两个玉米自交系苗期叶温的干旱响应研究

利用远红外热成像系统的技术,研究玉米自交系综3与87-1苗期叶片对干旱的响应以及生物量的积累变化。结果表明,在遭受中度干旱胁迫的条件下,87-1的相对生物鲜重(0.716)及相对生物干重(0.799)显著高于综3(0.564,0.658),87-1的叶温差(0.30℃)显著高于综3(0.13℃)。通过离体叶片分析,综3离体叶片较87-1失水速率快,叶温在离体短时间内下降更低。表明在响应水分胁迫方面,87-1较综3叶片蒸发量小,叶温变化大,保水能力好,87-1表现出了更强的耐旱性。生物量积累与叶温差存在紧密的相关性,较高叶温差的基因型在遭受到水分胁迫时生物量积累更强。     

高油和普通玉米自交系类胡萝卜素和生育酚含量的比较分析

建立了利用高效液相色谱法同时测定玉米籽粒类胡萝卜素和生育酚各组分含量的技术体系,分析了112份黄色胚乳玉米自交系的类胡萝卜素和生育酚含量,其中包括32份高油自交系和80份在生产上广泛应用的普通玉米自交系。结果表明,不同自交系间存在广泛的变异,各组分含量变幅最大的是α-生育酚,含量相差达162倍;变幅最小的是δ-生育酚,含量相差也接近4倍。类胡萝卜素各组分含量在高油和普通玉米自交系之间并没有显著差异,但普通玉米的变异范围更为广泛;高油玉米生育酚各组分含量显著高于普通玉米,其中γ-生育酚、α-生育酚和总生育酚含量的均值分别是普通玉米均值的2.4、2.5和2.4倍。尽管供试的高油玉米材料仅32份,但其生育酚的某些组分比普通玉米具有更广泛的遗传变异。这为进一步的玉米高油、高维生素A原、高维生素E,即“三高”品质成分育种提供了有益参考。     

Variation in oil content and fatty acid profile of Calophyllum inophyllum L. with fruit maturity and its implications on resultant biodiesel quality

Variation in oil content and fatty acid profile (FAP) of Calophyllum inophyllum; a potential biodiesel feedstock species were studied at different maturity stages and biodiesel quality parameters were estimated based on the FAP. A steady increase in oil content was observed with maturity. Variation in palmitic (16:0) and linoleic (18:2) acids followed exactly opposite trends where palmitic acid content has decreased and linoleic acid content has increased 77 days after anthesis. Oleic acid (18:1) content has shown a steady increase. Stearic acid (18:0) content remained steady up to 68 days after anthesis and then felt slightly in 77 days after anthesis. Linoleic and eicosanoic acids were found to exist in low concentrations demonstrated very little compositional variation with fruit maturity. Estimated biodiesel parameters of all maturity stages were found to comply with industrial standards. Even though 48 days after anthesis had the most ideal FAP for biodiesel production, ∼77 days after anthesis is preferred point to harvest due to higher oil content.     

Elevation dependent sensitivity of northern hardwoods to Ca addition at Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest,NH, USA

Acidic deposition has caused a depletion of calcium (Ca) in the northeastern forest soils. Wollastonite (Ca silicate) was added to watershed 1 (WS1) at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest (HBEF) in 1999 to evaluate its effects on various functions of the HBEF ecosystem. The effects of Ca addition on foliar soluble (extractable in 5% HClO₄) ions, chlorophyll, polyamines, and amino acids were studied in three hardwood species, namely sugar maple, yellow birch, and American beech. We further analyzed these effects in relation to elevation at Ca-supplemented WS1 and reference WS3 watersheds. Foliar soluble Ca increased significantly in all species at mid and high elevations at Ca-supplemented WS1. This was accompanied by increases in soluble P, chlorophyll, and two amino acids, glutamate and glycine. A decrease in known metabolic indicators of physiological stress (i.e., the amino acids, arginine and γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), and the diamine, putrescine) was also observed. In general, these changes were species-specific and occurred in an elevation dependent manner. Despite an observed increase in Ca at high elevation for all three species, only sugar maple exhibited a decrease in foliar putrescine at this elevation indicating possible remediation from Ca deficiency. At higher elevations of the reference WS3 site, foliar concentrations of Ca and Mg, as well as Ca:Mn ratios were lower, whereas Al, putrescine, spermidine, and GABA were generally higher. Comparison of metabolic data from these three species reinforces the earlier findings that sugar maple is the most sensitive and American beech the least sensitive species to soil Ca limitation. Furthermore, there was an increase in sensitivity with an increase in elevation.     

Evaluation of fipronil nanoformulations for effective management of brown plant hopper (Nilaparvata lugens) in rice

In this paper, we report the development, characterization and bioefficacy evaluation of fipronil nanoformulations against brown plant hopper (BPH); Nilaparvata lugens in rice. Nanoformulations were characterized for nanosizing and stability under variable conditions. Bioefficacy of nanoformulations were evaluated under field condition at farms of Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi during Kharif 2015. At milking stage BPH populations were above economic threshold level; followed by foliar application of fipronil nanoformulations at four doses (viz., 30, 45, 60 and 90 g a.i./ha) along with commercial formulation of fipronil. The mean mortality clearly indicated that all the insecticidal treatments were significantly superior over untreated control where, highest mortalities were observed in nanodispersions followed by monolithic dispersion and commercial formulation of fipronil. Treated plots 7 days after application @ 60 g a.i./ha has shown 93.47%, 86.89% and 80.47% reduction BPH population in nanodispersion, encapsulated monolithic dispersion and commercial formulation treated plots respectively. In comparison to commercial formulation @ 60 g a.i./ha yield has increased by 0.56 t ha^?1 (28.76%) and 0.26 t ha^?1 (14.04%) in nanodispersion and monolithic dispersion.     

Effect of crop load,fruit position and shoot vigour on yield and quality of Annona atemoya × Annona squamosa in India

The effect of crop load, position of the fruit on the shoots and vigour of the shoots on yield and quality of Annona atemoya × A. squamosa hybrid ‘Arka Sahan’ was investigated in India over two years. The trees were hand-pollinated and thinned to 20, 40, 60, 80 or 100 fruit after fruit set. Information was collected on total and marketable yield, yield efficiency, average fruit fresh weight, peel weight, the number of seeds per 100 g of pulp, pulp content in the fruit, total soluble solids (TSS) and total titratable acidity. In other experiments, fruit were harvested from weak, medium or vigrous shoots, or from basal, middle or apical nodes. Total yield increased up to 60 or 80 fruit per tree and marketable yield increased up to 60 fruit per tree. Average fruit weight and peel weight increased as cropping increased. These results suggest that optimum productivity and quality is associated with 60 fruit per tree or 0.17 to 0.19 kg cm² trunk-cross sectional area. The quality of the fruit in different positions on the shoots or on the different types of shoots was highly variable and generally not affected by the various treatments.     

Differences in Ozone Sensitivity at Different NPK Levels of Three Tropical Varieties of Mustard (Brassica campestris L.): Photosynthetic Pigments, Metabolites, and Antioxidants

The effects of ambient O₃ at two different levels of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, (recommended and 1.5 times the recommended NPK) on three tropical varieties of mustard (Brassica campestris L. var. Kranti, Aashirwad and Vardan) were explored to unravel the mechanism of protection under higher NPK level at a rural experimental site using open top chambers. Ambient O₃ concentrations ranged from 27.7 to 59.04 ppb. Lipid peroxidation, antioxidative enzymes, and metabolites were higher, whereas photosynthetic pigments and protein were lower in all the varieties of mustard grown in non-filtered chambers than in filtered chambers. The magnitude of response varied with varieties, NPK levels and ages. Vardan showed a maximum stimulation in the antioxidative defense system, thus efficient scavenging of ROS produced by O₃ and consequently conferred greater tolerance in terms of least reductions in pigments and protein as compared to Kranti and Aashirwad. The antioxidant defense system was not stimulated in response to 1.5 times the recommended NPK, but higher levels of pigments and protein were maintained compared to the recommended NPK under ambient O₃ levels.     

Variations in bark thickness and sapwood density of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Calophyllum inophyllum</Emphasis> provenances in Australia and in Sri Lanka

Sapwood density and bark thickness of Calophyllum inophyllum L. (a multipurpose durable timber species) were studied in various locations in Northern Australia and in Sri Lanka. Measurements were taken non-destructively by using core sampling and bark gauge. From each provenance, 4-15 mature trees having girth at breast height over bark (GBHOB) at 100-150 cm were selected on the basis of the population size. Significant (p<0.05) hemispheric and provenance variations in bark thickness were found. Variations in the bark thickness are influenced by environmental variables. Variations in sapwood density were less pronounced compared to that of bark thickness. Variations in sapwood density are likely to be governed by genotypic variations.