Evaluation of Five Most Commonly Grown Cotton Cultivars (Gossypium hirsutum L.) Under Mediterranean Conditions: Productivity and Fibre Quality

Studies were conducted in four regions of central Greece (Larisa, Karditsa, Livadia, Thiva), to evaluate the productivity and fibre properties (fibre strength and fibre length) of the five most commonly grown cotton cultivars in these regions. The experiments lasted for 6 years (1995–2000). All the characteristics tested were strongly influenced by the factors ‘year’, ‘cultivar’ and ‘region’. Significant cultivar × region, year × cultivar, region × year and cultivar × region × year interactions occurred for all the characteristics studied. The cultivar Alegria had the highest seed‐cotton and lint yield, while Aria had the lowest ones. Both cultivars gave the highest mean lint percentage but the lowest mean boll weight (MBW). Alegria had the lowest fibre strength, while Aria had the highest. The Acala‐type cultivars, Acala SJ2 and Zeta 2, had intermediate seed‐cotton and lint yield, while Vered 171 had high seed‐cotton and satisfactory lint yield. The three cultivars mentioned above had the highest MBW and very good fibre strength. Positive correlation was observed between fibre strength and length. In spite of the fact that mean fibre length was statistically the same in all cultivars, it was influenced by the factor ‘year’, as a result of different weather conditions. The year 1996 was the most unfavourable one for seed‐cotton yield and MBW, because it was characterized by lower than average air temperatures and rather dry conditions for all study sites. The factor ‘region’, a combination of different climatic conditions and cultural practices, influenced significantly all the parameters studied.     

Effects of dietary vitamin E and fat supplementation in growing-finishing swine fed to a heavy slaughter weight of 150 kg: II. Tissue fatty acid profile,vitamin E concentrations,and antioxidant capacity of plasma and tissue

The study aimed to assess the effects of vitamin E (VE) supplementation and fat source on fatty acid (FA) composition, VE concentrations, and antioxidant capacity in plasma and tissues of pigs fed to a heavy slaughter weight (150 kg). A total of 64 pigs (32 barrows, 32 gilts; 28.41 ± 0.83 kg) were blocked by sex and weight, and randomly assigned to one of eight dietary treatments (n = 8 per treatment) in a 4 × 2 factorial arrangement. Fat sources included corn starch (CS), 5% tallow (TW), 5% distiller’s corn oil (DCO), and 5% coconut oil (CN); VE supplementation levels were 11 and 200 ppm. Five-phase diets were formulated to meet requirement estimates of NRC (2012) and fed to pigs for each period of 25 kg from 25 to 150 kg. Increasing VE supplementation level increased C16:1 (P < 0.05) content but decreased C20:0 (P < 0.05) content in backfat and belly fat, while in liver, it increased C17:0 (P < 0.05) but decreased C18:0 (P < 0.05). Compared to the pigs fed the CS diet, the pigs fed the CN diet had greater (P < 0.05) content of total saturated FA, the pigs fed the DCO diet had greater (P < 0.05) content of total polyunsaturated FA content and iodine value, and the pigs fed the TW diet had greater (P < 0.05) content of total monounsaturated FA in backfat, belly fat, and liver. Plasma VE concentrations increased linearly (P < 0.05) with increasing length of feeding but faster (P < 0.05) in the pigs fed the CN and TW diets compared with the CS and DCO diets within the 200 ppm VE level; the pigs fed the DCO diet had the highest plasma VE concentrations (P < 0.05) from Phase 2 to Phase 5 within the 11 ppm VE level. The VE concentrations in liver and loin muscle (P < 0.05) increased with increasing dietary VE level from 11 to 200 ppm, but it was not affected by dietary fat source. There was no effect of VE supplementation and fat source on antioxidant capacity in plasma and liver except that pigs fed the DCO diet had greater liver SOD activity (P < 0.05) than the pigs fed the CN diet. In conclusion, dietary VE supplementation did not affect FA profile in backfat, belly fat, and liver consistently, while dietary FA composition with different fat sources affected much of the FA profile in backfat, belly fat, and liver. The higher level of VE supplementation increased liver and muscle VE concentrations and dietary fat sources affected plasma VE concentrations differently (P < 0.05), wherein the TW and CN diets increased the VE absorption greater than the DCO diet.     

Analysis of the seed dispersal patterns of wild soybean as a reference for vegetation management around genetically modified soybean fields

There are concerns that genetically modified soybean might threaten the genetic diversity of the wild soybean populations that are distributed in East Asia because genetically modified soybean has no crossing barrier with wild soybean. A simple and effective method to prevent hybridization via pollen flow is spatial separation between the two species because their hybridization occurs only when they grow in close proximity. Therefore, the invasiveness of wild soybean needs to be known in order to secure the appropriate distances. As wild soybean seeds are dispersed mechanically by pod dehiscence, an experiment was conducted in which white sheets were placed on the ground, concentric circles were drawn around the parent plants, and the number of dispersed seeds within each 0.5 m‐wide zone were counted. About 40% of the produced seeds were dispersed and the number of dispersed seeds gradually declined as the distance from the parent plants increased. The model that explained the relationship between the number and distance of the dispersed seeds was produced by using a generalized linear model procedure. More than 95, 99, and 99.9% of the produced seeds stayed within 3.5, 5.0, and 6.5 m after natural pod dehiscence. Knowing these values is useful for evaluating the level of invasive risk by mechanical seed dispersal. The goal of the work is to efficiently and deliberately prevent hybridization by isolating genetically modified soybean fields and wild soybean populations by vegetation management, including weeding and setting up specific‐width buffer zones.     

A spline polynomial model to describe serum IGF-I concentration from birth to slaughter in calves: effects of weaning age,pre-weaning concentrate feeding and breed

The statistical analysis of hormones sampled throughout the production cycle is complicated because factors such as age and weight at the measuring date interfere. Spline curves constructed from pieces of low-degree, random-effects polynomials could be used for a more accurate analysis of data. Concentration of insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), weight gain, and concentrate intake of Parda de Montaña (PM) (n = 27) and Pirenaica calves (n = 14) were modeled with a spline model according to age at weaning, pre-weaning concentrate feeding, and breed. At birth, calves were randomly assigned to early weaning (EW) at 90 d or traditional weaning (TW) at 150 d. During lactation, half of PM calves received concentrates (S), whereas the remainder received no concentrates (NS). After weaning, calves received concentrates on an ad libitum basis until they reached a weight of 450 kg. The spline model had better likelihood than a polynomial of 6 degrees or a split-plot model. Serum IGF-1 concentration was greatly affected by age at weaning and pre-weaning concentrate feeding, but not by breed. In NS calves, IGF-1 concentration was greater in EW than in TW calves from 120 to 300 d, irrespective of breed. During lactation, S calves had greater IGF-1 concentration than NS calves. After weaning, EWNS calves reached the IGF-1 concentration of EWS calves after 4 mo on concentrates, whereas TWNS calves attained IGF-1 concentration of TWS calves after only 2 mo, because of their increased concentrate intake relative to TWS calves. Concentration of IGF-1 was positively correlated with the immediate weight gains and intake, but it was not a good predictor of performance in the long term.     

Epidemiology of beet necrotic yellow vein virus in sugar beet at different initial inoculum levels in the presence or absence of irrigation

A field experiment was set up in 1988 to study the development of rhizomania disease of sugar beet at different inoculum levels of beet necrotic yellow vein virus (BNYVV) in soil. Five, tenfold different, inoculum levels were created by addition of the approximate amounts of 0, 0.5, 5, 50 and 500 kg infested soil per ha (the latter corresponding to 0.01% v/v calculated to the tillage layer). A drip irrigation treatment was applied to study the influence of soil moisture on disease. Susceptible sugar beet, cv. Regina, was grown for three consecutive years.In the first year, root symptoms were not observed, but BNYVV-infected plants were detected by ELISA in low numbers at all inoculum levels at harvest. After late drilling in 1989, high numbers of infected plants, up to 90–100% in plots with the highest inoculum level, were detected already in June. Root symptoms were also observed from June onwards. In both these years disease incidence increased in time and was significantly influenced by the initial inoculum level. In the third year, the whole field was heavily diseased, and only for the non-irrigated plots incidence differed for different initial inoculum levels. The expression of symptoms by BNYVV-infected plants was influenced by initial inoculum level, thus by the amount and timing of primary infection.Root weight at harvest was not affected, but sugar content decreased with increasing inoculum level already in 1988, leading to a reduction in sugar yield of 10% at the highest inoculum level. In 1989, both root weight and sugar content decreased progressively with increasing inoculum level, resulting in sugar yield reductions of 11–66% (down to approximately 3000 kg ha^–1) for low to high inoculum levels compared to the control. As the control plots became contaminated, all yields were low in 1990, still showing a decrease with increasing inoculum level in the non-irrigated plots, but an overall mean sugar yield of 3323 kg ha^–1 for the irrigated ones.Sodium and -amino nitrogen content of the root, additional quality parameters determining extractability of sucrose, showed an increase and decrease, respectively, with increasing initial inoculum level already in the first year. The relative differences in contents compared to those from the control were largest for Na content. A significant negative correlation was found between Na (mmol kg^–1 root) and sugar content (% of fresh weight); linear for 1988, exponential for 1989 and 1990.In spring 1989, the infestation of individual plots was assessed using a quantitative bioassay estimating most probable numbers (MPNs) of infective units of BNYVV per 100 g dry soil. The relationship between the MPns determined and root weight, sugar content and sugar yield at harvest could be described by Gompertz curves. The increase in disease incidence with increasing MPN in 1989 was adequately fitted with a logistic equation.     

水稻淀粉合成代谢相关基因与千粒重QTLs的连锁分析

稻米淀粉的合成和积累是水稻千粒重形成的重要基础之一。在水稻千粒重QTLs定位分析基础上，对本研究克隆的14个水稻胚乳淀粉合成与积累相关基因及已报道的和预测的42个相关基因进行了电子定位分析，比较水稻淀粉合成代谢相关基因与千粒重QTLs的连锁关系。发现有38个基因位点与千粒重QTLs连锁，说明千粒重形成与胚乳淀粉积累与淀粉结构形成代谢密切相关。本研究结果将为进一步研究水稻产量形成的分子机理提供参考。     

基于条件植被温度指数的冬小麦主要生育时期干旱监测效果评价——I.因子权重排序法和熵值法组合赋权

选取关中平原冬小麦越冬后2002—2009年每年3—5月共9旬的条件植被温度指数（VTCI）遥感干旱监测结果,将冬小麦越冬后分为四个主要生育时期,分别运用因子权重排序法、熵值法及组合赋权法确定各生育时期干旱对产量的影 响权重,计算关中平原各市冬小麦每年的加权VTCI,并建立加权VTCI与冬小麦单产间的一元线性回归模型。结果表明,关中平原大部分地区的加权VTCI与小麦单产密切相关。其中,熵值法确定的加权VTCI与小麦单产的线性相关性不显著,渭南、咸阳及铜川的决定系数R²值均低于0.5;因子权重排序法和组合赋权法确定的加权VTCI与小麦单产的线性相关性显著,咸阳、宝鸡及西安的R²值接近或高于0.6,渭南接近 0.5,铜川较差。且组合赋权法的结果中宝鸡和西安的R²值接近0.7,优于因子权重排序法和熵值法的结果。     

品种及初生重对仔猪死亡率和21日龄个体重的影响

试验对2 319头仔猪的初生重与21日龄个体重和死亡率进行分析。结果表明:大约克仔猪哺乳期死亡率最低,21日龄体重最高;随着初生重的增加,仔猪死亡率降低,21日龄个体重增加。     

吉林省玉米杂交种商品品质概述

通过对2004年吉林省市场上推广的134个品种的商品品质进行分析。结果表明,目前吉林省商业杂交种大多数容重都达到了国标二级标准,但晚熟品种整体水平较低。供试品种的子粒平均含水量37.1%。随着熟期的延长,含水量不断增高。     

姬松茸液体发酵培养条件的研究

[目的]研究姬松茸的液体发酵培养条件.[方法]通过摇瓶培养对影响姬松茸菌球液体发酵的4个因素（转速、温度、接种量、pH）进行单因素试验,并通过正交试验确定最佳的液体发酵培养条件.[结果]当培养温度为25℃、转速为150 r/min、pH为7.0、接种量为6％时,菌体含量最大,此时菌体干重可达到13.2 g/L.当培养温度为25℃、转速为150 r/min、pH为6.5、接种量为8％时,胞外多糖含量最大,达到6.95 mg/ml.[结论]该方法优选了姬松茸的液体发酵培养条件,为姬松茸的进一步放大培养提供了理论依据.