Seasonal Variations in Seminal Plasma Proteins of Buffalo

The study was designed to evaluate the influence of season on semen characteristics and seminal plasma protein profile of buffalo bull semen. Thirty‐six ejaculates were collected in three seasons (winter, summer and rainy) from six adult Bhadawari bulls, and semen characteristics were evaluated immediately after collection. The seminal plasma was harvested by centrifugation and protein profiling, and percentage protein fractions were analysed by SDS‐PAGE. The significant effect of season was observed on ejaculate volume, sperm concentration, progressive motility, percentage live spermatozoa, hypo‐osmotic swelling test (HOST) and acrosomal integrity. The electrophoretogram of seminal plasma proteins revealed 20 protein bands in winter, 23 bands in rainy and 25 bands in summer seasons, illustrating the significant effect of seasons on seminal plasma proteins. Among these protein bands, 18 bands were observed common in semen samples of all three seasons while protein bands of 46, 55, 58, 144 and 160 kDa were found in rainy and summer seasons. The protein bands of 48 and 60 kDa were observed only in winter season, whereas 184 and 200 kDa were reported in summer season only. The protein fractions (protein%) of common protein bands observed in three seasons revealed a significant effect of season on protein bands of 24.5, 66, 70, 72, 84 and 86 kDa. From the study, it was pertinent that bull seminal plasma contains specific proteins in particular season, which may be associated with some of the semen characteristics, and these proteins could be used as markers of the semen quality of buffalo bulls.     

Antioxidant activity of capsaicinoid in canola oil

Interest in replacing synthetic antioxidants, namely, butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) and butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), with natural antioxidants is increasing. The present study examined the antioxidant activity of capsaicinoid from chili pepper in heated canola oil. The oxidation was conducted at 60, 90, 120, and 180 °C by monitoring oxygen consumption and the decrease in linoleic acid and α-linolenic acid in canola oil. At 60 °C, capsaicinoid was more effective against oxidation of canola oil compared with BHT. At higher temperatures of 90, 120, and 180 °C, capsaicinoid possessed an antioxidant activity similar to or slightly weaker that that of BHT. It was found that capsaicinoid prevented canola oil from oxidation in a dose-dependent manner. To study the structure-antioxidant relationship, it was found that the trimethylsiloxy (TMS) derivatives of capsaicinoid did not exhibit any antioxidant activity, suggesting the hydroxyl moiety was the functional group responsible for the antioxidant activity of capsaicinoid. It was concluded that capsaicinoid had the potential to be further explored as a natural antioxidant in foods, particularly spicy foods.     

Effects of temperature, wetness duration and leaf age on incubation and latent periods of black leaf mold (Pseudocercospora fuligena) on fresh market tomatoes

Black leaf mold (BLM), caused by Pseudocercospora fuligena is a serious threat to tomato production in the humid tropics. Accurate information about the incubation (IP) and latent period (LP) under various host susceptibility and weather favourability circumstances will help to formulate holistic approaches to manage this disease. In this study, effects of temperature, wetness duration, and leaf age on the monocyclic components (IP and LP) of BLM were studied from growth chamber (GC) and greenhouse (GH) experiments as well as detached leaf assays in growth cabins. Linear interpolation and inflection point (of logistic regression model) methods were used to determine IP and LP. These two methods were highly correlated in GC (r ²?=?0.89; P?<?0.0001) and GH experiments (r ²?=?0.90; P?<?0.0001) except when the epidemics were not asymptotic. Thus, IP and LP were estimated according to inflection point method. There was a delay of at least 5 days of IP and LP when plants were left in non-humid open environment than when exposed to wetness durations of 1, 2 or 3 days after inoculation. In general, IP and LP became shorter as the temperature increased from 20–24 and then to 28 °C. In growth chambers, there was more disease and consequently shorter IP and LP on young and unfolded tomato leaves that were 1-, 3-, or 5-week old at the time of inoculation than 7-week old leaves. In the greenhouse, there was about 50 % more disease incidence and sporulation on 1-week than 3-week old leaves. The shortest IP (8–11 days) and LP (12–13 days) were recorded from two out of three GH experiments on 1-week old leaves at an ambient mean temperature of 28.5 °C. This study implicated that fresh market tomatoes planted during warm temperatures in 50-mesh greenhouses and exposed to extended periods of wetness are highly prone to BLM infection at their young stages of growth.     

Impact of climate change on the temporal and regional occurrence of Cercospora leaf spot in Lower Saxony

Journal of Plant Diseases and Protection - The effect of climate change on the temporal and regional occurrence of Cercospora leaf spot (CLS) of sugar beet in Lower Saxony is analysed using the...     

Effect of Sowing Date, Host Cultivar, and Race of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. ciceris on Development of Fusarium Wilt of Chickpea

ABSTRACT Microplots experiments were carried out at Córdoba, southern Spain, from 1986 to 1989 to determine the effects of sowing date in the management of Fusarium wilt of chickpea as influenced by virulence of the pathogen race and by cultivar susceptibility. A total of 108 epidemics of the disease were described, analyzed, and compared to assess the degree of disease control. The epidemics were characterized by five curve elements: final disease intensity index (DII), standardized area under DII progress curve, time to epidemic onset, time to inflection point (t(ip)), and the DII value at t(ip), the last two parameters being estimates from the Richards function adjusted by nonlinear regression analysis. The structure of Fusarium wilt epidemics was examined by conducting multivariate principal components and cluster analyses. From these analyses, three factors accounting for 98 to 99% of the total variance characterized the DII progress curves and provided plausible epidemiological interpretations. The first factor included the t(ip) and the time to disease onset and can be interpreted as a positional factor over time. This factor accounted for the largest proportion of the total variance and may, therefore, be considered as the main factor for analysis of Fusarium wilt epidemics. The second factor concerns the standardized area under DII progress curves and the final DII of the epidemics. The third factor identified the uniqueness of the estimated value for the point of inflection of the DII progress curve over time. Our results indicate that for each year of experiment epidemic development was related mainly to the date of sowing. Thus, for chickpea crops in southern Spain, advancing the sowing date from early spring to early winter can slow down the development of Fusarium wilt epidemics, delay the epidemic onset, and minimize the final amount of disease. However, the net effect of this disease management practice may also be influenced, though to a lesser extent, by the susceptibility of the chickpea cultivar and the virulence and inoculum density of the Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. ciceris race.     

Impact of primary infection site of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Fusarium</Emphasis> species on head blight development in wheat ears evaluated by IR-thermography

The effect of the primary infection site by Fusarium graminearum and F. culmorum within wheat ears on Fusarium head blight (FHB) was investigated under controlled conditions. FHB development was assessed visually and thermographically following inoculation by: (i) spraying ears, or injecting inoculum into spikelets on (ii) tip, (iii) centre and (iv) base of the ears, separately. Fusarium infection significantly increased the temperature span within ears 6 days post inoculation (dpi), especially infections starting at the ear tip. The temperature difference between air and ear was negatively correlated to FHB severity and enabled disease detection even 29 dpi. F. culmorum caused significant higher disease severity neither reflected in the frequency of infected kernels nor in thousand kernel weight (TKW). Spray inoculations had the strongest effect on TKW, whereas tip inoculations had no effect. Centre and base inoculations had intermediate effects on TKW, although FHB levels did not differ with the same trend among inoculation scenarios. The overall low correlations among FHB severity, infected kernels and TKW are explained by the pathogen spread within ears – downwards more than upwards – and the effect on yield formation which is lower for infections of the upper parts of ears. An exponential model showed high goodness of fit for gradients of infected kernels within ears (R ²  ≥ 70) except tip infection with F. culmorum. This study confirmed that FHB is a function of the primary infection site within ears. Thermography was useful to differentiate among infection scenarios and may be applied in breeding for FHB resistance.     

Monitoring the temporal changes in herbicide-resistant Amaranthus tuberculatus: a landscape-scale probability-based estimation in Iowa

Background

A landscape-scale probability-based sampling of Iowa soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] fields was conducted in 2013 and 2019; Amaranthus tuberculatus [Moq.] J.D. Sauer seed was collected from 97 random geospatial selected fields. The objectives were to evaluate the prevalence and distribution of herbicide-resistant A. tuberculatus (waterhemp) in soybean fields and evaluate temporal changes over 6 years. Amaranthus tuberculatus seedlings were evaluated for resistance to imazethapyr, atrazine, glyphosate, lactofen and mesotrione at 1× and 4× label rates.

Results

Resistance to imazethapyr, glyphosate, lactofen and mesotrione at the 1× rate increased significantly from 2013 to 2019 and was found in 99%, 97%, 16% and 15% of Iowa A. tuberculatus populations in 2019, respectively. Resistance to atrazine at the 4× rate increased over time; atrazine resistance was found in 68% of populations in 2019. Three-way multiple herbicide-resistant A. tuberculatus was the most frequent and increased significantly to 4× rates from 16% in 2013 to 43% of populations in 2019. All A. tuberculatus populations resistant to HPPD-inhibitor herbicides also were resistant to atrazine.

Conclusion

To the best of our knowledge, this is the first probability-based study that presented evolution of A. tuberculatus herbicide resistance over time. The results demonstrated that imazethapyr, atrazine and glyphosate resistance in Iowa A. tuberculatus populations was frequent whereas resistance to lactofen and mesotrione was less frequent. Most Iowa A. tuberculatus populations evolved resistance to multiple sites of action over time. The results of our study are widely applicable given the similarities in weed management practices throughout the Midwest United States. © 2023 The Authors. Pest Management Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.     

Modelling some aspects of the monocyclic phase of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Stemphylium vesicarium</Emphasis>, the pathogen causing purple spot on asparagus (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Asparagus officinalis</Emphasis> L.)

The monocyclic phase of Stemphylium vesicarium is part of its life cycle and a possible factor for forecasting and the integrated control of purple spot on asparagus. The purpose of the study was to model the flight, germination and germ tube growth of ascospores as basis for the development of a forecasting system. During 2014–2016, the flight period was determined by spore traps. The ascospores flew between March and early July, but most were released in early May. The cumulative percentage of trapped ascospores depending on the daily summed temperature (base 5 °C) on rainy days starting from February 1st was described best by a Chapman Richards function. The germination and germ tube length of ascospores depending on leaf wetness duration and temperature were investigated in laboratory trials. Ascospores germinated rapidly in a wide temperature range. The fitted Chapman Richards function with a temperature-dependent capacity and rate described germination adequately with a calculated optimal temperature of 31.0 °C. The germ tube length was modelled by a combined generalised beta-linear function and it was optimal at 30.4 °C with a narrow temperature range of 25–35 °C for values close to the optimum length. Therefore, the infection process is restricted more severely by the germ tube length than by germination. The ascospore flight is often finished before the end of the harvest, so fungicide treatments during the monocyclic phase might be ineffective in many production sites in Germany. The situation could be different for shorter harvest periods and in non-harvested young plants.     

Spatial pattern of black spot incidence within citrus trees related to disease severity and pathogen dispersal

Guignardia citricarpa , the causal agent of citrus black spot, forms airborne ascospores on decomposing citrus leaves and water-spread conidia on fruits, leaves and twigs. The spatial pattern of diseased fruit in citrus tree canopies was used to assess the importance of ascospores and conidia in citrus black spot epidemics in São Paulo State, Brazil. The aggregation of diseased fruit in the citrus tree canopy was quantified by the binomial dispersion index ( D ) and the binary form of Taylor's Power Law for 303 trees in six groves. D was significantly greater than 1 in 251 trees. The intercept of the regression line of Taylor's Power Law was significantly greater than 0 and the slope was not different from 1, implying that diseased fruit was aggregated in the canopy independent of disease incidence. Disease incidence ( p ) and severity ( S ) were assessed in 2875 citrus trees. The incidence-severity relationship was described ( R ² = 88·7%) by the model ln( S ) = ln( a ) +  b CLL( p ) where CLL = complementary log-log transformation. The high severity at low incidence observed in many cases is also indicative of low distance spread of G. citricarpa spores. For the same level of disease incidence, some trees had most of the diseased fruit with many lesions and high disease severity, whereas other trees had most of the fruit with few lesions and low disease severity. Aggregation of diseased fruit in the trees suggests that splash-dispersed conidia have an important role in increasing the disease in citrus trees in Brazil.