Reducing fiber content of sunflower oil meal through treatment of enzymes produced from Arachnoitus sp.

A multi‐enzyme mixture containing cellulases and hemicellulase activity, produced from Arachniotus sp., a white rot fungus, were applied on sunflower oil meal (SFOM) to degrade its fiber content. SFOM was treated with different concentrations of enzyme solution at variable pH, and incubated at temperatures ranging from 25 to 60°C, for different time periods ranging from 3 to 48 h to determine the maximum increase in metabolizable energy content by saccharification of fiber into sugars through enzymatic degradation. Maximum saccharification of SFOM fiber was obtained at a 1:1 enzyme substrate ratio, pH 4.0 and incubation for 36 h at 40°C. A reduction of 47.27% in crude fiber contents of sunflower oil meal was observed after enzyme treatment at optimized conditions. Enzyme treatment resulted in reduction of 41.53 and 31.87% in acid detergent fiber and neutral detergent fiber contents, respectively. An increase of 28.09% in nitrogen free extract contents of SFOM was found after enzyme treatment. True metabolizable energy contents of SFOM, after enzyme treatment, were increased from 1898.4 to 2314.9 kCal/kg.     

Using Growth and Ionic Contents of Wheat Seedlings as Rapid Screening Tool for Salt Tolerance

High germination percentage with vigorous early growth is preferred for harvesting good wheat stand under saline soils. Therefore, an attempt for rapid screening of wheat genotypes for salt tolerance was made in this study. Eleven wheat genotypes including salt tolerant check Kiran-95were subjected to salinity (120 and 160 mMNaCl) along with non-saline control. Results showed a gradual decrease in seed germination and restricted seedling growth in tested wheat genotypes in response to increasing NaCl concentration in nutrient solution. Among the genotypes, NIA-AS-14-6 and NIA-AS-14-7 exhibited more sensitivity towards the salt stress at the germination stage but NIA-AS-14-6 performed quite satisfactorily later on at the seedling stage. Wheat genotypes NIA-AS-14-2, NIA-AS-14-4, NIA-AS-14-5, NIA-AS-14-10, and Kiran-95 showed better performance in term of root-shoot length, plant biomasses (fresh and dry), K⁺:Na⁺ ratio with least Na⁺ content, and high accumulation of K⁺ at higher levels of NaCl stress. On the basis of overall results, the categorization of genotypes was carried out as sensitive, moderately tolerant, and tolerant. Wheat genotypes NIA-AS-14-2, NIA-AS-14-4, NIA-AS-14-5, NIA-AS-14-10, and Kiran-95 grouped as tolerant, moderately salt tolerant group comprised of NIA-AS-14-1, NIA-AS-14-3, NIA-AS-14-6, and NIA-AS-14-8, whereas, NIA-AS-14-7 and NIA-AS-14-9 were found sensitive to salt stress. Principal component analysis revealed that components I and II contributed 70 and 16.5%, respectively. All growth parameters are associated with each other except RDW. In addition to growth traits, low Na⁺ and improved K⁺ content with better K⁺:Na⁺ ratio may be used for screening of salt tolerance in wheat as potential physiological criteria.     

Organic Nitrogen Source Addition for Improving the Physicochemical Properties of Sandy Loam Soil and Maize Performance

Poor quality of sandy loam soils ?is the main reason for low crop yield. Improvement of physicochemical properties of these soils is very challenging. Addition of organic sources may improve the soil properties. Therefore, this study investigated the adequacy of poultry-manure-compost (PMC) and pressmud-compost (PrMC) at 0 (control), 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 t ha^?1 for improving the physicochemical properties of sandy loam soil and maize performance. An increasing trend in most soil and crop traits was seen with increasing compost levels. For 10 t PMC ha^?1, soil inorganic-N (512%), organic-carbon (78%), and water-holding capacity (65.36%) improved maximum. This resulted in the maximum mean crop growth rate (43.85%), stover yield (94%), grain protein (21%), and nitrogen use efficiency (30.6 kg kg^?1). Contrarily, grain oil (?7%) was lowest at 10 t PMC ha^?1. Consequently, 10 t PMC ha^?1 could be much effective to improve the physicochemical properties of sandy loam soils and maize performance.     

Toxicity of butene-fipronil,in comparison with seven other insecticides,in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Leptinotarsa decemlineata</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Drosophila melanogaster</Emphasis>

The speed of toxic action of an insecticide is an indicator for control efficacy and has considerable practical importance. For agricultural pest control, fast-acting is an important feature for an insecticide to consistently reduce the amount of feeding damage. Butene-fipronil is a novel compound obtained via the structural modification of fipronil. However, information about the toxicity and speed of toxic action is still limited. In the present paper, we compared the toxic feature of butene-fipronil with seven other insecticides, of which imidacloprid and abamectin are slow-acting insecticides, and acephate, endosulfan, methomyl, α-cypermethrin and spinosad are fast-acting insecticides. We found that the contact and stomach toxicities of butene-fipronil were among the highest ever estimated to Leptinotarsa decemlineata and Drosophila melanogaster. The speed of toxic action of butene-fipronil was determined using median lethal time (LT₅₀) at a dose (concentration) equivalent to LD₈₀ values. For L. decemlineata, the values for butene-fipronil, imidacloprid, abamectin, acephate, endosulfan, methomyl, cypermethrin and spinosad were calculated to be 39.9, 36.5, 37.5, 20.2, 22.4, 23.8, 16.4 and 23.1 h, respectively. Those for D. melanogaster were 29.8, 31.5, 29.4, 14.0, 20.3, 18.1, 13.5, and 20.1 h, respectively. ANOVA analysis showed that butene-fipronil, imidacloprid, abamectin had similar LT₅₀ values, whereas acephate, endosulfan, methomyl, spinosad and cypermethrin had comparable LT₅₀ values. Thus, butene-fipronil belongs to slow-acting insecticides. Our results provide more empirical information for butene-fipronil potential application.     

Identification and partial characterization of potential probiotic lactic acid bacteria in freshwater Labeo rohita and Cirrhinus mrigala

Carps are the most diversified freshwater fish belonging to family Cyprinidae. Numerous probiotic and pathogenic lactic acid bacteria (LAB) have been characterized from carps. However, the diversity of these ecologically important bacteria is entirely unknown in freshwater fish of Pakistan. The present study aimed to characterize and identify the lactic acid bacteria from two carps viz. Laboe rohita and Cirrhinus mrigala and determine their antagonistic activity. Seventeen bacterial isolates were purified from the gastrointestinal tract and gills of these fish and characterized morphologically. Initially, seven isolates were screened as LAB using agar supplemented with CaCO₃. Subsequently, only two isolates CILB2 and RIL10 were selected as LAB after high‐performance liquid chromatography analysis for lactic acid production. Isolates CILB2 and RIL10 were genetically identified as Enterococcus faecalis and Weissella sp., respectively after 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis. Both strains exhibited significant antagonistic activity against common fish pathogens Streptococcus agalactiae, Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. Enterococcus faecalis CILB2 and Weissella sp. RIL10 were also found negative for haemolysis and gelatinase activities and were sensitive to ampicillin, amoxicillin, doxycycline, erythromycin, chloramphenicol and co‐trimoxazole antibiotics. The identified LAB strains may further be investigated for their potential probiotic application in fish feed and food preservation techniques.     

Boron Application Improves Growth,Yield and Net Economic Return of Rice

A field trial was conducted to evaluate the role of boron (B) application at different growth stages in improving the growth,yield and net economic return of rice at farmer’s fields during summer season,2009.Boron was soil applied (1.5 kg/hm2) at the transplanting,tillering,flowering and grain formation stages of rice;foliar applied (1.5% B solution) at the tillering,flowering and grain formation stages of rice,and dipped seedling roots in 1.5% B solution before transplanting;while control plots did not apply any B.Boron application (except dipping of seedling roots in B solution,which caused toxicity and reduced the number of tillers and straw yield than control) substantially improved the rice growth and yield.However,soil application was better in improving the number of grains per panicle,1000-grain weight,grain yield,harvest index,net economic income and ratio of benefit to cost compared with the rest of treatments.Overall,for improving rice performance and maximizing the net economic returns,B might be applied as soil application at flowering.     

Detection of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Mycobacterium avium</Emphasis> subsp. <Emphasis Type="Italic">paratuberculosis</Emphasis> in tissue samples of cattle and buffaloes

Tissue samples were collected at random from cattle (Bos taurus) and buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) from an abattoir of the district of Lahore and were analyzed for the presence of Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis and Mycobacterium bovis through acid-fast staining and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Body condition of animals and diarrhea were recorded. Most of the animals were emaciated. Diarrhea was noticed in 15.6% of buffaloes and 19.2% of cattle. Intestinal pathology was observed in 29% of buffaloes and 32.8% of cattle. Number of mesenteric lymph node (MLN) showing gross lesions was a bit higher (35.6%) in cattle than buffalo (31.2%). Acid-fast staining of tissue scraping smears revealed the presence of acid-fast bacilli (AFB) in 17.4% intestinal and 16.4% MLN tissue samples in buffalo, while in cattle 19.2% intestinal and 17.8% MLN were found positive for AFB. In buffaloes, PCR confirmed 12.8% intestinal and 12.4% MLN positive samples for M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis. However, in cattle, PCR analysis demonstrated 14.2% positive results for M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis in both MLN and intestinal tissue samples. PCR also confirmed M. bovis in 5.8% of cattle and 5% of buffalo MLN and intestinal tissues. PCR positive tissue samples for M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis were from those animals which were emaciated, having diarrhea, and severe gross lesions. AFB were also detected in tissue scraping smears of these animals. It is concluded that infection by various mycobacterium species can be differentiated by PCR, which is not possible by acid-fast staining technique.     

The functions of biological diversity in an age of extinction

Ecosystems worldwide are rapidly losing taxonomic, phylogenetic, genetic, and functional diversity as a result of human appropriation of natural resources, modification of habitats and climate, and the spread of pathogenic, exotic, and domestic plants and animals. Twenty years of intense theoretical and empirical research have shown that such biotic impoverishment can markedly alter the biogeochemical and dynamic properties of ecosystems, but frontiers remain in linking this research to the complexity of wild nature, and in applying it to pressing environmental issues such as food, water, energy, and biosecurity. The question before us is whether these advances can take us beyond merely invoking the precautionary principle of conserving biodiversity to a predictive science that informs practical and specific solutions to mitigate and adapt to its loss.