http://localhost:80/xmlui/handle/123456789/13963 Thu, 23 Apr 2026 08:14:39 GMT 2026-04-23T08:14:39Z http://localhost:80/xmlui/handle/123456789/15619 Title: ACTIVITY OF WATER CONTENT AND STORAGE TEMPERATURE ON THE SEEDBORNE MYCOFLORA OF LENS CULINARIS L. (LENTIL) Authors: SUMMIAYA RAHIM, SHAHNAZ DAWAR Abstract: Storage of seeds with high water content and temperatures favors the growth of mould fungi which in turn affect the germination of seeds while low temperature with low water content prevent the growth of storage fungi and help in maintaining seed viability for longer duration of time. Seed sample from Sukkur district was stored at 4⁰C and room temperature (25-30⁰C) with water content of 8, 13 and 17% for about 80 days. The fungi were isolated at 0, 20, 40, 60 and 80days intervals. Highest infection percentage of fungi was observed at 13 and 17% water contents at room temperature after 20days of storage. High infection percentage of storage fungi affected the germination of seeds. Aspergillus spp were the most dominant fungi. Thu, 20 Nov 2014 00:00:00 GMT http://localhost:80/xmlui/handle/123456789/15619 2014-11-20T00:00:00Z http://localhost:80/xmlui/handle/123456789/15618 Title: PHYSIOLOGICAL ATTRIBUTES OF FUNGI ASSOCIATED WITH STEM END ROT OF MANGO (MANGIFERA INDICA L.) CULTIVARS IN POSTHARVEST FRUIT LOSSES Authors: AMBREEN MAQSOOD; ABDUL REHMAN; ISHTIAQ AHMAD; MUHAMMAD NAFEES; IRFAN ASHRAF; RAHMATULLAH QURESHI; MOAZZAM JAMIL; MUHAMMAD RAFAY; TANVEER HUSSAIN Abstract: Stem end rot majorly contributes in post-harvest losses of mango during storage conditions. Maximum disease incidence (70%) was recorded in Sindhari cultivar, followed by Chaunsa (64%), Fajri (62.5%) and 50% in both Langra and Anwar ratol. In vitro studies were carried out to identify fungal pathogens responsible for rotting and decaying mango fruits during storage along with isolation and testing their pathogencity on healthy fruits. Results revealed that all selected commercial mango varieties infected by stem end rot. Colletotrichum gloeosporioides, Lasidodiplodia theobromae, Alternaria alternata, Aspergillus niger, Dothiorella domonicana were identified from Sindhri mango fruits, in which of C. gloeosporioides was found the most prevalent. Phomopsis mangiferae, Botryodiplodia theobromae, Altrnaria spp., Aspergillus niger, A. flavis were found in Chaunsa and Phomopsis mangiferae was most prevalent, while Botryodiplodia theobromae caused infection to locally consumed Fajri variety. Effect of abiotic factors like pH, temperature, light intensity and carbon sources were tested against these isolates. The most efficient carbon source was glucose, which supported the maximum growth of the P. mangiferae and L. theobromae, while C. gloeosporioides had maximum growth on lactose. All fungi had maximum growth at pH range of 6-6.5 and temperature range of 25-30o C on PDA medium. Alternate cycles of 12hr light and 12 hr darkness resulted maximum mycelial growth as compared to the 24 hour continuous exposure to either dark or light. Susceptibility of fungi with cultivars and intensity of spread under specific abiotic conditions provides basic information in this paper to minimize stem end rot of mango in field and storage conditions. Wed, 19 Nov 2014 00:00:00 GMT http://localhost:80/xmlui/handle/123456789/15618 2014-11-19T00:00:00Z http://localhost:80/xmlui/handle/123456789/15617 Title: COMPARATIVE STUDIES ON PRODUCTION OF CELLULASES FROM THREE STRAINS OF ASPERGILLUS NIGER Authors: MUHAMMAD SOHAIL; AQEEL AHMAD; KHAN, SHAKEEL AHMED Abstract: Three strains of Aspergillus niger were retrieved from culture collection of the Department of Microbiology, University of Karachi, Karachi, Pakistan and were studied for their ability to produce cellulases. Cultivation at different temperatures and in presence of various carbon sources revealed that all the three strains produced more amounts of endoglucanase, βglucosidase and filter-paperase activities at 35o C; carboxymethyl cellulose promotes the production of filter paperase and endoglucanase activities whereas salicin induced β-glucosidase activity. Experiments on growth and enzyme production kinetics showed that generation time and hence volumetric rate of biomass production is influenced by the carbon source used in the medium; simple carbon source, such as glucose favored the growth of all the strains. Cellulases from all the strains showed optimum activity at temperature >50o C and under acidic range of pH, while melting temperature was 64- 65o C. These findings affirm that cellulases from A. niger are potential candidates as alternative to Trichoderma cellulases. Tue, 18 Nov 2014 00:00:00 GMT http://localhost:80/xmlui/handle/123456789/15617 2014-11-18T00:00:00Z http://localhost:80/xmlui/handle/123456789/15616 Title: ISOLATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF NOVEL BACTERIA CONTAINING ACC DEAMINASE FROM THE RHIZOSPHERE RESOURCE ON DRY-FARMING LANDS Authors: ZHENG, PENG; ZHANG, LIXIN; TIAN, LI; ZHANG, LING; CHEN, FUCAI; ZHI LI, BING; CUI, ZHIYAN Abstract: Soil-microbe-plant interactions are known to be intricate and they can greatly influence the crop vigor and yield. Plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) containing ACC deaminase can markedly affect plant metabolic processes under stress conditions. In the present study, we isolated 300 bacterial strains from the rhizosphere of maize or apple grown in drought-hit soil including four different locations of the Loess Plateau, China. Of all isolated strains, four with ACC deaminase activity (ranging from 28.88 to 155.12 nmol alpha-ketobutyrate mg-1 h-1) were further studied by determining their biological characters and sequencing the 16S rRNA gene. All four strains showed positive performance in terms of arabinose, citrate utilization, urease, indol, glucose and melibiose. In connection with the results of biochemical characters and phylogenetic analysis, these strains commonly belong to three different genera: Klebsiella, Pseudomonas and Raoultella and four different species: Klebsiella oxytoca, Klebsiella variicola, Pseudomonas fluorescens and Raoultella planticola. Although some researchers have reported their performance under stress conditions, we are the first to report Klebsiella oxytoca, Klebsiella variicola and Raoultella planticola containing ACC deaminase under drought stress. These findings are a reasonable explanation to their superb ability of causing stress-resistance in maize (Zea mays) or apple (Malus domestica) plants. The presence of diverse PGPR possessing potential ACC deaminase activity may be beneficial for enhancing crop production under different stress conditions. Mon, 17 Nov 2014 00:00:00 GMT http://localhost:80/xmlui/handle/123456789/15616 2014-11-17T00:00:00Z