Spatio-temporal variability of drought characteristics across Pakistan

Climate change in Pakistan has a great impact on the spatial and temporal variation of precipitation and ultimately alters the frequency and duration of droughts. In this study, spatial and temporal trend analyses of precipitation and droughts were observed at 58 meteorological stations across Pakistan from 1981 to 2018. The existing trend analysis methods were evaluated to address the issue of serial correlation in the climatic data. Results of precipitation analysis showed significant decreasing trends in winter (November, December) and significant increasing trends were observed in summer (June and September) at a confidence level of 95 percent. The magnitude of the precipitation trends showed the highest variation during summer season and the least variation in winter season. Rotated Principal Component (RPC) analysis showed the severe droughts (high positive loading) in southeastern side (Sindh province) of Pakistan due to lack of summer rains. Furthermore, variance correction approaches are identified as the most suitable in coping with the effect of serial correlation. The highest drought frequencies were observed in the southern areas of Pakistan and the drought events are expected to occur more frequently in the late winter, early spring, and early autumn, while droughts were expected to occur least frequently in summer.

     

Anti-inflammatory activities of Taxusabietane A isolated from Taxus wallichiana Zucc

Current study was conducted to identify constituents of Taxus wallichiana Zucc. that might be responsible for its folk use in anti-inflammatory conditions. Taxusabietane A was isolated from the bark extract of Taxus wallichiana Zucc. Taxusabietane A was analyzed for in-vitro and in-vivo anti-inflammatory activities using Lipoxygenase (LOX) inhibition assay and carrageenan-induced paw edema model. Taxusabietane A revealed considerable LOX inhibitory activity with the IC₅₀ value being 57 ± 0.31. Standard compound Baicalein showed the IC₅₀ value being 22.1 ± 0.03 μM. Taxusabietane A also showed significant (5 and 10 mg/kg) anti-inflammatory activity induced by carrageenan. However, this study highlighted the potential of Taxusabietane A to be further explored as a new lead compound for management of conditions associated with inflammation.     

Functional traits and stand factors as strong drivers of radial growth response to hotter drought in a temperate forest of North China

European Journal of Forest Research - Increasing drought associated with climate warming (i.e., hotter drought) is seriously threatening tree growth and survival across the world. Previous studies...     

Effect of diet supplemented with coconut essential oil on performance and villus histomorphology in broiler exposed to avian coccidiosis

Tropical Animal Health and Production - The current research study was designed to determine the inclusion of 2% dietary essential coconut oil with and without coccidiosis challenge on...     

An overview on biochar production, its implications, and mechanisms of biochar-induced amelioration of soil and plant characteristics

The degradation of soil fertility and quality due to rapid industrialization and human activities has stimulated interest in the rehabilitation of low-fertility soils to sustainably improve crop yield. In this regard, biochar has emerged as an effective multi-beneficial additive that can be used as a medium for the amelioration of soil properties and plant growth. The current review highlights the methods and conditions for biochar production and the effects of pyrolysis temperature, feedstock type, and retention time on the physicochemical properties of biochar. We also discuss the impact of biochar as a soil amendment with respect to enhancing soil physical (e.g., surface area, porosity, ion exchange, and water-holding capacity) and chemical (e.g., pH, nutrient exchange,functional groups, and carbon sequestration) properties, improving the soil microbiome for increased plant nutrient uptake and growth, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, minimizing infectious diseases in plants, and facilitating the remediation of heavy metal-contaminated soils. The possible mechanisms for biochar-induced amelioration of soil and plant characteristics are also described, and we consider the challenges associated with biochar utilization. The findings discussed in this review support the feasibility of expending the application of biochar to improve degraded soils in industrial and saline-alkali regions, thereby increasing the usable amount of cultivated soil. Future research should include long-term field experiments and studies on biochar production and environmental risk management to optimize biochar performance for specific soil remediation purposes.     

Sero-epidemiology of peste des petits ruminants (PPR) in Pakistan

A sero survey was conducted during 2005-2006 to estimate the sero prevalence of PPR in the small ruminant population of Pakistan. A total of 2798 samples were collected including goats (1979) and sheep (819) from villages in 27 randomly selected districts. These were tested by cELISA for PPRV and true prevalence estimates were calculated by Rogan and Gladen estimator. Overall, 1273 (45.5%) were found positive; 980 (49.5%) of 1979 samples from goats and 293 (35.8%) of 819 serum samples from sheep were positive. The true sero-prevalence of PPR was estimated to be 48.5% (95% CI, 46.6-50.3), and 52.9% (95% CI, 50.7-55.1) and 37.7 (95% CI, 34.4-41.0) for goats and sheep, respectively. PPR virus is widely distributed all across Pakistan and has become an endemic infection of small ruminants. Since it is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in small ruminants, it poses a serious threat to food security and the rural economy in Pakistan.     

Isolation and characterisation of the entomopathogenic bacterium,Photorhabdus temperata producing a heat stable insecticidal toxin

Journal of Plant Diseases and Protection - Entomopathogenic nematodes symbiotically associated with Photorhabdus spp. invade the larvae of susceptible insects and Photorhabdus bacteria are released...     

FOLIAR APPLICATION OF BORON INFLUENCES THE LEAF MINERAL STATUS,VEGETATIVE AND REPRODUCTIVE GROWTH,YIELD AND FRUIT QUALITY OF ‘KINNOW’ MANDARIN (CITRUS RETICULATA BLANCO.)

The effects of foliar application of boron (B) in the form of boric acid on vegetative and reproductive growth, yield and fruit quality of ‘Kinnow’ mandarin (Citrus reticulate Blanco.) were investigated. Kinnow mandarin was sprayed with different concentrations of boric acid viz. (0.1%, 0.2%, 0.3% and 0.4%) at fruit set stage. Leaf nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), B, and zinc (Zn) along with flush length, tree height, tree spread and tree trunk diameter increased, while leaf length and leaf age showed non-significant results after foliar B application. Yield of the ‘Kinnow’ mandarin was significantly affected by foliar application of B and a significant increase in fruit weight at harvest was also observed. Soluble solid concentration (SSC): titratable acidity (TA) ratio, ascorbic acid, total sugars, total phenolic content (TPC) and total antioxidants significantly affected, while pH of juice, SSC, TA, reducing sugars and non-reducing sugars showed non- significant results.     

Influence of additional amino acids in growth of different wheat (Triticum aestivum L) genotypes

Abstract

Wheat is the main source of carbohydrates and amino acids consumed in the world. Amino acids and other physiological characters were determined in six wheat genotypes viz. IBWSN-1010, IBWSN -1025, TD-1, ESW-9525, Khirman and Chakwal-86 for pot experiment, to evaluate the response of genotypes under water stress at Nuclear Institute of Agriculture (NIA), Tandojam, Sindh, Pakistan, during 2018. Eight different physiological indices (Proline content, glycine-betaine, total sugars, total chlorophyll, nitrate reductase activity (NRA), potassium (K⁺) content, osmotic potential (OP) and relative water content (RWC)) were determined. The variance of analysis shows two-way interaction one with water stress [Control (normal four irrigations) and the other with terminal drought (Soaking dose) having significance at p?≤?0.05. It was observed that, ESW9525, IBWSN-1010 and IBWSN-1025 exhibited the tolerance followed by, Khirman and Chakwal-86 by maintaining their OP and accumulation of higher proline and glycine-betaine content. Whereas, moderate total soluble sugars were found in these genotypes. However, NRA increased in IBWSN-1010 enhancing tolerance under water stress.