Emergence and Infestation Level of Hypothenemus hampei (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) on Coffee Berries on the Plant or on the Ground During the Post-harvest Period in Brazil

The coffee berry borer (CBB), Hypothenemus hampei Ferrari (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), is the most important coffee pest in most of the coffee growing countries. CBB females leave old dry berries after harvest and search for dry noninfested berries on the plant or on the ground to lay eggs or to use as refuge until new berries are available on the coffee trees in the following season. The CBB infestation level and emergence from berries on the ground or on the plants were evaluated in two fields post-harvest in the Spring in Brazil over two seasons. Twenty infested or noninfested berries in separate cages (250 ml plastic cups) were placed on the plants or on the ground under the tree canopy, in each field. The number of infested berries and CBB females that emerged from the infested berries were recorded weekly. CBB emergence was higher from berries on the ground than those on the coffee trees in both seasons, whereas CBB infestation was higher on coffee berries on the plants than those on the ground in season I. Insolation (hours of sunlight) and temperature were the main covariates that affected emergence and infestation by this insect. The results are discussed for monitoring CBB during the time of dispersal with implications on integrated management of this pest.     

Protein and energy utilization of boiled rice-legume diets and boiled cereals in growing rats

In growing rats, boiled milled rice-legume diets (2:1 N ratio) had lower energy digestigibility than boiled milled rice and equal if not better true digestibility, biological value, and net protein utilization (NPU). Rice-soybean diets showed better NPU than the other rice-legume diets. Boiled whole-grain corn and sorghum had lower digstible energy and NPU than boiled milled rice. NPU of the diets did not follow strictly the trend of the amino acid score of the diets; phenol (tannin) content reduced energy and protein digestibility of all diets, but sugars reduced energy and protein digestibilities of rice-legume diets only.     

Cause of varietal difference in insulin and glucose responses to ingested rice

Combined data on four rices differing in amylose content suggested that difference in the response or the increase in blood plasma insulin and glucose in man to ingested rice was a result of difference in Amylograph cooked paste consistency and amylose content rather than to difference in starch lipids and starch gelatinization temperature.     

Properties of poorly digestible fraction of protein bodies of cooked milled rice

Pepsin-treated protein bodies and human fecal protein particles from IR480-5-9 cooked milled rice (Oryza sativa L.) consisted mainly of giutelin-type polypeptides with a mean molecular weight (MW) of 16 000. They had similar MW, amino acid pattern, and isoelectric focusing characteristics as the 70% 2-propanol—0.6% -mercaptoethanol soluble fraction of rice glutelin. The lipids of the pepsin-treated protein bodies had an identical lipid fraction ratio and fatty acid composition as the lipids of whole protein bodies.     

Protein content,distribution and retention during milling of brown rice

Brown rice of IR36 and IR42 check samples from the 1982 dry and wet season yield trials showed good correlation of milled-rice protein and brown-rice protein (r=0.97**,n=40) with 10% bran-polish removal by an emery abrasive mill. Among selected grain samples of both varieties, 80 to 86% of brown-rice protein was retained in the milled rice with both friction and abrasive mills. Stereological morphometry of 1-µm-thick sections showed that endosperm storage protein decreases in amount with increasing distance from the aleurone layer. A similar protein gradient was found in both average-protein and high-protein samples. Milling removed all of the pericarp, seed coat and nucellus, and virtually all of the aleurone layer and embryo, but removed very little of the nonaleurone endosperm, except from the lateral ridges.     

Hybridization of AA genome rice species from Asia and Australia I. Crosses and development of hybrids

Interspecific and intraspecific crosses of rice species were made involving the AA genome wild species Oryza meridionalis Ng from Australia, O. nivara Sharma et Shastry, O. rufipogon Griff, the weedy type O. sativa f. spontanea Rosch., and the cultigen O. sativa L. from Asia. Seed set and the number of hybrids obtained from both interspecific and intraspecific crosses were low and no significant differences were observed between the interspecific and intraspecific crosses. In the combination O. meridionalis × O. nivara and O. meridionalis × O. rufipogon, considerable differences in reciprocal crosses were observed, whereas higher seed set and more hybrids were obtained when O. meridionalis was used as the female parent. Pollen stainability and seed fertility of hybrids were very low, averaging between 1% and 9% in both interspecific and intraspecific combinations, except in the O. nivara intraspecific cross of 105386 × 106111, whose hybrid showed 83.0% pollen stainabi lity and 66.5% seed fertility.     

Effect of high protein rice on nitrogen retention and growth of preschool children on a rice-based diet

The effect of high protein milled rices (IR480-5-9 and IR2153-338-3, 10% protein) on the nitrogen retention and growth of preschool Indian children was assessed in two feeding trials in a residential home. The children were offered, ad libitum, a rice-based diet in four meals daily without vitamin and mineral supplement. The children in the experimental group were given the high protein rice; those in the control group were given a local rice (7% protein). The groups had similar percent apparent digestibility and retention of dietary nitrogen. Statistically significant differences in increase in height and weight between the two groups were not consistently observed at the end of 4.5 to 5 months or 1 year. Possible factors contributing to these results are discussed.     

Macronutrient deficiency and anatomic modifications in crambe leaves

Abstract

This study had the objective of assessing growth, deficiency symptoms and leaf anatomy of crambe plants submitted to macronutrient availability. The experimental design was the complete randomized with four replications. The first treatment consisted of cultivating crambe plants in a nutrient solution completed with N, P, K, Ca, Mg, and S. Using the diagnosis by subtraction, the other treatments consisted of the same solution with individual omission of each nutrient, totaling seven treatments. Supplement of different solutions took place two weeks after emergence. One week forward, visual symptoms of deficiency started to be evaluated. By the end of the experiment, the number of leaves, number of branches, shoot dry matter and leaf anatomic parameters were evaluated. Nutrient deficiency limited shoot dry matter in the following order: N?>?Ca?>?P>Mg?>?S?>?K. Subtracting Ca from the solution was most limiting to crambe growth once plants did not even reach reproductive stages. Individual subtractions of each macronutrient anatomically altered crambe leaves, especially omitting Ca, K, and S, which reduced tissue thickness.     

Effect of three feeding management systems on some reproductive parameters of Scorpion mud turtles (Kinosternon scorpioides) in Brazil

Chelonians have been exploited since ancient times for their meat, eggs, fat, and offal, among other things. Among these animals, there is Scorpion mud turtle (Kinosternon scorpioides) which is an omnivorous turtle with semiaquatic habits and is widely consumed in Brazil. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of different feeding management systems on the reproductive performance of captive-bred Scorpion mud turtles, including egg quality and chemical composition. Study animals included 15 males and 48 females, divided into three groups. Animals were fed with either a commercial diet or a commercial diet supplemented with one of two different mixes (wet diet). All animals were fed at 1 % BW/day divided on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Treatments were as follows: TR?=?100 % fish food (22 % CP); TRM1?=?70 % fish food?+?30 % mix 1 (bovine offal and fish); TRM2?=?70 % fish food?+?30 % mix 2 (bovine offal, fish, and shrimp). Samples were collected during 7 months, and eggs were identified, weighed, measured, and frozen for later analysis. Statistical analyses, including ANOVA, were performed using the program SAEG 9.0. Measurements taken from the nests were compared using the Tukey’s test (P?<?0.05). The different diets were associated with differential egg-laying performance and eggshell thickness. Animals fed with wet diets containing protein of animal origin displayed the best performance. Furthermore, nests with fewer eggs contained eggs of better external quality (e.g., greater length, width, and eggshell thickness). Finally, animals fed with only commercial feed produced eggs with lower saturated fatty acid content.     

Antimicrobial resistance and molecular epidemiology of streptococci from bovine mastitis

Streptococcus agalactiae (Group B Streptococcus, GBS), Streptococcus dysgalactiae subsp. dysgalactiae (Group C Streptococcus, GCS) and Streptococcus uberis are relevant mastitis pathogens, a highly prevalent and costly disease in dairy industry due to antibiotherapy and loss in milk production. The aims of this study were the evaluation of antimicrobial drug resistance patterns, particularly important for streptococcal mastitis control and the identification of strain molecular features. Antimicrobial resistance was assessed by disk diffusion against amoxicillin–clavulanic acid, cefazolin, cefoperazone, pirlimycin-PRL, rifaximin, streptomycin, chloramphenicol, erythromycin-ERY, gentamicin, tetracycline-TET and vancomycin. Genotypic relationships were identified using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), macrolide and/or tetracycline resistance gene profiling, GBS capsular typing, GBS virulence gene profiling and GBS and S. uberis multi locus sequence typing (MLST).The majority of the isolates were susceptible to all drugs except to aminoglycoside, macrolide, lincosamide and tetracycline. Close to half of the TET resistant isolates have tetO and tetK and almost all ERY–PRL resistant isolates have ermB. A high degree of intra-species polymorphism was found for GCS. The GBS belonged to ST-2, -554, -61, -23 lineages and five new molecular serotypes and human GBS insertion sequences in the cpsE gene were found. Also, GBS of serotype V with scpB and lmb seem to be related with GBS isolates of human origin (same ST-2 and similar PFGE). Overall our results suggested that different therapeutic programs may have been implemented in the different farms and that in most cases clones were herd-specific.