秸秆覆盖农田的小气候特征和增产机理研究

利用2000～2002年的试验资料和2002～2003年的示范推广资料,对秸秆覆盖的农田小气候和增产机理进行分析.结果表明:秸秆覆盖对农田近地层气温、空气湿度和地温均产生明显影响,但对风速的影响不明显;秸秆覆盖可使地表层显热通量增大,潜热通量和土壤热通量减小,从而使土壤蒸发受限;由于覆盖抑制土壤表面蒸发,使土壤水分无效消耗减少,增加前期土壤水分积累,有利于植株后期蒸腾,使水分消耗从物理过程向生理过程转化,从无效消耗向有效消耗转化,从而增加作物产量,提高水分利用效率.秸秆覆盖可使冬小麦增产8.08%～10.71%,水分利用效率提高3.5%～8.4%;夏玉米增产6.08%～11.97%,水分利用效率提高7.8%～14.4%.     

半干旱区秸秆覆盖量对土壤水分保蓄及作物水分利用效率的影响

2007～2008年在宁夏南部半干旱地区旱作春玉米播前设置了4种不同秸秆覆盖量(0、0.45、0.9、1.35万kg/hm2)处理,分析了该区秸秆覆盖量对土壤水分保蓄及水分利用效率的影响.两年定点试验表明,不同秸秆覆盖量对土壤含水量影响存在季节性、层次性差异;0.9 kg/hm2覆盖量处理,在玉米大喇叭口期以前,对保持0～40 cm土层的土壤含水量有显著效果(P< 0.05),较对照土壤水分含量提高了14.2%;秸秆覆盖量达到1.35万kg/hm 2时,土壤含水量不再显著增加.0.9～1.35万kg/hm2覆盖量处理较对照增产显著(P<0.01),幅度达16.9%;玉米水分利用效率较对照增加了4.3～5.6 kg/(mm*hm2),达到了极显著水平(P<0.01).     

不同麦秸覆盖量对夏玉米田棵间土壤蒸发和地温的影响

采用微型蒸渗仪(Micro-lysimeter)和曲管地温表观测了不同麦秸覆盖量下夏玉米田的棵间土壤蒸发和土壤温度,试验设置5个处理(秸秆覆盖量分别为0(对照)、1 500、4 500、7 500、10 500 kg/hm2),分析了不同秸秆覆盖量下夏玉米田棵间土壤蒸发和土壤温度的动态变化规律.结果表明,麦秸覆盖夏玉米田有效抑制了棵间土壤蒸发,平抑了地温的变化幅度;夏玉米生育期内,4种覆盖处理(由高覆盖量至低覆盖量)棵间土壤蒸发比对照依次减少了63.51%、60.98%、52.94%、34.07%,0～20 cm的地温平均日变幅比对照分别降低了3.14℃、2.93℃、2.32℃、2.02℃.麦秸覆盖处理的抑蒸稳温效应,促进了夏玉米生长,提高了夏玉米的产量和水分利用效率.     

宁南山区保护性耕作对农田水分状况影响的研究

为研究保护性耕作对宁南山区农田水分状况的影响,在宁夏彭阳县对三种不同保护性耕作措施下玉米农田休耕期及生长期土壤水分、作物生长发育指标进行了实验研究。结果表明:(1)在休耕期,整秸秆覆盖处理的土壤水分贮存量(236.80mm)最高,半秸秆覆盖(224.10mm)次之,传统无覆盖(208.45mm)最低;(2)在生长期,采用秸秆覆盖方式可使春玉米的株高、穗长、生物产量及经济产量等指标得到显著提高,土壤的蓄水保墒性能增强,水分利用效率提高,增产增效明显;与传统方式相比,整秸秆覆盖可使春玉米的产量及水分利用效率分别提高3.5%及16.5%。研究认为,保护性耕作可有效改善玉米田土壤水分状况,促进玉米的生长发育。     

绿洲灌区地膜秸秆交替覆盖玉米农田土壤水分利用特征

在甘肃河西绿洲灌区,通过田间试验研究了不同耕作(免耕、传统耕作)与覆盖方式(全膜覆盖、70%地膜覆盖+30%捆状玉米秸秆覆盖、70%地膜覆盖+30%不覆盖、50%地膜覆盖+50%捆状玉米秸秆覆盖、50%地膜覆盖+50%不覆盖)对土壤耗水特性、玉米产量及水分利用效率的影响。结果表明:免耕地膜秸秆交替覆盖(NTP7S3、NTP5S5)较传统耕作全膜覆盖(CTP)降低了玉米农田棵间蒸发量,降低比例分别为20.7%与19.1%,玉米秸秆捆状覆盖显著降低了棵间蒸发量,较不覆盖降低59.0%～60.8%,而相邻地膜覆盖较秸秆覆盖提高棵间蒸发量达到29.9%～32.3%,说明NTP7S3与NTP5S5降低棵间蒸发量主要源于秸秆覆盖带较好地抑制土壤水分蒸发的作用。免耕地膜秸秆交替覆盖减小了玉米营养生长期(拔节～开花期)的耗水量,增大了生殖生长期(开花～完熟期)的耗水量,有效协调玉米各生育阶段耗水互补、竞争关系,NTP7S3与NTP5S5较对照CTP降低全生育期总耗水量3.6%与11.6%,棵间蒸发量占总耗水量之比(E/ET)降低17.7%与8.6%,以NTP7S3处理水分高效利用的调控效应较好;NTP7S3处理玉米获得较高的籽粒产量与水分利用效率,较CTP增产4.6%,水分利用效率提高8.4%。西北绿洲灌区地膜秸秆交替覆盖结合免耕替代传统耕作全膜覆盖并没有导致玉米产量和水分利用效率的降低,反而具有增产增效的作用,是玉米生产中地膜减投增效的可行措施。     

半湿润偏旱区旱地麦田保护耕作技术研究

研究表明，在半湿润偏旱区，旱地麦田夏闲期采用免耕、深松结合秸秆覆盖能增加雨水的入渗，提高土壤贮水量。其中免耕秸秆覆盖夏闲期２ｍ土体比传统耕法多蓄水９．９￣１１．５ｍｍ，增产１２．１％；深松秸秆覆盖夏闲期比传统耕法多蓄水２５．８￣３４．９ｍｍ，增产１４．３％。在相应耕法夏闲的基础上麦播后再采用秸秆连续覆盖，则能降低土壤水的蒸发损失，提高产量和水分利用效率，与传统耕法比较，免耕和深松播后覆盖分别增产９     

不同覆盖条件下春玉米田耗水特征及提高水分利用率研究

以常规小畦平播为对照，探讨了春米玉田在不同覆盖条件下的耗水特征。试验结果表明，无论哪种覆盖种植方式，春玉米在不同生育阶段的耗水规律与不覆盖是一致的，秸秆覆盖和地膜覆盖可减少棵间土壤水分蒸发，总体耗水量有所减少。秸秆覆盖和地膜覆盖垄沟种植春玉米产量大幅度提高，地膜覆盖垄背种植在一定程度上保蓄土壤水分，但由于垄背较镐，土壤水分供应不足，较不覆盖减产显著。因此，秸秆覆盖和地膜覆盖垄沟种 提高作物对降水的利用率及水分利用效率的主要途径之一。     

秸秆量对垄沟二元覆盖夏玉米农田耗水及产量的影响

于2015—2016年通过两年夏玉米大田试验,设置4个秸秆覆盖量水平2 500、5 000、7 500、10 000 kg·hm~(-2)(分别记为M1、M2、M3、M4),以不覆盖秸秆为对照(CK),探索了垄沟二元覆盖下不同秸秆量对土壤水分及夏玉米生育期耗水量、干物质累积量、产量及水分利用效率的影响。结果表明:与CK相比,4个处理均增大了玉米生育期耗水量,2a中各处理夏玉米成熟期平均土壤贮水量较对照分别减少1.93、5.23、9.47 mm和11.54 mm,生育期耗水量分别增大0.51、3.37、8.78 mm和11.01 mm,其中,M2处理的土壤贮水量及生育期耗水量在2016年与对照差异显著(P0.05),M3、M4与对照2 a均差异显著(P0.05);干物质量在苗期覆盖处理小于对照,中后期显著大于对照,2 a平均增加4.67%、16.58%(P0.05)、21.99%(P0.05)和23.36%(P0.05);M3处理2 a平均产量及水分利用效率表现较优,分别较CK增加18.80%(P0.05)、14.80%(P0.05),较M1增加14.13%(P0.05)、10.92%(P0.05),较M2增加8.14%(2016年,P0.05)、5.11%(2016年,P0.05),虽然较M4处理2 a平均减少1.77%、0.26%,但均差异不显著。综合而言,在干旱半干旱地区垄膜沟播条件下,7 500 kg·hm~(-2)为合理的秸秆覆盖量。     

保墒灌溉对夏玉米地土壤水分迁移转化的影响

设置地膜覆盖、秸秆覆盖和PAM化学保水剂3种保墒处理,研究不同保墒灌溉下夏玉米地土壤水分沿剖面变化规律与夏玉米整个生育期耗水规律的异同.试验结果表明:在灌溉或非灌溉条件下,各保墒处理的土壤含水量在0～150 cm均高于相同条件下的对照,且各保墒灌溉对土壤储水量的提高,随着灌溉水量的增加而增加.试验结果还表明:地膜覆盖、...     

秸秆覆盖量对土壤水分利用及春玉米产量的影响

为了探明半干旱区秸秆覆盖栽培中适宜的秸秆覆盖量,在宁南旱区进行了春玉米栽培试验。试验设1.35、0.9、0.45和0万kg/hm24个覆盖量处理,分析了不同覆盖量对土壤水分、玉米产量及水分利用效率的影响。结果表明,4年玉米生育期覆盖量从高到低0～200 cm土层平均土壤贮水量分别较CK(无覆盖)高15.47、10.79 mm和6.26 mm(P<0.05)。试验期间,2009年玉米生育期降雨量最低(为266.1 mm),各处理依次较CK增产13.10%、17.37%和5.40%(P<0.05);2010年玉米生育期降雨量最高(为433.6 mm),各处理依次较CK增产3.91%、7.58%(P<0.05)和1.70%。0.9～1.35万kg/hm2覆盖量增产效果明显,4年平均比CK增产14.23%～12.03%,水分利用效率提高了10.64%～8.87%。宁南旱区,0.9万kg/hm2秸秆覆盖量能更好地蓄水保墒,促进农田土壤水分良性循环,且对提高玉米产量和水分利用效率有显著效果。     

Epidemiology and simulation of population development of Sitobion avenae in winter wheat

The epidemiology ofSitobion avenae and its natural enemies in winter wheat was studied in 1975, 1976 and 1977. Immigration was important until the end of flowering. The alate immigrants had apterous offspring. These became the driving force in population growth. Their offspring were mostly alatae which usually left the field. A model of the epidemic was developed. Quantitative relations between the aphids and their environment were obtained from literature or established in laboratory trials. The model simulated population development and population composition from the beginning of June till the population peak at the end of June or early in July. Because quantitative data on relations between aphids and their natural enemies and pathogens are scarce, and since the knowledge on wing formation is still limited, the population collapse could not be predicted. In the future, prognosis over a period of three weeks seems possible.Samenvatting De toenemende betekenis van graanbladluizen (vooralSitobion avenae) gepaard gaande met een sterke toename van het gebruik van insecticiden op granen maakte verbetering van de prognose over het schadelijk optreden wenselijk. Door gedetailleerde tellingen in het veld (Fig. 1–7) werden gegevens verkregen over het verloop van de epidemie en het optreden van natuurlijke vijanden in 1975, 1976 en 1977.Een immigratieperiode tot in de bloei kon worden vastgesteld. Daarna lijkt de aantrekkelijkheid van het gewas voor alate luizen te verminderen. De alate immigranten krijgen aptere nakomelingen. Deze vormen de stuwende kracht van de populatiegroei. De nakomelingen van apteren zijn merendeels alaat. Zij verlaten het gewas.Een model van de populatieontwikkeling gedurende de epidemie werd opgesteld. De relatiediagrammen Fig. 9 en 10 laten groei en ontwikkeling vanS. avenae en een predator (Syrphus corollae) zien. Kwantificering van de betrekkingen werd mogelijk door literatuurgegevens en laboratoriumexperimenten.Met het model kon de populatieontwikkeling vanS. avenae vanaf begin juni tot aan de populatiepiek in 1975, 1976 en 1977 vrij goed worden gesimuleerd (Fig. 12). Ook de populatieopbouw kon worden gesimuleerd (Fig. 14). De teruggang van de populatiedichtheid blijkt moeilijker te voorspellen door het ontbreken van gegevens over natuurlijke vijanden.Het lijkt waarschijnlijk dat in de toekomst met het model een prognose over de piek van de bladluispopulatie circa 3 weken tevoren mogelijk zal zijn.     

Survey of Bacterial and Fungal Seedborne Diseases in Imported and Domestic Potato Seed Tubers

Potato seed tubers are imported to Israel from northern Europe and planted in spring; tubers harvested early from the spring crop are used as seed for the autumn crop. Although only seed lots registered as certified are imported, a previous survey (1984–1994) indicated that most imported lots were affected by latent or active infections caused byErwinia carotovora,Streptomyces scabies, Rhizoctonia solani, Fusarium spp. andSpongospora subterranae. The survey was extended until 1998, and included additional pathogens:Ralstonia solanacearum,Helminthosporium solani, Colletotrichum coccodes andVerticillium dahliae. Most of these pathogens were also monitored in domestic seed tubers, and are reported for the first time. Brown rot was not observed in any of the imported lots. Blackleg and soft rot caused byErwinia spp. were detected in most of the imported lots; however, less than 7% of the lots were contaminated at high levels, while approximately 65% were contaminated at moderate levels. Common scab was detected in most of the imported lots; 51% of the imported lots were contaminated at moderate or high levels, whereas only 6.5% of the domestic seed lots were contaminated at these levels. Black scurf was detected in most of the imported lots; on average, 47.3%, 44.2% and 1.4% of the lots were contaminated at low, moderate and high levels, respectively, and only 7.1% were disease-free. In contrast, most of the domestic lots were either disease-free (45.4%) or had a low disease incidence (37.3%). Only 16.7% of the lots were moderately infected and 0.2% were highly contaminated. Silver scurf was observed in most of the imported lots during all years of the survey, with no differences among the producing countries; on average, 22.7%, 66.1% and 7.5% of the lots were contaminated at low, moderate and high levels, respectively, and only 3.7% were disease-free. Most of the domestic lots (76%) were disease-free and only 6.6% were infected at moderate or high levels. Black dot was observed in a considerable portion of the shipments from Holland during all years of the survey, particularly in 1998, when 34% of the lots were infected. The shipments from France and Germany were infected at low levels, except in 1998, when 19% and 11% of the lots, respectively, arrived infected. In shipments from Scotland and Ireland low incidences of the disease were observed in 1994 and 1995. In the domestic lots, black dot incidence was low (<2.4%) except in 1996, when 11% of the lots were infected.V. dahliae was monitored only in domestic seed tubers. The incidence of disease-free lots was 56–64%, whereas in 20–30% of the lots the level of infection was <5%, and in 6–16% of the lots the level was >5%. The survey findings demonstrate transmission of seedborne pathogens; most of these pathogens can become established in the soil and eventually cause severe outbreaks of disease in potatoes grown in Israel. http://www.phytoparasitica.org posting May 16, 1999.     

Tumours of Begonia and some other ornamentals,induced by Corynebacterium fascians

In 1975 many tumours were observed in plants ofBegonia Schwabenland grown in Aalsmeer. Submersion of the roots ofNicotiana megalosiphon seedlings in a homogenate of tumorous tissue, induced tumours after two weeks. Short periods of submergence yielded results similar to those obtained after longer periods. Tumour homogenates lost their infectivity after ten min at 50°C. Aphids transmitted the infectious agent.Treatment with propylene oxide did not inhibit infectivity completely. Filtration through a 450 nm filter removed the infectious agent.Tobacco tumor virus or a viroid could not be isolated. Cultures ofCorynebacterium fascians, isolated from tumours ofN. megalosiphon were highly infectious and induced tumours in healthyN. megalosiphon andBegonia. Tumorous tissue homogenates ofPelargonium zonale, Dahlia sp.,Gladiolus sp., andLilium sp. also caused tumours inN. megalosiphon, from whichC. fascians was isolated. It was not possible to produce tumours inN. megalosiphon with homogenates from roses with symptoms of bud proliferation.Samenvatting In 1975 werden vele tumoren waargenomen inBegonia Schwabenland op Aalsmeerse bedrijven (Fig. 1). De infectiositeit van tumorweefsel kon goed en snel worden vastgesteld door de wortels van zaailingen vanNicotiana megalosiphon in een homogenaat van tumorweefsel te dompelen. Tumoren ontstonden na twee weken, de eindbeoordeling geschiedde na een maand (Fig. 2). Ook verschillende andereNicotiana spp.,Melilotus officinalis (Fig. 3) enPisum odoratum (Fig. 4) werden aangetast.Bij de infectiositeitstoets gaven zeer korte dompeltijden even goede resultaten als langere (Tabel 1). Infectieus sap verloor zijn infectievermogen na 10 min verhitting bij 50°C. Bladluizen brachten de smetstof over. Propyleenoxide verminderde de infectiositeit wel, doch onderdrukte deze niet totaal. Bij filtratie door een 450 nm filter bleef het infectieuse agens op het filter achter. Het tumor-inducerende agens was ook aanwezig in die delen van planten met tumoren welke gezond leken en het ging voor een gering deel over met zaad (Tabel 2).Uit tumoren konden wij geen tabakstumorvirus of een viroïde isoleren. Culturen vanCorynebacterium fascians, geïsoleerd uit tumoren vanN. megalosiphon bleken zeer infectieus en veroorzaakten tumoren inN. megalosiphon enBegonia. Homogenaten van tumorweefsel vanPelargonium zonale, dahlia (Fig. 5), gladiool (Fig. 6) enLilium Mid Century Hybrid Enchantment (Fig. 7) veroorzaakten ook tumoren opN. megalosiphon, waaruitC. fascians werd geïsoleerd. Met sap van kroeskopzieke rozen konden wijN. megalosiphon niet besmetten.     

Bacterial induction of the accumulation of phaseollin,pisatin and rishitin and their antibacterial activity

Bean hypocotyls, pea pods and tomato fruits were tested for phaseollin, pisatin and rishitin production when challenged with the phytopathogenic bacteriaErwinia carotovora, Pseudomonas phaseolicola, P. pisi andP. solanacearum, and their isolated extracellular polysaccharides. All bacteria induced phytoalexin accumulation, whereas only phaseollin and pisatin, but not rishitin, were elicited by EPS. The inhibitory effect of these three phytoalexins on bacterial growth was studied in liquid medium; whereas phaseollin and pisatin strongly inhibited growth, only a slight inhibitory effect resulted from the presence of rishitin in the medium.Samenvatting Bonehypocotylen, erwtepeulen en tomatevruchten werden onderzocht op hun vermogen tot vorming van respectievelijk faseolline, pisatine en rishitine, na inoculatie met de fytopathogene bacteriënErwinia carotovora, Pseudomonas phaseolicola, P. pisi enP. solanacearum en na behandeling met oplossingen van hun extracellulaire polysacchariden (EPS). Alle bacteriesoorten induceerden fytoalexinevorming, terwijl hun EPS wel faseolline- en pisatine-, maar geen rishitinevorming induceerden. Faseolline en pisatine remden de groei van de bacteriën in vloeibaar medium sterk; rishitine daarentegen had slechts een geringe groeiremming tengevolge.     

Evaluation of Natural Chemical Compounds Against Root-lesion and Root-knot Nematodes and Side-effects on the Infectivity of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi

The survival of two species of plant parasitic nematodes: the root-lesion nematode Pratylenchus brachyurus, and the root-knot nematode Meloidogyne javanica, was evaluated in saturated atmospheres of 12 natural chemical compounds. The infectivity of two isolates of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi: Glomus mosseae and Glomus intraradices, under identical experimental conditions, was also determined. All the compounds tested exerted a highly significant control against M. javanica and among them, benzaldehyde, salicilaldehyde, borneol, p-anisaldehyde and cinnamaldehyde caused a mortality rate above 50% over P. brachyurus. The infectivity of G. intraradices was inhibited by cinnamaldehyde, salicilaldehyde, thymol, carvacrol, p-anisaldehyde, and benzaldehyde, while only cinnamaldehyde and thymol significantly inhibited mycorrhizal colonization by G. mosseae.     

Identification and Characterisation of Bacteria Causing Soft-rot in Agave tequilana

Agave tequilana is the raw material for the production of the alcoholic beverage tequila. A bacterial disease has affected the A. tequilana crop in recent years. Previous reports based on colony and cell morphology, Gram stain and potato rot indicated that Erwinia sp. is the main pathogen. We isolated a several bacterial isolates capable of producing soft-rot symptoms in greenhouse pathogenicity assays. An extensive characterisation involving pathogenicity tests, fatty acid profile, metabolic and physiological properties, ribosomal DNA sequence and intergenic transcribed spacer amplification (ITS-PCR) and restriction banding pattern (ITS-RFLP) was made of each isolate. Three different species: Erwinia cacticida, Pantoea agglomerans and Pseudomonas sp. were identified. Fatty acid and metabolic profiles gave low similarity values of identification but 16S rDNA sequence, ITS-PCR and ITS-RFLP confirmed the identification of E. cacticida. In the phylogenetic tree, E. cacticida from blue agave was grouped neither with E. cacticida type strains nor with Erwinia carotovora. This is the first report that associates E. cacticida with A. tequilana soft-rot symptoms.     

Diagnostics,genetic diversity and pathogenic variation of ascochyta blight of cool season food and feed legumes

Molecular diagnostic techniques have been developed to differentiate the Ascochyta pathogens that infect cool season food and feed legumes, as well as to improve the sensitivity of detecting latent infection in plant tissues. A seed sampling technique was developed to detect a 1% level of infection by Ascochyta rabiei in commercial chickpea seed. The Ascochyta pathogens were shown to be genetically diverse in countries where the pathogen and host have coexisted for a long time. However, where the pathogen was recently introduced, such as A. rabiei to Australia, the level of diversity remained relatively low, even as the pathogen spread to all chickpea-growing areas. Pathogenic variability of A. rabiei and Ascochyta pinodes pathogens in chickpea and field pea respectively, appears to be quantitative, where measures of disease severity were based on aggressiveness (quantitative level of infection) rather than on true qualitative virulence. In contrast, qualitative differences in pathogenicity in lentil and faba bean genotypes indicated the existence of pathotypes of Ascochyta lentis and Ascochyta fabae. Therefore, reports of pathotype discrimination based on quantitative differences in pathogenicity in a set of specific genotypes is questionable for several of the ascochyta-legume pathosystems such as A. rabiei and A. pinodes. This is not surprising since host resistance to these pathogens has been reported to be mainly quantitative, making it difficult for the pathogen to overcome specific resistance genes and form pathotypes. For robust pathogenicity assessment, there needs to be consistency in selection of differential host genotypes, screening conditions and disease evaluation techniques for each of the Ascochyta sp. in legume-growing countries throughout the world. Nevertheless, knowledge of pathotype diversity and aggressiveness within populations is important in the selection of resistant genotypes.     

Effects of the saprophytic leaf mycoflora on growth and productivity of winter wheat

The effects of the saprophytic mycoflora and its interference with cereal aphids on growth and yield of winter and spring wheat was studied in field experiments in 1980, 1981 and 1982.Yields varied between 5000 and 8000 kg dry matter of kernels per ha. The effect of the saprophytic mycoflora on yield was determined in different treatments: A) no control measures against cereal aphids and saprophytic and necrotrophic fungi, B) no control of cereal aphids, control of saprophytic and necrotrophic fungi, C) control of cereal aphids and control of saprophytic and necrotrophic fungi, D) control of cereal aphids and stimulation of saprophytic mycoflora and E) control of cereal aphids, no control of saprophytic and necrotrophic fungi nor stimulation of saprophytic mycoflora.Considerable differences in top densities of saprophytic mycoflora (10 times as large in A and D as in B and C) were determined. The consequences of these differences for the growth and productivity of wheat were minor. A negative effect of saprophytic mycoflora on the yield could not be detected in 1981 and 1982, whereas a small positive significant effect was found in 1980. This stimulation may have been due to competition between necrotrophic fungal pathogens and saprophytic mycoflora. As a result of favourable weather conditions necrotrophic fungal pathogens were very numerous in 1980 and could form an important yield reducing factor. Yield levels may effect the importance of the necrotrophic and saprophytic mycoflora as yield reducing factors. Additionally, in the presence of aphid honeydew captafol was found to be relatively ineffective against saprophytic fungi.     

Identification and pathogenicity of Pythium species causing damping-off of kidney bean

Five Pythium species (Pythium irregulare, P. mamillatum, P. myriotylum, P. spinosum and P. ultimum var. ultimum) were isolated from the hypocotyls and roots of kidney bean plants with damping-off from a commercial field and from experimental plots that have undergone either continuous cropping with kidney bean or rotational cropping with arable crops. In inoculation tests, all five Pythium species were pathogenic to kidney bean. This is the first report of damping-off of kidney bean caused by Pythium species; we named this disease damping-off of kidney bean. The nucleotide sequence data reported are available in the DDBJ/EMBL/GenBank databases under accession numbers AB291811, AB291944 and AB291945.     

The involvement of ethylene and calcium in gray mold of pelargonium,ruscus, and rose plants

Leaves ofPelargonium domesticum andRuscus hypoglossum infected byBotrytis cinerea Pers., produced 12 and 1.5 nl ethylene/h/g, respectively, 34 days after inoculation; wounded or healthy leaves and phyloclades of them produced much lower amounts. When the fungus was grown on dead leaves it produced negligible amounts of the gas even when supplemented with methionine. Exogenous ethylene enhanced gray mold development in both hosts. Silver thiosulfate, aminooxyacetic acid (AOA) and aminoethoxyvinylglycine significantly inhibited disease development in pelargonium, and the latter two compounds inhibited ethylene production. AOA inhibited disease development and ethylene production in cut rose flowers; calcium ions inhibited disease development whereas the chelator EGTA [ethylene glycol bis-(β-aminoethyl ether)N,N,N′,N′-tetraacetic acid] enhanced it. Disease suppression by an excess of Ca²⁺ was correlated with repression of ethylene production by the flowers, whereas deficiency in Ca²⁺ increased disease severity. Publication of the Agricultural Research Organization. No. 2413-E, 1988 series.