Recommendations for the Use of Herbicides

Management of Pests and pesticides: Farmers’ Perceptions and Practices. Editors Joyce Tait and Banpot Napompeth, Boulder, Col.: Westview Press 1987. ISBN 0–8133–7174–0, £33 paperback.

Termites in Buildings. Their Biology and Control. R. Edwards and A. Mill. Rentokil Library, 1987, ISBN 0906 5640 69 £24–50.

Pesticide Science and Biotechnology. Proceedings of the Sixth International Congress of Pesticide Chemistry. Ottawa, Canada, 10–15 August 1986. Edited by R. Greenhalgh and T. R. Roberts. IUPAC/Blackwell Scientific Publications, 1987 (602 pp + xiii).

Breeding for Resistance to Diseases and Insect Pests. By D. P. Singh. 222 pp + xi. ISBN 0 387 16970 9. Springer Verlag. 1986. Price $7900.

Pest Control Safe for Bees: A Manual and Directory for the Tropics and Subtropics. By M. Adey, P. Walker and P. T. Walker, 1986. International Bee Research Association, London. Price £12–20.

The Cocoa Pod Borer: An Introduction and Abstracts. Compiled by Lim Guan Soon et al. Malaysian Plant Protection Society, Box 12351 Kuala Lumpur. 1987. 103 pp. ISBN 967–9942–07–4.

Pentachlorophenol. Environmental Health Criteria, No. 71, World Health Organization, Geneva, 1987. 236 pages, ISBN 92 4 154271 3. Price: Sw.fr. 18—/US$1080.

Ecology and Control of Perennial Weeds in Latin America. FAO Plant Production and Protection Paper No. 4. Food and Agriculture Organization, Rome. 1986, 339 pp. ISBN 92–5–102446–4.

Proceedings of the 2nd International Workshop on Leaf hoppers and Planthoppers of Economic Importance. Edited by M. R. Wilson and L. R. Nault. CAB International Institute of Entomology. 1987. 368 pp. ISBN 0–900301–03–1.

Breeding for Durable Resistance in Perennial Crops. FAO Plant Production and Protection Paper No. 70 (1986). 130 pp.

Ascochyta Blight Resistance in Chickpea. Proceedings of a training course, PARC/ICARDA, 3–10 March, 1984, Islamabad, Pakistan. ICARDA, 1986, 123 pp.     

A PCR-based assessment of genetic diversity,and parentage analysis among commercial mango cultivars and hybrids

Summary

Three different PCR methods [Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD), Inter-Simple Sequence Repeats (ISSR), and Directed Amplification of Minisatellite DNA (DAMD)] were used to analyse genetic diversity and parentage among 20 mango cultivars, including 18 landraces and two hybrids (‘Amrapali’ and ‘Mallika’). These hybrids together with a third hybrid (‘Ratna’), and an out-group species (Mangifera sylvatica) were also analysed for parentage. Fifteen, seven and four primers were used to amplify a total of 158, 69 and 59 distinct DNA fragments by RAPD, ISSR and DAMD, respectively. Of these, approx. 85%, 64% and 90% were polymorphic, respectively. Genetic distances between pairs of mango cultivars were measured separately by each method and depicted graphically as a Neighbor Joining (NJ) tree. The three methods revealed different groupings of cultivars and hybrids. A NJ tree based on the cumulative data from all methods correlated well with the parentage of the mango hybrids, and the grouping of cultivars on a regional basis. Genetic markers likely to be associated with important agronomic traits were identified by further analysing the hybrids, with their respective parents, using all three methods. On the basis of the highest number of polymorphic bands observed (90%), DAMD was judged to be the best method with which to analyse mango germplasm.     

Papaya (Carica papaya L.) Leaf Powder: Novel Adsorbent for Removal of Methylene Blue from Aqueous Solution

Batch sorption experiments were carried out to investigate the potentiality of papaya leaf powder (PLP) for the removal of methylene blue (MB) from aqueous solution. The effects of various experimental parameters, such as adsorbent dose, initial solution concentration, contact time, and solution pH were also studied. The amount of dye adsorbed was found to increase with increase in initial dye concentrations. Papaya leaf adsorbs MB better in basic medium. The adsorption equilibrium data fitted well in the Langmuir isotherm equation with a monolayer sorption capacity of 512.55?mg?g^?1. The kinetics of MB adsorption onto papaya leaf was examined using the pseudo-first and pseudo-second order and unified approach kinetic models. The adsorption kinetics followed the pseudo-second order kinetic model, but the rate constant was found to depend on initial dye concentration. The unified approach model described the equilibrium and kinetics well. The forward and backward rate constants were determined from the unified approach model.     

Enzymatic discoloration and phenolic content of potato tubers from cultivars resistant and susceptible to the golden nematode

Phenolic content and discoloration were determined for 13 commercial potato cultivars and 6 potato clones grown at 2 locations over a period of 5 successive years. Tubers from 6 potato cultivars and 5 potato clones resistant to the golden nematode were compared with tubers from 7 potato cultivars and 1 clone known to be susceptible to the golden nematode. Tubers from resistant plants were lower in phenols and discolored less than tubers from susceptible plants.     

Quality of potato tubers as affected by freezing: II. lipids and minerals

The effect of freezing on the chemical composition of Katahdin and Atlantic potatoes was studied. Tubers were exposed to a temperature of ?20°C for 24 hrs., then thawed for 1 hr. at 20°C prior to analysis. Frozenthawed tubers were compared with unfrozen controls for total lipid, phospholipid, fatty acid and mineral content. Following freezing, a significant (p<.01) decrease was observed in crude lipid and phospholipid content of both cortex and pith sections. Generally, an increase in palmitic acid and a decrease in linolenic acid occurred in the phospholipid fractions of both varieties. A decrease in both macro and micro mineral content also occurred following freezing.     

Comparative nutrient utilization,growth, and rumen enzyme profile of mithun (Bos frontalis) and Tho-tho cattle (Bos indicus) fed on tree-leaves-based ration

A study was conducted to compare the nutrient utilization, growth, and rumen enzyme profile of mithun (Bos frontalis) and Tho-tho cattle (Bos indicus) reared in the same feeding and managemental conditions. For the purpose, male mithun (n = 8) and male Tho-tho cattle (n = 8) of 1.5 years age, selected from the farm of National Research Centre on Mithun, Nagaland, India, were fed on mixed-tree-leaves-based ration as per the requirement of NRC (2001) for cattle for 12 months. Average daily gain (ADG), average dry matter intake (DMI), and feed conversion ratio (FCR) for all animals were recorded. A metabolic trial was conducted at 6 months of the experiment to assess the digestibility coefficient of different nutrients and nutritive value of ration. At 12 months of the experiment, rumen liquor was collected from all animals and analyzed for rumen enzyme profiles, viz., carboxymethylcellulase, xylanase, α-amylase, β-glucosidase, α-glucosidase, urease, and protease. It was found that ADG (507.8 g vs 392.8 g), DM intake (6.59 vs 5.85 kg/day) and DMI/W^0.75 (98.75 g vs 91.00 g/day), crude protein intake (780 vs 700 g/day), and total digestible nutrient intake (3.65 vs 3.32 kg/day) were higher (p < 0.05) in mithun than cattle. The nitrogen balance was higher and FCR was better (p < 0.05) in mithun compared with cattle. The digestibility coefficient of different nutrients was similar (p > 0.05) between the species. The microbial enzyme profiles of mithun and cattle were not different (p > 0.05). The better growth performance of mithun than cattle as found in the present study clearly indicates that the mithun has higher genetic potential for growth than Tho-tho cattle of north-eastern hilly region of India.     

Carbon and water footprints of major crop production in India

Scarcity of water and emission of greenhouse gases (GHGs) are the two key environmental issues affecting crop production in India.Reducing the carbon footprint (CF) and water footprint (WF) of crop production can help to mitigate the environmental hazards that stem from GHG emissions and water scarcity.The CFs and WFs of three major cereal crops,rice,wheat,and maize,were estimated for the year 2014 under the environmental conditions in India,based on national statistics and other data sources.To...     

Effect of moisture stress on Nitrate Reductase Activity (NRA) in PEA (Pisum sativum L.) [C3] and sorghum (Sorghum vulgare Pers.) [C4] plants

Nitrate reductase activity (NRA) was studied in pea, a C₃ plant, and sorghum, a C₄ plant, at various stages of growth and development. Influence of moisture stress and nitrogen application was also observed since these factors have profound influence on growth and development.

In pea, NRA was maximum at pod maturity stage and minimum at flowering stage. In sorghum plant there was gradual increase in NRA upto grain formation followed by a fall in activity at maturity.

Nitrogen treatment as nitrate and ammonia significantly increased nitrate reductase activity over control in both pea and sorghum. Treatment with potassium nitrate was found to stimulate more NRA in pea than with ammonium sulphate. In sorghum, both forms of nitrogen did not differ much in their influence on NRA.

Influence of moisture stress in reducing NRA was more clear in sorghum, a C₄ plant than in pea, a C₃ plant. In general, control plants recorded low NRA in both the crops when compared to nitrogen treated plants except at pod formation stage in pea.     

Synergistic effect of inoculating plant growth-promoting Pseudomonas spp. and Rhizobium leguminosarum-FB1 on growth and nutrient uptake of rajmash (Phaseolus vulgaris L.)

Plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB) Pseudomonas lurida-NPRp15 and Pseudomonas putida-PGRs4 possessing multiple plant growth-promoting traits were isolated from rhizoplane of pea and rhizosphere of garlic, respectively. The effects of individuals and combinations of Pseudomonas spp. with effective root nodulating symbiotic nitrogen fixing Rhizobium leguminosarum-FB1 on plant growth, nutrient uptake and yield of the rajmash plant were studied under greenhouse conditions. Bacterial inoculation resulted in significantly higher values for plant dry biomass, N, P, K, Zn and Fe contents as compared to the uninoculated control. Furthermore, dual inoculation of P. lurida-NPRp15 with R. leguminosarum-FB1 significantly increased root and shoot dry weight, nodulation, nutrient uptake, pod yield, and nutrient content of pods of rajmash VL63 compared to controls, single and triple inoculation. The results of the study indicate the potential of harnessing the benefit of plant growth-promoting and nitrogen-fixing microorganisms to improve the growth and yield of rajmash.