Some compositional and biochemical attributes of jaman fruit (Syzygium cumini L.) from Potowar region of Pakistan

Jaman (syzygium cumini L.) is among the neglected fruits of tropical and sub-tropical regions having certain food and pharmaceutical values. Numerous studies are available world over on the compositional potentials of this fruit; however, very limited work has been done in Pakistan. The present investigation was therefore undertaken to assess some compositional properties and antioxidant potentials of jaman fruit parts. Proximate composition in terms of crude protein, fat, fiber and ash content were estimated in pulp, skin and seed portions and found in the range of 3.57-5.05%, 1.60-8.00%, 3.09-3.33%, 4.51-6.21% respectively. Seed was leading in protein, fat, ash and crude fiber, whereas varying levels were found in pulp and skin. Among the chemical attributes, total sugars, titratable acidity and ascorbic acid were assessed only in fruit pulp on dry weight basis that were 52.48%, 5.66% and 187.63 mg. 100g-1, while total soluble solids (9.11oBrix) were estimated in fresh pulp. Bioactive composition revealed that jaman fruit parts were rich in phenolics (4812.03- 5103.03 mg GAE. 100g-1), flavonoids (2380-3920 mg QE. 100g-1), anthocyanins (272.26-384.32 mg Cya.3-rut E. 100g-1) and antioxidant activity (82.52-90.66%). Fruit skin had higher amounts of bioactive components and antioxidant capacity followed by pulp and seed. All fruit parts were rich in mineral composition; however, seed had higher contents followed by skin and pulp. Among the individual minerals, potassium, phosphorus and calcium were abundant followed by magnesium, sodium and iron respectively. These findings revealed that Syzygium cumini fruit is a junction of health promoting phytochemicals and major mineral elements

Sugarcane Production under Changing Climate: Effects of Environmental Vulnerabilities on Sugarcane Diseases, Insects and Weeds

Sugarcane is an important crop for bioenergy and sugar, contributing to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Pakistan. Global warming and increasing greenhouse gas emission result in the increased intensity and frequency of extreme weather events. Temperature stress is a major environmental stress that limits the sugarcane growth, productivity and metabolism worldwide. Numerous biochemical reactions are involved in plant development, and these biochemical reactions are very sensitive to temperature stress. Now a day, temperature stress is a major concern for sugarcane production and approaches for high yield of sugarcane under temperature stress are important agriculture goals. Sugarcane plant adapts a number of acclimation and avoidance mechanism against different environmental stress. Plant survival under different stresses depends on ability to generate and transmit the signal and biochemical and physiological changes. In future, climate change is an important consequence for sugarcane production in the world because of its relative low adaptive capacity, poor forecasting system and high vulnerable to natural hazard. In this review we briefly describe climate change effects on sugarcane, sugar production in several countries especially in Pakistan, future challenges for sugar production under changing climatic scenario and propose strategies for mitigation negative impacts of climate change

Detection of Four Novel Polymorphisms in PrP gene of Pakistani sheep (Damani and Hashtnagri) and goats (Kamori and Local Hairy) breeds

Scrapie is a fatal neurodegenerative disorder of sheep and goats caused by post-translational conformational change in the host-encoded prion protein (PrPC). Susceptibility or resistance to scrapie has been associated with the presence of polymorphisms in the prion protein (PrP) gene. In the present study, we analyzed the PrP gene sequence to determine the frequency of polymorphisms in 56 sheep (28 each from Damani and Hashtnagri breeds) and 56 goats (28 each from Kamori and Local Hairy breeds). A total of 7 amino acid polymorphisms were detected in the PrP gene for sheep and 4 for goats. These amino acid polymorphisms were combined in 13 alleles and 15 genotypes in sheep and 5 alleles and 6 genotypes in goats. The overall frequency of the most sheep scrapie-resistant polymorphism (Q171R) was calculated to be 0.107. The most scrapie-susceptible polymorphism (A136V) was not detected in any of the studied sheep. The overall frequency of scrapie-associated polymorphism (H143R) in goats was found to be 0.152. Along with already known amino acid polymorphisms, two novel polymorphisms were also detected for each of sheep (Q171N and T191I) and goats (G22C and P63L). However, the overall frequency of these polymorphisms was extremely low

COVID-19 and learning Styles: GCET as case study

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused higher educational institutions around the world to close campus-based activities and move to online delivery. The aim of this paper is to present the case of Global College of Engineering and Technology (GCET) and how its practices including teaching, students/staff support, assessments, and exam policies were affected. The paper investigates the mediating role of no detriment policy impact on students’ result along with the challenges faced by the higher educational institution, recommendations and suggestions. The investigation concludes that the strategies adopted for online delivery, student support, assessments and exam policies have helped students to effectively cope with the teaching and learning challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic without affecting their academic results. The study shows that 99% of students were able to maintain the same or better level of performance during the 1st COVID-19 semester. One percent of students had shown a slight decrease in their performance (about 1%–2%) with respect to their overall marks pre-COVID-19. The no detriment policy has succoured those 1% of the students to maintain their overall performance to what it used to be pre-COVID-19 pandemic. Finally, the paper provides the list of challenges and suggestions for smooth conduction of online education

A preliminary evaluation of the potential to use electromagnetic induction to assess sprinkler irrigation performance in horticultural crops

[Abstraact]: In irrigated environments the uniformity of the water application has a major effect on the soil water content and the subsequent spatial variation in crop stress and yield. However, the evaluation of sprinkler irrigation uniformity using traditional catch can analyses is resource prohibitive and commonly results in only small grids being used to infer whole field performance. A trial was established in a lettuce crop irrigated with a solid set sprinkler system to evaluate the potential to use electromagnetic sensing for irrigation performance assessment. After crop establishment, the uniformity of the irrigation applications was deliberately modified within one sprinkler plot (9 m x 11 m) by reducing the sprinkler operating pressures. The uniformity of the water applied at each irrigation was measured using a grid of catch cans. The apparent soil electrical conductivity (ECa) was measured within the plot at multiple times during the cropping season using an EM38 (Geonics Ltd Canada). The ECa was found to be poorly correlated with the applied irrigation depths prior to sprinkler modification when the uniformity of the irrigations was relatively high. However, the correlation improved after sprinkler modification due to the increasing differences in soil moisture. There was generally a poor relationship between the volumes applied at each irrigation and the difference in ECa measured before and after irrigation. However, this relationship was marginally better for the irrigations immediately after sprinkler modification. This data suggests that EM sensing may be used to identify the spatial variations in irrigation application where the irrigation uniformity is poor (i.e. CU < 70%) and the application patterns are consistent throughout the season but that the technique is not suitable to evaluate individual application events or where the irrigation uniformity is comparatively high

A preliminary evaluation of in-season variations in sprinkler irrigation application patterns

Sprinkler irrigation uniformity varies substantially between irrigation events and single irrigation event evaluations should not be extrapolated to whole season performance. The spatial pattern of low uniformity applications appear reasonably consistent and are likely to be dominated by design and maintenance issues. The frequency distribution of high uniformity applications are more normally distributed than for low uniformity applications

Can electromagnetic induction be used to evaluate sprinkler irrigation uniformity for a shallow rooted crop?

The application uniformity of sprinkler irrigation systems affects both crop growth and profitability. However, traditional catch can measurements of irrigation uniformity are labour intensive and are normally only conducted in a small area of the field. A trial was established in a lettuce crop irrigated with a solid set sprinkler system to evaluate the potential to use electromagnetic sensing for irrigation performance assessment. After crop establishment, the uniformity of the irrigation applications was deliberately modified within two sprinkler plots (9 m x 11 m) by reducing the sprinkler operating pressures. The uniformity of the water applied during each irrigation was measured using a grid of catch cans. The apparent soil electrical conductivity (ECa) was measured within the plots for each irrigation during the cropping season using an EM38. Electromagnetic (EM) measurements were taken with the EM38 either on the ground or 35 cm above the ground surface. Elevating the EM sensor above the ground level did not improve the correlation between the point measured catch can volume of water applied and the difference in ECa measured before and after irrigation (ECa). However, the coefficient of uniformity calculated using the ECa data was correlated to the coefficient of uniformity calculated from the catch can data. The correlation was improved where the EM sensor was elevated above the soil surface so that only the root zone was sensed. This suggests that measurements of ECa can be used to estimate the irrigation uniformity for shallow rooted crops, particularly when the uniformity is low (CU < 70%) and the irrigation application pattern is consistent throughout the season. ECa measurements also identified the location of irrigation system leakages within the field

Quantifying the role of irrigation uniformity on lettuce production and profitability in the Lockyer Valley, Queensland

Water is a major input resource for irrigated agriculture and has a leading role amongst the factors responsible for infield yield variability. The uniformity of irrigation applications is commonly reported to be a key determinant of crop yields and profitability. However, improvements in irrigation application uniformity do not always improve yields or economic returns and there is some debate over the benefits of implementing site specific irrigation management under different environmental and climatic conditions. Catch can tests to evaluate irrigation uniformity are labour intensive and time consuming. Hence, they are commonly conducted on only small areas which lead to uncertainties over field scale spatial variations. While soil-water and crop sensing technology has enhanced irrigation research, these technologies are not currently used to evaluate commercial irrigation performance. Hence, the objectives of this research were to: (a) quantify the spatial yield and quality variability in an irrigated crop under specific irrigation design, management and environmental conditions, (b) evaluate the potential to use proximal or remote sensors for crop and soil-water measurements as part of irrigation performance evaluations, (c) identify variations in the seasonal patterns of irrigated water application and the resultant impact on soilwater and crop responses, and (d) evaluate the agronomic and economic benefits of improving the irrigation uniformity for a range of environmental conditions. A preliminary trial was conducted to evaluate the effect of non-uniform sprinkler irrigation applications on lettuce grown under commercial conditions in the Lockyer Valley, Queensland. A three-fold variation in the depth of water applied at specific locations in the field was measured within individual irrigation events even though selected sprinkler grids within the field were found to have a coefficient of uniformity (CU) greater than 80%. Substantial variations in sprinkler operating pressure (303 to 372 kPa) and discharge (0.07 to 0.14 l s-1) across the field were also measured suggesting that the variation in applied depths across the field may have been larger than measured within the grids. The variation in sprinkler pressure and flow rate was due to differences in sprinkler elevation, position along the laterals, pipe leakage and nozzle wear. However, the depth of irrigation water applied at specific locations in the field was not correlated with lettuce head size because head size was not very variable suggesting that a range of other factors including the presence of in-season rainfall and over-irrigation may also influence crop growth under commercial conditions. Two trials (autumn and winter crops) were subsequently conducted to evaluate the potential to use proximal plant and soil-water measurement systems to obtain spatial data for irrigation performance evaluations. Three sprinkler irrigation grids with different application uniformities were established within each trial plot. These trials were also used to determine the variation in uniformity of irrigation applications during the season and the consequential effect on soil moisture, lettuce growth and yield. Thermal infrared (for the calculation of crop water stress index) measurements of the lettuce plants were generally poorly correlated with both water applications (autumn trial R2 < 0.1; winter trial R2 < 0.54) and canopy area (autumn trial R2 < 0.02; winter trial R2 < 0.28). There were also no correlations between the multispectral reflectance measurements (used to calculate the normalised difference vegetation index) and water application. Measurements of lettuce canopy area and head size derived from photographs taken by a camera mounted perpendicularly (either 1.15 m or 10 m) above the ground surface were found to be well correlated (R2 = 0.35 to 0.92) with physically measured canopy area and head size measurements. The correlations generally improved throughout the season suggesting that this method may potentially be suitable for evaluating field scale spatial yield variability in lettuce crops. The evaluation of sprinkler irrigation uniformity using traditional catch can analyses is resource prohibitive and commonly results in only small grids being used to infer whole field performance. Measurements of apparent soil electrical conductivity (ECa) using electromagnetic (EM) sensors have been used to measure spatial variability in soil moisture but no detailed studies have been taken to evaluate the potential to use these sensors for measuring sprinkler irrigation uniformity. Apparent soil electrical conductivity (ECa) measurements were found to be not suitable for evaluating the uniformity of individual sprinkler irrigation applications where either the volumes applied are small or the uniformity of the application is relatively high (e.g. Christensen’s coefficient of uniformity (CU) > 75%). However, ECa measurements may be useful to identify cumulative non-uniformities in irrigation applications later in the season where the spatial pattern of water application is consistent throughout the season and the uniformity of the application is poor (e.g. CU < 70%). A similar relationship was found between soil tension (soil matric potential) and water application measurements with correlation generally higher in low uniformity grids later in the season. Substantial variations were found in the uniformity of individual irrigation applications throughout the season (e.g. CU ranged from 69 to 89% for a high uniformity grid). Similarly, the uniformity measured by catch cans at different grid locations in the same field during the same event was also found to vary widely (e.g. CU ranged from 61 to 85%). Hence, uniformity measurements taken using a limited number of grids over a single irrigation event may not adequately reflect the performance of the irrigation system over the whole season. The frequency distribution plots of the irrigation application depths were generally found to be normally distributed when the CU was greater than 75%. However, low uniformity applications (e.g. CU < 60%) were often multi-modal and generally positively skewed towards the low application depths. The effect of irrigation water application on crop growth and yield was evaluated in both trials. Variations in water application during the mid to late growing period were found to affect lettuce head development and marketability more than canopy size. There was also a substantial loss in marketability due to the depth of water application at specific locations within the grids. The proportion of marketable heads ranged from less than 20% to more than 70% within the low and high water application areas, respectively, of the low irrigation uniformity grids. The wide variation in the proportion of marketable heads with water application across each of the grids and trials confirms that many factors other than water (e.g. disease, fertility) may influence marketability. These factors were also responsible for the high degree of scatter in the plots relating total seasonal water (irrigation and effective rainfall) applied and yield. Both polynomial (i.e. quadratic) and exponential (i.e. plateau) functions were fitted to the data and there was no difference between the correlation for each form of equation. Hence, both forms were used in the subsequent economic analysis to evaluate the benefits of irrigation uniformity improvements. The economic analysis demonstrated that where the existing irrigation uniformity is low, returns can generally be increased with improvements in irrigation uniformity. However, the magnitude of the benefit is dependent on the season, nature of the crop production response and the total water applied. The benefits of system improvements are maximised when the crop has a quadratic production function and appropriate irrigation scheduling is used. However, where the crop has an exponential production function or inappropriate scheduling is used then the gains may be small or negative. Similarly, in-season rainfall reduces the marginal benefit of irrigation system improvement with negligible increase in returns when effective rainfall meets 50% or more of the crop water requirements. The incentive for irrigation system improvement is greatest when water is limited and unable to be purchased. Periods of low product price would be expected to encourage irrigation uniformity improvements as non-uniform systems have a higher-break even price and require increased management (e.g. scheduling) to remain viable. These results may be used by both industry and growers to develop appropriate investment strategies to improve the performance of irrigation systems

Evaluation of a proximal vision data acquisition system for measuring spatial variability in lettuce growth

[Abstract]: In-field crop mapping provides the growth and yield data required to spatially manage inputs such as irrigation water and fertiliser. This study evaluated the potential to use low cost cameras as proximal sensors to spatially map lettuce growth throughout a growing season. Two 9 x 11 m measurement plots of 42 sampling points each were established within a sprinkler irrigated lettuce crop. Ten non-uniform irrigations were applied during the season. After each irrigation, the canopy and head diameter of two plants at each sampling point were physically measured. Colour digital cameras were also used to capture images of the lettuces from either 1.15 m or 10 m above the ground surface. Image processing software was then used to calculate the individual plant canopy area and lettuce head diameter. The lettuce growth measurements obtained using the 1.15 m camera were generally well correlated (R2 = 0.73-0.89) with the physical measurements 23 days after transplanting. Weaker correlations (R2 = 0.35-0.74) were observed at earlier dates possibly due to physical measurement errors of plant size early in the season. The correlations between the canopy measurements obtained using the 10 m camera and the physical measurements were generally 0.1 to 0.2 lower than those obtained using the 1.15 m camera, presumably due to lower pixel resolution. Correlations between the head diameter obtained using the 1.15 m camera and the physical measurements ranged from 0.83 to 0.9

Evaluation of nuclear reaction cross section data of proton and deuteron induced reactions on 75 As, with particular emphasis on the production of 73 Se

75Se (T1/2 = 120 d), 73gSe (T1/2 = 7.1 h) and 72Se (T1/2 = 8.4 d) are important radioisotopes of selenium, being used in tracer studies, PET investigations and as a generator parent, respectively. Cross section data for the formation of those radionuclides in proton and deuteron induced reactions on 75As were critically analyzed up to about 70 MeV. A well-developed evaluation methodology was applied to generate the statistically fitted cross sections, based on the critically analyzed literature experimental data and the theoretical cross section values of three nuclear model codes ALICE-IPPE, TAYLS 1.9, and EMPIRE 3.2. Using the fitted cross sections the integral yield of each radionuclide was calculated. For the estimation of impurities, the integral yield of each radionuclide was compared with the yields of the other two radionuclides over a given energy region, and therefrom the energy range was suggested for the high purity production of each of the radionuclides 75Se, 73Se and 72Se. For production of the very important non-standard positron emitter 73Se via the 75As(p,3n)73Se reaction, the optimum energy range was deduced to be Ep = 4030 MeV, with a thick target yield of 1441 MBq/μAh and the 72, 75Se impurity level of <0.1%