Proceedings of the 32nd International Academic Conference, Geneva, 2017
The paper will investigate efficacy and problems of using new internet linguistic resources espec... more The paper will investigate efficacy and problems of using new internet linguistic resources especially Blog writing as a pedagogical tool for teaching writing skill to Indian students of M.A. First semester of (English Literature). A qualitative research will be undertaken to explore success/drawbacks of this learning/teaching tool to enhance their English writing skill. A group of 50 students of the above mentioned class will be registered on a Blog platform shared by teacher and students to facilitate continuous interaction, assessment, and evaluation. In this kind of teaching, learning will take place synchronously and asynchronously allowing teacher and learners to get engaged in an academic discussion. As this collaborative pedagogy promotes a different type of communicative dynamics, students feel free to share, comment and compliment and the feedback provided by the teachers prove motivating to the students for improvement. The case study will interrogate the applicability of this collaborating blog pedagogy in enhancing the learning process and find out the relationship between blogging behavior, learning outcomes and academic performance?
Earthworms have fed the world as 'farm managers' since mankind arrived on earth. Earthworm's verm... more Earthworms have fed the world as 'farm managers' since mankind arrived on earth. Earthworm's vermicompost is scientifically proving to be an 'extraordinary powerful growth promoters and protectors' for crops (5-7 times over other bulky organic fertilizers and 20-40 % higher over chemical fertilizers). They are rich in NKP, micronutrients, beneficial soil microbes like 'nitrogen-fixing' and 'phosphate solubilizing' bacteria, 'mycorrhizal fungi', humus and growth hormones -auxins, gibberlins and cytokinins. It has very high 'porosity', 'aeration', 'drainage' and 'water holding capacity'. It also protects plants against various pests and diseases either by suppressing or repelling them or by inducing biological resistance in plants. 'Vermiwash' (liquid from the body of worms) and the 'vermicompost tea' (solution of vermicompost) also work as very 'powerful bio-pesticides' eliminating the use of toxic chemical pesticides. Presence of live earthworms in soils has been found to significantly influence the development of quality of fruits in vegetable & fruit crops. Earthworms and vermicompost can boost horticultural production without agrochemicals. It will provide several social, economic and environmental benefits to the society by way of producing 'chemical-free' safe, 'nutritive and health protective' (rich in minerals & antioxidants) foods (even against some forms of cancers) for the people; salvaging human wastes and replacing the dangerous 'agrochemicals' from the face of earth. Use of vermicompost in farms also 'sequester' huge amounts of atmospheric carbon (assimilated by green plants during photosynthesis) and bury them back into the soil improving the soil fertility, preventing erosion or compaction and also reducing greenhouse gas & mitigating global warming.
Vermihorticulture offers an active approach to produce quality food in considerable quantities. M... more Vermihorticulture offers an active approach to produce quality food in considerable quantities. Many studies indicate that vermicompost ensures healthy vegetables and fruits in countable yield. It is an extremely effective source to produce vegetables and fruits gaining early flowering, fruiting and production. It is evident that vermicompost produce fruit of comparable quality in terms of weight and size. The growth promoting hormones like auxins, gibberellins and cytokinins make it different with others. The earthworms are such good digesters that these rejuvenate the agro ecosystem and replenish it with ample of beneficial nutrients. Vermihorticulture is a sustainable technology as it aims to enhance degraded environment as well as human and plant health and ensures to fulfill our needs. With the growing population it is necessary to produce food in quantities as well as qualities to feed everyone which is easily possible with vermiculture.
Earthworms and its excreta (vermicast) promises to usher in the 'Second Green Revolution' by comp... more Earthworms and its excreta (vermicast) promises to usher in the 'Second Green Revolution' by completely replacing the destructive agrochemicals which did more harm than good to both the farmers and their farmland. Earthworms restore & improve soil fertility and significantly boost crop productivity. Earthworms excreta (vermicast) is a nutritive 'organic fertilizer' rich in humus, NKP, micronutrients, beneficial soil microbes-'nitrogen-fixing & phosphate solubilizing bacteria' & 'actinomycets' and growth hormones 'auxins', 'gibberlins' & 'cytokinins'. Both earthworms and its vermicast & body liquid (vermiwash) are scientifically proving as both 'growth promoters & protectors' for crop plants. In our experiments with corn & wheat crops, tomato and egg-plants it displayed excellent growth performances in terms of height of plants, color & texture of leaves, appearance of flowers & fruits, seed ears etc. as compared to chemical fertilizers and the conventional compost. There is also less incidences of 'pest & disease attack' and 'reduced demand of water' for irrigation in plants grown on vermicompost. Presence of live earthworms in soil also makes significant difference in flower and fruit formation in vegetable crops. Composts work as a 'slow-release fertilizer' whereas chemical fertilizers release their nutrients rather quickly in soil and soon get depleted. Significant amount of 'chemical nitrogen' is lost from soil due to oxidation in sunlight. However, with application of vermicompost the 'organic nitro-gen' tends to be released much faster from the excreted 'humus' by worms and those mineralised by them and the net overall efficiency of nitrogen (N) is considerably greater than that of chemical fertilizers. Availability of phosphorus (P) is sometimes much greater. Our study shows that earthworms and vermicompost can promote growth from 50 to 100% over conventional compost & 30 to 40% over chemical fertilizers besides protecting the soil and the agroecosystem while producing 'nutritive and tasty food' at a much economical cost (at least 50-75% less) as compared to the costly chemical fertilizers.
Green revolution" boosted food productivity at the cost of environment & society. It dramatically... more Green revolution" boosted food productivity at the cost of environment & society. It dramatically increased the "quantity" of the food produced but decreased its "nutritional quality" and also destroyed the "physical, chemical & the biological properties" of soil over the years of use. Earthworms and its cast can produce better crops completely organically in terms of quantity and quality. It will provide several environmental benefits to the society by way of producing "chemical-free" safe, "nutritive and health protective" organic foods along with protecting flora and fauna. Considering the aforesaid issue, a pot experiment was conducted to assess the performance of organic fertilizers on growth, yield and quality of Spinach (Spinacea oleracea Linn) with treatments FYM (T1), vermicompost (T2), chemical fertilizer (T3), Vermiculture + cattle dung (as feed) (T4) and control (T5) were organized in kitchen garden. The experiment was a completely randomized design, repeated three times, with four replications. Nutrient analysis of the spinach grown in kitchen garden was also done to ascertain the impact of organic fertilizers on its quality. The selected methods for nutritive analysis were β carotene-calorimetrically, Vitamin C-Titration method and Calcium-Titration method. After repeated use of vermiculture in the same soil, β carotene, Vitamin C and Calcium were observed better in organically grown spinach. In vermicompost cultivated tomato β carotene was recorded g. The organic crops produced with earthworms and its casts really supply more nutrients so used sustainably in food.
The study was conducted to find knowledge, attitude and practices of University students with res... more The study was conducted to find knowledge, attitude and practices of University students with respect to vermiculture biotechnology. Total 300 students were included in this study. Data collected by self administered questionnaire and analyzed, using 't' test. It was found that knowledge, attitude and practices of the University students regarding vermiculture biotechnology was low, less favorable and moderate respectively and correlation between knowledge and attitude, attitude and practices, knowledge and practices was not found. * Research Scholar, Department of Home Science, University of Rajasthan, Jaipur. ** Assistant Professor, Department of Home Science, University of Rajasthan, Jaipur. *** Director Extension, S. K. Rajasthan Agricultural University, Bikaner. INTRODUCTION Vermicomposting is one of all the methods which can be used for management of wastes from agriculture, industries, kitchen and even aquatic weeds (Edwards, 1998). Vermiculture means scientific metho...
Vermiculture biotechnology promises to usher in the 'Second Green Revolution' by completely repla... more Vermiculture biotechnology promises to usher in the 'Second Green Revolution' by completely replacing the destructive agro-chemicals which did more harm than good to both the farmers and their farmland. Earthworms restore and improve soil fertility and significantly boost crop productivity. Earthworms excreta (vermicast) is a nutritive 'organic fertilizer' rich in humus, NKP, micronutrients, beneficial soil microbes-'nitrogen-fixing and phosphate solubilizing bacteria' and 'actinomycets' and growth hormones 'auxins', 'gibberlins' and 'cytokinins'. Both earthworms and its vermicast and body liquid (vermiwash) are scientifically proving as both 'growth promoters and protectors' for crop plants. In the experiments with corn and wheat crops, tomato and eggplants it displayed excellent growth performances in terms of height of plants, colour and texture of leaves, appearance of flowers and fruits, seed ears etc, as compared to chemical fertilizers and the conventional compost. There is also less incidences of 'pest and disease attack' and 'reduced demand of water' for irrigation in plants grown on vermicompost. Presence of live earthworms in soil also makes significant difference in flower and fruit formation in vegetable crops. Earthworms biomass, a byproduct of VBT is rich in 'high quality protein' and source of nutritive feed materials for fishery, poultry and dairy industries and also for human consumption.
Today women expect to gain life satisfaction from occupational roles as well as traditional roles... more Today women expect to gain life satisfaction from occupational roles as well as traditional roles. Men and women have ambitions and commitments in both the work and family arenas simultaneously. Past studies shows that the amount of role strain experienced by a dual earner couples depends on the degree of their commitment to different roles and the role reward value expected by them from these roles. Role strain increases, when a dual earner couple expects to gain life satisfaction from more than one role. The present study was conducted on dual-earner couples of Jaipur city to find out the relationship between role expectation and role strain among dual earner couples. Total 200 couples (200 wives and 200 husbands) were selected for the study. Data were analysed using SPSS 16.0 statistical tools. Bivariate analysis and Pearson correlation coefficient result shows that both wives' and husbands' role strain was positively correlated with their role expectation i.e. 0.261 and ...
Vermihorticulture offers an active approach to produce quality food in considerable quantities. M... more Vermihorticulture offers an active approach to produce quality food in considerable quantities. Many studies indicate that vermicompost ensures healthy vegetables and fruits in countable yield. It is an extremely effective source to produce vegetables and fruits gaining early flowering, fruiting and production. It is evident that vermicompost produce fruit of comparable quality in terms of weight and size. The growth promoting hormones like auxins, gibberellins and cytokinins make it different with others. The earthworms are such good digesters that these rejuvenate the agro ecosystem and replenish it with ample of beneficial nutrients. Vermihorticulture is a sustainable technology as it aims to enhance degraded environment as well as human and plant health and ensures to fulfill our needs. With the growing population it is necessary to produce food in quantities as well as qualities to feed everyone which is easily possible with vermiculture.
Asian Journal of Research in Social Sciences and Humanities, 2014
Indian women spend substantially more time than men on family work. Women involved in paid work a... more Indian women spend substantially more time than men on family work. Women involved in paid work also need to spend more time at such unpaid household work than men. Household tasks are often distributed unequally among husbands and wives, but few studies have considered exactly how gender affects common determinants of household production. The present study was conducted on working male and female (school teachers) to find out how pattern of time use differ by gender. The study was carried out in Jaipur city of Rajasthan state. Out of 160 respondents 80 female and 80 male teachers were selected from 11th and 12th standard schools. The result shows that men and women spend about the same amount of time in paid work but females spend significantly more amount of time on unpaid household work than males, while males get the liberty spent significantly more amount of time than females in leisure and entertainment. Females find as a scarce resources which they can not allocate amount of...
The risk of unhealthy disposal of solid waste is one of the important problems in many societies.... more The risk of unhealthy disposal of solid waste is one of the important problems in many societies. Environmental knowledge attitude practices of young people (like students) appears to be crucial as their point of view ultimately plays an important role in providing solution to future environmental problems. The study was conducted aiming to find knowledge attitude and practices of University students with respect to waste management. Total 300 students were included in this study. Data collected by self administered questionnaire and analyzed, using‘t’ test. It was found that knowledge attitude and practices of University students regarding waste management was low, less favorable and moderate respectively and correlation between knowledge and attitude, attitude and practices was not found, but significant correlation was found between knowledge and practices.
Poor hygiene practices and inadequate sanitary conditions play a major role in the increased burd... more Poor hygiene practices and inadequate sanitary conditions play a major role in the increased burden of communicable diseases. This study evaluated the knowledge and practices regarding hygiene among homemakers of Makkasar Village of Rajasthan. Hundred homemakers were selected for the study as per systematic sampling method. The data were collected through structured interview scheduled. Majority 95 per cent of the respondents possessed good knowledge regarding personal hygiene whereas 65 per cent of the respondents apply it to practices. Need of purified water and maintenance of water resources was known to 85 per cent of respondents but again they did not have good practices. Regarding food hygiene, 89 per cent of the respondents had good knowledge of food hygiene whereas more than half 56 per cent of the respondents had good practices and 12 per cent of them were practicing food hygiene at poor level.
Children are the most vulnerable segment of the population to hygiene and sanitation concerned he... more Children are the most vulnerable segment of the population to hygiene and sanitation concerned health hazards and consequently are affected the most The poor health and lack of sanitation facilities are important underlying factors for low school enrolment, absenteeism, poor classroom performance, and early school dropouts. In the nutshell, India is lacking sanitation and hygiene in its rural schools setup which affects the performance of children negatively and increases the chances of acquiring many diseases. Therefore, the present study is planned to assess the current situation of knowledge and practices regarding hygiene in school students of rural Bikaner. In the present study, 1280 students were selected from 32 schools, which comprised of 16 government and 16 private schools. These students were selected by the process of multistage sampling. A self-administered close ended questionnaire was prepared for the study. To find whether there exists a significant difference betwee...
Biofuels: Greenhouse Gas Mitigation and Global Warming, 2018
Biofuel, also called as agrofuel, is derived from biomass and may exist in solid, liquid, or gase... more Biofuel, also called as agrofuel, is derived from biomass and may exist in solid, liquid, or gaseous form. The use of waste biomass to generate energy may reduce waste management problems like pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, and the use of limited amount of fossil fuels. Unlike fossil fuels, biofuels are a renewable energy source. Because they are derived from crops that can be harvested annually, or in the case of algae monthly, biofuels are theoretically unlimited. There is a potential for bioenergy obtained from waste to decrease the speed of global warming. Biofuels have emerged as an ideal choice to meet these requirements. Huge investments in research and subsidies for production are being done in most of the developed countries. The choice of raw material for biofuel production ranges from molasses for bioethanol and nonedible oil for biodiesel depending on nations. Global initiatives started in 1970s with pioneer work by Melvin Calvin in the United States, D.O. Hall in King’s College London, Stewart in CSIRO, Australia, and Prof. Sato and Yamada were some leading groups to undertake biofuel work. Melvin Calvin inspired us (AK and team) to take work on laticifers in Rajasthan. We were among the pioneers to start work on biofuels in Rajasthan with support from Department of Non Conventional Energy Sources (DNES) Govt of India in early 1980’s. Initial researches were confined to discover candidate crop species, the agrotechnological zones in which they might be grown and predicted yields. Cost of production of feedstock was assessed in relation to cost of alternative crops such as wheat and grain sorghum in southern and eastern Australia. At present, governments have initiated the use of alternative sources of energy for ensuring energy security, generating employment, and mitigating CO2 emissions. Attempts were also made to produce energy from waste. One waste management strategy is anaerobic digestion. In anaerobic digestion, any sort of biomass can be utilized. This waste breaks down and gives rise to methane. This methane is harvested and burned to create heat and power to run some automobiles and vehicles.
Further it has been found out that avoiding tobacco may add 20 years to the life of a teenager. T... more Further it has been found out that avoiding tobacco may add 20 years to the life of a teenager. Tobacco usage leads to many health problems, gum disease and tooth loss, chronic lung diseases, like emphysema and bronchitis, lung cancer, oral cancer, coughing spells, wheezing, frequent headaches, increased mucus secretion, reduced physical fitness, poor lung growth and function in those who initiate tobacco usage during their childhood. It also leads to worsened health and above all addiction to nicotine which further aggravates the condition and
Consistent and indiscriminate uses of chemical as fertilizers, insecticides, pesticides and hormo... more Consistent and indiscriminate uses of chemical as fertilizers, insecticides, pesticides and hormones have caused serious damage to human health. Erratically used chemicals remain as residues and present risks like nervous breakdown, sterility, cancers, immunological disorders in adults and Blue baby syndrome, brain cancer, leukemia and birth defects in children.
Earthworms and its excreta (vermicast) promises to usher in the 'Second Green Revolution' by comp... more Earthworms and its excreta (vermicast) promises to usher in the 'Second Green Revolution' by completely replacing the destructive agrochemicals which did more harm than good to both the farmers and their farmland. Earthworms restore & improve soil fertility and significantly boost crop productivity. Earthworms excreta (vermicast) is a nutritive 'organic fertilizer' rich in humus, NKP, micronutrients, beneficial soil microbes-'nitrogen-fixing & phosphate solubilizing bacteria' & 'actinomycets' and growth hormones 'auxins', 'gibberlins' & 'cytokinins'. Both earthworms and its vermicast & body liquid (vermiwash) are scientifically proving as both 'growth promoters & protectors' for crop plants. In our experiments with corn & wheat crops, tomato and egg-plants it displayed excellent growth performances in terms of height of plants, color & texture of leaves, appearance of flowers & fruits, seed ears etc. as compared to chemical fertilizers and the conventional compost. There is also less incidences of 'pest & disease attack' and 'reduced demand of water' for irrigation in plants grown on vermicompost. Presence of live earthworms in soil also makes significant difference in flower and fruit formation in vegetable crops. Composts work as a 'slow-release fertilizer' whereas chemical fertilizers release their nutrients rather quickly in soil and soon get depleted. Significant amount of 'chemical nitrogen' is lost from soil due to oxidation in sunlight. However, with application of vermicompost the 'organic nitro-gen' tends to be released much faster from the excreted 'humus' by worms and those mineralised by them and the net overall efficiency of nitrogen (N) is considerably greater than that of chemical fertilizers. Availability of phosphorus (P) is sometimes much greater. Our study shows that earthworms and vermicompost can promote growth from 50 to 100% over conventional compost & 30 to 40% over chemical fertilizers besides protecting the soil and the agroecosystem while producing 'nutritive and tasty food' at a much economical cost (at least 50-75% less) as compared to the costly chemical fertilizers.
Earthworms have fed the world as 'farm managers' since mankind arrived on earth. Earthworm's verm... more Earthworms have fed the world as 'farm managers' since mankind arrived on earth. Earthworm's vermicompost is scientifically proving to be an 'extraordinary powerful growth promoters and protectors' for crops (5-7 times over other bulky organic fertilizers and 20-40 % higher over chemical fertilizers). They are rich in NKP, micronutrients, beneficial soil microbes like 'nitrogen-fixing' and 'phosphate solubilizing' bacteria, 'mycorrhizal fungi', humus and growth hormones-auxins, gibberlins and cytokinins. It has very high 'porosity', 'aeration', 'drainage' and 'water holding capacity'. It also protects plants against various pests and diseases either by suppressing or repelling them or by inducing biological resistance in plants. 'Vermiwash' (liquid from the body of worms) and the 'vermicompost tea' (solution of vermicompost) also work as very 'powerful bio-pesticides' eliminating the use of toxic chemical pesticides. Presence of live earthworms in soils has been found to significantly influence the development of quality of fruits in vegetable & fruit crops. Earthworms and vermicompost can boost horticultural production without agrochemicals. It will provide several social, economic and environmental benefits to the society by way of producing 'chemical-free' safe, 'nutritive and health protective' (rich in minerals & antioxidants) foods (even against some forms of cancers) for the people; salvaging human wastes and replacing the dangerous 'agrochemicals' from the face of earth. Use of vermicompost in farms also 'sequester' huge amounts of atmospheric carbon (assimilated by green plants during photosynthesis) and bury them back into the soil improving the soil fertility, preventing erosion or compaction and also reducing greenhouse gas & mitigating global warming.
Proceedings of the 32nd International Academic Conference, Geneva, 2017
The paper will investigate efficacy and problems of using new internet linguistic resources espec... more The paper will investigate efficacy and problems of using new internet linguistic resources especially Blog writing as a pedagogical tool for teaching writing skill to Indian students of M.A. First semester of (English Literature). A qualitative research will be undertaken to explore success/drawbacks of this learning/teaching tool to enhance their English writing skill. A group of 50 students of the above mentioned class will be registered on a Blog platform shared by teacher and students to facilitate continuous interaction, assessment, and evaluation. In this kind of teaching, learning will take place synchronously and asynchronously allowing teacher and learners to get engaged in an academic discussion. As this collaborative pedagogy promotes a different type of communicative dynamics, students feel free to share, comment and compliment and the feedback provided by the teachers prove motivating to the students for improvement. The case study will interrogate the applicability of this collaborating blog pedagogy in enhancing the learning process and find out the relationship between blogging behavior, learning outcomes and academic performance?
Earthworms have fed the world as 'farm managers' since mankind arrived on earth. Earthworm's verm... more Earthworms have fed the world as 'farm managers' since mankind arrived on earth. Earthworm's vermicompost is scientifically proving to be an 'extraordinary powerful growth promoters and protectors' for crops (5-7 times over other bulky organic fertilizers and 20-40 % higher over chemical fertilizers). They are rich in NKP, micronutrients, beneficial soil microbes like 'nitrogen-fixing' and 'phosphate solubilizing' bacteria, 'mycorrhizal fungi', humus and growth hormones -auxins, gibberlins and cytokinins. It has very high 'porosity', 'aeration', 'drainage' and 'water holding capacity'. It also protects plants against various pests and diseases either by suppressing or repelling them or by inducing biological resistance in plants. 'Vermiwash' (liquid from the body of worms) and the 'vermicompost tea' (solution of vermicompost) also work as very 'powerful bio-pesticides' eliminating the use of toxic chemical pesticides. Presence of live earthworms in soils has been found to significantly influence the development of quality of fruits in vegetable & fruit crops. Earthworms and vermicompost can boost horticultural production without agrochemicals. It will provide several social, economic and environmental benefits to the society by way of producing 'chemical-free' safe, 'nutritive and health protective' (rich in minerals & antioxidants) foods (even against some forms of cancers) for the people; salvaging human wastes and replacing the dangerous 'agrochemicals' from the face of earth. Use of vermicompost in farms also 'sequester' huge amounts of atmospheric carbon (assimilated by green plants during photosynthesis) and bury them back into the soil improving the soil fertility, preventing erosion or compaction and also reducing greenhouse gas & mitigating global warming.
Vermihorticulture offers an active approach to produce quality food in considerable quantities. M... more Vermihorticulture offers an active approach to produce quality food in considerable quantities. Many studies indicate that vermicompost ensures healthy vegetables and fruits in countable yield. It is an extremely effective source to produce vegetables and fruits gaining early flowering, fruiting and production. It is evident that vermicompost produce fruit of comparable quality in terms of weight and size. The growth promoting hormones like auxins, gibberellins and cytokinins make it different with others. The earthworms are such good digesters that these rejuvenate the agro ecosystem and replenish it with ample of beneficial nutrients. Vermihorticulture is a sustainable technology as it aims to enhance degraded environment as well as human and plant health and ensures to fulfill our needs. With the growing population it is necessary to produce food in quantities as well as qualities to feed everyone which is easily possible with vermiculture.
Earthworms and its excreta (vermicast) promises to usher in the 'Second Green Revolution' by comp... more Earthworms and its excreta (vermicast) promises to usher in the 'Second Green Revolution' by completely replacing the destructive agrochemicals which did more harm than good to both the farmers and their farmland. Earthworms restore & improve soil fertility and significantly boost crop productivity. Earthworms excreta (vermicast) is a nutritive 'organic fertilizer' rich in humus, NKP, micronutrients, beneficial soil microbes-'nitrogen-fixing & phosphate solubilizing bacteria' & 'actinomycets' and growth hormones 'auxins', 'gibberlins' & 'cytokinins'. Both earthworms and its vermicast & body liquid (vermiwash) are scientifically proving as both 'growth promoters & protectors' for crop plants. In our experiments with corn & wheat crops, tomato and egg-plants it displayed excellent growth performances in terms of height of plants, color & texture of leaves, appearance of flowers & fruits, seed ears etc. as compared to chemical fertilizers and the conventional compost. There is also less incidences of 'pest & disease attack' and 'reduced demand of water' for irrigation in plants grown on vermicompost. Presence of live earthworms in soil also makes significant difference in flower and fruit formation in vegetable crops. Composts work as a 'slow-release fertilizer' whereas chemical fertilizers release their nutrients rather quickly in soil and soon get depleted. Significant amount of 'chemical nitrogen' is lost from soil due to oxidation in sunlight. However, with application of vermicompost the 'organic nitro-gen' tends to be released much faster from the excreted 'humus' by worms and those mineralised by them and the net overall efficiency of nitrogen (N) is considerably greater than that of chemical fertilizers. Availability of phosphorus (P) is sometimes much greater. Our study shows that earthworms and vermicompost can promote growth from 50 to 100% over conventional compost & 30 to 40% over chemical fertilizers besides protecting the soil and the agroecosystem while producing 'nutritive and tasty food' at a much economical cost (at least 50-75% less) as compared to the costly chemical fertilizers.
Green revolution" boosted food productivity at the cost of environment & society. It dramatically... more Green revolution" boosted food productivity at the cost of environment & society. It dramatically increased the "quantity" of the food produced but decreased its "nutritional quality" and also destroyed the "physical, chemical & the biological properties" of soil over the years of use. Earthworms and its cast can produce better crops completely organically in terms of quantity and quality. It will provide several environmental benefits to the society by way of producing "chemical-free" safe, "nutritive and health protective" organic foods along with protecting flora and fauna. Considering the aforesaid issue, a pot experiment was conducted to assess the performance of organic fertilizers on growth, yield and quality of Spinach (Spinacea oleracea Linn) with treatments FYM (T1), vermicompost (T2), chemical fertilizer (T3), Vermiculture + cattle dung (as feed) (T4) and control (T5) were organized in kitchen garden. The experiment was a completely randomized design, repeated three times, with four replications. Nutrient analysis of the spinach grown in kitchen garden was also done to ascertain the impact of organic fertilizers on its quality. The selected methods for nutritive analysis were β carotene-calorimetrically, Vitamin C-Titration method and Calcium-Titration method. After repeated use of vermiculture in the same soil, β carotene, Vitamin C and Calcium were observed better in organically grown spinach. In vermicompost cultivated tomato β carotene was recorded g. The organic crops produced with earthworms and its casts really supply more nutrients so used sustainably in food.
The study was conducted to find knowledge, attitude and practices of University students with res... more The study was conducted to find knowledge, attitude and practices of University students with respect to vermiculture biotechnology. Total 300 students were included in this study. Data collected by self administered questionnaire and analyzed, using 't' test. It was found that knowledge, attitude and practices of the University students regarding vermiculture biotechnology was low, less favorable and moderate respectively and correlation between knowledge and attitude, attitude and practices, knowledge and practices was not found. * Research Scholar, Department of Home Science, University of Rajasthan, Jaipur. ** Assistant Professor, Department of Home Science, University of Rajasthan, Jaipur. *** Director Extension, S. K. Rajasthan Agricultural University, Bikaner. INTRODUCTION Vermicomposting is one of all the methods which can be used for management of wastes from agriculture, industries, kitchen and even aquatic weeds (Edwards, 1998). Vermiculture means scientific metho...
Vermiculture biotechnology promises to usher in the 'Second Green Revolution' by completely repla... more Vermiculture biotechnology promises to usher in the 'Second Green Revolution' by completely replacing the destructive agro-chemicals which did more harm than good to both the farmers and their farmland. Earthworms restore and improve soil fertility and significantly boost crop productivity. Earthworms excreta (vermicast) is a nutritive 'organic fertilizer' rich in humus, NKP, micronutrients, beneficial soil microbes-'nitrogen-fixing and phosphate solubilizing bacteria' and 'actinomycets' and growth hormones 'auxins', 'gibberlins' and 'cytokinins'. Both earthworms and its vermicast and body liquid (vermiwash) are scientifically proving as both 'growth promoters and protectors' for crop plants. In the experiments with corn and wheat crops, tomato and eggplants it displayed excellent growth performances in terms of height of plants, colour and texture of leaves, appearance of flowers and fruits, seed ears etc, as compared to chemical fertilizers and the conventional compost. There is also less incidences of 'pest and disease attack' and 'reduced demand of water' for irrigation in plants grown on vermicompost. Presence of live earthworms in soil also makes significant difference in flower and fruit formation in vegetable crops. Earthworms biomass, a byproduct of VBT is rich in 'high quality protein' and source of nutritive feed materials for fishery, poultry and dairy industries and also for human consumption.
Today women expect to gain life satisfaction from occupational roles as well as traditional roles... more Today women expect to gain life satisfaction from occupational roles as well as traditional roles. Men and women have ambitions and commitments in both the work and family arenas simultaneously. Past studies shows that the amount of role strain experienced by a dual earner couples depends on the degree of their commitment to different roles and the role reward value expected by them from these roles. Role strain increases, when a dual earner couple expects to gain life satisfaction from more than one role. The present study was conducted on dual-earner couples of Jaipur city to find out the relationship between role expectation and role strain among dual earner couples. Total 200 couples (200 wives and 200 husbands) were selected for the study. Data were analysed using SPSS 16.0 statistical tools. Bivariate analysis and Pearson correlation coefficient result shows that both wives' and husbands' role strain was positively correlated with their role expectation i.e. 0.261 and ...
Vermihorticulture offers an active approach to produce quality food in considerable quantities. M... more Vermihorticulture offers an active approach to produce quality food in considerable quantities. Many studies indicate that vermicompost ensures healthy vegetables and fruits in countable yield. It is an extremely effective source to produce vegetables and fruits gaining early flowering, fruiting and production. It is evident that vermicompost produce fruit of comparable quality in terms of weight and size. The growth promoting hormones like auxins, gibberellins and cytokinins make it different with others. The earthworms are such good digesters that these rejuvenate the agro ecosystem and replenish it with ample of beneficial nutrients. Vermihorticulture is a sustainable technology as it aims to enhance degraded environment as well as human and plant health and ensures to fulfill our needs. With the growing population it is necessary to produce food in quantities as well as qualities to feed everyone which is easily possible with vermiculture.
Asian Journal of Research in Social Sciences and Humanities, 2014
Indian women spend substantially more time than men on family work. Women involved in paid work a... more Indian women spend substantially more time than men on family work. Women involved in paid work also need to spend more time at such unpaid household work than men. Household tasks are often distributed unequally among husbands and wives, but few studies have considered exactly how gender affects common determinants of household production. The present study was conducted on working male and female (school teachers) to find out how pattern of time use differ by gender. The study was carried out in Jaipur city of Rajasthan state. Out of 160 respondents 80 female and 80 male teachers were selected from 11th and 12th standard schools. The result shows that men and women spend about the same amount of time in paid work but females spend significantly more amount of time on unpaid household work than males, while males get the liberty spent significantly more amount of time than females in leisure and entertainment. Females find as a scarce resources which they can not allocate amount of...
The risk of unhealthy disposal of solid waste is one of the important problems in many societies.... more The risk of unhealthy disposal of solid waste is one of the important problems in many societies. Environmental knowledge attitude practices of young people (like students) appears to be crucial as their point of view ultimately plays an important role in providing solution to future environmental problems. The study was conducted aiming to find knowledge attitude and practices of University students with respect to waste management. Total 300 students were included in this study. Data collected by self administered questionnaire and analyzed, using‘t’ test. It was found that knowledge attitude and practices of University students regarding waste management was low, less favorable and moderate respectively and correlation between knowledge and attitude, attitude and practices was not found, but significant correlation was found between knowledge and practices.
Poor hygiene practices and inadequate sanitary conditions play a major role in the increased burd... more Poor hygiene practices and inadequate sanitary conditions play a major role in the increased burden of communicable diseases. This study evaluated the knowledge and practices regarding hygiene among homemakers of Makkasar Village of Rajasthan. Hundred homemakers were selected for the study as per systematic sampling method. The data were collected through structured interview scheduled. Majority 95 per cent of the respondents possessed good knowledge regarding personal hygiene whereas 65 per cent of the respondents apply it to practices. Need of purified water and maintenance of water resources was known to 85 per cent of respondents but again they did not have good practices. Regarding food hygiene, 89 per cent of the respondents had good knowledge of food hygiene whereas more than half 56 per cent of the respondents had good practices and 12 per cent of them were practicing food hygiene at poor level.
Children are the most vulnerable segment of the population to hygiene and sanitation concerned he... more Children are the most vulnerable segment of the population to hygiene and sanitation concerned health hazards and consequently are affected the most The poor health and lack of sanitation facilities are important underlying factors for low school enrolment, absenteeism, poor classroom performance, and early school dropouts. In the nutshell, India is lacking sanitation and hygiene in its rural schools setup which affects the performance of children negatively and increases the chances of acquiring many diseases. Therefore, the present study is planned to assess the current situation of knowledge and practices regarding hygiene in school students of rural Bikaner. In the present study, 1280 students were selected from 32 schools, which comprised of 16 government and 16 private schools. These students were selected by the process of multistage sampling. A self-administered close ended questionnaire was prepared for the study. To find whether there exists a significant difference betwee...
Biofuels: Greenhouse Gas Mitigation and Global Warming, 2018
Biofuel, also called as agrofuel, is derived from biomass and may exist in solid, liquid, or gase... more Biofuel, also called as agrofuel, is derived from biomass and may exist in solid, liquid, or gaseous form. The use of waste biomass to generate energy may reduce waste management problems like pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, and the use of limited amount of fossil fuels. Unlike fossil fuels, biofuels are a renewable energy source. Because they are derived from crops that can be harvested annually, or in the case of algae monthly, biofuels are theoretically unlimited. There is a potential for bioenergy obtained from waste to decrease the speed of global warming. Biofuels have emerged as an ideal choice to meet these requirements. Huge investments in research and subsidies for production are being done in most of the developed countries. The choice of raw material for biofuel production ranges from molasses for bioethanol and nonedible oil for biodiesel depending on nations. Global initiatives started in 1970s with pioneer work by Melvin Calvin in the United States, D.O. Hall in King’s College London, Stewart in CSIRO, Australia, and Prof. Sato and Yamada were some leading groups to undertake biofuel work. Melvin Calvin inspired us (AK and team) to take work on laticifers in Rajasthan. We were among the pioneers to start work on biofuels in Rajasthan with support from Department of Non Conventional Energy Sources (DNES) Govt of India in early 1980’s. Initial researches were confined to discover candidate crop species, the agrotechnological zones in which they might be grown and predicted yields. Cost of production of feedstock was assessed in relation to cost of alternative crops such as wheat and grain sorghum in southern and eastern Australia. At present, governments have initiated the use of alternative sources of energy for ensuring energy security, generating employment, and mitigating CO2 emissions. Attempts were also made to produce energy from waste. One waste management strategy is anaerobic digestion. In anaerobic digestion, any sort of biomass can be utilized. This waste breaks down and gives rise to methane. This methane is harvested and burned to create heat and power to run some automobiles and vehicles.
Further it has been found out that avoiding tobacco may add 20 years to the life of a teenager. T... more Further it has been found out that avoiding tobacco may add 20 years to the life of a teenager. Tobacco usage leads to many health problems, gum disease and tooth loss, chronic lung diseases, like emphysema and bronchitis, lung cancer, oral cancer, coughing spells, wheezing, frequent headaches, increased mucus secretion, reduced physical fitness, poor lung growth and function in those who initiate tobacco usage during their childhood. It also leads to worsened health and above all addiction to nicotine which further aggravates the condition and
Consistent and indiscriminate uses of chemical as fertilizers, insecticides, pesticides and hormo... more Consistent and indiscriminate uses of chemical as fertilizers, insecticides, pesticides and hormones have caused serious damage to human health. Erratically used chemicals remain as residues and present risks like nervous breakdown, sterility, cancers, immunological disorders in adults and Blue baby syndrome, brain cancer, leukemia and birth defects in children.
Earthworms and its excreta (vermicast) promises to usher in the 'Second Green Revolution' by comp... more Earthworms and its excreta (vermicast) promises to usher in the 'Second Green Revolution' by completely replacing the destructive agrochemicals which did more harm than good to both the farmers and their farmland. Earthworms restore & improve soil fertility and significantly boost crop productivity. Earthworms excreta (vermicast) is a nutritive 'organic fertilizer' rich in humus, NKP, micronutrients, beneficial soil microbes-'nitrogen-fixing & phosphate solubilizing bacteria' & 'actinomycets' and growth hormones 'auxins', 'gibberlins' & 'cytokinins'. Both earthworms and its vermicast & body liquid (vermiwash) are scientifically proving as both 'growth promoters & protectors' for crop plants. In our experiments with corn & wheat crops, tomato and egg-plants it displayed excellent growth performances in terms of height of plants, color & texture of leaves, appearance of flowers & fruits, seed ears etc. as compared to chemical fertilizers and the conventional compost. There is also less incidences of 'pest & disease attack' and 'reduced demand of water' for irrigation in plants grown on vermicompost. Presence of live earthworms in soil also makes significant difference in flower and fruit formation in vegetable crops. Composts work as a 'slow-release fertilizer' whereas chemical fertilizers release their nutrients rather quickly in soil and soon get depleted. Significant amount of 'chemical nitrogen' is lost from soil due to oxidation in sunlight. However, with application of vermicompost the 'organic nitro-gen' tends to be released much faster from the excreted 'humus' by worms and those mineralised by them and the net overall efficiency of nitrogen (N) is considerably greater than that of chemical fertilizers. Availability of phosphorus (P) is sometimes much greater. Our study shows that earthworms and vermicompost can promote growth from 50 to 100% over conventional compost & 30 to 40% over chemical fertilizers besides protecting the soil and the agroecosystem while producing 'nutritive and tasty food' at a much economical cost (at least 50-75% less) as compared to the costly chemical fertilizers.
Earthworms have fed the world as 'farm managers' since mankind arrived on earth. Earthworm's verm... more Earthworms have fed the world as 'farm managers' since mankind arrived on earth. Earthworm's vermicompost is scientifically proving to be an 'extraordinary powerful growth promoters and protectors' for crops (5-7 times over other bulky organic fertilizers and 20-40 % higher over chemical fertilizers). They are rich in NKP, micronutrients, beneficial soil microbes like 'nitrogen-fixing' and 'phosphate solubilizing' bacteria, 'mycorrhizal fungi', humus and growth hormones-auxins, gibberlins and cytokinins. It has very high 'porosity', 'aeration', 'drainage' and 'water holding capacity'. It also protects plants against various pests and diseases either by suppressing or repelling them or by inducing biological resistance in plants. 'Vermiwash' (liquid from the body of worms) and the 'vermicompost tea' (solution of vermicompost) also work as very 'powerful bio-pesticides' eliminating the use of toxic chemical pesticides. Presence of live earthworms in soils has been found to significantly influence the development of quality of fruits in vegetable & fruit crops. Earthworms and vermicompost can boost horticultural production without agrochemicals. It will provide several social, economic and environmental benefits to the society by way of producing 'chemical-free' safe, 'nutritive and health protective' (rich in minerals & antioxidants) foods (even against some forms of cancers) for the people; salvaging human wastes and replacing the dangerous 'agrochemicals' from the face of earth. Use of vermicompost in farms also 'sequester' huge amounts of atmospheric carbon (assimilated by green plants during photosynthesis) and bury them back into the soil improving the soil fertility, preventing erosion or compaction and also reducing greenhouse gas & mitigating global warming.
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