Reduction Of Grains Research Articles

EFFECT OF PLANT DENSITY OF FABA BEAN INTERCROPPED ON WHEAT AND NITROGEN FERTILIZATION ON YIELD AND ITS COMPONENTS FOR BOTH CROPS

Two experiment were carried out during the two growing seasonsof 2010/2011 and 2011/2012 at Giza Agric. Res. St. to study theeffect of plant density of faba bean intercropped on wheat andnitrogen fertilization on yield and its components for both crops. Asplit plots design with three replications was used. The main plotswere devoted to nitrogen fertilizer levels (60, 75 and 90 kg N/fad.Whereas, the sub plots were allocated for pattern systems P1,P2,P3(100 wheat 12.5%, 25% and 37.5% faba bean respectively. Theresults indicated that increased population of faba bean from 12.5 %to 37.5 of solid led to reduction for all study characters number ofspikes/m2, grain/ spike, weight of grains spike and 1000 grain, grainand straw yield/ fad of wheat in the combined data. The reduction ingrain and straw yield of wheat were estimated 5.84 and 6.47 for P1,10.09 and 8.82% for P213.33 and 13.53% for P3 respectively.Intercropping 100% of wheat with faba bean (P1) recorded the highestvalues of most yield components of faba bean, while the lowestvalues were observed by third density (P3). Seed and straw yield wereincreased by increased plant density of faba bean (P1 toP3) butreduced as compared with solid yield.This in seed and straw yieldfaba bean were 75.57 and 76.24 for(P1) 61.48 and 66.70 for (P2) 47.60 and 55.55 for (P3)respectively.Grain and seed yield of wheat with faba bean weresignificantly affect by nitrogen fertilizer levels. The highest values ofboth crops (95.24 and 48.75) were observed when added 90 kg N/fad.While the lowest values (85.63 and 29.33) with 60 kg N/fad of solidcrops. The highest of LER (1.53) MAI (4574.73) and MER (1.42)were observed (N3×P3) while the lowest was observed (N1×P1).The values ofaggressivity (Ag) for faba bean was positive whilewheat was negative it means that faba bean was dominated whilewheat was dominated.

Abstract 137: Reversal of Endothelial Dysfunction Using Polyphenol Rich Foods and Supplements Coupled with Avoidance of Major Dietary Lectins

Endothelial dysfunction (ED) is highly correlated with the development of coronary artery and vascular disease in general. While dietary factors have been previously implicated in the causation of endothelial dysfunction, a purposeful change in dietary habits, coupled with the addition of several polyphenol-containing supplements, has not been studied for their effects on endothelial function, as measured by Peripheral Arterial Tonometry (PAT). 200 consecutive pts, aged 51-86, M:F ratio 3/2, with known vascular risk factors of HTN, DM, Hypercholesterolemia, hx of MI, Stent, CABG, were enrolled in a dietary program, which emphasizes large amts of leafy green vegetables, olive oil, radical reduction of grain, legumes, nightshades, and fruits; and generous amts of grassfed animal proteins, emphasizing Shellfish and avoiding commercial poultry (Diet Evolution). All pts were instructed to take 2-4,000 mg of high DHA fish oil, 200mg of Grape Seed Extract, and 50 mg of Pycnogenol per day. All pts had Endothelial Reactivity (ER) using PAT before and after a 5-minute arm occlusion using the EndoPAT 2000 (Itamar, Israel) at baseline and at 6 months. Baseline Endothelial Reactivity was 1.88+/-0.7 (range 1.0-3.3), with 145/200 pts (72%)having endothelial dysfunction (less than 1.60). At 6 months, ER increased to 2.25+/-0.5 (range 1.2-3.6) (p<0.01). Only 40/200 (20%) remained with ED, but all had increased ER numbers. Ten pts stopped the polyphenols after a normal PAT; all developed ED on repeat PAT. We conclude that a limited grain, legume, nightshade, and fruit diet with emphasis on greens, olive oil and grassfed animal proteins, particularly Shellfish, with avoidance of commercial poultry, with supplemental fish oil and polyphenols dramatically improves endothelial function in a group of high risk patients.

Effective Selection Criteria for Evaluating Some Barley Crosses for Water Stress Tolerance

Received: 7 January 2014 Accepted: 17 February 2014 Published: 20 March 2014 Drought is a wide-spread problem seriously influencing barley production. Drought tolerance indices were used for screening tolerant genotypes. Twenty one diallel crosses among seven Egyptian barley cultivars showing clear differences in reaction to drought were made in 2010/2011 season and evaluated under full and stress irrigation regimes at the Agricultural Experiments and Research Station, Faculty of Agriculture, Cairo University, Giza Governorate, Egypt during 2011/2012 and 2012/2013 seasons. The objective was to identify tolerant genotypes based on drought tolerance indices and introduce the best index as an indirect criterion for selecting drought tolerant accessions in barley breeding programs. Water stress caused significant reductions in grain yield/plant of F1 s showing maximum reduction (31.33%) in 2011/2012 season. Genotypic differences were found in grain yield/plant under both irrigation treatments at both seasons. Based on most of the drought tolerance indices, the findings of present study showed that the breeders should pay attention to the genotypes Giza 123 and Giza 131 (as parents), and Giza 126 X Giza 129, Giza 129 X Giza 130 and Giza 129 X Giza 123 (as F1 crosses). These genotypes exhibited high yield under both stressed and non-stressed conditions. So, these genotypes should be involved in breeding programs for developing new tolerant varieties to water stress. On the other hand, selection indices showed different ranks of genotypes. However, stress tolerance (ST), yield index (YI), relative performance (P), stress susceptibility index (SSI) and tolerance index (TOL) are suggested to differentiate genotypes for water stress tolerance. © 2014 PSCI Publisher All rights reserved.

Mechanism of Reduction in Grain and Particle Sizes of Nix-Fe100x Nanopowder by Mechanical Alloying

Ball milling with high energy for mechanical alloying was followed to make Ni-Fe alloy powders from elemental Ni and Fe powders having the sizes of 80 µm (Ni) and 25 µm (Fe). Preparations were carried out at room temperature with various duration of time ranging from 2 to 100 hours using ball milling with high energy. Analyses based on X-ray diffraction pattern and particle size analyzer were used for characterization of powders. During ball milling, it was observed that the reduction of grain size and particle size occurred in a stepped fashion. This observation indicates that the reduction in grain size and particle size occurs in a successive cyclic fashion, contrary to the expectation of concurrent reduction.

Abstract 310: Improvement in Vascular Reactivity by Institution of a "Green-Based" Diet with Supplemental Fish Oil and the Polyphenolic Compounds, Grape Seed Extract and Pycnogenol

Objectives: Endothelial dysfunction (ED) is highly correlated with the development of coronary artery and vascular disease in general. While dietary factors have been previously implicated in the causation of endothelial dysfunction, a purposeful change in dietary habits, coupled with the addition of several polyphenol-containing supplements, has not been studied for their effects on endothelial function, as measured by Peripheral Arterial Tonometry (PAT). Methods: 125 consecutive pts, aged 65-86, M:F ratio 3/2, with known vascular risk factors of HTN, DM, Hypercholesterolemia, hx of MI, Stent, CABG, were enrolled in a dietary program, which emphasizes large amts of leafy green vegetables, olive oil, radical reduction of grain, legumes, and fruits; and generous amts of animal proteins (Diet Evolution). All pts were instructed to take 2-4,000 mg of high DHA fish oil, 200mg of Grape Seed Extract, and 50 mg of Pycnogenol per day. All pts had Endothelial Reactivity (ER) using PAT before and after a 5-minute arm occlusion using the EndoPAT 2000 (Itamar, Israel) at baseline and at 6 months. Results: Baseline Endothelial Reactivity was 1.88+/-0.7 (range 1.0-3.3), with 90/125 pts (72%)having endothelial dysfunction (less than 1.60). At 6 months, ER increased to 2.25+/-0.5 (range 1.2-3.6) (p<0.01). Only 20/125 (16%) remained with ED, but all had increased ER numbers. Two pts stopped the polyphenols after a normal PAT; both developed ED on repeat PAT. Conclusions: We conclude that a limited grain, legume, fruit diet with emphasis on greens, olive oil and animal proteins with supplemental fish oil and polyphenols dramatically improves endothelial function in a group of high risk patients.

Influence of size effect on the springback of sheet metal foils in micro-bending

To analyze the unloading springback of sheet metal foils after micro-bending process, a constitutive model is proposed based on the surface layer model by which the sheet foil is divided into surface layer and inner portions. For the inner portion, each grain is envisaged as a composite, comprised of grain interior and grain boundary work-hardened layer. The classical composite model is then used to calculate its flow stress. For the surface layer portion, a model without grain boundary strengthening is constructed to represent the flow stress in this zone. The developed method is verified through the comparison of the calculated strain–stress curves with the tensile test results of four kinds of pure copper sheet foils with different thicknesses ranging from 0.1 mm to 0.6 mm. To investigate the effect of thickness and grain size on the springback of pure copper sheet foils, three-point bending tests are carried out. A finite element (FE) model for predicting the springback in micro-bending process is further developed, which takes into account the deformation behavior and orientation of each grain. The influences of grain size and thickness on the springback of sheet foils are investigated. The research results show that the decrease of sheet foil thickness or the increase of grain size results in a big springback. The scatter of springback angle is mainly attributed to the elastic anisotropy of surface grains and increases with the reduction of grains along the thickness direction. A good agreement between the experimental results and the analytical calculations shows that the developed FE model can predict the springback of sheet metal foils well in micro-bending process.

Continuous ozonation treatment systems as other alternative more efficient grain protection technologies

Previous static bed ozonation scale-up and demonstration trials have proven the use of ozone as an effective technology for grain protection without affecting its end-use quality. Due to the lack of current availability of high capacity ozone producing generators, grain treatment through static bed ozonation systems are limited to be used in metal silos of capacities smaller than 644-t. Also, the trials have shown that treatment time has to be of no less than 4 d during application in order to be effective for pest control. Therefore, more efficient ozonation treatment systems are needed for proper ozone usage for stored product protection. The primary objective of these research studies was to design and test a semi-continuous counter-flow ozonation and a continuous ozonation flow treatment systems in order to ozonate grain at faster rates based on the concentration-time product (CTP) of ozone required to achieve 100% insect mortality and effective mold reduction in grain. The procedure of the counter-flow semi-continuous ozonation system consisted of removing each grain layer inside a metal silo with a tapered unloading auger after each layer reached the desired ozone CTP. The treated grain is subsequently transported to a storage or shipping silo. The continuous ozonation flow system involves applying high ozone concentrations through a modified grain loading screw conveyor where ozone and grain are moving continuously in the same flow direction. The counter-flow semi-continuous ozonation system was successfully tested and proved to be a technically feasible tool for pest control and mold reduction. The continuous ozonation flow system was proved as an effective tool for treating grain during handling while achieving 100% insect mortality, and effective mold reduction. Keywords : Ozonation, Continuous treatment, Grain, Pest control, Molds.

The effects of ball milling and molar ratio of LiH on the hydrogen storage properties of nanocrystalline lithium amide and lithium hydride (LiNH2+LiH) system

Abstract High-energy ball milling was applied to the mixtures of LiNH 2 and LiH having the molar ratio 1:1, 1:1.2 and 1:1.4LiH. During a high-energy ball milling of the 1:1 molar ratio mixture the grain (crystallite) size of LiNH 2 and LiH constituent decreases monotonically with increasing milling time while the specific surface area (SSA) of powder increases up to 25 h of milling duration and then decreases after milling for 100 h due to the excessive agglomeration of powder particles into lumps. A single-phase LiNH 2 decomposes through melting and the release of ammonia (NH 3 ). A just mixed LiNH 2 + LiH mixture still mostly decomposes through the melting of LiNH 2 and release of NH 3 . For the hydrogen to be effectively released from the mixture of (LiNH 2 + LiH) a high-energy ball milling is necessary which makes an intimate contact between both constituents. The activation energy for hydrogen desorption from the ball milled mixture of (LiNH 2 + LiH) decreases with increasing SSA of powders up to ∼26 m 2 /g and then levels off with further increase of SSA. For the ball milled mixture of LiNH 2 :LiH the lowest activation energy is observed for the molar ratio of 1:1.2LiH. The hydrolysis/oxidation of the fraction of LiH into LiOH in the mixture makes a fraction of LiH inactive in the intermediate reaction NH 3 + LiH → LiNH 2 + H 2 and creates the major obstacle to the hydrogen desorption from the ball milled mixture of LiNH 2 + LiH. At the molar ratio 1:1.2 of LiNH 2 :LiH the mass of the active LiH is the largest one which leads to the largest quantity of desorbed hydrogen (∼5 wt.%). The amount of hydrogen desorbed from LiNH 2 + LiH slightly decreases with increasing milling time from 5 to 100 h due to the reduction in grain (crystallite) size of LiH which renders it more sensitive to hydrolysis and the formation of LiOH.

Responses of SUB1 rice introgression lines to submergence in the field: Yield and grain quality

Prolonged submergence is a major constraint to rice production, affecting over 15 million ha in South and Southeast Asia and causing an annual yield loss of over US$ 600 million. This is because all the modern high-yielding rice varieties are sensitive to complete submergence. A major quantitative trait locus (QTL), SUB1, associated with submergence tolerance, was mapped on chromosome 9 and recently bred into popular rainfed lowland rice varieties sensitive of complete submergence, using marker-assisted backcrossing (MABC). Here, we assessed the impact of introgressing SUB1 into three rice varieties popular in farmers’ fields of South and Southeast Asia, Swarna, Sambha Mahsuri, and IR64, under control conditions as well as following submergence in the field. Under control conditions, no differences were observed between Sub1 introgression lines and their recurrent parents in grain yield or quality aspects. Submergence substantially delayed flowering and maturity, and reduced grain yield, shoot biomass, harvest index, and yield components across cultivars. The reduction in yield was more drastic in the sensitive varieties, particularly when submerged for longer duration (17 d). The significant decline in grain yield was mainly attributed to reductions in grain filling, number of grains per panicle, and grain weight. The SUB1 QTL is effective in conferring tolerance of submergence for about 12–17 d, depending on floodwater conditions. Sub1 introgression lines showed a yield advantage of up to 3.8 t ha −1 and slightly better grain quality after submergence compared with their parents. Apparently, the introgression of SUB1 into popular varieties did not have any negative impact on their performance under control conditions but considerably enhanced their yield and grain quality following short-term submergence.

Effect of Nitrogen Fertilizer Forms on Growth, Photosynthesis, and Yield of Rice Under Cadmium Stress

ABSTRACT A pot experiment was conducted to study the influence of four nitrogen (N) fertilizer forms [Urea; calcium nitrate, Ca(NO3)2; ammonium sulfate, (NH4)2SO4; and organic N] on growth, photosynthesis, and yield of rice under two cadmium (Cd) levels (0 and 100 mg Cd kg−1 soil). Cadmium addition significantly reduced photosynthetic rate, and the reduction varied with N fertilizer form, with ammonium (NH4 +)-N and urea treated plants having more reduction. Nitrogen form had a distinct effect on SPAD value, and the effect was also dependent on Cd level and growth stage. Cadmium-stress significantly reduced flag leaf area, but for the second leaf, only the plants supplied with organic N showed the reduction. There was a significant difference in plant height among four N forms, with NH4 +- and nitrate (NO3 −)-treated plants having the highest and lowest height, respectively. Cadmium stress caused significant reduction in grains per panicle and total plant weight, and the reduction varied with N form, with organic N treatment showing more reduction. There were significant differences among N forms in N and Cd concentrations of the plants subjected to Cd stress, with NH4 +-N treated plants having highest N and lowest Cd concentrations and NO3 −-treated plants having lowest N and highest Cd uptake. The results showed that the inhibition of Cd stress on growth and yield formation of rice is closely related to N fertilizer form.

Effects of soil moisture stress on floral and pods abortion, reproductive efficiency and grain yield in soybean genotypes (Glycine max (L) Merrill)

Experiments were conducted at Ilorin, Nigeria to evaluate the effects of soil moisture stress at different growth stages (vegetative, flowering and pod filling) on floral and pods abortion, reproductive efficiency and grain yields of ten soybean genotypes (TGX 923-2E, TGX 1440-1E, Samsoy- 2, TGX 536 02D, TGX 1019-2E, TGX 1448-2E, TGX 1844-18E, TGX 1830-2DE, TGX 1740-2F and TGX 1817-12E). A regularly watered (control) treatment was included in all the replicates. There were significant variations (p < 0.001) in flower and pods abortions, yield components and grain yields of the genotypes, as well as in the moisture stress treatments. Reproductive efficiency was, however, not significantly affected by any of the two factors. Grain yield was highest with TGX 1844-18E due to high number of flowers and pods produced. Similarly moderate floral and pods abortions, as well as high pod and biomass yields were recorded in the variety. Grain yield was lowest in TGX 1817-12E resulting from lower number of flowers and pods produced, high floral and pods abortions and low pod and biomass yields. Soil moisture stress, especially when it occurred at the vegetative and flowering stages significantly reduced flower and pods production, biomass yield, and slightly increased floral and pods abortions. Conclusively, reductions in grain yields as a result of moisture stress at any growth stage was due to reduction in sink sites where dry matter is to be stored. This occurs because of reduction in the ability to translocate more photosynthates to the sites during pod filling. Results of this study showed Samsoy-2 and TGX 1817-12EN to be the most tolerant genotypes to soil moisture stress, while TGX 1019-2EN and TGX 536-02D, the least tolerant. Keywords: Floral and pod abortion; reproductive efficiency; soybean genotype; moisture stressMoor Journal of Agricultural Research Vol. 7 (1&2) 2006 pp. 9-14

Effects of cultivar resistance and single fungicide application on rice sheath blight, yield, and quality

The increased number of sheath blight ( Rhizoctonia solani)-resistant rice ( Oryza sativa) cultivars available will allow producers to use less fungicide and avoid significant reductions in grain and milling yields. Among cultivars currently in cultivation in the southern United States, sheath blight resistance levels range from very susceptible to moderately resistant. A study was conducted to determine the response of cultivars, with different levels of susceptibility, to sheath blight inoculations and fungicide application and to determine the impact of sheath blight disease development on rice yield and quality. Sheath blight epidemics in field plots were initiated by inoculation at the panicle differentiation growth stage in 2006 and 2007. Azoxystrobin at 0.17 kg a.i. ha −1 was applied at mid-boot. Inoculation significantly increased sheath blight severity and incidence and caused yield losses of 8% in moderately resistant cv. Jupiter to 40% in very susceptible cv. Trenasse. Milling yields were affected to a lesser extent. Fungicide treatments reduced sheath blight incidence and severity, regardless of cultivar except in Jupiter. Single azoxystrobin applications were effective in minimizing yield loss due to sheath blight in all cultivars.

Effects of Cultivars and Fungicides on Rice Sheath Blight, Yield, and Quality.

The development of sheath blight (Rhizoctonia solani)-resistant rice (Oryza sativa) cultivars will allow producers to use less fungicide and to avoid significant reductions in grain and milling yields. Among cultivars currently in cultivation in the southern United States rice-producing region, sheath blight resistance levels range from very susceptible to moderately susceptible. A study was conducted to determine the response of cultivars with different levels of susceptibility to sheath blight inoculations and fungicide applications and to determine the impact of sheath blight disease development on rice yield and quality. Sheath blight epidemics in field plots were initiated by inoculation at the panicle differentiation growth stage from 2003 through 2005. Azoxystrobin at 0.17 kg a.i. ha-1 and flutolanil at 0.56 kg a.i. ha-1 were applied in sequential applications at midboot and 50 to 70% heading. Inoculation significantly increased sheath blight severity and incidence and caused yield losses of 4% in moderately susceptible cv. Francis to 21% in very susceptible cv. Cocodrie. Milling yield was affected to a lesser extent. Fungicide treatments reduced sheath blight incidence and severity regardless of cultivar. Azoxystrobin was more effective than flutolanil in minimizing yield loss due to sheath blight in all cultivars except Francis.

The Influence of Hot Rolling Finishing Temperature on the Structure and Magnetic Properties of 2.0%Si Non-Oriented Silicon Steel

Rougher bar samples of 2.0%Si and 0.25%Al Non Oriented Grain with 25mm thickness were rolled to 2.3mm in a pilot reversible mill with temperatures ranging from 920 to 1120°C and processed until the final annealing to study the evolution of grain size and crystallographic orientation. The results showed that higher hot rolling finishing temperature results in larger hot band grain size, but the texture, composed mainly by alpha, gamma, {100} , and eta fibers suffers little effect. As a consequence, after final annealing, an increase of fraction of the grains with eta fiber orientation and a reduction of grains with gamma fiber orientation are observed, improving the magnetic induction. The final grain size decreases with hot rolling finishing temperatures above 1040°C in spite of increasing hot band grain size, deteriorating the core loss results. This was explained by the increasing of shear bands when the grain size prior to cold rolling increases. More shear bands generates more sites for nucleation on recrystallization, then smaller final grain size results. The Goss orientation is generated mainly in the sites inside shear bands. The increasing of prior grain size also increases the fraction of grains with Goss orientation after final annealing and its fraction increases suddenly when the hot rolling finishing temperature achieves 1040°C, supporting that affirmation.

The Puzzle of Rice Domestication

AbstractThe origin of cultivated rice has puzzled plant biologists for decades. This is due, at least in part, to the complex evolutionary dynamics in rice cultivars and wild progenitors, particularly rapid adaptive differentiation and continuous gene flow within and between cultivated and wild rice. The long‐standing controversy over single versus multiple and annual versus perennial origins of cultivated rice has been brought into shaper focus with the rapid accumulation of genetic and phylogenetic data. Molecular phylogenetic analyses revealed ancient genomic differentiation between rice cultivars, suggesting that they were domesticated from divergent wild populations. However, the recently cloned domestication gene sh4, responsible for the reduction of grain shattering from wild to cultivated rice, seems to have originated only once. Herein, we propose two models to reconcile apparently conflicting evidence regarding rice domestication. The snow‐balling model considers a single origin of cultivated rice. In this model, a core of critical domestication alleles was fixed in the founding cultivar and then acted to increase the genetic diversity of cultivars through hybridization with wild populations. The combination model considers multiple origins of cultivated rice. In this model, initial cultivars were domesticated from divergent wild populations and fixed different sets of domestication alleles. Subsequent crosses among these semi‐domesticated cultivars resulted in the fixation of a similar set of critical domestication alleles in the contemporary cultivars. In both models, introgression has played an important role in rice domestication. Recent and future introgression of beneficial genes from the wild gene pool through conventional and molecular breeding programs can be viewed as the continuation of domestication.

Effect of Cd on the growth, dry matter accumulation and grain yield of different rice cultivars

AbstractPot soil experiments showed that there were great variations among six rice cultivars in their tolerance to soil Cd stress, with respect to tillering, plant height, leaf area, dry matter accumulation and grain yield. Some cultivars were highly tolerant of Cd and showed little toxicity under high levels of soil Cd stress (100 mg kg−1), while others were much more sensitive. Roots were not necessarily more sensitive than above‐ground parts, but the diversities among rice cultivars with regard to the relative changes in dry matter accumulation under soil Cd stress were greater in roots than those observed in straw and grain. The toxicity effects of Cd on rice growth and development lessened as plants grew and matured, indicating that rice plants show adaptation and growth compensation in response to soil Cd stress during prolonged exposure. The relative change in the number of grains per panicle showed a strong positive correlation with relative change in grain yield and, of the four grain yield components measured (panicles per pot; grains per panicle; filled grain percentage; weight per grain), it appeared to be the one most influenced by Cd stress. Thus the reduction of grains per panicle is the main cause of grain yield loss under soil Cd stress. Copyright © 2007 Society of Chemical Industry

Initiation of Rice Sheath Blight Epidemics and Effect of Application Timing of Azoxystrobin on Disease Incidence, Severity, Yield, and Milling Quality

The lack of sheath blight-resistant cultivars requires rice (Oryza sativa) farmers to use fungicides to control the disease and avoid significant reductions in grain and milling yield. Sheath blight (Rhizoctonia solani) epidemics can begin over a period of weeks during the growing season, and initiation date can have significant effects on crop damage and fungicide application timing. Studies were conducted to determine how different epidemic initiation and azoxystrobin application timings affect disease development, rice yield, and milling quality. Sheath blight epidemics in field plots were initiated by inoculation at the green ring (GR), panicle differentiation (PD), early boot (EB), and late boot (LB) growth stages in 2002 to 2004. Azoxystrobin was applied to the foliage at 0.17 kg a.i. ha-1 at 7 days after PD (PD+7), midboot (B), and 50% heading (H). Inoculation significantly increased sheath blight severity and incidence and reduced yield and milling quality. There were no significant effects of inoculation timing at the GR, PD, EB, and LB growth stages. Fungicide applications made between PD+7 and H reduced sheath blight severity and incidence, resulting in higher yield and head rice milling yield compared with inoculated but nonsprayed plots.

Fungicide and cultivar affect post-anthesis patterns of nitrogen uptake, remobilization and utilization efficiency in wheat

Three successive field experiments (2000/01–2002/03) assessed the effect of wheat cultivar (Consort, Hereward and Shamrock) and fungicide (epoxiconazole and azoxystrobin) applied at and after flag leaf emergence on the nitrogen in the above-ground crop (Total N) and grain (Grain N), net nitrogen remobilization from non-grain tissues (Remobilized N), grain dry matter (Grain DM), and nitrogen utilization efficiency (NUtEg=Grain DM/Total N). Ordinary logistic curves were fitted to the accumulation of Grain N, Grain DM and Remobilized N against thermal time after anthesis and used to simultaneously derive fits for Total N and NUtEg.When disease was controlled, Consort achieved the greatest Grain DM, Total N, Grain N and NUtEg; in each case due mostly to longer durations, rather than quicker rates, of accumulation. Fungicide application increased final Grain DM, Grain N, Total N and Remobilized N, also mostly through effects on duration rather than rate of accumulation. Completely senesced leaf laminas retained less nitrogen when fungicide had been applied compared with leaf laminas previously infected severely with brown rust (Puccinia recondita) and Septoria tritici, or with just S. tritici. Late movement of nitrogen out of fungicide-treated laminas contributed to extended duration of both nitrogen remobilization and grain N filling, and meant that increases in NUtEg could occur without simultaneous reductions in grain N concentration.

Growth and Meat Yield Responses of Male Broilers Provided Feeds Subjected to Postmix Grinding During a 41-Day Production Period

Pellet quality influences cumulative BW and feed conversion of meat birds. Particle size reduction of grain affects the integrity of pellets. Postmix grinding is a feed manufacturing process used to improve particle size uniformity. This procedure grinds all the ingredients after mixing but before the diet enters the pellet mill. This study evaluated the effects of postmix grinding on pelleting parameters and live performance responses and processing yields of male broilers. Two treatments were used: 1) control feed that was manufactured under standard procedures and 2) feed subjected to postmix grinding prior to the conditioning and pelleting process. All feeds were manufactured in a commercial mill. Feed subjected to postmix grinding had improved pellet durability index and a greater percentage of pellets than feed manufactured with conventional grinding. Broilers provided feed subjected to postmix grinding consumed less feed and had improved feed conversion, but the amounts of carcass parts were similar between treatments. Future research should determine if postmix grinding is economically feasible based on improved live performance responses of broilers vs. energy usage incurred with operating postgrinders.

Effects of Removal of Some Photosynthetic Structures on Some Yield Components in Wheat

Anakara Üniversitesi Ziraat Fakültesi Tarla Bitkileri Bölümü deneme tarlalarında 1999-2001 yıllarında yapılan çalışmada; iki ekmeklik buğday Gerek-79 ve Gün-91 çeşidinde başaklanma döneminde, kılçık, bayrak yaprak ve bayrak yaprak altındaki yaprağın uzaklaştırılmasının bazı verim öğelerine etkisi araştırılmıştır. Deneme tesadüf blokları bölünmüş parseller desenine göre dört tekrarlamalı olarak yürütülmüştür. Elde edilen sonuçlara göre; kontrole karşılaştırıldığında bayrak yaprağı uzaklaştırılan bitkilerde; başakta dane sayısı, başakta dane ağılığ ve bin dane ağırlığında her iki yılda da yaklaşık olarak sırasıyla % 13, % 34 ve % 24 oranında azalma ve protein içeriğinde % 2.8 artış ortaya çıkmıştır. Bu öğelerdeki azalma ve protein oranındaki artış kılçığı ve bayrak yaprak altındaki yaprağı alınan bitkilerde de önemli bulunmuştur