Post vaccination Newcastle Disease (NCD) antibody levels were evaluated by haemagglultination inhibition test on 48 numbers of day old Giriraja chicks. The chicks in group IA, IIA, IIIA & IV A were reared in intensive system and chicks of group IB, IIB, IIIB & IVB under back yard system of management with eight replicates in each group. Three vaccination regimes against Newcastle disease using live lentogenic and mesogenic strains, F strain alone on day 7 (Group IA & IB), F strain on day 7 and day 28 (Group IIA & IIB) and F and R2B strains on day 7 and day 28 (Group IIIA & IIIB) were used. Group IV A and IV B were kept as unvaccinated control groups. The sera samples from vaccinated birds were collected on day 15, 30, 45 and 60 post vaccinations. The maternal antibody levels were persisting till day 15 in both the unvaccinated control groups with positive indices. The mean log2HI antibody titres were significantly (P<0.05) increased from day 15 to day 45 in both the groups vaccinated with F vaccine on day 7 reared in intensive and backyard system and significantly decreased on day 60. However, booster vaccination with F and R2B vaccine revealed significant (P<0.05) increase in antibody titre in all the groups till two months of age irrespective of rearing system. The booster vaccination with F and R2B vaccines revealed higher antibody levels in the groups reared under intensive system than the groups reared under back yard system of management on day 30, 45 and 60 with significantly higher levels of antibody on day 45.

Cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.), being an introduced crop in the country and the material available has evolved from very limited population estimate of variability in a breeding population forms major step. Twenty cocoa hybrids were evaluated for the variability based on morphological characters. Eleven qualitative characters including colour of young leaf (flush), three floral characters (pedicel, sepal and petal colour), six pod characters (pod shape, unripe pod colour, ripe pod colour, pod apex, pod base and pod rugosity) and colour of bean were considered for the study. Hybrids showed wide variability in most of the characters considered. Diversity analysis was carried out using NTSYS pc version 2.1 software. Based on the similarity matrix, cluster analysis was done and a dendrogram was constructed by Unweighted Pair-Group Method (UPGMA). Thirteen clusters were obtained at 60 per cent similarity coefficient expressing the huge amount off variability present among the hybrids.