Design considerations of variable rate liquid fertilizer applicator for mature oil palm trees

Precision Agriculture - This research study focuses on the design of variable rate liquid fertilizer applicator which can measure the NPK status of soil and applies N, P and K nutrients...     

Epigallocatechin-3-gallate inhibits lactase but is alleviated by salivary proline-rich proteins

Lactase phlorizin hydrolase is a small intestinal brush border enzyme that catalyzes the hydrolysis of the milk sugar, lactose, and also many flavonoid glucosides. We demonstrate that epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), the principal flavonoid from green tea, inhibits in vitro hydrolysis of lactose by intestinal lactase. We then tested the hypothesis that salivary proline-rich proteins (PRPs) could modulate this inhibition and stabilize EGCG. Inhibition by EGCG of digestive enzymes (α-amylase>chymotrypsin>trypsin>lactase?pepsin) was alleviated ～2-6-fold by PRPs. Furthermore, PRPs appeared stable to proteolysis and also stabilized EGCG under digestive conditions in vitro. This is the first report on EGCG inhibition of lactase, and it quantifies the protective role of PRPs against EGCG inhibition of digestive enzymes.     

The effects of seasonal,sex and size on the digestive enzyme activities in freshwater crayfish (Astacus leptodactylus Eschscholtz, 1823)

The effects of seasonal, sex and size on digestive enzyme activities of Astacus leptodactylus in natural habitat were investigated in the present study. The freshwater crayfish were sampled 584 individual as seasonally from Egirdir Lake. Ten male and 10 female individuals were sampled randomly from caught crayfish in each two different size ranges (4.5–7.0, 7.1–9.9 cm) and each season. The gastrointestinal tract, gastric, intestine and midgut gland were individually dissected on ice for enzyme analysis and stomach contents. At the end of the study, amylase activities were affected by interaction of season × sex × size in intestinal, season × sex in midgut gland. However, any interaction was not determined in amylase activities of the gastric. Lipase activities were affected by interaction of season × sex × size in intestinal and gastric, season × sex in midgut gland. The protease activities in each organ were affected by interaction of season, sex and size (p ? .05). In all organs, amylase and lipase activities were similar. However, the highest protease activity was in stomach while the lowest protease activity was the intestine. The protease activities were higher than amylase and lipase activities. There is a positive correlation between protease enzyme activities in gastric with gonad maturation and active feeding period. It can be said based on data of digestive system and high protease activity that A. leptodactylus is an omnivore species in need high protein. In addition, the reason for the low levels of lipase activity may be A. leptodactylus not prefer high fat foods or not fed high fat foods.     

Pb fractionation and redistribution as affected by applied inorganic amendments under different soil moisture regimes and incubation time in saline–sodic Pb-polluted paddy soil

Bioavailability and mobility of lead (Pb) in soils depend upon their partitioning between solution-solid phases and their further fractionation and redistribution among different solid-phase components. However, the dynamics of Pb in salt-affected (saline–sodic) Pb-contaminated (polluted) paddy soil need more exploration particularly under the influence of application of amendments at varying hydrological regimes and residence time. In this context, an incubation study was conducted to investigate the effect of application of three inorganic amendments (gypsum, rock phosphate and diammonium phosphate) on Pb fractions at two soil moisture regimes (flooding regime and 75% field capacity) and two incubation times (after 2 and 30 days) successively in non-saline/sodic and saline–sodic Pb-polluted paddy soils. After applied treatments, the concentration of Pb in five, i.e., exchangeable (F1), carbonate (F2), Fe–Mn oxide (F3), organic matter and sulfide bound (F4) and residual (F5) fractions, was assessed by sequential extraction. The results showed that the Pb spiked in the soils was significantly (P?≤?0.05) transformed from easily extractable (exchangeable and carbonate) fractions into less labile (Fe–Mn oxide, OM–S bound and residual) fractions. Among tested amendments, gypsum performed better in reducing the lability of Pb followed by DAP.     

Detecting subsurface drainage systems and estimating drain spacing in intensively managed agricultural landscapes

Detailed location maps of tile drains in the Midwestern United States are generally not available, as the tile lines in these areas were laid more than 75 years ago. The objective of this study is to map individual tile drains and estimate drain spacing using a combination of GIS-based analysis of land cover, soil and topography data, and analysis of high resolution aerial photographs to within the Hoagland watershed in west-central Indiana. A decision tree classifier model was used to classify the watershed into potentially drained and undrained areas using land cover, soil drainage class, and surface slope data sets. After masking out the potential undrained areas from the aerial image, image processing techniques such as the first-difference horizontal and vertical edge enhance filters, and density slice classification were used to create a detailed tile location map of the watershed. Drain spacings in different parts of the watershed were estimated from the watershed tile line map. The decision tree identified 79% of the watershed as potential tile drained area while the image processing techniques predicted artificial subsurface drainage in approximately 50% of the Hoagland watershed. Drain spacing inferred from classified aerial image vary between 17 and 80 m. Comparison of estimated tile drained areas from aerial image analysis shows a close agreement with estimated tile drained areas from previous studies (50% versus 46% drained area) which were based on GIS analysis and National Resource Inventory survey. Due to lack of sufficient field data, the results from this analysis could not be validated with observed tile line locations. In general, the techniques used for mapping tile lines gave reasonable results and are useful to detect drainage extent from aerial image in large areas. These techniques, however, do not yield precise maps of the systems for individual fields and may not accurately estimate the extent of tile drainage in the presence of crop residue in agricultural fields and/or existence of other spatial features with similar spectral response as tile drains.     

Identification of Rice QTLs for Important Agronomic Traits with Long-Kernel CSSL-Z741 and Three SSSLs

Rice kernel shape affects kernel quality (appearance) and yield (1000-kernel weight) and therefore is an important agronomic trait, but its inheritance is complicated. We identified a long-kernel rice chromosome segment substitution line (CSSL), Z741, derived from Nipponbare as a recipient and Xihui 18 as a donor parent. Z741 has six substitution segments distributed on rice chromosomes 3, 6, 7, 8 and 12 with an average replacement length of 5.82 Mb. Analysis of a secondary F₂ population from a cross between Nipponbare and Z741 identified 20 QTLs for important agronomic traits. The kernel length of Z741 is controlled by a major QTL (qKL3) and a minor QTL (qKL7). Candidate gene prediction and sequencing indicated that qKL3 may be an allele of OsPPKL1, which encodes a protein phosphatase implicated in brassinosteroid signaling, and qKL7 is an unreported QTL. Finally, we validated eight QTLs (qKL3, qKL7, qRLW3-1, qRLW7, qPH3-1, qKWT3, qKWT7 and qNPB6) using three selected single- segment substitution lines (SSSLs), S1, S2 and S3. Also, we detected five QTLs (qKL6, qKW3, qKW7, qKW6 and qRLW6) in S1, S2 and S3, which were not found in the Nipponbare/Z741 F₂ population. However, qNPB3, qNPB7 and qPL3 QTLs were not validated by the three SSSLs in 2019, suggesting that minor QTLs are susceptible to environmental factors. These results lay the foundation for studying the biodiversity of kernal length and molecular breeding of different kernel types.     

QTL mapping rolling,stomatal conductance and dimension traits of excised leaves in the Bala × Azucena recombinant inbred population of rice

The identification of markers linked to genes contributing to drought resistance promises opportunities to breed high yielding rice varieties for drought prone areas. Several studies using different mapping populations have previously identified quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for traits theoretically related to drought resistance. A mapping population of 176 F₆ recombinant inbred lines (RILs) derived from two upland rice varieties with contrasting aboveground drought avoidance traits (Bala and Azucena) with a linkage map of 157 markers was used to map QTLs for aboveground leaf morphological and physiological traits related to drought avoidance. Plants were grown for 6 weeks under controlled environmental conditions with three replications. Leaves were excised and placed on a balance. The rate of leaf rolling and water loss was recorded, after which leaf area, dry weight and specific leaf area were characterized. A simple method of estimating time to stomatal closure was employed. A total of 13 QTLs were detected for leaf morphological traits, three for initial transpiration and four for the proportion of water loss required to reach a specific advanced state of leaf rolling. No QTLs were detected for time of stomatal closure or speed of leaf rolling, nor for either water loss or transpiration at stomatal closure despite clear parental differences and moderate heritabilities in most of these traits. The co-location of QTLs for traits measured here and for drought avoidance previously reported from field experiments on chromosome 1, 3 and 5 link the genetics of drought resistance to leaf dimensions and physiology. However, a physiological explanation for a QTL for drought avoidance on chromosome 7 remains elusive.     

Dietary supplementation of milk thistle (Silybum marianum): growth performance,oxidative stress,and immune response in natural summer stressed broilers

Tropical Animal Health and Production - The aim of the study was to investigate the influence of dietary supplementation of various levels of milk thistle (MT) on growth performance, oxidative...