Status of Sensitivity of Northern German Botrytis Populations to the New Sdhi Fungicide Fluopyram Prior to its Release as a Commercial Fungicide

Journal of Plant Diseases and Protection - In a survey of Botrytis populations in Northern Germany in 2012-2014, an average of 67.7% and 73.8% of isolates from strawberry and raspberry fields...     

Einfluss der biologischen Bewirtschaftung auf die Phytodiversität in der Diasporenbank und oberirdischen Vegetation biologisch bewirtschafteter Ackerflächen

The project deals with the evaluation whether the conversion to organic farming leads to an increase of weed diversity. Additionally to the analysis of the above ground vegetation and the soil seedbank on the small permanent plots a mapping of the surrounding vegetation was conducted in 2012. The number of weed species varies highly over the years, but the inventory of species differs only slightly from the one found on the surrounding fields. The number of seeds per m² is highly correlated with the number of above ground weeds species. The crop has shown the highest influence on both.     

A diallel crossing approach aimed on selection for ripening time and yield in breeding of new strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa Duch.) cultivars

The extension of the ripening season in open field production is of high economic interest for strawberry growers. Therefore, targeted breeding for extreme early or late ripening cultivars with high yield potential is of particular interest. Thirteen strawberry cultivars were crossed in a reciprocal way without selfing, and the 144 resulting F₁ populations were evaluated in a field trial over a period of two consecutive years. The data were analysed using a mixed‐model approach adapted for diallel crossing designs using SAS 9.3. The variability in the crossing approach is mainly based on the general combining ability (GCA) of the cultivars (additive effects). Specific and reciprocal combining abilities (non‐additive effects) appear less important. The highest GCAs for the trait Marketable Yield were found for the cultivars ‘Polka’ and ‘Yamaska’. The trait Earliness is bilateral with significantly low GCAs for early ripening in ‘Clery’ and ‘Daroyal’ and significantly high GCAs for late ripening in ‘Yamaska’ and ‘Florence’. Crosses with these cultivars are likely to deliver populations with both high yield and an extended ripening period.     

Co‐culture of sea cucumber Holothuria scabra and red seaweed Kappaphycus striatum

Commercially valuable sea cucumbers are potential co‐culture species in tropical lagoon environments, where they may be integrated into established aquaculture areas used for seaweed farming. In the current study, wild‐caught juvenile sea cucumbers, Holothuria scabra, and red seaweed Kappaphycus striatum were co‐cultured on Zanzibar, United Republic of Tanzania. Sea cucumbers (97 g ± 31 SD, n = 52) were cultured in mesh enclosures at initial cage stocking densities of 124 ± 21 SD and 218 ± 16 SD g m^?2 under seaweed culture lines. Over 83 days, individual growth rate (1.6 g d^?1 ± 0.2 SD) of sea cucumbers at low stocking density was significantly higher (χ² = 8.292, d.f. = 1, P = 0.004) than at high‐stocking density (0.9 g d^?1 ± 0.1 SD). Seaweed individual growth rates [6.27 (±0.3 SE) g d^?1] were highest in co‐culture with sea cucumber at low density but did not differ significantly from high sea cucumber density or seaweed monoculture treatments (χ² = 3.0885, d.f. = 2, P = 0.2135). Seaweed growth varied significantly (χ² = 35.6, d.f. = 2, P < 0.0001) with sampling period, with the final sampling period resulting in the highest growth rate. Growth performance for seaweed and sea cucumbers (χ² = 3.089, d.f. = 2, P = 0.21 and χ² = 0.08, d.f. = 1, P = 0.777 respectively), did not differ significantly between monoculture and co‐culture treatments, yet growth in co‐culture was comparable with that reported for existing commercial monoculture. Results indicate H. scabra is a highly viable candidate species for lagoon co‐culture with seaweed. Co‐culture offers a more efficient use of limited coastal space over monoculture and is recommended as a potential coastal livelihood option for lagoon farmers in tropical regions.     

A multiple disease test for field-based phenotyping of resistances to Fusarium head blight,yellow rust and stem rust in wheat

Wheat is affected by many diseases, in Germany eight fungal diseases are recorded during the cultivar registration process. For a commercially successful cultivar, therefore, at least moderate resistances to important diseases, like yellow rust (YR) and Fusarium head blight (FHB), are necessary. Additionally, in 2013 a regional stem rust (SR) epidemic occurred in Central Germany for the first time for decades. Our objective was to analyze the resistance of 36 commercially grown winter wheat cultivars to YR, FHB, and SR in three individual and one combined inoculation. Appreciable disease severities were achieved for YR and FHB at three to four locations in two years (= seven location × year combinations), for SR at one to two locations in two years (= three location × year combinations). Wheat cultivars showed a significant genotypic variation for all diseases with high heritabilities (0.90–0.95). Interaction between inoculation treatments (individual vs. combined) and wheat genotype was not significant for each of the three diseases. Accordingly, correlations between both inoculation treatments were very high (R²?=?0.95–0.99). Several cultivars showed multi-disease resistance (MDR) to YR, FHB, and SR. In conclusion, resistance ranking among genotypes was not changed when plants were challenged with all three pathogens together compared to factorial inoculations of only one of them. Substituting factorial inoculation trials by multi-pathogen inoculation makes it more efficient to select for MDR in practical breeding programs.     

Development of specific PCR primers for diagnosis and quantitative detection of the fungal maize pathogen <Emphasis Type="Italic">Kabatiella zeae</Emphasis>

The fungus Kabatiella zeae which causes the eyespot disease in maize has become an important leaf disease in the northern regions of Europe. An early and accurate diagnosis is necessary for determining the first occurrence in the field. The visual assessment of this pathogen is often difficult because different spots, which may be parasitic, physiological or genetic complicate the exact diagnosis. The specific identification of the fungus is possible by PCR. Unfortunately, no specific DNA sequences are available in the databases. Hence, shot-gun cloning was done resulting in K. zeae-specific sequences for primer design. Cross testing with maize DNA and other pathogens, including Setosphaeria turcica, Mycosphaerella zeae-maydis and various Fusarium species, revealed that the primers were absolutely specific for K. zeae and can be used for qualitative and quantitative PCR assays.     

Effect of ultrasonic cavitation on small and large organisms for water disinfection during fish transport

Motivated by the need for additional tools to disinfect discharge water from well boats, and to prevent distribution of salmon lice, the effect of ultrasonic cavitation on the planktonic stages of the salmon louse, nauplii and copepodids, as well as marine heterotrophic bacteria, and the marine green microalgae Tetraselmis suecica, has been investigated. Survival and morphology were registered after different exposure times. Efficacy of the ultrasonic cavitation treatments varied with exposure time. A reduction in survival was registered even for the shortest exposure time (5 seconds) for both naupliar and copepodid stages of the salmon louse (36.7 ± 11.5 and 67.20 ± 7.2% survival respectively). Survival reached zero after exposure times of 20 and 60 seconds for the nauplii and copepodid stages, respectively. A reduction in 70% was observed for bacteria at all exposure times (5 to 300 s), while a reduction of 95% was observed after 300 s for algal cells. The logged energy transfer to the samples was on average 17.5 J/s. In conclusion, cavitation treatment is destructive for the planktonic stages of salmon lice, and may contribute to reduce discharge of pathogens and parasites from well boats when adapted for this purpose and combined with existing water disinfection methods.     

The composition of mobile matter in a floodplain topsoil: A comparative study with soil columns and field lysimeters

Floodplain soils are characterized by frequent and extreme redox changes caused by inundation with river water or imbibition of groundwater. Depending on the duration and extent of inundation, biogeochemical processes run at sub‐/anoxic conditions, which may result in the mobilization and relocation of dissolved and particulate matter within the soil. In this study, we investigated the effect of inundation events on the composition of mobilized matter in the topsoil horizon of a floodplain soil. We conducted experiments with soil columns in the laboratory and gravitational lysimeters in the field to identify redox‐mediated (im)mobilization processes and to estimate their relevance under field conditions. The lysimeters were filled with topsoil monoliths and run under in situ conditions during a ≈ 2.5‐y period. The soil columns were run with the same soil material either under strictly anoxic or mixed oxic–anoxic conditions. Effluents from mixed oxic–anoxic soil were composed fundamentally different [comparably high: Mn, Al, nitrate, sulfate; comparably low: pH, organic C (OC); not detected: Fe, As] compared to effluents from strictly anoxic soil (comparably high: pH, Fe, Mn, OC, As; comparably low: Al; not detected: nitrate, sulfate). Matter, which was mobile under anoxic conditions (e.g., Fe, As, OC), was effectively immobilized as soon as the mobile phase passed anoxic–oxic boundaries within soil (exception: Mn). We assume that the solution in the soil monoliths always passed such anoxic–oxic boundaries during downwards migration independent of lysimeter flooding with river water. This is indicated by the similar composition of the lysimeter seepage water and the effluents from mixed oxic–anoxic soil columns. Both solutions contained “fingerprints” from anoxic (Mn) and oxic conditions (nitrate). Inundations with river water and the duration of these floods (1–22 d) did not affect the composition of the lysimeter seepage water. In conclusion, immediate changes in the composition of the solution, which enters either the subsoil or nearby receiving waters, cannot be expected from regular topsoil flooding.