The effects of soil management systems on root-knot nematode (Meloidogyne incognita) eggs and gall incidence on tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) and cucumber (Cucumis sativus) following tomato were evaluated. Soil was collected from a replicated field experiment in which six management systems were being assessed for vegetable production. Soil management systems were conventional production, or...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Mycorrhizal specialization has been shown to limit recruitment capacity in orchids, but an increasing number of orchids are being documented as invasive or weed-like. The reasons for this proliferation were examined by investigating mycorrhizal fungi and edaphic correlates of Microtis media, an Australian terrestrial orchid that is an aggressive ecosystem and horticultural w...

Continued interest in the metabolites of Wedelia trilobata (L.) Hitchc, a notoriously invasive weed in South China, led to the isolation of twenty-six ent-kaurane diterpenoids, including seven new ones 1-7. Their structures and relative configuration were elucidated on the basis of extensive spectroscopic analysis, including 1D- and 2D-NMR experiments. The antimicrobial activities of all isolat...

The importance of strigolactones in plant biology prompted us to synthesize simplified strigolactone mimics effective as exogenous signals for rhizosphere organisms. New strigolactone mimics easily derived from simple and available starting materials in significant amounts were prepared and fully characterized. These compounds contain an aromatic or heterocyclic ring, usually present in various...

Because tillage promotes the germination of many weed species and freshly killed plant material favours the growth of microbial pathogens, we hypothesised that the incorporation of green crop residue should temporarily reduce weed seedling emergence relative to unamended soil. Soil with field-incorporated green crop residue was compared with non-amended soil in glasshouse experiments by sowing ...

Strigolactones (SLs) are a class of plant hormones that regulate diverse physiological processes, including shoot branching and root development. They also act as rhizosphere signaling molecules to stimulate the germination of root parasitic weeds and the branching of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. Although various types of cross talk between SLs and other hormones have been reported in physiolo...

In an earlier paper from this laboratory (Gordon, 1958) it was demonstrated that fluorescein-labeled specific antiserum employed as a cellular stain will differentiate Candida albicans and Candida tropicalis from other yeasts and yeastlike organisms, including the remaining members of the genus Candida. The present report describes the preparation and use of a similar reagent for detection and ...

Herbicide resistant weed populations have developed due to the repeated application of herbicides. Elevated concentrations of atmospheric CO2 can have positive effects on weed growth, but how rising CO2 might affect herbicide resistant weeds is not known. Ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia L.) ecotypes known to be resistant or susceptible to glyphosate herbicide were exposed to either ambient or ...

An understanding of the effect of human disturbance on fungal diversity in the tropics is of paramount importance if we are to conserve renewable resources effectively. Sustainable development may provide renewable resources, but what is the effect of sustainable practices on fungal diversity? Are the fungi of a secondary rainforest as diverse as those found in a pristine forest? Do agriculture...