Improvement of caper (Capparis spinosa L.) propagation using in vitro culture and gamma irradiation

Some of the factors influencing the propagation of caper (Capparis spinosa L.) plants in vitro and germination of the seed were studied. The number of adventitious shoots emerging from caper stems cultured in vitro increased from 2.2 shoots per explant when the growth medium contained 2 mg/L of gibberellic acid (GA3) to 5.5 when the growth medium contained 2 mg/L zeatin riboside (ZR) and 1 mg/L naphthalene acetic acid (NAA). The best medium for callus formation from leaf and stem parts contained the growth regulators 1 mg/L 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP) and 0.1 mg/L NAA and the best medium for plant regeneration contained 1 mg/L kinetin and 0.1 mg/L indole-3-acetic acid (IAA). The effect of gamma irradiation on the growth of caper shoots in vitro was also studied. A 10 Gy dose of gamma irradiation stimulated growth of shoots up to 200% and increased shoot rooting percentage from 75 to 100%.     

Influence of socio-economic and cultural factors in rice varietal diversity management on-farm in Nepal

A questionnaire survey of 408 households explored the role of socio-economic and cultural factors in rice (Oryza sativa L.) varietal diversity management on-farm in two contrasting eco-sites in Nepal. Multiple regression outputs suggest that number of parcels of land, livestock number, number of rice ecosystems, agro-ecology (altitude), and use of chemical fertilizer have a significant positive influence on landrace diversity on-farm, while membership in farmers’ groups linked to extension services has significant but negative influence on landrace diversity. Factors with significant positive influence on diversity of modern varieties on-farm were number of parcels of land and of rice ecosystems, access to irrigation, membership in farmers’ groups, and use of insecticide. Within communities, resource-endowed households maintain significantly higher varietal diversity on-farm than resource-poor households and play a significant role in conserving landraces that are vulnerable to genetic erosion and those with socio-cultural and market-preferred traits. Resource-poor households also contribute to local diversity conservation but at lower richness and area coverage levels than resource-endowed households. Households where a female had assumed the role of head of household due to death or migrant work of her husband had less diversity due to lower labor availability. Landraces with socio-cultural and market-preferred traits are few in number but have potential to be conserved on-farm.

不同绿肥和覆膜措施对渭北旱塬冬小麦产量和土壤水分动态的影响

  【目的】  冬小麦—绿肥轮作在干旱贫水年份易导致冬小麦减产,我们研究了平水年和干旱年旱地绿肥和覆膜措施相结合对小麦产量及水分利用率的影响,为建立科学高效的小麦–绿肥轮作体系奠定基础。  【方法】  田间试验于2017—2019年布设在陕西省永寿县御驾宫乡御中村,试验采用裂区试验设计,以轮作不同绿肥品种(黑麦豆、油菜,夏休闲为对照)为主处理,覆膜措施为副处理,设常规耕作和垄覆沟播两个水平。在冬小麦返青期、开花期、收获期调查小麦苗期生长状况、产量形成、水分利用效率和麦田0—200 cm土壤水分动态变化。  【结果】  1)平水年和干旱年,轮作油菜的冬小麦产量高于轮作黑麦豆,两年间轮作油菜处理比轮作黑麦豆处理的冬小麦产量分别高出 9.3%和43.5% (P<0.05)。2)采用垄覆沟播,轮作绿肥显著降低了冬小麦生育期耗水量,平水年提高了冬小麦的水分利用效率。平水年轮作油菜的水分利用效率最高[14.3 kg/(hm2·mm)],比夏休闲处理增加了7.4%;而干旱年轮作绿肥降低了冬小麦的水分利用效率,与夏休闲相比轮作黑麦豆和油菜处理分别降低58.5%和38.3% (P<0.05)。轮作绿肥与垄覆沟播对提高小麦水分利用效率有显著的交互作用。3)轮作绿肥并垄覆沟播的栽培模式加重了土壤水分的消耗。相比于夏休闲,平水年冬小麦播前0—200 cm土壤贮水量平均降低10.1% (P<0.05),干旱年平均降低15.7% (P<0.05)。  【结论】  我国渭北旱塬地区在平水年采用种植油菜+垄覆沟播新型种植模式,可以在保证不减产的情况下提高冬小麦的水分利用效率,但干旱年小麦产量和水分利用效率均会受到负面影响。     

Choice of nitrogen fertilizer affects grain yield and agronomic nitrogen use efficiency of wheat cultivars

Abstract

Nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) is low in cereals especially in wheat. Different wheat cultivars may vary in NUE due to inherited biological nitrification inhibition (BNI) potential. In this study, three wheat cultivars (Punjab-2011, ARRI-2011 and Millat-2011) were fertilized at the rate of 140?kg ha^?1 with three N sources [nitrophos (NP), urea and calcium ammonium nitrate (CAN)]. The soil nitrate (NO₃^?)-N contents were significantly enhanced coupled with simultaneous decrease in ammonium (NH₄⁺)-N contents in the rhizosphere of cultivar Punjab-2011, fertilized with NP; however, cultivar Millat-2011 receiving urea behaved in contrast. Wheat cultivar Punjab-2011 fertilized with NP had the highest grain yield and agronomic NUE than other treatments due to significant increase in chlorophyl contents, allometric and yield parameters. The highest net benefit was recorded from the cultivar Punjab-2011 fertilized with CAN. In conclusion, use of NP in Punjab-2011 enhanced the grain yield and agronomic NUE.     

Assessment of allelopathic interference of Chenopodium album through its leachates,debris extracts,rhizosphere and amended soil

Abstract

A study conducted to assess the allelopathic interference of invasive weed Chenopodium album indicated that aqueous leachates of C. album plant parts (roots, whole plant, and leaves), debris extracts and rhizosphere soil deleteriously affected the germination and initial growth of two test plants – Cassia occidentalis (a weed) and Phaseolus aureus (a crop). Further, the plant growth in terms of height, biomass, chlorophyll and protein content was significantly lesser in soil amended with C. album debris. Aqueous leachates, debris extracts, rhizosphere soil and debris amended soil were found to contain significantly higher amounts of water-soluble phenolics – the known phytotoxins. These phytotoxins in root, above-ground parts and leaves were phenolic acids, namely gallic, chlorogenic, caffeic, vanillic, p-coumaric, syringic and ferulic. Among these, chlorogenic acid was present in the maximum amount in the leaves and roots. The study concludes that C. album releases phenolics into the soil and these are probably involved in the growth inhibitory effect of C. album.     

Prevalence, molecular diagnosis and treatment of Mycoplasma conjunctivae isolated from infectious keratoconjunctivitis affected Lohi sheep maintained at Livestock Experiment Station, Bahadurnagar, Okara, Pakistan

Mycoplasma conjunctivae are etiological agents of infectious keratoconjunctivitis (IKC), commonly known as pink-eye in domestic sheep, goats and other wild animals in many parts of the world. A few young Lohi lambs maintained at Livestock Experiment Station (LES), Bahadurnagar, Okara, Pakistan showed clinical signs and symptoms of conjunctivitis, keratitis, severe lacrimation and varying degree of blindness. During January to March, 2011, a total of 36 ocular swabs were collected from IKC affected animals and were processed for isolation, identification, and characterization of M. conjunctivae. Sixteen (44.44 %) out of 36 samples showed turbidity in PPLO broth. Twelve (75 %) out of 16 broth samples showed colony growth on PPLO agar. All 16 (44.44 %) out of 36 turbid broth samples, 12 (75 %) out of 16 cultured on agar plate samples, and 21 (59 %) out of 36 sheep ocular direct swab samples were found positive for M. conjunctivae through polymerase chain reaction test by using M. conjunctivae-specific primer pair McoF1 and McoR1 and detecting a 750 base pair fragment on agarose gel. Topical application of 0.5 % sterile solution of gentamycin (100 mg/ml) (Gentafar 10 %, FARVET, Netherlands) proved suitable for the treatment of IKC in Lohi lambs as all clinical signs of IKC disappeared after 5 days of treatment with this antibiotic. This is the first report about the prevalence, molecular diagnosis, and treatment of M. conjunctivae in Lohi sheep affected with infectious keratoconjunctivitis at LES, Bahadurnagar, Okara, Pakistan.     

Screening of pea germplasm for resistance to powdery mildew

Powdery mildew caused by Erysiphe pisi DC results heavy losses in the yield and quality of pods and seeds of pea crop. Germplasm comprising 701 accessions of garden and field pea originating from 60 countries were screened for powdery mildew resistance under natural epiphytotic conditions and 64 accessions found resistant in field screening for 2?years at one location were further screened both in field at two locations and artificially in laboratory to four isolates. The information was also obtained on the amount of genetic diversity and agronomic superiority in resistant accessions. Fifty-seven accessions showed resistant reaction for 3 consecutive years in field screening but only 14 accessions originating from 10 countries showed resistant reaction in laboratory screening against the four most prevalent isolates of E. pisi collected from different places in the area of experiment. Germplasm lines showed both complete and incomplete levels of resistance and variable reactions to different isolates. There was sufficient genetic diversity and agronomic superiority in the resistant accessions e.g. EC598655, EC598878, EC598704, IC278261, and IC218988, which may serve as useful genetic material to plant breeders for breeding pea varieties for powdery mildew resistance and high yield.     

Broadening the genetic base of lentil cultivars through inter‐sub‐specific and interspecific crosses of Lens taxa

Wild Lens taxa are invaluable sources of useful traits for broadening genetic base of cultivated lentil. Nine inter‐sub‐specific and interspecific crosses were made successfully between cultivated (Lens culinaris ssp. culinaris) and wild lentils (L. culinaris ssp. orientalis, odemensis, lamottei and ervoides). The effect of species groups, day length and temperature on crossability in lentils was evident under normal winter sowing in New Delhi and in summer Himalayan nursery at Sangla in Himachal Pradesh, India, although pollen fertility assessed in all the cross‐combinations showed no significant variation. True hybridity of nine inter‐sub‐specific and interspecific crosses was confirmed through morphological and molecular (ISSR) markers, in which three of 120 primers could confirm the hybridity of all the crosses. All cross‐combinations were also studied for important quantitative traits related to yield. The range, mean and coefficient of variation were estimated in parental lines, F₁ and F₂ generations to determine the extent of variability generated in cultivated lentils through the introgression of genes from wild L. taxa. A high level of heterosis was observed in F₁ crosses for important traits studied. Substantially higher variations for seed yield and its attributing traits were exhibited in F₂ generations indicating transgressive segregation. The results of the present investigation revealed that wild L. taxa can be successfully exploited for lentil improvement programmes, and the variations generated could be easily utilized for broadening the genetic base of cultivated lentil gene pool for improving the yield as well as wider adaptation.     

Genotypic variation for grain and stover yield of dryland (rabi) sorghum in India 2. A characterisation of genotype × environment interactions

Genotype-by-environment interactions (GEI) have been identified as an important component of the genotypic variation for grain and stover yield traits of rabi sorghum varieties and hybrids in India. It has been argued that obtaining an understanding of the causes of these GEI is an important step to identify the scope for genetic improvement of grain and stover yield by conventional breeding. Pattern analysis was used to investigate the regional structure of the GEI for the four traits grain yield, stover yield, days-to-flower, and plant height, measured on the varieties and hybrids tested over 10 years in the All India Coordinated Sorghum Improvement Program (AICSIP). There was evidence that regional differences accounted for part of the GEI for grain yield and days-to-flower but not for stover yield and plant height. Cluster analysis was used to group the locations included in the ACSIP experiments. The five-group level was chosen to examine the causes of GEI among the location groups. Hypotheses were proposed for the observed regional grouping of trials for grain yield. One group of trials consisted of predominantly irrigated trials, the other four groups differed in the timing and intensity of drought stress imposed on the entries. This retrospective analysis provides a basis for testing the hypothesised contributions of environmental variation in water availability to regional GEI for grain and stover yield. If these hypotheses are substantiated, the current multi-environment testing strategy used for the AICSIP trials could be modified to ensure adequate sampling of the five regional groups identified by the retrospective pattern analysis.     

Comparative evaluation of the fertilizer value of human urine, cow manure and their mix for the production of carp fingerlings in small holding tanks

Advanced fry of Indian carps and post-larvae of freshwater prawn were reared for 120?days in 18 small holding tanks using each treatment in triplicate as: (a) non-aerated and (b) aerated fresh human urine (0.01%), (c) cow manure (1.8?kg tank^?1), mixed treatment with cow manure and human urine under (d) iso-phosphorus and (e) iso-nitrogenous conditions and (f) control. Examination of water quality, primary productivity of phytoplankton, plankton and fish growth from different treatments revealed that the total fish yield was maximum in the cow manure treatment (621.5?g?tank^?1) followed by the mixed treatments under iso-nitrogenous (428?g?tank^?1) and iso-phosphorus (333?g?tank^?1) conditions. Fish yield in different treatments was the direct function of the gross and net primary productivity of phytoplankton which, in turn, were directly related to the concentrations of nitrate and phosphate levels of water as well as their ratios in different treatments employed.