The influence of source and timing of nitrogen fertilizers on yield and nitrogen use efficiency of four sweet potato cultivars

Nitrogen (N) availability is a very important determinant of crop yield. It is also one of the most expensive inputs in crop production. Thus, the efficient management of N by farmers with limited resource is a very important part of successful soil and crop management system. A field study was conducted on a Norfolk sandy loam soil at the George Washington Carver Agricultural Experiment Station, Tuskegee, AL, to evaluate the influence of fertilizer source and timing on the yield of four sweet potato [Ipomoea batatas (L.)] cultivars. Two N sources (urea, CO(NH₂)₂ and ammonium nitrate, NH₄NO₃), four sweet potato cultivars (‘Georgia Jet’, GA-Jet; ‘TU-82-155’, TU-155; ‘TU-1892’; and ‘Rojo Blanco’, Rojo-Bl) and three times (zero, single, and split applications) were used in a factorial designed experiment. Plants were harvested after 80 and 120 days and total and marketable yields determined. Nitrogen recovery efficiency, yield efficiency and physiological efficiency were also determined. Total and marketable yields of early maturing cultivars were significantly higher than of late maturing cultivars (P<0.05). The single application of N resulted in significantly higher yield in storage roots than split application (P<0.05). Physiological efficiency values were highly correlated with total marketable yields. Recovery rates increased with time. Late maturing cultivars tended to have higher N recovery and physiological efficiency than early maturing cultivars. These results suggest that cultivar maturity group should play an important part in N fertilization recommendations for sweet potato.     

Application of magnetic field and iron in order to change medicinal products of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Ocimum basilicum</Emphasis>

In the present research, the effects of static magnetic field, with or without iron on the growth, the activity of certain enzymes (like polyphenol oxidase and phenyle alanine ammonialyase), the content of phenolic compounds and the essential oil composition of sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum) were studied. Treatment of plants with static magnetic field with or without iron led to decrease of the growth of plants as well as decrease in the activity of phenyle alanine ammonialyase and of phenolic compounds content. In addition in those plants exposed to magnetic field the amount of essential oils, notably of methyl chavicol, was increased. Exposure of plants to the magnetic field decreased the activity of polyphenol oxidase, whereas treatment of plants with iron when exposed to magnetic field increased polyphenol oxidase activity. In this group the content of essential oil was reduced.     

五爪金龙凋落叶腐解物的化感潜力研究

采用莴苣种子为受体,测试了五爪金龙凋落叶早期腐解物的化感作用,并与其鲜叶及凋落叶的化感潜力进行了比较分析。结果如下:凋落叶40d的腐解物、鲜叶及凋落叶的水提取液均具有较强的化感潜力,并表现出低促高抑的浓度效应,在FW0.1g﹒mL-1高质量浓度下的综合化感抑制强度为凋落叶未能加土壤的腐解物>鲜叶>凋落叶加土壤的腐解物>凋落叶,而在FW0.005g﹒mL-1低质量浓度下的综合化感促进作用是凋落叶>鲜叶>凋落叶加土壤的腐解物>凋落叶未加土壤的腐解物。鲜叶的抑制强度较凋落叶的大,表明叶片在衰老过程中抑制作用减弱。凋落叶未加土壤仅在空气微生物作用下的腐解物抑制作用最强,促进作用最小,而加入土壤后在土壤微生物作用下的腐解物的抑制作用却有所减弱,抑制强度介于鲜叶和凋落叶的之间,促进作用却小于鲜叶和凋落叶,说明凋落叶腐解过程中微生物的参与对化感作用产生了复杂的影响。     

The effect of adaptation of Lactobacillus amylovorus to increasing concentrations of sweet potato starch on the production of lactic acid for its potential use in the treatment of cannery waste

Abstract

Lactobacillus amylovorus, an amylolytic species, was cultured in increasing concentrations of sweet potato starch to test the effect of this progressive acclimation on lactic acid production. This research is part of a project on the use of the waste stream from a sweet potato cannery to produce lactic acid. The media used for this acclimation was a modified version of the de Man, Rogosa and Sharpe medium, in which glucose was partially or totally substituted with sweet potato starch. The process was done in five steps, starting with 100% glucose in the first step and ending with 100% sweet potato starch in the last one. At each step, the effectiveness of the acclimation was tested by running fermentations with and without pH control for 62?h. The effect of the overall adaptation process was tested by comparing the growth and activity of the acclimated vs non-acclimated bacteria using sweet potato starch as the only source of carbohydrates. Growth and activity assessments indicated that L. amylovorus was able to ferment sweet potato starch into lactic acid. In most cases, pH control resulted in better substrate utilisation and larger amounts of lactic acid. In the comparison study, however, the adaptation process had a major influence on lactic acid production than the effect of pH. For 20?g L^–1 sweet potato starch media, adapted L. amylovorus under no pH control yielded 11.20?g L^–1 versus the non-adapted bacteria, which yielded 7.10?g L^–1. Under controlled pH conditions, 14.80 and 4.20?g L^–1 lactic acid were produced by adapted and non-adapted bacteria respectively.     

五爪金龙对薇甘菊的化感效应研究

五爪金龙是薇甘菊入侵群落中伴生的主要藤本植物之一。运用室内生物测定方法,以薇甘菊种子为受体,测试了五爪金龙水浸提液对薇甘菊的化感效应,结果如下:五爪金龙叶片0.1、0.2和0.3g·mL-1(以鲜叶质量计)的三种浓度水浸提液对薇甘菊种子萌发及根长生长均具有显著的抑制作用,抑制效应随浓度增加而增大,综合化感效应指数分别为-0.72、-1.2和-2.49,综合抑制率分别为35.29%、50.39%和67.27%。随着浸提液浓度的升高,薇甘菊的种子萌发抑制率从30.77%增至61.54%,而根长生长的抑制率则从60.65%增至82.92%,其受到的化感效应RI值是同浓度下种子萌发率的3~3.6倍,表明浸提液对薇甘菊根长生长的抑制作用更大。浸提液处理使薇甘菊的叶绿素含量及叶绿素a/b比值均降低,说明薇甘菊的光合作用也受到抑制。上述结果表明五爪金龙具有较强的抵御薇甘菊入侵危害的化学性防御潜力,这对其在薇甘菊入侵群落中的伴生生存具有重要意义。     

Consumer response to integrated pest management and certification

This study investigated consumer awareness of integrated pest management (IPM) and the effects of two marketing strategies. Specific objectives were to find whether eastern Massachusetts farmstand and farmers' market customers purchasing sweet corn care how their food is grown, whether they are aware of IPM, whether they would prefer to buy IPM-certified sweet corn and why, and whether the marketing methods presently available to IPM-certified growers can enhance awareness of IPM. In 1993, the Massachusetts Department of Food and Agriculture in collaboration with the IPM Program at the University of Massachusetts began a pilot IPM certification program for sweet corn and strawberries, designated ‘Partners with Nature’ (PWN). This study compared a ‘passive’ and ‘active’ PWN marketing strategy with a control that did not have any PWN publicity. The passive strategy was simply display of a PWN certificate and poster. The active strategy also included newspaper advertisements, clear labeling of corn as IPM-certified at the point of selection, a PWN sticker placed on bags of corn at payment, personally thanking customers for ‘buying our IPM-certified sweet corn’, and IPM brochures available to customers. Thirty purchasers of IPM-grown corn were interviewed at each of six farmstands and six farmers' markets.The dominant reason why customers patronize farmstands and farmers' markets was convenience. As found by other northeastern surveys, awareness of IPM was low: only 19% had heard of IPM before the survey, and only 38% of these could mention a specific method used in IPM. Although 45% of the respondents initially said that they did not care how their food is grown, 85% said that they would prefer to buy IPM-certified sweet corn after hearing a short definition. The definition gave only environmental benefits, but 74% of the customers preferring IPM-certified corn said they would buy it because it is safer or healthier. Most of the respondents claimed that they would be willing to pay 10% more for IPM-certified corn. Simply displaying an IPM poster had no significant results on consumer preference for IPM-grown produce, but active marketing significantly raised awareness of IPM and the PWN program.This study demonstrated the willingness of customers to support IPM because they believe it will have positive consequences for human health and environmental quality. It is concluded that sweet corn marketing based on IPM certification positively influenced consumer reactions to IPM; and a more extensive, diverse marketing strategy would enhance consumer awareness and support.     

Soil loss due to harvesting of various crop types in contrasting agro-ecological environments

Soil erosion studies on cropland usually only consider water, wind and tillage erosion. However, significant amounts of soil are also lost from the field during the harvest of crops such as sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.), potato (Solanum tuberosum L.), chicory roots (Cichorium intybus L.), cassava (Manihot spp.) and sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam). During the harvest soil adhering to the crop, loose soil or soil clods and rock fragments are exported from the field together with these crops.This soil erosion process is referred to as ‘soil losses due to crop harvesting’ (SLCH). Most of the studies investigated SLCH variability and its controlling factors for one crop type in similar agro-ecological environments and for comparable harvesting techniques. In this study, a compilation of SLCH studies was made in order to investigate the effect of crop type, agricultural systems, ecological conditions and harvesting technique on SLCH variability. SLCH rates ranged from few to tens of Mg ha⁻¹ harvest⁻¹ and SLCH was highly variable both in space and time. Comparison of four studies on SLCH for sugar beet revealed that harvesting technique and soil moisture content at harvesting time can be equally important for SLCH variability. The occurrence of soil clods harvested with the crop explained why SLCH was significantly larger for mechanically harvested potato in Belgium compared to manually harvested potato in China. SLCH values for manually harvested sugar beet, potato, cassava and sweet potato in China and Uganda were in general smaller than SLCH values for mechanically harvested sugar beet, potato and witloof chicory roots measured in Belgium and France. However, SLCH may also vary significantly within Europe due to differences in harvesting techniques. Soil moisture content at harvesting time was besides harvesting technique one of the key factors controlling SLCH variability. There were no systematic differences in SLCH between crop types, although the soil–crop contact area–crop mass ratio could explain more than 40% of the means from several SLCH studies.     

民族传统文化对农作物遗传多样性的影响——以贵州黎平县香禾糯资源为例

贵州黎平县内丰富的香禾糯资源是侗族人民赖以生活的物质基础,孕育了侗族特有的生产生活方式和文化习俗,而侗族的传统文化习俗也促进了香禾糯的持续种植和保护.通过研究黎平县香禾糯的历史发展情况,结合2013 年对黎平县香禾糯品种资源的实地调查,发现黎平县至今仍保留了45 个不同品质特征和用途的香禾糯品种,说明香禾糯丰富的遗传多样性.从侗族的饮食文化、节日庆典、宗教信仰、传统农作方式等方面,探讨传统文化习俗与香禾糯品种资源保护的关系,发现香禾糯是侗族油茶、扁米、腌制品等日常食品的必备原料,也是婚丧嫁娶、传统节日、礼尚往来、祭祀仪式的必需品,同时,侗族和谐共生的“稻-鱼-鸭”生产模式更提高了香禾糯的社会经济效益,文章揭示了侗族的传统知识和文化习俗是保持香禾糯高度遗传多样性的根本原因.最后,针对香禾糯资源消失的现状,提出相应的保护措施与建议,供相关部门参考.     

两性修饰红薯渣对紫色土吸附Cu2+的影响

采用十二烷基二甲基甜菜碱对红薯渣（R）做两性修饰,修饰比例分别为0、100%和200%,将得到的3种两性修饰红薯渣（R、100BS-R和200BS-R）以1%质量分数加入紫色土（PS）中,制成PS（对照）、PSR、PS100BS-R和PS200BS-R 4种混合土样。用批量处理法探究各供试土样对Cu2+的吸附等温特征,并考察温度、pH值和离子浓度对Cu2+吸附的影响。结果表明：各混合土样对Cu2+的吸附等温线均符合Langmuir模型,最大吸附量为99.46 mmol/kg~136.53 mmol/kg,Cu2+吸附量呈现PS200BS-R>PS100BS-R>PSR>PS的趋势。温度和pH值升高均有利于Cu2+被吸附,当离子浓度为01 mol/L时吸附效果最佳。