A new virus disease of watercress in England1

In 1983 plants showing symptoms typical of watercress chlorotic leafspot agent (WCLSA) were found in Kent (GB). Later, plants showing similar symptoms were found in Dorset (1986) and Hampshire (1987), the main watercress-producing regions of England. These plants, unlike those infected with WCLSA, contained virus particles which were isometric with diameters of 37-38 nm. An antiserum to the virus was produced, with a titre in immunodiffusion tests of 1/128 and this gave good results in immunosorbent electron microscopy (ISEM) and ELISA tests on crude plant sap. Purified preparations of the virus reacted positively in ISEM and immunodiffusion tests with an antiserum to watercress yellow spot virus, a partially described virus occurring in France. Tests suggest that the crook root fungus Spongospora subterranea f.sp. nasturtii is probably the vector of this virus but other means of transmission cannot be excluded. Virus incidence within watercress beds varied, with little or no infection in the water inlet region of the bed where there are also low levels of crook root infection, higher levels in the central region and highest levels at the outlet region where crook root infection is also highest.     

工厂化水产养殖水质监测系统

工厂化水产养殖的密度高、风险大,养殖对象对pH、溶解氧、温度、氨氮、亚硝酸盐等水质参数的变化敏感,受影响严重,监测水质参数极为重要。本文针对工厂化水产养殖水质监测特点和需求,研发了工厂化水产养殖水质监测系统。分析研究pH、溶解氧、温度、亚硝酸盐等水质参数的阈值,设计水质监测数据无线采集节点和基于Zigbee的无线监测网络,建立水质监测系统软件平台。结果表明,该系统能够实现工厂化水产养殖水质实时监测,保证生产安全,提高水产养殖生产效率。     

黄土耕作坡面溅蚀过程中微地形响应特征

[目的]探究60mm/h雨强下不同耕作坡面在溅蚀阶段的微地形变化特征,为黄土坡地水土保持耕作方式布设提供科学依据。[方法]在室内人工模拟降雨试验的基础上,采用激光扫描量测方法分别获取溅蚀前后4种不同耕作方式(人工锄耕、人工掏挖、等高耕作、耙磨整平)黄土坡面微地形相对高程,并对能反映微地形变化的高精度M-ΔDEM进行了分析。[结果]不同耕作措施下坡面微地形均具有较弱的空间变异,其空间分异主要受耕作措施的影响;降雨对微地形具有一定的夷平效应,且不同耕作坡面在1~1.3m尺度范围内均表现出侵蚀平衡现象;不同耕作微地形对溅蚀均具有阻滞作用,其中人工掏挖和等高耕作具有较强的水土保持作用。[结论]微地形水系分维能较好地反映复杂的微地形特征,而坡面耕作方式是溅蚀过程中微地形时空变异分布状况的控制性因子。     

大型灯泡贯流式泵站振动研究概述

机组和泵房的振动是泵站运行中最为常见的问题,直接影响泵站的安全可靠运行。对大型灯泡贯流式泵站振动研究现状和抗振安全评价计算分析方法作了详细的介绍,对研究机组振动诱发泵房振动的共振校核法、拟静力法、谐响应求解法和瞬态动力时程法等进行了阐述,并对这几种方法进行了分析比较,就其存在的问题作了总结概述。     

利用沙尘暴进行荒漠化草原表土再造技术原理及实践

依据风沙学原理,利用沙尘暴现象对内蒙古荒漠草原进行了表层土壤再造试验。采用地表撒松散杂草(秸秆)后用尼龙网罩固定的方法,拦截沙尘暴所携带的尘土。再造后的土壤掩埋了裸露的植物根系和地表面的砾石,比对照土壤有效锌增加114.8%、有机质增加33.3%、全氮增加77.1%、有效磷增加150.0%、速效钾增加7.8%、pH值降低了1.3%。此方法为如何利用沙尘暴这一自然现象开辟了新的思路。     

Screening for Sclerotinia resistance in Helianthus tuberosus L. (Jerusalem artichoke) varieties, lines and somaclones, in the field and in vitro

Yields in large-scale 'continuous' cultivation of H. tuberosus (Jerusalem artichoke) can be greatly reduced by Sclerotinia sclerotiorum , which causes a basal stem and tuber rot. In 34 varieties/lines of H. tuberosus from European, Russian and Canadian breeding programmes, responses to the pathogen varied from field resistance to 34% stem rot, cultivars Nahodka and Columbia showing c. 25% stem rot after three seasons of cultivation on the same site. Attempts to develop an in-vitro selection for S. sclerotiorum resistance based on culture of H. tuberosus nodes on media precolonized with Sclerotina were unsuccessful. There was a strong positive correlation between capacity of nodes to grow in vitro on calcium-free medium and field resistance. Somaclones of'Nahodka' selected on the latter basis showed no field infection when grown on land that was heavily contaminated with the pathogen, and they were resistant to artificial inoculation with the pathogen.     

Tumbleweeds in the Western Australian cropping system: seed dispersal characteristics of Salsola australis

Salsola australis, like other agricultural weed species of the Salsola genus, produces a mobile seedbank. Aspects of this mobile seedbank were investigated in three field trials, including total seed production, rate of seed shedding, rate at which seeds lose germinability and the distance and directionality of plant movement. Total seed production was highly variable (ranging from 138 to 7734 seeds per plant), but was directly related to aboveground plant biomass at maturity. Following senescence, mature plants broke free of their root system and the wind driven plants moved considerable distances (1.6–1247.2 m). Half of the mobile plants moved <100 m, as they became entangled with other S. australis plants within the stand. Seed shedding commenced before the plants became mobile and increased with movement, but was also related to the aging and weathering processes experienced by stationary or mobile plants. All plants retained a proportion of their seed in spite of movement, weathering and ageing of the plants, although germinability of retained seed dropped to <2% after 2 months. Salsola australis engages in broad scale seed dispersal similar to that observed in other species of the Salsola genus, allowing this species to maintain a high rate of invasion and range expansion.     

The Influence of Soil Type and Pine Species on the Carabid Community of a Plantation Forest with a History of Pine Beauty Moth Infestation

The community composition of Carabid beetles, some species ofwhich are known predators of pine beauty moth, was examinedwithin a Scottish plantation forest. Sites differing in soiltype and the species of trees planted were sampled with pitfalltraps in most weeks of a 3—year period. There were faunaldifferences between sites with lodgepole pine on deep peat andother sites in the study (lodgepole pine on iron-pan soil, speciesmixture of lodgepole and Scots pine, and pure stands of Scotspine). In general deep peat sites supported fewer species andindividuals of carabids. Three Carabus species were implicatedas likely predators of Panolis flammea pupae and each was lessabundant on the sites with lodgepole pine. It is suggested thatthe susceptibility to pine beauty moth of lodgepole pine growingon deep peat substrates is at least partly attributable to impoverishedpredator faunas.     

Evaluation of cholesterol additions to a soyabean meal-based diet for juvenile Pacific white shrimp, Penaeus vannamei (Boone), in an outdoor growth trial

Cholesterol is considered a required nutrient for penaeid shrimps, but an optimal level has not been defined. A 68-day grow-out trial was conducted in 1300-L outdoor tanks in Hawaii, USA, to determine the cholesterol level required in a soyabean meal-based diet for juvenile Pacific white shrimp, Penaeus vannamei (Boone). Test feeds were prepared by adding six cholesterol levels (1.0-10.2 g kg^?1, as-fed basis) to a standard diet high in plant-protein meals, starch and flour. These feeds were provided to the shrimp three times daily. Harvest weights and weekly growth increments varied significantly among diets. The 2.3 g kg^?1 and 4.2 g kg^?1 cholesterol diets yielded better growth than the 1.0 g kg^?1 and 10.2 g kg^?1 diets. Survival and feed conversion ratios did not vary significantly among diets. Significant dietary cholesterol effects on growth of P. vannamei in conditions resembling commercial grow-out indicate that its inclusion in practical diets at more accurately defined levels is necessary. Optimal cholesterol levels for juvenile shrimp may be lower than those now utilized, and may vary relative to the contribution of free sterols from natural foods in shrimp ponds.