Impact of temperature on yield and related traits in cotton genotypes

Cotton growth and development is influenced by various uncontrollable environmental conditions. Temperature variations in the field can be created by planting at different dates. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the effect of planting dates and thermal temperatures（growing degree days） on yield of 4 cotton genotypes, viz., CIM-598, CIM-599, CIM-602 and Ali Akbar-703. Plants were subjected to 6 planting dates during 2013 and 2014 in a trial conducted in randomized complete block design with four replications. For boll number, boll weight and seed cotton yield, cotton genotypes exhibited significant differences, CIM-599 produced the highest seed cotton yield of 2 062 kg ha^（–1） on account of maximum boll number and boll weight. The highest seed cotton yield was recorded in planting dates from 15 th April to 1st May whereas early and delayed planting reduced the yield due to less accumulation of heat units. Regression analysis revealed that increase of one unit（15 days） from early to optimum date（15th March to 15 th April） increased yield by 93.58 kg ha^–1. Delay in planting also decreased the seed cotton yield with the same ratio. Thus it is concluded that cotton must be sown from 15 th April to 1st May to have good productivity in this kind of environment.

Improving resource-constrained IoT device lifetimes by mitigating redundant transmissions across heterogeneous wireless multimedia of things

In Wireless Multimedia Sensor Networks(WMSNs),nodes capable of retrieving video,audio,images,and small scale sensor data,tend to generate immense traffic of various types.The energy-efficient transmission of such a vast amount of heterogeneous multimedia content while simultaneously ensuring the quality of service and optimal energy consumption is indispensable.Therefore,we propose a Power-Efficient Wireless Multimedia of Things(PE-WMoT),a robust and energy-efficient cluster-based mechanism to improve the overall lifetime of WMSNs.In a PE-WMoT,nodes declare themselves Cluster Heads(CHs)based on available resources.Once cluster formation and CH declaration processes are completed,the Sub-Cluster(SC)formation process triggers,in which application base nodes within close vicinity of each other organize themselves under the administration of a Sub-Cluster Head(SCH).The SCH gathers data from member nodes,removes redundancies,and forwards miniaturized data to its respective CH.PE-WMoT adopts a fuzzy-based technique named the analytical hierarchical process,which enables CHs to select an optimal SCH among available SCs.A PE-WMoT also devises a robust scheduling mechanism between CH,SCH,and child nodes to enable collision-free data transmission.Simulation results revealed that a PE-WMoT significantly reduces the number of redundant packet transmissions,improves energy consumption of the network,and effectively increases network throughput.

Model Farm Services Center Approach: An Implication to Boost Farmer’s Yield

The instant study was conducted to estimate the Model Farm Services Center’s (MFSC) contribution in yield improvement of major crops/vegetables in district Dera Ismail Khan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, during the year 2014-15. Based on Sekaran sampling technique 306 respondents were selected and were personally interviewed through well prepared and pre-tested interview schedule. To find out the actual performance of yield improvement by Model Farm Services Center along with other repressors, step by step analysis was performed. The results of Wilcoxon Sign Rank Test showed significant improvement in yield of sugarcane, wheat, maize, rice and tomato by Model Farm Services Center. Pearson’s correlation coefficient showed highly significant positive relation of sugarcane and wheat yield difference before and after Model Farm Services Center registration with MFSC. Ordinary Least Square Multiple-Regression Model indicates that MFSC registration duration and landholding significantly define the variation in dependent variables at 1% and 5% level of significance respectively for sugarcane yield. Whereas solely Model Farm Services Center registration duration profoundly highly significantly (P ≤ 0.01) explains the variation in dependent variables in wheat yield.

TaMADS29 interacts with TaNF-YB1 to synergistically regulate early grain development in bread wheat

Grain development is a crucial determinant of yield and quality in bread wheat(Triticum aestivum L.).However,the regulatory mechanisms underlying wheat grain development remain elusive.Here we report how Ta MADS29 interacts with Ta NF-YB1 to synergistically regulate early grain development in bread wheat.The tamads29 mutants generated by CRISPR/Cas9 exhibited severe grain filling deficiency,coupled with excessive accumulation of reactive oxygen species(ROS)and abnormal programmed cell death that occurred in early developing grains,while overexpression of Ta MADS29 increased grain width and1,000-kernel weight.Further analysis revealed that Ta MADS29 interacted directly with Ta NF-YB1;null mutation in Ta NF-YB1caused grain developmental deficiency similar to tamads29 mutants.The regulatory complex composed of Ta MADS29 and Ta NF-YB1 exercises its possible function that inhibits the excessive accumulation of ROS by regulating the genes involved in chloroplast development and photosynthesis in early developing wheat grains and prevents nucellar projection degradation and endosperm cell death,facilitating transportation of nutrients into the endosperm and wholly filling of developing grains.Collectively,our work not only discloses the molecular mechanism of MADS-box and NF-Y TFs in facilitating bread wheat grain development,but also indicates that caryopsis chloroplast might be a central regulator of grain development rather than merely a photosynthesis organelle.More importantly,our work offers an innovative way to breed high-yield wheat cultivars by controlling the ROS level in developing grains.