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Dr. Y. S. Parmar University of Horticulture & Forestry, Solan
Dr. Yashwant Singh Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Solan, was established on 1st December, 1985 with the objective to promote education, research and extension education in the fields of Horticulture, Forestry and allied disciplines. Late Dr. Yashwant Singh Parmar, the first Chief Minister and the architect of Himachal Pradesh perceived the importance of Horticulture and Forestry to develop and improve the State economy which led to the establishment of this University. Its history lies in erstwhile Himachal Agricultural College, Solan, established in 1962 and affiliated to the Panjab University. It became one of the campuses of Agriculture Complex of Himachal Pradesh University on its formation in 1970. Consequent upon the establishment of Himachal Pradesh Krishi Vishvavidyalaya in 1978, this campus became its Horticulture Complex and finally in 1985, assumed the status of a State University, being the only University in the country engaged exclusively in teaching, research and extension in Horticulture and Forestry.
The University is located at Nauni in Solan District of Himachal Pradesh, 13 km from Solan on Solan-Rajgarh Road, at an elevation of 1300 metres above mean sea level. Solan town is situated on national highway (NH-22) and is well connected by train and bus services.
The University has four constituent colleges, out of which, two are located at the main campus Nauni, one for horticulture and the other for forestry, having 9 and 7 departments, respectively. The third College i.e., College of Horticulture & Forestry is located at Neri in Hamirpur District on Nadaun-Hamirpur state highway, about 6 Km from Hamirpur town and is well connected with bus service. The college offers three Undergraduate Degree Programmes i.e. BSc (Hons.) Horticulture, BSc (Hons.) Forestry and B. Tech. Biotechnology and MSc degree programme in a few subjects. The fourth college i.e. College of Horticulture and Forestry, Thunag (Mandi) is located at Thunag District Mandi. This college offer BSc (Hons.) Horticulture and BSc (Hons.) Forestry degree programme. In addition, there are five Regional Research Stations, 12 Satellite Stations and five Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) situated in different zones of the State.
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ThesisItem Open Access Environmental impact assessment of industrialization in Paonta Sahib – Dhaula Kuan – Kala Amb industrial hub of Himachal Pradesh(YSPU, 2016) Kashyap, Rachit Raghava; Verma, K.S.Environmental impact assessment of industrialization in Paonta Sahib - Dhaula Kuan - Kala Amb industrial hub of Himachal Pradesh was conducted during the year 2014-15. The objectives of study were to inventorization and characterization of major pollutant industries; estimation of greenhouse gases from different industrial sources; study the physicochemical properties of industrial effluents, soils, water resources and efficiency of field crops to bioaccumulate the heavy metals from soil. In order to prepare greenhouse gas inventory, the methodology given in the revised 1996 IPCC guidelines and 2006 IPCC guidelines for National greenhouse gas inventory was used. 62 industrial units were selected by using simple random sampling and enlisted under the broad emission categories viz. mineral, metal and other industries. On the basis of pollution potential categorization industries were sub-divided into red (highly polluting), orange (moderately polluting) and green (non-polluting). These two sub-categories had ten (10) industries in total out of which five (5) produce cement and five (5) was in glass production. Metal industries included three sub-categories viz. iron and steel, ferroalloy and aluminium. A total of nineteen (19) industries were covered under this category, out of which nine (9) were iron and steel producing, seven (7) were in ferroalloy production and three (3) aluminium producing. All metal industries were in red list, however three (3) were large and four (4) were medium scale industries. Twelve (12) remaining metal industries were small scale industries. Among other industries all pulp and paper were red, (13) food industries were in orange and rest was in green category. GHGs viz. CO 2 (749.298 Gg), CH 4 (0.024 Gg), N 2 O (0.067 Gg), CO (1.344 Gg), NMVOC’s (2.810 Gg) emitted from Paonta Sahib-Dhaula Kuan-Kala Amb industrial hub region annually. In terms of CO 2 eq. metal industry released (751.734 Gg CO 2 eq.) the highest amount followed by other industries (528.140 Gg CO 2 eq.) and mineral industry (44.078 Gg CO 2 eq.). Values of different parameters of pulp and paper industrial effluents were high in pre-monsoon as compare to postmonsoon season. Principal component analysis (PC) outcome of three and two factors revealed natural and anthropogenic activities as contributing factors for metal profusion in the rivers. Based on pollution index, Cr, As and Zn were seriously (24.74), moderately (0.616) and slightly (0.380) polluting metals, respectively in Yamuna river. Parameters like Zn, As and NO 3 were slightly polluting, while COD (moderately), BOD (strongly) and Cr (seriously) polluting, respectively in Markanda river. Ground water quality was overall good and heavy metals accumulated in leaf samples of wheat and maize were below permissible limits. Therefore, in industrial towns continuous monitoring of soil, water and crops are needed to maintain environmental quality on sustainable basis. Data obtained in this study can be used as a baseline and reference point when assessing further changes around industrial hub of Sirmour district of Himachal Pradesh.ThesisItem Open Access ASSESSMENT OF AIR POLLUTION TOLERANCE INDEX OF PLANTS GROWING ALONGSIDE MARKANDA TO PAONTA SAHIB NATIONAL HIGHWAY (NH-7) IN HIMACHAL PRADESH(2016) PANDIT, JYOTSANA; SOOD, ANILABSTRACT The present investigations entitled “Assessment of air pollution tolerance index of plants growing alongside Markanda to Paonta Sahib National Highway(NH-7) in Himachal Pradesh” were conducted during 2015-2016 in the Department of Environmental Science, Dr. Y.S Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, Himachal Pradesh. These studies were aimed at understanding the seasonal variation in biochemical parameters and determining the indices of Air Pollution Tolerance and Anticipated Performance along with dust accumulation capacity of plants growing alongside Markanda to Paonta Sahib National Highway (NH-7). In the selected stretch of the Highway vegetation distribution was studied by quadrat method. The commonly occurring four plants species namely, Ficus roxburghii, Mallotus philippensis, Shorea robusta and Woodfordia fruticosa were selected for the study. In order to study the impact of vehicular activities on the plants, the horizontal distances of 010 m and 10-20 m were selected and two seasons viz. post-monsoon (October-November) and pre-monsoon (April and May) were considered. In total, there were 16 treatment combinations which were replicated four times under RBD (Factorial). The dust accumulation of the selected plant species ranged from 1.28 -71.06 mg m-2. Order of selected plant species according to dust accumulation was F. roxburghii (38.30mg m-2) > S. robusta (26.94 mg m-2) > M. philippensis (22.31 mg m-2) > W. fruticosa (16.70mg m-2). Dust accumulation was higher in pre monsoon (30.70 mg g-2) and lower in post monsoon season (21.42 mg g-2). Plants growing at a distance of 0-10 m from the Highway accumulated higher dust as compared to those at a distance of 10-20 m. The ascorbic acid content of selected plant species varied from 0.96- 2.67 mg g-1. The chlorophyll content in the leaves of selected plant species ranged from 0.82-1.82 mg g-1. The leaf extract pH of plants varied from 5.17-6.68. The relative water content of the selected plant species ranged from 78.77-90.64%. The APTI was calculated on the basis of four biochemical parameters like ascorbic acid content, total chlorophyll content, leaf extract pH and relative water content. By combining resultant APTI with some relevant biological and socio economic characters Anticipated Performance Index (API) was calculated for the selected plant species. The order of tolerance of selected plant species was S. robusta (10.28) > F. roxburghii (9.51) > W. fruticosa (8.92) > M. philippensis (8.91). The highest APTI was observed in the post monsoon season (9.76) followed by pre monsoon season (9.05). The selected plant species growing at a horizontal distance of 0-10 m from National Highway were observed to have higher values (9.70) as compared to those at a distance of 10-20 m (9.11). The relatively higher APTI value of S. robusta as compared to other species indicated its tolerance to pollution along the Highway. The assessment of the API with respect to the selected plant species was observed to fall in the range of not recommended categoryto the bestone. S. robusta with higher APTI and API has been identified as suitable plant for plantation along the Markanda to Paonta Sahib National Highwayto filter theair pollution and reduce its impact on human health.ThesisItem Open Access EVALUATION OF AIR POLLUTION TOLERANCE AND CARBON STORAGE POTENTIAL OF PLANTS GROWING ALONGSIDE THENATIONAL HIGHWAY 21(2016) KAPOOR, TANVI; BHARDWAJ, S.K.ABSTRACT The present investigation entitled “Evaluation of air pollution tolerance and carbon storage potential of plants growing alongside the National Highway 21” was conducted during the years 2014 and 2015 in the Department of Environmental Science, Dr. Y.S. Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, Solan, Himachal Pradesh. The study aimed at determining the air pollution tolerance index, along with dust accumulation capacity of selected plants and the estimation of heavy metal load of dust. The morphological and anatomical characters of leaves viz. leaf area, orientation, stomatal density and index were also recorded. The APTI was calculated on the basis of biochemical parameters like total chlorophyll, leaf extract pH , ascorbic acid and relative water content. The anticipated performance index as well as carbon storage potential of the selected plants was also determined. The study was conducted on a uniform stretch on National Highway 21 from Bilaspur to Mandi in Himachal Pradesh. To study the impact of vehicular pollution six plant species namely Adhatoda vasica, Ficus carica, Melia azederach, Morus alba, Murraya koenigii and Toona ciliata were selected at three horizontal distances i.e.0-15, 15-30 and 30-45m from roadside. The tolerance of plants to vehicular pollution was studied during pre monsoon and post monsoon seasons. In total there were 36 treatment combinations which were replicated four times under Randomized Block Design (factorial). The total chlorophyll content, leaf extract pH, leaf relative water content, ascorbic acid, total sugar and phenols ranged from 0.84 to 5.26mg g-1, 4.85 to 7.01, 70.03 to 88.61 per cent, 1.23 to 4.81mg g1 , 5.33 to 41.56 mg g-1 and 0.86 to 4.10mg g-1 respectively. The air pollution tolerance of the selected plants was in the range of 8.37 to 12.85 and was in order of Toona ciliata > Melia azederach > Adhatoda vasica > Ficus carica > Morus alba > Murraya koenigii. The leaf dust load accumulation ranged from 0.01 to 1.48mg m-2. The concentration of heavy metals viz. zinc , nickel, lead, chromium, copper and iron in the leaf dust was in the range of 13.10 to 45.83, 2.22 to 9.11, 26.55 to 92.04, 1.32 to 6.37, 12.29 to 62.86 and 28.25 to 62.13 mg g-1, respectively. The stomatal index and density reduced due to dust accumulation on the leaves.The evaluation of API categorized the plants in the range of poor to excellent. The carbon storage potential of the selected plants ranged from 0.18 to 169.22 Mg per tree and followed the order of Toona ciliate > Melia azederach > Morus alba > Ficus carica > Murraya koenigii > Adhatoda vasica with respective values of 169.22, 110.90, 84.82, 55.28, 0.19 and 0.18Mg per tree. Toona ciliata with higher air pollution tolerance , anticipated performance index has been identified as suitable plant for plantation along the National Highway. Its higher carbon sequestration potential may be helpful in mitigating the projected climate change in the regionThesisItem Open Access ASSESSMENT OF APPLE CROP VULNERABILITY TO CLIMATE CHANGE IN HIMACHAL PRADESH(2016) HUKUM CHAND; VERMA, S.C.ABSTRACT The present investigations entitled “Assessment of apple crop vulnerability to climate change in Himachal Pradesh” was conducted during the years 2014 and 2015 at selected altitudinal gradient viz. 1500-2000 m amsl (Kullu), 2000 2500 m amsl (Shimla) and 2500-3000 m amsl (Kinnaur) in Himachal Pradesh. The study aimed to assess the vulnerability of apple crop to climate, trend of effective chill units as well as productivity trend of apple crop under selected altitudinal gradient. For determining the vulnerability of apple crop to climate change data on various indicators such as exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity was collected from both primary (farmers’ perception on climate change and apple cultivation) as well as secondary (meteorological and productivity data) sources and quantitative assessment of vulnerability was done by constructing ‘vulnerability index’. Utah model was used for determining the effective apple chill units trend. Correlation and regression analysis between various weather parameters (temperature and rainfall) and apple productivity was done for the productivity trend analysis. Weather based crop yield forecast model equation were developed and crop yield was predicted with maximum accuracy for Kinnaur (80 %) followed by Kullu (71 %) and Shimla region (66 %). Various mitigation and adaptation strategies to cope up apple cultivation with climate change at selected altitudinal gradient were developed. Climatic variability analysis indicated that annual average temperature showed an increasing trend at different altitudinal gradients as 0.071oC/year at 20002500 m amsl > 0.027oC/year at 1500-2000 m amsl > 0.001oC/year at 2500-3000 m amsl. The annual total rainfall has increased by 0.614 mm per year at 2000-2500 m amsl and 0.525 mm per year at 2500-3000 m amsl whereas it decreased by 4.165 mm per year at 1500-2000 m amsl. The apple productivity has increased at different altitudinal gradients as 2000-2500 m amsl > 2500 3000 m amsl > 1500-2000 m amsl. The effective apple chill units showed a decreasing trend at different altitudinal gradients as 11.4 chill units/ year at 2000-2500 m amsl > 9.892 chill units/ year at 2500-3000 m amsl > 6.385 chill units/year at1500-2000 m amsl. The average number of chill units hours (CU hrs) available for the apple crop at different altitudinal gradients followed a trend as 1065.95 CU hrs at 2500-3000 m amsl > 1010.65 CU hrs at 2000-2500 m amsl > 456.81 CU hrs at 1500-2000 m amsl. Sensitivity analysis of apple productivity with annual maximum temperature showed maximum negative rate of the order 4.83 tones/year at 1500-2000 m amsl followed by 1.34 tones/year at 2000-2500 m amsl and 0.68 tones/ year at 2000-2500. On the basis of vulnerability index altitude gradient 1500-2000 m amsl (Kullu) obtained rank-I and is highly vulnerable followed by altitude gradient 2000-2500 m amsl ( rank-II) and altitudinal gradient 2500-3000 m amsl (Kinnaur) (rank-III) is least vulnerable for apple cultivation. The majority (28.78 %) of farmers at an altitude gradient 1500-2000 (Kullu) m amsl have shifted for the cultivation of alternate crops like pomegranate, kiwi, vegetables etc. whereas 72.83 per cent preferred low chill apple varieties for future plantation. Hence to cope up apple cultivation with changing climatic conditions there is a need to adopt suggested mitigation and adaptation strategies at all the three selected altitudinal gradients in Himachal PradeshThesisItem Open Access IMPACT OF INTENSIVE FARMING ON NATURAL RESOURCES IN SHIMLA DISTRICT OF HIMACHAL PRADESH(2016) CHAUHAN, AAKRITI; VERMA, SUBHASH CHANDERABSTRACT The present investigations entitled “Impact of Intensive Farming on Natural Resources in Shimla District of Himachal Pradesh” was conducted during the years 2014 and 2015 in the Department of Environmental Science, Dr. Y. S. Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, Solan, Himachal Pradesh. The study aimed at determining the impact of cropping systems on natural resources. In order to assess their impact on soil and surface water quality during winter, summer and rainy season, four cropping systems viz. vegetable, fruit + vegetable, fruit and cereal were selected and uncultivated land was taken as the control. In total there were five treatments which were replicated six times under randomized block design. In Shimla district physico-chemical and biological parameters of surface soil i.e. pH (7.02), bacterial count (80.08 x 104 cfu/g soil), actinomycetes (36.42 x 104 cfu/g soil) were high under uncultivated land whereas EC (0.40 ds/m), OC (2.92 %), available nitrogen (582.50 kg/ha), available potassium (627.80 kg/ha), fungal count (10.42 x 103 cfu/g soil), microbial biomass (455.83 mg/kg), arsenic (5.42 mg/kg), cadmium (0.74 mg/kg), chromium (4.86 mg/kg), nickel (6.25 mg/kg and zinc (39.27 mg/kg) was highest under fruit based cropping system whereas bulk density (1.28 mg/m3) was highest under vegetable based cropping system and available phosphorus (70.08 kg/ha) and lead ( 7.92 mg/kg) was high under fruit + vegetable based cropping system. Cadmium in surface soils were above permissible limit.The soil health index was lowest (50) under vegetable based cropping system and highest (80) under uncultivated land. Physico-chemical properties of surface water such as pH (7.52), EC (0.49 ds/m), TDS (320.43 mg/l), turbidity (2.83 NTU), magnesium (11.01 mg/l), nitrate (11.92 mg/l), cadmium (0.81 ppb), lead (35.00 ppb) and zinc (123.67 ppb) was high under fruit based cropping system whereas temperature (18.01 oC), BOD (1.48 mg/l) and calcium (57.23 mg/l) was high under vegetable based cropping system and COD (27.08 mg/l), chloride (23.36 mg/l), arsenic (5.98 ppb), chromium (39.47 ppb) and nickel (0.36ppb) was high under fruit + vegetable based cropping system. DO was highest (8.07 mg/l) under uncultivated land in surface water. Seasonally, pH (7.75), EC (0.40 ds/m), TDS (264.72 mg/l), temperature (23.33oC), calcium (67.89 mg/l), magnesium (11.47 mg/l), nitrate (11.00 mg/l), chloride (26.79 mg/l), chromium (34.32 ppb), nickel (0.34 ppb) and zinc (79.03 ppb) was high during summer season whereas turbidity (3.22 NTU), BOD (1.60 mg/l) COD (27.49 mg/l), arsenic (6.21 ppb), cadmium (0.75 mg/l) and lead (26.32 ppb) was high during rainy season and DO (8.42 mg/l) was high during winter season. The lead content recorded under vegetable, fruit, fruit + vegetable based cropping systems and during all the seasons were above permissible limits. Water quality index was good for all the cropping systems during all the seasons. Distribution and abundance of aquatic insects were recorded highest under uncultivated. The bioaccumulation of arsenic (5.16 µg/g) was highest by Plecoptera, cadmium (0.62 µg/g), lead (0.88 µg/g) and zinc (31.72 µg/g) by Trichoptera, chromium (6.69 µg/g) by Ephemeroptera. Arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead and zinc content in aquatic insects ranged from 3.89 to 5.02 µg/g, 0.25 to 0.58, 3.67 to 6.80 µg/g, 0.35 to 1.03 µg/g, 11.65 to 29.91 µg/g in Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera and Trichoptera, respectively under different cropping systems. Heavy metals in megaloptera and Odonata was in the range of 0.002 to 0.417 µg/g and 0.02 to 1.09 µg/g, respectively under uncultivated land. Nickle content in aquatic insects was below detectable limits in most of the cropping systems. EPT, EPT biotic and family biotic indices indicated that surface water quality was good and Simpson’s Biodiversity index was maximum under uncultivated land during winter and summer seasons. Thus, intensive farming practices have shown variable impacts on soil health and surface water quality in Shimla district of Himachal Prades