Viktor Nikolaevich Ivanov: the Director of the Leningrad Institute of Chemistry and Pharmacy in the 1950s

The article is dedicated to the director of the Leningrad Chemical and Pharmaceutical Institute (now the Saint Petersburg Chemical and Pharmaceutical University), a specialist in the field of chemical absorbers, Viktor Nikolaevich Ivanov, who headed the university in 1951-1958. The contribution to the development of chemical science has been revealed, also the activities during the years of the defense of Leningrad in 1941-1944 have been traced. In addition to the Chemical and Pharmaceutical Institute, his teaching activities were associated with the Leningrad and Moscow State Universities. During the era of his directorship at the Chemical and Pharmaceutical Institute, he managed to significantly strengthen the teaching staff, including specialists in the humanities, the famous sociologist I. S. Kon, as well as construct a new building and create a medicinal plant nursery in Lembolovo.

Genomic Biosurveillance Detects A Sexual Hybrid in the Sudden Oak Death Pathogen

Invasive exotic pathogens pose a threat to trees and forest ecosystems worldwide1, hampering the provision of essential ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration and water purification2. Hybridization is a major evolutionary force that can drive the emergence of pathogens3. Phytophthora ramorum, an emergent pathogen that causes the sudden oak and larch death, spreads as reproductively isolated divergent clonal lineages. Sexual recombination has never been reported in this pathogen under natural conditions and laboratory crosses have yielded unfit progenies, suggesting postzygotic barriers to hybridization. Here we report the discovery in a plant nursery of novel variants of P. ramorum that are the result of homoploid hybridization via sexual recombination between North American and European lineages of the pathogen. We show that these hybrids are viable, can infect plants and produce spores for long-term survival and propagation. Genome sequencing revealed novel genotypic combinations, not present in the parental lineages, at 54,515 single nucleotide polymorphism loci. More than 6000 of the novel genotypes at these loci are predicted to have a functional impact in genes associated with host infection, including effectors, carbohydrate-active enzymes and proteases. We also observed post-meiotic mitotic recombination that could generate additional genotypic and phenotypic variation and contribute to homoploid hybrid speciation. Our study highlights the importance of plant pathogen biosurveillance to detect novel variants and inform management and control.

Sewer Mining as a Distributed Intervention for Water-Energy-Materials in the Circular Economy Suitable for Dense Urban Environments: A Real World Demonstration in the City of Athens

Water reuse and recycling is gaining momentum as a way to improve the circularity of cities, while recognizing the central role of water within a circular economy (CE) context. However, such interventions often depend on the location of wastewater treatment plants and the treatment technologies installed in their premises, while relying on an expensive piped network to ensure that treated wastewater gets transported from the treatment plant to the point of demand. Thus, the penetration level of treated wastewater as a source of non-potable supply in dense urban environments is limited. This paper focuses on the demonstration of a sewer mining (SM) unit as a source of treated wastewater, as part of a larger and more holistic configuration that examines all three ‘streams’ associated with water in CE: water, energy and materials. The application area is the Athens Plant Nursery, in the (water stressed) city of Athens, Greece. SM technology is in fact a mobile wastewater treatment unit in containers able to extract wastewater from local sewers, treat it directly and reuse at the point of demand even in urban environments with limited space. The unit consists of a membrane bioreactor unit (MBR) and a UV disinfection unit and produces high quality reclaimed water for irrigation and also for aquifer recharge during the winter. Furthermore, a short overview of the integrated nutrient and energy recovery subsystem is presented in order to conceptualise the holistic approach and circularity of the whole configuration. The SM technology demonstrates flexibility, scalability and replicability, which are important characteristics for innovation uptake within the emerging CE context and market.

MANAGEMENT MODEL OF ECOTOURISM-BASED FOREST VILLAGE COMMUNITY LAND TO INCREASE LOCAL ECONOMIC IN KARANGANYAR, INDONESIA

Berjo Village has the potential for ecotourism which can increase the economic potential of its people. This study aims to determine how Berjo Village manages the potential of natural tourism, agricultural tourism, and improves the economy of forest village communities. The method used is qualitative with a case study approach and triangulation as data validity, and interactive techniques as analysis. The results showed that the economic sector of the people of Berjo Village came from agriculture and tourism. The location of the forest area has high potential to be developed into ecotourism, which consists of Sukuh Temple, Jumog Waterfall, Telaga Madirda, Forest Park, Tenggir Park, Camping Ground or Outbound Tourism, Planggatan Site, Kampung Gunung Palace, Berjo Hydroponics, Ornamental Flower and Cut Flower Centers, Horticultural Plant Nursery Centers, the potential for climbing Mount Lawu by making a basecamp for prospective mountain climbers. All tours are in one location, namely, Berjo Village as an ecotourism destination. Tourism management is carried out by applying the concept of empowerment and the existence of embeddedness among various stakeholders with all the potential for ecotourism in an effort to improve the lives of the people in Berjo Village, Karanganyar Regency, Indonesia.

SELECTION AMONG SEGREGATING PEPPER PROGENIES WITH ORNAMENTAL POTENTIAL USING MULTIVARIATE ANALYSES

ABSTRACT Peppers belong to the family Solanaceae and can be used for several different purposes. The use of morphological descriptors associated with multivariate techniques allows identifying pepper progenies that can be recommended for ornamental purposes. This study aimed to select segregating Capsicum annum progenies based on multivariate analyses. The study was conducted in a plant nursery at the Biotechnology and Plant Breeding Sector of the Center of Agricultural Sciences of the Federal University of Paraíba (CCA/UFPB). Twenty F3 progenies of ornamental peppers were used, namely: UFPB 5, 8, 10, 15, 18, 22, 25, 32, 33, 36, 40, 42, 49, 56, 60, 62, 64, 69, 75, and 77, plus four additional controls consisting of the parents UFPB 77.3 and UFPB137 and two commercial cultivars, Etna and Pirâmide. Seventeen plant and fruit traits were evaluated. The experimental design was completely randomized. The data were subjected to a multivariate analysis of variance. All analyses were performed with the software R, version 3.0.3. The results of the multivariate analysis of variance highlighted significant differences between the populations of ornamental peppers. Singh’s (1981) method made it possible to determine that eleven of the seventeen traits studied contributed with 73.7% of the genetic divergence, whereas six traits contributed with only 21.2%. There is genetic diversity among the evaluated progenies. Progenies 5, 10, 22, 33, 49, and 69 are recommended for selection for having ornamental traits for in-pot cultivation. Selection within these progenies is recommended to continue the breeding program of ornamental peppers for in-pot cultivation.

An accreditation program to produce native plant nursery stock free of Phytophthora for use in habitat restoration

Widespread Phytophthora infections have been discovered in nursery stock used in California restoration plantings. In response, nursery Phytophthora best management practices (NPBMPs) designed to exclude Phytophthora from nursery plants were developed to address the need for clean planting stock in restoration projects. A pilot program to implement the systematic use of the NPBMPs, Accreditation to Improve Restoration (AIR), was developed and started in 2018. As of 2020, 13 northern California restoration nurseries have been evaluated and five have met all the program requirements. In 564 tests conducted over four years with a sensitive leachate baiting protocol, no Phytophthora was detected from over 20,000 nursery plants produced in compliance with the NPBMPs. In comparison, Phytophthora was detected in 25% of tests conducted on partially-compliant stock, and in 71% of tests from nurseries following few or no NPBMPs. The AIR pilot program has demonstrated that container stock free of detectable Phytophthora can be reliably produced by adhering to an integrated program of clean nursery production practices. To obtain Phytophthora-free plants for habitat restoration, informed clients were willing to pay increased costs required to produce NPBMP-compliant nursery stock.

First Report of Aloe vera Rust Caused by Uromyces aloes in an Ornamental Nursery in the United States

Aloe vera (L.) Burm. f. is a tropical evergreen perennial in the family Liliaceae. Native to the Arabian Peninsula, it is sold in Pennsylvania as an ornamental and for its medical and topical purposes due to its high levels of amino acids, anthraquinones, saponins, and vitamins A, B, C, E (Sahu et al. 2013). In February 2020, at an ornamental plant nursery in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, 5 out of 15 mature A. vera plants in 15 cm pots showed symptoms and signs of rust on the leaves, exhibiting dark-brown erumpent pycnial spots with a chlorotic band surrounding the infected tissue that turned necrotic after three days of incubation at 20°C. Only the telial stage was present. Sori (n=25) were rounded, concentrically arranged, 0.2-3.7 mm, and covered by a brown epidermis. Teliospores (n=40) were amphigenous, orange-brown, globose to ellipsoidal, measuring (29.2) 30.4-36.1 (39.5) × (27.4) 27.6-30.1 (30.5) µm, with a wall thickness of 4-5 µm, and a persistent hyaline pedicel ranging from 5 to 57.1 µm in length and 5.2 to 9.3 µm in width. These measurements were comparable to the descriptions of Uromyces aloes previously reported from India (teliospore size 25-42.5 x 20-30 µm, wall thickness 3-5 µm, and pedicel size 25-95 x 5-6.25 µm), and South Africa (teliospore size 30-44 x 24-32 µm, wall thickness 4-6 µm, and pedicel size 6-20 µm) (Maier et al. 2007; Soni et al. 2011). Based on these morphological traits and the plant host, the causal agent was identified as Uromyces aloes (Cooke) Magnus (Pucciniaceae, Uredinales). The sample was also independently identified as U. aloes by the USDA APHIS PPQ Beltsville lab (Interception # APEMD200552555001) based on morphological characteristics. Teliospores were harvested with a sterile pin, transferred to a 1.5 ml tube with DNA extraction buffer (100 mM Tris-HCL, 10 mM EDTA, 1 M KCl, pH 8) and macerated using a plastic mini-pestle. The DNA was precipitated using isopropanol, washed with 70% ethanol, and reconstituted in 50 µl of PCR-grade water. The segment of the internal transcribed spacer region (ITS) was amplified using ITS4/ITS5 primers (White et al. 1990). The nuclear ribosomal small subunit (18S) was amplified with rust specific primers Rust18S-R (Aime 2006) and NS1 (White et al. 1990). The nuclear ribosomal large subunit (28S) was amplified with primers LR0R and LR7 (Vilgalys et al. 1990). Amplified PCR products were cleaned using ExoSap (Affymetrix, Santa Clara, CA) or QIAquick PCR Purification Kit (Qiagen, Valencia, CA) and sequenced at Penn State Genomics Core Facility. The nucleotide sequences were trimmed, analyzed, and aligned using Geneious 11.1.5 software (Biomatters, Auckland, NZ). The resulting 692-bp segment of the ITS, 1,633-bp segment of the 18S, and the 1,324-bp segment of the 28S regions were deposited in the GenBank database under accession numbers MT136509, MZ146345, and MZ146342, respectively. Based on GenBank BLAST analysis, a 529-bp fragment of our 28S product was found to share 98.87% (523/529) identity with U. aloes isolate WM3290 (DQ917740) from South Africa, with three nucleotide differences and three gaps between the two strains. Comparisons among ITS and 18S sequences could not be made because no ITS or 18S sequence data from U. aloes has previously been deposited in GenBank. To our knowledge, this is the first report of U. aloes from A. vera in the United States. Infected plants were confined inside a greenhouse and have been destroyed. Since the plants were purchased from either Ontario, Canada or Florida, the extent of infection in the United States is unknown.

Phytophthora austrocedri.

Phytophthora austrocedri is a soil and water-borne oomycete pathogen of woody species residing within the Cupressaceae. Its centre of origin is unknown. It was first reported causing widespread dieback and mortality of Austrocedrus chilensis in southern Argentina in 2007 and subsequently reported causing extensive dieback and mortality of Juniperus communis in northern Britain. The pathogen is considered to be invasive in both regions due to the clonal nature of the populations and recently observed disease epidemics. In addition to the two established wider-environment epidemics in Argentina and Britain, P. austrocedri has been isolated from a young Juniperus horizontalis growing in a plant nursery in Germany and from an ornamental Cupressus sempervirens located in a public park in northern Iran. P. austrocedri infects phloem in the roots and stem bases of affected hosts, with aerial infections also reported on J. communis in Britain. Natural spread is likely to occur via movement in water and soil, and possibly via animal and/or human activity. The presence of water courses and areas of standing water are likely to favour pathogen spread at a site. In Britain, DNA of P. austrocedri has been confirmed as present in traded plants of various Cupressaceae species, including those imported from continental Europe. The pathogen is a regulated pest in the plant trade in the UK.

Phytophthora austrocedri.

Phytophthora austrocedri is a soil and water-borne oomycete pathogen of woody species residing within the Cupressaceae. Its centre of origin is unknown. It was first reported causing widespread dieback and mortality of Austrocedrus chilensis in southern Argentina in 2007 and subsequently reported causing extensive dieback and mortality of Juniperus communis in northern Britain. The pathogen is considered to be invasive in both regions due to the clonal nature of the populations and recently observed disease epidemics. In addition to the two established wider-environment epidemics in Argentina and Britain, P. austrocedri has been isolated from a young Juniperus horizontalis growing in a plant nursery in Germany and from an ornamental Cupressus sempervirens located in a public park in northern Iran. P. austrocedri infects phloem in the roots and stem bases of affected hosts, with aerial infections also reported on J. communis in Britain. Natural spread is likely to occur via movement in water and soil, and possibly via animal and/or human activity. The presence of water courses and areas of standing water are likely to favour pathogen spread at a site. In Britain, DNA of P. austrocedri has been confirmed as present in traded plants of various Cupressaceae species, including those imported from continental Europe. The pathogen is a regulated pest in the plant trade in the UK.

Multipurpose agriculture cultivator

In this modern era research in the agricultural field is going on. Plant nursery is important part of agriculture field and facing many problems. The problems are availability of low productivity rate and more manual efforts required for seed feeding. In plant nursery more time is required for plantation which is due to seed feeding process. For reducing these problems of plant nursery research of multipurpose agriculture cultivator mechanism is used. MAC is a semi-automatic operated machine used for agricultural land operation to give better productivity of crops and to ease the work of farmers. MAC is used for cultivation of land comprising of three major agricultural operation in a single prototype machine which in case would reduce the work load and the use of draft animals. In this report various parameter of the design and the manufacturing of the MAC is studied. The machine would be developed considering the difficulties faced by the farmers.