Bacteriophages are currently used as an alternative method for controlling bacterial spot disease on tomato incited by Xanthomonas campestris pv. vesicatoria. However, the efficacy of phage is greatly reduced due to its short residual activity on plant foliage. Three formulations that significantly increased phage longevity on the plant surface were tested in field and greenhouse trials: (i) PCF, 0.5% pregelatinized corn flour (PCF) + 0.5% sucrose; (ii) Casecrete, 0.5% Casecrete NH-400 + 0.5% sucrose + 0.25% PCF; and (iii) skim milk, 0.75% powdered skim milk + 0.5% sucrose. In greenhouse experiments, the nonformulated, PCF-, Casecrete-, and skim milk-formulated phage mixtures reduced disease severity on plants compared with the control by 1, 30, 51, and 62%, respectively. In three consecutive field trials, nonformulated phage caused 15, 20, and 9% reduction in disease on treated plants compared with untreated control plants, whereas plants treated with PCF- and Casecrete-formulated phage had 27, 32, and 12% and 30, 43, and 24% disease reduction, respectively. Plants receiving copper-mancozeb treatments were included in two field trials and had a 20% decrease in disease in the first trial and a 13% increase in the second one. Skim milk-formulated phage was tested only once and caused an 18% disease reduction. PCF-formulated phage was more effective when applied in the evening than in the morning, reducing disease on plants by 27 and 13%, respectively. The Casecrete-formulated phage populations were over 1,000-fold higher than the nonformulated phage populations 36 h after phage application.

Wheelin' and dealin': The M10 molecular wheels [M10(OMe)20(O2CR)10] (M=Ga, R=Me; M=Fe, R=Ph) were modified to M18 wheels in a nontemplate synthesis upon incorporation of a diolate ligand (see space‐filling model of [Ga18(pd)12(pdH)12(O2CMe)6(NO3)6]6+; Ga yellow, O red, N blue, C gray; pdH2=1,3‐propanediol). Remarkably, dissolution in MeOH converts both M18 wheels back into the M10 wheels.

Reaction of aqueous/ethanolic solutions of CoCl2.6H2O and nitrilotripropionic acid (H3ntp=N(CH2CH2COOH)3) in the presence of potassium hydroxide affords the hydroxy-bridged tetranuclear cluster [Co4mu3-OH)2(H2O)6(ntp)2].2H2O (1). The Ni(II) analogue [Ni4(mu3-OH)2(H2O)6(ntp)2].2H2O (2) can also be isolated using aqueous solutions and Ni(SO4).7H2O as metal salt. With small changes in reaction conditions the methoxy-bridged analogue, [Ni4(mu3-OMe)2(H2O)6(ntp)2](3), can also be isolated. In these tetramers the M(II) ions are oxygen-bridged and exhibit a defect dicubane-like core with two missing vertices. The magnetic properties have been studied for all three clusters and reveal competing antiferromagnetic and ferromagnetic interactions between the four Co(II) ions in 1 and ferromagnetic coupling between the four Ni(II) ions in 2 and 3. In all three compounds the individual clusters order antiferromagnetically at Neel temperatures below 1 K.

The synthesis and magnetic properties of three isostructural hexadecametallic manganese clusters [Mn(16)O(16)(OMe)(6)(O(2)CCH(2)Ph)(16)(MeOH)(6)] (1), [Mn(16)O(16)(OMe)(6)(O(2)CCH(2)Cl)(16)(MeOH)(6)] (2), and [Mn(16)O(16)(OMe)(6)(O(2)CCH(2)Br)(16)(MeOH)(6)] (3) are reported. The complexes were prepared by a reductive aggregation reaction involving phenylacetic acid, chloroacetic acid or bromoacetic acid, and NBu(n)()(4)MnO(4) in MeOH. Complex 1 crystallizes in the monoclinic space group C2/c and consists of 6 Mn(IV) and 10 Mn(III) ions held together by 14 mu(3)-O(2)(-), 2 mu-O(2)(-), 4 mu-MeO(-), and 2 mu-O(2)CCH(2)Ph(-) groups. The remaining 14 mu-O(2)CCH(2)Ph(-) ligands, 2 mu-MeO(-) groups, and 6 terminal MeOH molecules constitute the peripheral ligation in the complex. Variable-temperature, solid-state dc magnetic susceptibility measurements on 1-3 in the temperature range 5.0-300 K reveal that all three complexes are dominated by intramolecular antiferromagnetic exchange interactions. Low-lying excited states preclude an exact determination of the spin ground state for 1-3 by magnetization measurements. Alternating current susceptibility measurements at zero dc field in the temperature range 1.8-10 K and a 3.5 G ac field oscillating at frequencies in the 5-1488 Hz range display, at temperatures below 3 K, a nonzero, frequency-dependent chi(M)"signal for complexes 1-3, with the peak maxima lying at temperatures less than 1.8 K. Single-crystal magnetization versus dc field scans down to 0.04 K for complex 1 show hysteresis behavior at <1 K, establishing 1 as a new member of the SMM family. No clear steps characteristic of quantum tunneling of magnetization (QTM) were observed in the hysteresis loops.