ROLE OF PROBIOTICS IN SUSTAINABLE SHRIMP FARMING ALONG BALASORE COAST, ORISSA

The present study has been undertaken to know the role of probiotics in sustainable shrimp farming along the coastal Balasore of Orissa. The hydrological parameters like water temperature, pH, salinity, transparency and alkalinity were observed weekly where as hardness was observed every 20 days of culture (DOC) for a period of six month and dissolved oxygen was observed every day in the early morning and evening throughout the culture beginning from 30 days of culture. The highest water temperature was observed to be 30.3ºC and the lowest was 25.33ºC. The highest water pH was observed be 8.53 and the lowest was 7.26. The highest salinity was observed to be 24.66 ppm and lowest was 11.66 ppm. The highest transparency was observed to be 43 cm and lowest was 17 cm. Likewise, the highest carbonate was observed to be 57.33 ppm and lowest was 11.33 ppm. The highest bicarbonate alkalinity was observed being 285 ppm and lowest was 100 ppm. The hardness varied from 8443 ppm to 3533 ppm. The highest and lowest dissolved oxygen was observed to be 4.53 ppm and 3.53 ppm during culture period. Five different commercial brands of Probiotics of unique composition were used for different ponds during every month. Though bacterial load present inside the culture ponds throughout the culture period it does not show any problem due to application of probiotics which helped for suppression and maintaining of a clean and hygienic environment for sustainable shrimp culture. &nbsp

Seasonal variation of some physicochemical parameters of the Chilika lagoon (east coast of India) after opening the new mouth, near Sipakuda

206-208Some physicochemical parameters [temperature, transparency, pH, salinity, dissolved oxygen (DO) and nutrients, nitrate, phosphate and silicate] were studied during February 2001 to January 2002 at five locations in Chilika lagoon. This study was undertaken to assess the impact of the new mouth opened at Sipakuda in order to facilitate water exchange between the lagoon and the sea. High values of temperature 35.3ºC and salinity about 32 ppt were noticed near the mouth during the hot and dry premonsoon and postmonsoon periods respectively. The overall average salinity ranged from 0.32 – 32.0 ppt recorded at the northern sector (Kalupadaghat) and near the mouth. The maximum secchi disc value was 0.91 m only. Dissolved oxygen content and pH ranged from 3.9 to 13.9 ml/l and 6.4 to 9.8 respectively. The nutrient contents showed distinct seasonal and spatial variation. Higher phosphate value than the nitrate is a noteworthy feature during the present study period, which could be due to the addition of phosphate through the land drainage. Visible changes have been noticed in spatio-temporal variations of physico-chemical parameters as a result of the opening of new mouth

Preparation, characterization and antibacterial activity of chitosan and phosphorylated chitosan from cuttlebone of Sepia kobiensis (Hoyle, 1885)

AbstractChitosan is a commercially available derivative of chitin that has been extensively studied for its antimicrobial properties. In order to improve the water solubility and its biological activity, the chemical modification or derivatisation is attempted. In the present investigation, the chitosan prepared from the cuttlebone of Sepia kobiensis was being chemically modified by reacting it with orthophosphoric acid so as to obtain phosphorylated chitosan. Then the chitosan and phosphorylated chitosan were structurally characterized through FT-IR spectroscopy. Further the antibacterial activity of chitosan and phosphorylated chitosan was tested against clinically isolated human pathogens (Gram-positive: Streptococcus sp., Streptococcus pneumoniae and Staphylococcus aureus and Gram-negative: Escherichia coli, Vibrio cholerae, V. alginolyticus, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Salmonella sp. and Proteus vulgaris) by well diffusion method and the Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) was also calculated. The results of the present study suggests that the chitosan and phosphorylated chitosan has concentration dependent antibacterial activity with variation against several pathogenic human pathogenic bacterial strains which indicates their possible use as antibacterial agents

Characterization of climatic parameters in the perspective of irrigated agriculture in Uttar Kannada district of Karnataka, India

A rainfall and potential evapotranspiration characteristics together determine the agro-meteorological regime of a region and influences decision concerning the magnitudes and timing of irrigation application.  In the present study, historical rainfall and climate data pertaining to the study area, Uttar Kannada district, Karnataka, was analyzed with a view to characterizing irrigation water requirements. In addition to rainfall input, an important aspect of the water balance model is the crop evapotranspiration (ETcrop), which is the main factor in determining the irrigation schedule. ETcrop could be estimated by reference evapotranspiration (ET0) and crop coefficient. Atmospheric demand for water is represented by ‘potential evapotranspiration’ (PET) and calculated from climatic variables which is crucial for irrigation planning. It has been reported that the Penman-Monteith method gives more consistently correct ET0 estimates to other ET0 methods. While recognizing the importance of both rainfall and PET, an effective measure is known as the ‘Moisture Availability Index’ (MAI), which is computed as the ratio of 75% dependable rainfall and potential evapotranspiration. An MAI value of 1.00 indicates that dependable precipitation is equal to potential evapotranspiration. An MAI value of 0.33 or less for one month during the crop growing season is considered to be a signal of water deficit resulting reduction in crop yield. The findings of this study on MAI are used to decide the selection of the sowing period of crops so as to avoid water stress during the critical harvesting period.</jats:p

Fresh record of the moon crab <em>Matuta victor </em>(Fabricius, 1781) (Crustacea: Decapoda: Matutidae) from the Odisha coast after a century

1782-1786The recurrence of common moon crab Matuta victor (Fabricius, 1781) was recorded from near shore waters of Gopalpur port of the Ganjam district, Odisha after a century. Totally ten specimens were collected which comprised of 5 males and 5 females. Matuta victor was first reported in Chilika Lake during 1915