Adaptive reaction of perspective spring rapeseed cultivars in conditions of the central zone of the Krasnodar region

We studied 18 perspective and already registered spring rapeseed cultivars of VNIIMK breeding. Impact of weather conditions in a period flowering – maturing on economically valuable traits was revealed. The cultivars were compared by calculated statistic parameters of adaptivity, environmental plasticity, stability in the conditions of the central zone of the Krasnodar region. The perspective linear cultivars which demonstrated the most stably yield in the different years were selected. The researches were conducted in the V.S. Pustovoit All-Russian Research Institute of Oil Crops, Krasnodar, Russia, in 2017– 2020. The most favorable weather conditions for cultivation of spring rapeseed appeared to be in 2017. Index of environmental condition (Ij) was 1.01. On average for rapeseed cultivar, yield varied from maximal in 2017 (2.83 t per ha) to minimal in 2019 (1.31 t per ha). Oil content in the different years varied from 40.9 to 46.34%, weight of 1000 seeds – from 2.22 to 3.85 g. Glucosinolate content was minimal (14.16 µmol/g) in 2017 and reached maximum (21.48 µmol/g) in 2020. The linear cultivars ВН-LР13, ВНDl 2, and ВН-Dl 1 are characterized with the highest environmental plasticity, having the indicators bi = 1.30; 1.24, and 1.21, respectively. The cultivars Amulet and Ruyan were the most stable: Si² was equal to 0.65 and 0.69, respectively, as well as the main applicant for being a cultivar: ВН-4801, ВН-191, and ВН2478 having the indicators 0.40; 0.62, and 0.80. The perspective cultivars ВН-4801 and ВН-906 (Kenar) are characterized with a valuable combination of increased and stable for years yield. Due to absolute indicator of adaptability, all the studied cultivars are ranking as following: ВН-4801 (113.6%), ВН-Dl 1 (106.3%), ВН-Dl 2 (105.9%), ВН-LР 13 (105.0%), ВН-XT (103.4%), Руян (102.9%), and ВН-906 (101.9%).

High-yielding cultivar of spring turnip rapeseed of “000” type Gratsiya

The spring turnip rapeseed cultivar Gratsiya was developed at the Siberian experimental station – a branch of V.S. Pustovoit All-Russian Research Institute of Oil Crops by multiple individual and family selections from high-yielding, yellowseeded forms of the German cultivar Eldorado. In 2020, we isolated elite plant in the selection nursery by the main agronomic valuable traits: early maturity, high productivity, resistance to lodging, yellow seed color, low content of glucosinolates in the seeds and erucic acid in the oil. According to the results of three years competitive trials (2018–2020), 12 promising numbers with a growing season of 66–70 days were evaluated and a promising high-yielding number 31119 – the cultivar of type “000” Gratsiya was isolated. The cultivar of spring turnip rapeseed Gratsiya exceeded the standard cultivar Pobeda in seed yield by 0.21 t/ha and in oil yield by 0.08 t/ha. By the main agronomic traits, the cultivar Gratsiya differs from the standard one in lower content of glucosinolates in seeds (14.6 µmol/g) and erucic acid in oil (0.43 %). Seedlings are green, without wax coating, the plant is semi-dense, medium-branched, plant height of 120– 135 cm. The fruit is a pod, 5–7 cm long. Seeds are yellow, with an addition of brown – up to 2 %. Thousand-seed weight is 2.5–2.8 g. It is moderately drought-resistant, has uniform ripening, is suitable for mechanical harvesting, and is recommended for cultivation throughout the Russian Federation because of its early maturity.

Microbial activity and community level physiological profiles (CLPP) of soil under the cultivation of spring rape with the Roundup 360 SL herbicide

Purpose The use of glyphosate in agriculture raises a lot of controversy because research concerning its impact on the soil provides contradictory information. However, despite these negative opinions, glyphosate is still used in agricultural practice. Therefore, for a more complete assessment, the authors carried out research using traditional microbiological methods and a modern method of metabolic profile analysis in glyphosate-treated soil. Methods The study was carried out on the soil witch was sown with six cultivars of rapeseed. Seven days before harvest, the plants were sprayed with the herbicide. The analyses consisted in determining the number of selected groups of microorganisms, biochemical and enzymatic activity, and differentiation of the catabolic potential of soil microbial communities. Results The results showed significant changes in the analyzed parameters. Respiratory activity and ammonification processes were stimulated in the treatments with rapeseed cultivation treated with the herbicide. Changes in the enzymatic activity were generally positive. The EcoPlate assessment of microbial community catabolism showed that the highest activity was recorded in the soil sown with the cultivars Belinda, Tamarin, and Sw svinto. Concurrently, these soils were characterized by the highest correlations between rapeseed cultivar and metabolic activity. Conclusion Cultivation of specific plant varieties that reduce the negative effect of herbicides used in agriculture may be one of the methods to prevent soil degradation. In our research, Belinda turned out to be a cultivar, under the cultivation of which an increase in the activity of microorganisms was recorded most frequently compared to soil not sown with rapeseed.

Transgenerational Effects of Salt Stress Imposed to Rapeseed (Brassica napus var. oleifera Del.) Plants Involve Greater Phenolic Content and Antioxidant Activity in the Edible Sprouts Obtained from Offspring Seeds

Previous research has demonstrated that rapeseed sprouts obtained under salinity demonstrate greater phenolic content and antioxidant activity compared to those sprouted with distilled water. This work aimed to test the hypothesis that these effects of salinity may persist into the next generation, so that offspring seeds of plants grown under salt stress may give edible sprouts with increased phenolic content and antioxidant activity. Plants of one rapeseed cultivar were grown in pots with 0, 100 and 200 mM NaCl, isolated from each other at flowering to prevent cross-pollination. Offspring seeds harvested from each salinity treatment were then sprouted with distilled water. We performed the extraction of free and bound phenolic fractions of sprouts and, in each fraction (methanolic extract), we determined the total polyphenols (P), flavonoids, (F), and tannins (T) with Folin–Ciocalteu reagent, the phenolic acids (PAs) by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatographs (UHPLC) analysis, and the antioxidant activity with three tests (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl-hydrate, DPPH; ferric reducing antioxidant power, FRAP; 2,2′-azino-bis[3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid] diammonium salt, ABTS). Individual seed weight was slightly decreased by salinity, whereas germination performance was improved, with a lower mean germination time for salted treatments. No significant differences were observed among treatments for P, F and T, except for bound P, while, in most cases, single PAs (as free, bound and total fractions) and antioxidant activity were significantly increased in salted treatments. Our results open new perspectives for the elicitation of secondary metabolites in the offspring seeds by growing parental plants under stressing conditions, imposed on purpose or naturally occurring.

Comparative transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses of carotenoid biosynthesis reveal the basis of white petal color in Brassica napus

Main conclusion The molecular mechanism underlying white petal color in Brassica napus was revealed by transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses. Abstract Rapeseed (Brassica napus L.) is one of the most important oilseed crops worldwide, but the mechanisms underlying flower color in this crop are known less. Here, we performed metabolomic and transcriptomic analyses of the yellow-flowered rapeseed cultivar ‘Zhongshuang 11’ (ZS11) and the white-flowered inbred line ‘White Petal’ (WP). The total carotenoid contents were 1.778-fold and 1.969-fold higher in ZS11 vs. WP petals at stages S2 and S4, respectively. Our findings suggest that white petal color in WP flowers is primarily due to decreased lutein and zeaxanthin contents. Transcriptome analysis revealed 10,116 differentially expressed genes with a fourfold or greater change in expression (P-value less than 0.001) in WP vs. ZS11 petals, including 1,209 genes that were differentially expressed at four different stages and 20 genes in the carotenoid metabolism pathway. BnNCED4b, encoding a protein involved in carotenoid degradation, was expressed at abnormally high levels in WP petals, suggesting it might play a key role in white petal formation. The results of qRT-PCR were consistent with the transcriptome data. The results of this study provide important insights into the molecular mechanisms of the carotenoid metabolic pathway in rapeseed petals, and the candidate genes identified in this study provide a resource for the creation of new B. napus germplasms with different petal colors.

BrassicaEDB: A Gene Expression Database for Brassica Crops

The genus Brassica contains several economically important crops, including rapeseed (Brassica napus, 2n = 38, AACC), the second largest source of seed oil and protein meal worldwide. However, research in rapeseed is hampered because it is complicated and time-consuming for researchers to access different types of expression data. We therefore developed the Brassica Expression Database (BrassicaEDB) for the research community. In the current BrassicaEDB, we only focused on the transcriptome level in rapeseed. We conducted RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) of 103 tissues from rapeseed cultivar ZhongShuang11 (ZS11) at seven developmental stages (seed germination, seedling, bolting, initial flowering, full-bloom, podding, and maturation). We determined the expression patterns of 101,040 genes via FPKM analysis and displayed the results using the eFP browser. We also analyzed transcriptome data for rapeseed from 70 BioProjects in the SRA database and obtained three types of expression level data (FPKM, TPM, and read counts). We used this information to develop the BrassicaEDB, including “eFP”, “Treatment”, “Coexpression”, and “SRA Project” modules based on gene expression profiles and “Gene Feature”, “qPCR Primer”, and “BLAST” modules based on gene sequences. The BrassicaEDB provides comprehensive gene expression profile information and a user-friendly visualization interface for rapeseed researchers. Using this database, researchers can quickly retrieve the expression level data for target genes in different tissues and in response to different treatments to elucidate gene functions and explore the biology of rapeseed at the transcriptome level.

The effect of presowing treatment of seeds of winter rapeseed (Brassica napus L.) and winter brown mustard (Brassica juncea L.) with modern fungicides on their sowing qualities and biometric characteristics of seedlings

The aim of the research was to study the effect of chemical and biological fungicidal disinfectants on the sowing qualities of seeds, the length of stem and root of seedlings of winter rapeseed (Brassica napus L.) and winter mustard (Brassica juncea L.). We carried out the research in 2018-2020 in the laboratory conditions on the seeds of rapeseed cultivar Sarmat and mustard cultivar Dzhuna. We tested the following fungicidal disinfectants: chemical – a contact preparation with the active ingredient thiram 400 g/l (standard); systemic preparation with the active ingredient fludioxonil 25 g/l; complex biological contacts consisting of fungi of the genus Trichoderma Pers. and of bacteria of the genus Pseudomonas Мigula: biopreparation 1 (1 g/l+2x108 CFU/ml); biopreparation 2 (2 g/l+2x108 CFU/ml). All studied disinfectants suppress seed infections on rapeseed and mustard. They do not have negative effect on the stem length of rapeseed seedlings, but in the variant with thiram, the number of seedlings with a short root increases by 13 % compared to the control. When rapeseed seeds are treated with Fludioxonil and biopreparations, the number of seedlings with a root length of 56-70 mm increases, which contributes to better rooting and optimal overwintering of plants. When seeds of winter mustard are treated with thiram, the number of seedlings with a very short root (up to 25 mm) increases. Fludioxonil and biopreparation 1 contribute to an increase in the number of seedlings with a root length of 41-55 mm, which favorably affects the development of the plant’s root system and contributes to an increase in winter hardiness.

HIGHLY CONCENTRATED ENERGY SOURCE FOR BROILERS

Studies were conducted on the use of oil obtained from rapeseed cultivar 'Podmoskovnyj' selection of Federal Williams Research Center of Forage Production and Agroecology in feeding broiler chickens. The experiments were carried out on chickens cross-country "ROSS-308". They were grown in a cell battery. For the experiment, 5 groups were formed. In the start and finish periods, the control group received 2.5 and 3.3% sunflower oil. In the experimental groups, sunflower oil was replaced with rapeseed in the following amounts: the first — 1.0 and 1.0%, the second — 1.5 and 1.7%, the third — 2.0 and 2.5% and the fourth — 2.5 and 3.3%. Feeding was carried out with dry loose feed from a day old. Studies have found that rapeseed oil had less saturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids, but more unsaturated fatty acids. The amount of erucic acid was 0.20%. The digestibility of nutrients was high and practically did not differ from the control variant, as was the use of nitrogen. The inclusion of rapeseed oil in the composition of feed for broilers did not have a significant impact on the increase in live weight and feed costs. The cost of feed with increasing rapeseed oil in their composition decreased, and the efficiency of converting feed into products increased slightly. Compound feeds with rapeseed oil were not inferior in terms of the efficiency of using compound feed containing sunflower oil.

Changes in leaf nitrogen and phosphorus content, photosynthesis, respiration, growth, and resource use efficiency of a rapeseed cultivar as affected by drought and high temperatures

The objective of this study was to explore the changes in leaf nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) content, physiological processes, growth, and resource-use efficiency in a rapeseed cultivar under drought and (or) high temperatures. The two-wk-old plants were grown under controlled growth chamber conditions and subjected to individual or combined water (well-irrigated, 88% ± 4% field capacity vs. drought, 46% ± 5% field capacity) and temperature (control, 23 °C/17 °C vs. high temperatures, 26 °C/25 °C) regimes for 10 d. The measured response parameters were [N], [P], and their total content in leaves, photosynthetic rate (Asat), stomatal conductance (gs), intercellular CO2 concentration (Ci), mitochondrial respiration (R), intrinsic water use efficiency (WUEi), photosynthetic N use efficiency (PNUE), relative growth rate of the root (RGRr) and shoot (RGRs), leaf area, and dry matter accumulation in the plant. Drought significantly decreased [N], [P], and their total content in leaves, Asat, gs, Ci, RGRr, RGRs, leaf area, dry matter accumulation in the root, shoot, and whole plant, and PNUE, but significantly increased R and WUEi. Drought-induced reduction in growth or Asat was mainly attributed to a decreased Ci due to stomatal closure, while reduction in gs and leaf area appeared to be a drought-adaptive mechanism. High temperature stress alone had no negative impact on physiological and growth parameters, indicating an enhanced thermal stability of the cultivar, which was diminished at combined drought and high temperature stresses. We therefore conclude that the thermal stability of the cultivar in terms of growth was compromised under simultaneous occurrence of drought and high temperature stresses.