Study of some factors affecting the growth and development of myoga (Zingiber mioga Roscoe)

In order to optimise production of the edible flower buds produced by myoga (Zingiber mioga Roscoe) a greater understanding of the growth and development of the plant and factors influencing flower initiation and development are required. The vegetative growth phase in myoga was characterised by a distinct period of pseudostem development from the planted rhizome piece followed by an extended period of rhizome growth from both the base of pseudostems and the planted rhizome piece. The transition from pseudostem formation to the initiation of rhizome growth occurred at the same time as the dry weight of the planted rhizome piece ceased to decline. Flower bud initiation and development occurred over an extended period, beginning soon after the commencement of new rhizome growth and ending prior to foliage senescence. Flower buds were observed at the terminal meristem of first, second, third and fourth order rhizomes. Increasing temperatures stimulated both increased vegetative growth and flower bud initiation and development. Low flower bud yields recorded under conditions of low temperature were the result of reduced rate of floral initiation and not abortion of flower buds. Increased shading of plants grown under glasshouse conditions resulted in reduced flower bud yield and similarly the response resulted from decreased initiation rather than abortion.     

Analysis of a Secreted Aspartic Peptidase Disruption Mutant of Glomerella cingulata

Peptidases have been implicated in the pathogenicity of fungi that cause disease in plants. Expression of the secreted aspartic peptidase gene (gcsap), of a Glomerella cingulata isolate pathogenic on apples, is induced during appressorium formation. To determine whether the secreted aspartic peptidase (GcSAP) is essential to pathogenicity, gcsap was disrupted using a vector containing a 637 bp fragment of genomic DNA that encodes the sequence spanning the two active site aspartic acid (Asp) residues. To ensure that the truncated gcsap gene products could not have residual peptidase activity the codons for the active site residues Asp¹¹² and Asp²⁹⁷ were both mutated to histidine residues. Both PCR and Southern analysis confirmed disruption of gcsap. Neither gcsap mRNA nor GcSAP activity was detected in the disruption mutant. Pathogenicity tests on fruit from three apple cultivars showed that GcSAP was not required for pathogenicity. The disruption mutant grew on medium containing protein as the sole source of nitrogen because G. cingulata secretes a previously undetected peptidase(s). A serine peptidase that had a pH optimum between pH 7.0 and 8.0 and a K _m of 0.25 mM for the synthetic substrate succinyl-Ala–Ala–Pro–Phe-p-nitroanilide was identified.     

Effects of the sodium‐glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitor velagliflozin,a new drug with therapeutic potential to treat diabetes in cats

Sodium‐glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors are used in the treatment of human diabetics. They increase glucose excretion and correct hyperglycemia. We examined the investigational SGLT2 inhibitor velagliflozin in two groups of six neutered adult obese cats (equal gender distribution). Placebo (Pl) or drug (D; 1 mg/kg) was administered for 35 days. Routine blood examinations, fructosamine, beta‐hydroxybutyrate (BHB), nonesterified fatty acids (NEFA), glucagon, adiponectin, and leptin were measured before and after treatment, also water intake, and urinary electrolytes, glucose, and volume. Indirect calorimetry, an intravenous glucose tolerance test (IVGTT; 0.8 g/kg) and insulin tolerance test (IVITT) were conducted. All cats tolerated treatment well. Significant changes with D included a decrease in the respiratory exchange ratio, an increase in cholesterol, a small increase in albumin, and a rise in BHB and NEFA. Glucose clearance was unaltered, although less insulin was secreted during the IVGTT (p = .056) suggesting improved insulin sensitivity. IVITT was unchanged. Treatment did not affect glucagon, leptin, or adiponectin. Water intake, urine output, urinary glucose excretion, and the glucose/creatinine ratio but not urinary electrolytes were significantly higher post‐D. We conclude that velagliflozin is a promising drug, which increases urinary glucose excretion in cats and could thereby be beneficial for the treatment of hyperglycemia.     

Field Evaluation of Cocksfoot,Tall Fescue and Phalaris for Dry Marginal Environments of South‐Eastern Australia. 1. Establishment and Herbage Production

Newly developed candidate cultivars of cocksfoot (Dactylis glomerata L.), phalaris (Phalaris aquatica L.) and tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb. = syn. L. arundinaceum (Schreb) Darbysh.) were evaluated over four years for persistence and productivity against current commercial cultivars in small plots at five locations selected for lower and less reliable rainfall and difficult soils (low pH and high Al) in south‐eastern Australia known to be marginally too dry for these grass species. The five locations were ‐ representing summer dominant rainfall, Inverell, in northern New South Wales (NSW); ‐ representing uniform rainfall; Trungley Hall, (medium rainfall), and Beckom (lower rainfall) both in southern NSW; and; representing a winter dominant pattern ‐ Eversley, (higher rainfall), and Bealiba, (lower rainfall), in central Victoria. The objective was to determine if the new candidate cultivars were more likely to persist and to be productive than current commercial cultivars. The study showed that most phalaris and cocksfoot treatments were highly productive in high rainfall years at one or both sites in southern NSW. However, all treatments had become much less productive by the end of the experimental period due to plant loss under hot, dry conditions in the final summer. At Bealiba in central Victoria, cocksfoot was the most productive species with several cocksfoot treatments of both subsp. hispanica and subsp. glomerata still present at the final harvest despite a hot and dry final summer‐autumn. Tall fescue was the most productive species in the two higher rainfall environments (Inverell, Eversley) although most treatments of all species performed well at those sites. Continental tall fescues were more productive on average than Mediterranean tall fescues at the strongly acidic Eversley site. As a result of this work, two of the new cocksfoot candidates (Moroccan Fine and AVH48 Selection) and one of the tall fescue candidates (Summer Active 1) have been licensed for commercial development and release.     

Nitrogen transformations in cold and frozen agricultural soils following organic amendments

Though microbial activity is known to occur in frozen soils, little is known about the fate of animal manure N applied in the fall to agricultural soils located in areas with prolonged winter periods. Our objective was to examine transformations of soil and pig slurry N at low temperatures. Loamy and clay soils were either unamended (Control), amended with ¹⁵NH₄-labeled pig slurry, or amended with the pig slurry and wheat straw. Soils were incubated at −6, −2, 2, 6, and 10 °C. The amounts of NH₄, NO₃ and microbial biomass N (MBN), and the presence of ¹⁵N in these pools were monitored. Total mineral N, NO₃ and ¹⁵NO₃ increased at temperature down to −2 °C in the loam soil and −6 °C in the clay soil, indicating that nitrification and mineralization proceeded in frozen soils. Nitrification and mineralization rates were 1.8-4.9 times higher in the clay than in the loamy soil, especially below freezing point (3.2-4.9), possibly because more unfrozen water remained in the clay than in the loamy soil. Slurry addition increased nitrification rates by 3-14 times at all temperatures, indicating that this process was N-limited even in frozen soils. Straw incorporation caused significant net N immobilization only at temperatures ≥2 °C in both soils; the rates were 1.4-3.4 higher in the loam than in the clay soil. Nevertheless, up to 30% of the applied ¹⁵N was present in MBN at all temperatures. These findings indicate that microbial N immobilization occurred in frozen soils, but was not strong enough to induce net immobilization below the freezing point, even in the presence of straw. The Q₁₀ values for estimated mineralization and nitrification rates were one to two orders-of-magnitude larger below 2 °C than above this temperature (13-208 versus 1.5-6.9, respectively), indicating that these processes are highly sensitive to a small increase in soil temperature around the freezing point of water. This study confirms that net mineralization and nitrification can occur at potentially significant rates in frozen agricultural soils, especially in the presence of organic amendments. In contrast, net N immobilization could be detected essentially above the freezing point. Our results imply that fall-applied N could be at risk of overwinter losses, particularly in fine-textured soils.     

Influence of salinity in irrigation water on forage sorghum and soil chemical properties

Abstract

Soluble salts found in wastewater can be toxic when used for irrigation of forages. Thus, two greenhouse experiments were conducted to investigate effects of saline [CaCl₂NaCl (3:1, w:w)] treatments on soil chemical properties and ‘Dekalb FS‐5’ forage sorghum [Sorghum bicolor(L.) Moench]. Treatments for the first experiment consisted of a nonsaline control or 500 mL of a solution with an electrical conductivity (EC) of 10 dS m^?1 applied once. In the second experiment, treatments were salinity levels of 1.7,3.5,5.2,8.5, and 12.2 dS m^?1, applied in non‐nitrogenous Hoagland's solution as the sole source of irrigation. Both experiments were replicated four times. For both experiments forage sorghum was seeded in pots containing 7 kg of air‐dried Amarillo fine sandy loam soil. Sorghum survivability and plant height were measured. In the second experiment, water use by sorghum was also measured. Plants were harvested 7 wk after seeding, weighed, dried at 55°C, weighed, and ground for subsequent mineral analysis. After harvest, soil salinity, pH, and in the second experiment, extractable soil elements were determined. Soil salinity increased, while soil pH decreased, with the salinity treatments. Extracted soil calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), sodium (Na), potassium (K), manganese (Mn), and cadmium (Cd) increased while sulfur (S), iron (Fe), and copper (Cu) decreased, and aluminum (Al) and zinc (Zn) exhibited no change with increasing salinity. Sorghum aerial plant and root production decreased with increasing salinity. Plant Ca, strontium (Sr), Mn, and Cd levels increased with increasing salinity. In contrast, sorghum K, P, and S levels declined with increasing salinity.     

Starving the soil of plant inputs for 50 years reduces abundance but not diversity of soil bacterial communities

If soil communities rely on plant-derived carbon, is biodiversity lost when this primary source is removed? Soil microbial and mesofaunal communities at the Rothamsted Highfield site were compared under a mixed grass sward, arable rotation and a section maintained as a bare-fallow for the past 50 years by regular tillage. Organic matter reserves have been degraded and microbial and mesofaunal numbers and mite diversity have declined in this unique bare-fallow site, where fresh carbon inputs have been drastically reduced. However, it supports a species-rich metabolically active bacterial community of similar diversity to that in soil maintained as grass sward. Thus in contrast to soil mesofauna, bacterial diversity (but not abundance) is apparently independent of plant inputs.     

Soil Ca, Al, acidity and penetration resistance with subsoiling, lime and gypsum treatments

Abstract. Crop growth on strongly weathered soils is often limited by soil compaction in addition to aluminium toxicity and/or calcium deficiency. This study examines the effects of subsoiling, lime and gypsum on penetrometer resistance, acidity, aluminium and calcium levels and cotton ( Gossypium hirsutum L.) root growth on soils transitional between Cecil and Appling series (clayey, kaolinitic, thermic Typic Hapludults) in the Piedmont region of Georgia, USA. The main plots were subsoiled to depths of 0.35 or 0.80 m or untreated. Dolomitic limestone (0 or 4.03 t per hectare on subplots) and phosphogypsum (0 or 10 t per hectare on sub-subplots) were incorporated into the surface soil (0.15 m). Deep subsoiling (0.80 m depth) decreased penetrometer resistance at 0.3–0.5 m depth and increased yield in two of three years, but there was no response to shallow subsoiling (0.35 m depth). Lime increased yield when surface soil water pH prior to amendment was less than a Cate-Nelson critical value of 4.6. Gypsum moved downward much more rapidly than lime, increasing soil solution calcium ion activity to a depth of 0.8 m within 5 months of application. There were differences in clay content between replicate plots and calcium movement was faster where the clay content was less. Yield responses to gypsum in 1986 were attributed to increased root growth below 0.2 m resulting from the increased calcium ion activity. Yield response to gypsum in limed sub-subplots was significant only in 1986.     

Chemical comparison of goldenseal (Hydrastis canadensis L.) root powder from three commercial suppliers

The characterization of herbal materials is a significant challenge to analytical chemists. Goldenseal (Hydrastis canadensis L.), which has been chosen for toxicity evaluation by NIEHS, is among the top 15 herbal supplements currently on the market and contains a complex mixture of indigenous components ranging from carbohydrates and amino acids to isoquinoline alkaloids. One key component of herbal supplement production is botanical authentication, which is also recommended prior to initiation of efficacy or toxicological studies. To evaluate material available to consumers, goldenseal root powder was obtained from three commercial suppliers and a strategy was developed for characterization and comparison that included Soxhlet extraction, HPLC, GC-MS, and LC-MS analyses. HPLC was used to determine the weight percentages of the goldenseal alkaloids berberine, hydrastine, and canadine in the various extract residues. Palmatine, an isoquinoline alkaloid native to Coptis spp. and other common goldenseal adulterants, was also quantitated using HPLC. GC-MS was used to identify non-alkaloid constituents in goldenseal root powder, whereas LC-MS was used to identify alkaloid components. After review of the characterization data, it was determined that alkaloid content was the best biomarker for goldenseal. A 20-min ambient extraction method for the determination of alkaloid content was also developed and used to analyze the commercial material. All three lots of purchased material contained goldenseal alkaloids hydrastinine, berberastine, tetrahydroberberastine, canadaline, berberine, hydrastine, and canadine. Material from a single supplier also contained palmatine, coptisine, and jatrorrhizine, thus indicating that the material was not pure goldenseal. Comparative data for three commercial sources of goldenseal root powder are presented.