No abstract

No abstract

Background The decision to recommend either reconstructive or ablative surgery to the parents of children with fibular hemimelia is difficult and debatable in the orthopaedic literature.

Cotton is one of the most important fibre crops playing a key role in economic and social affairs of the world. Water is a critical factor which influences on growth and yield of the cotton crop. Scarcity of water has put tremendous pressure on scientists to introduce drought tolerant cotton varieties. This study was aimed to determine water stress effects on the growth and yield of cotton. The present study was carried out to examine the effect of number of irrigations on the growth and yield of cotton during 2014. The field trial was conducted at the Experimental Fields of Agronomy Section, Agriculture Research Institute, Tandojam, Pakistan. A three replicated Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) was employed to layout the experiment having plot size of 2.5 m × 5 m (12.5 m 2). Four cotton varieties i.e. NIAB-78, Shahbaz-95, Sindh-1 and TH-224/87 were chosen for this study based on their frequent farmer usage. All the agronomic practices were performed according to standard procedures. Results showed that all the growth and yield components of cotton were significantly (P < 0.01) affected by varieties and irrigation frequencies with exception of monopodial branches and staple length, which were not significantly (P > 0.05) affected by irrigation frequencies. The cotton crop irrigated six times at 21 days interval showed better results with 138.16 cm plant height, 1.45 monopodial branches per plant, 21.83 sympodial * Corresponding author. A. Sahito et al. 1028 branches per plant, 44.58 bolls per plant, 33.86% G.O.T., and 26.97 mm staple length, 149.84 g seed cotton yield per plant and 2271.16 kg•ha −1 seed cotton yield. This study concluded that variety NIAB-78 showed superiority over Shahbaz-95, Sindh-1 and TH-224/87 in almost all the characters of economic importance, and the cotton crop received 6 irrigations at 21 days interval resulted in significantly economical overall performance as compared with 5 irrigations or 4 irrigations with higher seed cotton yield.

This study investigated the effect of selenate and selenite application on the distribution, transformation of selenium (Se) fractions in soil, as well as the accumulation and availability of Se in each part of wheat plants. A pot experiment was conducted using different concentrations of exogenous selenite or selenate (0.5, 1, 2.5, 5, and 10 mg Se kg soil). Sequential extraction was used to determine the Se fractions in soil, and different models were used to study the behavior of Se in soil and its availability to wheat. Results showed that the distribution and availability of Se in soil and its accumulation in wheat affected both by Se concentrations and forms of exogenous Se. In selenite-treated soil, the proportion of exchangeable and carbonate-bound Se (EXC-Se) (21-42%) fraction increased compared to that in control (12%), while organic matter-bound Se (OM-Se) (23-33%) and Fe-Mn oxide-bound Se (FMO-Se) (11-15%) fractions decreased compare with those in control (37 and 32%, respectively). In selenate-treated soil, soluble-Se (SOL-Se) fraction (30-54%) increased and the OM-Se (9.8-20%) and FMO-Se (4.7-14.2%) fractions decreased compared with those in control. Residual Se (RES-Se) fraction was increased for selenite (7.4-13.4%) and selenate (12-20%) treatments compared with that in control (6.5%). In comparison with control, the available Se (SOL-Se + EXC-Se) fraction increased for both selenite (32-47%) or selenate (54-72%) treatments. Moreover, at the same rate of Se application, Se availability was higher in wheat grown in selenate-treated soils than that in selenite-treated soils. The redistribution index (U ) of Se increased from 1 (in control) to 1.2-1.9 and 1.5-2 for selenite and selenate treatments, respectively; additionally, the mobility factor (MF) in selenate-treated soil was 40-90% higher than that in selenite-treated soil. Furthermore, relative bonding intensity (I ) for both selenite (0.38-0.45) and selenate treatment (0.33-0.41) decreased compared with that in control (0.55). These differences indicated that selenite and selenate varied in terms of fixation capacities in soil, in transformation and distribution of Se in soil fractions, and in their availability to plants. The results of Michaelis-Menten equation demonstrated the high affinity of leaf to selenate, and the high affinity of roots and grains to selenite. Selenate was dominant in nearly all parts of wheat plants and in each application level. However, the affinity of selenite to wheat grains suggests that selenite is a useful Se fertilizer that must be considered in biofortification programs. In-depth studies at the pot and field scales by using different wheat varieties and application methods of Se in different ecological zones must be conducted to elucidate the mechanism and biochemical properties of Se in soil-plant system and ultimately produce Se-rich staple foods.