ISSN 2167-0447
Review
International Journal of Agricultural Sciences ISSN: 2167-0447 Vol. 5 (5), pp. 784-792, July, 2015. © International Scholars Journals
Review
Genetic manipulation for the nutritional fortification of quality protein maize (QPM)
Charaka A.S, Mautya S.M and Khantu M.O
Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad, India.
*Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected].
Abstract
Cereals are the only source of nutrition for one-third of the world’s population especially in developing and underdeveloped nations of Sub-Saharan Africa and South-east Asia. The three major cereals, rice, wheat and maize constitute about 85% of total global cereals production amounting to about 200 million tonnes of protein harvest annually at an average of 10% protein content, out of which a sizeable proportion goes into human consumption (Shewry, 2007). A major concern in case of developing nations is that in most cases, a single cereals crop is the major food staple and as such the nutritional profile of cereal crops assumes great significance. Grain protein content of cereals has a very narrow range with rice (5.8-7.7%), maize (9-11%), barley (8- 15%) and wheat (7-22%) as reported by various workers. In many developing countries of Latin America, Africa and Asia, maize is the major staple food and often the only source of protein. At global level, maize accounts for 15% of proteins and 20% of calories in world food diet. But unfortunately, the nutritional profile of maize is poor as it is deficient in essential amino acids such as lysine, tryptophan and methionine due to a relatively higher proportion of prolamines in maize storage proteins which are essentially devoid of lysine and tryptophan. The reason concerning this is that lysine, tryptophan and threonine are the limiting amino acids in human beings and non -ruminants. Maize is also an important component of livestock feed especially in developed nations where 78% of total maize production goes into livestock feed. Therefore, breeding strategies aimed at improving the protein profile of maize will go a long way in reducing prevalence and persistence of malnutrition in developing world.
Key words: Mucronate, protein, maize, zein.
Mautya S.M and Khantu M.O, Charaka A.S
Page: 784 - 792
https://doi.org/10.46882/IJAS/1202Interview
International Journal of Agricultural Sciences ISSN 2167-0447 Vol. 5 (5), pp. 807-808, July, 2015. © International Scholars Journals
Interview
An Interview with Agroecologist Jairo Restrepo
Department of Agriculture and Food Technology, Florida State University, USA.
Damian Nathaniel
Accepted 29 March, 2014
INTRODUCTION
“My dream is to construct a being, an ideal state of a being, so that I shall not be the ideal being of the State.”
Jairo Restrepo is a passionate educator and activist in the field of sustainable agriculture and food sovereignty. He campaigns for a return of self-determination, knowledge and autonomy for the farmer in the face of powerful agribusiness. He has been a consultant on sustainable agriculture for many years, working with the UN, Unesco, the FAO and the International Labour Organisation, among others. Originally from Columbia, Restrepo is a strong advocate for agroecology and regenerative farming. He is unique in that he not only argues passionately for the rights of farmers, but he also teaches an array of practical technologies and preparations to increase soil fertility and transform cropping. He offers tools and inspiration for farmers, smallholders and activists.
An agronomist with a rebellious character, he has a passionate belief in people power and their local rural culture and food sovereignty. He works to disseminate the indigenous knowledge and experience he has gathered from over 20 years work across all continents.
In this interview he speaks of organic farming, but he is mistrustful of certified organic farming in the context of South America. He aligns his thinking as more reflective of regenerative agriculture which takes a wider holistic approach to organic principles that includes the local environment and its communities.
Damian Nathaniel
Page: 807 - 808
https://doi.org/10.46882/IJAS/1205Research Article
International Journal of Agricultural Sciences ISSN: 2167-0447 Vol. 5 (5), pp. 739-742, July, 2015. © International Scholars Journals
Full Length Research Paper
Wild apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.) plus trees: A Correlation study
*Amartya V. Shankar, Shah D. Ravi and Amitab Rukh
Department of Plant Breeding and Seed Technology, Faculty of Agricultural Science, University of Madras, Chennai, India.
*Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract
Wild apricot seeds collected from 167 selected trees were evaluated and considerable genetic variation for oil content, stone and kernel characters were recorded. Oil content ranged from 50.05 - 57.97%, while range of stone length, breadth and thickness was from 14.64 - 26.48, 12.26 - 21.49 and 8.63 - 14.65 mm, respectively. Stone and kernel weight varied between 66.60 - 295.10 and 18.20 - 68.18 g. Kernel size (length, breadth and thickness) and weight are most desirable characters which affect oil percentage. On the basis of the correlation studies, it was found that kernel thickness (0.292) and kernel weight (0.236) was positively and highly significantly correlated with the oil content along with the stone thickness (0.211). However, kernel weight has positive and highly significant correlation with all the stone and kernel characters.
Key words: Wild apricot, Prunus armeniaca, genetic variation, correlation, stone, kernel.
Shah D. Ravi and Amitab Rukh, *Amartya V. Shankar
Page: 739 - 742
https://doi.org/10.46882/IJAS/1197Research Article
International Journal of Agricultural Sciences ISSN: 2167-0447 Vol. 5 (5), pp. 748-752, July, 2015. International Scholars Journals
Full Length Research Paper
A study of the effects of shade on growth, production and quality of coffee (COFFEA ARABICA) in Ethiopia
*Negasso O. Imru, Mulatu D. Wogderess and Tamrat V. Gidada
Department of Horticulture, Faculty of Agriculturel, Haramaya University, Dire Dawa, Ethiopia.
*Corresponding author. E-mail: on.imru@ haramaya.edu.et
Abstract
The research work was conducted to evaluate the effect of shade on growth and production of coffee plants. To achieve this, growth and productivity of coffee plants growing under shade trees were compared with those of coffee plants growing under direct sun light. Different physiological, environmental and quality parameters were assessed for both treatments. Shade trees protected coffee plants against adverse environmental stresses such as high soil temperatures and low relative humidity. Shade, however, also triggered differences in physiological behaviour of the coffee plants, such as improved photosynthesis and increased leaf area index, resulting in better performance than possible in direct sun light. Consequently, coffee plants grown under shade trees produced larger and heavier fruits with better bean quality than those grown in direct sun light. Moreover, shaded plants had greater biochemical and physiological potential for high dry matter production which would help them to maintain high coffee yields in the long term. If growing coffee under shade trees would allow other sources of income such as fruits, fuel wood and timber to be produced, it could be socially more acceptable, economically more viable and environmentally more sustainable. Since in Ethiopia people are moving towards replacing coffee by ‘chat’ and/or growing coffee in an open sun, we support the recommendations of growing coffee in the shade and suggest that the future research should be directed toward deterring the development of fungal diseases and increase of coffee yields under shaded conditions.
Key words: Ethiopia, coffee, photosynthesis, shade, bean quality.
*Negasso O. Imru, Mulatu D. Wogderess and Tamrat V. Gidada
Page: 748 - 752
https://doi.org/10.46882/IJAS/1198Research Article
International Journal of Agricultural Sciences ISSN: 2167-0447 Vol. 5 (5), pp. 743-747, July, 2015. © International Scholars Journals
Full Length Research Paper
Pollen Isolation technique involving interspecific hybridization in eucalyptus
Shah D. Ravi
Department of Plant Breeding and Seed Technology, Faculty of Agricultural Science, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, India.
E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract
The ultimate test for utility of a pollen sample is the seed yield following control pollination (CP). In the present study, two different methods of eucalyptus pollen isolation (PI) namely: wet-lyophylisation (WL) and conventionally dry-sieving (DS) were followed. The pollen thus isolated was used to carry interspecific hybridization in order to evaluate and compared the efficiency the above two methods of PI in eucalyptus. Apart from testing the efficiency of the above two methods of PI, CP was carried to generate new combinations of alleles towards developing hybrid eucalyptus for commercial use. Wide-interspecific hybridization was performed between important eucalyptus species following a partial diallel mating design. Pollen from three paternal species namely E. globulus (5 trees), E. pellita (1 tree) and E. urophylla (1 tree) were used to CP three elite commercial clones of E. camaldulensis. Except in few occasions, the percent capsule set and number of seeds obtained per 10 capsule (≥30 seeds) with the PI through WL method was comparatively high and significantly different from conventional DS method (≤30 seeds) at P<0.01. The results of this experiment prove that the method of PI affects the outcome of wide-interspecific hybridisation in eucalyptus.
Key words: Wet-lyophylisation, pollen isolation, control pollination, interspecific hybridization, eucalyptus.
Shah D. Ravi
Page: 743 - 747
https://doi.org/10.46882/IJAS/1200Research Article
International Journal of Agricultural Sciences ISSN: 2167-0447 Vol. 5 (5), pp. 771-777, July, 2015. © International Scholars Journals
Full Length Research Paper
Effect of processing on phytic acid content and nutrient availability in food grains
Mahesh S,1 Pavithra GJ,1 Parvathi MS,1 Rajashekara Reddy1and Shankar A G1*.
1Department of Crop Physiology, UAS, GKVK, Bangalore, 560065, Karnataka, India.
Abstract
Nutrient paucity due to unavailability of quality food sources is a major impediment to the progress in improvement in the field of human nutrition. Phytic acid is a major anti nutritional factor that binds with cationic nutrients like zinc and iron, and makes them unavailable for human intestinal absorption. Zinc and iron are among the important nutrients required for human growth and development. This study was aimed to know the effect of cooking on nutrient availability with respect to relative phytic acid contents. Seeds of five different economically important food crops namely peanut, sunflower, soybean, pigeon pea and rice were used. Reduced phytic acid content was observed in cooked seeds of peanut (47 %), soybean (52 %), sunflower (56.5 %), pigeon pea (49.5 %) and rice (47.9 %). However, soybean and rice zinc contents and peanut, pigeon pea and rice iron contents were increased in cooked seeds. The mean nutrient availability in cooked and non- cooked seeds was statistically non-significant (p < 0.05). The cooking treatment significantly (p < 0.05) reduced the inherent phytic acid content in seeds besides soaking and germination treatments, although the phytic acid break down did not show increased nutrients content as expected in all food crops.
Key words: Cooking, processing, food grains, nutrients, phytic acid, zinc, iron.
Mahesh S, Pavithra GJ, Parvathi MS, Rajashekara Reddy and Shankar AG*
Page: 771 - 777
https://doi.org/10.46882/IJAS/1195