Kauri Agathis australis, an iconic tree of New Zealand, is under threat from an introduced disease-causing pathogen provisionally named Phytophthora 'taxon Agathis' (referred to as PTA). This soilborne, Pythiaceous species belongs to the Chromista and causes a collar rot resulting in yellowing of the foliage and thinning of the canopy, which eventually causes death of the infected tree. The management and containment of this pathogen requires rapid and reliable detection in the soil. The current method for soil detection utilizes a soil bioassay involving lupin baits and soil flooding in a process that takes between ten and twenty days. We describe a real-time PCR assay based on TaqMan chemistry for the specific detection of PTA, which targets the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of the nuclear ribosomal DNA. This TaqMan real-time PCR assay could be used with DNA extracted directly from bulk soil samples to enable rapid quantification of PTA within soil. The detection limit was 2 fg of PTA DNA from pure culture, or 20 fg in the presence of DNA extracted from soil. The assay was validated using soil samples taken from a PTA-infested site and soil spiked with a known concentration of oospores. We conclude that the TaqMan real-time PCR assay offers a more time-efficient method for detection of PTA in soil than existing methods.

No abstract

Subsequent to the detection of Pseudomonas syringae pv actinidiae (Psa) on kiwifruit in Te Puke (November 2010) isolates of Pseudomonas spp from kiwifruit stored in the International Collection of Microorganisms from Plants (ICMP) and at Plant Food Research (PFR) were tested by PCR for Psa A total of 139 isolates from ICMP were assayed with the previously published primer pairs PsaF1/PsaR2 and PAV1/P22 An amplicon of expected size for Psa was produced from 19 isolates using primers PAV1/P22 but no amplicons were obtained using the primers PsaF1/PsaR2 Amplicons produced by primers PAV1/P22 were sequenced and these isolates were identified as Pseudomonas viridiflava A further 52 Pseudomonas isolates collected from kiwifruit and stored at PFR did not amplify a PCR product with primers PsaF1/PsaR2 These PCR tests confirm that Psa was not detected in any of the cultures held in the ICMP or at PFR The screening of historical Pseudomonas isolates associated with kiwifruit suggests that Psa strains had not been isolated from New Zealand kiwifruit samples prior to the detection in 2010

In 2006 a large scale forest nursery trial, using Pinus radiata cuttings, was undertaken at PF Olsen & Co. Ltd. Forenza nursery. Novel formulations containing selected beneficial microbes, natural products, known and novel rooting hormones were evaluated with or without charcoal. All liquid formulations were applied as drenches and all powder formulations as dips. About 6000 pine cuttings were used with 22 treatments, replicated five times and laid out in randomised complete block design. Several novel formulations used in this trial gave enhanced root initiation and development and a significant increase in plant height and plant biomass of P. radiata, with or without charcoal, compared with the untreated control. The best bacterial formulations in the P. radiata cuttings trial had also performed best in a 2005 seedling trial. These formulations will be further tested on other major crops prior to commercial production. The mode of action is under investigation. However, some suggestions on the role of charcoal and beneficial microbes on plant growth promotion are discussed in this poster.

Latar belakang : Alat Kontrasepsi Dalam Rahim (AKDR) merupakan salah satu metode kontrasepsi yang cukup aman dan paling dianjurkan dalam Program Nasional Keluarga Berencana di Indonesia. Rendahnya minat WUS terhadap AKDR tidak terlepas dari rendahnya pengetahuan terhadap alat kontrasepsi tersebut. Tujuan : Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk mengetahui hubungan tingkat pengetahuan ibu dengan penggunaan alat kontrasepsi dalam rahim (AKDR) di Puskesmas Ranomut Kecamatan Paal Dua Kota Manado Metode Penelitian : Penelitian ini menggunakan metode Survey Analitik dengan menggunakan pendekatan Cross sectional. Populasi semua akseptor KB aktif jumlah 2.652 sampel menggunakan rumus Slovin sebanyak 96 responden. Analisa data menggunakan Uji Chi-Square.. Hasil Penelitian : Hasil penelitian menunjukan tingkat pengetahuan ibu dari 96 responden tentang Alat Kontrasepsi Dalam Rahim (AKDR), didapatkan kategori kurang yaitu 62 responden (64,6%), kategori cukup 17 responden (17,7%) dan kategori baik 17 responden (17,7%). Hasil analisa dengan uji Chi-Square adalah nilai p value = 0,017 < ɑ = 0,05, atau x² hitung lebih besar x² tabel  8,132 > 5,591. Kesimpulan :  Ada hubungan yang bermakna antara tingkat pengetahuan ibu dengan penggunaan Alat Kontrasepsi Dalam Rahim (AKDR), sehingga penyuluhan kesehatan untuk meningkatkan pengetahuan tentang Alat Kontrasepsi Dalam Rahim (AKDR) kepada masyarakat khususnya pada Wanita Usia Subur (WUS)