Resistance to Botrytis cinerea in Solanum lycopersicoides is Dominant in Hybrids with Tomato, and Involves induced Hyphal Death

Botrytis cinerea causes gray mold disease and affects hundreds of plant species, including tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum). The wild nightshade, Solanum lycopersicoides, is cross compatible with tomato and is more resistant to B. cinerea, thus representing a potential source for crop improvement. Tests involving droplet inoculation of detached leaves and spray inoculation of entire seedlings demonstrated that resistance to B. cinerea varies among S. lycopersicoides accessions, with S. lycopersicoides LA2951 being the most resistant accession tested. Expression of resistance in the intergeneric hybrid (L. esculentum cv. 'VF36' × S. lycopersicoides LA2951) suggested that resistance is at least partially dominant in tomato. A green fluorescent protein-tagged B. cinerea strain was used for confocal microscopic comparison of infection in leaves of S. lycopersicoides and tomato. Even though S. lycopersicoides supported spore germination, there was evidence for hyphal lysis and death 3 days after inoculation, at a time when lesions were expanding on susceptible tomato plants. The reduced frequency of B. cinerea lesion spread on S. lycopersicoides explains why this fungus produced fewer spores in this wild nightshade than in tomato.     

Evaluating the nutritive profile of three insect meals and their effects to replace soya bean in broiler diet

This study was conducted to evaluate the comparative effect of maggot meal, silkworm meal and mealworm as dietary protein source on the production performance and some aspects of meat quality in broilers. In this regard, maggot meal was reared on chicken offal and poultry waste. Silkworm meal was obtained from silk industry, while mealworm was developed through beetles rearing. A total of 120‐day‐old broiler chicks were randomly divided into four groups where soya bean meal (M0) was replaced with maggot meal (M1), silkworm meal (M2) and mealworm (M3) respectively. Each group was further divided into three replicates. The study was carried out for a period of 5 weeks. Diets containing mealworm significantly reduced overall feed consumption and resulted into higher weight gain (p < .05). Lowest feed conversion ratio (FCR) was recorded for birds fed with mealworm diet (p < .05). Tenderness and juiciness of meat were higher (p < .05) in M3 compared to the control and other treatments. Mortality did not vary between the control and the treated groups. Therefore, it is concluded that insect meal is rich in essential nutrients and could be successfully used in broiler ration without compromising acceptability. In the light of this study, mealworm is the best choice in broiler ration, in comparison with maggot and silkworm.     

Bovine foetal sex determination—Different DNA extraction and amplification approaches for efficient livestock production

Foetal sex determination using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in mammals is based on the amplification of gender‐specific foetal DNA sequences circulating in maternal blood. The bovine synepitheliochorial placenta does not allow a direct contact between the trophoblast and the maternal blood, resulting in difficult passage of foetal DNA and, consequently, its very small amounts in maternal bloodstream. Circulating cell‐free foetal DNA (ccffDNA) encompasses short nucleotide fragments (300–600 bp) in maternal circulation. The aim of this study was to assess this non‐invasive method in accurate prenatal sexing in early and late gestational periods in comparison with ultrasound diagnostics. As various DNA isolation and amplification methods were tested, their success in obtaining reliable results was evaluated. Two groups were tested, each consisting of 20 pregnant cows. Blood of a bull and a non‐pregnant heifer was the controls. Extraction of foetal DNA was accomplished by three different methods: using tubes with silicone membranes, a single‐tube extraction without silicone membranes and phenol–chloroform extraction. Following each extraction method, foetal DNA was amplified using PCR and real‐time PCR with both bAML and TSPY primers in a separate reaction. Positive results were obtained only after amplification of foetal DNA extracted with a single‐tube extraction kit. In comparison with ultrasound examination results and foetal gender recorded at birth, the sensitivity of the PCR test was 90% in Group I, but the technique failed to detect male foetuses in Group II. The real‐time PCR test sensitivity in Group I was 90% and in Group II 91.6%.     

Challenges in developing and implementing a decision support systems (ETÇAP) in forest management planning: a case study in Honaz and Ibradı, Turkey

Decision support systems (DSSs) are indispensable tools in preparing a forest management plan for a better combination of multiple forest values. This study attempted to develop and explain a stand-based forest management DSS (Ecosystem-based multiple-use forest planning [ETÇAP]) comprising a traditional simulation, linear programming (LP), metaheuristics and geographic information system. The model consists of five submodels; traditional management approach to handle inventory data, an empirical growth and yield model, a simulation to conceptualize management actions, a LP technique to optimize resource allocation and a simulated annealing approach to directly create a spatially feasible harvest schedule. The ETÇAP model has been implemented in a comparative two case study areas; Denizli–Honaz and Akseki–Ibrad?. Both simulation and optimization models outperformed to the traditional management plan. The periodical change of growing stock, allowable cuts, carbon sequestration and water production are used as performance indicators. The results showed that more amount of wood could be harvested over time compared to traditional level of harvesting. It could be concluded that various management strategies allowed managers to stimulate more decision options for better outputs through intertemporal trade-offs of management interventions as the model provided tools to quantify forest dynamics over time and space. Challenges exist to establish the functional relationships between forest structure and values for better quantification and integration into the management plans.     

Enhancing pedotransfer functions with environmental data for estimating bulk density and effective cation exchange capacity in a data‐sparse situation

Soil bulk density (BD) and effective cation exchange capacity (ECEC) are among the most important soil properties required for crop growth and environmental management. This study aimed to explore the combination of soil and environmental data in developing pedotransfer functions (PTFs) for BD and ECEC. Multiple linear regression (MLR) and random forest model (RFM) were employed in developing PTFs using three different data sets: soil data (PTF‐1), environmental data (PTF‐2) and the combination of soil and environmental data (PTF‐3). In developing the PTFs, three depth increments were also considered: all depth, topsoil (<0.40 m) and subsoil (>0.40 m). Results showed that PTF‐3 (R²; 0.29–0.69) outperformed both PTF‐1 (R²; 0.11–0.18) and PTF‐2 (R²; 0.22–0.59) in BD estimation. However, for ECEC estimation, PTF‐3 (R²; 0.61–0.86) performed comparably as PTF‐1 (R²; 0.58–0.76) with both PTFs out‐performing PTF‐2 (R²; 0.30–0.71). Also, grouping of data into different soil depth increments improves the estimation of BD with PTFs (especially PTF‐2 and PTF‐3) performing better at subsoils than topsoils. Generally, the most important predictors of BD are sand, silt, elevation, rainfall, temperature for estimation at topsoil while EVI, elevation, temperature and clay are the most important BD predictors in the subsoil. Also, clay, sand, pH, rainfall and SOC are the most important predictors of ECEC in the topsoil while pH, sand, clay, temperature and rainfall are the most important predictors of ECEC in the subsoil. Findings are important for overcoming the challenges of building national soil databases for large‐scale modelling in most data‐sparse countries, especially in the sub‐Saharan Africa (SSA).     

Modelling Wheat Stomatal Resistance in Hourly Time Steps from Micrometeorological Variables and Soil Water Status

An accurate estimation of stomatal resistance (r_S) also under drought stress conditions is of pivotal importance for any process‐based prediction of transpiration and the energy budget of real crop canopies and quantification of drought stress. A new model for r_S was developed and parameterized for winter wheat using data from field experiments accounting for the influences of net radiation (R_Net), air temperature (T_Air) and vapour pressure deficit of the atmosphere (VPD) interacting with an average water potential in the rooted soil (ψ_RootedSoil). r_S is simulated with a limiting factor approach as maximum of the metabolic (related to photosynthesis) and hydraulic (related to drought stress) acting influences assuming that, if drought stress occurs, it will dominate stomatal control: r_S = max(r_S(T_Air), r_S(R_Net), r_S(VPD, ψ_RootedSoil)). This transitional approach is suited to reproduce measured daily time courses of r_S with a varying accuracy for the single measurement dates but performed satisfactorily for the whole data set (r² = 0.63, RMSE = 59 s m^?1, EF = 0.60). This new semi‐empiric approach calculates r_S directly from external environmental conditions. Therefore, it can be easily implemented in existing model frameworks as link between operational crop growth models that use the concept of radiation use efficiency instead of mechanistic photosynthesis modelling and soil–vegetation–atmosphere transport models.     

Drought Tolerance and Water‐Use Efficiency of Biogas Crops: A Comparison of Cup Plant,Maize and Lucerne‐Grass

The cup plant (Silphium perfoliatum L.) is discussed as an alternative energy crop for biogas production in Germany due to its ecological benefits over continuously grown maize. Moreover, a certain drought tolerance is assumed because of its intensive root growth and the dew water collection by the leaf cups, formed by fused leaf pairs. Therefore, the aim of this study was to estimate evapotranspiration (ET ), water‐use efficiency (WUE ) and the relevance of the leaf cups for the cup plant's water balance in a 2‐year field experiment. Parallel investigations were conducted for the two reference crops maize (high WUE ) and lucerne‐grass (deep and intensive rooting) under rainfed and irrigated conditions. Root system performance was assessed by measuring water depletion at various soil depths. Transpiration‐use efficiency (TUE ) was estimated using a model approach. Averaged over the 2 years, drought‐related above‐ground dry matter reduction was higher for the cup plant (33 %) than for the maize (18 %) and lucerne‐grass (14 %). The WUE of the cup plant (33 kg ha^?1 mm^?1) was significantly lower than for maize (50 kg ha^?1 mm^?1). The cup plant had a lower water uptake capacity than lucerne‐grass. Cup plant dry matter yields as high as those of maize will only be attainable at sites that are well supplied with water, be it through a large soil water reserve, groundwater connection, high rainfall or supplemental irrigation.