Volume 12, Issue 3 (August 2025)

Md. Ahsan Habib Pramanik¹, Mst. Rawshan-E- Jannat², Md. Mustafizur Rahman¹, Mst. Taslima Khatun¹

¹Department of Livestock Services, Dhaka, Bangladesh
²Islami Bank International School and College, Mirpur, Dhaka

Buffalo farming in Bangladesh holds significant untapped potential for enhancing rural livelihoods and contributing to national food security. Despite their economic importance, current buffalo production remains low, primarily due to limitations in nutrition, breeding, health management, infrastructure, farmer education, and environmental adaptability. The production system is predominantly extensive and traditional, characterized by low productivity and inefficient resource utilization. Although initiatives to promote semi-intensive and intensive systems are underway, widespread adoption is hindered by poor feeding practices, limited access to artificial insemination (AI), inadequate veterinary services, and lack of organized marketing. Feeding systems largely depend on low-quality roughages, with minimal supplementation, leading to suboptimal milk and meat yields. Improvement in feeding and nutrition management, including the adoption of intensive systems and balanced rations, requires enhanced farmer training and accessible extension services. Similarly, reproductive performance remains poor due to reliance on natural mating, late maturity, and low conception rates. The development of AI infrastructure, estrus detection technologies, and genetic improvement programs is essential for reproductive efficiency. Health and disease management also face serious challenges due to insufficient vaccination coverage, limited veterinary outreach, and dependence on traditional practices. To unlock the full potential of buffalo farming, an integrated strategy involving scientific interventions such as climate-resilient practices, modern breeding, balanced feeding, cooperative marketing, and policy-driven support is imperative. With targeted investment and coordinated efforts from government agencies, research institutions, and farming communities, buffalo production in Bangladesh can be transformed into a commercially viable and sustainable livestock sub-sector.

Keywords: Buffalo, Rearing, Production, Bangladesh.

Corresponding author.
E-mail address: mahmizan@gmail.com (Md. Ahsan Habib Pramanik)

How to cite this article: Pramanik MAH, Rawshan-E-Jannat M, Rahman MM and Khatun MT (2025). Buffalo rearing and production system in Bangladesh: Problems and prospects. International Journal of Natural and Social Sciences, 12(3): 01-07. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17115203.

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Maraj Miah¹, Md Abdul Alim¹, Poly Karmoker¹, Md. Momin Khan², Ifran – Al – Rafi³

¹Department of Food Engineering and Technology, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh, 2202, Bangladesh
²Department of Food Engineering, Gopalganj Science and Technology University, Gopalganj, 8105, Bangladesh
³Department of Horticulture, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh, 2202, Bangladesh

This research was conducted to evaluate the effects of blanching and storage days on physico-chemical, sensory, and microbial qualities of pineapple slices. The pineapples (Honey Queen) were cut into circular identical slices and refrigerated at 5°C for 0, 4, 8 and 12 days after exposing to hot water blanching at 0, 70, 85 and 100°C for 1 minutes. The changes in physico-chemical parameters, such as total soluble solids (TSS), color factors, titratable acidity (TA), pH, vitamin C, total phenolic content (TPC), along with the sensory attributes and microbial count (total plate count, total coliform count, total yeast and moulds count, and Salmonella) of pineapples were investigated. The control sample shelf life (16 days) was maximum. We found that blanching and storage days had significant effect on physico-chemical properties, microbial load, and sensory attributes of pineapples. Findings also showed that declining trend in pH and a simultaneous rise in TA in samples throughout the storage period. The TSS was increased with the increase of blanching temperature and storage days.  Vitamin C contents in pineapple slices showed a reducing trend by both blanching and during storage. The increase of blanching temperature increased the total phenolic content compared to control samples but decreased with the advancement of storage days. Irrespective of the blanching treatments, color factors (L, a, and b value) showed a declining trend during storage. In sensory evaluation, control samples obtain the highest score and denoted as “like moderately”. Blanching had effectively reduced the overall microbial load of pineapples slices compared to controls. The control samples gave the better vit-c retention as well as the sensory quality of pineapples slices but poor microbial safety. The hot water blanched pineapple are microbial hygienic and safe for consumption, but showed lower shelf life.

Keywords: Pineapple, blanching, storage time, physico-chemical properties, microbial load, shelf life.

Corresponding author.
E-mail address: merajnfs@gmail.com (Maraj Miah)

How to cite this article: Miah M, Alim MA, Karmoker P, Khan MM and Rafi IA (2025). Effects of hot water blanching and storage time on the quality of refrigerated pineapple (Ananas comosus) slices. International Journal of Natural and Social Sciences, 12(3): 08-18. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17636354

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Sonia Sku¹,Md. Nazmul Hossen¹, Mohosena Begum Tanu²

¹Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute, Freshwater Station, Mymensingh-2201, Bangladesh
²Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute, Headquarters, Mymensingh-2201, Bangladesh

Image pearl is a type of freshwater pearl that resembles a blister pearl and is produced in designed or image formats such as flowers, leaves, logos, and other shapes. The image is prepared using different materials and is transplanted between the mantle tissue and the shell of the mussel. After implantation, the mussel secretes nacre around the inserted image, gradually forming the image pearl. Various materials can be used to prepare the image, including paraffin wax, dead mussel shell, acrylic, and calcium-based powder. These materials may have different effects on the mussel’s physiological condition and pearl quality. In this context, a study was conducted to compare the quality of pearls produced from paraffin-made images (T₁), dead mussel shell images (T₂), acrylic-made images (T₃), and calcium powder-made images (T₄). A total of 2,400 mussels were operated on, with 600 mussels assigned to each treatment. The experiment was conducted at the BFRI pond complex in Mymensingh, Bangladesh. The operated mussels were cultured in ponds using the net bag hanging method. Throughout the culture period, water quality parameters were regularly monitored and recorded. After 11 months of culture, the pearl production rate was highest in the paraffin image treatment (42%), producing medium to high shiny luster. The production rates for shell, acrylic, and calcium image treatments were 35%, 38%, and 29%, respectively, with luster ranging from low to high shine. Luster and nacre accumulation were higher in paraffin images (49.85 lux; 0.83 ± 0.17 mm) and calcium images (47.82 lux; 0.79 ± 0.15 mm), compared to shell images (40.2 lux; 0.62 ± 0.15 mm) and acrylic images (43.05 lux; 0.76 ± 0.11 mm). Overall, luster, nacre accumulation, and survival rate were comparatively higher in T₁ (paraffin). However, in terms of market demand and jewelry preparation, pearls produced from other materials showed better commercial suitability than paraffin wax. Specifically, paraffin and acrylic image pearls tend to break easily under pressure and may melt due to heat generated during cutting and jewelry processing, requiring careful handling. In contrast, calcium-based image pearls demonstrated higher market demand compared to other treatments. Considering overall performance, durability, and market preference, the study suggests that calcium-based image pearls exhibit comparatively better quality than other image pearls.

Keywords: Paraffin, shell, acrylics and calcium image, physical properties, Image pearl, Nacre.

Corresponding author.
E-mail address: sku.soniya@gmail.com (Sonia Sku)

How to cite this article:Sku S, Hossen MN and Tanu MB (2025). Comparative evaluation of paraffin wax, shell powder, acrylic and calcium powder as nucleus materials for image pearl preparation. International Journal of Natural and Social Sciences, 12(3): 19-26. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.18778081

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