Engaging Regional Partners for Effective Conflict Resolution: Problems and Prospects of the EU’s Strategic Partnerships in Asia. Jean Monnet/Robert Schuman Paper Series Vol. 5 No. 15, July 2008

[From the Introduction]. From its initiation at the 1998 Franco-British Summit at St-Malo and its formalisation and institutionalisation at the Cologne and Helsinki Councils in 1999 to its 2005 monitoring mission in Aceh, Indonesia, the EU’s ESDP has made considerable progress. In fact ESDP’s fast institutional growth is seen as ‘remarkable in a system where institutional change often proceeds at a glacial pace’.(1) Of course one may bear in mind that ESDP operations started on a small scale and with limited duration, and many of ESDP procedures still remain relatively untested.(2) Nevertheless, the ESDP’s acquiring an operational capability in 2003, no matter in whatever small measure, marked a significant shift from the general nature of the development of CFSP which have ‘often proceeded on the basis of rhetorical declarations followed by hesitant and inadequate implementation’.(3

Changes in plant water status, biochemical attributes and seed quality of black gram and green gram genotypes under drought

Drought is one of the major abiotic stresses which adversely affect crop growth and production worldwide as water is vital for every aspect of plant growth and development. The present experiment was carried out during the growing seasons (September – December) of 2012 and 2013 to evaluate the response of black gram (Vigna mungo L.) and green gram (Vigna radiata L.) in terms of some important growth indices, biochemical traits and seed quality under drought stress. Four commonly grown genotypes - T9, KU 301(black gram) and Pratap, SG 21-5 (green gram) of Assam, India were grown in a randomized block design with three replications under stress and non-stress conditions. Stress was applied by withholding irrigation for fifteen consecutive days at vegetative, flowering and pod filling stages. Leaf area index (LAI), seed protein content and protein yield significantly decreased (p ≤ 0.01) whereas proline, total flavonoids and anthocyanin content increased significantly (p ≤ 0.01) in response to water deficiency. Among the studied genotypes, T9 and Pratap showed better tolerance capacity towards the applied drought by presenting higher values of LAI, plant height stress tolerance index (PHSI), dry matter stress tolerance index (DMSI), proline, total flavonoids, anthocyanin, lower percentage of chlorophyll degradation and finally producing high quality seeds

Morphological responses of pulse (Vigna spp.) crops to soil water deficit

The present experiment was conducted with two common pulse crops namely black gram (Vigna mungo L.) and green gram (Vigna radiata L.) with the objective to study the morpho-physiological changes that took place in response to low moisture stress. Parameters such as plant height, leaf number, leaf area and pod number were studied under moisture stress condition as well as subsequent recovery stages. At harvest, yields of these two crops were recorded and various yield indexes like drought susceptibility index, drought tolerance index, mean and productivity rate were calculated. The study revealed that moisture stress has a significant impact on all these parameters in both crops. The effect was more significant in green gram compared to black gram. From the findings it is observed that moisture stress during flowering stage is detrimental for yield of the pulse crops and re-watering does not have a significant impact on yield improvement. Black gram variety T9 and green gram variety Pratap were identified as drought-tolerant varieties

Impact of N fertilization on C balance and soil quality in maize-dhaincha cropping sequence

Excess N fertilization to achieve high crop yield is a grand old practice in developing countries. However, inorganic nutrient sources considerably replenish soil organic C (SOC). In the present study, we applied six different levels of N keeping P and K constant for maize, grown under maize (Zea mays) - dhaincha (Sesbania aculeata) cropping sequence. We recorded high crop yield, profuse root biomass and SOC stock with increasing N fertilization. Moreover, water holding capacity, microbial biomass carbon and particulate organic carbon improved significantly with increasing levels of N. Conversely, bulk density, mineral associated organic carbon and pH decreased with increasing application of inorganic N. Furthermore, a significant positive correlation was recorded between root biomass and soil organic carbon. A study of the sensitivity index showed particulate organic carbon and microbial biomass carbon to be good indicators of nutrient management practices. Dhaincha cultivation accelerated C and N mineralization in soil, which is reflected in increased biomass and crop yield. Hence, we conclude that inorganic N fertilization rate (7280 kg ha-1) in maize-dhaincha cropping sequence successfully maintains the SOC balance and optimize N stock in soil