Effect of projected climate scenarios on the yields of potato crop and agronomic adaptation options as evaluated by crop growth model

Potato is the most important non-cereal crop in the world and the most prominent winter season crop in India. Growth and yield of potato crop is very much sensitive to higher temperatures and the moisture stress. Hence, the anticipated increase of temperature due to global warming and climatic variability will have anadverse impact on potato production. Keeping this in view, a research work was carried out with the objectives to assess the impact of climate change on potato production and evaluating agronomic adaptation options through a crop growth simulation model (CGSM). Field experiments were carried out to prepare the minimum dataset for calibration and validation of one CGSM, namely InfoCrop. After validation, the model was used to predict the future tuber yield of ten selected stations situated under different agroclimatic regions of the State. In the future scenario 2050, the simulated yield for mid November planted crop likely to be about 11% less than the present level of mean yield. If the crop is planted in December, the percentage of yield reduction may be around 25%.The projected yield reduction, for the stations of higher latitude, is found to be negligible. Three possible agronomic adaptation options, viz., adjustment of date of planting, increase of seed rate and varying sprout length of seed tubers, have been tried as adaptation strategies to combat the adverse effects of climate change. It is concluded that the mid-November planting and longer sprout length will be the best adaptation option. However, the enhanced seed rate is not a viable adaptation option.

Impact of Various Types of Polluted Water, Rhizome Size and Water Depth on Sprouting of Common Cattail (Typha latifolia L.) Rhizomes

Three different studies were carried out in the Department of Weed Science, The University of Agriculture Peshawar, in January 2016 to examine the impacts of polluted water from various sources, water depths and rhizome size on the resprouting ability and establishment of common cattail rhizomes fragments after mechanical control. These experiments were arranged in Completely Randomized Design (CRD), replicated thrice. The selected experimental units were pots 20 inches wide and 12 inches deep. Typha latifolia L. rhizomes were placed in each pots and covered with a little silt to avoid it’s direct contact and desiccation from sunlight. The impacts of water quality on T. latifolia rhizomes sprouting were significant. Lowest ratio of sprouted and un-sprouted buds (50.00 % each), 1st sprout length (37.33 and 40 cm), average sprout length (17.47 and 16.96 cm), average biomass (9.99 and 10.27 g) and growth rate (0.172 and 0.196 g/day) were noted for saline water and industrial acidic effluents, respectively. However, highest rhizome sprouting was recorded for tap water applied as check followed by industrial effluent alkaline. The data regarding the impact of water depth on T. latifolia rhizome sprouting showed that sprouting (44.44 %), 1st sprout length (43.33 cm), average sprout length (20.99 cm), average sprout biomass (7.84 g), average diameter of the newly formed rhizome (0.24 cm) and growth rate (0.4233 g/day) were recorded for rhizomes placed at zero level water depth, while maximum buds sprouted at 4 inches water depth. Similarly, impact of rhizome size on resprouting revealed that minimum bud sprouting (44.44%), 1st sprout length (44.86 cm), average sprout length (0.93 cm) and biomass of newly formed rhizome (4.97 g) and minimum days to emergence (9) were noted for smaller rhizome length (2 buds) compared to longer rhizomes with 10 buds. Therefore, on the basis of our findings, saline and industrial effluent acidic, no standing water (zero water surface level) and shorter rhizome size resulted in least bud sprouting and minimized the chance of further infestation in an eco-friendly and ecological way without the use of herbicides. Whereas alkaline industrial effluents, standing water up to 4 inches and longer rhizome fragments enhanced sprouting and re-establishment of the T. latifolia and these strategies can be utilized where the aim is to grow and establish a good stand of T. latifolia for passive treatment and phytoremediation of industrial effluents, before draining the polluted water into fresh water bodies like rivers and streams.

Assessment of the Effect of Cutting Length on Sprout and Growth of Pterocarpus santalinoides L’hérit. Ex Dc

Aims: This study evaluated the effect of cutting lengths on sprouts and seedling growth of P. santalinoides. Study Design: The experiment was laid out in a Completely Randomised Design (CRD). Place and Duration of Study: The study was carried out at the Department of Forestry and Wildlife Management Nursery, University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria, between April 2019 and March 2020. Methodology: Ten (10) cuttings per cutting length were planted in a polybag filled with forest topsoil. The treatments are; 13, 20, 25 and 33 cm cutting lengths. Five seedlings per treatment were randomly selected and dried for biomass. Emergence of sprouts, number of leaves and branches, survival rate, number of cuttings that sprouted, sprout length, root length and biomass were determined and subjected to analysis of variance. Results: Sprouts emergence occurred earliest in 25 cm cuttings (7 days) and latest in 13 and 20 cm cuttings (12 days). There were significant differences (P ≤ 0.05) in leaf number at month 1, number of branches at months 1, 3, 5 and 9, cutting length at month 2 and root to shoot ratio and non-significant differences (P > 0.05) in leaf number at months 3,5,7,9 and 11, number of branches at months 7 and 11, number of sprouts, cutting length at month 12, root length, shoot biomass, root biomass and total fresh and dry weight. Twenty five (25) cm long cutting enhanced sprout parameters while 33 cm long cutting enhanced root parameters. Conclusion: The result showed that 25 and 33 cm long cuttings are most suitable cutting lengths and are therefore recommended for growth of the species.

Multi-layer Budding of Oversized Rubber (Hevea brasiliences) Seedlings: Success and Growth in Different Soil Media

The study on Multi-layer budding of oversized rubber seedling aimed at evaluating the success of multiple budding operation on single seedling of rubber tree species comprising of 4 to 7 budding layers per seedling. The experiment used randomized complete blocked design layout with 3 treatments such as 4, 5 and 7 layer budding in a single seedling replicated 4 times. Results revealed that the highest number of budding layers succeeded significantly higher as compared to 4 and 5 layers. The main survival percentage is about 79.17% for the 7 layers, 76.52% for the 5 layers and only about 55.36% for the 4 layers. Pure garden soil reported to have significant results on sprouting rate, sprout length, stalk diameter and number of leaves. This finding emphasized that budding of rejected oversized rubber seedlings grown in an abandoned nurseries can be reutilized for mass production of budded cuttings through multiple budding of 7 layers per seedlings to maximize planting materials derived from single seedlings.

Nanodiamond Batch Enriched with Boron: Properties and Prospects for Use in Agriculture

The batch of detonation nanodiamond (DB) containing impurities of B (DB-B) was obtained by explosion using TNT with hexagon (50/50). This DB-B contained 0.96 wt% of B. The obtained DB-B nanopowder's morphological features, texture, and mesostructure were investigated by SEM, SAXS, and low-temperature nitrogen adsorption. We tested both aqueous suspensions and silica sols containing 2.5 wt. % DND and 0.05-0.1 wt. % of DB-B for the pre-sowing treatment of Chinese cabbage seeds. As a result, the reliable positive effect of an aqueous suspension of DB-B (0.05-0.1 wt.%) was revealed on the following characteristics of seedlings (in relation to the control): the germination energy of Chinese cabbage seeds and germination increased by ~50-70%. Furthermore, a significant positive effect of DB-B on the morphological characteristics of Peking cabbage plants at the early stages of its development was revealed when using DB-B for pre-sowing seed treatment in combination with silica sol (an increase in the sprout length by ~ 20% and root length by ~ 50% in relation to the control) as well as the biomass of Chinese cabbage plants increased by ~ 100% (20 days after planting the treated seeds).

Light spectrum and indolebutyric acid (IBA) in rhizogenesis in herbaceous cuttings of guava trees

Background: In the production of seedlings, success in the market is due to a quality product. Well-developed seedlings with a good root system, appear as a key factor to guarantee suitable products. Light can be used as a stimulating factor for rooting, in adequate light quality. Photoselective screens can be used to make rooting more efficient. Methods: To evaluate this factor, herbaceous cuttings of Guava Tree “Paluma” were used, exposed to different wavelengths in mini-greenhouses covered with cellophane of the colors: green, yellow, red, blue, transparent and orange, and subjected to five treatments with Indolebutyric Acid (IBA) (0, 1000, 2000, 3000 and 4000 mg.kg-1), grown in a 3: 2: 1 substrate (sand: earth: bioplant®), in a randomized block design, with a 6x5 factorial and four replications with 10 cuttings in each treatment. Ninety days after staking, the following variables were evaluated: cuttings survival, number of leaves; number of sprouts; largest sprout length; root length; root volume; green mass of leaves and root; dry mass of sprout and root. Results: The orange and red light spectra were superior in rooting the guava cuttings, and may be an option in covering the seedling production nurseries of this fruit tree. Conclusion: The use of IBA neutralized the luminous influence of the light spectra with non-significant results for the interaction.

Abstract MP52: Hypertensive Stimuli Indirectly Stimulate Mouse Mesometrial Lymphangiogenesis Through Immune Cells

We previously reported increased renal lymphatic density in multiple mouse models of hypertension, and further augmenting renal lymphatics lowers blood pressure. However, whether interstitial levels of hypertensive stimuli have a direct effect on lymphatics or an indirect effect through secreted immune cell factors has not been examined. We hypothesized that hypertensive stimuli directly increases lymphatic endothelial cell (LEC) proliferation and increases sprouting of mouse mesometrial lymphatic vessels. Murine LECs were cultured and treated with angiotensin II (angII), salt, and asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) for 24 hours. To mimic the in vivo environment, a lymphatic-specific reporter mouse (Prox1-tdTomato) mesometrium tissue explant was treated with either the same hypertensive stimuli or with hypertensive conditioned media for 8 days. Mesometrial vascular beds were cultured in DMEM supplemented with 20% fetal bovine serum to induce lymphatic sprouting and this was replenished every day. The conditioned media was made by treating murine splenocytes for 24 hours with the same hypertensive stimuli. These stimuli had no effect on murine LEC proliferation. Hypertensive stimuli significantly decreased mesometrial lymphatic vessel sprout length (SL) and sprout number (SN) compared to controls (control SL in pixels by ImageJ analysis: 34.0 ± 2.6, angII: 3.7 ± 2.6, salt: 2.67 ± 2.18, ADMA: 9.06 ± 5.12, all p<0.05; control SN: 7 ± 3, angII: 0 ± 0, salt: 0 ± 0, ADMA: 1 ± 1, all p<0.05). Conditioned media treatment normalized SL and SN by day 8 for all hypertensive stimuli except salt. In conclusion, hypertensive stimuli directly inhibit mesometrial lymphangiogenesis, but this was mitigated by hypertensive stimuli induced immune cell secreted factors.

Concentration of Thiourea is effective in breaking the dormancy of potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) varieties

Potato germination is highly sensitive to ecological conditions. High altitude and low annual average temperature result in tuber dormancy and poor sprouting. Dormancy has become a significant constraint for lowering potato production, which hinders the possibility of growing two crop cycles per year. An experiment was conducted from February to April 2020. Two major potato varieties (Desiree and Cardinal) were treated with four Thiourea concentrations (0, 1, 2, and 3%) in a two factorial, completely randomized block design with three replications. Tubers were soaked for 2 hours in different Thiourea solution as per treatments, air dried until excess solution was removed and kept in a dark room on plastic trays. With the progress of experiment dormancy breaking and sprouting parameters like early sprouting, dormancy breaking, sprout length and sprout density were recorded. It was found that Thiourea has a significant effect on all observed attributes as per varieties of potato. For Desiree variety, Thiourea (1%) decreased dormancy period by 22 days compared to control (Desiree*Thiourea 0%) and produced the longest average sprout of 7.36cm at 49 days after treatment (DAT). On the other hand, for the Cardinal variety, Thiourea (3%) decreased tuber dormancy by 27 days compared to control (Cardinal*Thiourea 0%) and produced sprout of 7.75 cm at 49 DAT. In case of sprouts/tuber 1% and 3% Thiourea produced 4.13 and 1.91 sprouts/tubers in Desiree and Cardinal, respectively. The overall mean finding indicate that, 1% and 3% Thiourea concentration was significantly superior for breaking dormancy and enhancing sprouting of potato varieties of Desiree and Cardinal respectively.

Effect of Sprouting on the Physico-Chemical Properties of Mung Bean Seeds

The physico-chemical properties of seed are significant in designing equipment, marketing for evaluating seed quality. In this context, physico-chemical properties of three varieties of mung bean seeds, physical properties and germination properties during the sprouting period were evaluated. The average length, width and thickness were 4.64 mm, 3.64 mm and 3.26 mm at moisture content 10.70% on a dry weight basis. Hydration capacity ranged from 0.041 to 0.050 g/seed and hydration index ranged from 0.921 to 1.062, whereas swelling capacity ranged from 0.035 to 0.045 ml/seed and swelling index ranged from 0.927 to 1.447. Maximum sprout length and the germination rate were recorded in the variety SGC-20 at 96 h germination period as 45.56 mm and 96.67% respectively followed by the variety SGC-16 while IPM-02-3 reported lower sprout length and germination rate. Hence, the variety SGC-20 is best for consumption as sprouts among the three varieties.

OPTIMISATION OF CONDITIONS FOR BARNYARD MILLET GERMINATION

Development of foods that promote health and wellbeing is one of the key priorities of food industry. Barnyard millet, important minor millet is highly digestible (81.13 per cent) and contains fair amount of protein (12 per cent) coupled with low carbohydrate (58.56 per cent) of slow digestibility (25.88 per cent). The nutritive value and taste of barnyard milled can be improved by germination. The present study concentrates in the optimization of conditions for barnyard millet germination to maximise the nutritive value and overall acceptance. The barnyard millet was cleaned, soaked in water with varying time intervals followed by 24 hrs germination. The dried grains were powdered, sieved and then subjected to organoleptic evaluation. The parameters such as moisture absorption, sprout length, malt yield and germination percentage were worked out. Based on organoleptic evaluation, the germinated barnyard millet flour, 10hrs soaking and 24 hrs germination was found to be the best and utilized for the production of value added products. As the soaking time increases (4 to 18hrs) the moisture absorption increases from 35.16 and 54.12 per cent. The sprout length reaches a maximum of 0.4 cm at 18hrs of soaking. The malt yield differs from 59.62 to 71.54 per cent with respect to soaking time.