Use of organic amendments to reclaim saline and sodic soils: a review

Soil salinity and sodicity are land degradation processes that strongly alter soil quality and consequently plant productivity. The reclamation of soils affected by salinity and/or sodicity is an important goal to maintain the sustainability of production. The objectives of this review were (1) to investigate the effectiveness of different organic amendments to reclaim saline/sodic soils and improve environmental quality and productivity of agro-ecosystems and (2) to provide useful information on the most appropriate waste management for minimizing any potential risks. To achieve these aims, recently published literature, related to field and laboratory studies, considering the effects of a wide range of organic amendments on main soil properties, was collected. Results of these studies underline that input of exogenous organic matter (manure, plant residues, by-product of farming or municipal activities, etc.) can be a feasible way to reclaim soils with serious problems of salinity and sodicity. Optimal rates (not greater than 50 t ha^?1) of different organic amendments can improve physical (soil structure, permeability, water holding capacity, etc.) and chemical (pH, cation exchangeable capacity, etc.) soil properties, favoring plant growth and microbial activity, without any risks for the environment (subsoil and groundwater contamination). Of course, it is very important to characterize carefully the organic wastes before their use in agriculture and optimize their management, for avoiding further land degradation.     

Prevalence and genetic characterization of Hepatitis E virus in paired samples of feces and serum from naturally infected pigs

This study describes the distribution of Hepatitis E virus (HEV) in a naturally infected swine population and the genetic relatedness of HEV strains on swine farms in Spain. Of fecal and serum samples collected from 131 pigs and manure-ditch samples collected from 17 farms, HEV was detected in 16%, 14%, and 59%, respectively, for an overall prevalence rate of 23%. The maximum prevalence rates for feces and serum were in pigs 5 to 12 wk old. A high prevalence of the virus in feces (18%) was observed in sows. Gene sequencing was performed on 6 strains from feces, serum, and manure ditch: the nucleotide identities varied from 81.5% to 99% when compared with those of other strains of genotype 3 isolated from swine. This is the first study in Europe to show the variation in virus distribution by age in feces and serum in a naturally infected swine population.     

Resistance to the South American tomato pinworm <Emphasis Type="Italic">Tuta absoluta</Emphasis> in high acylsugar and/or high zingiberene tomato genotypes

Zingiberene (ZGB) and acylsugars (AS) are allelochemicals responsible for high levels of arthropod resistance found in Solanum habrochaites (= Lycopersicon hirsutum) var. hirsutum ‘PI 127826’ and S. (= L.) pennelli ‘LA 716’, respectively. These accessions were used to develop commercial lines with good levels of pest resistance. The objective of the present work was to assess the ZGB and AS contents and the levels of resistance to Tuta absoluta in tomato hybrids between high ZGB × high AS lines, as compared with their parental lines and with commercial checks. High AS homozygous lines [TOM-688 and TOM-689, both originated from the interspecific cross S. lycopersicum (= L. esculentum) × S. pennelli], high ZGB homozygous lines (ZGB-703 and ZGB-704, both derived from the interspecific cross S. lycopersicum × S. habrochaites var. hirsutum), double heterozygotes for both ZGB and AS, single heterozygotes for ZGB, and single heterozygotes for AS were assessed for AS and ZGB contents. Low-ZGB low-AS checks ‘Débora Max’ and ‘TOM-684’ were used, as well as checks with high ZGB (PI 127826) and high AS (LA 716). The genotypes were submitted to infestation with South American tomato pinworm adults in a screenhouse, and oviposition counts were taken 10 days after the initial infestation date. Plants were scored for overall plant damage and percent leaflets attacked up to the 38th day after infestation. Genotypes heterozygous for ZGB or AS showed allelochemical contents intermediate to those of their high and low content parents, indicating incompletely dominant gene action for contents of each of the allelochemicals. There were no significant differences in T. absoluta oviposition between high-AS homozygous genotypes, high-ZGB homozygotes, single heterozygotes for AS, single heterozygotes for ZGB and double heterozygotes for ZGB and AS, but all these genotypes showed egg counts significantly lower than the low-ZGB low-AS checks. Feeding damage of T. absoluta was higher in the low-ZGB low-AS checks than in any other ZGB-rich or AS-rich tomato genotype. Relative to ZGB or AS single heterozygotes, the heterozygotes for both ZGB and AS showed higher levels of resistance to the insect, as measured by overall plant damage, indicating a synergic effect of the allelochemicals on resistance.     

Identification of Staphylococcus aureus strains negative for enterotoxins A, B and C isolated from bovine mastitis in México

A total of 41 isolates of Staphylococcus aureus obtained from bovine mastitis in 7 different states in Mexico were analyzed by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to determine the presence of encoding genes for enterotoxins A, B and C. The oligonucleotides were designed by specific regions of the sea, seb, sec genes. Surprisingly, none of the isolates presented the prospective amplification bands when they were run on agarose gels. On the contrary, reference strains CECT 976 SEA; CECT 5191 SEB; and CECT 4465 SEC showed the prospective amplification products. In order to confirm these results, enterotoxin production A, B, C, D, and E was determined by enzyme linked fluorescent assay (ELFA) using a MiniVIDAS system, on 15 Staphylococcus aureus selected at random from among the 41 isolates. None of the analyzed strains was positive to the test, whereas reference strains enterotoxins producing: CECT 976 SEA; CECT 5191 SEB; CECT 4465 SEC, CECT 4466 SED; CECT 5192 SEE produced concentrations of the toxins detected for this technique. The role of enterotoxins in the pathogenicity of S. aureus in bovine mastitis in Mexico is discussed.     

Leptospirosis antibodies in mammals from Rio de Janeiro Zoo,Brazil

Serum samples from 77 animals belonging to 38 species and 19 families in Rio de Janeiro Zoo, Brazil were tested for antibodies against serovars of Leptospira interrogans by microscopic agglutination test. Antibodies were detected in serum samples of 37.7% of all animals belonging to 10 families. Seropositivity was more common in the Carnivora Canidae (7/9), Procyonidae (5/9) and the Edentata Myrmecophagidae (5/9). Icterohaemorrhagiae was the most common serogroup. Seropositivity was less common in primates.     

The Global Ocean Biodiversity Initiative: Promoting scientific support for global ocean governance

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Technical and Economic Analysis of Aeroponics and other Systems for Potato Mini-Tuber Production in Latin America

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