INTERACTION EFFECT OF POTASSIUM AND SULFUR FERTILIZATION ON PRODUCTIVITY AND MINERAL NUTRITION OF SUNNHEMP

The interactive effect of potassium (K) and sulfur (S) fertilization on productivity and mineral nutrition of sunnhemp (Crotalaria juncea L.) was evaluated in a field experiment during 2008 and 2009 cropping seasons at Uttar Pradesh, India. Potassium and sulfur fertilizers increased fiber yield and nutrient uptake of sunnhemp. It was observed that an application of K and S at 40 kg ha^?1 each significantly increased the total dry matter, fiber yield, and nutrient uptake of sunnhemp. The crop yield response to the added S was greater than for K and the nutrient use efficiency was also higher at lower levels of fertilizer addition. The increased levels of K and S improved the number of nodules and crude protein content of sunnhemp leaves.     

Evaluation of pan coefficient for reference crop evapotranspiration for semi-arid region

Pan coefficient (K _pan) is the important factor for computation of reference evapotranspiration (ET _o ) from pan evaporation (E _pan). In this paper, the approaches proposed by Cuenca (Irrigation system design: an engineering approach. Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, 1989), Snyder (J Irrig Drain Eng 118(6):977–980, 1992), Orang (Potential accuracy of the popular non-linear regression equations for estimating pan coefficient values in the original and FAO-24 tables. Unpublished Report, Calif. Dept. of Water Resources, Sacramento, 1998), Raghuwanshi and Wallender (J Irrig Drain Eng 118 (6):977–980, 1998) and Pereira et al. (Agric Water Manage 76:75–82, 1995) were evaluated for a semi-arid region. By comparing with the FAO 56 Penman-Monteith (F-PM) method the Snyder (J Irrig Drain Eng 118(6):977–980, 1992, 1992) approach was best suited for the semi-arid region.     

Development of an Indirect ELISA for the Detection of Antibodies against Peste-des-petits-ruminants Virus in Small Ruminants

Peste des petits ruminants (PPR) is an acute, febrile, highly contagious and economically important viral disease of small ruminants. A polyclonal antibody based indirect ELISA was developed for detection of antibodies to PPR virus in the serum samples of goats and sheep using purified PPR viral antigen propogated in Vero cell culture. A threshold (cut-off) value was set as twice the mean of the negative population based on the distribution of known negative serum samples in respect of PPR virus antibodies in the test. A total of 1544 serum samples from goats and sheep were screened by indirect ELISA and competitive ELISA. The indirect ELISA compared very well with competitive ELISA, with a high degree of specificity (95.09%) and sensitivity (90.81%). When compared with virus neutralization test, the present assay had 100% specificity and 80% sensitivity. With serum samples, the assay could clearly differentiate animals from the infected population from uninfected ones. These results suggest that the indirect ELISA may be a good alternative tool to competitive ELISA for seroepidemiological surveys.     

Ultrastructural characteristics of the blood cells of chickens commonly reared under backyard poultry farming in Mizoram,India

The present study was undertaken to characterize the ultrastructural morphology of the blood cells of commonly reared chickens in the state of Mizoram, India under backyard poultry farming. For this study, 2 ml of whole blood was aseptically collected from the wings veins of 12 chickens of three different breeds namely the Zoar, Aseel and Rhode Island Red and processed for ultrastructural imaging under standard protocols. Under scanning electron microscopy (SEM) the matured erythrocytes of Zoar, Aseel and Rhode Island Red appeared elliptical in shape while the leukocytes and thrombocytes appeared round in shape with variable surface modifications. Under transmission electron microscopy (TEM) the granules of the heterophils of Zoar, Aseel and Rhode Island Red appeared predominantly fusiform in shape, the granules of the eosinophils appeared round in shape and that of the basophils appeared pleomorphic in shape. The cytoplasm of the monocytes, medium-to-large lymphocytes and thrombocytes of Zoar, Aseel and Rhode Island Red under TEM appeared to be vacuolated and granular while that of the small lymphocytes appeared to be granular but non-vacuolated. The study concluded that the ultrastructural characteristics of the blood cells of the three breeds of chicken studied were almost similar to the blood cells of other birds reported earlier.     

Antagonismus in vivo von fluoreszierenden Pseudomonaden gegenüber Rhizoctonia solani und Pythium aphanidermatum an Gurken und Buschbohnen

Zusammenfassung Fluoreszierende Pseudomonaden, die sich als Antagonistenin vitro gegenüberRhizoctonia solani undPythium aphanidermatum erwiesen haben, wurden an Gurken und Bohnen auf Antagonismusin vivo untersucht. Die Effizienz der Antagonisten in Auflaufversuchen gegenüberR. solani war niedriger als beiP. aphanidermatum. Die besten Isolate konnten in mitR. solani verseuchter Erde Auflaufraten von 30–40% erzielen, gegenüberP. aphanidermatum dagegen 40–60%. Die Wirkung der Antagonisten zur Verhütung von Spätinfektionen der Pflanzen war deutlich besser. So konnten 16 Isolate eine Schädigung durchR. solani an Bohnen zwischen 90 und 100% reduzieren. An Gurken konnten 12 Isolate eine Schädigung durchP. aphanidermatum auf 70–80% reduzieren.

---

Fluorescent pseudomonads, which showed antagonism in vitro against Rhizoctonia solani and Pythium aphanidermatum, were investigated for antagonism in vivo using bean and cucumber. The efficiency of the antagonists in germination tests against Rhizoctonia solani was lower than against Pythium aphanidermatum. In soil infected with Rhizoctonia solani the germination rates of the seeds remained between 30 and 40%, whereas against Phytium aphanidermatum some Pseudomonas-strains caused germination rates of 40–60%. The preventive effect of the antagonists against fungal infection after the germination was better. 16 isolates reduced the damage caused by Rhizoctonia solani to bean between 90 and 100%. Damage caused by Pythium aphanidermatum to cucumber was reduced by 12 antagonists between 70 and 80%.

---

---

Mit 4 Abbildungen     

Herstellung polyklonaler Antikörper in Hühnern unter Ausnutzung des immunologischen Gedächtnisses am Beispiel des Tabakmosaikvirus (TMV)

Zusammenfassung In einem Huhn wurden polyklonale Antikörper gegen TMV produziert. Da, um das immunologische Gedächtnis optimal auszunutzen, die Spanne zwischen erster und zweiter Immunisierung größer sein sollte als dies üblicherweise bei phytopathogenen Viren gehandhabt wird, erfolgte die zweite Immunisierung 10 Wochen nach der ersten. Bei diesem langen zeitlichen Abstand konnte nach der zweiten Immunisierung bei den Antikörpern aus dem Eidotter ein Titter von 80000 erzielt werden, nach der dritten Immunisierung stieg der Titer auf 160000. Die Antikörper, die man aus dem Blutserum gewann (Titer: 40000), konnte man auch erfolgreich im ELISA einsetzen.

---

Raising polyclonal antibodies against TMV in a hen utilizing the immunological memory

Polyclonal antibodies were raised against TMV in a hen. According to the immunological theory that in order to get a good immunological memory the time interval between the first and the second immunization should be larger than mostly practised in the case of plant viruses, the second immunization was undertaken 10 weeks after the first. Using this long interval a titer of 80000 could be achieved for antibodies from egg yolk after the second immunization. After the third immunization the titer increased up to 160000. The antibodies from the blood serum (titer: 40000) could also be used successfully for the ELISA.

---

---

Mit einer Abbildung und einer Tabelle     

Single-drop and nanogram level determination of sulfite (SO3(2-)) in alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverage samples based on diffuse reflectance fourier transform infrared spectroscopic (DRS-FTIR) analysis on KBr matrix

The diffuse reflectance Fourier transform spectroscopic (DRS-FTIR) method, using potassium bromide matrix, has been developed for the one-drop microdetermination of sulfite in beverage samples. The present method is very simple, rapid, and precise for the determination of sulfite. The nanogram level of sulfite determination is based on the selection of a quantitative analytical peak at 495 cm (-1) among the three observed vibrational peaks obtained by diffuse reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (DRS-FTIR). As little as a single drop of sample is sufficient for quantitative analysis of sulfite. The limit of detection (LOD) and the limit of quantification (LOQ) of the method are found to be 8 and 40 ng of SO 3 (2-) 0.1 g (-1) of KBr matrix, respectively. The linear range of the method (LR) as well as the LOD based on the concentration of sulfite in the solution are 5-500 and 0.8 microg/mL, respectively. The precision in terms of standard deviation and relative standard deviation value at a level of 100 ng of SO 3 (2-) 0.1 g (-1) of KBr for n = 10 are found to be 2 ng of SO 3 (2-) and 2.3%, respectively. The relative standard deviation ( n = 10) for the determination of sulfite in beverage samples available in the local market was observed to be in the range of 2.4-7.8%. The method is free from interionic effects of foreign species. No sample pretreatment is required in this method. The proposed method avoids the requirement of large numbers and bulk amounts of reagents. The method is well-suited to the need of green chemistry.     

Effect of Anserine and Carnosine on Sperm Motility in the Japanese Quail

Sperm motility is considered as one of the most important traits for successful fertilization, but the motility of an ejaculated sperm decreases with time when stored as liquid. It is reported that seminal plasma serves as a nutrient rich medium for sperm and plays an important role in sperm motility and its fertilization ability. Several studies have reported that imidazole dipeptides such as anserine and carnosine affect sperm motility and its fertilization ability in mammals. In this study, we report the presence of anserine and carnosine in the male reproductive tract of the Japanese quail. Abundant levels of anserine (44.46 µM) and carnosine (41.75 µM) were detected in the testicular fluid and seminal plasma respectively using the amino acid analyzer; however, seminal plasma solely contained carnosine. When the ejaculates were incubated with anserine or carnosine, we found that both the dipeptides improve sperm motility parameters such as straight line velocity, curvilinear velocity, average path velocity and amplitude of lateral head displacement after in vitro sperm storage at 15°C. These results indicate that imidazole dipeptides are present in the male reproductive tract and may improve sperm quality during in vitro sperm storage in the liquid states.