Domestication of Chili Pepper Has Altered Fruit Traits Affecting the Oviposition and Feeding Behavior of the Pepper Weevil

The pepper weevil, Anthonomus eugenii, Cano (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), is one of the most destructive pests of chili pepper. It causes extensive damage on varieties selected for consumption. However, the occurrence of this pest on wild and ornamental peppers remains unknown. We investigated the consequences of chili domestication on the feeding and oviposition of A. eugenii on fruits and flowers. We used plants of one wild accession, Bird Eye Pepper, five ornamental varieties (Pops Yellow, Black Pearl, Sedona Sun, Chilli Chilli, and Salsa Deep), and two domesticated varieties selected for consumption (Scotch Bonnet and Jalapeño). First, we characterized the plants according to their fruit and flower sizes, pericarp thickness, capsaicin level, fruit position, and flower color. Then, we evaluated the susceptibility of fruits and flowers to A. eugenii. Overall, domestication increased fruit and flower sizes and pericarp thickness, altered capsaicin levels, and altered fruit position and flower color. Weevils laid more eggs and caused more feeding damage on varieties selected for consumption than on wild and ornamental plants. Our results add to the growing literature on the consequences of crop domestication on herbivores. This knowledge could be integrated into breeding programs to select varieties resistant against the pepper weevil.

EXTERNAL CHARACTERIZATION OF FOUR INDIGENOUS HELMETED GUINEA FOWL VARIETIES (Numida meleagris galeata Pallas 1882) IN NIGERIA

The physical characteristics of 338 indigenous helmeted guinea fowls at 28 and 52 weeks of age were described. Four main colour types or varieties recognised were Ash (Lavender), Black, Pearl (Grey) and pure White. Body weights averaged 1.15 ± 0.03kg and 1.34 ± 0.05kg at 28 and 52 weeks of age respectively for the guinea cocks and 1.07 æ 0.04kg and 1.29 æ 0.06kg at 28 and 52 weeks respectively for the guinea hens. The overall mean body weight for the entire population was 1.1 ± 0.4kg at 28 weeks of age and 1.31 ± 0.07kg at 52 weeks of age. Body weights were significantly (P<.05) bigger at end of laying (52 weeks) than at pointof lay. The males at each age and in each variety also had larger body weights than the females. The guinea cocks had slightly longer body (43.1 vs 42.6cm), keel (14.8 vs 14.4cm), wing (20.3 vs 20.2cm), shank (8.4 vs 7.9cm), drum stick (13.1vs 12.4cm), thigh (9.9 vs 9.6cm), toes and claws, wattle (3.0 vs 2.6cm), jhelmet (3.7 vs 3.2cm), beak (2.7 vs 2.5cm) and larger body girth (30.3 vs 29.4cm) than the guinea hens. About 21.14 and 24.16% of the neck of the males and females respectively were devoid of feathers. Colour of the naked portion of the neck was bluish-black and bear long hair like filoplumes on the dorsalregion. The colour of the beak was light brown in all the birds. All the Black and White birds had light brown shanks while 28.9 and 37.5% of the Ash and Pearl birds, respectively had partly brown and partly grey shank. 62.5 and 28.6% of the Pearl and Ash birds respectively, had brown shanks while 42.6% of the Ash birds had grey shank. The colour of the wattle was red in all the birds. The great variation in the various parameters measured and weighed suggests that they can probably be used in selection and hence genetic improvement of the local helmeted guinea fowl.

Research on turning maneuverability of submerged glider of the wave glider

Turning Maneuverability is an important hydrodynamic performance of the wave glider, which can realize the position keeping, path tracking and steering obstacle avoidance in a reliable way. The influences on the maneuverability of the relevant parameters of the rudder are analyzed by using the Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) method in this paper. Through the analysis, the conclusions that the optimal rudder area ratio with 0.15 and the aspect ratio with 0.8 are drawn. Furthermore, the position and profile of the rudder are also analyzed. To verify the validation of the work, sea trial data of the “Black Pearl” wave glider is adopted and analyzed. The result shows that the simulation analysis of the turning maneuverability of submerged glider is correct. And the conclusions have great significance for improving the turning maneuverability of the wave glider and the parameter design of the submerged glider engineering prototype from the perspective of the engineering application.

Suitability of Ornamental Pepper Cultivars as Banker Plants for the Establishment of Predatory Mite Amblyseius swirskii in Controlled Production

A banker plant system is a rearing and release method for biological control agents, and in recent years has gained serious attention among plant propagators for its use in regulating common greenhouse and nursery pests. In the current study, the suitability of four ornamental pepper (Capsicum annuum L.; Solanales: Solanaceae) banker plant candidates, Black Pearl (BP), Explosive Ember (EE), Masquerade (MA), Red Missile (RM), and a commercial pepper cultivar, Blitz (BL), were evaluated with three main objectives: (1) to assess host preference of three major arthropod pests of agricultural importance, Bemisia tabaci Gennadius, Polyphagotarsonemus latus Banks, and Frankliniella occidentalis Pergande among selected pepper cultivars; (2) to determine the susceptibility of plant cultivars to three different pests; and (3) to assess the effect of tuft domatia on the abundance of the predatory mite Amblyseius swirskii Athias–Henriot. In choice and no-choice assays, BL and BP were highly susceptible to P. latus with a moderately high damage rating index of >3.5/5; B. tabaci and F. occidentalis were abundant on BL and EE. A positive correlation was observed between the number of tuft domatia and the A. swirskii count. Although all ornamental pepper cultivars exhibited varying degrees of susceptibility to different arthropod pests, if used strategically, cultivars MA and RM can be used to develop a banker plant system and help reduce multiple pests in greenhouses or interiorscapes.

THE NATURE-CONCEPT IN THE NOVELS OF Sh.MURTAZA

In the article, the oeuvre of Sherkhan Murtaza are discussed in the context of the conceptual-figurative character of natural phenomena for the first time. The literary texts which have been previously studied in the context of various aspects have been analyzed in view of a new approach to the study of the artistic role of landscape. The landscape is considered to be a personal view of the world, reproduced by the writer, and in this regard, research along this cognitive line. As exemplified in the novels of “Aisha”, “Black Pearl”, and “Red Arrow” by Sherkhan Murtaza, the parallels of landscape sketches with the author’s intention are analyzed, resulting in uncovering of artistic concepts of earth, sky, fire, and water. A general idea of the concept-forming role of the artistic landscape in the poetry of Sh. Murtaza was systematized and formed.

Adaptation experience of some ornamental and fruit-berry plantlets to ex vitro conditions in the training and science center “Botanical garden” of Saratov State University n. a. N. G. Chernyshevsky

One of the quickways of vegetative plant reproduction is micropropagation. Receiving high results usingthis method is significantly limited by one of the most important stages – adaptation of plantlets to growing under ex vitroconditions, which completes the whole process of reproduction in vitro. To date, there are no universal technologies foradaptation plantlets to non-sterile conditions, which would suit all crops, determine the optimal humidity conditions, substrate, temperature and lighting. The article presents preliminary results of the study of the plantlets adaptive potential fora number of ornamental and fruit-berry crops in non-sterile conditions. The objects of the study were: Cotinus coggygria'Royal Purple'; Syringa vulgaris 'M-me Casimir Perier', 'А. Gromov', 'Sensation'; Pentaphylloides fruticosa L.; Weigelahybrida 'Eva Rathke', 'Candida'; Sorbus aucuparia 'Granatnaya'; Ribes nigrum 'Black Pearl', ' Bagheera', 'Elvesta', 'LittlePrince', 'Wonderful moment', 'Charovnica', 'Zusha', 'Tamerlan', 'Dachnica', 'Dessertnay Olkhina', 'Zagadka'; Lonicera edulis 'Gzhelka', 'Kamchadalka', 'Lazurnay', Moscowskay''.

CONCEPTUAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THE ARRAY OF COLOURS IN A WORK OF FICTION

Based on the novels of Sherkhan Murtaza - “The Moon and Aisha”, “The Red Arrow”, “War with no Weapons”, and “A Black Pearl”, the article discusses the concept-forming significance of the nature of colors in the narrative system. In the course of the analysis, the emotional, psychological, philosophical, and mythological foundations of colors in portraying the hero's spiritual world, the author's ideas, and historical reality are being comprehended. The analysis was carried out on the basis of textual and typological systemic functional techniKues. The research results reveal multifold prospects of the concept-forming potential of the array of colors in a semiotic aspect. The psychological and ideological conceptual significance of the color array in the piece of work was contemplated within the framework of the literary poetic style of Sherkhan Murtaza.