Sulfur (S) deficiency is becoming more common in agro-ecosystems worldwide due to factors such as agronomic practices, high biomass production, reduced sulfur emissions and the use of non-sulfur fertilizers. This review explores the natural occurrence and commercial exploitation of sulfur pools in nature, the mineralization and immobilization of sulfur, the physiological role of sulfur in plants and its deficiency symptoms. Additionally, the organic and inorganic forms of sulfur in soil, their transformations, and the process of microbiological oxidation of sulfur are discussed. The review also addresses the diversity of sulfur-oxidizing bacteria (SOB) and the various biochemical mechanisms involved in their role in plant productivity and soil reclamation. The measurement of S oxidation rate in soil and the variables that influence the process are also examined. Typically, the rate of oxidation of added elemental S is around 40-51%, which is available for plant uptake. These characteristics of SOB demonstrate their potential as bioinoculants for increasing plant growth, indicating their use as biofertilizers for sustainable crop production in agro-ecosystems.
Aim: The study was conducted to understand the Effect of processing and fermentation on functional properties and on anti-nutritional factors in Horse Gram (Macrotyloma uniflorum). Place and Duration of Work: The study was carried out in Department of Agricultural Microbiology, GKVK, University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore during 2019-20. Methodology: Horse gram seeds were procured from National seed project, thoroughly cleaned and were subjected to different processing methods (soaking, roasting, cooking and germination) and ground into flour. Then, the processed flours were analyzed for altered functional properties like bulk density, water and oil absorption capacity, foaming capacity and stability etc. The raw seeds were directly milled into flour without any processing and used as control. Further, all processed flours were subjected to fermentation and compared with non fermented flours for reduction of antinutritional factors (tannins and phytates). Results: The functional properties of unprocessed (raw) horse gram flour was recorded with values of 0.95 g / g (Bulk density), 1.87 g / mL(water absorption capacity),1.45 g / mL(oil absorption capacity), 7.56% (foaming capacity) and 70.78% for foaming stability. Whereas, the processing significantly altered the functional properties. When it comes to antinutritional factors, unprocessed flour recorded with 7.9 mg / g of tannins and 0.96 mg / g of phytates. The processing in combination with fermentation facilitate further reduction of antinutrients compared to processing alone (without fermentation). Among them, fermented germinated flour and fermented cooked flour proven their efficiency in reduction of tannins (61.3 and 62.5%) and phytates (54.1 and 46.8%) compared to other processed flours. Conclusion: Based on results, it is evidenced that processing altered functional properties of horse gram effectively. However, processing combined with fermentation yielded higher reduction in antinutritional factors compared to processing alone. Further, germinated flour and cooked flour on fermentation were found to yield significantly higher reduction in antinutritional factors thereby enhancing its utilization in functional foods as main / partial ingredient.
Aim: The study was undertaken to assess the efficiency and select the virulent entomopathogenic fungal isolates for the biological control of red spider mites (Tetranychus urticae) under in vitro conditions. Place and Duration of Work: The study was carried out in the Department of Agricultural Microbiology, University of Agricultural Sciences, GKVK, Bangalore, India. Methodology: A leaf disc bioassay was employed to assess the virulence of entomopathogenic fungal isolates isolated from 2 agro-climatic zones of Karnataka, India under In vitro conditions. The lethal concentration and lethal time were determined by obtaining the mortality data from various conidial concentrations and the data was analysed using Probit analysis. For molecular identification the fungal DNA was isolated through Cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) extraction buffer, followed by purification through phenol/chloroform extraction and precipitation with isopropanol or ethanol, and the ITS regions of the 18S rDNA were amplificated using universal primers. Results: Out of 81 fungal isolates, 16 (19.25%) showed insecticidal activity under in vitro conditions. The results of the in vitro studies revealed that two isolates, ENPF-8 and ENPF-58 had significantly higher mortality rates (93-95 %) against mites at a concentration of 1x108 conidia/ml after 9 days after treatment (DAT). The virulent fungal isolates were identified as Isaria fumosorosea (with accession no: MT997932) and Hirsutella thompsonii (MT997936) using the sequencing of the ITS region of the 18S rDNA gene. H. thompsonii (ENPF-58) was found to be more virulent against mites, with lower LC50 (7.6×105 conidia/ml) and LT50 (5.7, 5.89, and 5.99 days) values compared to the other EPF. Conclusion: Based on results, it is evidenced that though all isolates caused mortality in the mite population but the percent mortality was varied. Based on these results, H. thompsonii (MT997935) and Isaria fumosorosea (MT997932) could be a promising biocontrol agent due to their high virulence against mites.
Aim: The study was undertaken to evaluate agro-wastes (Post mushroom substrate, Sugarcane bagasse, rice husk and sorghum grains) for mass production of entomopathogenic fungi like, I. fumosoroseus:MT997932, B. bassiana: MT997933, L. lecanii: MT997935 and H. thompsonii: MT997936 by solid stat fermentation. Place and Duration of Work: The study was carried out in the Department of Agricultural Microbiology, GKVK, University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore during 2019-20. Methodology: The substrates were dried, chopped and sieved through 2mm sieve. 100g of all substrates were sterilized and moistened to 60% by adding sterile distilled water fallowed by addition of 5ml of spore suspension of fungal isolates. Treatments T5. T6, T7, T8 and T10 were fortified with adding 10ml of molasses. Observation like, growth and spore production were taken at 7, 14 and 21 days after inoculation. Results: The growth and spore production of entomopathogenic fungal isolates were observed to be increased accordance with the incubation period. Among four substrates maximum mycelial growth and spore production of all the isolates (×109 spores g-1) was observed in sorghum grains (T4:T8) fallowed by treatment T7 (SMS+10% molasses) on 21 DAI. Whereas, sugarcane bagasse and paddy husk substrates were not supported the satisfactory growth and spore production besides the addition of molasses (×107 spores g-1). The addition of molasses has positively influenced the growth and spore production of entomogenus isolates in all treatments. Conclusion: Based on results, it is evidenced that even though cereal grains are best option for mass production, PMS fortified with molasses will become a better substrate for mass production and reduce the load of using food grains as substrate.
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