Soil Chemical Analysis

THE publication, in 1926, of the monograph “The Aspergilli” by Thorn and Church was a landmark in the taxonomic study of this important genus of moulds. The fact that a re-working of the genus after twenty years has necessitated no fundamental change in classification is the best evidence of the sound scholarship which went to the writing of the monograph. Nevertheless, its very excellence gave other workers confidence, not only in identifying Aspergilli, but also in describing new species, with the result that a fair amount of new material has accumulated during the intervening years. A Manual of the Aspergilli By Charles Thom Kenneth B. Raper. Pp. ix + 373. (London: Bailliere, Tindall and Cox, 1945.) 38s. 6d.

A Manual of the Aspergilli

Grain legumes are a cost-effective alternative for the animal protein in improving the diets of the poor in South-East Asia and Africa. Legumes, through symbiotic nitrogen fixation, meet a major part of their own N demand and partially benefit the following crops of the system by enriching soil. In realization of this sustainability advantage and to promote pulse production, United Nations had declared 2016 as the “International Year of pulses”. Grain legumes are frequently subjected to both abiotic and biotic stresses resulting in severe yield losses. Global yields of legumes have been stagnant for the past five decades in spite of adopting various conventional and molecular breeding approaches. Furthermore, the increasing costs and negative effects of pesticides and fertilizers for crop production necessitate the use of biological options of crop production and protection. The use of plant growth-promoting (PGP) bacteria for improving soil and plant health has become one of the attractive strategies for developing sustainable agricultural systems due to their eco-friendliness, low production cost and minimizing consumption of non-renewable resources. This review emphasizes on how the PGP actinobacteria and their metabolites can be used effectively in enhancing the yield and controlling the pests and pathogens of grain legumes.

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Plant growth-promoting actinobacteria: a new strategy for enhancing sustainable production and protection of grain legumes

Fluorescent Pseudomonads belong to plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria (PGPR), the important group of bacteria that play a major role in the plant growth promotion, induced systemic resistance, biological control of pathogens etc. Many strains of Pseudomonas fluorescens are known to enhance plant growth promotion and reduce severity of various diseases. The efficacy of bacterial antagonists in controlling fungal diseases was often better as alone, and sometimes in combination with fungicides. The present review refers to occurrence, distribution, mechanism, growth requirements of P. fluorescens and diseases controlled by the bacterial antagonist in different agricultural and horticultural crops were discussed. The literature in this review helps in future research programmes that aim to promote P. fluorescens as a potential bio-pesticide for augmentative biological control of many diseases of agriculture and horticultural importance.

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/17429140600907043

Pseudomonas fluorescens, a potential bacterial antagonist to control plant diseases

Preface Acknowledgements Part I. The Basics: 1. Forward modeling of seismic reflections for rock characterization 2. Rock physics models and transforms 3. Rock physics diagnostics Part II. Synthetic Seismic Amplitude: 4. Modeling at an interface: quick-look approach 5. Pseudo-wells: principles and examples 6. Pseudo-wells: statistics-based generation Part III. From Well Data and Geology to Earth Models and Reflections: 7. Clastic sequences: diagnostics and Vs prediction 8. Log shapes at the well scale and seismic reflections in clastic sequences 9. Synthetic modeling in carbonates 10. Time lapse (4D) reservoir monitoring Part IV. Frontier Exploration: 11. Rock physics workflow in oil and gas exploration 12. DHI validation and prospect risking Part V. Advanced Rock Physics: Diagenetic Trends, Self-Similarity, Permeability, Poisson's Ratio in Gas Sand, Seismic Wave Attenuation, Gas Hydrates: 13. Rock physics case studies 14. Poisson's ratio and seismic reflections 15. Seismic wave attenuation 16. Gas hydrates Part VI. Rock Physics Operations Directly Applied to Seismic Amplitude and Impedance: 17. Fluid substitution on seismic amplitude 18. Rock physics and seismically derived impedance Part VII. Evolving Methods: 19. Computational rock physics Appendix A. Direct hydrocarbon indicator checklist References Index.

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Seismic Reflections of Rock Properties

Understanding on actinomycetes-mediated stress tolerance in plants is very limited. This study demonstrated for the first time some stress tolerance mechanisms in chickpea via mediation of an actinomycetes strain Streptomyces rochei SM3. Here, we used the strain SM3 for treating chickpea seeds and plants raised from such seeds were challenged with Sclerotinia sclerotiorum and NaCl. Chickpea mortality due to Sc. sclerotiorum infection was suppressed by nearly 48%, and biomass accumulation was increased by nearly 20% in the salt-stressed condition in SM3-treated plants compared to non-treated plants. Physiological responses in chickpea under the challenging conditions showed that phenylalanine ammonia lyase activities increased in SM3-treated plants. This is followed by accumulation of higher concentrations of phenolics that led to enhanced lignifications in SM3-treated plants compared to non-SM3-treated plants challenged with the same stresses. Antioxidant activities, as assessed through catalase activities and proline accumulation, also increased in SM3-treated plants challenged with both the stresses compared to non-SM3-treated plants. Investigation at genetic level further showed that the strain SM3 triggered the ethylene (ET) responsive ERF transcription factor (CaTF2) under the challenged conditions. Thus, from this study, we conclude that actinomycetes St. rochei SM3 trigger the ET-mediated defence pathway in chickpea and activates the phenylpropanoid pathway for alleviating the stresses caused by Sc. sclerotiorum and salt in chickpea.

Streptomyces rochei SM3 Induces Stress Tolerance in Chickpea Against Sclerotinia sclerotiorum and NaCl

Surface, subsurface and mine water collected from rural, urban, industrial and coal mining areas of Dhanbad district have been analysed to assess the major ion chemistry, the weathering and geochemical processes controlling the water composition and suitability of water for domestic, industrial and agricultural uses Ca, Mg, and HCO 3 dominate the chemical composition of the water chemistry However, in the mine water and water samples collected from mining areas, high concentration of SO 4 has been observed Water chemistry of the study area strongly reflects the dominance of continental weathering and higher concentration of SO 4 , Cl and TDS in some samples indicates mining and anthropogenic impact on water quality The high contribution of (Ca+Mg) to the total cations, relatively high (Na+K)/TZ + ratio (027) and low equivalent ratio of (Ca+Mg)/(Na+K) ie 36 suggest combined influence of carbonate and silicate weathering The higher values of C-ratio for most of the surface and subsurface water signify that carbonic acid weathering is the major proton producer in these waters However, the low C-ratio for the mine water (average 022) and the waters collected near the coal mining areas suggests that sulphide oxidation and/or coupled reactions (involving both carbonic acid weathering and sulphide oxidation) control the chemical quality in the mining areas The quality assessment of surface and subsurface water shows that water is suitable for domestic use with few exceptions The calculated values of SAR, RSC and sodium percentage indicate that water can be used for irrigation without any hazard

Aquatic Geochemistry of Dhanbad, Jharkhand: Source Evaluation and Quality Assessment

Central Mining Research Institute (CMRI) in Dhanbad is a research laboratory under the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research in New Delhi, which is part of the Government of India. This institute has been established to provide scientific and technological inputs to the Indian mining industries for optimization of technologies with respect to safety, economy, conservation, and environmental management in mining sectors. Acute water shortages have developed in recent years in the CMRI campus. Only two tube wells have been drilled at the campus, and these are incapable of providing adequate water supply for research activities and campus residents. Hence, an additional source of groundwater might be needed here to solve the water scarcity problem. To study the groundwater condition in detail and to recommend a new deep tube well, two resistivity imaging surveys were carried out in the CMRI campus along the traverses D1 and D2 as shown in Figure 1.

2D resistivity imaging survey for siting water-supply tube wells in metamorphic terrains A case study of CMRI campus, Dhanbad, India

Simple models are proposed for the calculation of refractive index n and electronic polarizability α of AI BIII C2VI and AII BIV C2V groups of chalcopyrite semiconductors from their energy gap data. The values of n and α for 2 compounds of AI BIII C2VI family and 12 compounds of AII BIV C2V family are calculated for the first time in this work. The proposed models are applicable for the whole range of energy gap materials. The calculated values are compared with the available experimental and reported values. A fairly good agreement between them is obtained.

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0256-307X/32/12/127701/pdf

Refractive Index and Electronic Polarizability of Ternary Chalcopyrite Semiconductors

In Indian coalmines, CMRI- RMR and NGI-Q Systems are mostly used for formulating design of support in rock engineering. Geotechnical investigation of the roof rocks plays an important role in the selection of different parameters used in rock mass classifications. In India, Bord and Pillar Method of mining is very much in practice in underground coalmines. Roof support, which is an important aspect of ground control, involves maintaining roof competency to ensure a safe and efficient mining environment. This paper deals with a case study where CMRI- RMR and NGI Q- Systems are used for estimation of rock load for design of support in a coalmine in India in semi-mechanized depillaring workings with desired success.

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A. P. Sinha

Papers

Streptomyces rochei SM3 Induces Stress Tolerance in Chickpea Against Sclerotinia sclerotiorum and NaCl

Aquatic Geochemistry of Dhanbad, Jharkhand: Source Evaluation and Quality Assessment

2D resistivity imaging survey for siting water-supply tube wells in metamorphic terrains A case study of CMRI campus, Dhanbad, India

Refractive Index and Electronic Polarizability of Ternary Chalcopyrite Semiconductors

Geotechnical investigation for support design in depillaring panels in Indian coalmines