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Sample records for cooperatively breeding cotton-top

  1. What drives cooperative breeding?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Walter D Koenig

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Cooperative breeding, in which more than a pair of conspecifics cooperate to raise young at a single nest or brood, is widespread among vertebrates but highly variable in its geographic distribution. Particularly vexing has been identifying the ecological correlates of this phenomenon, which has been suggested to be favored in populations inhabiting both relatively stable, productive environments and in populations living under highly variable and unpredictable conditions. Griesser et al. provide a novel approach to this problem, performing a phylogenetic analysis indicating that family living is an intermediate step between nonsocial and cooperative breeding birds. They then examine the ecological and climatic conditions associated with these different social systems, concluding that cooperative breeding emerges when family living is favored in highly productive environments, followed secondarily by selection for cooperative breeding when environmental conditions deteriorate and within-year variability increases. Combined with recent work addressing the fitness consequences of cooperative breeding, Griesser et al.'s contribution stands to move the field forward by demonstrating that the evolution of complex adaptations such as cooperative breeding may only be understood when each of the steps leading to it are identified and carefully integrated.

  2. Use of induced mutations for cotton breeding in India

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Raut, R.N.

    1980-01-01

    A large number of studies have been reported in recent years on the use of induced mutations in the improvement of food crops and ornamentals. Similar investigations on fibre crops like cotton have, however, been relatively few. The fact that most of the economically useful characters in cotton are under polygenic control appears to be the main limiting factor. Inspite of this there are reports of radiation induced useful mutations used as commercial varieties. As early as 1950 a X-ray induced mutant variety of G. hirsutum cotton Indore-2 was released for commercial cultivation in Madhya Pradesh and covered more than one lac hectares. More recently an early maturing mutant variety MCU-7 was released for cultivation in summer rice fallows of Tamil Nadu and covers nearly 10,000 acres. Other promising mutant strains found suitable b.v large scale trials and recommended for cultivation under specific conditions are Okra leaf mutant, photoinsensitive mutant of MCU-5 (named Rasmi) and Jassid tolerant early maturing mutant 4-1 (Pusa Ageti). In addition improved varieties like Badnaawar-1, Khandwa-2 and M64 have been evolved by utilizing mutant lines in cross breeding. The scope of induced mutation method as a breeding technique for cotton improvement in India is very wide. (author)

  3. Identification of top-down forces regulating cotton aphid population growth in transgenic Bt cotton in central China.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Peng Han

    Full Text Available The cotton aphid Aphis gossypii Glover is the main aphid pest in cotton fields in the Yangtze River Valley Cotton-planting Zone (YRZ in central China. Various natural enemies may attack the cotton aphid in Bt cotton fields but no studies have identified potential specific top-down forces that could help manage this pest in the YRZ in China. In order to identify possibilities for managing the cotton aphid, we monitored cotton aphid population dynamics and identified the effect of natural enemies on cotton aphid population growth using various exclusion cages in transgenic Cry1Ac (Bt+CpTI (Cowpea trypsin inhibitor cotton field in 2011. The aphid population growth in the open field (control was significantly lower than those protected or restricted from exposure to natural enemies in the various exclusion cage types tested. The ladybird predator Propylaea japonica Thunberg represented 65% of Coccinellidae predators, and other predators consisted mainly of syrphids (2.1% and spiders (1.5%. The aphid parasitoids Aphidiines represented 76.7% of the total count of the natural enemy guild (mainly Lysiphlebia japonica Ashmead and Binodoxys indicus Subba Rao & Sharma. Our results showed that P. japonica can effectively delay the establishment and subsequent population growth of aphids during the cotton growing season. Aphidiines could also reduce aphid density although their impact may be shadowed by the presence of coccinellids in the open field (likely both owing to resource competition and intraguild predation. The implications of these results are discussed in a framework of the compatibility of transgenic crops and top-down forces exerted by natural enemy guild.

  4. Improving food and agricultural production. Thailand. Breeding for resistance to diseases in cotton

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wallace, T.P.

    1992-01-01

    This document reports the results of a 20-day mission to Thailand within the framework of the project ''Improving food and agricultural production with nuclear and related technology''. The expert discussed the status of cotton breeding, production practices and problems with personnel of the Department of Agriculture in Bangkok, and travelled to cotton-producing regions of the central and northern areas of the country to discuss current research, pest problems and social factors affecting cotton production

  5. An Assessment of the Population of Cotton-Top Tamarins (Saguinus oedipus and Their Habitat in Colombia.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anne Savage

    Full Text Available Numerous animals have declining populations due to habitat loss, illegal wildlife trade, and climate change. The cotton-top tamarin (Saguinus oedipus is a Critically Endangered primate species, endemic to northwest Colombia, threatened by deforestation and illegal trade. In order to assess the current state of this species, we analyzed changes in the population of cotton-top tamarins and its habitat from 2005 to 2012. We used a tailor-made "lure strip transect" method to survey 43 accessible forest parcels that represent 30% of the species' range. Estimated population size in the surveyed region was approximately 2,050 in 2005 and 1,900 in 2012, with a coefficient of variation of approximately 10%. The estimated population change between surveys was -7% (a decline of approximately 1.3% per year suggesting a relatively stable population. If densities of inaccessible forest parcels are similar to those of surveyed samples, the estimated population of cotton-top tamarins in the wild in 2012 was 6,946 individuals. We also recorded little change in the amount of suitable habitat for cotton-top tamarins between sample periods: in 2005, 18% of surveyed forest was preferred habitat for cotton-top tamarins, while in 2012, 17% percent was preferred. We attribute the relatively stable population of this Critically Endangered species to increased conservation efforts of Proyecto Tití, conservation NGOs, and the Colombian government. Due to continued threats to cotton-top tamarins and their habitat such as agriculture and urban expansion, ongoing conservation efforts are needed to ensure the long-term survival of cotton-top tamarins in Colombia.

  6. Avian cooperative breeding: Old hypotheses and new directions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heinsohn, R G; Cockburn, A; Mulder, R A

    1990-12-01

    In cooperatively breeding birds, individuals that appear capable of reproducing on their own may instead assist others with their breeding efforts. Research into avian cooperative breeding has attempted to reconcile the apparent altruism of this behaviour with maximization of inclusive fitness. Most explanations of cooperative breeding have suggested that philopatry is enforced by ecological constraints, such as a shortage of resources critical to breeding. Non-dispersers may then benefit both directly and indirectly from contributing at the nest. Recent research has shown that such benefits may be sufficient to promote philopatry, without the need for ecological constraints, and emphasizes that consideration of both costs and benefits of philopatry is essential for a comprehensive approach to the problem. The growing body of data from long-term studies of different species should combine with an improved phylogenetic perspective on cooperative breeding, to provide a useful base for future comparative analyses and experimentation. Copyright © 1990. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  7. Genetic diversity and phylogenetic relationship in different genotypes of cotton for future breeding

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jehan

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Background: To make the plants well adapted and more resistant to diseases and other environmental stresses there is always a need to improve the quality of plant’s genome i.e. to increase its genetic diversity. Methods: In the present study six variety and six lines of cotton were investigated for their genetic diversity and phylogenetic relationship. For this purpose 35 different RAPD primers obtained from the Gene Link Technologies, USA were used. Results: Among 35 RAPD primers, 13 primers produced reproducible PCR bands while the rest failed to show any amplification product. Our results indicated that the total count of the reproducible bands was 670 and polymorphic loci were counted to be 442 which constitute 66% of total loci. Phylogenetic analysis revealed two major groups each consists of 7 and 5 genotypes respectively. Genotypes Lp1 and Tp4 were placed at maximum genetic distance and in separate groups and could be utilized for future cotton breeding. Conclusions: RAPD analysis is a cheaper and time saving technique for the determination of genetic diversity of different cotton genotypes. Cotton genotype Lp1 and Tp4 could be the best candidates for future breeding programs as both genotypes are genetically distant from each other.

  8. Adult sex ratios and their implications for cooperative breeding in birds

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Komdeur, Jan; Székely, Tamás; Long, Xiaoyan; Kingma, Sjouke Anne

    2017-01-01

    Cooperative breeding is a form of breeding system where in addition to a core breeding pair, one or more usually non-breeding individuals provide offspring care. Cooperative breeding is widespread in birds, but its origin and maintenance in contemporary populations are debated. Although deviations

  9. The ecology of cooperative breeding behaviour.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shen, Sheng-Feng; Emlen, Stephen T; Koenig, Walter D; Rubenstein, Dustin R

    2017-06-01

    Ecology is a fundamental driving force for the evolutionary transition from solitary living to breeding cooperatively in groups. However, the fact that both benign and harsh, as well as stable and fluctuating, environments can favour the evolution of cooperative breeding behaviour constitutes a paradox of environmental quality and sociality. Here, we propose a new model - the dual benefits framework - for resolving this paradox. Our framework distinguishes between two categories of grouping benefits - resource defence benefits that derive from group-defended critical resources and collective action benefits that result from social cooperation among group members - and uses insider-outsider conflict theory to simultaneously consider the interests of current group members (insiders) and potential joiners (outsiders) in determining optimal group size. We argue that the different grouping benefits realised from resource defence and collective action profoundly affect insider-outsider conflict resolution, resulting in predictable differences in the per capita productivity, stable group size, kin structure and stability of the social group. We also suggest that different types of environmental variation (spatial vs. temporal) select for societies that form because of the different grouping benefits, thus helping to resolve the paradox of why cooperative breeding evolves in such different types of environments. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd/CNRS.

  10. Adult sex ratios and their implications for cooperative breeding in birds.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Komdeur, Jan; Székely, Tamás; Long, Xiaoyan; Kingma, Sjouke A

    2017-09-19

    Cooperative breeding is a form of breeding system where in addition to a core breeding pair, one or more usually non-breeding individuals provide offspring care. Cooperative breeding is widespread in birds, but its origin and maintenance in contemporary populations are debated. Although deviations in adult sex ratio (ASR, the proportion of males in the adult population) have been hypothesized to influence the occurrence of cooperative breeding because of the resulting surplus of one sex and limited availability of breeding partners, this hypothesis has not been tested across a wide range of taxa. By using data from 188 bird species and phylogenetically controlled analyses, we show that cooperatively breeding species have more male-biased ASRs than non-cooperative species. Importantly, ASR predicts helper sex ratio: in species with more male-biased ASR, helper sex ratio is also more male biased. We also show that offspring sex ratios do not predict ASRs, so that the skewed ASRs emerge during the period when individuals aim to obtain a breeding position or later during adulthood. In line with this result, we found that ASR (among both cooperatively and non-cooperatively breeding species) is inversely related to sex bias in dispersal distance, suggesting that the cost of dispersal is more severe for the further-dispersing sex. As females usually disperse further in birds, this explains the generally male-biased ASR, and in combination with benefits of philopatry for males, this probably explains why ASR is more biased in cooperatively breeding species. Taken together, our results suggest that a sex bias in helping in cooperatively breeding species relates to biased ASRs. We propose that this relationship is driven by sex-specific costs and benefits of dispersal and helping, as well as other demographic factors. Future phylogenetic comparative and experimental work is needed to establish how this relationship emerges.This article is part of the themed issue 'Adult sex

  11. Fitness consequences of cooperative breeding in the Seychelles warbler

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Komdeur, Jan; Richardson, David; Burke, Terry

    2006-01-01

    Inclusive fitness benefits have been suggested as the selective force behind the evolution of cooperative breeding. Assessing the benefits accrued to individual males and females is crucial to understanding the sex-specific helping behavior observed in many cooperatively breeding species. We

  12. The improvement of cotton plant in mutation breeding dry climate areas at NTB

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lilik Harsanti

    2015-01-01

    The opportunity of cotton plant to become a major crop in Indonesia is widely opened due to its extensive adaptability, productivity, efficiency of nutrient intake, and relatively resistant against pests and plant diseases. Generally, cotton plant is an important industrial crop in textile manufacture. Cotton plant has been known and planted for a long time ago by the local farmer, especially at Java, NTB and NTT. Plant mutation breeding have the mutant lines genetic for plant. The mutant lines of cotton plant, which originally come from embryogenic tissue culture (embryo axis, NIAB-999), were irradiated with dose of 20 Gy. Gamma Chamber 4000-A with source of 60 Cobalt was used for the irradiation treatment. The experiments were done at Citayam by designed by randomized Block design with five replications. Both of mutant lines were planted in the plot with size of 8 × 7 m 2 and 10 × 100 cm of spacing. Kanesia 15 variety was used as a control. The parameters observed were the days of maturity, plant height, number of generative branches, number of fruit/plant, weight of 100 cotton boll per plot. As the results, CN 2A has the biggest productivity, shown by the weight of the cotton fiber per plot, which is 447.510 kg compared to Kanesia 15 and NIAB 999 is control national and control mother. (author)

  13. Family living sets the stage for cooperative breeding and ecological resilience in birds.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michael Griesser

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Cooperative breeding is an extreme form of cooperation that evolved in a range of lineages, including arthropods, fish, birds, and mammals. Although cooperative breeding in birds is widespread and well-studied, the conditions that favored its evolution are still unclear. Based on phylogenetic comparative analyses on 3,005 bird species, we demonstrate here that family living acted as an essential stepping stone in the evolution of cooperative breeding in the vast majority of species. First, families formed by prolonging parent-offspring associations beyond nutritional independency, and second, retained offspring began helping at the nest. These findings suggest that assessment of the conditions that favor the evolution of cooperative breeding can be confounded if this process is not considered to include 2 steps. Specifically, phylogenetic linear mixed models show that the formation of families was associated with more productive and seasonal environments, where prolonged parent-offspring associations are likely to be less costly. However, our data show that the subsequent evolution of cooperative breeding was instead linked to environments with variable productivity, where helpers at the nest can buffer reproductive failure in harsh years. The proposed 2-step framework helps resolve current disagreements about the role of environmental forces in the evolution of cooperative breeding and better explains the geographic distribution of this trait. Many geographic hotspots of cooperative breeding have experienced a historical decline in productivity, suggesting that a higher proportion of family-living species could have been able to avoid extinction under harshening conditions through the evolution of cooperative breeding. These findings underscore the importance of considering the potentially different factors that drive different steps in the evolution of complex adaptations.

  14. Family living sets the stage for cooperative breeding and ecological resilience in birds.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Griesser, Michael; Drobniak, Szymon M; Nakagawa, Shinichi; Botero, Carlos A

    2017-06-01

    Cooperative breeding is an extreme form of cooperation that evolved in a range of lineages, including arthropods, fish, birds, and mammals. Although cooperative breeding in birds is widespread and well-studied, the conditions that favored its evolution are still unclear. Based on phylogenetic comparative analyses on 3,005 bird species, we demonstrate here that family living acted as an essential stepping stone in the evolution of cooperative breeding in the vast majority of species. First, families formed by prolonging parent-offspring associations beyond nutritional independency, and second, retained offspring began helping at the nest. These findings suggest that assessment of the conditions that favor the evolution of cooperative breeding can be confounded if this process is not considered to include 2 steps. Specifically, phylogenetic linear mixed models show that the formation of families was associated with more productive and seasonal environments, where prolonged parent-offspring associations are likely to be less costly. However, our data show that the subsequent evolution of cooperative breeding was instead linked to environments with variable productivity, where helpers at the nest can buffer reproductive failure in harsh years. The proposed 2-step framework helps resolve current disagreements about the role of environmental forces in the evolution of cooperative breeding and better explains the geographic distribution of this trait. Many geographic hotspots of cooperative breeding have experienced a historical decline in productivity, suggesting that a higher proportion of family-living species could have been able to avoid extinction under harshening conditions through the evolution of cooperative breeding. These findings underscore the importance of considering the potentially different factors that drive different steps in the evolution of complex adaptations.

  15. The risk of predation favors cooperation among breeding prey

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krama, Tatjana; Berzins, Arnis; Rantala, Markus J

    2010-01-01

    Empirical studies have shown that animals often focus on short-term benefits under conditions of predation risk, which reduces the likelihood that they will cooperate with others. However, some theoretical studies predict that animals in adverse conditions should not avoid cooperation with their neighbors since it may decrease individual risks and increase long-term benefits of reciprocal help. We experimentally tested these two alternatives to find out whether increased predation risk enhances or diminishes the occurrence of cooperation in mobbing, a common anti-predator behavior, among breeding pied flycatchers, Ficedula hypoleuca. Our results show that birds attended mobs initiated by their neighbors more often, approached the stuffed predator significantly more closely, and mobbed it at a higher intensity in areas where the perceived risk of predation was experimentally increased. This study demonstrates a positive impact of predation risk on cooperation in breeding songbirds, which might help to explain the emergence and evolution of cooperation. PMID:20714404

  16. Direct benefits and the evolution of female-biased cooperative breeding in Seychelles warblers

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Richardson, David S.; Burke, Terry; Komdeur, Jan; Dunn, P.

    2002-01-01

    Inclusive fitness benefits have been suggested to be a major selective force behind the evolution of cooperative breeding. We investigated the fitness benefits selecting for cooperative breeding in the Seychelles warbler, Acroccphalus sechellensis. A microsatellite-based genotyping method was used

  17. Environmental stability and the evolution of cooperative breeding in hornbills

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gonzalez, Juan-Carlos T.; Sheldon, Ben C.; Tobias, Joseph A.

    2013-01-01

    Reproductive cooperation in social animals has been the focus of intensive research, yet the role of environmental factors in promoting such cooperation remains uncertain. A recent global analysis suggested that cooperative breeding in birds is a ‘bet-hedging’ strategy associated with climatic uncertainty, but it is unclear whether this mechanism applies generally or is restricted to the insectivorous passerines that predominate as cooperative breeders at the global scale. Here, we use a phylogenetic framework to assess the effect of climate on the evolution of cooperation in hornbills (Bucerotidae), an avian family characterized by frugivory and carnivory. We show that, in contrast to the global pattern, cooperative reproduction is positively associated with both inter- and intra-annual climatic stability. This reversed relationship implies that hornbills are relatively insensitive to climatic fluctuations, perhaps because of their dietary niche or increased body mass, both of which may remove the need for bet-hedging. We conclude that the relationship between climatic variability and cooperative breeding is inconsistent across taxa, and potentially mediated by life-history variation. These findings help to explain the mixed results of previous studies and highlight the likely shortcomings of global datasets inherently biased towards particular categories. PMID:23926149

  18. Mutation breeding for crop improvement: a review

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Awan, M.A.

    1999-01-01

    More than 70 years have passed since radiation was used successfully to generate genetic variation in plants. Since the research on theoretical basis of mutagenesis was performed with a peak in the mid sixties. The result of these investigations led to the formulation of methodological principles in the use of various mutagens for the creation and selection of desired variability. The induced genetic variability has been extensively used for evolution of crop varieties as well as in breeding programmes. More than 1800 varieties of 154 plants species have so far been released for commercial cultivation, of which cereals are at the top, demonstrating the economics of the mutation breeding technique. The most frequently occurring mutations have been the short stature and really maturity. In Pakistan, the use of mutation breeding technique for the improvement of crops has also led to the development of 34 cultivars of cotton, rice, wheat, chickpea, mungbean and rapeseed which have played a significant role in increasing crop production in the country. In addition, a wealth of genetic variability has been developed for use in the cross breeding programmes, and the breeders in Pakistan have released six varieties of cotton by using an induced mutant as one of the parents. (author)

  19. Development and bin mapping of gene-associated interspecific SNPs for cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) introgression breeding efforts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hulse-Kemp, Amanda M; Ashrafi, Hamid; Zheng, Xiuting; Wang, Fei; Hoegenauer, Kevin A; Maeda, Andrea B V; Yang, S Samuel; Stoffel, Kevin; Matvienko, Marta; Clemons, Kimberly; Udall, Joshua A; Van Deynze, Allen; Jones, Don C; Stelly, David M

    2014-10-30

    Cotton (Gossypium spp.) is the largest producer of natural fibers for textile and is an important crop worldwide. Crop production is comprised primarily of G. hirsutum L., an allotetraploid. However, elite cultivars express very small amounts of variation due to the species monophyletic origin, domestication and further bottlenecks due to selection. Conversely, wild cotton species harbor extensive genetic diversity of prospective utility to improve many beneficial agronomic traits, fiber characteristics, and resistance to disease and drought. Introgression of traits from wild species can provide a natural way to incorporate advantageous traits through breeding to generate higher-producing cotton cultivars and more sustainable production systems. Interspecific introgression efforts by conventional methods are very time-consuming and costly, but can be expedited using marker-assisted selection. Using transcriptome sequencing we have developed the first gene-associated single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers for wild cotton species G. tomentosum, G. mustelinum, G. armourianum and G. longicalyx. Markers were also developed for a secondary cultivated species G. barbadense cv. 3-79. A total of 62,832 non-redundant SNP markers were developed from the five wild species which can be utilized for interspecific germplasm introgression into cultivated G. hirsutum and are directly associated with genes. Over 500 of the G. barbadense markers have been validated by whole-genome radiation hybrid mapping. Overall 1,060 SNPs from the five different species have been screened and shown to produce acceptable genotyping assays. This large set of 62,832 SNPs relative to cultivated G. hirsutum will allow for the first high-density mapping of genes from five wild species that affect traits of interest, including beneficial agronomic and fiber characteristics. Upon mapping, the markers can be utilized for marker-assisted introgression of new germplasm into cultivated cotton and in

  20. Male and female breeding strategies in a cooperative primate.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yamamoto, Maria Emilia; Araujo, Arrilton; Arruda, Maria de Fatima; Lima, Ana Karinne Moreira; Siqueira, Jose de Oliveira; Hattori, Wallisen Tadashi

    2014-11-01

    Marmosets are cooperative breeders organized as extended family groups, but breeding is generally restricted to a single pair. Breeding competition is fierce in female marmosets; males, on the other hand, show low levels of intragroup aggression. We investigated male and female breeding strategies and the resulting reproductive output in 9 wild groups. Reproductive output, tenure of breeding animals, identification of the breeding system, breeding position replacements, migration and infanticide were recorded; also, we recorded grooming and aggression. Replacement of the breeding male or female was observed on nine occasions. On four occasions, the son of the breeding male inherited the breeding post, but we never observed inheritance of a breeding post by a daughter. Mostly, females attained a breeding post by immigrating to a group that had a breeding vacancy. Our results showed that Callithrix jacchus males and females use different strategies to attain a breeding position and maintain it for as long as possible. These strategies prolong the tenure of the breeding position, which is the best way to produce a large number of offspring. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Neotropical Behaviour. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  1. Bateman's principle is reversed in a cooperatively breeding bird.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Apakupakul, Kathleen; Rubenstein, Dustin R

    2015-04-01

    Bateman's principle is not only used to explain sex differences in mating behaviour, but also to determine which sex has the greater opportunity for sexual selection. It predicts that the relationship between the number of mates and the number of offspring produced should be stronger for males than for females. Yet, it is unclear whether Bateman's principle holds in cooperatively breeding systems where the strength of selection on traits used in intrasexual competition is high in both sexes. We tested Bateman's principle in the cooperatively breeding superb starling (Lamprotornis superbus), finding that only females showed a significant, positive Bateman gradient. We also found that the opportunity for selection was on average higher in females, but that its strength and direction oscillated through time. These data are consistent with the hypothesis that sexual selection underlies the female trait elaboration observed in superb starlings and other cooperative breeders. Even though the Bateman gradient was steeper for females than for males, the year-to-year oscillation in the strength and direction of the opportunity for selection likely explains why cooperative breeders do not exhibit sexual role reversal. Thus, Bateman's principle may not hold in cooperative breeders where both sexes appear to be under mutually strong sexual selection. © 2015 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.

  2. Cotton regeneration in vitro

    Science.gov (United States)

    H. F. Sakhanokho and K. Rajasekaran Over the years, plant breeders have improved cotton via conventional breeding methods, but these methods are time-consuming. To complement classical breeding and, at times, reduce the time necessary for new cultivar development, breeders have turned to in vitro ...

  3. Post-socialist agricultural cooperatives in Russia : A case study of top-down cooperatives in the Belgorod region

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    A. Kurakin (Alexander); O. Visser (Oane)

    2017-01-01

    markdownabstractThrough a study of agricultural service cooperatives in Russia’s Belgorod region, this article addresses two gaps in the literature: _first_, the dearth of empirical studies on cooperatives in post-socialist Russia; _second_, the lack of attention to top-down cooperatives in

  4. Selection of arboreal termitaria for nesting by cooperatively breeding Micronesian Kingfishers Todiramphus cinnamominus reichenbachii

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kesler, Dylan C.; Haig, Susan M.

    2005-01-01

    Limited nest-site availability appears to be an important factor in the evolution of delayed dispersal and cooperative breeding in some cavity-nesting species. The cooperatively breeding Pohnpei subspecies of Micronesian Kingfisher Todiramphus cinnamominus reichenbachii excavates nest cavities from the nests of arboreal termites Nasutitermes spp., or termitaria. In this first published description of nest-sites for this subspecies, we used surveys, remote sensing and radiotelemetry to evaluate the relationship between nest-site availability and co-operation. Results illustrate that nest termitaria are higher in the forest canopy, larger in volume and occur in areas with more contiguous canopy cover than unused termitaria. Nest termitaria were selected independently of the proximity to forest edges and territory boundaries, and we found no difference in characteristics of termitaria used by cooperative groups and breeding pairs. Logistic regression modelling indicated that termitaria with nest-like characteristics were not limited in abundance, suggesting that neither the prospects of inheriting nesting resources nor limited nest-site abundance are probable explanations for delayed dispersal in the Pohnpei subspecies of Micronesian Kingfisher.

  5. MicroRNA expression profiling during upland cotton gland forming ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Jane

    2011-08-15

    Aug 15, 2011 ... 2Key Laboratory of Cotton Genetic Improvement, Cotton Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural. Sciences, Ministry of ... terpenoid aldehyde biosynthesis pathway, genetic engineering and molecular breeding of cotton. ... toxic to non-ruminant animals and humans, which means that large ...

  6. Multiscale habitat use and selection in cooperatively breeding Micronesian kingfishers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kesler, D.C.; Haig, S.M.

    2007-01-01

    Information about the interaction between behavior and landscape resources is key to directing conservation management for endangered species. We studied multi-scale occurrence, habitat use, and selection in a cooperatively breeding population of Micronesian kingfishers (Todiramphus cinnamominus) on the island of Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia. At the landscape level, point-transect surveys resulted in kingfisher detection frequencies that were higher than those reported in 1994, although they remained 15-40% lower than 1983 indices. Integration of spatially explicit vegetation information with survey results indicated that kingfisher detections were positively associated with the amount of wet forest and grass-urban vegetative cover, and they were negatively associated with agricultural forest, secondary vegetation, and upland forest cover types. We used radiotelemetry and remote sensing to evaluate habitat use by individual kingfishers at the home-range scale. A comparison of habitats in Micronesian kingfisher home ranges with those in randomly placed polygons illustrated that birds used more forested areas than were randomly available in the immediate surrounding area. Further, members of cooperatively breeding groups included more forest in their home ranges than birds in pair-breeding territories, and forested portions of study areas appeared to be saturated with territories. Together, these results suggested that forest habitats were limited for Micronesian kingfishers. Thus, protecting and managing forests is important for the restoration of Micronesian kingfishers to the island of Guam (United States Territory), where they are currently extirpated, as well as to maintaining kingfisher populations on the islands of Pohnpei and Palau. Results further indicated that limited forest resources may restrict dispersal opportunities and, therefore, play a role in delayed dispersal and cooperative behaviors in Micronesian kingfishers.

  7. Cooperative breeding shapes post-fledging survival in an Afrotropical forest bird.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Van de Loock, Dries; Strubbe, Diederik; De Neve, Liesbeth; Githiru, Mwangi; Matthysen, Erik; Lens, Luc

    2017-05-01

    For avian group living to be evolutionary stable, multiple fitness benefits are expected. Yet, the difficulty of tracking fledglings, and thus estimating their survival rates, limits our knowledge on how such benefits may manifest postfledging. We radio-tagged breeding females of the Afrotropical cooperatively breeding Placid greenbul ( Phyllastrephus placidus) during nesting. Tracking these females after fledging permitted us to locate juvenile birds, their parents, and any helpers present and to build individual fledgling resighting datasets without incurring mortality costs or causing premature fledging due to handling or transmitter effects. A Bayesian framework was used to infer age-specific mortality rates in relation to group size, fledging date, maternal condition, and nestling condition. Postfledging survival was positively related to group size, with fledglings raised in groups with four helpers showing nearly 30% higher survival until independence compared with pair-only offspring, independent of fledging date, maternal condition or nestling condition. Our results demonstrate the importance of studying the early dependency period just after fledging when assessing presumed benefits of cooperative breeding. While studying small, mobile organisms after they leave the nest remains highly challenging, we argue that the telemetric approach proposed here may be a broadly applicable method to obtain unbiased estimates of postfledging survival.

  8. Non-invasive assessment of glucocorticoid and androgen metabolite levels in cooperatively breeding Damaraland mole-rats (Fukomys damarensis).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Medger, Katarina; Bennett, Nigel C; Lutermann, Heike; Ganswindt, Andre

    2018-05-18

    Dominant females of cooperative breeding species often use aggression to suppress reproduction of subordinate females, resulting in subordinates experiencing stress-related increases in glucocorticoid levels, which may cause reproductive down-regulation. This would suggest a general pattern with higher glucocorticoid levels in subordinate compared to dominant individuals; however, the opposite was found in a number of cooperatively breeding species. Furthermore, breeding females of the cooperatively breeding Damaraland mole-rats (Fukomys damarensis) exhibit very high androgen concentrations during the wet season, presumably to support their breeding monopoly. Hormone analysis in Damaraland mole-rats have typically been measured using plasma and urine, but faecal analysis offers additional advantages especially for field studies on this species. The present study examines the suitability of Damaraland mole-rat faecal samples for determining glucocorticoid metabolite (fGCM) and androgen metabolite (fAM) concentrations using enzyme immunoassays. Using these assays, we further evaluated the effects of breeding status on fGCM and fAM concentrations in wild-caught and captive Damaraland mole-rats. Wild-caught breeding and non-breeding males and females exhibited no differences in fAM concentrations. Immunoreactive fGCM concentrations were only high in male breeders and comparatively low in non-breeders and breeding females. Concentrations of fAMs and fGCMs were similar in captive males and females, but fAM concentrations were elevated in captive compared to wild-caught individuals, which may be related to a higher reproductive activity due to removal from the breeding female. The relatively uniform fAM and fGCM concentrations found in wild-caught mole-rats may be explained by a stable colony structure during the dry season during which this study was conducted. Limited dispersal opportunities result in lower aggression and stress levels within a colony and as a result

  9. Temporal variability and cooperative breeding: testing the bet-hedging hypothesis in the acorn woodpecker.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koenig, Walter D; Walters, Eric L

    2015-10-07

    Cooperative breeding is generally considered an adaptation to ecological constraints on dispersal and independent breeding, usually due to limited breeding opportunities. Although benefits of cooperative breeding are typically thought of in terms of increased mean reproductive success, it has recently been proposed that this phenomenon may be a bet-hedging strategy that reduces variance in reproductive success (fecundity variance) in populations living in highly variable environments. We tested this hypothesis using long-term data on the polygynandrous acorn woodpecker (Melanerpes formicivorus). In general, fecundity variance decreased with increasing sociality, at least when controlling for annual variation in ecological conditions. Nonetheless, decreased fecundity variance was insufficient to compensate for reduced per capita reproductive success of larger, more social groups, which typically suffered lower estimated mean fitness. We did, however, find evidence that sociality in the form of larger group size resulted in increased fitness in years following a small acorn crop due to reduced fecundity variance. Bet-hedging, although not the factor driving sociality in general, may play a role in driving acorn woodpecker group living when acorns are scarce and ecological conditions are poor. © 2015 The Author(s).

  10. Molecular Markers and Cotton Genetic Improvement: Current Status and Future Prospects

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Waqas Malik

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Narrow genetic base and complex allotetraploid genome of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L. is stimulating efforts to avail required polymorphism for marker based breeding. The availability of draft genome sequence of G. raimondii and G. arboreum and next generation sequencing (NGS technologies facilitated the development of high-throughput marker technologies in cotton. The concepts of genetic diversity, QTL mapping, and marker assisted selection (MAS are evolving into more efficient concepts of linkage disequilibrium, association mapping, and genomic selection, respectively. The objective of the current review is to analyze the pace of evolution in the molecular marker technologies in cotton during the last ten years into the following four areas: (i comparative analysis of low- and high-throughput marker technologies available in cotton, (ii genetic diversity in the available wild and improved gene pools of cotton, (iii identification of the genomic regions within cotton genome underlying economic traits, and (iv marker based selection methodologies. Moreover, the applications of marker technologies to enhance the breeding efficiency in cotton are also summarized. Aforementioned genomic technologies and the integration of several other omics resources are expected to enhance the cotton productivity and meet the global fiber quantity and quality demands.

  11. Variable postpartum responsiveness among humans and other primates with "cooperative breeding": A comparative and evolutionary perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hrdy, Sarah B

    2016-01-01

    This article is part of a Special Issue "Parental Care".Until recently, evolutionists reconstructing mother-infant bonding among human ancestors relied on nonhuman primate models characterized by exclusively maternal care, overlooking the highly variable responsiveness exhibited by mothers in species with obligate reliance on allomaternal care and provisioning. It is now increasingly recognized that apes as large-brained, slow maturing, and nutritionally dependent for so long as early humans were, could not have evolved unless "alloparents" (group members other than genetic parents), in addition to parents, had helped mothers to care for and provision offspring, a rearing system known as "cooperative breeding." Here I review situation-dependent maternal responses ranging from highly possessive to permissive, temporarily distancing, rejecting, or infanticidal, documented for a small subset of cooperatively breeding primates. As in many mammals, primate maternal responsiveness is influenced by physical condition, endocrinological priming, prior experience and local environments (especially related to security). But mothers among primates who evolved as cooperative breeders also appear unusually sensitive to cues of social support. In addition to more "sapient" or rational decision-making, humankind's deep history of cooperative breeding must be considered when trying to understand the extremely variable responsiveness of human mothers. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. Helper contributions in the cooperatively breeding laughing kookaburra: feeding young is no laughing matter.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Legge

    2000-05-01

    I studied the contributions of individuals to incubation and nestling feeding in a population of cooperatively breeding laughing kookaburras, Dacelo novaeguineae. In most cooperatively breeding birds where nest success is limited by nestling starvation, related helpers increase the overall level of provisioning to the nest, thus boosting the production of nondescendent kin. However, although partial brood loss is the largest cause of lost productivity in kookaburra nests, additional helpers failed to increase overall provisioning. Instead, all group members, but especially helpers, reduced their feeding contributions as group size increased. Breeders and helpers reduced the size of prey delivered, and helpers also reduced the number of feeding visits. An important benefit of helping in kookaburras may be to allow all group members to reduce their effort. Within groups, contributions to care depended on status, sex, group size and the brood size. Breeding males delivered the most food. Breeding females provisioned less than their partner, but their effort was comparable to that of male helpers. Female helpers contributed the least food. Incubation effort followed similar patterns. The relatedness of helpers to the brood had no impact on their provisioning. Across all group sizes, helpers generally brought larger items to the nest than breeders. Copyright 2000 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour.

  13. Fluctuating and directional asymmetry in the long bones of captive cotton-top tamarins (Saguinus oedipus).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reeves, Nicole M; Auerbach, Benjamin M; Sylvester, Adam D

    2016-05-01

    Skeletal asymmetries reflect developmental stability and mechanical, functional, and physiological influences on bone growth. In humans, researchers have documented the greatest limb bone bilateral asymmetry in diaphyseal breadths, with less asymmetry in articular and maximum length dimensions. However, it remains unclear as to whether the pattern observed for humans is representative of nonhuman primates, wherein bilateral loading may minimize directional asymmetry. This study adds to the small body of asymmetry data on nonhuman primates by investigating patterns of long bone asymmetry in a skeletal sample of Saguinus oedipus (cotton-top tamarin). Humeri, radii, ulnae, femora, and tibiae of 76 adult captive cotton-top tamarin skeletons (48 males, 28 females) were measured bilaterally. We included maximum length, midshaft diaphyseal breadths, and at least one articular measurement for each bone to assess directional (DA) and fluctuating asymmetry (FA) in each dimension. Most dimensions exhibit significant FA, and very few have significant DA; DA is limited to the lower limb, especially in knee dimensions. Overall, the magnitudes of asymmetry in tamarins have a consistent ranking that follows the same pattern as found in humans. This first study of DA and FA among multiple dimensions throughout the limbs of a non-hominoid primate suggests that previously-reported patterns of human bilateral asymmetry are not exclusive to humans. The results further indicate potential underlying differences in constraints on variation within limb bones. While processes shaping variation await further study, our results argue that different long bone dimensions may reflect dissimilar evolutionary processes. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  14. Variation in Oxytocin is Related to Variation in Affiliative Behavior in Monogamous, Pairbonded Tamarins

    OpenAIRE

    Snowdon, Charles T.; Pieper, Bridget A.; Boe, Carla Y.; Cronin, Katherine A.; Kurian, Aimee V.; Ziegler, Toni E.

    2010-01-01

    Oxytocin plays an important role in monogamous pairbonded female voles, but not in polygamous voles. Here we examined a socially-monogamous cooperatively breeding primate where both sexes share in parental care and territory defense for within species variation in behavior and female and male oxytocin levels in 14 pairs of cotton-top tamarins (Saguinus oedipus), In order to obtain a stable chronic assessment of hormones and behavior, we observed behavior and collected urinary hormonal samples...

  15. How grandparents matter. Support for the cooperative breeding hypothesis in a contemporary Dutch population

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kaptijn, R.; Thomese, G.C.F.; van Tilburg, T.G.; Liefbroer, A.C.

    2010-01-01

    Low birth rates in developed societies reflect women's difficulties in combining work and motherhood. While demographic research has focused on the role of formal childcare in easing this dilemma, evolutionary theory points to the importance of kin. The cooperative breeding hypothesis states that

  16. Boll sampling protocols and their impact on measurements of cotton fiber quality

    Science.gov (United States)

    Within plant fiber variability has long contributed to product inconsistency in the cotton industry. Fiber quality uniformity is a primary plant breeding objective related to cotton commodity economic value. The physiological impact of source and sink relationships renders stress on the upper bran...

  17. Age, sex and social influences on adult survival in the cooperatively breeding Karoo Scrub-robin

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lloyd, Penn; Martin, Thomas E.; Taylor, Andrew; Braae, Anne; Altwegg, Res

    2016-01-01

    Among cooperatively breeding species, helpers are hypothesised to increase the survival of breeders by reducing breeder workload in offspring care and increased group vigilance against predators. Furthermore, parental nepotism or other benefits of group living may provide a survival benefit to young that delay dispersal to help. We tested these hypotheses in the Karoo Scrub-robin (Cercotrichas coryphaeus), a long-lived, and facultative cooperatively breeding species in which male helpers make substantial contributions to the care of young. We found that annual breeder survival in the presence of helpers did not differ detectably from breeders without helpers or breeders that lost helpers. Furthermore, helpers did not gain a survival benefit from deferred breeding; apparent survival did not differ detectably between male helpers and male breeders followed from one year old. These results are consistent with other studies suggesting a lack of adult survival benefits among species where breeders do not substantially reduce workloads when helpers are present. They are also consistent with the hypothesis that males that delay dispersal make the ‘best of a bad job’ by helping on their natal territory to gain indirect fitness benefits when they are unable to obtain a territory vacancy nearby.

  18. History of cotton fiber bioscience research at USDA-ARS Southern Regional Research Center

    Science.gov (United States)

    Improving fiber quality has been an important breeding goal for cotton breeders. Better understanding of fiber development helps cotton scientists to devise a strategy for crop improvement either through marker-assisted selection or via manipulation of fiber genes. USDA-ARS Southern Regional Researc...

  19. The evolution of cooperative breeding in the African cichlid fish, Neolamprologus pulcher.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wong, Marian; Balshine, Sigal

    2011-05-01

    The conundrum of why subordinate individuals assist dominants at the expense of their own direct reproduction has received much theoretical and empirical attention over the last 50 years. During this time, birds and mammals have taken centre stage as model vertebrate systems for exploring why helpers help. However, fish have great potential for enhancing our understanding of the generality and adaptiveness of helping behaviour because of the ease with which they can be experimentally manipulated under controlled laboratory and field conditions. In particular, the freshwater African cichlid, Neolamprologus pulcher, has emerged as a promising model species for investigating the evolution of cooperative breeding, with 64 papers published on this species over the past 27 years. Here we clarify current knowledge pertaining to the costs and benefits of helping in N. pulcher by critically assessing the existing empirical evidence. We then provide a comprehensive examination of the evidence pertaining to four key hypotheses for why helpers might help: (1) kin selection; (2) pay-to-stay; (3) signals of prestige; and (4) group augmentation. For each hypothesis, we outline the underlying theory, address the appropriateness of N. pulcher as a model species and describe the key predictions and associated empirical tests. For N. pulcher, we demonstrate that the kin selection and group augmentation hypotheses have received partial support. One of the key predictions of the pay-to-stay hypothesis has failed to receive any support despite numerous laboratory and field studies; thus as it stands, the evidence for this hypothesis is weak. There have been no empirical investigations addressing the key predictions of the signals of prestige hypothesis. By outlining the key predictions of the various hypotheses, and highlighting how many of these remain to be tested explicitly, our review can be regarded as a roadmap in which potential paths for future empirical research into the

  20. Variations and Transmission of QTL Alleles for Yield and Fiber Qualities in Upland Cotton Cultivars Developed in China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Tianzhen; Qian, Neng; Zhu, Xiefei; Chen, Hong; Wang, Sen; Mei, Hongxian; Zhang, Yuanming

    2013-01-01

    Cotton is the world’s leading cash crop, and genetic improvement of fiber yield and quality is the primary objective of cotton breeding program. In this study, we used various approaches to identify QTLs related to fiber yield and quality. Firstly, we constructed a four-way cross (4WC) mapping population with four base core cultivars, Stoneville 2B, Foster 6, Deltapine 15 and Zhongmiansuo No.7 (CRI 7), as parents in Chinese cotton breeding history and identified 83 QTLs for 11 agronomic and fiber quality traits. Secondly, association mapping of agronomical and fiber quality traits was based on 121 simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers using a general linear model (GLM). For this, 81 Gossypium hirsutum L. accessions including the four core parents and their derived cultivars were grown in seven diverse environments. Using these approaches, we successfully identified 180 QTLs significantly associated with agronomic and fiber quality traits. Among them were 66 QTLs that were identified via linkage disequilibrium (LD) and 4WC family-based linkage (FBL) mapping and by previously published family-based linkage (FBL) mapping in modern Chinese cotton cultivars. Twenty eight and 44 consistent QTLs were identified by 4WC and LD mapping, and by FBL and LD mapping methods, respectively. Furthermore, transmission and variation of QTL-alleles mapped by LD association in the three breeding periods revealed that some could be detected in almost all Chinese cotton cultivars, suggesting their stable transmission and some identified only in the four base cultivars and not in the modern cultivars, suggesting they were missed in conventional breeding. These results will be useful to conduct genomics-assisted breeding effectively using these existing and novel QTL alleles to improve yield and fiber qualities in cotton. PMID:23468939

  1. Towards a unified theory of cooperative breeding : The role of ecology and life history re-examined

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Pen, I.; Weissing, F.J.

    2000-01-01

    We present quantitative models that unify several adaptive hypotheses for the evolution of cooperative breeding in a single framework: the ecological constraints hypothesis, the life-history hypothesis and the benefits-of-philopatry hypothesis. Our goal is to explain interspecific variation in the

  2. Perceived Influence and Friendship as Antecedents of Cooperation in Top Management Teams: A Network Approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Olaf N. Rank

    2010-10-01

    Full Text Available Using the relational dyad as unit of analysis this study examines the effects of perceived influence and friendship ties on the formation and maintenance of cooperative relationships between corporate top executives. Specifically, it is argued that perceived influence as well as friendship ties between any two managers will enhance the likelihood that these managers collaborate with each other. Additionally, a negative interaction effect between perceived influence and friendship on cooperation is proposed. The empirical analyses draw on network data that have been collected among all members of the top two organizational levels for the strategy-making process in two multinational firms headquartered in Germany. Applying logistic regression based on QAP the empirical results support our hypotheses on the direct effects between perceived influence, friendship ties, and cooperative relationships in both companies. In addition, we find at least partial support for our assumption that perceived influence and friendship interact negatively with respect to their effect on cooperation. Seemingly, perceived influence is partially substituted by managerial friendship ties.

  3. THE MAIN OUTCOME OF THE RUSSIAN\\BELARUSIAN COOPERATION IN BREEDING OF LEGUMES AND ONION CROPS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    L. P. Shimansky

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The Russian-Belarusian cooperation in breeding of legumes and onion crops has resulted in development of new cultivars of pea (Samorodok, bean (Phaeton and Mignon, onion (Palesskaya znahodka, Patrida and Vermeles, winter garlic (Dubkovsky Asilak, which were included in 2014 in the State Register of the Republic of Belarus.

  4. Bateman's Principle in Cooperatively Breeding Vertebrates: The Effects of Non-breeding Alloparents on Variability in Female and Male Reproductive Success.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hauber, Mark E; Lacey, Eileen A

    2005-11-01

    The sex-specific slopes of Bateman's gradients have important implications for understanding animal mating systems, including patterns of sexual selection and reproductive competition. Intersexual differences in the fitness benefits derived from mating with multiple partners are expected to yield distinct patterns of reproductive success for males and females, with variance in direct fitness predicted to be greater among males. These analyses assume that typically all adults are reproductive and that failure to produce offspring is non-adaptive. Among some species of cooperatively breeding birds and mammals, however, non-breeding adult alloparents are common and may comprise the majority of individuals in social groups. The presence of a large number of non-breeding adults, particularly when coupled with greater social suppression of reproduction among females, may alter the relative variance in direct fitness between the sexes, thereby generating an apparent contradiction to Bateman's Paradigm. To explore quantitatively the effects of non-breeding alloparents on variance in reproductive success, we used genetic estimates of parentage and reproductive success drawn from the literature to calculate the relative variability in direct fitness for females and males in alloparental and "other" societies of birds and mammals. Our analyses indicate that in mammals and, to a lesser extent, in birds, variability in direct fitness is greater among females in species characterized by the presence of non-breeding alloparents. These data suggest that social interactions, including social suppression of reproduction, are powerful determinants of individual direct fitness that may modify sex-specific patterns of reproductive variance from those described by Bateman.

  5. Comparative morphology among northern populations of breeding Cooper's Hawks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rosenfield, Robert N.; Rosenfield, Laura J.; Bielefeldt, John; Murphy, Robert K.; Stewart, Andrew C.; Stout, William E.; Driscoll, Timothy G.; Bozek, Michael A.

    2010-01-01

    Few studies at a broad geographical scale have characterized intraspecific variation in morphology of woodland hawks in the genus Accipiter. From 1999 to 2007 we investigated morphological variation in large samples of live Cooper's Hawks (A. cooperii) nesting in four study areas: coniferous woodland around Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, isolated deciduous woodlands in short-grass prairies of northwestern North Dakota, towns and rural deciduous woodlands along the border of North Dakota and Minnesota, and urban and rural mixed deciduous and coniferous landscapes of Wisconsin. These sites span 2660 km across the northern part of the species' breeding range. We measured body mass (i.e., size), wing chord, tail length, tarsus diameter, hallux length, and culmen length of breeding adults, finding significant and clinal variation in body mass (or size). The smallest and most similar-sized birds occurred in British Columbia and western North Dakota, larger birds along the border between North Dakota and Minnesota, and the largest birds in Wisconsin. Several other characters varied significantly when mass was used as a covariate. Variation by study site in mean indices of sexual size dimorphism was negligible and not significant. We speculate that the morphological differences we found, in part, are the result of geographic isolation, where diets, migratory behavior, and structural characteristics of nesting habitats vary across landscape types.

  6. Assessment of Bollgard II cotton pollen mediated transgenes flow to ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    INERA05

    2013-08-14

    Aug 14, 2013 ... insects such as honey bees, bumble bees and butterflies. Genetic materials ... cotton fields separated from the transgenes source by wide open space. In Boni ..... Breeding: new strategies in plant improvement. International ...

  7. Implicit learning in cotton-top tamarins (Saguinus oedipus) and pigeons (Columba livia).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Locurto, Charles; Fox, Maura; Mazzella, Andrea

    2015-06-01

    There is considerable interest in the conditions under which human subjects learn patterned information without explicit instructions to learn that information. This form of learning, termed implicit or incidental learning, can be approximated in nonhumans by exposing subjects to patterned information but delivering reinforcement randomly, thereby not requiring the subjects to learn the information in order to be reinforced. Following acquisition, nonhuman subjects are queried as to what they have learned about the patterned information. In the present experiment, we extended the study of implicit learning in nonhumans by comparing two species, cotton-top tamarins (Saguinus oedipus) and pigeons (Columba livia), on an implicit learning task that used an artificial grammar to generate the patterned elements for training. We equated the conditions of training and testing as much as possible between the two species. The results indicated that both species demonstrated approximately the same magnitude of implicit learning, judged both by a random test and by choice tests between pairs of training elements. This finding suggests that the ability to extract patterned information from situations in which such learning is not demanded is of longstanding origin.

  8. Characteristics of implicit chaining in cotton-top tamarins (Saguinus oedipus).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Locurto, Charles; Gagne, Matthew; Nutile, Lauren

    2010-07-01

    In human cognition there has been considerable interest in observing the conditions under which subjects learn material without explicit instructions to learn. In the present experiments, we adapted this issue to nonhumans by asking what subjects learn in the absence of explicit reinforcement for correct responses. Two experiments examined the acquisition of sequence information by cotton-top tamarins (Saguinus oedipus) when such learning was not demanded by the experimental contingencies. An implicit chaining procedure was used in which visual stimuli were presented serially on a touchscreen. Subjects were required to touch one stimulus to advance to the next stimulus. Stimulus presentations followed a pattern, but learning the pattern was not necessary for reinforcement. In Experiment 1 the chain consisted of five different visual stimuli that were presented in the same order on each trial. Each stimulus could occur at any one of six touchscreen positions. In Experiment 2 the same visual element was presented serially in the same five locations on each trial, thereby allowing a behavioral pattern to be correlated with the visual pattern. In this experiment two new tests, a Wild-Card test and a Running-Start test, were used to assess what was learned in this procedure. Results from both experiments indicated that tamarins acquired more information from an implicit chain than was required by the contingencies of reinforcement. These results contribute to the developing literature on nonhuman analogs of implicit learning.

  9. Engineering cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) for resistance to cotton leaf curl disease using viral truncated AC1 DNA sequences.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hashmi, Jamil A; Zafar, Yusuf; Arshad, Muhammad; Mansoor, Shahid; Asad, Shaheen

    2011-04-01

    Several important biological processes are performed by distinct functional domains found on replication-associated protein (Rep) encoded by AC1 of geminiviruses. Two truncated forms of replicase (tAC1) gene, capable of expressing only the N-terminal 669 bp (5'AC1) and C-terminal 783 bp (3'AC1) nucleotides cloned under transcriptional control of the CaMV35S were introduced into cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) using LBA4404 strain of Agrobacterium tumefaciens to make use of an interference strategy for impairing cotton leaf curl virus (CLCuV) infection in transgenic cotton. Compared with nontransformed control, we observed that transgenic cotton plants overexpressing either N-terminal (5'AC1) or C-terminal (3'AC1) sequences confer resistance to CLCuV by inhibiting replication of viral genomic and β satellite DNA components. Molecular analysis by Northern blot hybridization revealed high transgene expression in early and late growth stages associated with inhibition of CLCuV replication. Of the eight T(1) transgenic lines tested, six had delayed and minor symptoms as compared to nontransformed control lines which developed disease symptoms after 2-3 weeks of whitefly-mediated viral delivery. Virus biological assay and growth of T(2) plants proved that transgenic cotton plants overexpressing 5'- and 3'AC1 displayed high resistance level up to 72, 81%, respectively, as compared to non-transformed control plants following inoculation with viruliferous whiteflies giving significantly high cotton seed yield. Progeny analysis of these plants by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), Southern blotting and virus biological assay showed stable transgene, integration, inheritance and cotton leaf curl disease (CLCuD) resistance in two of the eight transgenic lines having single or two transgene insertions. Transgenic cotton expressing partial AC1 gene of CLCuV can be used as virus resistance source in cotton breeding programs aiming to improve virus resistance in cotton crop.

  10. Study of space mutation breeding in China

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wen Xianfang; Zhang Long; Dai Weixu; Li Chunhua

    2004-01-01

    This paper described the status of space mutation breeding in China. It emphasized that since 1978 Chinese space scientists and agricultural biologists have send 50 kg seeds of more than 70 crops including cereals, cotton, oil, vegetable, fruit and pasture to the space using the facilities such as return satellite 9 times, Shenzhou aircraft twice and high balloon 4 times. New varieties of 19 with high yield, high quality and disease-resistance, have been bred though years of breeding at the earth at more than 70 Chinese research institutes in 22 provinces. The new varieties include five rice varieties, two wheat varieties, two cotton varieties, one sweat pepper, one tomato variety, one sesame variety, three water melon varieties, three lotus varieties and one ganoderma lucidum variety. In addition more than 50 new lines and many other germplasm resources have been obtained. Study on space breeding mechanism, such as biological effect of space induction, genetic variation by cell and molecular techniques and simulated study at the earth, has been conducted, and some progresses have been achieved. Many space-breeding bases have been established in some provinces. Space varieties have been extended up to 270000 hectares, and some useful scientific achievements and social economic benefit had been made. The study of Chinese space mutation breeding is going ahead in the world. The paper also introduced the contribution and results made by return satellites of the first three generation in space science. Some basic parameters involved in the study on space mutation breeding of return satellites were listed

  11. Leaf-level carbon isotope discrimination and its relationship with yield components as a tool for cotton phenotyping in unfavorable conditions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Giovani Greigh Brito

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available The initial goal of this study was to measure the efficiency of carbon isotope discrimination (Δ in distinguishing between cotton plant genotypes subjected to two water regimes. In addition, ∆ measurements, leaf water potential and gas exchange ratios were monitored. Using Brazilian breeding lines, this study also tested the usability of ∆ as a proxy for selecting high-performing yield components in cotton plants grown in unfavorable conditions, particularly water deficiency. For these experiments, ∆ and yield components were measured and their correlations analyzed. Differences among cotton genotypes for Δ (p < 0.0001 were verified, and it was found that this variable was significantly correlated with gas exchange. There was a significant positive correlation between Δ and seed cotton yield only in the site experiencing severe water deficiency (Santa Helena de Goiás. However, Δ had a significant negative correlation with fiber percentage. Our results indicate that Δ is a suitable tool for cotton phenotyping, and it may be applied in cotton breeding programs that aim to produce high-performing yield components in unfavorable conditions.

  12. Historical Datasets Support Genomic Selection Models for the Prediction of Cotton Fiber Quality Phenotypes Across Multiple Environments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gapare, Washington; Liu, Shiming; Conaty, Warren; Zhu, Qian-Hao; Gillespie, Vanessa; Llewellyn, Danny; Stiller, Warwick; Wilson, Iain

    2018-03-20

    Genomic selection (GS) has successfully been used in plant breeding to improve selection efficiency and reduce breeding time and cost. However, there has not been a study to evaluate GS prediction models that may be used for predicting cotton breeding lines across multiple environments. In this study, we evaluated the performance of Bayes Ridge Regression, BayesA, BayesB, BayesC and Reproducing Kernel Hilbert Spaces regression models. We then extended the single-site GS model to accommodate genotype × environment interaction (G×E) in order to assess the merits of multi- over single-environment models in a practical breeding and selection context in cotton, a crop for which this has not previously been evaluated. Our study was based on a population of 215 upland cotton ( Gossypium hirsutum ) breeding lines which were evaluated for fiber length and strength at multiple locations in Australia and genotyped with 13,330 single nucleotide polymorphic (SNP) markers. BayesB, which assumes unique variance for each marker and a proportion of markers to have large effects, while most other markers have zero effect, was the preferred model. GS accuracy for fiber length based on a single-site model varied across sites, ranging from 0.27 to 0.77 (mean = 0.38), while that of fiber strength ranged from 0.19 to 0.58 (mean = 0.35) using randomly selected sub-populations as the training population. Prediction accuracies from the M×E model were higher than those for single-site and across-site models, with an average accuracy of 0.71 and 0.59 for fiber length and strength, respectively. The use of the M×E model could therefore identify which breeding lines have effects that are stable across environments and which ones are responsible for G×E and so reduce the amount of phenotypic screening required in cotton breeding programs to identify adaptable genotypes. Copyright © 2018, G3: Genes, Genomes, Genetics.

  13. Genomic studies for drought tolerance in cotton (abstract)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mahboob-ur-Rehman; Ullah, I.; Asir, M.; Zafar, Y.; Malik, K.A.

    2005-01-01

    The cotton germplasm developed in Pakistan has not been screened comprehensively for their response to water stress, which is a pre-requisite in exploring different metabolic pathways, development of genome maps, isolation of genes etc. The objectives of the study were to identify drought tolerant/sensitive cotton genotypes, development of genetic linkage maps, and to identify the most robust DNA markers leading towards marker-assisted selection (MAS). A field trial was conducted to investigate variation in gas exchange parameters and productivity traits in 32 cotton cultivars/promising strains under water stress environment and to ascertain association among these physiological and productivity traits. Photosynthetic rate (P), stomatal conductance (gs) and transpiration rate (E) were significantly reduced under water stress. Substantial genotypic variation for gas exchange parameters especially photosynthetic rate were observed with a significant association with productivity traits under water-limited environment elucidating its use as an indirect selection criterion for seed cotton yield. Moreover, the genotypes FH-901 and CIM-1100 were found the most sensitive and tolerant cultivars, respectively. Four hundred eighty random primers were surveyed on different cotton genotypes involved in population development programs. Out of these, 32 polymorphic primers were identified which are being converted into sequence characterized amplified regions (SCARs). Similarly, 25 out of 150 microstatellite loci (SSRs) were polymorphic among the cotton genotypes. Amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) fingerprinting technique is being exploited to search for additional polymorphisms. The study will have impact on cotton breeding programme by reducing span to develop drought tolerant cotton varieties. (author)

  14. Genetic and morphological divergence among Cooper's Hawk (Accipiter cooperii) populations breeding in north-central and western North America

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sonsthagen, Sarah A.; Rosenfield, Robert N.; Bielefeldt, John; Murphy, Robert K.; Stewart, Andrew C.; Stout, William C.; Driscoll, Timothy G.; Bozek, Michael A.; Sloss, Brian L.; Talbot, Sandra L.

    2012-01-01

    Cooper's Hawk (Accipiter cooperii) populations breeding in the northern portion of the species' range exhibit variation in morphological traits that conforms to predictions based on differences in prey size, tree stand density, and migratory behavior. We examined genetic structure and gene flow and compared divergence at morphological traits (PST) and genetic markers (FST) to elucidate mechanisms (selection or genetic drift) that promote morphological diversification among Cooper's Hawk populations. Cooper's Hawks appear to conform to the genetic pattern of an east-west divide. Populations in British Columbia are genetically differentiated from north-central populations (Wisconsin, Minnesota, and North Dakota; pairwise microsatellite FST= 0.031-0.050; mitochondrial DNA ΦST = 0.177-0.204), which suggests that Cooper's Hawks were restricted to at least two Pleistocene glacial refugia. The strength of the Rocky Mountains—Great Plains area as a barrier to dispersal is further supported by restricted gene-flow rates between British Columbia and other sampled breeding populations. Divergence in morphological traits (PST) was also observed across study areas, but with British Columbia and North Dakota differentiated from Wisconsin and Minnesota, a pattern not predicted on the basis of FST and ΦST interpopulation estimates. Comparison of PSTand FSTestimates suggests that heterogeneous selection may be acting on Cooper's Hawks in the northern portion of their distribution, which is consistent with hypotheses that variation in prey mass and migratory behavior among populations may be influencing overall body size and wing chord. We were unable to distinguish between the effects of genetic drift and selection on tail length in the study populations.

  15. Current status of genetic engineering in cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L): an assessment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chakravarthy, Vajhala S K; Reddy, Tummala Papi; Reddy, Vudem Dashavantha; Rao, Khareedu Venkateswara

    2014-06-01

    Cotton is considered as the foremost commercially important fiber crop and is deemed as the backbone of the textile industry. The productivity of cotton crop, worldwide, is severely hampered by the occurrence of pests, weeds, pathogens apart from various environmental factors. Several beneficial agronomic traits, viz., early maturity, improved fiber quality, heat tolerance, etc. have been successfully incorporated into cotton varieties employing conventional hybridization and mutation breeding. Crop losses, due to biotic factors, are substantial and may be reduced through certain crop protection strategies. In recent years, pioneering success has been achieved through the adoption of modern biotechnological approaches. Genetically engineered cotton varieties, expressing Bacillus thuringiensis cry genes, proved to be highly successful in controlling the bollworm complex. Various other candidate genes responsible for resistance to insect pests and pathogens, tolerance to major abiotic stress factors such as temperature, drought and salinity, have been introduced into cotton via genetic engineering methods to enhance the agronomic performance of cotton cultivars. Furthermore, genes for improving the seed oil quality and fiber characteristics have been identified and introduced into cotton cultivars. This review provides a brief overview of the various advancements made in cotton through genetic engineering approaches.

  16. [Genetic improvement of cotton varieties in Huang-Huai region in China since 1950's. III. Improvement on agronomy properties, disease resistance and stability].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiang, B G; Kong, F L; Zhang, Q Y; Yang, F X; Jiang, R Q

    2000-01-01

    Data from a set of 5-location and 2-year experiments on 10 representative historical cotton varieties and the data of Huang-Huai Regional Cotton Trials from 1973 to 1996 were analyzed to estimate the effects of genetic improvement in agronomy properties, disease resistance and stability of cotton in Huang-Huai Region in China. The results indicated that a great genetic progress of earliness and disease resistance had been achieved by breeding programs since 1950's. The maturity was shortened 3-5 days; The rate of preforst yield was increased about 7 percentages. The problem of resistance to Fususium wilt has been solved and the resistance to Verticillum wilt was improving. Some progress in stability of cotton varieties also has been achieved by breeding programs since 1950.

  17. Isolation and characterization of gene sequences expressed in cotton fiber

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Taciana de Carvalho Coutinho

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT Cotton fiber are tubular cells which develop from the differentiation of ovule epidermis. In addition to being one of the most important natural fiber of the textile group, cotton fiber afford an excellent experimental system for studying the cell wall. The aim of this work was to isolate and characterise the genes expressed in cotton fiber (Gossypium hirsutum L. to be used in future work in cotton breeding. Fiber of the cotton cultivar CNPA ITA 90 II were used to extract RNA for the subsequent generation of a cDNA library. Seventeen sequences were obtained, of which 14 were already described in the NCBI database (National Centre for Biotechnology Information, such as those encoding the lipid transfer proteins (LTPs and arabinogalactans (AGP. However, other cDNAs such as the B05 clone, which displays homology with the glycosyltransferases, have still not been described for this crop. Nevertheless, results showed that several clones obtained in this study are associated with cell wall proteins, wall-modifying enzymes and lipid transfer proteins directly involved in fiber development.

  18. Response of successive three generations of cotton bollworm, Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner), fed on cotton bolls, under elevated CO2

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    2007-01-01

    The growth, development and consumption of successive three generations of cotton bollworm, Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner), fed on cotton bolls grown under elevated CO2 (double-ambient vs. ambient) in open-top chambers were examined. Significant decreases in protein, total amino acid, water and nitrogen content and increases in free fatty acid were observed in cotton bolls. Changes in quality of cotton bolls affected the growth, development and food utilization of H. armigera. Significantly longer larval development duration in three successive generations and lower pupal weight of the second and third generations were observed in cotton bollworm fed on cotton bolls grown under elevated CO2. Significantly lower fecundity was also found in successive three generations of H. armigera fed on cotton bolls grown under elevated CO2. The consumption per larva occurred significant increase in successive three generations and frass per larva were also significantly increased during the second and third generations under elevated CO2. Significantly lower relative growth rate, efficiency of conversion of ingested food and significant higher relative consumption rate in successive three generations were observed in cotton bollworm fed on cotton bolls grown under elevated CO2. Significantly lower potential female fecundity, larval numbers and population consumption were found in the second and third generations of cotton bollworm fed on cotton bolls grown under elevated CO2. The integrative effect of higher larval mortality rate and lower adult fecundity resulted in significant decreases in potential population consumption in the latter two generations. The results show that elevated CO2 adversely affects cotton bolls quality, which indicates the potential population dynamics and potential population consumption of cotton bollworm will alleviate the harm to the plants in the future rising CO2 atmosphere.

  19. Single-Event Transgene Product Levels Predict Levels in Genetically Modified Breeding Stacks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gampala, Satyalinga Srinivas; Fast, Brandon J; Richey, Kimberly A; Gao, Zhifang; Hill, Ryan; Wulfkuhle, Bryant; Shan, Guomin; Bradfisch, Greg A; Herman, Rod A

    2017-09-13

    The concentration of transgene products (proteins and double-stranded RNA) in genetically modified (GM) crop tissues is measured to support food, feed, and environmental risk assessments. Measurement of transgene product concentrations in breeding stacks of previously assessed and approved GM events is required by many regulatory authorities to evaluate unexpected transgene interactions that might affect expression. Research was conducted to determine how well concentrations of transgene products in single GM events predict levels in breeding stacks composed of these events. The concentrations of transgene products were compared between GM maize, soybean, and cotton breeding stacks (MON-87427 × MON-89034 × DAS-Ø15Ø7-1 × MON-87411 × DAS-59122-7 × DAS-40278-9 corn, DAS-81419-2 × DAS-44406-6 soybean, and DAS-21023-5 × DAS-24236-5 × SYN-IR102-7 × MON-88913-8 × DAS-81910-7 cotton) and their component single events (MON-87427, MON-89034, DAS-Ø15Ø7-1, MON-87411, DAS-59122-7, and DAS-40278-9 corn, DAS-81419-2, and DAS-44406-6 soybean, and DAS-21023-5, DAS-24236-5, SYN-IR102-7, MON-88913-8, and DAS-81910-7 cotton). Comparisons were made within a crop and transgene product across plant tissue types and were also made across transgene products in each breeding stack for grain/seed. Scatter plots were generated comparing expression in the stacks to their component events, and the percent of variability accounted for by the line of identity (y = x) was calculated (coefficient of identity, I 2 ). Results support transgene concentrations in single events predicting similar concentrations in breeding stacks containing the single events. Therefore, food, feed, and environmental risk assessments based on concentrations of transgene products in single GM events are generally applicable to breeding stacks composed of these events.

  20. A Grey Fuzzy Logic Approach for Cotton Fibre Selection

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chakraborty, Shankar; Das, Partha Protim; Kumar, Vidyapati

    2017-06-01

    It is a well known fact that the quality of ring spun yarn predominantly depends on various physical properties of cotton fibre. Any variation in these fibre properties may affect the strength and unevenness of the final yarn. Thus, so as to achieve the desired yarn quality and characteristics, it becomes imperative for the spinning industry personnel to identify the most suitable cotton fibre from a set of feasible alternatives in presence of several conflicting properties/attributes. This cotton fibre selection process can be modelled as a Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) problem. In this paper, a grey fuzzy logic-based approach is proposed for selection of the most apposite cotton fibre from 17 alternatives evaluated based on six important fibre properties. It is observed that the preference order of the top-ranked cotton fibres derived using the grey fuzzy logic approach closely matches with that attained by the past researchers which proves the application potentiality of this method in solving varying MCDM problems in textile industries.

  1. Correlations and Correlated Responses in Upland Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Echekwu, CA.

    2001-01-01

    Full Text Available Plant breeders must be concerned with the total array of economic characters in their efforts to develop a crop variety acceptable to farmers. Their selection endeavours must therefore take into consideration how changes in one trait affect, simultaneously changes in other economic attributes. The importance of correlations and correlated responses is therefore self evident in plant breeding endeavours. In this study F3 progenies from a cross between two cotton lines SAMCOT-9 x Y422 were evaluated for two years and performance data were used to obtain correlations between nine agronomic and fibre quality traits in upland cotton. The results indicated that plant helght was significantly and positively correlated with seed cotton yield, number of sympodial and monopodial branches, seed index, fibre length and micronaire index. Positive and significant correlations were also obtained between : seed cotton yield, tint percent and fibre strength and fibre length. Significant negative correlations were obtained between : plant height and lint percent ; number of monopodial branches, sympodial branches and lint percent ; fibre length, fibre strength and micronaire index. The correlated responses in the other eight traits when selection was practiced for seed cotton yield in the present study shows that it might be more profitable to practice direct selection for seed cotton yield compared to selecting for seed cotton yield through any of the other traits.

  2. An update on conventional and molecular breeding approaches for ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Ezedom Theresa

    2014-03-05

    Mar 5, 2014 ... review summarizes the updated results of conventional and molecular breeding ... for the development of favorable fibre quality traits in cotton. ... length is the length of fibre with attached seed, and it can be measured with the ...

  3. Subordinate females in the cooperatively breeding Seychelles warbler obtain direct benefits by joining unrelated groups.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Groenewoud, Frank; Kingma, Sjouke A; Hammers, Martijn; Dugdale, Hannah L; Burke, Terry; Richardson, David S; Komdeur, Jan

    2018-05-11

    1.In many cooperatively breeding animals, a combination of ecological constraints and benefits of philopatry favours offspring taking a subordinate position on the natal territory instead of dispersing to breed independently. However, in many species individuals disperse to a subordinate position in a non-natal group ("subordinate between-group" dispersal), despite losing the kin-selected and nepotistic benefits of remaining in the natal group. It is unclear which social, genetic and ecological factors drive between-group dispersal. 2.We aim to elucidate the adaptive significance of subordinate between-group dispersal by examining which factors promote such dispersal, whether subordinates gain improved ecological and social conditions by joining a non-natal group, and whether between-group dispersal results in increased lifetime reproductive success and survival. 3.Using a long-term dataset on the cooperatively-breeding Seychelles warbler (Acrocephalus sechellensis), we investigated 4.how a suite of proximate factors (food availability, group composition, age and sex of focal individuals, population density) promote subordinate between-group dispersal by comparing such dispersers with subordinates that dispersed to a dominant position or became floaters. We then analysed whether subordinates that moved to a dominant or non-natal subordinate position, or became floaters, gained improved conditions relative to the natal territory, and compared fitness components between the three dispersal strategies. 5.We show that individuals that joined another group as non-natal subordinates were mainly female and that, similar to floating, between-group dispersal was associated with social and demographic factors that constrained dispersal to an independent breeding position. Between-group dispersal was not driven by improved ecological or social conditions in the new territory and did not result in higher survival. Instead, between-group dispersing females often became co

  4. A test of object permanence in a new-world monkey species, cotton top tamarins (Saguinus oedipus).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neiworth, Julie J; Steinmark, Eric; Basile, Benjamin M; Wonders, Ryann; Steely, Frances; DeHart, Catherine

    2003-03-01

    Cotton top tamarins were tested in visible and invisible displacement tasks in a method similar to that used elsewhere to test squirrel monkeys and orangutans. All subjects performed at levels significantly above chance on visible ( n=8) and invisible ( n=7) displacements, wherein the tasks included tests of the perseverance error, tests of memory in double and triple displacements, and "catch" trials that tested for the use of the experimenter's hand as a cue for the correct cup. Performance on all nine tasks was significantly higher than chance level selection of cups, and tasks using visible displacements generated more accurate performance than tasks using invisible displacements. Performance was not accounted for by a practice effect based on exposure to successive tasks. Results suggest that tamarins possess stage 6 object permanence capabilities, and that in a situation involving brief exposure to tasks and foraging opportunities, tracking objects' movements and responding more flexibly are abilities expressed readily by the tamarins.

  5. A Long-Read Transcriptome Assembly of Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L. and Intraspecific Single Nucleotide Polymorphism Discovery

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hamid Ashrafi

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available Upland cotton ( L. has a narrow germplasm base, which constrains marker development and hampers intraspecific breeding. A pressing need exists for high-throughput single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP markers that can be readily applied to germplasm in breeding and breeding-related research programs. Despite progress made in developing new sequencing technologies during the past decade, the cost of sequencing remains substantial when one is dealing with numerous samples and large genomes. Several strategies have been proposed to lower the cost of sequencing for multiple genotypes of large-genome species like cotton, such as transcriptome sequencing and reduced-representation DNA sequencing. This paper reports the development of a transcriptome assembly of the inbred line Texas Marker-1 (TM-1, a genetic standard for cotton, its usefulness as a reference for RNA sequencing (RNA-seq-based SNP identification, and the availability of transcriptome sequences of four other cotton cultivars. An assembly of TM-1 was made using Roche 454 transcriptome reads combined with an assembly of all available public expressed sequence tag (EST sequences of TM-1. The TM-1 assembly consists of 72,450 contigs with a total of 70 million bp. Functional predictions of the transcripts were estimated by alignment to selected protein databases. Transcriptome sequences of the five lines, including TM-1, were obtained using an Illumina Genome Analyzer-II, and the short reads were mapped to the TM-1 assembly to discover SNPs among the five lines. We identified >14,000 unfiltered allelic SNPs, of which ∼3,700 SNPs were retained for assay development after applying several rigorous filters. This paper reports availability of the reference transcriptome assembly and shows its utility in developing intraspecific SNP markers in upland cotton.

  6. Induced mutation of new cotton lines tolerant to verticillium wilt with improved characters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rastegary, G.; Hoseiny Neghad, Z.

    1998-01-01

    Induction of mutation for genetic variation has been used in crop improvement for many years. The mutant lines can be used either directly or as a new genetic source in cross breeding. In cotton 'eleven' and 'two' mutant varieties as new genetic sources have been evolved directly and indirectly, respectively. One of the major obstacles in cotton production in northern region of Iran, Gorgan and Gonbad (where they are known as the main cultivation area of this crop), is the presence of verticillium wilt fungal disease. Since this fungus is soil-born, and can not be controlled chemically, the most efficient way of combating against the disease is to breed for the tolerance/resistance of the species. For this purpose, a mutation breeding technique was applied using gamma radiation as mutagen. The seeds of four varieties (Shirpan, Tashkand, Bakhtegan, and Sahel) were irradiated after reaching a proper absorbed humidity. The radiation doses of 150 to 350 Gy were applied and the seeds were cultivated in two different locations (Varamin and Kordkuy) as M1 generation. The cotton balls of each individual healthy plant was harvested to attain the seeds of M2 rows. In M2, the plants with different degrees of tolerance to the disease were compared to the selected parents (taking into consideration that the soil was contaminated). The good yielding lines with different level of tolerance were taken up to the 5th generation, yielding 70 lines of superior qualitative and quantitative traits. (author)

  7. Genetic diversity in upland cotton for cotton leaf curl virus disease, earliness and fiber quality

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Saeed, F.; Farooq, J.; Mahmood, A.; Hussain, T.

    2014-01-01

    In Pakistan during last two decades the major factor limiting cotton production is cotton leaf curl virus disease (CLCuD). For estimation of genetic diversity regarding CLCuD tolerance, fiber quality and some yield contributing traits, 101 cotton genotypes imported from USA were evaluated. Different statistical procedures like cluster, principle components (PC) and correlation analysis were employed to identify the suitable genotypes that can be further exploited in breeding programme. Significant associations were found between yield contributing trait, boll weight and fiber related trait, staple length. Earliness related traits, like days taken to 1 square and days taken to 1 flower had positive correlation with each other and both these traits also showed their positive association with ginning out turn. The negative significant correlation of CLCuD was obtained with monopodial branches, sympodial branches and plant height. Principal component (PC) analysis showed first five PCs having eigen value >1 explaining 67.8% of the total variation with days to st 1 square and flowering along with plant height and sympodia plant which were being the most important characters in PC1. Cluster analysis classified 101 accessions into five divergent groups. The genotypes in st cluster 1 only showed reasonable values for days to 1 square and flower, sympodia per plant, ginning out turn, staple length and fiber fineness and the genotypes in cluster 5 showed promising values for the traits like cotton leaf curl virus, ginning out turn and fiber fineness. The genotypes in cluster 1 and 5 may be combined to obtain desirable traits related to earliness and better disease tolerance. Scatter plot and tree diagrams demonstrated sufficient diversity among the cotton accessions for various traits and some extent of association between various clusters. It is concluded that diversity among the genotypes could be utilized for the development of CLCuD resistant lines with increased seed

  8. Determination of Tolerance Levels of Cotton Genotypes Obtained from F6-F7 Generation against Verticillium Wilt Disease Caused by Verticillium dahliae Kleb.

    OpenAIRE

    Oktay EROĞAN; Emine KARADEMIR; Çetin KARADEMIR; Aydın UNAY

    2013-01-01

    The susceptibility of cotton genotypes obtained from F6 and F7 generations to Verticillium wilt (VW) disease (Verticillium dahliae Kleb.), was studied under artificial and natural infestation during 2009 and 2010 growing seasons at the Cotton Research Institute’s, Nazilli, Aydın, Turkey. In this study, fifteen cotton breeding lines and two control varieties were used as plant material. During the cotton growing season, foliar disease index (FDI), vascular disease index (VDI) and pot disease i...

  9. Methylation-sensitive amplified polymorphism analysis of Verticillium wilt-stressed cotton (Gossypium).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, W; Zhang, M; Chen, H D; Cai, X X; Xu, M L; Lei, K Y; Niu, J H; Deng, L; Liu, J; Ge, Z J; Yu, S X; Wang, B H

    2016-10-06

    In this study, a methylation-sensitive amplification polymorphism analysis system was used to analyze DNA methylation level in three cotton accessions. Two disease-sensitive near-isogenic lines, PD94042 and IL41, and one disease-resistant Gossypium mustelinum accession were exposed to Verticillium wilt, to investigate molecular disease resistance mechanisms in cotton. We observed multiple different DNA methylation types across the three accessions following Verticillium wilt exposure. These included hypomethylation, hypermethylation, and other patterns. In general, the global DNA methylation level was significantly increased in the disease-resistant accession G. mustelinum following disease exposure. In contrast, there was no significant difference in the disease-sensitive accession PD94042, and a significant decrease was observed in IL41. Our results suggest that disease-resistant cotton might employ a mechanism to increase methylation level in response to disease stress. The differing methylation patterns, together with the increase in global DNA methylation level, might play important roles in tolerance to Verticillium wilt in cotton. Through cloning and analysis of differently methylated DNA sequences, we were also able to identify several genes that may contribute to disease resistance in cotton. Our results revealed the effect of DNA methylation on cotton disease resistance, and also identified genes that played important roles, which may shed light on the future cotton disease-resistant molecular breeding.

  10. The Right Tools for the Job: Cooperative Breeding Theory and an Evaluation of the Methodological Approaches to Understanding the Evolution and Maintenance of Sociality

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Martin L. Hing

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available Why do we observe so many examples in nature in which individuals routinely delay or completely forgo their own reproductive opportunities in order to join and remain within a group? Cooperative breeding theory provides a rich framework with which to study the factors that may influence the costs and benefits of remaining philopatric as a non-breeder. This is often viewed as an initial step in the development of costly helping behavior provided by non-breeding subordinates. Despite many excellent empirical studies testing key concepts of the theory, there is still debate regarding the relative importance of various evolutionary forces, suggesting that there may not be a general explanation but rather a dynamic and taxonomically varied combination of factors influencing the evolution and maintenance of sociality. Here, we explore two potential improvements in the study of sociality that could aid in the progress of this field. The first addresses the fact that empirical studies of social evolution are typically conducted using either comparative, observational or manipulative methodologies. Instead, we suggest a holistic approach, whereby observational and experimental studies are designed with the explicit view of advancing comparative analyses of sociality for the taxon, and in tandem, where comparative work informs targeted research effort on specific (usually understudied species within the lineage. A second improvement relates to the broadening of tests of cooperative breeding theory to include taxa where subordinates do not necessarily provide active cooperation within the group. The original bias toward “helpful subordinates” arose from a focus on terrestrial taxa. However, recent consideration of other taxa, especially marine taxa, is slowly revealing that the theory can and should encompass a continuum of cooperative social systems, including those where subordinates do not actively help. This review summarizes the major hypotheses

  11. Spatial and temporal distribution of cotton squares and small cotton bolls fallen on ground after damage by boll weevil and the efficiency of the equipment used to collect them

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carlos Alberto Domingues da Silva

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT: In this study, we determined the spatial and temporal distribution of fallen cotton squares and small cotton bolls fallen damaged by boll weevil and the efficiency and time interval of the equipment used to collect cotton samples. Spatial and temporal distribution of cotton squares and small cotton bolls fallen on the soil damaged by boll weevil among cotton rows was determined in an experimental design of randomized blocks in a factorial arrangement of 4x3, represented by soil surface tracks located at 1-11cm, 12-22cm, 23-33cm, and 34-44cm away from the planting row of cotton plants 70, 85, and 100 days of age. Efficiency and collection time interval of the cotton samples fallen on the soil infested by boll weevil by plastic rakes that were straight or fan-shaped, big broom, collector instrument model CNPA and aspirator of leaves ‘Trapp’ were determined in randomized block design with five treatments, 10 repetitions for each. Results demonstrated that the collection of cotton samples must be performed with greater attention to soil strips located below the cotton top projection and aspirator ‘Trapp’ of leaves was more appropriate for the operation as it used less time of collection with similar efficiency to other available equipment.

  12. 7 CFR 27.20 - Drawing and handling of samples of cotton; inspection of bales.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Drawing and handling of samples of cotton; inspection... Regulations Inspection and Samples § 27.20 Drawing and handling of samples of cotton; inspection of bales. One sample shall be drawn from the top side of each bale and one from the bottom side. Each such sample shall...

  13. Using and development of multi adversity resistance system in cotton

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Metin Durmuş ÇETİN

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available The basic approach in plant breeding, make it possible to show the full genetic potential of plant. This methods also protect the health of plant growth over the period, by increasing resistance to diseases and pests is expected to provide. For this purpose, by Bird in 1963, with the name of multi adversity resistance has been initiated in cotton breeding and for many years as a result of the work carried out important varieties and germplasm have been developed. Nowadays, those using for varieties resistant to stress factors such as heat and drought are evaluated. And successful results are obtained.

  14. Plant breeding with marker-assisted selection in Brazil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ney Sussumu Sakiyama

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available Over the past three decades, molecular marker studies reached extraordinary advances, especially for sequencing and bioinformatics techniques. Marker-assisted selection became part of the breeding program routines of important seed companies, in order to accelerate and optimize the cultivar developing processes. Private seed companies increasingly use marker-assisted selection, especially for the species of great importance to the seed market, e.g. corn, soybean, cotton, and sunflower. In the Brazilian public institutions few breeding programs use it efficiently. The possible reasons are: lack of know-how, lack of appropriate laboratories, few validated markers, high cost, and lack of urgency in obtaining cultivars. In this article we analyze the use and the constraints of marker-assisted selection in plant breeding programs of Brazilian public institutes

  15. Alleles conferring improved fiber quality from EMS mutagenesis of elite cotton genotypes

    Science.gov (United States)

    The elite gene pool of cotton (Gossypium spp.) has less diversity than those of most other major crops, making identification of novel alleles important to ongoing crop improvement. A total of 3,164 M5 lines resulting from ethyl methanesulfonate mutagenesis of two G. hirsutum breeding lines, TAM 94L...

  16. The cotton farming pipeline of Malawi and South Africa: Management implications

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. P. Grundling

    2008-12-01

    Full Text Available Purpose of the study: The purpose this paper is to identify and describe the characteristics and influences of the cotton farming pipeline in Malawi and South Africa. Problem investigated: A broad based approach was followed to investigate the cotton farming pipeline to identify the major driving forces of the cotton pipeline in each of the respective countries. Research approach: A qualitative field research approach was followed to compile data on cotton farming in Malawi and South Africa. Data was compiled upstream from input suppliers, downstream from ginners, cotton transport conveyors, cotton marketing managers and agricultural government officials as well as from farmers and agricultural organizations. Findings: In Malawi a family farming model is followed versus an industrial model of production in South Africa. Despite the differences in approach, the farmers in both countries are faced with similar problems. In this regard, an urgent rethinking of the technological conditions of production and the possibilities of technological change is needed. Recommendations: The research proposes that these countries can benefit from establishing institutions like agricultural co-operatives and mechanisms like the development of a free traffic mechanism of seed-cotton. Conclusion: The present research may assist in developing first layer managerial recommendations that could enhance the sustainability and co-existence of cotton farming in the two countries.

  17. Recent long-distance transgene flow into wild populations conforms to historical patterns of gene flow in cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) at its centre of origin.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wegier, A; Piñeyro-Nelson, A; Alarcón, J; Gálvez-Mariscal, A; Alvarez-Buylla, E R; Piñero, D

    2011-10-01

    Over 95% of the currently cultivated cotton was domesticated from Gossypium hirsutum, which originated and diversified in Mexico. Demographic and genetic studies of this species at its centre of origin and diversification are lacking, although they are critical for cotton conservation and breeding. We investigated the actual and potential distribution of wild cotton populations, as well as the contribution of historical and recent gene flow in shaping cotton genetic diversity and structure. We evaluated historical gene flow using chloroplast microsatellites and recent gene flow through the assessment of transgene presence in wild cotton populations, exploiting the fact that genetically modified cotton has been planted in the North of Mexico since 1996. Assessment of geographic structure through Bayesian spatial analysis, BAPS and Genetic Algorithm for Rule-set Production (GARP), suggests that G. hirsutum seems to conform to a metapopulation scheme, with eight distinct metapopulations. Despite evidence for long-distance gene flow, genetic variation among the metapopulations of G. hirsutum is high (He = 0.894 ± 0.01). We identified 46 different haplotypes, 78% of which are unique to a particular metapopulation, in contrast to a single haplotype detected in cotton cultivars. Recent gene flow was also detected (m = 66/270 = 0.24), with four out of eight metapopulations having transgenes. We discuss the implications of the data presented here with respect to the conservation and future breeding of cotton populations and genetic diversity at its centre of crop origin. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  18. Top 5 exotic clones for potato breeding

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wild and cultivated relatives of potato feature prominently in breeding programs. In this short article, I describe five exotic clones that have promising traits for the future of the US potato industry. They include M6, an inbred line of S. chacoense that provides a source of genes for self-compati...

  19. Cotton proteomics for deciphering the mechanism of environment stress response and fiber development.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Meiliang; Sun, Guoqing; Sun, Zhanmin; Tang, Yixiong; Wu, Yanmin

    2014-06-13

    Cotton fiber is considered as the backbone of the textile industry. The productivity of cotton crop is severely hampered by the occurrence of pathogens, pests, and various environmental factors. Nevertheless, cotton plant has developed sophisticated mechanisms to respond to environment stresses to avoid detrimental effects on its growth and development. Therefore, understanding the mechanisms of cotton fiber development and environment stress response is of considerable interest for designing agriculture breeding strategies to ensure sustainable productivity. The application of proteomics technologies to advance our knowledge in cotton fiber development and abiotic/biotic stress tolerance has increased dramatically in the last 5years as evidenced by the large amount of publications in this area. This review summarizes the work which has been reported for cotton proteomics and evaluates the findings in context of the approaches that are widely employed with the aim to generate novel insight useful for cotton improvement. Cotton (Gossypium spp.) is considered as the foremost commercially important fiber crop grown all over the world and is deemed as the backbone of the textile industry. Cotton is also an important source of edible oil seed and a nutrient-rich food crop as cottonseed contains high-quality protein and oil. The growth and productivity of cotton crop are often hampered by various biotic stress factors, such as insect pests and pathogens. In addition, cotton plants are frequently subjected to unavoidable environmental factors that cause abiotic stress, such as salt, heat and drought. Proteomic techniques provide one of the best options for understanding the gene function and phenotypic changes during cotton fiber development and stress response. This review first summarizes the work which has been reported for cotton proteomics about cotton fiber development and abiotic/biotic stress tolerance, and also evaluates the findings in context of the approaches

  20. Asymmetric evolution and domestication in allotetraploid cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lei Fang

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available Polyploidy plays a major role in genome evolution, which corresponds to environmental changes over millions of years. The mechanisms of genome evolution, particularly during the process of domestication, are of broad interest in the fields of plant science and crop breeding. Upland cotton is derived from the hybridization and polyploidization of its ancient A and D diploid ancestors. As a result, cotton is a model for polyploid genome evolution and crop domestication. To explore the genomic mysteries of allopolyploid cotton, we investigated asymmetric evolution and domestication in the A and D subgenomes. Interestingly, more structural rearrangements have been characterized in the A subgenome than in the D subgenome. Correspondingly, more transposable elements, a greater number of lost and disrupted genes, and faster evolution have been identified in the A subgenome. In contrast, the centromeric retroelement (RT-domain related sequence of tetraploid cotton derived from the D subgenome progenitor was found to have invaded the A subgenome centromeres after allotetrapolyploid formation. Although there is no genome-wide expression bias between the subgenomes, as with expression-level alterations, gene expression bias of homoeologous gene pairs is widespread and varies from tissue to tissue. Further, there are more positively selected genes for fiber yield and quality in the A subgenome and more for stress tolerance in the D subgenome, indicating asymmetric domestication. This review highlights the asymmetric subgenomic evolution and domestication of allotetraploid cotton, providing valuable genomic resources for cotton research and enhancing our understanding of the basis of many other allopolyploids.

  1. Transcriptomic Profiling Reveals Complex Molecular Regulation in Cotton Genic Male Sterile Mutant Yu98-8A.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Weiping Fang

    Full Text Available Although cotton genic male sterility (GMS plays an important role in the utilization of hybrid vigor, its precise molecular mechanism remains unclear. To characterize the molecular events of pollen abortion, transcriptome analysis, combined with histological observations, was conducted in the cotton GMS line, Yu98-8A. A total of 2,412 genes were identified as significant differentially expressed genes (DEGs before and during the critical pollen abortion stages. Bioinformatics and biochemical analysis showed that the DEGs mainly associated with sugars and starch metabolism, oxidative phosphorylation, and plant endogenous hormones play a critical and complicated role in pollen abortion. These findings extend a better understanding of the molecular events involved in the regulation of pollen abortion in genic male sterile cotton, which may provide a foundation for further research studies on cotton heterosis breeding.

  2. Exploring pima and upland cross-combinations to identify fusarium oxysporum f. sp. vasinfectum race 4 resistant cottons by combining ability of superior cultivars

    Science.gov (United States)

    A cotton breeding program strives to identify the best performance cultivars or breeding lines which can be used as parents in crosses. Multi-cross combinations provide the means of performance of each parent and assess the combining ability or productivity of parents through the hybridization proce...

  3. Heritability and intertrait correlations in breeding subpopulations of jack pine

    Science.gov (United States)

    Don E. Riemenschneider

    1985-01-01

    Twenty breeding populations of jack pine were established in 1979 and 1980 in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan. Four populations were index populations and were each established at 4 locations by research cooperators. Sixteen populations were applied breeding populations and were established at single locations by public and private cooperators. Combined analysis of...

  4. Quality of maternal and paternal care predicts later stress reactivity in the cooperatively-breeding marmoset (Callithrix geoffroyi).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Birnie, Andrew K; Taylor, Jack H; Cavanaugh, Jon; French, Jeffrey A

    2013-12-01

    Variation in the early postnatal social environment can have lasting effects on hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis stress responses. Both rats and macaque monkeys subjected to low quality or abusive maternal care during the early postnatal period have more pronounced HPA responses to environmental stressors throughout development and into adulthood compared to animals reared in higher quality early maternal environments. However, little is known about the relative contributions to HPA stress response styles in developing offspring in species in which offspring care is routinely provided by group members other than the mother, such as in cooperatively breeding mammals. Marmoset monkeys exhibit cooperative offspring rearing, with fathers and older siblings providing care in addition to that provided by the mother. We evaluated the effects of early maternal, paternal, and older sibling care on HPA responses to social separation across development in captive white-faced marmoset offspring (Callithrix geoffroyi). We monitored offspring care by mothers, fathers, and older siblings in marmosets for the first 60 days of life. Later in development, each marmoset experienced three standardized social separation/novelty exposure stressors at 6, 12, and 18 months of age. During separation, we collected urine samples and analyzed them via enzyme immunoassay for cortisol levels. Infants that received higher rates of rejections from the entire family group showed higher cortisol responses to social separation. This relationship was found when mothers, fathers, and older siblings, were analyzed separately as well. No differences in cortisol responses were found between offspring that received high and low rates of carrying or high and low rates of licking and grooming by any group member. In the cooperatively breeding marmoset, early social cues from multiple classes of caregivers may influence HPA stress responses throughout the lifespan. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  5. Genetic and epigenetic status of triple exotic consanguinity cotton introgression lines.

    Science.gov (United States)

    He, S P; Sun, J L; Du, X M

    2011-10-03

    Introgression lines are some of the most important germplasm for breeding applications and other research conducted on cotton crops. The DNA methylation level among 10 introgression lines of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) and three exotic parental species (G. arboreum, G. thurberi and G. barbadense) were assessed by methylation-sensitive amplified polymorphism (MSAP) technology. The methylation level in the introgression lines ranged from 33.3 to 51.5%. However, the lines PD0111 and PD0113 had the lowest methylation level (34.6 and 33.3%, respectively) due to demethylation of most non-coding sequences. Amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) was used to evaluate the genetic polymorphism in the cotton introgression lines. A high degree of polymorphism was observed in all introgression lines (mean 47.2%) based on AFLP and MSAP analyses. This confirmed the effects of genetic improvement on cotton introgression lines. The low methylation varieties, PD0111 and PD0113 (introgression lines), clustered outside of the introgression lines based on MSAP data, which was incongruent with an AFLP-based dendrogram. This phenomenon could be caused by environmental changes or introgression of exotic DNA fragments.

  6. Study on Chinese space mutation breeding by integrating the earth with the space

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wen Xianfang; Zhang Long; Dai Weixu; Li Chunhua

    2004-01-01

    This paper described the status of space mutation breeding in China. It emphasized that since 1978 Chinese Space scientists and agricultural biologists have send 50 kg seeds of more than 70 crops including cereals, cotton, oil, vegetable, fruit and pasture to the space using the facilities such as reture satellite 9 times, Shenzhou aircraft twice and high balloon 4 times, and 19 new varieties with high yield, high quality and disease-resistance, including five rice varieties, two wheat varieties, two cotton varieties, one sweat pepper, one tomato variety, one sesame variety, three water melon varieties, one lotus varieties and one ganaderma lucidum variety, have been bred though years of breeding at the Earth at more than 70 Chinese research institutes in 22 provinces. In addition more than 50 new lines and many other germ plasma resources have been obtained. Study on space breeding mechanism, such as biological effect of space induction, genetic variation by cell and molecular techniques and simulated study at the earth, has been conducted and some progresses have been achieved. Many space-breeding bases have been established in some provinces. Space varieties have been extended up to 270000 hectares, and some useful scientific achievements and social economic benefit had been made. The study of Chinese space mutation breading is going ahead in the world. The paper also introduced the contribution and results made by former three reture satellites in space science. Some basic parameters listed involved in study on space mutation breeding and the former three reture satellites. We also prospected the future of space mutation breeding. (authors)

  7. iTRAQ-facilitated proteomic profiling of anthers from a photosensitive male sterile mutant and wild-type cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Ji; Pang, Chaoyou; Wei, Hengling; Song, Meizhen; Meng, Yanyan; Ma, Jianhui; Fan, Shuli; Yu, Shuxun

    2015-08-03

    Male sterility is a common phenomenon in flowering plants, and it has been successfully developed in several crops by taking advantage of heterosis. Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) is an important economic crop, used mainly for the production of textile fiber. Using a space mutation breeding technique, a novel photosensitive genetic male sterile mutant CCRI9106 was isolated from the wild-type upland cotton cultivar CCRI040029. To use CCRI9106 in cotton hybrid breeding, it is of great importance to study the molecular mechanisms of its male sterility. Here, histological and iTRAQ-facilitated proteomic analyses of anthers were performed to explore male sterility mechanisms of the mutant. Scanning and transmission electron microscopy of the anthers showed that the development of pollen wall in CCRI9106 was severely defective with a lack of exine formation. At the protein level, 6121 high-confidence proteins were identified and 325 of them showed differential expression patterns between mutant and wild-type anthers. The proteins up- or down-regulated in MT anthers were mainly involved in exine formation, protein degradation, calcium ion binding,etc. These findings provide valuable information on the proteins involved in anther and pollen development, and contribute to elucidate the mechanism of male sterility in upland cotton. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  8. Territoriality, prospecting, and dispersal in cooperatively breeding Micronesian Kingfishers (Todiramphus cinnamominus reichenbachii)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kesler, D.C.; Haig, S.M.

    2007-01-01

    We investigated territoriality, prospecting, and dispersal behavior in cooperatively breeding Pohnpei Micronesian Kingfishers (Todiramphus cinnamominus reichenbachii) throughout the annual cycle using radiotelemetry and color-band resights. Mean home-range size was 6.3 ha and territories were 8.1 ha. Within territories, Micronesian Kingfishers shared 63% of their home-range space with coterritorial occupants, and 3% was shared with extraterritorial conspecifics. Birds on cooperative territories had larger home ranges that overlapped more with coterritory occupants' home ranges than birds in pair-held territories. Despite evidence suggesting that resources necessary for survival and reproduction occurred on each territory, Micronesian Kingfishers of all age and sex classes made extraterritorial prospecting movements. Prospecting was rare; it comprised only 4.3% of our observations. When birds departed on forays, they were gone for ∼1.9 h and returned to home territories before sunset. Prospecting by dominant birds was temporally correlated with courtship and nest initiation, and birds were observed at neighboring nest sites with opposite-sex conspecifics during the period when females were available for fertilization. Juveniles and helpers prospected throughout the year and made repeated homesteading movements to dispersal destinations before dispersing. Mean dispersal distance for radiomarked individuals was 849 m. Results suggest that prospecting in Micronesian Kingfishers is a complex behavior that provides information for dispersal decisions and familiarity with dispersal destinations. Additionally, extraterritorial movements may provide covert opportunities for reproduction, which have potential to profoundly influence the distribution of fitness among helper and dominant Micronesian Kingfishers.

  9. In-Field High-Throughput Phenotyping of Cotton Plant Height Using LiDAR

    OpenAIRE

    Shangpeng Sun; Changying Li; Andrew H. Paterson

    2017-01-01

    A LiDAR-based high-throughput phenotyping (HTP) system was developed for cotton plant phenotyping in the field. The HTP system consists of a 2D LiDAR and an RTK-GPS mounted on a high clearance tractor. The LiDAR scanned three rows of cotton plots simultaneously from the top and the RTK-GPS was used to provide the spatial coordinates of the point cloud during data collection. Configuration parameters of the system were optimized to ensure the best data quality. A height profile for each plot w...

  10. Synthesis of Cotton from Tossa Jute Fiber and Comparison with Original Cotton

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Md. Mizanur Rahman

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Cotton fibers were synthesized from tossa jute and characteristics were compared with original cotton by using FTIR and TGA. The FTIR results indicated that the peak intensity of OH group from jute cotton fibers occurred at 3336 cm−1 whereas the peak intensity of original cotton fibers occurred at 3338 cm−1. This indicated that the synthesized cotton fiber properties were very similar to the original cotton fibers. The TGA result showed that maximum rate of mass loss, the onset of decomposition, end of decomposition, and activation energy of synthesized cotton were higher than original cotton. The activation energy of jute cotton fibers was higher than the original cotton fibers.

  11. Genetic study of various agronomic traits in cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ashraf, F.; Khan, I.A.; Ahmed, S.

    2009-01-01

    The use of already existing genetic variability in the breeding material, as well as, the creation of new variability along with the genetic understanding of various agronomic traits is of crucial importance, in order to develop potential sources of cotton. For this purpose, 5 X 6 complete diallel cross experiment was conducted during 2003-04, involving 5 strains i.e. VH-55, MNH-516, ACALA-SJ-4, A-8100 and CRIS-420, to evaluate gene-action, general and specific combining ability for number of sympodial branches, number of monopodial branches, plant height, number of bolls per plant, boll weight and yield of seed cotton. Additive type of gene action, with partial dominance for all the traits studied, was observed. Most dominant genes for boll weight, yield of seed-cotton, and number of sympodial branches were observed in CRIS-420, while maximum dominant genes for number of monopodial branches, plant height were observed in ACALA-SJ-4. Variety VH-55 carried maximum dominant genes for number of bolls per plant. Recessive genes for the number of sympodial branches, number of monopodial branches, plant height, number of bolls per plant and yield of seed-cotton, were exhibited by MNH-516. The variety ACAU-SJ-4 showed harmonius combination for bolls per plant and yield of seed-cotton, whereas CRIS- 420 was found a good general combiner for plant height and number of sympodial branches. (author)

  12. Role of plant biotechnology and genetic engineering in crop-improvement, with special emphases on cotton: A review

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Akhtar, L.H.; Siddiq, S.Z.; Tariq, A.H.; Arshad, M.; Gorham, J.

    2003-01-01

    Plant biotechnology and genetic engineering offer novel approaches to plant-breeding, production, propagation and preservation of germplasm. In this manuscript, the population and food-requirements of Pakistan, role of biotechnology and genetic engineering in crop-improvement, along with potential uses in cotton, have been discussed. The latest position of plant biotechnology and genetic engineering in Pakistan and the advantages of biotechnology and genetic-engineering techniques over conventional plant-breeding techniques, along with critical views of various scientists have been reviewed. (author)

  13. Cotton genotypes selection through artificial neural networks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Júnior, E G Silva; Cardoso, D B O; Reis, M C; Nascimento, A F O; Bortolin, D I; Martins, M R; Sousa, L B

    2017-09-27

    Breeding programs currently use statistical analysis to assist in the identification of superior genotypes at various stages of a cultivar's development. Differently from these analyses, the computational intelligence approach has been little explored in genetic improvement of cotton. Thus, this study was carried out with the objective of presenting the use of artificial neural networks as auxiliary tools in the improvement of the cotton to improve fiber quality. To demonstrate the applicability of this approach, this research was carried out using the evaluation data of 40 genotypes. In order to classify the genotypes for fiber quality, the artificial neural networks were trained with replicate data of 20 genotypes of cotton evaluated in the harvests of 2013/14 and 2014/15, regarding fiber length, uniformity of length, fiber strength, micronaire index, elongation, short fiber index, maturity index, reflectance degree, and fiber quality index. This quality index was estimated by means of a weighted average on the determined score (1 to 5) of each characteristic of the HVI evaluated, according to its industry standards. The artificial neural networks presented a high capacity of correct classification of the 20 selected genotypes based on the fiber quality index, so that when using fiber length associated with the short fiber index, fiber maturation, and micronaire index, the artificial neural networks presented better results than using only fiber length and previous associations. It was also observed that to submit data of means of new genotypes to the neural networks trained with data of repetition, provides better results of classification of the genotypes. When observing the results obtained in the present study, it was verified that the artificial neural networks present great potential to be used in the different stages of a genetic improvement program of the cotton, aiming at the improvement of the fiber quality of the future cultivars.

  14. Evidence that agricultural use of pesticides selects pyrethroid resistance within Anopheles gambiae s.l. populations from cotton growing areas in Burkina Faso, West Africa.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aristide Sawdetuo Hien

    Full Text Available Many studies have shown the role of agriculture in the selection and spread of resistance of Anopheles gambiae s.l. to insecticides. However, no study has directly demonstrated the presence of insecticides in breeding sources as a source of selection for this resistance. It is in this context that we investigated the presence of pesticide residues in breeding habitats and their formal involvement in vector resistance to insecticides in areas of West Africa with intensive farming. This study was carried out from June to November 2013 in Dano, southwest Burkina Faso in areas of conventional (CC and biological cotton (BC growing. Water and sediment samples collected from breeding sites located near BC and CC fields were submitted for chromatographic analysis to research and titrate the residual insecticide content found there. Larvae were also collected in these breeding sites and used in toxicity tests to compare their mortality to those of the susceptible strain, Anopheles gambiae Kisumu. All tested mosquitoes (living and dead were analyzed by PCR for species identification and characterization of resistance genes. The toxicity analysis of water from breeding sites showed significantly lower mortality rates in breeding site water from biological cotton (WBC growing sites compared to that from conventional cotton (WCC sites respective to both An. gambiae Kisumu (WBC: 80.75% vs WCC: 92.75% and a wild-type strain (49.75% vs 66.5%. The allele frequencies L1014F, L1014S kdr, and G116S ace -1R mutations conferring resistance, respectively, to pyrethroids and carbamates / organophosphates were 0.95, 0.4 and 0.12. Deltamethrin and lambda-cyhalothrin were identified in the water samples taken in October/November from mosquitoes breeding in the CC growing area. The concentrations obtained were respectively 0.0147ug/L and 1.49 ug/L to deltamethrin and lambdacyhalothrin. Our results provided evidence by direct analysis (biological and chromatographic tests

  15. Genetic diversity and structure of elite cotton germplasm (Gossypium hirsutum L.) using genome-wide SNP data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ai, XianTao; Liang, YaJun; Wang, JunDuo; Zheng, JuYun; Gong, ZhaoLong; Guo, JiangPing; Li, XueYuan; Qu, YanYing

    2017-10-01

    Cotton (Gossypium spp.) is the most important natural textile fiber crop, and Gossypium hirsutum L. is responsible for 90% of the annual cotton crop in the world. Information on cotton genetic diversity and population structure is essential for new breeding lines. In this study, we analyzed population structure and genetic diversity of 288 elite Gossypium hirsutum cultivar accessions collected from around the world, and especially from China, using genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) markers. The average polymorphsim information content (PIC) was 0.25, indicating a relatively low degree of genetic diversity. Population structure analysis revealed extensive admixture and identified three subgroups. Phylogenetic analysis supported the subgroups identified by STRUCTURE. The results from both population structure and phylogenetic analysis were, for the most part, in agreement with pedigree information. Analysis of molecular variance revealed a larger amount of variation was due to diversity within the groups. Establishment of genetic diversity and population structure from this study could be useful for genetic and genomic analysis and systematic utilization of the standing genetic variation in upland cotton.

  16. Effects of selection for cooperation and attention in dogs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Miklósi Ádám

    2009-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background It has been suggested that the functional similarities in the socio-cognitive behaviour of dogs and humans emerged as a consequence of comparable environmental selection pressures. Here we use a novel approach to account for the facilitating effect of domestication in dogs and reveal that selection for two factors under genetic influence (visual cooperation and focused attention may have led independently to increased comprehension of human communicational cues. Method In Study 1, we observed the performance of three groups of dogs in utilizing the human pointing gesture in a two-way object choice test. We compared breeds selected to work while visually separated from human partners (N = 30, 21 breeds, clustered as independent worker group, with those selected to work in close cooperation and continuous visual contact with human partners (N = 30, 22 breeds, clustered as cooperative worker group, and with a group of mongrels (N = 30. Secondly, it has been reported that, in dogs, selective breeding to produce an abnormal shortening of the skull is associated with a more pronounced area centralis (location of greatest visual acuity. In Study 2, breeds with high cephalic index and more frontally placed eyes (brachycephalic breeds, N = 25, 14 breeds were compared with breeds with low cephalic index and laterally placed eyes (dolichocephalic breeds, N = 25, 14 breeds. Results In Study 1, cooperative workers were significantly more successful in utilizing the human pointing gesture than both the independent workers and the mongrels. In study 2, we found that brachycephalic dogs performed significantly better than dolichocephalic breeds. Discussion After controlling for environmental factors, we have provided evidence that at least two independent phenotypic traits with certain genetic variability affect the ability of dogs to rely on human visual cues. This finding should caution researchers against making simple generalizations

  17. Evaluation of the Impact of Genetically Modified Cotton After 20 Years of Cultivation in Mexico

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Martha G. Rocha-Munive

    2018-06-01

    implement national research programs, so that biotechnology and plant breeding advances can be used in the development of cotton varieties adapted to the Mexican particular environmental conditions and to control insect pests of regional importance.

  18. China's Cotton Policy and the Impact of China's WTO Accession and Bt Cotton Adoption on the Chinese and U.S. Cotton Sectors

    OpenAIRE

    Cheng Fang; Bruce A. Babcock

    2003-01-01

    In this paper we provide an analysis of China's cotton policy and develop a framework to quantify the impact of both China's World Trade Organization (WTO) accession and Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) cotton adoption on Chinese and U.S. cotton sectors. We use a Chinese cotton sector model consisting of supply, demand, price linkages, and textiles output equations. A two-stage framework model provides gross cropping area and total area for cotton and major subsitute crops from nine cotton-produci...

  19. Genetic regulation of salt stress tolerance revealed by RNA-Seq in cotton diploid wild species, Gossypium davidsonii.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Feng; Zhu, Guozhong; Du, Lei; Shang, Xiaoguang; Cheng, Chaoze; Yang, Bing; Hu, Yan; Cai, Caiping; Guo, Wangzhen

    2016-02-03

    Cotton is an economically important crop throughout the world, and is a pioneer crop in salt stress tolerance research. Investigation of the genetic regulation of salinity tolerance will provide information for salt stress-resistant breeding. Here, we employed next-generation RNA-Seq technology to elucidate the salt-tolerant mechanisms in cotton using the diploid cotton species Gossypium davidsonii which has superior stress tolerance. A total of 4744 and 5337 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were found to be involved in salt stress tolerance in roots and leaves, respectively. Gene function annotation elucidated salt overly sensitive (SOS) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) signaling pathways. Furthermore, we found that photosynthesis pathways and metabolism play important roles in ion homeostasis and oxidation balance. Moreover, our studies revealed that alternative splicing also contributes to salt-stress responses at the posttranscriptional level, implying its functional role in response to salinity stress. This study not only provides a valuable resource for understanding the genetic control of salt stress in cotton, but also lays a substantial foundation for the genetic improvement of crop resistance to salt stress.

  20. Impact of Bollgard cotton on Indian cotton production and Income of ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Impact of Bollgard cotton on Indian cotton production and Income of cotton farmers. Presentation made in the Seventy Second Annual Meeting Indian Academy of Sciences, Bangalore at Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya Indore 11th November 2006.

  1. Tianshuishi space breeding current situation and developing trend

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang Fuquan; Song Jianrong; Zhang Zhongping; Guo Zhenfang

    2012-01-01

    Tianshuishi is located in Xi'an to lanzhou among two big cities, the five space launch, has vegetables, food, grasses, flowers, rape, melon and fruit, Chinese traditional medicine, amount of 8 categories of crops, such as the 22 new material after carrying the ground breeding work. Only vegetables on identified 23 aerospace new varieties. After ten years of space breeding, summarizes the present situation of Tianshuishi space breeding, development experience, characteristic, trends, and puts forward the development space breeding Tianshuishi organization and breeding of talent from the matching policy and grow up incentive mechanism, strengthen the cooperation and all over the country, establishing fiscal policy support from the aspects such as advice. (authors)

  2. Impact of efficient refuge policies for Bt cotton in India on world cotton trade

    OpenAIRE

    Singla, Rohit; Johnson, Phillip N.; Misra, Sukant K.

    2010-01-01

    India is a major cotton producing country in the world along with the U.S. and China. A change in the supply of and demand for cotton in the Indian market has the potential to have an impact on world cotton trade. This study evaluates the implications of efficient Bt cotton refuge policies in India on world and U.S. cotton markets. It can be hypothesized that increased refuge requirements for Bt cotton varieties in India could decrease the world supply of cotton because of the lower yield pot...

  3. Dictionary of Cotton

    Science.gov (United States)

    The Dictionary of Cotton has over 2,000 terms and definitions that were compiled by 33 researchers. It reflects the ongoing commitment of the International Cotton Advisory Committee, through its Technical Information Section, to the spread of knowledge about cotton to all those who have an interest ...

  4. Multidimensional differentiation in foraging resource use during breeding of two sympatric top predators

    Science.gov (United States)

    Friedemann, Guilad; Leshem, Yossi; Kerem, Lior; Shacham, Boaz; Bar-Massada, Avi; McClain, Krystaal M.; Bohrer, Gil; Izhaki, Ido

    2016-10-01

    Ecologically-similar species were found to develop specific strategies to partition their resources, leading to niche differentiation and divergence, in order to avoid interspecific competition. Our study determines multi-dimensional differentiation of two sympatric top-predators, long-legged buzzards (LLB) and short-toed eagles (STE), which recently became sympatric during their breeding season in the Judean Foothills, Israel. By combining information from comprehensive diet and movement analyses we found four dimensions of differentiation: (1) Geographic foraging area: LLB tended to forage relatively close to their nests (2.35 ± 0.62 km), while STE forage far from their nest (13.03 ± 2.20 km) (2) Foraging-habitat type: LLBs forage at low natural vegetation, avoiding cultivated fields, whereas STEs forage in cultivated fields, avoiding low natural vegetation; (3) Diurnal dynamics of foraging: LLBs are uniformly active during daytime, whereas STEs activity peaks in the early afternoon; and (4) Food-niche: while both species largely rely on reptiles (47.8% and 76.3% for LLB and STE, respectively), LLB had a more diverse diet and consumed significantly higher percentages of lizards, while STE consumed significantly higher percentages of snakes. Our results suggest that this multidimensional differentiation allows the spatial coexistence of these two dense populations in the study area.

  5. Response of irradiated cotton seeds to different levels of phosphorus fertilizer

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Janat, M; Khalifa, K [Atomic Energy Commission, P.O.Box 6091, Damasucs, (Syrian Arab Republic)

    1995-10-01

    A two years field experiment 1990, 1991 was conducted over two different locations in order to evaluate the response of cotton seeds exposed to various doses of gamma radiation 0,5, 10 and 20 Gy, to different levels of phosphorous fertilizer, 0,60, 100, 140 and kg P{sub 2} O{sub 5}/ha. Irradiation doses and P. Fertilizer levels arranged in split plot design, where irradiation doses made up the main plots and the P-levels the subplots. Representative soil samples were collected and analyzed before planting. Soil test for P revealed that enough P was available in the top soil. With a few exceptions, results showed no positive response of cotton crop to P-fertilizer and gamma rays stimulation. 8 tabs.

  6. Plant training for induced defense against insect pests: a promising tool for integrated pest management in cotton.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Llandres, Ana L; Almohamad, Raki; Brévault, Thierry; Renou, Alain; Téréta, Idrissa; Jean, Janine; Goebel, François-Regis

    2018-04-17

    Enhancing cotton pest management using plant natural defenses has been described as a promising way to improve the management of crop pests. We here reviewed different studies on cotton growing systems to illustrate how an ancient technique called plant training, which includes plant topping and pruning, may contribute to this goal. Based on examples from cotton crops, we show how trained plants could be promoted to a state of enhanced defense that causes faster and more robust activation of their defense responses. We revisit agricultural benefits associated to this technique in cotton crops, with a focus on its potential as a supplementary tool for Integrated Pest Management (IPM). Particularly, we examine its role in mediating plant interactions with conspecific neighboring plants, pests and associated natural enemies. We propose a new IPM tool, plant training for induced defense, which involves inducing plant defense by artificial injuries. Experimental evidence from various studies shows that cotton training is a promising technique, particularly for smallholders, which can be used as part of an IPM program to significantly reduce insecticide use and to improve productivity in cotton farming. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

  7. Investigating Genetic Diversity Among Cotton Genotypes Available in the Iranian Gene Bank (Gossypium sp. Using ISSR Molecular Marker

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    F Shahriari Ahmadi

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available Cotton is one of the most important world crops and is considered as a major cash crop in the North East of Iran. All selections in plant breeding are based on diversity and an increase in genetic diversity determines the range of selection. In the present study, 24 cultivars of cotton available at the research station for cotton in the East of Iran -Kashmar- were studied using the ISSR marker. A total number of 13 primers, with repeated simple sequences, were used for the amplification of genomic DNA. Overall, 128 bands were obtained, 109 of which showed polymorphism. To evaluate genetic similarity between cultivars, cluster analysis accompanied by the similarity coefficient developed by Jaccard and Nee (1972, were applied using the UPGMA method. Dendrogram analysis showed a high diversity in the cotton cultivars and two main groups with 70 percent genetic similarity dividing the cotton cultivars into two main groups; namely, tetraploid and diploid. The highest polymorphism percentage was related to 5' (CT8RC3' (100% and the lowest belonged to 5' (AG8YA3' and 5' (TC8G3' (25% primers. Based on the similarity matrix, the highest genetic similarity was found in Varamin and Khordad and the lowest in Avangard and Bakhtegan cultivars. Based on the obtained results, ISSR markers can be efficiently used for the investigation of genetic diversity among cotton cultivars.

  8. Cotton growth potassium deficiency stress is influenced by photosynthetic apparatus and root system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hussain, Z.U.; Arshad, M.

    2010-01-01

    Due to rapid depletion of soil potassium (K) and increasing cost of K fertilizers in Pakistan, the K-use efficient crop genotypes become very important for agricultural sustain ability. However, limited research has been done on this important issue particularly in cotton, an important fibre crop. We studied the growth and biomass production of three cotton genotypes (CIM-506, NIAB- 78 and NIBGE-2) different in K-use efficiency in a K-deficient solution culture. Genotypes differed significantly for biomass production, absolute growth rates (shoot, root, leaf, total), leaf area, mean leaf area and relative growth rate of leaf under K deficiency stress, besides specific leaf area. The relative growth rate (shoot, root, total) did not differ significantly, except for leaf. For all these characters, NIBGE-2 was the best performer followed by NIAB-78 and CIM-506. Shoot dry weight was significantly related with (in decreasing order of significance): mean leaf area, leaf dry weight, leaf area, root dry weight, absolute growth rate of shoot, absolute growth rate of root, absolute growth rate total, absolute growth rate root, relative growth rate leaf, relative growth rate total and relative growth rate shoot. Hence, the enhanced biomass accumulation of cotton genotypes under K deficiency stress is related to their efficient photosynthetic apparatus and root system, appeared to be the most important morphological markers while breeding for K-use efficient cotton genotypes.(author)

  9. Colored and agroecological cotton may be a sustainable solution for future textile industry

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Solimar Garcia

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available The agribusiness topics ofcolored cottonand fashion do not have any practical scientific literature published on the subject,only when the theme is treated primarily as the aim of sustainability. Colored and agroecological cotton, despite the limitation in color,could become an industrial production with less environmental, impact using less water. The aim of this study was to present the colored fiber and organic cotton, produced by small farmers in the Northeast region of Brazil, as an alternative product to promote sustainability in cotton agribusiness and the textile industry, and to identify the lack of scientific studies related to the theme. Surveys were carried out on available national literature and international database publications on the topic, and the results of research on toxic products used for the production of white cotton and textile industry were presented. Governmental incentives through funding agencies to farmers engaged in this production are suggested, in order to improve production and distribution. It is also necessary to provide the infrastructure necessary for this product to reach the global market, including in cooperation with poorer countries in order to promote changes in environmental impact worldwide in the fashion industry

  10. Consequences of 'load-lightening' for future indirect fitness gains by helpers in a cooperatively breeding bird.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meade, Jessica; Nam, Ki-Baek; Beckerman, Andrew P; Hatchwell, Ben J

    2010-05-01

    1. Helpers that invest energy in provisioning the offspring of related individuals stand to gain indirect fitness benefits from doing so. First, if the helper's effort is additional to that of the parents (additive) the productivity of the current breeding attempt can be increased. Secondly, if the parents reduce their workload (compensation) this can result in future indirect fitness gains to the helper via increased breeder survival; termed 'load-lightening'. 2. Long-tailed tits (Aegithalos caudatus) have a cooperative breeding system in which helpers assist kin and parents exhibit both additive and compensatory reactions in the presence of helpers. Offspring from helped nests are heavier and more likely to recruit into the breeding population, thus helpers gain indirect fitness benefits from increasing the productivity of the current breeding attempt. Despite breeders' reduction of feeding effort in the presence of helpers, previous investigations found no subsequent increase in breeder survival. 3. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that load-lightening resulted in indirect fitness benefits for helpers. We used data from a 14-year study to investigate the provisioning rate, survival and future fecundity of male and female long-tailed tits that did and did not receive help at the nest. 4. We found an asymmetrical response to the presence of helpers at large brood sizes. Males reduced their feeding rate more than females, and this differential response was reflected in a significant increase in male survival when provisioning large broods assisted by helpers. We found no evidence of any increase in future fecundity for helped breeders. 5. The finding that males reduce their provisioning rate in the presence of helpers (at large brood sizes) to a greater degree than females, and that this is reflected in an increase in survival rate for males only, implies that the survival increase is caused by the reduction in work-rate rather than a non

  11. Development, genetic mapping and QTL association of cotton PHYA, PHYB, and HY5-specific CAPS and dCAPS markers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Among SNP markers that become increasingly valuable in molecular breeding of crop plants are the CAP and dCAP markers derived from the genes of interest. To date, the number of such gene-based markers is small in polyploid crop plants such as tetraploid cotton that has A and D subgenomes. The obje...

  12. Response of irradiated cotton seeds to different levels of phosphorus fertilizer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Janat, M.; Khalifa, K.

    1995-07-01

    A two year field experiments 1990, 1991 was conducted over two different locations in order to evaluate the response of cotton seeds exposed to various doses of gamma radiation 0, 5, 10 and 20 Gy, to different levels of phosphorous fertilizer, 0, 60, 100, 140 and 180 Kg P sub 2 O sub 5 ha- sub 1. Irradiation doses and P-Fertilizer levels were arranged in split plot design, where irradiation doses made up the main plots and the P-levels the sub-plots. Representative soil samples were collected and analyzed before planting and after harvesting. Soil test for P revealed enough P was available in the top soil. With a few exceptions, results showed no positive response of cotton crop to P-fertilizer and gamma rays stimulation. (author). 26 refs., 49 tabs

  13. Principal variance component analysis of crop composition data: a case study on herbicide-tolerant cotton.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harrison, Jay M; Howard, Delia; Malven, Marianne; Halls, Steven C; Culler, Angela H; Harrigan, George G; Wolfinger, Russell D

    2013-07-03

    Compositional studies on genetically modified (GM) and non-GM crops have consistently demonstrated that their respective levels of key nutrients and antinutrients are remarkably similar and that other factors such as germplasm and environment contribute more to compositional variability than transgenic breeding. We propose that graphical and statistical approaches that can provide meaningful evaluations of the relative impact of different factors to compositional variability may offer advantages over traditional frequentist testing. A case study on the novel application of principal variance component analysis (PVCA) in a compositional assessment of herbicide-tolerant GM cotton is presented. Results of the traditional analysis of variance approach confirmed the compositional equivalence of the GM and non-GM cotton. The multivariate approach of PVCA provided further information on the impact of location and germplasm on compositional variability relative to GM.

  14. The increased risk of predation enhances cooperation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krams, Indrikis; Bērziņš, Arnis; Krama, Tatjana; Wheatcroft, David; Igaune, Kristīne; Rantala, Markus J.

    2010-01-01

    Theory predicts that animals in adverse conditions can decrease individual risks and increase long-term benefits by cooperating with neighbours. However, some empirical studies suggest that animals often focus on short-term benefits, which can reduce the likelihood that they will cooperate with others. In this experimental study, we tested between these two alternatives by evaluating whether increased predation risk (as a correlate of environmental adversity) enhances or diminishes the occurrence of cooperation in mobbing, a common anti-predator behaviour, among breeding pied flycatchers Ficedula hypoleuca. We tested whether birds would join their mobbing neighbours more often and harass a stuffed predator placed near their neighbours' nests more intensely in areas with a higher perceived risk of predation. Our results show that birds attended mobs initiated by their neighbours more often, approached the stuffed predator significantly more closely, and mobbed it at a higher intensity in areas where the perceived risk of predation was experimentally increased. In such high-risk areas, birds also were more often involved in between-pair cooperation. This study demonstrates the positive impact of predation risk on cooperation in breeding songbirds, which might help in explaining the emergence and evolution of cooperation. PMID:19846454

  15. Paternity of subordinates raises cooperative effort in cichlids.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rick Bruintjes

    Full Text Available In cooperative breeders, subordinates generally help a dominant breeding pair to raise offspring. Parentage studies have shown that in several species subordinates can participate in reproduction. This suggests an important role of direct fitness benefits for cooperation, particularly where groups contain unrelated subordinates. In this situation parentage should influence levels of cooperation. Here we combine parentage analyses and detailed behavioural observations in the field to study whether in the highly social cichlid Neolamprologus pulcher subordinates participate in reproduction and if so, whether and how this affects their cooperative care, controlling for the effect of kinship.We show that: (i male subordinates gained paternity in 27.8% of all clutches and (ii if they participated in reproduction, they sired on average 11.8% of young. Subordinate males sharing in reproduction showed more defence against experimentally presented egg predators compared to subordinates not participating in reproduction, and they tended to stay closer to the breeding shelter. No effects of relatedness between subordinates and dominants (to mid-parent, dominant female or dominant male were detected on parentage and on helping behaviour.This is the first evidence in a cooperatively breeding fish species that the helping effort of male subordinates may depend on obtained paternity, which stresses the need to consider direct fitness benefits in evolutionary studies of helping behaviour.

  16. Agrobacterium rhizogenes-induced cotton hairy root culture as an alternative tool for cotton functional genomics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Although well-accepted as the ultimate method for cotton functional genomics, Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated cotton transformation is not widely used for functional analyses of cotton genes and their promoters since regeneration of cotton in tissue culture is lengthy and labor intensive. In cer...

  17. Indian Bt cotton varieties do not affect the performance of cotton aphids.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nora C Lawo

    Full Text Available Cotton varieties expressing Cry proteins derived from the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt are grown worldwide for the management of pest Lepidoptera. To prevent non-target pest outbreaks and to retain the biological control function provided by predators and parasitoids, the potential risk that Bt crops may pose to non-target arthropods is addressed prior to their commercialization. Aphids play an important role in agricultural systems since they serve as prey or host to a number of predators and parasitoids and their honeydew is an important energy source for several arthropods. To explore possible indirect effects of Bt crops we here examined the impact of Bt cotton on aphids and their honeydew. In climate chambers we assessed the performance of cotton aphids, Aphis gossypii Glover (Hemiptera: Aphididae when grown on three Indian Bt (Cry1Ac cotton varieties (MECH 12, MECH 162, MECH 184 and their non-transformed near isolines. Furthermore, we examined whether aphids pick up the Bt protein and analyzed the sugar composition of aphid honeydew to evaluate its suitability for honeydew-feeders. Plant transformation did not have any influence on aphid performance. However, some variation was observed among the three cotton varieties which might partly be explained by the variation in trichome density. None of the aphid samples contained Bt protein. As a consequence, natural enemies that feed on aphids are not exposed to the Cry protein. A significant difference in the sugar composition of aphid honeydew was detected among cotton varieties as well as between transformed and non-transformed plants. However, it is questionable if this variation is of ecological relevance, especially as honeydew is not the only sugar source parasitoids feed on in cotton fields. Our study allows the conclusion that Bt cotton poses a negligible risk for aphid antagonists and that aphids should remain under natural control in Bt cotton fields.

  18. The Nutritive value of mulberry leaves (Morus Alba) and partial replacement of cotton seed in rations on the performance of growing Vietnamese cattle

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Vu, C.C.; Verstegen, M.W.A.; Hendriks, W.H.; Pham, K.T.

    2011-01-01

    The in vivo digestibility of mulberry leaves (Morus alba) and the effects of the partial replacement of cotton seed with fresh mulberry leaf in rations on the performance of growing Vietnamese cattle was investigated. For the in vivo digestibility trial, twenty castrated rams of Phanrang breed (a

  19. TianShuiShi space breeding current situation and developing trend

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang Fuquan; Song Jianrong; Zhang Zhongping; Guo Zhenfang

    2011-01-01

    TianShuiShi is located in xian to lanzhou among two big cities, the five space launch, has vegetables, food, grasses, flowers, rape, melon and fruit, Chinese traditional medicine, amount of 8 categories of crops, such as the 22 new material after carrying the ground breeding work. Only vegetables on identified 23 aerospace new varieties. After ten years of space breeding, summarizes the present situation of TianShuiShi space breeding, development experience, characteristic, trends, and puts forward the development space breeding TianShuiShi organization and breeding of talent from the matching policy and grow up incentive mechanism, strengthen the cooperation and all over the country, establishing fiscal policy support from the aspects such as advice. (authors)

  20. Tissue and cell-specific transcriptomes in cotton reveal the subtleties of gene regulation underlying the diversity of plant secondary cell walls.

    Science.gov (United States)

    MacMillan, Colleen P; Birke, Hannah; Chuah, Aaron; Brill, Elizabeth; Tsuji, Yukiko; Ralph, John; Dennis, Elizabeth S; Llewellyn, Danny; Pettolino, Filomena A

    2017-07-18

    Knowledge of plant secondary cell wall (SCW) regulation and deposition is mainly based on the Arabidopsis model of a 'typical' lignocellulosic SCW. However, SCWs in other plants can vary from this. The SCW of mature cotton seed fibres is highly cellulosic and lacks lignification whereas xylem SCWs are lignocellulosic. We used cotton as a model to study different SCWs and the expression of the genes involved in their formation via RNA deep sequencing and chemical analysis of stem and seed fibre. Transcriptome comparisons from cotton xylem and pith as well as from a developmental series of seed fibres revealed tissue-specific and developmentally regulated expression of several NAC transcription factors some of which are likely to be important as top tier regulators of SCW formation in xylem and/or seed fibre. A so far undescribed hierarchy was identified between the top tier NAC transcription factors SND1-like and NST1/2 in cotton. Key SCW MYB transcription factors, homologs of Arabidopsis MYB46/83, were practically absent in cotton stem xylem. Lack of expression of other lignin-specific MYBs in seed fibre relative to xylem could account for the lack of lignin deposition in seed fibre. Expression of a MYB103 homolog correlated with temporal expression of SCW CesAs and cellulose synthesis in seed fibres. FLAs were highly expressed and may be important structural components of seed fibre SCWs. Finally, we made the unexpected observation that cell walls in the pith of cotton stems contained lignin and had a higher S:G ratio than in xylem, despite that tissue's lacking many of the gene transcripts normally associated with lignin biosynthesis. Our study in cotton confirmed some features of the currently accepted gene regulatory cascade for 'typical' plant SCWs, but also revealed substantial differences, especially with key downstream NACs and MYBs. The lignocellulosic SCW of cotton xylem appears to be achieved differently from that in Arabidopsis. Pith cell walls in

  1. Dictionary of cotton: Picking & ginning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cotton is an essential commodity for textiles and has long been an important item of trade in the world’s economy. Cotton is currently grown in over 100 countries by an estimated 100 producers. The basic unit of the cotton trade is the cotton bale which consists of approximately 500 pounds of raw c...

  2. Field evidence for colony size and aseasonality of breeding and in ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Ansell's mole-rat, Fukomys anselli, is a cooperatively breeding bathyergid endemic to the Lusaka Province of Zambia. During a 12-month field study involving the capture of 33 colonies of mole-rats, the number of occupants, breeding females and sex ratio within colonies were recorded. While thirty of these social groups ...

  3. Global gene expression in cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L. leaves to waterlogging stress.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yanjun Zhang

    Full Text Available Cotton is sensitive to waterlogging stress, which usually results in stunted growth and yield loss. To date, the molecular mechanisms underlying the responses to waterlogging in cotton remain elusive. Cotton was grown in a rain-shelter and subjected to 0 (control-, 10-, 15- and 20-d waterlogging at flowering stage. The fourth-leaves on the main-stem from the top were sampled and immediately frozen in liquid nitrogen for physiological measurement. Global gene transcription in the leaves of 15-d waterlogged plants was analyzed by RNA-Seq. Seven hundred and ninety four genes were up-regulated and 1018 genes were down-regulated in waterlogged cotton leaves compared with non-waterlogged control. The differentially expressed genes were mainly related to photosynthesis, nitrogen metabolism, starch and sucrose metabolism, glycolysis and plant hormone signal transduction. KEGG (Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes analysis indicated that most genes related to flavonoid biosynthesis, oxidative phosphorylation, amino acid metabolism and biosynthesis as well as circadian rhythm pathways were differently expressed. Waterlogging increased the expression of anaerobic fermentation related genes, such as alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH, but decreased the leaf chlorophyll concentration and photosynthesis by down-regulating the expression of photosynthesis related genes. Many genes related to plant hormones and transcription factors were differently expressed under waterlogging stress. Most of the ethylene related genes and ethylene-responsive factor-type transcription factors were up-regulated under water-logging stress, suggesting that ethylene may play key roles in the survival of cotton under waterlogging stress.

  4. The halo effect: suppression of pink bollworm on non-Bt cotton by Bt cotton in China.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Peng Wan

    Full Text Available In some previously reported cases, transgenic crops producing insecticidal proteins from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt have suppressed insect pests not only in fields planted with such crops, but also regionally on host plants that do not produce Bt toxins. Here we used 16 years of field data to determine if Bt cotton caused this "halo effect" against pink bollworm (Pectinophora gossypiella in six provinces of the Yangtze River Valley of China. In this region, the percentage of cotton hectares planted with Bt cotton increased from 9% in 2000 to 94% in 2009 and 2010. We found that Bt cotton significantly decreased the population density of pink bollworm on non-Bt cotton, with net decreases of 91% for eggs and 95% for larvae on non-Bt cotton after 11 years of Bt cotton use. Insecticide sprays targeting pink bollworm and cotton bollworm (Helicoverpa armigera decreased by 69%. Previously reported evidence of the early stages of evolution of pink bollworm resistance to Bt cotton in China has raised concerns that if unchecked, such resistance could eventually diminish or eliminate the benefits of Bt cotton. The results reported here suggest that it might be possible to find a percentage of Bt cotton lower than the current level that causes sufficient regional pest suppression and reduces the risk of resistance.

  5. Establishing a campylobacter-free pig population through a top-down approach

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Weijtens, M.J.B.M.; Urlings, H.A.P.; Plas, J. van der

    2000-01-01

    Fattening pigs are often infected with campylobacter. To eliminate campylobacter from the pig population, a top-down approach, involving the breeding and reproduction farms, seems appropriate. In order to investigate the effectiveness of a top-down approach, sows' faeces from the following farms

  6. Proteomic responses of drought-tolerant and drought-sensitive cotton varieties to drought stress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Haiyan; Ni, Zhiyong; Chen, Quanjia; Guo, Zhongjun; Gao, Wenwei; Su, Xiujuan; Qu, Yanying

    2016-06-01

    biochemical pathways responsible for drought tolerance in KK1543. Although further studies are needed, this proteomic analysis underlines the role of post-translational events. The differentially expressed proteins and their corresponding genes may be used as markers for the breeding of drought tolerance in cotton.

  7. Achievements in the past twenty years and perspective outlook of crop space breeding in China

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu Luxiang; Guo Huijun; Zhao Linshu; Gu Jiayu; Zhao Shirong

    2007-01-01

    Space breeding is a novel effective approach to crop mutational improvement, which was firstly founded by the chinese scientists in 1987. A national collaborative research network has been established and significant achievements have been made during the past twenty years. More than forty new mutant varieties derived from space mutagenesis in rice, wheat, cotton, sweet pepper, tomato, sesame and alfalfa have been developed, officially released and put into production. A series of useful rare mutant germplasms which might make a great breakthrough in crop grain yield and/or quality improvement have been obtained. Technique innovations in space breeding and ground simulation of space environmental factors have been made good progresses. Intellective property right protection and industrialization of space mutation techniques and mutant varieties, exploration of the mechanism of space mutation induction have also been stably advanced. In this paper, the main achievements of crop space breeding in the past twenty years had been reviewed. The perspective development strategies of space breeding were also discussed. (authors)

  8. Does cooperation increase helpers' later success as breeders? A test of the skills hypothesis in the cooperatively displaying lance-tailed manakin.

    Science.gov (United States)

    DuVal, Emily H

    2013-07-01

    Experience improves individual performance in many tasks. Pre-breeding cooperation may provide important experience that improves later success as a breeder, offering one compelling explanation for why some individuals delay reproduction to help others breed (the 'skills hypothesis'). However, confounding effects of age, quality and alternative selective benefits have complicated rigorous tests of this hypothesis. Male lance-tailed manakins perform cooperative courtship displays involving partnerships between unrelated alpha and beta males, and alphas monopolize resulting copulations. Beta males therefore do not receive immediate direct or indirect fitness benefits, but may gain skills during cooperation that increase their later success as an alpha. To date, however, the effect of cooperative experience on later success as a breeder has never been tested in any cooperatively displaying taxon. The effects of prior cooperative experience on reproductive success of alpha lance-tailed manakins were analysed in a mixed model framework using 12 years of information on cooperative experience and annual and lifetime genetic reproductive success for 57 alpha males. Models included previously identified effects of age and alpha tenure. Individual-level random effects controlled for quality differences to test for an independent influence of beta experience on success. Males accumulated up to 5 years of beta experience before becoming alphas, but 42·1% of alphas had no prior beta experience. Betas became alphas later in life, and experienced significantly lower reproductive success in their final year as alpha than males that were never beta, but did not have higher lifetime success or longer alpha tenures. Differences in patterns of annual siring success were best explained by age-dependent patterns of reproductive improvement and senescence among alphas, not beta experience. Cooperative experience does not increase relative breeding success for male lance-tailed manakins

  9. Detecting mismatches in the phenology of cotton bollworm larvae and cotton flowering in response to climate change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Jian; Hao, HongFei

    2018-05-01

    Current evidence suggests that climate change has directly affected the phenology of many invertebrate species associated with agriculture. Such changes in phenology have the potential to cause temporal mismatches between predators and prey and may lead to a disruption in natural pest control ecosystem. Understanding the synchrony between pest insects and host plant responses to climate change is a key step to improve integrated pest management strategies. Cotton bollworm larvae damage cotton, and thus, data from Magaiti County, China, collected during the period of 1990-2015 were analyzed to assess the effects of climate change on cotton bollworm larvae and cotton flowering. The results showed that a warming climate advanced the phenology of cotton bollworm larvae and cotton flowering. However, the phenological rate of change was faster in cotton bollworm larvae than that in cotton flowering, and the larval period was prolonged, resulting in a great increase of the larval population. The abrupt phenological changes in cotton bollworm larvae occurred earlier than that in cotton, and the abrupt phenological changes in cotton flowering occurred earlier than that in larval abundance. However, the timing of abrupt changes in larval abundance all occurred later than that in temperature. Thus, the abrupt changes that occurred in larvae, cotton flowering and climate were asynchronous. The interval days between the cotton flowering date (CFD) and the half-amount larvae date (HLD) expanded by 3.41 and 4.41 days with a 1 °C increase of T mean in May and June, respectively. The asynchrony between cotton bollworm larvae and cotton flowering will likely broaden as the climate changes. The effective temperature in March and April and the end date of larvae (ED) were the primary factors affecting asynchrony.

  10. Detecting mismatches in the phenology of cotton bollworm larvae and cotton flowering in response to climate change.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Jian; Hao, HongFei

    2018-05-11

    Current evidence suggests that climate change has directly affected the phenology of many invertebrate species associated with agriculture. Such changes in phenology have the potential to cause temporal mismatches between predators and prey and may lead to a disruption in natural pest control ecosystem. Understanding the synchrony between pest insects and host plant responses to climate change is a key step to improve integrated pest management strategies. Cotton bollworm larvae damage cotton, and thus, data from Magaiti County, China, collected during the period of 1990-2015 were analyzed to assess the effects of climate change on cotton bollworm larvae and cotton flowering. The results showed that a warming climate advanced the phenology of cotton bollworm larvae and cotton flowering. However, the phenological rate of change was faster in cotton bollworm larvae than that in cotton flowering, and the larval period was prolonged, resulting in a great increase of the larval population. The abrupt phenological changes in cotton bollworm larvae occurred earlier than that in cotton, and the abrupt phenological changes in cotton flowering occurred earlier than that in larval abundance. However, the timing of abrupt changes in larval abundance all occurred later than that in temperature. Thus, the abrupt changes that occurred in larvae, cotton flowering and climate were asynchronous. The interval days between the cotton flowering date (CFD) and the half-amount larvae date (HLD) expanded by 3.41 and 4.41 days with a 1 °C increase of T mean in May and June, respectively. The asynchrony between cotton bollworm larvae and cotton flowering will likely broaden as the climate changes. The effective temperature in March and April and the end date of larvae (ED) were the primary factors affecting asynchrony.

  11. Cotton transformation via pollen tube pathway.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Min; Zhang, Baohong; Wang, Qinglian

    2013-01-01

    Although many gene transfer methods have been employed for successfully obtaining transgenic cotton, the major constraint in cotton improvement is the limitation of genotype because the majority of transgenic methods require plant regeneration from a single transformed cell which is limited by cotton tissue culture. Comparing with other plant species, it is difficult to induce plant regeneration from cotton; currently, only a limited number of cotton cultivars can be cultured for obtaining regenerated plants. Thus, development of a simple and genotype-independent genetic transformation method is particularly important for cotton community. In this chapter, we present a simple, cost-efficient, and genotype-independent cotton transformation method-pollen tube pathway-mediated transformation. This method uses pollen tube pathway to deliver transgene into cotton embryo sacs and then insert foreign genes into cotton genome. There are three major steps for pollen tube pathway-mediated genetic transformation, which include injection of -foreign genes into pollen tube, integration of foreign genes into plant genome, and selection of transgenic plants.

  12. Population structure of Pacific Common Eiders breeding in Alaska

    Science.gov (United States)

    Petersen, M.R.; Flint, P.L.

    2002-01-01

    We used satellite telemetry to study the migration routes and wintering areas of two allopatric breeding populations of Pacific Common Eiders (Somateria mollissima v-nigrum) in Alaska: the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, and the western Beaufort Sea coast. Only 6% (2 of 36) of females wintered within the wintering area of the other breeding population. Both breeding populations wintered in the closest available ice-free habitat, perhaps to minimize migratory distance. Two Beaufort Sea females wintered in areas used by Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta females, implying potential gene flow among breeding areas. Yet, we conclude that these two populations are largely geographically isolated throughout the annual cycle and the environmental factors influencing survival and reproduction likely differ between these groups of birds. Thus, regardless of the potential gene flow among breeding populations, we suggest that birds from these two breeding areas should be managed as separate populations. ?? The Cooper Ornithological Society 2002.

  13. Development of transgenic cotton lines expressing Allium sativum agglutinin (ASAL) for enhanced resistance against major sap-sucking pests.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vajhala, Chakravarthy S K; Sadumpati, Vijaya Kumar; Nunna, Hariprasad Rao; Puligundla, Sateesh Kumar; Vudem, Dashavantha Reddy; Khareedu, Venkateswara Rao

    2013-01-01

    Mannose-specific Allium sativum leaf agglutinin encoding gene (ASAL) and herbicide tolerance gene (BAR) were introduced into an elite cotton inbred line (NC-601) employing Agrobacterium-mediated genetic transformation. Cotton transformants were produced from the phosphinothricin (PPT)-resistant shoots obtained after co-cultivation of mature embryos with the Agrobacterium strain EHA105 harbouring recombinant binary vector pCAMBIA3300-ASAL-BAR. PCR and Southern blot analysis confirmed the presence and stable integration of ASAL and BAR genes in various transformants of cotton. Basta leaf-dip assay, northern blot, western blot and ELISA analyses disclosed variable expression of BAR and ASAL transgenes in different transformants. Transgenes, ASAL and BAR, were stably inherited and showed co-segregation in T1 generation in a Mendelian fashion for both PPT tolerance and insect resistance. In planta insect bioassays on T2 and T3 homozygous ASAL-transgenic lines revealed potent entomotoxic effects of ASAL on jassid and whitefly insects, as evidenced by significant decreases in the survival, development and fecundity of the insects when compared to the untransformed controls. Furthermore, the transgenic cotton lines conferred higher levels of resistance (1-2 score) with minimal plant damage against these major sucking pests when bioassays were carried out employing standard screening techniques. The developed transgenics could serve as a potential genetic resource in recombination breeding aimed at improving the pest resistance of cotton. This study represents the first report of its kind dealing with the development of transgenic cotton resistant to two major sap-sucking insects.

  14. A review of the processing of wool and wool blends on the short staple (Cotton) system

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Erdursun, HH

    1981-11-01

    Full Text Available of the material and the processing sequences will require a certain form of input material while the end-product will determine the blend composition. Wool in various forms such as scoured and carbonised stocks, tops, cut- 7 and stretch-broken tops has been... generally required lower twist factors than their cotton/wool counterparts to attain the optimum strength. Rotor (Open-end) Spinning Since its introduction in the late 1960's, the application of the rotor- spinning process has been extended by intensive...

  15. Genetic variation and heritability for cotton seed, fiber and oil traits in gossypium hirsutum

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Khan, N.U.; Farhatullah; Batool, S.; Makhdoom, K.; Marwat, K.B.; Hassan, G.; Ahmad, W.; Khan, H.U.

    2010-01-01

    The research work pertaining to the study of genetic variability, heritability, genetic gain and correlation for cottonseed, fiber and cottonseed oil % in Gossypium hirsutum cultivars was conducted during 2005 at NWFP Agricultural University Peshawar, Pakistan. Analysis of variance manifested highly significant differences among the genotypes for all the traits except seeds per locule. Genetic potential range of eight cotton cultivars for different parameters was recorded i.e. seeds locule-1 (6.33 to 6.60), seeds boll-1 (26.10 to 28.47), seed index (8.61 to 9.69 g), lint index (5.35 to 6.05 g), lint % (35.17 to 38.13 %), seed cotton yield (1200 to 2450 kg ha/sup -1/) and cottonseed oil % (27.52 to 30.15%). Genetic variances were found almost greater than the environmental variances for all the traits except seeds locule-1 and seed index. High broad sense heritability and selection response were also formulated for seeds boll-1 (0.67, 0.84), seed index (0.77, 0.47 g), lint index (0.96, 0.33 g), lint % (0.96, 1.66 %), seed cotton yield (0.98, 643.16 kg) and cottonseed oil % (0.87, 1.28 %), respectively. Correlation of yield with other traits was found positive for majority of traits except seeds locule-1 and cotton seed oil %. Seed cotton yield is our ultimate goal in growing cotton besides lint %. Highest seed cotton yield was recorded in CIM-499 followed by CIM-473, CIM-496 and CIM-506 and were also found as the second and third top scoring genotypes for seeds per boll, seed index, lint % and cottonseed oil %. Cultivar SLH-279 performed better for lint index, lint % and oil %. This type of correlation is rarely found and ultra desirable by the cotton breeders and a little genetic gain in seed and lint traits, and oil content is a great accomplishment. (author)

  16. CRYOPRESERVATION OF RAM SPERM FROM AUTOCHTHONOUS BREEDS DURING A NON-MATING SEASON

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Milko SABEV

    2007-07-01

    Full Text Available It is possible to collect and successfully cryopreserve ejaculates in a non-mating season from rams of the autochthonous breeds Karakachan, Cooper-red Shumen and Karnobat-local, raised in Bulgaria. Studies are in progress aiming the elaboration of optimal cryoprotective extenders and freezing technology.

  17. Identification of a New Cotton Disease Caused by an Atypical Cotton Leafroll Dwarf Virus in Argentina.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Agrofoglio, Yamila C; Delfosse, Verónica C; Casse, María F; Hopp, Horacio E; Kresic, Iván Bonacic; Distéfano, Ana J

    2017-03-01

    An outbreak of a new disease occurred in cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) fields in northwest Argentina starting in the 2009-10 growing season and is still spreading steadily. The characteristic symptoms of the disease included slight leaf rolling and a bushy phenotype in the upper part of the plant. In this study, we determined the complete nucleotide sequences of two independent virus genomes isolated from cotton blue disease (CBD)-resistant and -susceptible cotton varieties. This virus genome comprised 5,866 nucleotides with an organization similar to that of the genus Polerovirus and was closely related to cotton leafroll dwarf virus, with protein identity ranging from 88 to 98%. The virus was subsequently transmitted to a CBD-resistant cotton variety using Aphis gossypii and symptoms were successfully reproduced. To study the persistence of the virus, we analyzed symptomatic plants from CBD-resistant varieties from different cotton-growing fields between 2013 and 2015 and showed the presence of the same virus strain. In addition, a constructed full-length infectious cDNA clone from the virus caused disease symptoms in systemic leaves of CBD-resistant cotton plants. Altogether, the new leafroll disease in CBD-resistant cotton plants is caused by an atypical cotton leafroll dwarf virus.

  18. Analyses of Fusarium wilt race 3 resistance in Upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abdullaev, Alisher A; Salakhutdinov, Ilkhom B; Egamberdiev, Sharof Sh; Kuryazov, Zarif; Glukhova, Ludmila A; Adilova, Azoda T; Rizaeva, Sofiya M; Ulloa, Mauricio; Abdurakhmonov, Ibrokhim Y

    2015-06-01

    Fusarium wilt [Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. vasinfectum (FOV) Atk. Sny & Hans] represents a serious threat to cotton (Gossypium spp.) production. For the last few decades, the FOV pathogen has become a significant problem in Uzbekistan causing severe wilt disease and yield losses of G. hirsutum L. cultivars. We present the first genetic analyses of FOV race 3 resistance on Uzbek Cotton Germplasm with a series of field and greenhouse artificial inoculation-evaluations and inheritance studies. The field experiments were conducted in two different sites: the experimental station in Zangiota region-Environment (Env) 1 and the Institute of Cotton Breeding (Env-2, Tashkent province). The Env-1 was known to be free of FOV while the Env-2 was known to be a heavily FOV infested soil. In both (Env-1 and Env-2) of these sites, field soil was inoculated with FOV race 3. F2 and an F3 Upland populations ("Mebane B1" × "11970") were observed with a large phenotypic variance for plant survival and FOV disease severity within populations and among control or check Upland accessions. Wilt symptoms among studied F2 individuals and F3 families significantly differed depending on test type and evaluation site. Distribution of Mendelian rations of susceptible (S) and resistant (R) phenotypes were 1S:1R field Env-1 and 3S:1R field Env-2 in the F2 population, and 1S:3R greenhouse site in the F3 population. The different segregation distribution of the Uzbek populations may be explained by differences in FOV inoculum level and environmental conditions during assays. However, genetic analysis indicated a recessive single gene action under high inoculum levels or disease pressure for FOV race 3 resistance. Uzbek germplasm may be more susceptible than expected to FOV race 3, and sources of resistance to FOV may be limited under the FOV inoculum levels present in highly-infested fields making the breeding process more complex.

  19. Inter-Simple Sequence Repeat (ISSR Markers to Study Genetic Diversity Among Cotton Cultivars in Associated with Salt Tolerance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ali Akbar ABDI

    2012-11-01

    Full Text Available Developing salt-tolerant crops is very important as a significant proportion of cultivated land is salt-affected. Screening and selection of salt tolerant genotypes of cotton using DNA molecular markers not only introduce tolerant cultivars useful for hybridization and breeding programs but also detect DNA regions involved in mechanism of salinity tolerance. To study this, 28 cotton cultivars, including 8 Iranian cotton varieties were grown in pots under greenhouse condition and three salt treatments were imposed with salt solutions (0, 70 and 140 mM NaCl. Eight agronomic traits including root length, root fresh weight, root dry weight, chlorophyll and fluorescence index, K+ and Na+ contents in shoot (above ground biomass, and K+/Na+ ratio were measured. Cluster analysis of cultivars based on measured agronomic traits, showed �Cindose� and �Ciacra� as the most tolerant cultivars, and �B-557� and �43347� as the most sensitive cultivars of salt damage. A total of 65 polymorphic DNA fragments were generated at 14 inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR loci. Plants of 28 cultivars of cotton grouped into three clusters based on ISSR markers. Regression analysis of markers in relation with traits data showed that 23, 33 and 30 markers associated with the measured traits in three salt treatments respectively. These markers might help breeders in any marker assisted selection program in order to improving cotton cultivars against salt stress.

  20. Superoleophobic cotton textiles

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Leng, B.; Shao, Z.; With, de G.; Ming, W.

    2009-01-01

    Common cotton textiles are hydrophilic and oleophilic in nature. Superhydrophobic cotton textiles have the potential to be used as self-cleaning fabrics, but they typically are not super oil-repellent. Poor oil repellency may easily compromise the self-cleaning property of these fabrics. Here, we

  1. 7 CFR 1205.319 - Cotton-producing region.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 10 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Cotton-producing region. 1205.319 Section 1205.319... Cotton Research and Promotion Order Definitions § 1205.319 Cotton-producing region. Cotton-producing region means each of the following groups of cotton-producing States: (a) Southeast Region: Alabama...

  2. Examining cotton in rotation with rice and cotton in rotation with other crops using natural experiment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Ling; Zhu, Zesheng

    2017-08-01

    This paper is to show the ability of remote sensing image analysis combined with statistical analysis to characterize the environmental risk assessment of cotton in rotation with rice and cotton in rotation with other crops in two ways: (1) description of rotation period of cotton in rotation with rice and cotton in rotation with other crops by the observational study or natural experiment; (2) analysis of rotation period calculation of cotton in rotation with rice and cotton in rotation with other crops. Natural experimental results show that this new method is very promising for determining crop rotation period for estimating regional averages of environmental risk. When it is applied to determining crop rotation period, two requested remote sensing images of regional crop are required at least.

  3. Transgenic cotton expressing Cry10Aa toxin confers high resistance to the cotton boll weevil.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ribeiro, Thuanne Pires; Arraes, Fabricio Barbosa Monteiro; Lourenço-Tessutti, Isabela Tristan; Silva, Marilia Santos; Lisei-de-Sá, Maria Eugênia; Lucena, Wagner Alexandre; Macedo, Leonardo Lima Pepino; Lima, Janaina Nascimento; Santos Amorim, Regina Maria; Artico, Sinara; Alves-Ferreira, Márcio; Mattar Silva, Maria Cristina; Grossi-de-Sa, Maria Fatima

    2017-08-01

    Genetically modified (GM) cotton plants that effectively control cotton boll weevil (CBW), which is the most destructive cotton insect pest in South America, are reported here for the first time. This work presents the successful development of a new GM cotton with high resistance to CBW conferred by Cry10Aa toxin, a protein encoded by entomopathogenic Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) gene. The plant transformation vector harbouring cry10Aa gene driven by the cotton ubiquitination-related promoter uceA1.7 was introduced into a Brazilian cotton cultivar by biolistic transformation. Quantitative PCR (qPCR) assays revealed high transcription levels of cry10Aa in both T 0 GM cotton leaf and flower bud tissues. Southern blot and qPCR-based 2 -ΔΔCt analyses revealed that T 0 GM plants had either one or two transgene copies. Quantitative and qualitative analyses of Cry10Aa protein expression showed variable protein expression levels in both flower buds and leaves tissues of T 0 GM cotton plants, ranging from approximately 3.0 to 14.0 μg g -1 fresh tissue. CBW susceptibility bioassays, performed by feeding adults and larvae with T 0 GM cotton leaves and flower buds, respectively, demonstrated a significant entomotoxic effect and a high level of CBW mortality (up to 100%). Molecular analysis revealed that transgene stability and entomotoxic effect to CBW were maintained in T 1 generation as the Cry10Aa toxin expression levels remained high in both tissues, ranging from 4.05 to 19.57 μg g -1 fresh tissue, and the CBW mortality rate remained around 100%. In conclusion, these Cry10Aa GM cotton plants represent a great advance in the control of the devastating CBW insect pest and can substantially impact cotton agribusiness. © 2017 The Authors. Plant Biotechnology Journal published by Society for Experimental Biology and The Association of Applied Biologists and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  4. Early warning of cotton bollworm resistance associated with intensive planting of Bt cotton in China.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Haonan Zhang

    Full Text Available Transgenic crops producing Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt toxins kill some key insect pests, but evolution of resistance by pests can reduce their efficacy. The predominant strategy for delaying pest resistance to Bt crops requires refuges of non-Bt host plants to promote survival of susceptible pests. To delay pest resistance to transgenic cotton producing Bt toxin Cry1Ac, farmers in the United States and Australia planted refuges of non-Bt cotton, while farmers in China have relied on "natural" refuges of non-Bt host plants other than cotton. Here we report data from a 2010 survey showing field-evolved resistance to Cry1Ac of the major target pest, cotton bollworm (Helicoverpa armigera, in northern China. Laboratory bioassay results show that susceptibility to Cry1Ac was significantly lower in 13 field populations from northern China, where Bt cotton has been planted intensively, than in two populations from sites in northwestern China where exposure to Bt cotton has been limited. Susceptibility to Bt toxin Cry2Ab did not differ between northern and northwestern China, demonstrating that resistance to Cry1Ac did not cause cross-resistance to Cry2Ab, and implying that resistance to Cry1Ac in northern China is a specific adaptation caused by exposure to this toxin in Bt cotton. Despite the resistance detected in laboratory bioassays, control failures of Bt cotton have not been reported in China. This early warning may spur proactive countermeasures, including a switch to transgenic cotton producing two or more toxins distinct from Cry1A toxins.

  5. The Impacts of U.S. Cotton Programs on the West and Central African Countries Cotton Export Earnings

    OpenAIRE

    Fadiga, Mohamadou L.; Mohanty, Samarendu; Pan, Suwen

    2005-01-01

    This study uses a stochastic simulation approach based on a partial equilibrium structural econometric model of the world fiber market to examine the effects of a removal of U.S. cotton programs on the world market. The effects on world cotton prices and African export earnings were analyzed. The results suggest that on average an elimination of U.S. cotton programs would lead to a marginal increase in the world cotton prices thus resulting in minimal gain for cotton exporting countries in Af...

  6. Locally Grown: Examining Attitudes and Perceptions About Organic Cotton Production and Manufacturing Between Mississippi Cotton Growers and Consumers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Charles Freeman

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this study is to examine attitudes and perceptions about organic cotton of Mississippi cotton growers and producers in comparison to fashion-conscious consumers, including advantages/disadvantages of growing and production processes, quality control, consumer preferences, and competitive price structures/profit margins. A sample size of 16 local Mississippi growers and/or producers and 44 undergraduate students at a mid-major Southeastern university were chosen to participate in the study. Instruments were developed based on current research and the definition of organic cotton production defined by the United States Department of Agriculture. Results indicate 75% of growers and producers do not perceive a quality difference between organic and conventionally grown cotton, while 72.7% of the consumers report organically grown cotton is capable of producing a higher quality product compared to conventionally grown cotton. Even with an increase in organic cotton prices (25- 40% higher premium, only 25% of growers and producers would be willing to convert, while a majority (52.3% of consumers would not be willing to spend more than 25% extra for an organically grown cotton product. Consumers indicate the negative effects of conventionally grown cotton, yet many report little knowledge about organic cotton production, while growers/producers immediately dismiss organically grown cotton as a retail marketing strategy.

  7. Estimation of best parents parents and superior cross combinations for yield and fiber quality related traits in upland cotton (gossypium hirsutum L.)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shaukat, S.; Khan, T.M.; Ijaz, S.

    2013-01-01

    Combining ability was studied for identification of potential cultivars and hybrids in upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) in a 6x6 set of diallel crosses among six genotypes of cotton, i.e., VH-232, CRS-2007, SB-149, GR-156, FH-207, and MARVI carried out on fiber length, fiber fineness, fiber elongation, fiber strength, ginning out tern (GOT) and seed cotton yield. Analysis of variance revealed highly significant (p < 0.01) differences among the genotypes for all traits. Combining ability studies showed that the mean squares, due to general combining ability (GCA), specific combining ability (SCA) and reciprocal effects were highly significant in F1 generation. Genetic components, due to GCA and SCA, revealed that traits, such as, fiber length, strength and fineness, showed high proportion of additive type of gene action in F1 generation because of greater GCA variances were greater than SCA variance. GR-156 was the best combiner for lint percentage and fiber length. FH-207 was the best combiner for fiber fineness. FH-207, MARVI and SB-149 were the best general combiners for fiber character and were suggested to be used in future breeding programme to improve fiber quality traits. CRS-2007 x GR-156, CRS-2007 x MARVI, SB-149 x MARVI and VH-232 x SB-149 had higher specific combining ability and reciprocal effects and they can be used for future breeding programme to improve fiber quality. (author)

  8. Screening cotton genotypes for seedling drought tolerance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Penna Julio C. Viglioni

    1998-01-01

    Full Text Available The objectives of this study were to adapt a screening method previously used to assess seedling drought tolerance in cereals for use in cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L. and to identify tolerant accessions among a wide range of genotypes. Ninety genotypes were screened in seven growth chamber experiments. Fifteen-day-old seedlings were subjected to four 4-day drought cycles, and plant survival was evaluated after each cycle. Three cycles are probably the minimum required in cotton work. Significant differences (at the 0.05 level or lower among entries were obtained in four of the seven experiments. A "confirmation test" with entries previously evaluated as "tolerant" (high survival and "susceptible" (low survival was run. A number of entries duplicated their earlier performance, but others did not, which indicates the need to reevaluate selections. Germplasms considered tolerant included: `IAC-13-1', `IAC-RM4-SM5', `Minas Sertaneja', `Acala 1517E-1' and `4521'. In general, the technique is simple, though time-consuming, with practical value for screening a large number of genotypes. Results from the screening tests generally agreed with field information. The screening procedure is suitable to select tolerant accessions from among a large number of entries in germplasm collections as a preliminary step in breeding for drought tolerance. This research also demonstrated the need to characterize the internal lack of uniformity in growth chambers to allow for adequate designs of experiments.

  9. Systematic Analysis and Comparison of Nucleotide-Binding Site Disease Resistance Genes in a Diploid Cotton Gossypium raimondii

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wei, Hengling; Li, Wei; Sun, Xiwei; Zhu, Shuijin; Zhu, Jun

    2013-01-01

    Plant disease resistance genes are a key component of defending plants from a range of pathogens. The majority of these resistance genes belong to the super-family that harbors a Nucleotide-binding site (NBS). A number of studies have focused on NBS-encoding genes in disease resistant breeding programs for diverse plants. However, little information has been reported with an emphasis on systematic analysis and comparison of NBS-encoding genes in cotton. To fill this gap of knowledge, in this study, we identified and investigated the NBS-encoding resistance genes in cotton using the whole genome sequence information of Gossypium raimondii. Totally, 355 NBS-encoding resistance genes were identified. Analyses of the conserved motifs and structural diversity showed that the most two distinct features for these genes are the high proportion of non-regular NBS genes and the high diversity of N-termini domains. Analyses of the physical locations and duplications of NBS-encoding genes showed that gene duplication of disease resistance genes could play an important role in cotton by leading to an increase in the functional diversity of the cotton NBS-encoding genes. Analyses of phylogenetic comparisons indicated that, in cotton, the NBS-encoding genes with TIR domain not only have their own evolution pattern different from those of genes without TIR domain, but also have their own species-specific pattern that differs from those of TIR genes in other plants. Analyses of the correlation between disease resistance QTL and NBS-encoding resistance genes showed that there could be more than half of the disease resistance QTL associated to the NBS-encoding genes in cotton, which agrees with previous studies establishing that more than half of plant resistance genes are NBS-encoding genes. PMID:23936305

  10. Cerebral amyloid-beta protein accumulation with aging in cotton-top tamarins: a model of early Alzheimer's disease?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lemere, Cynthia A; Oh, Jiwon; Stanish, Heather A; Peng, Ying; Pepivani, Imelda; Fagan, Anne M; Yamaguchi, Haruyasu; Westmoreland, Susan V; Mansfield, Keith G

    2008-04-01

    Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common progressive form of dementia in the elderly. Two major neuropathological hallmarks of AD include cerebral deposition of amyloid-beta protein (Abeta) into plaques and blood vessels, and the presence of neurofibrillary tangles in brain. In addition, activated microglia and reactive astrocytes are often associated with plaques and tangles. Numerous other proteins are associated with plaques in human AD brain, including Apo E and ubiquitin. The amyloid precursor protein and its shorter fragment, Abeta, are homologous between humans and non-human primates. Cerebral Abeta deposition has been reported previously for rhesus monkeys, vervets, squirrel monkeys, marmosets, lemurs, cynomologous monkeys, chimpanzees, and orangutans. Here we report, for the first time, age-related neuropathological changes in cotton-top tamarins (CTT, Saguinus oedipus), an endangered non-human primate native to the rainforests of Colombia and Costa Rica. Typical lifespan is 13-14 years of age in the wild and 15-20+ years in captivity. We performed detailed immunohistochemical analyses of Abeta deposition and associated pathogenesis in archived brain sections from 36 tamarins ranging in age from 6-21 years. Abeta plaque deposition was observed in 16 of the 20 oldest tamarins (>12 years). Plaques contained mainly Abeta42, and in the oldest animals, were associated with reactive astrocytes, activated microglia, Apo E, and ubiquitin-positive dystrophic neurites, similar to human plaques. Vascular Abeta was detected in 14 of the 20 aged tamarins; Abeta42 preceded Abeta40 deposition. Phospho-tau labeled dystrophic neurites and tangles, typically present in human AD, were absent in the tamarins. In conclusion, tamarins may represent a model of early AD pathology.

  11. Genetic disparity and relationship among quantitatively inherited yield related traits in diallel crosses of upland cotton

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bibi, M.; Khan, N.U.; Mohammad, F.; Gul, R.; Idrees, M.; Sayal, O.U.; Khakwani, A.A.; Khan, I.A.

    2011-01-01

    In quantitative genetics, development of high yielding genotypes from parental cultivars of same ancestry is some what confusing as compared to genetically diverse parents. However, sufficient recombinations through allelic variations in mating of closely-related populations result in superior agronomic performance. Development of improved cotton genotypes is one of the prime objectives of any cotton breeding programmes. Genetic divergence and yield potential of parental cotton genotypes versus their diallel hybrids, relationship of yield with various morpho-yield traits and their heritability were studied in 8 X 8 F/sub 1/ diallel hybrids and their parental cultivars in Gossypium hirsutum L. during 2008-09 at Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Agricultural University, Peshawar, Pakistan. Highly significant (p less than or equal to 0.01) differences were observed among parental genotypes and F/sub 1/ populations for all the traits. Results revealed that F/sub 1/ hybrids i.e., CIM-506 X CIM-554, CIM-473 X CIM-554, CIM-446 X CIM-496 and CIM-446 X CIM-554 produced significantly higher number of sympodia, bolls per populations showed incredible performance for plant height, locules per boll and seeds plant and seed cotton yield. Some F/sub 1/ per locule. Seed cotton yield manifested positive association with morpho-yield traits which also accounted for greater genetic variations to yield being dependent trait. Heritabilities (broad sense) were moderate to high in magnitude for all populations with larger genetic potential, positive relationship between yield and yield traits. Results revealed that F1 contributing traits and moderate to high heritability can guide intensive selection and improvement per se in segregating populations. (author)

  12. Cooperative action of cellulase enzyme and carboxymethyl cellulose on cotton fabric cleanability from a topographical standpoint

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Calvimontes, A.; Lant, N.J.; Dutschk, Victoria

    2011-01-01

    In this study, the effect of cotton treatment with cellulose and carboxymethyl cellulose on soil release of three different types of fabric: woven plain, woven twill and knitted were systematically studied. A recent study of the effect of a cleaning cellulase enzyme on cellulose films has proven

  13. Superamphiphobic cotton fabrics with enhanced stability

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Xu, Bi, E-mail: xubi@dhu.edu.cn [National Engineering Research Center for Dyeing and Finishing of Textiles, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620 (China); Key Laboratory of Science & Technology of Eco-Textile, Ministry of Education, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620 (China); College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620 (China); Ding, Yinyan; Qu, Shaobo [College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620 (China); Cai, Zaisheng, E-mail: zshcai@dhu.edu [College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620 (China)

    2015-11-30

    Highlights: • Superamphiphobic cotton fabrics were prepared. • Water and hexadecane contact angels reach to 164.4° and 156.3°, respectively. • Nanoporous organically modified silica alcogel particles were synthesized. • The superamphiphobic cotton fabrics exhibit enhanced stability against abrasion, laundering and acid. - Abstract: Superamphiphobic cotton fabrics were prepared by alternately depositing organically modified silica alcogel (ormosil) particles onto chitosan precoated cotton fabrics and subsequent 1H, 1H, 2H, 2H-perfluorooctyltrimethoxysilane (PFOTMS) modification. Transmission electron microscopy and scanning electron microscopy images reveal that the ormosil particles display a fluffy, sponge-like nanoporous structure, and the entire cotton fiber surface is covered with highly porous networks. PFOTMS acts as not only a modifier to lower the surface energy of the cotton fabric but also a binder to enhance the coating stability against abrasion and washing. The treated cotton fabrics show highly liquid repellency with the water, cooking oil and hexadecane contact angels reaching to 164.4°, 160.1° and 156.3°, respectively. Meanwhile, the treated cotton fabrics exhibit good abrasion resistance and high laundering durability, which can withstand 10,000 cycles of abrasion and 30 cycles of machine wash without apparently changing the superamphiphobicity. The superamphiphobic cotton fabric also shows high acid stability, and can withstand 98% H{sub 2}SO{sub 4}. Moreover, the superamphiphobic coating has almost no influence on the other physical properties of the cotton fabrics including tensile strength, whiteness and air permeability. This durable non-wetting surface may provide a wide range of new applications in the future.

  14. Benefits of cooperation with genetic kin in a subsocial spider

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Schneider, J.M.; Bilde, T.

    2008-01-01

    also promote helping behavior in many cooperatively breeding taxa. Investigating transitional systems is therefore particularly suitable for understanding the influence of kin selection on the initial spread of cooperative behaviors. Here we investigated the role of kinship in cooperative feeding. We...... in prey capture and feed communally. We provide clear experimental evidence for net benefits of cooperating with kin. Genetic relatedness within groups and not association with familiar individuals directly improved feeding efficiency and growth rates, demonstrating a positive effect of kin cooperation...

  15. Low prevalence of Trichomonas gallinae in urban and migratory Cooper's Hawks in northcentral North America

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rosenfield, Robert N.; Taft, Stephen J.; Stout, William E.; Driscoll, Timothy G.; Evans, David L.; Bozek, Michael A.

    2009-01-01

    Trichomoniasis is a digestive tract disease caused by ingestion of the protozoan Trichomonas gallinae. This disease can be a significant source of mortality. No deaths of nestlings could be attributed to trichomoniasis in Cooper's Hawks (Accipiter cooperii) breeding in urban and rural environs in Wisconsin, North Dakota, and British Columbia. We detected T. gallinae in four (5.2%) of 77 nestling Cooper's Hawks during 2006 and 2007 among 42 urban nests on new study areas in southeast Wisconsin and eastern North Dakota/western Minnesota. All four infected young fledged. We did not detect T. gallinae in 52 breeding adult Cooper's Hawks on two urban study sites, nor in 28 migrant hatching year (n  =  24) and adult (n  =  4) Cooper's Hawks at Hawk Ridge Nature Reserve, Duluth, Minnesota in 2006–2007. Overall, we detected T. gallinae in only 2.5% of 157 Cooper's Hawks in northcentral North America. These results suggest a low prevalence of T. gallinae in Cooper's Hawks in the northern part of this hawk's breeding range.

  16. Proceedings of the FNCA workshop on plant mutation breeding 2001. Molecular biological techniques

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kume, Tamikazu; Watanabe, Kazuo; Tano, Shigemitsu

    2002-02-01

    The FNCA (Forum for Nuclear Cooperation in Asia) Workshop on Plant Mutation Breeding was held on 20-24 August 2001 in Bangkok, Thailand. The Workshop was sponsored by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT). The Kasetsart University (KU), the Office of Atomic Energy for Peace (OAEP) and Department of Agriculture (DOA) acted as local host and the organizer with the cooperation of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) of Japan, the Japan Atomic Industrial Forum (JAIF) and Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute (JAERI). The Workshop was attended by two participants, a Project Leader and an expert on molecular biological techniques for plant mutation breeding, from each of the participating countries, i.e. China, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam. One participant from the Republic of Korea, nine participants from Japan and thirteen participants from Thailand including three invited speakers attended the Workshop. Eleven papers including three invited papers on the current status of molecular biological techniques for plant mutation breeding were presented. Discussions were focused to further regional cooperation, to review and discuss results of past activities. The Medium-Term Plan of the project on the application of radiation and radioisotopes for agriculture in participating countries of Regional Nuclear Cooperation Activities (RNCA) was formulated and agreed. This proceeding compiles the invited and contributed papers that were submitted from the speakers. (author)

  17. U.S. Cotton Prices and the World Cotton Market: Forecasting and Structural Change

    OpenAIRE

    Isengildina-Massa, Olga; MacDonald, Stephen

    2009-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to analyze structural changes that took place in the cotton industry in recent years and develop a statistical model that reflects the current drivers of U.S. cotton prices. Legislative changes authorized the U.S. Department of Agriculture to resume publishing cotton price forecasts for the first time in 79 years. In addition, systematic problems have become apparent in the forecasting models used by USDA and elsewhere, highlighting the need for an updated review...

  18. In-Field High-Throughput Phenotyping of Cotton Plant Height Using LiDAR

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shangpeng Sun

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available A LiDAR-based high-throughput phenotyping (HTP system was developed for cotton plant phenotyping in the field. The HTP system consists of a 2D LiDAR and an RTK-GPS mounted on a high clearance tractor. The LiDAR scanned three rows of cotton plots simultaneously from the top and the RTK-GPS was used to provide the spatial coordinates of the point cloud during data collection. Configuration parameters of the system were optimized to ensure the best data quality. A height profile for each plot was extracted from the dense three dimensional point clouds; then the maximum height and height distribution of each plot were derived. In lab tests, single plants were scanned by LiDAR using 0.5° angular resolution and results showed an R2 value of 1.00 (RMSE = 3.46 mm in comparison to manual measurements. In field tests using the same angular resolution; the LiDAR-based HTP system achieved average R2 values of 0.98 (RMSE = 65 mm for cotton plot height estimation; compared to manual measurements. This HTP system is particularly useful for large field application because it provides highly accurate measurements; and the efficiency is greatly improved compared to similar studies using the side view scan.

  19. Helping enhances productivity in campo flicker ( Colaptes campestris) cooperative groups

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dias, Raphael Igor; Webster, Michael S.; Macedo, Regina H.

    2015-06-01

    Reproductive adults in many bird species are assisted by non-breeding auxiliary helpers at the nest, yet the impact of auxiliaries on reproduction is variable and not always obvious. In this study, we tested Hamilton's rule and evaluated the effect of auxiliaries on productivity in the facultative cooperative breeder campo flicker ( Colaptes campestris campestris). Campo flickers have a variable mating system, with some groups having auxiliaries and others lacking them (i.e., unassisted pairs). Most auxiliaries are closely related to the breeding pair (primary auxiliaries), but some auxiliaries (secondary auxiliaries) are unrelated females that joined established groups. We found no effect of breeder quality (body condition) or territory quality (food availability) on group productivity, but the presence of auxiliaries increased the number of fledglings produced relative to unassisted pairs. Nonetheless, the indirect benefit of helping was small and did not outweigh the costs of delayed breeding and so seemed insufficient to explain the evolution of cooperative breeding in campo flickers. We concluded that some ecological constraints must limit dispersal or independent breeding, making staying in the group a "best-of-a-bad-job" situation for auxiliaries.

  20. Report from the FAO/IAEA Plant Breeding and Genetics Section

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1989-01-01

    IDRC Workshop in Kenya, there was a regional seminar in Zambia, and there were missions of staff members to Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cote d'lvoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Zaire. With financial support by the Italian Government, we expect to start in 1989 a regional co-operative programme including research contracts, training and workshops. Regional co-operation with plant breeders in Latin America continues under ARCAL (Regional Co-operative Arrangements for the Promotion of Nuclear Science and Technology in Latin America). The 7th Interregional Training Course on the Induction and Use of Mutations in Plant Breeding at the Seibersdorf Laboratory again saw 20 participants from 20 countries, selected among 61 applicants. The Section was responsible for 45 Technical Co-operation Projects involving 70 institutions in 37 countries. 52 scientists completed their training under IAEA fellowships

  1. Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rathore, Keerti S; Campbell, LeAnne M; Sherwood, Shanna; Nunes, Eugenia

    2015-01-01

    Cotton continues to be a crop of great economic importance in many developing and some developed countries. Cotton plants expressing the Bt gene to deter some of the major pests have been enthusiastically and widely accepted by the farmers in three of the major producing countries, i.e., China, India, and the USA. Considering the constraints related to its production and the wide variety of products derived from the cotton plant, it offers several target traits that can be improved through genetic engineering. Thus, there is a great need to accelerate the application of biotechnological tools for cotton improvement. This requires a simple, yet robust gene delivery/transformant recovery system. Recently, a protocol, involving large-scale, mechanical isolation of embryonic axes from germinating cottonseeds followed by direct transformation of the meristematic cells has been developed by an industrial laboratory. However, complexity of the mechanical device and the patent restrictions are likely to keep this method out of reach of most academic laboratories. In this chapter, we describe the method developed in our laboratory that has undergone further refinements and involves Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of cotton cells, selection of stable transgenic callus lines, and recovery of plants via somatic embryogenesis.

  2. The water footprint of cotton consumption: An assessment of the impact of worldwide consumption of cotton products on the water resources in the cotton producing countries

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Chapagain, Ashok; Hoekstra, Arjen Ysbert; Savenije, H.H.G.; Gautam, R.

    2006-01-01

    The consumption of a cotton product is connected to a chain of impacts on the water resources in the countries where cotton is grown and processed. The aim of this paper is to assess the ‘water footprint’ of worldwide cotton consumption, identifying both the location and the character of the

  3. When cooperation begets cooperation: the role of key individuals in galvanizing support.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McAuliffe, Katherine; Wrangham, Richard; Glowacki, Luke; Russell, Andrew F

    2015-12-05

    Life abounds with examples of conspecifics actively cooperating to a common end, despite conflicts of interest being expected concerning how much each individual should contribute. Mathematical models typically find that such conflict can be resolved by partial-response strategies, leading investors to contribute relatively equitably. Using a case study approach, we show that such model expectations can be contradicted in at least four disparate contexts: (i) bi-parental care; (ii) cooperative breeding; (iii) cooperative hunting; and (iv) human cooperation. We highlight that: (a) marked variation in contributions is commonplace; and (b) individuals can often respond positively rather than negatively to the contributions of others. Existing models have surprisingly limited power in explaining these phenomena. Here, we propose that, although among-individual variation in cooperative contributions will be influenced by differential costs and benefits, there is likely to be a strong genetic or epigenetic component. We then suggest that selection can maintain high investors (key individuals) when their contributions promote support by increasing the benefits and/or reducing the costs for others. Our intentions are to raise awareness in--and provide testable hypotheses of--two of the most poorly understood, yet integral, questions regarding cooperative ventures: why do individuals vary in their contributions and when does cooperation beget cooperation? © 2015 The Author(s).

  4. Separation and recycling of cotton from cotton/PET blends by depolymerization of PET catalyzed by bases and ionic liquids

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bouwhuis, G.H. (Gerrit); Brinks, G.J. (Ger); Groeneveld, R.A.J. (Richard); Oelerich, J. (Jens)

    2014-01-01

    The recycling of post consumer cotton textile waste is highly requested, due to the high environmental impact of cotton production. Often cotton is mixed in blends with polyethylene terephthalate (PET). For the generation of high value products from recycled cotton, it essential that PET is

  5. Trust analysis and assessment in virtual organization breeding environments

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Msanjila, S.S.; Afsarmanesh, H.

    2008-01-01

    Establishing trust relationships among the member organizations in a virtual organization breeding environment (VBE) is a pre-condition for their smooth cooperation. Furthermore, considering that effective creation of virtual organizations (VOs) is the main aim of the VBEs, the measurement of an

  6. The "Cotton Problem"

    OpenAIRE

    Baffes, John

    2005-01-01

    Cotton is an important cash crop in many developing economies, supporting the livelihoods of millions of poor households. In some countries it contributes as much as 40 percent of merchandise exports and more than 5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP). The global cotton market, however, has been subject to numerous policy interventions, to the detriment of nonsubsidized producers. This ...

  7. Tensile Properties of Single Jersey and 1×1 Rib Knitted Fabrics Made from 100% Cotton and Cotton/Lycra Yarns

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dereje Berihun Sitotaw

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The tensile properties such as tensile strength which is measured as breaking force in Newton (N and elongation percent (% at break of single jersey and 1×1 rib (knitted with full needles knitted fabrics made from 100% cotton and cotton/Lycra yarns (5% Lycra yarn content in 95% combed cotton yarn are investigated in this research. The sample fabrics are conditioned for 24 hours at 20±1°C temperature and 65±2% relative humidity before testing. Ten specimens (five for lengthwise and five for widthwise have been taken from each of the two knitted structures, those made from 100% cotton and cotton/Lycra (at 95/5 percent ratio blend yarns. According to the discussion and as found from the investigations, the tensile properties of single jersey and 1×1 rib knitted fabrics made from 100% cotton and cotton/Lycra yarns are significantly different from each other and both of the knitted fabrics have high elongation percent at break with cotton/Lycra blend yarns as compared to 100% cotton yarn. Knitted fabrics made from cotton/Lycra blended yarn have low breaking force and high elongation percent at break relative to knitted fabrics made from 100% cotton yarns.

  8. The Role of Ontogeny in the Evolution of Human Cooperation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tomasello, Michael; Gonzalez-Cabrera, Ivan

    2017-09-01

    To explain the evolutionary emergence of uniquely human skills and motivations for cooperation, Tomasello et al. (2012, in Current Anthropology 53(6):673-92) proposed the interdependence hypothesis. The key adaptive context in this account was the obligate collaborative foraging of early human adults. Hawkes (2014, in Human Nature 25(1):28-48), following Hrdy (Mothers and Others, Harvard University Press, 2009), provided an alternative account for the emergence of uniquely human cooperative skills in which the key was early human infants' attempts to solicit care and attention from adults in a cooperative breeding context. Here we attempt to reconcile these two accounts. Our composite account accepts Hrdy's and Hawkes's contention that the extremely early emergence of human infants' cooperative skills suggests an important role for cooperative breeding as adaptive context, perhaps in early Homo. But our account also insists that human cooperation goes well beyond these nascent skills to include such things as the communicative and cultural conventions, norms, and institutions created by later Homo and early modern humans to deal with adult problems of social coordination. As part of this account we hypothesize how each of the main stages of human ontogeny (infancy, childhood, adolescence) was transformed during evolution both by infants' cooperative skills "migrating up" in age and by adults' cooperative skills "migrating down" in age.

  9. Survival rates and lifetime reproduction of breeding male Cooper’s Hawks in Wisconsin, 1980-2005

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rosenfield, Robert N.; Bielefeldt, John; Rosenfield, Laura J.; Booms, Travis L.; Bozek, Michael A.

    2009-01-01

    There are few published data on annual survival and no reports of lifetime reproduction for breeding Cooper's Hawks (Accipiter cooperii). Breeding males (n  =  105) in central and southeastern Wisconsin had an annual mortality rate of 19%, or a survival rate of 81% for birds ≤10 years of age. We did not detect significant differences in mortality rates between urban and rural habitats, nor between the earlier 13 years and later 13 years of this study. Male Cooper's Hawks produced from zero to 32 nestlings during their lifetimes. Body mass or size appeared unrelated to annual survivorship and lifetime reproduction, although lifetime reproduction was correlated strongly with longevity of breeding males. Fifteen of 66 males (23%) produced most (53%) of the nestlings. Our studies occurred in an area where breeding populations may be increasing with some of the highest reported productivity indices and nesting densities for this species. Habitat used for nesting on our Wisconsin study areas may be less important for survivorship and lifetime reproduction than acquisition of a nesting area in which a male will breed throughout his life.

  10. The water footprint of cotton consumption

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Chapagain, Ashok; Hoekstra, Arjen Ysbert; Savenije, H.H.G.; Gautam, R.

    2005-01-01

    The consumption of a cotton product is connected to a chain of impacts on the water resources in the countries where cotton is grown and processed. The aim of this report is to assess the ‘water footprint’ of worldwide cotton consumption, identifying both the location and the character of the

  11. SSR-based association mapping of salt tolerance in cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Y L; Wang, H M; Shao, B X; Chen, W; Guo, Z J; Gong, H Y; Sang, X H; Wang, J J; Ye, W W

    2016-05-25

    The identification of simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers associated with salt tolerance in cotton contributes to molecular assisted selection (MAS), which can improve the efficiency of traditional breeding. In this study, 134 samples of upland cotton cultivars were selected. The seedling emergence rates were tested under 0.3% NaCl stress. A total of 74 SSR markers were used to scan the genomes of these samples. To identify SSR markers associated with salt tolerance, an association analysis was performed between salt tolerance and SSR markers using TASSEL 2.1, based on the analysis of genetic structure using Structure 2.3.4. The results showed that the seedling emergence rates of 134 cultivars were significantly different, and 27 salt-sensitive and 10 salt-tolerant cultivars were identified. A total of 148 loci were found in 74 SSR markers involving 246 allelic variations, which ranged from 2 to 7 with an average of 3.32 per SSR marker. The gene diversity ranged from 0.0295 to 0.4959, with the average being 0.2897. The polymorphic information content ranged from0.0290 to 0.3729, with the average being 0.2381. This natural population was classified into two subgroups by Structure 2.3.4, containing 89 and 45 samples, respectively. Finally, eight SSR sites associated with salt tolerance ware found through an association analysis, with the rate of explanation ranging from 2.91 to 7.82% and an average of 4.32%. These results provide reference data for the use MAS for salt tolerance in cotton.

  12. Extra-pair mating and evolution of cooperative neighbourhoods.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sigrunn Eliassen

    Full Text Available A striking but unexplained pattern in biology is the promiscuous mating behaviour in socially monogamous species. Although females commonly solicit extra-pair copulations, the adaptive reason has remained elusive. We use evolutionary modelling of breeding ecology to show that females benefit because extra-pair paternity incentivizes males to shift focus from a single brood towards the entire neighbourhood, as they are likely to have offspring there. Male-male cooperation towards public goods and dear enemy effects of reduced territorial aggression evolve from selfish interests, and lead to safer and more productive neighbourhoods. The mechanism provides adaptive explanations for the common empirical observations that females engage in extra-pair copulations, that neighbours dominate as extra-pair sires, and that extra-pair mating correlates with predation mortality and breeding density. The models predict cooperative behaviours at breeding sites where males cooperate more towards public goods than females. Where maternity certainty makes females care for offspring at home, paternity uncertainty and a potential for offspring in several broods make males invest in communal benefits and public goods. The models further predict that benefits of extra-pair mating affect whole nests or neighbourhoods, and that cuckolding males are often cuckolded themselves. Derived from ecological mechanisms, these new perspectives point towards the evolution of sociality in birds, with relevance also for mammals and primates including humans.

  13. QTLs Analysis and Validation for Fiber Quality Traits Using Maternal Backcross Population in Upland Cotton

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lingling Ma

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Cotton fiber is renewable natural fiber source for textile. Improving fiber quality is an essential goal for cotton breeding project. In present study, F14 recombinant inbred line (RIL population was backcrossed by the maternal parent to obtain a backcross (BC population, derived from one Upland cotton hybrid. Three repetitive field trials were performed by randomized complete block design with two replicates in three locations in 2015, together with the BC population, common male parent and the RIL population. Totally, 26 QTLs in BC population explained 5.00–14.17% of phenotype variation (PV and 37 quantitative trait loci (QTL were detected in RIL population explaining 5.13–34.00% of PV. Seven common QTLs detected simultaneously in two populations explained PV from 7.69 to 23.05%. A total of 20 QTLs in present study verified the previous results across three environments in 2012. Particularly, qFL-Chr5-2 controlling fiber length on chromosome 5 explained 34.00% of PV, while qFL-Chr5-3 only within a 0.8 cM interval explained 13.93% of PV on average in multiple environments. These stable QTLs explaining great variation offered essential information for marker-assisted selection (MAS to improve fiber quality traits. Lots of epistasis being detected in both populations acted as one of important genetic compositions of fiber quality traits.

  14. QTLs Analysis and Validation for Fiber Quality Traits Using Maternal Backcross Population in Upland Cotton.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ma, Lingling; Zhao, Yanpeng; Wang, Yumei; Shang, Lianguang; Hua, Jinping

    2017-01-01

    Cotton fiber is renewable natural fiber source for textile. Improving fiber quality is an essential goal for cotton breeding project. In present study, F 14 recombinant inbred line (RIL) population was backcrossed by the maternal parent to obtain a backcross (BC) population, derived from one Upland cotton hybrid. Three repetitive field trials were performed by randomized complete block design with two replicates in three locations in 2015, together with the BC population, common male parent and the RIL population. Totally, 26 QTLs in BC population explained 5.00-14.17% of phenotype variation (PV) and 37 quantitative trait loci (QTL) were detected in RIL population explaining 5.13-34.00% of PV. Seven common QTLs detected simultaneously in two populations explained PV from 7.69 to 23.05%. A total of 20 QTLs in present study verified the previous results across three environments in 2012. Particularly, qFL-Chr5-2 controlling fiber length on chromosome 5 explained 34.00% of PV, while qFL-Chr5-3 only within a 0.8 cM interval explained 13.93% of PV on average in multiple environments. These stable QTLs explaining great variation offered essential information for marker-assisted selection (MAS) to improve fiber quality traits. Lots of epistasis being detected in both populations acted as one of important genetic compositions of fiber quality traits.

  15. Evaluation of cotton stalks destroyers

    OpenAIRE

    Bianchini, Aloisio; Borges, Pedro H. de M.

    2013-01-01

    The destruction of the cotton crop residues (cotton stalks) is a mandatory procedure in Brazil for prophylactic issues, but is a subject unexplored by the research and there are few studies that deal with this issue. However, this is not encouraged in recent decades, studies aimed at developing and evaluating equipment for this purpose. The present study had the objective to evaluate six methods for mechanical destruction of cotton crop residues. Each method was defined based on the principle...

  16. Cotton : Market setting, trade policies, and issues

    OpenAIRE

    Baffes, John

    2004-01-01

    The value of world cotton production in 2000-01 has been estimated at about $20 billion, down from $35 billion in 1996-97 when cotton prices were 50 percent higher. Although cotton's share in world merchandise trade is insignificant (about 0.12 percent), it is very important to a number of developing countries. Cotton accounts for approximately 40 percent of total merchandise export earnin...

  17. Genome-wide association study identified genetic variations and candidate genes for plant architecture component traits in Chinese upland cotton.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Su, Junji; Li, Libei; Zhang, Chi; Wang, Caixiang; Gu, Lijiao; Wang, Hantao; Wei, Hengling; Liu, Qibao; Huang, Long; Yu, Shuxun

    2018-06-01

    for cultivating moderately short and compact varieties in future Chinese cotton-breeding programs.

  18. Performance of cotton leaf curl virus resistant intrahirsutum f/sub 1/ hybrids

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Baloch, M.J.

    2004-01-01

    The first and foremost effort to combat the devastating cotton leaf curl virus (clcv) disease would be to utilize those clcv resistant germplasm in a hybridization programme which can enhance the possibilities of selecting desirable progenies from segregating populations. In this connection, 16 clcv intrahirsutum F1 hybrids were developed and evaluated for their performance. The hybrids, on an average gave an increase of 26.02 % in seed cotton yield; 11.52 % in bolls per plant; 14.23 % in boll weight; 4.28 % in lint; 3.89 % in fibre length and 8.21 % in earliness against the average of parents. However, among the hybrids, the top three scoring for yield were, BH.121 x Cyto.9/91, Cyto.9/91 x CRIS-226 and VH-137 x CRIS-226. The number of bolls per plant was found to be a major contributing factor for increased yield because the hybrids which set higher bolls correspondingly gave higher yields. Boll weight was not regarded as an important attribute to increase yield because hybrids with moderate boll sizes were among the top three high yielders. For lint %, the hybrids CRIS-129 x LRA-5166 and FH-901 x VH-137 were first for fibre length, whereas CRIS-121 x Cyto.51 and BH-124 x CIM-448 were among the top two rankers. Regarding earliness, the hybrids CRIS-121 x Cyto. 51 gave the highest boll opening percent and next in order was the hybrid VH-137 x DNH-49. Our results thus generally suggest that although the best three hybrids were desirable for other traits, the choice of the hybrids may be made on the priority for characters to be bred. (author)

  19. Looking for unity in diversity: human cooperative childcare in comparative perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burkart, Judith M; van Schaik, Carel; Griesser, Michael

    2017-12-20

    Humans engage in cooperative childcare, which includes some elements not found in other animals, such as the presence of post-reproductive helpers, extensive food sharing among adults and a pervasive sexual division of labour. In animals, cooperative offspring care has typically been studied in two different contexts. The first mainly involves helpers contributing care in cooperatively breeding family groups; the second context is allomaternal care in species usually not categorized as cooperative breeders (e.g. plural and communal breeders, often without male care). Comparative analyses suggest that cooperative breeding and allomaternal care in plural and communal breeders have distinct evolutionary origins, with humans fitting neither pathway entirely. Nevertheless, some critical proximate mechanisms of helping, including hormonal regulators, are likely to be shared across species. Other mechanisms may vary among species, such as social tolerance, proactive prosociality or conditional mother-infant bonding. These are presumably associated with specific details of the care system, such as whether all group members contribute, or whether mothers can potentially raise offspring alone. Thus, cooperative offspring care is seen in different contexts across animal lineages, but may nonetheless share several important psychological characteristics. We end by discussing how work on humans may play a unifying role in studying cooperative offspring care. © 2017 The Author(s).

  20. Carbon contributions from roots in cotton based rotations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tan, D. K. Y.; Hulugalle, N. R.

    2012-04-01

    Most research on the decline in soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks in Australian cotton farming systems has focussed on the inputs from above-ground crop residues, with contribution from roots being less studied. This paper aims to outline the contribution of cotton roots and roots of other crops to soil carbon stocks in furrow-irrigated Vertisols in several cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.)-based rotations. Data was collected from cotton-based rotation systems: cotton monoculture, cotton-vetch (Vicia benghalensis) Roth.), cotton-wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), cotton-wheat-vetch, cotton-corn, corn-corn, cotton-sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.) and from BollgardTM II (Bt) and non-Bt cotton. Land management systems were permanent beds, with or without standing stubble, and conventional tillage. Root growth in the surface 0.10 m was measured with the core-break method, and that in the 0.10 to 1.0 m depth with a minirhizotron and I-CAP image capture system. These measurements were used to derive root C added to soil through intra-seasonal root death (Clost), C in roots remaining at the end of season (Croot), and total root C added to soil (Ctotal = Croot + Clost). Ctotal in non-Bt cotton (Sicot 80RRF, 0.9 t C/ha/year) was higher than in Bt cotton (Sicot 80RRF, 0.6 t C/ha/year). Overall, Ctotal from cotton roots ranges between 0.5 to 5 t C/ha/year, with Clost contributing 25-70%. Ctotal was greater with vetch than with wheat and was in the order of vetch in cotton-wheat-vetch (5.1 t C/ha/year) > vetch in cotton-vetch (1.9 t C/ha/year) > wheat in cotton-wheat (1.6 t C/ha/year) = wheat in cotton-wheat-vetch (1.7 t C/ha/year). Intra-seasonal root mortality accounted for 12% of total root carbon in vetch and 36% in wheat. Average corn Ctotal with monoculture was 9.3 t/ha and with cotton-corn 5.0 t/ha. Ctotal averaged between both treatments was, thus, of the order of 7.7 t C/ha/year and average Clost 0.04 t/ha/yr. Sorghum roots contributed less carbon with conventional tillage (8.2 t

  1. Cotton leaf curl Burewala virus with intact or mutant transcriptional activator proteins: complexity of cotton leaf curl disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kumar, Jitendra; Gunapati, Samatha; Alok, Anshu; Lalit, Adarsh; Gadre, Rekha; Sharma, Naresh C; Roy, Joy K; Singh, Sudhir P

    2015-05-01

    Cotton leaf curl disease (CLCuD) is a serious disease of cotton on the Indian subcontinent. In the present study, three cotton leaf curl viruses, cotton leaf curl Burewala virus (CLCuBuV), cotton leaf curl Kokhran virus (CLCuKoV) and cotton leaf curl Multan virus (CLCuMV), and their associated satellites, cotton leaf curl Multan betasatellite (CLCuMB) and cotton leaf curl Multan alphasatellite (CLCuMA), were detected. CLCuBuV with either intact (CLCuBuV-1) or mutant (CLCuBuV-2) transcriptional activator protein (TrAP) were detected in different plants. Agroinoculation with CLCuBuV-1 or CLCuBuV-2 together with CLCuMB and CLCuMA, resulted in typical leaf curling and stunting of tobacco plants. Inoculation with CLCuKoV or an isolate of CLCuMV (CLCuMV-2), together with CLCuMB and CLCuMA, induced severe leaf curling, while the other isolate of CLCuMV (CLCuMV-1), which was recombinant in origin, showed mild leaf curling in tobacco. To investigate the effect of intact or mutant TrAP and also the recombination events, CLCuBuV-1, CLCuBuV-2, CLCuMV-1 or CLCuMV-2 together with the satellites (CLCuMA and CLCuMB) were transferred to cotton via whitefly-mediated transmission. Cotton plants containing CLCuBuV-1, CLCuBuV-2 or CLCuMV-2 together with satellites showed curling and stunting, whereas the plants having CLCuMV-1 and the satellites showed only mild and indistinguishable symptoms. CLCuBuV-1 (intact TrAP) showed severe symptoms in comparison to CLCuBuV-2 (mutant TrAP). The present study reveals that two types of CLCuBuV, one with an intact TrAP and the other with a mutant TrAP, exist in natural infection of cotton in India. Additionally, CLCuMuV-1, which has a recombinant origin, induces mild symptoms in comparison to the other CLCuMV isolates.

  2. Plant breeding and genetics newsletter. No. 26, January 2011

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2011-01-01

    The Plant Breeding and Genetics Section (PBGS) in IAEA Headquarters, Vienna and the Plant Breeding and Genetics Laboratory (PBGL) in Seibersdorf are very grateful for the input and support of experts, consultants and lecturers from all the Member States that helped us implement our programmatic activities. We had the honour and the privilege to host 46 trainees, fellows, interns and scientific visitors for a total of 51 training months. Every single one has enriched this programme and we fondly remember our fruitful discussions. The Plant Breeding and Genetics Subprogramme provides technical support to Member States through the development and the promotion of technology packages based on mutation induction and efficiency enhancing molecular and biotechnologies applied to crop improvement through adaptive R and D in our Laboratory and four CRPs. This year, we worked on transferring these technology packages to 96 Member States by providing technical and scientific support through 63 national, regional and interregional Technical Cooperation Projects (TCPs) that are managed by IAEA's Department of Technical Cooperation. This transfer of technologies assists Member States in the implementation of national crop improvement programmes with specific breeding objectives or regional programmes addressing abiotic and/or biotic stresses, which represent serious threats impeding crop productivity in wide areas mostly in the developing world. In this issue, you will find more about services in support of activities in Member States, training and human capacity development and technology development/adaptation in the PBGL, including work on impact of NaCl stress on the biomass and mineral nutrient assimilation in different rice varieties, comparative studies of different mutagens on seed propagated crops, protocols and guidelines for mutation breeding lower cost molecular assays, and targeting deleterious mutations (including positive control kits)

  3. Processing and properties of PCL/cotton linter compounds

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bezerra, Elieber Barros; Franca, Danyelle Campos; Morais, Dayanne Diniz de Souza; Araujo, Edcleide Maria [Universidade Federal de Campina Grande (UFCG), PB (Brazil). Departamento de Engenharia de Materiais; Rosa, Morsyleide de Freitas; Morais, Joao Paulo Saraiva [Embrapa Tropical Agroindustia, Fortaleza, CE (Brazil); Wellen, Renate Maria Ramos, E-mail: wellen.renate@gmail.com [Universidade Federal da Paraiaba (UFPB), Joao Pessoa, PB (Brazil)

    2017-03-15

    Biodegradable compounds of poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL)/ cotton linter were melting mixed with filling content ranging from 1% to 5% w/w. Cotton linter is an important byproduct of textile industry; in this work it was used in raw state and after acid hydrolysis. According to the results of torque rheometry no decaying of viscosity took place during compounding, evidencing absence of breaking down in molecular weight. The thermal stability increased by 20% as observed in HDT for PCL/cotton nanolinter compounds. Adding cotton linter to PCL did not change its crystalline character as showed by XRD; however an increase in degree of crystallinity was observed by means of DSC. From mechanical tests in tension was observed an increase in ductility of PCL, and from mechanical tests in flexion an increase in elastic modulus upon addition of cotton linter, whereas impact strength presented lower values for PCL/cotton linter and PCL/cotton nanolinter compounds. SEM images showed that PCL presents plastic fracture and cotton linter has an interlacing fibril structure with high L/D ratio, which are in agreement with matrix/fibril morphology observed for PCL/cotton linter compounds. PCL/cotton linter compounds made in this work cost less than neat PCL matrix and presented improved properties making feasible its commercial use. (author)

  4. Biological control of cotton aphid (Aphis gossypii Glover) in cotton (inter)cropping systems in China : a simulation study

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Xia, J.

    1997-01-01

    Cotton aphid ( Aphis gossypii Glover) is the key insect pest of seedling cotton ( Gossypium hirsutum L. ) in China, particularly in the North China cotton region. The resulting annual losses amount to 10-15% of the attainable yield. Sole reliance on

  5. The potential role of oral pH in the persistence of Trichomonas gallinae in Cooper's Hawks (Accipiter cooperii).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Urban, Elizabeth H; Mannan, R William

    2014-01-01

    Trichomoniasis, caused by the protozoan Trichomonas gallinae, affects a variety of species worldwide including avivorious raptors. Existing information suggests that the disease is most prevalent in young birds, and differential susceptibility to trichomoniasis among individuals in different age groups was documented in Cooper's Hawks (Accipiter cooperii) nesting in Tucson, Arizona. In that population, 85% of nestling Cooper's Hawks had T. gallinae in their oral cavity, compared to only 1% of breeding-age hawks. Trichomonads generally are sensitive to environmental pH and we explored the possibility that differences in oral pH may contribute to the differential prevalence of infection between age groups. We measured the pH of the fluid in the oral cavity in 375 Cooper's Hawks from three age groups (nestlings, fledglings, and breeding age) in Tucson, Arizona, in 2010 and 2011 and clinically tested for T. gallinae in a subsample of hawks. Oral pH of nestlings (∼ 6.8) was 7.3 times less acidic than in fledgling or breeding Cooper's Hawks (∼ 6.1). The incidence of T. gallinae was higher in nestlings (16%) than in either fledglings or breeding hawks (0%). Our findings indicate that oral pH becomes more acidic in Cooper's Hawks soon after they leave the nest. Trichomonas gallinae thrives when pH is between 6.5 and 7.5 (optimum 7.2), but is less viable in more acidic conditions. Higher levels of acidity in the oral cavity of fledglings and breeding Cooper's Hawks may reduce their susceptibility to trichomoniasis, and play a role in the differential prevalence of infection among age groups.

  6. Engineered disease resistance in cotton using RNA-interference to knock down cotton leaf curl kokhran virus-Burewala and cotton leaf curl Multan betasatellite

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cotton Leaf Curl virus Disease (CLCuD) has caused enormous losses in cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) production in Pakistan. RNA interference (RNAi) is an emerging technique that could knock out CLCuD by targeting different regions of the pathogen genome that are important for replication, transcription...

  7. Breeding to Optimize Agriculture in a Changing World

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jiankang Wang

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Breeding to Optimize Chinese Agriculture (OPTICHINA was a three-year EU–China project launched in June of 2011. As designed, the project acted as a new strategic model to reinforce systematic cooperation on agricultural research between Europe and China. The OPTICHINA International Conference “Breeding to Optimize Agriculture in a Changing World” was held in Beijing, May 26–29, 2014. The conference included six thematic areas: (1 defining and protecting the yield potential of traits and genes; (2 high-throughput precision phenotyping in the field; (3 molecular technologies in modern breeding; (4 plant ideotype; (5 data analysis, data management, and bioinformatics; and (6 national challenges and opportunities for China. The 10 articles collected in this special issue represent key contributions and topics of this conference. This editorial provides a brief introduction to the OPTICHINA project, followed by the main scientific points of articles published in this special issue. Finally, outcomes from a brainstorming discussion at the end of the conference are summarized, representing the authors' opinions on trends in breeding for a changing world.

  8. Development and validation of SUCROS-Cotton : A potential crop growth simulation model for cotton

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Zhang, L.; Werf, van der W.; Cao, W.; Li, B.; Pan, X.; Spiertz, J.H.J.

    2008-01-01

    A model for the development, growth and potential production of cotton (SUCROS-Cotton) was developed. Particular attention was given to the phenological development of the plant and the plasticity of fruit growth in response to temperature, radiation, daylength, variety traits, and management. The

  9. Diversity of arthropod community in transgenic poplar-cotton ecosystems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, D J; Lu, Z Y; Liu, J X; Li, C L; Yang, M S

    2015-12-02

    Poplar-cotton agro-ecosystems are the main agricultural planting modes of plain cotton fields in China. Here, we performed a systematic survey of the diversity and population of arthropod communities in four different combination of poplar-cotton eco-systems, including I) non-transgenic poplar and non-transgenic cotton fields; II) non-transgenic poplar and transgenic cotton fields [Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) cotton]; III) Bt transgenic poplar (high insect resistant strain Pb29) and non-transgenic cotton; and IV) transgenic poplar and transgenic cotton fields, over a period of 3 years. Based on the statistical methods used to investigate community ecology, the effects of transgenic ecosystems on the whole structure of the arthropod community, on the structure of arthropods in the nutritive layer, and on the similarity of arthropod communities were evaluated. The main results were as follows: the transgenic poplar-cotton ecosystem has a stronger inhibitory effect on insect pests and has no impact on the structure of the arthropod community, and therefore, maintains the diversity of the arthropod community. The character index of the community indicated that the structure of the arthropod community of the transgenic poplar-cotton ecosystem was better than that of the poplar-cotton ecosystem, and that system IV had the best structure. As for the abundance of nutritional classes, the transgenic poplar-cotton ecosystem was also better than that of the non-transgenic poplar-cotton ecosystem. The cluster analysis and similarity of arthropod communities between the four different transgenic poplar-cotton ecosystems illustrated that the structure of the arthropod community excelled in the small sample of the transgenic poplar-cotton ecosystems.

  10. Cotton trends in India

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    First page Back Continue Last page Graphics. Cotton trends in India. A crop of significant economic importance, valued at over Rs. 15000 Crs. Provides income to 60 million people. Crucial raw material for Rs 83000 Crores textile industry out of which Rs 45754 crores is exports. Approx. 20 Million acres of cotton provides ...

  11. Ergonomic Evaluation of Battery Powered Portable Cotton Picker

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dixit, A.; Manes, G. S.; Singh, A.; Prakash, A.; Mahal, J. S.

    2012-09-01

    Ergonomic evaluation of battery powered portable manual cotton picker was carried out on two subjects for three cotton varieties and was compared against manual method of picking. It is a hand operated machine and has a pair of chain with small sharp edged teeth and sprockets and is operated by a light weight 12 V battery. Cotton gets entangled with the chain and is collected and guided into the collection bag. Average heart rate, oxygen consumption, workload, energy expenditure was more in case of cotton picking by manual cotton picker as compared to manual picking for both the subjects for all three cotton variety types. Oxygen consumption varied from 0.81 to 0.97 l/min, workload varied from 36.32 to 46.16 W and energy expenditure varied from 16.83 to 20.33 kJ/min for both the subject in case of machine picking for all three cotton varieties. The maximum discomfort experienced by the subjects during picking cotton by manual cotton picker was in right wrist palm, right forearm, upper and lower back, left shoulder and in lower legs and both feet.

  12. Plant breeding and genetics newsletter. No. 3

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1999-06-01

    This third issue of the Plant Breeding and Genetics Newsletter highlights forthcoming events including regional (Afra) training course on 'molecular characterization of genetic biodiversity in traditional and neglected crops selected for improvement through mutation techniques' and seminar on 'mutation techniques and biotechnology for tropical and subtropical plant improvement in Asia and Pacific regions'. Status of existing co-ordinated and technical co-operation research projects is also summarized

  13. 7 CFR 1427.1203 - Eligible ELS cotton.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... OF AGRICULTURE LOANS, PURCHASES, AND OTHER OPERATIONS COTTON Extra Long Staple (ELS) Cotton... must be either: (1) Baled lint, including baled lint classified by USDA's Agricultural Marketing..., under the provisions of this subpart, has been made available; (2) Imported ELS cotton; (3) Raw...

  14. Diversity in Betasatellites Associated with Cotton Leaf Curl Disease During Source-To-Sink Movement Through a Resistant Host

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Iftikhar Ali Khan

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available Cotton leaf curl is devastating disease of cotton characterized by leaf curling, vein darkening and enations. The disease symptoms are induced by DNA satellite known as Cotton leaf curl Multan betasatellite (CLCuMuB, dominant betasatellite in cotton but another betasatellite known as Chili leaf curl betasatellite (ChLCB is also found associated with the disease. Grafting experiment was performed to determine if host plant resistance is determinant of dominant population of betasatellite in cotton (several distinct strains of CLCuMuB are associated with the disease. Infected scion of Gossypium hirsutum collected from field (the source was grafted on G. arboreum, a diploid cotton species, resistant to the disease. A healthy scion of G. hirsutum (sink was grafted at the top of G. arboreum to determine the movement of virus/betasatellite to upper susceptible scion of G. hirsutum. Symptoms of disease appeared in the upper scion and presence of virus/betasatellite in the upper scion was confirmed via molecular techniques, showing that virus/betasatellite was able to move to upper scion through resistant G. arboreum. However, no symptoms appeared on G. arboreum. Betasatelites were cloned and sequenced from lower scion, upper scion and G. arboreum which show that the lower scion contained both CLCuMuB and ChLCB, however only ChLCB was found in G. arboreum. The upper scion contained CLCuMuB with a deletion of 78 nucleotides (nt in the non-coding region between A-rich sequence and βC1 gene and insertion of 27 nt in the middle of βC1 ORF. This study may help in investigating molecular basis of resistance in G. arboreum.

  15. Proceedings of the 8th workshop on plant mutation breeding. Effective use of physical/chemical mutagens

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kume, Tamikazu; Watanabe, Kazuo; Tano, Shigemitsu (eds.) [Japan Atomic Energy Research Inst., Takasaki, Gunma (Japan). Takasaki Radiation Chemistry Research Establishment

    2001-03-01

    The Workshop on Plant Mutation Breeding of FNCA (Forum for Nuclear Cooperation in Asia), was held on 9-13 October 2000 in Hanoi, Vietnam. The Workshop was co-sponsored by the Science and Technology Agency (STA), the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment (MOSTE of Vietnam) and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD of Vietnam) in cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF), National Institute of Agrobiological Resources (NIAR of Vietnam), the Japan Atomic Industrial Forum (JAIF) and Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute (JAERI). Two Scientists, a Project Leader and an expert on methodology for plant/crop mutation breeding, participated from each of the member countries, i.e. China, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam and Japan. Also attending the Workshop were, one participant from Korea, seven participants from both Japan and Vietnam. The number of the participants in the Workshop totalled about sixty people including guests and observers. Sixteen papers including eight invited papers on the current status of methodology for plant/crop mutation breeding in the participating countries were presented. Discussions were focused on the subject concerning 'Effective Use of Physical/Chemical Mutagens', as well as a detailed report on the current status of research in each participating country. In addition, the topics of developing a mutant breeding database, an information exchange for plant/crop mutation breeding, and more tightly bound international co-operative research in the near future were also high on the agenda. This proceeding compiles the invited and contributed papers that were submitted from the speakers. (author)

  16. Proceedings of the 8th workshop on plant mutation breeding. Effective use of physical/chemical mutagens

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kume, Tamikazu; Watanabe, Kazuo; Tano, Shigemitsu [Japan Atomic Energy Research Inst., Takasaki, Gunma (Japan). Takasaki Radiation Chemistry Research Establishment

    2001-03-01

    The Workshop on Plant Mutation Breeding of FNCA (Forum for Nuclear Cooperation in Asia), was held on 9-13 October 2000 in Hanoi, Vietnam. The Workshop was co-sponsored by the Science and Technology Agency (STA), the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment (MOSTE of Vietnam) and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD of Vietnam) in cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF), National Institute of Agrobiological Resources (NIAR of Vietnam), the Japan Atomic Industrial Forum (JAIF) and Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute (JAERI). Two Scientists, a Project Leader and an expert on methodology for plant/crop mutation breeding, participated from each of the member countries, i.e. China, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam and Japan. Also attending the Workshop were, one participant from Korea, seven participants from both Japan and Vietnam. The number of the participants in the Workshop totalled about sixty people including guests and observers. Sixteen papers including eight invited papers on the current status of methodology for plant/crop mutation breeding in the participating countries were presented. Discussions were focused on the subject concerning 'Effective Use of Physical/Chemical Mutagens', as well as a detailed report on the current status of research in each participating country. In addition, the topics of developing a mutant breeding database, an information exchange for plant/crop mutation breeding, and more tightly bound international co-operative research in the near future were also high on the agenda. This proceeding compiles the invited and contributed papers that were submitted from the speakers. (author)

  17. Radiation-induced mutations and plant breeding

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Naqvi, S.H.M.

    1985-01-01

    Ionizing radiation could cause genetic changes in an organism and could modify gene linkages. The induction of mutation through radiation is random and the probability of getting the desired genetic change is low but can be increased by manipulating different parameters such as dose rate, physical conditions under which the material has been irradiated, etc. Induced mutations have been used as a supplement to conventional plant breeding, particularly for creating genetic variability for specific characters such as improved plant structure, pest and disease resistance, and desired changes in maturity period; more than 200 varieties of crop plants have been developed by this technique. The Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission has used this technique fruitfully to evolve better germplasm in cotton, rice, chickpea, wheat and mungbean; some of the mutants have become popular commercial varieties. This paper describes some uses of radiation induced mutations and the results achieved in Pakistan so far

  18. Energy usage for cotton ginning in Australia

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ismail, S.A. [MARA Univ. of Technology, Shah Alam (Malaysia). Faculty of Applied Sciences; Southern Queensland Univ., Toowoomba, QLD (Australia). National Centre for Engineering in Agriculture; Chen, G.; Baillie, C.; Symes, T. [Southern Queensland Univ., Toowoomba, QLD (Australia). National Centre for Engineering in Agriculture

    2010-07-01

    This paper reported on a study that evaluated the energy consumption of cotton gins used in Australia. The average electricity use is 52.3 kWh per bale. In practicality, the electricity consumption for different gins is correlated linearly with the bale numbers produced. The cost of electricity is therefore important in cotton ginning operations. The power factor in all the gins monitored in this study was greater than 0.85. The study showed that the use of gas dryers was highly influenced by the cotton moisture and regulated drying temperature. In general, electricity and gas consumption comprised 61 and 39 per cent of total energy use respectively. The study showed that 60.38 kg of carbon dioxide are emitted for ginning each bale of cotton. This paper described a newly developed method for monitoring the energy performance in cotton gins. Detailed monitoring and analysis carried out at 2 gin sites revealed that electricity consumption is not influenced much by changes in trash content in the module, degree of moisture and lint quality. However, the cotton variety influences the energy consumption. Cotton handling constituted nearly 50 per cent of the power used in both gins.

  19. [Effects of cotton stalk biochar on microbial community structure and function of continuous cropping cotton rhizosphere soil in Xinjiang, China].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gu, Mei-ying; Tang, Guang-mu; Liu, Hong-liang; Li, Zhi-qiang; Liu, Xiao-wei; Xu, Wan-li

    2016-01-01

    In this study, field trials were conducted to examine the effects of cotton stalk biochar on microbial population, function and structural diversity of microorganisms in rhizosphere soil of continuous cotton cropping field in Xinjiang by plate count, Biolog and DGGE methods. The experiment was a factorial design with four treatments: 1) normal fertilization with cotton stalk removed (NPK); 2) normal fertilization with cotton stalk powdered and returned to field (NPKS); 3) normal fertilization plus cotton stalk biochar at 22.50 t · hm⁻² (NPKB₁); and 4) normal fertilization plus cotton stalk biochar at 45.00 t · hm⁻² (NPKB₂). The results showed that cotton stalk biochar application obviously increased the numbers of bacteria and actinomycetes in the rhizospheric soil. Compared with NPK treatment, the number of fungi was significantly increased in the NPKB₁treatment, but not in the NPKB₂ treatment. However, the number of fungi was generally lower in the biochar amended (NPKB₁, NPKB₂) than in the cotton stalk applied plots (NPKS). Application of cotton stalk biochar increased values of AWCD, and significantly improved microbial richness index, suggesting that the microbial ability of utilizing carbohydrates, amino acids and carboxylic acids, especially phenolic acids was enhanced. The number of DGGE bands of NPKB₂ treatment was the greatest, with some species of Gemmatimonadetes, Acidobacteria, Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria being enriched. UPGMC Cluster analysis pointed out that bacterial communities in the rhizospheric soil of NPKB₂ treatment were different from those in the NPK, NPKS and NPKB₁treatments, which belonged to the same cluster. These results indicated that application of cotton stalk biochar could significantly increase microbial diversity and change soil bacterial community structure in the cotton rhizosphere soil, thus improving the health of soil ecosystem.

  20. Influence of Tencel/cotton blends on knitted fabric performance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alaa Arafa Badr

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available The requirements in terms of wearing comfort with sportswear, underwear and outerwear are widely linked to the use of new fibers. Today, Tencel fiber is one of the most important developments in regenerated cellulosic fiber. However, the relation between Tencel fiber properties and fabric characteristics has not been enough studied in the literature especially the influence of fiber materials on mechanical, Ultraviolet Protection Factor (UPF and absorption properties. Therefore, in this study, knitted fabric samples were manufactured with eight different yarns with two fabric types (single jersey and single jersey with Lycra. 30/1-Ne yarns from natural and regenerated cellulosic fibers: 50% Tencel-LF/50% cotton, 67% Tencel-LF/33% cotton, 67% Tencel-STD/33% cotton, 70% bamboo/30% cotton, 100% bamboo, 100% Modal, 100% Micro-Modal and 100% cotton were employed. Then, all the produced fabrics were subjected to five cycles laundering and then flat dried. The results show that 67% Tencel-LF/33% cotton has more flexural rigidity and withdrawing handle force than 67% Tencel-STD/33% cotton fabric, while 67% Tencel-STD/33% cotton has a merit of durability during bursting test. Blending Egyptian cotton fibers with bamboo and Tencel as in 70/30% bamboo/cotton and 50/50% Tencel-LF/cotton improve UPF of the produced fabric.

  1. ORGANIC ANIMAL BREEDING, CONDITIONS, DATA, FACTS, PLANS (EXAMPLES FROM CENTRAL EUROPE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. SEREGI

    2008-05-01

    Full Text Available The authors consider that the organic animal breeding – as one of the methods with a significant influence on the human nutrition – is the necessary consequence of the 21st century. They present the way of establishing the organic breeding by some Hungarian and Central-European animal farms. They show some examples for the period of transformation into eco farms. The results cover the objective, personal, animal breed and feeding relations. Results of changing and operation: raw materials and products with some of their advantages are shown, just as some examples for protection of origin and food safety. Suggestions for marketing and cooperation, as well as for development are finally given, with special regard to rural development (employment, direct marketing and to the importance of environmental protection with regard to eco / alternative animal breeding.

  2. Semiochemicals from herbivory induced cotton plants enhance the foraging behavior of the cotton boll weevil, Anthonomus grandis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Magalhães, D M; Borges, M; Laumann, R A; Sujii, E R; Mayon, P; Caulfield, J C; Midega, C A O; Khan, Z R; Pickett, J A; Birkett, M A; Blassioli-Moraes, M C

    2012-12-01

    The boll weevil, Anthonomus grandis, has been monitored through deployment of traps baited with aggregation pheromone components. However, field studies have shown that the number of insects caught in these traps is significantly reduced during cotton squaring, suggesting that volatiles produced by plants at this phenological stage may be involved in attraction. Here, we evaluated the chemical profile of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted by undamaged or damaged cotton plants at different phenological stages, under different infestation conditions, and determined the attractiveness of these VOCs to adults of A. grandis. In addition, we investigated whether or not VOCs released by cotton plants enhanced the attractiveness of the aggregation pheromone emitted by male boll weevils. Behavioral responses of A. grandis to VOCs from conspecific-damaged, heterospecific-damaged (Spodoptera frugiperda and Euschistus heros) and undamaged cotton plants, at different phenological stages, were assessed in Y-tube olfactometers. The results showed that volatiles emitted from reproductive cotton plants damaged by conspecifics were attractive to adults boll weevils, whereas volatiles induced by heterospecific herbivores were not as attractive. Additionally, addition of boll weevil-induced volatiles from reproductive cotton plants to aggregation pheromone gave increased attraction, relative to the pheromone alone. The VOC profiles of undamaged and mechanically damaged cotton plants, in both phenological stages, were not different. Chemical analysis showed that cotton plants produced qualitatively similar volatile profiles regardless of damage type, but the quantities produced differed according to the plant's phenological stage and the herbivore species. Notably, vegetative cotton plants released higher amounts of VOCs compared to reproductive plants. At both stages, the highest rate of VOC release was observed in A. grandis-damaged plants. Results show that A. grandis uses

  3. Superhydrophobic cotton by fluorosilane modification

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Erasmus, E

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available the treatment with fluorinated or silicon compounds)1-4 and by enhancing the surface roughness with a fractal structure5-8. Cotton, a cellulose-based material, that is greatly hydrophilic, is more benefited when made hydrophobic. Modification of cotton...

  4. Genome-wide recombination rate variation in a recombination map of cotton.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shen, Chao; Li, Ximei; Zhang, Ruiting; Lin, Zhongxu

    2017-01-01

    Recombination is crucial for genetic evolution, which not only provides new allele combinations but also influences the biological evolution and efficacy of natural selection. However, recombination variation is not well understood outside of the complex species' genomes, and it is particularly unclear in Gossypium. Cotton is the most important natural fibre crop and the second largest oil-seed crop. Here, we found that the genetic and physical maps distances did not have a simple linear relationship. Recombination rates were unevenly distributed throughout the cotton genome, which showed marked changes along the chromosome lengths and recombination was completely suppressed in the centromeric regions. Recombination rates significantly varied between A-subgenome (At) (range = 1.60 to 3.26 centimorgan/megabase [cM/Mb]) and D-subgenome (Dt) (range = 2.17 to 4.97 cM/Mb), which explained why the genetic maps of At and Dt are similar but the physical map of Dt is only half that of At. The translocation regions between A02 and A03 and between A04 and A05, and the inversion regions on A10, D10, A07 and D07 indicated relatively high recombination rates in the distal regions of the chromosomes. Recombination rates were positively correlated with the densities of genes, markers and the distance from the centromere, and negatively correlated with transposable elements (TEs). The gene ontology (GO) categories showed that genes in high recombination regions may tend to response to environmental stimuli, and genes in low recombination regions are related to mitosis and meiosis, which suggested that they may provide the primary driving force in adaptive evolution and assure the stability of basic cell cycle in a rapidly changing environment. Global knowledge of recombination rates will facilitate genetics and breeding in cotton.

  5. Bioinspiration and Biomimicry: Possibilities for Cotton Byproducts

    Science.gov (United States)

    The byproducts from cotton gins have commonly been referred to as cotton gin trash or cotton gin waste primarily because the lint and seed were the main focus of the operation and the byproducts were a financial liability that did not have a consistent market. Even though the byproducts were called ...

  6. Differential effects of oxytocin on social sensitivity in two distinct breeds of dogs (Canis familiaris).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kovács, Krisztina; Kis, Anna; Pogány, Ákos; Koller, Dóra; Topál, József

    2016-12-01

    Dogs have been proven to show several human-analogue social behaviors, and recent research raises the possibility that the oxytocin system is related to these. However, despite dogs' general tendency to excel in the domain of social cognition, there is increasing evidence that dogs' ability to utilize human signals may vary with breed. Moreover, breeds may show differences not only in their 'inborn' communicative abilities, but also in their learning skills related to these. The aim of the present study was to explore breed differences and breed-specific effects of oxytocin administration on different aspects of social responsiveness. Dogs from two markedly different breeds, Border Collies (cooperative workers) and Siberian Huskies (independent workers) were tested. After having received intranasal administration of oxytocin or placebo, subjects participated in three behavioral tests measuring social responsiveness. Our results show that there are several behavioral differences between the two breeds and also that there are differential effects of the oxytocin treatment. Border Collies were in general more susceptible to the 'social' effects of oxytocin compared to Siberian Huskies: after oxytocin administration they (1) looked more at the experimenter in the 'Unreachable food' situation, (2) looked more at the owner and shifted their gaze more between the sound source and the owner in a potentially dangerous situation, and (3) looked longer at the experimenter's eyes in the 'Tolerance of prolonged eye contact' test. These findings suggest that selection for enhanced cooperative abilities, possibly complemented by the effect of different social environments the two breeds experience, affects dogs' performance in several behavioral tests and that the neurohormonal background differently modulates social behavior in different working breeds. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Cotton fiber quality determined by fruit position, temperature and management

    OpenAIRE

    Wang, X.; Evers, J.B.; Zhang, L.; Mao, L.; Pan, X.; Li, Z.

    2013-01-01

    CottonXL is a tool to explore cotton fiber quality in relation to fruit position, to improve cotton quality by optimizing cotton plant structure, as well as to help farmers understand how the structure of the cotton plant determines crop growth and quality.

  8. Variation in prolactin is related to variation in sexual behavior and contact affiliation.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Charles T Snowdon

    Full Text Available Prolactin is associated with both maternal and paternal care and appears important in developing a bond between parent and infant. In contrast with oxytocin, another hormone important in infant care, there is scant information on the role of prolactin in maintaining adult heterosexual relationships. We present here the first results demonstrating a relationship between prolactin levels and sexual and contact affiliation behavior in a pair-bonded species. We studied cotton-top tamarins, a socially-monogamous, cooperatively-breeding primate. We measured chronic urinary prolactin levels over a four week period to include the entire female ovulatory cycle and correlated prolactin levels in males and females with simultaneous measures of contact affiliation and sexual behavior. Current mothers who were no longer nursing displayed lower amounts of sexual behavior and proximity than non-breeding females and also had marginally lower levels of prolactin. The prolactin levels of males and females were similar within pairs, and variation in prolactin levels for both sexes was explained both by the amount of sexual behavior and contact affiliation. The results parallel a previous study that compared oxytocin levels with sociosexual behavior in the same species, and supports the hypothesis that both prolactin and oxytocin are involved in pair-bonding as well as in infant care.

  9. Cotton for removal of aquatic oil spills

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Parker, H.W.; Fedler, C.B.; Heintz, C.E.; Nash, P.T.; Carr, D.L.; Lu, M.

    1992-01-01

    Raw cotton has considerable potential for selective removal of spilled oil and oil products from surface waters, since the natural waxes on the raw cotton make it preferentially oil wet. This potential was recognized in the early seventies at Texas Tech University. More recently other research workers have considered cotton as an adsorbent for spilled oil. The adsorbent market is now dominated by synthetic materials, such as air-blown polypropylene fiber, inorganic clays, and recycled paper and paper products. This paper further examines the potential of cotton in relation to these other adsorbents. Emphasis is placed on the potential for complete biodegradation of oil-soaked cotton adsorbents as a means avoiding the expense for incineration and/or the long-term environmental risk associated with placing the used adsorbents in landfills

  10. The merging of two dynasties--identification of an African cotton leaf curl disease-associated begomovirus with cotton in Pakistan.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Muhammad Nouman Tahir

    Full Text Available Cotton leaf curl disease (CLCuD is a severe disease of cotton that occurs in Africa and Pakistan/northwestern India. The disease is caused by begomoviruses in association with specific betasatellites that differ between Africa and Asia. During survey of symptomatic cotton in Sindh (southern Pakistan Cotton leaf curl Gezira virus (CLCuGV, the begomovirus associated with CLCuD in Africa, was identified. However, the cognate African betasatellite (Cotton leaf curl Gezira betasatellite was not found. Instead, two Asian betasatellites, the CLCuD-associated Cotton leaf curl Multan betasatellite (CLCuMB and Chilli leaf curl betasatellite (ChLCB were identified. Inoculation of the experimental plant species Nicotiana benthamiana showed that CLCuGV was competent to maintain both CLCuMB and ChLCB. Interestingly, the enations typical of CLCuD were only induced by CLCuGV in the presence of CLCuMB. Also in infections involving both CLCuMB and ChLCB the enations typical of CLCuMB were less evident. This is the first time an African begomovirus has been identified on the Indian sub-continent, highlight the growing threat of begomoviruses and particularly the threat of CLCuD causing viruses to cotton cultivation in the rest of the world.

  11. Microbial contamination of water-soaked cotton gauze and its cause.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oie, S; Yoshida, H; Kamiya, A

    2001-01-01

    Seven in-use cotton gauze samples and three cotton balls soaked in sterile distilled water in canisters were investigated 7 days after they were prepared in hospital. All samples were contaminated with bacteria including 10(6) to 10(7) colony forming units/ml of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. In vitro viability tests using cotton gauze and cotton balls soaked in sterile distilled water revealed rapid proliferation of P. aeruginosa, Serratia marcescens and Candida albicans. Since the cotton gauze and the cotton balls were soaked in water containing nutrients, such as protein and glucose, these materials may be readily contaminated with bacteria including P. aeruginosa. Thus, when using cotton gauze and cotton balls containing water, microbial contamination should be expected.

  12. Induced variants in cotton (Gossypium Hirsutum L.) by in vitro mutagenesis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Muthusamy, A.; Jayabalan, N.

    2000-01-01

    The shoot tips (3-5mm) of cotton were isolated from five day old in vitro grown seedlings and it contained two small unexpanded leaves approximately 1.0 mm along with cotyledons and the cotyledons were removed before the treatment with mutagens. The shoot tip alone was treated with 1-5 kR doses of gamma rays from 60C o source at Sugarcane Breeding Institute (ICAR), Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu and 1-5 mM of ethyl methane sulphonate (EMS) and sodium azide (SA) for 30 min. at pH 6 and 3 respectively. The treated shoot tips were inoculated on MS medium supplemented with 0.1 mg/l KIN, l-inositol 100 mg/l, thiamine HCI 1.0 mg/l, sucrose 30 g/l and agar 8 g/l. During the development of shoots, a number of leaf mutants with narrow, tubular, bilobed and multilobed leaves was observed. The plants also showed the best performance in number of branches, leaf area and yield characters than control. The morphological variants obtained due to mutagenic treatment in the present investigation showed high frequency with increasing doses of mutagens. Compared with somatic cell culture of cotton, shoot and meristem culture is an easier method to obtain regenerative plants. The in vitro induction of mutations has also potential application in the development of disease-resistant plants through tissue culture. (author)

  13. Sub-soil microbial activity under rotational cotton crops in Australia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Polain, Katherine; Knox, Oliver; Wilson, Brian; Pereg, Lily

    2016-04-01

    Soil microbial communities contribute significantly to soil organic matter formation, stabilisation and destabilisation, through nutrient cycling and biodegradation. The majority of soil microbial research examines the processes occurring in the top 0 cm to 30 cm of the soil, where organic nutrients are easily accessible. In soils such as Vertosols, the high clay content causes swelling and cracking. When soil cracking is coupled with rain or an irrigation event, a flush of organic nutrients can move down the soil profile, becoming available for subsoil microbial community use and potentially making a significant contribution to nutrient cycling and biodegradation in soils. At present, the mechanisms and rates of soil nutrient turnover (such as carbon and nitrogen) at depth under cotton rotations are mostly speculative and the process-response relationships remain unclear, although they are undoubtedly underpinned by microbial activity. Our research aims to determine the contribution and role of soil microbiota to the accumulation, cycling and mineralisation of carbon and nitrogen through the whole root profile under continuous cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) and cotton-maize rotations in regional New South Wales, Australia. Through seasonal work, we have established both baseline and potential microbial activity rates from 0 cm to 100 cm down the Vertosol profile, using respiration and colourimetric methods. Further whole soil profile analyses will include determination of microbial biomass and isotopic carbon signatures using phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) methodology, identification of microbial communities (sequencing) and novel experiments to investigate potential rates of nitrogen mineralisation and quantification of associated genes. Our preliminary observations and the hypotheses tested in this three-year study will be presented.

  14. Radiation synthesis of silver nanostructures in cotton matrix

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chmielewska, Dagmara; Sartowska, Bożena

    2012-01-01

    Cotton is one of the most popular natural fibres, composed mainly of cellulose, which finds a wide range of applications in paper, textile and health care products industry. Researchers have focused their interest on the synthesis of cotton nanocomposites, which enhances its mechanical, thermal and antimicrobial properties by the incorporation of various nanoparticles into the cotton matrix. Silver is one of the most popular antimicrobial agents with a wide spectrum of antibacterial and antifungal activity that results from a complex mechanism of its interactions with the cells of harmful microorganism. In this work, electron beam radiation was applied to synthesise silver nanostructures in cotton fibres. Investigations of the influence of the initial silver salt concentration on the size and distribution of the obtained silver nanostructures were carried out. A detailed characterisation of these nanocomposites with SEM-BSE and EDS methods was performed. TGA and DSC analyses were performed to assess the influence of different size silver nanoparticles and the effect of electron beam irradiation on the thermal properties of cotton fibres. A microbiological investigation to determine the antibacterial activity of Ag-cotton nanocomposites was carried out. - Highlights: ► Ag NPs embedded in cotton matrix were synthesised by electron beam irradiation. ► Concentration of silver salt solution influences on size of silver nanoparticles. ► Silver content as well as irradiation affect thermal properties of cotton fabrics. ► Ag-cotton nanocomposites exhibit antibacterial activity against bacteria and fungi.

  15. (Pleurotus pulmonarius) grown on cotton waste and cassava peel

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This work evaluated the yield of Pleurotus pulmonarius on different mixtures of cotton waste and cassava peel. P. pulmonarius demonstrated significantly higher colonization rate on cotton waste substrate (100 g cotton waste) 3 weeks after inoculation of spawn than any other substrate mixtures. Cotton waste had the ...

  16. Acoustical evaluation of carbonized and activated cotton nonwovens.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiang, N; Chen, J Y; Parikh, D V

    2009-12-01

    An activated carbon fiber nonwoven (ACF) was manufactured from a cotton nonwoven fabric. For the ACF acoustic application, a nonwoven composite of ACF with cotton nonwoven as a base layer was developed. Also produced were the composites of the cotton nonwoven base layer with a layer of glassfiber nonwoven, and the cotton nonwoven base layer with a layer of cotton fiber nonwoven. Their noise absorption coefficients and sound transmission loss were measured using the Brüel and Kjaer impedance tube instrument. Statistical significance of the differences between the composites was tested using the method of Duncan's grouping. The study concluded that the ACF composite exhibited a greater ability to absorb normal incidence sound waves than the composites with either glassfiber or cotton fiber. The analysis of sound transmission loss revealed that the three composites still obeyed the mass law of transmission loss. The composite with the surface layer of cotton fiber nonwoven possessed a higher fabric density and therefore showed a better sound insulation than the composites with glassfiber and ACF.

  17. Predation risk drives social complexity in cooperative breeders

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Groenewoud, Frank; Frommen, Joachim Gerhard; Josi, Dario; Tanaka, Hirokazu; Jungwirth, Arne; Taborsky, Michael

    2016-01-01

    Predation risk is a major ecological factor selecting for group living. It is largely ignored, however, as an evolutionary driver of social complexity and cooperative breeding, which is attributed mainly to a combination of habitat saturation and enhanced relatedness levels. Social cichlids neither

  18. Using cotton plant residue to produce briquettes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Coates, W. [University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ (United States). Bioresources Research Facility

    2000-07-01

    In Arizona, cotton (Gossypium) plant residue left in the field following harvest must be buried to prevent it from serving as an overwintering site for insects such as the pink bollworm. Most tillage operations employed to incorporate the residue into the soil are energy intensive and often degrade soil structure. Trials showed that cotton plant residue could be incorporated with pecan shells to produce commercially acceptable briquettes. Pecan shell briquettes containing cotton residue rather than waste paper were slightly less durable, when made using equivalent weight mixtures and moisture contents. Proximate and ultimate analyses showed the only difference among briquette samples to be a higher ash content in those made using cotton plant residue. Briquettes made with paper demonstrated longer flame out time, and lower ash percentage, compared to those made with cotton plant residue. (author)

  19. Genome-Wide Transcriptome Analysis of Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L. Identifies Candidate Gene Signatures in Response to Aflatoxin Producing Fungus Aspergillus flavus.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Renesh Bedre

    Full Text Available Aflatoxins are toxic and potent carcinogenic metabolites produced from the fungi Aspergillus flavus and A. parasiticus. Aflatoxins can contaminate cottonseed under conducive preharvest and postharvest conditions. United States federal regulations restrict the use of aflatoxin contaminated cottonseed at >20 ppb for animal feed. Several strategies have been proposed for controlling aflatoxin contamination, and much success has been achieved by the application of an atoxigenic strain of A. flavus in cotton, peanut and maize fields. Development of cultivars resistant to aflatoxin through overexpression of resistance associated genes and/or knocking down aflatoxin biosynthesis of A. flavus will be an effective strategy for controlling aflatoxin contamination in cotton. In this study, genome-wide transcriptome profiling was performed to identify differentially expressed genes in response to infection with both toxigenic and atoxigenic strains of A. flavus on cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L. pericarp and seed. The genes involved in antifungal response, oxidative burst, transcription factors, defense signaling pathways and stress response were highly differentially expressed in pericarp and seed tissues in response to A. flavus infection. The cell-wall modifying genes and genes involved in the production of antimicrobial substances were more active in pericarp as compared to seed. The genes involved in auxin and cytokinin signaling were also induced. Most of the genes involved in defense response in cotton were highly induced in pericarp than in seed. The global gene expression analysis in response to fungal invasion in cotton will serve as a source for identifying biomarkers for breeding, potential candidate genes for transgenic manipulation, and will help in understanding complex plant-fungal interaction for future downstream research.

  20. 7 CFR 27.21 - Preparation of samples of cotton.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Preparation of samples of cotton. 27.21 Section 27.21... REGULATIONS COTTON CLASSIFICATION UNDER COTTON FUTURES LEGISLATION Regulations Inspection and Samples § 27.21 Preparation of samples of cotton. The samples from each bale shall be prepared as specified in this section...

  1. Construct validation of supply chain management in cooperative

    OpenAIRE

    Idris, Nurjihan; Arshad, Fatimah Mohamed; Radam, Alias; Ali, Noor Azman

    2009-01-01

    This study attempts to analyze construct in supply chain and to determine which construct contribute to performance of agricultural cooperatives in Malaysia. The primary data is collected via questionnaire from top level management of agricultural cooperatives using 5-item Likert scale. Factor analysis and structural equations modeling were used to analyze the data. Findings show that cooperatives places importance on quality and technology, logistic, supplier and governance. As a whole, supp...

  2. STIFFNESS MODIFICATION OF COTTON IN CHITOSAN TREATMENT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    CAMPOS Juan

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Chitosan is a biopolymer obtained from chitin, and among their most important aspects highlights its applications in a lot of industrial sectors due to its intrinsic properties, especially in the textile sector. In the last years, chitosan is widely used in the cotton and wool finishing processes due to its bond between them and its properties as an antifungical and antimicrobial properties. In this paper three different molecular weight chitosan are used in the finishing process of cotton to evaluate its influence in the surface properties modification. In order to evaluate the effect of the treatment with chitosan, flexural stiffness test is performed in warp and weft direction, and then the total value is calculated. The cotton fabric is treated with 5 g/L of different types of chitosan in an impregnation bath. This study shows the extent of surface properties modification of the cotton provided by three types of chitosan treatment. The results show that all types of chitosan modify the cotton flexural rigidity properties but the one which modifies it in a relevant manner is chitosan originated from shrimps. Chitosan, textile, flexural stiffnes, chitin, cotton.

  3. Inheritance and segregation of exogenous genes in transgenic cotton

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Three transgenic cotton varieties (lines) were chosen for the study of inheritance and segregation of foreign Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis toxin) and tfdA genes in cotton. The transformed cotton varieties CCRI 30 and NewCott 33B expressing the Bt cryIA gene, and cotton line TFD expressing the tfdA gene were crossed with ...

  4. Thwarting one of cotton's nemeses

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Senft, D.

    1991-01-01

    There's not much good to be said for the pink bollworm, cotton's most destructive pest, except that it is being controlled to cut crop damage. Scientists have developed strategies, such as increasing native populations of predatory insects and pest-resistant cotton varieties. Thanks to research, growers today can also use cultural practices such as early plowdown of harvested cotton to break up stalks and bury overwintering pink bollworms. And they can disrupt normal mating by releasing sterile insects and using copies of natural compounds, called pheromones, that the pink bollworm uses to attract mates. Such strategies, together with judicious use of insecticides, put together in various combinations, form what is called an integrated pest management system

  5. Trained to adapt: Researchers from Pakistan, Mauritius and Afghanistan breed mutant plants to take on a changing climate

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jawerth, Nicole

    2015-01-01

    From cotton in Pakistan to tomatoes in Mauritius and wheat in Afghanistan, many crops around the world are being devastated by erratic rains, droughts, diseases and relentless heat, which are being exacerbated by climate change. As the global search for solutions to climate challenges continues, three researchers are using their training with the Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture to develop new plant breeds that can withstand these adverse conditions and help keep their countries’ crops growing strong.

  6. Food science meets plant science: A case study on improved nutritional quality by breeding for glucosinolate retention during food processing

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hennig, K.; Verkerk, R.; Boekel, van M.A.J.S.; Dekker, M.; Bonnema, A.B.

    2014-01-01

    Nutritional quality of vegetables is affected by several steps in the food chain. Up to now the effects of these different steps are mostly studied separately. We propose the cooperation between plant breeding and food technology by using food technological parameters as breeding traits to identify

  7. 75 FR 50847 - Cotton Program Changes for Upland Cotton, Adjusted World Price, and Active Shipping Orders

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-08-18

    ... Cotton Program Changes for Upland Cotton, Adjusted World Price, and Active Shipping Orders AGENCY... Assistance Program (EAAP) and clarifying the definition of ``active shipping order.'' DATES: Effective Date... address that matter this rule amends in the payment calculation for semi-processed and reginned motes in 7...

  8. THE ELASTICITY OF EXPORT DEMAND FOR US COTTON

    OpenAIRE

    Paudel, Laxmi; Houston, Jack E.; Adhikari, Murali; Devkota, Nirmala

    2004-01-01

    There exist conflicting views among the researchers about the magnitudes of US cotton export demand elasticity, ranging from the highly inelastic to highly elastic. An Armington model was used to analyze the export demand elasticity of US Cotton. Our analysis confirms an elastic nature of US cotton export demand.

  9. 7 CFR 1427.23 - Cotton loan deficiency payments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ..., DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE LOANS, PURCHASES, AND OTHER OPERATIONS COTTON Nonrecourse Cotton Loan and Loan... intentions to receive a loan deficiency payment on the identified commodity or (ii) A completed request for a... cotton based on a locked-in adjusted world price, provide identifying numbers for modules or other...

  10. Fourier transform infrared imaging of Cotton trash mixtures

    Science.gov (United States)

    There is much interest in the identification of trash types comingled with cotton lint. A good understanding of the specific trash types present can lead to the fabrication of new equipment which can identify and sort cotton trash found with cotton fiber. Conventional methods, including the High Vo...

  11. Worker cooperatives with particular reference to Malta : an educationist's theory and practice

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    G. Baldacchino (Godfrey)

    1990-01-01

    textabstractThe issue of worker cooperation remains at the top of the agenda for workplace organization today, although the history of worker (or producer) cooperatives is littered with failures. Yet, despite the glaring and disappointing evidence, the establishment of cooperative forms of work

  12. Evaluation and Exploration of Favorable QTL Alleles for Salt Stress Related Traits in Cotton Cultivars (G. hirsutum L.)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Du, Lei; Cai, Caiping; Wu, Shuang; Zhang, Fang; Hou, Sen; Guo, Wangzhen

    2016-01-01

    Soil salinization is one of the major problems in global agricultural production. Cotton is a pioneer crop with regard to salt stress tolerance, and can be used for saline-alkali land improvement. The large-scale detection of salt tolerance traits in cotton accessions, and the identification of elite quantitative trait loci (QTLs)/genes for salt-tolerance have been very important in salt tolerance breeding. Here, 43 advanced salt-tolerant and 31 highly salt-sensitive cultivars were detected by analyzing ten salt tolerance related traits in 304 upland cotton cultivars. Among them, 11 advanced salt-tolerance and eight highly salt-sensitive cultivars were consistent with previously reported results. Association analysis of ten salt-tolerance related traits and 145 SSRs was performed, and a total of 95 significant associations were detected; 17, 41, and 37 of which were associated with germinative index, seedling stage physiological index, and four seedling stage biochemical indexes, respectively. Of these associations, 20 SSR loci were simultaneously associated with two or more traits. Furthermore, we detected 117 elite alleles associated with salt-tolerance traits, 4 of which were reported previously. Among these loci, 44 (37.60%) were rare alleles with a frequency of less than 5%, 6 only existed in advanced salt-tolerant cultivars, and 2 only in highly salt-sensitive cultivars. As a result, 13 advanced salt-tolerant cultivars were selected to assemble the optimal cross combinations by computer simulation for the development of salt-tolerant accessions. This study lays solid foundations for further improvements in cotton salt-tolerance by referencing elite germplasms, alleles associated with salt-tolerance traits, and optimal crosses. PMID:26943816

  13. Gene cloning: exploring cotton functional genomics and genetic improvement

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Diqiu LIU; Xianlong ZHANG

    2008-01-01

    Cotton is the most important natural fiber plant in the world. The genetic improvement of the quality of the cotton fiber and agricultural productivity is imperative under the situation of increasing consumption and rapid development of textile technology. Recently, the study of cotton molecular biology has progressed greatly. A lot of specifically or preferentially expressed cotton fiber genes were cloned and analyzed. On the other hand, identification of stress response genes expressed in cotton was performed by other research groups. The major stress factors were studied including the wilt pathogens Verticillium dahliae, Fusarium oxy-sporum f. sp. vasinfectum, bacterial blight, root-knot nematode, drought, and salt stress. What is more, a few genes related to the biosynthesis of gossypol, other sesquiterpene phytoalexins and the major seed oil fatty acids were isolated from cotton. In the present review, we focused on the major advances in cotton gene cloning and expression profiling in the recent years.

  14. Identification of Marker-Trait Associations for Lint Traits in Cotton

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iqbal, Muhammad A.; Rahman, Mehboob-ur-

    2017-01-01

    Harvesting high quality lint, a long-awaited breeding goal—accomplished partly, can be achieved by identifying DNA markers which could be used for diagnosing cotton plants containing the desired traits. In the present studies, a total of 185 cotton genotypes exhibiting diversity for lint traits were selected from a set of 546 genotypes evaluated for fiber traits in 2009. These genotypes were extensively studied for three consecutive years (2011–2013) at three different locations. Significant genetic variations were found for average boll weight, ginning out turn (GOT), micronaire value, staple length, fiber bundle strength, and uniformity index. IR-NIBGE-3701 showed maximum GOT (43.63%). Clustering of genotypes using Ward's method was found more informative than that of the clusters generated by principal component analysis. A total of 382 SSRs were surveyed on 10 Gossypium hirsutum genotypes exhibiting contrasting fiber traits. Out of these, 95 polymorphic SSR primer pairs were then surveyed on 185 genotypes. The gene diversity averaged 0.191 and the polymorphic information content (PIC) averaged 0.175. Unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean (UPGMA), principal coordinate analysis (PCoA), and STRUCTURE software grouped these genotypes into four major clusters each. Genetic distance within the clusters ranged from 0.0587 to 0.1030. A total of 47 (25.41%) genotypes exhibited shared ancestry. In total 6.8% (r2 ≥ 0.05) and 4.4% (r2 ≥ 0.1) of the marker pairs showed significant linkage disequilibrium (LD). A number of marker-trait associations (in total 75) including 13 for average boll weight, 18 for GOT percentage, eight for micronaire value, 18 for staple length, three for fiber bundle strength, and 15 for uniformity index were calculated. Out of these, MGHES-51 was associated with all the traits. Most of the marker-trait associations were novel while few validated the associations reported in the previous studies. High frequency of favorable

  15. 3rd stage seed-cotton cleaning system PM10 emission factors and rates for cotton gins

    Science.gov (United States)

    This manuscript is part of a series of manuscripts that characterize cotton gin emissions from the standpoint of stack sampling. The impetus behind this project was the urgent need to collect additional cotton gin emissions data to address current regulatory issues. A key component of this study was...

  16. 2nd stage seed-cotton cleaning system PM10 emission factors and rates for cotton gins

    Science.gov (United States)

    This manuscript is part of a series of manuscripts that characterize cotton gin emissions from the standpoint of stack sampling. The impetus behind this project was the urgent need to collect additional cotton gin emissions data to address current regulatory issues. A key component of this study was...

  17. 1st stage seed-cotton cleaning system PM10 emission factors and rates for cotton gins

    Science.gov (United States)

    This manuscript is part of a series of manuscripts that characterize cotton gin emissions from the standpoint of stack sampling. The impetus behind this project was the urgent need to collect additional cotton gin emissions data to address current regulatory issues. A key component of this study was...

  18. Cover Crop Biomass Harvest Influences Cotton Nitrogen Utilization and Productivity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    F. Ducamp

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available There is a potential in the southeastern US to harvest winter cover crops from cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L. fields for biofuels or animal feed use, but this could impact yields and nitrogen (N fertilizer response. An experiment was established to examine rye (Secale cereale L. residue management (RM and N rates on cotton productivity. Three RM treatments (no winter cover crop (NC, residue removed (REM and residue retained (RET and four N rates for cotton were studied. Cotton population, leaf and plant N concentration, cotton biomass and N uptake at first square, and cotton biomass production between first square and cutout were higher for RET, followed by REM and NC. However, leaf N concentration at early bloom and N concentration in the cotton biomass between first square and cutout were higher for NC, followed by REM and RET. Seed cotton yield response to N interacted with year and RM, but yields were greater with RET followed by REM both years. These results indicate that a rye cover crop can be beneficial for cotton, especially during hot and dry years. Long-term studies would be required to completely understand the effect of rye residue harvest on cotton production under conservation tillage.

  19. Cooperative and cognitive satellite systems

    CERN Document Server

    Chatzinotas, Symeon; De Gaudenzi, Riccardo

    2015-01-01

    Cooperative and Cognitive Satellite Systems provides a solid overview of the current research in the field of cooperative and cognitive satellite systems, helping users understand how to incorporate state-of-the-art communication techniques in innovative satellite network architectures to enable the next generation of satellite systems. The book is edited and written by top researchers and practitioners in the field, providing a comprehensive explanation of current research that allows users to discover future technologies and their applications, integrate satellite and terrestrial systems

  20. Effects of Different Densities of Cotton (Gossypium Hirsutum and Common Lambsquarter (Chenopodium Album on Some Cotton Growth Characteristics in Birjand Condition

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Velayati

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Weeds are problematic plants in agroecosystems as a competitor for crops. In order to evaluate effects of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum and common lambsquarter (Chenopodium album densities on some crop growth indices, a study was conducted during 2006 in Experimental Station of Faculty of Agriculture, The University of Birjand as factorial experiment based on complete randomized block design with four replications. Three densities of cotton (6, 9 and 12 Pl.m-2 and four weed densities (0, 6, 9 and 12 Pl.m-2 were used to provide different weed interference levels. Indeed, three plots in each replication were intended to cultivation of lambsquarter alone at 6, 9 or 12 Pl.m-2. Results showed that crop growth rate (CGR of cotton was influenced by weed density, and its relative growth rate (RGR and net assimilation rate (NAR indicated a declining trend as weed density increased. Dry matter accumulation of cotton also was affected negatively by weed densities, as interference of lambsquarter at 6, 9 and 12 Pl.m-2 resulted to 35, 42 and 48 percent dry matter reduction, respectively, than weed-free treatment. Increasing of cotton density could partly compensate for negative impact of weed attendance on cotton growth. Thus, it seems higher plant densities can be used as a managing tool against weeds in cotton fields to avoid reduction of yield. Keywords: Cotton, Density, Weed, competition, Growth analysis

  1. 21 CFR 182.70 - Substances migrating from cotton and cotton fabrics used in dry food packaging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... used in dry food packaging. 182.70 Section 182.70 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION... used in dry food packaging. Substances migrating to food from cotton and cotton fabrics used in dry food packaging that are generally recognized as safe for their intended use, within the meaning of...

  2. Relay cropping of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) in cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) improves the profitability of cotton-wheat cropping system in Punjab, Pakistan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sajjad, Aamer; Anjum, Shakeel Ahmad; Ahmad, Riaz; Waraich, Ejaz Ahmad

    2018-01-01

    Delayed sowing of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) in cotton-based system reduces the productivity and profitability of the cotton-wheat cropping system. In this scenario, relay cropping of wheat in standing cotton might be a viable option to ensure the timely wheat sowing with simultaneous improvement in wheat yields and system profitability. This 2-year study (2012-2013 and 2013-2014) aimed to evaluate the influence of sowing dates and relay cropping combined with different management techniques of cotton sticks on the wheat yield, soil physical properties, and the profitability of the cotton-wheat system. The experiment consisted of five treatments viz. (S1) sowing of wheat at the 7th of November by conventional tillage (two disc harrows + one rotavator + two plankings) after the removal of cotton sticks, (S2) sowing of wheat at the 7th of November by conventional tillage (two disc harrows + two plankings) after the incorporation of cotton sticks in the field with a rotavator, (S3) sowing of wheat at the 7th of November as relay crop in standing cotton with broadcast method, (S4) sowing of wheat at the 15th of December by conventional tillage (two disc harrows + one rotavator + two plankings) after the removal of cotton sticks, and (S5) sowing of wheat at the 15th of December by conventional tillage (two disc harrows + two plankings) after the incorporation of cotton sticks in the field with a rotavator. The highest seed cotton yield was observed in the S5 treatment which was statistically similar with the S3 and S4 treatments; seed cotton yield in the S1 and S2 treatments has been the lowest in both years of experimentation. However, the S2 treatment produced substantially higher root length, biological yield, and grain yield of wheat than the other treatments. The lower soil bulk density at 0-10-cm depth was recorded in the S2 treatment which was statistically similar with the S5 treatment during both years of experimentation. The volumetric water contents, net

  3. Regional cooperation to stimulate technical progress

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ridvan, M.; Ehjrej, P.L.

    1987-01-01

    The main principles of the IAEA regional agreement on co-operation in the field of researches, elaboration and training of specialists in nuclear science and engineering for the states of Asia and Pacific Ocean region (RAC) and of the ARCAL program in Latin America are considered. The RAC projects envisage co-operation in the field of medicine (radiotherapy and nuclear methods, sterilization, etc.), agriculture (nuclear methods, raising of plants, using radiation mutations, food irradiation, etc.), industry (application of isotopes and radiation technology) and others. The ARCAL projects comprise radiation protection, nuclear control instruments, nuclear analytic methods, radioimmune analysis in stock-breeding, product irradiation, nuclear information, etc

  4. Weed flora, yield losses and weed control in cotton crop

    OpenAIRE

    Jabran, Khawar

    2016-01-01

    Cotton (Gossypium spp.) is the most important fiber crop of world and provides fiber, oil, and animals meals. Weeds interfere with the growth activities of cotton plants and compete with it for resources. All kinds of weeds (grasses, sedges, and broadleaves) have been noted to infest cotton crop. Weeds can cause more than 30% decrease in cotton productivity. Several methods are available for weed control in cotton. Cultural control carries significance for weed control up to a certain extent....

  5. Achievements of element technology development for breeding blanket

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Enoeda, Mikio

    2005-03-01

    Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute (JAERI) has been performing the development of breeding blanket for fusion power plant, as a leading institute of the development of solid breeder blankets, according to the long-term R and D program of the blanket development established by the Fusion Council of Japan in 1999. This report is an overview of development plan, achievements of element technology development and future prospect and plan of the development of the solid breeding blanket in JAERI. In this report, the mission of the blanket development activity in JAERI, key issues and roadmap of the blanket development have been clarified. Then, achievements of the element technology development were summarized and showed that the development has progressed to enter the engineering testing phase. The specific development target and plan were clarified with bright prospect. Realization of the engineering test phase R and D and completion of ITER test blanket module testing program, with universities/NIFS cooperation, are most important steps in the development of breeding blanket of fusion power demonstration plant. (author)

  6. Increasing cotton stand establishment in soils prone to soil crusting

    Science.gov (United States)

    Many factors can contribute to poor cotton stand establishment, and cotton is notorious for its weak seedling vigor. Soil crusting can be a major factor hindering cotton seedling emergence in many of the cotton production regions of the US and the world. Crusting is mainly an issue in silty soils ...

  7. 7 CFR 28.107 - Original cotton standards and reserve sets.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Original cotton standards and reserve sets. 28.107... Standards Act Practical Forms of Cotton Standards § 28.107 Original cotton standards and reserve sets. (a) The containers of the original Universal Standards and other official cotton standards of the United...

  8. Cotton Production in Mali: Subsidies or Sustainable Development?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moore, Lindsey

    2007-01-01

    Current trade rules concerning cotton subsidies are intricately linked with poverty and hunger in Mali. Over half of Mali's economy and over 30 million people depend directly on cotton. It is the main cash crop and the most important source of export revenue. Cotton also plays a key role in development policies and in the fight against poverty by…

  9. Water Use Efficiency in Saline Soils under Cotton Cultivation in the Tarim River Basin

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiaoning Zhao

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available The Tarim River Basin, the largest area of Chinese cotton production, is receiving increased attention because of serious environmental problems. At two experimental stations (Korla and Aksu, we studied the influence of salinity on cotton yield. Soil chemical and physical properties, soil water content, soil total suction and matric suction, cotton yield and water use efficiency under plastic mulched drip irrigation in different saline soils was measured during cotton growth season. The salinity (mS·cm−1 were 17–25 (low at Aksu and Korla, 29–50 (middle at Aksu and 52–62 (high at Aksu for ECe (Electrical conductivity measured in saturation-paste extract of soil over the 100 cm soil profile. The soil water characteristic curves in different saline soils showed that the soil water content (15%–23% at top 40 cm soil, lower total suction power (below 3500 kPa and lower matric suction (below 30 kPa in low saline soil at Korla had the highest water use efficiency (10 kg·ha−1·mm−1 and highest irrigation water use efficiency (12 kg·ha−1·mm−1 and highest yield (6.64 t·ha−1. Higher water content below 30 cm in high saline soil increased the salinity risk and led to lower yield (2.39 t·ha−1. Compared to low saline soils at Aksu, the low saline soil at Korla saved 110 mm irrigation and 103 mm total water to reach 1 t·ha−1 yield and increased water use efficiency by 5 kg·ha−1·mm−1 and 7 kg·ha−1·mm−1 for water use efficiency (WUE and irrigation water use efficiency (IWUE respectively.

  10. Profile of small interfering RNAs from cotton plants infected with the polerovirus Cotton leafroll dwarf virus

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Schrago Carlos EG

    2011-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background In response to infection, viral genomes are processed by Dicer-like (DCL ribonuclease proteins into viral small RNAs (vsRNAs of discrete sizes. vsRNAs are then used as guides for silencing the viral genome. The profile of vsRNAs produced during the infection process has been extensively studied for some groups of viruses. However, nothing is known about the vsRNAs produced during infections of members of the economically important family Luteoviridae, a group of phloem-restricted viruses. Here, we report the characterization of a population of vsRNAs from cotton plants infected with Cotton leafroll dwarf virus (CLRDV, a member of the genus Polerovirus, family Luteoviridae. Results Deep sequencing of small RNAs (sRNAs from leaves of CLRDV-infected cotton plants revealed that the vsRNAs were 21- to 24-nucleotides (nt long and that their sequences matched the viral genome, with higher frequencies of matches in the 3- region. There were equivalent amounts of sense and antisense vsRNAs, and the 22-nt class of small RNAs was predominant. During infection, cotton Dcl transcripts appeared to be up-regulated, while Dcl2 appeared to be down-regulated. Conclusions This is the first report on the profile of sRNAs in a plant infected with a virus from the family Luteoviridae. Our sequence data strongly suggest that virus-derived double-stranded RNA functions as one of the main precursors of vsRNAs. Judging by the profiled size classes, all cotton DCLs might be working to silence the virus. The possible causes for the unexpectedly high accumulation of 22-nt vsRNAs are discussed. CLRDV is the causal agent of Cotton blue disease, which occurs worldwide. Our results are an important contribution for understanding the molecular mechanisms involved in this and related diseases.

  11. Profile of small interfering RNAs from cotton plants infected with the polerovirus Cotton leafroll dwarf virus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Silva, Tatiane F; Romanel, Elisson A C; Andrade, Roberto R S; Farinelli, Laurent; Østerås, Magne; Deluen, Cécile; Corrêa, Régis L; Schrago, Carlos E G; Vaslin, Maite F S

    2011-08-24

    In response to infection, viral genomes are processed by Dicer-like (DCL) ribonuclease proteins into viral small RNAs (vsRNAs) of discrete sizes. vsRNAs are then used as guides for silencing the viral genome. The profile of vsRNAs produced during the infection process has been extensively studied for some groups of viruses. However, nothing is known about the vsRNAs produced during infections of members of the economically important family Luteoviridae, a group of phloem-restricted viruses. Here, we report the characterization of a population of vsRNAs from cotton plants infected with Cotton leafroll dwarf virus (CLRDV), a member of the genus Polerovirus, family Luteoviridae. Deep sequencing of small RNAs (sRNAs) from leaves of CLRDV-infected cotton plants revealed that the vsRNAs were 21- to 24-nucleotides (nt) long and that their sequences matched the viral genome, with higher frequencies of matches in the 3- region. There were equivalent amounts of sense and antisense vsRNAs, and the 22-nt class of small RNAs was predominant. During infection, cotton Dcl transcripts appeared to be up-regulated, while Dcl2 appeared to be down-regulated. This is the first report on the profile of sRNAs in a plant infected with a virus from the family Luteoviridae. Our sequence data strongly suggest that virus-derived double-stranded RNA functions as one of the main precursors of vsRNAs. Judging by the profiled size classes, all cotton DCLs might be working to silence the virus. The possible causes for the unexpectedly high accumulation of 22-nt vsRNAs are discussed. CLRDV is the causal agent of Cotton blue disease, which occurs worldwide. Our results are an important contribution for understanding the molecular mechanisms involved in this and related diseases.

  12. Plant breeding and genetics newsletter. No. 14

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2004-12-01

    These last six months, the Plant Breeding and Genetics (PBG) Section of the Joint FAO/IAEA Division (NAFA/AGE) implemented five Research Coordination Meetings (RCMs) and one Consultants Meeting for a new Coordinated Research Project (CRP) on 'Molecular tools for quality improvement in vegetatively propagated crops including banana and cassava' (8-11 November 2004, Vienna). Other salient points were the training courses we implemented this semester in the framework of different Technical Cooperation (TC) projects.Details about these activities inside this Newsletter

  13. Cotton contamination

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Van der Sluijs, MHJ

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available This review focusses on physical forms of contaminant including the presence, prevention and/or removal of foreign bodies, stickiness and seed-coat fragments rather than the type and quantity of chemical residues that might be present in cotton...

  14. Minimization of operational impacts on spectrophotometer color measurements for cotton

    Science.gov (United States)

    A key cotton quality and processing property that is gaining increasing importance is the color of the cotton. Cotton fiber in the U.S. is classified for color using the Uster® High Volume Instrument (HVI), using the parameters Rd and +b. Rd and +b are specific to cotton fiber and are not typical ...

  15. Transgenic Cotton Plants Expressing the HaHR3 Gene Conferred Enhanced Resistance to Helicoverpa armigera and Improved Cotton Yield.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Han, Qiang; Wang, Zhenzhen; He, Yunxin; Xiong, Yehui; Lv, Shun; Li, Shupeng; Zhang, Zhigang; Qiu, Dewen; Zeng, Hongmei

    2017-08-30

    RNA interference (RNAi) has been developed as an efficient technology. RNAi insect-resistant transgenic plants expressing double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) that is ingested into insects to silence target genes can affect the viability of these pests or even lead to their death. HaHR3 , a molt-regulating transcription factor gene, was previously selected as a target expressed in bacteria and tobacco plants to control Helicoverpa armigera by RNAi technology. In this work, we selected the dsRNA- HaHR3 fragment to silence HaHR3 in cotton bollworm for plant mediated-RNAi research. A total of 19 transgenic cotton lines expressing HaHR3 were successfully cultivated, and seven generated lines were used to perform feeding bioassays. Transgenic cotton plants expressing ds HaHR3 were shown to induce high larval mortality and deformities of pupation and adult eclosion when used to feed the newly hatched larvae, and 3rd and 5th instar larvae of H. armigera . Moreover, HaHR3 transgenic cotton also demonstrated an improved cotton yield when compared with controls.

  16. The cotton mealybug, Phenacoccus solenopsis Tinsley (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae as a new menace to cotton in Egypt and its chemical control

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    El-Zahi El-Zahi Saber

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available The cotton mealybug, Phenacoccus solenopsis Tinsley (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae is a polyphagous sap sucking insect with a wide geographical and host range causing severe losses in economically important crops. This study represents the first record of P. solenopsis as a new insect attacking cotton plants (Gossypium barbadense var. Giza 86 in Kafr El-Sheikh governorate, Egypt. The insect was noticed on cotton plants for the first time during its growing season of 2014. The mealybug specimens were collected from infested cotton plants and identified as P. solenopsis. In an attempt to control this pest, eight toxic materials viz., imidacloprid, thiamethoxam, flonicamid, emamectin-benzoate, chlorpyrifos, methomyl, deltamethrin and mineral oil (KZ-oil, belonging to different chemical groups, were tested for their influence against P. solenopsis on cotton under field conditions. Methomyl, imidacloprid, thiamethoxam and chlorpyrifos showed the highest efficacy against P. solenopsis recording 92.3 to 80.4% reduction of the insect population. Flonicamid, emamectin-benzoate and KZ-oil failed to exhibit sufficient P. solenopsis control.

  17. Response of cotton genotypes to boron under-b-adequate conditions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shah, J. A.; Sial, M. A.; Hassan, Z. U.; Rajpar, I.

    2015-01-01

    Balanced boron (B) application is well-known to enhance the cotton production; however, the narrow range between B-deficiency and toxicity levels makes it difficult to manage. Cotton genotypes extensively differ in their response to B requirements. The adequate dose of B for one genotype may be insufficient or even toxic to other genotype. The effects of boron (B) on seed cotton yield and its various yield associated traits were studied on 10 cotton genotypes of Pakistan. The pot studies were undertaken to categorize cotton genotypes using B-deficient (control) and B-adequate (2.0 kg B ha-1) levels arranged in CRD with four repeats. The results indicated that the seed cotton yield, yield attributes and B-uptake of genotypes were comparatively decreased in B-deficient stressed treatment. Genotype NIA-Ufaq exhibited wide range of adaptation and ranked as efficient-responsive, as it produced higher seed cotton yield under both B-regimes. SAU-2 and CIM-506 were highly-efficient and remaining all genotypes were medium-efficient. Genotype Sindh-1 produced low seed cotton yield under B deficient condition and ranked as low-efficient. B-efficient cotton genotypes can be grown in B deficient soils without B application. (author)

  18. Oxytocin is associated with infant-care behavior and motivation in cooperatively breeding marmoset monkeys.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Finkenwirth, Christa; Martins, Eloisa; Deschner, Tobias; Burkart, Judith M

    2016-04-01

    The neurohormone oxytocin (OT) is positively involved in the regulation of parenting and social bonding in mammals, and may thus also be important for the mediation of alloparental care. In cooperatively breeding marmosets, infants are raised in teamwork by parents and adult and sub-adult non-reproductive helpers (usually older siblings). Despite high intrinsic motivation, which may be mediated by hormonal priming, not all individuals are always equally able to contribute to infant-care due to competition among care-takers. Among the various care-taking behaviors, proactive food sharing may reflect motivational levels best, since it can be performed ad libitum by several individuals even if competition among surplus care-takers constrains access to infants. Our aim was to study the link between urinary OT levels and care-taking behaviors in group-living marmosets, while taking affiliation with other adults and infant age into account. Over eight reproductive cycles, 26 individuals were monitored for urinary baseline OT, care-taking behaviors (baby-licking, -grooming, -carrying, and proactive food sharing), and adult-directed affiliation. Mean OT levels were generally highest in female breeders and OT increased significantly in all individuals after birth. During early infancy, high urinary OT levels were associated with increased infant-licking but low levels of adult-affiliation, and during late infancy, with increased proactive food sharing. Our results show that, in marmoset parents and alloparents, OT is positively involved in the regulation of care-taking, thereby reflecting the changing needs during infant development. This particularly included behaviors that are more likely to reflect intrinsic care motivation, suggesting a positive link between OT and motivational regulation of infant-care. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  19. Insecticide use and practices among cotton farmers in northern ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) is an important cash crop in Uganda. Insecticide application practices among cotton growers in northern Uganda were examined to determine the pests targeted and the compliance of control measures with the standards recommended by the Uganda's Cotton Development Organization ...

  20. 78 FR 68983 - Cotton Futures Classification: Optional Classification Procedure

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-11-18

    ...-AD33 Cotton Futures Classification: Optional Classification Procedure AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing... regulations to allow for the addition of an optional cotton futures classification procedure--identified and... response to requests from the U.S. cotton industry and ICE, AMS will offer a futures classification option...

  1. Evaluating potassium-use-efficiency of five cotton genotypes of pakistan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hassan, Z.U.; Kubar, K.A.

    2014-01-01

    Potassium (K) deficiency in Pakistani soils has been recently reported as the major limiting factor affecting sustainable cotton production. The present study was conducted to envisage how K nutrition affect the growth, biomass production, yield and K-use-efficiency of five cotton genotypes, NIBGE-3701, NIBGE-1524 (Bt-transgenic), Sadori, Sindh-1 and SAU-2 (non-Bt conventional), commonly grown in Pakistan. All five genotypes were raised at deficient and adequate K levels, i.e. 0 and 60 kg K/sub 2/O ha-1, respectively. The experiment was performed in plastic pots following a completely randomized factorial design with three repeats. Adequate K nutrition significantly increased various plant growth traits and yield of all cotton genotypes under study, viz. number of sympodia (21%), number of leaves (34%), leaf dry biomass (30%), shoot dry biomass (31%), number of bolls (50%) and yield of seed cotton (92%). Substantial variations were observed among cotton genotypes for their K-use-efficiency and K-response-efficiency. Sadori and SAU-2 were screened as most K-use-efficient cotton genotypes, while Sindh-1 and SAU-2 were ranked as the most K-responsive cotton genotypes. Interestingly, Sadori did not respond to K nutrition. Moreover, Bt cotton genotypes accumulated more K as compared to non-Bt genotypes. The cotton genotype SAU-2 was identified as efficient-response genotype for better adaptation for both low- and high-K-input sustainable cotton agriculture systems. (author)

  2. Producing Organic Cotton: A Toolkit - Crop Guide, Projekt guide, Extension tools

    OpenAIRE

    Eyhorn, Frank

    2005-01-01

    The CD compiles the following extension tools on organic cotton: Organic Cotton Crop Guide, Organic Cotton Training Manual, Soil Fertility Training Manual, Organic Cotton Project Guide, Record keeping tools, Video "Organic agriculture in the Nimar region", Photos for illustration.

  3. A facile method to fabricate superhydrophobic cotton fabrics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Ming; Wang, Shuliang; Wang, Chengyu; Li, Jian

    2012-11-01

    A facile and novel method for fabricating superhydrophobic cotton fabrics is described in the present work. The superhydrophobic surface has been prepared by utilizing cationic poly (dimethyldiallylammonium chloride) and silica particles together with subsequent modification of (heptadecafluoro-1,1,2,2-tetradecyl) trimethoxysilane. The size distribution of silica particles was measured by Particle Size Analyzer. The cotton textiles before and after treatment were characterized by using scanning electron microscope (SEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The wetting behavior of cotton samples was investigated by water contact angle measurement. Moreover, the superhydrophobic durability of coated cotton textiles has been evaluated by exposure, immersion and washing tests. The results show that the treated cotton fabrics exhibited excellent chemical stability and outstanding non-wettability with the WCA of 155 ± 2°, which offers an opportunity to accelerate the large-scale production of superhydrophobic textiles materials for new industrial applications.

  4. Milkweed, stink bugs, and Georgia cotton

    Science.gov (United States)

    In peanut-cotton farmscapes in Georgia, stink bugs, i.e., Nezara viridula (L.)(Say) and Chinavia hilaris (Say), develop in peanut and then disperse at the crop-to-crop interface to feed on fruit in cotton. The main objective of this study was to examine the influence of a habitat of tropical milkwe...

  5. Fabrication of cotton fabric with superhydrophobicity and flame retardancy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Ming; Wang, Chengyu

    2013-07-25

    A simple and facile method for fabricating the cotton fabric with superhydrophobicity and flame retardancy is described in the present work. The cotton fabric with the maximal WCA of 160° has been prepared by the covalent deposition of amino-silica nanospheres and the further graft with (heptadecafluoro-1,1,2,2-tetradecyl) trimethoxysilane. The geometric microstructure of silica spheres was measured by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The cotton textiles before and after treatment were characterized by using scanning electron microscope (SEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The wetting behavior of cotton samples was investigated by water contact angle measurement. Moreover, diverse performances of superhydrophobic cotton textiles have been evaluated as well. The results exhibited the outstanding superhydrophobicity, excellent waterproofing durability and flame retardancy of the cotton fabric after treatment, offering a good opportunity to accelerate the large-scale production of superhydrophobic textiles materials for new industrial applications. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Report from the FAO/IAEA Plant Breeding and Genetics Section

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1988-01-01

    In spite of a financial crisis of the UN-system, we were able to keep up essential activities. The co-ordinated research programme on cereal improvement using doubled-haploids but also heterosis from induced mutations started in 1986 and continued during the past year. A new regional co-ordinated research programme for Latin America, primarily for rice improvement had its first co-ordination meeting 30 March - 3 April 1987 in Quito, Ecuador. The co-ordinated research programme for identification and use of induced semi-dwarf mutants as alternative genetic sources for rice breeding completed its work with the final co-ordination meeting at Hangzhou, China, July 1987. In-vitro culture technology for mutation breeding is given high priority, e.g. for improving crop plant resistance to diseases. At the first co-ordination meeting of a new programme in September 1987, it was decided to concentrate efforts first on studying the use of toxins for in-vitro screening of resistant mutants and comparing toxin resistance with the reaction to pathogen attack under greenhouse and field conditions. Oil seeds and industrial crops have unfortunately so far received lower priority in FAO/IAEA projects, but we now look forward with some optimism to establish a global network on sesame improvement, in co-operation with the FAO Plant Production and Protection Division. A consultants meeting for this purpose was hosted by IAEA in Vienna in September 1987. The use of mutagenesis to accelerate the domestication of new crop plants - relevant for developing as well as for developed countries - had been subject of an expert discussion already in November 1986 (see MBNL No. 29). FAO and IAEA were advised to pay attention to this important task, but we still have to see whether funds become available. Vegetatively propagated plants like root and tuber crops, bananas and plantains, or woody perennials are looked upon frequently as a particular domaine of mutation breeding, which is not yet

  7. At-line cotton color measurements by portable color spectrophotometers

    Science.gov (United States)

    As a result of reports of cotton bales that had significant color changes from their initial Uster® High Volume Instrument (HVI™) color measurements, a program was implemented to measure cotton fiber color (Rd, +b) at-line in remote locations (warehouse, mill, etc.). The measurement of cotton fiber...

  8. 7 CFR 27.25 - Additional samples of cotton; drawing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Additional samples of cotton; drawing. 27.25 Section... Samples § 27.25 Additional samples of cotton; drawing. In addition to the samples hereinbefore prescribed, separate samples, if desired, may be drawn and furnished to the owner of the cotton. ...

  9. DeepCotton: in-field cotton segmentation using deep fully convolutional network

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Yanan; Cao, Zhiguo; Xiao, Yang; Cremers, Armin B.

    2017-09-01

    Automatic ground-based in-field cotton (IFC) segmentation is a challenging task in precision agriculture, which has not been well addressed. Nearly all the existing methods rely on hand-crafted features. Their limited discriminative power results in unsatisfactory performance. To address this, a coarse-to-fine cotton segmentation method termed "DeepCotton" is proposed. It contains two modules, fully convolutional network (FCN) stream and interference region removal stream. First, FCN is employed to predict initially coarse map in an end-to-end manner. The convolutional networks involved in FCN guarantee powerful feature description capability, simultaneously, the regression analysis ability of neural network assures segmentation accuracy. To our knowledge, we are the first to introduce deep learning to IFC segmentation. Second, our proposed "UP" algorithm composed of unary brightness transformation and pairwise region comparison is used for obtaining interference map, which is executed to refine the coarse map. The experiments on constructed IFC dataset demonstrate that our method outperforms other state-of-the-art approaches, either in different common scenarios or single/multiple plants. More remarkable, the "UP" algorithm greatly improves the property of the coarse result, with the average amplifications of 2.6%, 2.4% on accuracy and 8.1%, 5.5% on intersection over union for common scenarios and multiple plants, separately.

  10. Problems and achievements of cotton (Gossypium Hirsutum L. weeds control

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    T. Barakova

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract. Weed control in the cultivation of cotton is critical to the yield and quality of production. The influence of economically important weeds was studied. Chemical control is the most effective method of weed control in cotton but much of the information on it relates to primary weed infestation. Problems with primary weed infestation in cotton have been solved to a significant extent. The question of secondary weed infestation with annual and perennial graminaceous weeds during the period of cotton vegetation is also determined largely by the use of antigraminaceous herbicides. The data related to herbicides to effectively control secondary germinated broadleaf weeds in conventional technology for cotton growing are quite scarce, even globally. We are still seeking effective herbicides for control of these weeds in cotton crops. Studies on their influence on the sowing characteristics of cotton seed and the quality of cotton fiber are still insufficient. In the scientific literature there is not enough information on these questions. The combinations of herbicides, as well as their tank mixtures with fertilizers or plant growth regulators are more efficient than autonomous application. Often during their combined application higher synergistic effect on yield is produced. There is information about cotton cultivars resistant to glyphosate. These cultivars are GMO and they are banned within the European Union, including Bulgaria.

  11. Study of mungbean intercropping in cotton planted with different techniques

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Khan, M.B.; Khaliq, A.

    2004-01-01

    Bio-economic efficiency of different cotton-based intercropping systems was determined at the Agronomic Research Area, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, (Pakistan) during 1996-1997 and 1997-98. Cotton cultivar NIAB-78 was planted in 80-cm apart single rows and 120-cm spaced double row strips with the help of a single row hand drill. Intercropping systems were cotton alone and cotton + mungbean. Experiment was laid out in a RCBD with split arrangements in four replications. Planting patterns were kept in main plots and intercropping systems in sub-plots. Inter crop was sown in the space between 80-cm apart single rows as well as 120-cm spaced double row strips. Competition functions like relative crowding coefficient, competitive ratio, aggressivity, land equivalent ratio and area time equivalent ratio were calculated for the assessment of the benefits of the intercropping. Partial budget was prepared for determining net field benefits of the systems under study. Growing of cotton in 120-cm spaced double row strips proved superior to 80-cm spaced single rows. Intercropping decreased the seed cotton production significantly in both years, however, inter crop not only covered this loss but also increased overall productivity. Higher net field benefit (NFB) was obtained from cotton + mungbean than sole cropping of cotton. Farmers with small land holdings, seriously constrained by low crop income can adopt the practice of intercropping of mungbean in cotton. (author)

  12. Fourier-transform imaging of cotton and botanical and field trash mixtures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Botanical and field cotton trash comingled with cotton lint can greatly reduce the marketability and quality of cotton. Trash can be found comingled with cotton lint during harvesting, ginning, and processing, thus this study is of interest. Attenuated Total Reflectance-Fourier Transform Infrared (A...

  13. Group size adjustment to ecological demand in a cooperative breeder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zöttl, Markus; Frommen, Joachim G; Taborsky, Michael

    2013-04-07

    Environmental factors can determine which group size will maximize the fitness of group members. This is particularly important in cooperative breeders, where group members often serve different purposes. Experimental studies are yet lacking to check whether ecologically mediated need for help will change the propensity of dominant group members to accept immigrants. Here, we manipulated the perceived risk of predation for dominant breeders of the cooperatively breeding cichlid fish Neolamprologus pulcher to test their response to unrelated and previously unknown immigrants. Potential immigrants were more readily accepted if groups were exposed to fish predators or egg predators than to herbivorous fish or control situations lacking predation risk. Our data are consistent with both risk dilution and helping effects. Egg predators were presented before spawning, which might suggest that the fish adjust acceptance rates also to a potential future threat. Dominant group members of N. pulcher apparently consider both present and future need of help based on ecological demand. This suggests that acceptance of immigrants and, more generally, tolerance of group members on demand could be a widespread response to ecological conditions in cooperatively breeding animals.

  14. 7 CFR 1427.174 - Maturity of seed cotton loans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 10 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Maturity of seed cotton loans. 1427.174 Section 1427.174 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) COMMODITY CREDIT CORPORATION... Maturity of seed cotton loans. Seed cotton loans mature on demand by CCC but no later than May 31 following...

  15. The preparation and antibacterial effects of dopa-cotton/AgNPs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Xu Hong; Shi Xue; Ma Hui; Lv Yihang; Zhang Linping; Mao Zhiping

    2011-01-01

    Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have been known to have powerful antibacterial activity. In this paper, in situ generation of AgNPs on the surface of dopamine modified cotton fabrics (dopa-cotton/AgNPs) in aqueous solution under room temperature is presented. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM) were used to analyze the surface chemical composition and the morphology of the modified cotton fabrics, respectively. The results indicated that the surface of cotton fabrics was successfully coated with polydopamine and AgNPs. The cotton fabrics with AgNPs showed durable antibacterial activity.

  16. The use of different clustering methods in the evaluation of genetic diversity in upland cotton

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Laíse Ferreira de Araújo

    Full Text Available The continuous development and evaluation of new genotypes through crop breeding is essential in order to obtain new cultivars. The objective of this work was to evaluate the genetic divergences between cultivars of upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L. using the agronomic and technological characteristics of the fibre, in order to select superior parent plants. The experiment was set up during 2010 at the Federal University of Ceará in Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil. Eleven cultivars of upland cotton were used in an experimental design of randomised blocks with three replications. In order to evaluate the genetic diversity among cultivars, the generalised Mahalanobis distance matrix was calculated, with cluster analysis then being applied, employing various methods: single linkage, Ward, complete linkage, median, average linkage within a cluster and average linkage between clusters. Genetic variability exists among the evaluated genotypes. The most consistant clustering method was that employing average linkage between clusters. Among the characteristics assessed, mean boll weight presented the highest contribution to genetic diversity, followed by elongation at rupture. Employing the method of mean linkage between clusters, the cultivars with greater genetic divergence were BRS Acacia and LD Frego; those of greater similarity were BRS Itaúba and BRS Araripe.

  17. Molecular Characterization and Germination Analysis of Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L. Genotypes under Water Deficit Irrigation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eminur ELÇİ

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Cotton is an important crop in terms of economic and strategic impacts. Drought stress is one of the most important environmental stress factors which negatively affects growth and yield of plants in Turkey as occurred in many countries in the world. In this study, 11 different cotton cultivars selected based on their agronomical characters were tested under water deficit irrigation strategies. Thus, it was aimed to select and/or determine appropriate new varieties for breeding new national materials resistant to drought stress, and to characterize with the molecular microsatellite markers. According to the different irrigation levels (25%, 50%, 75% and 100% plants were observed under the stressed conditions at the irrigation levels of 50% and 25%. Among the tested varieties, Tamcot Sphinx, Tamcot 94, Tamcot CamdEs and BA525 varieties were found to be more water stress tolerant than others in terms of germination time and germinated plant. The UPGMA (Unweighted Pair-Group Method Using Arithmetic Averages analysis was carried out using 28 markers with average 0.306 polymorphism information content (PIC for molecular characterization studies. Based on the UPGMA results, the varieties were clustered into two groups. It is expected that the results obtained from this study might provide considerable data for improving new drought tolerant varieties.

  18. Parallel Algorithm for GPU Processing; for use in High Speed Machine Vision Sensing of Cotton Lint Trash

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mathew G. Pelletier

    2008-02-01

    Full Text Available One of the main hurdles standing in the way of optimal cleaning of cotton lint isthe lack of sensing systems that can react fast enough to provide the control system withreal-time information as to the level of trash contamination of the cotton lint. This researchexamines the use of programmable graphic processing units (GPU as an alternative to thePC’s traditional use of the central processing unit (CPU. The use of the GPU, as analternative computation platform, allowed for the machine vision system to gain asignificant improvement in processing time. By improving the processing time, thisresearch seeks to address the lack of availability of rapid trash sensing systems and thusalleviate a situation in which the current systems view the cotton lint either well before, orafter, the cotton is cleaned. This extended lag/lead time that is currently imposed on thecotton trash cleaning control systems, is what is responsible for system operators utilizing avery large dead-band safety buffer in order to ensure that the cotton lint is not undercleaned.Unfortunately, the utilization of a large dead-band buffer results in the majority ofthe cotton lint being over-cleaned which in turn causes lint fiber-damage as well assignificant losses of the valuable lint due to the excessive use of cleaning machinery. Thisresearch estimates that upwards of a 30% reduction in lint loss could be gained through theuse of a tightly coupled trash sensor to the cleaning machinery control systems. Thisresearch seeks to improve processing times through the development of a new algorithm forcotton trash sensing that allows for implementation on a highly parallel architecture.Additionally, by moving the new parallel algorithm onto an alternative computing platform,the graphic processing unit “GPU”, for processing of the cotton trash images, a speed up ofover 6.5 times, over optimized code running on the PC’s central processing

  19. Marketing policies and economic interests in the cotton sector of Kenya

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Dijkstra, T.

    1990-01-01

    This report, which is based on field research carried out in 1988, examines the marketing arrangements for raw cotton, cotton lint and cotton seed in Kenya, as well as the relationships and conflicts between the actors involved. The report starts with the history of cotton production and marketing

  20. Transgenic Cotton Plants Expressing Double-stranded RNAs Target HMG-CoA Reductase (HMGR) Gene Inhibits the Growth, Development and Survival of Cotton Bollworms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tian, Geng; Cheng, Linlin; Qi, Xuewei; Ge, Zonghe; Niu, Changying; Zhang, Xianlong; Jin, Shuangxia

    2015-01-01

    RNA interference (RNAi) has been developed as a powerful technique in the research of functional genomics as well as plant pest control. In this report, double-stranded RNAs (dsRNA) targeting 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase (HMGR) gene, which catalyze a rate-limiting enzymatic reaction in the mevalonate pathway of juvenile hormone (JH) synthesis in cotton bollworm, was expressed in cotton plants via Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation. PCR and Sothern analysis revealed the integration of HMGR gene into cotton genome. RT-PCR and qRT-PCR confirmed the high transcription level of dsHMGR in transgenic cotton lines. The HMGR expression both in transcription and translation level was significantly downregulated in cotton bollworms (helicoverpa armigera) larvae after feeding on the leaves of HMGR transgenic plants. The transcription level of HMGR gene in larvae reared on transgenic cotton leaves was as much as 80.68% lower than that of wild type. In addition, the relative expression level of vitellogenin (Vg, crucial source of nourishment for offspring embryo development) gene was also reduced by 76.86% when the insect larvae were fed with transgenic leaves. The result of insect bioassays showed that the transgenic plant harboring dsHMGR not only inhibited net weight gain but also delayed the growth of cotton bollworm larvae. Taken together, transgenic cotton plant expressing dsRNAs successfully downregulated HMGR gene and impaired the development and survival of target insect, which provided more option for plant pest control.

  1. 76 FR 32067 - Common Crop Insurance Regulations; Extra Long Staple Cotton Crop Provisions

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-06-03

    ... ``Any AUP cotton'' and replacing it with the phrase ``Mature AUP cotton'' to clarify the AUP cotton must be mature in order to calculate a conversion factor between AUP cotton and ELS cotton. List of... dividing Price A by 85 percent of Price B. * * * * * (f) Mature AUP cotton harvested or appraised from...

  2. Genome-wide cloning, identification, classification and functional analysis of cotton heat shock transcription factors in cotton (Gossypium hirsutum).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Jun; Sun, Na; Deng, Ting; Zhang, Lida; Zuo, Kaijing

    2014-11-06

    Heat shock transcriptional factors (Hsfs) play important roles in the processes of biotic and abiotic stresses as well as in plant development. Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum, 2n=4x=(AD)2=52) is an important crop for natural fiber production. Due to continuous high temperature and intermittent drought, heat stress is becoming a handicap to improve cotton yield and lint quality. Recently, the related wild diploid species Gossypium raimondii genome (2n=2x=(D5)2=26) has been fully sequenced. In order to analyze the functions of different Hsfs at the genome-wide level, detailed characterization and analysis of the Hsf gene family in G. hirsutum is indispensable. EST assembly and genome-wide analyses were applied to clone and identify heat shock transcription factor (Hsf) genes in Upland cotton (GhHsf). Forty GhHsf genes were cloned, identified and classified into three main classes (A, B and C) according to the characteristics of their domains. Analysis of gene duplications showed that GhHsfs have occurred more frequently than reported in plant genomes such as Arabidopsis and Populus. Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) showed that all GhHsf transcripts are expressed in most cotton plant tissues including roots, stems, leaves and developing fibers, and abundantly in developing ovules. Three expression patterns were confirmed in GhHsfs when cotton plants were exposed to high temperature for 1 h. GhHsf39 exhibited the most immediate response to heat shock. Comparative analysis of Hsfs expression differences between the wild-type and fiberless mutant suggested that Hsfs are involved in fiber development. Comparative genome analysis showed that Upland cotton D-subgenome contains 40 Hsf members, and that the whole genome of Upland cotton contains more than 80 Hsf genes due to genome duplication. The expression patterns in different tissues in response to heat shock showed that GhHsfs are important for heat stress as well as fiber development. These results provide an improved

  3. Cotton in Benin: governance and pest management

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Togbe, C.E.

    2013-01-01

    Key words: cotton, synthetic pesticides, neem oil (Azadirachta indica), Beauveria bassiana,

    Bacillus thuringiensis, field experiment, farmers’ participation

    Pests are one of the main factors limiting cotton production worldwide. Most of the pest

    control

  4. Breeding bird populations and habitat associations within the Savannah River Site (SRS).

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gauthreaux, Sidney, A.; Steven J. Wagner.

    2005-06-29

    Gauthreaux, Sidney, A., and Steven J. Wagner. 2005. Breeding bird populations and habitat associations within the Savannah River Site (SRS). Final Report. USDA Forest Service, Savannah River, Aiken, SC. 48 pp. Abstract: During the 1970's and 1980's a dramatic decline occurred in the populations of Neotropical migratory birds, species that breed in North America and winter south of the border in Central and South America and in the Caribbean. In 1991 an international initiative was mounted by U. S. governmental land management agencies, nongovernmental conservation agencies, and the academic and lay ornithological communities to understand the decline of Neotropical migratory birds in the Americas. In cooperation with the USDA Forest Service - Savannah River (FS - SR) we began 1992 a project directed to monitoring population densities of breeding birds using the Breeding Bird Census (BBC) methodology in selected habitats within the Savannah River Site SRS. In addition we related point count data on the occurrence of breeding Neotropical migrants and other bird species to the habitat data gathered by the Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program of the USDA Forest Service and data on habitat treatments within forest stands.

  5. Orientation of cotton growers of multan district about heal hazards and pesticide use

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Haq, Q.U.; Hussain, R.; Ali, T.; Ahmad, M.

    2008-01-01

    Cotton growing farmers and cotton pickers are the twin pillars of cotton growing community. Cotton growing farmers (male) are involved in monitoring of quality and quantity of cotton crops by handsome usage of pesticides for better marketing of cotton crops. Whereas, cotton pickers (female) are involved in picking of cotton mainly. To assess their knowledge and source of knowledge about pesticides related health problems, the study was designed and conducted in 20 villages of district Multan selected by multistage random sampling technique. From the selected 20 villages, from the list bearing the villages, mouzas and union councils of district Multan, 220 cotton growers and 150 cotton pickers were selected by simple random sampling technique and interviewed through a reliable and validated interview schedule. The data collected were processed through Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The results showed that 75% of cotton growing farmers were having orientation about side effects of pesticides whereas, almost 8% of cotton growers were having no knowledge about side effects of pesticides. (author)

  6. Ecoinformatics reveals effects of crop rotational histories on cotton yield.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meisner, Matthew H; Rosenheim, Jay A

    2014-01-01

    Crop rotation has been practiced for centuries in an effort to improve agricultural yield. However, the directions, magnitudes, and mechanisms of the yield effects of various crop rotations remain poorly understood in many systems. In order to better understand how crop rotation influences cotton yield, we used hierarchical Bayesian models to analyze a large ecoinformatics database consisting of records of commercial cotton crops grown in California's San Joaquin Valley. We identified several crops that, when grown in a field the year before a cotton crop, were associated with increased or decreased cotton yield. Furthermore, there was a negative association between the effect of the prior year's crop on June densities of the pest Lygus hesperus and the effect of the prior year's crop on cotton yield. This suggested that some crops may enhance L. hesperus densities in the surrounding agricultural landscape, because residual L. hesperus populations from the previous year cannot continuously inhabit a focal field and attack a subsequent cotton crop. In addition, we found that cotton yield declined approximately 2.4% for each additional year in which cotton was grown consecutively in a field prior to the focal cotton crop. Because L. hesperus is quite mobile, the effects of crop rotation on L. hesperus would likely not be revealed by small plot experimentation. These results provide an example of how ecoinformatics datasets, which capture the true spatial scale of commercial agriculture, can be used to enhance agricultural productivity.

  7. Ecoinformatics reveals effects of crop rotational histories on cotton yield.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Matthew H Meisner

    Full Text Available Crop rotation has been practiced for centuries in an effort to improve agricultural yield. However, the directions, magnitudes, and mechanisms of the yield effects of various crop rotations remain poorly understood in many systems. In order to better understand how crop rotation influences cotton yield, we used hierarchical Bayesian models to analyze a large ecoinformatics database consisting of records of commercial cotton crops grown in California's San Joaquin Valley. We identified several crops that, when grown in a field the year before a cotton crop, were associated with increased or decreased cotton yield. Furthermore, there was a negative association between the effect of the prior year's crop on June densities of the pest Lygus hesperus and the effect of the prior year's crop on cotton yield. This suggested that some crops may enhance L. hesperus densities in the surrounding agricultural landscape, because residual L. hesperus populations from the previous year cannot continuously inhabit a focal field and attack a subsequent cotton crop. In addition, we found that cotton yield declined approximately 2.4% for each additional year in which cotton was grown consecutively in a field prior to the focal cotton crop. Because L. hesperus is quite mobile, the effects of crop rotation on L. hesperus would likely not be revealed by small plot experimentation. These results provide an example of how ecoinformatics datasets, which capture the true spatial scale of commercial agriculture, can be used to enhance agricultural productivity.

  8. Weed hosts of cotton mealybug, Phenacoccus solenopsis Tinsley (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vennila, S; Prasad, Y G; Prabhakar, M; Agarwal, Meenu; Sreedevi, G; Bambawale, O M

    2013-03-01

    The exotic cotton mealybug, Phenacoccus solenopsis Tinsley (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) invaded India during 2006, and caused widespread infestation across all nine cotton growing states. P. solenopsis also infested weeds that aided its faster spread and increased severity across cotton fields. Two year survey carried out to document host plants of P. solenopsis between 2008 and 2010 revealed 27, 83, 59 and 108 weeds belonging to 8, 18, 10 and 32 families serving as alternate hosts at North, Central, South and All India cotton growing zones, respectively. Plant species of four families viz., Asteraceae, Amaranthaceae, Malvaceae and Lamiaceae constituted almost 50% of the weed hosts. While 39 weed species supported P. solenopsis multiplication during the cotton season, 37 were hosts during off season. Higher number of weeds as off season hosts (17) outnumbering cotton season (13) at Central over other zones indicated the strong carryover of the pest aided by weeds between two cotton seasons. Six, two and seven weed hosts had the extreme severity of Grade 4 during cotton, off and cotton + off seasons, respectively. Higher number of weed hosts of P. solenopsis were located at roadside: South (12) > Central (8) > North (3) zones. Commonality of weed hosts was higher between C+S zones, while no weed host was common between N+S zones. Paper furnishes the wide range of weed hosts of P. solenopsis, discusses their significance, and formulated general and specific cultural management strategies for nationwide implementation to prevent its outbreaks.

  9. Assessment of Bollgard II cotton pollen mediated transgenes flow to ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Assessment of Bollgard II cotton pollen mediated transgenes flow to conventional cotton in the farming conditions of Burkina ... This has led to experiment on Bt cotton from 2003 to 2007. ... EMAIL FREE FULL TEXT EMAIL FREE FULL TEXT

  10. Elemental analysis of cotton by laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schenk, Emily R.; Almirall, Jose R.

    2010-05-01

    Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) has been applied to the elemental characterization of unprocessed cotton. This research is important in forensic and fraud detection applications to establish an elemental fingerprint of U.S. cotton by region, which can be used to determine the source of the cotton. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of a LIBS method for the elemental analysis of cotton. The experimental setup consists of a Nd:YAG laser that operates at the fundamental wavelength as the LIBS excitation source and an echelle spectrometer equipped with an intensified CCD camera. The relative concentrations of elements Al, Ba, Ca, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mg, and Sr from both nutrients and environmental contributions were determined by LIBS. Principal component analysis was used to visualize the differences between cotton samples based on the elemental composition by region in the U.S. Linear discriminant analysis of the LIBS data resulted in the correct classification of >97% of the cotton samples by U.S. region and >81% correct classification by state of origin.

  11. Islands in a desert : breeding ecology of the African Reed Warbler Acrocephalus baeticatus in Namibia

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Eising, CM; Komdeur, J; Buys, J; Reemer, M; Richardson, DS; Richardson, David S.

    The continental African Reed Warbler Acrocephalus baeticatus, like its relative the Seychelles Warbler Acrocephalus sechellensis, breeds in isolated patches. We studied the mating system of the African Reed Warbler to see whether this species, like the Seychelles Warbler, shows co-operative

  12. CATEGORIZATION OF EXTRANEOUS MATTER IN COTTON USING MACHINE VISION SYSTEMS

    Science.gov (United States)

    The Cotton Trash Identification System (CTIS) was developed at the Southwestern Cotton Ginning Research Laboratory to identify and categorize extraneous matter in cotton. The CTIS bark/grass categorization was evaluated with USDA-Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) extraneous matter calls assigned ...

  13. Stable social relationships between unrelated females increase individual fitness in a cooperative bird.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Riehl, Christina; Strong, Meghan J

    2018-04-11

    Social animals often form long-lasting relationships with fellow group members, usually with close kin. In primates, strong social bonds have been associated with increased longevity, offspring survival and reproductive success. However, little is known about the fitness effects of social bonds between non-kin, especially outside of mammals. In this study, we use long-term field research on a cooperatively breeding bird, the greater ani ( Crotophaga major ), to ask whether adult females benefit by remaining in long-term associations with unrelated, co-breeding females. We find that females that have previously nested together synchronize their reproduction more rapidly than those nesting with unfamiliar partners, which leads to lower competition and higher fledging success. Importantly, although previous experience with a co-breeding female influenced reproductive synchrony, the degree of reproductive synchrony did not influence whether co-breeding females remained together in subsequent years, ruling out the alternate hypothesis that highly synchronized females are simply more likely to remain together. These results indicate that switching groups is costly to females, and that social familiarity improves reproductive coordination. Stable social relationships therefore have significant fitness consequences for cooperatively nesting female birds, suggesting that direct benefits alone may favour the evolution of associations between non-relatives and contribute to long-term group stability. © 2018 The Author(s).

  14. Estimation of Heterosis and Combining Ability in F1 Hybrids of Upland Cotton for Yield and Fiber Traits

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Arain, B.T.; Baloch, M.J.; Bughio, Q.U.A.; Sial, P.; Arain, M.A.; Baloch, A.

    2015-01-01

    The experimental research was conducted so as to determine the general combining ability (GCA) and specific combining ability (SCA) estimates and heterotic effects for seed cotton yield and fibre traits in 5 x 5 half diallel crosses of upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.). The parental genotypes studied were; CRIS-134, IR-3701, IR-1524, FH-113 and MG-6. The characters such as bolls/plant, sympodial branches/plant, boll weight (g), plant height (cm), fibre length (mm), seed cotton yield/plant (g), seed index (g) and ginning out turn percentage were studied. The experiment was laid-out in a randomized complete block design with four replications at experimental field of the Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics, Sindh Agriculture University Tandojam, Pakistan during 2013. The results revealed that, parents and hybrids differed significantly for their mean performance regarding all the traits studied. The importance of heterotic effects was evident from the significance of parents vs. hybrids performance. The variances due to GCA and SCA were significant for all the traits except that GCA was non-significant for boll weight only whereas, SCA was non-significant for boll weight, seed index and ginning out turn percentage. The significance of GCA indicated the importance of additive genes advocating the traits while, the involvement of non-additive genes was evident from the significance of SCA variances. The GCA variances were greater than SCA for bolls per plant, plant height, seed cotton yield and lint percentage while, SCA variances were higher than GCA for sympodial branches/plant and fibre length. Parents IR-3701, FH-113 and MG-6 displayed higher positive GCA effects for bolls/plant, sympodial branches/plant, fibre length, seed cotton yield, seed index and ginning out turn percentage. The per se performance of these three parents was exactly reflected in their GCA effects and such happenings are exceptional. Such results suggested that, all three parents were

  15. Effects of saliva collection using cotton swabs on melatonin enzyme immunoassay.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kozaki, Tomoaki; Lee, Soomin; Nishimura, Takayuki; Katsuura, Tetsuo; Yasukouchi, Akira

    2011-01-10

    Although various acceptable and easy-to-use devices have been used for saliva collection, cotton swabs are among the most common ones. Previous studies reported that cotton swabs yield a lower level of melatonin detection. However, this statistical method is not adequate for detecting an agreement between cotton saliva collection and passive saliva collection, and a test for bias is needed. Furthermore, the effects of cotton swabs have not been examined at lower melatonin level, a level at which melatonin is used for assessment of circadian rhythms, namely dim light melatonin onset (DLMO). In the present study, we estimated the effect of cotton swabs on the results of salivary melatonin assay using the Bland-Altman plot at lower level. Nine healthy males were recruited and each provided four saliva samples on a single day to yield a total of 36 samples. Saliva samples were directly collected in plastic tubes using plastic straws, and subsequently pipetted onto cotton swabs (cotton saliva collection) and into clear sterile tubes (passive saliva collection). The melatonin levels were analyzed in duplicate using commercially available ELISA kits. The mean melatonin concentration in cotton saliva collection samples was significantly lower than that in passive saliva collection samples at higher melatonin level (>6 pg/mL). The Bland-Altman plot indicated that cotton swabs causes relative and proportional biases in the assay results. For lower melatonin level (<6 pg/mL), although the BA plots didn't show proportional and relative biases, there was no significant correlation between passive and cotton saliva collection samples. Our findings indicate an interference effect of cotton swabs on the assay result of salivary melatonin at lower melatonin level. Cotton-based collection devices might, thus, not be suitable for assessment of DLMO.

  16. Plant breeding and genetics newsletter, No. 24, January 2010

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2010-01-01

    In the past biennium Plant Breeding and Genetics (PBG) subprogramme served 105 Member States through sixty-four national (30 Africa, 24 Asia and the Pacific, seven Latin America and the Caribbean, three Europe), seven regional (one Africa, four Asia and the Pacific, one Latin America and the Caribbean, one Europe) and one interregional Technical Cooperation Projects (TCPs), and six Coordinated Research Projects (CRPs) . Chosen highlights of these activities, you will find inside this issue

  17. Chemical analysis of plasma-assisted antimicrobial treatment on cotton

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kan, C W; Lam, Y L; Yuen, C W M; Luximon, A; Lau, K W; Chen, K S

    2013-01-01

    This paper explores the use of plasma treatment as a pretreatment process to assist the application of antimicrobial process on cotton fabric with good functional effect. In this paper, antimicrobial finishing agent, Microfresh Liquid Formulation 9200-200 (MF), and a binder (polyurethane dispersion, Microban Liquid Formulation R10800-0, MB) will be used for treating the cotton fabric for improving the antimicrobial property and pre-treatment of cotton fabric by plasma under atmospheric pressure will be employed to improve loading of chemical agents. The chemical analysis of the treated cotton fabric will be conducted by Fourier transform Infrared Spectroscopy.

  18. Field Comparison of Fertigation Vs. Surface Irrigation of Cotton Crop

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Janat, M.

    2004-01-01

    Based on previous results of the same nature, one nitrogen rate 180 kg N ha -1 was tested under two-irrigation methods, surface irrigation and drip fertigation of cotton (Cultivar Rakka-5) for two consecutive seasons 2000 and 2001. The study aimed to answer various questions regarding the applicability of drip fertigation at farm level and the effect of its employment on yield and growth parameters, compared to surface irrigation. Nitrogen fertilizer was either injected in eight equally split applications for the drip fertigated cotton or divided in four unequally split applications as recommend by Ministry of Agriculture (20% before planting, 40% at thinning, 20% after 60 days from planting and 20% after 75 days after planting). 15 N labeled urea was used to evaluate nitrogen fertilizer efficiency. The experimental design was randomized block design with seven replicates. Results showed that drip fertigation led to water saving exceeding 50% in some cases. Field germination percentage was highly increased under drip- fertigated cotton relative to surface-irrigated cotton. Dry matter and seed cotton yield of surface-irrigated cotton was slightly higher than that of drip-fertigated cotton in the first growing season. The reason for that was due to the hot spill that occurred in the region, which exposed the cotton crop to water stress and consequently pushed the cotton into early flowering. Lint properties were not affected by the introduction of drip-fertigation. Actually some properties were improved relative to the standard properties identified by the cotton Bureau.Nitrogen uptake was slightly increased under drip fertigation whereas nitrogen use efficiencies were not constant along the growing seasons. The reason for that could be lateral leaching and root proliferation into the labeled and unlabeled subplots. Field water use efficiency was highly increased for both growing seasons under drip fertigation practice. The rate of field water use efficiencies

  19. Organic breeding: New trend in plant breeding

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Berenji Janoš

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available Organic breeding is a new trend in plant breeding aimed at breeding of organic cultivars adapted to conditions and expectations of organic plant production. The best proof for the need of organic cultivars is the existence of interaction between the performances of genotypes with the kind of production (conventional or organic (graph. 1. The adaptation to low-input conditions of organic production by more eddicient uptake and utilization of plant nutrients is especially important for organic cultivars. One of the basic mechanism of weed control in organic production is the competition of organic cultivars and weeds i.e. the enhanced ability of organic cultivars to suppress the weeds. Resistance/tolerance to diseases and pests is among the most important expectations toward the organic cultivars. In comparison with the methods of conventional plant breeding, in case of organic plant breeding limitations exist in choice of methods for creation of variability and selection classified as permitted, conditionally permitted and banned. The use of genetically modified organisms and their derivated along with induced mutations is not permitted in organic production. The use of molecular markers in organic plant breeding is the only permitted modern method of biotechnology. It is not permitted to patent the breeding material of organic plant breeding or the organic cultivars. .

  20. Passive and active protection of cotton textiles

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bochove, C. van

    1967-01-01

    In rotproofing of cotton a distinction is made between passive and active protection. In passive protection, the structure of the cotton fibre is modified in such a way that the fibre can longer be attacked. This modification of structure can be effected on different levels: microscopical,

  1. Incorporating a Sorghum Habitat for Enhancing Lady Beetles (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae in Cotton

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    P. G. Tillman

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Lady beetles (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae prey on insect pests in cotton. The objective of this 2 yr on-farm study was to document the impact of a grain sorghum trap crop on the density of Coccinellidae on nearby cotton. Scymnus spp., Coccinella septempunctata (L., Hippodamia convergens Guérin-Méneville, Harmonia axyridis (Pallas, Coleomegilla maculata (De Geer, Cycloneda munda (Say, and Olla v-nigrum (Mulsant were found in sorghum over both years. Lady beetle compositions in sorghum and cotton and in yellow pyramidal traps were similar. For both years, density of lady beetles generally was higher on cotton with sorghum than on control cotton. Our results indicate that sorghum was a source of lady beetles in cotton, and thus incorporation of a sorghum habitat in farmscapes with cotton has great potential to enhance biocontrol of insect pests in cotton.

  2. Satellite-based monitoring of cotton evapotranspiration

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dalezios, Nicolas; Dercas, Nicholas; Tarquis, Ana Maria

    2016-04-01

    Water for agricultural use represents the largest share among all water uses. Vulnerability in agriculture is influenced, among others, by extended periods of water shortage in regions exposed to droughts. Advanced technological approaches and methodologies, including remote sensing, are increasingly incorporated for the assessment of irrigation water requirements. In this paper, remote sensing techniques are integrated for the estimation and monitoring of crop evapotranspiration ETc. The study area is Thessaly central Greece, which is a drought-prone agricultural region. Cotton fields in a small agricultural sub-catchment in Thessaly are used as an experimental site. Daily meteorological data and weekly field data are recorded throughout seven (2004-2010) growing seasons for the computation of reference evapotranspiration ETo, crop coefficient Kc and cotton crop ETc based on conventional data. Satellite data (Landsat TM) for the corresponding period are processed to estimate cotton crop coefficient Kc and cotton crop ETc and delineate its spatiotemporal variability. The methodology is applied for monitoring Kc and ETc during the growing season in the selected sub-catchment. Several error statistics are used showing very good agreement with ground-truth observations.

  3. Integrated nutrients management for 'desi' cotton

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Qazi, M.A.; Akram, M.; Ahmad, N.; Khattak, M.A.

    2007-01-01

    Intensive cropping with no return of crop residues and other organic inputs result in the loss of soil organic matter (SOM) and nutrient supply in (Desi) cotton-wheat cropping system in Pakistan. For appraisal of problem and finding solution to sustainability, we evaluated six treatments comprised of two fertilizer doses and three management techniques over a period of three years (2003-05) monitoring their effects on seed cotton yield and soil fertility. The techniques included chemical fertilizers, municipal solid waste manure (MSWM) integrated with chemical fertilizers in 1:4 ratios with, and without pesticides. The results revealed that cotton yields. Were enhanced by 19% due to site-specific fertilizer dose over conventional dose. Ignoring weeds control by means of herbicided application resulted in 5% decrease of seed cotton yield in IPNM technique positive effect of MSWM integration was noted on soil test phosphorus and SOM. Site-specific fertilizer application and integrated plant nutrient management by MSWM proved their suitability as the techniques not only improve soil quality in terms of sustained levels of organic matter and phosphorus but also provide a safe way of waste disposal. (author)

  4. Exploring potential and opportunities for pakistan cotton export

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Afridi, G. S.; Tariq, S. A.

    2016-01-01

    Agriculture is the single largest shareholder to GDP an employment to labour force. It has major share in export but unfortunately unable to meet international standards. This study aims to analyze the pattern of Pakistan cotton export, and to explore sector's export potential and opportunities. This new research endeavor with well-tested analytical tools enabled the trade experts and policy makers to explore the answer of lackness for diversification in export, HS-2- digits aggregated data for cotton sub-sectors have been used with latest data from 2004 to 2013 for the panel 39 countries. Revealed comparative advantage (RCA) index and gravity model approach was employed considering country and time specific fixed effect. The RCA index revealed that cotton sub-sectors have comparative advantage in export and there is gradual gain in the competitiveness with time. The opportunity exists in the markets of low, lower-middle and upper middle income countries and countries those have fair trade (low tariff and non-tariff barriers) for cotton export. Greater export potential lies with malaysia, kenya jordan, thailand, mauritius, netherlands norway, Australia and russian federation for export of cotton, however, export potential for cotton has been exhausted with canada, france, india, iran and saudi arabia. The study provide the policy information that countries of Latin america, eastern europe, central asia and northern africa are virgin for export. Therefore, pakistan should penetrate in these markets for export of cotton and other agricultural products. cognizant to new trade theories, pakistan focus on quality to gain maximum trade volume in the markets of high income countries, Pakistan may develop trade agreement with ASEAN, SAFTA, and EU-27 for export of agricultural products. (author)

  5. Effects of saliva collection using cotton swabs on melatonin enzyme immunoassay

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Katsuura Tetsuo

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Although various acceptable and easy-to-use devices have been used for saliva collection, cotton swabs are among the most common ones. Previous studies reported that cotton swabs yield a lower level of melatonin detection. However, this statistical method is not adequate for detecting an agreement between cotton saliva collection and passive saliva collection, and a test for bias is needed. Furthermore, the effects of cotton swabs have not been examined at lower melatonin level, a level at which melatonin is used for assessment of circadian rhythms, namely dim light melatonin onset (DLMO. In the present study, we estimated the effect of cotton swabs on the results of salivary melatonin assay using the Bland-Altman plot at lower level. Methods Nine healthy males were recruited and each provided four saliva samples on a single day to yield a total of 36 samples. Saliva samples were directly collected in plastic tubes using plastic straws, and subsequently pipetted onto cotton swabs (cotton saliva collection and into clear sterile tubes (passive saliva collection. The melatonin levels were analyzed in duplicate using commercially available ELISA kits. Results The mean melatonin concentration in cotton saliva collection samples was significantly lower than that in passive saliva collection samples at higher melatonin level (>6 pg/mL. The Bland-Altman plot indicated that cotton swabs causes relative and proportional biases in the assay results. For lower melatonin level ( Conclusion Our findings indicate an interference effect of cotton swabs on the assay result of salivary melatonin at lower melatonin level. Cotton-based collection devices might, thus, not be suitable for assessment of DLMO.

  6. Processing and Properties of PCL/Cotton Linter Compounds

    OpenAIRE

    Bezerra,Elieber Barros; França,Danyelle Campos; Morais,Dayanne Diniz de Souza; Rosa,Morsyleide de Freitas; Morais,João Paulo Saraiva; Araújo,Edcleide Maria; Wellen,Renate Maria Ramos

    2017-01-01

    Biodegradable compounds of poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL)/ cotton linter were melting mixed with filling content ranging from 1% to 5% w/w. Cotton linter is an important byproduct of textile industry; in this work it was used in raw state and after acid hydrolysis. According to the results of torque rheometry no decaying of viscosity took place during compounding, evidencing absence of breaking down in molecular weight. The thermal stability increased by 20% as observed in HDT for PCL/cotton...

  7. Cycling of fertilizer and cotton crop residue nitrogen

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rochester, I.J.; Constable, G.A.; MacLeod, D.A.

    1993-01-01

    Mineral nitrogen (N), nitrate and ammonium contents were monitored in N-fertilized soils supporting cotton crops to provide information on the nitrification, mineralization and immobilization processes operating in the soil. The relative contributions of fertilizer N, previous cotton crop residue N and indigenous soil N to the mineral N pools and to the current crop's N uptake were calculated. After N fertilizer (urea) application, the soil's mineral N content rose rapidly and subsequently declined at a slower rate. The recovery of 15 N-labelled urea as mineral N declined exponentially with time. Biological immobilization (and possibly denitrification to some extent) were believed to be the major processes reducing post-application soil mineral N content. Progressively less N was mineralized upon incubation of soil sampled through the growing season. Little soil N (either from urea or crop residue) was mineralized at crop maturity. Cycling of N was evident between the soil mineral and organic N pools throughout the cotton growing season. Considerable quantities of fertilizer N were immobilized by the soil micro biomass; immobilized N was remineralized and subsequently taken up by the cotton crop. A large proportion of the crop N was taken up in the latter part of the season when the soil mineral N content was low. It is suggested that much of the N taken up by cotton was derived from microbial sources, rather than crop residues. The application of cotton crop residue (stubble) slightly reduced the mineral N content in the soil by encouraging biological immobilization. 15 N was mineralized very slowly from the labelled crop residue and did not contribute significantly to the supply of N to the current crop. Recovery of labelled fertilizer N and labelled crop residue N by the cotton crop was 28% and 1%, respectively. In comparison, the apparent recovery of fertilizer N was 48%. Indigenous soil N contributed 68% of the N taken up by the cotton crop. 33 refs., 1 tab

  8. Resilient modulus of black cotton soil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    K.H. Mamatha

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available Resilient modulus (MR values of pavement layers are the basic input parameters for the design of pavements with multiple layers in the current mechanistic empirical pavement design guidelines. As the laboratory determination of resilient modulus is costly, time consuming and cumbersome, several empirical models are developed for the prediction of resilient modulus for different regions of the world based on the database of resilient modulus values of local soils. For use of these relationships there is a need to verify the suitability of these models for local conditions. Expansive clay called black cotton soil (BC soil is found in several parts of India and is characterized by low strength and high compressibility. This soil shows swell – shrink behaviour upon wetting and drying and are problematic. The BC soil shows collapse behaviour on soaking and therefore the strength of the soil needs to be improved. Additive stabilization is found to be very effective in stabilizing black cotton soils and generally lime is used to improve the strength and durability of the black cotton soil. In this paper, the results of repeated load tests on black cotton soil samples for the determination of MR under soaked and unsoaked conditions at a relative compaction levels of 100% and 95% of both standard and modified proctor conditions are reported. The results indicate that the black cotton soil fails to meet the density requirement of the subgrade soil and shows collapse behaviour under soaked condition. To overcome this, lime is added as an additive to improve the strength of black cotton soil and repeated load tests were performed as per AASHTO T 307 - 99 for MR determination. The results have shown that the samples are stable under modified proctor condition with MR values ranging from 36 MPa to 388 MPa for a lime content of 2.5% and curing period ranging from 7 to 28 days. Also, it is observed that, the CBR based resilient modulus is not in agreement

  9. Changes in cotton gin energy consumption apportioned by ten functions

    Science.gov (United States)

    The public is concerned about air quality and sustainability. Cotton producers, gin owners and plant managers are concerned about rising energy prices. Both have an interest in cotton gin energy consumption trends. Changes in cotton gins’ energy consumption over the past fifty years, a period of ...

  10. farmers' knowledge and perceptions of cotton insect pests and their

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Prince Acheampong

    A survey of 337 cotton farmers in the three northern regions of Ghana was ... five applications were made during the season. ... Keywords: cotton, farmer knowledge and perception, insect pest control, Ghana. .... bordered on tests of farmers' knowledge of cotton insect pests, their damage ..... Agricultural Experiment Station.

  11. Remote sensing techniques for monitoring the Rio Grande Valley cotton stalk destruction program

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Richardson, A.J.; Gerbermann, A.H.; Summy, K.R.; Anderson, G.L. (Department of Agriculture, Weslaco, TX (United States))

    1993-09-01

    Post harvest cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) stalk destruction is a cultural practice used in the Rio Grande Valley to suppress over wintering populations of boll weevils (Anthonomus grandis Boheman) without using chemicals. Consistent application of this practice could substantially reduce insecticide usage, thereby minimizing environmental hazards and increasing cotton production profits. Satellite imagery registered within a geographic information system was used to monitor the cotton stalk destruction program in the Rio Grande Valley. We found that cotton stalk screening procedures based on standard multispectral classification techniques could not reliably distinguish cotton from sorghum. Greenness screening for cotton plant stalks after the stalk destruction deadline was possible only where ground observations locating cotton fields were available. These findings indicate that a successful cotton stalk destruction monitoring program will require satellite images and earth referenced data bases showing cotton field locations.

  12. Induced mutations for improvement of desi cotton

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Waghmare, V.N.; Mohan, Punit; Singh, Phundan; Gururajan, K.N.

    2000-01-01

    Desi cotton varieties of Gossypium arboreum have wide adaptability and are relatively tolerant to biotic (insect pests and diseases) and abiotic (moisture and salt) stresses. Desi varieties have got potential to yield even under adverse and low input situations. Most of them are synchronous in maturity and possess consistent fibre properties. Despite such merits, very little attention has been paid for improvement of desi cotton. The present area under arboreum varieties is 17.0% (15.30 lakh ha.) against 65% (35.75 lakh ha) during 1947-48. Deliberate attempts are required to improve G. arboreum for its economic and quality characters to compete with upland varieties in rainfed cotton ecology

  13. Effects of saliva collection using cotton swab on cortisol enzyme immunoassay.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kozaki, Tomoaki; Hashiguchi, Nobuko; Kaji, Yumi; Yasukouchi, Akira; Tochihara, Yutaka

    2009-12-01

    Cotton swabs are among the most commonly used devices for collecting saliva, but various studies have reported that their use impacts the results of salivary cortisol assays. These studies, however, estimated this impact by comparing the average of the concentration and/or scatter plots. In the present study, we estimated the impact of cotton swabs on the results of salivary cortisol enzyme immunoassay (EIA) by Bland-Altman plot. Eight healthy males (aged 20-23 years) provided four saliva samples on different days to yield a total of 32 samples. Saliva samples were collected directly in plastic tubes using plastic straws and then pipetted onto cotton swabs (cotton saliva collection) and into clear sterile tubes (passive saliva collection). There was a lower correlation between cotton and passive saliva collection. Individually, four subjects showed a negative correlation between passive and cotton saliva collection. A Bland-Altman plot indicated that cotton swabs causes a proportional bias on the EIA assay result. Our findings indicate a considerable effect of using cotton swabs for saliva collection, and subject-specific variability in the impact. A Bland-Altman plot further suggests possible reasons for this effect.

  14. Novel search algorithms for a mid-infrared spectral library of cotton contaminants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Loudermilk, J Brian; Himmelsbach, David S; Barton, Franklin E; de Haseth, James A

    2008-06-01

    During harvest, a variety of plant based contaminants are collected along with cotton lint. The USDA previously created a mid-infrared, attenuated total reflection (ATR), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectral library of cotton contaminants for contaminant identification as the contaminants have negative impacts on yarn quality. This library has shown impressive identification rates for extremely similar cellulose based contaminants in cases where the library was representative of the samples searched. When spectra of contaminant samples from crops grown in different geographic locations, seasons, and conditions and measured with a different spectrometer and accessories were searched, identification rates for standard search algorithms decreased significantly. Six standard algorithms were examined: dot product, correlation, sum of absolute values of differences, sum of the square root of the absolute values of differences, sum of absolute values of differences of derivatives, and sum of squared differences of derivatives. Four categories of contaminants derived from cotton plants were considered: leaf, stem, seed coat, and hull. Experiments revealed that the performance of the standard search algorithms depended upon the category of sample being searched and that different algorithms provided complementary information about sample identity. These results indicated that choosing a single standard algorithm to search the library was not possible. Three voting scheme algorithms based on result frequency, result rank, category frequency, or a combination of these factors for the results returned by the standard algorithms were developed and tested for their capability to overcome the unpredictability of the standard algorithms' performances. The group voting scheme search was based on the number of spectra from each category of samples represented in the library returned in the top ten results of the standard algorithms. This group algorithm was able to identify

  15. Modern Breeding Methods for Improving Protein Quality and Quantity in Plants

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dumanovic, J.; Ehrenberg, L. [Institute for the Application of Nuclear Energy in Agriculture, Veterinary Medicine and Forestry, Belgrade, Yugoslavia (Serbia)

    1968-07-01

    Against the background of the world's urgent need for increased protein production and for an improved quality of vegetable proteins, the ability of plant breeding to contribute to this need is discussed. With examples especially from maize and wheat, existing variations in protein content and protein composition are surveyed, together with the interdependence of these characteristics and their co-variation with the yield. It is shown that plant breeding has a great potential for improving the world's food situation. It is also shown that more rapid achievements are possible than is generally considered to be characteristic of plant-breeding techniques. Special emphasis is stressed on: (a) The capacity of mutation breeding, alone and in conjunction with other methods, to contribute to an increased production of high quality protein; (b) The necessity for the success of programmes whereby fast, cheap, and if possible non-destructive analytical procedures are developed to determine protein and amino acids; (c) The importance of the close collaboration of plant breeders with specialists in related subjects such as soil fertilization, physiology and nutrition, food technology, and biochemistry; (d) The importance of international co-operation and co-ordination. (author)

  16. Aging of Attentiveness in Border Collies and Other Pet Dog Breeds: The Protective Benefits of Lifelong Training

    OpenAIRE

    Chapagain, Durga; Vir?nyi, Zs?fia; Wallis, Lisa J.; Huber, Ludwig; Serra, Jessica; Range, Friederike

    2017-01-01

    Aging of attentiveness affects cognitive functions like perception and working memory, which can seriously impact communication between dogs and humans, potentially hindering training and cooperation. Previous studies have revealed that aged laboratory beagles and pet Border collies (BC) show a decline in selective attention. However, much less is known about the aging of attentiveness in pet dogs in general rather than in specific breeds. Using 185 pet dogs (75 BC and 110 dogs of other breed...

  17. Polyploidization altered gene functions in cotton (Gossypium spp.).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Zhanyou; Yu, John Z; Cho, Jaemin; Yu, Jing; Kohel, Russell J; Percy, Richard G

    2010-12-16

    Cotton (Gossypium spp.) is an important crop plant that is widely grown to produce both natural textile fibers and cottonseed oil. Cotton fibers, the economically more important product of the cotton plant, are seed trichomes derived from individual cells of the epidermal layer of the seed coat. It has been known for a long time that large numbers of genes determine the development of cotton fiber, and more recently it has been determined that these genes are distributed across At and Dt subgenomes of tetraploid AD cottons. In the present study, the organization and evolution of the fiber development genes were investigated through the construction of an integrated genetic and physical map of fiber development genes whose functions have been verified and confirmed. A total of 535 cotton fiber development genes, including 103 fiber transcription factors, 259 fiber development genes, and 173 SSR-contained fiber ESTs, were analyzed at the subgenome level. A total of 499 fiber related contigs were selected and assembled. Together these contigs covered about 151 Mb in physical length, or about 6.7% of the tetraploid cotton genome. Among the 499 contigs, 397 were anchored onto individual chromosomes. Results from our studies on the distribution patterns of the fiber development genes and transcription factors between the At and Dt subgenomes showed that more transcription factors were from Dt subgenome than At, whereas more fiber development genes were from At subgenome than Dt. Combining our mapping results with previous reports that more fiber QTLs were mapped in Dt subgenome than At subgenome, the results suggested a new functional hypothesis for tetraploid cotton. After the merging of the two diploid Gossypium genomes, the At subgenome has provided most of the genes for fiber development, because it continues to function similar to its fiber producing diploid A genome ancestor. On the other hand, the Dt subgenome, with its non-fiber producing D genome ancestor

  18. Fine mapping and candidate gene analysis of the virescent gene v 1 in Upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mao, Guangzhi; Ma, Qiang; Wei, Hengling; Su, Junji; Wang, Hantao; Ma, Qifeng; Fan, Shuli; Song, Meizhen; Zhang, Xianlong; Yu, Shuxun

    2018-02-01

    The young leaves of virescent mutants are yellowish and gradually turn green as the plants reach maturity. Understanding the genetic basis of virescent mutants can aid research of the regulatory mechanisms underlying chloroplast development and chlorophyll biosynthesis, as well as contribute to the application of virescent traits in crop breeding. In this study, fine mapping was employed, and a recessive gene (v 1 ) from a virescent mutant of Upland cotton was narrowed to an 84.1-Kb region containing ten candidate genes. The GhChlI gene encodes the cotton Mg-chelatase I subunit (CHLI) and was identified as the candidate gene for the virescent mutation using gene annotation. BLAST analysis showed that the GhChlI gene has two copies, Gh_A10G0282 and Gh_D10G0283. Sequence analysis indicated that the coding region (CDS) of GhChlI is 1269 bp in length, with three predicted exons and one non-synonymous nucleotide mutation (G1082A) in the third exon of Gh_D10G0283, with an amino acid (AA) substitution of arginine (R) to lysine (K). GhChlI-silenced TM-1 plants exhibited a lower GhChlI expression level, a lower chlorophyll content, and the virescent phenotype. Analysis of upstream regulatory elements and expression levels of GhChlI showed that the expression quantity of GhChlI may be normal, and with the development of the true leaf, the increase in the Gh_A10G0282 dosage may partially make up for the deficiency of Gh_D10G0283 in the v 1 mutant. Phylogenetic analysis and sequence alignment revealed that the protein sequence encoded by the third exon of GhChlI is highly conserved across diverse plant species, in which AA substitutions among the completely conserved residues frequently result in changes in leaf color in various species. These results suggest that the mutation (G1082A) within the GhChlI gene may cause a functional defect of the GhCHLI subunit and thus the virescent phenotype in the v 1 mutant. The GhChlI mutation not only provides a tool for understanding the

  19. Insect pests management of bt cotton through the manipulation of different eco-friendly techniques

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ahmad, N.; Khan, M.H.; Tofique, M.

    2011-01-01

    This study was designed to manage insect pests of Bt cotton through the manipulation of different eco-friendly techniques. A perusal of data, based on the overall performance of different treatments reflected that lowest population of jassids (0.29) was observed in bio-control treated Bt cotton followed by bio-control treated conventional cotton (0.41). Mean per leaf population of thrips was found lowest in insecticide treated Bt cotton (0.97) which was statically at par with bi-control treated conventional cotton (0.95), biocontrol treated Bt cotton (1.09) and colour traps treated Bt cotton (1.50). In case of white flies, bio-control treated Bt cotton and bio-control treated conventional cotton again proved effective in maintaining the population at lower levels per leaf (0.33 and 0.35 respectively). No bollworms infestation was recorded in transgenic cotton whereas higher attack of the same was observed in the untreated conventional cotton block. The best results were achieved with the application of bio-control agents in combination with Bt cotton resulting in least infestation by insect pests and maximum seed yield of 3657 kg/ha. The population of Chrysoperla carnea was significantly higher in Bt and conventional cotton treated with bio-control agents as compared to the other treatments. The parasitism percentage of Trichogramma chilonis was observed significantly higher in bio-control treated conventional cotton. The studies manifested that combination of bio-control technology with Bt cotton effectively preserves the local beneficial insect fauna indicating its potential to be used as integrated management system against different insect pests of cotton. (author)

  20. Anther response to high-temperature stress during development and pollen thermotolerance heterosis as revealed by pollen tube growth and in vitro pollen vigor analysis in upland cotton.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Song, Guicheng; Wang, Miaomiao; Zeng, Bin; Zhang, Jing; Jiang, Chenliang; Hu, Qirui; Geng, Guangtao; Tang, Canming

    2015-05-01

    Pollen tube growth in styles was strongly inhibited by temperature above 35 °C, and the yield of cotton decreased because of the adverse effect of high temperatures during square development. High-temperature stress during flowering influences the square development of upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) and cotton yield. Although it is well known that square development is sensitive to high temperature, high-temperature sensitive stages of square development and the effects of high temperature on pollen tube growth in the styles are unknown. The effect of high temperature on anther development corresponding to pollen vigor is unknown during anther development. The objectives of this study were to identify the stages of square development that are sensitive to high temperatures (37/30 and 40/34 °C), to determine whether the abnormal development of squares influenced by high temperature is responsible for the variation in the in vitro germination percent of pollen grains at anthesis, to identify the effect of high temperature on pollen germination in the styles, and to determine pollen thermotolerance heterosis. Our results show that the stages from the sporogenous cell to tetrad stage (square length styles was strongly inhibited by temperature above 35 °C, and the yield of cotton decreased because of the effect of high temperature during square development. The thermotolerance of hybrid F1 pollen showed heterosis, and pollen viability could be used as a criterion for screening for high-temperature tolerance cultivars. These results can be used in breeding to develop new cotton cultivars that can withstand high-temperature conditions, particularly in a future warmer climate.

  1. Using atmospheric pressure plasma treatment for treating grey cotton fabric.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kan, Chi-Wai; Lam, Chui-Fung; Chan, Chee-Kooi; Ng, Sun-Pui

    2014-02-15

    Conventional wet treatment, desizing, scouring and bleaching, for grey cotton fabric involves the use of high water, chemical and energy consumption which may not be considered as a clean process. This study aims to investigate the efficiency of the atmospheric pressure plasma (APP) treatment on treating grey cotton fabric when compared with the conventional wet treatment. Grey cotton fabrics were treated with different combinations of plasma parameters with helium and oxygen gases and also through conventional desizing, scouring and bleaching processes in order to obtain comparable results. The results obtained from wicking and water drop tests showed that wettability of grey cotton fabrics was greatly improved after plasma treatment and yielded better results than conventional desizing and scouring. The weight reduction of plasma treated grey cotton fabrics revealed that plasma treatment can help remove sizing materials and impurities. Chemical and morphological changes in plasma treated samples were analysed by FTIR and SEM, respectively. Finally, dyeability of the plasma treated and conventional wet treated grey cotton fabrics was compared and the results showed that similar dyeing results were obtained. This can prove that plasma treatment would be another choice for treating grey cotton fabrics. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Heterosis and correlation in interspecific and intraspecific hybrids of cotton.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Munir, S; Hussain, S B; Manzoor, H; Quereshi, M K; Zubair, M; Nouman, W; Shehzad, A N; Rasul, S; Manzoor, S A

    2016-06-24

    Interspecific and intraspecific hybrids show varying degrees of heterosis for yield and yield components. Yield-component traits have complex genetic relationships with each other. To determine the relationship of yield-component traits and fiber traits with seed cotton yield, six lines (Bt. CIM-599, CIM-573, MNH-786, CIM-554, BH-167, and GIZA-7) and three test lines (MNH-886, V4, and CIM-557) were crossed in a line x tester mating design. Heterosis was observed for seed cotton yield, fiber traits, and for other yield-component traits. Heterosis in interspecific hybrids for seed cotton yield was more prominent than in intraspecific hybrids. The interspecific hybrid Giza-7 x MNH-886 had the highest heterosis (114.77), while among intraspecific hybrids, CIM-554 x CIM-557 had the highest heterosis (61.29) for seed cotton yield. A major trait contributing to seed cotton yield was bolls/plant followed by boll weight. Correlation studies revealed that bolls/plant, boll weight, lint weight/boll, lint index, seed index, lint/seed, staple length, and staple strength were significantly and positively associated with seed cotton yield. Selection based on boll weight, boll number, lint weight/boll, and lint index will be helpful for improving cotton seed yield.

  3. Genetic transformation of cry1EC gene into cotton ( Gossypium ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Cotton is the chief fibre crop of global importance. It plays a significant role in the national economy. Cotton crop is vulnerable to a number of insect species, especially to the larvae of lepidopteron pests. 60% insecticides sprayed on cotton are meant to control the damage caused by bollworm complex. Transgenic ...

  4. Fiber quality challenges facing the cotton industry

    Science.gov (United States)

    The cotton industry is in the midst of an exciting time with increased domestic consumption, but also facing pressure from other crops and the global marketplace. In order to ensure the US cotton crop remains the fiber of choice for the world it is important to keep an eye on the challenges to fibe...

  5. Within canopy distribution of cotton seed N

    Science.gov (United States)

    Whole cotton seeds can be an important component of dairy rations. Nitrogen content of the seed is an important determinant of the feed value of the seed. Efforts to increase the seed value as feed will be enhanced with knowledge of the range and distribution of seed N within the cotton crop. This s...

  6. Global alteration of microRNAs and transposon-derived small RNAs in cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) during Cotton leafroll dwarf polerovirus (CLRDV) infection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Romanel, Elisson; Silva, Tatiane F; Corrêa, Régis L; Farinelli, Laurent; Hawkins, Jennifer S; Schrago, Carlos E G; Vaslin, Maite F S

    2012-11-01

    Small RNAs (sRNAs) are a class of non-coding RNAs ranging from 20- to 40-nucleotides (nts) that are present in most eukaryotic organisms. In plants, sRNAs are involved in the regulation of development, the maintenance of genome stability and the antiviral response. Viruses, however, can interfere with and exploit the silencing-based regulatory networks, causing the deregulation of sRNAs, including small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) and microRNAs (miRNAs). To understand the impact of viral infection on the plant sRNA pathway, we deep sequenced the sRNAs in cotton leaves infected with Cotton leafroll dwarf virus (CLRDV), which is a member of the economically important virus family Luteoviridae. A total of 60 putative conserved cotton miRNAs were identified, including 19 new miRNA families that had not been previously described in cotton. Some of these miRNAs were clearly misregulated during viral infection, and their possible role in symptom development and disease progression is discussed. Furthermore, we found that the 24-nt heterochromatin-associated siRNAs were quantitatively and qualitatively altered in the infected plant, leading to the reactivation of at least one cotton transposable element. This is the first study to explore the global alterations of sRNAs in virus-infected cotton plants. Our results indicate that some CLRDV-induced symptoms may be correlated with the deregulation of miRNA and/or epigenetic networks.

  7. Various rates of k and Na influence growth, seed cotton yield and ionic ratio of two cotton varieties in soil culture

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ali, L.; Maqsood, M.A.; Ashraf, M.

    2009-01-01

    Cotton is generally grown on alkaline calcareous soils in arid and semi-arid areas of the country. Sodium can interact with other earth cations like K, Ca and Mg. Therefore, a pot study was conducted to investigate the growth, yield and ionic response of two cotton varieties. Four levels of K and Na were developed after considering indigenous K, Na status in soil. The treatments of K+Na in mg/kg were adjusted as, 105+37.5, 135+30 135+37.5 and 105+30 (control). Control treatment represented indigenous K, Na status of soil. The experiment continued until maturity. Application of K and Na increased seed cotton yield and boll weight significantly (p<0.01). Both varieties varied non-significantly with respect to K:Na ratio in leaf. The beneficial effects of Na with K application over control on seed cotton yield and boll weight were greater in NIBGE-2 than in MNH-786. Increase in seed cotton yield was attributed to maximum boll weight of both varieties. Significant negative correlation (r= -0.89, - 0.76, n= 4) was found between K:Na ratio and K use efficiency in shoot of NIBGE-2 and MNH-786, respectively. (author)

  8. Recent progress and future perspectives regarding mutation breeding at the Institute of Radiation Breeding

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nakagawa, Hitoshi

    2006-01-01

    Number of mutation species in the world is stated by some literature. 202 species are bread in Japan, which consists of 151 (by radiation), 20 (chemicals) and 31 (culture). The mutation indirect use species obtained 176 of rice, 3 wheat, 6 barleys, 8 soybeans, 3 tomatoes and 4 others. Low allergen rice, low glutelin rice, globulin deletion rice, disease resistant pear and apple, chrysanthemum and rose by radiation were studied. Control of mutation, genetics analysis, molecular scientific determination of mutation such as scale of mutation and RNA interference are reported. Advanced Radiation Application Research Center was build in Korea, 2005. Malaysian Institute for Nuclear Technology Research (MINT) is being built in Malaysia. Forum for Nuclear Cooperation in Asia (FNCA) is promoting radiation breeding in Japan. (S.Y.)

  9. Fiber sample presentation system for spectrophotometer cotton fiber color measurements

    Science.gov (United States)

    The Uster® High Volume Instrument (HVI) is used to class U.S. cotton for fiber color, yielding the industry accepted, cotton-specific color parameters Rd and +b. The HVI examines a 9 square inch fiber sample, and it is also used to test large AMS standard cotton “biscuits” or rectangles. Much inte...

  10. IMPROVED SPECTROPHOTOMETER FIBER SAMPLING SYSTEM FOR COTTON FIBER COLOR MEASUREMENTS

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cotton in the U.S. is classified for color using the Uster® High Volume Instrument (HVI), and the parameters Rd and +b are used to designate color grades for cotton fiber. However, Rd and +b are cotton-specific color parameters, and the need existed to demonstrate the relationships of Rd and +b to...

  11. Understanding the relationship between cotton fiber properties and non-cellulosic cell wall polysaccharides

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rajasundaram, Dhivyaa; Runavot, Jean-Luc; Guo, Xiaoyuan

    2014-01-01

    cotton fibers, which are of both biological and industrial importance. To this end, we attempted to study cotton fiber characteristics together with glycan arrays using regression based approaches. Taking advantage of the comprehensive microarray polymer profiling technique (CoMPP), 32 cotton lines from...... different cotton species were studied. The glycan array was generated by sequential extraction of cell wall polysaccharides from mature cotton fibers and screening samples against eleven extensively characterized cell wall probes. Also, phenotypic characteristics of cotton fibers such as length, strength...

  12. Modern trends on development of cotton production and processing chain Uzbekistan

    OpenAIRE

    Abdimumin Alikulov

    2010-01-01

    The cotton production complex of Uzbekistan has high rating comparing other export oriented branches. Cotton fiber value in 2008 share made 12% from total export of the country. The paper observes some trends and policy developments in cotton industry development.

  13. Interspecific reciprocity explains mobbing behaviour of the breeding chaffinches, Fringilla coelebs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krams, Indrikis; Krama, Tatjana

    2002-01-01

    When prey animals discover a predator close by, they mob it while uttering characteristic sounds that attract other prey individuals to the vicinity. Mobbing causes a predator to vacate its immediate foraging area, which gives an opportunity for prey individuals to continue their interrupted daily activity. Besides the increased benefits, mobbing behaviour also has its costs owing to injuries or death. The initiator of mobbing may be at increased risk of predation by attracting the predator's attention, especially if not joined by other neighbouring prey individuals. Communities of breeding birds have always been considered as temporal aggregations. Since an altruist could not prevent cheaters from exploiting its altruism in an anonymous community, this excluded any possibility of explaining mobbing behaviour in terms of reciprocal altruism. However, sedentary birds may have become acquainted since the previous non-breeding season. Migrant birds, forming anonymous communities at the beginning of the breeding season, may also develop closer social ties during the course of the breeding season. We tested whether a male chaffinch, a migrant bird, would initiate active harassment of a predator both at the beginning of the breeding season and a week later when it has become a member of a non-anonymous multi-species aggregation of sedentary birds. We expected that male chaffinches would be less likely to initiate a mob at the beginning of the breeding season when part of an anonymous multi-species aggregation of migratory birds. However, their mobbing activity should increase as the breeding season advances. Our results support these predictions. Cooperation among individuals belonging to different species in driving the predator away may be explained as interspecific reciprocity based on interspecific recognition and temporal stability of the breeding communities. PMID:12495502

  14. Quantification and characterization of cotton crop biomass residue

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cotton crop residual biomass remaining in the field after mechanical seed cotton harvest is not typically harvested and utilized off-site thereby generating additional revenue for producers. Recently, interest has increased in utilizing biomass materials as feedstock for the production of fuel and ...

  15. Governing the transnational organic cotton network from Benin

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Glin, L.C.; Mol, A.P.J.; Oosterveer, P.J.M.; Vodouhè, S.

    2012-01-01

    In this article, we attempt to conceptualize the historical development and the governance structure of the transnational organic cotton network from Benin. We aim to discover how the organic cotton production-consumption network is governed locally and internationally. Existing bodies of literature

  16. Zinc comprising coordination compounds as growth stimulants of cotton seeds

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yusupov, Z.N.; Nurmatov, T.M.; Rakhimova, M.M.; Dzhafarov, M.I.; Nikolaeva, T.B.

    1991-01-01

    Present article is devoted to zinc comprising coordination compounds as growth stimulants of cotton seeds. The influence of zinc coordination compounds with physiologically active ligands on germinative energy and seed germination of cotton was studied. The biogical activity and effectiveness of zinc comprising coordination compounds at application them for humidification of cotton seeds was studied as well.

  17. Women cotton pickers perceptions about health hazards due to pesticide use in irrigated punjab

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abbas, M.; Mehmood, I.; Bashir, A.; Hassan, S.

    2015-01-01

    In Pakistan, cotton crop has special importance from the perspective of largest employment generation both for males and females in the production and value chains. Cotton picking is primarily a female specific activity in all cropping zones of Pakistan. Women cotton pickers mostly belong to poor rural society involved in this labour force to feed their families. Cotton pickers in Pakistan face some serious health related problems due to heavy use of pesticides on cotton crop. The present study was designed to investigate the problem faced by women cotton pickers and their role in household decision making. Overall 150 women cotton pickers were interviewed from Bahawalnagar, Sahiwal and Vehari districts of cotton-wheat zone of the Punjab. Summary statistics of women cotton pickers' showed mean average age was 33 years and had 2.4 ears of formal schooling and 10 years of cotton picking experience. The main reasons for cotton picking reported were to reduce family financial burden (30%) followed by better access to food and resource (23%) and better education of children (21%). Majority of the respondents (97.33%) reported that the mode of payments of cotton picking was in cash and the most of the respondents (83.70%) reported that they got wages in time. Only few respondents (8.70%) were aware of health hazards due to pesticides and only 10% women wear protective clothes during cotton picking. Majority of the respondents (76%) wash their clothes after cotton picking whereas almost all the respondents wash their hand after cotton picking. The women cotton pickers faced health problem, tiredness (54.5%), mental disturbance (9.90%) and fatigue (8.00%). More than 58% women reported their involvement in household decision making regarding food and groceries while 30.6% women involved in decision about education of children. It is suggested that the female cotton pickers should be educated about the importance (in terms of disease treatment and long-run health costs

  18. HVI Colorimeter and Color Spectrophotometer Relationships and Their Impacts on Developing "Traceable" Cotton Color Standards

    Science.gov (United States)

    Color measurements of cotton fiber and cotton textile products are important quality parameters. The Uster® High Volume Instrument (HVI) is an instrument used globally to classify cotton quality, including cotton color. Cotton color by HVI is based on two cotton-specific color parameters—Rd (diffuse...

  19. Monogamy and high relatedness do not preferentially favor the evolution of cooperation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nonacs Peter

    2011-03-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Phylogenetic analyses strongly associate nonsocial ancestors of cooperatively-breeding or eusocial species with monogamy. Because monogamy creates high-relatedness family groups, kin selection has been concluded to drive the evolution of cooperative breeding (i.e., the monogamy hypothesis. Although kin selection is criticized as inappropriate for modeling and predicting the evolution of cooperation, there are no examples where specific inclusive fitness-based predictions are intrinsically wrong. The monogamy hypothesis may be the first case of such a flawed calculation. Results A simulation model mutated helping alleles into non-cooperative populations where females mated either once or multiply. Although multiple mating produces sibling broods of lower relatedness, it also increases the likelihood that one offspring will adopt a helper role. Examining this tradeoff showed that under a wide range of conditions polygamy, rather than monogamy, allowed helping to spread more rapidly through populations. Further simulations with mating strategies as heritable traits confirmed that multiple-mating is selectively advantageous. Although cooperation evolves similarly regardless of whether dependent young are close or more distant kin, it does not evolve if they are unrelated. Conclusions The solitary ancestral species to cooperative breeders may have been predominantly monogamous, but it cannot be concluded that monogamy is a predisposing state for the evolution of helping behavior. Monogamy may simply be coincidental to other more important life history characteristics such as nest defense or sequential provisioning of offspring. The differing predictive outcome from a gene-based model also supports arguments that inclusive fitness formulations poorly model some evolutionary questions. Nevertheless, cooperation only evolves when benefits are provided for kin: helping alleles did not increase in frequency in the absence of potential

  20. Incorporating breeding abundance into spatial assignments on continuous surfaces.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rushing, Clark S; Marra, Peter P; Studds, Colin E

    2017-06-01

    Determining the geographic connections between breeding and nonbreeding populations, termed migratory connectivity, is critical to advancing our understanding of the ecology and conservation of migratory species. Assignment models based on stable isotopes historically have been an important tool for studying migratory connectivity of small-bodied species, but the low resolution of these assignments has generated interest into combining isotopes with other sources in information. Abundance is one of the most appealing data sources to include in isotope-based assignments, but there are currently no statistical methods or guidelines for optimizing the contribution of stable isotopes and abundance for inferring migratory connectivity. Using known-origin stable-hydrogen isotope samples of six Neotropical migratory bird species, we rigorously assessed the performance of assignment models that differentially weight the contribution of the isotope and abundance data. For two species with adequate sample sizes, we used Pareto optimality to determine the set of models that simultaneously minimized both assignment error rate and assignment area. We then assessed the ability of the top models from these two species to improve assignments of the remaining four species compared to assignments based on isotopes alone. We show that the increased precision of models that include abundance is often offset by a large increase in assignment error. However, models that optimally weigh the abundance data relative to the isotope data can result in higher precision and, in some cases, lower error than models based on isotopes alone. The top models, however, depended on the distribution of relative breeding abundance, with patchier distributions requiring stronger downweighting of abundance, and we present general guidelines for future studies. These results confirm that breeding abundance can be an important source of information for studies investigating broad-scale movements of

  1. Single-Wall Carbon Nanotube-Coated Cotton Yarn for Electrocardiography Transmission

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yuliang Zhao

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available We fabricated a type of conductive fabric, specifically single-wall carbon nanotube-coated cotton yarns (SWNT-CYs, for electrocardiography (ECG signal transmission utilizing a “dipping and drying” method. The conductive cotton yarns were prepared by dipping cotton yarns in SWNTs (single-wall carbon nanotubes solutions and then drying them at room temperature—a simple process that shows consistency in successfully coating cotton yarns with conductive carbon nanotubes (CNTs. The influence of fabrication conditions on the conductivity properties of SWNT-CYs was investigated. The results demonstrate that our conductive yarns can transmit weak bio-electrical (i.e., ECG signals without significant attenuation and distortion. Our conductive cotton yarns, which combine the flexibility of conventional fabrics and the good conductivity of SWNTs, are promising materials for wearable electronics and sensor applications in the future.

  2. In vitro microbiologic evaluation of PTFE and cotton as spacer materials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paranjpe, Avina; Jain, Sumita; Alibhai, Karim J; Wadhwani, Chandur P; Darveau, Richard P; Johnson, James D

    2012-09-01

    To microbiologically evaluate the efficacy of cotton and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) tape used as spacer materials. Twenty-six extracted human molars were restored using either cotton or PTFE tape as spacers under a standardized provisional restorative material (Cavit). The teeth were incubated for 7 days in a culture of Streptococcus gordonii or in liquid media alone. The spacers were removed and tested for bacterial contamination. The access cavities were also evaluated for bacterial contamination. Nine of 10 teeth with cotton spacers and one of 10 teeth with PTFE spacers were positive for S gordonii growth. The nine teeth in the cotton group also showed contamination of the access cavities. Even under optimal conditions, cotton spacers may cause leakage into the access cavities. Cotton fibers may serve as a route for bacterial contamination of the access cavities and root canal space. In contrast, PTFE tape did not provide an avenue for bacterial contamination.

  3. Effect of low doses gamma irradiation of cotton seeds

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Al-Oudat, M.; Khalifa, Kh.

    1996-01-01

    Field experiments and then large scale application of irradiated cotton seeds (C.V. Aleppo-40) were carried out during three seasons (1986, 1987 and 1988) for field experiment at ACSAD Station in Dier-Ezzor and 1988, 1989 and 1990 for large scale application at Euphrate's Basin, Al-Ghab and Salamia, farmers farms. The above areas were selected as they represent major cotton production areas in Syria. The aims of the experiments were to study the effect of low doses of gamma irradiation 0, 5, 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 Gy on cotton yield and to look for the optimum dose of gamma irradiation to obtain best results. The results show that, there were positive effect (P<0.95) for doses 5-30 Gy in increasing cotton yield. The highest increase was at dose of 10 Gy. which as 19.5% higher than control. For the large scale application using 10 Gy the increase in cotton yield varied from 10-39% compared to control. (author). 11 refs., 6 figs

  4. Effect of cotton leaf-curl virus on the yield-components and fibre properties of cotton genotypes under varying plant spacing and nitrogen fertilizer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ahmad, S.; Hayat, K.; Ashraf, F.; Sadiq, M.A.

    2008-01-01

    Cotton leaf-curl virus (CLCu VB. Wala strain) is one of the major biotic constraints of cotton production in Punjab. Development of resistant cotton genotype is the most feasible, economical and effective method to combat this hazardous problem, but so far no resistant genotype has been reported. Therefore, the objective of this study was to compare yield and yield-components and fiber traits of different genotypes/varieties under different plant spacing and nitrogen fertilizer as a management strategy to cope with this viral disease. Field experiment was conducted during 2006-07 to evaluate the effect of genotype, plant spacing and nitrogen fertilizer on cotton. Five genotypes (MNH-786, MNH-789, MNH- 6070, CIM- 496, and BH-160), three plant-spacings (15, 30 and 45 cm) and three nitrogen fertilizer-levels (6.5, 8.6 and 11 bags Urea / ha) were studied. Results showed that significant differences exist for plant height, no. of bolls/m/sup -2/, seed-cotton yield (kg/ha) due to genotype, interaction of genotype with plant spacing and nitrogen fertilizer level. Whereas boll weight, ginning out-turn, staple length and fiber fineness were not affected significantly by the plant spacing and nitrogen fertilizer, the effect due to genotype was significant for these traits. CLCuV infestation varied significantly with genotypes, while all other factors, i.e., plant spacing and nitrogen fertilizers, have non-significant effect. As the major objective of cotton cultivation is production of lint for the country and seed- cotton yield for the farmers, it is noted that genotypes grown in narrow plant-spacing (15 cm) and higher nitrogen fertilizer level (11.0 bags of urea/ha) produced maximum seed-cotton yield under higher CLCu V infestation in case of CIM-496, MNH-789 and BH-I60, while the new strain MNH-6070 gave maximum yield under 30cm plant-spacing and 8.6 bags of urea/ha has the 2.3% CLCu V infestation was observed in this variety. From the present study, it is concluded that

  5. Field evaluation of Bt cotton crop impact on nontarget pests: cotton aphid and boll weevil.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sujii, E R; Togni, P H B; de A Ribeiro, P; de A Bernardes, T; Milane, P V G N; Paula, D P; Pires, C S S; Fontes, E M G

    2013-02-01

    Bt cotton plants expressing Cry1Ac protein have high specificity for the control of lepidopteran larvae. However, studies conducted in several countries have shown these plants have a differential impact on nontarget herbivores. The aim of this study was to compare the colonization rates and population abundance of the cotton aphid, Aphis gossypii Glover (Hemiptera: Aphididae) and the boll weevil, Anthonomus grandis Boheman (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), in plots of Bt (Nuopal) and non-Bt cotton (Delta Opal) in an experimental field in Brasilia, DF, Brazil. No difference was observed in the preference and colonization by winged aphids to plants from the two treatments. There was no significant difference in abundance of wingless aphids or in the production of winged aphids between treatments. Apparently, the parameters that control factors such as fecundity, survival, and dispersal were similar on both Bt and non-Bt plants. Monitoring of plants for coccinellids, a specialist predator of aphids, and ants that act on the dispersal of aphids among plants showed no significant difference between Bt and non-Bt plants, supporting the inference above. Regarding the effect on boll weevil, there was also no significant difference between treatments in the total number of fruiting structures attacked in each plot, the percentage of fruiting structures attacked per plant or on the number of weevils emerging from fruits with boll weevil damage from egg-laying, when damaged fruit samples were held in the laboratory. Based on these results, we conclude that there is no impact of Bt cotton crop expressing Cry1Ac on the nontarget herbivores tested under field conditions.

  6. Landscape crop composition effects on cotton yield, Lygus hesperus densities and pesticide use.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meisner, Matthew H; Zaviezo, Tania; Rosenheim, Jay A

    2017-01-01

    Landscape crop composition surrounding agricultural fields is known to affect the density of crop pests, but quantifying these effects, as well as measuring how they translate to changes in yield, is difficult. Using a large dataset consisting of 1498 records of commercial cotton production in California between 1997 and 2008, we explored the relationship between landscape composition and cotton yield, the density of Lygus hesperus (a key cotton pest) at field-level and within-field spatial scales and pesticide use. We found that the crop composition immediately adjacent to a cotton field was associated with substantial differences in cotton yield, L. hesperus density and pesticide use. Furthermore, crops that tended to be associated with increased L. hesperus density also tended to be associated with increased pesticide use and decreased cotton yield. Our results suggest a possible mechanism by which landscape composition can affect cotton yield: by increasing the density of pests which in turn damage cotton plants. Our quantification of how surrounding crops affect pest densities, and in turn yield, in cotton fields has significant impacts for cotton farmers, who can use this information to help optimize crop selection and ranch layout. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.

  7. 7 CFR 28.8 - Classification of cotton; determination.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... Standards Act Administrative and General § 28.8 Classification of cotton; determination. For the purposes of the Act, the classification of any cotton shall be determined by the quality of a sample in accordance... employees will determine all fiber property measurements using High Volume Instruments. The classification...

  8. The prevalence of byssinosis among cotton workers in the north of Benin.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hinson, A V; Schlünssen, V; Agodokpessi, G; Sigsgaards, T; Fayomi, B

    2014-10-01

    Cotton is the main agricultural export product in Benin. Cotton dust is thus present in the air during the handling and processing of cotton. This dust contains a mixture of substances including ground up plant matter, fibres, bacteria, fungi, soil, pesticides, noncotton matter, and other contaminants. While cotton processing is decreasing in industrialized countries, it is increasing in developing countries. Cotton processing, particularly in the early processes of spinning, can cause byssinosis. To determine the respiratory effects of cotton dust exposure among cotton mill workers in Benin. In a cross-sectional study, 109 workers exposed to cotton dust and 107 unexposed workers were studied. The International Commission on Occupational Health (ICOH) questionnaire was used for data collection on respiratory symptoms. For each worker, crossshift pulmonary function was performed with a dry spirometer. Based on the severity of respiratory symptoms and spirometry byssinosis was defined and classified according to the criteria of Schilling, et al. The mean ± SD age of the exposed and unexposed workers was 46.3 ± 7.8 and 37.0 ± 8.3 years, respectively (pcotton mill workers in Benin is high and needs prompt attention of health care workers and policymakers.

  9. Structure and properties of cotton fabrics treated with functionalized dialdehyde chitosan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    He, Xuemei; Tao, Ran; Zhou, Tianchi; Wang, Chunxia; Xie, Kongliang

    2014-03-15

    In this research, modified cotton fabrics were prepared by pad-dry-cure technique from the aldehyde chitosan solution containing 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES) and 1,2-ethanediamine (EDA) respectively. The structural characterization of the modified cotton fabrics was performed by attenuated total reflection ATR, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and thermogravimetry (TG) analysis and physical mechanical properties were measured. The adsorption kinetics of modified cotton fabrics were also investigated by using the pseudo first-order and pseudo second-order kinetic model. The dyeing rate constant k1, k2 and half adsorption time t1/2 were calculated, respectively. The results show that the mechanical properties of different modified cotton fabrics were improved, and the surface color depth values (K/S), UV index UPF and anti-wrinkle properties were better than those of untreated cotton. Dyeing kinetics data at different temperatures indicate that Direct Pink 12B up-take on the modified cotton fabrics fitted to pseudo second-order kinetic model. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Efficacy of Cotton Root Destruction and Winter Cover Crops for Suppression of Hoplolaimus columbus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Davis, R F; Baird, R E; McNeil, R D

    2000-12-01

    The efficacy of rye (Secale cereale) and wheat (Triticum aestivum) winter cover crops and cotton stalk and root destruction (i.e., pulling them up) were evaluated in field tests during two growing seasons for Hoplolaimus columbus management in cotton. The effect of removing debris from the field following root destruction also was evaluated. Wheat and rye produced similar amounts of biomass, and both crops produced more biomass (P Cover crops did not suppress H. columbus population levels or increase subsequent cotton yields. Cotton root destruction did not affect cotton stand or plant height the following year. Cotton root destruction lowered (P rye or wheat cover crop or cotton root destruction following harvest is ineffective for H. columbus management in cotton.

  11. Targeted introgression of cotton fibre quality quantitative trait loci using molecular markers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lacape, J.M.; Trung-Bieu Nguyen; Hau, B.; Giband, M.

    2007-01-01

    Within the framework of a cotton breeding programme, molecular markers are used to improve the efficiency of the introgression of fibre quality traits of Gossypium barbadense into G. hirsutum. A saturated genetic map was developed based on genotyping data obtained from the BC 1 (75 plants) and BC 2 (200 plants) generations. Phenotypic measurements conducted over three generations (BC 1 , BC 2 and BC 2 S 1 ) allowed 80 quantitative trait loci (QTL) to be detected for fibre length, uniformity, strength, elongation, fineness and colour. Positive QTL, i.e. those for which favourable alleles came from the G. barbadense parent, were harboured by 19 QTL-rich regions on 15 'carrier' chromosomes. In subsequent generations (BC 3 and BC 4 ), markers framing the QTL-rich regions were used to select about 10 percent of over 400 plants analysed in each generation. Although BC plants selected through the marker-assisted selection (MAS) process show promising fibre quality, only their full field evaluation will allow validation of the procedure. (author)

  12. Genome-wide functional analysis of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum in response to drought.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yun Chen

    Full Text Available Cotton is one of the most important crops for its natural textile fibers in the world. However, it often suffered from drought stress during its growth and development, resulting in a drastic reduction in cotton productivity. Therefore, study on molecular mechanism of cotton drought-tolerance is very important for increasing cotton production. To investigate molecular mechanism of cotton drought-resistance, we employed RNA-Seq technology to identify differentially expressed genes in the leaves of two different cultivars (drought-resistant cultivar J-13 and drought-sensitive cultivar Lu-6 of cotton. The results indicated that there are about 13.38% to 18.75% of all the unigenes differentially expressed in drought-resistant sample and drought-sensitive control, and the number of differentially expressed genes was increased along with prolonged drought treatment. DEG (differentially expression gene analysis showed that the normal biophysical profiles of cotton (cultivar J-13 were affected by drought stress, and some cellular metabolic processes (including photosynthesis were inhibited in cotton under drought conditions. Furthermore, the experimental data revealed that there were significant differences in expression levels of the genes related to abscisic acid signaling, ethylene signaling and jasmonic acid signaling pathways between drought-resistant cultivar J-13 and drought-sensitive cultivar Lu-6, implying that these signaling pathways may participate in cotton response and tolerance to drought stress.

  13. [Effects of elevated atmospheric CO2 and nitrogen application on cotton biomass, nitrogen utilization and soil urease activity].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lyu, Ning; Yin, Fei-hu; Chen, Yun; Gao, Zhi-jian; Liu, Yu; Shi, Lei

    2015-11-01

    In this study, a semi-open-top artificial climate chamber was used to study the effect of CO2 enrichment (360 and 540 µmol · mol(-1)) and nitrogen addition (0, 150, 300 and 450 kg · hm(-2)) on cotton dry matter accumulation and distribution, nitrogen absorption and soil urease activity. The results showed that the dry matter accumulation of bud, stem, leaf and the whole plant increased significantly in the higher CO2 concentration treatment irrespective of nitrogen level. The dry matter of all the detected parts of plant with 300 kg · hm(-2) nitrogen addition was significantly higher than those with the other nitrogen levels irrespective of CO2 concentration, indicating reasonable nitrogen fertilization could significantly improve cotton dry matter accumulation. Elevated CO2 concentration had significant impact on the nitrogen absorption contents of cotton bud and stem. Compared to those under CO2 concentration of 360 µmol · mol(-1), the nitrogen contents of bud and stem both increased significantly under CO2 concentration of 540 µmol · mol(-1). The nitrogen content of cotton bud in the treatment of 300 kg · hm(-2) nitrogen was the highest among the four nitrogen fertilizer treatments. While the nitrogen contents of cotton stem in the treatments of 150 kg · hm(-2) and 300 kg · hm(-2) nitrogen levels were higher than those in the treatment of 0 kg · hm(-2) and 450 kg · hm(-2) nitrogen levels. The nitrogen content of cotton leaf was significantly influenced by the in- teraction of CO2 elevation and N addition as the nitrogen content of leaf increased in the treatments of 0, 150 and 300 kg · hm(-2) nitrogen levels under the CO2 concentration of 540 µmol · mol(-1). The nitrogen content in cotton root was significantly increased with the increase of nitrogen fertilizer level under elevated CO2 (540 µmol · mol(-1)) treatment. Overall, the cotton nitrogen absorption content under the elevated CO2 (540 µmol · mol(-1)) treatment was higher than that

  14. Pilot scale cotton gin trash energy recovery

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Harp, S.L. [Oklahoma State Univ., Stillwater, OK (United States)

    1993-12-31

    During the summer of 1992 a 520,000 kcal/h (2,064,400 Btu/hr) biomass combustor was installed at a cotton gin in southwestern Oklahoma. The gin has a capacity of approximately 35 bales per hour. Each bale of cotton ginned weighs about 227 kg (500 lb) and produces about 68 kg (150 lb) of trash. Therefore, this gin produces about 52,360 kg (115,500 lb) of trash per day during a typical ginning season. Approximately 2 million kg (4 million lb) of gin trash are produced at this site each year. Cotton must first be dried to about 3-5% moisture content before the ginning process is begun. To accomplish this at this gin, two six million Btu/hour direct fired gas heaters are used to heat air for drying the cotton. The biomass combustor was installed to operate in parallel with one of the heaters to supply heated air for the drying process. A pneumatic conveying system was installed to intercept a portion of the gin trash and divert it to the burner. The burner was operated during the 1992 ginning season, which lasted from September through November, with few problems.

  15. Influence of cover crops on insect pests and predators in conservation tillage cotton.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tillman, Glynn; Schomberg, Harry; Phatak, Sharad; Mullinix, Benjamin; Lachnicht, Sharon; Timper, Patricia; Olson, Dawn

    2004-08-01

    In fall 2000, an on-farm sustainable agricultural research project was established for cotton, Gossypium hirsutum L., in Tift County, Georgia. The objective of our 2-yr research project was to determine the impact of several cover crops on pest and predator insects in cotton. The five cover crop treatments included 1) cereal rye, Secale cereale L., a standard grass cover crop; 2) crimson clover, Trifolium incarnatum L., a standard legume cover crop; 3) a legume mixture of balansa clover, Trifolium michelianum Savi; crimson clover; and hairy vetch, Vicia villosa Roth; 4) a legume mixture + rye combination; and 5) no cover crop in conventionally tilled fields. Three main groups or species of pests were collected in cover crops and cotton: 1) the heliothines Heliothis virescens (F.) and Helicoverpa zea (Boddie); 2) the tarnished plant bug, Lygus lineolaris (Palisot de Beauvois); and 3) stink bugs. The main stink bugs collected were the southern green stink bug, Nezara viridula (L.); the brown stink bug, Euschistus servus (Say); and the green stink bug, Acrosternum hilare (Say). Cotton aphids, Aphis gossypii Glover, were collected only on cotton. For both years of the study, the heliothines were the only pests that exceeded their economic threshold in cotton, and the number of times this threshold was exceeded in cotton was higher in control cotton than in crimson clover and rye cotton. Heliothine predators and aphidophagous lady beetles occurred in cover crops and cotton during both years of the experiment. Geocoris punctipes (Say), Orius insidiosus (Say), and red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta Buren were relatively the most abundant heliothine predators observed. Lady beetles included the convergent lady beetle, Hippodamia convergens Guérin-Méneville; the sevenspotted lady beetle, Coccinella septempunctata L.; spotted lady beetle, Coleomegilla maculata (DeGeer); and the multicolored Asian lady beetle, Harmonia axyridis (Pallas). Density of G. punctipes was

  16. Gone with transgenic cotton cropping in the USA. A perception of the presentations and interactions at the Beltwide Cotton Conferences, New Orleans (Louisiana, USA, 4-7/01/2010

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fok, M.

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available The 2010 Beltwide Cotton Conferences provided a new vision of the consequences of about 15 years of widespread and uncoordinated cropping of transgenic cotton in the United States. Insect-resistant and/or herbicide-tolerant cotton varieties modified parasite complexes, namely those of insects and weeds damaging cotton crops. The Conferences have revealed that the adaptation solutions so far proposed make illusory the expectations at the launch of transgenic cotton, in terms of effective pest control, cost reduction, and antagonism between chemical and biotech methods. The USA case points out that the technical and economic sustainability of transgenic varieties must lie in a systemic and coordinated approach.

  17. Radiation degradation of short-cotton linters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ma Zue Teh; Zhou Rui Min

    1984-01-01

    Radiation degradation of short-cotton linters has been studied by using X-ray diffraction, an infrared spectrometer and a viscosimeter. Average molecular weight and crystallinity of short-cotton linters and the change of reducing sugar in γ-radiation degradation were examined. It was found that cellulosic saccharification in hydrolysis was enhanced with preirradiation of linter. This probably resulted from the radiation induced change of cellulosic structure. Sensitizers to promote radiation degradation effect were investigated. Carbon tetrachloride has been found to be effective. (author)

  18. Conservation and Improvement Strategy for Fogera Cattle: A Lesson for Ethiopia Ingenious Cattle Breed Resource

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Assemu Tesfa

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The paper is initiated to design appropriate conservation strategies and breeding scheme for Fogera cattle breed that will be used as a guide for other Ethiopian indigenous cattle breed. Two types of data, on-farm and on-station, were used; the on-farm data was collected from three districts, namely, Fogera, Dera, and Bahir Dar Zuria; those are expected as the home of the breed. A total of 150 farmers, which are knowledgeable and having at least one cattle of Fogera phenotype in their herd, were purposively selected and interviewed. Additionally, farmer’s focus group discussion (FGD was conducted to capture the historical background, population, and distribution of the breed. SPSS (version 16 and index method was used to analyze the quantitative and scoring data’s, respectively. A meeting at national and regional level was also conducted to evaluate the existing conservation strategy and to identify the major stakeholders for the strategy. The main reasons to conserve Fogera breed are due to presence of interrelated constraints, presence of unique traits of the breed, better attitude of farmers, and decreasing population trend of the breed. Community-based in situ conservation strategy, to ensure the participation of the community, was designed for the breed. With the conservation strategy, related activities like feed development, animal health interventions, market linkage, and development of cooperatives will be implemented to improve the working environment. The stakeholders that are identified as an actor in the strategy should realize their honest participation for the sustainability of conservation and improvement of the breed.

  19. 7 CFR 1427.16 - Movement and protection of warehouse-stored cotton.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 10 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Movement and protection of warehouse-stored cotton. 1427.16 Section 1427.16 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) COMMODITY... Cotton Loan and Loan Deficiency Payments § 1427.16 Movement and protection of warehouse-stored cotton. (a...

  20. Current university and USDA lab cotton contamination research

    Science.gov (United States)

    U.S. cotton is considered to have some of the lowest levels of contamination in the world. However, that reputation is in jeopardy as complaints of contamination from domestic and foreign mills are on the rise. Cotton contamination can be classified under four major categorizes: fabrics and strings ...

  1. cotton fabric 51

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    DR. AMINU

    1Department of Chemistry, Federal College of Education, Kano – Nigeria. 2Department of ... its versatility were examined taken into consideration, the molecular structure. ... hemicelluloses, pectin, coloring matter and ash ... temperature for a fixed period of time. These processes rendered the cotton 99% cellulose in nature.

  2. Correlated pay-offs are key to cooperation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frommen, Joachim G.; Riehl, Christina

    2016-01-01

    The general belief that cooperation and altruism in social groups result primarily from kin selection has recently been challenged, not least because results from cooperatively breeding insects and vertebrates have shown that groups may be composed mainly of non-relatives. This allows testing predictions of reciprocity theory without the confounding effect of relatedness. Here, we review complementary and alternative evolutionary mechanisms to kin selection theory and provide empirical examples of cooperative behaviour among unrelated individuals in a wide range of taxa. In particular, we focus on the different forms of reciprocity and on their underlying decision rules, asking about evolutionary stability, the conditions selecting for reciprocity and the factors constraining reciprocal cooperation. We find that neither the cognitive requirements of reciprocal cooperation nor the often sequential nature of interactions are insuperable stumbling blocks for the evolution of reciprocity. We argue that simple decision rules such as ‘help anyone if helped by someone’ should get more attention in future research, because empirical studies show that animals apply such rules, and theoretical models find that they can create stable levels of cooperation under a wide range of conditions. Owing to its simplicity, behaviour based on such a heuristic may in fact be ubiquitous. Finally, we argue that the evolution of exchange and trading of service and commodities among social partners needs greater scientific focus. PMID:26729924

  3. Top management team shared leadership and ambidexterity: A moderated mediation framework

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Mihalache, R.O.; Jansen, J.J.P.; Volberda, H.W.; van den Bosch, F.

    2014-01-01

    This study proposes top management team (TMT) shared leadership as an important enabler of organizational ambidexterity. Moreover, we examine both how and when TMT shared leadership enhances organizational ambidexterity by considering two TMT processes as mediators (i.e., cooperative conflict

  4. Helpers increase the reproductive potential of offspring in cooperative meerkats

    Science.gov (United States)

    Russell, A.F; Young, A.J; Spong, G; Jordan, N.R; Clutton-Brock, T.H

    2006-01-01

    In both animal and human societies, individuals may forego personal reproduction and provide care to the offspring of others. Studies aimed at investigating the adaptive nature of such cooperative breeding systems in vertebrates typically calculate helper ‘fitness’ from relationships of helper numbers and offspring survival to independence. The aim of this study is to use observations and supplemental feeding experiments in cooperatively breeding meerkats, Suricata suricatta, to investigate whether helpers influence the long-term reproductive potential of offspring during adulthood. We show that helpers have a significant and positive influence on the probability that offspring gain direct reproductive success in their lifetimes. This effect arises because helpers both reduce the age at which offspring begin to reproduce as subordinates and increase the probability that they will compete successfully for alpha rank. Supplemental feeding experiments confirm the causality of these results. Our results suggest that one can neither discount the significance of helper effects when none is found nor necessarily estimate accurately the fitness benefit that helpers accrue, unless their effects on offspring are considered in the long term. PMID:17476771

  5. Inheritance and segregation of exogenous genes in transgenic cotton

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    1Key Laboratory of Cotton Genetic Improvement of the Ministry of Agriculture, Cotton Research Institute, Chinese. Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Anyang Henan 455 112, People's Republic of China. 2Institute ..... Athens, Greece. Xie D. X. ...

  6. The complete genome sequence of a virus associated with cotton blue disease, cotton leafroll dwarf virus, confirms that it is a new member of the genus Polerovirus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Distéfano, Ana J; Bonacic Kresic, Ivan; Hopp, H Esteban

    2010-11-01

    Cotton blue disease is the most important virus disease of cotton in the southern part of America. The complete nucleotide sequence of the ssRNA genome of the cotton blue disease-associated virus was determined for the first time. It comprised 5,866 nucleotides, and the deduced genomic organization resembled that of members of the genus Polerovirus. Sequence homology comparison and phylogenetic analysis confirm that this virus (previous proposed name cotton leafroll dwarf virus) is a member of a new species within the genus Polerovirus.

  7. Conductive Cotton Textile from Safely Functionalized Carbon Nanotubes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohammad Jellur Rahman

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Electroconductive cotton textile has been prepared by a simple dipping-drying coating technique using safely functionalized multiwalled carbon nanotubes (f-MWCNTs. Owing to the surface functional groups, the f-MWCNTs become strongly attached with the cotton fibers forming network armors on their surfaces. As a result, the textile exhibits enhanced electrical properties with improved thermal conductivity and therefore is demonstrated as a flexible electrothermal heating element. The fabricated f-MWCNTs/cotton textile can be heated uniformly from room temperature to ca. 100°C within few minutes depending on the applied voltage. The textile shows good thermal stability and repeatability during a long-term heating test.

  8. The Optimal Tax on Antebellum U.S. Cotton Exports

    OpenAIRE

    Douglas A. Irwin

    2001-01-01

    The United States produced about 80 percent of the world's cotton in the decades prior to the Civil War. How much monopoly power did the United States possess in the world cotton market and what would have been the effect of an optimal export tax? This paper estimates the elasticity of foreign demand for U.S. cotton exports and uses the elasticity in a simple partial equilibrium model to calculate the optimal export tax and its effect on prices, trade, and welfare. The results indicate that t...

  9. Genetic analysis of fibre quality traits in upland cotton

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Khan, I.A.; Shakeel, A.; Azhar, F.M.

    2001-01-01

    Five-parent diallel cross data were analysed following Hayman-Jinks genetic model in order to study pattern of inheritance of staple length, fibre strength, fibre fineness and fibre uniformity of upland cotton. The regression analysis of the F/sub 1/ data revealed that the simple additive dominance model was adequate for genetic analysis. Graphic analysis showed the presence of over-dominance type of gene action in the inheritance e of all the traits. The comparison of array means indicated that varieties Co-2-1 and B-682 had good general combining ability for staple length and fibre strength respectively, whilst CIM-443 showed better general combining ability for fibre fineness and fibre uniformity than the other varieties. The cross combination of Co-2-1 and CIM-443 with B-682 expressed best specific combining ability for staple length and fibre uniformity respectively. Similarly variety B-682 nickel well with DPL 7740-424 for the fibre strength, and coker-307 with CO-2-1 for fibre fineness. The type of gene action controlling inheritance of these characters, and better performance of some of the hybrids suggest that improvement may be possible by developing on appropriate breeding programme. (author)

  10. Identification and characterization of microRNAs in Asiatic cotton (Gossypium arboreum L..

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Min Wang

    Full Text Available To date, no miRNAs have been identified in the important diploid cotton species although there are several reports on miRNAs in upland cotton. In this study, we identified 73 miRNAs, belonging to 49 families, from Asiatic cotton using a well-developed comparative genome-based homologue search. Several of the predicted miRNAs were validated using quantitative real time PCR (qRT-PCR. The length of miRNAs varied from 18 to 22 nt with an average of 20 nt. The length of miRNA precursors also varied from 46 to 684 nt with an average of 138 ±120 nt. For a majority of Asiatic cotton miRNAs, there is only one member per family; however, multiple members were identified for miRNA 156, 414, 837, 838, 1044, 1533, 2902, 2868, 5021 and 5142 families. Nucleotides A and U were dominant, accounted for 62.95%, in the Asiatic cotton pre-miRNAs. The Asiatic cotton pre-miRNAs had high negative minimal folding free energy (MFE and adjusted MFE (AMFE and high MFE index (MFEI. Many miRNAs identified in Asiatic cotton suggest that miRNAs also play a similar regulatory mechanism in diploid cotton.

  11. Weather variability affects the Peregrine Falcon (F. p. tundrius) breeding success in South Greenland

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Carlzon, Linnéa; Karlsson, Amanda; Falk, Knud

    Global warming is affecting the Arctic at a much higher rate than the rest of the globe, causing a rapidly changing environment for Arctic biota. Climate change is already causing increased variability and extremes in precipitation. Although the peregrine falcon is a well-studied top predator...... in the Arctic only a few studies have identified how the changing weather patterns affect the breeding populations. Therefore, in order to understand the effects of climate change on the peregrine’s future prospects, we investigated the relationship between weather variability (“extreme weather”) and breeding......’ and total days with ‘extreme weather’ during the pre-laying and incubation period also had significant negative correlation with breeding success. Contrary to expectations (and other studies), we found no significant effect of precipitation during the nesting period. Results also indicate that other factors...

  12. Fabrication of superhydrophobic cotton fabrics using crosslinking polymerization method

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiang, Bin; Chen, Zhenxing; Sun, Yongli; Yang, Huawei; Zhang, Hongjie; Dou, Haozhen; Zhang, Luhong

    2018-05-01

    With the aim of removing and recycling oil and organic solvent from water, a facile and low-cost crosslinking polymerization method was first applied on surface modification of cotton fabrics for water/oil separation. Micro-nano hierarchical rough structure was constructed by triethylenetetramine (TETA) and trimesoyl chloride (TMC) that formed a polymeric layer on the surface of the fabric and anchored Al2O3 nanoparticles firmly between the fabric surface and the polymer layer. Superhydrophobic property was further obtained through self-assembly grafting of hydrophobic groups on the rough surface. The as-prepared cotton fabric exhibited superoleophilicity in atmosphere and superhydrophobicity both in atmosphere and under oil with the water contact angle of 153° and 152° respectively. Water/oil separation test showed that the as-prepared cotton fabric can handle with various oil-water mixtures with a high separation efficiency over 99%. More importantly, the separation efficiency remained above 98% over 20 cycles of reusing without losing its superhydrophobicity which demonstrated excellent reusability in oil/water separation process. Moreover, the as-prepared cotton fabric possessed good contamination resistance ability and self-cleaning property. Simulation washing process test showed the superhydrophobic cotton fabric maintained high value of water contact angle above 150° after 100 times washing, indicating great stability and durability. In summary, this work provides a brand-new way to surface modification of cotton fabric and makes it a promising candidate material for oil/water separation.

  13. The oxidative costs of reproduction are group-size dependent in a wild cooperative breeder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cram, Dominic L; Blount, Jonathan D; Young, Andrew J

    2015-11-22

    Life-history theory assumes that reproduction entails a cost, and research on cooperatively breeding societies suggests that the cooperative sharing of workloads can reduce this cost. However, the physiological mechanisms that underpin both the costs of reproduction and the benefits of cooperation remain poorly understood. It has been hypothesized that reproductive costs may arise in part from oxidative stress, as reproductive investment may elevate exposure to reactive oxygen species, compromising survival and future reproduction and accelerating senescence. However, experimental evidence of oxidative costs of reproduction in the wild remains scarce. Here, we use a clutch-removal experiment to investigate the oxidative costs of reproduction in a wild cooperatively breeding bird, the white-browed sparrow weaver, Plocepasser mahali. Our results reveal costs of reproduction that are dependent on group size: relative to individuals in groups whose eggs were experimentally removed, individuals in groups that raised offspring experienced an associated cost (elevated oxidative damage and reduced body mass), but only if they were in small groups containing fewer or no helpers. Furthermore, during nestling provisioning, individuals that provisioned at higher rates showed greater within-individual declines in body mass and antioxidant protection. Our results provide rare experimental evidence that reproduction can negatively impact both oxidative status and body mass in the wild, and suggest that these costs can be mitigated in cooperative societies by the presence of additional helpers. These findings have implications for our understanding of the energetic and oxidative costs of reproduction, and the benefits of cooperation in animal societies. © 2015 The Authors.

  14. Inventories of Asian textile producers, US cotton exports, and the exchange rate

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Durmaz Nazif

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The present paper develops a model with US cotton exports depending on the stock-to-use ratio, trade weighted exchange rates, and the relative cotton prices. The role of inventories in cotton consumption is examined in five textile producing cotton importers, China, Indonesia, Thailand, South Korea, and Taiwan. Cotton inventory dynamics is diverse among Asian textile producers. Relative prices have negative effect in all markets as expected. Exchange rate elasticities show that effects should be examined for each separate market. Changes in rates of depreciation also have stronger effects than exchange rate. Results reveal that these countries are not all that homogenous.

  15. Polyploidization altered gene functions in cotton (Gossypium spp.)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cotton fibers are seed trichomes derived from individual cells of the epidermal layer of the seed coat. It has been known for a long time that a large set of genes determine the development of cotton fiber, and more recently it has been determined that these genes are distributed across the At and ...

  16. Dynamic and Stochastic Structures of U.S. Cotton Exports and Mill Demand

    OpenAIRE

    Fadiga, Mohamadou L.

    2006-01-01

    This study employs a structural time-series method to model and estimate U.S. cotton exports and mill use. The results show that the stochastic process governing cotton export fluctuations is transitory, while the process pertaining to mill use has transitory, seasonal, and secular origins. The estimated structural relationships after accounting for the unobserved components indicate U.S. cotton exports respond directly to higher international price relative to domestic price of cotton, while...

  17. Textile industry can be less pollutant: introducing naturally colored cotton

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Solimar Garcia

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available 800x600 Studies in agribusiness and textile industry, both involved with the production of manufacturing fashion present insufficient development for new products that could represent water savings and reduction of chemical effluents, making this production chain a sustainable business. This paper introduces the colored and organic cotton as an alternative to foster colored cotton producing farmers and improving the concept of sustainability in the textile sector. Results show that the increase in the production of colored and organic cotton, may result in reduction of water use, and consequent reduction in the disposal of effluents in nature. As the colored and organic cotton is produced by small farmers, governmental agencies need to participate in the effort of improving its production and distribution, providing the needed infrastructure to meet the increasing market. This would slowly encourage the reduction of white cotton consumption in exchange for this naturally colored product. The water used, and consequent polluted discharge in the use of colored cotton in the textile industry might be reduced by 70%, assuming a reduction of environmental impact of 5% per year would represent expressive numbers in the next ten years. Normal 0 21 false false false ES X-NONE X-NONE

  18. Thermal reduction of graphene-oxide-coated cotton for oil and organic solvent removal

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hoai, Nguyen To; Sang, Nguyen Nhat; Hoang, Tran Dinh

    2017-01-01

    Highlights: • A new method for preparation of reduced-graphene-oxide (RGO) coated cotton is proposed. • The RGO-Cotton composites were carefully characterized using many modern techniques. • RGO-Cotton exhibited superhydrophobicity and superolephilicity. • RGO-Cotton sponges can absorb many types of oils and organic solvents and can be recycled. - Abstract: The reduced-graphene-oxide (RGO)-coated cotton sponge (RGO-Cot) was prepared by simply heating a graphene-oxide (GO)-coated cotton sponge, which was fabricated by dipping a commercial cotton sponge into a GO dispersion, under vacuum at 200 °C for 2 h. The thus prepared RGO-Cot sponges exhibited superhydrophobicity and superoleophilicity, with a water contact angle of 151°. These RGO-Cot sponges could be used for removal of many types of oils and organic solvents as they exhibit absorption capacities in the range of 22–45 times their weight and good absorption recyclability.

  19. Thermal reduction of graphene-oxide-coated cotton for oil and organic solvent removal

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hoai, Nguyen To, E-mail: hoaito@pvu.edu.vn; Sang, Nguyen Nhat; Hoang, Tran Dinh

    2017-02-15

    Highlights: • A new method for preparation of reduced-graphene-oxide (RGO) coated cotton is proposed. • The RGO-Cotton composites were carefully characterized using many modern techniques. • RGO-Cotton exhibited superhydrophobicity and superolephilicity. • RGO-Cotton sponges can absorb many types of oils and organic solvents and can be recycled. - Abstract: The reduced-graphene-oxide (RGO)-coated cotton sponge (RGO-Cot) was prepared by simply heating a graphene-oxide (GO)-coated cotton sponge, which was fabricated by dipping a commercial cotton sponge into a GO dispersion, under vacuum at 200 °C for 2 h. The thus prepared RGO-Cot sponges exhibited superhydrophobicity and superoleophilicity, with a water contact angle of 151°. These RGO-Cot sponges could be used for removal of many types of oils and organic solvents as they exhibit absorption capacities in the range of 22–45 times their weight and good absorption recyclability.

  20. Tandem selection for fusiform rust sisease resistance to develop a clonal elite breeding population of loblolly pine

    Science.gov (United States)

    Steve McKeand; Saul Garcia; Josh Steiger; Jim Grissom; Ross Whetten; Fikret. Isik

    2012-01-01

    The elite breeding populations of loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) in the North Carolina State University Cooperative Tree Improvement Program are intensively managed for short-term genetic gain. Fusiform rust disease, caused by the fungus Cronartium quercuum f. sp. fusiforme, is the most economically...

  1. THE WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION AND SOUTHERN AGRICULTURE: THE COTTON PERSPECTIVE

    OpenAIRE

    Hudson, Darren

    2000-01-01

    The World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations could have important implications for Southern Agriculture. This paper explores some of the issues surrounding the WTO negotiations for cotton. Specifically, this paper examines the impacts of the phase-out of the Multi-Fiber Arrangement (MFA) on the location of textile production and cotton trade flows. Generally, it is believed that the WTO negotiations will have little direct impact on cotton, but will have indirect impacts through textile po...

  2. The root systems of onion and Allium fistulosum in the context of organic farming: a breeding approach

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Melo, de P.

    2003-01-01

    Keywords: Allium cepa , Allium roylei , Japanese bunching onion, introgression breeding, organic agriculture, linkage map, AFLP, QTL analysis, Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi, in vitro multiplication

    Report from the FAO/IAEA Plant Breeding and Genetics Section

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1990-01-01

    In 1989 we cared for 44 IAEA Technical Co-operation projects involving 35 developing countries and 64 different research institutions. Under the IAEA Research Contract Programme we had 70 active research contracts and 32 research agreements grouped into the following co-ordinated research programmes: use of induced mutations in connection with haploids and heterosis in cereals (1986-1991); improvement of rice and other cereals through mutation breeding in Latin America (1986-1991); use of induced mutation and in vitro culture techniques for improving crop plant resistance to diseases (1987-1992); mutation breeding of oil seed crops (1988-1993); improvement of root and tuber crops in tropical countries of Asia (1988-1993); in vitro mutation breeding of bananas and plantains (1988-1993); improvement of basic food crops in Africa through plant breeding, including the use of induced mutations (1989-1994). New research programmes cannot be started before 1991 when present ones are phasing out. The new research programmes could eventually deal with: domestication of new crop plants, improvement of industrial crops, the use of induced mutations to establish RFLP systems for genetic mapping and for mutant selection, the use of RFLP techniques for identification of induced genetic variation in vegetatively propagated plants and in vitro cultures, the control of plant virus diseases with the help of nuclear techniques. Project proposals on these topics are welcome, although their approval will depend upon the availability of funds. Six research co-ordination meetings were held in 1989 in Thailand (2), India, Austria, Chile and Italy. The Section was also actively involved in the 12th EUCARPIA Congress 'Science for Plant Breeding' (Goettingen, FRG, 27 February - 3 March) and in the 6th Congress of SABRAO 'Breeding Research: The Key to the Survival of the Earth' (Tsukuba, Japan, 21-25 August)

  3. King Cotton's Lasting Legacy of Poverty and Southern Region Contemporary Conditions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guthrie, James W.; Peevely, Gary

    2010-01-01

    One hundred fifty years ago, cotton was considered as the king of all United States' agricultural exports. Cotton's dollar value far exceeded that of any other mid-19th-century United States trade item, much more than tobacco, fish, forest products, raw materials for manufacturing, or manufactured items. Indeed, in the mid-19th century, cotton was…

  4. Effect Of Bird Manure On Cotton Plants Grown On Soils Sampled ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Cotton plant had a better development and growth when bird manure was only applied to soil or combined with mineral fertilizer and when cotton was grown on a soil where the previous crops were cereals (maize or sorghum). Planting cotton on a soil where the previous crop grown was maize or sorghum had no significant ...

  5. Saussurea involucrata SiDhn2 gene confers tolerance to drought stress in upland cotton

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu, B.; Zhu, J.; Mu, J.; Zhu, J.; Liang, Z.; Zhang, L.

    2017-01-01

    Severe water shortage has long been acknowledged as one major limiting factor for global cotton production, and cultivation of cotton varieties with strong drought resistance is of important economic and social significances. In this study, the Xinjiang upland cotton variety Xinluzao 42 was transformed with the SiDhn2 gene by optimized agrobacterium transformation system. The integration of SiDhn2 gene into cotton genome was confirmed by PCR and Southern blot hybridization, and the drought resistance of transgenic and corresponding receptor cotton plants and their physiological indexes under drought stress were detailedly analyzed. Multiple physiological and biochemical indexes including soluble sugar content, free proline content, chlorophyll content, relative water content, net photosynthetic rate, transpiration rate, intercellular CO/sub 2/ concentration in transgenic cotton expressing SiDhn2 gene under drought stress were significantly higher than those of receptor cotton. More importantly, the transgenic cotton plants exhibited remarkably decreased boll abscission rate and highly increased seed yield, indicating the significant role of SiDhn2 gene in cotton drought resistance and its great application potential in agricultural production. (author)

  6. Chinalco Signed Framework Agreement for Strategic Cooperation with Harbin Municipal Government

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    2014-01-01

    <正>Last month,Chinalco signed framework agreement for strategic cooperation with Harbin Municipal Government in Harbin Xiong Weiping,Chairman of Chinalco,said that based on the strategic deployment to build world top-class mining company with the highest growth potential,Chinalco was now concentrating all efforts on making strategic transition and structural adjustment,strategic cooperation with the local governments where

  7. POLICY IMPLICATIONS OF TEXTILE TRADE MANAGEMENT AND THE U.S. COTTON INDUSTRY

    OpenAIRE

    Shui, Shangnan; Wohlgenant, Michael K.; Beghin, John C.

    1993-01-01

    This study investigates the effects on the U.S. cotton industry of textile trade liberalization using a multi-market equilibrium displacement model. The simulation results suggest that textile trade liberalization would induce small changes in the total demand for U.S. cotton but would affect considerable y U.S. cotton demand structure, making U. S, cotton growers more dependent on world markets. The welfare analyses reveal that textile trade liberalization would result in a small welfare los...

  8. Effects of nematicides on cotton root mycobiota.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baird, R E; Carling, D E; Watson, C E; Scruggs, M L; Hightower, P

    2004-02-01

    Baseline information on the diversity and population densities of fungi collected from soil debris and cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) roots was determined. Samples were collected from Tifton, GA, and Starkville, MS containing cotton field soil treated with the nematicides 1,3-dichloroproprene (fumigant) and aldicarb (granules). A total of 10,550 and 13,450 fungal isolates were collected from these two study sites, respectively. Of this total, 34 genera of plant pathogenic or saprophytic species were identified. Pathogenic root fungi included Fusarium spp. (40% of all isolations), Macrophomina, Pythium, Rhizoctonia, and Sclerotium. Fusarium and Rhizoctonia were the most common fungal species identified and included F. oxysporum, F. verticillioides and F. solani, the three Fusarium species pathogenic on cotton plants. Population densities of Fusarium were not significantly different among locations or tissue types sampled. Macrophomina was isolated at greater numbers near the end of the growing seasons. Anastomosis groups of R. solani isolated from roots and soil debris included AG-3, -4, -7, 2-2, and -13 and anastomosis groups of binucleate Rhizoctonia included CAG-2, -3, and -5. Occurrences and frequency of isolations among sampling dates were not consistent. Fluctuations in the frequency of isolation of Rhizoctonia did not correspond with changes in frequency of isolation of the biological control fungus, Trichoderma. When individual or pooled frequencies of the mycobiota were compared to nematicide treatments, no specific trends occurred between treatments, application methods or rates. Results from this study show that use of 1,3-D and aldicarb in cotton fields does not significantly impact plant pathogenic fungi or saprophytic fungal populations. Thus cotton producers need not adjust seedling disease control measures when these two nematicides are used.

  9. El Grupo Cerúleo: Cooperation for Non-breeding Season Conservation of the Cerulean Warbler

    Science.gov (United States)

    David Mehlman; Paul. Hamel

    2010-01-01

    Without collaboration, conservation is impossible for long-distance migrants such as the Cerulean Warbler, a declining forest breeding bird in North America that overwinters in the Andes Mountains of South America. The Cerulean Warbler, one of the fastest declining woodland birds of eastern North America, is considered Vulnerable by BirdLife international, in the...

  10. 78 FR 54970 - Cotton Futures Classification: Optional Classification Procedure

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-09-09

    ... Service 7 CFR Part 27 [AMS-CN-13-0043] RIN 0581-AD33 Cotton Futures Classification: Optional Classification Procedure AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA. ACTION: Proposed rule. SUMMARY: The... optional cotton futures classification procedure--identified and known as ``registration'' by the U.S...

  11. 78 FR 9330 - Revision of Regulations Defining Bona Fide Cotton Spot Markets

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-02-08

    ... Cotton Spot Markets AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA. ACTION: Proposed rule. SUMMARY: The... bona fide cotton spot markets in order to assure consistency with the revised Cotton Research and Promotion Act. Updated bona fide spot market definitions will allow for published spot quotes to consider...

  12. Asymmetric Evolution and Expansion of the NAC Transcription Factor in Polyploidized Cotton

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kai Fan

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Polyploidy in Gossypium hirsutum conferred different properties from its diploid ancestors under the regulation of transcription factors. The NAC transcription factor is a plant-specific family that can be related to plant growth and development. So far, little is known about the NAC family in cotton. This study identified 495 NAC genes in three cotton species and investigated the evolution and expansion of different genome-derived NAC genes in cotton. We revealed 15 distinct NAC subfamilies in cotton. Different subfamilies had different gene proportions, expansion rate, gene loss rate, and orthologous exchange rate. Paleohexaploidization (35% and cotton-specific decaploidy (32% might have primarily led to the expansion of the NAC family in cotton. Half of duplication events in G. hirsutum were inherited from its diploid ancestor, and others might have occurred after interspecific hybridization. In addition, NAC genes in the At and Dt subgenomes displayed asymmetric molecular evolution, as evidenced by their different gene loss rates, orthologous exchange, evolutionary rates, and expression levels. The dominant duplication event was different during the cotton evolutionary history. Different genome-derived NACs might have interacted with each other, which ultimately resulted in morphogenetic evolution. This study delineated the expansion and evolutionary history of the NAC family in cotton and illustrated the different fates of NAC genes during polyploidization.

  13. Conductive Cotton Fabrics for Motion Sensing and Heating Applications

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mengyun Yang

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available Conductive cotton fabric was prepared by coating single-wall carbon nanotubes (CNTs on a knitted cotton fabric surface through a “dip-and-dry” method. The combination of CNTs and cotton fabric was analyzed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM and Raman scattering spectroscopy. The CNTs coating improved the mechanical properties of the fabric and imparted conductivity to the fabric. The electromechanical performance of the CNT-cotton fabric (CCF was evaluated. Strain sensors made from the CCF exhibited a large workable strain range (0~100%, fast response and great stability. Furthermore, CCF-based strain sensors was used to monitor the real-time human motions, such as standing, walking, running, squatting and bending of finger and elbow. The CCF also exhibited strong electric heating effect. The flexible strain sensors and electric heaters made from CCF have potential applications in wearable electronic devices and cold weather conditions.

  14. Parental care masks a density-dependent shift from cooperation to competition among burying beetle larvae.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schrader, Matthew; Jarrett, Benjamin J M; Kilner, Rebecca M

    2015-04-01

    Studies of siblings have focused mainly on their competitive interactions and to a lesser extent on their cooperation. However, competition and cooperation are at opposite ends on a continuum of possible interactions and the nature of these interactions may be flexible with ecological factors tipping the balance toward competition in some environments and cooperation in others. Here we show that the presence of parental care and the density of larvae on the breeding carcass change the outcome of sibling interactions in burying beetle broods. With full parental care there was a strong negative relationship between larval density and larval mass, consistent with sibling competition for resources. In the absence of care, initial increases in larval density had beneficial effects on larval mass but further increases in larval density reduced larval mass. This likely reflects a density-dependent shift between cooperation and competition. In a second experiment, we manipulated larval density and removed parental care. We found that the ability of larvae to penetrate the breeding carcass increased with larval density and that feeding within the carcass resulted in heavier larvae than feeding outside the carcass. However, larval density did not influence carcass decay. © 2015 The Author(s). Evolution published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of The Society for the Study of Evolution.

  15. Comparative Analysis of Discovery Function of Cotton Future Price among Different Regions——A Case Study of Xinjiang

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    2011-01-01

    Through comparative analysis, We research the relationship between cotton future price and cotton spot price in different regions, in order to formulate corresponding strategies in different regions under the new situation. We use ADF unit root test, E-G two-step cointegration test, Granger causality test, and other research methods in Eviews 5.0 statistical software, to empirically study the relationship between the cotton future price and cotton spot price in Xinjiang, the relationship between the cotton future price and cotton spot price in China. The results show that there is a long-term relationship between the cotton future price and cotton spot price in Xinjiang, between the cotton future price and cotton spot price in China; the cotton future price plays unidirectional role in guiding cotton spot price in Xinjiang and cotton spot price in China. The discovery function of cotton future price plays much greater role in the cotton market of China than in the cotton market of Xinjiang.

  16. Effect of Gamma Irradiation Doses on Some Chemical Characteristics of Cotton Seed Oil

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Saleh, O.I.

    2011-01-01

    Cotton Seeds c.v. Giza 85 (Gossypium hirsutum L.) were exposed to gamma irradiation doses of 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 kGy to improve some chemical characteristics of cotton seed oil i.e. saturated and unsaturated fatty acids, gossypol and βsitosterol that were bound oil. The presented study showed that, the saturated fatty acids; lauric, palmitic and stearic increased when the cotton seeds were exposed to gamma irradiation doses of 0.5 up to 1.5 kGy, On the other hand, arachidic acid content decreased in all the irradiated treatments compared with untreated cotton seed. The unsaturated fatty acid oleic was increased in irradiated cotton seed samples compared with untreated one, while linoleic, the major unsaturated fatty acid decreased in irradiated cotton seed oil than untreated seeds. Gossypol and βsitosterol, bound oil, in irradiated cotton seeds increased gradually with gamma irradiated doses compared with untreated control samples

  17. An Assessment of Current Policy Initiatives in Zambia's Cotton Sector

    OpenAIRE

    Zulu, Ballard; Tschirley, David L.

    2004-01-01

    This paper assesses three of these policy initiatives: input credit provision for smallholder producers of selected cash crops including cotton, the proposed creation of a Cotton Board, and the emergence in 2003 of District Council levies as a point of conflict between local governments and cotton companies. The purpose of the paper is to provide guidance to public and private decision makers regarding key modifications which may need to be made to these policies to ensure continued healthy d...

  18. Developing Cotton IPM by Conserving Parasitoids and Predators of The Main Pest

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nurindah Nurindah

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available On early development of intensive cotton program, insect pests were considered as an important aspect in cotton cultivation, so that it needed to be scheduled sprays. The frequency of sprays was 7 times used 12L of chemical insecticides per hectare per season. Development of cotton IPM was emphasized on non-chemical control methods through optimally utilize natural enemies of the cotton main pests (Amrasca biguttulla (IshidaHelicoverpa armigera (Hübner. Conservation of parasitoids and predators by providing the environment that support their population development is an act of supporting the natural enemies as an effective biotic mortality factor of the insect pests. The conservation could be done by improving the plant matter and cultivation techniques that include the use of resistant variety to leafhopper, intercropping cotton with secondary food plants, mulch utilization, using action threshold that considered the presence of natural enemies, and application of botanical insecticides, if needed. Conservation of parasitoids and predators in cotton IPM could control the insect pests without any insecticide spray in obtaining the production of cotton seed. As such, the use of IPM method would increase farmers’ income.

  19. Cotton phenotyping with lidar from a track-mounted platform

    Science.gov (United States)

    French, Andrew N.; Gore, Michael A.; Thompson, Alison

    2016-05-01

    High-Throughput Phenotyping (HTP) is a discipline for rapidly identifying plant architectural and physiological responses to environmental factors such as heat and water stress. Experiments conducted since 2010 at Maricopa, Arizona with a three-fold sensor group, including thermal infrared radiometers, active visible/near infrared reflectance sensors, and acoustic plant height sensors, have shown the validity of HTP with a tractor-based system. However, results from these experiments also show that accuracy of plant phenotyping is limited by the system's inability to discriminate plant components and their local environmental conditions. This limitation may be overcome with plant imaging and laser scanning which can help map details in plant architecture and sunlit/shaded leaves. To test the capability for mapping cotton plants with a laser system, a track-mounted platform was deployed in 2015 over a full canopy and defoliated cotton crop consisting of a scanning LIDAR driven by Arduinocontrolled stepper motors. Using custom Python and Tkinter code, the platform moved autonomously along a pipe-track at 0.1 m/s while collecting LIDAR scans at 25 Hz (0.1667 deg. beam). These tests showed that an autonomous LIDAR platform can reduce HTP logistical problems and provide the capability to accurately map cotton plants and cotton bolls. A prototype track-mounted platform was developed to test the use of LIDAR scanning for High- Throughput Phenotyping (HTP). The platform was deployed in 2015 at Maricopa, Arizona over a senescent cotton crop. Using custom Python and Tkinter code, the platform moved autonomously along a pipe-track at cotton bolls.

  1. POTASSIUM FERTILIZATION AND SOIL MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS FOR COTTON CROPS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    VITOR MARQUES VIDAL

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Cotton has great socio-economic importance due to its use in textile industry, edible oil and biodiesel production and animal feed. Thus, the objective of this work was to identify the best potassium rate and soil management for cotton crops and select among cultivars, the one that better develops in the climatic conditions of the Cerrado biome in the State of Goiás, Brazil. Thus, the effect of five potassium rates (100, 150, 200, 250 and 300 kg ha-1 of K2O and two soil management systems (no-till and conventional tillage on the growth, development and reproduction of four cotton cultivars (BRS-371, BRS-372, BRS-286 and BRS-201 was evaluated. The data on cotton growth and development were subjected to analysis of variance; the data on potassium rates were subjected to regression analysis; and the data on cultivars and soil management to mean test. The correlation between the vegetative and reproductive variables was also assessed. The conventional tillage system provides the best results for the herbaceous cotton, regardless of the others factors evaluated. The cultivar BRS-286 has the best results in the conditions evaluated. The cultivar BRS-371 under no-till system present the highest number of fruiting branches at a potassium rate of 105.5% and highest number of floral buds at a potassium rate of 96.16%. The specific leaf area was positively correlated with the number of bolls per plant at 120 days after emergence of the herbaceous cotton.

  2. Cotton Trade Liberalizations and Domestic Agricultural Policy Reforms: A Partial Equilibrium Analysis

    OpenAIRE

    Pan, Suwen; Fadiga, Mohamadou L.; Mohanty, Samarendu; Welch, Mark

    2006-01-01

    This paper analyzed the effects of trade liberalizing reforms in the world cotton market using a partial equilibrium model. The simulation results indicated that a removal of domestic subsidies and border tariffs for cotton would increase the amount of world cotton trade by an average of 4% in the next five years and world cotton prices by an average of 12% over the same time horizon. The findings indicated that under the liberalization policy, the United States would lose part of its export ...

  3. Systems for harvesting and handling cotton plant residue

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Coates, W. [Univ. of Arizona, Tucson, AZ (United States)

    1993-12-31

    In the warmer regions of the United States, cotton plant residue must be buried to prevent it from serving as an overwintering site for insect pests such as the pink bollworm. Most of the field operations used to bury the residue are high energy consumers and tend to degrade soil structure, thereby increasing the potential for erosion. The residue is of little value as a soil amendment and consequently is considered a negative value biomass. A commercial system to harvest cotton plant residue would be of both economic and environmental benefit to cotton producers. Research has been underway at the University of Arizona since the spring of 1991 to develop a commercially viable system for harvesting cotton plant residue. Equipment durability, degree of densification, energy required, cleanliness of the harvested material, and ease of product handling and transport are some of the performance variables which have been measured. Two systems have proven superior. In both, the plants are pulled from the ground using an implement developed specifically for the purpose. In one system, the stalks are baled using a large round baler, while in the other the stalks are chopped with a forage harvester, and then made into packages using a cotton module maker. Field capacities, energy requirements, package density and durability, and ease of handling with commercially available equipment have been measured for both systems. Selection of an optimum system for a specific operation depends upon end use of the product, and upon equipment availability.

  4. Breeds of cattle

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Buchanan, David S.; Lenstra, Johannes A.

    2015-01-01

    This chapter gives an overview on the different breeds of cattle (Bos taurus and B. indicus). Cattle breeds are presented and categorized according to utility and mode of origin. Classification and phylogeny of breeds are also discussed. Furthermore, a description of cattle breeds is provided.

  5. Multiple Stressors in a Top Predator Seabird: Potential Ecological Consequences of Environmental Contaminants, Population Health and Breeding Conditions.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jan O Bustnes

    Full Text Available Environmental contaminants may have impacts on reproduction and survival in wildlife populations suffering from multiple stressors. This study examined whether adverse effects of persistent organic pollutants (POPs increased with poor population health and breeding conditions in three colonies (60-74°N of great skua (Stercorarius skua in the north-eastern Atlantic (Shetland, Iceland and Bjørnøya [Bear Island]. POPs (organochlorines [OCs] and polybrominated diphenyl ethers [BDEs] were measured in plasma of incubating birds (n = 222, concentrations differing nearly tenfold among colonies: Bjørnøya (2009 > Bjørnøya (2010 > Iceland (2009 > Shetland (2009. Reproductive success (hatching success and chick survival showed that breeding conditions were favourable in Shetland and at Bjørnøya (2010, but were very poor in Iceland and at Bjørnøya (2009. Biomarkers indicated that health was poor in the Shetland population compared to the other populations. Females whose chicks hatched late had high POP concentrations in all colonies except at Bjørnøya (2010, and females losing their eggs at Bjørnøya (2009 tended to have higher concentrations than those hatching. Moreover, there was a negative relationship between female POP concentrations and chick body condition at hatching in Iceland and at Bjørnøya (2010. Supplementary feeding experiments were conducted, and in Iceland where feeding conditions were poor, significant negative relationships were found between female POP concentrations and daily growth-rate in first-hatched chicks of control nests, but not in food supplemented nests. This suggests that negative impacts of POPs were mitigated by improved feeding conditions. For second-chicks, there was a strong negative relationship between the female POP concentrations and growth-rate, but no effects of supplementary feeding. Lowered adult return-rate between breeding seasons with increasing POP loads were found both at Bjørnøya (2009 and

  6. Molecular and Biochemical Characterization of Cotton Epicuticular Wax in Defense Against Cotton Leaf Curl Disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khan, Muhammad Azmat Ullah; Shahid, Ahmad Ali; Rao, Abdul Qayyum; Bajwa, Kamran Shehzad; Samiullah, Tahir Rehman; Muzaffar, Adnan; Nasir, Idrees Ahmad; Husnain, Tayyab

    2015-12-01

    Gossypium arboreumis resistant to Cotton leaf curl Burewala virus and its cognate Cotton leaf curl Multan beta satellite ( CLCuBuV and CLCuMB ). However, the G. arboreum wax deficient mutant (GaWM3) is susceptible to CLCuV . Therefore, epicuticular wax was characterized both quantitatively and qualitatively for its role as physical barrier against whitefly mediated viral transmission and co-related with the titer of each viral component (DNA-A, alphasatellite and betasatellite) in plants. The hypothesis was the CLCuV titer in cotton is dependent on the amount of wax laid down on plant surface and the wax composition. Analysis of the presence of viral genes, namely alphasatellite, betasatellite and DNA-A, via real-time PCR in cotton species indicated that these genes are detectable in G. hirsutum , G. harknessii and GaWM3, whereas no particle was detected in G. arboreum . Quantitative wax analysis revealed that G. arboreum contained 183 μg.cm -2 as compared to GaWM3 with only 95 μg.cm -2 . G. hirsutum and G. harknessii had 130 μg.cm -2 and 146 μg.cm -2 , respectively. The GCMS results depicted that Lanceol, cis was 45% in G. harknessii . Heptadecanoic acid was dominant in G. arboreum with 25.6%. GaWM3 had 18% 1,2,-Benenedicarboxylic acid. G. hirsutum contained 25% diisooctyl ester. The whitefly feeding assay with Nile Blue dye showed no color in whiteflies gut fed on G. arboreum . In contrast, color was observed in the rest of whiteflies. From results, it was concluded that reduced quantity as well as absence of (1) 3-trifluoroacetoxytetradecane, (2) 2-piperidinone,n-|4-bromo-n-butyl|, (3) 4-heptafluorobutyroxypentadecane, (4) Silane, trichlorodocosyl-, (5) 6- Octadecenoic acid, methyl ester, and (6) Heptadecanoicacid,16-methyl-,methyl ester in wax could make plants susceptible to CLCuV , infested by whiteflies.

  7. Flame retardant finishing of cotton fabric based on synergistic compounds containing boron and nitrogen.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xie, Kongliang; Gao, Aiqin; Zhang, Yongsheng

    2013-10-15

    Boric acid and compound containing nitrogen, 2,4,6-tri[(2-hydroxy-3-trimethyl-ammonium)propyl]-1,3,5-triazine chloride (Tri-HTAC) were used to finish cotton fabric. The flame retardant properties of the finished cotton fabrics and the synergetic effects of boron and nitrogen elements were investigated and evaluated by limited oxygen index (LOI) method. The mechanism of cross-linking reaction among cotton fiber, Tri-HTAC, and boric acid was discussed by FTIR and element analysis. The thermal stability and surface morphology of the finished cotton fabrics were investigated by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and scanning electron microscope (SEM), respectively. The finishing system of the mixture containing boron and nitrogen showed excellent synergistic flame retardancy for cotton fabric. The cotton fabric finished with mixture system had excellent flame retardancy. The LOI value of the treated cotton fabric increased over 27.5. Tri-HTAC could form covalent bonds with cellulose fiber and boric acid. The flame retardant cotton fabric showed a slight decrease in tensile strength and whiteness. The surface morphology of flame retardant cotton fiber was smooth. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. Study of gene flow from GM cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) varieties in El Espinal (Tolima, Colombia)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rache Cardenal, Leidy Yanira; Mora Oberlaender, Julian; Chaparro Giraldo, Alejandro

    2013-01-01

    In 2009, 4088 hectares of genetically modified (GM) cotton were planted in Tolima (Colombia), however there is some uncertainty about containment measures needed to prevent the flow of pollen and seed from regulated GM fields into adjacent fields. In this study, the gene flow from GM cotton varieties to conventional or feral cotton plants via seed and pollen was evaluated. ImmunostripTM, PCR and ELISA assays were used to detect gene flow. Fifty six refuges, 27 fields with conventional cotton and four feral individuals of the enterprise Remolinos Inc. located in El Espinal (Tolima) were analyzed in the first half of 2010. The results indicated seed mediated gene flow in 45 refuges (80.4 %) and 26 fields with conventional cotton (96 %), besides pollen mediated gene flow in one field with conventional cotton and nine refuges. All fields cultivated with conventional cotton showed gene flow from GM cotton. Two refuges and two feral individuals did not reveal gene flow from GM cotton.

  9. Non-cellulosic polysaccharides from cotton fibre are differently impacted by textile processing

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Runavot, Jean-Luc; Guo, Xiaoyuan; Willats, William George Tycho

    2014-01-01

    -cellulosic cotton fibre polysaccharides during different steps of cotton textile processing using GC-MS, HPLC and comprehensive microarray polymer profiling to obtain monosaccharide and polysaccharide amounts and linkage compositions. Additionally, in situ detection was used to obtain information on polysaccharide......Cotton fibre is mainly composed of cellulose, although non-cellulosic polysaccharides play key roles during fibre development and are still present in the harvested fibre. This study aimed at determining the fate of non-cellulosic polysaccharides during cotton textile processing. We analyzed non...... localization and accessibility. We show that pectic and hemicellulosic polysaccharide levels decrease during cotton textile processing and that some processing steps have more impact than others. Pectins and arabinose-containing polysaccharides are strongly impacted by the chemical treatments, with most being...

  10. Enhancing Dark Shade Pigment Dyeing of Cotton Fabric Using Plasma Treatment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chi-Wai Kan

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available This study is intended to investigate the effect of atmospheric pressure plasma treatment on dark shade pigment dyeing of cotton fabric. Experimental results reveal that plasma-treated cotton fabric can attain better color yield, levelness, and crocking fastness in dark shade pigment dyeing, compared with normal cotton fabric (not plasma treated. SEM analysis indicates that cracks and grooves were formed on the cotton fiber surface where the pigment and the binder can get deposited and improve the color yield, levelness, and crocking fastness. It was also noticed that pigment was aggregated when deposited on the fiber surface which could affect the final color properties.

  11. Leaf tissue assay for lepidopteran pests of Bt cotton

    Science.gov (United States)

    Laboratory measurements of susceptibility to Bt toxins can be a poor indicator of the ability of an insect to survive on transgenic crops. We investigated the potential of using cotton leaf tissue for evaluating heliothine susceptibilities to two dual-gene Bt cottons. A preliminary study was conduct...

  12. Fourier transform infrared macro-imaging of botanical cotton trash

    Science.gov (United States)

    The marketability of cotton fiber is directly tied to the trash comingled with it. Trash can contaminate cotton during harvesting, ginning, and processing. Thus, the removal of trash is important from field to fabric. An ideal prerequisite to removing trash from lint is identifying what trash types...

  13. 7 CFR 27.73 - Supervision of transfers of cotton.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Supervision of transfers of cotton. 27.73 Section 27.73 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (Standards, Inspections, Marketing Practices), DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE COMMODITY STANDARDS AND STANDARD CONTAINER REGULATIONS COTTON CLASSIFICATION UNDER...

  14. Optimization of acid-activated bentonites on bleaching of cotton oil

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lacin, O.; Sayan, E.; Kirali, E.G.

    2013-01-01

    Bentonites are commonly used adsorbent on bleaching cotton oil to produce edible oil products. Bleaching capacities of neutralized cotton oil were investigated with acid-activated Arguvan and Kursunlu bentonites. Two models for acid activation of the bentonites were developed by using a full factorial experimental design and central composite design. The parameters used to develop these models were contact time, solid to liquid ratio, acid concentration and moisture of bentonite. By using a constrained optimization program, the maximum bleaching capacities of neutralized cotton oil were determined as 99.99% and 48.5% for Arguvan and Kursunlu, respectively. Optimum results showed that Turkish bentonites (especially Arguvan bentonite) have high bleaching ability and they can be used efficiently to bleach neutralized cotton oil by considering the favorable volume weight, capacity of oil adsorbed and filtration rate. (author)

  15. Lime-Stabilized Black Cotton Soil and Brick Powder Mixture as Subbase Material

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. Srikanth Reddy

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Various researchers, for the past few decades, had tried to stabilize black cotton soil using lime for improving its shrinkage and swelling characteristics. But these days, the cost of lime has increased resulting in increase in need for alternative and cost effective waste materials such as fly ash and rice husk ash. Brick powder, one among the alternative materials, is a fine powdered waste that contains higher proportions of silica and is found near brick kilns in rural areas. The objective of the study is to investigate the use of lime-stabilized black cotton soil and brick powder mixture as subbase material in flexible pavements. Black cotton soil procured from the local area, tested for suitability as subbase material, turned out to be unsuitable as it resulted in very less CBR value. Even lime stabilization of black cotton soil under study has not showed up the required CBR value specified for the subbase material of flexible pavement by MORTH. Hence the lime-stabilized black cotton soil is proportioned with brick powder to obtain optimum mixture that yields a better CBR value. The mixture of 20% brick powder and 80% lime-stabilized black cotton soil under study resulted in increase in the CBR value by about 135% in comparison with lime-stabilized black cotton soil. Thus it is promising to use the mixture of brick powder and lime-stabilized black cotton soil as subbase material in flexible pavements.

  16. Utilization of cotton waste for regenerated cellulose fibres: Influence of degree of polymerization on mechanical properties.

    Science.gov (United States)

    De Silva, Rasike; Byrne, Nolene

    2017-10-15

    Cotton accounts for 30% of total fibre production worldwide with over 50% of cotton being used for apparel. In the process from cotton bud to finished textile product many steps are required, and significant cotton waste is generated. Typically only 30% of pre consumer cotton is recycled. Here we use cotton waste lint to produce regenerated cellulose fibres (RCF). We find the RCF from waste cotton lint had increased mechanical properties compared to RCF produced from wood pulp. We show that this is likely linked to the higher degree of polymerization (DP) of waste cotton lint. An ionic liquid is used to dissolve the cotton lint and the rheology of the spinning is measured. The properties of the RCF are characterized and compared to wood pulp RCF. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. "Boldness" in the domestic dog differs among breeds and breed groups.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Starling, Melissa J; Branson, Nicholas; Thomson, Peter C; McGreevy, Paul D

    2013-07-01

    "Boldness" in dogs is believed to be one end of the shy-bold axis, representing a super-trait. Several personality traits fall under the influence of this super-trait. Previous studies on boldness in dogs have found differences among breeds, but grouping breeds on the basis of behavioural similarities has been elusive. This study investigated differences in the expression of boldness among dog breeds, kennel club breed groups, and sub-groups of kennel club breed groups by way of a survey on dog personality circulated among Australian dog-training clubs and internet forums and lists. Breed had a significant effect on boldness (F=1.63, numDF=111, denDF=272, ppurpose. Retrievers were significantly bolder than flushing and pointing breeds (Reg. Coef.=2.148; S.E.=0.593; pdogs. Differences in boldness among groups and sub-groups suggest that behavioural tendencies may be influenced by historical purpose regardless of whether that purpose still factors in selective breeding. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  18. Review of the cotton market in Pakistan and its future prospects

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Malik Tassawar Hussain

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available Pakistan is the world’s 4th largest producer of cotton. Cultivation along the Indus River extends across nearly 3 million hectares and serves as the backbone of the economy. Despite this importance, information on the cotton sector in Pakistan, in particular with regard to cotton oils, is scanty and not available from a single source. This review seeks to remedy that gap. Though cultivated mainly for fiber, its kernel seed oil is also used as an edible vegetable oil and accounts for a large share of the local oil industry; per capita consumption of edible oils is nearly 14 kg, which is much higher than consumption in countries at similar levels of economic development. Pakistan fulfills 17.7% of its demand for edible oils through cottonseed oil. Total demand for this purpose in 2029–30 is estimated at 5.36 million tons of which local production will be 1.98 million tons. Genetically modified (Bt cotton was introduced in Pakistan in 2010 to control three deleterious lepidopterous insects; it now accounts for more than 85% of the cotton cultivated. There is good scope for organic cotton production in Pakistan, especially in non-traditional cotton growing areas where there is less insect pressure. High temperature and water scarcity associated with climate change are a major concern, since current cultivation takes place in areas that already experience extremely high temperatures.

  19. A Strategy for the Third Breeding Cycle of Loblolly Pine in the Southeastern U.S.

    Science.gov (United States)

    S.E. McKeand; F.E. Bridgwater

    1998-01-01

    A strategy for the North Carolina State University - Industry Cooperative Tree Improvement Program's third-cycle breeding for loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) was developed to provide genetic gain in the short-term as well as to maintain genetic diversity so that long-term genetic gains will also be possible. Our strategy will be to manage a...

  20. Intercropping With Fruit Trees Increases Population Abundance and Alters Species Composition of Spider Mites on Cotton.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Haiqiang; Pan, Hongsheng; Wang, Dongmei; Liu, Bing; Liu, Jian; Zhang, Jianping; Lu, Yanhui

    2018-05-05

    With the recent increase in planting of fruit trees in southern Xinjiang, the intercropping of fruit trees and cotton has been widely adopted. From 2014 to 2016, a large-scale study was conducted in Aksu, an important agricultural area in southern Xinjiang, to compare the abundance and species composition of spider mites in cotton fields under jujube-cotton, apple-cotton, and cotton monocrop systems. The abundance of spider mites in cotton fields under both intercropping systems was generally higher than in the cotton monocrop. The species composition of spider mites also differed greatly between cotton intercropped with apple or jujube compared to the cotton monocrop. The relative proportion of Tetranychus truncates Ehara (Acari: Tetranychidae) in the species complex generally increased while that of another spider mite, Tetranychus dunhuangensis Wang (Acari: Tetranychidae), decreased under fruit tree-cotton systems. More attention should be paid to the monitoring and management of spider mites, especially T. truncates in this important region of China.

  1. Developmental and hormonal regulation of fiber quality in two natural-colored cotton cultivars

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    ZHANG Xiang; HU Da-peng; LI Yuan; CHEN Yuan; Eltayib H.M.A.Abidallha; DONG Zhao-di; CHEN De-hua; ZHANG Lei

    2017-01-01

    Cotton cultivars with brown (Xiangcaimian 2),green (Wanmian 39) and white (Sumian 9) fiber were investigated to study fiber developmental characteristics of natural-colored cotton and the effect of hormones on fiber quality at different stages after anthesis.Fiber lengths of both natural-colored cottons were lower than the white-fibered control,with brown-flbered cotton longer than green.Fiber strength,micronaire and maturation of natural-colored cotton were also lower than the control.The shorter fiber of the green cultivar was due to slower growth during 10 to 30 days post-anthesis (DPA).Likewise,the lower fiber strength,micronaire and maturation of natured-colored cotton were also due to slower growth during this pivotal stage.Indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) content at 10 DPA,and abscisic acid (ABA) content at 30 to 40 DPA were lower in the fibers of the natural-colored than that of the white-flbered cotton.After applying 20 mg L-1 gibberellic acid (GA3),the IAA content at 20 DPA in the brown and green-fibered cottons increased by 51.07 and 64.33%,fiber ABA content increased by 38.96 and 24.40%,and fiber length increased by 8.13 and 13.96%,respectively.Fiber strength,micronaire and maturation were also enhanced at boll opening stage.Those results suggest that the level of endogenous hormones affect fiber quality.Application of external hormones can increase hormone content in natural-colored cotton fiber,improving its quality.

  2. Crop residue inventory estimates for Texas High Plains cotton

    Science.gov (United States)

    Interest in the use of cotton crop by-products for the production of bio-fuels and value-added products is increasing. Research documenting the availability of cotton crop by-products after machine harvest is needed. The objectives of this work were to document the total biomass production for moder...

  3. No sex-biased dispersal in a primate with an uncommon social system—cooperative polyandry

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Samuel L. Díaz-Muñoz

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available An influential hypothesis proposed by Greenwood (1980 suggests that different mating systems result in female and male-biased dispersal, respectively, in birds and mammals. However, other aspects of social structure and behavior can also shape sex-biased dispersal. Although sex-specific patterns of kin cooperation are expected to affect the benefits of philopatry and dispersal patterns, empirical evidence is scarce. Unlike many mammals, Saguinus geoffroyi (Geoffroy’s tamarin has a breeding system in which typically multiple males mate with a single breeding female. Males typically form cooperative reproductive partnerships between relatives, whereas females generally compete for reproductive opportunities. This system of cooperative polyandry is predicted to result in female-biased dispersal, providing an opportunity to test the current hypotheses of sex-biased dispersal. Here we test for evidence of sex-biased dispersal in S. geoffroyi using demographic and genetic data from three populations. We find no sex bias in natal dispersal, contrary to the prediction based on the mating patterns. This pattern was consistent after controlling for the effects of historical population structure. Limited breeding opportunities within social groups likely drive both males and females to disperse, suggesting that dispersal is intimately related to the social context. The integration of genetic and field data revealed that tamarins are another exception to the presumed pattern of male-biased dispersal in mammals. A shift in focus from mating systems to social behavior, which plays a role in most all processes expected to influence sex-bias in dispersal, will be a fruitful target for research both within species and across taxa.

  4. Research on detecting heterogeneous fibre from cotton based on linear CCD camera

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Xian-bin; Cao, Bing; Zhang, Xin-peng; Shi, Wei

    2009-07-01

    The heterogeneous fibre in cotton make a great impact on production of cotton textile, it will have a bad effect on the quality of product, thereby affect economic benefits and market competitive ability of corporation. So the detecting and eliminating of heterogeneous fibre is particular important to improve machining technics of cotton, advance the quality of cotton textile and reduce production cost. There are favorable market value and future development for this technology. An optical detecting system obtains the widespread application. In this system, we use a linear CCD camera to scan the running cotton, then the video signals are put into computer and processed according to the difference of grayscale, if there is heterogeneous fibre in cotton, the computer will send an order to drive the gas nozzle to eliminate the heterogeneous fibre. In the paper, we adopt monochrome LED array as the new detecting light source, it's lamp flicker, stability of luminous intensity, lumens depreciation and useful life are all superior to fluorescence light. We analyse the reflection spectrum of cotton and various heterogeneous fibre first, then select appropriate frequency of the light source, we finally adopt violet LED array as the new detecting light source. The whole hardware structure and software design are introduced in this paper.

  5. CCI and CI Join Hands:A Better Supply Chain with More Innovations on Cotton Fabrics

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Tom; Xue

    2010-01-01

    Cotton Council International("CCI")and Cotton Incorporated("CI") joined forces again,from October 19-22,2010 at Intertextile Shanghai,to promote natural fiber-U.S.cotton.As global textile strategic partners,both organizations were bringing together alliances through the cotton

  6. [Ecological regionalization of national cotton fiber quality in China using GGE biplot analysis method].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Nai Yin; Jin, Shi Qiao; Li, Jian

    2017-01-01

    The distinctive regional characteristics of cotton fiber quality in the major cotton-producing areas in China enhance the textile use efficiency of raw cotton yarn by improving fiber quality through ecological regionalization. The "environment vs. trait" GGE biplot analysis method was adopted to explore the interaction between conventional cotton sub-regions and cotton fiber quality traits based on the datasets collected from the national cotton regional trials from 2011 to 2015. The results showed that the major cotton-producing area in China were divided into four fiber quality ecological regions, namely, the "high fiber quality ecological region", the "low micronaire ecological region", the "high fiber strength and micronaire ecological region", and the "moderate fiber quality ecological region". The high fiber quality ecological region was characterized by harmonious development of cotton fiber length, strength, micronaire value and the highest spinning consistency index, and located in the conventional cotton regions in the upper and lower reaches of Yangtze River Valley. The low micronaire value ecological region composed of the northern and south Xinjiang cotton regions was characterized by low micronaire value, relatively lower fiber strength, and relatively high spinning consistency index performance. The high fiber strength and micronaire value ecological region covered the middle reaches of Yangtze River Valley, Nanxiang Basin and Huaibei Plain, and was prominently characterized by high strength and micronaire value, and moderate performance of other traits. The moderate fiber quality ecological region included North China Plain and Loess Plateau cotton growing regions in the Yellow River Valley, and was characterized by moderate or lower performances of all fiber quality traits. This study effectively applied "environment vs. trait" GGE biplot to regionalize cotton fiber quality, which provided a helpful reference for the regiona-lized cotton growing

  7. Cocoa/Cotton Comparative Genomics

    Science.gov (United States)

    With genome sequence from two members of the Malvaceae family recently made available, we are exploring syntenic relationships, gene content, and evolutionary trajectories between the cacao and cotton genomes. An assembly of cacao (Theobroma cacao) using Illumina and 454 sequence technology yielded ...

  8. Transgenic cotton plants expressing Cry1Ia12 toxin confer resistance to fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda and cotton boll weevil (Anthonomus grandis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Raquel Sampaio Oliveira

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available Gossypium hirsutum (commercial cooton is one of the most economically important fibers sources and a commodity crop highly affected by insect pests and pathogens. Several transgenic approaches have been developed to improve cotton resistance to insect pests, through the transgenic expression of different factors, including Cry toxins, proteinase inhibitors, and toxic peptides, among others. In the present study, we developed transgenic cotton plants by fertilized floral buds injection (through the pollen-tube pathway technique using an DNA expression cassette harboring the cry1Ia12 gene, driven by CaMV35S promoter. The T0 transgenic cotton plants were initially selected with kanamycin and posteriorly characterized with PCR and Southern blot experiments to confirm the genetic transformation. Western blot and ELISA assays indicated the transgenic cotton plants with higher Cry1Ia12 protein expression levels to be further tested in the control of two major G. hirsutum insect pests. Bioassays with T1 plants revealed the Cry1Ia12 protein toxicity on Spodoptera frugiperda larvae, as evidenced by mortality up to 40% and a significant delay in the development of the target insects compared to untransformed controls (up to 30-fold. Also, a significant reduction of Anthonomus grandis emerging adults (up to 60% was observed when the insect larvae were fed on T1 floral buds. All the larvae and adult insect survivors on the transgenic lines were weaker and significantly smaller compared to the non-transformed plants. Therefore, this study provides GM cotton plant with simultaneous resistance against the Lepidopteran (S. frugiperda and the Coleopteran (A. grandis insect orders, and all data suggested that the Cry1Ia12 toxin could effectively enhance the cotton transgenic plants resistance to both insect pests.

  9. Transgenic Cotton Plants Expressing Cry1Ia12 Toxin Confer Resistance to Fall Armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda) and Cotton Boll Weevil (Anthonomus grandis).

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Oliveira, Raquel S; Oliveira-Neto, Osmundo B; Moura, Hudson F N; de Macedo, Leonardo L P; Arraes, Fabrício B M; Lucena, Wagner A; Lourenço-Tessutti, Isabela T; de Deus Barbosa, Aulus A; da Silva, Maria C M; Grossi-de-Sa, Maria F

    2016-01-01

    Gossypium hirsutum (commercial cooton) is one of the most economically important fibers sources and a commodity crop highly affected by insect pests and pathogens. Several transgenic approaches have been developed to improve cotton resistance to insect pests, through the transgenic expression of different factors, including Cry toxins, proteinase inhibitors, and toxic peptides, among others. In the present study, we developed transgenic cotton plants by fertilized floral buds injection (through the pollen-tube pathway technique) using an DNA expression cassette harboring the cry1Ia12 gene, driven by CaMV35S promoter. The T0 transgenic cotton plants were initially selected with kanamycin and posteriorly characterized by PCR and Southern blot experiments to confirm the genetic transformation. Western blot and ELISA assays indicated the transgenic cotton plants with higher Cry1Ia12 protein expression levels to be further tested in the control of two major G. hirsutum insect pests. Bioassays with T1 plants revealed the Cry1Ia12 protein toxicity on Spodoptera frugiperda larvae, as evidenced by mortality up to 40% and a significant delay in the development of the target insects compared to untransformed controls (up to 30-fold). Also, an important reduction of Anthonomus grandis emerging adults (up to 60%) was observed when the insect larvae were fed on T1 floral buds. All the larvae and adult insect survivors on the transgenic lines were weaker and significantly smaller compared to the non-transformed plants. Therefore, this study provides GM cotton plant with simultaneous resistance against the Lepidopteran (S. frugiperda), and the Coleopteran (A. grandis) insect orders, and all data suggested that the Cry1Ia12 toxin could effectively enhance the cotton transgenic plants resistance to both insect pests.

  10. Transgenic Cotton Plants Expressing Cry1Ia12 Toxin Confer Resistance to Fall Armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda) and Cotton Boll Weevil (Anthonomus grandis)

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Oliveira, Raquel S.; Oliveira-Neto, Osmundo B.; Moura, Hudson F. N.; de Macedo, Leonardo L. P.; Arraes, Fabrício B. M.; Lucena, Wagner A.; Lourenço-Tessutti, Isabela T.; de Deus Barbosa, Aulus A.; da Silva, Maria C. M.; Grossi-de-Sa, Maria F.

    2016-01-01

    Gossypium hirsutum (commercial cooton) is one of the most economically important fibers sources and a commodity crop highly affected by insect pests and pathogens. Several transgenic approaches have been developed to improve cotton resistance to insect pests, through the transgenic expression of different factors, including Cry toxins, proteinase inhibitors, and toxic peptides, among others. In the present study, we developed transgenic cotton plants by fertilized floral buds injection (through the pollen-tube pathway technique) using an DNA expression cassette harboring the cry1Ia12 gene, driven by CaMV35S promoter. The T0 transgenic cotton plants were initially selected with kanamycin and posteriorly characterized by PCR and Southern blot experiments to confirm the genetic transformation. Western blot and ELISA assays indicated the transgenic cotton plants with higher Cry1Ia12 protein expression levels to be further tested in the control of two major G. hirsutum insect pests. Bioassays with T1 plants revealed the Cry1Ia12 protein toxicity on Spodoptera frugiperda larvae, as evidenced by mortality up to 40% and a significant delay in the development of the target insects compared to untransformed controls (up to 30-fold). Also, an important reduction of Anthonomus grandis emerging adults (up to 60%) was observed when the insect larvae were fed on T1 floral buds. All the larvae and adult insect survivors on the transgenic lines were weaker and significantly smaller compared to the non-transformed plants. Therefore, this study provides GM cotton plant with simultaneous resistance against the Lepidopteran (S. frugiperda), and the Coleopteran (A. grandis) insect orders, and all data suggested that the Cry1Ia12 toxin could effectively enhance the cotton transgenic plants resistance to both insect pests. PMID:26925081

  11. A one bath chemo-enzymatic process for preparation of absorbent cotton

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A.S.M. Raja

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Cotton is the raw material for preparation of absorbent cotton. Raw cotton has to be subjected to scouring and bleaching processes for making it absorbent by removing the naturally present wax, protein and minerals in the fibre. The scouring is done at 115 °C using alkali followed by bleaching at boiling condition using alkaline hydrogen peroxide solution. The effluent coming out of such processes contains high COD and BOD values. Due to the stringent environmental regulation and great awareness among the public about environment, worldwide attempts have been made to develop green and sustainable chemical processing of materials. Based on the above, in the present study efforts have been made to develop an eco-friendly one bath preparatory process for the production of absorbent cotton using chemo-enzymatic formulation. The result indicated that absorbent cotton produced using the developed process fulfilled the required performance properties as per pharmacopoeia in comparable with the conventional process made one.

  12. Performance of mashbean intercropped in cotton planted in different planting patterns

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Khan, M.B.; Ahmad, S.; Khaliq, A.

    2004-01-01

    Performance of mashbean as intercrop in cotton was studied at the Agronomic Research Area University of Agriculture, Faisalabad (Pakistan) during the years 1996-1997 and 1997-98. cotton variety NIAB 78 was planted in 80-cm apart single rows and 120-cm spaced double row strips. Experiment was laid out in a RCBD with four replications. Net plot size was 7 m x 4.8 m. Mashbean was sown as intercrop in the space between 80-cm apart single rows as well as 120-cm spaced double row strips. Mashbean was also sown as a sole crop (P/sub 3/). The inter crops produce substantially smaller yields when grown in association with cotton in either planting pattern compared to the sole crop yields. However, additional produce obtained from intercrop compensated the losses in cotton production. Intercropping of mashbean, in 120-cm apart double row strips of cotton proved to be feasible as well as convenient for farm operations. (author)

  13. 77 FR 51867 - Cotton Board Rules and Regulations: Adjusting Supplemental Assessment on Imports

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-08-28

    ... Advertising, Agricultural research, Cotton, Marketing agreements, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements... supplemental assessments collected for use by the Cotton Research and Promotion Program. An amendment is..., Chief, Research and Promotion Staff, Cotton and Tobacco Programs, AMS, USDA, 100 Riverside Parkway...

  14. 75 FR 70850 - Common Crop Insurance Regulations; Extra Long Staple Cotton Crop Provisions

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-11-19

    ... dividing Price A by 85 percent of Price B. * * * * * (f) Any AUP cotton harvested or appraised from acreage... dividing the price per pound for AUP cotton by the price per pound for ELS cotton. The prices used for AUP...

  15. Visible-light self-cleaning cotton by metalloporphyrin-sensitized photocatalysis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Afzal, Shabana [School of Applied Sciences and Engineering, Monash University, Churchill 3842 (Australia); Daoud, Walid A., E-mail: wdaoud@cityu.edu.hk [School of Energy and Environment, City University of Hong Kong, Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon (Hong Kong); Langford, Steven J. [School of Chemistry, Monash University, Clayton 3800 (Australia)

    2013-06-15

    Thin films of meso-tetra(4-carboxyphenyl)porphyrin with different metal centres (MTCPP, M = Fe, Co and Zn) in combination with anatase TiO{sub 2} have been formed on cotton fabric. Their self-cleaning properties have been evaluated by conducting the photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue under visible-light irradiation. All MTCPP/TiO{sub 2}-coated cotton fabrics showed superior self-cleaning performance as compared to the bare TiO{sub 2}-coated cotton. Among the three metal porphyrins, FeTCPP showed the highest photocatalytic activity with complete degradation of methylene blue in 180 min. The fabrics were characterized by FESEM, XRD, UV–vis and fluorescence spectroscopy.

  16. Regulation of auxin on secondary cell wall cellulose biosynthesis in developing cotton fibers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) fibers are unicellular trichomes that differentiate from epidermal cells of developing cotton ovules. Mature fibers exhibit thickened secondary walls composed of nearly pure cellulose. Cotton fiber development is divided into four overlapping phases, 1) initiation sta...

  17. Cotton Transportation and Logistics: A Dynamic System

    OpenAIRE

    Robinson, John R.; Park, John L.; Fuller, Stephen

    2007-01-01

    The paper reviews the evolution of U.S. cotton transportation and logistics patterns over the last three decades. There have been many forces of change over this time period, with the largest change being a shift from primarily domestic market destinations to the international market. We describe the pre-1999 system and flow patterns when domestic consumption of U.S. cotton was dominant. We contrast this with current flow patterns as measured by available secondary export data and a sample of...

  18. EVALUATION OF FOUR INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT PACKAGES FOR CONTROLLING MAIN PESTS OF COTTON IN RAINFED FIELDS

    OpenAIRE

    Nurindah Nurindah; Dwi Adi Sunarto

    2014-01-01

    Cotton production nationally is low due to various constraints, including pests. Two main pests commonly found in cotton plantation in rain fed fields are cotton leafhopper (Amrasca biguttula) and cotton bollworm (Helicoverpa armigera). The study aimed to evaluate four packages of integrated pest management (IPM) techniques to control cotton leafhopper and cotton bollworm in rain fed fields. The experiment was conducted in farmers’ fields at Asembagus, East Java, between January and July 2012...

  19. Expression of genes associated with carbohydrate metabolism in cotton stems and roots

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Scheffler Jodi

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L is an important crop worldwide that provides fiber for the textile industry. Cotton is a perennial plant that stores starch in stems and roots to provide carbohydrates for growth in subsequent seasons. Domesticated cotton makes these reserves available to developing seeds which impacts seed yield. The goals of these analyses were to identify genes and physiological pathways that establish cotton stems and roots as physiological sinks and investigate the role these pathways play in cotton development during seed set. Results Analysis of field-grown cotton plants indicated that starch levels peaked about the time of first anthesis and then declined similar to reports in greenhouse-grown cotton plants. Starch accumulated along the length of the stem and the shape and size of the starch grains from stems were easily distinguished from transient starch. Microarray analyses compared gene expression in tissues containing low levels of starch with tissues rapidly accumulating starch. Statistical analysis of differentially expressed genes indicated increased expression among genes associated with starch synthesis, starch degradation, hexose metabolism, raffinose synthesis and trehalose synthesis. The anticipated changes in these sugars were largely confirmed by measuring soluble sugars in selected tissues. Conclusion In domesticated cotton starch stored prior to flowering was available to support seed production. Starch accumulation observed in young field-grown plants was not observed in greenhouse grown plants. A suite of genes associated with starch biosynthesis was identified. The pathway for starch utilization after flowering was associated with an increase in expression of a glucan water dikinase gene as has been implicated in utilization of transient starch. Changes in raffinose levels and levels of expression of genes controlling trehalose and raffinose biosynthesis were also observed in vegetative

  20. The Prevalence of Byssinosis among Cotton Workers in the North of Benin

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    AV Hinson

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available Background: Cotton is the main agricultural export product in Benin. Cotton dust is thus present in the air during the handling and processing of cotton. This dust contains a mixture of substances including ground up plant matter, fibres, bacteria, fungi, soil, pesticides, noncotton matter, and other contaminants. While cotton processing is decreasing in industrialized countries, it is increasing in developing countries. Cotton processing, particularly in the early processes of spinning, can cause byssinosis. Objective: To determine the respiratory effects of cotton dust exposure among cotton mill workers in Benin. Methods: In a cross-sectional study, 109 workers exposed to cotton dust and 107 unexposed workers were studied. The International Commission on Occupational Health (ICOH questionnaire was used for data collection on respiratory symptoms. For each worker, crossshift pulmonary function was performed with a dry spirometer. Based on the severity of respiratory symptoms and spirometry byssinosis was defined and classified according to the criteria of Schilling, et al. Results: The mean±SD age of the exposed and unexposed workers was 46.3±7.8 and 37.0±8.3 years, respectively (p<0.001. The mean FEV1 predicted value for the exposed and unexposed workers was 76.3% and 77.3%, respectively. The prevalence of grade 3 byssinosis was 21.1% (95% CI: 13.4–28.9 in exposed workers and 8.4% (95% CI: 3.1–13.7 in unexposed workers (p=0.006. On Mondays, the exposed workers had more respiratory symptoms than unexposed workers; for grade 3 byssinosis, the prevalence was 13.8% in exposed and 4.7% in unexposed workers (p=0.011. Conclusion: The prevalence of respiratory symptoms and byssinosis among cotton mill workers in Benin is high and needs prompt attention of health care workers and policymakers.

  1. Ginning U.S. cotton for domestic and export markets

    Science.gov (United States)

    The U.S. cotton crop is produced by a highly mechanized production system that seeks to minimize manual labor while maximizing fiber quality. It is estimated that a bale of U.S. cotton is produced using approximately three man hours of labor while foreign producers may utilize several hundred man h...

  2. TEST OF COTTON LINES WITH DROUGHT TOLERANT INTERCROPPED WITH MAIZE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kadarwati F.T.

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available The distribution of cotton cultivation is mostly located in the sub-optimal land due to competition with the field crop. The cotton cultivation in Indonesia is always done through intercropping with pulses. This research aims to test the suitability of cotton lines with drought-tolerant intercropped with maize. The research is conducted in February to August 2016 at Asembagus Experimental Garden, Situbondo. Planting materials used in this research are 6 lines and 2 varieties of drought-tolerant cotton consist of strain 03001/9, 03008/24, 03008/25, 03017/13, 06062/3, 06063/3, kanesia 10 and kanesia 14. The research prepared by the draft randomized group with three replications. The observation parameter consists of plant height, canopy width, number of generative branches, number of fruits, fruits weight, the yield of seed cotton, and corn dry results. The research result shows that the strain 03017/13 and 03008/24 have the highest consecutive acceptance of IDR 17,860,681 and IDR 17,520,879, the increase in revenue compared to monoculture is IDR 6,278,473 and IDR 5,668,191, seed cotton production amounted to 2470.01 kg/ha and 2329.72 kg/ha, maize production amounted to 2001.54 kg/ha and 2112.74 kg/ha, LER 1.68 and 1.60, number of harvested fruit of 12.66 and 11.76 fruits/plant, fruit weight of 4.05 and 4.17 g/fruit.

  3. AGRICULTURE AND AGRICULTURAL COOPERATIVES IN JAPAN - A MODEL FOR COOPERATIVIZATION OF AGRICULTURE FROM ROMANIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Remus Gherman

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available Japan's agriculture provides only a part from the population's needs, in caloric terms Japan must impute 60% of foods. Arable land are few, but are worked very performant, rice being the main crop together with cotton, citrus, sugarcane, wheat, potato, soybean, sugar beet, other vegetables. Widely is practiced sericulture and fisheries, Japan being one of the leading producers of silk from the world and having over 600 ports specialized for fishing. Japanese agriculture has remained behind the industry and services, this trend being manifested after the very high economic growth from 1960-1970. The main focus of the movements from the Japanese cooperative system is represented by the creation of large specialized farms through the replacing of the traditional ones. The most important task of agricultural cooperatives from Japan is meeting the consumption needs of its members. Integrated leadership of Japanese cooperatives of farmers act at all levels, primary, at prefecture level and at national level. Contractual relationships play a decisive role in the integration of Japanese farmers. In Japan there are about 840 agricultural cooperatives very well organized with a balanced planning and efficiently conducted, agricultural cooperative MIKABI being the most developed, mainly focused on the production of mandarins. In Japan there are three large distribution centers of agricultural products, 29 distribution markets controlled by the prefecture and 1,000 local markets. Organization of cooperatives is the pyramid system on three levels: local, prefecture and national (National Federation of Agricultural Cooperatives.

  4. Costs Associated with Equine Breeding in Kentucky

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walker, Cassandra L.

    There were approximately 9 million horses in the United States having a 102 billion impact on the U.S. economy (AHC, 2005). Over 1 million of those horses were involved in the breeding sector. In Kentucky, nearly 18% of the horse population have been involved in breeding. Managing an equine enterprise can be difficult, particularly given that many who undertake such endeavors do not have a background or education in business management. Kentucky Cooperative Extension has produced interactive spreadsheets to help horse owners better understand the costs associated with owning horses or managing certain equine businesses, including boarding and training operations. However, there has been little support for breeders. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to provide owners with a list of services offered for breeding and the costs associated with those services. Survey questions were created from a list of topics pertinent to equine breeding and from that list of questions, an electronic survey was created. The survey was sent via Qualtrics Survey Software to collect information on stallion and mare management costs as well as expenses related to owning and breeding. Question topics included veterinary and housing costs, management and advertising expenses, and membership fees. A total of 78 farms were selected from the 2013 breeder's listings for the Kentucky Quarter Horse Association (n = 39) and the Kentucky Thoroughbred Farm Managers' Club (n = 26), and other breed association contacts (n = 13). These farms were selected from the lists by outside individuals who were not related to the project. Participants were asked to answer all questions relevant to the farm. After the initial survey distribution, follow-up e-mails and phone calls were conducted in order to answer any questions participants might have had about the survey. Survey response rate was 32.1% (25 of 78 surveys returned). Farms in Kentucky had an average of two farm-owned and two outside

  5. Population genetic structure of the cotton bollworm Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in India as inferred from EPIC-PCR DNA markers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Behere, Gajanan Tryambak; Tay, Wee Tek; Russell, Derek Alan; Kranthi, Keshav Raj; Batterham, Philip

    2013-01-01

    Helicoverpa armigera is an important pest of cotton and other agricultural crops in the Old World. Its wide host range, high mobility and fecundity, and the ability to adapt and develop resistance against all common groups of insecticides used for its management have exacerbated its pest status. An understanding of the population genetic structure in H. armigera under Indian agricultural conditions will help ascertain gene flow patterns across different agricultural zones. This study inferred the population genetic structure of Indian H. armigera using five Exon-Primed Intron-Crossing (EPIC)-PCR markers. Nested alternative EPIC markers detected moderate null allele frequencies (4.3% to 9.4%) in loci used to infer population genetic structure but the apparently genome-wide heterozygote deficit suggests in-breeding or a Wahlund effect rather than a null allele effect. Population genetic analysis of the 26 populations suggested significant genetic differentiation within India but especially in cotton-feeding populations in the 2006-07 cropping season. In contrast, overall pair-wise F(ST) estimates from populations feeding on food crops indicated no significant population substructure irrespective of cropping seasons. A Baysian cluster analysis was used to assign the genetic make-up of individuals to likely membership of population clusters. Some evidence was found for four major clusters with individuals in two populations from cotton in one year (from two populations in northern India) showing especially high homogeneity. Taken as a whole, this study found evidence of population substructure at host crop, temporal and spatial levels in Indian H. armigera, without, however, a clear biological rationale for these structures being evident.

  6. Atmospheric Pressure Plasma Treatment for Grey Cotton Knitted Fabric

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chi-wai Kan

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available 100% grey cotton knitted fabric contains impurities and yellowness and needs to be prepared for processing to make it suitable for coloration and finishing. Therefore, conventionally 100% grey cotton knitted fabric undergoes a process of scouring and bleaching, which involves the use of large amounts of water and chemicals, in order to remove impurities and yellowness. Due to increased environmental awareness, pursuing a reduction of water and chemicals is a current trend in textile processing. In this study, we explore the possibility of using atmospheric pressure plasma as a dry process to treat 100% grey cotton knitted fabric (single jersey and interlock before processing. Experimental results reveal that atmospheric pressure plasma treatment can effectively remove impurities from 100% grey cotton knitted fabrics and significantly improve its water absorption property. On the other hand, if 100% grey cotton knitted fabrics are pretreated with plasma and then undergo a normal scouring process, the treatment time is reduced. In addition, the surface morphological and chemical changes in plasma-treated fabrics were studied and compared with the conventionally treated fabrics using scanning electron microscope (SEM, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy-attenuated total reflection (FTIR-ATR and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS. The decrease in carbon content, as shown in XPS, reveal the removal of surface impurities. The oxygen-to-carbon (O/C ratios of the plasma treated knitted fabrics reveal enhanced hydrophilicity.

  7. Stink Bug Feeding Induces Fluorescence in Developing Cotton Bolls

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Toews Michael D

    2011-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Stink bugs (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae comprise a critically important insect pest complex affecting 12 major crops worldwide including cotton. In the US, stink bug damage to developing cotton bolls causes boll abscission, lint staining, reduced fiber quality, and reduced yields with estimated losses ranging from 10 to 60 million dollars annually. Unfortunately, scouting for stink bug damage in the field is laborious and excessively time consuming. To improve scouting accuracy and efficiency, we investigated fluorescence changes in cotton boll tissues as a result of stink bug feeding. Results Fluorescent imaging under long-wave ultraviolet light showed that stink bug-damaged lint, the inner carpal wall, and the outside of the boll emitted strong blue-green fluorescence in a circular region near the puncture wound, whereas undamaged tissue emissions occurred at different wavelengths; the much weaker emission of undamaged tissue was dominated by chlorophyll fluorescence. We further characterized the optimum emission and excitation spectra to distinguish between stink bug damaged bolls from undamaged bolls. Conclusions The observed characteristic fluorescence peaks associated with stink bug damage give rise to a fluorescence-based method to rapidly distinguish between undamaged and stink bug damaged cotton bolls. Based on the fluorescent fingerprint, we envision a fluorescence reflectance imaging or a fluorescence ratiometric device to assist pest management professionals with rapidly determining the extent of stink bug damage in a cotton field.

  8. Natural Dyeing and UV Protection of Raw and Bleached/Mercerised Cotton

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Čuk Nina

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Dyeing with natural dyes extracted from curcuma, green tea, avocado seed, pomegranate peel and horse chestnut bark was studied to evaluate the dyeability and ultraviolet (UV blocking properties of raw and bleached/mercerised cotton fabrics. 20 g/l of powdered plant material was extracted in distilled water and used as a dyeing bath. No mordants were used to obtain ecologically friendly finishing. The colour of samples was measured on a refl ectance spectrophotometer, while UV-blocking properties were analysed with UV-Vis spectrophotometer. The results showed that dyeing increased UV protection factor (UPF to all samples, however much higher UPF values were measured for the dyed raw cotton samples. The highest UPF values were obtained on both cotton fabrics dyed with pomegranate peel and green tea extracts, giving them excellent protective properties (UPF 50+. The lowest UPF values were obtained by dyeing cotton with avocado seed extract and curcumin. Dyeing with selected dyes is not stable to washing, so the UV-blocking properties worsen after repetitive washing. However, raw cotton samples retain their very good Uvblocking properties, while bleached/mercerised cotton fabrics do not provide even satisfactory UV-blocking properties. No correlation between CIE L*a*b*, K/S and UPF values were found.

  9. Chitosan pretreatment for cotton dyeing with black tea

    Science.gov (United States)

    Campos, J.; Díaz-García, P.; Montava, I.; Bonet-Aracil, M.; Bou-Belda, E.

    2017-10-01

    Chitosan is used in a wide range of applications due to its intrinsic properties. Chitosan is a biopolymer obtained from chitin and among their most important aspects highlights its bonding with cotton and its antibacterial properties. In this study two different molecular weight chitosan are used in the dyeing process of cotton with black tea to evaluate its influence. In order to evaluate the effect of the pretreatment with chitosan, DSC and reflection spectrophotometer analysis are performed. The curing temperature is evaluated by the DSC analysis of cotton fabric treated with 15 g/L of chitosan, whilst the enhancement of the dyeing is evaluated by the colorimetric coordinates and the K/S value obtained spectrophotometrically. This study shows the extent of improvement of the pretreatment with chitosan in dyeing with natural products as black tea.

  10. 49 CFR 176.903 - Stowage of cotton or vegetable fibers with coal.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 49 Transportation 2 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Stowage of cotton or vegetable fibers with coal... § 176.903 Stowage of cotton or vegetable fibers with coal. Cotton or vegetable fibers being transported on a vessel may not be stowed in the same hold with coal. They may be stowed in adjacent holds if the...

  11. Development of breeding objectives for beef cattle breeding ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Mnr J F Kluyts

    However, to solve the simultaneous equations the ... The aggregate breeding value represents a fundamental concept, the breeding objective, which is ..... Two properties characterise a linear programming problem. The first is additivity, ...

  12. Molecular systematics of the cotton root rot pathogen, Phymatotrichopsis omnivora

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Marek, S.M.; Hansen, K.; Romanish, M.; Thorn, R.G.

    2009-01-01

    Cotton root rot is an important soilborne disease of cotton and numerous dicot plants in the south-western United States and Mexico. The causal organism, Phymatotrichopsis omnivora (= Phymatotrichum omnivorum), is known only as an asexual, holoanamorphic (mitosporic) fungus, and produces conidia

  13. Dynamic Relation Mechanism between Cotton Future Price and Stock Price of Related Listed Companies

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    2011-01-01

    The Dynamic relation mechanism between ZCE cotton futures price and related listed company stock price has been studied based on the metastock historical data in January 1st,2007 to September 1st,2010,Johansen co-integration analysis,Vector error correction model,Granger causality test and variance decomposition method.The results indicated that:long-term equilibrium relationship existed between ZCE cotton futures price and Xinsai share stock price while which changed in the same tendency and speed in the long-term.Cotton futures price is the main reason for the changing of Xinsai share stock price.The lead-lag relationship in changing course had been confirmed that existed between ZCE cotton futures price and the Xinsai share stock price.Meanwhile,the forward pass mechanism of price changing information had been found only from the ZCE cotton futures market to the stock market while showing asymmetry.Conclusions of the study can be used for cotton and related corporate to hedge business risks by the cotton price changes.

  14. Visible-Light-Driven, Dye-Sensitized TiO2 Photo-Catalyst for Self-Cleaning Cotton Fabrics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ishaq Ahmad

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available We report here the photo-catalytic properties of dye-sensitized TiO2-coated cotton fabrics. In this study, visible-light-driven, self-cleaning cotton fabrics were developed by coating the cotton fabrics with dye-sensitized TiO2. TiO2 nano-sol was prepared via the sol-gel method and the cotton fabric was coated with this nano-sol by the dip-pad–dry-cure method. In order to enhance the photo-catalytic properties of this TiO2-coated cotton fabric under visible light irradiation, the TiO2-coated cotton fabric was dyed with a phthalocyanine-based reactive dye, C.I. Reactive Blue 25 (RB-25, as a dye sensitizer for TiO2. The photo-catalytic self-cleaning efficiency of the resulting dye/TiO2-coated cotton fabrics was evaluated by degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB and color co-ordinate measurements. Dye/TiO2-coated cotton fabrics show very good photo-catalytic properties under visible light.

  15. [Effects of transgenic Bt + CpTI cotton on rhizosphere bacteria and ammonia oxidizing bacteria population].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dong, Lianhua; Meng, Ying; Wang, Jing

    2014-03-04

    The effect of transgenic cotton on the rhizosphere bacteria can be important to the risk assessment for the genetically modified crops. We studied the rhizosphere microbial community with cultivating genetically modified cotton. The effects of transgenic Bt + CpTI Cotton (SGK321) and its receptor cotton (SY321) on rhizosphere total bacteria and ammonia oxidizing bacteria population size were studied by using droplet digital PCR. We collected rhizosphere soil before cotton planting and along with the cotton growth stage (squaring stage, flowering stage, belling stage and boll opening stage). There was no significant change on the total bacterial population between the transgenic cotton and the receptor cotton along with the growth stage. However, the abundance of ammonia oxidizing bacteria (AOB) in both type of cottons showed significant difference between different growth stages, and the variation tendency was different. In squaring stage, the numbers of AOB in rhizosphere of SY321 and SGK321 increased 4 and 2 times, respectively. In flowering stage, AOB number in rhizosphere of SY321 significantly decreased to be 5.96 x 10(5) copies/g dry soil, however, that of SGK321 increased to be 1.25 x 10(6) copies/g dry soil. In belling stage, AOB number of SY321 greatly increased to be 1.49 x 10(6) copies/g dry soil, but no significant change was observed for AOB number of SGK321. In boll opening stage, both AOB number of SY321 and SGK321 clearly decreased and they were significantly different from each other. Compared to the non-genetically modified cotton, the change in abundance of ammonia oxidizing bacteria was slightly smooth in the transgenic cotton. Not only the cotton growth stage but also the cotton type caused this difference. The transgenic cotton can slow down the speed of ammonia transformation through impacting the number of AOB, which is advantageous for plant growth.

  16. Role of secondary metabolites biosynthesis in resistance to cotton ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    use

    2011-12-12

    Dec 12, 2011 ... Disease percentage on six cotton varieties with respect to time for cotton leaf curl virus (CLCuV) was evaluated. In August 2007, the maximum disease was observed in CIM-506, CYTO-89 and BH-118. (susceptible), whereas CIM-443 was resistant with lower disease percentage. It was found that the leaf.

  17. Report of cooperative research programs in the field of ion-beam breeding between Japan Atomic Energy Agency and Malaysian Nuclear Agency (Bilateral cooperative research)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ahmad, Zaiton; Oono, Yutaka

    2016-03-01

    This report summarizes Bilateral Cooperative Research between Japan Atomic Energy Agency and Malaysian Nuclear Agency (a representative of the Government of Malaysia) implemented from 2002 to 2012 under 'THE IMPLEMENTING ARRANGEMENT BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF MALAYSIA AND THE JAPAN ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY ON THE RESEARCH COOPERATION IN THE FIELD OF RADIATION PROCESSING'. The research activities in two Cooperative Research Programs, 'Mutation Induction of Orchid Plants by Ion Beams' and 'Generating New Ornamental Plant Varieties Using Ion Beams' performed 2002-2007 and 2007-2012, respectively, are contained. The lists of steering committee meetings, irradiation experiments, and publications/presentations of each program are also attached in the Appendixes. (author)

  18. The phosphatidylinositol synthase gene (GhPIS) contributes to longer, stronger, and finer fibers in cotton.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Long, Qin; Yue, Fang; Liu, Ruochen; Song, Shuiqing; Li, Xianbi; Ding, Bo; Yan, Xingying; Pei, Yan

    2018-05-11

    Cotton fibers are the most important natural raw material used in textile industries world-wide. Fiber length, strength, and fineness are the three major traits which determine the quality and economic value of cotton. It is known that exogenous application of phosphatidylinositols (PtdIns), important structural phospholipids, can promote cotton fiber elongation. Here, we sought to increase the in planta production of PtdIns to improve fiber traits. Transgenic cotton plants were generated in which the expression of a cotton phosphatidylinositol synthase gene (i.e., GhPIS) was controlled by the fiber-specific SCFP promoter element, resulting in the specific up-regulation of GhPIS during cotton fiber development. We demonstrate that PtdIns content was significantly enhanced in transgenic cotton fibers and the elevated level of PtdIns stimulated the expression of genes involved in PtdIns phosphorylation as well as promoting lignin/lignin-like phenolic biosynthesis. Fiber length, strength and fineness were also improved in the transgenic plants as compared to the wild-type cotton, with no loss in overall fiber yield. Our data indicate that fiber-specific up-regulation of PtdIns synthesis is a promising strategy for cotton fiber quality improvement.

  19. Drought coping strategies in cotton: increased crop per drop.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ullah, Abid; Sun, Heng; Yang, Xiyan; Zhang, Xianlong

    2017-03-01

    The growth and yield of many crops, including cotton, are affected by water deficit. Cotton has evolved drought specific as well as general morpho-physiological, biochemical and molecular responses to drought stress, which are discussed in this review. The key physiological responses against drought stress in cotton, including stomata closing, root development, cellular adaptations, photosynthesis, abscisic acid (ABA) and jasmonic acid (JA) production and reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging, have been identified by researchers. Drought stress induces the expression of stress-related transcription factors and genes, such as ROS scavenging, ABA or mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK) signalling genes, which activate various drought-related pathways to induce tolerance in the plant. It is crucial to elucidate and induce drought-tolerant traits via quantitative trait loci (QTL) analysis, transgenic approaches and exogenous application of substances. The current review article highlights the natural as well as engineered drought tolerance strategies in cotton. © 2017 The Authors. Plant Biotechnology Journal published by Society for Experimental Biology and The Association of Applied Biologists and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  20. Cotton Study: Albumin Binding and its Effect on Elastase Activity in the Chronic Non-Healing Wound

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Castro, N.; Goheen, S.

    2005-01-01

    Cotton, as it is used in wound dressings is composed of nearly pure cellulose. During the wound-healing process, cotton is exposed to various blood components including water, salts, cells, and blood proteins. Albumin is the most prominent protein in blood. Elastase is an enzyme secreted by white blood cells and takes an active role in tissue reconstruction. In the chronic non-healing wound, elastase is often over-expressed such that this enzyme digests tissue and growth factors, and interferes with the normal healing process. Our goal is to design a cotton wound dressing that will sequester elastase or assist in reducing elastase activity in the presence of other blood proteins such as albumin. The ability of cotton and various cotton derivatives to sequester elastase and albumin has been studied by examining the adsorption of these two proteins separately. We undertook the present work to confirm the binding of albumin to cotton and to quantify the activity of elastase in the presence of various derivatives of cotton. We previously observed a slight increase in elastase activity when exposed to cotton. We also observed a continuous accumulation of albumin on cotton using high-performance liquid chromatography methods. In the present study, we used an open-column-absorption technique coupled with a colorimetric protein assay to confirm losses of albumin to cotton. We have also confirmed increased elastase activity after exposure to cotton. The results are discussed in relation to the porosity of cotton and the use of cotton for treating chronic non-healing wounds.

  1. Effect of nitrates on embryo induction efficiency in cotton (Gossypium ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Fred

    cotton species (Zhang, 1994b). Somatic embryogenesis and plant regeneration systems have been established from cotton tissue, protoplasts and ovules (Zhang and Li,. 1992; Feng and Zhang, 1994; Zhang, 1995). Regeneration procedures have been used to obtain genetically modified plants after Agrobacterium- ...

  2. Productivity and resource use in cotton and wheat relay intercropping

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Zhang, L.

    2007-01-01

    Keywords: Grain yield; lint yield; phenological delay; light use; nitrogen use; resource use efficiency; modelling; profitability; water productivity. From the early 1980s onwards, farmers in the Yellow River cotton producing region intercropped cotton and winter wheat; currently on more than 60% of

  3. Utilization of bio-waste cotton ( Gossypium hirsutum L.) stalks and ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ... three-layer particleboard containing different cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) stalks and underutilized paulownia (paulownia fortunie) wood particle ratios (30, 50 and 70%) using urea formaldehyde resin. Addition of cotton stalk and paulownia wood in particleboard improved mechanical properties of resulting composites ...

  4. An Integrated DEMATEL-VIKOR Method-Based Approach for Cotton Fibre Selection and Evaluation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chakraborty, Shankar; Chatterjee, Prasenjit; Prasad, Kanika

    2018-01-01

    Selection of the most appropriate cotton fibre type for yarn manufacturing is often treated as a multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) problem as the optimal selection decision needs to be taken in presence of several conflicting fibre properties. In this paper, two popular MCDM methods in the form of decision making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) and VIse Kriterijumska Optimizacija kompromisno Resenje (VIKOR) are integrated to aid the cotton fibre selection decision. DEMATEL method addresses the interrelationships between various physical properties of cotton fibres while segregating them into cause and effect groups, whereas, VIKOR method helps in ranking all the considered 17 cotton fibres from the best to the worst. The derived ranking of cotton fibre alternatives closely matches with that obtained by the past researchers. This model can assist the spinning industry personnel in the blending process while making accurate fibre selection decision when cotton fibre properties are numerous and interrelated.

  5. Cultivation and breeding of Digitalis lanata in the Netherlands

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mastenbroek, C.

    1985-09-01

    After the second world war Marshall Aid funds were used to establish a cooperative organization for growing, drying, and selling Digitalis lanata (and other medicinal, aromatic, and culinary herbs) in the Netherlands. The crop is sown in mid April and the fully mechanised harvest of the leaves takes place from September to late November. The leaves are dried for 10-12 hours at 50 degrees C maximum. The aim of breeding trials is to improve leaf production, erect leaf attitude, resistance to Septoria leaf spot and to bolting, and a higher dry matter and digoxin content.

  6. Degradation and persistence of cotton pesticides in sandy loam soils from Punjab, Pakistan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tariq, Muhammad Ilyas; Afzal, Shahzad; Hussain, Ishtiaq

    2006-02-01

    The present study evaluated the influence of temperature, moisture, and microbial activity on the degradation and persistence of commonly used cotton pesticides, i.e., carbosulfan, carbofuran, lambda-cyhalothrin, endosulfan, and monocrotophos, with the help of laboratory incubation and lysimeter studies on sandy loam soil (Typic Ustocurepts) in Pakistan. Drainage from the lysimeters was sampled on days 49, 52, 59, 73, 100, 113, and 119 against the pesticide application on days 37, 63, 82, 108, and 137 after the sowing of cotton. Carbofuran, monocrotophos, and nitrate were detected in the drainage samples, with an average value, respectively, of 2.34, 2.6 microg/L, and 15.6 mg/L for no-tillage and 2.16, 2.3 microg/L, and 13.4 mg/L for tillage. In the laboratory, pesticide disappearance kinetics were measured with sterile and nonsterile soils from 0 to 10 cm in depth at 15, 25, and 35 degrees C and 50% and 90% field water capacities. Monocrotophos and carbosulfan dissipation followed first-order kinetics while others followed second-order kinetics. The results of incubation studies showed that temperature and moisture contents significantly reduced the t(1/2) (half-life) values of pesticides in sterile and nonsterile soil, but the effect of microbial activity was nearly significant that might be due to less organic carbon (0.3%). The presence of carbofuran and monocrotophos in the soil profile (0-10, 10-30, 30-60, 60-90, 90-150 cm) and the higher concentrations of endosulfan and lambda-cyhalothrin in the top layer (0-10 cm) showed the persistence of the pesticides. The detection of endosulfan and lambda-cyhalothrin in the 10-30 cm soil layer might be due to preferential flow. The data generated from this study could be helpful for risk assessment studies of pesticides and for validating pesticide transport models for sandy loam soils in cotton-growing areas of Pakistan.

  7. Notes on breeding sharp-shinned hawks and cooper’s hawks in Barnwell County, South Carolina

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mark Vukovich; John C. Kilgo

    2009-01-01

    Breeding records of Accipiter striatus (Sharp-shinned Hawks) in the southeastern US are scattered and isolated. We documented a Sharp-shinned Hawk and Accipiter cooperii (Cooper’s Hawk) nest while conducting a telemetry study on Melanerpes erythrocephalus (Red-headed Woodpeckers) in Barnwell County, SC in 2006 and 2007. We report the first known nest of a Sharp-shinned...

  8. Genome wide identification of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum)-encoded microRNA targets against Cotton leaf curl Burewala virus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shweta; Akhter, Yusuf; Khan, Jawaid Ahmad

    2018-01-05

    Cotton leaf curl Burewala virus (CLCuBV, genus Begomovirus) causes devastating cotton leaf curl disease. Among various known virus controlling strategies, RNAi-mediated one has shown potential to protect host crop plants. Micro(mi) RNAs, are the endogenous small RNAs and play a key role in plant development and stress resistance. In the present study we have identified cotton (Gossypium hirsutum)-encoded miRNAs targeting the CLCuBV. Based on threshold free energy and maximum complementarity scores of host miRNA-viral mRNA target pairs, a number of potential miRNAs were annotated. Among them, ghr-miR168 was selected as the most potent candidate, capable of targeting several vital genes namely C1, C3, C4, V1 and V2 of CLCuBV genome. In addition, ghr-miR395a and ghr-miR395d were observed to target the overlapping transcripts of C1 and C4 genes. We have verified the efficacy of these miRNA targets against CLCuBV following suppression of RNAi-mediated virus control through translational inhibition or cleavage of viral mRNA. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  9. Genetic and DNA methylation changes in cotton (Gossypium genotypes and tissues.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kenji Osabe

    Full Text Available In plants, epigenetic regulation is important in normal development and in modulating some agronomic traits. The potential contribution of DNA methylation mediated gene regulation to phenotypic diversity and development in cotton was investigated between cotton genotypes and various tissues. DNA methylation diversity, genetic diversity, and changes in methylation context were investigated using methylation-sensitive amplified polymorphism (MSAP assays including a methylation insensitive enzyme (BsiSI, and the total DNA methylation level was measured by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC. DNA methylation diversity was greater than the genetic diversity in the selected cotton genotypes and significantly different levels of DNA methylation were identified between tissues, including fibre. The higher DNA methylation diversity (CHG methylation being more diverse than CG methylation in cotton genotypes suggest epigenetic regulation may be important for cotton, and the change in DNA methylation between fibre and other tissues hints that some genes may be epigenetically regulated for fibre development. The novel approach using BsiSI allowed direct comparison between genetic and epigenetic diversity, and also measured CC methylation level that cannot be detected by conventional MSAP.

  10. Genetic and DNA methylation changes in cotton (Gossypium) genotypes and tissues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Osabe, Kenji; Clement, Jenny D; Bedon, Frank; Pettolino, Filomena A; Ziolkowski, Lisa; Llewellyn, Danny J; Finnegan, E Jean; Wilson, Iain W

    2014-01-01

    In plants, epigenetic regulation is important in normal development and in modulating some agronomic traits. The potential contribution of DNA methylation mediated gene regulation to phenotypic diversity and development in cotton was investigated between cotton genotypes and various tissues. DNA methylation diversity, genetic diversity, and changes in methylation context were investigated using methylation-sensitive amplified polymorphism (MSAP) assays including a methylation insensitive enzyme (BsiSI), and the total DNA methylation level was measured by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). DNA methylation diversity was greater than the genetic diversity in the selected cotton genotypes and significantly different levels of DNA methylation were identified between tissues, including fibre. The higher DNA methylation diversity (CHG methylation being more diverse than CG methylation) in cotton genotypes suggest epigenetic regulation may be important for cotton, and the change in DNA methylation between fibre and other tissues hints that some genes may be epigenetically regulated for fibre development. The novel approach using BsiSI allowed direct comparison between genetic and epigenetic diversity, and also measured CC methylation level that cannot be detected by conventional MSAP.

  11. Evaluation of cotton stalk hydrolysate for xylitol production.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sapcı, Burcu; Akpinar, Ozlem; Bolukbasi, Ufuk; Yilmaz, Levent

    2016-07-03

    Cotton stalk is a widely distributed and abundant lignocellulosic waste found in Turkey. Because of its rich xylose content, it can be a promising source for the production of xylitol. Xylitol can be produced by chemical or biotechnological methods. Because the biotechnological method is a simple process with great substrate specificity and low energy requirements, it is more of an economic alternative for the xylitol production. This study aimed to use cotton stalk for the production of xylitol with Candida tropicalis Kuen 1022. For this purpose, the combined effects of different oxygen concentration, inoculum level and substrate concentration were investigated to obtain high xylitol yield and volumetric xylitol production rate. Candida tropicalis Kuen 1022 afforded different concentrations of xylitol depending on xylose concentration, inoculum level, and oxygen concentration. The optimum xylose, yeast concentration, and airflow rate for cotton stalk hydrolysate were found as 10.41 g L(-1), 0.99 g L(-1), and 1.02 vvm, respectively, and under these conditions, xylitol yield and volumetric xylitol production rate were obtained as 36% and 0.06 g L(-1) hr(-1), respectively. The results of this study show that cotton stalk can serve as a potential renewable source for the production of xylitol.

  12. Aqueous supercapacitors on conductive cotton

    KAUST Repository

    Pasta, Mauro; La Mantia, Fabio; Hu, Liangbing; Deshazer, Heather Dawn; Cui, Yi

    2010-01-01

    Wearable electronics offer the combined advantages of both electronics and fabrics. In this article, we report the fabrication of wearable supercapacitors using cotton fabric as an essential component. Carbon nanotubes are conformally coated onto the cotton fibers, leading to a highly electrically conductive interconnecting network. The porous carbon nanotube coating functions as both active material and current collector in the supercapacitor. Aqueous lithium sulfate is used as the electrolyte in the devices, because it presents no safety concerns for human use. The supercapacitor shows high specific capacitance (~70-80 F·g-1 at 0.1 A·g-1) and cycling stability (negligible decay after 35,000 cycles). The extremely simple design and fabrication process make it applicable for providing power in practical electronic devices. © 2010 Tsinghua University Press and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.

  13. Aqueous supercapacitors on conductive cotton

    KAUST Repository

    Pasta, Mauro

    2010-06-01

    Wearable electronics offer the combined advantages of both electronics and fabrics. In this article, we report the fabrication of wearable supercapacitors using cotton fabric as an essential component. Carbon nanotubes are conformally coated onto the cotton fibers, leading to a highly electrically conductive interconnecting network. The porous carbon nanotube coating functions as both active material and current collector in the supercapacitor. Aqueous lithium sulfate is used as the electrolyte in the devices, because it presents no safety concerns for human use. The supercapacitor shows high specific capacitance (~70-80 F·g-1 at 0.1 A·g-1) and cycling stability (negligible decay after 35,000 cycles). The extremely simple design and fabrication process make it applicable for providing power in practical electronic devices. © 2010 Tsinghua University Press and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.

  14. 76 FR 80278 - Revision of Cotton Classification Procedures for Determining Cotton Leaf Grade

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-12-23

    ... challenge to the provisions of this rule. Regulatory Flexibility Act Pursuant to requirements set forth in... currently part of the official USDA cotton classification. Accurate assignment of leaf grade is of economic... cost factor associated with its removal. Furthermore, since small leaf particles cannot always be...

  15. The effect of dendrimer on cotton dyeability with direct dyes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Khakzar Bafrooei F.

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Pretreatment of cotton fabric with poly(propylene imine dendrimer enhanced its colour strength using C.I. Direct Red 81 and C.I. Direct Blue 78. Application of this dendrimer and the direct dye simultaneously on cotton fabric by the exhaust and the continuous dyeing method were studied; slight improvements in the dyeing results were obtained. Pretreatment of the cotton fabric with dendrimer in an emulsion form using the pad-dry method followed by continuous dyeing markedly increased the colour strength. In addition, level dyeing was obtained, and no negative effects on the fastness properties of the dyes used were observed.

  16. Performance enhancement of a solar still using cotton regenerative medium

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Thirumalai Gopal Sakthivel

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents the performance of a single slope solar still using cotton cloth regenerative medium. The performance was evaluated under the metrological conditions of Chennai city in India during the summer months of 2016. Two single-slope solar stills are fabricated with an effective area of 0.5 m2 with various thicknesses (2, 4, 6, and 8 mm of cotton cloth were used for the performance comparison. The results showed, the solar still with 6 mm thick cotton assisted regenerative solar still has about 28% improved productivity when compared to conventional solar still.

  17. Remediation of deltamethrin contaminated cotton fields: residual and adsorption assessment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rafique Uzaira

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Pakistan occupies a significant global position in the growing of high quality cotton. The extensive application of pesticides on agricultural products leads to environmental risk due to toxic residues in air, water and soil. This study examined the chemodynamic effect of Deltamethrin on cotton fields. Samples were collected from the cotton fields of D.G. Khan, Pakistan and analyzed for heavy metal speciation patterns. Batch experiments were administered in order to study the adsorption of Deltamethrin in cotton fields. The effect of different factors including pH, adsorbate dose, and adsorbent mass on adsorption were studied. It was observed that in general, adsorption increased with increases in the mass of adsorbate, although the trends were irregular. Residual fractions of deltamethrin in the soil and water of cotton fields were analyzed to assess concentrations of xenobiotics bound to soil particles. Results indicated that such residues are significantly higher in soil samples due to high Koc in comparison to water, indicating the former is an efficient degradation agent. Results from the batch experiment resulted in 95% removal with alkaline pH and an adsorbent-adsorbate ratio of 250:1. These results may be used to environment friendly resource management policies.

  18. Association of Verde plant bug, Creontiades signatus (Hemiptera: Miridae), with cotton boll rot

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cotton along the Gulf Coast of south Texas has experienced loss from cotton boll rot especially during the last 10 to 15 years, and stink bugs and plant bugs (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae and Miridae) that feed on cotton bolls have been suspected in introducing the disease. A replicated grower field surv...

  19. Amplicon based RNA interference targeting V2 gene of cotton leaf curl Kokhran virus-Burewala strain can provide resistance in transgenic cotton plants

    Science.gov (United States)

    An RNAi based gene construct designated “C2” was used to target the V2 region of the cotton leaf curl virus (CLCuV) genome which is responsible for virus movement. The construct was transformed into two elite cotton varieties MNH-786 and VH-289. A shoot apex method of plant transformation using Agr...

  20. Laboratory microwave measurement of the moisture content in seed cotton and ginned cotton fiber

    Science.gov (United States)

    The timely and accurate measurement of cotton fiber moisture content is important, but the measurement is often performed by laborious, time-consuming laboratory oven drying methods. Microwave technology for measuring fiber moisture content directly (not for drying only) offers potential advantages...

  1. Seed cotton yield, ionic and quality attributes of two cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L. varieties as influenced by various rates of K and Na under field conditions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Muhammad Sohail

    2011-11-01

    Full Text Available Cotton is more sensitive to low K availability than most other major field crops, and often shows symptoms of K deficiency in soils not considered K deficient. Field investigation was conducted at Sahiwal to study the effect of different rates of K and Na application on seed cotton yield, ionic ratio and quality characteristics of two cotton varieties. Ten soil K: Na ratios were developed after considering indigenous K, Na status in soil. The treatments of K+Na in kg ha-1 to give K:Na ratios were as: 210+ 60 (3.5:1 i.e. control, 225 + 60 (3.75:1, 240 + 60 (4:1, 255 + 60 (4.25:1, 270 + 60 (4.5:1, 210 + 75 (2.8:1, 225 + 75 (3:1, 240 + 75 (3.2:1, 255 + 75 (3.4:1 and 270 + 75 (3.6:1. Control treatment represented indigenous K, Na status of soil. The experiment continued until maturity. Maximum seed cotton yield of NIBGE-2 was observed at K: Na ratio of 3.6:1. Variety NIBGE-2 manifested greater seed cotton yield than MNH-786. Leaf K: Na ratio of two cotton varieties differed significantly (p < 0.01 due to varieties, rates of K and Na and their interaction. Variety NIBGE-2 maintained higher K: Na ratio than MNH-786 and manifested good fiber quality. There was significant relationship (R2 = 0.55, n = 10 between K: Na ratio and fiber length and significant relationship (R2 = 0.65, n = 10 between K concentration and fiber length for NIBGE-2. There was also significant relationship (R2 = 0.91, 0.78, n = 10 between boll number and seed cotton yield for both varieties. The increase in yield was attributed to increased boll weight.

  2. Molecular characterization of a virus from the family Luteoviridae associated with cotton blue disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Corrêa, R L; Silva, T F; Simões-Araújo, J L; Barroso, P A V; Vidal, M S; Vaslin, M F S

    2005-07-01

    Cotton blue disease is an aphid-transmitted cotton disease described in Brazil in 1962 as Vein Mosaic "var. Ribeirão Bonito". At present it causes economically important losses in cotton crops if control measures are not implemented. The observed symptoms and mode of transmission have prompted researchers to speculate that cotton blue disease could be attributed to a member of the family Luteoviridae, but there was no molecular evidence supporting this hypothesis. We have amplified part of the genome of a virus associated with this disease using degenerate primers for members of the family Luteoviridae. Sequence analysis of the entire capsid and a partial RdRp revealed a virus probably belonging to the genus Polerovirus. Based on our results we propose that cotton blue disease is associated with a virus with the putative name Cotton leafroll dwarf virus (CLRDV).

  3. Thermal properties and water repellency of cotton fabric prepared through sol-gel method

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gu Jia-Li

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Cotton fabrics were treated by one-step sol-gel method. The pure silica hydrosol and phosphorus-doped hydrosol were prepared with the addition of a hydrophobic hexadecyltrimethoxysilane to decrease the surface energy of cotton fabric. The thermal properties and water repellency of treated cotton fabric were characterized by thermo-gravimetric analysis, micro combustion, limiting oxygen index, and contact angle measurement. The results showed that cotton fabric treated by phosphorus-doped silica hydrosol had excellent flame retardance, and the water repellence was apparently improved with the addition of hexadecyltrimethoxysilane.

  4. STUDY OF GENE FLOW FROM GM COTTON (Gossypium hirsutum VARIETIES IN “EL ESPINAL” (TOLIMA, COLOMBIA.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alejandro Chaparro Giraldo

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available In 2009, 4088 hectares of genetically modified (GM cotton were planted in Tolima (Colombia, however there is some uncertainty about containment measures needed to prevent the flow of pollen and seed from regulated GM fields into adjacent fields. In this study, the gene flow from GM cotton varieties to conventional or feral cotton plants via seed and pollen was evaluated. ImmunostripTM, PCR and ELISA assays were used to detect gene flow. Fifty six refuges, 27 fields with conventional cotton and four feral individuals of the enterprise “Remolinos Inc.” located in El Espinal (Tolima were analyzed in the first half of 2010. The results indicated seeds mediated gene flow in 45 refuges (80,4 % and 26 fields with conventional cotton (96 %, besides a pollen mediated gene flow in one field with conventional cotton and nine refuges. All fields cultivated with conventional cotton showed gene flow from GM cotton. Two refuges and two feral individuals did not reveal gene flow from GM cotton.

  5. Correlation of Lipopolysaccharide Endotoxin Level in Cotton Dust with the Increase of TNFα Level and the Decline of Lung Function in Cotton Spinning Factory Workers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fadilatus Sukma Ika Noviarmi

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available Lipopolysaccharide (LPS endotoxin contained in cotton dust may cause airway inflammation and decline of lung function when inhaled, which eventually leads to respiratory symptoms. The objective of this research is to analyze the correlation of the exposure of LPS endotoxin in cotton dust with the increase of TNFα level and the decline of lung function after one day’s work. This study applies analytical observation method and prospective cohort approach. Main participants of this study were the workers of a cotton spinning factory located in Tulangan District, Sidoarjo Regency, East Java Province. Sixteen samples from cotton factory were taken as study group, and twenty three samples from village administrators were taken as control group. Data collection involves several techniques: spirometry, laboratory test, and interview. Results showed that concentration of personal dust has a significant relationship with the decline of FVC, %FVC, FEV1, and %FEV1, with Pearson correlation test showing p0.05. The research concludes that the level of LPS endotoxin was strongly related to the increase of blood serum TNFα and the decline of lung function. Development of more effective preventive measures such as stronger enforcement of worker’s health maintenance regulations and use of personal protective equipment is needed to ensure the best protection of cotton workers’ health.

  6. Chemical-Free Cotton Defoliation by; Mechanical, Flame and Laser Girdling

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mathew G. Pelletier

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available A novel new way to achieve chemical-free defoliation of cotton is discussed. The research found that by severing the phloem tissue on the main stalk, via a girdling operation, the operation stimulated the cotton plant to alter its growth into an early senescence pathway that resulted in the plant shedding its leaves and opening up all its bolls, leaving the plant in the perfect state for machine harvesting. Even with follow-up rains, zero regrowth occurred in the treated plants, unlike the untreated control plots where significant regrowth did occur. This report compares the results of greenhouse and field trials where the girdling operation was performed by hand, flame, mechanical and via a CO2 laser to achieve phloem tissue severance. Design parameters for a prototype laser girdling system are also provided. Results suggest that for deficit irrigated cotton, girdling can provide an alternative means to defoliate cotton.

  7. Analysis Of The Reactivity Of Radpro Solution With Cotton Rags

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Marusich, R.M.

    2009-01-01

    Rags containing RadPro(reg s ign) solution will be generated during the decontamination of the Plutonium Finishing Plant (PFP). Under normal conditions, the rags will be neutralized with sodium carbonate prior to placing in the drums. The concern with RadPro solutions and cotton rags is that some of the RadPro solutions contain nitric acid. Under the right conditions, nitric acid and cotton rags exothermically react. The concern is, will RadPro solutions react with cotton rags exothermically? The potential for a runaway reaction for any of the RadPro solutions used was studied in Section 5.2 of PNNL-15410, Thermal Stability Studies of Candidate Decontamination Agents for Hanford's Plutonium Finishing Plant Plutonium-Contaminated Gloveboxes. This report shows the thermal behavior of cotton rags having been saturated in one of the various neutralized and non-neutralized RadPro solutions. The thermal analysis was performed using thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA), Differential Thermal Analysis (DTA) and Accelerating Rate Calorimetry (ARC).

  8. Slave Breeding

    OpenAIRE

    Sutch, Richard

    1986-01-01

    This paper reviews the historical work on slave breeding in the ante-bellum United States. Slave breeding consisted of interference in the sexual life of slaves by their owners with the intent and result of increasing the number of slave children born. The weight of evidence suggests that slave breeding occurred in sufficient force to raise the rate of growth of the American slave population despite evidence that only a minority of slave-owners engaged in such practices.

  9. 77 FR 20503 - Revision of Cotton Classification Procedures for Determining Cotton Leaf Grade

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-04-05

    ... measurements for other quality factors are performed by precise HVI measurements, manual determinations for.... Accurate assignment of leaf grade is of economic importance to all participants along the cotton supply... significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. Fees paid by users of the service are...

  10. Sequencing of a Cultivated Diploid Cotton Genome-Gossypium arboreum

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    WILKINS; Thea; A

    2008-01-01

    Sequencing the genomes of crop species and model systems contributes significantly to our understanding of the organization,structure and function of plant genomes.In a `white paper' published in 2007,the cotton community set forth a strategic plan for sequencing the AD genome of cultivated upland cotton that initially targets less complex diploid genomes.This strategy banks on the high degree

  11. Cotton, Prof. Frank Albert

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    ... Lecture Workshops · Refresher Courses · Symposia · Live Streaming. Home; Fellowship. Fellow Profile. Elected: 1985 Honorary. Cotton, Prof. Frank Albert. Date of birth: 9 April 1930. Date of death: 20 February 2007. Last known address: Department of Chemistry, Texas A & M University, College Station, TX 77843, U.S.A..

  12. Active optical sensor assessment of spider mite damage on greenhouse beans and cotton.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martin, Daniel E; Latheef, Mohamed A

    2018-02-01

    The two-spotted spider mite, Tetranychus urticae Koch, is an important pest of cotton in mid-southern USA and causes yield reduction and deprivation in fiber fitness. Cotton and pinto beans grown in the greenhouse were infested with spider mites at the three-leaf and trifoliate stages, respectively. Spider mite damage on cotton and bean canopies expressed as normalized difference vegetation index indicative of changes in plant health was measured for 27 consecutive days. Plant health decreased incrementally for cotton until day 21 when complete destruction occurred. Thereafter, regrowth reversed decline in plant health. On spider mite treated beans, plant vigor plateaued until day 11 when plant health declined incrementally. Results indicate that pinto beans were better suited as a host plant than cotton for rearing T. urticae in the laboratory.

  13. Critical cooperation range to improve spatial network robustness.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vitor H P Louzada

    Full Text Available A robust worldwide air-transportation network (WAN is one that minimizes the number of stranded passengers under a sequence of airport closures. Building on top of this realistic example, here we address how spatial network robustness can profit from cooperation between local actors. We swap a series of links within a certain distance, a cooperation range, while following typical constraints of spatially embedded networks. We find that the network robustness is only improved above a critical cooperation range. Such improvement can be described in the framework of a continuum transition, where the critical exponents depend on the spatial correlation of connected nodes. For the WAN we show that, except for Australia, all continental networks fall into the same universality class. Practical implications of this result are also discussed.

  14. CASSAVA BREEDING I: THE VALUE OF BREEDING VALUE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hernán Ceballos

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available Breeding cassava relies on several selection stages (single row trial-SRT; preliminary; advanced; and uniform yield trials - UYT. This study uses data from 14 years of evaluations. From more than 20,000 genotypes initially evaluated only 114 reached the last stage. The objective was to assess how the data at SRT could be used to predict the probabilities of genotypes reaching the UYT. Phenotypic data from each genotype at SRT was integrated into the selection index (SIN used by the cassava breeding program. Average SIN from all the progenies derived from each progenitor was then obtained. Average SIN is an approximation of the breeding value of each progenitor. Data clearly suggested that some genotypes were better progenitors than others (e.g. high number of their progenies reaching the UYT, suggesting important variation in breeding values of progenitors. However, regression of average SIN of each parental genotype on the number of their respective progenies reaching UYT resulted in a negligible coefficient of determination (r2 = 0.05. Breeding value (e.g. average SIN at SRT was not efficient predicting which genotypes were more likely to reach the UYT stage. Number of families and progenies derived from a given progenitor were more efficient predicting the probabilities of the progeny from a given parent reaching the UYT stage. Large within-family genetic variation tends to mask the true breeding value of each progenitor. The use of partially inbred progenitors (e.g. S1 or S2 genotypes would reduce the within-family genetic variation thus making the assessment of breeding value more accurate. Moreover, partial inbreeding of progenitors can improve the breeding value of the original (S0 parental material and sharply accelerate genetic gains. For instance, homozygous S1 genotypes for the dominant resistance to cassava mosaic disease could be generated and selected. All gametes from these selected S1 genotypes would carry the desirable allele

  15. Pollen- and seed-mediated transgene flow in commercial cotton seed production fields.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shannon Heuberger

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Characterizing the spatial patterns of gene flow from transgenic crops is challenging, making it difficult to design containment strategies for markets that regulate the adventitious presence of transgenes. Insecticidal Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt cotton is planted on millions of hectares annually and is a potential source of transgene flow. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Here we monitored 15 non-Bt cotton (Gossypium hirsutum, L. seed production fields (some transgenic for herbicide resistance, some not for gene flow of the Bt cotton cry1Ac transgene. We investigated seed-mediated gene flow, which yields adventitious Bt cotton plants, and pollen-mediated gene flow, which generates outcrossed seeds. A spatially-explicit statistical analysis was used to quantify the effects of nearby Bt and non-Bt cotton fields at various spatial scales, along with the effects of pollinator abundance and adventitious Bt plants in fields, on pollen-mediated gene flow. Adventitious Bt cotton plants, resulting from seed bags and planting error, comprised over 15% of plants sampled from the edges of three seed production fields. In contrast, pollen-mediated gene flow affected less than 1% of the seed sampled from field edges. Variation in outcrossing was better explained by the area of Bt cotton fields within 750 m of the seed production fields than by the area of Bt cotton within larger or smaller spatial scales. Variation in outcrossing was also positively associated with the abundance of honey bees. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: A comparison of statistical methods showed that our spatially-explicit analysis was more powerful for understanding the effects of surrounding fields than customary models based on distance. Given the low rates of pollen-mediated gene flow observed in this study, we conclude that careful planting and screening of seeds could be more important than field spacing for limiting gene flow.

  16. Investigation of antibacterial activity of cotton fabric incorporating nano silver colloid

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ngo Vo Ke Thanh; Nguyen Thi Phuong Phong

    2009-01-01

    In this work, silver nanoparticles were prepared by polyol process with microwave heating and incorporated on cotton fabric surfaces. The antibacterial performance of the antibacterial cotton fabric was tested for different concentration of nano-sized silver colloid, contact time germs, and washing times. It was found that antibacterial activity increased with the increasing concentration of nano-sized silver colloid. The antibacterial fabric with 758 mg/kg of silver nanoparticles on surface cotton was highly effective in killing test bacteria and had excellent water resisting property.

  17. Preliminary assessments of portable color spectrophotometer measurements of cotton color

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cotton in the U.S. is classified for color with the Uster® High Volume Instrument (HVI), using the parameters Rd (diffuse reflectance) and +b (yellowness). It has been reported that some cotton bales, especially those transported overseas, appear to have changed significantly in color from their in...

  18. Statistical behavior of the tensile property of heated cotton fiber

    Science.gov (United States)

    The temperature dependence of the tensile property of single cotton fiber was studied in the range of 160-300°C using Favimat test, and its statistical behavior was interpreted in terms of structural changes. The tenacity of control cotton fiber was well described by the single Weibull distribution,...

  19. Enzymatic saccharification of high pressure assist-alkali pretreated cotton stalk and structural characterization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Du, Shuang-kui; Su, Xia; Yang, Weihua; Wang, Yanqin; Kuang, Meng; Ma, Lei; Fang, Dan; Zhou, Dayun

    2016-04-20

    Cotton stalk is a potential biomass for bioethanol production, while the conversion of direct saccharification or biotransformation of cotton stalk is extremely low due to the recalcitrant nature of lignocellulose. To enhance the enzymatic conversion of cotton stalks, the enzymatic saccharification parameters of high pressure assist-alkali pretreatment (HPAP) cotton stalk were optimized in the present study. Results indicated that a maximum reducing sugar yield of 54.7g/100g dry biomass cellulose was achieved at a substrate concentration of 2%, 100rpm agitation, 0.6g/g enzyme loading, 40°C hydrolysis temperature, 50h saccharification time, and pH 5.0. Scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy were used to identify structural changes in native, pretreated biomass and hydrolyzed residues. Structural analysis revealed large part of amorphous cellulose and partial crystalline cellulose in the HPAP cotton stalk were hydrolyzed during enzymatic treatment. HPAP cotton stalk can be used as a potential feed stock for bioethanol production. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Sustainability in the supply chain of organic cotton

    OpenAIRE

    Retamiro, Wiliam; Silva, José Luis Gomes da; Vieira, Edson Trajano

    2013-01-01

    This article aims to diagnose the application of sustainability concepts in the economic, spatial,ecological, social, cultural and politics in the productive chain of cotton. Explains about the cotton industry is free from all pesticides and their use in the textile production chain, increasing the value of the input, as well as products derived from this. Analyzed by the method of case studywith a qualitative approach in a bibliographic and documentary through to the collection of data,their...