Muhammad Ali Adnan - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Muhammad Ali Adnan

Use of social media continues to increase day by day, with implications for the creation of ‘big’... more Use of social media continues to increase day by day, with implications for the creation of ‘big’ data – Twitter alone was forecast to have created 1.8 zettabytes of data in 2011 (equivalent to the information storage capacity of 150bn Apple iPads). Users of the likes of Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, LinkedIn, Bebo, and Orkut are frequently mobile users of the developing range of smartphones and tablet devices. The availability of such data has profound implications for the geodemographic analysis of human settlement structure. Hitherto, small area measures of neighbourhood conditions have been based only upon the night-time socioeconomic characteristics of residential areas and selected physical characteristics of their built environments (Martin et al 2012). Although useful for guiding resource allocation decisions for many private and public goods (Longley 2005), these static and essentially cross sectional views provide only limited insights into the functioning of settlement syste...

Aim is to find out the dispensing practices of community pharmacies buraydah city and to assess t... more Aim is to find out the dispensing practices of community pharmacies buraydah city and to assess their attitude toward dispensing non-OTC drugs including analyze the causes of their malpractice. Method: Between July 2014 and August 2014 retail pharmacies in Buraydah – Al Qassim (KSA) were visited randomly by a two voluntary collaborators who played the role of asking for one or more of the following medications without providing a prescription: Co-amoxiclav (Augmentin) or Cefaclor (Ceclor), Captopril (Capoten) and Fluoxetine (Prozac). Result & conclusion: This is a pilot study indicating the current state of dispensing practice in Saudi pharmacies. Unfortunately, hardly any pharmacist refused to dispense antibiotics and anti-hypertensives, in fact none of them asked for justification for the purchase even if the collaborator seemed to be in good health. Yet antipsychotics, which are supposed to be restricted, were freely dispensed in most visited pharmacies

An ethnomedicinal research project was carried out in the remote Hindu-Kush mountain valley of Ro... more An ethnomedicinal research project was carried out in the remote Hindu-Kush mountain valley of Roringar, in order to evaluate and document folk medicinal knowledge, traditional medicinal plants collection and processing and conservation assessment of these important plant resources of the area. The project area was rich in medicinal plants and the locals were actively engaged in medicinal plants collection for curing ailments but also selling them in the markets for earning their livelihood. It was observed that 33 of the total medicinal plants collected in the valley were sold in the markets. However, some medicinal plants like Valeriana jatamansi, Podophyllum hexandrum, Paeonia emodi, Acorus calamus, Berberis lyceum, Viola canescens and Aconitum heterophyllum were under immense pressure due to their extensive collection in the area. Our survey revealed that 31% of the local people are involved in medicinal plants collection. The collectors include women (34%), children (47%) and men (19%). It was also observed that huge amounts of medicinal plants were lost each year due to out dated collection techniques, processing and marketing techniques. Community attitude towards conservation and sustainability of these valuable plant resources were favourable but no conservation efforts by the local people were reported.

Water

Pakistan is amongst the most water-stressed countries in the world, with changes in the frequency... more Pakistan is amongst the most water-stressed countries in the world, with changes in the frequency of extreme events, notably droughts, under climate change expected to further increase water scarcity. This study examines the impacts of climate change and anthropogenic activities on the runoff of the Kunhar River Basin (KRB) in Pakistan. The Mann Kendall (MK) test detected statistically significant increasing trends in both precipitation and evapotranspiration during the period 1971–2010 over the basin, but with the lack of a statistically significant trend in runoff over the same time-period. Then, a change-point analysis identified changes in the temporal behavior of the annual runoff time series in 1996. Hence, the time series was divided into two time periods, i.e., prior to and after that change: 1971–1996 and 1997–2010, respectively. For the time-period prior to the change point, the analysis revealed a statistically significant increasing trend in precipitation, which is also ...

IEEE Access

A nano-grid is an independent hybrid sustainable framework that utilizes non-renewable and renewa... more A nano-grid is an independent hybrid sustainable framework that utilizes non-renewable and renewable power resources for supplying continuous electrical energy to the load. Considering this scenario, in this research work, photovoltaic (PV) array, wind turbine, and fuel cell are taken as the three generation resources that have been used in the nano-grid. The active and reactive power of the all three generation resources is controlled using various controllers, i.e. integral, proportional-integral, proportional derivative, proportional integral derivative, fractional-order proportional-integral, fractional order proportional integral derivative (FOPID) and sliding mode controller (SMC). An advanced optimization technique based on a genetic algorithm (GA) and particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm has been utilized to optimize all of these controllers. The integral square error is taken as the objective function for both optimization algorithms. Finally, a graphical and tabular comparative analysis of all optimized controllers along with their control parameters and performance indexes is evaluated to find the best optimal solution. The performance of SMC has surpassed the performance of all other optimized controllers for power stability. In less than 0.267 seconds, the actual power yielded by using SMC is within 1% of the desired power. PSO algorithm has performed better than GA algorithm with all controllers. The worst performance is by FOPID controller with a steady state error of 6071.3W using GA algorithm and have a high magnitude of overshoot and undershoot. Moreover, a smart switching algorithm has been introduced for switching between the generation resources in accordance with the load demand and cost of the system in order to operate the nano-grid more economically. Finally, a case study has been performed in which the smart switching algorithm is utilized to switch to the best available generation resource in case of any fault at the generation side to provide uninterrupted power to the attached loads.

Sustainability

The supply of nutrients and proximate matter is insufficient to fulfil the dietary needs of the q... more The supply of nutrients and proximate matter is insufficient to fulfil the dietary needs of the quickly expanding human population. Green leafy vegetables can prove economical sources of minerals, vitamins and fibers to overcome nutritional deficiencies. Five leafy vegetables (Brassica juncea, Spinacia oleracea, Trigonella foenum-graecum, Chenopodium album and Lactuca sativa) were collected from a horticulture garden and vegetable market for the evaluation of their proximate matter and nutritional composition. Their contents of proximate (moisture, ash, fats, fibers, carbohydrates and protein), minerals (Ca2+, K+ and P+) and anti-nutrients were examined using standard protocols. The contents of fats (0.43 mg g−1f.w.) in S. oleracea; fibers (0.8 mg g−1f.w.) in S. olerace; carbohydrates (0.89 mg g−1f.w.); in B. juncea, proteins (0.91 mg g−1f.w.) in L. sativa; and vitamin A (1.18 mg g−1f.w.) in C. album from the horticulture garden were high enough to meet the daily dietary requirement...

IEEE Access

Online learning platforms such as Massive Open Online Course (MOOC), Virtual Learning Environment... more Online learning platforms such as Massive Open Online Course (MOOC), Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs), and Learning Management Systems (LMS) facilitate thousands or even millions of students to learn according to their interests without spatial and temporal constraints. Besides many advantages, online learning platforms face several challenges such as students' lack of interest, high dropouts, low engagement, students' self-regulated behavior, and compelling students to take responsibility for settings their own goals. In this study, we propose a predictive model that analyzes the problems faced by at-risk students, subsequently, facilitating instructors for timely intervention to persuade students to increase their study engagements and improve their study performance. The predictive model is trained and tested using various machine learning (ML) and deep learning (DL) algorithms to characterize the learning behavior of students according to their study variables. The performance of various ML algorithms is compared by using accuracy, precision, support, and f-score. The ML algorithm that gives the best result in terms of accuracy, precision, recall, support, and f-score metric is ultimately selected for creating the predictive model at different percentages of course length. The predictive model can help instructors in identifying at-risk students early in the course for timely intervention thus avoiding student dropouts. Our results showed that students' assessment scores, engagement intensity i.e. clickstream data, and time-dependent variables are important factors in online learning. The experimental results revealed that the predictive model trained using Random Forest (RF) gives the best results with averaged precision = 0.

Journal of Physical Organic Chemistry

Agriculture

Low availability of phosphorus (P) in calcareous soils is a major problem for sustainable improve... more Low availability of phosphorus (P) in calcareous soils is a major problem for sustainable improvement in cereals crops yield. A higher amount of calcium in soils precipitates the P, thus making it immobile in soil. Inoculation of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and phosphate solubilizing bacteria (PSB) could be helpful in the sustainable management of immobile P in soil. However, their combined use in releasing P from rock phosphate (RP) in alkaline calcareous soils have been little investigated. In this regard, two successive field experiments were conducted to assess the interactive inoculation potential of AMF and PSB strain Bacillus sp. PIS7 with RP on the yield and P uptake of maize (Zea mays L.) and wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) crops in alkaline calcareous soil. The first field experiment was conducted in a complete randomized block design with 10 treatments and three replications by inoculating maize seeds with AMF and Bacillus sp. PIS7 inoculum alone and in combination wi...

Journal of Pedagogical Sociology and Psychology

This research study examines the attitudes of Pakistani higher education students towards compuls... more This research study examines the attitudes of Pakistani higher education students towards compulsory digital and distance learning university courses amid Coronavirus (COVID-19). Undergraduate and postgraduate were surveyed to find their perspectives about online education in Pakistan. The findings of the study highlighted that online learning cannot produce desired results in underdeveloped countries like Pakistan, where a vast majority of students are unable to access the internet due to technical as well as monetary issues. The lack of face-to-face interaction with the instructor, response time and absence of traditional classroom socialization were among some other issues highlighted by higher education students.

Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society

Atmosphere

In contrast to widespread glacier retreat evidenced globally, glaciers in the Karakoram region ha... more In contrast to widespread glacier retreat evidenced globally, glaciers in the Karakoram region have exhibited positive mass balances and general glacier stability over the past decade. Snow and glacier meltwater from the Karakoram and the western Himalayas, which supplies the Indus River Basin, provide an essential source of water to more than 215 million people, either directly, as potable water, or indirectly, through hydroelectric generation and irrigation for crops. This study focuses on water resources in the Upper Indus Basin (UIB) which combines the ranges of the Hindukush, Karakoram and Himalaya (HKH). Specifically, we focus on the Gilgit River Basin (GRB) to inform more sustainable water use policy at the sub-basin scale. We employ two degree-day approaches, the Spatial Processes in Hydrology (SPHY) and Snowmelt Runoff Model (SRM), to simulate runoff in the GRB during 2001–2012. The performance of SRM was poor during July and August, the period when glacier melt contributio...

Egyptian Academic Journal of Biological Sciences. A, Entomology

Spodoptera frugiperda is native to tropical and subtropical areas of the world and consider an in... more Spodoptera frugiperda is native to tropical and subtropical areas of the world and consider an invasive species in Pakistan since 2019. It is spreading continuously and become a threat to horticultural as well as agricultural crops especially maize all over the world. The developmental duration of each S. frugiperda stage was recorded on maize leaves under laboratory conditions. The embryonic period was 2.32 ± 0.22 days. The developmental duration of 1 st , 2 nd , 3 rd , 4 th , 5 th and 6 th larval instars were 2.37, 2.09, 2.01, 2.02, 2.27 and 5.10 days, respectively while the total larval period was 14-16 days. Female was long-lived as compared to male. The current study concluded that Fall armyworm, S. frugiperda is a primary pest and threat to vegetative as well as reproductive parts of maize crop which cause significant economic losses.

Indian Journal of Pure & Applied Biosciences

Citrus is one of most important fruit cultivated all over the world and it belongs to family Ruta... more Citrus is one of most important fruit cultivated all over the world and it belongs to family Rutaceae. It is richest source of vitamin C. However, quality production of citrus is declining due to micronutrient deficiencies caused by alkaline pH, low organic matter and calcareous nature of soil. Zinc is essential for energy transmission, nitrogen metabolism and oxidation reduction reactions. It also improves the chlorophyll contents of leaves and play important role in enzymatic activities and essential for development and growth of fruits. It is also involved in regulating the protein and carbohydrate metabolism. There are many ways to mitigate Zinc deficiency under field conditions but the best and the easiest method is foliar application. The present review directly focuses on the impact of foliar application of Zn on growth, yield and quality of citrus fruit.

Sustainability

Nitrogen (N) and Phosphorus (P) deficiency is a major yield limiting factor across the globe and ... more Nitrogen (N) and Phosphorus (P) deficiency is a major yield limiting factor across the globe and their proper management plays a vital role in optimizing crop yield. This field experiment was conducted to assess the impact of soil and plant nitrogen N and P ratio on the growth and yield of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) in alkaline calcareous soil. The study consisted of various levels of nitrogen (0, 40, 80, and 160 kg ha−1 as urea) and phosphorus (0, 30, 60, and 90 kg P2O5 ha−1 as diammonium phosphate), and was carried out in randomized complete block design (RCBD) with factorial arrangement having three replications. The result showed that the addition of 160 kg N ha−1 significantly improved biological yield (10,052 kg ha−1), grain weight (3120 kg ha−1), chlorophyll content at tillering stage soil plant analysis development (SPAD) value (35.38), N uptake in straw (33.42 kg ha−1), and K uptake in straw (192 kg ha−1) compared to other N levels. In case of P, 90 kg P2O5 ha−1 had resul...

Indian Journal of Pure & Applied Biosciences

Magnesium is an important nutrient and plays a significant role formation and development of sink... more Magnesium is an important nutrient and plays a significant role formation and development of sink organs such as seeds and roots. Moreover, its fertilization significantly affects crop yield and many physiological processes in various crop species. Furthermore, its deficiency caused reduction in germination and crop stand. However, its adequate amount through foliar application plays a significant role in physiological and biochemical process of plants such as enzymes activation, proteins synthesis, metabolism of carbohydrates and transferring of energy. Globally, many of our agronomic crops are facing problem of low yield due to inadequate amount of fertilizer application. The present review focuses on impact of foliar application of magnesium on some agronomic crops (wheat, sunflower, maize, soybean, beans, cotton and brassica).

Innovare Journal of Life Sciences

Biotechnology is the most prominent and rapidly growing segment of the biological sciences that i... more Biotechnology is the most prominent and rapidly growing segment of the biological sciences that is making its diversified application in sustainable agriculture. Biofertilizers, biopesticides, bioherbicides, bioinsecticides, and many of the other fungal based and viral based insecticides, obtained using microorganisms, are some of the outcomes of biotechnology playing a key role in sustainable agriculture. Many of other important food products are also obtained by microbial fermentation. Different microbes are added to get the desired effect of food at the specific stages of food production process. Pharmaceutical microbiology includes the manufacturing of different pharmaceutical and medicinal products. This review article has a wide overview of microbes mainly used in agriculture, food industries, and pharmaceutical industries.

Open Access Journal of Biogeneric Science and Research

Citrus melanose, caused by Diaporthe citri Wolf, is a worldwide fungal disease that is prevalent ... more Citrus melanose, caused by Diaporthe citri Wolf, is a worldwide fungal disease that is prevalent in many citrus growing areas of Pakistan as well as in the world. Out of two stages of Diaporthe citri Wolf i.e. perfect stage and imperfect stage, the perfect stage causes the citrus melanose disease in many citrus species. Extended rainfall with warm environmental conditions favours the disease initiation and development. This disease result in degradation of fruit quality that results in reduction of marketing and export values of fruit. Proper pruning and use of copper based fungicides are advisable for the treatment of citrus melanose. Plantation of susceptible varieties should be avoided in high rainfall areas. In this article, history of citrus melanose, symptoms of disease, pathogen, epidemiology of disease, quality degradation of fruit and integrated management practices has been discused.

Use of social media continues to increase day by day, with implications for the creation of ‘big’... more Use of social media continues to increase day by day, with implications for the creation of ‘big’ data – Twitter alone was forecast to have created 1.8 zettabytes of data in 2011 (equivalent to the information storage capacity of 150bn Apple iPads). Users of the likes of Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, LinkedIn, Bebo, and Orkut are frequently mobile users of the developing range of smartphones and tablet devices. The availability of such data has profound implications for the geodemographic analysis of human settlement structure. Hitherto, small area measures of neighbourhood conditions have been based only upon the night-time socioeconomic characteristics of residential areas and selected physical characteristics of their built environments (Martin et al 2012). Although useful for guiding resource allocation decisions for many private and public goods (Longley 2005), these static and essentially cross sectional views provide only limited insights into the functioning of settlement syste...

Aim is to find out the dispensing practices of community pharmacies buraydah city and to assess t... more Aim is to find out the dispensing practices of community pharmacies buraydah city and to assess their attitude toward dispensing non-OTC drugs including analyze the causes of their malpractice. Method: Between July 2014 and August 2014 retail pharmacies in Buraydah – Al Qassim (KSA) were visited randomly by a two voluntary collaborators who played the role of asking for one or more of the following medications without providing a prescription: Co-amoxiclav (Augmentin) or Cefaclor (Ceclor), Captopril (Capoten) and Fluoxetine (Prozac). Result & conclusion: This is a pilot study indicating the current state of dispensing practice in Saudi pharmacies. Unfortunately, hardly any pharmacist refused to dispense antibiotics and anti-hypertensives, in fact none of them asked for justification for the purchase even if the collaborator seemed to be in good health. Yet antipsychotics, which are supposed to be restricted, were freely dispensed in most visited pharmacies

An ethnomedicinal research project was carried out in the remote Hindu-Kush mountain valley of Ro... more An ethnomedicinal research project was carried out in the remote Hindu-Kush mountain valley of Roringar, in order to evaluate and document folk medicinal knowledge, traditional medicinal plants collection and processing and conservation assessment of these important plant resources of the area. The project area was rich in medicinal plants and the locals were actively engaged in medicinal plants collection for curing ailments but also selling them in the markets for earning their livelihood. It was observed that 33 of the total medicinal plants collected in the valley were sold in the markets. However, some medicinal plants like Valeriana jatamansi, Podophyllum hexandrum, Paeonia emodi, Acorus calamus, Berberis lyceum, Viola canescens and Aconitum heterophyllum were under immense pressure due to their extensive collection in the area. Our survey revealed that 31% of the local people are involved in medicinal plants collection. The collectors include women (34%), children (47%) and men (19%). It was also observed that huge amounts of medicinal plants were lost each year due to out dated collection techniques, processing and marketing techniques. Community attitude towards conservation and sustainability of these valuable plant resources were favourable but no conservation efforts by the local people were reported.

Water

Pakistan is amongst the most water-stressed countries in the world, with changes in the frequency... more Pakistan is amongst the most water-stressed countries in the world, with changes in the frequency of extreme events, notably droughts, under climate change expected to further increase water scarcity. This study examines the impacts of climate change and anthropogenic activities on the runoff of the Kunhar River Basin (KRB) in Pakistan. The Mann Kendall (MK) test detected statistically significant increasing trends in both precipitation and evapotranspiration during the period 1971–2010 over the basin, but with the lack of a statistically significant trend in runoff over the same time-period. Then, a change-point analysis identified changes in the temporal behavior of the annual runoff time series in 1996. Hence, the time series was divided into two time periods, i.e., prior to and after that change: 1971–1996 and 1997–2010, respectively. For the time-period prior to the change point, the analysis revealed a statistically significant increasing trend in precipitation, which is also ...

IEEE Access

A nano-grid is an independent hybrid sustainable framework that utilizes non-renewable and renewa... more A nano-grid is an independent hybrid sustainable framework that utilizes non-renewable and renewable power resources for supplying continuous electrical energy to the load. Considering this scenario, in this research work, photovoltaic (PV) array, wind turbine, and fuel cell are taken as the three generation resources that have been used in the nano-grid. The active and reactive power of the all three generation resources is controlled using various controllers, i.e. integral, proportional-integral, proportional derivative, proportional integral derivative, fractional-order proportional-integral, fractional order proportional integral derivative (FOPID) and sliding mode controller (SMC). An advanced optimization technique based on a genetic algorithm (GA) and particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm has been utilized to optimize all of these controllers. The integral square error is taken as the objective function for both optimization algorithms. Finally, a graphical and tabular comparative analysis of all optimized controllers along with their control parameters and performance indexes is evaluated to find the best optimal solution. The performance of SMC has surpassed the performance of all other optimized controllers for power stability. In less than 0.267 seconds, the actual power yielded by using SMC is within 1% of the desired power. PSO algorithm has performed better than GA algorithm with all controllers. The worst performance is by FOPID controller with a steady state error of 6071.3W using GA algorithm and have a high magnitude of overshoot and undershoot. Moreover, a smart switching algorithm has been introduced for switching between the generation resources in accordance with the load demand and cost of the system in order to operate the nano-grid more economically. Finally, a case study has been performed in which the smart switching algorithm is utilized to switch to the best available generation resource in case of any fault at the generation side to provide uninterrupted power to the attached loads.

Sustainability

The supply of nutrients and proximate matter is insufficient to fulfil the dietary needs of the q... more The supply of nutrients and proximate matter is insufficient to fulfil the dietary needs of the quickly expanding human population. Green leafy vegetables can prove economical sources of minerals, vitamins and fibers to overcome nutritional deficiencies. Five leafy vegetables (Brassica juncea, Spinacia oleracea, Trigonella foenum-graecum, Chenopodium album and Lactuca sativa) were collected from a horticulture garden and vegetable market for the evaluation of their proximate matter and nutritional composition. Their contents of proximate (moisture, ash, fats, fibers, carbohydrates and protein), minerals (Ca2+, K+ and P+) and anti-nutrients were examined using standard protocols. The contents of fats (0.43 mg g−1f.w.) in S. oleracea; fibers (0.8 mg g−1f.w.) in S. olerace; carbohydrates (0.89 mg g−1f.w.); in B. juncea, proteins (0.91 mg g−1f.w.) in L. sativa; and vitamin A (1.18 mg g−1f.w.) in C. album from the horticulture garden were high enough to meet the daily dietary requirement...

IEEE Access

Online learning platforms such as Massive Open Online Course (MOOC), Virtual Learning Environment... more Online learning platforms such as Massive Open Online Course (MOOC), Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs), and Learning Management Systems (LMS) facilitate thousands or even millions of students to learn according to their interests without spatial and temporal constraints. Besides many advantages, online learning platforms face several challenges such as students' lack of interest, high dropouts, low engagement, students' self-regulated behavior, and compelling students to take responsibility for settings their own goals. In this study, we propose a predictive model that analyzes the problems faced by at-risk students, subsequently, facilitating instructors for timely intervention to persuade students to increase their study engagements and improve their study performance. The predictive model is trained and tested using various machine learning (ML) and deep learning (DL) algorithms to characterize the learning behavior of students according to their study variables. The performance of various ML algorithms is compared by using accuracy, precision, support, and f-score. The ML algorithm that gives the best result in terms of accuracy, precision, recall, support, and f-score metric is ultimately selected for creating the predictive model at different percentages of course length. The predictive model can help instructors in identifying at-risk students early in the course for timely intervention thus avoiding student dropouts. Our results showed that students' assessment scores, engagement intensity i.e. clickstream data, and time-dependent variables are important factors in online learning. The experimental results revealed that the predictive model trained using Random Forest (RF) gives the best results with averaged precision = 0.

Journal of Physical Organic Chemistry

Agriculture

Low availability of phosphorus (P) in calcareous soils is a major problem for sustainable improve... more Low availability of phosphorus (P) in calcareous soils is a major problem for sustainable improvement in cereals crops yield. A higher amount of calcium in soils precipitates the P, thus making it immobile in soil. Inoculation of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and phosphate solubilizing bacteria (PSB) could be helpful in the sustainable management of immobile P in soil. However, their combined use in releasing P from rock phosphate (RP) in alkaline calcareous soils have been little investigated. In this regard, two successive field experiments were conducted to assess the interactive inoculation potential of AMF and PSB strain Bacillus sp. PIS7 with RP on the yield and P uptake of maize (Zea mays L.) and wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) crops in alkaline calcareous soil. The first field experiment was conducted in a complete randomized block design with 10 treatments and three replications by inoculating maize seeds with AMF and Bacillus sp. PIS7 inoculum alone and in combination wi...

Journal of Pedagogical Sociology and Psychology

This research study examines the attitudes of Pakistani higher education students towards compuls... more This research study examines the attitudes of Pakistani higher education students towards compulsory digital and distance learning university courses amid Coronavirus (COVID-19). Undergraduate and postgraduate were surveyed to find their perspectives about online education in Pakistan. The findings of the study highlighted that online learning cannot produce desired results in underdeveloped countries like Pakistan, where a vast majority of students are unable to access the internet due to technical as well as monetary issues. The lack of face-to-face interaction with the instructor, response time and absence of traditional classroom socialization were among some other issues highlighted by higher education students.

Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society

Atmosphere

In contrast to widespread glacier retreat evidenced globally, glaciers in the Karakoram region ha... more In contrast to widespread glacier retreat evidenced globally, glaciers in the Karakoram region have exhibited positive mass balances and general glacier stability over the past decade. Snow and glacier meltwater from the Karakoram and the western Himalayas, which supplies the Indus River Basin, provide an essential source of water to more than 215 million people, either directly, as potable water, or indirectly, through hydroelectric generation and irrigation for crops. This study focuses on water resources in the Upper Indus Basin (UIB) which combines the ranges of the Hindukush, Karakoram and Himalaya (HKH). Specifically, we focus on the Gilgit River Basin (GRB) to inform more sustainable water use policy at the sub-basin scale. We employ two degree-day approaches, the Spatial Processes in Hydrology (SPHY) and Snowmelt Runoff Model (SRM), to simulate runoff in the GRB during 2001–2012. The performance of SRM was poor during July and August, the period when glacier melt contributio...

Egyptian Academic Journal of Biological Sciences. A, Entomology

Spodoptera frugiperda is native to tropical and subtropical areas of the world and consider an in... more Spodoptera frugiperda is native to tropical and subtropical areas of the world and consider an invasive species in Pakistan since 2019. It is spreading continuously and become a threat to horticultural as well as agricultural crops especially maize all over the world. The developmental duration of each S. frugiperda stage was recorded on maize leaves under laboratory conditions. The embryonic period was 2.32 ± 0.22 days. The developmental duration of 1 st , 2 nd , 3 rd , 4 th , 5 th and 6 th larval instars were 2.37, 2.09, 2.01, 2.02, 2.27 and 5.10 days, respectively while the total larval period was 14-16 days. Female was long-lived as compared to male. The current study concluded that Fall armyworm, S. frugiperda is a primary pest and threat to vegetative as well as reproductive parts of maize crop which cause significant economic losses.

Indian Journal of Pure & Applied Biosciences

Citrus is one of most important fruit cultivated all over the world and it belongs to family Ruta... more Citrus is one of most important fruit cultivated all over the world and it belongs to family Rutaceae. It is richest source of vitamin C. However, quality production of citrus is declining due to micronutrient deficiencies caused by alkaline pH, low organic matter and calcareous nature of soil. Zinc is essential for energy transmission, nitrogen metabolism and oxidation reduction reactions. It also improves the chlorophyll contents of leaves and play important role in enzymatic activities and essential for development and growth of fruits. It is also involved in regulating the protein and carbohydrate metabolism. There are many ways to mitigate Zinc deficiency under field conditions but the best and the easiest method is foliar application. The present review directly focuses on the impact of foliar application of Zn on growth, yield and quality of citrus fruit.

Sustainability

Nitrogen (N) and Phosphorus (P) deficiency is a major yield limiting factor across the globe and ... more Nitrogen (N) and Phosphorus (P) deficiency is a major yield limiting factor across the globe and their proper management plays a vital role in optimizing crop yield. This field experiment was conducted to assess the impact of soil and plant nitrogen N and P ratio on the growth and yield of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) in alkaline calcareous soil. The study consisted of various levels of nitrogen (0, 40, 80, and 160 kg ha−1 as urea) and phosphorus (0, 30, 60, and 90 kg P2O5 ha−1 as diammonium phosphate), and was carried out in randomized complete block design (RCBD) with factorial arrangement having three replications. The result showed that the addition of 160 kg N ha−1 significantly improved biological yield (10,052 kg ha−1), grain weight (3120 kg ha−1), chlorophyll content at tillering stage soil plant analysis development (SPAD) value (35.38), N uptake in straw (33.42 kg ha−1), and K uptake in straw (192 kg ha−1) compared to other N levels. In case of P, 90 kg P2O5 ha−1 had resul...

Indian Journal of Pure & Applied Biosciences

Magnesium is an important nutrient and plays a significant role formation and development of sink... more Magnesium is an important nutrient and plays a significant role formation and development of sink organs such as seeds and roots. Moreover, its fertilization significantly affects crop yield and many physiological processes in various crop species. Furthermore, its deficiency caused reduction in germination and crop stand. However, its adequate amount through foliar application plays a significant role in physiological and biochemical process of plants such as enzymes activation, proteins synthesis, metabolism of carbohydrates and transferring of energy. Globally, many of our agronomic crops are facing problem of low yield due to inadequate amount of fertilizer application. The present review focuses on impact of foliar application of magnesium on some agronomic crops (wheat, sunflower, maize, soybean, beans, cotton and brassica).

Innovare Journal of Life Sciences

Biotechnology is the most prominent and rapidly growing segment of the biological sciences that i... more Biotechnology is the most prominent and rapidly growing segment of the biological sciences that is making its diversified application in sustainable agriculture. Biofertilizers, biopesticides, bioherbicides, bioinsecticides, and many of the other fungal based and viral based insecticides, obtained using microorganisms, are some of the outcomes of biotechnology playing a key role in sustainable agriculture. Many of other important food products are also obtained by microbial fermentation. Different microbes are added to get the desired effect of food at the specific stages of food production process. Pharmaceutical microbiology includes the manufacturing of different pharmaceutical and medicinal products. This review article has a wide overview of microbes mainly used in agriculture, food industries, and pharmaceutical industries.

Open Access Journal of Biogeneric Science and Research

Citrus melanose, caused by Diaporthe citri Wolf, is a worldwide fungal disease that is prevalent ... more Citrus melanose, caused by Diaporthe citri Wolf, is a worldwide fungal disease that is prevalent in many citrus growing areas of Pakistan as well as in the world. Out of two stages of Diaporthe citri Wolf i.e. perfect stage and imperfect stage, the perfect stage causes the citrus melanose disease in many citrus species. Extended rainfall with warm environmental conditions favours the disease initiation and development. This disease result in degradation of fruit quality that results in reduction of marketing and export values of fruit. Proper pruning and use of copper based fungicides are advisable for the treatment of citrus melanose. Plantation of susceptible varieties should be avoided in high rainfall areas. In this article, history of citrus melanose, symptoms of disease, pathogen, epidemiology of disease, quality degradation of fruit and integrated management practices has been discused.