Tillage effects on soil properties and maize productivity in western Turkey

Information regarding the evaluation of long-term tillage effects on soil properties and summer maize growth after winter vetch in western Turkey is not available. Therefore, this study was conducted for 5 years with three types of tillage including conventional (mouldboard plough) and conservation (rototiller and chisel). Results indicated that tillage had no significant effect on penetration resistance, except at the bottom of 20 cm soil depth where it was higher in mouldboard plough than in rototiller and chisel. Bulk density in the topsoil of 10 cm decreased with the degree of soil manipulation during tillage practices. Rototiller caused significantly higher root, leaf and stems biomass and plant height than the other systems. The root dry weight was higher in the topsoil of 10 cm than at the bottom of this soil depth for all systems. The highest root dry weight was found in fourth year of chisel, but the lowest was recorded in the same year of plough, especially at the bottom of 20 cm due to higher penetration. Rototiller improved soil properties and maize growth compared to other systems in 2 of 5 years. We concluded that using rototiller for maize after winter vetch will be more effective compared with other systems.     

A model to predict the dry matter and yield of rapeseed under salinity and deficit irrigation

In this investigation, a model was developed to predict dry matter, seed yield and other crop parameters of rapeseed under deficit irrigation and salinity by using soil water and salt budget and other simple plant physiological relationships. Two-year experimental data were used. In calibration and validation of the presented model, results indicated that the model was able to estimate evapotranspiration, soil water content, leaf area index, evaporation, crop transpiration, dry matter and seed yield of rapeseed properly. The advantage of this model is its simplicity and easy calibration in other areas and climate conditions and it can be used to estimate yield and other crop parameters with common measurable data in the field. Prediction of crop yield by this model can be used for better management of agronomic systems to reduce administrative costs and in different environmental conditions. Finally, under scarce data, arid and semi-arid environments, this model is proposed to be used by irrigation managers and agricultural advisors.     

Diverse responses of tolerant and sensitive lines of Chickpea to drought stress

Drought is a worldwide concern and designation of drought stress adaptive mechanisms is one of the main directions in plant physiology and crop breeding. Genotypes diversity can be used to identify effective unexploited genes and pathways. In order to that, the effect of varying terminal drought intensity treatments on physiological and biochemical traits was evaluated in ILC3279, ICCV2 and FLIP9855 C chickpea lines. Well-watered, intermediate and severe drought treatments were applied from flowering till maturity. Photosynthetic efficiency, membrane stability, soluble sugar and proline content, leaf protein profile, and antioxidant enzyme activities were compared on 1st, 3rd, and 5th week after applying stress. Based on the results, it was found that the susceptibility of photosynthetic machinery of ILC3279 was more than others. Tolerant genotypes responded to drought differently; an increase and a decrease in catalase activity have been observed in ICCV2 and FLIP9855 C, respectively. The prominent role of soluble sugars was observed in ICCV2. Expressions of polypeptides 27 and 45 kDa in tolerant lines refer to their possible role in drought stress adaptation. Generally, in spite of significant variability in chickpea lines to cope with drought, lower ascorbate peroxidase activity, higher peroxidase activity, and higher Fv/Fm ratio can be tested as markers of chickpea drought tolerant.     

RETRACTED ARTICLE: Distribution of carbon,nitrogen, carbohydrate and calcium carbonate in aggregates of histosols in Shahrekord,Iran

Soil organic matter and its components play a key role in the stabilization of soil aggregates. This study aimed to investigate the distribution of organic carbon (OC), total nitrogen (TN), hot-water extractable (HWE) and dilute acid extractable (DAE) carbohydrates and CaCO₃ in water-stable aggregates in histosols of Shahrekord, Iran. Additionally, correlations between aggregate stability (mean weight diameter (MWD) values) and mentioned characters were also examined. Results showed that at all depths in all 18 profiles, larger aggregates contained more OC, TN and carbohydrate content than the smaller aggregates, whilst CaCO₃ had the opposite trend. OC, TN and carbohydrate fractions followed a consistent similar trend by aggregate size. The positive correlation between OC and TN within the aggregates was considerable. OC, TN, carbohydrate fractions and MWD significantly (P < 0.01) decreased with depth. Average concentration of CaCO₃ was almost the same in aggregates <4 mm at all depths. We observed very low values of ratios HWE:OC and DAE:OC in the study site. OC, TN and carbohydrate fractions each gave highly or very highly significant correlations with aggregate stability. We obtained significant, but weak negative correlation of CaCO₃ with aggregate stability (P = 0.05; r = ?0.23), implying that CaCO₃ is a disaggregating agent in these histosols.     

The role of root plasma membrane ATPase and rhizosphere acidification in zinc uptake by two different Zn-deficiency-tolerant wheat cultivars in response to zinc and histidine availability

ABSTRACT

We investigated the effect of histidine (His) and Zn deficiency on H⁺-ATPase activity and H⁺ release from wheat roots. Two bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L. cvs. Kavir and Back Cross Roshan) were grown in a nutrient solution for four weeks before being transferred to treatment solutions consisting of two concentrations of His (0 and 50 µM) and two concentrations of Zn (0 and 10 μM). The Zn-only and the Zn+His treatments were observed to release more H⁺ in the root media than did the control ones, with the highest achieved under the Zn+His treatment which was roughly 2.1 times higher than that under the control conditions. The H⁺ release from wheat roots increased slightly but significantly in the presence of only His when compared with the control solutions. The hydrolytic and transport activities of H⁺-ATPase were affected by both Zn deficiency and His supply. In both cultivars, application of Zn and His resulted in a higher hydrolytic activity of H⁺-ATPase when compared with the control solutions. The highest hydrolytic activity of H⁺-ATPase in the root plasma membrane vesicles was achieved with the Zn+His treatment. The ‘Back Cross Roshan’ exhibited a higher (PM) H⁺-ATPase activity and H⁺ pumping than did ‘Kavir’.     

Straw and biochar effects on soil properties and tomato seedling growth under different moisture levels

ABSTRACT

A greenhouse experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of wheat straw and its biochar on tomato seedling growth and soil physicochemical properties under different moisture levels. Treatments included control (no amendments, CK), three biochar amendments (B1: 1%, B2: 3% and B3: 6% w/w) and three straw amendments (S1: 1%, S2: 3% and S3: 6% w/w), under two moisture levels (M1: 40% water holding capacity (WHC) and M2: 70% WHC). The straw and biochar had contrasting effects on soil physiochemical properties and physiology of tomato seedlings. The B1 treatment significantly increased the soil urease activity (15%) and decreased the activity of dehydrogenase and β glucosidase enzymes (67% and 56%), as compared to the S1 treatment, especially for the high moisture condition. Biochar significantly improved shoot and root dry weights, biomass and altered chlorophyll contents. Plant antioxidants, superoxide dismutase (SOD), Peroxidase (POD) activities and malondialdehyde (MDA) were significantly decreased in biochar treatments, however, an increasing trend was observed for straw treatments. The current findings suggest that application of high amount of biochar (6%) or low amount of straw (1%) would be a reasonable management practice in semi-arid regions to improve soil physiochemical properties and the physiology of tomato seedlings.     

中性氧化电解水对卷心菜的杀菌作用与机理

酸性氧化电解水作为一种高效杀菌剂,但因其低pH值,所以在制备和使用过程中会产生少量氯气污染、对金属材料有一定腐蚀性,影响其在农业和食品领域中应用。中性氧化电解水的pH值接近中性,可以克服以上缺点。该文考察了有效氯浓度相近的中性氧化电解水、84消毒液、H2O2和NaClO对卷心菜的杀菌作用,结果表明NEOW具有高效的杀菌作用,杀菌效果优于84消毒液、H2O2和NaClO,当NEOW有效氯含量为24.52 mg/L时,对大肠杆菌的杀菌效率为95.81%,杀灭对数值为1.38;当有效氯含量为63.42 mg/L时,对大肠杆菌的杀菌效率为98.92%,杀灭对数值为1.97。另外,研究了中性氧化电解水杀菌作用的影响因素,结果表明在一定范围内增加有效氯含量会提高杀菌效果,但有效氯含量过高时,杀菌效率反而降低,原因在于有效氯增高时,氧化电解水pH值增加,有效氯存在形式发生改变。在有效氯含量较高时,氧化电解水pH值的改变对杀菌效果影响不大;但当有效氯含量较低时,pH值越高,杀菌效果越差。此外,还考察了杀菌时间对杀菌效果的影响,杀菌时间增加有利于提高杀菌效率。该试验研究为中性氧化电解水的食品杀菌应用研究提供了理论依据,还通过其杀菌作用影响因素的研究揭示了其杀菌机理,提出了最优的杀菌条件。     

Farmers’ Perspectives on Animal Husbandry Information Services in India

In an emerging knowledge economy, an efficient transfer of quality information to farming communities for better decision making is critical. This article analyzes the effectiveness of livestock information delivery services in Uttar Pradesh, India, based on primary and secondary data sources. Findings of the study indicate that public sector initiatives to deliver information on livestock practices are seriously lacking and farmers are primarily dependent on progressive farmers for livestock-related solutions. In addition, there is limited availability of information on critical aspects of livestock decision making, as about 70% of farmers are using only animal-health-related information. Results from a primary survey indicate that the information used by farmers is of average quality due to the paucity of information emanating from organized extension services and suggest improvement in the quality, reliability, and timeliness of information delivery.     

Phosphorus and Micronutrient Nutrition of Chickpea Genotypes in a Multi-Nutrient-Deficient Typic Ustochrept

ABSTRACT

The chickpea breeding program in India has not yet considered the genotypic variation in phosphorus (P) efficiency, despite the fact that the largest proportion of chickpea-growing soils are P deficient. Since general P application to chickpea is at sub-optimum levels, efficient P-utilizing genotypes will perform better than others under P-deficient conditions. High levels of P application may induce zinc (Zn) deficiency in plants grown on Zn-deficient soils. Twenty chickpea genotypes were evaluated for their P efficiency at varied levels of added P, and the effect of P levels on Zn, iron (Fe), copper (Cu), and manganese (Mn) nutrition was studied in pot-culture experiments. Three criteria were used for evaluating P efficiency; shoot dry-matter yield without P, P-uptake efficiency (PUPE), and P-utilization efficiency (PUSE). Under P-deficiency conditions (control), the genotypes BG-256, HK-94-134, Phule-G-5, and Vikash produced the highest shoot biomass. However, genotypes that were found to be superior in the absence of P did not perform in a similar way under optimum P supply. Root dry weight showed a highly significant correlation with P uptake at all P levels. In the case of PUPE, genotypes KPG-59 and Pusa-209 were found to be superior to others. With increasing P levels, PUSE declined in all the genotypes. Increasing P up to 13.5 mg kg^?1 soil increased Zn concentration, while further increase led to decreased concentration. Genotypes KPG-59, BG-256, RSG-888, and JG-315 showed Zn concentrations below the critical limit of 20 μg Zn g^?1 dry weight (DW) at the high level of P application (27.0 mg kg^?1). Iron concentration decreased with increasing P levels. Up to 13.5 mg kg^?1 P application, Cu concentration increased and thereafter decreased. Manganese concentration gradually increased with the increasing P levels studied. Based on three criteria, BG-256 can be recommended for use in P-deficient conditions and can be good germplasm source material for chickpea-breeding programs for evolving P-efficient genotypes. Results also suggest that when selecting P-efficient genotypes of chickpea, it is essential to apply deficient micronutrients.     

Evaluation of copper desorption characteristics using DTPA and citric acid for wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) rhizosphere of soils amended with sewage sludge

A greenhouse experiment was carried out to determine copper (Cu) desorption characteristics in ten bulk and rhizosphere soils (Typic Calcixerepts) amended with sewage sludge (1% w/w) using rhizoboxes. The kinetics of Cu desorption in the bulk and the rhizosphere soils were determined after successive extraction with DTPA‐TEA and 10 mM citric acid in a period of 1 to 504 h at (25 ± 1)°C. The results show that Cu extracted after 504 h using DTPA‐TEA were significantly (P < 1%) lower in the rhizosphere than the bulk soils. However, Cu extracted after 504 h using citric was significantly (P < 1%) higher in the rhizosphere than in the bulk soils. The results illustrated that, on average, citric acid extracted 56% more Cu from the bulk soils than DTPA‐TEA, and citric acid extracted 85% more Cu from the rhizosphere soils than DTPA‐TEA. Desorption kinetics of Cu in the two extractants was well described by power‐function, parabolic diffusion, and first‐order equations. The results show that a 10 mM citric acid extractant may be recommended to determine the kinetics of Cu desorption in calcareous soils amended with sewage sludge.