Rodent abundance,stone bund density and its effects on crop damage in the Tigray highlands,Ethiopia

In areas of subsistence agriculture, a variety of soil conservation methods have been implemented in the last few decades to improve crop yields, however these can have unintended consequences such as providing habitat for rodent pests. We studied rodent population dynamics and estimated crop damage in high and low stone bund density fields for four cropping seasons in Tigray highlands, northern Ethiopia. Stone bunds are physical structures for soil and water conservation, and potentially habitat for rodents. We used a general model to relate the proportion of crop damage to rodent abundance, stone bund density and crop stages. Generally, rodent abundance remained relatively low during the study period, except during the fourth quarter of the 2010 cropping season. We found a positive correlation between rodent abundance and crop damage, and significant variation in rodent abundance and crop damage between high and low stone bund density fields. Furthermore, crop damage also varied significantly between crop stages. We concluded that Mastomys awashensis (Lavrenchenko, Likhnova and Baskevich, 1998) and Arvicanthis dembeensis (Ruppel, 1842) were the two most important crop pests in Tigray highlands causing significant damage. Fields with high stone bund density (∼10 m average distance apart) harbor more rodents and endure a significantly higher proportion of crop damage compared to fields with lower stone bund density (∼15 m average distance apart). The fact that rodent abundances peaked during the reproductive stage of the crop and around harvest implies the need for management intervention before these crop stages are attained.     

Changes in farmers' knowledge,attitudes and practices after implementation of ecologically-based rodent management in the uplands of Lao PDR

Rodents are a severe and chronic pest for farmers in the upland farming system of Lao PDR where upland rice is the predominant subsistence crop. Farmers participated in developing and implementing a series of ecologically-based rodent management (EBRM) strategies designed to reduce the impact of rodents in their upland farming system. These were tested in replicated Treatment and Reference sites in two provinces of northern Laos. A survey was conducted with farmers to determine their knowledge, attitudes and practices prior to and after the implementation of EBRM. This paper reports on the results of the post-implementation survey and compares results with the pre-implementation survey. The survey revealed that rodents remained the most important pest for these farmers. The mean estimated yield loss of upland rice was 12%. There was a significant reduction in the yield loss from pre- to post-treatment, but the time by treatment interaction was not significant. Trapping rodents in the fields remained the most important control strategy for these farmers and also was considered the most effective method. There was an increase in effort expended by farmers in controlling rodents post-treatment on Treatment sites in Luang Namtha, but no difference for other sites. The money spent on controlling rodents was lower on all sites post-treatment except for Treatment sites in Luang Namtha. Farmers on the Treatment sites in Luang Namtha had the lowest effort during the pre-treatment period and thought they needed to increase their rodent management efforts because of their involvement in this project. As a result of the project, farmers were more aware of the problems of rodents and were interested in adopting EBRM strategies.     

Integrated rodent management in outbreak-prone upland rice growing areas of Northern Laos

An integrated rodent management program was tested in outbreak-prone areas in three provinces of the Northern uplands of Laos (Luangprabang, Phongsaly, Houaphanh). In each province, it was replicated in six villages and associated upland rice fields; six neighboring villages served as negative controls. The program started end of 2010 and aimed at protecting the wet season rice harvest of 2011 against rodent damage. Rodent control techniques included sustained trapping, rodent-proofing of grain stores, rodent hunts and village sanitation campaigns, and biological rodent control using the protozoan parasite Sarcocystis singaporensis. The measures were embedded in a community approach, which was coordinated by provincial and district agricultural officers. Compared to the control villages, which showed on average 10.9% rat damage to ripening upland rice before harvest in 2011, and to the situation of the previous year (12.8%), rat damage was significantly reduced to an average of 4.3% in rice fields of the treatment villages. The incidence of rat-infested rice storage huts dropped significantly from an average of 86% in 2010 to 3.5% in 2011 in the treatment villages. Villagers from Houaphanh culled a total of 73,088 rodents over a period of about nine months, which included mainly black rats (Rattus rattus). Because the program phased out before harvest in 2011, potential losses due to rodents were predicted based on yield-damage relationships of the crop year 2010. The predicted average reduction of yield loss for 2011 was 55%, or 417.6 kg ha⁻¹, in the treatment villages when compared to the controls. The program implemented principles of ecologically-based rodent management (EBRM), the components of which are discussed. In conclusion, EBRM could be helpful in stemming as what was observed as high chronic rodent populations in the uplands of Laos. True outbreaks will require development of a suitable forecast system.     

Knowledge, attitudes and practices of farmers on rodent pests and their management in the lowlands of the Sierra Madre Biodiversity Corridor, Philippines

A survey of the knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) of 100 rice farmers and 50 coconut farmers was conducted in the coastal lowland agro-ecosystems of the Sierra Madre Biodiversity Corridor, Luzon, Philippines to identify current rodent management practices and to understand the extent of rat damage and the attitudes of farmers to community actions for rodent management. Pests were most commonly listed as one of the three most important rice and coconut production constraints. Other major crop production constraints were typhoons and insufficient water. Farmers consider rats to be the major pest of coconut and of rice during the wet season rice crop, with average yield losses of 3.0% and 13.2%, respectively. Rice and coconut farmers practised a wide range of rodent management techniques. These included scrub clearance, hunting and trapping. Of the 42 rice farmers and 3 coconut farmers that applied rodenticides to control rodents, all used the acute rodenticide, zinc phosphide. However, only ten rice farmers (23.8%) applied rodenticides prior to the booting stage and only seven farmers (15.6%) conducted pre-baiting before applying zinc phosphide. The majority of farmers belonged to farmer organisations and believed that rat control can only be done by farmers working together. However, during the last cropping season, less than a third of rice farmers (31.2%) applied rodent management as a group. In order to reduce the impact of rodents on the farmers of the coastal lowlands of the Sierra Madre Biodiversity Corridor, integrated management strategies need to be developed that specifically target the pest rodents in a sustainable manner, and community actions for rodent management should be promoted.     

A review and synthesis of bird and rodent damage estimates to select California crops

A comprehensive literature review was conducted to identify the magnitude of bird and rodent damage to 19 economically important crops in California. Interviews with agriculture experts provided additional information about damages. Monte Carlo simulations were used to derive summary estimates of damages to each crop. A meta-analysis indicated that summary damage estimates from expert interviews were higher than estimates from field studies and surveys. It was also found that there has been a downward trend over time in damages to almonds and grapes. The results of our study indicate that damages from bird and rodents remain high for many crops and are likely to be economically significant within the state of California.     

价补分离政策对农民种粮收入的影响研究

运用我国19个玉米主产区省份的2004～2018年面板数据,采用双重差分法,分析价补分离政策对农民种粮收入的影响,进行稳健性检验。研究发现,价补分离政策抑制了东北三省和内蒙古地区农民种粮收入增长。进一步分析发现,生产效应机制对农民种粮收入增长有抑制作用,产业结构和市场联动机制对农民种粮收入有促进作用,结论具有较好的稳健性。建立农民合理增收机制,加大玉米产业链机构投资者的参与度,开放玉米市场化收购资金筹集方式,是促进农民种粮收入增长的切入点。     

玉米收储制度改革背景下吉林省农户生产经营困境及对策研究

吉林省执行国家玉米临时收储政策以来,玉米收储价格持续走高,种植面积和产量不断扩大,有效保障国家粮食安全和广大农民利益。但临储制度所带来的库存、销售等方面的问题也逐渐显现。2016年,国家发改委联合中央农办、财政部等部门,正式启动"市场化收购"加"补贴"模式,取消玉米临时收储政策。收储制度改革作为我国农业供给侧改革的重要组成部分,在建立更加完善的市场秩序过程中,客观上引发了产业链各环节的不适应甚至生产经营困境。本文利用2016～2017年吉林省72个玉米种植样本村的调查数据,分析玉米收储制度改革对吉林省不同规模玉米种植农户生产经营造成的影响,并针对消极影响所带来的种植规模扩大、种植结构调整等困境,提出相应的对策和建议。     

Economic impacts of bird damage and management in U.S. sweet cherry production

Bird damage is a common and costly problem for fruit producers, who try to limit damage by using management techniques. This analysis used survey data from producers in five U.S. states to estimate bird damage to sweet cherry (Prunus avium) crops with and without the use of bird management. A partial equilibrium model was applied to the data to estimate the change in the marginal cost of production resulting from disuse of bird management. The model incorporates both decreased yield and elimination of management costs. A welfare analysis was conducted with short and long run supply elasticities derived from time-series data using geometric distributed lags. With no bird management, total surplus in the United States decreases by about $185 to $238 million in the short run and $21 to $29 million in the long run, indicating that bird management has a large impact on cherry production and associated market outcomes, including price and consumption.     

Bird damage to select fruit crops: The cost of damage and the benefits of control in five states

Fruit loss to birds is a long-standing and costly problem for many producers. We conducted a survey of Honeycrisp apple, blueberry, cherry, and wine grape growers in California, Michigan, New York, Oregon, and Washington to estimate costs of bird damage and benefits of bird damage management. We also assessed grower perceptions of impacts on profits and effectiveness of bird management techniques. Current yield-loss estimates provided by growers and market price data were used to monetize current bird damage in each crop and growing region. Data on expected damage without management were used to estimate the benefits of bird damage management as it is currently being employed in the different crops and growing regions. We estimated that current bird damage costs per hectare ranged from $104 in Oregon tart cherries to $7267 in Washington Honeycrisp apples. Estimated benefits of bird management ranged from $299 per hectare in Oregon tart cherries to $36,851 in California blueberries. Aggregate bird damage in the five crops and states was estimated at $189 million, and the aggregate benefits of managing that damage were estimated at $737 million to $834 million. Growers viewed most techniques for bird damage management as ineffective, or only slightly effective, and a majority of blueberry and sweet cherry growers viewed bird damage as having a significant impact on profits. Enhancing the effectiveness of bird damage management would increase both the efficiency and profitability of fruit production.     

Evaluation of heat damage, sugars, amylases and colour in breads from einkorn, durum and bread wheat flours

To limit nutritional losses and optimise bread processing, heat damage indices (furosine, glucosylisomaltol, hydroxymethylfurfural), sugars, α-amylase, β-amylase and colour were monitored during bread manufacturing from refined flour of three einkorn, three bread and one durum wheat samples. The heat damage indices increased only during the baking step. Furosine was significantly lower in einkorn (on average, 9.3 ± 5.33 and 25.3 ± 10.70 mg/100 g protein in crumb and crust, respectively) than in bread wheat (31.6 ± 3.05 and 115.6 ± 13.53) and durum wheat (36.2 ± 2.82 and 165.0 ± 3.17). Glucosylisomaltol and hydroxymethylfurfural were detected only in the crust, with lower levels in einkorn (on average, 2.3 ± 1.78 and 10.0 ± 7.79 mg/kg DM, respectively) than in bread wheat (13.1 ± 5.57 and 42.8 ± 10.64) and durum wheat (18.9 ± 1.11 and 57.2 ± 0.80). The different behaviour of einkorn was probably related to its moderate β-amylase activity, and thus the low maltose content of its dough. Colour was correlated with heat damage, as einkorn breads were lighter than the others.The results show that einkorn bread undergoes lower heat damage than analogous products from durum and bread wheat, thus probably better preserving its nutritional value.     

Cis- and trans-protopinium,a novel nematicide,for the eco-friendly management of root-knot nematodes

Plant-derived nematicides are being increasingly used while select synthetic nematicides are phased out for environmental concerns. This is the first report on the in vitro nematicidal activity of cis- and trans-protopinium isolated from roots of Fumaria parviflora and its in vivo effect on the southern root-knot nematode Meloidogyne incognita. Cis- and trans-protopinium was isolated from the methanolic fraction FM2.1, and its structure elucidated using ¹³C and ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). The NMR spectra were characterized using deuterated dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) at temperatures of 25 and 80 °C. In an in vitro study, over 120 h of incubation, the area under cumulative percent hatch inhibition and mortality of cis- and trans-protopinium reached 100% at a concentration of 200 μg mL⁻¹. In the greenhouse and field settings, cis- and trans-protopinium was evaluated against M. incognita on tomato at a concentration of 100, 200, and 300 μg mL⁻¹ for two consecutive seasons, that is, spring and autumn, in 2010. At a concentration of 300 μg mL⁻¹ in the greenhouse and field trials during spring and autumn, cis- and trans-protopinium significantly reduced the nematode galling index, the number of females per gram of root, and the reproduction factor, as well as increased plant height, fresh and dry shoot weights, and root length. Therefore, cis- and trans-protopinium can be used as an effective and safe nematicide against M. incognita on tomato in an organic and sustainable agricultural production system. Phytochemicals have various agricultural applications, especially to control economically important nematode pests.     

武夷山珍稀动植物管理信息系统

运用Arc GIS 9.0、Microsoft Access 2003、ASP（Active Server Pages）、Adobe Photoshop、FrontPage 2003、Java等软件建立了武夷山珍稀动植物管理信息系统。本系统分静态页面和动态页面,共生成“系统简介”、“珍稀动物管理”、“珍稀植物管理”、“武夷山珍稀动植物分布图”、“生物图片”6个模块,为有效地保护和管理武夷山珍稀动植物提供依据和交流平台。     

Evaluation of the management practice for controlling herbicide runoff from paddy fields using intermittent and spillover-irrigation schemes

Two water management practices, an intermittent irrigation scheme using automatic irrigation system (AI) and a spillover-irrigation scheme (SI), were compared for the fate and transport of commonly used herbicides, mefenacet (MF) and bensulfuron-methyl (BSM) in experimental paddy plots. Maximum mefenacet concentrations in paddy water were 660 and 540 μg L⁻¹ for AI and SI plot, respectively. The corresponding values for bensulfuron-methyl were 46.0 and 42.0 μg L⁻¹. Dissipation of the herbicides in paddy water appeared to follow the first-order kinetics with half-lives (DT₅₀) of 1.9–4.5 days and DT₉₀ (90% mass dissipation) of 7.8–11.3 days. The AI plot had no surface drainage, hence no herbicide was lost through paddy-water discharge. However, SI plot lost about 38 and 49% of applied mefenacet and bensulfuron-methyl, respectively. The intermittent irrigation scheme using automatic irrigation system with a high drainage gate was recommended to be a best management practice for controlling the herbicide losses from paddy fields. The paddy field managed by spillover-irrigation scheme may cause significant water and herbicide losses depending on the volume of irrigation and precipitation. The water holding period after herbicide application was suggested to be at least 10 days according to the DT₉₀ index.     

Effects of integrated pest management, biological control and prophylactic use of insecticides on the management and sustainability of soybean

This study aimed to evaluate the prophylactic use of insecticides (PUI) in comparison with integrated pest management (IPM) and biological control (BC) strategies. Five replicated experiments were carried out independently in two Brazilian soybean-producing states, Goiás and Paraná, where those pest-control strategies were evaluated during two consecutive growing seasons. The evaluated treatments were integrated pest management (IPM); prophylactic use of insecticides (PUI), a practice that has been increasingly adopted by soybean growers in Brazil as well as in other Latin American countries; biological control (BC) and the control (C), which involved no pest treatment. Although the pest infestation rates in the BC and IPM treatments were higher than that in the PUI treatment, crop productivity, in general, was similar among these treatments and differed only from the control with no pest treatment. These results indicate that the prophylactic use of insecticides on soybeans does not result in higher productivity in the field and that this practice merely requires larger amounts of pesticides, which can impair the sustainability of the soybean crop. Therefore, the use of IPM still remains the best alternative for pest management in soybean fields.     

Wildlife damage and cultivated land abandonment: Findings from the mountainous areas of Chongqing,China

Human-wildlife conflict (HWC) is a growing global issue that seriously threatens agricultural production and livelihoods. Studying the relationship between wildlife damage, land use, and livelihood enables us to understand the dilemma facing current wildlife protection and ecological restoration policies and to amend existing policies effectively. Using participatory rural appraisal (PRA), quantitative analysis, and a Multilevel Logit regression model, this paper analyzed land use and livelihoods among 160 households subject to wild boar (Sus scrofa) damage in four villages within Youyang County in the poor mountainous areas of Chongqing, China. The findings showed the following: (i) wild boars in Youyang County were responsible for large-scale crop and property damage; (ii) cultivated land abandonment has become a significant trend in land use, and the most important perceived driver for abandoning farmland is the land plot's vulnerability to wild boar damage; (iii) when protecting cultivated land plots, households tend to protect those plots that are close to the road, have larger land area, and have a slight or abrupt slope; however, households with more members working in non-farm labor, more female agricultural workers, and/or higher non-farm income are more inclined to abandon protection of their plots. This paper discusses seven main measures that are frequently adopted by farmers to protect their crops and livestock and are perceived by these farmers as the most effective and sensible countermeasures.     

Assessing the impact of areawide pheromone trapping,pesticide applications,and eradication of infested date palms for Rhynchophorus ferrugineus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) management in Al Ghowaybah,Saudi Arabia

The red palm weevil, Rhynchophorus ferrugineus (Olivier) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) is a highly destructive pest of date palms, Phoenix dactylifera L. (Arecales: Arecaceae), in Saudi Arabia. Data spanning a six year period (2007–2012) from Al Ghowaybah, a 1104 ha date producing region in the Al Ahsaa Directorate in Saudi Arabia, were analyzed to assess the impact enhanced management efforts that commenced in Oct. 2009 had against this pest. Within six months of initiating the areawide management program significant reductions in the mean monthly number of weevils trapped and percentage traps with R. ferrugineus were detected. Mean monthly trap captures of R. ferrugineus and the percentage of traps capturing weevils declined significantly from 2009 to 2012 by an average of 65% and 90%, respectively, indicating that trapping and dispersal pressure was significantly reduced. By 2011, average monthly trap captures and percentage of traps with R. ferrugineus were significantly lower than all pre-management capture data and this was maintained through 2012 when data collection ceased. Additionally, over the period 2010–2012, insecticide application and palm eradication rates dropped by 91% and 89%, respectively. The total number of R. ferrugineus captured in 2012 declined by 86% when compared to total captures for 2010. At the end of 2012, the estimated infestation rate of date palms in Al Ghowaybah was 0.36%, which was below the economic threshold of a 1% infestation rate set by the Directorate of Agriculture supervising the program. It is concluded that the mandatory areawide management program that commenced in Oct. 2009 against R. ferrugineus in Al Ghowaybah had a significant and rapid impact against this pest.     

Impact of seawater intrusion control on the environment,land use and household incomes in a coastal area

Agricultural production in the coastal wetlands of Asia is often hindered by salinity intrusion caused by tidal fluctuation. This paper reports changes in environmental and socio-economic conditions that followed the phased construction and operation of sluices for controlling seawater intrusion from 1994 –2000 in a coastal area of the Mekong River Delta, Vietnam. Canal water salinity decreased rapidly upstream of sluices, allowing rice cropping intensification and increased rice production in the eastern part of the study area. However, the livelihoods of farmers in the western part were adversely affected due to cessation of supply of brackish water that was needed for brackish-water shrimp farming, while the acid sulphate soils present there posed problems for rice cultivation. The poor farmers and landless people suffered more because the fishery resource that they depended on declined sharply due to reduced salinity and increased acidity in the canal water. The findings confirmed that the environment and resource use in the coastal lands are very sensitive to external intervention. A clear understanding of the socio-economic and environmental impacts of salinity control measures in coastal areas can help planning to enhance farmers' incomes while minimizing negative environmental impacts. Land-use policy formulation, planning and management should adopt a more holistic approach, taking into account the interests of all resource users, especially the poor, instead of focusing on any particular sector.     

灰飞虱对氟虫腈抗性风险评估、遗传分析及杀虫剂敏感性研究

 在室内采用稻茎浸渍法进行了灰飞虱对氟虫腈抗性风险评估、抗性遗传分析和杀虫剂的敏感性研究。于2005年采自无锡麦田的灰飞虱种群在室内饲养43代期间用氟虫腈筛选了41代,结果此灰飞虱种群的抗性从8.4倍上升到2305倍。根据Tabashnik介绍的方法计算,现实遗传力(h2)分别为0.0388(1~31代)、0.2636(32~43代)和0.1113(1~43代), 表明灰飞虱对氟虫腈具有一定的抗性风险。采用稻茎浸渍法测定了2007-2008年江苏无锡和浙江长兴两地灰飞虱种群对15种杀虫剂的敏感性, 结果表明,苯基吡唑类杀虫剂氟虫腈、丁烯氟虫腈和乙虫腈的毒力最高(LC50=0.2~1.7 mg/L),其次为烯啶虫胺、噻虫嗪、毒死蜱、吡蚜酮(LC50=1.7~9.7 mg/L),其余杀虫剂的毒力较低;按照年度间敏感性变化,发现2008年无锡灰飞虱种群对氟虫腈和乙虫腈的敏感性比2007年降低了1.1倍。近年来氟虫腈已广泛用于防治这种害虫,但乙虫腈几乎没有使用。因此,对氟虫腈敏感性降低的大田灰飞虱种群似乎对乙虫腈存在交互抗性。通过抗(R)、感(S)亲本、正反交(F1、 F1′)、自交(F2)及回交(BC)后代对氟虫腈的剂量反应研究了灰飞虱对氟虫腈的抗性遗传特性,结果表明,其抗性为常染色体的不完全显性遗传\[D(F1)=0.20, D(F1′)=0.38\],抗性由2个或2个以上等位基因控制。还对灰飞虱的抗性治理进行了讨论。     

Influence of the cultivar,environment and management on the grain yield and bread-making quality in winter wheat

The genotype, environment and their interaction play an important role in the grain yielding and grain quality attributes. The main aim of this study was to determine the contributions of the genotype, environment and their interaction to the variation in bread-making traits. The data that were used for the analyses performed in this study were obtained from 3 locations in Poland from post-registration multi-environment trials with winter wheat in 2009 and 2010. The experimental factors were the cultivar (7 cultivars) and the crop management level (low input and high input). In the multi-environment trials, 17 traits were investigated that characterize grain, flour and dough quality. Most of the traits were affected much more strongly by environmental factors (i.e., year and location) than by genotype. The variance components revealed an especially strong effect of the year on the baking score, loaf volume and water absorption, as well a strong effect of the location on dough development and protein content. The obtained results demonstrate that the grain quality as measured by the parameters based on the protein content and quality may be substantially improved by crop management practices, especially by N fertilization level.     

Anticancer activity evaluation of kuanoniamines A and C isolated from the marine sponge Oceanapia sagittaria, collected from the Gulf of Thailand

The pyridoacridine alkaloids kuanoniamines A and C were isolated together with 24 α-methylcholestanol, p-hydroxybenzaldehyde, p-hydroxybenzoic acid, phenylacetic acid and 3-formylindole from the ethyl acetate extract of the marine sponge Oceanapia sagittaria (Sollas), collected from the Gulf of Thailand. Kuanoniamines A and C were evaluated for their effect on the growth of five human tumour and a non-tumour cell lines, as well as on the proliferation of human lymphocytes. Kuanoniamine A was found to be a potent growth inhibitor of all the tumour and a non-tumour cell lines while kuanoniamine C was less potent but showed high selectivity toward the estrogen dependent (ER+) breast cancer cell line. Kuanoniamine A has shown to be a more potent inhibitor of DNA synthesis than kuanoniamine C. Kuanoniamine A was also found to cause an extensive reduction of the MCF-7 cells in G2/M phase as well as an increase in the apoptotic cells.