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Traditional paddy cultivars (TPC) have a high nutritional and medicinal value and can survive severe stress conditions. TPCs are soil and region-specific, produced with organic manure, and free of pesticides or insecticides; as a result, they are more resistant to pests and naturally strong. TPCs are the best solution to the issues of unpredictable rainfall and aid in preventing pest infection since climate change does not affect them, such as increases or decreases in temperatures, humidity, and drought. TPCs are more valuable on the market than new high-yielding and improved varieties and need less labour to grow. Traditional rice has been used to treat various specific conditions, including high blood pressure, digestive system issues, skin inflammation, and blood sugar regulation. This review aims to educate farmers, seed growers, and researchers receiving valuable information regarding the importance of different TPC and cultivating more areas of suitable traditional cultivars of paddy for sustainable agriculture. Therefore, it is crucial to put policies in place to properly preserve farmers' variety if agriculture is to thrive sustainably.

Mutation breeding offers a simple, fast and efficient way to rectify major defects without altering their original identity. The present study deployed radiation (gamma rays @ 300Gy)-induced mutation breeding for the improvement and revival of three traditional rice landraces, viz., Samundchini, Vishnubhog and Jhilli. Among the various putative mutants identified in the M2 generation, only three, ten and five rice mutants of Samundchini, Vishnubhog and Jhilli, respectively, were advanced to the M4, M5 and M6 generations, along with their parents and three checks for evaluations based on 13 agro-morphological and 16 grain quality traits. Interestingly, all the mutants of the three landraces showed a reduction in days to 50% flowering and plant height as compared to their parents in all the three generations. The reduction in days to 50% flowering ranges from 4.94% (Vishnubhog Mutant V-67) to 21.40% (Jhilli Mutant J-2-13), whereas the reduction in plant height varies from 11.28% (Vishnubhog Mutant V-45-2, Vishnubhog Mutant V-67) to 37.65% (Jhilli Mutant J-15-1). Furthermore, two, six and three mutants of Samundchini, Vishnubhog and Jhilli have increased their yield potential over their corresponding parents, respectively. Interestingly, Samundchini Mutant S-18-1 (22.45%), Vishnubhog Mutant V-74-6 (36.87%) and Jhilli Mutant J-13-5 (25.96%) showed the highest yield advantages over their parents. Further, a pooled analysis of variance based on a randomized complete block design revealed ample variations among the genotypes for the studied traits. In addition, all the traits consistently showed high to moderate PCV and GCV and a slight difference between them in all three generations indicated the negligible effect of the environment. Moreover, in the association analysis, the traits, viz., fertile spikelets/panicle, panicle length, total tillers/plant, spikelet fertility percent and 100-seed weight showed the usual grain yield/plant, whereas the traits hulling (%) and milling (%) with HRR (%) consistently showed high direct effects and significant positive correlations. The SSR marker-based genome similarity in rice mutants and corresponding parents ranged from 95.60% to 71.70% (Vishnubhog); 95.62% to 89.10% (Samundchini) and 95.62% to 80.40% (Jhilli), indicating the trueness of the mutants. Moreover, the UPGMA algorithm and Gower distance-based dendrogram, neighbour joining tree and PCA scatter diagram assured that mutants were grouped with their respective parents and fell into separate clusters showing high similarity between mutants and parents and dissimilarity among the 24 genotypes. Overall, the information and materials generated from the current study will be very useful and informative for students, researchers and plant breeders. Additionally, our results also showed that irradiation could generate a considerable amount of genetic variability and provide new avenues for crop improvement and diversification.

Climate change in the last three decades could have major impacts on crop phenological development and subsequently on crop productivity. In this study, trends in winter wheat phenology are investigated in 36 agro-meteorological stations in the North China Plain (NCP) for the period 1981–2009. The study shows that the dates of sowing (BBCH 00), emergence (BBCH 10) and dormancy (start of dormancy) are delayed on the average by 1.5, 1.7 and 1.5 days/decade, respectively. On the contrary, the dates of greenup (end of dormancy), anthesis (BBCH 61) and maturity (BBCH 89) occur early on the average by 1.1, 2.7 and 1.4 days/decade, respectively. In most of the investigated stations, GP2 (dormancy to greenup), GP3 (greenup to anthesis) and GP0 (entire period from emergence to maturity) of winter wheat shortened during the period 1981–2009. Due, however, to early anthesis, grain-filling stage occurs at lower temperatures than before. This, along with shifts in cultivars, slightly prolongs GP4 (anthesis to maturity). Comparison of field-observed CERES (Crop Environment Resource Synthesis)-wheat model-simulated dates of anthesis and maturity suggests that climate warming is the main driver of the changes in winter wheat phenology in the NCP. The findings of this study further suggest that climate change impact studies should be strengthened to adequately account for the complex responses and adaptations of field crops to this global phenomenon.

Harvested populations of the sea urchin (Paracentrotus lividus) from the northwestern (Carreço) and southwestern (Aljezur) coasts of Portugal were surveyed to describe the species reproductive cycle and assess possible relationships with geographical location and seawater temperature. Individuals were sampled monthly to analyze gonad histology, mean gonadal index (GI), and gonadosomatic index (GSI) during 2 consecutive years (November 2010–November 2012). Both populations presented an annual reproductive cycle, with synchronous gonad maturation and gamete release between sexes. Gonad maturation occurred throughout autumn–winter, followed by a single but prolonged spawning season during spring–summer. The duration of the spawning season displayed a latitudinal gradient likely related to the north–south increasing trend in seawater temperature, with the northwestern population (Carreço) exhibiting a shorter spawning period compared to the southwestern population (Aljezur). The timing and duration of the spawning season was compared with several populations throughout the distributional range of P. lividus in the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. In the population from Carreço, the size at first sexual maturity (test diameter = 35.9 mm) was considerably smaller than the minimum conservation reference size (MCRS) of 50 mm test diameter legally established for P. lividus. This study confirms that sustainable exploitation depends on harvesters’ awareness of and compliance with the MCRS and provides useful information for the eventual establishment of a closed season in the harvesting of P. lividus.

The ratoon rice planting area is gradually expanding, but there has been relatively little research on ratoon rice grains contaminated with Cd. In this study, five ratoon rice varieties were selected and divided into three groups according to early-maturity (growth duration: 100-110 days), mid-maturity (growth duration: 110-120 days) and late-maturity (growth duration: 120-130 days) varieties. Field experiments were done to study the differences in Cd accumulation among ratoon rice varieties with different growth duration. The results showed that the Cd accumulation and concentration of grains spikelet at each growth stage in the main crop were in the order of late-maturity > mid-maturity > early-maturity varieties. However, the trends in Cd concentration and accumulation in grains spikelet during the ratoon crop were the opposite. Analysis found that as the growth duration of the variety extended, the accumulated temperature and daily average temperature in the main crop increased, which significantly increased the translocation factors of Cd from root, stem, and leaf to grains spikelet, and increased the daily average Cd accumulation rate in grains spikelet. The daily average temperature in the ratoon crop increased as the growth duration shortened. The early-maturity variety had higher Cd accumulation in stubble, which promoted the translocation of Cd from the root, stem, and leaf of the plant to the grains spikelet. Therefore, appropriately shortening the growth duration of the main crop and extending the growth duration of the ratoon crop are important ways to reduce Cd accumulation in ratoon rice in areas with mild Cd pollution.

PurposeThe purpose of this research is to propose a framework for research on Macaulay duration and establish future research directions.Design/methodology/approachThematic, bibliometric and content analyses have been used to review 168 research papers published between 1938 and 2019 taken from ISI Web of Science and Scopus contributed by leading authors, journals and regulatory bodies.FindingsIdentification and integration of themes of duration theory, duration model development and duration model implementation leading to unattended research gaps, and framework for research on Macaulay duration.Research limitations/implicationsThe study is based on an extensive review of the literature to extract important themes, research gaps and frameworks. It does not empirically investigate significance of Macaulay duration and various sectors.Practical implicationsThis research has several aspects that are helpful for practitioners. Macaulay duration has been the subject of empirical research only without any guiding framework. This research provides a platform to initiate profound researches in various areas of finance. Various proposed models are required to be tested under holistic approach in conventional and emerging fields, especially in Islamic settings.Originality/valueThis research highlights, research themes leading to framework, research gaps and factors that are crucial in developing, extending and testing duration models leading to enhancement of theoretical base of Macaulay duration.

Water stress due to uneven rainfall distribution causes a significant impact on the agricultural production of monsoon-dependent peninsular India. In the present study, water stress assessment for rainfed maize crop is carried out for kharif (June–October) and rabi (October–February) cropping seasons which coincide with two major Indian monsoons. Rainfall analysis (1976–2010) shows that the kharif season receives sufficient weekly rainfall (28 ± 32 mm) during 26th–39th standard meteorological weeks (SMWs) from southwest monsoon, whereas the rabi season experiences a major portion of its weekly rainfall due to northeast monsoon between the 42nd and 51st SMW (31 ± 42 mm). The later weeks experience minimal rainfall (5.5 ± 15 mm) and thus expose the late sown maize crops to a severe water stress during its maturity stage. Wet and dry spell analyses reveal a substantial increase in the rainfall intensity over the last few decades. However, the distribution of rainfall shows a striking decrease in the number of wet spells, with prolonged dry spells in both seasons. Weekly rainfall classification shows that the flowering and maturity stages of kharif maize (33rd–39th SMWs) can suffer around 30–40% of the total water stress. In the case of rabi maize, the analysis reveals that a shift in the sowing time from the existing 42nd SMW (16–22 October) to the 40th SMW (1–7 October) can avoid terminal water stress. Further, AquaCrop modeling results show that one or two minimal irrigations during the flowering and maturity stages (33rd–39th SMWs) of kharif maize positively avoid the mild water stress exposure. Similarly, rabi maize requires an additional two or three lifesaving irrigations during its flowering and maturity stages (48th–53rd SMWs) to improve productivity. Effective crop planning with appropriate sowing time, short duration crop, and high yielding drought-resistant varieties will allow for better utilization of the monsoon rain, thus reducing water stress with an increase in rainfed maize productivity.

Jatropha curcas L. is being promoted by governments for greening marginal areas for rural development and biodiesel production in sub-Saharan Africa, however large gaps in knowledge on its agronomy and yield potential exist. The effect of duration of storage at room temperature, pre-sowing seed treatment of Jatropha seed and fruit colour harvest index on germination and seedling growth parameters was investigated. There was a significant negative correlation between the duration of storage of Jatropha seed and seed oil content (P < 0.001, r = −0.99), viability (P < 0.01, r = −0.93), percent germination (P < 0.05, r = −0.90) and germination index (P < 0.05, r = −0.89). The relationship between duration of seed storage and seed oil content and seed germination parameters was best described by quadratic and exponential functions which showed rapid declines in seed oil content and germination parameters in the first 3 years of storage and a slower decline between 3 and 8 years of storage. There was a significant negative correlation between duration of storage and seedling height (P < 0.01, r = −0.97), stem diameter (P < 0.01, r = −0.93) and dry weight (P < 0.05, r = 0.91) that was best described by quadratic functions. Seed oil content was significantly and positively correlated to seed viability (P < 0.01, r = 0.96), germination per cent (P < 0.01, r = 0.94) and germination index (P < 0.01, r = 0.93). The relationship between seed oil content and seed germination parameters was best described by exponential functions which showed an exponential increase in seed germination parameters as oil content increased above 30% and smaller increases below 30% oil content. Progressive peroxidation of lipids as seed aged explains the loss of oil from the seed. Peroxidation of lipids produced highly reactive radicals that damaged membranes and proteins reducing seed germination and seedling growth parameters as seed aged. Pre-sowing seed treatments (seed soaking and scarification) produced marginal gains in germination and seedling growth parameters in Jatropha seed stored for 3 months to 8 years. Seeds harvested at the yellow fruit maturity index, 60 days after anthesis (DAA), showed the highest seed germination percent while seed harvested at the black fruit maturity index, 75 DAA, had the highest oil content. Harvesting of Jatropha seed for oil expression is therefore recommended at the black maturity index while harvesting for seed is recommended at the yellow maturity stage. The results of this study indicate that Jatropha seed should be stored for as short a period of time as possible to maximize seed germination, seedling growth and oil yield.

Barhi date fruit is one of the most important fruits that has high consumer preference and market value at the Khalal maturity stage. However, this stage is very short and the fruit is vulnerable to decay and the ripening process under improper handling and storage conditions. Thus, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of utilizing ultraviolet (UV-C) as a method to preserve the qualitative features of Barhi dates under various storage circumstances. The core of this study was defining the best conditions for UV-C treatment of Barhi dates, which was accomplished using a response surface methodology (RSM) model with a central composite, rotating four-factors-mixed-levels design (CCRD). The impacts of independent variables [UV-C exposure time (1, 2, 3, 4 min), UV-C dose (1, 3, 5, 7 kJ/m2), storage time (1, 6, 11, 16, 21 days) and storage temperature (1, 5, 15, 25 °C)] on the moisture content (MC), total soluble solids (TSS), total color changes (E), firmness, total phenolic content (TPC), total viable count (TVC), DPPH antiradical activity, fructose and glucose were investigated. The results revealed that the optimum UV-C treatment and storage settings for keeping the quality features of the dates were the UV-C exposure period and dosage of 1 min and 2.07 kJ/m2, and the storage time and temperature of 18 days and 12.36 °C, respectively. At the optimum conditions, the values of 59.66% moisture content, 38.24% TSS, 60.24 N firmness value, 48.83 ΔE, 0.07 log CFU/g TVC, 5.29 mg GAE/g TPC, 56.32% DPPH antiradical activity, 6.87 g/100 g fructose and 14.02 g/100 g glucose were comparable predicted values demonstrating the suitability of the used RSM models. Overall, the perfect UV-C treatment and storage circumstances for extending the storability and shelf life and maintaining the quality features of Barhi dates were identified in this study.

Maize kernel weight (KW) is associated with the duration of the grain-filling period (GFD) and the rate of kernel biomass accumulation (KGR). It is also related to the dynamics of water and hence is physiologically linked to the maximum kernel water content (MWC), kernel desiccation rate (KDR), and moisture concentration at physiological maturity (MCPM). This work proposed that principles of phenotypic plasticity can help to consolidated the understanding of the environmental modulation and genetic control of these traits. For that purpose, a maize population of 245 recombinant inbred lines (RILs) was grown under different environmental conditions. Trait plasticity was calculated as the ratio of the variance of each RIL to the overall phenotypic variance of the population of RILs. This work found a hierarchy of plasticities: KDR ≈ GFD > MCPM > KGR > KW > MWC. There was no phenotypic and genetic correlation between traits per se and trait plasticities. MWC, the trait with the lowest plasticity, was the exception because common quantitative trait loci were found for the trait and its plasticity. Independent genetic control of a trait per se and genetic control of its plasticity is a condition for the independent evolution of traits and their plasticities. This allows breeders potentially to select for high or low plasticity in combination with high or low values of economically relevant traits.