Effect of different pig feeding strategies on the nitrogen fertilizing value of slurry for Lolium multiflorum

The objective of this study was to evaluate the extent to which altering pig nutrition for environmental reasons could affect the N fertilizing value of slurry. This was assessed by studying the nitrification of NH₄-N and the N use efficiency of slurries obtained from growing pigs offered feeds either with commonly applied contents of crude protein (CP) and bacterially fermentable substrates (BFS) or reduced CP levels and/or elevated BFS levels. Soil/slurry mixtures were incubated for 16 weeks at 20°C using 0.2 g total slurry N addition per kg soil. In a 15 weeks lasting pot experiment with Lolium multiflorum, N derived from the same slurries was applied at two N doses with overall either 0.4 or 0.8 g total slurry N/kg soil. In the pot experiment the effect of slurry on plant growth and N uptake was compared with a mineral N fertilizer (NH₄NO₃) treatment and a non-fertilized control. Slurries obtained from pigs fed at reduced CP content had lower pH, total N content and proportion of NH₄-N than slurries obtained from pigs fed at higher CP. Accordingly incubation of soil/slurry mixtures using slurries obtained from low CP feeds resulted in lower NO₃-N concentration in the soil. Furthermore, a lower proportion of the added NH₄-N was nitrified in treatments involving slurries derived from low CP feeds. Modifying the BFS content in feeds had minor effects both on slurry characteristics and on slurry NH₄-N nitrification in soil. Although reduced CP and, to a lesser extent, elevated BFS altered the N release pattern to plants, slurry N use efficiency during the four cuts following the first fertilization ranged at a similar level of 32 to 33% for all types of slurry. This apparent use was significantly lower than that of the mineral N fertilizer which amounted to 72 to 75% of the added N. Nitrogen balance showed that less than 22% of the added mineral N fertilizer was lost from the soil/plant systems while from 32 to 47% of the N added with the slurries was lost independently of the type of slurry. So overall N utilization by crop and rate of slurry N recovery did not significantly differ which indicates that the investigated modifications of pig feeding appear to have no short term negative effect on the N fertilizing value of slurries.     

Devices to detect red palm weevil infestation on palm species

The date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) and other palm species have recently been threatened by the red palm weevil (RPW) Rhynchophorus ferrugineus Olivier, which is very difficult to be detected at early stage. This research tested non invasive approaches to detecting RPW including: a TreeRadarUnit? (TRU); a densitometer, a penetrometer used for evaluation of the standing trees stability; a thermal camera and a digital camera. The technologies were applied in Italy on 715 palms (173 P. dactylifera, 453 Phoenix canariensis Chabaud and 311 of other palm species), and on 86 adult date palms in Saudi Arabia. In Italy, the thermal camera showed a high accuracy (96.29%) compared to close visual observation over the following nine months. The digital camera did almost as well (92.57%). Tree Radar Unit and densitometer also showed good accuracy (83.33 and 88.89% respectively). In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the thermal camera showed a good accuracy (77.73%) when compared to invasive diagnosis (i.e. cutting down and opening up palm trunks). The digital camera showed a lower accuracy of 66.67% due to the fact that the red weevil mainly attacks the base of the stem and therefore there are no visible symptoms on the crown shape that would be picked up in image analysis. TRU gave good results (74.73% compared to invasive diagnosis), with the best accuracy at ground level (80.65%). The densitometer results were similar to the TRU case, with higher accuracy (82.26% compared to invasive diagnosis) and the highest at ground level (87.10%).     

The pine wood nematode,Bursaphelenchus xylophilus (Steiner & Buhrer) Nickle,and its pathogenicity to German Pinus sylvestris provenances

Journal of Plant Diseases and Protection - The pine wood nematode, Bursaphelenchus xylophilus, can cause pine wilt disease on susceptible conifer species, mainly Pinus spp., outside its natural...     

Toward forest ‘‘sprawl':monitoring and planning a changing landscape for urban sustainability

The present study analyzes the structure and dynamics of the forest landscape in a peri-urban area(Rome, Italy) during the city's expansion from 1949 to2008 using landscape metrics and change detection analysis of digital maps of the area(1500 km2). While urban settlements increased continuously from 6.5 to 27.5 % of the study area, woodlands changed less clearly, with a moderate increase(from 11.2 to 11.9 % of the total area)and a higher fragmentation as a consequence of Rome's expansion. The structure of forest landscape changed along the urban-to-rural gradient with patch size increasing with the distance to the inner city in 1949 and substantial landscape homogeneity in 2008. The indicators proposed in this study inform dedicated measures for conserving forest and maintaining landscape diversity. Measures adopted in Rome's forestation plan to counteract woodlandffragmentation were analyzed and discussed. Based on the complex landscape dynamics found for Rome, an integrated multiscale planning approach targeting forest conservation is considered a key contribution to urban sustainability.     

Validation of two models for self‐incompatibility in autotetraploid perennial ryegrass using high resolution melting‐based markers

Perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) displays a two‐locus gametophytic self‐incompatibility (SI) system that remains intact at the tetraploid level. Two models are plausible for SI in autotetraploids. In Model I: both alleles at the S locus and both at the Z locus in diploid pollen matching the female genotype results in incompatibility. In Model II: only one allele at S and one at Z locus in diploid pollen matching the female results in incompatibility. The goals were to determine which of the models best explains SI in our autotetraploid ryegrass population and to evaluate the efficiency of high‐resolution melting (HRM) genotyping for discriminating different iso‐allelic genotypes. The progeny of a cross between two autotetraploids was characterized with three HRM‐based markers co‐segregating with Z. Segregation ratios were used to make inferences about the mode of action of the SI system. The observed segregation differed significantly (P < 0.001) from the expected under Model I, but not from the expected under Model II (P = 0.463). Thus, Model II explains SI in this population, and HRM is an efficient tool to distinguish different iso‐allelic genotypic classes.     

Mycorrhizal communities in relation to biomass production and nutrient use efficiency in two varieties of Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii var. menziesii and var. glauca) in different forest soils

To investigate the role of arbuscular and ectomycorrhizas for growth and nutrition, Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii), a species capable of establishing both types of symbioses, was used. Seedlings of two varieties of Douglas fir, var. menziesii (DFM) and var. glauca (DFG), differing in biomass production under non-mycorrhizal conditions, were planted in two soils of different nutrient status without preceding Douglas fir cultivation. After 2 years, the abundance of ectomycorrhizas was significantly higher on DFM than on DFG roots and higher in nutrient rich than in poor soil. Independent of the abundance of ectomycorrhiza colonization, roots of both Douglas fir varieties contained in most cases a minimum of six to nine different fungal species identified by ITS sequencing, which displayed both soil- and seed origin-specific patterns. Rhizopogon vinicolor was associated with DFM, whereas Cadophora finlandia, Sebacinaceous sp., Tricholoma sp. and a Tuber sp. were more frequently found on DFG roots. Ectendomycorrhizas were also identified and included under ectomycorrhiza for determination of nutrient relations. Net primary productivity and nitrogen-use efficiency were positively correlated with the degree of ectomycorrhiza colonization of Douglas fir seedlings suggesting that nitrogen accumulation did not keep pace with biomass production despite increased ectomycorrhizal colonization. Phosphorus-use efficiency was negatively correlated with the abundance of arbuscular mycorrhizas, suggesting higher efficiency of these fungi than of ectomycorrhizas for phosphorus supply to the host. DFM, which had higher inherited growth capacities than DFG, displayed higher ectomycorrhizal colonization than DFG. In our experimental design the physiology of the host tree and soil properties, but not the diversity of fungi present on roots, were decisive factors for formation and abundance of ectomycorrhiza.