A holistic decision-making approach for identifying influential parameters affecting sustainable production process of canola bast fibres and predicting end-use textile choice using principal component analysis (PCA)

Characterization of new cellulosic fiber derived from Lasia spinosa (L.) thwaites rhizome and its potential use as biodegradable textile material

Fibers extracted from Lasia spinosa (L.) thwaites (LS) were characterized to investigate their potential use as biodegradable textile materials. Mechanical and alkali extraction methods were followed to extract LS rhizome fibers. The morphological, physical, chemical, mechanical, and thermal properties of the mechanically extracted rhizome fibers from the commonly available LS species of Lamina-dissected type [LDT] and Sagittate type [SG] were investigated. No previous studies have been done to characterize the LS rhizome fibers. Examination of rhizome fiber morphology using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed that fibers within the dispersed vascular bundles of the rhizome possess a natural crimp.The FTIR result confirmed that the fibers are rich in cellulose. X-RD results confirm a 43 % and 58 % crystallinity index of LDT and SG fibers, respectively, indicating higher amorphous regions and lower crystal phases. Moisture regain of 12.5 % and 14.5 %, single fiber tensile strength of 213.92 MPa and 216.97 MPa, elongation at break of 16.65 % and 17.67 %, and Young's modulus of 1.32 GPa and 1.26 GPa were observed for LDT and SG fibers respectively. Thermogravimetric analysis confirmed thermal stability up to 230 °C for both fiber types confirming their ability to withstand textile processing.

Evaluation of Green Super Rice Lines for Agronomic and Physiological Traits under Salinity Stress

Rice (Oryza sativa) is an important staple food crop worldwide, especially in east and southeast Asia. About one-third of rice cultivated area is under saline soil, either natural saline soils or irrigation with brackish water. Salinity stress is among the devastating abiotic stresses that not only affect rice growth and crop productivity but also limit its cultivation area globally. Plants adopt multiple tolerance mechanisms at the morphological, physiological, and biochemical levels to tackle salinity stress. To identify these tolerance mechanisms, this study was carried out under both a controlled glass house as well as natural saline field conditions using 22 green super rice (GSR) lines along with two local varieties (“IRRI 6 and Kissan Basmati”). Several morpho-physiological and biochemical parameters along with stress-responsive genes were used as evaluation criteria under normal and salinity stress conditions. Correlation and Principal Component Analysis (PCA) suggested that shoot-related parameters and the salt susceptible index (SSI) can be used for the identification of salt-tolerant genotypes. Based on Agglomerative Hierarchical Cluster (AHC) analysis, two saline-tolerant (“S19 and S20”) and saline-susceptible (“S3 and S24”) lines were selected for further molecular evaluation. Quantitative RT-PCR was performed, and results showed that expression of 1-5-phosphoribosyl -5-5-phosphoribosyl amino methylidene amino imidazole-4-carboxamide isomerase, DNA repair protein recA, and peptide transporter PTR2 related genes were upregulated in salt-tolerant genotypes, suggesting their potential role in salinity tolerance. However, additional validation using reverse genetics approaches will further confirm their specific role in salt tolerance. Identified saline-tolerant lines in this study will be useful genetic resources for future salinity breeding programs.