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November 2009
Articles
November 2009 [ 3(6) 2009]
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Southern Cross Publisher 2009
Australia
Australia
| Effects of genotype and environment on seed and forage yield in fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum L.) grown in western Canada S.K. Basu, S.N. Acharya, M.S. Bandara, D. Friebel and J.E. Thomas Department of Biological Sciences, University of Lethbridge, 4401 University Drive, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada T1K 3M4 Agriculture and Agri-food Canada, Lethbridge Research Centre, PO Box 3000, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada T1J 4B1 Crop Diversification Centre South, Alberta Agriculture and Food, 301 Horticultural Station Road East, Brooks, Alberta, Canada T1R 1E6 Abstract Fenugreek is being developed as a forage legume crop in western Canada, as it has desirable agronomic and forage quality traits. The objective of the present study was to determine if genotype x environment interactions have an impact on seed and forage yield when plants are grown under the short growing season of western Canada. Two studies were conducted: one with up to 83 accessions grown under rain-fed and irrigated conditions at Lethbridge, Alberta for two years and the other had five selected genotypes grown under seven environments scattered over Alberta and British Columbia over five years. In the first study significant (P < 0.01) location and year effects were observed for forage yield and 1000 seed weight respectively, while for seed yield effect of year, genotype, year X location and year X genotype were significant (P < 0.01). In the second study significant (P < 0.01) genotype, environment and their interaction effects were observed for forage and seed yield. These studies indicate that improvement through phenotypic selection for forage and seed yield is possible but, will require use of multiple locations and years. Improvement in seed yield can be achieved through selection for less variable seed size and/or early maturity. Keywords: accessions; environment; fenugreek; genotype; interaction; irrigated; legume; rain-fed; Trigonella foenum-graecum Pages 305-314 Full text PDF |
| Effect of water quality and weeding on yield and quality of three Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) cultivars Awad O. Abusuwar and Elhassan, Bakri Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Khartoum, Shambat, Sudan. Department of Agronomy, University of Khartoum., Khartoum, Sudan Abstract A field experiment was carried out during 2005/06 and 2006/07 seasons at the Experimental Farm of the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Khartoum, Shambat, Sudan, to study the effect of water quality and weeding on the yield and quality of three alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) cultivars. The three cultivars were Hegazi, a local cultivar, and two exotic cultivars (Cuf101 and Siriver). They were subjected to three water treatments (bore hole water, river water with screen mesh at the entrance of plots and river water without screen mesh) and three levels of weeding (monthly weeding, every two months and every three months). The treatments were assigned in a split-split plot design (watering as the main plots, weeding as the subplots and cultivars as the sub-subplots), replicated four times. The parameters studied were fresh and dry yields, crude protein and crude fiber content and number of weeds per unit area. The two introduced cultivars, Siriver and Cuf 101, were significantly better than the local cultivar, Hegazi, in forage fresh and dry yields and crude protein content. The local cultivar Hegazi gave a higher crude fiber content. Irrigation water treatments were not significantly different in crude protein and fiber contents. However, the river water with screen mesh treatment was significantly superior in forage fresh and dry yields and number of weeds per unit area than other water treatments, indicating the importance of this technique in boosting productivity of alfalfa along the River Nile. In all parameters, the river water without screen mesh treatment recorded the lowest estimates of the parameters measured. Monthly weeding gave a significant decrease in number of weeds per unit area than the other weeding treatments. Keywords: alfalfa cultivars; forage yield; forage quality; water quality; weed competition Pages 315-321 Full text PDF |
| A computational and experimental approach for developing jute ESTs from genomic clones Salim Ahmed, Md. Zinnatun Nabi , Md. Maksudul Alam, Md. Sazzadul Islam, Rozalynne Samira, Mahdi M Moosa, Haseena Khan Department of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh Department of Biochemistry and Medical Genetics, University of Manitoba, Canada Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh Abstract Gene identification is a leading and essential step in understanding the genome of an organism or for manipulation of genes necessary for incorporating any novel characteristics. However, current technologies and resources are far from shedding light on the genome of organisms like jute for which the whole genome sequence is yet to be determined. An alternative approach for finding genes in such genomes is to find and characterize specific genes, especially those which are differentially expressed under certain conditions. Though expressed sequence tags (ESTs) are widely used for this purpose, generation and characterization of ESTs are not straight forward in many cases. In this situation the available genomic clones can be used to identify and characterize ESTs with the combination of accessible bioinformatics tools such as gene prediction software, NCBI web portal etc and experimental approaches such as RT-PCR followed by sequencing. A number of ESTs for jute have been developed from a previously constructed jute genomic library enriched for simple sequence repeats and also by using the technique of differential display. Some of these ESTs were found to be interesting in terms of their agronomic properties. Keyword: Bioinformatics; RT-PCR; DNA sequencing Pages 322-328 Full text PDF |
| Constitutive expression of OsNHX1 under the promoter Actin1D can improve the salt tolerance and yield characteristics of Bangladeshi rice Binnatoa S.M. Touhidul Islam, Rumana S. Tammi, Richard Malo1, Mahzabin Amin, M. Sazzadur Rahman, Sabrina M. Elias, Zeba I. Seraj Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Jahangirnagar University, Savar, Bangladesh Abstract Transgenic rice cv Binnatoa expressing the Oryza sativa vacuolar Na+/H+ antiporter OsNHX1 under the constitutive rice Actin1D promoter showed enhanced tolerance and improved yield in NaCl stress. Transgenic status of the plants was assured by PCR and Southern blot analysis from T0 to T3 state. Over-expression of OsNHX1 under Actin1D promoter was confirmed by semi-quantitative RT-PCR and Western Dot-Blot analyses. At 160 mM salt stress, transgenic seedlings grew well and showed minimal reduction in shoot and root length compared to controls. Leaf chlorophyll estimation assay at 160 mM NaCl showed significantly high chlorosis in wild-type in contrast to the transgenic line. After salt stress, lower K+/Na+ ratio in transgenic leaf compared to the wild-type indicated the increased Na+ accumulation in vacuoles. At reproductive stage transgenic plants showed improved yield charateristics compared to the wild-type after exposure to 60 mM NaCl stress. Keywords : Constitutive expression; Chlorosis; Ion imbalance; transgenic plant Pages 329-335 Full text PDF |
| Nitrogen use efficiency and recovery from N fertilizer under rice-based cropping systems M. Motior Rahman, Takahisa Amano and Tatsuhiko Shiraiwa Central Agricultural Research Center, Montana State University, 52583 US Hwy 87, Moccasin, MT 59462, USA Laboratory of Plant Production Systems, Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Japan Crop Science Laboratory, Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Japan Abstract Broad bean-rice, hairy vetch-rice, naked barley-rice and fallow-rice cropping systems was investigated at Kyoto University Farm, Takatsuki, Japan during 2001-2002 and 2002-2003 to determine the effects of broad bean and hairy vetch on seasonal crop N accumulation, fertilizer N use efficiency (FNUE) and N recovery from rice-based cropping systems using 15N-labeled fertilizer. Cropping systems used as main plot treatments and N fertilizer at rates of 0, 40, 80 and 120 kg ha-1 as subplot treatments. Hairy vetch added 6.4 to 13.1 g N m-2 of which 1.4 to 5.4 g fixed N m-2 while broad bean added 32.0 to 35.2 g N m-2 of which 18.1 to 27.5 g fixed N m-2 to the soil when incorporated as green manure. Broad bean-rice accumulated 19.4 to 20.4 and 21.4 to 22.6 g N m-2 and hairy vetch-rice accumulated 12.9 to 18.7 and 13.2 to 16.4 g N m-2 in 2002 and 2003, respectively. In 2002, FNUE was highest in hairy vetch-rice with N 40 kg ha-1 while in 2003 FNUE was highest in naked barley-rice with N 40 kg ha-1. In broad bean-rice, plant nitrogen accumulation at maturity always increased and FNUE decreased in spite of increased grain yield of rice. The highest (94 %) recovery of 15N-labeled fertilizer was achieved in rice after broad bean with N 40 kg ha-1 and the recoveries of 15N-labeled fertilizer were higher in the first year than the second year. Key words: cropping systems; fertilizer; legume; N-use efficiency; recovery rice Pages 336-351 Full text PDF |
| Genetic studies of yield related traits in mungbean (Vigna radiata L. Wilczek) Aziz Ur Rehman, Muhammad Amjad Ali, Babar Manzoor Atta, Muhammad Saleem, Amjad Abbas and Ahsan Raza Mallahi Wheat Research Institute, AARI, Faisalabad, Pakistan Nuclear Institute for Agriculture & Biology (NIAB), Faisalabad, Pakistan Department of Plant Breeding & Genetics, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan Pulses Research Institute, AARI, Faisalabad, Pakistan Abstract A full diallel mating system involving eight divergent parents selected from a germplasm pool of 55 mungbean genotypes was used to determine the inheritance of yield related traits such as grain yield per plant, total dry matter, and harvest index. All traits displayed significant (P<0.01) genotypic differences. Adequacy tests founded on joint regression analysis and analysis of variance for Wr+Vr and Wr-Vr between arrays revealed the full fitness of the data and absence of epistatic effects for grain yield in F1 and total dry matter for both generations. The data for grain yield in F2 and harvest index in both generations were partially adequate for genetic analysis due to the presence of non-allelic interactions. The significance of ‘a’ & ‘b’, D, H1 and H2 components demonstrated the importance of both additive and dominance effects for all traits in both generations. However, the value H1 > D for grain yield in F1 and harvest index in F2 generation depicted the preponderance of dominant genes in their genetic control which, thus it was recommended that selection followed by hybridization in early generations was a suitable breeding method for progress in these traits. Conversely, greater value of D over H1 demonstrated additive nature of genes for grain yield in F2, harvest index in F1 and total dry matter in both generations, which advocated the utilization of pedigree and full/half sib selection for improvement of these parameters. Grain yield in F1 and harvest index in F2 generation exhibited moderate narrow sense heritability, while grain yield in F2, harvest index in F1 and total dry matter in both generations had higher heritability (h2 n. s. >0.60). Key words: Vigna radiata L. Wilczek; inheritance mode; grain yield; harvest index Pages 352-360 Full text PDF |
| The foraging behaviour of the Black rat (Rattus rattus) within Australian macadamia orchards David Elmouttie, Kerrilee Horskins and John Wilson School of Natural Resource Sciences, Queensland University of Technology, GPO Box 2434, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, 4001 Abstract The black rat (Rattus rattus) has been shown to be the primary species responsible for causing significant crop losses within the Australian macadamia industry. This species success within macadamia orchards is directly related to the flexibility expressed in its foraging behaviour. In this paper a conceptual foraging model is presented which proposes that the utilisation of resources by rodents within various components of the system is related not only to their relative abundance, but also to predator avoidance behaviour. Nut removal from high predation risk habitats during periods of low resource abundance in low risk compartments of the system is considered an essential behaviour that allows high rodent densities to be maintained throughout the year. Keywords: rodent; foraging; nut removal; macadamia; habitat utilisation; Rattus rattus Pages 361-366 Full text PDF |
| Ploidy versus gender effects on inheritance of quantitative traits in Musa species Oselebe, H.O. and Tenkouano, A. Corresponding author: Department of Crop Production & Landscape management, Ebonyi State University, Abakaliki, Nigeria. Crop Improvement Division, International Institute of Tropical Agriculture,Oyo Road, P.M.B 5320, Ibadan, Nigeria. Abstract Several factors including ploidy and genome composition influence the inheritance of agronomic traits in Musa populations. Research results have indicated that gender determines the inheritance of quantitative traits in this species. Whether inheritance patterns are ploidy-dependent or gender-dependent is not known. The present research is therefore aimed at evaluating the agronomic performance of progenies of 4x - 2x versus 2x - 4x crosses in Musa, in other to understand how gender or ploidy affect the inheritance of quantitative traits in inter-ploidy crosses. The study was carried out at the High Rainfall Station of the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Onne in Southeastern Nigeria. Data on phenotypic performances of progenies of 4x - 2x and 2x - 4x crosses were collected for two seasons and analysed. The 4x - 2x crosses produced predominantly 3x progenies, whereas 2x - 4x crosses gave mostly 2x progenies. The diploid progenies of 2x - 4x crosses took shorter time to flower, had shorter plants and produced lower bunch weight. The breeding values for the two groups were higher in the ratoon, than plant crop cycle. Complex microsporogenesis was observed in the parents of higher ploidy level (e.g. 4x) and may have resulted in production of predominantly monoploid gametes, n = 1x = 1C. Crosses between 4x and 2x parents, therefore, produced predominantly 3x progenies in 4x - 2x direction, but 2x progenies in 2x - 4x direction. Gender and ploidy determined the inheritance of characters in Musa, but with a preponderance of ploidy. The decision on the ploidy of individuals to serve as female or male parents in crosses is therefore critical. Key words: Disease resistance; double reduction; genome; microsporogenesis; ploidy Pages 367-373 Full text PDF |