Phenotypic and genotypic analysis of a commercial cultivar and wild populations of Anemone coronaria

Seven wild populations of Anemonecoronaria were assessed for 11 phenotypic traits, most of them having economic value for the flower industry. The wild populations were sampled to represent the diversity in habitats, climates, rock and soil types, terrains, and elevations in Israel. AFLP analysis was carried out on 12 individuals from each of six out of the seven wild populations and for six individuals from the commercial cultivar ‘Mona-Lisa’. It was found that the Dorot population, which is located in the area bordering the semi-arid zone at the very end of the species distribution, exhibits extreme and different phenotypes with relatively low variability compared withthe other wild populations. The other six wild populations, that grow in more favorable geographic and climatic conditions exhibit phenotypes with larger plants, larger numbers of flowers and less dissected leaves. These populations were less uniform than that of Dorot. Genetic characterization by AFLP markers revealed a total of 165 bands. The wild populations exhibit wide variation within-population, with about 80% polymorphic bands and average gene diversity between pairs of about 30%. The Dorot population has the lowest genetic variation and the Megido population the highest. Thus, the phenotypic variation reflects the genetic variation. The cultivar ‘Mona-Lisa’, as expected, has much lower genetic variation. The Dorot population and the ‘Mona-Lisa’ cultivar were found to have the largest genetic distances from the other wild populations, and the highest genetic variation between themselves. Phenetic analysis yielded a dendrogram describing the genetic relatedness of these populations. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The effect of farming practices on reducing excess nitrogen fertilizer use

A nitrogen balance model is used to investigate the adoption of a crop rotation and the limitation on the application of nitrogen fertilizer to reduce excess nitrogen. For a farmer initially planting corn continuously, the adoption of a soybeans-corn rotation will have a smaller compliance cost but it will not eliminate the excess application of nitrogen fertilizer under a relatively low nitrogen fertilizer to corn price ratio. An explicit limitation on nitrogen fertilizer use would be needed to achieve this objective. Limiting nitrogen fertilizer use on cropland susceptible to a high potential for leaching will have a smaller compliance cost than on cropland with a moderate potential for leaching.     

Cultivar identification and genetic map of mango (Mangifera indica)

Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism (AFLP) information was used for identification of mango (Mangifera indica L.) cultivars, for studying the genetic relationship among 16 mango cultivars and seven mango rootstocks and for the construction of a genetic linkage map. Six AFLP primer combinations produced 204 clear bands and on the average 34 bands for each combination. The average Band-Sharing between cultivars and rootstocks was 83% and 80%, respectively. The average Band-Sharing for mango is 81%. The probability of obtaining a similar pattern for two different mango cultivars and rootstocks is 6 × 10⁻³and 2 × 10⁻³, respectively. A preliminary genetic linkage map of the mango genome was constructed, based on the progeny of a cross between ‘Keitt’ and ‘Tommy-Atkins’. This linkage map consists of 13 linkage groups and covers 161.5 cm defined by 34 AFLP markers. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Reptile diversity and rodent community structure across a political border

The peace treaty between Israel and Jordan found the Arava desert ecosystem, shared by the two countries, in a state of developmental dichotomy. On the Israeli side, vast lands have been settled and transformed into agricultural fields, while the Jordanian side has remained relatively intact and inhabited by only a few traditional and pastoral societies. This study examined the effect of different landscape units and proximity to agriculture on reptile diversity and rodent community structure on both sides of the border. It appears that in addition to the effect of proximity to agricultural fields and landscape habitat, the border between the two countries may play a role in determining diversity on the respective sides. While reptile abundance was generally higher on the Israeli side of the border, diversity was found to be significantly higher on the Jordanian side. Rodent community structure also revealed significant differences between the two sides of the border, mainly due to the more favorable conditions for psammophilic gerbils in Jordan. When comparing Western society with pastoral traditional society, it appears that development activities of the former have altered diversity and community structure of the taxa studied in the Arava. We suggest that in addition to the effects of habitats and human disturbances, such as modern agricultural practices, cultural differences between societies should be considered when conservation plans are developed for cross-border ecosystems.     

Laboratory studies on pteridophyte breakdown by a soil mite

Twenty six species of pteridophytes (ferns and fern allies) were offered to the soil mite Rhizoglyphus robini Claparède (Acari: Astigmata: Acaridae) in Petri dishes. All plants provided nutrients and promoted growth of mite populations. Leaves of sixteen (61.5%) species were totally consumed or skeletonized while green, another seven only upon browning. The remaining three were left intact even after 3 months, although sori and their leachates provided food for the mites. Paper impregnated with pteridophyte leachates was consumed and encouraged mite reproduction. These findings neither support nor oppose the view that pteridophytes are under-utilized by arthropods but the adaptability of the specific experimental organism might have affected the results. Invertebrates feeding on dead, decomposing pteridophytes possibly reduce the latters' allelopathy to other plants. The ability of Rhizoglyphus to subsist on plant leachates, as well as bacteria or fungi developing thereon, could explain the mode of survival of this and other soil arthropods in deep, mineral soil strata.     

Case report: primary fibrosarcoma of the liver in a cow.

An unusual case of primary fibrosarcoma of the liver in a cow is described. The most prominent pathological findings were severe abdominal haemorrhage and neoplastic masses confined to the liver only. Histologically, spindeloid cells arranged in interlacing bundles running in various directions and numerous areas of necrosis and ossification were randomly scattered in the neoplasm.     

Spider mite webbing. Part IV: The effect of acaricides on spinning by the carmine spider mite Tetranychus cinnabarinus (boisduval)

Cyhexatin, dienochlor and four experimental acaricides, U-25322 (1-benzoyl-3-phenylhydrazine), U-27415 1-benzoyl-3-(2, 4, 6-trichlorophenyl)hydrazine, U-42558 [N¹(4-chloro-o-tolyl) N²-methyl-N¹-(phenylthio)formamidine], and U-42564 [N²-methyl-N¹-(phenylthio)- N¹-(2, 4-xylyl)formamidine], at 125 mg litre-¹, induced spindown by the carmine spider mite, Tetranychus cinnabarinus (Boisduval). Cyhexatin caused the largest number of mites to spin-down, dienochlor the least. Spinning occurred only during the first 6 h after treatment. Mites spun the same average length of threads in response to all compounds. The pattern of spin-down was even and similar for all the compounds except dienochlor for which it was sporadic. Acaricide-induced spin-down is postulated to be an ‘all-or-nothing’ reaction.     

The effect of potassium on yield,nutrient uptake and efficiency of teff (Eragrostis tef Zucc. Trotter) on vertisols of North Western Ethiopian Highlands

Vertisols are characterized by deficiency of nutrients and recently, potassium (K), a major plant nutrient in crops, is gaining attention because of crop removal, fixation by clay minerals and leaching. A field experiment was conducted during the 2015 and 2016 main cropping seasons to test the effect of potash fertilizer on Vertisols of East Gojjam at Gudalima and Dejen/Tik sites using teff crop. The K rates (applied as muriate of potash) were 0, 50,100, and 150?kg ha^?1. The experiment was laid out in a randomized complete block design in three replications. The results indicated that the plant height, panicle length, number of effective tillers, dry matter and grain yield of teff increased significantly (P?<?0.05) with applied K. The highest dry matter and grain yield (6966.4 and 2418.2 kg ha^?1, respectively) were obtained from the application of 100 kg ha^?1 KCl. Total uptake of N, P, and K were enhanced significantly with K treated plots than those without and K efficiency was improved due to the rate of K. The present study demonstrated the importance of K application to supplement NPS for optimum dry matter and grain yield of teff on Vertisols of the study sites.