Heat tolerance and the effects of shade on the behavior of Simmental bulls on pasture

The objectives were to assess the degree of thermolysis capacity as a characteristic of heat tolerance of the Simmental beef cattle and evaluate the effects of shade and shade type (artificial: AS, trees: TS, or no shade: NS) on daily behavior patterns during summer. Black globe temperature (BGT) was different under the two types of shade (P < 0.05) and was lower under the TS (P < 0.01) and under AS (P > 0.01) than average BGT in the sun. Animals when in AS used more intensely the shade (P = 0.002) mostly lying down under it (10.00–14.00 hours), while time standing was similar (P = 0.107) between TS and NS. Bulls without shade (NS) spent significantly more time at the water trough and most part of the day standing idle (72.4%, 10.1 h/14 h). TS bulls spent more time grazing/standing (P < 0.001). The Simmental bulls that were in TS and AS spent more time ruminating than bulls that stay without shade (NS). The availability of shade changes grazing, rumination and idling behavior of cattle in response to environmental conditions. Shade provided by trees can be more efficient than artificial shading as cattle spent more time grazing when tree shade was available. Thermolysis capacity can be used to select heat‐tolerant animals.     

Emergence response of the pepper at low soil temperature

Summary One-hundred and five cultivars representing s species of Capsicum were screened at constant 13, 16, 18°C and greenhouse temperatures. Daily observation on emergence were made for 60 days following seeding in flats.Using a calculated emergence index as the criterion for emergence at low temperatures, the various cultivars were classified by species. Within the C. annum group significant differences were found between cultivars for the lowest and highest index suggesting heritability of this trait. The fowest indexes for all temperatures was a cultivar from the C. baccatum v. pendulum group.Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station Journal No. 8132.Present address: 2306 1/2 Murray Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15217, USA.     

Restriction endonuclease patterns of herpes simplex virus DNA: subtyping of HSV-1 and HSV-2 strains from genital and nongenital lesions.

Herpes simplex type 1 (HSV-1) and type 2 (HSV-2) isolates from genital and nongenital infections were submitted to restriction endonuclease analysis for possible genomic changes in relation with the adaptation of the virus to a new site on the body. HSV-1 and HSV-2 strains were successfully divided into two subgroups using the Hin c II restriction enzyme. No correlation was found, however, between the proposed genomic subtypes H1A, H1B, H2A and H2B, and the genital or nongenital origin of the HSV strains.     

The citrus blossom midge,Contarinia Citri Barnes (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae), in Israel

The citrus blossom midge,Contarinia citri Barnes, was sampled in two lemon groves. Infestation lasted from December through April. Midge-infested blossoms were seldom concomitantly attacked by the citrus flower moth,Prays citri Mill. Some midge larvae completed their development in the laboratory, their numbers declining and the period required for pupation becoming shorter toward the end of the season. Very few parasitoids were obtained. It is suggested thatC. citri andP. citri may be partially mutually-exclusive in lemon flowers, that the number of annual midge generations depends on the availability of blossoms, and that the midge may undergo a prolonged diapause in the soil.     

Flight at low ambient humidity increases protein catabolism in migratory birds

Although fat is the primary fuel for migratory flight in birds, protein is also used. Catabolism of tissue protein yields five times as much water per kilojoule as fat, and so one proposed function of protein catabolism is to maintain water balance during nonstop flights. To test the protein-for-water hypothesis, we flew Swainson's thrushes (Catharus ustulatus) in a climatic wind tunnel under high- and low-humidity conditions at 18°C for up to 5 hours. Flight under dry conditions increased the rates of lean mass loss and endogenous water production and also increased plasma uric acid concentration. These data demonstrate that atmospheric humidity influences fuel composition in flight and suggest that protein deposition and catabolism during migration are, in part, a metabolic strategy to maintain osmotic homeostasis during flight.     

Control failure likelihood and spatial dependence of insecticide resistance in the tomato pinworm, Tuta absoluta

BACKGROUND: Insecticide resistance is a likely cause of field control failures of Tuta absoluta, but the subject has been little studied. Therefore, resistance to ten insecticides was surveyed in seven representative field populations of this species. The likelihood of control failures was assessed, as well as weather influence and the spatial dependence of insecticide resistance. RESULTS: No resistance or only low resistance levels were observed for pyrethroids (bifenthrin and permethrin), abamectin, spinosad, Bacillus thuringiensis and the mixture deltamethrin + triazophos (<12.5‐fold). In contrast, indoxacarb exhibited moderate levels of resistance (up to 27.5‐fold), and chitin synthesis inhibitors exhibited moderate to high levels of resistance (up to 222.3‐fold). Evidence of control failures was obtained for bifenthrin, permethrin, diflubenzuron, teflubenzuron, triflumuron and B. thuringiensis. Weather conditions favour resistance to some insecticides, and spatial dependence was observed only for bifenthrin and permethrin. CONCLUSION: Insecticide resistance in field populations of the tomato pinworm prevails for the insecticides nowadays most frequently used against them—the chitin synthesis inhibitors (diflubenzuron, triflumuron and teflubenzuron). Local selection favoured by weather conditions and dispersal seem important for pyrethroid resistance evolution among Brazilian populations of T. absoluta and should be considered in designing pest management programmes. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry     

Assessing the accuracy of prediction for milk fatty acids by using a small reference population of tropical Holstein cows

Fatty acids (FA) have been related to effects on human health, sensory quality and shelf life of dairy products, cow's health and methane emission. However, despite their importance, they are not regularly measured in all dairy herds yet, which can affect the accuracy of estimated breeding values (EBV) for these traits. In this case, an alternative is to use genomic selection. Thus, the aim was to assess the use of genomic information in the genetic evaluation for milk traits in a tropical Holstein population. Monthly records (n = 36,457) of milk FA percentage, daily milk yield and quality traits from 4,203 cows as well as the genotypes of 755 of these cows for 57,368 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) were used. Polygenic and genomic–polygenic models were applied for EBV prediction, and both models were compared through the EBV accuracy calculated from the prediction error and Spearman's correlation among EBV rankings. Prediction accuracy was assessed by using cross‐validation. In this case, the accuracy was the correlation between the genomic breeding values (GEBV) obtained as the sum of SNP effects and the EBV obtained in the polygenic model in each validation group. For all traits, the use of the genomic–polygenic model did not alter the animals' ranking, with correlations higher than 0.87. Nevertheless, through this model, the accuracy increased from 1.5% to 6.8% compared to the polygenic model. The correlations between GEBV and EBV varied from 0.52 to 0.68. Therefore, the use of a small group of genotyped cows in the genetic evaluation can increase the accuracy of EBV for milk FA and other traditional milk traits.