Evaluating the imazethapyr herbicide mediated regulation of phenol and glutathione metabolism and antioxidant activity in lentil seedlings.

The imidazolinone group of herbicides generally work for controlling weeds by limiting the synthesis of the aceto-hydroxy-acid enzyme, which is linked to the biosynthesis of branched-chain amino acids in plant cells. The herbicide imazethapyr is from the class and the active ingredient of this herbicide is the same as other herbicides Contour, Hammer, Overtop, Passport, Pivot, Pursuit, Pursuit Plus, and Resolve. It is commonly used for controlling weeds in soybeans, alfalfa hay, corn, rice, peanuts, etc. Generally, the herbicide imazethapyr is safe and non-toxic for target crops and environmentally friendly when it is used at low concentration levels. Even though crops are extremely susceptible to herbicide treatment at the seedling stage, there have been no observations of its higher dose on lentils (Lens culinaris Medik.) at that stage. The current study reports the consequence of imazethapyr treatment on phenolic acid and flavonoid contents along with the antioxidant activity of the phenolic extract. Imazethapyr treatment significantly increased the activities of several antioxidant enzymes, including phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL), phenol oxidase (POD), glutathione reductase (GR), and glutathione-s-transferase (GST), in lentil seedlings at doses of 0 RFD, 0.5 RFD, 1 RFD, 1.25 RFD, 1.5 RFD, and 2 RFD. Application of imazethapyr resulted in the 3.2 to 26.31 and 4.57-27.85% increase in mean phenolic acid and flavonoid content, respectively, over control. However, the consequent fold increase in mean antioxidant activity under 2, 2- diphenylpicrylhdrazyl (DPPH) and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assay system was in the range of 1.17-1.85 and 1.47-2.03%. Mean PAL and POD activities increased by 1.63 to 3.66 and 1.71 to 3.35-fold, respectively, in agreement with the rise in phenolic compounds, indicating that these enzyme's activities were modulated in response to herbicide treatment. Following herbicide treatments, the mean thiol content also increased significantly in corroboration with the enhancement in GR activity in a dose-dependent approach. A similar increase in GST activity was also observed with increasing herbicide dose.

Seed priming with selenium and zinc nanoparticles modifies germination, growth, and yield of direct-seeded rice (Oryza sativa L.).

Direct-seeded rice (DSR) seeds are often exposed to multiple environmental stresses in the field, leading to poor emergence, growth and productivity. Appropriate seed priming agents may help to overcome these challenges by ensuring uniform seed germination, and better seedling stand establishment. To examine the effectiveness of sodium selenite (Na-selenite), sodium selenate (Na-selenate), zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs), and their combinations as priming agents for DSR seeds, a controlled pot experiment followed by a field experiment over two consecutive years was conducted on a sandy clay loam soil (Inceptisol) in West Bengal, India. Priming with combinations of all priming agents had advantages over the hydro-priming treatment (control). All the combinations of the three priming agents resulted in the early emergence of seedlings with improved vigour. In the field experiment, all the combinations increased the plant chlorophyll, phenol and protein contents, leaf area index and duration, crop growth rate, uptake of nutrients (N, P, K, B, Zn and Si), and yield of DSR over the control. Our findings suggest that seed priming with the combination of ZnO-NPs, Na-selenite, and Na-selenate could be a viable option for the risk mitigation in DSR.

Evaluation of sensory, physicochemical properties and Consumer preference of black rice and their products.

This study was aimed to evaluate the physicochemical, textural, sensory and antioxidative attributes of various rice products such as boiled rice, beaten rice, popped rice, puffed rice and raw milled rice, prepared from the Indian black rice cultivars Chakha (CH), Kalobhat (KB), Mamihunger (MA) and Manipuri Black (MN). A popular white rice variety Swarna Sub-1 (SW) was considered as control. Significant differences in most of the physicochemical and cooking parameters of raw rice were observed across different cultivars. The head rice recovery, amylose content, elongation ratio (ER) and kernel length after cooking of MA were most satisfactory among the black rice cultivars and are found to be 50.67%, 17.6%, 1.87 and 10.10 mm respectively, while popped rice of MA recorded highest length (10.83 mm) and elongation ratio (ER; 2.01). MA showed the highest adhesiveness (11.18 mJ) in boiled rice but hardness (183.53 N) was medium in raw rice. Other textural quality varied differentially according to the various products and cultivars. The highest a* value was obtained from puffed rice of MA (6.61) but L value was highest in raw rice of MN. Popped and boiled rice of MA displayed higher DPPH-antioxidant activity (88.74% and 84.74% respectively) as compared to all other products. The raw rice of KB registered higher anthocyanin (57.23 mg/100 g) content while boiled rice of SW recorded the least (0.21 mg/100 g). A survey on the consumer preference of these products indicated that boiled rice was usually preferred in lunch and dinner by most of the consumers whiles other products in breakfast. With respect to most of the traits, MA showed the good potential for rice Industry as well as for breeding material.

Persistence of thiacloprid and deltamethrin residues in tea grown at different locations of North-East India.

In order to examine the residues of thiacloprid (90 and 180 g a.i./ha) and deltamethrin (10 and 20 g a.i./ha) in fresh tea leaves, made tea and tea infusion, field experiments were conducted at three different locations viz. Kamalpur tea estate, Darjeeling; West Bengal, Teok tea Estate and AAU, Jorhat; Assam in India. Regardless of location and doses, residues of both the insecticides dissipated following first order kinetics. The half-life of Thiacloprid (4.93-5.38 days) was longer than that of deltamethrin (1.78-1.94 days). Processing of green tea leaves reduced the residue level of thiacloprid and deltamethrin in made tea. No residues of both these insecticides could be detected in tea infusion. With respect to the phenolic distribution in tea, a marked increase in total catechin monomers with thiacloprid and greater accumulation of EGCG and ECG (indices of phenol quality) with deltamethrin were observed.

Formulation and chemical characterization of Clerodendrum infortunatum leaf extract in relation to anti-fungal activity.

The study explored to develop an eco-friendly herbal fungicide from chloroform extract of Clerodendrum infortunatum leaves. The extract upon activity guided purification using flash chromatography yielded eight fractions F3 through F10. Total phenol and flavonoid contents in the fractions ranged from 0.12-48.25 mg GAE/g and 0.03-25.29 mg QE/g. LC-MS/MS analysis confirmed the identification of seven phenolic acids across different fractions, the total of which varied between 0 and 2.17 mg/g. Emulsifiable Concentrate (20%) formulation was made with the extract and fractions and tested against Phomopsis vexans causing fruit rot disease in brinjal. Of the various fractions, F8 displayed highest antifungal activity (ED50 = 46.8 µg/ml). Antifungal activity of leaf extract/fractions was correlated with total phenol, total flavonoid and total phenolic acids (r = -0.60 to -0.69). Among the phenolic acids, benzoic acid showed maximum antifungal activity followed by t-cinnamic acid. The relationship between phenolic composition and activity is also reported.

A comparative study on the persistence of imidacloprid and beta-cyfluthrin in vegetables.

In an effort to compare the persistence of imidacloprid and beta-cyfluthrin, when applied through a ready mix formulation, Solomon 300 OD @ 200 and 400 mL ha(-1) in the fruits of brinjal, tomato and okra, the present study has been made. The study indicated that the dissipation of these insecticides irrespective of fruits followed concentration dependent first order kinetics. The degradation constant and half live value of beta-cyfluthrin varies between -0.287 and -0.642 day(-1) and 1.07 and 2.41 days while that of imidacloprid between -0.21 and -0.34 day(-1) and 1.98 and 3.30 days respectively suggesting that the persistence of beta-cyfluthrin is lower than that of imidacloprid in fruits of these vegetables. Moreover, the persistence of these insecticides when compared between different fruits, it is highest in brinjal followed by tomato and least in okra, a probable clue of which has been proposed based on the non-enzymatic antioxidant content of the fruits.