Source of mycorrhizal inoculum influences growth of Faidherbia albida seedlings

Poor land use management and practice inhibit the growth and establishment of tree seedlings in dryland areas.We assessed arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi(AM)status of Faidherbia albida(Del.)A.Chev.trees grown on different land uses.We quantified the growth and nutrient uptake of F.albida seedlings inoculated with AM from different sources.These efforts were based on soil and fine root samples from the rhizosphere soils of F.albida trees.AM root colonization was determined using the gridline intersect method.Spores were extracted by the wet sieving and decanting method and identified to genus level.The seedling experiment had a completely randomized onefactorial design with four treatments and five replications.Faidherbida albida seedlings were grown in a greenhouse.All in situ F.albida trees were colonized by AM fungi.AM root colonization of F.albida trees was significantly higher(P<0.0086)in area exclosures than on lands used for grazing or cultivation.Spore abundance was significantly higher(P<0.0014)in area exclosures followed by cultivated land and grazing land.Glomus was the dominant genus in all land-uses.AM-inoculated F.albida seedlings grew better(P<0.05)than non-inoculated controls.Seedlings inoculated with AM from area exclosure had significantly(P<0.05)higher growth and nutrient uptake than those inoculated with AM from grazing and cultivated land.This emphasizes the importance of the native soil AM potential for better establishment of seedlings to achieve optimum plant growth improvement and assist in rehabilitation of degraded arid lands.     

Kernel vitreousness and protein content: Relationship,interaction and synergistic effects on durum wheat quality

Four sets of durum samples were used in this study to further understand the interrelationships among hard vitreous kernels (HVK), protein content, and pigment concentration, with a focus on the interaction and synergistic effects of protein content and vitreousness on durum quality. HVK level increases with higher protein content in the range of 9.5–12.5%, but this relationship is less evident in durum samples with high protein content (12.5–14.5%). Both protein content and kernel vitreousness can significantly affect durum milling quality. White starchy kernels (WSK) in low protein durum have a very detrimental impact on milling and pasta processing quality, but high protein content can mitigate the adverse impact of WSK on durum quality. Although protein content plays a dominant role, higher HVK might contribute positively to pasta firmness. There was no significant difference in yellow pigment content between HVK and WSK. However, pigment loss from semolina to dough was higher for WSK than HVK. Despite the difference in protein content, HVK and WSK have little difference in gluten strength. The monomeric protein was preferentially accumulated in HVK. The glutenin proteins of HVK and WSK were similar in the ratios of 1Bx/1By and HMW/LMW-GS.     

Past and present outbreaks of the balsam fir sawfly in western Newfoundland: An analytical review

Historical data of defoliation and population density were examined to determine whether a sustained outbreak of balsam fir sawfly (Neodiprion abietis Harris) in western Newfoundland, Canada is unprecedented in severity and duration. Results indicate that the current outbreak departs substantially from historical trends, covering a surface area twice the sum of all infestations occurring in the preceding 50 years. The current outbreak is also of longer duration due to a northward expansion of the range usually subjected to severe defoliation by this insect. Time-series analysis indicates that balsam fir sawfly dynamics have a strong second-order component, providing testable hypotheses for future studies investigating the factors responsible for population fluctuations.     

Changes in the content of steroidal glycoalkaloids in potato tubers grown in the field and in the greenhouse under different conditions of light, temperature and daylength

Differences in the content of steroid glycoalkaloids (SGA) were noted in the peels of potato tubers cultivars Alpha, Cara, Désirée and LT-7. Cultivar LT-7 had always the highest SGA content, Désirée was intermediate and Alpha and Cara had the lowest SGA content, regardless of growing conditions, tuber ageing and tuber treatments. Tubers grown during the summer developed the highest SGA content as compared to those grown in the spring and winter seasons, respectively. Tubers grown during winter showed an increase in SGA toward the end of the storage period. Similar results were obtained with tubers of LT-7 grown in a greenhouse under cool temperatures in combination with short days (which imitate the winter conditions in Israel). A decrease in SGA content was observed in tuber slices treated with a fungal cell-wall preparation fromPhytophthora citrophthora. This decrease was much stronger in the pith than in the peel, indicating a possible role for SGA in the defence mechanism because peels are the first part of the tuber to be invaded by pathogens. The above results were observed in tubers of all cultivars regardless of the growing season or tuber ageing.     

Improvement of Seed Quality of Wheat (Triticum aestivum) as Affected by Brassinolide under Different Irrigation Regimes

Journal of Crop Science and Biotechnology - Irrigation interruption owing to time of incidence is affecting the seed quality. The aim of this research was to determine whether the brassinolide and...     

Detecting interactive effects of N fertilization and heat stress on maize productivity by remote sensing techniques

The objective of this study was to compare the performance of two different remotely sensed techniques in detecting the effects of terminal heat stress and N fertilization on final maize aerial biomass (AB) and grain yield (GY). The study was conducted under field conditions for two consecutive growing seasons. Six N treatments combining three doses [0, 100, 200 Kg N ha⁻¹] and two timings [at V4 and at 15 days before silking] were applied. Within each N treatment three heat treatments were applied (pre-flowering, post-flowering and the control treatment at ambient air temperature). Remote sensing measurements were taken with a multispectral band camera to measure the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and a digital Red/Green/Blue (RGB) camera to measure the normalized green red difference index (NGRDI). Both indices failed to predict the GY of pre-flowering heat-treated plants due to grain set establishment problems that could not be detected by vegetation indices which are designed to capture differences in green canopy area. In contrast, both the NGRDI and the NDVI correlated positively with GY and AB in the control heat treatment and to a lesser extent in the post-flowering heat treatment. Under the control heat treatment, the NGRDI exhibited higher correlations with AB and GY than the NDVI across the N fertilization treatments. Since the NGRDI is formulated based only on the reflectance in the visible regions (VIS) of the spectrum (Green and Red) without dependence on the near infrared regions (NIR), it performs better than the NDVI. This is because it overcame the reported saturation patterns at high leaf area index and was more efficient at capturing even small differences in leaf colour (chlorophyll content) due to the different applied N treatments. Also, the NGRDI seemed to be a more seasonally independent parameter than the NDVI, which is more affected by temporal variability within the field, and thus the NGRDI predicted AB and GY better than the NDVI when combining the data of the two growing seasons.     

In-field management of corn cob and residue mix: Effect on soil greenhouse gas emissions

In-field management practices of corn cob and residue mix (CRM) as a feedstock source for ethanol production can have potential effects on soil greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of CRM piles, storage in-field, and subsequent removal on soil CO₂ and N₂O emissions. The study was conducted in 2010–2012 at the Iowa State University, Agronomy Research Farm located near Ames, Iowa (42.0°′N; 93.8°′W). The soil type at the site is Canisteo silty clay loam (fine-loamy, mixed, superactive, calcareous, mesic Typic Endoaquolls). The treatments for CRM consisted of control (no CRM applied and no residue removed after harvest), early spring complete removal (CR) of CRM after application of 7.5 cm depth of CRM in the fall, 2.5 cm, and 7.5 cm depth of CRM over two tillage systems of no-till (NT) and conventional tillage (CT) and three N rates (0, 180, and 270 kg N ha⁻¹) of 32% liquid UAN (NH₄NO₃) in a randomized complete block design with split–split arrangements. The findings of the study suggest that soil CO₂ and N₂O emissions were affected by tillage, CRM treatments, and N rates. Most N₂O and CO₂ emissions peaks occurred as soil moisture or temperature increased with increase precipitation or air temperature. However, soil CO₂ emissions were increased as the CRM amount increased. On the other hand, soil N₂O emissions increased with high level of CRM as N rate increased. Also, it was observed that NT with 7.5 cm CRM produced higher CO₂ emissions in drought condition as compared to CT. Additionally, no differences in N₂O emissions were observed due to tillage system. In general, dry soil conditions caused a reduction in both CO₂ and N₂O emissions across all tillage, CRM treatments, and N rates.     

丽草蛉滞育预蛹的重要生化物质变化分析

丽草蛉是多种农林害虫的重要捕食性天敌昆虫，能以预蛹进行兼性滞育越冬，该属性对延长丽草蛉的产品货架期、增加产品储备量及促进产品运输具有重要意义。本研究分别测定了丽草蛉非滞育预蛹（1日龄）和滞育预蛹（1日龄、7日龄）体内的总蛋白质、脂类、糖类及醇类等主要生化物质的含量，以及脂肪酶、海藻糖酶、抗氧化酶（超氧化物歧化酶、过氧化物酶、过氧化氢酶）等关键酶的活性变化，比较了非滞育和滞育丽草蛉预蛹体内重要生化物质的差异。结果表明：滞育和非滞育丽草蛉的生理生化特征显著不同，滞育预蛹显著积累蛋白质、脂类、甘油三酯、糖原等能源物质以及甘油、海藻糖等低温保护物质，并且滞育个体的抗氧化防御能力显著增强，这些生理生化变化有助于提高丽草蛉的抗逆性，满足滞育维持期及滞育解除后恢复发育的能量需求，保证滞育个体的发育和存活。结果为解析丽草蛉滞育的生理机制奠定了基础。     

Zn distribution and bioavailability in whole grain and grain fractions of winter wheat as affected by applications of soil N and foliar Zn combined with N or P

A two-year field experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of foliar Zn combined with N or P on Zn concentration and bioavailability in wheat grain and its milling fractions under different soil N levels. At maturity, grains were harvested and fractionated into flour and bran for nutrient analysis. Both high soil N supply and foliar Zn-enriched fertilizer applications greatly increased Zn concentration and bioavailability in both whole grain and grain fractions. Compared with foliar Zn alone, foliar Zn combined with N increased Zn concentration and bioavailability, whereas foliar Zn combined with P decreased Zn concentration and bioavailability. However, foliar Zn combined with P slightly increased the protein concentration compared to foliar Zn alone. Protein concentration significantly increased, whereas phytate concentration decreased, in whole grain and flour, both in soil N and foliar Zn-enriched N treatments. Therefore, foliar Zn plus N (with appropriate soil N management) may be a promising strategy for addressing dietary Zn micronutrient deficiencies, especially in countries where flour is a significant component of the daily diet.