103 research outputs found
Effect of copper fungicide on Colletotrichum gloeosporioides and other microorganisms on avocado leaves and fruit
An investigation into the effect of copper fungicide on non-target microorganisms on avocado (cvv. Hass and Nabal) showed that populations of filamentous fungi, yeasts, and bacteria on leaves were at least 10-fold less after a single application of copper than on unsprayed leaves. This detrimental effect of copper on microorganisms on the phylloplane was confirmed in random samples collected from 5 commercial avocado orchards with regular pesticide spray programs but where isolated unsprayed trees were also available. An intensive 16-month study was carried out on 2 adjacent orchards, 1 that was sprayed with copper fungicide at monthly intervals from October to April each year, and the other that had not been sprayed for at least 6 years. Populations of filamentous fungi, yeasts, and bacteria on leaves and fruit were 10â100-fold lower in the sprayed orchard than in the unsprayed orchard. However, populations in the sprayed orchard recovered during the winter non-spray periods to levels comparable to the unsprayed orchard. In 1993 and 1994, fruit were harvested from both orchards, ripened, and assessed for anthracnose caused by Colletotrichum gloeosporioides. In both years, there was significantly less disease in unsprayed fruit (mean disease rating 1.13 and 0.32, respectively) than in sprayed fruit (mean disease rating 1.83 and 2.18, respectively). These results show that copper fungicide is detrimental to phylloplane microorganisms and suggest that those organisms are providing some natural suppression of C. gloeosporioides on avocado
Factors associated with the suppressiveness of sugarcane soils to plant-parasitic nematodes
Observations in three Australian sugarcane fields suggested that the soil just under the trash blanket (the covering of crop residue that remains on the soil surface after crops are harvested) was suppressive to plant-parasitic nematodes. Roots were concentrated in this upper layer of soil but plant-parasitic nematode populations were relatively low and roots showed few signs of nematode damage. Root biomass was much lower 15 cm further down the soil profile, where root health was poor and populations of plant-parasitic nematodes were 3-5 times higher than near the soil surface. A bioassay in which Radopholus similis (a nematode that does not occur in sugarcane soils) was inoculated into heat-sterilized and untreated soils, confirmed that biological factors were limiting nematode populations in some of the soils, with soil from 0-2 cm much more suppressive than soil from 15-17 cm. Surface soil from one site was highly suppressive, as only 16% of R. similis recoverable from heated soil were retrieved from this soil after 8 days. Numerous soil chemical, biochemical, and biological properties were measured, and non-linear regression analysis identified two major groups of factors that were significantly associated with suppressiveness. One group reflected the amount of organic matter in soil (total C, total N, and labile C) and the other was associated with the size of the free-living nematode community (total numbers of free-living nematodes, and numbers of plant associates, bacterial feeders, fungal feeders, and carnivores). These results suggested that suppressiveness was biologically mediated and was sustained by C inputs from crop residues and roots. Since nematode-trapping fungi in the test soils could not be quantified using traditional dilution plating methods, their possible role as suppressive agents was assessed by generating TRFLP profiles with Orbiliales-specific primers, and by sequencing cloned PCR products. Although the molecular data were obtained from a limited number of samples, the level of suppression was significantly correlated to the number of Orbiliales clone groups and was also related to the number of Orbiliales species and TRFs, suggesting that this group of fungi may have been one of the suppressive factors operating in the test soils
Polarimetric Observations of 15 AGNs at High Frequencies
Original paper can be found at: http://www.astrosociety.org/pubs/cs/328.html--Copyright Astronomical Society of the PacificWe have obtained total and polarized intensity images of 15 AGNs with the VLBA at 7 mm at 17 epochs from 25/26 March 1998 to 14 April 2001. The VLBA observations are accompanied at many epochs by simultaneous mea- surements of polarization at 1.35/0.85 mm as well as less frequent simultaneous optical polarization measurements. We discuss the similarities and complexities of polarization behavior at different frequencies along with the VLBI properties
MERLIN observations of GRS 1915+105 : a progress report
We present a progress report on MERLIN radio imaging of a radio outburst from
GRS 1915+105. The major ejection occurred at the end of an approximately 20-day
`plateau' state, characterised by low/hard X-ray fluxes and a relatively strong
flat-spectrum radio component. Apparent superluminal motions have been mapped
with unprecedented resolution, and imply higher velocities in the jet than
previously derived.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures. To be published in New Astronomy Reviews, as part
of proceedings of 2nd workshop on Galactic sources with relativistic jet
Galactic X-ray binary jets
With their relatively fast variability time-scales, Galactic X-ray binaries
provide an excellent laboratory to explore the physics of accretion and related
phenomena, most notably outflows, over different regimes. After comparing the
phenomenology of jets in black hole X-ray binary systems to that of neutron
stars, here I discuss the role of the jet at very low Eddington ratios, and
present preliminary results obtained by fitting the broadband spectral energy
distribution of a quiescent black hole binary with a `maximally jet-dominated'
model.Comment: Refereed version, accepted for publication in Astrophysics & Space
Scienc
Same-sign W pair production as a probe of double parton scattering at the LHC
We study the production of same-sign W boson pairs at the LHC in double
parton interactions. Compared with simple factorised double parton
distributions (dPDFs), we show that the recently developed dPDFs, GS09, lead to
non-trivial kinematic correlations between the W bosons. A numerical study of
the prospects for observing this process using same-sign dilepton signatures,
including same-sign WWjj, di-boson and heavy flavour backgrounds, at 14 TeV
centre-of-mass energy is then performed. It is shown that a small excess of
same-sign dilepton events from double parton scattering over a background
dominated by single scattering WZ(gamma*) production could be observed at the
LHC.Comment: 14 pages, 8 figures. Added references, slight changes in the text
Jet disc coupling in black hole binaries
In the last decade multi-wavelength observations have demonstrated the
importance of jets in the energy output of accreting black hole binaries. The
observed correlations between the presence of a jet and the state of the
accretion flow provide important information on the coupling between accretion
and ejection processes. After a brief review of the properties of black hole
binaries, I illustrate the connection between accretion and ejection through
two particularly interesting examples. First, an INTEGRAL observation of Cygnus
X-1 during a 'mini-' state transition reveals disc jet coupling on time scales
of orders of hours. Second, the black hole XTEJ1118+480 shows complex
correlations between the X-ray and optical emission. Those correlations are
interpreted in terms of coupling between disc and jet on time scales of seconds
or less. Those observations are discussed in the framework of current models.Comment: Invited talk at the Fifth Stromlo Symposium: Disks, Winds & Jets -
from Planets to Quasars. Accepted for publication in Astrophysics & Space
Scienc
A search for periodicity in the light curves of selected blazars
We present an analysis of multifrequency light curves of the sources 2223-052
(3C 446), 2230+114 (CTA 102), and 2251+158 (3C 454.3), which had shown evidence
of quasi-periodic activity. The analysis made use of data from the University
of Michican Radio Astronomy Observatory (USA) at 4.8, 8, and 14.5 GHz, as well
as the Metsahovi Radio Astronomy Observatory (Finland) at 22 and 37 GHz.
Application of two different methods (the discrete autocorrelation function and
the method of Jurkevich) both revealed evidence for periodicity in the flux
variations of these sources at essentially all frequencies. The periods derived
for at least two of the sources -- 2223-052 and 2251+158-- are in good
agreement with the time interval between the appearance of successive VLBI
components. The derived periods for 2251+158 (P = 12.4 yr and 2223-052 (P = 5.8
yr) coincide with the periods found earlier by other authors based on optical
light curves.Comment: 27 pages, 11 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy Report
Radio emission and jets from microquasars
To some extent, all Galactic binary systems hosting a compact object are
potential `microquasars', so much as all galactic nuclei may have been quasars,
once upon a time. The necessary ingredients for a compact object of stellar
mass to qualify as a microquasar seem to be: accretion, rotation and magnetic
field. The presence of a black hole may help, but is not strictly required,
since neutron star X-ray binaries and dwarf novae can be powerful jet sources
as well. The above issues are broadly discussed throughout this Chapter, with a
a rather trivial question in mind: why do we care? In other words: are jets a
negligible phenomenon in terms of accretion power, or do they contribute
significantly to dissipating gravitational potential energy? How do they
influence their surroundings? The latter point is especially relevant in a
broader context, as there is mounting evidence that outflows powered by
super-massive black holes in external galaxies may play a crucial role in
regulating the evolution of cosmic structures. Microquasars can also be thought
of as a form of quasars for the impatient: what makes them appealing, despite
their low number statistics with respect to quasars, are the fast variability
time-scales. In the first approximation, the physics of the jet-accretion
coupling in the innermost regions should be set by the mass/size of the
accretor: stellar mass objects vary on 10^5-10^8 times shorter time-scales,
making it possible to study variable accretion modes and related ejection
phenomena over average Ph.D. time-scales. [Abridged]Comment: 28 pages, 13 figures, To appear in Belloni, T. (ed.): The Jet
Paradigm - From Microquasars to Quasars, Lect. Notes Phys. 794 (2009
Measurement of the W+W-gamma Cross Section and Direct Limits on Anomalous Quartic Gauge Boson Couplings at LEP
The process e+e- -> W+W-gamma is analysed using the data collected with the
L3 detector at LEP at a centre-of-mass energy of 188.6GeV, corresponding to an
integrated luminosity of 176.8pb^-1. Based on a sample of 42 selected W+W-
candidates containing an isolated hard photon, the W+W-gamma cross section,
defined within phase-space cuts, is measured to be: sigma_WWgamma = 290 +/- 80
+/- 16 fb, consistent with the Standard Model expectation. Including the
process e+e- -> nu nu gamma gamma, limits are derived on anomalous
contributions to the Standard Model quartic vertices W+W- gamma gamma and W+W-Z
gamma at 95% CL: -0.043 GeV^-2 < a_0/Lambda^2 < 0.043 GeV^-2 0.08 GeV^-2 <
a_c/Lambda^2 < 0.13 GeV^-2 0.41 GeV^-2 < a_n/Lambda^2 < 0.37 GeV^-2
- âŠ