Variability, Divergence, Heterosis, Combining Ability and Yield Component Studies in Sweet Potatoes (Ipomoea Batatas (L) Lam.) from Sabah and Sarawak, Malaysia

Studies were conducted to examine the breeding potential of the Malaysian indigenous sweet potato germplasm. A total of 99 sweet potato accessions was collected from five different regions in the states of Sabah and Sarawak, Malaysia. A total of 220 polycross progenies was obtained from sixteen randomly chosen accessions planted in a polycross block. The 99 accessions and their 220 progenies were evaluated in the field and 1 6 characters were measured. With the exception of plant type and vine thickness, other characters showed more than 20% CV values. The CV values for yield, tuber number and mean tuber woight were 76%, 57% and 48%, respectively. The means and CV's were similar for all characters between the regions indicating the presence of similar sweet potato type in all the regions. Cluster analysis showed the presence of three main groups of sweet potatoes in the states. Group 1 comprised cultivars with low yield. Cultivars in Group 2 were high yielding with spreading plant type. The third group comprised only six cultivars with orange flesh colour, big leaves, semi-compact plant type and slightly lower yield. The mean, range and CV values for all characters studied were much larger for the polycross progenies as compared to the parents. Cluster analysis showed the presence of seven groups among the progenies indicating the formation of new genotypes as a result of outcrossing. Gene interactions in the new genotypes probably have led to the presence of larger means and ranges of many characters

Foreign investment, government expenditure, and economic growth in Malaysia

This study uses the ordinary least squares technique to examine the effect of foreign investment and government expenditure on the growth in GDP per capita in Malaysia over the period 1978-2005. The regression results showed that the growth of export and ratio of government expenditure to GDP are the driving forces in enhancing the economic growth in Malaysia. Foreign investment and previous year real income per capita growth depict positive impact, whereas population growth exerts a negative impact on economic growth

Islamic ethical attitudes and corporate crime : evidenced from accounting profession / Sazilah Mohd Saad and Roshima Said

The risks associated with corporate crime threaten to undermine the stability of the international financial systems. Various measures have been taken to deter these crimes at various levels with continuous commitments and efforts to reinforce good governance among public listed companies. Despite the prestigious recognitions given to Malaysian companies, the data related to corporate crime has seemed unsupportive, showing the increasing pattern of corporate crime each year. The recent years have seen the re-emergence of questioning of the ethical attitudes of those employed within the organizations. Thus, this study attempts to fill the gaps by examining the effects of Islamic Ethical Attitudes to Corporate Crimes among registered accountants in the Malaysian Institute of Accountants. In light of the Islamic governance in the Malaysians companies these days, Islamic ethical attitudes should be the best measures to be considered in deterring the escalating corporate crime incidences over the years. The findings of the study provide evidence from questionnaire that majority of the account professionals perceived to have high Islamic ethical attitudes and moderately accept a corporate crime intention. The implication of this study is to provide policy makers to instill value of Islamic ethical attitudes into code of ethics of account professionals indirectly in order to prevent corporate crime

Inheritance of protein content in long bean (Vigna sesquipedalis Fruw.)

The components of gene effects for protein content were studied following a six parameter model of Hayman and three parameter model of Jinks and Jones, using the means of the six basic populations (P1, P2, F1, F2, BC1P1 and BC1P2) from four crosses derived from four diverse genotypes of long bean. The scaling tests indicated the presence of non-allelic interactions for pod protein and seed protein in two crosses. Additive effects are more important than dominance effects for pod protein. The interaction effects contributed more than the main genetic component for seed protein. Among the digenic epistatic interactions, dominance × dominance (1) contributed the most followed by additive × additive (i) and additive × dorninance (h) effects. Pedigree, bulk or single seed descent methods are suggested for developing elite populations. Duplicate epistasis was noticed for the two interacting crosses

Characterization of beneficial properties of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria isolated from sweet potato rhizosphere

Laboratory study was conducted to characterize the beneficial properties of plant growth-promoting rhizobacterial (PGPR) strains isolated from sweet potato rhizosphere. Fifteen rhizobacterial (PGPR) strains were screened for indole acetic acid (IAA) production with and without addition of the precursor L-tryptophan (L-TRP), phosphate-solubilizing activity, and nitrogen production, antagonistic activity against fungal pathogens, siderophore production and intrinsic antibiotic resistance. Results of the laboratory study showed that 15 rhizobacterial isolates were able to produce indole acetic acid (IAA). The concentration of IAA produced ranged from 3.84 - 13.33mg L-1. Addition of L-tryptophan (L-TRP) to the bacterial isolates increased the production of IAA ranging from 4.94 - 46.66 mg L-1. Six isolates (40%) were able to solubilize insoluble phosphate as evident by production of clear zone on calcium phosphate medium. All isolates were able to grow in N-free media indicating their abilities to produce nitrogen which ranged from 0.74 - 1.32 ppm. Three of the isolates produced fluorescent pigment on agar plate indicated their abilities to produce siderophores. Four isolates were able to inhibit the fungal pathogens Rhizoctonia sp.and Pythium sp. The intrinsic antibiotic test showed that all isolates were resistant against chloramphenicol (10 and 30 µg mL-1), Streptomycin (10 µg mL-1), Kanamycin (5 and 30 µg mL-1), Penicillin (10 µg mL-1) and tetracyclin (30 µg mL-1). The rhizobacterial isolates showed the several beneficial traits that could improve plant growth

Growth and storage root development of sweetpotato inoculated with rhizobacteria under glasshouse conditions

A pot experiment was conducted to determine the effects of rhizobacterial inoculation on growth and storage root development of Sepang Oren sweetpotato. Inoculation positively affected plant growth. The highest growth was observed on plants inoculated with Klebsiella sp. which increased shoot dry weight by 23% compared to control. Five of the isolates were able to produce sweetpotato storage roots. Klebsiella sp. and Erwinia sp. produced higher storage root yields of 35.15 and 8.22 g plant-1, respectively, compared to the other treatments. The inoculation significantly increased the uptake of nutrients in plant tissue and the concentrations of nutrients in soil. The results suggest that Klebsiella sp. and Erwinia sp. are potentially effective as bioenhancers and biofertilizers for sweetpotato

Effects of different surface sterilizers on seed germination and contamination of king of bitters (Andrographis paniculata Nees).

Andrographis paniculata is a medicinal plant belongs to the plant family Acanthaceae. The plant is commonly propagated by seed. High contamination and low germination are two prevalent problems occur during germination and embryo growth stages. Approaches to decrease the seed contamination level and increasing germination percentage of Andrographis paniculata seeds were studied using a combination of chemical treatments with different sterilizer at different concentrations and exposure times in a factorial experiment based on Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications. Analysis of variance indicated that the effect of treatments were significant (p ≤ 0.01) on seed germination and contamination percentage (GP&CP), as well as on mean germination time (MGT), while non significant effects were observed on Number of Days to First Germination (NDFG) and Average Germination Percentage (AGP). The maximum (12.5%) and the minimum contamination percentage (2.2%) were observed in 4 weeks after treating in control treatment and treatment with 10% NaOCI for 10 min respectively. The results showed that 10% NaOCI for 10 min treatments is an effective option for decreasing the seed contamination percentage in this plant

Phytochemicals from Phyllanthus niruri Linn. and their pharmacological properties: a review

This review discusses the medicinal plant Phyllanthus niruri Linn. (Euphorbiaceae), its wide variety of phytochemicals and their pharmacological properties. The active phytochemicals, flavonoids, alkaloids, terpenoids, lignans, polyphenols, tannins, coumarins and saponins, have been identified from various parts of P. niruri. Extracts of this herb have been proven to have therapeutic effects in many clinical studies. Some of the most intriguing therapeutic properties include anti-hepatotoxic, anti-lithic, anti-hypertensive, anti-HIV and anti-hepatitis B. Therefore, studies relating to chemical characteristics and structural properties of the bioactive phytochemicals found in P. niruri are very useful for further research on this plant as many of the phytochemicals have shown preclinical therapeutic efficacies for a wide range of human diseases, including HIV/AIDS and hepatitis B