Growth and development of the arborescent cactus Stenocereus queretaroensis in a subtropical semiarid environment,including effects of gibberellic acid

In Stenocereus queretaroensis (Weber) Buxbaum, an arborescent cactus cultivated in Jalisco, Mexico, for its fruits but studied here in wild populations, stem extension occurred in the autumn at the beginning of the dry season, flowering and fruiting occurred in the spring at the end of the dry season, and new roots grew in the summer during the wet season. The asynchrony of vegetative and reproductive growth reduces competitive sink effects, which may be advantageous for wild populations growing in infertile rocky soils. Seasonal patterns of sugars in the roots and especially the stems of S. queretaroensis were closely related to the main phenological stages, becoming lower in concentration during periods of major stem extension. Cessation of stem extension occurred in 100-year-old plants for which injection of GA(3) reinitiated such growth. Isolated chlorenchyma cylinders had maximum extension in a bathing solution containing 0.1 &mgr;M gibberellic acid.     

RADIOGRAPHIC CHANGES IN TESTES OF BULLS INFECTED WITH BESNOITIOSIS

Ten beef bulls infected with Besnoitiosis were examined radiographically and pathologically. Eight of these were slaughtered soon after diagnosis; two were left for a six-month observation period. The radiographic findings were focal and branching-tree calcification of the testes. Histopathologic examination proved these calcifications to be necrotic sections of the seminiferous tubules. Radiography of the testes as a means of evaluating the fertility status of the infected bull is recommended.     

Influence of nitrogen and other nutrients on the growth of Agave deserti

Although agaves are commercially important worldwide and ecologically interesting, their nutrient responses have not been extensively studied under controlled conditions. Here, nutrient responses of seedlings and adult plants of Agave deserti were examined, with particular emphasis on nitrogen. Growth of seedlings in hydroponics was enhanced by increasing potassium, phosphate, and especially nitrate. Seedling growth in sand culture was also enhanced by adding nitrate, leading to just over 2% N by dry weight in the leaves. Seedlings had optimal growth in soil having about 0.1% N by dry weight and a pH between 6 and 8. In going from irrigation with no added nutrients to full‐strength Hoagland solution for mature plants in soil, leaf unfolding (a non‐destructive measure of productivity) approximately doubled. The rate of leaf unfolding in the field was also doubled by adding 100 kg N hectare^‐1, higher levels proving inhibitory.     

Differential growth responses of agaves to nitrogen,phosphorus, potassium,and boron applications

Nutrient effects on the growth of Crassulacean acid metabolism plants have received little attention. Agave deserti and A. lechuguilla were therefore selected for study because their rate of leaf unfolding from the central spike relates closely to growth, thus providing a convenient means for monitoring the effect of nutrient applications. The greater fractional influence of nitrogen fertilization on leaf unfolding for A. deserti can be explained by its lower soil level of N than for A. lechuguilla; high application levels of N near 500 kg ha^‐1 proved slightly inhibitory compared with 100 kg N ha^‐1 during the first year after application but not during the second year for A. deserti. Agave deserti occurred in soils much higher in phosphorus, potassium, and boron than for A. lechuguilla; consistent with this, application of these three nutrients in the field had little influence on the rate of leaf unfolding for A. deserti tut could significantly increase the leaf unfolding rate for A. lechuguilla. Applications of nutrient levels that greatly stimulated leaf unfolding for A, lechuguilla, such as 100 kg N ha^‐1 or 500 kg P ha^‐1 , led to large increases in net COg uptake over 2k h; applications of 500 kg K ha‐¹ or 100 kg B ha"¹ led to lower enhancements in CO₂ uptake and in the leaf unfolding rate, but again prevented any major decrease in net COg rate during the night. In agreement with studies on other CAM plants, the macronutrients N, P, and K and the micronutrient B can enhance the growth of agaves, depending on the relative level of these nutrients in the soil.     

Accumulation,partitioning, and assimilation of nitrate in Opuntia ficus‐indica

Nitrate levels and nitrate reductase activity (NRA) of the widely cultivated prickly‐pear Opuntia ficus‐indica were measured for 5‐year‐old orchard plants in the field between flowering and fruit ripening (May‐August) and for rooted cladodes (stem segments) in a glasshouse in pots that were supplied with 0.8,4, or 16 mM nitrate during the early growth of new cladodes (6 weeks). Nitrate levels were much higher in the cladodes than in the fruit peels or the roots; in both cladodes and fruit peels, nitrate levels were higher in the inner water‐storing layer (parenchyma) than in the outer green photosynthetic layer (chlorenchyma). NRA was confined to the cladode chlorenchyma and was higher in new cladodes than in the underlying cladodes. The orchard study suggested that the nitrate accumulated in 2‐ and 3‐year‐old cladodes served as a reserve for the growth of new organs. At the beginning of the reproductive season, such older cladodes had high nitrate levels of 7 mg/g DW in the chlorenchyma and 45 mg/g DW in the parenchyma, which decreased by 72% and 43%, respectively, by the end of the season. The glasshouse experiments indicated that the cladodes were more important for nitrate reduction than the roots, particularly under high external nitrate concentrations.