The effect of the use of a soil improver based on waste brown coal on the enzymatic activity of soil in the cultivation of Paulownia hybrids (Paulownia Siebold & Zuccarini, 1835)

The effect of the use of a soil improver based on waste brown coal on the enzymatic activity of soil in the cultivation of Paulownia hybrids (Paulownia Siebold & Zuccarini, 1835). An important element in controlling the condition of the soil and the plants grown on it are tests of the enzymatic activity of the soil matrix. One of the greatest advantages of using enzyme tests is the ability to make an assessment that also includes other non-measurable factors that affect soil health and condition. The diagnosed changes in soil enzymatic activity are the best parameter for determining the biochemical processes taking place there. This article describes the enzymatic activity of lessive soils on which the Paulownia hybrid variety is cultivated and a soil improver based on waste brown coal is used

​Advances in Breeding of Jackfruit Crop: A Review

The improvement of jackfruit is required to make it amenable for intensive cultivation and make it suitable for a variety of value-added products. There is a significant variation for various traits such as plant phenology, leaf shape, leaf size, fruit shape, fruit size, number of fruits per plant, flake colour, number of flakes per fruit etc. The jackfruit crop has long juvenility, high clonal heterozygosity, recalcitrant type of seeds make it difficult to improvement of jackfruit varieties or hybrids, but on the other hand ease of vegetative propagation of hybrids or varieties is advantageous for the jackfruit breeder. The development of jackfruit is again based on the selection of clones especially for small-sized quality fruits, dwarf, less gum type, disease and pest resistance etc. The detailed knowledge on phenology, inheritance pattern and advanced techniques for hybrid/variety development will be useful to overcome the problems of jackfruit breeding viz fruit size, gummier fruits, susceptibility to disease and pests etc. The development of genetic markers has further reduced the uncertainty in the breeding of jackfruit and maintains the hybrid/varietal populations with desirable characteristics.

Susceptibility Assessment of Two Tomato Hybrids Against Tuta absoluta Infestation Under Greenhouse Conditions

Abdel-Razek, A.S., N.M. Abd El-Ghany, M.A. Gesraha, T.A. Elewa and A. Moussa. 2021. Susceptibility Assessment of Two Tomato Hybrids Against Tuta absoluta Infestation Under Greenhouse Conditions. Arab Journal of Plant Protection, 39(4): 317-322. https://doi.org/10.22268/AJPP-39.4.317322 Tuta absoluta is a major insect pest which attack tomato plant varieties in Egypt. Several control attempts were carried out to avoid major crop losses by heavy application of chemical insecticides. The aim of the present study is to assess the susceptibility of infestation of T. absoluta of two tomato varieties (Shifa and Savera F1 hybrids) under greenhouse conditions. The tomato varieties were planted in two plantation periods at the district of Kom Hamada, El-Nubaria province, El-Behira Governorate. The susceptibility tests were done by random counting of leaf samples for the presence of T. absoluta mines and larvae. Both tomato varieties showed almost the same T. absoluta infestation level. Moreover, yield assessment was carried out for the two plantation periods by taking the average fruit weight yield (Kg/acre). The tomato yield results showed that Savera F1 hybrid tomato had higher yield compared to Shifa F1 hybrid variety, but such difference was not significant, However, the yield difference of both vireties between the two planting dates was significant. Keywords: Tomato, Tuta absoluta, susceptibility, leaf-mine, larvae, yield.

Geographical Survey and Genetic Variation Studies of Few Chilly Varieties Collected from Different Regions of Karnataka, India

Chillies are widely used throughout the world in the form of spice and are also used in making beverages and medicines. They are rich in vitamins, especially in vitamin A and C. Chillies contain lots of minerals like potassium, magnesium, and iron. They have been employed for pain relief as they are known to inhibit pain messengers and hence their extracts are used to alleviate the pain of arthritis, headaches, burns, and neuralgia. It is also claimed that they have the power to boost the immune system and lower cholesterol. They are also helpful in getting rid of gut parasites. In this regard we attempted to do a geographical survey about the chilly varieties and chilly growing states in India. We collected the local varieties of chillies available in Karnataka and performed genetic variation studies to understand their relationship at the genetic level. PCR analysis was done using the selected random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) marker to identify the polymorphic loci between the genotypes taken. DNA Barcoding was done to validate the species using basic local alignment search tool (BLAST) and Clustal Omega, further dendrogram was constructed which guide the joining linkage rule of unweighted pair group average (UPGMA) and the genetic distance to compute from matrix table. The results obtained highlight the relationship between species of Capsicum annum, Capsicum frutescens which are closely related followed by Capsicum pubescens and Capsicum baccatum providing knowledge about its application in genetics and plant breeding in developing efficient hybrid variety.

Discrimination of Salix caprea, Salix gracilistyla, and Their Interspecific Hybrid Using Vegetative Characteristics and Partial Least Squares Discriminant Analysis

Identifying the morphological characteristics that distinguish plant varieties is an important issue for plant breeders and researchers. The objective of the present study was to create a partial least squares discrimination analysis (PLS-DA) model with morphological characteristics for species discrimination and to select the characteristics most important for species discrimination. Data for 27 vegetative characteristics were obtained from Salix caprea and Salix gracilistyla, and their interspecific hybrid (S. caprea × S. gracilistyla), and used for PLS-DA. According to this analysis, seven of the 27 characteristics were identified as those that most influenced species discrimination, and the PLS-DA model with these seven characteristics had a classification accuracy of 86% to 100%. The classification performance of this model was not significantly different from that of the model with all 27 characteristics (full model). Therefore, these results indicated that the three species can be relatively well distinguished by the seven characteristics extracted by PLS-DA. In addition, the selected characteristics can be used to select cross-breeding parents in subsequent breeding programs and to test the distinction, uniformity, and stability (DUS test) of the hybrid variety. From this perspective, PLS-DA is thought to be a useful methodology for classifying new plant varieties and providing information for breeding.

Impact of Front Line Demonstration on Yield and Economics of Okra [Abelmoschus esculentus (L.)] in Banswara District of Rajasthan

The present study was undertaken to find the yield gap through FLDs on okra crop. The Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Banswara conducted Frontline demonstration on 10 farmers for each year since 2016, 2017 and 2018 in different locations of Banswara district. Frontline demonstrations were conducted on okra by the active participation of the farmers with the objective of improved technologies of okra production potential. Use of hybrid variety, balanced use of fertilizer on the basis soil testing report and integrated pest and disease management etc are the main technologies to be tested in this demonstration. Okra is a major vegetable crop of Rajasthan, but the productivity of okra is very low in this district due to lack of knowledge and partial adoption of recommended package of practice by okra cultivators. Results showed that average yield obtained were 142.6, 134.2 and 137.7 q/ha under improved system, whereas, in local variety 80.3, 81.7 and 87.3 q/ha yield was recorded during 2016, 2017 and 2018, respectively. The per cent increase in yield with high yielding over local variety was 57.73 to 77.58 per cent. The extension gap recorded was 62.3, 52.5 and 50.4 per cent during 2016, 2017 and 2018, respectively. Besides this, the demonstrated plots gave higher gross return, net return with higher benefit cost ratio when compared to farmer’s practice.

Preliminary Reports on Comparative Weed Competitiveness of Bangladeshi Monsoon and Winter Rice Varieties under Puddled Transplanted Conditions

Weed-competitive rice cultivars, a viable tool for integrated weed management of rice-field weeds, may greatly reduce the weed pressure and excessive dependence on herbicide in controlling weeds. Based on this premise, field experiments were conducted in 2018 and 2019 during the monsoon and winter rice-growing seasons at the Agronomy Field Laboratory of Bangladesh Agricultural University, Bangladesh, to evaluate the weed competitiveness of the selected rice varieties. A total of 42 monsoon and 28 winter rice varieties from Bangladesh were evaluated under “weedy” and “weed-free” conditions in the puddled transplanted system of cultivation. The field experiments were designed with three replications in a randomized complete block design. The results revealed that weed competition greatly reduces the yield of rice, and relative yield loss was 15–68% and 20–50% in monsoon and winter season rice, respectively. The lowest relative yield losses were recorded in monsoon rice from the variety BU dhan 1 (18%) and from the winter rice BRRI hybrid dhan5 (23.7%), which exhibited high weed tolerance. The weed competitive index (WCI) greatly varied among the varieties in both seasons and the monsoon season, ranging from 0.4 to 2.8, and the highest value was recorded from the hybrid variety Dhani Gold followed by BU dhan 1. In winter season rice, the WCI varied 0.25 to 2.4 and the highest value was recorded from the variety BRRI hybrid dhan3, followed by hybrid variety Heera 6. In monsoon rice, hybrid Dhani Gold was the most productive, but BU dhan 1 was the most weed competitive variety. Among the winter-grown varieties, the hybrid Heera 6 was the most productive, and the most weed competitive. Our research confirmed a high degree of variability in weed competitiveness among the 70 Bangladeshi rice varieties tested.