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The fumigant nematicide, 1,3-dichloropropene (l,3-D VL; 'Telone' 11) and a soluble liquid formulation, 1,3-D SL were tested in a pineapple field experiment to evaluate the vapor movement of the two formulations in soil gas as well as the movement and persistence of 1,3-D SL in soil profiles. Prior to planting, 1,3-D VL (407 kg ha-') was hand-injected into the soil in two parallel rows per planting bed to approximate the practice of chisel injection. 1,3-D SL (407 kg ha-') was applied with 6 mm of water by drip irrigation through a drip tube in the center of the bed. Post-plant applications of 1,3-D SL (113 kg ha-') were made at three-month intervals during a two-crop cycle. 1,3-D concentrations in soil gas were lower at the plant line in the drip treatment compared with the 1,3-D VL treatment, owing to differences in application method and fumigant placement. 1,3-D in the vapor phase reached peak concentrations 24 h after injection in the 1,3-D VL treatment compared with a peak at 48 h in the drip treatment. Post-plant applications of 1,3-D SL resulted in a three-fold difference in peak 1,3-D soil gas concentrations between replicate applications, the concentration being inversely related to soil moisture at the time of sampling. Drip application of 1,3-D SL resulted in a relatively uniform distribution of 1,3-D across the bed and to a depth of 45 cm. There was no effect of formulation on downward movement of 1,3-D and persistence in soil profiles sampled two weeks and one month after application. Rainfall which occurred 9 days after pre-plant 1,3-D fumigation resulted in leaching of 1,3-D to a depth of 150 cm in soil profiles. Due to the short half-life of 1,3-D, significant penetration of 1,3-D in the soil was observed only when irrigation or rainfall occurred soon after application.

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Abstract:With challenges from global climate change, it is imperative to enhance food production using climate-smart technologies and maximize farm efficiency. Fifty-six households in Rudhiapada and Badamahulidiha, Odisha, India were selected to evaluate farmers' efficiency using conservation agriculture (CA) cropping system practices. Data envelopment analysis (DEA) and regression analysis were used to estimate farmer efficiency and the determinants of yield. Conventional tillage with the local maize cultivar was compared to reduced tillage with improved maize cultivar and maize intercropped with cowpea. Badamahulidiha outperformed Rudhiapada in yields for all cropping systems. This could be attributed to lower input use and exposure to NGO training. The current efficiency level of farmers' productivity was between 0.4 and 0.7. Inputs such as labor, seed, and fertilizers were found to be significant in increasing yield except for female labor and phosphate. This finding suggests conservation agriculture cropping system is female friendly. The conservation agriculture cropping systems improved maize yields by 60% to 70% when compared to conventional farming system. Combining conservation agriculture practices with improving efficiency of farmers in optimal use of the inputs can contribute substantially to productivity, thus enhancing food security and nutrition in the face of climate change in India and other tropical areas.

A new protocol for the production of transgenic pineapple plants was developed. Adventitious buds were induced directly from Agrobacterium-infected leaf bases and stem discs of in vitro plants, bypassing the establishment of callus cultures. Non-chimeric transgenic plants were obtained by multiple subculturing of primary transformants under increasing levels of selection. A total of 42 independent transgenic lines were produced from two cultivars with two different constructs: one containing a modified rice cystatin gene (Oc-IΔD86) and the other with the anti-sense gene to pineapple aminocyclopropane synthase (ACS). GUS histochemical staining provided the first evidence of the non-chimeric nature of the transformed plants. Their non-chimeric nature was further demonstrated by PCR analyses of the DNA extracted from individual leaves of a primary transformed plant and also from multiple plants propagated from a single transformation event. Southern hybridization confirmed random integration patterns of transgenes in the independent lines. For the Oc-IΔD86 gene, the expression at the mRNA level was detected via RT-PCR and its translation was detected by protein blot. Agronomic evaluation and bioassays of the transgenic plants will further validate the utility of this new tool for pineapple improvement.

Fertility was determined for seven isolates of Heterodera glycines the most progeny-252 eggs per cyst. B3, virulent on P188788, produced representing three biotypes (BO, B3, and B2,3) collected from North 217 eggs per cyst. BO, the avirulent biotype, produced 198 eggs per cyst. Carolina, Arkansas, and Illinois on Glycine max 'Lee 68.' Females pro-Females inseminated by B2,3, BO, and B3 males produced 256, 228, and duced an average of 300 progeny, 29% of which were deposited in the 192 eggs, respectively. Nematode biotypes virulent on resistant soybeans gelatinous matrix. The covariance between eggs deposited in the matrix were more fertile than the avirulent ones (k = 100). Isolates from Illinois and the cyst was small (0.29) and their correlation not significant; therefore, produced fewer offspring than those from Arkansas or North Carolina cyst egg production was used to compare fertility among isolates. B2,3 (k = 100). females, virulent on resistant G. max 'Peking' and P188788, produced

Hot-water drench treatments were evaluated for disinfesting roots of potted anthurium Anthurium andraeanum of the burrowing nematode Radopholus similis. A continuous drench of roots and media in pots with 50°C water for 5 to 20 min eliminated or reduced nematode populations to < 1 g -1 of dry root. A second hot water drench, 2 months after the first drenching, tended to increase the efficacy of the heat treatment. A few survivors persisted in the roots and/or stems of a few plants 2 to 4 months after heat treatment. Non-treatment of the shoots and possible migration from stem to root tissues are probable causes of nematode survival. Drenching potting media and roots in pot were as effective against R. similis in the roots as hot water dipping bare-rooted plants. Plant response to hot-water drenching varied among cultivars, but most exhibited tolerance to the heat treatments. Visual inspection of the plants showed little difference between treated and untreated plants in the heat tolerant cultivars. However, all heat-treated 'Marian Seefurth' plants, especially hot water-dipped bare-rooted plants, appeared to suffer some degree of growth reduction as measured by lower root and stem dry weights when compared to untreated plants 3 months after treatment. Conditioning anthurium plants with hot water or hot air prior to hot water drenching did not benefit plant quality when compared to unconditioned, heat-treated plants.