Biochemical investigations on vigour enhancement in aged seeds upon seed priming in onion

Loss in seed quality that occurs during all process, from maturation in the field to storage, leads to seed deterioration. Storage of onion seeds under ambient, hot and humid conditions is very problematic since these conditions deteriorate seed quality faster. Seed deterioration is associated with many metabolic defects that occur due to changes in enzymes and protein levels. This deterioration can be rectified to the extent possible by the technique of seed priming. The results clearly indicated that priming will restore the lost seed vigour in aged seeds due to reactivation of enzyme activity in old seeds. The germination percentage improved from 60% to 79.5% and 72.5% in GA3 and hydroprimed, respectively. Priming will also restore the lost seed vigour in aged seeds due to reactivation of proteins in old seeds and expression of these proteins in priming treatments are related to priming induced proteins in contrast to their absence in the aged seeds which are necessary for germination and longevity of seeds

Influence of seed treatment and packaging materials on seed longevity of cluster bean [Cyamopsistetra gonoloba (L.) Taub.]

An experiment was conducted to investigate the influence of packaging materials and seed treatments on storability of cluster bean under ambient conditions of Bengaluru. The experiment consisted of six treatments viz. control (T1), bavistin @ 2 g kg-1 (T2), spinosad @ 0.04 ml/kg (T3), neem leaf powder @ 1:20 ratio (T4), Acorus calamus@ 10 g kg-1 (T5) and cow dung powder @ 10 g kg-1 (T6) and three packaging materials viz., cloth bag (C1) super grain bag (C2) and poly lined cloth bag (C3). Treated seed samples were stored in three containers under ambient storage conditions up to the duration of which seeds maintain minimum seed certification standards and samples were drawn at bimonthly intervals for ascertaining the seed quality parameters. The study suggested that seed treat-ment could be useful to prolong the storage life of cluster bean seeds. The seeds treated with spinosad (0.04 ml/kg) and stored in super-grain bag were better for maintenance of higher seed quality parameters [germination (80.00%), root length (11.70 cm), shoot length (13.60 cm), mean seedling dry weight (152 mg), seedling vigour index I and II (2024&12140) and TDH activity (1.224) with low electrical conductivity (0.368 dSm-1)] up to 18 months under ambient conditions of Bengaluru (room temperature). Super-grain bag proved to be better storage container with higher seed quality attributes viz., germination (72.38 %), seedling vigour index-I (1726), total dehydrogenase activity (1.201) and other seed quality parameters compared to cloth bag. The study suggested that use of appropriate packaging material and seed treatment could be useful to prolong the storage life of cluster bean seeds

Methyl (2Z)-2-(2-fluoro-4-meth­oxy­benzyl­idene)-5-(4-meth­oxy­phen­yl)-7-methyl-3-oxo-2,3-dihydro-5H-[1,3]thia­zolo[3,2-a]pyrimidine-6-carboxyl­ate

The asymmetric unit of the title compound, C24H21FN2O5S, consists of two crystallographically independent mol­ecules. In each mol­ecule, the central dihydro­pyrimidine ring is significantly puckered and adopts a conformation which is best described as an inter­mediate between a boat and a screw boat. The least-squares planes of the dihydro­pyrimidine rings are almost coplanar with the fluoro-substituted benzene rings, making dihedral angles of 9.04 (7) and 6.68 (7)°, and almost perpendicular to the meth­oxy-substituted benzene rings with dihedral angles of 89.23 (7) and 88.30 (7)°. In the mol­ecular structure, S(6) ring motifs are formed by C—H⋯O and C—H⋯S hydrogen bonds. In the crystal, mol­ecules are linked into a three-dimensional network by inter­molecular C—H⋯O and C—H⋯F hydrogen bonds. The crystal structure is further stabilized by a C—H⋯π inter­action

Growth and Yield Performance of Hybrid Hot Pepper, Chilli (Capsicum annuum L.) as Influenced by Fertigation and Polyethylene Mulching

A field experiment was conducted at Bengaluru during 2015 to study the effect of fertigation on performance of hybrid chilli (Capsicum annuum L.). The trial included nine treatments comprising varying rates and sources of fertilizers, tested with or without mulching. Application of recommended dose of fertilizer (180:120:180 kg NPK/ha) through fertigation using water-soluble fertilizers resulted in higher values for plant height (104.27 cm), number of branches per plant (16.71), leaf area per plant (89.44 dm2), dry matter per plant (185.49 g), number of fruits per plant (142.7), fruit length (11.13 cm), fruit girth (4.75 cm), fruit weight (1.29 g), yield per plant (184.11 g) and fruit yield (5.03 t/ha) which remained on par with same amount of fertilizer applied using conventional means along with polyethylene mulching. In general, treatments that received fertilizers through fertigation took less number of days to flowering over conventional soil-application of fertilizers. All fertigation treatments recorded higher dry-chilli fruit yield over the conventional soil-application of fertilizers, to a tune of 27.87% to 52.4% over the control

Influence of organic and inorganic fertilizers on yield and quality of sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum L.)

Field experiments were carried out during Kharif season of 2015 and 2016 to study the influence of FYM, inorganic fertilizers and bio-fertilizers on fresh herbage yield, quantity and quality of essential oil of sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum). Nine treatments with  three replication were adopted in a randomized block design to find out the effect of different levels of N applied through FYM (100, 75 and 50% of the recommended N along with and without bio-fertilizers), recommended dose of NPK (160:80:80 kg ha-1), recommended FYM (10 t ha-1) + NPK (160:80:80  kg ha-1) and control (recommended  FYM (10 t ha-1) on fresh herbage and oil yield, oil content and oil quality of sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum L.). Pooled results revealed that application of recommended FYM (10 t ha-1) along with recommended NPK (160:80:80 kg ha-1) recorded the highest fresh herbage yield (39.95 and 19.37 t ha-1), essential oil content (0.48 and 0.45%) and essential oil yield (199.7 and 107.58 kg ha-1) in the main crop and ratoon, respectively. With respect to oil quality, bio-fertilizer has a good impact on oil quality, that highest percentage of Methyl chavicol was recorded with application of recommended FYM (10 t ha-1) + recommended N through FYM along with bio fertilizers in the main crop of 2016 (63.78%) and in the ratoon (59.39 and 59.67%) of 2015 and 2016, respectively

A convenient synthesis of imines

Imines were prepared in good yields by base-catalyzed reaction of aromatic aldehydes with amines at room temperature in MeOH. The reaction time was 5 min. for primary amines and approx. 10 min. for diamines, making this a useful anal. reaction

A new approach for the determination of percentage of the enol form in the beta-keto carbonyl compounds using chloramine-T oxidative method

A simple titrimetric method for the determination of percentage of the enol form in the beta-keto carbonyl compounds is described. The method involves the addition of chloramine-T (CAT) to beta-keto carbonyl compounds dissolved in absolute alcohol, followed by the determination of the unreacted CAT by iodometry