Genetic Parameters for Determining Useful Parents in Mungbean (Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek) Breeding for Early Maturity, Small Seed Size, and High Seed Yield

Early maturity, small seed size, and high seed yield are important characters of mungbean in Indonesia. The objective of the study was to determine the useful parents in mungbean crosses for early maturity, small seed size, and high seed yield varieties by estimating the genetic parameters and their inheritance. The study was conducted at the ILETRI, Malang, East Java, Indonesia, during the dry season of 2014. 20 F1 and 5 parents were evaluated using a randomized block design, repeated three times. Results of the study showed that all observed traits showed the importance of both additive and dominance gene effects. The relative value of general combining ability (GCA) was greater than specific combining ability (SCA) for number of pod clusters per plant, number of branches per plant, plant height, days to maturity, and 100-seed weight which indicated the importance of additive gene effect. The dominance gene effect occurred on number of pods and seed yield per plant. Among five parents, G3 was the best combiner for all the observed characters except pod length; therefore, G3 could be exploited for late maturity, small seed size, high number of branches and pod cluster, and high seed yield. G5 has a high GCA for 100-seed weight. G1 and G2 have good GCA for early maturity. G3 and G5 genotypes are useful as parents in mungbean breeding for small and large seed size varieties, respectively. The best combination for seed yield was G2 × G3 and G3 × G1 crosses and could be proceeded with selection for early maturity, small seed size, and high seed yield varieties.

Self-repairing mechanical components using artificial Intelligence

In this paper, we study the applicability of artificial intelligence for designing mechanical components that can repair themselves. We use the Cellular Automata (CA) model implemented as a Convolution Neural Network (CNN) to simulate the automatic growth and repair of a mechanical component from a small seed. Concretely, we start with an empty 2D grid of cells. Using the CNN, the cells will learn to self-organize into the image of a mechanical component. We simulate the damage to the component by deleting some parts of the imagine and show how they are automatically regenerated.

FEATURES OF TEMPERATURE REGIME IN A CONTACT TYPE UNIT WHEN DRYING SMALL SEED CROPS

When creati ng modern eff ecti ve complex technical systems that realize the processes of thermal impact on bulk agricultural materials with the required quality and at a high energy level, it is important to know the conditi ons of heat and moisture transfer. The target functi on of our research was scienti fi c substanti ati on of the main thermophysical parameters of the studied process of thermal eff ect on the drying product as a whole, as well as identi fi cati on of the eff ect of the created temperature regime of the drying unit on the temperature gradient when heati ng the treated seeds, and, ulti mately, on the effi ciency of the enti re process. In case of contact drying of small-seeded crops, both external heat and moisture exchange processes are carried out - from the surface of the treated seeds to the external environment, and internal - the migrati on of heat and moisture inside the seeds. The main quanti tati ve factor that most fully describes the mechanism of moisture transfer is the Bio criterion (Bim). This criterion establishes a relati on between such parameters of the contact drying process as the intensity of moisture exchange on the surface of the processed grain and its moisture conducti vity. The descripti on of the process is reduced to solving an internal problem for the moisture contained in the processed grain, when considering the latt er as a colloidal body, Bim = 0.16. In this case, the removal of moisture with its transformati on into steam directly depends on the energy consumpti on for the heat treatment process. The driving force of this process is the temperature gradient arising from thermal acti on. Studies have established that the kineti c coeffi cient, which most fully describes this phenomenon, is the thermal and moisture conducti vity coeffi cient or the thermal gradient coeffi cient δ. This parameter characterizes the moisture content change in the processed grain at a temperature gradient equal to one degree Celsius. In order to confi rm the above theoreti cal dependencies, experimental studies were carried out to identi fy the features of contact thermal eff ects on various small-seed crops. Based on the results of the studies, it was revealed that the following operati ng parameters have the greatest infl uence on temperature regime during grain drying in the developed contact type grain dryer: the temperature of the heati ng surface and the rotati on frequency of the transporti ng working body. In this study, the rotati on frequency of the transporti ng working body was changed from 30 min-1 to 110 min-1, and the temperature of the heati ng surface - in the range from 40 ºС to 100 ºС. It was revealed that the temperature gradient of grain heati ng in the developed installati on for grain drying at appropriate drying modes is 9 ... 12 ºС and does not signifi cantly depend on the type of processed seeds. When improving the operati ng parameters of the drying process of seeds of one crop, it is possible to operate the developed grain dryer without loss of quality during heat treatment of small seeds of other crops.

Comparative analyses and phylogenetic relationships of 15 Trapa (Trapaceae) species based on Complete Chloroplast Genomes

Trapa L. is floating-leaved aquatic plants with important economic and ecological values. However, species identification and phylogenetic relationship are still unresolved for Trapa. In this study, complete chloroplast genomes of 13 Trapa species/taxa were sequenced and annotated. Combined with released sequences of the other two species, comparative analysis of cp genomes was first performed on the 15 Trapa species/taxa. The 15 cp genomes exhibited quadripartite structures with medium size of 155, 453-155, 559 bp. IR/SC junctions were conservative with no obvious change found. Long repetitive repeats and SSRs were mostly detected in the intergenic and LSC regions, providing useful plastid markers for species and relationship identification. Three phylogenetic analyses (MP, ML and BI) consistently showed two clusters within Trapa, including large- and small-seed species/taxa, respectively. This study provided the baseline information for phylogeography of Trapa, which would facilitate the management and utilization of genetic resources of the genus.

Electron runaway in ASDEX Upgrade experiments of varying core temperature

The formation of a substantial postdisruption runaway electron current in ASDEX Upgrade material injection experiments is determined by avalanche multiplication of a small seed population of runaway electrons. For the investigation of these scenarios, the runaway electron description of the coupled 1.5-D transport solvers ASTRA-STRAHL is amended by a fluid model describing electron runaway caused by the hot-tail mechanism. Applied in simulations of combined background plasma evolution, material injection and runaway electron generation in ASDEX Upgrade discharge #33108, both the Dreicer and hot-tail mechanism for electron runaway produce only ${\sim }$ 3 kA of runaway current. In colder plasmas with core electron temperatures $T_\textrm {e,c}$ below 9 keV, the postdisruption runaway current is predicted to be insensitive to the initial temperature, in agreement with experimental observations. Yet in hotter plasmas with $T_\textrm {e,c}$ above 10 keV, hot-tail runaway can be increased by up to an order of magnitude, contributing considerably to the total postdisruption runaway current. In ASDEX Upgrade high-temperature runaway experiments, however, no runaway current is observed at the end of the disruption, despite favourable conditions for both primary and secondary runaway.

Endosperm turgor pressure both promotes and restricts seed growth and size

Organ size depends on complex biochemical and mechanical interactions between cells and tissues. Here, we investigate the control of seed size, a key agronomic trait, by mechanical interactions between two compartments: the endosperm and the testa. By combining experiments with computational modelling, we tested an incoherent mechanical feedforward loop hypothesis in which pressure-induced stresses play two antagonistic roles; directly driving seed growth, but indirectly inhibiting it through mechanosensitive stiffening of the seed coat. We show that our model can recapitulate wild type growth patterns and explain the small seed phenotype of the haiku2 mutant. Our work further reveals that the developmental regulation of endosperm pressure is needed to prevent a precocious reduction of seed growth rate induced by force-dependent seed coat stiffening.

Technical solution for providing optimal seeding depth and improving the contact of small seed crops with wet soil when seeding

The article describes an invention that relates to agricultural machinery, namely to seeders for sowing grass seeds and grain crops, in areas with insufficient moisture and soils susceptible to wind erosion. The objective of the invention is to provide the optimum depth of seeding, in particular, of small-seeded crops and herbs, when sowing on treated and untreated backgrounds in soil-protective, minimal and “zero” tillage systems. The technical result of the invention lies in the fact that the distinguishing features of a grain-seeder seeder provide an optimal seeding depth and improved contact of small-seeded crops, in particular grass seeds with moist soil, when sowing in soil-protective, minimal and “zero” tillage systems. The proposed seeder, the coulters are rigidly connected to the frame by means of rods, which allows the coulters to withstand the same predetermined depth on soils of different hardness. The initial formation of sowing grooves is carried out installed before the coulters, in their longitudinal plane of symmetry, at an angle 55-65 degrees to the horizontal, revolving cutter knives with a wear-resistant coating of the working part. There are two packer roller rollers pivotally connected to the frame with a cylindrical rim, while the batteries are spring loaded with the ability to adjust the pressure of the rollers on the soil.

Conservation of vegetable genetic diversity in Transylvania-Romania

The conservation of plant and animal genetic heritage is not a purpose in itself, but it represents the sine qua non condition for practicing a sustainable agriculture and to ensure nutrition and food security on long-term. Our research focused on identifying the areas with the richest genetic diversity of vegetables in Transylvania, Romania, as well as the main vulnerabilities related to seed production for the local vegetables. Our trips included 210 locations where 338 small seed producers were surveyed. The questionnaire method with fixed questions and undisguised multiple-choices was used. A number of 316 out of 565 cultivars taken into study have been proven to be authentic and valuable landraces, meaning 55.9%. In Transylvania, the richest genetic diversity of vegetables is found in the counties of Maramures, Bistrita-Nasaud and Hunedoara—where the cooperativization was lower before the year 1989. The most important risk in losing vegetable landraces is the old age of small growers (68.4%). However, it is encouraging that many NGOs interested in identifying, conserving and promoting local varieties have emerged in the last decade. Therefore, so-called "seed houses" have been set up to facilitate the exchange of seeds, and on the other hand, the expansion of organic farming requires local varieties that are better adapted to harsh environmental conditions.