Muhammad Asim^1*, Yasir Iftikhar¹, Muhammad Arshad^2,3, Sonum Bashir⁴, Mohsin Raza¹, Saqib Bilal⁵, Faheema Bakhtawar¹

¹Department of Plant Pathology, College of Agriculture, University of Sargodha, Sargodha, Pakistan

²Department of Entomology, College of Agriculture, University of Sargodha, Sargodha, Pakistan

³Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, Ankara University, Daskapi, Ankara, Turkey

⁴Department of Plant Pathology, PMAS University of Arid Agriculture, Rawalpindi, Pakistan

⁵College of Plant Protection, Nanjing Agriculture University, Nanjing, China

Abstract

Rosa indica L. (family: Rosaceae) is an important and widely grown plant in the floriculture industry. Alternaria leaf spot disease of rose was observed in rose plantation at College of Agriculture, University of Sargodha, Sargodha. The study was carried out to isolate and purify the pathogen, which was identified as Alternaria alternata. Additionally, in vitro efficacy of five fungicides; success, copper oxychloride, metalaxyl+mancozeb, topsin M and kumulus against A. alternata were tested by using food poisoning technique. Three concentrations (100, 200 and 300 ppm) of each fungicide were used. Mycelial growth after 3^rd, 5^th and 7^th day was measured. All the fungicides significantly inhibited the mycelial growth of A. alternata. Among those, metalaxyl+mancozeb was the most effective as compared to others. Maximum inhibition was observed after 3^rd (89%), 5^th (91.6%) and 7^th (93.3) day by metalaxyl+mancozeb followed by success 43.3%, 41.0% and 29.6% respectively.  After 3^rd and 5^th day copper oxychloride was least effective with 19.6% and 9.6% mycelial inhibition respectively while after 7^th day the minimum 4.3% mycelial inhibition was observed by topsin M instead of copper oxychloride. Therefore, A. alternata is responsible for alternaria leaf spot disease of rose and metalaxyl+mancozeb was found to be the most effective fungicide against A.alternata in vitro.

Keywords: Rose, Mycelial growth, Alternaria alternata, Management

Wilmientje Marlene Mesang Nalley^1*, Tri Sukma Adhe Meidina², Asep Kurnia³, Raden Iis Arifiantini²

¹Department of Animal Production and Technology, Faculty of Animal Science, Nusacendana University. Jl. Adisucipto, Penfui, Kupang, NTT 85001, Indonesia

²Department of Veterinary Cinic, Reproduction and Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Bogor Agricultural University. Jl Agatis Raya Kampus IPB Dramaga, Bogor 16680, Indonesia

³Lembang Artificial Insemination Centre, Lembang, Bandung, Jl. Kayu ambon, Lembang, Bandung, Jawa Barat 40391, Indonesia

Abstract

The sperm plasma membrane is drastically altered by cryopreservation. Therefore, it is necessary to protect the sperm plasma membrane during the cryopreservation process. Omega-3 is a supplement that can protect plasma membrane. This study aimed to compare the quality of Simmental bull frozen semen in Tris Egg Yolk (TEY) diluents with and without omega-3. Semen samples from five Simmental bulls belonged to Lembang Artificial Insemination Center (AIC) were collected using artificial vaginas. The semen samples were evaluated immediatelly (macro and microscopically) after collection. The semen samples then divided into two tubes and diluted with TEY or  TEY with Omega-3 (TEYO) diluents respectively. The semen were packed into 0.25 mL straws and equilibrated at 5 ℃ for 4 hours and froze using automatic freezing machine and stored in liquid nitrogen tank (-196 ^oC) for further evaluation. The quality of  frozen semen were evaluated after 24 hours of storage. The data were analyzed using independent sample T-test. The results showed that the sperm post-thawing motility in TEY and TEYO diluents were 45.17±1.98% and 47.48±3.55%, respectivelly. No significant difference between TEY and TEYO (P>0.05) was found in the sperm motility, individual score, sperm viability as well as membrane integrity. The research conclude that omega-3 supplementation in Tris egg yolk did not improve the semen quality of Simmental bull after freezing.

Keywords: Frozen semen, Tris egg yolk, Omega-3, Simmental bull, Sperm

Muhammad Jan^1*, Muhammad Anwar ul Haq², Tanveer ul Haq³, Anser Ali⁴, Muhammad Yousaf¹, Saqib Bashir¹, Shahbaz Khan⁴

¹Department of Soil and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Ghazi University, Dera Ghazi Khan, Pakistan

²Institute of Soil and Environmental Sciences, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan

³Department of Soil and Environmental Sciences, Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, University of Agriculture, Multan Pakistan

⁴Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Ghazi University, Dera Ghazi Khan, Pakistan

Abstract

Water scarcity is an alarming issue in arid and semi arid regions of Pakistan, which cause drought stress and reduced plant growth. A pot experiment was conducted to study the effective role of Si for the growth of maize hybrids (FH-922, FH-949, FH-988 and FH-1137) with brackish water application. The physical parameters like plant height, shoot fresh weight, shoot dry weight; number of leaves per plant and chlorophyll contents (SPAD Value) were recorded. The ionic parameters like sodium (Na), potassium (K), silicon (Si) concentration and K: Na ratio were also recorded. The results revealed a relatively different response of four maize hybrids among all the studied parameters. Among all the variable maize hybrids, FH-988 showed the considerable increase in plant height; shoot fresh and dry weight and leaf chlorophyll contents. However, maize hybrids FH-922 and FH-1137 were more sensitive as compared to FH-988 and FH-949 due to less production in dry matter, chlorophyll contents, K concentration and K: Na ratio.

Keywords: Chlorophyll contents, Hybrids, Potassium, K:Na ratio

Mohammad Chozin^*, Sumardi Sumardi

¹Faculty of Agriculture, University of Bengkulu, Jl. WR Supratman, Kandang Limun,  City of Bengkulu, Bengkulu Province, 38126, Indonesia

Abstract

Rice improvement program for swampland areas is mainly addressed to develop high yielding varieties with the desirable agronomic characteristics along with the improved adaptability to all growth limiting factors inherent in the ecosystem. This study was implemented to evaluate the growth and yield performances of 10 rice F₃ populations generated from the crosses involving Bengkulu swamp rice landraces (Hanafi Putih, Batubara, Harum Curup, Tigo-tigo, and Lubuk Durian) and the cultivated varieties (Diah Suci, Bestari, and Sidenuk) on a swampland. The experiment was laid out on a shallow inland swamp with stagnant inundation up to 50 cm depth during the plant growth period. Data were collected for plant height, tiller number, number of productive tillers clump^-1, heading date, maturity date, panicle length, number of grain panicle^-1, 100-grain weight, and grain yield clump^-1. High variability among the populations was observed for most of the traits and readily explored for the development of rice varieties well adapted to swampland. The principal component analysis showed that the populations were distinguishable on the basis of the observed traits. The magnitude of broad sense heritability and genetic advance estimates denoted that simple phenotypic selection should be sufficient for gaining genetic improvement for the majority of the traits, excluding panicle length.

Keywords: Genetic advance, Heritability, Inland swamp, Local rice varieties, Principal component

Muhammad Qasim¹, Mudassir Aziz^1*, Fahim Nawaz¹, Muhammad Arif²

¹Department of Agronomy, Muhammad Nawaz Shareef University of Agriculture, Multan, Pakistan

²Department of Soil and Environmental Sciences, Muhammad Nawaz Shareef University of Agriculture, Multan, Pakistan

Abstract

Water scarcity is threatening productivity of crops throughout the globe. Different osmoprotectants such as salicylic acid and ascorbic acid have potential to mitigate the harmful effects of water deficit. Current study was conducted to examine the possible role of salicylic acid and ascorbic acid individually and in combination in improving the yield and yield components of maize (Zea mays L.) exposed to drought at different growth stages. Drought was imposed by skipping irrigation at two water sensitive crop growth stages i.e. 6 fully expanded leaves (V₆ as per Feekes scale) and initiation of silking (R₁ as per Feekes scale). Water deficit significantly decreased cob diameter (19.2%), cob weight (13.8%), grain rows per cob (14.4%), cob length (12.8%), 1000- grain weight (6.2%), stover yield (17.7%), grain yield (10.6%), biological yield (8.2) as compared to normal irrigation. Drought imposed at R₁ (as per Feekes scale) was more lethal in terms of reduction in different yield and yield components including 1000-grain weight, grain yield and biological yield by 0.2, 6.9 and 0.9 %, respectively. Exogenous application of combination of salicylic acid + ascorbic acid @ 0.5mM each + tween 20 (0.1%) applied at V₆ stage (as per Feekes scale) was more effective in mitigating the harmful effects of water deficit by improving cob diameter (6%) biological yield (1%) and grain yield of maize (6.9%) as compared to drought imposed at R₁(as per Feekes scale).

Keywords: Ascorbic acid, Drought, Maize, Salicylic acid, Yield

Laurentius Hartanto Nugroho^1*, Sutikno¹, Ratna Susandarini¹, Indah Rafika Yuliati¹, Yosep Priyono¹, Esti Munawaroh², Inggit Puji Astuti²

¹Faculty of Biology, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia

²Center for Plant Conservation, Bogor Botanical Garden, Indonesian Institute for Sciences, Indonesia

Abstract

The genus Piper with over 700 species distributed in tropical and subtropical areas of the world has a considerable number of species with economic importance as spices and herbal medicine. In this study the anatomical characters of leaf and stem on 10 species of Piper from Bogor Botanical Garden, Indonesia were observed in relation with their function as oil-accumulating organs. The objective of this study was to explore the anatomical variability among species. Observations on anatomical characters were done on leaf epidermal and cross section as well as stem cross section prepared using paraffin embedding method. Results indicated that there were structural variations on the epidermal features, mesophyll, secretory cells and secretory cannals of leaves, as well as variation on the ratio of medullary and peripheral vascular bundles on stem. Results of this study provide additional taxonomic evidence to confirm differences between Piper species, and serve as supporting data for identification based on internal structures. Data on the comparative anatomy of leaf and stem also contributes to the selection of the right materials for the extraction of essential oils from various Piper species based on the presence of secretory cells.

Keywords: Piper, Plant internal structure, Medicinal plant, Taxonomic evidence

Jamshaid Iqbal¹, Chaudhary Muhammad Irshad², Ijaz Ahmad², Asmat Nawaz², Muhammad Aamir²,  Arsalan Ali^1*, Hasnain Yaseen¹

¹Faculty of Agriculture, Gomal University, D.I.Khan, Pakistan

²Pest Warning and Quality Control of Pesticides, Agriculture Department of Punjab,  D.G.Khan, Pakistan

Abstract

Pink Bollworm, Pectinophora gossypiella (Saunders) (Gelechiidae: Lepidoptera) is a serious threat to cotton crop in Pakistan. The current research trail was designed to assess the response of six cotton genotypes viz: IUB-13, BS-15, FH-142, MNH-886, NIAB-999 and MNH 1026 and role of abiotic factors on the infestation of pink bollworm on squares, flowers and green bolls of cotton cultivars under agro-climatic conditions of District Layyah from July to October 2018 on weekly basis. The results of the study revealed that maximum infestation of Pink bollworm (4.02%) on squares was noted at temperature of 31.23°C and relative humidity of (41.83%). Maximum infestation on green bolls (5.50%) was recorded at temperature 31.23°C and relative humidity 41.83% respectively. Among all tested varieties IUB-13 was found to be relatively susceptible under unsprayed condition and MNH-1026 was found to be comparatively resistant against Pink bollworm infestation on flowers. No rainfall in the experiment area was recorded during study period. Present study can be helpful in selection of resistant cultivars against Pink bollworm for good quality production of cotton.

Keywords: Gossypium hirsutum, Genotypes, Pink bollworm, Abiotic factors

Karzan Muhammad Khalid¹,   Bushra Hussain Shnawa^1,2*,  Shorish Mustafa Abdullah^1,2

¹Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Soran University, Kurdistan, Iraq

²Scientific Research Center, Soran University, Kurdistan, Iraq

Abstract

Food allergy is an immune mediated non-toxic adverse reaction to a certain type of foods. It is a worldwide health problem. Several recent researches highlight awareness and concern about this issue. The current study performed by randomized cross–sectional survey and the data were analysed statistically. The present finding showed that among the 248 individuals whom participated in the questionnaires, 134 were considered as allergic subjects, whereas 114 of the participants had no food allergy. Regarding gender, 63 (47.1%) of the allergic people were male and 71 (52.9%) were female. According to age, all age groups (<10 – >29) were sensitized at least to one type of foods. The most common three allergic foods were hot pepper, followed by eggs and garlic. The timing of the immune reaction is critical began within 10 minutes of exposure to the allergen to more than one hour. Furthermore, the most appeared symptoms that these individuals suffering from were redness, urticaria, vomiting and diarrhoea, which correlated significantly with type of allergen. Food allergy in Soran city was high and more people suffered from it. Young ages were more affected than adults, and redness was the main noticed symptom. Hot pepper and eggs were the most causative food allergy among the selected foods .Food allergy is a growing health concern, so more studies directed toward prevention with more effective management strategies are needed.  

Keywords: Food allergy, Food allergens, Symptoms, Questionnaire

Ishak Zubir^1,2, Ernie Eileen Rizlan Ross³, Ainon Hamzah¹, Wan Syaidatul Aqma^1*

¹School of Biosciences and Biotechnology, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia 43600 Bangi, Selangor Malaysia

²Malaysia Cocoa Board, Cocoa Innovative and Technology Centre, Lot 12621, Kawasan Perindustrian Nilai 71800 Nilai, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia

³Faculty of Applied Sciences, Universiti Teknologi MARA, 40450 Shah Alam Selangor, Malaysia

Abstract

Black pod disease caused by the pathogenic fungus Phytophthora palmivora is a serious threat to the cocoa industry causing the destruction of cocoa plants in many plantations across Malaysia. The objectives of this study are to determine the antifungal activities of the endophytic bacteria isolates and to identify the isolates. Four selected endophytic bacteria previously isolated from tissues of healthy Theobroma cacao L. designated as isolate LKM-UL, LKM-PA, LKM-PD, and LKM-BL were assessed for their abilities to inhibit the growth of P. palmivora in vitro. Preliminary tests using dual culture method showed that the isolate LKM-BL had the strongest inhibition towards the growth of P. palmivora after 24 h of incubation compared to the other isolates. The growth of LKM-UL, LKM-PA, LKM-PD, and LKM-BL revealed that the antifungal activities against cocoa pathogen increases as the number of endophytic cells increases. The cell-free supernatant from isolate LKM-BL produced the highest antifungal activity against cocoa pathogen with an inhibition zone of 19.5 ± 0.50 mm during the highest cell growth at 24 h of incubation. The endophytic bacteria were characterized morphologically and based on biochemical tests. Based on the analysis of the 16S ribosomal DNA sequences, isolate LKM-UL, LKM-PA, LKM-PD, and LKM-BL were identified as Bacillus amyloliquefaciens, Pantoea agglomerans, Bacillus pumilus and Bacillus subtilis respectively. The findings indicate that among the four endophytic bacterial isolates studied, B. subtilis LKM-BL showed the highest antifungal activity and has the potential to be used as a biological control agent towards the cocoa pathogen P. palmivora.

Keywords: Endophytic bacteria, Antifungal, Phytophthora palmivora, Black pod, Cocoa