First report of the papaya mealybug,Paracoccus marginatus (Coccomorpha: Pseudococcidae), in Tahiti,French Polynesia

The papaya mealybug, Paracoccus marginatus Williams and Granara de Willing (Coccomorpha: Pseudococcidae), is a polyphagous pest that damages many tropical crops. It is native to Central America and spread to the Caribbean region and South America in the 1900s. Since then, it has accidentally been introduced to several islands in the Pacific region and some countries in Africa and Asia. The first record of this mealybug in Polynesia was in Hawaii, in 2004. This paper presents the first report of this pest in Tahiti (French Polynesia), where it was found in March 2017 on papaya (Carica papaya) and frangipani trees (Plumeria spp.). Its presence, which is mainly in the inhabited part of the island of Tahiti, suggests the recent introduction of the pest in French Polynesia. Several coccinellid predators have been found feeding on the mealybug in Tahiti: Cryptolaemus montrouzieri, Hyperaspis pantherina and Scymnus spp. None of its parasitoids have been found yet.     

麦田小气候对第一代粘虫发生数量影响的研究

麦田小气候因子对粘虫的发生有一定影响。栽培技术及小麦生长情况不同农田小气候特点各有不同,因而影响粘虫发生数量及发育进度的变化很大;禾苗生长愈茂密,小气候相对湿度愈高,温度愈低。此种条件下,粘虫发生数量较大而发育进度较慢。杂草丛生的农田粘虫发生即多,被害严重,这可能也是受小气候因子的影响所致。预测预报时应注意这些规律。     

花生属植物酯酶同工酶的研究

采用聚丙烯酰胺凝胶电泳的方法,对花生属植物10个栽培种和10个野生种的酯酶同工酶谱带进行测定分析。根据酶谱的差异,栽培种花生与花生区组野生种的平均相似值为12.93％,与其他区组相比其相似值高。表明两者间亲缘关系较近,从生化测定证实了花生区组的野生种是栽培种的近缘祖先的推断。另外,结果表明不同类型的栽培种与花生区组的各个野生种的亲缘关系也存在差异,其中以珍珠豆型品种与A.durenesis的关系最近。     

Mass spectrometric evidence for the occurrence of plant growth promoting cytokinins in vermicompost tea

Through their decomposing activities, earthworms produce rich organic fertilizers called vermicomposts containing mineral nutrients and anecdotal evidence of biologically active phytohormones. Aqueous extracts of vermicomposts, namely vermicompost tea (VT), have positive effects on plant growth. It has been postulated that trace amounts of phytohormones in vermicomposts or its VT are beneficial for plant growth and development. We therefore screened for the different classes of phytohormones (auxins, cytokinins, abscisic acid, and gibberellin) in VT using liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) after solid-phase extraction. VT was produced by earthworms being fed with a mixture of water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) and chicken manure at a ratio of 4:1 (w/w). This investigation is the first mass spectrometric evidence for the presence of cytokinins in VT: namely trans-Zeatin (tZ), N⁶-Isopentenyladenine (iP) and N⁶-Isopentenyladenosine (iPR), which were present at 0.06, 3.33, and 0.02 nmol L^–1, respectively. The successful detection and quantitation of cytokinins in VT provided direct evidence to explain the growth efficacy of applying VT in order to enhance plant growth and development. We postulated that they were microbially synthesized due to the abundance of microbial communities in the vermicompost.     

Digestibility of protein and starch from sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) is linked to biochemical and structural features of grain endosperm

Although a principal source of energy and protein for millions of the world's poorest people, the nutritional value of sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) is diminished because of low digestibility of grain protein and starch. To address this problem, we analyzed the properties of two sorghum lines that have a common pedigree but differ in digestibility. Consistent with results based on a ruminal fluid assay, the protein and starch of one line (KS48) was more thoroughly digested than that of the other (KS51) using in vitro assays based on pepsin and α-amylase. The indigestibility of KS51 relative to KS48 was shown to be due to (i) a greater abundance of disulfide-bonded proteins; (ii) presence in KS51 of non-waxy starch and the accompanying granule-bound starch synthase; and (iii) the differing nature of the protein matrix and its interaction with starch. The current findings suggest that each of these factors should be considered in efforts to enhance the nutritional value of sorghum grain.     

Formation of the density profile and its effects on the properties of fiberboard

Two main types of fiberboards were produced using lauan (Shorea spp.) fibers with an isocyanate resin as the binder; fiberboard with a flat, homogeneous (homoprofile), and typical U-shaped (conventional) density profile along the board thickness. The processing parameters included manipulation of mat moisture content distribution, press closing speed, and hot pressing method. The results are summarized as follows: (1) A larger variation was observed in the peak density (PD) and core density (CD) of fiberboards at 0.5g/cm³ mean density (MD) level than in those at 0.7 g/cm³. Generally, PD showed a greater variation than CD, irrespective of MD level. (2) Boards produced using two-step hot pressing recorded substantially higher PD with reduced CD. (3) Multiple regression analysis showed that CD and PD could be calculated based on the other profile defining factors, and a rough estimation for peak distance and gradient factor was possible. (4) Based on static bending, conventional fiberboard had a higher modulus of rupture (MOR) than the homo-profile board but a similar modulus of elasticity (MOE). (5) At 0.5 g/cm³ the MOR and dynamic MOE of fiberboard increased by up to 67% and 62%, respectively, when the PD increased from 0.5 to 1.07 g/cm³. Similarly, an increase of PD from 0.7 to 1.1 g/cm³ resulted in corresponding increases of 55% and 34% in the MOR and dynamic MOE of 0.7 g/cm³ boards. (6) The internal bond strength and screw withdrawal resistance were almost entirely dependent on the CD and MD, respectively. (7) Homo-profile fiberboards registered higher thickness swelling and water absorption than conventional fiberboards throughout the dry/wet conditioning cycle.     

根癌农杆菌介导豇豆胰蛋白酶抑制剂基因转入苹果主栽品种

研究建立起一套简单、高效的苹果遗传转化系统。利用根癌农杆菌介导的叶圆片转化法将高效启动的豇豆胰蛋白抑制剂基因（ＣｐＴｌ）转入富士、齐纳金、王林、嘎拉等苹果主栽品种中,经卡那霉素抗性、ＰＣＲ、点杂交、Ｓｏｕｔｈｅｍ杂交检测证明了４个品种均获得转化再生植株,现已移栽成活。     

Perforation and lysis of fungal spores in natural soils

Conidia of Cochliobolus sativus and five other pigmented fungi lysed when incubated in natural soil. Lysis followed perforation of the spore wall by holes of varying dia. Three possible causes of perforation were investigated, namely autolysis, mechanical puncture by soil animals and enzymatic erosion by soil micro-organisms. Results indicated that soil micro-organisms were the likely causal agents although no micro-organism able to perforate conidia has yet been isolated. Colonization of conidia by the soil microflora was studied by electron microscopy. On the basis of these direct observations, possible perforation mechanisms are suggested. Reports of perforation of fungal, plant and bacterial cell walls are briefly summarized and the perforation phenomenon discussed in relation to the biodegradation of pigmented fungal propagules in soils.