The Neem tree is of ornamental, revegetation, biomass and medicinal value. The compound azadirachtin, which is derived from Neem seeds, is commercially used for insecticidal properties. In a 2×2 factorial experiment, Neem seedlings were either colonized with the mycorrhizal fungi Glomus intraradices or noninoculated and fertilized with full strength Long Ashton Mineral Solution at 11 or 22 ppm P. Mycorrhizal and P main effects were highly significant (p-value<0.001) with all growth parameters except R:S ratio. Mycorrhizal plants had greater leaf number, leaf area, leaf dry weight, shoot and root dry weight than noncolonized seedlings. The higher P (22 ppm) level plants had superior growth compared with low P plants. Leaf area and leaf dry weight were similar in mycorrhizal/low P plants and nonmycorrhizal/high P plants. These results suggest that mycorrhizal growth enhancement has important implications for Neem trees which are found in agriculturally poor soils in hot and arid regions.
based on their mode of action or properties including: plant protection, environmental stress reduction, or plant growth enhancement. Selective treatments may be used for early season pest management to protect the seeds and seedlings from fungal and
Sweet corn (Zea mays L.) varieties carrying the sh2 gene are in high demand, but such varieties have poor stress tolerance, especially during plant establishment. Trichoderma harzianum Rifai strain 1295-22 is a biocontrol fungus developed to provide season-long colonization of crop roots. It has the potential to reduce root rot and increase root growth. In the absence of detectable disease, colonization by Trichoderma increased root and shoot growth by an average of 66%. The enhancement was not uniform among the plants. Low- and intermediate-vigor plants were larger in the presence of Trichoderma, but high-vigor plants were not further enhanced by the fungus. Seeds that were subjected to oxidative stress with 0.05% NaOCI had much-reduced vigor; subsequent treatment with Trichoderma fully restored vigor. This result indicates that the damage caused by hypochlorite is specifically repaired by Trichoderma. Treatment of imbibed but unemerged seeds with cold (5/10 °C night/day) for varying periods reduced subsequent growth. Plants with Trichoderma-colonized roots were 70% larger at all durations of cold treatment. The absence of interation indicates the growth reduction due to cold and the growth enhancement due to Trichoderma are by different mechanisms. Allelopathic reduction in root growth by rye was mimicked by applying benzoxazolinone to the soil. Trichoderma-colonized roots grew faster, but the characteristic shortening of the radicle still occurred. There was no interaction between Trichoderma and allelopathy, indicating that these two treatments affect growth by independent mechanisms. The different ways that growth was enhanced by Trichoderma lead us to propose that this fungus acts, in part, by reversing injurious oxidation of lipids and membrane proteins. Root growth is markedly enhanced by colonization with Trichoderma harzianum. This enhancement can restore some stress-induced growth reduction and may directly reverse oxidative injury.
Six greenhouse trials of five commercial products marketed as systemic resistance (SR) and plant growth promotion (PGP) inducers were evaluated on tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) over a 21-month period. The effect of the inducers on treated plants was measured by monitoring plant growth and disease suppression after inoculation with either plant pathogenic bacteria or nematodes. The commercially available SR/PGP inducers included a bacterial suspension [Companion (Bacillus subtilis GB03)], two plant defense elicitors with nutrients (Keyplex 350DP plus Nutri-Phite, and Rezist with Cab'y), natural plant extracts (Liquid Seaweed Concentrate and Stimplex), and a synthetic growth regulator (Actigard 50W). Growth enhancement was noted in some trials, but the parameter of growth affected often varied with trial. Response to Actigard treatment included significant suppression of bacterial spot [Xanthomonas campestris pv. vesicatoria (Xcv)] in three of the six trials. Companion, Keyplex 350DP plus Nutri-Phite, Rezist and Cab'y, and seaweed products induced only partial disease suppression of bacterial spot in inoculated tomato plants. The alpha-keto acids plus nutrients (Keyplex 350DP plus Nutri-Phite) increased plant growth by 14.3% and improved root condition compared to the untreated control following exposure to nematodes. Results are encouraging, if not consistent, and with a greater understanding of the SR system and the conditions related to product efficacy, such materials may become effective tools for production agriculture.
The action of foliar-applied uniconazole, paclobutrazol, dikegulac-sodium, ancymidol, 6-BA, GA4+7, and 6-BA + GA4+7 On container–grown Photinia × fraseri was studied over a one year period. Vegetative growth habit was evaluated at three month intervals. Shoot dry weight and histological examination of stern anatomy in the apical meristematic region was conducted at experiment termination.
Several plant growth regulators, primarily uniconazole, 6-BA, 6-BA + GA4+7, and dikegulac-sodium, stimulated lateral branching. Linear increases in lateral branching occurred as application rates increased. High application rates of uniconazole and paclobutrazol created an asymmetrical growth habit and decreased dry weight accumulation.
The objectives of this study were to determine if the use of leonardite as a fertilizer supplement improved crop growth and if there was a residual effect from previous applications. Three planting sequences were established and leonardite applied at 0, 50, 100, 200, and 400 lb/acre (0, 56.1, 112.1, 224.3 and 445.6 kg·ha−1). Subplots were treated at the first, the first and second, or all at three planting sequences. `Purple Top White Globe' turnip (Brassica rapa L.) and `Florida Broadleaf' mustard greens (Brassica hirta L.) were used as the indicator crops in the first two and last sequences, respectively. No differences in plant growth were observed among number of applications or treatment rate. Differences in soil potassium and iron were observed.
Pawpaw [Asimina triloba (L.) Dunal] is a native American fruit tree that has potential as a new fruit crop or for use in landscapes, but little information is available to nurseries on the production of containerized plants. In greenhouse experiments, growth of pawpaw seedlings in Rootrainers was examined in three fertilization regimes, two root-zone temperatures, and four substrates [ProMix, 6 pine bark: 1 sand (v/v), 1 sand: 1 sphagnum peat, and 4 pine bark: 1 sand: 1 sphagnum peat medium]. A similar germination rate of 80% was obtained in all substrates. Weekly fertigation treatments were imposed when seedlings had 2 to 3 leaves, at 0, 50, and 100 mg·L-1 N as Peters 20N-8.6P-16.6K water-soluble fertilizer plus soluble trace elements. After 140 days at the highest fertilizer rate, plant height, leaf number, and dry weight (roots, shoots, and total plant) were greater in ProMix and 1 sand:1 sphagnum peat than in 6 pine bark: 1 sand (v/v) or 4 pine bark: 1 sand: 1 sphagnum peat. Also, the root: shoot ratio was lower in ProMix and 6 pine bark: 1 sand (v/v). Overall, plant biomass production was greater in ProMix than in 6 pine bark: 1 sand (v/v). In a separate experiment, bottom heat (32 ± 0.3 °C) hastened seedling emergence from ProMix by 9 days compared to ambient root-zone conditions (24 ± 0.2 °C). An average seedling height of 10 cm was attained by ambient plants 79 days after sowing, whereas seedlings with bottom heat reached this height after 69 days. Seedlings subjected to bottom heat had increased leaf number (30%), plant height (32%), whole plant leaf area (94%), shoot dry weight (104%), root dry weight (50%), lateral root dry weight (125%), and total plant dry weight (87%). Seedlings with bottom heat had a reduction in root: shoot ratio of 25% and in specific leaf dry weight of 16% compared to ambient plants. Seedlings subjected to bottom heat had a higher leaf chlorophyll (chl) concentration of chl a (39%), chl b (33%), chl p (43%), total chl (38%), and chl a: b ratio (8%) than seedlings grown without bottom heat. Pawpaw seedling growth was best using ProMix with 100 mg·L-1 N Peters applied once weekly, or using ProMix with bottom heat and 50 mg·L-1 N Peters applied twice per week.
Formation of arbuscular mycorrhizae (AM) has been inhibited in soilless potting mixes that usually contain some proportion of peat moss. The cause of the inhibition has been thought to be high fertilizer P content in the media that suppresses spread of the fungal symbiont in the root tissue. However, there has also been some suggestion that the peats themselves may contribute to the inhibition. That possibility was explored in this study. A sandy-loam soil, in which mycorrhizae consistently enhance plant growth under P-limiting conditions, was amended with six different peats. Onions (Allium cepa 'White Lisbon'), as an indicator host, were grown in the mixes under P-limiting conditions, and were inoculated or not with the AM fungi Glomus deserticola or Gigaspora rosea. Plant growth response to inoculation with AM fungi (AMF) varied with the type of peat and AMF isolate. Inoculated plants generally had the highest root biomass when grown in soil amended with peat. Root colonization by the two fungal symbionts was also affected differently by different peat amendments. Root colonization by Glomus deserticola and Gigaspora rosea was inhibited by at least half of the peat types. However, the types of peat inhibitory to Gigaspora rosea colonization were not the same as those inhibitory to Glomus deserticola colonization. These results indicate that different peat amendments can suppress or enhance mycorrhiza formation on onion roots and resultant growth benefit under P-limiting conditions, depending on the mycorrhizal fungus used.
The horticultural Boston fern [Nephrolepis exaltata (L.) Schott cv. Verona] was micropropagated in vitro using commercial techniques. Rooted plantlets were transferred into pots containing one of three test substrates made of peat and vermiculite and subsequently inoculated with one of two species of Glomus. Survival of uninoculated control plants growing on a black peat-based mix was less than that on a brown peat-based mix. Vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal (VAM) inoculation significantly increased survival on the former, but not the latter, substrate. The growth of roots was enhanced in brown peatmoss, but VAM colonization was faster with black peatmoss. Compared to uninoculated controls growing under the same fertilization regime, inoculated plants had significantly higher frond P and N concentration and also showed better frond and root growth. On a growth-increment basis, our results suggested that the brown peat-based mixed was more suitable for fungal activity and fern growth.
scarce for natural growth enhancers as is information about the active components in the products, their physiological effects on plants, possible environmental effects, product stability under different environments, etc. Combining the scarce scientific