Background: Chickpea is one of the major legume crops being cultivated in the arid and semi-arid regions of Pakistan. It is mainly grown on the marginal areas where, terminal drought stress is one of the serious threats to its productivity. For defining the appropriate selection criteria for screening drought tolerant chickpea genotypes, present study was conducted. Distinct chickpea germplasm was collected from different pulses breeding institutes of Pakistan and evaluated for drought tolerance at germination and early seedling stages, furthermore, at late vegetative growth stages physiochemical traits and multi-environment yield performance were also tested. Results: Chickpea genotypes under different environments, were significantly varied for different seedling traits, physio-chemical attributes and seed yield. Genotypes showing drought tolerance by performing better at an early seedling stages were not correspondingly high yielding. Screening for drought tolerance on seed yield basis is the most appropriate trait to develop the drought tolerant as well as high yielding chickpea genotypes. Results confirmed that traits of early growth stages were not reflecting the drought tolerance at terminal growth stages and also did not confer high yielding. NIAB-rain fed environment proved ideal in nature to screen the chickpea genotypes whereas, NIAB-lysimeter and Kalur Kot was least effective for selecting genotypes with high seed yield. Genotypes D0091

Two commercial strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Saf-Instant (Baker's yeast) and Ethanol red (Mutant) were compared for ethanol production during hot summer season, using molasses diluted up to 6-7° Brix containing 4%-5% sugars. The yeasts were propagated in fermentation vessels to study the effects of yeast cell count and varying concentrations of Urea, DAP, inoculum size and Lactrol (Antibiotic). Continuous circulation of mash was maintained for 24 hours and after this fermenter was allowed to stay for a period of 16 hours to give time for maximum conversion of sugars into ethanol. Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain (Saf-instant) with cell concentration of 400 millions/mL at molasses sugar level of 13%–15% (pH 4.6 ± 0.2, Temp. 32°C ± 1), inoculum size of 25% (v/v), urea concentration, 150 ppm, DAP, 53.4 ppm and Lactrol,150 ppm supported maximum ethanol production (8.8%) with YP/S = 250 L ethanol per tone molasses (96.5% yield), and had significantly lower concentrations of byproducts. By selecting higher ethanol yielding yeast strain and optimizing the fermentation parameters both yield and economics of the fermentation process can be improved.

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Background: Most of the medicinal plants are available as wild or weeds in the world including Pakistan. It was reported by many researchers that Pakistan is rich with medicinal flora based upon the surveys conducted in the Northern areas but still there are some areas other than Northern parts in Pakistan that has not been studied so far. There is a need to explore the medicinal flora from neglected area where most of the people still rely on local medicinal plants to cure their diseases by means of indigenous knowledge. District Gujrat is among those area that has not been explored to study the medicinal flora.Methods: Surveys were conducted to collect the indigenous knowledge and medicinal significance of seasonal weeds in Gujrat, Punjab, Pakistan in winter 2018 and summer 2019. Information collected through questionnaire and interviews.Results: Weeds have much importance among local inhabitants to cure many diseases as respiratory disorders, kidney and liver disorders, muscle and skeletal disorders, ear, nose and throat problems, dermatological disorders, fever, diabetes, cancer etc. The plant parts and its percentage used by local inhabitants were leaves (58%), fruits (36%), seeds (25%), whole plant (34%), roots (32%), milky latex (1%), flowers (8%) and stem (3%). The most important families were Asteraceae, Poaceae, Fabaceae, Polygonaceae and Solanaceae. Cichorium intybus L. (Asteraceae) had 100% Fidelity Level (FL) value as liver tonic and blood purifier. Highest 0.76 Informant Consensus Factor (ICF) values were noted against stomach, gastric, intestinal and digestive problems. Achyranthes aspera L. (Amaranthaceae) showed the highest Fidelity Level (FL) values that was 93% used gastrointestinal disorders and menstrual pain.Conclusions: It was concluded that the area of Gujrat, Punjab, Pakistan is a rich source of important medicinal weeds that needs to be utilized for useful medicinal purpose. There is need to create awareness among the farmers and local people about the efficacy of weeds.

Background: Almost every region of the world is stacked with a large number of medicinal plants. Medicinal plants are the major source to cure many diseases among the peoples of the world. There are still many areas in the world which have not been explored for its flora. Pakistan is also a rich with variety of flora but still there are some areas which need to be studied. This study was conducted to enlist the wild ethnomedicinally important plant species and traditional medicinal knowledge of Gojra,

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SummaryIntroduction: Medicinal plants are the natural source of medicines used in treatment of many diseases among local communities of various countries. It is also the raw material for the pharmaceutical industry. Pakistan is a country with a variety of medicinal plants, comprehensively studied in some areas, while others still need more studies of their flora.Objectives: The study was performed to catalogue the flora of district Gujrat, Punjab, Pakistan and to assess its ethnomedicinal importance.Methods: A field survey was conducted in the Gujrat district (including Sarai Alamgir, Gujrat and Kharian) in 2019–2020 to collect the flora. Nearly 200 people of various age groups were interviewed and the questionnaire was filled, the gender and professions of the participants were also noted.Results: The plant species collected belonged to 32 different Angiosperm families i.e. Poaceae, Brassicaceae, Fabaceae, Asteraceae, Moraceae, Amaranthaceae, Apiaceae, Myrtaceae, Rutaceae, Solanaceae, Malvaceae, Euphorbiaceae and Lamiaceae. The obtained material consisted of 30 herbs, 20 shrubs and 22 trees. The floral parts used most often were leaves (63%) followed by: flower (41%), fruit (28%), stem (16%), seed (16%), bark (14%), root (13%), whole plant (12%), underground part (3%) and latex (3%). According to the study, the highest RFC (Relative Frequency of Citation) values were 0.1 in Cassia fistula L. (0.25) and the smallest RFC values were observed in Stellaria media (L.) Vill. – 0.025. The highest UV (Use Values) were noted for Achyranthes aspera L. at 0.9. In disease category, the highest value (0.67) of ICF (Informant Consensus Factor) was observed for stomach and skin infections, while the lowest ICF value was noted for diabetes and gonorrhoea (0.27).Conclusions: It was concluded that the Gujrat district is rich in useful plants that can be used in the preparation of various medicines as well as be sold on the herbal market.

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