Morpho-physio and anatomical characterization of the indigenous Himalayan crabapple: Malus baccata (L.) Borkh. (Rohru) and exotic Malus pumila Mill. for dwarfing traits

Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution - The wild Malus germplasm is considered as a gene reservoir for various biotic and abiotic stresses tolerance/resistance genes, including important novel...     

High frequency plantlet regeneration from nodal segment culture of female <Emphasis Type="Italic">Momordica dioica</Emphasis> (Roxb.)

An in vitro propagation method for female plants of Momordica dioica (Roxb.) has been established. The nodal segments were harvested and the cut ends of the explants were sealed with wax and then surface sterilized and cultured. Bud breaking occurred on Murashige and Skoog’s (MS) agar-gelled medium + 2.0 mg L⁻¹ 6-Benzylaminopurine (BAP) + 0.1 mg L⁻¹ Indole-3 acetic acid (IAA). The cultures were amplified by passages on MS medium supplemented with 1.0 mg L⁻¹ BAP + 0.1 mg L⁻¹ IAA. Further, shoot amplification (29.2 shoots per vessel) was achieved by subculturing of in vitro regenerated shoot clump on MS medium + 0.5 mg L⁻¹ BAP + 0.1 mg L⁻¹ IAA. The micropropagated shoots were subsequently transferred for root formation on half-strength MS medium + 2.0 mg L⁻¹ Indole-3 butyric acid (IBA) with 89% success rate. The in vitro-regenerated shoots were also rooted ex vitro with 34% success. These plantlets were hardened in the greenhouse and transferred to the field. The established protocol is suitable for true to type cloning of mature female plant of M. dioica.     

Evaluation of two Indian native chicken breeds for reproduction traits and heritability of juvenile growth traits

The present study was conducted to evaluate two Indian native chicken breeds, namely, Aseel and Kadaknath for fertility, hatchability, genetic parameters of juvenile growth traits, and semen quality traits at the onset of sexual maturity. The fertility was similar in Aseel (86.96%) and Kadaknath (85.15%); however, a relatively higher hatchability was observed in Kadaknath (77.94%) than Aseel (70.74%). Heritability estimates of body weights at 4 weeks of age were almost similar in Aseel (0.37) and Kadaknath (0.39), while the estimate of body weight at 6 weeks of age was higher in Aseel (0.42) than Kadaknath (0.31). The heritability estimate of shank length at 6 weeks of age was lower in Aseel (0.16) compared to Kadaknath (0.35). The age at first egg in the flock was comparable in Aseel (148 days) and Kadaknath (150 days). Aseel breed with significantly (P ≤ 0.001) higher body weight, absolute and relative testes weights had significantly higher semen volume (P ≤ 0.05) and sperm motility (P ≤ 0.01) but had lower seminal plasma cholesterol level (P ≤ 0.05) as compared to Kadaknath. It can be concluded that there is a scope for genetic improvement of these two native breeds for juvenile growth traits since heritability estimates of these traits were relatively high.     

Dissolution of Dominant Soil Phosphorus Fractions in Phosphorus-Responsive Soils of Bihar,India: Effects of Mycorrhiza and Fertilizer Levels

We investigated the effects of Arbuscular Mycorrhiza (AM) fungi and various phosphorus (P) levels on the distribution and availability of P in dominant soils of Bihar, India. Potassium chloride (KCl)-P (labile P), sodium hydroxide (NaOH)-P (Fe-Al-bound P), hydrochloric acid (HCl)-P (Ca-bound P), and residual P (Res-P) fractions were analyzed in the soils under maize plant. Ca-bound P was the most abundant P fraction in the alkaline soils (65% of the total P) followed by neutral soil (35% of the total P), whereas it was less abundant (<4%) in the acidic soil type. Fe-Al-bound P was found to be highest for acidic soil (65% of the total P). Soils under the inoculation with Glomus mossae and control gave the highest and lowest values (15.63 mg kg^?1 and 10.74 mg kg^?1 respectively) for the labile fraction which was similar to the organically bound residual fractions of P (200.17 mg kg^?1 and 193.66 mg kg^?1 respectively. Inoculation of the soils with AM fungi leads to the redistribution of P fractions in different soils which consequently helps in improvement of available P in soil conducive for plant uptake.     

Preventing highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) at the rural community level: a case study from Cambodia

Poultry is an integral part of the rural livelihoods in Cambodia, with more than half of the households keeping poultry in their small-scale, traditional, and extensive backyards. More than 20 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) outbreaks have been reported since 2004 with deaths of over 21,000 birds. During the HPAI outbreaks, some of the flocks in the rural areas were culled without compensation and producers were not allowed to sell outside of the community. Heifer International worked with 2,000 rural families through local project partners in the target communities to develop an effective intervention mechanism to mitigate the impact of the HPAI crisis. Heifer International provided training, public education, and networking as well as promoting model farms based on improved scavenging poultry management. Each community selected one farm family to serve as a model farm. They were trained in Heifer's working approach and committed to practicing integrated farming systems based on scavenging poultry management. One Village Animal Health Worker (VAHW) in each community participated during the project implementation, playing a key role in the information exchange and the interaction between the communities and the avian influenza experts. Formal and informal trainings were conducted for all project partners and project recipients through experts and VAHWs, respectively. There have been no outbreaks reported in the communities in the project areas. Farmers have started using appropriate techniques to maintain biosecurity. They are passing on the knowledge and the skills to the surrounding communities. This participatory approach in educating rural farmers can serve as a model to mitigate HPAI in the developing countries around the world.     

Agro-morphological variation in “Jhinuwa” rice landraces (Oryza sativa L.) of Nepal

Jhinuwa is an aromatic rice (Oryza sativa L.) landrace from the Pokhara Valley of Nepal. A total of 210 accessions comprising seven types of Jhinuwa rice landraces were randomly collected from the rice fields to evaluate inter- and intra-population variability based on agro-morphological traits. The experiment was conducted in factorial randomized complete block design with three replicates in 2005. The first six principal components (PCs) accounted for 76.6 % variation for agro-morphological traits. Major traits that accounted for the variation by six PCs includes days to heading, days to maturity, total grain panicle^?1, fertile grain panicle^?1, culm length, panicle length, milling recovery, head rice recovery, aroma, 1,000 grain weight, sterile grain panicle^?1, grain sterility %, and leaf characteristics. Both principal coordinate analysis and cluster analyses revealed four phenotypic groups, two of which represent Bayarni, Jhinuwa, and Biramphul while the other two account for Tunde and Pakho Tunde. Tunde, Pakho Tunde, Kalo Bayarni, and Seto Bayarni showed higher intra- as well as inter-population variation compared to other populations. The phenotypic and genotypic coefficients of variation, broad sense heritability (h ²B) and genetic advance (GA) as a percent of the mean assessed for 210 accessions revealed high h ²B and GA estimates for leaf width, leaf length breadth ratio, ligule length, sterile grain panicle^?1, grain sterility % and 1,000 grain weight. The current study demonstrates that improvement in Jhinuwa rice landrace is possible by selecting superior accessions from existing natural populations while selection should be focussed to market traits with higher h ²B and GA estimates.     

Variability in essential oil and bioactive chiral monoterpenoid compositions of Indian oregano (Origanum vulgare L.) populations from northwestern Himalaya and their chemotaxonomy

The chemical composition of essential oils isolated from aerial parts of native populations of Origanum vulgare L. from northwestern Himalaya was investigated by enantioselective gas chromatography (enantio-GC), capillary-gas chromatography (capillary-GC) and GC–MS. Seventy compounds, which accounted for 84.9–97% of the oil composition, have been identified. The oils were allotted to two main groups; the first group had a high percentage of components belonging to the thymol/carvacrol biosynthetic pathway and the second was characterized by a different sesquiterpene composition and a high linalool and bornyl acetate percentage. Essential oils of O. vulgare populations from Rilkot and Dhanachuli areas in northwestern Himalaya were characterized by high monoterpenoids proportions as compared to Nainital and Bhowali populations, which were dominated by sesquiterpenoids. High proportions of thymol (29.2–82%) were found only in two populations. Composition of the samples collected from Dhanachuli area differed from Nainital and Bhowali collections by a unique presence of carvacrol. Notably, there were significant differences in the concentration of rest of the terpenes in all the collections. On enantio-GC, enantiomeric excess for (3R) (−)- and (3S) (+)-linalool, (S) (+)- and (R) (−)-terpinen-4-ol, (S) (−)- and (R) (+)-α-terpineol, (1S) (−)-bornyl acetate and (1S) (−)-borneol were established in populations from Bhowali and Dhanachuli area. Moreover, linalool type oregano may be useful in promoting wider commercial utilization of the biodiversity of this species.     

Genetic divergence studies on reproduction and production traits among Gir crosses

The study was undertaken to estimate the genetic divergence among FG, IFG, FJG, IFJG, and R crosses of Gir cow on the basis of age at first conception, age at first calving, and lactation milk yield per day of lactation length using Mahalanobis D² statistics. The genetic groups’ influence was significant (P?<?0.01) for all traits separately and simultaneously (V test) based on three traits. The differences in the D² values among all the genetic groups’ combinations were significant except IFG with R genetic group combination. The total D² values for age at first conception (AFCon), age at first calving (AFC), and lactation milk yield per day of lactation length (LMY/LL) were 18.85, 0.06, and 9.01 respectively. The percent contribution of AFCon to the total D² value was maximum as 67.51 followed by LMY/LL as 32.27 and lowest of AFC as 0.22. Among the clusters formed on the basis of D² values, IFG, IFJG, and R formed one cluster, whereas, FG and FJG formed second cluster. The magnitude of inter-cluster distance was greater than intra-cluster distance.     

Changes in skin and rectal temperature in lactating buffaloes provided with showers and wallowing during hot-dry season

Twelve Murrah buffaloes in second or third parity during early lactation (50–70 days) were selected from the Institute’s herd. All the buffaloes were kept under loose housing system and were provided ad lib green maize fodder and water to drink during 30 days experiment during the month of August- September. The buffaloes were divided into two groups of six each. Showering group (SG) buffaloes were kept under water showers from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., while wallowing group (WG) buffaloes were allowed to wallow in a water pond during the same time. Physiological responses viz. rectal temperature (RT), respiration rate (RR), pulse rate (PR) and skin temperature (ST) were recorded before (8.00 a.m.) and after (4.00 p.m.) showers or wallowing. Skin temperature at different sites i.e. trunk, forehead, udder, udder vein, and neck regions was measured. Skin and rectal temperature of both the groups were non significant in morning but varied (P < 0.01) in the evening. Skin temperature measured at all the sites was significantly lower (P < 0.01) in wallowing buffaloes than the showering group. Further, skin temperature of neck, head, udder, udder vein and RT varied (P < 0.01) in SG and WG buffaloes during periods of study. The significant changes in all the parameters of study further support the evidence on effective cooling of skin by wallowing in comparison to water showers. The correlation data indicated a positive correlation of maximum air temperature with RT in SG but correlation was non-significant in WG. RT was positively correlated with ST in SG (P < 0.05) and WG (P < 0.01). The pooled data analysis of both groups also indicated a positive correlation of maximum temperature with RT (P < 0.05). The morning respiration and pulse rate non-significantly varied in both group, however, in the evening, the respiration rate and pulse rate was more (P < 0.01) in SG in comparison to WG. No adverse effect of wallowing or shower treatment on mastitis incidence and general health of animals was observed.     

Genetic analysis of gene‐specific resistance to mungbean yellow mosaic virus in mungbean (Vigna radiata)

Six intervarietal crosses involving two resistant and three susceptible genotypes of mungbean were attempted with the objectives to determine the mode of inheritance of gene‐specific Mungbean Yellow Mosaic Virus (MYMV) resistance. An infector row technique along with artificial inoculation was used for evaluating parents, F₁, F₂ and F₃ plants for MYMV resistance. Disease scoring for MYMV indicated that F₁s were highly susceptible as were the susceptible parents while resistant parent exhibited resistant reaction. The F₂ progeny segregated in the ratio of 9 S:3 MS:3 MR:1 R suggesting that the resistance was governed by digenic recessive genes (r_m1 and r_m2). When one gene (r_m1) was present in the homozygous recessive condition in different plants, it conferred moderately susceptible (MS) reaction, whereas when other gene (r_m2) was in homozygous condition, moderately resistant (MR) reaction was obvious. When both genes (r_m1 and r_m2) were present together in the homozygous recessive condition, resistant reaction (R) was observed. The F₂ segregation explained on the basis of phenotypic expression was further confirmed by F₃ segregation.