• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.31-39
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• 2015

Antheraea mylitta Drury (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae) is a commercial silk producing forest insect of India, but it has never been experimented in Uttarakhand state in spite of the huge availability of its forestry host plants. This is the first study on A. mylitta in Uttarakhand. The goal of this study is to introduce forest based commercial rearing of A. mylitta, in tropical forest areas of Uttarakhand to reduce poverty among forest dependent people. In current study, we assessed the effect of seven forest tree species, rearing seasons, and their interactions on cocoon productivity of Daba (bivoltine) ecorace of A. mylitta in the New Forest of FRI, Dehra Dun during 2012 and 2013 and collected the data that was analysed by two-way completely randomized block factorial design. Post HOC Tukey's HSD test was carried out to compare the homogeneous pairs of means. We also carried out Evaluation Index analysis to rank the tested forestry host plants for better growth and development of A. mylitta under the climatic condition of Uttarakhand. Analysis of variance indicated that cocoon yield of A. mylitta differed significantly between rearing seasons (DF=1, F=88.24, p<0.05) and host plants (DF 6, F= 368.63, p<0.05); however, their interactions were found insignificant (DF=6, F=0.99, p>0.05). In first rearing season of July-August, there was higher cocoon yield than the second season of September-November. Results indicated that Terminalia alata fed larvae showed significantly higher cocoon yield (164.11 cocoons/300 larvae); followed by, T. tomentosa (148.89 cocoons), T. arjuna (140.00 cocoons) and Lagerstroemia speciosa (129.47 cocoons) fed larvae. Whereas, Lagerstroemia tomentosa fed larvae that was used by the first time in India, showed lowest cocoon yield (48.81 cocoons), followed by T. chebula (72.53 cocoons) fed larvae. Cocoon yield of T. tomentosa and T. arjuna fed larvae of A. mylitta did not differ significantly with each other.

• ALGAE
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.177-186
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• 2008

The present paper consists of 42 taxa belonging to 7 genera of desmids (green algae) collected from two districts of Garhwal region of Uttarakhand (Western Himalayas). The district Haridwar is located 29° 55’to 29° 59’N latitude and 68° 5’to 68° 30’E longitude covering about 2360 km2 area and Dehradun district is situated between 77° 34’to 78° 18’E longitude and 29° 58’to 30° 58’N latitude. Seven genera of desmids are (with number of taxa in parenthesis): Closterium Nitzsch. (9), Cosmarium Corda ex Ralfs (25), Euastrum Ehr. (2), Spondylosium Breb. (1), Micrasterias Ag. (1), Staurastrum Meyen (3), Arthrodesmus Ehr. (1). All these taxa constitute new records for the area. The algal localities are relatively cleaner than those of majority of urban areas. A rich assemblage of desmids shows that water bodies of these hilly areas are still undisturbed and need protection for preservation of algal biodiversity.

• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.23-31
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• 2011

Ever since the dawn of civilization, the ambient vegetation and the resources constituted major source of human existence for various substantial requirements. Our present knowledge on plant resources emerged from the traditional heritable knowledge descended from generation to generation. However, traditional knowledge pertaining to several aspects remained untapped from various remote localities or populations. Furthermore, with the present trends of excessive exploitation of natural resources and degradation of habitats, conservation and ecological management require coherence of traditional skills and modern approaches. Therefore, the present study is to record traditional plant based knowledge among the inhabitants of Siwalik region of Uttarakhand Himalaya. Extensive field survey was made for the collection of data on the medicinal aspects of plant species in the study area covering the parts of districts Pauri, Dehradun and Haridwar. During the course of study 130 plant species belonging to 65 families are reported, used as traditional medicine by the local inhabitants of this region.

• Korean Journal of Plant Taxonomy
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• v.53 no.1
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• pp.65-68
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• 2023

The herb Pedicularis cheilanthifolia var. albida (Pennell) P. C. Tsoong is reported and collected for the first time from the Rudraprayag District of Uttarakhand. The species was seen growing along a glacial stream in an alpine region between 4,100 and 4,400 m asl. Morphological characteristics of the species were examined and processed for herbarium deposition. To simplify taxon identification, a brief taxonomic description and illustration of the taxon are provided.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.1-11
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• 2016

Tropical tasar silkworm, Antheraea mylitta is a commercial forest silkworm in India that produces tasar silk, but never experimented in Uttarakhand, a Himalayan state of India. A. mylitta express divergent phenotypic characters under different ecological conditions; so, we studied the effect of seven forest tree species in two rearing seasons on variability in silk gland weight of Daba (bivoltine) ecorace of A. mylitta at Forest Research Institute in Dehra Dun, Uttarakhand during 2012 and 2013. We used two-way completely randomized block factorial design and Post HOC Tukey's HSD test to analyse the collected data and there after carried out multiple regression analysis. Results indicated that silk gland weight differed significantly between rearing seasons (DF=1, F=2333.98, p <0.05), host plants (DF 6, F= 1516.25, p <0.05) and their interactions (DF=6, F=7.10, p <0.05). Higher silk gland weight was found in second rearing season than the first on all the host tree species. Terminalia alata fed A. mylitta larvae showed the highest silk gland weight of 8.03 and 9.47 g in first and second rearing seasons, followed by T. tomentosa (7.19 & 9.01g), T. arjuna (6.8 & 8.08 g) and L. speciosa (6.57 & 7.83 g) fed larvae, respectively. Post HOC Tukey's HSD test indicated that silk gland weight of L. speciosa and T. arjuna fed larvae in both the rearing seasons did not differ significantly. E.I. analysis also confirmed that T. alata, T. tomentosa, T. arjuna and L. speciosa are better in their order of merit than T. bellirica , T. chebula and L. tomentosa. Multiple regression analysis indicates that larval weight gain is a strong predictor (β=1.002, t=346.777, p = <0.05) for the silk gland weight of A. mylitta ; however, larval duration had significant negative regression weight (β=-0.270, t=-8.436, p = <0.05) on mean weight of silk gland.

• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.149-163
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• 2015

The aim of the present study was to assess the variation in species composition and diversity of woody species at different altitudes (900 to 2600 m asl) in Kedarnath Wildlife Sanctuary (KWLS) and its adjoining areas in Garhwal Himalaya, India. A total of 94 woody plant species (including 44 tree and 50 shrub species) belonging to 72 genera and 44 families were reported. Density varied from $235{\pm}9$ to $505{\pm}21trees\;ha^{-1}$ and $4,730{\pm}474$ to $9,530{\pm}700shrubs\;ha^{-1}$. Total basal cover varied from $10.49{\pm}0.66$ to $42.92{\pm}2.57m^2ha^{-1}$ (trees) and $0.36{\pm}0.024$ to $0.62{\pm}0.047m^2ha^{-1}$ (shrubs). Shannon-Wiener Index fluctuated between 2.30 to 3.53 (trees) and 2.74 to 3.78 (shrubs). Analysis of variance (ANOVA) indicated that altitude and aspect had significant effect on the distribution of woody species. Taxonomically, Rosaceae with 15 species emerged as the dominant family. Low value of maturity index and contiguous distribution of species denoted the early successional status of the studied forests. The conservation assessment based on altitudinal regimes and the information on species structure and function can provide baseline information for monitoring and sustaining the biodiversity.

• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.1-15
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• 2011

The present study was undertaken in middle altitudinal (1500 to 2500 masl) moist temperate forest of Mandal-Chopta area in the Garhwal region of Uttarakhand, India. The aim of the present study was to assess the variation in species composition and diversity in different vegetation layers viz. herb, shrub and tree, at different altitudes. Shannon-Wiener diversity index ($\bar{H}$), $Nha^{-1}$, total basal cover per hectare (G), Simpson concentration of dominance, Pielou Equitability, species richness (SR), Margalef index, Menheink index of species richness and ${\beta}$-diversity were calculated to understand community composition. Tree G ranged from 84.25 to 35.08 $m^2ha^{-1}$ and total stem density varied from 990 to 1470 Nha-1. Total SR (herb, shrub and trees) among different forest types ranged between 31 and 58. Maximum G of herb and shrub layers was recorded at lower altitudes between 1500 and 1650 masl. ${\beta}$-diversity was higher in herb layers as compared to tree and shrub layers. Dominance-diversity curves were also drawn to ascertain resource apportionment among various species in different forest types. Values of species diversity, $\bar{H}$, $Nha^{-1}$ and G were higher in the study area as compared to similar forests growing in other parts of Uttarakhand Himalaya.

• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.117-129
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• 2010

The present study was undertaken in moist temperate forest of Mandal-Chopta area in the Garhwal region of Uttarakhand, India. The aim of the present study was to assess the physical properties of soils in relation to the forest structure and composition. Twelve forest types according to the altitude, slope aspect and species compositions were selected for the study. Physical properties of soil i.e., soil colour, soil texture (per cent of sand, silt and clay), moisture content, water holding capacity, porosity, bulk density (gm/$cm^3$) and void ratio were analyzed for three different depths viz., (i) 'upper' (0-10 cm), (ii) 'middle' (11-30 cm) and (iii) 'lower' (31-60 cm) in all the selected forest types. Phytosociological and diversity parameters viz. total basal cover ($Gha^{-1}$), stem density ($Nha^{-1}$), tree species richness, Simpson concentration of dominance and Shannon-Wiener diversity index were also calculated for each forest type. This study also provides the comparisons between the results of physical analysis of the present study with numerous other previous studies in the temperate Himalayan region of the Uttarakhand.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.12
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• pp.4957-4961
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• 2014

Background: Head and neck cancer without distant metastases is amenable to various modalities of treatment. However, the stage at presentation is a very important determinant for treatment success. The present study was conducted to determine the stage-wise presentation of non-metastatic head and neck cancer patients from the hilly regions in Kumaon division of Uttarakhand, India. Materials and Methods: The hospital records for non-metastatic head and neck cancer patients from the only functional cancer centre of the region for the period of two-years (January 2012-December 2013) were included. Nasopharyngeal carcinoma was excluded due to its staging system being different. Non-squamous histopathologies were also excluded. Patients hailing from nearby regions of Uttar Pradesh and Nepal were excluded, as were patients from non-hilly regions of Kumaon. Results: Of the 271 patients of head and neck cancer, 27 with distant metastases at diagnosis were excluded from the analysis. Of the 244 eligible patient records, 90.1% (n=222) were male, and 9.9% (n=22) were female. The proportions of patients with carcinoma of the larynx, oropharynx, oral cavity, hypopharynx and maxillary antrum were 31.9% (n=78), 27.9% (n=68), 20.5% (n=50), 12.7% (n=31) and 1.2% (n=3). A further 5.7% (n=14) were diagnosed as having secondary involvement of neck nodes with unknown primaries. The proportion of patients presenting in stages I, II, III, IVA and IVB were 0.8% (n=2), 2.5% (n=6), 9.4% (n=23), 51.6% (n=126) and 35.7% (n=87) respectively. Conclusions: An abysmally low proportion (3.3%) of non-metastatic head and neck cancer patients presented in the early stages (I and II). A vast majority of the patients (88.1%) presented with stages IVA and IVB. Not only does this reflect a poor therapeutic outlook, but also exposes the dire need for programmes focusing on cancer awareness and early detection in the region.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.243-264
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• 2013

Antheraea mylitta Drury is a commercial silk producing forest insect in India and Xanthopimpla pedator Fabricius is its larval-pupal endoparasitoid, which causes pupal mortality that affects seed production. Effects of host plants, rearing season and their interactions on parasitic behaviour of X. pedator were studied here, as influence of these factors on biological success of X. pedator is not known. Seven forest tree species were tested as food plants for A. mylitta, and rate of pupal parasitization in both the rearing seasons were recorded and analysed. Results showed that rearing season and host plants significantly affected the rate of pupal parasitization in both the sexes. Pupal mortality was found significantly higher (14.52%) in second rearing season than the first (2.89%). Likewise, host plants and rearing seasons significantly affected length, diameter, and shell thickness of cocoons in both sexes. Out of all infested pupae, 85.59% were found male, which indicated that X. pedator chooses male spinning larva of A. mylitta for oviposition, but we could not answer satisfactorily the why and how aspect of this sex specific parasitic behaviour of X. pedator. Multiple regression analysis indicated that length and shell thickness of male cocoons are potential predictors for pupal parasitization rate of X. pedator. Based on highest cocoon productivity and lowest pupal mortality, Terminalia alata, T. tomentosa, and T. arjuna were found to be the most suitable host plants for forest based commercial rearing of A. mylitta in tropical forest areas of Uttarakhand state, where it has never been reared earlier. Sex and season specific interaction of X. pedator with its larval-pupal host, A. mylitta is a novel entomological study to find out explanations for some of the unresolved research questions on parasitic behaviour of X. predator that opens a new area for specialised study on male specific parasitization in Ichneumonidae.