Management of nematodes and a stalk borer by increasing within-field sugarcane cultivar diversity

The aim of this study was to determine whether an increase in plant diversity could modify the structure of the nematode community in favour of less pathogenic species and whether it affected the lepidopteran stalk borer, Eldana saccharina . Four sugarcane cultivars were planted either singly or as a mixture in the furrow. Nematodes were enumerated when the crops were 6 months old for five successive 10 to 13 month old crop cycles. Results showed that the mixture of cultivars had little significant impact on the overall abundance of the plant-parasitic or free-living nematodes. However, the nematode community structure within the mixture was slightly different to that observed on any single cultivar planted on its own and there was a higher than expected proportion of Helicotylenchus dihystera during the first three crops. With successive crops and in all treatments, there was an overall trend of increasing proportions of Meloidogyne javanica in the nematode community. However, the way that the change in the species-balance occurred in the mixed cultivar plots suggested a resistance to the evolving dominance of M. javanica . These results showed that sugarcane cultivars interacted within the rhizosphere when planted in a mixture because the observed nematode community in the mixture differed from that expected. The level of damage caused by E. saccharina was slightly lower in the mixture than expected from the actual cultivar composition.     

A review of non-chemical weed control on hard surfaces

Weed control research to date has mainly focused on arable land, especially regarding herbicides, but also regarding non‐chemical methods. Some of these experiences can be applied to hard surface areas. However, weeds on hard surface areas cause problems that are different from those on arable land. Additionally, crop tolerance does not need to be considered when choosing an appropriate weed control method on these areas. The aim of this review is to describe current knowledge of weeds and weed control methods on hard surface areas and reveal potential ways of advancement. One of the shortcomings of non‐chemical weed control on hard surfaces thus far, is a lack of proper definition of efficiency of the weed control methods. To obtain effective control, more frequently repeated treatments are required than chemical weed management, thereby increasing the costs of labour and fuel. One way to reduce costs can be by adjusting the level of control to the required visual street quality. Weeds are adapted to the hard surface environment and may be less susceptible to certain control methods. This review indicates that for efficient weed control on hard surfaces there is a need for combining weed control techniques, applying sensors for detecting weeds, adapting the energy dose to type of weed flora and prevention of weeds by improved construction of new surfaces.     

Mutated sodium channel genes and elevated monooxygenases are found in pyrethroid resistant populations of Sri Lankan malaria vectors

The present status of pyrethroid resistance in vectors of malaria; Anopheles culicifacies and Anopheles subpictus, was tested in two malarious Districts, Anuradhapura and Trincomalee, of Sri Lanka. Both species were resistant to permethrin and susceptible to cypermethrin and cyfluthrin. An. subpictus were resistant to deltamethrin. λ-Cyhalothrin and etofenprox resistance was shown only by Anuradhapura An. subpictus. Although there were no differences among the populations for esterase and glutathione S-transferase activities, increased monooxygenase levels were found among Trincomalee populations. The voltage-gated sodium channel gene, the target site gene of pyrethroids, was partially sequenced to screen for mutations previously associated with insecticide resistance. The classic leucine to phenylalanine substitution, TTA to TTT, was detected in An. subpictus. It appears that both kdr type and monooxygenase resistance underlie pyrethroid resistance in these two malaria vectors of Sri Lanka.     

The use of digital image analysis and real‐time PCR fine‐tunes bioassays for quantification of Cercospora leaf spot disease in sugar beet breeding

Cercospora leaf spot, caused by the fungus Cercospora beticola, is a major fungal sugar beet disease worldwide and the cause of significant yield losses. The disease is most successfully countered by the introduction of genetic tolerance into elite sugar beet hybrids. To this end, breeding programmes require high quality biological assays allowing discrimination of minor differences between plants within a segregating population. This study describes the successful implementation of image analysis software in the bioassays for quantification of necrotic lesions at different stages of C. beticola infection, allowing selection on minor phenotypic differences during the sugar beet breeding process for C. beticola resistance. In addition, a real‐time PCR assay was developed for the quantification of C. beticola pathogen biomass in infected beet canopy. The use of both techniques, even in an early stage of infection, fine‐tunes current bioassays, allowing more accurate and efficient selection of resistant breeding material.     

Comparative spatial analysis of the sooty blotch/flyspeck disease complex,bull’s eye and bitter rots of apples

The incidence of sooty blotch/flyspeck (SBFS) and bitter and bull’s eye rots were assessed in a Fuji apple orchard during two seasons. Using a regular sampling design, 252 trees were selected and 20 fruits per tree were sampled at harvest and scored for disease incidence. For bitter and bull’s eye rots, additional assessments were made on all symptomless fruit after a 30‐day period of storage. Randomness in the spatial pattern was assessed using beta‐binomial analysis of incidence data for three sampling scales (one, three or six adjacent trees as sampling units) and using Spatial Analysis by Distance Indices (sadie ) for disease counts for the 3‐tree sampling scale. sadie was also used for testing spatial associations between a pair of diseases, between years for the same disease or between rotted and latently infected fruit. Using a toroidal‐shifts procedure, 360 maps of disease counts were created based on the observed data, which were further analysed using sadie . Most datasets showed an aggregated spatial pattern, which was more consistent for the two fruit rots than SBFS, which showed distinct patterns depending on the year or method of analysis. The two fruit rots were spatially associated in most situations but SBFS and bull’s eye rot were dissociated in one season. Results from virtual orchards showed that the patterns observed in the original maps may accurately represent those in similar apple‐growing areas. Hypotheses regarding aspects of ecology and epidemiology of pathogens studied and potential efficacy of control measures in the region are discussed.     

Mineralisation of atrazine, metolachlor and their respective metabolites in vegetated filter strip and cultivated soil

In vegetated filter strips (VFS) the presence of perennial vegetation, rhizodeposition of labile organic substrates and the accumulation of an organic residue thatch layer may enhance microbial numbers and activity, thereby increasing the potential for mineralisation of herbicides and herbicide metabolites retained during run-off events. The objective of this laboratory experiment was to compare the mineralisation of atrazine and metolachlor with that of their respective metabolites in VFS and cultivated soil. With the exception of total bacteria, propagule density of the microbial groups, endogenous soil enzymes and microbial diversity were higher in the VFS soil. This correlated with increased mineralisation of metolachlor and its metabolites in the VFS soil and indicates potential for VFS to curtail the subsequent transport of these compounds. In contrast, the mineralisation of atrazine and the majority of its metabolites was substantially reduced in VFS soil relative to cultivated soil. Consequently, the potential for subsequent transport of atrazine and many of its metabolites may be greater in VFS soil than in cultivated soil if reduced mineralisation is not offset by increased sorption in the VFS.     

Éléments de biologie chez Nacobbus aberrans (Thorne, 1935) Thorne & Allen, 1944 (Nematoda: Pratylenchidae): 2 – Capacités de développement sur hôtes en conditions in vivo et in vitro

La présente étude, portant sur quatre populations sud-américaines de N. aberrans , s'est attachée à comprendre les capacités de multiplication de ce nématode en conditions in vitro (plante développée sur milieu gélosé) et en conditions in vivo (plante développée en pot). Le développement in vitro de N. aberrans est possible dans une gamme non exhaustive de température de 10°C à 25°C, avec un optimum à 20°C, sur de nombreuses plantes d'intérêt agronomique. Toutefois, cette capacité in vitro varie d'une population à une autre et est fortement conditionnée par la pénétration du nématode au stade J2 dans les racines. Les essais in vivo ont montré que la betterave et la tomate sont de très bons hôtes pour toutes les populations testées, alors que d'autres cultures sont favorables à certaines populations (pomme de terre et populations «race pomme de terre>>, poivron et populations «race betterave>>). Enfin, certaines plantes bien que ne présentant pas de symptômes de parasitisme (galles) sont capables d'héberger le nématode en lui permettant d'atteindre le stade J4 sans pour autant réaliser son cycle biologique en entier, ni se reproduire (haricot, concombre). Ces éléments biologiques soulignent le risque réel et majeur d'établissement pour la zone européenne de N. aberrans en cas d'introduction, nématode apte à se développer sur de nombreuses plantes, quel qu'en soit le mode de culture et parfois en l'absence de tout symptôme.     

Development of Stem-base Pathogens on Different Cultivars of Winter Wheat Determined by Quantitative PCR

The progress of development of stem-base pathogens in crops of second winter wheat was plotted in nine experiments in three years. The amount of each pathogen present was determined by quantitative PCR. Where Tapesia yallundae was present in quantifiable amounts, it usually developed earlier than the other eyespot pathogen, T. acuformis. Both species were usually present in greater amounts on cultivars which are more susceptible to eyespot. The sharp eyespot pathogen, Rhizoctonia cerealis, developed more erratically than either of the Tapesia spp. and there were no consistent effects on different cultivars. Fusarium spp., the cause of brown foot rot, were rarely present in quantifiable amounts, but Microdochium nivale was usually present as one or both of the varieties nivale and majus. Late-season (after anthesis) decreases in M. nivale suggest that any brown foot rot symptoms attributable to this fungus would have fully developed earlier. Cultivar differences in amounts of M. nivale were most clear in stems during internode extension and when relatively large amounts of DNA were present. Such differences approximately reflected eyespot susceptibility, cv. Soissons containing most and cv. Lynx containing least DNA. The results emphasise the difficulty in relating diagnoses, by quantitative PCR or other means, at early growth stages when decisions to apply fungicides against stem-base disease are made, to later disease severity.