NOPR Collection:

Chromium accumulation potential of Zea mays grown under four different fertilizers

2014-12-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Chromium accumulation potential of Zea mays grown under four different fertilizers Authors: Dheeba, B; Sampathkumar, P; Kannan, K Abstract: Chromium (Cr) contamination in soil is a growing concern in sustainable agriculture production and food safety. We performed pot experiment with chromium (30 mg/ soil) to assess the accumulation potential of Zea mays and study the influence of four fertilizers, viz. Farm Yard Manure (FYM), NPK, Panchakavya (PK) and Vermicompost (VC) with respect to Cr accumulation. The oxidative stress and pigment (chlorophyll) levels were also examined. The results showed increased accumulation of chromium in both shoots and roots of Zea mays under FYM and NPK supply, and reduced with PK and VC. While the protein and pigment contents decreased in Cr treated plants, the fertilizers substantiated the loss to overcome the stress. Similarly, accumulation of Cr increased the levels of antioxidant enzymes such as catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and peroxidase (POD) indicating the enhanced damage control activity. However, these levels were relatively low in plants supplemented with fertilizers. Our results confirm that the maize can play an effective role in bioremediation of soils polluted with chromium, particularly in supplementation with fertilizers such as farm yard manure and NPK. Page(s): 1206-1210

Reliable screening technique for evaluation of wild crucifers against mustard aphid Lipaphis erysimi (Kalt.)

2014-12-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Reliable screening technique for evaluation of wild crucifers against mustard aphid Lipaphis erysimi (Kalt.) Authors: Singh, SP; Kumar, Sandeep; Singh, YP; Singh, Ram Abstract: Wild crucifers namely Arabidopsis thaliana, Brassica fruticulosa, B. rugosa, B. spinescens, B. tournefortii, Camelina sativa, Capsella bursa-pastoris, Crambe abysinnica, Cronopus didymus, Diplotaxis assurgens, D. gomez-campoi, D. muralis, D. siettiana, D. tenuisiliqua, Enatharocarpus lyratus, Lepidium sativum and Sinapis alba along with five cultivated Brassica species including B. rapa (BSH-1), B. juncea (Rohini), B. napus (GSC-6), B. carinata (DLSC-2) and Eruca sativa (T-27) were screened against mustard aphid Lipaphis erysimi (Kalt.) with a standardized technique under definite level of aphid pressure developed using specially designed cages. Observations have revealed that B. fruticulosa, B. spinescens, Camelina sativa, Crambe abysinnica and Lepidium sativum were resistant to mustard aphid L. erysimi with aphid infestation index (AII) ≤1. Capsella bursa-pastoris was highly susceptible to bean aphid, Aphis fabae during its vegetative stage (with 100% mortality). Other genotypes were found in the range of ‘susceptible’ to ‘highly susceptible’ with AII ranging 3-5. Page(s): 1201-1205

Analysis on the arcelin expression in bruchid pest resistant wild pulses using real time RT-qPCR

2014-12-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Analysis on the arcelin expression in bruchid pest resistant wild pulses using real time RT-qPCR Authors: Sakthivelkumar, Shanmugavel; Veeramani, Velayutham; Hilda, Karuppiah; Arumugam, Munusamy; Janarthanan, Sundaram Abstract: Arcelin, the antimetabolic protein from wild pulses is a known natural insecticidal molecule. Wild pulses with high arcelin content could serve as potential source to increase the levels of insect resistance in cultivated pulse crops. In this study, arcelin (Arl) gene expression was screened in seven stored product insect pest resistant wild pulse varieties using real time RT-qPCR. Arcelin gene specific real time PCR primers were synthesized from arcelin mRNA sequence of the wild pulse variety, Lablab purpureus. The results revealed different levels of arcelin gene expression in the tested varieties. Canavalia virosa registered significantly high content indicating its suitability for utilization of arcelin gene in developing stored product insect pest resistance with other cultivated pulses. Page(s): 1195-1200

Isolation of compound and CNS depressant activities of Mikania scandens Willd with special emphasis to brain biogenic amines in mice

2014-12-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Isolation of compound and CNS depressant activities of Mikania scandens Willd with special emphasis to brain biogenic amines in mice Authors: Pal, Dilipkumar; Mazumder, Upal Kanti Abstract: Mikania scandens, a twining herb that grows as a weed in India and Bangladesh is used as vegetables and is a good source of vitamin A, C, B complex, mikanin, sesquiterpenes, betasitosterin, stigmasterol and friedelin. The present communication reports CNS depressant activities with special emphasis to brain biogenic amines in mice. Ethanol extract of leaves of M. scandens (EEMS) was prepared by Soxhalation and analyzed chemically. EEMS potentiated sleeping time induced by pentobarbitone, diazepam and meprobamate and showed significant reduction in the number of writhes and stretches. EEMS caused significant protection against pentylene tetrazole-induced convulsion and increased catecholamines and brain amino acids level significantly. Results showed that EEMS produced good CNS depressant effects in mice. Page(s): 1186-1194