The effect of sowing date, stale seedbed, row width and mechanical weed control on weeds and yields of organic winter wheat

Three field experiments were carried out in organically grown winter wheat in Denmark. The treatments were sowing time (normal or late sowing) and false seedbed, row width (12 and 24 cm) and weed control method [untreated; mechanical weed control (weed harrowing at 12 cm supplemented with inter‐row hoeing at 24 cm); and herbicide weed control]. Weed biomass in midsummer was greatest on plots sown at the normal sowing time (compared with delayed sowing) and was reduced by mechanical or chemical weed control (compared with untreated plots). Row width alone had no influence on weed biomass, but in the experiment with high weed pressure, the more intensive mechanical weed control used at a row width of 24 cm reduced weed biomass. Normal sowing time tended to give higher yields, but this was only statistically significant in one of the three experiments. Wide rows gave a yield decrease in the experiment with low weed pressure. The effect of weed control on yield was dependent on the weed pressure. At low weed pressure, mechanical weed control caused a yield decrease compared with untreated or herbicide treated. At intermediate weed levels there were no differences, whereas at high weed pressure, mechanical weed control and herbicide treatment caused a yield increase compared with untreated. False seedbeds were shown to contribute to a decrease in the soil seed reserve.     

Effects of cultural methods and physical weed control on intrarow weed numbers, manual weeding and marketable yield in direct-sown leek and bulb onion

Manual weeding of intrarow weeds in direct-sown leek and bulb onion crops grown organically can be very labour-intensive. Four field experiments, two in direct-sown leek and two in direct-sown bulb onion were made in this investigation to study the effects of physical and cultural methods on intrarow weed numbers, time consumption for hand-weeding and marketable yield parameters. The physical methods considered were: pre-emergence flaming and harrowing, and post-emergence hoeing close to the row (only leek) and vertical brush weeding. The cultural methods were: seed priming, slurry placement and cultivar choice (only leek). Generally, flaming plus brush weeding gave the highest intrarow weed control at 92% and 87%, respectively, in the two leek experiments and 39% (only brush weeding was effective) and 74%, respectively, in the two onion experiments. Time consumption for hand-weeding after the different treatments was linearly related to the remaining numbers of intrarow weeds, with no significant influences of the experimental factors on the general relationship. Generally, the cultural methods had no significant influence on the effects of physical weeding in terms of their effect against intrarow weeds. They did not affect the tolerance or robustness of the crop plants against negative impact from the physical control methods. However, generally, seed priming and cultivar choice did improve yield in the leek experiments and seed priming also did so in the one experiment with onion.     

Concentrations of trimethoprim and sulphadoxine in tissues from goats and a cow.

The concentration of trimethoprim and sulphadoxine in plasma and tissue from goats and a cow have been determined after a single intravenous injection. Furthermore, the concentration of the two drugs and their metabolites in plasma and tissues have been determined after continuous intravenous infusion for 2½–3 hrs. Trimethoprim was present in all tissues but brain at higher concentrations than in plasma while the concentration of sulphadoxine in the different tissues were lower than in plasma. The highest concentration of the 2 drugs and their metabolites was found in the kidney. The distribution pattern of trimethoprim and sulphadoxine was similar in cow and goats.     

Active mammary excretion of N4-acetylated p-aminohippuric acid

Different excretion patterns were observed for p-amino- hippuric acid and its acetylated metabolite in mammary excretion experiments in goats and cows. The excretion of p-aminohippuric acid conformed to passive diffusion of the non-protein bound and un-ionized fraction (Rasmussen 1958, 1966) as described by Miller et al. (1967). Thus, the p-aminohippuric acid (pK_a 3.8) appeared in ultrafiltrates of milk in concentrations 1/4—1/10 of the concentrations in ultrafiltrates of blood plasma. The concentrations of acetylated p-aminohippuric acid (pK_a 3.9) in ultrafiltrates of milk were on the other hand equal to or higher than in ultrafiltrates of blood plasma.     

Reaction of Ptr ToxA-Insensitive Wheat Mutants to Pyrenophora tritici-repentis Race 1

ABSTRACT The host-selective toxin Ptr ToxA is produced by races 1 and 2 of Pyrenophora tritici-repentis, causal agent of tan spot of wheat. Ptr ToxA has been causally associated with pathogenicity by the race 2 phenotype in this system. However, the role of toxin in disease caused by race 1, the most prevalent form of the fungus in the central and northern Great Plains of North America, has not been rigorously investigated. Three independent wheat lines harboring mutations for insensitivity to Ptr ToxA were derived from ethylmethane sulfonate treatment of the hard red spring wheat cv. Kulm, possessing the single dominant gene for toxin sensitivity. Each of the three mutants was insensitive to Ptr ToxA in bioassays based on necrosis development and electrolyte leakage. Each mutant was crossed to each of the other mutants and to the wild-type Kulm. Segregation data indicate that each mutant line harbors a single recessive mutation for toxin insensitivity that maps to or near the same locus, possibly the toxin-sensitivity gene. Each toxin-insensitive mutant line was susceptible to two isolates of race 1 of P. tritici-repentis. F(2) and F(3) generations derived from crosses between Kulm and each mutant segregated for toxin reaction. However, segregation for fungal reaction was not evident, and all F(3) families were tan spot susceptible regardless of toxin reaction. Host insensitivity to Ptr ToxA is not necessarily equivalent to resistance to race 1. Ptr ToxA should not be used alone as a proxy for fungal inoculations by breeding programs aimed at developing tan spot-resistant wheat.     

Serum levels of reproductive steroid hormones in captive sand tiger sharks, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Carcharias</Emphasis><Emphasis Type="Italic">taurus</Emphasis> (Rafinesque), and comments on their relation to sexual conflicts

Levels of reproductively-related steroids were determined in captive male sand tiger sharks, Carcharias taurus, maintained at two institutions: SeaWorld Adventure Park Orlando and the National Aquarium in Baltimore. Sexual conflicts were absent at the former, but were documented at the latter. Serum titers of 17β-estradiol, progesterone, testosterone, and 5α-dihydrotestosterone were determined via radioimmunoassay in adult male sharks from 1988 to 2000. Sampling overlap between the two institutions occurred for 3 months of the year, but steroid concentrations were compared only for April due to the occurrence of sexual conflicts in the sharks at the National Aquarium in Baltimore in that month. For April, testosterone and dihydrotestosterone were significantly higher in the SeaWorld males, and progesterone was significantly higher in the National Aquarium in Baltimore males, while estradiol was not significantly different. Steroid levels were also determined from serial samples taken monthly over 17 months from three male sharks and one female shark at the National Aquarium in Baltimore in 2001–2002 and were compared with corresponding observed sexual conflicts. The steroid levels obtained showed distinct annual hormonal cycles in the male sharks and corroborated a biennial cycle for the single serially-sampled female shark. Furthermore, the steroid levels for individual males correlated with sexual conflicts as well as their position within the male dominance hierarchy. As this species is depleted in some regions globally, insight into the steroid profile of mature sand tiger sharks is important for a greater understanding of the relationship between their reproductive physiology and behavior, and may aid in captive management and reproduction. L. E. L. Rasmussen—Deceased.     

Tracer Dyes Food Green No. 4 and Food Blue No. 3 in Antibiotic and Chemotherapeutic Preparations for Intramammary Application Iv

Comparison has been made between Food Green No. 4 and Food Blue No. 3 as tracer dyes for indirect detection of the drugs in milk after intramammary application of a number of commonly used preparations containing antibiotics and chemotherapeutic agents.The tracer dyes had no effect on the stability of the preparations containing penicillin, penicillin ester, and sulphonamide (I, II, III, V and VI) ; after six months’ storage at room temperature, 75 to 100 per cent of the drugs could be recovered. The Oxytetracycline content in preparation IV recovered by 70 to 100 per cent after two months. There were great differences in the irritating effect of the various preparations, as determined by the cell counts of the milk, but the addition of tracer dye did not alter this effect. A direct relationship was demonstrated between concentrations of, on the one hand, tracer dye and, on the other hand, penicillin (preparations I, II, and III), Oxytetracycline (preparation IV) and sulphonamide (preparations V and VI) in milk from ten treated cows.In all quarter samples tracer dye could be demonstrated for just as long as the drugs, and often one or two milkings longer. Thus the experiments confirm the great certainty with which triphenylmethane dyes can reveal indirectly the presence of very small residues of antibiotics and sulphonamides in the milk after intramammary infusion.