Impact of Nitrogen and Phosphorus on Grain Yield in Winter Triticale Grown on Degraded Vertisol

The objectives of this study were to investigate: (1) the effects of fertilization, environment, and their interactions on the thousand grain weight (TGW), hectolitre weight (HW) and grain yield (GY) of winter triticale, and (2) the correlations between these traits in different environments. The invariable nitrogen (80 kg N ha(-1)), potassium (60 kg K2O ha(-1)) and two phosphorus (60 and 100 kg P(2)O(5)ha(-1)) doses were used in Kragujevac location in central Serbia. Nitrogen was applied individually and in combination with two phosphorus rates and one rate of potassium fertilizer. Eight fertilization treatment controls and N-80, P-60, P-100, N80P60K60, N80P100K60, N(80)P(60)and N(80)P(100)were examined during three growing seasons. The yield and quality of triticale significantly varied across years and treatments. The average yield of all treatments in the 2015 growing season was significantly greater than in the previous years (3.597 t ha(-1)). Combined usage of NPK fertilizer (80 kg N ha(-1), 100 kg P(2)O(5)ha(-1)and 60 kg K2O ha(-1)) represented the excellent base for optimum supply of major nutrients, resulting in maximum GY (4.0 t ha(-1)). Negative and significant correlation was found between grain GY and TGW (-0.392*) in 2015, and positive highly significant correlation were in 2013 (0.648*) and 2014 (0.493*). The positive effect over complete application of fertilizer is the result of a lower pH value of the soil, as well as the low content of available phosphorus and potassium in Vertisol soil type. Optimizing fertilization for maximum profitability is of great importance in the future triticale production in Pannonian Environments

Diallel analysis of grain number per spike in triticale

In this paper the inheritance of grain number per spike in hexaploid (6x) winter triticale was investigated. Studies were performed on primary spikes of parents, F1 and F2 progenies of a 5 x 5 complete diallel crossing with reciprocals. The results highlighted the prevalence of dominance and over-dominance in the expression of this trait at majority of combinations of F1 generation. Significant difference between direct and reciprocal crosses appeared in both generations and in generally with combinations of the most divergent parents. Analysis of variance for combining abilities demonstrated the existence of highly significant values for general combining ability (GCA), specific combining ability (SCA) and effects of reciprocal crosses (REC). GCA and SCA variations demonstrated similar values, which were for about three times higher than variation caused by reciprocal effects. The best SCA were expressed in generally in combinations of good x average or good x poor GCA of parents

Diallel analysis of grain number per spike in triticale

In this paper the inheritance of grain number per spike in hexaploid (6x) winter triticale was investigated. Studies were performed on primary spikes of parents, F1 and F2 progenies of a 5 x 5 complete diallel crossing with reciprocals. The results highlighted the prevalence of dominance and over-dominance in the expression of this trait at majority of combinations of F1 generation. Significant difference between direct and reciprocal crosses appeared in both generations and in generally with combinations of the most divergent parents. Analysis of variance for combining abilities demonstrated the existence of highly significant values for general combining ability (GCA), specific combining ability (SCA) and effects of reciprocal crosses (REC). GCA and SCA variations demonstrated similar values, which were for about three times higher than variation caused by reciprocal effects. The best SCA were expressed in generally in combinations of good x average or good x poor GCA of parents

Plasmodium falciparum Nucleosomes Exhibit Reduced Stability and Lost Sequence Dependent Nucleosome Positioning

The packaging and organization of genomic DNA into chromatin represents an additional regulatory layer of gene expression, with specific nucleosome positions that restrict the accessibility of regulatory DNA elements. The mechanisms that position nucleosomes in vivo are thought to depend on the biophysical properties of the histones, sequence patterns, like phased di-nucleotide repeats and the architecture of the histone octamer that folds DNA in 1.65 tight turns. Comparative studies of human and P. falciparum histones reveal that the latter have a strongly reduced ability to recognize internal sequence dependent nucleosome positioning signals. In contrast, the nucleosomes are positioned by AT-repeat sequences flanking nucleosomes in vivo and in vitro. Further, the strong sequence variations in the plasmodium histones, compared to other mammalian histones, do not present adaptations to its AT-rich genome. Human and parasite histones bind with higher affinity to GC-rich DNA and with lower affinity to AT-rich DNA. However, the plasmodium nucleosomes are overall less stable, with increased temperature induced mobility, decreased salt stability of the histones H2A and H2B and considerable reduced binding affinity to GC-rich DNA, as compared with the human nucleosomes. In addition, we show that plasmodium histone octamers form the shortest known nucleosome repeat length (155bp) in vitro and in vivo. Our data suggest that the biochemical properties of the parasite histones are distinct from the typical characteristics of other eukaryotic histones and these properties reflect the increased accessibility of the P. falciparum genome

Complexes cobalt(II), zinc(II) and copper(II) with some newly synthesized benzimidazole derivatives and their antibacterial activity

The preparation and properties of some complexes of cobalt(II), zinc(II) and copper(II) with several newly synthesized benzimidazole derivatives (L) are reported, The complexes, of the general formula [MCl2(L)over dot(2)] (M=CO(II), Zn(II)) and [CuCl2L(H2O]), have a tetrahedral structure. The complexes were characterized by elemental analysis, molar conductivity, magnetic susceptibility measurements, IR and absorption electronic spectra. The antibacterial activity of the benzimidazoles and their complexes was evaluated against Erwinia carotovora subsp. carotovora and Erwinia amylovora. The complexes were found to be more toxic than the ligands

Life history of Plodia interpunctella (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) on dried fruits and nuts: Effects of macronutrients and secondary metabolites on immature stages

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of nutrients and secondary metabolites content in 16 types of dried fruits and four nuts from Serbia on life history traits of Plodia interpunctella (Hubner, 1813) immature stages. The analysis of nutrients content included determination of the total moisture, ash, proteins, fats, carbohydrates, sugars, and total reducing sugars, while from secondary metabolites total phenolics, flavonoids and tannins contents were determined. Life history traits included the developmental duration of larvae (LDD), developmental duration of pupae (PDD) and total immature stages (MDD), as well as the survival of larvae and pupae. Additional analyses was conducted on time specific survival, as well as on the age-and size-growth patterns of P. interpunctella larvae. The principal component analysis (PCA) indicated that the content of proteins and fats is in strong positive correlation with larval and total immature stages survival, while in negative correlation with LDD, PDD, and MDD. The content of secondary metabolites are in strong positive correlation with LDD and MDD, while in negative correlation with larval and total immature stages survival. Considering the fastest development and high number of survived larvae and pupae, the walnuts, hazelnuts and almonds were more suitable for the development of P interpunctella than tested dried fruits in general, while the goji berries and figs were the most suitable among tested dried fruits. The results of the effects of tested dried fruits and nuts from Serbia on life history traits of P. interpunctella, combined with studies from different countiries using local varieties and cultivars of dried fruits and nuts, could provide the data for modeling the growth and population dynamics, important for forcasting and signaling the occurance of this pest

Genetic diversity and virulence of Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris isolates from Brassica napus and six Brassica oleracea crops in Serbia

The present study provides insight into the diversity of 147 Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris (Xcc) isolates obtained from six Brassica oleracea vegetable crops (broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, collard greens, kale, kohlrabi) and the winter oilseed rape crop Brassica napus, collected from different regions in Serbia in 2014. The XCF/XCR pathovar-specific primer set was used for fast preliminary identification. In repetitive sequence-based PCR (BOX, ERIC and REP) of all isolates, a higher level of genetic diversity was found in winter oilseed rape isolates compared to isolates from the other hosts. ERIC and REP-PCR showed the highest heterogeneity, with 10 and nine banding patterns, respectively. The REP-PCR results showed the highest correlation (70%) with those obtained with multilocus sequence analysis (MLSA), performed with 10 housekeeping genes (fusA, gap-1, gltA, gyrB1, lacF, lepA, rpoD, dnaK, fyuA and gyrB2). Three distinct phylogenetic groups of winter oilseed rape isolates were detected using MLSA. Two genes, gltA and rpoD, showed the greatest ability to identify and discriminate winter oilseed rape Xcc isolates from isolates of the other six hosts. The lepA gene exhibited specific three-nucleotide changes in sequences of some of the isolates. Results of virulence testing of 18 representative isolates showed statistically significant host-pathogen specialization for Xcc isolates from winter oilseed rape, cauliflower, kale and kohlrabi. In conclusion, oilseed rape isolates are more genetically diverse and show greater specialization to their host in comparison to the rest of the tested isolates from other brassica hosts

Estimation of chromatographic lipophilicity of some D-homo androstene derivatives

Quantitative structure-retention relationship (QSRR) method was applied to study the chromatographic behaviour of D-homo-androstene derivatives 1-7. Retention constants (RM 0) of the analysed derivatives were determined by reversed-phase high-performance thin-layer chromatography (RP HPTLC) on C18 plates by using four mobile phase mixtures: methanol-water, acetone-water, acetonitrile-water, and dioxane-water. Correlation analysis based on multiple regression method was applied in order to model chromatographic retention by means of nine different lipophilicity descriptors (logP). The developed QSRR models were cross-validated and high-quality validation parameters were obtained by leave-one-out method. It was found that the derived QSRR models have a good predictive ability. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. 172012 i br. 172014

Clean biofuel production and phytoremediation solutions from contaminated lands worldwide

The overall objective of the H2020 Phy2Climate project is to build the bridge between the phytoremediation of contaminated sites with the production of clean drop-in biofuels. As the project aims for the production of high-quality drop-in biofuels like marine fuels (ISO 8217), gasoline (EN 228) and diesel (EN 590), a biorefinery concept is employed with the thermo-catalytic process (TCR®) at its centre. The produced biofuels will present no Land Use Change risks, thus, the phytoremediation will decontaminate lands from a vast variety of pollutants and make the restored lands available for agriculture, while improving the overall sustainability, legal framework, and economics of the process. In this way, Phy2Climate aims at significantly contributing to the Mission Innovation Challenge for sustainable biofuel production and to almost all UN Sustainable Development Goals, as well as to the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, that is part of the European Green Deal, and to the new EU Soil Strategy for 2030 adopted in 2021. On the one hand, it is unquestionable that there is a growing demand for land, which increases tensions among the different groups of users. Land is a finite resource, and the main competitors are Feed, Food & Fuel. From the available worldwide arable land, about 71% is dedicated to animal feed, about 18% to food and only about 4% to biofuels (another 7% is for material use of crops). The multiple uttered food vs fuel debate is, actually, a food vs feed debate. However, the increasing demand for biofuels and biobased products also contributes to this tension, but in a much smaller dimension. The increasing land demand for energy crops leads to direct and indirect Land Use Change (iLUC), causing deforestation, soil erosion, loss of biodiversity and vital water resources. On the other hand, there is a significant area of land which is contaminated and, therefore, unusable for any purpose. Even worse, the investigation, registration as “contaminated site”, as well as the remediation and management of such areas are very cost-intensive, adding even more fuel to the fire.[http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-85142472026&partnerID=MN8TOARS