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The ability of 32P-labeled transcribed cRNA probes to detect tomato ringspot virus (TmRSV) RNA in nucleic acid extracts from roots, bark, and leaves of nectarine (Prunus persica [L.] Batsch) trees with the Prunus stem-pitting disease was assessed and compared with detection of TmRSV antigen by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in the same tissues. Neither TmRSV-specific nucleic acid nor antigen was detected in nectarine leaf tissue. ELISA detected TmRSV antigen in root extracts from 71% of the diseased trees, while dot hybridization detected virus-specific nucleic acid in 18% of the same samples. However, ELISA detected TmRSV antigen in only 47% of bark extracts; whereas TmRSV-specific nucleic acid was detected in 100% of the bark extracts from samples collected at or near the soil line. When nucleic acid extracts from bark were prepared from various locations on diseased trees and tested for TmRSV-specific nucleic acid by dot hybridization, there was an almost perfect correlation between the presence of stem-pitting symptoms and the detection of TmRSV nucleic acid. Detection of TmRSV RNA from the bark tissue of rootstock suckers from TmRSV-infected `Delicious'/MM.lO6 apple (Malus × domestica Borkh.) trees was unsuccessful using dot hybridization. The viral RNA, however, was usually detected in either leaf or root tissue of these same trees.
The trunk diameter of ‘Valencia’ sweet orange trees tested with seven insect control strategies was measured annually for the first 5 years after planting. Yield data (marketable fruit per tree) were collected after the fourth and fifth years. The insect control treatments were Admire (imidacloprid) applied at 12, 6, 3, or 2-month intervals; Temik (aldicarb) applied annually; Meta-Systox-R (oxydemeton-methyl) applied annually; or no insect control. Trunk diameter was significantly increased by Temik treatment at 1 and 2 years after planting. Six annual applications of Admire (at 2-month intervals) significantly increased trunk diameter 2 years after planting. None of the other treatments affected trunk diameters compared with the control. There were no trunk diameter differences among treatments at 3, 4, or 5 years after planting. Both Temik applied annually and Admire applied every other month or every 3 months significantly increased yield.
A trough system was developed to study rates of plant virus transmission by plant parasitic nematodes. Perforated plumber's polyvinyl chloride pipe, 5 cm in diameter, was cut into 48-cm lengths, split longitudinally, and fashioned into troughs to hold soil and common dandelion (Taraxacum officinale Webber) transplants. The first plant in each trough was infected with tomato ringspot virus (TmRSV), followed by 10 uninfected plants spaced at 4-cm intervals. The soil contained a high concentration of Xiphinema rivesi (199 per 100 cm3), a low concentration (16 per 100 cm3), or none. Plants were assayed biweekly for TmRSV. After 42 weeks, transmission rates between the low and high concentrations of nematodes were not significantly different. The subirrigated trough system provided excellent soil conditions for plant growth and sufficient nematode survival to detect virus transmission through 36 weeks.
Rabbiteye (Vaccinium ashei Reade) and southern highbush (mostly V. corymbosum L.) type blueberry selections were evaluated in regional trials at five locations. Entry × location interactions (E × L) were significant for all traits in the rabbiteye type and all except plant productivity, plant volume, Julian date of 50% ripe fruit, and berry weight at harvest 3 in the southern highbush type. Despite the significant interactions, selection FL80-11 and `Gulfcoast' were the earliest flowering rabbiteye and southern highbush entry, respectively, at each location. Significant E × L for plant volume and yield suggests that adaptation to the local environment is important in the selection of potential cultivars. Fruit quality traits appear less affected by environment than fruit production traits for the entries tested.
Population density of citrus leafminer, Phyllocnistis citrella Stainton (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae), was monitored in a Florida citrus grove for 5 years by scouting weekly for larval-induced mines (leafminer-created tunnels in the leaves) in a replicated citrus plot treated with seven insect control regimes: Admire (imidacloprid) applied at 12, 6, 3, or 2-month intervals; Temik (aldicarb) applied annually; Metasystox-R (oxydemeton-methyl) applied annually; or no insect control. Leafminer populations were highest during the warmer months (April to September) and lowest during the cooler months (November to March). Populations peaked during June in all 5 years monitored. Trees treated with Temik or Metasystox-R had the same number of mines as the untreated controls. A biannual treatment with Admire reduced leafminer damage (number of mines) all 5 years compared with the controls. Additional Admire applications further reduced damage during some, but not all, years. A single application of Admire significantly reduced mines in 3 of the 5 years.
The effectiveness of seven different aphid control regimes in delaying movement of decline (DI) and nondecline (NDI) inducing isolates of citrus tristeza virus (CTV) into a CTV-free sweet orange scion on sour orange rootstock block was monitored annually for 5 years beginning in 1999, 2 years after the introduction of the brown citrus aphid (BrCA) into the region. After 5 years, the mean percentages of infection with DI CTV were 19, 19, 17, 29, 23, 19, or 14 for trees treated annually with imidocloprid, every 6 months with imidocloprid, every 3 months with imidocloprid, every 2 months with imidocloprid, annually with Temik, annually with Meta Systox-R, or untreated, respectively. The mean percentages of infection (after 5 years) with only NDI isolates of CTV for the seven treatments were 40, 31, 33, 38, 38, 38, or 33. There was no significant difference (after 5 years) among either the DI or NDI CTV treatment means. The overall 5-year infection percentage for DI CTV (20%) was somewhat lower than that reported before the introduction of the BrCA (27%) (11). Aphid densities (Toxoptera citricidus and Aphis spiraecola) varied considerably from year to year. Good aphid control was achieved with all four imidocloprid treatments, but not with Temik or Meta Systox-R. The level of aphid control did not influence overall CTV infection percentages.
There are a limited number of peach and nectarine cultivars available with chilling requirements that perform well in the Gulf Coast area of Alabama. A test planting of 40 peach and 13 nectarine cultivars was established in 1985 at the Gulf Coast Substation at Fairhope, Ala. The plot was prepared and trees grown according to commercial procedures. Blocks of four trees of each cultivar were planted on a 6 x 6-m spacing. Chill hours were calculated each year based on number of hours at or below 7.3 °C; starting from and including the first 10 consecutive days a total of 50 hours were accumulated to 15 Feb. Data collected included date of full bloom, first harvest date, and total yield. Fruit were measured or rated for skin color, attractiveness, firmness, stone freeness, pubescence, flesh color, dessert quality, shape, weight, percentage with split pits, and occurrence of malformed sutures and extended tips. All cultivars were evaluated for 9 years (1987–95). The best performing varieties are discussed.
This paper describes the climatic and cropping conditions in the major peach [Prunus persica (L.) Batsch] producing areas in the southeastern United States in 1996. The peach and nectarine crop was the smallest since 1955 due to a series of unusually cold temperatures in February, March, and April. Crop set was not strictly a function of late blooming. No variety produced a full crop across the region. Many reputedly hardy peaches cropped poorly. The only peach or nectarine varieties that produced substantial crops in multiple locations were `La Premiere', `Ruston Red', and `Contender'. Cropping ability of some breeding selections shows that peach frost tolerance may be improved further.
The population densities of the brown citrus aphid (BrCA) (Toxoptera citricidus Kirkaldy) and the spirea aphid (SA) Aphis spiraecola Patch were monitored by scouting weekly for 6 years in a replicated citrus plot treated with 7 insect control regimes: Admire (imidacloprid) applied at 12, 6, 3, or 2 month intervals; Temik applied annually; Meta-Systox-R applied annually; or no insect control. The numbers of both aphid species varied greatly from month to month and year to year. The brown citrus aphid was normally only detected in the fall (August through December) with populations peaking in September, October, or December depending on the year. The spirea aphid could be detected throughout the year during years when overall populations were high. Spirea aphid populations often peaked both in the spring and fall. Annual applications of Temik or Metasystox were ineffective in reducing aphid populations. Generally, all four Admire treatment regimes controlled aphids, although at least 2 annual Admire treatments per year were required to control the spirea aphid during some years.