In this study several free-living diazotrophs (FLD) were isolated and screened for their nitrogen fixing ability on a range of crops grown in greenhouse, hydroponics and field trials. Rhizosphere isolates of free-living diazotrophs (FLD) may be effective biofertilizer inoculants, and may improve plant health where crops are grown with little or no fertilizer, as is the case in the Developing World. FLD isolates from rhizospheric soils in KwaZulu-Natal were assessed by growing them on N-free media, which is a key isolation method. They were then evaluated for their nitrogenase activity by quantifying ethylene production from acetylene by gas chromatography (GC). The free living isolates that produced greater quantities of ethylene were detected by an acetylene reduction assay (ARA). These were further assessed for colony formation on N-free media with different carbon sources, and at a range of temperatures (20, 25 and 300C) and pH values (6.0, 7.0 and 8.0). Isolates G3 and L1 were identified using DNA sequencing by Inqaba Biotechnical Industries (Pty) Ltd as Burkholderia ambifaria Coenye et al, and Bacillus cereus Frankland, respectively. These isolates grew significantly better on an ethanol medium, at temperatures of 20, 25 and 300C and pHs of 6.0, 7.0 and 8.0. Isolates B3 (Burkholderia sp.) and D6 (Bacillus cereus Frankland) also grew well on an ethanol medium, but only at 200C and at a pH of 6.0 and 7.0, respectively, while Isolate E9 (Burkholderia cepacia Frankland) grew well on an ethanol medium only at 300C, and pH 6.0 and 7.0. Temperature and pH strongly influence FLD growth on N-free media using different carbon sources. Further trials were conducted to screen the best isolates under greenhouse condition, using both seed treatments and drenching application techniques onto several crops. The drenching application resulted in an increase in the growth and N-total of all the evaluated crops, relative to an unfertilized control. Growth and N-total of maize and sorghum increased with seed treatments, but did not increase the growth of lettuce and zucchini. Drenching of FLD isolates at 106cfu ml-1, applied on weekly basis, resulted in an increase in the growth of lettuce. Increased doses and frequency of application of the FLD bacteria resulted in a decrease in lettuce growth. This led to the conclusion that application of FLD bacteria at high doses and short intervals may create a situation where the applied FLD bacteria and the resident rhizosphere microbes compete for root exudates. High doses at low frequencies and low doses at high frequencies may be more effective on lettuce. Inoculation of Isolate L1 (B. cereus) at 106cfu ml-1 or in combination with Eco-T® (Trichoderma harzianum Rifai), significantly increased growth of lettuce. This result may have been due to nitrogen fixation, or to secretion of growth promoting substances by both the FLD and T. harzianum, and to biocontrol effects of Eco-T®. Application of Isolate L1 (B. cereus) at 106cfu ml-1 with or without Eco-T® was an effective tool for enhancing plant growth and nitrogen fixation. An FLD, Isolate L1 (B. cereus), was applied to lettuce plants together with a complete hydroponics fertilizer at 25% strength (Ocean Agriculture 3:1:3 (38) Complete), with the N level at 25mg l-1. These plants grew significantly better than the control plants grown on 25% of normal NPK fertilization, or with an inoculation of L1 alone. This indicates that it may be possible to integrate FLD applications with the application of low levels of commercial fertilizers, which is what resource poor farmers can afford. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2008.

Marketing cooperatives play an important role in agricultural activities. Institutional support for cooperatives is based on the idea that, collectively, farmers can achieve benefits than, individually would be difficult to obtain. Head lettuce in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia is marketed and distributed by a central selling agency which is organized as a producer cooperative. Members of the cooperative are subject to regulations, in the form of market quota allocations which control the quantity of head lettuce they can sell through their cooperative. This study describes and analyses the market structure of the head lettuce industry in British Columbia to ascertain and quantify the source of benefits to producers from cooperative marketing within a regulated marketing environment. A model of the industry is constructed to characterize the market for head lettuce in B.C. The parameters which affect consumer demand and farm supply are estimated with econometric equations. A feature of supply is that current production decisions are influenced by the producer's market quota allocation which, in turn, is determined by the producer’s past sales. The market quotas are believed to have constrained supply response and this is borne out by the empirical results which indicates a highly inelastic supply curve. The demand for head lettuce is also estimated to be inelastic. This result is not surprising since head lettuce is regarded as a basic commodity by consumers. The estimated supply and demand elasticities are used to derive linear supply and demand curves at the cooperative and wholesale levels. These are used with the observed 1990 price and quantity levels to calibrate a model of the B.C. head lettuce industry. A counterfactual model is then formulated to simulate a market with no controls on output. Given an inelastic wholesale demand, the simulation results indicate that for very small increases in cooperative output, large decreases in price occur. Consequently total revenues decline at every alternative assumption of supply increase. This result supports the hypothesis that output restrictions by the cooperative have the potential to increase members' output prices. It is concluded that while the market quotas have in the past provided positive benefits to cooperative members, the quotas may now be hindering the process of adjustment to the loss of tariff protection and changing market conditions by making producers less price responsive.

Inter-row mechanical cultivation was proposed as a supplement to or substitute for conventional weed control methods currently used in snap bean, carrot and lettuce production. Several types of cultivators were assessed and compared. The effect of mechanical cultivation on crop yield and quality was studied by counting, weighing and grading bean pods, carrot roots and lettuce heads. The effect of mechanical cultivation on disease incidence was studied by surveying fields during the season and by determining the number and weight of diseased pods, roots and heads at harvest. The relationship between the level of Cercospora blight on carrots and potential impacts on yield was also investigated by measuring plant characteristics and the amount of force needed to separate carrot foliage from root. The effect of mechanical cultivation on the phenology of snap bean flowering was studied by determining how long it took for a plant to produce 50% of its flowers and counting how many flowers and pods a plant produced. In general, mechanical cultivation did not affect normal crop production and may be used to replace or complement conventional weed control methods. There was little variation among different cultivators within one season, but cultivator effects differed among crops and from one year to the next.

The work in this thesis demonstrates whether resins are better than conventional soil extractants at predicting plant metal concentrations, and whether low-cost soil treatments can effectively reduce metal content and concentrations in lettuce leaves. / Researchers have shown that ion exchange resins can simulate root metal uptake behaviour by acting as ion sinks. Chemical extractants on the other hand, generally do not behave in this manner. Thus, we would expect resins (in either bead or membrane form) to predict plant metal concentrations better than conventional extractants. For the first study, a procedure using anion exchange resin membranes (AEM) treated with either EDTA or DTPA chelators was chosen, since previous studies showed this method to be effective at predicting plant metal uptake, and practical for routine laboratory use. In addition, several conventional extractants were selected for comparison. / For the second part of the thesis, a study was undertaken to test the effectiveness of various food processing byproducts to stabilize metal contaminants in soils, and compare the results with those of a Na-based aluminosilicate (zeolite). (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

Nitrogen (N) fertilization is known to influence the susceptibility of many plants to a variety of diseases. In the case of diseases caused by Botrytis cinerea, the role of N fertilization appears to be variable, with high levels either fostering or reducing severity depending on the studies. To test whether this variability could be due to possible differences in the host plants, inoculum pressure or in the behavior of different strains of the pathogen, studies were carried out to investigate the effect of different N fertilization regimes on the susceptibility of tomato and lettuce to six isolates of B. cinerea. Possible epidemiological effects of N fertilization through the sporulation of the pathogen and on the pathogenicity of resulting secondary inoculum were also investigated on tomato. Plants were grown in a soil-less drip-irrigation system. Differential N nutrition ranging from 0.5 to 30 mM NO3- was applied for the last four weeks prior to inoculation on the leaves (lettuce) or on leaf pruning wounds (tomato) and incubation of the plants in conditions conducive to disease development. On the tomato stems, disease onset was delayed and overall severity was lower for all isolates on plants with higher N inputs, regardless of inoculum concentration. However, the rate of stem lesion expansion was differentially affected depending on the strains, decreasing with increasing N fertilization levels for the more aggressive isolates, while increasing for the less aggressive isolates.In contrast with tomato, high N fertilization increased disease severity on lettuce for all isolates tested. On tomato plant tissue, sporulation of B. cinerea decreased significantly with increasing N fertilization up to 15-30 mM NO3- and the pathogenicity of the spores was significantly influenced by the nutritional status of their production substrate. It was highest for spores produced on plants with very low or very high N fertilization (0.5 or 30 mM NO3-) and lowest for those from plants with moderate levels of N fertilization. Plant fertilization also strongly affected the efficacy of two biocontrol agents (Trichoderma atroviride and Microdochium dimerum) to protect pruning wounds of tomato against B. cinerea. The highest levels of protection were obtained with high N fertilization and related to a delay in symptom development on the stems, sometimes associated with a slowdown in lesion expansion. Histological studies showed that the decrease in disease severity at high N fertilization was associated to structural alteration of Botrytis mycelial cells. In the presence of a biocontrol agent, the effect on the pathogen was further associated to vacuolisation, glycogen deposition and mycelial cell death. Hypotheses to explain these results are discussed in light of the possible physiological effects of nitrogen fertilization on nutrient availability for the pathogen in the host tissue and of possible production of defense metabolites by the plant. These results also open new possibilities for including the manipulation of N fertilization as a tool for the integrated protection of vegetable crops

Thesis (M.Sc. (Biochemistry, Microbiology & Biotechnology)) - Rhodes University, 2008.

Resumo: O Bidens mosaic virus (BiMV) é um Potyvirus relatado pela primeira vez no Brasil, no Estado de São Paulo, onde foram realizados estudos através de microscopia eletrônica por Kitajima et al.(1961). É um vírus que causa sintomas em espécies de importância econômica como o girassol, a alface e a ervilha, além de algumas plantas ornamentais. Atualmente, embora se conheça o seu mecanismo de transmissão, a sua sintomatologia, as suas propriedades biológicas e físico-químicas e o seu círculo de hospedeiras, pouco se sabe sobre a importância do BiMV para a cultura da alface e a possíveis fontes de resistência em Lactuca sativa. O presente trabalho teve como objetivos a coleta de isolados de BiMV de diferentes regiões produtoras de alface no Estado de São Paulo, sua caracterização biológica, identificação por meio de técnicas moleculares e triagem de materiais de alface para resistência. Isolados virais coletados em plantas de picão-preto de regiões produtoras do Estado de São Paulo foram submetidos a diferentes metodologias de identificação e caracterização. Testes biológicos em hospedeiros diferenciais permitiram a diferenciação dos isolados de outros vírus de importância para a cultura da alface e a caracterização biológica de alguns isolados como BiMV. Foram vistas partículas flexuosas alongadas ao microscópio eletrônico de transmissão, sugerindo a participação de um Potyvirus na manifestação dos sintomas. O seqüenciamento direto de produtos de PCR de um isolado mostrou identidade de 96% com a seqüência de um isolado de BiMV coletado de ervilha. Isolados monolesionais multiplicados de BiMV foram inoculados em 89 cultivares de alface 2 de diferentes grupos varietais. A maioria das cultivares se mostrou resistente ao BiMV, exceto no caso das nacionais do tipo repolhuda lisa, que foram todas suscetíveis... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo). / Abstract: Bidens mosaic virus (BiMV) belongs to the genus Potyvirus and was originally described in São Paulo, Brazil, under examinations by electron microscopy made on exudates obtained from infected plants by Kitajima et al.(1961). Some of the affected plants with economic importance are sunflower, lettuce, peas and bedding plants. Until now, transmission mechanisms, symptomatology on host plants, physical properties and host range had been reported, but few information are available about the importance of BiMV to commercial lettuce fields. At the present time there is no information on resistant cultivars in Lactuca sativa. The aims of this work was to collect isolates of BiMV from different commercial fields in São Paulo State; to determine their biological characterization and their identification by molecular methods and identify sources of resistance in lettuce by the screening of accessions for resistance. Virus isolates originated from different regions were submitted to various methods of detection and characterization. Tests on experimental host range provided data to differentiate one lettuce-infecting species to the others and the virus identification based upon symptom expression. Flexuous rods were observed in leaf extracts from infected plants, showing the presence of a Potyvirus as the causal agent of the symptoms. Direct nucleotide sequencing from amplified PCR products showed 96% of identity compared to an accession of BiMV at GenBank. Monolesional isolates of BiMV properly maintained and multiplied in propagational host were inoculated in 89 cultivars of lettuce of different horticultural types. The great number of them showed resistance to BiMV, except in the case 4 of the Brazilian butterhead types, all susceptible. At present, as the most important commercial lettuce cultivars exhibit high degrees of BiMV resistance, mainly in leafy and iceberg types, it is possible to affirm... (Complete abstract, click electronic address below) / Orientador: Norberto da Silva / Coorientador: Marcelo Agenor Pavan / Banca: Renate Krause Sakate / Banca: Alexandre de Moura Guimarães / Mestre

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:32:26Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2006-02-06Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T18:43:52Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 borges_lm_dr_botfca.pdf: 958343 bytes, checksum: 2ae20dca03a02b69b0046c575acb7680 (MD5) / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / O trabalho teve como objetivos avaliar diversas progenies de alface da geracao [(Brasil 303 x Tinto) Elisa] F5 RC1, previamente selecionadas para tolerancia a Lettuce mosaic virus - (LMV-II), Lettuce mottle virus (LeMoV) e Tospovirus e o efeito de diferentes praticas culturais no controle de fitovirus na cultura da alface, em duas epocas do ano (outono/inverno e primavera/verao). Os fatores avaliados foram: cobertura do solo (palha de arroz e sem cobertura), cultivo protegido (tunel coberto com filme PEBD aditivado antivirus de 150 æm e tunel coberto com tela anti-afideo) e 18 progenies, avaliando os seguintes aspectos agronomicos: area de projecao da copa, massa fresca da parte aerea da planta, produtividade, fechamento de cabeça, tempo de inicio do pendoamento e incidencia de fitoviroses. A avaliacao da incidencia de fitovirus na cultura foi realizada atraves de observacao visual dos sintomas, sendo que amostras de plantas que apresentavam sintomas foram coletadas e examinadas atraves de testes moleculares de diagnose especificos para LMV-II, LMV-IV, LeMoV e Tospovirus. Para algumas amostras sintomaticas negativas ainda foram realizados testes de RT-PCR para possivel deteccao de Cucumber mosaic virus. (CMV), testes de inoculacao mecanica em hospedeiras diferenciadoras e analises de microscopia eletronica. Quanto aos aspectos agronomicos das progenies, observou-se que o tratamento palha de arrozapresentou resultado superior aos demais tratamentos para as caracteristicas massa fresca e produtividade e igual desempenho ao tratamento solo nu para as caracteristicas fechamento de cabeça e tempo de inicio de pendoamento. Dentre as 2 progenies testadas, se destacaram as de numero 6 e 7 por apresentarem maior tolerancia a viroses e caracteristicas agronomicas equivalentes a cultivar comercial utilizada como controle. Na avaliacao visual de fitoviroses... / The research aimed to evaluate various progenies, obtained from the crossing of [(Brasil 303 x Tinto) Elisa] F5 RC1, previously selected for tolerance to Lettuce mosaic virus - (LMV-II), Lettuce mottle virus (LeMoV) and tospovirus and the effect of different phytovirus control practices in lettuce, in two periods of the year (autumn/winter and spring/summer). The factors evaluated were: soil covering (straw of rice and bare soil); protected development with a tunnel covered with an anti-virus PEBD treated film of 150 ìm and a tunnel covered with anti-aphid screen; and 18 progenies, evaluating the following agronomic aspects: area of top projection, fresh mass of the aerial part of the plant, productivity, closing of head and time at the beginning of tasselling and incidence of phytovirosis. The evaluation of phytovirus incidence in the crop was accomplished through visual observation of symptoms. Samples of plants showing symptoms were collected and taken to the laboratory for molecular tests to specifically detect LMV-II, LMV-IV, LeMoV and tospovirus. For some negative symptomatic samples, tests of RT-PCR were accomplished to detect possible infection by Cucumber mosaic virus- (CMV), and mechanical inoculation tests in differential plant, and electronic microscopic analysis. As for the agronomic aspects of the progenies, it was observed that the rice straw treatment presented better results than other the treatments for the fresh mass and productivity parameters, and equal performance on the bare soil treatment for the parameters closing of head and time at the beginning of tasseling. Among the tested progenies, number 6 and 7 were distinguished for presenting better tolerance to phytovirosis and agronomic characteristics equivalent to the commercial cultivar used as control. In the visual evaluation of phytovirosis, it was verified that 3,65%...

Orientador: Dagoberto Martins / Banca: Robinson Antonio Pitelli / Banca: Gerson Augusto Gelmini / Banca: Mario Sergio Tomazela / Banca: Marcus Barifouse Matallo / Resumo: Este trabalho teve como objetivo avaliar a quantidade de calda de pulverização depositada na água e em folhas de Eichhornia crassipes (Mart.) Solms, Salvinia auriculata Aubl e Pistia stratiotes L. em condições variáveis de arranjos populacionais e dois tipos de pontas de pulverização (ConeJet TXVK-8 e TeeJet DG 11002 VS). Para tanto, foi conduzido um experimento em caixas d’água composto por três Situações distintas. Na Situação Aguapé, além da proporção de dominância total correspondente à cobertura de 100% da caixa d’água pelas plantas de aguapé, foram utilizados os arranjos (ou proporções) com as espécies de salvinia ou alface d’água a 75%:25%, 50%:50%, 25%:75%. Adotou-se as mesmas proporções na Situação Salvínia e na Situação Alface d’água, sendo que cada Situação foi determinada pela predominância total de salvínia ou alface d’água, respectivamente, na caixa d’água. Uma densidade tripla, onde as três espécies foram igualmente dispostas na proporção de 33,33%, foi utilizada como testemunha. Soluções dos corantes Amarelo Tartrasina FDC-5 a 3.500 ppm e Azul Brilhante FDC-1 a 1.000 ppm foram utilizados como traçadores para as pontas TXVK-8 e DG 11002VS, respectivamente. A pulverização de ambas soluções foram efetuadas na mesma unidade experimental, com um intervalo de 30 minutos entre si, através de um pulverizador costal pressurizado com CO2 e calibrado de modo a proporcionar um volume de aplicação aproximado de 200 L/ha. Amostras de água dos reservatórios foram coletadas antes e após as aplicações com o objetivo de avaliar a quantidade de calda de pulverização que não atingiu o alvo. Imediatamente após a coleta da 2 água, as plantas presentes nos reservatórios foram lavadas com água destilada até remoção total dos corantes depositados nas folhas. Placas de plástico contendo... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: The present research had as objective to quantify the spray deposition on water and leaves of water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes (Mart.) Solms), water fern (Salvinia auriculata Aubl.) and water lettuce (Pistia stratiotes L.) according to various population arrangements and two nozzle type (ConeJet TXVK-8 and TeeJet 11002VS). The trial was carried out under reservoirs conditions using three different Situations. At Water hyacinth Situation, besides the total dominancy proportion equivalent to 100% of reservoir covering by water hyacinth plants, it was used three others combinations involving water hyacinth and water fern or water lettuce plants, as following: 75%:25%, 50%:50% and 25%:75%. The same combinations were also used at Water Fern Situation and Water Lettuce Situation, being each Situation determined by total dominancy of water fern or water lettuce in the 4 reservoirs, respectively. A triple ratio, where the three species were equally disposed at proportion of 33,33%, was used as check. Dye solutions of FD&C Yellow n. 5 at 3,500 ppm and FD&C Blue n. 1 at 1,000 ppm were used as spraying tracers for TXVK-8 and DG 11002 VS nozzles, respectively. Both solutions were sprayed at same plot within at 30 minutes interval each one through a CO2 pressured backpack knapsack calibrated to delivery a spray volume around 200 L/ha. Samples of reservoirs water were taken before and after sprays in order to evaluate the carrier quantity that not reaches the target. After that, the plants present at reservoirs were washed with distillated water until totally dyes removal deposited on the leaves. Plastic dishes containing 20 mL of distillated water were disposed in each experimental plot in order to check the spray efficacy and possible drift losses. Absorbance measures at 427 and 630 nm of wavelength were procedures... (Complete abstract, click electronic access below) / Doutor

Orientador: João Carlos Cury Saad / Banca: Hélio Grassi Filho / Banca: Sergio Nascimento Duarte / Resumo: A crescente expansão demográfica, o aumento da demanda por água potável, a elevação dos índices de poluição, o manejo inadequado de solos e florestas, e a contaminação de rios e lençóis freáticos têm causado sérios problemas ambientais, indisponibilizando grande porcentagem da água doce existente para utilização direta. Estima-se que apenas metade da população da América Latina seja beneficiada com redes de coleta de esgoto e que 90% deste volume coletado esteja sendo despejado em algum corpo de água superficial sem tratamento prévio. Como alternativa para este problema, grande quantidade de águas residuárias tem sido utilizada na agricultura, tornando imprescindível o desenvolvimento de novas tecnologias e métodos de aplicação segura destes efluentes na irrigação de produtos para consumo humano. Visando a necessidade de desenvolver técnicas seguras de aplicação de águas residuárias na agricultura, buscou-se no presente trabalho comparar parâmetros de produção, qualidade microbiológica e acúmulo de nitrato na cultura da alface americana, submetida à irrigação com água potável e com efluente de tratamento de esgoto doméstico, nos sistemas de irrigação por gotejo (superficial e enterrado), sulcos e microaspersão. A alface foi cultivada a campo, na Fazenda Experimental Lageado, da Faculdade de Ciências Agronômicas, localizada no município de Botucatu. As irrigações foram realizadas a cada 48 horas, durante os últimos trinta dias da cultura, repondo a lâmina evapotranspirada neste período. Verificou-se neste trabalho que os maiores valores de produção foram obtidos na irrigação por gotejo superficial, com águas residuárias. Quando comparada a influência do tipo de água utilizada em cada sistema, os valores de produção obtidos também foram maiores para a irrigação com águas residuárias no gotejo superficial, gotejo enterrado... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo). / Abstract: The demographic expansion, the demand increase by potable water, the increase on pollution rates, the unsuitable soil and forests management, and the contamination of rivers and subsurface water have caused serious environment problems, and it became unavailable a high percentage of water for direct use. Only 49% of Latin American population has a sewer net; from this number, it was estimated that 90% hasn't been treated before being thrown away in a surface water source, causing more problems. A high quantity of wastewater has been used in agriculture as an alternative to this problem, what attracts the attention to the need of more researches about the development of a new technology and secure methods to apply effluents on irrigated crops to human consume. Counting on the possibility of develop secure techniques to apply wastewater in agriculture, this work had the aim of comparing American lettuce production, microbiological quality and nitrate level, using irrigation with potable water and domestic sewer treatment effluent, under drip (surface and subsurface), furrow and sprinklers irrigation systems. Lettuce was planted in a field, on Lageado Experimental Farm, Agronomical Sciences College, São Paulo State University, in Botucatu / SP, Brazil. The irrigations were carried out each 48 hours, during the last thirty days of the crop, adding the water rates lost in this period. It was verified in this work that higher production values were obtained with wastewater applied with surface drip irrigation. When comparing the influence of the kind of water used in each system, the production values also were higher on wastewater irrigation with drip irrigation (surface and subsurface) and furrows. On microbiological quality, only the lettuce irrigated by subsurface drip irrigation and furrows showed safe contamination values to fecal coliform and Salmonella, according to... (Complete abstract, click electronic address below). / Mestre