Removal of flowers or inflorescences affects ‘Barnea’ olive fruitlet post-anthesis abscission

A typical olive (Olea europaea L.) inflorescence consists of about 20 flowers. However, in many cultivars, only one fruit develops. This is due to massive abscission of flowers and fruitlets, which occurs during the first month after anthesis. In this study, we used the olive cultivar 'Barnea' to characterize the abscission mechanism and to try to increase fruit set by increasing the number of developed fruit per inflorescence. Removing the lateral flowers 3 weeks before anthesis increased fruit set by more than 50%. Removing all inflorescences but one from a branch increased the number of developed fruits from 0.93 to 2.8 during 2017 and from 0.91 to 3.34 fruits per inflorescence in 2018. Sugar quantification in the pistil revealed that starch level is high on the day of anthesis and low 25 days later in abscised as well as in developed fruit. Soluble carbohydrates are low on the day of anthesis, low in abscised flowers/fruitlets 25 days after anthesis and high in developed fruit. Screening the natural variation found in the Israeli germplasm collection revealed that in most cultivars less than one fruit per inflorescence has developed. However, there are unique cultivars with a higher fruit set.     

Repression of deoxynivalenol accumulation and expression of Tri genes in Fusarium culmorum by fungicides in vitro

A defined medium was developed in which to monitor deoxynivalenol (DON) accumulation, fungal growth and expression of genes involved in trichothecene biosynthesis (designated Tri genes). In liquid culture, DON accumulated shortly after maximum expression of Tri6 and coincident with expression of Tri5. This was generally 96 h after inoculation. The effects of sublethal concentrations of the fungicides azoxystrobin, trifloxystrobin, kresoxim-methyl and tebuconazole on biosynthesis of the trichothecene DON by Fusarium culmorum were studied using this medium. The strobilurin fungicides trifloxystrobin and azoxystrobin significantly reduced the accumulation of DON in culture medium at a range of concentrations. Kresoxim-methyl, also a strobilurin, and tebuconazole, a triazole, did not significantly reduce the accumulation of DON, although levels were lower than those in nonamended cultures. Trifloxystrobin significantly reduced the accumulation of DON when added to cultures before initiation of trichothecene biosynthesis. RT-PCR assays of the expression of Tri6 and Tri5 genes indicated that trifloxystrobin acted by inhibiting the initiation of trichothecene biosynthesis.     

The effect of diflubenzuron on Eggs of the vine Moth,Lobesia (Polychrosis) Botrana Den. & Schiff (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae)

The activity of diflubenzuron against eggs ofLobesia botrana Den. & Schiff. was assayed with a dipping procedure, at 22° and 27° C. The compound was much more active at 27°C (LC-50 = 0.0072%) than at 22°C (LC-50 = 0.195%).     

Intra-specific variation and inheritance of BYDV-PAV transmission in the aphid <Emphasis Type="Italic">Sitobion avenae</Emphasis>

Vector efficiency of 44 clonal lines (clones) of Sitobion avenae belonging to 31 different genotypes (distinct patterns for five microsatellite loci) originating from Western France was evaluated by transmitting the isolate PAV4 of BYDV-PAV to barley seedlings. Variation in transmission rates from 3.7% to 92.5% was observed, with significant effects of the aphid clone, of the plant species on which clones were collected, and of the reproductive mode of the clones. When genotypes are considered instead of clones, a continuum in transmission rates was observed. A subset of S. avenae clones was tested for transmission of one (10 clones) and 13 (4 clones) other BYDV-PAV isolates, and a clear clone effect modulated by an isolate effect was observed. Crosses were made between clones with different vectoring phenotypes and their F1 progeny were tested for PAV4 transmission. The narrow sense heritability of the PAV transmission character was rather high in the F1 families (h²=0.5) and the segregation analyses suggested an oligo/polygenic determinism of this character. The possibility of generating new transmission variants by sexual reproduction and its consequences on transmission mechanism studies and on BYD epidemics are discussed.     

Biological Control of Sclerotinia Diseases of Rapeseed by Aerial Applications of the Mycoparasite Coniothyrium minitans

Indoor and field experiments were conducted to evaluate the efficacy of applying the mycoparasite Coniothyrium minitans to the aerial parts of rapeseed plants at the flowering stage to control sclerotinia diseases caused by Sclerotinia sclerotiorum. Under controlled conditions, a petal inoculation technique was used to determine the effect of conidial suspensions of C. minitans on suppression of sclerotinia leaf blight. Results showed that C. minitans was effective in inhibiting infection initiated by ascospores of S. sclerotiorum on flower petals by restricting mycelial growth of the pathogen. Suppression of lesion development was related to the conidial concentration of C. minitans, with larger lesions at low concentration (5×10³conidia ml⁻¹), but smaller lesions at high concentration (5×10⁴ conidia ml⁻¹ or higher). When C. minitans-treated rapeseed leaves were inoculated with mycelia of S. sclerotiorum, C. minitans failed to prevent infection of leaves, but caused a significant reduction in number of sclerotia produced on the diseased leaves. No significant difference in efficacy was detected between the two isolates of C. minitans, LRC 2137 and Chy-1, on the two rapeseed cultivars, Westar (spring type) and Zhongyou 821 (winter type). Results of field trials showed a significant reduction of stem rot of rapeseed in four (1997, 1999, 2003 and 2004) out of five years by aerial application of C. minitans, compared with controls. No significant difference in suppressive efficacy was observed between the treatments of C. minitans (10⁶ conidia ml⁻¹), C. minitans (10⁶ conidia ml⁻¹) + benomyl (50 μg ml⁻¹) and benomyl (100 μg ml⁻¹) in 2003, and between the treatments of C. minitans (10⁶ conidia ml⁻¹), C. minitans (10⁶ conidia ml⁻¹) + vinclozolin (100 μg ml⁻¹) and vinclozolin (500 μg ml⁻¹) in 2004. Sclerotia of S. sclerotiorum collected from diseased plants in plots treated with C. minitans in 1999, 2000 and 2003, or with C. minitans + benomyl in 2003 were infected by C. minitans at frequencies ranging from 21.3 to 54.5%. This study concludes that aerial spraying of C. minitans is an effective method for controlling sclerotinia diseases of rapeseed.     

The relative resistance of wheat, rye and triticale to take-all caused by Gaeumannomyces graminis

In seven field experiments conducted over 6 years with a wide range of disease severities, triticale was intermediate in resistance to Gaeumannomyces graminis between wheat (susceptible) and rye (resistant). Use of triticale is suggested as an immediately available means of introducing take-all resistance into cereal cultivation.
Octoploid triticale was slightly more susceptible than hexaploid triticale. There was little evidence of consistent variation in resistance among wheat or rye cultivars but a few hexaploid triticale cultivars varied in resistance. The resistance of triticale was not reliably expressed in the glasshouse tests used, so selection for resistance to take-all in a breeding programme would need to be conducted in the field. Individual pairs of rye chromosomes added to wheat did not significantly reduce its susceptibility. The feasibility of transferring the resistance of rye to wheat is considered.     

The action of phosphine against the eggs of phosphine-resistant and -susceptible strains of Rhyzopertha dominica F

The effect of phosphine at exposure periods of 24, 48 and 120 h on hatching and mortality of 0- to 1-day-old eggs of susceptible (TN6) and resistant (FC10) strains of Rhyzopertha dominica of field origin was investigated. The fumigant affected hatching in both the strains. In a 48-h exposure at 27 (+/- 2) degrees C, the LD99 doses for the eggs of TN6 and FC10 were 0.56 and 3.25 mg litre-1, respectively. Significant reduction in hatching was observed in treated batches with progressive increase of phosphine dose in the first 2-3 days. On subsequent days the numbers hatching were often similar to those in controls, and sometimes exceeded control hatch, especially following a 5-day exposure. A critical change in the order of susceptibility of egg and adult stages of the two strains was noticed. In 48-h exposures, eggs of the susceptible strain were more tolerant than their adults, whilst the reverse was true in the resistant strain.