Integrated Pest Management in Cocoa Agroforests in Southern Cameroon: Constraints and Overview

Imports of pesticides have long been subsidised for use in the cocoa agroforests of the humid forest zone of southern Cameroon. With the liberalisation of the cocoa and pesticides sectors and the devaluation of the local currency (CFA franc), farmers are facing fluctuations in the price paid for cocoa and the high cost of farm inputs. Without the support of the extension services, they themselves have developed traditional integrated control methods based on the use of plant extracts mixed with conventional pesticides. From a survey of 300 cocoa farmers, the study assesses the farmers' command of these methods, the pests controlled, the problems encountered and the institutional constraints in the definition and dissemination of integrated control methods. The study concludes with recommendations for research and development towards the better definition and dissemination of integrated control methods. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

利用微卫星标记分析贵州5个地方鸡品种遗传多样性

通过选用30个多态性较好的微卫星标记,检测了贵州省5个地方鸡品种:竹乡鸡、威宁鸡、黔东南小香鸡、高脚鸡、乌蒙乌骨鸡的遗传多样性。计算了各群体的平均遗传杂合度(H)、多态信息含量(PIC)和群体间的DA遗传距离。结果表明:在5个品种中,杂合度最低的是高脚鸡,为0.501,杂合度最高的是竹乡鸡,为0.673,因此贵州各地方鸡品种的杂合度相差较大,据分析可能是由于交通闭塞,形成了家禽品种的多种多型,而且杂合度的高低与PIC值的大小体现了较高的一致性;用UPGMA法进行聚类分析,结果6个鸡品种被聚为3类:竹乡鸡、黔东南小香鸡和威宁鸡聚为一类,乌蒙乌骨鸡自聚为一类;高脚鸡独自聚为一类。这与几个鸡品种的来源、分化、选育历史及地理分布是一致的。     

Assessment of age-related morphological changes in the testes of post-hatch light ecotype Nigerian indigenous chicken

The age-related morphological changes of the testes in light ecotype Nigerian indigenous chicken were evaluated in this study using gross anatomical, histological and histomorphometric techniques. The results showed that the testes of 3- to 9-month-old birds were light pink while testes of sexually mature chicken were creamy white in colour. The left and right testicular weight, length, diameter, circumference and the organosomatic indices increased significantly (p < .05) with increasing age across the groups. Although the mean tubular diameter and epithelial height of the left and right seminiferous tubules increased significantly (p < .05) with age, the tubular diameter, epithelial height and luminal diameter did not vary significantly (p > .05) between the left and right testes of all the groups. The one-cell layer thick germinal epithelium of the left testes at 3 to 6 months old showed islands of cell proliferation that contained spermatogonia and spermatocytes. At 6 to 9 months, the left testes exhibited numerous early spermatids with occasional occurrence of late stage spermatids while the right testes showed scanty early stage spermatids. At 12 to 18 months, the germinal epithelia of both left and right testes were characterized by the presence of Sertoli cells, spermatogonia, primary spermatocytes, numerous early and late stage spermatids as well as spermatozoa. In conclusion, the morphological features highlighted in the present study show that at pre-pubertal periods, the left testes may develop faster than the right testes. However, both left and right testes may participate actively in the production of spermatozoa during the post-pubertal life.     

Phylogenetic analysis of Myanmar indigenous chickens using mitochondrial D-loop sequence reveals their characteristics as a genetic resource

Myanmar indigenous chickens play important roles in food, entertainment, and farm business for the people of Myanmar. In this study, complete mitochondrial D-loop sequences (1232 bp) were analyzed using 176 chickens, including three indigenous breeds, two fighting cock populations, and three indigenous populations to elucidate genetic diversity and accomplish a phylogenetic analysis of Myanmar indigenous chickens. The average haplotype and nucleotide diversities were 0.948 ± 0.009 and 0.00814 ± 0.00024, respectively, exhibiting high genetic diversity of Myanmar indigenous chickens. Sixty-four haplotypes were classified as seven haplogroups, with the majority being haplogroup F. The breeds and populations except Inbinwa had multiple maternal haplogroups, suggesting that they experienced no recent purifying selection and bottleneck events. All breeds and populations examined shared haplogroup F. When 232 sequences belonging to haplogroup F (79 from Myanmar and 153 deposited sequences from other Asian countries/region) were analyzed together, the highest genetic diversity was observed in Myanmar indigenous chickens. Furthermore, Myanmar indigenous chickens and red junglefowls were observed in the center of the star-like median-joining network of 37 F-haplotypes, suggesting that Myanmar is one of the origins of haplogroup F. These findings revealed the unique genetic characteristic of Myanmar indigenous chickens as important genetic resources.     

南瓜叶防治菜粉蝶幼虫的药效评价及成本分析

通过实验室研究和大田试验对收集自我国民间的土农药——南瓜叶榨取液防治芥蓝菜粉蝶幼虫的药效进行验证和经济方面的分析评价。实验室研究结果表明：南瓜叶榨取液防治菜粉蝶主要作用机制是抑制其取食，在12h和24h的取食抑制中浓度FRC50（Feeding Restrain Content）分别为511．3214和484．3441mg·L^-1；12h和24h菜粉蝶幼虫对浸渍过榨取液芥蓝叶片的非选择性拒食率和选择性拒食率分别为66．00％、57．75％和56．04％、56．52％。大田试验结果表明：在第2、5、7d，榨取液对于芥蓝的保叶效果分别达到了48．17％、65．82％和70.46％；对虫害的防治效果分别达到了97．58％、86．98％和90．72％。经济分析结果显示：用土农药防治菜粉蝶，亩产芥蓝利润值最高，比不进行防治生产方式增加116．35元。     

乡土植物在乌鲁木齐园林绿化中的应用

对乌鲁木齐园林绿化中所应用的部分乡土植物进行实地调查,根据其适应性、生长状况、观赏价值等分析乡土树种的应用效果和特色表现,探讨乡土植物种类和数量与地带性特色的关系,并对存在问题提出建议。     

Relationship Between the First Base of the Donor Splice Site of Waxy Gene Intron 1 and Amylose Content in Yunnan Indigenous Rice Varieties

There exists a single nucleotide polymorphism, G or T, at the first base of the donor splice site of waxy gene intron 1 in rice. In order to study the relationship between the first base of the donor splice site of waxy gene intron 1 and amylose content in rice, the one-step PCR method was used to determine whether it is G or T in 220 Yunnan indigenous rice varieties from 14 districts, 55 towns/counties of Yunnan Province, and 101 varieties of which were validated by the PCR-Acc I method. According to the G/T polymorphism, 164 rice varieties showed GG-genotype, while the other 56 fell into TT-genotype, accounting for 74.5% and 25.5% of all the test varieties, respectively. When all the rice varieties were divided into indica and japonica subspecies, it was found that 80.5% of indica rice and 67.0% of japonica rice belonged to GG-genotype. The rice varieties with GG-genotype had significantly higher amylose content (18.95% on average) than those with TT-genotype (all below 16%), but 33 rice varieties with GG-genotype still had low amylose content ranging from 3.91% to 15.93%, and most of them came from the Dai minority area in the Southwest of Yunnan Province. However, there was no significant difference in the mean amylose content of the same GG or TT genotypes between indica and japonica rice, suggesting that different genetic backgrounds, indica or japonica, had no effect on amylose content. The coefficient of correlation between the genotype and amylose content was 0.733 (P<0.01).     

不同基质和生长调节剂对乡土植物扦插生根的影响*

在温室条件下,采用不同质量浓度ABT2号生根粉对蔓花生(Arachis duranensis)、碰碰香(Plectranthus tomentosa)和四季秋海棠(Begonia semperflorens)进行扦插试验,结果表明:质量浓度为100 mg/L的ABT2号生根粉溶液可以提高蔓花生的成活率;碰碰香在ABT2号生根粉为300 mg/L时比较容易生根;不同质量浓度ABT2号生根粉对四季秋海棠的生根没有显著影响,说明四季秋海棠比较容易生根.采用3种基质对天胡荽(Hydrocotyle sibthorpioides)、锦绣苋(Alternanthera bettzickiana)和铺地锦竹草(Callisia repens)进行扦插生根研究发现:天胡荽在田园土基质和泥炭土+珍珠岩基质中均有较好的生根效果;锦绣苋和铺地锦竹草均在泥炭土+珍珠岩基质中的生根效果最好.     

Performance of Bangladesh indigenous rice in a weed infested field and separation of allelopathy from resource competition

This study aimed to identify the potential allelopathic indigenous rice (Oryza sativa L. ssp. indica) varieties from Bangladesh using a performance study in a weed‐infested field and to assess the extent of allelopathic interference relative to resource competition in a glasshouse experiment. Six varieties – namely, “Boterswar,” “Goria,” “Biron” and “Kartiksail” as the most allelopathic, “Hashikolmi” as weakly allelopathic and “Holoi” as nonallelopathic – were raised following a nonweed control method. The infestation levels of weed species were calculated using Simpson's Diversity Index (SDI), which ranged from 0.2 to 0.56. However, a significant correlation coefficient (0.87, P < 0.001) was obtained from these field data compared with the root inhibition percentage from the laboratory bioassay, and the “Boterswar” variety was the most allelopathic. The interactions between the allelopathic variety “Boterswar,” weakly allelopathic variety “Hashikolmi” and Echinochloa oryzicola via a target (rice)‐adjacent (E. oryzicola) cogrowth culture were determined in a hydroponic arrangement. The relative competitive intensity (RCI) and the relative neighbor effect (RNE) values showed that the crop–weed interaction was facilitation for “Boterswar” and competition for “Hashikolmi” and E. oryzicola in rice/E. oryzicola cogrowth cultures. The allelopathic effects of “Boterswar” were much higher than the resource competition in rice/E. oryzicola cogrowth cultures. The converse was observed for “Hashikolmi.” Moreover, the mineral content of E. oryzicola was severely affected by “Boterswar”/E. oryzicola cogrowth cultures’ exudate solution. Therefore, the allelopathic potential of “Boterswar” variety might be useful for developing the weed‐suppressing capacity of rice, which will likely have a significant influence on paddy weed control.     

广西乡土阔叶树种资源现状及其发展对策

通过对广西乡土阔叶树种资源现状、主要功能分析及红锥(Castanopsis hystrix)、大叶栎(Castanopsisfissa)、木周木(Lithocarpus thalassica)、红楠(Machilus thunbergii)、西南桦(Betula alnoides)等最具前途乡土树种的介绍,提出应加快乡土阔叶树种遗传改良技术研究,提高乡土阔叶人工造林良种化率;重视乡土阔叶树种造林技术研究,提高阔叶树种经济效益;制定配套政策措施,鼓励发展乡土阔叶树种种植与林产品加工的策略。