A novel Effective Panicle Number per Plant 4 haplotype enhances grain yield by coordinating panicle number and grain number in rice

Increasing effective panicle number per plant(EPN)is one approach to increase yield potential in rice.However,molecular mechanisms underlying EPN remain unclear.In this study,we integrated mapbased cloning and genome-wide association analysis to identify the EPN4 gene,which is allelic to NARROW LEAF1(NAL1).Overexpression lines containing the Teqing allele(TQ)of EPN4 had significantly increased EPN.NIL-EPN4^(TQ) in japonica(geng)cultivar Lemont(LT)exhibited significantly improved EPN but decreased grain number and flag leaf size relative to LT.Haplotype analysis indicated that accessions with EPN4-1 had medium EPN,medium grain number,and medium grain weight,but had the highest grain yield among seven haplotypes,indicating that EPN4-1 is an elite haplotype of EPN4 for positive coordination of the three components of grain yield.Furthermore,accessions carrying the combination of EPN4-1 and haplotype GNP1-6 of GNP1 for grain number per panicle showed higher grain yield than those with other allele combinations.Therefore,pyramiding of EPN4-1 and GNP1-6 could be a preferred approach to obtain high yield potential in breeding.

Performance of a Horizontal Flow Constructed Reed Bed Filter for Municipal Wastewater Treatment: The Case Study of the Prototype Installed at Gaston Berger University, Saint-Louis, Senegal

In Saint-Louis, Senegal, a constructed wetland with horizontal flow reed beds (FHa and FHb) has demonstrated significant efficacy in treating municipal wastewater. Analyzing various treatment stages, the system showed only a slight temperature variation, from an influent average of 26.3°C to an effluent of 24.7°C. Electrical conductivity decreased from 1331 mS/cm to 974.5 mS/cm post-primary treatment, with suspended solids (SS) dramatically reduced from 718.9 mg/L to 5.7 mg/L in the final effluent. Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) saw a notable decrease, from initial levels of 655.6 mg/L and 1240 mg/L to 2.3 mg/L and 71.3 mg/L, respectively. Nitrogenous compounds (N-TN) and phosphates () also decreased significantly, indicating the system’s nutrient removal capacity. Microbiological analysis revealed a reduction in fecal coliforms from 7.5 Ulog/100ml to 1.8 Ulog/100ml and a complete elimination of helminth eggs. The presence of Phragmites and Typha was instrumental in enhancing these reductions. The system’s compliance with the Senegalese standards for disposal into natural environments, WHO recommendations for unrestricted water reuse in irrigation, and the European legislation for water reuse was established. The effluent quality met the stringent criteria for various classes of agricultural reuse, illustrating the system’s potential for sustainable water management. This wetland model presents a robust solution for water-stressed regions, ensuring environmental protection while supporting agricultural needs. The study calls for ongoing research to further refine the system for optimal, reliable wastewater treatment and water resource sustainability.

Garden Egg (Solanum melongena L.) Performance under Different Sources of Animal Manure as a Sustainable Alternative Fertilizer for Farmers

To ensure food security, continuous intensive farming systems with limited fallowing periods and other farming systems like crop rotation have led to poor soil health with extremely low organic matter, especially in tropical regions with high organic matter mineralization. Small-scale farmers in developing countries cannot afford intensive agricultural systems with heavy chemical inputs, which have not improved soil health. Inorganic fertilizers are harmful to the environment, so farmers should use cheap, locally available organic fertilizers like animal manure, which supports organic agricultural systems and soil health. Animal manure is used as a soil amendment to improve soil health, fertility, and crop yields, but data on how different manures affect specific crops is scarce. Poultry, cattle, and goat manure were compared to no fertilizer and mineral fertilizer on garden egg phenology, vegetative growth, and yield. Poultry manure improved garden egg vegetative growth, phenology, yield, and yield components compared to the negative control and the other treatments. Poultry manure yielded the most fruit at 0.921 kg∙ha-1, followed by cattle and goat manure at 0.709 kg∙ha-1 and 0.698 kg∙ha-1. In conclusion, poultry manure may be a better alternative to synthetic NPK with yield performance similar to garden eggs and long-term soil health benefits similar to other manure sources.

Mining Elite Alleles of Growth Duration and Productive Panicle Number per Plant by Association Mapping with Conditional Phenotypic Value in Japonica Rice

To provide genetic information and materials for breeding hybrid japonica rice with wide adaptability and strong competitive advantage of yield, elite alleles and their carrier varieties of growth duration （GD） and productive panicle number per plant （PN） were detected. A natural population composed of 94 japonica varieties was phenotyped for the GD, PN and plant height （PH） in two environments. The conditional phenotypic data were transferred by the linear model method in software QGAStation 1.0, and association mapping based on the unconditional and conditional phenotype values of GD and PN was analyzed by using general linear model in software TASSEL. A total of 34 simple sequence repeat （SSR） marker loci associated with GD and PN were detected in the two environments. Among them, 15 were associated with GD, and 19 were associated with PN. Four elite alleles of RM8095-120bp, RM7102-176bp, RM72-170bp and RM72-178bp were associated with GD, and their carrier varieties were Hongmangshajing, Nipponbare, Hongmangshajing and Nannongjing 62401, respectively. These elite alleles from the carrier varieties can shorten GD by 2.03-9.93 d when they were introduced into improved materials. RM72-182bp associated with PN was an elite allele, and its carrier variety was Xiaoqingzhong. It can increase PN by three when introduced into improved materials. Moreover, these elite alleles can be used to improve target traits without influencing another two traits.

Effects of NPY Gene on Total Number of Eggs at 300 Days of Age in Donglan Black-bone Chicken

In this study, PCR-RFLP technique was employed to detect the genetic polymorphism of NPY gene and analyze the effects of various genotypes on the total number of eggs at 300 days of age in 135 Donglan black-bone chicken. According to the results, there were three genotypes （AA, AB and BB） of NPYgene in Donglan black-bone chicken group. Different genotypes exhibited significant effects （P 〈 0. 05 ） on the total number of eggs at 300 days of age. The total number of eggs at 300 days of age of AA genotype was significantly higher than that of BB genotype （P 〈 0. 05）. Therefore, the polymorphic site of NPY gene could be used as a candidate molecular marker that affects egg laying in Donglan black-bone chicken.

Determination of rice panicle numbers during heading by multi-angle imaging

Plant phenomics has the potential to accelerate progress in understanding gene functions and environmental responses. Progress has been made in automating high-throughput plant phenotyping. However, few studies have investigated automated rice panicle counting. This paper describes a novel method for automatically and nonintrusively determining rice panicle numbers during the full heading stage by analyzing color images of rice plants taken from multiple angles. Pot-grown rice plants were transferred via an industrial conveyer to an imaging chamber. Color images from different angles were automatically acquired as a turntable rotated the plant. The images were then analyzed and the panicle number of each plant was determined. The image analysis pipeline consisted of extracting the i2 plane from the original color image, segmenting the image, discriminating the panicles from the rest of the plant using an artificial neural network, and calculating the panicle number in the current image. The panicle number of the plant was taken as the maximum of the panicle numbers extracted from all 12 multi-angle images. A total of 105 rice plants during the full heading stage were examined to test the performance of the method. The mean absolute error of the manual and automatic count was 0.5, with 95.3% of the plants yielding absolute errors within ± 1. The method will be useful for evaluating rice panicles and will serve as an important supplementary method for high-throughput rice phenotyping.

Comparative Laying Performance, Egg Quality, Fertility and Hatchability of Guinea Fowl with Tilili, Horro and Potchefstroom Koekoek Chicken Breeds

A study was conducted to compare laying performance, fertility, hatchability, and egg quality of guinea fowl (GF) with Horro (HR) and Tilili (TL) local chicken and Potchefstroom Koekoek (PK) exotic chicken. Forty five layers from each genotype and 6 cocks from each chicken genotype and 9 cocks from GF were used in 3 replications in a completely randomized design. Commercial layer feed was used ad libitum for the study that lasted 29 weeks. Daily DM intake per hen was 85, 114, 103 and 137 g (SEM = 3.1) for GF, HR, TL and PK, respectively, and was in the order of GF < TL < HR < PK. Final body weight of hens was highest for PK (2490 g), intermediate for HR (1983 g) and lowest for TL (1671 g) and GF (1641 g). Egg number per production week followed a similar trend like that of DM intake and was 71, 101, 75 and 121 (SEM = 0.5) for GF, HR, TL and PK, respectively. Both fertility and hatchability of fertile eggs for GF were 57%, which were lower than the mean of chicken genotypes by 41% and 34%, respectively. Embryonic mortality was higher for GF (early, middle and late was 15.8%, 10.0%. and 17.4% respectively) compared to chicken genotypes. Chick weight was highest for PK, intermediate for HR and TL and lowest for GF;while chick length was in the order of PK > HR > TL > GF. Average egg weight was higher for PK eggs (46.4 g), intermediate for HR (43.5 g) and TL (42.3 g), and lowest for GF (35.9 g). Eggshell weight and thickness were higher for GF than chicken genotypes. Haugh unit was similar among genotypes. Such differences among poultry genotypes could be reflection of previous selection and breeding interventions, which are apparently more in chicken genotypes than GF. A possible more stressful condition of the confined environment for GF versus chicken genotypes could have also contributed to such differences. This study highlighted the need of implementing future selection and breeding schemes to improve the performance of GF and TL birds to the level achieved by other genotypes.

Age Structure and Change Trend of Tobacco Farmers:A Case Study of Shashi Town,Liuyang City,Hunan Province

Taking the tobacco-growing area of Shashi Town,Liuyang City as the object,the number of registered,newly added and resigned tobacco farmers in each year,average age,number and proportion of tobacco farmers of different ages,number and proportion of tobacco farmers born in different eras,as well as planting scale and planting history of flue-cured tobacco in the last 10 years were analyzed statistically.The results showed that the number of tobacco farmers in Shashi Town showed a rapid decline trend from 2012 to 2018,while the average age continuously increased,and the average planting scale rose in a wave like way.From 2019 to 2021,the decline rate of the number of tobacco farmers slowed down,and the average planting scale continuously increased,while the aging of tobacco farmers accelerated.Meantime,the birth years of tobacco farmers were further concentrated in the 1960s,and they were mainly at the age of 50-59.The tobacco industry in Shashi Town of Liuyang City is facing the crisis of aging tobacco farmers and no successor of flue-cured tobacco planting,and it is predicted that the next 5-10 years will continue the change trend from 2019 to 2021.

QTL mapping for plant height and fruit branch number based on RIL population of upland cotton

Background:Plant height(PH)and fruit branch number(FBN)are important traits for improving yield and mechanical harvesting of cotton.In order to identify genes of PH and FBN in cotton germplasms to develop superior cultivars,quantitative trait loci(QTLs)for these traits were detected based on the phenotypic evaluation data in nine environments across four locations and 4 years and a previously reported genetic linkage map of an recombinant inbred line(RIL)population of upland cotton.Results:In total,53 QTLs of PH and FBN,were identified on 21 chromosomes of the cotton genome except chromosomes c02,c09-c11,and c22.For PH,27 QTLs explaining 3.81%–8.54%proportions of phenotypic variance were identified on 18 chromosomes except c02,c08-c12,c15,and c22.For FBN,26 QTLs explaining 3.23%–11.00%proportions of phenotypic variance were identified on 16 chromosomes except c02-c03,c06,c09-c11,c17,c22-c23,and c25.Eight QTLs were simultaneously identified in at least two environments.Three QTL clusters containing seven QTLs were identified on three chromosomes(c01,c18 and c21).Eleven QTLs were the same as previously reported ones,while the rest were newly identified.Conclusions:The QTLs and QTL clusters identified in the current study will be helpful to further understand the genetic mechanism of PH and FBN development of cotton and will enhance the development of excellent cultivars for mechanical managements in cotton production.

Simulation of Nigerian Crude Oil Types for Modular Refinery (Topping Plant) Operations

This research study focused on the need to curb scarcity and importation of petroleum finished products in oil-producing nation Nigeria through the operation of conventional modular refineries in conjunction with major refineries operating efficiently. Hence, the study focused on the suitability and operations of conventional modular refinery processes by considering twenty different types of Nigerian crude oil for crude oil assay analysis and classification using Aspen Hysys. The crude oil assay results categorized the twenty Nigerian crude oil types as light and medium sweet crude, while based on recovery volume percent at a true boiling point of 370&#8451;, the twenty crude oil types were categorized into Group A (crude oil with recovery volume above 80%), Group B (crude oil with recovery volume between 70% and 79%) and Group C (crude oil with recovery volume below 70%) respectively. Besides, light and medium sweet oil types were simulated in a conventional modular refinery (topping plant) at different numbers of column trays (25, 29, 35, 40 and 48) to determine their product yield. Based on product yield and equipment costs at different numbers of tray columns, a modular refinery with twenty-nine column trays was applied in this study. Thus, twenty Nigerian crude oil types were simulated in a conventional modular refinery of 30,000 barrel per day capacity and twenty-nine column trays respectively to evaluate their product yield and tray compositions.

Twenty years of Chinese vascular plant novelties,2000 through 2019

From 2000 to 2019,11,895 new names or new additions to the Chinese vascular flora were proposed by 4226 individuals(4086 articles and 140 books),as documented in the Chinese Plant Names Index(CPNI).During those 20 years,4407 new taxa of vascular plants were described from China,including 7 new families,132 new genera,3543 new species,68 new subspecies,497 new varieties and 160 new forms.Additionally,3562 new combinations and names at new rank and 306 new replacement names were also proposed.Among these various new names were 150 invalid names and 108 illegitimate names,including some that have not been resolved.Six hundred and forty three vascular plants were reported as new to China,while 2349 names were reduced to synonyms of 1406 taxa.The data show that the Chinese flora increased in size at the rate of about 200 taxa annually during those years.Despite the increased attention given to biodiversity in recent years,the evidence indicates that a large number of species in China have yet to be discovered.Further basic investigation of the Chinese flora is needed.Additionally,in the past two decades only 8.5%of the newly published species have been based on molecular evidence,but in the past five years such data have increased significantly,reaching about 20%.Molecular data will undoubtedly become increasingly significant in the discovery of new species in the coming years.Yunnan,Guangxi,Sichuan,Xizang and Taiwan were important sources of new discoveries,with more than 3300 new taxa and records from these five provinces.By area,Taiwan and Hainan,two islands in southern China,have the highest density of newly discovered species.Regional plant surveys are still needed,especially in areas in the southwest and on the southern islands.

Quantitative classification and analysis on plant communities in the middle reaches of the Tarim River

Plant communities were sampled in the lower reaches of the Tarim River, Xinjiang. The results showed that there are 23 species belonging to 21 genera in 11 families, most of which have low occurrence frequency in quadrats. The most common species is Tamarix ramosissima, which occurred in 17 sites accounting for 89.47% of the total 19 sites. Quantitative classification (TWINSPAN) and ordination (CCA) methods were used to study the distribution patterns of 23 plant species in 19 sites in this valley. TWINSPAN results showed that the plant communities in the middle reaches of the Tarim River could be divided into 3 groups and the sampling sites could be divided into 7 types in 3 groups. CCA results were consistent with TWINSPAN results, and showed species distribution patterns correlated with major environmental variables of groundwater level and soil moisture.

Genetic Behaviour of Bacterial Wilt Resistance in Brinjal (Solanum melongena L.) in Tropics of Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India

Brinjal or eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) is severely affected by bacterial wilt caused by Ralstonia solanecearum in Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Resistant varieties are most suitable option to reduce crop losses from bacterial wilt but knowledge of resistance mechanism and its inheritance is important to develop resistant varieties. Further, majority of germplasm from mainland India showed susceptible reaction under Andaman conditions. Thus, the present study was done during 2010-2012 to understand the genetic behaviour of bacterial wilt resistance in brinjal “CARI-B-1” (R) × “Pusa Purple Long” (S) in hot humid tropical climate of Andaman Islands. For this, the population from single F1 fruit was advanced to F2 and F3 and recorded the reaction of segregating population in the sick plots. The results revealed that there is preponderance of recessive gene family wherein more than one gene acts in additive mode. Another cross between S. torvum (R) × Diglipur local collection (S) also showed the recessive gene action for resistance as observed in F2 generation. Besides, the study also advocated that mechanisms of resistance, escape with early resistance and progressive escape have been found to be operating in individuals of segregating population.

Minor modifications in obtainable Arabidopsis floral dip method enhances transformation efficiency and production of homozygous transgenic lines harboring a single copy of transgene

Many researchers have developed various methods for in-planta or floral dip transformation of Arabidopsis thaliana, one of the simple protocol and widely used to produce transgenic Arabidopsis. As the efficiency and ease of getting a transformant is very much time consuming effort and less number of the transformants people get, we have developed a little modified transformation protocol to avoid the disparities. Four types of inoculums (inoculum1, inoculum2, inoculum3 and inoculum4) were used to check the transformation efficiency out of which Inoculum3 showed the highest rate of transformation among the four types. 0.07% Twin-20 also acts in same manner as silwet L-77 to increase the rate of transformation efficiency and glucose instead of sucrose can be used in inoculum to transform Arabidopsis. After vacuum infiltration keeping the Agrobacterium infected plants for 7-8 hrs horizontally in low light at 280C temperature condition, considered best to get an increased number of transformed seeds. Modified protocol produced ~12-14% increase in transformants. Selection pots (kanamycin supplemented soil filled pots) in place of selection plates (Kanamycin supplemented Murashige and Skoog agar plates) proved beneficial as no MS medium and no aseptic condition is required for selection of transformed plants. This increase in transformation efficiency consequently increased the percentage of homozygous and single copied stable transgenic lines.

Discovery of and Preliminary studies on a Rapid-Leafing Rice Genotype at the Vegetative Growth Stage

The leafing rates of fourteen rice varieties were measured in a sowing-time experiment, and a rapid leafing genotype at the vegetative growth stage was discovered in an indica variety Yanhui 559. The leaf number on the main culm of Yanhui 559 was always 4-5 leaves more than that of Lemont, and the leafing rate of Yanhui 559 was significantly higher than that of Lemont based on similar growth durations from sowing to heading. Furthermore, the difference of the leafing rate was significant at the vegetative growth stage, but not distinctive at the panicle initiation stage. Genetic analysis of the leafing rates in the two backcross populations of Yanhui 559 and Lemont showed that major and quantitative genes controlled the expression of rapid leafing character. Based on results of investigation for some plants with similar growth durations in the backcrossing populations, the rapid leafing genotypes exhibited earlier tillering and more tiller numbers per plant, and its yield components including the number of panicles per plant and number of grains per panicle were superior to those of the slow leafing genotypes. Further research and application feasibility of the rapid leafing genotype in breeding were discussed.

Effect of micro-algae Schizochytrium sp.supplementation in plant diet on reproduction of female rainbow trout(Oncorhynchus mykiss):maternal programming impact of progeny

Background:The broodstock diet,and in particular the lipid and fatty acid composition of the diet,is known to play a key role in reproductive efficiency and survival of the progeny in fish.A major problem when replacing both fish meal and fish oil by plant sources is the lack of n-3 long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids,such as eicosapentaenoic acid(EPA)and docosahexaenoic acid(DHA).To address this problem,we studied the effect of the plant-based diet supplemented with Schizochytrium sp.microalgae,source of DHA,compared to a conventional commercial diet rich in fish meal and fish oil on reproductive performance and egg quality and the consequences on progeny,in female rainbow trout broodstock.Results:The results demonstrated that DHA-rich microalgae supplementation in a plant-based diet allowed for the maintenance of reproductive performance and egg quality comparable to a conventional commercial feed rich in fish meal and fish oil and led to an increased significant fry survival after resorption.Moreover,when females were fed a plant-based diet supplemented with micro-algae,the 4-month-old progenies showed a significant higher growth when they were challenged with a similar diet as broodstock during 1 month.We provide evidence for metabolic programming in which the maternal dietary induced significant protracted effects on lipid metabolism of progeny.Conclusions:The present study demonstrates that supplementation of a plant-based diet with DHA-rich microalgae can be an effective alternative to fish meal and fish oil in rainbow trout broodstock aquafeed.

Global Dynamic Analysis of a Vector-Borne Plant Disease Model with Discontinuous Treatment

This paper proposes a vector-borne plant disease model with discontinuous treatment strategies. Constructing Lyapunov function and applying non-smooth theory to analyze discontinuous differential equations, the basic reproductive number R0 is proved, which determines whether the plant disease will be extinct or not. If R0 R0 > 1 , there exists a unique endemic equilibrium which is globally stable. The numerical simulations are provided to verify our theoretical results, which indicate that after infective individuals reach some level, strengthening treatment measures is proved to be beneficial in controlling disease transmission.

Effective Seed Distribution Pattern of an Upward Shift Species in Alpine Tundra of Changbai Mountains

The vegetation of alpine tundra in the Changbai Mountains has experienced great changes in recent decades. Narrowleaf small reed(Deyeuxia angustifolia), a perennial herb from the birch forest zone had crossed the tree line and invaded into the alpine tundra zone. To reveal the driven mechanism of D. angustifolia invasion, there is an urgent need to figure out the effective seed distribution pattern, which could tell us where the potential risk regions are and help us to interpret the invasion process. In this study, we focus on the locations of the seeds in the soil layer and mean to characterize the effective seed distribution pattern of D. angustifolia. The relationship between the environmental variables and the effective seed distribution pattern was also assessed by redundancy analysis. Results showed that seeds of D. angustifolia spread in the alpine tundra with a considerable number(mean value of 322 per m2). They were mainly distributed in the low elevation areas with no significant differences in different slope positions. Effective seed number(ESN) occurrences of D. angustifolia were different in various plant communities. Plant communities with lower canopy cover tended to have more seeds of D. angustifolia. Our research indicated reliable quantitative information on the extent to which habitats are susceptible to invasion.

Testing a bell-shaped function for estimation of fully expanded leaf area in modern maize under potential production conditions

Accurate leaf area simulation is critical for the performance of crop growth models. Area of fully expanded individual leaves of maize hybrids released before 1995 (defined as old hybrids) has been simulated using a bell-shaped function (BSF) and the relationship between its parameters and total leaf number (TLNO). However, modern high-yielding maize hybrids show different canopy architectures. The function parameters calibrated for old hybrids will not accurately represent modern hybrids. In this study, we evaluated these functions using a dataset including old and modern hybrids that have been widely planted in China in recent years. Maximum individual leaf area (Y_0) and corresponding leaf position (X_0) were not predicted well by TLNO (R^2= 0.56 and R^2= 0.70) for modern hybrids. Using recalibrated shape parameters a and b with values of Y_0 and X_0 for modern hybrids, the BSF accurately predicted individual leaf area (R^2= 0.95–0.99) and total leaf area of modern hybrids (R^2= 0.98). The results show that the BSF is still a robust way to predict the fully expanded leaf area of maize when parameters a and b are modified and Y_0 and X_0 are fitted. Breeding programs have led to increases in TLNO of maize but have not altered Y_0 and X_0, reducing the correlation between Y_0, X_0, and TLNO. For modern hybrids, the values of Y_0 and X_0 are hybrid-specific. Modern hybrids tend to have less-negative values of parameter a and more-positive values of parameter b in the leaf profile. Growth conditions, such as plant density and environmental conditions, also affect the fully expanded leaf area but were not considered in the original published equations. Thus, further research is needed to accurately estimate values of Y_0 and X_0 of individual modern hybrids to improve simulation of maize leaf area in crop growth models.