Identification of 1-methyloctyl butanoate as the major sex pheromone component from females of the saddle gall midge, Haplodiplosis marginata (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae)

The saddle gall midge, Haplodiplosis marginata (von Roser) (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae), has undergone a resurgence recently as a pest of cereals in Belgium and other European countries. An effective monitoring tool of saddle gall midge flights is needed to understand the enigmatic population dynamics of this pest, and to design an integrated management strategy. Therefore, volatile compounds emitted by females (alkan-2-ols and alk-2-yl butanoates) were identified, and the chirality of the emitted esters was determined to be the R absolute configuration. In field-trapping experiments, racemic non-2-yl butanoate attracted substantial numbers of H.marginata males. Thus, this compound will be useful in baited traps for monitoring seasonal flight patterns, and improving integrated management of the saddle gall midge in agricultural systems.

Efficacy and total release interval of mating disruption pheromone on the control of pink bollworm - Pectinophora Gossypiella - in cotton under field conditions in Brazil

This experiment was developed in order to evaluation the efficiency of pheromone to control the pink bollworm and the total time of its release in cotton field. The experiment was installed in field conditions, in Chapadao do Sul/SP/Brazil, from January to April, 1998. The treatments consisted of 2 areas, being one of 30ha, where it was applied the pheromone and another of 10ha that was chosen as control area and did not receive pheromone. In the treated area, the laboratory synthesized sex pheromone (PB-Rope) was used thought of dispensers that allowed the slow and gradual release of the active substance. A total of 250 dispenser per hectare were evenly hand distributed in the area. The dispensers were wrapped around the plants. Both areas (treated area and untreated area) were monitored by delta trap. For evaluation of the boll damage, the treatment area was divided into 4 sub-areas. Twenty five green bolls were collected at random from each sub-area at 48 and 65 days after pheromone treatment. Bolls were cracked open by hand, and number of the bolls with symptoms of pink bollworm attacks was recorded. For evaluation of the productivity four areas were demarcated in each treatment, where all fibers and seeds harvested were weighted. Release rate of pheromone from dispenser was evaluated through of the weigh of the dispensers. Were marked and weighed in analytic scale, 20 dispensers contend the pheromone, being placed 10 dispensers under the cotton plants in treated area and other 10 dispensers in an open area. To every 15 days the dispensers were retired and weighed in analytic scale and soon after put back in the field in the same places. The results showed that only one application of mating disrupt pheromone, used in a dosage of 250 dispenser/ha, reached 80% of control for pink bollworm. the release period of pheromone from dispenser, after the application, was 120 days.

Recoupled separated-local-field experiments and applications to study intermediate-regime molecular motions

A specific separated-local-field NMR experiment, dubbed Dipolar-Chemical-Shift Correlation (DIPSHIFT) is frequently used to study molecular motions by probing reorientations through the changes in XH dipolar coupling and T-2. In systems where the coupling is weak or the reorientation angle is small, a recoupled variant of the DIPSHIFT experiment is applied, where the effective dipolar coupling is amplified by a REDOR-like pi-pulse train. However, a previously described constant-time variant of this experiment is not sensitive to the motion-induced T-2 effect, which precludes the observation of motions over a large range of rates ranging from hundreds of Hz to around a MHz. We present a DIPSHIFT implementation which amplifies the dipolar couplings and is still sensitive to T-2 effects. Spin dynamics simulations, analytical calculations and experiments demonstrate the sensitivity of the technique to molecular motions, and suggest the best experimental conditions to avoid imperfections. Furthermore, an in-depth theoretical analysis of the interplay of REDOR-like recoupling and proton decoupling based on Average-Hamiltonian Theory was performed, which allowed explaining the origin of many artifacts found in literature data. (C) 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Entwicklung der zeitaufgelösten Photoemissions-Elektronenmikroskopie für die Untersuchung der Magnetisierungsdynamik von mikrostrukturierten magnetischen Schichten

Im Rahmen dieser Arbeit wurde die zeitaufgelöste Photoemissions Elektronenmikroskopie (TR-PEEM) für die in-situ Untersuchung ultraschneller dynamischer Prozesse in dünnen mikrostrukturierten magnetischen Schichten während eines rasch verändernden externen Magnetfelds entwickelt. Das Experiment basiert auf der Nutzung des XMCD-Kontrasts (X-ray magnetic circular dichroism) mit Hilfe des zirkularpolarisierten Lichts von Synchrotronstrahlungsquellen (Elektronenspeicherringen BESSY II (Berlin) und ESRF (Grenoble)) für die dynamische Darstellung der magnetischen Domänen während ultraschneller Magnetisierungsvorgänge. Die hier entwickelte Methode wurde als erfolgreiche Kombination aus einer hohen Orts- und Zeitauflösung (weniger als 55 nm bzw. 15 ps) realisiert. Mit der hier beschriebenen Methode konnte nachgewiesen werden, dass die Magnetisierungsdynamik in großen Permalloy-Mikrostrukturen (40 µm x 80 µm und 20 µm x 80 µm, 40 nm dick) durch inkohärente Drehung der Magnetisierung und mit der Bildung von zeitlich abhängigen Übergangsdomänen einher geht, die den Ummagnetisierungsvorgang blockieren. Es wurden neue markante Differenzen zwischen der magnetischen Response einer vorgegebenen Dünnfilm-Mikrostruktur auf ein gepulstes externes Magnetfeld im Vergleich zu dem quasi-statischen Fall gefunden. Dies betrifft die Erscheinung von transienten raumzeitlichen Domänenmustern und besonderen Detailstrukturen in diesen Mustern, welche im quasi-statischen Fall nicht auftreten. Es wurden Beispiele solcher Domänenmuster in Permalloy-Mikrostrukturen verschiedener Formen und Größen untersucht und diskutiert. Insbesondere wurde die schnelle Verbreiterung von Domänenwänden infolge des präzessionalen Magnetisierungsvorgangs, die Ausbildung von transienten Domänenwänden und transienten Vortizes sowie die Erscheinung einer gestreiften Domänenphase aufgrund der inkohärenten Drehung der Magnetisierung diskutiert. Ferner wurde die Methode für die Untersuchung von stehenden Spinwellen auf ultradünnen (16 µm x 32 µm groß und 10 nm dick) Permalloy-Mikrostrukturen herangezogen. In einer zum periodischen Anregungsfeld senkrecht orientierten rechteckigen Mikrostruktur wurde ein induziertes magnetisches Moment gefunden. Dieses Phänomen wurde als „selbstfangende“ Spinwellenmode interpretiert. Es wurde gezeigt, dass sich eine erzwungene Normalmode durch Verschiebung einer 180°-Néelwand stabilisiert. Wird das System knapp unterhalb seiner Resonanzfrequenz angeregt, passt sich die Magnetisierungsverteilung derart an, dass ein möglichst großer Teil der durch das Anregungsfeld eingebrachten Energie im System verbleibt. Über einem bestimmten Grenzwert verursacht die Spinwellenmode nahe der Resonanzfrequenz eine effektive Kraft senkrecht zur 180°-Néel-Wand. Diese entsteht im Zentrum der Mikrostruktur und wird durch die streufeldinduzierte Kraft kompensiert. Als zusätzliche Möglichkeit wurden die Streufelder von magnetischen Mikrostrukturen während der dynamischen Prozesse quantitativ bestimmt und das genaue zeitliche Profil des Streufelds untersucht. Es wurde gezeigt, dass das zeitaufgelöste Photoemissions Elektronenmikroskop als ultraschnelles oberflächensensitives Magnetometer eingesetzt werden kann.

Experiment: Food availability outweighs ocean acidification effects in juvenile Mytilus edulis

Ocean acidification is expected to decrease calcification rates of bivalves. Nevertheless in many coastal areas high pCO2 variability is encountered already today. Kiel Fjord (Western Baltic Sea) is a brackish (12-20 g kg-1) and CO2 enriched habitat, but the blue mussel Mytilus edulis dominates the benthic community. In a coupled field and laboratory study we examined the annual pCO2 variability in this habitat and the combined effects of elevated pCO2 and food availability on juvenile M. edulis growth and calcification. In the laboratory experiment, mussel growth and calcification were found to chiefly depend on food supply, with only minor impacts of pCO2 up to 3350 µatm. Kiel Fjord was characterized by strong seasonal pCO2 variability. During summer, maximal pCO2 values of 2500 µatm were observed at the surface and >3000 µatm at the bottom. However, the field growth experiment revealed seven times higher growth and calcification rates of M. edulis at a high pCO2 inner fjord field station (mean pCO2 ca. 1000 µatm) in comparison to a low pCO2 outer fjord station (ca. 600 µatm). In addition, mussels were able to outcompete the barnacle Amphibalanus improvisus at the high pCO2 site. High mussel productivity at the inner fjord site was enabled by higher particulate organic carbon concentrations. Kiel Fjord is highly impacted by eutrophication, which causes bottom water hypoxia and consequently high seawater pCO2. At the same time, elevated nutrient concentrations increase the energy availability for filter feeding organisms such as mussels. Thus M. edulis can dominate over a seemingly more acidification resistant species such as A. improvisus. We conclude that benthic stages of M. edulis tolerate high ambient pCO2 when food supply is abundant and that important habitat characteristics such as species interactions and energy availability need to be considered to predict species vulnerability to ocean acidification.

Experimental investigation of continuous-variable quantum teleportation

We report the experimental demonstration of quantum teleportation of the quadrature amplitudes of a light field. Our experiment was stably locked for long periods, and was analyzed in terms of fidelity F and with signal transfer T-q=T++T- and noise correlation V-q=Vinparallel to out+Vinparallel to out-. We observed an optimum fidelity of 0.64+/-0.02, T-q=1.06+/-0.02, and V-q=0.96+/-0.10. We discuss the significance of both T-q>1 and V-q

Stick insect genomes reveal natural selection's role in parallel speciation.

Natural selection can drive the repeated evolution of reproductive isolation, but the genomic basis of parallel speciation remains poorly understood. We analyzed whole-genome divergence between replicate pairs of stick insect populations that are adapted to different host plants and undergoing parallel speciation. We found thousands of modest-sized genomic regions of accentuated divergence between populations, most of which are unique to individual population pairs. We also detected parallel genomic divergence across population pairs involving an excess of coding genes with specific molecular functions. Regions of parallel genomic divergence in nature exhibited exceptional allele frequency changes between hosts in a field transplant experiment. The results advance understanding of biological diversification by providing convergent observational and experimental evidence for selection's role in driving repeatable genomic divergence.

Estimation of soil moisture in the root-zone from remote sensing data

Field-based soil moisture measurements are cumbersome. Thus, remote sensing techniques are needed because allows field and landscape-scale mapping of soil moisture depth-averaged through the root zone of existing vegetation. The objective of the study was to evaluate the accuracy of an empirical relationship to calculate soil moisture from remote sensing data of irrigated soils of the Apodi Plateau, in the Brazilian semiarid region. The empirical relationship had previously been tested for irrigated soils in Mexico, Egypt, and Pakistan, with promising results. In this study, the relationship was evaluated from experimental data collected from a cotton field. The experiment was carried out in an area of 5 ha with irrigated cotton. The energy balance and evaporative fraction (Λ) were measured by the Bowen ratio method. Soil moisture (θ) data were collected using a PR2 - Profile Probe (Delta-T Devices Ltd). The empirical relationship was tested using experimentally collected Λ and θ values and was applied using the Λ values obtained from the Surface Energy Balance Algorithm for Land (SEBAL) and three TM - Landsat 5 images. There was a close correlation between measured and estimated θ values (p<0.05, R² = 0.84) and there were no significant differences according to the Student t-test (p<0.01). The statistical analyses showed that the empirical relationship can be applied to estimate the root-zone soil moisture of irrigated soils, i.e. when the evaporative fraction is greater than 0.45.

Nitrogen budgets for three cropping systems fertilised with cattle manure

A field plot experiment was set up on a sandy loam soil of SW England in order to determine the efficiency of nitrogen use from different cattle manures. The manure treatments were low and high dry matter cattle slurries and one farmyard manure applied at a target rate of 200 kg total Nha(-1) year(-1), and an untreated control. There were three different cropping systems: ryegrass/clover mixture, maize/rye and maize/bare soil, which were evaluated during 1998/99 and 1999/00. Measurements were made of N losses, N uptake and herbage DM yields. Result showed that manure type had a significant effect on N utilisation only for maize. N balances were negative in maize (approximately -247 to -10 kg N) compared to grass (approximately 5-158 kg N). Agronomic management was more important than manure type in influencing N losses, where soil cultivation appeared to be a key factor when comparing maize and grass systems. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Interação entre manejo de plantas daninhas e adubação de cobertura no crescimento inicial de Eucalyptus grandis x E. urophylla

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Desempenho agronômico de dez linhagens de soja-hortaliça

Objetivou-se avaliar o desempenho de dez linhagens de soja-hortaliça, em campo. O delineamento experimental adotado foi blocos ao acaso, com dez tratamentos (linhagens) e cinco repetições. Cada parcela experimental foi constituída por quatro linhas de plantio, com cinco metros de comprimento. Utilizou-se irrigação por aspersão. As linhagens avaliadas foram: JLM003; JLM004; JLM010; JLM018; JLM019; JLM024; JLM030; BR36; BR155 e BRS216. Avaliaram-se a precocidade média, altura de inserção da primeira vagem, número de vagens chochas, número de vagens com um grão, número de vagens com dois grãos, número de vagens com três grãos, massa fresca de vagens com um, dois e três grãos, massa fresca de 100 sementes, provenientes de vagens com um, dois e três grãos, massa de vagens não comerciais e produção de vagens comerciais por planta. Com base nos resultados obtidos, a linhagem JLM010 foi a mais indicada para a produção de soja-hortaliça por apresentar produção de grãos imaturos de 12,53 t ha-1 e maior massa fresca de 100 sementes.

Evaluation and development of passion fruit (Passiflora alata Dryander) propagated by cutting and seet in conditions of commercial orchard

The present work was conducted in a fruit tree propagation area of the Plant Production Department of the Faculdade de Ciencias Agrarias e Veterinarias, Universidade Estadual Paulista (FCAV/UNESP) in Jaboticabal, SP, and also in a commercial orchard in Araguari, MG, with the objective to verify the potential of vegetative growth (stem diameter, height of plants and leaf number) of plants of passion fruit (Passiflora alata Dryander), gotten by cutting and seed, comparing the initial development of plants in the field. This experiment was carried out from January 2002 to February 2003. The experiment using seeds was conducted at a shadow house, and the one that used cuttings in an intermitent mist. The cuttings and seeds were collected from adult plants which came from Passifloraceae Active Germoplasm Bank (BAG) of the Plant Production Department of FCAC/UNESP. For the cuttings, it was used the intermediate part of the branches in stadium of vegetative growth. The seeds, in order to obtain the seedlings, had been sown in plastic trays. Cuttings and seedlings were transplanted to plastic bags with substrate in shadow house and with daily irrigation. They were acclimatized and planted on field, after 60 days. on field, the stem diameter, plant height and number of leaves were better for cuttings than for seedlings in Jaboticabal, SP. In Araguari, MG, stem diameter was larger in the seedlings, which plant heights and number of leaves were larger on cuttings.

Avaliação do desenvolvimento de maracujá-doce (Passiflora alata Dryander) propagado por estaquia e por semente em condições de pomar comercial

O trabalho foi realizado na Área de Propagação de Fruteiras do Departamento de Produção Vegetal da Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias, Universidade Estadual Paulista (FCAV/UNESP), Jaboticabal-SP, e em área de produtor, no município de Araguari-MG, com o objetivo de verificar o potencial de crescimento vegetativo (diâmetro do caule, altura de plantas e número de folhas) de plantas de maracujá-doce (Passiflora alata Dryander), obtidas por estaquia e por semente, comparando o desenvolvimento inicial de plantas no campo. O experimento foi conduzido no período de janeiro de 2002 a fevereiro de 2003. A formação de mudas por semente foi realizada em casa de vegetação e, por estaca, em câmara de nebulização intermitente, sob condições de telado. As estacas e sementes foram coletadas de plantas adultas, oriundas do Banco de Germoplasma Ativo (BAG) do Departamento de Produção Vegetal da FCAV/UNESP. Para as estacas, utilizou-se a parte intermediária de ramos em estádio de crescimento vegetativo. As sementes, para a obtenção das plântulas, foram semeadas em bandejas plásticas. Efetuou-se o transplantio de estacas e de plântulas, para sacos de polietileno, mantido sob telado e irrigado diariamente por aspersão, para aclimatação e plantio no campo, após 60 dias. O diâmetro do caule, a altura e o número de folhas de plantas obtidas por estaca foram maiores do que nas obtidas por semente, em Jaboticabal-SP. Já em Araguari-MG, o diâmetro do caule foi maior naquelas oriundas de semente, enquanto a altura e o número de folhas foram maiores nas plantas propagadas por estacas.

Potencial fisiológico de sementes de milho hidratadas pelo método do substrato de papel toalha

Na avaliação da qualidade de sementes pode ser necessária a hidratação das mesmas, como ocorre no teste de deterioração controlada que requer a uniformização do teor de água na amostra de sementes antes do processo de deterioração. Objetivou-se com o presente trabalho avaliar o potencial fisiológico de sementes de milho após a hidratação pelo método do substrato de papel toalha, sob diferentes temperaturas e quantidades de água no substrato, para elevar o teor de água para 15%, 20% e 25%. Foram avaliadas três quantidades de água no substrato (2,0; 2,5 e 3,0 vezes a massa do papel), sob temperaturas de 20 e 30°C. A qualidade inicial das sementes e após a hidratação foi determinada pelos seguintes testes: teor de água, massa de mil sementes, germinação, massa seca de plântulas, teste de frio, envelhecimento acelerado, condutividade elétrica, tetrazólio, porcentagem e velocidade de emergência das plântulas em campo. Os dados obtidos foram submetidos à análise de variância e as médias comparadas pelo teste de Tukey, a 5%, seguindo o delineamento inteiramente casualizado em esquema fatorial (3x2), independentemente para cada teor de água. A hidratação pelo método do substrato de papel toalha não afetou a germinação de sementes de milho, independentemente da temperatura e das proporções de água no substrato. As proporções de 2,0 e 2,5 vezes a massa do substrato papel toalha em água para a temperatura de 30°C e de 3,0 vezes a massa do substrato para a temperatura de 20°C não alteraram o potencial fisiológico das sementes, mostrando-se adequadas para hidratação de sementes de milho para teores de água de 15, 20 e 25%.

Aspectos microbiológicos e químicos em solo submetido à solarização

Pós-graduação em Agronomia (Proteção de Plantas) - FCA