The value of sea urchin,Lytechinus variegatus,egesta consumed by shrimp,Litopenaeus vannamei

Sea urchins produce high‐energy, membrane‐bound fecal pellets that contain residual nutrients and large quantities of microbiota. These egesta are readily consumed by the shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei. Egesta of the sea urchin, Lytechinus variegatus, were evaluated as a feed supplement or total replacement for a commercial shrimp diet. Shrimp were stocked at 0.49 g ± 0.06 g initial body weight and housed individually in 2.8‐L tanks in a commercial recirculating zebrafish system. Shrimp were assigned to one of six diets: commercial shrimp feed, reference sea urchin feed, collected dried sea urchin egesta, collected wet sea urchin egesta, half ration of shrimp feed and half collected wet sea urchin egesta, and egesta naturally produced by two sea urchins in polyculture. Equivalent dry matter amounts of each diet were proffered to shrimp in each treatment twice daily, except for those that had complete access to natural egesta excreted by sea urchins in polyculture. Sea urchins were proffered a reference sea urchin feed at 2% body weight daily. After 27 days, shrimp proffered collected dried or wet egesta did not differ significantly in percent weight gain and showed the lowest weight gain. The percent weight gain of shrimp fed the commercial shrimp diet did not differ significantly from that of the shrimp fed half commercial shrimp diet and half egesta. The highest weight gain was recorded for those shrimp that consumed the untouched egesta produced by sea urchins in polyculture. These data suggest that consumed egesta have noteworthy nutritional value and therefore would be beneficial to the culture of extractive species in an integrated multitrophic aquaculture system.     

Replacing Soybean Meal with Alternative Protein Sources in Diets for Pond‐raised Hybrid Catfish, ♀ Ictalurus punctatus × ♂ Ictalurus furcatus

The present study investigated the replacement of soybean meal with combinations of two or three alternative protein sources in diets for pond‐raised hybrid catfish, ♀ Ictalurus punctatus × ♂ Ictalurus furcatus. Alternative protein sources evaluated included cottonseed meal, distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS), peanut meal, and porcine meat and bone meal (PMBM). Hybrid catfish fingerlings with a mean initial weight of 35 g/fish were stocked into 25 earthen ponds (0.04 ha) at a density of 14,826 fish/ha. Fish were fed once daily to apparent satiation for 166 d. No significant differences were observed for total diet fed, net yield, weight gain, survival, carcass yield, fillet yield, or fillet proximate composition among dietary treatments. Results show soybean meal may be completely replaced by combinations of cottonseed meal and one or two other alternative protein sources including DDGS, peanut meal, and PMBM in the diet without markedly affecting production and processing characteristics and fillet proximate composition of pond‐raised hybrid catfish. These alternative diets may be used during foodfish production when prices are favorable.     

植棉修复镉污染土壤研究进展

近年来我国耕地面积不断减少，迫使非食用作物向重金属污染耕地转移已经是大势所趋。但到目前为止仍未发现镉耐受性好和镉富集能力优异的作物，因此对非食用作物的重金属耐受性以及土壤的生物修复研究已经迫在眉睫。综述了具有在镉污染耕地上替代种植前景的棉花的镉胁迫研究进展，为全面评估棉花在镉污染耕地替代种植的可行性提供参考。     

间歇式双循环工厂化养殖系统构建及其养殖效果

为改善工厂化循环水养殖系统水质净化效果,提高养殖密度和成活率,构建了间歇式双循环工厂化养殖系统。通过间歇运行生物膜反应器增加水力停留时间,充分降解含氮污染物;连续运行弧形筛及时去除固体颗粒物。考察了该系统的启动过程及石斑鱼高密度养殖效果。启动初期,将硝化型生物絮团与海绵填料混合培养,生物膜22 d即可挂膜成功。以30.03 kg/m~3为初始养殖密度开展石斑鱼养殖试验,经66 d养殖,石斑鱼平均质量从(273.00±12.22)增至(552.52±107.04) g,最终养殖密度达到60.78 kg/m~3,成活率为100%。养殖过程中,生物膜逐渐适应养殖环境,氨氮、亚硝酸盐氮去除率从13.33%、14.84%增至93.73%、93.50%。此外,在弧形筛进水槽增加曝气形成曝气式弧形筛,可进一步除去细小颗粒物,有效控制养殖水体浊度。     

Ray blight of pyrethrum in Australia: a review of the current status and future opportunities

Ray blight caused by Stagonosporopsis tanaceti is one of the most important diseases of pyrethrum (Tanacetum cinerariifolium), a perennial herbaceous plant cultivated for the extraction of insecticidal pyrethrins in Australia. The disease is responsible for complete yield loss in severe outbreaks. Infected seed is considered as the principal source of S. tanaceti. Infection hyphae remain only in the seed coat and not in the embryo, resulting in pre- and post-emergence death of seedlings and latent infection. Therefore, quantification of the level of infection by S. tanaceti within seed using a qPCR assay is important for efficient management of the disease. Stagonosporopsis tanaceti completes its life cycle within 12 days after leaf infection through production of pycnidia and can infect every tissue of the pyrethrum plant except the vascular and root tissues. Ray blight epidemics occur in pyrethrum fields through splash dispersal of pycnidiospores between adjacent plants. Besides steam sterilization, thiabendazole/thiram and fludioxonil are effective seed-treating chemicals in controlling S. tanaceti before planting begins. Ray blight is currently managed in the field through the foliar application of strobilurin fungicides in the first 1–2 years of crop establishment. Later on, difenoconazole and multisite specific fungicides in the next 2–3 years during early spring successfully reduce ray blight infestation. Avoiding development of resistance to fungicides will require more sustainable management of ray blight including the development and deployment of resistant cultivars.     

Replacement of fish oil in plant‐based diets for Pacific white shrimp,Litopenaeus vannamei,by stearine fish oil and palm oil

Stearine fish oil (SFO) and palm oil (PO) have emerged as promising alternatives for the replacement of fish oil (FO) in aquafeeds. This study evaluated the replacement of FO with alternative oils in practical diets for Litopenaeus vannamei. In a clear brackish water study (14.1 g/L) utilizing shrimp (0.29 ± 0.02 g, initial weight), FO was replaced by SFO at inclusion ratios of 100:0, 75:25, 50:50, 25:75, and 0:100 (FO:SFO) and PO as 90% of FO. After 55 days, no significant differences (p < 0.05) in final weight, growth, or survival of shrimp were observed. A second trial (8 weeks) in low‐salinity water (2.1 g/L) with shrimp (0.92 ± 0.02 g, initial weight) evaluated diets with 100% FO, 100% SFO, 90% PO, 90% soybean oil (SO), or 90% flaxseed oil (FXO) as a replacement for FO and four commercially produced diets with 2% of FO, SO, PO, or FXO. One treatment received half rations of the commercial FO diet, and one treatment was based entirely on natural productivity. Results show that the fatty acid profiles of the tail muscle conformed to the lipids of the feed, and highly unsaturated fatty acids (HUFAs) were preserved. Following 8 weeks of culture, there were no significant differences in production performance.     

Compatibility of root growth and tuber production of potato cultivars with dynamic and static water‐saving irrigation managements

The important root characteristics of root length density (RLD) and root mass density (RMD) generally differ among irrigation managements and potato cultivars. The objective of this study was to investigate the RLD and RMD variations and their functional relationships with gross potato tuber yield for two commercial potato cultivars, Agria and Sante, under different irrigation strategies. Full irrigation and water‐saving irrigation strategies, deficit and partial root drying irrigations, were applied statically (S) and dynamically (D) based on daily crop evapotranspiration. Results showed that SPRD had significantly greater RLD (3.64 cm/cm³) and RMD (132.7 μg/cm³) than other irrigation treatments. Between the potato cultivars, Agria had significantly larger values of RLD (3.50 cm/cm³) and RMD (138.7 μg/cm³) than Sante. The functional relationship between the root growth characteristics and tuber yield showed that under water‐saving irrigations, Agria increased root mass at the expense of gross tuber yield but Sante increased root mass to maintain larger gross tuber yields. However, Agria produced more roots and gross tuber yield than Sante, and it is concluded that Agria is a more drought‐tolerant potato cultivar, which is recommended for tuber production in regions where water might be scarce. It was shown that larger root production in potatoes was associated with improved tolerance to water stress.     

Radioisotope and stable isotope ratios (Δ14C, δ15N) suggest larval lamprey growth is dependent on both fresh and aged organic matter in streams

Lampreys have a complex life cycle which includes a multi‐year infaunal larval stage (ammocoete). Gut content analysis has generally identified detritus (i.e., unidentifiable organic matter) as the major dietary component to ammocoetes, though algae can also be important. However, gut content preserves only a snapshot of the animal's diet and does not reflect assimilated material. In order to better characterise the nutritional sources supporting ammocoete growth, we analysed ammocoete body tissue and potential dietary sources at two streams using natural Δ¹⁴C and δ¹⁵N to estimate time‐integrated nutritional support. Bayesian isotope mixing models revealed differences in the importance of sources supporting ammocoetes between sites. Ammocoetes from a stream in a mixed land usage area (~50% agriculture, ~40% forest and ~10% developed) were primarily supported (mean: ~50%) by fresh terrestrial organic matter but were also supported by substantial contributions (mean: ~30%) by aged organic matter (AOM) and autochthonous material (algae; mean ~20%). In a predominantly forested (~90%) headwater stream, different modelling scenarios (uninformed or informed priors) suggested that algal support of ammocoete nutrition ranged from 7% to 45%. However, the model relying on informed priors developed from gut content analysis produced the low estimates, suggesting these were more reliable. When algae were a minor component of the nutrition at the forested site, ammocoetes were highly dependent on AOM (83 ± 26%; mean ± SD). Based on these findings, ammocoete growth and development are predicted to be strongly influenced by both land use and the availability of allochthonous and autochthonous materials of varying ages within streams.     

全球植物科学领域发展态势分析

基于农业科技创新的发展需求,为农业科技资源的有效配置提供支撑,从文献计量角度对全球植物科学领域研究现状及态势进行分析。利用定性、定量相结合的方法构建检索策略,基于Web of Science数据库及文献计量分析工具,对文献发表量、文献主要贡献国家、机构、期刊及发文量较高的作者H指数进行统计分析。结果表明,1995—2018年植物科学领域的文章发表量整体上呈现稳定增长趋势,学科呈现蓬勃发展的整体势头。美国和中国是文献主要贡献国家,文献量和总被引频次显著高于其他国家,但美国及欧洲国家的篇均被引数量高于中国。从全球来看,中国科研机构在发文数量占有绝对优势,而德国马克思普朗克的文章篇均被引数量高,达到10以上。对2016—2018年的高被引文献(Top10)进行内容分析,并通过高频词共现主题聚类可视化分析。从论文影响力及主题词规模2个维度表征领域内研究方向。结果表明,“植物应对生物及非生物胁迫”、“基因编辑技术”、“基因组学分析”、“植物生殖发育调控”是近年来植物科学的高关注度研究方向,主题内容与前期的需求调研相符,初步预测这些研究方向将对农业创新发展起到重要推动作用。