Genetic Components Derived Parameters and Heterosis in Okra under Saudi Arabia Conditions.

Four parental genotypes of okra were crossed in complete diallel design to study the direction and extent of relative heterosis and heterobeltiosis for yield and its associated traits for utilization of existing genetic diversity to develop heterotic F1 hybrids in okra. The additive genetic component (D) was significant in all studied traits except average pod weight. Nonadditive (H1 and H2) components were found to be significant in all studied traits. However, the values of the dominant effect (H1) were smaller than the D components for no. of nodes/plant, no. of pods/plant, weight of medium pods, weight of large pods, and total fresh pod yield. The maximum significant MP heterosis in the desirable direction (149.9%) was recorded for the weight of large pods/plot. The maximum significant heterobeltiosis in the desirable direction (120.1%) was recorded for the weight of small pods/plot followed by total fresh pod yield (107.4%), the weight of large pods/plot (104.9%), weight of medium pods/plot (92.1%), average pod weight (51.8%), number of pods/plant (38.4%), and plant height (34.3%). It could be concluded that plant height, average pod weight, and the number of branches could be considered for the development of elite hybrids (heterosis breeding) or inbred lines (pure line selection) in succeeding generations. Therefore, these parameters can be considered for selecting genotypes to improve the pod yield of okra. The superior crosses identified through heterosis analysis were Egyptian Balady × Line 4.1.18 (30.8 ton/ha), Line 4.1.18 × Egyptian Balady (29.8 ton/ha), Dwarf Green Long Pod × Line 4.1.18 (28.3 ton/ha), and Egyptian Balady × Dwarf Green Long Pod (27.6 ton/ha) as these crosses had high performance as well as significant and higher estimates of heterobeltiosis for fruit yield per plant and yield attributing other characters.

Morphological, Biochemical, and Molecular Diversity Assessment of Egyptian Bottle Gourd Cultivars.

The genetic variability and relationships between ten bottle gourd cultivars were evaluated based on morphological, biochemical, and molecular parameters. The results displayed high variability among selected cultivars in terms of photosynthetic pigments, total free amino acids, total phenol content, isozymes pattern, and protein electrophoresis. Furthermore, differences in molecular markers were revealed by the SCoT technique. The peroxidase (POD) and polyphenyl oxidase (PPO) isozymes patterns did not detect significant differences in bands among cultivars. The protein patterns revealed seventeen bands ranging from 126 to 9 kDa and five polymorphic bands representing 29.41%. On the other hand, eight SCoT primers were used to evaluate the genetic variability and relationships between the ten Egyptian bottle gourd cultivars. The results of SCoT analysis detected 44 amplicons with 50% polymorphism. In addition, the results of the phylogenetic tree that is constructed based on the similarity coefficient revealed by SCoT analysis confirm the results of biochemical analysis indicating a genetic relationship between the most efficient bottle gourd cultivars (S1 and S2 cultivars). In addition, there is a genetic relationship among the less efficient bottle gourd cultivars (S4 and S5 cultivars). These results could be beneficial to distinguish among bottle gourd cultivars in the plant breeding programs.

Exploring the China-Pakistan economic corridor project performance during Covid-19 pandemic.

The outburst of the coronavirus into the global arena, first as a respiratory disease and later as a worldwide pandemic and health emergency, pushed the world economic order into complete turmoil and aftermath, posing severe challenges to the financial stability of developing countries like Pakistan. The temporary suspension of economic activities worldwide has resulted in significant disruptions to international supply chains, leading to substantial delays in implementing infrastructure projects associated with the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). The pandemic has further hindered CPEC progress. Building mega-projects, such as the CPEC, is crucial in determining the economic stability of a nation such as Pakistan. Nevertheless, it is essential to consider that the implementation of infrastructure projects can be subject to delays due to the COVID-19 lockdown and travel restrictions. However, it is worth noting that there needs to be more scholarly research available examining the ongoing progress and performance of CPEC projects from a particular perspective. This study aims to assess the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown policy and travel restrictions on CPEC project performances by highlighting the role of socioeconomic and infrastructure development factors. The study will shed light on numerous causes of concerns in project development phases and provide policy recommendations to help CPEC officials reduce project losses and better survival in the event of extreme uncertainty. The data were collected through an online survey from all over Pakistan using self-administered questionnaires with 570 responses from CPEC employees, officials, and professors from management and economic departments. The structural equation modeling (SEM) technique analyzes the problem mentioned above. As per the results of this study, it is evident that the COVID-19 lockdown policy and travel restrictions have a detrimental effect on the construction of the CPEC project. Moreover, it has been observed that the socioeconomic and infrastructure development associated with the CPEC has a notable impact on the performance of the CPEC projects. This paper aims to provide valuable insights to policymakers by examining the management of the COVID-19 pandemic from the perspective of the CPEC.

The Effect of Combining Post-Harvest Calcium Nanoparticles with a Salicylic Acid Treatment on Cucumber Tissue Breakdown via Enzyme Activity during Shelf Life.

In the present study, an experiment was carried out on the postharvest of cucumber fruit during a 14-day shelf life. The aim was to assess the impact of calcium nanoparticles (CaNPs) blended with different concentrations of salicylic acid (SA) on the shelf life of cucumbers during the seasons of 2018 and 2019. The investigation further monitored the influences of CaNPs-SA on some physical properties of cucumber, including the percentage weight loss, color, and fruit firmness. In addition, chemical properties, such as total soluble solids (SSC%), total acidity (TA%), total soluble sugars, and chlorophyll pigmentation of the fruit skin, were assessed during a 14-day shelf lifeCell wall degradation enzymes (CWEAs) such as polygalacturonase (PG), cel-lulase (CEL), xylanase (XYL), and pectinase (PT) were also researched. In addition, the generation rates of H2O2 and O2•- were calculated, as well as the reduction of DPPH. The lipid peroxidation (malondialdehyde, MDA) and cell membrane permeability (IL%) of cell wall composites were also determined. CaNPs-SA at 2 mM suppressed CWEAs, preserved fruit quality, reduced weight loss throughout the shelf-life period, and reduced the percent leakage value. At this concentration, we also found the lowest levels of MDA and the highest levels of DPPH.

Impacts of Gum Arabic and Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) with Salicylic Acid on Peach Fruit (Prunus persica) Shelf Life.

Peaches are grown in many Egyptian orchards for local and global fresh market sales. The interior fruit tissue breakdown (IFTB), often resulting in decayed peaches, is a severe problem during marketing. Therefore, to minimize FTB of peaches, in this study, gum arabic (GA) and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) were mixed with different concentrations of salicylic acid (SA) (0, 1, and 2 mM) and were applied as edible coating to extend the shelf life of peach fruits. Mature peaches were selected and harvested when peaches reached total soluble solid content (SSC: 8.5%) and fruit firmness of about 47 N. Fruits were coated and stored at room temperature (26 ± 1 °C and air humidity 51 ± 1%) for 10 days during two seasons: 2020 and 2021. Fruit coated with GA/PVP-SA 2 mM showed a significant (p < 0.05) inhibition in degrading enzyme activities (CWDEs), such as lipoxygenase (LOX), cellulase (CEL), and pectinase (PT), compared to uncoated and coated fruits during the shelf-life period. Hence, cell wall compartments were maintained. Consequently, there was a reduction in browning symptoms in fruits by inhibiting polyphenol oxidase (PPO) and phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) activities. Thus, the fruit skin browning index showed almost no symptoms. The lipid peroxidation process and ionic permeability declined as well. The result suggests that, by applying GA/PVP-SA 2 mM as an edible coating, fruit tissue breakdown can be minimized, and the shelf life of peach can be extended up to 10 days without symptoms of tissue breakdown.

Development of New Restorer Lines Carrying Some Restoring Fertility Genes with Flowering, Yield and Grains Quality Characteristics in Rice (Oryza sativa L.).

This study was carried out using 22 promising restorer lines of rice and their parental lines to study genetic variability and genetic advance for yield and yield-associated grain quality traits and floral traits. These genotypes are evaluated in a replicated trial using Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications at the Experimental Farm of Sakha Agricultural Research Station, Sakha, Kafr El-Sheikh, Egypt, during the seasons from 2012 to 2020. Analysis of variance revealed that highly significant variations were observed among the genotypes for all the studied characters. Both GCV% and PCV% were high for the number of spikelets per panicle, the number of filled grains per panicle, and panicle weight. The genetic advance in the percentage of mean was high for days to plant height, panicle length, number of spikelets per panicle, number of filled grains per panicle, panicle weight, grain yield per plant, anther length, anther breadth, duration of floret opening, and head rice percentage. Mean performance of the rice genotypes indicated that the genotypes NRL 59, NRL 55, NRL 62, NRL 63, NRL 66, and NRL 54-2 were promising for grain yield and associated desirable traits. Thus, some of these promising lines can be promoted as a new rice variety and could be used as a source for developing new hybrid combinations in hybrid rice breeding programs. The percentage of advantage over better parent and Giza 178 as the commercial variety was significant and there were highly significant desirable values among the genotypes for all the studied traits in the two years, indicating that the selection is effective in the genetic improvements for these traits.

Assessment of Genetic Variability and Bran Oil Characters of New Developed Restorer Lines of Rice (Oryza sativa L.).

Rice is one of the most important crops in Egypt. Due to the gap between the demand and the availability of the local edible oils, there is need to raise the nutritional value of rice and, therefore, to improve the nutritional value of the consumer. This research was carried out at the Experimental Farm of Sakha Agricultural Research Station, Sakha, Kafr El-Sheikh, Egypt, during the 2019 and 2020 seasons. Five newly developed genotypes of rice, namely NRL 63, NRL 64, NRL 65, NRL 66, and Giza 178 as check variety (control), were used to evaluate the analytical characterization of raw rice bran and rice bran oil from rice bran, study the genetic variability and genetic advance for various quantitative and qualitative traits in rice as well as, rice bran oil. The genotypes were evaluated in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications. Analysis of variance revealed highly significant variations among the genotypes for all the studied characters. Data revealed that high estimates of the phenotypic coefficient of variance (PCV%) and genotypic coefficient of variance (GCV%) were observed for amylose content percentage, peroxide value (meq/kg oil), myristic C14:0, and arachidic C20:0, indicating that they all interacted with the environment to some extent. The line NRL66 and NRL64 showed the highest and high values of mean performance for grain yield (t/h), grain type (shape), amylose content percentage, crude protein, ether extract and ash of milled rice, crude protein, ether extract, ash, phosphorus, magnesium, manganese, zinc, and iron of stabilized rice bran oil. Genetic advance as a percentage of mean was high for most of the studied traits. It indicates that most likely, the heritability is due to additive gene effects, and selection may be effective. The percentage of advantage over the Giza 178 as the commercial variety was significant and highly significant among the genotypes for all the characters studied in the two years, indicating that the selection is effective in the genetic improvements for these traits.