An understanding about pollution status is vital for remediating water resources, which is lacking in context of Sri Lanka’s lagoon system. The aim of this study was to assess the pollution in a lagoon in terms of degree, dynamics and sources of pollution using water quality indices. The water samples collected from up, mid and down streams of Sainthamaruthu lagoon across different rainfall seasons were analyzed for pH, temperature, Electrical Conductivity (EC), Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), Dissolved Oxygen (DO), ammonium nitrogen (NH4+), nitrate nitrogen (NO3−) and Total Phosphorus (TP). The measured variables were subjected to computation of Water Quality Index (WQI), Comprehensive Pollution Index (CPI) and statistical analyses. Subsequently, it was found that upstream region of the lagoon was severely polluted during North East Monsoon (NEM) whereas significantly higher concentrations of nutrient pollutants (NH4+= 4.5 mg/L, TP=3 mg/L) and physiochemical attributes (EC=3007μS/cm, TDS=801.7 mg/L) respectively were associated with the higher pollution in NEM. Meanwhile, the other regions were moderately polluted throughout the year. Besides, the greater WQI (greater than 100) observed at all the regions across the different rainfall seasons implied that Sainthamaruthu lagoon was not suitable for drinking and fish culture. Furthermore, the results of Principal Component Analysis (PCA) revealed that the pollution in Sainthamaruthu lagoon is caused by mixed sources of natural and anthropogenic factors including mineralization, sea water intrusion, effluent discharge and wastewater release. Ultimately, this study scientifically proved the occurrence of pollution in Sainthamaruthu lagoon and the facts identified could be used during remediation of the lagoon in near future.

Understanding how gender dynamics influence collective efficacy beliefs is crucial for crafting effective and enduring conservation strategies to ensure the sustainability of common natural resource pools in agrarian regions of the developing world. This study explores the influence of gender on perceptions of collective action in the Mahakanumulla Tank Cascade System, offering unique insights into the socio-cultural aspects that shape conservation behavior in human-curated natural landscapes. A cross-sectional survey was conducted to collect data from 463 households dispersed across six village divisions. The survey focused on three dimensions of collective efficacy: individual self-efficacy, group efficacy in executing collective action, and the efficacy of collaboration in accomplishing shared goals. The study could reveal significant disparities between men and women in their perceptions of a community's potential to sustain collective action. Female respondents assessed their community's capacity to coordinate collective action as comparatively less adequate than their male counterparts. Moreover, there was a strong correlation (p<0.05) between land ownership and collective efficacy, as those who owned land demonstrated higher levels of confidence in their collective endeavors. These findings highlight the importance of adopting more gender-responsive solutions to effectively manage natural resource pools in traditional societies.

Impairment of wild shrimp biodiversity is one of the key ecological concerns linked to shrimp aquaculture. This study assessed the abundance and biodiversity of wild shrimp along the coastal region of Batticaloa District, Sri Lanka, considering shrimp farming and non-shrimp farming areas. Sampling was conducted at six locations, consisting three non-shrimp farming sites in Batticaloa Lagoon (Arayampathy, Kallady, and Muhathuwaram) and three (shrimp farming sites in the Vaharai Lagoon (Vattawan, Panichankeni, and Vaharai), during the period from July 2022 to August 2023. Wild shrimp species were identified using the taxonomic keys, and biodiversity was analysed using Simpson’s and Shannon’s indices via PAST3 software. Results revealed that Simpson’s diversity index (1–D) was significantly highest at Arayampathy (0.6653) and lowest at Vattawan (0.4804), indicating reduced diversity near intensive shrimp farming zones. Shannon’s diversity index also followed a similar pattern, showing high diversity in non-farming areas. Muhathuwaram recorded the highest average shrimp abundance of 85 individuals per catch, whereas Vattawan had the lowest (42 individuals). The observed patterns suggest a significant ecological separation between the sites, with non-farming areas showing greater richness and evenness. The decline in wild shrimp biodiversity and abundance in farming areas is likely driven by effluent discharge from shrimp farms, but may also be influenced by habitat degradation, agricultural runoff, overfishing, and broader environmental changes. These findings highlight the need for strict regulation of farm discharges and introduction of broad ecosystem-based approach in shrimp farming management.

Cinnamon spent bark waste (CBW) is the residue resulted after cinnamon oil extraction. It is accumulated in high quantities in cinnamon oil distillation plants and creates disposal problems. The aim of this study was to extract dietary fiber (DF) from CBW using aqueous, chemical and enzymatic methods and evaluate the functional properties of resulted fiber. CBW reported a very low content of soluble dietary fiber (SDF) but significantly higher (p<0.05) insoluble dietary fiber (IDF) content (0.84 % and 78.86 % respectively). Therefore, only the IDF fraction was extracted and functional properties including water holding capacity (WHC), water swelling capacity (WSC), oil holding capacity (OHC) and glucose adsorption capacity (GAC) were determined. Chemical and water extraction methods resulted the significantly lowest (70.92 %) and highest (93.87 %) DF yields (p<0.05) respectively. Chemical extraction produced DF with significantly higher (p<0.05) WHC (3.91 g/g) compared to CBW (3.29 g/g). Moreover, DF obtained by enzymatic extraction reported significantly higher (p<0.05) WSC (0.90 mL/g) than CBW (0.17 mL/g). All the extraction methods produced fiber with significantly higher (p<0.05) OHC compared to the original samples. Chemically extracted fiber reported the significantly highest (p<0.05) OHC (3.6 g/mL) compared to the other fiber products. GAC of fiber extracted by chemical (0.86 mmol/g) and enzymatic (0.35 mmol/g) treatments were significantly higher (p<0.05) than that of water (0.08 mmol/g) extracted fiber and original samples. Results suggested that though the yield of DF was low, functional value of DF obtained by chemical extraction is better than enzymatic and water extraction methods.

Plant-based non-meat ingredients have been studied for decades and recently gained more attraction in the food industry and research communities. The current study was conducted to produce chicken meatballs incorporating boiled-dried (Plukodiyal) and dried Palmyrah (Odiyal) flour with a focus on reducing manufacturing costs. Chicken meatballs were prepared with two flours as binders at the levels of 5% and 10% (w/w). Different treatment samples were stored at 4±1 °C for five days until further analysis. Sensory properties, proximate composition, physical properties such as processing yield, diameter changes, cooking loss, colour, and microbial properties such as total viable plate count, total yeasts and mould count and total coliform count of meatballs were determined. Five formulations (Control, T1- 5% Odiyal, T2 -10% Odiyal, T3- 5% Plukodiyal, 10% Plukodiyal) were produced and subjected to sensory evaluation to obtain the optimum product in terms of aroma, taste, texture, juiciness, and overall acceptability. From the sensory evaluation, the treatments T2 (10% of Palmyrah unboiled flour) and T4 (10% of Palmyrah boiled flour) were found to be significantly (P< 0.05) superior in terms of taste and overall acceptability. From the physicochemical analysis, T2 was found to be significantly superior (P< 0.05) in terms of taste, colour, fat content (3.96±0.03%), crude fibre content (2.16±0.06%), diameter reduction (3.27±0.03%), and cost of production for ingredients based (LKR.109.36). The results of the present study suggest that Palmyrah has excellent prospects for the formulation of chicken meatballs as a viable alternative to wheat flour. Incorporating Palmyrah flours was positively associated with processing yield, moisture retention, diameter reduction, sensory properties, and nutrients such as high crude protein and low fat. Under aerobic refrigerated (4±1 °C) storage, Palmyrah flour incorporated meatballs retained their microbiological quality for up to three days. Thus, Palmyrah flour, a valuable ingredient often ignored, can be recommended as a viable binding agent for chicken meatballs.

Sarcopenia involves age-related muscle loss, posing a significant concern for older people. This study investigates the relationship between dietary patterns and sarcopenia prevalence among the ageing population in the Polonnaruwa district, Sri Lanka. A cross-sectional study was conducted with 150 randomly selected individuals aged 65 and above. Assessments included nutritional status using the Mini Nutritional Assessment-Short form, dysphagia risk with the EAT-10 tool, and physical activity using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short Form. Sarcopenia was diagnosed using the Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia-2019 (AWGS) criteria, including the SARC-Calf questionnaire, handgrip strength, Skeletal Muscle Mass Index (SMI), and gait speed. Statistical analyses, including logistic regression for the outcome variable (prevalence of sarcopenia) using continuous predictors (age and BMI), and Chi-square tests for categorical predictors (nutritional status and gender), were performed with a significance threshold of 0.05. The average age of participants was 70.7 years. The prevalence of sarcopenia was 49.6%, affecting 44.6% of males and 52.9% of females. The odds of sarcopenia increased with age (OR: 1.0654, p>0.05) and decreased with higher BMI (OR: 0.7542, p<0.05). Significant associations were observed between sarcopenia and legume consumption, nutritional status, and physical activity levels (p<0.05), while no significant associations were found between sarcopenia and gender, dysphagia, smoking, drinking water, vegetarianism, meat, dairy, and alcohol consumption (p>0.05). These findings highlight that adequate nutrition, increased physical activity, and legume consumption may protect against and delay the onset of sarcopenia, suggesting targeted interventions for aging people in Polonnaruwa.

A survey was carried out in 144 dairy cattle farms in the Western Province of Sri Lanka to identify management factors that affect welfare of dairy calves. A total of 392 calves were monitored in farms with the herd size of 5.4+2.0 with milk production of 22.9+12.5 L/day/farm. Among the calves, majority were Jersey (63.0%) and Friesian (33.0%) crosses. Risk factors were identified as, not using calving pens (100%), lack of naval disinfection (64.3 %), lack of calf pen (93.1%), dam-fed colostrum (100%), mortality (28.0% of farms), prevalence of hock wounds (39.9%) and diseases (53.4%). Concrete/cement was the prominent flooring category (93%) with considerably unfriendly footing (injurious 24.2%, slippery 51.0%, unclean 67.1%). Injurious floors significantly augmented hoof temperature (P<0.001). Slipperiness and dirty floors positively (P<0.05) affected on prevalence and severity of hock wounds by 14.5% (P<0.001) and 59.6% (P<0.001) respectively. Stockperson attitude varied with the age where and youths (19-30 years) concerned more about proper flooring (85.7%), calf-pen (6.9%), concentrate/roughage access (10-14 days after birth) (14.2%), welfare/nutrition (78.6%) and calf mortality than the adults and seniors. Welfare and ethical considerations towards male calves were satisfying with better weaning age (3.8±0.9 months), concentrate supplement (0.58+0.28 kg/day) and selling after six months of age (93.0%). However, both female and male calves were underweight for their corresponding ages. In conclusion, this study will assist in developing intervention strategies to improve calf welfare for the better raising of calves into a well grown cow.

The sugarcane industry in Sri Lanka is facing a decline in sugar recovery rates, emphasizing the need for improved technology transfer and capacity building among extension staff. This study explored the use of an ICT stewardship approach to enhance extension services in the Monaragala District through a five-phase action research framework: (i) information needs analysis, (ii) choosing technology, (iii) rapid prototyping, (iv) designing and implementing the communication campaign, and (v) evaluation. Information needs were assessed through four focus group discussions and a semi-structured questionnaire (n=28). WhatsApp Messenger, preferred by users, was selected as the communication platform. Three WhatsApp groups were created for the extension officers of three sugar companies, and a three-week campaign was conducted to disseminate technical content. Feedback was collected through a questionnaire (n=40), and descriptive methods were used to analyze data. Key information needs included cane quality improvement (93%), weed management (82%), and water management (82%). WhatsApp was the most commonly used platform, followed by Facebook (71%), and SMS (64%). ICT tools were mainly used for sharing curated content (96%), accessing expertise (79%), and facilitating meetings and conversations (75%). Video-based messages were rated the most effective (85%), and 38% of respondents regularly re-shared the information with farmers. Most participants rated the campaign as highly successful (75%) or successful (25%). Challenges included time constraints, poor network access, and data limitations. The study concludes that the ICT stewardship approach is an effective strategy for strengthening technology transfer and capacity building among extension officers in the sugarcane industry.

Pumpkin (Cucurbita spp.) is a vital crop in Sri Lanka due to its nutritional and economic significance. Pumpkins are vulnerable to diverse viral infections, often resulting in substantial yield and quality losses. The present study was conducted at Onesh Agri (Pvt) Ltd.'s farm in Thanamalwila (DL1 b), Sri Lanka. The study aimed to evaluate the viral disease resistance and morphological traits including number of laterals per vine, time to first female flower, leaf length and width and yield traits, including days to commercial harvest, number of fruits per vine, weight of fruit, fruit length and breadth of 60 pumpkin accessions developed by the World Vegetable Center, Taiwan, under local environmental conditions. The experiment followed a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with border rows planted with the virus-susceptible F1 variety Suprema as a control. Based on their quantitative traits, hierarchical cluster analysis grouped tested accessions into two major cluster groups, comprising 23 and 34 accessions in groups 1 and 2, respectively. Among these, 11 accessions namely, PUMP003, PUMP009, PUMP017, PUMP019, PUMP023, PUMP026, PUMP030, PUMP033, PUMP034, PUMP043, and PUMP047 demonstrated partial resistance to common viral diseases. Notably, PUMP017 (36.5±1.18) was identified as early flowering, while PUMP033 (62.0±1.95) early fruiting. The PUMP026 (5.6±0.48) produced the highest number of fruits per vine, and PUMP030 (4121.0±195.98 g) yielded the heaviest fruits with favorable fruit dimensions and flesh thickness. These findings provide valuable insights for future pumpkin breeding programs aimed at developing new varieties with enhanced resistance to viral diseases in the Sri Lankan context.

This study was conducted to determine the feasibility of implementing principal component analysis (PCA) and K-means clustering method for grouping cows in a dairy herd based on their performance on multiple traits related to milk production and reproduction, for implementing need based, group specific management practices. The proposed method was tested on two different management systems, namely System A (Friesian x Jersey crossbreds managed intensively under Low Country Dry Zone) and System B (Sahiwal crossbreds managed semi intensively under Low Country Intermediate Zone). Six large scale state dairy farms were grouped into the two systems with 1507 lactation records of 643 cows belonging to System A and 552 lactation records of 185 cows in System B. Means of calf birth weight, age at first calving, lactation length (LL), total milk production (MP), average daily yield, and calving interval (CI) of System A were significantly superior to the respective means of System B (p<0.05). The PCA used MP, LL and CI traits where all three traits exhibited significant positive pairwise correlations (p<0.05). For both systems, the first two PCs explained over 85% of the total variation of traits. Traits MP and LL played a major component in PC1 (production component) and CI was loaded heavily for PC2 (reproduction component). For both systems, the K- means clustering approach was effective with the three clusters of cows formed within a system showing significant differences for MP, LL and CI (p<0.05).