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Other Crops (other + crop)
Selected AbstractsComparisons of Isolates of Fusarium avenaceum from White Lupin and Other Crops by Pathogenicity Tests, DNA Analyses and Vegetative Compatibility TestsJOURNAL OF PHYTOPATHOLOGY, Issue 4 2000K. Satyaprasad Isolates of Fusarium avenaceum, mostly from crops of white lupin or wheat, were tested for pathogenicity on white lupin and wheat plants and compared by DNA tests and, in a limited study, vegetative compatibility. Most of the 80 isolates were pathogenic on both plant species after inoculation on shoot bases. Disease severity was greater at higher incubation temperatures that ranged from 15/10°C to 25/20°C (day/night temperatures). Isolates from lupin crops tended to be more pathogenic, on average, on lupins than on cereals. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis of the internal transcribed spacer region of the rDNA distinguished two groups of isolates that occurred in different proportions among isolates from lupins and cereal crops. Random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD)-PCR analyses indicated considerable genetic variation among isolates, but there was some similarity among groups of isolates from populations in the same field. Genetic diversity was confirmed by a high degree of vegetative incompatibility among 20 isolates using nitrate nonutilizing mutants. There were no relationships among pathogenicity, RFLP group, RAPD group and vegetative compatibility group. Zusammenfassung Fusarium-avenaceum -Isolate, die überwiegend von Weißier Lupine oder Weizen stammten, wurden hinsichtlich ihrer Pathogenität für Weißie Lupine und Weizenpflanzen getestet und durch DNA-Tests verglichen. In einer kleineren Studie wurde zudem ihre vegetative Kompatibilität geprüft. Die meisten der 80 Isolate waren nach Inokulation der Stengel-bzw. Halmbasis für beide Pflanzenarten pathogen. Bei hohen Inkubationstemperaturen im Bereich von 15/10°C bis 25/20°C (Tag/Nacht-Temperaturen) war der Befall stärker. Von Lupinen stammende Isolate waren im Durchschnitt stärker pathogen für Lupinen als für Getreide. Eine PCR-RFLP-Analyse der Internal-transcribed-spacer-Region der rDNA teilte die Isolate in zwei Gruppen, die bei den Isolaten von Lupinen und Getreide in verschiedenen Anteilen vertreten waren. RAPD-PCR-Analysen zeigten eine beträchtliche genetische Variation bei den Isolaten, aber auch gewisse Ähnlichkeiten bei den Isolatgruppen, die von Populationen im selben Feld stammten. Die genetische Diversität wurde auch durch ein hohes Ausmaßi an vegetativer Inkompatibilität bei 20 Isolaten deutlich; hier wurden Nitrat nicht verwertende Mutanten verwendet. Zwischen Pathogenität, RFLP-Gruppe, RAPD-Gruppe und vegetativer Kompatibilitätsgruppe bestanden keine Beziehungen. [source] Eradication of the first outbreak of Xanthomonas fragariae in the United KingdomEPPO BULLETIN, Issue 2 2009S. S. Matthews-Berry Xanthomonas fragariae was identified in the UK in strawberry fruiting crops in October 2004. As this pathogen had not been confirmed in the UK before and is listed as a quarantine organism by the EU and EPPO, emergency official action was taken to contain and eventually eradicate this pest. In order to eradicate this disease the affected growers were given the option of either destroying the crop to eradicate the disease immediately or maintaining the infected plants for the life of the crop for fruit production with hygiene measures to prevent the spread of the disease to uninfected crops. The affected growers chose to maintain the crops with hygiene measures to contain the disease. The crops continued to be monitored and no further symptoms were identified in either the infected crop or other crops on the farms. [source] A model for optimisation of water management in rice polders in Thailand,IRRIGATION AND DRAINAGE, Issue 5 2005Preecha Wandee modèle mathématique; polders de riz; polder système de gestion de l'eau; optimisation Abstract This paper presents a mathematical model for the determination of optimal values for the main components of water management systems in rice polders in Thailand. The aim of the water management system in a rice area is to create good growing conditions for the crops. Under the hydrological conditions of Thailand the average rainfall during the rainy season is more than enough for growing rice or other crops. However, during the dry season there is a very small amount of rainfall. Thus the farmers are confronted with two quite different conditions and water management has to deal with irrigation and drainage issues. The main components of the water management system in a rice polder are the water level in the canals, the percentage of open surface water, discharge capacity from the field and discharge capacity of the pumping station or sluice. A model has been developed that takes into account damage due to flooding and drought as well as construction and maintenance cost for irrigation and drainage systems based on the hydrological conditions. Optimising of such a water management system means determining the main components in such a way that the equivalent annual costs are minimal. A case study has been done for a rice polder in Suphanburi province. It was found that the polder water level for rice under rainfed conditions could be kept above ground level to minimise loss of water from the rice field, whereas under irrigated conditions the polder water level has to be kept below ground level to get good drainage conditions. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Cet article présente un modèle mathématique pour l'optimisation des composants principaux du système de gestion de l'eau dans des polders de riz en Thaïlande. Le but du système de gestion de l'eau dans un secteur de riz est de créer de bonnes conditions de croissance pour les récoltes. Dans la situation hydrologique de la Thaïlande les précipitations moyennes pendant la saison des pluies sont plus que suffisantes pour cultiver du riz croissant ou d'autres récoltes. Cependant, durant la saison sèche il y a très peu de précipitations. Ainsi les fermiers sont confrontés à deux conditions tout à fait différentes. Par conséquent la gestion de l'eau doit prendre en compte des problèmes d'irrigation et de drainage. Les composants principaux du système de gestion de l'eau dans un polder de riz sont le niveau d'eau dans les canaux, le pourcentage de l'eau ouverte, la capacité de décharge du champ et capacité de décharge de la station de pompage ou d'écluse. On a développé un modèle qui tient compte des dommages dus à l'inondation et à la sécheresse aussi bien que du coût de construction et d'entretien pour l'irrigation et à la canalisation basée sur les conditions hydrologiques. La linéarisation d'un tel système de gestion de l'eau implique de déterminer les composants principaux de telle manière que le système entier ait le coût équivalent annuel minimum. Une étude de cas a été faite pour un polder de riz dans la province de Suphanburi. On a constaté que le niveau d'eau du polder pour le riz irrigué à l'eau de pluie pouvait être gardé au-dessus du niveau du sol pour réduire au minimum la perte d' eau de la rizière, tandis que dans des conditions irriguées le niveau d'eau de polder doit être gardé au-dessous du niveau du sol pour obtenir de bonnes conditions de drainage. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Optimising the policy cost of market stabilisation: Which commodity matters most in Ethiopia?JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT, Issue 3 2009Kindie Getnet Abstract Unprecedented food crop price spikes in recent years prompted the Ethiopian government to impose grain export ban and to distribute grain stocks as price stabilization strategies. Successful price stabilization and size of public spending for such programs depend, to a large extent, on the choice and targeting of stabilization strategies. In a situation where a single commodity plays a leadership role in the price dynamics of other crops, targeting intervention at such a commodity would provide a useful mechanism to reduce policy cost of price stabilization while achieving commodity-wide stabilization objectives. Using multiple cointegration analysis techniques to generate knowledge useful in targeting price stabilization intervention, this study investigates whether there is a single food crop in Ethiopia, among the three major ones (teff, wheat, and maize), with an exclusive price leadership role in the price formation process of the rest. The results show that maize price plays a leadership role in the dynamics of teff and wheat prices at all markets studied, except that of Addis Ababa teff market. Given the major evidence of a price leadership role of maize, it might be possible to achieve commodity-wide price stabilization objectives through targeting intervention on maize. Such targeted intervention may also prove efficiency in terms of reducing policy cost and public spending. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] AFLP Analysis of Trichoderma spp. from India Compared with Sequence and Morphological-based DiagnosticsJOURNAL OF PHYTOPATHOLOGY, Issue 7-8 2005H. K. Buhariwalla Abstract Trichoderma species offer considerable potential for controlling aflatoxin contamination in groundnut and other crops. Initial classification of 48 Trichoderma isolates, derived from four different groundnut cultivation sites in India was based on alignment of 28S rDNA sequences to GenBank sequences of ex-type strains. This was found to be substantially more reliable than our routine morphological characterization, but did not provide a comprehensive diagnostic solution, as unique single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) haplotypes could not be identified for all species. However, all the Trichoderma isolates could be readily distinguished by amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) analysis, based on six primer pair combinations, which generated 234 polymorphic bands. In addition, individual AFLP bands were identified which differentiate closely related species. Similarly, AFLP bands were identified that correlated with different types of antagonism to Aspergillus flavus. The implications of these results for the development of simple polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based diagnostic assays for antagonistic isolates of Trichoderma is discussed. [source] Breeding of Pleurotus florida (oyster mushroom) for phenotypic pigmentation and high yield potentialJOURNAL OF THE SCIENCE OF FOOD AND AGRICULTURE, Issue 15 2008Jatinder Kaur Abstract BACKGROUND: Cross-hybridisation is a technique for exchange of genetic material between two compatible nuclei to develop a recombinant genome with a probable expression for a desirable trait. This technique as an example of classical genetics has been applied in a heterothallic bifactorial/tetrapolar fungus Pleurotus florida. It has worked successfully during this study in a small number of experiments. RESULTS: Fruit bodies from the Pleurotus florida PAU-5 were allowed to shed their basidiospores on filter paper under aseptic conditions. Forty-nine monokaryons were isolated from three spore prints, namely Ja, Jb and K. Three hundred and fifty-six crosses were laid to result in five compatible reactions (PFJ4, PFJ9, PFJ11, PFJ13 and PFJ14). The fruit bodies of the hybrid dikaryon PFJ4 were found to show grey pigmentation. The hybrid dikaryons PFJ11 and PFJ14 grew faster in wheat straw substrate to take 39 and 41 days, respectively, for complete mycelial impregnation as compared to the parent, PAU-5 (48 days). The dikaryon PFJ11 out-yielded the parent by giving 34.2% biological efficiency compared to 29.8% for the parent. CONCLUSION: Through cross-hybridisation various changes at the genetic level are possible, showing altered phenotypic expression of the characters, such as change in fruiting efficiency and variability in fruit body characteristics (e.g., pileus shape and pigmentation). This technique can also be applied to other crops to improve their yield potential and bring about desirable phenotypic changes. Copyright © 2008 Society of Chemical Industry [source] Nitrogen release dynamics and transformation of slow release fertiliser products and their effects on tea yield and qualityJOURNAL OF THE SCIENCE OF FOOD AND AGRICULTURE, Issue 5 2008Dr Wen-Yan Han Abstract BACKGROUND: Tea (Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze) is a perennial leaf harvested crop. It requires more nitrogen than most other crops and preferentially utilises NH4+ to NO3, when both are available in the soil. It is expected that slow release fertilisers coupled with a nitrification inhibitor could improve the N use efficiency and simultaneously reduce environmental pollution. In this study, three slow release fertilisers were developed and tested: CaMg phosphate coated urea with dicyandiamide (DCD) as a nitrification inhibitor and polyolefin coated urea with and without DCD. The main aim was to compare the nitrogen release dynamics and transformation of these fertilisers and their effects on tea yield and quality. RESULTS: The results showed that the coatings significantly slowed N release and kept mineral N in soils at a higher concentration for a longer time compared to uncoated urea. Polyolefin was a superior coating to CaMg phosphate. DCD was an effective nitrification inhibitor and significantly reduced the ratio of nitrate to total mineral N in a highly acidic tea soil. The 15N use efficiency was 29% where uncoated fertiliser was applied and 46% where polyolefin coated fertiliser with DCD was applied. The application of slow release fertilisers increased the chlorophyll content in mature leaves and enhanced the uptake of mineral elements by tea plants. Bud sprouting, shoot growth and mature leaf longevity were significantly improved, resulting in higher biomass of tea plants. Slow release fertilisers increased the yield of shoots by 51,143% (mean, 106%) in a pot experiment and 4,14% (mean, 9%) in a field experiment compared to uncoated urea. Tea quality parameters, especially free amino acids, were also significantly increased. CONCLUSION: Slow release fertilisers, especially polyolefin coated urea with DCD could significantly increase the N use efficiency and improve tea growth. Their uses in tea fields not only improved the profit margin, but possibly reduced environmental pollution. Copyright © 2008 Society of Chemical Industry [source] Moniliophthora perniciosa, the causal agent of witches' broom disease of cacao: what's new from this old foe?MOLECULAR PLANT PATHOLOGY, Issue 5 2008LYNDEL W. MEINHARDT SUMMARY Moniliophthora perniciosa (=Crinipellis perniciosa) causes one of the three main fungal diseases of Theobroma cacao (cacao), the source of chocolate. This pathogen causes Witches' broom disease (WBD) and has brought about severe economic losses in all of the cacao-growing regions to which it has spread with yield reductions that range from 50 to 90%. Cacao production in South America reflects the severity of this pathogen, as the yields in most of the infected regions have not returned to pre-outbreak levels, even with the introduction of resistant varieties. In this review we give a brief historical account and summarize the current state of knowledge focusing on developments in the areas of systematics, fungal physiology, biochemistry, genomics and gene expression in an attempt to highlight this disease. Moniliophthora perniciosa is a hemibiotrophic fungus with two distinct growth phases. The ability to culture a biotrophic-like phase in vitro along with new findings derived from the nearly complete genome and expression studies clearly show that these different fungal growth phases function under distinct metabolic parameters. These new findings have greatly improved our understanding of this fungal/host interaction and we may be at the crossroads of understanding how hemibiotrophic fungal plant pathogens cause disease in other crops. Historical summary of WBD:, The first WDB symptoms appear to have been described in the diaries of Alexandre Rodrigues Ferreira (described as lagartão; meaning big lizard) from his observations of cacao trees in 1785 and 1787 in Amazonia, which is consistent with the generally accepted idea that M. perniciosa, like its main host T. cacao, evolved in this region. The disease subsequently arrived in Surinam in 1895. WBD moved rapidly, spreading to Guyana in 1906, Ecuador in 1918, Trinidad in 1928, Colombia in 1929 and Grenada in 1948. In each case, cacao production was catastrophically affected with yield reductions of 50,90%. After the arrival of M. perniciosa in Bahia in 1989, Brazil went from being the world's 3rd largest producer of cacao (347 000 tonnes in 1988,1990; c. 15% of the total world production at that time) to a net importer (141 000 tonnes in 1998,2000). Fortunately for chocolate lovers, other regions of the world such as West Africa and South East Asia have not yet been affected by this disease and have expanded production to meet growing world demand (predicted to reach 3 700 000 tonnes by 2010). Classification:,Moniliophthora perniciosa (Stahel) Aime & Phillips-Mora: super-kingdom Eukaryota; kingdom Fungi; phylum Basidiomycota; subphylum Agaricomycotina; class Agaricomycetes; subclass Agaricomycetidae; order Agaricales; family Marasmiaceae; genus Moniliophthora. Useful websites:,http://www.lge.ibi.unicamp.br/vassoura/, http://nt.ars-grin.gov/taxadescriptions/keys/TrichodermaIndex.cfm, http://www.worldcocoafoundation.org/info-center/research-updates.asp, http://www.ars.usda.gov/ba/psi/spcl [source] A strategy to provide long-term control of weedy rice while mitigating herbicide resistance transgene flow, and its potential use for other crops with related weedsPEST MANAGEMENT SCIENCE (FORMERLY: PESTICIDE SCIENCE), Issue 7 2009Jonathan Gressel Abstract Transgenic herbicide-resistant rice is needed to control weeds that have evolved herbicide resistance, as well as for the weedy (feral, red) rice problem, which has been exacerbated by shifting to direct seeding throughout the world,firstly in Europe and the Americas, and now in Asia, as well as in parts of Africa. Transplanting had been the major method of weedy rice control. Experience with imidazolinone-resistant rice shows that gene flow to weedy rice is rapid, negating the utility of the technology. Transgenic technologies are available that can contain herbicide resistance within the crop (cleistogamy, male sterility, targeting to chloroplast genome, etc.), but such technologies are leaky. Mitigation technologies tandemly couple (genetically link) the gene of choice (herbicide resistance) with mitigation genes that are neutral or good for the crop, but render hybrids with weedy rice and their offspring unfit to compete. Mitigation genes confer traits such as non-shattering, dwarfism, no secondary dormancy and herbicide sensitivity. It is proposed to use glyphosate and glufosinate resistances separately as genes of choice, and glufosinate, glyphosate and bentazone susceptibilities as mitigating genes, with a six-season rotation where each stage kills transgenic crop volunteers and transgenic crop × weed hybrids from the previous season. Copyright © 2009 Society of Chemical Industry [source] Tebuconazole dissipation and metabolism in Tifton loamy sand during laboratory incubation,PEST MANAGEMENT SCIENCE (FORMERLY: PESTICIDE SCIENCE), Issue 7 2004Timothy C Strickland Abstract The fungicide tebuconazole is widely used to control soil-borne and foliar diseases in peanuts and other crops. No published data are currently available on the extent and rate at which this compound degrades in soil. Unpublished data summarized in registration documents suggest that the compound is persistent, with 300,600 days half-life. We conducted a 63-day laboratory incubation to evaluate tebuconazole's dissipation kinetics and impact on soil microbial activity in Tifton loamy sand. Tifton soils support extensive peanut production in the Atlantic Coastal Plain region of Georgia and Alabama. Products containing tebuconazole are applied to an estimated 50% of the peanut acreage in the region. At the end of the incubation, 43 (±42)% of the parent compound was recovered in soil extracts. The first-order kinetic model, which gave a good fit to the dissipation data (r2 = 0.857), yielded a soil half-life (t1/2) of 49 days. This is 6,12 times more rapid than t1/2 values described in unpublished tebuconazole registration documents. Four degradates were identified. Tentative structural assignments indicated that degradates were derived from hydroxylation of the parent compound and/or chlorophenyl ring cleavage. Cleavage products showed a steady increase during the incubation, and on a molar basis were equal to 63% of the time zero tebuconazole concentration. No significant effect on soil microbial biomass was observed, indicating that when the compound is applied at normal agronomic rate it does not impact soil metabolic activity. Use of the soil-half life data derived in this study should improve the accuracy of tebuconazole fate assessments for Coastal Plain peanut production. The study also indicated that environmental assessment of selected degradates may be needed to fully evaluate risks of tebuconazole use. Published in 2004 for SCI by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Epigenetic chromatin modifiers in barley: I. Cloning, mapping and expression analysis of the plant specific HD2 family of histone deacetylases from barley, during seed development and after hormonal treatmentPHYSIOLOGIA PLANTARUM, Issue 3 2009Kyproula Demetriou Epigenetic phenomena have been associated with modifications of chromatin structure. These are achieved, in part, by histone post-translational modifications including acetylations and deacetylations, the later being catalyzed by histone deacetylaces (HDACs). Eukaryotic HDACs are grouped into three major families, RPD3/HDA1, SIR2 and the plant-specific HD2. HDAC genes have been analyzed from model plants such as Arabidopsis, rice and maize and have been shown to be involved in various cellular processes including seed development, vegetative and reproductive growth and responses to abiotic and biotic stress, but reports on HDACs from other crops are limited. In this work two full-length cDNAs (HvHDAC2-1 and HvHDAC2-2) encoding two members of the plant-specific HD2 family, respectively, were isolated and characterized from barley (Hordeum vulgare), an agronomically important cereal crop. HvHDAC2-1 and HvHDAC2-2 were mapped on barley chromosomes 1H and 3H, respectively, which could prove useful in developing markers for marker-assisted selection in breeding programs. Expression analysis of the barley HD2 genes demonstrated that they are expressed in all tissues and seed developmental stages examined. Significant differences were observed among tissues and seed stages, and between cultivars with varying seed size, suggesting an association of these genes with seed development. Furthermore, the HD2 genes from barley were found to respond to treatments with plant stress-related hormones such as jasmonic acid (JA), abscisic acid (ABA) and salicylic acid (SA) implying an association of these genes with plant resistance to biotic and abiotic stress. The expression pattern of HD2 genes suggests a possible role for these genes in the epigenetic regulation of seed development and stress response. [source] Role of 2,4-Diacetylphloroglucinol-Producing Fluorescent Pseudomonas spp. in the Defense of Plant RootsPLANT BIOLOGY, Issue 1 2007D. M. Weller Abstract: Plants have evolved strategies of stimulating and supporting specific groups of antagonistic microorganisms in the rhizosphere as a defense against diseases caused by soilborne plant pathogens owing to a lack of genetic resistance to some of the most common and widespread soilborne pathogens. Some of the best examples of natural microbial defense of plant roots occur in disease suppressive soils. Soil suppressiveness against many different diseases has been described. Take-all is an important root disease of wheat, and soils become suppressive to take-all when wheat or barley is grown continuously in a field following a disease outbreak; this phenomenon is known as take-all decline (TAD). In Washington State, USA and The Netherlands, TAD results from the enrichment during monoculture of populations of 2,4-diacetylphloroglucinol (2,4-DAPG)-producing Pseudomonas fluorescens to a density of 105 CFU/g of root, the threshold required to suppress the take-all pathogen, Gaeumannomyces graminis var. tritici. 2,4-DAPG-producing P. fluorescens also are enriched by monoculture of other crops such as pea and flax, and evidence is accumulating that 2,4-DAPG producers contribute to the defense of plant roots in many different agroecosystems. At this time, 22 distinct genotypes of 2,4-DAPG producers (designated A - T, PfY and PfZ) have been defined by whole-cell repetitive sequence-based (rep)-PCR analysis, restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis of phlD, and phylogenetic analysis of phlD, but the number of genotypes is expected to increase. The genotype of an isolate is predictive of its rhizosphere competence on wheat and pea. Multiple genotypes often occur in a single soil and the crop species grown modulates the outcome of the competition among these genotypes in the rhizosphere. 2,4-DAPG producers are highly effective biocontrol agents against a variety of plant diseases and ideally suited for serving as vectors for expressing other biocontrol traits in the rhizosphere. [source] Sympatric ascochyta complex of wild Cicer judaicum and domesticated chickpeaPLANT PATHOLOGY, Issue 3 2007O. Frenkel The aim of this study was to isolate, identify and characterize ascochyta blight pathogens from Cicer judaicum, a wild annual Cicer species which grows in Israel and other Mediterranean countries in sympatric distribution with legume crops, and determine their virulence and aggressiveness to other wild and domesticated legumes. Native C. judaicum plants exhibited symptoms resembling ascochyta diseases of grain legume crops. Two distinct pathogens were isolated and identified as Phoma pinodella and Didymella rabiei using morphological and molecular tools; their infectivity was verified using Koch's postulates. The virulence of these pathogens was examined on 13 legume species, of which P. pinodella was virulent to Pisum sativum, P. fulvum, C. judaicum, C. arietinum, C. reticulatum, C. pinnatifidum and C. bijugum. Didymella rabiei infected all these Cicer species, but not the other legume species tested. Aggressiveness of the pathogens was tested on wild and domesticated chickpea and pea. Didymella rabiei isolated from C. judaicum had significantly higher (P < 0·001) aggressiveness than P. pinodella from C. judaicum on both wild and domesticated chickpea. Disease severity on the former species ranged from 62·5% to 70% and on the latter from 41% to 56%. Phoma pinodella isolates from C. judaicum were more aggressive on C. arietinum and P. sativum than on C. judaicum and P. fulvum. Results of the current study suggest that C. judaicum may serve as an alternative host to ascochyta pathogens that endanger chickpea and possibly other crops and wild species growing in close proximity. [source] Key tree species for the golden-headed lion tamarin and implications for shade-cocoa management in southern Bahia, BrazilANIMAL CONSERVATION, Issue 1 2010L. C. Oliveira Abstract The golden-headed lion tamarin Leontopithecus chrysomelas occurs in the Atlantic forest of southern Bahia, Brazil, where shade-cocoa agroforestry (known as cabruca) predominates. The economic decline of the cocoa industry has caused many landowners to convert cabruca into cattle pasture or diversify their plantations with other crops. These and prior anthropogenic disturbances such as habitat fragmentation are threatening lion tamarin persistence. For some lion tamarin groups, cabruca comprises a large part of their home range. Considering these factors, the maintenance of the biological diversity in cabruca favorable to golden-headed lion tamarins is of considerable interest to their long-term survival. Here we identify plant species that provide food and sleeping sites for the lion tamarins and examine their occurrence in cabruca plantations, in order to investigate alternatives for conservation management practices that benefit both lion tamarins and cabruca. We determined the total number of trees and the frequency of individuals and species used for food and sleeping sites by lion tamarins in Una Biological Reserve, Bahia, from 1998 to 2006. We used this information to compare the richness and frequency of use across habitats (cabruca, mature and secondary) and to create a ranking index considering various components of a tree species' utility to the lion tamarins. Lion tamarins used 155 tree species, 93 for food and 93 for sleeping sites. Fifty-five species were ranked as ,Extremely Valuable,' eight as ,Valuable' and 92 as ,Of Interest.' Of 48 families, Myrtaceae and Sapotaceae were used the most. Cabruca contained fewer individual trees used by lion tamarins, but the highest frequency of use per tree compared with other habitats, indicating the large influence of single trees in these plantations. Using the key tree species identified in our study in the management of cabruca would be of considerable benefit to the long-term survival of lion tamarins [source] The potential for first-generation ethanol production from sugarcaneBIOFUELS, BIOPRODUCTS AND BIOREFINING, Issue 1 2010José Goldemberg Abstract Ethanol production from sugarcane, mainly in Brazil, on the basis of first-generation technology (22.5 billion liters, in 2007/2008 season, in 3.4 million hectares) replaces 1% of the gasoline used in the world today and is highly competitive in economic terms with ethanol produced from other crops in the USA and Europe. In this paper we discuss the potential for sugarcane ethanol expansion from two angles: (1) productivity gains which would allow greater production in the same area and (2) geographical expansion to larger areas. The potential of first-generation technology for the production of ethanol from sugarcane is far from being exhausted. There are gains in productivity of approximately a factor of two from genetically modified varieties and a geographical expansion by a factor of ten of the present level of production in many sugar-producing countries. The replacement of 10% of the gasoline used in the world by ethanol from sugarcane seems possible before second-generation technology reaches technological maturity and possibly economic competitiveness. Copyright © 2009 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd [source] | |||||||||||||