Scientific Journals of INIA (Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria)
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Susceptibility of Populus x euramericana ‘I-214’ of Spanish origin to xylophagous attacks: durability tests for its possible inclusion in European standard
Get PDFAim of study: to assess the natural durability of Populus x euramericana ‘I-214’ against xylophagous fungi and termites, and to carry out a macro-microscopic analysis of the alterations caused by each xylophagous agent in order to get the necessary information for its possible inclusion in existing European standards.Area of study: A 20-years-old commercial plantation Populus x euramericana‘I-214’ located in Quintanilla de Sollamas (42° 36′ 00″N - 05° 49′ 00″ W), Spanish community of Castile-LeonMaterial and methods: material sampling and selection was carried out following EN 350:2017 for commercial sawn timber. Poplar resistance to xylophagous basidiomycete, soft rot fungi and subterranean termites was determined according to CEN/TS 15083-1:2005, CEN/TS 15083-2:2005 and EN 117:2012, respectively. The durability and use classes were estimated according to EN 350:2016 and EN 335:2013, respectively. The anatomical studies were carried out with Optical and Scanning Electron Microscope. Material characterization was carried out by reference to Anagnost (1998) and Schwarze (2007).Main results: ‘I-214’ poplar wood proved to be “Not-durable” to the action of basidiomycetes, soft rot fungi and termites, use classes 1-2, and showed macro-microscopic evidence of these types of decay.Research highlights: the information obtained in this study would allow the inclusion of clone I-214 in the standard EN 350 and its explicit classification within it.Keywords: wood-decay fungi; termites; EN 350.Abbreviations used: TM: test material; RM: reference material; RH: relative humidity; ML: mass loss; mi: initial dry mass; mf: final dry mass; DC: durability class; OM: Optical Microscope; SEM: Scanning Electron Microscope; TS: transverse section samples; LS: longitudinal section samples; CI: robust confidence intervals; F: fibre; V: vessel; h: hole; t: erosion trough; R: radial parenchyma cell; ep: erosion pitting; Fc: fungal colonization; fr: fracture; c: cavity; b: bore hole; m: mycelium
Norway spruce responses to drought forcing in areas affected by forest decline
Get PDFAim of study: To assess the crown condition and radial growth of Norway spruce in plots with an increasing frequency and strength of drought during the last decades.Area of the study: Northern Moravia, Czech Republic.Materials and methods: Crown condition assessment and dendrochronology analysis were used.Main results: Tree-ring width (TRW) was significantly influenced by previous autumn and current summer climate. The temporal variability of the growth-climate relationship shows that the impact of water sufficiency (precipitation, relative soil water content, drought index) markedly increased mainly during the 2000s and the 2010s. Most climate-growth relationships were significant only in the last two or three decades. The observed crown conditions and their relationships with TRW also indicate stress intensification during the same period. Our results suggest that water availability was the main factor affecting radial growth and the occurrence of negative pointer years and was probably also the factor triggering the decline.Research highlights: In these current site and climate conditions, the silviculture of Norway spruce is extremely risky in the study area. Our results have also shown that the observed climate change is too dynamic for long-term forest plans, especially with regard to recommended forest species composition.Keywords: defoliation; Picea abies; tree-ring width; precipitation; PDSI; available soil water.
The influence of the emotions produced by the wine offer, winery visits, and wine news on wine purchase intent in tourists
Get PDFWineries are using wine tourism to sell directly to consumers and develop brand equity. Studies show that emotions directly affect the purchase of products. However, they do not know the degree to which the emotions produced by the winery visit, the wine offer, or news about wine influence wine sales. The aim of this study was to compare the influence of emotions produced by the wine, the emotions produced by the winery visit and the emotions produced by the wine news on wine purchase intent. This paper applied structural equation modeling to a sample of 600 wine tourists in order to explain the influence of the emotions generated by the wine, the winery visit, and wine news on wine purchase intent. The results show that the different types of emotions affect tourists’ wine purchase intent differently. The percentage of variance explained was 34.6% for the model of the emotions produced by the wine vs. 10.3% for the model of the emotions produced by the winery visit and 6.3% for the model of the emotions produced by the wine news. The emotions produced by the wine offer have the greatest influence. The emotions produced by the winery visit were much less influential. Wine news had only a minor influence on purchase intent. Key findings for management are discussed
Soil biosolarization for Verticillium dahliae and Rhizoctonia solani control in artichoke crops in southeastern Spain
Get PDFThe efficacy of soil biosolarization for the control of Verticillium dahliae and Rhizoctonia solani fungal pathogens was evaluated over two consecutive artichoke crop cycles in southeastern Spain. Soil biosolarization was applied in mid-June for 42 days. The evaluated soil treatments were: fresh sheep manure (FSM); beer bagasse (BB) plus FSM; broccoli crop residues plus FSM; and a control of non-disinfestated and non-amended soil. Different variables were analyzed: i) soil temperature during biosolarization; ii) soil inoculum density of Verticillium before and after biosolarization; iii) infectivity of V. dahliae and R. solani introduced inoculum after biosolarization treatments at 15 and 30 cm soil depth through bioassays; iv) crop disease incidence; and vi) marketable yield. Treatments were randomized in a complete block design with four replicates. Biosolarization treatments reduced levels of both fungal pathogens in both years and had significant lower percentages of affected plants at the end of the crop. All biosolarization treatments significantly improved marketable yield 22-29% to 38-59% compared to the non-disinfestated control in 2015-2016 and 2016-2017 crop cycles respectively. Biosolarization with different organic amendments can be recommended as an effective management strategy for the control of soil-borne fungal diseases in artichoke crops in southeastern Spain, especially in repeated monocultures which are cultivated intensively
Comparison of the parameters of the lactation curve between normal and difficult calvings in Iranian Holstein cows
Get PDFTo evaluate effect of dystocia on the lactation curve characteristics for milk yield and composition in Holstein cows, six non-linear models (Brody, Wood, Sikka, Nelder, Dijkstra and Rook) were fitted on 5,917,677 test day records for milk yield (MY), fat (FP) and protein (PP) percentages, fat to protein ratio (FPR) and somatic cell score (SCS) of 643,625 first lactation Holstein cows with normal calving or dystocia from 3146 herds which were collected by the Animal Breeding Center of Iran. The models were tested for goodness of fit using adjusted coefficient of determination, root means square error, Akaike’s information criterion and Bayesian information criterion. Rook model provided the best fit of the lactation curve for MY and SCS in normal and difficult calvers and dairy cows with dystocia for FP. Dijkstra model provided the best fit of the lactation curve for PP and FPR in normal and difficult calvers and dairy cows with normal calving for FP. Dairy cows with dystocia had generally lower 100-d, 200-d and 305-d cumulative milk yield compared with normal calvers. Time to the peak milk yield was observed later for difficult calvers (89 days in milk vs. 79 days in milk) with lower peak milk yield (31.45 kg vs. 31.88 kg) compared with normal calvers. Evaluation of the different non-linear models indicated that dystocia had important negative effects on milk yield and lactation curve characteristics in dairy cows and it should be reduced as much as possible in dairy herds
Isolation and evaluation of endophytic bacteria from root nodules of Glycine max L. (Merr.) and their potential use as biofertilizers
Get PDFAim of study: To isolate and characterize endophytic bacteria inhabiting soybean root nodules collected from two tropical cropping systems in Mexico, and to evaluate the bacterial effects in soybean plants under controlled conditions.Area of study: The study was carried out at two locations (San Antonio Cayal and Nuevo Progreso municipalities) of Campeche State, Mexico.Material and methods: Two experimental stages were performed: 1) isolation, morphological and biochemical characterization, and molecular identification of endophytic bacteria from root-nodules of four soybean varieties grown at field conditions; and 2) evaluation of the effects of endophytic isolates on soybean growth and nodule development, and the effects of bacterial co-inoculation on soybean plants, under controlled conditions.Main results: Twenty-three endophytic bacteria were isolated from root nodules, and identified as Agrobacterium, Bradyrhizobium, Rhizobium, Ensifer, Massilia, Chryseobacterium, Enterobacter, Microbacterium, Serratia, and Xanthomonas. Under controlled conditions, Rhizobium sp. CPO4.13C or Agrobacterium tumefaciens CPO4.15C significantly increased the plant height (46% and 41%, respectively), whereas Bradyrhizobium sp. CPO4.24C promoted the nodule formation (36 nodules/plant). The co-inoculation of B. japonicum USDA110 and Bradyrhizobium sp. CPO4.24C enhanced plant growth, height (33.87 cm), root nodulation (69 nodules/plant) and N-fixation (3.10 µmol C2H4 h-1 plant-1) in comparison to the negative control.Research highlights: Results suggest that the native Bradyrhizobium sp. CPO4.24C may be used as a biofertilizer directed to developing sustainable soybean cropping at tropical regions
Parameter optimization of winnowing equipment for machine-harvested Lycium barbarum L.
Get PDFTo accurately and efficiently remove unripe fruit, flowers, leaves, and other impurities in machine-harvested Lycium barbarum L., winnowing equipment for machine-harvested L. barbarum based on the principle that different materials have different flight coefficients was designed. To optimize the structure and working parameters of winnowing equipment, this study adopted the free flow resistance model to establish a horizontal airflow model based on C++ in Microsoft Visual Studio. A discrete element method (DEM) simulation of ripe fruit in the horizontal airflow was performed using EDEM software. Results showed that the optimal parameters included an airflow speed of 5-6 m/s, input conveyor speed of 0.4-0.6 m/s, and input-output conveyor distance of 260-270 mm. We used three factors and three levels in a quadratic orthogonal rotation design to establish mathematical models regarding the rate of impurity change and the clearance rate of ripe fruit based on the airflow speed, input conveyor speed, and input-output conveyor distance. We also analyzed the effects of all factors on the rate of impurity change and the clearance rate of ripe fruit. The optimal parameter combination was an airflow speed of 5.52 m/s, input conveyor speed of 0.5 m/s, and input-output conveyor distance of 265.04 mm. The field experiment showed that the rate of impurity change and the clearance rate of ripe fruit were 89.74% and 8.71%, respectively. Findings provide a design basis for future research on winnowing equipment for machine-harvested L. barbarum
