Vulnerability of Women in Disasters: A Case Study of District Badin

The climate change is universal phenomenon, its severe impact can be clearly observed in poor countries having mainly dependence on natural resources and having limited coping strategies for extreme climate change. Given the role of women in society, they tend to face more damages in terms of reduction in their income level, saving pattern and the level of education in disaster prone areas. This article examines the impact of disaster on women. The data for study is collected through questionnaire from district Badin of Sindh province. The findings of study revealed that income level of household is affected after disaster, and households who were low at saving pattern are affected more than households with high savings. To combat the impact of disaster on women the government should initiate awareness drive to respond the disaster related vulnerabilities.

Postharvest Fruit Softening and Quality Management of Mango Cv. Samar Bahisht Chaunsa

Mango is one of the highly perishable fruit that ripe quickly after harvest. Rapid fruit softening, reduced shelf and storage life limits its distribution to distant markets. The aims of current study were to a) optimize storage temperature in relation to fruit softening; b) physiological management of postharvest fruit softening and c) quality of mango cv. Samar Bahisht Chaunsa with exogenous application of various anti-ripening agents. In various independent experiments, postharvest applications of putrescine (PUT; 0.0, 0.1, 1.0, 1.5 or 2.0 mM), salicylic acid (SA; 0.0, 1.0, 2.0, 3.0 or 4.0 mM), oxalic acid (OA; 0.0, 1.0, 3.0 or 2.0 mM) or calcium chloride (CaCl2; 0.0, 1.0, 3.0 or 5.0%) were applied on mango after harvest to assess their impact on delayed fruit ripening, storage life extension, fruit quality, activities of fruit softening and antioxidative enzymes in the pulp tissues throughout the ripening (7-9 days) and cold storage (28 days) periods. In first experiment, during ripening at ambient conditions (25 ± 1°C; 60-65% RH), a gradual rise was noticed in fruit biochemical attributes such as SSC, SSA:TA ratio, total sugars, reducing and non-reducing sugars; however, ascorbic acid contents and TA showed a declining trend. Furthermore, a progressive increase was observed in the activities of fruit softening enzymes including exo- PG, endo-PG and EGase; whilst, PE activity decreased throughout the ripening period. The activities of CAT and POX enzymes along with total antioxidants were noticed at their peaks two days prior to full fruit ripening. In second experiment, among different cold storage temperatures, 12°C was found to be optimum to maintain best fruit quality characters. The activities of fruit softening enzymes were significantly suppressed at 10°C, as compared to 12°C and 14°C. Total phenolic and antioxidant contents and the activities of CAT, POX and SOD enzymes were reported higher at 14°C than 10°C and 12°C during cold storage. In third experiment, exogenous application of PUT (2 mM) treatments inhibited the ethylene production, respiration rate and maintained higher fruit firmness during ripening as well as cold storage. Fruit treated with 2 mM PUT exhibited a significant reduction in the activities of fruit softening enzymes i.e. exo-PG, endo-PG and EGase; however, maintained higher PE activity in pulp tissues during ripening and cold storage period. Total phenolic and antioxidants contents were significantly higher in 2 mM PUT-treated fruit during the entire ripening and cold storage period than control. The activities of antioxidative enzymes (CAT, POX and SOD) were significantly higher in 2 mM PUT-treated fruit during ripening and cold Abstract xxv storage periods. The SSC contents and SSC:TA ratio were lower in PUT-treated fruit; while, TA and ascorbic acid contents showed a reverse trend. In fourth experiment, the higher concentration of SA (4 mM) inhibited the ethylene production, respiration rate and suppressed the activities of fruit softening enzymes (exo-, endo-PG) with higher activities of PE and antioxidative (SOD, POX and CAT) enzymes, TA, ascorbic acid, total phenolic and antioxidant contents during ripening and cold storage period. During fifth experiment, exogenous application of OA (5 mM) reduced the ethylene production, respiration rate and delayed softening of mango fruit. The reduction and delay in fruit softening during ripening and cold storage was associated with higher PE activity or suppressed activity of exo-PG enzyme in pulp tissues of 5 mM OA-treated fruit. The OA-treated fruit (5 mM) showed increased activities of CAT, POX and SOD enzymes with higher levels of total phenolic and antioxidant contents during ripening and cold storage. The OA-treated fruit exhibited lower SSC contents and SSC:TA ratio; while, TA and ascorbic acid contents were higher throughout the ripening as well as cold storage periods. In the sixth experiment, delay in ripening of ‘Samar Bahisht Chaunsa’ mango fruit was associated with CaCl2 treatment mainly due to inhibition of respiration rate and ethylene production. The exo-PG, endo-PG, PE and EGase activities were significantly suppressed in 5% CaCl2-treated fruit, as compared to control throughout the ripening and cold storage periods. The 5% CaCl2 application showed a reduction in oxidative injury caused by reactive oxygen species through increased activities of antioxidative enzymes i.e. CAT, POX and SOD. During the seventh confirmatory trail, postharvest application of various anti-ripening compounds (2 mM PUT, 4 mM SA, 5 mM OA and 5% CaCl2) delayed the ethylene production and maintained an acceptable fruit quality during the course of study. The activities of fruit softening enzymes such as exo-PG, endo-PG, PE and EGase were significantly suppressed by the application of different anti-ripening chemicals throughout the trials. The use of various chemicals demonstrated elevated activities of antioxidative enzymes (CAT, POX and SOD) than control. In nutshell, the exogenous treatment of PUT (2 mM), SA (4 mM), OA (5 mM) or CaCl2 (5%) may extends the postharvest shelf and storage life of ‘Samar Bahisht Chaunsa’ mango fruit. Moreover, fruit treated with 2 mM PUT and 5% CaCl2 suppressed the activities of fruit softening enzymes; while, 2 mM OA and 4 mM SA exhibited higher activities of antioxidative enzymes with better quality of mango fruit.