Genetic diversity in grasspea (Lathyrus sativus L.)

Genetic diversity was investigated in 348 accessions and subaccessions of grasspea (Lathyrus sativus L.) from 10 geographical regions. Polymorphism for 20 isozymes of 13 enzyme systems was studied to estimate the genetic diversity. The Near East and North Africa regions included the most variability for these isozyme systems, suggesting that the center of diversity (center of origin) for grasspea is in this general area. The lowest variability was found in accessions and subaccessions from South America, followed by those from Sudan–Ethiopia. Diversity was measured for individual loci over regions and EST-1 and SKDH had the highest genetic diversity. The closest genetic diversity was observed for LAP-2, followed by AAT-1 and PGM. The closest genetic distance existed between populations from the Near East and North Africa. Populations from South Asia and Sudan–Ethiopia, though geographically widely separated, exhibited a closer genetic distance from each other than from other regions.     

Woven Kenaf/Kevlar Hybrid Yarn as potential fiber reinforced for anti-ballistic composite material

Woven Kenaf/Kevlar Hybrid Yarn is the combination of natural and synthetic fibers in the form of thread or yarn. The yarn is weaved to form a fabric type of fiber reinforced material. Then, the fabric is fabricated with epoxy as the resin to form a hybrid composite. For composite fabrication, woven fabric Kenaf/Kevlar hybrid yarn composite was prepared with vacuum bagging hand lay-up method. Woven fabric Kenaf/Kevlar hybrid yarn composite was fabricated with total fiber content of 40 % and 60 % of Epoxy as the matrix. The fiber ratios of Kenaf/Kevlar hybrid yarn were varied in weight fraction of 30/70, 50/50 and 70/30 respectively. The composites of woven fabric Kenaf/Epoxy and woven fabric Kevlar/Epoxy were also fabricated for comparison. The mechanical properties of five (5) samples composites were tested accordingly. Result has shown that of value of strength and modulus woven fabric Kenaf/Kevlar Hybrid Yarn composite was increased when the Kevlar fiber content increased. Therefore, among the hybrid composite samples result showed the woven fabric Kenaf/Kevlar Hybrid Yarn composites with the composition of 30/70 ratio has exhibited the highest energy absorption with 148.8 J which 28 % lower than Kevlar 100 % sample. The finding indicated there is a potential combination of natural fiber with synthetic fiber that can be fabricated as the composite material for the application of high performance product.     

Assessment of Growth,Tuber Elemental Composition,Stomatal Conductance and Chlorophyll Content of Two Potato Cultivars Under Irrigation with Fly Ash-Treated Acid Mine Drainage

The impact of fly ash (FA)-treated acid mine drainage (AMD) on growth, tuber yield and elemental composition, stomatal conductance and chlorophyll content of two potato cultivars was assessed. Two potato cultivars were irrigated with the following treatments: tap water (0% AMD/control), acid mine drainage mixed with fly ash (v/v); 25% AMD, 50% AMD & 75% AMD and untreated AMD (100% AMD). A complete randomized block design pot experiment with six replicates per treatment was conducted in two cropping seasons. Irrigation with 75% AMD in both cropping seasons significantly increased growth and tuber yield compared with control. However, unsafe levels of Ni, Zn, and Sr were found in tubers of both cultivars irrigated with FA-treated AMD treatments in both seasons. Additionally, FA-treated AMD treatments reduced leaf stomatal conductance and chlorophyll content relative to control in both cultivars. Cultivar response was found to differ with respect to all measured parameters.     

Einfluß von Düngemaßnahmen auf die Stickstoffauswaschung bei mehrjährigem Silomaisanbau

Influence of fertilization on nitrogen leaching after cultivation of maize for silage over four successive seasons In a field trial, nitrogen leaching from soil was determined between February 1983 and May 1986 by analyzing soil water from 50, 80 and 110 cm below the soil surface every 14 days. On a Stagno-gleyic Luvisol, maize after maize was cultivated over four successive seasons. Nitrogen was applied either minerally in spring according to N_min or as a semiliquid cattle manure. The time of application (autumn and/or spring), application rate and use of nitrification inhibitor dicyandiamide (DCD) were varied. Under very low N-fertilization (underground fertilization only), nitrate nitrogen losses by leaching dropped from 100 kg N/ha in the first year to 33 kg N/ha in the 3^rd. Nitrogen leaching from the various treatment plots depended on the maize growth and rainfall conditions. Because of an intensive and long lasting seepage of gravitational water, nitrogen leaching from the root zone ranged from 113 to 208 kg N/ha during the fall and winter seasons of 1983/84 and 1984/85. Under the more balanced infiltration conditions of the leaching period 1985/86, and after a high yield of maize in 1985, losses due to leaching were reduced to values between 69 to 108 kg N/ha. Under these experimental conditions (deliberately high quantities of semiliquid cattle manure; DCD-application in autumn) no reduction in nitrogen losses could be proved due to the addition of dicyandiamide.     

Fate of Fertilizer-15N to a Maize Crop Grown in Northern Zambia

Abstract

A field study with maize (Zea mays L.) was conducted in the 1988/89 cropping season to investigate the fate of ¹⁵NO₃-N-labelled NH₄ ¹⁵NO₃ applied at 40, 80 and 120 kg N ha^?1 (unlabelled N applied at 0, 80, 160 and 240 N ha^?1) with and without lime. The investigations were conducted in northern Zambia at Misamfu Regional Research Centre, Kasama on a Misamfu red sandy loam soil. The experimental design was a split plot arrangement with four replications with main plots receiving 0 and 2 Mg ha^?1 dolomitic limestone, while subplots received fertilizer N at various rates. Significant (p < 0.001) grain and DM yield responses to applied N up to 160 kg ha^?1 were observed. At higher rates little or no crop responses were observed and fertilizer use efficiency declined. Partitioning of amounts of total N and ¹⁵N in plants was in the order of seed = tassel > leaf> cob = earleaf> stem. Fertilizer N rates showed a highly significant (p < 0.001) effect on plant uptake of labelled N. Lime and its interaction with N rates had no effect on all measured parameters. Leaching of NO₃-N fertilizer to lower soil depths was in proportion to the rate of N applied, with highly significant (p < 0.001) differences among soil depths. Although higher concentrations of fertilizer-¹⁵N were recovered in the 0–20 cm depth the recovered portion at lower soil depths was still significant. Total recovery of labelled N by plant and by soil after crop harvest averaged 75, 55 and 54% of originally applied fertilizer-¹⁵N at 40, 80 and 120 kg N ha^?1, respectively. Corresponding unaccounted for ¹⁵N was 25, 45 and 46%. The most probable loss mechanism could have been by leaching to depths greater than 60 cm, gaseous losses to the atmosphere and root assimilation.     

PCR-SSCP用于针叶树种遗传分析的可行性

利用松树单倍体胚乳,双倍体的针叶材料,扩增了叶绿体基因组和核基因组的５个ＤＮＡ片段,研究了ＳＳＣＰ这一分析方法的可靠性。结果表明ＳＳＣＰ分析方法具有坚实的分子基础、较高的分辨率和试验重复性。对ＳＳＣＰ谱带在杂交子代和单倍体胚乳的分离分析,证明了ＳＳＣＰ还具有良好的遗传稳定性。     

A 5-micron-bright spot on Titan: evidence for surface diversity

Observations from the Cassini Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer show an anomalously bright spot on Titan located at 80 degrees W and 20 degrees S. This area is bright in reflected light at all observed wavelengths, but is most noticeable at 5 microns. The spot is associated with a surface albedo feature identified in images taken by the Cassini Imaging Science Subsystem. We discuss various hypotheses about the source of the spot, reaching the conclusion that the spot is probably due to variation in surface composition, perhaps associated with recent geophysical phenomena.     

Physiological responses of irrigated wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) genotypes to water stress

The recent drought in South Africa has reduced the production of both dryland and irrigated wheat. This study evaluated physiological traits of irrigated wheat genotypes in response to water stress (WS) imposed at different growth stages. A 8?×?2?×?3 [(genotypes)?×?(water treatmets; stresses and non-stressed)?×?(growth stages; tillering, flowering and grain filling)] factorial experiment based on a randomised complete block design with three replicates was conducetd. In general, the rate of photosynthesis was unaffected by WS except for genotypes LM43 at tillering and LM98 at grain filling. Stomatal conductance (SC) and transpiration rate (Tr) followed the same treand except for genotype LM35 which reduced its SC and Tr significantly at grain filling. Instantaneous waster use efficiency (IWUE) of genotype LM35 and LM57 was unaffected (p?>?0.05) by WS at tillering but at flowering stage it was affected. However, at grain filling IWUE was affected (p?<?0.05) in genotypes LM35, ML57, LM79 and LM 98. The relative water content was unaffected at tillering except for LM35 and LM47 genotypes whereas at flowering LM57, ML79, LM83 and LM98 were affected. These results indicate some degree of drought tolerance of these genotypes at different growth stages.     

Using pXRF and vis-NIR spectra for predicting properties of soils developed in loess

Visible near-infrared (vis-NIR) and portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) spectrometers have been increasingly utilized for predicting soil properties worldwide. However, only a few studies have focused on splitting the predictive models by horizons to evaluate prediction performance and systematically compare prediction performance for A, B, and combined A+B horizons. Therefore, we investigated the performance of pXRF and vis-NIR spectra, as individual or combined, for predicting the clay, silt, sand, total carbon (TC), and pH of soils developed in loess, and compared their prediction performance for A, B, and A+B horizons. Soil samples (176 in A horizon and 172 in B horizon) were taken from Mollisols and Alfisols in 136 pedons in Wisconsin, USA and analyzed for clay, silt, sand, pH, and TC. The pXRF and vis-NIR spectrometers were used to measure the pXRF and vis-NIR soil spectra. Data were separated into calibration (n=244, 70%) and validation (n=104, 30%) datasets. The Savitzky-Golay filter was applied to preprocess the pXRF and vis-NIR spectra, and the first 10 principal components (PCs) were selected through principal component analysis (PCA). Five types of predictor, i.e., PCs from vis-NIR spectra, pXRF of beams at 0-40 and 0-10 keV (XRF40 and XRF10, respectively) spectra, combined XRF40 and XRF10 (XRF40+XRF10) spectra, and combined XRF40, XRF10, and vis-NIR (XRF40+XRF10+vis-NIR) spectra, were compared for predicting soil properties using a machine learning algorithm (Cubist model). A multiple linear regression (MLR) model was applied to predict clay, silt, sand, pH, and TC using pXRF elements. The results suggested that pXRF spectra had better prediction performance for clay, silt, and sand, whereas vis-NIR spectra produced better TC and pH predictions. The best prediction performance for sand (R²=0.97), silt (R²=0.95), and clay (R²=0.84) was achieved using vis-NIR+XRF40+XRF10 spectra in B horizon, whereas the best prediction performance for TC (R²=0.93) and pH (R²=0.79) was achieved using vis-NIR+XRF40+XRF10 spectra in A+B horizon. For all soil properties, the best MLR model had a lower prediction accuracy than the Cubist model. It was concluded that pXRF and vis-NIR spectra can be successfully applied for predicting clay, silt, sand, pH, and TC with high accuracy for soils developed in loess, and that spectral models should be developed for different horizons to achieve high prediction accuracy.