To investigate the effect of gamma irradiation on the nutritional quality of maize and sorghum grains, packs were exposed to doses of 0 and 2 kGy in a 60 Co package irradiator. Irradiated and nonirradiated samples were stored at refrigeration temperatures. Proximate composition, minerals content, minerals bio-availability, tannins content, phytic acid content, protein fractions and in vitro pro...

628 Abstract: Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) and pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.), ranking fifth and sixth in global cereal hectarage, respectively, are the most important coarse-grain cereals in the semi-arid tropical regions of Asia and Africa. Pearl millet displays better adaptation to and is grown in relatively more marginal environments than sorghum. Under subsistence f...

Aluminum (Al) toxicity in acidic soils affects crop production worldwide. C2H2-type zinc finger transcription factor STOP1/ART1-mediated expression of Al tolerance genes has been shown to be important for Al resistance in Arabidopsis, rice and other crop plants. Here, we identified and characterized four STOP1-like proteins (SbSTOP1a, SbSTOP1b, SbSTOP1c, and SbSTOP1d) in sweet sorghum, a varian...

We examine the value of jumbo certificate-of-deposit (CD) signals in bank surveillance. To do so, we first construct proxies for default premiums and deposit runoffs and then rank banks based on these risk proxies. Next, we rank banks based on the output of a logit model typical of the econometric models used in off-site surveillance. Finally, we compare jumbo-CD rankings and surveillance-model...

Eight cultivars Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench were grown as callus cultures under induced, prolonged water stress (8 weeks), with polyethylene glycol in the medium. Concentrations of soluble carbohydrates and organic acids in callus were measured at the end of the growth period to determine differences in response to prolonged water stress. Sucrose, glucose, fructose, and malate were the predomin...

About 26% of the Indian population is deficient in calories and 28% in protein (Chand et al. 2003). The deficiency is most acute among the poor. The magnitude of micronutrient [iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn)] deficit is particularly alarming among children, women of reproductive age, and pregnant and lactating women (Sharma 2003). Current efforts to combat micronutrient malnutrition in the developing ...

Large portions of the Great Plains and the western U.S. are regularly plagued by drought and diminishing water resources for irrigation. Alfalfa cultivars adapted to these regions, and that can remain productive under reduced irrigation allotments, are clearly needed. This study evaluated the potential of using DNA marker assisted selection (MAS) technology to improve alfalfa forage productivit...

Most previous studies on genetic fingerprinting and cultivar relatedness in sweet cherry were based on isoenzyme, RAPD, and simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers. This study was carried out to assess the utility of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers generated from 3' untranslated regions (UTR) for genetic fingerprinting in sweet cherry. A total of 114 sweet cherry germplasm representin...