Origin of early maturing pigeonpea germplasm and its impact on adaptation and cropping systems

Pigeonpea breeding activities started about a century ago and for decades only late maturing cultivars dominated the global cultivation. Historically, no early maturing cultivar was available for a very long time and breeding of such varieties started in the third quarter of 20th century but at a low key. From these efforts, some pigeonpea varieties maturing in 90–150 days were bred. Information gathered from various sources revealed that the first few early maturing genotypes originated through spontaneous mutations in the late maturing field‐grown landraces. In other cases, transgressive segregation and induced mutations also produced early maturing varieties. At present, the high yielding early maturing cultivars are contributing significantly towards widening the adaption barriers and in the diversification of some age‐old cropping systems. In this paper, the authors, besides discussing the importance of early maturing cultivars in present agricultural systems, also summarize information related to the origin of primary sources of earliness.     

Seed priming and in situ moisture conservation measures in increasing adaptive capacity of rain-fed upland rice to moisture stress at Eastern Himalayan Region of India

In the uplands of Eastern Himalayan Region (EHR) of India, dry-seeded rain-fed rice occupies considerable area. However, productivity of rice in this region is very low and is mainly due to frequent occurrence of intermittent soil moisture stress, weed infestation, and poor crop establishment. Keeping this in view, a field experiment on rain-fed direct-seeded rice was conducted during two consecutive years 2011 and 2012 at the EHR of India (27° 95′N latitude and 94° 76′E longitude, 662 m above MSL) to evaluate the effect of seed priming (SP) with different durations (0, 12, 18, and 24 h) and in situ furrows at various row intervals as moisture conservation measures (MCM) on seed germination, plant stand, profile moisture recharge, rice productivity, water and energy use efficiency, and harvest monetary benefits. Results revealed that SP for 24 h duration significantly (p < 0.05) improved the seed germination and crop stand, rice grain yield by 30–36 %, water use efficiency by 29–36 %, and energy productivity by 15–22 %. In situ furrows at regular and alternate row intervals also registered 1.89–3.2-fold increase in profile moisture recharge, 20–34 % higher rice productivity, 23–33 % improvement in water use efficiency, and 6–16 % increase in energy productivity over without MCM. Seed priming helped in improving seed germination, seedling establishment, and plant stand, while MCM was useful in mid-season rainfall capture and profile moisture recharge during intermittent moisture stress for better plant growth. However, adoption of in situ furrows (regular and alternate row intervals) as MCM increased the cost of cultivation by 13–27 % over normal practices but was compensated by the significant increase in grain yield, water use efficiency, benefit:cost ratios, and farmers’ profit.     

Identifying potential causes of fish declines through local ecological knowledge of fishers in the Ganga River,eastern Bihar,India

Local ecological knowledge (LEK) can offer insights into fisheries management by describing long‐term changes that are difficult to unravel in data‐poor river‐floodplain fisheries. LEK is derived from complex interactions between fishers’ observations of environmental change and their institutional capacities to manage fisheries. Hence, it is important to understand where and how LEK and formal scientific studies on fish species’ decline could complement each other. In this paper, the causes of decline of 58 fish and two shrimp taxa were identified from LEK data (1999–2019) obtained from river–floodplain fisheries of the Gangetic plains (Bihar, India). Qualitative analyses of LEK were used to generate species‐specific hypotheses and historical insights on their declines. Destructive fishing, overfishing and the Farakka barrage were cited by fishers as the major causes of declines. Potential reasons for these perceptions were explored in relation to fishers’ experiences of conflicts in the region over fishing rights and access.     

Development of controlled release formulations of carbofuran and evaluation of their efficacy against Meloidogyne incognita

Controlled release (CR) formulations of the insecti-nematicide carbofuran have been prepared using commercially available rosin, sodium carboxymethylcellulose and sodium carboxymethylcellulose with clay (bentonite, kaolinite, and Fuller's earth). The kinetics of carbofuran release in soil from the different formulations were studied in comparison with that of the commercially available granules (3G). Release from the commercial formulation was faster than with the new CR formulations. Addition of clay in the biodegradable polymer matrix reduced the rate of release. The diffusion exponent (n value) of carbofuran in soil ranged from 0.462 to 0.740 in the tested formulations. The half-release (t1/2) values ranged between 4.79 and 25.11 days, and the period of optimum availability (POA) of carbofuran ranged from 15.10 to 43.97 days. The mean EC50 of the commercial formulation against Meloidogyne incognita was quite high as compared to those of CR formulations. The effective duration (te) of carbofuran from the CR and commercial formulations was predicted by fitting the mean EC50 values of test formulations in the model (M(infinity) - Me)/M(infinity) = Kdte. It was 0.7 day in commercial 3G in comparison with 17.8 days for CMC-bentonite. The bioassay studies revealed that with the rosin-yellow polymer, the dose of carbofuran could be reduced to half of its recommended dose for nematode control. Overall, a comparison of CR formulations with the commercial one showed an earlier degradation of carbofuran in the latter and relatively prolonged activity in the former.     

Biochemical changes in heat exposed buffalo heifers supplemented with yeast

Serum electrolytes, minerals, blood biochemical and plasma enzymes were studied in heat exposed buffalo heifers supplemented with yeast powder in feed to alleviate the adverse effects of heat stress. Eighteen healthy Murrah buffalo heifers (270-280) kg were divided into three groups. Animals of group I were kept in shed and served as control, while group II and group III were exposed in a psychrometric chamber at 40°C for 4?hrs daily for 16?days continuously. The animals in group III were also supplemented with yeast powder at 10?g per animal per day. The serum sodium, potassium and chloride levels decreased significantly (P?相似文献   

Chemical constituents of Stereospermum acuminatissimum and their urease and α-chymotrypsin inhibitions

Phytochemical investigation of the stem bark of Stereospermum acuminatissimum K. Schum. resulted in the isolation of 21 compounds, including two new guanine derivatives, 1,3,7-trimethylguanin-1/3-ium (1) and 3,7-dimethylguanin-1/3-ium (2), and one new phenolic long chain ester, 2-(4-hydroxyphenyl)ethyl hentriacontanoate (3). The known compounds were identified as sterequinones A, F, and H (4, 5, and 6), zenkequinones A-B (7-8), p-coumaric acid (9), methyl caffeate (10), caffeic acid (11), psilalic acid (12), syringaldehyde (13), norviburtinal (14), specioside (15), verminoside (16), tyrosol (17), eutigoside A (18), ellagic acid (19), atranorin (20), and ursolic acid (21). The metabolites were screened for their potential against urease and α-chymotrypsin enzymes, as urease is targeted in peptic ulcer while α-chymotrypsin is used to remove protein debris in ulcer. Compound 20 was found to be excellent urease inhibitor with IC₅₀ value of 18.2 ± 0.03 μM. Compounds 13 and 18-20 are reported for the first time from the genus Stereospermum. The chemotaxonomic significance of the isolated compounds was also described.     

Fruit Cracking in Mango (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Mangifera indica</Emphasis> L.) cv. ‘Dashehari’

The mango (Mangifera indica L.) is native to South and Southeast Asia, from where it has been distributed worldwide to become one of the most cultivated fruits in the tropics. It is the national fruit of India. In India, harvest and sale of mangoes take place during March-May and the fruits have high economic value in India. Studies were first time conducted on mango fruits to observe the severity of fruit cracking incidence. The stone was exposed in case of longitudinal type cracking and never exposed in star type cracking. The longitudinal cracking was 3.8, 3.4 and 1.7 % and star type cracking was 0.3, 1.8 and 0.02 % during 2009, 2010 and 2011, respectively. The lesser pulp thickness and higher stone weight in fruit cracked samples may have responsible for fruit cracking. There was a close relationship between fruit cracking and 3 months average weather conditions. The maximum temperature had positive relation with total fruit cracking.     

Population structure,gene flow and genetic diversity analyses based on agro-morphological traits and microsatellite markers within cultivated and wild germplasms of okra [Abelmoschus esculentus (L.) Moench.]

Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution - Okra [Abelmoschus esculentus (L.) Monech.] is an annual herb of the family Malvaceae and has tremendous nutritional and industrial potential. However, the...     

Screening of Yardlong bean (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.ssp. unguiculata cv.-gr. sesquipedalis) genotypes for seed,yield and disease resistance traits

Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution - Yardlong bean genotypes have wide variability in seed coat colours. This study sought to screen of yardlong bean genotypes based on seed coat colour,...