Identification of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Fusarium</Emphasis> species associated with soybean root rot in Sichuan Province,China

Soybean root rot is a worldwide soil-borne fungal disease threatening soybean production, causing large loss in yield and quality of soybean. Fusarium species are well recognized as the important causal agent of Fusarium root rot, which are often distinct with respect to various factors in different soybean-producing regions around the world. Recently, Fusarium root rot has been frequently reported in Sichuan Province of China, where is unique in its climate and diverse cropping patterns, but it is still unclear about the predominant Fusarium species and their pathogenicity on soybean. In this study, diseased soybean roots were collected from three regions of Sichuan Province during 2014–2015. Based on morphological characteristics and phylogenetic analysis of nucleotide sequences of the ribosomal internal transcribed spacer region and the translation elongation factor 1-α gene, 78 isolates of Fusarium were identified as nine distinct species. Pathogenicity tests showed that seven species of Fusarium were able to infect soybean, but differed in pathogenicity. F. oxysporum, F. equiseti and F. graminearum were the most aggressive species to soybean, whereas F. fujikuroi and F. verticillioides were not pathogenic to soybean. There was a strong positive correlation of the pathogenicity of Fusarium species with seedling emergence and fresh root weight. In addition, the diversity of Fusarium species varied among soybean-growing regions. To our knowledge, this report on population and pathogenicity of Fusarium species, in particular, F. graminearum, associated with soybean root rot in Sichuan Province of southwest China, will be helpful to provide effective control strategies for the disease.     

咪鲜胺、氟环唑及其混配对水稻纹枯病室内毒力及田间防效

为筛选出对水稻纹枯病高效的新配方药剂及剂量,以咪鲜胺和氟环唑混配进行室内抑菌活性、持效期和田间药效测定。采用孙云沛法进行室内联合毒力测定,结果表明,供试的5种混配组合对水稻纹枯病菌的联合毒力均表现为增效,综合联合毒力、成本和持效期等因素,选择30%咪鲜胺·氟环唑微乳剂(2∶1)为最佳田间应用配比。田间药效试验亦表明,30%咪鲜胺·氟环唑微乳剂(20%+10%)158~180g/hm2的用量对水稻纹枯病有较好的防治效果。     

东北北部高寒区大豆品系因子分析及综合评价

为合理利用大豆种质资源,选取适合寒区种植的大豆品系,2017年在黑龙江省黑河市嫩江县鹤山农场对30份大豆品系的10个农艺性状及产量性状进行变异性、相关性、因子分析和聚类分析。结果表明:大豆种质资源10个农艺性状的变异系数为4.66%~87.53%,其中单株瘪荚数变异系数最大,单位面积株数变异系数最小;因子分析将10个性状浓缩为4个主因子,分别为结荚数因子、高度因子、粒重因子和株数因子,且累计贡献率高达84.74%;聚类分析表明,30份大豆品系可聚类成3大类,第1类群共计15份品系,第2类群共计11份品系,第3类群共计4份品系,分别为CS1737、CS1733、CS1704和CS1761,适宜该寒区推广种植。     

MAPK级联在玉米抗病反应和植保素代谢调控中的作用分析

利用MAPK级联抑制剂U0126和PD98059特异抑制MAPK信号传递途径后,使用禾谷镰刀菌侵染或脱落酸(ABA)处理玉米自交系Mo17幼苗,利用qRT-PCR分析植保素关键基因表达情况,观察MAPK级联对玉米响应禾谷镰刀菌侵染的情况。结果表明,抑制MAPK级联后,玉米叶片对禾谷镰刀菌侵染更加敏感,发病率显著提高,禾谷镰刀菌对植保素相关基因TPS6、An2、CYP71Z18、KSL5和TPS1的诱导受到抑制,且转录因子WRKY79的表达也被抑制,说明在玉米叶片中植保素的产生受MAPK级联的调控。玉米根系在MAPK级联被抑制后,ABA对这些基因表达的诱导同样受到抑制。说明MAPK级联参与植物抗病反应,在玉米叶片和根部MAPK级联可能通过调控转录因子ZmWRKY79参与对植保素代谢的调控,为玉米抗病反应机理研究提供理论依据。     

Modification and Characterization of Nano-TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> for Efficient Fixation on Cotton Fibers

In this paper, a silane coupling agent, 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane, was reacted with nano-TiO₂ to introduce amino group onto it which was then reacted with trichlorotriazine to obtain a dichlorotriazine functionalized nano-TiO₂ for the firm fixation of it on cotton fibers. The reaction process was monitored by the titration of primary and secondary amino groups, and the reaction conditions were optimized with orthogonal method accordingly. The dichlorotriazine functionalized nano-TiO₂ was reacted with cotton fabric by the nucleophile substitution reaction to afford nano-TiO₂ functionalized cotton fabric, the structure and surface morphology of the nano-TiO₂ finished cotton fibers were studied by FT-TR and SEM. In addition, the fixation duration of the nano-TiO₂ modified cotton was studied according to AATCC test method 61–2010. The results show that the washing fastness of the nano-TiO₂ is excellent.     

Facile Fabrication of Electrospun Silica Nanofibrous Membrane with Hydrophobic,Oleophilic and Breathable Performances

We report a simple and versatile method to prepare hydrophobic composite SiO₂ membrane. The electrospun SiO₂ membrane was selected due to its good flexibility and thermal stability. The hydrophobic SiO₂ membrane was succussfully prepared by simply evaporating a thin polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) layer on the fiber surface. The characterization results show that the PDMS layer is too thin to be observed. The PDMS coating has no influence on the porous structure of the fibrous membrane, but imparts the good hydrophobicity and oleophilicity to the SiO₂ nanofibers. As demonstration, the hydrophobic SiO₂-PDMS membrane displays good oil absorption performance from the oil/water mixture, as well as filtration membrane for oil/water separation. Additionally, due to the proper pore size and hydrophobic surface, the SiO₂- PDMS membrane shows good waterproof performance and breathability at the same time.     

Machine vision smart sprayer for spot-application of agrochemical in wild blueberry fields

An essential part of the wild blueberry cropping system is the proper management of agrochemical inputs including herbicides, fungicides and insecticides. A machine vision system was developed and mounted on the rear sprayer boom 0.18 m in front of the sprayer nozzles capable of targeting the agrochemical application on an as-needed basis. The three-point hitch mounted sprayer featured 27 nozzles over a 13.7 m boom width and a storage tank capacity of 1135 l. Nine digital color cameras continually take images in real-time while computer software processes the images in 0.15 s to determine the target locations where the nozzles open and spray at speeds up to 1.77 m s^?1. Two wild blueberry fields in central Nova Scotia were selected for smart sprayer performance testing with spot-application (SA) of agrochemical as compared to control and uniform application techniques. Chateau^® herbicide was applied in a field with an infestation of hair cap moss. Spray droplet comparison showed moss patches were properly targeted using the smart sprayer. SA provided the same coverage performance as compared to uniform on the moss targets with herbicide application savings of 78.5% using the smart sprayer. Harvestable yield results were similar for all application tracks. TruPhos Magnesium and ZincMax foliar fertilizers were tank mixed with Bravo^® and Proline^® fungicides and applied to compare the difference of SA, control and uniform application. Results showed SA of foliar fertilizer and fungicide led to less premature leaf drop and increased the blueberry stem height, number of branches, stem diameter and fruit buds. SA of foliar fertilizer and fungicide also increased the percent of healthy wild blueberry plants by 57.8% and the harvestable yield by 137.8%. Fungicide application savings using the smart sprayer for SA were 11.6%.     

Pinnisterols A–C,New 9,11-Secosterols from a Gorgonian Pinnigorgia sp.

Three new 9,11-secosterols, pinnisterols A–C (1–3), were isolated from a gorgonian coral Pinnigorgia sp., collected off the waters of Taiwan. The structures of these compounds were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic methods. The new sterols 1 and 3 displayed significant inhibitory effects on the generation of superoxide anions and the release of elastase by human neutrophils, and sterol 1 was found to show moderate cytotoxicity in hepatic stellate cells (HSCs).     

Long-term effects of stocking density on survival,growth performance and marketable production of the sea urchin <Emphasis Type="Italic">Strongylocentrotus intermedius</Emphasis>

Sea urchins were stocked at a density of 15 (D15), 30 (D30), 45 (D45) and 60 (D60) urchins/cage (0.3 m long × 0.2 m wide × 0.4 m high) in a laboratory culture environment for 16 months. The wet body weight (BW) and test diameter growth were monitored at 2-month intervals during the experiment. At the conclusion of the experiment, the surviving sea urchins were counted and the gonad wet weight (GW) and gonad color were measured. Specific growth rate (SGR) of body weight, survival rate (SR), gonad index (GI), gonad color difference (ΔE ₀₀), coefficients of variation (CV) of BW, GW, GI and ΔE ₀₀, total biomass yield (TY) and total gonad yield (TGY) per cage were calculated. Two marketable yield variables, graded according to gonad index, i.e., marketable biomass yield (MY) and marketable gonad yield (MGY), were also calculated. Coefficient of variation of final body weight (FW) and final test diameter (FTD) of sea urchins increased as the stocking density increased, indicating the existence of adverse social interactions. These adverse social interactions detrimentally affected FW, FTD, SGR, GW and GI (P < 0.01). Although SR decreased with the increasing densities, no statistical significant difference was detected. Sea urchins at D15 had the lowest gonad color difference (ΔE ₀₀) (P < 0.05). However, statistically equal CV of ΔE ₀₀ indicates this density effect was not a result of adverse social interactions. TY and TGY increased with increased density and can be described by the following equations: TY = 84.18X ^0.64, R ² = 0.999 and TGY = 24.16X ^0.38, R ² = 0.979. However, the MY and MGY were not significantly different among stocking densities. The results of this study demonstrate that in intensive culture S. intermedius at low stocking density can achieve high growth rate, gonad index and desirable color without decreasing the marketable yield. Farmers should choose to culture S. intermedius at low stocking densities.