This study was conducted in lowland fields at the International Rice Research Institute in the 1994 wet season and the 1995 dry season to determine Oryza sativa plant traits that confer competitive ability against weeds when pregerminated seeds are sown on puddled soil. Initial biomass (IB), crop growth rate (CGR), leaf area index (LAI), and biomass at tillering of O. sativa plants were associated with their competitiveness against weeds, whereas relative growth rate, net assimilation rate, and tillering capacity of O. sativa were not. Biomass at tillering affected weed biomass directly, and IB, CGR, and LAI indirectly affected weed biomass through O. sativa biomass. Biomass at tillering was the best predictor of modern cultivar competitiveness against weeds.

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The extract of the plant Rheum officinale Baill, mainly containing the anthraquinones physcion and chrysophanol, is highly active against plant powdery mildew. Experiments were conducted in the laboratory and greenhouse to determine the interaction of the two compounds on cucumber powdery mildew [Sphaerotheca fuliginea (Schlecht.) Poll] and on wheat powdery mildew [Blumeria graminis (DC.) Speer f. sp. tritici Marchal]. Physcion was much more bioactive than chrysophanol against these powdery mildews. There was a significant synergistic interaction between the two compounds on the diseases when the ratios of physcion to chrysophanol ranged from 1:9 to 5:5. The synergistic degree increased with increase in the chrysophanol proportion in the combination. The findings indicate that, in order to ensure constant efficacy of the extract on the disease, both the contents and the proportion of the main active ingredients physcion and chrysophanol have to be determined.

No abstract

Results indicated that physcion controls powdery mildew mainly through changing the expression of defence-related genes, and especially enhancing expression of leaf-specific thionin in barley leaves.