IOSR-JESTFT   Volume-7 ~ Issue-5 ~ Nov–Dec 2013

Abstract: The present study entitled 'Development and Popularization of Agathi leaves (Sesbaniagrandiflora) Incorporated Food Products' was done with an aim to prepare Agathi incorporated products, to study their shelf life qualities and to popularize these products among women attending self-help groups like Kudumbasree units. The study also measured awareness of the Kudumbasree members about Agathi. In order to meet the objectives, fifteen products were prepared by incorporating Agathi leaves namely Agathi mango jujubes, Agathi tomato sauce, Agathi pineapple jam, Agathi sweet pickle, Agathi pickle, Agathi cutlet, Agathi dry chutney powder, Agathi wet chutney, Agathipathiri, Agathi green gram dosa, Agathi water melon drink, Agathi halva, Agathi tomato squash, Agathi lemon juice and Agathi cucumber mix. These products were prepared in three variations namely variation A, variation B and variation C which contained various proportions of Agathi, incorporated in 20 per cent, 30 per cent and 50 percent in them along with other ingredients for achieving enhanced quality and adequate quantity of the nutrients in the products.

Keywords: Green leafy vegetables, Kudumbasree, Nutrients, Score card, Shelf life

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Abstract: Gregarious flowering in D. hamiltonii and M. baccifera were occurred in the north eastern region of India. Due to sudden dead in larger scale, considerable changes in particular bamboo forests were witnessed. An approach was made to examine the changes in soil parameters during pre-flowering, flowering and post-flowering phases. Soil nutrients such as N, P and K were decrease, though, oxidizable organic carbon, soil moisture increases in flowering and post-flowering sites. Besides, soil acidity also increases in these sites. Thus, changes in soil physico-chemical parameters were observed in these bamboo forests. Such changes in soil were either the reason for gregarious flowering and dead in bamboo or vice versa.

Keywords: Gregarious flowering, bamboo forest, phase, changes, mass dead, soil nutrients.

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Abstract: The largest mangrove areas in the eastern part of Thailand are located in Chanthaburi province, but most of them have deteriorated and are abandoned. A healthy mangrove area in the Weluestuary, Khlung district, Chanthaburi province is selected as the study area. Mangrove composition, structure and distribution were investigated to be used as a baseline for mangrove conservation in the surrounding area. Twenty-six mangrove speciesincluding 15important true mangrove species, namely A. alba, A. officinalis, B. cylindrica, B. gymnorrhiza, B. hainesii, B. parviflora, B. sexangula, C. tagal, E. agallocha, R. apiculata, R. mucronata, S. caseolaris, S. ovata, X. granatum and X. moluccensis, were identifiedfrom the field survey.Based on structure and community, R.apiculata appeared dominant in the area. The composition and structure results, in terms of number of trees, total stem basal area, tree density and IVI, revealed distribution of these true mangroves following different distances.Consequently, E. agallocha, X. granatum and X. moluccensis presented in the same zones as theAvicenniaceae, Rhizophoraceae and Sonneratiaceae families. This result suggested that E. agallocha, X. granatum and X. moluccensis can be used to rehabilitate the lost mangroves in the Welu estuary and other deteriorated and abandoned mangrove areas.

Keywords: Mangrove species, Mangrove structure, Mangrove community, Mangrove conservation, Chanthaburi province.

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Abstract: Despite the high level of dependence on rainwater for drinking and domestic uses due to lack of public pipe borne water supplies, little is done for monitoring the quality of stored rainwater in cisterns, tanks and reservoirs receiving rainwater in Wukari, Taraba State, North-Eastern, Nigeria. For this reason, it is very important to evaluate the quality of rainwater collected and stored in different storage media to ascertain their impacts on harvested rainwater quality. In this research study, samples of harvested rainwater were collected from different storage media commonly used (metal tanks, plastic tanks and concrete tanks) from private dwellings and public places. Physico-chemical and microbiological analyses of the samples were carried out using standard methods. The storage material types showed statistically significant differences (p<0.05) in some quality parameters such as pH, Electrical conductivity, Total dissolved solids, acidity, trace and heavy metals.The results of the analyses were compared with water quality guidelines of World Health Organization (W.H.O) to evaluate its suitability for potable and domestic uses. All the stored rainwater samples tested positive for faecal coliform and the counts were above the World Health Organization (W.H.O) stipulation for drinking water. The trace and heavy metals in the water samples were relatively within the World Health Organization (W.H.O) standards except for copper and iron levels in metal tanks. Plastic (PVC) tanks and well constructed concrete tanks are the most suitable storage media as found in this study. The study shows that harvested rainwater may not be suitable for direct drinking, without treatment, but could be used for other domestic purposes.

Keywords: Physicochemical, Microbiological, Rainwater harvesting, Storage tanks..

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