Earthworm has caught imagination of philosophers like Pascal and Thoreau. Yet its role in the nutrition of agricultural fields has attracted attention of researchers worldwide only in recent decades. Waste management is considered as an integral part of a sustainable society, thereby necessitating diversion of biodegradable fractions of the societal waste from landfill into alternative management processes such as vermicomposting. Earthworms excreta (vermicast) is a nutritive organic fertilizer rich in humus, NPK, micronutrients, beneficial soil microbes; nitrogen-fixing, phosphate solubilizing bacteria, actinomycets and growth hormones auxins, gibberlins & cytokinins. Both vermicompost & its body liquid (vermiwash) are proven as both growth promoters & protectors for crop plants. We discuss about the worms composting technology, its importance, use and some salient results obtained in the globe so far in this review update of vermicompost research

Antifeeding and toxic eVects of chemical extracts from Porteresia coarctata Takeoka on the insect pest Spodoptera litura (F.) were investigated in the laboratory. Hexane extracts of P. coarctata leaves were re-dissolved in dimethyl sulfoxide and applied in water to leaves of Ricinus communis L. (castor). A concentration of 1,000 and 2,000 ppm extract exhibited signiWcant antifeeding and toxic eVects to third instar larvae when compared to the same concentration of dimethyl sulfoxide in water as control. One day after feeding on extract-treated castor leaves, the mortality of S. litura larvae was 50%. Mortality increased to 95% after 11 days at a dosage of 2,000 ppm. Compared to the control, third instar larvae fed on castor leaves treated with P. coarctata leaf extract at diVerent concentrations showed signiWcant reduction in protein and DNA content in the fat body and midgut tissues. Results demonstrate the insecticidal and antifeedant properties of P. coarctata leaf extract against the generalist pest S. litura leading to biochemical changes in the insect body. Thus, P. coarctata contains phytochemicals, and the extract, in crude and pure form, has potential as a botanical insecticide in alternative control strategies against Lepidoptera pests.

Direct-seeded rice (DSR) seeds are often exposed to multiple environmental stresses in the field, leading to poor emergence, growth and productivity. Appropriate seed priming agents may help to overcome these challenges by ensuring uniform seed germination, and better seedling stand establishment. To examine the effectiveness of sodium selenite (Na-selenite), sodium selenate (Na-selenate), zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs), and their combinations as priming agents for DSR seeds, a controlled pot experiment followed by a field experiment over two consecutive years was conducted on a sandy clay loam soil (Inceptisol) in West Bengal, India. Priming with combinations of all priming agents had advantages over the hydro-priming treatment (control). All the combinations of the three priming agents resulted in the early emergence of seedlings with improved vigour. In the field experiment, all the combinations increased the plant chlorophyll, phenol and protein contents, leaf area index and duration, crop growth rate, uptake of nutrients (N, P, K, B, Zn and Si), and yield of DSR over the control. Our findings suggest that seed priming with the combination of ZnO-NPs, Na-selenite, and Na-selenate could be a viable option for the risk mitigation in DSR.

in I Arunava_Goswami@brown.edu [A. G.] I sujit@isical.ac.in [S.A.]New ideas in the development of the intelligent nanomaterials miniaturized at the nanometer sizes gained substantial interest because of the wide range of their technological purposes. The recognition of the ultimate limits of computation has also lead computer scientists to seek inspiration from nanobiology. Because living organisms function with nanoscale buildings blocks and exploit collective quantum effects and thermal energy. This is necessary for the survival in its "living" thermodynamic status. The hope to break the barrier of miniaturization seems to lie in the knowledge of the self-organization mechanism of living objects. Furthermore, knowledge about the mesoscopic scale might be able to explain the self-assembly and the working regime of the simplest organisms created by nature. In solid-state physics and electronics, a large variety of different non-equilibrium phenomena accompany with the spontaneous self-assembly of the spatial and the spatio-temporal patterns in the nano-size objects. First, we present a recent update of the different nanomaterials experimentally or commercially produced which have been successfully applied in complex biological systems. Finally, we give examples of our pioneering research on 'cancer' and 'agricultural biotechnology' to provide readers better vistas about the enormous growth potential of nanotechnology in coming years. We have developed an international nanosilica network to do research on cancer biology and agricultural biotechnology. Surface modified hydrophobic and lipophilic nanosilica developed by us has already attracted huge investments in different parts of the globe. We also propose a nanoparticle assisted cybernetic approach, which could be used for early cancer detection in future.

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