Hybrid Programming Research Articles

Biochemical and SSR based molecular characterization of elite rice varieties for straw lignocellulose.

Lignocellulosic biomass from rice straw possesses enormous potential in generating bioenergy thereby reducing the dependence of human on non-renewable fuel sources. Developing rice varieties of such calibre necessitates biochemical characterization as well as assessing the presence of genetic diversity among the rice genotypes with respect to cellulose content. Forty-three elite rice genotypes were selected for biochemical characterization and SSR marker-based genetic fingerprinting. For genotyping, 13 cellulose synthase specific polymorphic markers were used. The diversity analysis was performed using TASSEL 5.0 and GenAlE × 6.51b2, software program. Of the 43 rice varieties, CR-Dhan-601, CR-Dhan-1014, Mahanadi, Jagabandhu, Gouri, Samanta and Chandrama were found to possess desirable lignocellulosic composition with respect to harnessing green fuels. The marker OsCESA-1.3 expressed the highest PIC (0.640), while the marker OsCESA-6.3 of lowest PIC (0.128). A moderate average estimate (0.367) of PIC was observed under current set of genotypes and marker system. The dendrogram analysis grouped the rice genotypes into two principal clusters i.e., cluster I and II. Cluster-II is monogenetic, while cluster-I is having 42 genotypes. The moderate level of both PIC and H average estimates indicate the narrow genetic bases of the germplasms. The varieties falling under different clusters possessing desirable lignocellulosic composition can be used in a hybridization programme to develop bioenergy efficient varieties. The promising varietal combinations that can be used as parents for developing bioenergy efficient genotypes are Kanchan / Gobinda, Mahanadi / Ramachandi, Mahanadi / Rambha, Mahanadi / Manika, Rambha / Manika, Rambha / Indravati and CR-Dhan-601 / Manika as they offer an advantage of higher cellulose accumulation. This study helped in identification of suitable dual purpose rice varieties for biofuel production without compromising food security.

EVALUATION OF INTERSPECIFIC WHEAT HYBRIDS (T. DURUM × T. AESTIVUM) FOR SPIKE-RELATED TRAITS

The presented study analyzed the inheritance via heterosis of interspecific F1 hybrids between durum and bread wheat over better parents and ratios of dominance for spike-related traits affecting their productivity and transmission to future segregating populations. The research transpired in the crop seasons of 2017–-2019 at the Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnologies, Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences, Baku, Azerbaijan. The hybridization program used eight durum wheat (Triticum durum Desf) genotypes, i.e., Shark, Karabagh, Barakatli-95, Tartar, Garagilciıg-2, Vugar, Mirbashir- 50, and Shiraslan-23, and 13 bread wheat (T. aestivum L.) cultivars, viz., Mirbashir-128, Kyrmyzygul-1, Gobustan, Layaqatli, Kyzyl Bughda, Gunashli, Taleh-38, Sheki-1, Murov, Nurlu-99, Aran, and two foreign cultivars Bezostaya-1 (Russia) and Dagdash (Turkey) to generate 24 interspecific F1 hybrids. Studying the heterosis over better parents and degree of dominance in these interspecific F1 hybrids compared their performance with parental genotypes for spike-related traits, i.e., spike length, spikelets per spike, grains per spike, and grain weight per spike. In the F1 interspecific hybrids’ evaluation, the recorded desirable positive heterosis over better parents and dominance ratios appeared in cross combinations, i.e., Barakatli-95 × Gobustan, Karabagh × Mirbashir-128, Karabagh × Shark, Sheki-1 × Gobustan, Murov × Daghdash, Nurlu-99 × Layaqatli, Gobustan × Sheki-1, and Mirbashir-50 × Shiraslan-23 for spike-related traits. However, the F1 hybrid Garabagh × Gobustan revealed negative heterosis and depression for yield-related traits.

Effectiveness of a Training Program for Parents of Toddlers with or at Risk of Autism Spectrum Disorder

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate a hospital-provided hybrid parental support program designed to help parents implement routine interventions for their toddlers under 34 months, with or at risk of autism spectrum disorder (ASD).Methods: An experimental group including 15 pairs of toddlers and their parents received eight weekly sessions, while a control group including nine pairs received no sessions. Toddlers’ joint attention, autism-related behaviors, and adaptive behaviors, as well as parenting stress and parenting efficacy, were compared between baseline and 8 weeks later. Results: The toddlers in the experimental group showed significant improvement in their joint attention scores on the Early Social Communication Scales (<i>P</i><0.01) and the Korean-Childhood Autism Rating Scale scores (<i>P</i><0.01). However, statistically significant differences were not found in the adaptive behavior composite scores of the Korean Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales-II and total behavior problem scores of the Korean version of the Child Behavior Checklist. Parenting efficacy in the experimental group showed significant improvement (<i>P</i><0.05). Parenting stress increased in the experimental group, but the difference was not significant. Additionally, parents showed a statistically significant between-group difference in parenting efficacy (<i>P</i><0.05). Conclusion: A hospital-provided hybrid program affected the development of toddlers with ASD and parents’ implementation of interventions. It is significant that an online platform was used to provide individualized support for families to continue practicing the interventions and that the effectiveness of this program was demonstrated. This intervention can be considered as an efficient and sustainable alternative system to support toddlers with ASD and their families.

Heterogeneous acceleration algorithms for shallow cumulus convection scheme over GPU clusters

The physical process of atmospheric cumulus convection plays a crucial role in climate modeling, and its complex computational process severely restricts the development of high-resolution climate models. Accelerating the cumulus convective process calculation in climate models is a significant challenge. Traditional CPU-accelerated computing is increasingly unable to meet the growing demand for computing resources from high-resolution climate models. Therefore, developing an efficient cumulus convection scheme is quite valuable and necessary. In response to this demand, this paper selects the University of Washington shallow cumulus (UWshcu) model as the research object and proposes its parallel algorithms suitable for large-scale, heterogeneous, high-performance computing systems: (1) the single GPU acceleration algorithm based on CUDA C, namely GPU-UWshcu; (2) the multi-NVIDIA GPUs acceleration algorithm based on the MPI+CUDA hybrid programming model, namely CGPUs-UWshcu; (3) the multi-AMD GPUs acceleration algorithm based on MPI+HIP, namely HGPUs-UWshcu; (4) the multiple CPUs+GPUs acceleration algorithm based on MPI+OpenMP+HIP, namely MOH-UWshcu. Experimental results show that these algorithms are efficient and have good scalability. GPU-UWshcu achieves a speedup of 74.39× on a single Tesla V100 GPU compared with the serial algorithm running on an Intel Xeon E5-2680 v2 CPU core, and CGPUs-UWshcu achieves a 151.22× speedup on 16 Tesla V100 GPUs compared to a single Intel Xeon E5-2630 v4 CPU (10 cores). On the ORISE supercomputer, HGPUs-UWshcu uses 1024 AMD GPUs to achieve a 664.65× speedup compared to a single CPU (32 cores), with a parallel efficiency of 68.91% compared to using 32 GPUs. Compared to using the same number of CPU cores, MOH-UWshcu uses 8192 CPU cores+1024 GPUs to achieve a speedup of 4.98×, with 55.22 TFLOPS in double precision.

Multivariate analysis in pearl millet parental lines for diversity estimation and association study of yield contributing traits for genetic improvement of hybrids

Sixty parental lines of pearl millet containing R and B lines were evaluated at ICAR-AICRP on Pearl millet, Mandor, Rajasthan during Kharif-2020 to determine the extent of genetic diversity and association among yield and yield contributing traits. Multivariate techniques such as Principal component analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis were used to analyze the data. The results of PCA revealed four principal components with eigen values greater than one, explaining 33.53%, 18.51%, 14.06% and 8.49% of the total variability, respectively, with a cumulative effect of 74.59%. The study identified the traits such as number of productive tillers, dry fodder yield and plant height as excellent selection indicators that exhibit positive loading toward genetic diversity. Cluster analysis sorted all the parental lines into seven distinct clusters, with cluster VII having the highest number of lines followed by cluster III due to similar ancestry of parental lines. The parental lines J-2591, PPMI-1267 and RIB-109-120-S/19, RIB 3135-18, ICMB 95222, ICMB 94555, ICMB 04999, ICMB 93333 and ICMB 97111 display diversity in both cluster and PCA analyses, indicating the utilization of these lines for hybridization programme to harness heterosis and to select superior segregants in pearl millet.

Evaluation of Sodium Azide as a Chemical Mutagen in Developing Cold-Tolerant Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) Lines

Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) is an allotetraploid grain crop belonging to the Amaranthaceae family. With a nutritionally well-balanced nature and rich oil, protein, vitamin, carbohydrate, and amino acid content, it has various health benefits. Hybridization programs to induce genetic variation are difficult processes in quinoa plants; however, the introduction of variations through mutation to obtain promising genotypes is much easier. In this research, quinoa cultivar Atlas seeds were exposed to different doses and application durations of sodium azide (NaN3) were cultivated in pots. The present findings revealed distinctive differences in all studied traits between native and mutant plants. NaN3 mutagenesis caused genetic variations that were categorized based on studied traits and RAPD data, which led to two distinct groups during M2. It was noted that 2 mM + 3 h NaN3 treatments had the greatest effects on genetic variations and germination parameters. Present findings were also confirmed by molecular analysis. This research will provide new insights into molecular breeding programs to be conducted to improve present quinoa genotypes and produce better genotypes.

Genetic diversity analysis in sesame (Sesamum indicum L.)

In the present investigation, 70 genotypes of sesame were characterized for 12 morphological and 14 quantitative characters and subjected to genetic divergence (UPGMA hierarchial clustering) analysis. It revealed that a considerable amount of genetic variability was exhibited for majority of the morphological traits except for locule number per capsule, capsule number per leaf axil and capsule shape. In divergence analysis for both morphological and quantitative characters, 70 genotypes were grouped into seven clusters at the genetic distance of 0.5 using Ward’s minimum variance method and Gower’s method of genetic distance. Selection of the genotypes present in different clusters having more genetic distance, preferably belonging to different geographical origin may result in more heterotic effects in the hybridization programme. Good recombinants can be obtained by mating between clusters I and VII for genotypes viz., GJT-5, RT-46 with TMV-3, VRI-3, Paiyur 1 as they have maximum genetic distance between them. Most of the characters recorded high mean values in cluster VII. Hence, for improvement of these traits, the genotypes present in cluster VII could be exploited as parents. Keywords: Sesame, Diversity, Cluster, UPGMA

Principal component and cluster analyses for assessing agro-morphological diversity in rice

Forty-five rice genotypes were evaluated for determining the pattern of variation and relationship among 14 yield contributing traits. Four principal components (PCs) exhibited eigen values >1.0 and explained about 79.5 % of the total phenotypic variability. From rotated component matrix it has been observed that the highest positive eigen vector was taken by secondary branches (0.945), followed by total spikelet number (0.945), fertile spikelet number (0.889), primary branches (0.676) and harvest index (0.632) in PC1, indicating the major effects in the overall variation among the genotypes. Seven groups were formed after cluster analysis. Cluster I had lowest average for days to 50% flowering, Cluster II had highest mean value for harvest index, Cluster III had highest mean for flag leaf area, test weight, and straw and grain yield per plant, and Cluster V had highest mean value for primary branches, total spikelet number, fertile spikelet number and fertility %. So, desirable genotypes fromdifferent cluster can be selected and hybridization programme may be initiated to utilize heterosis in F1 generation and wide spectrum of recombinants in segregating generations for selection of promising segregants.

Multivariate analysis for evaluation of indigenous rice (Oryza sativa L.) accessions collected from Madhya Pradesh

Eighty indigenous rice genotypes were evaluated for twenty-nine quantitative and quality traits, planted in RCBD with three replications. The data on different characters were analyzed through Mahalanobis' generalized distance D2 (1936) and Principal Component Analysis for estimating genetic diversity and identification of superior rice genotypes. On the basis of genetic distance the 80 genotypes were grouped into 18 clusters following Tocher's method. Among them, five clusters contain more than one genotype, while thirteen clusters contain single genotype. The genotypes of cluster VIII and IX showed a higher (19816.1) inter cluster distance followed by cluster IV and VIII (12414.7). Cluster V has been discovered to have the largest intra-cluster distance. In order to increase the genetic diversity of rice, genotypes from these clusters may be crossed. On the basis of PCA findings, among all genotypes contributing their presence in more than one PC with high PC score only five genotypes viz., Biranjphool Shivram, Jeera Phool, Basmati Purani, Kardhana Baldev and Kailari Ram Madan confine with favourable yield as well as quality associated PCs, and had excellent remark for both the traits. These genotypes might be utilized in hybridization programme for the transfer of good yield as well as good quality traits in the recipient rice genotypes for the development of promising rice cultivars.

Hybrid-Flexible Classroom Design in the Physical Therapist Classroom.

Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) education has traditionally been delivered in a face-to-face format. However, alternative educational models are on the rise with the proliferation of hybrid programs. Although hybrid education may benefit students in unique ways, many students prefer the personal interaction afforded by a face-to-face format. An alternative model, Hybrid-Flexible (HyFlex), allows students to have the benefits of a hybrid education while allowing for face-to-face interactions. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to describe the application of an alternative educational method-HyFlex-in the DPT classroom. In a HyFlex model, students can choose to attend each class period in person, synchronously online, or asynchronously. Although previous research has found that hybrid programs have equivalent performance compared with traditional style, there is a paucity of published research on the effectiveness of HyFlex in the DPT classroom. Thirty-six students (n = 26 female students) enrolled in a first-year DPT kinesiology course participated in this study. Students chose which method of engagement they preferred, and attendance choice was recorded. Students were categorized into synchronous engagement, partial asynchronous engagement, or asynchronous engagement groups. Quantitatively, grades for quizzes, tests, and the final examination were recorded and compared across the groups. Qualitatively, the students filled out a survey asking about their experience, and answers were assessed using a qualitative descriptive approach. Quantitative data analysis revealed no differences between the groups in academic performance. Qualitative data revealed that students felt the HyFlex model allowed for better organization, flexibility, and reduced stress. However, there were concerns about the social impact, academic loss, decreased motivation, and technological issues. This study describes how a HyFlex model can be implemented in a DPT classroom that allows for greater flexibility and reports of improved stress reduction with no academic loss.

Assessment of Genetic Diversity in Sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) for Yield and its Components

A field experiment was conducted to assess the diversity among sesame genotypes for yield and yield component traits during late kharif, 2017 (August-November) at Seed Research and Technology Centre, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad, Telangana State, India. Genetic diversity among the genotypes were estimated based on the data recorded for eight yield and yield attributing characters in 51 genotypes using Mahalanobis’s D2 statistics. The percent contribution of characters towards divergence showed that the character days to 50% flowering contributed maximum followed by seed yield plant-1, capsule length and number of seeds capsule-1. Selection of parents based on these traits would be useful to achieve a wide range of genetic variability in crop improvement programmes. The 51 genotypes were grouped into ten clusters and out of them, cluster I was the largest comprising of eighteen genotypes followed by cluster III with fifteen genotypes, cluster IV with seven genotypes, cluster II with five genotypes. The clusters viz., V, VI, VII, VIII, IX and X represented by single genotype indicating high degree of diversity among the genotypes. The maximum inter cluster distance was observed between cluster IX and cluster X (219.39) followed by cluster VII and cluster VIII (190.41). Among the ten clusters, the cluster X had highest mean value for capsule length, number of capsules plant-1, number of seeds capsule-1 and seed yield plant-1. The genotypes from these divergent clusters with favourable mean values for different traits could be used as parents in hybridization programme to get superior transgressive segregants.

SEM-based study for palynological and pollen germination of Lilium longiflorum cv. Pavia

Pollen is the first choice of germplasm curator, geneticist, breeder and physiologist for conservation and crop improvement programs. A pollen palynological attributes and pollen germination study of Lilium longiflorum cv., 'Pavia' was conducted using scanning electron microscope (SEM). Various morphological characteristics were studied. The results showed that pollens were much alike in ultra-morphology with elliptical to ellipsoidal shape, reticulate exine and single germination ditch. The pollen viability was tested by the wet room method with 3 dyes; Acetocarmine, TTC, Lugol's iodine and 49.66% pollen viability was recorded with Acetocarmine dye; which suggested acetocarmine stain can be as a quick test method for pollen viability. The pollen germination ability was examined at set intervals, thereby establishing the dynamics of this process for 72 hours. Pollens collected just 1 h after anthesis were recorded with highest germination (85%) compared to pollen harvested before or one day after. The suitable medium for pollen germination was 3% sucrose and 15% PEG that recorded with highest pollen germination (95%) after 72 h of inoculation. Understanding evolutionary ecology and the sterility problem and designing hybridization programmes in cross-breeding necessitates a thorough understanding of pollen morphology and viability. Pollen ultra-morphology traits could be helpful in determining the evolutionary relationship of lilies.

Genetic Divergence Studies of Submergence Tolerant Rice Genotypes

The present investigation was carried out with 24 rice genotypes including both indigenous and exotic collections/varieties/lines under both normal transplanted condition and in submerged condition and observation for various morphophysiological, quantitative and qualitative traits by using randomized block design at the Research Farm of ‘Tirhut College of Agriculture, Dholi, Dr Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University, during Kharif season of 2019. All the 24 genotypes grouped into 3 clusters using D2 statistics. Intra cluster distance was at most in case of Cluster II while highest inter cluster distance was detected between Cluster III and Cluster II. Cluster III contains maximum yield attributing traits so it can be used for hybridization programme of above-mentioned traits. Crop Growth Rate at 30DAS showed maximum contribution towards total divergence while minimum contribution was exhibited by Number of Fertile Spikelet.

Genetic diversity and principal component analysis in cultivated rice (Oryza sativa) varieties of Assam

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is the pre-eminent cereal crop of Assam in term of production and cultivable area. The measurement of genetic diversity is crucial to pick up the appropriate genotypes in a crop improvement programme. Identification of traits contributing towards genetic diversity in a given population can help in formulating effective selection criteria. This study was carried out in 64 indigenous rice genotypes collected from North Bank Plains and Upper Brahmaputra valley zones of Assam during rainy (kharif) seasons of 2021 and 2022. Based on the yield attributing characters, the cultivars were categorized into 8 clusters. Cluster evaluation showed that cluster II and V had farthest distance from cluster V (431.18), followed by cluster I and II (377.62). The study on the Principal component analysis showed the traits, days to 50% flowering (DF), days to maturity (DM), filled grains per panicle (FG), biological yield (BY) and harvest index (HI) had maximum contribution towards the total variability. The genotypes from the diverse clusters having desirable per se performance could be selected for inclusion as parents in hybridization programme. Identification of component traits through the principal component analysis will help in formulating efficient selection criteria for further genetic improvement of rice.

Assessment of Genetic Variability and Trait Association in Lentil (Lens culinaris Medik.) for Yield and Attributing Traits

The present study was conducted at College of Post Graduate Studies in Agricultural Sciences, Meghalaya, India in the rabi season (November–April) of 2020–21 to study genetic variability, character association and identify high yielding Al tolerant lentil RILs genotypes suitable for Al toxicity prone acidic soils of Meghalaya. The genotypes were screened through phenotypic evaluation in the field, character association, root morphology studies and determination of root Al content. The pooled variance analysis over two locations revealed highly significant genotype×location interaction for the traits under study except days to maturity, number of primary branches plant-1 and number of seeds pod-1, whereas variance due to genotypes was highly significant for all the 10 characters except number of seeds pod-1. Among all the characters, high Hbs2 coupled with high GA percentage were observed in number of primary branches plant-1, plant height and 100 seed weight. Highly positive and highly significant correlation was observed between seed yield plant-1 with number of pods plant-1 (0.84***), biological yield plant-1 (0.79***), number of seeds pod-1 (0.47***), number of primary branches plant-1 (0.31***) and harvest index (0.31***). From the root morphology analysis, it was observed that high yielding tolerant genotypes constituted of well-established root systems under acidic soil conditions. Based on mean performance of seed yield plant-1, various attributing traits and root morphology studies the best performing genotypes were LRIL-37, LRIL-22, LRIL-96, LRIL-97, LRIL-144, LRIL-92 and LRIL-109. The identified genotypes may be used for further evaluation in multiple environments for final release and also for use in the hybridisation programme.

Provenance-Preserving Analysis and Rewrite of Quantum Workflows for Hybrid Quantum Algorithms

Quantum applications are hybrid, i.e., they comprise quantum and classical programs, which must be orchestrated. Workflows are a proven solution for orchestrating heterogeneous programs while providing benefits, such as robustness or scalability. However, the orchestration using workflows can be inefficient for some quantum algorithms, requiring the execution of quantum and classical programs in a loop. Hybrid runtimes are offered to efficiently execute these algorithms. For this, the quantum and classical programs are combined in a single hybrid program, for which the execution is optimized. However, this leads to a conceptual gap between the modeling benefits of workflow technologies, e.g., modularization, reuse, and understandability, and the efficiency improvements when using hybrid runtimes. To close this gap, we introduce a method to model all tasks explicitly in the workflow model and analyze the workflow to detect parts of the workflow that can benefit from hybrid runtimes. Furthermore, corresponding hybrid programs are automatically generated based on the quantum and classical programs, and the workflow is rewritten to invoke them. To ease the live monitoring and later analysis of workflow executions, we integrate process views into our method and collect related provenance data. Thus, the user can visualize and monitor the workflow in the original and rewritten form within the workflow engine. The practical feasibility of our approach is validated by a prototypical implementation, a case study, and a runtime evaluation.

Pollen biology and reproductive ecology of selected paleotropical Dendrobiums and its commercial hybrids

Understanding the reproductive biology is of great importance in the development of novel hybrids in ornamental plants. Pollen fitness-related traits are crucial for the pollination success in any plant species including dendrobiums. The aim of the study was to determine and compare the fitness traits of ten commercial Dendrobium hybrids and two indigenous Dendrobium species, D. crumenatum and D. anosmum found in Sri Lanka. We measured pollen viability, pollen germinability, and fruit production after controlled pollination. The effect of storage temperature on D. crumenatum pollen viability was evaluated to establish a suitable pollen storage method to improve future breeding programmes, as the flowering of dendrobiums is seasonal. The reproductive ecology of selected dendrobiums was studied by the observations of visits of natural pollinators and by assessing floral morphology to predict their potential pollinators. Six commercial hybrids had non-viable pollen while D. crumenatum showed the highest pollen germinability under both in vivo and in vitro conditions. Ninety percent of the commercial hybrids failed in vitro pollen germination whereas under in vivo conditions 50% were successful. Self-incompatibility in D. crumenatum was observed in both hand-pollination and under natural pollination. Pollen of D. crumenatum can be stored for two weeks at 9°C maintaining viability and germinability. Selected dendrobiums have shown adaptations to melittophily, suggesting the pollination by bees. Findings indicated a reduction of male fitness in most of the commercial Dendrobium hybrids and a higher fruit set is seen in selfing than cross-pollination. The present study provides information for developing conservation strategies and future hybridization programmes in paleotropical dendrobiums.

Study of Genetic Improvement and Susceptibility in Relation to the Infestations of the Leaf Roller and Capsule Borer Antigastra catalaunalis (Duponchel)

One hundred twenty nine accession of sesame with susceptible (TC-25) and resistance check (SI-250) were screened under natural infestation condition during two consecutive seasons of 2019 and 2020 to identify the source of resistance against leaf roller and capsule borer (Antigastra catalaunalis Dup.) at AICRP on oilseeds sesame center of JNKVV, College of Agriculture, Tikamgarh (M.P.). The sesame accession were categorized as highly resistant (HR), resistant (R), moderately resistant (MR), susceptible (S) and highly susceptible (HS) based on the cumulative score (0-9) and grade (1-9) of the individual accsession. Among 131 accession viz., In pooled analysis, leaf damage ranged from 0.0 to 40.0 against 40.0 and 0.0 per cent on susceptible and resistant checks, Flower damage ranged from 0.0 to 29.6 against 15.85 and 1.3 per cent on susceptible and resistant checks , respectively, while capsules damage ranged from 0.0 to 17.15 per cent against 3.05 and 0.4 % on susceptible and resistant checks, respectively. In pooled analysis none of the accession were found free from infestation of A. catalaunalis. Based on the cumulative scoring ,twenty one accession namely EC-334961-1, Annand local, IS-653-A, NIL-16426, IC-14331, NIC-8282, IS-387, G-13, EC-334955, NIC-8062, G-8, SI-1925, EC-35000, G-19, IS-90, GRT-83138, EC-303423-C, NIC-17362-A, ES-310420, IS-178-C, SI-250 and forty one accession namely S-0481, ES-75, TILO/Hana, EC-335001-A, S-003116, NIC-16114-B, BS-61, EC-164966, KMR-90, EC-335003, IS-722-2-84-I, NIC-17477-I, 43994, Oct.-81, Ec-182832, NIC-8033, G-2, G-6, NIC-9835, IS-77, GRT-8327, S-0619, ES-131-I-84, IC-152485, IS-449, IS-150-3-84, ES-64, IC-30884 ,GRT-8359, S-0281, IS-712, GRT-83128, NIC-16218, KJS-21, NIC-14730, Juland Sahame, SI-1865-1-B, GSM-21, IS-346, S-01159-C, GRT-8336. With resistance check, SI -250 (RC) were rated as highly resistant and resistance these could be a possible source of resistance and used in breeding programs to develop resistant varieties. These germplasm lines might be exploited in the hybridization programs for development of the resistant cultivars.

Genetic Diversity Studies in Super-early Pigeonpea [Cajanu cajan (L.) Millsp.

Background: Pigeonpea is an important legume crop in India. The super early genotypes which matures within 100 days have been developed at ICRISAT. They are photo-insensitive, aids in crop intensification and escapes abiotic and biotic stresses. The super early genotypes were exploited for genetic diversity for further improvement of the genotypes. Methods: The study was conducted at International Crop Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics, Patancheru, Telangana during kharif, 2017. The thirty-super early pigeonpea genotypes developed at ICRISAT were subjected for the study of genetic diversity (Mahalanobis D2 method) based on twelve quantitative characters. Result: The 30 super early genotypes were grouped into five clusters. The largest number of genotypes were confined to cluster III (19 genotypes) followed by cluster IV (6 genotypes), cluster I and II (2 genotypes). Cluster V is a solitary cluster with the check MN1.The inter cluster distance was high between the clusters III and IV followed by cluster I and III. The intra cluster distance was highest for the cluster III indicating the presence of variation among the genotypes within the cluster. The highest mean for single plant yield was observed for the cluster III followed by cluster V. The clusters with more inter cluster distance can be used to select parents to be involved in hybridization programmes.

Genotypic and Phenotypic Correlation Study and Cluster Analysis between different Physiological Attributes of Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) under different Regimes of Irrigation

Cotton is a well-known agricultural and industrial crop that plays a significant role in Pakistan's economy. For this study, RCBD (Randomized Complete Block Design) using three replications was carried out to sow fifty different cotton genotypes. Results of the experiments showed that under normal and drought conditions, relative water content has highly significant and positive association with excise leaf water while at genotypic level, positively significant correlation with aforesaid traits has been found. Genotypes under study were assembled into five differing clusters by keeping a linkage space. Comparison of all five groups revealed that Cluster-1 is relevant to all the qualities being studied in both conditions as all these characters had the greatest value in the said group. The lowest ranked was observed for parameters under study in Cluster-5. These kinds of discoveries can be useful in planning the new hybridization programs to develop abiotic tolerance in the cotton.