Poor crop establishment was identi®ed as a major constraint on rainfed crop production by farmers in the tribal villages of Rajasthan, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh served by the Krishak Bharati Cooperative (KRIBHCO) Indo-British Rainfed Farming Project (KRIBP). On-farm seed priming with water was chosen as a low cost, low risk intervention appropriate to the farmers' needs. In vitro screening of the eects of priming on the germination of seeds of local and improved varieties of maize, upland rice and chickpea provided`safe limits' ± the maximum length of time for which farmers should prime seeds and which, if exceeded, could lead to seed or seedling damage. Recommended safe limits were 24 h for maize and rice and 10 h for chickpea, with only minor varietal dierences. These recommendations were then tested in on-station trials in Dahod, Gujarat. Farmer-managed trials were conducted for chickpea in three villages in the rabi (post-monsoon) season in 1995±96; for maize and upland rice in eight villages in the kharif (monsoon) season in 1996; and for maize and chickpea in 15 villages in the 1996±97 rabi season. Farmers modi®ed these recommendations to`overnight' for all three crops. Evaluation of the technology by farmers involved focus group discussions, matrix ranking exercises and two workshops.Direct bene®ts in all three crops included faster emergence, better stands and a lower incidence of re-sowing, more vigorous plants, better drought tolerance, earlier¯owering, earlier harvest and higher grain yield. Indirect bene®ts reported were earlier sowing of rabi crops because of the shorter duration of the preceding kharif crop, earlier harvesting of rabi crops that allowed earlier migration from the area, with better chance of obtaining o-season work, and increased willingness to use fertilizers because of reduced risk of crop failure. In matrix ranking exercises in four villages in the kharif 1996, 95% of farmers indicated that, even after only one exposure to the technology, they would prime seed in the following season. Similar exercises in four villages in rabi 1996±97 revealed that 100% of collaborating farmers intended to continue seed priming. From 21 villages, 246 farmers attended two workshops to share their experiences of seed priming and resolved to continue with the technology.

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Study was conducted to investigate the dyeing potential of Quercus robur L. (fruit cups) dye and Salix alba L. (wood extract) mordant on wool and pashmina fabrics. The experiment was conducted keeping in view the environmental safety by using unutilized plant materials and excluding the usage of chemical agents. The dyeing was carried out individually including and excluding mordant adopting different mordanting methods. The parameters like percent absorption, colour coordinates, colour strength (K/S), relative colour strength and colour fastness with regard to washing, light and rubbing were investigated. The results revealed higher percent absorption of mordanted samples than unmordanted samples. Colour coordinates (L*a*b*, Chroma, hue and ∆E) of dyed wool and pashmina fabric exhibited satisfactory results. The colour strength (K/S) and relative colour strength of pashmina fabric recorded higher than wool fabric. The fastness properties to washing, light and rubbing showed satisfactory grades including and excluding natural mordant. However, the grades of mordanted samples were found better than unmordanted samples. The dye and mordant in isolation and in combination showed beautiful colours and shades on selected fabrics with satisfactory retention properties, hence can be utilized commercially for coloration of wool and pashmina fabrics.

Cancer is one of the leading causes of death world-wide. Apart from the most common etiopathological factors related to cancer, at times very rare causes such as irritant or foreign body induced carcinogenesis is not to be overlooked. To systematically review case reports concerned with the association between dental implants and oral squamous cell carcinoma. A Medline (PubMed), Cochrane database, and Google Scholar search was conducted of dental article published in English related to case reports concerned with oral squamous cell carcinoma occurring around dental implants from 2000 to 2014. Twenty articles were retrieved, which included 20 rare case reports which were systematically reviewed and the results were obtained pertaining to age, clinical symptoms, habits, previous history of cancer, potentially malignant disorders, systemic illness, and local factors. It is imperative to identify promptly persisting inflammation associated with implants. Since malignancy may disguise as periimplantitis, especially in patients who are at risk with contributing prominent predisposing factors.

Silvar Thiosulphate (50-ppm) were used as vase solution to increase post-harvest life of gerbera. Minimum score for petal discoloration (1.6) and flower freshness (3.8) was found from T9. Stem bending (13.7 days), petal discoloration (10.5 days) and petal shriveling (13.3 days) were also found to be delay in T9 treatment. Maximum stem diameter (7.2 mm), solution uptake (72.7 ml), petal water content (72.7%) and vase life (13.3 days) was found from T9 followed by T6. Sugar + Silvar Thiosulphate and Sugar + Citric Acid can lead to extend longevity of cut gerbera by reducing the fungal infection also by increasing solution uptake and supplementing carbohydrate.

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