Dongjin Lee

Abstract Lentil ( Lens culinaris Medik.) is an important grain legume crop, mostly grown in semi‐arid environments and often faces intermittent drought spells during different growth stages, which severely hamper its yield. This study, comprising of three separate experiments, was conducted to evaluate the potential of seed priming with CaCl 2 in improving drought tolerance in lentil. In the first experiment, lentil seeds were hydroprimed (water) or osmoprimed with 0.5 and 1% CaCl 2 ; while non‐primed seeds were taken as control. In the second and third experiments, lentil seeds were subjected to pre‐optimized osmopriming (1% CaCl 2 ) and hydropriming followed by surface drying or re‐drying of primed seeds to original weight. The first two experiments were conducted in petri plates, while, in experiment 3, seeds were planted in plastic pots containing peat moss, maintained at 75% water holding capacity (WHC; well‐watered) or 50% WHC (water deficit). Hydropriming and osmopriming improved seed germination, seedling growth, biomass production, chlorophyll intensity, sugar accumulation and reduced the oxidative stress in lentil under water deficit. However, osmopriming (1% CaCl 2 ) was more effective than the hydropriming in improving the lentil growth, biomass production, Ca accumulation and sugar metabolism under both well‐watered and water deficit conditions. Seed surface drying, after priming, was more beneficial in improving the lentil performance, under both well‐watered and water deficit conditions, than re‐drying to original weight. Osmopriming (1% CaCl 2 ) increased the seeding dry weight (67%), SPAD value (140%), leaf Ca concentration (56%), α‐amylase activity (55%), total soluble sugars (48%) and reduced malanodialdehyde content (35.9%) and total antioxidant activity (29.2%) than un‐primed seeds under water deficit. In conclusion, osmopriming improved the lentil performance under optimal and water deficit conditions through early and synchronized emergence, better sugar and Ca accumulation which reduced the oxidative damage and resulted in better seedling growth and biomass production.

Widely used protocols (UDP and TCP) are observed for variations of the UDP to TCP ratio and of port number distribution, both over time and between different networks. The purpose of the study was to understand the impact of application trends, especially the growth in media streaming, on traffic characteristics. The results showed substantial variability but little sign of a systematic trend over time, and only wide spreads of port number usage.

An increasing water crisis, as well as the unavailability and high cost of labor, in Pakistan has forced rice‐growers to plant rice directly into the field. However, severe weed infestation causes disastrous effects on the productivity of this rice system. In this study, three herbicides (pendimethalin, penoxsulam and bispyribac‐sodium) were evaluated for weed control in direct‐planted rice on a sandy loam soil. Weedy check and weed‐free plots were established for comparison. Weed infestation decreased the rice yield by 75.2%. However, the application of herbicides suppressed the weed infestation, with a simultaneous increase in the rice yield. The postemergence application of bispyribac‐sodium was the most effective herbicide in reducing the total weed density and dry weight over the weedy check, followed by penoxsulam and pendimethalin, respectively. Bispyribac‐sodium increased the number of productive tillers, 1000‐grain weight, number of grains per panicle and grain yield over the control, as well as improved the water productivity and economic returns of direct‐planted rice. The weeds' proliferation increased the number of unproductive tillers and decreased the plant height. In conclusion, the postemergence application of bispyribac‐sodium can be used effectively to control weeds, increase water productivity and improve the economic returns and yield of direct‐planted rice on a sandy loam soil in Pakistan.