Assessment of variation in drought tolerance using some key physiological criteria in potential wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivars of different geographic origins

The present experiment comprised seven wheat cultivars, two drought levels (0 and 17% PEG-8000) and four replicates. The seeds of six wheat cultivars (Al-lugaimi, Bonus, Kronos, Yecora-rojo, Irena and Sama) were supplied by the King Saud University, Riyaz, Saudi Arabia, whereas S-24 was obtained from the Department of Botany, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad. The seeds were allowed to germinate and grow for 20 days in medium having full-strength Hoagland's nutrient solution or Hoagland's solution with 17% PEG-8000. For the appraisal of drought tolerance, various physiological traits such as gas-exchange attributes (A, E, C_i, g_s , and A/E), leaf water relations (ψ_w, ψ_s and ψ_p) and the activities of key antioxidant enzymes (SOD, POD and CAT) were determined. On the basis of biomass and gas-exchange attributes (A, E, and g_s ), cultivars Al-lugaimi and Sama were found to be drought tolerant, cultivars Yecora-rojo and Irena moderately drought tolerant, and cultivars S-24, Bonus and Kronos drought sensitive. However, plant osmotic adjustment and the activities of potential antioxidant enzymes (SOD, POD and CAT) were not found to be associated with drought tolerance of the different wheat cultivars.     

Morphological and molecular evaluation of Turkish rice (Oryza sativa L.) landraces

Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution - This study was carried out to evaluate Turkish rice landraces, in 2016 and 2017. Twenty-nine morphological traits were used for morphological evolution and 10...     

Suppression of superphosphate-phosphorus fixation by farmyard manure I. High phosphorus uptake from superphosphate

Pot and field experiments were conducted on alkaline calcareous soils of Pakistan to determine the effect of premixing superphosphate (SUP) with farmyard manure (FYM) on the fraction of plant phosphorus derived from the ³⁰P labelled SUP (y value). Premixing (SUP with FYM) before their addition to soil, markedly increased the uptake of SUP-P by plants. The premixed treatment also increased crop yield on phosphorus deficient soli. Optimum quantity of FYM required was twice that of SUP. Higher quantities of FYM had no additional effect on phosphorus availability from SUP.

The possible mechanism of this effect and the implications of these observations in phosphorus nutrition of plants have been discussed.     

Laal-e-faisal: A new red skin potato variety adapted to Pakistan

American Journal of Potato Research - The Laal-e-Faisal (Pearl of Pakistan) potato variety was selected at Kaghan by the Ayub Agricultural Research Institute, Faisalabad, Pakistan, from a seedling...     

Use of 1,6-diaminohexane-functionalized glycidyl methacrylate-g-poly(ethylene terephthalate) fiber for removal of acidic dye from aqueous solution

In this study, removal of Congo red (CR) from aqueous solution by 1,6-diaminohexane-functionalized glycidyl methacrylate-g-poly(ethylene terephthalate) (HMDA-GMA-g-PET) fiber was investigated. A new aminated fibrous adsorbent was prepared by a reaction between amine and epoxy group in GMA-g-PET fiber prepared by grafting GMA monomer onto poly (ethylene terephthalate) (PET) fiber. Effects of various parameters such as pH, treatment time, initial, dye concentration, and reaction temperature on the adsorption amount of dye onto reactive fiber were investigated. The adsorption rates of CR were much higher on the HMDA-GMA-g-PET fiber than on GMA-g-PET and ungrafted PET fiber. The effective pH was 2.0 for adsorption on grafted PET fiber. It was found that the sufficient time to attain equilibrium was 60 min. The maximum adsorption capacity of the reactive fiber for CR is 16.6 mg/g fiber. The rates of adsorption were found to conform to the pseudo-second order kinetics with good correlation. It was found that the adsorption isotherm of CR fitted Freundlich type isotherm.     

Preliminary studies on two Diaspididae (Hemiptera) species feeding on Johnsongrass (<Emphasis Type="BoldItalic">Sorghum halepense</Emphasis>) in Turkey

The scale insects Acanthomytilus sacchari (Hall) and Duplachionaspis erianthi Borchsenius (Hemiptera, Diaspididae) are newly recorded as indigenous insects from Turkey. Both A. sacchari and D. erianthi were found to feed only on rhizomes of Johnsongrass. A field study was conducted to determine host ranges and feeding effects of these scale insects on Johnsongrass, Sorghum halepense (L.) Pers. No feeding of these species was observed on Zea mays L. (maize), Sorghum sudanense Staph. (sorghum), Aegilops triuncialis L. (barbed goatgrass), Avena fatua L. (wild oat), A. sterilis (sterile oat), Bromus tectorum L. (downy brome), Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers. (bermudagrass), Phragmites australis (Cav.) Trin. ex Steudel (common reed), Poa bulbosa L. (bulbous bluegrass), or Secale montanum Guss. (wild rye). The mean infestation rates of the scale insects on Johnsongrass in southeastern Anatolia were 11.47% and 1.64% for A. sacchari and D. erianthi, respectively. Further investigations are required to clarify their biology and damage to Johnsongrass under field conditions.     

Prospective study of avian influenza H9 infection in commercial poultry farms of Punjab Province and Islamabad Capital Territory,Pakistan

Tropical Animal Health and Production - A prospective study was conducted from November 2013 to February 2014 to estimate the spatial clustering; cumulative incidence and risk factors associated...     

Using expert knowledge data to validate crop models on local situation data

Cropping system models are widely used tools for simulating the growth and development of crops at field scale. However, it is often difficult to satisfy their detailed input and output data requirements for a proper evaluation of model. In this study, expert knowledge data were used as alternative source to fulfil these data requirements. The model was first calibrated for major crops of the studied area and then evaluated for the same crops by using expert knowledge data. Results showed that the model accurately simulated above-ground biomass and grain yield with a relative root mean square error (RRMSE) of 20% and 17%, respectively. On the other hand, simulated results were less satisfactory for N uptake and cumulated evapotranspiration with RRMSE of 27% and 31%, respectively. The model simulated cumulative variables more accurately than dynamic variables. The results of this study suggest that expert knowledge can be used to get data for intermediate variables rarely measured in experiments used for calibration (green leaf area index, actual evapotranspiration, rooting depth) in typical crop management conditions in the region. This approach enables a global and dynamic evaluation of cropping system models when experimental data is unavailable for large heterogeneous areas in a region.     

Impacts of different spices on in vitro rumen dry matter disappearance,fermentation and methane of wheat or ryegrass hay based substrates

Two completely randomised experiments compared the impact of different spices, each at 30 mg/g substrate DM, on the in vitro dry matter disappearance (IVDMD), methane, ammonia and volatile fatty acids (VFA) from either wheat flour (wheat) (experiment 1) as highly or hay based mixtures (experiment 2) as moderately fermentable substrates. Experiment 1 tested the effects of adding cinnamon, clove, coriander, cumin and turmeric, individually, on the rumen fermentation during their in vitro incubations with wheat for 24 h. All spices reduced methane (P < 0.05) from wheat as compared to the spice-free wheat (control). Coriander reduced methane more followed by turmeric, cumin and cinnamon than the control. The IVDMD of wheat did not differ for most spices except cinnamon where IVDMD was reduced (P < 0.05) as compared to the control. Whilst, rumen ammonia was greatest for cumin (P < 0.01) followed by coriander and turmeric, it was lowest for clove (P < 0.01). The spices did not affect the pH and total VFA of rumen fluid for wheat. However, the presence of clove reduced acetic acid (P < 0.05). Experiment 2 tested the effect of only three (coriander, cumin and turmeric) spices individually or together on the in vitro fermentation of hay based mixtures during 96 h of incubation. Whilst all the individual spices or their mixture reduced methane from the hay based mixtures (P < 0.05), the extent of this reduction was highest for turmeric, second highest for coriander and lowest for cumin. It appeared that most spices modified methane emission from wheat as a single ingredient or hay based mixtures without having detrimental effect on diet disappearance or fermentation in vitro. However, the extent of this modification depended on the type of a spice and substrate. Therefore, careful selection of a spice to suit specific feeds would be essential before their in vivo use to modify the fermentation efficiency of ruminant diets.