Heterosis and combining ability for yield and resistance to grain mold in tannin-free photoperiod-insensitive sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L) Moench] in Senegal

Journal of Crop Science and Biotechnology - Increasing sorghum production per unit area in the farmer’s field by developing high yielding tannin-free and grain mold tolerant varieties in...     

Soil chronosequence and biosequence on old lake sediments of the Burdur Lake in Turkey

The Burdur Lake is located in the southwest of Turkey, and its area has decreased by 40% from 211 km² in 1975 to 126 km² in 2019. In this study, we investigated how the soil has changed in the lacustrine material. Three soil profiles were sampled from the former lakebed (chronosequence profiles: P1, 2007; P2, 1994; and P3, 1975), and three soil profiles under different land use types (biosequence profiles: P4, native forest vegetation; P5, agriculture; and P6, lakebed) were sampled. The chronosequence and biosequence soil profiles represented various distances from the Burdur Lake and showed different stages of lacustrine evolution. Soil electrical conductivity (EC; 18.1 to 0.4 dS m_-1), exchangeable Na⁺ (34.7 to 1.4 cmol kg^-1) and K⁺ (0.61 to 0.56 cmol kg^-1), and water-soluble Cl^- (70.3 to 2.1 cmol L^-1) and SO₄^2- (275.9 to 25.0 cmol L^-1) decreased with increasing distance from the Burdur Lake, whereas the A horizon thickness (10 to 48 cm), structure formation (0 to 48 cm), gleization-oxidation depth (0 to 79 cm), and montmorillonite and organic matter (OM; 25.9 to 46.0 g kg^-1) contents increased in the chronosequence soil profiles. The formation of P3 in the chronosequence and P5 in the biosequence soil profiles increased due to longer exposure to pedogenic processes (time, land use, vegetation, etc.). Changes in EC, exchangeable cation (Na⁺ and K⁺) and water-soluble anion (Cl^- and SO₄^2-) concentrations of the salt-enriched horizon, OM, gleization-oxidation depth, A horizon thickness, and structure formation of the chronosequence and biosequence soil profiles (especially the topsoil horizon) were highly related to the distance from the Burdur Lake, time, and land use.     

Influence of stocking density and layer age on production traits and egg quality in Japanese quail

1. Japanese quail hens were housed from 6 to 26 weeks of age in cages providing areas of 150, 180, 210 and 240 cm²/bird.

2. Body weight gain, age at 50% egg production, mortality, hen‐day egg production and food conversion values showed significant improvement with proportionate increase in cage space per layer.

3. Egg weight gradually increased with age but shell thickness was influenced neither by age of the hen nor by stocking density.

4. Yolk index and colour were superior in the lowest stocking density (more cage space) group; other egg quality traits and egg weight were not influenced by stocking density.

5. The albumen index, internal quality unit, yolk index and yolk colour values increased with age.     

Kleine botanische Beobachtungen im Institutsgelände

Zusammenfassung 1. Die BlastocladialeAllomyces arbuscula, in Deutschland bisher nur von drei Fundorten angegeben (Remy 1950) wurde in einer Zone temporärer Pfützen am Rande einer gepflasterten Straße, wo auch die DesmidiaceeActinotaenium curtum (Bréb.)Teil. vorkommt, zwischen Gebäuden des Zentralinstitus gefunden.2.Tulipa sylvestris L. von einem Wild-Standort, wo sie sich wenig blühwillig zeigt, weist, in's Institutsgelände verpflanzt, starke vegetative Vermehrung und reichen Blütenansatz auf. Über auftretende Variationen im Blütenbau wird berichtet.

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Some botanical observations in the area of the Institute

Summary 1. The BlastocladialeAllomyces arbuscula E. J. Butler 1911, known hitherto in Germany only from three sites (Remy 1950) was found on loamy soil from roadsides in the area of the Central Institute Gatersleben, together with the DesmidialeActinotaenium curtum (Bréb.)Teil. 1954.2. Observations on enhancement of floweriness and natural occurring aberrations in the flower formula fromTulipa sylvestris L. transplanted from a shaded wild site with very sparse producing flowers to gardenground with full sunshine.

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1. Allomyces arbuscula, (Remy 1950), , , , Actinotaenium curtum (Bréb.)Teil.2. (Tulipa sylvestris L.), , , . .

     

CANINE INTRACRANIAL EPIDERMOID CYST

A 7-year-old intact male pitbull presented with a 2-month history of progressive dysequilibrium. Cerebrospinal fluid analysis was indicative of a central inflammatory or neoplastic disorder. A cerebellar cystic structure was identified on magnetic resonance imaging which was found to be an epidermoid cyst on histopathology.     

Red fluorescence in reef fish: A novel signalling mechanism?

Background  

At depths below 10 m, reefs are dominated by blue-green light because seawater selectively absorbs the longer, 'red' wavelengths beyond 600 nm from the downwelling sunlight. Consequently, the visual pigments of many reef fish are matched to shorter wavelengths, which are transmitted better by water. Combining the typically poor long-wavelength sensitivity of fish eyes with the presumed lack of ambient red light, red light is currently considered irrelevant for reef fish. However, previous studies ignore the fact that several marine organisms, including deep sea fish, produce their own red luminescence and are capable of seeing it.     

Type-specific reference conditions of fluvial landscapes: A search in the past by 3D-reconstruction

River/floodplain restoration programs are often based on type-specific reference conditions of the respective river section. Most large rivers in the industrialized world are heavily degraded and lack near-natural reference sites. For that reason, historical analyses of the pre-channelization state have been used to define adequate restoration targets at the Austrian Danube section in the Alluvial Zone National Park downstream from Vienna. This study compares new reference data derived from 3D-reconstructions in the form of digital terrain models from two historical Danube river landscapes: the Machland floodplain in 1812 and the former floodplain in Vienna in 1849. The focus is on the original hydrological surface and subsurface connectivity of the river-floodplain systems related to different flow situations. Here, we use water cover, shorelines, depth of the groundwater table and inundation depth as surrogates for measuring connectivity. The results show that the two study sites naturally constituted extreme formations of the Austrian anabranching Danube sections. The Machland section was one of the narrowest floodplains but highly dynamic, and the Vienna/Lobau section was one of the broadest, whereby only the central part close to the main channel originally showed high morphological turnover. The analyses of hydrological surface connectivity relative to total floodplain extension reveal significant differences due to their basic geological and geographical conditions. Despite these basic differences, both study sites – in absolute numbers – showed similar extensions of the water bodies at low and mean flow. The depths of the groundwater table related to mean flow were also comparable. Prior to channelization, the groundwater conditions in both floodplains favored the formation of wet to moist alluvial forest communities.