Biocontrol potential of Pochonia chlamydosporia var. chlamydosporia isolates against Meloidogyne javanica on pistachio

Abstract The biocontrol potential of four Pochonia chlamydosporia var. chlamydosporia isolates on the root-knot nematode, Meloidogyne javanica was investigated on pistachio plants in a greenhouse experiment. Isolates were applied at 10,000, 5000 and 1000 chlamydospores per gram of soil; the latter two densities were being used for strain Pcc60 only and designated as PccB and PccA, respectively. Plants were inoculated with a suspension containing 3000 eggs of M. javanica. Nematode reproduction was reduced to 57% by Pcc20 and 36% by Pcc10 and Pcc60C after 4 months. Pcc20 was the most promising isolate as the final egg population of nematodes was reduced by nearly 61 and 36% by Pcc10 and Pcc60C, respectively. All strains infected eggs on the roots to varying degrees. Pcc20 was the most effective colonizer of all the isolates, infecting 37% of the eggs, while Pcc10 and Pcc60C as the second best colonizers caused an average infection rate of 17.5%. The potential of the fungus was reduced at lower densities of spore inoculum. Semi-selective medium was used to re-isolate the fungi from soil and rhizosphere but was not able to detect Pcc60A at 1000 cfu/g soil, despite the fact that 3% of the eggs were parasitized. The efficiency of the different isolates in controlling nematode reproduction parameters and their relationships in terms of survival and abundance is discussed further

A comparison between the effect of mental practice and isometric exercise on increasing maximal isometric grip muscle strength

Introduction: It is for many years that researchers are searching to find a way to treat musculardisorders including weakness and atrophy, which are consequences of the lack of movement.Therefore, clinicians are always waiting for a way to prevent these weakness and atrophy, especiallywhen active movements are forbidden. In addition, there has always been a question whether muscleperformance can be improved without performing any joint movements or muscle contractions.Studies have shown that mental practice can be a good answer for it. However, this effective,negligible risk and low cost method are not used by therapists. The present study was performed tocompare the effects of mental practice and maximal Isometric exercise on increasing grip musclestrength.Materials and Methods: This study was carried out on 37 young healthy female (18-25years old)who randomly divided into mental practice, Isometric exercise and control group. The mental practicegroup performed imagined maximal isometric contraction of grip muscle for 3 weeks and theisometric exercise group performed maximal isometric contraction of some muscles, while the controlgroup didn’t perform any imagined or physical practice at the same period of time. The amount ofmaximal grip strength was determined by hydraulic hand dynamometer before and after training. Dataanalysis was carried out using paired t-tse.Results: Performing mental practice and maximal isometric contraction produced a significantincrease in isometric strength of grip muscles (p=0.000). While the control group didn’t show anysignificant changes (p = 0.453). Furthermore, there was no significant difference between the mentalpractice and the isometric contraction group.Conclusion: It is suggested that therapists combine this new method with the other commonmethods in their rehabilitation programs