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Selected Plants (selected + plant)

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Life Sciences	50%

Selected Abstracts

Fluid biomulching based on poly(vinyl alcohol) and fillers from renewable resources

JOURNAL OF APPLIED POLYMER SCIENCE, Issue 1 2008
E. Chiellini
Abstract This article reports on the results obtained in an investigation on the application of biodegradable polymeric materials in the agricultural practice of mulching. Particular attention has been devoted to the effect of biobased mulching films generated in situ by low-pressure spraying of polymeric water dispersions on the various cultivars. In a field trial, the effectiveness of the hydromulching (liquid-mulching) technique was assessed by the monitoring of the growth and yield of lettuce and corn, which were used as reference plants. Conventional plastic films and straw mulching (SM) were compared with liquid-mulching treatments based on poly(vinyl alcohol) and natural fillers derived from agroindustrial wastes (sugar cane bagasse, wheat flour, saw dust, and wheat straw). An improvement of the biomass yield of the two selected plants with respect to conventional polyethylene mulching was attained in various liquid-mulching formulations with positive effects on the maintenance of soil structure. Alternative fluid-mulching treatments based on biodegradable components were effective in preserving soil aggregates and improving some crop growth parameters. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008 [source]

Introduction of aromatic fragrance into cultivated tomato from the peruvianum complex'

PLANT BREEDING, Issue 2 2001
H. M. Kamal
Abstract This study was performed to introduce the distinct aromatic fragrance of Lycopersicon peruvianum LA 1554 into the cultivated tomato, Lycopersicon esculentum. The strong breeding barriers existing between these two distantly related species were circumvented by the ovule selection and culture method. A large BC1F1 population was developed and among 127 plants, 36 were self-compatible and yielded fruits. Fruits of some of these selected plants were found to be enriched with a sweet aromatic flavour. Sensory evaluation of the fruit aroma of these selected plants was performed by a panel of 12 members against one of the best consumer-rated Japanese commercial tomato cultivars, ,Momotaro'. Although extensive variation was observed in fruit-aroma in the BC1F1 population, panel opinion on ,flavour-desirability' significantly favoured the BC1F1 fruits of some selected plants over the cv. ,Momotaro'. Therefore, it can be concluded that the aromatic fragrance of a ,L. peruvianum' accession has successfully been introduced into the cultivated tomato gene pool. [source]

Rapid techniques for assessing fibre quality of flax breeding lines and cultivars using visible and near infrared spectroscopy, and thermal analysis

ANNALS OF APPLIED BIOLOGY, Issue 2 2006
Z. Jankauskien
Abstract Fifteen different flax cultivars and breeding lines (E-68, Baltu,iai, Belinka, Vega 2, Ilona, Elise, Kasty,iai, Evelin, 1963-3, Ariane, Hermes, 01057-12, 1698-13a, 2017-3, 1864-24) were cultivated, harvested, water-retted, scutched and resulting fibres passed through pin frames to produce representative samples for each variety. The aim of this investigation was to develop rapid techniques for assessing quality of fibre obtained from a comparative agronomical trial. The fibres produced were then assessed using visible and near infrared spectroscopy (Vis,NIRS), thermal analysis, scanning electron microscopy and airflow method for measuring fibre fineness. The relationships between agronomical characteristics, fibre fineness, thermal and spectral results were assessed using principal component analysis and partial least squares regression methods. The micrographs of the samples revealed the presence of residual pectic and cuticular tissues on all fibres, and significant differences between the 15 fibre samples were not observed. A significant relationship of the differences in fibre fineness of the test samples as measured by airflow method and Vis,NIR spectra was observed with an R2 of 0.97 and standard error of calibration (SEC) of 1.69 dtex, and the former parameter also correlated with the measured thermal combustion parameters showing an R2 of 0.91 and SEC of 2.86 dtex, indicating that the two rapid techniques could be used for the assessment of fibre quality of selected plants from the breeding programme. The advantages of using the two instrumental techniques compared with the existing airflow method are briefly discussed. [source]

Nondestructive, Stereological Estimation of Canopy Surface Area

BIOMETRICS, Issue 1 2010
Dvoralai Wulfsohn
Summary We describe a stereological procedure to estimate the total leaf surface area of a plant canopy in vivo, and address the problem of how to predict the variance of the corresponding estimator. The procedure involves three nested systematic uniform random sampling stages: (i) selection of plants from a canopy using the,smooth fractionator, (ii) sampling of leaves from the selected plants using the,fractionator, and (iii) area estimation of the sampled leaves using,point counting. We apply this procedure to estimate the total area of a chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum morifolium L.) canopy and evaluate both the time required and the precision of the estimator. Furthermore, we compare the precision of point counting for three different grid intensities with that of several standard leaf area measurement techniques. Results showed that the precision of the plant leaf area estimator based on point counting is high. Using a grid intensity of 1.76 cm2/point we estimated plant and canopy surface areas with accuracies similar to or better than those obtained using image analysis and a commercial leaf area meter. For canopy surface areas of approximately 1 m2 (10 plants), the fractionator leaf approach with sampling fraction equal to 1/9 followed by point counting using a 4.3 cm2/point grid produced a coefficient of error of less than 7%. The,smooth fractionator,can be used to ensure that the additional contribution to the estimator variance due to between-plant variability is small. [source]