Effects of biocides and rotation breaks on soil organisms associated with the poor early growth of sugarcane in continuous monoculture

Glasshouse and field experiments were conducted to determine the effects of biocides and rotation breaks on deleterious soil organisms associated with the poor early growth and subsequent yield decline of sugarcane grown in continuous monoculture. Fumigation of a soil that had been under sugarcane monoculture with minimal breaks for more than 30 years markedly improved the health and growth of the sugarcane sett and shoot root systems, increased the growth of the primary shoot and stimulated more and larger secondary shoots. It also reduced populations of culturable fungi in the rhizosphere of the sett roots and reduced colonization of the sett and shoot roots by lesion nematode (Pratylenchus zeae). Exposure of the developing sett root system for 14 days to mono-cultured sugarcane soil was sufficient to significantly retard subsequent plant growth. In field experiments, fungicide and nematicide (mancozeb + aldicarb), when applied together to land under sugarcane monoculture, was as effective as fumigation in improving early sugarcane growth and increasing sugarcane yields. Rotation breaks (alternate crops, sown pasture, bare fallow) that were in place for 54 months, increased sugarcane establishment and increased sugarcane yields to levels similar to that obtained following fumigation of land under sugarcane monoculture. Fumigation of land that had been under the rotation breaks gave plant growth responses that were in addition to that achieved by the breaks alone. A mancozeb + aldicarb treatment was as effective as fumigation in increasing sugarcane yields after a bare fallow break but accounted for only a portion of the fumigation response following the crop and pasture breaks. Improved plant nutrition may be a factor in the fumigation response following the crop and pasture breaks. Plant growth responses to fumigation and the manocozeb + aldicarb treatments that were manifested in final sugarcane yields (after one years growth) were evident as plant growth responses (sett root, shoot root and primary shoot dry weight) measured 54 days after planting. The experimental results support the concept that when sugarcane is grown as a monoculture, deleterious fungi and nematodes retard plant establishment and early plant growth and that this leads to reduced sugarcane yields.     

Green leaf area decline of wheat flag leaves: the influence of fungicides and relationships with mean grain weight and grain yield

A modified Gompertz model was derived to describe the fractional decline in green area of wheat flag leaves in field experiments where green leaf area at time t=100exp[‐exp(‐k(t‐m))]. Curves fitted over time to visual assessments of green leaf area (% of total leaf area) throughout flag leaf life accounted for more than 98% of variation in 45 of 48 wheat cultivar × fungicide treatment (+/?) comparisons. This data set spanned 17 yr and therefore included cultivars of contrasting parentage and age. In the absence of fungicide, green leaf area decline was associated with drought or infection with a number of foliar pathogens including Septoria tritici (sexual stage Mycospherella graminicola), Erysiphe graminis and Puccinia striiformis. Fungicides applied to the flag leaf included propiconazole, propiconazole plus tridemorph, flusilazole or azoxystrobin. Fungicide effects on m (i.e. time to 37% green area) were closely related to fungicide effects (% of untreated) on mean grain weight (variation accounted for (VAF) = 80%) and grain yield (VAF = 85%).     

Foliar disease of Clitorea ternatea due to Colletotrichum dematium and its effect on secondary metabolite production

Clitorea ternatea L. finds extensive application in therapeutic medicine. Forest regions of the Western Ghats, India were surveyed for foliar disease(s) caused in C. ternatea. The incidence and severity of foliar disease were determined during August 2006 to July 2009. The distribution of foliar disease incidence was determined by Taylor’s power law. The pathogen was tested for its seed-borne nature and seed transmission. Fungicides, like Bavistin, Antrocol, Hyzeb M-45 and Captra, were used for managing seed-borne pathogens in C. ternatea. Diseased foliages were tested for secondary metabolite content. Results indicated that the foliar disease in C. ternatea is caused by Colletotrichum dematium. The disease incidence and severity was moderately high. The disease is distributed homogeneously and heterogeneously in two forest regions. The pathogen is seedborne and transmitted from seed to plant. Among fungicides, Antrocol and Bavistin reduced seed mycoflora incidence. The disease caused increased production of alkaloid, flavonoid, phenol and sterol in foliages.     

Baseline sensitivities to azoxystrobin and tebuconazole in Sclerotinia sclerotiorum isolates from sunflower in Iran related to sensitivities to carbendazim and iprodione

In this study, sensitivities of 156 Sclerotinia sclerotiorum isolates collected from sunflower fields of West Azarbaijan province, Iran, were assessed to carbendazim and iprodione, and the baseline sensitivities were established for azoxystrobin and tebuconazole. Resistance to carbendazim and iprodione was observed in 53.85% and 4.49% of the isolates, respectively. The 50% effective concentration (EC₅₀) values of azoxystrobin for the isolates ranged from 0.017 to 3.515 μg/ml with a mean of 0.330 μg/ml, and 8.97% of the strains showed low levels of resistance to the fungicide. However, in the presence of salicylhydroxamic acid, all isolates were sensitive to azoxystrobin and EC₅₀ values ranged from 0.015 to 0.263 μg/ml with a mean of 0.086 μg/ml. All isolates were found to be sensitive to tebuconazole, and EC₅₀ values ranged from 0.003 to 0.177 μg/ml with a mean of 0.036 μg/ml. Among the multiple-resistant isolates, the strains exhibiting resistance to both carbendazim and iprodione were detected in the highest frequency (4.49%). No correlation was observed between mycelial growth and aggressiveness with fungicide sensitivity of the isolates suggesting the absence of fitness cost associated with resistance to the studied fungicides. The results indicated that iprodione, azoxystrobin and tebuconazole could be effectively used in rotation or mixture in spray programmes to manage S. sclerotiorum in the region. The baselines established for azoxystrobin and tebuconazole would be useful in monitoring the fungal populations in the province to assess possible shifts in fungicide sensitivity of S. sclerotiorum isolates in the future.     

灰飞虱体内类酵母共生菌异常毕赤酵母的分离培养及其对杀菌剂的敏感性

【目的】随着杀虫剂等化学农药的大规模使用,灰飞虱Laodelphax striatellus的抗药性不断增强,防治效果下降,因此寻找新的防治方法尤为重要。本研究探索使用杀菌剂来减少灰飞虱体内共生菌的数量,以降低灰飞虱的活力,为"抑菌防虫"提供理论依据。【方法】对灰飞虱体内的类酵母共生菌(yeast-like symbiotes,YLS)进行离体培养并鉴定,测定离体培养YLS对不同浓度不同种类杀菌剂的敏感性,将对其抑制作用明显的杀菌剂喷施于麦苗,待灰飞虱取食后统计灰飞虱死亡率、体重,并通过荧光定量PCR检测体内共生菌的数量变化。【结果】离体培养得到1株YLS,经碳源同化实验和18S r DNA分子鉴定,将该菌株归为异常毕赤酵母Pichia anomala,以变性梯度凝胶电泳(denatured gradient gel electrophoresis,DGGE)技术验证了该菌株在灰飞虱体内的存在。对杀菌剂敏感性的测定结果显示,70%丙森锌和50%戊唑醇+25%肟菌酯对P.anomala抑制效果明显,而氟吡菌胺+霜霉威盐酸盐(687.5 g a.i./L)与40%嘧霉胺对P.anomala的抑制效果较差。用对P.anomala抑制效果明显的两种杀菌剂(70%丙森锌和50%戊唑醇+25%肟菌酯)以800 mg/L浓度喷施麦苗,灰飞虱取食喷施麦苗后的死亡率分别达到46.7%与63.3%,显著高于对照,而体重比对照组显著低。荧光定量检测结果表明,灰飞虱体内3种共生菌(Noda菌、季也蒙毕赤酵母和异常毕赤酵母)的数量在使用了各种杀菌剂后均显著降低。【结论】结果说明,体外喷施杀菌剂对灰飞虱体内共生菌有抑制作用,进而对灰飞虱的生长存活产生影响,这为杀菌剂与杀虫剂的协同使用防治灰飞虱奠定基础。     

Logarithmic Transformation is Essential for Statistical Analysis of Fungicide EC50 Values

Half maximal (50%) effective concentration (EC50) values are widely used to express fungicide potency and sensitivity of plant pathogens. This study explored the necessity of logarithmic transformation for statistical analysis of EC50 values. The results demonstrated that without logarithmic transformation, none of the five sets of epoxiconazole EC50 data (n = 26–33) against Sclerotinia sclerotiorum fitted a normal distribution. But after logarithmic transformation, four of the five datasets became normally distributed. Of the five sets of pyraclostrobin EC50 data (n = 29–32), only one dataset fitted a normal distribution. After logarithmic transformation, four datasets became normally distributed. Logarithmic transformation transformed the heterogeneity of variance across the five sets of epoxiconazole EC50 data to homogeneity but failed to improve the heterogeneity of variance across the five sets of pyraclostrobin EC50 data. For 150 isolates' EC50 values to epoxiconazole and 153 isolates' EC50 values to pyraclostrobin, the intervals of arithmetic means ± standard deviations (SD) covered 85.3% and 90.2% of data points, respectively, whereas the intervals of geometric means (*) multiplied/divided by the multiplicative SD (S*) covered 69.3% and 70.9% of data points, respectively, which approximated the theoretical value of 68.3%. Distribution normality and homogeneity of variance are prerequisites for analysis of variance (anova ) and the two parameters could be improved by logarithmic transformation, therefore, power and efficiency of statistical tests on EC50 data will be greatly enhanced by this kind of transformation.     

Tebuconazole Sorption in Contrasting Soil Types

This study investigates the sorption of tebuconazole in contrasting soil types (Rendzic Leptosol, Haplic Arenosol, and Haplic Cambisol). Tebuconazole was used both as an analytical-grade chemical and as a commercial product. Sorption experiments were performed using the batch equilibrium approach. The sorption of analytical-grade tebuconazole in soils was lower compared to the commercial product, with the exception of the Cambisol. The highest sorption was observed for the Cambisol regardless of the tebuconazole form. In the experiment with the commercial formula containing tebuconazole, a higher sorption was observed for the Leptosol compared to the Arenosol; the experiment with analytical-grade tebuconazole showed an opposite trend. The differences in sorption of the commercially available and analytical-grade tebuconazole can be attributed to the additives present in the commercial product. Based on the obtained results, tebuconazole sorption is mainly influenced by soil organic matter and the mineralogical composition, but fungicide composition plays an important role as well. Additives present in the commercial products support fungicide sorption in soils. These findings confirm that tebuconazole is adsorbed in soils with high contents of organic matter and clay minerals and its application to such soils should not lead to risks associated with fungicide leaching.     

Management of the late blight (Phytophthora infestans) disease of potato in the southern hills of India

Late blight of potato is considered to be the most devastating problem causing severe yield losses in potato worldwide. Among the different management strategies, the use of resistant cultivars is the most viable option, but the non‐availability of enough quantity of quality seed materials of resistant cultivars forces the farmers to grow susceptible cultivars with proper fungicide scheduling. Therefore, in the present study, chemical control using fungicide has been attempted with newer molecules in the susceptible cultivar along with a resistant cultivar as a positive control. All the tested fungicides were found safe, and no phytotoxicity was observed with any chemical at the applied rate. In resistant cultivar, no late blight was appeared in both the years, whereas maximum AUDPC was observed in the untreated control (276.3) and minimum (41.7) in mancozeb‐cymoxanil + mancozeb based scheduling which was found on par with chlorothalonil‐famoxadone + cymoxanil (51.3) and chlorothalonil‐ametoctradin + dimethomorph (53.5) based scheduling. Among the treatments, resistant cultivar, Kufri Girdhari followed by chlorothalonil‐ametoctradin + dimethomorph and mancozeb‐cymoxanil + mancozeb based fungicidal scheduling were proven as the best treatments for both the crop seasons resulting in the highest yield parameters. The disease severity showed a strong negative correlation with the tuber yield of potatoes in both the years. Based on overall observations including BC ratio, it can be concluded that, wherever seed material of resistant cultivar is available farmers should grow the same or else with susceptible cultivars the fungicidal scheduling based on mancozeb‐cymoxanil + mancozeb or chlorothalonil‐ametoctradin + dimethomorph can be followed to obtain the maximum returns with effective management of late blight at the southern hills of India.     

Latitudinal patterns in plant defense: evolution of cardenolides, their toxicity and induction following herbivory

Attempts over the past 50 years to explain variation in the abundance, distribution and diversity of plant secondary compounds gave rise to theories of plant defense. Remarkably, few phylogenetically robust tests of these long-standing theories have been conducted. Using >50 species of milkweed (Asclepias spp.), we show that variation among plant species in the induction of toxic cardenolides is explained by latitude, with higher inducibility evolving more frequently at lower latitudes. We also found that: (1) the production of cardenolides showed positive-correlated evolution with the diversity of cardenolides, (2) greater cardenolide investment by a species is accompanied by an increase in an estimate of toxicity (measured as chemical polarity) and (3) instead of trading off, constitutive and induced cardenolides were positively correlated. Analyses of root and shoot cardenolides showed concordant patterns. Thus, milkweed species from lower latitudes are better defended with higher inducibility, greater diversity and added toxicity of cardenolides.     

Mycolytic effect of fluorescent Pseudomonas in biocontrolling of fungal phytopathogenic Curvularia lunata,Fusarium oxysporum,Alternaria padwickii and Rhizoctonia solani

About 50 bacterial strains, each of Pseudomonas fluorescens, from different rhizospheric soil of different plants were screened for antagonistic activity against Curvularia lunata, Fusarium oxysporum, Alternaria padwickii, Rhizoctonia solani causing black kernel, kernel spotting, root rots, stackburn and sheath blight diseases of rice (Oryza sativa L.). Out of the 50 isolates, 15 isolates were found to be effective in lysing the cell wall of the above-mentioned putative pathogens tested in vitro. These Pseudomonas isolates produced mycolytic enzymes, viz. β-1,3-glucanases, β-1,4-glucanases and lipases. P. fluorescens PAK1 and PAK12 among the strains were more effective for the production of these enzymes while PAK12 produce good level of β-1,3-glucanases, β-1,4-glucanases and lipases against tested fungal pathogens. These findings demonstrate a mechanism of antagonism by P. fluorescens against different fungal plant pathogens.