Increased calcium availability improves potato micropropagation and microtuberization

Summary Liquid scintillation counting (LSC) was used to screen six potato cultivars (Alpha, Bintje, Green Mountain, Kennebec, Russet Burbank, and Shepody) and two wild species(S. microdontum andS. kurtzianum) for ability to take up the tracer⁴⁵Ca²⁺ from treatment solutions containing high (15 mM) or low (5 mM) Ca²⁺ levels. In vitro potato micropropagation, microtuberization, and tissue calcium content, determined by flame atomic absorption spectrophotometry (FAAS), were compared for the six cultivars when Murashige-Skoog basal medium Ca²⁺ level was increased from 3, to 5 or 15 mM. All aspects of growth were improved when medium Ca²⁺ level was 15 mM. Microtuber induction occurred earlier, leading to improved yield (19–31%), and microtuber tissue Ca²⁺ concentration was greater (38–226%). Cv. Bintje was the most efficient genotype at accumulating Ca²⁺ from treatment solutions or growth media containing high or low Ca²⁺ levels. It could be identified as a calcium-packer using either LSC or FAAS screening.     

The effect of infrared stabilized rice bran substitution on physicochemical and sensory properties of pan breads: Part I

Infrared stabilized rice bran (SRB) substitution to white wheat, wheat bran and whole grain wheat breads at the levels of 2.5, 5.0 and 10.0% was evaluated in terms of proximate composition, crumb color, dietary fiber, texture and sensory attributes. An increasing tendency was observed in crude fat and ash content of the breads. Redness (+a*), yellowness (+b*) chroma and redness (a*/b*) values were increased gradually with the addition of SRB. Crumb color was found to be darker when 10% of SRB was added to the breads. SRB inclusion did not affect the content of soluble dietary fiber while it significantly increased the insoluble and total dietary fiber contents of the breads (p < 0.05). In general, whole grain wheat bread differed from the other bread types in terms of textural behavior. Based on the overall acceptability scores, white wheat and wheat bran breads were sensory accepted up to 10% of flour replacement with rice bran, while substitution levels higher than 2.5% negatively affected the sensory scores of whole grain wheat bread.     

Effect of Nitrogen Application Timing on Yield Components,Fodder, Grain,and Oil Yields of Brassica Cultivars

The dual-purpose use of Brassica cultivars means cutting or grazing the crop as fodder and then letting it to re-grow and produce grain with little or no yield penalty. A field experiment was conducted in randomized complete block design with split plot arrangement with three replications. Three Brassica cultivars, three nitrogen application timing, and cutting treatments were included in the experiment. The findings indicated that Brassica cultivar Abasin-95 produced higher fresh and dry fodder yields, seeds pod^?1, seed, biological, and oil yields. However, NIFA Raya resulted in a higher number of pods and branches plant^?1. Likewise, fresh and dry fodder yields were higher with nitrogen (N) application all at sowing. Nitrogen applied in two splits resulted in a higher number of pods plant^?1 and grain yield. Cutting suppressed all parameters except 1000 grain weight. Uncut plots produced significantly higher branches plant^?1, pods plant^?1, seeds pod^?1, seed, biological, and oil yields than cut plots.     

Significance of sulfur in heat stressed cluster bean (Cymopsis tetragonoloba L. Taub) genotypes: responses of growth,sugar and antioxidative metabolism

A sand culture experiment was carried out to study the effects of sulfur deprivation on heat stress tolerance of two cluster bean (Cymopsis tetragonoloba L. Taub) cultivars (GC-1 and Pusa Nau Bahar (PNB)). Three weeks old sulfur-starved and sulfur-supplemented plants were subjected to heat stress (45°C/35°C) treatment for 24 h. Total dry weight, chlorophyll content, Chlorophyll a:b ratio, electrolyte leakage, malondialdehyde (MDA) accumulation, H₂O₂ content, sugar, glucose-6-phosphate (G-6-P), fructose-6-phosphate (F-6-P), ascorbate and glutathione concentrations and antioxidant enzyme activity (superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT)) were monitored, at the end of the heat stress treatment. Heat stress enhanced and sulfur starvation depleted the contents of sugar metabolites, but the accumulation of sugar, G-6-P and F-6-P were not related with heat stress tolerance. Antioxidant enzyme activities of SOD and CAT were influenced significantly more by sulfur starvation than heat stress. The results showed that under heat stress, the addition of sulfur helps to mitigate the oxidative damage in both the cultivars. However, GC-1 was more heat tolerant as it was characterized by significantly higher total dry weight, chlorophyll content, ascorbate and glutathione content and lower H₂O₂, MDA, electrolyte leakage than PNB.     

Coating of essential oils onto prilled urea retards its nitrification in soil

Increased use of nitrogenous fertilizers in agriculture has led to the increased pollution of ground water and atmosphere. Certain plant products can be used as coating materials onto urea to reduce the N losses. We evaluated the effectiveness of citronella and palmarosa grass oils as nitrification inhibitors in a soil incubation study. The treatments (14) were combinations of 4 N sources (neem, citronella and palmarosa oil coated prilled ureas, and uncoated prilled urea), 2 coating thicknesses of oils (500 and 1000 mg kg^?1) and 2 N levels (75 and 150 kg N ha^?1), replicated thrice in a randomized block design. N levels at 75 and 150 kg ha^?1 were equivalent to 34 and 68 mg N kg^?1 soil, respectively. Results showed that N sources citronella (CCPU₁₀₀₀) and neem oil (NCPU₁₀₀₀) coated prilled ureas at 1000 mg kg^?1 coating thickness with 75 kg ha^?1 released similar amount of ammonical-N to uncoated prilled urea at 150 kg N ha^?1, suggesting the beneficial effect of coated ureas. The highest nitrification inhibition (%) was recorded with NCPU₁₀₀₀, the reference nitrification inhibitor, which was significantly greater to all the other N sources at 7 days after incubation (DAI), and at par to CCPU₁₀₀₀ at 14 and 21 DAI.     

Supplementation of Selenium Nanoparticles-Loaded Chitosan Improves Production Performance,Intestinal Morphology,and Gut Microflora in Broiler Chickens

The current study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs), combined or loaded with chitosan (COS), in broiler chickens reared under standard management protocols. The parameters under investigation were production performance, organ development, components of the intestinal barrier, and ileal microbial count. Two hundred and forty day-old chicks were raised in five groups, with each group containing eight replicates (n=6/replicate). The control group received a basal diet whereas the other four groups received basal diets supplemented with SeNPs (0.5 mg/kg), COS (200 mg/kg), SeNPs+COS (0.5 mg/kg SeNPs + 200 mg/kg COS), and SeNPs-loaded COS (SeNPs-L-COS) (200 mg/kg) respectively. On day 35, two birds/replicate were sampled to collect the viscera under investigation. The results revealed that dietary inclusion of SeNPs-L-COS increased (p<0.05) the body weight gain and improved (p<0.05) feed conversion ratio. Similarly, SeNPs-L-COS supplementation increased (p<0.05) the small intestinal villus surface area as well as the count of acidic goblet cells and intraepithelial lymphocytes when compared with the control group. Whereas the total goblet cell count was higher (p<0.05) in the small intestines of both the SeNPs+COS and SeNPs-L-COS groups. Microbial analysis of ileal contents also revealed an increase (p<0.05) in Lactobacilli species count with a concurrent decrease (p<0.05) in Escherichia coli count in the SeNPs-L-COS group when compared with the COS and control groups. Based on the results of the current trial, we can conclude that supplementation with SeNPs-L-COS is a superior combination for promoting the gut health and performance of broilers.