Water relations and drought-induced embolism in olive (Olea europaea) varieties 'Meski' and 'Chemlali' during severe drought

We examined the effects of drought on the water relations, osmotic adjustment and xylem vulnerability to embolism of olive (Olea europaea L.) varieties, 'Meski' and 'Chemlali'. Two-year-old self-rooted cuttings growing in sand-filled pots in a greenhouse were subjected to water stress by withholding water for 60 days. Water relations and gas exchange measurements showed that 'Chemlali' was more drought resistant than 'Meski' and had a greater capacity for osmotic adjustment through solute accumulation. However, when water stress was acute, the effect of osmoregulation on leaf cell turgor was largely counteracted by xylem cavitation. Cavitation vulnerability curves showed that both varieties were highly resistant to embolism formation. The xylem water potential inducing 50% loss of stem conductivity approached -7 MPa in 'Meski' and only slightly less in 'Chemlali'. Although the difference between varieties in susceptibility to xylem embolism was small, it appears to account in large part for the difference between them in the ability to tolerate severe drought.     

Identification,diversity and host specificity of the wood-decay fungi in major sawmill depots of north-eastern Bangladesh

The study was carried out to identify wood-decay fungi, and quantify the diversity and host preferences of the fungi in major sawmill depots in north-eastern Bangladesh. A total of 23 fungal species belonging to 15 genera in seven families were recorded and identified. The Polyporaceae was the most dominant family, while Schizophyllum commune was the most abundant species among all species recorded. Other commonly observed fungal species were Daldinia concentrica, Trametes versicolor, Trametes coccinea and Flavodon flavus. The Simpson diversity index (0.93) and Shannon–Wiener index (2.90) showed a wide distribution of the wood-decay fungi in the study areas. The species diversity index (0.036), species evenness index (0.92) and species richness index (3.40) indicated a diverse distribution of the fungal species. Two-thirds of the identified fungal species showed significant preferences for their hosts. The host vulnerability was found to be significantly affected by storage facility, duration of storage, depot yard condition, treated or non-treated wood and shade facility. The findings of this work may help sawmill owners to utilize a scientific approach to management of logs and timber stored in depots, to minimize fungal decay before incurring any economic loss.     

Resistance to foliage feeding aphid in wheat

Experimental trials were conducted at Integrated Pest Management Programme, National Agriculture Research Centre Islamabad, to evaluate the resistance of host plants (cereals) against Rhopalosiphum padi (L.). For evaluation of susceptibility, twenty varieties/-advanced lines of National Uniform Wheat Yield Trails (NUWYT) Normal (N) of year 2004-2005 were used. In seedling bulk tests varieties/advanced lines were grouped into three categories resistant, moderately resistant and susceptible. Data from seedling bulk tests showed that DN-47 and PR 87 lines of wheat were resistant to aphid as compared to the other varieties/-advanced lines. In antixenosis tests varieties/-advanced lines were grouped into three categories, least preferred, moderately preferred, highly preferred. Lines V-01180, DN-47 and PR-84 were least preferred, sixteen varieties/-advanced lines were moderately preferred and only one variety V-9021 was found to be highly preferred.     

Dyslexia: cultural diversity and biological unity

The recognition of dyslexia as a neurodevelopmental disorder has been hampered by the belief that it is not a specific diagnostic entity because it has variable and culture-specific manifestations. In line with this belief, we found that Italian dyslexics, using a shallow orthography which facilitates reading, performed better on reading tasks than did English and French dyslexics. However, all dyslexics were equally impaired relative to their controls on reading and phonological tasks. Positron emission tomography scans during explicit and implicit reading showed the same reduced activity in a region of the left hemisphere in dyslexics from all three countries, with the maximum peak in the middle temporal gyrus and additional peaks in the inferior and superior temporal gyri and middle occipital gyrus. We conclude that there is a universal neurocognitive basis for dyslexia and that differences in reading performance among dyslexics of different countries are due to different orthographies.     

Physico-chemical behaviour of the fish lipid from Lepidocephalus guntea (Hamilton) and variation of lipid profile with size

The fish lipid was extracted from the body muscle (edible portion) of fresh Lepidocephalus guntea (Ham.) fish and the lipid content of the fish in size-1 (below 8.5 cm), size-2 (8.5-9.5 cm) and size-3 (above 9.5 cm) were found to be 2.515, 3.013 and 3.455%, respectively. The specific gravity and refractive index of the lipid were found to be 0.93 at 30 degrees C and 1.467 at 31.5 degrees C, respectively. The saponification value, saponification equivalent, iodine value, peroxide value and acetyl value of the lipid were found to be 220.325, 254.624, 96.05, 1.993 and 11.32, respectively. The acid value, percentage of free fatty acid as oleic and unsaponifiable matter present in the lipid were found to be 2.005, 1.008 and 0.593, respectively. The fatty acid composition of the lipid was determined qualitatively and quantitatively by TLC and GLC. The analysis revealed that the fatty acid composition of the lipid lies between C14 to C20. The fish lipid of Lepidocephalus guntea (Ham.) was found to contain (average value) myristic acid (3.17%), palmitoleic acid (7.45%), palmitic acid (29.16%), linolenic acid (7.13%), linoleic acid (5.57%), oleic acid (22.93%), stearic acid (17.42%), arachidonic acid (7.17%) and arachidic acid in trace amount.     

Calcium translocation and accumulation into potato tubers

Summary Calcium uptake into potato plants was examined using test solutions containing 5% safranin dye (C₂₀H₁₉N₄C1 mw 350.85) and the radiotracer⁴⁵CaCl₂. When minitubers were suspended in test solutions for up to 5 days, safranin moved into the outer pith tissues while⁴⁵Ca²⁺ was located throughout the pith. Ca²⁺ is apparently taken up directly from the tubersphere by a slow diffusion process. Plantlets with one microtuber were used to investigate calcium uptake via basal roots.⁴⁵Ca²⁺ was well ahead of the safranin dye front in all plantlet stems.⁴⁵Ca²⁺ in shoot tips was significantly greater than in microtubers and no safranin entered the microtubers. Greenhouse-grown ex vitro plantlets with minitubers attached were used to determine the relative uptake by basal and stolon roots. Basal root feeding contributed significantly more⁴⁵Ca²⁺ to shoot tips and tubers than stolon root feeding while combined feeding gave the greatest shoot tip and tuber⁴⁵Ca²⁺ levels.     

A fuzzy logic approach for assessment and mapping of groundwater irrigation quality: a case study of Marvdasht aquifer,Iran

Two shortcomings of the non-numeric United States Soil Laboratory (USSL) water quality designation process are, first, the uncertainty involved with assigning samples to the bordering discrete classes is not considered and, secondly, it is difficult to map. One solution to these may lie in the use of a Mamdani fuzzy inference system (MFIS). The main aims of this study were (1) to compare the MFIS and USSL approach to classifying groundwater quality for irrigation and (2) to explore the spatial variability of groundwater quality for irrigation in the Marvdasht aquifer using the MFIS output. For this purpose, 49 agricultural wells were sampled and their sodium adsorption ratio and electrical conductivity were determined. In 81% of cases, the MFIS led to the same class as USSL and in 92.8% of cases agreed with USSL classification. In only 2 out of 49 samples did the MFIS and USSL strongly disagree. The comparison showed that the MFIS method is more acceptable, reliable, and logical in the classification of water quality for irrigation purposes than other methods. The output map of the MFIS scores indicates that the upper part of Marvdasht aquifer has better quality water for irrigation.     

Use of Lignocellulolytic Microbial Consortium and pH Amendment on Composting Efficacy of Rice Straw

ABSTRACT

The present study was conducted at the Composting Unit, Universiti Putra Malaysia to determine the physico-chemical changes, microbial dynamics, and enzyme activities during microbial composting of rice straw at different pH conditions. Different treatments comprising of composting substrates (A), substrates with microbial consortium (B), substrates, microbial consortium, and acetic acid (C), substrates, microbial consortium, and sodium hydroxide (D) were used to enhance the composting process of rice straw. In inoculated treatments, the temperature increased rapidly to higher than 50°C by day 5 and remained above 40°C up to day 17, while in the control the temperature increased slowly and peaked (46°C) at day 9 and remained above 40°C until day 23. The results showed that biodegradation was at its maximum in microbial-infused treatments within 14–21 days as indicated by profiles of pH, reduction of C/N ratio, lignocellulolytic (lignin peroxidase, endoglucanase, and exoglucanase) enzyme activities, and lignocellulose bioconversion. After day 21, the C/N ratio of microbial-infused treatment without any pH adjustment (B) was reduced to 17.5 from an initial value of 29.2 suggesting that there were no additive effects of pH adjustment during the microbial composting of rice straw.