Category Archives: b_original_articles

Wali Muhammad^1*, Muhammad Ammar², Tariq Mukhtar³, Abdul Manan Hamza¹

¹Department of Entomology, Pir Mehr Ali Shah Arid Agriculture University Rawalpindi, Pakistan

²Insitute of Plant & Environmental Protection, MNS-University of Agriculture, Multan

³Department of Plant Pathology, Pir Mehr Ali Shah Arid Agriculture University Rawalpindi, Pakistan

Abstract

Cotton whitefly (Bemisia tabaci) is known as the most destructive pest of vegetables, ornamentals and cotton including a wide range of weeds, forest trees and semi field crops in the world. Cotton production and area under cotton is continuously declining in Pakistan for the last five years due to a rapid proliferation of the pests. The current study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of some new chemistry insecticides against cotton whitefly (Bemisia tabaci) during the kharif season of 2019 in a major cotton producing area of Punjab, Pakistan. A total of ten insecticides (single or mixtures) i.e. Dinotefuran + Spirotetramat (T₁), Dinotefuran + Spirotetramat (T₂), Pyriproxyfen+ Spirotetramat (T₃), Pyriproxyfen+ Spirotetramat (T₄), Spirotetramat (T₅), Spirotetramat (T₆), Pyrifluquinazon (T₇), Pyrifluquinazon (T₈), Flonicamid (T₉), Flonicamid + Abamectin (T₁₀) were applied twice in a field experiment on two varieties of cotton (MNH-90 and BS-18) using randomized complete block design. Water (T₀) served as control. There were three replications of each treatment. Data for population of whitefly (nymphs and adults), natural enemies and boll weight were recorded 3, 7, 10 and 14 days after treatment of insecticides. Pyrifluquinazon @ 48.7 g/acre (T₈) caused the maximum mortality (83%) of adults of whitefly while the maximum nymphal mortality (78.4 %) was observed in T₈ (Pyrifluquinazon @ 48.7 g/acre). The maximum increase in boll weight (133%) was observed in T₈ (Pyrifluquinazon @ 48.7 g/acre) followed by T₁₀ (Flonicamid+Abamectin) which gave 110% increase over control. The application of Pyrifluquinazon @ 40 g/acre was found to be safer as compared with other tested insecticides with the minimum reduction of 31% in the population of natural enemies. It is therefore concluded that Spirotetramat and Pyrifluquinazon can be successfully included in IPM programs against Bemisia tabaci.

 Keywords: Pyrifluquinazon, Bemisiatabaci, Cotton whitefly, Chemical control, New Chemistriy insecticides

Yasmein A. El Sayed¹, Rania A. Ahmed², Shimaa M. Desoky^3*

¹Plant Protection Research Institute, Agriculture Research Center, Dokki Giza, Egypt

²Zoology Department, Faculty of Science, Suez University, Suez, Egypt

³Botany and Microbiology Department, Faculty of Science, Suez University, Suez, Egypt

Abstract

Spodoptera littoralis nucleopolyhedrosis virus (SlNPV) has been considered as a vital and safe alternative to chemical insecticides. It is effectively used in biological control of Spodoptera littoralis which is considered the most destructive and detrimental economic pest in Egypt. However, its slow speed of action limits its application among other bio-control agents. So, great attention was directed to solve this problem by using insecticide synergists. In this study the toxicity of both SlNPV and the insecticide synergist pipronyl butoxide (PBO) was investigated against 2^nd and 4^th instar S. littoralis larvae. Different concentrations of the tested viral isolate used (10⁶, 10⁷, 10⁸, 10⁹ and 10¹⁰ POB/ml) showed high mortality percentage ranging from 60 to 93% and 56 to 83% for the two tested instar larvae respectively 10 days post treatment. The three PBO concentrations used (0.1, 0.2 and 0.3%) revealed weak toxic effect as they produced 13, 20 and 26% mortality rate for the three tested concentrations respectively 4 days post treatment. To examine the biosafety of the three PBO concentrations (0.1, 0.2 and 0.3%), alone or in combination with SlNPV; in vivo animal studies, and in vitro cell line studies were applied. In vivo evaluations included histomorphometric and immunohistochemical alterations in Caspase-3, Proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), tumor necrosis factor – alpha (TNF-α) in hepatic and renal tissues, plus serum assessments of malondialdehyde (MDA) and total antioxidant capacity (TAC). The sulforhodamine B (SRB) cytotoxicity assay has been applied on OEC (Oral epithelial cell) and Vero (Green monkey kidney) cell lines. Results revealed that 0.1% PBO concentration was safe and didn’t induce any pathogenicity, as a dose concentration – dependent decreased pathological changes by comparing 0.3%, 0.2% PBO treated rats . Furthermore, SlNPV was safe to rat tissues and cells and PBO didn’t alter the safe nature of SlNPV on mammalian cells. According to the results of histopthological bio-safety, 0.1% of PBO was applied to 4^th instar larvae for estimation its effect on larval enzyme activity and the results proved significant differences in the metabolic tested enzymes between the control and treated larvae with inhibition in both of Actylcholin esterase (AchE), Glutathione S-transferase (GST), Alpha esterases (α-esterases), Beta esterases (B- esterases), and Glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (GOT) and stimulation in Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), Glutamic pyruvic transaminase (GPT) and Multi-function oxidases (MFO). Moreover, 0.1% of PBO has been mixed with viral LC₅₀ for 2^nd and 4^th instar larvae and the results showed highly synergistic effect of PBO as 100 and 96 % mortality rate respectively fourth day post treatment.

Keywords: Biological control, Nucleopolyhedrosis virus, Spodoptera littoralis, Pipronyl butoxide, Synergistic agents, Histopathological biosafety

Riaz Hussain Pasha^1*, Anas Sarwar Qureshi², Adnan Ali³, Saif-Ur-Rehman⁴, Muhammad Akram Khan⁵

¹Department of Veterinary Biomedical Sciences (Histology), Faculty of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, PMAS-Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan

²Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan

³Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Project, Technical Unit-Building Disaster Resilience in Pakistan, Islamabad, Pakistan

⁴Department of Parasitology and Microbiology, Faculty of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, PMAS-Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan

⁵Department of Veterinary Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, PMAS-Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan

Abstract

With the expansion and development of industrial technology, frequent application of various synthetic chemicals like pesticides, insecticides and arsenic has led to contamination of both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystem across the globe. Among different synthetic chemicals arsenic poisoning has become a huge threat to ground water in many parts of the world. Therefore, this study was planned to examine the adverse effects of sodium arsenite on the morphology (gross and microscopic structure) of testis in rabbits. A total of 20 adult male rabbits were procured and randomly divided into two groups. Group (A) served as control and rabbits in group (B) were exposed to sodium arsenite orally (@ dose of 10mg/kg/day for a period 60 days. Results indicated significant (p<0.05) lower values of testicular weight, scrotal length and width, testicular volume, volume occupied by 10 seminiferous tubules and volume of the individual Leydig cells in treated rabbits. The exposure induced degenerative changes in testis including wavy contour of seminiferous tubules, vacuolization in the germinal epithelium and germ cell loss was recorded in the treated group. In conclusion, it was observed that arsenic may induce male reproductive effects by negatively affecting the testicular volume, Leydig cell population and volume of the Leydig cells.

 Keywords: Arsenic toxicity, Rabbit testis, Histomorphology, Pakistan

Rahma Alshamrani¹, Muhammad Huzaifa Arshad², Munazza Gull³, Muhammad Zohaib Nawaz⁴, Sana Malik²*

¹Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

²Bioenergy Research Centre, Department of Bioinformatics & Biotechnology, Government College University, Faisalabad, Pakistan

³Biochemistry Department, Faculty of Science, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

⁴State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science, Institute of Marine Microbes and Ecospheres, College of Ocean and Earth Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China

 Abstract

Thermotoga maritima is a hyperthermophile with the potential to produce thermostable commercial enzymes which can be used for saccharification of plant biomass for subsequent fermentation to bioproducts. The molecular mechanism involved in the hyper thermostability in this bacterium is still not well-understood. It is known that small non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) regulate and modulate the gene expression of various biological processes at transcriptional and post-transcriptional levels, hence coordinate the adaptation processes in response to environmental stimuli in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes. To understand the role of small ncRNAs in the hyper thermostability of T. maritima, an in silico-based approach was employed involving the identification of the ncRNAs in this bacterium on a genome-wide scale. A novel pipeline was constructed which involved a combination of various bioinformatics algorithms. In total, 20804 orthologous groups were predicted on the genome of T. maritima and 20 other bacteria (reference genomes) by the OrthoMCL tool. By using the “Perl” and “Bash” languages 258 orthologous IGR datasets were created. Among these datasets, small ncRNAs were identified by employing RNAz and RNA Infernal tools. Total 28 ncRNA candidates were predicted by the RNAz tool and 9 candidates were confirmed as novel cis-regulatory small ncRNAs in T. maritima MSB8 by Infernal tool and were named as Tmn (T. maritima ncRNAs). This work provides novel insights into the role of ncRNAs in the stress adaptability of MSB8 and can give a much better understanding of the lifestyle of this bacterium after validation of the data through wet-lab approaches. Having a clear understanding of the thermo-tolerance mechanism, the MSB8 can be exploited in the future for the commercial production of thermostable compounds and biohydrogen.

Keywords: Thermotoga maritima, Small non-coding RNAs, Genome-wide detection, Thermostability, Plant biomass, Saccharification

Maqsood ul Hussan¹, Muhammad Farrukh Saleem¹, Muhammad Bilal Hafeez¹, Shahbaz Khan^1*, Sadam Hussain², Naeem Ahmad², Yasir Ramzan³, Majid Nadeem³

¹Department of Agronomy, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan

²Department of Agronomy, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, China

³Wheat Research Institute, Ayub Agricultural Research Institute, Faisalabad, Pakistan

Abstract

The experiment was conducted to optimize the level of humic acid, zinc and boron for better growth, enhanced yield and grain quality of wheat crop cultivated under field condition. Growth characteristics, yield and its components, and zinc concentrations in straw and grain were analyzed under two application rate of humic acid (0 and 10 kg ha^-1), three level of boron (B_{0 =} 0, B_{1 =} 2 and B_{2 =} 4 kg ha^-1) and zinc (Zn₀ = 0, Zn₁ = 5 and Zn₂ =10 kg ha^-1). Results revealed that application of Zn at 10 kg ha^-1 and B at 4 kg ha^-1 combine with humic acid (10 kg ha^-1) significantly increased yield and its components (except flag leaf area under humic acid application), and Zn contents in straw. The maximum plant height, spike length and grain filling rate were recorded at Zn₂and B₂ with humic acid application. Maximum grain yield was produced for Zn₂ and B₂ under humic acid application, which was associated with higher 1000-grain weight and biological yield. Maximum biological and straw yields were produced by application of Zn₂ and B₂ under humic acid fertilization. Maximum Zn contents in straw have been recorded for Zn₂ and B₂ under humic acid application, while maximum values of crude protein and Zn contents in Zn₂ and B₂ were statically same with Zn₁ and B₁ under humic acid application. Furthermore, the highest boron contents in grain were recorded for Zn₂ and B_2, and these values were statistically same with Zn₂ and B₁ under humic acid application. It is concluded that application of Zn₂ and B₂ in combination with humic acid could be a good agronomic practice to enhance the zinc content in straw and grain yield of wheat crop.

Keywords: Micronutrients, Productivity, Crude protein, Grain quality, Wheat straw

Idris Idris^*, Yuliar Yuliar

Microbiology Division, Research Center for Biology, National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), Cibinong 16911, West Java, Indonesia

Abstract

The application of bacterial inoculants to suppress crop diseases and boost crop yields supports sustainable agriculture by reducing the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Bacillus amyloliquefaciens EB13 inoculant was applied to citrus plants (Citrus sinensis) in the field to investigate the effect of strain EB13 treatment on soil fertility and citrus growth in non-sterile conditions. Two years old citrus tree transplanted into the polybag containing 10 kg soil was inoculated with EB13 culture and placed in the open field for six months. Soil enzyme activities were increased significantly (P<0.05) by EB13 inoculation, they are acid phosphatase activity (1848.82 to 2450.50 μg p-NP/g dry soil h), alkaline phosphatase activity (475.15 to 640.98 μg p-NP/g dry soil h), urease activity (147.89 to 306.55 μgNH₄-N/g dry soil h), and total soil microbial activity (1.85 to 2.77 μg fluorescein/g h). Furthermore, the population of bacteria and fungi in the rhizosphere significantly (P<0.05) was increased by the EB13 inoculation. These improvements supported citrus growth by increasing fruit yield approximately threefold (5.33 to 18.33 fruits/plant). Our finding indicated that Bacillus amyloliquefaciens EB13 was able to associate well with citrus in the non-sterile condition and has a long-term positive effect on soil fertility and citrus growth.

Keywords: Bacillus amyloliquefaciens, Biofertilizer, Citrus sinensis, Soil enzymes, Soil fertility

Muhammad Rizwan, Khalil Ahmed^*, Muhammad Khalid Bhatti, Muhammad Sarfraz, Muhammad Irfan,

Syed Saqlain Hussain, Abdul Rasul Naseem

Soil Salinity Research Institute (SSRI), Pindi Bhattian, Pakistan

Abstract

In the scenario of labor and water shortage, direct sowing of rice is a promising and alternative strategy for rice establishment. Therefore, a field study was undertaken to evaluate the comparative efficiency of different sowing methods and tillage practices for direct seeded rice in salt affected soil. The following treatments tested were; T₁: cultivator, T₂: disk harrow + cultivator, T₃: rotavator + cultivator, with three sowing techniques; S₁: broadcast + seed covering with planking 40 kg, S ₂: broadcast + seed covering with planking 60 kg and, S₃: drill sowing. The experiment was designed in randomize complete block design having split plot arrangement and three replications. Results of the study showed that maximum paddy yield was recorded by drill sowing with rotavator + cultivator used as tillage implements for land preparation. At the end of the study, soil properties were also improved with reduction of 0.57%, 16.21% and 8.56% in pH_s, EC_e and SAR respectively with use of rotavator + cultivator and drill sowing. In conclusion, use of rotavator + cultivator as tillage implement and drill sowing is effective and feasible technology for direct sowing of rice in salt affected soils.

Keywords: Broadcast, Direct seeding, Drill sowing, Rice, Rotavator

Aysha Khan¹, Safdar Ali¹, Muhammad Sajid², Muhammad Ahmad Zeshan^4*, Rana Binyamin⁵,

Nadeem Ahmed³, Muhammad Usman Ghani⁶

¹Department of Plant Pathology, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan

²Department of Plant Pathology, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, Pakistan

³Department of Plant Pathology, MNS-University of Agriculture, Multan, Pakistan

⁴Department of Plant Pathology, College of Agriculture, University of Sargodha, Pakistan

⁵Department of Plant Pathology, University of Agriculture Faisalabad. Sub-Campus Burewala, Pakistan

⁶Institute of Soil and Environmental Sciences, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan

Abstract

Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo) which causes bacterial leaf blight (BLB) disease is one of the most destructive pathogen of rice. BLB incites more than 70% yield losses in epidemic conditions thus deteriorating the rice industry and export revenue. The use of conventional synthetic bactericides causes remarkable environmental hazards such as water and air pollution. This study was focused at the management of bacterial leaf blight disease through the application of antibiotics because injudicious use of bactericides results in the development of resistance in bacteria. The objectives were to evaluation of rice germplasm against BLB, biochemical characterization of the pathogen and its in-vitro management. There were very limited studies on the phenotypic evaluation of BLB disease and biochemical analyses of its causal organism. Twelve rice cultivars were screened against the disease in randomized complete block design. The isolated pathogen was subjected to Gram staining and microscopic examination. Biochemical characterization of the pathogen was done by methyl red, indole production, citrate utilization and Voges-Proskaure tests. Three antibiotics (Kanamycin, Streptomycin and Ampicillin) were used at three concentrations (0, 50, 100 and 150 ppm) against the pathogen. Among all the screened cultivars, none was highly resistant and resistant. Maximum disease severity (89.01%) was depicted by the variety Super Basmati. All isolate were Gram negative and these showed positive response in case citrate utilization test indicating that citrate permeases enzyme is abundant. In-vitro results showed that Kanamycin is the most effective against pathogen at all concentrations than Ampicillin and Streptomycin. It is concluded that none of the screened cultivars showed resistance against Xoo, so the Basmati varieties may be sown with appropriate antibiotic like Kanamycin. It is recommended to devise effective breeding programs for the development of resistance rice cultivars against this economically important disease.

Keywords: Antibiotics, Xoo, In-vitro, Management, BLB

Muhammad Irfan Ullah^1*, Sana Majeed¹, Muhammad Arshad¹, Sajjad Ali², Naunain Mehmood³, Nimra Altaf¹, Asad Abdullah¹, Muhammad Luqman⁴, Umar Farooq⁵, Muhammad Afzal¹

¹Department of Entomology, University of Sargodha, 40100, Sargodha, Pakistan

²Department of Entomology, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, 63100 Bahawalpur Pakistan

³Department of Zoology, University of Sargodha, 40100, Sargodha, Pakistan

⁴Department of Agricultural Extension, University of Sargodha, 40100, Sargodha, Pakistan

⁵Department of Food Science and Technology, MNS-University of Agriculture, Multan, Pakistan

Abstract

Insecticidal properties of Parthenium hysterophorus L. (family: Asteraceae), an annual herb, and Moringa oleifera (Lam.) (family: Moringaceae), a perennial tree, were assessed against different digestibility parameters and survival rate of Spodoptera litura (Fabricius) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). Effect of different extracts (based on three extraction solvents: ethanol, methanol, and acetone) of P. hysterophorus and M. oleifera on the digestibility indices and larval mortality of Spodoptera litura (Fabricius) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) were studied. The extracts were tested at two different concentrations; 25 mg and 50 mg. The effect of methanol extract on S. litura larvae was greater than that of ethanol and acetone. The methanol extract of P. hysterophorus at 50 mg concentration significantly reduced the digestibility indices; 49.6% consumption rate, 80.4% growth rate, 63.9% efficiency of conversion of ingested food, 68.4% efficiency of conversion of digested food, 39.3% assimilation rate, and 12.3% approximate digestibility of S. litura larvae compared with the control (positive untreated) treatment. By using methanol extracts of P. hysterophorus at 50 mg concentration, larvae’s survival rate was also found to be lower than those of other treatments. The performance of M. oleifera extracts was lower in terms of affecting the digestibility and survival of S. litura compared to P. hysterophorus. Among the two plant extracts, a higher concentration (50mg) of P. hysterophorus using methanol as a solvent represented a promising natural product for S. litura control.

Keywords: Botanicals, Biological control, Feeding indices, Spodoptera litura, Sustainable management

Muhammad Zubair¹, Shamsa Shafique², Muhammad Shahbaz², Atia Mir Hussain²,  Mubashar Ali Khalique¹, Muhammad Kashif Saleemi⁴, Muhammad Imran Khan³, Nasir Hameed¹

¹Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, University of Poonch, Rawalakot, AJK, Pakistan

²Department of Zoology, Faculty of Sciences, The Women University of Azad Jammu & Kashmir, Bagh, AJK, Pakistan

³Department of Livestock and Poultry Production University of Poonch, Rawalakot, AJK, Pakistan

⁴Department of Pathology, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan

Abstract

Arsenic is considered one of the major environmental toxic metals causing male infertility. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the toxic effects of arsenic trioxide on the body weight, serum biochemical constituents, hematological parameters, and hormonal profile of male rabbits. To ameliorate the toxicity of this metal, olive oil was used. For this purpose, sixteen adult male rabbits were randomly divided into four groups for this experiment. Group A was kept as control, group B (arsenic trioxide 5 mg/kg body weight), C (arsenic trioxide as in group B + olive oil 5 ml/kg body weight), and Group D (olive oil 5 ml/kg BW) were used in this experiment. The blood samples from these animals were collected every two weeks to determine the hematological values. Serum was also separated to analyze the hormonal profile and serum biochemical constituents. Obtained data of this experiment were subjected to two-way analysis factorial. Following the oral administration of arsenic trioxide, body weight significantly reduces in group B as compared to groups A, C and D. Similarly, level white blood cells, red blood cells, packed cell volume, and hemoglobin was reduced in group B as compared to other three groups. The endocrine profile indicated that the level of testosterone, follicle-stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone reduced in the arsenic trioxide group as compared to the control group. Arsenic trioxide in group B negatively influences the serum biochemical parameters as compared to the other three groups. Supplementation of olive oil alleviated the toxic effects on of parameters.  It is concluded that arsenic trioxide causes major male reproductive toxicity, whereas olive oil has an ameliorating effect to reduce toxicity.

Keywords: Arsenic trioxide, Olive oil, Toxicological effects, Hormonal level