Effectiveness of vesicular arbuscular mycorrhiza on root development of sago palm plantlets / Siti Sahmsiah Sahmat

The state of Sarawak in Malaysia started the world’s first plantation of sago palm (Metroxylon sagu Rottboll) in Mukah Division in the 1990s to cope with the growing demands of sago flour. Sago palm planting material using tissue culture propagation has been hindered by the slow nursery growth of the plantlets. Earlier studies have shown that the introduction of indigenous mycorrhiza belonging to the Glomus species isolated from wild sago palm have accelerated growth of tissue cultured plantlets in the nursery stage. Arum type with intercellular hyphae of arbuscles was discovered in the study. The successful isolation and bulking of the vesicular arbuscular mycorrhiza (VAM) inoculum using the alternate host, Allium sp. enabled study on the growth response of sago plantlets to VAM which indicated that the symbiosis relationship overcoming transplanting shock and accelerating nursery establishment. The introduction of VAM to in-vitro sago palm plantlet has not been investigated. Therefore, the main objective is to study the effectiveness of VAM on root development of sago palm plantlets. Inoculums obtained from the wild sago palms, confirmed as VAM were produced in a cultured media. A range of pH 3.8 to pH 6 was prepared to observe the highest number of spore production. The infectivity of cultured spores was determined by the colonization of VAM on alternate host and confirmed by the presence of VAM characteristic. The cultured spore was inoculated to the plantlets aged from stage three aged from zero to eight month. The result showed the highest production of spores occurred at pH 4.2 after 21 days of inoculation to the host plant of Allium sp. The cultured spores colonized the roots of the Allium sp. indicating its infectivity and therefore were used as a source of inoculum to infect the tissue plantlets of sago palm. An experiment based on complete randomized block design (CRDB) technique was carried out in the biotechnology laboratory of CRAUN Research Sdn. Bhd. to determine the plantlet infections after being surface sterilized with Teepol detergent. The spore number that resulted in the most successful infection of sago palm plantlets was 15 spores with 10.6% infection on plantlets aging between zero to two months old. The beneficial effect of VAM spores inoculated micropropagated plantlets at the in-vitro stage was reflected by the early initiation of lateral root growth. Thus, with accelerated root establishment in the in-vitro stage will overcome the problem of using micropropagated plantlets as planting materials

A Systematic Review of the Potential of a Dynamic Hydrogel as a Substrate for Sustainable Agriculture

Adopting environmentally friendly or green technology and incorporating new alternative substrates for a sustainable agricultural industry has garnered the attention of numerous researchers. Although super absorbent hydrogels have exhibited great potential, natural hydrogel-based absorbents have gained more interest due to their environmentally safe properties. The sources for the novel green polymer are easily obtained from agricultural wastes, such as polysaccharides, agarose, chitosan, and mucilage, with zero to minimal cost. The polymer also offers several attributes, including water usage and cost efficiencies, versatile application, and increasing plant growth. Furthermore, the polymer can act as a carrier agent and aid in improving the properties of planting mediums. The present review focuses on natural and chemical hydrogel-based polymers. It discusses their potential application in sustainable agriculture and the conservation of ecosystems by providing balanced protection for seeds, plants, and soil. Future perspectives based on previous investigations are also presented

Unravelling the dynamics of genotype and environment interactions on chilli (Capsicum annuum L.) yield-related attributes in soilless planting systems

Evaluation of genotypes to identify high-yielding and stable varieties is crucial for chilli production sustainability and food security. These analyses are essential, particularly when the breeding program aims to select lines with great adaptability and stability. Thirty chilli genotypes were evaluated for yield stability under four soilless planting systems viz; fertigation, HydroStock (commercial hydrogel), BioHydrogel (biodegradable hydrogel), and hydroponic to study the influence of genotype by environment interaction. The research used a split-plot randomized complete block design (RCBD) with two cropping cycles and five replications. The GGE biplot analysis was employed to assess the mean versus stability perspective in explaining the variation in genotypic and genotype-by-environment effects on the yield-related attributes for yield per plant, fruit number, fruit length, and width. Stability analysis denoted genotypes G26 and G30 as the most stable for yield per plant, while G16, G22, and G30 were stable for the number of fruits per plant. Among the four planting systems evaluated, HydroStock and BioHydrogel outperformed the others in yield per plant, demonstrating the highest level of informativeness or discrimination. These findings offer critical insights for future crop breeding programs and the optimization of agricultural practices

Growth and yield performances, pathogenicity, heat tolerance, antioxidant activity, and pungency level of anthracnose resistant and heat tolerant inbreed lines and their F1 hybrids of chili (Capsicum annuum L.)

Chili pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) cultivation is hampered by biotic and abiotic stressors, with poor performance caused by high temperatures exceeding 42 °C and anthracnose infestation. Chemical constituents such as antioxidants, phenols, capsaicin, and dihydrocapsaicin have a relationship with biotic and abiotic tolerance or resistance. Experiment was conducted with anthracnose resistant (CP-36, DP-37, DP-57, AP-25 and BP-23), heat tolerant inbreed lines (Putra chili 1, Putra chili 4, Putra chili 7, Putra chili 9 and Putra chili 10) and their hybrids to find anthracnose-resistant, heat-tolerant chili genotypes with high yield and pungency levels. For this purposes, pathogens were injected into both unripe and ripe chili fruits to determine their pathogenicity. On the other hand, four-week-old seedling was raised for a heat tolerance test to determine the percentage of partial damage (%) and thermo-stability index of the cell membrane (%). The research also included morphological, yield and yield contributing, physiological, and biochemical assessment in order to identify superior chili hybrids. All growth, yield, and physiological traits showed excellent genetic progress and heritability, but correlation analysis showed a highly significant positive link between yield per plant, plant height, the total number of branches, and the number of fruits per plant. Lesion area of unripe fruits were varied from 0.00 (cm2) to 0.24 (cm2) and 0.00 (cm2) to 0.18 (cm2) for the pathogen, UPMC1191 (Colletotrichum fructicola) and UPMC1192 (Colletotrichum sojae), respectively and also indicated that differential resistant to anthracnose pathogen. In a heat tolerance test, all of the hybrids with the improved heat tolerant line performed better in terms of cell membrane thermo-stability, partial damage at various temperature gradients, and canopy temperature depression. In terms of biochemical state, DP-37 × Putra chili 7; AP-25 × Putra chili 10 had a moderate level of pungency, while some other parents and hybrids had mild level of pungency. After screening with Colletotrichum pathogen, heat tolerance test, biochemical constitute and yield performance, following hybrids would be better for commercial production to meet up the demand such as CP-36 × Putra chili 1; CP-36 × Putra chili 7; CP-36 × Putra chili 9; DP-37 × Putra chili 1; DP-37 × Putra chili 10; DP-37 × Putra chili 4; DP-37 × Putra chili 7; DP-37× Putra chili 9; DP-57 × Putra chili 7; DP-57 × Putra chili 9; DP-57 × Putra chili 10; AP-25 × Putra chili 9; AP-25 × Putra chili 4; BP-23 × Putra chili 7; BP-23 × Putra chili 9; BP-23 × Putra chili 1 and would be use in future chili breeding program