FROST TOLERANCE OF WHEAT, OATS, BARLEY, CANOLA AND MUSTARD AND THE ROLE OF ICE-NUCLEATING BACTERIA

1987 ◽  
Vol 67 (4) ◽  
pp. 1155-1165 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. V. GUSTA ◽  
B. J. O’CONNOR

Each year in western Canada, millions of dollars are lost in crop production due to untimely spring and fall frosts. For example, on 11 June 1985 and 6 June 1986, frosts of −7 and −6 °C, occurred in Saskatchewan. From Saskatoon North, on 13 Aug. 1979 a frost of −6 to −8 °C completely devastated all unripe crops. The seeding of frost-sensitive crops such as canola and mustard must be delayed in certain areas to avoid spring frosts. This results in a yield reduction and a delay in maturity which, in turn, can result in crop loss due to fall frosts. If seeding is delayed to avoid killing frosts, early-maturing, lower yielding varieties must be sown. In addition to reducing yield, frosts may induce lesions which provide a means of infection by bacteria and fungi. Fall frosts may result in either a complete loss or reduced quality. Frosted wheat may not be suitable for milling and is often graded as feed. Frost at the soft dough stage can result in poor seed germination which makes seed unacceptable for registration. Fall frosts result in green seeds which are unacceptable to the crushers because green oil is produced. Certain spring crops such as wheat, barley and oats possess a certain degree of frost hardiness. Some of our current cultivars can withstand a frost of −5° to −7 °C with little or no apparent injury. The current cultivars of canola and mustard cannot tolerate −4 °C of frost in the cotyledon stage without being severely injured or killed.Key words: Frost tolerance, wheat, oat, barley, canola, mustard

Author(s):  
Janusz Majewski

The aim of the paper was to determinate the importance of pollinating insects for food security in Poland. To assess this, there was estimated crop production without pollinators. The information published by the Institute of Horticulture and the Central Statistical Office was used as well as the literature on the subject. The results of the study indicate that insect pollinators play a key role in fruit production, absence of pollinators may result in a crop yield reduction about 80%. In terms of physical availability of food, Polish food security will be preserved even in the absence of insect pollinators. However, at the level of economic availability, food security may not be preserved without such pollinators, in particular in terms of fruit and food security associated with the consumption of properly balanced rations.


2010 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Vaszily

In sweet cherry growing, intense technology is introduced as the up to date development. Among the elements of the technology are the choice of variety, planting design and pruning are the main elements. The methods, intensity and the timing of pruning are largely dependent from the growing habits of the varieties, the light demand of the parts of different age and their tendency of getting bald on the aging zones. One of the main limiting factors of production, the frost damages are outstanding. In choosing the site of plantation, we must avoid the places, where spring frosts used to occur, the next moment is the role of the variety and the technology applied. In Hungary, the late or spring frosts are considered, however, the winter frosts may also cause heavy losses, which depend also on the health and nutritional condition of the trees when being exposed to temperature minima. Our present study is based on a 9-year-old plantation trained to slender spindle as well as to free spindle crown. We observed the development of fruiting structures and their frost damage also in relation with the timing of the pruning operations during the winter or summer, and compared also the varieties with each other.


Author(s):  
Mahmud Tareq Morshed ◽  
Ernest Lacey ◽  
Daniel Vuong ◽  
Alastair E Lacey ◽  
Soo-sum Lean ◽  
...  

LCMS-guided screening of a library of biosynthetically talented bacteria and fungi identified Streptomyces sp. MST-144321 as a prolific producer of chlorinated metabolites. We isolated and characterised six new and nine...


2015 ◽  
Vol 35 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Daiko Wakita ◽  
Yosuke Kurashima ◽  
Yoshihiro Takasato ◽  
Youngho Lee ◽  
Kenichi Shimada ◽  
...  

Background: KD is the leading cause of acquired heart disease in the US. We have demonstrated the critical role of innate immune responses via IL-1R/MyD88 signaling in the Lactobacillus casei cell wall extract (LCWE)-induced KD mouse model. The diversity and composition of microflora (both bacterial and fungal) have been associated with the regulation and alterations of immune responses and various pathologies. However, the role of gut microbiota in immunopathology of KD has not been investigated. Objective: To evaluate the role of gut microflora in development of coronary arteritis, and vascular abnormalities in KD mouse model. Methods and Results: We investigated the role of gut microflora in the LCWE-induced KD mouse model, using Specific-Pathogen Free (SPF) and Germ Free (GF) mice (C57BL/6). GF mice showed a significant decrease of KD lesions, including coronary arteritis compared with SPF mice. The development of LCWE-induced AAA, which we recently discovered in this mouse model, was also markedly diminished in GF mice. In addition to GF mice, we also investigated the specific role of commensal bacteria and/or fungi, and determined whether altered microorganism burden in this KD mouse model contributes to disease severity. To deplete bacteria and/or fungi in the gut microflora, we exposed pregnant SPF mice and their offspring to antibiotics cocktail (Abx) or antifungal drug (fluconazole; Fluc) in their drinking water for 5 wks and induced KD. The mice treated with Abx or Fluc had significantly reduced coronary arteritis and AAA compared to controls. The Abx plus Fluc administration showed marked decrease of KD vasculitis. Conclusions: We demonstrate here that gut microflora play a critical role in the development of KD vasculitis in LCWE-induced mouse model. Our results suggest that both bacteria and fungi in the intestinal microbiota may control the induction and severity of KD vasculitis. These findings provide a new perspective on the potential role of the microbiome in KD pathogenesis and may offer new diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for KD patients.


Solid Earth ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 93-103 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. G. J. S. Sonneveld ◽  
M. A. Keyzer ◽  
D. Ndiaye

Abstract. Land degradation has been a persistent problem in Senegal for more than a century and by now has become a serious impediment to long-term development. In this paper, we quantify the impact of land degradation on crop yields using the results of a nationwide land degradation assessment. For this, the study needs to address two issues. First, the land degradation assessment comprises qualitative expert judgements that have to be converted into more objective, quantitative terms. We propose a land degradation index and assess its plausibility. Second, observational data on soils, land use, and rainfall do not provide sufficient information to isolate the impact of land degradation. We, therefore, design a pseudo-experiment that for sites with otherwise similar circumstances compares the yield of a site with and one without land degradation. This pairing exercise is conducted under a gradual refining of the classification of circumstances, until a more or less stable response to land degradation is obtained. In this way, we hope to have controlled sufficiently for confounding variables that will bias the estimation of the impact of land degradation on crop yields. A small number of shared characteristics reveal tendencies of "severe" land degradation levels being associated with declining yields as compared to similar sites with "low" degradation levels. However, as we zoom in at more detail some exceptions come to the fore, in particular in areas without fertilizer application. Yet, our overall conclusion is that yield reduction is associated with higher levels of land degradation, irrespective of whether fertilizer is being applied or not.


1975 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
pp. 268-270 ◽  
Author(s):  
W P Feistritzer

In this short article the author indicates the present stages of development of variety evaluation, testing, certification, production and marketing of quality seed—of cereals, industrial crops, pasture plants and vegetables—in major geographical regions of the world and draws attention to some of the underlying problems which must be faced in the future if further progress is to be made.


Weed Science ◽  
2019 ◽  
pp. 1-21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sudheesh Manalil ◽  
Hafiz Haider Ali ◽  
Bhagirath Singh Chauhan

Abstract Annual sowthistle (Sonchus oleraceus L.) is a broadleaf weed that is increasing in prevalence in the northern cropping regions of Australia. Being a member of Asteraceae family, this weed possesses many biological attributes needed to thrive in varying environments and weed management pressure. Interference of this weed was examined in a wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) crop through field studies in 2016 and 2017. Different densities of S. oleraceus were evaluated for their potential to cause yield loss in wheat: 0.0 (weed free), low (9 to 15 plants m−2), medium (29 to 38 plants m−2), and high (62 to 63 plants m−2). Based on the exponential decay model, 43 and 52 plants m−2 caused a yield reduction of 50% in 2016 and 2017, respectively. Yield components such as panicles m−2 and grains per panicles were affected by weed density. At the high weed infestation level, S. oleraceus produced a maximum of 182,940 and 192,657 seeds m−2 in 2016 and 2017, respectively. Sonchus oleraceus exhibited poor seed retention at harvest as more than 95% of seeds were blown away by wind. Adverse effects on crop, high seed production and wind-blown dispersal may lead to an increased prevalence of this weed in the absence of an integrated weed management strategy utilizing both herbicides and non-chemical options.


2019 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
César Díaz-Godínez ◽  
Julio C. Carrero

AbstractNeutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) are DNA fibers associated with histones, enzymes from neutrophil granules and anti-microbial peptides. NETs are released in a process denominated NETosis, which involves sequential steps that culminate with the DNA extrusion. NETosis has been described as a new mechanism of innate immunity related to defense against different pathogens. The initial studies of NETs were carried out with bacteria and fungi, but currently a large variety of microorganisms capable of inducing NETs have been described including protozoan and helminth parasites. Nevertheless, we have little knowledge about how NETosis process is carried out in response to the parasites, and about its implication in the resolution of this kind of disease. In the best case, the NETs entrap and kill parasites in vitro, but in others, immobilize the parasites without affecting their viability. Moreover, insufficient studies on the NETs in animal models of infections that would help to define their role, and the association of NETs with chronic inflammatory pathologies such as those occurring in several parasitic infections have left open the possibility of NETs contributing to pathology instead of protection. In this review, we focus on the reported mechanisms that lead to NET release by protozoan and helminth parasites and the evidence that support the role of NETosis in the resolution or pathogenesis of parasitic diseases.


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