Hidayat Ullah

Phosphate-Solubilizing Bacteria Nullify the Antagonistic Effect of Soil Calcification on Bioavailability of Phosphorus in Alkaline Soils

Phosphate-solubilizing bacteria (PSB) reduce the negative effects of soil calcification on soil phosphorus (P) nutrition. In this incubation study, we explored the ability of PSB (control and inoculated) to release P from different P sources [single super phosphate (SSP), rock phosphate (RP), poultry manure (PM) and farm yard manure (FYM)] with various soil lime contents (4.78, 10, 15 and 20%) in alkaline soil. PSB inoculation progressively enriched Olsen extractable P from all sources compared to the control over the course of 56 days; however, this increase was greater from organic sources (PM and FYM) than from mineral P sources (SSP and RP). Lime addition to the soil decreased bioavailable P, but this effect was largely neutralized by PSB inoculation. PSB were the most viable in soil inoculated with PSB and amended with organic sources, while lime addition decreased PSB survival. Our findings imply that PSB inoculation can counteract the antagonistic effect of soil calcification on bioavailable P when it is applied using both mineral and organic sources, although organic sources support this process more efficiently than do mineral P sources. Therefore, PSB inoculation combined with organic manure application is one of the best options for improving soil P nutrition.

Change in heritability estimates due to half-sib family selection in the maize variety Pahari.

This research was carried out at the Agriculture Research Farm, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Agricultural University, Peshawar, and the Cereal Crops Research Institute, Pirsabak, Nowshera, during 2009 and 2010. Half-sib families (HS) derived from the maize variety Pahari in spring crop seasons 2009 and 2010 were developed at the Cereal Crops Research Institute. All HS families were detasseled well before pollen shedding. At maturity, each family was harvested and shelled separately. During the summer crop of seasons 2009 and 2010, these HS families were evaluated in 12 x 12 and 11 x 11 partially balanced lattice square arrangements at the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Agricultural University, Peshawar, for various flowering and yield traits, respectively. The data on days to mid-silking, anthesis, anthesis-silking interval, 100-grain weight, and grain yield were recorded. The results revealed significant differences among families for all traits in both cycles. High heritability (0.88) was observed for days to mid-silking in cycle 0 (C₀), while moderate heritability (0.42) was recorded for 100-grain weight in C₁. The selection differential was quite reasonable and varied according to the traits of interest. The observed response for grain yield in C₀ (815.74 kg/ha) was greater than the expected response (681.76 kg/ha).

Heritability Estimates and Correlations among Flowering and Yield Related Traits in Mungbean Genotypes

Heritability and correlation are the key components while, conducting an experiment for some specific traits on plant breeding. Keeping in view that importance this study was carried out utilizing 10 mungbean genotypes. Field Experimental was conducted in Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with four replications. The parameters studied include, days to flowers initiation (DF), days to pods initiation (DPI), plant height (PH), days to maturity (DM), grain yield plant

Location effect on heritability estimates of yield traits in mungbean derived from F 2 populations

-1 , 0.33 to 0.75 and 0.19 to 0.61 for pods plant -1 , 0.19 to 0.74 and 0.45 to 0.68 for pod length, 0.21 to 0.58 and 0.48 to 0.66 for seeds pod -1 , 0.34 to 0.63 and 0.58 to 0.89 for 1000-seed weight and 0.15 to 0.64 and 0.45 to 0.61 for seed yield at Peshawar and Swat, respectively. Genetic advance was greater at Swat than at Peshawar. Among the four F2 populations, genetic improvement of yield-associated traits will be more effective in Ramzan×ML-5 and ML-5×NM-51. Moreover, among the parents, ML-5 showed good combination with Ramzan and NM-51.

Author Correction: Phosphate-Solubilizing Bacteria Nullify the Antagonistic Effect of Soil Calcification on Bioavailability of Phosphorus in Alkaline Soils

A correction to this article has been published and is linked from the HTML and PDF versions of this paper. The error has been fixed in the paper.

Influence of the Host Plant on the Encyrtid Aenasius bambawalei, a Parasitoid used to Control the Cotton Mealybug, Phenacoccus solenopsis, in Pakistan

Hayat Badshah1, Farman Ullah1, Paul-André Calatayud2, Hidayat Ullah3 and Bashir Ahmad1 1Plant Physiology/Entomology Section, Agricultural Research Institute, Tarnab, Peshawar 2Institute of Research and Development c/o icipe African Insect Science for Food and Health, Noctuid Stem Borer Biodiversity Team, P.O. Box 30772-00100 Nairobi, Kenya 3Department of Agriculture, University of Swabi, Swabi, Pakistan

Impact of rhizobial inoculum and inorganic fertilizers on nutrients (NPK) availability and uptake in wheat crop

Abstract. Experiments were conducted to evaluate the effect of rhizobial inoculums and inorganic fertilizers on NP availability, soil microbial activity, wheat NPK concentration and uptake. These experiments were consisted of two factors, four inoculums (no, lentil, peas, and chickpeas) and two NPK doses (120:90:60 and 96:72:48 kg ha-1). Inoculums significantly increased plant total NPK concentration by 39, 57, and 37%, and their uptake by 66, 86, and 56%, respectively. Peas inoculum was most efficient in wheat NPK concentration and uptake. The interactive effect of inoculums and NPK demonstrated that peas and lentil inoculums with 20% less NPK had statistically better role than full NPK without inoculation. AB-DTPA extractible P and mineral N were progressively increased with incubation periods and exhibited significant differences between inoculated and uninoculated treatments during all incubation intervals for NP except at day 7 for N. Peas inoculum showed maximum mean net NP availability of 131.5 and 3.48 mg kg-1 over 56 d of incubation, respectively. Significantly higher cumulative CO2 of 1429 mg kg-1 with a net increase of 866 mg kg-1 was recorded for peas inoculums during 12 d of incubation interval. It is concluded that peas rhizobium could be used as a plant-growth-promoting rhizobacteria for wheat and other cereal crops.

Impact of forage clipping treatments on performance of winter wheat.

Farmers in northern parts of Pakistan face severe shortage of green forage for their livestock during the harsh winter season. Winter wheat has the potential to be used as a dual-purpose crop for forage plus grain production in these areas. Ten elite winter wheat lines from Oklahoma State University were evaluated at Hazara Research Station Abbottabad under unclipped and clipped treatment level during 2005-06. The material was planted in a randomized complete block design with three replications, with a row length of four meters and a row to row space of 25 cm. Data were recorded on green forage yield, plant height, spike length, spikelets/spike, days to maturity, spike weight, biological weight, and grain yield. Analysis of variance indicated significant differences among genotypes for all traits except spike length. Similarly all traits except spikelets/spike exhibited significant differences between unclipped and clipped treatment levels. Genotype x clipping interaction was non-significant for all traits except grain yield. Overall, winter wheat lines OK98G508W and OK00611W performed better for important traits such as early maturity, biological yield and grain yield, although over-environment testing is needed before recommendations can be made to the farmers.