A disease survey of Fusarium wilt and Alternaria blight on sweet potato in South Africa

A disease survey was conducted on sweet potato in the major production areas of South Africa in 2006-2008 to determine the importance of wilt disease (WD) and Alternaria blight (AB) caused by Alternaria bataticola. The disease prevalence, incidence and severity were assessed for both WD and AB in 58 sweet potato fields in seven provinces, and included both commercial and resource-poor growers. The prevalence of WD in commercial fields was significantly higher than in resource-poor fields; while disease incidence and severity were very low in both commercial and resource-poor fields. Soil pH showed a moderate negative linear correlation to WD severity. WD is at present considered a minor disease of sweet potato in South Africa, although local outbreaks can be damaging. AB had very low disease prevalence, incidence and severity levels in both commercial and resource-poor fields countrywide. However, one of the fields had moderately high disease incidence and severity levels, showing that the disease can be destructive if not controlled. AB should be considered a potentially destructive disease of sweet potato in South Africa. Fusarium oxysporum was consistently isolated from WD plants, with F. oxysporum f. sp. batatas identified, but other formae speciales were also associated with the disease.     

Flowering time in oat: Genotype characterization for photoperiod and vernalization response

Flowering time is an important component in the adaptation of oat to sub-tropical environments. Genotypes differ in their response to photoperiod and to vernalization. The objectives of this study were to identify photoperiod insensitive oat genotypes and then investigate the response of different oat genotypes to a period of vernalization (cold treatment), and to evaluate F₆ recombinant inbred lines from two oat crosses in two different environments (day-length increases and day-length decreases). The genotypes used in the studies were from the UFRGS Oat Breeding Program: UFRGS 8, UFRGS 881971 and UFRGS 930605 and from the University of Minnesota, USA: Amagalon/*Ogle, Coker 492/Starter-1 and PC68/5*Starter, and F₆ lines from the crosses UFRGS 8 × UFRGS 930605 and UFRGS 8 × PC68/5*Starter. UFRGS 8 showed no photoperiod sensitivity by flowering early regardless of the photoperiod length. Late flowering in the winter and early flowering in the summer characterize day-length-dependent genotypes like PC68/5*Starter. UFRGS 881971 responded to vernalization. Genotypes showed variability that can be used in the selection of lines/varieties that more effectively use the complete season.     

Understanding of relationships between ground cover and rat abundances: An integrative approach for management of the oil palm agroecosystem

Ground cover is an essential element in the selection of habitats by small mammals. It provides shelter, foraging opportunities and a hiding place from predators. In oil palm plantations rodents are abundant yet the relationships between ground cover structure and rats are not well understood. Plantation management emphasizes maximisation of oil palm yield by reducing rat damage and competition from weeds, typically through chemical control. This study examined the relationships between ground cover, including undergrowth and frond piles, and rat abundance. Rat trapping and vegetation assessment were conducted simultaneously in five study plots in the Labu Estate, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia. Over 21,000 trap-nights 1190 individual rats were captured and these data were analysed using spatial analysis by distance indices (SADIE). No significant clustering of rats was observed within any plot over time. Redundancy analyses suggested that the overall occurrence of rats, especially Rattus argentiventer, was positively correlated with vegetation cover and height. This implies that habitat complexity is important to rats, even in a relatively simple agroecosystem. Results of the SADIE analyses were inconsistent, perhaps due to highly variable management practices in the plantations. The findings from this study suggest that using an integrated approach in the control of both weeds and rats in oil palm plantations may maximise the benefits from weeding while reducing the production loss due to rats and the need for chemical control of rats.     

Heritability of,and genotypic correlations between,aflatoxin traits and physiological traits for drought tolerance under end of season drought in peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.)

More rapid progress in breeding peanut for reduced aflatoxin contamination should be achievable with a better understanding of the inheritance of, aflatoxin trait and physiological traits that are associated with reduced contamination. The objectives of this study were to estimate the heritability of aflatoxin traits and genotypic (r_G) and phenotypic (r_P) correlations between drought resistance traits and aflatoxin traits in peanut. One hundred-forty peanut lines in the F_4:6 and F_4:7 generations were generated from four crosses, and tested under well-watered and terminal drought conditions. Field experiments were conducted under the dry seasons 2006/2007 and 2007/2008. Data were recorded for biomass (BIO), pod yield (PY), drought tolerance traits [harvest index (HI), drought tolerance index (DTI) of BIO and PY, specific leaf area (SLA), and SPAD chlorophyll meter reading (SCMR)], and aflatoxin traits [seed infection and aflatoxin contamination]. Heritabilities of A. flavus infection and aflatoxin contamination in this study were low to moderate. The heritabilities for seed infection and aflatoxin contamination ranged from 0.48 to 0.58 and 0.24 to 0.68, respectively. Significant correlations between aflatoxin traits and DTI (PY), DTI (BIO), HI, biomass and pod yield under terminal drought conditions were found (r_P = −0.25** to 0.32**, r_G = −0.57** to 0.53**). Strong correlations between SLA and SCMR with A. flavus infection and aflatoxin contamination were also found. Positive correlations between SLA at 80, 90, and 100 DAP and aflatoxin traits were significant (r_P = 0.13** to 0.46**, r_G = 0.26** to 0.81**). SCMR was negatively correlated with aflatoxin traits (r_P = −0.10** to −0.40**, r_G = −0.11** to −0.66**). These results indicated that physiological-based selection approaches using SLA and SCMR might be effective for improving aflatoxin resistance in peanut.     

Multiple-disease resistance in Vicia faba: Multi-environment field testing for identification of combined resistance to rust and chocolate spot

The aim of this work was to identify Vicia faba germplasm resistant both to rust and chocolate spot. A collection of 43 accessions of V. faba previously identified as chocolate-spot resistant was evaluated for rust and chocolate spot resistance in Egypt and in Spain. The genotype and genotype × environment (GGE) biplot analyses allowed the selection of 11 accessions resistant to both diseases in those locations. These 11 accessions were evaluated for rust in an additional field trial in Spain, all performing better than the susceptible check. The joint analysis of the 11 accessions in the four field trials where they had been evaluated revealed no significant effects either for genotype, environment or the genotype × environment interaction. They are hence promising sources of resistance, both for their low severities and their stable responses across the studied environments. This collection was also tested under controlled conditions against the Egyptian and the Spanish isolates of rust present in the field trials further underlining the stable performance of these genotypes. Finally, the effect of previous infection with chocolate spot on rust resistance was assessed under controlled conditions and no influence of it was found.     

Performance of hybrids between transgenic oilseed rape (Brassica napus) and wild Brassica juncea: An evaluation of potential for transgene escape

Understanding the potential for the evolution of herbicide tolerance in weeds following gene flow from transgenic crops is important for their management. The inter-specific hybrids formed between four Brassica juncea populations with different glyphosate-susceptibility and transgenic oilseed rape was studied, emphasizing on the possible population difference. Compared with both parents, the fitness-related components and photosynthetic capacity of hybrids decreased dramatically, but significant differences were observed among different hybrids. All F₁ hybrids exhibited highly enhanced but similar herbicide tolerance level regardless of the wild B. juncea parent, indicating that genetically engineered herbicide tolerance may over-dominate phenotype ones by wild-crop hybridization. The analysis of parental loci transmission revealed a higher transfer ratio of male-specific loci detected in F₁ hybrids, suggesting that oilseed rape genetic markers can be transferred at relatively high frequencies to the next generation. Therefore, higher transfer ratio of oilseed rape-specific loci, coupled with variation of populations in fitness-related parameters in F₁ hybrids, could complicate environmental risk assessment of transgenic oilseed rape, especially in current agroecosystems with increasing application of glyphosate.     

Selection for resistance to Phytophthora pod rot of cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) in Cameroon: Repeatability and reliability of screening tests and field observations

Phytophthora pod rot (Ppr) disease caused by Phytophthora megakarya is the major constraint to cocoa production in Cameroon. The development of resistant varieties requires the use of effective resistance testing methods. The repeatability and reliability of the leaf disc and detached pod tests, as applied in selection activities in Cameroon, were studied. Repeatability of the tests was estimated by calculating the correlation (r) between resistance scores of clones, progenies and individuals within progenies in different inoculations rounds of the leaf disc and detached pod tests. Such correlations were generally significant for both tests. For the leaf disc test, as expected, correlations were lower for individuals within seedling progenies than for the average of seedling progenies or of clones. This suggests that a higher number of replicate observations are required for correct evaluation of individual seedlings than for evaluation of the average level of resistance of progenies. Observations carried out 5 or 7 days after inoculation was highly correlated, suggesting that scoring in the leaf disc test may be done only once at 5, 6 or 7 days after inoculation. In one experiment the ranking of leaf disc and detached pod inoculation test results could be compared statistically, with data being significantly correlated (r 0.78). The reliability of the tests was evaluated by the correlations between results of the tests and the level of field infection. These were generally positive and significant, for the leaf disc and detached pod test. A variation between mean scores of 5 and 8 in the detached pod test appeared to be related to a 40% difference in field infection with P. megakarya in years with medium disease pressure. However, correlations with field resistance were not always significant, suggesting the influence of uncontrolled environmental factors affecting field observations or the results in the screening tests. It is concluded that the leaf disc and detached pod tests, if applied under standardized conditions, can be of great value to speed up selection for Ppr resistance.