Enhancement of agronomic traits and yield of rice var. ADT 43 grown in typic ustifluvent soil through silicon fertilization

Rice is a rich accumulator of silicon and its supply is essential for the growth and economic yield of rice. Hence, a field experiment was conducted in sandy clay loam soil belonging to Padugai series (Typic ustifluvent) at farmers holding in Kuttalam block, Mayiladuthurai district, Tamil Nadu to assess the role of silicon in improving agronomic characters and yield of rice ADT 43, Oryza sativa. The treatments included  T1 -  Recommended dose of fertilizer (RDF), T2 - RDF + Potassium silicate (FS) - 0.25%, T3- RDF + FS - 0.50%, T4 - RDF +FS - 1.00%, T5­ -RDF + FS - 0.25%, T6 - RDF + FS - 0.50%,  T7­ - RDF + FS - 1.00%,  T8 - RDF + SA - 50 kg ha-1, T9 - RDF + SA - 100 kg ha-1 and T10 - RDF + SA- 150 kg ha-1. From T2 to T4, the foliar spray was done at tillering stage and from T5 to T7, the foliar spray was done at tillering and panicle initiation stage.  The silicon was applied through FS with the rice crop. The soil application of silicon relatively recorded higher growth and yield compared to foliar application. Besides improving different agronomic characters of the rice, the soil application of 50 kg Si ha-1 registered the highest grain yield (6183.3 kg ha-1) and straw yield (6740 kg ha-1) and was comparable with a single foliar spray of 1% Si.  Growth and rice yield increased with Si concentration of 0.25% to 1%.  Thus, the soil application of silicon @50 kg ha-1 through potassium silicate is advocated to realize maximum rice yield

Diethyl 3,4-bis­(2,5-dimethoxy­benz­yl)thieno[2,3-b]thio­phene-2,5-di­car­boxylate

In the title compound, C30H32O8S2, the dihedral angle between the two benzene rings is 18.8 (1)°. The mol­ecular structure is stabilized by weak intra­molecular C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds. In the crystal structure, the mol­ecules are linked via weak inter­molecular C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds and π–π inter­actions between two benzene rings [centroid–centroid distance = 3.672 (1) Å]

Preparation of water hyacinth-based phosphocompost and its evaluation against certain phosphorus fertilizers along with phosphate solubilizing bacteria on P availability, uptake and rice productivity

Phosphorus (P) deficiency in soil limits crop yields and can be managed by P fertilizers. But mere applying P fertilizers alone may not be effective in justifying its bioavailability. At present global P reserves are declining in an increasing way which urges us to find out alternatives. Thus, the present work was taken to prepare phosphocompost using water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) as feedstock, termite, and normal soil as bulking agents cum decomposers and enriched with single super phosphate. The effect of phosphocompost on rice(var.ADT-43) productivity, P availability and uptake was evaluated by comparing various P fertilizers (single super phosphate, rock phosphate, di-ammonium phosphate, nano phosphate) combined with or without phosphate solubilizing bacteria (PSB). The experiment was laid out in a completely randomized design with seven treatments including absolute control and replicated thrice. Phosphocompost produced with water hyacinth and termite soil microbes come with superior quality and early maturity compared to normal soil. Pot culture study results revealed that rice growth, yield, P availability and uptake were significantly (p<0.05) higher with SSP + PSB, and Nano phosphate +PSB treated plants, followed by Phosphocompost + PSB. The cost of P fertilizer (Rs/ha) related to yield (kg/ha) was found to be significantly low with phosphocompost (Rs.1132/-) than SSP (Rs.1530/-) and Nano P (Rs.2518/-). Further, phosphocompost combined PSB helps in optimizing the P availability in a long run through P solubilization thus sustained the P uptake. The present investigation brings light to the valorization of water hyacinth as compost will be an effective and economically viable alternative for P fertilizers

Advances in Crop Improvement and Delivery Research for Nutritional Quality and Health Benefits of Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.)

Groundnut is an important global food and oil crop that underpins agriculture-dependent livelihood strategies meeting food, nutrition, and income security. Aflatoxins, pose a major challenge to increased competitiveness of groundnut limiting access to lucrative markets and affecting populations that consume it. Other drivers of low competitiveness include allergens and limited shelf life occasioned by low oleic acid profile in the oil. Thus grain off-takers such as consumers, domestic, and export markets as well as processors need solutions to increase profitability of the grain. There are some technological solutions to these challenges and this review paper highlights advances in crop improvement to enhance groundnut grain quality and nutrient profile for food, nutrition, and economic benefits. Significant advances have been made in setting the stage for marker-assisted allele pyramiding for different aflatoxin resistance mechanisms—in vitro seed colonization, pre-harvest aflatoxin contamination, and aflatoxin production—which, together with pre- and post-harvest management practices, will go a long way in mitigating the aflatoxin menace. A breakthrough in aflatoxin control is in sight with overexpression of antifungal plant defensins, and through host-induced gene silencing in the aflatoxin biosynthetic pathway. Similarly, genomic and biochemical approaches to allergen control are in good progress, with the identification of homologs of the allergen encoding genes and development of monoclonal antibody based ELISA protocol to screen for and quantify major allergens. Double mutation of the allotetraploid homeologous genes, FAD2A and FAD2B, has shown potential for achieving >75% oleic acid as demonstrated among introgression lines. Significant advances have been made in seed systems research to bridge the gap between trait discovery, deployment, and delivery through innovative partnerships and action learning

High oleic peanuts for Asia and Africa to meet the needs of the food processing industries

High oleic peanuts offer longer shelf-life benefits to food processing industry, health benefits to consumers and increases profitability to farmers through premium price compared to normal peanuts. International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) in collaboration with national partners of India has developed high oleic peanuts in Spanish and Virginia Bunch growth habit suitable for cultivation in Asia and Africa. The oleic acid concentration in high oleic peanuts is 80+2% as against 45-50% in normal peanuts. The high oleic lines were developed using SunOleic 95R as donor parent from the USA employing marker-assisted selection (MAS) and marker-assisted backcrossing (MABC) approaches. Process innovation in breeding and testing pipeline that include, high through phenotyping using Near Infrared Reflectance Spectroscopy (NIRS), genotyping, rapid generation advancement under controlled conditions, target site testing to fix the best allele combinations and multi-location testing resulted in enhanced rate of genetic gain for high oleic trait. ICRISAT has shared high oleic peanut lines with national partners in India, Uganda, Tanzania, Mali, Malawi, Ethiopia, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Australia. High oleic lines are in national trials under All India Co-ordinated Research Project on Peanut (AICRP-G) during rainy 2017 and 2018 and this is the first such speciality trial being conducted in India and it is expected that India will release its first high oleic peanut variety in 2019. Fast-track development and commercialization of high oleic varieties in India was enabled through partnerships

High oleic peanuts for Asia and Africa to meet the needs of the food processing industries

High oleic peanuts offer longer shelf-life benefits to food processing industry, health benefits to consumers and increases profitability to farmers through premium price compared to normal peanuts. International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) in collaboration with national partners of India has developed high oleic peanuts in Spanish and Virginia Bunch growth habit suitable for cultivation in Asia and Africa. The oleic acid concentration in high oleic peanuts is 80+2% as against 45-50% in normal peanuts. The high oleic lines were developed using SunOleic 95R as donor parent from the USA employing marker-assisted selection (MAS) and marker-assisted backcrossing (MABC) approaches. Process innovation in breeding and testing pipeline that include, high through phenotyping using Near Infrared Reflectance Spectroscopy (NIRS), genotyping, rapid generation advancement under controlled conditions, target site testing to fix the best allele combinations and multi-location testing resulted in enhanced rate of genetic gain for high oleic trait. ICRISAT has shared high oleic peanut lines with national partners in India, Uganda, Tanzania, Mali, Malawi, Ethiopia, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Australia. High oleic lines are in national trials under All India Co-ordinated Research Project on Peanut (AICRP-G) during rainy 2017 and 2018 and this is the first such speciality trial being conducted in India and it is expected that India will release its first high oleic peanut variety in 2019. Fast-track development and commercialization of high oleic varieties in India was enabled through partnerships

Improving oil quality by altering levels of fatty acids through marker-assisted selection of ahfad2 alleles in peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.)

Peanut plays a key role to the livelihood of millions in the world especially in Arid and Semi-Arid regions. Peanut with high oleic acid content aids to increase shelf-life of peanut oil as well as food products and extends major health benefits to the consumers. In peanut, ahFAD2 gene controls quantity of two major fatty acids viz, oleic and linoleic acids. These two fatty acids together with palmitic acid constitute 90% fat composition in peanut and regulate the quality of peanut oil. Here, two ahfad2 alleles from SunOleic 95R were introgressed into ICGV 05141 using marker-assisted selection. Marker-assisted breeding effectively increased oleic acid and oleic to linoleic acid ratio in recombinant lines up to 44% and 30%, respectively as compared to ICGV 05141. In addition to improved oil quality, the recombinant lines also had superiority in pod yield together with desired pod/seed attributes. Realizing the health benefits and ever increasing demand in domestic and international market, the high oleic peanut recombinant lines will certainly boost the economical benefits to the Indian farmers in addition to ensuring availability of high oleic peanuts to the traders and industry