Establishing monoxenic culture of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus Glomus intraradices through root organ culture

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi are soil fungi distributed worldwide, forming symbiosis with most of the vascular plants for their growth and survival, which is used for sustainable agriculture and ecosystem management. This study investigated the establishment of monoxenic cultures of Glomus intraradices in association with transformed carrot hairy root. The G.intraradices spores were isolated from sugarcane rhizosphere by wet sieving and decanting technique and propagated in open pot culture. Transformation in to carrot hairy root was done using Agrobacterium rhizogenes. Surface sterilization of G.intraradices spores co-cultured with transformed carrot hairy root in Modified Strulla and Romand (MSR) medium was found the host root growth as well as for germination AM spores. After three months of incubation in dark condition, significant production of extensive hyphal growth on MSR medium and an average of 8500-9000 spores per petri dish was observed. The in vitro inoculum exhibited higher potential of root colonization due to numerous intraradices mycelium with extensive spore load. The produced monoxenic inoculum can be used in place of traditional system where it has a advantage of producing contaminant free propagulas. Thus the monoxenic culture system, a powerful tool, of AM sporulation, can be used for the mass production of monoxenic inoculum of AM fungi besides studying its biology

Shelf-life extension of tender endosperm of Palmyra palm (Borassus flabellifer) through retort processing

There is a demand for Palmyra palm (Borassus flabellifer) tender endosperm (Taal; Nungu) in the off season due to its health benefits. To extend the shelf life of Palmyra palm Tender Fruit Endosperm (PTFE) it was thermally processed. The versatile retort processing technology was used to increase the shelf life. Processed tender endosperm packed in transparent retort pouches (TRP) and nontransparent retort pouches (NTRP) were evaluated for textural, color, microbial, and sensorial properties. Heat penetration tests and F- values were also determined. Processed tender endosperm was compared with fresh endosperm and there was a shelf life of 6 months under ambient storage conditions (30-32°C). The process time to reach lethality in nontransparent pouches (14.03 min) was higher than that in transparent pouches (13.02 min) and the difference may be due to the layer addition of packaging material. Textural profile analysis revealed that hardness, gumminess, and chewiness decreased when the processing and storage time was increased. The sensory score obtained similar results to the textural analysis (Hardness value of TRP:5.063kgfand NTRP: 4.58kgf); succulence and toughness decreased over the prolonged processing time. The tender endosperm in metalized retort pouches scored higher (7.9 as overall acceptability) than that in transparent retort pouches (7.8 as overall acceptability) in terms of sensory analysis. Retorted pouches were microbiologically safe until 6 months with the absence of Clostridium, Staphylococcus and Salmonella spp.The present experiment on shelf life extension of Palmyra tender endosperm (Nungu) helps in preserving the perishable healthy delicacy for more months and also enables to fetch higher income for the farmers with minimal investment

Evaluation of the effect of magnesium in combination with organic manures on the growth and yield attributes and yield of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) inTypic Ustropept

Cotton is India's most significant commercial crop and has a significant role in the agricultural economics of the nation. A field experiment was conducted in a farmer’s field located in Achchandavilthan village of Srivillipudhur block, Virudhunager District, from 28-Aug 2019 to Jan, 2020 to evaluate the response of cotton to foliar and soil application of magnesium combination with organic manures on the growth and yield attributes and yield of cotton in magnesium deficient soil. The soil was categorized as “Moderately deep clay Typic Ustropept, and medium N, P and high K content, in a randomized block design with fifteen treatments and three replications. The results revealed that the application of MgSO4 at a rate of 50 kg ha-1 along with 250 kg vermicompost for 30 days (1:5 ratio) at critical stages of crop growth along with the Soil Test Crop Response (STCR) based N,P2O5 and K2O RDF registered the maximum plant height at all three stages (40,70 and harvest) of crop growth (94.7, 122.3 and 222.2 cm), number of monopodial branches plant-1 (33.4), number of sympodial branches plant-1(73.1), numbers of boll plant-1 (48.3), boll weight (3.9 g), and seed cotton yield (26.2 q ha-1). This was followed by treatment (T9) MgSO4 at a rate of 50 kg ha-1 incubated with 500 kg FYM for 30 days (1:10 ratio) along with STCR) based N,P2O5 and K2O RDF and the lowest treatment receiving the recommended dose of N, P2O5 and K2O alone (80:40:40 kg ha1). It was revealed that natural chelated fertilizer prepared from MgSO4 incubated with organic manures for 30 days significantly improved the growth and yield of cotton

Physicochemical, antioxidant and antimicrobial properties of citrus peel essential oils

Essential oils are produced as secondary metabolites of aromatic plants and can be extracted from leaves, seeds or fruit peel of the plants. Citrus peel is a rich source of limonene which is antimicrobial in nature. The present study aimed to deal with the physicochemical, antioxidant and antimicrobial properties of citrus peel essential oil from Citrus reticulate (mandarin orange), Citrus limetta (mosambi) and Citrus limon (lemon).  The lemon peel oil had lower peroxide value (1.6 meq/kg of sample), saponification value (112.2 mg KOH/g of oil) and higher iodine value (116 gI2/100g oil) when compared with orange and mosambi peel essential oil. DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) free radical scavenging activity of citrus peel essential oil was measured  and the result indicated that the total antioxidant activity of lemon peel oil was 89.2 % Radical Scavenging activity (RSA). The antifungal activity was assessed by agar dilution method, whereas the antibacterial property was assessed by the agar diffusion method. Lemon peel oil recorded better antimicrobial properties with minimum inhibitory concentration of 0.3% against Aspergillus flavus MTCC 277, 0.2% for Penicillium  MTCC 1995 and Fusarium oxysporum MTCC 284. Likewise, the minimum inhibitory concentration of lemon peel oil against Staphylococcus aureus MTCC 96 was 0.3%; Salmonella enterica MTCC 733 and Erwinia sp MTCC 2760 was 0.5%; Pseudomonas aeruginosa MTCC 1688 and Escherichia coli MTCC 443 was 0.7%. This comparative study showed that lemon peel oil had better physicochemical and antioxidant property. Lemon peel oil can be used as a preservative in the food system as it exhibited antibacterial and antifungal activity

Impact of multi mix herbicide on growth and weed indices in irrigated groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.)

Food and nutritional security for the country India depends on the agriculture sector. Groundnut is an important food legume cum oilseed crop and weed infestation is the major problem causing yield reduction. Therefore, the field experiment study was conducted during the winter season of 2022 at Central farm, Agriculture College and Research Institute in Madurai to evaluate the newer multi-mix herbicide combinations and find out the appropriate weed management practices for yield enhancement and weed suppression in irrigated groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.). The experiment consisted of twelve treatments (T1 to T12) laid out in a randomized complete block design. Among the weed flora, almost two third of the weed infestation was documented as broad-leaved weeds (51%), followed by grassy weeds (36%) and less infestation by sedges (13%) in groundnut at the experimental site. Application of pre-emergence alone and post-emergence alone does not suppress the weed infestation efficiently. For that, this study focused on using multi-mixed herbicides along with hand weeding to determine herbicide's efficacy on weed control and growth parameters. Among the weed control methods, weed-free check (T12) increased the growth parameters viz., Plant height (65.3 cm), Leaf Area Index (4.34) and Dry matter accumulation (5536 kg ha-1) and higher weed control efficiency (99.2%). Among the herbicidal treatments, pre emergence application of pendimethalin + imazethapyr (ready mix) followed by hand weeding at 40 days after sowing (T7) gave significantly (P=0.05) higher results in growth components of groundnut and weed suppression compared to other herbicidal treatments

Experimental investigations on mechanical properties of geopolymer concrete composites

Due to growing environmental concerns of the cement industry, alternative cement technologies have become an area of increasing interest. It is now believed that new binders are indispensable for enhanced environmental and durability performance. Geopolymer concrete (GPC) is an innovative method and is produced by complete elimination of ordinary Portland cement by fly ash. Geopolymer concrete has two limitations such as delay in setting time and necessity of heat curing to gain strength. Present research aimed to rectify these two limitations of GPC by replacing 10% of fly ash by OPC on mass basis. This paper presents the results of an experimental investigation on the mechanical properties of Geopolymer Concrete Composites (GPCC) containing 90% Fly ash (FA), 10% Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) and alkaline liquids. The study analyses the impact of replacement of 10% of fly ash by OPC in the GPC mix on the mechanical properties such as density, Compressive Strength, Split Tensile strength and Flexural strength both in ambient curing at room temperature and heat curing at 60o C for 24 hours in hot air oven. Mixtures were prepared with alkaline liquid to fly ash ratio of 0.4. Based on the test results, empirical expressions were developed to predict split tensile strength and flexural strength of GPC as well as GPCC in terms of their compressive strength

Hypothermia for encephalopathy in low-income and middle-income countries: feasibility of whole-body cooling using a low-cost servo-controlled device

Although therapeutic hypothermia (TH) is the standard of care for hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy in high-income countries, the safety and efficacy of this therapy in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) is unknown. We aimed to describe the feasibility of TH using a low-cost servo-controlled cooling device and the short-term outcomes of the cooled babies in LMIC. Design: We recruited babies with moderate or severe hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy (aged <6 hours) admitted to public sector tertiary neonatal units in India over a 28-month period. We administered whole-body cooling (set core temperature 33.5°C) using a servo-controlled device for 72 hours, followed by passive rewarming. We collected the data on short-term neonatal outcomes prior to hospital discharge. Results: Eighty-two babies were included-61 (74%) had moderate and 21 (26%) had severe encephalopathy. Mean (SD) hypothermia cooling induction time was 1.7 hour (1.5) and the effective cooling time 95% (0.08). The mean (SD) hypothermia induction time was 1.7 hour (1.5 hour), core temperature during cooling was 33.4°C (0.2), rewarming rate was 0.34°C (0.16°C) per hour and the effective cooling time was 95% (8%). Twenty-five (51%) babies had gastric bleeds, 6 (12%) had pulmonary bleeds and 21 (27%) had meconium on delivery. Fifteen (18%) babies died before discharge from hospital. Heart rate more than 120 bpm during cooling (P=0.01) and gastric bleeds (P<0.001) were associated with neonatal mortality. Conclusions: The low-cost servo-controlled cooling device maintained the core temperature well within the target range. Adequately powered clinical trials are required to establish the safety and efficacy of TH in LMICs. Clinical trial registration number: NCT01760629

Modern Genomic Tools for Pigeonpea Improvement: Status and Prospects

Pigeonpea owing to its ability to sustain harsh environment and limited input/water requirement remains an excellent remunerative crop in the face of increasing climatic adversities. With nearly 70% share in global pigeonpea production, India is the leading pigeonpea producing country. Since the mid-1900s, constant research efforts directed to improve yield and resistance levels of pigeonpea have resulted in the development and deployment of several commercially accepted cultivars in India, accommodating into diverse agro-climatic zones. However, the crop productivity needs incremental improvements in order to meet the growing nutritional demands, especially in developing countries like India where pigeonpea forms a dominant part of vegetarian diet. Empowering crop improvement strategies with genomic tool kit is imperative to attain the project gains in crop yield. In the context, adoption of next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology has helped establish a wide range of genomic resources to support pigeonpea breeding, and the existing molecular tool kit includes genome-wide genetic markers, transcriptome/genome assemblies, and candidate genes/QTLs for target traits. Similarly, availability of whole mitochondrial genome sequence and derived DNA markers is immensely relevant in order to furthering the understanding of cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) system and hybrid breeding. This chapter covers the progress of developing modern genomic resources in pigeonpea and highlights their vital role in designing future crop breeding schemes