Incidence of post-harvest disease and airborne fungal spores in a vegetable market

The sampling of bioaerosols has been carried out using a Rotorod sampler as well as by exposing culture plates. The screening of some common vegetables was also done for the isolation of fungi as market pathogens to study post-harvest diseases. Altogether, fifty nine fungal spore types and 78 species of 33 genera belonging to different groups were recorded respectively on the rotorod strips and on exposed Petri dishes. Many saprophytic and pathogenic fungi were found to be associated with sampled vegetables from the market. In all forty-six fungal species belonging to 26 genera were recovered from five varieties of vegetables collected from the same market. The most dominant forms of fungi were of Aspergillus followed by Cladosporium, Penicillium, Alternaria, Fusarium, Curvularia, Trichoderma, and Rhizopus. Aspergillus niger, A. flavus, A. fumigatus, Penicillium spp. and Cladosporium herbarum, found to be dominant during the period of investigation. Important mycotoxin-producing fungi such as A. flavus, A. fumigatus and Fusarium moniliforme were isolated from the vegetables collected from the market

Ocena koncentracji zarodników grzybów przy zastosowaniu dwóch metod liczenia

The aim of the study was to estimate the spore counts of Alternaria and Cladosporium using the single longitudinal traverse and twelve transverse traverses methods. Both the single and twelve traverses methods generally showed similar average daily concentration fluctuations of the two studied spore types on the same days, although the single traverse method usually presented higher spore concentrations. However, analysing the distribution of concentrations obtained using both methods, there were days when the single or twelve traverses method showed a rise or fall in concentration which was not reflected by the other method. In case of Cladosporium higher daily concentrations obtained using the twelve traverses method occurred more frequently in the months of the highest spore concentrations. The higher concentrations of Alternaria spores obtained using this method occurred more frequently in the months of the lowest concentrations. Analysis of correlation (Pearson’s correlation coefficient r) between those variables (number of days with higher concentration and monthly concentration) showed that the correlation was significant for Cladosporium and not significant for Alternaria, for both at the significance level alpha = 0.05. The results of the Wilcoxon’s Paired Sample Test indicated that for both taxa the average daily concentrations obtained using the 1 traverse method were significantly higher than those obtained using the 12 traverses method.Celem pracy była ocena koncentracji zarodników Alternaria i Cladosporium przy zastosowaniu metody liczenia zarodników w 1 pasie horyzontalnym i w 12 pasach wertykalnych w preparacie mikroskopowym. Obydwie metody liczenia wykazały podobne wahania dobowych koncentracji obydwu typów zarodników w tych samych dniach, chociaż metoda liczenia w 1 pasie horyzontalnym wykazała wyższe koncentracje zarodników. Jednak analizując rozkład koncentracji uzyskanych dwoma metodami stwierdzono, że wystąpiły dni, kiedy metoda 1 pasa horyzontalnego lub 12 pasów wertykalnych wykazywała wzrost lub spadek koncentracji, czego nie odzwierciedlała druga z metod. W przypadku Cladosporium wyższe dobowe koncentracje przy zastosowaniu metody 12 pasów wertykalnych występowały częściej w miesiącach o najwyższej koncentracji zarodników. Wyższe koncentracje zarodników Alternaria przy zastosowaniu tej samej metody występowały częściej w miesiącach o najniższej koncentracji zarodników. Analiza korelacji (współczynnik korelacji Pearson’a r) między tymi zmiennymi (liczbą dni z wyższą koncentracją a koncentracją miesięczną) wykazała, że istnieje istotna korelacja w przypadku Cladosporium i nieistotna w przypadku Alternaria na poziomie istotności alfa = 0.05. Wynik nie parametrycznego testu Wilcoxon’a wskazuje, że dla obydwu taksonów średnie dobowe koncentracje uzyskane za pomocą metody 1 pasa horyzontalnego są istotnie wyższe niż uzyskane za pomocą metody 12 pasów wertykalnych

Sezony pylkowe wybranych taksonow drzew i krzewow w Krakowie i okolicy

The aim of the study was to compare the dynamics of pollen seasons of selected tree and shrub taxa among measurement sites in Kraków and its neighbourhood. The study was performed in Kraków and Piotrkowice Małe in 2002, as well as in Kraków and Giebułtów in 2006. During the study the volumetric method was applied and pollen grains were counted along four horizontal lines. The lowest percentage of Corylus pollen and the highest percentage of Betula pollen were found in the analysed sites. The differences among start dates in various measurement sites in a given year were inconsiderable. Statistically significant differences of SPI values for the majority of taxa were found between measurement sites and between seasons for Kraków. The pollen season dynamics showed one (Betula, Pinaceae) or more maximum values (Corylus, Populus, Fraxinus, Salix). The occurrence of many peaks could be explained by the appearance of several species within one genus in the studied area or by various weather conditions. In 2002 maximum pollen concentrations were recorded earlier than in 2006. The differences in these dates could be explained better by cumulative temperature >5°C than >0°C.Celem badań było porównanie dynamiki sezonów pyłkowych wybranych taksonów drzew i krzewów w Krakowie oraz w okolicy Krakowa. Badania prowadzono w latach: 2002 (Kraków i Piotrkowice Małe) oraz 2006 (Kraków i Giebułtów). Zastosowano metodę wolumetryczną pobierania materiału i metodę 4 pasów horyzontalnych w liczeniu ziaren pyłku. Najmniejszy udział procentowy zanotowano dla Corylus, natomiast największy dla Betula zarówno w mieście, jak i w okolicy. Różnice w datach początku sezonów pomiędzy punktami pomiarowymi były nieznaczne. Stwierdzono istotne różnice wartości SPI dla większości taksonów zarówno pomiędzy punktami pomiarowymi, jak i pomiędzy sezonami dla Krakowa. Ocena przebiegu dynamik stężeń pyłku w sezonie wykazała istnienie: jednego, dominującego piku maksymalnych wartości (np. Betula, Pinaceae) lub występowanie wielu pików (np. Corylus, Populus, Fraxinus, Salix). Zaznaczanie się wielu pików tłumaczono występowaniem kilku gatunków danego taksonu na badanym terenie lub zmiennymi warunkami pogodowymi. W roku 2002 wartości maksymalne stężeń pojawiły się wcześniej niż w roku 2006. Różnice w datach maksymalnych stężeń pyłku tłumaczono efektywniej w sposób jakościowy z wykorzystaniem temperatury skumulowanej >5°C niż > 0°C

Examining Ambrosia Pollen Episodes at Poznań (Poland) Using Back-trajectory Analysis

The pollen grains of Ambrosia spp. are considered to be important aeroallergens in parts of southern and central Europe. Back-trajectories have been analysed with the aim of finding the likely sources of Ambrosia pollen grains that arrived at Poznań (Poland). Temporal variations in Ambrosia pollen at Poznań from 1995–2005 were examined in order to identify Ambrosia pollen episodes suitable for further investigation using back-trajectory analysis. The trajectories were calculated using the transport model within the Lagrangian air pollution model, ACDEP (Atmospheric Chemistry and Deposition). Analysis identified two separate populations in Ambrosia pollen episodes, those that peaked in the early morning between 4 a.m. and 8 a.m., and those that peaked in the afternoon between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m.. Six Ambrosia pollen episodes between 2001 and 2005 were examined using backtrajectory analysis. The results showed that Ambrosia pollen episodes that peaked in the early morning usually arrived at Poznań from a southerly direction after passing over southern Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary, whereas air masses that brought Ambrosia pollen to Poznań during the afternoon arrived from a more easterly direction and predominantly stayed within the borders of Poland. Back-trajectory analysis has shown that there is a possibility that long-range transport brings Ambrosia pollen to Poznań from southern Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. There is also a likelihood that Ambrosia is present in Poland, as shown by the arrival of pollen during the afternoon that originated primarily from within the country

The Pannonian Plain as a Source of Ambrosia Pollen in the Balkans

This study aims to find likely sources of Ambrosia pollen recorded during 2007 at five pollen-monitoring sites in central Europe, Novi Sad, Ruma, Negotin and Nis (Serbia) and Skopje (Macedonia). Ambrosia plants start flowering early in the morning and so Ambrosia pollen grains recorded during the day are likely to be from a local source. Conversely, Ambrosia pollen grains recorded at night or very early in the morning may have arrived via long-range transport. Ambrosia pollen counts were analysed in an attempt to find possible sources of the pollen and to identify Ambrosia pollen episodes suitable for further investigation using back-trajectory analysis. Diurnal variations and the magnitude of Ambrosia pollen counts during the 2007 Ambrosia pollen season showed that Novi Sad and Ruma (Pannonian Plain) and to a lesser degree Negotin (Balkans) were located near to sources of Ambrosia pollen. Mean bi-hourly Ambrosia pollen concentrations peaked during the middle of the day and concentrations at these sites were notably higher than at Nis and Skopje. Three episodes were selected for further analysis using back-trajectory analysis. Back-trajectories showed that air masses brought Ambrosia pollen from the north to Nis and, on one occasion, to Skopje (Balkans) during the night and early morning after passing to the east of Novi Sad and Ruma during the previous day. The results of this study identified the Southern part of the Pannonian Plain around Novi Sad and Ruma as being a potential source region for Ambrosia pollen recorded at Nis and Skopje in the Balkans