Acute airsacculitis in turkeys inoculated with cell-free culture filtrate of Pasteurella multocida

Twenty-six female and 26 male turkeys, inoculated into the caudal thoracic air sacs with cell-free culture filtrate of Pasteurella multocida strain R44/6, were examined from 0 to 6 hours post-inoculation and compared with 26 female and 26 male sham-inoculated control turkeys given brain-heart-infusion broth. The air sac reacted rapidly with exudation of heterophils. Microscopically, low numbers of heterophils were present within air sac blood vessels and also perivascularly by 0.5 hour after inoculation. These became more numerous by 1.5 and 3 hours post-inoculation. By 6 hours post-inoculation, there was severe swelling of air sac epithelial and mesothelial cells and thickening of the air sac by proteinaceous fluid and heterophils. Ultrastructurally, mesothelial and air sac epithelial cells were vacuolated, and interdigitating processes of epithelial cells were separated. Microscopically, in control turkeys, rare heterophils were present perivascularly at 1.5, 3, and 6 hours after inoculation. Ultrastructurally, all features were normal. In turkeys given cell-free culture filtrate, total cell counts in air sac lavage fluids increased markedly by 3 hours post-inoculation in which heterophils predominated (greater than 97%). There were only slight increases in cell counts of air sac lavages from control turkeys. The circulating blood heterophil cell count dropped transiently at 1.5 hours post-inoculation, followed by a return to normal 3 hours after inoculation, and by heterophilia by 6 hours post-inoculation in turkeys given either cell-free culture filtrate or brain-heart-infusion broth. These results indicate cell-free culture filtrate of P. multocida induces hematologic, cytologic, and morphologic changes indistinguishable from those induced by cultures of P. multocida.     

Establishment and characterization of a chicken mononuclear cell line

A new chicken mononuclear cell line (MQ-NCSU) has been established. The starting material used to initiate this cell line was a transformed spleen from a female Dekalb XL chicken which had been experimentally challenged with the JM/102W strain of the Marek's disease virus. After homogenization, a single cell suspension of splenic cells was cultured using L.M. Hahn medium supplemented with 10 microM 2-mercaptoethanol. Under these culture conditions, a rapidly proliferating cell was observed and then expanded after performing limiting dilution cultures. These cells were moderately adherent and phagocytic for sheep red blood cells and Salmonella typhimurium. When tested against a panel of monoclonal antibodies (mAb) using the flow cytometry, MQ-NCSU cells stained readily with anti-chicken monocyte specific (K-1) mAb but did not stain with mAb detecting T-helper, T-cytotoxic/suppressor, and NK cells. MQ-NCSU cells expressed very high levels of Ia antigens and transferrin receptors. In addition, cell-free supernatant obtained from MQ-NCSU culture contained a factor which exhibited cytolytic activity against tumor cell targets. Based on their cultural, morphological, and functional characteristics and mAb reactivity profile, we conclude that MQ-NCSU cell line represents a malignantly-transformed cell which shares features characteristic of cells of the mononuclear phagocyte lineage.     

Passive immunization using purified IgYs against infectious bursal disease of chickens in Pakistan

Infectious bursal disease (IBD) is an acute and highly contagious disease of young chickens caused by Birnavirus. Mortality of infected birds can be best prevented if injected with antibodies. The present study was an attempt to raise specific hyper-immune polyclonal antibodies against IBD virus in Pakistan. Commercial layers divided into four groups were injected with IBD vaccine subcutaneously according to four different treatment regimens. Eggs were collected daily and antibodies were purified from yolk with dextran sulphate. Titers of antibodies in serum and yolk were evaluated with enzyme linked immunosorbant assay and agar gel precipitation test. Antibody titers were significantly higher in yolk than serum. Eggs collected at 28 days post-vaccination had maximum antibody titers. Of treatment regimens, T₃ was found to be most effective for hyperimmunization. Lyophilized antibodies stored at 4℃ did not lose their activity till the end of experiment. IBD virus infected birds were injected with purified antibodies which induced 92% recovery as compared to control birds. The study implicates that the purified antibodies may be useful as a therapeutic agent to cure IBD infected birds.     

Importance of forest structure versus floristics to composition of avian assemblages in tropical deciduous forests of Central Highlands,India

We investigated how much forest structure and floristics independently contributed to the composition of avian assemblages at multiple scales and for individual foraging guilds in tropical deciduous forests of Central Highlands, India. We derived dissimilarity matrices between all pairs of the 36 sampling sites with respect to forest structure, floristics, and bird species composition and ran Mantel's randomization tests to detect significant associations among the matrices after partialling out the effect of geographic distance between sites. Bird species composition was found to be significantly related to forest structure across habitats, and floristics within the moist-deciduous forests. This finding is consistent with earlier observations that birds respond, in their species composition, to vegetation structure across habitats and to vegetation composition within a habitat. As predicted, the composition of insectivorous birds was influenced by forest structure, but the phytophagous guild did not show any relation to vegetation composition in contrast to patterns observed elsewhere. We explain this anomaly as a result of availability of a wide choice of food plants for phytophagous birds in central Indian tropical forests and weak species–environment relationships on account of their nomadism. Extraction of non-timber forest products remains a key economic activity in central India and our results imply that it can potentially influence the composition of forest bird communities through alteration of forest structure and floristics.     

Salt-tolerant forage cultivation on a saline-sodic field for biomass production and soil reclamation

Chemical reclamation of sodic and saline-sodic soils has become cost-intensive. Cultivation of plants tolerant of salinity and sodicity may mobilize the CaCO₃ present in saline-sodic soils instead of using a chemical approach. Four forage plant species, sesbania (Sesbania aculeata), kallar grass (Leptochloa fusca), millet rice (Echinochloa colona) and finger millet (Eleusine coracana), were planted in a calcareous saline-sodic field (EC_e = 9·6–11·0 dS m⁻¹, SAR = 59·4–72·4). Other treatments included gypsum (equivalent to 100 per cent of the gypsum requirement of the 15 cm soil layer) and a control (no gypsum or crop). The crops were grown for 5 months. The performance of the treatments in terms of soil amelioration was in the order: Sesbania aculeata ≅ gypsum > Leptochloa fusca > Echinochloa colona > Elusine coracana > control. Biomass production by the plant species was found to be directly proportional to their reclamation efficiency. Sesbania aculeata produced 32·3 Mg forage ha⁻¹, followed by Leptochloa fusca (24·6 Mg ha⁻¹), Echinochloa colona (22·6 Mg ha⁻¹) and Eleusine coracana (5·4 Mg ha⁻¹). Sesbania aculeata emerged as the most suitable biotic material for cultivation on salt-affected soils to produce good-quality forage, and to reduce soil salination and sodication processes.     

Amelioration of a calcareous saline-sodic soil by gypsum and forage plants

A field experiment was carried out at the University of Agriculture, Faisalabad (Pakistan) during 1988–90 to evaluate the comparative efficiency of chemical and biological methods for the reclamation of a calcareous saline-sodic soil (pHs

1 pHs = pH of saturated soil paste

= 8.2–8.6; ECe

2 ECe = Electrical conductivity of the saturation extract

= 7.4–9.0 dS m⁻¹; SAR

3 SAR = Sodium adsorption ratio

= 55.6–73.0 for upper 30 cm layer). Five treatments were assessed, three involved cropping: sesbania (Sesbania aculeata), sordan (Sorghum bicolor x Sorghum sudanese), and kallar grass (Leptochola fusca) and two were non-cropped (control and gypsum at 100.0 per cent GR-15·0 cm) were employed. Water of low electrolyte concentration (EC = 0.27 dS m⁻¹) was used for irrigation and leaching. Sesbania and kallar grass were found to be effective biotic materials for soil reclamation. These plant species produced substantial biomass and also improved the soil environment by lowering the EC and SAR of the soil. Sordan was relatively less-effective due to its sensitivity to high temperature and sodicity during germination and early seedling stages. After two cropping seasons, wheat (cultivar LU 26S) was sown as a test crop. Efficiency of treatments as indicated by wheat grain yield was in the order: sesbania = gypsum > kallar grass > sordan > control.     

不同灌溉技术条件对冬小麦生产的影响

为了研究并得到3种不同灌溉技术（滴灌、喷灌、漫灌）对冬小麦产量及其构成的影响,在中国农业大学吴桥实验站设计了滴灌、喷灌、漫灌的大田试验.3种灌溉技术条件下,其灌溉总量相同,漫灌和喷灌采用浇底墒水加浇两水,滴灌采用浇底墒水加浇四水的方式;从冬小麦整个生长期内的作物高度、叶面积指数、籽粒重等指标,考察不同灌溉技术对冬小麦生产及其构成的影响.结果表明：滴灌条件下,表层含水量下降速度最小,整个生长期,含水量高于喷灌和漫灌;滴灌处理的叶面积指数最高,其次是喷灌;在成熟期,滴灌条件下,作物高度比漫灌高12%,比喷灌高5%;滴灌和喷灌的条件下产量分别比漫灌高8.63%,7.75%;滴灌、喷灌、漫灌的籽粒千粒重分别为43.36,42.17和41.17 g,滴灌和喷灌籽粒重明显高于漫灌,且生物量分别比漫灌提高了6.9%,3%.这说明3种灌溉技术中,滴灌技术最有利于实现节水保墒、小麦增产,其次是喷灌.     

Evaluating planning and delivery performance of Water User Associations (WUAs) in Osh Province, Kyrgyzstan

The primary objective of an irrigation organization is to provide efficient and effective management of water resources to achieve enhanced agricultural production. Performance assessment studies provide a tool to evaluate and promote this objective. The study examines the existing planning procedures and assesses irrigation performance of four Water User Associations (WUAs) located in Osh Province, Kyrgyzstan. Performance was evaluated using indicators of adequacy, efficiency, dependability and equity. Indicators were calculated for each irrigation season over the period 2003 to 2007. In general, all WUAs were found to be strong in terms of adequacy and efficiency standards. However, performance with respect to dependability and equity was poor. The results suggest that more effort is needed to improve temporal uniformity and equity in water distribution. In order to achieve this, estimations of irrigation requirements by WUA managers needs to be improved and mechanisms developed to request water in quantities, which are needed to maintain equity across the WUA outlets and among water users. The study concludes that the establishment of WUAs in Kyrgyzstan has helped to address the problem of water distribution and allocation among a large number of farmers. However, further training of farmers and managers is required to build their capacity to share water and ensure equity among users particularly during periods of less than optimal water supply. The findings of this research suggest that application of a pre-determined set of indicators can be a useful and cost effective tool to measure the performance of WUAs. This is particularly important for Central Asia where the performance of the recently established and state initiated WUAs to replace former collective farms is now a key element in future sustainable water management. The study identified uncertainties in the estimation of WUA water demands based on previous methods and suggests more attention and care required in calculating water requirements.     

Carbon sources affect water quality and haemato‐biochemical responses of Labeo rohita in zero‐water exchange biofloc system

Biofloc technology degrades waste into useful resources exploiting microbes and can be used in zero‐water exchange systems. To study the effect of different biofloc systems on haematological and metabolic response of Labeo rohita fingerlings, a 60‐days experiment was conducted using four long lasting carbon sources. Seven hundred and fifty fingerlings having mean weight of 4.80 ± 0.12 g were randomly distributed into 15 tanks (n = 50 per tank). Five experimental groups were set in triplicate; T1 (Tapioca), T2 (Wheat), T3 (Corn) T4 (Sugar bagasse) and control (clear water). In‐situ biofloc was developed in 300 L fibre‐reinforced plastic (FRP) tanks and a C/N ratio of 15 was maintained. Water quality variables indicated ammonia immobilization by heterotrophic bacteria, as the dominant mechanism for the removal of toxic‐nitrogenous compounds in the biofloc systems. Results exhibited significantly higher floc volume (53.33 ± 7.88 ml/L), haemoglobin content (6.61 ± 0.03 g/dl) and total leucocyte count (109.66 ± 0.06 thousand cells/mm³) in tapioca biofloc system. Furthermore, the digestive and anti‐oxidative enzymes activities were also significantly higher in tapioca biofloc system. The lactate dehydrogenase and malate dehydrogenase enzyme assays showed a decreased level in tapioca biofloc system as compared with other biofloc systems and control group. Our observations indicate that tapioca biofloc system could improve the water quality, haematological and anti‐stress responses of L. rohita fingerlings in biofloc systems and thus can effectively replace other carbohydrate sources for the biofloc system.     

Sunflowers as a trap crop for reducing soybean losses to the stalk borer Dectes texanus (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae)

Larvae of Dectes texanus LeConte cause significant losses to soybean production in the American High Plains by girdling the stalks of mature plants at their base, causing them to lodge. The authors demonstrated that cultivated sunflowers can reduce rates of D. texanus infestation in adjacent soybean fields because adult females prefer sunflower over soybean for feeding and oviposition. Since females do not avoid ovipositing in plants already containing their own eggs or those of conspecific females, sunflower plants can accumulate multiple eggs, and subsequent larval combat typically results in the survival of only one. In west central Kansas, planting one half of a center pivot irrigated field to sunflower in 2004 significantly reduced infestation of soybean plants in the other half of the field within 200 m of the crop border. Beyond 200 m from the sunflowers, the rate of soybean infestation increased significantly. Planting sunflowers in the non-irrigated corners of a center pivot irrigated soybean field in 2005 reduced D. texanus infestation of soybeans by 65% compared with a control field without adjacent sunflowers. Surrounding a 0.33 ha soybean field with six rows of sunflowers in 2006 reduced soybean infestation to < 5% of plants, compared with 96% of sunflower plants. These results reveal that sunflowers can reduce D. texanus infestation in adjacent soybeans by acting as an 'ovipositional sink'. Further research is warranted to determine the optimum crop area proportions and spatial configurations that will maximize the efficacy of a sunflower trap crop to reduce soybean losses due to D. texanus-induced lodging.