scholarly journals Simulating Bee Pollination for Horticultural Applications

Proceedings ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 178
Author(s):  
Alan Dorin
Keyword(s):  
Management Practices ◽  
Natural Habitat ◽  
Morphological Characteristics ◽  
Field Trials ◽  
Human Consumption ◽  
Natural Ecosystem ◽  
Natural Ecosystems ◽  
Trial Outcomes ◽  
Yield Quality ◽  
Detailed Computer

We depend on wild and managed bees for the pollination of a third of fruits, vegetables and nuts for human consumption. Consequently, the details of the interactions between bees and flowers are of utmost concern to growers and seed producers. However, due to the increasing variability of our climate, the loss of bees’ natural habitat, the use of pesticides and the industrialisation of agriculture, the interactions between bees and our flowering crops are changing in complex ways. Traditional field trials are one approach helping to establish how these changes are impacting on food production, but these techniques are time-consuming, season-limited, and susceptible themselves to the same rapid and dynamic disruptions the ecosystems are subject to. Instead, we propose an iterative experimental approach, in which detailed computer simulations that predict how best to run field trials, are repeatedly informed by field observations and field trial outcomes. The simulations account for bee species’ unique perceptual, behavioural, physiological and morphological characteristics, and realistically model the bees’ foraging environments, including open fields, protected crops, and natural ecosystems. We explain how our simulations work, and provide case studies detailing the results of experiments with planting layout to boost pollination. These models lead to improved plant/pollinator interaction management. They have the potential to boost yield, quality, and shelf-life for a variety of crops, to raise food security generally, and to improve the sustainability of our farm and natural ecosystem management practices.

scholarly journals Tracking Changes on Soil Structure and Organic Carbon Sequestration after 30 Years of Different Tillage and Management Practices

Agronomy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 291
Author(s):  
Ramón Bienes ◽  
Maria Jose Marques ◽  
Blanca Sastre ◽  
Andrés García-Díaz ◽  
Iris Esparza ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Triticum Aestivum ◽  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Triticum Aestivum L ◽  
Field Trials ◽  
Conventional Tillage ◽  
Soil Parameters ◽  
Wilting Point

Long-term field trials are essential for monitoring the effects of sustainable land management strategies for adaptation and mitigation to climate change. The influence of more than thirty years of different management is analyzed on extensive crops under three tillage systems, conventional tillage (CT), minimum tillage (MT), and no-tillage (NT), and with two crop rotations, monoculture winter-wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and wheat-vetch (Triticum aestivum L.-Vicia sativa L.), widely present in the center of Spain. The soil under NT experienced the largest change in organic carbon (SOC) sequestration, macroaggregate stability, and bulk density. In the MT and NT treatments, SOC content was still increasing after 32 years, being 26.5 and 32.2 Mg ha−1, respectively, compared to 20.8 Mg ha−1 in CT. The SOC stratification (ratio of SOC at the topsoil/SOC at the layer underneath), an indicator of soil conservation, increased with decreasing tillage intensity (2.32, 1.36, and 1.01 for NT, MT, and CT respectively). Tillage intensity affected the majority of soil parameters, except the water stable aggregates, infiltration, and porosity. The NT treatment increased available water, but only in monocropping. More water was retained at the permanent wilting point in NT treatments, which can be a disadvantage in dry periods of these edaphoclimatic conditions.

scholarly journals Sugar Beet Performance with Curly Top Is Related to Virus Accumulation and Age at Infection

Plant Disease ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 90 (5) ◽  
pp. 657-662 ◽  
Author(s):  
William M. Wintermantel ◽  
Stephen R. Kaffka
Keyword(s):  
Sugar Beet ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Effective Means ◽  
Field Trials ◽  
Virus Concentration ◽  
Multiple Traits ◽  
Higher Plant ◽  
Plant Weight ◽  
Virus Accumulation ◽  
Greenhouse Assay

Resistance to curly top disease caused by Beet curly top virus (BCTV) and related curtoviruses has been important to sustainable sugar beet (Beta vulgaris) production in the western United States for most of the last century. Recent advances in sugar beet genetics have led to the development of high-yielding cultivars, but these cultivars have little resistance to curly top disease. These cultivars are highly effective when disease management practices or environmental factors minimize curly top incidence, but can result in significant losses in years with early infection or abundant curly top. A greenhouse assay has been developed to rapidly test cultivars for a broad array of factors affecting performance in the presence of curly top. Previous studies have shown that sugar beet plants were more susceptible and losses more severe when seedlings were infected by BCTV, but less severe when plants were larger at the time of infection. To evaluate more precisely the relationship between age at infection, disease severity, virus accumulation, and yield loss in modern cultivars that were not bred for curly top resistance, individual sugar beet plants varying in degree of resistance and susceptibility to curly top were inoculated by viruliferous beet leafhoppers (Circulifer tenellus) when plants had two, four, or six true leaves, and maintained in a greenhouse for 6 weeks. When plants were inoculated at the two-leaf stage, all cultivars became severely stunted, with high disease ratings and similar rates of symptom development, regardless of resistance or susceptibility of the cultivar. Plants inoculated at four-and six-leaf stages exhibited increasing separation between resistant and susceptible phenotypes, with highly resistant cultivars performing well with low disease ratings and increased plant weights relative to susceptible cultivars. High-yielding cultivars performed only slightly better than the susceptible control cultivar. Results from greenhouse trials matched those from field trials conducted under heavy curly top pressure. Importantly, low virus concentration was directly correlated with lower disease ratings and higher plant weight, while elevated virus concentrations corresponded to higher disease ratings and lower weights. This demonstrates that a rapid greenhouse assay involving multiple traits can provide a rapid and effective means of selecting cultivars with improved curly top control, and could lead to more rapid incorporation of resistance into high-yielding sugar beet.

scholarly journals Identification of Fusarium Species Isolated From Stored Apple Fruit in Croatia / Identifikacija Vrsta Roda Fusarium Izoliranih S Plodova Jabuke Nakon Skladištenja

2012 ◽  
Vol 63 (4) ◽  
pp. 463-470 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zdravka Sever ◽  
Dario Ivić ◽  
Tomislav Kos ◽  
Tihomir Miličević
Keyword(s):  
Fusarium Species ◽  
Morphological Characteristics ◽  
Molecular Data ◽  
Apple Fruit ◽  
Fusarium Avenaceum ◽  
Human Consumption ◽  
Low Oxygen ◽  
Fusarium Rot ◽  
Pathogenicity Tests ◽  
Apple Fruits

AbstractSeveral species of the genus Fusarium can cause apple fruit to rot while stored. Since Fusarium taxonomy is very complex and has constantly been revised and updated over the last years, the aim of this study was to identify Fusarium species from rotten apples, based on combined morphological characteristics and molecular data.We identified 32 Fusarium isolates from rotten apple fruit of cultivars Golden Delicious, Jonagold, Idared, and Pink Lady, stored in Ultra Low Oxygen (ULO) conditions. Fusarium rot was detected in 9.4 % to 33.2 % of naturally infected apples, depending on the cultivar. The symptoms were similar in all four cultivars: a soft circular brown necrosis of different extent, with or without visible sporulation. Fusarium species were identified by the morphology of cultures grown on potato-dextrose agar (PDA) and carnation leaf agar (CLA). Twenty one isolates were identified as Fusarium avenaceum and confirmed as such with polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using specific primer pair FA-ITSF and FA-ITSR. F. pseudograminearum,F. semitectum, F. crookwellense, and F. compactum were identified by morphological characteristics. F.avenaceum can produce several mycotoxins and its dominance in Fusarium rot points to the risk of mycotoxin contamination of apple fruit juices and other products for human consumption. Pathogenicity tests showed typical symptoms of Fusarium rot in most of the inoculated wounded apple fruits. In this respect Fusarium avenaceum, as the dominant cause of Fusarium rot in stored apple fruits is a typical wound parasite.

Tending this Fragile Earth, Our Island Home: The Pope's Encyclical in Dialogue with Ecomimesis, a Design Model for Conservation Stewardship

2018 ◽  
Vol 100 (4) ◽  
pp. 745-766
Author(s):  
Lillian C. Woo
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Water Pollution ◽  
Anthropogenic Impact ◽  
Natural World ◽  
Design Solution ◽  
World Population ◽  
Natural Ecosystem ◽  
Natural Ecosystems ◽  
The Earth ◽  
The World

In the last fifty years, empirical evidence has shown that climate change and environmental degradation are largely the results of increased world population, economic development, and changes in cultural and social norms. Thus far we have been unable to slow or reverse the practices that continue to produce more air and water pollution, soil and ocean degradation, and ecosystem decline. This paper analyzes the negative anthropogenic impact on the ecosystem and proposes a new design solution: ecomimesis, which uses the natural ecosystem as its template to conserve, restore, and improve existing ecosystems. Through its nonintrusive strategies and designs, and its goal of preserving natural ecosystems and the earth, ecomimesis can become an integral part of stabilizing and rehabilitating our natural world at the same time that it addresses the needs of growing economies and populations around the world.

scholarly journals Genotype selection and addition of fertilizer increases grain yield in upland rice in Suriname

2017 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 185-194 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adriano Stephan NASCENTE ◽  
Ruby KROMOCARDI
Keyword(s):  
Grain Yield ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Upland Rice ◽  
Block Design ◽  
Field Trials ◽  
Application Rate ◽  
Rice Grain ◽  
Rice Varieties ◽  
Local Conditions ◽  
Randomized Block Design

ABSTRACT The upland rice farmers in Suriname use local varieties and low level technologies in the field. As a result, the upland rice grain yield is low, at about 1 000 kg ha-1. Our objective was to evaluate the use of upland rice cultivars from Suriname and Brazil, and the effect of nitrogen, N, phosphorus, P, and potassium, K, fertilizers on cultivation variables. We undertook four field trials in the Victoria Area, in the Brokopondo District, using a randomized block design each with four replications. The most productive rice varieties were BRS Esmeralda (grain yield 2 903 kg ha-1) and BRS Sertaneja (2 802 kg ha-1). The highest grain yield of 2 620 kg ha-1 was achieved with a top dressing application of 76.41 kg N ha-1 20 days after sowing. For P, the highest grain yield of 3 085 kg ha-1 was achieved with application of 98.06 kg ha-1 P2O5 applied at sowing. An application rate of 31.45 kg ha-1 of K2O at sowing achieved the highest grain yield of 2 952 kg ha-1. Together, these application rates of N, P and K resulted in rice grain yield of about 3 000 kg ha-1, which is three times greater than the national average for upland rice. We demonstrate that the use of improved rice varieties matched to the local conditions, and application of appropriate fertilizers, are management practices that can result in significant increases in rice grain yield in Suriname.

scholarly journals Assessing the Potential of Nontraditional Water Sources for Landscape Irrigation

2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 436-444 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raul I. Cabrera ◽  
James E. Altland ◽  
Genhua Niu
Keyword(s):  
Best Management Practices ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Urban Landscape ◽  
Biological Properties ◽  
Water Sources ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Natural Ecosystems ◽  
Aesthetic Quality ◽  
The Impact

Scarcity and competition for good quality and potable water resources are limiting their use for urban landscape irrigation, with several nontraditional sources being potentially available for these activities. Some of these alternative sources include rainwater, stormwater, brackish aquifer water, municipal reclaimed water (MRW), air-conditioning (A/C) condensates, and residential graywater. Knowledge on their inherent chemical profile and properties, and associated regional and temporal variability, is needed to assess their irrigation quality and potential short- and long-term effects on landscape plants and soils and to implement best management practices that successfully deal with their quality issues. The primary challenges with the use of these sources are largely associated with high concentrations of total salts and undesirable specific ions [sodium (Na), chloride (Cl), boron (B), and bicarbonate (HCO3−) alkalinity]. Although the impact of these alternative water sources has been largely devoted to human health, plant growth and aesthetic quality, and soil physicochemical properties, there is emergent interest in evaluating their effects on soil biological properties and in natural ecosystems neighboring the urban areas where they are applied.

scholarly journals THE SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM IN THE INTERNATIONAL MARKETS OF AQUACULTURE PRODUCTS

2021 ◽  
pp. 96-99
Author(s):  
Vladimir Grigor'ev ◽  
Dan Chuong Fam Thi ◽  
Rustam Nizamov ◽  
Igor' Grigor'ev
Keyword(s):  
Forest Cover ◽  
Natural Habitat ◽  
Strong Dependence ◽  
World Market ◽  
Natural Ecosystems ◽  
Natural Conditions ◽  
Natural Habitats ◽  
Socialist Republic ◽  
National University ◽  
The Government

Aquaculture is one of the most promising and dynamically developing types of agricultural production, especially in countries with warm climates. The research was carried out to analyze the current situation in aquaculture in Vietnam to clarify the existing problems and prospects of this industry. When collecting materials, we used statistical data from the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, as well as information from representatives of the Institute of Economics and Business of the Vietnam National University (Hanoi). In the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, aquaculture is well developed and continues to actively expand, annually increasing the production of products that are in significant demand on the world market. One of the most important problems of the industry is the threat to natural biodiversity, primarily due to the reduction of the natural habitats of the inhabitants of rivers and mangroves. An equally important problem is the strong dependence of the production of products, primarily shrimp, on foreign markets, which today is objective and insurmountable. Due to the use of chemicals and antibiotics in aquaculture, especially in natural conditions, environmental degradation is possible. Among the promising areas for the development of the industry is the convergence of natural ecosystems and agriculture, a good example of which is the cultivation of shrimp in mangroves without destroying the forest cover. It is possible to switch to aquaculture as an adaptation to changes in the ecological situation, primarily to the salinization of river deltas. As a result of a decrease in the profitability of fishing in the natural habitat of fish and shrimps, an increase in their populations in natural conditions is possible

scholarly journals A new species of Coccoloba P. Browne (Polygonaceae) from the Brazilian Amazon with exceptionally large leaves

2019 ◽  
Vol 49 (4) ◽  
pp. 324-329 ◽  
Author(s):  
Efigenia de MELO ◽  
Carlos Alberto CID FERREIRA ◽  
Rogério GRIBEL
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
Conservation Status ◽  
Natural Habitat ◽  
Morphological Characteristics ◽  
Brazilian Amazon ◽  
Cultivated Plants ◽  
New Taxon ◽  
Madeira River ◽  
Individual Trees ◽  
A New Species

ABSTRACT We describe and illustrate a new species of Coccoloba (Polygonaceae), named Coccoloba gigantifolia, from the Brazilian Amazon. It resembles Coccoloba mollis Casar, but differs from the latter species by its much larger leaves in the fertile branches. The species has only been recorded in the Madeira River basin, in the states of Amazonas and Rondônia, in the central and southwestern Brazilian Amazon. The description was based on herbarium material, cultivated plants, and individual trees in their natural habitat. We provide illustrations, photographs, and an identification key with morphological characteristics that distinguish the new taxon from the other two related taxa of the Coccoloba sect. Paniculatae, as well as comments on the geographic distribution and conservation status of the species.

scholarly journals First Report of Pythium aphanidermatum Causing Stalk Rot on Abelmoschus manihot (L. ) Medic in China

Plant Disease ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qing Qu ◽  
Liu Shiwei ◽  
Ning Liu ◽  
Yunxia Liu ◽  
Jia Hui ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Management Practices ◽  
Vascular System ◽  
Morphological Characteristics ◽  
Pythium Aphanidermatum ◽  
Negative Control ◽  
Perennial Herb ◽  
Universal Primers ◽  
First Report ◽  
Stalk Rot ◽  
Aerial Hyphae

Abelmoschus manihot (Linn. ) Medicus (A. manihot) is an annual to perennial herb of the Malvaceae okra, mainly distributed in Guangdong, Guangxi, Fujian, Hunan, Hubei provinces. It can not only be used as an ornamental flower, but also has important economic and medicinal value. Last year, 10% A. manihot in 1,000 acres were observed with stalk rot in the Zhongshang Agricultural Industrial Park, 50 meters east of Provincial Highway 235 in Gaoyang County of Hebei province. Internal discoloration of the stem began brown to black discoloration of the vascular system and became hollow, with the mycelium growing on the surface. Stems from symptomatic plants (approximately 5 mm2) were dissected, washed free of soil, then soaked in 75% ethanol for 16 s to surface-sterilize, and 40 s in HgCl2, then rinsed three times in sterile water. After being dried with blotting paper, five pieces were placed on potato dextrose agar (PDA). After cultured 2 or 3 days, five isolates were purified and re-cultured on PDA in the dark at 25°C. The color of the colony was white. The hyphae were radial in PDA, and the aerial hyphae were flocculent, well-developed with luxuriant branches. The colonies were white and floccus, and the aerial hyphae were well developed, branched and without septum on corn meal agar (CMA). The sporangia were large or petal shaped, composed of irregular hyphae, terminal or intermediate , with the size of (31.6-88.4) μm ×(12.7- 14.6) μm. Vesicles were spherical, terminal or intermediate, ranging from 14.6 to 18.5μm. Oogonia were globose, terminal and smooth which stipe was straight. Antheridia were clavate or baggy and mostly intercalary, sometimes terminal. Oospores were aplerotic, 21.5 to 30.0 μm in diameter, 1.6 to 3.1 μm in wall thickness. The isolates morphological characteristics were consistent with P. aphanidermatum (van der Plaats-Niterink 1981, Wu et al. 2021 ). To identify the isolates, universal primers ITS1/ITS4 (White et al. 1993) were used for polymerase chain reaction–based molecular identification. The amplification region was sequenced by Sangon Biotech (Shanghai, China) and submitted to GenBank (MW819983). BLAST analysis showed that the sequence was 100% identical to Pythium aphanidermatum. Pathogenicity tests were conducted 3 times, with 4 treatments and 2 controls each time. The plants treated were 6 months old. Then the hyphae growing on PDA for 7 days were cut into four pieces. Next, they were inoculated into the soil of the A. manihot. Negative control was inoculated only with PDA for 7 days ( Zhang et al. 2000). The plants were then placed in a greenhouse under 28°C, 90% relative humidity. After inoculated 20 to 30 days, the infected plants showed stalk rot, the same symptoms as observed on the original plants. The control plants didn’t display symptoms. Pythium aphanidermatum was re-isolated from infected stems and showed the same characteristics as described above and was identical in appearance to the isolates used to inoculate the plants. To our knowledge, this is the first report of Pythium aphanidermatum infecting A. manihot stem and causing stalk rot in China. It may become a significant problem for A. manihot. Preliminary management practices are needed for reducing the cost and losses of production.

scholarly journals Does natural selection organize ecosystems for the maintenance of high productivity and diversity?

2002 ◽  
Vol 357 (1421) ◽  
pp. 709-718 ◽  
Author(s):  
Egbert Giles Leigh ◽  
Geerat Jacobus Vermeij
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Natural Selection ◽  
Natural Ecosystem ◽  
Natural Ecosystems ◽  
Human Disturbances ◽  
Natural Soils ◽  
High Productivity ◽  
Biotic Crisis ◽  
High Production ◽  
Ways Of Life

Three types of evidence suggest that natural ecosystems are organized for high productivity and diversity: (i) changes not previously experienced by a natural ecosystem, such as novel human disturbances, tend to diminish its productivity and/or diversity, just as ‘random’ changes in a machine designed for a function usually impair its execution of that function; (ii) humans strive to recreate properties of natural ecosystems to enhance productivity of artificial ones, as farmers try to recreate properties of natural soils in their fields; and (iii) productivity and diversity have increased during the Earth's history as a whole, and after every major biotic crisis. Natural selection results in ecosystems organized to maintain high productivity of organic matter and diversity of species, just as competition among individuals in Adam Smith's ideal economy favours high production of wealth and diversity of occupations. In nature, poorly exploited energy attracts more efficient users. This circumstance favours the opening of new ways of life and more efficient recycling of resources, and eliminates most productivity–reducing ‘ecological monopolies’. Ecological dominants tend to be replaced by successors with higher metabolism, which respond to more stimuli and engage in more varied interactions. Finally, increasingly efficient predators and herbivores favour faster turnover of resources.

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