The resistance to eighteen toxicants of a strain of Musca domestica L. collected from a farm in England

A sample of houseflies initially collected from a pig farm and found to be resistant to bendiocarb, DDT, gamma-HCH, pyrethrins + piperonyl butoxide (PB), tetrachlorvinphos and trichlorfon, was tested for resistance to knockdown by other toxicants. At the KD₅₀ response level, resistance factors were obtained for: permethrin (× 141), deltamethrin (×96), bioresmethrin + PB (×37), resmethrin + PB (×33), fenitrothion (×94), bromophos (×58), iodofenphos (×42), pirimiphos-methyl (×30), dichlorvos (×22), dimethoate (×9), diazinon (×8), methomyl (×4) and methomyl + PB (×4). The slopes of the dose–response lines were lower for the farm strain than for a susceptible strain. This resulted in an increase of resistance factors at the KD₉₅ level by an average of × 1.6. The houseflies on the farm could not be controlled using space sprays of pyrethrins + PB, although resistance to this toxicant was only ×12. However, control was achieved with a methomyl bait.     

Survival of infectious bovine rhinotracheitis virus in stored bovine semen

No loss in the titre of infectious bovine rhinotracheitis virus was found during storage in semen at –196°C for 1 year.     

Use of crop models to understand genotype by environment interactions for drought in real-world and simulated plant breeding trials

Crop simulation models of plant processes capture the biological interactions between the sensing of signals at an organ level (e.g. drought affecting roots), the response of the plant at a biochemical level (e.g. change in development rate) and the result at the organ (or crop) level (e.g. reduced growth). In dissecting the complex control of phenotypes like yield, simulation models have several roles. Models have been used to generate an index of the climatic environment (e.g. of drought stress) for breeding programme trials. In wheat and sorghum grown in northern Australia, this has shown that mid-season drought generates large genotype by environment interaction. By defining gene action to calculate the value of input trait parameters to crop models, simulated multi-environment trials estimate the yield of ‘synthetic’ sorghum cultivars grown in historical or artificial climates with current or potential management regimes. In this way, the biological interactions among traits constrain the crop yields to only those that are biologically possible in the given set of environments. This allows the construction of datasets that are more ‘realistic’ representations of gene by trait by environment interaction than is possible using only the statistical attributes (e.g. means, variances and correlations) of real-world trait datasets. This approach has an additional advantage in that ‘biological and experimental noise’ can be manipulated separately. These ‘testbeds’ for statistical techniques can be extended to the interpretation of a crossing and selection programme where the processes of chromosomal recombination are simulated using a quantitative genetics model and applied to the trait parameters. Statisticians are challenged to develop improved methods for the resulting simulated phenotype datasets, with the objective of revealing the (known) underlying genetic and environment structure that was input to the simulations. These improved methods can then be applied to existing plant breeding programmes.     

Behind the Pan‐European Convergence Path: The Role of Innovation,Specialisation and Socio‐economic Factors

The paper analyses the determinants of regional disparities in per capita gross domestic product (GDP) and their evolution over time in the enlarged European Union (EU). With reference to the literature it groups EU regions on the basis of three different factors—specialisation, socio‐economic features, and innovation. It then analyses regional disparities in per capita GDP (EU‐relative and country‐relative) across groups over 2004–2011 using both non‐parametric tools and traditional regression analysis with spatial effects. The paper finds that EU‐wide convergence actually conceals growing divergence across old member regions and within new members. Coming to the factors that lie at the heart of regional disparities, country factors lose importance for newcomers but become more important for older members, notwithstanding longstanding integration. Socio‐economic factors and innovation instead become increasingly important for all areas, socio‐economic factors lying at the heart of within‐country differences and innovation more of those between regions. Finally, specialisation appears to have a lower explanatory power.     

Genotype by environment effects and selection for drought tolerance in tropical maize. II. Three-mode pattern analysis

A selection program in three tropical maize populations aimed to improve tolerance of mid-season to late season drought environments while maintaining grain yield (GY) potential. The selection process employed other attributes that included maintaining a constant anthesis date (AD) and, under drought, shortening the anthesis-silking interval (ASI) and increasing ear number per plant (EPP). Three-mode (genotypes × environments × attributes) pattern analysis, which consists of clustering and ordination, should be able to collectively interpret these changes from ten evaluation trials. Mixture maximum likelihood clustering identified four groups that indicated the populations' performance had changed with selection. Groups containing the advanced cycles of selection were higher yielding in most environments and had lower ASI and higher EPP, particularly in drought environments. Check entries with no selection for drought tolerance remained grouped with the initial cycles of selection. A 3 × 2 × 3 (genotypes by environments by attributes) principal component model explained 70% of the variation. For the first environmental component, ASI was shown to be highly negatively correlated with both GY and EPP while anthesis date (AD) was virtually uncorrelated with other traits. The second environmental component (explaining 10% of the variation) contrasted droughted and well-watered environments and showed that EPP and GY were better indicators of this contrast (in terms of changes in population performance) than were AD or ASI. Three-mode analysis demonstrated that improvements with selection occurred in both droughted and well-watered environments and clearly summarised the overall success of the breeding program. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Relationships between height and yield in near-isogenic spring wheats that contrast for major reduced height genes

The effect of two major dwarfing (Rht-B1b and Rht-D1b) genes varies with environment. Near-isogenic pairs (i.e., tall and semidwarf) of six spring wheat lines, included in the International Adaptation Trial (IAT), were grown in 81 trials around the world from 2001 to 2004. Trial yields ranged from 1 to 8 t ha⁻¹ with a mean of ca. 4 t ha⁻¹. Overall, the yield advantage of the lines possessing the dwarfing gene was ca. 10% and was particularly evident in trials where the mean height of semidwarf isolines exceeded ca. 80 cm. However, the yield advantage was greater in the slightly taller and older lines (Pavon and Galvez) than in the newer lines Nesser and Kauz and the two durum lines. Sixteen pairs of semidwarf/tall near-isolines were grown in six managed drought environment trials at CIMMYT in northwestern Mexico. In these trials, height and yield differences were small and/or negligible in the most droughted environment (2.5 t ha⁻¹) and the slope of yield versus height for each isoline pair became consistently negative with increase in irrigation. In the IAT, the slope of the yield versus height was much more variable at low heights or yields, presumably due to the fact that there were many more factors driving the response. Even at the point where the slope became consistently negative (ca. between 2 and 4 t ha⁻¹), there were some trials where tall isolines equaled or exceeded the yield of semidwarf isolines, particularly in the most recent developed cultivar, Kauz. For submission to Euphytica as part of special issue “Challenges to International Wheat Breeding”. From the International Symposium on Wheat Yield Potential: Challenges to International Wheat Breeding, Days Inn, Ciudad Obregón, Sonora, Mexico, March 19–24th, 2006.     

Intensive tree planting facilitates tropical forest biodiversity and biomass accumulation in Kibale National Park, Uganda

The extensive area of degraded tropical land and the calls to conserve forest biodiversity and sequester carbon to offset climate change demonstrate the need to restore forest in the tropics. Deforested land is sometimes replanted with fast-growing trees; however, the consequences of intensive replanting on biomass accumulation or plant and animal diversity are poorly understood. The purpose of this study was to determine how intensive replanting affected tropical forest regeneration and biomass accumulation over ten years. We studied reforested sites in Kibale National Park, Uganda, that were degraded in the 1970s and replanted with five native tree species in 1995. We identified and measured the size of planted versus naturally regenerating trees, and felled and weighed matched trees outside the park to calculate region-specific allometric equations for above-ground tree biomass. The role of shrubs and grasses in facilitating or hindering the establishment of trees was evaluated by correlating observed estimates of percent cover to tree biomass. We found 39 tree species naturally regenerating in the restored area in addition to the five originally planted species. Biomass was much higher for planted (15,675 kg/ha) than naturally regenerated trees (4560 kg/ha), but naturally regenerating tree regrowth was an important element of the landscape. The establishment of tree seedlings initially appeared to be facilitated by shrubs, primarily Acanthus pubescens and the invasive Lantana camara; however, both are expected to hinder tree recruitment in the long-term. Large and small-seeded tree species were found in the replanted area, indicating that bird and mammal dispersers contributed to natural forest restoration. These results demonstrate that intensive replanting can accelerate the natural accumulation of biomass and biodiversity and facilitate the restoration of tropical forest communities. However, the long-term financial costs and ecological benefits of planting and maintaining reforested areas need to be weighed against other potential restoration strategies.     

Impacts of resource extraction on forest structure and diversity in Bardia National Park,Nepal

Repeated biomass harvesting for human livelihood needs can cause significant changes in forest structure, composition and diversity. Such impacts have often been associated with the distance to villages and their size, but the effects of individual villages in relation to their characteristics have been little studied. Focussing on the issues around communities’ impacts on the forest, this research aimed to understand how resource extraction by two Buffer Zone villages in Nepal's Bardia National Park affects forest structure and diversity. Tree density, basal area, diameter at breast height (DBH), species richness, two diversity indices and disturbance indices were recorded in 108 plots in 12 transects, from March till May 2005, within the park along the village boundaries, where resource extraction occurs, and in the core park area which is isolated from human disturbance. Forest subject to resource extraction had a lower density of trees, smaller DBH and lower species richness and diversity. Forest disturbance declined with distance from the villages but the two villages differed widely in their impact on the forest. Resource use was more intensive in Shivapur village and percentage of trees lopped, average lopping intensity and numbers of dung piles were statistically significant. This was mainly due to the lack of access to Buffer Zone community Forest for Shivapur households. Interviews with villagers suggested that there have been changes in species availability compared to 5 years ago. Households also underestimated the impact of their resource extraction, which may prevent them from changing their behaviour to benefit conservation. It is clear that understanding rural communities’ needs, their framing of resource extraction and utilisation, and dependence on forest resources will be very helpful for long term conservation measures.     

Characterization of the correlation structure of lumber strength properties

Spatially averaged data from the literature for along-the-length correlation of lumber flatwise bending modulus of elasticity and tensile strength was analyzed to determine the correlation of the base process for each property. The cross correlation between the two properties was also examined. The exponential correlation function, equivalent to a first-order auto-regressive process, was the best model for both correlation and cross correlation, based on the sum of squared errors between the correlations from the test data and the fitted model. The fitted functions can be used to generate correlation and cross correlation information for spatially averaged processes averaged over lengths different from the lengths used to obtain the test data.     

Optimizing nitrogen use efficiency in wheat and potatoes: interactions between genotypes and agronomic practices

One approach to decrease the environmental impact of crop production and reduce costs is to optimize agronomic practices and genotypes so that nutrients are used more efficiently. In this study the effects of agronomic practices (rotations, crop protection, fertilization) on yields, nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) and associated parameters were studied in an experiment using two winter wheat genotypes (Cordiale and Scaro) in one season and two potato genotypes (Sarpo Mira and Sante) in two seasons. The wheat showed no varietal differences in yield and NUE; instead the fertilization regime was the main factor affecting yield and NUE with higher values observed when conventional fertilization was used. The exception was for wheat grown after three years grass/clover ley when there was no added yield benefit from conventional fertilization of the organically bred variety (Scaro). This demonstrates the potential for N fixing crops to provide sufficient N to high yielding cereals if grown for long enough prior to planting. The greatest gains in NUE were achieved by combining an N efficient genotype with conventional crop management in an organic rotation. Fertilization and genotypic variation were the main factors affecting potato tuber yield and NUE, with the late maturing Sarpo Mira displaying elevated yields and NUE compared with the early maturing Sante. The use of organic fertility sources resulted in lower NUE, but N release from organic sources may increase NUE of future crops. This highlights the need for long-term nutrient balance and modelling studies to assess NUE at the crop rotation scale.