Determination of Graft Compatibility of Pear Cultivars Grafted on Different Rootstocks by Carbohydrate Analyses

In modern pear cultivation, clonal quince and pear rootstocks are preferred because they are easy to maintain and harvest. Also, they form dwarf plants and improve fruit quality compared to pear seedling rootstocks. However, graft incompatibility can be involved between different species or genera. The aim of the study was to determine the graft compatibility of the ‘Deveci’ and ‘Williams’ pear cultivars with different pear and quince rootstocks by carbohydrate analysis. Carbohydrate accumulation in the graft union was also observed with iodized potassium iodide (KI) staining. In terms of rootstocks, there were no differences in starch and carbohydrate content, but statistically differences were found in sugar contents. Significant differences were also found between cultivars and graft union in terms of the examined traits. Sugar content was highest in OHxF 333 and lowest in seedling rootstocks. There were no statistical differences in the starch content between the graft unions of the ‘Deveci’ cultivar, while starch accumulation was higher above the graft union than below and graft union in the ‘Williams’ cultivar grafted on the quince rootstock. In the study, it was determined that there were higher carbohydrate accumulation in the scion and graft union than below the graft union in ‘Williams’ grafted quince rootstocks, which was also confirmed by staining with KI. As a result of the study, it was concluded that carbohydrate accumulation analysis can be used to determine the graft compatibility of the pear cultivars with the different quince and pear rootstocks.

     

Plant-derived CO2 flux from cultivated peat soils

Abstract

Methods used to estimate the CO₂ emission from soil commonly measure the total CO₂ flux. To be able to quantify the net CO₂ emission from cultivated peat soils there is a need to distinguish between soil organic matter-derived CO₂ respiration and plant-derived respiration. In this investigation we used the root exclusion method to separate the plant-derived respiration from total CO₂ emission. The plant-derived contribution was estimated to be between 27 and 63% of total CO₂ emission depending on soil type and season. We also found a relationship between soil temperature, biomass growth and CO₂ efflux, which can be used to estimate plant-derived respiration. Due to the priming effect the root exclusion method is less reliable late in the season.     

Optimization of Process Parameters for Removal of Arsenic Using Activated Carbon-Based Iron-Containing Adsorbents by Response Surface Methodology

Rhizoremediation is a complex type of green clean-up technology that involves both plants and the rhizosphere-associated microorganisms to decompose hazardous compounds. The success of the strategy strongly depends on plant tolerance towards the pollutant, as well as plant's interactions with the rhizospheric microbes. The microorganisms may be stimulated by the secreted root exudates, which results in an increased breakdown of contaminants in the rhizosphere. The main goal of this study was to establish a potential rhizoremediation combination for a diesel-polluted site. Inoculation of plant roots or seeds with indigenous rhizospheric populations is a common approach in the rhizoremediation. However, we introduced hydrocarbon-degrading consortia (M10, R3, and K52) that were previously isolated from crude oil-contaminated soil instead of indigenous microbes. Bioaugmentation with these petroleum degraders was applied to screen four high biomass crop species (Indian mustard, alfalfa, high erucic acid rapeseed, HEAR, and low erucic acid rapeseed, LEAR) for their tolerance towards diesel oil. At no pollution, a promoting effect of M10 bacteria could be observed on germination and root elongation of all plant species. Moreover, M10 consortiums increased the germination index at 6,000 mg diesel oil per kilogram dry soil in the case of Indian mustard, alfalfa, and HEAR. The latter species was found to increment its dry weight upon bioaugmentation with M10 bacteria and all diesel oil treatments (6,000 and 24,000 mg diesel oil per kilogram dry soil). The initial results indicate HEAR and the M10 bacterial consortium as a promising plant–microbe tandem for a long-term rhizoremediation process.

     

Effect of Organic Materials on Yields and Nutrient Accumulation of Wheat

ABSTRACT

This experiment was conducted under greenhouse conditions using a sandy clay loam treated with garbage and mushroom composts, cattle and chicken manures, or municipal sludge at rates of 0, 30, or 60 ton ha^?1. The organic materials were applied to the pots and incubated for 15 d. The soil samples were watered at field capacity. In this experiment, wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) was used as a test crop. At the end of the experiment, it was found that treating sandy clay loam with the organic materials increased plant total and grain yields, protein content, 1000-kernel weight, number of grains in spike, and accumulation of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), iron (Fe), zinc (Zn), and manganese (Mn) by wheat compared with the control treatment, depending on the organic material applications. Thus, the increases were found to be statistically significant (P ≤ 0.05). Among the types of organic materials, the sewage sludge was the most effective material in increasing N, P, K, Fe, Zn, and Mn content of leaf, grain, and stem samples of the wheat plant. It was followed by mushroom compost and cattle manure. Based on the results, sewage sludge and garbage compost are suggested for use as an amendment for the soil studied. Comparing the beneficial effects of the organic materials applied for improving plant growth and nutrient accumulation, the materials can be arranged in the following descending order: municipal sludge > chicken manure > cattle manure > garbage compost > mushroom compost. It is suggested that recycling of organic materials for agricultural usage as an organic-matter resource is an alternative, organic fertilization option in Turkey.     

Fungal pathogens of oregano occurring at the breeding plots in Ankara

Journal of Plant Diseases and Protection - Fungal pathogens cause significant losses both in terms of quality and quantity on oregano (Origanum spp.) cultivation. Various fungal diseases on oregano...     

Antibodies to Schmallenberg virus in domestic livestock in Turkey

This, partly retrospective study, was designed to determine the seroprevalence of Schmallenberg virus (SBV), a new Orthobunyavirus first reported in Germany in late 2011, in domestic ruminants from the Middle Black Sea, West, and Southeast regions of Turkey. An indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to screen serum samples collected from slaughterhouse animals between 2006 and 2013. The overall seroprevalence was 335/1,362 (24.5 %) with 325/816 (39.8 %), 5/307 (1.6 %), 3/109 (2.8 %), and 2/130 (1.5 %) recorded in cattle, sheep, goats, and Anatolian water buffalo, respectively. This is the first study to demonstrate the presence of antibodies to SBV in Turkish ruminants; it indicates that cattle are more susceptible to infection than sheep, goats, or buffalo and that exposure of domestic ruminants to SBV in Turkey may have occurred up to 5 years prior to the first recorded outbreak of the disease in 2011.     

Identification and characterization of hydrolytic enzymes from the midgut of Sunn Pest of wheat (Eurygaster integriceps)

To help in the development of Sunn Pest-resistant transgenic plants employing protease or α-amylase inhibitors, midgut hydrolytic enzymes of Sunn Pest (Eurygaster integriceps, Put.) (Heteroptera: Scutelleridae) were identified and characterized biochemically. We observed levels of very low proteolytic activity of trypsin (3 nmoles/min/mg), elastase (0.66 nmoles/min/mg) and leucine aminopeptidase-like (14.4 nmoles/min/mg) proteases, but no chymotrypsin and papain-like activity. Proteolytic activities were insensitive to inhibition by soybean trypsin inhibitor (SBTI) and aprotinin, but were inhibited to varying degrees (40–100%) by the synthetic protease inhibitors PMSF, TPCK, CdCl₂ and CuCl₂. Compared to proteolytic activity, significantly higher amylolytic activity (4.45 mmoles/min/mg) was observed. Αlpha-amylase activity was found to be resistant to inhibition by bean and chickpea α-amylase inhibitors, and only slightly inhibited by wheat (36.9 ± 1.8%) and maize (40.2 ± 2.8) α-amylase inhibitors. Here, we report on the biochemical properties of digestive enzymes from Sunn Pest midgut, and their inhibition patterns by several synthetic and natural hydrolytic enzyme inhibitors.     

Selective determination of catechin among phenolic antioxidants with the use of a novel optical fiber reflectance sensor based on indophenol dye formation on nano-sized TiO₂

The optical sensor for "tea catechins" was built by immobilizing 2,2'-(1,4-phenylenedivinylene)bis-8-hydroxyquinoline (PBHQ) on TiO? nanoparticles (NPs). The sensor worked by "indophenol blue" dye formation on PBHQ-immobilized TiO? NPs as a result of p-aminophenol (PAP) autoxidation with dissolved O? at pH 10. Among quercetin, rutin, naringenin, naringin, gallic acid, caffeic acid, ferulic acid, p-coumaric acid, catechin, epicatechin, epicatechin gallate, epigallocatechin, epigallocatechin gallate, and trolox, only catechin group antioxidants delayed the color formation on NPs, as measured by the reflectance signal at 710 nm. For quantitative analysis, reflectance signal versus time was recorded, and the difference between the areas under curve (ΔAUC) in the presence and absence of catechin was correlated (r = 0.98) to catechin concentration. The selectivity of the sensor for catechins was shown in tea infusions compared to other plant extracts and was ascribed to the nonplanar structure of catechin interfering with the formation of perfectly conjugated indophenol blue on TiO? surface.     

Effect of dietary n-3 series fatty acids on sperm production in the freshwater crayfish, Astacus leptodactylus (Eschscholtz) (Astacidae)

The objective of the present work was to evaluate the effects of three different rates of long chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (LC n-3 PUFA) on the sperm number of Astacus leptodactylus. The experiment was carried out with the four following treatments: control group (not supplemented LC n-3 PUFA), D1 (1 %), D2 (2 %) and D3 (3 %). The sperm number of A. leptodactylus was counted; the reproductive system was weighted; and the macroscopical analysis of the testes and vasa deferentia (DVD) were conducted. In addition, gonado-somatic index (GI) and testes index (TI) were also calculated. The results showed that there was a significant difference between the crayfish fed LC n-3 PUFA supplemented diets (D1, D2, D3) and control in mean sperm number (P < 0.05). The highest sperm number was found for the crayfish fed D3 (6.27 ± 0.14 × 10⁸ sperm/distal vas deferens section). The results also showed that the reproductive system of the crayfish fed D3 and D2 was significantly heavier than that of the crayfish fed the control and D1 (P < 0.05). On the other hand, there was not a significant difference in the testes weight and vasa deferentia weight between the crayfish fed the control and D1, and between the crayfish fed D2 and D3 (P < 0.05). GI of the crayfish fed D3 and D2 was significantly higher than that of the crayfish fed control and D1 (P > 0.05), but there was not a significant difference in the TI of the crayfish fed control, D1, D2 and D3 (P > 0.05). In conclusion, diets containing different levels of LC n-3 PUFA significantly increase the sperm number of A. leptodactylus, and they are crucial for the production of higher number of sperm in this species.     

The Effect of Liquid Smoking of Anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus,L. 1758) Fillets on Sensory,Meat Yield,Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon (PAH) Content,and Chemical Changes

In this study, the effects of a commercial liquid smoke flavoring agent and two different brining solutions applied on fillets of anchovy were investigated by performing sensory analyses, meat yield, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) content, and chemical composition analyses. Fillets were brined at 40 and 65% for 4 h at 4°C. Meat yield, sensorial acceptability, and chemical compositions were affected by each brining level. No detectable PAH levels were found in smoke flavoring treated fish samples. Sixty-five percent salt level was rejected by the participants due to high salt content. The results of the study showed that liquid smoke flavoring treatment is applicable to the anchovy fillets, and 40% brining level is recommended.