Effect of post–emergence application of cyhalofop-butyl for weed management in direct-seeded rice (Oryza sativa)

A field experiment was conducted during rainy season of 2009 at the research farm of the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi to evaluate the appropriate combination of pre-emergence and post-emergence herbicides in direct-seeded rice (Oryza sativa L.). All the weed control treatments brought significant increase in grain (25-52%) and straw yield (27-58%) as compared to season long crop weed competition. Cyhalofop-butyl residues in soil were found below detectable level indicating safety to soil microbial population and succeeding crop. It may be concluded that weeds can be managed during critical period of competition with the sequential application of pretilachlor (750 g/ha) as pre-emergence followed by post- emergence application of cyhalofop-butyl (60 g/ha) at 30 DAS in direct-seeded rice

Bacterial consortium for efficient degradation of di-ethyl phthalate in soil microcosm

Not AvailableThe worldwide increase of industrialization and reduction in the forest cover has led to the accumulation of harmful contaminants into the environment. One such ?emerging? group of contaminants is phthalate esters that have been reported from all around the world. Di ethyl phthalate (DEP) has wide applications as plasticizers of polyvinyl chloride, and attributable to its endocrine disrupting and anti-androgenic activity. In agriculture, there is wide use of plastic films such as in mulching and greenhouse. Due to heat and other factors, DEP from plastic leaches down is difficult to degrade and enters the food chain. In the present study, nine different DEP degrading bacterial morphotypes were isolated from three soil samples collected from the Centre for Cultivated Protection Technology IARI, New Delhi, India. All the isolates were able to grow in DEP amended MS medium and finally three efficient bacterial isolates namely Achromobacter sp. strain DEPA3, Pseudomonas sp. strain DEPB3, and Enterobacter sp. strain DEPC1 were selected for the degradation of DEP in MS broth and soil microcosm individually as well as the mixed consortium. In MS broth, 84.91?96.14% DEP degradation was observed while in soil microcosm 81.16?92.39% degradation occurred within 30 days of inoculation. In the future, the potential isolates selected in the present study can be employed for bioremediation of contaminated sites

Degradation of Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) using Bacteria Isolated from Paint Scrapes

The use of microorganisms for bioremediation of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) is reported. Three bacterial species namely Alcaligenes sp., Tistrella sp. and Bacillus amyloliquefaciens, isolated from paint contaminated sites, have been found to degrade the PCB congeners from soil individually under laboratory conditions. The three bacterial species dehalogenated effectively the lower chlorinated PCB congeners. In a PCB mixture in soil, the bacteria dissipated 31.0-34.4 per cent of di-, 22.3-28.8 per cent of tri-, 10.1-19.6 per cent of tetra-, 5.8-8.1 per cent of hexa- and 3.8-5.4 per cent of hepta-chlorinated congeners in 30 d. The findings suggest that PCB dechlorination in the soil system could be linked to aerobic microbial biodegradation. The work will be helpful in achieving a sustainable natural attenuation of xenobiotics in the environment

Exploring Potent Fungal Isolates from Sanitary Landfill Soil for In Vitro Degradation of Dibutyl Phthalate

Di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP) is one of the most extensively used plasticizers for providing elasticity to plastics. Being potentially harmful to humans, investigating eco-benign options for its rapid degradation is imperative. Microbe-mediated DBP mineralization is well-recorded, but studies on the pollutant’s fungal catabolism remain scarce. Thus, the present investigation was undertaken to exploit the fungal strains from toxic sanitary landfill soil for the degradation of DBP. The most efficient isolate, SDBP4, identified on a molecular basis as Aspergillus flavus, was able to mineralize 99.34% dibutyl phthalate (100 mg L−1) within 15 days of incubation. It was found that the high production of esterases by the fungal strain was responsible for the degradation. The strain also exhibited the highest biomass (1615.33 mg L−1) and total soluble protein (261.73 µg mL−1) production amongst other isolates. The DBP degradation pathway scheme was elucidated with the help of GC-MS-based characterizations that revealed the formation of intermediate metabolites such as benzyl-butyl phthalate (BBP), dimethyl-phthalate (DMP), di-iso-butyl-phthalate (DIBP) and phthalic acid (PA). This is the first report of DBP mineralization assisted with A. flavus, using it as a sole carbon source. SDBP4 will be further formulated to develop an eco-benign product for the bioremediation of DBP-contaminated toxic sanitary landfill soils

Potential Anti-Mycobacterium tuberculosis Activity of Plant Secondary Metabolites: Insight with Molecular Docking Interactions.

Tuberculosis (TB) is a recurrent and progressive disease, with high mortality rates worldwide. The drug-resistance phenomenon of Mycobacterium tuberculosis is a major obstruction of allelopathy treatment. An adverse side effect of allelopathic treatment is that it causes serious health complications. The search for suitable alternatives of conventional regimens is needed, i.e., by considering medicinal plant secondary metabolites to explore anti-TB drugs, targeting the action site of M. tuberculosis. Nowadays, plant-derived secondary metabolites are widely known for their beneficial uses, i.e., as antioxidants, antimicrobial agents, and in the treatment of a wide range of chronic human diseases (e.g., tuberculosis), and are known to thwart disease virulence. In this regard, in silico studies can reveal the inhibitory potential of plant-derived secondary metabolites against Mycobacterium at the very early stage of infection. Computational approaches based on different algorithms could play a significant role in screening plant metabolites against disease virulence of tuberculosis for drug designing

Nitrogen-enriched biochar co-compost for the amelioration of degraded tropical soil

Tropical soils are often deeply weathered and vulnerable to degradation having low pH and unfavorable Al/Fe levels, which can constrain crop production. This study aims to examine nitrogen-enriched novel biochar co-composts prepared from rice straw, maize stover, and gram residue in various mixing ratios of the biochar and their feedstock materials for the amelioration of acidic tropical soil. Three pristine biochar and six co-composts were prepared, characterized, and evaluated for improving the chemical and biological quality of the soil against a conventional lime treatment. The pH, cation exchange capacity (CEC), calcium carbonate equivalence (CCE) and nitrogen content of co-composts varied between 7.78–8.86, 25.3–30.5 cmol (p+) kg−1, 25.5–30.5%, and 0.81–1.05%, respectively. The co-compost prepared from gram residue biochar mixed with maize stover at a 1:7 dry-weight ratio showed the highest rise in soil pH and CEC, giving an identical performance with the lime treatment and significantly better effect (p < .05) than the unamended control. Agglomerates of calcite and dolomite in biochar co-composts, and surface functional groups contributed to pH neutralization and increased CEC of the amended soil. The co-composts also significantly (p < .05) increased the dehydrogenase (1.87 µg TPF g−1 soil h−1), β-glucosidase (90 µg PNP g−1 soil h−1), and leucine amino peptidase (3.22 µmol MUC g−1 soil h−1) enzyme activities in the soil, thereby improving the soil’s biological quality. The results of this study are encouraging for small-scale farmers in tropical developing countries to sustainably reutilize crop residues via biochar-based co-composting technology

Potential Anti-Mycobacterium tuberculosis Activity of Plant Secondary Metabolites: Insight with Molecular Docking Interactions

Tuberculosis (TB) is a recurrent and progressive disease, with high mortality rates worldwide. The drug-resistance phenomenon of Mycobacterium tuberculosis is a major obstruction of allelopathy treatment. An adverse side effect of allelopathic treatment is that it causes serious health complications. The search for suitable alternatives of conventional regimens is needed, i.e., by considering medicinal plant secondary metabolites to explore anti-TB drugs, targeting the action site of M. tuberculosis. Nowadays, plant-derived secondary metabolites are widely known for their beneficial uses, i.e., as antioxidants, antimicrobial agents, and in the treatment of a wide range of chronic human diseases (e.g., tuberculosis), and are known to &ldquo;thwart&rdquo; disease virulence. In this regard, in silico studies can reveal the inhibitory potential of plant-derived secondary metabolites against Mycobacterium at the very early stage of infection. Computational approaches based on different algorithms could play a significant role in screening plant metabolites against disease virulence of tuberculosis for drug designing