Causes for drying up of Bhairab River in Bangladesh

Bhairab River is an important river in the moribund delta area of Bangladesh although it is drying up gradually. The study was conducted for a period of four months at six selected drying up points of the Bhairab River, viz. Notun Khoyertola, Puratan Koshba Kazipara, Nodagram, Santola, Nurnagar and Bijoy Nagar Villages in Jashore district to identify the causes for drying up of the Bhairab River so that the flow of the river can be continued and kept alive by taking necessary steps. Data were collected through questionnaire interviews and Focus Group Discussion (FGD). The data analysis revealed that both of human made causes and natural causes were responsible for river dry. It was found that 47%, 78%, 64%, 64% and 73% respondents supported the installation of dam, establishment of bridge, excessive irrigation in agricultural land, use of chemicals, pesticides, industrial effluents etc. and irresponsible management of fishing, respectively as human made causes for drying up of the Bhairab River. Data analysis also showed that 65%, 62%, 60%, 67% and 80% participants favored climate change, siltation, rainfall pattern, temperature and drought, respectively as natural causes for drying up of the Bhairab River. From the study, establishment of dam was observed predominant among human made causes and drought was found strongest among natural causes. The result also revealed 159 and 150 positive approval with respect to human made causes and natural causes, respectively as causes for the river dry, which indicated that the human made causes were relatively more responsible than natural causes for drying up of the Bhairab River. Therefore, it is very essential to take necessary steps through individual and government participation and public awareness to improve the present condition of the Bhairab River.

Farmer’s challenges in adopting artificial insemination of cattle in Bangladesh

Cattle are one of the indices of civilization, sources of wealth, health and prosperity for the nation. Cattle provide us food, cash as well as mechanical power. The production of cattle is low due to their poor genetic makeup, indigenous and large incidence of diseases. Artificial Insemination (AI) is the first generation reproductive biotechnology that has made a profound contribution to the genetic improvement as well as recognized breeding tool of the cattle. But the farmers in Bangladesh are yet to adopt it perfectly. For these, the principle objective of the study was to determine the extent of problems faced by the farmers in adopting AI of cattle. Problem confrontation was measured based on 18 different aspects of AI using four point scale where 3 indicates high problem, 2 medium, 1 low and 0 no problem at all. The study was conducted in Kishoreganj Sadar Upazila under Kishoreganj district. Data were collected from randomly selected 100 farmers out of 340 farmers using an interview schedule. The majority of the farmers (58%) had medium problems while 39% had high and only 3% had low problems in adopting artificial insemination. Among the problems, inseminator problem and heat stage were considered the most critical problems in the survey area.

Effects of different concentrations of ammonium phosphate on the yield and quality of carrageenan, Kappaphycus striatus (Schmitz) Doty ex Silva

This study determined the effect of different concentrations of ammonium phosphate on the yield and quality (gel strength, viscosity, syneresis, gelling, and melting temperature) of carrageenan. The study was conducted at the Seaweeds Post-Harvest Laboratory, College of Fisheries, Mindanao State University for 33 days. The experiment involved four treatments and three replications. The four treatments were the different concentrations of ammonium phosphate (g/L) namely; Treatment 1 (T1) - 0g/L, Treatment 2 (T2) – 3 g/L, Treatment 3 (T3) – 6 g/L, Treatment 4 (T4) – 9 g/L. The results showed that the application of ammonium phosphate significantly reduced the yield and viscosity of the carrageenan by 4.81% and 1.83cPs respectively. Gel strength was enhanced by 1.53g in T2 (3/L). Control showed the best syneresis compared to the other treatment. The syneresis was significantly decreased by 5.43% with the application of ammonium phosphate. The fertilizer seemed not to have any effect on the gelling and melting temperature of the carrageenan. Ammonium phosphate is therefore not recommended for growing Kappaphycus striatus for carrageenan.

Proximate composition of male and female African catfish (Clarias gariepinus) and tilapia (Tilapia zilli) in Jega river, Kebbi state, Nigeria

Fish is highly nutritious, tasty, and easily digestible. It is much sought after by a broad cross-section of the world’s population, particularly in developing countries as it provides the cheapest protein source. Nigeria is blessed with numerous inland freshwater rivers and lakes scattered all over the country. This freshwater habitat consists of many species of fish that have successfully dominated all niches over time and have for many reasons remained unstudied. The situation concealed a lot of scientific information particularly on food security and safety to the inmates and the country at large. Jega River which transcended many States in the North-Western part of Nigeria to open into the river Niger is one of such rivers largely uncared for, study-wise. African catfish (Clarias gariepinus) and Tilapia (Tilapia zillii) have been wisely selected for the present proximate composition studies. The juveniles of these fishes were purchased from local fishermen in Mariner Waje landing site of the river which flows by Jega town, a local government area in Kebbi State, Nigeria. For the study, the methodology approved by the Association of Official Analytical Chemists (AOAC) was used to determine the proximate composition of the fishes. The highest percentage crude protein content of 49.18 ± 0.30% was observed in juvenile female C. gariepinus; while the lowest protein content of 39.22± 0.50% was observed in juvenile male T. zilli. The highest percentage lipid content of 11.75± 1.50% was observed in juvenile female tilapia; while the lowest percentage lipid content of 6.25± 0.29% was observed in male African catfish. The highest percentage fibre content of 4.00 ± 0.29% was observed in male and female C. gariepinus, while the lowest percentage fibre content of 0.75± 0.29% was observed in male tilapia. There were variations (p< 0.05) when the protein and lipid contents of both the species were compared with each other. There was also a significant difference (p< 0.05) when the carbohydrate contents were compared between the fish species, but there was no significant difference (p > 0.05) when the fibre content was compared within the species. The analyses showed that both the male and female fish species studied had high protein contents.

Preservation of wet rice straw using urea and molasses in monsoon of Bangladesh

An experiment of treated and ensiled wet rice straw with urea and molasses was performed to explore the chemical composition, physical quality, in vitro digestibility and its potentiality as a quality feed for ruminants. In this experiment, plastic containers were used to preserve chopped wet rice straw under airtight condition based on the treatment as T1 (wet rice straw only), T2 (straw with 5% molasses), T3 (straw with 5% urea), T4 (straw with 5% urea and 5% molasses) and T5 (straw with 10% urea and 5% molasses) to analyze chemical composition, physical quality, metabolizable energy (ME) content, in vitro organic matter digestibility (OMD) and in vitro gas production (IVGP) at five different ensiling times of 0, 30, 45, 60 and 90 days. The physical quality (color, smell, softness characteristics) of wet rice straw was improved with urea and molasses treatment. Treatments T5 was found better as there was no fungal growth till 90 days of ensiling. The addition of urea and molasses improved the physical quality, nutritive value and preservation quality of wet rice straw. Urea and molasses treated and ensiled (T5) straw showed better color, nutritional quality, softness and longer preservation capacity compared with all treatments followed by T4, T2 and T3. The crude protein (CP) content was increased (P<0.05) but the crude fibre (CF), dry matter (DM), ash contents and ether extract (EE) were decreased (P<0.05) in all of the treatments (T2, T3, T4 and T5) compared to control (T1). The OMD, IVGP and ME contents were increased in all of the treatments (T2, T3, T4 and T5) compared to control (T1). The highest OMD, IVGP and ME values were observed in treatment T5 and the lowest values were in control (T1) Through the Consideration of all the chemical and physical properties, among all of the treatments, 10% urea and 5% molasses are found acceptable for the preservation of rice straw. Thus, environment friendly and cost effective feed can be formulated.