Project description:BackgroundIncorporating organic manure improves soil properties and crop productivity. A long-term study started in October 1967 examined the effects of farmyard manure and nitrogen fertilization on the soil at key growth stages of pearl millet in a pearl millet-wheat cropping system over its 51st cycle.ResultsApplying 15 Mg of farmyard manure (FYM) per hectare in both growing seasons significantly boosted soil organic carbon (SOC), dissolved organic carbon (DOC), and key nutrients compared to one-season application. SOC levels reached 9.1-11.0% with FYM15, outperforming FYM10 and FYM5. The effectiveness order was FYM15 > FYM10 > FYM5 > FYM0. Chemical nitrogen fertilization also enhanced soil properties, with FYM15 improving DOC, available nitrogen, and enzyme activities during various growth stages.ConclusionsPrincipal component analysis (PCA) effectively distinguished soil variables and treatments, with β-glucosidase and arylsulfatase activity (ARA) showing the highest loading (0.294) in the first principal component (PC1), followed by dissolved organic carbon (DOC) at 0.292 and dehydrogenase activity (DHA) at 0.291. A strong polynomial relationship was noted between soil organic carbon (SOC) and various soil properties, with R² values between 0.93 and 0.99. The FYM15 x N120 treatment improved soil health in North-West India's sandy loam soils during both seasons.
Project description:High-temperature stress negatively affects the growth and development of plants, and therefore threatens global agricultural safety. Cultivating stress-tolerant plants is the current objective of plant breeding programs. Pearl millet is a multi-purpose plant, commonly used as a forage but also an important food staple. This crop is very heat-resistant and has a higher net assimilation rate than corn under high-temperature stress. However, the response of heat resistant pearl millet has so far not been studied at the transcriptional level. In this study, transcriptome sequencing of pearl millet leaves exposed to different lengths of heat treatment (1 h, 48 h and 96 h) was conducted in order to investigate the molecular mechanisms of the heat stress response and to identify key genes related to heat stress. The results showed that the amount of heat stress-induced DEGs in leaves differs with the length of exposure to high temperatures. The highest value of DEGs (8286) was observed for the group exposed to heat stress for 96 h, while the other two treatments showed lower DEGs values of 4659 DEGs after 1 h exposure and 3981 DEGs after 48 h exposure to heat stress. The DEGs were mainly synthesized in protein folding pathways under high-temperature stress after 1 h exposure. Moreover, a large number of genes encoding ROS scavenging enzymes were activated under heat stress for 1 h and 48 h treatments. The flavonoid synthesis pathway of pearl millet was enriched after heat stress for 96 h. This study analyzed the transcription dynamics under short to long-term heat stress to provide a theoretical basis for the heat resistance response of pearl millet.
Project description:Improving the efficiency of resource utilization has received increasing research attention in recent years. In this study, we explored the potential physiological mechanisms underlying improved grain yield and water-use efficiency of winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) following organic fertilizer application. Two wheat cultivars, ChangHan58 (CH58) and XiNong9871 (XN9871), were grown under the same nitrogen (N) fertilizer rate (urea-N, CK; and manure plus urea-N, M) and under two watering regimes (WW, well-watered; and WS, water stress) imposed after anthesis. The M fertilizer treatment had a higher Pn and lower gs and Tr than CK under both water conditions, in particular, it significantly increased WRC and Ψw, and decreased EWLR and MDA under WS. Also, the M treatment increased post-anthesis N uptake by 81.4 and 16.4% under WS and WW, thus increasing post-anthesis photosynthetic capacity and delaying leaf senescence. Consequently, the M treatment increased post-anthesis DM accumulation under WS and WW by 51.5 and 29.6%, WUEB by 44.5 and 50.9%, grain number per plant by 11.5 and 12.2% and 1000-grain weight by 7.3 and 3.6%, respectively, compared with CK. The grain yield under M treatment increased by 23 and 15%, and water use efficiency (WUEg) by 25 and 23%, respectively. The increased WUE under organic fertilizer treatment was due to elevated photosynthesis and decreased Tr and gs. Our results suggest that the organic fertilizer treatment enabled plants to use water more efficiently under drought stress.
Project description:Our study from an ongoing research experiment initiated in Rabi 1967 at the Research Farm of CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Haryana, India, reports that during the 51st wheat cycle in pearl millet-wheat sequence, adding FYM in both seasons significantly impacted various soil parameters at different wheat growth stages compared to the rabi season. The application of 15 t of FYM ha-1 resulted in a considerable increase in dissolved organic carbon content (9.1-11.2%), available P (9.7-12.1%), and available S (12.6-17.1%), DHA levels by 7.3-22.0%, urease activity (10.1 and 17.0%), β-Glucosidase activity (6.2-8.4%), and APA activity (5.2-10.6%), compared to 10 t FYM ha-1. Application of N120 exhibited a considerable improvement in DHA (11.0-23.2%), β-Glucosidase (9.4-19.2%), urease (13.3-28.3%), and APA (3.3-6.2%) activity compared to control (N0). At stage 3, the box plot revealed that 50% of the available N, P, and S values varied from 223.1 to 287.9 kg ha-1, 53.0 to 98.2 kg ha-1, and 50.0 to 97.6 kg ha-1, respectively. Principal component analysis, with PC1 explaining 94.7% and PC2 explaining 3.15% of the overall variability, and SOC had a polynomial relationship with soil characteristics (R2 = 0.89 to 0.99). Applying FYM15 × N120 treatment during both seasons proved beneficial in sustaining the health of sandy loam soil in North-West India.
Project description:IntroductionIntroducing beneficial soil biota such as arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) to agricultural systems may improve plant performance and soil fertility. However, whether bioinocula species composition affects plant growth and soil fertility, and whether fertilizer source influences AMF colonization have not been well characterized. The objectives of this research were to: (1) assess if AMF bioinocula of different species compositions improve raspberry (Rubus idaeus L.) performance and characteristics of soil fertility and (2) evaluate the impact of fertilizer source on AMF colonization.MethodsFive bioinocula with different AMF species compositions and three fertilizer sources were applied to tissue culture raspberry transplants in a randomized complete block design with eight replicates. Plants were grown in a greenhouse for 14 weeks and plant growth, tissue nutrient concentrations, soil fertility, and AMF root colonization were measured.ResultsShoot K and Zn concentrations as well as soil pH and K concentration increased in the Commercial Mix 1 treatment (Glomus, Gigaspora, and Paraglomus AMF species) compared to the non-inoculated control. RFI (raspberry field bioinoculum; uncharacterized AMF and other microbiota) increased soil organic matter (SOM), estimated nitrogen release (ENR), and soil copper (Cu) concentration compared to the non-inoculated control. Furthermore, plants receiving the Mix 1 or RFI treatments, which include more AMF species, had greater AMF root colonization than the remaining treatments. Plants receiving organic fertilizer had significantly greater AMF colonization than conventionally fertilized plants.ConclusionTaken together, our data indicate that coupling organic fertilizers and bioinocula that include diverse AMF species may enhance raspberry growth and soil fertility.
Project description:Root-associated microbiomes contribute to plant growth and health, and are dynamically affected by plant development and changes in the soil environment. However, how different fertilizer regimes affect quantitative changes in microbial assembly to effect plant growth remains obscure. Here, we explore the temporal dynamics of the root-associated bacteria of soybean using quantitative microbiome profiling (QMP) to examine its response to unbalanced fertilizer treatments (i.e., lacking either N, P or K) and its role in sustaining plant growth after four decades of unbalanced fertilization. We show that the root-associated bacteria exhibit strong succession during plant development, and bacterial loads largely increase at later stages, particularly for Bacteroidetes. Unbalanced fertilization has a significant effect on the assembly of the soybean rhizosphere bacteria, and in the absence of N fertilizer the bacterial community diverges from that of fertilized plants, while lacking P fertilizer impedes the total load and turnover of rhizosphere bacteria. Importantly, a SynCom derived from the low-nitrogen-enriched cluster is capable of stimulating plant growth, corresponding with the stabilized soybean productivity in the absence of N fertilizer. These findings provide new insights in the quantitative dynamics of the root-associated microbiome and highlight a key ecological cluster with prospects for sustainable agricultural management.
Project description:IntroductionPearlmillet is themain subsistence crop for smallholder farmers systemswhere it is grown at low plant density. Intensifying pearl millet cultivation could boost productivity although it may have trade-offs. Increasing planting density would indeed increase the leaf area and the related water budget, whereas a denser canopy could create a more favorable canopymicroclimate to the benefit of the water use efficiency (WUE) of the crops. The first aim of this work was to test the yield response of popular pearlmillet varieties to an increased density and to assess possible genotypic variation in this response. The second aim was to measure the water use and the WUE of the crop in different densities.MethodTo this end we designed several field and lysimetric experiments To increase the robustness of the results, these trials were carried out in India and Senegal, using two independent sets of genotypes adapted to both sites.ResultsIn the field, the higher sowing density significantly increased yield in all genotypes when trials were carried out in high evaporative demand conditions. There was no genotype x density interaction in these trials, suggesting no genotypic variation in the response to density increase. The high-density treatment also decreased the vapor pressure deficit (VPD) in the canopies, both in the field and in the lysimeter experiments. In the lysimeter trials, although the higher density treatment increased water use, the resulting increase in biomass was proportionally higher, hence increasingWUE of the crops in all genotypes under high density. The increase in yield under high density was closely related to the increase in WUE, although this link was more tight in the high- than in the low evaporative demand seasons. This confirmed a strong environmental effect on the response to density of all genotypes tested.DiscussionAlthough they did not open a scope for breeding density tolerant cultivars, these results highlight the possibility to improve pearl millet yield by increasing the density, targeting specifically areas facing high evaporative demand.
Project description:Drought is a major threat to global agricultural production that limits the growth, development and survival rate of plants, leading to tremendous losses in yield. Pearl millet (Cenchrus americanus (L.) Morrone) has an excellent drought tolerance, and is an ideal plant material for studying the drought resistance of cereal crops. The roots are crucial organs of plants that experience drought stress, and the roots can sense and respond to such conditions. In this study, we explored the mechanism of drought tolerance of pearl millet by comparing transcriptomic data under normal conditions and drought treatment at four time points (24 h, 48 h, 96 h, and 144 h) in the roots during the seedling stage. A total of 1297, 2814, 7401, and 14,480 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were found at 24 h, 48 h, 96 h, and 144 h, respectively. Based on Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes and Gene Ontology enrichment analyses, we found that many DEGs participated in plant hormone-related signaling pathways and the "oxidoreductase activity" pathway. These results should provide a theoretical basis to enhance drought resistance in other plant species.
Project description:Presently, pearl millet and wheat are belonging to highly important cereal crops. Pearl millet, however, is an under-utilized crop, despite its superior resilience to drought and heat stress in contrast to wheat. To investigate this in more detail, we performed comparative physiological screening and large scale proteomics of drought stress responses in drought-tolerant and susceptible genotypes of pearl millet and wheat. These chosen genotypes are widely used in breeding and farming practices. The physiological responses demonstrated large differences in the regulation of root morphology and photosynthetic machinery, revealing a stay-green phenotype in pearl millet. Subsequent tissue-specific proteome analysis of leaves, roots and seeds led to the identification of 12,558 proteins in pearl millet and wheat under well-watered and stress conditions. To allow for this comparative proteome analysis and to provide a platform for future functional proteomics studies we performed a systematic phylogenetic analysis of all orthologues in pearl millet, wheat, foxtail millet, sorghum, barley, brachypodium, rice, maize, Arabidopsis, and soybean. In summary, we define (i) a stay-green proteome signature in the drought-tolerant pearl millet phenotype and (ii) differential senescence proteome signatures in contrasting wheat phenotypes not capable of coping with similar drought stress. These different responses have a significant effect on yield and grain filling processes reflected by the harvest index. Proteome signatures related to root morphology and seed yield demonstrated the unexpected intra- and interspecies-specific biochemical plasticity for stress adaptation for both pearl millet and wheat genotypes. These quantitative reference data provide tissue- and phenotype-specific marker proteins of stress defense mechanisms which are not predictable from the genome sequence itself and have potential value for marker-assisted breeding beyond genome assisted breeding.
Project description:Transcriptional profiling of SA-treated pearl millet seedlings over time [0, 12, 24 and 48 hours post treatment (hpt)]. Keywords: Time course, Stress response