Donors for Resistance to Brown Planthopper Nilaparvata lugens(St?l) from Wild Rice Species

Out of 1 989 wild accessions sown in seed boxes for screening, only 1 003 wild accessions with good germination were screened against brown planthopper(BPH), Nilaparvata lugens(St?l) under greenhouse conditions. The collection comprised of accessions from 11 wild species and African cultivated rice. The germplasm was screened for BPH following standard seed box screening technique in the greenhouse. As many as 159 accessions were identified as resistant during the year 2012 based on one year screening. A selected set of BPH resistant accessions were screened again during 2013. Based on the two years screening, seven accessions of O. nivara(AA), one accession of O. officinalis(CC), seven accessions of O. australiensis(EE), five accessions of O. punctata(BB and BBCC) and nine accessions of O. latifolia(CCDD) were confirmed to be resistant to BPH. So far no BPH resistance genes have been identified and designated from O. nivara and O. punctata, hence these may act as new sources of resistance.     

Diffusion of urea, ammonium and soil alkalinity from surface applied urea

A model for predicting the concentration profiles of urea, ammonium and soil pH in a soil column following diffusion from a surface application of urea is developed, using independently derived parameters, and tested experimentally. The following processes within the model were studied separately under the same conditions as those in the diffusion run. The rate of urea hydrolysis as a function of substrate concentration and pH in the soil solution, and the sorption of urea and ammonium by the soil from solution. A theory for the propagation of changes of pH in soils was applied to describe the diffusion of soil alkalinity arising from urea hydrolysis. These processes were linked by three diffusion equations—for urea, NH₄ and soil alkalinity, which were solved numerically using finite difference methods. There was good agreement between experimental and predicted concentrations of urea and NH₄, and soil pH values at the two times tested.     

Effect of organic matter on the distribution, extractability and uptake of cadmium in soils

Distribution and plant uptake of soil Cd as influenced by organic matter and soil type were investigated in a greenhouse experiment. Three soils (a sand, sandy loam and clay loam) were used. The rates of organic matter in its moist state added were 0,20,40, 80, 160 and 320 g kg^-1 of the air-dried soil on mass basis. Ryegrass (Lolium multörum L.) was used as a test crop. Soil Cd was analysed by a sequential extraction technique and by extraction with 1 M NH₄NO₃ and 0.005 M DTPA. The exchangeable fraction of Cd as determined by 1 M MgCl₂ in the sequential extraction procedure increased, whereas the Fe-Mn oxidebound fraction decreased, with increasing levels of organic matter addition in all three soils. The dry matter yields of ryegrass were not affected by the addition of organic matter, but the Cd concentrations in both cuts of ryegrass decreased with increasing amounts of organic matter added. The plant Cd was highly but negatively correlated to soil CEC. At any level of organic matter addition, the decrease in Cd concentration of ryegrass was in the order: sand > sandy loam > clay loam.     

A VERSATILE METHOD FOR TREATMENT OF CLAY SOILS FOR THIN-SECTION FABRIC STUDIES

In an earlier investigation three different methods had to be used for the treatment of laboratory-compacted clay soils prior to the preparation of thin sections for use in fabric studies. The three methods, viz., the Carbowax method, the Araldite-resin impregnation method, and the Aquax method, had limited application depending on the degree of saturation and the clay-mineral composition of the soil. A new method has been developed which can be applied to all clay soils irrespective of their mineralogy and degree of saturation. In this method, the pore water of the soil specimen is first replaced with monostyrene using a two-step diffusion process. Then the specimen is impregnated with an Araldite-resin mixture which can be cured at a temperature of 55°C. The method has yielded better thin sections than those obtained by any of the three previous methods. Pure montmorillonite soils can be treated with a greater degree of success than hitherto possible.     

Genesis and transformation of minerals in the formation of red (Alfisols) and black (Inceptisols and Vertisols) soils on Deccan basalt in the Western Ghats, India

Six noncalcareous pedons from the basaltic terrain of the Western Ghats in Maharashtra, India, were identified for the present study. Of these, two red-soil pedons (Typic Haplustalfs) and one black-soil pedon (Vertic Ustropept) are from the Bhimashankar plateau at an elevation of 1000 m above mean sea level, experiencing a humid (>5000 mm rainfall) tropical climate. The other three pedons of black soils (Typic Chromusterts and Typic Ustropept) are from the semi-arid zone (500–1000 mm rainfall), at an elevation of 825–893 m. Clay mineralogical investigation indicated that interstratified smectite-kaolin (Sm/K) is dominant in red soils whereas smectite is dominant in black soils. The Sm/K is formed by the transformation of montmorillonite, the first weathering product of Deccan basalts in a humid tropical climate. We suggest that the interstratification of kaolin with chloritized smectite may also be an important ephemeral stage during the transformation of smectite to kaolinite. The presence of zeolites provided sufficient bases to prevent the complete transformation of Sm/K to kaolinite. The presence of smectites and zeolites made the formation of black soils possible in microdepressions even in a tropical humid climate. The genesis of Sm/K and smectite in red and black soils, respectively, suggests that these soils formed through a progressive landscape reduction process. The presence of both Sm/K and smectite in black soil clays of semi-arid climate suggests that the smectite of these soils was formed in an earlier humid climate.     

Experiences with Rice Grown on Permanent Raised Beds: Effect of Crop Establishment Techniques on Water Use,Productivity, Profitability and Soil Physical Properties

In recent years, conventional rice production technologies have been leading to deterioration of soil health and declining farm profitability due to high inputs of water and labor. Conservation agriculture(CA) based resource-conserving technologies i.e. zero-tillage(ZT), raised-bed planting and direct-seeded rice(DSR) have shown promise as alternatives to conventional production technologies to overcome these problems. Present study was undertaken during 2009–2012 to establish an understanding of how permanent raised bed cropping system could be practiced to save water at the field application level to improve water productivity and also have the capability to enhance productivity, profitability and soil physical quality. The results showed that among different crop establishment techniques, conventional-tilled puddle transplanted rice(CT-TPR) required 14%-25% more water than other techniques. Compared with the CT-TPR system, zero till direct-seeded rice(ZT-DSR) consumed 6%–10% less water with almost equal system productivity and demonstrated higher water productivity. Wide raised beds saved about 15%–24% water and grain yield decrease of about 8%. Direct-seeded rice after ZT or reduced tillage or on unpuddled soil provided more net income than CT-TPR. The CTTPR system had higher bulk density and penetration resistance due to compaction caused by the repeated wet tillage in rice. The steady-state infiltration rate and soil aggregation( 0.25 mm) were higher under permanent beds and ZT and lower in the CT-TPR system. Under CT-TPR, soil aggregation was static across seasons, whereas it improved under no-till and permanent beds. Similarly, mean weight diameter of aggregates was higher under ZT and permanent beds and increased over time. The study reveals that to sustain the rice productivity, CA-based planting techniques can be more viable options. However, the long-term effects of these alternative technologies need to be studied under varying agro-ecologies in western Uttar Pradesh, India.     

Influence of Low Light Irradiance on Grain Filling in Rice (Oryza saliva L.) cultivars

Time course of grain filling pattern in two rice (Oryza sativa L.) cultivars, grown under normal and low light intensities, was studied. The number of spikelets, partially filled grains and high density grains were monitored at a 5 day interval during grain filling period from uniform panicles tagged at anthesis. The low light tolerant cultivar Swarnaprabha had more high density grains and less partially filled grains throughout the grain filling period and at harvest compared to cultivar Ratna under both normal and low light intensities. Further, the opening of spikelets in two flushes in Swarnaprabha seemed to result in a more efficient resource allocation and hence better yield as compared to Ratna, in which the opening of spikelets was in a single flush on day 10.     

EFFECTS OF BENOMYL ON IRON AND MANGANESE REDUCTION AND REDOX POTENTIAL IN FLOODED SOIL

Benlate (50 per cent wettable powder), the commercial formulation of the systemic fungicide benomyl, was applied to a flooded alluvial soil at concentrations of 5 to 100 μg/g active ingredient. At about the field application rate (S μg/g), benomyl retarded the decrease in the redox potentials of the flooded soil and curtailed the accumulation of iron and manganese in solution, both without and with added rice straw (0.5 per cent).     

Silicon and plant nutrition—dynamics,mechanisms of transport and role of silicon solubilizer microbiomes in sustainable agriculture: A review

Silicon (Si) is the second most abundant element in the Earth’s crust and has numerous roles in both soils and plants, although it is inaccessible to plants in its native state (insoluble silicate minerals). This inaccessibility can lead to insufficiency, which induces anomalies in plant growth and development.Specifically, Si alleviates various biotic and abiotic stresses in plants by enhancing tolerance mechanisms at different stages of uptake/deposition as a monosilicic acid. Exclusive utiliz...