AYUB KHAN — новинки

Maize ranks 3rd among cereal grown crop in Pakistan. It was grown on area of 1052.1 thousand hectares, with the total annual production of 3593 thousand tones and average yield of 3415 kg ha-1, similarly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa it was sown on about 509.5 thousand hectares, with the total annual production of 957.9 thousand tones and with an average yield of 1880 kg ha-1. Hazara, Peshawar, Kohat, Malakand and D. I. Khan are the main maize growing divisions in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Low productivity is one the major concern in most of the field crops including maize crop. Therefore, an attempt have been made to delineate information on improvement of maize yield as the sole solution an enhancing agriculture productivity. The book provide comprehensive information on hybridization of maize crop as one of the most important cultivated plants of the world, which will be useful as decisive aid for teachers, researchers, undergraduate and graduate students, as well as growers.

Pakistan being an agricultural country is facing shortage of pulses. Major pulses grown in Pakistan include desi chickpeas (gram), lentils (masur), mung beans, black matpe (mash beans), and dry peas whole (matter). Other pulses include kabuli chickpeas, and kidney beans. The indigenous production doesn’t meet the pulses requirement of the country. Imports account for about 37% of Pakistan’s total consumption of pulses. In 2010, imports of pulses totaled 445,000 tons, valued at $262 million compared to 280,000 tons in fiscal year 2009, valued at $236 million. The situation is further aggravated due to the mushrooming growth in population and inflation rate. This gigantic drain on our hard-earned foreign exchange resources is a great challenge for agricultural scientists and all allied stalk holders. Among the pulses crops, mung bean emerged a potential pulses crop that can minimize the gap between production and consumption. The book in hand can furnish useful information for agriculture scientists and growers.

The book in hand provide baseline information on rapeseed as important edible oil crop in Pakistan. Edible oil is very important for the development and maintenance of human body. Due to rapid rise in population and living standard of people, Pakistan is facing huge shortage of edible oil for a long time, because the domestic production of edible oil can not meet the requirement of residents. Currently a gigantic amount of about Rs. 224 billion is spent on its import to fulfill the domestic need of the nations. The book can be an asset for the edible oil researchers, policy makers, agriculture students and allied stalk holders. It should in each and every library around the country.

Agricultural production almost needs to double in the twenty-first century not only to feed the growing world population but also because per capita food consumption is expected to increase by half in developing countries. This requires a drastic increase in agricultural production, which is the basis for protein sources. The increase in food consumption including carbohydrates and proteins is due to a universal desire to diversify the diet when per capita income increases. China is the best example, where consumption food consumption has doubled over the last two decades and is still growing. Most agricultural scientists are confident that the world’s population can be adequately fed, and that most food can be produced locally, ensuring the livelihood of farmers and food processors. This requires that agriculture, more than ever before, relies on science and technology, with agricultural intensification as the route to meet mankind’s food and fiber needs. The book in hand can furnish baseline information on biotechnology & its application for enhancing yield with less pressure on the environment. Therefore, it can be useful for Agri. graduates, policy makers etc.

Wheat is one of the major food crop of Pakistan and luckily the geographical position of country make it suitable for its cultivation. But the national average yield is far below the yield of other wheat producing countries. In wheat production, among other constraints poor fertility of the soil emerged the major one. The book in hand certainly provides base-line information and guiding principles on organic and inorganic fertilizer application in wheat. The book will be useful for wheat researchers, planners, students, progressive growers and organization. Therefore, it should be in every agriculture library around the country.

Pulses are an important food stuff and have significant role in fixing atmospheric nitrogen in nodules (improving soil fertility) and as a quality feed for milch animals. Mungbean being a short duration crop, can be grown twice a year. It is drought resistant crop that can withstand adverse environmental conditions, and hence can successfully be grown in rainfed areas of Pakistan. Currently low seed yield of pulses in Pakistan is mainly attributed to nutritional imbalance and very low organic matter content. The book contains valuable information on various aspect of seed inoculation, farm yard manure and chemicals fertilizers application to boost up seed production. This book can be an asset for the researchers, planner and agriculture students. Being agrarian country, it should be in each and every agriculture library around the country.

Soil salinity is one of the major productions limiting factor saline soil. In Pakistan about 5.7 m ha have been deteriorated partially or completely by salinity or sodicity. To alleviate the adverse effects of salinity stress on plants in salt affected soil, there are two approaches: one to reclaim these soils by applying chemical amendments to make it suitable for good crop production and other is the use of salt tolerant plant species. Tolerance of crop to salinity varies not only among species but also among the varieties of the same crop. The book in hand furnishes baseline information on the subject for the researchers, agriculture graduates and policy makers and allied stalk holders.

The book in hand provide valuable information on genetic diversity, morphological, biochemical and molecular markers of Brassica spp. Brassica is the major contributor in the domestic edible oil production. Currently the national average yield is very low as compared with other rapeseed growing countries around the globe. The domestic production hardly meet 30% of the country edible oil requirement, while 2.045 million tons (70%) is imported from abroad at the cost of about Rs. 224 billion currently. Among the production constraints low potential varieties emerged the major one. In this monograph an attempt has been made to collect Brassica spp. from various part of the country and were evaluated for various important attributes, which can lead us toward self-sufficiency and ultimately prosperity of the country. The book can be an asset for the scientific communities, planners, agricultural students and allied stalk holders. It should in every library around the country.

The book in hand provide valuable information on tobacco, being an important cash crop of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, providing employment opportunity for one million family, gigantic amount of revenue and foreign exchange earnings. Tobacco industry is the largest contributor to the excise duty. The increasing pressure of population and demand due to worldwide price increases make it very important to produce more tobacco and increase the per unit yield. The book can be an asset for the researchers, planner and agriculture students. It should be in each and every library around the country.

Crude extract and various fractions thereof of four medicinal plants of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provice were screened for antibacterial, antifungal, insecticidal, phytotoxicity, cytotoxicity and enzymes inhibition activities. Their anti-inflammatory activity was also tested using in vitro and in vivo models. All the screened plant extracts showed some degree of antibacterial activity. The chloroform fraction of Valeriana wallichii and Xanthium strumarium revealed significant antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Shigella flexneri, respectively. The n-hexane fraction of Valeriana wallichii showed strong antifungal activity against Microsporum canis. Chloroform fraction of Xanthium strumarium depicted 100% insecticidal activity against Callosobruchus analis. The ethylacetate and chloroform fractions of Duchesnea indica exhibited significant phytotoxicity against Lemna minor plant. The methanol extract of Valeriana wallichii and Achyranthes aspera, exhibited significant anti-inflammatory activity. These extracts can be a significant source for potential new lead compounds if further investigated