False smut, caused by Ustilaginoidea virens, has recently been found in Arkansas. Plants infected by the fungus remain symptom-free until heading and it is difficult to see spores on contaminated seeds. Field tests were conducted in 2006 to determine the effect of false-smut inoculation of rice seeds on the yields of selected rice cultivars. Seeds were inoculated by vacuum infiltration in suspe...

Almtraet--In this study, the devolatilisation process of Miscanthus particles inside a pulverised coal combustion chamber is characterised with the aim of finding conditions for which the devolatilisation rate of coal and Miscanthus is similar. However, choosing a power station as an experimental set-up for research is awkward because of the scale of operation ( > 500 MWct). Therefore, BTG has ...

The Great East Japan Earthquake on 11 March 2011, caused the release of radioactive materials from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP), contaminating eastern Japan, particularly in part of Fukushima Prefecture. In 2012 and 2014, the radiocaesium concentration in brown rice did not exceed regulatory levels in Minamisoma City, Fukushima. However, in 2013, some radiocaesium concentra...

The concentration of essential mineral nutrients in the edible portion of plants such as grains may affect the nutritional value of these foods, while concentrations of toxic minerals in the plant are matter of food safety. Minerals taken up by the roots from soils are normally redirected at plant nodes before they are finally transported into developing seeds. However, the molecular mechanisms...

The concentration of essential mineral nutrients in the edible portion of plants such as grains may affect the nutritional value of these foods, while concentrations of toxic minerals in the plant are matter of food safety. Minerals taken up by the roots from soils are normally redirected at plant nodes before they are finally transported into developing seeds. However, the molecular mechanisms...

A diallel cross experiment of 4 rice (Oryza sativa L.) female and 6 male varieties was conducted to study the genetic effects and their interaction with salt-stress condition of 7 agronomic traits in normal and salt-stressed planting conditions. The panicle length (PL), effective number of panicles per plant (ENP), plumped number of grains per panicles (PNG), total number of grains per panicles...

Straighthead is a physiological disorder of rice (Oryza sativa L.) that results in sterile florets with distorted lemma and palea, and the panicles or heads may not form at all in extreme cases. Heads remain upright at maturity, hence the name 'straighthead'. The diseased panicles may not emerge from the flag leaf sheath when the disease is severe. Straighthead disease in rice results in poorly...

Evaluation of trace metal pollution in an environmentally complex context may require the use a suite indicators. Common reed, Phragmites australis, is well-known biomonitor sediment pollution. Here, we show its potential for also assessing air The plant panicles, holding silky hairs with high surface to volume ratio, are appropriate collectors atmospheric contaminants, which perform independen...

Variation in individual kernel moisture content (MC) distributions in rice panicles were measured for rice cultivars Bengal, Cypress, and Drew. Rice panicles were harvested at different stages of maturity from foundation seed fields at two locations with widely varying soils in Arkansas during the autumns of 1998, 1999, and 2000. The objective was to quantify variability of individual rice kern...

Rice stink bug (RSB), Oebalus pugnax F., is an important pest of heading rice in the United States. Little is known about plant volatiles production following herbivory by rice stink bug. RSB feeding induced volatiles production in different RSB host grasses and rice varieties, and may help explain RSB movement to heading rice. Limonene and methyl salicylate (MeSA) were found in varying amounts...