Comparing effectiveness,cost- and time-efficiency of control options for Xanthomonas wilt of banana under Rwandan agro-ecological conditions

European Journal of Plant Pathology - Xanthomonas wilt of banana (XW) is a major disease affecting banana throughout East and Central Africa (ECA). Initial control was through complete diseased mat...     

Fine-tuning banana Xanthomonas wilt control options over the past decade in East and Central Africa

Xanthomonas wilt, caused by Xanthomonas campestris pv. musacearum has, since 2001, become the most important and widespread disease of Musa in East and Central Africa. Over the past decade, new research findings and especially feedback from small-scale farmers have helped in fine-tuning Xanthomonas wilt control options. During the initial years of the Xanthomonas wilt epidemic in East Africa, the complete uprooting of diseased mats and the burning or burying of plant debris was advocated as part of a control package which included the use of clean garden tools and early removal of male buds to prevent insect vector transmission. Uprooting a complete mat (i.e. the mother plant and a varying number of lateral shoots) is understandably time-consuming and labour intensive and becomes very cumbersome when a large number of diseased mats have to be removed. Recent research findings suggest that Xcm bacteria do not colonize all lateral shoots (i.e. incomplete systemicity occurs) and even when present that this does not necessarily lead to symptom expression and disease. This led to a new control method whereby only the visibly diseased plants within a mat are cut at soil level. The underlying idea is that the continued removal of only the diseased plants in a field will reduce the inoculum level and will bring down disease incidence to an acceptable level. This method is less labour intensive and takes a short time compared to the removal of a complete mat. However, single diseased stem removal needs to go hand in hand with prevention of new infections that can occur through the use of contaminated garden tools or through insect vector transmission. Novel transgenic approaches are also discussed. This paper presents an overview of past and ongoing research towards the development of a more practical and less demanding control strategy for Xanthomonas wilt.     

Emulating natural disturbances: the role of silviculture in creating even-aged and complex structures in the black spruce boreal forest of eastern North America

Ecosystem-based forest management is based on the principle of emulating regional natural disturbance regimes with forest management. An interesting area for a case study of the potential of ecosystem-based forest management is the boreal forest of north-western Québec and north-eastern Ontario, where the disturbance regime creates a mosaic of stands with both complex and simple structures. Old-growth stands of this region have multi-storied, open structures, thick soil organic layers, and are unproductive, while young post-fire stands established following severe fires that consumed most of the organic soil show dense and even-sized/aged structures and are more productive. Current forest management emulates the effects of low severity fires, which only partially consume the organic layers, and could lead to unproductive even-aged stands. The natural disturbance and forest management regimes differ in such a way that both young productive and old-growth forests could ultimately be under-represented on the landscape under a fully regulated forest management regime. Two major challenges for ecosystem-based forest management of this region are thus to: (1) maintain complex structures associated with old-growth forests, and (2) promote the establishment of productive post-harvest stands, while at the same time maintaining harvested volume. We discuss different silvicultural approaches that offer solutions to these challenges, namely the use of (1) partial harvesting to create or maintain complex structures typical of old-growth stands, and (2) site preparation techniques to emulate severe soil burns and create productive post-harvest stands. A similar approach could be applied to any region where the natural disturbance regime creates a landscape where both even-aged stands established after stand-replacing disturbances and irregular old-growth stands created by smaller scale disturbances are significant.     

Effects of mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins) infestations on forest stand structure in the southern Canadian Rocky Mountains

Forests in the montane and lower subalpine ecoregions of the southern Canadian Rocky Mountains may have been more open and structurally diverse at the beginning of the 20th Century than today. Today, the area of mature Pinus contorta subsp. latifolia Dougl. forest that is conducive to mountain pine beetle (MPB, Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins) infestations, infrequent high severity fires, and herbivory appears to have increased in Banff and Kootenay National Parks. Based on a review of the literature, we hypothesised that MPB infestations increase forest stand structural diversity and tree species diversity. Stand structure parameters were investigated in mesic montane and lower subalpine stands approximately 15, 25, and 65 years after MPB outbreaks. Parameters measured were stand density (number of trees per ha), diameter at breast height, height class, species, age class distribution, and coarse woody debris mass. Influences of fire frequency, time since fire, and fire severity on these parameters were assessed to determine whether fire history had a confounding influence on stand structure. The Shannon–Wiener index indicated higher stand structural diversity 15 years but not 25 and 65 years after MPB infestations. MPB infestations led to general decreases within stands in the number of living trees, small diameter snags, and Pinus tree species and an increase within stands in the number of large diameter snags. Management that allows the occurrence of the natural fire regime of variable severity fires, in addition to some MPB infestations, would provide for more open and diverse stands. MPB infestations have some effects on stand structure that are similar to those of fire. Changes in stand structure resulting from recent declines in burning rates within Banff and Kootenay National Parks can be reversed to some extent by MPB infestations.     

Evaluation of the antibody response in pigs vaccinated against Streptococcus suis capsular type 2 using a double-antibody sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

A double-antibody sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was standardized for the detection of specific antibodies following vaccination with Streptococcus suis capsular type 2 bacterins. No statistically significant increase of antibody titers was detected in vaccinated piglets compared to the nonvaccinated control group, even if a minority of piglets demonstrated an important postvaccinal response. Three of four vaccinated sows showed a low antibody response to vaccine and specific immunity was detected in piglets of only one litter of these three sows. Passive protection studies showed that none of the sera from vaccinated piglets were protective for mice whereas serum obtained from hyperimmunized pigs gave protection.     

In vitro callus-induction in globe artichoke (Cynara cardunculus L. var. scolymus) as a system for the production of caffeoylquinic acids

Summary

Globe artichoke (Cynara cardunculus L. var. scolymus) provides a rich dietary source of bio-active compounds derived from phenylpropanoid metabolism, notably caffeoylquinic acids (CQAs) and flavonoids. Micropropagation techniques have been established for this species, but in vitro cultures have not yet been extended to generate an efficient system for the induction of callus tissue. In this study, we compared more than 100 combinations of media supplements (e.g., phytohormones, absorbers of polyphenols, and inhibitors of polyphenol oxidase), along with various light regimes, and three different genotypes of globe artichoke to define the optimal conditions for callus induction from leaf explants. This led to the elaboration of an in vitro culture protocol which resulted in a high frequency of callus induction after just 1 week in culture. The procedure used leaf explants from virus-free, meristem culturederived plantlets. Quantitative HPLC analysis revealed that, as in globe artichoke leaves, the predominant phenolic esters present in callus were mono- and di-caffeoylquinic acids (diCQA). The concentration of diCQA was three- to five-fold higher in calli than in leaves. The exposure of calli to UV-C light further enhanced the levels of CQAs. In vitro callus culture combined with UV-C irradiation may thus represent a viable production system for diCQA that is suitable for the synthesis of pharmacologically-active compounds.     

The survival of pathogenic bacteria and plant growth promoting bacteria during mesophilic anaerobic digestion in full‐scale biogas plants

The introduction of biogas plants is a promising way to recycle organic wastes with renewable energy production and reducing greenhouse gas. Application of anaerobic digestate as a fertilizer reduces the consumption of chemical fertilizers. In this study, the survival of pathogenic bacteria and plant growth promoting bacteria (PGPB) in two full‐scale biogas plants operated at mesophilic condition were investigated. Feedstock and anaerobic digestate samples were collected from biogas plants and bacteria load in samples were detected using standard dilution plate method. Pathogenic bacteria were reduced to not detected level through mesophilic digestion tank except for Campylobacter. However, it could be reduced by 98.7% through a sterilization tank. Bacillus was detected at 8.00 and 7.81 log₁₀ CFU/g dry matter in anaerobic digestates, and it was also resistant to sterilization tank. Bacillus spp. is considered to be the safe bacteria that hold remarkable abilities for promoting plant growth. The results showed that treatment at biogas plants is effective to reduce pathogenic bacteria in dairy manure, and sterilization could further reduce the sanitary risks of pathogenic bacteria relating to anaerobic digestate application. Anaerobic digestates could also be utilized as bio‐fertilizer as the high load of plant growth promoting bacteria.