Genotypic and temperature effects on wheat grain yield and quality in a hot irrigated environment

High temperature influences both grain yield and end‐use quality of wheat. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the performance of selected wheat genotypes under heat stress and to examine the effects of high temperatures during grain filling on grain yield and end‐use quality parameters. Fifteen bread wheat genotypes in 2000/2001 and 18 genotypes in 2002/2003 were evaluated under the optimum and late‐sowing conditions of the irrigated hot environment of the Gezira Research Farm, Wad Medani, Sudan. The genotypes comprised released varieties and elite lines from the Sudanese wheat improvement programme. Data collected included grain yield, grain weight and grain end‐use quality including protein content, protein composition, SDS sedimentation values (SDSS) and gluten strength as determined by mixograph analyses. High temperatures significantly decreased grain yield by decreasing grain weight. Although genotypes exhibited variation in magnitude of response, results indicated that high temperature during grain filling increased both soluble and insoluble protein contents, SDSS, mixograph peak height (MPH) and the descending slope at 2 min past peak (MDS). In contrast, mixograph peak time (MPT) and the curve width at 2 min past peak (MCW) were significantly decreased. Flour protein correlated positively with SDSS, MPH and MDS and negatively with MCW. MPT correlated negatively with MDS and positively with MCW. Results indicate that high temperature increased both soluble and insoluble protein contents, SDSS and MPH, and hence the gluten strength, but decreased flour mixing time and tolerance and hence the dough elasticity. Variation observed among genotypes suggests that grain end‐use quality could be improved under high temperature conditions utilizing the available variability; however, it might require evaluation under various growing conditions.     

Evaluation of wheat-based thin stillage as a water source for growing and finishing beef cattle.

Two trials were conducted to evaluate the nutritional value of wheat-based thin stillage as a water source for cattle. In Trial 1, 20 large-framed steers were fed a basal diet based primarily on barley grain and barley silage, with ad libitum access to water or thin stillage at one of three DM concentrations (2, 4, and 6.7%) in a completely randomized design. The trial consisted of a 70-d growing period and a finishing phase. In Trial 2, total-tract nutrient digestibility coefficients of the basal diet and water treatments fed in the growing period were determined in a randomized complete block design using 12 medium-framed steers. The results showed that when only DMI from the basal diet was considered, there was a linear reduction (P<.01) in DMI and a linear improvement (P<.01) in the gain:feed ratio with no effect on daily gain as thin stillage DM concentration increased. No differences were detected in DMI or efficiency of gain when total DMI (basal diet and thin stillage) was considered. Carcass traits indicated a trend toward increased (P<.06) carcass fat with increasing thin stillage DM concentration. Results of Trial 2 indicated a linear improvement (P<.05) in apparent digestibility of DM, CP, NDF, and energy of the total diet (basal diet and thin stillage) as thin stillage DM concentration increased. We concluded that supplementing growing and finishing cattle with thin stillage reduced the amount of the basal diet required for gain and improved nutrient utilization.     

Effects of deficit irrigation on the yield and yield components of drip irrigated cotton in a mediterranean environment

A field study on cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L., cv.) was carried out from 2005 to 2008 in the Çukurova Region, Eastern Mediterranean, Turkey. Treatments were designated as I₁₀₀ full irrigation; DI₇₀, DI₅₀ and DI₀₀ which received 70, 50, and 0% of the irrigation water amount applied in the I₁₀₀ treatment. The irrigation water amount to be applied to the plots was calculated using cumulative pan evaporation that occurred during the irrigation intervals. The effect of water deficit or water stress on crop yield and some plant growth parameters such as yield response, water use efficiencies, dry matter yield (DM), leaf area index (LAI) as well as on lint quality components was evaluated. The average seasonal evapotranspiration ranged from 287 ± 15 (DI₀₀) to 584 ± 80 mm (I₁₀₀). Deficit irrigation significantly affected crop yield and all yield components considered in this study. The average seed cotton yield varied from 1369 ± 197 (DI₀₀) to 3397 ± 508 kg ha⁻¹ (I₁₀₀). The average water use efficiency (WUE_ET) ranged from 6.0 ± 1.6 (I₁₀₀) to 4.8 ± 0.9 kg ha⁻¹ mm⁻¹ (DI₀₀), while average irrigation water use efficiency (WUE_I) was between 9.4 ± 3.0 (I₁₀₀) and 14.4 ± 4.8 kg ha⁻¹ mm⁻¹ (DI₅₀). Deficit irrigation increased the harvest index (HI) values from 0.26 ± 0.054 (I₁₀₀) to 0.32 ± 0.052 kg kg⁻¹ (DI₅₀). Yield response factor (Ky) was determined to be 0.98 based on four-year average. Leaf area index (LAI) and dry matter yields (DM) increased with increasing water use. This study demonstrated that the full irrigated treatment (I₁₀₀) should be used for semiarid conditions with no water shortage. However, DI₇₀ treatment needs to be considered as a viable alternative for the development of reduced irrigation strategies in semiarid regions where irrigation water supplies are limited.     

Effects of dietary fish oil replacement with vegetable oils on growth and tissue fatty acid composition of humpback grouper, Cromileptes altivelis (Valenciennes)

The replacement of dietary marine fish oil with vegetable oils was examined in fingerling humpback grouper, Cromileptes altivelis, over the course of an 8‐week growth trial. Five isolipidic (10%) and isoproteic (50%) fish meal‐based practical diets were formulated to contain iso‐ingredients but with different sources of lipids [crude palm oil (CPO), refined, bleached and deodorized, palm olein (RBDPO), soybean oil (SBO) or canola oil (CNO)], and their performance was compared with the control diet, which contained cod liver oil (CLO) as the added lipid source. The experimental diets were fed close to apparent satiation twice a day to triplicate groups of fish (10.6 ± 2.2 g). The grouper fingerlings were randomly distributed into groups of 12 fish in cylindrical cages (61 cm depth and 43 cm diameter) that were placed in a 150 tonne polyethylene seawater tank. There were no significant differences (P>0.05) in terms of growth, survival, feed conversion ratio, protein efficiency ratio, net protein utilization, hepatosomatic index and condition factor among fish fed the various dietary treatments. Similarly, the dietary lipid source did not significantly affect the whole body proximate composition of the fish. Muscle and liver fatty acid composition of fish was influenced by the experimental diets. Replacement of dietary CLO with CPO, RBDPO, SBO or CNO produced fish with lower n‐3 highly unsaturated fatty acids and increased levels of 18:2n‐6 in the muscle and liver. The n‐3:n‐6 fatty acid ratio in the muscle of fish fed the CLO‐based diet was 3.0 compared with 0.5–0.8 in the muscle of fish fed the various vegetable oil‐based diets. The present study demonstrated that various vegetable oils can be used in fish meal‐based dietary formulations for humpback grouper without compromising growth or feed utilization efficiency.     

On the species ofRhyacionia Hübner [1825] (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) in Turkey

Three forest pest species of the genusRhyacionia Hübner [1825] (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) that are known to damagePinus species are found in Turkey:R. buoliana ([Denis & Schiffermüller], 1775),R. pinicolana, (Doubleday, 1849) andR. pinivorana (Lienig & Zeller, 1846).R. pinivorana is recorded for the first time from Turkey.R. pinicolana, first recorded in 1999, is now reported for the second time from Turkey. Photographs are presented of adult males and their genitalia of all taxa and the species distribution is shown on a map.     

Deltamethrin raises potassium activity in the microenvironment of the central nervous system of the cockroach: An assessment of the potential role of the blood-brain barrier in insecticide action

The effect of deltamethrin (10μm) on extracellular K ⁺ activity in the micro-environment of the central nervous system of the cockroach has been studied. At normal room temperature, deltamethrin induced a rise in the K ⁺ concentration of about 3 mM, representing some 75% increase from normal Deltamethrin also caused a transient surge in the frequency of spontaneous activity, which preceded the K ⁺ effect. At a lowered temperature, the final value of the deltamthrin-induced rise in extracellular K ⁺ concentration was very similar to normal. However, when the structural component of the blood-brain barrier was disrupted, the effect of deltamethrin was much reduced. Possible consequences of the deltamethrin-induced rise in extracellular K ⁺ concentration and the potential role of the blood-brain barrier in insecticide action are discussed.     

Effects of Dietary Carbohydrate Source and Level on Growth,Feed Utilization,and Body Composition of the Humpback Grouper,Cromileptes altivelis (Valenciennes)

Six diets were formulated to contain corn starch, tapioca starch, or dextrin at 10% and 20% inclusion levels and fed to humpback grouper fingerlings to apparent satiation for 10 weeks. Growth and feed utilization efficiency of humpback grouper were not affected by dietary carbohydrate source and level. Only slightly higher growth was observed in fish fed 20% dietary carbohydrate compared to the fish fed 10% carbohydrate irrespective of carbohydrate source. Body indices and whole body proximate composition of fish in the present study were generally independent of diet, except that muscle lipid of fish fed diets with 7.6% lipid and 20% carbohydrate was significantly lower than the other groups. In view of the lower price and local availability of tapioca starch compared to corn starch and dextrin, tapioca starch is the preferred source of starch in practical diets for humpback grouper.