Economics of foliar fungicides for hard red winter wheat in the USA southern Great Plains

Grain yields of winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) in the southern Great Plains are often reduced by the presence of foliar diseases. This study was conducted to determine whether the application of foliar fungicides is an economically optimal management strategy. The effects of fungicide treatment on commercially available hard red winter wheat varieties with differing levels of genetic resistance (i.e., resistant, intermediate, and susceptible) to foliar diseases were investigated at two locations, Apache and Lahoma, OK, USA, for the harvest years 2005–2012. Two fungicides were rotated between the two locations and applied at approximately Feekes growth stage 9–10.5. When averaged across years, plots to which fungicide was applied generated greater average net returns than plots that did not receive fungicide for susceptible varieties at Apache, and for resistant, intermediate, and susceptible varieties at Lahoma. However, foliar fungicide application was not economical in every year at either location suggesting fungicide use should be reassessed each year given that profitability depends on year specific yield potential, prices, and foliar disease conditions. At both locations high disease incidence occurred in all but one site-year when the average March through May relative humidity exceeded 65%. Additional research would be required to determine the relationship between weather, including relative humidity, and disease incidence, and to develop an economic threshold for treatment decision aid.     

Bread wheat cultivar PBW 343 carries residual additive resistance against virulent stripe rust pathotype

With continuous outbreaks of stripe rust (Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici) epidemics and rapid breakdown of deployed resistance in bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivars in North West Plains Zone (NWPZ) in India warrant knowledge and deployment of new and durable sources of resistance to stripe rust. Bread wheat cultivar PBW 343, until recently the most widely cultivated wheat variety in India, is now highly susceptible to stripe rust (score 9 on a 1–9 scale), whereas PBW 621 (score 5.05–5.65) and HD 2967 (score 5.40–6.20) show low levels of resistance. We conducted an experiment, spanning three crop seasons (2013–2014 to 2015–2016), in which parental lines, F₁ and F₂ populations, F₃ and F₄ families from two bread wheat crosses, PBW 621/PBW 343 and HD 2967/PBW 343 were generated and evaluated for stripe rust resistance against a virulent pathotype. While the F₁ revealed partial dominance, the segregation pattern for stripe rust resistance in F₂ and F₃ showed transgressive segregation for resistance in both crosses. Chi-square analysis indicated that resistant segregants possessed two genes, one contributed by PBW 621 or HD 2967 (depending on the cross) and the other, unexpectedly but obviously, came from the most susceptible cultivar, PBW 343. Possible genetic mechanisms for this residual resistance and implications for breeding programs are discussed.     

Effect of oregano (Origanum onites L.) essential oil on growth,lysozyme and antioxidant activity and resistance against Lactococcus garvieae in rainbow trout,Oncorhynchus mykiss (Walbaum)

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of different levels of Origanum onites L. essential oil as feed additives on the growth performance, antioxidant activity and disease resistance of rainbow trout. Fish (26.05 ± 0.15 g) were fed the experimental diets supplemented with four different concentrations (0.125, 1.5, 2.5 and 3.0 mL kg^?1) of O. onites essential oil for 90 days. Fish fed diets containing essential oil of O. onites had significantly higher final weight than the control group. Feed conversion ratio in fish fed diets containing 1.5 and 3.0 mL kg^?1 essential oil of O. onites was improved than other treatments (P < 0.05). The lowest feed conversion efficiency ratio was recorded in the 0.125 mL kg^?1 group of O. onites. Antioxidant status of fish was assayed for levels of plasma superoxide dismutase (SOD) and plasma catalase (CAT) activity. Lysozyme activity in plasma was significantly higher in fish fed diet containing 3.0 mL kg^?1 essential oil of O. onites (P < 0.05). After 8 weeks of feeding, fish were challenged with Lactococcus garvieae and cumulative mortality was recorded over 15 days. Dietary administration of 0.125, 1.5 and 2.5 mL kg^?1 O. onites significantly reduced fish mortality (P < 0.05). The 3.0 mL kg^?1 diet showed no mortality after challenged with L. garvieae. These results suggested that the essential oil of O. onites could be applied as growth promoter and also improved disease resistance when added to rainbow trout feed.     

Can water disinfection prevent the transmission of infectious koi herpesvirus to naïve carp? – a case report

Hygienic measures such as disinfection are important tools for the maintenance of fish health in aquaculture. While little information is available on the disinfection of water intended for fish containment, Huwa‐San^®, a disinfectant used in food and water industries, was used for daily treatment at concentrations of approximately 60 ppm over a total period of 3 months (experiment 1) with a 3‐week treatment‐free interval after 2 months (experiment 2). During this period, koi herpesvirus (KHV) was added to the water of two aquaria, one used as a normal contact control, the other one receiving daily water disinfectant treatments that prevented KHV infection of carp. In the second experiment, Huwa‐San^® treatment was interrupted and KHV infection was prevalent. However, when naïve fish were introduced to the same aquarium after re‐application of disinfectant, KHV could not be detected in those naïve fish. Whilst KHV could not be detected in samples where disinfectant had been applied, it was present in samples of naïve fish cohabiting with infection contact control animals which had undergone no disinfectant treatment over experiments 1 and 2. The results presented here show that water treatment with a disinfectant may prevent transmission of infectious KHV to naïve carp cohabited with infected carp.     

Genome-wide association study for spot blotch resistance in Afghan wheat germplasm

Spot blotch (SB), caused by Bipolaris sorokiniana, is a devastating disease of wheat globally, especially in South Asia and South America. Understanding the genetics of resistance to SB is important for developing breeding strategies to improve resistance. A panel of 301 genotypes from Afghanistan was phenotyped over two crop seasons using a mixture of virulent B. sorokiniana isolates and genotyped using DArTSeq to obtain genome-wide markers. Fifty genotypes (16.6%) showed disease scores less than the resistant control. Principal component analysis using the genotypic data clustered the genotypes into five different groups. Among models used for genome-wide association mapping, the multilocus mixed model, and fixed and random model circulating probability unification algorithms were most effective in identifying significant marker-trait associations (MTA). Twenty-five MTAs at p ≤ .001 were identified on chromosomes 1A, 1B, 1D, 2B, 2D, 3A, 3B, 4A, 5A, 5B, 6A, 7A, and 7D, indicating the quantitative nature of resistance to SB. Phenotypic variation explained by these markers ranged from 2.0% to 17.7%, and genomic regions on the chromosomes 1D, 2D, 3A, 3B, 4A, 5A, and 5B coincided with loci identified in previous studies. Three single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers on chromosomes 1B (SNP 1113207) and 5A (SNPs 5411867 and 998276) were significant in both crop seasons as well as in the combined analysis across seasons. Marker 5411867 is close to Vrn-A1, shown to be associated with SB in previous studies. Furthermore, among known SB resistance genes, Sb2 on chromosome 5B was predicted to be significant in this panel.     

Biocontrol potential of Pseudomonas azotoformans,Serratia marcescens and Trichoderma virens against Fusarium wilt of Dalbergia sissoo

Wilt disease caused by Fusarium solani is a serious constraint to Dalbergia sissoo (shisham) plantations in northern India. In this study, the antagonistic potential of 40 bacterial isolates recovered from rhizophere soil of healthy shisham trees, and a well‐characterized Trichoderma species (Trichoderma virens) were tested for their possibility as biocontrol agents for F. solani. Two promising isolates (S1 and S15) were identified which inhibited pathogen growth, caused chitin degradation, produced siderophores and solubilized phosphate in vitro. Isolate S15 scored highest for hydrogen cyanide (HCN) production while isolate S1 was a non‐HCN producer. These two isolates were identified as Serratia marcescens (S1) and Pseudomonas azotoformans (S15) following sequence analysis of 16S rDNA. In dual culture assays, T. virens caused 80% inhibition of mycelial growth of the test fungus. The three selected antagonists when tested in planta in the glasshouse completely suppressed production of wilt symptoms on 12‐month‐old shisham plants. Further work is needed to ascertain the potential of these isolates to be used as biocontrol agents to manage shisham wilt under field conditions.     

脉动燃烧技术及其在林业中的应用

脉动燃烧是指在一定声振条件下发生的一种周期性燃烧，其燃烧室内压力强度、气流速度、温度及热释放效率等参数随着时间呈周期性变化，是一种特殊的不稳定燃烧过程，具有燃烧效率高、燃料经济性好、运行环境友好等优点。研制基于脉动燃烧技术的林业作业装备对于提高林业生产效率、促进环保高效燃烧技术的发展具有重要意义。文中概述了脉动燃烧技术的工作原理、特点及发展现状，介绍了脉动燃烧技术在林业病虫害防治、木材干燥和土壤消毒中的应用，并在分析脉动燃烧技术的不足及其在林业作业应用中存在问题的基础上，提出脉动燃烧技术在林业作业应用中的发展方向。     

贝莱斯芽孢杆菌XC1的筛选、鉴定及其对苹果连作障碍的影响

从连作苹果园健康苹果树根际土壤中筛选出1株对苹果连作障碍镰孢属病原菌具有较强拮抗作用的细菌XC1,该菌对尖孢镰孢菌的抑菌率最高,达到79.83%。根据其形态、生理生化特征和基于16S rDNA、gyrA基因的系统发育分析,鉴定该菌为贝莱斯芽孢杆菌(Bacillus velezensis)。目前菌株XC1已保藏于中国微生物菌种保藏管理委员会普通微生物中心,保藏号为CGMCC No.20057。苹果连作土盆栽试验表明,XC1菌肥处理能显著促进平邑甜茶(Malus hupehensis Rehd.)幼苗的生长,其株高、地径、鲜质量和干质量分别比对照提高了54.8%、34.8%、121.1%和96.0%;显著提高连作土壤中的蔗糖酶、脲酶、过氧化氢酶和中性磷酸酶的活性,分别为对照的1.57倍、2.71倍、1.21倍和1.79倍;显著减少连作土壤中真菌的数量,提高细菌和放线菌的数量,且对尖孢镰孢菌(Fusarium oxysporum)有很好的抑制作用,尖孢镰孢菌的基因拷贝数比对照降低了76.4%。这说明贝莱斯芽孢杆菌抑制连作障碍病原菌的效果明显,可改善土壤环境,促进平邑甜茶幼苗的生长,能在一定程度上减轻苹果连作障碍。