Biography:

N Nagaraju graduated in University of Agricultural Sciences Bengaluru and expertise in Plant Virology. He worked as an Extension Pathologist between 1998-2010 and expertise in diagnosis, identification of plant disease and recommending suitable management practices. He is serving in UAS, Bengaluru since 20 years and worked on different plant viruses viz., Papaya ring spot virus (PRSV), Pepper veinal mottle virus (PVMV), Cucumber Mosaic Virus (CMV), Tomato leaf curl virus (ToLCV), Tomato spotted wilt virus (ToSPO) and other Gemini viruses. He developed integrated management practices for the important viruses for sustainable agriculture and were included in University Package of Practice. He is presently working on use of bio-molecules for inducing defense in crop plant against Plant Viruses.

Abstract:

Synthetic chemical based pesticides are extensively being used in agriculture to manage plant diseases particularly plant viruses transmitting through insect vectors. Since non availability of viricides as such. However the vector management through pesticides is the only means of chemical control.  However, continuous use of pesticides for the management of vectors of plant viruses cause severe and long term environmental pollution and are even carcinogenic to humans and animals. Furthermore, insect vectors become resistant to many of these chemicals resulted in resurgence of pests. Management of viral pathogens by using organic products viz., plant extracts, seaweed extracts etc., has gained importance. Antiviral effect of seaweed extracts viz., Euchema spinosum J. Agardh, Kappaphycus alvarezii doty-1, Kappaphycus alvarezii doty-2 and Halymenia durvillae Bory saint-vincent at 10ml L^-1, 4ml L^-1, 6ml L^-1 and 10ml L^-1 respectively including commercial products viz., Vacciplant and Jingo were tested for their optimum dose under field condition against Cucumber Mosaic Virus (CMV) was determined based on ELISA values of CMV infected gherkin samples during kharif and rabi 2016. Seaweed extracts Kappaphycus alvarezii-1 (4ml L^-1) sprayed gherkin plants recorded less mean PDI of 16.65 and 16.06 with an increased mean yield (13.33 t ha^-1) followed by Halymenia durvillae (10ml L^-1) with mean PDI (18.34 and 18.98) and mean yield (12.17 t ha^-1) compared to control with mean PDI (31.77 and 31.96) and mean yield (8.74 t ha^-1) respectively. The active principle present in these two seaweed extracts are mainly polysaccharides viz., kappa-carrageenan and sulphated galactan respectively. Hypothetically, polysaccharides might have helped in triggering defense by inducing plant hormones/signaling molecules viz., salicylic acid, Jasmonic acid or ethylene by inducing ISR.

Biography:

Abstract:

Biography:

Bahman Amiri Larijani is rice agronomist and has his expertise in ecological and phenological simulation of growth, development and yield of rice crop.  His favorites are the ideal type of plant and yield and yield component analysis based on morphology, physiology and phenology of rice plant in relation with environment and field condition. 

Abstract:

Many higher plants, including rice, are composed of successive stem segments called phytomer. The phytomer concept has long been recognized among grass scientists. Each phytomer consists of an internode of the stem with one leaf, one tiller bud and several adventitious (nodal) roots. The coordinated development of stem, tiller bud, and adventitious roots in each phytomer corresponds to the phyllochronic time in rice. The phytomer concept has provided a sound botanical basis for understanding plant development, canopy architecture, and the dynamic nature of plant canopies in the field. The number of phytomers per axis decreased with branching order and rank. An analysis of plant dynamics showed synchronous emergence of the leaves on the main stem and on the tillers up to flowering. Axillary bud development into tillers depended on their topological location and plant developmental stage. Conclusions the timing and frequency of flowering tillers complied with rules of priority depending on their order, rank and emergence time. The tiller phyllochron differs from the main stem (MS) phyllochron during both the vegetative and reproductive phases. But leaf emergence on the MS and tiller development are nevertheless closely linked and result in synchrony between leaf emergence rates on the MS and tillers. Moreover, the final number of leaves on a rice tiller at a given position is strongly dependent on the MS leaf number. The probability of tillers reaching heading depended on their topological position and emergence time. There is synchronous appearance of tillers and leaves on the MS throughout plant development until flowering, and a relation between emergence time and tiller flowering. I found the idea of planting special ranked phytomer (internode) for faster heading and reduce the length of the growing period in rice.

Biography:

Kaustubha Nand Bhatt is a Professor at G. B. Pant Social Science Institute, Allahabad Central University, Allahabad. He is an environmental economist and has worked on several developmental issues. He has authored, edited and co-edited several books including  System of Rice Intensification, Agrarian Change and Small Farmers: Super Markets, Viability and Food Policy,  Child Labour in India: Empirical Evidence from Glass and Bidi Industries,  Consumers, Consumerism and Consumer Protection: Indian Context,  Disaster Risk Management Programme in Uttar Pradesh: Learning from Some Case Studies, Population, Environment and Health: Emerging Concerns,  Social Development, Uttarakhand: Ecology, Economy and Society and has published in various journals. 

Abstract:

Statement of the Problem: System of Rice (also Root or Crop) Intensification (SRI/SCI)) is a promising resource conserving method of crop cultivation grounded in the physical and biological sciences.  The method is now producing agricultural ecosystems that could engage various stakeholders in a participatory manner to increase yield, resource use efficiencies and income. This paper analyzes the experiences of the farming communities in practicing SRI/SCI from different parts of India as an alternative method of sustainable agriculture.

Methodology and Theoretical Orientation: Based on secondary data sources, the paper explores the outcomes of the SRI/SCI for enhancing productivity and environmental sustainability. The post War modern agricultural practices led to both biotic and abiotic stress sacrificing ecological security and biodiversity for maximizing output.  SRI is a shift from input centric to farm and farmer centric method. The method is a process driven approach and a return to learning by doing. 

Findings: The SRI, perhaps, is not new to India. In the 1920s farmers in Tamil Nadu practiced single seeding planting and obtained a yield of 6 tonnes per hectare, when the average yield then was 1.5 tonnes per hectare. Presently almost a million farmers are practicing SRI in India in more than 350 districts. It became part of the National Food Security Mission in 2007. A farmer from the ‘backward’ region of Bihar in India has claimed a yield of 22.4 t/ha of rice using SRI method in 2016. Many farmers across the country are learning the practices of SRI from one another. The core practices of SRI have been applied to sugarcane, wheat, ragi, mustard and vegetable production with success. Conclusion: We are indeed poised for a fine blending of farmers’ knowledge and experiences and the present practices for agro ecological crop management in the future.

Biography:

He has been involved in Coffee Production both organic and conventional for the last 7 years in the Western Ghats of Palni hills. At present, a Doctoral course student in the Department of Botany, Saraswathi Narayanan College (Autonomous) Perungudi, Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India. Recently, He won the second prize in International Conference. He has served as a Manager in two Coffee Estates and modernized the estates. His interest and commitment to ecology and plant science began in 1990. As a under graduate he published his first Biotechnology paper on Plant Regeneration through somatic embryogenesis from mature leaf explants of Eryngium Foetidum, a condiment in plant cell, Tissue and Organ Culture 56: 131-137, 1999, Netherlands. Earlier he also has served as a Principal and Correspondent of St. Joseph’s Industrial School an ISO9000-2000 certified Institution, Ooty for five years. As a Philanthropist and Quality manager he has qualified himself in MBA Personnel Management and diploma in Magnetic therapy and Acupressure 

Abstract:

Three consecutive years’ experiments were conducted at the organic coffee fields of Loyola Estate, Sirumalai near Dindigul District of Tamil Nadu, South India during 2013, 14 and 15 to evaluate bioefficiency of plant oils and leaf, garlic extracts against berry borers in the chosen organic coffee field. Among these plant oils tested, spot application of Neem and pongamia seed oils along with emulsifier was found to be very effective in the initial stage causing 90 to 94 percent reduction in borer population over control after three rounds of spraying in the final year. The overall borer population was found to be 90 percent reduced in the coffee plants sprayed with mixture of Neem with pongamia oil 3 percent and 2 percent of garlic extract even at the later stage of borer attack. This was followed by strict regulation of shade as per integrated pest management techniques. The percentage of damaged green fruits in the first year were 36 percent followed by 22 percent in the second year and 14 percent in the third year in treated plants against control 100%. Further, the mean grade index recorded at the time of harvest was also very low which statistically different from chemically treated plants. The other plant oil formulation viz., Pongamia and Iluppai were less effective and the leaf extract. Ipomea, Jatropha, Neem, Acorus and Chilli were not effective.

Biography:

Abstract:

Biography:

Ali Akbar Ehsanpour has more than 25 years experience in evaluation of antioxidant systems in plants under in vitro stresses such as nano silver, salt and drought. Now he has focused on nano particle toxicity in plants and he is concerned on toxicity of nano particle for human health. 

Abstract:

Under in vitro conditions, we examined the effects ofsilver nanoparticles (AgNPs) and silver (Ag) ions on potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) in terms of silver accumulation, production of reactive oxygen species (ROS),oxidative stress responses, and antioxidative defense systems. At all concentrations (except at 2 mg.L^-1), the amount of Ag in the shoots and roots of Ag ion-treated plantletswas significantly higher than in plantlets treated with AgNPs. In both treatments, total ROS and superoxide anionswere  increased at concentrations greaterthan 2 mg.L^-1. Damage caused by oxidative stress, such as ion leakage and cell death, was significantly higher in plantlets treated with AgNPs than those treated with Ag ions. Significant increases in the activities of superoxide dismutase, catalase, ascorbate peroxidase, and glutathione reductase (GR),werefound in both AgNP-treated, and Ag ion-treated plantlets compared to the control. However, in AgNP-treated plantlets, GR activity was significantly decreased at 20 mg.L^-1. A significant reduction in glutathione (GSH), ascorbate (ASA), and the ratios of GSH to oxidized glutathione (GSSG) and ASA to oxidized ascorbate (DHA) were observed in plantlets treated with both AgNPs and Ag ions at concentrations higher than 2 mg.L^-1. Moreover, a greater decrease in GSH and ASA contents was seen in plantlets treated with AgNPs compared to those treated with Ag ions. The present study indicates that both AgNPs and Ag ion treatments impose oxidative stress on potato plantlets under in vitro conditions. Furthermore, based on plantlets’ responses to oxidative damage, the observed alteration in the activities of radical scavenging enzymes and the depletion of GSH and ASA, AgNPs seem to have higher toxicity than the equivalent mass of Ag ions. 

Biography:

In the last 10 years, my research focus has been the desert truffle Terfezia boudieri that forms mycorrhizal association with its host plant Helianthemum sessiliflorum. I am studying the fungus at several levels including physiology, ecology and molecular biology. I participate in a comprehensive project to sequence the entire genomes of 23 fungi including our two desert truffle species, in the frame of The European Community Sequencing Program entitled "Exploring the Genome Diversity of Mycorrhizal Fungi to Understand the Evolution and Functioning of Symbiosis in Woody Shrubs and Trees"

Abstract:

The ectomycorrhizal (ECM) desert truffle Terfezia boudieri Chatin produces edible fruit bodies and forms symbiosis with its host plant Helianthemum sessiliflorum (Cistaceae) in the Negev desert of Israel. The symbiosis is vital for both partners' survival under desert conditions. Diurnal measurements revealed that mycorrhizal (M) plants had higher rates of photosynthesis (35%), transpiration (18%), and night respiration (49%) than non-mycorrhizal (NM) plants. Consequently, M plants exhibited higher biomass accumulation, higher shoot-to-root ratios, and improved water use efficiency compared to NM plants. Total chlorophyll content was higher in M plants, and the ratio between chlorophyll a to chlorophyll b was altered in M plants. Calculation of the photosynthetic activation energy indicated lower energy requirements for CO₂ assimilation in M plants than in NM plants (48.62 kJ mol^-1 and 61.56 kJ mol^-1, respectively). Continuous measurements provided a complete picture of the daily physiological differences brought on by the ectomycorrhizal relationships. To secure a successful encounter, in the course of evolution, both partners have responded by evolving special signals exchange that facilitates recognition. Study of pre mycorrhizal signal exchange revealed previously unrecognized root-fungus interaction mediated by the fungal auxin. The secreted fungal auxin induced negative taproot gravitropism, attenuated taproot growth rate and inhibited initial host development. Auxin also induced expression of Arabidopsis carriers AUX1 and PIN1, both involved in the gravitropic response. Exogenous application of auxin fully mimicked that one induced by the ectomycorrhizal fungus. Co-cultivation of Arabidopsis auxin receptor mutants tir1-1, tir1-1 afb2-3, tir1-1 afb1-3 afb2-3 and tir1-1 afb2-3 afb3-4 with Terfezia confirmed that auxin is the signaling molecule, which induces the root phenotype. In a model proposed here, the fungal auxin induces horizontal root development, coordinates growth rates between partners, and lateral root induction that increases the availability of accessible sites for colonization at the soil plane of fungal spore abundance. 

Biography:

Rizwana Maqbool is serving as a wheat geneticist and breeder in the department of plant breeding and genetics, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad. Her doctoral research was composed of both basic and applied objectives to achieve a balanced expertise in the field of crop sciences from Washington State University, Pullman, USA. Her scientific background is very diverse, with training in genetics, genomics, molecular biology, plant breeding, bioinformatics, and microscopy. Her research is based on the identification and characterization of tiller gene in wheat. She mapped and cloned an important gene regulating tiller and spikelet number of wheat for the first time. This gene will play an important role in the development of climate resilient wheat particularly focusing heat and drought aspects. 

Abstract:

Tiller number is one of the important agronomic traits in cereals such as rice, wheat and barley that directly correlates with yield, but is highly regulated by environmental and endogenous factors. Tillers in wheat are considered to be the axillary branches arising from the crown giving plant shoot architecture. Various genes are known to suppress lateral branching including lateral suppressor (LS) of tomato, MOC1 of rice, and LAS of Arabidopsis. Mutants in these orthologous genes showed suppression of lateral branches. Furthermore, these mutations turned out to be in the conserved GRAS domain. However, the molecular mechanism regulating tillering in wheat has been poorly understood. The main objective of this study is to identify and characterize a gene responsible for number of tillers in wheat. So far, rice MOC1 is the only cloned and characterized gene among cereals controlling tillering. Thus, we selected rice gene as the query sequence to identify its ortholog in wheat. Detailed bioinformatic and sequence analyses identified a gene in wheat showing high sequence similarity with MOC1. All three homoeologous copies of the candidate gene have been cloned and mapped. The gene showed similar expression pattern as that of MOC1 in different developmental tissues. Transient as well as stable silencing of the TaMOC1 resulted in reduced tiller number in wheat suggesting its role in tillering. Microscopic analysis of the silenced plants showed the absence of bud formation in the axial of leaf, directly implicating the role of the gene in tiller bud initiation. The research will focus towards the sustainable agriculture in this era of diminishing available resources.

Biography:

Abstract: