Soil organic carbon stock variability in the Northern Gangetic Plains of India: interaction between agro‐ecological characteristics and cropping systems

Soil organic carbon (SOC) content and its spatial distribution in the Northern Gangetic Plain (NGP) Zone of India were determined to establish the cause–effect relationship between agro‐ecological characteristics, prevailing crop management practices and SOC stock. Area Spread Index (ASI) approach was used to collect soil samples from the NGP areas supporting predominant cropping systems. Exponential ordinary kriging was found most suitable geo‐statistical model for developing SOC surface maps of the NGP. Predicted surface maps indicated that 43.7% area of NGP had 0.5–0.6% SOC, while the rest of the area was equally distributed with high (0.61–0.75%) and low (< 0.5%) SOC content levels. Averaged across cropping systems, maximum SOC content was recorded in Bhabar and Tarai Zone (BTZ), followed by Central Plain Zone (CPZ), Mid‐Western Plain Zone (MWPZ), Western Plain Zone (WPZ) and South‐Western Plain Zone (SWPZ) of the NGP. The SOC stock was above the optimum threshold (> 12.5 Mg/ha) in 97.8, 57.6 and 46.4% areas of BTZ, CPZ and MWPZ, respectively. Only 9.8 and 0.4% area of WPZ and SWPZ, respectively, had SOC stock above the threshold value. The variation in SOC stock was attributed largely to carbon addition through recycling of organic sources, cropping systems, tillage intensity, crop or residue cover and land‐use efficiency, nutrient‐use pattern, soil texture and prevailing ecosystem. Adoption of conservation agriculture, balanced use of nutrients, inclusion of legumes in cropping systems and agro‐forestry were suggested for enhancing SOC stock in the region.     

后备公猪的科学选育与利用

后备公猪的科学选育及利用直接影响猪场制种效果和经济效益,同时也能体现规模化猪场的制种技术与水平。文章针对后备公猪选育的基本环节和操作要点,从如何选种选育、科学饲养管理、合理配种利用等方面进行系统阐述,为规模化猪场后备公猪生产提供技术指导和参考依据。     

Effects of Glyphosate on Soil Salinization and Alkalization in Cotton Fields

We analyzed the effects of glyphosate to the index of salinization and alkalization by simulation in soils collected from cotton fields in Anyang, Henan and Anqing, Anhui, China, in 2014. The results showed that application of glyphosate changed electrical conductivity (EC), total alkalinity (TAL), exchangeable sodium percentage (ESP), sodium adsorption ratio (SAR) and pH of soil in both regions，compared with the blank control. With increased frequency of glyphosate application and increased concentration applied, all indices increased in the Anqing cotton fields soil which were treated with concentrations of 2.5-20 g·L^－1 . However, EC, TAL and ESP increased dynamically in Anyang soil to which high concentrations of 20 g·L^－1 were applied only four consecutive times. After different glyphosate treatments, the soil pH value showed an upward trend but smaller changes. Therefore, after repeated use of glyphosate to soils of two different region soils, although the changes of all indices were within the range of non-saline and non-sodic soils, the soils affected by salt in the glyphosate aqueous solution tended towards saline-sodic soils.     

Root zone temperature alters storage root formation and growth of sweetpotato

Large mounds amended with plant residues are a common cultivation method for sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas) in the western parts of the Papua New Guinea highlands, with a suggested benefit of elevated root zone temperature (RZT) from decomposition. This study aimed to evaluate whether RZT affects the formation and growth of sweetpotato storage roots. Experiments evaluated the effects of a constant elevated RZT on the Beauregard cultivar and of a short‐term increase in RZT on the Beauregard and Northern Star cultivars. Plants were grown in 18‐L pots divided into a control compartment (constant RZT at 20°C) and a treated compartment (RZT at 30, 40 or 50°C). Constant elevated RZT was maintained until harvest, while short‐term increase in RZT occurred in weeks 2 and 3 only. Constant elevated RZT did not affect the total number of storage roots, but RZT of 30°C and above reduced the dry‐biomass of storage roots. The short‐term increase in RZT did not alter the total number or dry‐biomass of storage roots in Beauregard, while both of these attributes were reduced at RZT of 40°C or above in Northern Star. Elevated RZT inhibited dry‐biomass accumulation of storage root, with a more pronounced impact at constant elevated RZT. These results demonstrate that any benefits of the mound culture on sweetpotato yield production do not arise through the influence of temperature elevation.     

Population‐level effects of egg predation on a native planktivore in a large freshwater lake

Using a 37‐year recruitment time series, we uncovered a field pattern revealing a strong, inverse relationship between bloater Coregonus hoyi recruitment success and slimy sculpin Cottus cognatus biomass in Lake Michigan (United States), one of the largest freshwater lakes of the world. Given that slimy sculpins (and deepwater sculpin Myoxocephalus thompsonii) are known egg predators that spatiotemporally overlap with incubating bloater eggs, we used recently published data on sculpin diets and daily ration to model annual bloater egg consumption by sculpins for the 1973–2010 year‐classes. Although several strong year‐classes were produced in the late 1980s when the proportion of eggs consumed by slimy sculpins was extremely low (i.e., <0.001) and several weak year‐classes were produced when the proportion of bloater eggs consumed was at its highest (i.e., >0.10–1.0), egg predation failed to explain why recruitment was weak for the 1995–2005 year‐classes when the proportion consumed was also low (i.e., <0.02). We concluded that egg predation by slimy and deepwater sculpins could have limited bloater recruitment in some years, but that some undetermined factor was more important in many other years. Given that slimy sculpin densities are influenced by piscivorous lake trout Salvelinus namaycush, the restoration of which in Lake Michigan has lagged behind those in lakes Superior and Huron, our study highlights the importance of an ecosystem perspective when considering population dynamics of fishes.     

Ontochronic index for assessing and predicting growth of birds

An ontochronic index has been developed to evaluate biological patterns of growth in birds, which takes into account the ratio between the structural features of the body and the appearance of an individual. A high correlation and regression dependence of the index of intensity of birds’ growth during early ontogenesis has been discovered.     

Enhanced muscle regeneration in freshwater prawn Macrobrachium rosenbergii achieved through in vivo silencing of the myostatin gene

Myostatin (MSTN) is an interesting negative growth‐regulating gene that has been well characterized in vertebrates but scantly described in invertebrates. The current study focuses on the downregulation of the MrMSTN gene and subsequently records any histological changes for giant freshwater prawn, Macrobrachium rosenbergii (Mr). In addition, the study also deals with the MrMSTN gene's influence on other growth‐related genes, which include myosin heavy chain, dystrophin‐dystroglycoprotein complex, tropomyosin, farnesoic acid o‐methyl transferase, arginine kinase, cyclophilin, and acyl CoA desaturase. The preliminary histological analysis following MrMSTN silencing favors muscle regeneration, which supports its functional role as a negative growth regulator and its significant effect on the expression of other growth‐related genes. Overall, our results show that the MrMSTN gene could therefore be a potential target for gene manipulation aimed at enhancing the growth and muscle development of M. rosenbergii, which could be beneficial in increasing the total mass production in the postlarva phase at the hatchery level.