Temperature-dependent development of Ascotis selenaria (Lepidoptera: Geometridae) and its stage emergence models with field validation

Temperature-dependent development of Ascotis selenaria (Denis et Schiffermüller) was studied in the laboratory. Time to egg eclosion decreased with increasing temperature and ranged from 17.4 d at 16 °C to 5.0 d at 30 and 32 °C. Total development times of larvae decreased from 54.7 d at 16 °C to 17.3 d at 32 °C. The development time of pupae ranged from 29.7 days at 16 °C to 10.2 days at 30 and 32 °C. Eggs, larvae and pupae did not develop successfully to the next stage at 12 and 35 °C. The estimated lower temperature thresholds were 10.4, 9.3, and 9.8 °C for eggs, larvae, and pupae, respectively. Thermal constants of egg, larvae, and pupae were 88.5, 370.4, and 188.7 DD, respectively. Stage emergence models for eggs, larvae, and pupae of A. selenaria were constructed by using the development rate model (Lactin 2 function) and development distribution model (three-parameter Weibull function), which simulate the proportion of individuals shifted from one stage to the next. Pearson's correlation coefficients between actual observations in the field and model outputs were statistically significant with 0.99, 0.68 to 0.87 and 0.96 to 0.98 for egg, larval and pupal stage emergence model, respectively. The egg stage emergence model could be used to facilitate spraying time as it successfully predicted the first instar larval population. Predictability of the pupal stage emergence model was greatly improved when the physiological age of overwintering pupae was assumed to be in various state. The stage emergence models developed here should be useful to construct an A. selenaria population model.     

干播湿出技术对不同土壤质地棉花生长和产量的影响——以阿拉尔垦区为例

本试验在阿拉尔垦区选取不同质地土壤地块,研究干播湿出技术对棉花生长发育和产量的影响。结果表明：不同土壤质地干播湿出模式下棉花出苗率差异不大,整体出苗情况良好;沙质土棉田株高高于壤质土和黏质土,初期差异明显,后期差异逐渐变小;不同土壤质地棉田果枝薹数差异不明显,生育后期壤质土铃数最多;土壤碱解氮和有效磷的含量为壤质土>黏质土>沙质土,土壤速效钾的含量为黏质土>壤质土>沙质土,土壤含盐量为黏质土>沙质土>壤质土,棉花产量为壤质土>沙质土>黏质土。综合来看,壤质土为干播湿出技术的应用提供了最有利的条件,可促进棉花生长发育和对土壤速效养分的吸收,从而获得较高产量。     

Improving the Field Emergence Performance of Super Sweet Corn by Sand Priming

Abstract

A priming method called sand priming was developed using sand as a priming solid matrix. The effect of sand priming on improving the field emergence performance of five super sweet corn cultivars was investigated. Sand priming significantly improved field emergence performance of all super sweet corn cultivars, and there was marked improvement by priming at 20ºC for 24 hr. After sand priming at 20ºC for 24 hr, field emergence percentage (FEP) of “Green Superman”, “Huatian 1”, “Yangtian 1”, “Mitian 8”, and “Chaotian 43” was increased by 52.1%, 37.5%, 38.0%, 40.9%, and 33.3%, respectively. Their field emergence speed (FES) was 2.3, 1.8, 2.0, 2.0, and 1.8 times of the control, respectively. To further elucidate the effect of sand priming on improving the field emergence performance of super sweet corn, we analyzed the membrane system integrity, α-amylase activity and protein content. Sand priming at 20ºC for 24 hr improved membrane system integrity and α-amylase activity in all super sweet corn cultivars. Furthermore, sand priming at 20ºC for 24 hr accelerated the degradation of embryo protein after 1 d germination in “Green Superman”.     

Does sand content in spawning substrate result in early larval emergence? Evidence from a lithophilic cyprinid fish

The spawning success of lithophilic salmonids is strongly influenced by the fine sediment content (“fines”) of spawning substrates, yet knowledge on the impacts of fines on the spawning of non‐salmonid lithophiles remains limited, despite their ecological and socio‐economic importance in European rivers. Consequently, the aim here was to use an ex‐situ experiment to investigate the impact of sand content on egg survival and timing of larval emergence of the surface‐spawning cyprinid European barbel Barbus barbus. Thirty incubator boxes within a recirculating system were filled with one of five experimental sediment mixtures (0%–40% sand by mass) that each contained 300 fertilised eggs at a depth of 50 mm. Emerged, free‐swimming larvae were captured and counted daily to assess grain‐size effects on larval survival and emergence. Specifically, total proportion of emerged larvae, cumulative daily proportion of emerged larvae and time required to reach 50% emergence were measured during the study. Whilst the proportion of sand in the sediments did not have a significant impact on egg‐to‐emergence survival (mean survival per treatment 75%–79%), it significantly affected the timing of larval emergence to the water column; early emergence was detected in treatments with elevated sand content (on average, 50% emergence after 12–13 days versus 19 days in the control). Similar to findings from salmonid studies, these results suggest high sand content in spawning gravels can influence timing of larval emergence and potentially cyprinid lithophilic fish survival.     

Interactions between the tillage system and crop rotation on the crop yield and weed populations under arid conditions

Field experiments were conducted in Iran in order to determine the interactions between the tillage system and crop rotation on weed seedling populations and crop yields from 2002 to 2005. No tillage, shallow tillage and deep tillage were the main plots and three crop sequences comprising continuous wheat (W‐W), wheat–canola–wheat–canola (C‐W) and wheat–safflower–wheat–safflower (S‐W) were the subplots. Bromus japonicus, Carthumus lanatus, Polygonum aviculare, Lolium temulentum and Avena ludoviciana were found to be the dominant species. The initial weed population in 2002 was estimated at 65 seedlings per m² and B. japonicus (～35 seedlings per m²) was the most abundant species, followed by A. ludoviciana and L. temulentum. The dominant weed species mostly did not favor the combination of S‐W and C‐W with any tillage type. For the B. japonicus population, S‐W in combination with moldboard plowing indicated the lowest seedling population. In conclusion, the crop sequence in combination with tillage would help to control troublesome weed species. Safflower and canola were determined to be effective in reducing the grass weeds. The inclusion of these crops in rotation also increased the total revenue of the cropping systems because of the higher sale price of canola and safflower.     

两种氟虫双酰胺复配制剂拌种对直播晚稻蓟马的控制效果及水稻生长的影响

为筛选直播晚稻蓟马的防治药剂,采用拌种法在大田试验了两种氟虫双酰胺复配制剂对直播水稻蓟马的控制效果,并考查了其对二化螟、稻纵卷叶螟的兼治效应及对水稻生长的影响。结果表明,48%氟虫双酰胺?噻虫啉SC 4~8 g a.i./kg种子处理拌种,可有效控制水稻苗期稻蓟马危害,药后14天杀虫和保叶效果分别为88.89%~95.03%和85.63%~91.67%,药后21天分别为87.64%~94.49%和78.86%~89.69%;2 g a.i./kg种子处理防效明显下降。同时,对二化螟具有兼治效果,并可刺激稻苗生长,提高水稻生长后期结实率和产量,而对稻纵卷叶螟防效较低。10%氟虫双酰胺?阿维菌素SC 1.5~3 g a.i./kg种子拌种对二化螟具有较好的控制效果,对稻蓟马和稻纵卷叶螟防效较低。因此,48%氟虫双酰胺?噻虫啉SC 4~8 g a.i./kg种子处理拌种可推荐用于水稻苗期稻蓟马和二化螟防治,而10%氟虫双酰胺?阿维菌素SC拌种处理不宜用于水稻苗期稻蓟马治理。     

山东滨海盐渍棉田盐分和养分特征及对棉花出苗的影响

 在黄河三角洲6个县区随机选择318块盐渍棉田,对0～20 cm土层盐分、有机质和主要养分含量分析表明,轻度（含盐量<2.5 g·kg^-1）、中度（2.5～4.49 g·kg^-1）和重度（>4.5 g·kg^-1）盐碱地所占的比例分别为44.3%、40.6%和15.1%。中度盐碱地N、P、K含量皆中等偏下,轻度盐碱地则是钾含量偏低;种植年限短的重度盐碱地有机质含量很低,碱解氮和有效磷含量严重不足,但含钾量高;种植年限较长的重度盐碱地有机质、碱解氮和有效磷的含量中等,但速效钾较低。滨海盐碱棉田土壤含盐量（y）和土壤溶液（水：土=5：1）电导率（x）回归方程为y=3.4058x + 0.1427（n=27,R²=0.9964^**）。当土壤含盐2 g·kg^-1 以下时,棉花基本能正常出苗、成苗;当含盐2～3 g·kg^-1时,只有60％～78%的种子可以出苗,45％～55%的种子能够成苗;含盐超过 4 g·kg^-1时,出苗率40%左右,成苗率不足30%。根据滨海盐碱地的盐分和养分特征,采取合理的成苗技术和施肥技术是实现棉花高产的保证。     

冰水浸种对不同甘蔗品种出苗率和幼苗素质的影响

以新台糖16号和新台糖22号为对照品种,对6个甘蔗新品种和对照品种的种茎进行0℃冰水混合液浸种8、16和24h后种植,研究低温冻害对甘蔗出苗率和幼苗素质的影响以及不同品种的耐寒性差异。结果表明：0℃冰水浸种8h以上的甘蔗出苗率和幼苗素质随着冰水浸种时间的延长而降低;参试的6个品种中赣蔗18号和桂糖94—119的耐寒性与耐寒性较好的对照品种新台糖16号相近;台引2号的耐寒性比新台糖22号差,桂引9号、桂辐98—296和桂糖00—122的耐寒性介于新台糖16号和新台糖22号之间。     

草本花卉出苗障碍发生的原因及预防措施

草本花卉的出苗障碍是指在育苗过程中出苗率和整齐度没有达到预期的效果,这会直接影响花卉的栽培质量。分析引发草本花卉出苗障碍现象的主要原因,提出预防出苗障碍的有效措施,以期为提高草本花卉育苗的出苗率和整齐度提供技术指导。     

PhenologyMMS: A program to simulate crop phenological responses to water stress

Crop phenology is fundamental for understanding crop growth and development, and increasingly influences many agricultural management practices. Water deficits are one environmental factor that can influence crop phenology through shortening or lengthening the developmental phase, yet the phenological responses to water deficits have rarely been quantified. The objective of this paper is to provide an overview of a decision support technology software tool, PhenologyMMS V1.2, developed to simulate the phenology of various crops for varying levels of soil water. The program is intended to be simple to use, requires minimal information for calibration, and can be incorporated into other crop simulation models. It consists of a Java interface connected to FORTRAN science modules to simulate phenological responses. The complete developmental sequence of the shoot apex correlated with phenological events, and the response to soil water availability for winter and spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), winter and spring barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), corn (Zea mays L.), sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.), proso millet (Panicum milaceum L.), hay/foxtail millet [Setaria italica (L.) P. Beauv.], and sunflower (Helianthus annus L.) were created based on experimental data and the literature. Model evaluation consisted of testing algorithms using “generic” default phenology parameters for wheat (i.e., no calibration for specific cultivars was used) for a variety of field experiments to predict developmental events. Results demonstrated that the program has general applicability for predicting crop phenology and can aid in crop management.