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ThesisItem Open Access Impact of nutrition counselling on knowledge and lifestyle modification of pre-diabetic females(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2020) Harleen KaurThe present study was conducted to assess the impact of the developed nutrition education package on lifestyle modification of pre-diabetic females. The study was conducted among women of Ludhiana city. A total of 730 female subjects in the age group of 30-50 years were tested for fasting blood glucose (FBG), out of which 120 were selected who were having FBG ranging between 100-125 mg/dl. The selected subjects were divided into two matched groups; experimental group (EG) and control group (CG). The nutrition education was given for 3 months on fortnightly basis to the Experimental group (EG) subjects through individual and group contact. The gain in nutrition knowledge was assessed after the study using KAP score. General information, lifestyle related information, dietary habits and family history of diabetes were recorded of the selected subjects. The anthropometric measurements, blood glucose, lipid profile, physical activity, food and nutrient intake was analysed pre and post intervention. The present study concluded that majority of the subjects were in the age group of 40-50 years (70.8%), and had a positive family history of diabetes (57.5%). It was also concluded that 43.3 percent subjects were suffering from hypertension. The subjects did not show any clinical signs and symptoms of diabetes. The mean value of BMI was 26.2±4.3 kg/m2 of EG subjects and 25.6±3.5 kg/m2 of CG subjects and they were categorised under the category of pre-obese. The fasting blood glucose and HbA1c levels of the experimental group subjects reduced significantly (p≤0.01), no change was observed among control group subjects. The lipid profile of the experimental group had a significant improvement (p≤0.01). The pre intervention subjects were under the category of sedentary lifestyle of both the groups i.e. EG and CG. There was 14.8 percent reduction in the cereal intake and 19 percent increase in the pulses intake among the experimental group subjects. A significant increase (p≤0.05) in the intake of other vegetables, fruits and milk and milk products was also observed. The protein intake was significantly increased (p≤0.01) post intervention among experimental group. The developed nutrition education package had a highly significant impact on knowledge, awareness and practices (KAP) of the experimental group subjects. Diabetes risk score was also calculated and subjects of both the groups were under the high-risk category.ThesisItem Open Access A study on adoption of green home norms in modern houses(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2019) Harleen Kaur; Gill, Harsharan KaurAdoption of green home norms in modern houses was studied in three smart cities of Punjab viz Ludhiana, Jalandhar and Amritsar to find awareness level of respondents regarding environment and their concern for preserving it, adoption level of green home norms in modern houses and constraints in their adoption. Self-structured interview schedule was designed to conduct a survey. Fifty homes, constructed after 2015 were taken randomly from posh localities of each of these cities comprising a total sample of 150. Majority (86%) of respondents perceived that their housing and life style related practices did not contribute in environment degradation, rather 53 per cent blamed agricultural practices. Seventy per cent respondents did not have sufficient knowledge about environment conservation. Only 14 per cent respondents reported little to acute impact on psychological and physical health. Twenty eight per cent respondents made efforts to avoid use of harmful household chemicals. Norms related to proximity of home to civic amenities and conserving natural topography was partially/not adopted in case of 70.50 and 93.33 per cent respondents. All respondents did not adopt rain harvesting and efficient landscape design for enhancing water use efficiency. Eighty six per cent respondents did not adopt renewable energy systems. Ninety, 86.00 and 93.33 per cent respondents did not dispose off building material waste properly, used recycled material and had on-site waste treatment for organic waste respectively. All respondents had no provision of separate smoking area, carbon dioxide sensors and adequate operable window area. Lack of interest was major constraint for not adopting green home norms followed by lack of awareness and high cost.ThesisItem Restricted Assessment and management of climatic variability impact on evapotranspiration and water productivity of Maize (Zea mays L.) in Punjab(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2018) Harleen Kaur; Kingra, P.K.ABSTRACT The field experiment entitled, “Assessment and management of climatic variability impact on evapotranspiration and water productivity of maize (Zea mays L.) in Punjab” was carried out at the Research Farm of the Department of Climate Change and Agricultural Meteorology, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana for two consecutive kharif seasons of 2016 and 2017. The field experiment comprising of 12 treatments was carried out in split plot design with 3 replications having three dates of sowing (D1-Third week of May, D2-Second week of June and D3- First week of July) in main plots and two irrigation levels i.e. irrigation at IW: CPE of 1.00 (I1) and 0.75 (I2) and two mulch levels viz. mulch @ 5 t ha-1 (M1) and no mulch (M2) in the sub-plots. The soil of the experimental site was loamy sand in texture with normal pH and electrical conductivity and low in organic carbon. PAR interception and relative humidity was highest in D2 as compared to D1 and D3 and among irrigation and mulch treatments in I2 and M1. The canopy temperature was highest in D3 as compared to D1 and D2 and among irrigation and mulch in I1 and M2 treatments at reproductive stage of crop. Higher plant height, dry matter and LAI was observed in the crop sown during second week of June and among irrigation and mulch treatments in I2 and M1. The total water use was more in D1 (540.5 and 477.5 mm) as compared to the D2 (493.3 and 399.0 mm) and D3 (415.1 and 316.3 mm) in 2016 and 2017, respectively. Among mulch and irrigation levels, the total water use was more in non-mulched crop (M2) and under IW/CPE=1.00 (I1).The yield attributing characters under D2 were statistically at par with D1 and significantly higher than D3 and among mulch and irrigation treatments in M1 and I2. During 2016, difference in grain yield under different dates of sowing was found to be non-significant. During 2017, the grain yield under D2 (52.37 q/ha) was at par with D1 (50.86 q/ha) but was significantly higher than D3 (41.04 q/ha). During 2017, among mulch levels, the grain yield was significantly higher in mulch applied crop (50.71 q/ha) as compared to non-mulched crop (46.14 q/ha). The water, heat and radiation use efficiency of maize was also found to be higher under D2, I2 and M1, during both the years. The priestley-taylor method gave higher ETo in all three dates of sowing and was closer to open-pan evaporation except in first date of sowing during 2016, in which ETo was higher in FAO-56 (602.4 mm). The crop coefficients calculated by Papadakis method were comparatively higher as compared to that calculated by other methods. Good agreement was observed between actual and simulated yield (R2=0.77 each) and water productivity (R2= 0.43 and 0.44) during both the crop growing seasons. Simulation results showed that water productivity of maize increased with increase in CO2 concentration and decreased with increase in temperature, but this decrease could be compensated by simultaneous increase in CO2 concentration.ThesisItem Open Access Pathogenic and genetic variability in isolates of Fusarium moniliformeSheld. causing stalk rot of maize (Zea maysL.) and its managemen(PAU, 2012) Harleen Kaur; Chander MohanDisease surveys revealed that Fusarium stalk rot was present in all the maize growing areas of Punjab and disease incidence and severity were comparatively high on private company hybrids (31-Y-45 and Double) as compared to public sector hybrids (PMH 1and PMH 2).Maximum disease incidence and severity were found in the district of Hoshiarpur closely followed by Nawanshahar during both Kharif and spring seasons. Frequency of occurrence of Fusarium moniliformeon stalk rot infected plants was highest followed by Macrophomina phaseolina and Cephalosporium maydis.In all, 56 isolates of F. oniliforme were obtained. They were grouped into seven major clusters based on their cultural and morphological characteristics. Pathological behavior of all isolates of F. moniliforme differed on a set of five inbred lines (LM-13, CM-140, CM-143, CML-25 and CM-600) and four maize hybrids (PMH 1, JH 3459, NK 6240 and 31-Y-45). On the basis of multivariate cluster analysis of pathogenicity data, seven clusters were formed and each cluster represented a specific disease reaction to a particular hybrid/inbred tested. The isolate Fm 10 was found most pathogenic with average disease index (ADI) of 66.6 per cent hereas,the isolate Fm 45 was found least pathogenic with ADI of 42.5 per cent. Cross infectivity studies revealed that the maize isolate of F. moniliforme was pathogenic to wheat and basmati rice and non-pathogenic to peas, non-basmati rice and sugarcane. Likewise, sugarcane isolate of F. moniliforme was found most virulent; wheat and rice isolates moderately virulent and basmati rice and pea isolates were comparatively less virulent on maize. Out of twenty RAPD markers used to study the molecular variability of all 56 isolates of F. moniliforme, 18 showed amplification with a total of 220 amplified fragments. The PIC value was found lowest in primer OPT-9 and highest in primer OPT-12. Dendrogram based on molecular data generated by 18 RAPD primers showed six complete clusters and one independent lineage. When the clusters obtained by morphological, pathological and molecular data werecompared, no association could be obtained among cultural characteristics, virulence pattern and RAPD pattern. Studies of antagonistic potential of native biocontrol agents against F.moniliforme revealed that richoderma harzianumisolate, Th1 showed strong mycoparasitism by completely covering the mycelium of pathogen within 4 days of incubation under in vitroconditions. Two methods of application viz. seed treatment with Th1 @ 20 g/kg seed and amending the soil with FYM supplemented with talc based formulation of T. harzianum found promising in pot house studies, were further tested under field conditions. The maximum disease control and seed germination were obtained when soil was broadcasted with FYM supplemented with T. harzianum@ 2 kg talc/q FYM and amendment of soil with FYM supplemented with T. harzianum@ 100g/hill, respectively. Maximum increase in grain yield was obtained in FYM supplemented with T. arzianum@ 100g/hillThesisItem Restricted Effect of biofertilizers and organic fertilizers on soil health, growth and yield of green pea (Pisum sativum L.)(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2016) Harleen Kaur; Gosal, S.K.A field experiment was carried out to study the effect of biofertilizers and organic fertilizers on soil microbial dynamics, nutrient content of soil and plant, plant growth parameters and crop yield attributes. Significantly higher bacterial population (150 × 107 CFU/g of soil), PGPR population (218 ×105 CFU/g of soil) and soil dehydrogenase activity (2.291 μg TPF formed/g of soil/h) was observed in treatment having 50% FYM + 50% recommended dose of N and P +consortium biofertilizer while the maximum fungal population (20 ×103 CFU/g of soil), diazotrophic population (140 ×105 CFU/g of soil), PSB population (80 ×104 CFU/g of soil) and soil alkaline phosphatase activity (3.241 µg PNP formed/g of soil/h) was observed in treatment having 100% FYM +consortium. Actinomycetes population and urease activity showed varying trend as actinomycetes population (62 ×104 CFU/g of soil) was observed to be significantly higher in control and urease activity (399.33 μg urea hydrolysed/ g of soil/ h) in treatment having 100% FYM. Significantly higher soil organic carbon (0.35%) and available P (28.4 kg/ha) were observed in treatment having 100% FYM + consortium while available N (123.8 kg/ha) and K (121.9 kg/ha) were maximum in treatment having 50% FYM + 50% recommended dose of N and P +consortium. The maximum plant N uptake (598.2 kg/ha), P uptake (128.4 kg/ha) and K uptake (760.2 kg/ha) were recorded in treatment having combined application of FYM, inorganic and biofertilizers. Among plant growth parameters, root fresh and dry weight (5.67 g and 0.795 g respectively), shoot fresh and dry weight (147.221 g and 17.912 g respectively), shoot length (97.35 cm), number of pods/plant (12), pod weight/plant (29.39 g), seeds/pod (10), number of leaves (168) and number of branches/plant (31) were maximum in treatment having combined application of FYM, inorganic and biofertilizers. Pod length (9.9 cm) was the maximum in treatment having 100% recommended dose of N and P + consortium while nodule number per plant (32) was maximum in treatment having 100% FYM + consortium. Total pod yield (137.3 q/ha) was the maximum in treatment having 50% FYM + 50% recommended dose of N and P +consortium while stover yield (8.14 q/ha) was recorded maximum in treatment having 25% FYM + 75% recommended dose of N and P +consortium. NPK content of seed and straw were maximum in treatment having combined application of FYM, inorganic and biofertilizers. Significant positive correlation was observed between bacterial population and enzyme activities, soil properties, plant NPK content and yield. The results indicated that combined application of organic, inorganic and biofertilizers improved soil health and plant growth leading to increased yield.ThesisItem Restricted INTERRELATIONSHIP AMONG DIETARY DIVERSITY, SOCIOECONOMIC FACTORS AND FOOD SECURITY IN RURAL HOUSEHOLDS(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2012) Harleen KaurA total of 90 farm households from three land holding categories viz. small (1-2 hectares), semi-medium (2-4 hectares) and medium (4-10 hectares) from village Lalton, district Ludhiana were selected to determine the interrelationship among diet diversity, socio-economic factors and food security. The households were categorized into Group I, II and III based on their land holdings. Dietary information was obtained from 133 women subjects (18-45 years old) from the selected households. A significantly (p≤0.05) higher total and per capita income was observed in Group III when compared to Group I and Group II. The total expenditure on food by Group I, II and III was 18.4, 24.4 and 20.5%, respectively. Group II expended significantly (p≤0.05) more on food than Group I. Out of 11 nutrients, four of them namely vitamins A, B1, C and calcium had Nutrient Adequacy Ratio (NAR) more than 100%, while only Vitamin B12 had NAR% less than 50%, other six nutrients namely energy, protein, vitamin B2, B3, folacin and iron had NAR laid between 51-75%. Mean Adequacy Ratio (MAR) for Group I, II and III was 76.2, 83.6 and 80.8%. Overall adequacy was comparable between the three groups, however, Group I had significantly (p≤0.05) lower MAR% compared to Group II. Among the dietary factors, cereals were positively correlated with DDS, FVS and MAR%. Green leafy vegetables were significantly (p≤0.05) correlated with MAR, while other vegetables were significantly (p≤0.05) correlated with DDS and MAR%. Fruits and milk and milk products showed significant (p≤0.05, 0.01) and positive correlation with DDS, FVS and MAR%. The intake of vitamin A and calcium intake was significantly (p≤0.05, 0.01) correlated with both DDS and FVS, while protein was significantly (p≤0.05, 0.01) correlated with FVS. Vitamin B12 and C showed positive correlation with DDS. Multiple regression analysis revealed that with the increase in expenditure on food, there was a significant (p≤0.1) increase in DDS but household size showed negative but significant (p≤0.1) association with DDS. The education of respondents and total expenditure on food resulted in a significant (p≤0.1) increase in FVS but there was significant (p≤0.1) decrease in FVS with the increase in household size. Significant (p≤0.05) predictors of MAR were size of land holding, total income, income from agriculture and dairy. The study concluded that there is a strong interrelationship observed between dietary diversity score (DDS), food variety score (FVS) and mean adequacy ratio (MAR) indicating that all three can be used effectively as indicators of food security. However, DDS and FVS being simple can be substituted for the more complex and time consuming MAR method in large sample studies.
