In this issue:

REVIEW ARTICLES

• Ecological Impact of Pesticides Principally Organochlorine Insecticide Endosulfan: A Review
  Authors: Neelambari Vivekanandhan and Annadurai Duraisamy

  Abstract : The intensive use of pesticides resulted in dispersal and persistence of pollutants throughout the global environment. Bioremediation of pesticides in contaminated soil and water environments has become one of the most sensational issues due to their deleterious effect on public health and environment. In natural habitat, certain microbes are capable of metabolizing those persistent compounds or detoxify them which could be employed for bioremediation. Hence the direct use of such microorganisms capable of degrading xenobiotics is also becoming a popular approach to safeguard the environment. The review summaries the impacts and fate of the pesticides, especially endosulfan in polluted ecosystem.

RESEARCH ARTICLES

• Cotton Dying with Natural Dye Extracted from Flower of Bottlebrush (Callistemon citrinus)
  Authors: Baishya D., Talukdar J. and Sandhya S.

  Abstract : A renewed international interest has arisen in natural dyes due to increased awareness of the environmental and health hazards associated with the synthesis, processing and use of synthetic dyes. The present investigation was carried out to extract natural dye from Callistemon citrinus plant. The dye was extracted by boiling method. A part of the extract was autoclaved. Both the autoclaved and non-autoclaved Callistemon citrinus flower dye was used for dying the scoured cotton cloth using two mordants viz. Copper sulphate and ferrous sulphate. Study about fastness tests of dyed clothes was undertaken. The relative colour strength of the dye was determined in terms of K/S value with respect to autoclaved and non-autoclaved extract. Good light fastness, rub fastness and wash fastness was observed in fabrics mordanted with ferrous sulphate. The relative colour strength of the dye was found to be more in case of cotton clothes mordanted with ferrous sulphate.

• Phytochemistry and Biological Activities of Extracts from Two Combretaceae Found in Burkina Faso: Anogeissus Leiocarpus (DC) Guill. and Perr. And Combretum Glutinosum Perr. Ex DC
  Authors: SORE Harouna, HILOU Adama, SOMBIE Pierre Alexandre Eric Djifaby, COMPAORE Moussa, MEDA Roland, MILLOGO Jeanne and NACOULMA Odile Germaine

  Abstract : Many studies indicate that Combretaceae species are commonly used in Africa to treat various diseases. Nonetheless, no phytochemical and/or biological activity data are available from species found in Burkina Faso to secure their ethnomedicinal uses. In addition, drugs derived from these species, especially those of the genus Combretum, are sometimes the objects of adulteration by herbalists dealing in large cities of the country.This paper reports the pharmacognostic, phytochemical and biological activity of extracts from two of the most commonly used Combretaceae species found in Burkina Faso: Anogeissus leiocarpus (DC) Guill. and Perr. and Combretum glutinosum Perr. ex DC. Through the method of Ciulei, the characterization of the two drugs was made possible, and it was found that the phenolic compounds and flavonoids are the main active ingredients in the methanol extracts. The levels of total phenolic extracts ranged from 49.63 ± 0.21 to 68.27 ± 0.90 EAG/100 mg for Anogeissus leiocarpus and Combretum glutinosum, respectively. Evaluation of the antibacterial activity showed a Minimum Inhibitory concentration (MIC) value of 0.86 mg/ml for Anogeissus leiocarpus (against Staphylococcus aureus clinical isolate) and 1.41 mg/ml for Combretum glutinosum (against Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 6538). TLC analysis provided evidence of the presence of two flavonols, quercitrin and rutin, and gallic acid, all of which are recognized as bioactive compounds. These data were utilized to justify the use of the two species in traditional medicine.

• Evaluation of Bivoltine Silkworm Breeds of Bombyx mori L. under West Bengal Conditions
  Authors: Suresh Kumar N., Lakshmi H., Saha A.K., Bindroo B. B. and Longkumer N.

  Abstract : The Indian sericulture industry is beset with many problems. One of the main problems is the inability to produce quality silk of international grade. The quality silk can be produced only form bivoltines. The bulk of silk produced in India is from Multivoltines which are of inferior quality. Therefore, it is highly pertinent to have more productive bivoltine silkworm breeds capable of producing quality silk. However, the hot climatic conditions of India is not conducive to rear productive bivoltines. Hence, there is an urgent need to develop bivoltine breeds which can yield stable crops under the adverse climatic conditions. Accordingly, efforts should be focussed by the silkworm breeders to develop bivoltine breeds with genetic plasticity to buffer against the adverse climatic conditions. The main constraint of the tropical environment is the high temperature coupled with high and low humidity. It is a well-established fact that the bivoltines are highly vulnerable to high temperature coupled with high and low humidity especially in the late instars. The hot climatic conditions of tropics prevailing particularly in summer are contributing to the poor performance of the bivoltine breeds and the most important aspect is that many quantitative characters such as viability and cocoon traits decline sharply when temperature is high. Therefore, it is highly pertinent to identify more number of bivotine breeds which can withstand adverse climatic conditions. Accordingly, the present study was carried out to evaluate and identify suitable bivoltine breeds under West Bengal conditions of India.

• Characterisation of Metals in Water and Sediments of Subarnarekha River along the Projects' Sites in Lower Basin, India
  Authors: Kumar Manoj, Balwant Kumar and Pratap Kumar Padhy

  Abstract : The Subarnarekha River is one of the most important east flowing rivers of India. The river in West Bengal and Odisha is site for the Subarnarekha Barrage Project and Kirtania port respectively. The major objectives of the present study were to investigate the pre-projects level of heavy metals in water and sediments of the Subarnarekha River along the projects' sites. Water and Surface sediments collected from six locations were analysed for Fe, Zn, Cu, Pb, Ni, Cd, Mn and Cr with Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer. Contamination factor, Contamination degree, Pollution load index (PLI) and Geo-accumulation index (Igeo) were used to assess the degree of accumulation of heavy metals in the sediments. The important findings of the study are: (1) Ficklin plot classified all water samples into near neutral low metal class; (2) A close relationship was obtained between organic carbon and metal content in river bed sediments; (3) All sampling sites displayed PLI values ? 0 but < 1; (4) Igeo values for metals at the sampling sites were ? 0. The results indicated river water and bed sediments to be unpolluted and ecologically suitable and sustainable. Absence of major anthropogenic influence in the region was primarily found to be responsible for the unpolluted nature of water and sediments. This study can be used as reference to monitor the status of quality of water and sediments during ongoing projects and post-projects scenario.

• Assessment of the Adsorption Capacities of Fired Clay Soils From Jimma (Ethiopia) For the Removal of Cr (VI) from Aqueous Solution
  Authors: Dessalew D. Alemayehu, Sanjeev K. Singh and Dejene A. Tessema

  Abstract : The abilities of three thermally treated clay soils, S1, S2 and S3, which differed in textural compositions, to remove Cr (VI) from aqueous solutions were evaluated. Removal efficiencies of the clays were found to be influenced by textural composition, pH, initial Cr(VI) concentration, shaking time and adsorbent dose. An increase in the clay content of a clay-based soil by 1 % was found to result in an increase of about 0.5% in Cr(VI) removal. The adsorption of Cr(VI) by the clay-based soils was highest at pH 1 and 2 and, decreased above pH 2. For the lower initial concentrations (5 - 50 mg/L) of Cr(VI), adsorption was observed to increase sharply. A slower increase was observed up to about 75 mg/L and adsorption density remain nearly constant above 75 mg/L. The Cr(VI) adsorption process was better represented by the Langmuir model than by the Freundlich, with correlation coefficients (r2) ranging 0.97 to 0.99. The adsorption capacities (qm) of S3, S2 and S1 calculated by using the Langmuir model were 8.77 mg/g, 4.81 mg/g, and 4.74 mg/g, respectively. The kinetics of Cr(VI) adsorption followed the pseudo-second-order model as determined by the stronger correlation (r2 ranging from 0.971 to 0.992) and higher agreement between qe and qexp.

• Investigation on Ecological Parameters of Dyeing Organic Cotton Knitted Fabrics
  Authors: Murugesh Babu K, Selvadass M

  Abstract : In this study, the ecological parameters of the effluent obtained from dyeing of scoured and mercerised organic cotton single jersey fabrics with textile reactive dyes adopting exhaust dyeing method was investigated. The dyes used include regular (Navacron H and FN) reactive dyes and low impact (Remazol and Levafix) reactive dyes along with inorganic salt (sodium sulphate) and biosalt (trisodium citrate). The ecological parameters include chemical oxygen demand (COD), biological oxygen demand (BOD) and total dossolved solids (TDS). The results show that the use of the low impact reactive dyes has greater ecological advantages as it reduces the COD, BOD and TDS of the effluent considerably. Further, the use of the biosalt in the dye bath as replacement for the inorganic salt reduces the COD and TDS value significantly but will also increase the BOD of the effluent.

• Potential of Ricinus Communis L. and Brassica Juncea (L.) Czern. under natural and induced Pb Phytoextraction
  Authors: T.A. Siva Ananthi, R.S. Meerabai and R. Krishnasamy

  Abstract : Put "metal into the petal" of plants which literally means bioavailability and translocation of the heavy metal to the plants is an important factor in phytoextraction. A greenhouse experiments was conducted to study potential of Ricinus communis and Brassica juncea in metal accumulation at different concentration of Pb and also the effect of the application of two different chelators i.e., EDTA and Citric acid, on the Pb phytoextraction was studied in an artificially contaminated soil. Ricinus communis and Brassica juncea accumulated high concentrations of Pb in its shoots but the biomass, root and shoot length of Brassica juncea was highly affected due to increased Pb accumulation. Ricinus communis showed high tolerance to Pb since the biomass, root and shoot length of the plant was not affected. Chelators had a potential role in enhancing Pb content in both the plants. The results analysed for metal extraction using chelates revealed that EDTA treated pots increased Pb concentration in Ricinus communis and Brassica juncea compared to citric acid treated pots and untreated pots (control). Both the plants showed high phytoextraction levels but the growth of Brassica juncea was impaired at high levels of Pb and can be used in marginally polluted soils.

• The pilot study of COD Removal in Industrial complex effluent by wetland plants Cyperus rotundus Linn.
  Authors: Satish S. Patel, Vediya S.D, Chavda Gajendra, Parmar Divyaraj and Rathod Nilesh

  Abstract : Present study was carried out to determine the high COD of GIDC (Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation) areas. One of the burning problems of Industrial society is the high consumption of water and the high demand for clean drinking water. Numerous approaches have been taken to reduce water consumption, but in the long run it seems only possible to recycle wastewater into high quality water. In this study, an attempt was made to compare the efficiency of grass lend plants like Cyperus rotundus Linn. To treat the effluents from GIDC Common treatment plant (NEPL-Naroda Enviro Projects Ltd.) in constructed wetlands DF system beds. The chemical oxygen demand of Complex effluent was reduced significantly after treatment. The Cyperus Rotundus. based treatment system was the most efficient in removing the pollutants from the effluent. So in conclusion, Cyperus species were more efficient than the constructed wetland technology.

• Evaluation of the Reproductive Potential of Bivoltine Silkworm Hybrids of Bombyx Mori L under High Temperature and High Humidity and High Temperature and Low Humidity Conditions of the Tropics
  Authors: N. Suresh Kumar and Harjeet Singh

  Abstract : The challenging task of breeders is to develop silkworm breeds which can produce eggs under prevailing conditions of temperature and humidity. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the reproductive potential of single and double hybrids under high temperature and high humidity as well as high temperature and low humidity conditions of the tropics. The moth emergence percentage, laying recovery percentage, egg recovery/kg cocoon, number of eggs/gram and percentage of unfertilized eggs were calculated and compared among single and double hybrids.

• Groundwater fluctuation in the Pondhra Watershed Basin of Karmala Tahsil, Solapur (MS)
  Authors: Pandurang Patil and Praveen G. Saptarshi

  Abstract : Depletion of groundwater has become a problem in the rural sector. It has bearing on converging the source by technological intervention which has led to deprivation of poor section of the society. The present study has attempted to understand the causes and effect of well water depletion by selecting a small watershed viz. Pondhra basin in the Karmala tahsil of Solpur District, Maharashtra. The paper concludes that the fluctuation of well water is maximum near the water divide and hence there is need for the watershed development programmes in the basin. The average fluctuation in the basin is found to be 4.53 m. The water level fluctuation is highest in the village Morwad i.e 5.68 and lowest in the village Vit and Undergaon i.e 2 m. The average rainfall in the basin is 567 mm with high spatial variation (Standard Deviation 28.66 mm).The study further concludes that such programmes should be planned taking into account the site factors.

SHORT COMMUNICATION

• New Locality Record of Brown Vine Snake Ahaetulla pulverulenta in Seshachalam Biosphere Reserve, Eastern Ghats, Andhra Pradesh, India
  Authors: Bubesh Guptha M, Chalapathi Rao P V, Sivaram Prasad N V. and Madhu Babu P

  Abstract : Brown vine snake Ahaetulla pulverulenta is a very uncommon species which was known to occur in India along the Western Ghats from Gujarat to Kerala, Tamil Nadu in Alagarkoil Hills and Sundarbans. Totally 42 field days were spent to rapidly assess the Herpetofauna during August 2011 to June 2012 with the objective to determine the present distribution and presence of the herpetofauna species. Data collection will be carried out by using Visual Encounter Survey Method. We report sighting Brown vine snake Ahaetulla pulverulenta in Tirumala Hills, Andhra Pradesh on 9th June 2012 arround 1130 hrs during our field survey. . We found the snake near the Cottage (ANC 437) close to Tirumala temple. With the addition of Brown vine snake Ahaetulla pulverulenta, the number reaches 42. Also everyone should realise that the protection of habitat is an important aspect in conservation of such species.