Enzymatic Activity of the Mycelium Compared with Oospore Development During Infection of Pea Roots by Aphanomyces euteiches

ABSTRACT To describe the disease cycle of the root pathogen Aphanomyces euteiches, enzymatic activity in the mycelium was compared with the development of oospores in pea roots. Plants were inoculated with two zoospore concentrations to achieve different disease levels. Hyphae were stained for fungal alkaline phosphatase activity in the roots. Additionally, enzyme activity was measured after electrophoresis of an A. euteiches-specific glucose-6-phosphate isozyme. Development of oospores in the roots was measured after staining the oospores with trypan blue. In plants inoculated with the higher zoospore concentration, the enzymatic activity of the pathogen mycelium peaked 10 to 14 days after inoculation, when oospore formation was initiated. Oospore formation was associated with a gradual increase in disease symptoms. At the last harvest, plants inoculated with the higher zoospore concentration had died. In these plants, oospores were found in 90% of the root length, while the enzymatic activity of the mycelium was low. This suggests that the pathogen mycelium is only active on living plants and does not grow saprophytically on dead plant material.     

Unidentified growth factors in fish meal: Experiments with organic arsenic compounds in broiler diets

The effect of adding 50 ppm arsenilic acid and 0.36 and 1.8% of an Ascontaining cod liver hydrolysate (140 ppm As of DM) to a plant protein diet and a similar diet containing 5% capelin meal, was tested in a 2 × 4 factorial experiment. The experiment involved 960 broiler chicks from hatching to 7‐weeks‐old.

Compared with the plant protein diet the addition of 5% capelin meal gave a 4% increase in growth rate and 3% better utilisation of food. These effects were, however, not statistically significant. There was no significant interaction between the fish meal and the other additives.

In agreement with earlier investigations, the retention of arsenic from arsenilic acid was small whereas a large portion of the arsenic compound present in cod liver was retained by the chicks. Arsenic in the capelin meal was less readily retained.     

Short‐term residual N unaffected by forbs in grass‐clover mixtures

We determined the effect on residual nitrogen (N) of including forbs (chicory, ribwort plantain and caraway) in perennial ryegrass‐red clover mixtures. Although soil N inputs during the grassland phase differed markedly between mixtures, in a pot experiment we found no differences in the potentially mineralizable N of the soil or in the dry matter production and N content of the spring barley test crop. The fertilizer value of the grassland mixtures corresponded to 10 g N/m², irrespective of forb inclusion. Thus, the inclusion of nonlegume forbs did not negatively affect short‐term residual N fertility of legume‐based grasslands.     

Predicted Concentrations for Pesticides in Drainage Dominated Catchments

Regulators need a reliable, precise and easy to use tool for predicting the occurrence of pesticides in drain water and catchments in agricultural areas. Occurrence depends on a wide range of substance and site specific factors and this study presents a simple model built on the results from simulations of a detailed model system that does not neglect or omit any of these factors. A drainage dominated sub-catchment (0.03 km²) of the Lillebaek catchment (4.4 km²) on Funen, Denmark, represented by the catchment model MIKE SHE is considered. Detailed analyses have been made with respect to geological and hydrodynamic conditions as well as measurements of pesticide concentrations in ground and surface waters. Maximum concentrations in drain water, the time for reaching this concentration and the time interval for exceeding the limit value have been derived empirically from MIKE SHE simulations using degradation rates and sorption coefficients values for 37 pesticides included in the Danish PATE database. The relatively hydrophilic bentazon and hydrophobic pendimethalin are used as model pesticides for illustration. A simple tool applicable for a wide range of pesticides has thus been designed based on detailed analyses of a limited number of pesticides. The user requirements are degradation rates, sorption coefficients, application rates and regulatory limit values for the pesticides of interest.     

Contrasting Water‐Use Efficiency (WUE) Responses of a Potato Mapping Population and Capability of Modified Ball‐Berry Model to Predict Stomatal Conductance and WUE Measured at Different Environmental Conditions

Potatoes (Solanum tuberosum L.) are drought‐sensitive and more efficient water use, while maintaining high yields is required. Here, water‐use efficiency (WUE) of a mapping population comprising 144 clones from a cross between 90‐HAF‐01 (Solanum tuberosum₁) and 90‐HAG‐15 (S. tuberosum₂ × S. sparsipilum) was measured on well‐watered plants under controlled‐environment conditions combining three levels of each of the factors: [CO₂], temperature, light, and relative humidity in growth chambers. The clones were grouped according to their photosynthetic WUE (pWUE) and whole‐plant WUE (wpWUE) during experiments in 2010. Two offspring groups according to pWUE and wpWUE were identified on the basis of experiments conducted in 2010, which in experiments in 2011 again showed significant differences in pWUE (46 %, P < 0.001) and wpWUE (34 %, P < 0.001). The high‐WUE group had a higher net photosynthesis rate (34 %) and dry matter accumulation (55 %, P < 0.001) rather than leaf‐level transpiration rate (?4 %, no significant difference) or whole‐plant water use (16 %). The pWUE correlated negatively to the ratio between leaf‐internal and leaf‐external [CO₂] (R² = ?0.86 in 2010 and R² = ?0.83 in 2011, P < 0.001). The leaf chlorophyll content was lower in the high‐WUE group indicating that the higher net photosynthesis rate was not due to higher leaf‐N status. Less negative value of carbon isotope discrimination (δ¹³C) in the high‐WUE group was only found in 2011. A modified Ball‐Berry model was fitted to measured stomatal conductance (g_s) under the systematically varied environmental conditions to identify parameter differences between the two groups, which could explain their contrasting WUE. Compared to the low‐WUE group, the high‐WUE group showed consistently lower values of the parameter m, which is inversely related to WUE. Differences related specifically to the dependence of g_s on humidity and net photosynthesis rate were only found in 2010. The lower ratio between leaf‐internal and leaf‐external [CO₂] and higher WUE of the high‐WUE group was consistent over a wide range of air vapour pressure deficits from 0.5 to 3.5 kPa. The mapping population was normally distributed with respect to WUE suggesting a multigenic nature of this trait. The WUE groups identified can be further employed for quantitative trait loci (QTL) analysis by use of gene expression studies or genome resequencing. The differences in population WUE indicate a genetic potential for improvement of this trait.     

Increased abundance of European eel (Anguilla anguilla) in acidified Norwegian rivers after liming

The prevalence and abundance (density 100 m^?2) of European eel (Anguilla anguilla) were studied by means of electrofishing in 13 acidified rivers in Norway that had been limed to restore acceptable water quality for Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar). Status of Atlantic salmon in these rivers varied prior to liming, from being entirely lost in six highly acidified rivers and in different stages of decline in seven less acidified rivers. Four of the rivers are heavily affected by hydropower development. The abundance and prevalence of European eel increased significantly during the study period. The best model for predicting eel abundance was that with four explanatory variables: time after liming, time after liming squared, status of salmon stocks and hydropower regulation. The eel density was expected to increase by a factor of almost 5 after 10 years of liming. The model also predicts that a river with a formerly reduced Atlantic salmon stock has a 2.8 times higher density of eel than rivers with formerly lost salmon stocks. Before liming, European eel were on average recorded at 15 and 41% of the sampling stations in rivers with formerly lost and reduced Atlantic salmon populations, respectively, increasing to 49 and 68% in individual rivers, respectively, after 10 years of liming. The recovery of European eel in these formerly acidified rivers by means of liming took place during the same period as their abundance declined in other parts of their distribution area in Norway and elsewhere in Europe.     

Escape‐related behaviour of Atlantic cod,Gadus morhua L., in a simulated farm situation

Cultured fish escaping from farms represent an economic loss as well as a potential problem for wild fish populations. This study investigated the escape‐related behaviour of farmed Norwegian coastal and northeast Arctic cod (NEAC), Gadus morhua L. Six groups of fish were observed during three replicate trials in a large tank that was split into two equal parts by a net wall. The fish could move freely through an opening in the net during the trials. Three groups were not fed during the trials. The first escape occurred shortly after producing the net opening (11±10.5 min; mean±standard deviation). Norwegian coastal cod were more prone to escape than the NEAC. A starvation period of 9 days increased the number of fish on the escape side of the tank. Net biting and net inspection by the fish were frequently observed, irrespective of whether the fish were fed or not. The same fish were repeatedly found on the escape side of the tank, but the propensity for recurrent escape behaviour was not related to genotype, feeding status or size. The results suggest that other factors, such as individual variation in boldness or exploration behaviour, could affect the willingness to escape.     

Can methyl jasmonate treatment of conifer seedlings be used as a tool to stop height growth in nursery forest trees?

A plant's induced defense system can be triggered by the application of the plant hormone methyl jasmonate (MeJA), and recent research suggest that MeJA treatment may become a tool for protection of conifer seedlings against insect herbivory (e.g. by the pine weevil Hylobius abietis). A side-effect of MeJA application is temporarily reduced height growth. This has generally been considered as negative, but in forest tree nurseries this could instead be beneficial since it is commonly desired to stop the growth of nursery seedlings in late summer. Artificially longer dark periods (long nights/short days) are widely used in high-latitude nurseries to terminate height growth and induce freezing tolerance. However, long night treatment requires specialized nursery equipment and are labor intensive. Therefore alternatives are sought after. We compared long-night and MeJA treatments by following the growth of Norway spruce (Picea abies) seedlings throughout one season. The regulatory effect of MeJA on height growth was similar if not even better than that of long nights, i.e. it was terminated faster. However, MeJA treatment also reduced root growth and delayed the development of freezing tolerance. MeJA may therefore not replace long-night treatments, but it could facilitate a more flexible application of long nights by gaining a longer time interval during which this treatment can be used without risking the seedlings growing too large.

     

Effects of biennial cropping and controlled shoot density on yield performance and fruit quality in red raspberry (Rubus idaeus L.)

Effects of annual versus biennial cropping with varying shoot densities on plant structure, berry yield and quality were studied in ‘Glen Ample’ raspberry over a period of four seasons (two cropping years). In the vegetative phase, primocane height and internode length were larger in the annual than in the biennial cropping system. These parameters as well as Botrytis infestation increased with increasing shoot density. In both cropping years, berry yields per unit area were about 20% higher in the biennial cropping system, whereas yields per shoot were not significantly different in the two systems. In both cropping systems, yields per shoot strongly declined with increasing shoot density, while yields per metre row increased slightly. Regardless of cropping system, yields per metre row did not increase with increasing shoot density beyond eight shoots per metre. The concentrations of dry matter, soluble solids, titratable acidity and ascorbic acid as well as the intensity of juice colour all declined with increasing shoot density. We conclude that under controlled shoot density conditions, there is little scope for biennial yield increases that fully compensates for the lost crops every second year. However, the system greatly facilitates berry harvest and eases plant disease pressure.     

Thermal habitat use and juvenile growth of Svalbard Arctic charr: evidence from otolith stable oxygen isotope analyses

Abstract – Stable oxygen isotopes (δ¹⁸O) derived from otoliths were used to estimate mean annual water temperatures experienced by individual Svalbard Arctic charr, Salvelinus alpinus (L.), during their first four growth seasons. The analysed Arctic charr experienced a high variety of temperatures, indicating the use of different thermal habitats. A higher proportion of the juveniles experienced warmer temperatures during their first summer compared with later summers, suggesting the selective use of the shallowest littoral areas of the lake. Although the estimated temperatures were consistent with water temperatures found in High Arctic rivers and lakes during summer, they did not represent the annual variation in air temperature registered over the 20 years of otolith measurement. Furthermore, summer otolith increment width did not correlate with the experienced temperature. However, after the second year, otolith increment width was highly dependent on increment width during the previous summer. This study estimated mean summer water temperatures experienced by individual Arctic charr during the first four growth seasons providing additional evidence that stable oxygen isotope analysis can be used to provide insight into the thermal habitat use by juvenile Arctic charr.