Evaluating potential olive orchard sugar food sources for the olive fly parasitoid Psyttalia concolor

Olive fruit fly Bactrocera oleae (Rossi) (Diptera: Tephritidae) is a major olive pest in the Mediterranean basin where increasing insecticide resistance has enhanced damage and necessitates more reliance on other control strategies, such as biological control. Provision of floral resources has been reported to improve the effectiveness of natural enemies. Here, we tested the effect of six plant nectars and two honeydew sources on the survival of Psyttalia concolor (Szépligeti) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), a parasitoid wasp used in the biological control of olive fruit fly. Our results showed a positive effect on survival associated with nectars of Anchusa azurea Mill., Rosmarinus officinalis L., Lavatera cretica L. and Calamintha nepeta (L.) Savi, while honeydew proved to be a valuable alternative food source. When offering flowers directly to insects, Anchusa azurea, Lavatera cretica, and Foeniculum vulgare L. were found to be the most beneficial species, indicating also that P. concolor feeds predominantly on shallow corollas.Research was financially supported by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT), with partial funding from the European Fund for Regional Development, through the project PTDC/AGR‐AAM/100979/200

Lactarius deliciosus isolate UEZB1 internal transcribed spacer 1, partial sequence; 5.8S ribosomal RNA gene and internal transcribed spacer 2, complete sequence; and 28S ribosomal RNA gene, partial sequence

LOCUS JQ066791 439 bp DNA linear PLN 20-MAR-2012 DEFINITION Lactarius deliciosus isolate UEZB1 internal transcribed spacer 1, partial sequence; 5.8S ribosomal RNA gene and internal transcribed spacer 2, complete sequence; and 28S ribosomal RNA gene, partial sequence. ACCESSION JQ066791 VERSION JQ066791.1 GI:380467948 KEYWORDS . SOURCE Lactarius deliciosus ORGANISM Lactarius deliciosus Eukaryota; Fungi; Dikarya; Basidiomycota; Agaricomycotina; Agaricomycetes; Russulales; Russulaceae; Lactarius

Molecular approach to characterize ectomycorrhizae fungi from Mediterranean pine stands in Portugal

Stone pine (Pinus pinea L.), like other conifers, forms ectomycorrhizas (ECM), which have benefi cial impact on plant growth in natural environments and forest ecosystems. An in vitro co-culture of stone pine microshoots with pure mycelia of isolated ECM sporocarps was used to overcome the root growth cessation not only in vitro but also to improve root development during acclimation phase. Pisolithus arhizus (Scop.) Rauschert and Lactarius deliciosus (L. ex Fr.) S.F. Gray fungi, were col lected, pure cultured and used in in vitro co-culture with stone pine microshoots. Samples of P. arhizus and L. deliciosus for the in vitro co-cultures were collected from the pine stands southwest Portugal. The in situ characterization was based on their morphotypes. To confirm the identity of the collected material, ITS amplification was applied using the pure cultures derived from the sporo carps. Additionally, a molecular profile using PCR based genomic fingerprinting comparison was executed with other genera of Basidiomycetes and Ascomycetes. Our results showed the effective ness of the techniques used to amplify DNA polymorphic sequences, which enhances the characte rization of the genetic profile of ECM fungi and also provides an option to verify the fungus identity at any stage of plant mycorrhization.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Seed Volume Dataset—An Ongoing Inventory of Seed Size Expressed by Volume

This paper presents a dataset of seed volumes calculated from length, width, and when available, thickness, abstracted from printed literature—essentially scientific journals and books including Floras and illustrated manuals, from online inventories, and from data obtained directly by the authors or provided by colleagues. Seed volumes were determined from the linear dimensions of seeds using published equations and decision trees. Ways of characterizing species by seed volume were compared and the minimum volume of the seed was found to be preferable. The adequacy of seed volume as a surrogate for seed size was examined and validated using published data on the relationship between light requirements for seed germination and seed size expressed as mass

Seed Volume Dataset—An Ongoing Inventory of Seed Size Expressed by Volume

This paper presents a dataset of seed volumes calculated from length, width, and when available, thickness, abstracted from printed literature—essentially scientific journals and books including Floras and illustrated manuals, from online inventories, and from data obtained directly by the authors or provided by colleagues. Seed volumes were determined from the linear dimensions of seeds using published equations and decision trees. Ways of characterizing species by seed volume were compared and the minimum volume of the seed was found to be preferable. The adequacy of seed volume as a surrogate for seed size was examined and validated using published data on the relationship between light requirements for seed germination and seed size expressed as mass

Potential Attractiveness of Olive Beneficial Insects to Flowering Weeds

Nowadays, there is a growing concern about keeping olive groves in a good sanitary health with a decreasing input of pesticides. Increasing beneficial insect fauna is a novel, non-intrusive way to achieve this objective. To increase beneficial insect fauna, non-prey food availability must be enhanced, and that purpose can be attained by manipulating olive groves inter-rows natural weed vegetation. Amongst weeds naturally occurring in South Portugal olive grove inter-rows, 20 were chosen provided that they are nectar producers. Flowering period time and duration were additional choice criteria, ensuring that insects can feed on, at least, one flowering species at any time. In order to establish which weeds are more suitable to this purpose, their nectar production and accessibility for two natural olive beneficial insects - the parasitoid Psyttalia concolor and the pest predator Anthocoris nemoralis - were evaluated. Evaluation of floral morphology included measurements of the length of corolla tube (the distance between corolla insertion and the beginning of corolla lobes), length of whole corolla, major and minor width of corolla tube and diameter of corolla limb; all measurements were repeated on 30 corollas per species. Nectar production, concentration and sugar composition are also evaluated on 30 flowers per species. To protect flowers from insects visit and, therefore, nectar depletion, they were covered with bridal veil 24 h before collection. Nectar was extracted and quantified with capillary micropipettes (Drummond Microcaps®), and the sugar concentration was determined with a hand held refractometer (Atago®). Nectar was lyophilized for posterior composition determination through gas chromatography. Descriptive statistics of flower traits were calculated for each of the analyzed species. Classical statistical tests will be applied to correlate morphometric analyses of floral characteristics and nectar volume, concentration and composition will be searched for. After this initial phase, weed species attractiveness for Psyttalia concolor and Anthocoris nemoralis will be further evaluated with using an olfactometer. Research was financially supported by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT), with partial funding from the European Fund for Regional Development, through the project PTDC/AGRAAM/ 100979/2008

Assessment of thermosonication as postharvest treatment applied on whole tomato fruits: optimization and validation

Tomatoes are a popular and rich fruit due to their nutritional and bioactive composition as vitamins, antioxidants, and phenolics contributing to the promotion of consumer health. For this reason, emerging postharvest technologies need to be evaluated to achieve the maintenance of sensorial and quality-related characteristics, like color and texture, while aiding to fruit decontamination. Optimization of thermosonication as postharvest treatments on whole, mature-green tomatoes (cv. “Zinac”) to improve quality (color, texture, total phenolic content, and weight loss) was performed by response surface methodology. Temperature (32–48°C), treatment time (13–47 min.), and storage period at 10°C (1–15 days) at constant ultrasound frequency (45 kHz; 80% power level), were the independent variables. In general, thermosonication delayed tomato color changes while achieving total phenolic content increase and good overall quality. Three optimal thermosonication conditions were selected and validated (32°C-13 min., 35°C-20 min. and 40°C-30 min.). The most suitable thermosonication condition that promoted a longer storage while keeping a high-quality standard was at 40°C during 30 min. This study demonstrated that thermosonication provides an effective alternative methodology to guarantee tomato quality without significant change during the expected postharvest period.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Micropropagation of recalcitrant pine (Pinus pinea L) an overview of the effects of ectomycorrhizal inoculation

Oral presentation Micropropagation of recalcitrant pine (Pinus pinea L.). An overview of the effects of ectomycorrhizal inoculation Carla Ragonezi1; Ana Teresa Caldeira2 3; Maria do Rosário Martins2,5; Otília Miralto5,6; Luís Silva Dias6; Elsa Ganhão6, Krystyna Klimaszewska4, Amely Zavattieri5,6 1 Plant Breeding and Biotechnology Laboratory, University of Évora, Ap. 94, 7002-554 Évora, Portugal 2 Department of Chemistry, University of Évora, Ap. 94, 7002-554 Évora, Portugal 3 CQE, University of Évora, Rua Romão Ramalho, nº 59, 7000-671 Évora, Portugal 4 Natural Resources Canada, Canadian Forest Service, Laurentian Forestry Centre, 1055 du P.E.P.S., P.O. Box 10380, Stn. Sainte-Foy, Québec, QC G1V 4C7, Canada 5 ICAAM, University of Évora, Ap. 94, 7002-554 Évora, Portugal 6 Department of Biology, University of Évora, Ap. 94, 7002-554 Évora, Portugal Corresponding author: Carla Ragonezi email: [email protected] Abstract Stone pine (Pinus pinea L.) is an economically important forest species in some regions of Iberian Peninsula. Portugal and Spain have nearly 500,000 ha of stone pine stands, representing 85% of worldwide distribution. The main utilization of this species is for the production of seeds (pinion) for food industry. In addition to its enormous profitability as a producer of seeds, it has beneficial impact on soil protection, dunes fixation and also it is a pioneer species particularly for cork and holm oaks degraded ecosystems. The stone pine plantations are today a major source of income for forestry holdings. The investments have targeted breeding, reforestation, forest management and harvesting. The maternal inheritance of desirable characteristics such as cone weight, number of seeds per cone and seed length is considerably high in this species thus encouraging the selection of seeds from “plus” trees. The select trees have been propagated by grafting and micropropagation. However, grafting generates high variability due to scion-rootstock interaction that varies production levels. The production of clonal plants from selected seeds by micropropagation techniques has advanced very slowly due to the recalcitrance of this species in tissue culture and particularly to adventitious rooting of microshoots. Due to the tremendous importance of developing a reproducible tissue culture method for clonal propagation, a study has been carried out for over a decade to enhance rooting and acclimation. During this period of time, continuous increments in the multiplication rate and rooting frequency were achieved by introducing variations in culture media composition and conditions. Auxins, carbohydrates, light (both quality and duration) and temperature were used at different concentrations and levels as well as compounds such as coumarine; salicylic acid, polyamines, etc were tested for induction and expression phases of adventitious rooting. Despite these efforts, the microshoots regenerated through organogenesis from mature embryo cotyledons failed to root or to have sustained root growth. At this point, an in vitro co-culture technique of stone pine microshoots with ectomycorrhizal-fungi was introduced to overcome the adventitious root growth cessation in vitro and to improve root development during acclimation phase. An overview of the results showing the positive effect of fungal inoculation in promoting root growth in vitro and on plantlet survival during acclimation will be presented. Preliminary results of biochemical signals detected between Pinus pinea/Pisolithus arhizus during early steps of in vitro culture by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry that might be responsible for the positive effect on root growth will be also presented. Key words: acclimation, co-culture, ectomycorrhiza, in vitro adventitious rooting, micropropagation, stone pine