Himalayan State Of India Research Articles

Biochemical evaluation of dent corn (Zea mays L.) genotypes cultivated under rainfed conditions in the hills of north western Indian Himalayan state of Jammu and Kashmir

The aim of present study was to investigate protein, oil and fatty acid composition in 11 maize (Zea mays) genotypes collected from diverse locations in the hills of north western Indian Himalayan state of Jammu and Kashmir in order to get an idea about the extent of variability in these biochemical traits in the local germplasm. The study revealed significant variation in these quality traits. The protein content among the genotypes ranged from 10.7% to 18.7% while oil content varied between 2.26% and 4.80%. Higher protein content in some of the genotypes especially IC-0617877 (18.7%) and IC-0617880 (17.6%) is noteworthy. The saturated fatty acids of palmitic (C16:0), stearic (C18:0), arachidic (C20:0) and unsaturated fatty acids of oleic (C18:1), linoleic (C18:1) and elaidic (C18:1) were detected and quantified in these genotypes. Considerable variation has been recorded in fatty acid composition; 13.8-33.4% for palmitic acid, 21.5-48.1% for linoleic acid, 19.2-39% for oleic acid, 0.2-2.4% for elaidic acid, 2.5- 8.5% for stearic acid and 0.1-6.6% for arachidic acid. Higher oleic acid content recorded in all the genotypes excepting IC-0617881 is a useful trait. Strikingly, highest oil (4.80%), palmitic acid (33.4%), stearic acid (8.5%) and arachidic acid (6.6%) contents have been recorded in this remarkably cold tolerant genotype with reddish yellow seeds containing moderate protein content of 13.8 %. The appreciable variation in these quality traits could be exploited in breeding programmes for improvement of this crop and opening up new opportunities for its food and industrial end uses.

Effects of the Invasive shrub, Chromolaena, odorata on Soil Properties in the Atharamura forest ecosystem: Indian Himalayan state of Tripura, North East India

Effects of the Invasive shrub, <i>Chromolaena, odorata</i> on Soil Properties in the Atharamura forest ecosystem: Indian Himalayan state of Tripura, North East India

Morphological and Phylogenetic Evidence for Two NewLactariusSpecies (Russulales, Basidiomycota) from India

Lactarius ferruginascens sp. nov. and L. indoaquosus sp. nov. are described from the East and South districts of Sikkim, a small Himalayan state in India. Macro- and micromorphological descriptions coupled with the illustrations and nrITS-based molecular analyses are given for both species. Lactarius ferruginascens is a species in L. subg. Plinthogalus with striking features such as a sticky pileus surface caused by the ixohymeniderm structure of the pileipellis, watery white latex which is turning rusty brown on the lamellae and the occurrence under Abies sp. in the subalpine mixed forest. Lactarius indoaquosus is a new representative of L. subg. Russularia with completely transparent and unchanging latex and is furthermore characterized by basidiospores with a zebroid ornamentation, the absence of hymenial macrocystidia and the occurrence under Castanopsis sp. in the temperate broadleaf forest. Both species are illustrated and compared with related taxa.

FRAX predictior with and without BMD for assessment of osteoporotic fracture risk in the Himalayan state of India: A comparative study

Objective: BMD (bone mineral density) testing facilities are not available in every places in India. We compare the predictive ability of FRAX with BMD and FRAX without BMD for major osteoporotic and hip fracture in Himalayan population. Materials and methods: a hospital based cross sectional study was conducted on patients attending the outpatient Department of orthopaedics of SGRRIMHS, and others for a period of 2 years from Aug 2015 to July 2017. A total no. of 125 patients (104 F+ 21M) in the age group 40 -90 years were selected randomly for study. Exclusion criteria were age less than 40 and more than 90 years, confirmed cases of osteoporosis, patients on antiresorptive treatment, cases of surgically removed ovary and uterus, bone metastasis. Dual Energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DXA) scans were obtained to assess presence of low BMD. FRAX calculations with and without addition of femoral neck BMD were done in all patients. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20 was used for statistical analysis. Results: Hip fracture probabilities (6.00±10.47% 5.03±10.26%) and MO fracture probabilities (11.34±12.85% 11.89±12.87%) were similar with or without inclusion of BMD in FRAX tool respectively. Conclusion: FRAX may be used to assess for 10 year hip and major osteoporotic fracture probabilities status in the absence of DXA facilities or avoiding unnecessary DXA scanning.

An appraisal of management skills of apple growers and apple productivity at varied elevations in Himachal Pradesh

Apples are an important crop for the Himachal Pradesh state as the India’s second largest producer of fresh apples and processed apple products he present study was undertaken in an Indian Himalayan state, Himachal Pradesh, with the major aim of studying the managerial skills of the farmers and the impact of the altitudes on the apple productivities Through questionnaire survey, the farmers responses were recorded at low hills (≤2500 m), mid-hills (2500-3000 m) and upper hills (≥3000 m) amsl as a whole. At overall level, in the study area the average value of MSI was 99.58. It was further concluded that there is no major disparity between the productivities of different altitudinal zones except between E 1 zone and other elevation zones. The mean productivity varied merely from 15.54 to 17.38 MT/ha between E 2 –E 5 elevations. Statistically they were at par with each other. The computed value of critical difference was 1.94. The study area apple productivity matches with the world apple productivity. However, the productivity in the study area was found far less from the productivities attained by the many developed nations such as France. Italy, Brazil, Chile etc. Therefore, this study may be helpful for the researchers in up taking appropriate processes to fill the gaps in the managerial skills of the farmers and apple orchard productivity.

Policy implications of utilizing indigenous tree species as agroforestry systems in Himalayan states of India: Case study of Uttarakhand

Energy supply from the biomass of indigenous tree species in agroforestry systems continues to be an area of great interest among researchers world over to generate fundamental data and innovative ideas for developing appropriate policies, guidelines and legislation. Among the land use systems, agroforestry is recognized as superior land management system having potential to deliver sustainable biomass and energy supply in rural landscape. Present study highlights a comparison of seasonal biomass consumption pattern in terms of fodder and fuelwood energy supply across different village clusters along an altitudinal gradient. The average fuelwood consumption ranged between 242 ± 22 to 373 ± 23kg/capita/year and fodder consumption ranged between 154 ± 17 to 463 ± 14kg/unit/year. However, the energy value of fuelwood and fodder consumption ranged between 2160 ± 242 to 7317 ± 234MJ/kg. The study demonstrated that the fuelwood and fodder consumption was significantly greater (p < 0.05) in winter (lean period) as compared to that in summer and monsoon seasons. The results of this study are valuable to policy planners to improve the current policies for sustainable biomass energy supply in the Himalayan context through utilization of indigenous tree species in agroforestry systems.

Ocular morbidity among school children in Uttarakhand: Himalayan State of India

Background: This study may be a foundation pillar for future planning of school eye screening programs in Uttarakhand: Himalayan State of India as there is very little, if any, data is available till now. Aims: This study was done to know the prevalence and pattern of various causes of ocular morbidity among school children in Uttarakhand, India. Settings and design: A cross sectional multistage randomized study was done on school children between 5 -16 years of age in Doiwala block of Dehradun-capital of Uttarakhand, India. Material and Methods: School children were taken up for ophthalmological examination. Any child with subnormal vision or abnormal ocular finding was further evaluated in a tertiary care hospital. Statistical Analysis: Results were expressed in percentage and ratio. Chi-square test (with Yates correction whenever needed) was used for analysis of data. Ninety five percent CI was also calculated. The data with p value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Out of 5918 children, the prevalence of ocular morbidity was 4.92% (291 children). The most common causes of ocular morbidity were refractive error in 164 (2.77%) children, convergence weakness in 32 (0.54%), strabismus in 24 (0.40%) and conjunctivitis in 23 (0.38%) children. Ocular morbidity was more in children of age group 5 – 10 years in comparison to age group 11-16 years(P = 0.002). Conclusions: Refractive error was the commonest cause of ocular morbidity affecting school going children in Uttarakhand, India. The prevalence of ocular morbidity decreased with increasing age of child.

Recurrent dermatophytosis: A rising problem in Sikkim, a Himalayan state of India.

Changing pattern of dermatophytic infection among people of Sikkim over the past few years and its recurrence rate has brought a need to do a study on clinical pattern and its recurrence from this part of the country. The objectives of this study are to discern the clinical patterns of dermatophytosis, identification of the isolated fungi to its species level and to see the pattern of its recurrence. The study was carried out from January 2015 to May 2016. A total of 192 samples were collected from the patients with clinical findings of dermatophytic infection. Required history of the patients was taken, followed by clinical examination of the lesions and sample collection. The samples were processed for mycological study till species identification and a follow up of patients were done to assess its recurrence pattern. The age distribution of the patients was from 2 to 80 years. The mean and median age was 30.33 and 33 years respectively. The male female ratio was 1.8:1. Dermatophytosis was noted more commonly in students (n = 64, 33.33%) and jawans (n = 44, 22.92%). Maximum occurrence was noted from April to July (n = 106, 55.20%) and was seen mainly in young Hindu males. Tinea corporis (n = 104, 54.16%) was the most common clinical manifestation followed by tinea unguium (n = 30, 15.63%). T. mentagrophyte (40%) was the most common species followed by T. schoenleinii (33.3%), T. tonsurans (16.6%) and T. rubrum (6.6%). The recurrence rate was seen most commonly in clinical cases of tinea faciei 100%, followed by tinea pedis 80% and tinea unguium 46.6%. Overall clinical cure rate was 58.3% and recurrence rate was 34.3%. In the isolated species of dermatophytes, the recurrence rate was 73.68% and that of non-dermatophytes it was 28.07%. Dermatophytosis is an important health problem with high recurrence in Sikkim with difference in the etiological agent from other parts of India.

Out of Pocket Health Care Expenditure and the Poverty Trend in the Seven Sisters and the Himalayan State of India

Out-of-pocket (OOP) expenditure on health care has got capacity to impact the households negatively. It can push the people into poverty and into poverty trap to those who are already poor. Therefore, it is important that the strategy to mitigate the menace of poverty have got to focus on the health sector as well, lest the action becomes one-sided. It is seen amongst the north eastern states (NES), the level of poverty increasing from 2004–05 to 2009–10 in all the states except in the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura and Sikkim. Thus, this paper tries to look into the OOP spending of the north eastern states of India on health care based on 71st National Sample Survey Organizations, India. It has been found that those states which are having universal health coverage schemes have lesser OOP expenditures on health care and they could also lessen their number of poverty. Furthermore, the paper found that the urban OOP spending is higher than the rural OOP spending in the north eastern states, thus, contradicting the earlier studies which postulate that rural spending is usually higher than the urban OOP spending. This could be because in the region (NES) people mostly depend on subsidized government health care services irrespective of their quality. Another reason could be, in the region rural areas are basically dominated by the poor and tribal people who are illiterate and less informed and those who have less financial capacity to seek health care unless met with emergency health shocks.

Seroprevalence of Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, and human immunodeficiency virus and their risk factors in adolescents in East Sikkim, a Himalayan state of India

International Journal of Medicine and Public Health,2016,6,3,144-147.DOI:10.5530/ijmedph.2016.3.10Published:August 2016Type:Original ArticleSeroprevalence of Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, and human immunodeficiency virus and their risk factors in adolescents in East Sikkim, a Himalayan state of IndiaLuna Adhikari, Ashish Pradhan, and Dheeraj Khatri Luna Adhikari1, Ashish Pradhan2, Dheeraj Khatri3 1Department of Microbiology, Sikkim Manipal Institute of Medical Sciences, Tadong, Gangtok, Sikkim, India. 2Department of Pediatrics, Sikkim Manipal Institute of Medical Sciences, Tadong, Gangtok, Sikkim, India. 3Deptartment of Medicine, Sikkim Manipal Institute of Medical Sciences, Tadong, Gangtok, Sikkim, India. Abstract:Background: Sikkim is a northeastern state of India, located in the Himalayas with migratory population from neighboring states and Nepal. Although there is high prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and Hepatitis B and C virus (HBV and HCV) in other northeastern states of India, currently, this information is lacking in Sikkim’s adolescent population, which inspired the researchers to conduct this study. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study with 490 adolescent participants between the age group of13–20 years. Schools/colleges and the participants were randomly selected. Blood samples of selected participants were collected after their interview and were tested for anti- HIV, hepatitis B surface antigen and anti-HCV. Findings: Mean age of the participants was 16.96 years. Only 1 (0.2%) participant was positive for HBsAg and none was positive for anti-HIV and anti-HCV. About 92 (18.78%), 90 (18.37%), 79 (16.12%) and 12 (2.45%) participants had respectively undergone tattoo/body piercing, invasive (medical) procedure, shared personal items and had received blood transfusion but none of them provided information on their use of injectable drugs. A total of 33 (6.73%) participants expressed their involvement in heterosexual relation, of which 29 (29/215, 13.49%) were boys and 4 (4/275, 1.45%) were girls (p<0.01). Among them, 13(13/33, 39.39%) participants expressed their involvement with multiple sexual partners and16 (16/33, 48.49%) participants had taken protective measures. None of the girls provided history about their partner taking any protective measures. Interpretation: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study reporting on the prevalence of HIV, HBV and HCV in the adolescent population of Sikkim. Our results indicate that there is a very low prevalence of HBV and absence of HIV and HCV infections in the studied population. However, the studied population is at risk of acquiring these infections and therefore necessary steps must be taken to prevent the transmission of these viruses. Funding: Indian Council of Medical Research. Keywords:HBV, HCV, HIVView:PDF (119.74 KB)

Agroecology as a Climate Change Adaptation Strategy for Smallholders of Tehri-Garhwal in the Indian Himalayan Region

Climate change is expected to increase temperatures and rainfall in the Himalayan region and place stress on local livelihoods by affecting agro-biodiversity, crop yield, cropping patterns and the species composition of forests. This paper reports findings of a survey of farmers into the role of agroforestry or ‘agroecological intensification’ for reducing climate change vulnerability. The survey was conducted in the Tehri-Garhwal district of Uttarakhand, a Himalayan State of India. Existing traditional agroforestry was found to provide ecosystem services to farmers at various scales ranging from the global to household level, contributing to the livelihoods and resilience of the farmers to climate change. The strategies of farmers for adaptating to climate change include adoption of agroforestry due to its diversified agricultural and forest products and services. The analysis suggests that policies should consider agroforestry as a tool for improving the livelihood and resilience to climate change of farmers.

Ethnomedicinal importanceof Gandrayan(Angelica glauca Edgew.) in the North-Westernpart of Indian Himalayan Region

Gandrayan (Angelica glauca Edgew., Family Apiaceae), a high value medicinal cum aromatic herb, is native, endemic and critically endangered to the Indian Himalayan Region. Its aromatic roots have been traditionally used as spice and now, industrial demand of its essential oil is increasing for modern herbal medicines and aromatherapy. The present study was carried out to document its ethno-medicinal importance among local inhabitants of three Indian Himalayan States viz., Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir. Results indicate that dried rhizomatous roots of the species are traditionally used for various ailments like vomiting, dyspepsia, indigestion, stomach pain, headache, dysentery, influenza, loss of appetite, post delivery weakness, asthma, etc. Besides, it is used as veterinary medicine against diarrhea and constipation. It was also noted that the traditional knowledge of its utilization is more common in indigenous communities of Uttarakhand as compared than that of other states. Considering the culinary and medicinal uses, its mass scale production for livelihood support and conservation has been suggested in this communication.

Lake outburst and debris flow disaster at Kedarnath, June 2013: hydrometeorological triggering and topographic predisposition

Heavy rainfall in June 2013 triggered flash flooding and landslides throughout the Indian Himalayan state of Uttarakhand, killing more than 6000 people. The vast majority of fatalities and destruction resulted directly from a lake outburst and debris flow disaster originating from above the village of Kedarnath on June 16 and 17. Here, we provide a systematic analysis of the contributing factors leading to the Kedarnath disaster, both in terms of hydrometeorological triggering and topographic predisposition. Topographic characteristics of the lake watershed above Kedarnath are compared with other glacial lakes across the north-western Himalayan states of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, and implications for glacier lake outburst hazard assessment in a changing climate are discussed. Our analysis suggests that the early onset of heavy monsoon rainfall (390 mm, June 10–17) immediately following a 4-week period of unusually rapid snow cover depletion and elevated streamflow was the crucial hydrometeorological factor, resulting in slope saturation and significant run-off into the small seasonal glacial lake. Between mid-May and mid-June 2013, snow-covered area above Kedarnath decreased by around 50 %. The unusual situation of the lake being dammed in a steep, unstable paraglacial environment but fed entirely from snowmelt and rainfall within a fluvial dominated watershed is important in the context of this disaster. A simple scheme enabling large-scale recognition of such an unfavourable topographic setting is introduced. In view of projected 21st century changes in monsoon timing and heavy precipitation in South Asia, more emphasis should be given to potential hydrometeorological triggering of lake outburst and debris flow disasters in the Himalaya.

Evaluation of climate change impacts and adaptation strategies for maize cultivation in the Himalayan foothills of India

This study evaluates the impacts of climate change on rainfed maize (Zea mays) yield and evaluates different agro-adaptation measures to counteract its negative impacts at Sikkim, a Himalayan state of India. Future climate scenarios for the 10 years centered on 2025, 2055 and 2085 were obtained by downscaling the outputs of the HadCM3 General Circulation Model (GCM) under for A2 and B2 emission scenarios. HadCM3 was chosen after assessing the performance analysis of six GCMs for the study region. The daily maximum and minimum temperatures are projected to rise in the future and precipitation is projected to decrease (by 1.7 to 22.6% relative to the 1991–2000 baseline) depending on the time period and scenarios considered. The crop simulation model CERES-Maize was then used to simulate maize yield under future climate change for the future time windows. Simulation results show that climate change could reduce maize productivity by 10.7–18.2%, compared to baseline yield, under A2 and 6.4–12.4% under B2 scenarios. However, the results also indicate that the projected decline in maize yield could be offset by early planting of seeds, lowering the farm yard manure application rate, introducing supplementary irrigation and shifting to heat tolerant varieties of maize.

Small hydropower development in western Himalayas: Strategy for faster implementation

Glacier fed fast moving perennial streams in western Himalayan region present a scope of vast hydropower potential in this region. Indian states in this region are striving hard to tap this potential by promoting run of the river (RoR) hydropower projects in a big way. However large RoR hydropower projects are being opposed by environmentalists and native communities as they badly affect flora and fauna in the diverted reach and generate huge quantity of muck due to construction of tunnels. Due to diversion of water, large population in the diverted reach of the river is devoid of sufficient water for its consumptive use. In this scenario, small hydropower projects (SHPs) are considered as comparatively more sustainable and greener option for hydropower development in these regions. There are well placed small hydropower policies and various incentives for this sector both from state and central government. In spite of all this, the progress of implementation of SHPs is not up to the mark. This study presents case study of small hydropower development in two hydro rich western Indian Himalayan states. Besides it, the study discusses the reasons for slow pace of progress in small hydropower sector and suggests strategy for its faster implementation.

Some nonfermented ethnic foods of Sikkim in India

Sikkim, the Himalayan state of India has several ethnic foods which have not been documented. A field survey was conducted in randomly selected 370 households in Sikkim representing the major ethnic communities, namely, Nepali, Bhutia, and Lepcha. Information was collected on different types of nonfermented ethnic foods, as prepared and consumed by these inhabitants, the traditional method of preparation, mode of consumption, as well as culinary, socioeconomic, and ethnic values. We have listed more than 83 common and uncommon nonfermented ethnic foods of Sikkim consumed by different ethnic groups in Sikkim, India. Some of these foods have been documented and include achar, alum, chatamari, chhwelaa, dheroh, falki, foldong, kodoko roti, kwanti, momo, pakku, phaparko roti, phulaurah, ponguzom, suzom, thukpa or gya-thuk, and wachipa. Nutritional analysis, process technology development and packaging of these ethnic foods may boost ethnic food tourism in the region, which could in turn enhance the regional economy.

Forest cover change prediction using hybrid methodology of geoinformatics and Markov chain model: A case study on sub-Himalayan town Gangtok, India

In the Himalayan states of India, with increasing population and activities, large areas of forested land are being converted into other land-use features. There is a definite cause and effect relationship between changing practice for development and changes in land use. So, an estimation of land use dynamics and a futuristic trend pattern is essential. A combination of geospatial and statistical techniques were applied to assess the present and future land use/land cover scenario of Gangtok, the subHimalayan capital of Sikkim. Multi-temporal satellite imageries of the Landsat series were used to map the changes in land use of Gangtok from 1990 to 2010. Only three major land use classes (built-up area and bare land, step cultivated area, and forest) were considered as the most dynamic land use practices of Gangtok. The conventional supervised classification, and spectral indices-based thresholding using NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) and SAVI (Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index) were applied along with the accuracy assessments. Markov modelling was applied for prediction of land use/land cover change and was validated. SAVI provides the most accurate estimate, i.e., the difference between predicted and actual data is minimal. Finally, a combination of Markov modelling and SAVI was used to predict the probable land-use scenario in Gangtok in 2020 AD, which indicted that more forest areas will be converted for step cultivation by the year 2020.

Diversity of common bean in Jammu and Kashmir, India: a DIVAgeographic information system and cluster analysis

A total of 80 diverse germplasm accessions of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) were collected from 31 different locations known for marginal and risk prone farming systems in remote and hilly areas of North-Western Indian Himalayan state of Jammu and Kashmir. The variability was observed in seed color, shape, size and 100- seed weight. Thirteen colors of bean seeds were represented in these 80 accessions with high predominance of red colored seeds. Cuboid, kidney and oval seed shapes observed were represented respectively in 61.25%, 25% and 13.75% of the accessions. There were significant variations in seed length, width and 100-seed weight being highly significant in the later case. All the three seed size classes (small, medium and large according to CIAT categorization) were represented in the collected accessions. 22.5% accessions have 100-seed weight less than 25g, 53.75% accessions have 100-seed weight between 25-40g while 100-seed weight of more than 40g was recorded in 23.75% of the accessions. Highly positive correlations were found between 100-seed weight and seed length and width and between seed length and seed width. The 80 accessions were grouped in three clusters at a coefficient level of 0.3 with largest cluster of 59 accessions followed by a medium cluster with 20 accessions and the least with a single accession. Grid maps generated through DIVA-GIS software indicated that diverse accessions of common bean in terms of seed size and weight can be sourced from the areas falling in Budgam, Shopian and Kulgam districts of the state. Conservation of this remarkable genetic diversity is recommended for future propagation, breeding and the investigation of the genetic relationships.

A Contribution to the flora of Rajouri and Poonch districts in the Pir Panjal Himalaya (Jammu &amp;amp; Kashmir), India

The current paper provides a taxonomic inventory of the vascular plant species collected by the authors during the last two decades from the Rajouri and Poonch districts, located along the Pir Panjal range in the Indian Himalayan State of Jammu and Kashmir. The inventory records a total of 352 species, which belong to 270 genera in 83 families. Of the total taxa, the angiosperms are represented by 331 species in 253 genera and 77 families; gymnosperms by 12 species in 9 genera and 3 families; and pteridophytes by 9 species in 7 genera and 3 families. Asteraceae is the largest family, contributing 42 species; while Artemisia is the largest genus, with 5 species. The inventory is expected to provide baseline scientific data for further studies on plant diversity in these two border districts, and can be used to facilitate the long-term conservation and sustainable use of plant resources in this Himalayan region.

Variability in Vegetative Characters and Yield Attributes of Raspberry (Rubus spp.) in Uttarakhand Himalayas

Vegetative characters and yield attributes of raspberry (Rubus ellipticus Smith) were studied for three consecutive years in Uttarakhand, India. Variability was found in parameters, such as terminal leaf length (ranged 3.32–10.58 cm), terminal leaf width (2.17–9.80 cm), petal length (0.3–1.36 cm), petal width (0.15–1.00 cm), flower diameter (0.56–3.26 cm), flowers/truss (2–23), fruit vesicles/fruit (5–72), fruit length (0.55–1.92 cm), fruit width (0.64–1.82 cm), fruit weight (0.332–1.43 g), fruit volume (0.213–1.020 cc), and Total Soluble Solids (10.02–15.11 °Brix). Available variability might be utilized for selection, commercialization, and popularization of raspberries in the Himalayan states of India.