How to Deal With Prisoners: An Islamic Perspective

This paper aims at highlighting the perspective of Islam regarding prisoners’ dealing. In the light of Quranic verses and examples from the life of Muhammad (PBUH), the last messenger of Allah and his companions, it has been shown that some 14 centuries back, although there were no formal settings to captivate the inmates, yet the prisoners in individual custody or incarcerated somewhere else such as Mosques, had full rights in terms of inborn dignity, humane treatments, fair justice, practicing religion etc. They were fully protected from the torture at the hands of occupying powers or individuals. Therefore, majority of them embraced Islam within custody and become firm believers before they were released. It is therefore, recommended that any prisoners’ reform strategy in the modern Era to be successful must take into consideration the glorious principles of Islam derived from Quran, authentic Hadith and the live examples of Muhammad (PBUH) and his companion.

Optimizing Phosphorus for Wheat Production Using Freundlich Kinetic Model and 32P Labeling Technique

Fixation reactions in calcareous soil reduce the concentration of soluble phosphorus (P) and affect crop growth. The study was aimed at finding out the reason that how pre-mixing of different P fertilizer sources [i.e. Diammonium phosphate (DAP), Phosphoric acid (PA)] with farmyard manure (FYM at 400 mg kg-1 soil) affect their availability in soil and thereby productivity of wheat crop. Various rates (at 0, 18, 36 and 54 mg P kg-1) of the fertilizers were tested alone (designated as PA & DAP) and along with the manure (PA+FYM & DAP+FYM). The amended soil was incubated for seven weeks (at 25±1 oC & 70% water holding capacity) and thereafter 32P dilution kinetics were measured using Freundlich kinetic model to describe gross amount of diffusible P ions present at soil solid (Pr). The experimental treatments induced change in Pr (ΔPr) values wherein the highest P application as PA+FYM produced maximum ΔPr (59%, over control), followed by DAP+FYM treatment (52%, over control). In greenhouse, highest P rate as PA+FYM produced maximum P use efficiency (24%), greatest P uptake (201.2 mg pot-1) and highest grain yield (44.1 g pot-1) of wheat. The results clearly suggest premixing phosphate fertilizer with FYM as a viable technique to increase P supply from soil and enhance productivity of wheat grown in alkaline calcareous soil. Mixing of phosphate fertilizer with FYM in calcareous soil was also evaluated to optimize P availability for improving productivity of wheat (Triticum aestivum). In second study, PA and DAP were applied to soil at 36 mg P kg–1, either alone or after mixing with double amount of FYM (i.e. 1:2 ratio on w/w basis). After 45-day incubation, P concentration in soil solution (Cp) and that of exchangeable P ions (E-value) present at solid-solution interface were determined to evaluate the impact on total plant-available pool. The FYM-amended fertilizers, i.e. PA+FYM and DAP+FYM showed highest values for Cp (3.2 and 2.7 mg P L–1, respectively) and E-value (114 and 97 mg kg–1 soil, respectively). Similarly, FYM-amended fertilizers produced higher P utilization and wheat yield as compared to their sole application. The PA+FYM (followed by DAP+FYM) exhibited maximum proportion of P derived from applied fertilizer (Pdff = 51.5 %) and greatest P actually taken up by wheat seedlings (L-value = 72.1 mg kg-1 biomass). Consequently, PA+FYM treatment produced highest grain yield (40.7 g pot–1), P uptake (162 mg pot–1) and P use efficiency (24.6%), which were generally at par with DAP+FYM treatment. The regression analysis revealed strong and positive correlation of L-value with grain yield (r =0 .86), biological yield (r = 0.84) and P use efficiency (r = 0.87) in wheat crop. In third study, two-years (2015-16 & 2016-17) field trials have shown that application of phosphoric acid (PA) at 54 kg P ha-1 along with farm-yard manure (FYM) produced maximum wheat grain (5159 kg ha-1) which was 23% higher over its sole application. Phosphorus uptake was increased with the increase in P rates (18, 36, 54 kg P ha-1) which was usually associated to higher grain yield than P concentration in grain. The manure amended inorganic P fertilizers were found more effective in P uptake and grain yield than their sole application. In greenhouse, a similar trend as occurred in field condition was observed for P recovery and biomass production. The manure amended PA (followed by diammonium phosphate) exhibited maximum P derived from applied fertilizer (Pdff = 40.03%) by a 45-day old wheat plant, as determined by 32P labelling technique. Efficiency of P fertilizers [i.e. P agronomic efficiency (PAE) and P recovery efficiency (PRE)] were found lowest at highest P rate (54 kg P ha-1). However, co-amended phosphate fertilizers showed higher PRE and PAE as compared to their sole application. Therefore, manure amended phosphate fertilizers application seems appropriate to attain higher P availability from soil, improve efficiency of inorganic fertilizers and enhance wheat productivity grown in alkaline calcareous soils