Sasanishiki BL, a multiline variety of Sasanishiki for blast resistance was developed at Miyagi Prefectural Furukawa Agricultural Experiment Station in Japan. Sasanishiki BL is composed of 7 isogenic lines, Sasanishiki BL1 to BL7 with different resistance genes to blast disease. Sasanishiki BL was released to Miyagi Prefecture in 1994. The main characteristics of each component line are almost the same as those of Sasanishiki except for the resistance gene to blast disease. Sasanishiki BL has been cultivated in farmers' fields without rice blast damage since the released year.

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“Uplandization” is the process that changes the physical and chemical properties in a paddy field into those of an upland field. There is a transitional period when a paddy field is converted to an upland field. We propose a new method to evaluate the degree of “uplandization” based on changes in crystallinity of free iron oxides. The iron oxides influence soil physical and chemical properties such as soil microstructure or phosphate retention. Iron crystallinity is evaluated by the amount of iron extraction over 120 min by 1 mol L^–1 pH 3.0 sodium acetate buffer, at solution to soil of 100 to 1 (Fe_ac). Fe_ac decreases in proportion to the period after conversion to upland cultivation. Fe_ac is significantly correlated with phosphate retention properties and iron reducibility of soils under submerged conditions, but acid-oxalate-extracted iron, which is used to extract amorphous free iron generally, is not. For this reason, Fe_ac is considered to be more suitable for evaluation of the history of uplandization.

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Developmental rates of Aculops lycopersici increased linearly as rearing temperature increased. A total of 81.2 degree-days above a developmental zero of 10.5°C were required to complete development from egg to adult emergence. Adult longevity decreased with increasing temperature. The highest intrinsic rate of natural increase was observed at 25°C as 0.253 per day. The population increased exponentially on greenhouse tomato plants and the intrinsic rate of natural increase was estimated to be 0.175 per day. A. lycopersici first reproduced on the released leaves then moved upward. The infestation caused great injury to the plants, with a large number of leaves turning brown and then drying up. The number of leaves, the plant height and the diameter of the main stem of the plants all decreased. Homeopronematus anconai naturally occurred on tomato plants. After the rapid population increase of H. anconai, the A. lycopersici population decreased sharply. An adult H. anconai consumed an average of 69.3 A. lycopersici deutonymphs per day in the laboratory. H. anconai was thought to be a prospective natural enemy of A. lycopersici.

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We have developed transgenic cucumber plants Cucumis sativus L. resistant to gray mold (Botrytis cinerea) by the expression of rice chitinase cDNA (Tabei et al. 1998). These transgenic plants were obtained by Agrobacterium-mediated transformation, and the introduced rice chitinase cDNA was driven by the CaMV 35S promoter. The biosafety assessment of the transformed cucumber plants was carefully performed to confirm that their characteristics are equivalent to those of non-transgenic plants except for harboring gray mold resistance. The biosafety assessment was carried out successively in full-containment greenhouse, semi-containment greenhouse, isolated field, and finally in ordinary field trials. The following items were compared between transgenic and non-transgenic cucumber plants: (1) morphological characteristics of plants and fruits; (2) reproductive characteristics, e.g. pollen morphology and fertility, longevity of the pollen, pollen dispersal by wind, and seed fertilities; (3) possibility of harmful influences on the environment due to the production of detrimental substances i.e. volatile compounds, plant parts and root secreta; (4) influence on soil microflora and; (5) presence of remaining Agrobacterium tumefaciens, which was used as a vector in the production of the transgenic cucumber. Throughout the biosafety assessment, we did not find any substantial differences except the expression of rice chitinase gene and resistance to gray mold between transgenic and non-transgenic cucumber plants.

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The highland of West Java is the main cabbage producing district of Indonesia. Soft rot sometimes occurs and causes severe damage because of high air temperature and poor transport technology. Therefore, it was examined to develop simple and low-cost improved methods to control the occurrence of soft rot after the harvest of cabbages. Consequently, drying was recognized as one of the important factors to control soft rot. The cement treatment to the cut end is being used in Indonesia at present and was an effective way of suppressing soft rot. Drying the cut end is thought to contribute to greatly improving the control effect. Furthermore, keeping cabbage indoors for more than one day after the harvest was a more simple and easy way to prevent the occurrence of soft rot.

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Color (L*a*b* values) of 10 Brazilian soybean varieties was determined. The color depended on the varieties, and generally the red color was stronger than Japanese soybeans. A boiled bean paste made from one Brazilian variety (BRS 213) was yellow, and this color seemed to be preferable as a food base. It was shown that soil of the cultivating region affected the color of the beans, but the effect was less than that of soybean varieties. Washing twice during soaking caused no significant change in color. Using acetic acid at a concentration of 0.1% for soaking slightly decreased the red tone of soymilk. However, when the concentration of acetic acid was higher than 0.5%, it caused deterioration in the smell of soymilk and boiled soybean, and the boiled soybean became harder at the same time. The color of soybeans was shown to be dominated by varieties and soil types of the cultivating region, and it was difficult to improve the color by a washing procedure during soaking.

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Correlation of coloration and anthocyanin profile in tulip flowers was investigated. Pelargonidin 3-rutinoside, cyanidin 3-rutinoside, delphinidin 3-rutinoside and their acetyl derivatives were major anthocyanins. Anthocyanins in purple, red, orange and pink perianthes of tulip were analyzed by HPLC. The occurrence of delphinidin 3-rutinoside and its acetyl derivatives is responsible for purple coloration. Pelargonidin 3-rutinoside, cyanidin 3-rutinoside and their 2'''-acetyl esters were major anthocyanins in perianthes of the red, orange and pink cultivars with their variant composition ratios. Tissue specific coloration and distribution of anthocyanins among the perianth, perianth-bottom, anther and pollen of the tulip flower were analyzed by using the cultivars ‘Ben van Zanten’ and ‘Ile de France’ in detail. Pelargonidin 3-rutinoside, cyanidin 3-rutinoside and their acetyl esters were major anthocyanins in the red perianthes while the cyanidin 3-rutinoside and delphinidin 3-rutinoside were major anthocyanins in the dark purple perianth-bottoms. Delphinidin 3-rutinoside and its acetyl esters were present in the dark purple anthers and pollens. Anthocyanins seem to be tissue-specifically biosynthesized, resulting in formation of a color pattern between inner and outer parts of the tulip flower.

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The immunohistochemical features of tumors from 7 Holstein cows showing fibroblastic, myofibroblastic, smooth muscle or pericytic differentiation are described. In cases 1 and 2, the tumors were characterized by neoplastic fibroblasts immunostained with vimentin alone, but some cells appeared to transiently express alpha smooth muscle actin (SMA) during tumor development. Cutaneous (case 3) and nasal (case 4) myofibroblastomas, which were characterized by SMA and fibronectin positivity, with a minority of cells showing positive reactivity for desmin, were readily distinguishable from tumors of fibroblasts, smooth muscle cells and pericytes by fibronectin staining. The same staining pattern was seen in a vulvar myofibroblastoma (case 5), which differed from a vaginal leiomyoma (case 6) coexpressing SMA and desmin in nearly all neoplastic cells. Both neoplasms, however, had estrogen receptor (ER), and may be derived from immature stromal cells distributed in the vulvovaginal region. A hemangiopericytoma (case 7) resembled myofibroblastomas in cytoskeletal immunophenotypes, but lacked fibronectin. Benign or locally invasive soft tissue tumors with spindle cell morphology and expression of SMA could be divided into several types by immunostaining for SMA, desmin, fibronectin and ER.

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A modified pouch method was used to evaluate 13 strains of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) for silage fermentation inoculants to make good-quality silage in Thailand. Among them, strain SP 1-3, isolated from corn silage and tentatively assigned to Lactobacillus plantarum, exhibited an inherent tolerance for high incubation temperature and lactic acid. Strains CS 5-5 and KS 1-9, tentatively assigned to Pediococcus sp., also exhibited similar properties to strain SP 1-3, but their levels of lactate tolerance were weaker than that of strain SP 1-3. Strain CS 1-8, isolated from TMR silage and assigned to Pediococcus sp., grew well at the early stage of silage fermentation (within 24-h), but did not accumulate a large amount of lactate during the long-term fermentation (21 days). Based on these results, laboratory-scale silage of napiergrass inoculated with strain SP 1-3 or CS 1-8 was prepared. The fermentation quality of silage inoculated with both strains obviously improved the amount of lactate produced and reduced the counts of coliform bacteria and yeast. From these results, both strains, SP 1-3 and CS 1-8, were evaluated as favorable silage fermentation inoculants in tropical regions such as Thailand.

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Under the marine capture fisheries management in Malaysia, the marine fishing ground is zoned into four areas simply according to the distance from the seashore: zone A from the seashore (0) to 5 nautical miles (nm), zone B from 5 to 12 nm, zone C from 12 to 30 nm, and zone C2 of more than 30 nm. In addition, all fishing gear is classified as either commercial fishing gear of high catch capability or traditional fishing gear of comparatively low catch capability. Fishing gear classified as commercial gear is permitted to be operated only at sea. Further restrictions are imposed on the operation of trawl net and fish purse seine gear which are classified as commercial fishing gear. Namely, their operation is allowed exclusively at sea more than 5 nautical miles (nm) offshore, i.e. in zone B, zone C and zone C2. Moreover, their operation onboard fishing boats of 40 to 70 GRT (Gross Registered Tonnage) is allowed exclusively from 12 nm offshore, i.e. in zone C and zone C2, while operation from boats of more than 70 GRT is allowed in fishing ground more than 30 nm offshore, i.e. only in zone C2. On the other hand, all kinds of fishing gear classified as traditional fishing gear can be operated in any fishing ground. Traditional gear is operated in lakes, rivers, estuaries and from coastal waters to further offshore, i.e. zone A, zone B, zone C and zone C2. It has been proved that in the 1990's almost one fourth of the total marine catch from Peninsular Malaysia was derived from zone A, namely from the shallowest, narrowest and nearest fishing ground to the mainland. Consequently, this management system is perceived to be very appropriate for preventing overfishing of aquatic animal resources in coastal waters including zone A by fishing gear such as trawl net and fish purse seine gear of high catch capability, because coastal waters including zone A are considered to be fishing ground of extremely high productivity.

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