越南马铃薯晚疫病的研究概况

晚疫病是越南马铃薯上最重要的病害。各马铃薯产区均有发生。在江河三角洲地区晚疫病的发生通常比较晚，从12月下旬即第二个生长季后半期开始发病，在1月至2月气温较低、湿度较大时，晚疫病常常严重流行。在Sapa地区（北京高原），整个生长晚疫病对马铃薯作物都是主要威胁。在感病品种上病害的发生和严重度可达到100％。在大叨地区，在干旱季节（11－4月）晚疫病发生最轻，而在雨季（5－10月）严重流行。在越南，还未进行晚疫病菌生物学和流行学方面的基础研究。对晚疫病防治研究主要集中在筛选新的杀菌剂。大部分工作集中在抗病育种和抗病品种的筛选。目前需要进行晚疫综合治疗、流行学、晚疫病菌生物学和抗病育方面的深入研究和培训。     

Comparison of paddy soil fertility under conventional rice straw application versus cow dung compost application in mixed crop–livestock systems in a cold temperate region of Japan

ABSTRACT

After the rice harvest in Japan, rice straw (RS) is usually cut by combine harvester and incorporated into the soil to improve its fertility. In mixed crop–livestock systems, however, RS is collected and used as livestock feed, and cow dung compost (CDC) is then applied to the soil. This system utilizes the residual organic matter from both rice production and livestock husbandry to make each product. CDC application is also considered to improve the fertility of paddy soil. However, the nutrient input from CDC and the effect of CDC application on soil fertility vary among regions and/or soil types. We compared soil fertility between RS application (RS treatment, avg. 32 years) and RS removal plus CDC application (CDC treatment, avg. 21 years) in 79 paddy fields in Mamurogawa town, Yamagata Prefecture, a cold temperate region of Japan, and measured the nutrient contents in the applied RS and CDC. The total C content of RS was significantly higher than that of CDC, whereas the N, P, K, and Si contents of CDC were significantly higher than those of RS. However, there was no significant difference in paddy soil fertility – as measured by soil organic C, total N, CEC, available N, P, and Si, exchangeable K, Ca, and Mg, base saturation percentage, pH, and bulk density – between the treatments. The soil fertility of most fields was adequate by RS or CDC treatment. Thus, leaving RS in paddy fields or removing it and then adding CDC to the paddy fields has a similar effect in maintaining adequate soil fertility for single rice production or rice–livestock production systems.     

Phenolic antioxidants from the heartwood of Acacia confusa

In the present study, the ethanolic extracts from the heartwood of Acacia confusa, a species indigenous to Taiwan, exhibit strong antioxidant effects. Among all the fractions from ethanolic extracts of heartwood, the EtOAc soluble fraction exhibits the best antioxidant activity. The 80% 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical inhibitory activity by the EtOAc extract was observed at a concentration of 5 mug/mL, and at the same dosage there was a similar free radical scavenging activity for (-)-ascorbic acid and (+)-catechin, both of which are well-known antioxidants. In addition, the EtOAc extract also protects PhiX174 supercoiled DNA against strand scission induced by hydroxyl radical. Furthermore, following by column chromatography and reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatorgrapy, 10 pure phenolic compounds, including three major antioxidants (3,7,8,3',4'-pentahydroxyflavone, 7,8,3',4'-tetrahydroxy-3-methoxyflavone, and 3,4,2',3',4'-pentahydroxy-trans-chalcone) and a new flavonoid (3,7,8,3'-tetrahydroxy-4'-methoxyflavone), were isolated from the ethanolic extracts of A. confusa heartwood.     

Serological survey for antibodies to Encephalitozoon cuniculi in rabbits in Taiwan

Encephalitozoon cuniculi (E. cuniculi) is a microsporidian parasite commonly found in rabbits that can infect humans, causing encephalitozoonosis. Our laboratory recently confirmed the first case of encephalitozoonosis in a rabbit in Taiwan; the prevalence of encephalitozoonosis is not well documented, even when many clinics suspect pet rabbits as being infected. This study surveys the seropositivity of E. cuniculi using carbon immunoassay (CIA) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Serological examination of 171 rabbits using CIA and ELISA showed that 63.2% (108/171) and 67.8% (116/171) were seropositive against E. cuniculi, respectively. Thirteen of the 14 rabbits (92.9%) with neurological symptoms were seropositive. Except for gender, health status and location had a significant effect on E. cuniculi seropositivity (p<0.05). Adult rabbits aged older than 4 months exhibited significantly higher seropositivity for E. cuniculi than young rabbits (p<0.05). In conclusion, this study shows that E. cuniculi is present and widespread among healthy rabbits in Taiwan. Therefore, the fields of veterinary and human medicine in Taiwan should be aware of this zoonotic issue and the resulting public health concern of encephalitozoonosis.     

Simulation-aided development of the Hawaii swine research programme

A computer model is presented to estimate the quantitative impact of future research/extension activities in various aspects of swine production on the profit of an average swine producer in Hawaii. The model was designed and used to generate information for making decisions regarding funding of future research/extension projects in the swine production area. The computer model has two components. The first simulates the biological production behaviour of a typical pig enterprise of Hawaii. The General Purpose Simulation System (GPSS) language was used to model the stochastic nature of the production. For a given set of biological parameters, this component provides annual production levels, feed consumption and statistics for selecting the capacity of various building facilities. The second component computes annual revenues, costs and rate of return to capital investment over the analysis period by using discounted cash flow method. In addition to other cost and price data, it uses the output of the first component as input.     

Effects of heat tolerance on expression of resistance toPresudomonas solanacearum E. F. Smith in potato

Summary Twelve potato clones with different genetic background for resistance to bacterial wilt and adaptation were tested for resistance to a race 1 and a race 3 isolate of the pathogen at three locations in the Philippines representing different ranges of ambient temperature. The results showed that the genes for heat tolerance are crucial for resistance. Stability analysis indicated that clones with both resistance and heat tolerance genes displayed higher and more stable resistance to the race 1 isolate than those clones having only resistance genes. The latter group tended to have higher values of both regression of disease index on environmental index and deviation from the regression in the stability analysis. Host — pathogen interaction effects were found to be statistically significant but small compared to main effects of isolates and clones. The involvement of genes with different effects on wilt resistance is discussed. Introduction     

Preparation and application of an<Emphasis Type="Italic">s</Emphasis>-triazine-based novel<Emphasis Type="Italic">N</Emphasis>-halamine biocide for antimicrobial fibers

N-halamines serve as important antimicrobial agents. Development of this class of compounds has been shown to provide benefits especially from a biocidal point of view. A novels-triazine-basedN-heterocycle, dichloro-m-aminophenyl-hydantoinyl-s-triazine (DAPHT), which could be rendered antimicrobial through exposure to diluted chlorine bleach, was synthesized and characterized by¹H NMR,¹³C NMR, and FT-IR. A finishing method was used to apply theN-halamine precursor onto cotton fabric, and the optimum conditions for finishing were investigated. The DAPHT-treated cotton fabric had durable antimicrobial properties up to 50 standard washing cycles and was rechargeable under normal laundry/bleaching conditions. The antimicrobial efficacy against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria was demonstrated.     

Antioxidant activity and constituents of extracts from the root of Garcinia multiflora

The methanolic extract of the root of Garcinia multiflora and its derived soluble fractions, namely those soluble in ethyl acetate (EtOAc), n-butanol, and water, were screened for their antioxidant activities. Among them, the EtOAc-soluble fraction exhibited the highest scavenging activity against the 1,1-dipheny1,2-picrylhydrazyl radical, the highest superoxide radical scavenging activity, and the strongest reducing power. In addition, according to the bioactivity-guided isolation, 26 specific phytocompounds, including 3 aromatics, 3 benzophenones, 3 flavonoids, 3 isocoumarins, 1 phloroglucinol, 6 steroids, and 7 xanthones, were isolated from the EtOAc-soluble fraction and identified. Of these, 2,4,3′,4′-tetrahydroxy-6-methoxybenzophenone and 1,3,6,7-tetrahydroxyxanthone were found to be the major bioactive constituents, present in the crude extract in concentrations of 3.9 and 15.6 mg/g, respectively. These two compounds had similar antioxidant activities to (+)-catechin, a well-known antioxidant.     

Combining Ability for Foliar Resistance to Late Blight [<Emphasis Type="Italic">Phytophthora infestans</Emphasis> (Mont.) de Bary] of Potato Cultivars with Different Levels of Resistance

Combining ability for resistance of potato to late blight (LB) was analyzed by testing segregating seedling progenies obtained from a full diallel crossing design between 3 potato parent cultivars with different levels of LB resistance and a North Carolina Mating Design II with the same resistant parents as females crossed to 2 LB susceptible male parents, against a complex race of P. infestans. Artificial inoculation was conducted under greenhouse conditions in Dalat, Vietnam at 1500 m above sea level. Percentage of foliage infection was recorded visually at 5 days intervals until 25th day after inoculation when the susceptible check was totally destroyed. General combining ability effect was significant and predominant, indicating that in the inheritance of resistance to LB, additive gene actions are more important. Specific combining ability was significant only for crosses between resistant parents, but insignificant for those between resistant and susceptible parents. In almost all cases, no significant reciprocal effect was found. Cultivar C88 was the best general combiner for resistance to LB. There were evidences that 1) the major genes R1, R3a and Rpi-blb1 alone are not enough to condition a good level of resistance to the isolate used; 2) the resistance of C88 was plausibly mostly due to presence of the gene R2, which is probably the main genetic factor of the durable resistance of this cultivar and, 3) the resistance to LB in potato seems background dependent, the background being the set of nuclear factors (major or minor genes) whose expression collectively affects the resistance level.     

Marker-Assisted Selection of Xa21 Conferring Resistance to Bacterial Leaf Blight in indica Rice Cultivar LT2

Bacterial leaf blight of rice (BLB), caused by Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae, is one of the most destructive diseases in Asian rice fields. A high-quality rice variety, LT2, was used as the recipient parent. IRBB21, which carries the Xa21 gene, was used as the donor parent. The resistance gene Xa21 was introduced into LT2 by marker-assisted backcrossing. Three Xoo races were used to inoculate the improved lines following the clipping method. Eleven BC₃F₃ lines carrying Xa21 were obtained based on molecular markers and agronomic performance. The 11 lines were then inoculated with the three Xoo races. All the 11 improved lines showed better resistance to BLB than the recipient parent LT2. Based on the level of resistance to BLB and their agronomic performance, five lines (BC₃F₃ 5.1.5.1, BC₃F₃ 5.1.5.12, BC₃F₃ 8.5.6.44, BC₃F₃ 9.5.4.1 and BC₃F₃ 9.5.4.23) were selected as the most promising for commercial release. These improved lines could contribute to rice production in terms of food security.