Home > Modeling the Impact of Climate Change on Nitrogen Use Efficiency in Sunflower Helianthus Annuus L. under Different Agro- Climatic Conditions of Punjab-Pakistan
Modeling the Impact of Climate Change on Nitrogen Use Efficiency in Sunflower Helianthus Annuus L. under Different Agro- Climatic Conditions of Punjab-Pakistan
A field study was carried out to determine the impact of climate change on growth, nitrogen use efficiency and achene yield in sunflower production under arid, semi arid and sub humid conditions of Punjab, Pakistan. The experimental data needed to run the model was obtained from two years (2008 and 2009) field experiments conducted at three locations, including the Central Cotton Research Institute (CCRI) Multan, Agronomic Research Area, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, and the Adaptive Research Farm, Gujranwala. The achene yield among various treatments was associated with the growth and development of crop or to their photosynthetic activity. At all the experimental locations, the nitrogen level 180 kg ha - 1 gave maximum yield as compared to standard (120 kg N ha -1 ) N dose. Similarly, Hysun-38 performed well, in terms of achene yield and achene oil yield at different agro-climatic conditions than other sunflower hybrids (Hysun-33 and Pioneer-64A93). Sub humid (Gujranwala) environmental conditions are much better as compared to semi arid (Faisalabad) and arid (Multan) climate for sunflower productivity. The OILCROP-SUN model testing and application in this study established that this specific model could be satisfactorily used as a research tool in different agro-environmental conditions of Punjab-Pakistan. The OILCROP- SUN model was calibrated and evaluated under local conditions and it predicted phenology, growth and yield of sunflower to a reasonable accuracy among different sunflower hybrids and nitrogen application. The findings propose that the model can be used to direct the alternate path for improving sunflower production in Pakistan. The climate change analysis describes the strong effect of temperature increment on sunflower production. The achene yield will be considerably reduced with increasing temperatures up to 2 o C in the area. If we look at present scenario than it can be estimated that there will be reduction in yield up to 25 % beyond 2050 for sunflower crop. Future studies for possible effects of climate change on field crop production should therefore includes, more number of weather stations to better reflect the heterogeneity in different cropping areas, standardization of field crop production technology through crop growth models should be initiated, development of site specific mitigation strategies to enhance agricultural productivity under changing climate scenarios. At the end, following suggestions must be under take to meet the challenges of changed climate on sunflower productivity, I) the development or breeding of new sunflower hybrids must be initiative that might be tolerant to higher temperature and adverse climatic conditions, II) The water storage capacity should be enhanced and proficiently managed to increase water use efficiency under changed climatic conditions for different field crops to get maximum benefit and ultimately to meet the challenge of food security. III) All the agronomic management practices (hybrid selection, sowing method and time, application of irrigation & fertilizer, insect pest and disease management) may need to meet the needs of food security under threatens of climate change, IV) More number of weather stations to better reflect the heterogeneity in different cropping areas must be initiated so that site specific production technology might be developed.
سید محسن الحکیم یہ سطریں زیر تحریر تھیں کہ عراق کے مجتہد اعظم آقائے سید محسن الحکیم کی وفات کی خبر ملی، وہ شیعوں کے سب سے بڑے مذہبی پیشوا اور اعلم کے منصب جلیل پر فائز تھے، مذہبی امور میں ان کا فیصلہ حرف آخر کا حکم رکھتا تھا، جس کے سامنے پوری شیعی دنیا سرتسلیم خم کرتی تھی، علمی حیثیت سے وہ دنیائے اسلام کے نامور علماء میں تھے اور سنیوں میں بھی عزت و احترام کی نظر سے دیکھے جاتے تھے، انھوں نے اپنے فرقہ کی بڑی مفید علمی و دینی خدمات انجام دی ہیں، اسی کے ساتھ وہ اتحاد اسلامی کے بھی قائل تھے اور شیعہ سنی اختلاف کو ناپسند کرتے تھے، اﷲ تعالیٰ ان کو اپنی رحمت و مغفرت سے سرفراز فرمائے۔ سنیوں کے یہاں اس قسم کا کوئی منصب نہیں ہے، جس کو پوری سنی دنیا ماننے پر مجبور ہو، اس کانتیجہ یہ ہے کہ ان میں ہر شخص مجتہد ہے اور جن کو نہ صرف دینی علوم سے کوئی واقفیت نہیں بلکہ مذہب سے بھی عملاً کوئی علاقہ نہیں، ان کو بھی اجتہاد کا دعویٰ ہے، چنانچہ آج کل ایسے بہت سے مجتہد اور مفسر قرآن ملیں گے جو عربی کی ابجد سے بھی واقف نہیں، ان کام یہ ہے کہ جو نیا قالب نظر آئے اسلام کو اس میں ڈھالنے کی کوشش کریں، ان کے اجتہاد کے عجیب و غریب نمونے آئے دن نظر آتے رہتے ہیں، اور اس تخریب کا نام انھوں نے اسلامی خدمت رکھا ہے، شیعوں کے نظام میں اگرچہ تنگی ہے، لیکن مذہبی ضبط و نظام کے نقطۂ نظر سے بہت مفید ہے۔ (شاہ معین الدین ندوی، جون ۱۹۷۰ء)
Background of the study: Tibia Vara is defined as a growth abnormality which leads to Varus malalignment of the lower limb. It is caused by excessive loading on the medial part of proximal tibia. Progressive Tibia Vara can result in a bowleg deformity which is most noticeable in posteromedial part of upper tibial physis. Other than that, it gives rise to in toeing of feet and lateral knee thrust, altering the normal biomechanics of an individual. This study aim to determine the frequency of Tibia Vara among obese adolescents (13-18years).
Methodology: A descriptive cross-sectional study was done using non probability convenient sampling. Total 214 obese adolescents of age range 13 to 18 years were recruited from different parks and schools of Lahore. Adolescents with BMI less than 30 and with history of fracture or dislocation in the lower limb were excluded from the study. Manual goniometer was used to assess tibia vara in obese adolescent which had an intra-rater reliability of 0.75.
Results: Out of 214 obese adolescents, 128 were male and 86 were female. The percentage of Tibia Vara in this population was found to be 38% (n= 82). Whereas; on the basis of gender, male participants presenting with Tibia vara was found to be 26% (n= 56) and the percentage of females reported with Tibia vara was only 12% (n= 26).
Conclusion: Tibia vara had been reported in 38% of the obese adolescents in Lahore, Pakistan. Whereas, on the basis of gender most frequently tibia vara was reported among male participants.
Water quality is considered as a major issue in the mega cities of developing countries. The city of Lahore has over 10 million population with the highest population density in the Punjab Province, Pakistan. The objectives of the study were to a) assess the temporal variations in physicochemical groundwater parameters and arsenic in the study area and b) create groundwater pollution vulnerability map of the study area using a modified DRASTIC model. The water samples (n = 73) were collected from tubewells and tested for arsenic and physicochemical parameters (alkalinity, calcium, pH, total dissolved solids, turbidity, hardness, and chlorides). Similar physicochemical water quality parameter data were also obtained from Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) for the year 2012. The data exploration was performed using SPSS software. ArcGIS spatial analyst, geostatistical analyst, Getis-Ord Gi* statistics and model builder were used for mapping the water quality and analysis of the modified DRASTIC model. Various interpolation methods (radial basis functions, inverse distance weighting and kriging) were used for mapping the water quality to come up with the best groundwater quality map. Comparison of different interpolation methods based on the lowest root mean square error (RMSE) and mean absolute error (MAE) closer to zero showed that kriging produced better results than the other interpolation methods. The spatial distribution map of groundwater arsenic of 2015 showed that the arsenic concentrations above WHO guideline (10 μg/L) exist almost in the entire study area, whereas, the concentrations are above the national standards for drinking water quality of Pakistan (50 μg/L) in some areas of Ravi Town (Farrukhabad/Shahdra). Getis-Ord Gi* statistics revealed a significant (p < 0.05) hotspot of arsenic in the vicinity of River Ravi. While in the eastern parts of the study area, the arsenic concentrations had a decreasing trend. viii The modified DRASTIC model revealed that 51.38%, 36.77%, 9.48% and 2.37% area could be categorized in terms of vulnerability as low, moderate, high and very high, respectively. The ‘high’ and ‘very high’ vulnerability classes were found along the River Ravi and nearby areas, especially in Ravi Town (Farrukhabad/Shahdra). It is recommended that the arsenic removal plants should be installed at all the tubewells with higher arsenic levels (arsenic concentration > 50 ppb) to provide safe drinking water to the citizens of Lahore. Moreover, the spatio-temporal techniques used for analysis of water quality should be applied in other mega cities for better monitoring and management of drinking water quality.