000494   KHANDELWAL V, RAM D, SATYAVATHI C T, BENIWAL B R, BISHNOI J P, MEENA R C, PANWAR D, YADAV S L, BHANWARIYA S, AMBAWAT S (Agriculture Univ, Jodhpur, Rajasthan) : Evaluation of pearl millet R-line under field condition to identify resistance sources of foliar blast pathogen. J Pharma Innov 2021, 10(4), 157-9.

Pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum), an important staple food crop in the semiarid tropics of the world, is infected by a number of diseases. Important among these are downy mildew (Sclerospora graminicola), blast (Pyricularia grisea), rust (Puccinia substriata var. indica). Ergot (Claviceps fusiformis) and smut (Moesiziomyces penicillariae) that individually or in combination cause substantial yield and quality losses. Effective and economic control of these diseases can be achieved by growing disease resistant varieties and hybrids. One hundred thirty potential R-lines were evaluated for blast resistance in the field. One hundreds eighteen lines identified as blast resistant (score ≤3.0 on 1–9 scale). These resistant lines would be useful in breeding blast resistant pearl millet hybrids.

3 illus, 1 table, 11 ref

000493   CHAITANYA V, REDDY K R (Horticulture Dep, Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Khammam, Telangana) : Genotype x environment interactions and stability analysis for growth and yield attributes in brinjal (Solanum melongena L.). J Pharma Innov 2021, 10(4), 151-6.

The presence of genotypes x environment interactions was commonly used by plant breeders for measuring stability of selected genotypes performance. The magnitude of the statistical variance make possible to select entries with high potential yield, and other characters of stability, including in brinjal as well. The experimental material consists of thirty genotypes. All these thirty genotypes were evaluated over three environments i.e., kharif of 2014, rabi of 2014-15 and summer of 2015. Highly significant differences were observed among genotypes for all eight characters under observation viz., plant height (cm), number of branches per plant, days to 50 % flowering, fruit length (cm), fruit width (cm), average fruit weight (g), total number of fruits per plant and total fruit yield per plant (g/plant). The differences among the environment were also highly significant for all characters. The analysis of variance revealed the presence of genotype-environment interaction for plant height, number of branches per plant, fruit width, average fruit weight, total number of fruits per plant and total fruit yield per plant (g/plant). C11 (2512.30 g), C13 (2238.90 g) and C21 (2284.80 g) recorded significantly more yield per plant when compared to the best standard check Chhaya (2026.60 g) with unit regression (bi=1) and hence adaptable to wider environments.

5 tables, 14 ref

000492   MUSHTAQ T, GANGOO S, AHMAD P I, SHAH I A (Forest Products and Utilization Div, SKUAST, Jammu and Kashmir) : Standardisation of propagation techniques of Tribulus terristris Linn: An important medicinal species of Western Himalayas. J Pharma Innov 2021, 10(4), 85-91.

The demand for medicinal plants has increased tremendously at Global level, which causes huge pressure on wild collection. The unscientific and unsystematic collection from wild “adds fuel to the fire.” As the consequence, the rates of exploitation may exceed those of natural regeneration. Also, the natural habitats are fast depleting. Therefore, it is need of the hour to standardize the propagation techniques of important medicinal plants. Tribulus terrestris, an economically important medicinal plant species, also known as puncture vine, is a perennial hardy plant species, but it also grows as an annual in colder climates. In this Research, Tribulus terristris was subjected to moist sand stratification (S1 = 0 days, S2 = 15 days, S3 = 25 days and S4 = 35 days) to give best treatment for better seed germination of the species. In order to work out best sowing media for better growth and survival, three different sowing media were used (Sand, Sand and Soil, Sand, Soil and FYM). The seedlings were also tried in beds, paper bags and hanging pots to study the growth parameters of the species.

6 tables, 27 ref

000491   HARIPRASAD K, PALAKSHAPPA M G, DINESH K, ILIGER K S (Plant Pathology Div , Agricultural Sciences Univ, Dharwad, Karnataka) : Efficacy of bio control agents under in vitro against Alternaria porri (Ellis) Cifferi. Causing purple blotch in onion. J Pharma Innov 2021, 10(4), 81-4.

Purple blotch of onion caused by Alternaria porri (Ellis) Cif. is most devastating disease of onion in India has it causes huge loss under field conditions. In the recent days bio control agents are playing an important role in controlling the incidence of purple leaf blotch disease. Hence the study was undertaken to check the efficacy of nine fungal and eight bacterial antagonists under laboratory conditions by employing dual culture techniques. From the study it was clear that fungal bioagents takes upper hand in inhibiting the pathogen growth when compared to bacterial antagonists. Among nine fungal antagonists under study the highest mycelial inhibition was recorded in the isolate Trichoderma viride-1 with the per cent inhibition of 94.50 per cent. Followed by isolate Trichoderma harzianum-1 showing the inhibition per cent (90.19 %). However the least inhibition of the mycelia growth 33.72 was noticed in Bacillus subtilis -3 isolate.

2 tables, 18 ref

000487   VISHAKHA, SINGH M, DUNKWAL V (Food and Nutrition Dep, Swami Keshwanand Rajasthan Agricultural Univ, Bikaner, Rajasthan) : Formulation of refreshing drink using dragon fruit (Hylocereus undatus) as an immunity booster. J Pharma Innov 2021, 10(3), 80-3.

Dragon fruit is an exotic fruit loaded with lots of nutrients contributing to therapeutic benefits. It is the chief source of antioxidants including vitamin C, flavonoids and betacyanins. The most common variety (Hylocereus undatus) of fruit was processed to develop and standardize a healthy refreshing drink for immune boosting. Pulp and peel of the fruit were utilized and mixed with lemon juice in different proportions until desirable sensory scores were obtained. Nine-point Hedonic Rating Scale was used for assessment of sensory characteristics. Three variations T1, T2 and T3 were developed and compared based on sensory attributes to evaluate consumer acceptability. Nutrient composition and cost calculation were also done together with organoleptic evaluation of products. Sample T1 made with both pulp and peel mixed together with lemon juice was “liked very much” and secured highest score (8.1). Moreover, the uppermost score (8.6) found in T1 for colour categorized as “liked extremely”. On the other hand, the lowest score (6.5) was found for texture of T2. Highly significant differences were found between sensory attributes of treatments. The nutritive values found for energy was 87 kcal, carbohydrate 20 g, protein 0.76 g, fat 0.36 g, fibre 1.56 g and vitamin C 44 mg per 100 g having cost ₹26.00 for the same quantity. The drink thus developed was found to be most acceptable having reasonable cost and numerous nutritional benefits.

3 illus, 2 tables, 10 ref

000486   TRIPATHI P (Forensic Science Dep, Banaras Hindu Univ, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh) : The adverse effect of toxic plant constituent found in India: Forensic approach. J Pharma Innov 2021, 10(3), 35-44.

There are various plant originated active chemical constituents which are toxicologically significant includes proteins, phenolic compounds, alkaloids, glycosides, and resins, etc. Out of these huge numbers of plants in the environment, few cause acute toxicity, severe illness if it is consumed. The diversity of active chemical constituent in plants is quite amazing. Natural poisons are those chemicals that kill without violence, mysteriously, secretly destroy life. Some of the common plant families and its toxic constituent are easily available like Euphorbiaceae (cleistanthin, toxalbumin, curcin), Solanaceae (capsicin, atropine, dutarin), Apocyanacae (uscharin, odolotoxin, neriodorin), Leguminosae (cytisine sparteine), Fabaceae (abrasine, diaminopropionic acid), Papaveraceae (narcotine, dihydrosangunarine). The natural poisons are also used by criminals for stupefying people that facilitate robbery, murder and other cases. These natural poisons are readily accessible and very cheap, so skilful poisoners prefer this toxic plant for a crime. In this work author revised literature related to the classification of plant’s chemical constituents, its lethal dose and metabolic effects on the body. It has been thoroughly received and collected from journals and textbooks to make this review useful to all specialists of different discipline and it also has significant forensic importance.

2 illus, 2 tables, 91 ref

000479   TURKAR Y, PATEL A B, SINGH V P, PRATAP T, SINGH H (Agronomy Dep, Bihar Agricultural Univ, Sabour Bhagalpur, Bihar) : The performance of intercropping of rapeseed with pea grown on rice fallows. J Pharma Innov 2021, 10(2), 192-5.

A field experiment was conducted at the ICR farm, Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat with a view to study the performance of intercropping of rapeseed with pea under different integrated nutrient management (INM) practices. The treatments comprised of four intercropping systems (C) viz., C1 -Sole Rapeseed, C2- Rapeseed : Pea (1:2), C3-Rapeseed : Pea (2:1) and C4 –Rapeseed : Pea (2:2) and four levels of integrated nutrient management practices (M) viz;M1-100 % RDF (Recommended Dose of Fertilizers), M2- 75 % RDF+ 25 % N through enriched compost, M3- 75 % RDF+ 25 % N through vermicompost and M4- 50 % RDF+ Bio-fertilizers + 50 % N through vermi-compost. The treatments were laid out in a Factorial Randomized Block Design with three replications. The crops and varieties tested were Rapeseed -TS-67, Pea -Azad P-1. Intercropping of rapeseed + pea 2:2 or 2.1 and INM practices of 75 % RDF + 25 % N through vermicompost or 50 % RDF + biofertilizers + 50 % N through vermicompost, significantly increased the growth and yield attributes.

3 tables, 9 ref

000477   ARUNJYOTHI R, JAHAN A (PVNRTVU, Warangal, Telangana) : Effect of nutritional intervention in ameliorating anemia among adolescent girls of rural Telangana state. J Pharma Innov 2021, 10(2), 185-8.

The prevalence of anemia in Telangana state is very high. Adolescence age (10-19) years are considered most vulnerable age to anemia. The reasons are because of increased iron requirements related to rapid growth and menstrual loss which severely impairs the physical and mental development. During problem identification survey in the village, adolescents highlighted fatigue, body pains and weakness as the general prevailing problems among them. The aim of the Present study was to assess the impact of intervention on anemia and diet pattern of adolescents in different Telangana zones. Purposive method was followed and 30 adolesent girls. 15 from southern Telangana zone (Nagarkurnool district) other 15 from central Telangan zone. Adolescent girls were tested for Hb levels and once ascertained with low Hb levels intervention programme as frontline demonstration was proposed. Sample comprised from low socio economic group working as seasonal agricultural labors involved in crop harvest activities. Pre intervention the samples were well informed and ethical committee consent was taken before the blood test. Hemoglobin meter was used by trained auxiliary midwifery in examining the Hb levels. Diet Patten was assessed by food consumption format and one day recall method. Intervention of finger millet/ Ragi laddu of 65gm each @ 2 per day for a period of 12 week is provided to the sample. Nutrition education programme on importance of balance diet, and low cost recipes demonstration was also include in the intervention programme. Post intervention assessment was done in the same manner as pre intervention. Post intervention analysis revealed a difference of 1 gm/dl improvement of Hb levels among adolescent. With the Improvement in the Hb levels majority of the sample slide from moderate anemic to mild anemic. One day recall method at pre intervention revealed that 21% of the adolescents consumed only 2 meals a day while 79% of them consumed 3 meals a day and all of them had tea twice a day. The diet pattern at post intervention observed an increase in the portion and frequency of food consumption and also included snack items made of whole grams and millets at low cost which was missing earlier in their diet. Improvement in the Hb levels clearly indicated the positive effect of nutritional intervention. Apart from the supplementary nutrition, nutrition education programme and demonstration of low-cost nutritive diet might have created awareness among the group in enriching their diet pattern. This clearly indicates the low awareness level of the house holders on importance of nutrition and portion consumption as main cause for their poor health status.

2 tables, 9 ref

000476   BHAIRAPPANAVAR D S, VASTRAD J V (Agricultural Sciences Univ, Dharwad, Karnataka) : Sodium alginate: An alternative source for printing of cotton fabric with arecanut slurry. J Pharma Innov 2021, 10(2), 178-84.

Synthetic thickeners, prevail in the printing of pigments due to their low solids content. They moreover offer advantages in quick and easy paste preparation, adjustment of viscosity adjustment and consistency of quality and supply. The print quality was assessed in terms of sharpness ranking, washing fastness and rubbing fastness. Experimental observations showed that sodium alginate gum can be successfully used in textile printing of cotton fabrics as indigenous thickener which is found to be eco-friendly. Eco-printed cotton samples with FeSO4 mordant using 0.5 per cent kokilaksha gum concentration exhibited higher depth of colour, evenness of print, sharpness of print and overall appearance compared to other concentrations (0.1 – 0.4 %). All the samples printed with 50:50 and 75:25 arecanut:myrobolan (with FeSO4) as mordant exhibited good (3) to very good (3/4) colour fastness properties compared to samples printed without mordant.

2 illus, 4 tables, 15 ref

000475   AMARESH H, KANTHARAJU V, BHAT A S, NAIK K R, MAHESH Y S (Plant Pathology Dep, Kittur Rani Channamma Coll of Horticulture, Arabhavi, Karnataka) : Biochemical characterization of resistance to root-knot nematode, Meloidogyne incognita in sweet potato. J Pharma Innov 2021, 10(2), 150-3.

Sweet potato is a perennial vine, usually cultivated as an annual crop. Its storage roots are rich in energy and are an important source of carbohydrates, vitamin A. Root-knot nematode (Meloidogyne spp.) causes galls or knots in the roots and considerable yield loses of 10.2 per cent. Seventeen sweet potato genotypes were screened against root-knot nematode, M. incognita and were subjected for biochemical estimation of enzymes content viz., PO, PPO, PAL and total phenols, in both susceptible and resistant varieties. The results revealed that, the genotype Sree Bhadra has recorded the maximum activity of different enzymes viz., Peroxidase (3.12 abs/min/g), Polyphenol oxidase (0.127 abs/min/g), Phenyl Alanine Ammonia Lyase (22.37 nmol/min/ml), and total phenol (447.00 micro gram/g). The genotype Kanhangad Local has recorded minimum levels of Peroxidase (1.02 abs/min/g), Polyphenol oxidase (11.03 nmol/min/ml), Phenyl Alanine Ammonia Lyase (11.03 nmol/min/ml) and total phenol (107.67 micro gram/g).

2 illus, 2 tables, 10 ref

000473   SURENDER R, LAVANYA K, FIYAZ A, CHIRANJEEVI M, SHIVA PRASAD G, RAO L S (Genetics and Plant Breeding Dep, Indian Institute of Rice Research, Hyderabad, Telangana) : Screening of rice (O. sativa L.) genotypes for heat tolerance to develop climate resilient rice genotypes. J Pharma Innov 2021, 10(2), 132-43.

Rice (O. sativa L.) is sensitive to high temperatures, especially at the time of reproductive stage.Screening of wide range of germplasm against to high temperature conditions in field level is reliable and superior to all the screening procedures to identify suitable genetic donors to develop climate resilient genotypes. The experimental material showed a wide range of variation in spikelet fertility from 98.6 % to 16.3% due to climatic conditions. 65entries identified as genetic donors based on spikelet fertility, which recorded more than 90 % fertility. Among them, Acc no 2012-130(98.8, 48.6), EC 448(98, 30), 2012-133 (98, 35.9), 2012-149(97, 44) and 2012-129(95.5, 55.6) noted highest fertility percentage and Single plant yield respectively. The daily temperature is typically higher during the spikelet flowering period for japonica rice, resulting in severe spikelet sterility, which suggests that early flowering cultivar type could reduce the high temperature damage.EC series (exotic collection) from Africa accessions are flowering and anthesis in the early morning due to early nature it escapes from the heat stress.

4 illus, 2 tables, 6 ref

000471   PAVITHRA K, MARAGATHAM N, DHEEBAKARAN G A, SENTHIL A, GEETHALAKSHMI V (Agronomy Dep, Agro Climate Research Centre, Tamil Nadu Agricultural Univ) : Impact of moisture stress and elevated temperature on physiological and yield traits of Blackgram. J Pharma Innov 2021, 10(2), 123-6.

Drought, salinity, moisture stress and increasing temperature are the key abiotic factors that results in the reduction of crop yield severely all over the world. A pot culture study was conducted in ACRC to study the effect of heat and moisture stress on Blackgram productivity. The aim of this study is to assess the response of Blackgram to moisture stress on photosynthetic gas exchange and yield parameters under both ambient and elevated temperature (+2 °C). Two major Blackgram varieties (CO 6 and VBN 6) were taken for this study. The experiment results revealed that, moisture stress at vegetative phase restricted the plant height, Net Photosynthetic Rate, Stomatal Conductance, and Transpiration Rate in both cultivars. Similarly, the plants under stressed condition during flowering stage exhibited reduction in number of pods per plant on average of 9.7 and seeds per pod on average of 3.9 in CO 6 whereas VBN 6 under ambient condition resulted in 18.5 pods per plant and 8.6 seeds per pod. The results revealed that, VBN 6 is physiologically efficient and resulted in moderate yield compared to CO 6 even with water stress and high temperature condition.

5 illus, 11 ref

000470   KUMAR A, TIWARI R, PRATAP N, YADAV V K, SHANKAR H (Agriculture Dep, Bhagwant Univ, Ajmer, Rajasthan) : Combining ability analysis for quality traits in rice (Oryza sativa L.). J Pharma Innov 2021, 10(2), 117-22.

The present investigation was carried out to study general and specific combining ability of 16 parents and 48 hybrids of rice for their grain quality characters. The 48 hybrids derived from 4 lines and 12 restore parents as testers in L X T matting design. Analysis of variance for combining ability revealed significant for all the characters. Variance due to SCA were greater than GCA for all the traits indicating preponderance of non-additive gene action for these traits except kernal elongation ratio, shows GCA variance higher then SCA variance means predominantly controlled by additive gene action. The GCA effects revealed that among the testers R5, R2, R4 and R6; and among lines CMS 6A and CMS 15A had good genera Quality traits, additive gene action, GCA, SCA and l x t matting design l combining ability for most of the quality traits. On the basis of SCA effects crosses CMS 15A × R5, CMS 15A × R1 and CMS 15A × R2 having positive and desirable SCA effects for quality and some of its component traits merit attention in breeding programme for exploitation of hybrid cultivars.

6 tables, 24 ref

000468   SINGH S K, SINGH M K, SINGH R K, MISHRA S K, SINGH D (Horticulture Dep, I.Ag.S (BHU), Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh) : Effect of micro-nutrients on growth and yield of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.). J Pharma Innov 2021, 10(2), 108-11.

An investigation was under taken at Research Field, Department of Horticulture, Udai Pratap Collage, Affiliated to Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapith, Varanasi) India. During Rabi season of 2016-17. The experiment was laid out in randomized block design with 08 treatments, each replicated thrice. The treatments consisted of different combinations of micronutrients i.e., Boric acid, Zinc sulphate, ammonium molybdate, copper sulphate, ferrous sulphate manganes sulphate, mixture of all treatments and control also. Among 08 treatments under study, it is concluded that treatment combination of Effects of micro-nutrients on height of the plant are not very evident. However, highest length of the plant is recorded in the treatment of (T7) mixture of all the micro-nutrients followed by Manganese sulphate. Maximum number of branches in tomato plant was recorded by the application of (T3) Ammonium molybdate. Results pertaining to the maximum number of fruits per plant were obtained by the application of (T5) Ferrous sulphate followed by Zinc sulphate. Fruit diameter of tomato was not affected by the application of micro-nutrients and all have more or less equal effect. Fruit yield per plant was affected by the micro-nutrient application. Highest number is recorded with the treatment of mixture of all the nutrients application followed by (T1) Boric acid. Application of (T3) Ammonium molebdate has beneficial effect on the T.S.S value of tomato fruit. Yield of tomato fruit per hectare was recorded in the treatment of (T7) mixture all the Micro-nutrients (632.66 q/ha) followed by Boric acid application (557.10 q/ha) and Zinc sulphate (548.21 q/ha). Details of economic return clearly indicates the highest response of the treatment of mixture of all the micro-nutrient with a net profit of Rs. 180937 per hectare and C:B ratio of 1:2.05 followed by the treatment of Boric acid with net profit of Rs. 148574 per hectare and C:B ratio of 1:1.68 and Zinc sulphate with net profit of Rs. 144946 per hectare and C:B ratio of 1:1.64.

2 tables, 16 ref

000467   SINGH M K, SINGH D K, SINGH R K, MISHRA S K (Horticulture Dep, Udai Pratap Coll, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh) : Integrated effect of biofertilizers and inorganic fertilizers on growth, yield and quality of onion (Allium cepa L.). J Pharma Innov 2021, 10(2), 104-7.

The research trial was conducted in the Rabi season of 2015 at Vegetable Research Farm, Department of Horticulture, Udai Pratap College, Varanasi. The experiment consisted of sixteen treatments viz. T1 - N + P + K (100 % Recommended Full Does), T2 -75 % N + P + K + 25 % Azotobacter, T3 -50 % N + P + K + 50 % Azotobacter, T4 -25 % N + P + K + 75 % Azotobacter, T5 - N + 75 % P + K + 25 % PSB, T6 - N + 50 % P + K + 50 % PSB, T7 - N + 25 % P + K + 75 % PSB, T8 -75 % N + 75 % P + K + 25 % , T9 - 50 % N + 50 % P + K + 50 % Azotobacter + 50 % PSB, T10 -25 % N + 25 % P + K + 75 % Azotobacter + 75 % PSB, T11 - 75 % N + 50 % P + K + 25 % Azotobacter + 50 % PSB, T12 -50 % N + 75 % P + K + 50 % Azotobacter + 25 % PSB, T13 - 25 % N + 50 % P + K + 75 % Azotobacter + 50 % PSB, T14 -25 % N + P + K + 75 % Azotobacter + 25 % PSB, T15 - 75 % N + 25 % P + K + 25 % Azotobacter + 75 % PSB and T16 - 50 % N + 25 % P + K + 50 % Azotobacter + 25 % PSB Azotobacter + 25 % PSB which was carried out in randomized block design (RBD) with three replications. The result recorded the significantly higher bulb yield of 303 q/ha with the application of 50:45:100 kg NPK/ha and inoculation of field with 1.25 ± 0.62 kg/ha Azotobacter and PSB.

1 table, 13 ref

000466   YADAV C, MISHRA S K, SINGH M K, ROY S, TIWARI P (Horticulture Dep, National Post Graduate Coll, Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh) : Effect of integrated nutrient management on growth, yield and shelf life of turnip (Brassica rapa L.) cv. purple top white. J Pharma Innov 2021, 10(2), 100-3.

A field experiment was conducted at the Research Farm, Department of Horticulture, National Post Graduate Coll ege, Barhalganj, Gorakhpur (U.P.), India, in 2019-2020. The experiment was laid out in RBD with ten treatments replicated three times. Treatments were consisted of control (no fertilizer added), F.Y.M., Vermicompost and Azotobactor and RDF (NPK @ 150kg: 100kg: 50kg per ha). The observations were recorded on various growth, yield related traits and shelf life of turnip and subjected to statistical analysis. The results revealed that maximum plant height T9 (56.33cm), no. of leaves (20.33), leaf length (52.07cm), Leaf width (17.67cm), Crown diameter (5.55cm), Tuber weight (388.55g), tuber length (8.09cm), root diameter (12.25cm), Fresh weight of whole plant (645.85g), Tuber yield/plot (5.05kg) and Yield/ha (41.41tn), Shelf life (17.11days) were recorded with the treatment T9 (RDF 20 % + Vermicompost @ 40 % + Azotobactor @ 40 %), while control exhibited very poor performance for these traits. These findings have drawn the conclusion that integrated nutrient management significantly enhanced the growth, yield and shelf life of turnip with more profitable cost benefit ratio (3.70).

3 tables, 20 ref

000458   HARSHITA, TRIPATHI U K, NARAIN U, TRIVEDI S, TRIVEDI N, SRIVASTAVA Y K, MISHRA A, VERMA A (Plant Pathology Div , Chandra Shekhar Azad Univ of Agriculture and Technology, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh) : Prevalence and severity of wilt complex in major chickpea growing districts of Uttar Pradesh, India. J Pharm Innov 2021, 10(1), 132-5.

Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.), also referred to as Poor man’s meat, is an important nutraceutical leguminous crop contributing nearly 42 to 47 per cent of the total pulse production in India. However, wilt complex is a major constraint to chickpea production worldwide. Keeping in view the importance of chickpea wilt complex, an extensive survey was conducted in purposively selected 200 farmer’s fields covering 40 villages of 10 major chickpea growing districts of Uttar Pradesh viz. Banda, Chitrakoot, Hamirpur, Jalaun, Jhansi, Kanpur, Lalitpur, Mahoba, Pratapgarh and Unnao to assess severity of wilt complex in these areas during the year 2017-18. During the survey, it was discovered that wilt complex disease occurred in all the major chickpea growing districts of Uttar Pradesh where Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. ciceri was the most predominant pathogen and Fusarium wilt incidence was recorded to be maximum ranging from 12.8 percent (Malasa village in Kanpur Dehat) to 48 percent (Barua Kalijar village in Banda) followed by incidence of dry root rot caused by Rhizoctonia bataticola ranging from 3.2 percent (Jamar village in Unnao) to 17 percent (Shah Patan village in Banda) and incidence of collar rot disease caused by Sclerotium rolfsii ranging from 1.4 percent (Dholwa village in Unnao) to 12 percent (Poonch village in Jhansi) respectively. Highest average wilt complex incidence (69.25 %) with maximum average Fusarium wilt incidence (43.0 5%) and maximum average dry root rot incidence (15.35 %) was observed at Banda followed by Mahoba (62.7 % Wilt complex, 39.3 % Fusarium wilt, 14.5 % Dry root rot), Jhansi (61.3 % Wilt complex, 36.4 % Fusarium wilt, 13.4 % Dry root rot), Hamirpur (50.55 % Wilt complex, 32.5 % Fusarium wilt, 10.1 % Dry root rot) and Chitrakoot (47.55 % Wilt complex, 32.45 % Fusarium wilt, 7.75 % Dry root rot) respectively.

2 illus, 1 table, 13 ref

000457   SINGH P, YADAV V K, YADAV P C, PANDEY G C (Crop Physiology Dep, NDUA, Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh) : Effect of salicylic acid on growth, bio-chemical changes and yield of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) under different date of sowing condition. J Pharm Innov 2021, 10(1), 126-31.

The present investigation entitled “Effect of salicylic acid on growth, bio-chemical changes and yield of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) under different date of sowing condition” was conducted at Students Instructional Farm of the Narendra Deva University of Agriculture and Technology, Kumarganj, Faizabad (U.P.) during rabi seasons of 2014-15 and 2015-16. The experiment was planned under RBD (Randomized Block Design) with three replications. The treatment consisted of two date of sowing viz;25th November and 25th December with two varieties NW-5054 and NW-2036 with ten salicylic acid treatment viz; (T1)Control, (T2)Seed soaking in (0.25mM) salicylic acid, (T3)Foliar spray of (0.25mM) salicylic acid at 30 DAS, (T4)Seed soaking in (0.25mM) salicylic acid + Foliar spray of (0.25mM) salicylic acid at 30 DAS,(T5)Seed soaking in (0.50mM) salicylic acid, (T6)Foliar spray of (0. 50mM) salicylic acid at 30 DAS, (T7) Seed soaking in (0.50mM) salicylic acid + Foliar spray of (0.5mM) salicylic acid at 30 DAS,(T8)Seed soaking in (0.75mM) salicylic acid, (T9)Foliar spray of (0.75mM) salicylic acid at 30 DAS, (T10)Seed soaking in (0.75mM) salicylic acid + Foliar spray of (0.75mM) salicylic acid at 30 DAS. When late sown variety was planted timely all the growth attributes showed drastic reduction with respect to late sowing (25th December).However, NW-5054 showed comparatively good performance in terms of growth attributes at timely sown (25th November). Performance of NW-5054 was very good as compared to NW-2036 due to delayed sowing on 25th December. Application of salicylic acid significantly increased all growth attributes in both varieties under both timely and late sown. Time of sowing decreased substantially almost in all the yield components and enzyme activity measured viz; number of ear per plant, ear length, number of grains per plant, test weight, grain yield per plant, straw yield, catalase activity, peroxidase activity, 50% flowering and days to physiological maturity which caused severe reduction in yield. Overall, T10 (Seed soaking in (0.75mM) salicylic acid + Foliar spray of (0.75mM) salicylic acid at 30 DAS) treatment showed best result and T2 Seed soaking in (0.25mM) salicylic acid gave least. All the salicylic acid treatments reduced the detrimental effect of heat stress on both the varieties by improving physiological traits which ultimately helped in obtaining higher yield.

4 tables, 33

000455   GOPIKRISHNA K, PANDA P K, NAYAK R K, SETHI K (All India Coordinated Research Project on Cashew, Bhubaneswar, Odisha) : Effect of nutrients on yield and yield attributing characters in cashew (Anacardium occidentale L.). J Pharm Innov 2021, 10(1), 117-9.

An experiment on “Effect of nutrients on yield and yield attributing characters in cashew (Anacardium occidentale L.)” was carried out at Cashew Research Station, Ranasinghpur under All India Coordinated Research Project on Cashew, Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology, Bhubaneswar during the year 2017-18 by adopting Randomized Block Design (RBD) with six treatments and four replications (T1: 100 % RDF (500:250:250 g NPK/Plant), T2: T1 + FYM @ 10kg/Plant/Year, T3: T2 + Foliar spray of major nutrients (3 % Urea + 0.5 % H3PO4 + 1 % K2SO4), T4: T2 + Foliar spray of secondary and micronutrients (0.5 % ZnSO4 + 0.1 % Solubor + 0.5 % MgSO4), T5: T3+ Foliar spray of secondary and micronutrients (0.5 % ZnSO4 + 0.1 % Solubor + 0.5 % MgSO4) and T6: Control). The study revealed that combination of 100 % RDF (500:250:250 g NPK/Plant) + FYM @ 10kg/Plant/Year + Foliar spray of major nutrients (3 % Urea + 0.5 % H3PO4 + 1 % K2SO4) + Foliar spray of secondary and micronutrients (0.5 % ZnSO4 + 0.1 % Solubor + 0.5 % MgSO4) recorded maximum number of panicles m-2 (18.40), sex ratio (0.41), apple weight (54.83g), nut weight (7.35g), nut length (3.81cm), nut breadth (2.69cm) and nut yield plant^-1 (2.70kg).

1 table, 12 ref

000452   SHAH S, KUMARI S, KUMAR S, RAHI S (Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Berthin, Himachal Pradesh) : Effect of predrying treatments on the quality attributes of green peas (Pisum sativum L.). J Pharm Innov 2021, 10(1), 101-3.

An experiment was conducted to standardize the predrying treatments with minimum loss to physicochemical characteristics of green peas (Pisum sativum L.) cv. Lincoln during drying process. In this study, moisture content (73 %), TSS (15oB), chlorophyll content (28mg/100g) and ascorbic acid (54mg/100g) were recorded in green pea. Different predrying treatments used in this study for quality preservation of peas were T0, T1 and T2. From this study, it was concluded that Na2CO3, NaCl and sugars were responsible for the preservation of green color/ chlorophyll in peas during drying. On the basis of sensory evaluation T2 was found best among all because maximum green color was retained in this treatment. Therefore, it was further selected for physico-chemical analysis After drying there was decrease in moisture content (4 %), chlorophyll content (17mg/100g) and ascorbic acid content (37.6mg /100g) while increase in TSS (220B), reducing sugars (8.3 %) and total sugars (20 %) of peas. A rehydration ratio of 3:1 was observed for this treatment. This is a low cost technology for preservation of quality of peas. Dried peas can further be utilized for the preparation of various value added instant products round the year.

3 tables, 17 ref

000404   YASHMITA-ULMAN, SINGH M, KUMAR A, SHARMA M (Forestry Dep, ANDUAT, Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh) : Agroforestry systems: A boon or bane for mammal conservation in NorthEastern India?. Proc Zool Soc 2021, 74(1), 28-42.

The degradation, fragmentation and isolation of tropical forests have led to the formation of small patches of human dominated landscapes interspersed with forest fragments. This affects the wildlife habitat and its population negatively. These human landscapes have been observed to have agroforestry systems as a dominant cropping practice in Assam, India. The present study was carried out in agroforestry systems (agri-silviculture systems, home gardens and tea gardens) to understand their role in the conservation of mammal species. Line transects and camera traps were used for recording mammal diversity. Altogether, 17 species of mammals belonging to 16 genera and 14 families were recorded in the selected agroforestry systems. The highest species richness was found in the home gardens (14) and the lowest was found in the agri-silviculture system (10). Home garden had the highest mammal encounter rate and relative abundance. Only five species of mammals were recorded through camera trapping. According to the IUCN Red List, 6 % of mammal species recorded in the selected agroforestry systems were endangered or near threatened and 18 % were vulnerable. The highest hunting trap encounter rate was found in tea garden (139 traps, 0.181 traps km⁻¹, 24 captures). Distance from forest was inversely proportional whereas hunting threat was directly proportional to mammal species richness. The only and strongest predictor of mammal species richness was hunting threat which accounted for 53.5 % of variation in mammal species richness in the study area, implying that the agroforestry systems are capable of conserving species if hunting pressure is reduced. Therefore, promotion of alternative livelihood and formation of community conservation groups are needed to increase and protect the mammalian diversity in these agroforestry systems. Thus, agroforestry systems can act as a suitable habitat next to forests for the dwindling wildlife population.

7 illus, 9 tables, 58 ref

000617   PRABAKAR K, BOJAN A, SENDHILVEL V (Tamil Nadu Agricultural Univ, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, Email: sidhukavi@yahoo.com) : Serological detection of latency incited by Colletotrichum gloeosporioides and Lasidiplodia theobromae in mango for indexing in storage. Res J Biotech 2021, 16(5), 146-53.

The postharvest pathogens Colletotrichum gloeosporioides and Lasidiplodia theobromae inciting quiescent infection caused huge economical loss during storage. Twenty-five pathotypes of C. gloeosporioides and sixteen of L. theobromae were isolated from different regions of Tamil Nadu, India. The SDS- PAGE assay showed the variation in protein profile analysis. The polyclonal antibodies (PCA) were raised against the unfractioned mycelial protein (UMP) of 40 and 70 kDa for C. gloeosporioides and 70 kDa for L. theobromae polypeptide present in all pathotypes. Standardization of antigen and antiserum dilutions revealed that the dilutions of antibodies were standardized by indirect ELISA as 1:1000 for the 40 kDa antibody of C. gloeosporioides and 1:3000 for the 70 kDa antibody of C. gloeosporioides and L. theobromae. The antigen dilutions were standardized as 1:3000 for C. gloeosporioides and 1:2500 for L. theobromae was found to be optimum for the detection of anthracnose and stem end rot pathogen. Both antisera detected the C. gloeosporioides and B. theobromae antigen in ELISAs and Western blots. The PCA raised against 40-kDa exhibited the specific L. theobromae isolates in ELISA and blotting immunoassay techniques. By utilizing both PCA, the presence of latent infection was observed in healthylooking leaves, flowers and fruits in orchard conditions. The fruit tissues recorded high absorbance values followed by flowers and leaves in all the detection methods. This technology is suggested for indexing the mango variety for the latency infection.

2 tables, 20 ref

000594   MAHESWARI T U, SUGANTH N (Horticulture Dep, Annamalai Univ, Annamalainagar -608 002, Email: umahorti2003@gmail.com) : Study on development and various physicochemical properties of Banana flour. Res Jr Agril Sci 2021, 12(3), 749–52.

The present investigation on the development of banana flour was carried out at Department of Horticulture, Faculty of Agriculture, Annamalai University, Annamalainagar during 2018-2020. The experiment was carried out in completely randomized design with four formulations and five replications. Banana flour was prepared with different varieties viz., T₁ – Poovan (AAB), T₂ – Nendran (AAB), T₃ – Karpuravalli (ABB), T₄ – Monthan (ABB). Among the formulations, flour prepared from Nendran (T₂) was evaluated as the best treatment when compared to the others with a flour yield of 45 % and vitamin C content of 14.02 mg/100 g. The maximum value of pH (5.74), protein content of 3.42 % was recorded in Monthan flour (T₄). All the four formulations registered the shelf life of 6 months. The average sensory scores for taste, colour, flavor and overall acceptability of banana flour was highest in T₂ (Nendran) in all the three months of sensory analysis. The benefit cost ratio of 1.94 was calculated for production of 1 kg of flour.

1 illus, 4 tables, 10 ref

000593   SHINDE S R, BHAILUME M V (Microbiology Dep, Annasaheb Magar Mahavidyalaya, Pune, Maharashtra, Email: shindeshubhangi5@gmail.com) : Effect of phosphate solubilization on biodegradation efficiency of organophosphorus pesticide (Dimethoate). Res J Agril Sci 2021, 12(3), 753-5.

The present investigation on the development of banana flour was carried out at Department of Horticulture, Faculty of Agriculture, Annamalai University, Annamalainagar during 2018-2020. The experiment was carried out in completely randomized design with four formulations and five replications. Banana flour was prepared with different varieties viz., T₁ – Poovan (AAB), T₂ – Nendran (AAB), T₃ – Karpuravalli (ABB), T₄ – Monthan (ABB). Among the formulations, flour prepared from Nendran (T₂) was evaluated as the best treatment when compared to the others with a flour yield of 45 % and vitamin C content of 14.02 mg/100 g. The maximum value of pH (5.74), protein content of 3.42 % was recorded in Monthan flour (T₄). All the four formulations registered the shelf life of 6 months. The average sensory scores for taste, colour, flavor and overall acceptability of banana flour was highest in T₂ (Nendran) in all the three months of sensory analysis. The benefit cost ratio of 1.94 was calculated for production of 1 kg of flour.

1 illus, 11 ref

000592   RAWAT A, MANISHA, NAUTIYAL D, ADHIKARI H (Dev Bhoomi Group of Institution, Dehradun - 248 007, Email: agri.ashwanirawat@dbgidoon.ac.in) : Evaluation of three medicinal plants and four fungicides against radial growth of colletotrichum capsici causal agent of chili anthracnose. Res J Agril Sci 2021, 12(3), 756–9.

Chili (Capsicum annum L.) is a most important crop of all chili growing areas and it suffers from lots of field as well as post-harvest diseases out of that chili anthracnose is a serious disease of field as well as storage condition. A test was conducted for evaluation of the efficacy of different concentration of four different fungicides and three different botanical extracts against radial growth of fungus Colletotrichum capsici under in vitro condition. Among all three plant extracts Ocimmum sanctum showed high amount of inhibition on radial growth of Colletotrichum capsici whereas Datura stramonium showed second best extract and inhibit 60.08 % inhibition and Azadirachta indica was least effective extract and inhibit 57.25 % radial growth of Colletotrichum capsici. Among four tested fungicides Propiconazole showed 100 per cent inhibition of linear growth at 500 and 1000 ppm concentration while at 250 ppm concentration it showed 99.7 per cent inhibition. Second best fungicide was Tebuconazole showed complete inhibition (100 %) of mycelial growth at 500 and 1000 ppm concentration, while at 250 ppm concentration it caused 99.4 per cent inhibition over control petri plate. Whereas Bavistin was second least fungicide showed 35.8 % (250PPM), 42.2 % (500PPM) and 49.2 % (1000PPM) respectively and Mancozeb was very least effective fungicide showed 10.3 % (250PPM), 27.4 (500PPM) and 40.3 % (1000PPM), respectively, inhibit the radial growth of C. capsici.

2 illus, 2 tables, 9 ref

000591   HAIDER R (Economics Dep, Christ Univ, Bengaluru - 560 029, Email: riyazhaider31997@gmail.com) : Effect of farm mechanization on indian agriculture with respect to rice yield. Res J Agril Sci 2021, 12(3), 760–3.

The state of Indian agriculture has progressed a lot since the beginning of green revolution which led to the use of modern agricultural farm machineries and equipment’s. Along with this the supplier of the various inputs for several agricultural process has also seen a rising trend for the past decades. As a result, it has increased the production and productivity of agricultural crops to a great extent. This research paper has tried to find out the relationship and effect of the use of agricultural machinery which includes tractors and other farm equipment on rice productivity. For this purpose, it has used time series data and a multiple linear regression model. The multiple regression analysis performed shows p value is 0.0952 which is p < 0.1 which is significant at 10 % level. This means that there is a relationship between rice yield and the sale of tractors. The R-squared and the adjusted R-squared value is also showing 94 % and 94 % respectively for tractor sales and rice yield which means that the model is a good model and there is a relationship between sale of tractors and rice yield. The paper concludes by a policy recommendation to avail tractors to poor farmers.

3 tables, 19 ref

000360   XIAO F, GU Z, SARKISSIAN A, JI Y, RUONANYANG, YANG L, ZENG Q, HUANG P, CHEN H (Central South Univ of Forestry and Technology, Changsha, China) : Phytoremediation of potentially toxic elements in a polluted industrial soil using Poinsettia. Physiol Mol Biol Plants 2021, 27(4), 675-86.

Potentially toxic elements (PTEs) pollution has become a serious environmental threat, particularly in developing countries such as China. In response, there is a growing interest in phytoremediation studies to identify plant species as designated hyperaccumulators of PTEs in polluted soils. Poinsettia was selected as a candidate species for phytoremediation of six PTEs (Zn, Pb, Hg, Cr, As, Cu) in this study. A pot cultivation experiment (randomized incomplete block experimental design with 5 treatments and 4 blocks) was conducted using contaminated soils gathered from an industrial area in southcentral China. The bioaccumulation factor (BAF), translocation factor (TF), and bioconcentration factor were analyzed to determine the phytoremediation potential of poinsettia potted in different ratios of polluted soils. One-way ANOVA with post-hoc Tukey’s test showed that poinsettia had significant uptake of Zn, Pb, Cu (BAF < 1 and TF < 1, p < 0.05) and Hg (BAF < 1 and TF > 1, p < 0.05). Poinsettias can therefore effectively accumulate Zn, Pb, and Cu in their lateral roots while extracting and transferring Hg into their leaves. Moreover, poinsettia exhibited tolerance towards As and Cr. Interestingly, it was also observed that PTEs can inhibit the height of potted poinsettia at a certain concentration.

77 ref

000359   NOVAKOVSKIY A B, DUBROVSKIY Y A, DALKE I V, MASLOVA S P (Institute of Biology of Komi Scientific Centre of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Komi Republic, Russia) : Plant CSR types in the north: comparing the morphological and morpho-physiological approaches. Physiol Mol Biol Plants 2021, 27(4), 665-73.

Grime’s competition–stress–ruderal (CSR) theory is widely used to study plant species’ responses to multiple environmental factors. We compared two models to allocate CSR types the global “StrateFy” model (Pierce et al. Funct Ecol, 31:444–457, 2017) and a locally developed morpho-physiological model (Novakovskiy et al. Int J Ecol, p e1323614, 2016). The “StrateFy” model is based on three morphological leaf traits: leaf area (LA), leaf dry matter content (LDMC) and specific leaf area (SLA). The morpho-physiological model additionally uses plant height (PH), leaf dry weight (LDW), photosynthetic capacity (PN) and respiration rate (RD), leaf nitrogen, and carbon concentration (LNC, LCC). We applied both models to 74 plant species, the traits of which were measured at mountain (Northern Urals) and plane (Komi Republic, Russia) landscapes of European Northeast. The comparison of the calculated C, S, and R scores showed two groups of species with large and unidirectional differences. The first group consists of species with a shift from S (morpho-physiological model) to CR (StrateFy model) strategy. Species of this group are typical for deep shaded habitats and characterized by low LDMC (10–25%) and high SLA (30–60 mm² mg⁻¹). The second group consists of C species (morpho-physiological model) which were classified as S (StrateFy model) strategy. This group includes mainly tall shrubs, graminoids, and forbs with relatively small leaves (300–2000 mm²). In our opinion, the CSR strategies obtained by the morpho-physiological model showed better agreement with the basic principles underlying Grime's theory. The use of a limited number of morphological traits (LA, LDMC, SLA) in the StrateFy model does not always allow to determine the life strategy correctly. For example, these traits are insufficient for a clear separation of deeply shaded stress-tolerant species and ruderals. On the other hand, the use of the morpho-physiological model requires a large number of field measurements, which makes it difficult to use this model to allocate CSR strategies for a large number of species.

54 ref

000358   WU F, SHI S, LI Y, MIAO J, KANG W, ZHANG J, YUN A, LIU C (Gansu Agricultural Univ, Lanzhou- 730 070, China) : Physiological and biochemical response of different resistant alfalfa cultivars against thrips damage. Physiol Mol Biol Plants 2021, 27(3), 649-63.

To investigate physiological and biochemical changes of thrips-resistant alfalfa (Medicago sativa L. cv. Gan-nong No. 9), we aimed at clarifying the response mechanisms of alfalfa against thrips. Medicago sativa L. cv. including thrips-resistant Gan-nong No.9 (G9), thrips-susceptible Gan-nong No.3 (G3) and highly thrips-susceptible WL363HQ (363) were infested with different thrips densities (3, 5, 7 and 9-thrips per branch). The quantitative change in specific nutrients, secondary metabolites, defensive and antioxidant enzymes were measured at seedling stage of the three alfalfa cultivars. The results showed that with the increase of thrips densities, the damage indices, SS, Pro, flavonoids, tannin and H₂O₂ in G9, G3 and 363 were significantly increased, but PPO and SOD significantly reduced, compared with CK. Furthermore, the tannin and lignin contents of G9 were significantly higher compared to 363, but SP content was significantly lower than G3 and H₂O₂ content which was further significantly less compared to 363. Correlation analysis observed that the damage index of the three alfalfa cultivars showed a significant positive association with SS, Pro, flavone, tannin, and H₂O₂ (P < 0.01), while damage index and DW, Chl (a, b, a + b), PPO and SOD showed a significant negative correlation (P < 0.01). Based on principal component comprehensive evaluation, the 5-thrips adults per branch were the critical inoculation threshold for G9 against thrips injury because the score was – 0.048. These results revealed that thrips damage significantly increased the contents of SS, Pro, flavonoids, tannins and H₂O₂, as well as significantly declined the activities of PPO and SOD in the three cultivars (P < 0.05), moreover, thrips-resistant G9 markedly accumulated lignin content, POD and CAT activity, inhibited Chl (a + b, b) and SP biosynthesis to resist thrips damage.

67 ref

000357   ARORA K, RAI A K, DEVANNA B N, DUBEY H, NARULA A, SHARMA T R (Crop Science Div, Indian Council of Agricultural Research, Krishi Bhavan- 110 001, New Delhi) : Deciphering the role of microRNAs during Pi54 gene mediated Magnaporthe oryzae resistance response in rice. Physiol Mol Biol Plants 2021, 27(3), 633-47.

The broad-spectrum resistance gene Pi54 confers resistance to multiple isolates of Magnaporthe oryzae in rice. In order to decipher the molecular mechanism underlying the Pi54 mediated resistance in rice line Taipei309^Pi54 (carrying Pi54), miRNAome study was performed at 24 h post-inoculation (hpi) with M. oryzae. A total of 222 known miRNAs representing 101 miRNA families were found in this study. Of these, 29 and 24 miRNAs were respectively up- and down-regulated in the resistant Taipei309^Pi54. Defence response (DR) genes, like, NBSGO35, and OsWAK129b, and genes related to transcription factors were up-regulated in Taipei309^Pi54 line. The vast array of miRNA candidates identified here are miR159c, miR167c, miR2100, miR2118o, miR2118l, miR319a, miR393, miR395l, miR397a, miR397b, miR398, miR439g, miR531b, miR812f, and miR815c, and they manifest their role in balancing the interplay between various DR genes during Pi54 mediated resistance. We also validated miRNA/target gene pairs involved in hormone signalling, and cross-talk among hormone pathways regulating the rice immunity. This study suggests that the Pi54 gene mediated blast resistance is influenced by several microRNAs through PTI and ETI components in the rice line Taipei309^Pi54, leading to incompatible host–pathogen interaction.

82 ref

000356   JIN Y-N, CUI Z-H, MA K, YAO J-L, RUAN Y-Y, GUO Z-F (Shenyang Agricultural Univ, Shenyang- 110 866, China) : Characterization of ZmCOLD1, novel GPCR-Type G Protein genes involved in cold stress from Zea mays L. and the evolution analysis with those from other species. Physiol Mol Biol Plants 2021, 27(3), 619-32.

Maize is one of the most vital staple crops worldwide. G proteins modulate plentiful signaling pathways, and G protein-coupled receptor-type G proteins (GPCRs) are highly conserved membrane proteins in plants. However, researches on maize G proteins and GPCRs are scarce. In this study, we identified three novel GPCR-Type G Protein (GTG) genes from chromosome 10 (Chr 10) in maize, designated as ZmCOLD1-10A, ZmCOLD1-10B and ZmCOLD1-10C. Their amino acid sequences had high similarity to TaCOLD1 from wheat and OsCOLD1 from rice. They contained the basic characteristics of GTG/COLD1 proteins, including GPCR-like topology, the conserved hydrophilic loop (HL) domain, DUF3735 (domain of unknown function 3735) domain, GTPase-activating domain, and ATP/GTP-binding domain. Subcellular localization analyses of ZmCOLD1 proteins suggested that ZmCOLD1 proteins localized on plasma membrane (PM) and endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Furthermore, amino acid sequence alignment verified the conservation of the key 187th amino acid T in maize and other wild maize-relative species. Evolutionary relationship among plants GTG/COLD1 proteins family displayed strong group-specificity. Expression analysis indicated that ZmCOLD1-10A was cold-induced and inhibited by light. Together, these results suggested that ZmCOLD1 genes had potential value to improve cold tolerance and to contribute crops growth and molecular breeding.

39 ref

000355   UNNIKRISHNAN R, SUMOD M, JAYARAJ R, SUJANAPAL P, DEV S A (Forest Genetics and Biotechnology Div, Kerala Forest Research Institute, Thrissur- 680653, Kerala) : The efficacy of machine learning algorithm for raw drug authentication in Coscinium fenestratum (Gaertn.) Colebr. employing a DNA barcode database. Physiol Mol Biol Plants 2021, 27(3), 605-17.

Medicinal plants are a valuable resource for traditional as well as modern medicine. Consequently huge demand has exerted a heavy strain on the existing natural resources. Due to over exploitation and unscientific collection most of the commercially traded ayurvedic plants are in the phase of depletion. Adulteration of expensive raw drugs with inferior taxa has become a common practice to meet the annual demand of the ayurvedic industry. Although there are several recommended methods for proper identification varying from the traditional taxonomic to organoleptic and physiochemical, it is difficult to authenticate ayurvedic raw drugs available in extremely dried, powdered or shredded forms. In this regard, the study addresses proper authentication and illicit trade in Coscinium fenestratum (Gaertn.) Colebr. using CBOL recommended standard barcode regions viz. nuclear ribosomal–Internally Transcribed Spacer (nrDNA- ITS), maturase K (matK), ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase large subunit (rbcL), and psbA-trnH spacer regions. Further, an integrated analytical approach employing Maximum Likelihood phylogenetic tree and Machine Learning Approach, Waikato Environment for Knowledge Analysis was employed to prove efficacy of the method. The automated species identification technique, Artificial Intelligence uses the ability of computers to build models that can receive the input data and then conduct statistical analyses which significantly reduces the human labour. Concurrently, scientific management, restoration, cultivation and conservation measures should be given utmost priority to reduce the depletion of wild resources as well as to meet the rapidly increasing demand of the herbal industries.

78 ref

000354   BABU B K, MATHUR R K, ANITHA P, RAVICHANDRAN G, BHAGYA H P (ICAR-Indian Institute of Oil Palm Research, West Godavari- 534 450, Andhra Pradesh) : Phenomics, genomics of oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.): way forward for making sustainable and high yielding quality oil palm. Physiol Mol Biol Plants 2021, 27(3), 587-604.

Oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) is a heterogeneous, perennial crop having long breeding cycle with a genome size of 1.8 Gb. The demand for vegetable oil is steadily increasing, and expected that nearly 240–250 million tons of vegetable oil may be required by 2050. Genomics and next generation technologies plays crucial role in achieving the sustainable availability of oil palm with good yield and high quality. A successful breeding programme in oil palm depends on the availability of diverse gene pool, ex-situ conservation and their proper utilization for generating elite planting material. The major breeding methods adopted in oil palm are either modified recurrent selection or the modified reciprocal recurrent selection method. The QTLs of yield and related traits are chiefly located on chromosome 4, 10, 12 and 15 which is discussed in the current review. The probable chromosomal regions influencing the less height increment is observed to be on chromosomes 4, 10, 14 and 15. Advanced genomic approaches together with bioinformatics tools were discussed thoroughly for achieving sustainable oil palm where more efforts are needed. Major emphasis is given on oil palm crop improvement using holistic approaches of various genomic tools. Also a road map given on the milestones in the genomics and way forward for making oil palm to high yielding quality oil palm.

103 ref

000353   SAGOR G H M, SIMM S, KIM D W, NIITSU M, KUSANO T, BERBERICH T (Genetics & Plant Breeding Dep, Bangladesh Agricultural Univ, Mymensingh- 2202, Bangladesh) : Effect of thermospermine on expression profiling of different gene using massive analysis of cDNA ends (MACE) and vascular maintenance in Arabidopsis. Physiol Mol Biol Plants 2021, 27(3), 577-86.

Arabidopsis thaliana polyamine oxidase 5 gene (AtPAO5) functions as a thermospermine (T-Spm) oxidase. Aerial growth of its knock-out mutant (Atpao5-2) was significantly repressed by low dose(s) of T-Spm but not by other polyamines. To figure out the underlying mechanism, massive analysis of 3′-cDNA ends was performed. Low dose of T-Spm treatment modulates more than two fold expression 1,398 genes in WT compared to 3186 genes in Atpao5-2. Cell wall, lipid and secondary metabolisms were dramatically affected in low dose T-Spm-treated Atpao5-2, in comparison to other pathways such as TCA cycle-, amino acid- metabolisms and photosynthesis. The cell wall pectin metabolism, cell wall proteins and degradation process were highly modulated. Intriguingly Fe-deficiency responsive genes and drought stress-induced genes were also up-regulated, suggesting the importance of thermospermi′ne flux on regulation of gene network. Histological observation showed that the vascular system of the joint part between stem and leaves was structurally dissociated, indicating its involvement in vascular maintenance. Endogenous increase in T-Spm and reduction in H₂O₂ contents were found in mutant grown in T-Spm containing media. The results indicate that T-Spm homeostasis by a fine tuned balance of its synthesis and catabolism is important for maintaining gene regulation network and the vascular system in plants.

42 ref

000352   KULKARNI V, SAWBRIDGE T, KAUR S, HAYDEN M, SLATER A T, NORTON S L (Agriculture Victoria, VIC- 3400, Australia) : New sources of lentil germplasm for aluminium toxicity tolerance identified by high throughput hydroponic screening. Physiol Mol Biol Plants 2021, 27(3), 563-76.

Aluminium (Al) toxicity in acid soils inhibits root elongation and development causing reduced water and nutrient uptake by the root system, which ultimately reduces the crop yield. This study established a high throughput hydroponics screening method and identified Al toxicity tolerant accessions from a set of putative acid tolerant lentil accessions. Four-day old lentil seedlings were screened at 5 µM Al (pH 4.5) for three days in hydroponics. Measured pre and post treatment root length was used to calculate the change in root length (ΔRL) and relative root growth (RRG %). A subset of 15 selected accessions were used for acid soil Al screening, and histochemical and biochemical analyses. Al treatment significantly reduced the ΔRL with an average of 32.3 % reduction observed compared to the control. Approximately 1/4 of the focused identification of germplasm strategy accessions showed higher RRG % than the known tolerant line ILL6002 which has the RRG % of 37.9. Very tolerant accessions with RRG % of > 52 % were observed in 5.4 % of the total accessions. A selection index calculated based on all root traits in acid soil screening was highest in AGG70137 (636.7) whereas it was lowest in Precoz (76.3). All histochemical and biochemical analyses supported the hydroponic results as Northfield, AGG70137, AGG70561 and AGG70281 showed consistent good performance. The identified new sources of Al tolerant lentil germplasm can be used to breed new Al toxicity tolerant lentil varieties. The established high throughput hydroponic method can be routinely used for screening lentil breeding populations for Al toxicity tolerance. Future recommendations could include evaluation of the yield potential of the selected subset of accessions under acid soil field conditions, and the screening of a wider range of landrace accessions originating from areas with Al toxic acid soils.

88 ref

000351   BAKSH S K Y, DONDE R, KUMAR J, MUKHERJEE M, MEHER J, BEHERA L, DASH S K (Crop Improvement Div, ICAR-National Rice Research Institute, Cuttack- 753006, Odisha) : Genetic relationship, population structure analysis and pheno-molecular characterization of rice (Oryza sativa L.) cultivars for bacterial leaf blight resistance and submergence tolerance using trait specific STS markers. Physiol Mol Biol Plants 2021, 27(3), 543-62.

Rice is an important source of calorie for the growing world population. Its productivity, however is affected by climatic adversities, pest attacks, diseases of bacterial, viral and fungal origin and many other threats. Developing cultivars that are high yielding and stress resilient seems a better solution to tackle global food security issues. This study investigates the potential resistance of 24 rice cultivars against Xanthomonas oryzae pv. Oryzae (Xoo) infection that causes bacterial leaf blight disease and submergence stress. Bacterial leaf blight (BLB) resistance genes (Xa4, xa5, xa13, Xa21, Xa38) and submergence tolerance (Sub1) gene specific markers were used to determine the allelic status of genotypes. The results displayed presence of Xa4 resistance allele (78.95%), xa5 (15.79%) but xa13 and Sub1 tolerance allele were not found in any genotype. However, a new allele for Xa21 (84.21 %) and Xa38 (10.52 %) were identified in several genotypes. Phenotypic screening for both stress conditions was done to record the cultivars response. None of the genotypes showed resistance against Xoo, although varieties viz., Tapaswini and Konark showed moderate susceptibility. Likewise, survival percentage of genotypes under submergence stress varied from 0 to 100 %. Tolerant checks FR13A (100 %) and Swarna Sub1 (97.78 %) exhibited high survival rate, whereas among genotypes, Gayatri (57.78 %) recorded high survivability even though it lacked Sub1 tolerant its genetic background. A total of six trait specific STS and two SSR markers generated an average of 2.38 allele per locus. Polymorphism information content (PIC) value ranged from 0.08 to 0.42 with an average of 0.20. Structure analysis categorized 24 genotypes into two sub-populations, which was in correspondence with Nei’s genetic distance-based NJ tree and principal co-ordinate analysis (PCoA). Swarna Sub1 could be differentiated clearly from BLB resistant check, IRBB60 and other 22 genotypes without having Sub1 gene. Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) revealed more genetic variation within population than among population. Principal component analysis (PCA) showed that 9 morphological traits collectively explained 76.126 % of total variation among all the genotypes studied. The information from this study would be useful in future breeding programs for pyramiding trait specific genes into high yielding cultivars that fall behind with respect to stress resilience.

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000350   SINGH B K, RAMKUMAR M K, DALAL M, SINGH A, SOLANKE A U, SINGH N K, SEVANTHI A M (National Institute for Plant Biotechnology, Pusa campus, New Delhi) : Allele mining for a drought responsive gene DRO1 determining root growth angle in donors of drought tolerance in rice (Oryza sativa L.). Physiol Mol Biol Plants 2021, 27(3), 523-34.

Deeper Rooting 1 (DRO1) gene identified from a major QTL on chromosome 9 increases the root growth angle (RGA) and thus facilitates survival under drought and hence is an excellent candidate for rice improvement. Twenty-four major Indian upland and lowland genotypes including the ‘yield under drought’ (DTY) QTL donors were subjected to allele mining of DRO1 (3058 bp) using four pairs of overlapping primers. A total of 216 and 52 SNPs were identified across all genotypes in the gene and coding region (756 bp) respectively with transversions 3.6 fold more common than transitions in the gene and 2.5 times in the CDS. In 251 amino acid long protein, substitutions were found in 19 positions, wherein change in position 92 was the most frequent. Based on allele mining, the 24 genotypes can be classified into 16 primary structure variants ranging from complete functional allele (Satti, IR36 and DTY 3.1 donor, IR81896-B-B-195) to truncated non-functional alleles in PMK2, IR64, IR20 and Swarna. All the DTY donors, other than IR81896-B-B-195, and most of the upland drought tolerant cultivars (Nagina 22, Vandana and Dhagaddeshi) had accumulated 6–19 SNPs and 4–8 amino acid substitutions resulting in substantial differences in their protein structure. The expression analysis revealed that all the genotypes showed upregulation under drought stress though the degree of upregulation varied among genotypes. The information on structural variations in DRO1 gene will be very useful for the breeders, especially in the light of recent breeding programmes on improving drought tolerance using several DTY donors and upland accessions.

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000349   CHENG H, WU B, YU Y, WANG S, WEI M, WANG C, DU D (Physiol Mol Biol Plants, Jiangsu Univ) : The allelopathy of horseweed with different invasion degrees in three provinces along the Yangtze River in China. Physiol Mol Biol Plants 2021, 27(3), 483-95.

The effect of allelopathy from invasive alien plants (IAPs) on native species is one of the main factors for their adaptation and diffusion. IAPs can have different degrees of invasion under natural succession and are distributed in numerous regions. Seed germination and seedling growth (SGe-SGr) play a crucial role in population recruitment. Thus, it is critical to illustrate the differences in the allelopathy caused by an IAP with different degrees of invasion in numerous regions on SGe-SGr of native species to describe the primary force behind their adaptation and diffusion. This study assessed the allelopathy of the notorious IAP horseweed (Conyza canadensis (L.) Cronq.) on SGe-SGr of the native lettuce species (Lactuca sativa L.) under different degrees of invasion (light degree of invasion and heavy degree of invasion) in three provinces (Jiangsu, Anhui, and Hubei) along the Yangtze River in China. The allelopathy of horseweed leaf extract on lettuce SGe-SGr remarkably increased with the increased degree of invasion, which may be due to the buildup of allelochemicals generated by horseweed with a heavy degree of invasion compared with a light degree of invasion. A high concentration of horseweed leaf extract resulted in noticeably stronger allelopathy on lettuce SGe-SGr compared to the extract with a low concentration. There are noticeable differences in the allelopathy of the extract of horseweed leaves from different provinces on lettuce SGe-SGr with the following order i.e. Jiangsu > Hubei > Anhui. This may be due to the high latitudes for the three sampling sites in Jiangsu compared with the latitudes for the collection sites in Hubei and Anhui. There are certain differences in the environments among the three provinces. Thus, the allelopathy of horseweed on SGe-SGr of lettuce may have a greater negative impact in Jiangsu compared to the other two provinces.

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000347   YEO H J, PARK C H, PARK Y F, HYEON H, KIM J K, LEE S Y, PARK S U (Smart Agriculture Systems Dep, Chungnam National Univ, Daejeon- 341 34, Republic of Korea) : Metabolic profiling and antioxidant activity during flower development in Agastache rugosa. Physiol Mol Biol Plants 2021, 27(3), 445-55.

Our previous study showed that flowers of Agastache rugosa had higher phenolic levels and higher antibacterial and antioxidant capacity compared to those of the leaves and stems. The aim of this study was to provide information on the variation in primary and secondary metabolites during flower development in A. rugosa by using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and assays of total anthocyanin (TAC), flavonoid (TFC), and phenolic content (TPC), as well as gas chromatography time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC-TOFMS) analysis. Assays of TPC, TAC, and TFC showed that the floral bud (stage I) contained higher TPC than did the partially open flower (stage II) and fully open flower (stage III). However, the TFC was the highest at stage II, and the highest TAC was observed at stage III. Furthermore, HPLC analysis revealed that the level of total phenylpropanoids, including rosmarinic acid, tilianin, acacetin, 4-hydroxybenzoic acid, caffeic acid, chlorogenic acid, trans-cinnamic acid, rutin, (-)-epicatechin, quercetin, and kaempferol, was higher in stages I and II, but the concentrations of rutin and rosmarinic acid were highest in stage III. A total of 43 compounds, including amino acids, organic acids, phenolic compounds, sugars, photorespiration-related compounds, and intermediates of the tricarboxylic acid cycle, were identified through GC-TOFMS analysis. Of these compounds, most amino acids decreased during flower development. In contrast, the increase in concentrations of glucose and sucrose were observed from stages I to III. In this study, health-beneficial compounds were identified and quantified in flowers of A. rugosa. Accordingly, our results suggests that A. rugosa flowers can potentially be used as biomaterials for pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, food, and related industries.

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000345   KAUR R, CHANDRA J, KESHAVKANT S (Pt. Ravishankar Shukla Univ, Raipur- 492 010) : Nanotechnology: An efficient approach for rejuvenation of aged seeds. Physiol Mol Biol Plants 2021, 27(2), 399-415.

Modern agricultural efforts are now in search of an efficient, eco-friendly and sustainable approach for enhanced crop production. Nearly 50–60% of seeds lost occurs due to improper technical handling. Seed deterioration manifests itself as reduction in the rate of germination and growth with increased susceptibility to biotic and abiotic stresses. Furthermore, seed ageing is another economic and scientific issue that is associated with an array of internal (structural, physiological and genetic) and external (storage temperature and relative humidity) factors. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are believed to be a key player in ageing phenomenon. However, hydrated storage, or ROS blockers are a few of the conventionally used methods to minimize the ageing process. Recently, exogenous applications of different inorganic nanoparticles (metal and metal oxide) are suggested to revitalize and revive aged seeds. Owing to their special properties of nano-size with high surface area they easily penetrate the seed coat. Exposure of nanoparticles has been suggested to neutralize the excess of ROS to a level that initiates hormonal signaling to support early emergence of radicles from the seeds. Nanotechnology has been well explored to enhance the crops nutritional quality, livestock productivity, plant protection from various stressors and in enhancement of seed quality via nanopesticides and nanofertilizers. Aiming at sustainable agriculture practices with fewer inputs, maximum benefits, ecologically safe and compatible technique the nanotechnology is an efficient approach to counteract problems of seed ageing incurring during storage, which is relatively less explored and unresolved conventionally, in general.

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000343   AHMADI-LAHIJANI M J, KAFI M, NEZAMI A, NABATI J, ERWIN J E (Agrotechnology Dep, Ferdowsi Univ of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran) : ABA and BAP improve the accumulation of carbohydrates and alter carbon allocation in potato plants at elevated CO₂. Physiol Mol Biol Plants 2021, 27(2), 313-25.

Elevated CO₂ interactions with other factors affects the plant performance. Regarding the differences between cultivars in response to CO₂ concentrations, identifying the cultivars that better respond to such conditions would maximize their potential benefits. Increasing the ability of plants to benefit more from elevated CO₂ levels alleviates the adverse effects of photoassimilate accumulation on photosynthesis and increases the productivity of plants. Despite its agronomic importance, there is no information about the interactive effects of elevated CO₂ concentration and plant growth regulators (PGRs) on potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) plants. Hence, the physiological response and source-sink relationship of potato plants (cvs. Agria and Fontane) to combined application of CO₂ levels (400 vs. 800 µmol mol⁻¹) and plant growth regulators (PGR) [6-benzylaminopurine (BAP) + Abscisic acid (ABA)] were evaluated under a controlled environment. The results revealed a variation between the potato cultivars in response to a combination of PGRs and CO₂ levels. Cultivars were different in leaf chlorophyll content; Agria had higher chlorophyll a, b, and total chlorophyll content by 23, 43, and 23 %, respectively, compared with Fontane. The net photosynthetic rate was doubled at the elevated compared with the ambient CO₂. In Agria, the ratio of leaf intercellular to ambient air CO₂ concentrations [C_i:C_a] was declined in elevated-CO₂-grown plants, which indicated the stomata would become more conservative at higher CO₂ levels. On the other hand, the increased C_i:C_a in Fontane showed a stomatal acclimation to higher CO₂ concentration. The higher leaf dark respiration of the elevated CO₂-grown and BAP + ABA-treated plants was associated with a higher leaf soluble carbohydrates and starch content. Elevated CO₂ and BAP + ABA shifted the dry matter partitioning to the belowground more than the above-media organs. The lower leaf soluble carbohydrate content and greater tuber yield in Fontane might indicate a more efficient photoassimilate translocation than Agria. The results highlighted positive synergic effects of the combined BAP + ABA and elevated CO₂ on tuber yield and productivity of the potato plants.

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000340   LAMICHANEY A, TEWARI K, BASU P S, KATIYAR P K, SINGH N P (ICAR-Indian Institute of Pulses Research, Kanpur- 208 024) : Effect of elevated carbon-dioxide on plant growth, physiology, yield and seed quality of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) in Indo-Gangetic plains. Physiol Mol Biol Plants 2021, 27(2), 251-63.

In the present scenario of climate change with constantly increasing CO₂ concentration, there is a risk of altered crop performance in terms of growth, yield, grain nutritional value and seed quality. Therefore, an experiment was conducted in open top chamber (OTCs) during 2017–18 and 2018–19 to assess the effect of elevated atmospheric carbondioxide (e[CO₂]) (600 ppm) on chickpea (cv. JG 14) crop growth, biomass accumulation, physiological function, seed yield and its quality in terms of germination and vigour. The e[CO₂] treatment increased the plant height, leaf and stem biomass over ambient CO₂ (a[CO₂]) treatment. The e[CO₂] increased seed yield by 11–18 % which was attributed to an increase in the number of pods (6–10 %) and seeds plant⁻¹ (8–9 %) over a[CO₂]. However, e[CO₂] reduced the seed protein (7 %), total phenol (13 %) and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (12 %) and increased the starch (21 %) and water uptake rate as compared to seeds harvested from a[CO₂] environment. Exposing chickpea plant to e[CO₂] treatment had no impact on germination and vigour of the harvested seeds. Also, the physical attributes, total soluble sugar and antioxidant enzymes activities of harvested seeds were comparable in a[CO₂] and e[CO₂] treatment. Hence, the experimental findings depict that e[CO₂] upto 600 ppm could add to the growth and productivity of chickpea in a sub-tropical climate with an implication on its nutritional quality of the produce.

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000339   LIU H, LIU Y, CHENG N, ZHANG Y (Linyi Univ, Linyi- 276 005, People’s Republic of China) : De novo transcriptome assembly of transgenic tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum NC89) with early senescence characteristic. Physiol Mol Biol Plants 2021, 27(2), 237-49.

The enzyme, α-farnesene synthase (AFS), which synthesizes α-farnesene, is the final enzyme in α-farnesene synthesis pathway. We overexpressed the α-farnesene synthase gene (previously cloned in our lab from apple peel) and ectopically expressed it in tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum NC89). Then, the transgenic plants showed an accelerated developmental process and bloomed about 7 weeks earlier than the control plants. We anticipate that de novo transcriptomic analyses of N. tabacum may provide useful information on isoprenoid biosynthesis, growth, and development. We generated 318,925,338 bp sequencing data using Illumina paired-end sequencing from the cDNA library of the apical buds of transgenic line and the wild-type line. We annotated and functionally classified the unigenes in a nucleotide and protein database. Differentially expressed unigenes may be involved in carbohydrate metabolism, nitrogen metabolism, transporter activity, hormone signal transduction, antioxidant systems and transcription regulator activity particularly related to senescence. Moreover, we analyzed eight genes related to terpenoid biosynthesis using qRT-PCR to study the changes in growth and development patterns in the transgenic plants. Our study shows that transgenic plants show premature senescence.

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000338   SHAILAJA A, SRINATH M, BINDU B V B, GIRI C C (Osmania Univ, Hyderabad- 500 007, Telangana) : Isolation of 4-hydroxy 3-methyl 2-butenyl 4-diphosphate reductase (ApHDR) gene of methyl erythritol diphosphate (MEP) pathway, in silico analysis and differential tissue specific ApHDR expression in Andrographis paniculata (Burm. f) Nees. Physiol Mol Biol Plants 2021, 27(2), 223-35.

The full length Andrographis paniculate 4-hydroxy 3-methyl 2-butenyl 4-diphosphate reductase (ApHDR) gene of MEP pathway was isolated for the first time. The ApHDR ORF with 1404 bp flanked by 100 bp 5′UTR and 235 bp 3′UTR encoding 467 amino acids (NCBI accession number: MK503970) and cloned in pET 102, transformed and expressed in E. coli BL21. The ApHDR protein physico-chemical properties, secondary and tertiary structure were analyzed. The Ramachandran plot showed 93.8 % amino acids in the allowed regions, suggesting high reliability. The cluster of 16 ligands for binding site in ApHDR involved six amino acid residues having 5–8 ligands. The Fe-S cluster binding site was formed with three conserved residues of cysteine at positions C123, C214, C251 of ApHDR. The substrate HMBPP and inhibitors clomazone, paraquat, benzyl viologen’s interactions with ApHDR were also assessed using docking. The affinity of Fe-S cluster binding to the cleft was found similar to HMBPP. The HPLC analysis of different type of tissue (plant parts) revealed highest andrographolide content in young leaves followed by mature leaves, stems and roots. The differential expression profile of ApHDR suggested a significant variation in the expression pattern among different tissues such as mature leaves, young leaves, stem and roots. A 16-fold higher expression of ApHDR was observed in the mature leaves of A. paniculata as compared to roots. The young leaves and stem showed 5.5 fold and fourfold higher expression than roots of A. paniculata. Our result generated new genomic information on ApHDR which may open up prospects of manipulation for enhanced diterpene lactone andrographolide production in A. paniculata.

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000337   SANTOS T B D, BABA V Y, VIEIRA L G E, PEREIRA L F P, DOMINGUES D S (Instituto Agronômico Do Paraná, Londrina- 86047-902, Brazil) : The urea transporter DUR3 is differentially regulated by abiotic and biotic stresses in coffee plants. Physiol Mol Biol Plants 2021, 27(2), 203-12.

The high costs of N fertilizers in the coffee production emphasizes the need to optimize fertilization practices and improve nitrogen use efficiency. Urea is widespread in nature, characterizing itself as a significant source of nitrogen for the growth and development of several organisms. Thus, the characterization of genes involved in urea transport in coffee plants is an important research topic for the sustainable production of this valuable cash crop. In the current study, we evaluated the expression of the DUR3 gene under abiotic and biotic stresses in coffee plants. Here, we show that the expression of a high-affinity urea transporter gene (CaDUR3) was up-regulated by N starvation in leaves and roots of two out of three C. arabica cultivars examined. Moreover, the CaDUR3 gene was differentially expressed in coffee plants under different abiotic and biotic stresses. In plants of cv. IAPAR59, CaDUR3 showed an increased expression in leaves after exposure to water deficit and heat stress, while it was downregulated in plants under salinity. Upon infection with H. vastatrix (coffee rust), the CaDUR3 was markedly up-regulated at the beginning of the infection process in the disease susceptible Catuaí Vermelho 99 in comparison with the resistant cultivar. These results indicate that besides urea acquisition and N-remobilization, CaDUR3 gene may be closely involved in the response to various stresses.

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000336   JIANG W, PAN R, BUITRAGO S, WU C, ABDELAZIZ M E, OELMÜLLER R, ZHANG W (Yangtze Univ, Jingzhou- 434 025, China) : Transcriptome analysis of Arabidopsis reveals freezing-tolerance related genes induced by root endophytic fungus Piriformospora indica. Physiol Mol Biol Plants 2021, 27(2), 189-201.

Freezing stress is a serious environmental factor that obstructs plant development. The root endophytic fungus Piriformospora indica has proved to be effective to confer abiotic stress tolerance to host plants. To investigate how P. indica improves freezing tolerance, we compared the expression profiles of P. indica-colonized and uncolonized Arabidopsis seedlings either exposed to freezing stress or not. Nearly 24 million (93.5 %) reads were aligned on the Arabidopsis genome. 634 genes were differentially expressed between colonized and uncolonized Arabidopsis exposed to freezing stress. Interestingly, 193 Arabidopsis genes did not respond to freezing stress but were up-regulated by P. indica under freezing stress. Freezing stress-responsive genes encoded various members of the WRKY, ERF, bHLH, HSF, MYB and NAC transcription factor families. The qRT-PCR analyses confirmed the high-throughput sequencing results for 28 genes. Functional enrichment analysis indicated that the fungus mainly controls genes for freezing-stress related proteins involved in lipid and ion transport, metabolism pathways and phytohormone signaling. Our findings identified novel target genes of P. indica in freezing-stress exposed plants and highlight the benefits of the endophyte for plants exposed to a less investigated environmental threat.

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000335   JIANG Y, PENG J, CAO Y, HAN Z, ZHANG L, SU W, LIN S, YUAN Y, WANG B, YANG X ET.AL (South China Agricultural Univ, Guangzhou- 510 642, China) : Method for fast staining and obtaining high-magnification and high-resolution cell images of Nicotiana benthamiana. Physiol Mol Biol Plants 2021, 27(1), 181-8.

As tools of plant molecular biology, fluorescence microscopy and Nicotiana benthamiana have been used frequently to study the structure and function of plant cells. However, it is difficult to obtain ideal micrographs; for example, the images are typically unclear, the inner cell structure cannot be observed under a high-power lens by fluorescence microscopy, etc. Here, we describe a method for observing the cell structure of N. benthamiana. This method significantly improves imaging by fluorescence microscopy and allows clear images to be obtained under a high-power lens. This method is easy to perform with good stability, and the stomatal structure, nucleus, nucleolus, chloroplast and other organelles in N. benthamiana cells as well as protein localizations and the locations of protein–protein interactions have been observed clearly. Furthermore, compared with traditional methods, fluorescent dye more efficiently dyes cells with this method. The applicability of this method was verified by performing confocal scanning laser microscopy (CSLM), and CSLM imaging was greatly improved. Thus, our results provided a method to visualize the subcellular structures of live cells in the leaves of N. benthamiana by greatly improving imaging under a fluorescence microscope and provided new insights and references for the study of cell structures and functions in other plants.

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000333   BADIHI L, GERAMI M, AKBARINODEH D, SHOKRZADEH M, RAMEZANI M (Sana Higher Education Institute, Sari, Iran) : Physio-chemical responses of exogenous calcium nanoparticle and putrescine polyamine in Saffron (Crocus sativus L.). Physiol Mol Biol Plants 2021, 27(1), 119-33.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of calcium nanoparticles (CaNP) and putrescine polyamine on some physiological and biochemical properties of saffron (Crocus sativus L.) under the control condition. Saffron corm was treated by different concentrations of putrescine (0, 0.25, 0.5, 1, 2 mM) and CaNP (0, 0.25, 0.5, 1, 1.5 g/l). The treatment of corm with putrescine and CaNP separately caused a significant increase in morphological parameters. Changes in biochemical parameters were also significant. Compared to other concentrations, the highest concentration of putrescine (1 mM) and CaNP (1 g/l) treatment in the plant showed the greatest effect. The combined effect of putrescine and CaNP treatment on morphological parameters was significant. The results of HPLC analysis showed that CaNP treatment alone is more effective on crocin, picrocrocin, and safranal content than the combined effect of CaNP and putrescine. The present study reported the functional potential of CaNP and putrescine combination to increase growth and phytochemical properties in Crocus sativus.

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000332   SADDER M T, ALSHOMALI I, ATEYYEH A, MUSALLAM A (Horticulture and Crop Science Dep, Jordan Univ, Amman- 11942, Jordan) : Physiological and molecular responses for long term salinity stress in common fig (Ficus carica L.). Physiol Mol Biol Plants 2021, 27(1), 107-17.

Salinity stress in increasingly becoming a major challenge in current and expanding agricultural ecosystems. Unlike temporal abiotic stresses, plants are usually exposed to salinity stress for an entire lifespan. Therefore, a long term effect (10 weeks) of continuous salinity exposure was investigated for three common fig landraces (Zraki, Mwazi, and Khdari). Both relative water content and chlorophyll content decreased with elevated salinity stress, while stem length barely changed. The most prominent decline was observed in root biomass. The data would align common fig to moderately tolerant threshold slop with a C₅₀ range of 100 to 150 mM NaCl. A high and significant correlation was evident between root biomass and chlorophyll content (85%). Concurrently, differential expression of putative salinity responsive genes in common fig were determined; signal peptide peptidase-like 2B (FcSPPL2B), dehydration responsive element binding protein (FcDREB), calcineurin B-like protein (CBL)-CBL-interacting serine/threonine-protein kinase 11 (FcCIPK11), sorbitol dehydrogenase (FcSORD) and dehydrin (FcDHN). The data were discussed for each gene in respect of its potential role in salinity stress mitigation. The combined physiological and molecular data would conclude Zraki as the most salinity tolerant genotype. The major implication of the data emphasizes the tremendous genotype by environment (salinity stress) interaction in common fig.

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000331   HA Y J, SA K J, LEE J K (Applied Plant Sciences Dep, Kangwon National Univ, Chuncheon- 24341, Korea) : Identifying SSR markers associated with seed characteristics in Perilla (Perilla frutescens L.). Physiol Mol Biol Plants 2021, 27(1), 93-105.

Substantial differences exist in seed dormancy between cultivated crops and their wild progenitors. The purpose of this study was to identify simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers associated with seed characteristics in cultivated and weedy types of Perilla crop. By using an association analysis of 29 SSR markers and three seed traits in 38 Perilla accessions, we detected six SSR markers associated with the seed germination rate (SGR), eight SSR markers associated with seed hardness (SH), and seven SSR markers associated with seed size (SS). Among these SSR markers, three (KNUPF3, KNUPF25, KNUPF60) were associated with the SGR, SH, and SS traits. Correlation analysis among the three seed traits of the 38 Perilla accessions showed a positive correlation coefficient for the combination of SGR and SS (0.811**) and a negative correlation coefficient for the combinations of SGR and SH (− 0.706**), and SS and SH (− 0.899**). A phylogenetic tree constructed using the unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean (UPGMA) revealed that accessions of cultivated P. frutescens var. frutescens could be distinguished from weedy accessions of P. frutescens var. frutescens and P. frutescens var. crispa using the 29 SSR markers. Selected SSR markers related to the three seed traits distinguished accessions of cultivated and weedy types. Therefore, these results are very important for understanding the seed characteristics of cultivated and weedy types of Perilla crop. It will further help for improving the seed quality of Perilla crop through marker-assisted selection (MAS) breeding programs.

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