Effects of Salinity Stress on Growth and Physio-biochemical Parameters of Three Pea (Pisum sativum L.) Cultivars of Different Maturity Duration

Background: Salinity is one of the leading abiotic stresses that negatively affects the growth of many important food crops and significantly reduces the productivity and yield value.Methods: The present study was conducted to study the effects of NaCl stress on three pea (Pisum sativum) cultivars (Climax, Lina Pak and Pea-267) of different maturity level (Late, early, and mid-season flowering) under In vitro conditions. Two weeks old In vitro grown shoots of three pea cultivars were subjected to stress condition in MS medium supplemented with five levels of NaCl (0, 20, 40, 80 and 100mM NaCl) for one month and different morphological and physio-biochemical traits including length of shoot, number of leaves, shoot biomass, chlorophyll, proline and total phenolic content, total proteins and non-enzymatic antioxidant (DPPH) activities were studied.Results: The results were analyzed using different statistical approaches (ANOVA, MNOVA, PCA, correlation and regression) to identify the tolerance level of each genotype. Shoot length and shoot fresh weight were increased at 20 and 40mM in Climax, while proline content progressively increased with an increase in stress concentration in all the genotypes. Total protein content increased in cvs. Climax and Pea-267 and  decreased in Lina Pak above 20mM and DPPH was increased in Climax and Pea-267 at 20 and 40mM, while in Lina Pak it showed an increase at only 20mM NaCl concentration. According to the results of MNOVA and regression analysis, significant changes occurred in biomass, proline content and DPPH values. A strong positive correlation of shoot dry weight was found with total phenolic and proline content. Maximum value of stress tolerance index was recorded for Climax.Conclusion: Biplot analysis clustered cvs. Climax and Pea-267 cultivars into tolerant group and Lina Pak in sensitive group based on the mean performance of studied parameters to NaCl stress and control treatments

Variation in conidial concentration of freshwater hyphomycetes in a semi-tropical canal water habitat

The freshwater hyphomycete conidial numbers showed a characteristic pattern of fluctuation under the influence of temperature and biomass deposition in the Lahore Branch of the BRB canal. The conidial numbers showed a gradual increase from 2% in June to 39% in October. The clearing of the substratum from the canal in January played a significant role in the decline of conidial concentration from 13% in December to 6% in February. The total number of hyphomycete species showed an increase from 20 in April to 39 in December.&nbsp

Freshwater hyphomycete spora of the River Ravi

In a study of the river spora of Ravi, Lahore, twenty-nine conidial  species mostly belonging to freshwater hyphomycetes were recorded by four techniques from January to June, 1999. These species were recorded by filtration of water, sporulation on submerged plant material and trapping in natural or artificial foam. The natural foam provided the richest data on the river spora. A few species were observed colonizing the submerged plant material. The data obtained by direct filtration and artificial foam trapping was quite similar. Articulospora proliferata and Tetracladium marchalianum were the only species detected by all the four techniques

Chemical characterization, antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of essential oil from <em>Melaleuca quinquenervia</em> leaves

686-693Niaouli oil is an essential oil known for its applications in aromatherapy and pharmaceutical preparations for coughs, colds, rheumatism and neuralgia. It also serves as a sedative, possesses antifungal activity, and used in perfume industry. Melaleuca quinquenervia (Cav.) S.T. Blake, commonly called, paper bark tea tree or punk tree, is a potential source of niaouli oil. Here, we analyzed the chemical composition of essential oil from M. quinquenervia leaves and evaluated its antioxidant and antimicrobial potential. Chemical analysis of the oil by GC-FID and GC-MS revealed 1,8-cineole (31.0%) as a major component followed by p-cymen-8-ol (19.7%), p-cymene (16.5%), α-terpineol (9.9%), limonene (6.8%), α-pinene (4.2%) and terpinolene (4.2%). M. quinquenervia essential oil demonstrated good antioxidant activity by inhibiting 84.3 % of 2,2׳-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical and ferric reducing power (1.94±0.007) at 100 µg/mL. Further, it was highly effective against tested food borne bacterial as well as fungal pathogens inducing 11.0-46.0 mm and 11.8-46.0 mm zones of inhibition, respectively at concentration of 8-250 μg/mL. The high degrees of antibacterial and antifungal activities were further confirmed at 8 μg/mL minimum bactericidal concentrations and minimum fungicidal concentrations, respectively. Time kill assay showed significant bactericidal and fungicidal effects of essential oil for four weeks. The high antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of M. quinquenervia essential oil substantiate its potential use as alternative to chemical preservatives in food industry

Mapping <i>Lantana camara</i> and <i>Leucaena leucocephala</i> in Protected Areas of Pakistan: A Geo-Spatial Approach

Invasive alien plants are considered as one of the major causes of loss of native biodiversity around the world. Remote sensing provides an opportunity to identify and map native and invasive species using accurate spectral information. The current study was aimed to evaluate PlanetScope (3 m) and Sentinel (10 m) datasets for mapping the distribution of native and invasive species in two protected areas in Pakistan, using machine learning (ML) algorithms. The multispectral data were analysed with the following four ML algorithms (classifiers)—random forest (RF), Gaussian mixture model (GMM), k-nearest neighbour (KNN), and support vector machine (SVM)—to classify two invasive species, Lantana camara L. (common lantana) and Leucaena leucocephala L. The (Ipil-ipil) Dzetsaka plugin of QGIS was used to map these species using all ML algorithms. RF, GMM, and SVM algorithms were more accurate at detecting both invasive species when using PlanetScope imagery rather than Sentinel. Random forest produced the highest accuracy of 64% using PlanetScope data. Lantana camara was the most dominating plant species with 23% cover, represented in all thematic maps. Leucaena leucocpehala was represented by 7% cover and was mainly distributed in the southern end of the Jindi Reserve Forest (Jhelum). It was not possible to discriminate native species Dodonea viscosa Jacq. (Snatha) using the SVM classifier for Sentinel data. Overall, the accuracy of PlanetScope was slightly better than Sentinel in term of species discrimination. These spectral findings provide a reliable estimation of the current distribution status of invasive species and would be helpful for land managers to prioritize invaded areas for their effective management

Sustainable Management of Peanut Shell through Biochar and Its Application as Soil Ameliorant

The current research encompasses utilization of peanut shells (PS) as feedstock for pyrolysis carried out at various temperatures (250, 400, and 550 &deg;C) for deriving biochar, namely PS-BC250, PS-BC400, and PS-BC550. After analyzing the biochar types physicochemically, it was applied as a soil ameliorant for the growth of cucumber. The results showed that in prepared biochar type, bulk density, volatile contents, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen content decreased, whereas pH, electrical conductivity, ash content, fixed carbon content, and surface area increased with the increasing temperature. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) presented high porosity, re-orientation of vessels, and a greater number of aromatic compounds, respectively, for PS-BC prepared at 550 &deg;C. On applying PS-BC250, PS-BC400, and PS-BC550 as amendments in potted soil at 2, 4, and 6% (w/w), it improved soil quality (viz pH, ECe, BD, and soil water holding capacity) and increased the yield of cucumber. Because of improved soil properties and crop yield, PS-BC550 at the rate of 4% (w/w) demonstrated a great potential for agricultural application while provisioning dual circular economic indicators in the form of diverting PS waste to an effective alternative of chemical fertilizer having intensive carbon footprints in cucumber production

Potential Application of Biochar Composite Derived from Rice Straw and Animal Bones to Improve Plant Growth

The current study is aimed at deriving biochar (BC) from rice straw (RS-BC) and waste bones (WB-BC), being wasted without adequate return at the expense of environmental degradation. The RS and WB feedstocks were pyrolyzed at 550 °C, and the potential of derived biochar as a slow nutrient releasing soil amendment was examined during the growth of ridge gourd. Proximate analysis of the prepared biochars showed significant improvement in ash content and fixed carbon as compared to their raw biomasses. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) analysis of RS-BC and WB-BC displayed a diverse range of functional groups viz. derivatives of cellulose and hydroxylapatite (HA); macro and microporosity; multiple nutrients. Application of RS-BC and WB-BC in potted soil alone and as biochar composite (RS-BC+WB-BC) at 5, 10 and 15% (w/w) and chemical fertilizer (CF) resulted in a significant increase in soil pH, electrical conductivity (ECe), cation exchange capacity (CEC) and water holding capacity (WHC) in exchange for growth and yield of ridge gourd. However, there were insignificant differences in the growth of plants in response to RS-BC, WB-BC alone and CF with biochar composite at 15% amendment. For giving insignificantly different growth results than CF, the prepared biochar composite showed outstanding potential as an organic fertilizer applicable in agrarian soils to elevate soil properties and yield of agricultural commodities

Sustainable Management of Peanut Shell through Biochar and Its Application as Soil Ameliorant

The current research encompasses utilization of peanut shells (PS) as feedstock for pyrolysis carried out at various temperatures (250, 400, and 550 °C) for deriving biochar, namely PS-BC250, PS-BC400, and PS-BC550. After analyzing the biochar types physicochemically, it was applied as a soil ameliorant for the growth of cucumber. The results showed that in prepared biochar type, bulk density, volatile contents, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen content decreased, whereas pH, electrical conductivity, ash content, fixed carbon content, and surface area increased with the increasing temperature. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) presented high porosity, re-orientation of vessels, and a greater number of aromatic compounds, respectively, for PS-BC prepared at 550 °C. On applying PS-BC250, PS-BC400, and PS-BC550 as amendments in potted soil at 2, 4, and 6% (w/w), it improved soil quality (viz pH, ECe, BD, and soil water holding capacity) and increased the yield of cucumber. Because of improved soil properties and crop yield, PS-BC550 at the rate of 4% (w/w) demonstrated a great potential for agricultural application while provisioning dual circular economic indicators in the form of diverting PS waste to an effective alternative of chemical fertilizer having intensive carbon footprints in cucumber production

Industrial water treatment within a wetland planted with Hemarthria compressa and subsequent effluent reuse to grow Abelmoschus esculentus

This study assesses the potential of constructed wetland systems to treat tannery effluent (TE) and mixed industry effluent (MIE). After each of the three influent cells acting as settling cells, three treatment cells in horizontal series along with a Control were applied. Each of the cells was subjected to horizontal surface flow and planted with Hemarthria compressa (L.f.) R.Br. (perennial whip grass). The percent decline in heavy metal concentrations between settling and Cell 3 over a period of 60 days varied as follows: zinc (Zn; 35.83–95.59), chromium (Cr; 30.63–95.49), copper (Cu; 24.3–97.05) and nickel (Ni; 20.3–93.2). The drop in chemical oxygen demand (COD mg L−1) ranged between 3.95 and 72.14%, whilst the total dissolved solids (TDS g L−1) decline was between 3.23 and 98.75%. The pH and electrical conductivity (EC) drop ranges were between 1.4 and 11.72% along with up to 92.92%, respectively. The determined decline rates of pollutants and the cumulative biomass yield of H. compressa at p = 0.05 were between 0.76 and 0.96 (20 d−1). The heavy metal tolerance index for H. compressa in TE and MIE were 0.25–3.25 and 0.25–2.2, respectively. Although treated TE and MIE discharged from Cell 3 of each of the effluent treatment series on the 60th day had Zn, Ni, Cr and Cu concentrations greater than the local permissible limits (Punjab Environmental Quality Standards) of Liquid Industrial Effluents. The treated water through the constructed wetland system proved safe for cultivation of okra (Abelmoscus esculentus (L.) Moench) vegetables