The use of different growing media offers a valuable alternative to the conventional use of soil for quality flower production due to their good water holding capacity, aeration and nutrient status. The experiment was conducted in a Completely Randomised Design with three replications in the years 2021–2022 to study the influence of different compositions of growing media [Soil, Sand, Vermicompost, Cocopeat, Vermiculite, Perlite and Leaf mould] in different ratios on the growth and development of pot mum (Chrysanthemum morifolium Ramat.).The growing media compositions of cocopeat, vermicompost and leaf moulds improve the water retention and aeration of media. The results revealed vegetative growth with maximum plant height at first bud appearance, plant height at harvesting stage, number of primary branches per plant, number of secondary branches per plant, number of leaves per plant, leaf biomass, average fresh weight of leaf, dry weight of root and flowering parameters with maximum flower longevity, flower diameter, number of flowers per plant, number of ray florets, average fresh weight of flower, flower yield per plant and vase life of flower in case of media composition of Cocopeat + Vermicompost + Leaf mould (2:1:1) among all the growing media compositions. The combination of cocopeat with vermicompost and leaf mould (2:1:1 v/v/v) was found best for lighter media weight, better plant morphological development and sustained quality flower production of pot mum.

Siemens Corporate Development Center India (CT DC IN) develops software applications for the industry, energy, health-care, and infrastructure & cities sectors of Siemens. These applications are typically critical in nature and require software practitioners who have considerable competency in the area of software engineering. To enhance the competency of engineers, CT DC IN has introduced an internal curriculum titled “FOundation CUrriculum for Software engineers” (FOCUS) which is an adapted version of IEEE's SWEBOK curriculum. The FOCUS program has been used to train more than 500 engineers in the last three years. In this experience report, we describe the motivation for FOCUS, how it was structured to address the specific needs of CT DC IN, and how the FOCUS program was rolled out within the organization. We also provide results obtained from a survey of the FOCUS participants, their managers, and FOCUS trainers that was conducted to throw light on the effectiveness of the program. We believe the insights from the survey results provide useful pointers to other organizations and academic institutions that are planning to adopt a SWEBOK-based curriculum.

With the increasing population of the world and the daily life demands supplied through industries and modern industrialized agricultural systems, the need for the preservation of ecosystems is increasing day by day. Many industrial processes result in large amounts of organic waste as well as inorganic contaminants that deteriorate food and water quality. Immediate measures to avoid the negative impact on the environment are necessary. The generation of large quantities of hazardous materials in the form of heavy metals, radioactive substances, phenolic compounds, and volatile organic chemicals has resulted in the requirement for new and environmentally safe methods for their elimination. In situ degradation of hazardous organic materials by microbes is often the most cost-effective clean-up approach. Biological treatment of these hazardous wastes is potentially effective, practical, and economical. Bioremediation is measured as one of the safer, cleaner, cost-effective, and eco-friendly technologies for decontaminating sites. It uses numerous agents such as bacteria, yeast, fungi, algae, and higher plants as its main tools in treating oil spills, pesticides, radionuclides, polluted groundwater, and heavy metals existing in the environment. Currently, different methods and strategies are being applied in different parts of the world. Phytoextraction, biostimulation, fungal bioremediation, and rhizofiltration are some of the more common ones. Because of specific applications, all bioremediation techniques have their advantages and disadvantages.

An experiment was conducted at Agricultural Farm of Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) and Regional Agricultural Research Station (RARS) Belatal of Mahoba district to evaluate the soil fertility index. The total 270 geospatial soil samples were collected from three depth i.e. 0-15, 15-30, 30-45 cm. Out of total soil samples, 59% was neutral and 41% slightly alkaline in reaction. Soil was non saline (0.41 to 0.212 dS m⁻¹) in nature. Majority of the samples were low in organic carbon (SOC), available nitrogen (N) while medium in available phosphorous (P), exchangeable potassium (K) and exchangeable sulphur (S). The DTPA extractable micronutrients i.e. Iron (Fe) and Manganese (Mn) were in sufficient range, Copper (Cu) and Boron (B) in medium while Zinc (Zn) were in low category. Based on Nutrient Index Value (NIV), soils of study area range from low to medium in soil fertility. Thus, organic carbon, nitrogen and zinc were the key soil fertility constraints in selected sites of Mahoba district. The balanced use of fertilizers with the combination of bio-fertilizers and organic manures as an integrated nutrient management (INM) approach could greatly help in maintaining the soil fertility and sustainable crop production in these areas of Bundelkhand region.