Towards developing resistance to chickpea chlorotic dwarf virus through CRISPR/Cas9-mediated gene editing using multiplexed gRNAs

Journal of Plant Diseases and Protection - Mastreviruses are an emerging group of viruses transmitted by leafhoppers and infect both monocot and dicot plants. Chickpea chlorotic dwarf virus...     

Phenotypic variations of wheat cultivars from the North China Plain in response to cadmium stress and associated single nucleotide polymorphisms identified by a genome-wide association study

Understanding the genetic mechanisms for cadmium(Cd) uptake and translocation in common wheat(Triticum aestivum) is of significance in food Cd contamination control. In this study, a diverse panel of 132 wheat cultivars was collected from the North China Plain. The cultivars were evaluated in terms of their phenotypic variations in response to Cd stress and subjected to a genome-wide association study(GWAS) to identify single nucleotide polymorphisms(SNPs) associated with the phenotypic variatio...     

Performance Behavior of Chitosan Based Water Dispersible Polyurethanes: Physicochemical Properties

The research work was carried out to synthesize a series of novel chitosan based water dispersible polyurethanes (CS-WDPUs). The three step synthesis involves the formation of end capped PU-prepolymer was formed through the reaction between polyethylene glycol (PEG) (Mn=600 g/mole, dimethylolpropionic acid (DMPA) and isophorone diisocyanate (IPDI) followed by the preparation of neutralized NCO terminated PU-prepolymer, which lead to the chain extension by using the chitosan. The dispersion of the obtained product was carried out by adding proper proportion of water. The synthesized CS-WDPUs were applied onto the different qualities of plain weave poly-cotton printed and dyed textile swatches by employing pad-dry-cure procedures. The textile assets of the treated and untreated textile swatches were assessed, as color fastness, pilling resistance, tear and tensile strength. The results showed that the chitosan incorporation into PU backbone has significant effect on the assets of treated textiles. These synthesized CS-WDPUs are eco-friendly bio-based finishes with potential applications for polyester/cotton textiles.     

Genetic variability and estimates of heritability in sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.) genotypes grown in a semiarid zone of Sudan

A field experiment was conducted to evaluate nine genotypes of sorghum grown for two consecutive cropping seasons in 2006 and 2007 under rain-fed conditions in a semiarid zone at the Research Farm of El Fasher Research Station, Sudan. The objective of the study was to assess genetic variability and heritability among sorghum genotypes using phenotypic morphological traits. A randomized complete block design with four replications was used for the experiment. The grain yield (kg ha^?1), the number of heads/plant, followed by straw yield (kg ha^?1) had the highest genotypic coefficients of variation in both seasons. High heritability (above 95%) was shown for plant height in both seasons. High genetic advance was reported in straw yield, 1000-grain weight and days to flowering in both seasons. Highly significant differences among genotypes were found for all characters. The high-yielding genotype was Adv-Edo-CWS (E-9) with grain yields of 2780.6 kg ha^?1. Grain yield was significantly and positively correlated with straw yield (r = 0.91), number of heads/plant (r = 0.69), plant height (r = 0.53) and 1000-grain weight (r = 0.36). However, it was significantly and negatively correlated with days to 50% flowering (r = ?0.21). Based on their positive association with grain yield, the character’s straw weight, number of heads/plant, plant height and 1000-grain weight would be the preferable selection criteria for sorghum improvement program in the country.     

Infrared Thermal Imaging as a Rapid Tool for Identifying Water‐Stress Tolerant Maize Genotypes of Different Phenology

The main task of this research was to evaluate canopy temperature and Crop Water Stress Index (CWSI) by assessing genotype variability of maize performance for different water regimes. To that end, three hundred tropical and subtropical maize hybrids with different phenology in terms of date of anthesis were evaluated. The influence of phenology on the change in canopy temperatures and CWSI was not equal during the three dates of measurement. At the end of vegetative growth (82 days after sowing, DAS) and at the blister stage (DAS 97), a high significant difference in temperatures and CWSI (P < 0.001) were obtained between the early‐ and late‐maturity genotypes. During anthesis (DAS 89), phenology had a significant effect (P < 0.01) only for the well‐watered genotypes, while under water‐stress conditions, no differences were found between early and late genotypes in terms of canopy temperature and CWSI. High significant differences (P < 0.001) in stomatal conductance (g_s) between early and late genotypes for different treatments were observed. A relationship (R² = 0.62) between g_s and canopy temperature was obtained. Under a water‐stress canopy, temperature was measured at anthesis, which was negatively correlated with grain yield of the early (r = ?0.55)‐ and late (r = ?0.46)‐maturity genotypes in the water‐stressed condition.     

Wheat Seed Presoaking for Improved Germination

Seed presoaking improves wheat germination under marginal moisture conditions. The duration of seed presoaking was studied at The University of Arid Agriculture, Rawalpindi, using 10 wheat varieties. Seed presoaking beyond 12 h does not improve germination further, and beyond 21 h, germination rate is drastically reduced.     

Bound water characteristics and microstructure evolution during uniaxial compression of mucky silty clay

Journal of Soils and Sediments - Compression studies can provide insights into evaluating the engineering potential and environmental impact of clay. The objective of this study was to...     

Effect of animal age,postmortem chilling rate,and aging time on meat quality attributes of water buffalo and humped cattle bulls

The study was aimed to investigate the influence of animal age, post‐slaughter chilling rate, and aging time on meat quality of M. longissimus dorsi (LD) of water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) and humped cattle (Bos taurus indicus) bulls. After slaughtering, one side of carcasses was subjected to rapid chilling (RC) (0 ± 2°C) and other side was hanged in controlled room temperature (25 ± 2°C) for 3 hr, then allowed to the chiller (0 ± 2°C). The meat quality traits were analyzed at 1, 7, and 14 days of storage. It was noted that rapidly chilled carcasses from the younger animals of both species missed the ideal pH/temperature window, which affects the toughness of the meat. Buffalo meat presented higher shear force, color L* values, and lower b* value as compared to the cattle meat. Moreover, meat shear force values decreased while all color coordinates and cooking loss values increased with lengthening the storage time in both age groups of cattle and buffalo. In conclusion, the tenderness of cattle meat was superior to that of buffalo and RC adversely affect the shear force values of young cattle and both age groups of buffalo bulls.     

Fat extraction from acid- and base-hydrolyzed food samples using accelerated solvent extraction

This paper describes a new in-cell method for pursuing accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) prior to lipid analysis from food samples. It is difficult to pursue direct ASE with acid- or base-hydrolyzed samples due to the corrosive nature of the reagents and material limitations. In this study ion exchange based materials were used to remove acid or base reagents in-cell without compromising the recovery of lipids. The performance data are presented here for the new methods for lipid extraction for a variety of food samples and compared to the Mojonnier method. NIST Standard Reference Materials (SRM-1546 and SRM-1849) were used to validate the ASE methods. Excellent fat recoveries were obtained for the ASE methods. The new methods presented here enhance the utility of ASE and eliminate labor intensive protocols.