Introduction The spotted oriental cucumber beetle E.chrysomelina (F.) is an important pest which feeding onmany vegetable crops. It attacks plants specially members of the family Cucurbitaceae like pumpkin, sweet gourd, bittergourd, cucumber, Cucumis mello, Cucurbita pepoand Citrullus lanatus ( Talhoq, 1982 ). According to the Maps of Plant Pests of 1980 and 1990 the spread of E. chrysomelina within the scope of many of the cities of the world. The temperature is the main facto...

Introduction Atmospheric particles of biological origin are diverse group of microorganisms and their execrations. Airborne microorganisms originate from many sources: animal, human, and vegetation. The number and composition of airborne microorganisms have increased in the urban and rural areas.1 The presence of microorganisms depends on seasonality, geographical conditions, meteorological factors, type of sources,2,3,4 and air pollution.5 Airborne microorganisms m...

Introduction Exposure to arsenic can result in a variety of health problems in humans, including various forms of cancer (e.g. skin, lung, and bladder), cardiovascular and peripheral vascular disease, and diabetes. Human encounter arsenic from natural and anthropogenic sources (Henke, 2009). Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) specified that the arsenic contamination in drinking water should be less than 10 µg/l. In case of soils used for agriculture and for other usages, the...

Introduction Organophosphate pesticides (OPs) are the ester forms of phosphoric acid usually considered as secure for agriculture uses due to their relatively fast degradation rates.1 Although the degradation of OPs is a linear function of microbial composition, pH, temperature, structural arrangement etc. OPs inhibit acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity not only in insects only, but can also affect the nervous system of other organisms as well as humans.1-3 Literature data illustrat...

Introduction Fruits make important diet for human beings. The high concentration of various sugars, minerals, vitamins and amino acids also provide a good platform for the successful growth and survival of various parasitic and saprophytic forms of fungi (Fatima et al., 2010). Fruits are highly perishable and maintain an active metabolism during the storage phase. During post harvest period diseases can affect the quality of fruits. Post harvest deterioration of fruits may take place in any s...

Introduction Cd is a non essential heavy metal, mainly used for rechargeable nickel-cadmium batteries, pigments, coatings and plating, and as stabilizers for plastics.1 Cadmium naturally occurs in the aquatic environment, but is of no known biological use and is considered one of the most toxic metals.2 Inhalation of cadmium-containing fumes can result initially in metal fume fever but may progress to chemical pnemonitis, pulmonary edema,3 Itai-itai disease, renal a...

Introduction Herbicides belong to the class of pesticides that are used to control undesirable or noxious plant growth, generally weeds, in the crop production. These are also used in non-crop areas, where it is necessary to limit the plant growth.1 They are, therefore, also called weed killers. Herbicide usage has increased dramatically during the last two decades coinciding with the change in farming practices and increasingly intensive agriculture.2 Herbicides show a wide...

Introduction  The rapid increasing population in urban areas led to anthropogenic activities and fossil fuel combustion. Emissions from road traffic that uses fossil fuel, industry, agriculture, sewage sludge, and waste incineration are the chief sources of air pollution.1,2 Air pollutants especially heavy metals are hazardous and toxic to human beings depending on their concentrations in the food stuff.3,4 Presence of airborne heavy metals in vegetable crops above the permi...

Introduction Azraq basin is located in the Northeastern part of Jordan and extends northwards into Syria and southwards into Saudi Arabia. The Azraq Oasis (called locally Sabkhah or Qa’a Azraq) which is located in the central part of the basin is at a distance of about 120 km northeast of Amman. Qa’a Azraq is a relative large mudflat located in the central part of the basin. Two villages are located on the western side of the Qa’a Azraq; these are Azraq Shishan a...

Introduction Complex electronic chemistry of heavy metals viz.Cr+6, Pb, Cd and Ni have been a major hurdle in unraveling its toxicity mechanism in soil and plants.1 Heavy metal toxicity in plants is observed at multiple levels from reduced yield, through effects on leaf and root growth, to inhibition an enzymatic activities and mutagenesis. The area under present investigation is a large industrial area with two cement plants running for a very long time along the roadside on NH 89. ...

Introduction Heavy metals find their entry into food from natural sources like soil, air and water through wastewater irrigation, solid waste disposal, mining, smelting, sludge applications, vehicular exhaust, fertilizers, fungicides and industrial activities.1 Muhammed et al., 2008).2 Radwan and Salama, 2006). Consumption of food crops contaminated with heavy metals is a major food chain route for human exposure3 Khan et al., 2008). The absorption of heavy metals in the system varie...

Introduction Since 2004, with the development of the “Manila Policy Dialogue on Environment and Transport in the Asian Region”, United Nations Centre for Regional Development, UNCRD, in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment of Japan, has sought to create a new paradigm in transport practices for the region. With the assistance of world-leading sustainable transport experts and governmental partners, UNCRD developed the “Aichi Statement” in 2005...

Introduction Current world environment is increasingly getting polluted with a new entrant called Electronic pollution which is invisible. Extraordinary developments in various fields of science and technology in last few decades have increased the human involvement deeply into the natural environment, its related ecological, biological and physical systems resulting in various undesirable and unintentional negative impacts on human health and environment. Rapid development and usage of elect...

Introduction Water quality management is the surface water and groundwater quality control at any time for supplying water at a required quality for a specific use. Long-term strategies for national water resources development in a country is based on water supply, demand management, water reform, compliance with environmental aspects, and finally management of the water consumer’s activities. Identifying and estimating the basic parameters which affect the quality of water resource...

Introduction Groundwater constitutes about 20 percent of the world's fresh water supply, which is approximately 0.61% of the entire world's water, including oceans and permanent ice. Global groundwater storage is roughly equal to the total amount of freshwater stored in the snow and ice caps, including the north and south poles. In India more than 90% of the rural population and nearly 30% of the urban population depend on groundwater for drinking purpose (NRSA, 2008). Groundw...

Inroduction Groundwater quality assessment is important in order to ensure sustainable safe use of water. Water quality index, based on some very important water quality parameters, can provide a simple indicator of water quality at a certain location and time. Ramakrishnaiah  et al., (2009) calculated the water quality index (WQI) for the groundwater of Tumkur taluk. Yogendra K et al., (2007) worked out the water quality index of an urban water body, Gopishettykere, in Shimoga Town,...

Introduction Mysore covers the geographical area of 6763.82 Sq Km. The district comprises of 1203 inhabited villages with 236 grama panchayats and 9 townships. Mysore is divided into 7 taluks namely H.D Kote, Hunsur, K.R.Nagar, Mysore city, Nanjangud, Periyapatna and T. Narasipura. Mysore district fall in the survey of India degree sheet nos. 48P, 57H and 58A. The district is situated between north Latitudes 11°45' – 12°40' and east Longitudes 75&...

Introduction Plastics are one of the major parts of municipal waste.1 Most of the studies developed by blending petroleum based polymers with natural biodegradable materials that not only conserved the environment, petroleum reserves and landfills but also decrease the CO2 production and generally culminate to the sustainable development. The biodegradable polymers are the materials that converted in to the natural compounds of water, CO2, methane and other biological component by mi...

Introduction China is experiencing rapid urban growth. Mounting population, industrialization, urbanization, and changing life style are resulting in the random generation and disposal of wastewater which in turns pollute the water environment. Nowadays, domestic wastewater has been widely studied by many researchers using different treatment processes, either by application of high-rate aerobic systems,1, 2, 3 or by application of low-rate systems3 and vertical flow constru...

Introduction Psoralea corylifolia L. is an important medicinal plant found in the tropical and subtropical regions of the world. It was found to synthesize diverse phenyl propanoids such as furanocoumarins, isoflavonoids etc.1-2 These compounds are mainly used to cure leucoderma, leprosy, psoriasis and inflammatory diseases of skin.3 The review reveals that it possess important activities like antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antitumour, hepatoprotective, antioxidant and an...