Morphological and Structural Features of Lactarius hatsutake and L. hatsutake-Pinus massoniana Ectomycorrhiza

Fruit body , basidiospore and mycelialmorphology ,and the structure of the ectomy-corrhiza formed with the host plant , arei mportant characteristics for identifying variouskinds of ectomycorrhizal fungi . AGERER[1]described the microstructure of ectomycorrhizaformed byPiceirhiza internicrassihyphisandPicea abiesas thick-walled hyphae in themycelial mantle , some of which grew inparallel . WANGet al[2 ,3]studied structuresdissected from ectomycorrhizae ofBoletusedulis,Tricholoma matsutakea…     

The chemical composition and sensory flavour quality of ‘Mineola’ tangerines. II. Relationship between composition and sensory properties

Summary

A method is suggested for quantitative determination of ‘Mineola’ tangerine “maturity” based on four parameters sugar:acid ratio, acid content, ethanol content, and fruit weight. A high correlation (r=0.9) was found between maturity and “taste acceptability”—a combination of four parameters of taste: sweetness, sourness, aroma and edibility.     

Temperature and development in Iris × hollandica during preplanting storage. I. Leaf initiation

Summary

Leaf initiation was examined in Dutch iris bulbs during pre-planting storage temperature treatments in the dark. The number of leaves initiated before inflorescence evocation increased with increasing temperature. The base, optimum and maximum temperature for leaf initiation were established as –0.4, 13.1 and 26.7°C respectively. The rate of leaf initiation was shown to be linearly related to temperature. The average thermal-time required for each leaf to be initiated under constant temperatures was 79°Cd but leaves initiated during the transfer temperature treatments required an average of 92°Cd. Rates of leaf initiation predicted from thermal-time equations were similar to those observed in bulbs stored at the lower temperatures (2–13°C) but rates observed at warmer temperature (17–25°C) never reached the predicted high value.     

The chemical composition and sensory flavour quality of ‘Mineola’ tangerines. I. Effects of fruit size and within-tree position

Summary

Maturity and taste characteristics measured were better in large, heavy ‘Mineola’ fruit harvested from the upper, external southern side of the tree, than in small, light fruit harvested from the lower, internal and northern side of the tree. Harvest and storage of ‘Mineola’ fruit increased its juice content, while fruit remaining on the tree showed an increase in total soluble solids (TSS) and a decrease in acid levels, resulting together in an increase in TSS:acid ratio and improved taste.     

Performance of ‘Discovery’ apple on M.9, M.26 and MM.106 rootstocks at two densities

Summary

The apple rootstocks M.9, M.26, and MM.106 were evaluated for their efficiency in bringing ‘Discovery’ apple trees into production. The experiment, carried out over a ten- year period compared two planting densities at 1666 and 3333 trees per ha. Tree vigour differences between rootstocks were measured in term of trunk growth, tree volume, weight of branches pruned off and final weight of the above-ground parts of the trees. Fruit production is presented both as total yield and as the weight of first class fruit. Fruit colour development is also shown. Cropping efficiency is calculated and presented in relation to the different vigour measurements. The results confirm that ‘Discovery’ is slow to come into production. M.9 was the most productive rootstock, but due to vigour differences MM.106 gave the same yields per tree, although the latter had the lower yield efficiency. M.26 performed poorly; its vigour was similar to M.9 but it produced the lowest yields.     

The effect of thermal environment,planting date and crown size on growth,development and yield of Fragaria × ananassa Duch. cv. Elsanta

Summary

The effects of environmental conditions, planting date and crown size on the timing, intensity and duration of cropping in the strawberry Fragaria × ananassa cv. Elsanta were investigated. Temperature was positively correlated with the rate of progress to fruiting whereas crown size had no effect. The first fruit reached harvest maturity after an estimated 891 day-degrees had elapsed above a base temperature of 2.9°C for waiting bed plants and 831 day-degrees above a base temperature of 2.4°C for cold stored plants. Temperature was negatively correlated with total yield, berry number and average berry weight for both waiting bed and cold stored plants of different crown sizes. Yield, berry number and average berry weight were positively correlated with crown size. The effect of temperature on the yield components appeared to be due to its effect on vegetative growth of the plants: canopy development was more limited at warmer temperatures. These results can be used to generate models to predict the effect of growth environment on cropping in strawberry.     

An improved micropropagation protocol for the recalcitrant plant Capsicum – a study with ten cultivars of Capsicum spp. (C. annuum,C. chinense,and C. frutescens) collected from diverse geographical regions of India and Mexico

Capsicum spp. is a commercially important crop of the Solanaceae family, well-known for its multipurpose use as a vegetable, spice, medicinal and ornamental plants. The genus Capsicum is a recalcitrant species in terms of in vitro morphogenesis and plant regeneration. An efficient method was developed for multiple shoot regeneration in 10 cultivars of Capsicum collected from diverse geographical regions of India and Mexico. Seeds germinated in vitro on a half-strength Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with 3.0 % sucrose. Nodes of the in vitro germinated seedlings were used as explant for micropropagation. The combination of the 6-benzylaminopurine, indole-3-acetic acid, and spermidine was found to be the best for multiple shoot induction. However, the optimum responcse varied accompanied by different cultivers with maximum 8.9 ± 0.52 (Capsi-10) to 15.3 ± 0.69 (Capsi-5) multiple shoot per explant. Depending on the cultivar, multiplied shoots were successfully rooted with maximum 18.4 ± 0.20 (highest for Capsi-9) to 36.8 ± 0.29 (highest for Capsi-5) roots per shoot on half-strength MS medium supplemented with 2.0 mg l^?1 indole-3-butyric acid, 1.0 mg l^?1 α-naphthalene acetic acid, and 1.5 mM spermidine. Finally, the micropropagated plantlets were acclimatized with 40.0–86.7 % survival rate, depending on different cultivars.     

Interaction of Crop Load and Irrigation on Yield,Fruit Size,Color and Stem-end Splitting Ratio of Apple c.v. ‘Gala,Galaxy’

In this study, the interaction between crop load and irrigation level on yield, fruit size, skin color and stem-end splitting fruit ratio in the apple cultivar ‘Gala, Galaxy’ grafted on rootstock M9 were investigated. Six irrigation programs were applied during the whole growth season: deficit irrigation (rates of 0.25 kc, 0.50 kc, 0.75 kc), full irrigation (rate of 1.00 kc), excess irrigation (rate of 1.25 kc) and non-irrigation (rates of 0.00 kc of “Class A” pan evaporation coefficient). Four crop loads in each irrigation application were performed by hand thinning after the June drop as a- a low crop load (3 fruits cm^?2 TCA), b- a medium crop load (5 fruits cm^?2 TCA), c- a heavy crop load (7 fruits cm^?2 TCA), and d- an un-thinned crop load (>?7 fruits cm^?2 TCA). The total tree yield increased with crop load and irrigation levels. Fruit size was significantly increased by the low crop load. Irrigation increased the fruit size compared to non-irrigation treatment. Further 0.75 kc, 1.00 kc and 1.25 kc irrigation treatments significantly increased the fruit length. Irrigation reduced the fruit flesh firmness. While the low crop load increased the skin red color, it decreased the fruit skin brightness. The yellowness of skin decreased with increasing in the irrigation amount. Irrigation reduced the skin brightness and yellowness, but it increased red color. Crop load and irrigation significantly affected the stem-end splitting fruit ratio. While the splitting fruit ratio increased with a decrease in the crop load, it decreased with an increase in irrigation amount, relatively. Consequently, the low and medium crop load treatments would be beneficial to increase the ratio of marketable fruits without any significant losses in yield for ‘Gala’ apple, especially under 0.75 kc deficit irrigation treatment.     

Effects of Irrigation Frequency on Yield and Quality Parameters in Apple c.v. ‘Gala,Galaxy’

This study was conducted in 2007 and 2008 in order to determine the effects of irrigation frequency on the yield and quality parameters of dwarf trees of the apple cultivar ‘Gala, Galaxy’ in the first and second year of cultivation. Irrigation water was applied at 3?, 5?, 7?, and 10-day intervals as much as the amount of water consumed from the field capacity. Statistical analysis revealed that the effects of irrigation frequency on yield were significant. Since the trees used in the experiment showed mainly vegetative growth, the effects of irrigation frequency on the fruit quality characteristics varied. Irrigation water amount was applied as 355.7–446.5 mm and 359.2–538.9 mm to the experimental treatments in 2007 and 2008, respectively. The evapotranspiration measured was in the range 400.7–491.5 mm in 2007 but in the range 440.2–600.5 mm in 2008, while the yields in the same years ranged from 1.54 to 2.84 t ha^?1 and from 2.61 to 6.06 t ha^?1. Water use efficiency varied between 2.40 and 4.80 t ha^?1mm^?1 in the first year of the experiment but between 3.45 and 7.08 t ha^?1mm^?1 in the second year. The I₂ treatment, in which the highest yield and water use efficiency were recorded in both years of the experiment under the experimental conditions, was determined as the irrigation scheduling.     

Wood hydraulic and mechanical properties induced by low water availability on two ornamental species Photinia × fraseri var. Red Robin and Viburnum opulus L.

Deficit irrigation at the nursery stage induces drought acclimation through the establishment of avoiding mechanisms and hardening processes. In this experiment, we hypothesized that water deficit would affect wood hydraulic conductivity and mechanical properties with effects on the leaf water potentials of two ornamental species, Photinia × fraseri var. Red Robin and Viburnum opulus L.The experiment was conducted in a nursery (Pistoia, Italy) during summer 2011. Individuals were arranged in three plots under three watering regimes. The control plot (C) received an amount of water replacing that lost via evapotranspiration, while two plots were maintained under severe water deficit (SWD = 33% C) and moderate water deficit (MWD = 66% C).Water deficits reduced stem diameter in both species without changing wood density (D). Concerning mechanical properties, stiffness (E) and strength (YS) of Photinia resulted higher in Photinia than in Viburnum, which did not show differences between treatments in either E or YS, whereas in Photinia, E was lower in SWD (P < 0.05) than in C. Photinia was also characterized by higher k without significant differences between treatments while Viburnum showed a lower conductivity and a significant reduction of k_h under SWD (P < 0.05). Despite this, in field conditions the two species had similar behaviour concerning the leaf water status, showing a reduction of Ψ under SWD.A longer acclimation period would probably be necessary to induce major changes in wood mechanical properties, but the similarity of responses on leaf water status in MWD and C might indicate that a reduction to 66% of water need might be sufficient to maintain the level of turgor necessary for plant physiological functioning.     

Prof. Dr. P. Lüdders verstorben

Nachruf

Prof. Dr. P. Lüdders verstorben     

Ecophysiology and vine performance of cv. “Aglianico” under various training systems

A 2-year study was conducted to evaluate ecophysiological characteristics and yield–quality performance of cv. “Aglianico” (Vitis vinifera L.) grapevines trained to three different trellises at the same intrarow vine spacing and bud load per meter of row length. Bilateral guyot (BG) showed the lowest vine capacity and bilateral spur-pruned cordon (BSPC), with a vertical shoot positioning had the highest total leaf area (LA) and pruning weight. Despite very comparable crop levels among trellises, quality decreased considerably in the bilateral free cordon (BFC) vines with respect to the systems with upright shoot growth. BFC vines showed significantly lower sugar concentration (°Brix), anthocyanins and phenols, and higher pH and K⁺ according to a pattern frequently associated with excessive within-canopy shading. Shading was aggravated in the BFC vines by canopy rotation, which probably resulted in an increase of LA density per volume unit. Moreover, the BFC canopies had more close-to-horizontal oriented leaves and from veraison onward, placed the most functional median and apical leaves in the lower or less illuminated portion of the canopy. These factors may have combined to diminish total vine photosynthesis in BFC-trained vines. The data also pointed out that the differences among trellises could not have been predicted simply on the basis of widely accepted indicators of crop load (e.g. the yield-to-pruning weight ratio) or canopy density (e.g. leaf area-to-canopy surface area (LA/SA)).