Dragonflies and Damselflies

Today, our focus is on a smaller group of animals, but who provide a great service to maintain the equilibrium of ecosystems They become prey for fish, lizards and frogs like animals who are in the upper stages of the food chains to maintain that equilibrium. They are none other than dragonflies that belong to the order Odonata. Various research suggests that they and their suborder Damselflies as very much suited bioindicators to determine the quality of environments such as aquatic ecosystems. They lay eggs in clean freshwater or near such places according to their reproductive preferences. That is why, if they are abundant around some area, it provides a good indicator of a quality ecosystem and freshwater sources around it. Their sensitivity to the quality of their habitat and their amphibious life cycle makes them a good factor to evaluate the environmental changes. While being a predator to mosquitoes, flies like organisms, they act as biocontrol agents against harmful insects or pests in coffee like cultivations. According to the EU Red Data Book, order Odonata consists of around 5680 species being a smaller order compared to other insect orders. They are common in tropical countries like Sri Lanka and India. Currently, they are having an unfortunate destiny due to environmental pollution caused by agrochemicals such as synthetic pesticides and insecticides and due to habitat loss caused by moderations of marshes. So, you can try to help their existence by simply making a small pond of around 1-2 feet depth in a high time of environmental pollution.

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GAMMA RADIATION SENSITIVITY AND EFFECTIVE DOSAGE FOR SEEDS OF TOMATO VARIETY KATUGASTOTA WILT RESISTANT

ABSTRACT 

Mutation breeding is a powerful and effective tool to upgrade well-adapted varieties by altering one or few major agronomic traits which limit their productivity and quality. Improving the yield and fruit quality traits of Katugastota Wilt Resistant (KWR), a tomato variety tolerant to bacterial wilt disease was aimed owing to the low success in developing of bacterial wilt tolerance through conventional breeding. Present study was conducted to determine the effective dosage of gamma irradiation for KWR seeds that creates maximum genetic variation by evaluating seedling traits in M1 population. KWR seeds were gamma irradiated with four doses (100, 200, 300, 400 Gy) and compared with untreated control in an experimental set up using Complete Randomized Design with 3 replicates. The results revealed that gamma doses had different responses on morphological traits in M1 seedlings. Among the traits considered, days taken for germination, seedling height, root length and number of roots were significantly affected by the gamma doses. Effective doses which were determined based on seedling height and root length were 398.75 Gy and 371.69 Gy, respectively. Based on the effective doses, gamma radiation dosage between 370 Gy to 400 Gy could be identified as the dosage that creates maximum genetic variation in variety KWR. Key Words: Effective dosage, Gamma rays, Irradiation, Katugstota Wilt Resistant, Tomato

 

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GAMMA RADIATION SENSITIVITY AND EFFECTIVE DOSAGE FOR SEEDS OF TOMATO VARIETY KATUGASTOTA WILT RESISTANT

Introduction to Medicinal plants

What are medicinal plants?

Plants that provide people with medicines to,

• Prevent diseases
• Maintain health
• Cure ailments

• Various types of plants are used in herbalism and some of these plants have medicinal activities

• They are rich resources of ingredients which can be used in drug development and synthesis

• They play a critical role in the development of human cultures around the world and considered as an important source of nutrition
• It is the original material of herbal medicine

Introduction to Weeds in Sri Lanka

Weeds can be simply explained as plants that grow in an unwanted place. i.e. A rose plant that is grown in a vegetable cultivated field is considered as a weed. Weeds cause considerable economic losses to the farmer, if it is not manage properly.  Weeds compete with the cultivated crops for water, sunlight, nutrients and other factors required for plant growth. Weeds are more adaptive to growing environment than the crops. As a result, weeds grow better at the expense of the cultivated crops. So, it is really important to focus on managing the weed infestation. controlling of the weeds can be a costly operation if it not managed properly (Managing of weed infestation is economically more advantageous than controlling/eradicating them).

Organic Agriculture Certification in Sri Lanka

Why We Need Organic Agriculture

• Organic agriculture ensures the good quality of the food people consume
• Reduce the health issues created by inorganic fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides and etc.
• Reduce the environmental pollution issues caused by agriculture and promote the sustainability in agriculture 

What is the Importance of Organic Agriculture Certification

• Organic agriculture certification provides the proof  and certifies relevant agri-product is produced according to the requirements of organic agriculture
• Establish the trust between the farmer/agriculture organization and consumer/buyer

What Can be Certified in Organic Agriculture

• All cultivatable crops
• Wild collection
• Animal husbandry
• Aquaculture
• Mushroom
• Honey
• Fiber
• Timber
• off farm inputs

Who/What are eligible for certification

• Individual farms and groups (large scale farms, small holder organizations and etc.)
• Agricultural products processors
• Agricultural products packers
• Agricultural products retailers
• Agricultural commodities traders/exporters

Principles of Organic Certification

• Agreed production and processing standard (what needs to be done)
• Agreed verification procedures (how is it checked)
• Neutral body that verifies the compliance (who guarantees)

Key Areas in Organic Certification 

• Defining the production unit; i.e. Tea, Paddy, Vegetable
• Parallel production is not allowed; i.e. cultivation of same crop in organic and conventional method 
• Conversion from conventional to organic agriculture normally take 3 - 4 years
• Inputs of production should be acceptable; i.e. manure, seeds
• GMOs, growth hormones, fumigation, radiation should be avoided
• Traceability  of product flow
• All the activities should be documented
• package, transport, storage, labeling should follow required standards
• Packaging should be food grade
• Transportation should not damage the product
• Storage should be separated according to the commodity
• Label should include organic agriculture certified logo
• Inspection and certification of entire production chain should be done at least once a year
• Transparency in communication and information exchange

Certification Methods

• First party certification - Farmer certifies their products are organic
• Second party certification - The Organization to which the farmer belongs certifies the products are organic
• Third party certification - An inspector from a certifying agency certifies the products are organic

Sri Lanka Accreditation Board (SLAB) 

• All the third party agencies which gives the organic certification must be accredited by SLAB

Steps in an Third Party Inspection and Certification System

• Applying for an organic agriculture certification to a certifier
• Estimation of cost for certification
• Signing contract with certifier
• Preparation of detailed description of the project
• Onsite inspections and interviews done by the certifier
• Documentation check
• Evaluation of project
• Certification
• Taking corrective actions if needed
• Annual inspection and update of the certificate

Certification Agencies Currently Operating in Sri Lanka

• Control Union
• NASAA, Australia
• Institute for Market Ecology, Switzerland
• Naturland, Germany
• EcoCert, Germany
• Demeter and BioSuisse, Switzerland
• Organic Farmers and Growers Ltd, United Kingdom

Lanka Organic Agriculture Movement - 1994

This organization consists of scientists, organic farmers professionals, members of the organic corporates. This Organization plays a major role in policy development, preparation of guidelines and development of standards for organic agriculture in Sri Lanka.

More Info

References

• https://mesaprogram.org/2012/05/31/sri-lanka-lanka-organic-agriculture-movement-loam-11309/
• http://www.srilankabusiness.com/organic/organic-certification-in-sri-lanka.html
• http://slab.lk/
• https://www.ifoam.bio/

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