Agricultural land-use patterns and soil erosion vulnerability of watershed units in Vietnam’s northern highlands

Since the mid eighties, agricultural development and increased population growth in Vietnam’s northern highlands have modified land use patterns and thus, increased the runoff process and soil degradation induced by water erosion. In the last decade, Vietnamese literature has focused on the computation of soil losses over large areas. Most of these spatial and quantitative soil erosion studies do not consider the impact of agricultural land use diversity (spatial heterogeneity), particularly at the watershed scale, and the annual variability of seasonal landscape factors on soil erosion vulnerability and hence, landscape dynamics. We present an integrated approach combining field measurements and observations, GIS and modeling to determine the spatial and temporal dynamics of soil erosion vulnerability according to watershed units and hence, the impact of physical environment components and agricultural land use patterns on landscape evolution. Tables and graphics showing the cropping systems, the periods within a year, and the watershed units that are most vulnerable are presented. The double cultivation cycles for paddy rice fields not only imply two periods of land preparation and establishment that expose the soil surface to raindrop impacts, but also increased soil management practices that decrease the soil’s resistance to detachment. Despite the low levels of soil management practices for the shifting cultivation system, the near absence of soil conservation practices clearly increases their vulnerability. Hence, rainfed cropping systems, mainly soya and cassava, cultivated on sloping lands (hills and mountains) where soil erosion vulnerability is the highest represent the watershed units which are the most prone to soil loss.     

Antagonism of local isolates of Trichoderna spp. on citrus root rot disease by Fusarium solani in the mekong delta of vietnam

The local isolates of Trichoderrma spp. and Fusariun solani were colected from citrus orchards in the Mekong delta of Vietnam and isolated on PDA, PDB and TSM medium for antagonism and Koch's postulate testing. The results showed that the high chitinolytic enzymes content of Trichoderma isolates can antagonise with Fusarium solani isolates by preventing the germination of Fusarium macroconidia in in-vitro condition. There are five promising isolates of Trichoderna spp. having high antagonism with Fusarium solani. These Trichoderma isolates also grew well in rice straws, maize stems, weeds and water hyacinth biowaste materials. These results supply the promising trend for biological control of root rot disease on citrus orchards of the Mekong delta.     

Resistance to Pseudomonas solanacearum in the potato: II. Aspects of host-pathogen-environment interaction

Summary White clover genotypes were selected for high and low values of leaf size, taproot diamater, number of taproots, proportion of total root and taproot dry weight. Crosses within selected groups of genotypes resulted in 14 seed lines, which were compared with parent genotypes in field tiles. Selections for taproot diameter and proportion taproot were more successful than those for taproot number and proportion root.Narrow sense heritability of characters calculated by regression of progeny on mid-parent values were well correlated with broad sense heritabilities derived from replicated clonal comparisons (r=0.73^*), indicating that the genetic variation is controlled predominantly by additive gene effects.     

The effect of nitrogen concentration on nitrogen use efficiency and related parameters in cultivated rices (Oryza sativa L. subsp. indica and japonica and O. glaberrima Steud.) in hydroponics

Nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) in cultivated rice has become of utmost importance due to ecological and economical consequences of nitrogen (N) losses. However, detailed information on the components of NUE—physiological, absorption and agronomical NUEs—is lacking. The present study aimed to determine the components of NUE for three cultivars of Asian and African rices [IR64 (Oryza sativa indica), Azucena (O. sativa japonica) and TOG7105 (O. glaberrima)] exposed to a wide range of N supply, from excess to deficiency—from 4× to 1/8× of the standard Yoshida solution (1×). Increasing the N supply to 2× or 4× did not induce much change for most parameters, including tissue N concentrations and pNUE. However, aNUE and agNUE decreased gradually as the N supply increased from 1/2× to 4×. In contrast, lowering the N supply, particularly to 1/4× or 1/8×, induced a significant decrease in most measured parameters, except NUEs. The pNUE increased gradually when lowering the N supply from 1× to 1/8×, while aNUE and agNUE were maximal at 1/2 and/or 1/4× according to the cultivar. In contrast, the F_v/F_m and PSII values remained unchanged. Differences between cultivars were low. However, the O. glaberrima cultivar showed a significantly lower aNUE and agNUE than both O. sativa cultivars under low N supply (1/4 and 1/8×). These results demonstrate that all NUE components were sharply and differentially affected by low N supply, while the PSII remained unaffected. These results are important for determining the cultivar and N supply with the best balance between intensive and sustainable rice cultivation.     

Composition of PCBs and PAHs in the Montreal Urban Community Wastewater and in the Surface Water of the St. Lawrence River (Canada)

Samples of treated wastewater drawn from the effluent of the Montreal Urban Community (MUC), Canada, and surface water samples from the St. Lawrence River were collected in 1993 and 1994 and analysed for PCBs and PAHs. The average concentrations of Σ13 PCBs and Σ14 PAHs in the effluent were 1.34 ± 0.71 ng L-1 and 326 ± 229 ng L-1, respectively. PCB concentrations in the effluent did not show any clear seasonal pattern in the effluent but PAH concentrations increased during the winter period. In the effluent plume, both PCB and PAH concentrations increased significantly between the upstream control site and the effluent outfall, and subsequently decreased. The profiles of PCB congeners were similar within the effluent plume and also among water masses of the St. Lawrence River. PAH profiles were also similar within the effluent plume, but were different across the two water masses of the St. Lawrence River. Based on the composition of PCB congeners, atmospheric inputs appear to represent the major source of PCBs in the St. Lawrence River. The sources of PAHs in the MUC effluent and in the St. Lawrence River water would appear to be, respectively, petroleum products and combustion-derived products.     

Reliable detection of unevenly distributed Verticillium dahliae in diseased olive trees

Verticillium wilt caused by Verticillium dahliae is one of the most threatening diseases of olive worldwide. For pre‐planting and post‐planting control of verticillium wilt in olive trees, availability of a rapid, reliable and non‐destructive method for detection of V. dahliae is essential. For such a method, suitable and easily performed sampling and efficient processing of samples for extraction of DNA are necessary. In this study, the suitability of young twig and leaf samples of olive trees, which are easy to collect and extract DNA from, were assessed for the detection of V. dahliae in routine procedures. The lower (about 50 cm from the tip) and top parts (about 5 cm from the tip) of twigs, as well as leaves from infected olive trees were screened for V. dahliae infection and distribution using real‐time PCR. The biomass of V. dahliae detected in individual twigs was highly variable, but there was no significant difference between mean quantities of V. dahliae DNA detected in top and lower parts of twigs. Furthermore, it was demonstrated that analysis of combined samples containing DNA extracted from five twigs of an infected tree accurately detected the presence of the pathogen. Similarly, testing combined samples of 5–10 leaves enabled reliable detection of the pathogen in an infected tree. The development of this assay enables reliable detection of V. dahliae in infected olive trees that can aid in management decisions for the implementation of integrated disease management.     

Diversity and Antimicrobial Activity of Vietnamese Sponge-Associated Bacteria

This study aimed to assess the diversity and antimicrobial activity of cultivable bacteria associated with Vietnamese sponges. In total, 460 bacterial isolates were obtained from 18 marine sponges. Of these, 58.3% belonged to Proteobacteria, 16.5% to Actinobacteria, 18.0% to Firmicutes, and 7.2% to Bacteroidetes. At the genus level, isolated strains belonged to 55 genera, of which several genera, such as Bacillus, Pseudovibrio, Ruegeria, Vibrio, and Streptomyces, were the most predominant. Culture media influenced the cultivable bacterial composition, whereas, from different sponge species, similar cultivable bacteria were recovered. Interestingly, there was little overlap of bacterial composition associated with sponges when the taxa isolated were compared to cultivation-independent data. Subsequent antimicrobial assays showed that 90 isolated strains exhibited antimicrobial activity against at least one of seven indicator microorganisms. From the culture broth of the isolated strain with the strongest activity (Bacillus sp. M1_CRV_171), four secondary metabolites were isolated and identified, including cyclo(L-Pro-L-Tyr) (1), macrolactin A (2), macrolactin H (3), and 15,17-epoxy-16-hydroxy macrolactin A (4). Of these, compounds 2-4 exhibited antimicrobial activity against a broad spectrum of reference microorganisms.