Drought and heat tolerance in chickpea

Chickpea is largely grown rainfed on residual soil moisture after the rainy season. Terminal drought is a major constraint to chickpea production, particularly in the semi-arid tropics. Similarly, exposure of chickpea to heat stress (≥35C) at flowering and podding is known to result in drastic reductions in seed yields. Efforts have been made to develop cultivars that can escape (early maturity) or avoid/tolerate (greater extraction of water from the soil, enhanced water use efficiency) terminal drought. Large genetic variations exist for reproductive stage heat tolerance in chickpea. Many heat tolerant genotypes have been identified through screening of germplasm/breeding lines under heat stress conditions in the field. A heat tolerant breeding line ICCV92944 has been released for cultivation in Myanmar (as Yezin 6) and India (as JG 14)

Case Report:Triceps Tendon Avulsion: A Rare Injury

Background: Triceps tendon avulsion is one of the rare tendinous injuries. Such injuries can easily be missed, and should be kept as a differential diagnosis in all patients who present with pain and swelling at the back of the elbow after a traumatic event.Case Details: We present a case of triceps tendon avulsion which was missed in the initial workup by a local practitioner. Careful physical examination and evaluation of the X-rays clinched the diagnosis. The patient was treated surgically by transosseous suture technique using the Krakow method. The end result was a good range of movement and a power equal to the uninjured side. A high index of suspicion, physical examination seeking a palpable gap, and search for a ‘flake’ fracture on lateral radiographs will help make the diagnosis of triceps avulsion. Early recognition of these injuries and prompt intervention are the cornerstones of a successful outcome. A second examination after a few days, when the swelling has reduced, should be the standard in doubtful cases or during any unclear joint injury. We recommend a primary repair through a transosseous suture technique using Krakow method for optimal results.Keywords: Triceps avulsion, Krakow, Ethibon

The Hard X-ray emission of the blazar PKS 2155--304

The synchrotron peak of the X-ray bright High Energy Peaked Blazar (HBL) PKS 2155$-$304 occurs in the UV-EUV region and hence its X-ray emission (0.6--10 keV) lies mostly in the falling part of the synchrotron hump. We aim to study the X-ray emission of PKS 2155$-$304 during different intensity states in 2009$-$2014 using XMM$-$Newton satellite. We studied the spectral curvature of all of the observations to provide crucial information on the energy distribution of the non-thermal particles. Most of the observations show curvature or deviation from a single power-law and can be well modeled by a log parabola model. In some of the observations, we find spectral flattening after 6 keV. In order to find the possible origin of the X-ray excess, we built the Multi-band Spectral Energy distribution (SED). We find that the X-ray excess in PKS 2155--304 is difficult to fit in the one zone model but, could be easily reconciled in the spine/layer jet structure. The hard X-ray excess can be explained by the inverse Comptonization of the synchrotron photons (from the layer) by the spine electrons.Comment: 14 pages, 7 Figures, Accepted for publication in Ap

Round Cell Vaginal Malignant Melanoma : A rare entity

Malignant melanoma is predominantly a skin disease but in rare instances it may occur at other sites. A vaginal melanoma is a rare clinical entity and the round cell type is an uncommon variant. Although the present case was clinically diagnosed as a urethral caruncle, on histopathological examination and immunostaining it was diagnosed as a round cell pigmented malignant melanoma. The patient refused radical surgery and was given a full course radiotherapy treatment but died a year later. Malignant vaginal melanoma carries a very poor prognosis even when lesion is localised at the time of presentation. The five-year survival rate ranges from 10–20% with the prognosis being influenced by tumour size. A tumour size ≥3cm has a poor prognosis. Age, mitotic count, stage, and location of the lesion do not influence survival rates

Rapid generation advance (RGA) in chickpea to produce up to seven generations per year and enable speed breeding

This study was aimed at developing a protocol for increasing the number of generation cycles per year in chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.). Six accessions, two each from early (JG 11 and JG 14), medium (ICCV 10 and JG 16), and late (CDC-Frontier and C 235) maturity groups, were used. The experiment was conducted for two years under glasshouse conditions. The photoperiod was extended to induce early flowering and immature seeds were germinated to further reduce generation cycle time. Compared to control, artificial light caused a reduction in flowering time by respectively 8–19, 7–16, and 11–27 days in early-, medium-, and late-maturing accessions. The earliest stage of immature seed able to germinate was 20–23 days after anthesis in accessions of different maturity groups. The time period between germination and the earliest stage of immature seed suitable for germination was considered one generation cycle and spanned respectively 43–60, 44–64, and 52–79 days in early-, medium-, and late-maturing accessions. However, the late-maturing accession CDCFrontier could not be advanced further after three generation cycles owing to the strong influence of photoperiod and temperature. The mean total number of generations produced per year were respectively 7, 6.2, and 6 in early-, medium-, and late-maturing accessions. These results have encouraging implications for breeding programs: rapid progression toward homozygosity, development of mapping populations, and reduction in time, space and resources in cultivar development (speed breeding)

Technologies for Intensification of Production and Uses of Grain Legumes for Nutrition Security

Malnutrition resulting from intake of food poor in nutritional value, particularly lacking in micronutrients, has been recognized as a serious health problem in developing countries including India. Nutritional security is a priority for India. Crop diversification in agriculture contributes to balanced diet and nutritional security. Production intensification of nutrient-dense crops, contributes to their increased production, and consequently enhances their accessibility at affordable prices to meet nutritional security. Grain legumes produce nutrient-dense grains rich in proteins, vitamins, minerals and micronutrients essential for growth and development. However, cultivation of grain legumes is often neglected resulting in poor production in the country, and consequently poor access to legumes at affordable prices. Pigeonpea or red gram (Cajanus cajan L.), chickpea or bengal gram (Cicer arietinum L.) and groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.), the three nutritious grain legumes are grown widely across the country and are major constituents of Indian diets. They are climate- resilient crops adapted to water-limiting conditions making them choice crops for cultivation in adverse conditions. Policy options for promoting cultivation and increased production of pigeon pea, chickpea and groundnut are needed. Technology options for intensification of their cultivation include improved cultivars of grain legumes with enhanced adaptation and nutritional properties, their processing, plugging post-harvest and storage losses, and development of alternative food products. The chapter discusses the contribution of agriculture to nutritional security and the need to diversify cultivation of crops to include nutrient-dense grain legumes, and intensification of their cultivation to achieve their enhanced production and productivity. The scope to develop bio-fortified grain legumes is also discussed. Some countries have successfully harnessed the potential of processed grain legumes for use as food supplements for children and elderly, as well as to prepare ready-to-use-therapeutic-food products to treat acute malnutrition

Genetics and Characterization of an Open Flower Mutant in Chickpea

The chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is a self-pollinated grain legume with cleistogamous flowers. A spontaneous open-flower mutant, designated OFM-3, was identified in which reproductive organs were not enclosed by the keel petals and thus remained exposed. All 10 stamens in this mutant were free, whereas these are in diadelphous (9 fused + 1 free) condition in normal chickpea flowers. A large number of pods (73%) remained unfilled (empty) in OFM-3, though its pollen fertility was as high as the standard cultivars. The open-flower trait was found to be recessive and controlled by a single gene. OFM-3 was crossed with earlier reported open-flower mutants, ICC 16341 and ICC 16129, to establish trait relationships of genes controlling open flower traits in these mutants. It was found that each of these mutants has a unique gene for open flower trait. The genes controlling open flower trait in ICC 16341, ICC 16129, and OFM-3 were designated ofl-1, ofl-2, and ofl-3, respectively. Breeding lines with open flower trait and higher percentage of filled pods have been developed from the progenies of the crosses of OFM-3 with normal-flowered lines. The open flower trait offers opportunity for exploring hybrid technology in the chickpea