Management of Soil-Borne Diseases of Grain Legumes Through Broad-Spectrum Actinomycetes Having Plant Growth-Promoting and Biocontrol Traits

Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) and pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan L.) are the two important grain legumes grown extensively in the semiarid tropics (SAT) of the world, where soils are poor in nutrients and receive inadequate/erratic rainfall. SAT regions are commonly found in Africa, Australia, and South Asia. Chickpea and pigeonpea suffer from about 38 pathogens that cause soil-borne diseases including wilt, collar rot, dry root rot, damping off, stem canker, and Ascochyta/Phytophthora blight, and of which three of them, wilt, collar rot, and dry root rot, are important in SAT regions. Management of these soil-borne diseases are hard, as no one control measure is completely effective. Advanced/delayed sowing date, solarization of soil, and use of fungicides are some of the control measures usually employed for these diseases but with little success. The use of disease-resistant cultivar is the best efficient and economical control measure, but it is not available for most of the soil-borne diseases. Biocontrol of soil-borne plant pathogens has been managed using antagonistic actinobacteria, bacteria, and fungi. Actinobacterial strains of Streptomyces, Amycolatopsis, Micromonospora, Frankia, and Nocardia were reported to exert effective control on soil-borne pathogens and help the host plants to mobilize and acquire macro- and micronutrients. Such novel actinomycetes with wide range of plant growth-promoting (PGP) and antagonistic traits need to be exploited for sustainable agriculture. This chapter gives a comprehensive analysis of important soil-borne diseases of chickpea and pigeonpea and how broad-spectrum actinomycetes, particularly Streptomyces spp., could be exploited for managing them

Molecular complexes of paraquat with sodium purinates

2781-2783Molecular complexes of paraquat with sodium purinates have been investigated spectrophotometrically. All the complexes exhibit one charge transfer band each in the region where neither of the components have any absorption. The stoichiometry of each complex is found to be 1:1 from Job's method. The ionization potentials of the purinate ions have been determined from the position of the CT bands. The stability constants and thermodynamic parameters of the complexes have been determined from the absorption studies on CT bands. The shifts in the position of CT band of PQ-purinate and the variation of its stability constant with substituents are explained in terms of the number of substituents, the ionization of substituents, the mesomeric effect of substituents and the hyperconjugation of substituents in the purine ring

Charge transfer complexes of chloranil with drugs

504-508The study of charge transfer (CT) complexes of chloranil with drugs (Naproxen, Nerolin, Methyl anthranilate, Isoxsuprine and Nylidrin) showed that there is a significant interaction between the acceptor and donors as evidenced by colour changes and absorption spectra. From the position of CT bands, the ionization potentials (IPs) of donors were evaluated using appropriate equations. The donor’s abilities are in the following order: Naproxen > Nerolin > Methyl anthranilate > Isoxsuprine > Nylidrin. Benesi-Hildebrand plots, Job's variation method indicated the formation of 1:1 complex in each case. The stability constants that varied in the same order as IPs are useful in estimation of the concentration of drugs either in pure form or in formulations and give a guide to the estimation of the drugs in industry and pharmacy. Thermodynamic parameters (-ve values of H) suggest that the formation of complex is exothermic. The -S values indicate a decrease in the degree of freedom of molecules upon complexation, while -G values indicate that complex formation is spontaneous and the values give a relative estimation of interaction between donors and acceptor

Response of Finger Millet (Eleusine coracana L.) to Varying Levels of Plant Density and Nitrogen

A field experiment was conducted during kharif, 2019 at College Farm, Professor Jayashankar Telangana State Agricultural University, Telangana. The present study was conducted to know the effect of different planting densities and nitrogen levels on the growth and yield of Finger millet. The soil of experimental site was loamy sand type, slightly acidic in pH (6.43), non-saline in EC (0.15 dSm-1), low in organic carbon (0.42%), low in available N (201.6 kg ha-1), medium in available P (25.3 kg ha-1), low in available K (236.25 kg ha-1). The experiment was laid out in randomized block design with factorial concept and replicated thrice with 12 treatments combinations consisting of four nitrogen levels (0 %, 50%, 100% and 150% RDN) and three levels of planting density (S1-solid rows × 15 cm, S2- 30 cm × 15 cm, S3- 25 cm × 15 cm). Results indicated that S1-solid rows × 15 cm recorded highest plant height, number of tillers m-2, dry matter production (g m-2) and S3- 25 cm × 15 cm recorded highest leaf area plant-1 and yield. Application of 150% RDN recorded highest plant growth parameters, grain yield and straw yield. However, it was on par with 100% RDN. It was concluded that planting density of 25 cm × 15 cm among spacings and 100% N among nitrogen levels proved to be a viable option for getting higher productivity and profit under rainfed conditions of central agro climatic zone of Telangana

KVK Bulletin No.15

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Chemotherapeutic Drugs Induce PPAR-γ Expression and Show Sequence-Specific Synergy with PPAR-γ Ligands in Inhibition of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer1

Preclinical studies have shown that peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPAR-γ) ligands can exert antitumor effects against non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and a variety of other cancers. In this study, we investigate the potential use of a PPAR-γ ligand, troglitazone (Tro), in combination with either of two chemotherapeutic agents, cisplatin (Cis) or paclitaxel (Pac), for the treatment of NSCLC. In vitro, treatment of NSCLC cell lines with Tro potentiated Cis- or Pac-induced growth inhibition. The potentiation of growth inhibition was observed only when Cis or Pac treatment was followed by Tro and not vice versa, demonstrating a sequence-specific effect. Median effect analysis revealed a synergistic interaction between Tro and Cis in the inhibition of NSCLC cell growth and confirmed the sequence-specific effect. We also found that Cis or Pac up-regulated the expression of PPAR-γ protein, accounting for the observed sequence-specific synergy. Similarly, experiments performed using a NSCLC xenograft model demonstrated enhanced effectiveness of combined treatment with Cis and PPAR-γ ligands, Tro or pioglitazone. Tumors from Cis-treated mice also demonstrated enhanced PPAR-γ expression. Together, our data demonstrate a novel sequence-specific synergy between PPAR-γ ligands and chemotherapeutic agents for lung cancer treatment