Effect of Zn application on its uptake,distribution and concentration of Fe and Cu in finger millet [Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn.]

Zinc (Zn) malnutrition can be alleviated by increasing the dietary Zn intake through Zn biofortification of edible crops. Agronomic and genetic biofortification has been suggested as better option to increase the dietary Zn. In this study, we show considerable genetic variability for seed Zn concentration in six leading finger millet genotypes. External application of Zn resulted in improved Zn concentration in different plant parts; in particular there was significant increase in seed Zn concentration in all genotypes. Though genotypes GPU28 and INDAF5 showed differences in root and shoot Zn at vegetative stage but at reproductive stage there was no significant difference. Apart from that, Zn application increased the seed iron (Fe) concentration with no or minimal effect on copper (Cu) concentration.     

A kinematic wave based watershed model for soil erosion and sediment yield

In this study, a finite element method based soil erosion and sediment yield model has been developed for overland and stream flow. The one dimensional conservation of mass of sediment flow equation has been solved based on kinematic wave flow approximation and Galerkin's based numerical solution. Various thematic maps required for the model are prepared using Geographical Information System (GIS). Land use/Land cover is extracted from remotely sensed data. The proposed finite element based distributed model has been used for the estimation of soil erosion and sediment outflow by discretizing the watershed into small grids. The soil erosion and sediment outflow model has been developed and applied to Khadakohol watershed located in Nashik district of Maharastra state, India. Part of the available data has been used for the model calibration and the other part for model validation. The simulated results of the watershed have been compared with the observed data and found to be satisfactory.     

Salicylic Acid Induced Changes on Some Physiological Parameters Symptomatic for Oxidative Stress in Maize (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Zea mays</Emphasis> L.) Grown under Cinnamic Acid Stress

In the present work, alleviation of cinnamic acid (CA) stress by salicylic acid (SA) was observed. CA influenced the physiological and biochemical parameters. CA significantly repressed growth variables like shoot and root height, fresh and dry biomass of the maize seedlings. The contents of chlorophylls, carotenoids, protein and activity of nitrate reductase were inhibited significantly. CA enhanced the accumulation of proline, ion leakage and lipid peroxidation due to induction of oxidative stress in maize. The activities of antioxidant enzymes, namely superoxide dismutase, catalase and ascorbate peroxidase, guaiacol peroxidase increased in CA stress. However, exogenous SA regulated the toxic effects of CA. The indices of oxidative stress appeared to be attenuated by SA. Pigment content and activities of enzymes increased approximately up to the level of control. CA caused phytotoxicity to Zea mays. The natural growth regulator has potential to overcome the adverse effects caused by CA.     

Magnetic resonance imaging in the diagnosis and treatment of a canine spinal cord injury

A nine-year-old female crossbred dog was presented with tetraplegia following a fall. No vertebral abnormalities were detectable on plain radiographs of the cervical spine. Magnetic resonance imaging scans revealed absence of extraparenchymal compression and an area of oedema within the cervical spinal cord, suggesting a favourable prognosis. Following nursing care and physiotherapy, the dog recovered the ability to walk, although mild neurological deficits persisted in the left limbs.     

Induction of systemic resistance to Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae by salicylic acid in Oryza sativa (L.)

Journal of Plant Diseases and Protection - The effect of salicylic acid (SA) is hypothesized to be a natural signal that triggers the systemic induction of phenolics, pathogenesis-related proteins...     

A diagnostic medium for the semi-selective isolation and enumeration of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Xanthomonas axonopodis</Emphasis>pv. <Emphasis Type="Italic">vignicola</Emphasis>

A semi-selective medium for isolation of Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. vignicola from cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) plant and soil samples was developed. Twelve carbon and five nitrogen sources were tested with four strains of X. axonopodispv.vignicola, and 25 antibiotics were screened against saprophytes. -cellobiose (10g) was selected as the optimal carbon source. Among the antibiotics, cefazoline inhibited growth of most of the saprophytes with little effect on strains of the pathogen. ,-methionine enhanced growth of X. axonopodispv.vignicola. Boric acid along with ammonium chloride suppressed growth of Pseudomonas fluorescens. The semi-selective medium designated as cefazoline-cellobiose-methionine (CCM) medium contained K₂HPO₄ 1.34g, KH₂PO₄ 0.4g, MgSO₄ 0.3g, H₃BO₃ 0.2g, NH₄Cl 1.0g, -cellobiose 10g, cycloheximide 0.2g, ,-methionine 1.0g, cefazoline 10mg and agar 14g per l of water (pH 7.2). Colonies of X. axonopodispv.vignicola on CCM medium were whitish, round, raised and 0.2–1.8mm in diameter 96h after incubation. CCM medium generally inhibited growth of Pantoea agglomerans, Bacillus subtilis and saprophytes isolated from cowpea leaves. Colonies of Pseudomonas fluorescens and a saprophytic bacterium, which were not completely suppressed by CCM, could be differentiated from X. axonopodispv.vignicola by their smaller size and different color. The CCM medium proved useful for isolation of X. axonopodispv.vignicola from cowpea plant and soil samples. This is the first report of a semi-selective medium developed for detection of X. axonopodispv.vignicola.     

Effectiveness of in vitro selection for agronomic characters in potato

Effectiveness of in vitro selection for agronomic characters was studied by finding correlation coefficients between in vitro and in vivo performance of 22 potato genotypes. Evaluation was performed under eight in vitro and two in vivo conditions. Genotypic differences were highly significant for various characters under all in vitro and in vivo conditions. Error mean squares were much lower in in vitro experiments than in in vivo experiments. In vitro selection was found to be highly effective for tuber colour, stem pigment and number of eyes, and moderately effective for average tuber weight, plant vigour and foliage senescence under specific conditions. The results also indicated the possibility of in vitro selection for heat tolerance. For tuber yield and number of tubers, effectiveness of in vitro selection was low to very low, because differences in phenotypic expressions of genotypes were much enlarged under in vitro conditions compared to under in vivo conditions. Correlation coefficients for certain characters were better when in vitro conditions were closer to in vivo conditions. To improve the efficiency of in vitro selection, there is perhaps a need to simulate and identify the in vitro conditions under which genotypic differences are reflected in phenotypes more realistically as they are expressed under in vivo conditions. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Progeny mean, heterosis and heterobeltiosis inSolanum tuberosum x tuberosum andS. tuberosum x andigena families under a short day sub-tropic environment

Summary Solanum tuberosum x tuberosum (TxT) families were compared withS. tuberosum x andigena (TxA) families as progeny mean, heterosis and heterobeltiosis for ten important agronomic characters by evaluating 72 cross combinations (36 of TxT and 36 of TxA, from 18 common female parents), for three successive seedling and clonal generations under short day sub-tropic conditions. TxA families had more vigorous progenies, higher tuber yield, higher number of tubers, larger tubers and better general impression than TxT families. The TxA families were inferior to the TxT families for characters such as tuber colour and uniformity of tuber colour, but their progeny means were within the acceptable range. High progeny means of TxA families were associated with high heterosis and high heterobeltiosis in these families, although there were a few exceptions. High mean performance for tuber yield and tuber number were associated with high variance of these traits in TxA families. It is concluded that, unlike under long day environments, andigena adapted to short days can be used advantageously for exploiting heterosis in the potato breeding programmes of short day subtropic environments.     

Determination of residues of endosulfan and endosulfan sulfate on eggplant,mustard and chickpea

Extractable residues of endosulfan stereoisomers and its toxic metabolite, endosulfan sulfate, on a vegetable, an oilseed and a pulse crop were determined by gas-liquid chromatography. The study revealed that the alpha isomer degraded faster than the beta isomer. Beta-endosulfan accumulated during the first three days following the treatment. Endosulfan sulfate residues appeared a few days after application and decreased with time. The total endosulfan residues in the seeds from treated mustard ranged from 0.08 to 0.12 mg kg^?1 and were at or below the limit of determination (0.02 mg kg^?1) in chickpea seeds following harvest.