The Protected Culture of Strawberry Plants Growing under Plastic Tunnels

Strawberry growers in Australia produce about 72,000 tonnes of fruit worth $450 million each year. The main production centers are located in Queensland, Victoria and Western Australia, with production in Queensland worth$240 million. There are smaller industries in New South Wales, South Australia and Tasmania. Production on the Sunshine Coast in south-eastern Queensland in open field conditions is severely affected by rain most seasons. The fruit can also be lost to various diseases, including grey mould and stem-end rot. We were interested in determining the productivity of plants growing under plastic high tunnels and protected from rainfall. Experiments were conducted over four years from 2012 to 2015 on the Sunshine Coast to compare the productivity of plants growing under tunnels with that of plants growing outdoors. Strawberries are also produced in Florida under similar growing conditions as in south-eastern Queensland, with production also affected by rain and diseases. Other experiments were conducted in Florida to assess the effect of different chemicals for the control of powdery mildew, an important disease affecting strawberry plants growing under protected cropping. Plants growing under tunnels often have a higher incidence of this disease compared with plants growing outdoors. In the first two years’ experiments at Palmwoods on the Sunshine Coast, with slightly lower than average rainfall, the marketable yields of the plants growing under the tunnels were 24 to 38% higher than the yields of the plants growing outdoors. The higher marketable yields under protected cropping were due to less rain damage and grey mould in the plants growing under the tunnels. In the third year, supplementary over-head irrigation was given to the plants growing outdoors to give a water application about twice that of the long-term average for the season at Palmwoods. In the fourth year, no supplementary irrigation was given, and rainfall was about 80% of that of the long-term average for Palmwoods. In these last two experiments, half the plants in each group received the standard sprays to control grey mould, while the other half of the plants received none of these sprays. Both groups of plants received the standard sprays used to control pests, and other diseases, including powdery mildew. The relative marketable yields of the plants under the tunnels were more than 200% the yields of the plants outdoors in year three (over-head irrigation outdoors), but about a 25% lower in year four (no over-head irrigation outdoors). Average day temperatures under the tunnels were about 3o to 4oC warmer in August in 2015 than in 2014. There were no differences in the incidence of grey mould in sprayed and unsprayed plots under the tunnels. These results suggest that plants growing under tunnels may not need to be sprayed for this disease. Overall, the four cultivar/breeding lines responded similarly to the growing environment and the spray programs. In 2012 and 2013, ‘Festival’ had a lower incidence of rain damage and/or grey mould than the other cultivar (Rubygem) and breeding lines, and ‘Rubygem’ had a higher incidence of small and/or misshaped fruit. In 2014 and 2015, ‘Festival’ generally had a lower incidence of rain damage and/or grey mould and powdery mildew than 'Breeding Line 1', and a higher incidence of small and/or misshaped fruit, especially when the plants were growing under the tunnels. A model based on rainfall over the past 61 years at Palmwoods on the Sunshine Coast was used to estimate the time taken to recover the initial cost of the tunnels. The time taken to recover the cost of the tunnels varied from three to fifteen years, depending on the annual rainfall, relative production losses, and base productivity. The average pay-back period was five years, but can be reduced to three years with heavy rainfall. Other factors that might influence the economics of the tunnels include the life-span of the plastic and the rate of light transmission over time, and the susceptibility of individual tunnel structures to wind damage in different growing areas

Uma reflexão sobre as tendências de moda a percepção das consumidoras e suas características

Este estudo aborda uma visão ampla a respeito das tendências de moda. O objetivo é conhecer suas principais características para então poder entender como elas funcionam e como elas são percebidas pelos consumidores. De acordo com isso, será possível responder às perguntas: quem são os criadores de tendências? Como elas funcionam? E como os consumidores se comportam frente a essas novas tendências de moda. A partir de uma pesquisa bibliográfica tendo como base os temas moda, inovações e tendências, e uma pesquisa de campo que compreendeu em entrevistas realizadas com mulheres com características de pessoas inovadoras, verificou-se que os questionamentos feitos acima foram todos respondidos. Com isso, o resultado deste estudo é uma análise que aponta uma série de problemas no que se refere a uma ausência de uma identidade única atualmente para se seguir dentro da moda, por isso há esta grande variedade de símbolos existentes, de percepções e definições diferentes sobre um mesmo assunto. E, se antigamente as tendências existiam para servirem como redutores de incertezas, ao que parece, pela pesquisa realizada, é que as tendências atualmente atuam, na verdade, como grande causadoras de incertezas, pois não há mais uma única tendência para a qual o mercado e os consumidores possam se orientar e sim, uma multiplicidade de tendências apresentadas pelos estilistas que deixam os consumidores incertos quanto àquilo que está realmente na moda

Reduced sensitivity to azoxystrobin is stable in Monilinia fructicola isolates

A shift towards declining azoxystrobin sensitivity has been previously documented in a collection of Brazilian Monilinia fructicola isolates, but information on the stability of this trait after in vitro sub-culturing is not available. In this study, one highly-sensitive isolate and two isolates with reduced sensitivity to azoxystrobin, not exhibiting point mutations at codons 129, 137 and 143 in the target gene of cytochrome b were used. Two independent experiments consisted of 10 weekly transfers of each strain in potato dextrose agar (PDA). Conidial production and germination were quantified in the initial culture and, again, after the third, sixth and tenth transfer. Measures of mycelial growth were obtained in colonies growing on PDA amended with azoxystrobin at 1 µg mL−1 and salicylhydroxamic acid at 100 µg mL−1. Data were normalized to mycelial growth rate after each of the 10 transfers. The colony diameter in the less sensitive isolates was stable across the transfers in the PDA amended with the fungicide. The conidial production and mycelial growth rate did not decrease in non-amended media either. Our results suggest that the trait of reduced sensitivity to azoxystrobin is stable under no selection pressure for azoxystrobin

Construction of a genome-wide genetic linkage map and identification of quantitative trait loci for powdery mildew resistance in Gerbera daisy

Powdery mildew (PM) is a common fungal disease in many important crops. The PM caused by Podosphaera xanthii has been the most challenging problem in commercial Gerbera (Gerbera hybrida) production globally, often leading to severe losses of crop yield and quality. A small number of PM-resistant breeding lines and cultivars have been reported in Gerbera, but the underlying genetics for PM resistance in Gerbera is largely unknown. Scarcity of genomic resources such as genetic linkage maps and molecular markers has severely hindered the effort to understand the genetic basis and locate loci controlling PM resistance in Gerbera. This study aimed to construct a genome-wide genetic linkage map, identify quantitative trait loci (QTL), and molecular markers for PM resistance in Gerbera. A segregating mapping population was developed by crossing PM-resistant and -susceptible Gerbera breeding lines, genotyped by sequencing, and phenotyped for PM resistance. A genome-wide genetic linkage map constructed with 791 single polymorphic site (SNP) markers spans 1912.30 cM across 27 linkage groups (LG) and reaches a density of 1 marker per 2.42 cM. One major consistent QTL was discovered in LG16, explaining more than 16.6% of the phenotypic variance for PM resistance. The QTL was tagged with two flanking SNP markers. The availability of this genetic linkage map will be very useful for locating and tagging QTLs for other important traits in Gerbera, and the newly discovered QTL and SNP markers will enable development of molecular markers for improving Gerbera for resistance to PM

Linking plant phenology to conservation biology

Phenology has achieved a prominent position in current scenarios of global change research given its role inmonitoring and predicting the timing of recurrent life cycle events. However, the implications of phenology to environmental conservation and management remain poorly explored. Here,we present the first explicit appraisal of howphenology-amultidisciplinary science encompassing biometeorology, ecology, and evolutionary biology- can make a key contribution to contemporary conservation biology. We focus on shifts in plant phenology induced by global change, their impacts on species diversity and plant-animal interactions in the tropics, and how conservation efforts could be enhanced in relation to plant resource organization. We identify the effects of phenological changes and mismatches in the maintenance and conservation of mutualistic interactions, and examine how phenological research can contribute to evaluate, manage and mitigate the consequences of land-use change and other natural and anthropogenic disturbances, such as fire, exotic and invasive species. Wealso identify cutting-edge tools that can improve the spatial and temporal coverage of phenological monitoring, from satellites to drones and digital cameras. We highlight the role of historical information in recovering long-term phenological time series, and track climate-related shifts in tropical systems. Finally, we propose a set of measures to boost the contribution of phenology to conservation science.Weadvocate the inclusion of phenology into predictive models integrating evolutionary history to identify species groups that are either resilient or sensitive to future climate-change scenarios, and understand how phenological m ismatches can affect community dynamics, ecosystem services, and conservation over time

Ectopic expression of Kip-related proteins restrains root-knot nematode-feeding site expansion

The development of nematode feeding sites induced by root-knot nematodes involves the synchronized activation of cell cycle processes such as acytokinetic mitoses and DNA amplification. A number of key cell cycle genes are reported to be critical for nematode feeding site development. However, it remains unknown whether plant cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) inhibitors such as the Arabidopsis interactor/inhibitor of CDK (ICK)/Kip-related protein (KRP) family are involved in nematode feeding site development. This study demonstrates the involvement of Arabidopsis ICK2/KRP2 and ICK1/KRP1 in the control of mitosis to endoreduplication in galls induced by the root-knot nematode Meloidogyne incognita. ! Using ICK/KRP promoter-GUS fusions and mRNA in situ hybridizations, we showed that ICK2/KRP2, ICK3/KRP5 and ICK4/KRP6 are expressed in galls after nematode infection. Loss-of-function mutants have minor effects on gall development and nematode reproduction. Conversely, overexpression of both ICK1/KRP1 and ICK2/KRP2 impaired mitosis in giant cells and blocked neighboring cell proliferation, resulting in a drastic reduction of gall size. ! Studying the dynamics of protein expression demonstrated that protein levels of ICK2/ KRP2 are tightly regulated during giant cell development and reliant on the presence of the nematode. ! This work demonstrates that impeding cell cycle progression by means of ICK1/KRP1 and ICK2/KRP2 overexpression severely restricts gall development, leading to a marked limitation of root-knot nematode development and reduced numbers of offsprin

Moderate Physical Training Ameliorates Cardiovascular Dysfunction Induced by High Fat Diet After Cessation of Training in Adult Rats

We aimed to test whether moderate physical training can induce long-lasting protection against cardiovascular risk factors induced by high fat diet (HFD) intake, even after cessation of training. 90-days-old Wistar rats were submitted to a sedentary lifestyle or moderate physical training, three times a week, for 30 days. Following this, at 120 days-of age, sedentary and trained rats received a hypercaloric diet (HFD) or a commercial diet normal fat diet (NFD) for 30 days. Body weight (BW) and food intake were evaluated weekly. At 150 days-of age, hemodynamic measures (systolic, diastolic, mean blood pressure, pulse pressure, pulse interval and heart rate) were made via an indwelling femoral artery catheter. Beat-to-beat data were analyzed to calculate power spectra of systolic blood pressure (SBP) and pulse interval. After euthanasia, mesenteric fat pads were removed and weighted and total blood was stored for later analysis of lipid profile. Consumption of a HFD increased blood pressure (BP), pulse pressure, low frequency BP variability, BW gain, fat pad stores and induced dyslipidemia. Interestingly, prior physical training was able to partially protect against this rise in BP and body fat stores. Prior physical training did not totally protect against the effects of HFD consumption but previously trained animals did demonstrate resistance to the development of cardiometabolic alterations, which illustrate that the benefits of physical training may be partially maintained even after 30 days of detraining period

Estimating the global conservation status of more than 15,000 Amazonian tree species

Estimates of extinction risk for Amazonian plant and animal species are rare and not often incorporated into land-use policy and conservation planning. We overlay spatial distribution models with historical and projected deforestation to show that at least 36% and up to 57% of all Amazonian tree species are likely to qualify as globally threatened under International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List criteria. If confirmed, these results would increase the number of threatened plant species on Earth by 22%. We show that the trends observed in Amazonia apply to trees throughout the tropics, and we predict thatmost of the world’s >40,000 tropical tree species now qualify as globally threatened. A gap analysis suggests that existing Amazonian protected areas and indigenous territories will protect viable populations of most threatened species if these areas suffer no further degradation, highlighting the key roles that protected areas, indigenous peoples, and improved governance can play in preventing large-scale extinctions in the tropics in this century