Aerosol emissions from biomass burning are of specific interest over the globe due to their strong radiative impacts and climate implications. The present study examines the impact of paddy crop ...residue burning over northern India during the postmonsoon (October–November) season of 2012 on modification of aerosol properties, as well as the long‐range transport of smoke plumes, altitude characteristics, and affected areas via the synergy of ground‐based measurements and satellite observations. During this period, Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) images show a thick smoke/hazy aerosol layer below 2–2.5 km in the atmosphere covering nearly the whole Indo‐Gangetic Plains (IGP). The air mass trajectories originating from the biomass‐burning source region over Punjab at 500 m reveal a potential aerosol transport pathway along the Ganges valley from west to east, resulting in a strong aerosol optical depth (AOD) gradient. Sometimes, depending upon the wind direction and meteorological conditions, the plumes also influence central India, the Arabian Sea, and the Bay of Bengal, thus contributing to Asian pollution outflow. The increased number of fire counts (Terra and Aqua MODIS data) is associated with severe aerosol‐laden atmospheres (AOD500 nm > 1.0) over six IGP locations, high values of Ångström exponent (>1.2), high particulate mass 2.5 (PM2.5) concentrations (>100–150 µgm−3), and enhanced Ozone Monitoring Instrument Aerosol Index gradient (~2.5) and NO2 concentrations (~6 × 1015 mol/cm2), indicating the dominance of smoke aerosols from agricultural crop residue burning. The aerosol size distribution is shifted toward the fine‐mode fraction, also exhibiting an increase in the radius of fine aerosols due to coagulation processes in a highly turbid environment. The spectral variation of the single‐scattering albedo reveals enhanced dominance of moderately absorbing aerosols, while the aerosol properties, modification, and mixing atmospheric processes differentiate along the IGP sites depending on the distance from the aerosol source, urban influence, and local characteristics.
Key Points
Satellite and ground‐based monitoring of agriculture fires in northern India
Transport pathways, smoke plume characteristics, and affected areas
Variation of aerosol loading as a function of distance from the source
KEY MESSAGE : A set of NILs carrying major blast resistance genes in a Basmati rice variety has been developed. Also, the efficacy of pyramids over monogenic NILs against rice blast pathogen ...Magnaporthe oryzae has been demonstrated. Productivity and quality of Basmati rice is severely affected by rice blast disease. Major genes and QTLs conferring resistance to blast have been reported only in non-Basmati rice germplasm. Here, we report incorporation of seven blast resistance genes from the donor lines DHMASQ164-2a (Pi54, Pi1, Pita), IRBLz5-CA (Pi2), IRBLb-B (Pib), IRBL5-M (Pi5) and IRBL9-W (Pi9) into the genetic background of an elite Basmati rice variety Pusa Basmati 1 (PB1). A total of 36 near-isogenic lines (NILs) comprising of 14 monogenic, 16 two-gene pyramids and six three-gene pyramids were developed through marker-assisted backcross breeding (MABB). Foreground, recombinant and background selection was used to identify the plants with target gene(s), minimize the linkage drag and increase the recurrent parent genome (RPG) recovery (93.5–98.6 %), respectively, in the NILs. Comparative analysis performed using 50,051 SNPs and 500 SSR markers revealed that the SNPs provided better insight into the RPG recovery. Most of the monogenic NILs showed comparable performance in yield and quality, concomitantly, Pusa1637-18-7-6-20 (Pi9), was significantly superior in yield and stable across four different environments as compared to recurrent parent (RP) PB1. Further, among the pyramids, Pusa1930-12-6 (Pi2+Pi5) showed significantly higher yield and Pusa1633-7-8-53-6-8 (Pi54+Pi1+Pita) was superior in cooking quality as compared to RP PB1. The NILs carrying gene Pi9 were found to be the most effective against the concoction of virulent races predominant in the hotspot locations for blast disease. Conversely, when analyzed under artificial inoculation, three-gene pyramids expressed enhanced resistance as compared to the two-gene and monogenic NILs.
In order to determine antioxidant activity, the five extracts/fractions of red onion peel were studied for their total content of phenolics (TPC), flavonoids (TFC), antioxidant activity (AOA), free ...radical scavenging activity (FRSA), assayed by DPPH radical in the terms of anti-radical power (ARP) and reducing power (RP), expressed as ascorbic acid equivalents (ASE)/ml. High TPC (384.7±5.0mg GAE/g), TFC (165.2±3.2mg QE/g), AOA (97.4±7.6%), ARP (75.3±4.5) and RP (1.6±0.3 ASE/ml) were found for the ethyl acetate (EA) fraction. EA fraction had markedly higher antioxidant capacity than butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) in preventive or scavenging capacities against FeCl3-induced lipid peroxidation, protein fragmentation, hydroxyl (site-specific and non-site-specific), superoxide anion and nitric oxide radicals. EA fraction also showed dose dependent antimutagenic activity by following the inhibition of tobacco-induced mutagenicity in Salmonella typhimurium strains (TA102) and hydroxyl radical-induced nicking in plasmid pUC18 DNA. HPLC and MS/MS analysis showed the presence of ferulic, gallic, protocatechuic acids, quercetin and kaempferol. The large amount of polyphenols contained in EA fraction may cause its strong antioxidant and antimutagenic properties. This information shows that EA fraction of red onion peel can be used as natural antioxidant in nutraceutical preparations.
► An ideal agricultural system is sustainable, maintains and improves human health, benefits environment and produces enough food for increasing world population. ► The utilization of biofertlizers ...can decrease the use of urea-N, prevent the depletion of soil organic matter and reduce environmental pollution to a considerable extent. ► Cyanobacteria and PGPR are excellent model systems which can provide the biotechnologist with novel genetic constituents and bioactive compounds having diverse uses in agriculture and environmental sustainability.► PGPR and cyanobacteria offer an environmentally sustainable approach to increase crop production and soil health.
Sustainable agriculture is vital in today's world as it offers the potential to meet our agricultural needs, something that conventional agriculture fails to do. This type of agriculture uses a special farming technique wherein the environmental resources can be fully utilized and at the same time ensuring that no harm was done to it. Thus the technique is environment friendly and ensures safe and healthy agricultural products. Microbial populations are instrumental to fundamental processes that drive stability and productivity of agro-ecosystems. Several investigations addressed at improving understanding of the diversity, dynamics and importance of soil microbial communities and their beneficial and co-operative roles in agricultural productivity. However, in this review we describe only the contributions of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) and cyanobacteria in safe and sustainable agriculture development.
In this study, the efficacy of the combined effect of borate and silicate alkali metal salts added to mortars for controlling the chloride-induced uniform and localized corrosion of embedded steel ...rebars is examined. The individually added salts in mortars are found to have insignificant effects in terms of reducing the uniform corrosion rate and localized damage. However, their combination (0.50% sodium tetra borate + 0.10% sodium silicate added with respect to the weight of the binder) provides complete protection to reinforcements tested for long durations under wet/dry treatments with mortars in saline water and laboratory atmospheres. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, direct current cyclic polarization, polarization resistance, and visual observations are used for quantitative and qualitative evaluations of the protective effects of the tested additives. X-ray diffraction analysis, scanning electron microscopy, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy analysis of the corrosion products formed on the embedded steel surfaces help explain the possible mechanisms behind the considerable improvement in the inhibitive effects of a mixed composition of borate and silicate. This combination also improves the compressive strength and workability of the mixed concrete. The results reveal that the synergistic protection provided by a mixture of borate and silicate can be attributed to the co-deposition of an iron-boron + ferrosilicate + cortensitite (an iron-silicon phase) film on the rebar surface.
Due to extensive root system, connected rhizome bamboos are considered suitable for improving soil properties within a short period, though most of the claims are anecdotal and need to be supported ...with quantified data. The study evaluates seven bamboo species viz., Bambusa balcooa, Bambusa bambos, Bambusa vulgaris, Bambusa nutans, Dendrocalamus hamiltonii, Dendrocalamus stocksii and Dendrocalamus strictus for their rooting pattern and impact on soil health properties. Coarse and fine root intensity was maximum in B. vulgaris. Coarse root biomass ranged from 0.6 kg m
in B. nutans to 2.0 kg m
in B. vulgaris and B. bambos. Fine root biomass ranged from 1.1 kg m
in B. nutans to 4.5 kg m
in D. hamiltonii. Contribution of fine roots in terms of intensity and biomass was much higher than coarse roots. Fine root biomass showed declining trend with increase in soil depth in all the species. During sixth year, the litter fall ranged from 8.1 Mg ha
in D. stocksii to 12.4 Mg ha
in D. hamiltonii. Among soil physical properties significant improvement were recorded in hydraulic conductivity, water stable aggregates and mean weight diameter. Soil pH, organic carbon and available phosphorus under different species did not reveal any significant changes, while significant reduction was observed in total nitrogen and potassium. Significant positive correlation was observed between WSA and iron content. Soil microbial population and enzyme activities were higher in control plot. Considering root distribution, biomass, soil hydraulic conductivity and water stable aggregates, B. bambos, B. vulgaris and D. hamiltonii are recommended for rehabilitation of degraded lands prone to soil erosion.
First global map of Venus nightside surface temperature using Akatsuki infrared measurements reveals hot Venus surface with an average surface temperature of about 698 K. Surface temperatures do not ...show any significant variation with changing latitudes because only a small amount (~2.5%) of solar energy reaches the surface. Surface temperatures are relatively colder at higher altitude regions as compared to lower altitude regions. However, the major temperature variation on Venus surface is governed by various lithospheric heat transport mechanisms. On a global scale, surface temperatures show a spatial variation of about 230 K.
The ambient particulate matter injected from biomass burning emissions (BBEs) over northern India has been a subject of major debate in the context of regional air quality and atmospheric chemistry ...of several organic and inorganic constituents. This necessitates an observational approach over a large spatial and temporal scale. We present an extensive data set on PM2.5 samples (n = 147) collected for one full year from a sampling site (Patiala: 30.2°N, 76.3°E) in the source region of BBEs in northern India. During the sampling period from October 2011 to September 2012, PM2.5 mass concentration varied from ∼20 to 400 μg m−3. Among the major constituents, contribution of total carbonaceous aerosols (OC + EC) ranged from 8 to 60%. The average OC/EC and K+/EC ratio, varying from 3.2 to 12 and 0.26 to 0.80, respectively, emphasizes the dominance of BBEs over the annual seasonal cycle. The average secondary organic matter (SOM) accounts for ∼10–40% of PM2.5 mass in different seasons; whereas contribution of secondary inorganics was maximum (∼40%) during the winter. The pronounced temporal variability in SOM suggests its contribution from varying sources, their emission strength and process of secondary organic formation. Diurnal differences in the chemical constituents are attributable to regional meteorological factors and boundary layer dynamics. The emerging data set from this study is important to understand feedback mechanism from anthropogenic activities to the regional climate change scenario.
•Year-round PM2.5 composition has been studied over the IGP.•Significant seasonality in primary and secondary aerosol abundances.•Emissions from biomass burning dominate the abundances of carbonaceous aerosols.•Contribution of secondary inorganics to PM2.5 is maximum during winter.•Water-soluble fraction of PM2.5 vary from ∼30 to 60% over annual cycle.
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