Effect of macro- and micro-nutrients addition during anaerobic mono-digestion of grass silage in leach-bed reactors.

The effect of macro- (NHCl) (set I) and micro-nutrients (Fe, Ni, Co and Mo) (set II) addition on chemical oxygen demand (COD) solubilisation during anaerobic mono-digestion of grass silage was investigated in two sets of leach bed reactor experiments at 35°C. Results showed that addition of NHCl and micro-nutrients improved COD solubilisation by 18% (0.56 g SCOD g volatile solids) and 7% (0.

Genomic Regions Associated with Root Traits under Drought Stress in Tropical Maize (Zea mays L.).

An association mapping panel, named as CIMMYT Asia association mapping (CAAM) panel, involving 396 diverse tropical maize lines were phenotyped for various structural and functional traits of roots under drought and well-watered conditions. The experiment was conducted during Kharif (summer-rainy) season of 2012 and 2013 in root phenotyping facility at CIMMYT-Hyderabad, India. The CAAM panel was genotyped to generate 955, 690 SNPs through GBS v2.

Thrips Settling, Oviposition and IYSV Distribution on Onion Foliage.

Thrips tabaci Lindeman (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) adult and larval settling and oviposition on onion (Allium cepa L.) foliage were investigated in relation to leaf position and leaf length at prebulb plant growth stages under controlled conditions. In the laboratory, four and six adult females of T.

Seed birth to death: dual functions of reactive oxygen species in seed physiology.

Background: Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are considered to be detrimental to seed viability. However, recent studies have demonstrated that ROS have key roles in seed germination particularly in the release of seed dormancy and embryogenesis, as well as in protection from pathogens.

Scope: This review considers the functions of ROS in seed physiology.

An integrated crop model and GIS decision support system for assisting agronomic decision making under climate change.

The semi-arid tropical (SAT) regions of India are suffering from low productivity which may be further aggravated by anticipated climate change. The present study analyzes the spatial variability of climate change impacts on groundnut yields in the Anantapur district of India and examines the relative contribution of adaptation strategies. For this purpose, a web based decision support tool that integrates crop simulation model and Geographical Information System (GIS) was developed to assist agronomic decision making and this tool can be scalable to any location and crop.

Grain iron and zinc density in pearl millet: combining ability, heterosis and association with grain yield and grain size.

Genetics of micronutrients and their relationships with grain yield and other traits have a direct bearing on devising effective strategies for breeding biofortified crop cultivars. A line × tester study of 196 hybrids and their 28 parental lines of pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R.

Transpiration efficiency: new insights into an old story.

Producing more food per unit of water has never been as important as it is at present, and the demand for water by economic sectors other than agriculture will necessarily put a great deal of pressure on a dwindling resource, leading to a call for increases in the productivity of water in agriculture. This topic has been given high priority in the research agenda for the last 30 years, but with the exception of a few specific cases, such as water-use-efficient wheat in Australia, breeding crops for water-use efficiency has yet to be accomplished. Here, we review the efforts to harness transpiration efficiency (TE); that is, the genetic component of water-use efficiency.

Large-scale development of cost-effective single-nucleotide polymorphism marker assays for genetic mapping in pigeonpea and comparative mapping in legumes.

Single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs, >2000) were discovered by using RNA-seq and allele-specific sequencing approaches in pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan). For making the SNP genotyping cost-effective, successful competitive allele-specific polymerase chain reaction (KASPar) assays were developed for 1616 SNPs and referred to as PKAMs (pigeonpea KASPar assay markers). Screening of PKAMs on 24 genotypes [23 from cultivated species and 1 wild species (Cajanus scarabaeoides)] defined a set of 1154 polymorphic markers (77.

Fertilizer induced nitrous oxide emissions from Vertisols and Alfisols during sweet sorghum cultivation in the Indian semi-arid tropics.

Nitrous oxide (N(2)O) emissions from Vertisols and Alfisols during sweet sorghum cultivation in the Indian semi-arid tropics were determined using a closed chamber technique during the rainy season (June-October) of 2010. The study included two treatments, nitrogen (N) at a rate of 90 kg/ha and a control without N fertilizer application. The N(2)O emissions strongly coincided with N fertilization and rainfall events.

A conservative pattern of water use, rather than deep or profuse rooting, is critical for the terminal drought tolerance of chickpea.

Chickpea is mostly grown on stored soil moisture, and deep/profuse rooting has been hypothesized for almost three decades to be critical for improving chickpea tolerance to terminal drought. However, temporal patterns of water use that leave water available for reproduction and grain filling could be equally critical. Therefore, variation in water use pattern and root depth/density were measured, and their relationships to yield tested under fully irrigated and terminal drought stress, using lysimeters that provided soil volumes equivalent to field conditions.

Chickpea genotypes contrasting for seed yield under terminal drought stress in the field differ for traits related to the control of water use.

Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is often exposed to terminal drought, and deep, profuse rooting has been proposed as the main breeding target to improve terminal drought tolerance. This work tested whether plant water use at the vegetative stage and under non-limited water conditions could relate to the degree of sensitivity of chickpea to terminal drought.

Constitutive water-conserving mechanisms are correlated with the terminal drought tolerance of pearl millet [Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.].

Pearl millet, a key staple crop of the semi-arid tropics, is mostly grown in water-limited conditions, and improving its performance depends on how genotypes manage limited water resources. This study investigates whether the control of water loss under non-limiting water conditions is involved in the terminal drought tolerance of pearl millet. Two pairs of tolerant x sensitive pearl millet genotypes, PRLT 2/89-33-H77/833-2 and 863B-P2-ICMB 841-P3, and near-isogenic lines (NILs), introgressed with a terminal drought tolerance quantitative trait locus (QTL) from the donor parent PRLT 2/89-33 into H77/833-2 (NILs-QTL), were tested.

Differential antioxidative responses in transgenic peanut bear no relationship to their superior transpiration efficiency under drought stress.

To counter the effects of environmental stresses, the plants must undergo detoxification that is crucial to avoid the accumulation of damaging free oxygen radicals (ROI). Here, we detail the oxidative damage, the antioxidant composition, and the osmoprotection achieved in transgenic plants of peanut overexpressing the AtDREB1A transgene, driven by a stress-inducible promoter (Atrd29A) when exposed to progressive water stress conditions. This study explored the biochemical mechanisms where (i) the antioxidants such as superoxide dismutase (SOD), ascorbate peroxidase (APOX), and glutathione reductase (GR) accumulated in the transgenic plants at comparably higher levels than their untransformed counterparts under dry soil conditions, (ii) a significant increase in the proline levels in the transgenic plants was observed in dry soils, and (iii) a dramatic increase in the lipid peroxidation in the untransformed controls in drier soils.

Orphan legume crops enter the genomics era!

Many of the world's most important food legumes are grown in arid and semi-arid regions of Africa and Asia, where crop productivity is hampered by biotic and abiotic stresses. Until recently, these crops have also suffered from a dearth of genomic and molecular-genetic resources and thus were 'orphans' of the genome revolution. However, the community of legume researchers has begun a concerted effort to change this situation.

A database of simple sequence repeats from cereal and legume expressed sequence tags mined in silico: survey and evaluation.

Simple sequence repeats (SSRs) or microsatellites are an important class of molecular markers for genome analysis and plant breeding applications. In this paper, the SSR distributions within ESTs from the legumes soybean (Glycine max, representing 135.86 Mb), medicago (Medicago truncatula, 121.

Development of transgenic sorghum for insect resistance against the spotted stem borer (Chilo partellus).

Transgenic sorghum plants expressing a synthetic cry1Ac gene from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) under the control of a wound-inducible promoter from the maize protease inhibitor gene (mpiC1) were produced via particle bombardment of shoot apices. Plants were regenerated from the transformed shoot apices via direct somatic embryogenesis with an intermittent three-step selection strategy using the herbicide Basta. Molecular characterisation based on polymerase chain reaction and Southern blot analysis revealed multiple insertions of the cry1Ac gene in five plants from three independent transformation events.

Prevalence, Incidence, and Severity of Sorghum Diseases in Western Kenya.

To assess the prevalence and severity of sorghum diseases in western Kenya, a 2-year survey was conducted (July 1995 and 1996), in 91 and 109 farmers' fields, respectively. Fields were generally <0.5 ha and production environment ranged from warm-humid to warm-semi-arid.

Penetrance and expressivity of the gene for double podding in chickpea.

The double-pod per peduncle trait is known to contribute to increased seed yield in chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.). A cross was made between the single-podded variety ICCV 2 and the double-podded variety JG 62 in 1993.