NOPR Collection:

Variation of sapwood and heartwood content in half-sib progenies of Eucalyptus tereticornis Sm.

2014-12-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Variation of sapwood and heartwood content in half-sib progenies of Eucalyptus tereticornis Sm. Authors: Kumar, Ashok; Dhillon, G P S Abstract: Thirty six progenies of Eucalyptus tereticornis Sm. from seven geographical locations were evaluated for sapwood and heartwood content variation at Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana. The maximum wood and heartwood diameter were recorded in genotype 142, whereas, maximum heartwood content was in genotype 4. The heartwood stopped within the tree at 55 to 65 % of total height. Heartwood was present in all trees attaining the 12 m height but at the 14 m height, only seven trees showed heartwood. Sapwood radial growth was lowest at the base and showed maximum variability between trees from 4.29 to 8.61 cm of the pooled mean of sapwood at different height levels. Heartwood taper was higher than tree taper in the lower part of the stem but slightly lower than the upper part of the stem. The mean heartwood content was 53.3 % of the total tree volume at breast height. Heartwood dimensions from wood diameters were estimated by using a linear model. The heartwood diameter was positively correlated with radial tree growth and showed a good linear regression with a high coefficient of determination (R²= 0.80) to the wood diameter, whereas, sapwood width was independent on the diameter. Page(s): 338-344

Mass transfer enhancement through optimized extraction of a natural dye from Bougainvillea glabra Juss. bracts

2014-12-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Mass transfer enhancement through optimized extraction of a natural dye from Bougainvillea glabra Juss. bracts Authors: Patil, P D; Rao, C R; Wasif, A I; Anekar, S V; Nagla, J R Abstract: Synthetic dyes are today’s established dyes for applications such as textile coloration. However, there are some serious drawbacks of these new dyes. Therefore, there is increasing interest in the natural dyes. The present study was emphasized to use the optimized extraction conditions so as to get maximum amount of the dye from bracts of Bougainvillea glabra Juss. Taguchi design was implemented to know optimum extraction conditions: 150 micron particle size, 1:20 solid-solvent ratio, one hour extraction and enzyme addition as assistance for extraction. The dye was extracted from both optimized and control experiments. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy and UV-VIS spectroscopy techniques were used to identify chemical nature of the extracted dye. The absorbance, mass transfer rates and dye yields were compared. The optimized extraction showed mass transfer rate of about 3.3 times enhanced than that in the control extraction. The yield was 9.88 % more in case of optimized extraction. Page(s): 332-337

Pharmacognostic studies on seed of Datura ferox L.

2014-12-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Pharmacognostic studies on seed of Datura ferox L. Authors: Rao, P Padma; Subramanian, P; Sudhakar, P; Reddy, P R Abstract: Datura ferox L. is an erect annual herb belonging to the family Solanaceae. Its seeds are useful in the treatment of delirium and mania. Present paper includes powder microscopic and organoleptic characters of the seeds. The physico-chemical parameters of raw drug, viz. extractive values, ash values, formulation, besides wt. per mL, total solids, alcohol content along with HPTLC finger printing and UV studies were undertaken on mother tincture for the first time. Page(s): 326-331

'Pati bet', Schumannianthus dichotomus (Roxb.) Gagnep. -A raw material for preparation of livelihood supporting handicrafts

2014-12-01T00:00:00Z

Title: 'Pati bet', Schumannianthus dichotomus (Roxb.) Gagnep. -A raw material for preparation of livelihood supporting handicrafts Authors: Mandal, R N; Bar, R; Chakrabarti, P P Abstract: Rural people of the district of Cooch Behar, West Bengal are involved in making various crafts using raw material prepared from the wetland plant known as 'Pati bet', Schumannianthus dichotomus (Roxb.) Gagnep. and they earn a considerable amount of money for livelihood. Pati, used as raw material for preparation of crafts, is obtained from the bark of pati bet stem locally christened as Bet. Bark is processed through a series of cumbersome effort blended with unique techniques for which artisans require both skill and expertise, apart from specific tools used for respective activity. 'Sital Pati', a notable and durable mat is one such important craft among other domestic articles such as hand bags, purse, hat, seat, prayer seat, school bag, hand handled fan, etc. which embody the beauty of craftsmanship. This article documents the processing of bark from pati bet and its use in making various crafts in order to protect the right of common people; which, otherwise, may lose its validity of being indigenous in course of time as supposedly to be claimed by others as their own. Page(s): 365-370