Role of morphological traits and cell wall components in imparting resistance to pink stem borer, Walker in maize.

Host Plant Resistance (HPR) is the most important component for sustainable management of insect pests. The purpose of the present work was to understand the role of various morphological and biochemical factors as defense mechanism and their interaction on different biological parameters attributed to survival and development of pink stem borer (PSB), Walker in maize. The resistant and moderately resistant genotypes (DMRE 63, CM 500 and WNZ Exotic pool) suffered least leaf injury rating (LIR), dead hearts (DH%), percentage stem tunneling (ST%), number of entry/exit holes (E/EH) and showed deleterious effects on biological parameters of pink stem borer as compared to susceptible ones (CM 202 and BML 6).

'Kodo poisoning': cause, science and management.

Many mycotoxigenic fungi infect the food crops and affect the quality of the produce due to production of mycotoxins. Kodo millet is one of the important minor millets cultivated in India, mostly confined to marginal lands and tribal regions but has high yield potential under good management. The grains are nutritious and have anti-oxidant properties besides having many medicinal properties.

Induction of cell wall phenolic monomers as part of direct defense response in maize to pink stem borer (Sesamia inferens Walker) and non-insect interactions.

Pink stem borer (PSB) causes considerable yield losses to maize. Plant-insect interactions have significant implications for sustainable pest management. The present study demonstrated that PSB feeding, mechanical wounding, a combination of mechanical wounding and PSB regurgitation and exogenous application of methyl jasmonate have induced phenolic compound mediated defense responses both at short term (within 2 days of treatment) and long term (in 15 days of treatment) in leaf and stalk tissues of maize.

Proximate, mineral composition and antioxidant activity of traditional small millets cultivated and consumed in Rayalaseema region of south India.

Background: Millets are a diverse group of small seeded grasses, widely grown around the world as cereal foods. This communication details the proximate, mineral profile and antioxidant activity of six different small millets (Finger, Foxtail, Proso, Little, Barnyard and Kodo millets) and their 21 cultivars that are traditionally cultivated and consumed in the region of Ralayaseema, south India.

Results: The proximate analysis revealed that these millets are rich in protein, fat, ash (mineral), total dietary fibre and total phenols with appreciable antioxidant activity.

Natural occurrence of aflatoxin B1 in sorghum grown in different geographical regions of India.

Background: Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) is an important coarse cereal crop grown for grain and fodder in the semi-arid Tropics, mainly in Asian and African countries. In India sorghum is consumed as human food and poultry feed.

Substrate suitability of different genotypes of sorghum in relation to Aspergillus infection and aflatoxin production.

Grain sorghum is often damaged by rain in the field and severely infected by grain mold, which includes Aspergillus infection and aflatoxin production. The objective of the study is to investigate the extent of aflatoxin production with Aspergillus infection in vitro in different sorghum genotypes with different pericarps, red, yellow, and white, the physical and chemical characteristics of grain during infection, and the changes in grain polyphenols and phytic acid in comparison to maize and groundnut. The physical characters and biochemical composition of sorghum grain contribute to make it less susceptible to Aspergillus infection and aflatoxin contamination compared to maize and groundnut.

Changes in DNase and DNA-polymerase activities in different tissues of chick with age.

The presence of acid and alkaline DNases in nuclei of chick brain cells has been demonstrated. The activities of these two DNases along with those of DNA-polymerases were assessed in chicken tissues with known varied cell proliferative capacities (eg., spleen, kidney and brain) at different ages.