Then we tested the efficacy of the modified unroller with several types of organic mulches for between-row weed control in organic watermelon.
Mulching between rows can be an effective practice for controlling weeds; our modification makes mulching with round bales of hay
The results showed a significant mulch-type by year interaction for weed control the authors said.
One-year-old hay had less impact on weed control in 2010 compared with 2009 whereas other mulches had improved weed control in 2010.
One-year-old wheat straw and new hay had the lowest levels of weed biomass compared with new wheat straw and the no-mulch control.
The experiments also proved that the thickness of the mulch affected weed control with mulches applied in two layers resulting in significantly less weed biomass than those applied in one layer.
These results suggest that hay and wheat straw mulches can be weed an effective control practice
Our results also indicated that adequate weed control could be achieved with a single layer of mulch reducing costs for mulching with round bales.
2 weeks before budbreak 3 weeks after bloom the termination of spring shoot growth and 4 weeks before harvest.
The treatments 3 weeks after bloom and 4 weeks before harvest increased average fruit weight of both'Gala'and'Fuji'apples.
and Vitamin c levels in the cultivars. The scientists said that the effects of sugar alcohol zinc applications were equal to
and the leaf zinc nutrition was at a low level continuing zinc sprays on these trees was required to increase fruit quality the researchers said.
and the College of Agriculture and Life sciences of Texas A&m University recently announced the release of'Carotex-312'a new high-yielding orange-fruited Habanero type F1 hybrid pepper (Capsicum chinense Jacq.).
According to Kevin M. Crosby from Texas A&m University's Vegetable and Fruit Improvement Center open-pollinated cultivars of Habanero peppers are used extensively by US growers
but the cultivars have suffered historically from several deficiencies including low yields late maturity disease and pest susceptibility and lack of uniformity.
Transition to F1 hybrid cultivars such as jalapeã o bell and ancho has led to greatly increased yields earlier maturity and superior fruit quality.
Crosby said that'Carotex-312'should appeal to consumers of Habanero-type peppers because of the new cultivar's large attractive orange-colored fruit.
However Crosby noted the most outstanding attribute of this new cultivar is its ability to produce high yields particularly early in the season.
or from the open-pollinated control cultivar Habanero. More important Crosby said we found that average early yield (first harvest yield) was 19%of total yield (total of six harvests) for'Carotex-312
'but only 4. 7%of total yield for'Tigerpaw-NR'and 4. 2%of total yield for the open-pollinated control cultivar'Habanero'.
'Observations of a number of'Carotex-312'plantings in Texas and the results of prior research with the parental lines used to develop'Carotex-312'also suggested that the new cultivar has several potentially useful disease-resistance attributes.
Small quantities of'Carotex-312'seed are available for research purposes from Crosby at the Vegetable and Fruit Improvement Center at Texas A&m University.
which don't show up until the dead foliage turns red. Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by University of Alberta.
#Tasmania home to first alpine sword-sedgeresearchers from the University of New england (Australia) and the Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust Sydney (Australia) have discovered a high-altitude species of sedge
It is unique in the genus in being the only species essentially restricted to alpine vegetation.
Species of the genus Lepidosperma commonly known as sword-sedges mostly have flattened elongate leaves that are shaped like a double-edged sword.
Many also possess sharp cutting leaf margins alluding to this common name. The genus with more than 100 species is widespread across Australia.
The authors are also working with colleagues from University of Sydney to investigate the taxonomic value of aromatic resins which also appear to have therapeutic value.
and heath and some in swamps but L. monticola is restricted essentially to alpine vegetation. All known populations of this new species occur above 700 m altitude.
Other individuals form attractive rounded clumps up to about 20 cm in diameter intermingled with mosses and lichens.
#The ash dieback fungus, Chalara fraxinea, might have a mechanism to define territory and to combat virusesthe fungus
which causes Chalara dieback of ash trees has the potential to defend itself against virus attacks research by British scientists has shown.
Plant pathologists Dr Joan Webber from Forest Research the research agency of the Forestry Commission and Professor Clive Brasier found that the defence mechanisms which the Chalara fraxinea (C. fraxinea) fungus
Professor Brasier and Dr Webber studied C. fraxinea's genetic recognition system called a vegetative compatibility (vc) system in samples of the fungus from three different UK sites Their results
This has implications for studying the biology of the fungus and for controlling its spread.
Vegetative compatibility (vc) systems are a fungal equivalent of the tissue rejection systems in humans enabling the fungus to distinguish between self and non-self.
and survival of a fungus enabling it to define its territory to resist viral attack
which makes their filaments (the mycelium) collapse creating a zone between the two colonies where growth is inhibited.
If the vc system is switched on'during early infection of ash leaves then the spores (ascospores) responsible for infection might antagonise one other
Alternatively if the vc system is switched off'the germinating spores might cooperate during ash leaf infection leading to a greater spread of the fungus.
which we eat are reduced related to cardiovascular diseases Rosa Marã a Lamuela researcher at the UB and the person responsible for the project told SINC.
and other crops that need cool temperatures for flower buds to break he said.#¢#¢Air quality is projected to decline
It depends on water both evaporating from the ground and also moving through plants from the roots to the leaves.
Arrow indicates dark paleo-wetland soil layer containing fossil leaf deposits with four plus meters of historical sediment buildup on top.
Because sediment quickly covered the leaf layer the leaves that date from before the dam remain intact.
of Franklin and Marshall College who found the fossil leaf mat note that the Denlinger's Mill site was our'Eureka'moment in the unraveling of this anthropogenic impact story.
First we had to uncover the leaf mats and then try to get a sample Elliott said.
It was intriguing to see samples from American chestnut which isn't around anymore because of the chestnut blight said Elliott.
She digs a small hole in the leaf-litter soil then pushes a thumb-sized device called an ibutton about an inch beneath the surface.
Long-stem plants may well be a splendorous in flowerbeds. However long stalks in a grain field present a danger to the yield.
Tall rice or barley varieties buckle over too easily under the load of their heavy panicles or ears.
During the green revolution in the 1960s numerous high-yield varieties with half the normal height were produced for agriculture in developing countries.
Besides linear growth this plant growth factor promotes seed germination and the development of the blossoms.
if fungal spores can have impact on tick populations This could contribute in helping us control tick populations for example in restricted areas such as spring pasture for sheep.
#Fungus kills ticksticks may be facing a dangerous fate. In the TICLESS project Bioforsk the Norwegian Institute for Agricultural and Environmental Research is hoping to determine
whether fungus can kill ticks in sheep pastures. This would also benefit future hikers. Tick##ites in sheep can lead to the disease tick-borne fever (TBF)
Bioforsk is therefore conducting field trials where the aim is to reduce tick populations in sheep grazing areas by using a tick pathogenic fungus called Metarhizium.
which is a formulation of an isolate of the tick pathogenic fungus Metarhizium. The fungus we are using in the trial is a natural enemy of insects
and mites found in soil. What we do is to increase the natural fungal population by releasing it in large quantities.
The death that awaits ticks exposed to this fungus is inhumane; fungal spores land and germinate on the skin (cuticle) of the tick
and then penetrate it before entering the tick body. The fungus then grows and proliferates inside the tick.
During this growth the fungus produces substances that are toxic and lethal to the tick.
The fungus continues to grow inside the tick until it fills the entire body. Thereafter it extrudes out of the tick again
and forms new spores on the outside of the body which can spread to new ticks Klingen explains.
Potential for recreational areasif the application of Bipesco 5 against ticks in sheep pasture is successful the areas of application could potentially also benefit hikers:
You could for example apply the fungus along trails and on islands with a great tick population.
The trials that led to the quality assurance of the fungus and inclusion on EU's positive list conclude that the persistence in the wild was acceptable after application.
therefore looking at how effective the fungus is against ticks and also for how long it is present in the wild after having been applied as a biological control agent.
whether the fungus is effective and if it otherwise behaves acceptably here with us says Klingen.
Dr. Gee however has applied now successfully microct to visualize silicified conifer seed cones as old as 150 million years without cutting sawing
Because each specimen is precious the main goal of this research was to study the internal structure of fossil conifer seed cones without destroying
In the study Gee demonstrates how this technique allows the observation of internal features such as seeds vascular tissue and cone scales.
or tissues such as a row of seeds within a cone the natural pattern of growth was evident.
All localities where the species was found were humid and cool with calcareous stones covered with moss.
For example the described technique is used to develop tomatoes with resistance to tomato yellow leaf curl virus
And someone with a fruit allergy may be allergic to the seeds but not the pulp.
Rosaceae fruits which include apple apricot almond peach pear plum and strawberry showcase this cross-reactivity.
and make the valves'leaflets less flexible which decreases blood flow to the heart. The new work detailed in the American Heart Association journal Arteriosclerosis Thrombosis and Vascular Biology opens up a huge line of investigation Grande-Allen said.
In the northern regions of the boreal the surrounding hillsides have thin infertile soils and lack shrubs or herbs that can fix nitrogen.
In these uplands feather mosses create a microhabitat for cyanobacteria which fix a modest amount of nitrogen that mostly stays on site in soils trees and shrubs.
Little of it reaches waterways. On the floodplains high rates of nitrogen fixation occur in thick slimy black mats of cyanobacteria growing in seasonably submerged sediments and coating the exposed roots and stems of willows and sedges.
We joke and call the floodplains the'mangroves of the North 'because there are almost impenetrable tangles of willow tree roots in places like a micro version of the tropical and subtropical mangroves that are known to harbor highly active colonies of cyanobacteria Deluca said.
It turns out there's a lot of nitrogen fixation going on in both he said. For example thescientists discovered that
and sedges is perhaps a quarter of what U s. farmers in the Midwest apply in industrial fertilizers to grain crops and as little as a sixth of
#New antifungal composition effectively inhibits wide variety of fungiin order to overcome resistance to antifungal variety of pathogenic fungi
and yeast researchers from the University of Alicante have developed a novel and efficient antifungal composition with pharmacological applications in agriculture and food industry among others.
or chitosan oligosaccharides (COS) antifungal agents and additives that synergistically affect the growth of a variety of pathogenic fungi.
Because many fungal pathogens develop resistance to prolonged treatment with antifungal drugs it is desirable to find alternatives for their control in medical agricultural and those applications in which the fungi cause damage.
In clinics pathogenic fungi resistant to antifungal drugs are a major cause of mortality in patients.
(or COS) and other antifungals and ARL1 gene inhibitor in inhibiting the growth of mold and yeast.
and transcription in yeast leading to oxidative stress cell death and growth inhibition LÃ pez Llorca indicates.
This novel composition can be used as a medicine for clinical or veterinary use for the treatment and/or prevention of fungal infections by pathogenic yeasts and filamentous fungi such as Candida spp.
In agriculture pesticide treatments preferably in the control of diseases caused by pathogenic fungi as Botrytis cinerea and Fusarium oxysporum.
The research group has led numerous laboratory tests that have successfully proven the effectiveness of this novel composition of fungal growth inhibition of numerous species of pathogenic yeasts and filamentous fungi.
because their seeds never get there. These recovering forests are often far from old-growth forests
This means forest animals cannot move seeds between the two forests.##Phil Martin added#oewe suggest that
when conservationists aim to restore tropical forests they should help dispersal of seeds from undisturbed to regrowing areas by planting trees throughout the wider landscape.#
from defoliation by leaf-munching pests. The water-stressed tropical forest trees support the production of more honeydew a sugary excretion imbibed by the Azteca ants that nest in the laurels'stem cavities.
In return ant colonies boost their numbers and more vigorously defend the life-sustaining foliage. The mutually beneficial interaction between laurels and ants which also involves tiny sap-sucking bugs called scale insects that make the honeydew is a well-known example of
what ecologists call a mutualism. Theoretical studies predict that mutualisms should be stronger under resource-poor conditions
When ants patrolling the surface of the tree encounter a leaf-eating insect they bite the insect until it falls from the tree Pringle said.
and the colonies sent more ants to attack the leaf-eaters and chase them away.
Beginning at a tree trunk's dense core and moving out to the soft bark the passage of time is marked by concentric rings revealing chapters of the tree's history.
At the root of their quest is a climate transition that marine-sediment studies reveal happened some 1. 2 million years to 900000 years ago.
Now we realize that there were unanticipated side branches on this tree some of which became gigantic.
Together with a number of partners scientists from Wageningen UR (University & Research centre) have demonstrated that the disease--caused by the fungus Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense--has migrated now also to Jordan.
Late last century however a new highly aggressive strain of the fungus was discovered in Southeast asia.
Tropical Race 4 (TR4) is starting to have a huge effect on the Cavendish cultivar in Southeast asia
The Jordanian Ministry of Agriculture later sent samples of the fungus to Professor Randy Ploetz of the University of Florida who forwarded them to Gert Kema a scientist at Wageningen UR.
Phd students from Gert Kema's research group infected different banana plants with the fungus from the Jordan samples.
#Tapping fungus to unlock energy: Crafting a better enzyme cocktail to turn plants into fuel fasterscientists looking to create a potent blend of enzymes to transform materials like corn stalks
and wood chips into fuels have developed a test that should turbocharge their efforts. The new research published in October in the journal Molecular Biosystems is part of a worldwide effort to create fuels from plants that are plentiful
Many of today's efforts revolve around the fungus Trichoderma reesei which introduced itself to U s. troops during WORLD WAR II by chewing through their tents in the Pacific theater.
The breakdown of large sugar polymers into smaller compounds that can then be converted further to fuel compounds is the final crucial step in the effort to make fuels from materials like switchgrass and corn stalks.
what stands between you and a tankful of fuel created from corn stalks or switchgrass.
The fungus actually makes dozens of cutting enzymes each of which attacks the wrapping differently. Chemists like Wright are trying to combine
Wright's study focused on a subset of the fungus's collection of cutting tools on enzymes known as glycoside hydrolases.
#First look at diverse life below rare tallgrass prairiesamerica's once-abundant tallgrass prairies--which have disappeared all but--were home to dozens of species of grasses that could grow to the height of a man hundreds of species of flowers
Professor Abbott and his team at the Department of chemistry at the University of Leicester have developed a new wood-based product similar to MDF that uses a resin based on starch from completely natural sources including potatoes.
which are then pressurised and stuck together with resin and wax. The resin is composed currently of urea and formaldehyde (UF) the use
of which is restricted due to health concerns. Professor Abbott's new resin means that the use of UF is avoided
and therefore so too are associated the concerns. With the aid of colleagues at the Biocomposites Centre Bangor University and the Leicestershire-based retail design company Sheridan
and AB Agri the agricultural division of Associated British Foods to prove that Yeast Protein Concentrate (YPC) can be separated from the fibrous cereal matter.
As well as the proteins the yeast content provides important vitamins and other micronutrients. Produced by distilling
and baking affect the increasingly popular fruit's polyphenols and reported their mixed findings--levels of some of these substances rose
They say that the good retention of polyphenols observed in their study might be due to the use of yeast
#Warm winters let trees sleep longerin the temperate zones vegetation follows the change of the seasons.
and later--giving an advantage to shrubs and invasive trees that don't depend on the cold.
and shrub species. Their work delivered a surprising result as lead author Julia Laube explains:
A different behavior is observed among pioneer species--including shrubs such as hazel bushes and primary settlers such as birch trees--and among species like locust and walnut that have moved in from warmer climate zones.
Advantage for shrubs and new tree speciesthere may be consequences for the forest ecosystem. After mild winters the native species run a higher risk of developing their leaves too late.
and that benefits lower-growing shrubs and invasive tree species. They sprout earlier to the detriment of native species:
Shortened winter in the climate chamberfor their experiments the researchers used twigs around 30 centimeters long from 36 different trees and shrubs
The twigs came from the Weltwald or World Forest near Freising in which Bavarian state foresters have planted stands of trees from different climate regions.
In contrast the lilac the hazel bush and the birch proved to be less dependent on the cold.
Through warmer winters the usual sequence of leaf development can get completely mixed up. Many of the cultivated species that are at home today in Central europe come originally from warmer climate zones.
Tree-ring research or dendrochronology typically involves a detailed look at a cross-section of a tree trunk.
and blows on land where it drips down through the branches until the trees use it like rainwater.
Sea otters protect kelp forests by eating sea urchins. These are what ecologists call keystone species: critters that control an ecosystem and have a disproportionate impact on other species. And in the forests of New england
Kudzu vines grow madly covering power lines. Zebra mussels muscle-out native mussels in Lake Champlain. Burmese pythons devastate local wildlife in the Everglades.
Look at this patch say Gorres there's this leaf layer and then we're straight into the top mineral layer.
A lot of plants that use the duff layer as a germination medium or a seed bank will no longer be around says Gorres.
The study finds that obstacles to effective community engagement stem from a lack of awareness;
and soybeans has resulted in severe milkweed declines and thus loss of breeding habitat. The authors suggest that the universal popularity of monarchs could encourage a market for monarch-friendly plants.
Ordinary households conservation organizations and natural resource agencies can all plant milkweed and flowering plants to offset ongoing losses in the species'breeding habitat.
and potentially the species'abundance is something that people can do at home by planting milkweed and other nectar plants.
This study shows that not only might consumers pay more for monarch-friendly milkweeds grown without systemic insecticides in the potting soil
or milkweeds if they knew a small percentage of sales will be donated to habitat conservation said Diffendorfer.
The CAO uses Light Detection and Ranging (Lidar) a technology that sweeps laser light across the vegetation canopy to image it in 3-D. It can determine the location of single standing trees at 3
#Making rubber from dandelion juicerubber can be extracted from the juice of the dandelion. Yet the decisive breakthrough to industrial manufacturing is proving to be a tough step.
Now the researchers--in collaboration with Continental--are building the first ever pilot system to extract vast quantities of dandelion rubber for making tires:
so that Continental can manufacture tires made from dandelion rubber. This is why molecular biologists at IME
At the same time they cultivate several hectares of a dandelion variety which is particularly rich in rubber. To optimize the raw material content
and the properties of the blossom the researchers concurrently grew new varieties with a higher proportion of rubber and biomass yield.
The first prototype test tires made with blends from dandelion-rubber are scheduled to be tested on public roads over the next few years.
Through the most modern cultivation methods and optimization of systems technology we have succeeded in manufacturing high-grade natural rubber from dandelions--in the laboratory.
It's because the rubber extraction from the dandelion root is affected markedly less by weather than the rubber obtained from the rubber tree.
We have amassed tremendous expertise in dandelion harvesting over the last few years. With the aid of DNA markers we now know which gene is responsible for which molecular feature.
They succeeded in proving that the rubber extracted from dandelion is of the same quality as its cousin from the rubber tree.
The greatest challenge was to transform the weed into a useful crop and to cultivate suitable varieties.
It is hidden immense potential inside the dandelion. Compared to the rubber tree it has three decisive advantages:
Its vegetation period only lasts one year not several years. Afterwards the plants can be harvested immediately
Despite recent concerns that important crops in high-yielding regions have reached their production maximum the rise in yield potential of new cultivars does not yet level off.
and sunlight may not be the only contributors to a plant's success. Ants in their role as seed dispersers may play an equally important part in determining
when ephemerals drop seeds; A. rudis begins foraging too late to disperse the seeds of the early flowering plants.
Phenology is the study of seasonal life cycle events such as bird and butterfly migrations seed-setting by plants and the emergence of animals--including ants--from winter dormancy.
Seasonal cues include daylight and temperature. Successful species interactions require that the species involved share the same cue said Warren. The cold-adapted A. picea ant species shares temperature cues with Anemone americana a common early spring wildflower that drops
seeds in early spring and the ants pick up and disperse the seeds. However A. americana drops its seeds weeks before A. rudis begins foraging
so that the dispersal mutualism fails and the seeds remain beneath the parent plants. All ecological communities are based on interactions between species said Warren. Climate change is disrupting phenological synchrony.
While much climate-change research focuses on how climate change directly affects species this research suggests that by disrupting the synchrony between species it has an important indirect effects on species. Local
-and regional-scale transplant experiments have indicated that A. americana survives and reproduces better in southeastern habitats than Asarum arifolium yet A. arifolium is thriving
while A. Americana is patchier and at risk of extirpation. Given that A. americana's abiotic requirements are being met said Warren it is reasonable to investigate its biotic requirements.
In 2006 populations of both plant species were surveyed and reproductive-sized adults of each species were transplanted.
and investigated the placement of the plant's offspring (seedlings). They also took a very careful look at the ant species by monitoring tuna-bait stations at each grid for 90 minutes every week from March to June 2010 and monthly from March to June 2011.
At both sites the later-blooming A. arifolium offspring were dispersed in a manner that suggested that ants picked up its seeds.
The seed dispersal mutualism recovered however in the northern site where A. picea have not been displaced.
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