Use of a real-time decision support system to give accurate timings for fungicide applications

© 2020 The Author(s). This an open access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted reuse, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.Environmental conditions such as temperature and relative humidity (RH) affect strawberry powdery mildew (Podosphaera aphanis) development and disease severity. To control P. aphanis growers apply fungicides every 7-14 days (insurance spraying). A rule-based prediction system was developed which records the accumulated number of hours (up to 144) of disease conducive conditions (temperature 15.5-30°C, RH>60%), both parameters must be met for the number of hours to accumulate for the development of the pathogen. It identifies high risk periods when sporulation may occur thus allowing growers to spray at the optimal time to prevent primary infection. A new web-based system designed to be more user-friendly was used at farm sites in England and Scotland in 2018. This work aims to give commercially satisfactory disease control of strawberry powdery mildew with fewer fungicide sprays. The growers checked daily to determine whether a fungicide spray would be required; when applied, the growers reset the system to zero, the hours of disease conducive conditions again start accumulating. This was compared to an area of the farm that used the grower’s normal fungicide spray programme. From leaf samples collected, no presence of disease was found throughout the season showing satisfactory control of P. aphanis. The grower in England saved four sprays, compared to their normal spray programme. A cost-benefit analysis based on fungicides used and labour costs, showed that the grower saved £216 per hectare. The grower in Scotland saved three fungicide sprays compared to their grower group’s suggested spray programme thus saving £275 per hectare. The use of the prediction system enables the grower to spray with precision timing, to maximise fungicide effectivity on disease control, whilst making cost savings. The system can be used as a decision support system giving confidence to only spray when necessary instead of insurance spraying.Non peer reviewe

What are the benefits of using silicon as a nutrient for strawberry growth?

© 2020 The Author(s). This an open access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted reuse, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.Silicon is considered to be a non-essential element in strawberry production, previous work at the University of Hertfordshire has shown that the use of silicon in fertigation systems has enhanced the constitutive defence pathway of the strawberry crop and has additional benefits such as increased chlorophyll content of leaves, increased Brix values of fruit and increased pollen viability. In a hydroponic experiment in 2018, plants received weekly treatments of a silicon solution (0.017%) were compared to plants with no exposure to silicon. Treated plants had significantly more leaves, runners and fruits and a significant increase in chlorophyll content of the leaves (p<0.05). Also, fruits obtained from the treated plants, had significantly higher Brix levels, a greater mass and size than those from the untreated plants. No deficiency symptoms were observed in the untreated plants. A second hydroponic experiment began in January 2019 to investigate whether silicon can ever be toxic to strawberry plants. Weekly applications of potassium silicate were compared to the use of the silicon nutrient without potassium, at different concentrations; results are expected by June 2019. From the results of the first hydroponic experiment, it can be seen that strawberry plants are not naturally deficient in silicon, however, it is a limiting factor in their growth and plants can benefit from regular treatments of silicon.Non peer reviewe

Final Report of Ceres Funding Project 1C1P1

© 2021 The Author(s). This is an open access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted reuse, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.In 2019 the final on-farm validation of the UH prediction system (funded by Ceres, in collaboration with Agri-tech Services) took place on eight participating sites (from six farms) in England and Scotland. The aim of the project was to conduct an on-farm validation of the prediction system, in order to provide a simple, user friendly decision support system to growers to control the disease with fewer fungicide applications. A wide range of criteria were covered during the validation process: disease control, a range of geographical locations, manufacturers of temperature and humidity sensors, strawberry cultivars, growing media and methods. Pesticide application data for both prediction and control plots, costings and disease assessment results were received from all participating sites at the end of the season. The results of the validation and cost-benefits analysis were presented in this report. The prediction system was used on sites in both England and Scotland and a variety of cultivars were grown including Sweet Eve, Prize, Murano, Katrina and Amesti (everbearers) and Malling™ Centenary (June bearer). Two different types of sensors were used, Davis and SMS. Most growers used coir on tabletops, however on two sites, crops were grown on raised beds in soil. All growers who used the prediction system had commercially satisfactory disease control with fewer fungicide applications (by at least one spray) than the routine spray programme. They also benefited from financial savings due to reduced fungicide applications and labour costs. Positive feedback on using the prediction system in the 2019 validation was received from participating growers, as well as wide interest from other growers on adopting the prediction system in the coming season. The validation of the prediction system in 2019 has met the milestones of the project and has proven that the system, under all criteria, provided improved assistance to growers during their decision-making processes, achieving satisfactory disease control with fewer applications. The licence for the prediction system has now been agreed and will be signed in the Spring of 2020 which enables the system to be commercially available in 2020.Final Published versio

Controlling strawberry powdery mildew with reduced number of fungicide sprays

Strawberry powdery mildew (Podosphaera aphanis) is the most feared disease of strawberry under protection, environmental conditions under polythene are ideal for the growth of the fungi, with temperature and relative humidity (RH) affecting fungal development and disease severity. To control P. aphanis growers apply fungicides every 7-14 days throughout the season. A rule-based prediction system was developed which records the accumulated number of hours (up to 144) of disease conducive conditions (temperature 15.5-30°C, RH>60%), both parameters must be satisfied simultaneously for 144 hours to accumulate for pathogen development. The prediction system identifies high risk periods when sporulation can occur enabling growers to spray at the optimal time thus preventing primary infection. A user-friendly web-based system was used on two farms in England and Scotland in 2018 and six farms in 2019. Participating farms used temperature and humidity sensors in each of the trial fields. The decision support system aims to provide commercially satisfactory disease control with fewer fungicide sprays. Growers check daily to follow the accumulation of disease conducive hours, high risk and the need for fungicide spraying occurred between 120 and 144 hours. Following fungicide application, the system was reset, and hours of disease conducive conditions accumulate again. This was compared to an area of the farm that used their routine fungicide spray programme. In both years, growers achieved commercially satisfactory disease control, without epidemic development. Furthermore, each participating grower saved between two and four sprays, compared to their routine spray programme. A cost-benefit analysis based on fungicide and labour costs, indicated savings between £200-£400 per hectare. The use of the prediction system enables growers to spray with precision timing, therefore maximising fungicide efficiency and reducing costs. The system can be used as a decision support system giving confidence to only spray when necessary.Peer reviewe

The role of silicon as a nutrient/biostimulant in strawberries

• All plants grown in soil contain silicon (Si) in their tissues, with concentrations that vary from 0.1% to 10% of their dry weight. • Si is referred to as “quasi-essential” for the growth of higher plants due to its important role in alleviating abiotic and biotic stresses. It can be taken up in a bio-available form - H4SiO4 (Ma et al., 2011). • Work at the University of Hertfordshire showed that regular use of a Si nutrient enhanced constitutive (passive) defence pathway (i.e. morphological changes in the leaf structure) in strawberry plants, resulting in increased resilience to diseases (e.g. strawberry powdery mildew Podosphaera aphanis) and pests (e.g. twospotted spider mites Tetranychus urtiae). An increase in plant biomass and improvements on other agronomic traits were also found (results shown from 2018-2019 glasshouse hydroponic experiments). • Si is mainly laid down in epidermis and in the form of phytoliths.Peer reviewe

The development of a new measure of quality of life in the management of gastro-oesophageal reflux disease: the Reflux Questionnaire.

INTRODUCTION This paper reports on the development of a new measure of health-related quality of life for use among patients with gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD), funded as part of the REFLUX trial. This is a large UK multi centre trial that aims to compare the clinical and cost effectiveness of minimal access surgery with best medical treatment for patients with GORD within the NHS. Method Potential items were identified via a series of interviews and focus groups carried out with patients who were receiving/had received medical or surgical treatment for GORD. The final measure consisted of 31 items covering 7 categories (Heartburn; Acid reflux; Wind; Eating and swallowing; Bowel movements; Sleep; Work, physical and social activities). The measure produced two outputs: a quality of life score (RQLS) and five Reflux symptom scores. Reliability (internal consistency), criterion validity with the SF-36 and, sensitivity to change in terms of relationship with reported change in prescribed medication were assessed amongst a sample of 794 patients recruited into the trial. RESULTS The measure was shown to be internally consistent, to show criterion validity with the SF-36 and sensitive to changes in patients use of prescribed medication at baseline and 3 month follow-up. DISCUSSION The Reflux questionnaire is a new self-administered questionnaire for use amongst patients with GORD. Initial findings suggest that the new measure is valid, reliable, acceptable to respondents and simple to administer in both a clinical and research context

Extracts of Feijoa Inhibit Toll-Like Receptor 2 Signaling and Activate Autophagy Implicating a Role in Dietary Control of IBD

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a heterogeneous chronic inflammatory disease affecting the gut with limited treatment success for its sufferers. This suggests the need for better understanding of the different subtypes of the disease as well as nutritional interventions to compliment current treatments. In this study we assess the ability of a hydrophilic feijoa fraction (F3) to modulate autophagy a process known to regulate inflammation, via TLR2 using IBD cell lines

Bidirectional lipid droplet velocities are controlled by differential binding strengths of HCV Core DII protein

Host cell lipid droplets (LD) are essential in the hepatitis C virus (HCV) life cycle and are targeted by the viral capsid core protein. Core-coated LDs accumulate in the perinuclear region and facilitate viral particle assembly, but it is unclear how mobility of these LDs is directed by core. Herein we used two-photon fluorescence, differential interference contrast imaging, and coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering microscopies, to reveal novel core-mediated changes to LD dynamics. Expression of core protein’s lipid binding domain II (DII-core) induced slower LD speeds, but did not affect directionality of movement on microtubules. Modulating the LD binding strength of DII-core further impacted LD mobility, revealing the temporal effects of LD-bound DII-core. These results for DII-core coated LDs support a model for core-mediated LD localization that involves core slowing down the rate of movement of LDs until localization at the perinuclear region is accomplished where LD movement ceases. The guided localization of LDs by HCV core protein not only is essential to the viral life cycle but also poses an interesting target for the development of antiviral strategies against HCV

The effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of minimal access surgery amongst people with gastro-oesophageal reflux disease – a UK collaborative study

*Corresponding author randomised arm of the trial (178 allocated to surgical management,179 allocated to continued, but optimised,medical management) and 453 recruited to the parallel non-randomised preference arm (261 chose surgical management, 192 chose to continue with best medical management). The type of fundoplication was left to the discretion of the surgeon. Main outcome measures: Participants completed a baseline reflux questionnaire, developed specifically for this study, containing a disease-specific outcome measure, the Short Form with 36 Items (SF-36), the EuroQol-5 Dimensions (EQ-5D) and the Beliefs about Medicines and Surgery questionnaires (BMQ/BSQ).Postal questionnaires were completed at participant specific time intervals after joining the trial (equivalent to approximately 3 and 12 months after surgery).Intraoperative data were recorded by the surgeons and all other in-hospital data were collected by the research nurse. At the end of the study period, participants completed a discrete choice experiment questionnaire. Results: The randomised groups were well balanced at entry. Participants had been taking GORD medication for a median of 32 months; the mean age of participants was 46 years and 66% were men. Of 178 randomised to surgery, 111 (62%) actually had fundoplication.There was a mixture of clinical and personal reasons why some patients did not have surgery, sometimes Objectives: To evaluate the clinical effectiveness, costeffectiveness and safety of a policy of relatively early laparoscopic surgery compared with continued medical management amongst people with gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD) judged suitable for both policies. Design: Relative clinical effectiveness was assessed by a randomised trial (with parallel non-randomised preference groups) comparing a laparoscopic surgerybased policy with a continued medical management policy. The economic evaluation compared the costeffectiveness of the two management policies in order to identify the most efficient provision of future care and describe the resource impact that various policies for fundoplication would have on the NHS.Setting: A total of 21 hospitals throughout the UK with a local partnership between surgeon(s) and gastroenterologist(s) who shared the secondary care of patients with GORD.Participants: The 810 participants, who were identified retrospectively or prospectively via their participating clinicians, had both documented evidence of GORD (endoscopy and/or manometry/24-hour pH monitoring) and symptoms for longer than 12 months. In addition,the recruiting clinician(s) was clinically uncertain about which management policy was best.Intervention: Of the 810 eligible patients who consented to participate, 357 were recruited to the related to long waiting times. A total or partial wrap procedure was performed depending on surgeon preference. Complications were uncommon and there were no deaths associated with surgery. By the equivalent of 12 months after surgery, 38% in the randomised surgical group (14% amongst those who had surgery) were taking reflux medication compared with 90% in the randomised medical group. There were substantial differences (one-third to one-half standard deviation) favouring the randomised surgical group across the health status measures, the size depending on assumptions about the proportion that actually had fundoplication. These differences were the same or somewhat smaller than differences observed at 3 months. The lower the reflux score, the worse the symptoms at trial entry and the larger the benefit observed after surgery. The preference surgical group had the lowest reflux scores at baseline. These scores improved substantially after surgery, and by 12 months they were better than those in the preference medical group. The BMQ/BSQ and discrete choice experiment did distinguish the preference groups from each other and from the randomised groups. The latter indicated that the risk of serious complications was the most important single attribute of a treatment option. A within trial cost-effectiveness analysis suggested that the surgery policy was more costly (mean £2049) but also more effective [+0.088 quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs)]. The estimated incremental cost per QALY was £19,000–£23,000, with a probability between 46% (when 62% received surgery) and 19% (when all received surgery) of cost-effectiveness at a threshold of £20,000 per QALY. Modelling plausible longer-term scenarios (such as lifetime benefit after surgery) indicated a greater likelihood (74%) of costeffectiveness at a threshold of £20,000, but applying a range of alternative scenarios indicated wide uncertainty.The expected value of perfect information was greatest for longer-term quality of life and proportions of surgical patients requiring medication.Conclusions: Amongst patients requiring long-term medication to control symptoms of GORD, surgical management significantly increases general and refluxspecific health-related quality of life measures, at least up to 12 months after surgery. Complications of surgery were rare. A surgical policy is, however, more costly than continued medical management. At a threshold of £20,000 per QALY it may well be cost-effective, especially when putative longer-term benefits are taken into account, but this is uncertain.The more troublesome the symptoms, the greater the potential benefit from surgery. Uncertainty about cost-effectiveness would be greatly reduced by more reliable information about relative longer-term costs and benefits of surgical and medical policies. This could be through extended follow-up of the reflux trial cohorts or of other cohorts of fundoplication patients.Peer reviewedPublisher PD