Over time, the relative effects of elevated [CO 2 ] on the aboveground photosynthesis, growth and development of rice (Oryza sativa L.) are likely to be changed with increasing duration of CO 2 exposure, but the resultant effects on rice belowground responses remain to be evaluated. To investigate the impacts of elevated [CO 2 ] on seasonal changes in root growth, morphology and physiology of rice, a free-air CO 2 enrichment (FACE) experiment was performed at Wuxi, Jiangsu, China, in 2002-2003. A japonica cultivar with large panicle was exposed to two [CO 2 ] (ambient [CO 2 ], 370 lmol mol À1 ; elevated [CO 2 ], 570 lmol mol À1 ) at three levels of nitrogen (N): low (LN, 15 g N m À2 ), medium (MN, 25 g N m À2 ) and high N (HN, 35 g N m À2 ). Elevated [CO 2 ] increased cumulative root volume, root dry weight, adventitious root length and adventitious root number at all developmental stages by 25-71%, which was mainly associated with increased root growth rate during early growth period (EGP) and lower rate of root senescence during late growth period (LGP), while a slight inhibition of root growth rate occurred during middle growth period (MGP). For individual adventitious roots, elevated [CO 2 ] increased average length, volume, diameter and dry weight early in the season, but the effects gradually disappeared in subsequent stages. Total surface area and active adsorption area per unit root dry weight reached their maxima 10 days earlier in FACE vs. ambient plants, but both of them together with root oxidation ability per unit root dry weight declined with elevated [CO 2 ] during MGP and LGP, the decline being larger during MGP than LGP. The CO 2 -induced decreases in specific root activities during MGP and LGP were associated with a larger amount of root accumulation during EGP and lower N concentration and higher C/N ratio in roots during MGP and LGP in FACE vs. ambient plants. The results suggest that most of the CO 2 -induced increases in shoot growth of rice are similarly associated with increased root growth.

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Purpose We examined the effects of vermicompost application as a basal fertilizer on the properties of a sandy loam soil used for growing cucumbers under continuous cropping conditions when compared to inorganic or organic fertilizers. Materials and methods A commercial cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) variety was grown on sandy loam soil under four soil amendment conditions: inorganic compound fertilizer (750 kg/ha,), replacement of 150 kg/ha of inorganic compound fertilizer with 3000 kg/ha of organic fertilizer or vermicompost, and untreated control. Experiments were conducted in a greenhouse for 4 years, and continuous planting resulted in seven cucumber crops. The yield and quality of cucumber fruits, basic physical and chemical properties of soil, soil nutrient characteristics, and the soil fungal community structure were measured and evaluated. Results and discussion Continuous cucumber cropping decreased soil pH and increased electrical conductivity. However, application of vermicompost significantly improved several soil characteristics and induced a significant change in the rhizosphere soil fungal community compared to the other treatments. Notably, the vermicompost amendments resulted in an increase in the relative abundance of Ascomycota, Chytridiomycota, Sordariomycetes, Eurotiomycetes, and Saccharomycetes, and a decrease in Glomeromycota, Zygomycota, Dothideomycetes, Agaricomycetes, and Incertae sedis. Compared to the organic fertilizer treatment, vermicompost amendment increased the relative abundance of beneficial fungi and decreased those of pathogenic fungi. Cucumber fruit yield decreased yearly under continuous cropping conditions, but both inorganic and organic fertilizer amendments increased yields. Vermicompost amendment maintained higher fruit yield and quality under continuous cropping conditions. Conclusions Continuous cropping decreased cucumber yield in a greenhouse, but basic fertilizer amendment reduced this decline. Moreover, basal fertilizer amendment decreased beneficial and pathogenic fungi, and the use of vermicompost amendment in the basic fertilizer had a positive effect on the health of the soil fungal community.

Peronophythora litchii is the causal agent of litchi downy blight. Enestroburin, SYP-1620, SYP-2815 and ZJ0712 are four novel QoI fungicides developed by China. Eight mutants of P. litchii resistant to these QoI fungicides and azoxystrobin (as a known QoI fungicide) were obtained in our preliminary work. In this study, the full length of the cytochrome b gene in P. litchii, which has a full length of 382 amino acids, was cloned from both sensitive isolates and resistant mutants, and single-site mutations G142A, G142S, Y131C, or F128S were found in resistant mutants. Molecular docking was used to predict how the mutations alter the binding of the five QoI fungicides to the Qo-binding pockets. The results have increased our understanding of QoI fungicide-resistance mechanisms and may help in the development of more potent inhibitors against plant diseases in the fields.

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The genus Clarireedia contains multiple species causing dollar spot (DS) on turfgrass worldwide. In November 2020, 119 Clarireedia isolates were obtained from symptomatic seashore paspalum at golf courses in Hainan province and identified to species level based on partial sequence of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region. 45 and 22 isolates were identified as C. paspali and C. monteithiana, the remaining 52 isolates defined a new clade. Isolates from this clade were further selected for phylogenetic, morphological and biological analyses. Maximum Likelihood and Bayesian methods were implemented to obtain phylogenetic trees for partial sequences of the ITS, EF-1α and McM7 genes. The selected isolates consistently fell into a distinct, well supported clade within Clarireedia. Morphological and biological characteristics were observed among the different species in Clarireedia. Altogether, this study described a new species, Clarireedia hainanense, which has widespread distribution in Hainan, China. These findings may have important implications for the management of DS disease.

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