Mandi Gobindgarh, August 24
With an aim to unveil the medicinal properties of various trees as well as herbs along with their uses, Desh Bhagat Ayurvedic College and Hospital, Mandi Gobindgarh, organised a seminar on cultivation of medicinal and aromatic plants.

Dr S.S. Saini, senior agronomist, PAU, Ludhiana, addressed the seminar and briefed the participants about the curative properties of various plants and trees. He also shared information about various trees and herbs that can be planted during different seasons and used as home remedies.

Dr Loveleen Kaur Ahuja welcomed the guests and stated that more and more people were now giving preference to the use of herbal products and therapies. She also stressed that there was a need to adopt horticulture and floriculture.

Ludhiana, August 24
Pulse crops such as urdbean, mungbean and soybean have been heavily attacked by an insect pest called whitefly. The attack has been witnessed in all the pulse-growing areas of Punjab. This insect has appeared in epidemic form due to the hot weather conditions coupled with the dry monsoon spell prevailing in the state over the last few weeks. Such weather conditions are conducive for the rapid multiplication of the pest.

According to NS Butter, head, department of entomology, PAU, whitefly feeds on the leaves of the plants by sucking the cell sap and excretes honey dew on the plants, on which the growth of sooty mould takes place, resulting in the blackening of leaves and a decrease in the normal photosynthesis. In case of severe attack, there is total blackening of the crop, resulting in drying of leaves and ultimately, total crop failure.

Whitefly is also a vector of serious viral disease, namely Mungbean Yellow Mosaic, which is a limiting factor in the successful cultivation of these crops. Dr Butter advised the farmers not to get panicky and they should spray the crop with the recommended insecticides such as 375 ml of Malathion 50 EC (malathion) or 250 ml of Rogor 30 EC (dimethoate) or 250 ml of Metasystox 25 EC (oxydemeton methyl) using 80 litres of water per acre with a manually operated sprayer. 

Ludhiana, August 24
Sheath blight attack has been reported on paddy crop in different parts of the state.

According to PAU experts, this disease affects almost all varieties of rice. The attack of this disease is observed more in the fields having excessive nitrogenous fertilizers.

In this disease, greyish-green lesions with purple margin develop on the leaf-sheath above the water level. Later, the lesions enlarge and coalesce with other lesions. Its severe attack results in poor filling of the grains.

Director of extension education Dr N.S.Malhi has advised the farmers to spray the crop as soon as the disease is noticed at boot stage with tilt 25 ec@200 ml or bavistin 50 wp@200g in 200 litres of water per acre by directing the spray towards the base of the plant.

Ludhiana August 24
To mark the “Rakhi Festival,” Kiddies Paradise School organised various contests, including Rakhi Making competitions and English Poem Recitation with great zeal here today.

Students made beautiful Rakhis. Making Rakhis was a Joyous and novel experience for the students. The little ones also made greeting cards for their brothers. The poems focused on various themes like a happy childhood, growing-up, discovering the world around you, the fellow humans, birds etc. The tiny-tots danced to the tunes of many Hindi numbers. Their efforts were appreciated by everybody. School director gave the prizes to winners and encouraged them. Principal Radhika Mahajan encouraged the students to further participate in such competitions and highlighted the importance of Rakhi. The toppers of contest were Parul, Sneha, Banmeet, Yashika, Nandani, Jasmine, Vidhi and Gurleen.

Day with pet guinea: A combined activity was conducted for the Pre-primary wing of Bal Bharti School here today. The activity was based on a “pet” called guinea. Students were told about its body parts, eating habits etc. Each student was given an experience to touch and feed the pet. The pet was also given a name “Cadbury” just because of its colour. The day's activity was a great learning experience for the tiny-tots.

Effective English Workshop: Ratna Sagar Private Ltd conducted effective English Language Teaching workshop at GMT Public School here yesterday. Ila Vij, an English teacher and examiner with 20 years of experience was the resource person. She guided the teachers about the methodology and techniques of teaching English language in teaching students of primary and middle section. Teachers and principals of various schools of Punjab came to attend the workshop.

Saplings planted: Eco club of local Govt Senior Secondary (Multipurpose School, Ludhiana) planted 50 medicinal plants under the guidance of principal H.K. Mayer. Incharge of Eco Club Sarbjit Kaur and Jagdeepkaur along with members of the club planted the saplings in the campus. These herbal plants include Mulathi, Glo, Lajwanti, Tulsi, Neem, Brahmi, Kuar, Patherchat, Stevia, Ashawgandha, Jatropa, and Vasaka etc. This herbal garden (medicinal plants) was inaugurated by Dr Kuldeep Kaur Sahni SMO of local civil hospital. PTA president, Shiv Ram Saroya, Jagdev Singh Sekhon, Major Singh, Chamanlal Ahuja were present.

Laurels to GNIMT: The students of MBA 2nd semester of Guru Nanak Institute of Management and Technology, here, brought laurels to the institute by bagging top postions in the university examinations. Chanpreet bagged first position with 92.3 per cent marks. Megha Jain got second position by securing 90.5 per cent marks. Jaspreet Kaur stood third position with 89.75 percent marks while Preeti Kalsi was sixth with 88.5 percent marks. Sushma Arora got eighth position with 87.75 per cent marks while Karandeep Kaur secured 10th position with 87.25 per cent marks. The pass percentage is 97.43. Dr Col H.S. Singha, director, GNIMT, said such a performance was indicative of high degree of commitment on the part of students as well as faculty.

students excel: The MBA 2nd and 4th year students of GGNIMT brought laurels to the institute by securing excellent marks in the examinations conducted by Punjab Technical University (PTU). Maneet Kaur of MBA 4th stood first by securing 87.12 per cent marks and was placed 9th in the merit list. Amandeep Singh and Nancy Rehan of the same class bagged the second and third positions with 86.7 per cent and 86.12 per cent respectively. Five students scored more than 80 per cent marks. Deepika Aggarwal, an MBA 2nd semester student stood first with 86.5 per cent marks, Savnim Kaur with 86.37 stood second and Harmanpreet Kaur bagged the third position with 84.87 per cent marks. Six students got more than 80 per cent marks.The management has congratulated the students for their success.

Inauguration: Khalsa Institute of Management and Technology (KIMT) today held the inaugural function of its recently started MBA classes, duly approved by the Punjab Government and PTU.