Effect of variety choice, resistant rootstocks and chitin soil amendments on soil-borne diseases in soil-based, protected tomato production systems

Soil-borne diseases are the most significant crop protection problem in soil-based, low-input and especially organic glasshouse production systems in Europe. While chemical soil disinfestation has been the control method of choice in conventional farming systems, soil steaming has been the main strategy for the control of soil-borne diseases in organic production. Both methods are extremely expensive and have been increasingly restricted for environmental reasons by governments, and integrated and organic farming standard-setting bodies. The use of disease-tolerant varieties, grafting onto resistant rootstocks and chitin soil amendments were evaluated as potential replacements for soil steaming in organic and other low-input tomato production systems. When only Pyrenochaeta lycopersici and/or Meloidogyne spp. were present in soil, grafting and/or chitin soil amendment were found to be as effective in reducing root disease and/or increasing yield as soil steaming, but the efficacy of both treatments was reduced when Verticillum albo-atrum was also present in soil. No additive effects of combining grafting and chitin soil amendments could be detected. A more widespread use of grafting and/or chitin soil amendments may therefore allow significant reductions in the use of steam and chemical soil disinfestation in glasshouse crops. It will also allow integrated and organic farming standard-setting bodies to impose further restrictions on the use of soil disinfestation treatments.     

Integrated Evaluation of Scrotal Temperature and Testosteronemia after GnRH Administration in Young Bulls with Low Semen Production

The aim of this study was to determine the suitability of thermographic monitoring of scrotal surface temperature (SST) as a method to monitor testicular function. Yearling bulls (n = 23) with low semen production were selected. Scrotal surface temperature and serum testosterone (T) concentrations were evaluated before and after administration of 10.5 μg buserelin acetate IV. Thermographic images of scrotum were recorded at 0, 15, 30, 45 and 60 min post‐GnRH, while blood sampling was only performed at 60 min post‐GnRH. Bulls were divided in two groups: LowTemp bulls (n = 10) had a decreased SST at 60 min; HighTemp bulls (n = 13) had an increased SST. After 60 min, LowTemp bulls had higher T concentrations compared to HighTemp bulls: 14.32 ng/ml ± 0.53 vs 10.30 ± 1.37 ng/ml (mean ± SEM; p < 0.05), respectively. Reproductive performances in both groups improved after GnRH administration, resulting in an increased number of inseminating doses from each collection, which was higher in LowTemp bulls. Pearson correlation test showed a negative relationship between T and SST (r = ?0.554). In conclusion, a decreased scrotal surface temperature 60 min after GnRH treatment was associated with improved semen production.     

Mediterranean diet and cancer

OBJECTIVE: To analyse the role of various aspects of the Mediterranean diet in several common epithelial cancers, including digestive and selected non-digestive tract neoplasms. DESIGN: Systematic analysis of data from a series of case-control studies. SETTING: Northern Italy, between 1983 and 1998. SUBJECTS: Over 12,000 cases of 20 cancer sites and 10,000 controls. RESULTS: For most epithelial cancers, the risk decreased with increasing vegetable and fruit consumption, with relative risk (RR) between 0.3 and 0.7 for the highest versus the lowest tertile. For digestive tract cancers, population-attributable risks for low intake of vegetables and fruit ranged between 15 and 40%. A protective effect was observed also for breast, female genital tract, urinary tract and a few other epithelial neoplasms. A number of antioxidants and other micronutrients showed an inverse relationship with cancer risk, but the main components responsible for the favourable effect of a diet rich in vegetables and fruit remain undefined. Fish tended to be another favourable diet indicator. In contrast, subjects reporting frequent red meat intake showed RRs above unity for several common neoplasms. Intake of whole-grain foods was related to a reduced risk of several types of cancer, particularly of the upper digestive tract. This may be due to a favourable role of fibre, but the issue is still open to discussion. In contrast, refined grain intake and, consequently, glycaemic load and glycaemic index were associated with increased risk of different types of cancer including, among others, breast and colorectal. CONCLUSIONS: A low-risk diet for cancer in the Mediterranean would imply increasing the consumption of fruit and vegetables, as well as avoiding increasing the intakes of meat and refined carbohydrates. Further, olive oil and other unsaturated fats, which are also typical aspects of the Mediterranean diet, should be preferred to saturated ones.     

Activity and stability of urease-hydroxyapatite and urease-hydroxyapatite-humic acid complexes

In agricultural calcareous soils, hydroxyapatite (APA) may well represent an important support for urease immobilisation and could be present in both mineral and organo-mineral complexes. In this paper we studied the formation of APA-urease-humic acid (HA) complexes after the addition of urease either before or after HAs. We then proceeded to evaluate the role of HAs on the activity and stability of the complexes as compared to the APA-urease complexes and free urease. When increasing amounts of HAs were added after urease, they did not affect the activity of the enzymes that had already adsorbed onto the complexes. On the contrary, adding the same amount of HA before the enzyme caused a significant reduction in the amount of enzyme adsorbed. However, when urease adsorption onto the APA-HA complexes was carried out in the presence of NaCl, the enzyme activity of the complexes increased sharply to 86% of the initial activity. The immobilisation of the enzyme on the support increased urease stability against pronase treatment as well as directly in soil over time. The inhibition of urease activity by Cu ²⁺was reduced by urease immobilisation. However, the presence of HA did not alter the stabilisation capability of APA when alone.     

SBSE-GC-ECD/FPD in the analysis of pesticide residues in Passiflora alata Dryander herbal teas

Stir bar sorptive extraction (SBSE) in combination with GC-ECD/FPD analysis is here applied to the determination of the residues of 11 pesticides (hexachlorobenzene, lindane, chlorothalonil, parathion methyl, parathion ethyl, fenitrothion, malathion, dieldrin, alpha- and beta-endosulfan, and tetradifon) in herbal teas prepared with Passiflora alata Dryander spiked leaves. The method was optimized using spiked herbal teas in a range from 0.05 to 1 pg/microL for organochlorine pesticides and from 0.15 to 3 pg/microL for organophosphorus pesticides. The method is reproducible and repeatable with recoveries calculated from herbal teas prepared with spiked plant material versus spiked herbal teas, varying from about 30% for tetradifon to about 90% for parathion methyl and malathion. The limits of quantitation (LOQs) ranged from 0.017 pg/microL for lindane to 0.117 pg/microL for malathion.     

GC-ITMS determination and degradation of captan during winemaking

Captan and its metabolite tetrahydrophthalimide (THPI) were determined in grapes, must, and wine by GC-ITMS. Pesticides were extracted with acetone/petroleum ether (50:50 v/v). Because of the high selectivity of the ITMS detector, no interferent was found and cleanup was not necessary. Recoveries from fortified grapes, must, and wines ranged between 90 and 113% with a maximum coefficient of variation of 11%. Limits of quantitation were 0.01 mg/kg for both compounds. In model systems, captan and its metabolites, THPI, cis-4-cyclohexene-1,2-dicarboxylic acid, and 1,2,3,6-tetrahydrophthalamic acid, were determined by HPLC. The degradation of captan during winemaking was studied. Captan degraded in must, giving 100% THPI, and at the end of fermentation, only THPI was found in wine. The degradation of captan to THPI was due to the acidity in must and wine. This metabolite was present at low levels on grapes, and, unlike captan, it had no negative effect on the fermentative process. Model systems showed that the mechanism of disappearance of captan in grapes was due to photodegradation and codistillation.     

Using Monte Carlo simulations to estimate relative fire ignition danger in a low-to-medium fire-prone region

A comprehensive assessment of fire ignition danger is nowadays a basic step towards the prioritization of fire management measures. In this study we propose performing a fire selectivity analysis using Monte Carlo simulations to statistically estimate the relative fire ignition danger in a low-to-intermediate fire-prone region such as Canton Ticino, Switzerland. We define fire ignition danger as the likelihood that at a given place a fire will be ignited. For each 25 m × 25 m pixel of the study area, landscape characteristics that may be related to the probability of fire ignition such as vegetation type, elevation, aspect, slope, urban-forest interface were first split into 9-12 categories. The selectivity of each category with respect to fire ignition was then statistically tested by means of Monte Carlo simulations. Finally, we proposed two different approaches for calculating the ignition danger index: cumulating the scores of the Monte Carlo simulations to a final index or producing synthetic scores by performing a principal component analysis of the Monte Carlo results. The validation of the resulting fire danger indices highlights the suitability of both proposed approaches. The PCA-option allows a slightly better discrimination between ignition and non-ignition points and may be of more general application.     

Genome scan for the possibility of identifying candidate resistance genes for goat lentiviral infections in the Italian Garfagnina goat breed

Tropical Animal Health and Production - Small ruminant lentiviruses (SRLVs) are a heterogeneous group of viruses of sheep, goat, and wild ruminants responsible of lifelong persistent infection...     

Biopharmaceutical profile of tramadol in the dog

Veterinary Research Communications -