Aboveground biomass,transpiration and water use efficiency in eucalypt plantation fertilized with KCl,NaCl and phonolite rock powder

Potassium has important physiological functions in eucalypt plantations, increasing their productivity when applied to soil via mineral fertilizers. There is interest in identifying alternative sources to KCl owing to its high cost and limited reserves. The aim of the study was to test the effect of replacing KCl with NaCl and phonolite rock powder. Two comparisons were made: (1) application of 283 kg ha^?1 of KCl compared with that of 2125 kg ha^?1 of phonolite rock powder (equivalent to 170 kg ha^?1 of K₂O in both treatments); (2) application of 139 kg ha^?1 of NaCl compared with that of 183 kg ha^?1 of KCl (equivalent to 2.33 kmol Na and K, respectively). Radial growth, soil water content, leaf water potential (Ψ), accumulated transpiration, stem volume and biomass increment, as well as water use efficiency (WUE) were evaluated. In the first comparison, both fertilizations presented equal values for all characteristics evaluated. In the second, the accumulated transpiration in trees fertilized with KCl was 17% higher than that in plants fertilized with NaCl. In contrast, the WUE was 20% higher in the trees fertilized with NaCl than in those fertilized with KCl, reflecting the lower water consumption for the same increment in stem volume and biomass. We conclude that phonolite rock powder and NaCl are possible substitutes for conventional K fertilization performed with KCl.

     

Temporal and Spatial Monitoring of the pH and Heavy Metals in a Soil Polluted by Mine Spill. Post Cleaning Effects

The bursting of the mining dam of Aznalcollar (Seville, Spain) triggered an increase in the concentration of heavy metals in the soils of the river Guadiamar valley as a result of the leaching of the pyritic sludge deposited on them. After the cleaning operations which included, as well as mechanical clearing, the addition of different amendments, some areas with residual sludge remained, from which some heavy metals are being mobilized by the cyclical recharge and discharge processes of water in the profiles. This paper analyzes the effect of the soil recovery operations and the climatology on the concentration of metals and their distribution in the soil profile in an area affected by the toxic spill. Fourteen points have been selected in a plot in which acidity persists, there is no vegetation, and residual sludge stains can be seen at a glance. The temporal and spatial evolution of the extractable metals: Fe, Cu, Mn and Zn, the pH and the oxidable fraction has been measured in-depth. The results obtained up to now indicate a leaching of the pollutant towards deeper horizons, finding, at a depth of 757 cm, pH values of 3.5 and very high Fe and Mn concentrations available, especially in the profiles with large sized pores, with a big fraction of sand. On the surface, seasonally, there are low pH values of around 2.5 and extractable Fe contents of over 4000 ppm, which might have an influence on the quality of surface runoff or underground water.     

Study of the Levels of Concentration of As, Cd and Ni in a Ceramic Cluster

The main objective of this paper is to check the fulfilment of the European Directive 2004/107/CE, which refers to the limit values of arsenic, cadmium and nickel that will have to be carried out the first of January 2010. Three sampling points have been chosen (Alcora, Vila-real and Castellón), forming a triangle that comprise most of the ceramic cluster of the province of Castellón (Spain). This is a problematic area in relation to the fulfilment of the directive, due to its high industrial development. Apart from this main objective, the following are raised: a) The analysis of the temporal evolution of the levels of As, Cd, Ni and PM10 in the atmosphere during the year 2002; b) The identification of similar behaviour patterns and of the possible common origins in the studied pollutants; c) To show the existence of differences in the behaviour and evolution of As, Cd, Ni and PM10 in the atmospheric medium depending on the location of the sampling point; d) To check whether the levels of As, Cd, Ni and PM10 are influenced by the environmental temperature. The concentration levels of arsenic, cadmium and nickel in Alcora, Vila-real and Castellón have been determined during the year 2002, in order to check whether they are below the limits established in the future directive on these elements. The following conclusions are reached from the results obtained after the chemical analysis (using ICP–MS) of the samples collected in the three locations.     

Drought pretreatment increases the salinity resistance of tomato plants

Agricultural productivity is worldwide subjected to increasing salinity problems. Various strategies are applied to overcome the deleterious effects of salinity on plants. This study was conducted in order to determine whether drought pretreatment of seedlings or seed pretreatment with NaCl increases the long‐term salinity resistance of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) and whether the adaptive response to salinity is accompanied by physiological changes throughout the plant‐growth cycle. When plants were pretreated at the five‐leaf growth stage, the plant dry weight was significantly higher in drought‐pretreated than in non‐pretreated plants after 50 d of salt treatment. The positive effect of drought pretreatment applied at the five‐leaf stage was maintained throughout the entire growth cycle, as fruit yield of drought‐pretreated plants was 40% higher than that of non‐pretreated plants at the end of the harvest period (150 d of 70 mM NaCl treatment). Moreover, the most productive plants maintained lower Na⁺ and Cl^– accumulation in their leaves until the end of the growth cycle, which shows that adaptation is a long‐term response during which the plants adjust their physiology to the environmental conditions. Salt resistance was also improved through seed pretreatment with NaCl. In conclusion, drought pretreatment applied at the five‐leaf stage or seed pretreatment with NaCl provide an alternative way to enhance salt resistance in tomato, and the increase in yield is associated with physiological changes throughout the plant‐growth cycle.     

Changes induced by plastic film mulches on soil temperature and their relevance in growth and fruit yield of pickling cucumber

Purpose: The aim of this study was to realize whether soil mulching, with different plastic mulch colors, is a suitable practice for the culture of pickling cucumber.

Materials and Methods: The crop was cultured or not with black, silver/black, white/black, and aluminum/black plastic films, treatments were evaluated in randomized complete block design, to determine their effect on soil temperature, gas exchange, nutrient concentration, growth, and fruit yield.

Results and Conclusions: Black, silver/black, and aluminum/black plastic mulches were higher (p?≤?0.05) in plant height, leaf area, and shoot dry weight than bare soil at 15 days after sowing, whose results were similar than using white/black film. Maximum, minimum, and mean soil temperatures were higher with all plastic mulches except for aluminum/black, in which the maximum soil temperature was similar to the one in bare soil. There was no difference in net photosynthesis and there was very little difference in nutrient concentration between plants in plastic mulches and plants in bare soil; however, early and total yield showed a higher (p?≤?0.05) yield in all plastic mulches, and lower with bare soil and white/black plastic mulch. Our results confirm that soil mulching impacts the pickling cucumber yield. We suggest a carefull selection of the color plastic mulch.     

Changes in amino acid and organic acid composition in tomato and cucumber plants in relation to salinity and nitrogen nutrition

Under conditions of salt stress, plants show qualitative and quantitative alterations in various organic compounds, such as nitrogen (N) compounds and organic acids. In this work, the effect of different saline levels as well as various N levels, supplied as nitrate (NO₃) or as ammonium (NH₄)+NO₃ on the concentration of amino acids and organic acids in the leaves of tomato and cucumber plants has been studied. The effect of the source of N on individual amino acid contents varied with plant species. Most of the amino acids increased when the concentration of N in the nutrient solution was increased, except when N was added as NH₄+NO₃ for tomato. The effect of salt stress depended on which amino acid was considered. The data also indicate that the effect of salinity on each particular amino acid was greatly dependent on the plant species and N source. Organic acids were differently affected by salinity and by the N source, depending on the plant species. In tomato, the concentrations of short‐chain organic acids were 2–3 times higher in NO₃‐supplied plants than in those grown with NH₄+NO₃. Finally, in cucumber, malic acid concentration increased as a function of the saline level in the medium.     

Quality and aromatic sensory descriptors (mainly fresh and dry fruit character) of Spanish red wines can be predicted from their aroma-active chemical composition

A satisfactory model explaining quality could be built in a set of 25 high quality Spanish red wines, by aroma-active chemical composition. The quality of the wines was positively correlated with the wine content in fruity esters, acids, enolones, and wood derived compounds, and negatively with phenylacetaldehyde, acetic acid, methional, and 4-ethylphenol. Wine fruitiness was demonstrated to be positively related not only to the wine content on fruity esters and enolones, but to wine volatile fatty acids. Fruitiness is strongly suppressed by 4-ethylphenol, acetic acid, phenylacetaldehyde, and methional, this involved in the perception of dry-fruit notes. Sensory effects were more intense in the presence of β-damascenone and β-ionone. A satisfactory model explaining animal notes could be built. Finally, the vegetal character of this set of wines could be related to the combined effect of dimethylsulfide (DMS), 1-hexanol, and methanethiol.     

Analytical and sensorial characterization of the aroma of wines produced with sour rotten grapes using GC-O and GC-MS: identification of key aroma compounds

In the present work, the aroma profiles of wines elaborated from sound and sour rot-infected grapes as raw material have been studied by sensory analysis, gas chromatography-olfactometry (GC-O), and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), with the aim of determining the odor volatiles most likely associated with this disease. The effect of sour rot was tested in monovarietal wines produced with the Portuguese red grape variety Trincadeira and in blends of Cabernet Sauvignon and sour rotten Trincadeira grapes. Wines produced from damaged berries exhibited clear honey-like notes not evoked by healthy samples. Ethyl phenylacetate (EPhA) and phenylacetic acid (PAA), both exhibiting sweet honey-like aromas, emerged as key aroma compounds of sour rotten wines. Their levels were 1 order of magnitude above those found in controls and reached 304 and 1668 μg L(-1) of EPhA and PAA, respectively, well above the corresponding odor thresholds. Levels of γ-nonalactone also increased by a factor 3 in sour rot samples. Results also suggest that sour rot exerts a great effect on the secondary metabolism of yeast, decreasing the levels of volatiles related to fatty acids and amino acid synthesis. The highest levels of γ-decalactone of up to 405 μg L(-1) were also found in all of the samples, suggesting that this could be a relevant aroma compound in Trincadeira wine aroma.     

Gas chromatography-olfactometry and chemical quantitative study of the aroma of six premium quality spanish aged red wines

The aroma of six premium quality Spanish red wines has been studied by quantitative gas chromatography-olfactometry (GC-O) and techniques of quantitative chemical analysis. The GC-O study revealed the presence of 85 aromatic notes in which 78 odorants were identified, two of which-1-nonen-3-one (temptatively) and 2-acetylpyrazine-are reported in wine for the first time. Forty out of the 82 quantified odorants may be present at concentrations above their odor threshold. The components with the greatest capacity to introduce differences between these wines are ethyl phenols produced by Brettanomyces yeasts (4-ethylphenol, 4-ethyl-2-methoxyphenol, and 4-propyl-2-methoxyphenol), 2,5-dimethyl-4-hydroxy-3(2H)-furanone (furaneol), (Z)-3-hexenol, thiols derived from cysteinic precursors (4-methyl-4-mercaptopentan-2-one, 3-mercaptohexyl acetate, and 3-mercaptohexanol), some components yielded by the wood [(E)-isoeugenol, 4-allyl-2-methoxyphenol, vanillin, 2-methoxyphenol (guaiacol), and (Z)-whiskylactone], and compounds related to the metabolism (2-phenylethanol, ethyl esters of isoacids, 3-methylbutyl acetate) or oxidative degradation of amino acids [phenylacetaldehyde and 4,5-dimethyl-3-hydroxy-2(5H)-furanone (sotolon)]. The correlation between the olfactometric intensities and the quantitative data is, in general, satisfactory if olfactometric differences between the samples are high. However, GC-O fails in detecting quantitative differences in those cases in which the olfactive intensity is very high or if odors elute in areas in which the odor chromatogram is too complex.