Severity of clubroot in kale related to management practices and soil attributes

ABSTRACT: Clubroot disease, caused by Plasmodiophora brassicae, limits the production of Brassica spp. worldwide. Little is known about the factors related to the development of the disease in kale (Brassica oleracea var. acephala) plants and in crops in mountainous areas under tropical conditions. This study examined the severity of clubroot in kale crops as well as identify potential flaws in management and the soil and relief factors related to its occurrence. The study was conducted in 24 kale fields in the mountainous region of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil). Soil and kale growth management practices adopted in the region were identified and samples of soil and plants were collected. Subsequently, soil and relief attributes, disease severity, biomass and nutrient and Al contents and accumulation in the plants were determined. There was a high spread of the pathogen in the areas. Inappropriate and recurrent practices in the region were detected, e.g., sequential cultivation of host species, low adoption of soil fertility analysis and liming and conservation practices, and community use of agricultural machinery and implements without prior cleaning. The disease was associated with more acidic soils, subject to greater water accumulation and with high levels of Al3+ as well as with higher Al contents and accumulation in the roots. Management practices must be adopted in the region to reduce the potential inoculum of P. brassicae and to increase soil fertility.

Treatment endometrium cancer with preserving fertility - analysis of literature data and own studies

Spontaneous and distant results were analyzed concerning hormonal treatment of 47 initial patients of reproductive age with endometrium cancer (EC). The cure in the prof. N.N.Petrov scientific-research institute was performed from 1975 with purpose of preseiving fertility without operation. In addition, literature data concerning analogical treatment of 36 patients were analyzed. Summary of all data concerning 83 patients EC without invasion in myometrium show about 80% patients were receptive to hormonotherapy and 61% had the full regression of endometrium tumor. The pregnancy occurs in 20% of patients, childbirth happen in 12% of patients. Relapses of illness were revealed in almost one half of 66 patients (48%) after the full regression of initial EC. Unique results obtained in the prof. N.N. Petrov scientific-research institute oncological department are explained by large number of observations and long monitoring patients. These data analysis allowed to define indications and conditions for use of such cure EC method: only inpatients with minimal high-differentiated Aden carcinoma and in specialized clinics. This method does not exclude any timely surgery cure component in case of relapse and together with it permits to realize the reproductive function.

A Link between Atmospheric Pressure and Fertility of Drosophila Laboratory Strains

Standardization of conditions under which insects are kept is of great importance when studying their physiology and researchers do their best to maintain it. Nevertheless, sometimes an obvious side effect of some unaccounted factor affecting insects’ reproduction can be revealed even under thoroughly controlled laboratory conditions. We faced such a phenomenon when studying the fertility level in two wild type Drosophila melanogaster strains. For fertility analysis, 50 newly emerged females and 50 males of each strain under study were transferred to fresh medium daily within 10 days. We found out that fertility of both strains was stable on days 2–10 after the oviposition onset in one experiment, while in another one it was significantly decreased during days 5–10. When compared to publicly available meteorological data, these changes in the fertility level demonstrated a strong association with one weather factor: barometric pressure. Thus, we conclude that changes in atmospheric pressure can be considered a factor affecting insects reproduction and discuss a possible mechanism of their influence on fertility.

Dampak Pemberian Pupuk Hayati dan NPK Terhadap Emisi CO2 Pada Perkebunan Kelapa Sawit Di Lahan Gambut

Pemanfaatan lahan gambut untuk perkebunan kelapa sawit selalu disertai dengan pemupukan, seperti pupuk hayati dan NPK. Namun kegiatan pemupukan ini berpotensi meningkatkan aktivitas mikroorganisme dalam mendekomposisi bahan organik gambut yang selanjutnya menghasilkan emisi CO2. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengukur emisi CO2 sebelum dan sesudah pemupukan hayati dan NPK dari perkebunan kelapa sawit fase belum menghasilkan (umur tanaman 3 tahun) dan fase menghasilkan (umur tanaman 12 tahun). Penelitian ini dilaksanakan pada perkebunan kelapa sawit di Kalimantan Barat. Emisi CO2 yang diukur pada enam belas subplot dengan metode sungkup tertutup menggunakan sensor CO2 Vaisala GMP343. Pengukuran emisi CO2 dilakukan seminggu sekali dari bulan Agustus sampai Oktober 2020. Bersamaan dengan pengukuran emisi CO2 dilakukan pengukuran suhu tanah, suhu udara dan kedalaman muka air tanah yang diikuti pengambilan sampel tanah untuk analisis pH, Eh dan kadar air gravimetrik. Pengambilan sampel tanah terganggu untuk analisis kesuburan gambut dilakukan sebanyak tiga kali yaitu seminggu sebelum pengukuran emisi CO2, setelah aplikasi pupuk hayati dan setelah aplikasi pupuk NPK. Hasil penelitian menunjukan emisi CO2 sebelum dan sesudah pemupukan tidak berbeda nyata. Rerata emisi CO2 setelah pemupukan hayati cenderung lebih rendah dan kembali meningkat setelah pemupukan NPK. Besaran emisi CO2 pada tanaman belum menghasilkan sebelum pemupukan sebesar 0,65 ± 0,36 g CO2 m-2 jam-1, setelah pemupukan hayati sebesar 0,56 ± 0,28 g CO2 m-2 jam-1 dan setelah pemupukan NPK sebesar 0,60 ± 0,32 g CO2 m-2 jam-1. Sedangkan rerata emisi CO2 pada lokasi tanaman menghasilkan sebelum pemupukan yaitu 0,53 ± 0,24 g CO2 m-2 jam-1, setelah pemupukan hayati 0,38 ± 0,18 g CO2 m-2 jam-1 dan setelah pemupukan NPK meningkat menjadi 0,66 ± 0,43 g CO2 m-2 jam-1.ABSTRACTFertilization is a common practice when utilizing peatlands for oil palm plantation. It includes bio fertilizer and compound NPK fertilizer. However, fertilization may potentially increase microorganism activities leading to higher CO2 emission. This study aims to measure CO2 emissions before and after application of bio fertilizer and compound NPK fertilizer to oil palm plantations. This research was conducted on palm plantations in West Kalimantan. There are two plots of measurements i.e. immature oil palm, about 3 years of age and producing oil palm about 12 years of age, and every plot consists eight subplots. The measurement of CO2 emissions carried out according to closed chamber method using Vaisala GMP343 CO2 sensor once a week from August to October 2020. Along with measurement of CO2 emissions, environmental factors were also measured, i.e. soil temperature, air temperature and groundwater level, pH, Eh and gravimetric water content. Sampling of disturbed soil for peat fertility analysis was carried out three times, a week before measuring CO2 emissions, after application of bio-fertilizers and after application of compound NPK fertilizer. The results showed that CO2 emissions before and after fertilization were not significantly different. The average CO2 emission after biological fertilization tends to be lower than that before fertilizer application and tend to increase after NPK fertilization. The amount of CO2 emission in immature plot before fertilization is 0,65 ± 0,36 g CO2 m-2 hour-1, after biological fertilization is 0,56 ± 0,28 g CO2 m-2 hour-1 and after NPK fertilization is 0,60 ± 0,32 g CO2 m-2 hour-1. Meanwhile, the average CO2 emission at the location of the plant produced before fertilization was 0,53 ± 0,24 g CO2 m-2 hour-1, after biological fertilization was 0,38 ± 0,18 g CO2 m-2 hour-1 and after NPK fertilization increased to 0,66 ± 0,43 g CO2 m-2 hour-1.

Fertility Analysis of Bovine Semen by in Vitro Fertilization

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the efficiency of using in vitro fertilization to validate semen fertility for artificial insemination. Cryopreserved semen from ten bulls (five Nelore and five Brangus bulls) was evaluated using in vitro production of embryos (IVPE) and via fixed-time artificial insemination (FTAI). There was variation (p < 0.05) in the IVPE (20.9 to 53.7% of blastocyst production) and in the FTAI (42.0 to 56.0% of pregnant cows) results among the Nelore bulls evaluated. According to the results there was a positive correlation (rs = 0.8378; p = 0.0001) between the rate of blastocyst production (using IVPE) and the rate of pregnancy (using FTAI) using Nelore bull semen. Variation was also found between the Brangus bulls (p < 0.05), in the rates of blastocyst production (36.5 to 47.0%) and pregnancy (45.6 to 52.2%) via FTAI. There was also a positive correlation (rs = 0.8786; p = 0.0001) between the rates of blastocyst production (IVPE) and pregnancy (FTAI) when using Brangus bull semen. According to the results, IVPE may be used in addition to conventional semen analysis to evaluate and validate the semen fertility of bulls for artificial insemination programs.

Multi-Sensor Approach for Tropical Soil Fertility Analysis: Comparison of Individual and Combined Performance of VNIR, XRF, and LIBS Spectroscopies

Rapid, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly analysis of key soil fertility attributes requires an ideal combination of sensors. The individual and combined performance of visible and near infrared (VNIR) diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF), and laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) was assessed for predicting clay, organic matter (OM), cation exchange capacity (CEC), pH, base saturation (V), and extractable (ex-) nutrients in tropical soils. A set of 102 samples, collected from two agricultural fields, with broad ranges of fertility attributes were selected. Two contrasting data fusion approaches have been applied for modeling: (i) merging spectral data of different sensors followed by partial least squares regression (PLS), known as fusion before prediction; and (ii) applying the Granger and Ramanathan (GR) averaging approach, known as fusion after prediction. Results showed VNIR as individual technique to be the best for the prediction of clay and OM content (2.61 ≤ residual prediction deviation (RPD) ≤ 3.37), while the chemical attributes CEC, V, ex-P, ex-K, ex-Ca, and ex-Mg were better predicted (1.82 ≤ RPD ≤ 4.82) by elemental analysis techniques (i.e., XRF and LIBS). Only pH cannot be predicted regardless the technique. The attributes OM, V, and ex-P were best predicted using single-sensor approaches, while the attributes clay, CEC, pH, ex-K, ex-Ca, and ex-Mg were overall best predicted using multi-sensor approaches. Regarding the performance of the multi-sensor approaches, ex-K, ex-Ca, and ex-Mg, were best predicted (RPD of 4.98, 5.30, and 4.11 for ex-K, ex-Ca and ex-Mg, respectively) using two-sensor fusion approach (VNIR + XRF for ex-K and XRF + LIBS for ex-Ca and ex-Mg), while clay, CEC and pH were best predicted (RPD of 4.02, 2.63, and 1.32 for clay, CEC, and pH, respectively) with the three-sensor fusion approach (VNIR + XRF + LIBS). Therefore, the best combination of sensors for predicting key fertility attributes proved to be attribute-specific, which is a drawback of the data fusion approach. The present work is pioneering in highlighting benefits and limitations of the in tandem application of VNIR, XRF, and LIBS spectroscopies for fertility analysis in tropical soils.

Determination of Soil Properties from Electrical Measurements in Agricultural Plots, Villa de Arriaga, San Luis Potosí, Mexico

The knowledge of agricultural soil properties is crucial for the auspicious selection of crop, irrigation and fertilization types. This study contains the results of the field and laboratory application of electrical measurements used to obtain fines content, porosity, hydraulic conductivity and cation exchange capacity (CEC) in three agricultural plots for the purpose of growing barley. The values of fines content were attained using electrical measurements in laboratory soil samples and Ryjov's algorithm, which is comparable to the calculated values from textural analyses of Bouyoucos. In agricultural plot A, an Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT) profile, along with measurements of soil moisture and salinity, show high-resolution outcomes to determine soil properties, these are related to a clear image of soil thickness, as well as the identification of horizons. The Electrical Profiling (EP) survey conducted in the three plots showed higher productivity than the ERT method, resulting in soil properties maps. The plots display A-lowest, B-moderate and C-higher range of CEC values. This result conforms to crop yields per hectare and the fertility analysis carried out on each land plot, which confirms not only the effectiveness of the EP method and Ryjov's algorithm, but also their purpose for the study of agricultural soil properties.