Effect of foliar herbicides on the germination and viability of Siam weed (Chromolaena odorata) seeds located on plants at the time of application.

This paper reports a field study undertaken to determine if the foliar application of herbicides fluroxypyr (150 mL 100 L-1 a.i.) and metsulfuron-methyl (12 g 100 L-1 a.i.) were capable of reducing the germination and viability of Chromolaena odorata (L.) R.M.King & H.Rob. (Siam weed) seeds at three different stages of maturity. After foliar application of fluroxypyr germination of mature seeds was reduced by 88% and intermediate and immature seeds were reduced by 100%, compared to the control. Fluroxypyr also reduced the viability of mature, intermediate and immature seeds by 79, 89 and 67% respectively, compared to the control. Metsulfuron-methyl reduced germination of intermediate and immature seeds by 53 and 99% respectively compared to the control. Viability was also reduced by 74 and 96% respectively, compared to the control. Mature seeds were not affected by metsulfuron-methyl as germination and viability increased by 2% and 1% respectively, as compared to the control. These results show that these herbicides are capable of reducing the amount of viable seed entering the seed bank. However depending on the treatment and stage of seed development a percentage of seeds on the plants will remain viable and contribute to the seed bank. This information is of value to Siam weed eradication teams as plants are most easily located and subsequently treated at the time of flowering. Knowledge of the impact of control methods on seeds at various stages of development will help determine the most suitable chemical control option for a given situation.

The effect of land management on carbon and nitrogen status in plants and soils of alpine meadows on the Tibetan plateau

Large-scale grassland rehabilitation has been carried out on the severely degraded lands of the Tibetan plateau. The grasslands created provide a useful model for evaluating the recovery of ecosystem properties. The purposes of this research were: (1) to examine the relative influence of various rehabilitation practices on carbon and nitrogen in plants and soils in early secondary succession; and (2) to evaluate the degree to which severely degraded grassland altered plant and soil properties relative to the non-disturbed native community. The results showed: (1) The aboveground tissue C and N content in the control were 105-97 g m(-2) and 3.356gm(-2), respectively. The aboveground tissue C content in the mixed seed treatment, the single seed treatment, the natural recovery treatment and the severely degraded treatment was 137 per cent, 98 per cent, 49 per cent and 38 per cent, respectively, of that in the control. The corresponding aboveground tissue N content was 109 per cent, 84 per cent, 60 per cent and 47 per cent, respectively, of that in the control. (2) Root C and N content in 0-20 cm depths of the control had an 2 2 average 1606 gm(-2) and 30-36 gm(-2) respectively. Root C and N content in the rehabilitation treatments were in the range of 26-36 per cent and 35-53 per cent, while those in the severely degraded treatment were only 17 per cent and 26 per cent of that in the control. (3) In the control the average soil C and N content at 0-20 cm was 11307 gm(-2) and 846 gm(-2), respectively. Soil C content in the uppermost 20 cm in the seeded treatments, the natural recovery treatment and the severely degraded treatment was 67 per cent, 73 per cent and 57 per cent, respectively, while soil N content in the uppermost 20cm was 72 per cent, 82 per cent and 79 per cent, respectively, of that in the control. The severely degraded land was a major C source. Restoring the severely degraded lands to perennial vegetation was an alternative approach to sequestering C in former degraded systems. N was a limiting factor in seeding grassland. It is necessary for sustainable utilization of seeding grassland to supply extra N fertilizer to the soil or to add legume species into the seed mix. Copyright (c) 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The effect of nitrate fertilization on the distribution of exported 14c-photosynthate in nodulated soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) plants

Soybean (Glycine ~ (L.) Merr. cv. Harosoy 63) plants inoculated with Rhizobium japonicum were grown in vermiculite in the presence or absence of nitrate fertilization for up to 6 weeks after planting. Overall growth of nodulated plants was enhanced in the presence of nitrate fertilization, while the extent of nodule development was reduced. Although the number of nodules was not affected by nitrate fertilization when plants were grown at a light intensity limiting for photosynthesis, at light intensities approaching or exceeding the light saturation point for photosynthesis, nitrate fertilization resulted in at least a 30% reduction in nodule numbers. The mature, first trifoliate leaf of 21 day old plants was allowed to photoassimi1ate 14C02. One hour after·· the initial exposure to 14C02, the , plants were harvested and the 14C radioactivity was determined in the 80% ethanol-soluble fraction: in. o:rider to assess· "the extent of photoassimilate export and the pattern of distribution of exported 14C. The magnitude of 14C export was not affected by the presence of nitrate fertilization. However, there was a significant effect on the distribution pattern, particularly with regard to the partitioning of 14C-photosynthate between the nodules and the root tissue. In the presence of nitrate fertilization, less than 6% of the exported 14C photosynthate was recovered from the nodules, with much larger amounts (approximately 37%) being recovered from the root tissue. In the absence of nitrate fertilization, recovery of exported 14C-photosynthate from the nodules (19 to 27%) was approximately equal to that from the root tissue (24 to 33%). By initiating- or terminating the applications of nitrate at 14 days of age, it was determined that the period from day 14 to day 21 after planting was particularly significant for the development of nodules initiated earlier. Addition of nitrate fertilization at this time inhibited further nodule development while stimulating plant growth, whereas removal of nitrate fertilization stimulated nodule development. The results obtained are consistent with the hypothesis that nodule development is inhibited by nitrate fertilization through a reduction in the availability of photosynthate to the nodules.

Effect of nitrogen supply on growth and photosynthesis of sunflower plants grown in the greenhouse

The effects of nitrogen availability on growth and photosynthesis were followed in plants of sunflower (Helianthus annuus L., var. CATISSOL-01) grown in the greenhouse under natural photoperiod. The sunflower plants were grown in vermiculite under two contrasting nitrogen supply, with nitrogen supplied as ammonium nitrate. Higher nitrogen concentration resulted in higher shoot dry matter production per plant and the effect was apparent from 29 days after sowing (DAS). The difference in dry matter production was mainly attributed to the effect of nitrogen on leaf production and on individual leaf dry matter. The specific leaf weight (SLW) was not affected by the nitrogen supply. The photosynthetic CO2 assimilation (A) of the target leaves was remarkably improved by high nitrogen nutrition. However, irrespective of nitrogen supply, the decline in photosynthetic CO2 assimilation occurred before the end of leaf growth. Although nitrogen did not change significantly stomatal conductance (gs), high-N grown plants had lower intercellular CO2 concentration (C-i) when compared with low-N grown plants. Transpiration rate (E) was increased in high-N grown plants only at the beginning of leaf growth. However, this not resulted in lower intrinsic water use efficiency (WUE). (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V.. All rights reserved.

The effect of operating temperature on the cost of energy from solar thermal electric power plants /

"Prepared for the U.S. Dept. of Energy, under contract DE-AC04-76-DP00789."

Effect of micro-propagation on the health status of strawberry planting material for commercial production of strawberry runners for Queensland

Plant tissue culture has been used for a number of years to produce micropropagated strawberry plants for planting into runner growing beds in the Stanthorpe (Queensland) and Bothwell (Tasmania) regions. This process has allowed the rapid release of new cultivars from the LAWS (Late Autumn, Winter, Spring) breeding program into the current runner production system. Micro-propagation in vitro allows plants to be produced during the autumn and winter months, when mother plants would normally be in a fruit production phase in the field in Queensland. The plants produced are of a high health status when they are planted. The subsequent arrival and build up of various diseases in the runner fields are closely monitored. Using tissue culture for the first generation reduces the time the plants spend in the field by twelve months, reducing disease incidence. To date, any disease outbreak has been successfully managed using early detection and rapid response methods.

Pollinator limitation and the effect of breeding systems on plant reproduction in forest fragments

Reproduction of plants in fragmented habitats may be limited because of lower diversity or abundance of pollinators, and/or variation in local plant density. We assessed natural fruit set and pollinator limitation in ten species of woody plants in natural and restored fragments in the Pondicherry region of southern India, to see whether breeding system of plants (self-compatible and self-incompatible) affected fruit set. We tested whether the number of flowering individuals in the fragments affected the fruit set and further examined the adult and sapling densities of self-compatible (SC) and self-incompatible (SI) species. We measured the natural level of fruit set and pollinator limitation (calculated as the difference in fruit set between hand cross-pollinated and naturally pollinated flowers). Our results demonstrate that there was a higher level of pollinator limitation and hence lower levels of natural fruit set in self-incompatible species as compared to self-compatible species. However, the hand cross-pollinated flowers in SC and SI species produced similar levels of fruit set,further indicating that lower fruit set was due to pollinator limitation and not due to lack of cross-compatible individuals in the fragments. There was no significant relation between number of flowering individuals and the levels of natural fruit set, except for two species Derris ovalifolia, Ixora pavetta. In these species the natural fruit set decreased with increasing population size, again indicating pollinator limitation. The adult and sapling densities in self-compatible species were significantly higher than inself-incompatible species. These findings indicate that the low reproductive output in self-incompatible species may eventually lead to lower population sizes. Restoration of pollinator services along with plant species in fragmented habitats is important for the long-term conservation of biodiversity. (C) 2009 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Effect of plant architecture on the structure of epiphytic macro invertebrate communities in a Chinese lake

We examined the effect of different plant architecture types on epiphytic macroinvertebrates of a shallow macrophyte-dominated lake in China. Macroinvertebrates were sampled from four dominant submersed macrophytes in the lake - two dissected plants (Myriophyllum spicatum L. and Ceratophyllum demersum L.) and two undissected plants (Potamogeton maackianus A. Benn. and Vallisneria spiralis L.). Macro invertebrate richness showed significant differences among four submersed macrophyte habitats, and higher density per g of dry plant were associated with dissected plants than undissected plants. The average abundance in dissected plants was as three-six times as in undissected plants. The biodiversity of epiphytic macroinvertebrates was higher in dissected plants than undissected plants. Our results suggest that dissected plants provide different habitat for macroinvertebrates than dissected plant, and this concurs with the hypothesis that the former could support more epiphytic macroinvertebrates than the latter.

The effect of spatial scale on interactions between two weevils and their parasitoid

1. The effect of spatial scale on the interactions between three hymenopteran parasitoids and their weevil hosts was investigated. The parasitoid Mesopolobus incultus (Walker) parasitised Gymnetron pascuorum Gyll.; the parasitoids Entodon sparetus (Walker) and Bracon sp. parasitised Mecinus pyraster Herbst. Both of these weevils develop inside the seedhead of Plantago lanceolata L. but occupy different niches. Seedheads were sampled annually from 162 plants at each of two experimental sites consisting of a series of habitat patches of two distinct sizes. Data were analysed from three site-years. 2. Parasitoid densities at each site-year were closely related to the abundance of their respective weevil hosts. The overall proportion of hosts parasitised was more variable for M. incultus than for E. sparetus and Bracon sp. 3. Changes in spatial scale affected the variability of parasitoid densities. For M. incultus, there was generally a greater degree of additional heterogeneity for all increases of scale; for E. sparetus, this was true only at the largest scales; for Bracon sp., all components of variance were negative. 4. The rate of parasitism was related to host density in different ways at different spatial scales. Mesopolobus incultus exhibited inverse density dependence at the finest (seedhead) scale, direct density dependence at the intermediate (plant) scale, and density independence at the large (habitat area 729 m2) scale. Entodon sparetus showed no response to variation in host density at any spatial scale. Bracon sp. showed direct density dependence only at the intermediate and largest scales. 5. Parasitoids E. sparetus and Bracon sp. seemed able to detect more than one M. pyraster individual in seedheads with multiple host occupancy; a greater incidence of conspecific parasitoids than expected emerged from such seedheads.

The effect of soil pH on rhizosphere carbon flow of Lolium perenne

Perennial rye-grass plants were grown at 15°C in microcosms containing soil sampled from field plots that had been maintained at constant pH for the last 30 years. Six soil pH values were tested in the experiment, with pH ranging from 4.3-6.5. After 3 weeks growth in the microcosms, plant shoots were exposed to a pulse of ¹⁴C-CO₂. The fate of this label was determined by monitoring ¹⁴C-CO₂ respired by the plant roots/soil and by the shoots. The ¹⁴C remaining in plant roots and shoots was determined when the plants were harvested 7 days after receiving the pulse label. The amount of ¹⁴C (expressed as a percentage of the total ¹⁴C fixed by the plant) lost from the plant roots increased from 12.3 to 30.6% with increasing soil pH from 4.3 to 6. Although a greater percentage of the fixed ¹⁴C was respired by the root/soil as soil pH increased, plant biomass was greater with increasing soil pH. Possible reasons for observed changes in the pattern of ¹⁴C distribution are discussed and, it is suggested that changes in the soil microbial biomass and in plant nitrogen nutrition may, in particular be key factors which led to increased loss of carbon from plant roots with increasing soil pH. © 1990 Kluwer Academic Publishers.

Effect of Rht alleles on the tolerance of wheat grain set to high temperature and drought stress during booting and anthesis

Factorial pot experiments were conducted to compare the responses of GA-sensitive and GA-insensitive reduced height (Rht) alleles in wheat for susceptibility to heat and drought stress during booting and anthesis. Grain set (grains/spikelet) of near isogenic lines (NILs) was assessed following three day transfers to controlled environments imposing day temperatures (t) from 20 to 40°C. Transfers were during booting and/or anthesis and pots maintained at field capacity (FC) or had water withheld. Logistic responses (y = c/1+e-b(t -m)) described declining grain set with increasing t, and t5 was that fitted to give a 5% reduction in grain set. Averaged over NIL, t5 for anthesis at FC was 31.7±0.47°C (S.E.M, 26 d.f.). Drought at anthesis reduced t5 by <2°C. Maintaining FC at booting conferred considerable resistance to high temperatures (t5=33.9°C) but booting was particularly heat susceptible without water (t5 =26.5°C). In one background (cv. Mercia), for NILs varying at the Rht-D1 locus, there was progressive reduction in t5 with dwarfing and reduced gibberellic acid (GA) sensitivity (Rht-D1a, tall, 32.7±0.72; Rht-D1b, semi-dwarf, 29.5±0.85; Rht-D1c, severe dwarf, 24.2±0.72). This trend was not evident for the Rht-B1 locus, or for Rht-D1b in an alternative background (Maris Widgeon). The GA-sensitive severe dwarf Rht12 was more heat tolerant (t5=29.4±0.72) than the similarly statured GA-insensitive Rht-D1c. The GA-sensitive, semi-dwarfing Rht8 conferred greater drought tolerance in one experiment. Despite the effects of Rht-D1 alleles in Mercia on stress tolerance, the inconsistency of the effects over background and locus led to the conclusion that semi-dwarfing with GA-insensitivity did not necessarily increase sensitivity to stress at booting and flowering. In comparison to effects of semi-dwarfing alleles, responses to heat stress are much more dramatically affected by water availability and the precise growth stage at which the stress is experienced by the plants.

The effect of artificial diet on the production of alarm pheromone by Myzus persicae.

The cornicle secretion of Myzus persicae reared on artificial diet only elicits an alarm response in plant-reared conspecifics after the young aphids have been transferred to plants for 7days. Acetate in the form of 0.32% sodium acetate has been added to the diet as an early step in synthesis of the alarm pheromone, (E)-β-farnesene (EBF). The cornicle secretion of diet-reared aphids then elicits an alarm response. However, there is no difference in internal EBF concentration between plant- and diet-reared aphids. Puncturing aphids, either plant- or diet-reared, with a pin shows that both can elicit an alarm response, whereas it is reduced by half with diet-reared individuals. Although there is no significant difference in the concentration of EBF produced, the total amount in diet-reared aphids is increased by acetate in the diet to a level similar to that in plant-reared individuals: the size of aphids reared on an acetate-supplemented diet is increased and comparable with the size of those that are plant-reared. Bioassays with a range of EBF concentrations show a high threshold for the alarm response. It is concluded that the different size of aphids reared on plants and standard diet results in them secreting, respectively, above and below the response threshold.

Effect of the decontamination using gamma irradiation on the essential oil of Turnera diffusa Wild.

Este trabalho descreve a investigação do óleo essencial, obtido das partes aéreas de Turnera diffusa (Turneraceae) submetida a descontaminação usando irradiação com 60Co (raios gama). As analises dos óleos irradiados nos permite verificar diferenças quali e quantitativa nas amostras de óleos.