Using midday stem water potential for scheduling deficit irrigation in mid–late maturing peach trees under Mediterranean conditions

Irrigation techniques that reduce water applications are increasingly applied in areas with scarce water resources. In this study, the effect of two regulated deficit irrigation (RDI) strategies on peach [Prunus persica (L.) Batsch cv. “Catherine”] performance was studied over three growing seasons. The experimental site was located in Murcia (SE Spain), a Mediterranean region. Two RDI strategies (restricting water applications at stage II of fruit development and postharvest) based on stem water potential (Ψ_s) thresholds (?1.5 and ?1.8 MPa during fruit growth and ?1.5 and ?2.0 MPa during postharvest) were compared to a fully irrigated control. Soil water content (θ_v), Ψ_s, gas exchange parameters, vegetative growth, crop load, yield and fruit quality were determined. RDI treatments showed significantly lower values of θ_v and Ψ_s than control trees when irrigation water was restricted, causing reductions in stomatal conductance and photosynthesis rates. Vegetative growth was reduced by RDI, as lower shoot lengths and pruning weights were observed under those treatments when compared to control. However, fruit size and yield were unaffected, and fruit quality was slightly improved by RDI. Water savings from 43 to 65 % were achieved depending on the year and the RDI strategy, and no negative carryover effect was detected during the study period. In conclusion, RDI strategies using Ψ_s thresholds for scheduling irrigation in mid–late maturing peach trees under Mediterranean conditions are viable options to save water without compromising yield and even improving fruit quality.     

Irrigation scheduling in a mature peach orchard using tensiometers and dendrometers

Three trickle irrigation schedules, two of which were scheduled according to soil water potential ( soil) (tensiometer method) and daily stem contraction (DSC) (dendrometer method) respectively and the other one was a schedule of restricted water supply, were applied to a mature peach orchard.The annual water application based on soil was greater than that based on DSC. However, tree growth, fruit size and leaf water potential (leaf) on the trees in the dendrometer scheduling plot did not differ from those in the tensiometer scheduling plot while the premature fruit drop and fruit bud initiation were greatly different. The restricted water supply treatment limited significantly both tree and fruit growth. In addition, the lower leaf was observed on the trees in this plot.Further study shows that use of the dendrometer method for scheduling irrigation satisfies the water needs of the plant and that the tensiometer method is less accurate.Abbreviations leaf leaf water potential - soil soil water potential - DSC daily stem contraction - LVDT linear variable displacement transducer - PET potential evapotranspiration     

The use of midday leaf water potential for scheduling deficit irrigation in vineyards

Midday leaf water potential (Ψ_md) was monitored for 3 years at a commercial vineyard (cv. Pinot Noir) under four irrigation strategies. Three treatments were established based on irrigating vines with 4–6 mm/day, when daily measured Ψ_md was more negative than the pre-defined threshold. After the first experimental year, thresholds were adjusted for each treatment as: (1) Control (C), irrigated when Ψ_md was less than −0.6 MPa at the beginning of the season and gradually fell to −0.8 MPa at about mid-June, after which the threshold was maintained at −0.8 MPa until harvest. (2) Control–Deficit (CD), irrigated as C from bud-break to mid-June (around the middle of Stage II of fruit growth), and from then until harvest when Ψ_md decreased below −1.2 MPa. (3) Deficit–Deficit (DD), irrigated when Ψ_md was less than −1.0 from bud break to mid-May (about the middle of fruit growth Stage I), and after that time the Ψ_md threshold became −1.2 MPa until harvest. A fourth treatment was applied following a soil water budget approach (WB). All treatments were replicated five times but irrigation in the Ψ_md-based treatments were independently applied to each of the replicate plots, whereas irrigation for WB was applied equally to all replications. The more site-specific information obtained from Ψ_md thresholds in C provided substantial advantages for yield homogeneity and repeatability of results with respect to WB, thus demonstrating the method’s greater ability to account for spatial variability. Average applied water for the 3 years in C, CD, and DD was 374, 250, and 178 mm, respectively, while the yields were 11.8, 9.2, and 6.1 kg/vine, respectively. The CD treatment produced better juice quality than C, and was superior in other quality parameters to both C and DD. However, over the study period, an important carryover effect was observed in the yields and the grape size of CD, which tended to diminish from year to year relative to C.     

Planning wetland protection and restoration for the safeguard of ecosystem service flows to beneficiaries

Landscape Ecology - Human activities have led to the degradation of wetlands, impinging on their capacity to deliver essential ecosystem services to society. Wetland restoration now appears an...     

Gene Discovery and Characterization from Non-sequenced Medicinal Plants

Plant-derived secondary metabolites still constitute important resources for currently prescribed drugs and for the discovery of active principles which are effective in new indication areas. Promising compounds are often exclusively found in wild medicinal plants and the classical plant-based pharmaceutical production approach has been hampered by low yields, lack of reproducibility and the high complexity of plant extracts （Rischer and Oksman-Caldentey, 2005）. Influencing the accumulation of target compounds by breeding or genetic engineering is greatly impeded because in most cases the general biosynthetic routes are incompletely understood.     

First molecular detection of canine herpesvirus 1 (CaHV-1) in the Eastern Brazilian Amazon

BackgroundCanine herpesvirus type 1 (CaHV-1) infects dogs and is associated with neonatal deaths and reproductive, ocular, neurological, and respiratory problems. In Brazil, reports of CaHV-1 have been restricted to the southeast and south regions, particularly in municipalities in the state of Rio Grande do Sul.ObjectivesTo assess the presence and variability of CaHV-1 in canine populations in the state of Pará, North Brazil.MethodsBiological samples from 159 dogs from 4 municipalities in the State of Pará were evaluated using polymerase chain reaction and phylogenetic analyses, with the target being the viral enzyme, thymidine kinase.ResultsCaHV-1 was detected in 13 dogs (8.2%), with 2 animals being from the municipality of Santa Bárbara do Pará, 8 from Algodoal Island, 2 from Salinópolis, and one from Capanema. The study sequences revealed 100% identity among themselves and 64% to 100% identity with the other nucleotide sequences from Australia, Brazil, United Kingdom, and United States, including 100% identity with the 2002 isolate from Australia. The 1996 isolate from France was grouped in a branch that was different from the sequence of this study.ConclusionsThis study presents the first molecular detection of CaHV-1 in dogs from the Amazon region in northern Brazil. The nucleotide identity between the strains and cytosine insertion in the sequences isolated in this study suggests at least 2 strains of CaHV-1 circulating in Brazil (Pará and BTU-1).     

Involvement of Bradyrhizobium japonicum denitrification in symbiotic nitrogen fixation by soybean plants subjected to flooding

Denitrification by Bradyrhizobium japonicum bacteroids contributes to nitric oxide (NO) production within soybean nodules in response to flooding conditions. However, the physiological relevance of NO production by denitrification in B. japonicum-Glycine max symbiosis is still unclear. In this work, soybean plants were inoculated with B. japonicum strains lacking the nirK or norC genes which encode the copper-containing nitrite reductase and the c-type nitric oxide reductase enzymes, respectively. 14 days flooding increased nodule number of plants inoculated with the WT and norC strains, but not of plants inoculated with the nirK mutant. However, nodule dry weight was not affected by 14 days flooding regardless of the strain used for inoculation. Supporting this observation, individual nodule growth was significantly higher in plants inoculated with nirK than those inoculated with WT or norC after 14 days flooding. Nodule functioning was strongly inhibited by flooding since leghemoglobin content of the nodules induced by any of the strains was significantly decreased after 7 or 14 days flooding compared to control plants. However, this effect was more relevant in nodules of plants inoculated with the WT or norC mutant than in those inoculated with the nirK mutant. Nitrogen fixation was also estimated by analyzing nitrogen content derived from biological nitrogen fixation in shoots, using the ¹⁵N isotope dilution technique. By using this approach, we observed that the negative effect of 14 days flooding on nitrogen fixation was more pronounced in plants inoculated with the norC mutant. However, nitrogen fixation of plants inoculated with nirK showed the highest tolerance to 14 days flooding. These findings allowed us to demonstrate the previously proposed hypothesis which suggests that NO formed by copper-containing nitrite reductase in soybean nodules, in response to flooding, has a negative effect on nitrogenase activity. We propose that inoculation of soybeans with a B. japonicum nirK mutant, which does not produce NO from nitrate, increases the tolerance of symbiotic nitrogen fixation to flooding.     

Atmospheric Mercury Fluxes in a Southern Boreal Forest and Wetland

Total gaseous mercury (TGM) fluxes from the forest floor and a boreal wetland were measured by a flux chamber technique coupled with an automatic mercury vapour analyser. The fluxes were measured at three sampling sites in southern Finland, 61°14′ N, 25°04′ E in summer 2007, with additionally in situ TGM concentrations in the air at one of the sites and mercury bulk deposition at another. Most of the flux data were collected during the daytime. At one of the sites, diurnal flux behaviour was studied, and a clear cycle with an afternoon maximum and a night minimum was observed. The highest emissions (up to 3.5 ng m⁻² h⁻¹) were observed at the forest floor site having a moss and grass cover. At the wetland and litter-rich forest floor sites, the emissions were below 1 ng m⁻² h⁻¹ and sometimes negative (down to −1.0 ng m⁻² h⁻¹), indicating mercury uptake. The measured average fluxes in August were 0.9 ± 1.1 and 0.2 ± 0.3 ng m⁻² h⁻¹ for the forest floor sites and wetland sites, respectively. The flux data were compared with the mercury bulk deposition, which proved to be of the same magnitude, but opposite in sign. At the mossy forest floor site, the extrapolated TGM emissions were 130% of the Hg deposition in August 2007. Comparison with other studies showed that the fluxes in background areas are relatively uniform, regardless of measurement site location and method used. Airborne TGM remained at the background level during the study, with an average value of 1.3 ± 0.2 ng m⁻³; it frequently showed a diurnal cycle pattern.     

Effects of Broomrape Parasitism on Sunflower Plants: Growth,Development, and Mineral Nutrition

Sunflower broomrape (Orobanche cumana Wallr.) is a parasitic plant that infects sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) plants. In this work, sunflower plants were grown under greenhouse conditions in pots with the substrate infested or non-infested with broomrape seeds. At different numbers of days after sowing, plant height, internode lengths, number of leaves, head diameter, mineral composition of leaves, and potassium (K) concentration in stem were measured. The negative effects of broomrape parasitism were assessed from 57 d after sowing, when broomrape started to emerge. Parasitized plants exhibited lower shoot dry weight, height, and head diameter than control plants. The reduction in internode lengths was associated with a decrease in the gradient of K concentration from basal to apical stem. The mineral composition of leaves was also affected in parasitized plants. The concentrations of calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), manganese (Mn), and zinc (Zn) in leaves of parasitized plants were lower than those of the control plants, while there were few differences for K, phosphorus (P), iron (Fe), and copper (Cu). The effects of parasitism are discussed in relation to their competition for resources and to perturbations of the host physiology such as hormonal and water balance.     

Herbivory of an invasive slug in a model grassland community can be affected by earthworms and mycorrhizal fungi

Invasion of non-native species is among the top threats for the biodiversity and functioning of native and agricultural ecosystems worldwide. We investigated whether the herbivory of the slug Arion vulgaris (formerly Arion lusitanicus; Gastropoda), that is listed among the 100 worst alien species in Europe, is affected by soil organisms commonly present in terrestrial ecosystems (i.e. earthworms—Annelida: Lumbricidae and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi—AMF, Glomerales). We hypothesized that slug herbivory would be affected by soil organisms via altered plant nutrient availability and plant quality. In a greenhouse experiment, we created a simple plant community consisting of a grass, a forb, and a legume species and inoculated these systems with either two earthworm species and/or four AMF taxa. Slugs were introduced after plants were established. Earthworms significantly reduced total slug herbivory in AMF-inoculated plant communities (P?=?0.013). Across plant species, earthworms increased leaf total N and secondary metabolites, AMF decreased leaf thickness. Mycorrhizae induced a shift in slug feeding preference from non-legumes to legumes; the grass was generally avoided by slugs. AMF effects on legume herbivory can partly be explained by the AMF-induced increase in total N and decrease in C/N ratio; earthworm effects are less clear as no worm-induced alterations of legume plant chemistry were observed. The presence of earthworms increased average AMF colonization of plant roots by 140 % (P?<?0.001). Total shoot mass was significantly increased by AMF (P?<?0.001). These data suggest that the feeding behavior of this invasive slug is altered by a belowground control of plant chemical quality and community structure.