Richard C. Beeson

Inadequacy of Rubisco initial and total activities to account for observed rates of photosynthetic carbon dioxide assimilation by Scenedesmus ecornis

Both initial and total activity of ribulose-1,5, bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco) measured for the green alga Scenedesmus ecornis are affected by the experimental procedure and they are not sufficiently high to account for the rates of 14C fixation by photosynthesis. The very low β-carboxylase activities detected (less than 3% of the Rubisco total activity) cannot explain the difference in CO2 fixation. Attempts to obtain possible optimal conditions (pH, duration of activation with Mg2+ and HCO- 3, absence of proteases, linearity of 14C fixation with time) did not lead to increased activity yields. The substrate ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate was found to decrease the initial activity at concentrations higher than 25 μM for algae harvested by centrifugation and having thus experienced several minutes of darkness. Deactivation seems to be primarily responsible for this loss of activity. Furthermore, initial and total activities decrease when the delay before freezing increases, suggesting accumulati...

Concentration–Response and Residual Activity of Insecticides to Control Herpetogramma phaeopteralis (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) in St. Augustinegrass

ABSTRACT Tropical sod webworm, Herpetogramma phaeopteralis Guenée, is an important pest of warm-season turfgrass in the Gulf Coast states of the United States, the Caribbean Islands, and Central America. Current control recommendations rely on topical application of insecticides against caterpillars. The objective of this study was to generate resistance baseline data of H. phaeopteralis to six insecticide classes. Residual activity of clothianidin, chlorantraniliprole, and bifenthrin was also compared under field conditions in Central Florida. Chlorantraniliprole was the most toxic compound tested (LC50 value of 4.5 ppm), followed by acephate (8.6 ppm), spinosad (31.1 ppm), clothianidin (46.6 ppm), bifenthrin (283 ppm) and Bacillus thuringiensis kurstaki, (342 ppm). In field tests, all compounds at label rates were effective (≥94% mortality of larvae exposed to fresh residues). However, a more rapid decline in activity of clothianidin and bifenthrin was observed compared with chlorantraniliprole. Clothianidin had no statistically detectable activity after 4 wk post-application in spring and the fall, and bifenthrin had no detectable activity after 3wk in the spring and the fall. However, chlorantraniliprole maintained significant activity (≥84% mortality) compared with other treatments throughout the 5-wk study period. This study provides new information regarding the relative toxicities and persistence of current insecticides used for H. phaeopteralis and other turfgrass caterpillars.

Evaluation of Storm Water Surface Runoff and Road Debris as Sources of Water Pollution

Street sweeping is regularly performed within cities and residential communities to reduce roadway debris and ensure properly functioning storm water management systems. Given removal of plant and soil debris, street sweeping may also reduce nonpoint source pollution through removal of leachate source material. To assess the influence of street sweeping on storm water pollutants, 36 storm water collection devices were installed within six residential communities in Central Florida and subjected to varying municipal sweeping regimes. Additionally, precipitation and storm water retention pond leachate samplers were installed to quantify pollutant sources that may enter and leave selected urban communities. Despite high variability in percentage of impervious surfaces, population density, and volume of road debris among communities, no significant (P ≤ 0.05) differences were observed for total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN), nitrate + nitrite (NOx), and total phosphorus (TP) concentrations in storm water among communities or between swept and unswept areas of roadways. Similarly, no significant differences were observed for TKN, NOx, and TP concentrations in precipitation and storm water. Significant differences in orthophosphate (ortho-P), however, were observed between communities and precipitation. Additionally, storm water TP concentrations were greater than discharge estimated to originate from communities within the study area. Although street sweeping may be effective at reducing volume of roadway debris, our data did not find it reduced N or P in storm water.