Two strains of Metarhizium anisopliae (Metschnikoff) Sorokin and two strains of Beauveria bassiana (Ballsamo) Vuillemin were evaluated for their potential use as biological control agents against the tea termite Microtermes obesi Holmgren. The strains were screened for relative pathogenicity, and the median lethal time eliciting 50% mortality (LT 50 ) was calculated. In general, the M. anisopliae strains were more virulent with lower LT 50 values than B. bassiana strains. The LT 50 values ranged from 1.6 to 3.7 days. The median lethal concentrations (LC 50 ) of all the isolates were also determined. The M. anisopliae strains had low LC 50 values compared to B. bassiana strains. The LC 50 values ranged from 35 to 140 conidia per termite. The strains were also tested for survival under laboratory nest conditions. All the isolates exhibited the ability to grow, sporulate and produce an epizootic in treated nest material. Field applications of the isolates also produced promising results.
Nitrogen (N) dynamics during changes in land use patterns in tropical forests may profoundly affect fine root dynamics and nutrient cycling processes. Variations in fine root biomass and soil N dynamics were assessed in developing stands of increasing ages following shifting agriculture in Mizoram, Northeast India, and comparisons were made with a natural forest stand. Concentrations of soil available N (NH4-N and NO3-N) and the proportion of NH4-N in total available N increased with stand age. The N-mineralization rate also increased with stand age whilst the proportion of nitrification relative to ammonification declined during succession. Fine root biomass and N-mineralization increased, and available N decreased during the monsoon season while this pattern was reversed during the winter season. A greater proportion of fine roots were <0.5 mm diameter in the younger sites, and turnover of fine roots was more rapid in the developing stands compared to the natural forest. Fine root biomass was correlated positively with N-mineralization rate and soil water content. Thus, it can be concluded that the fine root growth was aided by rapid N-mineralization, and both fine root growth and N-mineralization increase as stands redevelop following shifting cultivation disturbance.
Weeds are the major limiting factor for optimum soybean production in India. The herbicide mixture of fomesafen and quizalofop-ethyl provides effective control of a broad spectrum of weeds, but its fate in the tropical soybean ecosystem is unknown and also the risks involved to the consumer and the environment are still unexplored. Hence, a supervised field trial was conducted following the post-emergence application of fomesafen 12% + quizalofop-ethyl 3% in two consecutive seasons. The dissipation of fomesafen followed biphasic double first order in parallel kinetics, whereas quizalofop-ethyl dissipation followed first order kinetics. A significant difference in the persistence of fomesafen was observed due to seasonal variation of meteorological parameters. However, the variation was significant only in plant, but non-significant in soil, in case of quizalofop-ethyl. The overall shorter persistence of both fomesafen and quizalofop-ethyl was recorded in warmer climatic conditions of Season I than Season II. The results thus indicated that care must be taken during application of this herbicide mixture in cold climatic regions, since both the herbicides may exhibit higher stability. The absence of end-point residues at harvest concluded that the formulation is safe for application in tropical agroclimate. The low chronic dietary toxicity and low soil ecological toxicity indicated that the herbicide mixture will offer no threat against consumer health and soil ecosystem. However, there was a concern about the toxicity against soil algal population which needs to be reconfirmed by further studies.
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