Kamalpreet Kaur

Stress, coping mechanisms and its socio-economic impact on organisations-A review

This review paper examines the effects of work stress on organisational economy because satisfaction level of organisation have not been fulfilled and higher pressure for work has been created on employees to attain the desired goals. Home issues also affect the employees performance in the job that directly affects the economy of an organisation. Therefore, stress is another name of job risk or threat. Work stress on employees created harmful effect on their health and cause some disorders such as physical and mental malfunctioning. This review paper will highlight the various forms of stress, its causes, effect on organisational economy and its copping mechanism.

Direct seeded rice for sustainable agriculture in Punjab

A survey was undertaken to study the socio-personal characteristics and prospects of direct seeded rice in Punjab covering five districts viz., Moga, Mukatsar Sahib, Faridkot, Sangrur and Patiala. From each district one village and from each village 15 farmers were selected randomly. The data were collected by using personal interview method. The socio-personal characteristics of direct seeded rice growers were studied. It was observed that majority of the DSR respondents in the age group of 41–58 years, educated up to matric, had medium operational land holding, had medium mass media exposure and had low extension contacts. Majority of respondents growing direct seeded rice had high level of economic motivation. Questions were asked from the farmers regarding the prospects of direct seeded rice. The results revealed that more than 53.33 percent of the respondents were willing to increase the area under direct seeded rice. This was due to the reasons that DSR is a profitable enterprise, it increase the income by reducing the labour cost, while 46.67 percent of the respondents was willing to keep the area constant under direct seeded rice. This was due to the reason that though DSR is profitable, it involves weed problem which requires too much hard work to control.

Efficacy of Decontaminating Agents for Raw Vegetable Consumption and Sensory Screening

Sanitization of vegetables consumed raw has tremendous importance due to health risks associated with food-borne pathogens. This study elaborated the effectiveness of varied concentrations of disinfectants used for washing fresh carrot vegetable against five potential pathogens. The pathogens were identified during the course study and compared with MTCC standard cultures. It was found that induction of 50percent killing against five pathogens viz. Aeromonas hydrophila, Shigella flexneri, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Listeria monocytogenes required concentration (LC50) of Sodium hypochlorite upto 100ppm, Citric acid upto 1000ppm, Lactic acid 724ppm, CaO 2570ppm, Tannic acid 794ppm and Cineole 100ppm with 5minutes washing period. Of the entire chemical tested, sensory scoring for vegetable taste, acidic taste the overall appreciation of citric acid corroborates its use as an effective sanitizing agent to treat vegetables. Cineole on the other hand has high response value at 69ppm but loose appreciation due to poor odour and taste. The purpose of the study is to establish current state of intervention for maintaining the high microbial safety of fresh vegetables consumed raw as intended health benefits. Organic acids like citric and lactic acid can be used in food industry as emerging sanitation strategy with minimum contact time and consumers palatability.

Occurrence and Virulence Characterization of Aeromonas hydrophila in Salad Vegetables from Punjab, India

Aeromonas hydrophila is quotidian waterborne microorganisms that is often enlaced as a causative agent of clinical infections and has been isolated from animal and plant based food products [1]. It is gram-negative, facultative anaerobe, non-spore forming, rodshaped motile, catalase, oxidase and positive. The genus is made up of psychrophiles and mesophiles. A. hydrophila is frequently known to cause human infections such as septicemia, gastroenteritis and cellulitis, wound sepsis with necrosis, gangrene, pneumonia and traveler’s diarrhea resulting from improper handling and consumption of contaminated food [2]. Aeromonas presently is considered as food-borne pathogen of emerging importance and is not listed in the Contaminant Candidate List of food. It has gained attention for potential to grow at refrigeration temperature, association with salad vegetables, assistance of antibiotic resistance and the capability to persist safety treatments in food [3]. Virulence gene detection is important to determine the potential pathogenicity of Aeromonas [4] due to the involvement of pathogenic genes and extracellular proteins including enterotoxin, hemolysin, aerolysin, various hydrolytic International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences ISSN: 2319-7706 Volume 6 Number 11 (2017) pp. 693-707 Journal homepage: http://www.ijcmas.com

Rapeseed and mustard cultivation in Bathinda district-An appraisal of productivity and profitability

An attempt has been made in this study (1) to estimate the costs and returns structure in the production of rapeseed and mustard (2) to ascertain the gaps in productivity of rapeseed and mustard at various levels i.e. at actual farm, state and district levels and and (3)to identify the constraints in the production of rapeseed and mustard and suggest measures for improving production and productivity of rapeseed and mustard in Bathinda district of Punjab. Primary data during 2015–16 were collected from 80 farmers comprised of 27 small, 47 medium and 6 large farmers from four villages of Talwandi Sabo and Sangat blocks of Bathinda district. The total fixed costs per acre were estimated to be Rs.7277.90, Rs.7312.94 and Rs.4974.27 while per acre total variable costs came out to be Rs.7612.87, Rs.7311.01 and Rs.7138.11 respectively on the small, medium and large farms. The returns over variable costs were found highest on large farms (Rs.15545.05) as compared to medium (Rs.12951.18) and small (Rs.11908.51) farms. Total cost per quintal of output was estimated to be the lowest on the large farms(Rs.2053.66) which might be due to operation of economies of scale. The per cent profit margin was estimated to be 23.72, 27.82 and 46.60 per cent on small, medium and large farms respectively. The results of productivity analysis showed that at overall the actual yield was found less than the yield of PAU recommended variety (PBR 357) by 3.50 quintal per acre. This gap could be narrowed down by making available better quality farm inputs, control of pesticides and insecticides, weed control and disease management. High cost of inputs, shortage of labour, non-availability of quality inputs particularly plant protection chemicals, incidence of pests and diseases were important production constraints and overcoming these constraints is critical for improving production and productivity of rapeseed and mustard in the district. Major avenues for future increase in rapeseed and mustard production are expected to come from enhancement in productivity of this crop. A combination of high yielding varieties and hybrids and efficient crop management needs to be adopted.