Reduced availability of water for agricultural use has been forecast for much of the planet as a result of global warming and greater urban demand for water in large metropolitan areas. Strategic improvement of water use efficiency (WUE) and drought tolerance in perennial crops, like fruit trees, could reduce water use without compromising yield or quality. We studied water use in apple trees using ‘Royal Gala’, a relatively water use-efficient cultivar, as a standard. To examine whether genes useful for improving WUE are represented in a wild relative genetically close to M. ×domestica, we surveyed Malus sieversii for traits associated with WUE and drought resistance using material collected from xeric sites in Kazakhstan. This collection has been maintained in Geneva, NY, and surveyed for various phenotypes and has been genetically characterized using simple sequence repeats (SSRs). These data suggest that most of the diversity in this population is contained within a subpopulation of 34 individuals. Analysis of this subpopulation for morphological traits traditionally associated with WUE or drought resistance, e.g., leaf size and stomata size and arrangement, indicated that these traits were not substantially different. These results imply that some of the genetic diversity may be associated with changes in the biochemistry, uptake, and/or transport of water, carbon, or oxygen that have allowed these trees to survive in water-limited environments. Furthermore, genes responding to drought treatment were isolated from ‘Royal Gala’ and categorized according to the biological processes with which they are associated. A large fraction of upregulated genes from roots were identified as stress-responsive, whereas genes from leaves were for the most part associated with photosynthesis. We plan to examine expression of these genes in the M. sieversii population during water deficit in future studies to compare their patterns of expression with ‘Royal Gala’.
Search Results
Carole L. Bassett, D. Michael Glenn, Philip L. Forsline, Michael E. Wisniewski, and Robert E. Farrell Jr
Christy T. Carter and Catherine M. Grieve
Cut flowers are an important agricultural crop in California. Historically, growers have used the highest quality water to irrigate many of these sensitive and non-consumable crops to produce superior flowers. In recent decades, however, there has
Shih-Han Hung, Chia-Ching Wu, Yu-Chen Yeh, Ang Yeh, Chun-Yen Chang, and Hsing-Fen Tang
service between the agricultural landscape and urban is to use ecological indicators to classify the difference among the environments. Moreover, this research aims to fill the gap in knowledge about natural features: the extent to which agritourism
George Hochmuth, Terril Nell, J. Bryan Unruh, Laurie Trenholm, and Jerry Sartain
acres converted for urban development and there were 2.2 million acres converted from 1992–97 ( U.S. Department of Agriculture, 2005 ). It is well documented that urbanization changes land cover and hydrology leading to “unintended consequences” on urban
Taina Laaksoharju and Erja Rappe
boys and girls, as well as between rural and urban children. Finnish people have a reputation of being “forest people” because 72% of the country is covered with forests ( Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, 2009 ). Yet the way Finnish children are
Richard Martinson, John Lambrinos, and Ricardo Mata-González
selection for challenging urban sites: A role for leaf turgor loss Urban Ecosyst. 21 6 818 823 Smith, M.M. Smith, S.W. 2013 Agricultural/urban/environmental water sharing in the western United States: Can engineers engage social science for successful
Rolston St. Hilaire, Michael A. Arnold, Don C. Wilkerson, Dale A. Devitt, Brian H. Hurd, Bruce J. Lesikar, Virginia I. Lohr, Chris A. Martin, Garry V. McDonald, Robert L. Morris, Dennis R. Pittenger, David A. Shaw, and David F. Zoldoske
simply banned outdoor watering because of a severe drought ( Brown and Pharr, 2007 ). The estimated impact of the drought on Georgia's urban agriculture sector is $3.5 billion. Thus, improvement in urban water conservation is applicable not only to
Richard O. Carey, George J. Hochmuth, Christopher J. Martinez, Treavor H. Boyer, Vimala D. Nair, Michael D. Dukes, Gurpal S. Toor, Amy L. Shober, John L. Cisar, Laurie E. Trenholm, and Jerry B. Sartain
). The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services also published the Urban Turf Fertilizer Rule [5E-1.003(2) Florida Administrative Code] in 2007 to establish standards for N and P content in fertilizers ( State of Florida, 2007 ), but did
Raul I. Cabrera, James E. Altland, and Genhua Niu
competition for water resources among agricultural, urban, and industrial sectors are effectively calling for a significant reduction, suspension, or both of the use of municipal tap water resources for irrigation of landscapes and lawns [ Duncan et al., 2009
Ursula K. Schuch
Trees are an important component of urban landscapes and mitigate temperature and local microclimate effects, improve air quality by removing pollutants, store carbon and reduce carbon dioxide emission, and lower energy use for heating and cooling