Journal of New Seeds最新文献

{"title":"Living with Limited Water: I. Shoot Hydraulic Resistance as Water-Saving Strategy and its Significance in Varietal Improvement of Rice","authors":"Sanjay Singh, T. Singh, J. Chauhan","doi":"10.1080/1522886X.2010.490763","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/1522886X.2010.490763","url":null,"abstract":"Knowledge of the location and magnitude of resistance to water flow in a plant is fundamental for describing whole-plant response to water deficit as the water after absorption by roots has to pass through various magnitudes of resistance offered by the stem and leaf sheath tissues before reaching the transpiring surfaces, i.e., laminae. Therefore, the hydraulic resistance to water flux was studied in aboveground portions of excised rice plant (Oryza sativa L.) by incubating them with their cut ends under water. The findings suggest that the hydraulic resistance occurs in every organ of the plant, though in varying degrees, the order of its magnitude being greatest in the stem followed by leaf sheath and lamina in that order, i.e., stem > leaf sheath > lamina. Pressurization of water to force entry through the cut end into the detached plant was used to elucidate the temporal dynamics of shoot hydraulic properties in rice cultivars. For this, the time taken for unrolling of leaves that roll back following release of pneumatic pressure by “stop-flow” technique, i.e., pressure application and its release, was used as a yardstick for measuring shoot hydraulic resistance. Drought-adaptable cultivars ‘N-22’ and ‘Baranideep’ were found to have maximal shoot hydraulic resistance as they took the maximum time, i.e., 67 and 64 min respectively, for complete leaf unrolling on account of increased water status under pneumatic pressure. The cultivars ‘Jal-priya’ and ‘Jal-lahari’, suited to waterlogged ecosystem, took the least time (38 to 36 min) for leaf unrolling, indicating low hydraulic resistance thereof. The responses of cultivars ‘NDRH-2’ and ‘NDR-359’, suitable for irrigated conditions, were intermediate, which took 52 to 48 min for leaf unfolding under pressure. It was assumed that the more the time taken for leaf unrolling by a cultivar, the more was its shoot hydraulic resistance. Higher shoot resistance appears to be an important trait that could enhance the ability of plants to compete advantageously for stored moisture in the soil. It is suggested that this new stop-flow technique, a move meant for the beyond the confines of laboratory making a significant departure from other techniques of measuring shoot hydraulic resistance, could be used for screening large number of germplasm and breeding materials of rice to enable plant breeders to select and develop varieties having increased shoot hydraulic resistance, a water-saving trait, for sustainable crop production under reduced water supply ecosystem across the globe.","PeriodicalId":290391,"journal":{"name":"Journal of New Seeds","volume":"31 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2010-08-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"134452701","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"In vitro Germination of Anthurium affine Schott at Half-MS Strength","authors":"Rômulo Magno Oliveira de Freitas, R. da Silva Neto, Jeferson Luiz Dallabona Dombroski, Mychelle Karla Teixeira De Oliveira, N. W. Nogueira, Francisco Augusto Alves Câmara","doi":"10.1080/1522886X.2010.486110","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/1522886X.2010.486110","url":null,"abstract":"The Anthurium affine Schott is an aroid of ornamental and medicinal potential; however, its means of propagation are poorly known. The objective of this study was to evaluate in vitro germination of A. affine Schott in two MS (Murashige and Skoog) medium concentrations (100% and 50%) and under two light intensities (light and dark). The experiment was conducted using a 2 × 2 factorial in a completely randomized arrangement. The four treatments were: T1: 100% MS + dark; T2: 50% MS + dark; T3: 50% MS + light; and T4: 100% MS + light. Each treatment consisted of 30 test tubes (replicates). Seven days after setting up of the experiment, plastic cover was removed from the test tubes, and soon thereafter germination was assessed. Twenty-three days later, the number of leaves, plant height, number of roots, and size of the biggest root were recorded. There were no significant differences among the treatments for number of leaves. Mean plant height, the number of roots, and the size of the biggest root were affected by treatments, however, with Treatments 2 and 3 (50% MS) giving bigger values than Treatments 1 and 4 (100% MS). We concluded that the light treatmentdid not affect seed germination of A. affine and that the half-strength MS medium recorded a better plant development, with taller plants and larger and more roots.","PeriodicalId":290391,"journal":{"name":"Journal of New Seeds","volume":"21 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2010-08-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"133167016","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Optimizing Seed Rate to Suppress Weeds and to Increase Yield in Aerobic Direct-seeded Rice in Northwestern Indo-Gangetic Plains","authors":"G. Mahajan, M. Gill, Kuldeep Singh","doi":"10.1080/1522886X.2010.496109","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/1522886X.2010.496109","url":null,"abstract":"Weed infestation is a major constraint to widespread adoption of aerobic, direct-seeded rice (Oryza sativa L.). Higher than optimum initial seeding density for obtaining more panicles/m2 is often accompanied by reduced panicle size and 1,000-grain weight, and high rate of spikelet sterility. On the other hand, weeds in plots with a lower seeding rate have a better chance to emerge, grow and build up a strong population and thus pose a serious crop-weed competition. Experiments were conducted during kharif (rainy season) 2008 and 2009 to determine the optimum seed rate that can substantially reduce rice-yield loss caused by weed competition under aerobic conditions. A factorial-treatment arrangement was used with factors consisting of five seed rates (15, 30, 60, 120, and 240 kg/ha) and two weed-pressure treatments (weedy-check and weed-free). Weed pressure caused a significant reduction in yield; there was up to 36.2% reduction in yield for weedy check as compared with the weed-free treatment. Seeding rate was inversely correlated to weed interference. The results suggested that higher seed rates caused significant reductions in weed dry matter, whereas higher than optimum seed rate (15–30 kg/ha) caused reduction in yield. Of all the seeding rates used, 15–30 kg/ha had the lowest grain-yield losses caused by weeds. Therefore, it was concluded that optimum seed rate in direct-seeded rice would minimize the effect of weed competition on rice growth and grain yield and thus would reduce herbicide use, promoting integrated-weed management. Further, this proposition improves economy of the farmers who are thinking to shift to hybrid rice, whose seed is very costly. This investigation supports use of hybrid rice cultivars in DSR using a seed rate of 15–30 kg/ha.","PeriodicalId":290391,"journal":{"name":"Journal of New Seeds","volume":"14 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2010-08-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"128296562","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Seed Coat Properties and Longevity of Soybean Seeds","authors":"M. Kuchlan, M. Dadlani, D. Samuel","doi":"10.1080/1522886X.2010.497960","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/1522886X.2010.497960","url":null,"abstract":"Comparative evaluation of the physical characteristics of seeds, viz. color, size and density, proportion of seed coat, pores on the seed coat surface and “hourglass” cells in the seed coat, and seed longevity was made in 12 soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merrill] varieties. Physical properties of seed influenced the strength of the seed coat, which provides protection from mechanical damage during the preharvest and postharvest operations. There was significant genotypic variation for most of the seed characteristics, particularly, the gap between the seed coat and cotyledon, and the shape and distribution of hourglass cells in the seed coat. Good storer black-seeded varieties had lesser gap between the seed coat and cotyledon than the poor storer yellow-seeded varieties. Lesser gap was associated with higher mechanical strength of the seed coat. Black-seeded varieties had fewer pores on the seed coat surface and higher lignin content than the yellow-seeded varieties. Significance of these findings in developing better storer soybean varieties is discussed.","PeriodicalId":290391,"journal":{"name":"Journal of New Seeds","volume":"9 3","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2010-08-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"131858419","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Physiological Quality of Informal-Sector Maize Seeds in Nigeria","authors":"O. Odeyemi, S. Ajayi, S. Olakojo","doi":"10.1080/1522886X.2010.486226","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/1522886X.2010.486226","url":null,"abstract":"Lack of access to high quality seeds is a major factor contributing to the worsening of food security situation in Africa and the integration of the formal and informal seed sectors has been advocated as the most viable option for boosting seed security. However, there are concerns about the quality of seeds from the informal sector for which information is not available. To bridge this gap, maize (Zea mays L.) seed samples were drawn from community seed producers in five states in southwest Nigeria. Seed moisture content was estimated gravimetrically and the samples were subjected to seed quality tests, namely standard germination, accelerated aging, and conductivity tests. Across states, locations within states and producers, overall mean standard germination percentage was 91.45 ± 1.51%, standard germination index 5.63 ± 0.16 d, accelerated aging germination 47.10 ± 6.15%, accelerated germination index 9.59 ± 0.77 d and conductivity 8.48 ± 0.68 μS cm−1 g−1. These results indicate a physiologically-nonuniform seedlot with high viability but low vigor. State-to-state as well as farmer-to-farmer variability in the viability and vigor of the seeds were also significant (p < 0.05), suggesting limited knowledge of the community seed producers on production and handling of high quality maize seeds. It was concluded that the production of high quality maize seed could be achieved in wetter agro-ecologies and by community seed producers. However, this will require capacity enhancement of the community seed producers and managers in areas like management and harvesting of seed crop, management of postharvest operations, and detailed record-keeping.","PeriodicalId":290391,"journal":{"name":"Journal of New Seeds","volume":"26 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2010-08-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"121727490","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"How Cassava Exportation Policy Affects Household Consumption of Cassava Food Products in Nigeria","authors":"B. Omonona, O. Alonge, W. Ashagidigbi","doi":"10.1080/15228861003765855","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/15228861003765855","url":null,"abstract":"This article examined the consumption pattern of households for cassava food products (gari, cassava flour, and fufu) and their substitutes (semovita and yam flour) for the periods before and after the implementation of the Cassava exportation policy using the Almost Ideal Demand System. Data were collected using structured questionnaires administered on 218 households in Ibadan North Local Government Area. The analytical techniques used include descriptive and almost ideal demand system (AIDS), from where own and cross price elasticities were calculated before and after the exportation.The mean budget shares of households for cassava food products decreased after the export policy whereas those of their substitutes increased after it. From the result of the computed own price elasticities, the cassava food products were seen to be more price-elastic after the exportation than before it, and the result of the computed cross-price elasticities shows higher values for the substitutes of cassava food products indicating that there is higher shift towards these substitutes after the exportation than before it. The expenditure elasticities were higher after the exportation than it was before the exportation, with the substitutes increasing at a higher rate than the cassava food products. In the short run, the exportation is a strain on the availability of cassava products for domestic consumption and therefore producers of these products will react to demand signals through increased production that will be sufficient for both the local and export market.","PeriodicalId":290391,"journal":{"name":"Journal of New Seeds","volume":"7 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2010-06-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"125895662","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"ICARDA'S Approach in Seed Delivery: Technical Performance and Sustainability of Village-Based Seed Enterprises in Afghanistan","authors":"T. Srinivas, Z. Bishaw, J. Rizvi, A. Niane, A. Manan, K. Amegbeto","doi":"10.1080/15228861003754156","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/15228861003754156","url":null,"abstract":"In the absence of organized formal public or private sector, finding an innovative alternative seed delivery remains a key challenge. ICARDA initiated a novel approach of establishing farmer-led village-based seed enterprises (VBSEs) to ensure rapid access to quality seed of adapted new crop varieties under the Alternative Livelihoods Program (ALP-E) on integrated staple crop development in eastern Afghanistan. This article describes VBSEs, their technical performance, profitability, and impact, and assesses their sustainability as alternative options in Afghanistan. The technical performance of VBSEs showed that they collectively produced 1,060 and 2,170 MT quality seed of wheat, rice, mung bean, and potato in 2006/7 and in 2007/8, respectively. Average purity and germination of seed produced was 98.67 and 93.47%, respectively, in 2006/7 and 98.13 and 91.25% in the same order for 2007/8. It is evident from the profitability analysis of VBSEs' seed operations that all were economically viable by breaking even and covering fixed and variable costs. The net profit from seed business was $315,531 for 15 VBSEs in 2006/7 and it reached $1,311,060 in 2007/8 for 17 VBSEs. For all VBSEs, returns-to-asset ratio showed strong earnings of 3.5% and 4% in 2006/7 and 2007/8, respectively and were lower than an acceptable stress level of 6%. All VBSEs had current ratio above the threshold of one and therefore were not vulnerable to meet short-term debts. The average debt-to-asset ratio of all VBSEs was low (5% in 2006/7 and 1.6% in 2007/8) suggesting their strong borrowing capacity with no financial risk. Similarly, the debt-to-equity ratio indicated that in all cases, the farmers' share of the seed enterprise equity averaged about 5.42% and 1.6% during 2006/7 and 2007/8, respectively. The most progressive and experienced VBSEs are using diversification strategies to increase and stabilize revenues. This provides evidence that quality-seed production at community-level in the form of VBSEs is profitable and an alternative seed-delivery system complementing the formal sector in Afghanistan and elsewhere.","PeriodicalId":290391,"journal":{"name":"Journal of New Seeds","volume":"123 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2010-06-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"133541202","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Bulblet Regeneration from Tepal Explant in Lily Cultivars","authors":"B. Singh, Surinder Kumar, S. Sen","doi":"10.1080/15228861003779658","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/15228861003779658","url":null,"abstract":"Protocol for bulblet regeneration from tepal segments was developed in Asiatic hybrid lily cultivars. The explants were cultured on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with different concentrations of ∞-naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) and 6-benzyladenine (BA). The days for bulblet initiation decreased with the addition of NAA and/or BA in the medium. The bulblets were initiated much earlier (26.9 d) with 1 mg l−1 NAA and 0.5 mg l−1 BA. About 75% of the cultures with 1.2 bulblets per explants were observed in growth regulator-free medium. However, the regeneration response increased to 80.82% with 1.5 mg l−1 NAA and 0.5 mg l−l BA. The number of bulblets per explant and average fresh weight was highest with 1.5 and 1 mg l−1 NAA in combination with 0.5 mg l−1 BA. Among the cultivars, maximum number of bulblets was recorded for ‘Alaska’, whereas heaviest bulblets were observed in ‘Pollyana’. The bulblets attaining the size of 14–16 cm flowered in two and a half years without any phenotypic variations. The protocol developed for bulblet regeneration in Asiatic hybrid lilies from tepal explant could be adopted for mass propagation of commercially important cultivars of lily as an alternative to bulb-scale.","PeriodicalId":290391,"journal":{"name":"Journal of New Seeds","volume":"23 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2010-06-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"126521345","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Seed Development and Germination in an Arabidopsis thaliana Line Antisense to Glutathione Reductase 2","authors":"M. R. Sumugat, J. Donahue, D. Cortes, V. Stromberg, R. Grene, V. Shulaev, G. Welbaum","doi":"10.1080/15228861003776175","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/15228861003776175","url":null,"abstract":"Desiccating and germinating seeds are particularly prone to oxidative stress. Glutathione (GSH) is one of the most abundant and ubiquitous antioxidants in plants. To better understand GSH's role in developing and germinating seeds, wildtype (WT) and a line of seed antisense for glutathione reductase 2 (anGR2), one of two glutathione reductase (GR) genes characterized in the genetic model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, were compared. GSH levels in maturing and germinating seeds were measured by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and GR activity by native Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE). Natural and accelerated aging and germination at high temperature and under water stress were compared for WT and anGR2 seeds. Total GSH pools were two-fold less in anGR2 than in WT after three hours of imbibition. Under high temperature and osmotic stress, germination percentages were lower in anGR2, suggesting a specific relationship between GSH metabolism and stress defense mechanisms early in germination. Germination of anGR2 seeds declined while that of WT seeds increased slightly, during nine months of conventional storage. The relationship between GR2 transcript and activity levels during early imbibition and total GSH pools suggest a key role for GR2 in protection against environmental stress. This study shows that GSH metabolism is one factor that determines the stress tolerance of germinating Arabidopsis seeds.","PeriodicalId":290391,"journal":{"name":"Journal of New Seeds","volume":"35 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2010-06-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"127405699","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Improved Seeds and Green Revolution","authors":"J. Dhiman, M. Kang, V. Parshad, P. Khanna, S. Bal, S. Gosal","doi":"10.1080/1522886X.2010.481777","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/1522886X.2010.481777","url":null,"abstract":"The purpose of this review is to share with developing countries how a dedicated agricultural university helped enhance food production and thwart Malthusian scenario. The Indian adequacy on the food-front has largely been attributed to the development of improved seeds of different crops, in particular wheat and rice, efficient system of agro-technology generation and its transfer to farmers, and useful coordination between state development departments and suitable government policies. We have discussed the revolutionary role of Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) in transforming a food-deficient India into a food self-sufficient nation. This dramatic transformation is dubbed the Green Revolution. Fueled by scientific research, PAU has, since its inception in 1962, released more than 580 improved varieties/hybrids of field crops, vegetables, fruits, fodder, and ornamentals. Now, almost the entire cropped area of the Punjab state is under improved varieties. This is because PAU has one of the best seed-production and delivery programs among agricultural universities in India. Its total seed production capacity during the last five years was >30,000 tons. Millions of disease-free nursery plants of fruits and ornamentals are supplied to farmers annually. The seed-production technology, together with an improved seed-distribution system, has given an impetus to agriculture in recent years. New breeding methods and modern technologies, such as biotechnology, electron microscopy, and nanotechnology, should provide even better seeds in the future. The scanning electron microscopy facilities at PAU have helped distinguish between seed surfaces of drought-resistant and drought-susceptible genotypes of Indian mustard, and, revealed that seed coat microstructure could be used as a selection criterion for stress tolerance. Farmer training in the production of hybrid seed and nursery help boost seed production and farmers' income. The seed-plot technique in potato and rhizobium inoculation of pulse seeds have had a strong impact on production. The supply of high-quality mushroom spawn and quality Kinnow (citrus) plantlets to farmers has boosted mushroom and citrus production, and thereby the farmers' incomes. Ever-increasing population requires universities, such as PAU, to continue to play pivotal roles in enhancing food production. Seed production programs will need to be put on a new trajectory to double food production by 2050 and agricultural universities would need to be strengthened to meet this critical goal.","PeriodicalId":290391,"journal":{"name":"Journal of New Seeds","volume":"48 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2010-06-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"125982100","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}