Nutritional and Bread-Making Quality of Wheat as Influenced by Mineral Fertilization in a Compost-Amended Regosol soil

This experiment was conducted to assess the effect of different levels of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) fertilization on growth, grain yield, nutritional and bread-making quality of wheat in a compost-amended regosol soil. Wheat cultivar Minaminokaori was grown in containers containing a mixture of regosol and aerobic compost (2:1 v/v). This study comprised a non-fertilized control (F1) and six levels of NPK fertilizers: F2 (80 kg N + 40 kg P2O5 +40 kg K2O ha-1), F3 (110 kg N + 60 kg P2O5 + 55 kg K2O ha-1), F4 (140 kg N + 80 kg P2O5 + 70 kg K2O ha-1), F5 (170 kg N + 100 kg P2O5 + 85 kg K2O ha-1), F6 (200 kg N + 120 kg P2O5 + 100 kg K2O ha-1) and F7 (230 kg N + 140 kg P2O5 + 115 K2O kg ha-1). A significant improvement in agronomic performance, grain nutritional and bread-making quality of wheat was observed with the F6 treatment, it increased the grain yield (151.6%), crude protein (65.3%), water-soluble pentosan (40.5%), and dry gluten (4-fold) compared to the control. The F6 treatment also increased grain total N, P, K, Mg, Ca, Zn and inorganic phosphorus contents by 65.2, 33.6, 8.9, 19.7, 165.9, 26.1 and 80.0%, respectively, compared to control. However, it slightly increased grain phytate P content. The results from this study suggest that agronomic performance, grain yield, nutritional and bread-making quality of wheat can be improved with an appropriate dose of NPK in a compost-amended regosol soil

Effect of salicylic acid and potassium application on yield and grain nutritional quality of wheat under drought stress condition

Drought stress severely reduces wheat productivity and affects grain quality. In this study the effects of combined application of salicylic acid (SA) and potassium (K) on yield and grain quality of wheat under drought stress condition was investigated. Winter wheat cultivar Minaminokaori was grown in pots in a greenhouse, and subjected to 3 levels of K (50, 100 and 200 kg ha–1) fertilizer applications. The plants were foliar sprayed with SA (0.7 mM) at heading stage, and then imposed to the drought stress until grain maturity. Drought stress decreased grain yield by 41.1%, starch content by 10.2% and water-soluble pentosan content by 3.5% in comparison to well-irrigated control. However, grain crude protein content, total pentosan content and phytate phosphorus content were increased by 33.0%, 17.9%, and 13.4% respectively. Under the same drought condition, the application of combined SA and high K levels has increased grain yield (13.3%), starch (12.2%) and water-soluble pentosan content (20.3%) compared to SA-untreated with low level of K fertilizer. In addition, SA application decreased the percentage of phytate phosphorus to total phosphorus under drought stress. These results suggested that combined treatment of SA foliar application and a higher doses of K fertilizer can partially improve wheat productivity, grain nutritional quality, particularly water-soluble pentosan that influences the bread-making quality, without increasing the anti-nutrient component phytate under drought stress condition

Yield response, nutritional quality and water productivity of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) are influenced by drip irrigation and straw mulch in the coastal saline ecosystem of Ganges Delta, India

In the coastal zone of the Ganges Delta, water shortages due to soil salinity limit the yield of dry season crops. To alleviate water shortage as a consequence of salinity stress in the coastal saline ecosystem, the effect of different water-saving (WS) and water-conserving options was assessed on growth, yield and water use of tomato; two field experiments were carried out at Gosaba, West Bengal, India in consecutive seasons during the winter of 2016–17 and 2017–18. The experiment was laid out in a randomized block design with five treatments viz., surface irrigation, surface irrigation + straw mulching, drip irrigation at 100% reference evapotranspiration (ET0), drip irrigation at 80% ET0, drip irrigation at 80% ET0 + straw mulching. Application of drip irrigation at 80% ET0 + straw mulching brought about significantly the highest fruit as well as the marketable yield of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.). The soil reaction (pH), post-harvest organic carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium (N, P and K) status and soil microbial population along with the biochemical quality parameters of tomato (juice pH, ascorbic acid, total soluble solids and sugar content of fruits) were significantly influenced by combined application of drip irrigation and straw mulching. Surface irrigation significantly increased the salinity level in surface and sub-surface soil layers while the least salinity development was observed in surface mulched plots receiving irrigation water through drip irrigation. The highest water productivity was also improved from drip irrigation at 80% ET0 + straw mulched plots irrespective of the year of experimentation. Such intervention also helped in reducing salinity stress for the tomato crop. Thus, straw mulching along with drip irrigation at 80% ET0 can be recommended as the most suitable irrigation option for tomato crop in the study area as well as coastal saline regions of South Asia. Finally, it can be concluded that the judicious application of irrigation water not only increased growth, yield and quality tomatoes but also minimized the negative impact of soil salinity on tomatoes grown in the coastal saline ecosystem of Ganges Delta

Wheat (Triticum aestivum l.) production under drought and heat stress – adverse effects, mechanisms and mitigation: A review

Heat and drought stresses are the most important abiotic factors that reduce crops productivity by affecting various physiological and biochemical processes. Thus, selecting cultivars with better drought or heat stress tolerance or breeding for stress tolerance will be helpful in enhancing crop productivity under harsh environments. This review elaborates the physiological basis of high temperature and drought stress tolerance in wheat which can be used as selection criteria in wheat breeding program. In addition, some agronomic selection criteria which are valid and useful in selecting stress tolerant wheat species and cultivars. The review also discussed the valid usage of stress tolerance indices (such as mean productivity (MP), geometric mean productivity (GMP), yield index (YI), yield stability index (YSI), relative productivity (RP%), stress susceptibility index (SSI), and the tolerance index (TOL)) to scan the genotypes against drought and heat stress. Beside these, exogenous application of stress signaling compounds, osmolytes, or certain inorganic salts play a vital role for alleviating adverse effects of abiotic stresses for sustainable wheat production. In addition, applications for soil amendments will also helpful in increasing wheat crop productivity under stressful conditions. All these strategies may be helpful to meet the food demands of the increasing population.Fil: El Sabagh, A.. University of Kafrelsheikh; EgiptoFil: Hossain, A.. Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute; BangladeshFil: Barutçular, C.. University of Çukurova; TurquíaFil: Islam, Mohammad Sirajul. Hajee Mohammad Danesh Science and Technology University; BangladeshFil: Awan, S. I.. University of the Poonch; PakistánFil: Galal, A.. University of Kafrelsheikh; EgiptoFil: Iqbal, M. A.. University of the Poonch; PakistánFil: Sytar, O.. Slovak University of Agriculture; EslovaquiaFil: Yildirim, M.. Dicle University; TurquíaFil: Meena, R. S.. Inistitute of Agricultural Sciences; IndiaFil: Fahad, S.. The University of Swabi; PakistánFil: Najeeb, U.. The University of Queensland; AustraliaFil: Konuskan, O.. Mustafa Kemal University; TurquíaFil: Habib, R. A.. Bahauddin Zakariya University; PakistánFil: Llanes, Analia Susana. Universidad Nacional de Rio Cuarto. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Fisicoquímicas y Naturales. Instituto de Investigaciones Agrobiotecnológicas - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Investigaciones Agrobiotecnológicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Fisicoquímicas y Naturales. Departamento de Ciencias Naturales; ArgentinaFil: Hussain, S.. University of Agriculture; PakistánFil: Farooq, M.. Sultan Qaboos University; OmánFil: Hasanuzzaman, M.. Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University; BangladeshFil: Abdelaal, K. H.. Kafrelsheikh University; EgiptoFil: Hafez, Y.. Kafrelsheikh University; EgiptoFil: Cig, F.. Siirt University; TurquíaFil: Saneoka, H.. Hiroshima University; Japó

Adaptive mechanisms of plants against salt stress and salt shock

Salinization process occurs when soil is contaminated with salt, which consequently influences plant growth and development leading to reduction in yield of many food crops. Responding to a higher salt concentration than the normal range can result in plant developing complex physiological traits and activation of stress-related genes and metabolic pathways. Many studies have been carried out by different research groups to understand adaptive mechanism in many plant species towards salinity stress. However, different methods of sodium chloride (NaCl) applications definitely give different responses and adaptive mechanisms towards the increase in salinity. Gradual increase in NaCl application causes the plant to have salt stress or osmotic stress, while single step and high concentration of NaCl may result in salt shock or osmotic shock. Osmotic shock can cause cell plasmolysis and leakage of osmolytes in plant. Also, the gene expression pattern is influenced by the type of methods used in increasing the salinity. Therefore, this chapter discusses the adaptive mechanism in plant responding to both types of salinity increment, which include the morphological changes of plant roots and aerial parts, involvement of signalling molecules in stress perception and regulatory networks and production of osmolyte and osmoprotective proteins