Adaptability of Wheat in Malaysia

Wheat is a cool season crop, but its flourishes in many different agro-climatic zones and have the broadest adaptability compare to all other crops in the world. Recent advances in technologies for wheat production in humid tropical environments have promoted Malaysia to initiate research to develop technologies for domestic wheat production. This program places special emphasis on the identification of superior germplasm for further research in tropical Malaysia. A discoursing situation was observed during the 1st experiment (Benchmark study). Two hundred eighty eight germplasm accessions were used in this study and the results revealed that all germplasm accessions were affected with seedling blight, severe Helminthosporium leaf blotch and partially Fusarium head scab. All germplasms germinate well, but gradually more than 50% died within six weeks. Less tiller, short spike length, shriveled grain and high sterility were common constraints for good yield. A total of 288 germplasms were evaluated in first experiment and based on different characters 175 germplasms were selected and 34 of them produced grain. The scene was dramatically changed in the second experiment (2A), where 175 germplasm accessions were grown in 30 cm x 30 cm size polybag with four replications and a prescribed soil mixture of top soil. sand and peat soil with a ratio of 3:2:1 was used. Vegetative growth of all genotypes was normal with optimum number of tillers up to 11 and spike length up to 9 cm. A total of 40 genotypes produced grain in this study. Visual grain quality also improved compared with benchmark study. In the subsequent 3rd experiment (2B), again 175 germplasm accessions were used with same management practices to study further development of genotypes in different growing season time and comparison with the previous growing seasons. The same 40 genotypes only produced grain but the sterility level had changed in some genotypes. Results from 1st and 2nd growing seasons revealed that the agronomic characters were significantly influenced by different genotypes and a positive correlation confirmed that some quantitative characters like fertile tillers, grain per spike and 1000 grain weight are important characters having direct bearing on influencing plant yield. Forty germplasms which produced grain were selected and used in the final experiment. Helmmthosponum leaf blotch infestation was observed with a Disease index (01) range of I - 9. Seven genotypes were found with minimum infestation (01 -I). Six genotypes produced almost normal shiny grain but lower 1000 grain weight compared with original grain. However, based on yield contributing characters and grain quality, entries 13, 28, 31, 45, 58, 72, and 73 were identified as outstanding among the 175 genotypes. These lines seems to be more potential for further research in Malaysia and by introducing wheat as a new crop in Malaysia, it may eliminate an important part of the foreign exchange drain

Gene actions involved in yield and yield contributing traits of chilli (Capsicum annuum L.)

Abstract Gene action for yield and yield contributing traits in Chilli (Capsicum annuum L.) was studied in four selected crosses, involving five parents, including their F 1 's, F 2 's and first back crosses generations. The significant scaling tests (one or more scales in A, B and C) and joint scaling test indicated the presence of digenic epistasis for all the studied traits. Number of fruits and yield per plant were controlled by additive, dominance and epistatic gene action. Complex genetic behavior was observed in all traits. Since the segregating generations did not follow a simple Mendelian inheritance, high selection pressure is expected in later generations due to probable successful exploitation of additive and dominance components. From these observations it is suggested that the selection for the improvement of all traits, particularly yield per plant, should be delayed to the later generations of segregating population in this plant. The modified bulk method of selection is recommended, in which selection is performed after attaining the homozygosity for maximum heterozygous loci. Presence of complementary gene action and prevalence of the high magnitude of non-additive gene effects were found in most of the traits, indicating that heterosis breeding is more effective with high potential in chili

Effect of sulphur on growth, yield and yield attributes in onion (Allium cepa L.)

This experiment was conducted to study the effect of different doses of sulphur on growth and yield performances of onion. The experiment comprised of five levels of sulphur (0, 20, 40, 60 and 80 kg S ha-1) and was laid out in RCBD design with four replications and other fertilizers were applied according to recommended doses. Individual bulb weight, dry weight of root, dry weight of bulb, dry weight of shoot, dry weight of leaf, total dry matter (TDM), leaf area index (LAI), absolute growth rate (AGR), relative growth rate (RGR), net assimilation rate (NAR), individual bulb weight, bulb yield of onion and sulphur content were increased significantly with the application of sulphur fertilizer. The maximum sulphur content (0.49%) of onion bulb was observed in 40 kg S ha-1 followed by 20 kg S ha-1(0.45 %), 60 (0.45%) and 80 kg S ha-1 (0.44%) at average of 45 and 85 days after transplanting. However, number of splitted bulb, bulb diameter, neck diameter, and neck bulb ratio were not significantly affected by different doses of sulphur application. Application of 40 kg S ha-1 resulted in the highest yield (10.65 t ha-1) among the different doses of sulphur. The present study clearly indicates that sulphur at 40 kg ha-1 may be recommended for better growth and yield of onion under silty loam in texture having pH around 6.5

The Influence of 1-Triacontanol on the Growth, Flowering, and Quality of Potted Bougainvillea

Selected physiological and biochemical parameters were monitored at the vegetative and reproductive growth stages in potted Bougainvillea plants treated with five different concentrations of TRIA. Advanced flowering, flower bud number, and blooming rate increased significantly with 0.5 and 1.0 mg/L TRIA treatments. Similarly, photosynthetic rate, pigment content, quantum yield, and stomatal conductance increased significantly with 2.5, 1.0, and 5.0 mg/L TRIA treatments. Higher levels of N, P, and K, as well as increased total soluble solids (TSS) and higher sugar and protein contents, were recorded in treated plants. Furthermore, 46% more flowers, a 1.5-fold increase in bract weight, increased longevity, and 40% less leaf abscission were recorded following 2.5 mg/L TRIA treatment. Phenol and flavonoid contents, sucrose phosphate synthase (SPS), and antioxidant activities were also markedly increased with 2.5 and 1.0 mg/L TRIA treatments. However, ethylene production was significantly lower in the treated plants. Positive correlations were observed between leaf TSS and flowering time and flower number, between leaf sugar content and bract weight, and between net photosynthesis and bract growth and dry matter production. It can be concluded that the foliar spray of TRIA stimulates growth, enhances flowering, and improves the quality of potted Bougainvillea plants

Influence of elemental sulfur on nutrient uptake, yield and quality of cucumber grown in sandy calcareous soil

Abstract This study was carried out to investigate the effect of elemental sulfur (S 0 ) and sulfur oxidizing bacteria (Paracoccus versutus) on nutrient uptake, yield and quality of cucumber grown in sandy calcareous soils. Both elemental sulfur powder (S 0 P) and pellets of sulfur powder-Tiger 90 (S 0 T) were applied at rates of 0, 1, 5 and 10 t/ha at Al Hamraneya. On the contrary, S 0 P was used at rates of 0, 1, 5 and 10 t/ha combined with or without Paracoccus versutus (Pv) at Al Kuwaitat, United Arab Emirates (UAE). Higher concentrations of N, P, S, Mn and Zn in leaves and yield of cucumber at both locations were obtained with application of S 0 at rates of 5 and 10 t/ha. Total soluble sugar (TSS) content and vitamin C was higher with the application of S 0 at rates of 5 and 10 t/ha. Application of Pv individually or with varying levels of S 0 P had no positive effect on nutrients uptake, yield and quality of cucumber. A positive correlation was observed between shelf life and vitamin C. At Al Hamraneya S 0 P performed better than S 0 T. The results reveal that application of S 0 P at the rate of 5 t/ha in sandy calcareous soils can enhance the nutrients uptake ability, increase yield and superior quality of cucumber at both locations in UAE

Rice Ratoon Crop: A Sustainable Rice Production System for Tropical Hill Agriculture

Increasing and sustainable production of rice in tropical hill area is facing various problems where rice ratooning can overcome the limitations. In this study; 22 rice entries were transplanted into experimental tank placed in the hill slope following Completely Randomized Design with five replications to asses’ agronomic performance of main crop and ratoon crop where Entry 13 demonstrated highest grain yield per plant (42.06 ± 1.2 gm) as main crop, as well as ratoon crop (3.37 ± 0.28 gm); Entry 19 produced lowest grain yield per plant (5.01 ± 0.31 gm) as main crop and Entry 31 as ratoon crop (0.47 ± 0.03 gm). The grain yield per plant of both the main and ratoon crop demonstrated significant (** at 5% level and *** at 1% level) positive correlation with number of tiller per plant (0.64 ** and 0.52); number of fertile tiller per plant (0.66 ** and 0.63 **); grain per panicle (0.72 ** and 0.53); fertile grain per panicle (0.80 *** and 0.63) and thousand-grain weight (0.66 ** and 0.54). The Duncan Multiple Range test and Analysis of Variance also confirmed the different grouping and significant differences of productivity and agronomic performances of the entries. The information of this investigation will helps the rice breeder as well as marginal rice farmers to consider rice ratooning as an important practice for sustainable rice production in tropical agriculture system for maximum gains

Evaluation of growth performance in cyclically mated populations of Malaysian giant prawn, Macrobrachium rosenbergii, in Malaysia

Malaysian giant prawn, Macrobrachium rosenbergii (de Man, 1879), is an important crustacean aquaculture candidate globally cultured chiefly in hot climates and seasonally in temperate zones. Although the first hatchery for artificial production of the species was established in Malaysia in 1984, however, its genetic improvement program has just started recently. This study was executed as a part of this improvement project to evaluate morphometric growth related traits of four populations collected from the Western Coast of Peninsular Malaysia and their progenies. The results of the study disclosed significant differences among these populations for all traits that were considered; with Kedah population showing significant (p<.05) superiority over the rest. Within the eight successfully cohort progeny families produced, Kedah progeny group was the heaviest at the same level of significance as that of parental groups. Fixed effects of family, sex and their interactions showed high significance (p<.0001). Estimated heritability values for the traits mentioned above were moderate to high; i.e. 0.5788±0.2989, 0.5156±0.2753, 0.4277±0.2407 and 0.5120±0.2739 for weight, total length, tail length and carapace length, respectively. All mentioned results encourage us to un-hesitantly recommend selection for these traits in future genetic improvement of this species

Analysis of aroma and yield components of aromatic rice in Malaysian tropical environment

Low yield is a common phenomenon of aromatic rice and consequently rice breeders are trying to develop the agronomic characters to gain a better grain yield. In this study, a total of 53 rice genotypes including 12 globally popular aromatic rice cultivars and 39 advanced breeding lines were evaluated for yield and yield contributing characters in Malaysian tropical environment. Two local varieties MRQ 50 and MRQ 72 were used as check varieties. Correlation analysis revealed that the number of fertile tillers (r = 0.69), grain/panicle (r = 0.86) and fertile grain per panicle (r = 0.65) have the positive contribution to grain yield. Highest grain yield was observed in E36, followed by Khau Dau Mali, E26 and E13. E36 appeared with lowest plant height and it also produced highest number of fertile tillers. After evaluation of yield components four genotypes namely E36, Khau Dau Mali, E26 and E13 were selected as outstanding genotypes, which can be used as potential breeding materials for Malaysian tropical environment. Keywords: Aromatic rice, Yield, Yield component, Tropical environmen

Evaluation of kernel elongation ratio and aroma association in global popular aromatic rice cultivars in tropical environment

Aroma and cooked kernel elongation are the most important quality traits of aromatic rice, which differentiate the highly valued aromatic rice from the other rice types. Previous studies on genetic analysis have shown that genes/ QTLs for these two traits are linked. In the present study, it tried to evaluate the expression of aroma, kernel elongation and their association in 55 fine rice genotypes in the tropical environment of Malaysia. Highest percentage of elongation ratio was observed in Genotype E2 followed by E11, Gharib, E6, E26, E34, E35, E36, E19, E20 and E27. Aroma was observed in 34 rice genotypes and 10 were identified as superior. They are E11, Sadri, Gharib, E7, Kasturi, Rambir Basmati, E21, E13, E24, and Rato Basmati. Positive correlation (r = 0.59, p�0.05)) was observed between aroma and kernel elongation in these selected 10 genotypes. Three of them had strong aroma (score 4) and there genotypes were E11, Sadri and Garib. We observed that the outstanding 10 genotypes for aroma and highest kernel elongation ratio are not the same except for two of the genotypes (Garib and E11). Aroma concentration was significantly different in highest kernel elongation ratio performance of 10 genotypes. Similar results were also observed in top 10 aroma performing genotypes and their kernel elongation ratio also varied among each other. In addition, out of 55 aromatic genotypes 17 did not have any aroma; comparatively low kernel elongation ratio was also observed in many of the genotypes. This investigation indicated that association of aroma and kernel elongation ratio can be highly influenced by tropical environment. However, since two genotypes (Garib and E11) perform their normal aromatic and Kernel elongation ratio and aromatic expression are even in tropical Malaysian Environment, It can be concluded that this expression might be as a result of the influence of dominant nature of some associated genes