Due to their slight negative effects on the environment, environmentally friendly nematode control techniques have been suggested. In order to determine the effectiveness of moringa leaf extracts and vermicompost alone and together against the root-knot nematodes, Meloidogyne javanica in pepper, the experiment was carried out in a greenhouse at the Ambo Agricultural Research Center., according to the results, 500 gm vermicompost and 80 gm moringa provided the greatest reduction in gall number per root (8), egg mass per 10 g root (2), gall index (2), population density per 100 g soil (108), and nematode reproduction factor (0.05). Vermicompost 500g and moringa 60g were also effective when combined. Additionally, organic amendments have a favorable effect on plant biomass. The findings obviously show that vermicomposting with plant products is more advantageous in organic farming. It is useful to control the damaging nematodes as well as for the improvement of soil nutrients.
The study characterized the indigenous duck populations in three agro-ecological zones (AEZs) of Ghana using a primary phenotypic characterization approach involving observation and body measurement. Quantitative trait data were randomly collected on 414 matured ducks across three AEZs (138 from each AEZ). A 1:2 male-to-female selection ratio was used in each of the AEZs. Morphometric traits were subjected to analysis of variance with sex and agro-ecological zone as fixed factors using the General Linear Model. A simple and multiple regression analysis was used to estimate the relationship among morphometric traits to predict body weight. The results revealed that all morphometric traits were significantly influenced (p<0.05) by sex. Drakes were significantly superior (p<0.05) to ducks in the measured morphometric traits. A medium to high (0.593-0.945) positive correlation was observed among morphometric traits, with body length (0.894) as the best predictor of body weight. The discriminant analysis accurately classified 61.40% of ducks into their respective populations with cross-validation. The Mahalanobis distance was longer (2.27) between the Semi-deciduous and the Rain forest duck populations. The first principal component (PC1) extracted from factor analysis for the Semi-deciduous forest, Coastal savanna, Rain forest and the pooled principal component for all AEZs, explained the maximum variation among the populations with a corresponding total variance of 80.49%; 81.35, 82.93 and 80.59%. The PC1 had higher loadings on body weight (0.965), suggesting that body weight is the trait with the highest discriminatory power among the morphometric traits. A medium to high communality was observed for all morphometric characters measured, indicating that those traits could be used to explain the overall variability in the body dimensions of ducks.
This study was conducted to assess the concentration and relationship of lead, cadmium, and arsenic in the fresh muscle, kidney, and liver of cattle. Thirty samples of each of the meat parts were obtained from the Ashaiman Main, Madina, and Makola Markets within the Accra Metropolis. A GTA Graphite Tube Atomizer was used to analyze the heavy metal concentrations. Arsenic was significantly different in the liver (2.40 mg/100g), kidney (0.93 mg/100g), and muscle (0.35 mg/100g). Lead was significantly higher in the liver (1.14 mg/100g) but insignificant between the kidney (0.67 mg/100g) and muscle (0.66 mg/100g). Arsenic was significantly higher in beef from the Ashaiman Main Market (2.48 mg/100g) than in samples from Madina (0.85 mg/100g) and Makola (0.35 mg/100g) Markets. The concentration of cadmium varied across the meat parts and the three markets. The correlation between the metals in all the meat tissues was positively low to high, but the arsenic-cadmium association was negatively low (r = -0.08). Heavy metals were present in all the meat samples from the three markets, but their concentration depended on the meat parts. Generally, higher concentrations of the metals were recorded in beef from the Ashaiman compared to Madina and Makola Markets. The liver had a comparatively lower heavy metal concentration and was therefore recommended for consumption.
Food crop yield, quality, and tolerance mechanisms to biotic and abiotic factors are important aspects that contribute to food security. To feed about 10 billion people by 2050, high yielding climate-resilient rice cultivars with good grain quality must be created more quickly. Yield and quality, along with stress tolerance traits of the rice crop, have been improved by adopting various methods. Among these, in recent years, the yield of the crop has been improved marginally by utilizing conventional breeding methods. Mutation breeding is an important pathway that has created many novel variations and contributed towards isolating new high yielding genotypes in the rice crop. Forward and reverse genetic protocols have been engaged for the identification of genomic variants in conventional mutation breeding to characterize the novel variants to convert as functional markers for the development of new improved varieties. Generation of desired mutations in the desirable region of the genome of the crops is highly tedious through conventional breeding methods such as random mutagenesis since the gene manipulations happen randomly while the mutagenesis is done using physical and chemical mutagens. Also, it requires large mutant plant populations to isolate the desired mutants and mutations. The advancement of CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing technology rapidly replaces conventional random mutagenesis technologies, has the ability to multiplex genome editing to create novel variations for crop improvement programs, and reduces the time duration required for trait based crop improvement programs. In this review, significant gene manipulations employed through CRISPR/Cas9 for rice crop improvement in terms of yield and biotic and abiotic stress tolerance are discussed.
The globe has to treble the crop production rates in order to improve food security for future generations. However, crop production would likely become more challenging in the future since current crop types and crop development techniques might not be strong enough to withstand the rising abiotic pressures brought on by climate change. The primary cause of crop loss worldwide is abiotic stress, which reduces average yields for the majority of agricultural crops i.e., by more than 50%. The main environmental stresses that reduce crop production and productivity are drought, salinity, extreme temperatures, and cold. Crop improvement is the key element for the sustainable food production and modern crop improvement methods are very proficient that achieve remarkable improvements in plant performance against abiotic stress. One of the most important modern crop improvement method is genome editing. The advent of genome editing has generated a lot of excitement, especially among agricultural scientists, because it offers new chances to create improved crop varieties with the precise addition of beneficial traits. Genome editing is like mutational breeding; through this method, that is possible to create targeted genome modification and also possible to improve crop varieties with enhanced abiotic stress resistance. This review briefly discusses abiotic stress, genome editing, mechanisms, different types and applications in crop improvement against abiotic resistance.
