Effective weed control through post-emergence herbicides to enhance blackgram (Vigna mungo L.) productivity in South India.

Pulses are essential components of vegetarian diet and play a pivotal role in addressing malnutrition by providing a vital source of dietary protein. However, weed competition remains as a significant obstacle to blackgram (Vigna mungo L) production, resulting in 25 to 35% yield losses. A field experiment was carried out at the National Pulses Research Centre, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Vamban, Pudukkottai, India during Kharif seasons of 2020 and 2021, to assess the suitable post-emergence herbicides for appropriate weed control in blackgram grown under irrigated conditions.

Dynamics of soil penetration resistance, moisture depletion pattern and crop productivity determined by mechanized cultivation and lifesaving irrigation in zero till blackgram.

Rice fallow black gram is grown under the residual moisture situation as a relay crop in heavy texture montmorillonite clay soil under zero till condition. Since the crop is raised during post monsoon season, the crop often experiences terminal stress due to limited water availability and no rainfall. Surface irrigation in montmorillonite clay soil is determent to pulse crop as inundation causes wilting.

Unraveling the genetic potential of native rice ( L.) landraces for tolerance to early-stage submergence.

Direct-seeded rice (DSR) is a promising alternative to the traditional puddled rice system. It has become more popular among rice growers as a result of socioeconomic shifts and global climate change. Although DSR offers advantages, rice plants experience greater anaerobic stress at sowing from unpredicted rainfall.

Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitory peptides and isoflavonoids from soybean [ (L.) Merr.].

Angiotensin-converting enzyme I (ACE I) is a zinc-containing metallopeptidase involved in the renin-angiotensin system (RAAS) that helps in the regulation of hypertension and maintains fluid balance otherwise, which results in cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). One of the leading reasons of global deaths is due to CVDs. RAAS also plays a central role in maintaining homeostasis of the CV system.

Ecosystem carbon dioxide exchange and water use efficiency in a triple-cropping rice paddy in Southern India: A two-year field observation.

The lowland tropical triple-cropping rice system has unique characteristics that affect the hydrological, nutrient, and atmospheric environments. To better understand the ecosystem carbon and water dynamics of a triple-cropping rice paddy from the perspective of sustainability, ecosystem-level CO flux and ecosystem water use efficiency (eWUE) were observed using eddy covariance over 2 years (2016-2018) at an experimental field site in southern India, and gross primary production (GPP) and ecosystem respiration (RE) were derived using the flux partitioning technique. Results showed that among the three crop seasons per year, GPP and RE were higher (887.

Exploring differences in the physicochemical, functional, structural, and pasting properties of banana starches from dessert, cooking, and plantain cultivars (Musa spp.).

Banana starch, with its nutritional and functional properties, opens up new opportunities for the food industry, which is seeking new starch sources to fulfil rising demand. Herein, physico-chemical, and functional properties of banana starches isolated from dessert, plantain, and cooking cultivars were investigated. Starch yield was higher in Popoulu (30.

Diverse role of phytic acid in plants and approaches to develop low-phytate grains to enhance bioavailability of micronutrients.

Natural or synthetic compounds that interfere with the bioavailability of nutrients are called antinutrients. Phytic acid (PA) is one of the major antinutrients present in the grains and acts as a chelator of micronutrients. The presence of six reactive phosphate groups in PA hinders the absorption of micronutrients in the gut of non-ruminants.

Gene Pyramiding for Achieving Enhanced Resistance to Bacterial Blight, Blast, and Sheath Blight Diseases in Rice.

Bacterial blight, blast, and sheath blight are the commonest diseases causing substantial yield loss in rice around the world. Stacking of broad-spectrum resistance genes/QTLs into popular cultivars is becoming a major objective of any disease resistance breeding program. The varieties ASD 16 and ADT 43 are the two popular, high yielding, and widely grown rice cultivars of South India, which are susceptible to bacterial blight (BB), blast, and sheath blight diseases.

Environmental impact of phytic acid in Maize (. L) genotypes for the identification of stable inbreds for low phytic acid.

Phytic acid is a ubiquitous compound that chelates the micronutrients in food and hinder their absorption. Hence, breeding for low phytate content for producing stable low phytic acid () hybrids is essential. Phytic acid content in maize grains has been found to vary across environments and its stable expression has yet to be explored.

Web-based tool for calculating field-specific nutrient management for rice in India.

Site-specific nutrient management (SSNM) can be an alternative to a recommendation for uniform fertilizer use across a rice ( L.) production system within a country or region of a country. We developed a web-based decision support tool named Nutrient Manager for Rice (NMR), which used principles of SSNM to calculate fertilizer N, P, and K rates for individual fields based on a target yield set for each field.

Agronomic improvements can make future cereal systems in South Asia far more productive and result in a lower environmental footprint.

South Asian countries will have to double their food production by 2050 while using resources more efficiently and minimizing environmental problems. Transformative management approaches and technology solutions will be required in the major grain-producing areas that provide the basis for future food and nutrition security. This study was conducted in four locations representing major food production systems of densely populated regions of South Asia.

Effect of aluminum phosphate on alkaline phosphatase activity of polyurethane foam immobilized cyanobacteria.

The impact of insoluble phosphorus such as aluminum and rock phosphate on alkaline phosphatase activity of polyurethane foam immobilized cyanobacteria was assessed. Polyurethane foam immobilized Nodularia recorded the highest alkaline phosphatase activity of 9.04 (m.