Prospects of breeding for blast disease resistance in the oil palm (Elaeis guineensisJacq.)
SummaryBreeding for nursery blast resistance in the oil palm can reduce blast from around 50% to 1–6% loss, when a parent is carrier of dominant resistant gene(s). At such low blast levels, most of the costly agronomic methods to reduce blast incidence, need not be used.Plant material originating from the arid regions in Nigeria is more blast susceptible than that from the rain forest areas.
Selection for partial resistance in oil palm progenies to Ganoderma basal stem rot.
The development of Elaeis guineensis progenies resistant to Ganoderma may provide the ideal long-term solution to basal stem rot, a major disease of oil palm in Malaysia and Indonesia. A study was conducted to select different oil palm progenies for resistance to G. boninense infection. In this study, 12-month-old seedlings from 23 progenies, namely, three DxD, six DxP, three OxO, one OxP, five TxP and five TxT were inoculated with G. boninense using the root inoculation technique. External foliar symptoms developing on seedlings were recorded for a period of 12 months. Twelve months after inoculation, all the seedlings were examined for internal symptoms based on the length of inoculated root lesioned, number of primary roots infected and extent of stem bulb tissues lesioned. Based on reisolation of G. boninense from inoculated seedlings, it was shown that all 23 progenies from the different oil palm crosses were infected by G. boninense. The uninoculated seedlings for each of progenies did not show any signs of disease symptoms or lesions and G. boninense was not present. Some 25.6% of the inoculated seedlings were dead due to G. boninense infection, and there were significant differences between the progenies tested for the severity of foliar symptoms measured. For internal symptoms, there was no significant difference in the length of inoculated roots lesioned. However, the number of primary roots infected and extent of stem bulb tissues lesioned were significantly different. Of the 23 progenies, the most susceptible progeny was PK 2724 [DxD, Deli (Elmina) x Deli (Elmina)], whilst a partially resistant progeny was PK 2567 (DxP, Congo x Cameroon). Partial resistance is expressed by low severity of foliar symptoms and slow progress of Ganoderma infection in the roots and stem tissues.
Reference values for some haematological, haematochemical, and electrophoretic parameters in the Girgentana goat
The purpose of this study was to determine haematolog ical, haematochemical, and electrophoretic reference values for the Girgentana goat in order to form a basis for clinical interpretation. The study included 348 female Girgentana goats aged from 1 to 6 years. The animals were divided into 3 groups: goats aged 1-2 years (group A), goats aged 3-4 years (group B), and goats aged 5-6 years (group C). Blood samples were collected from each animal every morning at the same time (0800) by means of jugular venipuncture, and red blood cell (RBC), white blood cell (WBC), neutrophil (NEU), lymphocyte (LYM), monocyte (MONO), eosinophil (EOS), and basophil (BASO) counts, and haemoglobin (Hb), packed cell volume percent (PCV), mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular haemoglobin (MCH), mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration (MCHC), and red cell distribution width (RDW) were recorded. Additionally, the concentration of some haematochemical parameters, including alanine-aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate-aminotransferase (AST), γ-glutamine-transferase (γ-GT), creatinine, β-hydroxybutyrate, urea, non- esterified fatty acids (NEFA), potassium, sodium, and chloride, and the electrophoretic profile (albumin, α1-globulins, α2-globulins, β-globulins, γ-globulins, total proteins and albumin:globulins ratio) were determined. Statistical analysis (one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA)), followed by Bonferroni's test, showed that there were significant differences only in RBC, MCV, EOS, ALT, AST, creatinine, γ-GT, sodium, urea, NEFA, γ-globulins, and the albumin:globulins ratio (P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant). The values determined in the present study contribute to the knowledge of the reference ranges for the Girgentana goat and can be used for monitoring health and disease diagnosis.