Issue 2

An experiment was carried out with 80 straight run broiler chicks (cobb-500) reared on rice husk and sawdust to know the production efficiency at 5 weeks during summer.  A total 80 straight run broiler chicks (cobb-500) were divided into 4 groups and were assigned to 2 treatments i.e. T1 and T2 in which T1 was used rice husk and T2 was used sawdust. Number of birds per replication were 10. Live weight of birds reared on rice husk and sawdust differed significantly at 5th weeks of age (P<0.05). Feed consumption of broiler was significantly higher on sawdust litter than rice husk. Feed conversion ratio and survivability percentages of broiler were statistically non-significant (P>0.05) between the sawdust and rice husk. The cost of litter per bird and cost of litter per kg live weight gain were 14.07% and 20.10% higher in rice husk than sawdust respectively. It is evident from the study that sawdust was more economic than rice husk. Considering all the facts and findings of the study, it can be conducted that live weight and feed consumption of broiler was better in sawdust litter materials than rice husk. Sawdust was also cheaper than rice husk. Therefore, using sawdust as a litter material can lead to better production efficiency and cost savings for broiler farmers during summer.

Fungal endophyte is a fungal that lives in plant organism as mutualism association. The role of fungal endophyte is a growth promoter or/and microbial pathogen inhibitor. This study investigated antifungal activity of Colletotrichum truncatum E10, an endophytic fungus derived from Musa acuminata (AAA group), against 7 isolates of Aspergillus obtained from lower respiratory samples of COVID-19 patients. In addition, IAA production of this strain was also observed. All isolates of Aspergillus were identified using MALDI-TOF MS. The fungal endophyte, C. truncatum E10, was screened for IAA induction with and without 0.1, 2 and 8 mg/mL of L-tryptophan based on colorimetric method using Salkowski reagent which produced pinkish to reddish solution indicating the presence of IAA. Antagonist activity was based on dual culture assay measured in colony growth inhibition (CGI). C. truncatum E10 produced the highest IAA concentration of 112.81±0.12 µg/mL when 8 mg/mL of L-tryptophan added.  The strong antagonist activities were shown by C. truncatum E10 against 5 Aspergillus isolates including 2 A. fumigatus: sp442/6 (CGI=57.83±5.11%) and sp269/11 (CGI=53.01±8.52%), 1 A. niger sp26/7 (CGI=57.83±15.33%) and 2 A. flavus: sp26/7 (CGI=56.63±13.63%) and sp36/7 (CGI=57.23±0.85%), whereas the colony growth inhibition (CGI) of other 2 isolates including A. fumigatus sp567/6 and A. flavus sp269/11 were less than 50%. In this study, C. truncatum E10 produced substances that inhibited human fungal pathogen including A. fumigatus, A. flavus and A. niger. Moreover, it can produce IAA activity. Further investigations are being conducted to expand the plant growth promotion effects and determine IAA biosynthesis pathway. For antifungal activity, the bioactive metabolites produced by this endophytic fungal isolate should be characterized to specify the effective compounds.

The consumers are very much concerned about food safety. To ensure safe food for the consumers, it is essential to follow the pre harvest interval (PHI) of pesticides. Therefore, in order to ascertain the pre-harvest interval of fenitrothion and diazinon in hyacinth bean in the environmental conditions of Bangladesh, this study was started. The chosen organophosphorus insecticides (fenitrothion and diazinon) were sprayed with the recommended dose (1.5 ml/L of water) in a field trial at the Entomology Division of BARI, Gazipur. At 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 12 days after spray (DAS), samples were taken. The Gas chromatography (GC) with a Flame Thermionic Detector (FTD) was used to quantify the residues after the samples were prepared using a modified Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged and Safe (QuEChERS) extraction method. Fenitrothion residue was found up to 8 DAS, and at 7 DAS (0.018 mg/Kg), the level of residue was above the MRL. At 8 DAS, the fenitrothion residue was 0.007 mg/kg, which was below MRL. Pre-harvest interval (PHI) for fenitrothion was determined at 8 DAS, and no residue was found after 9 DAS. Diazinon residue was found up to 9 DAS, with the level of residue above the MRL at 8 DAS (0.016 mg/Kg). At 9 DAS, the diazinon residue was 0.007 mg/kg, which was below MRL. Pre-harvest interval (PHI) was determined for diazinon at 9 DAS, and as of 10 DAS, no residue was found.