The integrated use of slurry from a biogas digester (bioslurry), poultry manure and chemical fertilizer has potential to replace sole application of nitrogen as chemical fertilizer and improve maize productivity in a sustainable way. Field studies were designed using a randomized complete block design with a split plot arrangement during 2012-13. The trials included three tillage systems (minimum, conventional and deep tillage) with combinations of the different sources of nitrogen (bioslurry, poultry manure and chemical fertilizer), applying 100, 50 and 25% of the recommended nitrogen application to improve maize productivity. The results showed that deep tillage treatment with the recommended nitrogen application rate of the chemical fertilizer alone produced maximum plant height, stem diameter, cob length, cob diameter and number of grain rows per cob. However, deep tillage treatment with the recommended nitrogen application rate applied as 50% chemical fertilizer, 25% poultry manure and 25% bioslurry produced maximum 1000 grain weight, biological yield, grain yield and N uptake in maize grains as compared to other treatments. The maximum fertilizer N recovery efficiency in maize grains and value to cost ratio were observed in treatment where recommended nitrogen application rate applied as 50% chemical fertilizer, 25% poultry manure and 25% bioslurry. The potential of bioslurry and poultry manure to improve soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration and soil fertility under different tillage systems were also studied in the silt loam soils of Haripur, Pakistan. The results showed that tillage systems, nitrogen treatments and their interaction significantly increased SOC stocks, total porosity, soil total nitrogen, available phosphorus, potassium and significantly decreased bulk density. The maximum soil total nitrogen was recorded in the deep tillage system with 100% nitrogen applied as poultry manure. The maximum soil available phosphorus and potassium were observed in the deep tillage system with 100% nitrogen applied as bioslurry. The maximum SOC stocks were observed in minimum tillage with 100% nitrogen applied as bioslurry. These experimental measurements were used to evaluate a dynamic simulation model of soil organic matter turnover, RothC, which was then used to estimate future carbon sequestration. The correlation between experimental and simulated values was highly significant and the root mean square error was within experimental error, suggesting that RothC is providing an acceptable representation of the changes in soil carbon that are occurring in this experiment. The uncertainty in simulations was less than 3%. Simulations using future weather scenarios suggest that addition of the recommended rate of nitrogen in 8.4 t ha-1 y-1 bioslurry increases soil carbon sequestration over 100 years (2012-2112) by 24.9±0.7 t ha-1 compared to the control where no organic waste was applied. This sequesters 7.5±0.2 t ha-1 more carbon than if the same amount of nitrogen is applied as poultry manure, requiring an application rate of 7.5 t ha-1 y-1. If the same amounts of bioslurry and poultry manure are applied, carbon sequestration is still significantly greater for bioslurry than for poultry manure (4.5±0.2 t ha-1). Losses of carbon with climate change were highest under climate scenario B2 (environmental protection with regionalisation) and B1 (environmental protection with globalisation), followed by A1B (economic growth with globalisation), with minimum losses from A2 (economic growth with regionalisation). These predicted losses are likely to be more than compensated for by application of organic fertilizers at the rates needed to supply sufficient nitrogen to the crops. The findings can be concluded that the integrated use of bioslurry and poultry manure with a reduced rate of chemical fertilizer application improved maize productivity, soil carbon sequestration and reduced the cost of chemical fertilizers.
عبدالمجید سالک پنجاب نے اردو زبان وادب کی جونادر شخصیتیں پیدا کی ہیں۔عبدالمجید سالک مرحوم کانام ان حضرات کی صف اوّل میں تھا۔انھوں نے منشی فاضل کرکے بی۔اے کیا تھا، لیکن ذاتی مطالعہ،ذہانت اورشعروادب کے فطری ذوق کے باعث ادبی دنیا میں اس قدر شہرت حاصل کی تھی کہ ایک زمانہ میں ’زمیندار‘ اخبار میں ان کے فکاہات اور’انقلاب‘ اخبار میں ان کے’’افکاروحوداث‘‘پنجاب میں گھر گھر بڑے شوق اوردلچسپی سے پڑھے جاتے تھے اوراخبار کھولتے ہی لوگ سب سے پہلے یہی چیزیں پڑھتے تھے۔غلام رسول مہر کی طرح مرحوم بھی مولانا ظفر علی خاں کے خاص تربیت یافتہ تھے۔اردوزبان کے محاورات و امثال پر بڑا عبور رکھتے تھے اوراس وصف خاص میں استاد سے بھی سبقت لے گئے تھے۔ انھوں نے مہر صاحب کے رفیق کی حیثیت سے اردو صحافت کاایک ایسامعیار قائم کیا کہ آج بھی بہت سے اخبارات انھی کے نقش قدم پر چل رہے ہیں۔ اردو زبان کے بلند پایہ ادیب اورصحافی ہونے کے علاوہ بے تکلف اورفی البدیہہ شعر بھی کہتے تھے اوریہ غالباً مولانا ظفر علی خاں کی صحبت ہی کافیض تھا۔اب ادھر چند برسوں سے سنجیدہ تصنیف وتالیف کی طرف متوجہ ہوگئے تھے۔چنانچہ اس سلسلہ میں ان کی دوکتابیں’’ذکر اقبال‘‘اور’’ہندوستانی مسلمانوں کی تاریخ ثقافت‘‘، جس پر برہان میں تبصرہ بھی ہوچکاہے، بڑی اچھی کتابیں ہیں۔طبعاً مرحوم بھی بڑے خندہ جبیں،خندہ رو، اورفرخندہ شمائل انسان تھے۔مزاج میں اعتدال پسندی اور میانہ روی تھی یہاں تک کہ سیاسیات میں بھی اُن کامسلک معتدل ہی رہا۔وہ اردو کے ان چند خوش نصیب اخبار نویسوں میں تھے جنھوں نے محض اپنے قلم سے شہرت بھی خوب حاصل کی اوردولت بھی کافی کمائی۔ حضرت الاستاذ مولانا سید محمد انور شاہ صاحب الکشمیریؒ سے بڑی عقیدت اور محبت رکھتے تھے اوراسی تعلق سے راقم الحروف کے ساتھ ہمیشہ بڑے خلوص اورمحبت سے پیش آتے تھے۔تقسیم ہند کے...
Despite the smooth transition of power from the British colonists to the Sri Lankan Sinhalese in 1949, Sri Lanka inherited considerable challenges. After the culmination of the civil war, from 1983 to 2009, Sri Lanka confronted numerous obstacles in the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the country. Drawing from Birch’s model of national integration, this study attempts to examine the diverse political, economic, and social challenges facing Sri Lanka. The review shows that Sri Lanka needs critical nation building in the following areas: (i) Infrastructural development; (ii) Resettlements and rehabilitation of displaced populations; (iii) Ethnic and religious integration; (iv) Equality in political representation; (v) Educational and employment policies; (vi) Gender equality policies; and (vii) Mental health interventions for children and women. The role of international bodies, like the United Nations Human Rights Council, and neighboring countries is key to creating pressure for national integration and growth. There is fear that if national unity is not at the forefront of state and international policy for Sri Lanka, conflict and instability may arise again.
Salinity often causes decrease and instability in wheat production that occupies a supreme position in food grains of Pakistan. Recently, wheat has been designated as silicon (Si) accumulator which can alleviate the salinity damage, a major constraint to agricultural crop production. With the objective to combat salinity stress in wheat by Si applications using calcium silicate, a series of experiments were conducted on two contrasting wheat genotypes (salt sensitive; Auqab-2000 and salt tolerant; SARC-5), under normal and saline conditions. Initially five different levels of Si (0, 50, 100, 150 and 200 mg L -1 ) were optimized for salinity tolerance on the basis of plant morphological characters especially dry weight in hydroponics and 150 mg L -1 was selected as an optimized level. Optimized Si-level was further used to investigate its effect on wheat in hydroponic and pot culture under normal (2 dS m -1 ) and saline (10 dS m -1 for hydroponics and 12 dS m -1 for pots study) conditions. The evaluation was done on the basis of various morphological, physiological, biochemical, growth and yield traits during these experiments. Silicon supplementation into the solution culture and soil medium significantly improved the K + : Na + with reduced Na + and increased K + uptake. Plant water relations with higher water potential and relative water content, increase in chlorophyll fractions and its ratios, enhanced stomatal conductance and better defense system with stimulated activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) were observed. Nevertheless, the activity of peroxidase (POD) was reduced and root growth remained unaffected by silicon application. The final field studies were conducted at two sites (within a radius of less than 500 m): Normal field with EC < 4 dS m -1 and saline field with EC~10-13.8 dS m -1 . Silicon was applied @ 0, 75 (half of optimized dose) and 150 mg kg -1 (optimized dose). Plants were harvested at maturity and concomitant increase in number of tillers, number of grains per spike, grain yield, and biological yield were observed due to silicon application both under optimal and salt affected field conditions. It was concluded that SARC-5 is better than Auqab-2000 under salt stress and silicon inclusion into the any growth medium is beneficial for wheat and can improve crop growth by maintaining plant water status, better K + : Na + and recovering the plant defense system adversely influenced by salt stress.