Effect of canopy cover,seeding depth,and soil moisture on emergence of Centaurea maculosa and C. diffusa*

The effects of canopy cover, seeding depth, and soil moisture on emergence of Centaurea maculosa Lam. and C. diffusa Lam. were studied. Canopy cover had no effect on ermergence rate (seedlings/day/100 seeds) of either species. Seeds of both species emerged faster when placed on the soil surface. Emergence rate decreased as seeding depth increased. Both species required more than 55% initial soil moisture to initiate emergence, with 65–70% being optimum. Percentage emergence followed exactly the same trend as emergence rate. C. maculosa had better emergence characteristics over a wider range of conditions than C. diffusa, possibly being some of the reasons for the former having a wider geographical distribution in the United States and Canada.     

A model of plant virus disease epidemics in asynchronously-planted cropping systems

A mathematical model was developed of the dynamics of a plant virus disease within a spatially-referenced lattice of fields of a host crop. The model can be applied to crops in continuous, contiguous cultivation such as tropical irrigated rice. Disease progress in each field of the host crop was assumed to be logistic and determined by incidence within the field itself as well as incidence in neighbouring fields, depending on the gradient of disease spread. The frequency distribution of planting dates (represented by the proportion of the total number of fields planted in successive months) was assumed to follow a normal distribution and the variance of planting date was used as a measure of cropping asynchrony. Analysis of the model revealed that disease incidence within the lattice (i.e. mean incidence over all fields) depended upon the infection efficiency, the slope of the dispersal gradient, and the variance in planting date. Disease endemicity depended mainly on planting date variance and disease persisted in the lattice if this variance exceeded a certain threshold. Above the threshold for persistence, the response of mean disease incidence to planting date variance was non-linear and the region of greatest sensitivity was closest to the threshold. Thus, disease systems that show moderate rather than high cropping asynchrony are more likely to be influenced by changes in the variance of planting date. Implications for the area-wide management of rice tungro virus disease are discussed.     

Modelling crop:weed interactions in wheat with ALMANAC

ALMANAC is a dynamic model for plant growth, water balance and soil nitrogen dynamics that can simulate on a daily basis two or more competing species. The simulation of competition for light is based on Beer's law, allowing a different extinction coefficient ( k ) for each species. Light is partitioned between species based on k -values, leaf area index and plant heights. Total hiomass is simulated with radiation use efficiency and grain yield with a harvest index approach, sensitive to water stress. The model simulates competition for water and nutrients based on each species current rooting zone and demand by each species. The effect of crop management on the competition issue can he simulated. The model was evaluated in Dijon (France) using 4 years of experimental data on wheat:oat mixtures, differing in oat ( Avena sativa L.) densities, the period of oat emergence, the date of weed suppression by herbicides and the wheat ( Triticun aestivum L.) genotype. Additional data on oilseed rape ( Brassica nupus L.) and vetch ( Vilcia sauiva L.) competition in spring wheat were also used. The wheat grain yield was reasonably simulated with a root mean square error (RMSE) of 0.10-0.35 t ha^-1. Corresponding values for oats were 0.10-0.55 t ha^-1. The competitiveness of oats, oilseed rape and vetch was correctly simulated. The model appears as a reasonable tool for estimating damage thresholds in integrated weed control programmes.     

Metabolic Profiling and In Vitro Assessment of the Biological Activities of the Ethyl Acetate Extract of Penicillium chrysogenum “Endozoic of Cliona sp. Marine Sponge” from the Red Sea (Egypt)

Marine sponge-derived endozoic fungi have been gaining increasing importance as promising sources of numerous and unique bioactive compounds. This study investigates the phytochemical profile and biological activities of the ethyl acetate extract of Penicillium chrysogenum derived from Cliona sp. sponge. Thirty-six compounds were tentatively identified from P. chrysogenum ethyl acetate extract along with the kojic acid (KA) isolation. The UPLC-ESI-MS/MS positive ionization mode was used to analyze and identify the extract constituents while 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopy were used for kojic acid (KA) structure confirmation. The antimicrobial, antioxidant, and cytotoxic activities were assessed in vitro. Both the extract and kojic acid showed potent antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa with MIC 250 ± 0.82 µg/mL. Interestingly, the extract showed strong antifungal activity against Candida albicans and Cryptococcus neoformans with MIC 93.75 ± 0.55 and 19.53 ± 0.48 µg/mL, respectively. Furthermore, KA showed the same potency against Fusarium oxysporum and Cryptococcus neoformans with MIC 39.06 ± 0.85 and 39.06 ± 0.98 µg/mL, respectively. Ultimately, KA showed strong antioxidant activity with IC₅₀ 33.7 ± 0.8 µg/mL. Moreover, the extract and KA showed strong cytotoxic activity against colon carcinoma (with IC₅₀ 22.6 ± 0.8 and 23.4 ± 1.4 µg/mL, respectively) and human larynx carcinoma (with equal IC₅₀ 30.8 ± 1.3 and ± 2.1 µg/mL, respectively), respectively. The current study represents the first insights into the phytochemical profile and biological properties of P. chrysoenum ethyl acetate extract, which could be a promising source of valuable secondary metabolites with potent biological potentials.