Middle Of September Research Articles

Nettle pollen - an important taxon of the summer pollen flora of Polish urban areas in the 2023 season

New significant clinical studies suggest the enormous preventive and therapeutic capabilities of Urtica dioica L. Despite being already known as multi-purpose plant, it is still underestimated and relatively poorly researched in regards to its allergenic potential. The aim of the study was to compare nettle pollen season in 2023 in ten cities located in different regions of Poland: Bialystok, Kraków, Kielce, Lublin, Olsztyn, Piotrków Trybunalski, Szczecin, Warszawa, Wrocław and Łódź. Nettle pollen grains were collected using Burkard or Lanzoni Hirst-type volumetric samplers. The 95% method was used to determine the duration of the pollen seasons. The nettle pollen season in 2023 began in June. The earliest onset of the pollen season was recorded in Kielce (June 15th), in Wrocław (June 16th) and Warszawa (June 17th). In most of the monitored cites maximum daily pollen concentrations were registered in the middle of September. Mean seasonal pollen index (SPI) reached the value of 8579. The highest total values (SPI) were in Lublin (14,387) in Kielce (13,424) and in Wrocław (12,304). The lowest total values level (SPI) was in Białystok (3434) and in Łódź (4935). But in Łódź in October 2023, thanks to favourable weather, many Urtica dioica L. plants bloomed again. Unfortunately, aerobiological research was no longer carried out at that time.

Assessing Spatio-temporal Changes of Floating Aquatic Vegetation in Lake Sevan Using Landsat Imagery and Vegetation Indices

This research was carried out as part of the "Copernicus assisted environmental monitoring across the Black Sea Basin – PONTOS" project, which aimed to support and enhance environmental monitoring in the Black Sea Basin region by utilizing Earth Observation products obtained from satellite, airborne, and ground sources. The project team evaluated the environmental monitoring system in pilot sites across Armenia, Greece, Georgia, and Ukraine. The current study focused on assessing changes in wetland and floating vegetation cover from 2009-2015 in Lake Sevan, the largest freshwater source in Armenia and one of the project's pilot sites. Monitoring spatio-temporal changes in aquatic vegetation is crucial for understanding the ecological and socioeconomic functions of lake ecosystems, and requires standardized methods. In order to identify floating aquatic vegetation in Lake Sevan, this study utilized Landsat TM and OLI imagery that were acquired during the main growing season from middle May to middle September of the years 2009-2015. To enhance the classification process, vegetation indices such as the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Normalized Difference Aquatic Vegetation Index (NDAVI), and Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI) were applied. The findings of this study indicate that medium-resolution Landsat and similar satellite images, which are freely available, can be effectively used to monitor spatiotemporal changes in lakes in a reproducible and continuous manner. However, it was also discovered that algal blooms can significantly hinder the accurate detection of floating vegetation from satellite imagery.

Three Gorges Dam Operations Affect the Carbon Dioxide Budget of a Large Downstream Connected Lake

AbstractThe effects of dams on carbon dioxide (CO2) fluxes in downstream lakes remain elusive. Here we combined eddy covariance observations and random forest models to examine multi‐decadal variations in CO2 fluxes in the Poyang Lake, the largest freshwater lake in China, and quantified the contribution of the Three Gorges Dam (TGD), the world's largest hydraulic project. We found the lake fluctuated between CO2 source and sink in 1961–2016, and tended to be CO2 sink in the post‐TGD period (2003–2016) when vegetation expanded early and spatially due to declining water level. TGD can explain approximately 6% of the total differences in annual CO2 fluxes, with major contributions in the impoundment period (up to 22% in middle September to October). The results show a positive side of operational major hydraulic projects on lake carbon sink, and probably caution the negative side of carbon release after dam removal.

Population Dynamics of Lacewing, Chrysoperla carnea in Cotton Fields in the Central Region of Syria

Hawis, B., Z. Chikh Khamis and M. Al-Nabhan. 2023. Population Dynamics of Lacewing, Chrysoperla carnea in Cotton Fields in the Central Region of Syria. Arab Journal of Plant Protection, 41(4): 375-383. https://doi.org/10.22268/AJPP41.4.375383 Dynamics of Chrysoperla carnea population dynamics were studied for two growing seasons (2017 and 2018) in cotton fields in Hama at central Syria. Adults of C. carnea were prevalent in the field from July until the end of the season. The highest numbers of the predator adults caught by the sweeping net were in the middle of September (4 and 8 adults per 50 sweeping net beats in 2017 and 2018, respectively). The correlation between predator adults and maximum, minimum, and average temperatures were negative with low significance, and positive with weak significance between C. carnea adult population and relative humidity in 2017, but no correlation between these variables in 2018 were recorded. The correlation between adults and sunshine duration was negative in both seasons. C. carnea eggs were recorded in cotton fields in July of both seasons and continued to be present all during the season until 14 October in 2017 (22.96 eggs/100 leaves), and in 2018 predator eggs were reduced at the end of September to 7.41eggs/100 leaves. The highest number of eggs were noticed at the third week of 382 مجلة وقاية النبات العربية، مجلد ،41 عدد 4 ) 2023( august (38.52 and 49.63 eggs in 2017 and 2018, respectively). There was intermediate positive significance between eggs and minimum and average temperature in 2018. Positive correlations were recorded between the predator eggs and whitefly and aphid’s nymphs in both seasons. The low and middle levels of the cotton plant leaves were the preferred sites for females to put their eggs, and the proportion of eggs placed on these parts of plant in both seasons was 76.34%. Keywords: Chrysoperla carnea, population dynamics, weather parameters, Bemisia tabaci, Aphis gossypii, oviposition preference

Long-term studies of mesosphere and lower-thermosphere summer length definitions based on mean zonal wind features observed for more than one solar cycle at middle and high latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere

Abstract. Specular meteor radars (SMRs) and partial reflection radars (PRRs) have been observing mesospheric winds for more than a solar cycle over Germany (∼ 54∘ N) and northern Norway (∼ 69∘ N). This work investigates the mesospheric mean zonal wind and the zonal mean geostrophic zonal wind from the Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) over these two regions between 2004 and 2020. Our study focuses on the summer when strong planetary waves are absent and the stratospheric and tropospheric conditions are relatively stable. We establish two definitions of the summer length according to the zonal wind reversals: (1) the mesosphere and lower-thermosphere summer length (MLT-SL) using SMR and PRR winds and (2) the mesosphere summer length (M-SL) using the PRR and MLS. Under both definitions, the summer begins around April and ends around middle September. The largest year-to-year variability is found in the summer beginning in both definitions, particularly at high latitudes, possibly due to the influence of the polar vortex. At high latitudes, the year 2004 has a longer summer length compared to the mean value for MLT-SL as well as 2012 for both definitions. The M-SL exhibits an increasing trend over the years, while MLT-SL does not have a well-defined trend. We explore a possible influence of solar activity as well as large-scale atmospheric influences (e.g., quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO), El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO), major sudden stratospheric warming events). We complement our work with an extended time series of 31 years at middle latitudes using only PRR winds. In this case, the summer length shows a breakpoint, suggesting a non-uniform trend, and periods similar to those known for ENSO and QBO.

Study on Growth and Flowering Timing of False African Nutmeg

Matured trees of Pycnanthus angolensis (20.0±5.0years) were purposively selected from Oyo (Idito ID, Adewumi AD), Osun (Gbongan GB, Ajaba AJ), and Ekiti (Otun OT, Ayetoro AY) States, based on availability. Onset and duration of flowering and fruiting (months) and period of fruit colour change (days) were monitored for 24 months. Flower initiation ranged from September-November in which GB initiated flower in October, AJ (September), OT (November), AY (November), ID (November) and AD (November). However, OT, AY, ID and AD initiated flower at the same time. Flower formation also occurred between October-January. In GB, it occurred between Nov – December for (30days), AJ October 3rd–November. 30th for (58days), OT November 8th– December 8th (30days), AY November 8th–December 8th (30days), ID and AD formed flower between December 8th–January8th (30days). Flowering period/ duration also varied, in GB, between October 1st-April 30th (7mths/ 211days), AJ between September 1st – January 31st (5mths/ 153 days), OT between November 1st – March 31st (5mths/ 151days), AY (April), ID and AD (June). Flowering period ranged from 5-8 months. It fruits from middle of July–June. However, Osun fruits (July-April), Ekiti (July-May) and Oyo (November-June). Fruiting initiation (FrI) ranged from July-November, GB: September, AJ: July, OT: July, AY: August, ID and AD: November. However, OT and AJ, ID and AD initiated fruit at the same time. Fruit formation (FF) occurred between September-November. Fruit maturation starts with brown colouration (FrM1), brown-Green (FrM2), Green-Yellow (FrM3) and Yellow (FrM4). FrM1 in GB {September 1st – September 30 (30)}, AJ: July 1st–November (150days), OT: July1st–August 30th (62), AY: August1st–October 30th (90), ID: November-December (61) and AD November1st-30th (30); FrM2 in GB ranged from October 1st-December 15th (105), AJ November1st-30th (30), OT (91days), AY October (60 days), ID (61) and AD (61); FrM3: ranged from (30 to 89days), and FrM4 ranged from (90days/3months) to 202 days. Fruiting occurred between middle of September–june. Osun began (September-January), Ekiti (November-April) and Oyo (November-June).

Relationship between Drought and Precipitation Heterogeneity: An Analysis across Rain-Fed Agricultural Regions in Eastern Gansu, China

Based on daily meteorological data from 55 meteorological stations in eastern Gansu from 1960 to 2017, the characteristics of the drought process and precipitation heterogeneity were analyzed, and the relationship between drought and precipitation heterogeneity was evaluated. Results showed that there were 1–3 drought processes in the study area every year. Drought processes in the eastern and north-central regions were more frequent than those in other regions. Droughts were mainly manifested as intra-seasonal droughts, especially across the spring and summer. PCD (Precipitation Concentration Degree, the concentration degree of the precipitation at a certain time) ranged from 0.2 to 0.7 in the area. PCD increased in spring and autumn but decreased in summer and winter for most regions from 1960 to 2017. PCP (Precipitation Concentration Period, the shortest time which the precipitation was concentrated in) was from late April to early May in spring, mid-to-late July in summer, mid-September in autumn, and late January in winter. In the last 58 years, PCP has remained consistent in most regions, varying by approximately 10 days. In addition to insignificant changes in winter, the days with light and moderate rain presented a declining trend, especially in summer and autumn. The larger the PCD, the fewer the days with light and moderate rain, and the stronger the drought intensity. However, in the east-central region, the larger the PCD in autumn, the weaker was the drought intensity. This difference is related to the PCP and the evapotranspiration. Additionally, the later the PCP, the stronger was the drought intensity, particularly in summer and autumn. When PCD was ≥0.5 in spring and ≥0.4 in summer, the PCP was after May and August in spring and summer, respectively. Droughts appeared in 28–56% of periods when seasonal precipitation was above normal. When PCD was ≥0.5 in autumn and PCP was in early and middle September, droughts appeared in 7% of periods when precipitation was above normal. Our results show that although less precipitation is the leading influencing factor of drought in the dry rain-fed agricultural areas, the influence of precipitation heterogeneity should be also considered for the prediction and diagnosis of seasonal drought.

‘Dress Code’ Controversy: A Victim of Misogynistic Mindset or Something Else ?

In the middle of September 2021, a female candidate wearing ‘shorts’ (the so-called ‘half pant’), hailing from Biswanath Chariali, went to Tezpur to appear at an entrance test of Assam Agricultural University (AAU) at Girijananda Chowdhury Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences (GIPS), one of the agencies of AAU. While the gatekeeper of GIPS gave her access, the invigilator on duty at the examination hall raised eyebrows on her ‘dress code’ but allowed her to sit in the examination, coercing her to drape a curtain to cover her legs. Doing so, the invigilator not only trespassed into her personal space— her body; humiliated her by lowering her dignity. This perspective is an attempt to revisit the debate of the dress code of Indian women, which refuses to die even in 21st Century India.

Картографирование и верификация сроков залегания снежного покрова Прибайкалья по дистанционным данным MODIS «снежный покров»

The mapping and analysis of the dates of onset and melting the snow cover in the Baikal region for 2000–2010 based on eight-day MODIS “snow cover” composites with a spatial resolution of 500 m, as well as their verification based on the data of 17 meteorological stations was carried out. For each year of the decennary under study, for each meteorological station, the difference in dates determined from the MODIS data and that of weather stations was calculated. Modulus of deviations vary from 0 to 36 days for onset dates and from 0 to 47 days – for those of stable snow cover melting, the average of the deviation modules for all meteorological stations and years is 9–10 days. It is assumed that 83 % of the cases for the onset dates can be considered admissible (with deviations up to 16 days), and 79 % of them for the end dates. Possible causes of deviations are analyzed. It was revealed that the largest deviations correspond to coastal meteorological stations and are associated with the inhomogeneity of the characteristics of the snow cover inside the pixels containing water and land. The dates of onset and melting of a stable snow cover from the images turned out to be later than those of weather stations for about 10 days. First of all (from the end of August to the middle of September), the snow is established on the tops of the ranges Barguzinsky, Baikalsky, Khamar-Daban, and later (in late November–December) a stable cover appears in the Barguzin valley, in the Selenga lowland, and in Priolkhonye. The predominant part of the Baikal region territory is covered with snow in October, and is released from it in the end of April till the middle of May.

Seed production of perennial grasses in the Far North

The results of research on improving disturbed lands by sowing them with perennial grasses are presented. The methods of seed production of perennial cereal grasses, the genotype of which allows to go through all development phases during a short warm period and resume their growth the next year, were studied. The study was carried out in the forest-tundra zone of the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug on an oldarable (30-year development) surface-podzolic eluvial-gleyic soil in 2016-2018. It was established that sowing perennial grasses for seeds using a wide-row method is more effective than conventional row planting. On average in 2 years, the yield of seeds of red fescue grass was 0.36 t/ha, which is 0.08 t/ha or 28.6%, higher with a wide-row sowing method than with the conventional row planting. It was established that a decrease in the seeding rate by half ensures an increase in the yield of seeds compared to the previously recommended rates. The yield of seeds of red fescue grass with a reduced seeding rate and a wide-row sowing method on average in 2 years was 0.39 t/ha, alpine bluegrass – 0.6 t/ha, which was 0.02–0.06 t/ha higher than with full seeding rates, respectively. Sowing of cereal grasses in the middle of September (before winter) proved to be promising. The seed yield of Bering meadow grass sown in early-winter was noted to be higher (by 83%) than in the spring period; the yield of red fescue grass was practically the same in both studied variants. The maximum seed yield is formed by local species of perennial grasses.

Characterization of the core bacteriobiome in the rhizosphere of greenhouse vegetables: taxonomic diversity and putative functions

The aim of the study. The aim was to profile 16S rRNA gene diversity and to assess functional potential of bacterial assemblages in the rhizosphere of some unconventional vegetables grown in protected greenhouse conditions in West Siberia. Location and time of the study. Novosibirsk, Russia, 2016. Methodology. At the end of the growing season in the middle of September the rhizosphere soil was collected from the plants of wax gourd (Benincasa hispida), bitter melon (Momordica charantia), kiwano (Cucumis metuliferus) and cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) grown on peat-based substrate in a polyethylene-protected greenhouse that has been in operation for more than 40 years. The metagenomic DNA was extracted and amplified with V3-V4 primers for 16S rRNA genes, and the amplicons sequenced with Illumina MiSeq. The obtained OTUs tables were used to predict putative functions by running through the FAPROTAX database. Main results. The rhizosphere bacteriobiome was dominated by Proteobacteria (32±11% of the total number of sequence reads), Acidobacteria (23±7%) and Actinobacteria (18±3%) phyla, together accounting for about three quarters of the rhizosphere bacteriobiome. In total 20 bacterial phyla were found. The rhizosphere bacteriobiome was surprisingly diverse with Shannon index ranging 7.0–7.5. The number of the observed operational taxonomic units (OTUs) per sample was very high, ranging 4,500–4,900, and the potential number of OTUs estimated as 5,100–5,700; all those OTUs were evenly and equitably represented in the bacteriobiome, and dominance indices (Simpson dominance and Berger-Parker) were very low. The main dominant OTU represented Bradyrhizobiaceae family and accounted for just 1% on average. Overall the study identified 27 OTUs belonging to the Bradyrhizobiaceae family, but only four of them were ascribed to nitrogen fixation by FAPROTAX. Function prediction by FAPROTAX also suggested that bacteriobiome had a marked potential for the carbon cycle, denitrification, aromatic compound and plant polymer degradation, but no plant pathogens. The biggest difference in rhizosphere bacteriobiome diversity was observed between the bitter melon and the other three vegetable crops: bitter melon had much increased abundance of Arthrobacter and Sphingomonas as compared with wax gourd, kiwano and cowpea, and increased number of bacterial species associated with aromatic compounds degradation. Conclusion. Based on the finding that the studied rhizosphere bacteriobiomes were very diverse, we conclude that the crops were able to recruit diverse microbiota from the peat-based soil substrate, which, in its turn, means that diverse soil substrate microbiota has been sustained over several decades of the greenhouse operation. All crops apparently shaped distinct bacteriobiomes in their rhizosphere, which ideally should be included into studies of plant-associated bacterial diversity profiles for breeding and sustainable production.

Sowing date and maturity groups on the economic feasibility of soybean-maize double summer crop system

Abstract: The success of soybean-maize double summer crop is very dependent on the sowing date and relative maturity group of cultivars. This study aimed to evaluate the economic feasibility of the adoption of soybean-maize double cropping under different sowing periods and soybean maturity groups. The production data used were obtained from two summer growing seasons (2016/17 and 2017/18) in an experiment carried out at Dois Vizinhos-PR, Brazil. The economic feasibility of each treatment was evaluated through the indicators of gross revenue, gross margin, operating profit, and profitability index. Soybean-maize succession is viable and presents positive profitability. Soybean establishment on October 15th makes it economically unfeasible to sow maize (outside the zoning) as a 2nd summer crop. Soybean maturity groups from 5.1 to 5.3, when sown on October 1st allow profitability and better financial balance, being this combination the most suitable for a double summer crop. Soybean genotypes with maturity group 6.0 are an option for sowing in the middle of September, being the most lucrative and efficient arrangement, providing maize sowing in the middle of February, within the agroclimatic zoning of the region.

An automatically generated high-resolution earthquake catalogue for the 2016–2017 Central Italy seismic sequence, includingPandSphase arrival times

SUMMARYThe 2016–2017 central Italy earthquake sequence began with the first main shock near the town of Amatrice on August 24 (Mw 6.0), and was followed by two subsequent large events near Visso on October 26 (Mw 5.9) and Norcia on October 30 (Mw 6.5), plus a cluster of four events with Mw > 5.0 within few hours on 18 January 2017. The affected area had been monitored before the sequence started by the permanent Italian National Seismic Network (RSNC), and was enhanced during the sequence by temporary stations deployed by the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology and the British Geological Survey. By the middle of September, there was a dense network of 155 stations, with a mean separation in the epicentral area of 6–10 km, comparable to the most likely earthquake depth range in the region. This network configuration was kept stable for an entire year, producing 2.5 TB of continuous waveform recordings.Here we describe how this data was used to develop a large and comprehensive earthquake catalogue using the Complete Automatic Seismic Processor (CASP) procedure. This procedure detected more than 450 000 events in the year following the first main shock, and determined their phase arrival times through an advanced picker engine (RSNI-Picker2), producing a set of about 7 million P- and 10 million S-wave arrival times. These were then used to locate the events using a non-linear location (NLL) algorithm, a 1-D velocity model calibrated for the area, and station corrections and then to compute their local magnitudes (ML). The procedure was validated by comparison of the derived data for phase picks and earthquake parameters with a handpicked reference catalogue (hereinafter referred to as ‘RefCat’). The automated procedure takes less than 12 hr on an Intel Core-i7 workstation to analyse the primary waveform data and to detect and locate 3000 events on the most seismically active day of the sequence. This proves the concept that the CASP algorithm can provide effectively real-time data for input into daily operational earthquake forecasts,The results show that there have been significant improvements compared to RefCat obtained in the same period using manual phase picks. The number of detected and located events is higher (from 84 401 to 450 000), the magnitude of completeness is lower (from ML 1.4 to 0.6), and also the number of phase picks is greater with an average number of 72 picked arrival for a ML = 1.4 compared with 30 phases for RefCat using manual phase picking. These propagate into formal uncertainties of ±0.9 km in epicentral location and ±1.5 km in depth for the enhanced catalogue for the vast majority of the events. Together, these provide a significant improvement in the resolution of fine structures such as local planar structures and clusters, in particular the identification of shallow events occurring in parts of the crust previously thought to be inactive. The lower completeness magnitude provides a rich data set for development and testing of analysis techniques of seismic sequences evolution, including real-time, operational monitoring of b-value, time-dependent hazard evaluation and aftershock forecasting.

A Cross-Regional Analysis of the COVID-19 Spread during the 2020 Italian Vacation Period: Results from Three Computational Models Are Compared.

On 21 February 2020, a violent COVID-19 outbreak, which was initially concentrated in Lombardy before infecting some surrounding regions exploded in Italy. Shortly after, on 9 March, the Italian Government imposed severe restrictions on its citizens, including a ban on traveling to other parts of the country. No travel, no virus spread. Many regions, such as those in southern Italy, were spared. Then, in June 2020, under pressure for the economy to reopen, many lockdown measures were relaxed, including the ban on interregional travel. As a result, the virus traveled for hundreds of kilometers, from north to south, with the effect that areas without infections, receiving visitors from infected areas, became infected. This resulted in a sharp increase in the number of infected people; i.e., the daily count of new positive cases, when comparing measurements from the beginning of July to those from at the middle of September, rose significantly in almost all the Italian regions. Upon confirmation of the effect of Italian domestic tourism on the virus spread, three computational models of increasing complexity (linear, negative binomial regression, and cognitive) have been compared in this study, with the aim of identifying the one that better correlates the relationship between Italian tourist flows during the summer of 2020 and the resurgence of COVID-19 cases across the country. Results show that the cognitive model has more potential than the others, yet has relevant limitations. The models should be considered as a relevant starting point for the study of this phenomenon, even if there is still room to further develop them up to a point where they become able to capture all the various and complex spread patterns of this disease.

Alemdar Gazetesi’ne Göre 1911 Yazında İstanbul’un Kolera ile İmtihanı

Salgın hastalıklar insanlık tarihi boyunca birçok kez meydana gelerek toplumların ve devletlerin sosyal, ekonomik, siyasal ve askeri hayatlarını derinden etkilemiştir. Göç, ekonomik kriz ve nüfus azalmasına sebep olan salgınların önüne geçilmesi hususunda yüzyıllarca çeşitli yöntemlere başvurulmuştur. Bu da modern tıbbın gelişimine kadar geçen süreci pozitif yönde etkilemiştir. Toplumları büyük ölçüde etkileyen salgınlardan biri de koleradır. Hijyen koşullarından uzak yerlerde ortaya çıkan kolera, Osmanlı Devleti’nde birkaç kez yayılmıştır. İnsan hareketliliğinin yoğun olduğu yerlerin başında gelen İstanbul, koleradan etkilenen başlıca şehirlerden biridir. XIX. yüzyılda, en az beş büyük kolera salgını geçiren kentte 1911 yazı kolera ile mücadeleyle geçmiştir. Bu çalışmanın amacı 1911 yazında İstanbul’da meydana gelen kolera salgınının etkisini dönemin muhalif yayınlarından birini oluşturan Alemdar Gazetesi aracılığıyla saptamaktır. İncelenen nüshalara göre, 1911 yılının yaz mevsimi boyunca etkili olmasına rağmen hastalık Ağustos ayında artış göstermiştir. Eylül ayının sonlarında kontrol altına alınmaya başlanan hastalık, kışa doğru neredeyse bitme noktasına gelmiştir. Bu çerçevede gazetede yer alan kolera vakaları, koleraya karşı alınan tedbirler, halkın ve devletin koleraya bakış açısı incelenmiştir. 1911 yazında İstanbul’da meydana gelen salgında vaka sayısı 2.500’ü aşmıştır. Salgına karşı alınan tedbirlerde ise yetersiz kalınmıştır.

Reproductive and recruitment seasons for Penaeus aztecus in the Tamaulipas-Veracruz area, Gulf of Mexico

An integral fishery analysis was made for the population of Penaeus aztecus in the Tamaulipas-Veracruz area from 1974 to 1995. Fourteen age classes between 3 and 16 months old were found, and their respective total abundances were virtually reconstructed (this included shrimp that was caught and shrimp that were not caught in the study area). Age classes were statistically separated into two statistical population indices: the abundance of spawners (or SI index) and the abundance of recruits (or RI index).Time series were generated for these indices to establish when reproductive and recruitment seasons began, ended, and reached maximum abundance. SI index was structured with reproductive ages from 6 to 13 months old, and RI index with young recruits of 4 months old. Reproductive season (or lagoon recruitment) spanned from middle December to early May, with the highest spawners abundance in February. Recruitment season (or marine recruitment) spanned from early April to middle September, with the highest abundance of young recruits during June/July. The seasonal changes in the abundance of spawners were described with lagoon recruitment (in the marine environment). The seasonal changes in the abundance of recruits were described with marine recruitment (between lagoons systems and the marine environment). A higher exploitation level of spawners than for young recruits was recorded. Recently closure seasons are implemented between May and August/September/October. These completely protect marine recruitment, and the lagoon recruitment remains unprotected.

A Bactrocera oleae (Rossi) damage estimation model to anticipate pest control strategies in olive production

The olive fly, Bactrocera oleae (Rossi), is the main pest in most olive-growing regions. During a 10-year study (2001–2011), olive fly population levels were evaluated in twenty olive groves in the region of Madrid, Spain, as part of the “European Program of Quality Improvement in Olive Oil and Table Olives”. The fly population data obtained by trapping with McPhail traps throughout the season and the damage observed during fruit sampling were analyzed in order to obtain an easy-to-use and inexpensive damage estimation model that could then be used to predict the need for control measures. We observed that the increase in the number of adults caught in McPhail traps was significantly correlated with the increase in production damage. For the same increase in the olive fly population, there was more damage to the olive crop in the years when the date of appearance of the first stung fruit occurred later. Additionally, a significant correlation was obtained between the size of the olive fly population that caused the first damage and the size of the olive fly population that caused the total damage through the end of the harvest season. Therefore, the potential damage to the olive fruit crop at harvest time (usually in December) can be easily estimated in the middle of September by knowing the date that olive fly damage was first detected (first stung date) and by estimating the olive fly population size at the end of the season (obtained empirically from the population size when fruit damage was first detected). This means that prevention and control measures can be anticipated up to three months before the beginning of harvest.

Siirt İlinde Antepfıstığı Psillidi [Agonoscena pistaciae Burck. and Laut.) (Hemiptera: Aphalaridae)]'nın Yayılışı ve Populasyon Dinamiğinin Belirlenmesi

Bu çalışma 2015-2017 yıllarında Siirt İlinde Antepfıstığında zararlı Antepfıstığı psillidi [Agonoscena pistaciae Burck. and Laut.) (Hemiptera: Aphalaridae)]’nın yayılışı ve populasyon seyrini belirlemek amacıyla yürütülmüştür. Yayılış alanını belirlemek için Siirt İlinin Merkez, Aydınlar, Eruh, Kurtalan, Pervari, ve Şirvan ilçelerinde 24 köyde toplam 66 fıstık bahçesinde gözlem ve inceleme yapılmıştır. Zararlının popülasyon seyrini belirlemek için ise 2016-2017 yıllarında Siirt Merkez ilçede 4 bahçede çalışmalar yürütülmüştür. Yayılış alanını belirlemek için darbe yöntemi ve göz ile inceleme yöntemi, mimf ve yumurta yoğunluğunu belirlemek için ise göz ile inceleme yöntemi kullanılmıştır. Örneklemeler 1-2 haftalık aralıklarla yapılmıştır. Çalışma sonucunda A pistaciae tüm ilçelerde yayılış gösterdiği ve kontrol edilen tüm bahçelerin bulaşık olduğu belirlenmiştir. Kışlanmış erginler nisan ayının ortasında, ilk yumurtalar nisan ayının son haftasında ve birinci dönem nimflere ise nisan sonu mayıs başında belirlenmiştir. Kış geçirecek ergin formları eylül ayı ortasından itibaren görülmüştür. A pistaciae’nın ergin, nimf ve yumurta yoğunluğunun mayıs sonu ve haziran başında biraz arttığı, ancak ağustos sonlarından kasım ortalarına kadar ergin, nimf ve yumurta yoğunluğunun yüksek olduğu tespit edilmiştir. Birçok bahçede ekonomik zarar eşiğini aştığı görülmüştür. Mayıs sonu- haziran başı ve temmuz sonu-ağustos ortasından sonra yapılacak kontrollerde eğer bileşik yaprak başına 20-30 nimf tespit edilirse bir yada iki kimyasal uygulama yeterli olacaktır.

Population Dynamics of Citrus Leafminer, Phyllocnistis citrella Stainton (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae) and Its Parasitoids on Mandarin Trees in Sharkia Governorate, Egypt

The present work was conducted to study the population dynamics of citrus leafminer (CLM) and its associated parasitoids on mandarin trees during two successive years of 2013-14 & 2014-15 all in relation to climatic factors [temperature and relative humidity (R. H.)]. The citrus leafminer larval population had 6 peaks of abundance on mandarin trees in each studied year. The higher population peaks of the pest were noticed during two main periods. The first period was in late May and the second period observed in late August and the middle of September. Generally, springtime is considered the most abundant season for Phyllocnistis citrella infestation followed by either summer or autumn seasons. In winter, there is a complete absence of CLM infestation. There is a positive relationship between CLM population abundance and both temperature and R.H.%. The associated parasitoids Semielacher petiolatus (Girault) and Cirrospilus ingenuus (Gahan) had five peaks of abundance during each studied year. The highest parasitism was 42.5% at the beginning of August in 2013-14 and 19.2% in the middle of September in 2014-15. The effect of a combination of parasitoids and climatic factors on CLM population was presented as explained variance (E.V.) which was 36.9 % in the first and 34.7% in the second studied year.

НЕКОТОРЫЕ МАЛОИСПОЛЬЗУЕМЫЕ ПРЯНО-АРОМАТИЧЕСКИЕ РАСТЕНИЯ В БАШКИРСКОМ ПРЕДУРАЛЬЕ

Two rarely used aromatic species of the Apiaceae family – Silaum silaus and Levisticum officinale in their habitat were studied. Features of their seasonal growth and development rhythm, morphometric indicators were considered, success of the plant introduction was measured. The study was conducted in the South Ural botanical garden. Silaum silaus and Levisticum officinale both have spring aftergrowing at the end of April, budding in the second ten-day period of June; Levisticum officinale starts to blossom in the first ten-day period of July, while Silaum silaus starts to bloom in the second ten-day period of July. The blooming period of both plants averages 35 days. Seeds of Levisticum officinale begin to mature at the end of August, while seeds of Silaum silaus start ripening in the middle of September. In comparison to the second species Levisticum officinale features higher rates in height and stalk thickness, however, the plant forms three times fewer bottom leaves and generative shoots. Morphological indicators have standard variation rates (from 1,4 to 19,7 %). The introduction of Silaum silaus and Levisticum officinale revealed that in the Bashkir Cis-Urals the plants complete the development cycle, that is, blossom, give yield, set full seeds. The study plants can be recommended for use as raw materials in food production, cooking and alcoholic beverage production.