We submitted to ozone treatment Triticum aestivum (common wheat) seeds severely contaminated by fungi. Fungi colonies developed when seeds were placed over malt agar medium in Petri dishes; Fusarium sp. and Alternaria sp. were identified. However, conventional colonies counting did not allow a clear assessment of the effect of ozone disinfection. We thus used self-organizing maps (SOMs) to perform an image analysis of colonies surface area that clearly showed a significant disinfection effect on Fusarium sp.

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A small portable forage crop chopper, constructed from the reel and cutterbar assembly of a power lawn mower, is described. The unit is powered by the engine originally used on the power lawn mower. It has been designed for chopping forage plot material required for sampling purposes. The low cost of construction, compactness, weight, and size makes it well suited and easily transported for the conducting of regional tests.

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