Antinematodal activity of some Malaysian plant extracts against the pine wood nematode,Bursaphelenchus xylophilus

Methanolic extracts of 79 Malaysian plants representing 42 families were assessed for antinematodal activity against Bursaphelenchus xylophilus using a fungal-feeding assay. Extracts of 27 plants from 19 families showed antinematodal activity, while 52 species were inactive. Five extracts (Sauropus androgynus, Eugenia polyantha, Areca catechu, Piper betle and Piper nigrum) exhibited very strong activity against Bursaphelenchus xylophilus at a minimum effective dose (MED) of 0·625 mg per ball. Strong antinematodal activity (MED: 1·25–2·5 mg per ball) was shown by the extracts of Spondias cyntherea, Codiageum variegatum, Euodia glabra and Cicca acida. Eleven extracts (Carica papaya, Ipomoea aquatica, Ocimum basilicum, Leea gigantea, Pithecellobium jiringa, Crypteronia paniculata, Myristica fragrans, Murraya koenigii, Leucaena leucocephala, Melastoma malabathricum and Morinda citrifolia) demonstrated moderate activity between MED of 5 and 10 mg per ball, and weak activity was observed in seven extracts (Ipomoea batatas, Cymbopogon citratus, Garcinia atroviridis, Psophocarpus tetragonolobus, Tamarindus indica, Allium odorum and Stenochalaena palustris). © 1997 SCI     

Energy Use and Output Assessment of Food-Forage Production Systems

An assessment of the energy requirements of different intensive forage production systems was carried out at the Indian Grassland Fodder, and Agroforestry Research Institute, Jhansi. This included assessment of energy use and output for five intensive crop production systems: (1) sorghum (single‐cut)–berseem, (2) cowpea–sorghum (single‐cut)–berseem + mustard–maize + cowpea, (3) sorghum (multi‐cut)–berseem + oats, (4) guar–oats–maize and (5) sorghum (single‐cut)–wheat–fallow. In all the systems, the Napier bajra hybrid (IGFRI‐3) was transplanted in regular plots of 50 m × 13 m. Results revealed that the total annual energy use was highest for sorghum (multi‐cut)–berseem + oats (36 606 MJ ha^?1), followed by sorghum (single‐cut)–berseem + mustard, sorghum (single‐cut)–berseem–cowpea, guar–oats–maize and sorghum (single‐cut)–wheat–fallow (for which values were 31 086, 30 449, 29 867 and 25 956 MJ energy ha^?1, respectively). The high value found for sorghum (multi‐cut)–berseem + oats might be attributable to the multi‐cuts in this system. Energy use by fertilizers represented the major part of the total energy use, amounting to 28–38 % in all treatments, followed by energy used in electricity, machinery, seeds, human labour and farmyard manure (FYM), in case of all with slight increase in input. In sorghum–wheat, energy use by seeds occupied the second position, followed by energy used in electricity, human labour, FYM and machinery/diesel. Pesticides contributed the least energy utilization in all the treatments. Herbicides were used for the control of weeds. Among the five forage production systems, sorghum (single‐cut)–berseem + mustard–maize + cowpea was found to be the most energy efficient, followed by sorghum (multi‐cut)–berseem + oats–sorghum (multi‐cut), sorghum (single‐cut)–berseem–cowpea, guar–oats–maize and sorghum (single‐cut)–wheat–fallow. Sorghum (single‐cut)–berseem + mustard–maize + cowpea increased the fertility of the soil, resulting in a higher percentage of organic carbon, higher availability of nitrogen and optimal balancing of the C:N ratio in the upper layers of the soil. These intensive crop production systems also maintain the optimum microbial population in the crop root zone. The benefit–cost ratio (B:C ratio) for the most energy‐efficient forage production system was 1.37 : 1. However, the highest B:C ratio was found in the sorghum–wheat rotation (1: 1.57).     

Alpha‐lipoic acid: An inimitable feed supplement for poultry nutrition

Alpha‐lipoic acid (ALA) is a multifunction antioxidant that is produced in small amount by cells as well as its dietary provision facilitates fatty acid mobilization, energy expenditure as well as can scavenge free radicals in poultry birds. It exists in oxidized as well as reduced form, characterized by growth promoting, anti‐inflammatory, antioxidative, immunostimulatory, and hypocholesterolemic properties when fed as dietary supplement to farm animals particularly chicken birds. Recently, several studies reported that dietary supplementation of ALA can influence growth performance indicators, immunological, biochemical characteristics, lipid metabolism, and oxidative stress as well as increase antioxidant potential and storability of poultry meat and meat products. Accordingly, this paper adds the reviews and discusses the outcomes of studies documenting the effect of lipoic acid dietary fortification on growth performance, biochemical, and immunological characteristics as well as the effects on lipid peroxidation of fresh meat and meat‐based products. Furthermore, this paper also describes the possibilities of utilization of ALA as a feed additive in poultry nutrition to improve the growth performance of poultry as well as meat quality of resultant chicken birds.     

Oncolytic gene therapy for canine cancers: teaching old dog viruses new tricks

The use of viruses to treat cancer has been studied for decades. With the advancement of molecular biology, viruses have been modified and genetically engineered to optimize their ability to target cancer cells. Canine viruses, such as distemper virus and adenovirus, are being exploited for the treatment of canine cancer as the dog has proven to be a good comparative model for human cancer research and proof of concept investigations. In this review, we introduce the concept of oncolytic viruses and describe some of the preliminary attempts to use oncolytic viruses for the treatment of canine cancer.     

Bovine papillomaviruses: their role in the aetiology of cutaneous tumours of bovids and equids

Bovine papillomavirus (BPV) is perhaps the most extensively studied animal papillomavirus. In cattle BPVs induce benign tumours of cutaneous or mucosal epithelia, called papillomas or warts. Cattle papillomas are benign tumours and generally regress without eliciting any serious clinical problems in the host, but occasionally persist and provide the focus for malignant transformation to squamous cell carcinoma, as in the case of cancer of the urinary bladder and cancer of the upper alimentary canal. BPV is the only papillomavirus that jumps species: the virus also infects equids, and gives rise to fibroblastic tumours called sarcoids. Sarcoids very rarely regress, more often they persist and can be locally aggressive. These tumours are the most common dermatological tumour of equids worldwide. The purpose of this review is to discuss the biology of BPV, the biology of bovine tumours and equine sarcoids, and present the current understanding of BPV in tumour pathogenesis in its natural host, cattle, and in its heterologous host, equids. Finally, the use of anti-BPV vaccines as a therapy for equine sarcoids will be discussed. Only limited information on the clinical or pathological aspects of either bovine or equine tumours will be provided as this subject has been extensively addressed previously.     

Effects of Urea Sprays on the Chemical Composition of Ber Fruits (Ziziphus Mauritiana Lam.)

Trees of ber cv Banarasi Karaka were sprayed with urea solutions of 2, 4 or 6% just before flowering in September. Ripened fruits were analysed for total soluble solids, acid, sugars, vitamin C and pectin contents. The sprays caused significant increases in TSS, sugars, vitamin C and pectin contents but a decrease in the acid content of the fruit.     

Reactions of lentil accessions from 25 different countries to Australian isolates of Ascochyta lentis

488 lentil (Lens culinaris) accessions from 25 different countries were evaluated in glasshouse tests for resistance to three Australian isolates of Ascochyta lentis. Disease symptoms on the different accessions ranged from small flecks (resistant) to extensive lesions on both leaves and stems with death of some plants (highly susceptible). No accession was found with complete resistance to ascochyta blight. The 488 accessions showed differential resistance to all three isolates of A. lentis and could be divided into five resistance groups. 26 accessions originating from Greece (1), Pakistan (23) and Turkey (2) were resistant to all three isolates, while 142 accessions showed variable reactions and 320 accessions were susceptible to all three isolates. These results demonstrate there is considerable variation in lentil germ plasm for resistance to A. lentis.     

Cumulative Effect of Soil and Foliar Application of Nitrogen,Phosphorus, and Sulfur on Growth,Physico-Biochemical Parameters,Yield Attributes,and Fatty Acid Composition in Oil of Erucic Acid-Free Rapeseed-Mustard Genotypes

ABSTRACT

The feasibility of split (soil + foliar) applications of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) and addition of a small quantity of sulfur (S) in the spray was tested for improving performance of rapeseed-mustard genotypes in a factorial randomized field experiment. Three genotypes (two erucic acid free, viz. Brassica napus L. cv. ‘Hyola PAC – 401’ and Brassica juncea L. Czern. and Coss. cv. ‘TERI (0E) M 21-Swarna’, and one best performing high yielding Brassica juncea L. cv. ‘Rohini’ as a check) were grown with four soil (B) plus foliar (F) applications of N, P, and S with uniform basal 30 kg potassium (K) ha^{? 1} (K₃₀), viz. (i) the optimum soil-applied treatment supplemented with the spray of deionized water (B_N90P30 + Fw) comprising control, (ii) B_N70P30 + F _N20, (iii) B_N70P28 + F_N20P2, and (iv) B_N70P28 + F_N20P2S2. Soil Plus foliar application of nutrients, particularly B_N70P28 + F_N20P2S2, improved their performance with respect to growth characteristics (shoot length plant^{? 1}, leaf number plant^{? 1}, area leaf^{? 1}, leaf area index, fresh weight plant^{? 1}, and dry weight plant^{? 1}), physico-biochemical parameters (net photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance, carboxylation efficiency, water use efficiency, carbonic anhydrase activity, leaf NPK content, and N use efficiency), yield attributes (pod number plant^{? 1}, seed number pod^{? 1}, 1000-seed weight, seed yield ha^{? 1}, oil content, and oil yield ha^{? 1}), and fatty acid composition in oil of these genotypes. The cultivar ‘Hyola PAC-401’ performed best particularly with B_N70P28 + F_N20P2S2. The improvement in the response of genotypes to the split application of nutrients may be attributed to their ready availability through foliar application.     

Effect of Ozone Treatment on Cultures of Nannochloropsis oculata, Isochrysis galbana, and Chaetoceros gracilis

This research evaluated ozone treatment of three unicellular algal species commonly used in the culture of marine larvae. Isochrvsis galbana and Nannochloropsis oculata were found to be resistant to total residual oxidants (TRO); whereas, Chaetoceros gracilis was relatively sensitive to TRO. Isochrvsis galbana remained in log-phase growth after treatment with 0.05 mg/L to 0.50 mg/L TRO, and N. oculata exhibited strong growth after being exposed to TRO levels up to 0.67 mg/L. Only TRO levels of 0.92 mg/L and 0.90 tng/L reduced cell counts of N. oculata and I. galbana , respectively. Furthermore, algal cultures having higher concentrations at the time of ozone treatment may respond more favorably to the treatment. Initially, C. gracilis was reduced in cell count at TRO levels above 0.06 mg/L, but log-phase growth was resumed 2 d after exposure to TRO levels as high as 0.31 mg/L. It is concluded that I. galbana and N. oculata can be successfully treated with ozone in the mass production stages without hampering the timely production of concentrated cultures. Although C. gracilis was found to be relatively sensitive, ozone treatment of starter cultures can be performed routinely with this species. We have demonstrated that ozone treatment of algal cultures is a feasible technique, but studies need to be conducted on ozone treatment of other species of unicellular algae and on ozone treatment of varying concentrations of algae in order to enhance the applications of this technique. Also, in order to determine the extent of disinfection of algal cultures, bacterial and viral composition of the cultures should be evaluated in future studies.     

Evaluation of oil formulations of deltamethrin for use on cotton targets for tsetse fly control

A range of formulations of deltamethrin were prepared, some containing an ultraviolet (UV) absorber compound or a combination of the UV absorber and an oil, and applied to blue cotton tsetse fly target samples which were then exposed to the effect of simulated sunlight and water in the laboratory. The residue of insecticide remaining on the targets and the activity of the latter against tsetse flies was determined. Formulations containing the UV absorber and coconut oil or silicone oil remained the most effective against tsetse flies. A coconut oil formulation of the insecticide was selected for field evaluation in comparison with a commercial deltamethrin formulation, Glossinex 200′ S.C., which contains 10% UV absorber. Target samples treated with these formulations were exposed to natural tsetse fly habitat in Ghana for a period of five months and evaluated for deltamethrin residues and activity against four species of tsetse fly. After five months, 4–13 times more deltamethrin remained on the targets treated with the coconut oil formulation than on those treated with ‘Glossinex’, and consequently the former were more active against tsetse flies than the latter. Target samples sequentially dipped in the coconut oil formulation resulted in uniform insecticide concentration on the targets, whereas those dipped in ‘Glossinex’ contained gradually decreasing deltamethrin concentrations.