Telangana State In India Research Articles

Biological and molecular characterization of eggplant infecting Carlavirus in India

This study provides the first report on the complete genome sequence and host range study of eggplant infecting Carlavirus (IND-SHM isolate) causing mosaic disease in eggplant. We report the complete RNA genome sequence of 8669 nucleotides, excluding poly (A) tail of eggplant infecting Carlavirus (IND-SHM) isolate originating from Telangana State of India. Host range study showed that this virus is restricted to eggplant and tomato, causing mild to severe mosaic and mottling of leaves. The phylogenetic and sequence analysis revealed that replicase and coat protein of this isolate share 85% and 83% identity at nucleotide level respectively with hot pepper infecting Pepper virus A (KU726694, KU923763). Genome sequence identity and phylogenetic analysis suggests that our isolate IND-SHM is the strain of Pepper virus A.

Integrated assessment of system of rice intensification vs. conventional method of transplanting for economic benefit, energy efficiency and lower global warming potential in India

ABSTRACT There is a close relationship among agriculture, economics, energy and the environment. A comparison was made between conventional and the system of rice intensification (SRI) methods of rice cultivation by conducting two experiments. One field experiment was conducted from 2013 to 2017 at 25 locations across India under the All India Coordinated Rice Improvement Project and another experiment was conducted in 2017 using surveys by collecting data from 262 randomly selected SRI farmers using a personal interview method in the Telangana state of India. The 5-year experimental data revealed that the SRI method of cultivation produced higher rice grain yield (up to 55%) compared to the conventional transplanting method. Survey data revealed that total costs of rice production reduced by 22.71% under SRI. Break even output under SRI was reduced by 58.1%. Adoption of SRI saved total energy inputs by 4350 MJ/ha. The energy productivities were 0.16 kg/MJ and 0.21 kg/MJ for conventional and SRI methods, respectively. Also, SRI resulted the lowest greenhouse gas emissions of 0.280 kg CO2e/kg rice grain. Therefore, for ensuring higher productivity, net returns, energy efficiency and sustainable rice production it is recommended to adopt an environmentally friendly SRI method of crop establishment in the Telangana region of India.

Molecular identification of phytoplasmas associated with little leaf disease of brinjal in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana states of India

Brinjal little leaf (BLL) is a very important phytoplasma disease in India that causes severe economic losses every year. During 2020, symptoms of little leaf and witches’ broom were observed in brinjal plants grown in the farmer fields at Kadapa, Andhra Pradesh and Mahabubnagar district, Telangana states. Four symptomatic and two symptomless plants collected from the surveyed places of both states were subjected to DNA extraction and used as template in nested PCR assays with universal phytoplasma 16S rRNA primers. Amplification of about 1.25 kb product with primers R16F2n/R2 was obtained only from symptomatic BLL plants and the positive control, but not from asymptomatic plants. Pair wise sequence comparison and phylogenetic analyses of 16S rRNA gene sequences of these phytoplasma strains confirmed that the phytoplasmas from Mahabubnagar district in Telangana were ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma trifolii’-related strains, while those from Kadapa, Andhra Pradesh, were related to Ca. P australasia’. Further virtual RFLP analysis of 16S rDNA sequences allowed the classification of these strains into 16SrVI-D and 16SrII-D subgroups, respectively.

Marketing Pattern and Constraint Analysis of Swine Farming in Telangana State of India

An investigation was undertaken to study marketing pattern and constraints faced by swine farmers, covering 48 respondents from 12 urban areas and 96 respondents from 24 rural areas from six different districts of Telangana state in India, as appropriate knowledge base on difficulties encountered in swine rearing is not available even though piggery play a significant role in rural and urban communities for substantial income in this country. A pretested semi-structured questionnaire in precise language was employed for collecting data through interview and face to face discussion with the pig farmers duly avoiding ambiguous, dichotomous and non-variant items for proper interpretation. Majority of the farmers (80.56%) reported a market weight of

Effectiveness of climate resilient agricultural technologies as perceived by farmers in Nalgonda District of Telangana State

The detrimental effects of climate change on Indian Agriculture are inevitable and agricultural professionals are bestowed with the responsibility of making it less vulnerable to climate change. In the present context, the following study was undertaken in Nalgonda district of Telangana State in India where three villages namely Nandyala Gudem, Boring thanda and Kotha thanda of Athmakur (S) Mandal were selected purposively as the National Innovations in Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA) interventions are being implemented in these villages to impart climate resilience. A sample size of 40 farmers was selected at random from each village thus comprising a total sample size of 120. An index was developed to assess the perceived effectiveness of Climate Resilient Agricultural (CRA) technologies by the farmers using five indicators viz., Adoption of CRA technologies, Exposure, Sensitivity, Adaptive capacity and Sustainability. The results revealed that the majority of respondents belonged to the category of a high level of adoption of CRA technologies (39.17%), medium level of exposure (30.84%), low sensitivity (30%), medium adaptive capacity (31.67%) and high sustainability (36.67%) of CRA technologies as perceived by the farmers. The overall effectiveness of CRA technologies as perceived by the farmers was found to be medium (35.83%) for a majority of the farmers followed by very highly effective (29.17%).

Trend in Cost of Cultivation of Sorghum in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana States of India

Area and production of Sorghum in Andhra Pradesh state increased by 6.8% and 9.7% but decreased by 12.1% and 9.8% in Telangana state, respectively since the last few years whereas the average yield was increased by 2.6% in both the states. The cost of production of sorghum was raised by 11-14% but the market price was increased by 7.5% only. Cost of production C2 was overlapped with the market price up to 2012-13 but later on, the market price was lower than C2 whereas the cost of production A2 overlapped with Minimum Support Price up to 2011-12 but MSP was quite higher after 2011-12. Operational costs ranged from 62-66% and fixed costs are 34-38% out of the total cost of cultivation of sorghum. The inverse relationship between yield and cost of production has proved in the log-linear regression model at 5% level of significance, due to low productivity of crop, still, there is need to develop High Yielding Varieties at State Agriculture Universities of both the states, modern technologies are to be adopted by the farmers to improve the productivity. In view of the importance of crops the government has to raise the remunerative market price and public awareness is to be created about the nutritional importance of crops so that the cropped area might be increased. Processing industries are to be encouraged on a large scale which generates employment for the rural youth; some more need-based processing technologies are to be developed at research institutes.

Assessment of climate change and vulnerability in Indian state of Telangana for better agricultural planning

Climate variability and change pose ever-growing challenges in the semiarid tropics, where majority of the population depend on climate-dependent activities such as agriculture. This has rendered these countries more vulnerable to climate change–induced variability. In spite of the uncertainties about anticipated magnitude of climate change on regional scale, an assessment of the possible changes in key climatic elements to identify most vulnerable locations becomes important for formulating adaptation strategies. This study compiles the existing knowledge about observed climate and projections of future change in Telangana state of India. The agriculture in this semiarid state has to adapt to changes in mean climate variables to increased variability with greater risk of extreme weather events, such as prolonged dry spells. Based on climatic vulnerability assessment, we found that the number of vulnerable mandals (currently 28%) will be increased to 45% during early century and to 59% by mid-century. As per the climate exposure index scores, Jogulamba-Gadwal district was found to be most sensitive. Overall, vulnerability index scores indicated that Adilabad, Nagarkurnool, Nalgonda, Peddapalli, Suryapet, Wanaparthy, and Yadadri are extremely vulnerable districts in the state. The ranking of vulnerable mandals in each district envisages the need for a holistic approach for each mandal or a group of mandals to reduce their sensitivity though implementation of site-specific adaptation strategies to minimize climate-related shocks not only in agriculture but also in other sectors.

An assessment of the aboveground phytomass and carbon levels of the forests of northern Telangana, India, using a geospatial technique

ABSTRACT An assessment of aboveground phytomass and carbon levels was conducted in the South-Central region of India, in the Telangana State, situated on the high Deccan Plateau. The study is based on field observations at 30 sites using cluster sampling. The sites were selected on homogeneity maps prepared using satellite data of forest cover type maps, forest cover density maps, normalized difference vegetation indices and maps of administrative boundaries. Field observations such as forest types, canopy cover, species, girth and plant height were made for assessing basal area, bole volume, biomass and carbon, first for each tree, then for each plot and then for the entire region. The basal area varied from 0.09 to 40.94 m2/ha, and the phytomass ranged from 0.07 to 174.69 t/ha. The total phytomass in the study area was about 6709.623 t, with a mean value of 859.10 t/ha per site (i.e. 250 × 250 m). The predicted carbon was 5.02 million tons (Mt) (standard deviation [SD] 9.542) against the total phytomass of 10.46 Mt (SD 19.878) for the study area. These data can provide essential information for helping to establish forest policies that support a more sustainable development of local forest resources, as well as for structuring forest management working plans. Key policy insights The study reveals the observed and predicted biomass and carbon of northern Telangana, India. The key purpose of the study is to determine the biomass and carbon content of northern Telangana, in light of the Kyoto Protocol. For the study area, the predicted carbon is 5.02 Mt against the total biomass of 10.46 Mt. The forest density, phytomass and carbon maps are the first of their kind at a landscape scale for the Telangana State of India. These data help to assess and inform forest policies, which contribute towards the sustainable development of forest resources through preserving the ecological integrity of this landscape.

Type specific seroprevalence of bluetongue virus during 2017-2018 in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana states of India.

Bluetongue (BT) is one of the important viral diseases of domestic and wild ruminants, especially small ruminants such as sheep. Out of the 29 BTV serotypes prevalent in the world, at least 24 of the serotypes are reported in India, either by virus isolation or serology. To better understand the seroprevalence of BTV, we conducted a comprehensive study in the main reservoir hosts of BTV, i.e., cattle and buffaloes of different age groups in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana states of India where the disease is majorly prevalent. A total of 321 blood samples collected from cattle and buffaloes during 2017-2018 were tested for group-specific BTV seroprevalence by c-ELISA, followed by type specific seroprevalence (against BTV-1, 2, 4, 5, 9, 12, 16, and 24) by serum neutralization test. Of the 311 BTV seropositive samples, 112, 98, 102, 127, 2, 113, 160, and 5 samples neutralized BTV-1, 2, 4, 5, 9, 12, 16, and 24, respectively. Twenty-nine samples could not neutralize any of the tested BTV serotypes. Majority of the sera neutralized more than one serotype, up to a maximum of six serotypes. Major finding of the study is detection of BTV serotypes not included in the commercial pentavalent inactivated vaccine. Regular surveillance of circulating serotypes, especially in sentinel reservoir hosts throughout the country can help in designing better multivalent vaccines with suitable vaccine strains, for specific geographic regions.

Freshwater decapods (Crustacea: Decapoda) of Palair Reservoir, Telangana, India

Recent surveys conducted in 2016–2018 from the Palair Reservoir of the Indian state of Telangana resulted in the collection of 153 specimens of freshwater decapods. These specimens are assigned to 10 species: seven prawns in three genera and three families; three crabs in two genera of one family. Among these, four species are recorded here as new records to Telangana: Penaeus semisulcatus De Haan, 1844, Caridina gracilipes De Man, 1892, Barytelphusa guerini (H. Milne Edwards, 1853), and Oziotelphusa sp.

Population-based Assessment of Vision Impairment in the Elderly Population in Telangana State in India – Policy Implications for Eye Health Programmes

ABSTRACT Purpose To investigate the prevalence, causes and risk factors for vision impairment (VI) among the elderly population in Telangana State, India. Methods A population-based cross-sectional study were conducted in four districts. All participants had eye examinations including visual acuity assessment for distance and near, anterior segment examination and non-mydriatic fundus imaging by trained personnel. VI was defined as presenting visual acuity worse than 6/18 in the better eye. Individuals aged ≥60 years were considered as elderly. Results In total, 11,238/12,150 (92.5%) individuals aged ≥40 years were examined. Of this, the dataset of 3,640 individuals (32.4%) elderly participants was used for analysis. Among the 3,640 participants, 53.1% were women and 78.1% had no education. The mean age of the participants was 67.8 years (standard deviation: 7 years; range: 60 to 102 years). The age and gender-adjusted prevalence of VI was 32.1% (95% CI: 29.5–34.8). On multivariable analysis, the odds of VI was significantly higher in older age groups, and among those with no education. Gender and district of residence were not associated with the prevalence of VI. Cataract (54.8%) was the leading cause of VI followed by uncorrected refractive errors (37.6%). Conclusions and Relevance VI was common and largely avoidable in the elderly population in Telangana state in India. Elderly centric eye care including screening for vision loss, provision of cataract surgery and spectacles can be used as strategies to address VI in the elderly.

Minorities and culture of learning: an anthropological study of the Muslim community in Telangana state in India

ABSTRACT What are the factors hindering educational development among Muslims in India in general and the newly born Telangana state in particular, is the key sociological question confronting the educationists and policymakers? The current paper based on empirical study provides an anthropological perspective to understand a number of socio-cultural factors responsible for lower retention and higher dropout rates among Muslims in public schools across the class and gender lines. It highlights that with positive state interventions, the enrolment and retention levels of Muslim working-class children have increased enormously besides a significant improvement in the same among Muslim girls also. Thus the paper argues that a relaxation in school protocols facilitates Muslim children integrating the academic demands and socio-cultural obligations they deem necessary while addressing culturally sensitive issues in curriculum and pedagogic practices foster attitudinal changes together which contribute immensely to the educational advancement among them.

Emprising revival of Telangana power sector: Analysis from an Indian state

The paper discusses the new 24‐hr power supply to agricultural sector scheme of Telangana state in India. The first of its kind scheme that is fully funded by the state government set a new example for agrarian states in India. The paper explains the energy demand and supply management, fiscal and infrastructural preparedness of the scheme along with environmental concerns. The primary survey report from two villages testifies people's aspirations about the new scheme. Rational power consumption by farmers is identified as key factor of this scheme that will enable government to overcome challenges on sustainability of the scheme.

Performance of a new chilli variety, LCA-620 in farmer’s field of Telangana State in India

Performance of a new chilli variety, LCA-620 in farmer’s field of Telangana State in India

Poisson and Logistics Regression Analysis on Electromagnetic Field Radiation: A Case of Environmental Pollution in Healthcare

The universal study reveals that Electromagnetic Frequency (EMF) exposure is upsetting the environment. It focuses keenly on the people residing in the neighboring of the base stations / mobile towers were affected by environmental radiation pollution. The effect of EMF radiation on human life is unusually increasing on dayto-day basis. As the number of customers using mobiles rises, one would see the mobile phone towers / base trans-receiver station (BTS) increases; and this has a great and huge impact on radiation hazards. Mobile phones have the capability of emitting radiations that would affect human tissues and it runs a two-way communication paradigm. Radio Frequency (RF) wave establishes communication around the globe in the mobile network. However, the radiations emitted by RF waves are harmful if absorbed into the human tissues. The most side effects experienced when nearer to these towers are headaches, discomfort, anxiety and other diseases. The radiation hazards are found to be extraordinarily more where the cell towers were installed nearer to educational institutes, healthcare and few residential areas. They were recommended to move / stay away from such areas, the radiations can cause tumors, disturbance of the nervous system and other diseases. The study is to understand the radiation exposure limits that would protect the public health from the EMF exposure. RF radiations were mapped by geographic information system (GIS) based measuring approach that helps in detecting places where users are in health hazards in exposed areas. This helps government and health organization to estimate the distribution of radiation in areas nearer to the location of mobile towers. Realization among the people was made to live and spend less time based on the radiation levels of exposure with the mobile towers. The analysis was carried out by STATA software to measure the poisson exposure of confidence interval. The poisson regression calculated for the mobile towers is 47473.38 and -0.00001 for Andhra Pradesh state respectively. Similarly, the poisson exposure is 19.2096 and CI is found to be 0.0013 to 0.2900 in Telangana state of India

Climate resilient production practices: Extent of adoption and barriers faced by rice farmers in Telangana state of India

Improving farm level adoption of climate resilient rice production practices is essential to enable farm families to improve their household food security. The present study was undertaken to analyze the farmers’ awareness, adoption and barriers to adoption of selected climate resilient rice production practices. Primary data were collected from 120 farmers from six villages based on random sampling in Nalgonda district of Telangana State, India. Visual questionnaire (photo elicitation) was used to assess farmers’ awareness and adoption of selected climate-resilient practices viz., System of Rice Intensification (SRI), Direct Seeded Rice (DSR), Green Manuring, Integrated Nutrient Management (INM), Leaf Color Chart (LCC), drought tolerant rice varieties and crop diversification. The findings of the study indicated that 50 percent of the farmers were aware of SRI practice but none of them were adopting it, similarly, 20 per cent of the farmers were aware of integrated nutrient management but only less than two percent had adopted the practice. A very low percentage of farmers were aware of the use of LCC (13.5%), drought tolerant paddy varieties (8.2%) with equally low adoption of these practices. Shortage of labor to adopt SRI, non-availability of drum seeder, small farm size, non-availability of seeds of green manure crops, formation of soil cracks in SRI, non-availability of LCC and drought resistant paddy varieties were the foremost barriers reported by farmers. The physical barriers reported by farmers need to be addressed to enhance adoption of climate resilient rice production practices. Similarly, training programs are to be organized to enhance the adoption of knowledge and skill intensive practices like SRI, DSR and LCC to overcome the non-physical barriers for adoption of climate resilient rice production practices. DOI: https://doi.org/10.25174/2249-4065/2019/94868

Spatial distribution and health risk assessment of fluoride contamination in groundwater of Telangana: A state-of-the-art

The groundwater of Telangana province is well known for its very high fluoride concentration. The main aim of this review is to assess the fluoride contamination, understand the spatial distribution pattern and also evaluate the potential human health risk for adults and children in the Telangana. Fluoride contamination in groundwater is the principal threat to public health in Telangana state in India. It is observed that the mean fluoride concentration in groundwater of ten districts in Telangana showed a decreasing trend: Nalgonda > Warangal > Ranga Reddy > Adilabad > Medak > Khammam > Karimnagar>Hyderabad > Mahabubnagar > Nizamabad. The high fluoride concentration is observed in Nalgonda where the mean fluoride is 5.76 times higher than the recommended limit of 1.5 mg/L for drinking purposes. The fluoride concentration in groundwater derives mainly from the weathering and dissolutions of fluoride bearing minerals. Nalgonda region, the hazard quotient (HQFluoride) for adults and children ranged from 0.79 to 6.54 and 1.07 to 8.84 with an average of 3.01 and 4.07, respectively. In Warangal region, the non-carcinogenic health risk in terms of HQFluoride was found in the range of 0.77 to 2.63 and 1.04 to 3.55 with a mean of 1.46 and 1.97 for adults and children, respectively. Furthermore, children are at highly prone to health risk when compared to adults in the Telangana. Therefore, special care and pure drinking water should be supplied to the rural regions of Telangana.

Associated Factors of Stunting and Thinness among Rural Adolescent Girls in Telangana, South India

Adolescent girls are the future mothers and their nutritional needs are critical for the wellbeing of a society and future generations. Stunting and thinness are widely prevalent malnutrition problems among adolescent girls and are known risk factor for obstetric complications and associated with the reduced work capacity. In this connection, an attempt is made in this study to explore the prevalence of stunting and thinness among rural adolescent girls in the newly formed Telangana state in India and their associations with socio-demographic factors. It is a cross sectional study carried out in two districts of Telangana state, India during 2012-2014. WHO guidelines were used to compute the prevalence of stunting and thinness and the data was analyzed on SPSS software. A binary logistic regression was used to identify the risk factors of stunting and thinness and the odds ratios were presented along with the 95% confidence intervals. The prevalence of stunting and thinness among adolescent girls in this study area was 33.4% and 20.4% respectively. Absolute height deficit of 6-13 cm was observed during the adolescence period. Age of the respondent, community, standard of living conditions and occupation of the household head were significantly associated with the stunting and age at menarche, literacy status of the girls was associated with the thinness. The prevalence of stunting and thinness was associated with age of the adolescent girls and standard of living, timely introduction of age-specific nutritional education and practices needed for these adolescent girls.

Positive Correlation Between Somatic Mutations in RAS Gene and Colorectal Cancer in Telangana Population: Hospital-Based Study in a Cosmopolitan City.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) ranks among the most prevalent cancer types in both men and women. Screening of RAS (Kirsten rat sarcoma viral oncogene homolog (KRAS), neuro-blastoma RAS viral oncogene homolog (NRAS), and v-raf murine sarcoma viral oncogene homolog B1 (BRAF)) somatic mutations is necessary prior to considering anti-epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) therapies in CRC patients. Next-generation sequencing studies have confirmed that RAS gene panels could be used while developing treatment strategies for patients with CRC. The present study explored genetic mutations in KRAS, NRAS, and BRAF in CRC patients in the Telangana state of India. Patients with confirmed CRC (n = 100) who visited the Apollo hospitals were evaluated. Genomic DNA was extracted from formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissues, and pyrosequencing analysis was performed. Patient DNA samples were screened for 54 different KRAS, NRAS, and BRAF mutations, which revealed 34 somatic mutations. Exon 11 of BRAF possessed 4 mutations with highest individuals documented with G469A mutation. Pyrosequencing, a reliable method for analyzing somatic mutations present in RAS, could aid in taking treatment decisions for patients with CRC.

Hydrogen Production from Hup-Rhodobacter sphaeroides Isolated from Sewage Water, Nalgonda, Telangana State of India

In the present study, highest hydrogen production by Rhodobacter sphaeroides was seen in lactose and mannitol as carbon sources. Glutamic acid and tyrosine induced the highest production of hydrogen. Cyanocobalamine induced the highest production of hydrogen. Enhancement of hydrogen production by 23% was seen after knocking out of the hydrogen reuptake hydrogenase gene. Large-scale production of hydrogen can be tried with this genetically engineered organism, provided some safety aspects are taken into consideration, especially with storage as hydrogen explodes when it comes in contact with air.