Evaluation of crop research institutes under data and resource constraints: An alternative approach.

The evaluation of crop research institutes in the developing world under limited data availability has not been assessed in the past due to resource constraints. The paper assesses the social benefits of rice research taking the case of a research institute from India following a new approach. The area coverage of the varieties was estimated to be 3.

Effect on pulmonary functions of dust exposed rice mill workers in comparison to an unexposed population.

Background: Paddy milling is the oldest and largest agro-processing industry in India. A large number of workers are employed in the rice mills where they are potentially exposed to dust. It has been shown that exposure to dust results in a high prevalence of respiratory diseases, such as asthma, chronic bronchitis, extrinsic allergic alveoli ties, toxic syndrome, and interstitial lung disease.

In-depth evaluation of nutritive, chemical constituents and anti-glycemic properties of jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam) clonal accessions with flake colour diversity from Eastern Sub-Himalayan plains of India.

The study was designed to elucidate the potential of jackfruit clonal accessions having diverse flake colours from nutritional and medicinal perspectives. Jack fruit accessions with deep yellow flakes were found to contain the highest flavonoids, antioxidant activity, ascorbic acid, and α-glucosidase inhibition whereas, orange-red flakes exhibited the highest β-carotene, phenol, minerals (iron and zinc) and better inhibition of α-amylase and β-glucosidase enzymes. Phenolic compounds profiling revealed the presence of higher sinapic acid, ferulic acid and quercetin contents in the orange-red-coloured flakes.

Multi-location evaluation of mungbean ( L.) in Indian climates: Ecophenological dynamics, yield relation, and characterization of locations.

Crop yield varies considerably within agroecology depending on the genetic potential of crop cultivars and various edaphic and climatic variables. Understanding site-specific changes in crop yield and genotype × environment interaction are crucial and needs exceptional consideration in strategic breeding programs. Further, genotypic response to diverse agro-ecologies offers identification of strategic locations for evaluating traits of interest to strengthen and accelerate the national variety release program.

Cloning and functional characterization of arsenite oxidase (aoxB) gene associated with arsenic transformation in Pseudomonas sp. strain AK9.

Arsenic transforming bacterial strains belong to genus Pseudomonas sp.AK9 (KY569424), were isolated from the middle Gangetic plains of Bihar, India. The Pseudomonas sp.

Nitrogen-enriched biochar co-compost for the amelioration of degraded tropical soil.

Tropical soils are often deeply weathered and vulnerable to degradation having low pH and unfavorable Al/Fe levels, which can constrain crop production. This study aims to examine nitrogen-enriched novel biochar co-composts prepared from rice straw, maize stover, and gram residue in various mixing ratios of the biochar and their feedstock materials for the amelioration of acidic tropical soil. Three pristine biochar and six co-composts were prepared, characterized, and evaluated for improving the chemical and biological quality of the soil against a conventional lime treatment.

Tillage and crop establishment effects on weeds and productivity of a rice-wheat-mungbean rotation.

Weeds are one of the key threats in sustaining the productivity of the rice-wheat cropping system in the Indo-Gangetic Plains. The development of sound integrated weed management technologies requires knowledge of mechanisms that influence weed flora composition and weed seedbank dynamics. A long-term study was initiated in 2015 at Patna, Bihar, India to evaluate the effect of seven tillage and crop establishment methods on weed density, weed seedbank composition, and crop productivity in rice-wheat-mungbean rotation.

State of the art in total pulse production in major states of India using ARIMA techniques.

Pulses are staple protein-rich food for Indian vegetarians, and India is one of the largest producers in the world. The present investigation is an attempt to study the trend in the production of total pulses in India using the autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) method. For stochastic trend estimation, yearly data were used for the period from 1961 to 2019.

An impact of agronomic practices of sustainable rice-wheat crop intensification on food security, economic adaptability, and environmental mitigation across eastern Indo-Gangetic Plains.

In the eastern Indo-Gangetic Plains (EIGP), conventional rice-wheat system has led to a decline in productivity, input-use efficiency, and profitability. To address these, a four-year field study was conducted to evaluate the performance of tillage and crop establishment (TCE) methods in rice-wheat-greengram rotation. The treatments included: 1) random puddled transplanted rice (RPTR) - conventional-till broadcast wheat (BCW) - zero-till greengram (ZTG); 2) line PTR (LPTR) - conventional-till drill sown wheat (CTW) - ZTG; 3) machine transplanted rice in puddled soil (CTMTR) - zero tillage wheat (ZTW) - ZTG; 4) machine transplanted rice in zero-till wet soil (ZTMTR) - ZTW - ZTG; 5) system of rice intensification (SRI) - system of wheat intensification (SWI) - ZTG; 6) direct-seeded rice (DSR) - ZTW - ZTG; and 7) zero-till DSR - ZTW - ZTG.

helps to combat chromium stress in rice by maintaining antioxidant machinery.

Chromium (Cr) causes toxic effects in plants by generating reactive oxygen species (ROS) which create oxidative environment. helps in growth and development of many crops; however, its role in Cr stress tolerance in rice has not been explored. Here, we report the new function of strain (Accession number JQ796077) in providing Cr stress tolerance in (var.

60 years of fertilization and liming impacts on soil organic carbon stabilization in a sub-tropical Alfisol.

Limited information is available on the C stabilization mechanism of tropical soils under different management practices including long-term organic manuring, mineral fertilization alone, or in combination with lime. Hence, to understand the effect of continuous application (for 60 years) of organic manure, fertilizer, and lime alone or in combination on an acidic Alfisol, stabilization of soil organic carbon (SOC) was evaluated under maize (Zea mays L.) wheat (Triticum aestivum L.

Development of species-specific IgM antibodies and elevation of mucosal immune response in Labeo rohita using recombinant bicistronic nano DNA vaccine priming.

Immunoglobulin (IgM) is the primary immunoglobulin essential for defense mechanisms in fish. It is difficult to reliably quantify IgM because a lack of standardization in methodology and limited availability of commercially reagents. In the present study, a polyclonal antibody was developed for the specific detection and quantification of IgM in Labeo rohita.

Isolation and characterization of lumpy skin disease virus from cattle in India.

Lumpy skin disease (LSD) has devastating economic impact. During the last decade, LSD had spread to climatically new and previously disease-free countries, which also includes its recent emergence in the Indian subcontinent (2019). This study deals with the LSD outbreak(s) from cattle in Ranchi (India).

Genotype × environment interactions for grain iron and zinc content in rice.

Background: Nutrient deficiency in humans, especially in children and lactating women, is a major concern. Increasing the micronutrient concentration in staple crops like rice is one way to overcome this. The micronutrient content in rice, especially the iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn) content, is highly variable.

Bicistronic DNA vaccine macromolecule complexed with poly lactic-co-glycolic acid-chitosan nanoparticles enhanced the mucosal immunity of Labeo rohita against Edwardsiella tarda infection.

DNA vaccine is an important tool to elicit both humoral and cellular immunity. Present study investigates mucosal immune response of Labeo rohita (15 ± 04 g) to plasmid DNA (pDNA) vaccine macromolecule complexed with nanoparticles (NPs). Poly lactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA), Chitosan (Chit) and PLGA-Chit-NPs were synthesized by double emulsion solvent evaporation method.

Chitosan grafting onto single-walled carbon nanotubes increased their stability and reduced the toxicity in vivo (catfish) model.

The present work was aimed to develop the tissue benign, modified acid-functionalized single-walled carbon nanotube (COOH-SWCNT) chitosan (CS) hybrid (COOH-SWCNT-CS). Chitosan-nanotube hybrids were characterized by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Thermogravimetry Analysis (TGA), Raman spectroscopy, Emission Gun-Scanning Electron Microscopes (FEG-SEM), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). Micronuclei test of blood cells, comet assay of liver tissue and histological analysis of liver and kidney tissues were conducted after different treatments to evaluate the toxicity.

Impact of water deficit stress in maize: Phenology and yield components.

Fifteen million farmers in India engaged in Maize cultivation. India would require 45 MMT of Maize by 2022. But, only 15% of cultivated area of maize is under irrigation and water shortage has been a challenge for sustainability of maize production.

Microbial-assisted and genomic-assisted breeding: a two way approach for the improvement of nutritional quality traits in agricultural crops.

Both human and animals, for their nutritional requirements, mainly rely on the plant-based foods, which provide a wide range of nutrients. Minerals, proteins, vitamins are among the nutrients which are essential and need to be available in adequate amount in edible portion of the staple crops. Increasing nutritional content in staple crops either through agronomic biofortification or through conventional plant-breeding strategies continue to be a huge task for scientists around the globe.

Physio-metabolic and haematological changes of Labeo rohita fed with graded level of de-oiled rice bran-based diet.

A 60-day feeding trial was conducted with six experimental diets containing 260 g/kg crude protein and 70 g/kg lipid with varying level of de-oiled rice bran (DORB), viz., 33 (T33), 38 (T38), 43 (T43), 48 (T48), 53 (T53) and 58% (T58) to assess the digestive, metabolic and haematological responses in Labeo rohita. One hundred and eighty (180) fingerlings with ten fish per tank having an average weight of 9.

Nano-antimicrobials: A New Paradigm for Combating Mycobacterial Resistance.

Background: Mycobacterium group contains several pathogenic bacteria including M. tuberculosis where the emergence of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) and extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) is alarming for human and animal health around the world. The condition has further aggravated due to the speed of discovery of the newer drugs has been outpaced by the rate of resistance developed in microorganisms, thus requiring alternative combat strategies.

Long-term fertilization and manuring with different organics alter stability of carbon in colloidal organo-mineral fraction in soils of varying clay mineralogy.

Majority of organic matter is bound to clay minerals to form stable colloidal organo-mineral fraction (COMF) in soil. Stability of carbon (C) in COMF is crucial for long-term C sequestration in soil. However, information on the effect of long-term fertilization and manuring with various organic sources on C stability in such fraction in soils with varying clay mineralogy is scarce.

A combined approach of 16S rRNA and a functional marker gene, soxB to reveal the diversity of sulphur-oxidising bacteria in thermal springs.

With the advent of new molecular tools, new taxa of sulphur-oxidising bacteria (SOB) in diverse environments are being discovered. However, there is a significant gap of knowledge about the ecology and diversity of SOB in thermal springs. Here, the species diversity and phylogenetic affiliations of SOB were investigated using 16S rRNA and functional gene marker, soxB in thermal springs of Thane district of Maharashtra, India.

High seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii in goats in Jharkhand state of India.

Toxoplasmosis, caused by Toxoplasma gondii, is an important food borne zoonosis worldwide. Although goat meat constitutes an important dietary protein source, improperly cooked meat is a potential source of infection to humans. Data on prevalence of toxoplasma in goat is scanty from India.