Exploring the Role of Mycorrhizal and Rhizobium Inoculation with Organic and Inorganic Fertilizers on the Nutrient Uptake and Growth of Acacia mangium Saplings in Acidic Soil

Strong and healthy saplings are a prerequisite to establish a successful forest. Therefore, an attempt has been made to develop the best package for nutrient supplementation to raise healthy Acacia mangium saplings, especially in acidic soil. The seeds were sown in pots, receiving different combinations of Arbuscularmycorrhizal (AM), Rhizobium inoculation with application of lime, and mustard oil cake (MOC). The highest spore count and infection percentage (3220 kg−1 soil and 69) were recorded in the AM + MOC + R treated pot, whereas the lowest (2553 kg−1 soil and 37) were recorded in the AM + L treated pot. Nitrogen concentration and uptake in the sapling were higher in the Rhizobium-inoculated treatments than the uninoculated ones. The sulfur concentration and uptake were higher in the MOC-supplemented treatment. Similarly, the P, K, Ca, and Mg concentrations and uptakes were higher in the limed treatments than the unlimed ones. The micronutrient concentration and uptake were higher in the unlimed treatments compared to the lime practice. The concentration of N in Rhizobium-treated pots, P and K in lime-treated pots, and S in MOC-treated pots were increased, whereas the soil pH decreased in all treatments except in the integrated package (AM + MOC + R + L) after 120 days. The Ca and Mg were reduced in all treatments, whereas micronutrients were reduced in all packages except the control. Under different nutrient management practices, plant height and stem girth continuously increased by 9.5 to 12 cm and 3 to 4 times, respectively. The production of robust saplings required integrated application of lime, MOC, AM, and Rhizobium in an acid soil that facilitated better root growth with availability of adequate nutrients for saplings.

Quality Assessment of Wild and Cultivated Green Tea from Different Regions of China

Natural products have always enjoyed great popularity among consumers. Wild tea is an interesting alternative to tea from intensive plantations. The term “wild tea” is applied to many different varieties of tea, the most desirable and valued of which are native or indigenous tea plants. Special pro-health properties of wild tea are attributed to the natural conditions in which it grows. However, there are no complex studies that describe quality and health indicators of wild tea. The aim of this research was to evaluate the quality of wild and cultivated green tea from different regions of China: Wuzhishan, Baisha, Kunlushan, and Pu’Er. The assessment was carried out by verifying the concentration of selected chemical components in tea and relating it to the health risks they may pose, as well as to the nutritional requirements of adults. Wild tea was characterized by higher micronutrient concentration. The analyzed teas can constitute a valuable source of Mn in the diet. A higher concentration of nitrates and oxalates in cultivated tea can be associated with fertilizer use. The analyzed cultivated tea was a better source of antioxidants with a higher concentration of caffeine. There were no indications of health risks for wild or cultivated teas.

Communicating uncertainties in spatial predictions of grain micronutrient concentration

The concentration of micronutrients in staple crops varies spatially. Quantitative information about this can help in designing efficient interventions to address micronutrient deficiency. Concentration of a micronutrient in a staple crop can be mapped from limited samples, but the resulting statistical predictions are uncertain. Decision makers must understand this uncertainty to make robust use of spatial information, but this is a challenge due to the difficulties in communicating quantitative concepts to a general audience. We proposed strategies to communicate uncertain information and present a systematic evaluation and comparison in the form of maps. We proposed testing five methods to communicate the uncertainty about the conditional mean grain concentration of an essential micronutrient, selenium (Se). Evaluation of the communication methods was done through a questionnaire by eliciting stakeholder opinions about the usefulness of the methods of communicating uncertainty. We found significant differences in how participants responded to the different methods. In particular, there was a preference for methods based on the probability that concentrations are below or above a nutritionally significant threshold compared with general measures of uncertainty such as the prediction interval. There was no evidence that methods which used pictographs or calibrated verbal phrases to support the interpretation of probabilities made a different impression than probability alone, as judged from the responses to interpretative questions, although these approaches were ranked most highly when participants were asked to put the methods in order of preference.

Communicating uncertainties in spatial predictions of grain micronutrient concentration

<p>The concentration of micronutrients in staple crops varies spatially. Quantitative information about this can help in designing efficient interventions to address micronutrient deficiency. The concentration of a micronutrient in a staple crop can be mapped from limited samples, but the resulting statistical predictions are uncertain. Decision-makers must understand this uncertainty to make robust use of spatial information, but this is a challenge due to the difficulties of communicating quantitative concepts to a general audience. We proposed strategies to communicate uncertain information and present a systematic evaluation and comparison in the form of maps. We proposed to test five methods to communicate the uncertainty about the conditional mean grain concentration of an essential micronutrient, selenium (Se). Evaluation of the communication methods was done through questionnaire by eliciting stakeholder opinions about the usefulness of the methods of communicating uncertainty. We found significant differences in how participants responded to the different methods. In particular, there was a preference for methods based on the probability that concentrations are below or above a nutritionally-significant threshold compared with general measures of uncertainty such as the confidence interval of a prediction.  There was no evidence that methods which used pictographs or calibrated verbal phrases to support the interpretation of probabilities made a different impression than probability alone, as judged from the responses to interpretative questions, although these approaches were ranked most highly when participants were asked to put the methods in order of preference.</p>

Communicating uncertainties in spatial predictions of grain micronutrient concentration

The concentration of micronutrients in staple crops varies spatially. Quantitative information about this can help in designing efficient interventions to address micronutrient deficiency. Concentration of a micronutrient in a staple crop can be mapped from limited samples, but the resulting statistical predictions are uncertain. Decision makers must understand this uncertainty to make robust use of spatial information, but this is a challenge due to the difficulties of communicating quantitative concepts to a general audience. We proposed strategies to communicate uncertain information and present a systematic evaluation and comparison in the form of maps. We proposed to test five methods to communicate the uncertainty about the conditional mean grain concentration of an essential micronutrient, selenium (Se). Evaluation of the communication methods was done through questionnaire by eliciting stakeholder opinions about the usefulness of the methods of communicating uncertainty. We found significant differences in how participants responded to the different methods. In particular there was a preference for methods based on the probability that concentrations are below or above a nutritionally-significant threshold compared with general measures of uncertainty such as the confidence interval of a prediction. There was no evidence that methods which used pictographs or calibrated verbal phrases to support the interpretation of probabilities made a different impression than probability alone, as judged from the responses to interpretative questions, although these approaches were ranked most highly when participants were asked to put the methods in order of preference.

Effect of Heat Stress on Photosystem II, Antioxidant Activity and Micronutrient Concentration in Contrasting Cultivars of Greengram (Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek)

Heat stress around flowering has negative effect on greengram (Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek) grain yield. The pot culture experiments were conducted to study the response of antioxidant system, photosystem II and micronutrient concentration to above-optimum temperature at flowering stage in two cultivars of greengram (Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek) cv. SAMRAT (heat tolerant) and VBN-2 (heat susceptible). The plants were grown under natural light and atmospheric conditions (33/22°C day/night) up to the first appearance of flower. Then, cohort of plants were: (a) exposed to natural environment (33/22°C day/night) for 13 days and were (b) exposed to controlled environment 33/22 to 45/30°C (day/night) for 13 days by gradually increasing 1°C per day in day/night temperature and then pots were shifted to natural environment for 5 days for recovery. The activity of antioxidant enzyme (SOD, CAT and APX) were increased significantly as the temperatures increased upto 38/26°C in both cultivars and showed less reduction appropriately at 45/30°C in SAMRAT compared to VBN-2. It is possible that better tolerant to heat stress of SAMRAT was related to its ability to maintain higher levels of activity of antioxidant enzymes in all the temperature regimes. Quantum yield (Fv/Fm) showed significant reduction at 41/28°C in VBN-2 while at 45/30°C in SAMRAT indicating relative tolerance to heat stress. Micronutrient composition was not affected at 45/30°C except Cu content in leaves and Mn and Fe content in shoots. Upon heat stress treatment SAMRAT showed relatively less reduction of micronutrients like Cu, Mn and Fe content in leaves compared to VBN-2. The tolerant cultivar SAMRAT can serve as parents for breeding for heat stress tolerant variety.

Phytic Acid and Mineral Biofortification Strategies: From Plant Science to Breeding and Biotechnological Approaches

Mineral deficiencies, particularly for iron and zinc, affect over two billion people worldwide, mainly in developing countries where diets are based on the consumption of staple crops. Mineral biofortification includes different approaches aimed to increase mineral concentration and to improve mineral bioavailability in the edible parts of plants, particularly the seeds. A multidisciplinary approach, including agronomic, genetic, physiological, and molecular expertise, is necessary to obtain detailed knowledge of the complex homeostatic mechanisms that tightly regulate seed mineral concentrations and the molecules and mechanisms that determine mineral bioavailability, necessary to reach the biofortification objectives. To increase bioavailability, one strategy is to decrease seed content of phytic acid, a highly electronegative molecule present in the cell that chelates positively charged metal ions, many of which are important for human nutrition. All the contributions of the current Special Issue aim at describing new results, reviewing the literature, and also commenting on some of the economic and sociological aspects concerning biofortification research. A number of contributions are related to the study of mineral transport, seed accumulation, and approaches to increase seed micronutrient concentration. The remaining ones are mainly focused on the study of low phytic acid mutants.