Hammad Khan

Salt sensitivity in chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.): ions in reproductive tissues and yield components in contrasting genotypes

The reproductive phase in chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is affected by salinity, but little is known about the underlying cause. We investigated whether high concentrations of Na(+) and Cl(-) in the reproductive structures influence reproductive processes. Chickpea genotypes contrasting in tolerance were subjected to 0, 35 or 50 mm NaCl applied to soil in pots. Flower production and abortion, pod number, percentage of empty pods, seed number and size were evaluated. The concentrations of Na(+) , K(+) and Cl(-) were measured in various plant tissues and, using X-ray microanalysis, in specific cells of developing reproductive structures. Genotypic variation in reproductive success measured as seed yield in saline conditions was associated with better maintenance of flower production and higher numbers of filled pods (and thus seed number), whereas seed size decreased in all genotypes. Despite the variation in reproductive success, the accumulation of Na(+) and Cl(-) in the early reproductive tissues of developing pods did not differ between a tolerant (Genesis836) and a sensitive (Rupali) genotype. Similarly, salinity tolerance was not associated with the accumulation of salt ions in leaves at the time of reproduction or in seeds at maturity.

Active and reactive power control of the electronically interfaced DG sources for the realization of a Virtual Power Plant

The control paradigms of the DG sources in the smart grid are realized by either utilizing Virtual Power Plant structures or by employing MicroGrid structures. Both Virtual Power Plant and MicroGrid are presented with the problem of control of power flow between their comprising DG sources. This paper depicts this issue in Virtual Power Plant control structures and proposes a control methodology for the flow of active and reactive power, which is applied to the DG sources interfaced electronically (inverter) in the Virtual Power Plants. The proposed controller develops and utilizes the virtual active and reactive power control variables to control the active and reactive power independently for a medium length transmission line model. Moreover the proposed controller is successfully applied on all values of resistance and reactance for the medium length transmission line. The current paper details the control technique by first presenting the mathematical and electrical network analysis of the methodology and then successfully implementing the control using Matlab-Simulink Simulation.

Vegetative and reproductive growth of salt-stressed chickpea are carbon-limited: sucrose infusion at the reproductive stage improves salt tolerance

Highlight Salinity damage and reduced photosynthesis in leaves impedes vegetative and reproductive growth of chickpea; substantial recovery of plants with sucrose infused into the stem demonstrated carbon limitation in salt-stressed chickpea.

An implementation of novel CMAC algorithm for very short term load forecasting

Load forecasting is an issue that needs to be addressed to prevent overloading and catastrophic blackouts in power grids. This paper proposes a dual cerebellar model articulation controller (CMAC) neural network which is able to give an accurate very short term prediction of the required load curve. This is the first time a CMAC algorithm has been employed for load forecasting. The paper depicts that the proposed method has the advantage of reduced training time and reduced computational requirements as compared to the other load forecasting techniques. The data of the south west interconnected system was employed to give load predictions whilst using the proposed dual CMAC and back propagation neural network. The performance evolution has shown that the proposed dual CMAC neural network works efficiently and accurately for very short term load forecasting scenarios as compared to other conventional load forecasting techniques.