Monoterpene composition of foliage of 9 Juniperus species

Monoterpenes in the foliage of 9 representatives of the genus Juniperus were identified using gas-liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry. α-pinene, camphene, β-pinene, sabinene, myrcene, limonene, terpinolene, linalool, camphor, β-caryophylene and α-terpineol were identified as the major monoterpenes present in Juniperus. Of 36 possible species pairings, all were distinguishable from one another on the basis of their monoterpene composition. These data indicate that monoterpene composition may be a useful taxonomic aid in the identification and classification of juniper species.     

Essential oils content and antioxidant properties of peel ethanol extract in 18 lemon cultivars

Composition of essential oils and antioxidant activity of peel ethanol extract were analyzed in 18 local lemon cultivars. Essential oils composition was determined by GC/FID analysis, and antioxidant activity with the ABTS method. Fruit weight, polar and equatorial diameters, peel thickness, seed number, juice percentage, titratable acidity and juice pH were also determined for each cultivar. The main component in the peel essential oil was limonene, accounting for 72.5–76.4%, followed by β-pinene (11.6–18.7%). Several other monoterpene hydrocarbons were also identified at appreciable contents, namely terpinene (2.88–8.26%), α-pinene (1.4–1.5%) and myrcene (0.95–1.12%). No clear relationship could be shown between the antioxidant activity and the essential oil composition of the extracts. In this study, cultivars with higher essential oil content and antioxidant activity were identified. Data were subjected to analysis of variance using ANOVA and means were compared by the Duncan test.     

Vegetative Growth,Productivity, Berry Quality Attributes and Leaf Macronutrients Content of Currants as Affected by Species and Cultivars

Bush vigor, berry physical traits and chemical composition, seasonal changes of leaf macronutrients content and leaf mineral status at mid-summer (120 DAFB, Days After Full Bloom) were evaluated in black, red and white currants and their cultivars which are grown on heavy soil, and with reduced cultural practices, except pruning, fertilization with cattle manure and weed control with herbicide, under western Serbian conditions. Results indicated that black currant had lower bush size, yield, bunch weight and number of berries per bunch, but had significantly higher berry weight as compared to red and white currants. Red and white currants had similar bush size, yield and bunch weight. Berries of black currant contained much higher levels of soluble solids content, acidity, vitamin C, total phenolics and flavonoids content than both red and white currants, whereas ripening index was similar. Leaf of black currants had lower macronutrients content, except leaf Mg, as compared with others. Very high excesses of all leaf macronutrients content, except in some cases for leaf N and Mg, were observed in currants in mid summer, i.?e. at 120 DAFB. Black currant showed the best balanced nutritional values, whereas red currant showed a wider imbalance in nutritional values. Beside currant species, strong effect of cultivar per se was found on the most of evaluated features. Generally, black currant cv. ‘Eva’, red currant cv. ‘Slovakia’, somewhat ‘Detvan’, and white currant cv. ‘Primus’ had higher bush size, better berry physico-chemical attributes and higher leaf macronutrients content than others. Finally, ‘Eva’, ‘Tatran’ and ‘Meridian’ showed the best balanced nutritional values at 120 DAFB.     

β - 氨基丁酸诱导辣椒产生PR蛋白及其酶活性的变化

 经1 000μg·mL ^{- 1}β - 氨基丁酸(β-aminobutyric acid, BABA) 诱导处理后, 3个辣(甜) 椒品种叶片细胞间液的蛋白质电泳分析表明, 寄主植物经BABA处理3 d后病程相关蛋白( PR) 被诱导产生。对叶片中β - 1,3 - 葡聚糖酶、几丁质酶和过氧化物酶活性动态测定表明, 升高幅度辣椒品种高于甜椒品种。     

病害对3个砂梨品种早期落叶的影响

由于一些侵染性病害的影响,浙江省主要梨产区出现早期落叶严重的现象,严重影响了砂梨产业的发展。通过对浙江省杭州市商业梨园主栽品种的田间调查发现,不同品种对病菌的抵抗能力不同。圆黄为黑斑病的易感品种,但对炭疽病的抗性较强;黄花和翠冠较抗黑斑病,但黄花炭疽病的发病率较高;3个品种的锈病发病率没有显著差异。病菌侵染和落叶时间的相关性分析表明,病菌侵染后翠冠和圆黄落叶较黄花早;受黑斑病菌侵染的叶片最易脱落,而梨炭疽病菌和梨锈病菌不易引起落叶,仅在后期形成穿孔。总体上圆黄早期落叶现象最为严重。受梨黑斑病菌侵染后,叶片诱导POD活性的增加来抵御病原菌的侵染。     

Effect of stage of ripening and ethephon treatment on color content of paprika pepper

In order to determine the proper time to harvest paprika pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) fruits to obtain maximum extractable color, two maturity indexes were evaluated. Most consistent results were obtained when fully shriveled fruits were harvested.Foliar applications of ethephon (50, 100, 200 and 500 ppm) were made on two cultivars, ‘Paprika-505’ and ‘Paprika-D.Z.’. Total extractable color and capsanthin content were determined using fully shriveled pericarp tissue. Some flower and leaf abscission was caused by treating plants with 500 ppm ethephon and leaves of plants treated with 200 or 500 ppm ethephon turned yellow. Ethephon stimulated ripening and increased the total extractable color and capsanthin levels of paprika fruits. ‘Paprika-505’ contained more total extractable color and capsanthin than ‘Paprika-D.Z.’ as a result of ethephon treatment.     

The effect of water deficit stress on the growth,yield and composition of essential oils of parsley

Three parsley cultivars (plain-leafed, curly-leafed and turnip-rooted) were grown under conditions of 35–40% and 45–60% water deficit in order to evaluate the effect of this form of stress on plant growth, essential oil yield and composition. Plant growth (foliage and root weight, leaf number) was significantly reduced by water stress, even at 30–45% deficit. Water stress increased the yield of essential oil (on a fresh weight basis) from the leaves of plain-leafed and curly-leafed, but not turnip-rooted, parsley. However, on a m² basis foliage oil yield increased significantly only in curly-leafed parsley. Water stress also caused changes in the relative contribution of certain aroma constituents of the essential oils (principally 1,3,8-p-menthatriene, myristicin, terpinolene + p-cymenene), but these changes varied between cultivars. The oil yield of roots was low and water deficit stress had relatively little effect on the root oil composition. It is concluded that because the biomass of plants subjected to water deficit is reduced, it is possible to increase the plant density of plain-leafed or curly-leafed parsley, thereby further increasing the yield of oil per m². However, the application of water deficit stress to parsley essential oil production must also take into account likely changes in oil composition, which in turn relate to the cultivar.     

Evaluating variability of root size system and its constitutive traits in hot pepper (Capsicum annum L.) under water stress

The importance of root size system has long been recognized as crucial to cope with drought conditions. This investigation was conducted to: (i) evaluate the variability in root size system of hot pepper at maturity; (ii) estimate the effect of root size system on yield under drought conditions; and (iii) effect of water stress on xylem vessel development and total xylem cross-sectional area in roots of hot pepper cultivars. Twelve diverse hot pepper cultivars were grown in wooden boxes with two different water treatments, normal and in 50% water application as water deficit condition. Mean primary root length (PRL) showed a significant positive correlation with final fruit yield at normal as well as stressed condition. Total dry mass of fruit was reduced by 34.7% in drought treatments (DI) compared to full watered treatment (FI). At harvest, water-stressed plants had 21% lower root dry weight mass but higher root:shoot ratio other than FI. PRL, lateral root density, total xylem area per root cross-section showed a significant positive relationship with fruit yield. Also, lateral root density was higher in cultivars with higher xylem density, particularly in tolerant cultivars. Lateral root density (r = 0.847, P < 0.001) and total xylem cross-sectional area in root (r = 0.926, P < 0.001) were tightly related with total biomass production. The importance of root traits contributing to withstand drought in hot pepper is discussed.     

Pathogenesis-related (PR)-proteins: Chitinase and β-1,3-glucanase in defense mechanism against malformation in mango (Mangifera indica L.)

Mango, the king of fruits in India is cultivated commercially in many tropical and subtropical regions of the world. Undoubtedly, mango malformation is a serious disease affecting mango production in India and many other countries around the world. It is now shown that the malady is inflicted by Fusarium, a fungus, and also that the plants have the capacity to suppress or reduce pathogen attack by inducing the synthesis of antimicrobial metabolites such as chitinase and/or the synthesis of lignin, both of which may enhance plant defense system. The present study was aimed at investigating the variability and relationship between activities of chitinase, β-1,3-glucanase and content of lignin in the leaves using 12 mango cultivars with the different degree of resistance to floral malformation. Results revealed that the activity of chitinase and β-1,3-glucanase in the leaves were significantly high in mango cultivars resistant to malformation (r = −0.90 and r = −0.91, respectively) during the flowering period, whereas lignin content did not show a significant correlation with malformation. The highest activity of chitinase (1.977–2.011 units) and β-1,3-glucanase (80.54–82.06 units) was recorded in resistant mango cultivars Bhadauran and Elaichi. In contrast, these activities were less than 1.010 and 25.21 respectively in highly susceptible mango cultivars such as Amrapali, Eldon and Neelum. Lignin content was highest in resistant cultivar Bhadauran, but it did not show significant relation to the malformation intensity of the cultivars. Thus, leaf chitinase and β-1,3-glucanase may be contributing towards resistance to malformation in mango and that the relative activities of these enzymes can be used as a criterion to predict and screen the mango germplasm and cultivars for resistance to floral malformation.     

不同辣椒品种光合日变化及影响因子分析

为了探明不同基因型辣椒间的光合日变化情况,进一步指导辣椒的育种与栽培,测定了4个辣椒品种的光合日变化曲线。结果表明,4个辣椒品种净光合速率均呈双峰曲线变化,但峰值的大小及峰值出现的时间因品种不同而表现出一定差异;在所考察的8个影响因子中,气孔导度、蒸腾速率、叶片温度和光合有效辐射与净光合速率呈极显著正相关,胞间CO2浓度和空气CO2浓度与净光合速率极显著负相关。     

Antioxidant capacity is correlated with susceptibility to leaf spot caused by a rapid temperature drop in Saintpaulia (African violet)

The relationship between the susceptibility to rapid temperature drop induced leaf injury, i.e. “leaf spot”, and the antioxidant capacities of several Saintpaulia (African violet) cultivars was examined. Cultivars ‘Ritali’ and ‘Tamiko’, that are more susceptible to leaf spot caused by a rapid drop in leaf temperature from 30 to 15°C than are cultivars ‘Maui’ and ‘New Jersey’. The susceptible cultivars were also more susceptible to oxidative stress caused by H₂O₂ and active chlorine than the tolerant cultivars. Reduction of available chlorine, considered to be accelerated by antioxidants of leaf tissue, was rapid in ‘Maui’ and ‘New Jersey’. Activity of the antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase and catalase were higher in the leaves of ‘Maui’ and ‘New Jersey’ than in the susceptible cultivars. These findings show a correlation between leaf spot injury and antioxidant capacity in Saintpaulia leaves.     

A simple method for non-destructive estimation of total shoot leaf area in tree fruit crops

Leaf area is a commonly used measurement in many horticultural research experiments, but is generally destructive, requiring leaves to be removed for measurement. Leaf removal precludes repeated measures and disrupts carbohydrate assimilation and translocation, which is another frequent parameter of interest. Numerous methods have been devised for estimating leaf area of individual leaves in situ. These methods generally involve measuring leaf parameters such as length and width and using those as variables in an equation describing a relationship between those variables and leaf area specifically developed for each species. However, these methods are typically highly labor intensive when scaling to the level of the shoot because they require each leaf to be measured individually. Here we report on a method that makes use of a regression relationship for non-destructively estimating whole shoot leaf area, but only involves measuring the length of the longest leaf on the shoot and multiplying it by the number of leaves on the shoot. The method has been tested on 14 diverse fruit and nut tree cultivars. Deciduous and evergreen species with both simple and compound leaves were included. For 13 out of 14 cultivars, coefficients of determination (r²) between actual measured leaf area and estimated leaf area were equal to or greater than 0.80. The model was validated for shoot leaf area of different trees in different years for four of the cultivars. The relationship developed for these cultivars appears to be broadly applicable to other tree species and will be a simple and useful tool for research requiring accurate non-destructive estimates of shoot leaf area.     

Concentrations of perillaldehyde,limonene, and anthocyanin of Perilla plants as affected by light quality under controlled environments

Perilla plants with red coloured leaves grown in red-enriched light treatments (i.e., red lamps alone (R), a mixture of blue and red lamps (BR), and a mixture of green and red lamps (GR)) had greater dry weight, bigger leaves, and more leaves than those grown in other treatments (i.e., blue lamps alone (B), a mixture of blue and green lamps (BG), and green lamps alone (G)). Although the concentrations of perillaldehyde and limonene in leaf tissues (mg g⁻¹ leaf DW) were 1.6–1.9 and 1.5–1.9 times higher, respectively, in the G treatment than in red-enriched light treatments, the contents of perillaldehyde and limonene per plant (mg/plant) were 1.8 times higher in the BR treatment than those in the G treatment. The content of anthocyanin per plant was also 4.3 times higher in the BR treatment than that in the G treatment. Therefore, within the six different combinations of fluorescent lamps used in the present study, the BR treatment was a suitable light quality for producing plants with high contents of perillaldehyde, limonene, and anthocyanin under controlled environments.     

辣椒品种疫霉菌抗性鉴定试验研究

对引进的辣椒品种在5～6叶期,接种孢子囊浓度为10250个/mL,体积为5mL的疫霉菌,进行疫霉菌抗性鉴定试验。结果表明,在供试的28份干椒和线椒品种中,高抗品种有12个,抗病品种有6个;38份供试的牛角椒和羊角椒品种中抗病品种有4个。     

银杏同一叶片不同部位叶绿素荧光特性的研究

用叶绿素荧光技术测定不同品种银杏叶片的不同部位叶绿素荧光参数的结果表明:'泰兴4号'叶片不同部位的光合能力无显著差异,'南雄圆子'叶片从叶柄、叶片基部、叶片中部、叶片边缘的光合能力是逐渐减弱的,'华口马铃'和'广西圆子'叶柄、叶片基部、叶片中部光合能力比叶片边缘明显高.在广州的适应性较差的'华口马铃',受光抑制较明显,光合能力下降.     

Effect of Leaf Number and Area on the Fruit Growth of Regular and Biennial Bearing Mango (Mangifera indica L.) Grown Under North Indian Conditions

Abstract

The optimum leaf number required for normal fruit growth in the regular bearing mango cultivar ‘Amrapali’ and the biennial bearing cultivars ‘Chausa’, ‘Dashehari’ and ‘Langra’ were studied by isolating individual fruits with known numbers of supporting leaves by shoot girdling at the time of fruit set. There were significant differences in the leaf area (249.01-1817.10 cm2), fresh weight (7.0-77.0 g) and dry weight (3.7-50.0 g) of leaves on shoots having 30, 20, 10 and 5 leaves as compared with control in different cultivars. In both types of cultivars, there was a progressive reduction in fruit size in terms of total fruit, pulp, peel, and seed weight with decreasing numbers of supporting leaves, however, a minimum reduction (2.4%) in fruit growth in ‘Amrapali’ was noticed with 30 supporting leaves. A nonsignificant difference in photosynthetic rate with varying number of leaves was found but its efficiency in leaves was higher in ‘Amrapali’ as compared with biennial bearing cultivars. Starch accumulation in the leaves was reduced by shoot girdling. The stomatal resistance of the leaves of girdled shoots was comparable with that of leaves on control shoots. In all the cultivars except ‘Amrapali’ it was observed that 30 leaves, the maximum retained on a shoot, could not support the growth of a single fruit to normal size. The data on rate of photosynthesis in different pool size of leaves and fruit growth in girdled and nongirdled shoots clearly show that fruit development depends not only on the current assimilates but also to a great extent on reserves. A 14CO2 feeding experiment showed a higher rate of carbon fixation in the leaves of girdled shoots than in the control shoots, but the translocation of 14C assimilated to the developing fruits on the girdled and control shoots was comparable. The results also indicated that developing fruits are major sinks for current photosynthates as more than 60 percent of the 14C exported from the treated leaf was found in the fruit in all instances.     

茴香不同器官精油含量及其成分比较

 使用同时蒸馏萃取法, 对内蒙古小茴香不同器官风干样进行分析, 根、茎、叶、花序梗、花序和果实精油含量分别为4.9、9.3、12.0、12.9、28.8、31.5 mL /kgDM。茴香精油含量与全氮含量、蛋白氮含量达到极显著正相关, 相关系数分别为0.92和0.95; 精油含量与全碳含量、C /N显著呈负相关, 相关系数分别为- 0.83和- 0.82。根的精油主要成分是其所特有的莳萝芹菜脑, 茎的精油主要成分是柠檬烯、反式茴香脑, 叶、花序梗、花序和果实的精油主要成分为反式茴香脑、柠檬烯。同时比较了不同器官精油中单萜类化合物、含氧化合物、反式茴香脑和柠檬烯的变化趋势。     

Seasonal changes in CO2 assimilation in leaves of five major Greek olive cultivars

Leaf CO₂ assimilation rate, stomatal conductance (g_s), internal CO₂ concentration (C_i), chlorophyll (a + b) content, specific leaf weight (SLW) and stomatal density were measured during the season, under field conditions, for five major Greek olive cultivars, ‘Koroneiki’, ‘Megaritiki’, ‘Konservolia’, ‘Lianolia Kerkiras’, and ‘Kalamon’, with different morphological and agronomic characteristics and diverse genetic background. Measurements were taken from current-season and 1-year-old leaves, and from fruiting and vegetative shoots, throughout the season, from March to November in years 2001 and 2002. CO₂ assimilation rates showed a substantial seasonal variation, similar in all cultivars, with higher values during spring and autumn and lower values during summer and late autumn. Stomatal conductance (g_s) followed similar trends to leaf CO₂ assimilation rates, increasing from March to July, following by a decrease during August and increasing again in autumn. ‘Koroneiki’ had the highest leaf CO₂ assimilation rate and g_s values (21 μmol m⁻² s⁻¹ and 0.45 mol m⁻² s⁻¹, respectively) while ‘Lianolia Kerkiras’ and ‘Kalamon’ showed the lowest leaf CO₂ assimilation rate and g_s values (13–14 μmol m⁻² s⁻¹ and 0.22 mol m⁻² s⁻¹, respectively). One-year-old leaves had significantly higher leaf CO₂ assimilation rate than current-season leaves from April to June, for all cultivars. From August and then, leaf CO₂ assimilation rate in current-season leaves was higher than in 1-year-old leaves. There were no significant differences in leaf CO₂ assimilation rate between fruiting and vegetative shoots. Total chlorophyll (a + b) content increased with leaf age in current-season leaves. In 1-year-old leaves chlorophyll content increased in spring, then started to decrease and increased slightly again late in the season. Chlorophyll content was higher in 1-year-old leaves than in current-season leaves throughout the season. Total specific leaf weight (SLW) increased throughout the season for all cultivars. Stomatal density in lower leaf surface was lowest for ‘Koroneiki’ (399 mm⁻²) and highest for ‘Megaritiki’ (550 mm⁻²). Our results showed differences in leaf CO₂ assimilation rate among the five different olive cultivars, with a diverse genetic background, ranging from 12 to 21 μmol m⁻² s⁻¹. From the five cultivars examined, ‘Koroneiki’, a drought resistant cultivar, performed better and was able to maintain higher leaf CO₂ assimilation rate, even under high air vapor pressure deficit. All cultivars had a pronounced seasonal variation in leaf CO₂ assimilation rate, affected by date of the year, depending on ambient conditions. The high temperatures and high air vapor pressure deficit occurring during summer caused a reduction in leaf CO₂ assimilation rate in all cultivars. Leaf CO₂ assimilation rate was also affected by leaf age for all cultivars, with old leaves having significantly higher leaf CO₂ assimilation rate than young leaves early in the season.     

Guide for Authors

Bromeliad growers report severe leaf quality problems for Aechmea cultivars grown under commercial greenhouse conditions. In this research, a leaf damage ‘sensitive’ and ‘insensitive’ A. cultivar were compared for their C-metabolism and hydrophysiology under these greenhouse conditions. Stomata opening index indicated CAM (Crassulacean acid metabolism) for both cultivars, with 45–50% open stomata around 4:00 a.m. and 5–10% in the afternoon. Malic and citric acid were the major organic acids present in the leaves, with diurnal malic acid accumulation during the night. The leaf damage ‘sensitive’ cultivar showed higher malic acid accumulation than the ‘insensitive’ cultivar (200 μmol/gfw versus 170 μmol/gfw). Leaf osmotic potential and turgor pressure were linked with diurnal malic acid fluctuations: organic acid accumulation during the night generated high leaf turgor pressures (up to +0.86 MPa).A leaf damage sensitivity test was designed and confirmed previous experiences of several bromeliad growers. Both cultivars showed higher leaf damage percentages (98 and 78%) when leaf malic acid accumulation was high. We attribute this elevated sensitivity to lethal turgor pressures and consider them to be caused by the water capturing mechanism generated by high organic acid accumulation. Under current greenhouse conditions, this water capturing mechanism can be disastrous for plant leaf quality. Especially, under high relative humidity, hindering plant transpiration and stimulating water uptake by dew formation, leaf quality could be endangered.     

Water deficit and polyethylene glycol 6000 affects morphological and biochemical characters of Pelargonium odoratissimum (L.)

The effects of water deficit and polyethylene glycol (PEG) 6000 on the growth and content of essential oil, photosynthetic pigments, soluble sugars, proline, macroelements (N–P–K) and microelements (Mg–Zn–Fe–Mn) of Pelargonium odoratissimum (L.) plants were investigated. Water deficits of 80% and 40% of field water capacity decreased certain growth characters (total leaf area, leaf number, and total fresh and dry mass). The photosynthetic pigments (chlorophylls a and b, total carotenoids) and mineral content (N–P–K–Mg–Zn–Fe–Mn) also decreased as water deficit level increased. Water deficit promoted the accumulation of essential oil content and its main components (methyl eugenol, isomenthone and limonene) as well as total soluble sugars and proline contents. The water deficit × PEG 6000 interaction was greater than water deficit treatments alone on all plant growth characters assessed.