Pesticide and Heavy Metals Residue in Wastewater, Soil and Plants in Wastewater Disposal Site Near Al-Lajoun Valley, Karak / Jordan

Disposal of raw wastewater and sludge creates thepotential for pesticides and heavy metal contamination. Afield study was conducted to determine the residueconcentration level of chlorinated pesticides and four heavymetals (Zn, Pb, Cu and Ni) in raw wastewater, soils andplants at Karak raw wastewater disposal site. The resultsindicated that the investigated area was heavily contaminatedwith various types of pesticides. The distribution of different pesticides in soils and wastewater was influencedby the solubility of these pesticides such that the higherthe solubility the more is present in water phase and viceversa. Vinclozoline was the dominant pesticide in most of thesamples. Some pesticides of which application is restrictedto be used in Jordan, such as DDT and its metabolites, weredetected in the investigated area.Heavy metals existed in relatively higher concentrationsin soils than in wastewater, which was due to the high pH ofthe wastewater enhancing its precipitation. Zinc was thehighest among the analyzed heavy metals in both wastewaterand soils.The residue level of both heavy metals and chlorinatedpesticides were highest at the emission source decreasinggradually with distance.     

Effect of temperature on the mineralization of C and N of fresh and mature compost in sandy material

Information about the mineralization rate of compost at various temperatures is a precondition to optimize mineral N fertilization and to minimize N losses in compost‐amended soils. Objectives were to quantify the influence of the temperature on the mineralization rate and leaching of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and nitrogen (DON), NO₃^—, and NH₄⁺ from a fresh (C : N = 15.4) and a mature (C : N = 9.2) organic household waste compost. Compost samples were mixed with quartz sand to ensure aerobic conditions, incubated at 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25°C and irrigated weekly for 112 days. For the fresh compost, cumulative CO₂ evolution after 112 days ranged from 36% of the initial C content at 5°C to 54% at 25°C. The CO₂ evolution was only small in the experiments with mature compost (1 to 6% of the initial C content). The data were described satisfactorily by a combined first‐order (fresh compost) or a first‐order kinetic model (mature compost). For the fresh compost, cumulative DOC production was negatively related to the temperature, probably due to leaching of some of the partly metabolized easily degradable fractions at lower temperatures. The production ratios of DOC : CO₂‐C decreased with increasing temperature from 0.094 at 5°C to 0.038 at 25°C for the fresh and from 1.55 at 5°C to 0.26 at 25°C for the mature compost. In the experiments with fresh compost, net release of NO₃^— occurred after a time lag which depended on the temperature. Cumulative net release of NO₃^— after 112 days ranged from 1.8% of the initial N content at 5°C to 14.3% at 25°C. Approximately 10% of the initial N content of the mature compost was released as NO₃^— after 14 days at all temperatures. The DOC : DON ratios in the experiments using fresh compost ranged from 11.5 to 15.7 and no temperature dependency was observed. For the mature compost, DOC : DON ratios were slightly smaller (7.4 to 8.9). The DON : (NH₄⁺ + NO₃^—) ratio decreased with increasing temperature from 0.91 at 5°C to 0.19 at 25°C for the fresh compost and from 0.21 at 5°C to 0.12 at 25°C for the mature compost. The results of the dynamics of C and N mineralization of fresh and mature compost can be used to assess the appropriate application (timing and amount) of compost to soils.     

Physiological,morphological, chemical and genomic diversities of different origins of thyme (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Thymus vulgaris</Emphasis> L.)

For the selection of donors with valuable characteristics for breeding, 39 thyme accessions were evaluated in three years according to a staggered schedule. The criteria investigated were: winter hardiness, beginning of flowering, growth height, yield of the dry herb, content of essential oil, composition of the essential oil, DNA content of cell nuclei and number of chromosomes. The most strongly varying traits between the populations were the yield of dry herb, the content of essential oil and the content of volatile phenols with coefficients of variation (CV) between CV 40% and 50%. The largest variation within a population was detected for the yield of dry herb (CV 25–46%) and the content of essential oil (CV 17–48%). The homogeneity of the populations was different. The minimal average coefficient of variation of all traits (CV 19%) was determined in the population of the cultivar ‘Varico II’ and in a population from Lithuania. The ploidy level of T. vulgaris was diploid (2n = 30).     

Regional phenotypic diversity of Puccinia triticina and wheat host resistance in western Europe, 1995

Pathogenicity data from surveys of Puccinia triticina (formerly P. recondita f. sp. tritici) conducted in western Europe in 1995 were analysed to compare the structure of regional populations of the pathogen. Many of the populations differed in phenotypic diversity and pathotypic composition, even though they occurred within a single epidemiological unit, suggesting that local factors may influence the establishment and propagation of individual pathotypes in the regional populations. Neighbouring regions were more similar than distant regions, and all regions shared at least one pathotype, except populations in northern Italy and Scotland. A high degree of similarity was found between populations in northern France and Great Britain, providing strong evidence of free movement of inoculum between these regions. Resistance genes were postulated for a selection of 91 wheat cultivars, representing those most commonly grown in western Europe in 1995. Thirteen cultivars lacked detectable seedling resistance genes and the remaining 78 possessed from one to three resistance genes; those detected were Lr1, Lr3a, Lr10, Lr13, Lr14a, Lr17b, Lr20, Lr26 and Lr37. The most commonly detected resistance gene was Lr13, which was present singly or in combination with other resistance genes in 48 cultivars (53%). The gene Lr14a was detected in 18 cultivars, Lr26 was present in 16 cultivars. The role of host selection in the composition of the regional populations of P. triticina in western Europe in 1995 was difficult to assess on the basis of the results obtained, since virulence data were not available for Lr13 and Lr14a. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Chromosomal location of genes for resistance to powdery mildew in common wheat (Triticum aestivum L. em Thell.). 9. Gene MlZec1 from the Triticum dicoccoides-derived wheat line Zecoi-1

The Triticum dicoccoides-derived wheat line Zecoi-1 provides effective protection against powdery mildew. F₃ segregation analysis of Chinese Spring × Zecoi-1 hybrids showed that resistance in line Zecoi-1 is controlled by a single dominant gene. Amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) analysis of bulked segregants from F₃s showing the homozygous resistant and susceptible phenotypes identified eight markers, of which four were associated with the resistance allele in repulsion phase. Following the assignment of these four repulsion phase AFLP markers to wheat chromosome 2B with the aid of Chinese Spring nulli-tetrasomic lines, they were physically mapped in the terminal breakpoint interval 0.89 (2BL-6)–1.00 (telomere) of chromosome 2BL. Genetic and physical mapping of simple sequence repeat markers from the distal half of chromosome 2BL located the wild emmer-derived powdery mildew resistance gene distal of breakpoint 0.89 in deletion line 2BL-6. Based on disease response patterns, genomic origin and chromosomal location the resistance gene in Zecoi-1 is temporarily designated MlZec1.     

Choice of shrinkage parameter and prediction of genomic breeding values in elite maize breeding populations

Genomic selection (GS) is a promising alternative to marker‐assisted selection particularly for quantitative traits. In this study, we examined the prediction accuracy of genomic breeding values by using ridge regression best linear unbiased prediction in combination with fivefold cross‐validation based on empirical data of a commercial maize breeding programme. The empirical data is composed of 930 testcross progenies derived from 11 segregating families evaluated at six environments for grain yield and grain moisture. Accuracy to predict genomic breeding values was affected by the choice of the shrinkage parameter λ², by unbalanced family size, by size of the training population and to a lower extent by the number of markers. Accuracy of genomic breeding values was high suggesting that the selection gain can be improved implementing GS in elite maize breeding programmes.     

Die Bindungsformen von Si,Mg, Fe,Al, Mn,Cr, Ni und Co in Saprolit und Laterit über Serpentinit,Insel Gebe,Indonesien

Fixation of Si, Mg, Fe, Al, Mn, Cr, Ni and Co in saprolite and laterite above serpentinite - Gebe Island, Indonesia The fixation of various major and trace elements has been studied in a saprolite/laterite profile above serpentinized peridotite. Sequential extraction of < 63 μm fraction shows different types of element fixation in soil: adsorption on mineral surfaces (1), fixation to Mn-oxides (2), bonding to poorly and better crystallized Fe-oxides (3). In the laterite, most of the extractable Si-, Al-, Cr- and Ni-contents are bound to goethitic Fe-hydroxide. The saprolite has considerable amounts of secondary quartz which has been formed during ageing of amorphous silica modifications. Their precipitation is favoured by high Si adsorption capacity of poorly crystallized Fe-hydroxide. In saprolite and laterite Co is bound to Mn-oxides. It can readily be extracted from pure Mn-oxides. In contrast, the intimate association of Mn-oxides to goethite reduces the rate of easily extractable Mn and Co in middle and upper zones of the laterite.     

Untersuchungen zur Stabilität und Vitalität an Systemen balancierter tertiärer Trisomie bei Gerste

Zusammenfassung Bei 112 Linien 25 verschiedener BTT-Systeme erwies sich die genetische Stabilität der Systeme in den meisten Fällen als gut bis sehr gut, gemessen an der Frequenz disom-fertiler Rekombinanten. In speziellen Kreuzungstests ergaben sich Hinweise auf mögliche Stabilitätsstörungen durch Pollentransmission des Zusatzchromosoms nur bei einem von neun geprüften Systemen.Die Vitalität der trisomen Pflanzen bei den verschiedenen BTT-Systemen ist sehr unterschiedlich und von der jeweils vorliegenden Segmentzusammensetzung des Zusatzchromosoms abhängig. Bezogen auf diploide Pflanzen gibt es alle Übergänge von Subletalität bis hin zu annähernd normaler Vitalität. Leistungsfähige BTT-Systeme sind relativ selten und können mit ausreichender Wahrscheinlichkeit nur entwickelt werden, wenn von einer genügend breiten Basis von Translokations-undmsg-Linien ausgegangen wird.

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Studies on the stability and viability in systems of balanced tertiary trisomy in barley

Summary The genetic stability of 112 stocks out of 25 different BTT systems proved to be, in most cases, good to very good, in terms of the frequency of disomic fertile recombinants. There is only rare indication of instability caused by pollen transmission of the extra chromosome: In special crossing tests only one out of nine BTT systems tested showed transmission.The viability of trisomic plants is very diverse in the different BTT systems and depends on the specific segmental composition of the extra chromosome. As compared with normal diploids there are all types of trisomics ranging from sublethal to nearly normal ones. Efficient BTT systems are comparatively rare. They can be developed with good expectation provided a sufficiently broad basis of translocation andmsg lines is used.

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Herrn Professor Dr. Dr. h. c. mult.H. Stubbe zum 85. Geburtstag gewidmet.     

Methods for the investigation of metabolic activities and shifts in the microbial community in a soil treated with a fungicide

Samples from a sandy agricultural soil were treated with increasing amounts of a fungicide (Sportak). The effects on the soil microflora were investigated over several weeks by monitoring basal and substrate-induced respiration and basal and substrate-induced heat output. The microbial biomass, metabolic quotient (qCO₂), relative heat output (rqheat), lag phase of substrate use, and calorimetric: respirometric ratio were used as ecophysiological parametèrs. As structural and community-specific parameters, we recorded tryptophan contents and auxin metabolism, and calculated the ratios of fungal to bacterial respiration by antibiotic inhibition of substrate-induced respiration. Sportak either inhibited or stimulated the microbiota, depending on the length of exposure to the fungicide and the amount applied. Mineralization of dead biomass was reflected in increased soil tryptophan contents after the Sportak application. A shortened lag phase demonstrated inhibition and a prolonged lag phase stimulation of substrate use. This changed with the experimental phase. The rqheat and the calorimetric: respirometric ratio proved to be suitable parameters for the detection of stress metabolism (repair processes) in soil microbiota, because thermodynamic processes and catabolic and anabolic metabolism are taken into account at the same time. Following the application of Sportak, indole 3-acetic acid biosynthesis decreased while indole-3-ethanol biosynthesis increased, probably as a result of a transitional community shift from K-strategists towards r-strategists. It was not the fungicide but the formulation (mainly xylol) that damaged the organisms. A shift in the ratio of fungi to bacteria was also observed, suggesting that the bacteria were probably more sensitive to xylol than the fungi.