THE INFLUENCE OF IRRIGATION, FERTILIZING AND MCPA ON THE COMPETITION BETWEEN SPRING CEREALS AND WEEDS

Summary. The average air-dry yield of weeds on fallow plots was about four times as large (2660 kg/ha) as the yield of weeds which developed among spring cereal crops (740 kg/ha). Application of fertilizers increased the number of weeds and their average weight on both irrigated and non-irrigated plots. Treatment with MCPA reduced the weed yield to 36% on fallow plots and to 26% on weedy cereal plots. It was more effective on fertilized plots than on unfertilized plots, but irrigation made little difference to its effectiveness. The space left by the destroyed weeds was mainly occupied by Agropyron repens . Oats were better able to compete with weeds than were wheat and barley. On unfertilized and non-irrigated plots spraying with MCPA (1-26 kg/ha) at the beginning of shooting significantly reduced the yields of weed-free barley. The yields of sprayed oats and wheat were also below the yields from the unsprayed although the reductions were not significant at the 5% level. However, on a number of fertilized and irrigated plots, both weedy and hand-weeded , on which the plants had better growing conditions, MCPA resulted in a significant increase in the grain yield of barley and oats.
Influence de l'irrigation, de la fertilisation et du MCPA sur la compétition entre céréales de printemps et mauvaises herbes     

CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL PROPERTIES OF TWO NEW HERBICIDES—IOXYNIL AND BROMOXYNIL

Summary. The preparation of ioxynil, bromoxynil, and their salts is described, and information on solubilities and stability to storage is summarized. Although the toxicology of the herbicides is to be reported in greater detail, a preliminary statement is made here. Evidence of herbicidat activity under glasshouse conditions is indicated briefly, and supports the conclusion that both compounds are effective when applied to the foliage of a wide range of dicotyledon weed species. Seedlings of some weed species resistant to the phenoxy alkanoic acids are controlled under glasshouse conditions at doses as low as 0.125 lb/ac, and ioxynil has a wider range of activity than bromoxynil at these low doses. Graminaceous species tolerate 4–8 lb/ac of both herbicides without injury, and certain leguminous crops tolerate one or other herbicide at doses of 0.5–0.75 lb/ac. The contact action of the herbicides is rapid, there are also slower systemic effects, and seed germination is inhibited. In susceptible species the level of post-emergence activity is shown to be influenced by the growth stage of the weed, the distribution of herbicide on the foliage, and environmental factors of which light intensity appears to be most important.
Propriétés chimiques et biologiques de deux nouveaux herbicides: ioxynil et bromoxynil     

Shoot culture dynamics of six Populus clones

Shoot tips of five genotypically diverse Populus clones, P. alba x P. grandidentata 'Crandon,' P. nigra 'Betulifolia' x P. trichocarpa, P. nigra x P. laurifolia 'Strathglass,' P. maximowiczii x P. trichocarpa 'Androscoggin' and P. deltoides x P. nigra 'Eugenei,' were collected from hardwood cuttings, sterilized,and established in vitro. Stable shoot cultures were obtained from all clones except P. deltoides x P. nigra 'Eugenei'. The four poplar clones that formed stable shoot cultures together with a previously established P. tremula 'Erecta' clone were placed as two-node explants on either Murashige and Skoog medium or Woody Plant Medium containing benzyladenine to determine the rate of shoot multiplication, shoot growth and other responses of the clones. All five poplar clones showed rapid shoot multiplication when cultured in the presence of 0.4-1.0 microM benzyladenine on Murashige and Skoog medium, although P. tremula 'Erecta' produced a greater number of healthy shoots when grown on Woody Plant Medium. Individual shoot growth of all clones was more vigorous when the medium contained 0-0.1 microM benzyladenine, and 100% of such shoots rooted ex vitro.     

Seasonal variation in the photosynthetic capacity of a willow (Salix cv. Aquatica gigantea) canopy. 1 Changes in the activity and amount of ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase-oxygenase and the content of nitrogen and chlorophyll at different levels in the canopy

The role of ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase-oxygenase (Rubisco) in the regulation of photosynthesis in the field was assessed by following changes in the amount and activity of Rubisco and in the amounts of chlorophyll and total nitrogen in a willow (Salix cv. Aquatica gigantea) canopy during two growing seasons. An additional aim of this study was to determine how nitrogen is partitioned in the canopy and whether Rubisco and chlorophyll serve as sources of nitrogen. During both growing seasons, the total activity and the amount of Rubisco were high in young, sun-exposed leaves and decreased as the leaves aged and became shaded. In 1985, the specific activity was low (on average 0.8 micromol mm(-1) mg(-1) Rubisco protein) compared with the values obtained in 1986 (on average 1.8 micromol min(-1) mg(-1) Rubisco protein). These differences in the specific activity of Rubisco between the two years might be associated with changes in partitioning of nitrogen. During the cool summer of 1985, about 20% of the total nitrogen was partitioned to Rubisco compared with about 13% during the warm summer of 1986. Rubisco comprised a high proportion (about 60%) of the total soluble protein throughout the 1985 growing season, whereas during the 1986 growing season, the proportion of Rubisco in the total soluble protein fraction was lower and decreased markedly as the leaves became shaded. Chlorophyll did not serve as a source of nitrogen in the canopy. On the contrary, the proportion of total nitrogen in chlorophyll increased with time, which indicates acclimation of the thylakoid membranes to decreasing irradiance. The degree of activation of Rubisco in samples collected in 1986 was high in young, sun-exposed leaves, which suggests that in these leaves, Rubisco may limit the rate of CO(2) uptake. In the shaded leaves of the lower canopy, the degree of activation of Rubisco was low, which indicates that in these leaves, photosynthesis is limited by factors other than Rubisco.