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The study was conducted at Institute of Soil and Environmental Sciences, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan to monitor the impact assessment of tillage systems on soil health indicators by integrating organic and inorganic resources to sustain wheat production in arid and semi-arid conditions i.e. high temperature and low rainfall. The field experiment was conducted in 2019-20 and carried out in alkaline soil (pH 8.2) with low organic matter (0.45%) to grow wheat after rice and treatments were arranged in randomized complete block design. Farmyard manure (FYM 20.5 Mg/ha), rice crop residues application (CRA 100%) and chemical fertilizers (CF) N-P-K 100-80-60 kg/ha, respectively were used under conventional and conservation tillage systems. During this research different growth and yield parameters were noted and evaluated the level of N, P, K and organic matter contents from soil and plant at the harvest. The results indicated that the combined application of FYM and CRA with CF improved the chlorophyll contents (20% in conventional tillage and 39% in conservation tillage) which helped in nutrient translocation (N, P, K) and increased growth, biological and grain yield by improving soil organic carbon (SOC) and organic matter contents in soil. Growth parameter i.e. germination percentage upto 64%, plant height 27% and spike length upto 35% were increased by T7. The conservation tillage method was the best where we used T7 i.e. CF + 25% FYM + 50% CRA, and CF + 50% FYM + 25% CRA by conserving moisture and built OM (0.90%), soil organic carbon (0.49%) and mineral nutrition in soil as well as in wheat leaves. It is concluded that the integrated use of organic and inorganic resources are helpful for sustainable wheat production by enhancing fertilizer use efficiency (FUE) to improve soil health especially in arid to semi-arid climate conditions in alkaline soil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Salinity stress is a major abiotic stress limiting the crop production worldwide. Salt accumulation in root zone and uptake of toxic ions (i.e., Na+ and Cl- ) causes disturbance in water uptake by osmotic stress, oxidative stress, salt injury of roots and specific ion toxicity to the plants reducing the crop growth and production. Silicon (Si) treatment to stressed plants exhibits positive effect on growth, physiology and ionic homeostasis of plants. A study was conducted to check the varietal response of bread wheat genotypes against moderate (75 mM NaCl) and strong (150 mM NaCl) saline conditions in hydroponics and stressed plants were treated with exogenous silicon (2 mM) to evaluate it against saline stress in wheat seedling. Fifty days old wheat seedling showed negative response to saline stress under both levels but when treated with Si, its growth traits, tissue health parameters and ionic homeostasis were improved. Exogenous silicon application improved growth traits shoot and root length, fresh and dry weight upto 75% and tissue health parameter i.e., membrane stability index and relative water contents upto 61% as compared to salinity stress. It improved the ionic homeostasis in wheat seedling by decreasing the Na+ uptake upto 43 and 84% and increasing the K+ concentration by 26 to 39% respectively under moderate to strong saline conditions. Different genotypes showed different response against salinity and exogenous Silicon application. Faisalabad-08 and Anaj-17 performed best in all growth, physiological and ionic parameters and also ranked as top varieties in Principle component analysis on the basis of salt tolerance index. It was concluded that Faisalabad-08 and Anaj-17 has higher salt tolerance among all wheat genotypes tested, and silicon treatment to stressed plants increases the salt tolerance and improves growth traits, tissue health and ionic homeostasis in all wheat genotypes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nitrogen (N) plays a vital role in plant growth; however, the yield response to N fertilizer is regularly declining in the major cropping systems due to overuse and the upper limit of yields. Heavy losses of N are also documented due to its excessive use in the rice-wheat rotation system, resulting in low nitrogen-use efficiencies (NUE) and environmental problems. Therefore, a three-year field experiment was performed with different N managements to investigate the impact of reduced N input rates in this exhaustive cropping system. Reducing the N application rates did not affect the wheat and rice yields significantly, only during the second wheat season was the yield slightly reduced as compared to higher N input treatments. Decreasing the N input rates in the prior crop and present crop, and the interactions of both rice and wheat seasons (R × W) did not influence the yields of either crop. A reduction in N fertilizer had a considerable impact on dry matter production during the wheat seasons but demonstrated no effect during the rice season. The accumulation of N was significantly reduced during both crop seasons by lowering the rate of N application. In addition, the NUE indices were significantly influenced by N fertilizer application rates. In conclusion, N fertilizer input rates for both rice and wheat crops can be lowered as compared to present fertilization rates without any risk of yield decline. Lowering the N input increases the NUE and effectively reduces N losses, and soil N status can also be maintained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of variety and plant environment on nutritional composition, phenolic contents and antioxidant activities from commercial wheat cultivars grown in Pakistan. Chemical composition, total phenolic contents and antioxidant activities were measured in twenty-seven spring wheat varieties grown for two cropping years. Preliminary assessment of antioxidant strength of the extracts was carried out by the evaluation of total phenolic contents (TPC), antioxidant activity (AA) and free radical scavenging activity (FRSA). The grain length, width and a thousand kernel weight of different wheat varieties ranged from 6.75-6.77 mm, 3.44-3.45 mm and 42.95-45.16 g respectively. Similarly, the moisture, ash, crude fat, crude fiber, crude protein, wet gluten, dry gluten, flour gliadins, flour glutenins contents and SDS-sedimentation value varied from 10.23-10.61%, 1.47-1.48%, 1.16-1.21%, 1.37-1.40%, 11.86-12.02%, 25.39-25.46%, 8.85-8.87%, 0.46-0.52%, 0.46-0.49% and 24.99-25.85 ml respectively among different wheat varieties. In the same way, the results for total phenolic contents, free radical scavenging activity (DPPH assay) and antioxidant activity via beta carotene bleaching assay varied from 12.40-11.73 mg GE/g, 18.48-18.99% and 14.23-15.97% respectively. Our research clearly indicated that wheat variety, input conditions, environmental and genotypic variations gave effects on the phenolic antioxidant properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research project was undertaken to study salinity stress changes in the nutritional quality of wheat genotypes. Four wheat genotypes SARC-1, SARC-5, SARC-7, and SARC-8 were grown under nonsaline and saline (7.5 dS/m and 15 dS/m) treatments. Salinity was created artificially by the addition of NaCl in soil before filling in pots. Recommended fertilizers N (120 kg/ha), P (100 kg/ha) and K (60 kg/ha) were used in the form of Urea, diammonium phosphate (DAP) and sulphate of potash (SOP) in both saline and non-saline treatments. The grains of wheat genotypes were evaluated for nutritional quality i.e. chemical composition, mineral contents, wet and dry gluten, gliadin and glutenin, and SDS-sedimentation value. The results showed that growth parameters (biological yield, number of grains, thousand grain weight, grain yield and grain length) were affected significantly by salinity stress. Protein contents were increased with salinity, whereas other parameters (moisture, ash, fat, fiber, glutenin, and SDS-Sedimentation value) were decreased by increasing salinity stress. Similarly, Na content increased while K, Ca, P, Fe, Mg and Zn decreased significantly by increasing salinity stress. Salinity stress affect positively on protein contents in grain of all wheat genotypes. SARC-7 and SARC-5 performed better than SARC-1 and SARC-8. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A field survey was conducted for the sampling of Acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACCase) inhibitor resistance littleseed canarygrass, a major weed of wheat, from Punjab, Pakistan in 2014 for confirmation of resistance. The surveyed regions encompassed four different cropping systems including rice–wheat, maize–wheat, cotton–wheat and mixed cropping. Dose–response assay was conducted for confirmation of resistance. Efficacy of herbicide mixtures including clodinafop–propargyl, metribuzin, pinoxaden and sulfosulfuron at a range of doses was investigated to manage littleseed canarygrass. Results revealed that all populations were resistant to fenoxaprop except PM-BWL-2. The higher level resistance (6.5) was found in populations collected from rice–wheat cropping system. The tested herbicide mixtures at 75% and 100% of the recommended dose of each mixture component provided the effective control of resistant littleseed canarygrass. Mixtures at 50% provided more than 80% control and reduced growth and seed production potential of surviving plants. The confirmation of ACCase inhibitor resistance as the first case of herbicide resistance in Pakistan, leads us to discourage use of ACCase inhibitor herbicides alone. However, herbicide mixtures at 75% and 100% of the recommended dose are suggested to manage this weed for sustainable wheat production in the surveyed cropping systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the present research was to modify wheat gluten by binding methionine to gluten proteins to develop bread for celiac disease (CD) patients. The highest protein content, wet gluten content, dry gluten content and sodium dodecyl sulphate-sedimentation value were shown by the wheat variety AARI-11, therefore, it was selected for gluten modification. The bound methionine to gluten proteins was found increasing along the reaction time as the reaction proceeds and at a maximum near to 60 minutes and then it starts decreasing. The lowest immunoreactivity of the modified gluten was obtained near to 60 min of reaction at pH 10. The results for immunoglobulin A (IgA) index showed that the serum of each patient had positive IgA index to gliadins from unmodified gluten, but just sera of two patients had positive IgA index to gliadins from modified gluten and when these proteins were digested, the sera of no patient's serum had positive IgA reactivity. Among physical characteristics of breads 2 hours after baking, the specific volume of the modified gluten containing bread (4.13 ± 0.14 cm3/g) was lower than the control bread (4.59 ± 0.21 cm3/g). However, bread made with modified gluten had higher specific volumes than other gluten-free breads. Texture of the modified gluten was also affected by modification. Finally, the gluten content in the modified gluten bread was 79 ppm which is under the limits set by the Codex Alimentarius for food with reduced gluten content should have from 20 to 100 ppm. The study concludes that the incorporation of steric immensity into gluten proteins in order to shun immune recognition is the most promising approach to acquire wheat-based products that are tolerated by CD patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies were conducted in the Grain Research Training and Storage Management Cell (GRTMC), Department of Agri- Entomology, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, to evaluate the effect of Spinosad (0.25%, 0.50%, 0.75% and 1.0%) at different doses with different exposure times against Tribolium castaneum. Spinosad at 1%, 0.75%, 0.50% and 0.25% concentrations killed 61.85%, 55.56%, 45.93% and 32.59% Tribolium castaneum adults respectively which were statistically different (P=0.05) than the percent kill of the test insect in the control. The toxicity of spinosad to the test insect was also dose dependent, the higher the concentration, the significantly more mortality of the insect. Exposure of the test insect to spinosad for different time intervals (24, 48 & 72 hours) resulted into different percent mortality of T. castaneum. The percent mortality of the insect after 72hours (51.33%) exposure was significantly different from the percent mortality after 48hours (40.89%) and 24hours (25.33%) exposure. The interaction effect of 1% spinosad and 72 hours exposure gave 75.55% kill, which was significantly (P=0.05) more than the percent kill of the other concentrations & exposure time except the interaction effect at 0.75% spinosad exposed for 72 hours. The population build-up of T. castaneum after exposure to Spinosad at different concentrations and different exposure time was significantly lower than that in the control. The negative effect of the chemical on the population build up of T. castaneum was dose and exposure time dependent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A pot experiment was carried out to investigate the effects of burial depth on seed emergence of Avena fatua, Phalaris minor, Lolium temulentum, Lathyrus sativus, Lathyrus aphaca and Vicia sativa. Three cereals namely Hordeum vulgare, Triticum aestivum and Avena sativa were also included for comparison. Buried depth was maintained one, two, three, five, ten, fifteen and thirty centimeters in sandy loam soil. None of weed and crop seed emerged at 15 and 30 cm depth while L. temulentum and P. minor failed to emerge at 10 cm sowing depth. Seed burial depth of 3 cm inhibited emergence of P. minor. The emergence of L. temulentum was lowered at only 1 cm depth. Three cereal crop seeds took less number of days to initiate and complete seedling emergence as compared to weed seeds at 1, 2 and 3 cm depth, while in weed species three broad leaved weeds i.e. L. sativus, L. aphaca and V. sativa took longer time to complete seedling emergence. Vicia sativa showed 10c% emergence at 5 and 10 cm depth. Vicia sativa started emergence earlier and took maximum (68) number of days to complete emergence than all other weed species tested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three cereals viz. oats (Avena sativa L.), barley (Hordeum vulgare) and wheat (Triticum aestivum) were evaluated in pure stands as well as in mixtures of 50: 50 ratios with common vetch (Vicia sativa L.) under rainfed conditions of Pothowar to address the problem of nutritious green fodder for livestock. The experiment was sown during second week of October, 2007 in a randomized complete block design at Koont Research Farm, Pir Mehr Ali Shah-Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan. The results revealed that oatsvetch mixture performed better at all growth stages under rainfed conditions of Pothowar in terms of green and dry matter yields. By this mixture, 35.06 tons per hectare green fodder and 9.29 ton per hectare dry matter yield was obtained which was 17 and 19 percent higher than oats pure stand, respectively. Similarly, it was calculated that overall oats-vetch mixture yielded 63 and 78 percent higher dry matter than barley-vetch and wheat-vetch, respectively. So oats-vetch mixture can be recommended for higher biomass under rainfed conditions of Pothowar. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Indian bush rat, Golunda ellioti, is indigenous to the Indo-Pak subcontinent. Food habits of this bush rat were investigated using its stomach and fecal contents. Trapping was conducted every month from November 2013 to February 2016. This over 28 months generated a total of 2520 trapping nights. Sample slides from 82 stomach and 10 fecal samples were compared with the reference slides. Field observations along with feeding the Indian bush rat in captivity revealed that it preferably fed on 27 species of grasses with Digitaria sanguinalis [frequency of occurrence (FO) = 13.5%] being the most abundant one followed by Pennisetum orientale (FO = 8.5%). However, the Berger-Parker index revealed that D. sanguinalis (d = 0.148) was followed by Triticum aestivum (d = 0.145). Along with that, they also consumed tillers and seeds of wheat, gram seeds and young leaves of mustard. Considering the climatic changes, its success in adapting to the arid regions and dependence on grasses for food and cover may favor this species in future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Waterlogging is a growing threat to wheat production in high-rainfall areas. In this study, a doubled haploid (DH) population developed from a cross between Yangmai 16 (waterlogging-tolerant) and Zhongmai 895 (waterlogging-sensitive) was used to map quantitative trait loci (QTL) for waterlogging tolerance using a high-density 660K single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) array. Two experimental designs, waterlogging concrete tank (CT) and waterlogging plastic tank (PT), were used to simulate waterlogging during anthesis in five environments across three growing seasons. Waterlogging significantly decreased thousand-kernel weight (TKW) relative to non-waterlogged controls, although the degree varied across lines. Three QTL for waterlogging tolerance were identified on chromosomes 4AL, 5AS, and 7DL in at least two environments. All favorable alleles were contributed by the waterlogging-tolerant parent Yangmai 16. QWTC.caas-4AL exhibited pleiotropic effects on both enhancing waterlogging tolerance and decreasing plant height. Six high-confidence genes were annotated within the QTL interval. The combined effects of QWTC.caas-4AL and QWTC.caas-5AS greatly improved waterlogging tolerance, while the combined effects of all three identified QTL (QWTC.caas-4AL, QWTC.caas-5AS, and QWTC.caas-7DL) exhibited the most significant effect on waterlogging tolerance. Breeder-friendly kompetitive allele-specific PCR (KASP) markers (K_AX_111523809, K_AX_108971224, and K_AX_110553316) flanking the interval of QWTC.caas-4AL, QWTC.caas-5AS, and QWTC.caas-7DL were produced. These markers were tested in a collection of 240 wheat accessions, and three superior polymorphisms of the markers distributed over 67 elite cultivars in the test population, from the Chinese provinces of Jiangsu, Anhui, and Hubei. The three KASP markers could be used for marker-assisted selection (MAS) to improve waterlogging tolerance in wheat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spring durum wheat occupies over 0.5 M ha in Kazakhstan and represents an important domestic and export commodity. This study aimed to characterize 151 durum wheat cultivars and advanced lines originating from eight breeding programs of the Kazakhstan–Siberia Spring Wheat Improvement Network (KASIB) between 2003 and 2018. The phenotypic characterization was performed in two contracting evaluation sites more than 1000 km apart (Almaty in the Southeast and Shortandy in the North) for two years and a total of 11 agronomic traits were recorded. Field trials at both locations followed regional agronomy practices, including sowing, harvesting, and genotype evaluation using a randomized complete block design (RCBD). The growing season was longer in Almaty, resulting in a higher number of grains per spike. Though grains are smaller in size with an overall higher yield, 243 g/m2 versus 170 g/m2, there was no correlation between germplasm performance at the two sites. Molecular characterization was performed with 10 iPBS-retrotransposons primers that resulted in a total of 345 bands and showed a mean polymorphism of 91.9%. Mean values of gene diversity (0.251), Shannon's information index (0.388), and expected heterozygosity (0.233) revealed a relatively high level of genetic diversity in the KASIB set. AMOVA revealed higher genetic variations due to differences within the populations. Marker-based cluster analysis, including STRUCTURE and neighbor-joining algorithms, divided the material into two populations with clear differences in geographic origin. Superiors and diverse germplasm identified in the study are recommended for marker assisted selection and breeding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present research study was designed for the development of functional drinks from wheat and barley grasses followed by their physicochemical and sensorial characterization. In 1st phase, wheatgrass and barley grass juices were prepared with different concentrations and were subjected for physicochemical analysis and sensorial evaluation. Moreover, these juices were analyzed for color indices, pH, acidity, and total soluble solids (TSS) during storage study at 0, 2, 4, and 6 days. Results showed that TSS and pH of juices were 1.321, 2.8900, 3.100, and 6.225, 6.032, 6.491 for T0, T1, and T2, respectively, whereas a slight decreasing trend in acidity was observed during storage. Furthermore, treatments and storage (days) showed nonsignificant effect on these traits; however, storage affected significantly except for a* value for color indices. Conclusively, with respect to sensory aspects, the cereal grass juices showed satisfactory indexes of acceptability and promising marketing potential. The current article elucidate about health benefits of cereal grasses such as anti‐anemic perspectives. Cereal grasses juices contain higher amount of iron content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study was conducted to evaluate the phytochemical profile of green grasses including barley and wheat. Green grasses were procured from Ayub Agricultural Research Institute, Faisalabad, Pakistan. All the phytochemical parameters were determined through standard methods with slight modifications. The explored parameters include proximate analysis, mineral profile, vitamin profile, and especially antioxidant profile (total phenolic contents (TPCs), free radical scavenging activity, flavonoids, and phenolic acids). The results portrayed that there was a significant difference between the proximate parameters, vitamin, and minerals profile of both barley and wheatgreen grasses. The antioxidant profile - antioxidant activity (283.5%) and free radical scavenging activity (99.29%) - of barley grass was much higher than wheatgrass. The TPCs (203.52 µmol of GAE/g) and flavonoids (161.12 μmol/L) were much higher in wheatgrass as compared to barley grass. Barley grass showed maximum contents of phenolic acids including benzoic acid (73.84 µg/g), caffeic acid (86.61 µg/g), gallic acid (6.33 µg/g), syringic acid (170.46 µg/g), p-hydroxybenzoic acid (42.52 µg/g), and Ferulic acid (1560.3 µg/g). Conclusively, barley grass showed higher antioxidant potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the current study, farinographic, mixographic, amylographic and extensigraphic characteristics of wheat flour were observed with the addition of arabinoxylan (AX). Results revealed that the addition of arabinoxylan increased the water absorption capacity in linear fashion as addition of arabinoxylan at 0.5% maximized the effects as compared to AX at 0.25%. In addition, dough stability was also increased at 5% level. However, a marginal decrease in gelatinization was observed with addition of AX. Moreover, AX also has positive effect on extensigraphic characteristics of wheat flour. Maximum resistance was decreased while maximum extensibility increased with the addition of arabinoxylan. Furthermore, Caffeic acid and syringic acid were found to be 1.37 and 0.01 mg/100 g, respectively in extracted AX gum. With the addition of AX, positive effects on the loaf volume and texture were also observed. In the nutshell, utilization of AX in cereal based products can fulfill multifarious objectives including improving product quality. Practical Applications The current research is helpful to optimize the conditions to improve the quality of bread for commercial point of view. Moreover, it can be useful for researchers and scientists to investigate the role of non starch polysaccharides in baked products [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was conducted to determine the critical period of weed competition in wheat under different tillage systems during 2011-2012. The experiment comprised of two factors including tillage and weed control period. The tillage treatments were conventional, minimum and zero tillage in main plots and weed control period were weedy check, weed competition for 20, 40, and 60 days after germination and weed free throughout the growing season in sub plots. The experiment was laid out in randomized complete block design with split plot arrangement having three replications with a net plot size of 6 m x 2.2 m. Data regarding weeds, yield and yield components was recorded following the standard procedures. The agronomic parameters plant height, number of productive tillers, number of grain per spike, 1000-grain weight, biological and grain yield showed significant results under zero tillage along with 20 days competition period. The results showed that zero tillage suppressed total weed density and total weed dry weight up to 59 % and 38 % respectively and increase the yield up to 6 % over conventional tillage. The results of weed control periods showed that weed control after 20 DAE suppress the weed density and dry weight up to 76 % and 95 % respectively and increase the grain yield up to 34 % over weedy check. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Limited availability of nutrients to crops is a major agricultural concern. Deteriorated soil health and poor fertility status decrease the bioavailability of essential nutrients to the plants. Consequently, organic soil amendment biochar is gaining attention due to its potential benefits. Rhizobacterial inoculation, are also documented as an effective technology for mobilization of immobile nutrients in soil. However, limited literature is available on combined use of rhizobacteria and biochar. Therefore, this study was carried out to examine the changes in the nutrient content of einkorn wheat and the change in some soil properties during the application of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) with biochar. Four doses of biochar (0, 2.5, 5, and 10%) were applied with and without PGPR in the study. Biochar increased the growth criteria such as plant fresh weight (PFW), plant dry weight (PDW), root fresh weight (RFW), root dry weight (RDW), number of tillers, germination rate (GR) and potassium (K), calcium (Ca), sodium (Na), iron (Fe), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), manganese (Mn), and nickel (Ni) elements. While PGPR application increased soil pH, dry and fresh weight of root, R/S, K, Ca, Mg, Fe, and Ni contents, and it caused a decrease in PH, PFW, tillers, GR, P, Cu, and Zn values. Combined biochar applications and PGPR had a significant effect on the pH, RFW, R/S, P, Na, and Cu. In conclusion, the combination of biochar and PGPR applications has shown a positive effect in terms of soil properties, plant growth, and element contents of einkorn wheat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transcription factors are regulatory proteins known to modulate gene expression. These are the critical component of signaling pathways and help in mitigating various developmental and stress responses. Among them, bZIP, BBR, and BZR transcription factor families are well known to play a crucial role in regulating growth, development, and defense responses. However, limited data is available on these transcription factors in Triticum aestivum. In this study, bZIP, BBR, and BZR sequences from Brachypodium distachyon, Oryza sativa, Oryza barthii, Oryza brachyantha, T. aestivum, Triticum urartu, Sorghum bicolor, Zea mays were retrieved, and dendrograms were constructed to analyze the evolutionary relatedness among them. The sequences clustered into one group indicated a degree of evolutionary correlation highlighting the common lineage of cereal grains. This analysis also exhibited that these genes were highly conserved among studied monocots emphasizing their common ancestry. Furthermore, these transcription factor genes were evaluated for envisaging conserved motifs, gene structure, and subcellular localization in T. aestivum. This comprehensive computational analysis has provided an insight into transcription factor evolution that can also be useful in developing approaches for future functional characterization of these genes in T. aestivum. Furthermore, the data generated can be beneficial in future for genetic manipulation of economically important plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plasmalogens are important phospholipids essential for maintaining cardiovascular and brain health. Ruminant meats are excellent dietary sources of plasmalogens. Globally, grilling remains a popular technique for preparing meats. However, little is known concerning how marination affects retention and quality of plasmalogens in grilled ruminant meats. Here we present information on effects of two unfiltered beer-based marinades infused with herbs and spices on plasmalogens in grilled beef and moose meats. Although total plasmalogen contents of marinated grilled meats were lower compared to unmarinated controls; compositionally, wheat ale- and India session ale-based marinades retained higher levels of PUFA plasmalogen PC (phosphatidylcholine) and PE (phosphatidylethanolamine) species enriched with ω3 and ω6 fatty acids in grilled moose meats. In grilled beef, significantly higher levels of plasmalogen PC species enriched with monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) and PUFA were retained by Wheat ale-based marinade. Furthermore, strong positive correlations were observed between antioxidants, polyphenols, oxygenated terpenes and plasmalogens retained in the marinated grilled meats which contrasted negative correlations with total oxidation status of the marinated grilled meats. These findings appear to suggest that the phenolics, oxygenated terpenes and antioxidants present in the beer-based marinades preserved these plasmalogens in marinated meats against degradation during grilling. In view of the benefits associated with plasmalogens and essential fatty acid consumption, marination of beef and moose meats with unfiltered beer-based marinades could be useful for retaining MUFA and PUFA-enriched plasmalogens, as well as preserving the nutritional quality of grilled beef and moose meats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Einkorn (Triticum monococcum L. ssp. monococcum) is an ancient diploid wheat species with many useful traits and used as a wheat gene discovery model. In this research, a total of 41 diploid and tetraploid wheat accessions were tested using simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers. A total of 33 genotypes of T. monococcum along with four genotypes each of tetraploid wheat (T. dicoccon and T. durum) were used as plant material. The analysis utilized 10 polymorphic markers, including a total number of 41 alleles with an average frequency of 4.1 alleles per locus during exploration of the level of genetic variations. Various diversity analyses, which are the effective number of alleles (Ne), gene diversity (h), Polymorphic Information Content (PIC), and Shannon's information index (I), were performed for 10 'A' genome wheat SSR markers. The results showed a narrow variation in einkorn genotypes, supported by Analysis of Molecular Variance (AMOVA), with 66% maximum variation in all genotypes. The structure analysis divided the whole germplasm into two populations. A dendrogram was constructed to determine the genetic similarities using the unpaired group method with arithmetic averages (UPGMA), which separated tetraploid wheat from other genotypes/accessions. Principal Coordinate Analysis (PCoA) co-supported the clustering of UPGMA and structure by differentiating the diploid and tetraploid wheat. These findings will help understand the genetic relationships among these wheat accessions and their use in breeding programs in the future works. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Resources are limited, thus improving resource use efficiency is a key objective for cereal-based cropping systems. This field study was carried out to quantify resource use efficiencies in selected C3 and C4 cereals under split nitrogen (N) application regimes. The study included the following treatments: six cereals (three C3: wheat, oat, and barley; and three C4: maize, millet, and sorghum) and four split N application regimes (NS1 = full amount of N at sowing; NS2 = half N at sowing + half N at first irrigation; NS3 = 1/3 N at sowing + 1/3 N at first irrigation +1/3 N at second irrigation; NS4 = 1/4 N at sowing + 1/4 N at first irrigation + 1/4 N at second irrigation + 1/4 N at third irrigation). Results revealed that C4 cereals out-yielded C3 cereals in terms of biomass production, grain yield, and resource use efficiencies (i.e., radiation use efficiency (RUE) and nitrogen use efficiency (NUE)), while splitting N into three applications proved to be a better strategy for all of the selected winter and summer cereals. The results suggest that C4 cereals should be added into existing cereal-based cropping systems and N application done in three installments to boost productivity and higher resource use efficiency to ensure food security for the burgeoning population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Various field trials were performed at different locations of Punjab, Pakistan to study the effect of trace metals on uptake of iron (Fe) and wheat productivity as well as the health risk assessment by ingestion of wheat grains grown with application of different irrigation sources. The experimental design was laid out in RCBD having four replications. Soil samples were taken before sowing of crop from 0 to 15 cm depth and Triticum astivum samples were taken after irrigation through different water treatments examined for pollution load index (PLI), bioaccumulation factor (BAF), translocation factor (TF), bioconcentration factor (BCF), daily intake of metal (DIM) and health risk index (HRI) parameters. Fe concentrations in soil from five districts where wheat types watered with 3 different supplies ranged from 30.28 to 41.03 mg/kg and in grain sample ranged between 1.36 and 6.74 mg/kg. All the samples had DIM values of Fe were observed lower than standard tolerable limits and values of HRI less than 1 which indicates that there is no Fe toxicity due to utilization of wheat grains. • Due to water scarcity, farmers use wastewater for irrigation resulting heavy metal accumulation in the crops. • Wheat is a broadly cultivated cereal crop used as staple food in Pakistan that calls for focus of attention. • Studies were conducted at various districts of Punjab, Pakistan to check the uptake of iron (Fe) and yield of wheat. • Bioaccumulation, Translocation and bio concentration factors, DIM, and health risk index parameters were investigated. • Daily intake of Fe less than standard tolerable limits and HRI less than 1 indicated no Fe toxicity due to wheat consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Until now, little attention has been paid to the geographic distribution and evaluation of genetic diversity of durum wheat from the Central Fertile Crescent (modern-day Turkey and Syria). Turkey and Syria are considered as primary centers of wheat diversity, and thousands of locally adapted wheat landraces are still present in the farmers’ small fields. We planned this study to evaluate the genetic diversity of durum wheat landraces from the Central Fertile Crescent by genotyping based on DArTseq and SNP analysis. A total of 39,568 DArTseq and 20,661 SNP markers were used to characterize the genetic characteristic of 91 durum wheat land races. Clustering based on Neighbor joining analysis, principal coordinate as well as Bayesian model implemented in structure, clearly showed that the grouping pattern is not associated with the geographical distribution of the durum wheat due to the mixing of the Turkish and Syrian landraces. Significant correlation between DArTseq and SNP markers was observed in the Mantel test. However, we detected a non-significant relationship between geographical coordinates and DArTseq (r = -0.085) and SNP (r = -0.039) loci. These results showed that unconscious farmer selection and lack of the commercial varieties might have resulted in the exchange of genetic material and this was apparent in the genetic structure of durum wheat in Turkey and Syria. The genomic characterization presented here is an essential step towards a future exploitation of the available durum wheat genetic resources in genomic and breeding programs. The results of this study have also depicted a clear insight about the genetic diversity of wheat accessions from the Central Fertile Crescent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present project was undertaken with the key objective to find out relationship of HMW and LMW glutenin sub-units and immunological test with bread making quality. The antibody response assessed through animal modelling by using rabbits as test animals showed significant variation towards high molecular weight glutenin (HMG) and low molecular weight glutenin (LMG) of different spring wheat varieties. A significant and positive relationship of bread sensory attributes with antibody response against HMG was observed. The mastication (r=0.64), texture (r=0.69), taste (r=0.72), aroma (r=0.68), grain (r=0.71) and total score (r=0.83) showed highly significant association with antibody response against HMG. The loaf volume correlated linearly with that of HMW antibody response (r=0.51). The LMG antibody response was negatively correlated with flour characteristics and sensorial attributes with non significant level. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The purpose of this paper is to provide a comprehensive overview of wheat protein characteristics and of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique for wheat quality characteristics determination. Literature review is to report the identification of low and high molecular weight subunits of glutenins with ELISA. Immunological assay has been reported to be used as an alternative method to reduce the test time and cost. ELISA is an immunological technique involving an enzyme (a protein that catalyses a biochemical reaction) to detect the presence of an antibody or an antigen in a test sample. Currently available knowledge on immunochemical characteristics of wheat proteins is insufficient. That's why this review is unique in its comprehensive nature for immunochemical characteristics of wheat proteins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]