覆盖作物翻压对华北平原春玉米产量和土壤养分的影响

冬季覆盖作物-春玉米种植模式是减缓华北平原冬小麦减少导致的耕地裸露及其环境影响的新型农业生产方式,但其翻压后对华北平原下一季春玉米生长季作物产量和土壤养分及微生物学性质的影响研究鲜见。本研究以华北平原冬闲田-玉米(WFM)为对照,设置毛叶苕子-玉米(VrM)、二月兰-玉米(OvM)以及冬油菜-玉米(BcM)3个覆盖作物处理,通过盆栽试验研究了冬季种植覆盖作物翻压对玉米生长季土壤理化性质、微生物量和玉米生长特性的影响。结果表明:(1)翻压覆盖作物显著提高了玉米产量以及作物养分吸收量。与WFM处理相比,OvM处理秸秆产量和籽粒产量提高幅度最大,分别为33.3%和35.5%(P0.05);BcM处理地上部氮、磷、钾和地下部磷素吸收量显著提高(P0.05),分别为30.7%、74.7%、57.6%和171.4%。(2)翻压覆盖作物能显著提高0～10和10～20 cm土层有机质、碱解氮、有效磷、速效钾、全氮和全钾含量(P0.05)。此外,翻压覆盖作物能显著降低玉米幼苗期土壤NH_4~+-N和NO_3~--N含量(P0.05),范围为0.50～3.52和21.40～33.13mg·kg~(-1)。(3)在玉米的不同生育期,覆盖作物翻压处理的SMBC、SMBN和SMBP均显著高于冬闲处理(P0.05)。综合翻压覆盖作物对华北平原玉米产量及土壤理化性质和微生物量含量的影响,华北平原冬油菜-玉米和二月兰-玉米轮作模式效果较好。     

Impact of grassland contract policy on soil organic carbon losses from alpine grassland on the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau

Carbon storage in the soils on the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau plays a very important role in the global carbon budget. In the 1990s, a policy of contracting collective grasslands to smaller units was implemented, resulting in a change from the traditional collective grassland management to two new management patterns: a multi‐household management pattern (MMP: grassland shared by several households without enclosures) and a single‐household management pattern (SMP: grassland enclosed and used by only one household). In 2016, 50 MMP and 54 SMP winter pastures on the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau were sampled to assess the differences in soil organic carbon (SOC) between the two management patterns. Results showed that average SOC was significantly greater under MMP than under SMP, with an estimated 0.41 Mg C/ha/yr lost due to SMP following the new grassland contract. Based on the government's grassland policy, four grassland utilization scenarios were developed for both summer and winter pastures. We found that if the grassland were managed under SMP, likely C losses ranged between 0.31 × 10⁷ and 6.15 × 10⁷ Mg C/yr across the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau relative to MMP, which more closely resembles pre‐1990s grassland management. Previous estimates of C losses have only considered land use change (with cover change) and ignored the impacts driven by land management pattern changes (without cover change). The new data suggest that C losses from the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau are greater than previously estimated, and therefore that the grassland contract policy should be reviewed and SMP households should be encouraged to reunite into the MMP. These findings have potential implications for land management strategies not only on the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau but also other grazing regions globally where such practices may exist.     

Hybrid breeding for biomass yield in winter triticale: II. Combining ability and hybrid prediction

Accurate hybrid prediction and knowledge about the relative contribution of general (GCA) and specific combining ability (SCA) are of utmost importance for efficient hybrid breeding. We therefore evaluated 91 triticale single-cross hybrids in field trials at seven environments for plant height, heading time, fresh biomass, dry matter content and dry biomass. Fresh and dry biomass showed the highest proportion (23%) of variance due to SCA. Prediction accuracies based on GCA were slightly higher than based on mid-parent values. Utilizing parental kinship information yielded the highest prediction accuracies when both parental lines have been tested in other hybrid combinations, but still moderate-to-low prediction accuracies for two untested parents. Thus, hybrid prediction for biomass traits in triticale is currently promising based on mid-parent values as emphasized by our simulation study, but can be expected to shift to GCA-based prediction with an increasing importance of GCA due to selection in hybrid breeding. Moreover, the performance of potential hybrids between newly developed lines can be predicted with moderate accuracy using genomic relationship information.     

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.     

Do cover crops change the lability of phosphorus in a clayey subtropical soil under different phosphate fertilizers?

Plants have developed different mechanisms to absorb and solubilize phosphorus (P) in the soil, especially in environments with low P availability. This study evaluated the effects of different winter cover crops on soil P availability in a clayey subtropical (Hapludox) soil receiving soluble P fertilizer and a rock phosphate applied to the summer crop, under no‐tillage. The experiment was carried out over 3 yrs (2009–2011) with five different cover crop species: common vetch, fodder radish, ryegrass, black oat, white clover and fallow as control. The soil was sampled after the third year of cover crop cultivation and analysed for inorganic and organic P forms according to the well‐established Hedley fractionation procedure. Phosphate fertilizers promoted accumulation of both labile and nonlabile P pools in soil in the near surface layer, especially under rock phosphate. Fertilizer applications were not able to change P fractions in deeper layers, emphasizing that the Brazilian clayey soils are a sink of P from fertilizer and its mobility is almost nil. Although the cover crops recycled a great amount of P in tissue, in a short‐term evaluation (3 yrs) they only changed the content of moderately labile P in soil, indicating that long‐term studies are needed for more conclusive results.     

Assessing seed desiccation responses of native trees in the Caribbean

New Forests - Native trees from the Caribbean were tested for seed desiccation responses, by adapting the “100-seed test” protocol. Ninety-seven seed lots of 91 species were collected...     

Spatiotemporal patterns of mountain whitefish (Prosopium williamsoni) in response to a restoration of longitudinal connectivity

To examine the role of longitudinal connectivity on the spatial and temporal dynamics of mountain whitefish (Prosopium williamsoni), we quantified movement and population dynamics following installation of the Landsburg Dam fishway, Cedar River, WA, USA. Mountain whitefish is widely distributed, poorly studied and not the focus of restoration. Before the fishway, mountain whitefish were not observed above the dam. Here, we focus on snorkel counts collected at reach and mesohabitat (e.g. pools) scales over 11 summers on the 20‐km above‐dam segment following restoration. A camera within the ladder provided number, size and movement timing, thereby informing on behaviour and recolonisation. Segment‐scale abundance increased following fish passage reaching an asymptote in 7 years, and mountain whitefish were detected throughout the main stem in 10 years. Annual movement through the ladder increased over time and was positively correlated with instream abundance and discharge, but negatively correlated with water temperature. About 60% of fish movements occurred in spring and early summer, potentially for foraging opportunities. Reach‐scale abundance peaked between 7 and 10 km from the dam; deep, cool (~10.6 to 11.6°C) conditions characterised these reaches. At the mesohabitat scale, mountain whitefish detection increased with depth and velocity after accounting for distance from the dam. Our results show how restoring longitudinal connectivity allowed this nontarget species to colonise newly available habitat. Their response supports the critical roles of longitudinal connectivity and environmental conditions, that manifest at different spatial scales, in dictating how freshwater fish respond to habitat disturbance.     

The advantages of the use of vitamin E and selenium for the prevention and therapy of porcine stress syndrome

In a feeding trial lasting for months Halothane-positive fattening pigs were put on a diet containing different concentrations of vitamin E and selenium. After a Myostress application vitamin E and selenium were additionally injected in order to examine stress resistance (CK-test) and regenerative capacity (histological examination of Musculus longissimus dorsi) of skeletal muscle. The study revealed that neither high dietary levels of vitamin E/selenium nor a vitamin E/selenium treatment applied after stress are capable of preventing stress related myopathy nor can they influence its healing up favourably.     

Clinical response of nasal adenocarcinoma to cisplatin chemotherapy in 11 dogs.

In 11 dogs with nasal adenocarcinoma, IV treatment with 2 to 8 cycles of cisplatin at a dosage of 60 mg/m2 of body surface, given at 3-week intervals, resulted in a survival time of 8 to 128 weeks (mean, 32.7 weeks; median, 20 weeks). Radiography revealed complete remission in 2 dogs and partial remission in 1 dog, for an overall response rate of 27%. Clinical problems such as nasal discharge (n = 11), sneezing (n = 6), and epistaxis (n = 4) resolved in 1 to 2 weeks in all dogs after beginning chemotherapy.