Chemotaxonomy of Compositae related to their host suitability for Pratylenchus penetrans

Experimental work and a survey of literature gave data on the effects of 175 Compositate on populations ofPratylenchus penetrans in the soil. Nearly 70 Compositae effectively suppress populations ofP. penetrans. It is shown that a close relationship exists between this suppressing feature and the chemotaxonomy of the Compositae.Samenvatting Eigen onderzoek aangevuld met gegevens uit de literatuur gaf informatie over de invloed van 175 Composieten op populaties vanPratylenchus penetrans in de grond. Bijna 70 soorten verlaagden deze dichtheden (Tabel 1). Het betreft soorten van de geslachtenGrindelia, Solidago, Coreopsis, Eclipta, Rudbeckia, Verbesina, Melampodium, Parthenium, Iva, Ambrosia, Milleria, Baeria, Schkuhria, Eriophyllum, Chaenactis, Helenium, Gaillardia, Tagetes, Arctotis, Gazania, Berkheya, Didelta, Echinops enUrospermum. Er is een duidelijk verband tussen de taxonomische indeling van Composieten en deze eigenschap. Bijna alle getoetste soorten van de subtribus Ambrosiinae, Heleniinae, Arctotinae, Gorteriinae en Echinopinae reduceerden populaties vanP. penetrans. In sommige geslachten zoalsSolidago, Coreopsis, Rudbeckia enMelampodium veroorzaakten slechts een of enkele getoetste soorten dit effect.Van de 16 Composieten, waarvan bekend is dat zij -terthienyl in hun wortels bevatten, verlaagden er 15 dichtheden vanPratylenchus. Vrijwel hetzelfde geldt voor Composieten met 5-(3-buteen-1-ynyl)-2,2-bithienyl in hun wortels (Tabel 1). Ook de aanwezigheid in een aantal andere Composieten van een groep rode dithio-acetyleen-verbindingen met waarschijnlijk nematicide eigenschappen in vitro, komt goed overeen met de eigenschap om dichtheden vanP. penetrans in de grond te verminderen.     

Seasonal activity of EPTC for Cyperus rotundus L. control in a tropical climate*

Four experiments were conducted at six week intervals to determine the seasonal activity and persistence of soil-incorporated EPTC (5-ethyl N,N-dipropyl(thiocarbamate)) for Cyperus rotundus L. control and tolerance of okra (Hibiscus esculentus L.), cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.), lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.), red beet (Beta vulgaris L.) and carrot (Daucus carota L.) during the dry and wet seasons in Viçosa, Brazil. Satisfactory control of C. rotundus was obtained at 2 kg/ha EPTC during the dry season and 4 kg/ha or more during the wet season. Only red beet and carrot tolerated these doses of EPTC when the crops were planted five days after application. However, selective control of C. rotundus was obtained when the planting date of lettuce was delayed for three or six weeks after EPTC application. EPTC controlled C. rotundus at half the dose that was required to control three species of annual grass that germinated near the soil surface. EPTC persisted longer when applied to air dry soil and incorporated with a rototiller than when incorporated into moist or wet soil.     

LABORATORY EXPERIMENTS ON 'CUT BARK' TREATMENTS WITH HERBICIDES, USING CUTTINGS OF POPULUS EURO AMERICAN A'I-78'

Summary. A laboratory method is described for studying the effects of introducing herbicides into the vascular tissues oi Populus cuttings. Of sixteen herbicides tested in this way, MCPA and picloram were the most phytotoxic. Ester formulations of growth regulator herbicides were less active than water soluble amine or inorganic salts. The phytotoxic effects of the latter were increased by supplying water to the cuttings before or after treatment or by applying the herbicide in a relatively large volume of water. A non-ionic surfactant did not increase the effects of injected MCPA salt, approximately similar amounts of which moved both upwards and downwards in cuttings from the point of introduction.
Expériences en laboratoire sur des boutures de Populus × euroamericana "I-78" traités avec des herbicides     

THE EFFECT OF MCPA ON THE AMINO ACID AND SUGAR COMPOSITION OF VICIA FABA LEAVES

Summary. The effect of spraying Vicia faba leaves with 5000 ppm MCPA is described. Three to 4 days after spraying, a marked increase (× 5 approx.) was found in the concentrations of leucine iso -leucine and valine in the leaves. No significant changes were detected in the other amino acids. Treatment with MGPA also caused a significant increase (× 4 approx.) in the glucose and fructose content of the leaves. Detached leaves (sprayed and unsprayed), when kept in a moist atmosphere for 3–4 days, exhibited very similar increases in amino acids and sugars to sprayed intact plants. Experiments using ¹⁴CO₂ revealed that in short term photosynthesis (30 min) of sprayed and unsprayed plants, 80–90% of the radioactivity was incorporated in sucrose, with about 5% in each of glucose and fructose. Over photosynthelic periods of 4 days, glucose and fructose were found to be almost as heavily labelled as sucrose in sprayed plants, but in the controls the distribution of radioactivity was similar to that in short term photosynthesis. It is suggested that the build up of amino acids and sugars in plants treated with MCPA is due to an interruption of the translocatory flow from the leaves, and that this build up of metabolites may be a contributory factor in the toxic action of this herbicide.
Effet du MCPA sur la composition en amino-acides et en sucre des feuilles de Vicia faba     

Tumours of Begonia and some other ornamentals,induced by Corynebacterium fascians

In 1975 many tumours were observed in plants ofBegonia Schwabenland grown in Aalsmeer. Submersion of the roots ofNicotiana megalosiphon seedlings in a homogenate of tumorous tissue, induced tumours after two weeks. Short periods of submergence yielded results similar to those obtained after longer periods. Tumour homogenates lost their infectivity after ten min at 50°C. Aphids transmitted the infectious agent.Treatment with propylene oxide did not inhibit infectivity completely. Filtration through a 450 nm filter removed the infectious agent.Tobacco tumor virus or a viroid could not be isolated. Cultures ofCorynebacterium fascians, isolated from tumours ofN. megalosiphon were highly infectious and induced tumours in healthyN. megalosiphon andBegonia. Tumorous tissue homogenates ofPelargonium zonale, Dahlia sp.,Gladiolus sp., andLilium sp. also caused tumours inN. megalosiphon, from whichC. fascians was isolated. It was not possible to produce tumours inN. megalosiphon with homogenates from roses with symptoms of bud proliferation.Samenvatting In 1975 werden vele tumoren waargenomen inBegonia Schwabenland op Aalsmeerse bedrijven (Fig. 1). De infectiositeit van tumorweefsel kon goed en snel worden vastgesteld door de wortels van zaailingen vanNicotiana megalosiphon in een homogenaat van tumorweefsel te dompelen. Tumoren ontstonden na twee weken, de eindbeoordeling geschiedde na een maand (Fig. 2). Ook verschillende andereNicotiana spp.,Melilotus officinalis (Fig. 3) enPisum odoratum (Fig. 4) werden aangetast.Bij de infectiositeitstoets gaven zeer korte dompeltijden even goede resultaten als langere (Tabel 1). Infectieus sap verloor zijn infectievermogen na 10 min verhitting bij 50°C. Bladluizen brachten de smetstof over. Propyleenoxide verminderde de infectiositeit wel, doch onderdrukte deze niet totaal. Bij filtratie door een 450 nm filter bleef het infectieuse agens op het filter achter. Het tumor-inducerende agens was ook aanwezig in die delen van planten met tumoren welke gezond leken en het ging voor een gering deel over met zaad (Tabel 2).Uit tumoren konden wij geen tabakstumorvirus of een viroïde isoleren. Culturen vanCorynebacterium fascians, geïsoleerd uit tumoren vanN. megalosiphon bleken zeer infectieus en veroorzaakten tumoren inN. megalosiphon enBegonia. Homogenaten van tumorweefsel vanPelargonium zonale, dahlia (Fig. 5), gladiool (Fig. 6) enLilium Mid Century Hybrid Enchantment (Fig. 7) veroorzaakten ook tumoren opN. megalosiphon, waaruitC. fascians werd geïsoleerd. Met sap van kroeskopzieke rozen konden wijN. megalosiphon niet besmetten.     

Adsorption and bioactivity of di-allate,tri-allate and trifluralin*

Studies were conducled to cstmiate the adsorption parameter k and the bioactivity (in terms of G R₅₀) of di-allate [S-2,3-dichloroallyl N, N-di-isopropyl (thiocar bamate)], iri-allate [S-2,3,3-trichloroallyl N, N -di-isopropyl (thiocar bamate], and [trifiuralin (2,6-dinitro N, N-dlpropyl-4-trifluoromelhylaniline) in a number of Saskatchewan soil. The k values ratiged from 5 for di-allate adsorption m Asquilh loamy sand to 315 for trifluralin adsorption on Melfort loam and were closely related to the soil organic matter content. The relative degree of adsorption was irifluralin > tri-allate >di-allaie. For each herbicide, the G R₅₀ values were positively correlated wich organic matter conienl atid wilh k. It was suggested that these nonionic herbicides may be amenable to a predictive approach for field application rates in different soils. Among herbicides for any one soil, however, there was not the same relationship between G R₅₀andk. since the G R₅₀ was least for trifluralin and there was no significant difference between di-allate and tri-allate.     

Response ofSpodoptera littoralis (Boisd.) andEarias insulana (Boisd.) larvae to azadirachtin and salannin

The effect of azadirachtin and salannin, two triterpenoids isolated from seeds of neem (Azadirachta indica A. Juss), on the feeding response ofSpodoptera littoralis (Boisd.) andEarias insulana (Boisd.) larvae, was investigated. Styropor (foamed polystyrene) lamellae were painted on both sides with a mixture of 5% sucrose with different concentrations of either azadirachtin or salannin dissoled in methanol-water (3∶7). Azadirachtin strongly suppressed feeding inS. littoralis larvae even at 0.001%, whereas salannin showed some antifeedant activity at 0.005% and above. Larvae ofE. insulana were deterred from feeding on azadirachtin-treated lamellae even at 0.005%, whereas salannin was effective only at 0.01% and above. Azadirachtin applied on cotton leaves deterred larvae ofS. littoralis from feeding at all concentrations ranging between 0.001 and 0.02%.     

Penetration of ovicidal fungus Verticillium chlamydosporium through the Ascaris lumbricoides egg-shells

The course of penetration of the ovicidal fungus Verticillium chlamydosporium Goddard through the Ascaris lumbricoides egg-shells was studied in electron miorographs. The contact area between the egg and the fungus is smooth at the stage of the contact of the ovicidal fungus with the egg surface, as well as at the stage of adhesion. No special attaching organs are formed which indicates that no mechanical penetration of the fungal hypha through the egg-shells is involved. Traces of enzymatical activity of the fungus penetrating upright through the egg-shells can be observed during the penetration stage proper. At the consumption stage, the branching of the ovicidal fungus becomes more dense and some hyphae grow through the egg envelopes parallelly under the egg surface. The fungus grows through all parts of the infected egg, even through its contents.     

Influence of environmental factors on the performance of sethoxydim against Elymus repens (L.)

The performance of sethoxydim on Elymus repens (L.) Gould was studied under contrasting levels of humidity, light intensity, temperature, soil moisture and simulated rainfall using controlled environment chambers. Over a 24-h post-spraying period, increases in humidity and temperature markedly enhanced herbicide performance, while effects of light intensity were less pronounced. Soil moisture deficit significantly reduced herbicide performance, but there were no adverse effects of wet soil conditions (twice field capacity) on activity. The effects of simulated rain depended upon herbicide dosage, time interval between spraying and the onset of rain, and rain intensity. A low rain intensity of 0.5 mm h^?1 did not reduce herbicide performance even when applied 10 min after spraying. The longer term studies, over 4 weeks, showed increases in herbicide activity with higher temperatures but lower light intensities.     

Field testing putative biological controls of take-all: rationale and results1

In seeking biological control of the wheat take-all fungus (Gaeumannomyces graminis var. tritici) by introduced organisms, the demonstration of satisfactory field performance is proving a formidable hurdle. A novel experimental design incorporating small plots, 37 x 31 cm, has been used in UK at Rothamsted and Woburn since 1983 to test different kinds of control for take-all and to explore some of the problems of providing adequate field tests of putative biocontrol agents. Three years of bacterial treatments, using different plots each year, provided no evidence of effective control of the disease. Of the few significant treatment effects, most occurred in spring and were temporary: at Woburn they were mostly decreases in take-all and at Rothamsted mostly decreases in growth of the wheat plant without concomitant changes in take-all.