Salecan, a linear extracellular polysaccharide consisting of β-1,3-D-glucan, has potential applications in the food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of salecan on soil microbial communities in a vegetable patch. Compositional shifts in the genetic structure of indigenous soil bacterial and fungal communities were monitored using cu...

Methyl bromide (MB) and other alternatives were evaluated for suppression of Fusarium spp., Phytophthora spp., and Meloidogyne spp. and their influence on soil microbial communities. Both Fusarium spp. and Phytophthora spp. were significantly reduced by the MB (30.74 mg kg-1), methyl iodide (MI: 45.58 mg kg-1), metham sodium (MS: 53.92 mg kg-1) treatments. MS exhibited comparable effectiveness ...

Introduction: Dental students are at high risk for occupational exposure to blood borne pathogens (including HBV, HCV and AIDS) via sharps and needle stick injuries (NSIs). The aim of this study was to evaluate sharps and needle stick injuries among dental students and students' practice regarding protective strategies against blood borne pathogens. Methods: This cross-sectional study was perfo...

Fungus gnats (Bradysia spp.) are major insect pests of greenhouse-grown horticultural crops mainly due to the direct feeding damage caused by the larvae, and the ability of larvae to transmit certain soil-borne plant pathogens. Currently, insecticides and biological control agents are being used successively to deal with fungus gnat populations in greenhouse production systems. However, these s...

Prevalent fungal pathogens of cereals in Lithuania belong to diverse systematic groups and this makes search for microbial biocontrol measures rather difficult. One of the options would be broad-spectrum biocontrol agents. In order to find these, 1037 seed-borne and 11 soil-borne rhizosphere pathogenic fungi were isolated and their systematic position determined. Fungi of genera Alternaria, Ulo...

Abstract In New Zealand, potato crop yields of 90 t ha ?1 are achievable but at 55 , the average is becoming economically unsustainable. 2012/13, a grower-initiated survey found that Rhizoctonia solani and Spongospora subterranea (soil-borne pathogens) soil compaction were widespread in 11 Canterbury crops. Targeted areas these crops had measured yield losses 0 (healthy plants) – 42 (diseased, ...