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.
The identity and self-perception of artists-managers
Manager’s and artist’s professional identities seem to be opposite, but there are many indications that this understanding is not justified in reality. Despite the contradictions, these two identities can intersect. The paper aims to define the characteristics of the artists-managers’ identity. The object of the study was qualitative research (n = 22) conducted in the form of in-depth interviews with key informants from the international environment. The practical objective was to verify common and contradicted features of the artist’s and the manager’s identities among artists-managers to understand the possibilities of reducing the intra-psychic tensions and ways of fruitful paradoxical thinking among managers and negative consequences for personalities and organizations. The study reveals common characteristics between the artist’s and manager’s identities and describes artists-managers’ identity. Although artists-managers experience diversity between both identities, they do not see them as contrary; they use paradoxical thinking, being experts in using personal seemingly contradictory characteristics to achieve outstanding performance. Acting in paradoxical contexts and focusing on the positive aspects of seemingly contradictory personal qualities, they find nonstandard creative solutions. By trying to understand and implement their self-construction, there is the possibility to reduce the intra-psychic tensions and negative consequences of seemingly opposite identities or goals among individuals in organizations. There is a synergy between the manager’s and artist’s identities. Understanding the nature and attributes of artistic creativity, aesthetic theories and the phenomenon of artist-manager’s identity can be a valuable contribution to the practice of management and organizational life.