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The roles of strigolactones: Mineral compounds, indole-3 acetic acid and GA3 content in grapevine on drought stress
Get PDFPlants have an extremely important place in the life of living creatures and in the ecological cycle. First of all, they undertake a complex phenomenon such as photosynthesis and perform critical tasks such as being raw material for different industrial branches especially for human and animal nutrition, preventing erosion, contributing to the soil in terms of organic matter, and assuring temperature control. It is also known that the environmental conditions of plants, which have such a significant place in our lives are changing day by day and the plants are faced with a vast number of adverse factors. Plants are affected by these factors of biotic or abiotic origin, which are not suitable for them, and as a consequence, they get stressed. Drought is the leading one of these stress factors. It is clearly acknowledged that endogenous hormones play a major role in the expression of plants as sensitive or tolerant as a result of responses to different types of stresses. It is known that some other substances such as jasmonates, brassinosteroids, salicylic acid and nitric oxide have been included in the endogenous hormones, which were examined under five basic groups until recently, namely auxin, gibberellin, cytokinin, abscisic acid and ethylene. One of these hormones derived from carotenoids is strigolactones (SL). Recent studies demonstrate that this substance produced in plant roots is also at the forefront in terms of stress tolerance. In this study, the effect of SL applications on drought resistance was investigated in Kober 5 BB and 110 R American grapevine rootstocks with different drought tolerance. Rootstocks were treated with 5 and 10 µM SL and exposed to drought stress. In order to measure the effects of SLs on stress, some physical (shoot length, shoot weight, average number of leaves per shoot) and biochemical (mineral substance and endogenous hormones) analysis were carried out. In the study, it was determined that SLs are a sort of hormone that has positive effects in terms of plant growth and development, promotes plant mineral nutrition, and that there is a positive relationship between the synthesis of the endogenous hormones IAA and GA3. According to the results obtained, it is comprehended that SLs can be used as growth regulators to alleviate drought stress
Preliminary studies on predatory potential of Australian ladybird beetle, Cryptolaemus montrouzieri Mulsant against Mealybug, Planococcus lilacinus Cockerell
Get PDFMealybug Planococcus lilacinus Cockerell (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) damages Cocoa, Guava, Citrus, Cotton and other plant families. Besides causing direct loss to the plants they also reduce the market value of infested fruits. The extent of the damage may go up to 70 percent in a severe infestation. An Australian ladybird beetle, Cryptolaemus montrouzieri Mulsant (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) introduced from Australia is a potential bio-control agent and is being utilized on many crops in Southern India. Mealybugs or scale insects constitute the natural food of certain ladybird beetles. The adult beetles as well as their larvae (grubs) seek the pests and feed voraciously on all stages. They often wipe out the entire pest colonies. The ladybird beetles are being used for suppression of mealy bugs in citrus, coffee, grapes, guava, ornamental and a variety of other crops. The feeding potential of different development stages of C. montrouzieri, a biological control agent against mealybugs, was investigated on P. lilacinus. Fourth instar grubs and adults of C. montrouzieri were the most voracious feeders of mealybug. The number of mealybug consumed by 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th instar larvae and adult beetles of C. montrouzieri was 20, 33.30, 37.50, 40 and 66.60 percent respectively. The results indicate that C. montrouzieri has the potential to be exploited as a bio-control agent. Inoculative releases of 4th instar larvae and adults may provide instant control of P. lilacinus. Field experiments should be conducted to determine the efficiency of the ladybird beetle on this mealybug
Ethnomedicinal and pharmacological potential of marine macroalgae for CNS disorders: An overview
Get PDFMarine macroalgae or seaweeds have created a favourable implication in the area of biomedical sciences, due to the present of potential bioactive substances. Extensive studies are reported on neuropharmacological effects of terrestrial plants and their constituents but there is inadequate information on the potential application of marine macroalgae for behavioural and neurological disorders. This review will emphasize on recent studies and/or updates on bioactive compounds or extracts from marine macroalgae and their potential toward CNS disorders
Using microcontroller based solar power system for reliable power supply
Get PDFThis paper has been demonstrated by implementing renewable energy-based solar power for a reliable power supply controlled by the Node MCU microcontroller. The microcontroller is controlled the system by programming. Here also use an inverter, Node MCU, Battery, Solar Charge Controller. The main task of this Scheme is that when the sun reflects on this solar panel, it will charge and save its battery. Two AC loads will run from the battery to the inverter, which can control via the Internet. DC will be converted to AC through the inverter and load. The main objective of this research is to use solar sources for load control and monitoring through the Internet.
 
Technical efficiency and profitability of small holder natural rubber production in southern Nigeria
Get PDFThe study measured the technical efficiency and profitability of small holder natural rubber production in southern Nigeria by examining the socio-economic characteristics of respondents, the profitability of latex production and technical efficiency. Multi-stage, purposive and random sampling techniques were employed in the collection of primary data from 300 respondents. Descriptive statistics and stochastic frontier production function were used to analyse the data collected. Results indicated that respondents were educated, married (76%) with a mean family size of seven people and well experienced mean farming experience of 19 years. Latex production was a profitable venture with an average variable cost per ha of 55,700.94 with total revenue (T.R.) and gross margin (G.M.) per hectare 163,594.17 and 107,893.23, respectively. Furthermore, the stochastic frontier production function analysis showed the number of trees per task, labour, farm size and age of plantation, clone, wage and fixed cost items were significantly related to rubber latex. The mean technical efficiency (T.E.) of the respondents was 0.84. Education, extension contact and experience were the significant factors that increased the technical efficiency of the respondents. The resuscitation of extension activities of A.D.P.s in the rubber growing states of the country through adequate funding by the government to improve the efficiencies of farmers, use of improved planting materials during replanting old plantations and the formation of cooperative societies by farmers to enhance access to production credit amongst others are recommended in the study
Metagenomic analysis reveals the predominance of Candidatus Patescibacteria in the rhizosphere of arecanut palms in yellow leaf disesase (YLD) endemic areas of India
Get PDFVegetative growth performance of three tea cultivars in the foothills of Arunachal Pradesh, India
Get PDFPhytochemical profile and toxicity of thyme-derived (Thymus vulgaris) essential oil against the exotic rugose spiraling whitefly (Aleurodicus rugioperculatus Martin) infesting coconut
Get PDFMicrowave-assisted heat extraction of thyme (Thymus vulgaris) yielded 1.64 per cent w/v of yellow to amber coloured and less viscous oil with a peculiar aroma. GC-MS analysis revealed the presence of 20 compounds, out of which thymol (51.94%), p-cymene (14.5%), γ-terpinene (10.09%), linalool (3.48%), and endo-borneol (3.95%) were the major compounds. Eggs, second instar nymphs and pupae of rugose spiraling whitefly (RSW) were subjected to contact toxicity assessment by complete immersion (dip method) in various concentrations of thyme oil. The results showed that essential oils at 0.35 per cent concentration exhibited 100 per cent mortality in the second instar nymphs. Thyme oil (0.5%) inhibited egg hatching and adult emergence to the tune of 100 per cent when the eggs and pupal stages were treated. Probit analysis indicated that the median lethal concentration (LC50) of thyme oil to eggs, second instar nymph sand pupal stages were 0.19, 0.13 and 0.21 per cent, respectively. Thyme oil proved to be an excellent toxicant to different developmental life stages of RSW; hence it can be successfully incorporated into the integrated pest management (IPM) programme for whitefly management in the coconut ecosystem
Molecular characterisation and structural assessment of an RXLR effector from Phytophthora palmivora, the coconut bud rot pathogen
Get PDFPhytophthora species are phytopathogenic oomycetes that damage a wide variety of crops. Phytophthora delivers effectors, which are secretory proteins, into the host cells. Effectors promote infection by reprogramming the host cellular machinery and are key determinants of oomycete virulence. The major class of Phytophthora effector proteins contains the RXLR motif. In this study, we have carried out the molecular and structural characterisation of an RXLR effector (RXLR6744) from a virulent P. palmivora isolated from bud rot disease-affected coconut palm. The open reading frame (ORF) of the RXLR6744, amplified using RT-PCR, had a length of 411 bp. The gene was found to encode a predicted protein of 136 amino acids and had a molecular weight of 15.52 kDa. Phylogenetic analysis of the amino acid sequence revealed that it was closely related to RXLR proteins from P. palmivora (causing black pod disease in cocoa) and related species P. megakarya. Topology analysis revealed that the protein was composed of six α-helices. The structural prediction was undertaken by computer-aided homology modelling. From the Ramachandran plot analysis, it could be observed that the majority (96.3%) of amino acids were present in the preferred region, 3.7 per cent of amino acid residues were present in the allowed region, and no residues were observed in the disallowed region. The structure showed an average quality of 94.4 per cent, indicating it to be a high-quality structure. This study provides the detailed characterisation of an RXLR effector from P. palmivora. It will aid the elucidation of its role in pathogenesis and facilitate further refined investigations of the structure/function relationships of oomycete effectors
Studies on the predator Apertochrysa astur (Banks) (debris carrying green lacewing) on invasive coconut whiteflies
Get PDFThe invasive whitefly species, rugose spiralling whitefly (RSW) and Bondar’s nesting whitefly (BNW) (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) were reported on coconut in 2016 at Pollachi, Tamil Nadu, India and in 2019 in Kerala, India, respectively. Among the natural enemies of whiteflies, Apertochrysa astur (Banks) is the predominant predator observed in the coconut ecosystem. The population effect of RSW and BNW in different host plants, viz., coconut, banana and custard apple, on the growth and development of the A. astur were studied. Further, the effects of A. astur and yellow sticky traps (YSTs) were evaluated against the invasive whiteflies of coconut. The growth and development of the grubs of A. astur were better when fed with the RSW and BNW reared in coconut, followed by custard apple and banana. The weight of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd instar grubs were 0.25 mg, 0.62 mg and 2.46 mg, respectively. The pre-pupal weight was 7.41 mg, and that of the pupa and adult were 8.35 mg and 12.27 mg when fed with RSW. Similarly, when A. astur was fed with BNW reared on coconut, the weight of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd instar grub of A. astur was 0.22 mg, 0.59 mg and 2.24 mg, respectively. The pre-pupal weight was 7.06 mg, and that of the pupa and adult were 8.22 mg and 12.01 mg, respectively. Among the different treatment dosages of A. astur eggs and YSTs evaluated, 3 YST and 10 A. astur eggs palm-1 were highly effective as they reduced RSW and BNW population by 59.7 per cent and 56.7 per cent per cent, respectively. The grubs of A. astur were observed to be extremely efficient in reducing the population of A. rugioperculatus and P. bondari. The results supported that A. astur can be employed as an efficient biological control agent for managing invasive whitefly species in the coconut ecosystem