Change in response of Rhopalosiphum padi spring migrants to the repellent winter host component methyl salicylate

Olfactometry showed that the response of spring migrants of the bird cherry-oat aphid, Rhopalosiphum padi (L.) (Homoptera: Aphididae), to the repellent winter host volatile methyl salicylate changes with age of the adult aphid. Between three and four days after becoming adult, and having left the winter host Prunus padus L., aphids lost their negative response to the chemical. The change in response was not associated with contact with a summer host, oats. In a settling choice bioassay, migrants avoided oats which had been exposed to volatile methyl salicylate. Aphids with removed antennal tips did not avoid the exposed plant, indicating that plant choice was influenced by cues from the plant surface. The results are discussed in relation to the use of methyl salicylate in integrated control.     

Biological Control of the Phytoparasitic Nematode Mesocriconema xenoplax on Peach Trees

Seven fluorescent Pseudomonas spp. capable of inhibiting reproduction of Mesocriconema xenoplax have been isolated from soil sites that suppress both nematode multiplication and Peach Tree Short Life (PTSL). One of these seven strains, Pseudomonas sp. BG33R, inhibits M. xenoplax multiplication in vivo and egg hatch in vitro. Mesocriconema xenoplax populations on peach seedlings inoculated with BG33R and planted into soil-solarized field plots remained at or below the economic threshold for nematicide treatment in South Carolina for nearly 18 months. Soil solarization alone induced a shift toward a microbial community that was suppressive to nematode multiplication. Additionally, five Tn5 mutants of BG33R, lacking the ability to kill eggs, have been generated. The Tn5 insertion site in each mutant has been cloned and sequenced. DNA sequence analysis has revealed a high degree of homology to several genes of interest because of their potential involvement in the production of the egg-kill factor. These Tn5 egg-kill negative mutants also no longer produce protease or salicylic acid while producing nearly twice the amount of fluorescent siderophore as the wild type parent.     

Stomatal functioning in relation to leaf age in in-vitro-grown plum shoots

The ability of stomata to close in response to abiotic factors was studied on different-aged leaves of in-vitro-grown clone Mr. S. 2/5 plum (Prunus cerasifera) shoots. Epidermal peels removed from the first, third and fifth leaf in basipetal sequence from the shoot tip were exposed to 50 mm mannitol, 10 mm coumarin or dark treatment. The control solution consisted of 1 mm KC1 in 0.5 mm 2-(N-morpholino)ethanesulphonic acid. The percentage of stomata that closed following such treatments became progressively lower with increasing leaf age. The effect of mannitol was greater than that of coumarin. With dark treatment, pronounced closure was observed in the apical leaf, while on the third and fifth leaf, values were lower but not statistically different. Finally, the kinetics of stomatal closure assessed during mannitol incubation indicated a progressively slower response from the first to the fifth leaf. The more effective stomatal functioning of the youngest leaf was confirmed by a more pronounced stomatal re-opening observed in epidermal peels first treated with mannitol and then incubated again in the control solution. Received: 20 June 1997 / Revision received: 17 July 1998 / Accepted: 25 August 1998