EFFECT OF PARAQUAT ON MICROBIAL ACTIVITIES IN SOILS*

Summary. When paraquat was added to four different soils, nitrification was not appreciably affected but ammonification of soil organic-matter nitrogen was slightly retarded. Carbon dioxide evolution as well as oxygen consumption was used as an index of metabolic activity of soil micro-organisms and paraquat had a stimulatory effect at higher concentrations. Oxidation of added sulphur was slightly depressed. Paraquat decreased both the total mould and bacterial populations in Chehalis silt loam. After 30 days incubation the percentages of Streptomyces and Penicillia were markedly increased by most treatments but were little affected in Chehalis silt clay and Woodburn soils. Except for the temporary suppression of nitrification, paraquat had no significant influence on general microbial activities of importance to soil fertility. Some bimodal effects or toxicity inversions were observed with intermediate concentrations. Effet du paraquat sur les activités microbiennes dans les sols     

Pathogenicity of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. Cepae and its interaction with Pyrenochaeta terrestris on onion

Onion breeding lines known to be resistant to Pyrenochaeta terrestris showed, in several locations, root-pruning symptoms that have been usually associated with only the action of P. terrestris. Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cepae was invariably isolated from affected roots and the stem-plate area of these pink-root-resistant lines. Symptoms not commonly associated with the action of Fusarium, including darkening of dry scales of yellow bulbs and a reddening of scales of white bulbs, were noted. Controlled tests were conducted to establish (a) the pathogenicity of four isolates of F. oxysporum f. sp. cepae, (b) the reaction of onion breeding lines to inoculation at various temperatures with both the pink root and the Fusarium bulb rot organism, and (c) the pathogenic interaction of F. oxysporum f. sp. cepae with P. terrestris. The Fusarium isolates were pathogenic over a wide range of temperatures (20 to 38°C.). Host reaction to the organisms in combination depended on the level of susceptibility that was the greater to one or the other organism. Resistance to one did not markedly modify susceptibility to the other when both were present. Resistance to F. oxysporum f. sp. cepae was found in several onion lines.Horticulturist, Pathologist, and Horticulturist, respectively, United States Department of Agriculture, Beltsville, Maryland, U.S.A.     

Giant radiation-induced color halos in quartz: solution to a riddle

The radii of radiation-induced color halos(RICHs) surrounding radioactive mineral inclusions in mica generally correspond closely to the calculated range of common uranogenic and thorogenic alpha particles in mica. Many exceptions are known, however, and these variants have led investigators to some rather exotic interpretations. Three RICHs found in quartz are identified as aluminum hole-trapping centers. Whereas the inner radii of these RICHs closely match the predicted range of the most energetic common alphas(39 micrometers), the color centers observed extend to 100 micrometers. Migration of valence-band holes down a radiation-induced charge potential might account for enigmatic RICHs. Such RICHs provide natural experiments in ultraslow charge diffusion.     

A survey of anthelmintic resistance on ten goat farms in the Manawatu region in 1988

A survey of anthelmintic resistance on ten goat farms was carried out. The criterion for resistance was a faecal egg count reduction (FECR) of <90 percent based on arithmetic means of 11 to 19 goats per group. It was found that nine of the ten farms harboured nematodes resistant to oxfendazole when used at 5mg/kg although on two of these, the FECR's were 89.2 percent and 89.8 percent. Post treatment larval cultures indicated Haemonchus, Ostertagia and Trichostrongylus were the resistant genera involved. On none of the ten farms was resistance to oral ivermectin at 0.2mg/kg detected.