaction of suitable amines with 5-sulphosalicylic acid in 2:1 ratio and are found highly effective against different biological system.

The present manuscript contains a series of new diorganotin (IV) diamides of the type R2SnL2; (R= C6H5, C6F5, C6H4F; L = succinimide and phthalimide), which are synthesized and tested first time for their biological and insecticidal activity. These compounds show valuable antimicrobial activity against various microbial strains as seen in their inhibition zone value along with higher to moderate insecticidal activity respectively.

Thirty eight fungal cultures were raised from 24 infected host plant species. These fungal cultures were categorized in to five groups based on their cultural and sclerotial characteristics. Group I, II, III, IV and V included 12, 9, 7, 5 and 5 isolates, respectively. The isolates of group I were identified as R. bataticola, group II as M. phaseolina, group III as R. solani, group IV as Sclerotium rolfsii and group V as Sclerotinia sclerotiorum. Sequences of internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region with 5.8S gene of sclerotial fungi resolved phylogenetic affinities with variable evolutionary rate. Parsimony analysis grouped three species R. solani, R. bataticola and Sclerotium rolfsii belonging to Basidiomycota together and M. phaseolina and S. sclerotiorum belonging to Ascomycota formed a separate group. R. solani and S. rolfsii were found to have affinities with the teleomorph genera. R. solani and R. bataticola taxa represent two distinct lineages. R. bataticola and M. phaseolina showed the maximum similarity based on ITS 5.8S gene sequences but INDELS show variation which validate independent evolutionary lineage. Study revealed new insights into phylogenetic relationship of sclerotial species useful in assessing fungicide application strategies for disease management.

The protective effects of the extracts of three edible aromatic plants, mintweed Hyptis suaveolens, kitchen mint Mentha cordifolia and kaffir lime Citrus hystrix, against rice weevil Sitophilus oryzae infestation in stored, milled rice were investigated. The efficacy of the ethanolic and the water leaf crude extracts on the repellency, insecticidal activity, grain weight loss protection, and growth inhibition of rice weevil progeny was assessed. The ethanolic extracts affected rice weevils higher than the water extracts. The extract toxicity on rice weevil adults and larvae compared as kitchen mint > kaffir lime >mintweed. The highest repellent efficacy, 24 h, of the ethanolic extract was from kaffir lime with EC50 of 13.23 mg/ml or 3.4 fold of the control and of the water extract was from kitchen mint with EC50 of 19.04 mg/ml or 3.6 fold of the control. Rice weevils were totally ridded within 20 days by kitchen mint ethanolic extracts. All extracts highly protected over the grain texture and the loss of grain weight, and inhibited the growth of rice weevil progeny. The treated grain weight loss was approximately 2% in 35 days and 16% in 49 days. The progeny emergence was inhibited ranging from 55% (water extract) to 89% (ethanolic extract). Obviously, the leaves of these three aromatic plants are highly toxic to rice weevil adults and larvae. This finding is very promising to further develop bio-insecticidal agents from mintweed, kitchen mint and kaffir lime for protecting stored, milled, rice in larger scales, household and industrial storages.

High resolution 3D x-ray tomographic imaging is a powerful technology that allows for studying underlying tissue structures. We report herein that fresh and cooked beef and poultry meat examined by three dimensional X-ray tomography reveal textural characteristics that may be involved in determining meat tenderness. Samples of poultry breast meat contained fiber-like structures that were less organized than those visible in images of samples taken from the leg meat. Likewise, samples from muscles collected from chuck-, ribeye- and tenderloin-derived steaks possessed fibers organized with increasing randomness, respectfully. These data together show that three-dimensional x-ray tomography is capable of discerning the structural organization of connective tissue fibers in meat that may play a role in determining meat tenderness in both raw and cooked meat.

The agriculture sector recorded satisfactory growth due to improved technology, irrigation, inputs and pricing policies. Livestock, poultry, fisheries and horticulture are surging ahead in production growth in recent years and will have greater demand in the future. Industrial and service sectors have expanded faster than agriculture sector resulting in declining share of agriculture in national accounts. Despite the structural change, agriculture still remains a key sector, providing both employment and livelihood opportunities to more than 70 percent of the country's population who live in rural areas. The contribution of small farmers to the national and household food security has been steadily increasing. The water availability for agricultural uses has reached a critical level and deserves urgent attention of all concerned. The debate on fertilizer subsidy, as well as all other agricultural subsidies in India, should be examined against the backdrop of India’s overall economic situation, the prominence farmers and the agricultural sector in India’s political economy, and recent trends in the Indian agricultural economy. This paper presents socioeconomic data on the Indian economy, particularly its farm sector, and discusses issues related to fertilizer production and use. It also provides an overview of the growth rate, holding size, and indebtedness of the farm sector in India.

Three newly isolated and two existing isolates of M. anisopliae and B. bassiana were tested against aphids, whiteflies and beneficials, individually and with chitin synthesis inhibitor. Hundred percent of aphids have died of fungal treatments 7 days post inoculation, but number of individuals that developed mycosis varied depending on the isolate used. Whiteflies, however, were slightly more resistant. All tested isolates appeared to be fast killing fungi requiring only one or two days for reducing aphid population by half and needing 4 to 6 days for 50% of whiteflies to succumb to the disease. Both, aphid and whitefly, mortalities increased with increasing dose. The estimated LC50 values against M. persicae were 103.88 and 104.75 conidia ml-1, respectively. These results were comparable with values obtained for the same isolates tested against whitefly Bemisia tabaci. Hundred precent of parasitized aphids by whitefly parasitoid demonstrated the emergence hole in the controls and in the individuals treated with new M. anisopliae isolate and 87% of emergence holes in the individuals treated with new B. bassiana. Exposure of mealybug predator to new isolates resulted in high mortalities. Native B. bassiana isolate in combination with diflubenzuron significantly reduced population of 1st instar larvae of whiteflies under greenhouse conditions 14 days post treatment.