Association of Potato Psyllid (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Bactericera cockerelli</Emphasis>; Hemiptera: Triozidae) with <Emphasis Type="Italic">Lycium</Emphasis> spp. (Solanaceae) in Potato Growing Regions of Washington,Idaho, and Oregon

Potato psyllid, Bactericera cockerelli (?ulc), causes economic damage to potato crops throughout the major potato growing regions of western North America. When cultivated crops are not available, potato psyllid often occurs on non-crop hosts. In the southern U.S. and northern Mexico, native species of Lycium (Solanaceae) are important non-crop hosts for the psyllid. We determined whether Old World species of Lycium now widespread in the Pacific Northwest are reservoirs of potato psyllid in this growing region. We examined Lycium spp. across a wide geographic region in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho at irregular intervals during three growing seasons. Potato psyllids were present at all locations. To determine whether Lycium is also a host during intervals of the year in which the potato crop is not available, we monitored a subset of these sites over the entire year. Six sites were monitored at 1- to 3-week intervals from June 2014 to June 2016. Psyllids were present on Lycium throughout the year at all sites, including during winter, indicating that Lycium is also a host when the potato crop is seasonally not available. Psyllid populations included a mixture of Northwestern and Western haplotypes. We observed well-defined spring and fall peaks in adult numbers, with peaks separated by long intervals in which psyllid numbers were very low. Seasonal patterns in psyllid numbers on these non-native Lycium hosts were very similar to what has been observed on native Lycium in the desert southwest region of the U.S. Our findings demonstrate that potato psyllid associates with Lycium across a broad geographic region within the Pacific Northwest. These results will assist in predicting sources of potato psyllid colonizing potatoes in this important growing region.     

Relations between relative evapotranspiration and predawn leaf water potential in soybean grown in several locations

Summary The measurement of water consumption in the field is normally restricted to research purposes, although the development of practical field criteria for timing water application is required to improve crop productivity. To develop such criteria irrigation experiments on Soybean were conducted from flowering to grain filling at four locations which differed in their soil properties and the convective contribution of their climates to potential evapotranspiration. The energy balance, predawn leaf water potential (PLWP), soil moisture depletion, and a crop water stress index (CWSI) based on foliage temperature were measured. The range of soil, atmospheric, phenological and irrigation conditions, produced a common, linear relation between relative evapotranspiration (rET) and the logarithm of -PLWP. Correlation with the temperature based CWSI was weak. A similar relation with PLWP for other C₃ plants was also derived from data in the literature. This relation could be helpful for irrigation scheduling once the critical values of rET for crop productivity are known.     

Water balance and crop coefficients of summer-grown peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) in a humid tropical region of India

A field experiment was conducted with a bunched variety of peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) cv. JL-24 during the summer seasons (March–June) of 1992 and 1993 in the humid tropical canal command area at the University Experimental Farm, Memari (23°1 N, 88°5 E and 21.34 m a.s.l) in West Bengal of eastern India. The soil at the site is of sandy loam (Typic Fluvaquent) texture and the area has a shallow water table. Weekly and seasonal field water balance components of actual evapotranspiration (ETa) including the capillary contribution into root zone were determined. Peanut yield and water productivity were determined for three ratios of irrigation water and cumulative pan evaporation (CPE) of 0.9, 0.7 and 0.5. Mean crop coefficients were determined for each 7-day period of growth and were related to leaf area index and growing degree-days. Average seasonal values of ETa of peanut were 434, 391 and 356 mm for the three treatments, respectively, for 115 days of growth. The total pod yield and WP were significantly higher in 0.9 IW:CPE treatment in the 1992 season. On an average, 0.9 IW:CPE treatment had 7 and 11% higher yields in 1992 and 1993, respectively, over treatments 0.7 and 0.5 IW:CPE. The maximum average Kc of 1.19 occurred about 9 weeks after sowing relative to grass reference ET (ETo).     

Effect of co-cultivation and crop rotation on corm rot disease of Gladiolus

Field and pot experiments were conducted to evaluate the effect of co-cultivation and crop rotation on the growth and corm rot disease of gladiolus (Gladiolus grandiflorus sect. Blandus) cv. Aarti caused by Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. gladioli (Massey) Snyd. and Hans. In the field experiment, gladiolus was co-cultivated with 10 agricultural/horticultural crops viz. Allium cepa L., Brassica campestris L., Capsicum annuum L., Eruca sativa Mill., Helianthus annuus L., Tagetes erectus L., Zea mays L., Vinca rosea L. and Rosa indica L., in a soil infested with F. oxysporum. All the crops except V. rosea and R. indica reduced disease incidence. The effect of H. annuus and T. erectus was significant and more pronounced than other co-cultivated crops. In general, root and shoot dry biomass, corm fresh weight, number of cormlets and number of flowers per spike decreased as compared to the un-inoculated monoculture gladiolus treatment (negative control) but these parameters enhanced as compared to the F. oxysporum inoculated monoculture gladiolus treatment (positive control). In a pot experiment, all the crops of the field experiment except V. rosea and R. indica were sown in rotation with gladiolus. Pot grown plants of different species were harvested at maturity and the soil was inoculated with F. oxysporum. Gladiolus was cultivated 1 week after inoculation. Disease incidence was significantly suppressed in all the treatments ranging from 29% to 53%. The highest suppression of disease incidence was recorded in T. erectus (53%) followed by B. campestris (49%). The effect of preceding crops on various vegetative parameters was similar in the pot experiment to that of the field experiment. The present study suggests that corm rot disease of gladiolus can be managed by mixed cropping of H. annuus and T. erectus or cultivation of T. erectus and B. campestris in rotation.     

Preliminary study on antifertility activity of Calotropis procera roots in female rats

The effect of ethanolic extract of the roots of Calotropis procera has been studied in albino rats to explore its antifertility and hormonal activities. A strong antiimplantation (inhibition 100%) and uterotropic activity was observed at the dose level of 250 mg/kg (1/4 of LD(50)). No antiestrogenic activity could be detected.     

Growth response of the siluroid, Heteropneustes fossilis bloch,fed pelleted feed

Growth response and survival of catfish, Heteropneustes fossilis, fed compounded pelleted diet have been studied. It was observed that the fish accepts and thrives well on pelleted feed, with 100% survival. The conversion factor of the feed over a 6-week feeding trial was found to be 1.8, corresponding to gross growth efficiency of 0.56. The study suggests that cost-effective raw materials could be used for compounding nutritive feed for this species.     

Morphological development of post hatch larval goldlined seabream Rhabdosargus sarba (Forskål, 1775)

Ultrastructural changes in Rhabdosargus sarba larva in early life history were investigated. At hatching, the digestive system was histologically undifferentiated. The digestive tract was a straight tube attached to the dorsal end of the yolk‐sac and was not connected to either the mouth or the anus. The layer of gut epithelium at some regions of the luminal surface was straight and microvilli were not present. These straight borders were not observed at 1 day post hatching (DPH) onwards as microvilli increased in number on the luminal surface and became more regular. At 2 DPH, the digestive system was well differentiated and the separation of the mid‐ and hindgut by the intestino‐rectal valve became more advanced. At 0 DPH, the eye was spherical and the retina had a zonation with undifferentiated cells. The eye also lacked differentiated photoreceptors (PR). The retinal PRs increased in length and in number as the yolk‐sac was absorbed. By 2 DPH, the eye was fully pigmented, suggesting that the larval vision system was functional. The larvae had a pure cone retina at the onset of exogenous feeding. Morphological and functional differentiation of the digestive tract and the eye of the larvae preceded the completion of yolk and oil globule absorption. The oil globule was exhausted at 4 DPH and at 2 DPH, the yolk‐sac was completely absorbed. Food particles were observed at 3 DPH. Food particle ingestion and absorption of the yolk‐sac were observed as vision became fully functional.     

Fatty Acid and Non-Fatty Acid Components of the Seed Oil of Celastrus paniculatus willd.

The yield and chemical composition of the seed oil of Celastrus paniculatus were determined by solvent extraction and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The yield of crude fatty oil was found to be 45.5% in the mature seeds on dry weight basis. Fourteen compounds, constituting 97.57% of the oil, were identified. The oil was rich in unsaturated fatty acids (70.11%) followed by saturated fatty acids (25.2%). Oleic acid (54.42%), palmitic acid (20.0%), linoleic acid (15.51%), and stearic acid (4.18%) were the main fatty acids in the oil together with four other minor fatty acids. The current study identifies the novel compounds not previously reported in C. paniculatus oil, including 1,4-benzenediol (0.46%), cinnamic acid (0.15%), 2,6-di-tert-butyl-p-benzoquinone (0.03%), butylated hydroxytoluene (0.4%), and eudalene (0.16).