Thesis (M. Sc. (Botany)) -- University of Limpopo, 2015 / The aim of this study was to investigate the chemical composition of indigenous watermelon landraces (Citrullus lanatus) seeds grown in two districts in the Limpopo Province. Watermelon seeds are the most undermined oilseeds. The seeds have nutritional values that compare favourably with those of soybean, sunflower and ground nuts. Many cucurbit seeds such as watermelon seeds are rich in protein and oil, although none of these products have been used on an industrial scale. Nine indigenous watermelon landraces seeds (four from the Sekhukhune district and five from the Capricorn district) were examined. The landrace 06CDGM was found to have the highest mass per one hundred seeds (10.95 g per 100 seeds) with 07CDGM having the lowest mass (8.05 g per 100 seeds). The landrace 10CDGM was found to have the highest oil (41.5%), protein (20.39%) and fibre content (23.98%) with 01SDPW having the lowest oil yield (30.00%), 02SDPW was found to have the highest saponification value (184.57 mg KOH/g oil) and 09CDGM had the highest iodine value (138.575 g I2/100 g oil). The landrace 01SDPW had the highest total sugar content. All landraces were found to have the essential amino acid leucine. Antioxidant activity (66.95%) and total flavonoids (0.295 mg/g as catechin equivalents) were found to be highest in the 09CDGM landrace, and total phenolic content (0.91 mg/g gallic acid equivalent) was found to be highest in 05SDPW. The landrace 06CDGM was found to have the highest copper content (0.088 mg/g); 02SDPW was found to have the highest iron content (0.194 mg/g); 10CDGM had the highest zinc (0.312 mg/g) and sulphate content (0.129 mg/g); while both 10CDGM and 03SDPW had the highest content of calcium (9.13 mg/g). The landraces were found to differ slightly in the content and quality of components tested. Each of the landraces was found to have some qualities that render them superior to the other landraces. The qualities and content of the landraces compare favourably with those of commercial oil seeds such as the sunflower and soybean. Overall, the landraces from the Capricorn district were observed to have superior qualities than those from the Sekhukhune district. The findings indicated that the landraces from Capricorn district had more mean oil, mean protein, crude fibre content, total phenolics and total flavonoid content than those from the Sekhukhune district. The landraces from Sekhukhune district had high carbohydrate, ash content and high content of the minerals iron and calcium. The landrace 10CDGM was found to have overall high vi values with regard to most analyses, thus making the landrace superior to the others. The results indicate that landraces from both districts have complementary qualities to each other; however the landraces from the Capricorn are more superior in most aspects. The watermelon seeds have the potential to be used as a cost-effective and easily accessible source of nutrients and oil to meet nutritional challenges in developing countries. KEY CONCEPTS Citrullus lanatus; Landrace; Sekhukhune district; Capricorn district; Indigenous watermelon; Oil seeds; Essential amino acids; Antioxidant activity; Total phenolics; Total flavonoids; Mineral content; Total sugars; Crude fibre; Oil content; Saponification value; Iodine value.

Les interactions entre les végétaux et les organismes telluriques sont déterminantes pour la décomposition des matières organiques et la nutrition minérale des plantes. L’objectif général de la thèse était de comprendre comment les interactions multi-trophiques dans la rhizosphere agissent sur la disponibilité en azote minéral et l’allocation en carbone dans la plante. Nous avons mis au point des dispositifs de culture de plante, permettant de contrôler l’environnement biotique des racines (inoculation par des espèces symbiotiques modèles : un protozoaire bactériophage et/ou une espèce mycorhizienne à arbuscules). Nous avons utilisé l’azote 15N et le carbone 13C pour tracer le cheminement de l’azote du sol vers la plante et le carbone assimilé par photosynthèse, de la plante vers le sol et les microorganismes du sol. L’allocation de C vers les racines et la rhizosphère est dépendante de la qualité de la litière foliaire enfouie. La structure de la communauté microbienne déterminée par l’analyse des profils d’acides gras (PLFA) est modifiée par la présence de protozoaires pour la litière à C/N élevé. Les mycorhizes à arbuscules et les protozoaires présentent une complémentarité pour l’acquisition du C et de N par la plante. Les protozoaires remobilisent l’azote de la biomasse microbienne par leur activité de prédation. Les hyphes fongiques transportent du C récent issu de la plante vers des sites riches en matière organique non accessibles aux racines. Ainsi, l’activité de la communauté microbienne est stimulée et la disponibilité en N augmentée lorsque des protozoaires sont présents. Les perspectives de ce travail sont de déterminer si (i) les interactions étudiées dans ce dispositif modèle peuvent être généralisées à d’autres interactions impliquant d’autres espèces de champignons mycorhiziens et de protozoaires (ii) la phénologie de la plante et la composition des communautés végétales influence la nature et l’intensité des réponses obtenues / Plants interact with multiple root symbionts for fostering uptake of growth-limiting nutrients. In turn, plants allocate a variety of organic resources in form of energy-rich rhizodeposits into the rhizosphere, stimulating activity, growth and modifying diversity of microorganisms. The aim of my study was to understand how multitrophic rhizosphere interactions feed back to plant N nutrition, assimilate partitioning and growth. Multitrophic interactions were assessed in a single-plant microcosm approach, with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (Glomus intraradices) and bacterial feeding protozoa (Acanthamoeba castellanii) as model root symbionts. Stable isotopes enabled tracing C (13C) and N (15N) allocation in the plant and into the rhizosphere. Plant species identity is a major factor affecting plant-protozoa interactions in terms of N uptake and roots and shoot morphology. Plants adjusted C allocation to roots and into the rhizosphere depending on litter quality and the presence of bacterial grazers for increasing plant growth. The effect of protozoa on the structure of microbial community supplied with both, plant C and litter N, varied with litter quality added to soil. AM-fungi and protozoa interact to complement each other for plant benefit in C and N acquisition. Protozoa re-mobilized N from fast growing rhizobacteria and by enhancing microbial activity. Hyphae of AM fungi acted as pipe system, translocating plant derived C and protozoan remobilized N from source to sink regions. Major perspectives of this work will be to investigate whether (i) multitrophic interactions in our model system can be generalized to other protozoa-mycorrhiza-plant interactions (ii) these interactions are depending on plant phenology and plant community composition

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El ascomiceto Monosporascus cannonballus Pollack et Uecker es uno de los principales hongos asociados al síndrome del "colapso", que afecta al cultivo de cucurbitáceas en España y otros países. Las ascosporas son el inóculo principal del hongo, quedando en el suelo tras la descomposición de las raíces afectadas, pudiendo ser extraídas del suelo mediante un proceso físico, que permite su cuantificación a lo largo del tiempo. Basándose en esta técnica, se han realizado varios estudios epidemiológicos que han permitido obtener resultados innovadores. Se ha estudiado la dinámica poblacional de las ascosporas de M. cannonballus en suelos con diferentes condiciones hídricas y de cultivo. En campos con cultivo de melón, se ha observado que el nivel de ascosporas alcanza un máximo siete meses después de la plantación (3-4 meses después del final del cultivo), para ir disminuyendo después progresivamente, hasta llegar a niveles similares a los iniciales a los doce meses de la plantación. En campos con encharcamiento invernal, se ha observado un descenso progresivo del nivel de ascosporas, constatando que éstas pueden sobrevivir en suelo al menos por un periodo de tres años, sin haber perdido su infectividad. M. cannonballus ha sido considerado como un hongo termófilo, típico de zonas desérticas y semiáridas; en este estudio se ha demostrado que es capaz de sobrevivir en zonas templadas y en condiciones de encharcamiento. Se ha realizado un estudio de cuantificación de ascosporas en suelo de campos de melón de varias zonas productoras de la Comunidad Valenciana, detectándose ascosporas de M. cannonballus en todos ellos. En el momento de aparición de síntomas de "colapso", se han observado diferencias significativas entre los campos y entre las zonas síntomáticas y asintomáticas, a favor de unas u otras, según los campos. Al comparar los niveles iniciales de ascosporas en suelo con los obtenidos dos o tres meses tras el final del cultivo, se han visto situaciones contradictori / Beltrán Martínez, R. (2006). Estudios epidemiológicos y de patogenicidad de Monosporascus cannonballus Pollack et Uecker [Tesis doctoral]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/1865