Distribution of light and heavy fractions of soil organic carbon as related to land use and tillage practice

Mass distributions of different soil organic carbon (SOC) fractions are influenced by land use and management. Concentrations of C and N in light- and heavy fractions of bulk soils and aggregates in 0–20 cm were determined to evaluate the role of aggregation in SOC sequestration under conventional tillage (CT), no-till (NT), and forest treatments. Light- and heavy fractions of SOC were separated using 1.85 g mL⁻¹ sodium polytungstate solution. Soils under forest and NT preserved, respectively, 167% and 94% more light fraction than those under CT. The mass of light fraction decreased with an increase in soil depth, but significantly increased with an increase in aggregate size. C concentrations of light fraction in all aggregate classes were significantly higher under NT and forest than under CT. C concentrations in heavy fraction averaged 20, 10, and 8 g kg⁻¹ under forest, NT, and CT, respectively. Of the total SOC pool, heavy fraction C accounted for 76% in CT soils and 63% in forest and NT soils. These data suggest that there is a greater protection of SOC by aggregates in the light fraction of minimally disturbed soils than that of disturbed soil, and the SOC loss following conversion from forest to agriculture is attributed to reduction in C concentrations in both heavy and light fractions. In contrast, the SOC gain upon conversion from CT to NT is primarily attributed to an increase in C concentration in the light fraction.     

Age-related resistance to Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato is associated with the transition to flowering in Arabidopsis and is effective against Peronospora parasitica

As plants mature it has been observed that some become more resistant to normally virulent pathogens. The ability to manifest the Age-Related Resistance (ARR) response in Arabidopsis to Pseudomonas syringae pathovars tomato (Pst) coincided with the transition to flowering in plants both delayed and accelerated in the transition to flowering. ARR was also associated with a change in PR-1 gene expression, such that young plants expressed PR-1 abundantly at 3 days post inoculation (dpi) while mature plants expressed much less. The Arabidopsis ARR response requires SA accumulation via isochorismate synthase (ICS1) [24]. ICS1 was expressed one dpi with virulent and avirulent Pst in both young and mature plants. The ARR response was also effective versus avirulent Pst providing an additional 4-fold limitation in bacterial growth. Arabidopsis ARR was found to be ineffective against two necrotrophs, Erwinia carotovora subspecies carotovora (bacterium) and Botrytis cinerea (fungus) and one obligate biotroph, Erysiphe cichoracearum (fungus). However, mature wild type, SA-deficient sid2 and NahG plants supported little growth of the obligate biotrophic oomycete, Peronospora parasitica. Therefore ARR to P. parasitica appears to be SA-independent, however the level of ARR resistance was somewhat reduced in these mutants in some experiments. Thus, there may be numerous defence pathways that contribute to adult plant resistance in Arabidopsis.     

Identification and characterization of a virus infecting pepper in Southern Primorskii Krai

Infection of pepper caused by an isometric virus with a 30 ± 3 nm virion diameter is revealed. The thermal inactivation point of virus in jimsonweed sap is 75–80°C, longevity in vitro 3 days at 25°C, and dilution end-point of virus 10^?3–10^?4. The capsid of the virus contains two types of protein with molecular mass 55 and 12.6 kDa. A distant antigenic relatedness to the tobacco ringspot virus of the genus Nepovirus is shown.     

Effect of mannitol pretreatment to improve green plant regeneration on isolated microspore culture in Triticum turgidum ssp. durum cv. 'Jennah Khetifa'

The use of doubled haploids improves the efficiency of cultivar development in many crops and can be helpful in genetic and molecular studies. The major problem with this approach is the low efficiency of green plant regeneration. We describe here an efficient method for inducing embryos and regenerating green plants directly from isolated microspores of durum wheat cv. ‘Jennah Khetifa’. Tillers from donor plants were pretreated in 0.3 m mannitol and were stored at 4°C at various times: 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10 and 12 days. Our results showed clearly that the novel pretreatment combined mannitol 0.3 m and cold for 7 days had a strong effect on the number of embryos produced and regenerated green plants. Under this condition 13 475 mature embryos were produced from 2 693 500 microspores. Moreover, 85 green plants were obtained. High green plants regeneration frequency was recorded. As an average 11.55 green plants were produced per 100 000 microspores (about the equivalent of six plants per spike). Therefore, this study showed clearly that our results are the best ones published until now in durum wheat.     

Canola genotypes differ in potassium efficiency during vegetative growth

There is no knowledge about the differential capacity of canola genotypes to take up potassium (K) and produce dry matter under conditions of low soil K availability. Hence, 84 canola genotypes were screened for K efficiency in the glasshouse. Plants were grown in sealed pots containing K-responsive, sandy soil without or with K added. Twelve genotypes were selected for advanced screening in the glasshouse in a different K-responsive soil. Genotypes with a mean K efficiency ratio (the ratio of shoot dry weight at deficient and adequate K supply) greater than one standard error above or below the median genotype value were classified as K-efficient or K-inefficient, respectively. There were significant differences between genotypes in the K efficiency ratio in both screening experiments, indicating that genotypes responded differently to K availability. In the initial screening experiment, 19 genotypes were rated as K-efficient and nine genotypes rated as K-inefficient based on the K efficiency ratio. In the advanced screening experiment with 12 genotypes, three genotypes were rated as K-efficient and two as K-inefficient. Genotypes Wesbarker and Rainbow were K-efficient and Genkai K-inefficient in both experiments. Correlation of the K efficiency ratio with (i) shoot K content in the initial and advanced screening and (ii) shoot K concentration in the advanced screening, indicates that the observed differences in K efficiency were due to genotypic differences in both the uptake and the utilization of K. K-efficient genotypes have a potential to improve canola yields on soils with low K availability.     

Assessment of partial resistance to powdery mildew in Chinese wheat varieties

Field trials in two cropping seasons and two locations in central China were conducted on 60 Chinese autumn‐sown wheat varieties to assess their partial resistance to powdery mildew. Mean levels of disease severity ranged from close to 0 to more than 90%. The method of inoculation and the location in which trials were conducted affected the relative performance of the varieties, but these effects were much smaller than the main effect of variety. The area under the disease progress curve was highly correlated with final disease severity, but both were poorly correlated with apparent infection rate. Disease severity was regressed against frequencies of virulence in the Blumeria graminis (syn. Erysiphe graminis) f sp. tritici populations in the trial plots. A vertical distance (D) from the mean mildew severity to the fitted line was calculated for each variety and was used to quantify partial resistance. Five of the 60 varieties, ‘Hx8541’, ‘E28547’, ‘Chuan1066’, ‘Zhe88pin6’ and ‘Lin5064’, consistently expressed relatively low levels of disease despite high frequencies of virulence in the pathogen and had consistently high D‐values. They may therefore have good levels of partial resistance.     

Pattern analysis of genotype × environment interaction for striga resistance and grain yield in African sorghum trials

The parasitic weed Striga hermonthica (Del.) Benth. seriously limits sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] production in Sub-Saharan Africa. As an outbreeder, S. hermonthica is highly variable with an extraordinary capacity to adapt to different hosts and environments, thereby complicating resistance breeding. To study genotype x environment (G x E) interaction for striga resistance and grain yield, nine sorghum lines, 36 F₂ populations and five local checks were grown under striga infestation at two locations in both Mali and Kenya. Mean squares due to genotypes and G x E interaction were highly significant for both sorghum grain yield and area under striga severity progress curve(ASVPC, a measure of striga emergence and vigor throughout the season). For grain yield, the entry x location-within-country interaction explained most of the total G x E while for ASVPC, entry x country and entry x location-within-country interactions were equally important. Pattern analysis (classification and ordination techniques) was applied to the environment-standardized matrix of entry x environment means. The classification clearly distinguished Malian from Kenyan locations for ASVPC, but not for grain yield. Performance plots for different entry groups showed differing patterns of adaptation. The ordination biplot underlined the importance of entry x country interaction for ASVPC. The F₂ derived from the cross of the striga-resistant line Framida with the striga-tolerant cultivar Seredo was the superior entry for both grain yield and ASVPC, underlining the importance of combining resistance with tolerance in striga resistance breeding. The observed entry x country interaction for ASVPC may be due to the entries' different reactions to climatic conditions and putative differences in striga virulence in Mali and Kenya. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Genetic variability of heat tolerance, and its effect on yield and fibre quality traits in upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.)

Global temperature is rising because of increasing concentrations of CO₂ and other greenhouse gases (e.g. methane, nitrous oxide, etc.) in the atmosphere because of the excessive use of fossil fuels. High temperature causes heat stress which reduces crop productivity. The development of heat-tolerant varieties is feasible and will help mitigate the effects of climate change. Fifty-one cotton accessions were screened in heat-stressed and non-stressed conditions in the glasshouse and field. Relative cell injury percentage (RCI %), a measure of cell membrane thermostability (CMT), was used to assess heat tolerance. Heat-tolerant accessions had more stable yield and yielded more seed cotton with better quality fibre than the heat-intolerant accessions across four environments. The responses of the 51 accessions to all four environments for the measured traits were strongly associated. RCI % of the accessions and hybrids was strongly and negatively associated with yield and fibre traits. CMT was concluded to be a useful technique for identification of heat-tolerant cotton.     

Exploiting the diversity of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Viviparous-1</Emphasis> gene associated with pre-harvest sprouting tolerance in European wheat varieties

Pre-harvest sprouting (PHS) reduces the quality of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and the economic value of the grain. The objective of this study was to evaluate the diversity of the Viviparous-1B (Vp-1B) gene associated with PHS tolerance in a collection of 490 widely grown winter wheat varieties from central and northern Europe. Four alleles of Vp-1B were found in the wheat varieties tested, three of which (Vp-1Ba, Vp-1Bb and Vp-1Bc) had previously been identified in Chinese wheat varieties. The fourth was a new allele which had a 25-bp of deletion in the third intron region compared with the nucleotide sequence of Vp-1Ba, and was designated as Vp-1Bd. The frequencies of different alleles in this set of European wheat germplasm were: Vp-1Ba (54%) > Vp-1Bc (21%) > Vp-1Bd (20%) > Vp-1Ba + c (4%) > Vp-1Bb (1%), with Vp-1Bb being present only in two French varieties, ‘Altria’ and ‘Recital’. In addition, the frequencies of the alleles differed in varieties from different European countries. For example, Vp-1Ba had the highest frequency (76%) in varieties included in the UK National List (NL), but was least frequent in the Recommended List (RL) of Sweden (19%). Similarly, Vp-1Bc was present with the highest frequency (58%) in wheat varieties from Sweden, and the lowest in UK NL varieties (8%) while Vp-1Bd had the highest frequency of 32% in German varieties, and the lowest in Sweden varieties with only 8%. The Vp-1Ba allele was present in over half of the UK wheat varieties tested but the frequency was lower in RL varieties than in NL ones. Furthermore, heterogeneities were found between Vp-1Ba and Vp-1Bc in the varieties from Sweden, Netherlands, Germany and UK.