Performance of petunia crop in response to inoculation with Azospirillum brasilense = Desempeño del cultivo de petunia en respuesta a la inoculación con Azospirillum brasilense

The present study was carried out to analyze the performance of Petunia hybrida when inoculated with Azospirillum brasilense REC3. Parameters evaluated were root length, dry weight of roots and shoots, leaf area, leaf greenness, precocity (days to flowering) and number of flowers in plants. Azospirillum inoculation increased root growth, shoot weight and number of flowers compared to controls. Time to flowering, a fundamental feature from the economic point of view, was shortened in inoculated plants. These findings indicated that inoculation with A. brasilense strain REC3 resulted in an increase in vegetative growth and an early and profuse flowering, thus reducing fertilization costs and environmental pollution.El presente estudio se llevó a cabo para analizar el comportamiento de Petunia hybrida en respuesta a la inoculación con Azospirillum brasilense REC3. Los parámetros evaluados fueron: longitud de raíz, peso seco de raíces y tallos, área foliar, verdor de las hojas, precocidad (días hasta floración) y número de flores. La inoculación con Azospirillum incrementó el crecimiento radicular, el peso de los tallos y el número de flores comparando con los controles. El tiempo transcurrido hasta la floración, rasgo fundamental desde el punto de vista económico, disminuyó en plantas inoculadas. Estos hallazgos indican que la inoculación con A. brasilense REC3 contribuye a incrementar el crecimiento vegetativo y a obtener una floración más temprana y abundante, por lo que podrían así reducirse los costos de producción y la contaminación ambientalEEA FamailláFil: Toffoli, Lucia Mercedes. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Famaillá; ArgentinaFil: Medrano, Norma Nelly. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Famaillá; ArgentinaFil: Martinez Zamora, Martin Gustavo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán. Instituto Superior de Investigaciones Biológicas. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Instituto Superior de Investigaciones Biológicas; ArgentinaFil: Guerrero Molina, María Fernanda. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán. Instituto Superior de Investigaciones Biológicas. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Instituto Superior de Investigaciones Biológicas; ArgentinaFil: Pedraza, Raúl Osvaldo. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Agronomía y Zootecnia; ArgentinaFil: Salazar, Sergio Miguel. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Famaillá; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Agronomía y Zootecnia; Argentin

Desempeño del cultivo de petunia en respuesta a la inoculación con Azospirillum brasilense

El presente estudio se llevó a cabo para analizar el comportamiento de Petunia hybrida en respuesta a la inoculación con Azospirillum brasilense REC3. Los parámetros evaluados fueron: longitud de raíz, peso seco de raíces y tallos, área foliar, verdor de las hojas, precocidad (días hasta floración) y número de flores. La inoculación con Azospirillum incrementó el crecimiento radicular, el peso de los tallos y el número de flores comparando con los controles. El tiempo transcurrido hasta la floración, rasgo fundamental desde el punto de vista económico, disminuyó en plantas inoculadas. Estos hallazgos indican que la inoculación con A. brasilense REC3 contribuye a incrementar el crecimiento vegetativo y a obtener una floración más temprana y abundante, por lo que podrían así reducirse los costos de producción y la contaminación ambiental.The present study was carried out to analyze the performance of Petunia hybrida when inoculated with Azospirillum brasilense REC3. Parameters evaluated were root length, dry weight of roots and shoots, leaf area, leaf greenness, precocity (days to flowering) and flower numbers in plants. Azospirillum inoculation increased root growth, shoot weight and number of flowers compared to controls. Time to flowering, a fundamental feature from the economic point of view, was shortened in inoculated plants. These findings indicated that inoculation with A. brasilense strain REC3 resulted in an increase in vegetative growth and an early and profuse flowering, thus reducing fertilization costs and environmental pollution.Fil: Toffoli, Lucía Mercedes. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Regional Tucuman-Santiago del Estero. Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Famaillá; ArgentinaFil: Medrano, Norma Nelly. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Regional Tucuman-Santiago del Estero. Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Famaillá; ArgentinaFil: Martinez Zamora, Martin Gustavo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán. Instituto Superior de Investigaciones Biológicas. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Instituto Superior de Investigaciones Biológicas; ArgentinaFil: Guerrero Molina, María Fernanda. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán. Instituto Superior de Investigaciones Biológicas. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Instituto Superior de Investigaciones Biológicas; ArgentinaFil: Pedraza, Raúl Osvaldo. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Agronomía y Zootecnia; ArgentinaFil: Salazar, Sergio Miguel. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Regional Tucuman-Santiago del Estero. Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Famaillá; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Agronomía y Zootecnia; Argentin

Strawberry monocropping: Impacts on fruit yield and soil microorganisms

The objective of this work was to explore the impacts of intensive strawberry monocropping during five years on the fruit-yield and onthe microbial soil activity and composition. Field trials were performed in twoplots: P1 (a soil with five years of consecutive strawberry cropping), and P2 (asoil with just one year of strawberry cropping). Fruit-yield was quantified;total microorganisms and four functional groups (cellulolytics, nitrogen-fixers, phosphate solubilizers, and siderophores producers) were quantified, isolated and characterized in both plots. Total microbial activity was assessed by the hydrolysis of fluorescein-diacetate and soil respiration methods. As results, in P1, a 51 % decrease in fruit-yield was observed, whilein P2 it was closer to the yield obtained in P1 during the first and second year of cultivation. Total microbial number and activity were 23 % and 70% lower in P1 than in P2 at the end of the cropping, respectively. In general,the quantity of total culturable microorganisms and the functional group sanalyzed were significantly higher in P2 than in P1 (p< 0.05).The most prevailing bacteria putatively identified were Cellulosimicrobacterium cellulans, Paenibacillus sp., Azospirillum brasilense, and Burkholderia sp. According to our results, the intensive cultivation of strawberry for several years in the same field exerted a negative impact on the soil quality, affecting the native microbial population, which might be linked to the fruit yield decline.EEA FamailláFil: Lovaisa, Nadia Carolina. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Agronomía y Zootecnia; Argentina.Fil: Guerrero Molina, María Fernanda. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Agronomía y Zootecnia; Argentina.Fil: Delaporte Quintana, Paola Adriana Georgina. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Agronomía y Zootecnia; ArgentinaFil: Alderete, Mara D.. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Agronomía y Zootecnia; ArgentinaFil: Ragout, Alicia Leonor. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán. Planta Piloto de Procesos Industriales Microbiológicos; ArgentinaFil: Salazar, Sergio Miguel. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Famaillá; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Agronomía y Zootecnia; ArgentinaFil: Pedraza, Raúl Osvaldo. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Agronomía y Zootecnia; Argentin

Canagliflozin and renal outcomes in type 2 diabetes and nephropathy

BACKGROUND Type 2 diabetes mellitus is the leading cause of kidney failure worldwide, but few effective long-term treatments are available. In cardiovascular trials of inhibitors of sodium–glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2), exploratory results have suggested that such drugs may improve renal outcomes in patients with type 2 diabetes. METHODS In this double-blind, randomized trial, we assigned patients with type 2 diabetes and albuminuric chronic kidney disease to receive canagliflozin, an oral SGLT2 inhibitor, at a dose of 100 mg daily or placebo. All the patients had an estimated glomerular filtration rate (GFR) of 30 to &lt;90 ml per minute per 1.73 m2 of body-surface area and albuminuria (ratio of albumin [mg] to creatinine [g], &gt;300 to 5000) and were treated with renin–angiotensin system blockade. The primary outcome was a composite of end-stage kidney disease (dialysis, transplantation, or a sustained estimated GFR of &lt;15 ml per minute per 1.73 m2), a doubling of the serum creatinine level, or death from renal or cardiovascular causes. Prespecified secondary outcomes were tested hierarchically. RESULTS The trial was stopped early after a planned interim analysis on the recommendation of the data and safety monitoring committee. At that time, 4401 patients had undergone randomization, with a median follow-up of 2.62 years. The relative risk of the primary outcome was 30% lower in the canagliflozin group than in the placebo group, with event rates of 43.2 and 61.2 per 1000 patient-years, respectively (hazard ratio, 0.70; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.59 to 0.82; P=0.00001). The relative risk of the renal-specific composite of end-stage kidney disease, a doubling of the creatinine level, or death from renal causes was lower by 34% (hazard ratio, 0.66; 95% CI, 0.53 to 0.81; P&lt;0.001), and the relative risk of end-stage kidney disease was lower by 32% (hazard ratio, 0.68; 95% CI, 0.54 to 0.86; P=0.002). The canagliflozin group also had a lower risk of cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, or stroke (hazard ratio, 0.80; 95% CI, 0.67 to 0.95; P=0.01) and hospitalization for heart failure (hazard ratio, 0.61; 95% CI, 0.47 to 0.80; P&lt;0.001). There were no significant differences in rates of amputation or fracture. CONCLUSIONS In patients with type 2 diabetes and kidney disease, the risk of kidney failure and cardiovascular events was lower in the canagliflozin group than in the placebo group at a median follow-up of 2.62 years

Rising rural body-mass index is the main driver of the global obesity epidemic in adults

Body-mass index (BMI) has increased steadily in most countries in parallel with a rise in the proportion of the population who live in cities(.)(1,2) This has led to a widely reported view that urbanization is one of the most important drivers of the global rise in obesity(3-6). Here we use 2,009 population-based studies, with measurements of height and weight in more than 112 million adults, to report national, regional and global trends in mean BMI segregated by place of residence (a rural or urban area) from 1985 to 2017. We show that, contrary to the dominant paradigm, more than 55% of the global rise in mean BMI from 1985 to 2017-and more than 80% in some low- and middle-income regions-was due to increases in BMI in rural areas. This large contribution stems from the fact that, with the exception of women in sub-Saharan Africa, BMI is increasing at the same rate or faster in rural areas than in cities in low- and middle-income regions. These trends have in turn resulted in a closing-and in some countries reversal-of the gap in BMI between urban and rural areas in low- and middle-income countries, especially for women. In high-income and industrialized countries, we noted a persistently higher rural BMI, especially for women. There is an urgent need for an integrated approach to rural nutrition that enhances financial and physical access to healthy foods, to avoid replacing the rural undernutrition disadvantage in poor countries with a more general malnutrition disadvantage that entails excessive consumption of low-quality calories.Peer reviewe

Height and body-mass index trajectories of school-aged children and adolescents from 1985 to 2019 in 200 countries and territories: a pooled analysis of 2181 population-based studies with 65 million participants

Summary Background Comparable global data on health and nutrition of school-aged children and adolescents are scarce. We aimed to estimate age trajectories and time trends in mean height and mean body-mass index (BMI), which measures weight gain beyond what is expected from height gain, for school-aged children and adolescents. Methods For this pooled analysis, we used a database of cardiometabolic risk factors collated by the Non-Communicable Disease Risk Factor Collaboration. We applied a Bayesian hierarchical model to estimate trends from 1985 to 2019 in mean height and mean BMI in 1-year age groups for ages 5–19 years. The model allowed for non-linear changes over time in mean height and mean BMI and for non-linear changes with age of children and adolescents, including periods of rapid growth during adolescence. Findings We pooled data from 2181 population-based studies, with measurements of height and weight in 65 million participants in 200 countries and territories. In 2019, we estimated a difference of 20 cm or higher in mean height of 19-year-old adolescents between countries with the tallest populations (the Netherlands, Montenegro, Estonia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina for boys; and the Netherlands, Montenegro, Denmark, and Iceland for girls) and those with the shortest populations (Timor-Leste, Laos, Solomon Islands, and Papua New Guinea for boys; and Guatemala, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Timor-Leste for girls). In the same year, the difference between the highest mean BMI (in Pacific island countries, Kuwait, Bahrain, The Bahamas, Chile, the USA, and New Zealand for both boys and girls and in South Africa for girls) and lowest mean BMI (in India, Bangladesh, Timor-Leste, Ethiopia, and Chad for boys and girls; and in Japan and Romania for girls) was approximately 9–10 kg/m2. In some countries, children aged 5 years started with healthier height or BMI than the global median and, in some cases, as healthy as the best performing countries, but they became progressively less healthy compared with their comparators as they grew older by not growing as tall (eg, boys in Austria and Barbados, and girls in Belgium and Puerto Rico) or gaining too much weight for their height (eg, girls and boys in Kuwait, Bahrain, Fiji, Jamaica, and Mexico; and girls in South Africa and New Zealand). In other countries, growing children overtook the height of their comparators (eg, Latvia, Czech Republic, Morocco, and Iran) or curbed their weight gain (eg, Italy, France, and Croatia) in late childhood and adolescence. When changes in both height and BMI were considered, girls in South Korea, Vietnam, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and some central Asian countries (eg, Armenia and Azerbaijan), and boys in central and western Europe (eg, Portugal, Denmark, Poland, and Montenegro) had the healthiest changes in anthropometric status over the past 3·5 decades because, compared with children and adolescents in other countries, they had a much larger gain in height than they did in BMI. The unhealthiest changes—gaining too little height, too much weight for their height compared with children in other countries, or both—occurred in many countries in sub-Saharan Africa, New Zealand, and the USA for boys and girls; in Malaysia and some Pacific island nations for boys; and in Mexico for girls. Interpretation The height and BMI trajectories over age and time of school-aged children and adolescents are highly variable across countries, which indicates heterogeneous nutritional quality and lifelong health advantages and risks

Heterogeneous contributions of change in population distribution of body mass index to change in obesity and underweight NCD Risk Factor Collaboration (NCD-RisC)

From 1985 to 2016, the prevalence of underweight decreased, and that of obesity and severe obesity increased, in most regions, with significant variation in the magnitude of these changes across regions. We investigated how much change in mean body mass index (BMI) explains changes in the prevalence of underweight, obesity, and severe obesity in different regions using data from 2896 population-based studies with 187 million participants. Changes in the prevalence of underweight and total obesity, and to a lesser extent severe obesity, are largely driven by shifts in the distribution of BMI, with smaller contributions from changes in the shape of the distribution. In East and Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, the underweight tail of the BMI distribution was left behind as the distribution shifted. There is a need for policies that address all forms of malnutrition by making healthy foods accessible and affordable, while restricting unhealthy foods through fiscal and regulatory restrictions

Digital soil mapping and GlobalSoilMap. Main advances and ways forward

In this concluding paper, we summarize the main advances coming forward from the joint conference of the International Union of Soil Sciences (IUSS) Working Groups (WG) “Digital Soil mapping” (DSM) and “GlobalSoilMap”. We outline the increased availability of data and covariates. Large efforts to rescue legacy data and to put them in a harmonized format are ongoing in many parts of the world. New countries are joining the GlobalSoilMap initiative. During the same time, significant progress have been made in the countries which were among the first to develop GlobalSoilMap products. We stress the recent trends in tools used for predictive mapping of soil properties. Some solutions were proposed to solve issues about data privacy. We give examples on how to move from DSM soil digital soil mapping assessment. Aligning our research with ongoing activities within the Global Soil Partnership of the FAO has been proven successful. A need was expressed to work on the uncertainty of indicators of prediction performances and to re-evaluate validation strategies. It is necessary to develop more intuitive metrics for uncertainty assessment for interpreting and evaluating soil maps. The main progresses, remaining issues and challenges and the way forward are summarized and we propose ambitious working plans and road-maps for the two WGs and stress their complementarities.</p

Field Monitoring of 2010-Tsunami Impact on Agricultural Soils and Irrigation Waters: Central Chile

An in situ post tsunami study was conducted to assess the effect of water management and rainfalls in soil properties and water quality at a low-lying coastal area of central Chile affected by Mw8.8 Earthquake Tsunami the night of 27 February 2010. Soil samples were taken at two depths (0 to 20 and 20 to 40 cm) during 2010 and late 2012. Water quality in a local shallow well was also monitored in 2010 and 2012. High soil salinity was recorded 2 months later than tsunami occurs, closely associated to water-soluble chloride and cations (Cl- >> Na+ >> Ca2+> Mg2+> K+), ionic toxicities, and vegetal inhibition (Vasconcellea pubescens) by less available water to plants. An initial reduction in soil pH due to ionic strength and coarse-textured class of soil was observed and the sodium adsorption ratio (SAR) in soil varied between 5.7 and 11.2 (mmol L-1)(0.5) showing to be saline. Although SARw values are very high (> 18 (mmol L-1) 0.5), it does not exist risks of reduction on soil infiltration rates according to ECw (> 5 dS m(-1)) obtained. After 2 years, soil salinity was drastically reduced in the affected areas due to high soil permeability and natural attenuation (rainfalls and leaching effects), with sulfate and bicarbonate concentrations showing excessive values. Further, irrigation water quality returned to pre-tsunami situation, with only levels of sodium slightly exceeding desirable range from health point of view. Finally, it is suggested a proper design of irrigation systems before implementing other management practice

Changes in soil water balance following afforestation of former arable soils in Denmark as evaluated using the DAISY model

Artículo de publicación ISILand use change alters water and element cycles, but the changes in these cycles after conversion, for example, from cropland to forest are not fully described in hydrological and nutrient transport models, which usually describe either cropland or forest stands. In the European Union future afforestation is likely to occur on abandoned cropland, and evaluation of the future impacts of this land use change will require projections with models that include combined cropland-forest modules. This study used the agro-based DAISY model (Version 4.93) to investigate changes in the soil water balance over four decades following afforestation of a homogeneous area of former arable land on a sandy loam in Denmark. Hydrological data collected during nine hydrological years (April 2001–March 2010) were used to test the DAISY model. Monthly data on soil water content at 0–90 cm used for calibration were available from April 2001 to December 2002 for six monoculture stands of oak (age 8, 22 and 31 years) and Norway spruce (age 4, 13 and 32 years). Model performance was evaluated by considering uncertainties in model inputs using the Generalised Likelihood Uncertainty Estimation (GLUE) procedure. The GLUE estimates obtained (uncertainty bands 5% and 95%) agreed satisfactorily with measured monthly soil water content during the calibration period (April 2001–December 2002). Similarly, in the oldest oak stand, long-term monitoring observations and predictions of monthly water content were in satisfactory agreement during the period January 2003–March 2010). Sensitivity analysis showed that the DAISY model was most sensitive to the potential evapotranspiration factor and soil hydraulic parameters included in the Campbell model. Simulation results during nine hydrological years showed that 16–25% of incoming precipitation led to water recharge in the spruce stands, while the corresponding range for oak stands was 25–27%. A 35-year DAISY simulation revealed that Norway spruce consumed more water than oak, with differences in annual water recharge in the range 31–174 mm year 1 and with greater differences in rainy years (precipitation >900 mm year 1)