Standardization of Rootstocks of Mango (Mangifera Indica L.)

Mango cuttings could be induced to form roots provided IBA at 5,000 p.p.m. in lanolin was applied at the base of shoots after removing a ring of bark while they were still attached to the mother tree.

Cuttings taken from one-month-old seedlings gave the highest percentage of rooting and establishment, but with increasing age of the mother plants the rooting was considerably reduced. The rooting of cuttings of different age groups could be improved by using shoots forced into vigorous growth by hard pruning. Younger plants responded better to such treatment than older ones.

Cuttings from etiolated shoots rooted better than those from non-etiolated, but etiolation was less effective in promoting rooting than invigoration by hard pruning. Etiolation and invigoration combined gave the highest percentage of rooting and establishment in all age groups.     

Superovulatory Response and Embryo Recovery after Treatment with Different Gonadotrophin during Induced Luteal Phase inCamelus dromedarius

Superovulation, embryo recovery and transfer were attempted in 19 dromedary camels of about 6-10 years of age, and having calved at least once. Superovulation was done using two commercially available porcine FSH preparations, FSH-I (II donors) and FSH-2 (8 donors) during a luteal phase created by inducing ovulation with hCG. The superovulatory response was assessed by ultrasonography. The embryo recovery was attempted non-surgically in sitting position on day 8 and day 7 after first mating in one FSH-1 and one FSH-2 group, respectively. Considerable individual variation in response to the superovulatory stimulus was observed. No significant difference was observed between the two groups in terms of superovulatory response and embryo recovery (p > 0.05). In total 30 embryos were recovered from 17 donors (1.51 embryos/donor). Recipients were synchronized with donors using hCG. Eight embryos were transferred, resulting in two pregnancies and live births.     

Morphology and mechanical properties of sisal fibre/vinyl ester composites

Sisal fibres were subjected to a 2 % sodium hydroxide solution treatment for 2, 5 and 8 h at 35 °C. Change in chemical composition of the alkali treated fibres in comparison to that of the untreated fibres was evaluated. Fibres were characterized with respect to its FTIR, linear density, crystallinity, tenacity, modulus and % breaking strain. Tenacity of the fibres increased initially and then decreased as the time of alkali treatment was increased. Modulus of elasticity of the fibres increased with increase in alkali treatment time. Fibres lost breaking strain (%) gradually with increase in treatment time. Variation in mechanical properties of composites was studied with respect to the duration time of alkali treatment of fibres. The failure mode was particularly investigated before and after treatment for better understanding of the effect of alkali treatment.     

Population genetic structure of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Rhizoctonia solani</Emphasis> AG1IA from rice field in North India

Rhizoctonia solani AG1IA is an important fungal pathogen causing significant yield and quality losses in rice production. However, little is known about the levels of genetic diversity and structure of this pathogen in North India. Out of 240 samples collected from different rice-growing regions of North India, 112 isolates were identified as R. solani AG1IA subgroups using species-specific primers. All 112 isolates were organized into four groups on the basis of percent disease index (PDI). The majority of the isolates were weakly virulent. Population genetic analysis was performed within and between populations using inter simple sequence repeat (ISSR) markers. A total of 8249 alleles were identified from the 112 isolates of R. solani AG1IA through analysis of the ten inter simple sequence repeat markers. All the ten ISSR markers were polymorphic. The average number of bands per primer was 7.3 which ranged in size from 250 to 1500 bp. Genetic structure of the isolates using inter simple sequence repeat primers showed high degree of polymorphism (PIC ≥0.81). The analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) indicated that most of the genetic diversity occurred within populations (60%), while the variability among populations and among regions contributed 25 and 15%, respectively. Overall, the present study reveals that a large variation exists among rice-infecting isolates of R. solani AG1IA in North India. Fingerprinting of the isolates using ISSRs along with phenotypic characterization and virulence analysis will help epidemiological studies that can provide new insights into pathogen biology and disease spread.     

Evaluation of rice–legume–rice cropping system on grain yield,nutrient uptake,nitrogen fixation,and chemical,physical, and biological properties of soil

To achieve higher yields and better soil quality under rice–legume–rice (RLR) rotation in a rainfed production system, we formulated integrated nutrient management (INM) comprised of Azospirillum (Azo), Rhizobium (Rh), and phosphate-solubilizing bacteria (PSB) with phosphate rock (PR), compost, and muriate of potash (MOP). Performance of bacterial bioinoculants was evaluated by determining grain yield, nitrogenase activity, uptake and balance of N, P, and Zn, changes in water stability and distribution of soil aggregates, soil organic C and pH, fungal/bacterial biomass C ratio, casting activities of earthworms, and bacterial community composition using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) fingerprinting. The performance comparison was made against the prevailing farmers’ nutrient management practices [N/P₂O₅/K₂O at 40:20:20 kg ha⁻¹ for rice and 20:30:20 kg ha⁻¹ for legume as urea/single super-phosphate/MOP (urea/SSP/MOP)]. Cumulative grain yields of crops increased by 7–16% per RLR rotation and removal of N and P by six crops of 2 years rotation increased significantly (P < 0.05) in bacterial bioinoculants-based INM plots over that in compost alone or urea/SSP/MOP plots. Apparent loss of soil total N and P at 0–15 cm soil depth was minimum and apparent N gain at 15–30 cm depth was maximum in Azo/Rh plus PSB dual INM plots. Zinc uptake by rice crop and diethylenetriaminepentaacetate-extractable Zn content in soil increased significantly (P < 0.05) in bacterial bioinoculants-based INM plots compared to other nutrient management plots. Total organic C content in soil declined at 0–15 cm depth and increased at 15–30 cm depth in all nutrient management plots after a 2-year crop cycle; however, bacterial bioinoculants-based INM plots showed minimum loss and maximum gain of total organic C content in the corresponding soil depths. Water-stable aggregation and distribution of soil aggregates in 53–250- and 250–2,000 μm classes increased significantly (P < 0.05) in bacterial bioinoculants-based INM plots compared to other nutrient management plots. Fungal/bacterial biomass C ratio seems to be a more reliable indicator of C and N dynamics in acidic soils than total microbial biomass C. Compost alone or Azo/Rh plus PSB dual INM plots showed significantly (P < 0.05) higher numbers of earthworms’ casts compared to urea/SSP/MOP alone and bacterial bioinoculants with urea or SSP-applied plots. Hierarchical cluster analysis based on similarity matrix of DGGE profiles revealed changes in bacterial community composition in soils due to differences in nutrient management, and these changes were seen to occur according to the states of C and N dynamics in acidic soil under RLR rotation.     

Cellular Immune Responses to 35 kDa Recombinant Antigen of Mycobacterium avium paratuberculosis

Mycobacterium avium paratuberculosis is the causative agent of Johne disease, a chronic ulcerative intestinal condition in ruminant animals. Owing to the predominance of cellular response in subclinical forms of the infection, identification of M. a. paratuberculosis antigens eliciting host cell-mediated immune (CMI) reaction is crucial for early control of the disease. A 35 kDa protein of M. a. paratuberculosis was studied for its ability to elicit CMI responses using a mouse model. Lymphoproliferation and IFN-γ response were used to measure the CMI response. Recombinant 35 kDa protein (P35) stimulated proliferation of mouse mononuclear splenocytes sensitized with M. a. paratuberculosis. The P35 elicited increased nitrite production from mononuclear splenocytes from M. a. paratuberculosis-sensitized mice. In addition, RT-PCR-based semiquantitative IFN-γ measurement showed that stimulation with P35 is associated with significant expression of IFN-γ mRNA in M. a. paratuberculosis-sensitized mouse splenocytes. The results indicate that the 35 kDa protein of M. a. paratuberculosis is associated with CMI response in the host.     

Short-lived nuclides in hibonite grains from Murchison: evidence for solar system evolution

Records of now-extinct short-lived nuclides in meteorites provide information about the formation and evolution of the solar system. We have found excess 10B that we attribute to the decay of short-lived 10Be (half-life 1.5 million years) in hibonite grains from the Murchison meteorite. The grains show no evidence of decay of two other short-lived nuclides-26Al (half-life 700,000 years) and 41Ca (half-life 100,000 years)-that may be present in early solar system solids. One plausible source of the observed 10Be is energetic particle irradiation of material in the solar nebula. An effective irradiation dose of approximately 2 x 10(18) protons per square centimeter with a kinetic energy of >/=10 megaelectronvolts per atomic mass unit can explain our measurements. The presence of 10Be, coupled with the absence of 41Ca and 26Al, may rule out energetic particle irradiation as the primary source of 41Ca and 26Al present in some early solar system solids and strengthens the case of a stellar source for 41Ca and 26Al.     

Nitrate-N loadings through subsurface environment to agricultural drainage ditches in two flat Midwestern (USA) watersheds

A study was conducted to understand the contributions of tile flow and baseflow to total nitrate-N (NO₃-N) loadings in two subsurface (tile)-drained watersheds, namely the Big Ditch (BD) and the Upper Embarras River (UER) watersheds in Illinois. Two stream sections were selected in the watersheds and rectangular cutthroat flumes were installed at the upstream and downstream ends of the stream sections to calculate the flow mass balance for separating baseflow. The stream section at BD site had two tile outlets draining into it. The stream section at UER watershed did not have any tile drain. Tile flow was also measured along with stream flow. Water samples were collected not only from the stream sections using auto-samplers but also manually from the tile drains. Average baseflow rates per unit lengths of the stream sections at BD and UER sites were 3.5 × 10⁻⁰⁴ and 9.4 × 10⁻⁰⁵ m² s⁻¹, respectively. At BD site, for six study periods, the percentages of baseflow and tile flow contributions of NO₃-N loads within the stream section were 90 and 10%, respectively. Annual NO₃-N contributions by the upstream subwatersheds for BD and UER stream sections were 61,819 and 16,155 kg, respectively. Annual NO₃-N loss from these two subwatersheds within BD and UER watersheds was 42.9 and 7.0 kg ha⁻¹, respectively. For the stream section at BD site, baseflow seemed to play a more important role than tile flow in raising the NO₃-N concentration level in the stream water. Land use seemed to play a major role in the significant difference in NO₃-N concentrations at the two subwatersheds upstream from the project sites. Nitrate-N loadings primarily depended on precipitation, antecedent moisture condition (AMC), fertilizer application time, and evapotranspiration (ET).