Aspergillus niger,the causal agent of black mould disease in date fruits,infects and colonizes flowers and young fruitlets

Black mould, caused by Aspergillus niger, is the main fungal disease affecting date fruits. Symptoms develop inside the fruit, at the inner space between the pulp and the seed. This study focuses on the aetiology of black mould disease in Medjoul fruit. We followed symptom appearance naturally and after artificial A. niger inoculation at different development and maturity stages. Symptoms developed in only a short period during early fruit ripening. However, fruits were commonly colonized at earlier stages of development. Artificial inoculation of flowers and setting fruitlets increased the level of fruit colonization, while fungicide spraying at these stages decreased colonization. Several weeks following flower inoculation by A. niger, mycelium could be detected on degenerating stigmas and carpels as well as between the fruit and the calyx. Following inoculation with an A. niger strain expressing green fluorescent protein (A. niger^GFP), the pathogen was detected on stigmas of setting fruitlets but not within the stigmatic tissue or the transmitting tract of the carpel. The A. niger^GFP strain was detected during fruit development below the base of the large fruitlets and above the calyx surrounding the vascular bundle leading into the fruit. The results suggest that A. niger can infect and colonize flowers and setting fruitlets, grows on the degenerating carpels, and remains latent at a protected site at the base of the fruit until ripening. It then induces the typical black mould symptoms. The significance of these results for developing means to cope with the disease is discussed.     

Land use Change,a Case Study from Southern Italy: General Implications for Agricultural Subsidy Policies

For many years, farmers across Italy have struggled to convert rocky landforms into farmlands. Recently, expensive, heavy machineries have been widely used for these activities, exaggerating costs on land preparation. Subsidised by the Italian authorities, nearly 20% of Apulia lands in southern Italy have been converted to farmland through these methods. Recent evidence shows that in the short term, rock grinding enriches the soil with nutrients and improves soil quality. However, over the long run, land degradation and ecosystem service deterioration become prominent, resulting in the abandonment of extensive lands. This Italian case study should be considered as an alarming example of the possible detrimental effects of the national subsidies policy that supports the conversion of natural landforms into agricultural lands. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Coinfection with multiple tick-borne and intestinal parasites in a 6-week-old dog

Coinfection with Ehrlichia canis, Babesia canis, Hepatozoon canis, Isospora spp., Giardia spp., and Dipylidium caninum were detected in a 6-week-old dog. The effect of multi-pathogen infection was a fatal combination of gastrointestinal and hematologic abnormalities, including diarrhea, vomiting, anorexia, distended painful abdomen, intussusception, severe thrombocytopenia, anemia, and hypoproteinemia.     

香石竹花瓣中乙烯诱导合成Ip 6.3过氧化物同功酶初报

乙烯处理使香石竹花瓣中过氧化物酶活性提高。ＩＥＦ电泳分析结合＾３５Ｓ蛋氨酸标记内源合成蛋白的研究结果表明,乙淆不但提高了花瓣中原有的过氧化物酶活性,还诱导合成了等电点Ｉｐ为６．３的过氧化物酶。     

Phosphorus affects storage root yield of cassava through root numbers

Abstract

The objective of this study was to determine the effect of phosphorus applied through fertigation on growth and root yield of cassava. This was achieved through a greenhouse pot-experiment consisting of 1, 4, 7, 10, 20 and 30?mg?P?L^?1. Increasing P from 1 to 30?mg?P?L^?1 realized a 57.1 and 150.0% increase in leaf blade P in 2014 and 2015, respectively. Similarly, chlorophyll content and shoot growth increased as P concentration in solution increased. However, leaf stomatal conductance and net photosynthesis reached a maximum in 7 and 20?mg?P?L^?1 in 2014 and 2015, respectively. This trend of stomatal conductance and net photosynthesis was consistent with that of dry root yield and storage roots numbers. Regressing dry root yield against storage root numbers showed that R² = 0.80. Phosphorus encourages formation of storage roots and the duration of cassava’s growth affects the amount of P required for maximum root yield.     

How many Orius laevigatus are needed for effective western flower thrips, Frankliniella occidentalis, management in sweet pepper?

Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande) is a primary pest of greenhouse crops worldwide, in organic and integrated pest management control practices, Orius spp. are frequently released for thrips control. However, Orius spp. are relatively expensive to produce. More cost-efficient rearing systems and reduced release rate might reduce the expense. In these trials, we released Orius laevigatus (Fieber) at different rates with or without simultaneous release the predatory mite Amblyseius swirskii Athias-Henriot, another known thrips predator, which is less expensive to rear. There was no significant difference in the number of O. laevigatus recovered in which either 2 or 6 individuals were released per square meter, and there was no difference in thrips control among any of the release strategies using O. laevigatus, suggesting that a reduced release rate can maintain effective thrips control. There was no significant difference in the quality or quantity of the pepper yield between treatments in which either 2 or 6 Orius/m² or Orius plus A. swirskii were released.     

Timing of fruit removal affects concurrent vegetative growth and subsequent return bloom and yield in olive (Olea europaea L.)

Olive (Olea europaea) demonstrates a high tendency toward alternate fruit production, with significant negative consequences on the industry. Fruit load is one of the main cause-and-effect factors in the phenomenon of biennial bearing, often disrupting the balance between reproductive and vegetative processes. The objectives of the present study were to identify the time range during which heavy fruit load reversibly interrupts the reproductive processes of the following year. The linkage between timing of fruit removal, vegetative growth, return bloom, and fruit yield was studied. Complete fruit removal in cv. Coratina until about 120 days after full bloom (August 15) caused an immediate resumption of vegetative growth. The new shoots grew to twice the length of those on trees that underwent later fruit removal. Moreover, a full return bloom, corresponding with high subsequent yields, was obtained by early fruit removal, while poor or no bloom developed on late-defruited or control trees. Thus, the critical time to affect flowering and subsequent fruiting in the following year by fruit thinning occurs in olive trees even weeks after pit hardening—much later than previously suggested. Furthermore, the data indicate that flowering-site limitation, due to insufficient or immature vegetative growth during the On-year, is a primary factor inducing alternate bearing in olive.     

Assessment of chilling injury during storage: chlorophyll fluorescence characteristics of chilling-susceptible and triazole-induced chilling tolerant basil leaves

Chlorophyll (Chl) fluorescence analysis by pulse-amplitude modulation (PAM) measurements was performed to assess the extent of chilling injury (CI) in stored sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) leaves. Changes in three photosynthetic characteristics, in relation to visible CI rating, were monitored in leaves following modification of their chilling susceptibility by varying storage temperature and duration in two basil cultivars, or by soil application of triazole. Basil leaves developed severe or moderate visible symptoms of CI after 4 days of storage at 4 or 8 °C, respectively, but remained undamaged when stored at 12 °C. The chilling-dependent changes obtained in the ratios of variable to maximal fluorescence (F_v/F_m), represented chilling sensitivity rather than membrane damage. The photochemical quenching coefficient (qP) was unaffected by low temperatures and did not seem to be correlated with CI. On the other hand, changes in the non-photochemical quenching coefficient (qNP) were positively correlated with the appearance of visual CI symptoms in leaves of the two cultivars at all storage temperatures and durations. Similarly, the chilling-alleviating effect of triazole was accompanied by a corresponding reduction in the chilling-induced decrease of qNP. Therefore, qNP may be associated with an irreversible transition step in the CI process, which precedes the appearance of visual symptoms. As such, changes in qNP may provide a suitable, rapid and non-destructive criterion for estimation of chilling damage in green tissues.     

Emerging challenges in regulatory T cell function and biology

Much progress has been made in understanding how the immune system is regulated, with a great deal of recent interest in naturally occurring CD4+ regulatory T cells that actively engage in the maintenance of immunological self-tolerance and immune homeostasis. The challenge ahead for immunologists is the further elucidation of the molecular and cellular processes that govern the development and function of these cells. From this, exciting possibilities are emerging for the manipulation of regulatory T cell pathways in treating immunological diseases and suppressing or augmenting physiological immune responses.