Integration of biological control agents with other weed management technologies: Successes from the leafy spurge (Euphorbia esula) IPM program

An invasive weed can occupy a variety of environments and ecological niches and generally no single control method can be used across all areas the weed is found. Biological control agents integrated with other methods can increase and/or improve site-specific weed control, but such combinatorial approaches have not been widely utilized. The successful leafy spurge (Euphorbia esula L.) control program provides examples for future integrated weed programs that utilize biological control agents with traditional methods. Weed control methods can be used separately, such as when the leafy spurge gall midge (Spurgia esulae Gagné) reduced seed production in wooded areas while herbicides prevented further spread outside the tree line. Traditional methods also can be used directly with biological control agents. Incorporation of Aphthona spp. with herbicides has resulted in more rapid and complete leafy spurge control than either method used alone. Also, the insect population often increased rapidly following herbicide treatment, especially in areas where Aphthona spp. were established for several years but had been ineffective. Incorporation of Aphthona spp. with sheep or goat grazing has resulted in a larger decline in leafy spurge production than insects alone and in weed density than grazing alone. Controlled burns can aid establishment of biological control agents in marginally suitable environments, but timing of the fire must be coordinated to the insect’s life-cycle to ensure survival. Integration of biological control agents with revegetation programs required the agent to be the last method introduced because the cultivation and herbicide treatments necessary to establish desirable grasses and forbs were destructive to the insect. In a practical application, herbicides were combined with Aphthona spp. to help the insect establish and control leafy spurge in the habitat of the western prairie fringed orchid (Platanthera praeclara Sheviak and Bowles), an endangered species. Several experimental designs can be used to evaluate biological control agents with cultural, mechanical, and chemical control methods or with additional biological agents.     

Weeds and the monitoring of biodiversity in Australian rangelands

Abstract Monitoring the biodiversity of Australian rangelands has been identified as a means of informing policy and supporting funding decisions in relation to the conservation of biodiversity. Australian rangelands are subject to invasion by alien plants that have the potential to have major impacts on ecosystem function and biodiversity, although there has been little quantitative documentation of these effects. Research is needed to improve our understanding of how and to what extent alien plants affect biodiversity in Australian rangelands so that this relationship can be considered when developing and implementing programmes to monitor biodiversity. It is also important to consolidate existing efforts to quantify the extent of alien plant invasions and monitor their progress, thus documenting a process that threatens biodiversity. Information on the presence and abundance of alien plant species should be considered for inclusion as a component of biodiversity monitoring programmes that are undertaken. Monitoring components of biodiversity can itself provide a basis for evaluating weed management strategies.     

黄土丘陵沟壑区三种豆科人工草地的植被与土壤特征

在黄土高原丘陵沟壑区以 4龄苜蓿 (Medicago sativa)、沙打旺 (Astragalus adsurgens)和甘草 (Giycyrrhiza uralensis)单播人工草地为材料 ,人工牧草、杂草和土壤 3方面研究了其生产性能和生态特性。在相同的管理条件下 ,沙打旺种群高度平均高于苜蓿 33.8% ,是甘草的 6 .2倍 ;苜蓿的密度分别是甘草和沙打旺的 5 .9倍和 2 .6倍 ;沙打旺盖度最大 ,苜蓿次之 ,甘草最小。三种牧草的地上生物量及其占群落生物量的比例依次是苜蓿 >沙打旺 >甘草 ;苜蓿种群生物量占群落的比例接近沙打旺 ,二者远高于甘草。甘草人工草地的杂草种数、杂草生物量及其生物量占群落的比例均最大。0～ 10 0 cm土层内三种人工草地的地下生物量依次为甘草 >苜蓿 >沙打旺。 0～ 10 0 cm土层内营养物质含量 :全 P,苜蓿 >甘草 >沙打旺 ;全 N,苜蓿与甘草接近 ,高于沙打旺 ;速效 P、速效 N都是甘草最高 ;有机质含量 ,苜蓿接近甘草、高于沙打旺。讨论了管理措施与人工草地的关系 ,加大投入是维持人工草地群落稳定的前提之一     

Quarantine host range studies with Lophyrotoma zonalis, an Australian sawfly of interest for biological control of melaleuca, Melaleuca quinquenervia, in Florida, U.S.A.

The Australian melaleuca tree, Melaleuca quinquenervia (Cav.) S. T. Blake (Myrtaceae), has naturalized in southern Florida,U.S.A., and is now one of that regions most important weeds.Primarily a weed of wetlands, it also infests neighboring drierareas. Current efforts to restore the South Florida ecosystem arethreatened by the continuing range expansion of melaleuca andother weeds. In an effort to supplement the current chemical andcultural control methods for melaleuca, a search for potentialbiological control agents was begun in Australia in 1986. Thesawfly, Lophyrotoma zonalis, was determined after extensive fieldand laboratory studies to have potential as a biological controlagent. Larvae of L. zonalis eat leaves and occasionally defoliatelarge trees in Australia. Host range studies were conducted in aFlorida quarantine facility with native and cultivated plantspecies. Multi-choice and no-choice oviposition tests wereconducted with 36 species in the Myrtaceae and with 18 species inother families. Larvae developed to prepupae and adults from theeggs oviposited on 23 species of Myrtaceae only on 3 species ofbottlebrushes, Callistemon. Medium-sized larvae were tested forfeeding on bouquets of plant cuttings and on potted plants. Theyare the stage that might wander from defoliated trees. Noticeablefeeding, but much less than on melaleuca, was restricted to theMyrtaceae, except for a few individual larvae that fed on waxmyrtle, Myrica cerifera. Medium-sized larvae became prepupae onlyon Melaleuca decora (73%) and on wax myrtle (10%). However,neither species received eggs in the oviposition tests. Thesestudies confirmed the narrow host range of L. zonalis aspreviously reported from field and laboratory studies inAustralia.     

温度对六种外来杂草过氧化物酶同工酶谱的影响

应用聚丙烯酰胺垂直板凝胶电泳 ,比较了加拿大一枝黄花 (Solidagocanadensis)、小飞蓬 (Conyzacanadensis)、野塘蒿 (Conyzabonarinsis)、钻形紫菀 (Astersublatus)、一年蓬 (Erigeronannuus)和马缨丹 (Lan tanacamara)等 6种外来杂草在 3 8、2 5、5°C处理 60h后的过氧化物酶同工酶谱差异 ,分析了酶谱差异与对温度适应的关系。结果表明 ,温度变化对一年蓬、小飞蓬、钻形紫菀过氧化物酶同工酶谱的影响相对较小 ,野塘蒿通过增加酶带、调整同工酶的组成来适应温度的变化 ,反映出这 4种杂草对温度变化具有较强的适应能力 ;加拿大一枝黄花表现出对高温的适应能力较弱 ,对低温适应性较强 ,马缨丹对温度变化表现出相反的适应特点。     

a-鹅膏毒肽和二羟鬼笔毒肽的制备和鉴定(英文)

-鹅膏毒(环)肽和二羟鬼笔毒(环)肽是剧毒的鹅膏菌和其它几种致死毒菌中由一些修饰氨基酸组成的环肽毒素。由于-鹅膏毒肽对真核生物的mRNA合成的专一性抑制和和二羟鬼笔毒肽对肌动蛋白的专一性束缚,因而它们在分子生物学和细胞学研究中具有重要应用,对其需求逐步增加。为此,作者使用了一种改良的毒素提取方法,以制备高效液相色谱从灰花纹鹅膏菌中分离制备-鹅膏毒肽和二羟鬼笔毒肽,并通过紫外吸收光谱和质谱进行鉴定,表明-鹅膏毒肽和二羟鬼笔毒肽的分离效果好,纯度高。本方法对其它毒菌中的-鹅膏毒肽和二羟鬼笔毒肽的分离制备具有同样的应用价值。     

a-鹅膏毒肽和二羟鬼笔毒肽的制备和鉴定

-鹅膏毒(环)肽和二羟鬼笔毒(环)肽是剧毒的鹅膏菌和其它几种致死毒菌中由一些修饰氨基酸组成的环肽毒素。由于-鹅膏毒肽对真核生物的mRNA合成的专一性抑制和和二羟鬼笔毒肽对肌动蛋白的专一性束缚,因而它们在分子生物学和细胞学研究中具有重要应用,对其需求逐步增加。为此,作者使用了一种改良的毒素提取方法,以制备高效液相色谱从灰花纹鹅膏菌中分离制备-鹅膏毒肽和二羟鬼笔毒肽,并通过紫外吸收光谱和质谱进行鉴定,表明-鹅膏毒肽和二羟鬼笔毒肽的分离效果好,纯度高。本方法对其它毒菌中的-鹅膏毒肽和二羟鬼笔毒肽的分离制备具有同样的应用价值。     

Isolation and characterization of microsatellites in Echinochloa (L.) Beauv. spp.

Five primer pairs were developed that amplify microsatellite loci in three agronomically important Echinochloa (L.) Beauv. species: E. colona (L.) Link, E. crus‐galli (L.) Beauv. and E. crus‐pavonis (Kunth) Schultes. The microsatellites were tested on 24 individuals representing three species collected in rice fields from different geographical regions and revealed 3–7 alleles per microsatellite. Gene diversity [1 ? Σp_ij²] for four polymorphic loci within E. crus‐galli ranged from 0.12 to 0.61. Alleles at a fifth locus were useful in discriminating the species. The microsatellites should provide useful markers for intraspecific diversity studies and aid classification of species within this complex genus.