95 research outputs found
Influence of Exogenous Glycinebetaine on Hot Pepper under Water Stress
A study was conducted to evaluate the effect of exogenous application of glycinebetaine (GB) on physiological response in hot-pepper (Capsicum annuum L. vs. Arka Lohit and Pusa Jwala) under water stress. Glycinebetaine was applied to seeds as well as plants through foliar applications. Water stress affected considerably the morphophysiological parameters in both the cultivars. However, in glycinebetaine (GB) treated plants, plant height, leaf area (LA), flower and fruit number and total dry matter (TDM) were greater compared to the untreated stress plants (T4) under water stress. Glycinebetaine application enhanced the photosynthesis (PN) in water deficit experiencing plants, mostly due to a greater stomatal conductance (gs) and carboxylation efficiency of CO2 assimilation. In both the cultivars after 12 day of stress, the PN decreased from 10.1 to 1.0-1.3 Ī¼ mol m-2 s-1 in untreated stressed plants (T4), while in the treated stressed plants PNhad reduced to 2.0 - 3.0 Ī¼ mol m-2 s-1 (T1 - T3). The application of GB increased the WUE in both the cultivars. The better WUE in treated plants of hot-pepper under stress was attributed to the improved PN. The higher per plant yield in the GB applied plants under stress in both the cultivars associated with higher PNrate, gs and WUE in treated plants. Though there was an increase in PN rate, WUE and plant yield in the treated plants (T1 - T3), the better results were found in the plants (T2) where seeds were treated and foliar application was given at the time of imposing stress
Reconstruction of Causal Networks by Set Covering
We present a method for the reconstruction of networks, based on the order of
nodes visited by a stochastic branching process. Our algorithm reconstructs a
network of minimal size that ensures consistency with the data. Crucially, we
show that global consistency with the data can be achieved through purely local
considerations, inferring the neighbourhood of each node in turn. The
optimisation problem solved for each individual node can be reduced to a Set
Covering Problem, which is known to be NP-hard but can be approximated well in
practice. We then extend our approach to account for noisy data, based on the
Minimum Description Length principle. We demonstrate our algorithms on
synthetic data, generated by an SIR-like epidemiological model.Comment: Under consideration for the ECML PKDD 2010 conferenc
Seed Germination and Seedling Growth in Solanum Species to Water Stress under in vitro Conditions
A study on seed germination and seedling growth was conducted with five cultivars of Solanum melongena L. (cvs. Arka Nidhi, B.P.L.H.-1, Arka Neelakanth, Arka Keshav and Mattu Gulla) and a wild species Solanum macrocarpon L. under different levels of osmotic potential induced by polyethylene glycol (PEG 8000). Germination declined progressively in response to decreasing (more negative) water potential, and no germination was found beyond - 0.4MPa in any of the cultivars/species. Except for cvs. Arka Nidhi, B.P.L.H.-1 and Mattu Gulla, no germination was seen at -0.4MPa Cultivar Arka Neelkanth failed to germinate under any of the osmotic concentrations tested. Response in term of root growth was better in Arka Neelkanth, followed by Arka Nidhi and B.P.L.H.-1, upto transfer from different levels of osmotic potential to Control (0MPa). Germination of primed seeds within 24h indicates that many processes leading to normal germination would have been completed during the priming process itself. In contrast to germination, growth extension in radicle was less sensitive to water stress
Watershed Management and Farmer Conservation Investments in the Semi-Arid Tropics of India: Analysis of Determinants of Resource Use Decisions and Land Productivity Benefits. Socio Economic Policy Working Paper 16
Integrated watershed management has been promoted as a suitable strategy for improving productivity and sustainable
intensification of agriculture in rainfed drought-prone regions. The paper examines the socioeconomic and biophysical factors influencing farmersā soil and water conservation investment decisions and the resulting economic incentives (productivity benefits) from watershed management interventions in the semi-arid tropics of India. The paper develops a theoretical framework to test hypotheses and to explore (a) the interlinkages between land productivity, soil quality, input use and conservation investments, and (b) the influence of local market imperfections on production and conservation decisions. These relationships are analyzed using plot-level data in six semi-arid villages. A systems approach (3SLS) is used for the joint estimation of structural equations related to land productivity, input use, resource investments and land values. The results show that after controlling for input use and germplasm technologies, soil quality and access to supplemental irrigation significantly affect eproductivity of land. Off-farm income is negatively associated with resource investments and land productivity. The watershed program seems to have a greater impact on dryland crops (cereals and pulses) than on other crops not supported by the project. A plot-wise analysis found some degree of substitution between private and public investments in land and water management. Differential effects of family labor on the decision to invest in agriculture revealed that male labor plays a key role in this decision while female
workers significantly influence the level of labor use in production and resource conservation. This indicates that labor market imperfections, especially for female labor, are most likely to affect production and conservation investments
Moisture Stress Assessment through NDVI and Climate Tools for Crop Management at Anantpur District, AP
Anantapur is the driest district of Andhra Pradesh and hence, agriculture
conditions are very often precarious. Groundnut grows where other crops fail
and thus it is the predominant crop of Anantapur district. Groundnut is grown
in about 7.5 lakh ha in Anantapur district; however the average yields are low
af 500 kg ha-1. Among various available vegetation indices, normalised difference
vegetation index (ND VI) is widely used for all reasons, which is a single
numerical indicator of presence and condition of green vegetation. ND VI
mapping at a regional scale helps to assess the spatial changes in the vigour of
green vegetation and thus occurrence of any moisture stress. Climate tOQls
have a great role in understanding the crop performance and estimating the
yields. This study was taken up by using freely available MODIS data to
understand ND VI in terms of abiotic stresses over Anantapur district and
linking with the actual rainfall conditions, groundnut crop acreage and
production. Results indicate that low groundnut yields in general,could be
related to ND VI-based stress measurements and rainfall quantum and distribution in the area however, with a few exceptions. It is hoped that by
combining improved practices through IWM with climate-adapted crop
varieties, rainfed farmers of Anantapur district can sustain their crop production
under present climate variability and become resilient to future climate chang
Belladamadugu Village at a Glance
The Village Dynamics in South Asia (VDSA) Project of
the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-
Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) supported by the Bill & Melinda
Gates Foundation (BMGF) has chosen 42 villages as part
of the project. These villages ā 18 in the semi-arid tropics
(SAT) of peninsular India, 12 in the Humid Tropics of
East India and 12 in Bangladesh ā were selected based
on certain relevant characteristics to track rural poverty
in household and village economies in the region, to
provide the most efficient way to understand the farming
systems in rural areas, and to identify the socioeconomic
constraints faced by the farming community. In the
SAT region, 18 villages spread across 9 districts in 5
states were identified for the study. Of these, 6 were
chosen way back in 1975 under the erstwhile Village
Level Studies (VLS) project of the Economics Program
of ICRISAT, while 12 new villages were included in the
expanded VDSA project during 2009. Belladamadugu
is one of these 12 new villages
Chickpea Baseline and Early Adoption Surveys in South Asia Insights from TL-II (Phase-I) Project: Synthesis Report 2013
Chickpea is one of the most important pulse crops in India. Its area reached a peak at the beginning
of the green revolution in the country, but rapid strides in wheat productivity have encouraged
farmers in north-western India to substitute wheat for chickpea, causing a fall in its area and
production. Nevertheless, the crop soon found a new home in the central and southern states
of the country. It was a big challenge for the chickpea scientists in Indiaās national program and
at the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-arid Tropics (ICRISAT) to breed short
duration but high yielding varieties and develop a package of practices suitable to the warmer
growing conditions. Very soon, the crop recovered area as well as production on the back of rising
productivity. For ICRISAT, the generous support received from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
(BMGF) was an excellent opportunity to work with its research and development partners in India to
accelerate the productivity growth by following the strategy of Farmer Preferred Varietal Selection
(FPVS). This approach shortens the time needed to popularize the new varieties by exposing them to
farmers and by backing up the varieties preferred by the farmers through intensive seed production
efforts. This report documents the rapid strides made in taking the new varieties to the farmers
by the FPVS process, and producing and supplying the seeds of varieties preferred by them during
2007-10
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Identification of several small main-effect QTLs and a large number of epistatic QTLs for drought tolerance related traits in groundnut (Arachishypogaea L.)
Cultivated groundnut or peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.), an allotetraploid (2nĀ =Ā 4xĀ =Ā 40), is a self pollinated and widely grown crop in the semi-arid regions of the world. Improvement of drought tolerance is an important area of research for groundnut breeding programmes. Therefore, for the identification of candidate QTLs for drought tolerance, a comprehensive and refined genetic map containing 191 SSR loci based on a single mapping population (TAG 24Ā ĆĀ ICGV 86031), segregating for drought and surrogate traits was developed. Genotyping data and phenotyping data collected for more than ten drought related traits in 2ā3 seasons were analyzed in detail for identification of main effect QTLs (M-QTLs) and epistatic QTLs (E-QTLs) using QTL Cartographer, QTLNetwork and Genotype Matrix Mapping (GMM) programmes. A total of 105 M-QTLs with 3.48ā33.36% phenotypic variation explained (PVE) were identified using QTL Cartographer, while only 65 M-QTLs with 1.3ā15.01% PVE were identified using QTLNetwork. A total of 53 M-QTLs were such which were identified using both programmes. On the other hand, GMM identified 186 (8.54ā44.72% PVE) and 63 (7.11ā21.13% PVE), three and two loci interactions, whereas only 8 E-QTL interactions with 1.7ā8.34% PVE were identified through QTLNetwork. Interestingly a number of co-localized QTLs controlling 2ā9 traits were also identified. The identification of few major, many minor M-QTLs and QTLĀ ĆĀ QTL interactions during the present study confirmed the complex and quantitative nature of drought tolerance in groundnut. This study suggests deployment of modern approaches like marker-assisted recurrent selection or genomic selection instead of marker-assisted backcrossing approach for breeding for drought tolerance in groundnut
Quantitative trait locus analysis and construction of consensus genetic map for drought tolerance traits based on three recombinant inbred line populations in cultivated groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.)
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