Interaction effects of phosphorus and zinc on photosynthesis, growth and yield of dwarf bean grown in two environments

Two experiments were conducted in a factorial combination of three Zn levels (0, 10 and 40 mg Zn kg^-1 soil) and two P levels (0 and 200 mg P kg^-1 soil). Experiment 1 was carried out during winter in a heated glasshouse, and experiment 2 during summer under a rain shelter. Plants of dwarf bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L., cv. Borlotto nano) were grown in pots filled with sandy soil. In both experiments, leaf Zn concentration was reduced by the addition of P to plants grown at low Zn supply. However, leaf Zn concentration lower than the critical level was observed only during experiment 2, and the main effects of low Zn were reductions of internode length, light use efficiency and maximum photosynthetic rate. In plants with leaf Zn concentration lower than the critical level, saturating irradiance levels fell from _∼1000 μmol m^-2 s^-1 PPFD to _∼300–400 μmol m^-2 s^-1 PPFD. Reduction of net photosynthesis was observed from the beginning of flowering and led to decreased seed production. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Analysis of the tomato fruit growth response to temperature and plant fruit load in relation to cell division, cell expansion and DNA endoreduplication

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: To better understand the regulation of fruit growth in response to environmental factors, the effects of temperature and plant fruit load on cell number, cell size and DNA endoreduplication were analysed. METHODS: Plants were grown at 20/20 degrees C, 25/25 degrees C and 25/20 degrees C day/night temperatures, and inflorescences were pruned to two ('2F') or five ('5F') flowers. KEY RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Despite a lower fruit growth rate at 20/20 degrees C, temperature did not affect final fruit size because of the compensation between cell number and size. The higher cell number at 20/20 degrees C (9.0 x 10(6) against 7.9 x 10(6) at 25/25 degrees C and 7.7 x 10(6) at 25/20 degrees C) resulted from an extended period of cell division, and the smaller cell size was due to a shorter period of expansion rather than a lower expansion rate. By contrast, the lower fruit growth rate and size of 5F fruits compared with 2F fruits resulted from the slow down of cell expansion, whereas the number of cells was hardly affected in the proximal fruit. However, within the inflorescence the decreasing gradient of fruit size from proximal to distal fruits was due to a decrease in cell number with similar cell size. Fruit size variations within each treatment were always positively correlated to variations in cell number, but not in cell size. Negative correlations between cell size and cell number suggested that cells of tomato pericarp can be seen as a population of competing sinks. Mean ploidy was slightly delayed and reduced in 5F fruits compared with 2F fruits. It was highest at 25/25 degrees C and lowest at 25/20 degrees C. Treatments did not affect ploidy and cell size in similar ways, but within each treatment, positive correlations existed between mean ploidy and cell size, though significant only in the 2F-25/20 treatment.     

Electric signalling in fruit trees in response to water applications and light-darkness conditions

A fundamental property of all living organisms is the generation and conduction of electrochemical impulses throughout their different tissues and organs, resulting from abiotic and biotic changes in environmental conditions. In plants and animals, signal transmission can occur over long and short distances, and it can correspond to intra- and inter-cellular communication mechanisms that determine the physiological behaviour of the organism. Rapid plant and animal responses to environmental changes are associated with electrical excitability and signalling. The same molecules and pathways are used to drive physiological responses, which are characterized by movement (physical displacement) in animals and by continuous growth in plants. In the field of environmental plant electrophysiology, automatic and continuous measurements of electrical potential differences (DeltaEP) between plant tissues can be effectively used to study information transport mechanisms and physiological responses that result from external stimuli on plants. A critical mass of data on electrical behaviour in higher plants has accumulated in the last 5 years, establishing plant neurobiology as the most recent discipline of plant science. In this work, electrical potential differences were monitored continuously using Ag/AgCl microelectrodes, which were inserted 15mm deep into sapwood at various positions in the trunks of several fruit-bearing trees. Electrodes were referenced to an unpolarisable Ag/AgCl microelectrode, which was installed 5cm deep in the soil. Systematic patterns of DeltaEP during day-night cycles and at different conditions of soil water availability are discussed as alternative tools to assess early plant stress conditions. This research relates to the adaptive response of trees to soil water availability and light-darkness cycles.     

Evolution characteristics related to photosynthesis,growth and yield in some old and new cotton cultivars

Changes in photosynthetic attributes related to genetic improvement of cotton yield were studied in seven Chinese cotton cultivars widely grown in Xinjiang during the past 30 years. Our results showed that a chlorophyll (Chl) content and net photosynthetic rate (P _N) of the 1980s cultivar was the highest among all after 60 days from planting (DAP). However, after 75 DAP, the Chl content, P _N, and actual photochemical efficiency of PSII of the old cultivars declined gradually, whereas those of the new cultivars remained relatively high. Compared to the old cultivars, leaves of the new cultivars endured a longer period and their senescence was slower, shoot and boll dry mass was higher, but the root to shoot ratio was lower. The lint yield of the 2000s cultivars was 14.7 and 21.4% higher than that of 1990s and 1980s cultivars, respectively. The high yield of the new cultivars was attributed to a greater number of bolls per unit of area with high lint percentage. We suggested that the improved photosynthetic capacity and the increased ability to deliver photosynthates to reproductive sites during the peak boll-setting stage to boll-opening stage were the key physiological basis in the evolution process of cotton cultivars from 1980s to 2000s for the cotton yield improvement within a short growing period.     

Effect of fruit load and girdling on leaf photosynthesis in Mangifera indica L

Leaf nitrogen concentration (Nm), mass-to-area ratio, amount of nitrogen per unit leaf area (Na), non-structural carbohydrate concentration (TNCa), maximal rate of carboxylation (Vcmax), light-saturated rate of photosynthetic electron transport (Jmax), dark respiration (Rd), net photosynthetic assimilation (Anet), quantum yield of photosystem II (PhiPSII), and intercellular CO2 concentration (Ci) were measured in Mangifera indica L. leaves on three types of fruit-bearing branches (non-girdled, NG; girdled with high (HFL) and low (LFL) fruit load), experiencing similar light exposure. TNCa, Vcmax/Na, Jmax/Na, Rd/Na, Ci, and the initial quantum yield of photosynthetic electron transport (alpha) were similar in both HFL and NG treatments, but Nm, Na, and photosynthetic capacity parameters (Vcmax and Jmax) were lower in the HFL than in the NG treatment. The strong depressing effect of girdling on leaf nitrogen concentration cannot therefore be attributed to a change in TNCa. By contrast, Na and TNCa were lower and higher, respectively, in the LFL than in the HFL treatment, suggesting that carbohydrate content may become the driving force behind photosynthetic acclimation to changing source-sink relationships, like the ones resulting from the presence of developing fruits. Vcmax/Na and Jmax/Na were lower in the LFL than in the HFL treatment, while Rd/Na, Ci, and alpha were not affected by fruit load. It is concluded that girdling and high fruit load affect photosynthesis permanently by decreasing and increasing, respectively, leaf nitrogen concentration. Fruit load, moreover, may have an additional effect on photosynthetic capacity by affecting the relationship between Vcmax and Jmax, and Na.     

果树对水分胁迫反应研究进展(综述)

综述近十多年果树对水分胁迫反应的研究进展。对果树在水分胁迫下叶片、根系的形态和显微结构的变化以及气孔反应、光合作用、水势变化、碳水化合物代谢、矿质营养、活性氧代谢、多胺代谢、内源激素、脯氨酸和甜菜碱等生理生化指标的反应作了全面的阐述。     

Root growth and litter decomposition in a coffee plantation under shade trees

In a non-fertilized coffee plantation under shade trees the root biomass was excavated to estimate its distribution in the soil profile. One third of total fine (less than 1 mm) roots was found in the first 10 cm of soil; the cumulative total to 30 cm reached 73%. A highly variable and transient amount of fine roots colonized the litter layer. Root production both in the litter and in the first 7.5 cm of mineral soil was estimated from sequential samplings and was 10 g m^–2 yr^–1 and 660 g m^–2 yr^–1 respectively. The decomposition rate of weighed averages of litter fractions in the coffee plantation, calculated as the ratio of litter fall rate to the amount found in the soil was k=4.8. Shade tree leaves, the major component of litter descomposed slower than coffee leaves and these slower than flowers and fruits. Litter bag experiments showed considerable slower rates when mesh was 0.03 mm than 0.5 mm. Nitrogen and phosphorous showed increases in concentrations as decomposition progressed while potassium, calcium and magnesium followed a decrease in concentration that paralleled that of dry weight loss. In comparing the decomposition rate for litter with or without coffee roots growing in the bags, a tendency to show faster decomposition rates was found for the treatment with roots. These differences were however, only significant for one month for shade tree leaves litter. Nitrogen amounts remaining in shade tree leaves litter was lower in the treatment with roots that without roots. Potassium concentration in roots was positively correlated with potassium concentration in decomposing leaf litter where roots were growing. These results suggest that while roots growing attached to decomposing litter had little or no effect in speeding the decomposition process, the superficial roots seem to play an important role in absorbing very efficiently the mineralized nutrients from litter. The anatomical study of roots showed that the plantation is intensely infected with V-A mycorrhiza. External mycorrhizal hyphae did not to play a role in attachment of roots to decomposing litter while root hairs were found to grow in profusion on root surfaces oriented toward litter.     

In field-grown coffee trees source-sink manipulation alters photosynthetic rates, independently of carbon metabolism, via alterations in stomatal function

Perturbations of the source-sink balances were performed in field-grown coffee (Coffea arabica) trees to investigate the possible role of carbohydrates in feedback regulation of photosynthesis. Four treatments were applied at the whole-plant level: (i) complete defruiting and maintenance of the full leaf area, (ii) the half crop load and full leaf area, (iii) the full crop load and full leaf area and (iv) the full crop load and half leaf area. Sampling and measurements were performed twice during the phase of dry matter accumulation of fruits. Gas exchange, chlorophyll a fluorescence, carbon isotope labelling and steady-state metabolite measurements were assessed in source leaves. The average rate of net photosynthetic rate (A) and stomatal conductance (g(s)) were larger (> 50%), and carbon isotope composition ratio was lower, in trees with a full crop load and half leaf area than in defruited trees, with individuals of the other two treatments showing intermediate values. However, differences in A seem unlikely to have been caused either by photochemical impairments or a direct end-product-mediated feedback down-regulation of photosynthesis. It is proposed that the decreased A in defruited coffee trees was independent of carbon metabolism and was rather directly related to a lower CO(2) availability coupled to lower g(s).     

不同地表覆盖方式对苹果园土壤性状及果树生长和产量的影响

以黄土高原9年生红富士果园生态系统为对象,研究不同地表覆盖模式（清耕、生草覆盖、地膜覆盖、秸秆覆盖和砂石覆盖）对果园土壤性状及果树生长和产量的影响.结果表明：生草覆盖土壤水分剖面分异最低,砂石覆盖土壤水分剖面分异最高;砂石覆盖提高了根层水分含量,有利于果树对水分的利用.不同地表覆盖模式土壤热量状况变化显著,处理间差异明显,极端最高温度下降,但地膜覆盖处理夏季地温超过果树根系生长的上限温度,对果树根系生长和生理功能发挥不利.除地膜覆盖外,其他地表覆盖模式均能提高土壤CO₂释放速率,其中生草覆盖的效果最为显著.不同地表覆盖模式对果树枝条类型比例及产量影响较大,砂石覆盖处理的中短枝比例和果实产量最高;生草覆盖处理的果实产量最低.因子分析结果表明,对于黄土高原沟壑区盛果期果园,砂石覆盖处理是较为适宜的地表覆盖模式.     

Disentangling the link between leaf photosynthesis and turgor in fruit growth

Despite the importance of understanding plant growth, the mechanisms underlying how plant and fruit growth declines during drought remain poorly understood. Specifically, it remains unresolved whether carbon or water factors are responsible for limiting growth as drought progresses. We examine questions regarding the relative importance of water and carbon to fruit growth depending on the water deficit level and the fruit growth stage by measuring fruit diameter, leaf photosynthesis, and a proxy of cell turgor in olive (Olea europaea). Flow cytometry was also applied to determine the fruit cell division stage. We found that photosynthesis and turgor were related to fruit growth; specifically, the relative importance of photosynthesis was higher during periods of more intense cell division, while turgor had higher relative importance in periods where cell division comes close to ceasing and fruit growth is dependent mainly on cell expansion. This pattern was found regardless of the water deficit level, although turgor and growth ceased at more similar values of leaf water potential than photosynthesis. Cell division occurred even when fruit growth seemed to stop under water deficit conditions, which likely helped fruits to grow disproportionately when trees were hydrated again, compensating for periods with low turgor. As a result, the final fruit size was not severely penalized. We conclude that carbon and water processes are able to explain fruit growth, with importance placed on the combination of cell division and expansion. However, the major limitation to growth is turgor, which adds evidence to the sink limitation hypothesis.     

Effect of root volume and nitrate solution concentration on growth,fruit yield,and temporal N and water uptake rates by apple trees

Meager information is available on the specific effects of root volume (V) and N concentration in the water (C_N) on uptake rates of water and N by apple trees, as related to fruit yield and tree growth. To investigate this relationship, Golden Delicious/Hashabi trees were grown for 5 years in containers of 200, 50 and 101. Trees in the 200–1 containers were irrigated with a nutrient solution containing 10.7±1.3, 7.1±1.5 or 2.5±1.0 mM NO₃. Trees in the remaining two container-volume treatments were uniformly supplied with a solution of 7.1±1.5 mM NO₃. Elevated C_N had no effect on the rate of water uptake, but increased the rate of N absorption by the trees from 2.4 to 4.8 g N tree⁻¹ day⁻¹ during July. The stimulated N uptake rate stemmed from enhanced fluxes of N uptake by the roots. C_N had a negligible effect on root weight and root permeability to NO₃ and water. The elevated N uptake rate did not result in greater fruit yield and growth, or greater N content in tree organs, indicating considerable release of N from living and decaying roots to the growth medium. Reducing the container volume decreased yield, total dry matter production and N and water uptake rates, but increased root permeability to NO₃ and water, and total soluble solids in fruits. The all-season average C_N in the irrigation solution above which N concentration in the transpiration stream was lower than the inflowing C_N was 4.2 mM NO₃.     

Seed size, seedling morphology, and response to deep shade and damage in neotropical rain forest trees

To investigate the existence of coordinated sets of seedling traits adapted to contrasting establishment conditions, we examined evolutionary convergence in seedling traits for 299 French Guianan woody plant species and the stress response in a shadehouse of species representing seed size gradients within five major cotyledon morphology types. The French Guianan woody plant community has larger seeds than other tropical forest communities and the largest proportion of hypogeal cotyledon type (59.2%) reported for tropical forests. Yet the community includes many species with intermediate size seeds that produce seedlings with different cotyledonal morphologies. A split-plot factorial design with two light levels (0.8% and 16.1% PAR) and four damage treatments (control, seed damage, leaf damage, stem damage) was used in the shadehouse experiment. Although larger-seeded species had higher survival and slower growth, these patterns were better explained by cotyledon type than by seed mass. Even larger-seeded species with foliar cotyledons grew faster than species with reserve-type cotyledons, and survival after stem grazing was five times higher in seedlings with hypogeal cotyledons than with epigeal cotyledons. Thus, to predict seedling performance using seed size, seedling morphology must also be considered.     

Vegetative growth and photosynthesis in coffee plants under different watering and fertilization managements in Yunnan,SW China

In a field experiment Coffea arabica L. was subjected to various moisture and fertilizer regimes in Simao, Yunan, SW China. The experimental treatments consisted of eight factorial combinations of two fertilization levels (high and low) and four watering treatments applied in the dry season: application of dry rice straw mulch, drip irrigation, mulching plus drip irrigation on the soil surface, and control (no mulching or irrigation). The growth of the coffee plants was monitored throughout the course of a full year. Two clear growth peaks were detected (one at the beginning and one in the middle of the wet season) in plants subjected to all treatments, and the growth rhythm of coffee plants was not regulated by extrinsic abiotic factors. High fertilization resulted in a significantly higher relative growth rates for both height and length of the branches during the growth peaks than the low fertilization treatment. In the dry season, increasing the soil moisture contents by irrigation and/or mulching enhanced the plants’ gas exchange, but the soil water status had no significant effects on the internal fluorescence parameters of photosystem 2. More fertilized plants had a greater ability to acclimate to high-irradiance environments than the lightly fertilized plants, showing significant lower diurnal photoinhibition, associated with higher energy utilization through photochemistry and energy dissipation through the xanthophyll cycle. Hence the wet season is the optimum period for photosynthetic carbon fixation and vegetative growth of coffee plants. Higher than routinely applied levels of fertilization are required to optimize the coffee plants’ photosynthetic acclimation and growth in the studied environment. Both soil moisture conserving practices tested, mulching and drip irrigation, had significant effects on the growth and photosynthesis of the coffee plants, but the former was more practical than the latter.     

Tomato root distribution, yield and fruit quality under subsurface drip irrigation

Tomato rooting patterns were evaluated in a 2-year field trial where surface drip irrigation (R0) was compared with subsurface drip irrigation at 20 cm (RI) and 40 cm (RII) depths. Pot-transplanted plants of two processing tomato, `Brigade' (C1) and `H3044' (C2), were used. The behaviour of the root system in response to different irrigation treatments was evaluated through minirhizotrons installed between two plants, in proximity of the plant row. Root length intensity (L _a), length of root per unit of minirhizotron surface area (cm cm^–2) was measured at blooming stage and at harvest. For all sampling dates the depth of the drip irrigation tube, the cultivar and the interaction between treatments did not significantly influence L _a. However differences between irrigation treatments were observed as root distribution along the soil profile and a large concentration of roots at the depth of the irrigation tubes was found. For both surface and subsurface drip irrigation and for both cultivars most of the root system was concentrated in the top 40 cm of the soil profile, where root length density ranged between 0.5 and 1.5 cm cm^–3. Commercial yields (t ha^–1) were 87.6 and 114.2 (R0), 107.5 and 128.1 (RI), 105.0 and 124.8 (RII), for 1997 and 1998, respectively. Differences between the 2 years may be attributed to different climatic conditions. In the second year, although no significant differences were found among treatments, slightly higher values were observed with irrigation tubes at 20 cm depth. Fruit quality was not significantly affected by treatments or by the interaction between irrigation tube depth and cultivar.     

Effects of light on seagrass photosynthesis,growth and depth distribution

The relationships between light regime, photosynthesis, growth and depth distribution of a temperate seagrass, Zostera marina L. (eelgrass), were investigated in a subtidal eelgrass meadow near Woods Hole, MA. The seasonal light patterns in which the quantum irradiance exceeded the light compensation point (H_comp) and light saturation point (H_sat) for eelgrass photosynthesis were determined. Along with photosynthesis and respiration rates, these patterns were used to predict carbon balances monthly throughout the year. Gross photosynthesis peaked in late-summer, but net photosynthesis peaked in spring (May), due to high respiration rates at summer temperatures. Predictions of net photosynthesis correlated with in situ growth rates at the study site and with reports from other locations.The maximum depth limit for eelgrass was related to the depth distribution of H_comp, and a minimum annual average H_comp (12.3 h) for survival was determined. Maximum depth limits for eelgrass were predicted for various light extinction coefficients and a relationship between Secchi disc depth and the maximum depth limit for survival was established. The Secchi disc depth averaged over the year approximates the light compensation depth for eelgrass. This relationship may be applicable to other sites and other seagrass species.     

The responses of light interception,photosynthesis and fruit yield of cucumber to LED‐lighting within the canopy

Mathematical models of light attenuation and canopy photosynthesis suggest that crop photosynthesis increases by more uniform vertical irradiance within crops. This would result when a larger proportion of total irradiance is applied within canopies (interlighting) instead of from above (top lighting). These irradiance profiles can be generated by Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs). We investigated the effects of interlighting with LEDs on light interception, on vertical gradients of leaf photosynthetic characteristics and on crop production and development of a greenhouse‐grown Cucumis sativus‘Samona’ crop and analysed the interaction between them. Plants were grown in a greenhouse under low natural irradiance (winter) with supplemental irradiance of 221 µmol photosynthetic photon flux m^?2 s^?1 (20 h per day). In the interlighting treatment, LEDs (80% Red, 20% Blue) supplied 38% of the supplemental irradiance within the canopy with 62% as top lighting by High‐Pressure Sodium (HPS)‐lamps. The control was 100% top lighting (HPS lamps). We measured horizontal and vertical light extinction as well as leaf photosynthetic characteristics at different leaf layers, and determined total plant production. Leaf mass per area and dry mass allocation to leaves were significantly greater but leaf appearance rate and plant length were smaller in the interlighting treatment. Although leaf photosynthetic characteristics were significantly increased in the lower leaf layers, interlighting did not increase total biomass or fruit production, partly because of a significantly reduced vertical and horizontal light interception caused by extreme leaf curling, likely because of the LED‐light spectrum used, and partly because of the relatively low irradiances from above.