Biodegradability and Nitrogen Use Efficiency of Crotonaldehyde Diurea in Wheat

A field experiment was conducted to test the efficacy of Rhodococcus spp for biodegradability of crotonaldehyde diurea and its N use efficiency in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)â€at different critical growth stages and five treatments of nitrogen. The soil sample was collected and attempted to isolate the Rhodococcus spp. on selective medium. The Rhodococcus spp. showed profuse growth in a medium containing 0.1 % urea and slightly less profuse growth on the medium containing 0.1 % CDU as a sole nitrogen source. The CDU contained ammonical and nitrate nitrogen 19.6 and 13.0 %, respectively. It thus appeared that the soil microorganism Rhodococcus spp. can utilize the CDU probably suggesting that microorganism could have enzymatic activity which can degrade CDU. The activity of nitrate assimilating enzyme was assayed from the leaf tissues at four critical stages showed that the treatment T5 (100 % CDU) recorded highest activities of  NR, NiR, and GS, high nitrogen up take, high NUE and higher grain yield. Thus it appeared that Crotonaldehyde Diurea (CDU) is biodegradable by the Rhodococcus spp. present in the soil rhizosphere and applied once at the time of sowing

EVALUATION OF NUTRITIONAL AND COOKING QUALITY OF RICE GRAINS

The rice grains of six genotypes differing in genetic background were evaluated for physical characteristics, proximate composition and cooking quality characteristics. The seed index varied from 10.48 to 20.77g per 1000 grains. Grain: Husk ratio varied from 3.36 to 4.12. and Length: breadth ratio ranged from 2.99 to 3.59. The nutritional composition of genotypes in percent was moisture, 12.63 to 14.03; crude protein, 6.83 to 7.3; crude fat, 0.85 to 1.48; crude fiber, 0.61 to 0.96; ash, 0.65 to 0.92 and carbohydrates, 76.12 to 78.58. The iron and zinc content varied between 9.7 to 20 ppm and 21.8 to 29.8 ppm respectively. The grains of genotype Bhogavati were found to be high in protein content of 7.30 per cent, whereas minimum crude fiber content was observed in genotype Phule Samrudhi. The genotypes Bhogavati and Phule maval recorded the lysine content of 3.84 to 5.06g 16-1 g N respectively. The grain starch content varied from 71.14 to 76.75 per cent. The genotypes Bhogavati and Phule Samrudhi exhibited the highest amylose content of 26.76 and 24.03 per cent, respectively, while the genotype Phule Maval exhibited highest amylopectin content of 85.36 per cent. The grain swelling ratio varied from 1.64 to 2.34 and the cooking time ranged from 15 to 21.6 minutes. The genotype Phule Maval exhibited highest grain swelling. The rice requiring higher grain cooking time were found to be very sticky as stickiness was found to be significantly and positively correlated with crude protein, crude fat, crude fibre, grain swelling, cooking time and amylopectin, and negatively correlated with starch and amylose. This study revealed that genotype Bhogavati and Phule Maval to be revealed nutritionally better with good cooking quality.Â

Evolutionary relationships among barley and <i>Arabidopsis</i> core circadian clock and clock-associated genes

The circadian clock regulates a multitude of plant developmental and metabolic processes. In crop species, it contributes significantly to plant performance and productivity and to the adaptation and geographical range over which crops can be grown. To understand the clock in barley and how it relates to the components in the Arabidopsis thaliana clock, we have performed a systematic analysis of core circadian clock and clock-associated genes in barley, Arabidopsis and another eight species including tomato, potato, a range of monocotyledonous species and the moss, Physcomitrella patens. We have identified orthologues and paralogues of Arabidopsis genes which are conserved in all species, monocot/dicot differences, species-specific differences and variation in gene copy number (e.g. gene duplications among the various species). We propose that the common ancestor of barley and Arabidopsis had two-thirds of the key clock components identified in Arabidopsis prior to the separation of the monocot/dicot groups. After this separation, multiple independent gene duplication events took place in both monocot and dicot ancestors. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00239-015-9665-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

Activity profile of defence-related enzymes in rice genotypes (<i>Oryza sativa</i> L.) against rice blast (<i>Magnaporthe oryzae</i>)

<p>The control and infected leaf samples of blast resistant and susceptible rice genotypes were evaluated for activities of defence-related enzymes viz., total phenol content, chitinase, phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL), β-glycosidase, antioxidative enzymes, superoxide dismutase, peroxidase and ascorbate peroxidase. The level of total phenol content and the activity profile of chitinase, PAL and β-glycosidase significantly increased in both blast-resistant and susceptible rice genotypes with comparatively higher level induction Tetep, NLR-20104 and Swarnadhan the blast-resistant genotypes. The antioxidative enzymes were comparatively higher in the leaf samples of blast-resistant genotypes recording highest increase in NLR-20104 and KJT-5. The constitutive levels of total phenols and activity of defence-related and antioxidative enzymes in the control leaf samples differed among the genotypes and were even higher in the two blast susceptible genotypes (EK-70 and Chimansal). However, the level of induction as evident from the activity profile differences between control and infected leaf samples suggests higher level of induction was more which is indicative of the induced defence response. The genotype recording maximum induction of defence-related and antioxidative enzymes activity could be useful criteria in screening for blast resistant genotype in rice.</p