Thieves,bats and fruit flies: local ecological knowledge on the weaver ant Oecophylla longinoda in relation to three ‘invisible’ intruders in orchards in Guinea

We held interviews with 100 mango and cashew growers in Guinea, West Africa. Fewer than 20 questions dealing with the tree-inhabiting weaver ant Oecophylla longinoda were developed, based on local context and related research conducted on farmers' knowledge in other countries. More than half of the growers reported that ants protect their orchard from thieves. Apart from deterring snakes, about 46% of the growers mentioned that weaver ants reduce damage by fruit-eating bats; some reported that bats do dislike the smell of weaver ants. Whereas the relationship between ants and humans or conspicuous fruit bats is well understood, a quantitative appreciation of the effect of Oecophylla on small insect pests, such as fruit flies, is more complex. Despite the fact that 57% of the growers reported that Oecophylla had a positive effect on mango fruit quality, many classified Oecophylla as a pest due to its nuisance during harvest, and they requested the plant protection staff to help them with pesticides. Strategies to strengthen local ecological knowledge are discussed.     

Carry over of bruchid,Caryedon serratus (Olivier) (Coleoptera) from field to stores through seeds of Acacia nilotica (L.) Willd. in India

Abstract

A percentage pod damage of 6.8% in Acacia nilotica (L.) Willd. by the bruchid, Caryedon serratus (Olivier) in the field was recorded by examining exit holes on the pods. The mean number of females and males that emerged from 50 pods kept in laboratory were 1.3 and 1.2 respectively. The pods of A. nilotica gathered from the field for seed purposes were found to be infested in small numbers but the bruchid population increased during storage. The infestation of seeds and carry over to stores is not only a danger to uninfested seeds of A. nilotica and other plants, important in social forestry, but the tree also acts as secondary host for the population build‐up of C. serratus which spreads to its primary host, the groundnut, Arachis hypogea (L).     

Modelling the microbial breakdown of pesticides in soil using a parameter estimation technique

Results of field measurements and laboratory experiments were used to simulate the behaviour of 1,3-dichloropropene (1,3-D) in a loamy sand soil. Microbial activity was described using pre-set conditions to compute transformation rates as dependent on compound concentrations and temperature. These kinetics could only be analysed using non-linear transformation rates. To link the development of microbial populations and the consumption of the compound over time, an iterative technique was used to estimate the necessary parameters.     

Variability among Spanish citrus tristeza virus isolates revealed by double-stranded RNA analysis

A survey for citrus tristeza virus (CTV) strains, based on double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) analysis, was carried out in five locations on the eastern citrus-growing area of Spain. CTV was recovered from 137 trees of different ages, citrus species and varieties, sampled in 53 orchards. The best months for dsRNA recovery were April, May, September, October, and November, and the highest dsRNA yield was obtained from sweet orange cultivars. Sixteen dsRNA profiles differing by the number and/or position of subgenomic bands were detected. One of these profiles was detected in more than half the trees analysed. Maximum diversity of dsRNA patterns was found in the location with the oldest citrus orchards and the highest CTV incidence (Alzira-Carcaixent). In many instances, several dsRNA profiles were detected in neighbouring trees of the same orchard, notably in Alzira-Carcaixent, where 70% of the plots sampled contained more than one profile. The possible causes for the diversity of CTV isolates found in this specific area are discussed.     

Characteristics and host range of tomato powdery mildew

The anamorphic state of a powdery mildew, which first appeared on tomato in the UK in 1987, currently listed as Erysiphe orontii (anamorph Oidium violae ), was examined microscopically on both tomato and alternative hosts. Host range studies were also carried out. In 1993–95, species and cultivars of plants from 26 of the 30 families listed as hosts of E. orontii were inoculated with tomato powdery mildew in the glasshouse and assessed for susceptibility on a 0–3 scale based on degree of sporulation and growth. Thirteen families contained species or varieties that were susceptible and a total of 80 varieties, including many economically important Cucurbitaceae and Solanaceae, supported sporulation to some extent (susceptibility score 1–3). Necrosis was not a constant feature of plants exhibiting resistance, as it could accompany sporulation on some susceptible varieties. Microscopic measurements showed that conidial size, conidiophore length, conidiophore foot-cell length and width, and the number of cells distal to the foot-cell were remarkably constant between samples of powdery mildew taken from tomato each year and from the various alternative hosts. Based on the production of conidia singly, the presence of nipple-shaped to moderately lobed appressoria, and occurrence of straight conidiophores, it is concluded that this fungus on tomato should more correctly be named Oidium lycopersicum until the sexual stage is discovered. The highly polyphagous nature of this powdery mildew would suggest that it represents a potential risk to UK agriculture and horticulture, but the failure to recover any powdery mildew from 120 samples of potato, including varieties Cara and Maris Piper, on which the tomato powdery mildew could sporulate in the glasshouse, suggests that environmental factors may play a key role in preventing establishment of this powdery mildew on alternative hosts on a commercial scale in the field.     

Molecular, physiological and pathological characterization of Corynespora leaf spot fungi from rubber plantations in Sri Lanka

The plant pathogenic fungus Corynespora cassiicola causes a severe leaf spot disease on more than 70 host plant species including Hevea brasiliensis . Genetic variability in 32 isolates of C. cassiicola collected from diverse hosts and locations in Sri Lanka and Australia was assessed using restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of ribosomal DNA and random amplified polymorphic DNA-polymerase chain reaction (RAPD-PCR) analysis of total fungal DNA. Amplified ITS fragments from all 32 C. cassiicola isolates exhibited an identical size, and restriction analysis with seven different restriction endonucleases revealed identity in all of the detected DNA fragments. This finding of high genetic relatedness was further supported by the cloning and DNA sequencing of the ITS2 region from one Sri Lankan and one Australian isolate. However, RAPD-PCR profiles generated by 15 oligonucleotide decamer primers revealed significant polymorphism between groups of organisms. Genetic relationships among the isolates were determined by cluster analysis of the RAPD-PCR data and seven different RAPD groups were identified. Isolates showed strong correlations between the assigned RAPD group and the location and host plant genotype from which the isolate was collected. Correlations were also observed between the RAPD group, growth of the isolate and pathogenicity on different plant hosts.     

Lr46: a gene conferring slow-rusting resistance to leaf rust in wheat

ABSTRACT Wheat (Triticum aestivum) cultivar Pavon 76 carries slow-rusting resistance to leaf rust that has remained effective in Mexico since its release in 1976. 'Pavon 76' was crossed with two leaf rust-susceptible wheat cultivars, Jupateco 73S and Avocet S, and between 118 and 148 individual F(2) plant-derived F(3) and F(5) lines were evaluated for adult-plant leaf rust resistance at two field sites in Mexico during different seasons. Evaluation of F(1) plants and parents indicated that the slow-rusting resistance was partially dominant. Segregation in the F(3) and F(5) indicated that the resistance was based on two genes with additive effects. Monosomic analysis was carried out to determine the chromosomal locations of the resistance genes. For this purpose, two or three backcross-derived cytogenetic populations were developed by crossing 'Pavon 76' with a monosomic series of adult-plant leaf rust-susceptible cultivar Lal-bahadur. Evaluation of such BC(2)F(3) and BC(3)F(3) lines from 16 confirmed 'Lalbahadur' monosomics indicated that one slow-rusting gene was located in chromosome 1B of 'Pavon 76'. This gene, designated as Lr46, is the second named gene involved in slow-rusting resistance to leaf rust in wheat.