ISRO plans second Mars Mission with Rover and Lander in 2018

After the success of the recent Mars Orbit Mission (MOM), Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) is planning to revisit the Red Planet in 2018 with a heavier satellite which will carry a lander and a rover.

Director of ISRO Satellite Centre S Shiva Kumar said the space agency is planning to launch a second Mars mission in 2018, to conduct more experiments for which they have to develop new technologies.

In September 24, the state-run space agency successfully inserted its spacecraft (MOM) in the Martian orbit with five scientific instruments to search for life-sustaining elements on the planet over nine months after it was launched November 5, 2013 from its spaceport at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh, about 90 km northeast of Chennai.

“We will be able to take the Mars-2 mission after launching the second mission to the moon (Chandrayaan-2) in 2016 with our own lander and rover, which will help us develop a separate lender and rover for the red planet,” Kumar said, ahead of a three-day ‘Engineers Conclave-2014’ by the space agency with the Indian National Academy of Engineering here.

The space agency is looking for a slot in 2018 as the mission to Mars can be launched only after two years. They also hope to have a heavy rocket - fully operational to carry a lender and rover with scientific experiments as additional payloads by then.

“We hope to have fully operational heavy rockets over the next two-three years for carrying communication satellites weighting two-three tonnes into the geo-stationary orbits around the earth,” Kumar said.

The space agency has developed the geo-synchronous satellite launch vehicle (GSLV-Mark I-III) with indigenous cryogenic engine to launch satellites weighing more than two tonnes and three tonnes into the geo-orbit at 36,000km above Earth.

Cotton Whitefly

Cotton Whitefly (Scientific Name : Bemisia tabaci)

Host Range : Polyphagous insect. Some of the hosts are puthkanda, gutpatni, cabbage, cauliflower, sarson, toria, melon, potato, brinjal and okra.

Damaging Stage : Nymphs and Adults.

Identification

Adults : Adults are 1.0 to 1.5 mm long, yellowish in colour and dusted with white waxy powder. Wings are pure white.

Nymphs : Nymphs are yellowish white.

Seasonal History : The whitefly infestation remains in cotton more or less throughout the cotton season but the maximum damage in cotton is done during August-September. Higher population has been noticed in dry weather conditions which encourage its population build up.

Economic Threshold : Average six to eight nymphs per leaf. Count the population from three leaves (one each from top, middle and bottom) per plant and take observation at least from 10 plants from the field.

Nature of Damage : Damage is done by sucking the cell sap from the leaves resulting in loss of vitality of the plant. Normal photosynthesis is affected due to growth of sooty mould on honeydew deposited on upper surface of the leaves, consequently the growth of the plant and yield are affected. Cotton white fly also transmits the cotton leaf curl virus and the veins of diseased leaves get thickened becoming cup shaped (up side).

Management : Spray the crop with 250-350 ml dimethoate (Rogor) 30 EC or 300-400 ml oxydemeton-methyl (Metasystox) 25 EC or formothion (Anthio) 25 EC or 40 ml imidacloprid (Confidor) 200 SL, 40 g thiomethoxam (Aktara) 25 WG after mixing in 120-150 litre of water.

Scientific Treatment of Whitefly on BT Cotton (Hindi) (1080p HD)

Cotton, a commercial crop and backbone of the textile industry is heaven for insect-pests. More than 90 per cent of the fibres is obtained from cotton crop alone. This crop is the backbone of the textile industry, where 80 per cent of the raw material is obtained from it.

Due to insect and diseases infestation, both quality and the quantity are greatly reduced in various ways e.g. premature boll opening results in lint damage and discolouration and immature fibre.

Cotton farmer from Haryana and Punjab is facing problems from the growing menace of white fly that cripples the growth of cotton plant. This has resulted in the yield of BT cotton on their farm dropping.

The farm scientists (Dr Saini) of Haryana University has advised the farmers for constant monitoring of BT cotton crops against whitefly and sucking pests and spray the recommended insecticide when weather is clear. He said that due to humid weather, there may be attack of whitefly and incidence of bacterial leaf blight. 

He said an effective management of this important disease is possible by development of resistant varieties.

The three states (Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan) count for about 12 per cent of the country’s total cotton production. 

In the last two years, the average yield in Haryana farmer has dropped by about 20 per cent due to whitefly. In addition, the cultivation costs have gone up considerably, as they have to spray at least four to five insecticides to keep the white fly under check.

The emergence of sucking pests such as white fly, mealy bug and jassid are posing threat to cotton crop across all over country.

Though insecticide costs that accounts for 8-10 per cent of the cultivation costs are on the rise, labour shortage and rising wages are a major worry for cotton growers.

Cotton Whitefly (Scientific Name : Bemisia tabaci)

Host Range : Polyphagous insect. Some of the hosts are puthkanda, gutpatni, cabbage, cauliflower, sarson, toria, melon, potato, brinjal and okra.

Damaging Stage : Nymphs and Adults.

Identification

Adults : Adults are 1.0 to 1.5 mm long, yellowish in colour and dusted with white waxy powder. Wings are pure white.

Nymphs : Nymphs are yellowish white.

Seasonal History : The whitefly infestation remains in cotton more or less throughout the cotton season but the maximum damage in cotton is done during August-September. Higher population has been noticed in dry weather conditions which encourage its population build up.

Economic Threshold : Average six to eight nymphs per leaf. Count the population from three leaves (one each from top, middle and bottom) per plant and take observation at least from 10 plants from the field.

Nature of Damage : Damage is done by sucking the cell sap from the leaves resulting in loss of vitality of the plant. Normal photosynthesis is affected due to growth of sooty mould on honeydew deposited on upper surface of the leaves, consequently the growth of the plant and yield are affected. Cotton white fly also transmits the cotton leaf curl virus and the veins of diseased leaves get thickened becoming cup shaped (up side).

Management : Spray the crop with 250-350 ml dimethoate (Rogor) 30 EC or 300-400 ml oxydemeton-methyl (Metasystox) 25 EC or formothion (Anthio) 25 EC or 40 ml imidacloprid (Confidor) 200 SL, 40 g thiomethoxam (Aktara) 25 WG after mixing in 120-150 litre of water.

Their management can be accomplished best through integration of various approaches. These involve the choice of suitable variety, the crop rotation to be followed, cultural practices, proper nutrient and water management.

You should give proper time to natural enemies of whitely to control their population before spraying pesticides. It is not possible to eliminate all population of whitefly. You can reduce their population by 70 percent by collective approaches. All farmer of neighbours’ farm should effort collectively to reduce population of whitefly. You can graze yellow board with gum as whitefly attract toward yellow colour. 

Note : The higher population of whitefly has been noticed in dry weather conditions during August-September. Avoid excessive use of pesticides. Try to spray “neem” products to control whitefly as it reduces reproduction of whitefly. You can spray triazophos/acephate to control whitefly after advice of farmer scientists. Monitor the crop for diseases every week. 

Hindi

जिलेके जागरूक किसानों ने कपास के अच्छे भाव देखते हुए इस सफेद सोना पर दांव खेला है। यहीं कारण है कि इस बार अनुमानित लक्ष्य से कहीं अधिक हेक्टेयर में कपास की फसल खड़ी है। 

हालांकि इससे पहले माना जा रहा था कि बीटी कॉटन पर किसी तरह की बीमारी नहीं लगती। सफेद मक्खी के प्रकोप से किसानाें के चेहरे मुरझा उठे हैं। कृषि विशेषज्ञाें के अनुसार सफेद मक्खी के कारण औसत उत्पादन गिरना लाजिमी है। कृषि विभाग का मानना है कि सफेद मक्खी का प्रकोप तो है, लेकिन 10 से 20 फीसदी ही नुकसान होगा। 

कृषि उपनिदेशक डा. अनूप सिंह ने बताया कि बीटी कॉटन पर गुलाबी, चितकबरी, अमेरिकन सुंडी इत्यादि की बीमारी नहीं लगती, लेकिन बदले मौसम के अनुरूप सफेद मक्खी का प्रकोप इस फसल को नुकसान पहुंचाता है।

 कपास में इन दिनों वाइट फ्लाई का प्रकोप रहता है। इसको एक सही मात्रा में कीटनाशक डालकर रोकथाम की जा सकती है। कई बार किसान कृषि विभाग के सुझाव नहीं मानते हैं और अलग-अलग तरीके के कीटनाशक गलत मात्र में स्प्रे कर देते हैं, जिसके कारण कपास की फसल नष्ट होने की संभावना कहीं अधिक बढ़ जाती है। 

Origin of Diabetes

Diabetes is an important human ailment afflicting many from various walks of life in different countries. In India it is proving to be a major health problem, especially in the urban areas. Though there are various approaches to reduce the ill effects of diabetes and its secondary complications, herbal formulations are preferred due to lesser side effects and low cost.

One of the etiologic factors implicated in the development of diabetes and its complications is the damage induced by free radicals and hence an antidiabetic compound with antioxidant properties would be more beneficial. 

Diabetes is a chronic disorder of carbohydrate, fat and protein metabolism characterized by increased fasting and post prandial blood sugar levels. Studies conducted in India show that it is increasing rapidly in the urban population. It is estimated that there are approximately 33 million adults with diabetes in India. This number is likely to increase to 57.2 million by the year 2025.

Diabetes mellitus is a complex metabolic disorder resulting from either insulin insufficiency or insulin dysfunction. Type I diabetes (insulin dependent) is caused due to insulin insufficiency because of lack of functional beta cells. Patients suffering from this are therefore totally dependent on exogenous source of insulin while patients suffering from Type II diabetes (insulin independent) are unable to respond to insulin and can be treated with dietary changes, exercise and medication. 

Diabetes Type II is the more common form of diabetes constituting 90% of the diabetic population. Symptoms for both diabetic conditions may include: (1) high levels of sugar in the blood; (2) unusual thirst; (3) frequent urination; (4) extreme hunger and loss of weight; (5) blurred vision; (6) nausea and vomiting; (7) extreme weakness and tiredness; (8) irritability, mood changes etc.

Free radicals are capable of damaging cellular molecules, DNA, proteins and lipids leading to altered cellular functions. Studies reveal that antioxidants capable of neutralizing free radicals are effective in preventing experimentally induced diabetes in animal models as well as reducing the severity of diabetic complications.

In diabetic patients, extra-cellular and long lived proteins, such as elastin, laminin, collagen are the major targets of free radicals. These proteins are modified to form glycoproteins due to hyperglycemia. The modification of these proteins present in tissues such as lens, vascular wall and basement membranes are associated with the development of complications of diabetes such as cataracts, microangiopathy, atherosclerosis and nephropathy. During diabetes, lipoproteins are oxidized by free radicals. There are also multiple abnormalities of lipoprotein metabolism in very low density lipoprotein (VLDL), low density lipoprotein (LDL), and high density lipoprotein (HDL) in diabetes. 

Lipid peroxidation is enhanced due to increased oxidative stress in diabetic condition. Apart from this, advanced glycation end products (AGEs) are formed by non-enzymatic glycosylation of proteins. AGEs tend to accumulate on long-lived molecules in tissues and generate abnormalities in cell and tissue functions. In addition, AGEs also contribute to increased vascular permeability in both micro and macrovascular structures by binding to specific macrophage receptors. This results in formation of free radicals and endothelial dysfunction. AGEs are also formed on nucleic acids and histones and may cause mutations and altered gene expression.

Patients of diabetes either do not make enough insulin or their cells do not respond to insulin. In case of total lack of insulin, patients are given insulin injections. Whereas in case of those where cells do not respond to insulin many different drugs are developed taking into consideration possible disturbances in carbohydrate-metabolism. For example, to manage post-prandial hyper-glycaemia at digestive level, glucosidase inhibitors such as acarbose, miglitol and voglibose are used. These inhibit degradation of carbohydrates thereby reducing the glucose absorption by the cells. To enhance glucose uptake by peripheral cells biguanide such as metphormine is used. Sulphonylureas like glibenclamide is insulinotropic and works as secretogogue for pancreatic cells. 

There are certain limitations of these medicines like high cost and side effects such as development of hypoglycemia, weight gain, gastrointestinal disturbances, liver toxicity etc. 

Based on involvement of oxidative stress in complicating diabetes mellitus, we can use suitable antidiabetic and antioxidant therapy to treat diabetes

Bitter gourd powder lowers blood and urine sugar levels. It increases body’s resistance against infections and purifies blood. Bitter Gourd has excellent medicinal virtues. It is antidotal, antipyretic tonic, appetizing, stomachic, antibilious and laxative. It contains compounds like bitter glycosides, saponins, alkaloids, reducing sugars, phenolics, oils, free acids, polypeptides, sterols, 17-amino acids including methionine and a crystalline product named p-insulin. It is reported to have hypoglycemic activity in addition to being antihaemorrhoidal, astringent, stomachic, emmenagogue, hepatic stimulant, anthelmintic and blood purifier.