Can Non-fumigant Nematicides Be an Alternative to Fumigation on Carrot Fields?

ABSTRACT

Root-knot nematodes (RKN; Meloidogyne spp.) cause enormous yield reductions in vegetable crops. While nematicides are the most effective method for controlling RKN in carrot (Dacatus carota), the efficacy of non-fumigant nematicides, compared to fumigants, is still not fully understood. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of 1,3-dichloropropene, a fumigant nematicide, and fluensulfone, a non-fumigant nematicide, on RKN control and yield of fresh market and processing carrot. Field experiments were conducted in a commercial farm in Lenox, GA. A randomized complete block design (r = 4) was used in a factorial arrangement of 3 nematicide treatments and 2 carrot cultivars. Nematicide treatments were the application of 1,3-dichloropropene, fluensulfone, and untreated control. Carrot cultivars were Baltimore (fresh marketing) and Belgrado (processing). In general, RKN population was low early season, averaging 0.8 RKN 100 cm^?3 of soil. RKN populations increased with crop development and there were significant differences among nematicide treatments. At harvest, RKN populations were lower for fluensulfone (1.1 RKN 100 cm^?3 of soil) and 1,3-dichloropropene (3.2 RKN 100 cm^?3 of soil) compared to Control (26.4 RKN 100 cm^?3 of soil); however, fluensulfone (91,278 kg ha^?1) had higher yield than 1,3-dichloropropene (64,154 kg ha^?1) and Control (61,908 kg ha^?1). Carrot cultivars were similar for RKN population and yield. Overall, the non-fumigant nematicide was more beneficial for carrot production than the fumigant nematicide.     

Macronutrient accumulation in wheat crop (Triticum aestivum L.) with Azospirillum brasilense associated with nitrogen doses and sources

Abstract

New studies are needed to optimize the nitrogen (N) amount that can be applied to utilize the Azospirillum brasilense benefits. In addition, information regarding the interaction between the urease inhibitor and biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) and how they affect the macronutrients accumulation are also needed. We evaluate the effect of N sources and doses associated with A. brasilense regarding the macronutrients accumulation in straw and grains and wheat grain yield in tropical conditions. A randomized block experimental design was used with four replications in a 2?×?5?×?2 factorial arrangement as follows: two N sources (urea and urea with urease enzyme inhibitor NBPT; five N doses (0, 50, 100, 150, and 200?kg ha^?1) applied in topdressing; with and without A. brasilense inoculation. We found that an increase in N doses positively influenced the accumulation of macronutrients in straw and grains and the wheat grain yield. N sources have similar effects. Inoculation with A. brasilense increased accumulation of Mg and S in straw and P, Ca, and Mg in grains, regardless of the N dose. The inoculation with A. brasilense associated with 140?kg ha^?1 of N increased wheat grain yield. The inoculation can contribute in a more sustainable way to wheat nutrition and optimizing N fertilization.     

On-site remediation of chromium-contaminated sediments by combination of sediment washing and stabilization with magnesium oxide/limestone mixtures

Goal, Scope and Background  The remediation of heavy-metalcontaminated soils and sediments is of significant value to industrial areas around the world. The spread of such pollutants can result in a potential risk of entering the groundwater system and being transported to potential receptors. Leaching techniques can be an effective treatment option for the metal removal from soils and sediments. This approach consists of washing or leaching the contaminated soil with an appropriate reagent and the subsequent treatment of the leaching in an above-ground installation (on-site treatment) where metals can be removed and concentrated into a smaller volume. Among the heavy metals, chromium is a commonly identified soil contaminant, particularly in sites with intensive economic activities including agriculture, industrial, mining and mineral,processing. Objective  The objective of this work was the evaluation and development of a leaching process for the remediation of soils and sediments polluted with chromium at laboratory scale. Chromium soil pollution was generated after the breakdown of a channel containing chromium wastes from a tannery plant. The pollution extension has been estimated to be on the order of thousands of tonnes of soil to be treated, with chromium contents ranging from 500 to 17,000 mg kg^-1 soil. Methods  The whole process investigated in this study integrates three stages; a) chromium leaching from a sediment using a diluted sulphuric acid solution, b) treatment of the leaching effluents with a magnesium oxide/limestone mixture for the precipitation of chromium hydroxide after acidity neutralisation, and c) polishing step to remove the eventual remaining chromium by adsorption onto natural zeolite. The amount of contaminated sediment treated ranged from 0.5 to 2 kg with chromium contents of between 2000 and 17,000 mg kg^-1. Results and Discussion  The paper describes results on the performance of the process and the optimisation of steps including influence of acid sulphuric concentration, chromium removal efficiency as well as alkaline reactive mixture proportions. Effluents from the leaching cells showed a significant decay on the chromium concentration with the increase of leaching runs and a high content of acidity (pH values close to 0.5). The treatment of these effluents in a second cell containing magnesium oxide/ limestone mixtures resulted in a high efficiency in neutralisation of acidity (pH values around 7) and chromium removal (concentrations below 5 mg 1^-1). The passage through a third compartment containing zeolite as an adsorbent decreased the chromium concentration below 0.5 mg 1^-1, Conclusions  From the results obtained on the chromium leaching and immobilisation with magnesium oxide/limestone mixture at a laboratory scale, it could be pointed out that: (a) diluted sulphuric acid solutions (3%) demonstrated a high efficiency on chromium removal from sandy polluted soils on the kilogram scale, (b) mixtures of magnesium oxide/limestone demonstrated a high capacity to neutralise the residual high acidity present on the effluents and to remove chromium by precipitation and (c) between the limestone and caustic magnesia mixtures, those containing more than 60% of caustic magnesia provide the higher efficiency. Recommendation and Outlook  Future work would be directed to the evaluation of the integrated process of leaching and chromium precipitation on column at a scale of 100 to 1000 kg.     

Blind inlets: conservation practices to reduce herbicide losses from closed depressional areas

Purpose

In a 6-year study, we investigated the effectiveness of blind inlets as a conservation practice in reducing pesticide losses compared to tile risers from two closed farmed depressional areas (potholes) in the US Midwest under a 4-year cropping rotation.

Materials and methods

In two adjacent potholes within the same farm and having similar soils, a conventional tile riser and blind inlet were installed. Each draining practice could be operated independent of each other in order to drain and monitor each depression with either practice. Sampling events (runoff events) were collected from the potholes from 2008 to 2013 using autosamplers. The samples were analyzed for atrazine, metolachlor, 2,4-D, glyphosate, and deethylatrazine.

Results and discussion

The results of this study demonstrated that the blind inlet reduced analyzed pesticide losses; however, the level of reduction was compound dependent: atrazine (57 %), 2,4-D (58 %), metolachlor (53 %), and glyphosate (11 %).

Conclusions

Results from this study corroborate previous research findings that blind inlets are an effective conservation practice to reduce discharge and pollutants, including pesticides from farmed pothole surface runoff in the US Midwest.

     

Genetic diversity in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Eremostachys superba</Emphasis> Royle ex Benth. (Lamiaceae), an endangered Himalayan species,as assessed by RAPD

Eremostachys superba Royle ex Benth. (Lamiaceae) has undergone a severe decline in population size since its discovery in the North-western Himalayas in late 19th century. One hundred and seventy-two plants from six populations in the Indian states of Uttar Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir, located between 0.45 km and 455.72 km apart from each other were evaluated for RAPD polymorphism. Sixteen random primers generated 92 bands overall, 77 of which were polymorphic. Shannon’s index of genetic diversity within populations (H _o) ranged between 0.305 and 0.421; the average within-population diversity (H _pop) was 0.389; and the total species diversity (H _sp) was 0.478. The population from Mohand (representing the type locality) had the fewest plants, at 18, and was genetically the most depauperate. Among the other populations, ranging in size between 52 and 1,022 individuals, no relation between population size and genetic diversity was evident. It is suggested that these six populations represent relics of a larger, extended population, in which the presence of perennating rootstocks has helped preserve historic patterns of genetic diversity. AMOVA revealed that 83.01% of the variation exists within populations, which was consistent with earlier studies on the reproductive biology of E. superba, which indicated this species is predominantly allogamous. FST distances between all populations were significant, indicating geographic differentiation despite some of them being closely separated. Habitat restoration and protection from indiscriminate harvesting are proposed as primary strategies for conserving E. superba. Rejuvenation of the Mohand population through intrapopulation crossing between plants bearing diverse molecular phenotypes is also suggested.     

Development of EST-SSR in foxtail millet (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Setaria italica</Emphasis>)

The development of EST-SSR in foxtail millet (Setaria italica) for polymorphism and transferability study was reported here. From 1213 EST sequences, 30 SSRs were obtained and primers were designed for 26 SSRs. Among them, four pairs of SSR primers amplified polymorphic products in 12 foxtail millet cultivars and one accession of Setaria viridis, a wild relative of foxtail millet, with 10 alleles detected for the four loci and 2.5 alleles per locus. In addition, ten SSR markers could be transferred to other nine Gramineae species. The putative functions of 11 ESTs containing polymorphic and transferable SSRs were also identified.     

Near-infrared spectroscopy for analysis of chemical and microbiological properties of forest soil organic horizons in a heavy-metal-polluted area

In industrial areas, heavy metals may accumulate in forest soil organic horizons, affecting soil microorganisms and causing changes in the chemical composition of the accumulated organic matter. The objectives of this study were to test the ability of near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) to detect heavy metal effects on the chemical composition of forest soil O horizons and to test whether NIRS may be used to quantitatively determine total and exchangeable concentrations of Zn and Pb (Zn_t, Pb_t, Zn_ex, Pb_ex) and other chemical and microbial properties in forest soil O horizons polluted with heavy metals. The samples of O horizons (n = 79) were analyzed for organic C (C_org), total N and S (N_t, S_t), Zn_t, Pb_t, Zn_ex, Pb_ex, basal respiration (BR), microbial biomass (C_mic) and C_mic-to-C_org ratio. Spectra of the samples were recorded in the Vis-NIR range (400–2,500 nm). To detect heavy-metal-induced changes in the chemical composition of O horizons principal components (PC1–PC7) based on the spectral data were regressed against Zn_t + Pb_t values. A modified partial least squares method was used to develop calibration models for prediction of various chemical and microbial properties of the samples from their spectra. Regression analysis revealed a significant relationship between PC3 and PC5 (r = −0.27 and −0.34, respectively) and Zn_t + Pb_t values, indicating an effect of heavy metal pollution on the spectral properties of the O horizons and thus on their chemical composition. For quantitative estimations, the best calibration model was obtained for C_org-to-N_t ratio (r = 0.98). The models for C_org, N_t, and microbial properties were satisfactory but less accurate. NIRS failed to accurately predict S_t, C_org-to-S_t, Zn_t, Pb_t, Zn_ex, and Pb_ex.     

Spatial patterns of diversity and genetic erosion of traditional cassava (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Manihot esculenta</Emphasis> Crantz) in the Peruvian Amazon: An evaluation of socio-economic and environmental indicators

This study evaluates quantitatively the suitability of the use of site-specific socio-economic and environmental data as indicators to rapidly assess patterns of diversity and genetic erosion risk in cassava. Socio-economic data as well as farmers’ estimation of genetic erosion were collected in the study area, the Ucayali region of the Peruvian Amazon, through interviews with 285 cassava farmers in 50 communities, while diversity was assessed based on agromorphological characterization of 295 cassava accessions. Using multivariate regression analyses, 50 and 45% of the variation in respectively diversity and genetic erosion estimation could be explained by a selected set of socio-economic and environmental indicators. In both regression models four out of the total of 38 variables proved to contribute significantly (at p < 0.10 level). Additionally, the study revealed that farmers are a good direct source of information on the diversity present at community level, which can contribute to the development of methodologies to assess diversity more rapidly. The results of this study are valuable for the development of models to rapidly assess diversity dynamics in large areas.     

Genetic diversity of potato landraces from northwestern Argentina assessed with simple sequence repeats (SSRs)

Andean potato varieties are cultivated in the northwest of Argentina and constitute the most important staple food for the local farmers. The genetic diversity of 155 accessions conserved at the Genebank of Balcarce (INTA) was tested using four microsatellites. Three commercial potato varieties of Tuberosum group and one accession of Curtilobum group were used as outgroups. The presence of bands was scored for each microsatellite and for each accession and the data were analysed by principal coordinate analysis. The polymorphism information content was obtained for each molecular marker from banding patterns. Analysis of molecular variance was carried out with a variable number of accessions for each landrace, from different departments and sites within departments. More than one genotype was detected in the majority of the potato landraces. Some accessions within each landrace did not differentiate. AMOVA revealed that most of the genetic variation occurred among sites within departments and among local varieties. These findings are discussed considering the agricultural practices carried out in the Andean farming system.     

Diversity among landraces of Indian snapmelon (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Cucumis melo</Emphasis> var. <Emphasis Type="Italic">momordica</Emphasis>)

Diversity among 36 snapmelon landraces, collected from 2 agro-ecological regions of India (9 agro-climatic sub-regions), was assayed using RAPD primers, morphological traits of plant habit and fruit, 2 yield-associated traits, pest and disease resistance and biochemical composition (TSS, ascorbic acid, titrable acidity). Typical differences among accessions were observed in plant and fruit characteristics and snapmelon germplasm with high titrable acidity and possessing resistance to downy mildew, Cucumber mosaic virus, Zucchini yellow mosaic virus, Papaya ringspot virus, Aphis gossypii and Meloidogyne incognita was noticed in the collection. RAPD based grouping analysis revealed that Indian snapmelon was rich in genetic variation and region and sub-region approach should be followed across India for acquisition of additional melon landraces. Accessions of var. agrestis and var. momordica clustered together and there was a separate cluster of the accessions of var. reticulatus. Comparative analysis of the genetic variability among Indian snapmelons and an array of previously characterized reference accessions of melon from Spain, Israel, Korea, Japan, Maldives, Iraq, Pakistan and India using SSRs showed that Indian snapmelon germplasm contained a high degree of unique genetic variability which was needed to be preserved to broaden the genetic base of melon germplasm available with the scientific community. N. P. S. Dhillon and Ranjana contributed equally to this work and are considered the first authors.