Biological activity of Citrus paradisi peel

Citrus paradisi (Grapefruit) peel oil has medicinal properties which shows beneficial effects against plant pathogenic fungi Objective: The aim of this research was to investigate the antifungal potential of Citrus paradisi peel oil against different plant pathogenic fungal strainsMethods: The essential oil of Grapefruit peel was provided in different concentrations 0.25 to 0.75ml per 100 ml of media to 3 different plant pathogenic fungal strains i.e, Fusarium oxysporum, Fusarium solani and Dreschlera tetramera and its effect on the growth of fungi was recorded Results: The studies provided the results compared with the controlled media, which showed the fungal growth was almost completely inhibited at 0.75ml concentration of oil, even the lower concentration was sufficient to retard the growth Conclusions: The study provided the blue print for fungicidal spray to cure serious diseases in plants, such as, rice blast, papaya fruit rot, seedling collar rot and wilt diseases.

Developing Learner Autonomy in English Language Classrooms at Bachelors Level in the Context of Punjab, Pakistan

Learner autonomy refers to a state where a learner seeks the understanding of the concepts more independently, takes charge of the learning and becomes more motivated and self-supportive towards the learning procedures. It has become a much discussed phenomena and has been given immense importance from the last few decades however it‟s still not practically implemented in the foreign language classrooms. The students in the foreign language classrooms are still much relying on their teachers and take less responsibility of their own learning. The present study is a quasi-experimental research design. The study at first explored the existing level of English as a foreign language learners with reference to autonomy practices, in the context of Punjab, Pakistan. The autonomy of the learners was examined through their use of foreign language learning strategies in the language classrooms. The study intended to design a learner-training program to develop autonomy among Pakistani foreign language learners. An eclectic approach was used in the research design, thus the learning-training program was designed on the basis of multiple theories of learner autonomy, with a compilation of foreign language learning strategies in each lesson. The major frameworks used for the research design were Oxford‟s framework (2011) Andrew‟s framework (2007), and Chamot‟s framework (2005), whereas the language learning strategies chosen for the learner-training program were cognitive, metacognitive and social-affective language learning strategies. The target population of the study was university level students of Lahore, Punjab (Pakistan), studying English as a compulsory subject and the sample was bachelor‟s level students of a public sector university of Lahore. The sample consisted of a nonintervention/control group and an intervention/experimental group each with 52 number of students. The learner- training program was implemented on the intervention group for 27 weeks. The quantitative data was collected through a pretest questionnaire, a post-test questionnaire and language learning diaries whereas the qualitative data was collected through the interviews of the participants. The findings of the research revealed that the learner-training program proved to be successful where the participants of the intervention group were using foreign language learning strategies in their language classrooms, were independently doing classroom tasks, and were very motivated to use autonomy practices in future as well. The research suggests that the use of language learning strategies can be introduced in the language classrooms to enhance autonomy among the foreign language learners. The learnertraining program can further be beneficial for the foreign language teachers as they can use the autonomous learning practices to make their language classrooms more engaging and interactive.