Cannabis (Cannabis sativa L.), commonly known as “ganja” in South Asia, holds a rich history in Naogaon, Bangladesh, where its cultivation was legally permitted until 1987. This study explores the ethnobotanical aspects and folk customs associated with cannabis in Naogaon, shedding light on the unique vernacular names, utilization practices, and cultural significance attributed to the plant. Through interviews with experienced farmers, the study documents the diverse uses of cannabis, including seed processing for oil, medicinal applications, and the production of drugs from female flower buds. The research unveils a plethora of folk customs, such as songs sung during cannabis processing, the involvement of Santal women in ganja production, the role of “ganja doctors,” proverbs conveying societal perspectives, and folklore narrating the integration of cannabis into daily life. The study emphasizes the importance of preserving this cultural knowledge, especially as the last generation of farmers with direct experience in cannabis cultivation ages. The findings contribute valuable insights into the historical, cultural, and economic dimensions of cannabis in the Ganja Mahal region, providing a comprehensive understanding of its impact on the community’s way of life.

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We applied hot water treatments on Japanese mangoes cv. ‘Irwin’ at higher temperatures using sodium chloride hot spring water and evaluated their effects on the mango fruit quality and the control of quiescent infection of anthracnose and stem-end rot diseases. The mangoes were treated at 60°C, 63°C, and 65°C for 1 min, and stored at 8°C for 52 days, evaluating the weight, peel color and the disease severity every 7 days. The fruit quality of treated mangoes at 60°C were similar to control, with low disease severity after 35 days, while control itself had low severity after 28 days. Mangoes treated at 63°C and 65°C showed low disease severity after 35 days and 42 days respectively, but their weight and peel color were negatively affected. Quiescent infection of stem-end rot was detected in all the treatments at the end of the experiment, while quiescent infection of anthracnose was reduced as the temperature of the treatment increased.

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Sustainable tourism development is often regarded as an effective strategy for rural livelihood development, but tourism development can lead to transformations in traditional livelihoods. Inle Lake is a popular tourist destination in Myanmar due to the unique Intha culture and floating-garden farming. The majority of lake households’ income comes from agriculture, and relatively recently, tourism became a source of income in Inle Lake. Two adjacent Inthas villages, LN and IO, in Inle Lake were selected because of their long histories of floating-garden farming and different access to tourism-related livelihoods. Conducting focus group discussion and in-depth interviews of 54 households from different socio-economic backgrounds in the two villages, this paper provides evidence for the transformation of floating-garden farming following the political transition from 2011 to 2019, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. After the 2011 political transition, the average planted floating-garden area per household drastically decreased in LN, whereas it remained unchanged in IO. Severe droughts and water scarcity reduced the profitability of traditional agriculture, leading some villagers to explore tourism as a viable income source. Even though the tourism industry provides locals with income opportunities, the negative impacts including labor market disruption and economic inequalities were found. The Inle Lake region has transitioned from traditional agriculture to tourism, providing income to local residents through tourism-related activities. After the collapse of the tourism industry due to COVID-19, floating gardens were revived to adapt. The balance between tourism’s economic benefits with the preservation of local cultures and traditional livelihoods can serve as a safety net during crises.

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Water management is important for sustainable rice production and productivity to meet increasing demand for food and household income. This study examined how underground water tables affect the yield and yield components of upland rice NERICA 4. We conducted an experiment in which the rice plants were grown under upland conditions with two factors: Irrigation (3 and 5 mm/day) and underground water level (35 cm, 45 cm, 55 cm deep, and no groundwater). The presence of groundwater had a profound impact on the yield: It increased from 0.2 and 2.1 t/ha without groundwater to 6.3 and 6.7 t/ha with groundwater at 35 cm deep for 3 and 5mm/day irrigations, respectively. Yield components that led to these yield increases were sharply different between the two irrigation treatments. The most contributing component was the number of spikelets/m² for 3 mm/day, whereas it was the %-grain-filling for 5 mm/day. The drought tolerance-recovery ability of NERICA 4 contributed to this difference: Under drought conditions, its root system developed faster, longer, denser, and deeper than under optimal water conditions, so that the roots of plants under 3 mm/day irrigation reached the 35 cm-deep groundwater table before the panicle initiation stage, earlier than in other treatments. Under 5 mm/day irrigation, optimal water application and capillary water from the groundwater zone induced a strong trade-off between the number of panicles/m² and the number of spikelets/panicle. These findings based on the two-factor experiment were confirmed in terms of the soil water potential of each plot.

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