Plant Science Articles
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Evolution of quality indices of fresh bunched spinach stored using low density polyethylene and polypropylene bags
Packaging technology constitutes an available method for reducing postharvest deteriorative processes on fresh products. The purpose of this work was to evaluate leaf water status, weight loss and colour retention of bunched spinach leaves packaged in low density polyethylene (LDPE) and polypropylene (OPP) bags, stored at 2°C for 25 days. Water status was determined through relative water content ...
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Differential effects of low humidity levels on butterhead quality indices related to external, middle and internal lettuce sections
Leaf water status evolution during greenhouse butterhead lettuce storage under adverse humidity conditions was evaluated. The relationships between water status and the chlorophyll content and overall visual quality (OVQ) were analysed. Parameters were evaluated in external, middle and internal sections of the lettuce heads. Indices showed different behaviour in different sections. There was a ...
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Leaf composting in cold climates: a theoretical and an experimental evaluation
There are many factors influencing the process of composting organic waste. This paper provides an experimental and theoretical evaluation of the leaf composting process to elucidate the importance of these various factors during composting of leaves. The analysis is performed specifically for the environmental conditions encountered in cold climates. Theoretical models are developed to evaluate ...
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Evaluating the models of stomatal conductance response to humidity in a tropical rain forest of Xishuangbanna, southwest China
The ecosystem-level fluxes of water vapour and carbon dioxide were measured from 2003 to 2006 at a tropical rain forest in Xishuangbanna, southwest China, using the eddy covariance (EC) technique. These flux measurements allowed the canopy-level evaluation of stomatal conductance (g) response to humidity models. The results showed that both the BWB model and the Leuning model discussed here ...
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CID Bio-Science, Inc. selected as primary vendor for NEON Project
CAMAS, WASHINGTON, USA – September 1, 2010 - CID Bio-Science, Inc. announced today that they have been chosen as a primary vendor in the National Science Foundation’s NEON Project. Agency officials chose CID Bio-Science to provide instruments and software that will render high resolution images and data sets for Microrrhizae and Root Phenology studies. The NEON project will use the ...
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Gore-Tex, House Wrap and Stomates
Want to develop an appreciation for Gore-Tex? All you need is five minutes in a rubber raincoat. But how do you know whether the North Face knock-off you've just purchased in China for a ridiculously low price is Gore-Tex or rubber? If you're a Decagon researcher, you dash back to your hotel room and clamp a porometer onto the fabric. Decagon's porometer was designed to measure stomatal ...
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And the Award for Most Creative Use of a Porometer Goes to…
Decagon employees have found some novel uses for the porometer over the years. Since the sensor head measures stomatal conductance simply by determining vapor flux, they’ve clamped it on everything from fingers to house wrap to raincoats. But Jan Narciso and her colleagues at the USDA in southern Florida have now “clamped” it on something even bigger…a grapefruit. In ...
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Exploring photosynthesis and plant stress using inexpensive chlorophyll fluorometers
Mastering the concept of photosynthesis is of critical importance to learning plant physiology and its applications, but seems to be one of the more challenging concepts in biology. This teaching challenge is no doubt compounded by the complexity by which plants alter photosynthesis in different environments. Here we suggest the use of chlorophyll fluorometers in the undergraduate plant ...
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Irrigation frequency effects on growth and ethanol yield in sweet Sorghum
With the increasing costs of fossil fuels, new methods of generating renewable fuels need to be researched and developed. This study was undertaken to assess the effects of irrigation frequency on crop growth and ethanol yield of sweet sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench]. Nine combinations of pre- and postanthesis irrigation frequencies triggered by 35, 50, or 65% depletion of plant-available ...
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Tillage requirements for integrating winter-annual grazing in peanut production: plant water status and productivity
The use of crop rotation systems involving winter-annual grazing can help peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) producers increase profitability, although winter-annual grazing could result in excessive soil compaction, which can severely limit yields. We conducted a 3-yr field study on a Dothan loamy sand in southeastern Alabama to develop a conservation tillage system for integrating peanut with ...
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Impact of varying planting Dates and tillage systems on cotton growth and lint yield production
As economic conditions deteriorated, cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) producers have looked to improve profit margins by reducing inputs while maintaining yields. Pairing the yield benefits from early planting with the input reductions from conservation tillage might help accomplish those goals. The objective was to determine how growth, lint yield, and fiber quality were impacted by planting ...
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Estimating genetic coefficients for the CSM-CERES-Maize model in North Carolina environments
CSM-CERES-Maize has been extensively used worldwide to simulate corn growth and grain production, but has not been evaluated for use in North Carolina. The objectives of this study were to calibrate CSM-CERES-Maize soil parameters and genetic coefficients using official variety trial data, evaluate model performance in North Carolina, and determine the suitability of the fitting technique using ...
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Response of yield heterosis to increasing plant density in maize
Genetic yield improvement in maize (Zea mays L.) has been associated with heterosis and increased tolerance to high plant densities, but the physiological processes underlying heterosis for tolerance to plant density stress have not been identified. The objective of this study was to quantify the response of heterosis for grain yield to increasing plant density, and to examine the processes ...
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Elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide and O3 differentially alter nitrogen acquisition in Peanut
Elevated atmospheric CO2 and ozone (O3) may affect productivity of legumes in part by altering symbiotic N2 fixation. To investigate this possibility, measurements of plant biomass, N levels and natural 15N abundance ({delta}15N) were used to examine the effects of elevated CO2 and O3 on N acquisition in field-grown peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) using open-top chambers. Seasonal 12-h daily average ...
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Yield and water use response of cuphea to irrigation in the Northern Corn belt
Cuphea (Cuphea viscosissima Jacq. x C. lanceolata W.T. Aiton) may be prone to drought stress, yet little is known about the yield response of this new oilseed crop to irrigation. A field study was conducted in western Minnesota on a Barnes loam soil (fine-loamy, mixed, superactive, frigid Calcic Hapludolls) in 2002 and 2003 to compare yield and water use of irrigated and nonirrigated cuphea. ...
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Sprinkler irrigation changes maize canopy microclimate and crop water status, transpiration, and temperature
During a sprinkler irrigation event some water is lost due to wind drift and evaporation (WDEL). After the irrigation event, plant-intercepted water is lost due to evaporation. The water lost causes microclimatic changes which could result in positive or negative plant physiological changes. We studied the microclimatic and physiological changes on two fields grown with maize (Zea mays L.) ...
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Creeping bentgrass putting green turf responses to two summer irrigation practices: Rooting and soil temperature
Light and frequent (LF) and deep and infrequent (DI) irrigation are two common practices for golf course managers. Few studies have compared the effects of these two opposing irrigation practices on summer root performance in creeping bentgrass (Agrostis stolonifera L.). The objectives of this field study were to quantify summer root development and longevity in response to LF vs. DI irrigation ...
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AquaCrop—The FAO crop model to simulate yield response to water: III. Parameterization and testing for maize
The first crop chosen to parameterize and test the new FAO AquaCrop model is maize (Zea mays L.). Working mainly with data sets from 6 yr of maize field experiments at Davis, CA, plus another 4 yr of Davis maize canopy data, a set of conservative (nearly constant) parameters of AquaCrop, presumably applicable to widely different conditions and not specific to a given crop cultivar, was evaluated ...
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Effect of fungicide on soybean growth and yield
In response to rising input costs and narrowing profit margins, soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] producers are continually looking for ways to increase soybean yield. One approach being promoted is the use of foliar fungicides, for both foliar pathogen control and nonfungicidal plant physiological effects. The objective of this field experiment was to evaluate a strobilurin and a triazole alone ...
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Implementing case studies in a plant pathology Course: Impact on student
Case studies have been used in undergraduate science education as a way to develop students' critical thinking and problem-solving skills. However, little empirical evidence exists on whether this teaching method is having the desired impact on students in plant pathology courses. This study evaluated the influence of the case teaching method on students' problem-solving and critical thinking ...
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