Potato is the third most important food crop worldwide. However, genetic and genomic research of potato has lagged behind other major crops due to the autopolyploidy and highly heterozygous nature associated with the potato genome. Reliable and technically undemanding techniques are not available for functional gene assays in potato. Here we report the development of a transient gene expression...

The expression of plant defenses is thought to entail costs (e.g., the allocation of resources away from growth or reproduction) that constrain the evolution of plant genotypes maximally defended against herbivores. Although central to the ecological theory underlying plant-insect interactions at large, the concept of defense costs is particularly evident in agricultural crops where plants may ...

The combined total annual yield of six major crops (maize, rice, wheat, cassava, soybean, and potato; Solanum tuberosum L.) amounts to 3.1 billion tons. In recent years, staple crops have begun to be used as substitutes for fossil fuel and feedstocks. The diversion of crop products to fuels and industrial feedstocks has become a concern in many countries because of competition for arable lands ...

Bacillus spp. are well known rhizosphere residents of many crops and usually show plant growth promoting (PGP) activities that include biocontrol capacity against some phytopatogenic fungi. Potato crops in the Andean Highlands of Peru face many nutritional and phytophatogenic problems that have a significant impact on production. In this context is important to investigate the natural presence ...

Current strategies for management of Pratylenchus penetrans in both white potato and tomato consist of the use of fumigant or non-fumigant nematicides or crop rotation. The objective of this study was to determine if double-cropping African marigolds (Tagetes erecta) with potatoes or tomatoes could reduce P. penetrans populations. Plots were 10 m x 3 m arranged in a randomized complete block de...

The Canadian satellite RADARSAT launched in November 1995 acquires C-band HH polarisation Synthetic Aperture Ž . Radar SAR data in various incident angles and spatial resolutions. In this study, the Standard Beam S7 SAR data with 458–498 incidence angle has been used to discriminate rice and potato crops grown in the Gangetic plains of West Bengal state. Four-date data acquired in the 24-day re...

Data from household surveys conducted between 1985 and 1990 were used in a regression model to estimate the impact that changes in household incomes have on the demand for each of 36 major foods, beverages, betelnut and tobacco within urban areas of Papua New Guinea. Locally produced crops that should be in high demand in future, if urban incomes rise, include betelnut, fresh vegetables, sweet ...

The Colorado potato beetle [Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Say); Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae] is a significant pest of potatoes in North America and Eurasia and can cause severe defoliation and yield loss (Ferro 1985; Weber and Ferro 1994b). Managing the Colorado potato beetle with intensive pesticide applications has led to resistant populations (Forgash 1985; Ioannidis et al. 1991; Stewart et al. 1...

In a survey of plant-parasitic nematodes associated with agricultural crops in nine Maine counties, 744 soil samples from 26 potential host plants were analyzed between November 1987 and January 1989. The most commonly encountered nematode genus was Pratylenchus, occurring in 85% of the samples from most crops, except blueberries and onions. Pratylenchus penetrans and P. crenatus were found com...

BACKGROUND Uncertainty persists over the environmental effects of genetically-engineered crops that produce the insecticidal Cry proteins of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt). We performed meta-analyses on a modified public database to synthesize current knowledge about the effects of Bt cotton, maize and potato on the abundance and interactions of arthropod non-target functional guilds. METHODOLOG...