Nuclear Institute for Agriculture and Biology

About: Nuclear Institute for Agriculture and Biology is a facility organization based out in Faisalabad, Pakistan. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Salinity & Population. The organization has 381 authors who have published 704 publications receiving 16228 citations.

Inoculating wheat seedlings with exopolysaccharide-producing bacteria restricts sodium uptake and stimulates plant growth under salt stress

Abstract: A pot experiment was conducted to elucidate the effects of inoculating five exopolysaccharide- (EPS-) producing bacterial strains on the dry matter yield and the uptake of K+, Na+, and Ca2+ by wheat seedlings grown in a moderately saline soil. The bacteria were isolated from the rhizosphere soil (RS) of wheat grown in a salt-affected soil and included Aeromonas hydrophila/caviae (strain MAS-765), Bacillus insolitus (strain MAS17), and Bacillus sp. (strains MAS617, MAS620 and MAS820). The inoculation substantially increased the dry matter yield of roots (149–527% increase) and shoots (85–281% increase), and the mass of RS (176–790% increase). All the strains, except MAS617, also increased the RS mass/root mass ratio as well as the population density of EPS bacteria on the rhizoplane, and both these parameters were significantly correlated with the content of water-insoluble saccharides in the RS. Inoculation restricted Na+ uptake by roots, which was not attributable to the binding of Na+ by the RS, or to the ameliorative effects of Ca2+ under salinity. The decreased Na+ uptake by roots of inoculated than uninoculated plants was probably caused by a reduced passive (apoplasmic) flow of Na+ into the stele due to the higher proportion of the root zones covered with soil sheaths in inoculated treatments. Among the strains tested, MAS820 was the most efficient in all respects, whereas MAS617 was the least effective. Results suggested that inoculating selected EPS-producing bacteria could serve as a useful tool for alleviating salinity stress in salt-sensitive plants.

Improving Drought Tolerance by Exogenous Application of Glycinebetaine and Salicylic Acid in Sunflower

Abstract: Water shortage is a severe threat to the sustainability of crop production. Exogenous application of glycinebetaine (GB) and salicylic acid (SA) has been found very effective in reducing the adverse affects of drought stress. This study was conducted to examine the possible role of exogenous GB and SA application in improving the yield of hybrid sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) under different irrigation regimes. There were three levels of irrigation, viz. control (normal irrigations), water stress at vegetative stage (irrigation missing at vegetative stage) and water stress at flowering stage (irrigation missing at flowering stage). GB and SA were applied exogenously at 100 and 0.724 mm, respectively, each at the vegetative and at the flowering stage. Control plants did not receive application of GB and SA. Water stress reduced the head diameter, number of achene, 1000-achene weight, achene yield and oil yield. Nevertheless, exogenous GB and SA application significantly improved these attributes under water stress. However, drought stress increased the free leaf proline and GB, and were further increased by exogenous application of GB and SA. However, exogenous GB application at the flowering stage was more effective than other treatments. Oil contents were also reduced under water stress; however, GB and SA application could not ameliorate the negative effect of water stress on achene oil contents. The effects of water stress and foliar application of GB were more pronounced when applied at the flowering stage than at the vegetative stage. Moreover, exogenous GB application was only beneficial under stress conditions.

Biofortification of wheat with zinc through zinc fertilization in seven countries

Abstract: Aim Zinc (Zn) fertilization is an effective agronomic tool for Zn biofortification of wheat for overcoming human Zn deficiency. But it still needs to be evaluated across locations with different management practices and wheat cultivars, since grain Zn concentrations may be significantly affected by locations, cultivars and management.