Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.r. latifolium Hutch) is very sensitive to soil conditions. The Iuiu Valley, located in the Southwest of Bahia State in Brazil, was an important area for cotton production but an inadequate soil management for years and consequent soil quality degradation lead to the decline of the crop in the region. In an effort to reestablish cotton, this study was carried out to ...

This article provides an overview of China’ plant biotechnology development and its impacts on farmers. Our study shows that while Chinese policymakers have considered agricultural biotechnology as a strategically significant tool for improving national food security and raising agricultural productivity, they have been hesitant to approve the commercialisation of new genetically modified (GM) ...

Cotton fiber development at the stages of elongation and secondary wall synthesis determines the traits of fiber length and strength. To date, the mechanisms controlling the progression of these two phases remain elusive. In this work, the function of a fiber-preferential actin-binding protein (GhPFN2) was characterized by cytological and molecular studies on the fibers of transgenic green-colo...

Agricultural crops in India are under constant threat of pests affecting their roots as well as leaves. Plant diseases cause significant damage and economic losses in crops. Subsequently, reduction in plant diseases by early diagnosis results in substantial improvement in quality of the product. Enormous cotton crop yield is lost every year, due to rapid infestation by pests and insects. Infect...

Plant growth regulators (PGRs) are a common and widely used practice in cotton production for controlling plant growth, increasing yield, and improving management efficiency. Most of the PGRs used have an effect on plant growth, both vegetative and reproductive, and dry matter partitioning. However, there have been no reports of effects of PGRs on radiation use efficiency (RUE). It is logical t...

BACKGROUND The noctuid Helicoverpa armigera is one of the key cotton pests in the Old World. One possible pest regulation method may be the management of host crop in the landscapes. For polyphagous pests such as H. armigera, crop diversity and rotations can offer sequential and alternate resources that may enhance abundance. We explore the impact of landscape composition and host crop diversit...

Reduced insecticide use in cotton, Gossypium hirsutum L., as a consequence of the Boll Weevil Eradication Program and the broad adoption of Bt cotton, have helped make the tarnished plant bug, Lygus lineolaris (Palisot de Beauvois), a consistent pest of cotton each year in the mid-south. Maize, Zea mays L., has been implicated as having a role in the season-long dynamics of tarnished plant bug...

Soil salinity is a major environmental stress limiting plant growth and productivity. We have reported previously the isolation of an Apocynum venetum DEAD-box helicase 1 (AvDH1) that is expressed in response to salt exposure. Here, we report that the overexpression of AvDH1 driven by a constitutive cauliflower mosaic virus-35S promoter in cotton plants confers salinity tolerance. Southern and ...

Methyl jasmonate (MeJA)-mediated defense in conventional cotton, Gossypium hirsutum L. (Malvaceae), against cotton bollworm, Helicoverpa armigera (H€ ubner) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), was investigated with respect to the activities of the detoxification enzymes acetylcholinesterase (AChE), carboxylesterase (CarE), and glutathione S-transferases (GST) in pupae as well as the performance of larvae...