Rupture Test: A New Method for Evaluating Maize (Zea mays) Seed Vigour.

To explore the application of seed germination biomechanical event(s) in seed vigour tests, a new procedure for the evaluation of maize seed vigour tests based on pericarp-testa rupture (PR) and coleorhiza rupture (CR) during seed germination was developed. Twenty-four lots of hybrid maize were used to determine the feasibility of the rupture test (RT) as a seed vigour test in Zea mays. The results showed that the physiological quality pattern of 24 maize seed lots assessed through RT was similar to that obtained through analysis with other seed test methods. Correlation and regression analyses revealed that the percentage of CR and percentage of PR + CR at "15 ± 0.5 °C for 120 h ± 1 h" and "20 ± 0.5 °C for 72 h ± 15 min" exhibited positive correlations with the field seedling emergence data (p < 0.01). Hence, the proposed method (the rupture test) is cogent and effective, thus providing an important reference for more crops to select for seed germination event(s) and establishing corresponding new methods for seed vigour tests in the future.

Vigour as a marker of positive mental health among social media respondents.

BACKGROUND: Quantitative research on vigour as a therapeutically responsive marker of positive mental health, has become possible by virtue of the validation of the Vigour Assessment Scale (VAS). Considering that its validation and therapeutic responsiveness were examined in an avolitional schizophrenia population, using the VAS outside these constraints requires that its psychometric properties be investigated in a more general non-clinical population. METHOD: Social media respondents (n = 787) were recruited on social media through snowball sampling and data were obtained for statistical analyses through an online questionnaire comprising the VAS and measures of work-place vigour, active involvement in personal growth, behavioural activation, procrastination, and fatigue. RESULTS: Convergent validity was confirmed in moderate to strong positive correlations between the VAS and measures approximate to vigour including physical strength (r = 0.805), cognitive liveliness (r = 0.676), planfulness (r = 0.61), and intentional behaviour (r = 0.595). Discriminant validity was evident in negative correlations with procrastination (r = -0.593) and fatigue (r = -0.786). The VAS showed good internal consistency (Cronbach α = 0.951), split-half reliability (r = 0.892), test-retest reliability (r = 0.861), and a low standard error of measurement of 3.73 within a theoretical range of 82 points. Exploratory factor analysis yielded a clear two-factor structure. LIMITATIONS: Results are limited to willing participants who responded through social media. CONCLUSIONS: Vigour may now be measured clinically as an indication of positive mental health and well-being. It may also be further investigated for its relations to other parameters of health, personality, and the efficacy of professional and self-enhancing interventions that aim for the cultivation of vigour.

Development, characterization, and evaluation of Zn-SA-chitosan bionanoconjugates on wheat seed, experiencing chilling stress during germination.

This study aimed to develop and characterize the chitosan bionanoconjugates (BNCs) loaded with zinc (Zn) and salicylic acid (SA) and test their efficacy on wheat seed exposed to chilling stress. BNCs developed were spherical (480 ± 6.0 nm), porous, and positively charged (+25.2 ± 2.4 mV) with regulated nutrient release properties. They possessed complexation efficiency of 78.4 and 58.9 % for Zn, and SA respectively. BET analysis further confirmed a surface area of 12.04 m2/g. Release kinetics substantiated the release rates of Zn and SA, as 0.579 and 0.559 % per hour, along with a half-life of 119.7 and 124.0 h, respectively. BNCs positively affected the germination potential of wheat seeds under chilling stress as observed by significantly (p < 0.05) reduced mean emergence time (18 %), and increased germination rate (22 %), compared to the control. Higher activities of reserve mobilizing enzymes (α-amylase- 6.5 folds, protease -10.2 folds) as well as faster reserve mobilization of starch (64.4 %) and protein (63.5 %) molecules were also observed. The application further led to increased levels of the antioxidant enzymes (SOD and CAT) and reduced oxidative damage (MDA and H2O2). Thus, it is inferred that the developed BNCs could help substantially improve the germination and reserve mobilization potential, thereby increasing the crop yield.

Divergent spatio-temporal tree growth trends in Pinus pinaster Ait. in South-Western European forests.

Climate change influences forest ecosystems in several ways, such as modifying forest growth or ecosystem functionality. To fully understand the impact of changing climatic conditions on forest growth it is necessary to undertake long-term spatiotemporal analyses. The main purpose of this work is to describe the major trends in tree growth of Pinus pinaster in Spain over the last 70 years, differentiating homogeneous ecological units using an unsupervised classification algorithm and additive modelling techniques. We also aim to relate these growth trends with temporal series for precipitation and temperature, as well as forest variables. We leverage information from a large data set of tree cores (around 2200) extracted during the field campaign of the Fourth Spanish National Forest Inventory. An unsupervised algorithm classified the plots into five classes, which were consistent in ecological terms. We also found a general decline in growth in three of the five ecoregions since the 1970s, concomitant with an increase in temperature and a reduction in precipitation. However, this tree growth decline has not been observed in the Atlantic influenced ecoregion, where the cooler, more humid climatic conditions are more stable. Certain stand features, such as low basal area through forest management practices, may have alleviated the impact of harsh climatic conditions on some areas of inner Spain, while denser stands display a more pronounced decline in tree growth. We concluded that Southern populations show some degrees of growth decline and low growth trends while Northern populations did not exhibit growth decline and have the largest growth rates. Under a forecasted increment of temperatures, the growth decline can be expanded.

A genome-wide association study uncovers a ZmRap2.7-ZCN9/ZCN10 module to regulate ABA signalling and seed vigour in maize.

Seed vigour, including rapid, uniform germination and robust seedling establishment under various field conditions, is becoming an increasingly essential agronomic trait for achieving high yield in crops. However, little is known about this important seed quality trait. In this study, we performed a genome-wide association study to identify a key transcription factor ZmRap2.7, which regulates seed vigour through transcriptionally repressing expressions of three ABA signalling genes ZmPYL3, ZmPP2C and ZmABI5 and two phosphatidylethanolamine-binding genes ZCN9 and ZCN10. In addition, ZCN9 and ZCN10 proteins could interact with ZmPYL3, ZmPP2C and ZmABI5 proteins, and loss-of-function of ZmRap2.7 and overexpression of ZCN9 and ZCN10 reduced ABA sensitivity and seed vigour, suggesting a complex regulatory network for regulation of ABA signalling mediated seed vigour. Finally, we showed that four SNPs in ZmRap2.7 coding region influenced its transcriptionally binding activity to the downstream gene promoters. Together with previously identified functional variants within and surrounding ZmRap2.7, we concluded that the distinct allelic variations of ZmRap2.7 were obtained independently during maize domestication and improvement, and responded separately for the diversities of seed vigour, flowering time and brace root development. These results provide novel genes, a new regulatory network and an evolutional mechanism for understanding the molecular mechanism of seed vigour.

The mediating role of flow state between recovery and energy levels: An experience sampling method study.

This study uses a resource perspective that combines theories used commonly to explore recovery experiences as a theoretical framework and investigate the effects of recovery at the beginning of the workday on exhaustion and vigour at the end of the workday, with workflow in the morning as a mediator. An experience sampling method was used to collect data from 84 fulltime employees. Participants received three survey links each workday over a 2-week period, resulting in 837 days-level and 2517 data points. Hierarchical linear regression was used to test hypotheses, with results suggesting that greater recovery at the beginning of the workday correlated negatively with exhaustion and positively with vigour at the end of the workday. Recovery at the beginning correlated positively with flow state in the morning, and flow state correlated positively with vigour at the end of the workday. Flow state in the morning mediated the relationship between recovery level at the beginning and vigour at the end of the workday. These findings suggest the importance of recovery and the effects of flow state on employees' vigour.

Genome-Wide Association Study of Early Vigour-Related Traits for a Rice (Oryza sativa L.) japonica Diversity Set Grown in Aerobic Conditions.

Aerobic rice production is a relatively new system in which rice is direct-seeded and grown in non-flooded but well-watered conditions to improve water productivity. Early vigour-related traits are likely to be important in aerobic conditions. This study aimed to identify quantitative trait loci (QTL) and candidate genes associated with early vigour-related traits in aerobic conditions using a japonica rice diversity set. Field experiments and glasshouse experiments conducted under aerobic conditions revealed significant genotypic variation in early vigour-related traits. Genome-wide association analysis identified 32 QTL associated with early vigour-related traits. Notably, two QTL, qAEV1.5 and qAEV8, associated with both early vigour score and mesocotyl length, explained up to 22.1% of the phenotypic variance. In total, 23 candidate genes related to plant growth development and abiotic stress response were identified in the two regions. This study provides novel insights into the genetic basis of early vigour under aerobic conditions. Validation of identified QTL and candidate genes in different genetic backgrounds is crucial for future studies. Moreover, testing the effect of QTL on yield under different environments would be valuable. After validation, these QTL and genes can be considered for developing markers in marker-assisted selection for aerobic rice production.

Physio-biochemical responses and crop performance analysis in chickpea upon botanical priming.

Chickpea is a highly nutritious protein-rich source and one of the major crops to alleviate global malnutrition, but poor seed quality affects its productivity. Seed quality is essential for better crop establishment and higher yields, particularly in the uncertain climate change. The present study investigated the impact of botanical priming versus hydropriming and bavistin seed treatment on chickpea seeds. A detailed physiological (germination percentage, root and shoot length, vigour index) and biochemical (amylase, protease, dehydrogenase, phytase, and lipid peroxidation) analysis was carried out in order to assess the effect of priming treatments. Turmeric-primed seeds showed better germination rate (94.5%), seedling length, enzyme activity, and lower malondialdehyde (MDA) content. Sodium dodecyl-sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) analysis revealed the expression of minor polypeptides of albumin and globulin in the primed seeds. Moreover, field experiments indicated increased crop growth, vigour, days to 50% flowering, yield and its attributing traits in turmeric-primed seeds. Botanical priming can increase chickpea yield by up to 16% over the control group. This low-cost and eco-friendly technique enhances seed and crop performance, making it a powerful tool for augmenting chickpea growth. Therefore, chickpea growers must adopt botanical priming techniques to enhance the quality of seed and crop performance. Moreover, this approach is environmentally sustainable and can help conserve natural resources in the long term. Therefore, this new approach must be widely adopted across the agricultural industry to ensure sustainable and profitable farming practices.

The effects of pramipexole on motivational vigour during a saccade task: a placebo-controlled study in healthy adults.

Motivation allows us to energise actions when we expect reward and is reduced in depression. This effect, termed motivational vigour, has been proposed to rely on central dopamine, with dopaminergic agents showing promise in the treatment of depression. This suggests that dopaminergic agents might act to reduce depression by increasing the effects of reward or by helping energise actions. The aim of the current study was to investigate whether the dopamine agonist pramipexole enhanced motivational vigour during a rewarded saccade task. In addition, we asked whether the effects of pramipexole on vigour differ between reward contingent on performance and guaranteed reward. Healthy adult participants were randomised to receive either pramipexole (n = 19) or placebo (controls n = 18) for 18 days. The vigour of saccades was measured twice, once before the administration of study medication (Time 1) and after taking it for 12-15 days (Time 2). To separate motivation by contingency vs. reward, saccadic vigour was separately measured when (1) rewards were contingent on performance (2) delivered randomly with matched frequency, (3) when reward was guaranteed, (4) when reward was not present at all. Motivation increased response vigour, as expected. Relative to placebo, pramipexole also increased response vigour. However, there was no interaction, meaning that the effects of reward were not modulated by drug, and there was no differential drug effect on contingent vs. guaranteed rewards. The effect of pramipexole on vigour could not be explained by a speed/accuracy trade-off, nor by autonomic arousal as indexed by pupillary dilation. Chronic D2 stimulation increases general vigour, energising movements in healthy adults irrespective of extrinsic reward.

Effect of different salinity on seed germination, growth parameters and biochemical contents of pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo L.) seeds cultivars.

Soil and water salinity is an important limiting factor affecting yield and production levels in arid and semi-arid areas. Salt tolerance during germination is an important parameter that also affects the other plant development stages. In this respect, this study was designed to determine the responses of pumpkin seed varieties (Develi, Ürgüp, Hybrid) to different NaCl salinities. The study was carried out in 2022 in the laboratory of Biosystems Engineering Department of Erciyes University in randomized plots design with 3 replications. Experiments were conducted with 5 different water salinity. Germination percentage (GP), germination index (GI), mean germination time (MGT), seedling vigor index (SVI), ion leakage (Il), radicula length (RL) and plumule length (PL), root and shoot fresh and dry weights and some mineral composition (Na, K, Ca) were examined. Proline, antioxidant capacity, total phenolic and DPPH content were significantly affected by salinity. In scatter plot correlation analysis SVI a positive correlation was observed between GP (r2 = 0.774), GI (r2 = 0.745), RL (r2 = 0.929), FRW (r2 = 0.837), FSW (r2 = 0.836), DRW (r2 = 0.894), AC (r2 = 0.747), TP (r2 = 0.640) and DPPH (r2 = 0.635). It was determined that there were negative correlations between SVI and MGT (r2 = - 0.902), II (r2 = - 0.588), DSW (r2 = - 0.682) and PR (r2 = - 0.344). Present findings revealed that investigated parameters were significantly affected by increasing salinity levels. While Hybrid cultivar was the most affected by salinity, Develi cultivar was found to be resistant to saline conditions.

Mood profile in men and women of all ages is improved by leisure-time physical activity rather than work-related physical activity.

BACKGROUND: The aim of our study was to determine how six mood indicators (vigour, fatigue, depression, anger, confusion, tension) depend on moderate to vigorous physical activity, walking time and sedentary time at work, after working hours and during leisure time, in men and women of different age groups. METHODS: A total of 1,140 individuals aged 18 to 64 years participated in the study. The participants were enrolled in this cross-sectional survey using a snowball sampling method. An online questionnaire was shared through popular social networks and emails within the period October 2019 to June 2020. Mood responses were assessed using The Brunel Mood Scale-LTU. Physical activity was assessed using the long International Physical Activity Questionnaire. Descriptive analysis, a two-way analysis of variance, and linear regression analysis were used to interpret the data. RESULTS: The survey results showed that vigour and fatigue correlated significantly only with leisure-time moderate to vigorous physical activity. The present results show a significant positive correlation between women and men moods and leisure-time moderate to vigorous physical activity, the length of time walking to work and back home, and negative correlation between moods and leisure-time sedentary behaviour. However, there was no significant correlation between moods and work-related moderate to vigorous physical activity and household moderate to vigorous physical activity, walking at work, and sitting duration at work. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides theoretical implications of the physical activity paradox, justifying the benefits of moderate to vigorous physical activity practiced in different circumstances. According to the regression analysis, exercising men in all age groups moved the most (had a higher moderate to vigorous physical activity level) during leisure time, the highest work-related moderate to vigorous physical activity was observed in men and women with lower education, and the highest household moderate to vigorous physical activity was observed in older age men and women living in rural areas. Clinicians and leaders at all levels of health care should consider the greater importance of leisure-time physical activity for mental health when choosing the most targeted physical activity recommendations for mood profile improvement in men and women of different age groups.

Am I Winning or Losing? Probing the Appraisal of Partial Wins via Response Vigor.

Attempts to obtain rewards are not always successful. Despite investing much time, effort, or money, sometimes individuals may not obtain any reward. Other times they may obtain some reward, but the obtained reward may be smaller than their initial investment, such as partial wins in gambling. It remains unclear how such ambiguous outcomes are appraised. To address this question, we systematically varied the payoffs for different outcomes in a computerized scratch card task across three experiments. To test outcome appraisal, we used response vigor as a novel proxy. In the scratch card task, participants turned three cards one by one. Depending on the turned cards, they either received an amount that was higher than the wager (win), an amount lower than the wager (partial win), or nothing (loss). Overall, participants responded to partial wins more slowly than losses, but more quickly than wins. Partial wins were therefore appraised to be better than losses, but worse than wins. Importantly, further analyses showed that outcome appraisal was not based on the net win or loss amount. Instead, participants primarily used the configuration of turned cards as a cue for the relative rank of an outcome within a specific game. Outcome appraisals thus utilize simple heuristic rules, rely on salient information (such as outcome-related cues in gambling), and are specific to a local context. Together, these factors may contribute to the misperception of partial wins as real wins in gambling. Future work may examine how outcome appraisal may be modulated by the salience of certain information, and investigate the appraisal process in contexts beyond gambling.

Influence of the practice of physical exercise and healthy eating on the Vigour of university lectures.

Introduction: Vigour at work is characterized by high levels of energy and high desire to make an effort at work. This article is the result of a research carried out with university teachers in Spain whose main objective is to show what type and frequency of physical exercise and diet influence Vigour. Methods: The sample consisted of 121 subjects, 62% of whom were women and 37.2% men. A questionnaire was administered to collect information on sociodemographic data, physical exercise habits, eating habits and Vigour at work. Cross-tabulations of the dimensions of Vigour with sex, age and type of contract offered were performed. Spearman correlations and Correspondence Analysis are also carried out to provide information on the intensity and type of relationships between the Vigour dimensions. Finally, the influence of the frequency of physical exercise and diet on Total Vigour is investigated. Results: The results show that the relationships between the dimensions are very strong (sig = 0.001). In addition, the practice of moderate-high intensity physical exercise and maintaining a good adherence to the Mediterranean Diet is related to high levels of Total Vigour (F = 7.955; sig = 0.006). As for the influence of the sociodemographic variables used, significant differences were only observed in the Physical Strength dimension for sex (X2 = 6.173; p = 0.046) and age (X2 = 9.449; p = 0.051) and, with respect to the type of contract, in Emotional Energy (X2 = 19.487; p < 0.001). Discusión and conclusions: The main conclusions of our study show that practicing physical exercise of medium-high intensity four hours or more per week and a high adherence to the MD is more related to high Vigour levels than just eating well or just practicing exercise. And more studies are needed on the influence of sociodemographic variables on Vigour and its different dimensions.

Vigour testing for the rice seed with computer vision-based techniques.

Rice is the staple food for approximately half of the world's population. Seed vigour has a crucial impact on the yield, which can be evaluated by germination rate, vigor index and etc. Existing seed vigour testing methods heavily rely on manual inspections that are destructive, time-consuming, and labor-intensive. To address the drawbacks of existing rice seed vigour testing, we proposed a multispectral image-based non-destructive seed germination testing approach. Specifically, we collected multispectral data in 19 wavebands for six rice varieties. Furthermore, we designed an end-to-end pipeline, denoted as MsiFormer (MisFormer cod3e will be available at https://github.com/LiaoYun0x0/MisFormer) by integrating a Yolo-based object detector (trained Yolo v5) and a vision transformer-based vigour testing model, which effectively improved the automation and efficiency of existing techniques. In order to objectively evaluate the performance of the proposed method in this paper, we conduct a comparison between MisFormer and other 3 deep learning methods. The results showed that, MisFormer performed much better with the accuracy of 94.17%, which was 2.5%-18.34% higher than the other 3 deep learning methods. Besides MsiFormer, possibilities of CIELab mediated image analysis of TTC (tetrazolium chloride) staining in rice seed viability and nCDA (normalized canonical discriminant analysis) in rice seed vigour were also discussed, where CIELab L* of TTC staining were negatively correlated with vigor index and germination rate, with Pearson's correlation coefficient of -0.9874, -0.9802 respectively, and CIELab A* of TTC staining were and positively correlated with vigor index and germination rate, with Pearson's correlation coefficient of 0.9624, 0.9544 respectively, and CIELab A* of nCDA had Pearson's correlation coefficient of -0.8866 and -0.9340 with vigor index and germination rate, respectively. Besides testing methods, vigour results within and among variety(ies) showed that, there were great variations among the 6 rice varieties, and mean coefficient of variation (CV) of vigor index of individual seed within a variety reached 64.87%, revealing the high risk of conventional methods in random sampling. Vigour variations had close relationship with wavelengths of 780 nm-970 nm, indicating their value in future research.

Unravelling the Genetic Basis of Moisture Deficit Stress Tolerance in Wheat for Seedling Vigour-Related Traits and Root Traits Using Genome-Wide Association Study.

A key abiotic stress that negatively affects seed germination, plant development, and crop yield is moisture deficit stress. Achieving higher vigour and uniform germination under stress conditions is essential for crop establishment and productivity and to enhance the yield. Hence, revealing wheat's capacity to withstand moisture deficit stress during seed germination and early growth stages is fundamental in improving its overall performance. However, the genetic regulation of moisture deficit stress tolerance during the seed germination phase remains largely unexplored. In this study, a total of 193 wheat genotypes were subjected to simulated moisture deficit stress using PEG-6000 (-0.4 MPa) during the seed germination stage. The induced moisture deficit stress significantly reduced various seedling-vigour-related traits. The genetic regions linked to these traits were found using a genome-wide association study (GWAS). The analysis identified 235 MTAs with a significance -log10(p) value of >4. After applying the Bonferroni correction, the study identified 47 unique single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that are linked to candidate genes important for the trait of interest. The current study emphasises the effectiveness of genome-wide association studies (GWAS) in identifying promising candidate genes, improving wheat seedling vigour and root traits, and offering essential information for the development of wheat cultivars tolerant to moisture deficit stress.

Hormonal involvement in boosting the vegetative vigour underlying caffeine-related improvements in lentil production.

Previous studies have shown that caffeine (1,3,7-trimethylxanthine) has some potential for its use as a biostimulant ingredient for boosting lentil production at suboptimal temperatures. However, some limitations to its use include its potential side effects as an emerging contaminant and the current lack of knowledge of its mechanism of action. Here, we aimed to study the mechanisms underlying improved lentil production upon caffeine application. Greenhouse-grown plants treated with caffeine (at 10-5 M, 10-4 M, and 10-3 M) were compared to an untreated, control treatment, and both reproductive and vegetative vigour were evaluated in parallel with endogenous foliar concentrations of phytohormones, including both stress and growth-related hormones. Results showed an enhanced lentil production at the highest caffeine concentration (10-3 M) which might be attributed, at least in part, to a greater vegetative vigour. The hormonal profiling revealed a dual effect. Firstly, there was a specific increase in jasmonoyl-isoleucine (JA-Ile) in the short term, which may provide a priming effect. Secondly, abscisic acid (ABA) content kept at low levels and the active cytokinin (CK) isopentenyl adenine (2-iP) increased and persisted at high levels throughout the reproductive stage. Cytokinin-mediated effects on growth, and more specifically the high CK/ABA ratios in leaves, appeared to mediate caffeine-related effects in boosting vegetative vigour. In conclusion, caffeine emerges as a compelling alkaloid for integration into biostimulant formulations due to its favorable effect in boosting lentil production through an improvement of vegetative vigour. These outcomes appear to be modulated by phytohormones, most notably jasmonates, priming plants for improved performance under suboptimal temperatures, and cytokinins, alongside ABA and its associated ratios, collectively enhancing plant growth and reproductive vigour in challenging conditions.

The priming effect of rewarding brain stimulation in rats depends on both the cost and strength of reward but survives blockade of D2-like dopamine receptors.

Receipt of an intense reward boosts motivation to work for more of that reward. This phenomenon is called the priming effect of rewards. Using a novel measurement method, we show that the priming effect of rewarding electrical brain stimulation depends on the cost, as well as on the strength, of the anticipated reward. Previous research on the priming effect of electrical brain stimulation utilized a runway paradigm in which running speed serves as the measure of motivation. In the present study, the measure of motivation was the vigour with which rats executed a two-lever response chain, in a standard operant-conditioning chamber, to earn rewarding electrical stimulation of the lateral hypothalamus. In a second experiment, we introduced a modification that entails self-administered priming stimulation and alternating blocks of primed and unprimed trials. Reliable, consistent priming effects of substantial magnitude were obtained in the modified paradigm, which is closely analogous to the runway paradigm. In a third experiment, the modified paradigm served to assess the dependence of the priming effect on dopamine D2-like receptors. The priming effect proved resilient to the effect of eticlopride, a selective D2-like receptor antagonist. These results are discussed within the framework of a new model of brain reward circuitry in which non-dopaminergic medial forebrain bundle fibers and dopamine axons provide parallel inputs to the final common paths for reward and incentive motivation.

Genome-wide association studies in rice germplasm reveal significant genomic regions for root and yield-related traits under aerobic and irrigated conditions.

The development of nutrient-use efficient rice lines is a priority amidst the changing climate and depleting resources viz., water, land, and labor for achieving sustainability in rice cultivation. Along with the traditional transplanted irrigated system of cultivation, the dry direct-seeded aerobic system is gaining ground nationwide. The root-related traits play a crucial role in nutrient acquisition, adaptation and need to be concentrated along with the yield-attributing traits. We phenotyped an association panel of 118 rice lines for seedling vigour index (SVI) traits at 14 and 21 days after sowing (DAS), root-related traits at panicle initiation (PI) stage in polythene bags under controlled aerobic condition, yield and yield-related traits under the irrigated condition at ICAR-IIRR, Hyderabad, Telangana; irrigated and aerobic conditions at ARS, Dhadesugur, Raichur, Karnataka. The panel was genotyped using simple sequence repeats (SSR) markers and genome-wide association studies were conducted for identifying marker-trait associations (MTAs). Significant correlations were recorded for root length, root dry weight with SVI, root volume at the PI stage, number of productive tillers per plant, spikelet fertility, the total number of grains per panicle with grain yield per plant under irrigated conditions, and the total number of grains per panicle with grain yield per plant under aerobic condition. The panel was divided into three sub-groups (K = 3) and correlated with the principal component analysis. The maximum number of MTAs were found on chromosomes 2, 3, and 12 with considerable phenotypic variability. Consistent MTAs were recorded for SVI traits at 14 and 21 DAS (RM25310, RM80, RM22961, RM1385), yield traits under irrigated conditions (RM2584, RM5179, RM410, RM20698, RM14753) across years at ICAR-IIRR, grain yield per plant (RM22961, RM1146) under the aerobic condition, grain yield per plant at irrigated ICAR-IIRR and SVI (RM5501), root traits at PI stage (RM2584, RM80, RM410, RM1146, RM18472). Functionally relevant genes near the MTAs through in-silico expression analysis in root and panicle tissues viz., HBF2 bZIP transcription factor, WD40 repeat-like domain, OsPILS6a auxin efflux carrier, WRKY108, OsSCP42, OsMADS80, nodulin-like domain-containing protein, amino acid transporter using various rice expression databases were identified. The identified MTAs and rice lines having high SVI traits (Langphou, TI-128, Mouli, TI-124, JBB-631-1), high yield under aerobic (Phouren, NPK-43, JBB-684, Ratnamudi, TI-112), irrigated conditions (KR-209, KR-262, Phouren, Keibi-Phou, TI-17), robust root traits like root length (MoirangPhou-Angouba, Wangoo-Phou, JBB-661, Dissi, NPK-45), root volume (Ratnachudi, KJ-221, Mow, Heimang-Phou, PUP-229) can be further employed in breeding programs for the targeted environments aimed at improving seedling vigour, yield-related traits under irrigated condition, aerobic condition as adaptability to water-saving technology.

Haplotype analysis of QTLs governing early seedling vigor-related traits under dry-direct-seeded rice (Oryza sativa L.) conditions.

BACKGROUND: The eventual shifting of cultivation method from puddle transplanted rice to direct-seeded rice (DSR) to save water prompted researchers to develop DSR-suitable varieties. To achieve this, identification of molecular markers associated with must-have traits for DSR, especially early seedling vigour related traits is crucial. METHODS AND RESULTS: In the present investigation, the haplotype analysis using flanking markers of three important quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for early seedling vigour-related traits viz., qSV-6a (RM204 and RM402) for root length; qVI (RM20429 and RM3) for seedling vigour index; qGP-6 (RM528 and RM400) for germination percentage revealed that the marker alleles were found to show significant associations with qVI and qGP-6 QTLs. The majority of genotypes with high early seedling vigour are with qVIHap-1 (220 and 160 bp) and qGPHap-1 (290 and 290 bp). The rice genotypes with superior haplotypes for early seedling vigour are BMF536, BMF540, BMF525, MM129 and MDP2. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, here we demonstrated that the markers RM20429 and RM3 are associated with seedling vigour index whereas RM528 and RM400 are associated with germination percentage. Therefore, these markers can be utilized to develop varieties suitable for DSR conditions through haplotype-based breeding. In addition, the rice genotypes with superior haplotypes can be of immense value to use as donors or can be released as varieties also under DSR conditions.

Impact of green antioxidants on decreasing the aflatoxins percentage in peanut oil seed (Arachis hypogaea L.) during storage.

The present study conducted an experimental investigation to impede the degradation of peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) seeds and enhance their quality while being stored. The efficacy of eco-friendly chemicals such as ascorbic acid, salicylic acid, acetic acid, and propionic acid in seed preservation was evaluated over a period of six months. After a period of six months of storage in a greenhouse, an examination was conducted on peanut seeds that had undergone treatment. Rhizoctonia was observed after Cephalothorax, whereas Aspergillus, Fusarium, and Penicillium were the prevailing fungi throughout the storage period. The optimal outcomes were obtained from the conversion of acetic acid to propionic acid. The study observed a decline in seed oil, protein, carbohydrates, germination percentage, energy, index, length, vigour index, dead and rotten seeds, rotted seedlings, and surviving healthy seedlings, with an increase in storage duration ranging from zero to six months. The application of 100% propionic acid to peanut seeds throughout the storage duration resulted in decreased occurrences of deceased seeds, decaying seeds, and deteriorated seedlings. Peanut seeds that underwent treatment with green chemical agents of moderate and high intensity were found to be free of aflatoxin B1. The highest levels of chlorophylls a and b, carotenoids, and total phenols were observed in seeds stored in greenhouses and treated with 100% propionic acid and acetic acid extract. The application of propionic acid 100%, acetic acid 100%, salicylic acid 4 g/l and ascorbic acid 4 g/l proved to be the most effective treatments for peanut seeds, exhibiting the lowest total aflatoxin level of 0.40. The correlation coefficient between shoot fresh weight and shoot dry weight was found to be 0.99, whereas the correlation coefficient between root dry weight and shoot length was 0.67. The seed chemical analysis, seedling characteristics, and germination characteristics were subjected to clustering analysis, resulting in the formation of two distinct groups. The first group consisted of germination percentage and energy levels across all time points (0-6 months), while the second group consisted of the remaining characteristics. The findings of this research propose the utilisation of 100% propionic acid as a viable method for preserving peanut seeds and preventing their deterioration during storage. The application of 100% acetic acid has been found to be effective in enhancing the quality of seeds and minimising losses.