Conditioning,maturation and year‐round natural spawning of orange‐spotted grouper,Epinephelus coioides (Hamilton, 1822), in recirculating aquaculture system

The present experiment was aimed at studying the conditioning, maturation and natural spawning of orange‐spotted grouper, Epinephelus coioides, in a recirculatory aquaculture system (RAS). Thirty fish (n = 30; 3.35 ± 0.05 kg) were stocked in a circular tank of 125 m³ capacity fitted with an RAS for conditioning and broodstock development. After 15 days, 15 fish were implanted with 17 α methyl testosterone and letrozole at the rate of 5 mg and 0.2 mg/kg body weight, respectively, for conversion from female to male. The gonadal development started after 1 month, and by 90th day, 63.53 ± 3.78% and 2.07 ± 0.84% of the oocytes attained a size of 400–500 μm and 500–600 μm respectively. Natural spawning commenced in the RAS from 4th month onward after stocking and spawning continued round the year. The spawning pair showed courtship behaviour with a typical vertical burst of swimming just before release of gametes. The total number of eggs spawned during 1 year was 47.23 million with spawning frequency varying form 5 to 13 times per month. The association of spawning events with new moon day (lunar cycle) weakened as time progressed. The mean monthly fertilization and hatching rates varied from 77.80 ± 3.34% to 83.70 ± 1.76% and 82.80 ± 4.21% to 88.33 ± 1.39% respectively. The study proved that RAS is an efficient system that provides a stable, controllable and conducive environment for year‐round natural breeding of orange‐spotted grouper.     

Effect of boron and farmyard manure application on growth,yields, and boron nutrition of sunflower

To examine the role of organic manure on boron (B) availability, a greenhouse experiment was conducted to study the effect of B and farmyard manure (FYM) levels on growth, yields, and B accumulation of sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.). Application of B or FYM individually increased the plant height, capitulum diameter, dry matter yields of seed and stalk and their B concentration and accumulation. The interaction of B and FYM levels had a significant influence only on B concentration of stalk and total B accumulation of sunflower. In the absence of B application, use of highest level of FYM (10 g kg^‐1 soil) significantly increased B concentration of stalk and total B accumulation by the crop while with B application, use of FYM at lower rates was effective. Application of B or FYM, especially at higher rates of the latter (5 and 10 g FYM kg^‐1 soil) increased the content of hot‐water soluble soil B in the soil after crop harvest. The interaction of B and FYM levels had no significant effect on the content of hot‐water soluble soil B. Application of FYM increased apparent availability of native and added B from soil to sunflower crops.     

Rapid total destruction of chlorophenols by activated hydrogen peroxide

A practical, inexpensive, green chemical process for degrading environmental pollutants is greatly needed, especially for persistent chlorinated pollutants. Here we describe the activation of hydrogen peroxide by tetraamidomacrocylic ligand (TAML) iron catalysts, to destroy the priority pollutants pentachlorophenol (PCP) and 2,4,6-trichlorophenol (TCP). In water, in minutes, under ambient conditions of temperature and pressure, PCP and TCP are completely destroyed at catalyst:substrate ratios of 1:715 and 1:2000, respectively. The fate of about 90% of the carbon and about 99% of the chlorine has been determined in each case. Neither dioxins nor any other toxic compounds are detectable products, and the catalysts themselves show low toxicity.     

Fertigation Effects on Productivity,and Soil and Plant Nutrition of Coconut (Cocos nucifera L.) in the Eastern Indo-Gangetic Plains of South Asia

Fertigation has the potential to reduce extra chemical load by improving nutrient and water use efficiency of coconut (Cocos nucifera L.), but studies demonstrating the fertilizer reduction through drip irrigation in comparison to conventional ring basin method are rare in the Eastern Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP) of South Asia. A long-term field experiment was conducted during 2007–2013 in West Bengal, India, to study the effect of fertigation on coconut var. DXT. The experiment was laid out in a randomised complete block design (RCBD) with six treatments (control – no fertilizers and water applied with drip irrigation; 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% of the recommended dose of fertilizer (RDF), each applied with drip irrigation; and 100% of the RDF and water applied with ring basin method of irrigation (i.e., conventional method)). Nuts yield was significantly higher for 75% of RDF (24.44 t ha^?1 year^?1) followed by 100% of RDF, each drip irrigation (23.79 t ha^?1 year^?1) compared to control (21.89 t ha^?1 year^?1). Copra yield was significantly higher for 75% of RDF (3.19 t ha^?1) compared to 100% of RDF (3.12 t ha^?1) and no fertilizer (1.87 t ha^?1). Nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) contents of soil increased by 4.9%, 10.4% and 9.4%, respectively, with 75% of RDF applied through drip irrigation. Microbial population showed inverse relationship with amount of fertilizer application. The most water-use efficient fertigation treatment was 75% RDF (13.48 kg copra m^?3) followed by 100% RDF (13.18 kg copra m^?3) with drip irrigation as compared to conventional way soil application of fertilizers through ring basin method of irrigation (4.23 kg copra m^?3). Role of N on yield variability was most prominent by both available soil N status (R² = 0.49**) and leaf N concentration (R² = 0.51**). The study indicated that there is a great scope for reducing the N, P and K fertilizers by up to 25% of the present RDFs for coconut when applied through drip irrigation compared to ring basin method of irrigation for its higher productivity and profitability through efficient use of nutrients and water in the Eastern IGP of South Asia.     

Immunosuppression in broilers under experimental aflatoxicosis

The effects of purified aflatoxin B1 on cell mediated immunity in broilers were carried out using 0.3 p.p.m. and 1 p.p.m. dose level. The percentage of acid alpha-naphthyl acetate esterase reacting lymphocytes was significantly (P less than 0.05) decreased in chicks fed 0.3 p.p.m. and 1 p.p.m. level of aflatoxin B1. The albumin and globulin values were also significantly decreased (P less than 0.05) at both dose levels.     

Draft Genome Sequence of Potato Dry Rot Pathogen <Emphasis Type="Italic">Fusarium sambucinum</Emphasis> Fckl. F-4

Fusarium sambucinum is one of the most important causal agents that not only cause the dry rot disease of potato tubers in fields and stores worldwide but also capable of producing secondary metabolites toxic for people and animals. Here we present the first draft genome sequence of the strain (F-4) estimated to be around appx. 42.0 Mb. The genome has 12,845 protein coding genes with more than 35,900 exons and gene density of 3.13 per 10Kb. F. sambucinum is evolutionary more close to the F. graminearum among the Fusarium species complex. The genome sequence represents a valuable resource for understanding the pathogenecity and virulence factors, and their evolution within the complex and highly plastic genus Fusarium.     

A study on the relative efficiency of organic manures and the effect of salinity on its mineralisation in brackishwater fish farm soil

The influence of salinity on the mineralisation of organic nitrogen in the form of mustard oil cake, poultry manure and cow-dung in brackishwater pond soils was studied under laboratory conditions. The concentration of mineralised nitrogen for mustard oil cake and poultry manure showed a marked increase during 7 to 30 days after which it decreased gradually and in 90 days assumed practically the same value as that of the control over the salinity range of 0–40‰. The mineralised nitrogen of cow-dung treatment was lower than that of the control,till 30 days,after which it increased gradually. The loss of nitrogen is minimum in the higher salinity range for all three types of manure used. Mustard oil cake is a better manure for brackishwater soil than poultry droppings and cow-dung.     

Observations on the protein and carbohydrate requirements of carps

A series of experiments was conducted with purified test diets to ascertain the optimum levels of protein and carbohydrate needed in carp feed, the details of which are indicated. Both by direct inference and by statistical analysis, it was observed that the optimum growth of carp spawn, fry and fingerlings was reached with test diets having 45% protein (casein) and 26% carbohydrate (dextrin).     

Characterizing the tensile properties of spun yarns using bivariate normal distribution

The tensile properties of spun yarns decisively influence its performance in various mechanical processing stages. This study is primarily aimed at simultaneous analysis of two tensile properties of spun yarns namely tenacity and breaking strain, which play crucial role in determining the frequency of warping breaks. The threshold values of yarn tenacity and breaking strain required for 20’s Ne carded cotton yarn to sustain the imposed stresses and strains during warping process have been determined using a bivariate normal distribution model. This study opens up the possibility of minimizing end breakage rate in various manufacturing processes of textile industry by engineering of spun yarns devoid of potential weak spots which are responsible for breaks.     

无机三价铬和有机酸混合物对肉鸡生产性能和屠宰特性的影响

试验旨在确定添加有机酸和铬（Cr）对肉鸡生产性能和屠宰特性的影响。试验采用2x2因子设计,选择120只1日龄肉仔鸡随机分配到4个处理中,每个处理6个重复,每个重复5只。试验饲粮分别添加有机酸混合物（含正磷酸、乙酸、丙酸和丙酸钙）1g·kg^-1、无机三价铬（Cr^3＋,如Crcl3·6H2O）0．5mg·k^-1或两者的混合物。试验期35d。与对照组相比,单独添加有机酸、Cr3’以及同时添加两者,均显著改善了肉鸡饲料转化率、活重、胴体重和销售肉片重。有机酸单独或与Cr^3＋同时添加,提高了胴体总灰分的积累。与对照组相比,添加有机酸或Cr^3＋改善了蛋白积累;两者同时添加效果更佳。添加Cr^3＋降低了肌肉中脂肪含量和脂肪堆积。与其他处理组相比,添加Cr^3＋提高循环CP和肌肉中Cr^3＋的浓度。结论：由于有机酸和Cr^3＋存在协调效应,两者混合应用替代单独添加,可更有效地改善肉鸡生产性能和屠宰特性。