1,031 research outputs found
Experiences with entomopathogenic nematodes for the control of overwintering codling moth larvae in Germany
Entomopathogenic nematodes were tested for their potential as tool in resistance
management of codling moth Cydia pomonella L. in organic fruit growing. In two field tests,
the adults emerging from stems treated with nematodes were monitored. In one trial, 90 %
of efficacy could be shown. On-farm trials with favourable weather conditions showed an
efficacy about 50-60 % on fruit infestation by codling moth in the year following the
application. On-farm trials with unfavourable weather conditions showed no results. The
favourable weather conditions for the application are discussed with reference to German
conditions
Field tests with Madex Plus against CpGV-resistant codling moth populations in organic orchards in 2006
When resistance to the Mexican isolate of Cydia pomonella Granulovirus (CpGV-M) arose
in several organic orchards in Germany in 2004 and 2005, the future of codling moth
control became a serious concern of organic fruit growing. In 2006, a new virus isolate
from Andermatt Biocontrol AG (Madex Plus) was first tested in two field trials in organic
orchards on codling moth populations resistant against the Mexican isolate of CpGV.
Madex Plus showed a better efficacy on these populations than Madex 3. However, larval
mortality larvae seemed to be somewhat delayed. A very good effect was shown in
population control. The number of larvae in corrugated card board belts was significantly
reduced after treatment with Madex Plus. In addition to these trials, on-farm trials in all
orchards concerned of the CpGV-M resistance were carried out. The results of on-farm
trials showed the same tendency: high efficacy in population control against a background
of slightly delayed larval death. In 2007, Madex Plus was applied successfully in all
organic orchards with CpGV-M-resistant codling moth populations in Germany
Environmental and fishing effects on the dynamic of brown tiger prawn (Penaeus esculentus) in Moreton Bay (Australia)
This analysis of the variations of brown tiger prawn (Penaeus esculentus)
catch in the Moreton Bay multispecies trawl fishery estimated catchability
using a delay difference model. It integrated several factors responsible for
variations in catchability: targeting of fishing effort, increasing fishing
power and changing availability. An analysis of covariance was used to define
fishing events targeted at brown tiger prawns. A general linear model estimated
inter-annual variations of fishing power. Temperature induced changes in prawn
behaviour played an important role in the dynamic of this fishery. Maximum
likelihood estimates of targeted catchability (
boat-days) were twice as large as non-targeted catchability ( boat-days). The causes of recent decline in fishing
effort in this fishery were discussed.Comment: revised manuscript following reviewers comments + adding data and
code for reader
Direct Distances to Cepheids in the Large Magellanic Cloud: Evidence for a Universal Slope of the Period-Luminosity Relation up to Solar Abundance
We have applied the infrared surface brightness (ISB) technique to derive
distances to 13 Cepheids in the LMC which span a period range from 3 to 42
days. From the absolute magnitudes of the variables calculated from these
distances, we find that the LMC Cepheids define tight period-luminosity
relations in the V, I, W,
J and K bands which agree exceedingly well with the corresponding Galactic PL
relations derived from the same technique, and are significantly steeper than
the LMC PL relations in these bands observed by the OGLE-II Project in V, I and
W, and by Persson et al. in J and K. We find that the tilt-corrected true
distance moduli of the LMC Cepheids show a significant dependence on period,
which hints at a systematic error in the ISB technique related to the period of
the stars. We identify as the most likely culprit the p-factor which converts
the radial into pulsational velocities; our data imply a much steeper period
dependence of the p-factor than previously thought, and we derive p=1.58
(+/-0.02) -0.15 (+/-0.05) logP as the best fit from our data, with a zero point
tied to the Milky Way open cluster Cepheids. Using this revised p-factor law,
the period dependence of the LMC Cepheid distance moduli disappears, and at the
same time the Milky Way and LMC PL relations agree among themselves, and with
the directly observed LMC PL relations, within the 1 sigma uncertainties. Our
main conclusion is that the previous, steeper Galactic PL relations were caused
by an erroneous calibration of the p-factor law, and that there is now evidence
that the slope of the Cepheid PL relation is independent of metallicity up to
solar metallicity, in both optical, and near-infrared bands.Comment: ApJ accepte
Center-surround filters emerge from optimizing predictivity in a free-viewing task
In which way do the local image statistics at the center of gaze differ from those at randomly chosen image locations? In 1999, Reinagel and Zador [1] showed that RMS contrast is significantly increased around fixated locations in natural images. Since then, numerous additional hypotheses have been proposed, based on edge content, entropy, self-information, higher-order statistics, or sophisticated models such as that of Itti and Koch [2]. While these models are rather different in terms of the used image features, they hardly differ in terms of their predictive power. This complicates the question of which bottom-up mechanism actually drives human eye movements. To shed some light on this problem, we analyze the nonlinear receptive fields of an eye movement model which is purely data-driven. It consists of a nonparametric radial basis function network, fitted to human eye movement data. To avoid a bias towards specific image features such as edges or corners, we deliberately chose raw pixel values as the input to our model, not the outputs of some filter bank. The learned model is analyzed by computing its optimal stimuli. It turns our that there are two maximally excitatory stimuli, both of which have center-surround structure, and two maximally inhibitory stimuli which are basically flat. We argue that these can be seen as nonlinear receptive fields of the underlying system. In particular, we show that a small radial basis function network with the optimal stimuli as centers predicts unseen eye movements as precisely as the full model. The fact that center-surround filters emerge from a simple optimality criterion—without any prior assumption that would make them more probable than e.g. edges, corners, or any other configuration of pixels values in a square patch—suggests a special role of these filters in free-viewing of natural images
Erste Freilanduntersuchungen zur Wirkung von Madex plus gegen CpGV-resistente Apfelwicklerpopulationen in Öko-Betrieben
In first field tests on codling moth (Cydia pomonella L.) populations proven to be resis-tant against codling moth granulovirus (CpGV) Madex plus, a selectioned CpGV, proved to be rather effective and showed a better efficacy than Madex 3, the standard CpGV-product.
However, it is to consider that high amounts of Madex plus were used (50 ml/ha and m tree height each seven sunny days (a rainy day is considered half a sunny day). Moreover, the risk of development of resistance against this new selection is not clear yet. Thus, even if now a new selection of CpGV is available for the first time, the strategy of codling moth control in organic farming must rely on more components than only CpGV and mating disruption in the future
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