Biology subjects

N, M.

Publications and source records attributed to N, M..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2022

Diversity and Distribution of Arrow Worms, Zooplankton Along the Mangaluru and Udupi Coast, Karnataka

The present study was done to understand the abundance and species diversity of arrow worms, zooplankton in relation with hydrographical parameters and the spatial and temporal variations for a period of 16 months from October 2020 to March 2022. Monthly sampling was carried out at selected stations of coastal waters with average depth of 8m. The qualitative analyses revealed the presence of seventeen different groups of zooplankton. copepods, cladocerans are dominant group in zooplankton followed by chaetognaths, during the study period seven species of chaetognaths recorded viz, Sagitta enflata, Sagitta robusta, Sagitta bedotii, Sagitta bipunctata, Sagitta ferox, Sagitta planktonis, and Sagitta elegans. Among them, Sagitta enflata was the dominant species followed by S.bedotii and S. robusta. The richness, evenness and diversity of chaetognaths varied in the different stations and the maximum and minimum values also varied between stations, but in the most of the stations the minimum values were observed in the post-monsoon season and the highest values ranged between January to March. On comparison of the present abundance of chaetognaths with previous study, it was observed that the density of chaetognaths decreased compared to previous studies.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2021

Fungal endophytes from salt-adapted plants confer salt tolerance and promote growth in Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) at early seedling stage

With increasing human global population, increased yield under saline conditions is a desirable trait for major food crops. Use of endophytes, isolated from halophytic hosts, seems to be an exciting approach for conferring salt tolerance to a salt sensitive crop. Therefore, in the current study, fungal endophytes were isolated from halophytic plants roots and their ability to withstand in vitro salt stress was evaluated. They could withstand upto 1M NaCl concentrations and this tolerance was independent of their host or tissue source. When inoculated on salt sensitive wheat seeds/seedlings several of the endophytes showed a positive impact on germination and biomass related parameters upon salt stress, both in vitro and under glasshouse conditions. One of the isolate from dicot plants (identified as Microsphaeropsis arundinis) could successfully colonize wheat and promote its growth under salt and no salt conditions. Amongst the fungal isolates that are known to be natural endophytes of wheat, Chaetomium globosum was the best performing isolate which has been reported as an effective biocontrol agent earlier. Based on the results of our preliminary study, we suggest that these fungal endophytes could prove beneficial for salt stress tolerance enhancement of wheat crop.

microbiology↗

bioRxiv2020

Evaluation of Seed or Grain Storage Technologies from Indian Farming Societies Using A Hybrid and Multi-Attribute Approach

Soon after the introduction of green revolution, a parallel increment in percent food grain production and losses has been reported in India, which impedes the mission of achieving food security in India. In parts, among the major causes of these losses are the reluctance among farmers, especially of small holding, towards adoption of scientific storage methods/technologies and inability of the national agencies to meet the challenges imposed by the supply of surplus grains to them by the farmers. Although sets of traditional and improved grain storage technologies exist among Indian farming communities, a controversial account about their effectiveness and performance is available in the literature which negatively impacts the endeavour of bringing rapid developmental in the farming society. In a developing nation like India, a large section of farmers is often either unaware of the modern technologies or cannot logistically access them. They often rely on the traditional or semi-modern technologies without having a comprehensive account of the benefit and economic feasibility of the modern technologies. This impedes the vision of rapid development of the farmers and the process of infusing emerging technologies in the society. In order to develop an informative argument about the performance of the existing technologies, a nearly comprehensive study has been undertaken to compare the different traditional and improved grain storage structures used by Indian farmers. Both qualitative and quantitative parameters were compared individually and simultaneously to achieve their effect on performance individually and in unison. Another objective of the study was to test the applicability of hybrid and multi-attribute approach, based on Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and the Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) for the performance evaluation and ranking of the attributes and structures. Finally, based on analysis and ideas borrowed out of literature a set of theoretical and conceptual guidelines to assist improvement in these structures was brought in. The study will help understand the status of grain storage technologies in the developing, resource-poor society and also increase the adoption and access of farmers to better post-harvest seed storage technologies.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.View Full Text

plant biology↗