1. M. GURUPRASAD, V. SRIDEVI, B. RAMESH, B. MANJUNATHA AND M. SATISH KUMAR* [A review on maize (Zea mays L.) transformation for expression of insecticidal proteins]. Crop Res. 51 (4, 5 & 6) : 87-96 (2016). ¹Department of Biochemistry Bharathiar University, Coimbatore-641 046 (Tamil Nadu), India *(e-mail : pesmurari@gmail.com) 

ABSTRACT

Biotechnology offers many techniques in case of human welfare i. e. crop improvement and nutrition. It has a potential progress in plant improvement by using molecular techniques. It also shows rapid progress in understanding the molecular, biochemical and physiological levels in plant improvement. The biotechnology tool shows how the plant gene transfers from bacteria to plant cell. By this tool, there is improvement in plant nutrition (golden rice) and pathogen resistant in crops. Today agriculture is facing many problems like cob borer and leaf smut disease. To overcome this problem, Agrobacterium-mediated transformation and biolostic methods are used for gene transfer for development of transgenic crop. So, we reviewed techniques like tissue culture, gene transfer, plant breeding and maintenace of germplasm. The tools of biotechnology were provided to investigator to develop a transgenic plant by tissue culture and gene transformation by Agrobacterium-mediated transformation and biolistic method. Later assessment was measured between Agrobacterium-mediated transformation and biolistic methods. So, in previous literature, the results evaluated that low copy number, expression and inheritance of gene had good transformation and more number of transgenic plants developed. Here, it was shown that low copy number, expression and inheritance were good in agrobacterium, when compared to biolistic gene transfer. These are due to more copy number which results in gene silencing. So, Agrobacterium- mediated transformation is better than the biolistic gene transfer.

2. Sabyasachi Patra* [Field performance of different improved varieties of rice (Oryza sativa L.) in old alluvial soil of Burdwan, West Bengal]. Crop Res. 51 (4, 5 & 6) : 97-99 (2016). Crop Research and Seed Multiplication Farm University of Burdwan, Tarabag, Burdwan-713 104 (West Bengal), India *(e-mail : sabya1983@gmail.com) 

ABSTRACT

The field studies were carried out at Crop Research and Seed MultiplicationFarm of the University of Burdwan, Tarabag, Burdwan for field performance of five differentimproved varieties of rice during two consecutive rabi seasons of 2014 and 2015. In order to choose the suitable variety of rice out of five different improved varieties (GB-1, IET 4094, MTU 1010, IET 4786 and GS-3), various yield, yield parameters (plant height, number of effective tillers/hill, length of panicle, number of seeds per panicle, 1000-seed weight) and maturity days were estimated and analyzed statistically.Among all different five improved tested varieties, the variety GB-1 recorded a significant plant height, number of effective tillars/hill, number of seeds/panicle and seed yield followed by GS-3 under old alluvial soil of Burdwan.

3. T. K. Jiji* and M. Mohamed Yassin [Effect of foliar nutrition on growth and yield of rabi rice]. Crop Res. 51 (4, 5 & 6) : 100-106 (2016). Department of Agronomy Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore-641 003 (Tamil Nadu), India *(e-mail : jijitkkalpetta@gmail.com) 

ABSTRACT

Field experiment was conducted at Agricultural College and Research Institute, Coimbatore during 2015-16 for maximizing rice production through foliar nutrition at critical phases of crop growth during rabi season. Four different water soluble fertilizers were tested in the studyto find out the best source of foliar fertilizers for increasing growth and productivity of rabi rice.The experiment was laid out in randomized block design and replicated thrice. The treatments consisted of foliar spray 19 : 19 : 19 @ 1%, mono ammonium phosphate (MAP) @ 1%, potassium nitrate (KNO₃) @ 1% and 1% mono potassium phosphate (MKP) at panicle initiation, booting and 50% flowering stages followed by 10 days after 1^st spray, respectively. These foliar nutrient treatments were compared with recommended foliar spray of urea (1%), DAP (2%), KCl (1%) at panicle initiation followed by 10 days after 1^st spray. Blanket recommendation of 150 : 50 : 50 kg NPK/ha was applied as common to all the treatment plots. Chlorophyll content (2.42 mg/g), soluble protein (12.3 mg/g) and photosynthetic efficiency (0.035%) recorded maximum with foliar spray of 19 : 19 : 19 at booting stage @ 1% followed by 10 days after 1^st spray when compared to other nutrient sources. Increased physiological parameters enhanced the yield attributes of rabi rice.

4. C. TOFIGHI*, R. A. KHAVARI-NEJAD, F. NAJAFI**, K. RAZAVI AND F. REJALI [Response of epibrassinolide-sprayed wheat plants to salinity originated from Urmia lake in Iran]. Crop Res. 51 (4, 5 & 6) : 107-112 (2016). ¹Department of Plant Sciences, Faculty of Biological Sciences Kharazmi University, Postal Code : 15719-14911, Tehran, Iran *(e-mail : tofighi86@gmail.com; ** f_najafi@yahoo.com) 

ABSTRACT

The present work was carried out to study the impacts of 24-Epibrassinolide (24-Epi), in alleviating natural salinity stress originated from Urmia lake, as one of the hypersaline lakes in the world in wheat (Triticum aestivum L. cv. Pishtaz) plants. After foliar spraying of 14-day old plants by 5 µM 24-Epi, they were irrigatedwith 0, 10.7 and 15 dS m^-1 natural saline water for two weeks, then they were harvested to determine some growth and biochemical parameters. The findings revealed that 24-Epi spraying might alleviate the detrimental impacts of salt stress by improving wheat growth traits, photosynthetic pigments and increasing leaf catalase (CAT) activitiy as well as souble sugar and proline content especially at 10.7 dS m^-1 level. In addition, H₂O₂ level in leaves decreased in 24-Epi-sprayed plants under salinity by enhancing antioxidant defense system. In conclusion, the present study suggests that 24-Epi spraying would mitigate harmful impacts of natural salinity in wheat plants and could be considered as a practical approach for developing biosaline agriculture management.

5. Anureet Kaur*, G. S. Buttar, K. S. Sekhon and A. S. Sidhu [Response of Indian mustard (Brassica juncea L.) to different doses of sulphur and quality of water and its residual effect on growth and yield of succeeding moong bean crop]. Crop Res. 51 (4, 5 & 6) : 113-116 (2016). Punjab Agricultural University Regional Station, Bathinda-151 001 (Punjab), India *(e-mail : anureet_1@yahoo.com) 

ABSTRACT

A field experiment was conducted at Research Farm of the Punjab Agricultural University Regional Station, Bathinda on sandy loam soil to study the effect of various doses of sulphur and quality of irrigation water on Indian mustard and its residual effect on succeeding moong bean crop. The experiment was laid out in split-split plot design with three sulphur levels viz., recommended dose i. e. 20 kg/ha (S₁), 150% of recommended dose (S₂), 200% of recommended dose (S₃) in main plots, three irrigation water treatments i. e. canal water (CW), tubewell water of poor quality (TW), CW (psi) and then with TW in sub-plots and two varieties of Indian mustard (PBR-91 and PBR-210) in sub-sub plots with three replications. The tube well water used for irrigation had RSC value of 6.4 meq/l and EC value of 2200 µ mhos/cm. The results revealed that pre-sowing irrigation with canal water and subsequent irrigation with tubewell gave 0.6% higher grain yield than irrigation with only tubewell water and it was statistically at par with canal water. The reduction of 3.5% in grain yield was recorded under CW (psi) than only CW. The variety PBR-91 outyielded PBR-210 numerically under all the qualities of water. However, significantly same yield was recorded with sulphur levels under all quality of irrigation waters. Siliqua number per plant was significantly higher under recommended dose of sulphur (S₁) than other treatments of sulphur. The water expense efficiency was maximum under CW, 40 kg S/ha and under variety PBR-91. The grain yield of moong bean was statistically similar at 20 and 40 kg S/ha. However, both were significantly better than 30 kg S/ha. The PWU and WEE were maximum under S₃ (40 kg S/ha) level of sulphur, whereas the water expense (WE) was lowest under S₃ level. Raya variety PBR-91 illustrated higher PWU and WEE. But, WE was lower than PBR-210. The pre-sowing irrigations with good quality water followed by all other irrigations with poor quality water (tubewell water) were at par with irrigations only with canal water in terms of moong yield. Tubewell water recorded highest water use and expense but lowest WEE. Consequently, the WEE was higher in CWps+TW than only TW.

6. Raziyeh Ahmadiyan and Mansoore Shamili* [Morphological evaluation of Iranian guava genotypes]. Crop Res. 51 (4, 5 & 6) : 117-123 (2016). Department of Horticulture Science University of Hormozgan, Bandar Abbas, Iran *(e-mail : shamili@ut.ac.ir) 

ABSTRACT

Guava is one of the tropical fruit crops grown in the southern region of Iran. Genetic characterization of the local collections is the basic foundation of plant breeding. Since no report has been published on guava germplasm in Iran, the present study was conducted to estimate the genetic relationship among guava genotypes using quantitative and qualitative traits. Results revealed a high variation among genotypes. Most of the accessions showed two flowering seasons with round and bi-colour fruit skin. Significant correlations were observed between some quantitative traits. Factorial analysis separated characteristics to eight groups that expressed 94.8% of the total variance. Cluster analysis using quantitative characters divided the studied genotypes into three groups. The accessions with yellow fruit skin showed lower fruit water content, high fruit reduced sugar and total soluble solid (group A). The remaining accessions had green-yellow fruit skin. Group B demonstrated high flower diameter and inflorescence length and the accessions in group C showed lower reproductive traits values, but high values of fruit traits. Accessions belonging to group A are suitable to be considered as scions, those in group B could be proper rootstocks and those in group C are appropriate to be consumed in local markets and processing industries.

7. Ibrahim Mohammad AlRawashdeh, Abdel Rahman Mohammad Tawaha*, Saleem Hmoud Aladaileh¹ and Nahed Mar’ouf Ahmed [Estimation of genetic variation within yellow asphodel individuals using RAPD technique]. Crop Res. 51 (4, 5 & 6) : 124-128 (2016). ¹Department of Biological Science Faculty of Science, Al-Hussein Bin Talal University, P. O. Box (20), Ma’an, Jordan *(e-mail : abdeltawaha@yahoo.com) 

ABSTRACT

Jordan mainly southern part hosts immense diversity of several plant species genotypes. Yellow asphodel (Asphodeline lutea) along with other Asphodelus species was grown at Jordan. Asphodeline lutea is an edible plant and will become a threat due to overexploitation. This investigation was headed for studying the genetic diversity within A. lutea species based on RAPD markers. Five primers gave reproducible bands and were selected for detecting the diversity. Thirty amplification profiles were obtained, seven of them were polymorphic. Jaccard’s coefficient of similarity ranged from 0.83 to 1.00 values. UPGMA cluster analysis clearly distinguished the samples and grouped them into two main groups. The results accessible in this paper revealed low genetic diversity among A. lutea individuals. This demonstrates the usefulness of RAPD markers in detecting genetic variation either among or within genotypes.

8. B. N. MUNDE, C. T. KUMBHAR* AND R. M. KHADATARE [Synergistic effect of Glomus fasciculatum and plant growth promoting rhizobacteria on growth and yield of maize (Zea mays L.)]. Crop Res. 51 (4, 5 & 6) : 129-133 (2016). Division of Plant Pathology & Agricultural Microbiology College of Agriculture, Kolhapur-416 004 (Maharashtra), India *(e-mail : drchandrakantkumbhar@gmail.com) 

ABSTRACT

A field experiment was conducted during rabi season of 2015-16 to appraise synergistic effect of Glomus fasciculatum and plant growth promoting rhizobacteria on growth and yield of maize (Zea mays L.). Tripartite inoculation of maize with G. fasciculatum, P. fluorescens and B. megaterium recorded significantly highest germination (95.33%), plant height (54.07, 128.29 and 177.74 cm at 30 and 60 days after sowing and, at harvesting of the crop, respectively), dry matter yield (187.16 q/ha), number of cobs/plant (1.93), weight of grains/cob (168.60 g), length and girth of cob (21.89 and 16.79 cm, respectively), weight of cob (226.96 g) and grain yield (90.41 q/ha). Root colonization by G. fasciculatum was also found significantly highest (96.17%) with this treatment. Non-mycorrhizal treatments showed lesser root colonization.

9. N. V. PHAD, C. T. KUMBHAR*, R. M. KHADATARE AND G. G. KHOT [Dual inoculation of Glomus fasciculatum and Azotobacter chroococcum improves growth and yield of brinjal (Solanum melongena L.)]. Crop Res. 51 (4, 5 & 6) : 134-139 (2016). Division of Plant Pathology & Agricultural Microbiology College of Agriculture, Kolhapur-416 004 (Maharashtra), India *(e-mail : drchandrakantkumbhar@gmail.com) 

ABSTRACT

A field experiment was conducted during rabi season of 2015-16 to appraise synergistic effect of Glomus fasciculatum and Azotobacter chroococcum on growth and yield of brinjal (Solanum melongena L.). Results of the field experiment unveiled that the plots inoculated dually with G. fasciculatum and A. chroococcum in conjunction with recommended dose of chemical fertilizers had the tallest plants (mean plant height of 29.20, 57.49 and 80.58 cm at 30, 60 and 90 days after transplanting, respectively), highest number of main branches/plant (7.45), highest dry matter weight (135.60 g/plant), highest dry matter yield (4.46 t/ha), highest number of fruits (45.30 fruits/plant), highest average fruit weight (91.00 g/fruit), biggest fruits (mean length and girth of 8.00 and 16.10 cm, respectively), highest fruit yield (31.07 t/ha) and highest root colonization (96.33%). However, values of all the traits recorded with this treatment did not differ significantly from those recorded with dual inoculation of G. fasciculatum and A. chroococcum in combination with 75% of recommended dose of chemical fertilizers. Thus, these two treatments had analogous effect in improving plant growth and fruit yield in brinjal.

10. Ali Alipour*, Mohammad Reza Asgharipour and Mahmoud Ramroudi [Analysis of energy flow and energy balance in tea agro-ecosystems of northern Iran]. Crop Res. 51 (4, 5 & 6) : 140-144 (2016). ¹Department of Agronomy Faculty of Agriculture, University of Zabol, Zabol, Iran *(e-mail : alipoura417@gmail.com) 

ABSTRACT

Energy flow is an important criterion in assessment of sustainability in agroecosystems, as higher energy use efficiency and a better balance between energy inputs and outputs being desirable. In this study, energy input, energy output and energetic indices in tea agroecosystems located in Lahijan, Guilan province of Iran were evaluated in 2014-15 crop year. The results revealed that energy input and output in tea agroecosystems were 23113 and 9056 MJ/ha, respectively. Nitrogen fertilizer and manure were the most intensive inputs with 48.6 and 13.9% share in the total energy input, respectively. Energy efficiency and energy productivity in these agroecosystems were estimated as 0.25 and 0.49. The non-renewable energy sources had a contribution of 77.5% of the total energy used in tea farms. Our results showed that energy was not used efficiently in tea farms in this region. Improvement of agronomic management, especially nitrogen management, can notably improve the energy balance, thus; overall sustainability in these agroecosystems.

11. C. B. Ghevariya*, G. O. Faldu, B. G. Solanki and H. V. Ghevariya [Studies on heterosis for seed cotton yield and its attributes in CMS-R based hybrids in cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.)]. Crop Res. 51 (4, 5 & 6) : 145-148 (2016). ¹Department of Genetics & Plant Breeding NMCA, Navsari Agricultural University, Navsari-396 445 (Gujarat), India *(e-mail : chiragghevariya10@gmail.in) 

ABSTRACT

A line x tester crossing programme was taken up with seven cytoplasmic male sterile lines and five testers (restorer lines) with a view to obtain best heterotic crosses for seed cotton yield and its attributing traits. Standard heterosis was estimated for yield and its contributing characters in 35 cross combinations. Eight crosses exhibited positive and significant standard heterosis for seed cotton yield per plant. Cross combinations GSHV-97/13 x AKH-7859,4384 x AKH-076R, 4384 x AKH-7859, GJHV-156 x AKH-03-8h and GSHV-97/443 x DR-8 showed highly significant and positive standard heterosis for seed cotton yield per plant. The cross GSHV-97/13 x AKH-7859 also registered high per se performance with significant standard heterosis for number of sympodia per plant and seed index. The crosses exhibited highest heterosis due to increase in number of sympodia per plant and boll number, and boll weight was significantly associated with increase in yield and these crosses could be considered for exploitation of hybrid vigour.

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