Browsing by Autor "Pablo Franco"

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    ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma lycopersici’, a phytoplasma associated with ‘hoja de perejil’ disease in Bolivia
    (Microbiology Society, 2007) Y. Arocha; O. Antesana; E. Montellano; Pablo Franco; G. Plata; P. Jones
    New diseases known locally as 'hoja de perejil' of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill) and 'brotes grandes' of potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) were first recognized in surveys of production fields in Bolivia during 2000-2003. Alfalfa (Medicago sativa) witches' broom and little leaf diseases of native weeds Morrenia variegata and mora-mora (Serjania perulacea) were also identified near to production fields. Phytoplasma aetiology was attributed to each of these diseases following detection and initial identification of aster yellows group (16SrI) phytoplasmas in all five diseased plant species. While potato, alfalfa and mora-mora plants contained indistinguishable 16SrI-B strains, 'hoja de perejil' (THP) and morrenia little leaf (MVLL)-associated phytoplasma strains shared 97.5 % 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity with 'Candidatus Phytoplasma asteris' and related strains and <95 % similarity with all other 'Candidatus Phytoplasma' species. Phylogenetic analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated that the THP and MVLL phytoplasmas represent a novel lineage within the aster yellows (16SrI) group and, on the basis of unique 16S rRNA gene sequences, we propose that THP and MVLL phytoplasmas represent 'Candidatus Phytoplasma lycopersici', with THP as the reference strain.
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    How farmers benefit from plant clinics: an impact study in Bolivia
    (Taylor & Francis, 2011) Jeffery W. Bentley; E. Boa; Fredy Almendras; Pablo Franco; Olivia Antezana; Oscar Edmundo Diaz; Javier Franco; Juan José García Villarroel
    Between 2000 and 2009, nine plant clinics in three agro-ecological areas of Bolivia (Andes, lowlands and valleys) served about 800 communities in an area roughly 300 × 100km. Over 6000 farmers consulted these clinics with 9000 queries. Many found the advice so useful that they visited the clinics repeatedly. A survey of 238 clinic users found that most adopted the clinics' recommendations. Fruit and vegetable growers who followed the clinic recommendations tended to spend less on pesticides. As for certain crops like potato, citrus and peach palm, a modest increase in pesticides helped improve the quality and quantity of the harvest. Farmers improved their incomes by following the clinics' advice. The poorest farmers enjoyed the greatest increase in income per hectare. This was the first study to explore the impact of plant clinics; future studies need to be improved, for example by obtaining baseline data and by comparing clinic users to their peers who have not used clinics.
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    Plant health clinics in Bolivia 2000—2009: operations and preliminary results
    (Springer Science+Business Media, 2009) Jeffery W. Bentley; E. Boa; Solveig Danielsen; Pablo Franco; Olivia Antezana; Bertho Villarroel; Henry Rodríguez; Jhon Ferrrufino; Javier Franco; René Pereira