Toxicity of sodium fluoroacetate and zinc phosphide wheat grain baits to Microtus guentheri and Meriones tristrami

Whole wheat grains impregnated with 0.02, 0.05 and 0.2% sodium fluoroacetate, and 2% zinc phosphide, were offered to series of single caged individuals of Microtus guentheri and Meriones tristrami. In most cases the sodium fluoroacetate treated baits were well accepted by both species. The acceptance of the zinc phosphide-treated bait was partial in all the series tested. The approximate LD50 ranges of sodium fluoroacetate are between 0.24 and 0.43 mg kg⁻¹ for M. guentheri , and, perhaps, for the jirds too, and for zinc phosphide—between 32.6 and 58.8 mg kg⁻¹ for M. tristrami , and a similar value, more or less, for M. guentheri.     

Enquête sur les maladies fongiques de l'arachide (Arachis hypogaea) en Côte-d'Ivoire. I. Méthodes d'enquête et étude descriptive: les conditions culturales et les principales maladies

Groundnut diseases were surveyed in the various traditional cropping regions of Ivory Coast during 1982, 1983 and 1984. The methods used during the survey are described. A preliminary analysis of the results aimed at a characterization of a complex, multiple pathosystem is presented. The analysis especially focuses upon some foliar diseases, and particularly on rust, caused byPuccinia arachidis. The results show the great variability of the climates and of the agricultural techniques which are associated to groundnut cropping. The list of the fungal pathogens which affect groundnut is long: 16 have been identified during the survey, of which 6 are omnipresent in the various regions. A correspondence analysis was performed, allowing to describe the average development of the multiple pathosystem: groundnut-rust-leafsport-wilting fungi. Endemicity in tropical pathosystems is also analyzed in the case of the main foliar diseases (rust and Cercospora leafspots). More specifically, the epidemiology of groundnut rust in southern Ivory Coast is interpreted as regular, explosive epidemics developping on an endemic background. Every year epidemics develop in the northern and central areas too, most of their primary inoculum supposedly originating from the infested southern crops. Probably, intensification of agriculture will strongly favour rust disease.     

Case report: fibroma on the end of the tail of a cow

An unusual case of fibroma on the end of the tail of a 7-year-old cross-breed cow. The most prominent clinical findings were the size and weight of the tumour, and the tail length. The extension of the tail was apparently caused by the weight of the tumour.     

Partial characterization of a closterovirus associated with apple mealybug-transmitted little cherry disease in north america

ABSTRACT Little cherry disease (LChD) is a serious economic problem of sweet cherry production in western North America where apple mealybug is the principle vector. LChD is associated with a distinct species of double-stranded (ds) RNA. In this study, filamentous virus particles were purified from LChD-infected trees and shown to contain single-stranded RNA corresponding to the previously reported dsRNA isolated from infected trees. The virus particles were characterized and were similar to monopartite members of the genus Closterovirus. A portion of the genome was sequenced and found to be most closely related to the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase of Grapevine leafroll-associated virus-3, a mealybug-transmitted closterovirus. The characteristics of the mealybug-transmitted Little cherry virus in North America are very different from those of a closterovirus associated with a similar disease in Europe.