Tests were conducted to determine if age of mass reared adult female Mediterranean fruit flies, Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann), affected the viability of their offspring. Samples of eggs (0.4 g each) were collected on five consecutive days (4 to 8 d past adult emergence) from individual 660-liter adult colony screen cages and were reared in separate trays containing 0.5 liter of artificial diet...

Heterosis refers to improved or altered performance observed in F1 hybrid organisms when compared to their parents. Heterosis has revolutionized agriculture by improving key agronomic traits in crop plants. However, even after decades of research in this area a unifying molecular theory of heterosis remains somewhat elusive. For many years it has been observed that the dominant, overdominant an...

Closed and semi-closed plant growth chambers have long been used in studies of plant and crop physiology. These studies include the measurement of photosynthesis and transpiration via photosynthetic gas exchange. Unfortunately, other gaseous products of plant metabolism can accumulate in these chambers and cause artifacts in the measurements. The most important of these gaseous byproducts is th...

Cultivated coffee trees are under serious threat from climate change, disease and insect pests. The homogeneity of the crop makes it particularly vulnerable: nearly all of the world’s cultivated coffee originated with a handful of plants grown in Ethiopia. Little scientific research has gone into cultivating coffee, but that situation is beginning to change. Scientists are now hurrying to intro...

Phosphorus (P) fertilization is a major input in crop production on the Great Plains, as many soils lack sufficient P for effective crop production. To optimize crop nutrition, P must be available to the crop in adequate amounts early in the growing season. Phosphorus is needed from the earliest stages of crop growth, because it is important in nearly all energy-requiring processes in the plant...

Ovipositional preference and larval survival of the diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella (L.), were compared among cabbage, Brassica oleracea L. variety capitata; glossy collards, Brassica oleracea L. variety acephala; and yellow rocket, Barbarea vulgaris (R. Br.) variety arcuata in different treatments of planting density, host plant age, intercropping, and water stress in 2003 and 2004. P. x...

Collards (Brassica oleracea var. acephala) are an important vegetable crucifer produced worldwide for human consumption, and one subject to severe injury by Lepidoptera. We have produced Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt)-transgenic collard lines that have the potential to be used either for direct control or as a ‘‘dead end’’ trap crop for Lepidoptera. To produce collard lines expressing Bt genes, a ...

BACKGROUND In the U.S., tomatoes have become the most implicated vehicle for produce-associated Salmonellosis with 12 outbreaks since 1998. Although unconfirmed, trace backs suggest pre-harvest contamination with Salmonella enterica. Routes of tomato crop contamination by S. enterica in the absence of direct artificial inoculation have not been investigated. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS Thi...

Inositol phosphates are essential for cell development and signaling in all living organisms. Inositol hexakisphosphate (InsP6) is the most abundant phosphoinositol in both plants and animals. While the concentration of inorganic phosphorous (Pi) is often limited in soil, some plants overcome this limitation by creating a phosphate reservoir that serves as a source of Pi during phosphate defici...