Combining High Yields and Blast Resistance in Rice (Oryza spp.): A Screening under Upland and Lowland Conditions in Benin

The future security of the supply of rice for food in Africa depends on improving the level of local production to achieve self-sufficiency. In order to cope with the existing gap between production and actual demand, combining a high level of rice blast tolerance and a high-yield potential is necessary. The current study was conducted under upland and lowland conditions in Benin to gain insight into the performance of selected blast-resistant accessions along with some currently grown varieties. This study revealed a high phenotypic variability among these accessions. Furthermore, differences in the performance of these accessions under lowland and upland conditions were observed. Principal component analysis showed their grouping in three clusters. The analysis also demonstrated a high yield potential among the blast-resistant rice accessions whether they were Oryza sativa or O. glaberrima. Furthermore, there was a significant correlation between yield and both spikelet fertility and growth cycle duration. In conclusion, the present study identified promising rice accessions for future breeding. High phenotypic variability in combination with interesting traits can help to develop new resilient varieties. Finally, when the traits correlate with yield, they can be used as markers for an early screening method for identifying promising accessions at an early stage

Baking quality of winter wheat (Triticum aestivum l.) is influenced by fractionation of nitrogen fertilization

Non-Peer ReviewedNitrogen (N) fertilization is one of the most common agronomic practice to increase wheat grain yield and protein content. However, the beneficial effects of nitrogen fertilization on grain yield and quality vary significantly [1]. The objective of the study was to understand the effect of total applied N and in fractions on the wheat grain protein composition and flour functionality under western European growth conditions. A field trial with five winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivars, fertilized with 3 N-rates (suggested, -30% and +30%) applied in 3 or 4 fractions, were studied for grain yield and kernel characteristics, whole meal and flour composition and functionality. Flour quality was analyzed by baking tests and an elaborate screening of the bread quality. A significant interaction between total N and fractionation was observed for both yield and protein content whereas protein composition (gluten index, Farinograph water absorption and Alveograph P/L) was solely influenced by the fractionation of N application. Applying N in four fractions resulted in an overall 3.7% increase in loaf volume compared to three N-fractions. Principal component analysis illustrated the major contribution of starch related properties to end-product quality of bread, and a prominent genotype-effect which was observed throughout the stud

Physical and Optical Properties of Poly(3-AlkylThiophene) with a View to the Fabrication of a Highly Nonlinear Waveguide

Publisher: Bentham (ISSN: 1874-088X)International audienceIn order to take advantage of the very high nonlinear susceptibility of conjugated polymer materials, Poly(3-AlkylThiophene)s, P3AT, were synthesized in the laboratory. The physical, thermomechanical and linear optical propertiesof synthesized P3AT have been investigated and the first experimental attempts at creating nonlinear optical waveguides and determining their characteristics are presented. After synthesizing P3AT, the relationships between polymer chain characteristics and mechanical properties are investigated to see if the polymer is suitable for optical waveguide process technology. We also examine the optical attenuation of the synthesized material, a crucial factor in anticipating the relative opacity of the future component. For the first time we present the absorption spectrum of 3-Octylthiophenemolecules in the Near Infra-Red (NIR) region that suggests optical losses for the material are about 0.6 dB.cm-1 at 1550 nm. Next we examined several waveguide structures such as ridge, buried and Strip Loaded WaveGuides (SLWG) based on P3AT material. For the buried waveguides, we have observed the signal transmission and in our opinion the low optical transmission of P3AT ridge and SLWG could be attributed to extrinsic losses (mainly scattering) due to both the remaining insoluble products in the polymer and to the poor adhesion between optical layers

Straw yield and quality: An extra motivation for the introduction of triticale in mixed farming systems**

Straw is a valuable by-product from cereal production. It is used for agricultural purposes as feed and bedding material for livestock. Additionally, cereal straw is a resource for the production of sustainable biomaterials and bio-energy. To meet the demands of these sectors substantial amounts of straw, with specific properties (e.g. water-holding capacity), are necessary. Since wheat breeding has mainly focused on grain yield rather than on straw yield other cereal species, such as triticale, can be of interest. Therefore, in this research the straw yield and water-holding capacity of four winter wheat and four winter triticale varieties were studied during two growing seasons. For both wheat and triticale there were differences in dry matter yield and percentage dry matter between growing seasons. Furthermore, depending on the growing season, there were significant differences in straw yield between the different wheat and triticale varieties. However, during both growing seasons, the straw yield obtained from the triticale varieties was significantly higher compared to the straw yield obtained from the wheat varieties. Concerning the water-holding capacity, it was concluded that the water absorption potential of triticale straw was higher compared to the water absorption potential of wheat straw. However, only in 2014 a significant difference between wheat and triticale was noted. So, it can be concluded that, besides the known advantages of triticale (performance on marginal soils, disease resistance, low fertilizer input, etc.), this crop has the potential to deliver high yields of high quality straw

Deoxynivalenol content in wheat dust versus wheat grain: a comparative study

The present study, set up in the growing season 2011-2012, was designed to obtain quantitative data on the occurrence of deoxynivalenol in wheat grain and the corresponding wheat dust. The field experiment consisted of a complete randomised block design with five wheat varieties sown on a field on which maize was grown in the previous season. The impact of the tillage method and the influence of the wheat variety resistance on the deoxynivalenol content of wheat and wheat dust were investigated. The accumulation of deoxynivalenol in wheat dust was confirmed and a sigmoidal relationship between the deoxynivalenol content in wheat dust versus wheat grain was determined. Deoxynivalenol reduction was obtained by ploughing and by sowing moderately resistant wheat varieties. As wheat dust provides equal results and solves the problem of heterogeneity during sampling of conventional wheat matrix, the sampling of wheat dust can be considered as a promising alternative

Boll positioning and seed ageing effects on seed quality of cotton in Busia County, Kenya

La graine de coton ( Gossypium hirsutum ) est un produit agricole susceptible de se d\ue9t\ue9riorer pendant le stockage. L\u2019objectif de cette \ue9tude \ue9tait de d\ue9terminer l\u2019effet de la position de la capsule sur les graines de la plante et la p\ue9riode de stockage sur la qualit\ue9 des graines de coton. La vari\ue9t\ue9 de coton KSA 81M a \ue9t\ue9 plant\ue9e au Centre de Formation Agricole de Busia (ATC) et les capsules ont \ue9t\ue9 r\ue9colt\ue9es dans les branches basale, centrale et sup\ue9rieure. Les graines ont \ue9t\ue9 stock\ue9es puis test\ue9es pour d\ue9terminer la qualit\ue9 des graines. En g\ue9n\ue9ral, le pourcentage de germination des graines a diminu\ue9 pendant la p\ue9riode de stockage; tandis que la conductivit\ue9 \ue9lectrique et le temps moyen de germination augmentaient. Remarquablement, la capacit\ue9 germinative des graines provenant des tiges basales est tomb\ue9e en dessous de la capacit\ue9 germinative des graines des branches m\ue9dianes et sup\ue9rieures, apr\ue8s six mois malgr\ue9 un pourcentage de germination initial plus \ue9lev\ue9. En revanche, la conductivit\ue9 \ue9lectrique et le temps moyen de germination des graines des branches basales ont montr\ue9 une augmentation significative apr\ue8s six mois par rapport aux branches moyennes et sup\ue9rieures. Nos r\ue9sultats sugg\ue8rent que la qualit\ue9 des graines de coton des branches basales \ue0 la r\ue9colte est sup\ue9rieure \ue0 la qualit\ue9 des graines des branches m\ue9dianes et sup\ue9rieures. Cependant, lorsqu\u2019elles sont soumises au stockage, les graines des branches basales pr\ue9sentent des changements de d\ue9t\ue9rioration plus \ue9lev\ue9s que ceux obtenus des branches moyenne et sup\ue9rieure. Cela pourrait \ueatre li\ue9 \ue0 la dur\ue9e du d\ue9veloppement des graines et \ue0 l\u2019augmentation des fuites de solut\ue9 apr\ue8s l\u2019imbibition, qui s\u2019accompagne g\ue9n\ue9ralement d\u2019une fuite in\ue9vitable des m\ue9tabolites n\ue9cessaires \ue0 la germination et \ue0 la croissance normale des semis

Environmental and cultivar variability in composition, content and biological activity of phenolic acids and alkylresorcinols of winter wheat grains from a multi-site field trial across Europe

Different factors such as the genotype, environmental conditions, temperature stress, solar radiation and others can influence the phytochemical status of plants. The concentration of phenolic acids and alkylresorciols (ARs) as well as their chemical composition and biological activity have been determined in twelve winter wheat cultivars grown at eight European locations. This was the first winter wheat multi-location field trial of the European Consortium for Open Field Experimentation (ECOFE). Extracts from grain were analyzed using a UPLC-PDA-ESI MS system (phenolic acids), UPLC-PDA-MS/MS (alkylresorcinols) and TLC-DPPH• test with ImageJ program (antiradical activity). The phenolic acid profile consisted of five hydroxybenzoic acid and four hydroxycinnamic acid derivatives, among which ferulic and sinapic acids were predominated. The ARs profile consisted of nine AR derivatives, among which 5-n-heneicosylresorcinol (C21:0) and 5-n-nonadecanylresorcinol (C19:0) were pre dominated. Our study showed significant differences in phenolic acids and AR content between wheat cultivars, as well as between locations. We observed a positive correlation between the biological activity of extracts and the total amount of phenolic acids and ARs. Two cultivars, Chambo and Julius (average of all sites) and samples from the Spanish site (average of all cultivars) showed the highest content and composition of nutritional substances

On Abstraction-Based Controller Design With Output Feedback

We consider abstraction-based design of output-feedback controllers for dynamical systems with a finite set of inputs and outputs against specifications in linear-time temporal logic. The usual procedure for abstraction-based controller design (ABCD) first constructs a finite-state abstraction of the underlying dynamical system, and second, uses reactive synthesis techniques to compute an abstract state-feedback controller on the abstraction. In this context, our contribution is two-fold: (I) we define a suitable relation between the original system and its abstraction which characterizes the soundness and completeness conditions for an abstract state-feedback controller to be refined to a concrete output-feedback controller for the original system, and (II) we provide an algorithm to compute a sound finite-state abstraction fulfilling this relation. Our relation generalizes feedback-refinement relations from ABCD with state-feedback. Our algorithm for constructing sound finite-state abstractions is inspired by the simultaneous reachability and bisimulation minimization algorithm of Lee and Yannakakis. We lift their idea to the computation of an observation-equivalent system and show how sound abstractions can be obtained by stopping this algorithm at any point. Additionally, our new algorithm produces a realization of the topological closure of the input/output behavior of the original system if it is finite-state realizable

Perspectives on global mycotoxin issues and management from the mycokey maize working group

Open Access Article; Published online: 11 Sept 2020During the last decade, there have been many advances in research and technology that have greatly contributed to expanded capabilities and knowledge in detection and measurement, characterization, biosynthesis, and management of mycotoxins in maize. MycoKey, an EU‐funded Horizon 2020 project, was established to advance knowledge and technology transfer around the globe to address mycotoxins impacts in key food and feed chains. MycoKey included several working groups comprised of international experts in different fields of mycotoxicology. The MycoKey Maize Working Group recently convened to gather information and strategize for the development and implementation of solutions to the maize mycotoxin problem in light of current and emerging technologies. This feature summarizes the Maize WG discussion and recommendations for addressing mycotoxin problems in maize. Discussions focused on aflatoxins, deoxynivalenol, fumonisins, and zearalenone, which are the most widespread and persistently important mycotoxins in maize. Although regional differences were recognized, there was consensus about many of the priorities for research and effective management strategies. For pre-harvest management, genetic resistance and selecting adapted maize genotypes, along with insect management, were among the most fruitful strategies identified across the mycotoxin groups. For post-harvest management, the most important practices included timely harvest, rapid grain drying, grain cleaning, and carefully managed storage conditions. Remediation practices such as optical sorting, density separation, milling, and chemical detoxification were also suggested. Future research and communication priorities included advanced breeding technologies, development of risk assessment tools, and the development and dissemination of regionally relevant management guidelines