Chemical Manipulation of Reproductive Efficiency of Chickpea (Cicer arietinnum L.) by Triadimefon in Relation to Changes in Ethylene

Reproductive efficiency was successfully manipulated by the application of different concentrations of triadimefon at pre‐flowering, flowering and post‐flowering stages in chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.). Triadimefon improved the parameters determining reproductive efficiency. Yield was significantly improved due to reductions in flower and pod abscission by the application of triadimefon, which also lowered the ethylene levels in leaves, flowers and pods and delayed senescence. These findings suggest a relationship between ethylene level and reproductive efficiency in chickpea. Further, they indicate that triadimefon can be used for chemical manipulation of the reproductive efficiency of chickpea under field conditions.     

Growth-independent effects of a fluctuating thermal regime on the life-history traits of the Japanese medaka (Oryzias latipes)

Abstract –  Temperature fluctuation has been shown to affect somatic growth rates and metabolic functions of fish, but little is known about the effects of fluctuating temperatures on life-history traits. We examined these effects on female Japanese medaka ( Oryzias latipes ) reared from hatch to maturity at two mean temperatures (27 and 30 °C) with diel temperatures either held constant or allowed to fluctuate ±5 °C. Feeding regimes were manipulated to equilibrate medaka growth rates in all treatments. Age and length at maturity decreased as a result of thermal fluctuation, whereas there was no effect of temperature fluctuation on the proportion of fish attaining maturity or on the number of eggs produced by a mature female. We hypothesise that short-term high temperatures associated with temperature fluctuation decreases development time, whereas reduced energy conversion efficiency at higher temperatures does not allow for increased egg production.     

壮丰安对冬小麦产量和产量器官发育的影响

以两个冬小麦品种京冬6号和农大142为材料,研究了新型植物生长调节剂-壮丰安对小麦产量器官的调控效应。结果表明:壮丰安处理调节了小麦穗的乙烯释放量和籽粒中 IAA,Z+ZR 等内源激素水平;加快了小麦籽粒乳熟中期以后的灌浆速度,可使穗数、结实小穗、穗粒数和穗粒重不同程度增加,表现一定的增产作用;收获后的种子经生物学方法测定,药效残留很少,正常施用对环境和产品安全。     

Phosphorus and potassium depletion by roots of field-grown slash pine: Aerobic and hypoxic conditions

Slash pine (Pinus elliottii Engelm. var. elliottii) is planted extensively on flatwood and coastal savanna soils of the southeastern USA. Pine roots growing in these soils encounter shallow water tables. Although the fine-root system of pine trees growing in the surface 20–26 cm of those soils will not be continuously submerged, they will encounter short-term reduced soil conditions, with a severely reduced O₂ supply which might affect their ability for ion uptake from the soil solution. The objectives were: (i) to compare P and K depletion by lateral root systems of slash pine roots subjected to a short-term hypoxic treatment, and (ii) to document K and P depletion patterns by lateral root systems of slash pine roots following the removal of the hypoxic treatment. Our purpose was to evaluate the uptake ability of these roots of changing aeration. For the experiment, 17 intact lateral roots from twelve-year-old slash pine trees were inserted into nutrient-uptake root chambers. The chambers were filled with a nutrient solution containing 6.25 μM P (phosphate), and 25.66 μM K. P and K depletion rates were monitored in six consecutive treatments, each lasting five days. Treatments of aerobic and hypoxic conditions were sequentially applied in the following order: aerobic–hypoxic–aerobic. This sequence was repeated twice. Uptake of P and K by slash pine roots was affected by oxygen availability, but the degree of response differed. Under hypoxic nutrient solution conditions, K depletion from solution by pine roots was totally inhibited, resulting in net efflux of K. In contrast, P depletion was not inhibited under hypoxic nutrient solution conditions. Results suggest that pine roots grown in aerobic soil conditions of surface horizons are capable of P depletion when reduced soil conditions are present.     

Effects of Diseases on Reproductive Performance in Dairy Cattle Ⅰ: Current Situation and Its Mechanism

Over the past 20 years,with the continuous promotion of the genetic improvement plan of dairy cow population and the continuous improvement of feeding technology,the intensive level and milk yield of dairy cow population in China are continuously improving.However,the reproduction data over the years showed that the more milk yield,the more obviously decline in reproductive performance,and the more prominent of the reproductive problems.The decline of fertility caused by high yield has become the bottleneck of the development of dairy industry in China and even in the world.In dairy farming,there are many factors that cause the reduction of reproductive performance of high-yield dairy cows,including genetic factors,environmental factors and disease factors.Recently,the influence of disease factors on reproductive performance of dairy cows has become more and more prominent.According to the location of the disease,the diseases can be divided into genital diseases and non-genital diseases.This paper discussed the relevant research data on the effects of different diseases on the reproductive performance of dairy cows in recent years,and focusing on the analysis of the molecular mechanism of diseases affecting the reproductive performance of dairy cows through the nervous system,reproductive endocrine system and humoral immune system.The prospect and thinking for the future research of diseases and reproductive performance of high-yield dairy cows were put forward to provide reference and theoretical basis for improving the reproductive efficiency and economic benefits of high-yield dairy cows in China.     

Structure of silver fir (Abies alba Mill.) natural regeneration in the ‘Jata'' reserve in Poland

Over the last 20 years, investigations have been carried out to determine the influence of various ecological factors on silver fir natural regeneration in highlands and mountains. However, there has been little research on the structure and development of fir regeneration in lowlands. Results of this study indicate that three main stand characteristics play a very important part in the structure of fir regeneration in the lowland. The results revealed that the quantity, frequency and growth rate of fir regeneration were affected by site conditions. One of the most important ecological factors differentiating quantity and quality of fir regeneration was the proportion of fir in a stand. It was found that, with an increase in the percentage of fir in a stand, the quantity and the sum of heights and the sum of height increments of fir regeneration tends to increase. Results of this study showed that the number and development of fir regeneration were influenced by species composition of a stand; fir regenerated not only in pure fir stands but also in mixed forests. A positive influence of pine and birch canopy on initiation and development of fir regeneration was confirmed. Optimal conditions for the growth and development of fir with respect to species composition were found in mixed fir stands with an admixture of hornbeam. In contrast, results of the study suggest that the worst conditions for fir regeneration were found in the stands composed of species, such as ash, alder, oak, aspen, lime and spruce.     

Effects of dietary highly unsaturated fatty acids and astaxanthin on the fecundity and lipid content of pond-reared Penaeus monodon (Fabricius) broodstock

Five diets that contained fresh squid meat as the basic constituent and were supplemented with different amounts of highly unsaturated fatty acids (HUFA) and astaxanthin were fed to pond‐reared Penaeus monodon broodstock. Diet A was sole squid meat. Diets B and C were supplemented with astaxanthin 50 and 100 mg kg^?1 respectively. Diets D and E were supplemented with HUFA 5 and 10 g kg^?1 and astaxanthin 50 mg kg^?1 respectively. The result showed that the group fed diet E had the best reproductive performance in all experimental groups. It had a higher proportion of spawns (71.5%), spawning rate (0.047), a shorter latency period (7.7±0.3 d), higher absolute fecundity (× 10³) (361.6±5.5) and egg production/female (× 10³) (597.0±18.0) than all the other experimental groups. The fatty acid composition in broodstock diets strongly affected the tissue and fecundity of broodstock. Good correlations between the content of 20:4n‐6 in eggs and the fecundity (r²=0.6109) and egg production (r²=0.9876) of broodstock were found. On the other hand, 22:6n‐3 and DHA/EPA ratio was negatively correlated with the fecundity of broodstock (r²=0.5362, 0.8702 respectively). The result also showed that the balance between n‐3 and n‐6 fatty acid families, total polyunsaturated fatty acids and total saturated fatty acid and 20:5n‐3 (EPA) and 22:6n‐3 (DHA) may play vital roles in maturation and reproductive performance of P. monodon broodstock.     

Multiple paternity,reproductive skew and correlates of male reproductive success in a wild population of the Trinidadian guppy

Abstract – In most species, males have a higher reproductive potential than females, leading to skewed reproductive success, particularly in mating systems where pre‐ or postcopulatory sexual selection reinforces inequality in male mating success. We investigated multiple paternity, reproductive skew and correlates of male reproductive success in a wild population of the Trinidadian guppy (Poecilia reticulata). We used nine microsatellite loci to assess the frequency of multiple paternity, number of sires per brood and reproductive skew. Across broods, the frequency of multiple paternity was high with 94% of broods having multiple sires (range: 1–5), resulting in a reproductive skew of 0.14. Variation in male reproductive success was high (range: 0–14 offspring per male), suggesting that there is considerable opportunity for sexual selection. Next, we examined correlations between male reproductive success and sexual coloration, sperm velocity and gonopodium length. Relative area of orange, black, iridescent and total coloration, and sperm velocity were not correlated with reproductive success. However, gonopodium length explained 14% of the variation in reproductive success, suggesting that gonopodium length is likely a sexually selected trait. We discuss these findings in the light of other studies that genetically dissect joint‐sex parentage and examine correlates of male reproductive success in wild populations.     

Some nutrient dynamics associated with litterfall and litter decomposition in hoop pine plantations of southeast Queensland, Australia

Litterfall was collected over a 12-month period with littertraps in hoop pine (Araucaria cunninghamii) plantations aged 10, 14 and 62 years in southeast Queensland, Australia. The bulk of litterfall occurred during spring, mainly as hoop pine foliage with the annual litterfall ranging between 6.0 and 10.9 t ha⁻¹, respectively, for the younger stands (10 and 14 years) and the mature 62-year old stand. The amount of nitrogen (N) and phosphorous (P) recycled annually through litterfall was lower in the younger stands (28–37 kg N ha⁻¹ and 4.4–5.3 kg P ha⁻¹) compared with that of the mature stand (85 N ha⁻¹ and 6.2 kg P ha⁻¹). The N and P retranslocated during senescence varied across the three stands studied with a trend for N and P retranslocation to increase as availability of soil mineral-N decreased.

Decomposition of the hoop pine foliage component of litter was also studied in the same stands using a litterbag technique and mass-balance analysis. The estimated half-life of hoop pine foliage mass ranged between 1.5 and 1.8 years. Litter-mass loss was strongly correlated with litter substrate quality indicators of N, C, P, C/N ratio, lignin, lignin/N ratio and polyphenols. During the course of the study, there was no difference in litter-mass loss between the stands of different ages. During the 15-month period, the order of element release from the hoop pine litter was K>Na>C>Mg>P, with N, Ca and Mn generally demonstrating varying degrees of net accumulation. During the course of the study, the lignin/C ratio of the hoop pine litter increased from 0.61 to 0.96. This suggested that the litter-C was predominantly in a recalcitrant form and, therefore, the associated N was unlikely to be rapidly released in the hoop pine litter layer.