Medicinal and aromatic plants in agroforestry systems

Agroforestry Systems - A large number of people in developing countries have traditionally depended on products derived from plants, especially from forests, for curing human and livestock...     

Crop productivity under differently lopped canopies of multipurpose trees in Central Himalaya, India

Ficus species are multipurpose trees well known by rural populations in Sahelian and Sudanian zones of Africa. Their uses are well documented but their amenability for vegetative propagation has not been extensively studied. This paper compares the rooting ability of stem and aerial root cuttings from thirteen Ficus species found in West Africa. It highlights the differences between species belonging to the sub-genera Sycomorus and Urostigma. The former show no capacity to propagate from cuttings whereas the latter, with epiphytic development, can be propagated by cuttings, although this capacity varies among species. Thus, F. thonningii, F. leprieurii and F. ovata are easily propagated, while F. platyphylla and F. elasticoides are propagated with difficulty. The rooting capacity also varies depending on the cutting material used. It decreases in the following order: long leafless hardwood cuttings (pole) > nodal cuttings > apical cuttings. Rooting potential increases when the cuttings are harvested towards the end of the dry season(March to May). Aerial root can be used for cuttings in all species of the sub-genus Urostigma. The capacity of root cuttings to regenerate is greatest when cuttings are collected at the beginning of the dry season (November). In this case, wound-induced adventitious roots arise at the basal end of the cutting while de novo buds are developed from the cambium at the distal end. The subsequent morphological development is identical to that of a stem cutting. These results clarify and allow the optimal use of the knowledge and methods developed by the indigenous people of the Sahel and could assist and promote fig tree (Ficus sp.) domestication in the dry tropics.This revised version was published online in November 2005 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

厚朴矮林经营技术的初步研究

厚朴伐桩有很强的萌蘖能力，在生长季节采伐也能得到满意的萌芽更新效果，每个伐桩可萌发1－7个萌芽条，7年生厚朴矮林的树干与树枝鲜重达60.2t.hm^-2，平均净生产量为8.6t.hm^-2.a^-1，表明厚朴完全适宜矮林经营，伐桩高度对萌芽条数量，矮林生长影响不大；伐桩萌芽条数量越多，矮林生长越好。     

A new phorbol diester from Aleurites moluccana

A new phorbol diester, 13-O-myristyl-20-O-acetyl-12-deoxyphorbol (1), has been isolated from the benzene extract of the heartwood of Aleurites moluccana. In addition, hentriacontane, 6,7-dimethoxycoumarin, 5,6,7-trimethoxycoumarin and beta-sitostenone are being reported for the first time from this species.     

Monoclonal antibodies specific to thermostable proteins in animal blood

Bovine plasma proteins are used as high-quality protein supplements in animal feed and as binders or colorants in food for human consumption. Religious observance, as well as recent fears of epidemic bovine spongiform encephalopathy, highlights the need for methods to detect bovine blood in processed food and animal feed for regulatory purposes, as the currently available methods are neither species-specific, blood-specific, nor valid for excessively heat-processed samples. This paper reports the development of monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) raised against bovine thermostable plasma proteins that display a unique species specificity pattern for plasma proteins. Immunoblotting revealed several thermostable antigenic proteins (10, 25, 40, and 60 kDa) in bovine plasma sterilized at 121 degrees C for 15 min. These MAbs can be employed individually or combined in immunoassays for analytical purposes and investigations of the chemical and biological properties of the thermostable plasma proteins identified here.     

PHANTOM 4 RTK+大疆像控处理技术在燕麦长势模拟中的应用

【目的】 利用小型消费级无人机航拍获取地物影像,通过地物阴影、高度差、色差快速提取地物,进而获取地物结构信息。【方法】 文章选取云南省曲靖市会泽县的大桥乡为研究区域,针对冬闲田闲置土地资源、种植结构相对单一的区域展开试验,利用高分辨率无人机遥感影像对燕麦进行识别,同时结合超声波传感器数据估算地物高度,并与实际高度和无人机生成的传统测高方法得到的高度进行相关性分析,获取高精度、可靠性强的数据。【结果】 基于可见光燕麦的总体分类精度为91.46%,Kappa系数为0.857,在增加DSM数据后的分类总体精度为98.91%,Kappa系数为0.982。研究表明由无人机获取的代表燕麦冠层高度信息的DSM数据能够显著提升燕麦的识别效果。相对于传统无人机测高方法生成数字表面模型提取地物高度的方法,依赖于光谱和高程信息识别地物信息的方法在计算地物高度时,精度更高,识别结果更可靠。【结论】 该文提出的小型消费级无人机利用地物阴影计算燕麦高度的方法,改进了相机镜头光心地位和RTK天线中心点地位补偿作用,打通了RTK模块、飞控模块及相机云台模块之间的通讯,能够应用于实际准确获取影像地位信息,为无人机遥感快速、准确地获取地物高度信息提供了一种新的思路。     

The effectiveness of a commercial microbial product in poorly prepared tiger shrimp, Penaeus monodon (Fabricius), ponds

The efficacy of a commercial microbial product was tested in commercial tiger shrimp, Penaeus monodon (Fabricius), ponds for one culture period in Kuala Selangor, Malaysia. Four ponds with replicates for treatment and control were used. The pond bottom was dried but the organic sludge was not removed as normally practised in pond preparation. The ponds were stocked with 15 post‐larvae at the rate of 31.m^?2. Physical, chemical and biological parameters of the pond were analysed every 2 weeks during the culture period. Water quality parameters remained within the optimum range for shrimp culture except for ammonia‐nitrogen being significantly higher in control ponds and silica in treated ponds. Benthic organisms were not found in any of the ponds. The average counts of different bacteria were not significantly higher in treated ponds than control. Because of poor health, the shrimp were harvested earlier (72 days) than the usual 120 days. An average of 875.60 ± 67.00 kg shrimp ha^?1 was obtained in treated ponds with a feed conversion ratio (FCR) of 1.57 ± 0.10 and survival rate of 42.35 ± 5.37% compared with 719.50 ± 130.94 kg shrimp ha^?1, 2.99 ± 0.70 and 21.25 ± 3.26%, respectively, in control ponds. Neither the microbial product nor the frequent water exchange was effective in overcoming the problems caused by the poor pond bottom.     

Heavy infection of Ichthyophthirius multifiliis in striped catfish (Pangasianodon hypophthalmus,Sauvage 1878) and its treatment trial by different therapeutic agents in a control environment

ABSTRACT

Striped catfish (Pangasianodon hypophthalmus) fingerlings were stocked (60 fishes/m³) in cemented square tanks for ornamental fishery purposes at the College Fish Farm in Mangalore. A total of 400 fishes with a mean weight (g) ranging from 3.24 ± 1.21 to 6.70 ± 1.13 and a mean length (cm) of 7.50 ± 0.94 to 9.50 ± 1.10 were examined. A severe outbreak of salt-like granule white spots was found on the body surface. Ichthyophthirius multifiliis, a ciliate pathogen, was identified as the causative agent by clinical signs, wet mount, and histopathological observations. Infected fishes were transferred and equally distributed to the 0.45 m³ glass aquaria and treated with three treatments: (T1) methylene blue + salt; (T2) raising temperature with salt; and (T3) formalin + malachite green. The best fingerling survival (55 ± 9.36%) was obtained by elevated water temperature with salt in T2.