Residues of diflubenzuron on horse chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum) leaves and their efficacy against the horse chestnut leafminer, Cameraria ohridella

Residues of the insect growth regulator diflubenzuron were quantified on horse chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum L.) leaves treated with a diflubenzuron 480 g litre^?1 SC, Dimilin. To analyse the samples, an analytical procedure was developed involving a simple extraction step followed by high‐performance liquid chromatography on an octadecyl‐modified silica column with methanol + 0.01 M ammonium acetate mobile phase. The results showed diflubenzuron to be highly stable on horse chestnut leaves; more than 4 months (127 days) after application, 38% (on average) of the insecticide still remained on/in the leaves. The data confirmed biological observations showing diflubenzuron's long‐term efficacy against the horse chestnut leafminer, Cameraria ohridella Deschka & Dimi?, which is the most important pest of the horse chestnut in Europe. The hypothesis of possible penetration of diflubenzuron into the leaf mass is explored and discussed. Copyright © 2006 Society of Chemical Industry     

Extremwetterlagen und Auswirkungen auf Schaderreger – extreme Wissenslücken

Climate Change is likely to increase the frequency, intensity, spatial extent, duration and timing of weather and climate extremes and can result in unprecedented extremes. Managed systems like agriculture are not immune to them. Studying the rapidly growing body of climate change literature it has been noted that there are only a few papers concerning the influences of extreme weather on agriculture. Projections of future impacts of extreme weather cannot always be made with a high level of confidence. Pests (weeds, insect pests and plant pathogens) represent a major constraint to crop production. The present paper analyses scientific literature published since 1945 concerning the knowledge about the influences of extreme weather on incidence of pests in wheat, barley, maize, beet, potato, rape, forage crops and grassland. Only 63 papers were found. Insect pests and plant pathogenic fungi of maize and wheat are most investigated. The most papers describe the influences of drought, dryness heat and heavy down pours. There are enormously knowledge gaps. On the basis of this it is not possible to assess the influences of weather extremes in a changing climate on pests and yield loss current. More research in this field is needed urgently.     

Effect of drying and rewetting on phosphorus transformations in red brown soils with different soil organic matter content

In this study, the effect of drying and rewetting on native P transformations in two red brown soils with different management history was investigated. Three treatments, T1 (constantly moist), T2 (dried for 4 days and then kept dry), T3 (rewetted after 4 days drying) were used. Drying and rewetting caused a rapid increase in microbial P (Pm) and labile organic P (labile Po) within 1 day and a gradual increase in available inorganic P (Colwell). These increases were only temporarily, as Pm and labile Po decreased with time and were at the same level as in the constantly moist soil by the end of the incubation period of 21 days. The effect of drying and rewetting on P transformations strongly depended on soil organic matter content, being more pronounced in the soil with high organic matter content, compared to the soil with low soil organic matter content.     

Effect of heat treatment of camelina (Camelina sativa) seeds on the antioxidant potential of their extracts

The effect of different heat treatments of camelina (Camelina sativa) seeds on the phenolic profile and antioxidant activity of their hydrolyzed extracts was investigated. The results showed that total phenol contents increased in thermally treated seeds. Heat treatment affected also the quantities of individual phenolic compounds in extracts. Phenolics in unheated camelina seeds existed in bound rather than in free form. A temperature of 160 °C was required for release of insoluble bound phenolics, whereas lower temperatures were found to be optimal to liberate those present as soluble conjugates. The best reducing power and alkyl peroxyl radical scavenging activity in the emulsion was expressed by phenolics which were bound to the cell wall, whereas the best iron chelators and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH?) radical scavengers were found to be those present in free form. The heat treatment of seeds up to 120 °C increased the reducing power and DPPH? radical scavenging ability of extracts, but negatively affected iron chelating ability and their activity in an emulsion against alkyl peroxyl radicals.     

Fate of humic acids isolated from natural humic substances

Composition of humic acids (HA) is a function of plant-derived inputs, degradation processes regulated by microorganisms, organo-mineral interactions and age. Characterization of different origin humic substances is important for evaluation of their contribution to stabile and labile carbon pool in the environment. The relative abundance of chemical components in HA isolated from soils, compost, commercial lignohumates, alginite, acadiane and lignite was studied with aim to quantify content of important biomarkers such as amino acid, lipids and polyphenols. HA were considered as a heterogeneous complex and high concentration of peptides, polyphenols and lipids was determined in acadian-HA to compare with soil-HA. Compost-HA contained much more amino acids to compare with soil-HA samples. Alginite-HA and lignite-HA were similar in biomarkers content to soil-HA. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy confirmed that chemical composition and functional groups content differs with the origin, humification degree and the age of studied samples. Soil-HA are typically composed of a variety of ?OH, COOH?, C–O, C–H₂, (aliphatic and aromatic) groups, quinines, lignin fragments, polysaccharide, monosaccharide and proteins fragments, which are linked together by ?O?, ?NH?, ?H=, >C=O, metal ions and –S? groups. ¹³C NMR spectroscopy showed that aromatic carbon content was the highest in lignite-HA and soil-HA.     

Electron Microscopy and Molecular Characterization of Phytoplasmas Associated with Strawflower Yellows in the Czech Republic

Strawflower (Helichrysum bracteatum) with symptoms resembling those associated to phytoplasma infection were observed in several areas in the Czech Republic during the period 1994–2001. Plants with leaf bronzing, reddening and necrosis, proliferation of secondary shoots, flower abnormalities and dwarfing died in advanced stages of the disease. The disease incidence ranged from 2% to 70% and caused significant loss to the flower and seed production. Transmission electron microscopy showed phytoplasmas in sieve cells of affected plants, but not in healthy ones. Association of phytoplasmas with the disease was confirmed by polymerase chain reaction using phytoplasma universal ribosomal primers R16F2n/R16R2. An amplification product of the expected size (1.2 kb) was observed in all samples of the symptomatic strawflowers. The restriction profiles obtained following separate digestion with three endonucleases (AluI, HhaI, MseI) showed that phytoplasmas infecting strawflowers from different localities in the Czech Republic were uniform and undistinguishable from aster yellows (subgroup 16SrI-B). Sequence analysis of 1771 bp of the ribosomal operon amplified with primers P1/U3, R16F2n/R2 and 16R758/P7 indicated that the closest related phytoplasmas were those associated with 'Rehmannia glutinosa var. purpurea', both originating from Bohemia. This is the first report on the occurrence of a phytoplasma-associated disease of strawflower in the Czech Republic.     

Suitability of SSCP-PCR analysis for molecular detection of quinolone resistance in Campylobacter jejuni

Foodborne infections with Campylobacter spp. are increasing, especially antibiotic resistant strains are emerging. Quinolone resistant isolates can cause failure of therapy in severe clinical infections. Molecular characterisation is needed for the detection of resistant variants of C. jejuni. Therefore 23 isolates from poultry and human medicine as well as three control strains were tested for their minimal inhibitory concentration, their Single-Strand-Conformation-Polymorphism (SSCP)-PCR pattern (a method for the detection of resistance determining point mutations), and their sequence of the quinolone resistance determining region (QRDR). Six different SSCP types could be identified: two types for quinolone resistant isolates and other types containing so called silent mutations without influence on the resistance. A genotypic monitoring of the quinolone resistance in C. jejuni can be useful for the early detection of new resistance variants. As a screening method for detection of point mutations in the QRDR the SSCP-PCR can be applied. Compared to other genotypic methods the SSCP-PCR is less time and cost consuming and needs only standard technical equipment.     

Phenotypic and histological expression of different genetic backgrounds in interactions between lettuce, wild Lactuca spp., L. sativa × L. serriola hybrids and Bremia lactucae

Phenotypic and histological responses of cultivated lettuce (Lactuca sativa) and wild relatives L. saligna, L.␣virosa as well as interspecific crosses derived from L. sativa × L. serriola to two races of Bremia lactucae (CS2, CS9) were investigated. With the exception of L. sativa genotypes, all accessions and hybrids expressed incomplete or complete resistance to both pathogen races, with slight differences at seedling and adult plant stages, respectively. Histological features of the interactions (development of pathogen infection structures and host hypersensitive response to attempted infection) were studied on leaf discs 48 h after inoculation. Interactions with similar phenotypic expression of resistance were characterized by significant variation in rate of development of pathogen infection structures and hypersensitive reactions. Differences found within eight Lactuca spp. accessions and hybrids challenged by two distinct pathogen races are interpreted and discussed.     

West Nile virus outbreak in captive and wild raptors,Czech Republic, 2018

West Nile virus lineage 2 (WNV‐2) was detected in the brain of 17 goshawks (Accipiter gentilis) that succumbed to neuroinvasive disease in the Czech Republic during 2018: twelve birds were captive and five wild. Furthermore, two wild sparrowhawks (Accipiter nisus) and three other captive birds of prey (golden eagle Aquila chrysaetos, hybrid saker falcon Falco cherrug × F. rusticolus and Harris's hawk Parabuteo unicinctus) also died due to WNV encephalitis. The 2018 outbreak in Czech raptors clearly reflects a new epidemiological situation and indicates an increasing risk of both raptor and human infection with WNV‐2 in the country.