Inhibition of the apple scab pathogen Venturia inaequalis and the grapewine downy mildew pathogen Plasmopara viticola by extracts of green waste compost

Extracts of green waste compost have been shown to inhibit plant diseases. In this study, the factors influencing the mechanism of inhibition of apple scab (Venturia inaequalis) and grapevine downy mildew (Plasmopara viticola) were studied. Extracts were prepared from samples of 30 composts from commercial composting plants. Composts were extracted with 1:2 or 1:5 water for 2 or 7 days. Extracts were applied to seedling of apple and grapevine. The seedlings were artificially inoculated with V. inaequalis or P. viticola, respectively and incubated under controlled conditions. After inoculation, severity of diseases and lesion diameter were measured. The incubation time and the compost/water ratio did not influence the capacity of the extracts to protect the apple plants. All treatments with compost extracts reduced disease severity in both host pathogen systems, and there was no difference in efficacy between autoclaved, sterile filtrated (0. 2 µm) and untreated extracts. From this, we conclude that the inhibition by compost extracts is not linked to their microbial activity. Rinsing apple seedling leaves 1 and 48 hours after application of the compost extracts did not diminish the protective effect against V. inaequalis. On the other hand, the severity of P. viticola increased, when the seedlings were rinsed after the application of compost extracts, and was similar to the untreated control. Compost extracts enhanced in vitro germination of conidia of V. inaequalis and showed no fungicidal effect. Thus, inhibition apparently acts indirectly in this host-pathogen system. On the other hand, the activity of zoospores of P. viticola was inhibited by 70 % compared to the control. The salt content of the extracts and their effect on the zoospores were positively correlated. For this host-pathogen system, there is thus evidence for a direct inhibition by compost extracts. We conclude that the active principle against V. inaequalis and P. viticola must be a water soluble, heat-stable metabolite produced in the compost before its extraction. The mechanism of inhibition in both plant-pathogen systems is different

Identifying Chamaecrista rotundifolia accessions and Centrosema species for bridging seasonal feed gaps in smallholder mixed farms in the West African derived savanna

Information is scanty on seasonal changes in the yield and quality of forage legumes adapted to the West African savannas. Two experiments were conducted from 1992-1994 in the derived savanna zone of West Africa to determine the dry matter (DM) yield and 48-h in sacco DM digestibility of 17 accessions of Chamaecrista rotundifolia (Experiment 1), and 22 accessions of 8 Centrosema species (Experiment 2) in the main-wet (April-August), minor-wet (September-November), and dry (December-March) seasons. Accessions varied significantly in DM yield and in Sacco DM digestibility in both experiments. Based on the digestible DM yield, accessions were identified with the potential ot provide greater quantities of high quality forage. These included: Ch. rotundifolia ILCA 14165; Ce. acutifolium ILCA 12182 and 12184; Ce. macrocarpum ILCA 15594; Ce. pascuorum ILCA 9; Ce. schottii ILCA 122 and 12401; and Ce. plumieri ILCA 200; for the wet season. Promising accessions for the dry season included: Ch. rotundifolia ILCA 14172 and 14174; Ce. acutifolium ILCA 15591; Ce. arenarium ILCA 12451; Ce. brasilianum ILCA 155; Ce. macrocarpum ILCA 15594; Ce. plumieri ILCA 194; and Ce. schottii ILCA 122. Of the Ce. virginianum accessions evaluated, ILCA 509 was the best in all seasons. The potential of the promising accessions to reduce seasonal deficiencies of high quality feed, especially during the dry season, and their multiple use of soil fertility maintenance, weed control, and pest management in mixed farming systems warrant further research

Participatory Approach to Common Use Grazing Management in Dry Area Developing Countries

Key points 1. Range restoration technology is available but useless when not followed by management. 2. Institutional mechanisms for grazing management are needed for communal range. 3. Community participatory approaches help pastoralists better manage rangeland grazing

Dietary diversity is not associated with haematological status of pregnant women resident in rural areas of northern Ghana

Open Access JournalInformation regarding how dietary diversity is related to haematological status of the pregnant women in rural areas of Northern Ghana is limited. This study therefore evaluated maternal dietary intake and how it relates to the nutritional status of pregnant women belonging to different socioeconomic conditions in Northern Ghana. Methods. This study was cross-sectional in design involving 400 pregnant women. Midupper arm circumference (MUAC) and anaemia status were used to assess the nutritional status of pregnant women. Results. The mean dietary diversity score (DDS) of the study population from ten food groups was (95% CI: 4.08 to 4.37). Of the 400 women, 46.1% (95% CI: 40.0 to 52.2) met the new minimum dietary diversity for women (MDD-W). The mean haemoglobin concentration among the pregnant women studied was 10.1 g/dl ± 1.40 (95% CI: 9.8 to 10.3). The independent predictors of haemoglobin concentration were maternal educational attainment, gestational age, frequency of antenatal care (ANC) attendance, number of under-five children in the household, size of MUAC, and maternal height. Conclusions. Irrespective of the socioeconomic status, women minimum dietary diversity (MDD-W) was not associated with anaemia among pregnant women resident in the rural areas of Northern Ghana

Enhancing Livelihoods of Poor Livestock Keepers through Increased Use of Fodder: Programme completion report

A report submitted to IFAD on the completion of the Fodder Adoption Project (FAP), (TAG 853-ILRI) programme

Forage from cropping systems as dry season supplements for sheep

Information on the utilisation of legume hays from an intercropping system as a feed supplement is limited. Three forage legume hays (Stylosanthes guianensis, Lablab purpureus and Aeschynomene histrix) were compared by feeding them as supplements for yearling West African Dwarf rams (LWt 18.0±2.2 kg) fed a basal diet of mature guinea grass (Panicum maximum). The performance of the rams was evaluated in a 60-day growth trial, using a completely randomised design with 6 rams per treatment. Organic matter digestibility and nitrogen retention were assessed in a separate trial using the same design; but with 4 animals per treatment. In the growth trial, rams supplemented with S. guianensis and A. histrix gained more weight (P<0.05) than those on the L. purpureus supplemented diet. Average total weight gains were 33.3, 13.2 and 31.2 g/d for S. guianensis-, L. purpureus- and A. histrix-supplemented diets, respectively. Organic matter digestibility was 643, 568 and 523 g/kg for S. guianensis-, A. histrix- and L. purpureus-supplemented groups, respectively. All treatments resulted in positive nitrogen balance. We concluded that feeding forage legumes from cereal-based cropping systems as a supplement can maintain liveweight in sheep and even achieve modest weight gains during the critical dry period when feed quality is poor

Crystal structure of chlorido-methanol-(N-(2-(oxy)-3-methoxybenzylidene)pyridine-4-carbohydrazonato-κ3O,N,O′)-(4-methylphenyl)methyl-tin(IV), C23H24ClN3O4Sn

C23H24ClN3O4Sn, triclinic, P¯1 (no. 2), a=9.7536(2) Å, b=10.0755(2) Å, c=12.4215(3) Å, α=84.928(2)°, β=72.544(2)°, γ=74.382(2)°, V =1121.44(4) Å3, Z =2, Rgt(F)=0.021, wRref(F2)=0.054, T =100(2) K

Persistent detection of Plasmodium falciparum, P. malariae, P. ovale curtisi and P. ovale wallikeri after ACT treatment of asymptomatic Ghanaian school-children

Two hundred and seventy four asymptomatic Ghanaian school-children aged 5 to 17 years were screened for malaria parasites by examination of blood films. One hundred and fifty five microscopically-positive individuals were treated with dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine and followed for 3 weeks. Retrospective species-specific PCR of all 274 screened samples identified an additional 60 children with sub-patent parasitaemia, and a substantial proportion of co-infections with Plasmodium malariae, Plasmodium ovale curtisi and Plasmodium ovale wallikeri. One hundred individuals harboured at least one non-falciparum parasite species. Using standard double-read microscopy, the 21-day efficacy of treatment against Plasmodium falciparum was 91.4% among the 117 children seen at all 5 visits. Using nested PCR to test 152 visit 5 blood samples, 22 were found to be parasite-positive. Twenty individuals harboured P. falciparum, four harboured P. ovale spp. and two P. malariae, with four of these 22 isolates being mixed species infections. The persistent detection of low density Plasmodium sp. infections following antimalarial treatment suggests these may be a hitherto unrecognised obstacle to malaria elimination. (C) 2013 Australian Society for Parasitology. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Persistent detection of Plasmodium falciparum, P. malariae, P. ovale curtisi and P. ovale wallikeri after ACT treatment of asymptomatic Ghanaian school-children.

Two hundred and seventy four asymptomatic Ghanaian school-children aged 5 to 17 years were screened for malaria parasites by examination of blood films. One hundred and fifty five microscopically-positive individuals were treated with dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine and followed for 3 weeks. Retrospective species-specific PCR of all 274 screened samples identified an additional 60 children with sub-patent parasitaemia, and a substantial proportion of co-infections with Plasmodium malariae, Plasmodium ovale curtisi and Plasmodium ovale wallikeri. One hundred individuals harboured at least one non-falciparum parasite species. Using standard double-read microscopy, the 21-day efficacy of treatment against Plasmodium falciparum was 91.4% among the 117 children seen at all 5 visits. Using nested PCR to test 152 visit 5 blood samples, 22 were found to be parasite-positive. Twenty individuals harboured P. falciparum, four harboured P. ovale spp. and two P. malariae, with four of these 22 isolates being mixed species infections. The persistent detection of low density Plasmodium sp. infections following antimalarial treatment suggests these may be a hitherto unrecognised obstacle to malaria elimination

Acclimation responses of gill ionocytes of red tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus × O. niloticus) to water salinity and alkalinity

To understand the acclimation strategies of red tilapia to different environments, this study aimed to evaluate different responses of red tilapia (O. mossambicus × O. niloticus) to salinity (10-30‰), alkalinity (1-3 gL^-1 NaHCO3) and salinity and alkalinity (10/1-30/3 ‰/gL^-1 NaHCO3) environments. Localization, type, size, and numeration of gill ionocytes were investigated on the same specimens by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and immunohistochemistry (IHC) with antibodies of Na+/K+-ATPase (NKA), Na+/K+/2Cl-contransporter (NKCC), cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) and carbonic anhydrase (CA). Ionocytes were only located on filaments conducted by SEM. Four types of ionocytes namely pit, convex, concave and transitory types were determined morphologically by their apical openings of which concave and transitory type were not present in freshwater (FW) and saltwater (SW) fish (10). Both ionocytes size and number increased with elevated stress levels. In comparison to FW, density of ionotypes increased to about 4.75, 3.00 and 3.44 fold in SW (30), AW (3) and S&AW (30/3) respectively. Immunoreactive cells on gill filaments confirmed branchial distribution of ionocytes. Immunoreaction of NKA, NKCC and CA appeared in FW except for CFTR while they all appeared in SW (30), AW (3) and S&AW (30/3)