The sweetpotato whitefly Bemisia tabaci（Hemiptera：Aleyrodidae）is an extremely polyphagous insect pest that causes significant crop losses in Israel and worldwide.B.tabaci is a species complex of which the B and Q b...The sweetpotato whitefly Bemisia tabaci（Hemiptera：Aleyrodidae）is an extremely polyphagous insect pest that causes significant crop losses in Israel and worldwide.B.tabaci is a species complex of which the B and Q biotypes are the most widespread and damaging worldwide.The change in biotype composition and resistance to insecticide in Israel was monitored during the years 2008-2010 to identify patterns in population dynamics that can be correlated with resistance outbreaks.The results show that B biotype populations dominate crops grown in open fields,while Q biotype populations gradually dominate crops grown in protected conditions such as greenhouses and nethouses,where resistance outbreaks usually develop after several insecticide applications.While in previous years,Q biotype populations were widely detected in many regions in Israel,significant domination of the B biotype across populations collected was observed during the year 2010,indicating the instability of the B.tabaci population from one year to another.Reasons for the changing dynamics and the shift in the relative abundance of B.tabaci biotype,and their resistance status,are discussed.展开更多
Sesame is mainly cultivated under traditional,low-input agro-systems.Recent breeding developments promoted the modernization and mechanization of sesame cultivation.However,only a few articles have been published conc...Sesame is mainly cultivated under traditional,low-input agro-systems.Recent breeding developments promoted the modernization and mechanization of sesame cultivation.However,only a few articles have been published concerning fertilization requirements for both modern and traditional agro-systems.In field trials at two locations,we determined the response of irrigated sesame to nitrogen(N).Three promising sesame lines were tested combining two irrigation levels with four N levels.At a high irrigation level,N had a significant effect on growth,branching,and consequently,seed yield exceeding two-ton ha^(-1).A high N doze was accompanied by a decrease in the photosynthetic rate and leaf water potential.The δ^(13)C confirmed lower stomatal conductance under high N treatments.Under deficit irrigation,the N level had a minor effect on the monitored parameters,indicating N fertilization was not efficient.Seed oil content was negatively correlated with seed N concentration.Our results question the necessity of N application when water is limited,as N fertilization promotes vigorous development that rapidly depletes soil water.Thus,water availability should be considered when developing an N management strategy.For high-yielding agro-systems,roughly 80–120 kg ha^(-1)N is required for optimal yield,bearing in mind the negative association between seed-N and oil content.展开更多
A long-term drought has led to the mass mortality of shrubs in the semi-arid Israeli Negev.The most impacted shrub species is the Noaea mucronata(Forssk.)Asch.and Schweinf.In a four-year study,we found that herbaceous...A long-term drought has led to the mass mortality of shrubs in the semi-arid Israeli Negev.The most impacted shrub species is the Noaea mucronata(Forssk.)Asch.and Schweinf.In a four-year study,we found that herbaceous vegetation growth was greater in the dead shrub patches than in the surrounding inter-patch biocrusted spaces,suggesting that the dead shrub patches encompass improved micro-habitats.However,unexpectedly,the soil moisture in the dead shrub patches was consistently lower than that of the inter-patch biocrusted spaces.At the same time,soil quality in the dead shrub patches was higher than that in the inter-patch spaces.Therefore,it seems that the overall better soil conditions in the dead patches overcome the scarcity of soil-water,supporting increased herbaceous productivity.For explaining the discrepancy between herbaceous vegetation and soil-water,we formulated a conceptual framework,which highlights the key factors that regulate soil-water dynamics in this dryland ecosystem.We demonstrate that herbaceous vegetation is facilitated in the dead shrub patches by a legacy effect that takes place long after the shrubs have died.The dead shrub patches encompass a unique form of ecosystem engineering.The study highlights the complex and unpredicted impacts of prolonged droughts on dryland ecosystems.展开更多
Fruit pigmentation is a major signal that attracts frugivores to enable seed dispersal.In mostfleshy fruit,green chlorophyll typically accumulates early in development and is replaced by a range of pigments during rip...Fruit pigmentation is a major signal that attracts frugivores to enable seed dispersal.In mostfleshy fruit,green chlorophyll typically accumulates early in development and is replaced by a range of pigments during ripening.In species such as grape and strawberry,chlorophyll is replaced by red anthocyanins produced by theflavonoid biosynthetic pathway.Eggplant(Solanum melongena)is unique,as its fruit accumulates an-thocyanins beginning from fruit set,and these are later replaced by the yellowflavonoid-pathway interme-diate naringenin chalcone.To decipher the genetic regulation of this extraordinary pigmentation shift,we integrated mRNA and microRNA(miRNA)profiling data obtained from developing eggplant fruit.We discovered that SQUAMOSA PROMOTER BINDING-LIKE(i.e.,SPL6a,SPL10,and SPL15),MYB1,and MYB2 transcription factors(TFs)regulate anthocyanin biosynthesis in early fruit development,whereas the MYB12 TF controls later accumulation of naringenin chalcone.We further show that miRNA157 and miRNA858 negatively regulate the expression of SPLs and MYB12,respectively.Taken together,ourfind-ings suggest that opposing and complementary expression of miRNAs and TFs controls the pigmentation switch in eggplant fruit skin.Intriguingly,despite the distinctive pigmentation pattern in eggplant,fruit development in other species makes use of homologous regulatory factors to control the temporal and spatial production of different pigment classes.展开更多
Aims Management of silvo-pastoral systems in planted and natural forests in semi-arid Mediterranean regions often employs seasonal night corrals for animal protection.This management system changes the spatial distrib...Aims Management of silvo-pastoral systems in planted and natural forests in semi-arid Mediterranean regions often employs seasonal night corrals for animal protection.This management system changes the spatial distribution of animal excreta,resulting in a net transfer of soil mineral resources and their accumulation in the corrals.After abandonment,corrals are colonized by ruderal species,becoming focal sources for their spread in the forest.We aimed to implement a rational management of seasonal sheep corrals based on a better understanding of the vegetation processes occurring in abandoned corrals,in order to alleviate their negative impact in the forest.Methods Relationships between temporal changes in the vegetation,the soil seed-bank and levels of soil nutrients were studied in a chronosequence of abandoned sheep corrals and compared with nearby reference plots in planted Eucalyptus forests grazed by sheep in the semi-arid North-Western Negev,Israel.The region has a bi-seasonal Mediterranean climate,with high dominance of annual species in the grazing range.Important Findings Abandoned sheep corrals were colonized by seeds of ruderals originating in older abandoned corrals.Subsequent successional changes occur at a slow rate,driven by the depletion of soil resources in the abandoned corrals,and were still in progress 20 years after abandonment.Ruderals were gradually replaced,first by taller grasses and followed by short grasses,but most forbs and particularly geophytes did not recover during this period.Recovery of the original herbaceous vegetation in the corrals was through seed dispersal from the surrounding vegetation,not from the original soil seed-bank remaining in the corrals after abandonment.Ruderal species in the grazed,planted forests behave as patch-tracking metapopulations.Their persistency depends on constant creation of new corrals compensating for the gradually dwindling populations in older abandoned corrals,and on the availability of dispersal vectors.展开更多
Drip technologies have been suggested as practical for irrigation under conditions of high salinity and for reclamation of saline soils.Drip irrigation triggered by soil water potential thresholds was applied to both ...Drip technologies have been suggested as practical for irrigation under conditions of high salinity and for reclamation of saline soils.Drip irrigation triggered by soil water potential thresholds was applied to both reclaim a severely saline calcareous gypsiferous soil and irrigate a waxy corn crop(Zea mays L.sinesis Kulesh).However,there is a lack of knowledge on the sustainability of reclamation of saline soils with drip irrigation and the changes in soil salinity and salt ion composition during the amelioration process.Therefore,effects on soil salinity,its ionic composition,and on crop growth and yields were evaluated in an experiment conducted in the Yinchuan Plain,northwest China.Treatments included fields in their first to fourth years of the drip irrigation reclamation-cropping scheme and adjacent native,non-cropped or irrigated salinesodic land as control.Yield of waxy corn increased and days of growth to maturity decreased as a function of time and reclamation management.The improvement in crop performance could be largely credited to the reduction of soil salinity and changes in salt composition under the drip-irrigated reclamation protocols.The drip irrigation regime created a region of low salinity proximal to the emitters conducive to germination and plant growth.Deleterious ions for crop growth such as Na+and Cl^(-)were reduced while Ca2+and Mg2+concentration increased,especially in the upper 40 cm of soil.After only a single season of drip-irrigated waxy corn production,both Cl-SO_(4)^(2-)ratios and sodium adsorption ratio(SAR)decreased dramatically.The results suggested that drip irrigation is an effective technology for reclamation of severely saline-affected soils,such as those widely distributed over the Ningxia Plain in China and that this or similar reclamation strategy could be appropriate for reclamation of other hard to manage calcareous and gypsiferous soils.展开更多
This article outlines the major scientific objectives of the SHui project that seeks to optimize soil and water use in agricultural systems in the EU and China,by considering major current scientific challenges in thi...This article outlines the major scientific objectives of the SHui project that seeks to optimize soil and water use in agricultural systems in the EU and China,by considering major current scientific challenges in this area.SHui(for Soil Hydrology research platform underpinning innovation to manage water scarcity in European and Chinese cropping systems)is large cooperative project that aims to provide significant advances through transdisciplinary research at multiple scales(plot,field,catchment and region).This paper explains our research platform of long-term experiments established at plot scale,approaches taken to integrate crop and hydrological models at field scale;coupled crop models and satellite-based observations at regional scales;decision support systems for specific farming situations;and the integration of these technologies to provide policy recommendations through socio-economic analysis of the impact of soil and water saving technologies.It also outlines the training of stake-holders to develop a basic common curriculum despite the subject being distributed across different disciplines and professions.As such,this article provides a review of major challenges for improving soil and water use in EU and China as well as information about the potential to access information made available by SHui,and to allow others to engage with the project.展开更多
基金This is contribution No.503/11 from the Agricultural Research Organization,the Volcani Center,Bet Dagan,Israel
文摘The sweetpotato whitefly Bemisia tabaci（Hemiptera：Aleyrodidae）is an extremely polyphagous insect pest that causes significant crop losses in Israel and worldwide.B.tabaci is a species complex of which the B and Q biotypes are the most widespread and damaging worldwide.The change in biotype composition and resistance to insecticide in Israel was monitored during the years 2008-2010 to identify patterns in population dynamics that can be correlated with resistance outbreaks.The results show that B biotype populations dominate crops grown in open fields,while Q biotype populations gradually dominate crops grown in protected conditions such as greenhouses and nethouses,where resistance outbreaks usually develop after several insecticide applications.While in previous years,Q biotype populations were widely detected in many regions in Israel,significant domination of the B biotype across populations collected was observed during the year 2010,indicating the instability of the B.tabaci population from one year to another.Reasons for the changing dynamics and the shift in the relative abundance of B.tabaci biotype,and their resistance status,are discussed.
基金supported by the CFPN fund (Center of Fertilization and Plant Nutrition, grant number ICLF20161)。
文摘Sesame is mainly cultivated under traditional,low-input agro-systems.Recent breeding developments promoted the modernization and mechanization of sesame cultivation.However,only a few articles have been published concerning fertilization requirements for both modern and traditional agro-systems.In field trials at two locations,we determined the response of irrigated sesame to nitrogen(N).Three promising sesame lines were tested combining two irrigation levels with four N levels.At a high irrigation level,N had a significant effect on growth,branching,and consequently,seed yield exceeding two-ton ha^(-1).A high N doze was accompanied by a decrease in the photosynthetic rate and leaf water potential.The δ^(13)C confirmed lower stomatal conductance under high N treatments.Under deficit irrigation,the N level had a minor effect on the monitored parameters,indicating N fertilization was not efficient.Seed oil content was negatively correlated with seed N concentration.Our results question the necessity of N application when water is limited,as N fertilization promotes vigorous development that rapidly depletes soil water.Thus,water availability should be considered when developing an N management strategy.For high-yielding agro-systems,roughly 80–120 kg ha^(-1)N is required for optimal yield,bearing in mind the negative association between seed-N and oil content.
基金funded by the Israel Science Foundation(ISF),grant number 1260/15。
文摘A long-term drought has led to the mass mortality of shrubs in the semi-arid Israeli Negev.The most impacted shrub species is the Noaea mucronata(Forssk.)Asch.and Schweinf.In a four-year study,we found that herbaceous vegetation growth was greater in the dead shrub patches than in the surrounding inter-patch biocrusted spaces,suggesting that the dead shrub patches encompass improved micro-habitats.However,unexpectedly,the soil moisture in the dead shrub patches was consistently lower than that of the inter-patch biocrusted spaces.At the same time,soil quality in the dead shrub patches was higher than that in the inter-patch spaces.Therefore,it seems that the overall better soil conditions in the dead patches overcome the scarcity of soil-water,supporting increased herbaceous productivity.For explaining the discrepancy between herbaceous vegetation and soil-water,we formulated a conceptual framework,which highlights the key factors that regulate soil-water dynamics in this dryland ecosystem.We demonstrate that herbaceous vegetation is facilitated in the dead shrub patches by a legacy effect that takes place long after the shrubs have died.The dead shrub patches encompass a unique form of ecosystem engineering.The study highlights the complex and unpredicted impacts of prolonged droughts on dryland ecosystems.
基金the Abney Foundation,Leona M.and Harry B.Helmsley Charitable TrustJeanne and Joseph Nissim Foundation for Life Sciences+1 种基金Tom and Sondra Rykoff Family Foundation Researchthe Raymond Burton Plant Genome Research Fund for supporting the AA lab activity.
文摘Fruit pigmentation is a major signal that attracts frugivores to enable seed dispersal.In mostfleshy fruit,green chlorophyll typically accumulates early in development and is replaced by a range of pigments during ripening.In species such as grape and strawberry,chlorophyll is replaced by red anthocyanins produced by theflavonoid biosynthetic pathway.Eggplant(Solanum melongena)is unique,as its fruit accumulates an-thocyanins beginning from fruit set,and these are later replaced by the yellowflavonoid-pathway interme-diate naringenin chalcone.To decipher the genetic regulation of this extraordinary pigmentation shift,we integrated mRNA and microRNA(miRNA)profiling data obtained from developing eggplant fruit.We discovered that SQUAMOSA PROMOTER BINDING-LIKE(i.e.,SPL6a,SPL10,and SPL15),MYB1,and MYB2 transcription factors(TFs)regulate anthocyanin biosynthesis in early fruit development,whereas the MYB12 TF controls later accumulation of naringenin chalcone.We further show that miRNA157 and miRNA858 negatively regulate the expression of SPLs and MYB12,respectively.Taken together,ourfind-ings suggest that opposing and complementary expression of miRNAs and TFs controls the pigmentation switch in eggplant fruit skin.Intriguingly,despite the distinctive pigmentation pattern in eggplant,fruit development in other species makes use of homologous regulatory factors to control the temporal and spatial production of different pigment classes.
基金supported by grants provided by the Israel Ministry of Science and Technology and the Jewish National Fund-KKL.
文摘Aims Management of silvo-pastoral systems in planted and natural forests in semi-arid Mediterranean regions often employs seasonal night corrals for animal protection.This management system changes the spatial distribution of animal excreta,resulting in a net transfer of soil mineral resources and their accumulation in the corrals.After abandonment,corrals are colonized by ruderal species,becoming focal sources for their spread in the forest.We aimed to implement a rational management of seasonal sheep corrals based on a better understanding of the vegetation processes occurring in abandoned corrals,in order to alleviate their negative impact in the forest.Methods Relationships between temporal changes in the vegetation,the soil seed-bank and levels of soil nutrients were studied in a chronosequence of abandoned sheep corrals and compared with nearby reference plots in planted Eucalyptus forests grazed by sheep in the semi-arid North-Western Negev,Israel.The region has a bi-seasonal Mediterranean climate,with high dominance of annual species in the grazing range.Important Findings Abandoned sheep corrals were colonized by seeds of ruderals originating in older abandoned corrals.Subsequent successional changes occur at a slow rate,driven by the depletion of soil resources in the abandoned corrals,and were still in progress 20 years after abandonment.Ruderals were gradually replaced,first by taller grasses and followed by short grasses,but most forbs and particularly geophytes did not recover during this period.Recovery of the original herbaceous vegetation in the corrals was through seed dispersal from the surrounding vegetation,not from the original soil seed-bank remaining in the corrals after abandonment.Ruderal species in the grazed,planted forests behave as patch-tracking metapopulations.Their persistency depends on constant creation of new corrals compensating for the gradually dwindling populations in older abandoned corrals,and on the availability of dispersal vectors.
基金supported by National key research&development program of China(Grant No.2021YFD1900605)National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.52369010&31860590)+1 种基金Natural Science Foundation of Ningxia(Grant No.2022AAC02013)Project of Ningxia Higher education Institution for Building First Class Discipline(Grant No.NXYLXK 2021A03).
文摘Drip technologies have been suggested as practical for irrigation under conditions of high salinity and for reclamation of saline soils.Drip irrigation triggered by soil water potential thresholds was applied to both reclaim a severely saline calcareous gypsiferous soil and irrigate a waxy corn crop(Zea mays L.sinesis Kulesh).However,there is a lack of knowledge on the sustainability of reclamation of saline soils with drip irrigation and the changes in soil salinity and salt ion composition during the amelioration process.Therefore,effects on soil salinity,its ionic composition,and on crop growth and yields were evaluated in an experiment conducted in the Yinchuan Plain,northwest China.Treatments included fields in their first to fourth years of the drip irrigation reclamation-cropping scheme and adjacent native,non-cropped or irrigated salinesodic land as control.Yield of waxy corn increased and days of growth to maturity decreased as a function of time and reclamation management.The improvement in crop performance could be largely credited to the reduction of soil salinity and changes in salt composition under the drip-irrigated reclamation protocols.The drip irrigation regime created a region of low salinity proximal to the emitters conducive to germination and plant growth.Deleterious ions for crop growth such as Na+and Cl^(-)were reduced while Ca2+and Mg2+concentration increased,especially in the upper 40 cm of soil.After only a single season of drip-irrigated waxy corn production,both Cl-SO_(4)^(2-)ratios and sodium adsorption ratio(SAR)decreased dramatically.The results suggested that drip irrigation is an effective technology for reclamation of severely saline-affected soils,such as those widely distributed over the Ningxia Plain in China and that this or similar reclamation strategy could be appropriate for reclamation of other hard to manage calcareous and gypsiferous soils.
基金This work has been supported by Project SHui which is co-funded by the European Union Project GA 773903 and the Chi-nese MOST
文摘This article outlines the major scientific objectives of the SHui project that seeks to optimize soil and water use in agricultural systems in the EU and China,by considering major current scientific challenges in this area.SHui(for Soil Hydrology research platform underpinning innovation to manage water scarcity in European and Chinese cropping systems)is large cooperative project that aims to provide significant advances through transdisciplinary research at multiple scales(plot,field,catchment and region).This paper explains our research platform of long-term experiments established at plot scale,approaches taken to integrate crop and hydrological models at field scale;coupled crop models and satellite-based observations at regional scales;decision support systems for specific farming situations;and the integration of these technologies to provide policy recommendations through socio-economic analysis of the impact of soil and water saving technologies.It also outlines the training of stake-holders to develop a basic common curriculum despite the subject being distributed across different disciplines and professions.As such,this article provides a review of major challenges for improving soil and water use in EU and China as well as information about the potential to access information made available by SHui,and to allow others to engage with the project.
