Leopard attack creates panic

The Hindu | April 22, 2013
Killing of a calf by a leopard has made villagers of Bonthapally in Jinnaram mandal of Medak district jittery on Sunday.

According to sources, a farmer Veeraswamy had tied his calf in the farm yard and gone for lunch. When he returned, he found his calf killed by some wild animal.

Forest officer Ravi visited the spot and confirmed that the calf was indeed killed by a leopard. The villagers felt that wild animals have been entering the villages, as there was no drinking water available in the forest areas.

Source: http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/leopard-attack-creates-panic/article4641836.ece

New wild banana species found

T. NANDAKUMAR, The Hindu | April 22, 2013

Musa velutina subsp. markkuana.

A team of researchers from the University of Calicut has reported the discovery of a new subspecies of wild banana that could be developed as an ornamental plant for tropical gardens.

The plant Musa velutina subsp. markkuana was discovered from the forests of Arunachal Pradesh and is characterised by smooth skinned fruits, purple pseudostems, erect maroon-coloured inflorescence and pink fruit. It has been named after Markku Hakkinen, an international expert on wild banana, attached to the Finnish Museum of Natural History, University of Helsinki, Finland.

The research team led by M. Sabu, Head, Department of Botany, University of Calicut, and comprising Alfred Joe and P.E. Sreejith, discovered the subspecies as part of a project funded by the Union Department of Science and Technology. The plant grows in the forests as undergrowth in marshy areas. The researchers found many fruiting plants from the Balukpong area, West Kameng district and the Tezu and Hayulyang areas.

The finding has been published in ‘Phytotaxa,’ an international journal on botanical taxonomy.

According to Dr. Sabu, the plant could be promoted as an ornamental variety. It also held commercial value for the cut flower industry. “We have found that the cut plant remains fresh in the flower vase for more than one week. Growing up to a height of two metres, it produces inflorescence continuously for more than one month. In the fruiting stage, it bears bunches of pink or maroon fruits.”

He feels that the plant could be crossed with other species to improve the ornamental value. “The use of wild species for the improvement of crop plants is an area of great potential.” The seed-producing nature of the tropical species made it easy to propagate.

According to Dr. Sabu, the finding confirms the rich genetic diversity of banana in India.

The paper published in ‘Phytotaxa’ said wild species of banana were distributed in the north-eastern states, the Western and Eastern ghats and the Andaman and Nicobar islands. But many of these regions had not been explored systematically.

Source: http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/new-wild-banana-species-found/article4641722.ece