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ThesisItem Open Access Studies on avian diversity, biology and behaviour along Beas river conservation reserve(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2021) Sachin Kumar; Kler, Tejdeep KaurRiver Beas was declared as conservation reserve in year 2017 under section 36A of Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 but no study is available on the avian diversity along river. Therefore, present study was conducted from April 2019 to March 2021along Beas conservation reserve to understand the avian diversity in various sub habitats present along the river by selecting three locations i.e. Location I (Talwara: In foot hills of Shiwaliks), Location II (Beas: near urban settlement) and Location III (Harike: near rural settlement). Each location was further divided as crop fields, riparian, shallow water, edge, island and river. Study revealed that river Beas provides shelter to 245 bird species where 228 species were recorded at Location I with 40 exclusive species, 126 at Location II and 202 at Location III with 13 exclusive species. Crop fields had avian diversity of 104 at Location I, 78 at Location II and 94 at Location III. Riparian zone of river harbours 143 at location I, 83 at location II and 117 at location III. Shallow water river zone had 110 at location I, 126 at location II and 58 at location III. During this study a total of 113 species were recorded to exploiting edge sub habitat and 85 species Island sub habitat for various activities while 126 in shallow water sub habitat of riverine system which shows that the edge and island habitats are equally important from avian conservation point of view. Both Island and edge habitat are made of relatively very small area as compare to overall river habitat zone therefore these sub habitats are easy to manage but need attention during conservation planning. Crop fields and riparian habitats support more single species roosters and single group roosters. Riverine habitats (Edge, Shallow water and Islands) supports more mix group roosters. A total of 527 nests were recorded during study period having 193 nests at Talwara, 115 at Beas and 219 at Harike. Nesting of birds was niche area specific where colony nesters were tree species specific including Baya weaver nesting was specific to Date Palm and Cattle Egret nesting was specific to Kikar. Riparian zone of Talwara was wide and had minimum anthropogenic activities therefore harbour maximum of 143 species in riparian zone while Harike had wide shallow water zone therefore maximum of 126 water dependent species as compare to other two locations. Location II had almost lowest values for all diversity indexes under study (Abundance, Richness, Shannon index, Simpson index) in comparison to Location I and III shows the effect of proximity of human habitation on avian diversity. Though the all six sub-habitats understudy were adjoining to each other still a clear distinction of niche area preference was recorded during study. The birds may enter the adjoin niche but overall abundance remains similar for preferred niche for each bird species. The study concludes that significant number of species recorded have specific niche area requirements that are completed by the river’s sub-habitats including feeding, foraging, roosting and nesting therefore conservation plans should be designed in such a way that whole area come under protection as a single unit while maintaining its sub habitat identity.ThesisItem Open Access Impacts of agricultural mechanization on avian diversity in Ludhiana district(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2021) Harnoor Kaur; Kler, Tejdeep KaurThe present investigation was carried out to study the impacts of agricultural mechanization on avian diversity at nine selected rice-wheat fields from three locations, Sarabha (Location I), Pakhowal (Location II) and Dangon (Location III) from April 2020 to March 2021. A total of 50 avian species were recorded from the selected fields during the study period. Rock Pigeon (8.63%), Cattle Egret (8.55%), House Crow (8.50%), Common Myna (7.61%), Eurasian Collared Dove (7.17%) and Red-wattled Lapwing (6.46%) were the most abundant species found. During the Kharif season, a total of 48 bird species of 46 genera were recorded while 49 bird species belonging to 45 genera during the Rabi season. The mechanical operations like ploughing, harvesting and other post harvesting operations with disc plough harrow, plougher, combine harvester and straw baller have shown much higher avian species richness and diversity irrespective of the field type. Higher values of species richness and diversity were recorded from the organically cultivated fields and fields with agronomic practices recommended by PAU as compared to fields with conventional cultivation practices. Increase in species richness and diversity was observed during the harvesting and post-harvesting operations due to use of combine harvesters, thresher, straw baller, disc plough harrow and land leveller. As evident from the present study cultivating crops both organically and by following PAU recommended agronomic practices might help in sustaining higher avian species richness and diversity.ThesisItem Open Access Evaluation of larvicidal potential of kinnow peel extracts against Aedes aegypti Linnaeus(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2021) Arshkamaljot Kaur; Kocher, Devinder KaurTransmission of dengue virus by Ae. aegypti mosquito is one of the major global issues. Presently plant based products are in high demand for mosquito control, as they are effective, easily available and eco-friendly. Different types of extracts viz. oil, ethanolic and aqueous were prepared from kinnow peel and tested @ 40, 50, 60, 70 and 80ppm, 0.05, 0.10, 0.15, 0.20 and 0.25% and 6.0, 7.0, 8.0, 9.0 and 10.0% respectively for their larvicidal efficacy against Ae. aegypti 4th instar larvae. Results indicated 70ppm of oil, 0.20% of ethanolic and 9.0% of aqueous extracts as effective larvicidal concentrations. Certain morphological damages and abnormal behavioural activities were observed in the treated larvae. These kinnow peel extracts were found to be highly volatile in nature, as no residual activity in terms of larval mortality occurred in the left over effective concentrations of these extracts. However, residual effect in the form of delayed development (L4 to adult) was observed in all the treated sets in comparison to control and vehicle-control. All kinnow peel extracts were found to have statistically similar larvicidal potential in freshly prepared and stored (2, 4 and 6 months old) extracts, indicating no effect of storage on their larvicidal activity. Thus, the identification of kinnow like plant based oil/extracts having larvicidal properties combined with capacity to damage larvae, alter their behaviour along with delay in developmental phases is the need of hour and should be exploited in future for managing the problem of dengue transmitting vector, Ae. aegypti.ThesisItem Open Access Evaluation of oxidative stress and genotoxicity in carps of south-western region of Punjab(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2021) Money; Navdeep KaurThe carps i.e. Catla (Catla catla) and Mrigal (Cirrhinus mrigala) were collected from three different locations i.e. Ludhiana, Muktsar and Bathinda. The content of proteins, activity of antioxidant enzymes (SOD, CAT, GPx,GR), level of LPO and GSH in organs (liver, kidney, gills) and muscles of carps, heavy metal content, genotoxicity and qualitative analysis of proteins in liver of carps was estimated. The protein content, activity of GR and level of GSH was found to be present in order: Ludhiana > Bathinda >Muktsar whereas, activities of antioxidant enzymes(SOD, CAT, GPx) and levels of LPO were in the order: Muktsar >Bathinda > Ludhiana in all the organs and muscles of both the carps. Heavy metals (As and Cr) were found in the liver of both carps of district Muktsar and Bathinda above the permissible limits. DNA damage determined by genotoxicity (Comet assay) was also found to be high in the liver of carps of district Muktsar followed by Bathinda and Ludhiana. Qualitative analysis of proteins (SDS-PAGE) revealed protein bands (32 KDa, 38KDa) were present in liver of Catla and Mrigal of both Muktsar and Bathinda whereas some of the protein bands (120 KDa, 150 KDa and 200 KDa) were observed only in Mrigal of Bathinda. The carps of South-western region of Punjab (Muktsar and Bathinda) are more prone to oxidative stress due to groundwater contaminants.ThesisItem Open Access Population dynamics, genetic variation and evaluation of pesticide residues in Indian flying fox Pteropus giganteus(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2021) Gagandeep Kaur; Rajwinder SinghThe present study was conducted to estimate the population abundance and dynamics of Pteropus giganteus, its preference in roosting sites, genetic variation and evaluation of pesticide residues at Chatpat Bani (district Pathankot), village Katani Kalan (district Ludhiana) and village Longowal (district Sangrur) during 2019-20. The mean bat population on different tree species was higher at Chatpat Bani than at village Longowal. At Chatpat Bani, mean bat population was maximum during summer (3139.0) whereas maximum during winters (425.0) at Longowal. At Chatpat Bani, per cent bat population roosted on trees was highest on Indian ash tree (79.0%) and lowest on Punjab fig (2.38%) whereas it was highest on safeda (50.88%) and lowest on ber tree (3.37%) at Longowal. At Chatpat Bani, the concentration level of heavy metals was estimated in faecal pellets and among all, Cr (17.35 ppm) was highest while As (0.99 ppm) was lowest, whereas at Katani Kalan, the concentration level of Cr (24.87 ppm) was highest while Cd (0.64 ppm) was lowest and at Longowal, highest concentration levels were recorded in Cr (26.30 ppm) while lowest in Cd (1.72 ppm). In a similar trend, concentration levels of macro- and micro-elements varied in all selected locations. Contamination of pesticide residues in faecal pellets was found negligible as GLC showed values below detectable limits i.e., <0.05 ppm at selected locations. The genetic variability of P. giganteus was studied in Pathankot and Ludhiana using faecal pellet samples. The full-length nucleotide sequences of bat mtCOI gene are 702 bp in both samples.ThesisItem Open Access Evaluation of integrated bird pest management methods in maize crop(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2021) Manjinder Kaur; Kler, Tejdeep KaurMaize (Zea mays L.) is a vital cereal crop after paddy and wheat. The aim of present study was to generate information on effectiveness of management practices in maize crop. The detailed observations were taken on effect of management methods on bird diversity and composition at selected maize crop fields in PAU, Ludhiana. The study was carried out in the three fields; viz., near Experimental farms of the School of Organic Farming and Integrated Farming fields (Field I), near tube well no. 5 (Field II) and near Punjab Remote Sensing Centre (PRSC) (Field III) of Experimental farms of the Maize Experimental Research Area of Plant Breeding and Genetics department during spring season of maize crop (March 2021-June 2021). A total of 45 bird species were recorded belonging to 42 genera and 32 families under 12 orders at three selected fields among which 30, 40 and 42 species were recorded at field I, II and III respectively. Among these 45 bird species, Rose-ringed Parakeet and House Crow were found to be most abundant at different developmental stages of maize crop in field I, II and III with relative abundance of 17.52%, 13.11%, 14.33% and 14.91%, 15.42%, 15.66% respectively. Order wise Passeriformes and feeding habits wise Omnivorous were most dominant in all the said fields throughout the study period. A total of 44 bird species were recorded in three fields during sowing-seedling stage (protected with management methods) of maize crop among which 36, 40 and 31 were recorded at field I, II and III respectively. Common Myna and House Crow were found to most abundant at field II with seasonal abundance of 23.59% and 18.67% respectively. Total 39 bird species were recorded at three fields during ripening stage (protected with management methods) of maize crop among which 36, 32 and 32 were recorded at field I, II and III respectively. Rose-ringed Parakeet was found to be among three most abundant species. Depredatory bird scaring methods were effective in reducing the feeding and abundance of depredatory bird species in treatment plots as compared to control plot, as percent seedlings and cobs damage was highest in control plots and very least in treatment plots in three selected fields. The present study suggest that, from economic point of view, two most effective methods found were reflective ribbons and combined scare balloons and tussel bag wrapping methods would be economically viable.ThesisItem Open Access Productivity and Nutritional Composition of Fish in Relation to Nutritional Quality of Fish Feeds in Some Commercial Fish Ponds of Shri Muktsar Sahib District of Punjab(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2021) Lovepreet Kaur; Sehgal, G.K.The present study evaluated productivity and nutritional composition of a cultured fish species, Labeo rohita (Ham.) in relation to nutritional quality of feeds and on-farm feeding practices in six commercial fish ponds of Shri Muktsar Sahib District of Punjab. The ponds were divided into two groups (3 in each group). The productivity of the pond group 1 was 6.25 to 7.5t ha-1 year-1 and in group 2, it was 4.0 to 5.6 t ha-1 year-1. Nutritional composition of the fish varied seasonally. The moisture content was minimum in summer and maximum in monsoon. Slightly higher moisture content was noticed in the fish from pond group 2 (78.05%) than from the group 1 (77.88%). Crude protein content (CP) was lowest in winter and highest in summer. The fish from the pond group 1 had significantly higher CP content (17%) than those from the group 2 (16.1%). The crude lipid content also remained higher in the fish from pond group 1 than those from the pond group 2 in monsoon and winter (2.01% and 1.80%, respectively). Carbohydrates were highest in summer and lowest in monsoon. There were non-significant differences in carbohydrates between the two groups of ponds. Ash was maximum during summer (2.55%) and minimum in monsoon (1.13%). The fish ash content from group 1 ponds was higher than from the group 2 in summer and monsoon but in group 1 in winter. Gross energy (GE) was highest in summer and lowest in winter. The GE of the fish from the pond group 1 was higher than of those from the group 2. Nonsignificant differences in air and water temperature occurred except in water temperature in winter when it was higher in group 2. Non-significant differences between the two groups of ponds existed in Secchi disc transparency, pH, dissolved oxygen, total alkalinity, and salinity. Significantly higher dissolved phosphorus was recorded in group 2 in summer and monsoon. The total phytoplankton was higher in group 1 than in group 2 ponds. The average values were 221.31×105/L and 196.46×106/L in groups 1 and 2, respectively. There were seasonal differences in zooplankton also. The total zooplankton number remained significantly higher in pond group 1. The average values were 402.29 No./L and 352.12 No./L in pond groups 1 and 2, respectively. Farmers of ponds 1 and 6 used de-oiled rice bran as fish feed. In ponds 2, 3, 4 and 5 formulated feeds were used. Nutritional composition of fish feeds varied seasonally. Non-significant differences in moisture occurred in monsoon and winter. In summer, it was higher in group 2. Non-significant differences in CP content occurred. Significantly higher CL occurred in group 1 ponds. Non-significant differences existed in carbohydrates. Significantly higher ash content was in group 1 ponds. Aflatoxins were detected in all the feeds given in all the six ponds. Daily ration size was 2% of body weight per day except in pond 3 where it was 3%. Feeding frequency and time of feeding was once in the morning. The feed dispensing method was broadcasting except in ponds 3 and 4 where perforated sacs/drums were used. Crude protein and crude lipid of feeds had major effect on nutritional composition of fish.ThesisItem Open Access Synergistic effect of neem seed extract and andrographolide in reducing reproductive potential of female Rattus rattus (Linnaeus)(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2022) Verma, Meenu; Babbar, B.K.The Neem and Andrographolide are well known for their antifertility and antifeedent properties. To study the acceptance of neem seed alcoholic hexane (NSAH) extract and andrographolide powder based baits against R. rattus, three different baits were prepared. The dose of NSAH extract and andrographolide was same in all the three treated baits but their method of preparation was different. Female house rats, Rattus rattus of different groups were fed under bi-choice condition on these baits. Results indicated antifeedent index ranging from 29.03 % to 39.26 % with treated bait 1, 2 and 3 indicating good palatability of baits. The consumption of active ingredient ranged from 0.033 to 0.067g/100g bw for andrographolide and 1.73 to 3.31g/100g bw for neem seed powder with maximum antifertility effect of treated bait 2 and toxic effect of treated bait 3. Therefore, treated bait 2 was used for further studies. Feeding of rats on treated bait 2 indicated overall 54% mortality in 5-17 days with significant increase in the duration of estrous cycle in treated rats immediately after treatment as compared to the control rats. The hormonal studies indicated significant reduction in the level of sex hormones as compared to control group. The histological studies of ovary and uterus revealed complete absence of normal ovarian follicles, degeneration of follicular cells, disruption in the shape of follicles and cystic follicles in the ovaries, reduction in the number of uterine glands and thickness of different layers of uterus of treated rats. Mating behaviour and reproductive success was also affected in treated rats. Results also revealed irreversible antifertility effect of treated bait 2 even after 15 and 30 days of treatment. From this study, it is concluded that increase in palatability, stability and bioavailability of secondary metabolites in treated bait 2 resulted in both toxic and irreversible antifertility effects in treated female house rats. Results also revealed synergistic toxic and antifertility effects of andrographolide and and secondary metabolites of NSAH extract in treated bait 2 on female house rats. Therefore treated bait 2 can be used under field condition for long term management of rodents.ThesisItem Open Access Genotoxicity and oxidative stress in earthworms in response to pesticides under natural conditions in submountainous undulating zone of Punjab(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2022) Jasmeen Kaur; Aulakh, R.K.The expansion of agriculture and extensive use of pesticides disturb soil ecosystem leading to soil pollution, toxicity and significant population damage to soil organisms. The current study was set out to assess the amount of pesticide residue present inside the tissues of earthworms and how oxidative stress and genotoxicity were induced in earthworms due to excess of pesticide residues in agricultural lands of Hoshiarpur and Gurdaspur districts. Pesticide residue analysis revealed the presence of chlorpyrifos and edifenphos in soil whereas no pesticide residues were found above the limit of quantification in earthworm tissues. Genotoxicity test revealed a tail DNA% of 5.61 in case of earthworms taken from chlorpyrifos contaminated soil and a tail DNA% of 21.66 in case of earthworms taken from edifenphos contaminated soil from Hoshiarpur district and a tail DNA% of 0.01 in case of earthworms taken from chlorpyrifos contaminated soil from Gurdaspur district. Cytogenetic analysis showed no chromosomal aberrations were observed. The antioxidative enzyme activity showed a significant difference between the activity of Superoxide Dismutase, Glutathione Peroxidase, Glutathione-S-Transferase and Acetylcholinesterase was observed from earthworms from Hoshiarpur district. A significant difference between the activity of Superoxide Dismutase, Glutathione Peroxidase, Glutathione-S-Transferase was observed from earthworms from Gurdaspur district. It was concluded that there are less effects of pesticide residues on earthworms under field conditions as compared to the previous studies done under controlled lab conditions due to the dynamic and complex nature of the environment which cannot be stimulated in the lab.
