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.     

Impact of Land Uses,Agrophysical Variables and Altitudinal Gradient on Soil Organic Carbon Concentration of North‐Eastern Himalayan Region of India

In the fragile hilly ecosystem of North‐eastern Himalayan Region (NEHR) of India, interaction of land use change and soil organic carbon (SOC) holds significance in sustaining land productivity. However, because of limited data, the effect of land use on SOC inventory at regional level is poorly quantified. The present study assessed the influence of seven major land uses and agrophysical variables (soil texture, bulk density, annual rainfall and mean temperature) on SOC concentration and stock across altitudinal gradients (6–3,500 masl) of NEHR of India. Results revealed that non‐agricultural land uses (grasslands and forests) registered significantly higher SOC concentration (2·20 to 2·51%) and stock (35·2–42·1 Mg ha⁻¹) compared with agricultural (shifting and settled‐up and lowlands), plantation and horticultural land uses (SOC, 1·44 to 1·63%; stock, 27·4–28·4 Mg ha⁻¹). Principal component analysis exhibited that the variation in SOC concentration among the land uses was mostly contributed by finer fractions of soil separates (silt and clay contents), and altitudinal gradient led variation in climatic variables (rainfall and temperature). Trend analyses depicted that SOC increased with an increase in rainfall and clay content but decreased with mean temperature and soil bulk density. Along the altitudinal gradient (6 to 1,000 masl), an inconsistent increase in silt + clay, annual rainfall, SOC concentration, and stock was also observed. However, beyond 1,000 masl, the corresponding increase was linear. The wide variability in SOC concentration and stock, therefore, resulted from the interaction of land uses, altitudinal gradients, textural gradients and climatic variables Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Molecular heterogeneity of plpE gene in Indian isolates of Pasteurella multocida and expression of recombinant PlpE in vaccine strain of P. multocida serotype B: 2

Outer membrane proteins of Pasteurella (P.) multocida have been known to be protective immunogens. Pasteurella lipoprotein E (PlpE) has been reported to be an important cross reactive outer membrane protein in P. multocida. The gene encoding the PlpE of P. multocida serotypes A: 3, B: 2 and D: 1 was amplified from the genomic DNA. The amplified products were cloned and the nucleotide sequence was determined. Sequence analysis of the recombinant clones revealed a single open reading frame of 1,011 bp, 1,008 bp and 1,017 bp encoding a protein with a calculated molecular mass of 37.829 kDa, 37.389 kDa and 37.965 kDa for serotypes A: 3, B: 2 and D: 1 respectively. The comparison of the plpE sequence in different capsular types revealed a high degree (>90%) of homology. Furthermore, the plpE gene of Haemorhhagic septicaemia causing serotype (B: 2) was expressed in E. coli and recombinant PlpE was strongly immunostained by antiserum against whole cell antigen, indicating that the protein is expressed in vivo.     

Dissecting the plant genome: through new generation molecular markers

Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution - The genomes of higher eukaryotes, especially the plant kingdom have been decoded using molecular markers from time to time. The use of such markers to...     

Screening Tomato Cultivars for Resistance to Meloidogyne Species

Abstract

Screening tests on 162 tomato cultivars and hybrids conducted at the Division of Horticulture, Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi during 1967-8 indicated a high degree of resistance to root-knot nematodes in Nematex, VFN-8, 65N215-1, 65N255-1 and S1-120, under field and laboratory conditions. The degree of resistance varied with the species of Meloidogyne. Nematex was immune to M. javanica, M. incognita and M. arenaria. VFN-8, 65N215-1 and 65N255-1 were immune to M. incognita and M. arenaria and resistant to M. javanica. S1-120, a commercial cultivar, showed a high degree of tolerance to M. javanica, M. incognita and M. arenaria. The degree of resistance varied with nematode population density.     

Antibacterial activity of sponge extracts against fish pathogens

The antibacterial properties of organic extracts of 15 species of sponges collected from a depth of 30 m in the coastal waters off Gopalpur (Bay of Bengal) were tested against six virulent fish pathogens. The extracts of 11 sponges showed species‐specific antibacterial activity. Four extracts exhibited broad antibacterial activity against three or more species. Epipolasis topsenti was active against all the six pathogens and showed the lowest minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) value of 12.5 μg against three pathogens. Chromatographic fractionation of extracts yielded enriched fractions with increased activity and lower MIC values.     

Correction: Dissecting the plant genome: through new generation molecular markers

Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution -