Double-cropping rice in South China continues to break the total yield record, but the yield potential of single-cropping rice is not being realized.  Radiation use efficiency (RUE) has been singled out as an important determinant of grain yield in many cereal species.  However, there is no information on whether the yield gaps in double-cropping rice involve differences in RUE.  Field experiments were performed over two years to evaluate the effects of intercepted radiation (IP) and RUE on the above-ground biomass production, crop growth rate (CGR), and harvest index (HI), in four representative rice varieties, i.e., Xiangyaxiangzhan (XYXZ), Meixiangzhan 2 (MXZ2), Nanjingxiangzhan (NJXZ), and Ruanhuayoujinsi (RHYJS), during the early and late seasons of rice cultivation in South China.  The results revealed that grain yield in the early season was 8.2% higher than in the late season.  The yield advantage in the early season was primarily due to higher spikelets per panicle and above-ground biomass resulting from a higher RUE.  The spikelets per panicle in the early season were 6.5, 8.3, 6.9, and 8.5% higher in XYXZ, MXZ2, NJXZ, and RHYJS, respectively, than in the late season.  The higher early season grain yield was more closely related to RUE in the middle tillering stage (R²=0.34), panicle initiation (R²=0.16), and maturation stage (R²=0.28), and the intercepted photosynthetically active radiation (IPAR) in the maturation stage (R²=0.28), while the late season grain yield was more dependent on IPAR in the middle tillering stage (R²=0.31) and IPAR at panicle initiation (R²=0.23).  The results of this study conclusively show that higher RUE contributes to the yield progress of early season rice, while the yield improvement of late season rice is attributed to higher radiation during the early reproductive stage.  Rationally allocating the RUE of double-cropping rice with high RUE varieties or adjustments of the sowing period merits further study.

Infectious bursal disease (IBD), caused by IBD virus (IBDV), is one of the most devastating and immunosuppressive diseases of the poultry and has been a constraint on the sustainable poultry production around the globe including Pakistan.  While the disease is threatening the poultry industry, the nature of predominant strains of IBDV in Pakistan remained ill-defined.  In this study, an epidemiology survey was conducted in the main chicken-farming regions of Pakistan.  The batch of Pakistan IBDVs genes simultaneously covering both VP1 and VP2 were amplified, sequenced, and analyzed.  The unique segment-reassortant IBDVs (vv-A/Uniq-B), carrying segment A from vvIBDV and segment B from one unique ancestor, were identified as one important type of circulating strains in Pakistan.  The data also discovered the characteristic molecular features of Pakistan IBDVs, which will contribute to scientific vaccine selection and effective prevention of the disease.

Recently, botanical extracts are gaining popularity as biostimulants in vegetable production.  In present study, the effect of aqueous garlic bulb extract (AGE) was studied on the growth and physiology of eggplant grown in plastic tunnel.  AGE was foliage sprayed with various frequencies, i.e., 0, S1 (once), S2 (twice) and S3 (three times) at two independent growth stages, pre- and post-transplant.  The results showed that the treated plants exhibited stimulatory responses in growth and physiology in accord with the repetition of AGE spray and growth stages of the plants, respectively.  A single foliage sprayed pre-transplant resulted in improved growth, i.e., plant morphology and biomass, and enhanced antioxidants enzymes (superoxide dismutase, SOD; peroxidase, POD), photosynthesis and chlorophyll abundance observed at vegetative, first flowering and fruit setting stages, respectively.  However, thrice application inhibited the plant growth and development and resulted in lipid peroxidation, i.e., increased malondialdehyde (MDA) content.  In addition, the post-transplant application also showed growth stimulation and interestingly, an overall positive influence was observed with respect to the AGE application and no significant increase in the MDA content indicated the post-transplant seedlings responded well.  Our findings demonstrate that AGE can act as a biostimulant to enhance the eggplant growth in plastic tunnel production.