Farmers' knowledge and perception of grain legume pests and their management in the Eastern province of Kenya

Grain legumes play an important role in community livelihood and in the national economy in Kenya. Unfortunately, in many African countries, production doesn't satisfy the demand in grains due to various constrains. Understanding farmers practices and behavior in the management of grain legume pests is a crucial step in the development of sustainable management strategies. A total of 216 farmers were surveyed in eight districts of eastern Kenya to evaluate farmers' knowledge and perceptions of grain legume pests; to examine current pest management practices, and to identify other production constraints. Grain legumes are grown by a wide age-group of farmers, with both genders equally represented. Chemical control remains the main pest management strategy, and, to ensure pesticide effectiveness, farmers also use increased application rates, chemical alternation, frequent application and mixtures of chemicals. While farmers used other control measures, they showed only limited interest in biological control. The majority of the farmers had experience in grain legume farming and were able to identify the major pests, which were the legume flower thrips Megalurothrips sjostedti Trybom, the cowpea aphid Aphis craccivora Koch and the legume pod borer Maruca vitrata Fabricius. Our survey revealed that education and proximity to extension services contributed significantly to farmers' knowledge of grain legume pests, suggesting the need to provide continuous training and capacity building on integrated pest management in grain legume farming. The study also suggests integration of other pest management strategies such as the use of early maturing varieties, biopesticides and biofertilizer to reduce the use of chemical for sustainable pest management.     

金融消费者保护问题的框架性思考

金融消费者是为生活消费需要而购买、使用金融商品或接受金融服务的人,具有追求盈利最大化、抗风险能力差以及弱势地位突出等特点。现阶段我国有关金融消费者权益保护方面的工作同发达国家相比还很不完善,存在缺乏专项立法、相关法律滞后、缺乏专业纠纷解决机制以及对金融消费者合法权益保护不到位等问题,急需国家相关部门出台相关政策文件改善和解决。     

3株H9亚型禽流感病毒的分离与鉴定

为了获得H9亚型禽流感病毒(AIV)流行毒株并掌握流行毒株的分子特征和致病性,采用病毒分离、血凝性试验、鸡胚半数感染量(EID₅₀)测定、HA基因序列分析、致病性试验、交叉保护性试验等对3份临床疑似H9亚型AIV感染病料进行了研究。结果:3份临床病料样品可引起10日龄SPF鸡胚规律性死亡,3株分离毒株对1%鸡红细胞的凝集效价分别10log₂、11log₂和10log₂;对SPF鸡胚的EID₅₀分别为10^-8.83/mL、10^-9.50/mL和10^-9.0/mL;与2018年上海分离毒株亲缘关系较近,进化树处于同一分支;对SPF雏鸡的发病率分别为80%、100%和90%;均未引起SPF雏鸡死亡;彼此之间具有100%的交叉保护率,商品化禽流感(H9亚型)灭活疫苗对3株分离毒株的保护率分别为100%、90%和100%。本试验成功分离鉴定到了3株低致病性H9亚型AIV流行毒株,并证实当前商品化疫苗对H9亚型AIV流行毒株仍具有较好的保护效果。     

Black soldier fly and yellow mealworm live larvae for broiler chickens: Effects on bird performance and health status

The commercial broiler chicken strains are the result of successful selection programmes. Most of the problems related to welfare arise from the high growth rate and body weight. The use of environmental enrichments in intensive farming could have a positive effect on birds by increasing animal welfare. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effects of Hermetia illucens (HI) and Tenebrio molitor (TM) live larvae in the diets of broiler chickens on growth performance, carcass yield and health status. A total of 180 four-day-old male broiler chickens (Ross 308) were randomly allotted to 18 pens. Each pen was assigned to one of the three dietary treatments (6 replicates/treatment, 10 birds/replicate) as follows: (i) control diet (C): commercial feed (two feeding phases: starter [4–11 days] and grower [12–38 days]), (ii) HI: C + 5% of the expected daily feed intake (DFI) HI live larvae (calculated on dry matter [DM]) and (iii) TM: C + 5% of DFI TM live larvae (DM). At 39 days of age, birds were slaughtered. Growth performance parameters were overall not affected by dietary treatments, except for the grower phase feed conversion ratio (FCR) and the overall FCR being better in the TM broilers than the others (p < 0.01). No differences were observed for slaughtering performance and haematological and serum parameters, except for the spleen relative weight being higher (p < 0.01) in the birds administered with larvae when compared to the C group. Gut morphometric indexes and histopathological alterations were not influenced by insect larvae administration. In conclusion, the administration in limited quantities of HI and TM live larvae as environmental enrichment has no negative effects on broiler chicken growth performance and health status. A behavioural study could confirm that live insect larvae represent a novel natural environmental enrichment in broiler farming.     

中兽医药技术是猪只康养最佳供给体系

在我国养猪业面临产品安全和环境污染两大瓶颈的情势下,如何使所生产的猪肉食用卫生,所排粪污环境安全,纯天然、无污染、广效低毒、绿色环保的中兽医药学为破解这两大瓶颈提供了技术支撑。充分发挥我国传统的中兽医药技术的特色和优势,构建以中兽医药为主体的猪只康养技术供给体系,旨在集生产管理"适其天性"、所喂药料"无污染"、治疗药物"纯天然"、预防措施治"未病"、治疗方法"和谐调节"和四季保健"药饲同源"于一体的技术供给体系,从源头上破解这两大难题,从而实现猪只康养,环境安全,猪肉安康,凸显出中兽医药是猪只康养的最佳供给体系。     

我国柴油轿车的发展现状及展望

随着汽车工业的不断发展，轿车动力柴油化已成为行业发展的必然。总结了我国柴油轿车的发展现状，指出了柴油轿车的优势，论述了制约柴油轿车发展的因素，提出了促进柴油轿车未来发展的几点建议。     

液压升降折叠宽幅喷杆喷架的结构设计

针对目前植保机械中所使用的喷杆喷架稳定性差、折叠伸展需要人工辅助等问题,设计出了一种液压升降折叠宽幅喷杆喷架。对喷杆喷架的升降装置、90°液压油缸折叠机构、180°液压油缸折叠机构和整体宽幅喷架进行了理论分析和结构设计,并建立了关键部件的三维模型。通过田间试验验证了该装置设计方案的合理性,为研发先进适用、具有自主知识产权的液压升降折叠宽幅喷杆喷架奠定了基础。     

新疆喀什地区濒危物种裂盖马鞍菌生态因子调查

在2013～2015年期间,每年3月31日到5月28日,调查新疆喀什地区裂盖马鞍菌(Helvella leucopus)的发生情况和环境因子,持续3年调查结果表明:在胡杨林和毛白杨中均有子实体发生,裂盖马鞍菌子实体发生在土壤pH 8.0左右、有机质含量20～36 g/kg、全氮含量0.8～1.3 g/kg和速效钾含量189～293mg/kg的地区;野生子实体形成期的土壤温度5.0～26.4℃,空气湿度20％～35％,光照3000～8000 lux.     

基于MaxEnt模型预测梨火疫病菌的潜在地理分布

为探究梨火疫病菌解淀粉欧文氏菌Erwinia amylovora在全球的潜在地理分布,基于其全球分布数据和筛选得到的环境变量,利用MaxEnt模型对其在当前气候和未来气候条件下的潜在地理分布进行预测,并利用刀切法和皮尔逊相关性分析法筛选对梨火疫病菌分布有重要影响的环境变量。结果显示,对梨火疫病菌分布有重要影响的环境变量包括2月平均最高温度、1月平均降水量、7月平均最低温度、温度变化方差、昼夜温差月均值和7月平均降水量,表明春季和夏季的温度和降水对梨火疫病菌的分布有较大影响。在当前气候条件下,梨火疫病菌在全球的适生区分布较广,适生区总面积达到5.58×10⁷ km²,且高适生区主要分布在北美洲沿海地区、地中海沿岸和亚洲中部及东部的部分地区;梨火疫病菌在我国的适生区总面积为7.36×10⁶ km²,占全国陆地总面积的76.70%;在未来气候SSP126和SSP585情景下,梨火疫病菌在全球的适生区总面积分别为5.52×10⁷ km²和5.24×10⁷ km²。表明梨火疫病菌对我国大部分地区有潜在威胁,应加强监测与防控。     

Assessment of microbial biocontrol agent (BCA) viability to mechanical and thermal stress by simulating spray application conditions

Background

In order to improve the biological control agent (BCA) efficacy, stress factors threatening the viability of microorganisms during spray application need to be determined. The effect of spray mixture temperature and exposure time on Trichoderma harzianum T 22 and Bacillus amyloliquefaciens QST713 viability were tested. Concurrently the combined effect of mechanical and thermal stress effect on BCA viability were tested at two initial spray mixture temperatures (14 and 25 °C) by simulating a spray application using airblast sprayers featured by different tank capacity and a spray liquid circuit (without and with hydraulic agitation system). To assess the BCA microorganism viability, spray mixture samples were collected at time intervals along trials and plated to count the colony forming units (CFU).

Results

The critical temperature threshold that inhibited BCA viability was 35 °C with 30 min of exposure. The sprayer type, the initial temperature of the spray mixture and the temperature increment during the trials significantly decreased the number of CFU recovered. When simulating a spray application, the spray mixture temperature increase rate was determined mainly by the residual amount of spray mixture in the tank. Even if the tank capacity does not substantially affect the final temperature reached by the spray mixture, the higher residual spray mixture in bigger tanks can expose the BCAs for a longer time to critical temperatures.

Conclusions

Experimental trials allowed us to identify the effect of factors affecting the viability of tested BCAs, providing information about the actual chance to guarantee the biological efficacy of BCA treatments. © 2023 The Authors. Pest Management Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.