Detecção de padrões espaciais na ocorrência do tripes (Thrips tabaci) na cultura da cebola

Onion (Allium cepa) is one of the most cultivated and consumed vegetables in Brazil and its importance is due to the large laborforce involved. One of the main pests that affect this crop is the Onion Thrips (Thrips tabaci), but the spatial distribution of this insect, although important, has not been considered in crop management recommendations, experimental planning or sampling procedures. Our purpose here is to consider statistical tools to detect and model spatial patterns of the occurrence of the onion thrips. In order to characterize the spatial distribution pattern of the Onion Thrips a survey was carried out to record the number of insects in each development phase on onion plant leaves, on different dates and sample locations, in four rural properties with neighboring farms under different infestation levels and planting methods. The Mantel randomization test proved to be a useful tool to test for spatial correlation which, when detected, was described by a mixed spatial Poisson model with a geostatistical random component and parameters allowing for a characterization of the spatial pattern, as well as the production of prediction maps of susceptibility to levels of infestation throughout the area.A cebola é uma das hortaliças mais cultivadas e consumidas no Brasil e sua importância social se deve à grande demanda por mão-de-obra. Uma das principais pragas que afeta essa cultura é o tripes do prateamento (Thrips tabaci) e sua distribuição espacial, embora importante, não tem sido considerada nas recomendações de manejo da cultura, planejamento de experimentos ou estudos amostrais. O objetivo desse artigo foi considerar métodos estatísticos para detectar e modelar padrões espaciais na ocorrência do tripes do prateamento da cebola. Para caracterizar o padrão espacial da dispersão do tripes do prateamento da cebola foi feito um levantamento anotando-se o número de insetos por fase de desenvolvimento em folhas de plantas de cebola, em diferentes datas e pontos amostrais dentro de quatro propriedades com fazendas vizinhas apresentando diferentes níveis de infestação e métodos de plantio. O teste de aleatorização de Mantel mostrou-se útil para testar a presença de padrão espacial, que quando detectado foi descrito por um modelo de Poisson misto espacial com componente aleatório geoestatístico com parâmetros que possibilititam a caracterização do padrão espacial, bem como a obtenção de mapas de predição dos níveis de susceptibilidade à infestação na área.Coordenacao de Aperfeicoamento de Pessoal de Nivel Superior (CAPES

Spatial pattern detection modeling of thrips (Thrips tabaci) on onion fields

Onion (Allium cepa) is one of the most cultivated and consumed vegetables in Brazil and its importance is due to the large laborforce involved. One of the main pests that affect this crop is the Onion Thrips (Thrips tabaci), but the spatial distribution of this insect, although important, has not been considered in crop management recommendations, experimental planning or sampling procedures. Our purpose here is to consider statistical tools to detect and model spatial patterns of the occurrence of the onion thrips. In order to characterize the spatial distribution pattern of the Onion Thrips a survey was carried out to record the number of insects in each development phase on onion plant leaves, on different dates and sample locations, in four rural properties with neighboring farms under different infestation levels and planting methods. The Mantel randomization test proved to be a useful tool to test for spatial correlation which, when detected, was described by a mixed spatial Poisson model with a geostatistical random component and parameters allowing for a characterization of the spatial pattern, as well as the production of prediction maps of susceptibility to levels of infestation throughout the area.A cebola é uma das hortaliças mais cultivadas e consumidas no Brasil e sua importância social se deve à grande demanda por mão-de-obra. Uma das principais pragas que afeta essa cultura é o tripes do prateamento (Thrips tabaci) e sua distribuição espacial, embora importante, não tem sido considerada nas recomendações de manejo da cultura, planejamento de experimentos ou estudos amostrais. O objetivo desse artigo foi considerar métodos estatísticos para detectar e modelar padrões espaciais na ocorrência do tripes do prateamento da cebola. Para caracterizar o padrão espacial da dispersão do tripes do prateamento da cebola foi feito um levantamento anotando-se o número de insetos por fase de desenvolvimento em folhas de plantas de cebola, em diferentes datas e pontos amostrais dentro de quatro propriedades com fazendas vizinhas apresentando diferentes níveis de infestação e métodos de plantio. O teste de aleatorização de Mantel mostrou-se útil para testar a presença de padrão espacial, que quando detectado foi descrito por um modelo de Poisson misto espacial com componente aleatório geoestatístico com parâmetros que possibilititam a caracterização do padrão espacial, bem como a obtenção de mapas de predição dos níveis de susceptibilidade à infestação na área

The use of a multivariate statistical procedure in analysing the germination process of two bean cultivars, compared with a univariate approach

Abstract Several studies on plant physiology are aimed at describing or assessing seed germination processes under laboratory conditions. With respect to seed germination of crop species, some statistical complexities have been discussed, but they have not been developed much in practice. That is, such discussions are not as common as in other areas of plant biology. Additionally, the current literature that is concerned directly with the application of statistics in seed germination indicates that simple and well-known statistical procedures still merit further consideration. Regarding the use of multivariate statistical methods in agriculture, several field studies have used such procedures as a means of clarifying some underlying ecological principles that govern crop production. Nonetheless, multivariate tests have not been widely employed in germination experiments. Therefore, in the present study a simple multivariate statistical procedure (Hotelling's T 2 statistic) was utilised in order to compare two common bean cultivars, using germination indices as variables. The outcome derived from the multivariate approach was compared with that obtained from the utilisation of the univariate t test. The simultaneous application of both methods (that is, the classical univariate t test and the multivariate T 2 test) showed that the outcomes may well depend on the approach utilised

Dose-related effects of alcohol on cognitive functioning

We assessed the suitability of six applied tests of cognitive functioning to provide a single marker for dose-related alcohol intoxication. Numerous studies have demonstrated that alcohol has a deleterious effect on specific areas of cognitive processing but few have compared the effects of alcohol across a wide range of different cognitive processes. Adult participants (N = 56, 32 males, 24 females aged 18–45 years) were randomized to control or alcohol treatments within a mixed design experiment involving multiple-dosages at approximately one hour intervals (attained mean blood alcohol concentrations (BACs) of 0.00, 0.048, 0.082 and 0.10%), employing a battery of six psychometric tests; the Useful Field of View test (UFOV; processing speed together with directed attention); the Self-Ordered Pointing Task (SOPT; working memory); Inspection Time (IT; speed of processing independent from motor responding); the Traveling Salesperson Problem (TSP; strategic optimization); the Sustained Attention to Response Task (SART; vigilance, response inhibition and psychomotor function); and the Trail-Making Test(TMT; cognitive flexibility and psychomotor function). Results demonstrated that impairment is not uniform across different domains of cognitive processing and that both the size of the alcohol effect and the magnitude of effect change across different dose levels are quantitatively different for different cognitive processes. Only IT met the criteria for a marker for wide-spread application: reliable dose-related decline in a basic process as a function of rising BAC level and easy to use non-invasive task properties.Mathew J. Dry, Nicholas R. Burns, Ted Nettelbeck, Aaron L. Farquharson and Jason M. Whit

Estimating a resource selection function with line transect sampling

A resource selection probability function is a function that gives the prob- ability that a resource unit (e.g., a plot of land) that is described by a set of habitat variables X1 to Xp will be used by an animal or group of animals in a certain period of time. The estimation of a resource selection function is usually based on the comparison of a sample of resource units used by an animal with a sample of the resource units that were available for use, with both samples being assumed to be effectively randomly selected from the relevant populations. In this paper the possibility of using a modified sampling scheme is examined, with the used units obtained by line transect sampling. A logistic regression type of model is proposed, with estimation by conditional maximum likelihood. A simulation study indicates that the proposed method should be useful in practice