Lime-Stabilized Black Cotton Soil and Brick Powder Mixture as Subbase Material

Various researchers, for the past few decades, had tried to stabilize black cotton soil using lime for improving its shrinkage and swelling characteristics. But these days, the cost of lime has increased resulting in increase in need for alternative and cost effective waste materials such as fly ash and rice husk ash. Brick powder, one among the alternative materials, is a fine powdered waste that contains higher proportions of silica and is found near brick kilns in rural areas. The objective of the study is to investigate the use of lime-stabilized black cotton soil and brick powder mixture as subbase material in flexible pavements. Black cotton soil procured from the local area, tested for suitability as subbase material, turned out to be unsuitable as it resulted in very less CBR value. Even lime stabilization of black cotton soil under study has not showed up the required CBR value specified for the subbase material of flexible pavement by MORTH. Hence the lime-stabilized black cotton soil is proportioned with brick powder to obtain optimum mixture that yields a better CBR value. The mixture of 20% brick powder and 80% lime-stabilized black cotton soil under study resulted in increase in the CBR value by about 135% in comparison with lime-stabilized black cotton soil. Thus it is promising to use the mixture of brick powder and lime-stabilized black cotton soil as subbase material in flexible pavements

Circuit Design of Programmable Logic and Interconnect Blocks using Spin Transfer Torque RAM for Non-Volatile FPGAs

Most of the Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) are currently SRAM based. The conventional SRAM has been the primary choice for memory storage in the Configurable Logic Blocks (CLBs) as well as for the configuration bits of the reconfigurable interconnects. However SRAM based FPGAs are volatile and needs an external non-volatile memory to store the configuration data. Also SRAM leakage currents increases as technology scales towards lower nodes. The use of non-volatile memories such as Spin-Transfer Torque (STT)-RAM helps to overcome the drawbacks of SRAM-based FPGAs without significant speed penalty. In this paper we present the design of simple non-volatile CLBs using STT-RAM technology. For verifying the design these CLBs have been programmed to implement various functions. The design has been simulated and verified using cadence tools in CMOS 40nm technology

An index based road feature extraction from LANDSAT-8 OLI images

Road feature extraction from the remote sensing images is an arduous task and has a significant role in various applications of urban planning, updating the maps, traffic management, etc. In this paper, a new band combination (B652) to form a road index (RI) from OLI multispectral bands based on the spectral reflectance of asphalt, is presented for road feature extraction. The B652 is converted to road index by normalization. The morphological operators (top-hat or bottom-hat) uses on RI to enhance the roads. To sharpen the edges and for better discrimination of features, shock square filter (SSF), is proposed. Then, an iterative adaptive threshold (IAT) based online search with variational min-max and Markov random fields (MRF) model are used on the SSF image to segment the roads and non-roads. The roads are extracting by using the rules based on the connected component analysis. IAT and MRF model segmentation methods prove the proposed index (RI) able to extract road features productively. The proposed methodology is a combination of saturation based adaptive thresholding and morphology (SATM), and saturation based MRF (SMRF), applied to OLI images of several urban cities of India, producing the satisfactory results. The experimental results with the quantitative analysis presented in the paper

Breeding tomatoes suitable for processing with triple disease resistance to tomato leaf curl disease, bacterial wilt and early blight

India is the second largest producer of tomato with 11 per cent global share and cultivated on an estimated area of 0.76 million hectares with productivity of 24 tonnes per hectare. Less than 1% of the produce is processed when compared to 26% in other major producing countries. Of the estimated more than 41 million tonnes of tomato processed globally, only 130,000 tonnes were processed in India and domestic demand for processed tomato products is expanding at an estimated 30% annually. At present traditional fresh market tomato cultivars are being processed though such cultivars are unsuitable for processing. Processors in India are looking for high yielding tomato cultivars with high total soluble solids (5-6 º Brix), acidity not less than 0.4%, pH less than 4.5 and uniform red colour with a/b colour value of at least 2. In addition, firm fruited tomato cultivars with joint less pedicel (j2) which facilitate mechanical harvesting or rapid hand picking. ICAR-Indian Institute of Horticultural Research has recently developed two high yielding F1 hybrids in tomato viz: Arka Apeksha and Arka Vishesh suitable for processing. On evaluation for three years, both the hybrids recorded good level of total soluble solids (4.5-5º Brix) and colour value of 2. Further, both the hybrids had high yield potential (80-90 tonnes / hectare) with triple disease resistance to tomato leaf curl disease, bacterial wilt and early blight. Arka Apeksha and Arka Vishesh were also bred with jointless pedicel making them suitable for mechanical harvesting. Our experimental studies on vine storability revealed that all the fruits were intact on plants even 110 days after transplanting in the main field facilitating once over harvest

The dynamics and control of large flexible space structures

Large, flexible orbiting systems proposed for possible use in communications, electronic orbital based mail systems, and solar energy collection are discussed. The size and low weight to area ratio of such systems indicate that system flexibility is now the main consideration in the dynamics and control problem. For such large, flexible systems, both orientation and surface shape control will often be required. A conceptual development plan of a system software capability for use in analysis of the dynamics and control of large space structures technology (LSST) systems is discussed. This concept can be subdivided into four different stages: (1) system dynamics; (2) structural dynamics; (3) application of control algorithms; and (4) simulation of environmental disturbances. Modeling the system dynamics of such systems in orbit is the most fundamental component. Solar radiation pressure effects and orbital and gravity gradient effects are discussed

A NOVEL METHOD FOR WATER AND WATER CANAL EXTRACTION FROM LANDSAT-8 OLI IMAGERY

Constituents of hydrologic network, River and water canals play a key role in Agriculture for cultivation, Industrial activities and urban planning. Remote sensing images can be effectively used for water canal extraction, which significantly improves the accuracy and reduces the cost involved in mapping using conventional means. Using remote sensing data, the water Index (WI), Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI) and Modified NDWI (MNDWI) are used in extracting the water bodies. These techniques are aimed at water body detection and need to be complemented with additional information for the extraction of complete water canal networks. The proposed index MNDWI-2 is able to find the water bodies and water canals as well from the Landsat-8 OLI imagery and is based on the SWIR2 band. In this paper, we use Level-1 precision terrain corrected OLI imagery at 30 meter spatial resolution. The proposed MNDWI-2 index is derived using SWIR2 (B7) band and Green (B3) band. The usage of SWIR2 band over SWIR1 results in very low reflectance values for water features, detection of shallow water and delineation of water features with rest of the features in the image. The computed MNDWI-2 index values are threshold by making the values greater than zero as 1 and less than zero as zero. The binarised values of 1 represent the water bodies and 0 represent the non-water body. This normalized index detects the water bodies and canals as well as vegetation which appears in the form of noise. The vegetation from the MNDWI-2 image is removed by using the NDVI index, which is calculated using the Top of Atmosphere (TOA) corrected images. The paper presents the results of water canal extraction in comparison with the major available indexes. The proposed index can be used for water and water canal extraction from L8 OLI imagery, and can be extended for other high resolution sensors

Economic effect of mechanical intervention through sub-soiling on growth and yield of rainfed pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan)

A two-year field experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of sub-soiling on plant growth, root morphology and yield of rainfed pigeonpea [Cajanus cajan (L. ) Millsp.] (Var LRG 41) during 2012-13 and 2013-14. Crop exposed to moisture stress condition from flowering to harvest (120 days) during 2013-14, compared to experiment conducted during 2012-13. The results indicated that sub-soil tillage sustained higher shoot, root growth and seed yield during the year 2013-14, which coincided with end of season drought compared to conventional tillage treatment. Crop growth in terms of plant height, leaf area/plant significantly improved due to sub-soiling compared to conventionally tilled treatment. Similarly sub-soiling recorded significant increase in drought tolerant traits, viz. root length (234%), root dry weight (274%) and relative water content (37%). Consequently, sub-soil tillage recorded significant increase in number of pods/plant by 59%, 100 seed weight by 12% and pod yield by 219% compared to conventionally tilled treatment. Sub-soil tillage proved efficient method of mechanical intervention for drought mitigation under rainfed pigeonpea cultivation

Physiology and transcriptomics of water-deficit stress responses in wheat cultivars TAM 111 and TAM 112

Citation: Reddy, S. K., Liu, S., Rudd, J. C., Xue, Q., Payton, P., Finlayson, S. A., … Lu, N. (2014). Physiology and transcriptomics of water-deficit stress responses in wheat cultivars TAM 111 and TAM 112. Retrieved from http://krex.ksu.eduHard red winter wheat crops on the U.S. Southern Great Plains often experience moderate to severe drought stress, especially during the grain filling stage, resulting in significant yield losses. Cultivars TAM 111 and TAM 112 are widely cultivated in the region, share parentage and showed superior but distinct adaption mechanisms under water-deficit (WD) conditions. Nevertheless, the physiological and molecular basis of their adaptation remains unknown. A greenhouse study was conducted to understand the differences in the physiological and transcriptomic responses of TAM 111 and TAM 112 to WD stress. Whole-plant data indicated that TAM 112 used more water, produced more biomass and grain yield under WD compared to TAM 111. Leaf-level data at the grain filling stage indicated that TAM 112 had elevated abscisic acid (ABA) content and reduced stomatal conductance and photosynthesis as compared to TAM 111. Sustained WD during the grain filling stage also resulted in greater flag leaf transcriptome changes in TAM 112 than TAM 111. Transcripts associated with photosynthesis, carbohydrate metabolism, phytohormone metabolism, and other dehydration responses were uniquely regulated between cultivars. These results suggested a differential role for ABA in regulating physiological and transcriptomic changes associated with WD stress and potential involvement in the superior adaptation and yield of TAM 112

Evaluation of intergeneric F1 hybrid progenies of papaya (Arka Prabhath x Vasconcellea cauliflora and Arka Prabhath x Vasconcellea cundinamarcencis) for morphological, fruit and yield traits coupled with PRSV tolerance

Papaya is one of the most important fruit crops of tropical and subtropical regions of the world including India. Though India stands first in production in the world, the productivity is low as compared to other countries due to high incidence of papaya ring spot virus (PRSV-P) attack. As all the cultivated varieties under genus Carica are susceptible to PRSV, investigations were carried out to evaluate fifteen intergeneric hybrid progenies of Arka Prabhath x V. cauliflora and eighty-five progenies of Arka Prabhath x V. cundinamarcencis for morphological, fruit and yield traits coupled with PRSV- P tolerance. Out of fifteen, seven progenies of ‘Arka Prabhath’ x V. cauliflora viz., IGHF1S4-1, IGHF1S4-12, IGHF1S4-13, IGHF1S4-14, IGHF1S4-15, IGHF1S4-17, IGHF1S4-18 and out of eighty-five, six progenies of ‘Arka Prabhath’ x V. cundinamarcensis viz., IGHF1S1-17, IGHF1S1-19, IGHF1S6-20, IGHF1S2-14, IGHF1S5-12 and IGHF1S5-14 recorded desirable traits such as days to first fruiting (240 to 250 days), bearing height (48 to 74 cm), plant height (175 to 200 cm), trunk circumference (37 to 48 cm), fruit weight (1133.67 to 2202.00 g), pulp thickness (2.45 to 4.05 cm), TSS (11.50 to 13.80 ºBrix), fruits/tree (40 to 58) and yield (45.00 to 78.20 kg/tree) coupled with PRSV tolerance with disease score1 (only a few tiny chlorotic spots on leaves). These progenies were selected and forwarded for next generation (F2). The hybridity was also confirmed using SSR marker (mCpCIR59)

Breeding tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) for resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) is an important vegetable crop cultivated in the tropical and sub-tropical regions of the world. Low productivity in India is due to occurrence of both biotic and abiotic stresses. Among the biotic stresses, tomato leaf curl disease, bacterial wilt, early blight and Groundnut Bud Necrosis Virus disease have become serious production constraints causing considerable yield loss in the major tomato growing areas of the country. Adoption of multiple disease resistant varieties or F1 hybrids would be the most appropriate way to address these diseases. At ICAR-IIHR, Bengaluru systematic breeding strategies were employed to pyramid genes for resistance to early blight, bacterial wilt and tomato leaf curl diseases and to develop advanced breeding lines& F1 hybrids with triple disease resistance. Stable source of resistance to early blight and bi-partite begomo-virus (Tomato Leaf Curl New Delhi Virus) has been identified in Solanum habrochaites LA-1777. Validation with molecular markers linked to tomato leaf curl virus resistance revealed that LA-1777 carryTy2 and other putative resistant genes. Several high yielding dual purpose hybrids were also developed for fresh market and processing with high level of resistance to multiple diseases. Cherry tomato lines have also been bred for high TSS, total carotenoids, total phenols, flavonoids, vitamin C, acidity and lycopene content. IIHR-249-1, IIHR-2101 (Solanum habrochaites LA-1777), IIHR- 2866 and IIHR-2864 recorded high values for quality parameters like total carotenoids, lycopene, vitamin C, total phenols, flavonoids and TSS. Drought tolerant root stock has been developed by an interspecific cross between S. habrochaites LA-1777 and S. lycopersicum (15 SB SB). Resistant sources have also been identified against Tuta absoluta, a serious insect pest reported from major tomato growing areas in the country in recent time. High temperature tolerant breeding lines are in pipe line