Can crop disease control cope with climate change?

Crop yields need to increase by at least 70% over the next 35 years in order to meet the global demands for food due to the increasing population and changing dietary preferences towards meat and dairy products in developing nations. Climate change threatens food security because pests and diseases that limit crop productivity are all sensitive to climate change and especially to more frequent extreme weather events. A more variable climate will mean greater uncertainty for crop yields because crop development stages, e.g. when reproductive organs such as flowers and seeds are produced, are especially vulnerable to short periods of extreme temperature or drought. For instance, Europe experienced an extreme climate event during the summer of 2003 when temperatures were ca. 6°C higher and rainfall was ca. 300 mm less than the long-term mean values. One impact of this summer was a record crop yield decrease of ca. 36% below average yield in Italy for maizePeer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio

Fluctuations in Number of Cercospora beticola Conidia in Relationship to Environment and Disease Severity in Sugar Beet

All content of Phytopathology is open access without restriction 12 months after publicationCercospora leaf spot, caused by Cercospora beticola, is the most damaging foliar disease of sugar beet in Minnesota (MN) and North Dakota (ND). Research was conducted to characterize the temporal progression of aerial concentration of C. beticola conidia in association with the environment and disease severity in sugar beet. In 2003 and 2004, volumetric spore traps were placed within inoculated sugar beet plots to determine daily dispersal of conidia at Breckenridge, MN, and St. Thomas, ND. Plots were rated weekly for disease severity. At both locations, conidia were first collected in early July 2003 and late June in 2004. Peaks of conidia per cubic meter of air were observed with maxima in late August 2003 and in early September 2004 at both locations. Peaks of airborne conidium concentration were significantly correlated with the average temperature of daily hours when relative humidity was greater than 87%. Weekly mean hourly conidia per cubic meter of air was significantly (P <0.01) associated with disease severity during both years and across locations. This study showed that C. beticola conidial numbers may be used to estimate potential disease severity that, with further research, could be incorporated in a disease forecasting model to rationalize Cercospora leaf spot management.Peer reviewe

The Importance of John Calvin for the Protestant Church in China

"The image Calvin has left in the Chinese world since the missionary era of the nineteenth century is very vague, sometimes controversial or even paradoxical. There are several images of Calvin existing side by side, at least three. The first image depicts Calvin as one of the founders of the historical Protestantism, as the most influential source of the world-wide missionary movements for the past five centuries. The second image calls to mind a terrible dictator incapable of humor, the spiritual source of fundamentalism mixed with the doctrine of predestination. The third image is that of the founder of modern democracy in the form of reasonable capitalism. Right at the outset I would like to affirm that a correct interpretation of John Calvin is of vital importance for the building up of the Protestant Church in China. The present interpretation will take account of these three images which have been prevailing in the Chinese world for a long time. By way of conclusion, I will explore the significance of Calvin’s heritages for the Protestant Church in China.", p. 17

Fire Ant- Hemipteran Mutualisms: Comparison of Ant Preference for Honeydew Excreted by an Invasive Mealybug and a Native Aphid

Interaction between ants and honeydew-producing hemipterans is defined as mutualism which is beneficial for both species. Red imported fire ants, Solenopsis invicta, who tend the honeydew-producing hemipteran insects, can help reduce their predators and parasites. In return, ants receive honeydew as an important food resource. In this study, we tested the foraging intensity (FI), weight change and honeydew consumption (HC) of S. invicta on Phenacoccus solenopsis, Myzus persicae and infested plants by mixed-colony (both P. solenopsis and M. persicae) . Our results showed that FI of S. invicta was gradually increasing with time on the plants infested by aphids and the mixed-colony, while inverse situation was found on mealybug- infested plants. Within 10 and 15 days, FI on aphid and the mixed-species infested plant was significantly more than that on the mealybug infested plant. We compared the ant weight between the two moving directions, and the result showed that the weight of downward ants was significantly heavier than upward ants except that on the mealybug infested plant after 15 days. The study also indicated that there was no observable difference of HC among the three kinds of honeydew resource in one day and five days, while HC on aphid and the mixed colony infested plant in 10 and 15 days was significantly more than that on mealybug-infested plants

Trading strategies in the Chinese stock market

Technical analysis is one of the main forecasting methods and trading strategies in the stock market. In the last 20 years, momentum strategy has become a great concern of behavioral finance. In this study, I establish 1-indicator and 2-indicators trading model, using the Moving Average (MA), the Relative Strength Index (RSI), as well as their combinations as technical rules. Two Chinese stock indices, SSE Composite Index and SZSE Component Index are selected as data. After setting up bullish and bearish signals, I implement t-tests to examine whether the mean returns on signals are significantly different from the mean daily return, and whether the mean buy return are significantly different from the mean sell return, and then check their predictive power in the Chinese stock market. At last, I build the trading strategy based on these predictable trading rules to outperform the buy-and-hold strategy. Results show that most MA and RSI trading rules are potential predictable indicators, with the best predictive indicators being RSI3, MA20 and the combination of RSI3&MA20.A análise técnica é um dos principais métodos de previsão e estratégias de negociação nos mercados de valores. Nos últimos 20 anos, a estratégia de momentum tornou-se uma parte importante na investigação de finanças comportamentais. No presente estudo, modelos de negociação com base em 1 indicador e em 2 indicadores foram estabelecidos com a ajuda de Médias Móveis (MA) e do Índice de Força Relativa (RSI), bem como das suas combinações e regras técnicas. Os dois índices bolsistas chineses, nomeadamente o Índice Composto SSE e o Índice Composto SZSE são selecionados como dados do estudo. Depois de configurar sinais de alta e baixa, eu implemento testes para examinar se os retornos médios dos sinais são significativamente diferentes do retorno médio diário, e se o retorno médio de compra é significativamente diferente do retorno médio de venda, para verificar o seu poder preditivo no mercado acionista chinês. Por fim, construo a estratégia de negociação com base em regras de negociação para superar a estratégia de compra e manutenção (buy and hold). Os resultados mostram que a maioria das regras de negociação de MA e RSI são potenciais preditores da evolução futura do mercado, sendo os indicadores mais preditivos a RSI3, a MA20 e a combinação de RSI3 e MA20

Grassland futures in Great Britain – Productivity assessment and scenarios for land use change opportunities

This is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).To optimise trade-offs provided by future changes in grassland use intensity, spatially and temporally explicit estimates of respective grassland productivities are required at the systems level. Here, we benchmark the potential national availability of grassland biomass, identify optimal strategies for its management, and investigate the relative importance of intensification over reversion (prioritising productivity versus environmental ecosystem services). Process-conservative meta-models for different grasslands were used to calculate the baseline dry matter yields (DMY; 1961–1990) at 1 km2 resolution for the whole UK. The effects of climate change, rising atmospheric [CO2] and technological progress on baseline DMYs were used to estimate future grassland productivities (up to 2050) for low and medium CO2 emission scenarios of UKCP09. UK benchmark productivities of 12.5, 8.7 and 2.8 t/ha on temporary, permanent and rough-grazing grassland, respectively, accounted for productivity gains by 2010. By 2050, productivities under medium emission scenario are predicted to increase to 15.5 and 9.8 t/ha on temporary and permanent grassland, respectively, but not on rough grassland. Based on surveyed grassland distributions for Great Britain in 2010 the annual availability of grassland biomass is likely to rise from 64 to 72 million tonnes by 2050. Assuming optimal N application could close existing productivity gaps of ca. 40% a range of management options could deliver additional 21 ∗ 106 tonnes of biomass available for bioenergy. Scenarios of changes in grassland use intensity demonstrated considerable scope for maintaining or further increasing grassland production and sparing some grassland for the provision of environmental ecosystem services.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio

Evaluating Responses of Sugar Beet Cultivars to Fusarium Species in Greenhouse and Field Conditions

Fusarium yellows of sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.) is becoming an important disease in Minnesota and North Dakota in the United States. One of the best ways to manage Fusarium yellows is to develop and use resistant cultivars. Responses of eight sugar beet cultivars to three Fusarium species were determined in the greenhouse and compared to the responses of the same eight cultivars grown in a field already infected by Fusarium yellows. There were significant and appreciable relationships between greenhouse and field studies for responses of eight sugar beet cultivars on Fusarium yellows. The estimated correlation coefficient for area under disease progress curve (AUDPC) between observations in fields and those in greenhouses was 0.987 (p<0.01). The mean AUDPC were significantly different among cultivars (p<0.01) in the greenhouse and in the field studies. Of the cultivars, Van der Have 46177 was the most susceptible, but Crystal R434 the most resistant. Crystal 820, Van der Have 66561, and Beta 4797R were resistant, and Beta 4818R, Seedex Magnum, and Hilleshog 2463Rz were moderately resistant. There was a strong negative relationship between the AUDPC and recoverable sucrose yield in the field experiments and the estimated coefficient of determination was 0.939 (p<0.01). It was concluded that greenhouse screening can act as a useful and reliable means to evaluate and select beet germplasms and/or accessions for resistance to Fusarium yellows.Peer reviewe

Effectiveness of Rlm7 resistance against Leptosphaeria maculans (phoma stem canker) in UK winter oilseed rape cultivars

© 2018 The Authors. Plant Pathology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Society for Plant Pathology. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.The Rlm7 gene in Brassica napus is an important source of resistance for control of phoma stem canker on oilseed rape caused by the fungus Leptosphaeria maculans. This study shows the first report of L. maculans isolates virulent against Rlm7 in the UK. Leptosphaeria maculans isolates virulent against Rlm7 represented 3% of the pathogen population when cultivars with the Rlm7 gene represented 5% of the UK oilseed rape area in 2012/13. However, the Rlm7 gene has been widely used since then, representing >15% of the UK oilseed rape area in 2015/16. Winter oilseed rape field experiments included cultivars with the Rlm7 gene, with the Rlm4 gene or without Rlm genes and took place at five sites in the UK over four cropping seasons. An increase in phoma leaf spotting severity on Rlm7 cultivars in successive seasons was observed. Major resistance genes played a role in preventing severe phoma leaf spotting at the beginning of the cropping season and, in addition, quantitative resistance (QR) in the cultivars examined made an important contribution to control of phoma stem canker development at the end of the cropping season. Deployment of the Rlm7 resistance gene against L. maculans in cultivars with QR in combination with sustainable disease management practices will prolong the use of this gene for effective control of phoma stem canker epidemics.Peer reviewe

Opportunities for weed manipulation using GMHT row crops

The herbicides and cultivation systems available in most non-GM crops allow farmers little flexibility as to when they control weeds. However, glyphosate and glufosinate-ammonium, as used in GM herbicide tolerant crops, offer the opportunity to control large weeds and weed control can be timed according to the agronomic and environmental aims of the user. This paper will use sugar beet as a model crop and report results where different approaches to weed control have been used and discuss their relevance in the wider agricultural and environmental contextNon peer reviewe