Pear Blossoms Research Articles

The Impact of Festival Tourism on The Image of Tourist Destinations: A Case Study of The Dangshan Pear Blossom Festival in Anhui, China

In this study, the impact of festival tourism on the image of tourism destinations was analysed by testing a conceptual model, linking festival tourism tourists' perception to destination image, designing a tourists' questionnaire in combination with the actual situation of Dangshan Pear Blossom Festival in Anhui Province, China, and then carrying out a statistical analysis with the help of Spss27 software. The findings of this paper are as follows: first, tourists think that festival tourism content,services,products,facilities and other influencing factors are all important. Among them, festival tourism content > festival tourism products > festival tourism facilities > festival tourism services. Secondly, festival tourism was able to form a positive tourism attraction to the destination image. These findings provide a basis for further government planning, tourism services and policy formulation for festival tourism.

Towards probody artmaking: from rehabilitation, prehabilitation to prohabilitation1

If performance training is to retain its relevance for community performers, it will need to foster not only practices of social care but also of bodily care. Responding to my long-term work with community performers of older population, I argue that the creative process of performance making should be a form of prohabilitation. In my discussion, I first outline the multidimensionality of bodily damage, as well as the two extant approaches to addressing them–rehabilitation and prehabilitation. I then propose prohabilitation as an endeavor to complement these two by enabling the individual to concurrently self-care and to carry out required tasks. To illustrate how prohabilitation may operate in performance, I turn to two probody artmaking projects, The Heartland of Pear Blossoms and Towards Probody Artmaking, as examples. Probody artmaking is a sub concept of prohabilitation. It is a body-centric creative approach guided by artistic and interventional goals. In addition to self- and other-care before and after practice, probody artmaking seeks to engage performers to take care during and through their practice. Mastery of movement strategies and principles, sufficient quality repetitions, and conducive performance ecology are key factors in fostering the implementation of probody artmaking.

From predator to protector: Myxococcus fulvus WCH05 emerges as a potent biocontrol agent for fire blight.

Fire blight, caused by the Gram-negative bacterium Erwinia amylovora, poses a substantial threat to pome fruit production worldwide. Despite existing control strategies, a pressing need remains for sustainable and environmentally friendly fire blight management. Myxobacteria, renowned for their predatory behavior and potent enzymes, emerge as a groundbreaking biocontrol approach with significant potential. Here, we report the biocontrol potential of a novel Myxococcus fulvus WCH05, against E. amylovora. Using various in vitro and planta assays, we demonstrated the multifaceted biocontrol abilities of strain WCH05. In plate predation assays, strain WCH05 exhibited not only strong predation against E. amylovora but also broad-spectrum activities against other plant pathogenic bacteria. Pre-treatment with strain WCH05 significantly decreased pear blossom blight incidence in detached inflorescence assays, achieving a controlled efficacy of 76.02% that rivaled the antibiotic streptomycin (79.79%). In greenhouse trials, strain WCH05 effectively reduced the wilting rate and disease index in young pear seedlings, exhibiting both protective (73.68%) and curative (68.66%) control. Further investigation revealed that the biocontrol activity of strain WCH05 relies on both direct contact and extracellular enzyme secretion. While cell extracts lacked inhibitory activity, ammonium sulfate-precipitated secreted proteins displayed potent lytic activity against E. amylovora. Substrate spectrum analysis identified peptidases, lipases, and glycosidases among the secreted enzymes, suggesting their potential roles in pathogen degradation and biocontrol efficacy. This study presents the first evidence of Myxococcus fulvus WCH05 as a biocontrol agent against fire blight. Its potent predatory abilities and enzymatic arsenal highlight its potential for sustainable disease management in pome fruit production. Future research will focus on identifying and characterizing specific lytic enzymes and optimizing strain WCH05 application strategies for field efficacy.

Ecofriendly fabrication of silver nanoparticles using quince petal extract and its antibacterial properties against fire blight disease

Fire blight of pear trees is a devastating disease which is caused by the bacterium namely as Erwinia amylovora (Burrill 1882). Current chemical control methods employed for fire blight disease are periodic applications of copper compounds and streptomycin, especially when environmental conditions are favorable for the infection. Silver nanoparticles (SNPs) are nanoparticles of silver with 1–100 nm size, which are synthesized via different chemical and biological methods. They have been shown to have antibacterial activity against many human and animal pathogens. In this study, silver nanoparticles (SNPs) with an average size of about 25 nm were determined using quince petal aqueous extract. The physicochemical properties of the resulting SNPs were characterized using UV–Vis spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction technique (XRD), transmission electron microscope (TEM), energy dispersive X-ray (EDAX) spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and dynamic light scattering (DLS). The SNPs inhibited the growth of E. amylovora in culture media and in-planta. The disease severity was reduced by 80 % and 74 % in pear blossoms and immature fruits treated with 100 μg/mL SNP solution, respectively. This work demonstrates that Cydonia oblonga petal extract is a feasible medium for the synthesis of silver nanoparticles which can be used for the control of fire blight disease.

Species-Specific Detection and Quantification of Erwinia pyrifoliae in Plants by a Direct SYBR Green Quantitative Real-Time PCR Assay

The present study describes a SYBR Green real-time quantitative (q) PCR assay to detect Erwinia pyrifoliae in plants. E. pyrifoliae, first described in South Korea, is a phytopathogenic bacterial species in the genus Erwinia. In particular, specific detection, quantitation, and identification of E. pyrifoliae is still challenging, as symptoms resulting from its colonization of Asian pear blossoms are very similar to those caused by E. amylovora. E. pyrifoliae has biochemical, phenotypic, and genetic properties similar to those of E. amylovora. Moreover, other Erwinia species, including E. tasmaniensis and E. billingiae, are also detected by currently available molecular methods and with traditional methods as well. Therefore, in this study, previously published genome sequences of the genera Erwinia and Pantoea were compared to exploit species-specific genes for use as improved qPCR targets to detect E. pyrifoliae. In silico analyses of the selected gene and designed primer sequences, in conjunction with bio-SYBR Green real-time qPCR, confirmed the robustness of this newly developed assay. Consequently, the bio-SYBR Green real-time qPCR-based protocols developed here can be used for rapid and specific detection of E. pyrifoliae. They will potentially simplify and facilitate diagnosis and monitoring of this pathogen and guide plant disease management. [Formula: see text] Copyright © 2022 The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license .

Performance evaluation of mechanical blossom thinning in trunk type pear orchard

In order to yield a marketable product, hand fruit thinning (HFT) has become the major but costly management practice in modern pear planting. Two kinds of new blossom thinners for pear blossom thinning were developed, which are tractor-mounted three arms blossom thinner (TTBT) and hand-held electric blossom thinner (HEBT). Four treatments for 24 trunk type ‘Cuiguan’ pear trees (7 years) were tested. They are TTBT combined with HFT, HEBT combined with HFT, hand blossom thinning (HBT) combined with HFT, and HFT only. Pear trees were divided into 4 groups equally. Four indexes were used to evaluate the test: flower reserve rate, fruit set rate, work efficiency and cost, fruit yield, and quality. Pear canopy was divided into the inner, middle, and outer 3 layers in the top view. 20 inflorescence samples were selected for each layer. Field tests showed: there was no obvious difference in quality between mechanical blossom thinning and HBT, and the working stability of TTBT was higher than other treatments. Mechanical blossom thinning decreased the fruit set rate to a certain degree, but did not reduce the yield and quality of harvesting. TTBT could save 61.35% operation time compared with HFT, and the profitable area was 5845.76 m2. TTBT is suitable for large-scale sparse layer trunk-type pear orchards. HEBT could save 36.01% operation time compared with HFT, and the profitable area was 663.96 m2. HEBT is suitable for small and medium-sized trunk-type pear orchards. Blossom thinning can improve the average weight of high quality fruit and brix of sugar solids. Keywords: mechanical blossom thinning, pear orchard, trunk type, performance evaluation DOI: 10.25165/j.ijabe.20211404.6060 Citation: Lei X H, Lyu X L, Zhang M N, Lu D P, Wang S L, Chang Y H, et al. Performance evaluation of mechanical blossom thinning in trunk type pear orchard. Int J Agric & Biol Eng, 2021; 14(4): 106–112.

Characterization of Paenibacillus polymixa N179 as a robust and multifunctional biocontrol agent

The strain N179 was isolated from agricultural fields and selected through screening, based on its antagonistic potential, PGPR activity and robust biofilm formation. This strain was identified as Paenibacillus polymyxa based on morphological, biochemical and molecular characteristics. It was found that this strain has strong antagonistic activity against a wide variety of plant pathogens including fungi, bacteria, Phytophthora drechsleri, and root-knot nematode. The strain N179 was able to produce PGPR-related metabolites and it was able to solubilize mineral phosphate in vitro condition. Results showed that strain N179 is able to promote growth of bean, cucumber, wheat and corn seedlings in growth chamber condition. We also checked the effect of this strain on wheat yield in field condition. Highest yield was achieved when the bacterium was applied by seed coating method with 4 × 106 cells/ml concentration. Detached pear blossom and immature pear fruit assays were used to check the ability of N179 to suppress a phytopathogen in vivo condition. In both bioassays strain N179 was able to drastically suppress Erwinia amylovora. Inoculation of turnip cabbage roots with strain N179 resulted in reduction of growth rate of Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris strain 8004 in leaves and developed symptoms were lower in these plants in comparison to infected control plants.

Efficacy of fire blight management in pome fruit in northern Israel: copper agents and their effect on yield parameters

Erwinia amylovora causes fire blight, a bacterial disease of pome fruits. For 15 years, fire blight management in Israel was based solely on the antibiotic oxolinic acid but, in response to decreased disease-control efficacy, copper agents were added in 2014. However, concern was raised as to whether repeated applications of copper might have impaired pollen germination and thereby impaired yields. In Israel, apple cultivars, except for the early-blooming cultivar ‘Cripps pink’ (trademark Pink Lady), appeared to be markedly less sensitive to the infection than pear cultivars (‘Spadona’ and ‘Costia’). The aims of the present study were to monitor the effects of treatments with copper-based agents during blossoming in reducing fire blight damage, while recording their effects on pollen-tube germination and fruit-yield parameters. Copper tribasic sulfate and copper hydroxide reduced disease levels by more than 70% compared with uninfected controls. Pollen-tube germination rates in both apples and pears were significantly reduced after two successive daily applications of copper tribasic sulfate, but usually they recovered to control levels after introduction of a single-day interval. Four to seven seasonal applications of copper agents on apple and pear blossoms did not significantly reduce fruit weight and size, seed number, seed-set or fruit-set. The efficacy of oxolinic acid, applied either alone or tank-mixed with copper, resembled that of copper alone. In summary, copper application against fire blight in pears and apples during their blooming in Israel is both effective and harmless to yields.

개항 이후 대한제국기까지 육군 복식의 상징 문양에 대한 연구

Since their first introduction in 1895, various emblems have been used in Western-style modern army uniforms. Carved emblems on army uniforms include stars, pear blossoms, roses of Sharon (Mugunghwa), etc., depending on the items which constituted the Army uniforms. This study explores the emblems used in Western-style army uniforms. The main contents of this study are as follow. First, a traditional emblem from the past, the Taegeuk emblem, was used in modern army uniforms. The Taegeuk emblem, which had existed without major changes since the traditional period, emerged as a national symbol of Joseon after it opened its ports to international trade, and was applied only to the army uniforms that had changed into Western style. Second, items that had been seen as emblematic since the traditional period, including roses of Sharon (Mugunghwa), pear blossoms (Ewha), arrows, and Hangeul, were made into emblems and applied to military uniforms. Especially, Mugunghwa and Ewha were symbols of the nation, and they were almost universally used in emblems of military uniforms. Third, traditional emblems were changed into western emblems, such as star and leaf emblems. Fourth, items from the West were introduced as emblems. Instead of the Korean traditional musical instruments, ancient pipes and drums, Western musical instruments symbolizing military bands were engraved as emblems.

Control of Anthonomus spp. weevils in IPM pome fruit orchards

Since the withdrawal of broad spectrum insecticides like carbamates and organophosphates and the restricted use of neonicotinoids, weevils have become an increasing problem in pome fruit in Belgium. In particular, the apple blossom weevil Anthonomus pomorum and the pear bud weevil Anthonomus pyri (syn. A. cinctus or A. piri), that used to be secondary pests, have developed into important pests for many apple and pear growers, respectively. Recently, also the pear blossom weevil Anthonomus spilotus was found to be present in several pear orchards in Belgium, causing considerable damage. Here we present an overview of recent monitoring data, field and laboratory trials, executed in the Belgian fruit growing area near Sint-Truiden. Laboratory trials on A. pyri indicated a high direct contact activity as well as a high indirect residual contact activity of the neonicotinoid insecticides thiacloprid and acetamiprid, while the anthranilic diamide insecticide cyantraniliprole reached only good control activity after exposure of the A. pyri weevils to spray residue on leaves. In a field trial, application of thiacloprid and cyantraliprole targeting the active A. pyri weevils in autumn also resulted in very high control efficacies, leaving opportunities for a successful combination of those insecticides with biological control by the parasitoid Scambus pomorum. This opens perspectives for control strategies in line with sustainable integrated pest management (IPM) principles.

Insect pollinators of conference pear (<i>Pyrus communis</i> L.) and their contribution to fruit quality

The pear (Pyrus communis L.) cultivar, Conference, is parthenocarpic but misshapes and marketable fruit losses of 6% at harvest are common. In other studies, insect flower visitors are identified as important for apple quality, but far fewer studies have examined the effects of insects and cross-pollination on pear quality. Using a range of replicated field experiments, this project aimed to determine the; 1) biodiversity of pear blossom insect visitors, 2) pollen limitation and fruit quality as a function of distance from the orchard edge and number of insect visitors, and 3) importance of cross pollination on fruit quality. A wide range of insects, >30 species, visited pear flowers including honey bees, bumble bees, solitary bees and hoverflies. Honey bees were the most frequent visitors, but all guilds, to a greater or lesser extent, made contact with the reproductive parts of the flower. Insect visits resulted in ~10% higher fruit set. There was no effect of distance from the edge (up to 50 m) of orchard on the quality of pears, and no consistent difference in the guild of insects visiting at distances from the orchard boundary. Cross-pollination with the variety Concorde produced better quality Conference fruits. We discuss how pollination of Conference pears could be managed to improve yields of marketable fruit.

First report of pear blossom necrosis caused by Erwinia piriflorinigrans in Iran

First report of pear blossom necrosis caused by Erwinia piriflorinigrans in Iran

Lepidopteran insects feeding on Japanese pear blossoms in Kyoto Prefecture

Lepidopteran insects feeding on Japanese pear blossoms in Kyoto Prefecture

Queen Anne's Lace, Gooseneck Loosestrife, Untitled (Poppy Maidenhair Fern), Blushing Deathcap, Untitled (Trillium), and Untitled (Trillium, Pear Blossom, Salamander) by Victor Schrager

Recognizing the contribution art has had in the Mayo Clinic environment since the original Mayo Clinic Building was finished in 1914, Mayo Clinic Proceedings features some of the numerous works of art displayed throughout the buildings and grounds on Mayo Clinic campuses as interpreted by the author.

Genetic population structure and fungicide resistance of Botrytis cinerea in pear orchards in the Western Cape of South Africa

Botrytis cinerea isolates from pear blossoms (Pyrus communis) in South Africa were collected from four orchards in two production areas in the Western Cape. The cryptic species status based on vegetative‐incompatibility alleles of the Bc‐hch gene indicated that all the isolates belonged to B. cinerea. A microsatellite analysis of B. cinerea populations was performed to assess the genetic population structure. Total gene diversity (H) was high, with a mean of 0.69 across all populations. Some genotype flow was evident between orchards as indicated by the spread of microsatellite multilocus genotypes, in agreement with the moderate, but significant population differentiation among orchards (mean φPT = 0.118, P = 0.001). Index of association analyses (IA and r̅d) suggest that the populations reproduce mostly asexually, even though mating type distribution did not differ significantly from a 1:1 ratio, suggesting frequency‐dependent selection. Isolates resistant to benomyl were evident in one orchard only. This orchard was also significantly differentiated from all other populations, suggesting infrequent localized selection for benomyl resistance. Overall, the findings of this study highlight the dangers of a mixed reproduction system, and stress the importance of regularly monitoring fungicide resistance levels towards developing more efficient management practices.

Preparatory work for the pest categorisation of three bacteria listed in the annexes of the Council directive 2000/29/EC Erwinia amylovora Winslow et al. Xylophilus ampelinus (Panagopoulos) Willems et al. Clavibacter michiganensis subsp. insidiosus(McCulloch) Davis et al

Preparatory work for the pest categorisation of three bacteria listed in the annexes of the Council directive 2000/29/EC Erwinia amylovora Winslow et al. Xylophilus ampelinus (Panagopoulos) Willems et al. Clavibacter michiganensis subsp. insidiosus(McCulloch) Davis et al

Conventional and Real-Time PCRs for Detection of Erwinia piriflorinigrans Allow Its Distinction from the Fire Blight Pathogen, Erwinia amylovora

Erwinia piriflorinigrans is a new pathogenic species of the bacterial genus Erwinia that has been described recently in Spain. Accurate detection and identification of E. piriflorinigrans are challenging because its symptoms on pear blossoms are similar to those caused by Erwinia amylovora, the causal agent of fire blight. Moreover, these two species share phenotypic and molecular characteristics. Two specific and sensitive conventional and real-time PCR protocols were developed to identify and detect E. piriflorinigrans and to differentiate it from E. amylovora and other species of this genus. These protocols were based on sequences from plasmid pEPIR37, which is present in all strains of E. piriflorinigrans analyzed. After the stability of the plasmid was demonstrated, the specificities of the protocols were confirmed by the amplification of all E. piriflorinigrans strains tested, whereas 304 closely related pathogenic and nonpathogenic Erwinia strains and microbiota from pear trees were not amplified. In sensitivity assays, 10(3) cells/ml extract were detected in spiked plant material by conventional or real-time PCR, and 10(2) cells/ml were detected in DNA extracted from spiked plant material by real-time PCR. The protocols developed here succeeded in detecting E. piriflorinigrans in 102 out of 564 symptomatic and asymptomatic naturally infected pear samples (flowers, cortex stem tissue, leaves, shoots, and fruitlets), in necrotic Pyracantha sp. blossoms, and in necrotic pear and apple tissues infected with both E. amylovora and E. piriflorinigrans. Therefore, these new tools can be used in epidemiological studies that will enhance our understanding of the life cycle of E. piriflorinigrans in different hosts and plant tissues and its interaction with E. amylovora.

EVALUATION OF SOME BACTERIAL ANTAGONISTS FOR BIOLOGICAL CONTROL OF FIRE BLIGHT DISEASE

Antagonistic activities of 120 epiphytic bacterial isolates against Erwinia amylovora were evaluated under laboratory and orchard conditions. Samples were collected at three stages of plant growth during 2009. The hosts were chosen from diseased and healthy pome fruit and stone fruit trees in Alborz, Isfahan and Neishabur regions of Iran. Two in vitro tests including antibiosis and immature fruit assay were performed to identify effective bacterial antagonists. Out of 21 strains, four representative strains encoded Kgh1, Abp2, E11 and E10 showed maximum growth inhibition, growth rate and stability in inhibition. Identification of four bacterial antagonists was confirmed by sequencing their 16S rDNA and performing common biochemical tests. These strains were identified as Pseudomonas fluorescens (E10), Pantoea agglomerans (Abp2), Pseudomonas putida (E11) and Serratia marcescens (Kgh1). Some complementary tests were then conducted to check their antagonistic activity against Erwinia amylovora on pear blossom. In all evaluation procedures, biocontrol effects of Pantoea agglomerans Abp2 and Pseudomonas fluorescens E10 were more promising than those afforded by Pseudomonas putida E11 and Serratia marcescens Kgh1. A one-year field experiment was also carried out on a partially susceptible domestic pear cultivar in an infested orchard in the Karaj region of Iran. The selected bacteria were applied twice at 20% and 80% of blooming. The results showed 46.9% disease occurrence in control plants, while the antagonistic bacteria reduced the disease between 23 and 60%. The field trial the most effective antagonist was P. agglomerans Abp2, while the least effective was S. marcescens Kgh1.

Complete sequence of Erwinia piriflorinigrans plasmids pEPIR37 and pEPIR5 and role of pEPIR37 in pathogen virulence

Erwinia piriflorinigrans is a newly described pathogen causing necrosis of pear blossoms. Complete sequencing of the 37‐kb plasmid pEPIR37 common to 27 E. piriflorinigrans strains revealed homology to sequences of the ubiquitous plasmids pEA29 of the fire blight pathogen E. amylovora, plasmid pEP36 of E. pyrifoliae, plasmid pEJ30 of Erwinia sp. from Japan, and genomic regions of the related Rosaceae epiphytic Erwinia species E. tasmaniensis and E. billingiae. A second 5·5‐kb cryptic plasmid pEPIR5, found in 12 E. piriflorinigrans strains, was also sequenced revealing mobilization and replication proteins with similarities to many small ColE1‐type plasmids in Erwinia spp. and other enterobacteria. Functional analyses of pEPIR37 introduced into a strain of E. amylovora cured of pEA29 plasmid, which has a reduced virulence, showed a role in increasing symptom development similar to that observed in E. amylovora carrying plasmid pEA29.

Localising People's Theatre in East Asia: performing Hakka women and pear-growers on Taiwan's fault line

Since the 1960s and 1970s, theatre artists from around the globe initiated a wave of theatre practice that is commonly known today as People's Theatre or Theatre for Empowerment. Transforming its participants from being mere ‘spectactors’ to ‘spect-actors’ capable of articulating their concerns on-stage, the ultimate goal of such theatre is to bring about social change to the daily reality of its practitioners. Beginning in the latter part of the twentieth century, People's Theatre has exerted a profound influence on the development of contemporary theatre in East Asia. First introduced to Taiwan in 1990, the methodologies of People's Theatre have been rapidly adapted by various socially conscientious and politically committed theatre groups. Taking the case of Shigang Mama Theatre Company (), this paper aims to examine the localisation of People's Theatre in the (post)colonial and post-martial context of Taiwan. Consisting of Hakka housewives and pear-growers, Shigang Mama Theatre Company was initially established in 2000 to help its members with psychological recuperation after the catastrophic 9-21 Earthquake in 1999. Through People's Theatre, the members of the company have been transformed from being victims of the earthquake to women storytellers of their own lives on the stage. Focusing on the company's last major production, Pear Blossoms, this study aims to examine the localisation of People's Theatre techniques in relation to the company's treatment of language and bodies during the rehearsal process, and how such theatre practices have subsequently shaped the company members’ identity and self-perception. This study suggests that in the current practice of People's Theatre in Taiwan, far greater attention has been given to the liberation of the physical than the language aspect of its performer. Local resistance through theatre can only be at its most powerful when imported theatre practices are fully adapted with the bodily and linguistic specificity of its practitioners taken into consideration.