The aluminum based composites are increasingly being used in the transport, aerospace, marine, automobile and mineral processing industries, owing to their improved strength, stiffness and wear resistance properties. The widely used reinforcing materials for these composites are silicon carbide, aluminum oxide and graphite in the form of particles or whiskers. The ceramic particles reinforced aluminum composites are termed as new generation material and these can be tailored and engineered with specific required properties for specific application requirements. Particle reinforced composites have a better plastic forming capability than that of the whisker or fiber reinforced ones, and thus they have emerged as most sought after material with cost advantage and they are also known for excellent heat and wear resistance applications. In this paper it is aimed to present the experimental results of the studies conducted regarding hardness, tensile strength and wear resistance properties of Al6061-SiC and Al7075-Al 2 O 3 composites. The composites are prepared using the liquid metallurgy technique, in which 2-6 wt. %'age of particulates were dispersed in the base matrix in steps of 2. The obtained cast composites of Al6061-SiC and Al7075-Al 2 O 3 and the castings of the base alloys were carefully machined to prepare the test specimens for density, hardness, mechanical, tribological tests and as well as for microstructural studies as per ASTM standards. The SiC and Al 2 O 3 resulted in improving the hardness and density of their respective composites. Further, the increased %'age of these reinforcements contributed in increased hardness and density of the composites. The microphotographs of the composites studied revealed the uniform distribution of
Plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) has been identified as a group of microbes that are used for plant growth enhancement and biocontrol for management of plant diseases. The inconsistency in performance of these bacteria from laboratory to field conditions is compounded due to the prevailing abiotic stresses in the field. Therefore, selection of bacterial strains with tolerance to abiotic stresses would benefit the end-user by successful establishment of the strain for showing desired effects. In this study we attempted to isolate and identify strains of Bacillus and Pseudomonas spp. with stress tolerance and proven ability to inhibit the growth of potential phytopathogenic fungi. Screening of bacterial strains for high temperature (50°C), salinity (7% NaCl), and drought (−1.2 MPa) showed that stress tolerance was pronounced less in Pseudomonas isolates than in Bacillus strains. The reason behind this could be the formation of endospores by Bacillus isolates. Tolerance to drought was high in Pseudomonas strains than the other two stresses. Three strains, P8, P20 and P21 showed both salinity and temperature tolerance. P59 strain possessed promising antagonistic activity and drought tolerance. The magnitude of antagonism shown by Bacillus isolates was also higher when compared to Pseudomonas strains. To conclude, identification of microbial candidate strains with stress tolerance and other added characteristic features would help the end-user obtain the desired beneficial effects.
Millettia pinnata (Synonym Pongamia pinnata) is a viable source of oil for the mushrooming biofuel industry, source for agroforestry, urban landscaping, and the bio-amelioration of degraded lands. It also helps in maintaining soil fertility through symbiotic nitrogen fixation. However, not much work is reported on classification and characterization of the rhizobia associated with this plant. In the present study, an attempt was made to isolate rhizobial strains nodulating Millettia from soils collected from southern regions of India. The isolates were characterized using numerical taxonomy, 16S rRNA gene sequencing, and cross nodulation ability. The results showed high phenotypic and genetic diversity among the rhizobia symbiotic with Millattia pinnata. The isolates formed five clusters at similarity level of 0.82 based on the results of numerical taxonomy. Results on 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis revealed that most microsymbionts of M. pinnata belonged to Rhizobium and Bradyrhizobium, which are closely related to Rhizobium sp., B. elkanii and B. yuanmingense. Among these isolates, some isolates could grow in a pH range of 4.0-10.0, some could tolerate a high salt concentration (3% NaCl) and could grow at a maximum temperature between 35 and 45 °C. M. pinnata formed nodules with diverse rhizobia in Indian soils. These results offered the first systematic information about the microsymbionts of M. pinnata grown in the soils from southern part of India.
Brinjal (Solanum melongena L.) is an important solanaceous vegetable in many countries of Asia and Africa. It is a good source of minerals and vitamins in the tropical diets. Assessment of genetic resources is the starting point of any crop improvement programme. In India, the National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources is the nodal institute for management of germplasm resources of crop plants and holds more than 2500 accessions of brinjal in its genebank. In the present study, morphological diversity in a set of 622 accessions, comprising 543 accessions from indigenous sources and 79 accessions of exotic origin, was assessed. Wide range of variations for 31 descriptors, 13 quantitative and 18 qualitative, were recorded. The wide regional variations for plant, flower and fruit descriptors revealed enough scope for improvement of yield characters by selection. The genetic differences among the landraces are potentially relevant to breeding programmes in that the variability created through hybridization of the contrasting forms could be exploited.
Traits involved in plant growth promotion by bacteria are ambiguously decided as phytohormones, siderophores, HCN, proteases, chitinases, cellulases, ammonia, exopolysaccharide production and phosphate solubilization or antagonistic activity. A total of 40 fluorescent Pseudomonas strains were isolated from diverse soils of various agro-ecosystems of India. Among these 7 strains viz, P1, P10, P13, P18, P21, P28 and P38 were selected depending on their character of possessing single or multiple PGPR traits. These isolates individually and in combination with AM fungi (Glomus fasciculatum and Glomus aggregatum) were used for treating sorghum seeds. 25 days after sowing, plants were analysed for different plant growth promoting parameters. It was observed that strains in presence of mycorrhizae performed well compared to the strains devoid of mycorrhizae. Pseudomonas sp. P1 possessing GA3, EPS production and 'P' solubilization performed well. Pseudomonas sp. P38 which was a volatile (HCN) producer but a good phosphate solubilizer did not perform well. Strain P28 with multiple PGPR traits did not show the expected out come. Results varied when mycorrhizae was used in combination. P10 and P13 which were good in IAA, GA3, EPS, siderophore and 'P' solubilization performed well with mycorrhizae, with an overall increase in plant biomass, leaf area, total chlorophyll and mycorrhizal infection compared to other combinations. Here, strain P1 in combination with mycorrhizae did not show significant increase in plant growth compared to P10 and P13. Hence, mere possession of multiple PGPR traits does not confer fluorescent Pseudomonas strains as PGPR. Further studies have to be carried out in order to evaluate the other traits which may be involved in plant growth promotion.
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