Post-storm surveys reveal large-scale spatial patterns and influences of site factors,forest structure and diversity in endemic bark-beetle populations

The storm that struck France on december 26^th and 28^th 1999 felled 140 million m³ of timber and had a high economic, social and landscape impact. This event offered the opportunity to study large-scale patterns in populations of forest insect pests that would benefit from the abundant breeding material. A large-scale survey was carried out in France in 2000 to sample the most frequently observed species developing on spruce (Ips typographus, Pityogene schalcographus) and pine (Tomicus piniperda, Ips sexdentatus) in 898 locations distributed throughout wind-damaged areas. The local abundance of each species scored on a 0 to 5 scale was analysed using geostatistical estimators to explore the extent and intensity of spatial autocorrelation, and was related to site, stand, and neighbourhood landscape metrics of the forest cover (in particular the interconnection with broadleaf forest patches) found within dispersal distance. All species but I. sexdentatus, which was much less abundant, displayed large-scale spatial dependence and regional variations in abundance. Lower infestation levels per tree (windfalls and standing trees) were observed in stands with a high proportion of wind-damaged trees, which was interpreted as the result of beetles distributing themselves among the available breeding material. More infestations were observed in wind-broken trees as compared to wind-felled trees. More importantly, populations showed significant relationships with the structure of coniferous stands (in particular with the number of coniferous patches). T. piniperda population levels were negatively correlated to the amount of coniferous edge shared with broadleaf forest patches, possibly because of the disruptive effect of non-host volatiles on host-finding processes at the landscape-scale. The differences observed between species regarding patterns and relationships to site, stand, and forest cover characteristics are discussed in relation to the ecological characteristics of each species.     

Relation of carbohydrate reserves with the forthcoming crop,flower formation and photosynthetic rate,in the alternate bearing ‘Salustiana’ sweet orange (Citrus sinensis L.)

The aim of this work was to assess the relation between carbohydrate levels and flower and fruit production, as well as the role of carbohydrates on CO₂ fixation activity, by analysis of leaves, twigs and roots from the alternate bearing ‘Salustiana’ cultivar of sweet orange (Citrus sinensis [L.] Osbeck). A heavy crop load (on year) did not affect photosynthesis activity when compared to non-fruiting trees (off year). Fruiting trees accumulated most of the fixed carbon in mature fruits, whilst no accumulation was observed in roots before harvest. Non-fruiting trees transported part of the fixed carbon to the roots and mobilize it for growth processes and, at the end of the season (December), store it as reserves. Reserve carbohydrates accumulation in leaves started by early December for both tree types, showing the same levels in on and off trees until spring bud sprouting. A heavy flowering after an off year caused the rapid mobilization of the stored reserves, which were exhausted at full bloom. We found no evidence on carbon fixation regulation by either fruit demand or carbohydrate levels in leaves. Carbohydrate reserves played little or no role over fruit set, which actually relied on current photosynthesis.     

Genetic analysis of Tunisian fig (Ficus carica L.) cultivars using amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers

Genetic diversity of forty fig cultivars collected from five regions in Tunisia was investigated using amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP). A total of 342 reproducible bands amplified with six AFLP primer combinations were obtained. The high percentage of polymorphic bands (%PB) of 97.5 and the resolving power (Rp) collective rate value of 143 were scored. In addition, the polymorphism information content (PIC) values varied from 0.61 to 0.87 with an average of 0.77. Although cluster (UPGMA) and principal components analyses indicate that the cultivars’ clustering made independently both from the geographical origin, horticultural classifications and/or from the sex of trees. In addition, the observed variation suggests considerable differentiation among fig cultivars. The present data supports the common origin of the fig cultivars. Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) revealed that average Φ_ST value overall loci was 0.026, and the overall distribution pattern of molecular variation indicated that about 97.43% of the total variance was accounted by the within-region variance component. The remaining 2.5% (P < 0.001) of the variation was founded among cultivars of the prospected regions. Our results proved that AFLP markers are useful for germplasm discrimination as well as for investigation of fig patterns variation. The information may be useful to define conservation management program.     

Morphology and anatomy of the burl disorder of mango (Mangifera indica L.) in India

Summary

Burl, typically manifest as a swelling of the trunk and lower branches, is a relatively unknown disorder of mango (Mangifera indica L.). We studied the incidence of the disorder in trees of each of three mango cultivars in India, and its effect on fruit yields over 2 years. Information was also collected on the relationship between the growth of the burl and the age of the trees, together with details of the anatomy of the affected tissues. ‘Langra’ had the highest incidence of the disorder (80.3% of 24 studied trees affected) and the largest burl (31.8 cm diameter), followed by ‘Chausa’ (17.5%; 16.4 cm), then ‘Gulab Jaman’(7.5%; 4.0 cm). Burl significantly reduced fruit yields in ‘Langra’ (121 kg tree^–1 in affected trees vs. 162 kg tree^–1 in normal trees), but not in ‘Chausa’ (110 vs. 129 kg tree^–1) or ‘Gulab Jaman’ (100 vs. 98 kg tree^–1). The sizes of the burls increased as the ages of the trees increased from 15 to 55 years, especially in ‘Langra’ and ‘Chausa’. No pathogens or insects were found to be associated with the affected tissues. The woody tissues in the burl lacked orientation and were not specifically aligned in a transverse, radial, or tangential direction. Further studies are warranted to determine the cause of this disorder and how it can affect fruit yields.     

Comparative movement of labelled nitrogen and zinc in 1-year-old peach [Prunus persica (L.) Batsch] trees following late-season foliar application

Summary

Late in the season, a double-labelled solution containing ¹⁵N-enriched urea and ⁶⁸Zn sulphate was painted on the entire leaf area of 15, 1-year-old ‘O’Henry/Nemaguard’ peach trees to quantify N and Zn movement out of leaves following foliar application, and redistribution of these nutrients to new growth in the following Spring. About 47% of the labelled N and only 7% of the labelled Zn painted on the leaf surfaces was recovered in the permanent structure of the trees after leaf fall. Thus, it is concluded that foliar applications of Zn in the Autumn are not very efficient at supplying Zn to peach trees, especially when compared to supplying N as urea sprays in the Autumn. These data raise the possibility that foliar applications of Zn may actually be considered as soil applications, because 90% or more of the foliar-applied Zn may be carried to the orchard floor at the time of leaf fall. Therefore, future research needs to focus on assessing the efficacy of foliar applications for Zn nutrition of fruit trees, and identification of potentially detrimental effects from possible excessive soil accumulation of Zn. Once within the tree, however, labelled Zn was quite mobile and was stored throughout the plant, including in the roots. Of the labelled N and Zn exported from treated leaves prior to leaf fall, a substantial redistribution from storage was evident by 2 weeks after bloom and, by 4 weeks after bloom, 38% and 56% of the labelled N and Zn, respectively, had been redistributed from storage in roots, trunk and 1-year-old shoots to new growth. The biomass of new, above-ground growth tripled between 2 – 4 weeks after bloom and was coincident with a conspicuous influx of both N and Zn from the soil.     

Analysis of genetic diversity in Portuguese Ceratonia siliqua L. cultivars using RAPD and AFLP markers

Although carob (Ceratonia siliqua L.) is of great economic importance little is still known about the pattern of genetic variation within this species. Morphological characteristics based on 31 fruit and seeds of continuous characters determinant for agro-industrial uses, were compared with RAPD and AFLP markers for assessing genetic distances in 68 accessions of carob trees, from different cultivars, varieties and eco-geographic regions of Algarve. Eighteen selected RAPD primers applied to the 68 accessions produced a total of 235 fragments ranging from 200 to 2000 bp, of which 93 (40%) were polymorphic. Four AFLP selective primer combinations generated a total of 346 amplification fragments of which 110 were polymorphic. The average level of polymorphism based on four primer combinations was 31.8%. The phenetic trees based on RAPD and AFLP analyses gave high co-phenetic correlation values, and were found to be consistent in general with the analysis of morphological data, carried out on the same accessions. A number of RAPD and AFLP markers were found to be diagnostic for ‘Canela’ cultivar and 13 wild ungrafted trees.     

Effects of grafting height of MM106 rootstock on growth,lateral shoot formation and yield in apple trees

Summary

Between 2004 and 2008, the effects of different grafting heights on sylleptic shoots were tested in the apple (Malus domestica Borkh.) cultivars ‘Granny Smith’ and ‘Gloster’, and cumulative fruit yields were evaluated. MM106 apple rootstocks were grafted 10, 20, 40, or 60 cm above soil level in August 2004. The results showed that an increased grafting height significantly decreased tree height in both cultivars. The tallest and shortest trees were observed at grafting heights of 10 cm (153.0 and 170.0 cm) and 60 cm (141.3 and 143.5 cm) in ‘Granny Smith’ and ‘Gloster’, respectively.Among the various grafting heights tested, 60 cm in ‘Granny Smith’ and 20 cm in ‘Gloster’ gave the largest stem diameters (17.6 mm and 16.8 mm, respectively). The number of lateral shoots increased significantly with increased grafting height in both cultivars. The largest numbers of lateral shoots in ‘Granny Smith’ (10.75) and ‘Gloster’ (2.00) were obtained from a grafting height of 60 cm, while 2.55 and zero lateral shoots occurred at 10 cm grafting height in ‘Granny Smith’ and ‘Gloster’, respectively. Shoot lengths decreased significantly by increasing the grafting height. Grafting heights of 10 cm and 60 cm resulted in the tallest and shortest shoots in both cultivars. Cumulative fruit yields were significantly affected by grafting height in both cultivars. The highest yield was found for a 60 cm grafting height in both ‘Granny Smith’ (11.295 kg tree^–1) and ‘Gloster’ (4.818 kg tree^–1).The results of this study suggest that grafting heights of 40 cm and 60 cm have the potential to promote branching and early bearing for apple fruit production in sustainable and organic agricultural systems.     

Effects of thermoperiodicity and plant population density on stem and flower elongation, leaf development, and specific fresh weight in single stemmed rose (Rosa hybrida L.) plants

Thermoperiodicity, i.e. growth in the alternating temperature regime with the same diurnal mean compared with growth at the constant temperature at which optimal growth occurs, was studied at three plant population densities in four cultivars of Rosa hybrida L. Single-node cuttings with five-leaflet leaves were excised and grown as single-stemmed rose plants at an average photosynthetic photon flux density of about 260 μmol m⁻² s⁻¹ and supplied with carbon dioxide at about 1000 μmol mol⁻¹. The optimal constant temperature regime was 22 °C day (20 h)/22 °C night (4 h); alternating temperatures were 23 °C day (20 h)/18 °C night (4 h). The plant population densities were 100, 131 and 178 plants m⁻² of bench area. Thermoperiodicity was absent, or could not be detected, in the parameters related to the growth period, the formation of fresh biomass, the bloom quality, and most parameters related to shoot elongation. However, classic thermoperiodic effects of alternating regime were significant in the cultivars Red Velvet and Sonia, with shoot elongation promoted (7.1 and 10.5%, respectively) in the growth phase from onset of axillary bud growth until the flower bud became visible. Compared with the other two cultivars, plants of Red Velvet and Sonia tended to develop longer internodes. The results, obtained concurrently at three different plant population densities, suggest that thermoperiodicity can affect (single-stemmed) plant growth and development in R. hybrida. Increased plant population density also increased plant height at visible flower bud, but the bloom quality, expressed as specific fresh weight, and the flower height at anthesis was decreased at the highest density. Increased plant population density increased the number of five-leaflet leaves developed in Red Velvet, but had no effect on leaf number in Texas and Sonia, while, in Lambada the leaf number was decreased at the highest density.     

Effect of explants source on shoot proliferation and adventitious regeneration in 10 Buddleia cultivars

Viable shoot cultures and weaned plants were obtained from cultured apical meristems with 10 Buddleia cultivars giving viabilities of 32–72%. The number of shoots produced, the micropropagation rate and the root number produced in vitro was higher in meristem derived shoots compared to those derived from shoot-tips. The subsequent growth rate of meristem derived plants, in the greenhouse, was also greater. The number of roots produced by conventional cuttings collected from meristem derived plants was significantly higher than in cuttings which were collected from plants derived from shoot-tips or from the original stock plants.Endogenous bacteria were not detected in either shoot cultures derived from meristems or in 10-week-old weaned plants derived from meristems whereas those derived from shoot-tips showed the presence of endogenous bacteria when sterilized explants were cultured on nutrient agar or on tryptic soy broth.Factors affecting adventitious bud and shoot production in leaf and internode explants was determined for ‘Lochinch’, ‘Border Beauty’, ‘Ile de France’ and ‘Pink Delight’ using meristem derived shoot cultures. Adventitious shoots appeared after 4 weeks of culture, in both types of explant when cultured on MS supplemented with 0.5–5.0 μM TDZ. The highest percentage regeneration was achieved from bisected internode explants cultured on 0.5 μM TDZ, with 93–100% regeneration among the cultivars whereas BA was less effective. The best response was obtained using 5.0 μM TDZ which gave over 10–11 shoots per explant in all bisected explants for all cultivars.     

Micropropagation of Dendrobium draconis Rchb. f. from thin cross-section culture

An efficient procedure is outlined for rapid and mass in vitro propagation of an orchid, Dendrobium draconis Rchb. f. through in vitro culture of thin cross-sections (TCSs) derived from young stems. The TCS explants were excised along the stem from the base to shoot tip of 6-month-old plantlets and cultured on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with 20 g/l sucrose and different concentrations of N⁶-benzyladenine (BA), kinetin (Kn) and 1-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA), either individually or in combination. Protocorm-like bodies (PLBs) were directly induced from the TCS explants and completely developed into shoots within 6–7 weeks. The optimal growth regulators combination for maximal PLB development was 2 mg/l BA and 1.0 mg/l NAA, giving rise to 68% of responding explants with an average 11 PLBs per explant. Shoot development was best achieved on MS medium containing sucrose and coconut water. Plantlets, 6–8 cm height were transplanted into coconut husk peat with 92% survival rate in a nursery.     

Long-term effects of managed grass competition and two pruning methods on growth and yield of peach trees

Ground cover competition and tree training strongly affect development of newly planted peach trees and eventual productivity of peach orchards. This experiment characterized the long-term interactive effects of three levels of competition and two pruning criteria on yield, fruit size, and marketable yield efficiency. Trees of two cultivars (’Jersey Dawn’, JD, and ‘Redskin’, RS, on Lovell) of peach (Prunuspersica (L.) Batsch) were planted in an orchard in 1993 and grown for 14 years in a vegetation free area (VFA) width of 0.6 or 2.4 m. A separate group of trees that were in the 2.4 m VFA had grass seeded beneath them in 1998 to obtain 0 m VFA. All trees were pruned to maintain canopy size with wide-angled scaffold limbs and intense pruning (IP) or upright branch form with reduced pruning (RP). In general, RS had greater yield than JD and yield was greatest in the 2.4 m VFA with RP and least in the 0.6 m VFA with IP. Cumulative marketable (≥6.35 cm) and average annual total yield of both cultivars was similar for RP trees in 0 m VFA and IP trees in 2.4 m VFA's although more of the fruit were in the largest size class (>6.98 cm) in the IP trees. Reduced pruning increased crop load. Fruit weight decreased with increased crop load more in RS than JD and this response was similar for all VFA's within each cultivar. Grass competition tended to reduce both the number and weight of fruit per tree but the average weight of individual marketable fruit was reduced only in the 0.6 m VFA of RS. Tree size was reduced by grass competition and pruning times measured from 1995 to 2000 were less in RP than IP. Consequently, marketable yield efficiency of marketable fruit (grams fruit ≥6.35 cm/cm² trunk cross-sectional area, TCSA) measured from 2004 to 2007 was generally greater in trees with RP than IP and in the 0.6 than the 0 and 2.4 m VFA. The results indicate that persistent competition will reduce total annual yield per tree but with reduced pruning the concomitant increased crop load can help maintain marketable yield.     

Flavonol and phenolic acid composition of sweet cherries (cv. Lapins) produced on six different vegetative rootstocks

The effect of rootstock (‘MaxMa 14’, ‘Weiroot 13’, ‘PiKu 1’, ‘Weiroot 158’, ‘Gisela 5’ and ‘F12/1’) on phenolic acid and flavonol content of “Lapins” sweet cherry was investigated. Phenolic acids and flavonols were isolated from sweet cherries and analyzed by using reversed phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC). The major phenolic acids in sweet cherries were neochlorogenic acid (18–50 mg kg⁻¹), chlorogenic acid (19–62 mg kg⁻¹) and p-coumaric acid derivatives (15–125 mg kg⁻¹). The amount of flavonol quercetin-3-rutinoside (8–37 mg kg⁻¹) was significant as well. There are significant variations in the phenolic compound content among sweet cherry fruits grown on trees grafted on different vegetative rootstocks. The significantly higher chlorogenic acid, neochlorogenic acid, p-coumaric derivative and quercetin-3-rutinoside contents were found in sweet cherry fruits grown on trees grafted on ‘Weiroot 13’ and ‘PiKu 1’ rootstocks. Sweet cherries produced on trees grafted on other rootstocks had significantly lower phenolic compound content.     

Private residential urban forest structure and carbon storage in a moderate-sized urban area in the Midwest,United States

In conjunction with urbanization and its importance as a major driver of land-use change, increased efforts have been placed on understanding urban forests and the provisioning of ecosystem services. However, very little research has been conducted on private property and little is known about the structure and function of privately owned urban forests. This research examines the structure of and carbon storage services provided by private residential urban forests in a moderate-sized Midwestern city. The primary research questions are as follows: What is the structure of private urban forests, and how does it vary across parcels? How much carbon is stored in tree and soil pools of private urban forests, and how does carbon vary across parcels? Ecological inventories were conducted on 100 residential parcels within 14 Neighborhood and Homeowners Associations of varying size and development age. Tree species richness, diversity, density, and diameter distribution were determined on a per parcel basis and for the entire tree population sampled. Further, tree and soil carbon storage were determined for each parcel. Results of this research demonstrated large variability in per-parcel tree metrics. Twelve of the parcels sampled had two or fewer trees, while eleven had greater than 50 trees. Further, tree carbon storage ranged from no carbon to 11.22 kg C m^?2. Alternatively, soil carbon storage was less variable and averaged 4.7 kg C m^?2, approximately 1.9 times higher than the average carbon stored in trees (2.5 kg C m^?2). Management efforts aimed at maintaining or enhancing carbon storage and other ecosystem services should focus on both soil protection and maximizing services in living biomass. Our results demonstrate that sustaining tree-produced ecosystem services requires maintenance of large old trees and species diversity, not only in terms of relative abundance, but also relative dominance, and in combination, species–specific size distributions.     

Development of a disease severity rating scale for plane tree anthracnose

Anthracnose caused by the fungus Apiognomonia veneta (Sacc. et Speg.) Höhnel., is the most important and frequent disease affecting mature ornamental plane trees (Platanus×hybrida Brot.=P.×acerifolia (Ait.)Willd.) of central Spain. Symptoms of the disease are: leaf vein and petiole necrosis, bud death, defoliation, proliferation of shoots growing in whorls, short internodes, cankers, necrotic lesions and twigs and branches growing in angles. Based on our previous experience, a disease severity rating scale (DSRS) has been established, consisting of six levels: 0=healthy, 1=initial, 2=low, 3=medium, 4=high and 5=dead. In order to achieve a better and more efficient measure of disease intensity we tried to quantify this visual scale using mathematical criteria. In 2000, 610 mature trees up to 200 years old, divided into 4 age classes, were selected and systematically evaluated using a visual estimation based method. The trees were located in central Spain, mainly in two periurban areas of the town of Aranjuez (south of Madrid) and in three urban areas of Madrid city. Trees were observed in late spring, summer and winter. We recorded visual estimation of disease severity, foliage cover, healthy new shoots, dead branches, shoot growth in whorls and branch growth in angles. The statistical relationship between the parameters, disease severity and all the variables recorded (defoliation, healthy new shoots, etc.) has been evaluated. “Leaf density”, “dead branches” and “healthy shoots” were the variables that help to discriminate better between the different levels of the DSRS. A clearer definition of the different phases of disease severity will facilitate the application of possible control methods and the prediction of the behaviour of other Platanus spp.     

Potential hazard characteristics of Tilia, Betula, and Acer trees removed in the Helsinki City Area during 2001–2003

In order to study decay, and to improve the management and protection of old urban trees, a total of 256 felled urban trees were examined during 2001–2003: 95 Tilia spp., 74 Betula spp., and 87 Acer spp. Most of the trees (73%) were located in the main parks and along the main streets in the downtown area of Helsinki City, Finland. The mean age of the trees was over 60 years, and the majority (64%) were old park trees. Poor condition and increasing risk of failure were the main reasons for felling in 82% of the cases. Thirty three percent of these trees were degenerated or dead, but the amenity value of 14% of the risk trees was still high. The latter were old, big trees which posed a potential hazard, but had a vital and balanced crown.Some characteristic profiles for potential failure were identified for each of the tree species studied: Ganoderma lipsiense in the butts and hollows in the stems of Tilia spp., weak fork formations together with Rigidoporus populinus on Acer spp., and degeneration together with decay in the stem on Betula spp.Decay fungi most commonly identified were R. populinus, G. lipsiense, Inonotus obliquus and Piptoporus betulinus. In addition, Kretzschmaria deusta was very common in three of the parks, and on every one of the tree species investigated.     

Predicting canopy and trunk cross-sectional area of silver linden (Tilia tomentosa) in confined planting cutouts

Urbanized land is characterized by the dominance of paved surfaces. Increasing tree canopy in urbanized areas has been identified as an effective way to reduce stormwater runoff, sequester carbon, improve air and water quality, and otherwise mitigate the environmental impacts and increase the livability of cities. However, attaining sufficient tree canopy in urban areas remains an elusive goal. Site design characteristics such as cutout size may limit urban tree growth and complicate efforts to predict future canopy, especially in highly paved systems such as parking lots. We studied 25 silver lindens (Tilia tomentosa Moench) grown for 14 years at one site, in pavement cutouts of various sizes. Regression analysis, even on these limited data, indicated a strong relationship between tree size and canopy projection area and unpaved soil surface area, but not soil depth. Cutout size explained 70% of the variability in tree canopy projection area and 77% of the variability in trunk cross-sectional area. The addition of other variables, such as soil bulk density, did not improve the model. Trees growing in parking lot cutouts <5.3 m² attained only limited size, regardless of the level of soil compaction. In larger cutouts, however, increases in soil bulk density from 1.1 to 1.5 Mg/m³ were associated with a 70% reduction in trunk cross-sectional area. In order to create urban sites with a sustainable tree canopy, site design must provide large areas of uncompacted soil for trees and protect this soil from compaction during use. Urban tree growth models that incorporate cutout characteristics are needed to predict future canopy area with confidence.     

‘嘎啦’苹果不同饱满度芽嫁接幼苗13C、15N分配利用特性研究

 以盆栽不饱满芽（春梢基部芽）、次饱满芽（秋梢芽）和饱满芽（春梢中部芽）‘嘎啦’苹 果（Malus × domestica‘Gala’）/八棱海棠（Malus micromalus Makino）嫁接幼苗为试材,采用¹⁵N、¹³C 双标记法,研究了其碳、氮营养分配特性。结果表明,新梢开始旺长期叶片¹³C 分配率不饱满芽幼苗 > 次 饱满芽幼苗 > 饱满芽幼苗,分别为45.81%、42.49%、35.05%;根部¹³C 分配率饱满芽幼苗 > 次饱满芽 幼苗 > 不饱满芽幼苗,分别为20.04%、15.88%、12.67%。新梢旺长期3 种芽幼苗叶片、根部¹³C 分配率 趋势与新梢开始旺长期相反。新梢缓长期各芽苗叶片碳同化物分配差异不显著,根部¹³C 分配率,次饱满 芽幼苗和不饱满芽幼苗显著高于饱满芽幼苗。叶片¹⁵N 分配率逐渐升高,始终为饱满芽幼苗 > 次饱满芽 幼苗 > 不饱满芽幼苗,至新梢缓长期分别达到55.67%、52.45%和51.54%。根部¹⁵N 分配率随生长发育 而降低,新梢开始旺长期和新梢旺长期不饱满芽幼苗 > 次饱满芽幼苗 > 饱满芽幼苗。新梢缓长期各器 官氮素分配率差异不显著。不同芽幼苗¹³C 固定量、¹⁵N 利用率均逐渐升高并趋于一致,表明芽有同等更 新潜质。     

Current velocity and spatial scale as determinants of the distribution and abundance of two rheophilic herbivorous insects

Organisms frequently show marked preferences for specific environmental conditions, but these preferences may change with landscape scale. Patterns of distribution or abundance measured at different scales may reveal something about an organism's perception of the environment. To test this hypothesis, we measured densities of two herbivorous aquatic insects that differed in body morphology and mobility in relation to current velocity measured at different scales in the upper Colorado River (Colorado, USA). Streambed densities of the caddisfly larva Agapetus boulderensis (high hydrodynamic profile, low mobility) and mayfly nymph Epeorus sp. (low hydrodynamic profile, high mobility) were assessed at 3 spatial scales: whole riffles, individual cobbles within riffles, and point locations on cobbles. Riffles were several meters in extent, cobbles measured 10–30 cm in size, and the local scale was within a few centimeters of individual larvae (themselves ca. 0.5–1.0 cm in size). We also quantified the abundance of periphytic food for these herbivores at the cobble and riffle scales. Agapetus favored slow current (<30 cm s^–1) across all scales. Epeorus, by contrast, favored fast current (60–80 cm s^–1) at the local and riffle scale, but not at the cobble scale. Only Agapetus showed a significant relationship to current at the cobble scale, with greatest larval densities occurring at velocities near 30 cm s^–1. We had predicted an inverse correlation between grazer density and periphytic abundance; however, this occurred only for Agapetus, and then only at the cobble scale. These data suggest that organisms respond to environmental gradients at different spatial scales and that the processes driving these responses may change with scale, e.g., shifting from individual habitat selection at local and cobble scales to population responses at the riffle scale. This study also highlights the importance of using the appropriate scale of measurement to accurately assess the relationship between organisms and environmental gradients across scale.     

1-MCP verlängert die Lagerfähigkeit und vermindert Schalenbräune bei der Apfelsorte ‘Berlepsch’

‘Berlepsch’ as an apple cultivar of large vitamin C contents in excess of 30?mg vitamin C/100?g FM looses marketing share due to its poor storage quality and sensitivity to superficial scald. The objective of the present work was to use 0, 500 or 1000?ppb of 1-MCP (Smartfresh^TM) for 24 hours at 2?°C to overcome these two cultivar-related shortcomings. Slightly overripe apples were stored at 2?°C, 95% relative humidity either in normal air (NA) or in controlled atmosphere (CA) under 2% CO₂ and 1.8% O₂. Each of these six treatments consisted of four replicates of ca. 20?kg apples each. Treatments with 1-MCP did not affect the fruit sugar content. While the storage conditions (NA or CA) did not affect initial fruit respiration, 1-MCP reduced final fruit respiration to ca. 60% and 1-MCP effects on respiration rates in shelf life were more pronounced than in storage. While 1-MCP reduced the initial ethylene formation from 70 to nearly 0?μl/kg/h, this effect was declined with prolonged storage. Similarly, the temperature driven increase in ethylene evolution during shelf life was not affected by 1-MCP treatments. MCP treated fruit lost less weight in storage and shelf life relative to untreated fruits. Doubling the 1-MCP concentration from 500?ppb to 1,000?ppb did not further reduce respiration, ethylene formation, loss of fresh mass or incidence of superficial scald. This corresponds to the dose of 1-MCP commonly used in fruit storage.     

Performance of some apple cultivars under tropical Zambian conditions

Summary

Ten apple cultivars (Malus domestica Bork) Ein Shemer, Anna, Rome Beauty, Tropical Beauty, Alexander, Orleans, Winter Banana, Black John, Starking Delicious and Red Delicious were evaluated for their suitability for tropical Zambian conditions. Winter Banana, Black John, Starking Delicious and Red Delicious, which were mostly high-chill cultivars, showed poor vegetative development: delayed budbreak, shoot growth and progressive loss of vigour and most of the trees died before maturity. Of the remaining low-chill cultivars, ‘Ein Shemer’ had the highest fruit yield at 49 6 2.3 kg tree²¹ and ‘Alexander’ the lowest (5.3 6 1.0 kg tree²¹). This response was due to the high number of fruits per tree, ‘Ein Shemer’ had up to 907 6 83.7 per tree whereas low yielding cultivars like ‘Rome Beauty’ and ‘Tropical Beauty’ had fewer than 106 6 25.3 fruits per tree. The individual fruit weight was inversely related to the total number of fruits per tree. It ranged from 58 6 5.1 g in Ein Shemer to 191 6 24.8 g in ‘Rome Beauty’.