A field experiment was conducted at two locations i.e. at Soil Science Field of Bangladesh Agricultural University and at Farmer’s field of Fakirakanda village of Mymensingh Sadar to evaluate the effects of different organic fertilizers on the growth and yield of rice (BRRI dhan28). The experiments at each location containing seven treatments were laid out in a randomized complete block design with three replications. The treatments were T0: Control, T1: 75% RFD; T2: 100% RFD, T3: 75% RFD + Kazi Jaibo Shar (5 tha-1), T4: 75% RFD + Kazi Jaibo Shar (3 t ha-1), T5: 75% RFD + Poultry manure (3 t ha-1) and T6: 75% RFD + Cow dung (5 t ha-1). Application of poultry manure as well as Kazi Jaibo Shar showed positive effects on yield attributes, grain and straw yields of rice, nutrient (N, P, K and S) contents and uptake by grain, straw and in total. The performance of 75% RFD with poultry manure @ 3 t ha-1 was the best in producing yield components, grain and straw yields of rice. At both locations, the performance of same dose (3 t ha-1) of poultry manure and Kazi Jaibo Shar was almost similar in producing growth and yield contributing characters, grain and straw yields, - nutrient content and uptake by rice while each of these manures compensated up to 25% of recommended chemical fertilizers. Therefore, considering the soil health, poultry manure or Kazi Jaibo Shar @ 3 t ha-1 is recommended for growth and yield enhancement in rice. SAARC J. Agri., 16(2): 153-166 (2018)

The present investigation aimed to study the influance of some soybean varieties (Karfordid, Giza 22 and Giza 21) under the effect of different potassium fertilization levels (zero, 25, 50 and 75) kg potassium sulphate /feddan). Effects of some chemical contents (protein, carbohydrate and pH values) on the infestation of aphids, leafhoppers, trips and whitefly insects were also investigated. The obtained results showed pronounced differences in the population density of these insects under test as influenced by the aforementioned agricultural practices. The tested soybean varieties can be arranged descending according to the degree of infestation with insects as following Giza 21, Giza 22 and Karfordid. Chemical analysis results showed a positive relationship between protein and carbohydrate contents and aphids, leafhoppers, whitefly and thrips infestation in soybean varieties, while reverse relationship between pH values and insect infestation. Negative relationship between insect infestation and quantity of yield was also recorded. Therefore, it could be recommended that potassium fertilization 75 kg potassium sulphate /feddan along with the most suitable plant variety must be included in the integrated pest management programs of soybean plants.

This paper documents an undergraduate course at Hunter College, in which one instructor, six undergraduates, and one high school student built 17 machine translation systems in six months from scratch. The team successfully participated in the second Conference on Machine Translation (WMT17) evaluation on the news task in Finnish-English and Latvian-English and on the bio-medical task in French-English, English-French, English-German, English-Romanian, and English-Polish.

A study was conducted at Zifta district, Gharbia governorate, at middle delta region of Egypt during seven successive seasons of 2009-2015 to study the genetic variability and heritability for some plant and fruit characteristics in tomato. Fifteen F7 lines were selected from 4 F2 generations of six generations of selection. The estimated coefficient of variance (C.V %) values (degree of homogeneity) differed among the studied genotypes for the same character and from trait to another of the same genotype. The selected genotypes were enough homogenous for the studied traits and then it could be considered as new lines. A great diversity and significant differences were observed among the fifteen selected genotypes for all studied traits. The lines S. 209, were considered the best lines for yield and fruit quality traits, and could be used in breeding programs to develop new local F1 hybrids of tomato. The results showed high values for genotypic coefficient of variation (G.C.V %) compared with the phenotypic coefficient of variation (P.C.V %) and high heritability in broad sense (h 2 bs) for all studied traits.