Effects of salinity on growth characteristics and osmoregulation of juvenile cobia,Rachycentron canadum (Linnaeus 1766), reared in potassium‐amended inland saline groundwater

The suitability of inland saline groundwater as a medium to culture juvenile cobia, Rachycentron canadum, was assessed. In the first experiment, juvenile cobia stocked in raw (unamended) saline groundwater at salinities of 5, 10, and 15 g/L exhibited complete mortality after 108, 176, and 195 hr, respectively. The second experiment evaluated the rearing of juvenile cobia (mean weight ~9.23 ± 0.12 g) in potassium (K⁺)‐amended saline groundwater (100% K⁺ fortified) and reconstituted seawater at salinities of 5, 10, and 15 g/L to assess growth and osmoregulation in distinct culture media. Following 60 days of culture, all fish survived the experimental period. Final mean bodyweight of cobia reared in K⁺‐amended saline groundwater (103.2–115.8 g) and seawater (111.2–113.8 g) of different salinities did not vary significantly (p > .05). No differences (p > .05) were observed in specific growth rate, weight gain (%), and feed conversion ratio between treatment groups. Serum osmolality increased with salinity and was significantly higher (p < .05) for fish in K⁺‐amended saline groundwater (353–361 mOsmol/Kg) than in reconstituted seawater (319–332 mOsmol/Kg), although differences were not observed between salinities by water type. Cobia stocked in saline groundwater of different salinities were osmoregulating normally, and the higher values observed may be because of variations in ionic composition and other interfering ions in saline groundwater. Trial results suggest that juvenile cobia can achieve optimal growth in K⁺‐amended saline groundwater of low and intermediate salinities.     

Reduced Germination and Seedling Vigor of Weeds with Root Extracts of Maize and Soybean,and the Mechanism Defined as Allelopathic

Journal of Crop Science and Biotechnology - Due to the negative consequences of synthetic herbicides use and their reducing effectiveness due to development of resistant weeds, promotion of...     

Genome-wide association study for spot blotch resistance in Afghan wheat germplasm

Spot blotch (SB), caused by Bipolaris sorokiniana, is a devastating disease of wheat globally, especially in South Asia and South America. Understanding the genetics of resistance to SB is important for developing breeding strategies to improve resistance. A panel of 301 genotypes from Afghanistan was phenotyped over two crop seasons using a mixture of virulent B. sorokiniana isolates and genotyped using DArTSeq to obtain genome-wide markers. Fifty genotypes (16.6%) showed disease scores less than the resistant control. Principal component analysis using the genotypic data clustered the genotypes into five different groups. Among models used for genome-wide association mapping, the multilocus mixed model, and fixed and random model circulating probability unification algorithms were most effective in identifying significant marker-trait associations (MTA). Twenty-five MTAs at p ≤ .001 were identified on chromosomes 1A, 1B, 1D, 2B, 2D, 3A, 3B, 4A, 5A, 5B, 6A, 7A, and 7D, indicating the quantitative nature of resistance to SB. Phenotypic variation explained by these markers ranged from 2.0% to 17.7%, and genomic regions on the chromosomes 1D, 2D, 3A, 3B, 4A, 5A, and 5B coincided with loci identified in previous studies. Three single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers on chromosomes 1B (SNP 1113207) and 5A (SNPs 5411867 and 998276) were significant in both crop seasons as well as in the combined analysis across seasons. Marker 5411867 is close to Vrn-A1, shown to be associated with SB in previous studies. Furthermore, among known SB resistance genes, Sb2 on chromosome 5B was predicted to be significant in this panel.     

Papaya yellow leaf curl virus: A newly identified begomovirus infecting Carica papaya L. from the Indian Subcontinent

India is one of the world’s largest producers of papaya. Viruses, mainly begomoviruses and potyviruses, cause a significant loss in papaya production. The study described here has identified a new species of begomovirus and a new species of betasatellite infecting Carica papaya in India. The sequences of the begomovirus and betasatellite show 90.03% nucleotide sequence identity to an isolate of Radish leaf curl virus and 92.25% identity to an isolate of Tomato leaf curl betasatellite, respectively. Maximum likelihood phylogenetic tree of begomovirus sequence of isolate DP2 (KX353622) showed distant relationships with previously characterised begomoviruses. Recombination analysis proposed six recombination breakpoints in begomovirus genome with other geographical begomovirus isolates.     

Biocontrol potential of Pseudomonas azotoformans,Serratia marcescens and Trichoderma virens against Fusarium wilt of Dalbergia sissoo

Wilt disease caused by Fusarium solani is a serious constraint to Dalbergia sissoo (shisham) plantations in northern India. In this study, the antagonistic potential of 40 bacterial isolates recovered from rhizophere soil of healthy shisham trees, and a well‐characterized Trichoderma species (Trichoderma virens) were tested for their possibility as biocontrol agents for F. solani. Two promising isolates (S1 and S15) were identified which inhibited pathogen growth, caused chitin degradation, produced siderophores and solubilized phosphate in vitro. Isolate S15 scored highest for hydrogen cyanide (HCN) production while isolate S1 was a non‐HCN producer. These two isolates were identified as Serratia marcescens (S1) and Pseudomonas azotoformans (S15) following sequence analysis of 16S rDNA. In dual culture assays, T. virens caused 80% inhibition of mycelial growth of the test fungus. The three selected antagonists when tested in planta in the glasshouse completely suppressed production of wilt symptoms on 12‐month‐old shisham plants. Further work is needed to ascertain the potential of these isolates to be used as biocontrol agents to manage shisham wilt under field conditions.     

Influence of crop establishment methods on yield,economics and water productivity of rice cultivars under upland and lowland production ecologies of Eastern Indo-Gangetic Plains

A field study on assessment of crop establishment methods on yield, economics and water productivity of rice cultivars under upland and lowland production ecologies was conducted during wet seasons (June–November) of 2012 and 2013 in Eastern Indo-Gangetic Plains of India. The experiment was laid-out in a split-plot design (SPD) and replicated four times. The main-plot treatments included three crop establishment methods, viz. dry direct-seeded rice (DSR), system of rice intensification (SRI) and puddled transplanted rice (PTR). In sub-plots, five rice cultivars of different groups like aromatic (Improved Pusa Basmati 1 and Pusa Sugandh 5), inbreds (PNR 381 and Pusa 834) and hybrid (Arize 6444) were taken for their evaluations. These two sets of treatments were laid-out simultaneously in two production ecologies, upland and lowland during both years. In general, lowland ecology was found favourable for rice growth and yield and resulted in 13.2% higher grain yield as compared to upland ecology. Rice grown with SRI method produced 19.4 and 7.0% higher grain yield in 2012 and 20.6 and 7.1% higher in 2013, over DSR and PTR. However, PTR yielded 13.1 and 14.5% higher grain over DSR during 2012 and 2013, respectively. On an average, Arize 6444 produced 26.4, 26.9, 28.9 and 54.7% higher grain yield as compared to PS 5, P 834, PNR 381 and IPB1, respectively. Further, the interaction of production ecologies × crop establishment methods revealed that, in upland ecology, SRI recorded significantly higher grain yield as compared to PTR and DSR, but in lowland, grain yield resulting from SRI was similar to the yield obtained with PTR and significantly higher than DSR. The latter two methods (PTR and DSR) yielded alike in lowland ecology in both study years. The production ecologies × crop establishment methods × cultivars interaction on grain yield showed that the growing of Arize 6444 cultivar using SRI method in upland ecology resulted in the higher grain yield (8.87 t/ha). But the cost of production was also highest in SRI followed by PTR and DSR across production ecologies and cultivars. Cultivation of hybrid (Arize 6444) involved higher cost of production than all other cultivars. Irrespective of crop establishment methods and cultivars, gross returns, net returns and B:C ratio were significantly higher in lowland compared to upland ecology. Owing to higher grain yield, SRI method fetched significantly higher gross returns and net returns over PTR and DSR. Average increase in net return with Arize 6444 was 68.8, 41.0, 37.7 and 33.1% over IPB 1, PNR 381, P 834 and PS 5, respectively. There was a saving of 30.7% water in SRI and 19.9% in DSR over PTR under upland ecology. Similarly in lowland ecology, water saving of 30.2% was observed in SRI and 21.2% in DSR over PTR. Due to higher yield and saving on water, SRI returned significantly higher total water productivity (TWP) (5.9 kg/ha-mm) as compared to DSR (3.5 kg/ha-mm) and PTR (3.6 kg/ha-mm) under upland ecology. In lowland ecology, also SRI (6.2 kg/ha-mm) resulted in higher TWP as compared to other two methods. However, DSR gave significantly higher TWP as compared to PTR. Among cultivars, hybrid Arize 6444 recorded the highest TWP in both upland and lowland production ecologies across crop establishment methods. Hence, growing of hybrid Arize 6444 with SRI method can enhance rice productivity and water-use efficiency in lowland and upland production ecologies of Eastern Indo-Gangetic Plains and in other similar regions.     

Integrated effect of population and weed management regimes on weed dynamics,performance, and productivity of basmati rice (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Oryza sativa</Emphasis> L.)

Weeds caused serious problem on yield reduction of basmati rice worldwide. Losses caused by weeds varied from one country to another, depending on the presence of dominant weeds and the control methods practiced by farmers; therefore, suitable plant population and weed management practices should be adopted. Keeping these in mind, a field experiment was carried out during kharif seasons of 2009 and 2010 at crop Research Centre of SVPUA&T, Meerut, India comprising 4 planting geometries, viz. 20, 30, 40, and 50 hills m^?2 as main plot factor, and 5 weed management practices (Butachlor @ 1.0 kg ha^?1, Butachlor @ 1.0 kg ha^?1 fb (followed by) one hand weeding, Butachlor @ 1.0 kg ha^?1 fb Almix @ 4 g ha^?1, two hand weedings and weedy check) in a split plot design with 3 replications. Experimental results revealed that plant population of 50 hills m^?2 proved superior over that of 20 hills m^?2 in respect of weed density, weed dry weight, number of tillers m^?2, yield attributes, grain, straw, and biological yields. The maximum grain yield (29.00 and 31.00 q ha^?1) and straw yield (51.30 and 52.50 q ha^?1) were recorded in 50 hills m^?2 followed by 40 hills m^?2 during 2009 and 2010, respectively. In respect of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium removal, a reverse trend was observed: the highest in 20 hills m^?2 followed by 30, 40, and 50 hills m^?2. As far as the weed management practices are concerned, both chemical and mechanical methods of weed control were found superior over weedy check. The lowest weed density, dry weight, and highest weed control efficiency, maximum length of panicle^?1, number of panicle (m²), and 1000-grain weight and grain yield of 30.40 and 32.60 q ha^?1 were recorded with two hand weedings which was at par with Butachlor @ 1.0 kg ha^?1 fb one hand weeding over rest of the weed management practices.     

Pigeonpea improvement: An amalgam of breeding and genomic research

In the past five decades, constant research has been directed towards yield improvement in pigeonpea resulting in the deployment of several commercially acceptable cultivars in India. Though, the genesis of hybrid technology, the biggest breakthrough, enigma of stagnant productivity still remains unsolved. To sort this productivity disparity, genomic research along with conventional breeding was successfully initiated at ICRISAT. It endowed ample genomic resource providing insight in the pigeonpea genome combating production constraints in a precise and speedy manner. The availability of the draft genome sequence with a large‐scale marker resource, oriented the research towards trait mapping for flowering time, determinacy, fertility restoration, yield attributing traits and photo‐insensitivity. Defined core and mini‐core collection, still eased the pigeonpea breeding being accessible for existing genetic diversity and developing stress resistance. Modern genomic tools like next‐generation sequencing, genome‐wide selection helping in the appraisal of selection efficiency is leading towards next‐generation breeding, an awaited milestone in pigeonpea genetic enhancement. This paper emphasizes the ongoing genetic improvement in pigeonpea with an amalgam of conventional breeding as well as genomic research.