Tess Astatkie

Green peach aphid, Myzus persicae (Hemiptera: Aphididae), reproduction during exposure to sublethal concentrations of imidacloprid and azadirachtin.

BACKGROUND Resurgence of insect pests following insecticide applications is often attributed to natural enemy disturbance, but hormesis could be an alternative or additional mechanism. Green peach aphid, Myzus persicae (Sulzer), is an important insect pest of many crops worldwide that may be exposed to sublethal insecticide concentrations over time. Here, the hypothesis that exposure to low concentrations of imidacloprid and azadirachtin can induce hormetic responses in M. persicae is tested in the laboratory. RESULTS When insects were exposed to potato leaf discs dipped in sublethal concentrations of insecticide, almost all measured endpoints-adult longevity, F1 production, F1 survival and F2 production-were affected, and a statistically significant (P < 0.05) stimulatory response was recorded for F2 production following exposure to imidacloprid. No other measures for hormesis were statistically significant, but other trends of hormetic response were consistently observed. CONCLUSIONS Given that variable distribution and degradation of insecticides in the field would result in a wide range of concentrations over time and space, these laboratory experiments suggest that exposure to sublethal concentrations of imidacloprid and azadirachtin could stimulate reproduction in M. persicae.

Tissue culture propagation of Mongolian cherry (Prunus fruticosa) and Nanking cherry (Prunus tomentosa)

In vitro culture establishment, shoot proliferation and ex vitro rooting responses of Mongolian cherry (Prunus fruticosa L.), and Nanking cherry (Prunus tomentosa L.), were examined using various combinations of growth regulators. Dormant buds, taken during winter months, were used as explants. In both species, Murashige and Skoog Minimal Organic (MSMO) solid medium supplemented with 0.49 μM indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) and either 4.44 or 8.88 μM 6-benzylaminopurine (BA), was the best for culture initiation, and with 8.88–15.16 μM BA for shoot proliferation. Good rooting responses were also obtained with shoots produced on media containing 0.91 μM thidiazuron (TDZ). Auxin treatments were required for ex vitro rooting of approximately 20 mm long shoots in peat/perlite (1:1 v/v) mixture, at 25 °C, under mist. The best rooting (79%) was obtained with IBA/NAA (naphthaleneacetic acid) (9.80/2.69 μM) combination. A commercial rooting powder, Rootone F, containing IBA/NAA (0.057/0.067%), was also effective (73%). The ex vitro rooted plantlets did not require any additional acclimatization prior to transplanting to the regular greenhouse conditions.

Jasmonate effects on in vitro tuberization and tuber bulking in two potato cultivars (Solanum tuberosum L.) under different media and photoperiod conditions

SummaryJasmonic acid (JA) effects on in vitro tuberization of potato nodal explants cvs. Sangre and Russet Burbank were tested under liquid and solid media conditions and 0,8, and 16h photoperiod. Explants taken from stock plants grown on 2.5μM JA-supplemented medium tuberized first, particularly in darkness. The most pronounced benefits of the JA pretreatment were recorded under 16h photoperiod, which is known to inhibit tuberization. Cultivar Sangre benefited from the JA preconditioning of stock plants more than Russet Burbank. Russet Burbank required the JA supplement in tuberization media to reach the same degree of stimulation. Overall, microtubers produced either from JA preconditioned stock plants or on the JA-containing tuberization media were more uniform and larger than from other treatments. Eight hours photoperiod was by far the best treatment for the production of high-quality uniform microtubers. JA conditioning of stock plants prior to taking explants for tuberization is being proposed as a treatment enhancing the quality of microtubers.

Use of Jasmonate for conditioning of potato plantlets and microtubers in greenhouse production of minitubers

A two-year study was conducted to determine the effects of (1) jasmonic acid (JA) pre-treatment, (2) JA supplement in culture media, (3) cultivar (Amisk, Atlantic, Russet Burbank, Shepody, and Umatilla Russet), (4) light (0 h, 8 h), and (5) dormancy breaking treatment (Rindite, gibberellic acid) on greenhouse production of minitubers from microtubers andin vitro plantlets. The microtubers were produced under short day (8 h) light conditions and in darkness, from stock plantlets pre-treated with JA and untreated, and on tuberization media with or without JA.In vitro plantlets (the industry choice in nuclear seed potato production) of all five cultivars performed well, meeting the standard criteria for greenhouse production of minitubers. Production of minitubers from microtuber-derived plants of cvs Amisk, Russet Burbank, and Umatilla Russet was similar to that of plantlet-derived plants with regard to number of minitubers. Yields (weight), however, were lower than those from plantlets. Microtuber responses to JA varied with cultivar. Amisk produced the highest number of minitubers per plot from microtubers derived from JA pre-treated plantlets. Jasmonic acid-pretreated microtubers also gave significantly more minitubers in Russet Burbank and Umatilla Russet than the microtubers from other treatments. Shepody did not benefit from JA treatments and JA pre-treated Atlantic microtubers performed poorly, producing significantly lower yields of minitubers than other cultivars. Independently of cultivar, microtubers produced under 8-h photoperiod gave significantly higher yields of minitubers than microtubers produced in the dark. Dormancy release was the key factor influencing microtuber performance. Rindite proved to be a much more effective dormancy breaking treatment than gibberellin. JA conditioning of stock plants prior to tuberization is being proposed as a treatment in production of microtubers for greenhouse production of minitubers.

Antioxidant capacity, total phenolics and nutritional content in selected ethiopian staple food ingredients.

Abstract The total antioxidant capacity, total phenolics content (TPC) and nutritional content of five types of enset (Enset ventricosum) flour in comparison with four staples (teff [Eragrostis tef], wheat, corn and tapioca) were evaluated. Teff, corn and “amicho” (corm of enset) had the highest ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP). The FRAP and TPC of teff (1.8 mmol Trolox equivalence/100 g dry matter (DM) and 123.6 mg gallic acid equivalent/100 g DM, respectively) were over 4-fold larger than the lowest obtained from “bulla” (dehydrated juice of pseudostem of enset). Corn had the lowest IC50 value of 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging (10.27 mg DM mL−1). Teff had the highest crude fat content (3.71%) and some mineral profile (P, Mg, Mn and Cu). Enset products had higher fiber, Ca, K, Mg and Mn content as compared to wheat and corn. Ethiopian staple teff has a potential for developing value-added food products with nutritional and health benefits.

Sucrose and light effects on in vitro cultures of potato, chokecherry and saskatoon berry during low temperature storage

Cultures of potato (Solanum tuberosum) cv. Atlantic, chokecherry (Prunus virginiana L.) cv. Garrington and saskatoon berry (Amelancher alnifolia Nutt.) cv. Northline grown in vitro for 3 weeks at 24/22 °C, 16-h photoperiod, 150 μmol m−2 s−1 photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD) mixed fluorescent/incandescent light were stored for 6, 9 and 12 weeks at 4 °C under 0 (darkness) and 3 μmol m−2 s−1 PPFD (690 nm red light continuous illumination). Growth regulators free MSMO medium either with or without 30 g l−1 sucrose was used to store the cultures. All cultures retained capacity to re-grow after storage. Tested factors, sucrose, light and the length of the storage period had an impact on shoot quality and re-growth capacity of the cultures. For either light treatment sucrose was essential for the low temperature maintenance of vigorous stock plants of potato, if stored for over 6 weeks. Chokecherry and saskatoon cultures stored well without sucrose; although chokecherry benefited from sucrose in the storage medium when the stock cultures were kept at the low temperature for 12 weeks. Low light significantly improved quality of the stored potato cultures, but had very little effect on both chokecherry and saskatoon berry cultures. The woody plant cultures grew during storage, and the longer the stock plants were stored, the more vigorous cultures they generated. The results indicate that growers can successfully use their existing facilities, small refrigerators and coolers with low light intensity, set at 4 °C, for short term storage of potato, chokecherry and saskatoon berry cultures. The potato cultures, which are known to be sensitive to prolonged low temperature storage, should be frequently monitored and subcultured as required. On the other hand, the woody plant stock cultures do not require any special attention when kept at 4 °C and re-grow the most vigorous shoots if stored for at least 12 weeks.

Spatial and temporal trends in soil properties at a soil quality benchmark site in central Nova Scotia

In response to concerns over the widespread soil degradation occurring on Canadas agricultural lands, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada established a network of benchmark sites to assess soil quality change by monitoring agronomically important soil properties. The Nova Scotia site was established in 1989 on Queens (Gleyed Brunisolic Gray Luvisols) and Debert (Gleyed Dystric Brunisols) soil series under a corn–forage rotation within the Annapolis–Minas Lowlands ecoregion. The objectives of the project were to quantify temporal changes in agronomically important soil properties and determine how the property values vary with the landscape and components of the soil map unit. A 20 × 25 m grid was used in 1990 and again in 1995 to sample soil from the Ap horizon and to locate saturated hydraulic conductivity and penetration resistance measurements. The samples were analyzed for pH, organic C, total N, and available P and K. The results indicate that over 5 yr, organic C, C:N ratio, available P, and saturated...

Photosynthetic response of carrots to varying irradiances

Response to irradiance of leaf net photosynthetic rates (PN) of four carrot cultivars: Cascade, Caro Choice (CC), Oranza, and Red Core Chantenay (RCC) were examined in a controlled environment. Gas exchange measurements were conducted at photosynthetic active radiation (PAR) from 100 to 1 000 μmol m−2 s−1 at 20 °C and 350 μmol (CO2) mol−1(air). The values of PN were fitted to a rectangular hyperbolic nonlinear regression model. PN for all cultivars increased similarly with increasing PAR but Cascade and Oranza generally had higher PN than CC. None of the cultivars reached saturation at 1 000 μmol m−2 s−1. The predicted PN at saturation (PNmax) for Cascade, CC, Oranza, and RCC were 19.78, 16.40, 19.79, and 18.11 μmol (CO2) m−2 s−1, respectively. The compensation irradiance (Ic) occurred at 54 μmol m−2 s−1 for Cascade, 36 μmol m−2 s−1 for CC, 45 μmol m−2 s−1 for Oranza, and 25 μmol m−2 s−1 for RCC. The quantum yield among the cultivars ranged between 0.057–0.033 mol(CO2) mol−1(PAR) and did not differ. Dark respiration varied from 2.66 μmol m−2 s−1 for Cascade to 0.85 μmol m−2 s−1 for RCC. As PN increased with PAR, intercellular CO2 decreased in a non-linear manner. Increasing PAR increased stomatal conductance and transpiration rate to a peak between 600 and 800 μmol m−2 s−1 followed by a steep decline resulting in sharp increases in water use efficiency.

Long-to-short photoperiod in winter halves the incidence of sexual maturity among Arctic charr

To better understand how photoperiod and body size interact to affect age at maturity, PIT-tagged 2-year-old Salvelinus alpinus (ca. 300 g, n=330) were reared in fresh water from February 3 under four treatments, either 18-h light/6-h dark (LD18:6) for 42 days then LD8:16 (long–short); LD18:6 for 42 days then simulated natural (long–ambient); constant LD18:6 (constant–long); or simulated seasonal photoperiod cycle (control). Temperature was 10 °C. In November, the incidence of maturity in the long–short treatment was reduced to 44% among males and 20% among females, compared to 83% and 50% in the control (p 1 kg and immature) by over four-fold. The long–ambient treatment also reduced maturation (p<0.05), but to a lesser degree, 66% and 32% in the respective sexes. The constant–long treatment had no effect on males and increased maturation among females. The arrest of sexual maturation was associated with a marked alteration in seasonal pattern of growth suggesting it was due to a suppression of somatic growth. By contrast, initial body size and condition factor were poor indicators of incipient maturing fish.

Distillation time alters essential oil yield, composition and antioxidant activity of female Juniperus scopulorum trees

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of distillation time (DT) (1.25, 2.5, 5, 10, 20, 40, 80, 160, 240, 360, 480 minutes) on yield, oil profile and antioxidant capacity of female Juniperus scopulorum trees. Analysis of the data revealed that essential oil yields reached a maximum of 0.77% at 240 minutes DT; the concentrations of alpha-thujene, alpha-pinene, camphene, myrcene and para-cymene decreased with longer DT; and the concentrations of cis-sabinene hydrate and linalool/trans-sabinene hydrate reached maximum at 40 minutes DT, whereas that of pregeijerene-B, delta-carene reached maximum at 240 minutes DT. The concentrations of alpha-terpinene, limonene, gamma-terpinene and 4-terpineol reached their maximum at 360 minutes DT, whereas terpinolene, alpha-eudesmol/beta-eudesmol and 8-alpha acetoxyelemol reached maximum at 480 minutes DT. The yield of various essential oil constituents increased with increasing DT and reached maximum at 240 minutes or longer. The antioxidant capacity of J. scopulorum leaf essential oil increased with longer DT and was highest at 480 minutes DT. In conclusion, DT can be used as a tool to obtain an essential oil with differential composition and antioxidant activity. This paper can be used as a reference for comparing reports where different DTs were applied to extract essential oil from the leaves of female J. scopulorum.