Biological control of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici

Fungi known to produce lytic enzymes were used in an attempt to control wilt of tomato caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici (FOL). Some of the fungal species (Penicillium oxalicum, Penicillium purpurogenum and Aspergillus nidulans) damaged hyphae of FOL in vitro and reduced the numbers of microconidia in the soil. Treatments with fungi did not result in a reduction in either chlamydospores of FOL in soil or populations of FOL in the rhizosphere of tomato. P. oxalicum was the most effective agent of biocontrol, and it reduced disease severity in both non-autoclaved (20% decrease) and sterile soil. In sterile soil, P. oxalicum reduced disease with different levels of severity (27% decrease at high levels and 50% decrease at low levels). Disease control by A. nidulans and P purpurogenum was only achieved when disease severity was low in sterile soil (55% and 45%, respectively).     

Biological diversity of citrus tristeza virus (CTV) isolates in Spain

A survey of citrus tristeza virus (CTV) isolates was carried out in most citrus-growing areas in Spain. Twenty-two isolates were selected by geographical origin, cultivar of source tree, and symptoms observed on the host or in preliminary tests, and were biologically characterized.
A wide range of variation in transmissibility by aphids and symptom intensity on nine different indicator species or scion-rootstock combinations was observed among CTV isolates. Mexican lime. Citrus macrophylla , and to a lesser extent citron were the most useful hosts for characterizing these isolates, and leaf symptoms and stem pitting were the most discriminating traits. Positive correlation was observed between symptoms induced on Mexican lime and C. macrophylla , but not between the symptoms induced on these indicators under greenhouse conditions and the homologous symptoms on plants grown in the screenhouse. Some of the traits studied enabled us to establish relatively well-defined groups of isolates, but in most cases a continuous range of variation was obtained and no clear group could be defined.     

Windborne spread of ergot disease (Claviceps africana) in sorghum A-lines in Zimbabwe

Ergot disease spread rapidly in Zimbabwe amongst replicated plots of male-sterile sorghum A-lines, from a group of centrally situated and precociously inoculated plants. Prominent secondary conidiation by the pathogen, Claviceps africana , on the surface of exuded honeydew provided airborne spores which were trapped in a Burkard continuous spore trap and showed diurnal peaks of concentration in air close to the primary source of inoculum. The rate of disease spread ( r =0·2; range 0·14–0·58) closely matched that recorded for other plant pathogens such as Phytophthora infestans and Puccinia graminis tritici , and it is concluded that the characteristic secondary conidia of C. africana were the principal epidemiological agents within the experimental area. Ergot spread by windborne secondary conidia has significant epidemiological and economic implications for sorghum hybrid breeding in southern Africa.     

Racial diversity and complexity in regional populations of Erysiphe graminis f.sp. hordei in France over a 5-year period

The evolution of race patterns in three French regional populations of the barley powdery mildew pathogen Erysiphe graminis f.sp. hordei over a 5-year period showed rapid adaptation to newly introduced host resistance genes. In all three regions, the main change consisted of the replacement of initially abundant races by pathotypes differing markedly from them by their virulence gene combinations. This explained the increase in diversity during the first 3 years of the survey, when the second group of pathotypes became more common in the populations, and its subsequent decrease due to the decline of the first group of races. The mean number of virulence genes per isolate did not vary noticeably over time in the three populations, remaining at about four out of 12 genes tested. However, the distribution of the isolates into virulence complexity classes was greatly modified, fitting a binomial distribution by the end of the study, although significant deviations were apparent in the first 2 years (1986 and 1987). The data indicate that selection, migration and recombination are the most important factors shaping race structure and evolution in powdery mildew populations, and that mutation is of limited significance. No convincing evidence was obtained for the existence of stabilizing selection sensu Vanderplank as the mechanism limiting virulence complexity. Implications regarding spatial and temporal deployment of race-specific resistance genes to control powdery mildew are discussed.     

Influence of the number of days spent training in an abattoir with access to live cows on the efficiency of do-it-yourself artificial insemination

Data relating to 35,389 inseminations carried out in the first three years after inseminators were trained were collected by postal questionnaire from 94 do-it-yourself (DIY) artificial inseminators in the UK. The mean calving rate from 14,528 inseminations they carried out on 92 farms in the first year after they were trained was 59.4 per cent (range 5 to 92 per cent). In the second year the mean calving rate from 11,515 inseminations by 64 inseminators was 62.3 per cent (range 33 to 88 per cent), and in the third year the mean calving rate from 9346 inseminations by 49 inseminators was 64.6 per cent (range 41 to 92 per cent). There was an increase of 5.2 per cent in the mean calving rate over the three years with an overall mean calving rate of 61.5 per cent. Each trainee carried out an average of 376 inseminations (range 20 to 800) during the three years. Thirteen instructors were responsible for the tuition and the average time the trainees spent in an abattoir with access to live cows was 2.88 days, with a range from none to five days. For the trainees who spent up to three days training in an abattoir there was an increase of 5.9 per cent in the calving rate they achieved in their first year for every day they spent training with access to live cows (P < 0.005), but there were no significant effects on the outcome of their inseminations in their second or third years.     

Effects of helminth infection on the pre-weaning production of ewes and lambs: evaluation of pre- and post-lambing drenching and provision of safe lambing pasture

The pre-weaning production of ewes and lambs in spring on pastures grazed during the previous autumn and early winter by either weaner sheep, adult sheep, or cattle was investigated together with estimating the benefits of pre- and post-lambing drenches to ewes. These treatments were compared with one in which parasitism was uncontrolled in ewes lambing on pastures grazed previously by untreated weaner sheep, and another where parasitism was suppressed by 2-weekly drenching of the weaner sheep and also of the ewes and their lambs. Prior grazing by cattle effectively eliminated infection of pastures with intestinal Trichostrongylus and Nematodirus spp, but less so for Ostertagia spp. Worthwhile reductions in contamination were also achieved by grazing by adult sheep compared with grazing by undrenched weaners. Despite differences in the parasitological status of the pastures, there were no indications that pre-weaning growth rates of lambs were affected. However, wool growth in ewes was reduced by 10 to 20% by parasite infection. Wool growth of ewes on pastures grazed by cattle during the pre-experimental period exceeded that on any other treatment, and was significantly greater than that of ewes on pastures grazed by undrenched weaners. There was no production benefit in giving a pre-lambing drench to ewes on plots contaminated by weaners, or in giving the additional post-lambing drench to ewes grazing on plots contaminated by weaners, adult sheep or cattle.     

LEPTOSPIRAL TITRES IN PIGS AFTER VACCINATION

Two groups of 8 pigs were vaccinated and given a booster vaccination 6 weeks later each with a commercial dual L. pomona and L. tarassovi killed vaccine. Serum from bloods collected before and up to 30 weeks after vaccination had agglutinating antibodies only after the 0ooster vaccination and then only with 1 vaccine. Titres persisted less than 8 weeks when tested against L. pomona but up to 16 weeks when tested against L. tarassovi at the 1:300 dilution and up to 20 weeks at the 1:100 dilution.