Path analysis: a novel approach to determine the contribution of nematode damage to East African Highland banana (Musa spp., AAA) yield loss under two crop management practices in Uganda

Damage caused by plant-parasitic nematodes on East Africa Highland banana cultivar Mbwazirume was evaluated at Sendusu, Central Uganda. Banana plots were either nematode-infested or non-infested and received either continuous heavy mulch or were finger millet (Eleusine coracana) inter-cropped. An infestation with banana weevil, Cosmopolites sordidus, occurred naturally. Suckers detached from third crop cycle harvested plants were indexed for root and corm damage. Nematodes were extracted from the indexed roots. Banana weevil damage was observed in a cross-section through the corm of the harvested plant. Relationships between root damage, corm damage and nematode population densities were examined using correlation analyses. Path analysis was used to establish their relative effects on bunch weight. Independent of the type of crop management, percentage root necrosis, percentage dead roots, Radopholus similis and Helicotylenchus multicinctus population densities were each negatively correlated with bunch weight. Banana weevil damage and Pratylenchus goodeyi population densities were not correlated with bunch weight (P≤0.05). Path analysis revealed that root necrosis under heavy mulching and dead roots under finger millet inter-crop were the major factors associated with reduced bunch weight. Independent of the type of crop management, path analysis demonstrated that R. similis and then H. multicinctus contributed most, and to a lesser extent P. goodeyi, to root necrosis and dead roots. C. sordidus damage to the inner or outer corm appeared not to affect bunch weight.     

DRIS norms and limiting nutrients in banana cultivation in the South of Ecuador

Abstract

Foliar analysis is an effective method to diagnose the nutritional status of plants. However, the mineral concentration in foliar tissue has traditionally been evaluated by assessing the activity of each element, without considering the interactions between them. To address this, dual interactions were calculated using the Diagnosis and Recommendation Integrated System (DRIS) to identify which crop nutrients are most influential in nutrient imbalances and which are the most limiting nutrients for the nutritional status of banana crops in Ecuador. To achieve this, a regional survey of the nutritional status and its productivity levels was conducted for 188 different sites during the crop season in 2017–2018, involving banana cultivars ‘Vallery’ and ‘Williams’, from the Cavendish subgroup. The DRIS calculation method was combined with Beaufils and Jones functions. From the initial 188 foliar samples, 83 samples (representing 44% of the population) were considered to represent the high-yield reference population, with yields of 38–60 t ha^?1. The DRIS method defined the mean nutritional balance index, which was not found to be statistically correlated (p?>?0.05) with productivity, revealing that there was no significant association with the nutritional status of the plants. Specific DRIS norms were obtained and indicated that deficiencies in K, N, Ca, and Fe, and excesses in Mn, B, Cl, Zn, S, Cu, and Mg were the most limiting nutrients for banana cultivars in the south of Ecuador.     

Preparation of algal-oligosaccharide mixtures by bacterial agarases and their antioxidative properties

ABSTRACT:   Algal-oligosaccharide-lysates (AOL), derived from six agars and four algal polysaccharide extracts (APE), were treated with 100–500 activity units (AU) of MA103-agarases or MAEF108-agarases, and their antioxidative properties evaluated. Soluble total polyphenols (TP) were between 462.2 ± 1.6 gallic acid equivalents (GAE, µg/mL) and 70.6 ± 17.4 GAE. The DPPH radical scavenging capacity of all AOL went from 68.3 ± 0.7% to 0.5 ± 0.1%. The ferrous ion chelating capacity of all AOL went from 93.1 ± 0.2% to 21.7 ± 0.9%. Evaluation of the H₂O₂ scavenging capacity of all AOL was between 35.9 ± 5.4% and 0.1 ± 0.2%. The reducing power of all AOL went from 51.3 ± 2.6 to 3.2 ± 6.8 expressed as µg/mL ascorbic acid. In DPPH radical scavenging capacity, ferrous ion chelating capacity and reducing power etc., the AOL derived from the APE of Porphyra dentate (digested by 500 AU of MAEF108-agarases) were highest, in all test sets. However, the AOL derived from the APE of Monostroma nitidum (digested by 500 AU of MAEF108-agarases) had the highest H₂O₂ scavenging capacity in all test sets. The order of antioxidative activity performance of all AOL treated in this experiment, by these four antioxidative methods, is as follows: ferrous ion chelating capacity > DPPH radical scavenging capacity > H₂O₂ scavenging capacity > reducing power; this may be related to their polyphenols, small molecular weight polysaccharides or simple sugar constituents. In this study, it is demonstrated that various agarases derived from algal oligosaccharide mixtures possess good potential for use as a health food, due to their antioxidative capacity.     

Stand basal area as an index of tree competitiveness in timber intercropping

To derive optimal benefits from intercropping timber, farmers should make important initial decisions on tree species and planting density with a good understanding of their tradeoffs. Complex and data-intensive models used by researchers should be supplemented with simpler models based on easily measured parameters and easily understood competition functions. In experiments in the Philippine uplands, growth parameters of three popular farm-forestry species (Eucalyptus deglupta, E. torelliana, and Paraserianthes falcataria) were measured, along with intercropped and non-intercropped yields of maize and vegetables. The commonly used forestry parameter of stand basal area had a significant negative correlation with intercrop yields (as a percentage of non-intercropped yields). The slope of the regression line differed between species; in this study, percent yield loss per unit stem basal area growth was in the order E. deglupta > E. torelliana > P. falcataria. The relationship between stand basal area and intercrop-yield decline was tested on an independent data set from China. Intercrop yields had significant negative correlations with stand basal area of Paulownia elongata. We propose that adaptive tree-screening trials evaluate competitiveness in addition to evaluating growth and mortality. Stand basal area may be better suited to this task than more mechanistic indices such as leaf-area index as it is easy to measure, calculate, and understand, and it may serve as a better index of total (aboveground + belowground) competition. Basal area is also directly related to tree volume, and allows farmers to more easily evaluate the economic tradeoffs between tree growth and intercrop-yield declines. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

仁寿血防疫区人工种植益母草构型分支与生物量配置

本文研究了仁寿兴林抑螺示范区抑螺植物益母草的生长与结实特性。益母草存在基部优先与顶部优先两种构型,前者适应于肥沃生境,而后者适宜贫瘠生境。埂边生境高度较大(1.6 vs 0.95),分支数量较大(一级枝8.5vs 6.6;二级枝32.6 vs 9.7;三级枝:0.7 vs 0),分支率较高(4.7 vs 2.3),瘠薄的间作生境明显较低。两种生境中,个体高度与一级枝无关,而与二级枝数量呈现明显抛物线曲线关系。不同位置或节点枝径、间距长度、结实数量都呈现直线或曲线关系,表明位置效应明显,益母草呈现向基性发育模式。深入分析发现,益母草生殖枝结构性参数,如枝径、节间长度都与结实数量呈现明显的线性关系,暗示这种位置效应实质上是结构大小引起的,归为结构限制。随着个体生长,益母草枝干、根系、花果、叶片生物量增长速度依次降低,暗示培育目标实现可能需要优化构型特征。总体分析,益母草通过构型优化(如分支率)来适应异质性生境,而构件生殖存在结构依赖性。     

落叶松自然条件下感染松材线虫初报

对2018年辽宁抚顺市出现枯死现象的长白落叶松Larix olgensis、日本落叶松L.kaempferi和华北落叶松L.principis-rupprechtii取样调查,通过显微镜形态学鉴定和实时荧光定量PCR方法确定3种落叶松体内均含松材线虫Bursaphelenchus xylophilus。由此确定松材线虫在我国自然条件下侵染落叶松。这是我国关于落叶松自然感染松材线虫的首次报道。     

Brenneria spp. and Rahnella victoriana associated with acute oak decline symptoms on oak and hornbeam in Iran

Decline diseases of forest trees are complex syndromes not attributable to single causal factors. In Iran, symptoms of decline disease have been observed in a number of native forest species including Quercus castaneifolia (chestnut‐leaved oak), Q. brantii (Persian oak) and Carpinus betulus (hornbeam). The symptoms are prevalent in the northern forests and the Zagros mountain forests. There are parallels between the disease in Iran and acute oak decline (AOD) reported in the UK, specifically the presence of weeping cankers, which have been attributed to a polybacterial complex wherein Brenneria goodwinii is considered a key necrogen. Based on the AOD symptomatology, and as a first step towards discovering potential causal agents of the stem weeping symptoms of affected trees in Iran, necrotic tissues were tested primarily for the presence of B. goodwinii. Symptomatic Q. castaneifolia and C. betulus from the Mazandaran Province and symptomatic Q. brantii from Kohgiluyeh and Boyerahmad Province were sampled. Isolation and culture on a selective medium yielded uniform bacterial colonies. Isolates were characterized using phenotypic and genotypic (DNA sequencing) tests. The isolates were phenotypically identical to members of Pectobacteriaceae and Yersiniaceae, specifically Brenneria and Rahnella spp. The nucleotide sequences of the 16S rRNA and housekeeping genes gyrB, infB and atpD (MLSA) amplified via PCR demonstrated that the isolates from the trees in Iran were indeed B. goodwinii, B. roseae subsp. roseae, Rahnella victoriana and an unknown species of Brenneria. Most bacteria isolated from non‐symptomatic trees were Gram‐positive, and Pseudomonas spp. were dominant, but bacterial species isolated from the diseased trees were not detected in healthy trees. Hypersensitivity response tests were positive, but inoculation on saplings was more variable with internal necrosis developing only once in the test period. Therefore, further testing is required. This is the first report of the incidence of B. goodwinii, B. roseae subsp. roseae, R. victoriana and Brenneria sp. associated with acute oak decline‐like symptoms on Q. castaneifolia, Q. brantii and C. betulus across the western forests of Iran and in the world.     

Process studies in aPinus radiata-pasture agroforestry system in a subhumid temperature environment. I. Water use and light interception in the third year

In this study we determined soil moisture storage, evapotranspiration (ET) and light interception in an agroforestry trial consisting of pine trees grown over (1) control (bare ground), (2) ryegrass/clovers (Lolium perene/Trifolium spp.), (3) lucerne (Medicago sativa), and (4) ryegrass only during the third growing season between 1992 and 1993. The results show that:

四个百合品种引种栽培试验研究

百合是世界著名切花之一。在广东省北部地区乳源瑶族自治县引种4个百合品种,莫娜百合(LiliumXMona)、布鲁诺百合(LiliumXBrunello)、巴巴拉百合(LiliumXBarbaresco)及凝星百合(LiliumXStargazer),观察其物候期及生长表现。结果表明:4个品种露地栽培均能生长和开花,但属东方系列品系的2个品种巴巴拉百合和凝星百合,受霜冻危害较为严重,尤其是凝星百合最易受冻害,大部分叶片出现枯焦。亚洲杂种系的两个品种莫娜百合和布鲁诺百合在花期长短、始花期、切花性状等方面,均优于东方杂交系的两个品种巴巴拉百合及凝星百合,可以推广种植。     

几种拮抗菌对杨树烂皮病菌的影响

Trichoderma3个菌株及Chaetomium sp.与杨树烂皮病菌(Cytospora chrysosperma)的对峙培养试验的结果表明:试验中采用的Trichoderma viride1,Trichoderma viride2,Trichoderma harzianum及Chaetomium sp.对杨树烂皮病菌都有一定的抑制效果,其中Trichoderma viride1对病原菌的相对抑制效果最好,且其相对抑制效果随着时间的增加而增长,在74h时达到最高,抑制率可达到64.55%;其相对抑制效果也达到最大,为11.49;其它3个菌株的相对抑制效果在对峙培养74 h时也达到最大,介于1.77~4.15之间。