The fall armyworm [Spodoptera frugiperda, (JE Smith, 1797) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)] is a polyphagous pest native to tropical and subtropical regions of America. After it was detected for the first time in Nepal in the Nawalpur area on 9th May 2019, it has become a major threat in maize fields even though it has over 80 host species to proceed its life cycle. Due to its migratory nature, FAW moth can travel up to 500 km before oviposition, and infestation of its larva has resulted in vast devastation of the vegetative as well as reproductive parts of plants causing significant yield loss in maize. A mature larva possesses a dark head with an upside-down pale Y-shaped marking on the head area and black four spots that are arranged in a square on the second last body segment. This paper audits the executive choices (avoidance, observing, push-pull, cultural, biological, organic, chemical, and integrated techniques to incorporate in FAW susceptible areas) that apply to smallholder farmers who do not have the monetary asset to buy compound pesticides and other costly control instruments. For the majority of Nepalese farmers with low resources and small landholding, push-pull technology is beneficial and applicable. Botanicals that have bioactive chemical compounds, insecticidal, pest repellent properties are environment-friendly and degradable, readily available in tropical and subtropical regions of Nepal. The assessment of the efficacy of implemented management practices against FAW has revealed that implementation of more than one method of management practices showed the least percentage of infestation as compared to the individual method.

The world population growth has increased demand for traditional protein sources but an alternative protein source was sought due to limited land. Edible insects containing all the essential amino acids in a healthy diet are sustainable and promising alternative protein source. The protein content of insects varies in a wide range depending on the type of insect and the stage of development (13%-77%). Some edible insects are currently consumed by two billion people worldwide. In the literature, more than 2100 insect species have been recorded as edible. The sensory attributes of edible insects are an important factor that can accelerate their acceptance by consumers. Generally, the taste of insects is described as nutty and largely depends on the cooking technique. Potential food safety risks of edible insects can be microbiological, parasitological and allergenic. This review has been shown to be a healthy food source with high protein content, lipids, vitamins, minerals and fiber, the nutritional composition and functionality are compared between different insect species, and information on the sensory quality and risks of insect eating is presented.

The Litsea floribunda Gamble was widely used for various medicinal purposes. The present study was aimed to screening the phytochemicals presentin theleaf and bark extract of L. floribunda and also assess their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. The results revealed that the leaf and bark extract showed the extracts are rich in phytomoleculeslikephenolics and tannin. The leaf extract showed more antioxidant activitiessuch as total antioxidant, ABTS, superoxide radical scavenging, FRAP, and DPPH reducing power activities were done respectively. Better radical activities Albumin denaturation and Anti-proteinase were observed in leaf extractthan in the bark extract, also it showed significant anti-inflammatory activities. Finally, L. floribunda could be considered as the most valuablealternative medicinalsource for many diseases.

Garo people are tribal communities who live in the middle northern part of Bangladesh from time immemorial. The purpose of the research was to identify the reasons, outline, and impact on the relocation of Garo people in the city areas in Bangladesh. Primary data were collected from face-to-face contact through an interview schedule. The findings indicate that poverty, lack of production, unemployment, and security were the main push factors where urban job opportunity, urban life style and social security were pull factors for garo migration. Pattern analysis showed that 69 percent of respondents migrate to the city without a plan. Large farm and family size discourged the unplanned migarion where deteriorate social security influence garo people for unplanned migration. Study also revealed that garo people access to better income, health facility, transportation have increased. In contrast, the involvement of agricultureal activity greatly reduced. Moreover, migrated family maintain their daily requirement for food by purchasing market. Government should take policy for improving the security, income opportunity, and infrastructure for discouraging the unplanned migration from village to town.

Foeniculum vulgare Mill, known as fennel, is a medicinal plant of the Apiaceae family, widely used in traditional Algerian medicine. The aim of this study was to estimate the polyphenols and flavonoids content and to evaluate the antioxidant, the analgesic and the antiulcer activities of aqueous extract of F. vulgare seeds. Quantitative determination of total polyphenols and flavonoids revealed that this extract contained 551.45±0.010 mg gallic acid equivalent/g of dry extract and 284.83±0.008 mg quercetin equivalent/g of dry extract respectively. The study of the gastroprotective effect showed that this extract is able to protect the stomach against lesions induced by 70% ethanol. The percentages of protection were 55.54±6.99 and 71±3.09% for the 200 and 400 mg/kg doses respectively. The study of the analgesic activity indicated that the aqueous extract of F. vulgare reduced the pain induced by acetic acid (0.6%) with an inhibition rate of 47.89% and 68.65% for doses of 200 and 400 mg/kg respectively. Free radical 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl and iron chelation tests were applied to evaluate the in vitro antioxidant activity. The free radical scavenging activity of F. vulgare extract against 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radicals revealed an IC50 value of IC50=30.91±0.49 mg/mL in comparison with gallic acid (0.038±0.0002 mg/mL). The iron chelating test showed that the extract had a high capacity for iron chelating, which was estimated at 0.346±0.003 mg/mL in comparison with the chelating reference agent, ethylene diaminetetraacetic acid.

In this study; it was aimed to investigate the anticancer and cytotoxic activities on DU-145 prostate cancer and MCF-7 breast cancer cell lines and WI-38 human fibroblast cell line of essential oil (Nioli) obtained from Melaleuca viridiflora Sol. ex Gaertn. plant and its antimicrobial effects on various bacteria and yeast cells. Content analyzes of Nioli essential oil were made by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GK-KS). The antimicrobial effects of the essential oil were determined using Disk Diffusion and Minimum Inhibition Concentration (MIC) tests. Its cytotoxic effects were determined by the XTT (2,3-bis-(2-methoxy-4-) nitro-5)-sulfophenyl)-2H-tetrazolium-5-carboxanilide) test; were investigated at different concentrations in breast cancer (MCF-7), prostate cancer (DU-145) and healthy human fibroblast (WI-38) cell lines. In the disc diffusion method of essential oil; It was determined that it formed an inhibition zone against Klebsiella pneumoniae bacteria at 200, 100, 50, 25 and 12.5 µg/mL concentrations, and against Candida albicans yeast at 200 and 100 µg/mL concentrations. Nioli essential oil showed the highest antibacterial effect against Bacillus cereus. While it was moderately effective against Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Candida albicans, it reached MIC values effective against other bacteria. It was observed that the anticancer activity of Nioli essential oil was more effective in DU-145 prostate cancer cells compared to MCF-7 breast cancer cells, and it had no toxicity in WI-38 healthy human fibroblast cells.

Vitamin A is an essential micronutrient and has important functions such as vision, growth, reproduction embryogenesis, cellular differentiation, and proliferation, immune function and epithelial protector in the organism. Biotechnological production of vitamins is increasing due to their advantages and significant advances. The vitreoscilla hemoglobin (VHb) gene is extremely effective in binding oxygen and conducting it under hypoxic conditions. In this study, the production of vitamin A in E. herbicola (wild type) and its recombinant strains was investigated in LB medium and M9 medium (containing high concentrations (1%) of different carbon sources). The maximum production of vitamin A of the recombinant strain with the hemoglobin gene (vgb+) was observed in including glucose and sucrose M9 medium and their total product levels in vgb+ recombinant strain were 0.14 µg/ml and 0.1 µg/ml, respectively. The vitamin A production in the M9 medium with glucose and sucrose were 2-fold and 1.4- fold higher than that of the wild strain, respectively. The extracellular product level (0.07 µg/ml) in LB was 7-fold higher than wild strain at 48 h. These results reveal that the expression of VHb in E. herbicola in the both LB and M9 medium (containing 1% glucose and 1% sucrose, specially) increase the vitamin A production.

Postharvest storage conditions frequently affect nutritional quality of fruits and vegetables. Temperature and storage duration are the most important factors to extend shelf life and maintain quality of fresh watermelon. This study was conducted to determine the changes in the antioxidant properties of watermelon during storage. Fruits of the watermelon cultivars were harvested and stored at 5ºC for a period of 15 days. During storage antioxidant contents (lycopene and total phenolics) and total antioxidant activity were evaluated. The objective of this work was to determine the content of the antioxidant properties in different watermelon genotypes at four different postharvest storage periods (0, 5, 10 and 15 days). Furthermore, the nutritional quality is strongly influenced by the storage period. The cv Mahdia was the most suitable for extended storage periods.

Tıbbi bitki Raphanus sativus L. yumru kökünün su, etanol ve metanol ekstraktlarının Vicia faba L. (bakla) yapraklarında Botrytis cinerea fungusunun oluşturacağı kurşuni küf hastalığına karşı toplam protein içeriği ve peroksidaz (POX) aktivitesi bakımından bitkide meydana getirebileceği antioksidan savunma sistemi spektrofotometrik olarak analiz edilmiştir. R. sativus yumru kökünün su, etanol ve metanol ekstraktlarının stok solüsyonları dimetil sülfoksit (DMSO) ile hazırlanmıştır. 105 spor/mL B. cinerea spor süspansiyonu hazırlanmıştır. V. faba yapraklarına sadece distile su (negatif kontrol), sadece DMSO, sadece B. cinerea (pozitif kontrol), sadece ekstrakt uygulamaları (distile su, etanol ve metanol ekstraktı) ve ekstrakt uygulamaları sonrasında B. cinerea uygulaması gerçekleştirilmiştir. Yapraklar, analizi yapılacak olan yöntemlere uygun olarak ekstrakte edilmiştir. Ekstraktlardan elde edilen süpernatantlardan analizler spektrofotometrik olarak gerçekleştirilmiştir. Araştırma sonucunda, toplam protein içeriğinin distile su uygulanan (negatif kontrol) gruba kıyasla ekstrakt:fungus uygulama gruplarında artış gösterdiği saptanmıştır. Fakat sadece fungus uygulanan (pozitif kontrol) gruba kıyasla genel olarak azaldığı belirlenmiştir. POX aktivitesinin ise, negatif kontrol grubuna kıyasla artış gösterdiği saptanmıştır. Toplam protein içeriği ve POX aktivitesi, sadece ekstrakt uygulanan gruplarda negatif kontrol grubuna göre artış göstermiştir. En yüksek POX aktivitesi, 10 mg/mL distile su:fungus uygulamasından elde edilmiştir. Bu açıdan, ekstrakt:fungus uygulanan gruplar arasında en iyi antioksidan aktivitenin 10 mg/mL distile su:fungus uygulaması olduğu belirtilebilmektedir. Bu açıdan bakıldığında, R. sativus saf su, etanol ve metanol ekstraktlarının V. faba yapraklarında antioksidan savunma yanıtı verdiği belirtilebilmektedir.

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is the most important staple cereal crop which is consumed by more than 50% of world population. It contributes 23% and 50% of total calories consumed by world and Nepalese population respectively. Among various abiotic factors affecting rice, rice blast is the most disastrous, causing 70-80% yield loss. This disease was originated in China around 7000 years ago. In Nepal, it was first reported in Thimi, Bhaktapur in 1966. It is caused by a filamentous ascomycete fungus Magnaporthe oryzae (Anaemorphic form- Pyricularia oryzae). It infects all the developmental stage of plant and produce symptoms on the leaf, collar, neck, panicle and even in the glumes. It decreases the rice production by an amount, enough to feed 60 million people every year. Cloudy weather, high relative humidity (93-99%), low night temperature (15- 20°C), longer duration of dew is the most favorable condition for the outbreak of disease. The most usual approaches for the management of rice blast diseases are management in nutrient fertilizer and irrigation, application of fungicides and plantation of resistant cultivars. Besides, the use of extracts of C. arabica are reported to have an inhibitory effect on the disease. Seed treatment with Trichoderma viridae @ 5ml/lit of water have also been found effective. The chemical means of controlling blast disease shall be reduced, instead eco-friendly measures like biocontrol agents, resistant varieties, plant extracts can be practiced for disease control. Different forecasting model can be used in order to predict the disease prevalence.