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- Author or Editor: Martin P.N. Gent x
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The concentrations of metabolites in plants are affected by sunlight integral and other factors such as plant size, water content, and time of day. Tissue composition was measured for various sizes of hydroponic lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) grown under seasonal variation in sunlight in a greenhouse and harvested in the morning or afternoon. Daily sunlight integral varied from 4 to 14 mol·m−2·day−1 photosynthetically active irradiance, and plant size varied from 2 to 260 g fresh weight (FW)/plant in this study. Much of the variation in tissue composition on a FW basis could be explained by the increase in dry matter content with irradiance normalized per unit area. Except for nitrate, metabolite concentrations on a FW basis increased with irradiance, and the changes resulting from irradiance were greater when harvested in the afternoon than in the morning. Nitrate concentration decreased with normalized irradiance, and the trend was the same whether measured in morning or afternoon. Malic acid increased with irradiance but not enough to counter the decrease in nitrate on a charge equivalence basis. Irradiance normalized per unit leaf area explained many effects of light and plant size on dry matter content and soluble metabolite concentrations. Lettuce for human consumption is best harvested in the afternoon after growth under high light, when it has the least nitrate and more of other nutrients.
Relative growth rate (RGR), the relative increase in weight per day, can analyze the effect of environment and nutrition on growth. I examined which of the parameters responding to plant growth scaled according to RGR for lettuce and spinach grown in heated greenhouses in hydroponics with control of the nutrient solution. The experiments for lettuce in 2006–08 included all times of year, high vs. low temperature, and effect of withdrawal of nitrogen. There were four parameters that were significant in multiple linear regression vs. RGR; irradiance divided by leaf area index if it was greater than one, or normalized daily light integral (NDLI), solution temperature, electrical conductivity (EC), and logarithm solution nitrate when it was between 3 and 55 mg·L−1 N. NDLI had the most significant coefficient, but the other parameters had regression coefficients more than three times se. For experiments on spinach in 2009–10, all the parameters mentioned previously were significant in multiple linear regression vs. RGR, except EC. The coefficient for NDLI in spinach was about half the value in lettuce. The coefficients for solution temperature and low nitrate were two and three times that in lettuce. In a third set of experiments on lettuce in 1996–98, solution temperature was the only significant parameter among those mentioned previously. The coefficient for solution temperature was similar to that for regression of lettuce in 2006–08.
The composition of spinach (Spinacea oleracea L.) was studied in response to daily light integral (DLI) and diurnal variation in a greenhouse. Values for plantings with different irradiance were compared using normalized daily light integral (NDLI), which was DLI divided by leaf area index. The dry mass as a ratio of fresh mass increased with NDLI as it increased from 3 to 27 mol·m−2·d−1. Reduced nitrogen (N) changed with time of day under high but not under low NDLI. Nitrate and amino acids were affected by temperature more than NDLI. Starch increased with NDLI to 27 mol·m−2·d−1 in morning or afternoon. However, sugars decreased with temperature more than with NDLI, due to a decrease in petioles up to 20 °C. Oxalic acid increased with NDLI or temperature. Over a diurnal cycle, starch had minimum value at 0800 hr and maximum at 1800 hr in all parts. The sugars, sucrose, glucose, and fructose, had a binary response with high values in the day and low values in the night. Oxalic acid increased at the end of the day. Other metabolites had no response to time of day. The growth of spinach may be slow in fall compared with summer due to the effect of low temperature on metabolism of sugars and nitrate.
How are C and N metabolites affected by a root-zone temperature (RZT) in phase or out of phase with the photoperiod? Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) was grown with an air temperature of 20C, and RZT that was in phase with a 12-h photoperiod, 28C in the light and 12C in the dark, or out of phase, 12C in the light and 28C in the dark. Seedlings were grown in flowing solution containing 200 μm NO3 and excess amount of other mineral elements. The flow rate increased with plant size. After 8 days, plants were harvested at the end of the day and at the end of the night. The relative growth rate (day–1) was slightly greater for in-phase (0.19) than out-of-phase RZT (0.17) and less than that at a constant air and RZT of 24C (0.22). RZT affected N accumulation and partitioning of C and N metabolites. Cool roots contained more NO3 and free sugars than warm roots. Leaves had less NO3 in the light than in the dark, and NO3 in leaves of plants with an out-of-phase RZT was depleted in the light. Concentration of free amino acids and protein was greater and the amount of starch was less in leaves of plants with in-phase RZT.
Subirrigation for production of potted ornamental plants reduces the waste of water and fertilizer inherent to conventional overhead watering systems used in greenhouses. Ebb and flow watering systems for flooded floors typically operate slowly so that the substrate takes up water to near effective water-holding capacity during each irrigation event. We used a system that rapidly delivered water to and removed water from the production surface to restrict the water provided to the plants. We examined several parameters that vary between this fast-cycle ebb and flow watering on a flooded floor compared with slow-cycle watering. Water and fertilizer use was reduced by 20% to 30% with fast- compared with slow-cycle watering. Biomass and stem height at bloom were also reduced by 10% to 20% under fast-cycle saturation. This watering method did not affect the rate of flower development or plant nutrient composition. Volumetric water content of the substrate was the only measure that was affected by location on the flooded floor. Despite the fast ebb and flow on pitched floors, none of the aspects of plant growth was affected by location on the floor. This method of watering shows promise as a means to produce uniform crops of container-grown plants while conserving water and fertilizer.
Recycling the nutrient solution used for greenhouse vegetable production can prevent groundwater pollution. Recycling could result in an accumulation or deficiency of elements that would be deleterious to plant growth, product quality, and the dietary value of vegetables. Complex fertilizer systems have been developed to maintain appropriate concentrations of all elements in recycled systems. We compared a much simpler system in which all excess solution drained from the plants was recycled without adjustment or dilution compared with a system with no recycling as a control. Crops of greenhouse tomato (Solanum lycopersicon L.) were grown in two years to compare these systems. Differences in composition of solution drained from the plants developed gradually over more than one month. The transition from vegetative to fruit growth, which coincided with warmer weather, resulted in a decreased demand for nitrate, and other nutrients, and an increase in electrical conductivity (EC) of water drained from the root zone. The composition of the fresh solution supplied to the plants was adjusted accordingly. It took a longer time to re-establish an optimum composition for recycled compared with control watering. EC tended to increase in the recycled system. Recycling decreased total yield and fruit size, but marketable yield was unaffected. The marketable fraction increased in the recycled treatment, primarily as a result of fewer fruit with cracked skin. This effect was consistent across seven cultivars. The cultivars differed in this and other defects, but they did not differ in their response to the two watering systems.
What is the effect of constant compared to diurnal heating of the shoot and root on growth and yield of greenhouse tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum L.)? Seedlings were transplanted on 4 or 25 Mar. 1994 into troughs that were not heated or heated to 21C by buried tubing, either constantly or for 12 h during the day or the night. The greenhouses had either 14/14C or 26/6C day/night minimum air temperatures. After 2 weeks, leaves of the 4 Mar. transplants weighed most with constant root heat and least with no heat. Roots weighed more with 14/14C than 26/6C air heat. With 14/14C air heat, only no root heat reduced leaf weight, whereas with 26/6C air heat, leaf weight was in the order: constant > day > night - no heat. After 2 weeks, leaves of the 25 Mar. transplants weighed least with no heat, and other treatments did not differ. Root heating affected yield. By 1 July, the number of fruit and the number and weight of marketable fruit produced from 4 Mar. transplants was in the order: constant heat > day > night > no heat. The 22/6C air heat increased marketable yield because fewer fruit were small, irregular, or had blossom-end rot. Root heat had no effect on yield of 25 Mar. transplants.
Nitrate (NO3) was supplied at 100, 200, 400, and 800 μm in nutrient solution to 3-week-old tomato seedlings grown hydroponicly, and day and night concentrations of N and C metabolites were measured. Tissue [NO,] at the end of the night was greater than at the end of the day, especially for leaves. Leaf tissue [NO3] was about 350 μmol·g-1 dry weight at night, 3 times as high as that during the day. Generally, root and stem tissue [NO,] was similar and higher than that of leaves and increased as medium [NO,] increased. The difference was greater at night than during the day. During the day, total free amino acid concentration was the greatest for roots and the least for stem. Generally, root tissue had higher total free sugar concentration than leaf and stem tissues during the day. Fructose concentration was lower at night than during the day for all parts of the plants, especially for roots. At night, NO3 accumulated in plant tissues, especially in leaves, and was not incorporated into amino acids, perhaps due to the lack of energy and reductant.
Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill) seedlings were grown with air temperature of 28°C light/12°C dark (12/12 hours), and either a constant, 20°C, root-zone temperature (RZT), or in-phase with air temperature, 28°C in the light and 12°C in the dark, or out-of-phase, 12°C in the light and 28°C in the dark. These treatments were applied from 17 to 25 days after germination, with 200 m
Can regulated deficit irrigation in an ebb and flow system alleviate the effects of salinity stress on poinsettia? Two cultivars of poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima Willd ex Klotzsch) were grown under partial- or full-saturation irrigation using a standard fertilizer solution, with or without the addition of 0.5 g·L−1 NaCl. The volumetric water content of the medium averaged 0.25 and 0.33 L·L−1 before irrigation, and 0.5 and 0.67 L·L−1 following irrigation, for partial- or full-saturation regimes, respectively. Plants had lower fresh weight with partial than full saturation. Sodium concentrations in bract, leaf, and stem tissues were higher (P ≤ 0.05) in plants exposed to salinity, and these plants accumulated less K in stems and less P in bracts. Eight cultivars were grown in a second study with or without salinity of 1.2 g·L−1 NaCl under drip or ebb and flow watering. Cultivar and watering had effects on plant fresh weight, but salinity did not. Of the cultivars tested, ‘DaVinci’, ‘Premium Picasso’, and ‘Prestige Red’ had the highest sodium in bracts under salinity with drip irrigation, whereas ‘Snowcap’ had the least. ‘Ruby Frost’ had the most sodium in stems, whereas ‘Snowcap’ had the least. For all cultivars, added salinity resulted in lower K in leaves and stem. Snowcap was the cultivar with the least sodium in stems and bracts under saline irrigation, with either drip or ebb and flow. Our research demonstrates that regulated deficit irrigation resulting in partial saturation of the growing medium is an effective water management option, when control of plant height and overall crop growth are desirable, and it limits the accumulation of sodium when raw water contains elevated salinity.