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An investigation was carried in the erstwhile Mahabubnagar district of Telangana during rabi 2019-20 aiming the estimation of groundnut crop acreage and yield. The crop area was estimated using the satellite images of Landsat-8-OLI sensor from September to February covering the entire crop growth period by performing an unsupervised image classification technique with 300 classes, 300 iterations and a convergence threshold of 0.99. The groundnut yield was estimated by developing the regression equation using crop-cut yield data and NDVI values of the corresponding GPS locations. The crop area was estimated to be 57,865 ha with producer’s and user’s accuracy of 100 and 90% respectively, and a relative deviation of 28.6% when compared with actual ground estimates of the Department of agriculture. The crop yields were estimated with an R2 value of 0.71 and a correlation coefficient of 0.87

The article presents a study which aimed at revealing the reproductive characters and establishing a set of breeding parameters for genetic improvement using morphological markers of annatto (Bixa orellana L). Topics discussed include quantification of total phenolic content and of total flavonoids, culture preparation and determination of minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC), and characterization of annatto using morphological markers.

An investigation was carried out in maize to estimate General Combining ability (GCA), Specific Combining Ability (SCA) and their interaction with three environments. Nine maize inbred lines were crossed in all possible combinations including reciprocals in 9 × 9 diallel fashion. The resultant single cross hybrids along with parents were evaluated for their combining ability over environments. The combining ability analysis of diallel crosses across three environments showed high significance of GCA and SCA variances for all the traits viz., days to physiological maturity, plant height, cob length, cob girth, cob weight, 100 grain weight and grain yield per plant indicating the importance of both additive and non-additive gene action for the expression of these traits. The ratio of additive to non-additive variance was greater than one for all the traits except for cob length, cob girth, cob weight and grain yield across the environments, indicating the additive type of gene effects were more important in the expression days to physiological maturity, plant height and 100 grain weight and thus simple selection would confer rapid improvement of these characters. The hybrid combination UMI79 × UMI176 was the best for grain yield, cob weight, cob girth and early maturity. For reduced plant height UMI176 × UMI467 was the best across environments. The hybrid UMI176 × UMI13 was identified as the best for cob weight and cob girth. The crosses UMI79 × UMI57, UMI79 × UMI285 and UMI432 × UMI936(W) were the best for cob length. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Red spider mite, Tetranychus truncatus Ehara (Acari: Tetranychidae) infests many agriculture and horticulture crops in India, but to date it had not been found damaging cultivated groundnut. During 2022-23, the incidence of this species was high in many groundnut growing regions of Tamil Nadu. Identification of the species is highly essential for effective management of the particular pest. Hence, the aim of this research was to identify the mite species infesting groundnut crop and describe the damage caused. Methods: Survey was carried out all over Tamil Nadu and samples of mite infested groundnut leaves were collected from field based on damage symptoms, observed and examined under Stereo zoom microscope, microslides were prepared using Hoyer's medium and taxonomic characters were studied under phase contrast microscope. Molecular analysis was done by genomic DNA isolation, PCR amplification, sequencing and BLAST performed to check the identity with GenBank Sequences. ITS2 primer was used. Result: Red spider mite species, T. truncatus was identified first time in groundnut through both morphological characters and molecular tools. Female: Idiosomal setae longer than the interval between their longitudinal bases and gradually tapers distally. Diamond-shaped pattern of striae between e1 and f1 setal bases. Tarsus I with 4 tactile setae proximal to proximal duplex setae. Male: Aedeagus with tiny terminal knob, apparently truncate with a slight indentation on the dorsal margin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An investigation was carried in the erstwhile Mahabubnagar district of Telangana during rabi 2019-20 aiming the estimation of groundnut crop acreage and yield. The crop area was estimated using the satellite images of Landsat-8-OLI sensor from September to February covering the entire crop growth period by performing an unsupervised image classification technique with 300 classes, 300 iterations and a convergence threshold of 0.99. The groundnut yield was estimated by developing the regression equation using crop-cut yield data and NDVI values of the corresponding GPS locations. The crop area was estimated to be 57,865 ha with producer's and user's accuracy of 100 and 90% respectively, and a relative deviation of 28.6% when compared with actual ground estimates of the Department of agriculture. The crop yields were estimated with an R2 value of 0.71 and a correlation coefficient of 0.87. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three derivatives of Schiff bases, 6-chloro-chromensulfapyridine (CCSP), indol-3-sulfapyridine (ISP), and 5-chlorothiophen-2-sulfapyridine (CTSP), were synthesized and characterized by analytical, spectroscopic (IR, UV-Vis., 1H and 13C NMR, Mass, EPR), and electrochemical techniques. Antioxidant capabilities were recorded for both ligands and their Mn(II) complexes using DPPH scavenger and ascorbic acid as a reference. Compared with free ligands, the Mn(II) complexes exhibit greater antioxidant activity. In-vitro antibacterial and antifungal studies were performed by well diffusion technique. Results obtained from IC50 value suggest that (CTCSP)2Mn (IC50 = 210.8 μg/mL) has potent antimicrobials. In addition, in silico drug-likeness, absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion (ADME) properties were examined for the ligands and complexes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: To study the maternal and fetal outcomes in cases of ruptured uterus. Material and Methods: It is a prospective study conducted in a tertiary care hospital for a period of 1 year from January 2020 to December 2020. Results: Out of 8860 births at our institute, 38 had ruptured uterus. Mean age at presentation was 25.71 with 3.7 SD. Most instances were unbooked, low-income, and rural. Only 34.2% of cases were referred; the remainder were diagnosed and handled in-house. 70% of cases were parity 2 and 3, and many were prior caesareans. 68.4% of cases had abdominal pain. 71.1% of patients were handled by Emergency LSCS with rent repair as most were incomplete uterine ruptures. Lower anterior section ruptures were most prevalent. Complete ruptures needed most blood infusions. In this study, 47.4% of perinatal deaths are attributed to ruptures. Study found 2.6% maternal mortality. Conclusion: Rupture uterus most commonly occurred in scarred uterus. Identification of high risk pregnancy, judicious caesarean section, proper labor monitoring, early diagnosis and prompt management are essential in reducing its occurrences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Jatropha curcas is a tropical species that has been recognized as a promising biodiesel plant. During 2018-2021, researchers at Forest College and Research Institute, Mettupalayam, elicited information on Jatropha's biochemical characteristics, growth performance, variability, and association studies for biometric variables using five backcross (BC4F1) hybrid clones of Jatropha with a control variety TNMC 7. In terms of seed yield, two hybrid clones, CJH 13 (1,218.60 g) and CJH 12 (1,034.40 g), outperformed the other hybrid clones. The seed oil content was higher in CJH 5 (34.19%). The seed oil content had moderate PCV (16.49%) and GCV (16.39%) values, as well as high heritability (99%) and genetic advance (33.56%) as a percentage of the mean. The number of fruits per bunch (0.845 and 0.850) and the number of bunches per branch (0.771 and 0.788) had significant positive phenotypic and genotypic correlations with seed yield, respectively. The iodine numbers, cetane numbers, and saponification values of all hybrid clones were acceptable and satisfactory and were in good compliance with Indian and international biodiesel standards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tungsten oxide hydrate nanoparticles (PW NPs) and nickel tungsten oxide nanocomposites (NW NCs), named NW1, NW2, NW3 and NW4 NCs, were successfully synthesized by the hydrothermal method. The synthesized NCs were characterized using advanced techniques such as x-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), UV–visible spectroscopy and photoluminescence (PL). XRD patterns show the formation of an orthorhombic phase for PWNPs and monoclinic phase for NW NCs, respectively. The nanoflake-like morphology for NW NCs was confirmed by SEM. Methylene blue dye (MB) was successfully degraded using NW4 NCs with a rate constant of 0.02266/min. The photovoltaic performance of the photoanodes with various weight percentages (wt.%) of Ni was measured by recording the photocurrent-photovoltaic curves. The result indicated that NW4 NCs exhibited the best power conversion efficiency with high short-circuit current density (Jsc) and open-circuit voltage (Voc). This enhanced photocatalytic and photovoltaic performance of NW NCs may be due to the visible light-harvesting, increased dye-loading capacity and reduced photoelectron recombination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Listeria monocytogenes have the ability to form biofilms, which aid in the contamination of food and the evasion of antimicrobials. Consumption of L. monocytogenes laden food can promote mild to severe infection in humans and cause serious health issues. Therefore, biofilm development by L. monocytogenes is considered to be a major concern for both healthcare and food safety. This study attempted to target chorismate synthase, an essential protein predicted to be involved in the biofilm pathway. Nigella sativa is renowned for its applications in folk medicine; hence, bioactive ingredients reported were used for molecular docking studies. In the absence of a three-dimensional structure of chorismate synthase from L. monocytogenes, a homology model was generated using the Modeller program. A model with the highest DOPE score was chosen and validated. The reliable model was subjected to docking studies with 30 ligands from N. sativa. From this approach, α-longipinene was unveiled as the best hit. Further in vitro studies demonstrated the antibiofilm potential of α-longipinene against L. monocytogenes. Overall, the study reveals lead molecules from N. sativa as promising antibiofilm agents against L. monocytogenes. Hence, extended investigation with lead molecules will provide sustainable strategies to prevent biofilm-mediated problems due to L. monocytogenes., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)