Grafting and calcium cyanamide as alternatives to methyl bromide for greenhouse eggplant production

Eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) seedlings (cv. Tsakoniki) were cultivated in soil artificially infested with V. dahliae Kleb. and then sterilized by either methyl bromide (MB) or calcium cyanamide. Grafted seedlings on the wild species Solanum torvum Sw. and the control seedlings (auto-rooted) were cultivated in soil sterilized by MB and then artificially infested with V. dahliae. The plants grafted on S. torvum and the ones grown in soil treated with calcium cyanamide (2001) exhibited significantly lower leaf symptom index (average value LSI = 1.55 and LSI = 1.00) and disease index (average value DI = 2.05 and DI = 1.20), respectively, as compared to the controls (average value LSI = 3.80 and DI = 5.50). Grafted plants on S. torvum and plants grown in soil treated with calcium cyanamide (2001) were more vigorous, as measured by plant height, stem diameter and root biomass than the controls. This resulted in an increased (over years) early (487.8% and 416.2%, 2001) and late production (277.0% and 241.3%, 2001) and mean fruit weight (over years) in early (93.7% and 49.6%, 2001) and late production (38.3% and 22.8%, 2001) as compared to the controls. In conclusion, grafting of eggplant and soil sterilized by calcium cyanamide had positive effects on growth, production and Verticillium wilt control.     

Do genetic diversity patterns of soil ammonia-oxidizing microorganisms (AOM) match the habitat types of the NATURA2000 scheme?

Journal of Soils and Sediments - Despite the important role of soil ammonia-oxidizing microorganisms (AOM) in the biogeochemical cycle of nitrogen, a unified view of the factors driving their...     

Simulation of Groundwater Flow in a Sedimentary Aquifer System Subjected to Overexploitation

Groundwater flow models are applied to a large variety of hydrogeological conditions in different aquifer types, in order to simulate the groundwater flow of the investigated system. This paper aims to present the application of a groundwater flow model for the simulation of a sedimentary aquifer, located in Northern Greece. The simulation involves the period between April 2003 and April 2004, and the model is divided into two distinct stress periods, each containing two different time steps. The simulation of the aquifer is found to be satisfactory, conclusion which is based on both graphical as well as arithmetical verifications. The groundwater flow simulation was achieved by the application of the MODFLOW code.     

Spinosad and spinetoram disrupt the structure and the abundance of ground-dwelling arthropod communities in herbaceous fields

In the present study, the effects of spinosad, spinetoram and chlorpyrifos on ground-dwelling arthropod diversity and abundance were compared in a herbaceous field in order to evaluate their relative compatibility with conservation of arthropod densities. Ten different treatments of spinosad, spinetoram, and chlorpyrifos, which was used as a toxic reference, were allocated at random to experimental plots. A total of 101,119 individuals of epigeal arthropods belonging to 18 orders and suborders were captured in pitfall traps, with the most abundant taxa Hymenoptera, Collembola, Araneae, Acari, Coleoptera, Isopoda, Julida and Opiliones. The orders Araneae, Coleoptera, Collembola, Hymenoptera and Opiliones were identified to the family or species level. Gnaphosidae, Carabidae, Entomobryidae, Formicidae and Metaplatybunus grandissimus CL Koch (Phalangiidae) were the most abundant taxa of Araneae, Coleoptera, Collembola, Hymenoptera and Opiliones, respectively. Significant density reduction was observed for Gnaphosidae, Linyphiidae (Araneae), Carabidae, Entomobryidae, Formicidae and M. grandissimus after chlorpyrifos treatment. Formicidae individuals were significantly reduced after spinosad application, while the Entomobryidae and M. grandissimus individuals were reduced after the application of both spinosad and spinetoram. Our results showed no significant differences in diversity level of orders and suborders as well as of Araneae families between the spinetoram-treated plots at both concentrations tested and the control. In contrast, a significant difference in the diversity of Coleoptera was detected between the spinetoram treatments and the control. Our findings showed that spinosad and spinetoram may disrupt the structure and the abundance of surface-active arthropod fauna causing considerable changes in the ground-dwelling biodiversity of this ecosystem.