Interactive effects of salinity and potassium availability on growth,water status,and ionic composition of Hordeum maritimum

The interactive effects of salinity and potassium (K⁺) availability on biomass production, water status, and ionic composition were investigated in Hordeum maritimum, an annual grass growing natively on saline soils. Plants were grown for 7 weeks on Hewitt nutrient solution supplied with NaCl (0, 100, 150, 200, and 300 mM) combined with low (0.232 mM) or high (5.8 mM) K⁺ levels. Independent of potassium availability, dry matter of both roots and shoots decreased consistently with increasing NaCl levels in the culture medium, in association with a significant reduction of the shoot water content. This salt‐induced growth reduction did not result from a restriction of K⁺ nutrition, since H. maritimum expressed similar growth under both low and high K⁺ supply. NaCl decreased shoot K⁺ concentrations. This effect was more pronounced in plants grown at high K⁺ supply than in plants grown at low K⁺ supply. This result suggests that the absorption systems were strongly selective for K⁺, and that this selectivity was enhanced by salt.     

Effects of gypsum and Zn on uptake ratios of Na,K and growth-yield of rice grown on a coastal saline soil

Salinity reduced (reduction below control = RBC) grain yield of rice by 80 and 98% at 8 and 16 mS/cm levels of saline irrigation, respectively, below tap water (0.6 mS/cm). The adverse effect of salinity was more pronounced on grain yield (98% RBC at 16 mS/cm) than on straw yield (84% RBC). The combined application of gypsum and Zn at the rates of 160 and 5 kg/ha produced 49, 45, and 41% more grain yield above controls at 0.6, 8, and 16 mS/cm levels of salinity, respectively. The length of panicles, percentage of filled grains, and 1000-grain weight, protein concentrations of the rice grains, sum of Ca, Mg and K concentrations were reduced due to imposition of saline irrigation, but gypsum and Zn treatments significantly improved these parameters even at the highest (16 mS/cm) salinity stress. The combined application of gypsum and Zn was found to be effective to increase the protein concentrations in rice grains by 2–4% and to increase total concentrations of Ca, Mg and K, but reduced the Na/K ratios in plant tissues by 29.13, and 12% at 0.6, 8, and 16 mS/cm salinity, respectively, suggesting that the application of gypsum and Zn in parallel with irrigation of saline soils, would be effective to reduce the adverse effects of high Na/K ratios as well as to improve growth, yield, and nutritional balance in rice.     

Seasonal changes and the effect of nitrogen- and potash-fertilization on the solanine and α-chaconine content in various parts of the potato plant

The concentration of solanine and α-chaconine in leaves and tubers decreased with the progress of the potato plant towards maturity. In stems an increase of these alcaloids up to the first part of the second stage of the vegetation period could be observed. With a higher level of nitrogen the concentration of both glycoalcaloids in leaves and stems increased, while in tubers a depression of the glycoalcaloid content was estimated. An increased level of potassium did not change markedly the concentration of glycoalcaloids in leaves and stems of the potato plant but decreased both alcaloids in the tuber.     

Composition and antibacterial activity of Pseudocytisus integrifolius (Salisb.) essential oil from Algeria

The essential oil composition of an endemic Algerian Cruciferae, Pseudocytisus integrifolius (Salisb.) Rehder, was analyzed by gas chromatography (GC) and GC-mass spectrometry (MS). Eighty-three components representing more than 96.5% of the oil were identified. The major components were dimethyl disulfide (33.4%), dimethyl trisulfide (24.2%), and an unsaturated nitrile (31.7%). Fractionation on a silica gel column led to the identification of trace-level compounds, in particular, polar compounds such as nitriles and aldehydes, and to the isolation of dimethyl disulfide, dimethyl trisulfide, and an unsaturated nitrile. Structural analysis using high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) and 1H,13C NMR techniques enabled the identification of pent-4-enenitrile. Variation in essential oil composition and yields was studied according to harvesting time, drying, and parts of the plant. The essential oil of aerial parts was tested for its antibacterial activity using a paper disk method. The oil was effective on the inactivation of Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa and ineffective on the inactivation of Staphylococcus aureus.     

Enantioselective determination of chiral toxaphene congeners in laying hens and eggs using multidimensional high-resolution gas chromatography

A total of 22 chiral toxaphene congeners were analyzed in organ tissues and eggs of laying hens after they had been fed with food spiked with technical toxaphene. For the analysis, multidimensional high-resolution gas chromatography using a chiral column coated with randomly silylated heptakis(O-tert-butyldimethylsilyl)-beta-cyclodextrin, electron capture detection, and valveless "live column switching" technique was applied. The analytical results were additionally confirmed with mass spectral data, recorded in electron-capture negative ionization mode with selected-ion monitoring mass spectrometry. During both the feeding period of the laying hens with toxaphene-contaminated food (38 weeks, accumulation phase) and the following subsiding period without toxaphenes (another 14 weeks, decontamination phase), organs (liver, kidney, skin/fat), blood, meat, and eggs of the hens served as model matrices for toxaphene uptake. The enantiomeric ratios (ERs) of congeners 26, 31, 32, 40, 41, 42(a+b), 44, 50, and 62--known as the most important components of technical toxaphene occurring in the environment--could be analytically determined. Significant differences were observed with respect to their initial racemic ratios. On the basis of their chemical structures, the metabolic pathways of some congeners could be explained. Astonishingly, some of the toxaphenes applied as racemates could merely be found as single enantiomers at the end of the feeding program, for example, congener 32 in blood and meat samples or congener 44, especially in organ tissues, which showed ERs of zero or infinity. The findings of this study impressively emphasize that it is essential to isolate and analyze individual toxaphene enantiomers in food and biota tissues to be capable of evaluating their toxicity and metabolization more specifically.     

Acid-induced gelation of enzymatically modified, preheated whey proteins

Low-pH whey protein gels are formulated using a sequential protocol of heat treatment, enzyme incubation, and cold-set acidification. The heat-induced disulfide and enzyme-catalyzed epsilon-(gamma-glutamyl)lysine linkages, both at neutral pH, produce a polymerized protein solution. The molecular weights of these samples show an exponential increase with protein concentration. The additional enzyme-catalyzed cross-links cause little change in molecular weight from that of heat-treated samples at low protein concentrations, indicating predominant intramolecular cross-linking. Enzyme treatment at higher protein concentration however causes increase in molecular weight, possibly due to formation of intermolecular cross-links. Acidification of the polymerized protein solutions through glucono-delta-lactone acid leads to gel formation at pH 4. The elastic (G') and viscous (G' ') moduli of gels with and without enzyme treatment show similar frequency dependence, indicating comparable microstructures, consistent with all samples exhibiting similar fractal dimensions of approximately 2 obtained independently using rheology and confocal microscopy. A substantial increase in fracture strain and stress of the gel is achieved by enzyme treatment. However, the elastic modulus (G') is only slightly larger after enzyme treatment compared with heat-treated samples. These results indicate that factors responsible for fracture properties may not be apparent in the gel microstructure and linear viscoelastic properties.     

Genetic diversity in African cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) provides potential for germplasm enhancement

Genetic diversity among 26 cucumber (Cucumis sativus L. var. sativus) accessions from five African countries [Algeria (1), Egypt (21), Ethiopia (2), Kenya (1), and Libya (1)] present in the U.S. National Plant Germplasm System (NPGS) were examined by assessing variation at 71 polymorphic random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) loci. Genetic distances (GD; simple matching coefficient) were estimated among these African accessions and a reference array (RA) of 21 accessions representative of the genetic variation in cucumber. GD among African accessions ranged between 0.41 and 0.97. GD among accessions in the reference array ranged between 0.36 and 0.88. Multivariate analysis identified three distinct groupings (1–3) of African accessions; Group 1 contained 21 accessions (Egypt, Ethiopia and Libya), Group 2 consisted of two accessions (Kenya, Algeria), and Group 3 possessed three accessions (Egypt). These groupings were distinct from each other (P > 0.001). Accessions in Group 1 differed genetically from all other accessions examined (P > 0.01), and accessions in Groups 2 and 3 were uniquely associated with several RA accessions. While GD among accessions in Group 1 ranged between 0.52 and 0.90, distances among Group 2 accessions varied between 0.93 and 0.97. The GD between the two accessions in Group 3 was 0.65. An accession from Syria (PI 181874) and from one Turkey (PI 199383) were genetically more similar to accessions in Group 1 than to other accessions in the RA. Likewise, accessions in Group 2 were genetically similar to two RA accessions from China and a European glasshouse cucumber line, and Group 3 accessions showed genetic affinities with the U.S. market class cultivar Dasher II. Data suggest that some Egyptian accessions (Group 1) possess unique genetic variation, that this germplasm has potential for broadening the genetic base of commerical cucumber, and that further collection of African germplasm is likely to enhance genetic diversity of cucumber in NPGS.     

Effect of temperature on the fragmentation of humic acids in alkaline solutions

The fragmentation of one synthetic and four soil humic acids was studied in solutions of sodium hydroxide (pH 13) at different temperature between 0 and 90°C. The dissolved parts of the initial amounts of humic acids decreased to a minimum with the increase in temperature from 0 to 10°C. The fragmentation in this region was a function of both; temperature and concentration. At 15–20°C all of the initial amounts of humic acids were dissolved. The rate of fragmentation increased rapidly between 15 and 20°C and later slowed down between 20 and 40°C. This was due to the reaggregation of the particles of the produced hymatomelanic acids into particles of similar solubilities as those of the residual nonfragmented parts of the humic acids. This reaggregation took place probably through the formation of hydrophobic bonds. The fragmentation increased at temperatures above 40°C, and reached a maximum between 50 and 70°C depending on the type of the humic acid. The decline in fragmentation at temperatures higher than those corresponding to the maxima is most probably due to chemical reactions, in which the fragmentation products especially fulvic acids recombine together at about 60°C. Importance of these results in analytical methods of extraction and characterisation of humic acids is discussed.     

Current titles in soil science

Nine extraction procedures were tried on four calcareous soils containing very low to extremely high amounts of calcium carbonate. Correlation studies relating chemically extractable zinc to both concentration in and uptake of zinc by young sorghum and maize plants grown in the greenhouse indicated that five extraction methods exhibited a high degree of correlation. When the methods were compared among themselves, the highest correlation was obtained for dithizone and EDTA-ammonium-carbonate methods. The EDTA-ammonium-carbonate method seemed to reflect the available zinc status of the soils more accurately than other methods.