DNA technique measures suitability of soil for onion crops
...ousands of soil samples are investigated for their suitability for onion crops. They are examined for the presence of the nematode Ditylenchus dipsaci (the stem nematode) and the fungus Sclerotium cepivorum (onion white rot). For years this has been done visually under the microscope; a specialised and labour-in......nformation on their quality, condition, health and suitability as a potential mate," says Pfaff. "This type of 'public information' uses cues inadvertently provided by an individual, such as odor, which others observe use to make decisions such as mate choice, food location, or presence of danger. Specifically i......be closely tied to the fate of mangroves and their suitability for batfish recruitment." Batfishes may be one of the last intact herbivore populations capable of reversing serious weed overgrowth of inshore coral reefs, he adds. The reef has already all-but lost one major group of weed-mowers, the dugongs, wh...