Assessment of total aflatoxin and ochratoxin A in poultry feed ingredients by thin-layer chromatography and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

Objective: This study was conducted to evaluate the prevalence of total aflatoxin (AF) and ochratoxin A (OTA) in poultry feed ingredients under different environmental conditions during the summer and winter seasons, while the hygiene quality of the feed ingredient was assessed through viable fungal count (VFC). Materials and Methods: A total of 288 poultry feed ingredients (n = 96 each) samples were collected from different poultry shops, which were initially analyzed for the presence of AF and OTA through thin layer chromatography (TLC) and then confirmed the contamination concentration through the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay method. Results: The results of the current study confirmed the incidence of contamination with AF and OTA by TLC and ELISA methods. The contamination level of AF ranged from 26.09 to 50.56 (mean = 41.22 ± 9.45) µg/kg, whereas the contamination level of OTA ranged from 50.13 to 6.21 (mean 42.60 ± 6.21) µg/kg. The contamination level of AF was found to be above the permissible level set by the Food and Drug Administration (20 µg/kg), whereas the contamination level of OTA was below the permissible limits. Moreover, the VFC values were also below the recommended level. The results showed that the association between AF, OTA, and moisture content was significant (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Mycotoxin contamination was significantly (p < 0.05) highest in the winter season. These findings suggested that continuous monitoring regimes might prevent mycotoxin contamination in poultry feed ingredients.

Application of machine learning for identification of heterotic groups in sunflower through combined approach of phenotyping, genotyping and protein profiling.

Application of machine learning in plant breeding is a recent concept, that has to be optimized for precise utilization in the breeding program of high yielding crop plants. Identification and efficient utilization of heterotic grouping pattern aided with machine learning approaches is of utmost importance in hybrid cultivar breeding as it can save time and resources required to breed a new plant hybrid/variety. In the present study, 109 genotypes of sunflower were investigated at morphological, biochemical (SDS-PAGE) and molecular levels (through micro-satellites (SSR) markers) for heterotic grouping. All the three datasets were combined, scaled, and subjected to unsupervised machine learning algorithms, i.e., Hierarchical clustering, K-means clustering and hybrid clustering algorithm (hierarchical + K-means) for assessment of efficiency and resolution power of these algorithms in practical plant breeding for heterotic grouping identification. Following the application of machine learning unsupervised clustering approach, two major groups were identified in the studied sunflower germplasm, and further classification revealed six smaller classes in each major group through hierarchical and hybrid clustering approach. Due to high resolution, obtained in hierarchical clustering, classification achieved through this algorithm was further used for selection of potential parents. One genotype from each smaller group was selected based on the maximum seed yield potential and hybridized in a line × tester mating design producing 36 F1 cross combinations. These F1s along with their parents were studied in open field conditions for validating the efficacy of identified heterotic groups in sunflowers genetic material under study. Data for 11 agronomic and qualitative traits were recorded. These 36 F1 combinations were tested for their combining ability (General/Specific), heterosis, genotypic and phenotypic correlation and path analysis. Results suggested that F1 hybrids performed better for all the traits under investigation than their respective parents. Findings of the study validated the use of machine learning approaches in practical plant breeding; however, more accurate and robust clustering algorithms need to be developed to handle the data noisiness of open field experiments.

Biochar Production and Characteristics, Its Impacts on Soil Health, Crop Production, and Yield Enhancement: A Review.

Rapid urban expansion and a booming population are placing immense pressure on our agricultural systems, leading to detrimental impacts on soil fertility and overall health. Due to the extensive use of agrochemicals in agriculture, the necessity to meet the expanding demand for food has also resulted in unsustainable farming practices. Around the world, biochar, a multipurpose carbonaceous material, is being used to concurrently solve issues with enhancing soil fertility, plant growth, and development under both normal and stressful circumstances. It improves water retention, fosters nutrient absorption, and promotes microbial activity, creating a fertile environment that supports sustainable and resilient agriculture. Additionally, biochar acts as a carbon sink, contributing to long-term carbon sequestration and mitigating climate change impacts. The major benefit of biochar is that it helps the adsorption process with its highly porous structures and different functional groups. Understanding the elements involved in biochar formation that determine its characteristics and adsorptive capacity is necessary to assure the viability of biochar in terms of plant productivity and soil health, particularly biological activity in soil. This paper focuses on the development, composition, and effects of biochar on soil fertility and health, and crop productivity.

Remediation of wastewater by biosynthesized manganese oxide nanoparticles and its effects on development of wheat seedlings.

Introduction: Nanoparticles play a vital role in environmental remediation on a global scale. In recent years, there has been an increasing demand to utilize nanoparticles in wastewater treatment due to their remarkable physiochemical properties. Methods: In the current study, manganese oxide nanoparticles (MnO-NPs) were synthesized from the Bacillus flexus strain and characterized by UV/Vis spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Results: The objective of this study was to evaluate the potential of biosynthesized MnO-NPs to treat wastewater. Results showed the photocatalytic degradation and adsorption potential of MnO-NPs for chemical oxygen demand, sulfate, and phosphate were 79%, 64%, and 64.5%, respectively, depicting the potential of MnO-NPs to effectively reduce pollutants in wastewater. The treated wastewater was further utilized for the cultivation of wheat seedlings through a pot experiment. It was observed that the application of treated wastewater showed a significant increase in growth, physiological, and antioxidant attributes. However, the application of treated wastewater led to a significant decrease in oxidative stress by 40%. Discussion: It can be concluded that the application of MnO-NPs is a promising choice to treat wastewater as it has the potential to enhance the growth, physiological, and antioxidant activities of wheat seedlings.

Moringa Leaf Extract Mitigates the Adverse Impacts of Drought and Improves the Yield and Grain Quality of Rice through Enhanced Physiological, Biochemical, and Antioxidant Activities.

Agriculture, around the globe, is facing great challenges including the need to increase the production of nutrient-dense food and to withstand climate change's impact on water and soil conservation. Among these challenges, drought stress is considered the most overwhelming danger for the agriculture sector. Organic plant growth ingredients are frequently used to enhance the growth and production of field crops cultivated in normal and unfavorable conditions. The present study was designed to explore whether leaves extracted from various landraces of Moringa could play a defensive role against drought stress in rice. Seedlings were grown under three water conditions, i.e., normal conditions (control; 100% field capacity), moderate (75%), and severe drought (50%). Leaf extracts obtained from four Moringa landraces were used as foliar spray at the tillering, panicle initiation, and grain filling stages of cultivating rice plants. The levels of water stress negatively influenced photosynthetic pigment synthesis, gas exchange traits, antioxidant activities, and yield and grain quality parameters. Leaf extracts, at the rate of 3%, from all the landraces significantly enhanced the biochemical, physiological, and yield-related attributes of rice plants under normal and unfavorable growth conditions. Particularly, leaf extract from the Faisalabad landrace was the most effective biostimulant to increase photosynthetic (8.2%) and transpiration (13.3%) rates, stomatal conductance (8.3%), chlorophyll a (15.9%) and b (9.7%) contents, and carotenoids (10.4%) as compared to water spray. The maximum photosynthesis rate was observed at 14.27 µmol CO2 m-2 s-1 via application of leaf extract from the Faisalabad landrace followed by the DG Khan (13.92 µmol CO2 m-2 s-1) and Multan (13.9 µmol CO2 m-2 s-1) landraces, respectively. Improved grain yield (25.4%) and grain quality (an increase of 10.1% in amylose with a decrease of 2.8% in amylopectin) in rice plants along with enzymatic activities such as catalase (21.2%), superoxide dismutase (38.6%), and ascorbate peroxidase (24.3%) were observed at the peak after application of leaf extract from the Faisalabad landrace. The maximum grain yield of 53.59 g per plant was recorded when using Faisalabad landrace leaf extract and the minimum (40 g) using water spray. It is concluded from the findings of the current experiment that leaf extract from the Faisalabad landrace possesses higher biostimulant potential than other landraces and can be applied to mitigate the adverse impacts of drought stress with higher productivity and improved grain quality of rice.

Molecular markers-based DNA fingerprinting coupled with morphological diversity analysis for prediction of heterotic grouping in sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.).

Cultivated sunflower holds a very narrow genetic base and the efficient utilization of available genetic diversity is very important for a successful breeding program. In the present study, 109 sunflower genotypes were assessed for diversity paneling through a combined approach of morphological and molecular markers analysis. Morphological parameters including days to flower initiation, days to flower completion, plant height, stem curvature, number of leaves per plant, leaf area, head diameter, hundred seed weight, and seed yield per plant were studied. Simple sequence repeats (40 DNA markers) were deployed for diversity profiling. Data were analyzed by both univariate and multivariate statistics. SD and coefficient of variation confirm the presence of significant amounts of genetic variation for all the morphological parameters. Cluster Analysis and Principal Component Analysis further confirm the presence of distinct grouping patterns in the studied material. Cluster analysis of both morphological and molecular analysis revealed that restorer lines tend to group separately from A, B, and open-pollinated lines. Further grouping, at the sub-cluster level, revealed six distinct sub-clusters in each of the two major clusters. In total, 12 genotypes, 6 CMS lines (CMS-HAP-12, CMS-HAP-54, CMS-HAP-56, CMS-HAP-99, CMS-HAP-111, and CMS-HAP-112) and 6 restorer lines (RHP-38, RHP-41, RHP-53, RHP-68, RHP-69, and RHP-71) could be used as potential parents for hybrid development. As genotypes of similar genetic backgrounds tend to group closer, it is deduced that one genotype with the highest seed yield per plant could be used for further hybrid breeding programs in sunflowers.

Impact of different levels of zinc and nitrogen on growth, productivity, and quality of aromatic rice cultivated under various irrigation regimes in two districts of Pakistan.

Rice is a staple food for more than 50% of the global population and it is one of the most valuable cereal crops. To fulfill the dietary requirement of the ever-growing world population, an increase in per-unit production of rice is direly required. In Pakistan, it stands as the 2nd in consumption after wheat, which is a staple food. A huge gap is observed between yield potential and actual yield of the aromatic rice cultivars at a farmer-field level. The significant limitations responsible for this gap are shortage of irrigation water, inappropriate application of fertilizers, less plant population, deficiency of micronutrients, and improper and poor plant protection measures. A field study was planned to assess the yield response and quality attributes of aromatic rice to three levels of zinc (Zn) and nitrogen (N) under three irrigation regimes (8-, 12-, and 16-acre inches) in the Sheikhupura and Sargodha districts of Pakistan. Irrigation treatments significantly influenced the growth, yield, and quality attributes; however, maximum improvement was observed by the application of irrigation at 12-acre inches. Among the Zn treatments, application of Zn at 10 kg ha-1 was observed to be more responsive to improving the growth and quality parameters of aromatic rice crops. In the case of N treatments, application of N at 140 kg ha-1 produced the maximum total tillers, as well as productive tillers per hill, spikelets per panicle, leaf area index, leaf area duration, crop growth rate, total dry matter, harvest index, kernel length, kernel width, and 1,000-kernel weight. Application of N at 140 kg ha-1 not only improved the growth attributes but also increased the net assimilation rate, photosynthetically active radiation, and radiation use efficiency, with respect to total dry matter and kernel yield. The maximum percentage of normal kernels and minimum percentage of opaque, abortive, and chalky kernels were also recorded by application of N at 140 kg ha-1. The outcomes of current experiments depicted that application of irrigational water, zinc, and nitrogen at 12-acre inches, 10, and 140 kg ha-1, respectively, are responsible to achieve maximum resource utilization efficiency, along with increased yield and quality of rice.

Preliminary Study on Growth and Yield Potential of Ten Elite Lines of Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa) Cultivated under Varying Sowing Dates.

Optimization of agronomic practices for cultivation of quinoa, a super food and climate resilient crop, is critical to obtain its maximum grain yield under the current scenario of climate change. In the present experimentation, we evaluated the appropriate sowing time of ten elite lines of quinoa, already screened from USDA germplasm. Seeds of each line were sown in the experimental area at Square No. 22, Block No. 5, Directorate of Farm, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan on 15 November, 30 November and 15 December during quinoa cultivation season of 2019-2020. Sowing time significantly affected the emergence percentage, days taken to anthesis, chlorophyll contents, sodium and potassium concentrations in leaf, plant height, stem diameter, number of leaves and leaf area, panicle length, grain yield and 1000-grain weight. Lines; PIA-922, PIA-924, PIA-928 and PIA-929 performed better under first sowing and produced higher grain yield as compared to other lines. Similarly, PIA-921, PIA-922, PIA-925 and PIA-932 produced maximum biomass and grain yield under second sowing date while in case of third sowing date, PIA-926, PIA-928, PIA-930 and PIA-931 were observed more responsive regarding growth and yield attributes. A diversified pattern of agronomic, growth and yield contributing attributes of quinoa lines was observed when cultivated under varying sowing dates. The collected data will be very informative for the breeders and agronomists during selection and variety development process in future.

Antagonistic Bacillus spp. reduce blast incidence on rice and increase grain yield under field conditions.

Rice blast is a severe threat for agricultural production. Plant growth promoting rhizobacteria could be suitable biocontrol agents to reduce the disease incidence. In this study, Bacillus spp. KFP-5, KFP-7, KFP-17 significantly reduced disease severity by 40-52% with grain yield of 3.2-3.9 t ha-1 in two rice varieties i.e., basmati super and basmati 385. Bacillus spp. significantly colonized the rice rhizosphere with a cell population of 2.40E+06-5.6E+07CFU. Rice plants treated with antagonistic bacterial suspension followed by challenge inoculation with P. oryzae were found to have higher activities of antioxidant enzymes such as superoxide dismutase (308-266 Ug-1 FW), peroxidase (change in absorbance (ΔA) = 0.20-0.71 min-1 g-1 FW), polyphenol oxidase (ΔA = 0.29-0.58 min-1 g-1 FW) and phenylalanine ammonia lyase (ΔA = 0.32-0.59 min-1 g-1 FW). A consistency in the performance of strains was observed in the consecutive years 2013-2014. These findings suggest that indigenous Bacillus spp. could be a potential bio-inoculum for rice to control blast diseases and enhance yield.

Bacillus spp., a bio-control agent enhances the activity of antioxidant defense enzymes in rice against Pyricularia oryzae.

Plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) are found to control the plant diseases by adopting various mechanisms. Induced systemic resistance (ISR) is an important defensive strategy manifested by plants against numerous pathogens especially infecting at aerial parts. Rhizobacteria elicit ISR by inducing different pathways in plants through production of various metabolites. In the present study, potential of Bacillus spp. KFP-5, KFP-7, KFP-17 was assessed to induce antioxidant enzymes against Pyricularia oryzae infection in rice. The antagonistic Bacillus spp. significantly induced antioxidant defense enzymes i-e superoxide dismutase (1.7-1.9-fold), peroxidase (3.5-4.1-fold), polyphenol oxidase (3.0-3.8-fold), phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (3.9-4.4-fold), in rice leaves and roots under hydroponic and soil conditions respectively. Furthermore, the antagonistic Bacillus spp significantly colonized the rice plants (2.0E+00-9.1E+08) and secreted multiple biocontrol determinants like protease (1.1-5.5 U/mg of soil or U/mL of hydroponic solution), glucanase, (1.0-1.3 U/mg of soil or U/mL of hydroponic solution), siderophores (6.5-42.8 µg/mL or mg) in the rhizosphere of different rice varieties. The results showed that treatment with Bacillus spp. enhanced the antioxidant defense activities in infected rice, thus alleviating P. oryzae induced oxidative damage and suppressing blast disease incidence.

Root Associated Bacillus sp. Improves Growth, Yield and Zinc Translocation for Basmati Rice (Oryza sativa) Varieties.

Plant associated rhizobacteria prevailing in different agro-ecosystems exhibit multiple traits which could be utilized in various aspect of sustainable agriculture. Two hundred thirty four isolates were obtained from the roots of basmati-385 and basmati super rice varieties growing in clay loam and saline soil at different locations of Punjab (Pakistan). Out of 234 isolates, 27 were able to solubilize zinc (Zn) from different Zn ores like zinc phosphate [Zn3 (PO4)2], zinc carbonate (ZnCO3) and zinc oxide (ZnO). The strain SH-10 with maximum Zn solubilization zone of 24 mm on Zn3 (PO4)2ore and strain SH-17 with maximum Zn solubilization zone of 14-15 mm on ZnO and ZnCO3ores were selected for further studies. These two strains solubilized phosphorous (P) and potassium (K) in vitro with a solubilization zone of 38-46 mm and 47-55 mm respectively. The strains also suppressed economically important rice pathogens Pyricularia oryzae and Fusarium moniliforme by 22-29% and produced various biocontrol determinants in vitro. The strains enhanced Zn translocation toward grains and increased yield of basmati-385 and super basmati rice varieties by 22-49% and 18-47% respectively. The Zn solubilizing strains were identified as Bacillus sp. and Bacillus cereus by 16S rRNA gene analysis.