Studies on Growth,Yield and Quality of Broccoli (Brassica Oleracea L.Var Italica Plenck) as Influenced by Boron and Molybdenum

Broccoli (Brassica oleracea L.var italica Plenck) is an important winter season exotic vegetable from the Brassicaceae family as well as heavy feeder of plant nutrients. Plant nutrition is one of the prime considerations for getting higher yield of any crop. Mineral fertilizer improves growth and yield of broccoli due to the role of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium on the meristematic activity. Boron and molybdenum are essential micronutrients required for normal plant growth and development. Plants differ widely in their requirements, but the ranges of deficiency and toxicity are narrow. Boron and molybdenum deficiencies are very common in Cole crops. Deficiency causes many anatomical, physiological, and biological changes. The deficiency of boron and molybdenum has threatened the ever increasing areas of broccoli. The effected heads become irregular in shape, smaller in size and bitter in taste which adversely affects the market demand of the crop. No systematic work so far has been done in production technology of sprouting broccoli in relation to response of nutrients in the gangetic plains of West Bengal. The present investigation was attempted to find out the growth, yield, and quality of broccoli on the aspects of minor mineral (boron and molybdenum) nutrition. The experiments were conducted at the Horticultural Research Station of Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Mondouri, Nadia, West Bengal, during 2010–12 with four levels of boron (0, 15, 18, and 21 kg ha^?1) and molybdenum (0, 1.2, 1.5, and 1.8 kg ha^?1). Design of the experiment was a Factorial Randomized Block Design. Biometric observations were recorded from the selected plant from each plot and each replication of both the years. It was concluded from the results that under favorable agro-climatic conditions, the application of 18 kg borax and 1.8 kg ammonium molybdate ha^?1 was found beneficial for growth, yield, and quality of broccoli.     

Ridge tillage and contour natural grass barrier strips reduce tillage erosion

Large amounts of soil are eroded annually from tilled, hilly upland soils in the humid tropics. Awareness has been increasing that much of this erosion may be due to tillage operations rather than water-induced soil movement. This field study estimated soil translocation and tillage erosion for four tillage systems on Oxisols with slope gradients of 16–22% at Claveria, Misamis Oriental, Philippines. Soil movement was estimated using ‘soil movement tracers' (SMT) which consisted of painted 12-mm hexagonal steel nuts. The SMT were buried in three replicate plots of the following tillage treatments: (1) contour moldboard plowing in the open field (MP-open); (2) contour ridge tillage in the open field (RT-open); (3) contour moldboard plowing plus contour natural grass barrier strips (MP-strip); and (4) contour natural grass barrier strips plus ridge tillage (RT-strip). Two hundred SMT were placed at the 5-cm depth at 5-cm spacings on 10 rows and 20 columns in two microplots within each plot. The microplots were oriented with the boundaries running downslope and along the contour of each 8-m-wide × 38-m-long (downslope) tillage plot. After tilling the land for four successive corn (Zea mays L.) crops (20 tillage operations), the SMT were manually excavated and their positions recorded. Recovery of SMT ranged from 82% to 85%. Displacement of SMT was directly related to slope length, percent slope, and tillage method. Mean displacement distance of SMT during the four corn growing seasons was 3.3 m for MP-open, 1.8 m for RT-open, 1.5 m for the RT-strip, and 2.2 m for MP-strip. Based on tillage operations associated with two corn crops per year, mean annual soil flux was estimated to be 241, 131, 158 and 112 kg m⁻¹ for MP-open, RT-open MP-strip, and RT-strip, respectively. Compared to the mean annual soil loss for MP-open of 63 Mg ha⁻¹, soil loss was reduced by 30%, 45%, and 53% for the MP-strip, RT-open, and RT-strip systems, respectively. Both ridge tillage and natural grass barrier strips reduced soil displacement, soil translocation flux, and tillage erosion rates.     

Assessment of tillage erosion rates on steepland Oxisols in the humid tropics using granite rocks

Soil translocation by tillage may be an important factor in land degradation in the humid tropics. The objective of this study was to evaluate tillage-induced soil translocation on an Oxisol with 25% and 36% slopes in Claveria, Philippines for three tillage systems: contour moldboard plowing (CMP), moldboard plowing up and downslope (UMP), and contour ridge tillage (CRT). Small rocks 3–4 cm in “diameter” were used as soil movement detection units (SMDU). The SMDUs were placed at 10 cm intervals in a narrow 5-cm-deep trench near the upper boundary of each plot, the position of each rock recorded, and the trench backfilled. Five tillage operations used to produce one corn crop were performed during a one month period: two moldboard plowing operations for land preparation (except for CRT), one moldboard plowing for corn planting, and two inter-culture (inter-row cultivation) operations. After these operations, over 95% of the SMDU were recovered manually and their exact locations recorded. Mean annual soil flux for the 25% slope was 365 and 306 kg m⁻¹ y⁻¹ for UMP and CMP, respectively. For the 36% slope, comparable values were 481 and 478 kg m⁻¹ y⁻¹. Estimated tillage erosion rates for the 25% slope were 456 and 382 Mg ha⁻¹ y⁻¹ for UMP and CMP, respectively, and increased to 601 and 598 Mg ha⁻¹ y⁻¹, respectively, for the 36% slope. The mean displacement distance, mean annual soil flux, and mean annual tillage-induced soil loss for both slopes were reduced by approximately 70% using CRT compared to CMP and UMP.     

Phenotypic and genetic characterization of Erwinia rhapontici isolated from diseased Asian pear fruit trees

In 1995, a serious necrotic disease appeared in Asian pear trees in the orchards of Chuncheon, South Korea. Large numbers of bacterial samples were collected, and the causative microorganism was identified as a novel pathogen, Erwinia pyrifoliae. Among the samples, four bacterial isolates with atypical characteristics were further analyzed through biochemical tests and 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis. By phenotypic and genetic analysis these isolates were identified as E. rhapontici. Phylogenetic analysis using 16S rRNA sequence data revealed that E. rhapontici forms a discrete clade with high bootstrap value close to the E. amylovora group. Pathogenicity tests on leaves of tobacco plants (Nicotiana tabacum) elicited hypersensitivity responses, but artificial inoculations on immature fruits and shoots of Asian pear (Pyrus pyrifolia) did not show any necrotic symptoms. The developed primers showed no cross reactivity when tested against other phytopathogens and were able to detect E. rhapontici from mixed culture and in planta.     

Consumer Preferences for Live Seafood in the Northeastern Region of USA: Results from Asian Ethnic Fish Market Survey

Asian ethnic fish markets in the Northeastern region of the United States of America (USA) are popular for selling live fish and seafood. A consumer survey was conducted in selected supermarkets of New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania during the summer of 2009 to assess consumer preferences for live seafood species. A binary logit model was developed to study the factors influencing preferences for live and fresh fish products. Results indicated that consumer preferences for live fish species vary by ethnic group. Live fish customers visited supermarkets at least two to three times a week and spent $16 to $20 a week to purchase medium size fish (0 to .91 kg live fish, on average). Freshness and appearance (bright, free of bruises, healthy fish) were the most important attributes. Findings indicate that promotion of live fish sales should be targeted to those stores dominated by East Asian (Chinese, Korean, and Japanese) customers.     

Differences in the composition and diversity of bacterial communities from agricultural and forest soils

Differences in the bacterial communities of soils caused by disturbances and land management were identified in rRNA gene libraries prepared from conventional tilled (CT) and no tilled (NT) cropland, a successional forest after 30 y of regrowth (NF) and an old forest of >65 y (OF) at Horseshoe Bend, in the southern Piedmont of Georgia (USA). Libraries were also prepared from forests after 80 y of regrowth at the Coweeta Long Term Ecological Research site (CWT) in the Southern Appalachians of western North Carolina (USA). The composition of the bacterial communities in cropland soils differed from those of the Horseshoe Bend OF and CWT forest soils, and many of the most abundant OTUs were different. Likewise, the diversity of bacterial communities from forest was less than that from cropland. The lower diversity in forest soils was attributed to the presence of a few, very abundant taxa in forest soils that were of reduced abundance or absent in cropland soils. After 30 y of regrowth, the composition of the bacterial soil community of the NF was similar to that of the OF, but the diversity was greater. These results suggested that the bacterial community of soil changes slowly within the time scale of these studies. In contrast, the composition and diversity of the bacterial communities in the Horseshoe Bend OF and Coweeta soils were very similar. Thus, this forest soil bacterial community was widely distributed in spite of the differences in soil properties, vegetation, and climate as well as resilient to disturbances of the above ground vegetation.     

EFFECT OF VENTILATION TECHNIQUE AND AIRWAY DIAMETER ON BRONCHIAL LUMEN TO PULMONARY ARTERY DIAMETER RATIOS IN CLINICALLY NORMAL BEAGLE DOGS

In dogs, a mean broncho‐arterial ratio of 1.45 ± 0.21 has been previously defined as normal. These values were obtained in dogs under general inhalational anesthesia using a single breath‐hold technique. The purpose of the study was to determine whether ventilation technique and bronchial diameter have an effect on broncho‐arterial ratios. Four healthy Beagle dogs were scanned twice, each time with positive‐pressure inspiration and end expiration. For each ventilation technique, broncho‐arterial ratios were grouped into those obtained from small or large bronchi using the median diameter of the bronchi as the cutoff value. Mean broncho‐arterial ratios obtained using positive‐pressure inspiration (1.24 ± 0.23) were statistically greater than those obtained at end expiration (1.11 ± 0.20) P = 0.005. There was a strong positive correlation between bronchial diameter and broncho‐arterial ratios for both ventilation techniques (positive‐pressure inspiration r_s = .786, P < 0.0005 and end expiration r_s = .709, P < 0.0005). Mean broncho‐arterial ratio for the large bronchi obtained applying positive‐pressure inspiration was 1.39 cm ± 0.20 and during end expiration was 1.22 cm ± 0.20. Mean broncho‐arterial ratio for the small bronchi obtained during positive‐pressure inspiration was 1.08 cm ± 0.13 and during end expiration was 1.01 cm ± 0.13. There was a statistically significant difference between these groups (F = 248.60, P = 0.005). Findings indicated that reference values obtained using positive‐pressure inspiration or from the larger bronchi may not be applicable to dogs scanned during end expiration or to the smaller bronchi.     

Partnering with farmers to accelerate adoption of new technologies in South Asia to improve wheat productivity

There are many socioeconomic and technological constraints that affect the production of wheat and other staple cereals in South Asia. Wheat production is one of the economic mainstays in South Asia, but the yield gap between farmers’ fields and experimental yields is wide across the region. For the last 3 years, CIMMYT and the CAZS-NR have been collaborating with farmers, NARS, and other South Asian partners to promote improved wheat varieties and new resource conservation technologies (RCTs) in farmers’ fields. Participation fostered among farmers, scientists, extension specialists, NGOs and the private sector included variety selection (PVS), and evaluation of agronomic practices. Through PVS, several farmer-preferred technologies have been identified including wheat varieties for adverse conditions in eastern Uttar Pradesh (India) and for boron deficiency in parts of Nepal. There has been considerable improvement in the access of farmers to new varieties and technologies in the rural areas. Yield increases (15–70%) have been achieved by resource-poor farmers over the existing varieties through the adoption of new varieties and RCTs. The farmers have also made substantial cost savings and achieved higher yields through resource-conserving agronomic techniques such as zero till. Seed of the new farmer-selected cultivars has been multiplied by groups of collaborating farmers and widely distributed.