Nature and Extent of Agrarian Distress among the Cotton Growers of Vidarbha Region

ABSTRAC

Pod surface exudates of wild relatives of pigeonpea influence the feeding preference of the pod borer, Helicoverpa armigera

Wild relatives of crops are an important source of resistance genes against insect pests. However, it is important to identify the accessions of wild relatives of crops with different mechanisms of resistance to broaden the basis and increase the levels of resistance to insect pests. Therefore, we studied the feeding behavior of pod borer, Helicoverpa armigera, which is the most damaging pest of pigeonpea, in relation to biochemical characteristics of the pod surface exudates in a diverse array of germplasm accessions belonging to 12 species of pigeonpea wild relatives. Feeding by H. armigera larvae was significantly lower on the unwashed or water-, methanol-, or hexane-washed pods of Canajus sericeus, C. scarabaeoides, Flemingia bracteata, F. stricta, and Rhynchosia aurea than those of C. acutifolius, C. albicans, C. cajanifolius, C. lineatus, D. ferruginea, P. scariosa, R. bracteata, and the cultivated pigeonpea, C. cajan genotypes, ICPL 87, and ICPL 332, although there were a few exceptions. The methanol-washed pods of wild relatives were less preferred for feeding by the H. armigera larvae than the unwashed pods, but the hexane-washed pods were preferred more than the unwashed pods. The results suggested that methanol extracted the phagostimulants from the pod surface, while hexane removed the antifeedants. The high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) finger printing of methanol and hexane pod surface extracts showed qualitative and quantitative differences in compounds present on the pod surface of different wild relatives of pigeonpea. Some of the peaks in HPLC profiles were associated with feeding preference of the third-instar larvae of H. armigera. There was considerable diversity in wild relatives of pigeonpea as revealed by principal component analysis based on HPLC fingerprints of pod surface extracts in methanol and hexane, and H. armigera feeding on the pods. Wild pigeonpea accessions with low amounts of phagostimulants and high amounts of antifeedants may be used for introgression of resistance genes into the cultivated pigeonpea to develop varieties with broad-based resistance to H. armigera. There is considerable diversity among the wild relatives of pigeonpea, and the accessions with resistance to pod borer. These can be used to broaden the basis and increase the levels of resistance to H. armigera

Antixenosis and antibiosis components of resistance to pod borer Helicoverpa armigera in wild relatives of pigeonpea.

The legume pod borer (Helicoverpa armigera (Hubner)) is one of the most important pests of pigeonpea. The levels of resistance to H. armigera in the cultivated germplasm are quite low, and therefore there is a need to introgress resistance genes from wild relatives into the cultigen. We evaluated a diverse array of wild relatives of pigeonpea for oviposition non-preference and antibiosis components of resistance to H. armigera. The accessions ICPW 1 (Cajanus acutifolius), ICPW 13 and 14 (C. albicans), ICPW 159 and 160 (C. sericeus), ICPW 68 (C. platycarpus), ICPW 83, 90, 94, 125, 137, 141 and 280 (C. scarabaeoides), ICPW 207 (Paracalyx scariosa) and ICPW 210 (Rhynchosia aurea) showed high levels of antixenosis for oviposition under no-choice, dual-choice and multi-choice conditions. High levels of antibiosis were observed when the larvae were reared on leaves and/or pods of C. acutifolius (ICPW 1), C. cajanifolius (ICPW 29), C. sericeus (ICPW 160), P. scariosa (ICPW 207), C. scarabaeoides and C. albicans. Lyophilized leaf or pod powder incorporated into the artificial diet can be used to assess antibiosis to H. armigera, and high levels of antibiosis to H. armigera were observed in diets with leaf and/or pod powder of some of the accessions of C. acutifolius, C. lineatus, C. sericeus, C. scarabaeoides, C. platycarpus, P. scariosa and R. aurea. Post-embryonic development period was prolonged in insects reared on leaves and pods of wild relatives of pigeonpea. The accessions showing high levels of antixenosis and antibiosis can be used to increase the levels and diversify the bases of resistance to H. armigera in pigeonpea

Genetic Variability for Agronomic Traits in Sorghum Minicore Collection

Sorghum is a major cereal crop globally with economically important uses such as food, feed, fodder, fuel, and fiber. Crop improvement and precision breeding can be achieved by understanding and utilizing the variability in sorghum germplasm collection. A total of 242 germplasm accessions of sorghum minicore were assessed for the extent of variability, trait associations and genetic diversity. Sorghum minicore collection was evaluated for agronomic traits in two post-rainy seasons at ICRISAT- Patancheru, India. Large variability was observed for agronomic traits and strong associations between the traits studied. The 242 minicore accessions were grouped into six clusters under a hierarchical dendrogram. Genotypes from diverse clusters can be used in crossing programs to combine desirable traits and can be used as donors in breeding programs

Density Based Traffic Control

The project is aimed at designing a density based dynamic traffic signal system where the timing of signal will change automatically on sensing the traffic density at any junction. Traffic congestion is a severe problem in most cities across the world and therefore it is time to shift more manual mode or fixed timer mode to an automated system with decision making capabilities. Present day traffic signaling system is fixed time based which may render inefficient if one lane is operational than the others. To optimize this problem we have made a framework for an intelligent traffic control system. Sometimes higher traffic density at one side of the junction demands longer green time as compared to standard allotted time We, therefore propose here a mechanism in which the time period of green light and red light is assigned on the basis of the density of the traffic present at that time. This is achieved by using PIR(proximity Infrared sensors). Once the density is calculated, the glowing time of green light is assigned by the help of the microcontroller (Arduino). The sensors which are present on sides of the road will detect the presence of the vehicles and sends the information to the microcontroller where it will decide how long a flank will be open or when to change over the signal lights. In subsequent sections, we have elaborated the procedure of this framework

Evaluation of A1, A2, A3, A4(M), A4(G) and A4(VZM) cytoplasms in iso-nuclear backgrounds for grain mold resistance

Breeding for resistance to grain mold, an economically important disease of sorghum, has been only partially successful. Hybrid technology is well developed in sorghum due to availability of the cytoplasm male sterility (CMS) system and at present almost all commercial hybrids are based on the A1 CMS system. To compare the available alternate CMS systems for grain mold resistance, 72 hybrids were produced by crossing 36 A-lines (six CMS systems; A1, A2, A3, A4(M), A4(G), A4(VZM) each in six nuclear backgrounds) with two common restorers, and were evaluated during the 2006 and 2007 rainy seasons in grain mold nursery at ICRISAT. Data analyses indicated influence of cytoplasm on the responses of hybrids to grain mold infection as measured by panicle grain mold resistance (PGMR) score. The A1 cytoplasm seemed to contribute to grain mold resistance followed by A4(VZM) and A2 cytoplasms. The A4(M) cytoplasm had superior general combining ability (GCA) effects while the A1 and A4(VZM) cytoplasm based hybrids had superior specific combining ability (SCA) effects on the PGMR score. Almost all hybrids had significant mid-parent heterosis. The A1 cytoplasm is the best suited for the development of sorghum hybrids for the rainy season adaptation with grain mold resistance. However, use of alternate cytoplasms (A2 and A4(VZM)) for hybrid development will not increase susceptibility to grain mold in commercial grain production

Genetic and Phenotypic Diversity in Downy-mildew-resistant Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) Germplasm

Genetic and phenotypic diversity among randomly selected 36 downy-mildew-resistant sorghum accessions were assessed, the former using 10 simple sequence repeat (SSR) marker loci and the latter using 20 phenotypic traits. The number of alleles (a j ) at individual loci varied from five to 14 with an average of 8.8 alleles per locus. Nei's gene diversity (H j ) varied from 0.59 to 0.92 with an average of 0.81 per locus. High gene diversity and allelic richness were observed in races durra caudatum (H j = 0.76, a j = 4.3) and guinea caudatum (H j = 0.76, a j = 3.8) and in east Africa (H j = 0.78, a j = 7.2). The regions were genetically more differentiated than the races as indicated by Wright's F st. The pattern of SSR-based clustering of accessions was more in accordance with their geographic proximity than with their racial likeness. This clustering pattern matched little with that obtained from phenotypic traits. The inter-accession genetic distance varied from 0.30 to 1.00 with an average of 0.78. Inter-accession phenotypic distance varied from 0.01 to 0.55 with an average of 0.33. Eleven accession-pairs had phenotypic distance of more than 0.50 and genetic distance of more than 0.70. These could be used as potential parents in a sorghum downy mildew resistance-breeding progra

Agronomic potential of A4(M) cytoplasmic male-sterility system compared to A1 CMS system of sorghum (Sorghum bicolor)

An investigation was carried out to compare the A4(M) CMS (cytoplasmic-nuclear male-sterility) system to the widely used A1 CMS system in sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) for agronomic traits and panicle grain mold resistance (PGMR) score at International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Patancheru, Andhra Pradesh, India in 2006 and 2007 rainy and postrainy seasons. The cytoplasm per se and its first order interaction with A-line seemed to contribute to grain yield, male-fertility restoration % and PGMR during rainy season and male-fertility restoration per cent during postrainy season. The mean days to 50% flowering, plant height and grain yield of A4(M) cytoplasm-based hybrids were comparable with those of A1 cytoplasm-based hybrids during 2006 and 2007 postrainy seasons while during 2006 rainy season, A4(M) cytoplasm based hybrids in few nuclear backgrounds were significantly superior to A1 cytoplasm based hybrids for early flowering and grain yield, while in few nuclear backgrounds A1 cytoplasm-based hybrids were superior. However, the A1 cytoplasm based hybrids were more tolerant for grain mold. Hence the A4(M) cytoplasm can be used to incorporate genetic diversity in grain sorghum hybrids for grain yield in postrainy season, but its use in rainy season is not recommended, where grain mold poses a proble

Genome-scale identification, classification, and tissue specific expression analysis of late embryogenesis abundant (LEA) genes under abiotic stress conditions in Sorghum bicolor L.

Late embryogenesis abundant (LEA) proteins, the space fillers or molecular shields, are the hydrophilic protective proteins which play an important role during plant development and abiotic stress. The systematic survey and characterization revealed a total of 68 LEA genes, belonging to 8 families in Sorghum bicolor. The LEA-2, a typical hydrophobic family is the most abundant family. All of them are evenly distributed on all 10 chromosomes and chromosomes 1, 2, and 3 appear to be the hot spots. Majority of the S. bicolor LEA (SbLEA) genes are intron less or have fewer introns. A total of 22 paralogous events were observed and majority of them appear to be segmental duplications. Segmental duplication played an important role in SbLEA-2 family expansion. A total of 12 orthologs were observed with Arabidopsis and 13 with Oryza sativa. Majority of them are basic in nature, and targeted by chloroplast subcellular localization. Fifteen miRNAs targeted to 25 SbLEAs appear to participate in development, as well as in abiotic stress tolerance. Promoter analysis revealed the presence of abiotic stress-responsive DRE, MYB, MYC, and GT1, biotic stress-responsive W-Box, hormone-responsive ABA, ERE, and TGA, and development-responsive SKn cis-elements. This reveals that LEA proteins play a vital role during stress tolerance and developmental processes. Using microarray data, 65 SbLEA genes were analyzed in different tissues (roots, pith, rind, internode, shoot, and leaf) which show clear tissue specific expression. qRT-PCR analysis of 23 SbLEA genes revealed their abundant expression in various tissues like roots, stems and leaves. Higher expression was noticed in stems compared to roots and leaves. Majority of the SbLEA family members were up-regulated at least in one tissue under different stress conditions. The SbLEA3-2 is the regulator, which showed abundant expression under diverse stress conditions. Present study provides new insights into the formation of LEAs in S. bicolor and to understand their role in developmental processes under stress conditions, which may be a valuable source for future research

Genome-wide in silico analysis of dehydrins in Sorghum bicolor , Setaria italica and Zea mays and quantitative analysis of dehydrin gene expressions under abiotic stresses in Sorghum bicolor

Dehydrins (DHNs) are highly hydrophilic, thermo stable, calcium dependent chaperons involved in plant developmental processes as well as in diverse abiotic stresses. A systematic survey resulted in the identification of 7 dehydrins (DHNs) in Setaria italica and Zea mays, but 6 in Sorghum bicolor. They are classified into 5 sub-groups, namely YnSKn, SKn, KnS, S, and YnS. DHNs of Sorghum exhibit 1 ortholog with Oryza sativa and Z. mays and 3 with S. italica. Unlike other DHNs, SbDHN5 has been found as an ordered protein with many phosphorylation sites. Network analyses of novel YnS subgroup showed interaction with HSP70 and FKBP genes. In silico promoter analysis revealed the presence of abscisic acid (ABA), drought, salt, low temperature stress-responsive elements. The miRNA target analysis revealed DHNs are targeted by 51 miRNAs responsive to abiotic stresses. High transcript expressions of DHNs were observed in root, stem and leaf compared to inflorescence in S. bicolor. All DHN genes exhibited high levels of expression in stem under cold, heat, salt, and drought stresses. In contrast to other DHNs, the SbDHN2 of YnS subgroup, exhibited the highest expression, under multiple stresses in all the tissues indicating its involvement against a wide array of abiotic stresses