Crops In England Research Articles

Needle nematodes (Longidorus spp.) and stubby‐root nematodes (Trichodorus spp.) harmful to sugar beet and other field crops in England

SUMMARY Longidorus attenuatus produces galls at the tips of roots of field crops, including sugar beet, growing in alkaline, sandy soils in eastern England. L. elongatus produces similar, but often larger, galls on the roots of sugar beet and other crops in sandy soils in the W. Midlands and in Fen peats. Trichodorus spp. cause ‘stubby root’ of sugar beet and can feed on many field crops. Seven species of Trichodorus were found in sandy soils in eastern England. L. attenuatus, L. elongatus and Trichodorus spp. aggregate around roots and stunt sugar beet and other crop plants. L. attenuatus is commoner below plough depth than in the topsoil, whereas T. cylindricus, T. pachy‐dermus and T. anemones are more abundant in the topsoil. These nematodes cause some forms of ‘Docking disorder’.

The errors of long-term experiments

SUMMARYYield (or other variate) values from crops recurring on the same plots in long-term experiments are subject to correlations known as serial plot correlations. Neglect of these plot correlations can result in loss of efficiency in the estimation of treatment effects and bias in the estimation of error.Serial plot correlations are calculated from 12 experiments on arable crops in England and Wales, for yields 4, 6 or 8 years apart. They are usually positive, with average value 0·2. In one set of experiments the losses in efficiency caused by plot correlations of this magnitude are shown to be small, but some of the biases in the estimates of error are large. Biases in the variances of treatment means can be wholly or partly eliminated by separating two components of error, plot error and plot x year error.

Experiments on the time of application of insecticide to decrease the spread of yellowing viruses of sugar beet, 1954‐66

SUMMARYSprays of demeton‐methyl insecticide decreased the spread of yellowing viruses by aphids in sugar‐beet crops in England. Between 1957 and 1960, when yellows was prevalent, the incidence, assessed as ‘infected‐plant‐weeks’, was decreased by 36–41 % by one spray, depending on when it was applied, and by 55 % by two sprays, giving average yield increases of 1½ and 2 ton/acre of roots respectively. Between 1962 and 1966, when yellows spread less, a spray at the time when growers were advised to spray by the British Sugar Corporation decreased yellows incidence by 37 %, whereas sprays 2 weeks earlier or later decreased it by 24 % and 25 % respectively. Between 1958 and 1966 an annual average of 160000 of the country's 440000 acres of sugar beet has been sprayed, often to control Aphis fabae as well as to check the spread of yellows. A spray gives a profitable yield increase when yellows incidence in unsprayed plots is 20 % at the end of August.

Electricity for grain drying

Grain is the most important farm crop in England and Wales. Modern harvesting methods have made drying necessary in most seasons, if the grain is to be kept on the farm for long periods. To this end, 27000 driers are now in use. The grain driers can be electrically powered and heated; the paper outlines the principles of drying, describes the types of drier which have been developed and indicates how electricity can best be applied. Although much of the information given is concerned with the design and operation of equipment, the subject has been approached from the point of view of the electricity-supply engineer. Comparisons of load factor, maximum demand, consumption and revenue returns are given for various types of drier operating under different conditions. Developments in other methods of storing grain may supersede drying in the future, but present indications are that electricity will continue to be needed for ancillary purposes.

Some Properties of Five Viruses of Celery (Apium GraveolensL.) in Britain

The symptoms and some properties of five viruses isolated from celery crops in Britain are described. Cucumber mosaic and lucerne mosaic viruses were found to be prevalent in celery and other crops. Tomato aspermy virus, though widespread in chrysanthemum and occasional in tomato crops in England, and economically damaging in Continental celery crops, has not so far been reported in celery in Britain. British celery varieties tested were resistant to experimental infection with tomato aspermy virus. These three viruses were readily isolated, purified and identified.Three viruses, designated celery yellow spot, celery yellow vein and celery ringspot, isolated from affected celery plants, were less readily transmitted from celery to celery, and could not be purified by techniques that succeed with many viruses.Celery yellow spot was transmitted by sap-rubbing inoculation only when cucumber mosaic virus was also present ; it was tentatively identified with the celery yellow spot virus reported from the U.S.A. Celery ringspot virus showed some similarities to the poison hemlock ringspot virus found in the U.S.A., but none of the critical tests for virus identification could be applied to either of these two viruses. Celery yellow net virus differed from all the viruses so far recorded in celery. The chronic symptoms of the different viruses in celery were often similar, and therefore unreliable for diagnosis. The initial or “ shock ” symptoms, however, were usually distinctive.

THE IDENTITY OF TWO SAP-TRANSMISSIBLE VIRUSES OF CARNATION IN ONTARIO

Both carnation mottle virus and carnation ring spot virus, hitherto unreported in Canada, were detected in commercial carnation varieties in Ontario. These viruses were distinguished by their effects on the differential hosts, Gomphrena glabasa L. and two selected clonal lines of Dianthus barbatus L., and by their host ranges, physical properties, and serological reactions. Evidence is presented to show that each is identical with the virus of the same name occurring in this crop in England and the United States.

The use of rainfall, temperature, and actual transpiration in some crop-weather investigations

This paper reports various investigations of the effects of meteorological factors on the yields of crops in England and Wales. The investigations were undertaken primarily with the objects of seeing (a) whether variations in temperature had any direct effect on yields, and (b) whether Penman's concept of actual transpiration gave a better measure of the overall effect of rainfall than the use of a multiple regression on variates representing total rainfall and its distribution.The effect of temperature and its seasonal distribution on the yields of wheat on various plots of the classical wheat experiment on Broadbalk field at Rothamsted was studied in conjunction with rainfall and its seasonal distribution, using the regression method devised by Fisher. Variations in temperature were found to show no effects on the final yields.The relationship between actual transpiration and yield was investigated for the Broadbalk field and for sugar beet and potatoes, using average yields determined by sampling methods, for various districts in England and Wales. For sugar-beet virus yellows infection, and for potatoes blight attack, were also taken into account.No relationship between actual transpiration and wheat yields on Broadbalk field was found, but sugar beet and potatoes both showed a positive association between actual transpiration and yield except for sugar beet in the Spalding area, where there is a high-water table. Actual transpiration was in general more effective than a regression on total rainfall and its distribution accounting for variations in yield. As might be expected virus yellows and blight also account for a good deal of the variation in yield.

Aphid transmission of a mosaic virus and symptoms of other virus diseases ofPrimula obconica

Abstract does not appear. First page follows. Primula obconica is a popular, attractive, ornamental potting plant which has commonly been found to be infected with a mosaic disease in commercial greenhouses in San Francisco. The losses of infected seedling plants have ranged from 5 to 25 per cent. A study was undertaken on aphid transmission of the mosaic virus of Primula obconica. Tests were made both with species of aphids that breed on this host plant in the greenhouse, and with species that do not. Other aspects investigated include the efficiency in the transmission of the virus by single unfasted, infective aphids. A comparison was made of the transmission of the virus by lots of 20 unfasted, infective aphids with lots of 20 fasted aphids in short infection-feeding periods on a diseased plant. A comparison was made of the symptoms of P. obconica mosaic with those of common-cucumber, celery-calico, and western-cucumber-mosaic viruses. An attempt was made to experimentally infect P. obconica with the ordinary-tobacco-mosaic virus. Tests were made on the susceptibility of this species of Primula to the California-aster-yellows and spotted-wilt viruses. Review of Literature Tompkins and Middleton (1941)4 reviewed the literature on mosaic diseases of Primula species, and reported the experimental host range and properties of a mosaic virus of P. obconica. Since the publication of that paper, other references to virus diseases aifecting the genus have appeared in the literature. (Moore (1947)) lists a mosaic of Primula in his report on diseases of crops in England.

Sugar Beet Viruses

THE virus of sugar beet yellows has not hitherto been regarded as seed-borne. Phyllis E. M. Clinch and J. B. Lodgimane have shown, however (Sc. Proc. Dub. Soc. 24, No. 27 ; July 29, 1948), that seed of a new family of sugar beet (No. 41), when germinated, gives a considerable percentage of yellowed seedlings. The identity of this yellowing with sugar beet yellows is somewhat by implication ; but the symptoms and physiological effects are similar. The paper also describes two types of yellows disease from commercial sugar beet crops in Eire. Sugar beet yellows is probably the most serious disease of this crop in England. R. Hull and Marion Watson have a useful paper in the Journal of Agricultural Science (37, Part 4, 301-310 ; 1948) on the relation of nutrition and variety with severity of yellows. Manurial treatments in general increase the yields of roots and sugar ; but the losses caused by infection unfortunately increase proportionately as the mean yields increase. Fertilizers have little effect in varying the symptoms of the disease. Commercial varieties and some breeders' lines were tested for possible tolerance of the vitas ; but no useful indication of this was obtained.

Report on Fungus, Bacterial and other Diseases of Crops in England and Wales for the Years 1943–1946

Report on Fungus, Bacterial and other Diseases of Crops in England and Wales for the Years 1943–1946

Colorado Beetle in England during the War

THAT the freedom of the potato crop in England from the ravages of the Colorado beetle during the War was due not to good fortune but to the vigilance of the Ministry of Agriculture is evident from an article (Agriculture, 52, p. 210) describing the infestations that have occurred in various parts of the country in recent years. Since the outbreak at Tilbury in 1933 (which was only the second recorded in Great Britain) a close watch had been kept on potato crops, particularly in coastal areas. During 1936–39 a few beetles were reported in soils along the south-east coast and on ships in port, and, when military traffic across the Channel started, the precautionary measures were intensified. In 1941, however, beetles were discovered at six separate localities in the west of England, three of them being on inland farms in Devonshire. The special methods adopted for exterminating the pest were increased publicity and inspection, precautionary spraying of crops within a five-mile radius of an outbreak, and the restriction of potato growing to fields which had carried the same crop in the previous year. Approximately 30,000 acres of potatoes were inspected, beetles being discovered at five localities in the south-west counties in 1942. One further outbreak occurred in Wiltshire in the following year, and since then no infestations have been reported, though a few beetles were discovered on vessels and aeroplanes of cross-Channel services. The pest has evidently not yet established itself in Great Britain; but growers are asked to keep a constant watch and notify the Ministry at once of any circumstances which arouse suspicion that the beetle may be present. Unauthorized spraying is strongly discouraged as it may cause the beetles to spread.

Report on Fungus, Bacterial and other Diseases of Crops in England and Wales for the Years 1933–1942

IT is sometimes a little difficult to attain true perspective in a science like plant pathology, where facts are accumulated in a manner necessarily fragmentary and sporadic. Diseases never occur in standard measure, either of space or time, and Pasteur's dictum that chance favours only the mind that is prepared applies with special emphasis to the study of plant pathology. It is very appropriate that a periodical review be made of the occurrence of all diseases, and Mr. Moore, who is mycologist to the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, has gathered together such information for England and Wales. He has had numerous collaborators, and the review follows an earlier bulletin (No. 79) which covered the five years, 1928–32. Report on Fungus, Bacterial and other Diseases of Crops in England and Wales for the Years 1933–1942 (Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Bulletin No. 126.) Pp. iv + 100 + 8 plates. (London: H.M. Stationery Office, 1943.) 2s. net.

Reports and other Publications

Great Britain and Ireland Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries. Bulletin No. 126: Report on Fungus, Bacterial and other Diseases of Crops in England and Wales for the Years 1933–1942. Pp. iv+100+8 plates. (London: H.M. Stationery Office.) 2s. net. [2412

Insect Pests of Crops in England and Wales

BULLETIN No. 118 of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, recently issued, records the incidence of the more important crop pests for the years 1935–37. The information upon which it is based has been supplied in the main by the advisory entomologists and other reporters. It appears that numerous foreign insects were intercepted by the Ministry's inspectors during their examination of imported plants and others were sent in by the general public. The great majority of these aliens were unlikely to prove either injurious or to establish themselves in Great Britain. A few, however, were of a different category and need brief reference.

Insect Pests of Crops in England

Insect Pests of Crops in England

REVIEWS

Book reviewed in this article: An Introduction to Plant Biochemistry. By Catherine Cassels Steele.1. Virus Diseases of Plants: A Bibliography. By D. Atanasoff.2. Partial Bibliography of Virus Diseases of Plants. By J. I. Otero and M. T. Cook. Investigations on Barley. By Sir E. J. Russell and L. R. Bishop. The Gramineae, a Study of Cereal, Bamboo, and Grass. By Agnes Arber. A History of Embryology. By Joseph Needham. Report on Fungus, Bacterial and other Diseases of Crops in England and Wales, 1928–32. The Life Forms of Plants and Statistical Plant Geography, being the collected papers of C. Raunkiaer. Plant Chimaeras and Graft Hybrids. By W. Neilson Jones. (Methuen's Monographs on Biological Subjects.) The Genetics of Garden Plants. By M. B. Crane and W. J. C. Lawrence.

Some Considerations Affecting the Growing of Linseed as a Farm Crop in England: I. Variations in the Oil Content

Owing to the rapid rise in the price of linseed and linseed products during recent years, the question has arisen as to whether the farmer can grow linseed, for home consumption, at a smaller cost than he can buy it for under existing conditions. This question involves considerations as to which of the several kinds of linseed would be the most profitable to grow, and it becomes necessary to consider not only the agricultural requirements of the crop, but also the fact that the value of this crop is largely, if not entirely, determined by the quantity of oil produced per acre.

The Tick Pest in the Tropics

THOSE living in temperate climates have probably small idea of the virulence of insect and other pests in the tropics. A plague of caterpillars may destroy a season's crop in England, but there is the winter's frost to be passed through before a second attack need be feared. It is otherwise in the tropics. Vegetation is much more luxuriant, and the food supply is permanent; and, when once a plague has obtained a firm foothold, there is no apparent reason why it should cease its ravages before it has entirely destroyed its particular host. It is fortunate for agriculturists that the great increase of any particular parasite seems ultimately to work out its own destruction; and frequently when all hope seems over, the plague rapidly and unaccountably disappears.

The Climate of Ireland

The Climate of Ireland

XXVII. Observations on Insects producing Silk, and on the possibility of rearing Silk Crops in England

Transactions of the Royal Entomological Society of LondonVolume 1, Issue 2 p. 123-127 XXVII. Observations on Insects producing Silk, and on the possibility of rearing Silk Crops in England Rev. F. W. Hope F.R.S., Rev. F. W. Hope F.R.S.Search for more papers by this author Rev. F. W. Hope F.R.S., Rev. F. W. Hope F.R.S.Search for more papers by this author First published: March 1836 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2311.1838.tb00154.xAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Volume1, Issue2March 1836Pages 123-127 RelatedInformation