Acaricidal Effect of some Pesticides against the Red Spider Mite Oligonychus coffeae Nietner (Tetranychidae)

Abstract

Six pesticides, viz. dicofol, binapacryl, carbophenothion, lime-sulphur solution, dimethoate and phosalone, each at four different concentrations, were tested against the red spider mite Oligonychus coffeae Nietner. All except lime-sulphur were found to be effective acaricides, and all except lime-sulphur and dimethoate were also ovicidal.     

The global competitiveness of the Chinese wooden furniture industry

During the past two decades, the Chinese wooden furniture industry has witnessed high-speed growth, making China a leading furniture exporter. Given the intensification of global competition, it is crucial to assess the present status and competitiveness of the Chinese wooden furniture industry, as well as the changes and challenges China will face in competing with other principal trading nations. Based on Balassa's Revealed Comparative Advantage (RCA) Indices, it can be concluded that China has experienced a transition from comparative disadvantage into a high comparative advantage over the period, and has maintained a strong position in this labor-intensive industry. However, it still falls behind traditionally strong competitors such as Italy and Germany in terms of quality and unit price. It is also experiencing a growing challenge from lower-income countries such as Poland and Vietnam. Moreover, China now faces up more unfavorable macroeconomic circumstances such as rising cost, shrinking international demand, technology gap and escalating trade barriers. Thus, the government, industrial association and enterprises need to quickly take innovative steps coordinately to promote Chinese enterprises transitioning from the original equipment manufacturers (OEM) to the original design manufacturers (ODM), further to the original brand manufacturers (OBM).     

Enhancing milk and fertility performances using selection index developed for Indian Murrah buffaloes

Selection for genetically superior Murrah buffaloes under Network Project on Buffalo Improvement, India, is presently based on milk yield, and it was observed that even in the absence of any direct selection pressure applied on fertility, there has been a downward trend in fertility associated with the selection for milk yield. The aim of the study was to develop selection indices which include fertility besides milk yield in Murrah buffaloes. Data pertaining to 1,224 lactation records spread over a period of 19 years were recorded and analyzed in the study. The negative association of pregnancy rate (fertility) with a 305-day milk yield (?0.08?±?0.04) and wet average (?0.12?±?0.02) indicated the importance of incorporating fertility trait in the construction of selection index. Four types of selection indices were constructed and evaluated. Two indices were developed using expected producing ability 305-days milk yield (EPAMY) with 6.5 and 4 % fat in milk along with expected fertilizing ability (EFA). The other two indices developed consist of expected producing ability wet average (EPA WA) and EFA. The index involving (EPA WA and EFA) was found to be a more effective selection criterion in our herd, as the accuracy of index was more (0.61), in comparison to the index involving EPA MY and EFA. The robustness of selection index was assessed by increasing the relative economic values of included traits by 25 and 50 %, and accuracy of the index remains almost stable without much change. The developed selection strategy involving EPA WA and EFA should be considered for the genetic evaluation of Murrah buffaloes, as it has a potential for maximizing the lifetime reproduction and production performances of the breed.     

Diversity assessment of useful <Emphasis Type="Italic">Crotalaria</Emphasis> species in India for plant genetic resources management

Assessment of diversity in cultivated and wild useful Crotalaria L. distributed in different phytogeographical regions of India was made. Sites of germplasm collection were depicted on maps to facilitate planning and execution of collection and conservation programmes. In the present communication, information on useful and potential species of Crotalaria in India has also been documented for widening their scope in plant genetic resources management.     

Comparison of two DNA extractions and nested PCR, real-time PCR, a new commercial PCR assay, and bacterial culture for detection of Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis in bovine feces.

In this study, 5 combinations of 2 DNA extractions and 3 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) techniques were compared with culture for the detection of Mycobacterium paratuberculosis directly from bovine feces. These combinations included a new commercial extraction technique combined with a commercial PCR/Southern blot technique, nested PCR (nPCR), or real-time PCR, and a university-developed extraction combined with nPCR or real-time PCR. Four of the 5 combinations had statistically similar sensitivities between 93% and 100% and specificity between 95% and 100%, when compared with culture results from 63 bovine fecal samples. These results indicated that using a commercial extraction with a commercial PCR/Southern blot, nPCR, or real-time PCR, or a university-developed extraction with real-time PCR would result in similar sensitivities to culture for the identification of M. paratuberculosis from bovine feces and are valid alternatives to culture.     

Phenylalanine depletion for the management of phenylketonuria: use of enzyme reactors with immobilized enzymes

Multitubular enzyme reactors with immobilized phenylalanine ammonia lyase were tested in vitro and in vivo for depletion of phenylalanine in circulating blood. Sustained reduction of phenylalanine was achieved in less than 30 minutes. A 50% decrease of phenylalanine was obtained with a 2-hour application of enzyme reactors and was maintained for more than 2 days. Similar enzyme reactors have therapeutic potential for temporary management of phenylketonuric patients when their circulating phenylalanine becomes exceedingly high because of infection, fever, or pregnancy.     

Use of Bone Plate for Treatment of an Open Third Metacarpal Fracture in a Foal

A 7-month-old, 180-kg, female foal was presented with open diaphyseal fracture of the left third metacarpal bone. The fractured limb was stabilized preoperatively with external coaptation. Open reduction and internal fixation were done using 4.5-mm broad dynamic compression plate, which was applied in a neutralization manner. Postoperatively, external support with padded bandage reinforced with gutter splint made of fiber glass was provided. The incisional infection and the contaminated wound on medial aspect of the metacarpal were managed with regular dressing. Complete radiographic union and functional recovery were noticed by 4 months postoperatively. Open diaphyseal fractures can be managed by proper preoperative fracture stabilization, wound management, and fixation methods using bone plate and external coaptation.     

Global Information Resources on Rice for Research and Development

Various issues concerning the progress of rice research are related to ambiguous germplasm identification,difficulty in tracing pedigree information,and lack of integration between genetic resources,characterization,breeding,evaluation and utilization data.These issues are the constraints in developing knowledge-intensive crop improvement programs.The rapid growth,development and the global spread of modern information and communication technology allow quick adoption in fundamental research.Thus,there is a need to provide an opportunity for the establishment of services which describe the rice information for better accessibility to information resources used by researchers to enhance the competitiveness.This work reviews some of available resources on rice bioinformatics and their roles in elucidating and propagating biological and genomic information in rice research.These reviews will also enable stakeholders to understand and adopt the change in research and development and share knowledge with the global community of agricultural scientists.The establishment like International Rice Information System,Rice Genome Research Project and Integrated Rice Genome Explorer are major initiatives for the improvement of rice.Creation of databases for comparative studies of rice and other cereals are major steps in further improvement of genetic compositions.This paper will also highlight some of the initiatives and organizations working in the field of rice improvement and explore the availability of the various web resources for the purpose of research and development of rice.We are developing a meta web server for integration of online resources such as databases,web servers and journals in the area of bioinformatics.This integrated platform,with acronym iBIRA,is available online at http://ibiranet.in.The resources reviewed here are the excerpts from the resources integrated in iBIRA.     

Population genetic structure of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Rhizoctonia solani</Emphasis> AG1IA from rice field in North India

Rhizoctonia solani AG1IA is an important fungal pathogen causing significant yield and quality losses in rice production. However, little is known about the levels of genetic diversity and structure of this pathogen in North India. Out of 240 samples collected from different rice-growing regions of North India, 112 isolates were identified as R. solani AG1IA subgroups using species-specific primers. All 112 isolates were organized into four groups on the basis of percent disease index (PDI). The majority of the isolates were weakly virulent. Population genetic analysis was performed within and between populations using inter simple sequence repeat (ISSR) markers. A total of 8249 alleles were identified from the 112 isolates of R. solani AG1IA through analysis of the ten inter simple sequence repeat markers. All the ten ISSR markers were polymorphic. The average number of bands per primer was 7.3 which ranged in size from 250 to 1500 bp. Genetic structure of the isolates using inter simple sequence repeat primers showed high degree of polymorphism (PIC ≥0.81). The analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) indicated that most of the genetic diversity occurred within populations (60%), while the variability among populations and among regions contributed 25 and 15%, respectively. Overall, the present study reveals that a large variation exists among rice-infecting isolates of R. solani AG1IA in North India. Fingerprinting of the isolates using ISSRs along with phenotypic characterization and virulence analysis will help epidemiological studies that can provide new insights into pathogen biology and disease spread.