Assessment of Genetic Diversity of Drought Tolerant and Susceptible Rice Genotypes Using Microsatellite Markers

The introgression of wild chromosomal segments into popular rice varieties is one of the potential approaches for developing varieties for drought stress condition. Sixteen genotypes, including nine indica, two tropical japonica and five chromosome segments substitution lines(CSSLs) with different levels of tolerance/susceptibility to drought stress, were selected for diversity study. Sixty-three microsatellite markers were utilized for assessing genetic diversity. A total of 95 alleles were amplified, and out of them, 60 were polymorphic. Six unique alleles, amplified by the microsatellite loci RM276, RM472,RM488, RM537, RM541 and RM28089, were identified in six genotypes, namely FR13A, Brahamanakhi,RUF44, Swarna-sub1, Brahamanakhi and Satyabhama. The highest genetic similarity was found among CSSLs. Polymorphism information content(PIC) value varied from 0 to 1.00 with an average of 0.66 per locus. Twenty-eight microsatellites were found to be polymorphic, which could be used in marker-assisted selection programme. All the sixteen genotypes were grouped into two major clusters at genetic similarity of 0.64. In the cluster I, five CSSLs identified as diverse genotypes had wild ancestor segments responsible for drought tolerance, and hence they could be utilized as potential donors. The popular Indian varieties, Swarna-sub1 and IR64-sub1, could be used as recurrent parents in the future breeding program for developing varieties for abiotic stresses such as submergence and drought.     

Effect of split application of zinc on yield of rice (Oryza sativa L.) in an inceptisol

Abstract

Rice is mostly transplanted under puddled low land soil conditions in India, where Zinc (Zn) deficiency is a common problem. The objective of this study was to find out the efficacy of split application of Zn on growth and yield of rice in an inceptisol. The split application of Zn as ZnSO₄ · 7H₂O performed better than its single basal application, while the split application of Zn-EDTA did not show any significant difference on yield and yield components of rice over its single basal application. Zn-EDTA was found to be better for growth and yield of rice among the two sources of Zn. The soil application of Zn at 1.0 kg ha^?1 as Zn-EDTA (T₇) recorded highest grain yield of 5.42 t ha^?1, filled grain percentage of 90.2%, 1000-grain weight of 25.41 g and number of panicles m^?2 of 452. The Zn content of grain and straw were found to be maximum in the treatment T₇ i.e. 38.19 and 18.27 mg kg^?1, respectively. Linear regression studies indicated that grain yield of rice is significantly influenced by Zn content of grain, Zn content of straw and DTPA extractable Zn content of soil at the level of 95.96, 96.74 and 95.57%, respectively.     

Studies on Management of Chromium(VI) – Contaminated Industrial Waste Effluent using Hydrous Titanium Oxide (HTO)

The anion exchange behaviour of hydrous titanium oxide(HTO) has been exploited for the management of industrialwaste effluents contaminated with chromium(VI). Theadsorption of chromium(VI) by HTO (74.0–140.0 micron) in thepH range 0.5–8.0 has been studied. It is found that theadsorption of chromium(VI) by HTO is at a maximum in the pHrange 1.5–2.0. The interference of diverse foreign ionssuch as nitrate, chloride, sulfate, phosphate, calcium,magnesium, nickel, iron(III), barium etc. on the adsorptionof chromium(VI) by HTO at optimum pH has been investigatedby a batch-operation technique. Break-through capacity,adsorption and elution of chromium(VI) using HTO have beenstudied. It is found that HTO could be reused as anadsorbent for chromium(VI). Finally, chromium(VI) wasrecovered as insoluble chromate compound from waste effluentof Hindustan Motor Limited (HML) of Hooghly, West Bengal, India.     

Integrated nutrient management (INM) on yield trends and sustainability,nutrient balance and soil fertility in a long-term (30 years) rice-wheat system in the Indo-Gangetic plains of India

We analyzed data from a long-term rice–wheat cropping sequence to evaluate the effects of integrated nutrient management (INM) on yield trends and sustainability, nutrient balance and soil fertility of the system. After 30th cycle, grain yield of both the crops significantly declined under control and highest rice and wheat grain yields were obtained when 50% N supplied through green manure and farm yard manure, respectively. The magnitude of yield slope under INM was found considerably higher than 100% recommended fertilizer (RDF). Sustainable yield index (SYI) for both the crops were found lower in control but considerably higher with the 100% RDF and under INM. The soils under all the treatments suffered an apparent loss of K and N (except where organics replacing 50% N). Correlation study also reveals K is the sole factor for the yield sustainability as apparent K balance was negatively correlated with SYI and yield slope.     

Bioactive Lipids of Marine Microalga Chlorococcum sp. SABC 012504 with Anti-Inflammatory and Anti-Thrombotic Activities

Microalgae are at the start of the food chain, and many are known producers of a significant amount of lipids with essential fatty acids. However, the bioactivity of microalgal lipids for anti-inflammatory and antithrombotic activities have rarely been investigated. Therefore, for a sustainable source of the above bioactive lipids, the present study was undertaken. The total lipids of microalga Chlorococcum sp., isolated from the Irish coast, were fractionated into neutral-, glyco-, and phospho-lipids, and were tested in vitro for their anti-inflammatory and antithrombotic activities. All tested lipid fractions showed strong anti-platelet-activating factor (PAF) and antithrombin activities in human platelets (half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC₅₀) values ranging ~25–200 μg of lipid) with the highest activities in glyco- and phospho-lipid fractions. The structural analysis of the bioactive lipid fraction-2 revealed the presence of specific sulfoquinovosyl diacylglycerols (SQDG) bioactive molecules and the HexCer-t36:2 (t18:1/18:1 and 18:2/18:0) cerebrosides with a phytosphingosine (4-hydrosphinganine) base, while fraction-3 contained bioactive phosphatidylcholine (PC) and phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) molecules. These novel bioactive lipids of Chlorococcum sp. with putative health benefits may indicate that marine microalgae can be a sustainable alternative source for bioactive lipids production for food supplements and nutraceutical applications. However, further studies are required towards the commercial technology pathways development and biosafety analysis for the use of the microalga.     

Effect of ionizing and non-ionizing preirradiations on physico-mechanical properties of coir fiber grafting with methylacrylate

Coir fibers were modified with methyl acrylate (MA) mixed with methanol (MeOH) under thermal curing method at different temperatures (40?C80 °C) for different curing times (20?C60 min). A series of solutions of different concentrations of MA in methanol along with 2 % benzoyl peroxide, were prepared. Monomer concentration, curing temperature, and curing time were optimized with the extent of grafting of monomer and mechanical properties of cured fiber and found to be 30 % MA, 60 °C and 40 min curing time registered as better performance (Grafting (Gr) = 5.7 %, tensile strength (TS) = 72 %, elongation at break (Eb) = 88 %) than those of untreated fiber. For further improvement of the properties, untreated coir fibers were pretreated with gamma and UV radiations at different doses and then pretreated fibers were soaked in the optimized monomer and cured under optimum conditions. Coir fiber pretreated with UV radiation and grafted with optimized monomer showed the best properties such as Gr (7.12 %), TS (132 %), and Eb (153 %) over raw fiber. Water uptake and simulated weathering test of untreated and treated coir fibers were studied.     

Influence of Organic Manure and Lime on Cadmium Mobility in Soil and Uptake by Spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.)

Spinach grown in cadmium (Cd)-contaminated soils accumulates Cd compounds in toxic concentration contaminating the food chain leading to the chronic toxic effects on human and animal health. A study was conducted in a Cd-contaminated soil to examine the ameliorative effect of lime and organic manure on the mobility of Cd and its uptake in spinach. Application of lime or organic manure or both decreased the Cd concentration in soil and shoots and increased chlorophyll content of leaves. As compared to the control treatment, combined application of lime and organic manure decreased the level of Cd in soil by 54.7%, in spinach shoot by 61.3%, and the transfer factor of Cd by 35.0% and increased in leaf chlorophyll content by 29.4%. Combined application of lime and organic manure emerged as a viable option in reducing the mobility of Cd in contaminated soil for growing spinach.     

Rates of decomposition and nutrient mineralization of leaf litter from different orchards under hot and dry sub-humid climate

Leaf litter decomposition is a critical step in nutrient cycling and providing nutrients to plants. Decomposition of dry matter, lignin, ligno-cellulose, cellulose and polyphenols was investigated in relation to nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) dynamics in leaf litter of mango, guava and litchi orchards under hot and dry sub-humid climate. Leaf litter of mango and guava decomposed more rapidly than that of litchi with decay constants of 3.22, 1.33 and 0.62 yr^-1, respectively. The leaf litter organic substances like polyphenol lost more rapidly followed by cellulose, lignin and ligno-cellulose throughout the period of decomposition. The N was released faster both in mango and guava with decay constant of 4.06 and 2.11 yr^-1, respectively. The release of K was faster in mango followed by guava and litchi with decay constant of 4.66, 3.18 and 1.63 yr^-1, respectively. The leaf litter decomposition was significantly positively correlated with soil fungal and bacterial biomass, rainfall and air temperature, while the leaf chemistry showed significant negative correlations in all the orchards. The results demonstrated that mango leaf litter was found to be the best followed by guava, and litchi in terms of N, P, and K return in less period of time.     

Effect of conservation tillage and rice-based cropping systems on soil aggregation characteristics and carbon dynamics in Eastern Indo-Gangetic Plain

Paddy and Water Environment - Traditional rice–wheat cropping system, which follows wet puddling in rice and conventional tillage in wheat, is deteriorating soil health resulting yield...     

Predictive models for dry biomass and carbon stock estimation in Litchi chinensis under hot and dry sub-humid climate

Accurate and reliable predictive models are necessary to estimate above and below ground biomass of plant and biomass carbon stock non-destructively. Different growth models namely viz, Linear, Allometric, Logistic, Gompertz, Richard’s, Negative exponential, Monomolecular, Mitcherlich and Weibull were fitted to the relationship between dry biomass of litchi tree components with collar diameter. Richard’s model outperformed the others and fulfilled the validation criterions to the best possible extent with lowest Akaike information criteria (AICc) of 90.47 and root mean square error (RMSE) of 1.79. The value of adjusted R² ranged from 0.947 to 0.971 for the Richard’s models fitted on various biomass components and the ‘t’ values for all the components was found non-significant (p > 0.05) indicating the validation of the model. The estimated total dry biomass varied from 0.50 Mg ha^?1 in two year to 5.71 Mg ha^?1 in 10 year old litchi orchards. The estimated stored biomass carbon stock in litchi orchards (branches, bole and roots) varied from 0.10 Mg ha^?1 in two year to 1.85 Mg ha^?1 in 10 year orchards with CO₂ sequestration potential from 0.19–4.63 Mg ha^?1.