Salt Tolerant Gossypium hirsutum L. Cultivars are Mostly Long-Staple Length Cultivars

Background: Cotton is a major cash crop in the global and, in particular, the Indian markets, playing an important economic role in the textile and oil industries. The cotton plant is one of the highly bred plants that is highly sensitive to salt stress. As cotton is a non-food crop, the availability of non-saline terrain and water for the cultivation of cotton plants is only next to other food crops, thereby posing a need to better understand the salt tolerance of this plant. Gossypium hirsutum L. cultivars MCU 5, LRA 5166, and SVPR 2 were selected based on exomorphic traits like staple length and cropping season so that the genotypic responses to salt stress and salt shock can be compared for interpreting the effects of salinity on in vitro germination. Thus, this study aims to establish genotypic dependence on salinity tolerance. Results: The results affirmed genotypic variation in salinity tolerance, with MCU 5 tolerating salt stress better than LRA 5166 and SVPR 2 in all the observed stages of growth of the plant and the parameters measured. Further salt-tolerant cotton varieties were observed to be long-staple length varieties; staple length is the fiber character of the cotton lint. Moreover, salt tolerance in the vegetative growth stage of cotton plants is not independent of the germination stage of the plant.Conclusion: Nevertheless, the correlation of genotypic dependence to morphological characteristics, in particular, staple length (and cropping season), is of agronomic and commercial significance. Further research by screening and investigating a greater number of cultivars using biochemical and molecular techniques will provide a better understanding of this observed phenotypical relationship to the genotypes of cotton cultivars under salt stress.

Path analysis based on genetic association of yield components and insects pest in upland cotton varieties

Gossypium hirsutum L. is also called upland cotton or Mexican cotton. It is the most widely cultivated species of cotton in the whole world. Globally, about 90% of all cotton production comes from the cultivars derived from this species. Some genetic parameters like monopodial branches per plant, sympodial branches per plant, sympodial branch length, bolls per plant, boll weight, sympo-boll distance, Ginning Out Turn%, staple length (rg = 0.9199**), and fiber strength along with seed cotton yield were evaluated for their potential utilization via selection in seed cotton yield improvement. Significant positive genetic correlations were estimated for monopodial branches per plant (rg = 0.9722**), sympodial branches per plant (rg = 0.7098**), sympodial branch length (rg = 0.617**), bolls per plant (rg = 0.8271**), boll weight (rg = 0.8065**), sympo-boll distance (rg = 0.6507**), Ginning Out Turn (GOT)% (rg = 0.7541**), staple length (rg = 0.9199**), and fiber strength (rg = 0.7534**) with seed cotton yield. A path analysis of all the yield traits under study revealed strong positive direct effects of monopodial branch length (1.1556), sympo-boll distance (0.8173) and staple length (0.7633), while plant height exerted a highly strong direct negative effect (-1.2096) on yield. It is concluded that a direct selection based on monopodial branch length and sympo-boll distance, and staple length is effective, whereas, monopodial branch length, and sympodial branch length are good selection indicators via bolls per plant for yield improvement in cotton.

A review on some factors affecting wool quality parameters of sheep

Wool is a natural fibre with a unique amalgamation of properties that are exploited in garment industry. The wool industry, in particular the production of fine wool, has a notable role in world trade and the price of the wool is dependent on quality. Accordingly, wool characteristics have direct impact on wool prices set by processors and industry. These properties can particularly benefit the wearer of the garment during exercise. There are different factors affecting wool quality parameters both with direct and indirect involvement. The environmental and genetics are the main factors affecting quality and quantity of wool from sheep. Infections related to skin and parasitic infestations have direct influence on the quality of wool. Breed or genotype is one of the main genetic factors that influences the product and productivity as well as quality of wool from sheep that is fleece from different sheep breeds is different in its both physical and chemical characteristics. Hormonal changes in relation to sex of sheep also have effect on the wool quality traits. The main objective of this review was to define and explore key wool characteristics, such as staple length, number of crimp, fibre type, fibre diameter, wool wax and scouring yield in regards to quality and interventions approaches for improving. In most of studies, non-genetic factors such as age, season, shearing period, shearing frequency and nutrition have a significant effect on traits viz. staple length, wool wax, scouring yield, fibre diameter and for other traits as well. Conducting a research on wool quality characteristics is an operative way of defining and differentiating the quality of wool. Acquiring knowledge of the wool quality characteristics can help to manage the end use products, consumers comfort and processing intensity. Therefore, an understanding of the factors affecting physical and chemical properties of wool traits is important to improve the quality of wool through genetics and management interventions. This article reviews some important quality attributes of wool for the product and productivity development and value addition.

Variation in Wool Characteristics across the Body in a Herd of Alpacas Kept in Poland

Wool characteristics vary depending on where on the body the wool is produced. Knowledge of this variation is important in order to separate the fleece into more homogenous parts. Similar parts from different animals can then be pooled to create batches of wool with similar characteristics. This will allow for better alpaca products with less variation. The aim of this study was to determine the variation in fiber diameter, medullation, and staple length across the body of alpacas from one herd. Wool samples were collected from 16 adult (3–5 years old) females: from the saddle (S), midside (MS), neck (N), and pieces (P). The mean fiber diameter (MFD) and medullation were measured using a projection microscope according to the IWTO-8-2011 standard. The fiber diameter of the pieces was greater (p < 0.05) than for the S, MS, and N areas. The highest medullation was found on the neck. The neck was also characterized by the shortest wool. The MFD for the fleece, excluding P, showed the strongest correlation (r = 0.927) with the MFD of MS. The study showed that due to the variation of fiber diameter, the incidence of medullation, and staple length, the wool from the pieces and the neck should be separated from the total fleece. The most appropriate site from where to collect a representative sample of wool from the fleece for testing purposes is the midside site of the animal.

Yield and quality improvement in Bt cotton through foliar application of trifloxystrobin and tebuconazole

In agriculture, fungi can cause serious damage, resulting in critical losses of yield, quality and profit. Fungicides help in reducing the damage caused by fungus, reduce the yield loss and play a major role in quality improvement. The present investigation was carried out at Tamil Nadu Agricultural University to evaluate the influence of trifloxystrobin 50% + tebuconazole 25% (Nativo 75WG) on the yield and quality improvement on Bunny hybrid Bt cotton. Nativo 75WG was applied on the leaves of cotton plants at 40-60 (DAS) and 60-80 (DAS) at the concentration of 250, 300, 350 g/ha and Carbendazim @ 500 g/ha. The observations recorded were related to yield and quality attributes in all treatments. The application of Nativo @ 300 g/ha showed a significant increase in boll weight (4.86 g), lint yield per boll (3.86 g boll-1) and lint per plant (138.48 g plant -1) than other treatments. With respect to seed cotton yield and harvest index (0.37 %), the Nativo @ 300 g/ha registered a higher yield (20.2 %) and HI than control under the irrigated situation. Foliar application of treatments during the flowering stage (40-60 DAS) and boll formation stages (60-80 DAS) had increased the quality parameters such as fiber length (2.5% staple length, 50 % staple length) and fiber strength. Further, the foliar spray of Nativo @ 300 g/ha applied to bunny hybrid Bt cotton had resulted in a higher yield (2920.15 kg ha-1) due to an increase in leaf area index, greenness of leaf and higher dry matter production of the plant.

Genome-wide association studies detects candidate genes for wool traits by re-sequencing in Chinese fine-wool sheep

Background The quality and yield of wool determine the economic value of the fine-wool sheep. Therefore, discovering markers or genes relevant to wool traits is the cornerstone for the breeding of fine-wool sheep. In this study, we used the Illumina HiSeq X Ten platform to re-sequence 460 sheep belonging to four different fine-wool sheep breeds, namely, Alpine Merino sheep (AMS), Chinese Merino sheep (CMS), Aohan fine-wool sheep (AHS) and Qinghai fine-wool sheep (QHS). Eight wool traits, including fiber diameter (FD), fiber diameter coefficient of variance (FDCV), fiber diameter standard deviation (FDSD), staple length (SL), greasy fleece weight (GFW), clean wool rate (CWR), staple strength (SS) and staple elongation (SE) were examined. A genome-wide association study (GWAS) was performed to detect the candidate genes for the eight wool traits. Results A total of 8.222 Tb of raw data was generated, with an average of approximately 8.59X sequencing depth. After quality control, 12,561,225 SNPs were available for analysis. And a total of 57 genome-wide significant SNPs and 30 candidate genes were detected for the desired wool traits. Among them, 7 SNPs and 6 genes are related to wool fineness indicators (FD, FDCV and FDSD), 10 SNPs and 7 genes are related to staple length, 13 SNPs and 7 genes are related to wool production indicators (GFW and CWR), 27 SNPs and 10 genes associated with staple elongation. Among these candidate genes, UBE2E3 and RHPN2 associated with fiber diameter, were found to play an important role in keratinocyte differentiation and cell proliferation. Gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment results, revealed that multitude significant pathways are related to keratin and cell proliferation and differentiation, such as positive regulation of canonical Wnt signaling pathway (GO:0090263). Conclusion This is the first GWAS on the wool traits by using re-sequencing data in Chinese fine-wool sheep. The newly detected significant SNPs in this study can be used in genome-selective breeding for the fine-wool sheep. And the new candidate genes would provide a good theoretical basis for the fine-wool sheep breeding.

Calidad de la fibra de alpacas Huacaya y Suri del plantel de reproductores de Ocongate, Cusco, Perú

El objetivo de la investigación fue estimar cinco características tecnológicas de la fibra de alpacas Huacaya y Suri de color blanco, del plantel de reproductores de cuatro comunidades del distrito de Ocongate, provincia de Quispicanchi, Región Cusco, Perú. Las muestras de fibra fueron tomadas del costillar medio, flanco izquierdo de 238 animales de las dos razas, de ambos sexos y de varias edades. Se empleó un Analizador Óptico del Diámetro de Fibra (OFDA 2000) para determinar el diámetro de fibra (DF), coeficiente de variabilidad del diámetro de fibra (CVDF), factor de confort (FC) e índice de curvatura (IC) y para evaluar la resistencia de la fibra a la tracción (RT) se utilizó el IWG Staple Length & Strength Instrument. Se estimaron los efectos de la raza, sexo, edad y comunidad sobre el DF, CVDF, FC, IC y RT con un arreglo factorial, así como las correlaciones fenotípicas entre las variables evaluadas. Se hallaron diferencias significativas para el DF, CVDF, FC, IC y RT (p<0.05) para el factor raza. El sexo fue significativo (p<0.05) para el CVDF y la edad (p<0.05) para el DF y FC. Las comunidades mostraron diferencias para el DF y RT (p<0.05). Se encontraron relaciones significativas positivas entre el DF con CVDF, FC con IC, e IC con RT; y negativas entre DF con FC e IC, y de CVDF con FC, IC y RT. Las alpacas de las comunidades en estudio producen una buena calidad de fibra y tienen un gran potencial de variabilidad para su mejoramiento genético.

Evaluación objetiva de características de finura y resistencia en vellones de llama (Lama glama) Ch’aku

El objetivo del estudio fue determinar la relación entre las características de finura y la resistencia de vellones de llamas Ch’aku. Se muestrearon 76 llamas del plantel de reproductores del Centro de Investigación de Camélidos Sudamericanos CICAS - La Raya, Perú. Se determinaron las características de finura de fibra (Media del Diámetro de Fibra [MDF, µm], Coeficiente de Variabilidad de la Media del Diámetro de Fibra [CVMDF, %], Factor de Confort [FC, %], Curvatura, rizo [CRV, °/mm], Finura al Hilado o spin fineness [SF, µm]) en un Analizador Óptico de Diámetros de Fibra (OFDA 2000®) y las características de resistencia de mecha (Longitud de Mecha [LM, mm], Resistencia a la Tracción [RT, N/ktex], y Punto de Quiebre [POB, %]) usando el Staple Length and Strength Instrument (SL&SI). Se utilizó un diseño completo al azar con un arreglo factorial, mediante pruebas paramétricas y no paramétricas. Los resultados indicaron efecto del sexo, edad y sexo*edad, sobre los caracteres en estudio (p<0.05), donde la mejor finura se atribuye a llamas hembras, llamas de 2-3 años y a llamas hembras de 2-3 años de edad; sin embargo, la mayor LM y RT corresponde a llamas macho (10.28 cm y 69.11 N/ktex, respectivamente) y la menor en animales >5 años (57.61 N/ktex). El POB cercano al 50% es indeseable debido al afinamiento por estiaje en un periodo de crecimiento bienal de fibra. Se halló correlación significativa entre las características de finura y escasamente con las características de resistencia. La fibra de llamas Ch’aku en el CICAS-La Raya posee importantes características de finura y resistencia, pero sin vinculación entre ambos tipos de características.

Extraction and mix compatibility study of beohmeria fiber with cotton

The study focuses on the mix compatibility of cotton and bohemeria fiber for the production of yarn. The Bohemeria fiber used for the study was by chemical degumming. By the chemical degumming from 1,500gm decorticated boehmeria 1,370gm of bohemeria fiber extracted which 91.3% fiber yield. The color of the extracted fiber is reddish yellow due to the presence of lignin, pectin, wax and other unwanted materials. To make the color of the extracted fiber compatible to cotton, bleaching using H2O2 was carried out and the converted bleached fiber into staple length by chopping. To facilitate the mixing of the bohemeria and cotton fiber; first Manual opening carried out and Further opening using waste feeder continued to open gently and to form homogeneous mix. In the mix Component ratio of 35% Bohemeria and 63% cotton was used. The mixed fibers were opened to individual fibers on carding. Finally 33Nm yarn is produced on rotor spinning machine. The Yarn has Tenacity of 10.822g/tex, elongation of 5.026% and breaking load 298.9gm.

The Mean Staple Length of Wool Fibre Is Associated with Variation in the Ovine Keratin-Associated Protein 21-2 Gene

Wool and hair fibres consist of a variety of proteins, including the keratin-associated proteins (KAPs). In this study, a putative ovine homologue of the human KAP21-2 gene (KRTAP21-2) was identified. It was located on chromosome 1 as a 201-bp open reading frame (ORF) in the ovine genome assembly from a Texel sheep (v.4 NC_019458.2: nt122932727 to 122932927). A polymerase chain reaction- single strand conformation polymorphism (PCR-SSCP) analysis of this ORF, and subsequent DNA sequencing, identified five sequences (named A-E). The putative amino acid sequences that would be produced, shared some identity with each other and with other KAPs, but they were most similar to ovine KAP21-1, and phylogenetically related to human KAP21-2. The location of the ovine KRTAP21-2 sequence was consistent with the location of human KRTAP21-2, and this suggests they represent different variant forms of ovine KRTAP21-2. Variation in this gene was investigated in 389 Merino (sire) × Southdown-cross (ewe) lambs. These were derived from four independent sire-lines. The sequence variation was found to be associated with variation in five wool traits: including mean staple length (MSL), mean fibre diameter (MFD), fibre diameter standard deviation (FDSD), prickle factor (PF), and greasy fleece weight (GFW). The most persistent effect of KRTAP21-2 variation was with variation in MSL; with the MSL of sheep of genotype AC being 12.5% greater than those of genotype CE. A similar effect was observed from individual variant absence/presence models. This suggests that KRTAP21-2 should be further investigated as a possible gene-marker for improving MSL.