Blood parasites of some West African rainforest birds

A total of 969 birds representing 121 species of 21 families from the West African nations of Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea and Ivory Coast were examined for haematozoa using thin blood smears; 277 individuals (28.6%) harbored blood parasites. The parasites identified included species of Haemoproteus (7.7% prevalence), Plasmodium (10.7%), Leucocytozoon (4.6%), and Trypanosoma (7.3%). In addition, microfilariae of filariid nematodes were present in 3.6% of the individuals examined. The birds were collected over a period of 12 years, from 1989-2001, from rainforest and ecotone habitats. We report a relatively high prevalence of parasites in colonial nesting birds, and two species of ground nesting birds. In addition, we compared data from bird species collected at a site identical to a previously published study, and did not find significant differences in parasite prevalence between the two years constituting two different seasons. Our results are also compared to other studies in Africa that implement similar and different methodologies.     

Persistence of serum antibodies to Sarcocystis neurona in horses moved from North America to India

BACKGROUND: The study reported here was undertaken to assess the presence of antibodies to Sarcocystis neurona in the serum of horses of North American origin that had been relocated for 1 year or more to India (ie, outside of the known endemic areas for S. neurona). HYPOTHESIS: The presence or absence of such antibodies should provide information concerning the persistence of such antibodies, or support the presence of chronic infection, or both. ANIMALS: A total of 228 Thoroughbred horses were sampled in India, of which 86 were of North American origin that had been in India between 1 and 13 years, 124 were Indian-born horses that had never been out of India, 8 were of Irish origin, 8 were of English origin, and 2 were originally from France. METHODS: Sera were tested using established western blot analysis. RESULTS: Of the Indian-born horses, 0.8% were test positive, and of the North American horses, 42% were test positive. All of the English and Irish horses were test negative, and the 2 French horses were test positive. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: These data indicate that antibodies against S. neurona can be detected for many years after horses have been removed from an endemic area and that this may be attributable to long half-life of the antibodies or to chronic infection and ongoing antibody production, or both.     

First report of flower chafer beetle, Oxycetonia versicolor, on pigeonpea and mungbean from Punjab, India

The occurrence of flower chafer beetle, Oxycetonia versicolor (Fabricius) (Scarabaeidae: Coleoptera) damaging the flowers of important grain legumes such as pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp.) and mungbean (Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek) is reported for the first time from Punjab, India. Heavy infestation of these flower beetles at flowering may cause considerable damage to these crops. A mild to moderate level of infestation of 15?C17 beetles per ten plants was recorded at the time of peak flowering period on both the grain legumes. Adult beetles devour the flowers and buds, thereby greatly reducing the number of pods that are set. Information on important taxonomic characters of the beetle is highlighted in this report. Careful monitoring and timely reporting on this chafer beetle is necessary to avoid any future outbreak.     

The potential of entomopathogens in biological control of white grubs

Abstract

White grubs are highly polyphagous and most destructive soil pests inflicting damage to a wide variety of crops. In India, more than 1000 species of white grubs are known of which over 40 species attack wide range of plants. White grubs are naturally infected by various entomopathogens which include fungi, bacteria and nematodes. Entomopathogenic fungi offer great potential and members of genera Beauveria and Metarhizium are widely used against white grubs. Several commercial products of entomopathogenic fungi like Bio Green, ORY-X, Grub X 10G, Betel, Biotrol FMA and Meta-Guard have been developed for the control of white grubs. In India, good control of white grubs in paddy, ginger and sugarcane has been achieved with different entomofungi. Among EPNs, Heterorhabditis bacteriophora is moderately effective against Popillia japonica and Rhizotrogus majalis. H. indica and H. bacteriophora are effective against potato white grubs in India. Paenibacillus popilliae cause milky disease in P. japonica grubs. The bacterium is pathogenic to Holotrichia consanguinea, H. serrata and Leucopholis lepidophora. In north-western Himalaya, B. cereus is highly toxic to the grubs of H. seticollis and Anomala dimidiata.     

Outcomes of cats with oral tumors treated with mandibulectomy: 42 cases

Medical records of 42 cats treated with mandibulectomy for oral neoplasia at eight institutions were reviewed to determine morbidity, progression-free interval, and survival time. Progression-free and survival rates at 1 and 2 years were 56% and 49%, and 60% and 57%, respectively. Cats with squamous cell carcinoma had significantly shorter survival than cats with fibrosarcoma or osteosarcoma. Seventy-two percent of cats were dysphagic or inappetent immediately postoperatively, and 12% never regained the ability to eat. Despite acute morbidity in 98% and long-term morbidity in 76% of cats, 83% of the 30 owners providing information were satisfied with the outcome of mandibulectomy.     

Hermaphrodite inbreds with better combining ability improve antioxidant properties in ridge gourd [Luffa acutangula (Roxb.) L.]

An experiment was conducted with the objectives to evaluate the breeding potential of hermaphrodite lines and to suggest suitable breeding approaches following half-diallel mating design for genetic improvement of antioxidant content and activity in ridge gourd [Luffa acutangula (Roxb.) L.] fruits. Twenty-eight genotypes, including seven parental lines and 21 crosses, were grown in randomized block design with three replications for fruit sample collection. The highly significant mean squares due to parents, hybrids and parents versus hybrids; and GCA and SCA for yield and antioxidants (ascorbic acid, total carotenoids, total phenolics, DPPH-RSA, ABTS-RSA and CUPRAC assay) indicate the existence of abundant genetic variation. The per se performance and combining ability of hermaphrodite parents (Satputia Long and Satputia Small) and hybrids of “monoecious × hermaphrodite” cross were found to be superior for antioxidants along with yield potential. The cross combinations with superior per se performance coupled with high SCA estimates and having at least one hermaphrodite parent would be useful for concentrating desirable alleles to improve the antioxidants and yield simultaneously. Thus, hermaphrodite lines in combination with monoecious counterpart have enormous potential to breed “genotypes for higher antioxidants” without compromising yield in ridge gourd.     

Effect of roughage to concentrate ratio of sweet sorghum (Sorghum biclor L. Moench) bagasse-based complete diet on nutrient utilization and microbial N supply in lambs

An experiment was conducted to study the effect of roughage to the concentrate ratio of complete diets containing sweet sorghum bagasse (SSB), an agro-industrial by product, as sole roughage source on nutrient utilization in ram lambs. Twenty-four Nellore × Deccani cross ram lambs aged about 3?months (average body wt. 10.62?±?0.03?kg) were randomly allotted into four groups fed with CR-I (60R:40C), CR-II (50R:50C), CR-III (40R:60C), and CR-IV (30R:70C) complete diets. The roughage to concentrate ratio did not affect the dry matter intake (in grams/day or grams/kilogram weight(0.75)). The crude protein (P?相似文献   

Phytotoxic effect of Parthenium residues on the selected soil properties and growth of chickpea and radish

The present study investigates the effect of residues of noxious weed Parthenium hysterophorus in soil as well as under laboratory conditions. Soils were infested with different amounts of Parthenium residues to determine the changes in soil chemistry, phenolic content and the phytotoxic effects on crops like chickpea ( Cicer arietinum ) and radish ( Raphanus sativus ). The modified soils and unmodified (control) soil were analyzed for pH, conductivity, organic carbon, organic matter, available nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and micronutrients such as sodium, iron, manganese and zinc. The pH of all the modified soils decreased whereas the conductivity, organic carbon and organic matter increased. Further, the amount of sodium and potassium increased, whereas that of zinc decreased. In the soil infested with 4 g of Parthenium residue, the amount of available nitrogen decreased. The presence of significantly high amounts of phenolics in all modified soils indicated their possible interactions with soil chemical properties. This was also indicated by the correlation analysis between phenolics and various soil properties. The growth studies carried out in the modified soils indicated their phytotoxic nature, as seedling growth of both chickpea and radish was significantly decreased compared with seedlings grown in unmodified soils. The extracts prepared from Parthenium residues were also found to be phytotoxic to both the test crops and were also rich in phenolics. The presence of phenolics in Parthenium residues and their interference with soil chemistry upon release may be responsible for a decrease in the growth of radish and chickpea.     

Concentration and size distribution of airborne particles in a broiler house

Airborne dust particles were sampled in a broiler house using the quartz crystal microbalance cascade impactor designed for the measurement of mass concentration and size distribution from 0.05 to 25 gm. No significant difference was noticed in the dust concentration from morning to evening or at different sampling sites in the broiler house. The concentration of airborne dust particles decreased as the age of the chickens increased. Ratio of dust particles smaller than 0.8 pm to the total dust ranged from 10 to 50%. The highest concentration of dust was in the particle size range of 3.2 μm. The fogging system in use reduced the concentration of larger particles but not that of the smaller particles.