Overexpression of a Cytosolic Ascorbate Peroxidase Gene,OsAPX2, Increases Salt Tolerance in Transgenic Alfalfa

Alfalfa （Medicago sativa L.） is an important forage crop in the world and it is of great signiifcance for the improvement of its salt tolerance. To improve salt tolerance in alfalfa, a rice ascorbate peroxidase gene （OsAPX2） was introduced into alfalfa using Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation with marker gene bar. The different T-DNA insertions in T1 transgenic alfalfa were identiifed by Southern hybridization. Three independent T2 transgenic lines were selected for stress analysis and the results showed that all of them were salt tolerant compared with wild-type plants. The transgenic plants had low levels of H2O2, malondialdehyde and relative electrical conductivity under salt and drought stresses. Moreover, the contents of chlorophyll and proline, and APX activity were high in transgenic plants under salt and drought stresses. Taken together, the overexpression of OsAPX2 enhances salt tolerance in alfalfa through scavenging reactive oxygen species.     

Risk Assessment and Biosafety Studies of Transgenic Bt Rice （Oryza sativa L.）

Transgenic crops having alien genes from different sources are getting popularity. A Rice （Oryza sativa L.） containing gene from Bacillus thuringiensis, a soil bacterium, was assessed to study the potential risks of transgenic plants on environment. The crop was found resistant to target insect pests. Rice variety Basmati-370 transformed with two insecticidal genes, crylAc and cry2A, was grown under field conditions for several years. Data were collected at different stages of the plant growth. Fate of Cry protein in soil, effect of Bt protein on non-target insects, risks of vertical and horizontal gene flow were evaluated. No potential hazard was found at all levels. Bt protein was unstable and degraded significantly in soil within 30 days after harvesting the crop. No harmful effects were found on non-target insects （insects other than order lepidoptera）. Maximum gene flow of 0.02% was observed at close spacing and no evidence of horizontal gene transfer to Rhizobium spp. was found. In conclusion, the transgenic rice plants transformed with Bt genes have no harmful effects on the environment.     

QTL Detection and Epistasis Analysis for Heading Date Using Single Segment Substitution Lines in Rice （Oryza sativa L.）

Heading date of rice is a key agronomic trait determining cultivated areas and seasons and affecting yield. In the present study, ifve primary single segment substitution lines with the same genetic background were used to detect quantitative trait loci （QTLs） for heading date in rice. Two QTLs, qHD3 and qHD6 on the short arm of chromosome 3 and the short arm of chromosome 6, respectively, were identiifed under natural long-day （NLD）. Nineteen secondary single segment substitution lines （SSSLs） and seven double segments pyramiding lines were designed to map the two QTLs and to evaluate their epistatic interaction between them. By overlapping mapping, qHD3 was mapped in a 791-kb interval between SSR markers RM3894 and RM569 and qHD6 in a 1 125-kb interval between RM587 and RM225. Results revealed the existence of epistatic interaction between qHD3 and qHD6 under natural long-day （NLD）. It was also found that qHD3 and qHD6 had signiifcant effects on plant height and yield traits, indicating that both of the QTLs have pleiotropic effects.     

WebPIPA （Web Based Paddy Irrigation Productivity Assessment）： An Online Irrigation Water Supply Management for Tanjung Karang Rice Irrigation Scheme （TAKRIS）

Irrigation water management has significant economic implications in developing countries like Malaysia. As in many countries, Malaysia is also espousing internet as a platform of new possibilities for information access and sharing. Thus web based decision tools are pertinent in managing water, which is becoming a source of conflict between domestic, industry and agricultural use in this emerging technological and information age. Decision Support System （DSS） created in the past was theoretically acceptable but practically not effective in the transfer of scientific knowledge from research labs to the end-users to support them in decision making. The Web Based Paddy Irrigation Productivity Assessment （WebPIPA） is an example of DSS created to provide an effective conduit for the transfer of scientific knowledge from research labs to the end-users to support them in decision making. WebPIPA serves as an innovative, user friendly and efficient management tool for run-of-river rice irrigation system. It is a web based program that requires users to login through user name and password WebPIPA is developed using Net framework and ASP. Net Programming Languages of Microsoft. Net 2003 environment. A 3-tier architecture framework was carefully studied and was implemented to create the WebP1PA model. Mathematical model developed for aiding irrigation decisions must be oriented towards addressing various issues in addition to the scientific ones for better acceptability. All government and private agencies, researchers, station users, farmers, investors and buyers related to this study area will be able to access and share the database through the internet. By strengthening the involvement of government departments, the database can be very effectively used by all stakeholders at the same time narrowing the gap between the urban and rural communities in the development of country.     

Positive Impact of Deficit Irrigation on Physiological Response and Fruit Yield in Citrus Orchards： Implications for Sustainable Water Savings

Different strategies of deficit irrigation based on water stress dynamics were applied in an 11-year old citrus trees （Citrus sinensis L. Osb. cv. Navelina） grafted on carrizo citrange （Citrus sinensis L. Osb.×Poncirus Trifoliata L. Osb.）. The trees were subjected to two irrigation treatments： （1） sustainable deficit irrigation （SDI） established with water supplied at 60% of the crop evapotranspiration （ETc） and （2） low frequency deficit irrigation （LFDI） irrigated according to the plant water status. In addition, a treatment irrigated at 100% of ETc was included as a control （C）. Midday stem-water potential （ψUstem）, stomatal conductance （gs）, and micrometric trunk diameter fluctuations were measured during the maximum evapotranspirative demand period to evaluate the plant-water status, and establish the main relationships among them. The seasonal pattern of the studied variables had a behavior consistent with the contributions made by the volumes of applied irrigation water. Especially significant close relationships of ψstem with gs, and with the maximum daily shrinkage （MDS） were found. The lowest ψstem and gs values were registered in the treatments with lowest irrigations levels （SDI and LFDI）, being the MDS was significative higher than in the C treatment. The LFDI showed an oscillating behavior in these parameters, which was on line with the supplied irrigation restrictions cycles. Thus, according to the results of the present experiment the physiological stress indexes based in MDS or ψstem allow establishing different irrigation restriction cycles, encouraging important water saving without significant impact on yield and the fruit quality parameters.     

Allelopathic Potential of Orange Jessamine （Murraya paniculata L.） against Weeds

The use of allelopathic plants is an alternative technique for controlling weeds in sustainable crop production. This experiment evaluated the allelopathic potential of Murraya paniculata （L.） against four weeds viz., Bidens pilosa L., Amarathus spinosus L., Echinochloa crusgalli （L.） Beauv. and Chloris barbata Sw.. In laboratory test, aqueous extracts from M. paniculata leaves at concentrations of 12.5, 25, 50 and 100 g/L were tested on germination and seedling growth of the weeds. The extracts showed inhibitory effect, varying with weed species and extract concentration. Increase in concentrations increased the degree of inhibition. Concentration at 50 g/L and 100 g/L, completely inhibited seed germination of C. barbara and A. spinosus. Pot experiments were done in a glasshouse, with dry leaf powder as mulch on the soil surface at levels of 2, 4 and 8 t/ha. Dry leaf powder reduced the emergence and growth of all tested weeds, varying with dose and species. Chloris barbara is the most sensitive to M paniculata leaf mulch while E. crus-galli is the most resistant. These results suggest that M. paniculata had the potential lbr weed control and might be the source of a natural herbicide.     

Effects of Agricultural Practices on Soil Organic Nitrogen Fractions in an Inceptisol of a Cocoa Plantation

The effect of agricultural practices on soil organic nitrogen （N） fractions in a cocoa plantation has not been much revealed till now. Despite the fact that soil organic N has been long admitted for its importance to maintain soil fertility. Presented field experiment was conducted in Kaliwining Experimental Station, Indonesian Coffee and Cocoa Research Institute （ICCRI）, Jember, East Java, Indonesia, to investigate the effect of cocoa farm management, namely fertilization, weeding and soil tillage on the content of soil organic N fractions. The design of experiment was arranged in a split-split plot with two levels of weeding as main plots, two levels of soil tillage as subplot and three different fertilizer treatments as sub-sub plot. The analysis of soil N including total N and soil organic N fractions, namely, total hydrolized N, ammonium N, amino sugar N and amino acid N, were performed. The result showed that the effect of fertilization treatment was significant to the content of total N, ammonium N, amino sugar N and amino acid N. No-tillage treatment resulted in total N and amino sugar-N content increasing by 8% and 24%, respectively, over tillage treatment. Slashing treatment caused increase of the total N by 3% from herbicide treatment, whilst decrease of ammonium N and amino sugar N by 7% and 24%, respectively.     

Allelic Variation in Loci for Adaptive Response and Its Effect on Agronomical Traits in Chinese Wheat （Triticum aestivum L.）

Heading date was an important trait that decided the adaptation of wheat to environments. It was modiifed by genes involved in vernalization response, photoperiod response and development rate. In this study, four loci Xgwm261, Xgwm219, Xbarc23 and Ppd-D1 which were previously reported related to heading time were analyzed based on three groups of wheat including landraces （L）, varieties bred before 1983 （B82） and after 1983 （A83） collected from Chinese wheat growing areas. Generally, heading date of landrace was longer than that of varieties. Signiifcant differences in the heading time existed within the groups, which implied that diversiifcation selection was much helpful for adaptation in each wheat zone. Photoperiod insensitive allele Ppd-D1a was the ifrst choice for both landrace and modern varieties, which promoted the heading date about four days earlier than that of sensitive allele Ppd-D1b. The three SSR loci had different characters in the three groups. Predominant allele combination for each zone was predicted for wheat group L and A83, which made great contribution to advantageous traits. Xgwm219 was found to be signiifcantly associated with heading date in Yellow and Huai River Winter Wheat Zone （Zone II） and spike length in Middle and lower Yangtze Valley Winter Wheat Zone （Zone III）, which implied functional diversiifcation for adaption. Variation for earliness genes provided here will be helpful for whet breeding in future climatic change.     

Resistance of Hard Tick （Ixodidae） with some Acaricide in Cattle （Naturally Infestation） in Sulaimani Governorate Fields-Kurdistan Regional/Iraq

A study carried out for assessment of acaricide for control and how to show resistance of hard tick （Ixodidae） with some types of acaricide which available in Sulaimani marked froro February to April 2012, isolated 80 cattle （local breed） naturally infested with hard tick. Six hundred and fifteen ticks min7 tick/cattle including three genera species were collected and identified, the highest Boophilus spp. followed by Hyalomma spp., and Rhipicephalus spp. were less frequent species collected. Experimental cattle divided into four groups each group content 20 cattle, treatment with four types acaricide and their average of infestation in cattle with Boophilus spp. 33 （41.25%） as the commonest, followed by Hyalomma spp. 31 （75.38%）, Rhipicephalus spp. 11 （13.75%） and 5 （6.25%） found mixed infested with Boophilus spp. and Hyalomma spp. 65 （81.3%） of cattle samples had emaciation and skin lesions. According to site of infestation, it showed that inguinal region was the most common predilection site for the ticks. Observed the genera Boophilus spp., there were highly significant differences （12.52%） between different tick species when calculated by general test （LSD）. The objective of this study was to estimate and compare these acaricide to control hard tick, and there was highly significant relation between different species of hard ticks when treated by these acaricide, according to the chi-square tests. The activities of the acaricide through the time of application were different on the tick genera species. Diazinon （60%） and carbamate （saven 85%） has been a greater degree than other acaricide resistance, while shows the activity of both acaricide injectable ivermactin and cypromethrein through the early time on all species. The results of the study otherwise provide encouraging possibilities for the potential use recommended dose with both acaricide ivermactin-l% and cypromethrine-10%.     

Toxicity of Bacillus thuringiensis Crystal Toxins to Field Populations of Rice Leaf Folder, Cnaphalocrocis medinalis （Guenee） and Establishment of Baseline Susceptibility to Cry1Ab

Eight insecticidal crystal proteins of Bacillus thuringiensis, CrylAa, CrylAb, CrylAc, CrylB, Cry2Aa, CrylC, CrylDa and Cry 1Ea were assessed for toxicity against 1 st instar larvae of rice leaf folder, Cnaphalocrocis medinalis （Guenee） at 48 HAT and 72 HAT. Bioassay results depicted CrylAa was the most toxic （LCso 2.35 ppm） followed by CrylBa （LCso 8,50 ppm） and CrylAb （LCso 8.73 ppm） at 48 HAT, whereas, at 72 HAT CrylAb proved to be highly toxic （LC50 0.50 ppm） followed by CrylAa （LCso 4.07 ppm）, CrylAc （LCso 4,84 ppm） and CrylBa （LCso 6.42 ppm）. Toxins Cry2Aa, CrylCa, CrylDa and CrylEa did not resulted in any mortality at 48 HAT and 72 HAT, respectively. Baseline estimates for CrylAb against 1st instar larvae of C. medinalis sampled from seven geographical locations revealed variation in LC50＇s from 0.37 ppm to LC50 16.25 ppm at 48 HAT and LC50 0.50 ppm to LC50 6.49 ppm 72 HAT, respectively with relative resistance ratios of 44-fold and 13-fold at 48 HAT and 72 HAT over the susceptible population.     

Salt＇s Effect on Anatomy and Deformity of Pistacia vera Nut

This study attempts to examine the effects of salinity on leaf, stem, and nut of Pistacia vera （Ohady and Kaleh Ghochi cultivars） in order to characterize their anatomical structures with electron and light microscopy. A comparative study of the anatomy indicates a difference between the density of simple and glandular trichomes in leaf surface, deposit of wax, the thickness of leaf, the length of epidermal cells, palisade parenchyma cells, crystals in mesophyll, and the manner of compatibility to salinity. The results obtained in this research demonstrate that compatibility of Ohady cultivar is higher than Kaleh Ghochi and the degree of mechanical wounding depends on their development stages. In addition to results of previous studies which considered crop load as the main cause of fruit deformity. The present study indicates that, in spite of some reduction in total production of a tree, salinity decreases fruit deformity and to a high extent prevents the production of deformed fruit. Indeed, a remarkable reduction in production of deformed fruit will be yielded by selecting pistachio varieties which are resistant to salinity. Moreover, salinity increases the resistance of nuts to mechanical wounding. The results of this study suggest that in EC = 7.6, 12.6 deformity of nut is not related to crop load.     

Establishment and Optimization of the Regeneration System of Mature Embryos of Maize （Zea mays L.）

A reliable system was developed for regeneration from mature embryos derived from callus of four maize inbred lines （Liao 7980, Dan 9818, Dan 340, and Dan 5026）. The protocol was mainly based on a series of experiments involving the composition of culture medium. We found that 9 pM 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid in MS medium was optimum for the induction of callus. The induction frequency of primary calli was over 85% for four inbred lines tested. The addition of L- proline （12 mM） in subculture medium significantly promoted the formation of embryogenic callus but it did not significantly enhance growth rate of callus. Efficient shoot regeneration was obtained on regeneration medium containing 2.22 μM 6- benzylaminopurine in combinations with 4.64 μM Kinetin. Regenerated shoots were rooted on half-strength MS medium containing 2.85 μM indole-3-butyric acid. This plant regeneration system provides a foundation for genetic transformation of maize.     

Physiological traits of rice seedlings in response to inorganic arsenic

The aim of our study was to better understand the different responses of rice seedling to different species of inorganic arsenic As203 （As（Ill）） and Na2HAsO4 （As（V））. Our results indicate that the biomass of rice seedling decreased as arsenic concentration increased, with the decrease being more significant at higher arsenic concentrations. In addition, the analysis of superoxide dimutase （SOD）, peroxidase （POD）, and catalase （CAT） in rice roots and leaves showed that the activity of these three enzymes significantly decreased in rice tissues, especially in rice roots, as arsenic concentration was increased,. Further, the uptake and utilization efficiencies of N, P, and K were found to decrease as arsenic concentration was increased. However, the uptake and utilization efficiencies of P and K were mainly affected by As（IlI）, whereas those of N were mainly affected by As（V）. Inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry （ICP-MS） was used to assay arsenic accumulation in rice tissues; the results indicate that the arsenic content in rice tissues was enhanced when arsenic concentration was increased, especially in rice roots after arsenic treatment.     

Paternity Testing of Selected Abaca （Musa textilis L. Nee） Hybrids Using Morphometric Markers

Investigation into the paternity of four abaca （Musa textilis L, Nee） hybrids was done to ascertain the mode of transmission of selected morpho-agronomic traits and to detect possible heterosis. In situ morphological characterization was undertaken using twenty five qualitative and six quantitative characters. Results revealed that a great majority of the qualitative traits were shared by both parents and their hybrids. For the rest, the qualitative traits were inherited from one or the other parent though some variant phenotypes （i.e. chimerism） were also noted in the hybrids. Cases ofheterosis were also observed and this could be exploited to increase fiber yield in the hybrids. Though inconclusive due to factors such as the heterogenous nature of abaca plants in the field and the susceptibility of morphological traits to environmental fluctuations, this study has provided baseline information on abaca hybridity that can be verified using more robust technologies as molecular markers.     

A Review on Regeneration in Cowpea （Vigna unguiculata L. Walp）

Vigna unguiculata L. Walp is a recalcitrant plant in terms of in vitro cell, tissue and organ differentiation, which makes it difficult to apply tissue-culture dependant approaches for obtaining stable genetic transformation in cowpea. Despite this, sporadic efforts have been made to develop regeneration systems in cowpea during the past 40 years. This review presents the considerable progress on cowpea regeneration （organogenesis and embryogenesis） and especially focuses on the regeneration mode of organogenesis, including highlights of the effect of genotypes, explants, medium and plant hormones used in tissue culture. The existing problems and the future research directions were also discussed.     

Haplll of TaSAP1-A1, a Positively Selected Haplotype in Wheat Breeding

Stress-associated protein （SAP） has functions in maintaining plant cell elongation, embryo development and response to abiotic stresses. TaSAP1-A1, one of the Triticum aestivum SAP1 （TaSAP1） members located on wheat chromosome 7A was isolated for polymorphism analysis. HaplII of TaSAP1-A1 was found significantly associated with thousand-grain weight （TGW） in multiple environments. In this study, HaplII also made a positive contribution to TGW in Population 2. The distribution of TaSAP1-A1 HapIII was tracked among varieties released in different years and geographical environments of China. The frequency of HapIII showed an increasing trend during the breeding process in two different populations. The ItapIII was gradually selected and applied from 6.36% in landraces to 13.50% in modem varieties. These results exhibited that TaSAP1-A1 HapIII was positively selected during wheat breeding, which is beneficial for grain-yield improvement. The preferred HapIIl was initially selected and applied in the higher latitude areas of China in accord with the long day season and longer grain filling stage in these areas. Moreover, the frequency of HaplII in recent modem varieties was still quite low （19.29-26.67%）. It indicated a high application potential of TaSAP1-A 1 HapIII for improving grain yield in wheat breeding.     

Effect of Enriched Cattle Manure on Soil Nutrient Status,Nitrogen Uptake and Yield of Tea （Camellia sinensis）

Inorganic fertilizer NPK （nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium） （S） 25：5：5：5 is generally recommended for optimum yield and quality of tea （Camellia sinensis）. Non-judicious use of this inorganic fertilizer however acidifies the soils and pollutes the environment. Integrated soil fertility management （ISFM） which involves the combined use of organic and inorganic fertilizer is recommended for improved crop yield and soil health. An experiment was carried out to determine the effect of enriching cattle manure with different ratios of inorganic fertilizers （OM： NPKS at ratios 1：2 and 1：4）, and rates on soil nutrient status, nitrogen uptake and yield of tea in the east of Rift Valley, Kenya. Enriching manures and organic manure up to a rate of 150 kg N/ha increased the level of P mature leaf. A higher N and K level in the mature leaf was observed when NPKS was applied at higher rates. In the soil, fertilizer rate up to 150 kg N/ha showed higher pH and K where organic manure and enriched manures were applied while NPKS treatment showed higher P content throughout the soil depths. Enriching organic manures with inorganic fertilizers increased yield significantly.     

Thin-Plate Spline Analysis of Diversity in Field Populations of Codling Moth,Cydia pomonella L. （Lep., Tortricidae） in North West of Iran

In order to study morphological diversity of codling moth, Cydia pomonella （L.） using thin-plate spline analysis, nine geographical populations from four north western provinces of Iran namely East Azarbayjan, West Azarbayjan, Ardebil and Zandjan were collected during 2003 and 2004. 575 and 564 images were prepared from fore and hind wings, respectively. Then 15 and 11 landmarks were determined from fore and hind wings, respectively. With transforming of landmark＇s two dimensional coordinate data into partial warp scores, 26 and 18 scores were generated for fore and hind wings, respectively. Cluster analysis based on wing shape variables using Ward＇s algorithm assigned nine geographical populations into two groups. The pattern of grouping based on fore and hind wings was different in both sexes. Principal component analysis revealed discrimination between geographic populations and confirmed the result of cluster analysis. Among environmental parameters, wind speed showed the highest correlation with wing shape variables. Non significant correlation was observed between geographic and morphological distance matrices as revealed by Mantel test.     

Fine Mapping and Candidate Gene Analysis of Resistance Gene RSC3Q to Soybean mosaic virus in Qihuang 1

Soybean mosaic virus （SMV） disease is one of the most destructive viral diseases in soybean （Glycine max （L.） Merr.）. SMV strain SC3 is the major prevalent strain in huang-huai and Yangtze valleys, China. The soybean cultivar Qihuang 1 is of a rich resistance spectrum and has a wide range of application in breeding programs in China. In this study, F1, F2 and F2：3 from Qihuang 1×nannong 1138-2 were used to study inheritance and linkage mapping of the SC3 resistance gene in Qihuang 1. The secondary F2 population and near isogenic lines （nILs） derived from residual heterozygous lines （RhLs） of Qihuang 1×nannong 1138-2 were separatively used in the ifne mapping and candidate gene analysis of the resistance gene. Results indicated that a single dominant gene （designated RSC3Q） controls resistance, which was located on chromosome 13. Two genomic-simple sequence repeat （SSR） markers BARCSOYSSR_13_1114 and BARCSOYSSR_13_1136 were found lfanking the two sides of the RSC3Q. The interval between the two markers was 651 kb. Quantitative real-time PCR analysis of the candidate genes showed that ifve genes （Glyma13g25730, 25750, 25950, 25970 and 26000） were likely involved in soybean SMV resistance. These results would have utility in cloning of RSC3Q resistance candidate gene and marker-assisted selection （MaS） in resistance breeding to SMV.