Carbon storage by urban tree cultivars, in roots and above-ground

Urban trees can favorably affect factors underlying global warming by storing carbon and by reducing energy needs for cooling and heating buildings. To estimate carbon stored in roots and above-ground portions of trees, data was collected consisting of whole tree sampling of Amelanchier, Malus, Pyrus, and Syringa cultivars. Roots were excavated using an Air-Spade^™. Regression analysis resulted in two equations for predicting total carbon storage based on height and diameter of trees up to 20 cm dbh: Y = 0.05836 (dbh²) for root carbon storage, and Y = 0.0305 (dbh² × h)^0.9499 for above-ground carbon storage, explaining 97% and 96% of the variation, respectively. Average carbon stored in roots of various cultivars ranged from 0.3 to 1.0 kg for smaller trees, those 3.8 to 6.4 cm dbh, to more than 10.4 kg for trees 14.0 cm to 19.7 cm dbh. Average total carbon stored by cultivars ranged from 1.7 to 3.6 kg for trees less than 6.4 cm dbh to 54.5 kg for trees larger than 14.0 cm. The data from these equations apply mainly to trees in nurseries and recently transplanted trees. Comparisons showed that above-ground estimates from previous studies using a sampling technique overestimated values obtained from actual above-ground weights.     

韩国一次性收获的红椒品种—Saeng-ryeog216

根据栽培面积以及为农民提供的收入而言,红辣椒在韩国一直是仅次于水稻而居第二位的重要农作物。按人均计算,韩国人均年辣椒粉的消费量达2.5kg以上,可能是世界最高记录。辣椒在韩国主要用作泡菜(韩国称之为Kimchi)香辛料和菜肴中的     

Development of Stem-base Pathogens on Different Cultivars of Winter Wheat Determined by Quantitative PCR

The progress of development of stem-base pathogens in crops of second winter wheat was plotted in nine experiments in three years. The amount of each pathogen present was determined by quantitative PCR. Where Tapesia yallundae was present in quantifiable amounts, it usually developed earlier than the other eyespot pathogen, T. acuformis. Both species were usually present in greater amounts on cultivars which are more susceptible to eyespot. The sharp eyespot pathogen, Rhizoctonia cerealis, developed more erratically than either of the Tapesia spp. and there were no consistent effects on different cultivars. Fusarium spp., the cause of brown foot rot, were rarely present in quantifiable amounts, but Microdochium nivale was usually present as one or both of the varieties nivale and majus. Late-season (after anthesis) decreases in M. nivale suggest that any brown foot rot symptoms attributable to this fungus would have fully developed earlier. Cultivar differences in amounts of M. nivale were most clear in stems during internode extension and when relatively large amounts of DNA were present. Such differences approximately reflected eyespot susceptibility, cv. Soissons containing most and cv. Lynx containing least DNA. The results emphasise the difficulty in relating diagnoses, by quantitative PCR or other means, at early growth stages when decisions to apply fungicides against stem-base disease are made, to later disease severity.     

Importance of Cell Wall Degrading Enzymes Produced by Fusarium graminearum during Infection of Wheat Heads

Cytological studies were carried out to elucidate the importance of cell wall degrading enzymes (CWDE) during infection of wheat spikes by Fusarium graminearum. Scanning electron micrographs revealed that at 6–24 hours after inoculation (hai) of single spikelets with macroconidia of F. graminearum, the fungus germinated by forming several germ tubes and developed a dense hyphal network in the cavity of the spikelet. At 24–36hai, the fungus formed infection hyphae which invaded the ovary and inner surface of the lemma and palea. Transmission electron microscopical studies revealed that the fungus extended inter- and intracellularly in the ovary, lemma and rachis and caused considerable damage and alterations to the host cell walls. In different tissues of healthy and F. graminearum-infected wheat spikes the cell wall components cellulose, xylan and pectin were localized by means of enzyme-gold and immuno-gold labelling techniques. Localization of cellulose, xylan and pectin showed that host cell walls which were in direct contact with the pathogen surface had reduced gold labelling compared to considerable higher labelling densities of walls distant from the pathogen–host interface or in non-colonized tissues. The reduced gold labelling densities in the infected host cell walls indicate that these polysaccharide degrading enzymes might be important pathogenicity factors of F. graminearum during infection of wheat spikes. The results revealed that, infection and colonization of wheat spikes by F. graminearum and reactions of infected host tissue were similar to those reported for F. culmorum.     

Identification of Resistance to Common Bacterial Blight Disease on Bean Genotypes Grown in Turkey

Common bacterial blight (CBB) in edible beans (Phaseolus vulgaris), incited Xanthomonas campestris pv. phaseoli, reduces bean yields and seed quality. The main objective of this study was to determine resistance to common bacterial blight in bean genotypes. Twenty-two bean genotypes grown in Turkey including common and snap bean cultivars/lines were collected from different parts of Turkey and tested for resistance against to Xanthomonas campestris pv. phaseoli strain MFD-11. All the common and snap bean lines/cultivars tested were moderately susceptible, susceptible or highly susceptible, except AG-7117 which was found resistant to Xanthomonas campestris pv. phaseoli. This is the first report of a resistance source in a common bean line (AG-7117) against Xanthomonas campestris pv. phaseoli.     

Can wild relatives of sorghum provide new sources of resistance or tolerance against Striga species?

Summary The genus Striga contains some of the most noxious parasitic plants, which have a devastating impact on cereal production in Africa; of most importance are Striga hermonthica and Striga asiatica . Complete resistance to infection by Striga species does not exist in cultivated cereals. Of great interest is the possibility that wild relatives of cereals may provide a genetic basis for resistance or tolerance to infection and may be of enormous value for the development of resistant crops. A wild relative of cultivated sorghum, Sorghum arundinaceum , demonstrated tolerance to infection by S. asiatica , with little impact of S. asiatica on host growth or grain production compared with the detrimental impact of the parasite on cultivated sorghum. Infection by S.hermonthica , however, had a significant influence on host performance for both wild and cultivated sorghum. Differences in host:parasite responses may be explained by the timing of parasite attachment and differences in host specificity for these two Striga species.     

Effects of relative humidity, light intensity and photoperiod on the colony development of Erysiphe sp. on Rhododendron

Growth and reproduction by powdery mildew pathogens is generally inhibited by decreasing relative humidity. With Erysiphe sp. on Rhododendron cv. Elizabeth, the initial stages of colony development were adversely affected by reducing the relative humidity from 100% to 70 and 85%. No significant effects on secondary or tertiary hyphal development were detected. Light intensity and photoperiod both had considerable effect on the induced resistance response of the host. Over the initial 5 days of colonization there were no significant differences between any of the treatments. After 13 days, however, expansion of fungal colonies at 180 photosynthetic active radiation (PAR) was limited solely to the area initially infested by primary hyphae. By comparison, in colonies grown at 80 PAR regardless of day length, secondary and tertiary hyphae had extended beyond the area first colonized. These effects resulted in differing morphologies, small colonies of densely packed hyphae formed at 180 PAR compared with open spreading colonies at 80 PAR.     

Detection of Colletotrichum coccodes from soil and potato tubers by conventional and quantitative real-time PCR

Colletotrichum coccodes is the causal agent of the potato blemish disease black dot. Two PCR primer sets were designed to sequences of the ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS1 and ITS2) regions for use in a nested PCR. The genus-specific outer primers (Cc1F1/Cc2R1) were designed to regions common to Colletotrichum spp., and the species-specific nested primers (Cc1NF1/Cc2NR1) were designed to sequences unique to C . coccodes . The primer sets amplified single products of 447 bp (Cc1F1/Cc2R1) and 349 bp (Cc1NF1/Cc2NR1) with DNA extracted from 33 European and North American isolates of C. coccodes. The specificity of primers Cc1NF1/Cc2NR1 was confirmed by the absence of amplified product with DNA of other species representing the six phylogenetic groups of the genus Colletotrichum and 46 other eukaryotic and prokaryotic plant pathogenic species. A rapid procedure for the direct extraction of DNA from soil and potato tubers was used to verify the PCR assay for detecting C. coccodes in environmental samples. The limit of sensitivity of PCR for the specific detection of C. coccodes when inoculum was added to soils was 3·0 spores per g, or the equivalent of 0·06 microsclerotia per g soil, the lowest level of inoculum tested. Colletotrichum coccodes was also detected by PCR in naturally infested soil and from both potato peel and peel extract from infected and apparently healthy tubers. Specific primers and a TaqMan fluorogenic probe were designed to perform quantitative real-time (TaqMan) PCR to obtain the same levels of sensitivity for detection of C. coccodes in soil and tubers during a first-round PCR as with conventional nested PCR and gel electrophoresis. This rapid and quantitative PCR diagnostic assay allows an accurate estimation of tuber and soil contamination by C. coccodes .     

Evaluation of resistance to Phytophthora cinnamomi in seed-grown trees and clonal lines of Eucalyptus marginata inoculated in lateral branches and roots

Seed-grown trees and six clonal lines of 3·5–4·5-year-old Eucalyptus marginata (jarrah) growing in a rehabilitated bauxite mine site in the jarrah forest were underbark-inoculated on lateral branches (1995) or simultaneously on lateral branches and lateral roots (1996) with isolates of Phytophthora cinnamomi in late autumn. Individual seedlings from which the clonal lines were derived had previously been assessed as either resistant (RR) or susceptible (SS) to P. cinnamomi . At harvest, the acropetal lesion and colonization lengths were measured. Overall, the length of colonization in roots and branches was more consistent as a measure of resistance than lesion length, because colonization length recorded the recovery of P. cinnamomi from macroscopically symptomless tissue ahead of the lesion which, on some occasions, was up to 6 cm. In both trials, one RR clonal line was able to contain the P. cinnamomi isolates consistently, as determined by small lesion and colonization lengths in branches and roots. In contrast, the remaining two RR clonal lines used in both trials were no different from the SS line in their ability to contain lesions or colonization. These latter two RR lines may therefore not be suitable for use in rehabilitation of P. cinnamomi -infested areas. Differences in lesion and colonization lengths among P. cinnamomi isolates occurred only in the 1995 trial. Colonization and lesion lengths in branches were up to eight times greater in 1996 than in 1995, but the relative rankings of clonal lines were consistent between trials. Although colonization was always greater in branches than roots, the relative rankings of the lines were similar between branch and root inoculations. Branch inoculations are a valid option for testing the resistance and susceptibility of young jarrah trees to P. cinnamomi .