Brassica juncea

Genetic manipulation of the oil-yielding crop plants for better oil quality through biotechnological methods is an important aspect of crop improvement. Due to the inherent absence of the Δ6-desaturase (d6D) function, Brassica juncea, an oil-yielding crop plant, is unable to synthesize γ-linolenic acid (GLA), a nutritionally important fatty acid although the crop plant synthesizes the precursor fatty acids required for GLA production. Cyanobacterial d6D introduces carbon–carbon double bond onto linoleic acid (C18:2) and α-linolenic acid (C18:3) by desaturation processes for production of GLA and octadecatetraenoic acid (OTA) respectively. In the present investigation, d6D coding sequence from Synechocystis sp. PCC6803 was cloned by polymerase chain reaction and introduced into B. juncea through Agrobacterium-mediated transformation technique. Both cytosolic as well as seed-specific expression of d6D were attempted. The transformed plants show production of GLA and OTA in contrast to their absence in the untransformed control plants adducing evidence for introgression and functional expression of the cyanobacterial d6D gene in B. juncea.

Hybridization between the nearly extinct speciesDiplotaxis siettiana andBrassica juncea is prevented because of strong prefertilization barriers. Use of mentor pollen ofD. siettiana irradiated with 1000 Gy gamma radiation before the incompatible pollination led to fertilization. 5 d after pollination 17% ovules showed entry of pollen tubes, 10 d after pollination 27% ovules showed small globular embryos which grew no further. No embryos were found in control pollinations. Thus , use of irradiated mentor pollen brings about fertilization in this difficult cross and hybrids can be obtained if embryos are rescued.

Alternaria leaf blight disease caused by Alternaria brassicae in mustard (Brassica juncea (L) Czern and Coss) was studied in two crop seasons, 1992 and 1993 in Nepal at Nawalpur, Sarlahi (Tarai) and Khumaltar, Lalitpur (mid hill). At Nawalpur, ...

Anther culture is a biotechnological technique that can be used for production of pure lines in many species. In order to access the anther culture response in Brassica juncea, four different genotypes (RH 406, RH 555, RH 749 and RH 832) and their F 1 's with Ogura Restorer (OR) as the background were evaluated using two basal media viz., MS and B5 with different concentrations of phytohormones. Anthers were cultured at uninucleate stage and subsequent plant regeneration was studied on MS media with different concentrations and combinations of phytohormone. Maximum callusing (%) response of anthers was observed in F 1, OR x RH 749 (20.37+1.44) and maximum percent embryogenic calli obtained were 20.35+2.68 in same genotype on medium supplemented with B5 as basal medium with 100 mg/l sucrose, 30 mg/l glutathione, 100 mg/l serine, 0.05 mg/l BAP, 0.5 mg/l NAA and 10 mg/l silver nitrate. Rooting and hardening of plantlet was done on MS medium supplemented with different concentration of NAA and IBA. Out of sixteen anther culture media combinations tried, the best media were found to be ACM15 and ACM16 (containing B5 as basal medium with 100 mg/l sucrose, 30 mg/l glutathione, 100 mg/l serine, 0.05 mg/l BAP, 0.5 mg/l NAA and 10 mg/l silver nitrate in ACM15 and 20 mg/l silver nitrate in ACM 16) for all parents and F 1 's.

Pots holding 7 day-old seedlings of Indian mustard (Brassica juncea L.) were subjected to differential temperature stress by exposing plants to 30 or 40ºC for 24 h. Seedlings were sprayed with double distilled water (DDW) or 10-5M salicylic acid (SA) at the 8-day stage and were sampled at 30 DAS. The plants exposed to temperature stress exhibited a significant (p < 0.05) decline in growth, and in levels of chlorophyll, nitrate reductase and carbonic anhydrase activities and photosynthetic parameters. A follow-up treatment with SA protected against the stress generated by temperature and significantly improved the above parameters. Antioxidative enzymes and levels of proline significantly increased in response to SA as well as to temperature stress.

Four diverse genotypes of Indian mustard (Brassica juncea L. Czern & Coss.) and their crosses
with Ogura restorer as the background were evaluated for eleven quantitative traits during winter
(Rabi) 2011–12. The mean, range, phenotypic, genotypic and environmental variance, genotypic
and phenotypic coefficient of variation, heritability in broad sense and genetic advance were
calculated to differentiate the contribution made by each parameter in the final seed yield. The
maximum value of phenotypic coefficient of variation was observed for no. of pods on main
branch (36.23) followed by oil content (31.65), siliqua density on main shoot (30.72) and the
highest genotypic coefficient of variation was observed for number of pods on main branch (33.49)
followed by seed yield per plant (29.18) followed by oil content (28.89). Path coefficient analysis
revealed that no. of pods on main branch (5.94) had the highest direct contribution towards seed
yield per plant followed by 1000-seed weight (4.14) and siliqua density on main shoot (1.82)
which suggested that selection for these traits would be quite effective in improving seed yield in
Indian mustard. During the course of investigations, it was observed that the mean performance of
F1’s (OR x RH 406 and OR x RH 832) was better than parental genotypes for no. of primary and
secondary branches, no. of seeds per siliqua and seed yield per plant.

Arthropods
ISSN 2224-4255

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Development - temperature relationship and temperature dependent parameters of German cockroach, Blattella germanica L.
Arthropods, 2017, 6(3): 78-85
YiTian Xu, SongBin Chen, Yan Yang, WenJun Zhang
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Influence of soil nutrient combination on Flemingia semialata, lac insect growth and lac insect pest
Arthropods, 2017, 6(3): 86-92
Arvind Kumar
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Insecticidal, food utilisation and biochemical effect of essential oils extracted from seeds of Brassica juncea (Czern.) against Spodoptera litura (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) (Fabricius)
Arthropods, 2017, 6(3): 93-106
Shallina Gupta, Nalini Singh Chauhan, Sakshi Bhushan, Rohit Arora, Saroj Arora, Satwinder Kaur Sohal
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Climate change is the crucial global issue and directly effects on crop production leading towards food security. The relative importance of climate change for food security is very much, especially in developing countries like Pakistan. Pakistan spends approximately US$ 2.50 billion annually on the import of edible oil, which is a huge burden on the economy of the country. Development of canola quality and short duration mustard cultivar is a dire need to combat the upcoming food and health intimidations for this region. The newly developed canola quality

Soils polluted by heavy metals can be reclaimed using a number of expensive tactics that either remove the contaminants or stabilize them within the soil. The value of metal accumulating plants for environmental remediation has recently been appreciated and promising results have been obtained. This paper reports a study on the behavior of Brassica napus, Brassica juncea, Raphanus sativus and Brassica carinata grown on a substrate contaminated by several heavy metals caused by the use of contaminated irrigation water. Data on carbon dioxide assimilation, biomass growth and the bioconcentration and translocation factor of each metal in each species were measured. The polluted substrate caused only a small variation in photosynthesis, however transpiration was more affected by the experimental substrate and in all three species of the genus Brassica the presence of metals in the substrate resulted in higher transpiration levels. Two bioconcentration factors were calculated respectively for the roots (BCF) and the shoots (BCF′); the BCF was >1 for all the species for Cd, Cu, Ni and Zn without significant differences among species. All the values of BCF′ were lower than 0.5; among the metals, all Brassica species demonstrated a similar performance for Cd and Zn, whereas for other elements the bioconcentration factor was very low.

Nutrient removal is essential for aquaculture wastewater treatment to protect receiving waters from eutrophication and for potential reuse of the treated water. A pilot-scale wastewater treatment system consisting of a free water surface (FWS) and a subsurface flow (SSF) constructed wetlands arranged in series was operated for around 8 months. The study was conducted to examine system start-up phenomena and to evaluate system performance in removing inorganic nitrogen and phosphate from aquaculture wastewater under various hydraulic loading rates (1.8 to 13.5 cm day−1). The wetlands system showed rapid start-up behaviors in which process stabilities were achieved in the following sequence: phosphate removal in the SSF without an adaptation period, nitrogen removal in the SSF after 1 month, nitrogen removal in the FWS after 2 to 3 months, phosphate removal in the FWS after 3 months, and vegetation cover in both wetlands after 7 months of operation. Nitrogen removals were excellent, with efficiencies of 86% to 98% for ammonium nitrogen (NH4–N) and 95% to 98% for total inorganic nitrogen (TIN). Removal efficiencies were affected little by the hydraulic loading trials. Phosphate removal of 32% to 71% occurred, with the efficiencies being inversely related to hydraulic loading. The FWS wetland removed most inorganic nitrogen, whereas the SSF wetland removed phosphate at a rate equal to or even greater than the FWS. Removal of ammonium and nitrite (effluent concentrations <0.3 mg NH4–N l−1 and 0.01 mg NO2–N l−1) were sufficient for recycle in the aquaculture system without danger of harming the fish.

The large white butterfly, Pieris brassicae (L.),
is an important pest of Indian mustard, Brassica juncea (L.)
Czern., and inflicts heavy damage to all the above ground
plant parts with strong yield reducing impacts. Farmers
have few practical options other than to spray insecticides
to protect their crop. In this study, an attempt was made
during 2012–2013 and 2013–2014 crop seasons at Ludhiana,
India, to evaluate Ethiopian mustard, Brassica carinata
A. Braun as a trap crop to manage this pest as an
alternate pest management strategy. B. carinata borders
surrounding B. juncea were compared to chemically protected
B. juncea and control (without B. carinata borders)
plots for their effects on P. brassicae infestation and grain
yield. Oviposition preference of adult butterflies was
studied in a two-choice test in field cages, while the effect
of two host plants on larval performance was studied under
laboratory conditions under no choice conditions. B. juncea
plots bordered with B. carinata harbored significantly
lower larval population compared to control B. juncea plots
during both the seasons. The grain yield in the bordered
plots was also significantly higher than that from control
plots and was statistically non-significant from that
obtained in chemically protected plots. Female butterflies
showed distinct oviposition preference for B. carinata over
B. juncea and the larvae reared on B. carinata completed
development in shorter period and grew bigger and heavier
than those reared on B. juncea. Results indicated that B.
carinata has potential to be used as trap crop to manage
P. brassicae.

Napa cabbage (Brassica pekinensis) is a member of the Cruciferae family, which includes head cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitata), broccoli (Brassica oleracea var. italica), cauliflower (Brassica oleracea var. botrytis) and mustard (Brassica juncea). Napa cabbage is more closely related to mustard than it is to head cabbage. Napa cabbage has been cultivated in North America for more than a century

Three years field study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of some insecticides against Lipaphis erysimi (Kaltenbach) (Homoptera: Aphididae). Brassica juncea variety PBR 210 was sown in 4.2 x 3 m plots with 8 treatments replicated thrice. Different treatments included: T : Fipronil 5SC @ 50 g

To investigate the effect of exogenously applied 28-homobrassinolide (HBL) on drought-stressed plants, photosynthesis and antioxidant systems were examined in Indian mustard (Brassica juncea L.). Seedlings of Indian mustard were subjected to drought stress for 7 days at the 8–14 (DS1)/15–21 (DS2) days’ stage of growth and then returned to normal conditions of growth. These seedlings were sprayed with HBL (0.01 μM) at the 30-day stage and were sampled at 60 days to assess the changes in growth, photosynthesis and antioxidant enzymes. Plants exposed to stress at either of the stages of growth exhibited a significant decrease in growth and photosynthesis. The exposure of plants to stress at an earlier stage (DS1) was more inhibitory than that at a later stage (DS2). However, the follow-up treatment with HBL significantly improved the values of these parameters and also overcame the inhibitory effect of water stress. The activity of antioxidant enzymes [catalase (E.C. 1.11.1.6), peroxidase (E.C. 1.11.1.7) and superoxide dismutase (E.C. 1.15.1.1)] and proline content in leaves exhibited an increase in response to both the treatment factors, where their interaction had an additive effect. It was, therefore, concluded that the elevated antioxidant system, at least in part, was responsible for amelioration of the drought stress.