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An investigation was carried out with 20 samples comprising soil, water, forage, blood serum and milk of cow to assess heavy metal contamination during 2018-19 and 2019-20 in Coimbatore district in Tamil Nadu, India. The results indicated that in soil, chromium residue 741.05 ppm and 1338.1 ppm, lead residue was 168.2 ppm and 164.2 ppm and cadmium 119.2 ppm and 76.14 ppm was in rural and urban areas, respectively. In water, chromium residue was 1.842 ppm and 2.192 ppm, lead residue was 0.816 ppm and 0.973 ppm and cadmium (Cd) was 0.586 ppm and 1.298 ppm in rural and urban areas respectively. In forages, chromium was 1159 ppm and 1712 ppm, lead residue was 341.6 ppm and 398.0 ppm and cadmium residue were 112.2 ppm and 1051 ppm in rural and urban areas, respectively. In the cow serum, chromium residue were 4463 ppm and 4283 ppm, lead residue was 421.3 ppm and 406.9 ppm, and cadmium residue was 409.2 ppm and 323.7 ppm and in the milk, the chromium residue were 101.4 ppm and 165.3 ppm, lead residue was 6.538 ppm and 6.593 ppm, and cadmium residue was 3.905 ppm and 11.23 ppm in urban and rural areas, respectively. The study indicated that heavy metal contamination in soil and water is transferred to dairy cattle and thus result in heavy metal accumulation in blood serum and milk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An investigation was carried out in maize to estimate General Combining ability (GCA), Specific Combining Ability (SCA) and their interaction with three environments. Nine maize inbred lines were crossed in all possible combinations including reciprocals in 9 × 9 diallel fashion. The resultant single cross hybrids along with parents were evaluated for their combining ability over environments. The combining ability analysis of diallel crosses across three environments showed high significance of GCA and SCA variances for all the traits viz., days to physiological maturity, plant height, cob length, cob girth, cob weight, 100 grain weight and grain yield per plant indicating the importance of both additive and non-additive gene action for the expression of these traits. The ratio of additive to non-additive variance was greater than one for all the traits except for cob length, cob girth, cob weight and grain yield across the environments, indicating the additive type of gene effects were more important in the expression days to physiological maturity, plant height and 100 grain weight and thus simple selection would confer rapid improvement of these characters. The hybrid combination UMI79 × UMI176 was the best for grain yield, cob weight, cob girth and early maturity. For reduced plant height UMI176 × UMI467 was the best across environments. The hybrid UMI176 × UMI13 was identified as the best for cob weight and cob girth. The crosses UMI79 × UMI57, UMI79 × UMI285 and UMI432 × UMI936(W) were the best for cob length. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Intensive legume cropping system enhances the soil productivity and reduce the dependance on exterior inputs as legumes are well known for nitrogen (N) fixation by biological means. In addition, inorganic fertilizers, together with the integrated and careful use of FYM, could be an efficient option for increasing the productivity of the legume - legume cropping system. The common use of fertilizer and organics has been shown to have a synergistic effect on crop productivity, while simultaneously improving soil fertility. The residual effects of organic manures applied to previous crops may be available to subsequent crops. As a result, this experiment was designed to shed information on the usage of integrated nutrients from organic and inorganic sources on leguminous groundnut and the residual influence on subsequent blackgram. Methods: During 2018-19, 2019-20 and 2020-21, a field experiment was undertaken at Regional Research Station, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Vridhachalam to investigate the effect of integrated nutrient management on the groundnut-blackgram cropping sequence. Four nutrient combinations for groundnut were tested in a randomized block design and the residual effect on productivity of succeeding blackgram was investigated using four fertilizer levels in a split plot design. Result: The application of 125% RDF + FYM @ 12.5 t ha-1 to groundnut increased growth, yield, quality, economics and soil properties, while the residual effect to succeeding blackgram resulted in significantly higher blackgram seed yield and other important parameters, which was followed by the application of 75% RDF. Among the various levels of fertilizers applied to blackgram, 75% RDF produced the highest blackgram seed yield, economics and soil characteristics compared to the other three levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rhizosphere represents an intricate microenvironment, consisting of a complex network involving soil, root and soil microbes. Conditions in the rhizosphere exert a direct influence on the growth and yield of crops. The unregulated and widespread application of synthetic fertilizers has emerged as a grave concern for the sustainability of agriculture and the equilibrium of ecosystems. These chemical substances accumulate within the soil, leach into water sources and release into the atmosphere, persisting for decades and posing a substantial threat to the overall ecosystem. This issue is of significant concern, necessitating a potential solution that can only be realized through the involvement of microorganisms and organic amendments. Plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) has assumed a pivotal role in addressing this concern. The established role of microorganisms in enhancing plant growth, managing nutrients and exerting biocontrol is well-documented. PGPR, present in the rhizosphere, has the capacity to transform numerous nutrients that are initially inaccessible to plants into forms that can be readily utilized. Additionally, PGPR synthesize plant hormones, secondary metabolites, antibiotics, stressrelieving compounds, chelating agents, and signaling molecules, enabling interactions with both beneficial and pathogenic organisms within the rhizosphere. Moreover, PGPR is involved in the improvement of soil physical properties, chemical properties and overall functioning that offers direct or indirect benefits to crop growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The field experiments were carried out at the Centre of Excellence in Millets, Athiyandal, Thiruvannamalai, to evaluate different organic sources of nutrients with foliar application over three seasons from kharif 2015 to 2017. The application of Farm Yard Manure (FYM) at a rate of 6.5 t ha-1 along with sunhemp green manuring (SGM) in-situ incorporation on 45 days after sowing (DAS) recorded higher grain and straw yields of 2420 kg ha-1 and 3549 kg ha-1, respectively. The foliar spray of Panchakavya at 3% concentration on 45 DAS enhanced grain yield to 2423 kg ha-1 and straw yield to 3338 kg ha-1. The recommended dose of fertilizer (RDF) {60:30:30 kg N, P2O5 K2O kgha-1} resulted in higher gross income (Rs. 84,724 per ha), net income (Rs. 55,372 per ha), and benefit-cost ratio (2.84). However, the application of vermicompost at 5 t ha-1 resulted in a lower gross income. Among the foliar spray treatments, Panchakavya at 3% concentration recorded the highest gross income (Rs. 84,478 per ha), net income (Rs. 43,534 per ha), and benefit-cost ratio (2.36), followed by vermiwash at 3% concentration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The experiment was conducted during the 2019-2020 growing season at the Agricultural College and Research Institute in Thanjavur, India. The effect of plant growth regulators and micronutrients for improving seed germination of rice offsprings (Oryza sativa L.) were investigated. The experiment followed a randomized block design, consisting of twelve treatments and three replications. The predominant rice variety cultivated was ADT 46, known for its long, slender grain but poor germination characteristics. The treatments involved foliar spraying at 60 and 90 days after transplanting (DAT), before panicle emergence. The highest recorded plant height was achieved with the application of Cytokinin @ 50 ppm + ZnSO4 @ 0.5% at 60 and 90 DAT during the main crop growth phase. Interestingly, for all other growth and yield parameters, the most favorable results were observed with the application of Naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) @ 40 ppm + ZnSO4 @ 0.5%. Notably, this treatment significantly boosted the germination percentage to 98.38% when tested three months after storage, marking a 13.00% increase compared to the control. It also demonstrated the highest seedling vigor indexes I (2996) and II (792). Hence, it is recommended that the application of NAA @ 40 ppm + ZnSO4 @ 0.5% foliar sprays at 60 and 90 DAT to address germination issues in rice and achieve higher yield and profit for farmers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Field experiments were conducted during the dry season of 2017 (June-September) and the wet season of 2017-2018 (December-March) at Regional Research Station, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Vridhachalam, Cuddalore district of Tamil Nadu to study the pod sowing technique cum priming on the growth and productivity of groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.). The experiment was conducted in a split-plot design (SPD) with three replications. The main plot treatments consisted of three spacing (30 × 10 cm; 30 × 15 cm and 30 × 20 cm) treatments while the four pod priming subplot treatments were as follows: Control (dry pod), 1% CaCl2; 1% KH2 PO4 and water soaking. It can be concluded that the new and novel method of pod sowing with 30 × 15 cm combined with 1% CaCl2 may be recommended. Hence from this study, it can be concluded that the novel method of pod sowing with 30 × 15 cm combined with 1% CaCl2 with a higher benefit-cost ratio of 2.19 and 2.23 for spacing and pod priming respectively. Hence, it may be recommended in areas across the globe where labor shortage, drudgery reduction, vagaries in monsoon, mechanized cultivation are typical to get assured crop establishment and cultivation of groundnut for getting higher yield and profit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. aizawai transducing genome phi-HD248 is double-stranded and has a size of 47,150 bp. The restriction endonuclease map derived from the enzymes BamHI, BglII, SalI and SstI suggests a partial circular nature for the phage. The restriction fragments of BamHI, SstI and BglII have other full-length restriction fragments on either side. The terminal positions of BamHI, SstI and BglII fragments in all phi-HD248 DNA molecules are different. The enzyme SalI has a unique cleavage site which is probably useful as a vector for genes in B. thuringiensis.