Various Organic Nutrient Sources in Combinations with Inorganic Fertilizers Influence the Yield and Quality of Sweet Corn(Zea mays L.saccharata)in New Alluvial Soils of West Bengal,India

Nutrient management plays a crucial role in the yield and quality of sweet corn.A field experiment was conducted in consecutive two kharif seasons in 2018 and 2019 to investigate the effect of various organic sources of nutrients in combination with inorganic sources on the yield and quality of sweet corn under new alluvial soils of West Bengal,India.Treatments were:T_(1):Control(without fertilizers);T_(2):100%recommended dose(RDF)of chemical fertilizers(CF)(RDF CF_(100%));T_(3):100%recommended dose of N(RDN)through vermicompost(VC)(RDN VC_(100%));T_(4):50 RDN through CF+50%RDN through VC(RDN CF_(50%)+RDN VC50%);T_(5):50%RDF through CF+50%RDN through organic source(OS)1,Soligro(Ascophyllum nodosum)granular(RDN CF_(50%)+RDN OS_(150%));T6:50%RDN through CF+50%RDN through OS 2,Bioenzyme(liquid)(RDN CF_(50%)+RDN OS250%);T7:50%RDN through CF+50%RDN through OS 3,Opteine(Ascophyllum nodosum)filtrate[RDN CF_(50%)+RDN OS350%];T8:50%RDN through VC+50%RDF through OS 1,Soligro(Ascophyllum nodosum)granular(RDN VC50%+RDN OS_(150%)).The OS of fertilizers were VC,SoliGro Gr(OS1)(Ascophyllum nodosum),Bioenzyme liquid(OS2),and Opteine(Ascophyllum nodosum)filtrate(OS3).The inorganic source was traditional CF applied at the RDF(150:75:75 kg ha^(−1) of N:P2O5:K2O).The VC was used to supply 100%RDN as one source or 50%RDN when combined with CF or OS.Maximum fruit yield(10.75 and 10.79 t ha^(−1) in 2018 and 2019,respectively)was recorded when RDF was substituted through CF only,being statistically at par with 50%CF+50%VC on a nitrogen equivalent basis(9.92 and 10.00 t ha^(−1) in 2018 and 2019,respectively)and 100%VC(8.22 and 8.32 t ha^(−1) in 2018 and 2019,respectively).Compared to chemical sources of nutrients,VC-based treatments produced a larger percentage of large-size cob(>25 cm).The 100%VC increased antioxidant(8.35 and 8.45 mg g^(−1)),carotenoid(0.59 and 0.61 mg/100 g),and phenol(55.06 and 55.02 mg 100 g^(−1))content compared with its 50%dose in combination with other sources.The study revealed the potentiality of organic sources towards achieving improved cob quality of sweet corn.

Rhizobium Inoculation and Micronutrient Addition Influence the Growth,Yield,Quality and Nutrient Uptake of Garden Peas(Pisum sativum L.)

Garden pea productivity and qualities are hampered in zinc(Zn),boron(B),and molybdenum(Mo)deficient soil.Thus,the combination of micronutrients(i.e.,Zn,B,and Mo)and rhizobium is necessary to increase the productivity and quality of garden peas,since this management for garden peas is neglected in Bangladesh.Therefore,the present study was made to assess the effectiveness of rhizobium inoculant singly or in combination with the micronutrients(i.e.,Zn,B,and Mo)on growth,yield,nutrient uptake,and quality of garden peas.Treatments were:T_(1)=Control,T_(2)=Rhizobium inoculation at 50 g/kg seed,T_(3)=T_(2)+Zn_(3)Mo1,T_(4)=T_(2)+B_(2)Mo1,T_(5)=T_(2)+Zn_(3)B_(2),T_(6)=T_(2)+Zn_(3)B_(2)Mo1 and T_(7)=Zn_(3)B_(2)Mo1.All treatments were arranged in a randomized complete block design and repeated all treatments in three times.The application of 3 kg Zn,2 kg B,and 1 kg Mo ha^(−1)with inoculation of Rhizobium at 50 g kg^(−1)seed(T_(6))facilitated to increase of 44.8%in the green pod and 29.7%seed yield over control.The same treatment contributed to attaining the maximum nodulation(25.3 plant^(−1)),Vitamin C(43.5 mg 100 g^(−1)),protein content(22.2%),and nutrient uptake as well as accumulation in garden peas.Among all treatment combinations,treatment T_(6)was found superior to others based on microbial activities,soil fertility,and profitability.The results of the study found that the application of 3 kg Zn,2 kg B,and 1 kg Mo ha^(−1)in combination with Rhizobium inoculation(50 g kg^(−1)seed)can improve the yield and quality of garden peas.The results of the study have the potential for the areas,where there is no use of Rhizobium inoculant or Zn,B,and Mo fertilizer for cultivation of garden pea.

Improvement of Early Maturing and Climate Resilient Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) Cultivars Suitable for Multiple Environments in Bangladesh

Ensuring food security for the rapidly increasing population and changing climatic scenarios are requisites for exploiting the genetic divergence of food crops.A study was undertaken to sort out an early maturing chickpea variety for fitting easily between rice-rice cropping systems in the Eastern Indo-Gangetic Plain of Bangladesh.The trial was comprised of eight elite lines of chickpea and executed at various localities in Bangladesh from 2014–15 to 2017–18.The result explored the chickpea genotype,BARI Chola-11 remained superior to the rest of the elite genotypes for having a short maturity period(100–106 days),and lesser days to 50%flowering(47–55 days).The same genotype was recorded to have robust vegetative and reproductive yield attributes including plant height(49–57 cm),podsplant−1(37–50),and optimum 100 seed weight(19.5–20.6 g).Owing to better yield attributes,BARI Chola-11 resulted in the maximum seed yield(1200–1500 kg ha-1)of chickpea and might be recommended for general adoption in the region for boosting nutritional security status through improved productivity under changing climate.

Advances in DNA methylation and its role in cytoplasmic male sterility in higher plants

The impact of epigenetic modifications like DNA methylation on plant phenotypes has expanded the possibilities for crop development.DNA methylation plays a part in the regulation of both the chromatin structure and gene expression,and the enzyme involved,DNA methyltransferase,executes the methylation process within the plant genome.By regulating crucial biological pathways,epigenetic changes actively contribute to the creation of the phenotype.Therefore,epigenome editing may assist in overcoming some of the drawbacks of genome editing,which can have minor off-target consequences and merely facilitate the loss of a gene’s function.These drawbacks include gene knockout,which can have such off-target effects.This review provides examples of several molecular characteristics of DNA methylation,as well as some plant physiological processes that are impacted by these epigenetic changes in the plants.We also discuss how DNA alterations might be used to improve crops and meet the demands of sustainable and environmentally-friendly farming.

Biochar for Sustainable Soil Health:A Review of Prospects and Concerns

Biochar as a soil amendment is confronted with the challenge that it must benefit soil health as it can be by no means separated from soils once it is added. The available literature even though sparse and mostly based on short-term studies has been encouraging and the trend obtained so far has raised many hopes. Biochar has been reported to positively impact an array of soil processes ranging from benefiting soil biology, controlling soil-borne pathogens, enhancing nitrogen fixation, improving soil physical and chemical properties,decreasing nitrate(NO-3) leaching and nitrous oxide(N2O) emission to remediation of contaminated soils. However, very little biochar is still utilized as soil amendment mainly because these benefits are yet to be quantified, and also the mechanisms by which the soil health is improved are poorly understood. Due to the infancy of research regarding this subject, there are still more questions than answers. The future research efforts must focus on carrying out long-term experiments and uncover the mechanisms underlying these processes so that key concerns surrounding the use of biochar are addressed before its large scale application is recommended.

Effects of nanofertilizer and nano-plant hormone on soil chemical properties and microbial community in two different soil types

Application of nanotechnology in agriculture has been expanded to improve crop production.The impact of nanomaterials(NMs)on factors that influence the survival and function of beneficial microorganisms is a less studied aspect that needs to be better understood.Only a few studies have assessed the effects of NMs on beneficial soil microorganisms.This study was conducted to assess the effects of nanofertilizer FertiGroe?N(FG-N)and nano-plant hormone HormoGroe?auxin(HG-A)on the chemical properties and microbial communities of two contrasting soils,Lipa clay loam(CL)and Sariaya sandy loam(SL),over a 35-d incubation period in the laboratory.Bacterial and fungal communities were evaluated using amplicon sequencing analysis within the 16S and internal transcribed spacer regions,respectively.The application of FG-N significantly decreased soil pH,but did not affect total N and available P for both soil types.A significant increase in exchangeable K was observed only in Lipa CL.The application of HG-A had no significant effect on soil chemical properties.Regarding the bacterial community after incubation,the relative abundances of Acidobacteriia,Chthonomonadetes,and Saccharimonadia decreased,whereas Acidimicrobiia,Chloroflexia,and Gemmatimonadetes increased with FG-N application in Lipa CL.The application of HG-A increased the relative abundance of Rubrobacteria,Chthonomonadetes,and Chloroflexia in Lipa CL.For the fungal community,FG-N application increased the relative abundance of Sordariomycetes,Agaricomycetes,and Eurotiomycetes,whereas Dothideomycetes and Mortierellomycetes decreased in Lipa CL after incubation.In Sariaya SL,FG-N application increased the relative abundance of Dothideomycetes,Eurotiomycetes,and Mortierellomycetes,but decreased that of Sordariomycetes and Agaricomycetes.Fungal classes observed in the control samples were not detected in the HG-A treatment,but were recovered after incubation in Lipa CL.The microbial diversity in both soil types showed slight changes with FG-N and HG-A application.Principal coordinate analysis illustrated the clustering of bacterial and fungal taxa between Lipa CL and Sariaya SL.Pearson correlation analysis showed that several bacterial and fungal communities were positively or negatively correlated with soil pH.The results suggest that FG-N can be safely used in crop production and HG-A may be used mainly for vegetative propagation.

Davana： A New Host Plant for Ralstonia solanacearum from India

Ralstonia solanacearum infecting Davana （Artemisia pallens Wall.） from commercial nurseries in India was isolated on modified semi selective media （SMSA）. Here, we report a new host for Ralstonia solanacearum i.e. davana. It has huge demand in medicinal and aromatic industries. Isolate was confirmed as race-l, biovar-3 by morphological, physiological, biochemical and pathogenicity studies. Two sets of primers （OLI 1 ＆ Y2 and Y 1 ＆ Y2） were used in this study. Further, the identity of the isolate was confirmed by serological diagnostic kit obtained from International Potato Research Center, Lima, Peru and single chain variable fragment antibody specific to Ralstonia solanacearum used to confirm the casual organism.

Soil Microbiological Activity and Carbon Dynamics in the Current Climate Change Scenarios:A Review

Microbial activities are affected by a myriad of factors with end points involved in nutrient cycling and carbon sequestration issues.Because of their prominent role in the global carbon balance and their possible role in carbon sequestration, soil microbes are very important organisms in relation to global climate changes. This review focuses mainly on the responses of soil microbes to climate changes and subsequent effects on soil carbon dynamics. An overview table regarding extracellular enzyme activities(EAA) with all relevant literature data summarizes the effects of different ecosystems under various experimental treatments on EAA. Increasing temperature, altered soil moisture regimes, and elevated carbon dioxide significantly affect directly or indirectly soil microbial activities.High temperature regimes can increase the microbial activities which can provide positive feedback to climate change, whereas lower moisture condition in pedosystem can negate the increase, although the interactive effects still remain unanswered. Shifts in soil microbial community in response to climate change have been determined by gene probing, phospholipid fatty acid analysis(PLFA),terminal restriction length polymorphism(TRFLP), and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis(DGGE), but in a recent investigations,omic technological interventions have enabled determination of the shift in soil microbe community at a taxa level, which can provide very important inputs for modeling C sequestration process. The intricacy and diversity of the soil microbial population and how it responds to climate change are big challenges, but new molecular and stable isotope probing tools are being developed for linking fluctuations in microbial diversity to ecosystem function.

Evaluating Fertilization Effects on Soil Physical Properties Using a Soil Quality Index in an Intensive Rice-Wheat Cropping System

Soil quality assessment has been suggested as an effective tool for evaluating sustainability of soil and crop management practices.The objective of this study was to develop a sensitive soil quality index(SQI) based on bulk density(BD),water-holding capacity(WHC),water-stable aggregates(WSA),aggregate mean weight diameter(AMWD),total organic C(TOC) and C input to evaluate the important rice-wheat cropping system on an Inceptisol in India.A long-term experiment has been conducted for 18 years at the Indian Council of Agricultural Research-Indian Institute of Farming Systems Research,Modipuram,India.The treatments selected for this study were comprised of a no-fertilizer control and N,P and K fertilizers(NPK) combined with Zn and S fertilizers(NPK+ Zn+S),farmyard manure(NPK+FYM),green gram residues(NPK+GR) and cereal residues(NPK+CR),laid out in a randomized complete block design with three replications.Soil samples were collected and analyzed for BD,WHC,WSA and TOC.Correlation analysis revealed that both rice and wheat yields signi?cantly increased with the increases in AMWD,TOC and C input,but decreased with the increase in BD.The SQI values were then generated based on regression analysis of BD,WSA,AMWD,TOC and C input with rice and wheat yields for the 0–15 and 15–30 cm soil layers,respectively.Regression analyses between crop yields and SQI values showed a quadratic type of relation with the coeffcient of determination(R^2) varying from 0.78 to 0.89.With regard to soil sustainability,applying crop residues to both rice and wheat could maintain soil quality for a longer period,whereas the highest yields of both the crops were recorded in the NPK+Zn+S treatment.The regression equations developed in this study could be used to monitor soil quality in a subhumid tropical rice-wheat cropping system.

Actinobacteria-enhanced plant growth, nutrient acquisition, and crop protection:Advances in soil, plant, and microbial multifactorial interactions

Agricultural areas of land are deteriorating every day owing to population increase, rapid urbanization, and industrialization. To feed today’s huge populations, increased crop production is required from smaller areas, which warrants the continuous application of high doses of inorganic fertilizers to agricultural land. These cause damage to soil health and, therefore, nutrient imbalance conditions in arable soils. Under these conditions, the benefits of microbial inoculants (such as Actinobacteria) as replacements for harmful chemicals and promoting ecofriendly sustainable farming practices have been made clear through recent technological advances. There are multifunctional traits involved in the production of different types of bioactive compounds responsible for plant growth promotion, and the biocontrol of phytopathogens has reduced the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. There are some well-known groups of nitrogen-fixing Actinobacteria, such as Frankia, which undergo mutualism with plants and offer enhanced symbiotic trade-offs.In addition to nitrogen fixation, increasing availability of major plant nutrients in soil due to the solubilization of immobilized forms of phosphorus and potassium compounds, production of phytohormones, such as indole-3-acetic acid, indole-3-pyruvic acid, gibberellins, and cytokinins, improving organic matter decomposition by releasing cellulases, xylanase, glucanases, lipases, and proteases, and suppression of soil-borne pathogens by the production of siderophores, ammonia, hydrogen cyanide, and chitinase are important features of Actinobacteria useful for combating biotic and abiotic stresses in plants.The positive influence of Actinobacteria on soil fertility and plant health has motivated us to compile this review of important findings associated with sustaining plant productivity in the long run.

Multi-scale processes influencing global carbon storage and land-carbon-climate nexus:A critical review

Carbon(C)is a key constitutive element in living organisms(plants,microbes,animals,and humans).Carbon is also a basic component of agriculture because it plays a dynamic role in crop growth,development,nutrient cycling,soil fertility,and other agricultural features.The presence of C enhances soil physical,chemical,and biological properties.The C cycle supports all life on the Earth by transferring C between living organisms and the environment.The global climate is changing,and this change is attributable to the release of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases from human activities.Owing to the global climate change,agriculture is expected to be majorly affected.Agricultural production is directly linked to the climate.The five main global C pools are the oceanic,geologic,pedologic,atmospheric,and biotic pools,with specific reservoirs and inter-pool fluxes.The soil organic matter has various organic C pools(active,slow,and passive pools),containing various C-based fractions and specific liability pools.Climate,geology,land use,and management techniques are some of the variables that affect organic C and its reservoirs.The dynamics of each of these variables must be understood for a thorough knowledge of how they impact the soil C pools and storage capacity under the changing climate conditions.This review provides a comprehensive overview of the various factors that affect soil C pools/fractions and their C sequestration capacity.