scholarly journals Impact of phylloplane management on microbial populations

2002 ◽  
Vol 55 ◽  
pp. 125-128 ◽  
Author(s):  
N.W. Waipara ◽  
F.O. Obanor ◽  
M. Walter

The impact of apple orchard management on leaf microbial populations was investigated during the 2001/2002 growing season Apple leaves were collected in spring and autumn from two certified organic (BioGro) and IFP (Integrated Fruit Production) managed apple orchards at each of three New Zealand sites (Hawkes Bay Nelson and Canterbury) Phylloplane epiphytes were recovered by leaf washing using a stomacher blender and the microorganisms enumerated using serial plate dilutions The microorganisms were separated into recognisable taxonomic units (RTUs) based on colony morphology Analysis of both spring and autumn samples showed that leaves from all three sites from organic orchards harboured significantly more colony forming units than were found on leaves from IFP orchards Overall population richness (based on RTUs/ leaf sample) was also significantly higher in organic than IFP orchards

2012 ◽  
Vol 45 (6) ◽  
pp. 1211-1215
Author(s):  
Gun-Yeob Kim ◽  
Seul-Bi Lee ◽  
Jong-Sik Lee ◽  
Eun-Jung Choi ◽  
Jong-Hee Ryu

2015 ◽  
Vol 68 ◽  
pp. 306-312 ◽  
Author(s):  
P.L. Lo ◽  
J.T.S. Walker ◽  
D.J. Rogers

Pest management in New Zealands pipfruit Integrated Fruit Production (IFP) programme relies on selective pesticides biological control and pheromone mating disruption The current situation is potentially precarious and one concern the impact of less selective pesticides was tested Apple trees received synthetic pyrethroid (deltamethrin) sprays during the first half of two growing seasons Beneficial and pest species were monitored monthly from November to April Treated trees had fewer predatory bugs (91 100 reduction) lacewings (64100) earwigs (80100) predatory mites (67100) spiders (2064) and Hymenoptera (1649) than untreated trees Ladybird numbers varied depending on the assessment method Outbreaks of phytophagous mites and woolly scale and Froggatts apple leafhopper on untreated trees Factors that make pest management under IFP vulnerable in the future include a loss of biological control and the consequences of new pests establishing


Author(s):  
Weronika Masłowska ◽  
Daniel Liberacki

Abstract Analysis of the yield of selected apple varieties in the first years after the planting the orchard. The aim of the paperwork was to analyze the impact of innovative apple orchard cultivation on the yield of selected apple varietes: Galaval, Buckeye Gala, Golden Reinders, Grani and Fuji. The research ware conducted on orchard located in Gutowo Małe, Września county, in the Wielkopolskie province. The orchard was established in May 2016. The area of orchard is 4.0 ha and there are 7,600 annual and biennial apple seedlings. The analyzed apple varieties are used in foreign orchards. Cutting and forming trees is done in a different way, from the way it was done in traditional orchards. The purpose of this is to achieve better conditions of sunlight, which significantly affect the color of the fruit. Good coloring of fruit is one of the factors determining the profitability of crop. The aim of the study is to assess, the quality and quantity of yield of apple varieties, which have not been grown in Poland yet. The first harvest was recorded in 2017. The early cultivation period was characterized by the lack of irrigation. Atmospheric conditions of the studied area had a significant effect on the yield of apple trees. The considered year 2017 was defined as wet with a precipitation of 659 mm higher by 77 mm than the average over multiannual (2007-2017), while the temperature was higher by 0.4°C than the average over the period from 2007 to 2017. During the growing season, the sum of precipitation was 346 mm and slightly exceeded the long-term average. After the analysis of the harvest, it was found that the Fuji variety yielded best. Despite the dumping of more than half of the fruits from each tree, in order to improve their quality, the average yield was 15.0 t·ha-1, in the first year of yielding.


2007 ◽  
Vol 53 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
Monika Walter ◽  
Christopher Miles Frampton ◽  
Kirsty Sarah Helen Boyd-Wilson ◽  
Patricia Harris-Virgin ◽  
Nicholas William Waipara

The impact of conventional agrichemicals commonly used in New Zealand apple production on non-target, culturable phyllosphere microbial populations was studied in the laboratory (agar, leaf, and seedling assays) and field (apple orchard). Morphologically distinct bacteria (three), yeasts (five), and filamentous microfungi (two) were used as indicator species. The agar assay showed that agrichemical toxicity to microorganisms was dependent on product type, product rate, and organism studied. While the fungicides metiram and captan stopped or severely reduced growth of nearly all microorganisms studied, the insecticides tebufenozide and lufenuron and the fungicide nitrothal-isopropyl showed the least amount of microbial toxicity, each affecting 2 of the 10 indicator organisms studied. In the leaf assay a single agrichemical application at field rate either reduced or increased microbial population counts, again depending on product and microorganism. Repeated agrichemical applications, however, reduced microbial population numbers from 10- to 10 000-fold in planta. Further field research validated these findings, although differences in microbial numbers before and after agrichemical applications were less dramatic. In the orchard, total organism numbers recovered within 2–6 days, but species richness (sum of recognizable taxonomic units) declined. Agrichemicals clearly affected non-target, culturable surface microorganisms. The importance of diversity and stability of microbial populations for disease control still needs to be established.Key words: apple, microbial abundance, microbial richness, 6-benzyladenine, buprofezin, captan, cyprodinil, difenoconazole, dithianon, dodine, kresoxim-methyl, lufenuron, metiram, myclobutanil, nitrothal-isopropyl, tebufenozide, triadimefon.


2002 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 32-37
Author(s):  
Tom Deckers ◽  
Hilde Schoofs

Nutrition is an important orchard management factor. In integrated fruit production (IFP) there is a tendency to reduce the impact of some elements like nitrogen from soil applications and to replace them by leaf applications. For some elements like magnesium or manganese a leaf application can be a very efficient way to prevent deficiency symptoms on the leaves; for other elements these effects can not be proved sufficiently. In this paper we discuss some standard nutritional practices of Belgian fruit growing; for some of them there is sufficient scientific support for others there is not. A general overview is given in which the different foliar applications are positioned in function of the phenological evolution of fruit trees.


2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 222
Author(s):  
Miroslava Navrátilová ◽  
Markéta Beranová ◽  
Lucie Severová ◽  
Karel Šrédl ◽  
Roman Svoboda ◽  
...  

The aim of the presented article is to evaluate the impact of climate change on the sugar content of grapes in the Czech Republic during the period 2000–2019 through selected indicators on the basis of available secondary sources. Attention is focused on the developments in both the main wine-growing regions of Moravia and Bohemia. In the field of viticulture and wine-growing, the sugar content of grapes, as a basic parameter for the classification of wines, plays an important role. In the Czech Republic, the average sugar content of grapes has had a constantly growing trend. This trend is evident both in the wine-growing region of Bohemia and in the wine-growing region of Moravia. The impact of climate change, especially the gradual increase of average temperatures in the growing season, cannot be overlooked. It greatly affects, among other things, the sugar content of grapes. Calculations according to the Huglin Index and the Winkler Index were used to determine the relationship between climate and sugar content. These indexes summarize the course of temperatures during the entire vegetation period into a single numerical value. The results show that both indexes describe the effect of air temperature on sugar content in both wine regions of the Czech Republic in a statistically significant way. The Huglin Index shows a higher correlation rate. The Winkler Index proved to be less suitable for both areas. Alternatively, the Winkler Index calculated for a shorter growing season was tested, which showed a higher degree of correlation with sugar content, approaching the significance of the Huglin Index.


Author(s):  
Surinder Kaur M. S. Pada ◽  
Poh Lishi ◽  
Kim Sim Ng ◽  
Sarathamani Rethenam ◽  
Lilibeth Silagan Alenton ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Computerisation of various processes in hospitals and reliance on electronic devices raises the concern of contamination of these devices from the patient environment. We undertook this study to determine if an attached hand hygiene device that unlocks the screen of a computer on wheels (COW) on usage can be effective in decreasing the microbiological burden on computer keyboards. Methods An electronic hand sanitizer was integrated onto the COW. A prospective cohort study with a crossover design involving 2 control and 2 intervention wards was used. The study end point was the number of colony forming units found on the keyboards. Bacteria were classified into 4 main groups; pathogenic, skin flora, from the environment or those thought to be commensals in healthy individuals. We then used a mixed effects model for the statistical analysis to determine if there were any differences before and after the intervention. Results Thirty-nine keyboards were swabbed at baseline, day 7 and 14, with 234 keyboards cultured, colony forming units (CFUs) counted and organisms isolated. By mixed model analysis, the difference of mean bacteria count between intervention and control for week 1 was 32.74 (− 32.74, CI − 94.29 to 28.75, p = 0.29), for week 2 by 155.86 (− 155.86, CI − 227.45 to − 83.53, p < 0.0001), and after the 2-week period by 157.04 (− 157.04, CI − 231.53 to − 82.67, p < 0.0001). In the sub-analysis, there were significant differences of pathogenic bacteria counts for the Intervention as compared to the Control in contrast with commensal counts. Conclusion A hand hygiene device attached to a COW may be effective in decreasing the microbiological burden on computer keyboards.


Plants ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (12) ◽  
pp. 1726
Author(s):  
Nasr H. Gomaa ◽  
Ahmad K. Hegazy ◽  
Arafat Abdel Hamed Abdel Latef

Perennial shrub-annual plant interactions play key roles in desert regions influencing the structure and dynamics of plant communities there. In the present study, carried out in northwestern Saudi Arabia, we examined the effect of Haloxylon salicornicum shrubs on their associated understory annual species across four consecutive growing seasons, along with a record of the seasonal rainfall patterns. We measured density and species richness of all the annual species in permanent quadrats located beneath individual shrubs, as well as in the spaces between shrubs. During wet growing season H. salicornicum shrubs significantly enhanced the density and species richness of sub-canopy species, whereas in the relatively dry seasons they exerted negative effects on the associated species. In all growing seasons, the presence of shrubs was associated with enhanced soil properties, including increased organic carbon content, silt + clay, and levels of nutrients (N, P and K). Shrubs improved soil moisture content beneath their canopies in the wet growing season, while in the dry seasons they had negative effects on water availability. Differences in effects of H. salicornicum on understory plants between growing seasons seem due to the temporal changes in the impact of shrubs on water availability. Our results suggest the facilitative effects of shrubs on sub-canopy annuals in arid ecosystems may switch to negative effects with increasing drought stress. We discuss the study in light of recent refinements of the well-known “stress-gradient hypothesis”.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 2249
Author(s):  
Sadia Alam Shammi ◽  
Qingmin Meng

Climate change and its impact on agriculture are challenging issues regarding food production and food security. Many researchers have been trying to show the direct and indirect impacts of climate change on agriculture using different methods. In this study, we used linear regression models to assess the impact of climate on crop yield spatially and temporally by managing irrigated and non-irrigated crop fields. The climate data used in this study are Tmax (maximum temperature), Tmean (mean temperature), Tmin (minimum temperature), precipitation, and soybean annual yields, at county scale for Mississippi, USA, from 1980 to 2019. We fit a series of linear models that were evaluated based on statistical measurements of adjusted R-square, Akaike Information Criterion (AIC), and Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC). According to the statistical model evaluation, the 1980–1992 model Y[Tmax,Tmin,Precipitation]92i (BIC = 120.2) for irrigated zones and the 1993–2002 model Y[Tmax,Tmean,Precipitation]02ni (BIC = 1128.9) for non-irrigated zones showed the best fit for the 10-year period of climatic impacts on crop yields. These models showed about 2 to 7% significant negative impact of Tmax increase on the crop yield for irrigated and non-irrigated regions. Besides, the models for different agricultural districts also explained the changes of Tmax, Tmean, Tmin, and precipitation in the irrigated (adjusted R-square: 13–28%) and non-irrigated zones (adjusted R-square: 8–73%). About 2–10% negative impact of Tmax was estimated across different agricultural districts, whereas about −2 to +17% impacts of precipitation were observed for different districts. The modeling of 40-year periods of the whole state of Mississippi estimated a negative impact of Tmax (about 2.7 to 8.34%) but a positive impact of Tmean (+8.9%) on crop yield during the crop growing season, for both irrigated and non-irrigated regions. Overall, we assessed that crop yields were negatively affected (about 2–8%) by the increase of Tmax during the growing season, for both irrigated and non-irrigated zones. Both positive and negative impacts on crop yields were observed for the increases of Tmean, Tmin, and precipitation, respectively, for irrigated and non-irrigated zones. This study showed the pattern and extent of Tmax, Tmean, Tmin, and precipitation and their impacts on soybean yield at local and regional scales. The methods and the models proposed in this study could be helpful to quantify the climate change impacts on crop yields by considering irrigation conditions for different regions and periods.


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