Mycoparasitic capabilities of diverse native strain of Trichoderma spp. against Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici

The Fusarium wilt of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici (Sacc.) Snyder and Hansen is recognised as one of the most devastating disease and major yield limiting factor in tomato growing regions worldwide. For eco-friendly and sustainable management of the disease, 19 Trichoderma native isolates belonging to 3 species of the genus, T. harzianum, T. asperellum and T. virens were evaluated in vitro against the pathogen using dual culture method. Out of 19 isolates, 8 isolates showed mycoparasitism, 8 isolates showed antibiosis and remaining showed lysis. Microscopic observations of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici (FOL) growth in dual cultures revealed that growth inhibition occurred just before near to contact with the antagonist. All T. harzianum isolates tested exhibited coiling around the hyphae of FOL. Isolates of T. harzianum, showed good coiling and growth inhibition of the pathogen. The T. harzianum strains did not differ in coiling pattern and gave somewhat equal coiling performances. Strains of T. asperellum, showed coiling but the coiling pattern of all these strains was different. Only one strain of T. virens showed coiling out of 2 strains. Among them T. harzianum (SVPUTh91) showed the best performance in vitro as biological control agent against FOL followed by T. asperellum and T. virens, resulting in 83, 73 and 65% reduction in colony growth, respectively

Banded leaf and sheath blight: A menacing disease of maize (Zea mays L.) and its management

Maize (Zea mays L.) crop is attacked by number of fungal, bacterial and viral diseases, out of which banded leaf and sheath blight (BLSB) caused by anastomosis group 1-IA of Rhizoctonia solani f. sp. sasakii Exner. is one of the most widespread and destructive disease of maize in Southeast Asian countries. The occurrence of this disease has also been reported from other parts of the world, which causes significant yield loss up to 100%. R. solani can survive in the soil for several years and able to infect plants belonging to more than 32 families, including many economically important monocots and dicots plants. The severity of the disease favoured by humid weather with temperature around 28°C, poses challenge to maize growers due to its soil borne nature and lack of resistance cultivars. It is indicated that none of the disease management approaches are effective against BLSB. Banded leaf and sheath blight is difficult to control through either fungicide or crop rotation alone. A number of quantitative trait loci (QTLs) controlling BLSB have been identified that would help the development of maize hybrids resistance to this disease. Management of BLSB requires an integrated approach based on the knowledge of each stage of the disease and molecular aspect of maize defence responses against R. solani. Mention conclusion statement and novelty of the work. The present review summarizes consolidated information on distribution, yield loss, symptoms, pathogen life cycle, epidemiology, genetic structure of the pathogen population, molecular aspect of pathogenicity and its integrated management through cultural, biological, chemical and genetic means. The consolidated knowledge presented in this review should help better disease management and reduce crop yield loss due to banded leaf and sheath blight pathogen

Assessment of Physicochemical Properties of Water Samples

Water is life and abundant on earth but is not safe for human consumption due to anthropogenic activities and puts people at risk of developing waterborne diseases. There are physical and chemical parameters of water that must be checked regularly and compared to the guidelines provided to determine whether it is safe for human consumption. In the current study, water samples were collected from different locations at Sharda University, Greater Noida, and standard tests were carried out to analyze their physicochemical parameters, including temperature, odour, taste, colour, pH, total dissolved solids, electrical conductivity, turbidity, hardness, alkalinity, and chloride content to assess the quality of the water. Our results demonstrated that drinking water collected from different sites was more suitable for human consumption than groundwater

Nutritional and Phytochemical Traits of Apricots (Prunus Armeniaca L.) for Application in Nutraceutical and Health Industry

Apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.) is a nutritious fruit, rich in bioactive compounds, known for their health benefits. The present study attempts to evaluate nutritional (sugars, organic acids, minerals) and nutraceutical traits (total phenolics, flavonoids, carotenoids, antioxidant activity) of six commercial apricot genotypes grown in India. Antioxidant activity was determined using three in-vitro assays, namely CUPRAC (cupric reducing antioxidant capacity), FRAP (ferric reducing antioxidant power) and DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl). Significant (p < 0.05) differences were observed in the genotypes concerning nutritional and nutraceutical traits. Sucrose accounted for more than 60% of total sugars in most genotypes, followed by glucose and fructose. Citric acid accounted for more than 50% of the total organic acids present, followed by malic and succinic acids. Apricot is a good source of potassium (1430.07 to 2202.69 mg/100 g dwb) and iron (2.69 to 6.97 mg/100 g dwb) owing to its mineral composition. Total carotenoids content ranged from 0.44 to 3.55 mg/100 g, with β-carotene accounting for 33-84% of the total content. The results strongly suggest that genotypes 'CITH-A-1' and 'CITH-A-2', which have high dry matter and carotenoids content, are well suited for drying. 'Roxana' and 'CITH-A-3' are great for fresh consumption, while 'Shakarpara' and 'Gold Cot' are excellent for juice processing

Approach-based techniques of CT-guided percutaneous vertebral biopsy

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) plays an important role in the characterization of vertebral lesions. Even if latest improvements in MRI permit to understand and suspect the nature of vertebral lesions and positron emission tomography computed tomography (PET-CT) gives information about lesion metabolism, biopsy is still needed in most cases. CT-guided percutaneous vertebral biopsy is a minimally invasive, safe and accurate procedure for definitive tissue diagnosis of a vertebral lesion. CT-guided vertebral biopsy is often the best alternative to a surgical biopsy. The purpose of this technical note is to discuss the approach-based techniques for CT-guided percutaneous vertebral biopsy

Elucidating SNP-based genetic diversity and population structure of advanced breeding lines of bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

Genetic diversity and population structure information are crucial for enhancing traits of interest and the development of superlative varieties for commercialization. The present study elucidated the population structure and genetic diversity of 141 advanced wheat breeding lines using single nucleotide polymorphism markers. A total of 14,563 high-quality identified genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) markers were distributed covering 13.9 GB wheat genome, with a minimum of 1,026 SNPs on the homoeologous group four and a maximum of 2,838 SNPs on group seven. The average minor allele frequency was found 0.233, although the average polymorphism information content (PIC) and heterozygosity were 0.201 and 0.015, respectively. Principal component analyses (PCA) and population structure identified two major groups (sub-populations) based on SNPs information. The results indicated a substantial gene flow/exchange with many migrants (Nm = 86.428) and a considerable genetic diversity (number of different alleles, Na = 1.977; the number of effective alleles, Ne = 1.519; and Shannon’s information index, I = 0.477) within the population, illustrating a good source for wheat improvement. The average PIC of 0.201 demonstrates moderate genetic diversity of the present evaluated advanced breeding panel. Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) detected 1% and 99% variance between and within subgroups. It is indicative of excessive gene traffic (less genetic differentiation) among the populations. These conclusions deliver important information with the potential to contribute new beneficial alleles using genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and marker-assisted selection to enhance genetic gain in South Asian wheat breeding programs

Cross sectional analysis of mandibular anthropometric points using CBCT to derive biometric measurements for a safer approach to mandible osteotomies

Purpose: This study aims to derive a series of biometric measurements using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) from a cross sectional group of population to help the surgeon accurately locate the mandibular foramen and the mental foramen during mandibular osteotomies. Methods: CBCT images of 800 subjects were evaluated. Various measurements were noted and compared between the two sides of the mandible in and between the sexes. Result: Statistically significant values were noted between the right and left sides of Line X to Point A in female subjects, Line Z & Line B only in male subjects and Line X’ in both male and female subjects. However, Line Y was found to be significant when comparing both sides in both males and females and also on correlation between the genders. Conclusion: Although the identification of the mandibular lingula and anatomical landmarks is an important step during mandibular osteotomies, the position of one side, however, cannot be blindly extrapolated to the contra lateral side. Also, pre operative CBCT is a useful tool to derive measurements which when transferred clinically during the surgery gives an accurate and safe approach for localisation of lingula, thus reducing the incidence of post operative neurologic morbidities