Uji Efektivitas Pupuk Organonitrofos dan Kombinasinya dengan Pupuk Kimia pada Tanaman Jagung di Tanah Ultisol Gedung Meneng

Organonitros merupakan pupuk organik formula baru yang perlu diuji efektivitas aplikasi pupuk tersebut terhadap tanaman, khususnya tanaman pangan dan hortikultura. Dalam hal ini, ujiefektivitas aplikasi pupuk Organonitrofos, dikombinasikan dengan pupuk kimia, dilakukan terhadap pertumbuhan dan produksi tanaman jagung. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui kombinasi dosis pupuk Organonitrofos dan pupuk kimia yang paling mempengaruhi pertumbuhan, serapan hara dan produksi tanaman jagung dan menguji efektivitas pupuk Organonitrofos terhadap pertumbuhan, serapan hara dan produksi tanaman jagung. Percobaan plot (plot experiment) dengan tanaman jagung dilakukan di Kebun Laboratorium Lapang Terpadu Pakultas Pertanian Unila di Gedung Menang. Percobaan dilakukan dalam Rancangan Acak Kelompok, dengan 6 perlakuan dan ulangan 3. Ukuran petak percobaan 3 x 3 m. Perlakuan percobaan meliputi: Kontrol (tanpa pupuk); 100% pupuk kimia rekomendasi; 10% substitusi dengan Organitrofos; 20% substitusi dengan Organitrofos;40% substitusi dengan Organitrofos; dan 100% pupuk Organonitrofos. Hasil percobaan menunjukkan bahwa dari performance pertumbuhan tanaman (bobot brangkasan) dan produksi jagung (bobot pipilan kering dan bobot seratus butir) terbukti secara konsisten perlakuan kombinasi pupuk kimia dengan Organonitrofos, yaitu substitusi sebagian pupuk kimia anjuran dengan pupuk Organonitrofos sebesar 40%, menghasilkan berangkasan tanaman, produksi pipilan kering, dan bobot seratus butir jagung tertinggi, diikuti pada peringkat kedua oleh perlakuan 100% pupuk Organonitrofos tanpa kombinasi dengan pupuk kimi

Sorption of inorganic mercury on soils from Ankobra basin in the south - western part of Ghana

Understanding the adsorption of mercury on soil from aqueous solution is necessary for tracing the fate of mercury in the environment. This study was undertaken to predict the fate of mercury emitted from artisanal gold mining activities within the Ankobra basin. Total mercury (THg)  concentrations were determined in soils close to River Ankobra and its major tributaries in the south-western part of Ghana by Cold Vapour Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry. THg content of the soils ranged from 0.051 ìgg-1 to 0.366 ìgg-1 with an average of 0.15 ìgg-1 which was below the level (200 ìgg-1) set by US EPA. THg correlated positively (r = 0.57) with the organic matter content of the soil. Sorption of Hg (II) onto the soils had an L - type isotherm and the distribution coefficient (Kd) ranged from 41.4 ìgg-1 to 182.2 ìgg-1. The Freundlich model showed a better fit followed by Langmuir model and linear. The superiority of Freundlich modelto the other models could be attributed to the heterogeneous surface energies and exponential distribution of active sites which are  characteristics of such soils. All the soils had adsorption intensity (n) lower than one, indicating the soils could be good sorbent for Hg (II). This suggests that Hg fate and availability in soil for runoff and leaching could be low for soils with such characteristics.Keywords: Mercury, Isotherms, Ankobra Basin, soi

DISTRIBUTION OF TOTAL LEAD, COPPER, ZINC AND CADMIUM IN SOILS ALONG THE HIGHWAY FROM TAFO TO ABOASO IN KUMASI IN THE ASHANTI REGION OF GHANA

Levels of some heavy metals in soils along the highway from Tafo to Aboaso in Kumasi in the Ashanti region of Ghana were determined by atomic absorption spectrometry. Soil samples were collected at distances of 5 m, 20 m and 50 m from the roadside and at depths of 0-5 cm, 5-10 cm and 10-15 cm. Lead concentrations varied from 152.5 to 878.0 mg kg-1,zinc from 65.8 to 712 mg kg-1, copper from 18.8 to 114.8 mg kg-1 and cadmium from 0.80 to 4.5 mg kg-1. The concentrations of Lead, Zinc, Copper and Cadmium all decreased with increasing distance from the road and with decreasing vehicular traffic density indicating their relation to traffic. The concentrations of the metals also decreased with depth in the soil profile indicating that the source of the metals was aerial deposition from motor vehicles. The heavy metal content of the soils for every distance from the roadside was found in the order Lead>Zinc>Copper>Cadmium.Keywords: Roadside soil; vehicular traffic; lead, copper; zinc; cadmiu

Transformation of Teosinte (Zea mays ssp. parviglumis) via Biolistic Bombardment of Seedling-Derived Callus Tissues

Modern maize exhibits a significantly different phenotype than its wild progenitor teosinte despite many genetic similarities. Of the many subspecies of Zea mays identified as teosinte, Zea mays ssp. parviglumis is the most closely related to domesticated maize. Understanding teosinte genes and their regulations can provide great insights into the maize domestication process and facilitate breeding for future crop improvement. However, a protocol of genetic transformation, which is essential for gene functional analyses, is not available in teosinte. In this study, we report the establishment of a robust callus induction and regeneration protocol using whorl segments of seedlings germinated from mature seeds of Zea parviglumis. We also report, for the first time, the production of fertile, transgenic teosinte plants using the particle bombardment. Using herbicide resistance genes such as mutant acetolactate synthase (Als) or bialaphos resistance (bar) as selectable markers, we achieved an average transformation frequency of 4.17% (percentage of independent transgenic events in total bombarded explants that produced callus). Expression of visual marker genes of red fluorescent protein tdTomato and β-glucuronidase (gus) could be detected in bombarded callus culture and in T1 and T2 progeny plants. The protocol established in this work provides a major enabling technology for research toward the understanding of this important plant in crop domestication.</jats:p

Development of a Transformable Fast-Flowering Mini-Maize as a Tool for Maize Gene Editing

Maize (Zea mays ssp. mays) is a popular genetic model due to its ease of crossing, well-established toolkits, and its status as a major global food crop. Recent technology developments for precise manipulation of the genome are further impacting both basic biological research and biotechnological application in agriculture. Crop gene editing often requires a process of genetic transformation in which the editing reagents are introduced into plant cells. In maize, this procedure is well-established for a limited number of public lines that are amenable for genetic transformation. Fast-Flowering Mini-Maize (FFMM) lines A and B were recently developed as an open-source tool for maize research by reducing the space requirements and the generation time. Neither line of FFMM were competent for genetic transformation using traditional protocols, a necessity to its status as a complete toolkit for public maize genetic research. Here we report the development of new lines of FFMM that have been bred for amenability to genetic transformation. By hybridizing a transformable maize genotype high Type-II callus parent A (Hi-II A) with line A of FFMM, we introgressed the ability to form embryogenic callus from Hi-II A into the FFMM-A genetic background. Through multiple generations of iterative self-hybridization or doubled-haploid method, we established maize lines that have a strong ability to produce embryogenic callus from immature embryos and maintain resemblance to FFMM-A in flowering time and stature. Using an Agrobacterium-mediated standard transformation method, we successfully introduced the CRISPR-Cas9 reagents into immature embryos and generated transgenic and mutant lines displaying the expected mutant phenotypes and genotypes. The transformation frequencies of the tested genotypes, defined as the numbers of transgenic event producing T1 seeds per 100 infected embryos, ranged from 0 to 17.1%. Approximately 80% of transgenic plants analyzed in this study showed various mutation patterns at the target site. The transformable FFMM line, FFMM-AT, can serve as a useful genetic and genomic resource for the maize community.</jats:p

Data_Sheet_1_Transformation of Teosinte (Zea mays ssp. parviglumis) via Biolistic Bombardment of Seedling-Derived Callus Tissues.PDF

Modern maize exhibits a significantly different phenotype than its wild progenitor teosinte despite many genetic similarities. Of the many subspecies of Zea mays identified as teosinte, Zea mays ssp. parviglumis is the most closely related to domesticated maize. Understanding teosinte genes and their regulations can provide great insights into the maize domestication process and facilitate breeding for future crop improvement. However, a protocol of genetic transformation, which is essential for gene functional analyses, is not available in teosinte. In this study, we report the establishment of a robust callus induction and regeneration protocol using whorl segments of seedlings germinated from mature seeds of Zea parviglumis. We also report, for the first time, the production of fertile, transgenic teosinte plants using the particle bombardment. Using herbicide resistance genes such as mutant acetolactate synthase (Als) or bialaphos resistance (bar) as selectable markers, we achieved an average transformation frequency of 4.17% (percentage of independent transgenic events in total bombarded explants that produced callus). Expression of visual marker genes of red fluorescent protein tdTomato and β-glucuronidase (gus) could be detected in bombarded callus culture and in T1 and T2 progeny plants. The protocol established in this work provides a major enabling technology for research toward the understanding of this important plant in crop domestication.</p