Adventitious shoot development from wild cherry (Prunus avium L.) leaves

Experiments were carried out to improve shootformation from leaves of wild cherry (Prunusavium L). Emphasis was placed on maximising shootnumbers per leaf. Results with one genotype showedthat leaf size was critical in determining whethershoots formed, with leaves 3–5 mm in length formingmost shoots. Leaves larger than this failed to formcallus or shoots, while smaller leaves tended todevelop into fast-growing callus. There weresignificant differences among ten genotypes, selectedarbitrarily, in proportions of leaves thatregenerated, numbers of shoots formed and numbers ofpositions per leaf where shoots formed. Supplementingmedium with the surfactants Tween-20, and PluronicsF127 and F68 failed to increase the proportions ofleaves of the one genotype tested that producedshoots. However, Tween-20 increased numbers of shootsper leaf and the numbers of positions per leaf thatformed shoots. The main effects of Pluronics F68 andF127 with increasing concentration over the rangetested (10–1000 mgl^–1) were significantdecreases in shoot numbers and numbers of positionsper leaf where shoots formed. Using the best genotype,accession 1905, leaves 3–5 mm in length, and Tween-20at 10 mgl^–1, 84% (s.e. ± 2.3%) of leavesformed a mean (± s.e.) of 3.5 ± 0.3 shootsfrom 2.0 ± 0.2 locations per leaf.     

Relationships between growth and leaf-scale physiological parameters in five Wildstar™ cherry clones (Prunus avium L.)

Infra-red gas exchange analysis was used to measure leaf-scale physiological parameters of five Wildstar™ cherry clones (Prunus avium L.) and two sources of unimproved stock. Assimilation rate (A), evapotranspiration rate (E), stomatal conductance (g _s) and water use efficiency (WUE) were recorded to evaluate whether the quick and simple measurements could be used as a proxy for assessing growth potential of the cherry clones. Differences in A, E and g _s were found between varieties, with clone one always having higher rates than clones two and three. Differences in growth highlighted by an earlier study were linked to the physiological parameters described here. Varieties with high A tended to have good height increment and relative growth rate (RGR), while those with low A, E and g _s had poor height increment. However, clone 5, the clone with the largest height increment, did not have the highest A, suggesting that its good height growth reflected allocation of photoassimilate to main stem growth relative to branches and roots. Likewise, clone 1 and clone 4 (with high A) were ranked only second and third in height growth, indicating that some of the carbon gain was lost in branching. Clones 2 and 3 performed poorly in both physiological parameters and height growth. Although a positive relationship was found between assimilation rate and growth, the relationship was not strong enough to assess growth potential of the cherry clones accurately, perhaps due to differences in the allocation of dry matter within the plant.     

Mating patterns and pollen dispersal in four contrasting wild cherry populations (Prunus avium L.)

Although pollen dispersal has been extensively studied in trees, parameters influencing between-population variation are still poorly understood. In this study, we conducted paternity analyses on open-pollinated seeds in four natural populations of wild cherry (Prunus avium) with contrasting density and clonal propagation, using eight microsatellite loci and one self-incompatibility system locus. We also measured four quantitative traits and spatial positions as potential correlates of reproductive success. Levels of polyandry differed among populations and 30% of the seed families exhibited unequal paternal contributions, suggesting variation in reproductive success rather than variation in mate availability. Mating occurred preferentially among neighbours in all populations, suggesting that it is a common pattern in wild cherry and probably results from pollinator behaviour. Paternal success was positively correlated with diameter at breast height, as indicated in previous studies and tree dominance only resulted in higher paternal success in low density plots. Mating patterns were thus also affected by both density and tree size. Large-scale studies are needed to disentangle relative influences of these factors on the mating system and pollination success.     

Cryopreservation of dormant orthodox seeds of forest trees: mazzard cherry (Prunus avium L.)

? The sensitivity of dormant seeds of mazzard cherry (Prunus avium L.) of Polish provenances to extreme desiccation and/or the ultra-low temperature of liquid nitrogen, LN (?196 °C), was investigated to identify the optimum seed water content (w.c.) at this temperature.

? Germination and seedling emergence tests in this study showed that there is no critical seed w.c. for deeply desiccated seeds (stone w.c. 1.6%), although such desiccated seeds were sensitive to the temperature of LN in the seedling emergence test. For seeds frozen in LN, the highest germinability was observed at w.c. of 9.0–16.9%, but seedling emergence was then significantly lower than in nonfrozen seeds. The 2-year of storage in LN of seeds desiccated to 7.8% w.c. did not decrease germinability after thawing, in comparison with 2-year of storage at ?3 °C. Storage in LN showed that if seeds were stored after breaking of their dormancy, germinability after storage was lower because of the necessity of seed desiccation to the lower level (～ 8%) of w.c. after stratification (before storage). Secondary dormancy was induced in seeds desiccated after stratification.

? The results of this study demonstrate the potential for long-term cryopreservation of mazzard cherry seeds in forest gene banks.

     

Screening wild cherry (Prunus avium) for resistance to bacterial canker by laboratory and field tests

Currently, bacterial canker caused by Pseudomonas syringae is a major cause of dieback and tree death in wild cherry (Prunus avium) plantations. The evaluation of breeding collections is needed to produce less susceptible clones or cultivars. Resistance tests were performed using excised shoots (1 and 2 years old) from 79 clones in the laboratory. A subset of 10 clones was also tested in the field. The clones were inoculated with four to seven isolates of a set of 15 isolates of P. s. pv. morsprunorum, P. s. pv. syringae, P. s. pv. persicae, P. syringae pv. avii and P. fluorescens. In the laboratory tests, older and larger shoots were more susceptible. In the field test, size and age of the shoots were not related to girdling by the bacterial canker. Two‐year‐old shoots were best for clonal discrimination. Correlations between 1 and 2‐year‐old shoots were significant but not high. The isolates varied a lot between experiments, but as the clone × isolate interactions were always low, breeding could thus be facilitated. The ranking of clones was conserved quite well between two laboratory tests, but not between two others. Good agreement was found for the best clones in the laboratory tests and in the field test. However, the two worst clones in the latter were among the best in one laboratory test. At least two independent tests in the laboratory are needed to evaluate resistance/susceptibility of clones. Broad sense heritability for resistance varied from 0.27 to 0.51. Although moderate, such heritability clearly encourages a breeding approach to reduce the problem of bacterial canker.     

Parental participation in progeny and effective population sizes in experimental seed orchards of wild cherry Prunus avium L. (Batsch)

Parents and progenies genetic diversity, and male and female contributions to the seed crop were assessed in three experimental Prunus avium seed orchards. Collected data were used to compare different effective population sizes, based on phenological, seed crop and paternity analysis. Our results did not show any difference of genetic diversity between parents and progenies. A limited pollen pollution was detected. We showed that distance and coflowering among clones had a significant effect on effective pollination, and a significant effect of the production of flowers was revealed in one of the seed orchards. Our study also revealed a quite low number of effective size of fathers per mother, but high effective sizes of mothers, fathers and parents at the level of the seed orchard. Finally, the calculation of effective size of mothers, fathers and parents was not highly modified when having the complete information based on the paternity analysis.     

Genetic variation of Prunus avium in susceptibility to cherry leaf spot (Blumeriella jaapii) in spatially heterogeneous infected seed orchards

Cherry leaf spot (Blumeriella jaapii (Rehm) Arx.) is a very serious disease of wild cherry (Prunus avium L.), which produces premature leaf defoliation and vigor decrease. In two clonal seed orchards of P. avium naturally infected by B. jaapii, spatial heterogeneity and autocorrelation of neighbor damage caused by cherry leaf spot impeded proper analysis of the fungus incidence. The iterative spatial analysis (ISA), based on variography and kriging, was successfully used to eliminate the effect of this spatial heterogeneity in analysis of genetic variation in susceptibility to B. jaapii. Significant differences among P. avium clones were found, with moderate to high broad-sense heritability estimates. Genetic by environment interactions, although significant, were not quantitatively important. A strong relationship between leaf spot susceptibility and bud burst was found. However, other factors must be affecting the genetic variation in leaf spot susceptibility, as differences among clones remained highly significant when considering the bud burst as a covariate in the genetic model.     

Selection for salt and drought tolerance in protoplast- and explant-derived tissue cultures of Colt cherry (Prunus avium x pseudocerasus)

Colt cherry (Prunus avium x pseudocerasus) callus cultures were derived from leaf protoplasts, protoplasts of root cell suspension cultures, or by direct culture of leaf and root tissues. Survival of calli cultured on basal proliferation medium containing 25, 50, 100 or 200 mN (millinormal) NaCl, Na(2)SO(4) or KCl, or iso-osmotic (with NaCl) concentrations of mannitol ranged from 1 to 15%. After six transfers on the same medium, surviving cell lines were subjected to three cycles of direct recurrent selection; i.e., in each cycle, they were cultured alternately on basal proliferation medium, and on basal proliferation medium supplemented with NaCl, KCl, Na(2)SO(4) or mannitol. Salt- or mannitol-tolerant cell lines selected in this way had smaller cells than unselected cell lines, and they grew more rapidly and had higher callus and cell survival rates than unselected cell lines when cultured in the presence of salt or mannitol. Cells lines selected for tolerance to one agent (sodium salt, potassium salt or mannitol) showed minimal tolerance to another agent. However, when plants were regenerated from salt- or mannitol-tolerant callus and new cultures derived from them, the new cultures showed tolerance to all of the salts and mannitol. Plant regeneration from the new cultures was not achieved under the conditions that led to the regeneration of the parent plants from callus.     

Amino acid profiles and protein quality of Siberian apricot(Prunus sibirica L.) kernels from Inner Mongolia

Siberian apricot(Prunus sibirica L.) is a traditional nut tree species in East Asia and Siberia and is a possible contribution to healthy diets.However,it has attracted little research attention and information on the nutritional value of its kernel is limited.In this study,the profile,nutritional value and variation of amino acids were investigated in eight provenances.The kernels contained29×10~(-2) g/g protein and were rich in glutamic acid(26.5%),aspartic acid(11.3%) and arginine(10.1%).They showed higher essential amino acids(EAA) than similar protein values for almonds.The variation coefficients of amino acids ranged from 3.8 to 43.7%,and the levels of seven amino acids were significantly different among the eight provenances.The proportion of essential amino acids to total amino acids and amino acid score were also quite different.Protein was negatively correlated with some amino acids and protein quality values.In conclusion,there were two superior provenances(Wanjiagou and Horinger County) with high EAA contents and protein quality,and could be used in the large-scale development of this species.     

Wild Cherry (Prunus avium L.) for Timber Production: Consequences for Early Growth from Selection of Open-pollinated Single-tree Progenies in Sweden

Prunus avium L. is a fast-growing hardwood tree species that has demonstrated good production on both well-drained forest soils and farm land in southern Sweden. Growth rate and breeding value were tested in 101 open-pollinated single-tree progenies of Swedish origin and five German seed sources. After eight growing seasons and two selective thinnings the mean tree height reached 4.7 m. The mean tree height of the progenies varied between 3.3 and 6.1 m. A total rotation period of 50-60 yrs and a dominant height of 20-22 m can be expected. The results indicated great phenotypic variation within progenies and good possibilities for improving production and stem quality by early selective thinning. In terms of height growth and stem straightness the best Swedish progenies were as good as the tested German seed sources.     

Driving factors for natural tree rejuvenation in anthropogenic pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) forests of NE Germany

The rejuvenation ecology of three main tree species in anthropogenic pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) forests is explored in our study. We focus on the scale of micro-plots, which provide the safe sites for tree rejuvenation. We thrive on the multi-factorial relationship of tree establishment and driving ecological factors using a large dataset from pine stands in NE Germany and applying multivariate analyses. The success of the establishment of the investigated focal tree species Fagus sylvatica L., Quercus petraea Liebl. and Pinus sylvestris L. is, on general, mostly affected by three factors, i.e. water balance of the upper soil layers, browsing pressure, and diaspore sources. Our investigations on the micro-plot scale revealed species-specific differences. For beech saplings <50 cm growth height, primarily the availability of water, indicated by available water capacity (AWC), thickness, quality, and structure of the organic layer, silt and humus content in the topsoil, and the lack of a dense competitive herb layer, were identified as most important factors. On the contrary, oak seems hardly be restricted by hydrologic and/or trophic deficits in the topsoil or humus layer. In conclusion and comparison to Fagus sylvatica L., we assume for Quercus petraea Liebl. advantages in natural regeneration processes under sub-continental climate conditions and thus under the scenarios of climate change. Pinus sylvestris L. regeneration in our investigation area occurs only in a narrow niche. We conclude with regard to future forest development and the objective of stand conversion with low management intensity that oak should be favoured within natural stand regeneration.     

Impact of artificial pruning on growth and secondary shoot development of wild cherry (Prunus avium L.)

Producing high value veneer wood requires that the tree bole be branch-free. This can be accomplished by natural or artificial pruning. Since wild cherry does not self prune well, pruning artificially is the only practical option. The study analysed the effect of conventional whorl-wise pruning and selective pruning, on height growth, diameter growth and secondary shoot development of wild cherry. Four pruning treatments were applied on cherry trees in summer 2007, one group of cherries was left unpruned to serve as a control: treatment C1 (upper 5 whorls left), C2 (upper 3 whorls left), S1 (removal of branches larger than 3 cm or with an angle to the stem < 40°), S2 (removal of branches larger than 2 cm or with an angle to the stem < 40°), N (unpruned). Data showed that height growth was not affected by pruning. In contrast, diameter growth at breast height of the C2 pruned cherry was reduced by approximately 5% (SE = 2.7%) in the year of pruning (trees were pruned in July). This pruning treatment produced significant (p = 0.028) nine percent less diameter growth than the control in the second year following pruning. The diameter increment of the C1 pruned trees with five whorls left after pruning and the selective pruned cherries were only about 4% (SE = 4.0%) smaller than the control after two years. This loss was statistically not significant. Analyses showed that on selective pruned trees the survival rate of secondary shoots was significantly reduced compared to those on whorl-wise pruned trees. Significant differences in the size of the secondary shoots were only found between the C1 and S1 (p < 0.05) pruned trees. We did not find differences in the total number of secondary shoots per tree among pruning treatments. Solely from a tree growth perspective, the moderate whorl-wise pruning treatment C1 and the selective prunings were equally effective in minimizing the reduction of diameter growth and are recommended in practice. However it was found that the survival of secondary shoots was reduced on selective pruned trees although the amount of pruning work needed in selective pruning was slightly greater than conventional moderate pruning.     

Impact of late frost events on radial growth of common beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) in Southern Germany

Phenological, temperature, and tree-ring data were used in order to identify and quantify the impact of late frosts on common beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) at different altitudes in Southern Germany during the last century. For this intention, dendroecological investigations were made upon trees at the Meteorological Observatory Hohenpeißenberg as well as from seven stands in the Bavarian Forest and 17 stands at the northern fringe of the Alps. From these locations, a considerable number of severe growth minima in the tree-ring series could be related to late frost in the days of or immediately after leaf unfolding. The frequency of frost-related growth minima increases with altitude. In individual years, radial growth can be reduced by more than 90% (stand mean) in relation to the average growth of the ten previous years. Hence, late frosts are considered as important ecological events that strongly affect beech vitality and competitiveness especially at high altitudes. Evidence of significant impacts on radial growth by late frosts distinct before leaf unfolding or with temperatures above ?3°C was not found. Also, increasing frequency and intensity of late frosts during recent decades were not ascertained. Hence, the recently observed decreased vitality of common beech accompanied by growth depressions especially at high altitude sites in Central Europe cannot be explained as a consequence of late frost damage.     

湖北十堰大樱桃引种试验初报

为丰富湖北果品市场,扩大大樱桃栽培区域,2007年春笔者从郑州引进一批1a生大樱桃嫁接苗,在湖北十堰进行引种栽培.通过比较大樱桃引种地与原产地气候概况、引种大樱桃物候期和引种地与原产地大樱桃花芽分化情况和部分果实品质,得出了湖北十堰地区可在阳光充足、排水良好的地块栽种大樱桃.     

Effects of nitrogen content on growth and hydraulic characteristics of peach （Prunus persica L.） seedlings under different soil moisture condi- tions

A pot experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of nitrogen content [N1(no fertilizer), N2(0.15 g?kg–1), and N3(0.3 g?kg–1)] on the growth and the hydraulic characteristics of peach seedlings under different soil moisture conditions(W1, W2 and W3, in which the soil water content was 45% to 55%, 60% to 70%, and 75% to 80% of the field water capacity, respectively) by using a specialized high pressure flow meter with a root chamber and a coupling, which was connected to plant organs. Leaf area and leaf hydraulic conductivity(KL) increased significantly in the seedlings because of increased soil moisture and N content. KL increased with leaf area. A linear correlation was documented between KL and leaf area. KL was higher in the morning and began to decline sharply after 16:00, at which KL declined after an initial increase. Soil moisture and N content enhanced shoot(Ks) and root(Kr) hydraulic conductivities, thereby improving the low soil moisture condition to a large extent. Ks and Kr of the seedlings were reduced by 32% and 27% respectively in N1, and by 14.7% and 9.4%, respectively in N2, and both in W1, compared with the control treatment. N3 had no significant effect on Ks and Kr under similar conditions. Linear negative correlations were observed between Kr and the excised root diameter as well as between Ks and the shoot stem diameter. The shoot-to-root ratio increased with increase in N content. The shoot-to-root ratio in N3 was increased by 14.37%, compared with N1 in W1 as well as by 12% and 4.39% in W2 and W3, respectively. Knowledge of the effects of soil moisture and N fertilizer on hydraulic characteristics and growth is important. Our results provide basic guidelines for the implementation of water-saving irrigation and fertilization management of nursery stock.     

Novel in silico EST-SSR markers and bioinformatic approaches to detect genetic variation among peach(Prunus persica L.)germplasm

Because there are thousands of peach cultivars,cultivar classification is a critical step before starting a breeding project.Various molecular markers such as simple sequence repeats(SSRs) can be used.In this study,67 polymorphic primers produced 302 bands.Higher values for SI index(1.903) suggested higher genetic variability in the genotype under investigation.Mean values for observed alleles(Na),expected heterozygosity(He),effective alleles(Ne),Nei's information index(h),and polymorphic information content(PIC) were 4.5,0.83,5.45,0.83,and 0.81,respectively.The dendrogram constructed based on Jaccard's similarity coefficients outlined four distinct clusters in the entire germplasm.In addition,an analysis of molecular variance(AMOVA) showed that70.68% of the total variation was due to within-population variation,while 29.32% was due to variation among populations.According to this research,all primers were successfully used for the peach accessions.The EST-SSR markers should be useful in peach breeding programs and other research.     

Physiology and genetics of tree growth response to moisture and temperature stress: an examination of the characteristics of loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.)

Water stress and temperature impose fundamental limits to forest productivity. Stresses caused by fluctuating or extreme temperatures or limited water availability vary both seasonally and from year to year. The role of these stresses should be considered when investigating the causes of declines in forest productivity. Forest growth, or carbon gain, can be related quantitatively to three components: leaf area, rate of net photosynthesis and rate of respiration. This paper examines effects of temperature and water supply on these components with particular reference to loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.), a species of economic importance in the southeastern United States where declines, of unknown cause, in forest productivity have been reported.