Neue Ansätze zur Optimierung der Kraut- und Knollenfäulebekämpfung im ökologischen Kartoffelanbau

Potato late blight is still an unsolved problem in organic farming. Up to now the disease can only be controlled by copper fungicides. Our project is aiming to reduce the application of copper-containing pesticides by introduction of a blight forecasting system based on meteorological parameters. Primary stem infections should be reduced by seed treatment with copper fungicides thus to postpone the beginning of the blight epidemic as well as the start of spraying. To control secondary infections on the foliage, fungicide strategies should be elaborated to achieve best efficacy with reduced amounts of pesticides. Therefore copper amounts and spraying intervals should be adjusted to the infection pressure. Based on the biological and epidemiological conditions for primary and secondary infections with special emphasis on soil moisture, the potato blight forecast system ÖKO-SIMPHYT should be developed.     

Evidence for the involvement of Aphanomyces cochlioides and Pythium spp. in ‘girth scab’ disease of sugar beet in Bavaria

Journal of Plant Diseases and Protection - The term ‘girth scab’ describes a chronic disease of sugar beet roots (Beta vulgaris ssp. vulgaris) for which the causes still remain unclear....     

Field survival analyses of adult Diabrotica virgifera virgifera (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae)

Journal of Pest Science - The western corn rootworm (Diabrotica virgifera virgifera; Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) is a major maize pest in North America and Europe. For developing population models...     

Asteroid families: observational evidence for common origins

Colors of minor planets in the UBV system indicate compositions quite distinct from those of the field population in each of three Hirayama families. The Eos and Koronis families apparently originated from the collisional fragmentation of undifferentiated silicate bodies, and the Nysa group from a geochemically differentiated parent body.     

Epidemiology of bacterial ring rot of potato in plant and soil–consequences for disease management

Journal of Plant Diseases and Protection - In five field experiments, carried out from 2002 to 2004, the infestation of potato plants and the contamination of soil with Clavibacter michiganensis...     

Identification of NtNIP2;1: an Lsi1 silicon transporter in Nicotiana tabacum

Foliar silicon (Si) concentrations vary significantly among plants, resulting in the classification of different species as either high or low-Si accumulators. While the uptake pathways have been identified in some high accumulators, those that operate in low accumulators have largely been overlooked. Using a bioinformatics approach, a putative NIP2-like Si transporter gene was discovered within the genome of the low-Si accumulator, Nicotiana tabacum. The predicted protein, termed NtNIP2;1, possesses all the molecular signatures expected of an NIP2 Si transporter. Furthermore, when NtNIP2;1 was expressed in Xenopus oocytes, Si transport across the plasma membrane was observed. Nicotiana tabacum NIP2;1 RNA levels in the roots of seedlings were down-regulated in response to Si, similar to the Si transporter, OsLsi1, in rice. Taken together, these data suggest that a functional NIP2 Si uptake mechanism is also present in plants that acquire low foliar Si levels.