珠芽魔芋种子5苗接力生长当年形成商品芋技术

首次提出珠芽魔芋种子具有5苗接力生长的生物学特性。种子能在一个不间断的生长周期中积累最大生物产量,避免魔芋需反复"换头"种植3—4年才能收获商品芋的低产生长模式,使魔芋的膨大系数由块茎的低于10倍提高到种子最高约7000倍,所获地下球茎重量平均达1560g。采用种子种植当年即可获用于加工的商品芋,消除了魔芋种植过程中固有的风险,使魔芋由低产作物变成高产作物,魔芋多糖总量将实现跨越式增长。     

珠芽魔芋弥勒种——从低产到优质高产作物的希望之星

珠芽魔芋是东南亚地区的特色野生魔芋种,适宜在高温高湿环境生长。以珠芽魔芋人工诱导开花进行规模化无性育种,可将魔芋繁殖系数从1位数提高到约330倍。采用催苗技术让种子及叶面球茎提早出苗,可显著延长魔芋生长周期,使魔芋种植周期由3年缩短为1年,实现当年种植收获商品芋,从而避免魔芋种植过程中种植材料反复休眠的固有特性,可使魔芋从低产作物提升为优质高产作物,显著降低种植风险,使魔芋总量大幅增长,市场推广前景十分广阔。     

东南亚珠芽魔芋多苗接力生长特性及应用前景

以珠芽魔芋人工诱导开花进行规模化无性育种,可将魔芋繁殖系数从1位数提高约330倍;采用催苗技术让种子及叶面球茎提早出苗,可显著延长魔芋生长周期,使魔芋种植周期由3年缩短为1年;魔芋种子1年生长最高膨大率超过5000倍,当年即形成1180g球茎;魔芋叶面球茎最大膨大率超过100倍,两者种植一季魔芋即可用于加工.突破了魔芋繁殖系数低、膨大率低导致种植周期长的双重困局,显著降低了病害风险,大幅度缩短了魔芋种植周期,从而突破魔芋传统种植区域的地理限制,使魔芋总产量超常规增长.     

中缅边境地区稀有魔芋品种资源研究初探

生长在中缅边境地区的稀有魔芋品种具有与国内外已报道过的品种迥然不同的繁殖特点。该品种除具有魔芋多糖含量高、分子量大和粘度值高的特点外,还具有地下部分的肉质根（球）;不同的是各枝叶交叉点上生长着可供繁殖的小球茎。这一稀有品种至今尚未见报道。     

魔芋种简易贮藏法

鲜魔芋含水份82％左右,冬季气温较低,如魔芋种保管贮藏不当,极易造成球茎腐烂,影响翌年的魔芋生产。因此,应注意贮藏魔芋种。     

开发保健食品——魔芋

魔芋亦名鬼芋、南星 ,中药称“蛇六谷” ,为天南星科多年生草本植物 ,有暗红褐色肉质地下球状茎 ,原产于印度 ,在我国种植很早。魔芋块茎的粗蛋白质含量为 9 7%,比马铃薯高 1 6%;1 6种氨基酸总含量为 7 8%,比马铃薯高 59%;7种必需氨基酸总量为 2 5%,比马铃薯高 53 8%;能降     

“魔芋脱皮素”在生产中试用效果良好

中国科学院成都生物所科研人员李绍彬同志,最近,研制出一种能够脱魔芋表皮的“魔芋脱皮素”在生产中试用效果良好。魔芋脱皮通常采用手工法进行,在工厂生产魔芋精粉大规模脱皮时,脱皮困难,工作量多,劳动     

丰都县发挥山区优势,开发魔芋资源

丰都县山地幅员广阔,地形复杂,适宜发展魔芋的土地资源丰富,特别是海拔600—1000m的方斗山、七跃山、铜矿山等低中山区,年平均气温13—17℃,最热月平均温度24—27.5℃,适宜于魔芋生长发育的天数长达185—230天;年总降水量为1200mm以上,魔芋生长期内降水量达1000mm:气候湿润,平均相对湿度为85％左右。因地形关系,云雾遮蔽,山岭阻挡,森林郁闭,太阳散射光大于直射光,而7—9月的温度日较差大,土壤湿润,多     

胡杨、灰叶胡杨不同种源苗期生长动态研究

采用Logistic曲线对胡杨、灰叶胡杨不同种源苗高与地径生长进行拟合,并估测了速生期的2个拐点及其长度。结果表明:①高、径生长均符合"S"型曲线,年生长可划分为生长初期、速生期、硬化期三个时期;②径生长速生期起始时间均早于高生长,而结束时间要晚于高生长;③胡杨高、径生长速生期起始、结束时间均早于灰叶胡杨,并且持续天数也低于灰叶胡杨。     

几种有开发价值的虫草菌(一)

冬虫夏草 :冬虫夏草是一种名贵的药食兼用的真菌 ,在我国与人参、鹿茸并列为三大传统补品 ,驰名中外。据《中药大辞典》记载 ,冬虫草具有补虚损、益精气、止咳化痰之功效。冬虫夏草是虫草菌寄生在虫草蝙蝠幼虫体上的虫菌复合体 ,产地极为特殊 ,自然生长在海拔 3 5 0 0～ 470 0m的高寒草甸地带 ,产区日平均气温为 0℃～ 2 3℃ ,地表以下 2 0cm土层深处温度为 0℃～ 7.5℃ ,空气相对湿度 5 0 %～ 70 % ,土壤湿度 40 %～ 60 %。蝙蝠蛾幼虫生活在 5～ 2 5cm的土层中 ,以珠芽蓼的块根为主要食物。我国冬虫夏草的自然产地有青海、四川、云南、甘肃…     

BIOLOGICAL INDICATORS AND BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF ESTUARINE/COASTAL POLLUTION1

ABSTRACT: Sustained interest in and concern about the health status of the aquatic environment has resulted in extensive research focused on (1) effects of pollution on survival, growth, and reproduction of resource species at all life stages; (2) diseases of fish and shellfish, as they may be related to pollution and as they may serve as indicators of environmental stress; and (3) contaminant body burdens in fish and shellfish - their effects on the aquatic animals and their potential effects on humans. Effects, lethal and sublethal, of pollutants on life history stages of fish and shellfish have been documented, as have impacts on local stocks in badly degraded habitats, but as yet there has been no adequate quantitative demonstration of effects on entire aquatic species - probably because of the difficulty in sorting out relative effects of the many environmental factors that influence abundance. Sublethal effects, especially those that result in disease, have been examined intensively, and some diseases and disease syndromes have been associated statistically with pollution. Other pollution indicators (biochemical, physiological, genetic, behavioral, and ecological) have also received some attention, as have body burdens of contaminants in aquatic species. Research, especially that conducted during the past decade, has done much to clarify the many pathways and toxic effects of contaminants on aquatic animals, and has also helped to identify mechanisms for survival of fish and shellfish in the presence of environmental changes caused by human activities.     

Definition Procedures Have Little Effect on Performance of Environmental Classifications of Streams and Rivers

Mapped environmental classifications are defined using various procedures, but there has been little evaluation of the differences in their ability to discriminate variation in independent ecological characteristics. We tested the performance of environmental classifications of the streams and rivers of France that had been defined from the same environmental data using geographic regionalization and numerical classification of individual river valley segments. Test data comprised invertebrate assemblages, water chemistry, and hydrological indexes obtained from sites throughout France. Classification performance was measured by analysis of similarity (ANOSIM). Geometric regions defined by a regular grid and without regard to environmental variables and a posteriori classifications based on clustering the test datasets defined lower and upper bounds of performance for a given number of classes. Differences in classification performances were generally small. The ANOSIM statistics for the a posteriori classifications were around twice that of all environmental classifications, including geometrically defined regions. The hydro-ecoregions performed slightly better for the invertebrate data and the network classification performed slightly better for the chemistry and hydrological data. Our results indicate that environmental classifications that are defined using different procedures can be comparable in terms of their ability to discriminate variation of ecological characteristics and that alleged differences in performance arising from different classification procedures can be small relative to unexplained variation. We conclude that definition procedures might have little effect on the performance of large-scale environmental classifications and decisions over which procedures to use should be based primarily on pragmatic considerations.     

Journalists' views of advertiser pressures on agricultural news

All major journalism ethical codes explicitly state that journalists should protect editorial copy from undue influence by outside sources. However, much of the previous research on agricultural information has concentrated on what information various media communicate (gatekeeping studies) or communication's role in increasing innovation adoption (diffusion studies). Few studies have concentrated specifically on organizational and structural constraints that might adversely affect agricultural journalists' ethical standards; those that have, focus largely on farm magazines. A study of newspaper reporters who cover agricultural news found that the most pressing ethical concern is the effect of advertiser (agri-business) pressure on editorial copy, and that their concerns in general parallel those of farm magazine writers and editors. The majority reported being in situations in which they might be exposed to advertiser pressure, including pressures to change or withhold editorial copy. Large minorities suggested that advertising pressures affect the overall environment in which agricultural journalists work, and more than one in ten said they allow advertiser pressures to influence editorial decisions. The newspaper reporters who cover agricultural beats showed slightly more resistance to advertiser pressure than did farm magazine editors in a parallel study.     

Effect of Light on Biodegradation of Estrone, 17β‐Estradiol,and 17α‐Ethinylestradiol in Stream Sediment

Biodegradation of [A‐ring ¹⁴C] Estrone (E1), 17β‐estradiol (E2), and 17α‐ethinylestradiol (EE2) to ¹⁴CO₂ was investigated under light and dark conditions in microcosms containing epilithon or sediment collected from Boulder Creek, Colorado. Mineralization of the estrogen A‐ring was observed in all sediment treatments, but not epilithon treatments. No difference in net mineralization between light and dark treatments was observed for ¹⁴C‐E2. Net mineralization of ¹⁴C‐E1 and ¹⁴C‐EE2 was enhanced in light treatments. Extents of ¹⁴CO₂ accumulation and rates of mineralization were significantly greater for E2 than E1 under dark conditions, but were comparable under light conditions. These results indicate substantial differences in the uptake and metabolism of E1 and E2 in the environment and suggest biorecalcitrance of E1 relative to E2 in light‐limited environments. The extent of ¹⁴CO₂ accumulation and rate of mineralization for EE2 in dark treatments were less than half of that observed for E2 and generally lower than for E1, consistent with previous reports of EE2 biorecalcitrance. However, ¹⁴CO₂ accumulation and rates of mineralization were comparable for EE2, E2, and E1 under light conditions. These results indicate photoactivation and/or phototransformation/photodegradation processes can substantially enhance heterotrophic biodegradation of estrogens in sunlit environments and may play an important role in estrogen transport and attenuation.     

Bioremediation of Soils by Plant–Microbe Systems

Abstract

Sustainable ecosystems can be designed to eliminate environmental toxins and reduce pathogen loads through the direct and indirect consequences of plant and microbial activities. We present an approach to the bioremediation of disturbed environments, focusing on petroleum hydrocarbon (PHC) contaminants. Treatment consists of incorporating a plant-based amendment to enhance ecosystem productivity and physiochemical degradation followed by the establishment of plants to serve as oxidizers and foundations for microbial communities. Promising amendments for widespread use are entire plants of the water fern Azolla and seed meal of Brassica napus (rapeseed). An inexpensive byproduct from the manufacture of biodiesel and lubricants, rapeseed meal is high in nitrogen (6% wt/wt), stimulates >100-fold increases in populations of resident Streptomyces species, and suppresses fungal infection of roots subsequently cultivated in the amended soil. Synergistic enzymatic and chemical activities of plant and microbial metabolism in root zones transform and degrade soil contaminants. Emphasis is given to mechanisms that enable PHC functionalization via reactive molecular species.     

Energetics and environmental costs of agriculture in a dry tropical region of India

The present article, based on a study of five village ecosystems, assesses the energy efficiency of rain-fed agriculture in a dry tropical environment and the impact of agricultural activity on the surrounding natural ecosystems. Agronomic yield is insufficient to meet the food requirement of the human population, hence 11.5%–49.7% of the required amount of food grains are imported from the market. Energy requirements of five studied agroecosystems are subsidized considerably by the surrounding forest in the form of fodder and firewood. Natural ecosystems supply about 80%–95% of fodder needs and 81%–100% of fuelwood needs. The output-input ratio of agriculture indicated that, on average, 4.1 units of energy are expended to obtain one unit of agronomic energy. Of this, 3.9 units are supplied by the natural ecosystem. In addition, 38% of the extracted firewood is marketed. The illegal felling and lopping of trees result in ever-increasing concentric circles of forest destruction around the villages and together with excessive grazing results in savannization. The forests can be conserved by encouraging fuelwood plantations (0.7 ha/ha cultivated land) and developing village pastures (1.6 ha/ha cultivated land) and reducing the livestock numbers. Agricultural production in the region can be stabilized by introducing improved dry farming techniques such as intercropping, planned rainwater management, and adequate use of fertilizers.     

WHAT DO WE MEAN BY “METROPOLITAN WATER MANAGEMENT INSTITUTIONS?”1

ABSTRACT The term “institution” and several variants are used frequently in the literature on metropolitan water management. The state-of-the art investigation on which this paper is based revealed that 1) many uses of the term do not include careful definitions; 2) many users of the term seemed unaware of the general, theoretical literature on the subject of institutions; 3) there was little consistency among uses, either in the practical literature dealing with water or in the conceptual literature dealing with theories of institutions or institutionalization; 4) some usages were without significant meaning; 5) in many cases the term was used as a kind of “black box” to account for behavioral, societal, or managerial factors; 6) the term was often used as a synonym for “organization”. This latter use is frequently found in federal reports, including National Water Commission studies, and is most unfortunate because it tends to slight significant social-psychological factors. A suggested definition is: “An institution is the structured result or outcome of a process by which values are articulated, arranged, and communicated, having continuity over time, and influencing behavior of persons who did not necessarily participate in formulating those values (norms).”     

Waste minimisation in practice

One of the major hindrances to waste minimisation on a construction site is the difficulty in establishing a methodology and using this methodology to benchmark future construction projects. This paper introduces SMARTWaste, a software tool that has been used to audit, reduce and target waste arisings on a construction site. This tool tries to link the construction process and the waste hierarchy. That is reducing waste on a construction site rather than landfilling it. Three applications of the SMARTWaste software will be discussed using case studies from three different types of construction. An evaluation of these case studies shows that, by implementing a waste minimisation scheme on-site, you can improve material recovery for reuse. Also, by using the waste arisings as a benchmark you can reduce your waste arisings on future sites. Application of SMARTWaste or a similar waste minimisation tool on a wider basis could reduce waste arisings and could result in a built environment that consumed less natural resources and energy, and also produced less pollution and waste. Such a built environment would be environmentally and socially more responsive and responsible.     

COMPARISON OF TRACE ELEMENT CONCENTRATIONS IN TISSUE OF COMMON CARP AND IMPLICATIONS FOR MONITORING1

Common carp (Cyprinus carpio) collected from four sites in the Red River of the North in 1994 were analyzed for arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), lead (Pb), nickel (Ni), selenium (So), and zinc (Zn). Concentrations differed among liver, muscle, and whole body. Generally, trace element concentrations were the greatest in livers while concentrations in whole bodies were greater than those in muscle for Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn, and concentrations in muscle were similar to whole body for As and Se. Concentrations of Cr were lower in liver than either muscle or whole body. Correlations between liver and whole body concentrations were stronger than those between liver and muscle concentrations, but the strongest correlations were between muscle and whole body concentrations. Examination of tissue concentrations by collection sites suggested that, for a general survey, the whole body may be the most effective matrix to analyze.     

Macroalgal Introductions by Hull Fouling on Recreational Vessels: Seaweeds and Sailors

Macroalgal invasions in coastal areas have been a growing concern during the past decade. The present study aimed to assess the role of hull fouling on recreational yachts as a vector for macroalgal introductions. Questionnaire and hull surveys were carried out in marinas in France and Spain. The questionnaires revealed that the majority of yacht owners are aware of seaweed introductions, usually undertake short range journeys, dry dock their boat at least once a year, and use antifouling paints. The hull survey showed that many in-service yachts were completely free of macroalgae. When present, fouling assemblages consisted mainly of one to two macroalgal species. The most commonly found species was the tolerant green seaweed Ulva flexuosa. Most of the other species found are also cosmopolitan and opportunistic. A few nonnative and potentially invasive Ceramiales (Rhodophyta) were found occasionally on in-service yachts. On the basis of the information gathered during interviews of yacht owners in the surveyed area, these occurrences are likely to be uncommon. However they can pose a significant risk of primary or secondary introductions of alien macroalgal species, especially in the light of the increase in yachting activities. With large numbers of recreational yachts and relatively rare occurrences of nonnative species on hulls, comprehensive screening programs do not seem justified or practical. The risks of transferring nonnative species may, however, be minimized by encouraging the behaviors that prevent fouling on hulls and by taking action against neglected boats before they can act as vectors.