In Vitro Activity of Lawsonia inermis （Henna） on Some Pathogenic Fungi

The present study was conducted to investigate antifungal activity ofLawsonia inermis （Henna plant）. Leaf samples of the plants were collected from Eastern Nile of Khartoum state, Sudan. Ethanol and petroleum ether extracts in various concentrations were obtained by maceration （cold method）. The extracts were bioassay in vitro to know their bioactivity to inhibit the growth of tested fungi. The cup plate agar diffusion method was adopted to assess the antifungal activity of the extracts against tested yeasts while agar incorporated method was used for other molds. Both extracts revealed anti fungal activity against all yeast strains except Pichiafabianii which was found resistant to both ethanol and ether extracts. The results displayed antifungal activity against tested fungi. Minimum mould concentration （MMC） of the extracts was determined. The obtained results revealed antifungal activity of henna leaves extracts which support the traditional use of the Henna in therapy of fungal infections. The possibility of therapeutic use of Sudanese henna as antifungal agents is recommended.     

Study on the Resistance Induced by Salicylic Acid Against Phytophthora capsici in Pepper （Capsicum annuum）

Pepper Phytophthora blight caused by Phytophthora capsici L. is the most destructive disease for reducing pepper yields in the world. Building up varietal resistance and induced resistance to the disease are of agricultural importance. In this paper, the disease resistance induced by salicylic acid (SA) against P. capsici were studied by using four hot pepper lines with different resistant abilities and one P. capsici strain with middle pathogenicity. Results show that SA could induce significantly the resistance of pepper seedlings to P. capsici, but CaCl2, KH2PO4 and VAM couldn‘t. SA at a relative low concentration from 0, 15 to 0.3 g L^-1 had no antifungal activity in vitro against P. capsici, That means the disease resistant enhancement of the plants treated with SA is due to the induction effect, but not the antifungal effect of SA. About 1 to 5 days internal between SA-treatment and challenge inoculation was sufficient to induce the disease resistance of hot pepper. The resistance could remain more than 20 days after treatment with SA.     

Study on Accumulation Rule of Carbohydrates in Soybean （Glycine max（L.） Merrill）

Three soybean cultivars, Hefeng25 （HF25）, Suinongl4 （SN14） and Longxuanl （LX1） were used as materials and the accumulation features of carbohydrates were studied in leaves and stems. The results showed that the soluble sugar content in leaves and stems appeared the same trend of higher-lower-higher in three varieties. The changes of sucrose content in leaves appeared the same rule with that of soluble sugar, that is higher-lower-higher, while presented a rising trend in stems. The content of starch in leaves varied as a change of double apexes. The content of starch in stems appeared a change of single apex. In the same stage, there were some differences among carbohydrates. The content of soluble sugar and sucrose in SN14 was higher, and the starch content was lower.     

Effects of Terpinen-4-ol on Four Metabolic Enzymes and Polyphenol Oxidase （PPO） in Mythimna separta Walker

To study insecticidal mechanism of terpinen-4-ol, a main insecticidal composition in the essential oil of Sabina vulgaris, the 5th instar larvae of Mythimna separta, were investigated with terpinen-4-ol by topical application. The activities of phosphatase, glutathione S-transferase （GSTs）, cytochrome P450 （P450）, and polyphenol oxidase （PPO） of tested insects were determined in all poisoning stages, including exciting stage, convulsing stage, paralysis stage, and recover stage. The result showed that the activities of both acid phosphatase （ACP） and alkaline phosphatase （AKP） in treated insects were induced by terpinen-4-ol, but ACP was inhibited in paralysis stage. The activities of GSTs were inhibited in exciting stage, convulsing stage, and paralysis stage, but gradually recovered in recover stage. O-demethylase activity of cytochrome P450 was inhibited by terpinen-4-ol, and the inhibition rate in all poisoning stages were 26.27, 46.03, 80.24, and 90.22%, respectively. PPO activities were strongly inhibited by terpinen-4-ol both in vitro and in vivo. In conclusion, the activities of P450, GSTs, and PPO could have relation with toxicity of terpinen-4-ol against larvae of the Mythimna separta, but recover stage of the poisoning insects might be related to GSTs induced. As a new insecticide or synergist, terpinen- 4-ol has a potential value in field of insecticide resistance management.     

Effects of Peracetic Acid （PAA） Combined with Calcium Treatments on Storage Quality of Loquat Fruit

[Objective] The paper was to evaluate effects of peracetic acid （PAA） combined with calcium treatments on storage quality of Ioquat fruits, so as to pro- vide practical techniques to solve the problems of postharvest rot and quality deteri- oration for Ioquat fruits. [Method] With Ioquat fruits of Qingzhong variety as materi- als, 0.2%, 0.4% and 0.8% PAA combined with 0.8% CaCI2 was used to soak Ioquat fruits for 4 min, 0.8% CaCl2 and water treatments were set as two controls; the fruits were dried and packaged by 0.02 mm PE bags, then stored under non-chilling low temperature of （7±1） ℃. The indicators related to storage quality of Ioquat fruits were randomly tested once every 3 d, and their variation situations were analyzed. [Result] Compared with two control treatments and 0.2% PAA, 0.8% PAA combined with calcium treatments, the treatment of 0.4% PAA combined with 0.8% CaCl2 could significantly inhibit rot index, weight loss rate, firmness and cell membrane permeability of Ioquat fruits during storage period, which could also effectively delay the reduction of titratable acid, vitamin C, soluble solid content and juice yield, and maintain respiration intensity of fruits at a low level; the appearance and flavor qual- ity of fruits were good after stored for 25 d. [Conclusion] 0.4% PAA combined with 0.8% CaCl2 treatment is an efficient, safe and economical practice technology in an- ti-corrosion and quality preservation for postharvest Ioquat fruits .     

Studies on Acaricidal Bioactivities of Artemisia annua L. Extracts Against Tetranychus cinnabarinus Bois. （Acari： Tetranychidae）

The aim of this study was to determine the best extraction technique, the most suitable solvent, the optimal plant parts, and the acaricidal activities of Artemisia annua L. The petroleum ether （30-60℃）, petroleum ether （60-90℃）, ethanol, acetone, and water parallel and sequenced extracts were obtained from the leaves, stems and roots of different period of A. annua L. in April, May, June, July and September respectively. And then the acaricidal bioactivities against Tetranychus cinnabarinus of all extracts were determined by the slide-capillary method in the laboratory. The results indicated that the acaricidal bioactivities elevated as the development of A. annua plant at the concentration of 5 mg mL-L The general tendency exhibited the sequence of July 〉 June 〉 May 〉 April, but September decreased comparing to July. However, the most effective extracts in five months were all acetone parallel extract of A. annua leaf, and the corrected mortalities treated after 48 h ranged from 74 to 100%. The median lethal concentrations （LC50） against T. cinnabarinus of acetone parallel extracts ofA. annua leaves in September, July, June, May and April were 0.5986, 0.4341, 0.8376, 0.9443 and 1.3817 mg mL^-1, respectively, treated after 48 h. The 13 groups were isolated from acetone extracts ofA. annua leaves in July by column chromatography, both the 1 lth and 12th groups exhibited strong bioactivities. The median lethal concentrations of the 1 lth and 12th groups against T. cinnabarinus were 0.3683 and 0.1586 mg mL^-1, respectively. The acetone parallel extract ofA. annua leaf in July was the most toxic to T. cinnabarinus and the corrected mortality was 100% after 48 h. The acetone parallel extract of the 1 lth and 12th groupswere the most active components, acted as the emphases in further study.     

Effects of Exogenous Jasmonic Acid on Concentrations of Direct-Defense Chemicals and Expression of Related Genes in Bt （Bacillus thuringiensis） Corn （Zea mays）

Bt corn is one of the top three large-scale commercialized transgenic crops around the world.It is increasingly clear that the complementary durable approaches for pest control,which combine the endogenous defense of the crop with the introduced foreign genes,are promising alternative strategies for pest resistance management and the next generation of insect-resistant transgenic crops.In the present study,we tested the inducible effects of exogenous jasmonic acid(JA) on direct-defense chemical content,Bt protein concentration,and related gene expression in the leaves of Bt corn cultivar 34B24 and non-Bt cultivar 34B23 by chemical analysis,ELISA,and RT-PCR.The results show that the expression of LOX,PR-2αMPI,and PR-1 genes in the treated leaf(the first leaf)was promoted by exogenous JA both in 34B24 and 34B23.As compared with the control,the concentration of DIMBOA in the treated leaf was significantly increased by 63 and 18% for 34B24 and 34B23,respectively.The total phenolic acid was also increased by 24 and 12% for both 34B24 and 34B23.The Bt protein content of 34B24 in the treated leaf was increased by 13% but decreased significantly by 27% in the second leaf.The induced response of 34B24 was in a systemic way and was much stronger than that of 34B23.Those findings indicated that there is a synergistic interaction between Bt gene and internally induced chemical defense system triggered by externally applied JA in Bt corn.     

Study on Phylogenetic Relationships of Five Breeds of Pigs by Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA（RAPD）

RAPD was used to study the genetic divergency and phylogenetic relationships of five breeds of domestic pigs,including Min pig,Duroc,Yorkshired,Landrace and Junmu I pig. We selected fourteen primers from eighty random primers,caculated genetic distance index matrix and constructed phylogenetic tree with UPGMA methods. Genetic distance index matrix indicated that the genetic relationship between Junmu I pig and Landrace was the closest and the farthest between Duroc and min pig.     

Study on Effect of Age of Seedlings Transplant on the Performance of Tomato （Lycopersicon esculentum） in a Southwestern Nigeria Location

Field trials were conducted at the experimental site of the Department of Plant Science of the University of Ado Ekiti, Nigeria during the 2005 and 2006 cropping season to examine the effects of age of transplanting on the performance of tomato Lycopersieon esculentum L. Establishment count %, plant height stem girth, earliness to flower, and fruit yield were significantly affected by the ages at which the seedlings were transplanted. The 2 and 3 weeks after sowing transplants were identical in performance and gave the highest number of field establishment count, growth increase, and yield. The 4WAS transplants performed better than the 5WAS transplants. It is concluded that a delay in early transplanting of tomato seedlings after 4WAS could lead to a very high reduction in tomato yield in the study area.     

Study on the Photosynthetic Characteristics in Spring Maize （Zea mays L.）of Different Quality Type

common maize synthetic rate（ Photosynthetic characteristics were probed by sweet maize, waxy maize, high starch maize and The results revealed that leaf area index （LAI）, chlorophyll a content, chlorophyll b content,photo-PR） showed single peak curve at the whole growth stage. The stages of peak were different according to different varieties. NEAUS4 had the lowest peak and while SIDAN 19 had the highest among all stages. Ratio of chlorophyll a to b was low at seedling stage, reached the peak atjointing stage and then declined. SIDAN 19 had the lower level at the last stages.     

Identification of Organic Substances Associated with Tissue Senescence in Upland Cotton （Gossypium spp. L.） Based on GC-MS Analysis

Premature senescence in crop production,especially occurred at the late growth stage,generally results in a reduction in yield and quality.Therefore,it is beneficial for yield and quality to properly delay senescence of plant tissues during the late developmental stage.In this study,it was observed that the chlorophyll content and photosynthetic rate were gradually decreased along leaf growth progression,and the rates of reduction were promoted by drought.Based on gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis,total eight,five,seven,and five kinds of organic compounds that putatively associated with the tissue senescent progression were identified in leaves,fruit branches,petals,and sepals,respectively.It was found that the identified organic compound,such as α-pinene,β-pinene,and pentadecane were present in different tissues.Among the total ten organic substances identified to be related with the leaf senescence,half were specifically detected in the drought treatment.These results suggest some biochemical pathways associated with the leaf senescence are distinctly regulated by drought.The identified organic compounds in the tested tissues showed three types on the performance pattern based on the contents along with the senescent progression,including gradually increasing,decreasing,and a curve with one single peak.Thus,during the senescence process in tissues,a subset of metabolic substances occur modifications on the quantities,reflecting a complicate biochemical reactions are initiated via the senescence signals.Further analysis of the important organic substances will be helpful for elucidation of the tissue senescence mechanism at the biochemical level and provide a new insight of the senescence signaling transductions in cotton.     

Study on Quality Improvement Effect and Separate Character of Soybean Male Sterile （MS1） Recurrent Selection Population

To solve the problem that soybean has narrow genetic base, we constructed a series of male sterile recurrent selection populations, and studied the effects of quality improvement and practical value. An LD-base population, which fits to our ecology type was constructed by 6 years＇ gene enrichment through the introduction of new genes from 23 local varieties and recurrent selection. The LD-base populations were then improved by making crosses with high protein and high oil genotypes. As a result we obtained a high protein sub-population （db） and a high oil sub-population （gy）, For the db sub-population, the protein content is 1.18% higher than the base population, 22.38% of the individuals contain 45% or more of protein, which is 10.99% higher than the base population. For the gy sub-population, oil content is 0.24% higher than the base population. Individuals with oil content of 20% or more are 11.05% higher than the base population. The quantitative characters such as flowering date, mature date, pod habit, and hilum color, etc., all showed wide range of separation, and the segregation ratio approached balance. The c.v. of branch number of ms1 recurrent population （72.8%） is higher than general cross-population （57.3%）, and the c.v. of 100 seed weight of ms1 （18.1%） is higher than general cross population （16.5%）, the coefficient of variation of plant height, pods per plant, and seeds per pod were not significantly different. It was demonstrated in this paper that the quality character of ms 1 male sterile recurrent selection population was improved by adding new genes. And the segregation of other characters widened, making the populations suitable for the objective of soybean breeding. In this paper, we also discussed the breeding method, key technology, and selection effect of soybean ms 1 population.