Colonization of wheat seedling (Triticum aestivum) roots by Pseudomonas fluorescens and Bacillus subtilis

Summary Colonization patterns of Pseudomonas fluorescens and Bacillus subtilis on roots of wheat seedlings growing on water agar were studied qualitatively by replica printing and quantitatively by the plate count method. The results indicated a stronger colonization potential for P. fluorescens (up to 10⁷ cfu/cm root) than for B. subtilis (up to 10⁵ cfu/cm root). Although the numbers of both species were lower when inoculated together, the observed colonization patterns on the roots were comparable to those found with single inoculations. For none of these bacteria was active migration along the root surface in any direction observed, indicating that distal positions are reached mainly by a passive displacement on the root tip and elongating cells. Ecological implications of the observed phenomena are discussed.     

Effect of low pO2 on colonization of maize roots by a genetically altered Pseudomonas putida [PH6(L1019)]

Among the factors which may affect colonization of roots by soil bacteria is that of rhizosphere oxygen partial pressure (pO₂). The oxygen concentration in the root zone influences both microbes and roots. Roots exposed to low pO₂, as might occur during flooding and waterlogging of the soil, become more leaky and loss of soluble carbon increases. To determine whether periods of low pO₂ increased root colonization by a genetically altered pseudomonad we inoculated 3- to 4-week-old maize plants, grown in soil and transferred to a hydroponic system or grown in fritted clay, with Pseudomonas putida PH6(L1019)(lacZY+) following exposure of the roots to air or cylinder N₂. Numbers of heterotrophs and the marked pseudomonad were determined by dilution plating. Low pO₂ generally increased the numbers of bacteria associated with roots exposed to the treatments in solution or in undisturbed fritted clay rooting medium. Under low pO₂ in a hydroponic system, roots of intact maize plants tended also to have higher soluble organic C and hexose (anthrone-detectable sugars) than roots exposed to air. The effect of low pO₂ was most pronounced in the fritted clay where low pO₂ favored colonization by the marked strain; numbers were 3- to 96-fold greater than those on roots flushed with air but accounted for only 0.06–0.61% of the total population. Roots exposed to low pO₂ tended to accumulate more C. Results suggest that in the fritted clay, the pseudomonad was able to exploit the increased C supply and to achieve greater numbers on roots exposed to low pO₂, whereas the dilution of carbon released from roots in the hydroponic apparatus did not allow for the same magnitude of increase on roots. Received: 2 December 1996     

Survival of the western pond turtle (Emys marmorata) in an urban California environment

The western pond turtle Emys (formerly Clemmys) marmorata is declining throughout its range, primarily due to loss of habitat via urbanization and conversion to agriculture. Urban waterways present several important challenges to freshwater turtle populations, but they also present an opportunity to maintain declining species in a ubiquitous habitat that has high public visibility. The arboretum waterway on the University of California, Davis campus is an example of an extensively altered urban habitat that supports a relatively large E. marmorata population. Over the last 6 years, we monitored the turtle population inhabiting the arboretum waterway to determine the demographic health of the population, and the challenges and opportunities that urban environments pose for pond turtles. Since 1993, the naturally existing arboretum pond turtle population has declined by approximately 40% and has shown little natural recruitment. During this time, we also introduced 31 headstarted turtles into the arboretum. Headstarting is the process of raising juveniles in captivity until they have outgrown their period of greatest vulnerability to predators, and then releasing them into the wild. Our headstarting results demonstrate that this contentious strategy is a viable option for adding young turtles to the population, although it does not address the causes of decline. Over the course of our study, we encountered nine species of non-native turtles in the waterway, and these appear to be a serious threat to the native species. As more habitat becomes urbanized, it is increasingly important to understand how freshwater turtles, such as E. marmorata, adapt to urban waterways and the impact of non-native turtles on native turtle species. Our strong feeling is that urban waterways can provide habitat for viable populations of freshwater turtles and showcase them to the public, but both the aquatic and terrestrial habitat must be managed according to the biological requirements of individual species.     

牦牛放牧率对江河源区混播禾草地上初级生产量及种间竞争力的影响

在江河源区2龄混播禾草草地(垂穗披碱草 星星草)上牦牛放牧试验结果表明: 随着放牧率的增加,在生长期内不同功能群地上净初级生产量和总地上初级生产量均出现了单峰曲线变化,即“S”型变化趋势; 总的地上净初级生产量和垂穗披碱草地上净初级生产量对放牧率的变化很敏感, 且随着放牧率的增加, 峰值出现日期提前; 其它禾草和星星草的峰值对放牧率的变化不很敏感;莎草类和杂草类对放牧率的变化比较敏感。随放牧率的增加, 地上现存量和总地上初级生产量的峰值下降, 且达到峰值的时间提前。在整个放牧期(植物生长期),重度放牧的RYT值均小于1,表明重度放牧使垂穗披碱草和星星草一直处于拮抗状态,其它各处理组在生长中后期也处于拮抗状态; 不同放牧率(包括对照)下垂穗披碱草的竞争力强于星星草, 垂穗披碱草因其高度和发达而较深的根系成为竞争的优胜者。     

Welcome to delegates

Land Equivalent Ratios (LER) were calculated for mixtures of Trifolium subterraneum and Lolium multiflorum in terms of dry matter production and crude protein production. This ratio denotes the yield advantage, if any, of a specific mixture against the pure stands of the different components. The mixture receiving 240 kg N ha^?1 showed an advantage of 3% and 10%, respectively, for dry matter production and crude protein production. Heavy defoliation (50 mm) increased the partial LER value of the grass component and consequently the combined LER. A grass seeding rate of 10–20 kg ha^?1 ensured a well‐balanced mixture. The results signify the strong competitive ability of T. subterraneum in a mixture with L. multiflorum, especially with light defoliation, low nitrogen and low grass seeding rates.     

Regeneration of timber trees in a logged tropical forest in North Bolivia

For sustainable forest management, it is important to know the response of timber species to the change in environment caused by logging. We performed a 2-year study on germination, survival and growth of four timber species, Cedrela odorata, Swietenia macrophylla, Hymenaea courbaril, and Cariniana micrantha, and one non-commercial species Tachigali vasquezii. We sowed seeds of these species in five microenvironments: log landing, gap-crown and gap-trunk, skidder trail and understory, in a tropical lowland moist rain forest in northern Bolivia. We related seed and seedling performance to light availability, soil compaction, and plant competition. Germination did not differ significantly between microenvironments but survival of germinated seeds for most species was significantly higher (P < 0.05) in the log landing (46–100%) than in the understory (0–7%). After 2 years, the tallest plants were always found in the log landing (119–190 cm) and the smallest in the understory (12–26 cm) caused by a higher relative height growth rate (RHGR) in the log landing (0.003–0.004 cm cm⁻¹ per day) compared to the understory (0.000–0.001 cm cm⁻¹ per day). During the first year RHGR was positively related to canopy openness for all species and negatively to the number of overtopping competitors for three species. During the second year also water infiltration explained observed variation to RHGR. These results show that abandoned log landings and logging gaps are suitable environments for the regeneration of timber species studied. This finding suggests that the removal of competitors in log landings and logging gaps combined with leaving seed trees near these microenvironments or sowing seeds, will improve regeneration of timber species in tropical forests.     

柞蚕微孢子虫胶体金免疫层析检测法

利用柞蚕微孢子虫孢子液直接免疫家兔获得柞蚕微孢子虫多克隆抗体后,分别采用双抗夹心法和竞争法制作胶体金免疫层析试纸条,建立能简便、快捷、准确诊断柞蚕微粒子病的柞蚕微孢子虫胶体金免疫层析检测法。双抗夹心法和竞争法分别是将柞蚕微孢子虫多克隆抗体与25 nm和17 nm的胶体金颗粒结合并固定在金标垫上,然后均将羊抗兔二抗包被在硝酸纤维素膜上作为质控点(C),但是2种方法制作的胶体金免疫层析试纸条的反应模式不同:前者是以柞蚕微孢子虫多克隆抗体作为检测点(T),而后者以柞蚕微孢子虫孢壁蛋白作为检测点(T)。2种方法制作的胶体金免疫层析试纸条的检测时间均为10 min,检测灵敏度为0.8×107个/mL,与柞蚕血淋巴无交叉反应,特异性强,操作简单,其中,以双抗夹心法制作的试纸条显色更清晰,结果更可靠,更具实用价值。     

典型草原三种蝗虫种群死亡率和竞争的研究

通过田间罩笼试验研究内蒙古典型草原3种蝗虫成虫种群死亡率和竞争。供试蝗虫分别为:亚洲小车蝗(Oedaleus asiaticus B.Bienko),宽须蚁蝗(Myrmeleotettix palpapis(Zub.))和短星翅蝗(Calliptamus abbreviatus Ikonn.)。结果表明:亚洲小车蝗和宽须蚁蝗食性相似,喜食禾本科牧草,而短星翅蝗则喜食菊科牧草,为了获取更多食物,短星翅蝗种内竞争强于亚洲小车蝗和宽须蚁蝗;30 d后在3种密度(24、16、8头/m²)下,亚洲小车蝗存活数均高于另两种,其竞争也强于另两种;3种蝗虫24头/m²死亡率均高于80%,其中短星翅蝗达86%,说明在高密度下有很强的种内竞争,随着密度的减少死亡率降低,种内竞争也随之减少;3种蝗虫混养时,亚洲小车蝗和宽须蚁蝗的死亡率比在单种时有所降低,而短星翅蝗死亡率比单种时则有所增加,表明亚洲小车蝗和宽须蚁蝗有较强的种间竞争,短星翅蝗的竞争较弱。     

栽培柳枝稷不同生长时期对伴生杂草生物量及密度的影响

以陕西定边县引种的8个柳枝稷(Panicum virgatum L.)品种(Blackwell,Cave-in-Rock,Dakota,Forest-berg,Illinois USA,Nebraska 28,Pathfinder和Sunburst)及行间杂草作为研究对象,通过计算柳枝稷对杂草的抑制率(RI),分析其生长指标与杂草生长指标的相关关系,判定不同柳枝稷品种在不同生育期对杂草生长的抑制效应,为其引种及田间杂草管理提供依据。结果表明:在生长初期(6月30日),Illinois USA杂草抑制率仅为3.4%,Cave-in-Rock和Forestberg对杂草生长抑制率分别为86.0%和74.9%;经过2次人工除草后(8月30日),Cave-in-Rock和Forestberg的杂草抑制率分别为85.7%和95.7%;生长后期(10月13日),仅Cave-in-Rock对杂草生长有88.5%的抑制率。回归分析显示,生长中后期(8月30日),柳枝稷地上部及根系生物量显著影响对杂草的抑制率(R2=0.31,0.54;P<0.05)。Pearson相关分析发现,Cave-in-Rock的株高、地上及根系生物量均显著降低杂草单株生物量(r=-0.97,-0.99,-0.99;P<0.05);Forestberg的植高与杂草密度显著负相关(r=-0.97,P<0.05)。     

Agronomic performance of no-tillage relay intercropping with maize under smallholder conditions in Central Brazil

In the context of conservation agriculture on small scale farms of the Brazilian Cerrado, we hypothesized that planting a cover crop in relay with a commercial crop improves the efficiency of use of available natural resources, increasing biomass for use as fodder without reducing the grain yield of the main crop. The objective of this study was to measure the performance of two intercropped systems in terms of total above-ground biomass production and maize (Zea mays) grain yield: pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan) and Brachiaria (Brachiaria ruziziensis) sown as cover crops in established maize under a no-tillage management. The cover crops were sown at two different dates and a comparison was made with the three crops sown as a sole crop at the early sowing date. The experiment was conducted during the 2007-2008 and 2008-2009 growing seasons. Maize grain yield was not reduced by the presence of the relay cover crops in comparison with maize as the sole crop, even when the cover crop was sown soon after maize emergence. In contrast, the production of above-ground biomass by the cover crop was significantly lower when grown with maize than it was when grown as a sole crop. In the intercropped systems, when sown early, the cover crop produced higher total biomass than when sown late. Total above-ground biomass production of maize intercropped with a cover crop was much higher than that of any of the crops sown alone: the total biomass (average of the two growing seasons) produced by maize and pigeon pea was more than double that of maize grown alone. The land equivalent ratio (LER) of maize grain yield and biomass production was higher than one whatever the intercropped system used. It was particularly high when maize was intercropped with early sown pigeon pea; grain yield LER and biomass LER reaching, respectively, 1.72 and 1.73 in 2007-2008 and 2.02 and 2.03 in 2008-2009. These high LER values provide evidence for the complementary and the high efficiency of use of available resources by the intercropped plants and thus the advantage of such systems to produce both maize grain and cover crop forage under the conditions of our study.