Synchytrium endobioticum – risk from biogas plants?

Synchytrium endobioticum is one of the most important pathogens of potato and is known for its persistent propagation structures. Under favourable conditions, infection of highly susceptible potato cultivars leads to clearly visible cauliflower‐like tissue warts, the typical symptom of potato wart disease. However, unfavourable infection conditions or low infection pressure may result in symptoms being overlooked. Thus, the introduction of pathogen structures into stages of the processing industry cannot be ruled out. As the amounts of processed potato products continue to rise, phytosanitary risks from processing discarded potatoes and potato waste in biogas plants have to be considered. Hence, the resilience of resting spores against mesophilic anaerobic digestion was analysed in stirred tank reactors. Laboratory‐scale results show that S. endobioticum not only withstands mesophilic anaerobic digestion but also subsequent storage of the digestate for at least 4 weeks. Large numbers of viable resting spores were detectable by microscopic assessment in all samples. Viability was proved and verified additionally by bioassay. Consequently, potatoes, potato waste and processing water from potato processing industries used in biogas plants pose a phytosanitary risk if the accruing digestates are returned as fertilizer to arable land.     

Effect of dietary calcium or phosphorus deficiency on bone development and related calcium or phosphorus metabolic utilization parameters of broilers from 22 to 42 days of age

This experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of dietary calcium (Ca) or phosphorus (P) deficiency on bone development and related Ca or P metabolic utilization parameters of broilers from 22 to 42 days of age based on our previous study, which indicated that dietary Ca or P deficiency impaired the bone development by regulating related Ca or P metabolic utilization parameters of broilers from 1 to 21 days of age. A total of 504 one-day-old Arbor Acres male broilers were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 treatments with 7 replicates in a completely randomized design, and fed the normal control and Ca- or P-deficient diets from 1 to 21 days of age. At 22 days of age, the broilers were further fed the normal control diet (0.90% Ca+0.35% non-phytate P (NPP)), the P-deficient diet (0.90% Ca+0.18% NPP), the Ca-deficient diet (0.30% Ca+0.35% NPP) or the Ca and P-deficient diet (0.30% Ca+0.18% NPP), respectively. The results showed that dietary Ca or P deficiency decreased (P<0.05) tibia bone mineral density (BMD), bone breaking strength (BBS), ash content, tibia ash Ca content and serum P content on days 28 and 42, but increased (P<0.05) tibia alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity of broilers on day 42 compared with the control group. Furthermore, the broilers fed the P-deficient diet had the lowest (P<0.05) tibia BMD, BBS, ash content, serum P content and the highest (P<0.05) serum Ca content on day 28 compared with those fed the Ca-deficient or Ca and P-deficient diets. The results from the present study indicated that the bone development and related Ca or P metabolic utilization parameters of broilers were the most sensitive to dietary P deficiency, followed by dietary Ca deficiency or Ca and P-deficiency; dietary Ca or P deficiency impaired the bone development possibly by regulating serum Ca and P contents as well as tibia Ca content and ALP activity of broilers from 22 to 42 days of age.     

Do cover crops change the lability of phosphorus in a clayey subtropical soil under different phosphate fertilizers?

Plants have developed different mechanisms to absorb and solubilize phosphorus (P) in the soil, especially in environments with low P availability. This study evaluated the effects of different winter cover crops on soil P availability in a clayey subtropical (Hapludox) soil receiving soluble P fertilizer and a rock phosphate applied to the summer crop, under no‐tillage. The experiment was carried out over 3 yrs (2009–2011) with five different cover crop species: common vetch, fodder radish, ryegrass, black oat, white clover and fallow as control. The soil was sampled after the third year of cover crop cultivation and analysed for inorganic and organic P forms according to the well‐established Hedley fractionation procedure. Phosphate fertilizers promoted accumulation of both labile and nonlabile P pools in soil in the near surface layer, especially under rock phosphate. Fertilizer applications were not able to change P fractions in deeper layers, emphasizing that the Brazilian clayey soils are a sink of P from fertilizer and its mobility is almost nil. Although the cover crops recycled a great amount of P in tissue, in a short‐term evaluation (3 yrs) they only changed the content of moderately labile P in soil, indicating that long‐term studies are needed for more conclusive results.     

Pigeonpea improvement: An amalgam of breeding and genomic research

In the past five decades, constant research has been directed towards yield improvement in pigeonpea resulting in the deployment of several commercially acceptable cultivars in India. Though, the genesis of hybrid technology, the biggest breakthrough, enigma of stagnant productivity still remains unsolved. To sort this productivity disparity, genomic research along with conventional breeding was successfully initiated at ICRISAT. It endowed ample genomic resource providing insight in the pigeonpea genome combating production constraints in a precise and speedy manner. The availability of the draft genome sequence with a large‐scale marker resource, oriented the research towards trait mapping for flowering time, determinacy, fertility restoration, yield attributing traits and photo‐insensitivity. Defined core and mini‐core collection, still eased the pigeonpea breeding being accessible for existing genetic diversity and developing stress resistance. Modern genomic tools like next‐generation sequencing, genome‐wide selection helping in the appraisal of selection efficiency is leading towards next‐generation breeding, an awaited milestone in pigeonpea genetic enhancement. This paper emphasizes the ongoing genetic improvement in pigeonpea with an amalgam of conventional breeding as well as genomic research.     

The effect of feeding a novel multistrain yeast fraction on European seabass (Dicentrachus labrax) intestinal health and growth performance

Fish were fed a single‐strain yeast fraction (SsYF; 2 g/kg) or a multistrain yeast fraction (MsYF; 0.8 g/kg) for 10 weeks. The results demonstrated significant (p ≤ 0.03) elevations in weight gain, specific growth rate, protein efficiency ratio, and feed conversion ratio in fish fed the yeast fraction‐supplemented diets. In the distal intestine, a significant elevation in microvilli density was observed after 5 and 10 weeks of dietary supplementation with MsYF and SsYF, respectively, compared to control fed fish (p < 0.001). A significant elevation (p = 0.02) in the perimeter ratio was observed in fish fed diets supplemented with the yeast fractions. After 10 weeks of feeding on the experimental diets, Rt‐qPCR demonstrated a significant downregulation (p < 0.05) in the stress response genes, heat‐shock protein 70 (hsp70) and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (pcna), in fish fed diets supplemented with the yeast fractions. Significant (p < 0.05) elevations in interleukin 1‐beta (il1β) and interleukin‐10 (il10) gene expression were observed in fish fed diets supplemented with the MsYF compared to the other dietary groups. These findings suggest that feeding an MsYF specifically at a lower incorporation rate < 1 g/kg, compared to a commercial SsYF at 2 g/kg, is effective in improving the intestinal health status and growth performance of European seabass.     

Changes in wettability of wood surface using electron beam irradiation

ABSTRACT

This study deals with the influence of electron beam irradiation (EBI) on the wettability of Norway spruce surface samples. To evaluate this possible effect in detail, the changes in chemistry and wood structure were analysed using the methods of IR spectroscopy and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). The surface wettability was determined by the contact angle measurement method. The results of infrared spectra show decreased relative numbers of available hydrophilic groups (e.g. hydroxyl and carbonyl groups) in the wood surfaces due to the electron beam irradiation. This behaviour is consistent with the values from the surface wettability measurements. Structural differences of the wood surfaces after electron beam irradiation were not detectable. Based on these findings pre-treatment of wood surfaces for industrial usages can be a potential field of application of this technology.     

纵条纹炭角菌的研究进展

纵条纹炭角菌具有镇静、催眠等药用价值,已实现工厂化、规模化栽培。为探究纵条纹炭角菌的研究进展,对其分类学地位、生物学特性、人工培养、化学成分和生理活性等方面的文献进行综述,并提出未来研究的方向和应用前景。     

基于部首嵌入和注意力机制的病虫害命名实体识别

为了解决农业病虫害命名实体识别过程中存在的内在语义信息缺失、局部上下文特征易被忽略和捕获长距离依赖能力不足等问题，以农业病虫害文本为研究对象，提出一种基于部首嵌入和注意力机制的农业病虫害命名实体识别模型(Chinese agricultural diseases and pests named entity recognition with joint radical embedding and self attention, RS-ADP)。首先，该模型将部首嵌入集成到字符嵌入中作为输入，用以丰富语义信息。其中，针对部首嵌入设计了3种特征提取策略，即卷积神经网络(Convolutional neural network, CNN)、双向长短时记忆网络(Bidirectional long short term memory network, BiLSTM) 和CNN-BiLSTM；其次，采用多层不同窗口尺寸的CNNs层提取不同尺度的局部上下文信息；然后，在BiLSTM提取全局序列特征的基础上，采用自注意力机制进一步增强模型提取更长距离依赖的能力；最后，采用条件随机场(Conditional random field, CRF)联合识别实体边界和划分实体类别。在包含11个类别和24715条标注样本的农业病虫害自制语料上进行了实验。结果表明，本文模型RS-ADP在该数据集上精确率、召回率和F1值分别为94.16%、94.47%和94.32%；在具体实体类别上，RS-ADP在作物、病害、虫害等易识别实体上F1值高达95.81%、97.76%和97.23%。同时，RS-ADP在草害、病原等难以识别实体上F1值仍保持86%以上。实验结果表明，本文所提模型能够有效识别农业病虫害命名实体，其识别精度优于其他模型，且具有一定的泛化性。     

Comparison of outcomes following treatment of septic calcaneal bursitis by needle or bursoscopic lavage: A retrospective study of 29 horses

Sepsis of the calcaneal bursae (CB) presents significant treatment challenges with limited clinical data available in the literature. The objective of this retrospective cohort study was to assess the clinical outcomes associated with CB lavage using either a through-and-through needle or bursoscopic technique. Clinical records of 29 horses treated for septic calcaneal bursitis using either technique between 2005 and 2019 were reviewed. Fisher’s exact test was used to assess statistical significance between first surgical technique and success at first surgery (i.e. not requiring >1 lavage), survival to discharge and return to work (RTW). Bursoscopy was performed in 13/29 (44.8%) cases, and needle lavage in 16/29 (55.2%). In the needle group, 12 (75%) horses were discharged following the first surgery. Four had repeat interventions; two (12.5%) had needle lavage and two (12.5%) had bursoscopy. Of the two horses to have repeat needle lavage, one was subjected to euthanasia and one discharged, and of the two that underwent bursoscopy, one was discharged and one received a third bursoscopy prior to discharge. In the bursoscopy group, seven (53.8%) were discharged and three (23.1%) were subjected to euthanasia following the first surgery. Three (23.1%) received a second bursoscopic lavage with one discharged, one subjected to euthanasia and one having a third bursoscopic lavage prior to discharge. Overall, 18/24 (75%) followed up cases RTW, 10 (55.5%) from the needle group, eight (44.4%) the bursoscopy group. No statistically significant differences between first surgical technique used and success at first surgery (no subsequent lavage(s) required), survival to discharge or return to work were detected. The main limitations of this study are that it is a retrospective study, has a small population with limited statistical power and potential selection bias. No statistically significant differences existed between the outcomes of the two techniques, contrary to the belief that bursoscopic lavage is superior. Larger, multicentred studies, with greater statistical power are required to further assess this relationship.     

Prediction of Genetic Gain in Sweet Corn using Selection Indexes

Journal of Crop Science and Biotechnology - The cultivation of sweet corn is expanding in Brazil, but there are serious constraints about the availability of commercial cultivars. The selection of...