Assessment of water requirement of tobacco at Rajamundry (Andhra Pradesh)

Water use, Water Use Efficiency (WUE) and Water Requirement Satisfaction Index (WRSI) oftobacco varieties grown during rabi 1979 to 1988 at Rajamundry had been studied. The yield of tobacco was linearly andsignificantly correlated with amount of rainfall, water use and WRSI. The total amount of rainfall during growing seasonwas inadequate to meet the crop water requirements and these were partially met from stored soil moisture from previouskharif season. The excess rain during ripening stage of tobacco adversely affected the leaf yield and quality.The amount of water consumed varied between 110.0 to 186.6 mm for CTRI Special, 86.8 to 184.0 mm forJayashri. The mean WUE was found to be 6.1 and 6.4 kg/ha/mm respectively for CTRI Special and Jayashri. Themaximum amount of water consumed was 81.2 mm (i.e., 58.7%) during grand growth stage, followed by 36.5 mm(26.5%) during establishment stage and comparatively less (20.6mm) during maturity stage (14.8%). The average Kcvalue was maximum (0.5) during grand growth stage. WRSI showed decreasing trend from sowing towards maturity andthe rate of decrease was high in grand growth stage due to peak water consumption and less rainfall.

Potential Distribution of Blumea Balsamifera in China Using MaxEnt and The Ex-Situ Conservation Based on its Effective Components and Fresh Leaf Yield

Blumea balsamifera is a famous Chinese Minority Medicine, which has a long history in Miao, Li, Zhuang and other minority areas. In recent years, due to the influence of natural and human factors, the distribution area of B. balsamifera resources has a decreasing trend. Therefore, it is very important to analyze the suitability of B. balsamifera in China. Following three climate change scenarios (SSP1-2.6, SSP2-4.5 and SSP5-8.5) under 2050s and 2070s, geographic information technology (GIS) and maximum entropy model (MaxEnt) were used to simulate the ecological suitability of B. balsamifera. The contents of L-borneol and total flavonoids of B. balsamifera in different populations were determined by gas chromatography (GC) and ultraviolet spectrophotometry (UV). The results showed that the key environmental variables affecting the distribution of B. balsamifera were mean temperature of coldest quarter (6.18-26.57 ℃), precipitation of driest quarter (22.46-169.7 mm), annual precipitation (518.36-1845.29 mm) and temperature seasonality (291.31-878.87). Under current climate situation, the highly suitable habitat was mainly located western Guangxi, southern Yunnan, most of Hainan, southwestern Guizhou, southwestern Guangdong, southeastern Fujian and western Taiwan, with a total area of 24.1×104 km2. The areas of the moderately and poorly suitable habitats were 27.57×104 km2 and 42.43×104 km2, respectively. Under the future climate change scenarios, the areas of the highly, moderately, and poorly suitable habitats of B. balsamifera showed a significant increasing trend, the geometric center of the total suitable habitats of B. balsamifera would move to the northeast. In recent years, the planting area of B. balsamifera has been reduced on a large scale in Guizhou, and its ex situ protection is imperative. By comparison, the content of L-borneol, total flavonoids and fresh leaf yield had no significant difference between Guizhou and Hainan (P > 0.05), which indicated that Hainan one of the best choice for ex-situ protection of B. balsamifera.

Enhancing Growth and Yield Parameters in Mulberry through Different Levels of Drip Irrigation and Mulching

The experiment was conducted to find out the impact of levels of drip irrigation and mulching on growth, yield and quality parameters of mulberry. Among different levels of irrigation 0.8 CPE recorded higher values for growth and leaf yield (47613 kg ha-1 year-1) parameters. Compared to lower levels of irrigation 0.5, 0.6 and 0.7 CPE. Also, mulberry plants mulched with black plastic polythene cover recorded higher values for growth and leaf yield (45143 kg ha-1 year-1) compared to plants without mulching. The interaction effect 0.8 CPE along with mulching (T8) recorded higher values for all the growth and yield parameters compared to other combination of treatments and lower values for the same were recorded in 0.5 CPE along in without mulching plot. The study revealed that adoption of drip irrigation in mulberry at 0.8 CPE along with mulching is appropriate to enhance the growth parameters (plant height, number of shoots, number of leaves, leaf area and total dry matter content) and leaf yield.

The FBA Motif-Containing Protein NpFBA1 Causes Leaf Curling and Reduces Resistance to Black Shank Disease in Tobacco

Plant leaf morphology has a great impact on plant drought resistance, ornamental research and leaf yield. In this study, we identified a new gene in Nicotiana plumbaginifolia, NpFBA1, that causes leaf curl. The results show that the NpFBA1 protein contains only one unique F-box associated (FBA) domain and does not have an F-box conserved domain. Phylogenetic analysis placed this gene and other Nicotiana FBA genes on a separate branch, and the NpFBA1 protein localized to the nucleus and cytoplasm. The expression of NpFBA1 was induced by black shank pathogen (Phytophthora parasitica var. nicotianae) infection and treatment with salicylic acid (SA) and methyl jasmonate (MeJA). NpFBA1-overexpressing transgenic lines showed leaf curling and aging during the rosette phase. During the bolting period, the leaves were curly and rounded, and the plants were dwarfed. In addition, NpFBA1-overexpressing lines were more susceptible to disease than wild-type (WT) plants. Further studies revealed that overexpression of NpFBA1 significantly downregulated the expression of auxin response factors such as NtARF3 and the lignin synthesis genes NtPAL, NtC4H, NtCAD2, and NtCCR1 in the leaves. In conclusion, NpFBA1 may play a key role in regulating leaf development and the response to pathogen infection.

Macroelements and Microelements in the Soil and Their Relationship with the Content of Steviol Glucosides in Stevia rebaudiana Bert from Five Regions of Colombia

This study was conducted to determine the effect of edaphic environmental conditions in the concentration of principal steviol glycosides and Stevia rebaudiana Bert yield, utilizing leaves from five Colombian regions. The structure of the experiment was a randomized complete block design with two treatments in a 5 × 2 factorial arrangement (5 locations × 2 radiation levels). In each experimental unit (UE), five healthy plants of similar physiological growth age were selected for the extraction of total glycosides (GT), stevioside (Stv), rebaudioside A (Rb-A),and leaf yield. Results were analyzed with the SAS statistical package (version 9.1). Concentrations of total glycosides and rebaudioside A showed a positive effect with the increase of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), magnesium (Mg), and copper (Cu). Therefore, they are important in the available phase of the soil to obtain an increase in these glycosides. Meanwhile, boron (B) presented a negative correlation under these conditions. For the production of stevioside, N, Mg, manganese (Mn) had a positive correlation, and calcium (Ca) and sodium (Na) had a negative correlation. Similarly, for leaf yields by locality, it was found that N, Ca, Mg, and B have a positive correlation with leaf production, while Mg, Mn, and iron (Fe) negatively correlate with biomass gain.The cultivation of stevia can be established in different soil conditions, precipitation and solar radiation in Colombia. Therefore, it is necessary to advance fertilization plans with these nutrients, considering the response of these metabolites to their application.

Efficacy of chitosan on growth and yield traits of mulberry, Morus sp

Chitosan is biopolymer of glucosamine residues, nontoxic, biodegradable and friendly to environment and it also helps to enhance crop production due to their bioactivities. The present experiment was conducted to assess the efficacy of chitosan on the growth and yield related attributes of mulberry, Morus sp. with various concentrations such as 25, 50, 75, 100 and 125 ppm. The chitosan was sprayed thrice on 15, 30 and 45 days after pruning (DAP) on the foliage of three different mulberry varieties namely V1, MR2 and G4. The result revealed that, irrespective of varieties, the foliar application of chitosan at 75 ppm significantly increased the biometric as well as yield related attributes of mulberry over other concentrations. Among the three varieties, V1 showed more response to chitosan application than G4 and MR2. At 75 ppm, chitosan showed marked effect on VI variety of mulberry and significantly increased shoot length (170.67 cm), number of shoots per plant (9.03), number of leaves per shoot (29.48), leaf area (220.26 cm2) and leaf area index (2.72) were observed when compared with control. The application of chitosan at 75 ppm significantly enhanced the yield traits namely weight of 100 leaves (448.10 g), leaf shoot ratio (1.45) and leaf yield (14.01 MT/ha/harvest) in V1.

Genetic variation for Vegetative and Reproductive Traits in Mulberry (Morus spp) Accessions

Aims: To assess genetic variability for vegetative and reproductive traits in different seasons. Study Design: Field experimental design was used. Place and Duration of Study: The experiment was conducted in different seasons during 2019-20 at Department of Sericulture, University of Agricultural Sciences, GKVK, Bangalore. Methodology: The present study comprised of Seventy one mulberry accessions. Results: The mean performance of leaf moisture content (64.41 & 55.42%) and leaf yield (1268.71 & 872.21g) in rainy and winter season, respectively. There are large differences were observed between the minimum and maximum range leaf moisture content was varied from 45.16 to 78.51 per cent and leaf yield was varied from 235.90 to 29008.89 during rainy season. In winter season the range of leaf moisture content was varied from 15.28 to 72.35 per cent and leaf yield was varied from 94.43 to 2975.00 g. Phenotypic coefficient of variation (PCV %) was found to be higher than the respective genotypic coefficient of variation (GCV %) for all the characters denoting variability among genotypes in both the seasons. Estimates of phenotypic and genotypic coefficient of variations were high for leaf yield per plant (98.63, 98.49%) and (89.69, 89.62%) in rainy and winter season, respectively. Maximum heritability was observed for leaf yield per plant (99.71 %), (99.85 %) in rainy and winter season, respectively. High heritability coupled with high genetic advance as percent of mean in respect of number of days for first flower initiation, plant height and single leaf area at 45th, 60th, and 75th DAP, number of branches, leaf moisture content and leaf yield per plant was observed in rainy and winter seasons.

Performance of Seven Tea Accessions in North-central Florida: Correlations between Potential Yield and Growth Parameters over 2 Years

Tea (Camellia sinensis) is a promising new specialty crop for production in Florida. However, few data exist on the establishment phase of tea plantings in this environment and on how early growth parameters may predict yield potential. We tested seven accessions of tea grown under field conditions in north-central Florida for leaf yield and growth parameters—namely, pruned biomass, trunk diameter, trunk height, trunk width, trunk height × width, and canopy area—in the second and third years after planting. Our analyses indicated that the accession Fairhope performed best overall. Pruned biomass and trunk diameter were the best predictors for leaf yield. The harvested leaves produced good-quality black tea, with caffeine levels comparable to commercially available tea. These data indicate that nondestructive measurements of growth can be useful to assess yield potential of tea, and that regionally adapted tea accessions can be identified during the establishment stage.

Management of Root-knot Nematode Meloidogyne incognita on Mulberry with Passiflora foetida

Background: The root knot nematode Meloidogyne incognita Chit wood infesting mulberry is economically important in silk industry as it affects the leaf yield both quantitatively and qualitatively which in turn affects the silkworm Bombyx mori L., growth and cocoon yield because its foliage is the sole food source of silkworm. Methods: Hence a pot experiment was conducted for the evaluation of efficacy of eco-friendly formulate like botanical extract from Passiflora foetida L., to manage nematode disease severity applied as soil amendment and aqueous leaf extract on nematode egg hatching. Result: After treatment, nematode infestation reduced significantly in terms of number of root knots/ g root weight and nematode egg masses / g root weight in mulberry plants and the treated plants showed better growth in shoot and root length compared to control plants. The aqueous extract of P. foetida showed maximum inhibition of egg hatchability with an increase in the concentration of plant extract.