Erfahrungen mit der Laboratoriumszucht vonSyrphus luniger Meig. (Diptera,Syrphidae)

Zusammenfassung 1. Es gelang die vollständige kontinuierliche Zucht vonS. luniger unter hier näher beschriebenen Bedingungen.2. Die Kopulation erfolgte nur im Fluge, frühestens 4 Tage nach dem Schlüpfen, bei relativer Luftfeuchtigkeit von 65–70%.3. Die Larvenentwicklung dauerte bei 22°C 8 bis 10 Tage. Die Mortalität erreichte 40–45%. Zur Verpuppung bevorzugten die Larven lockere, feuchte Medien.4. Die Puppen entwickelten sich am schnellsten bei 22–25°C, einem Temperaturbereich, in dem auch die geringste Mortalität auftrat. Es bestehen Anhaltspunkte dafür, daß die Mortalität bei langsamer Entwicklung höher ist als bei schneller.Herrn Professor Dr. F. Schwerdtfeger zum 60. Geburtstag gewidmet.     

Tolerance of two Bifora radians Bieb populations to ALS inhibitors in winter wheat

BACKGROUND: Bifora radians, an annual weed in winter wheat, is distributed mainly in the Mediterranean area, Asia Minor and the Caucasus. It infests winter-sown crops of the Central Anatolia and Middle Black Sea regions of Turkey. Field experiments in heavily B. radians-infested fields were conducted over 3 years in Samsun, Turkey, to determine the response of B. radians to ALS-inhibiting herbicides, because growers had complained of a decrease in herbicide effect. RESULTS: The efficacy of ALS inhibitors on a putatively tolerant population sprayed annually with ALS inhibitors and an adjacent allegedly sensitive population was estimated at the ED₅₀ and ED₉₀ response levels. The recommended rates of herbicides controlled 90% of the weed (ED₉₀) in the sensitive population at the early stage of B. radians development, but not in the tolerant population. The relative potencies (ED_x(tolerant)/ED_x(sensitive)) of herbicides on the two populations were estimated by assuming years as being random effects. The relative potency was on average about 1.7, irrespective of the ED_x levels. CONCLUSION: Although the relative potencies were not large, they were large enough to be noted by growers. In field experiments it would be important to establish tools demonstrating when farmers recognise loss of herbicide efficacy. There has been no indication of evolution of resistant biotypes so far, but continuous spraying favours biotypes with increased levels of tolerance. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry     

Occurrence and molecular analysis of Campylobacter in wildlife on livestock farms

Wildlife harbor a variety of Campylobacter spp. and may play a significant role in the transmission of Campylobacter to livestock. Although studies have been conducted on wildlife-associated Campylobacter isolates from farms in other countries, there are little data available for livestock farms in the United States. In addition, the critical questions of whether wildlife harbor Campylobacter that is pathogenic to ruminants and/or antibiotic-resistant Campylobacter have yet to be addressed. We captured wild small mammals (n=142) and small birds (n=188) at livestock farms in central Iowa and sampled them for thermophilic Campylobacter during autumn 2009, spring 2010, and autumn 2010. Overall prevalence was 4.79%, with isolates found only in wild birds. Molecular typing revealed four multilocus sequence types (STs), three of which are novel. The remaining ST (ST-806) was found in two house sparrows and is an ST previously associated with ruminant abortion cases. Further analysis of ST-806 wild bird and ruminant abortion isolates by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, resistance gene location, and antibiotic susceptibility tests indicated that the isolates are nearly identical. This is the first account of isolation of Campylobacter types from wild birds that are known to be pathogenic to ruminants. Furthermore, these same two wild bird isolates are resistant to the antibiotic fluoroquinolone. Our results indicate there is an overall low prevalence of Campylobacter in selected wildlife in Iowa, but suggest that wildlife may play a role in the epidemiology of pathogenic Campylobacter for domestic livestock, and may also serve as a reservoir for antibiotic-resistant Campylobacter.     

Tomato powder in laying hen diets: effects on concentrations of yolk carotenoids and lipid peroxidation

1. The effects of tomato powder supplementation on performance, egg quality, serum and egg yolk carotenoids, vitamins and malondialdehyde (MDA) concentrations in were investigated in laying hens in mid-lay.

2. A total of 90 laying hens, 49 weeks old, were divided into 3 groups consisting of 6 replicate cages, 5 birds per cage. Birds were randomly fed on one of three diets: basal diet and basal diet added with 5 or 10?g tomato powder per kg diet.

3. As tomato powder concentration increased, there were linear increases in feed intake, egg production, egg weight and yolk colour and a linear decrease in feed conversion. Shell weight, shell thickness and Haugh unit remained unchanged in response to dietary treatments.

4. Concentrations of serum and egg yolk lycopene, β-carotene, lutein and vitamin A increased for both diets including tomato powder, whereas MDA decreased linearly with increasing supplemental tomato powder concentration.

5. Tomato powder supplementation increased egg production persistency and increased carotenoids and vitamin A contents in egg yolk, accompanied by reduced yolk lipid peroxidation.     

Campylobacter colonization in poultry: sources of infection and modes of transmission

Since its recognition as a human pathogen in the early 1970s, Campylobacter jejuni has now emerged as the leading bacterial cause of food-borne gastroenteritis in developed countries. Poultry, particularly chickens, account for the majority of human infections caused by Campylobacter. Reduction or elimination of this pathogen in the poultry reservoir is an essential step in minimizing the public health problem; however, farm-based intervention measures are still not available because of the lack of understanding of the ecological aspects of C. jejuni on poultry farms. Although Campylobacter is highly prevalent in poultry production systems, how poultry flocks become infected with this organism is still unknown. Many investigations indicate that horizontal transmission from environmental sources is the primary route of flock infections by Campylobacter. However, some recent studies also suggest the possibility of vertical transmission from breeder to progeny flocks. The transmission of the organism is not well understood, but it is likely to be through both vertical and horizontal transmission and may be affected by the immune status of the poultry host and the environmental conditions in the production system. Intervention strategies for Campylobacter infection in poultry should consider the complex nature of its transmission and may require the use of multiple approaches that target different segments of the poultry production system.     

Prevalence of tetracycline-resistant Campylobacter in organic broilers during a production cycle

Tetracycline (tet) resistance in Campylobacter isolated from organically raised broilers was investigated in this study. Two hundred forty-five samples from an organic broiler farm were collected weekly from the first week to the end of the production cycle, and they were cultured for thermophilic Campylobacter. Tetracycline resistance of these Campylobacter isolates was identified by the agar dilution method, whereas DNA fingerprinting profiles of tet-susceptible and tet-resistant strains were determined by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). None of the Campylobacter isolates from the third and the fourth week of the production period were resistant to tetracycline, whereas 66.7% of the isolates from the fifth week were resistant to this antibiotic. Although the prevalence of tetracycline resistance reached 100.0% during the sixth and seventh week, less than 34.0% of the isolates from the 10th week were resistant to this antimicrobial agent. In addition, only 13.8% of Campylobacter isolates from the intestinal tracts of these organically raised broilers were resistant to tetracycline. The presence of the tet(O) gene was detected in 98.9% of tet-resistant Campylobacter isolates, and tet-susceptible and tet-resistant Campylobacter strains showed distinct PFGE genotypes. The results suggest that the Campylobacter strains isolated from the early stage of the production were susceptible to tetracycline, but they were subsequently displaced by tet-resistant Campylobacter.     

Note: Does<Emphasis Type="Italic">Liriomyza cicerina</Emphasis> affect the yield of chickpeas (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Cicer arietinum</Emphasis>)?

Liriomyza cicerina (Rondani, 1875) (Diptera: Agromyzidae) is an important pest on chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) in some regions of Turkey. The objective of this study was to determine whether the populations ofL. cicerina on different varieties of chickpea plants during the 2004 and 2005 production seasons affected yield in Sanliurfa province. The trials were carried out using eight different varieties of chickpea with three replicates. During each season, larval densities on leaves were assessed weekly. TheL. cicerina larval population was lowest on four varieties for both seasons. There were very minor differences in yield among the eight varieties in the production seasons. There was no correlation found between larval density and yield loss. http://www.phytoparasitica.org posting Jan. 14, 2007.     

Soil quality index for paddy fields based on standard scoring functions and weight allocation method

ABSTRACT

Rice ecosystems are currently impacted by numerous issues resulting in reduced returns from rice production. In order to sustainably increase rice yields, it is important to understand the soil quality of paddy fields. The aim of this study was to determine the quality of soil of the Çar?amba Deltaic Plain in Turkey for rice cultivation. For that purpose, the integrated Soil Quality Index (SQI) model, which is based on standard scoring functions and the weight assignment approach, was used. A total of 14 soil quality parameters, based on the key predictor variables for determining rice yield, were included in the SQI model by grouping them within three indicator classes, namely physical, chemical and nutrient element content. Soil samples were collected from 160 grid points in total in the study area which had been divided into 600 m × 600 m grid squares. Very high-quality soil was not detected in the study area. However, 36.1% of the soil was classified as high quality whereas 23.2% of the total area had low and very low soil quality for rice cultivation. The SQI model provides comprehensive guidance for land allocation for the cultivation of rice and potentially for other crops.     

Changes in Acetoclastic Methanogenic Activity and Microbial Composition in an Upflow Anaerobic Filter

Changes in the acetoclastic methanogenic activity in the effluentfrom an upflow anaerobic filter (UFAF) were studied throughout a 36 week operating period. The UFAF formed the second phase of a two-phase laboratory-scale anaerobic treatment system. TheSpecific Methanogenic Activity (SMA) test was used to measurethe acetoclastic methanogenic activity of the biomass washed outfrom the UFAF. Throughout the operating period, the SMA testswere carried out at different organic loading rates (OLR) up to6.7 kg COD m^-3 d^-1 and upflow velocities (UV), 5 m d^-1 and 15 m d^-1. The results showed that thebiomass washed out from the UFAF consisted of up to 55%(considered as a draft value) acetoclastic methanogens producing550 mI CH₄ g^-1 VSS d^-1. This high acetoclasticmethanogenic activity measured in the effluent might have beendue to the existence of Methanosaeta (formerly Methanothrix) species. Towards the end of operation,Epifluorescence Microscopic examinations in the effluent revealedthat Methanococcus species were the most dominant groupfollowed by medium rods and short rods, filaments and long rodsand the least dominant Methanosarcina species. Theperformance of the UFAF was not adversely affected by the loss ofthe active biomass and changes in their composition. The UFAFsystem achieved over 85% COD removal efficiency at thehighest OLR of 6.7 kg COD m^-3 d^-1 and UV of 15 m d^-1. Throughout most of the operation, methane yield rangedfrom 0.28–035 m³ CH₄ kg^-1 COD_removed.     

Evaluation of Heavy Metals' (Cd,Cu, Ni,Ph, and Zn) Distribution in Sowing Regions of Potato Fields in the Province of Niğde,Turkey

Water, Air, &; Soil Pollution - The Province of Ni?de, located in central Anatolia, supplies approximately 25% of the total potato production in Turkey. In order to investigate selected...