Agronomic productivity,nitrogen fertilizer savings and soil organic carbon in conservation agriculture: efficient nitrogen and weed management in maize-wheat system

Conservation agriculture (CA) practice increases agronomic productivity and soil fertility, yet CA stimulate nitrogen (N) immobilization and weed interference during the early periods of implementation. This study focuses on efficient N management by soil testing and optical sensor (GreenSeeker^TM) information; and weed management using brown manuring (Sesbania aculeata co-culture) and herbicide mixtures under CA-based maize (Zea mays L.) – wheat (Triticum aestivum L. emend Fiori & Paol) system in the Indo-Gangetic Plains. Fertilizer N application guided by the optical sensor increased grain yields of maize and wheat up to 20 and 14% (average of two years), respectively, compared to whole N application at sowing. Weed management using brown manuring in maize and herbicide mixtures in wheat increased the grain yields up to 10 and 21%, respectively, over the weedy check. The optical sensor-based N management saved up to 45 and 30 kg N ha^–1 of the optimized N fertilizer rate in maize and wheat, respectively, over whole N application. Fertilizer N management coupled with brown manuring resulted in 5 and 4% higher soil organic carbon accumulation. Implementing efficient N fertilizer and weed management in the early years of CA can improve agronomic yield, fertilizer savings, and soil organic carbon content.     

Molecular characterization and SNP identification in HSPB6 gene in Karan Fries (Bos taurus x Bos indicus) cattle

Tropical Animal Health and Production - Heat shock proteins (HSPs) act as molecular chaperones which are preferentially transcribed in response to severe perturbations of the cellular homeostasis...     

Effect of protection against hot climate on growth performance,physiological response and endocrine profile of growing lambs under semi-arid tropical environment

In the hot semi-arid tropical region, extreme summer is a major constraint in sheep production. The growth performance of growing lambs is impaired during the summer. Therefore, the present study was conducted to assess the effect of protection against hot climate on growth performance, physiological response, and endocrine profile of growing lambs under semi-arid tropical environment. All the data in the experiment were presented as mean ± SE. Thirty Malpura lambs with the age of 122.7 ± 6.05 days and body weight of 19.52 ± 0.42 kg were allotted into three groups, viz. G1 (control, lambs kept in open area under tree shade), G2 (lambs kept in conventional asbestos-roofed shed), and G3 (lambs kept in designed shed). The allotment was based on their initial body weight so that the mean body weight of each group was similar. In all three types of protection, lambs were provided with sufficient space to move and social interaction. In asbestos-roofed shed (G2), all the four sides from ground to the roof were fenced with strong galvanized iron chain link. But in G3, all the four sides were constructed in a manner that there was 0.13 m air space between inner and outer solid brick columns of the wall up to 1.37 m height, and rest up to the roof was fenced with bamboo splint net. The air space between the two columns of the wall was filled with sand, and it was kept in moist condition by continuous water drips which provide extra evaporative cooling. The designed shed was basically constructed with bamboo. Tree shade was assured under the natural shades of large trees. The shaded area was protected by wire fences. The experiment was conducted for 45 days during very high temperature (May–June). The lambs were provided with ad libitum green fodder, dry roughage, 300 g concentrate, and ad libitum drinking water. The respiration rate at morning and afternoon, pulse rate at morning and afternoon and rectal temperature at afternoon was significantly (P < 0.05) lower in lambs of G3 as compared to other groups. The final body weight did not differ significantly between the groups, but average daily gain (g/day) was higher in G3 (150.06 ± 11.13) as compared to the G1 (109.69 ± 18.10). The feed conversion rate (FCR) was significantly (P < 0.05) better in G3 (5.49 ± 0.08) as compared to G1 (7.65 ± 0.08) and G2 (6.60 ± 0.08). The hemoglobin level was significantly (P < 0.05) higher in G1. The endocrine profile did not vary significantly (P > 0.05) among the groups, but insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) was higher in G3. It can be concluded from this study the lambs provided with better protection during summer remained in more comfortable condition, showed better FCR, and although not statistically significant showed better growth performance.

     

Depressed polymorphonuclear cell functions in periparturient cows that develop postpartum reproductive diseases

The study was planned to see if there is any important and significant changes in the PMN function in cows suffering from postpartum reproductive diseases (PRD). Blood sampling was done from 41 pregnant cows on 15 days prepartum (?15d), calving day (0d), 15 days (15d) and 30 days (30d) postpartum and thorough gynaecological examination was performed on 0d, 15d, 30d and 45d for diagnosis of PRD like retained placenta (RP), clinical metritis (CM), clinical endometritis (CE) and delayed involution of uterus (DIU). The heparinised blood was used for isolation of PMN leukocytes for estimation of superoxide (SO), hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) and enzyme myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity in each group of cows. The SO production (ΔOD) was greater for normal (0.19 ± 0.05) than cows suffering from RP (?0.12 ± 0.09), CM (?0.15 ± 0.13) and CE (?0.07 ± 0.05) at -15d. The mean value was greater for normal cows (0.12) than the cows with PRD (0.05 to 0.9) at 30d. The H₂O₂ production was greater for normal than cows with PRD at all sampling days and significantly greater than cows with RP and CE at 15d (p < 0.01) and 30d (P < 0.05). The MPO activity (μmol/1 × 10⁷) was greater for normal (18.77 ± 1.27) than for RP (12.52 ± 2.57) and CM (11.31 ± 3.30) cows on 0d. The depressed capability of the PMN from the cows with PRD to produce SO, H₂O₂ and MPO during the periparturient period indicated their association with the development of RP, CM and CE.     

Assessment of nebulisation of sodium ceftiofur in the treatment of calves naturally infected with bovine respiratory disease

Twelve screened cases of bovine respiratory disease (BRD) in calves were enrolled. Six of the calves were treated intramuscularly with sodium ceftiofur (1 mg/kg), and six were treated with nebulised sodium ceftiofur (1 mg/kg). Comparative evaluation of the two therapeutic modalities was based on repetitive analysis of hematological profile of calves on days 0, 5, and 10 post-therapy. The mortality rate in the group of calves treated with the nebulised sodium ceftiofur was significantly (p?<?0.001) lower, and their clinical and hematological parameters returned to normal significantly (p?<?0.001) faster than in calves treated intramuscularly. Nebulisation of sodium ceftiofur is the most effective treatment in calves with BRD under field conditions. Nasal lavage fluid analysis indicating a high rise of neutrophil count and macrophages may be used as an alternative method to detect pulmonary inflammation in BRD-affected calves.     

Associated bacterial diversity of insecticide-susceptible and -resistant brown planthopper, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Nilaparvata lugens</Emphasis> (Homoptera: Delphacidae) analyzed by culture-dependent and -independent methods

Nilaparvata lugens (Stål) is one of the major pests of rice throughout tropical and temperate Asia. Indiscriminate use of insecticides for suppressing N. lugens has resulted in the development of resistance to multiple insecticide classes, causing frequent control failures in the field. Analysis of gut bacterial diversity within an insect host is the initial step towards understanding the ecological roles of the symbionts. Present study aimed to survey the bacterial diversity associated with laboratory-reared (insecticide-susceptible) and field-collected (insecticide-resistant) populations of N. lugens by culture-dependent and PCR-Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis (DGGE) methods. Seventeen bacterial isolates were obtained by the culture-dependent method. Molecular characterization using the 16S rRNA gene and phylogenetic analysis revealed that the isolates belonged to Firmicutes and Proteobacteria. Taxonomic assignment placed these isolates into seven families representing 10 genera. Enterobacteriaceae was the most dominant family with its occurrence in four out of the five populations studied. The DGGE profiles indicated a low complex gut bacteria associated with N. lugens with limited number of bands. The Shannon-Wiener index ranged from 0.898 in insecticide-susceptible population to 0.946–1.035 in resistant populations. Sequencing and phylogenetic analysis revealed that the DGGE bands belonged to Firmicutes, Proteobacteria and Bacteriodetes. Results of this study illustrated that gut bacterial community associated with N. lugens is dominated by Proteobacteria and Firmicutes. Present findings could provide the basis for future work on the possible role of the bacterial symbionts in insecticide resistance and to formulate potential resistance management strategies.     

Identification of mungbean lines with tolerance or resistance to yellow mosaic in fields in India where different begomovirus species and different <Emphasis Type="Italic">Bemisia tabaci</Emphasis> cryptic species predominate

The segmentation of symptoms during image analysis of diseased plant leaves is an essential process for detection and classification of diseases. However, there are challenges involved in the task, many of them related to the variability of image and host/symptom characteristics and conditions. As a result of those challenges, the methods proposed in the literature so far focus on a specific problem and are usually bounded by tight constraints regarding image capture conditions. This research explores a new automatic method for segmenting disease symptoms on plant leaves that was designed to be applicable in a wide range of situations. The proposed technique employs only color channel manipulations and Boolean operations applied on binary masks, thus being simpler and more robust compared to many previously described automatic methods. Its effectiveness is demonstrated by tests performed over a large database containing images of 77 different diseases of 11 plant species. A comparison with manual segmentation is also presented, further reinforcing the advantages of the proposed approach.     

Biocontrol potential of Alternaria sp. PMK2, against a devastating weed: Parthenium hysterophorus L

Parthenium hysterophorus (Asteraceae) is known as one of the most aggressive invasive weeds, causing severe economic, environmental, human and animal health problems in India and around the world. During a series of extensive surveys for natural enemies of P. hysterophorus, a leaf spot pathogen was isolated from the affected parts of the parthenium following the standard isolation techniques using potato dextrose agar (PDA) and parthenium dextrose agar (PeDA) media. Koch's postulates were performed and found satisfactory for the isolate and proved to be pathogenic to this weed. On the basis of cultural, morphological and molecular characteristics, the pathogen was identified as Alternaria sp. PMK2. The growth of the pathogen was studied on eight selected media and it exhibited varying degrees of growth on different media. Phytotoxicity of fungal cultural filtrates was also confirmed on parthenium leaves in laboratory conditions. Due to the virulent nature of the isolated pathogen, it may be selected for further studies to develop mycoherbicide for control of this devastating weed.     

Molecular identification of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Chilli leaf curl India virus</Emphasis> along with betasatellite molecule causing leaf curl disease of menthol mint (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Mentha arvensis</Emphasis> var. Kosi) in India

Whitefly-transmitted begomovirus induces leaf curling and stunting of Mentha arvensis (Kosi) and is responsible for heavy economic losses in and around Lucknow, India. The complete genome was amplified, sequenced and assembled as 2759 bp long, with 1376 bp betasatellite molecule. Because no DNA-B amplicon was detected, the virus was classified as “Old World begomovirus” with the characteristic seven ORFs; two ORFs (AV1, AV2) in the V-sense and five ORFs (AC1–AC5) in the C-sense. BLASTn and phylogenetic analysis showed highest similarity (98%) with chilli leaf curl India virus (ChiLCINV). This is the first report of ChiLCINV infection in M. arvensis (Kosi) from India.     

SRG1, Encoding a Kinesin-4 Protein,Is an Important Factor for Determining Grain Shape in Rice

Grain shape is one of the important agronomic traits, which is closely related to the yield of rice. A new rice mutant, named small and round grain (srg1), was isolated from an indica cultivar Zhenong 34 by ethyl methane sulfonate (EMS) mutagenesis. The microscopic analysis showed that the cell length of spikelet in srg1 was decreased compared with that in wild type (WT), which caused the grain length short. Meanwhile, the grains of srg1 were wider than those of WT because of the increased cell layers in spikelet in the lateral direction. Therefore, the inhibition of cell expansion and increased cell proliferation collectively led to the small and round grain. By map-based cloning, the gene SRG1 was located on the short arm of chromosome 9, which encodes a kinesin-4 protein, represented by the gene LOC_Os09g02650. A single nucleotide polymorphism, occurred in the 16th exon of SRG1, led to premature translation stop in mutant. The cell cycle-related genes were up-regulated in srg1, which conferred that SRG1 controlled grain width through the cell proliferation. Since the role of SRG1 in regulating grain shape was not clarified well before, it is valuable to explore the mechanism of grain development. This study could, hence, provide a morphogenesis and molecular basis for elucidating the function of SRG1, as well as a new germplasm resource for the further study of grain development.