Exogenous application of allelopathic water extracts helps improving tolerance against terminal heat and drought stresses in bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L. Em. Thell.)

The allelopathic water extracts (AWEs) may help improve the tolerance of crop plants against abiotic stresses owing to the presence of the secondary metabolites (i.e., allelochemicals). We conducted four independent experiments to evaluate the influence of exogenous application of AWEs (applied through seed priming or foliage spray) in improving the terminal heat and drought tolerance in bread wheat. In all the experiments, two wheat cultivars, viz. Mairaj‐2008 (drought and heat tolerant) and Faisalabad‐2008 (drought and heat sensitive), were raised in pots. Both wheat cultivars were raised under ambient conditions in the wire house till leaf boot stage (booting) by maintaining the pots at 75% water‐holding capacity (WHC). Then, managed drought and heat stresses were imposed by maintaining the pots at 35% WHC, or shifting the pots inside the glass canopies (at 75% WHC), at booting, anthesis and the grain filling stages. Drought stress reduced the grain yield of wheat by 39%–49%. Foliar application of AWEs improved the grain yield of wheat by 26%–31%, while seed priming with AWEs improved the grain yield by 18%–26%, respectively, than drought stress. Terminal heat stress reduced the grain yield of wheat by 38%. Seed priming with AWEs improved the grain yield by 21%–27%; while foliar application of AWEs improved the grain yield by 25%–29% than the heat stress treatment. In conclusion, the exogenous application of AWEs improved the stay green, accumulation of proline, soluble phenolics and glycine betaine, which helped to stabilize the biological membranes and improved the tolerance against terminal drought and heat stresses.     

Irrigation and tillage effects on root development,water use and yield of wheat on coarse textured soils

Summary Rapid drying of surface layers of coarse-textured soils early in the growth season increases soil strength and restricts root growth. This constraint on root growth may be countered by deep tillage and/or early irrigation. We investigated tillage and irrigation effects on root growth, water use, dry matter and grain yield of wheat on loamy sand and sandy loam soils for three years. Treatments included all combinations of two tillage systems i) conventional tillage (CT) — stirring the soil to 10 cm depth, ii) deep tillage (DT) — subsoiling with a single-tine chisel down to 35–40 cm, 40 cm apart followed by CT; and four irrigation regimes, i) I₀ — no post-seeding irrigation, ii) I₁ — 50 mm irrigation 30 days after seeding (DAS), iii) I₂ — 50 mm irrigation 30 DAS and subsequent irrigations of 75 mm each when net evaporation from USWB class A open pan (PAN-E) since previous irrigation accumulated to 82 mm, and iv) I₃ — same as in I² but irrigation applied when PAN-E accumulated to 62 mm. The crop of wheat (Triticum aestivum L. HD 2329) was fertilized with 20kg P, 10kg K and 5kg Zn ha^–1 at seeding. The rate of nitrogen fertilization was 60 kg ha^–1 in the unirrigated and 120 kg ha^–1 in the irrigated treatments. Tillage decreased soil strength and so did the early post-seeding irrigation. Both deep tillage and early irrigation shortened the time needed for the root system to reach a specified depth. Subsequent wetting through rain/irrigation reduced the rate of root penetration down the profile and also negated deep tillage effects on rooting depth. However, tillage/irrigation increased root length density in the rooted profile even in a wet year. Better rooting resulted in greater profile water depletion, more favourable plant water status and higher dry matter and grain yields. In a dry year, the wheat in the DT plots used 46 mm more water, remained 3.3 °C cooler at grain-fill and yielded 68% more grain than in CT when unirrigated and grown in the loamy sand. Early irrigation also increased profile water depletion, more so in CT than DT. Averaged over three years, grain yield in DT was 12 and 9% higher than in CT on loamy sand and sandy loam, respectively. Benefits of DT decreased with increase in rainfall and irrigation. Irrigation significantly increased grain yield on both soils, but the response was greatly influenced by soil type, tillage system and year. The study shows that soil related constraints on root growth may be alleviated through deep tillage and/or early irrigation.     

Expression profiling of transgenes (Cry1Ac and Cry2A) in cotton genotypes under different genetic backgrounds

Transgenic cotton carrying the Cry1Ac gene has revolutionized insect pest control since its adoption, although the development of resistance in insect pests has reduced its efficacy.  After 10 years of cultivating Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) cotton with a single Cry1Ac gene, growers are on the verge of adopting Bt cotton that carries the double gene (Cry1Ac+Cry2A) due to its better effectiveness against insect pests.  Thus, the current study was designed to evaluate the role of each gene in the effectiveness of Bt cotton carrying the double gene.  The expression levels of the Cry1Ac and Cry2A genes were evaluated in the leaves of 10 genotypes (2 parents and 8 F₁ hybrids) at 30 days after sowing (DAS), while samples of leaves, bolls and flowers were taken from the upper and lower canopies at 70 and 110 DAS.  The F₁ hybrids were developed through reciprocal crosses between two Bt (CKC-1, CKC-2) and two non-Bt (MNH-786, FH-942) parents.  The differential expression of transgenes was evaluated through Enzyme Linked Immuno-Sorbent Assay (ELISA).  The results showed that the MNH786×CKC-1 hybrid had the highest concentrations of Cry1Ac gene at 30 DAS (3.08 µg g^–1) and 110 DAS (1.01 µg g^–1) in leaves.  In contrast, the CKC-2×MNH-786 hybrid showed the lowest concentrations of Cry1Ac gene at 30 DAS (2.30 µg g^–1) and 110 DAS (0.86 µg g^–1).  The F₁ hybrid FH-942×CKC-2 showed the highest concentrations of Cry2A gene at 30 DAS (8.39 µg g^–1) and 110 DAS (7.74 µg g^–1) in leaves, while the CKC-1×MNH-786 hybrid expressed the lowest concentrations of Cry2A gene at 30 DAS (7.10 µg g^–1) and 110 DAS (8.31 µg g^–1).  A comparison between the two stages of plant growth showed that leaves had the highest concentrations at 30 DAS, whereas the lowest concentrations were observed at 110 DAS for both genes in leaves.  When the expression pattern was compared between various plant parts in genotype CKC-2, it was found that leaves had higher concentrations of Cry1Ac (3.12 µg g^–1) and Cry2A (8.31 µg g^–1) at 70 DAS, followed by bolls (Cry1Ac (1.66 µg g^–1) and Cry2A (8.15 µg g^–1)) and flowers (Cry1Ac (1.07 µg g^–1) and Cry2A (7.99 µg g^–1)).  The genotype CKC-2 had higher concentrations of Cry1Ac (3.12 µg g^–1) and Cry2A (8.31 µg g^–1) in the upper canopy but less accumulation (2.66 µg g^–1 of Cry1Ac, 8.09 µg g^–1 of Cry2A) in the lower canopy at 70 DAS.  Similarly, at 110 DAS, the expression levels of Cry1Ac and Cry2A in upper and lower canopy leaves were 1.52 and 7.92 µg g^–1, and 0.99 and 7.54 µg g^–1, respectively.  Hence, the current study demonstrates that different genotypes showed variable expression for both of the Cry1Ac and Cry2A genes during plant growth due to different genetic backgrounds.  The Cry2A gene had three-fold higher expression than Cry1Ac with significant differences in expression in different plant parts.  The findings of this study will be helpful for breeding insect-resistant double-gene genotypes with better gene expression levels of Cry1Ac and Cry2A for sustainable cotton production worldwide.     

Effects of Time and Rate of Nitrogen and Phosphorus Application on the Growth and the Seed and Oil Yields of Canola (Brassica napus L.)

A field study was conducted to investigate the influence of variable rates of application of N and P fertilizers in splits at various times on the growth and the seed and oil yields of canola (Brassica napus L.) during 1995–97. Rates of fertilizer application were 0 and 0 (F0), 60 and 0 (F1), 0 and 30 (F2), 60 and 30 (F3), 90 and 60 (F4) and 120 and 90 (F5) kg N ha^?1 and kg P₂O₅ ha^?1. All the P was applied at sowing while N was applied in splits, i.e. all at sowing, half at sowing and half with first irrigation, or half at sowing and half at flowering. The responses of growth, seed yield and components of yield were consistent in both years. Increasing the rate of fertilizer application from F4 (90/60 kg N/P₂O₅ ha^?1) to F5 (120/90 kg N/P₂O₅ ha^?1) increased the leaf area index (LAI) relative to the control and to lower rates of fertilizer application. For both crops, application of 90/60 kg N/P₂O₅ ha^?1 significantly enhanced total dry matter (TDM) and seed yield. Seed yield increased mainly due to a greater number of pods per plant and seeds per seed‐pod. The time of fertilizer application did not significantly affect seed yield or components of yield in either season. Oil yield generally followed seed yield, increasing with increasing rate of fertilizer application up to 90/60 kg N/P₂O₅ ha^?1. The maximum oil contents were obtained from the control. The results show that seed and oil yields of canola were maximized at the F4 (90/60 kg N/P₂O₅ ha^?1) rate of application under the agro‐ecological conditions of Faisalabad, Pakistan.     

Boron fertilization improves seed yield and harvest index of Camelina sativa L. by affecting source-sink

The impact of soil (1, 2 kg ha^?1) and foliar (100, 200 mg L^?1) boron (B) with control (no B) was evaluated on phenology and yield formation of Camelina each applied at stem elongation and flowering stages. Foliar (200 mg L^?1) or soil B (2 kg ha^?1) resulted in earlier flowering and maturity, increased fruit bearing branches (19.68%), number of siliqua, seeds per siliqua (4.6%), biological yield (15%), seed yield (24%), harvest index (11.4%) and oil contents (23%) than no B. Increased fruit bearing branches, seed filled siliqua or seed numbers, harvest index and oil quality can be attributed to changes in dry matter accumulated of stem with simultaneous increase in siliqua dry weight with foliar or soil applied B. In crux, foliar (200 mg L^?1) or soil applied (2 kg ha^?1) B seems promising to improve seed and oil yield, harvest index of Camelina sativa under B deficient condition.     

Besnoitiosis in wild and domestic goats in Iran.

Besnoitia cysts and lesions were observed in the skin, blood vessels, epididymis and testes of two wild goats (Capra aegagrus) and in the subcutaneous tissues of two domestic goats (Capra hircus) in the Fars Province of Iran. The seminiferous tubules in the wild goats showed aspermatogenesis, degeneration and atrophy of germinal epithelium.     

On the Current Situation of Glanders in Various Districts of the Pakistani Punjab

Glanders is a highly infectious and zoonotic disease of solipeds caused by Burkholderia mallei. Progressive loss of efficiency and fatal outcome resulted in massive economic losses, which forced veterinary authorities throughout the world to implement disease control measures; these measures included mass testing using the complement fixation test and/or malleinization, and the culling of positives. This led to the eradication of glanders from Western Europe and North America in the 1950s. However, in the last decade, the number of outbreaks in Asia and South America increased steadily, and glanders regained the status of a re-emerging transboundary disease. Pakistan has been an endemic country for the past 120 years, but concise data on the presence of disease are not available. A total of 533 serum samples were collected from draught equines, a suspected risk group for glanders, from various districts of Punjab in Pakistan. The complement fixation test and the highly sensitive Western blot technique were used for serodiagnosis. No animal (horse, mule, and donkey) was found to be positive for infection. Glanders seems to be restricted to remote, sporadic pockets of endemicity and may cause outbreaks after being introduced into naive populations by (asymptomatic) shedders.     

Bacteriological and Molecular Detection of Streptococcus equi subsp. equi and Streptococcus equi subsp. zooepidemicus in Equines of Northern India

Present study was undertaken to study the prevalence of β-haemolytic streptococci in equine of northern temperate region of Jammu and Kashmir, India. One hundred and forty one samples were collected in duplicate from nasopharyngeal tract of diseased (53) and apparently healthy equine (88) for isolation and direct PCR. A total of 77 isolates of streptococci were recovered from 141 samples with an overall prevalence rate of 54.60%. Out of these 77 isolates, 52 were from diseased and 25 from apparently healthy animals. Of the 77 isolates, 4 were identified as Streptococcus equi subsp. equi, 56 as S. equi subsp. zooepidemicus and 17 as S. dysgalactiae subsp. equisimilis. Thus the overall prevalence of S. equi subsp. equi, S. equi subsp. zooepidemicus and S. dysgalactiae subsp. equisimilis was 2.83, 39.71 and 12.05% respectively. The sensitivity of the PCR for the detection of S. equi species was found higher when attempted from direct swab samples.