Supersymmetric Unification at the Millenium

We argue that the discovery of neutrino mass effects at Super-Kamiokande implies a clear logical chain leading from the Standard Model, through the MSSM and the recently developed Minimal Left Right Supersymmetric models with a renormalizable see-saw mechanism for neutrino mass, to Left Right symmetric SUSY GUTS : in particular, SO(10) and $SU(2)_L \times SU(2)_R\times SU(4)_c$. The progress in constructing such GUTS explicitly is reviewed and their testability/falsifiability by lepton flavour violation and proton decay measurements emphasized. Susy violations of the survival principle and the interplay between third generation Yukawa coupling unification and the structurally stable IR attractive features of the RG flow in SUSY GUTS are also discussed .Comment: Plenary Talk at WHEPP-6, Chennai, India, Jan. 3-15, 2000. ReVTeX. 9 pages. Two pairs of figures as separate postscript fil

Effect of integrated nitrogen management on NPK uptake in basmati rice (Oryza sativa L.)

A field experiment entitled NPK uptake influenced by integrated nitrogen management in basmati rice (Oryza sativa L.) was conducted at Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana during kharif 2010. The experiment was conducted in randomized block design with 13 treatment combinations of chemical fertilizer, green manuring (GM) with Crotalaria juncea, farmyard manure (FYM) and organic preparations [OP (Jeevamrit and Panchagavya)] in four replications. The highest grain yield (34.9±0.54 q ha-1 ) was obtained with combined application of FYM and 50 per cent of recommended nitrogen (RN) followed by GM+FYM+OP (33.7 q ha-1 ) and GM+FYM (33.4±0.99 q ha-1 ). Straw yield (63.1 q ha-1 ) increased significantly (P<0.01) in treatment where FYM combined with 50 per cent of RN was applied. Among different nitrogen management treatments, the maximum N, P and K uptake in grain and straw were observed under treatment T8 (FYM +50 per cent of RN) viz. integrated nitrogen treatment followed by T11 (GM+FYM+OP) and T9 (GM+FYM). Thus, combined application of FYM @ 19.76 t ha-1- with reduced fertilizer dose (50 % of RN) increased the yield and NPK uptake in basmati rice

Glyphosate-Resistant Weed Control and Soybean Injury in Response to Different PPO-Inhibiting Herbicides

In Nebraska, 5-enolpyruvyl shikimate-3-phosphate synthase (EPSPS) as well as acetolactate synthase (ALS)-inhibitor-resistant weeds occur in many soybean fields where herbicides from these modes-of-action have been frequently used in the past. Currently, the protoporphyrinogen oxidase (PPO)-inhibitors are the only effective herbicides for POST control of both glyphosate- and ALS-inhibitor-resistant weeds in soybean. Greenhouse experiments were conducted in 2014 to evaluate the efficacy of PPO-inhibitors applied POST for the control of three glyphosate-resistant (GR) weeds and potential for soybean injury, when applied at two growth stages. All herbicide treatments controlled 10- and 20-cm tall GR common waterhemp ≥ 95% at 21 DAT. GR giant ragweed and kochia were controlled 86 to 99% when treated at 10-cm height and 78 to 92% at 20-cm height by 21 DAT. Herbicide treatments reduced shoot biomass in the three GR weeds 88 to 100% when treated at 10-cm height and 73 to 100% when treated at 20-cm height, at 21 DAT. Soybean injury and shoot biomass data revealed that acifluorfen and lactofen were more injurious (≥ 17%), whereas fomesafen, and fomesafen plus glyphosate were relatively safer (\u3c 10% injury). Overall, fomesafen and fomesafen plus glyphosate caused least injury to soybean and were more effective in controlling GR common waterhemp, giant ragweed, and kochia compared with acifluorfen and lactofen

Glyphosate-Resistant Weed Control and Soybean Injury in Response to Different PPO-Inhibiting Herbicides

In Nebraska, 5-enolpyruvyl shikimate-3-phosphate synthase (EPSPS) as well as acetolactate synthase (ALS)-inhibitor-resistant weeds occur in many soybean fields where herbicides from these modes-of-action have been frequently used in the past. Currently, the protoporphyrinogen oxidase (PPO)-inhibitors are the only effective herbicides for POST control of both glyphosate- and ALS-inhibitor-resistant weeds in soybean. Greenhouse experiments were conducted in 2014 to evaluate the efficacy of PPO-inhibitors applied POST for the control of three glyphosate-resistant (GR) weeds and potential for soybean injury, when applied at two growth stages. All herbicide treatments controlled 10- and 20-cm tall GR common waterhemp ≥ 95% at 21 DAT. GR giant ragweed and kochia were controlled 86 to 99% when treated at 10-cm height and 78 to 92% at 20-cm height by 21 DAT. Herbicide treatments reduced shoot biomass in the three GR weeds 88 to 100% when treated at 10-cm height and 73 to 100% when treated at 20-cm height, at 21 DAT. Soybean injury and shoot biomass data revealed that acifluorfen and lactofen were more injurious (≥ 17%), whereas fomesafen, and fomesafen plus glyphosate were relatively safer (\u3c 10% injury). Overall, fomesafen and fomesafen plus glyphosate caused least injury to soybean and were more effective in controlling GR common waterhemp, giant ragweed, and kochia compared with acifluorfen and lactofen

Reconciling Supersymmetry and Left-Right Symmetry

We construct the minimal supersymmetric left-right theory and show that at the renormalizable level it requires the existence of an intermediate $B-L$ breaking scale. The subsequent symmetry breaking down to MSSM automatically preserves R-symmetry. Furthermore, unlike in the nonsupersymmetric version of the theory, the see-saw mechanism takes its canonical form. The theory predicts the existence of a triplet of Higgs scalars much lighter than the $B-L$ breaking scale.Comment: 4 pages, revtex, no figure

A renormalizable SO(10) GUT scenario with spontaneous CP violation

We consider fermion masses and mixings in a renormalizable SUSY SO(10) GUT with Yukawa couplings of scalar fields in the representation 10 + 120 + 126 bar. We investigate a scenario defined by the following assumptions: i) A single large scale in the theory, the GUT scale. ii) Small neutrino masses generated by the type I seesaw mechanism with negligible type II contributions. iii) A suitable form of spontaneous CP breaking which induces hermitian mass matrices for all fermion mass terms of the Dirac type. Our assumptions define an 18-parameter scenario for the fermion mass matrices for 18 experimentally known observables. Performing a numerical analysis, we find excellent fits to all observables in the case of both the normal and inverted neutrino mass spectrum.Comment: 16 pages, two eps figure

Baryogenesis with Scalar Bilinears

We show that if a baryon asymmetry of the universe is generated through the out-of-equilibrium decays of heavy scalar bilinears coupling to two fermions of the minimal standard model, it is necessarily an asymmetry conserving $(B-L)$ which cannot survive past the electroweak phase transition because of sphalerons. We then show that a surviving $(B-L)$ asymmetry may be generated if the heavy scalars decay into two fermions, \underline {and into two light scalars} (which may be detectable at hadron colliders). We list all possible such trilinear scalar interactions, and discuss how our new baryogenesis scenario may occur naturally in supersymmetric grand unified theories.Comment: LATEX, 14 pages, one figure include

Minimal SUSY SO(10) model and predictions for neutrino mixings and leptonic CP violation

We discuss a minimal Supersymmetric SO(10) model where B-L symmetry is broken by a {\bf 126} dimensional Higgs multiplet which also contributes to fermion masses in conjunction with a {\bf 10} dimensional superfield. This minimal Higgs choice provides a partial unification of neutrino flavor structure with that of quarks and has been shown to predict all three neutrino mixing angles and the solar mass splitting in agreement with observations, provided one uses the type II seesaw formula for neutrino masses. In this paper we generalize this analysis to include arbitrary CP phases in couplings and vevs. We find that (i) the predictions for neutrino mixings are similar with $U_{e3}\simeq 0.18$ as before and other parameters in a somewhat bigger range and (ii) that to first order in the quark mixing parameter $\lambda$ (the Cabibbo angle), the leptonic mixing matrix is CP conserving. We also find that in the absence of any higher dimensional contributions to fermion masses, the CKM phase is different from that of the standard model implying that there must be new contributions to quark CP violation from the supersymmetry breaking sector. Inclusion of higher dimensional terms however allows the standard model CKM phase to be maintained.Comment: 22 pages, 6 figure

Wilson Lines and a Canonical Basis of SU(4) Heterotic Standard Models

The spontaneous breaking of SU(4) heterotic standard models by Z_3 x Z_3 Wilson lines to the MSSM with three right-handed neutrino supermultiplets and gauge group SU(3)_C x SU(2)_L x U(1) x U(1) is explored. The two-dimensional subspace of the Spin(10) Lie algebra that commutes with su(3)_C + su(2)_L is analyzed. It is shown that there is a unique basis for which the initial soft supersymmetry breaking parameters are uncorrelated and for which the U(1) x U(1) field strengths have no kinetic mixing at any scale. If the Wilson lines "turn on" at different scales, there is an intermediate regime with either a left-right or a Pati-Salam type model. We compute their spectra directly from string theory, and adjust the associated mass parameter so that all gauge parameters exactly unify. A detailed analysis of the running gauge couplings and soft gaugino masses is presented.Comment: 59 pages, 9 figure

Minimal Supersymmetric Pati-Salam Theory: Determination of Physical Scales

We systematically study the minimal supersymmetric Pati-Salam theory, paying special attention to the unification constraints. We find that the SU(4)_c scale M_c and the Left-Right scale M_R lie in the range 10^{10} GeV < M_c < 10^{14} GeV, 10^{3} GeV < M_R <10^{10} GeV (with single-step breaking at 10^{10} GeV), giving a potentially accessible scale of parity breaking. The theory includes the possibility of having doubly-charged supermultiplets at the supersymmetry breaking scale; color octet states with mass of order M_R^2/M_c; magnetic monopoles of intermediate mass that do not conflict with cosmology, and a 'clean' (type I) form for the see-saw mechanism of neutrino mass.Comment: 5 page