Overexpression of Arabidopsis thaliana gibberellic acid 20 oxidase (AtGA20ox) gene enhance the vegetative growth and fiber quality in kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus L.) plants

Kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus L.; Family: Malvaceae), is multipurpose crop, one of the potential alternatives of natural fiber for biocomposite materials. Longer fiber and higher cellulose contents are required for good quality biocomposite materials. However, average length of kenaf fiber (2.6 mm in bast and 1.28 mm in whole plant) is below the critical length (4 mm) for biocomposite production. Present study describes whether fiber length and cellulose content of kenaf plants could be enhanced by increasing GA biosynthesis in plants by overexpressing Arabidopsis thaliana Gibberellic Acid 20 oxidase (AtGA20ox) gene. AtGA20ox gene with intron was overexpressed in kenaf plants under the control of double CaMV 35S promoter, followed by in planta transformation into V36 and G4 varieties of kenaf. The lines with higher levels of bioactive GA (0.3–1.52 ng g⁻¹ fresh weight) were further characterized for their morphological and biochemical traits including vegetative and reproductive growth, fiber dimension and chemical composition. Positive impact of increased gibberellins on biochemical composition, fiber dimension and their derivative values were demonstrated in some lines of transgenic kenaf including increased cellulose content (91%), fiber length and quality but it still requires further study to confirm the critical level of this particular bioactive GA in transgenic plants.     

Golden rice: introgression, breeding, and field evaluation

Considerable progress has been made on the genetic engineering of rice for improved nutritional content involving micronutrients and carotenoid content. Golden Rice, developed by genetic engineering (Agrobacterium and biolistic transformation) was used in rice breeding for the transfer of high-nutritional value to the local rice cultivars. Simultaneously, commercial Asian indica rice cultivars were also developed with expression of high-carotenoid levels. The lines were developed based on POSITECH (PMI) selection system or made marker free by segregating out the marker gene from the gene of interest. Anther culture was used to develop the homozygous stable lines, which could be of much use in further introgress-breeding and in farmer’s field. Enhanced carotenoids levels (up to T3 generation) were observed in a number of lines compared to the T0-T1 seeds which could be due to transgeneration effect of growing under greenhouse versus field conditions. However, a few introgressed lines showed less carotenoid levels than the original lines used in the breeding process. Agronomic performance of introgressed lines, non-transgenic controls, and transgenic golden rice (IR64 and BR29) developed at IRRI showed acceptable and comparable data under identical limited field conditions (screenhouse data). Syngenta generated a new Golden Rice (US cultivar) containing high level of carotenoids grown in the field at Louisiana, USA is expected to be available to the public domain. Incorporation of genes for carotenogenesis in seeds by transgenesis or by introgression did not change any significant agronomic characteristics in rice plants. The ongoing and future study of bioavailability, quality, larger field testing and freedom to operate will ensure the benefit of Golden Rice to the people who need them most.     

Effect of rhizosphere microbiome on different crop growing fields in various rice cultivars and its molecular approaches for sustainable agro-ecosystem

Journal of Crop Science and Biotechnology - The present investigation was carried out to investigate the effects of rhizosphere bacteria on growth and rice yields. Also, isolation and...     

Silicon biostimulant enhances the growth characteristics and fortifies the bioactive compounds in common and Tartary buckwheat plant

Journal of Crop Science and Biotechnology - Silicon is a potential biostimulant that has been used to enhance the yield and quality of plant products. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate the effect of...     

小麦脱植基相关基因在春性小麦叶片叶绿素降解过程中的作用分析

小麦叶片的衰老会导致产量的损失,而叶绿素降解是小麦叶片衰老的明显特征,分析小麦叶绿素降解过程中脱植基反应的相关基因叶绿素酶（TaCLH）和脱镁叶绿素水解酶（TaPPH）在春性小麦叶片衰老过程中的作用,为解析小麦叶绿素降解的分子机制提供参考。以10个春性小麦品种为参试材料,对衰老过程中TaCLH和TaPPH的相对表达量进行测定,结合不同品种在开花后不同时期的相对叶绿素含量（SPAD）、功能绿叶面积（GLAD）和叶绿素荧光参数的变化规律,研究叶片衰老过程中TaCLH和TaPPH与SPAD、GLAD和叶绿素荧光参数的相关关系。结果表明,TaPPH的相对表达量与GLAD、SPAD及叶绿素荧光参数[ETR、F_v/F_m、Y(Ⅱ)]等生理指标之间存在极显著负相关关系,与TaCLH相对表达量存在极显著正相关关系,表明TaPPH在春小麦叶绿素降解过程的脱植基反应中起主要作用。     

Failure characterisation in polymer matrix composite for un-notched and notched (open-hole) specimens under tension condition

This paper presents an investigation of the influences causing failure in the materials comprising polymer matrix composites. Structures with differences in stacking sequences and design configuration are analysed. The objective of this study is to investigate and evaluate the reasons for the failure of composite lamination structures in terms of stress, strength, strain, and Young modulus within a morphology observation of composite materials. The materials selected for the study were a chopped strand mat (CSM) and a woven roving (WR) fabric. These materials are used as reinforcement and are produced by the hand lay-up technique using epoxy and polyester matrix resin. The experiment was performed using specimens made of notched (open-hole; OH) tension and un-notched (UN) shapes. The characteristics of different shapes, materials, and lamination structures are studied in this research. The results showed the failure phenomenon in the structure of the polymer matrix composite is dependent on the characteristics of the material used and the design configuration of both structures.     

Measurement of Ammonia Emission Following Surface Application of Urea Fertilizer from Irrigated Paddy Rice Fields

Ammonia emission is one of the most important pathways of nitrogen loss from agricultural cultivated field. In this paper, we report the measurement of ammonia emission from paddy rice field obtained by surface application of urea fertilizer with water management. The main objective of the present study were to assess the amount of NH3 emission and the loss of nitrogen from paddy field as affected by various N doses, i.e., 0 (control), 90 (N1), 180 (N2), 270 (N3) and 360 (N4) kg ha-1, following field surface application of urea fertilizer with water management. Ammonia emissions were measured by continuous airflow enclosure method from plots fertilized with the application of surface urea. Increase in urea-N dosage increased NH3 emission thatwas measured from paddy rice field. Ammonia emission started immediately and was almost complete within 12 days after top dressing of urea application to the soils. Ammonia emissions were nearly constant in all treatments from 12 days after fertilizer application. Highest ammonia emission rate was 28 g/day and total amount of ammonia emission was 56.21 kg ha-1 for 360 kg N ha-1 dose. No remarkable observation was found about temperature for ammonia emission. Due to proper water management practices less emission was observed throughout the experiment period. The results also show that N loss through NH3 emission accounted for 11 to 16% during the ricegrowing season. These magnitudes of loss of N appear to be most important for environmental point of view.     

Silicate Minerals as a Source of Arsenic Contamination in Groundwater

The dynamic behavior of water quality and quantity in the Egyptian drains is often viewed as a disruption to the normal operation and performance of the process of water reuse in irrigation. The control of such behavior has been challenging and often elusive in practice. Therefore, this paper presents a framework to advance the understanding and opportunities for improving the reuse process by developing a multivariate process control model. The model starts with preliminary analysis for water quality data that are collected at the reuse site on the examined drain. This phase comprises investigating data distribution and dependency. Then, univariate control charts are used to investigate the state of control for the independent and normally distributed variables. For dependent variables, principal components analysis is used as a method of synthesizing the variables information. In this case, principal component scores are displayed using multivariate control charts. If in-control case existed, process capability index is used to provide a numerical measure of whether or not the reuse process is capable of producing water that satisfies the irrigation quality standards. Since the model will only detect assignable causes if out-of-control or in-capable case existed, management, operational, and/or engineering action will usually be necessary to sustain the reuse process. In these cases, an action plan in response to the model signals will be vital. The main function of the proposed model is to safely manage the reuse practice using statistical quality control techniques. The model was demonstrated using water quality data collected during the period from January 2006 to July 2011 from Hanut (EH02) and El-Salam 3 (ESL03) pump stations along Hadus drain, Eastern Nile Delta-Egypt. The recommended model is automatic, algorithmic, self-tuning, and computerizable.     

Estimating daily actual evapotranspiration of a rice–wheat rotation system in typical farmland in the Huai River Basin using a two-step model and two one-step models

The objective of this study is to evaluate the performance of three models for estimating daily evapotranspiration(ET) by employing flux observation data from three years(2007, 2008 and 2009) during the growing seasons of winter wheat and rice crops cultivated in a farmland ecosystem(Shouxian County) located in the Huai River Basin(HRB), China. The first model is a two-step model(PM-K_c); the other two are one-step models(e.g., Rana-Katerji(R-K) and advection-aridity(AA)). The results showed that the energy closure degrees of eddy covariance(EC) data during winter wheat and rice-growing seasons were reasonable in the HRB, with values ranging from 0.84 to 0.91 and R2 of approximately 0.80. Daily ET of winter wheat showed a slow decreasing trend followed by a rapid increase, while that of rice presented a decreasing trend after an increase. After calibrating the crop coefficient(K_c), the PM–K_c model performed better than the model using the K_c recommended by the Food and Agricultural Organization(FAO). The calibrated key parameters of the R-K model and AA model showed better universality. After calibration, the simulation performance of the PM-K_c model was satisfactory. Both the R-K model and AA model underestimated the daily ET of winter wheat and rice. Compared with that of the R-K model, the simulation result of the AA model was better, especially in the simulation of daily ET of rice. Overall, this research highlighted the consistency of the PM-K_c model to estimate the water demand for rice and wheat crops in the HRB and in similar climatic regions in the world.     

Chinese Rice Planting Technique Ensures Optimum Wheat Yield in Bangladesh

Spring wheat is the second option of cereal crop to feed the growing population in Bangladesh. This crop can yield more than 5.0 ton ha-1 with optimum management on 6.1 million ha of land - 2.6 million ha with irrigation and 3.5 million ha without irrigation. However, the present average wheat yield is near 1.5 ton ha-1, and only 10% of the potential area are under wheat cultivation for various reasons.