ALBERT

Notes: Abstract The effect of incorporating straw of Vigna radiata L. (moong) into the soil at 3.2 t ha-1 on the grain yields of mustard and wheat was investigated with and without 0, 50 and 100% of optimum levels of fertilizers (100 kg N + 50 kg P2O3 ha-1 for mustard and 125 kg N + 62.5 kg P2O3+ 30 kg k2O ha-1 for wheat). In the two-year field experiment, the incorporation of moong residue reduced the grain yield of mustard by 24 to 31% and wheat by 13 to 17%. This adverse effect was, however, diminished with the application of fertilizers. It was concluded that management of crop residues is possible without any adverse effect on the subsequent crop yield when incorporated with adequate levels of N and P fertilizers.

Notes: The inheritance of isoproturon tolerance exhibited by the selected progenies of durum wheat was investigated. This tolerance to the herbicide isoproturon had been transferred from Triticum monococcum to durum wheat cultivars. It was shown to be conditioned by a single dominant gene

Notes: In vitro susceptibility to trypsin of whole bean extracts, and waterand salt-soluble proteins of 11 dry bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) varieties were investigated. Whole bean proteins were rapidly digested at a 10:l protein:trypsin ratio. Salt-soluble proteins of beans were more readily and completely hydrolyzed by trypsin than their watersoluble proteins. Of the 8 fractions obtained by DEAE-cellulose column chromatography of Great Northern bean albumins, three were identified to contain heat-stable trypsin and chymotrypsin inhibitory activity. Proteins in these fractions seemed to protect phaseolin from rapid hydrolysis by proteases by virtue of both their inhibitory activity as well as protein:protein interactions.

Notes: Nitrogenous constituents of four legume species and their varieties were investigated. The total N of whole seeds ranged from 3.16 4.21%, of which 8.3–14.5% was nonprotein N. Water- and salt-soluble proteins together constituted 72–94% of the total seed protein. The mean protein contents of the water- and salt-soluble fractions were 67% and 87%, respectively, while the carbohydrates associated with them ranged from 17–30% and 4–14%, respectively. The albumin: globulin ratios were characteristic of the variety. The SDS-PAGE patterns for proteins of Phaseolus showed a more complex profile than those of the other legume species investigated.

Notes: Susceptibility of the major storage protein, phaseolin, to different commercially available proteinases was studied in vitro for 17 varieties of Phaseolus vulgaris L. using electrophoretic techniques. Among serine proteinases, trypsin, subtilisin and pronase E readily hydrolyzed the native phaseolin. while chymotrypsin was less effective. Native phaseolin was markedly resistant to a carboxyl proteinase (pepsin) and somewhat resistant to a thio proteinase (papain). Major breakdown products of native phaseolin subunits were of a similar size irrespective of the enzyme used. and had an approximate MW of 22–25 kilodaltons. SDS-PAGE indicated that heated phaseolin from all the varieties investigated was effectively hydrolyzed by subtilisin, pronase E. pepsin and papain within 30 min, while chymotrypsin and trypsin exhibiting restricted specificity were slightly less effective.

Notes: Abstract New isotopic (Rb–Sr, U–Pb zircon and Sm–Nd) and petrological data are presented for part of an extensive Proterozoic mobile belt (locally known as the Rayner Complex) in East Antarctica. Much of the belt is the product of Mid-Proterozoic (∼ 1800–2000 Ma) juvenile crustal formation. Melting of this crust at about 1500 Ma ago produced the felsic magmas from which the dominant orthogneisses of this terrain were subsequently derived. Deformation and transitional granulite-amphibolite facies conditions (which peaked at 750 ± 50°C and 7–8 kbar (0.7–0.8 GPa) produced open to tight folding about E–W axes and syn-tectonic granitoids about 960 Ma ago. Subsequent felsic magmatism occurred at about 770 Ma and not, as has been widely advocated, at 500–550 Ma, which appears to have been a time of widespread upper greenschist facies (400–500°C) metamorphism, localized shearing and faulting.Sm-Nd model ages of 1.65–2.18 Ga disprove a previously favoured hypothesis that the Rayner Complex mostly represents reworked Archaean rocks from the neighbouring craton (Napier Complex). Models that involve rehydration of the Napier Complex are no longer required, since the Rayner Complex was its own source of water. Two episodes of Proterozoic crustal growth are identified, the later of which occurred between about 1200 Ma and 1000 Ma, and was relatively minor. Sedimentation took place only shortly before Late Proterozoic orogenesis.The multiphase history of the Rayner Complex has resulted in complex isotopic behaviour. Three temporally discrete episodes of Pb loss from zircon have been identified, the earliest two of which are responses to the c. 960 Ma and 540 Ma tectonothermal events. Fluid leaching was operative during the later event for there is a good correlation between degree of isotopic discordance and secondary mineral growth. Pb loss during the high-grade event was probably governed by the same process or by lattice annealing. Some zircon suites also document recent Pb loss. Most lower concordia intercepts have no direct geological meaning and are explicable as mixed ages produced by incomplete Pb loss during two or more secondary events. Whereas all zircon separates from the orthogneisses produce U–Pb isotopic alignments, zircons from the only analysed paragneiss produce scattered data, in part reflecting a range of provenance. The 960 Ma event was also associated with the growth of a characteristically low U zircon (∼ 300 μg/g) in rocks of inferred high Zr content.There is ubiquitous evidence for the resetting of Rb–Sr total-rock isochrons. Even samples separated by up to 10 km fail to produce igneous crystallization ages. Minor mineralogical changes produced by the 540 Ma upper greenschist-facies metamorphism were sufficient to almost completely reset some Rb–Sr isochrons and to produce open system conditions on outcrop scale, at least in one location.

Notes: The effects of temperature, wax emulsion coating, hormone treatment, and their combination on the storage behavior of Nagpur and Darjeeling mandarins were investigated. Use of 2,4-D with wax coating was more effective in prolonging the storage life of both varieties at any storage temperature than either wax coating or 2,4-D used separately. The storage lives of Nagpur and Darjeeling oranges were respectively 50 and 35 days at normal temperature (50–85°F) and 90 and 75 days at 40 ± 1°F when treated with 2,4-D (1000 ppm for Nagpur and 2000 ppm for Darjeeling varieties) followed by wax coating. Wax-coated Nagpur and Darjeeling oranges were in a good marketable condition for 30 and 22 days, respectively, at room temperature, whereas the respective controls remained marketable for only 10 and 7 days. At 40 ± 1°F, storage lives were respectively 60 and 52 days for Nagpur and Darjeeling oranges coated with wax, and 40 and 25 days for their respective controls. Hormone-treated fruits, like the controls, lost their marketable appearance through considerable desiccation, pitting, and shriveling. Loss in weight and spoilage due to fungal attack and rind blemishes were least in fruits treated with 2,4-D followed by wax coating in both varieties and each storage temperature. Pulp-to-peel ratio, reducing sugar, sucrose, total sugar, sugar-to-acid ratio, pH value, and specific gravity in juice increased, whereas vitamin C content and titratable acidity decreased, during storage in all treatments. No off flavor was produced in any case.