Influence of electron-beam irradiation on bioactive compounds in grapefruits ( Citrus paradisi Macf.)

Phytochemical levels in fruits and vegetables can be affected by several postharvest factors. In the present study, the effect of electron-beam (E-beam) irradiation was studied on grapefruit bioactive compounds. 'Rio Red' and 'Marsh White' grapefruits were irradiated with E-beam at 0, 1.0, 2.5, 5.0, and 10.0 kGy. Changes of various bioactive compounds, such as vitamin C, flavonoids, carotenoids, furocoumarins, and limonoids, were measured. The acidity decreased slightly with an increasing E-beam dose, whereas the total soluble solids were increased. Irradiation did not affect the vitamin C content at 1 kGy; however, doses beyond 1 kGy significantly reduced the vitamin C content. Lycopene and beta-carotene did not change significantly from the irradiation. Lycopene levels decreased as the E-beam dose increased, while the beta-carotene content slightly increased. Dihydroxybergamottin levels exhibited a decreasing trend, while the bergamottin content did not change. Naringin, a major flavonoid of grapefruit, showed a significant increase over the control at 10 kGy in both 'Rio Red' and 'Marsh White'. Nomilin continued to decrease with an increasing dose of E-beam irradiation, while limonin levels remained the same at all of the doses. Low-dose E-beam irradiation has very little effect on the bioactive compounds and offers a safe alternative to existing postharvest treatments for the disinfection and decontamination of grapefruits.     

Can conservation tillage and residue management enhance energy use efficiency and sustainability of rice-pea system in the Eastern Himalayas?

ABSTRACT

Low productivity and energy use efficiency (EUE) of rice farming are the major concerns for agricultural sustainability in the Eastern Himalayan region of India. A field experiment on rice (Oryza sativa L.)-pea (Pisum sativum L) system was conducted for three consecutive years during 2012–15 in lowland ecosystem to assess the direct and residual impact of tillage and residue management (RM) practises on productivity and sustainability. Significantly higher grain yield of rice was achieved under no-till (NT) than minimum tillage (MT) and conventional tillage (CT). Among RM practises, 50% NPK + green leaf manure, 50% NPK + weed biomass and 50% NPK + in-situ residue retention recorded significantly higher mean grain yields than application of 50% NPK and 100% NPK without residues. Residual effect of MT in preceding rice gave significantly higher green pod yield of succeeding pea than NT and CT. The system EUE was significantly higher under MT (rice)-NT (pea) compared to those of NT-NT and CT-NT systems. The sustainable yield index of rice and pea was maximum under MT-NT followed by NT-NT. Thus, NT/MT with suitable RM practises is a pertinent strategy for sustainable productivity of rice-pea system in the Eastern Himalayas and in similar adjoining regions.     

Indole acetic acid differently changes growth and nitrogen metabolism in Pisum sativum L. seedlings under chromium (VI) phytotoxicity: Implication of oxidative stress

The present study investigated impact of exogenous application of indole acetic acid (IAA; 10 and 100 μM) in pea seedlings under hexavalent chromium (Cr VI; 50, 100 and 250 μM). Cr and 100 μM IAA alone as well as in combination decreased seed germination rate compared to control. However, under Cr phytotoxicity, addition of 10 μM IAA recovered seed germination rate to the level of control. Exposure of pea seedlings to Cr and 100 μM IAA during their early stage caused decrease in fresh mass, length, protein and nitrogen contents of roots and shoots compared to control. Treatment of pea seedlings with Cr resulted in a rapid accumulation of this metal in roots and shoots. Moreover, addition of 100 μM IAA together with Cr, further increased accumulation of this metal in roots and shoots compared to Cr treatments alone. Treatment of pea seedlings with Cr and 100 μM IAA, resulted in a marked decrease in nitrate reductase, nitrite reductase, glutamine synthetase and glutamate synthase (GOGAT) activities (except 50 μM Cr alone for GOGAT), and an increase in ammonium content and glutamate dehydrogenase activity. Parameters related with oxidative stress, i.e. superoxide radicals and reactive carbonyl groups (protein oxidation) were increased by Cr and 100 μM IAA compared to control. By contrast, addition of 10 μM IAA together with Cr, alleviated negative effect of Cr on growth, protein, nitrogen and nitrogen metabolism, and led to decrease in oxidative injuries caused by Cr. The data indicate that 10 μM IAA protects pea seedlings during the early growth period against Cr phytotoxicity by regulating Cr accumulation and oxidative damage. However, addition of 100 μM IAA together with Cr showed opposite responses.     

A web-based intelligent disease-diagnosis system using a new fuzzy-logic based approach for drawing the inferences in crops

This paper suggests a new approach for providing intelligence in the system for diagnosis of diseases of the oilseed-crops. It reports the development of a web-based intelligent disease diagnosis system (WIDDS). The WIDDS is based on a new fuzzy logic approach. The approach is based on use of a rule-promotion methodology. This approach enables the drawing of inferences with the enhanced intelligence. The WIDDS also incorporates new features that improve the presently existing expert systems. The new features are (i) object-oriented (O-O) inference model, (ii) dynamic knowledge base creation strategy. The dynamically promoted rules are derived from those diagnosis sessions, which resulted in successful decisions. This enables more efficient decision-making in the future sessions, (iii) audio-visual-graphical user interface using text-to-speech (TTS) conversion tools. The WIDDS results in decreasing not only the number of interactive question-answer sessions with the clients but also leads to acceptable diagnosis. Further, the inferences are drawn faster compared to the traditional approach, which is the expert based reasoning method. The suggested WIDDS, which is based on rule-promotion approach, has been tested for three oilseeds crops - soybean, groundnut and rapeseed-mustard.     

Modulation of manganese toxicity in Pisum sativum L. seedlings by kinetin

In the present study, the effects of kinetin (KN; 10 and 100 μM) application under manganese toxicity (Mn; 50, 100 and 250 μM) were investigated, on growth, photosynthetic pigments, total protein, total nitrogen, ammonium (NH₄⁺) content, NH₄⁺ assimilating enzymes and antioxidant system in pea seedlings. The exposure of pea seedlings to Mn and 100 μM of KN alone and in combination, caused decrease in growth, photosynthetic pigments, total protein and total nitrogen contents, and an increase in NH₄⁺ content. However, application of 10 μM of KN together with Mn reduced the Mn toxicity symptoms, promoted the growth of seedlings and led to the decrease in NH₄⁺ content compared to Mn treatments alone. The root and shoot activities of glutamine synthetase (GS), glutamate oxoglutarate aminotransferase (GOGAT) and catalase (CAT) were decreased while glutathione reductase (GR) and dehydroascorbate reductase (DHAR) activities exhibited differential responses when pea seedlings were exposed to Mn and 100 μM of KN. However, under similar treatments, activities of glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) in root and shoot were increased. It was noticed that addition of 10 μM of KN together with Mn, caused significant stimulation in activities of enzymes of NH₄⁺ assimilation and antioxidant defense system even over their respective control values. Non-enzymatic antioxidants (ascorbate and glutathione) in root and shoot of pea seedlings exposed to Mn stress were significantly increased by the addition of 10 μM of KN. Therefore, ameliorative effect of 10 μM of KN against Mn toxicity was observed. This study thus suggests that 10 μM of KN appreciably improves Mn tolerance of pea seedlings under Mn toxicity while reverse effects were exhibited by 100 μM of KN.     

Identification of quantitative trait loci associated with iron deficiency chlorosis resistance in groundnut (Arachis hypogaea)

Iron deficiency chlorosis is an important abiotic stress affecting groundnut production worldwide in calcareous and alkaline soils with a pH of 7.5–8.5. To identify genomic regions controlling iron deficiency chlorosis resistance in groundnut, the recombinant inbred line population from the cross TAG 24 × ICGV 86031 was evaluated for associated traits like visual chlorosis rating and SPAD chlorophyll meter reading across three crop growth stages for two consecutive years. Thirty-two QTLs were identified for visual chlorosis rating (3.9%–31.8% phenotypic variance explained [PVE]) and SPAD chlorophyll meter reading [3.8%–11% PVE] across three stages over 2 years. This is the first report of identification of QTLs for iron deficiency chlorosis resistance-associated traits in groundnut. Three major QTLs (>10% PVE) were identified at severe stage, while majority of other QTLs were having small effects. Interestingly, two major QTLs for visual chlorosis rating at 60 days (2013) and 90 days (2014) were located at same position on LG AhXIII. The identified QTLs/markers after validation across diverse genetic material could be used in genomics-assisted breeding.     

Inheritance of growth habit under photoperiod insensitive genetic background in dolichos bean [Lablab purpureus (L.) Sweet]

Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution - Development of high yielding cultivars with determinate growth habit in photoperiod insensitive (PIS) background is one of the major objectives of breeding...     

Identification and molecular characterization of high-yielding,blast resistant lines derived from Oryza rufipogon Griff. in the background of ‘Samba Mahsuri’ rice

Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution - The wild species of rice, Oryza rufipogon, is a source of genetic variation for yield-enhancing traits and blast resistance. With the objective to genetically...     

Organogenesis and terpenoid synthesis in Mentha arvensis

Leaf discs obtained from field grown plants of Mentha arvensis were used to initiate multiple shoots on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with 6-benzylaminopurine (5 mg l(-1)) and naphthaleneacetic acid (0.5 mg l(-1)). Profuse rooting was achieved when the well-grown shoots were cultured on half strength MS medium supplemented with indole-3-acetic acid (2 mg l(-1)). The regenerated plantlets were hardened and successfully transferred to soil and grown to maturity. Tissues at different stages of differentiation were analyzed for their essential oil content and characteristic monoterpene pattern. Tissue culture raised plants show the same essential oil profile as that of the parent plant. However, tissues at early stages of growth show distinct changes in oil composition, such as high levels of pulegone in shoot cultures.