Dry matter production and boron concentrations of vegetative and reproductive tissues of canola and sunflower plants grown in nutrient solution

Canola (Brassica napus L.) and sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.), two important oilseed crops, are sensitive to low boron (B) supply. Symptoms of B deficiency are often more severe during the reproductive stage, but it is not known if this is due to a decreased external B supply with time or an increased sensitivity to low B during this stage. Canola and sunflower were grown for 75 days after transplanting (DAT) in two solution culture experiments using Amberlite (IRA-743) B-specific resin to maintain constant B concentration in solution over the range 0.6 - 53 muM. Initially, the vegetative growth of both crops was good in all treatments. With the onset of the reproductive stage, however, severe B deficiency symptoms developed and growth of canola and sunflower was reduced with less than or equal to 0.9 and less than or equal to 0.7 muM B, respectively. At these concentrations, reproductive parts failed to develop. The critical B concentration (i.e. 90% of maximum shoot dry matter yield) in the youngest opened leaf was 18 mg kg(-1) in canola and 25 mg kg(-1) in sunflower at 75 DAT. The results of this study indicate that the reproductive stage of these two oilseed crops is more sensitive than the vegetative stage to low B supply.

DMSP in corals and benthic algae from the Great Barrier Reef

In this study the first measurements of DMSP in six species of corals and ten species of benthic algae collected from four coral reefs in the Great Barrier Reef are reported, together with DMSP measurements made on cultured zooxanthellae. Concentrations ranged from 21 to 3831 (mean=743) fmol DMSP zooxanthellae(-1) in corals, 0.16 to 2.96 nmol DMSP cm(-2) (mean=90) for benthic macroalgae, and 48-285 fmol DMSP zooxanthellae(-1) (mean=153) for cultured zooxanthellae. The highest concentrations of DMSP in corals occurred in Acropora formosa (mean= 371 fmol DMSP zooxanthellae(-1)) and Acropora palifera (mean=3341 fmol DMSP zooxanthellae(-1)) with concentrations in A. palifera the highest DMSP concentrations reported in corals examined to date. As well as inter-specific differences in DMSP, intra-specific variation was also observed. Adjacent colonies of A. formosa that are known to have different thermal bleaching thresholds and morphologically distinct zooxanthellae, were also observed to have different DMSP concentrations, with the zooxanthellae in the colony that bleached containing DMSP at an average concentration of 436 finol zooxanthellae(-1), whilst the non-bleaching colony contained DMSP at an average concentration of 171 finol zooxanthellae(-1). The results of the present study have been used to calculate the area normalized DMSP concentrations in benthic algae (mean=0.015 mmol m(-2)) and corals (mean=2.22 mmol m(-2)) from the GBR. This data indicates that benthic algae and corals are a significant reservoir of DMSP in GBR waters. (C) 2002 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.

Effects of boron foliar applications on vegetative and reproductive growth of sunflower

Foliar application may be used to supply boron (B) to a crop when B demands are higher than can be supplied via the soil. While B foliar sprays have been used to correct B deficiency in sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) in the field, no studies have determined the amount of B taken up by sunflower plant parts via foliar application. A study was conducted in which sunflower plants were grown at constant B concentration in nutrient solution with adequate B (46 mum) or with limited B supply (0.24, 0.40 and 1.72 mum) using Amberlite IRA-743 resin to control B supply. At the late vegetative stage of growth (25 and 35 d after transplanting), two foliar sprays were applied of soluble sodium tetraborate (20.8 % B) each at 0, 28, 65, 120 and 1200 mm (each spray equivalent to 0, 0.03, 0.07, 0.13 and 1.3 kg B ha(-1) in 100 L water ha(-1)). The highest rate of B foliar fertilization resulted in leaf burn but had no other evident detrimental effect on plant growth. Under B-deficient conditions, B foliar application increased the vegetative and reproductive dry mass of plants. Foliar application of 28-1200 mm B increased the total dry mass of the most B-deficient plants by more than three-fold and that of plants grown initially with 1.72 mum B in solution by 37-49 %. In this latter treatment, the dry mass of the capitulum was similar to that achieved under control conditions, but in no instance was total plant dry mass similar to that of the control. All B foliar spray rates increased the B concentration in various parts of the plant tops, including those that developed after the sprays were applied, but the B concentration in the roots was not increased by B foliar application. The B concentration in the capitulum of the plants sprayed at the highest rate was between 37 and 93 % of that in the control plants. This study showed that B foliar application was of benefit to B-deficient sunflower plants, increasing the B status of plant tops, including that of the capitulum which developed after the B sprays were applied. (C) 2003 Annals of Botany Company.