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- Author or Editor: William R. Graves x
Symbiotic associations between Alnus maritima (Marsh.) Muhl. ex Nutt. (seaside alder) and actinomycetes in the genus Frankia Brunchorst result in root nodules in which atmospheric nitrogen (N) is fixed. The economic and environmental benefits of N fixation have led to interest in inducing root nodules during production of A. maritima. Because woody plants produced in nurseries typically are provided N fertilizer, our objectives were to determine how applied N influences nodulation of A. maritima and to characterize how short-term changes in root-zone N affect the function of nodules. Potted seedlings were grown in perlite that was inoculated with 30 mL of soil from the root zones of mature plants in their native habitat on the Delmarva Peninsula. Each pot was drenched once daily for 10 weeks with nutrient solution that contained ammonium nitrate at 10 concentrations from 0 to 8 mm. Plants that received no ammonium nitrate formed the most nodules, and nodulation decreased linearly as ammonium nitrate increased from 0.25 to 4 mm. Plants treated with ammonium nitrate at 4 or 8 mm formed nearly no nodules, while ammonium nitrate at 0.5 mm resulted in vigorous plants with an average nodule count of 70. In a second experiment, a population of nodulated seaside alders was established by irrigating seedlings in inoculated perlite once daily with 0.5-mm ammonium nitrate for 6 weeks. Plants then were provided ammonium nitrate at 0.5, 2, or 4 mm for 2 weeks. Acetylene-reduction assays showed suppressed nodule activity among plants provided 2- and 4-mm ammonium nitrate. Daily irrigation of those plants with N-free solution subsequently led to a rapid depletion of root-zone N and to a concomitant resurgence of nodule activity. These results demonstrate that N fertilization can be managed to promote nodulation of A. maritima and show that decreased nodule activity caused by short-term increases in root-zone N is reversible.
Scotch laburnum [Laburnum alpinum (Mill.) Bercht.], Amur maackia (Maackia amurensis Rupr. & Maxim.), and Chinese wisteria [Wisteria sinensis (Sims) Sweet] were inoculated with compatible rhizobia and treated with leaching fractions (LF) of 0, 0.2, and 0.4 using fertilizer solutions with 3.6 and 10.7 mol N/m3 for 10 weeks. LF did not affect plant dry mass, leaf area, or stem length. Growth was higher among plants provided 10.7 mol N/m3, but only plants provided 3.6 mol N/m3 formed root nodules. We conclude that growth is not reduced by eliminating leaching during the first 10 weeks of seedling development, and that application of 10.7 mol N/m3 prevents nodulation of these species.
The objective of this study was to determine the efficacy of plant growth regulators applied as foliar sprays on height and branching of seashore mallow (Kosteletzkya virginica). Five chemical plant growth regulators were applied: ancymidol [15, 25, and 50 mg·L–1 (ppm)] (A-Rest; Elanco Products Co., Indianapolis), dikegulac sodium (500, 1000, and 1500 mg.L–1) (Atrimmec; PBI/Gordon Corp., Kansas City, Mo.), paclobutrazol (10, 20, and 60 mg·L–1) (Bonzi; Uniroyal Chemical Co., Middlebury, Conn.), chlormequat chloride (CCC) (750, 1000, and 1500 mg·L–1) (Cycocel; Olympic Horticultural Products, Mainland, Pa.), and CCC/daminozide mixes (1000/2500, 1000/5000, and 1500/5000 mg·L–1) (Cycocel and B-Nine; Uniroyal Chemical Co.). Ten replicate plants of each concentration were evaluated weekly for plant height and number of branches for 8 weeks. Plants that received CCC and CCC/daminozide treatments at all concentrations and paclobutrazol at 60 mg·L–1 were 60%, 60%, and 48% shorter than control plants and had 113%, 100%, and 75% more branches than control plants, respectively. All concentrations of ancymidol and dikegulac sodium-treated plants were similar to control plants. Paclobutrazol was applied twice, and only the highest concentration was effective for height control. Chlormequat chloride at the lowest concentration was as effective as all other concentrations of CCC and CCC/daminozide.
Maackia amurensis Rupr. & Maxim. is a leguminous tree with potential for increased use in urban landscapes. Information on the nutrition of M. amurensis is limited. To our knowledge, modulation and N2 fixation have not been reported. Our objective was to examine M. amurensis for nodulation and N2 fixation. Soil samples were collected near legume trees at arboreta throughout the United States, with additional samples from Canada and China. Seedlings were grown for six weeks in a low-N, sterile medium and inoculated with soil samples. Upon harvest, small white nodules were found on the lateral and upper portions of the root systems. Bacteria were isolated from the larger nodules, subculture, and used to inoculate seedlings. Inoculated plants nodulated and fixed N2 as determined by the acetylene reduction assay. We conclude M. amurensis forms N2-fixing symbioses with Rhizobium.
Maackia amurensis Rupr. & Maxim. is a leguminous tree species possessing meritorious ornamental characteristics and is confirmed to associate with rhizobia that fix nitrogen, but few attempts to isolate symbiotically superior rhizobia have been made. Our goals were to isolate rhizobia from the root zones of indigenous trees of M. amurensis in two ecologically distinct forests in the Heilongjiang Province of China, characterize the rhizobia, and compare their effectiveness at causing nodulation of this host plant. Rhizobia were isolated and cultured from nodules that formed on seedlings grown in soils collected in May 1998, from the Maoershan (45°N, 127°E) and Liangshui (47°N, 128°E) Research Forests. Inoculants from each of the 160 isolates were applied to seedlings. A subset of 48 isolates that evoked the most nodules was partitioned by cluster analysis into 12 similarity groups based on measures of number of nodules (17.9 ± 6.5), the ratio of growth rate on two distinct media (2.26 ± 1.8), pH reaction as measured by absorption at 614 nm of bromthymol blue (0.98 ± 0.36), and tolerance to sodium chloride at 15 g/L (23 out of 48). By using single-isolate cultures of similar cellular concentration as inoculants, one isolate from each group and USDA 4349, an isolate obtained during previous research, are being compared for their capacity to infect and nodulate seedlings.
Use of cultivars resistant to high soil temperature could improve the performance of urban trees. The objective of this project was to examine selections of red maple (Acer rubrum L. and A. x freemanii E. Murray) for genotypic differences in resistance to root-zone heat stress. Development of roots and shoots from rooted single-node cuttings of seven genotypes grown in solution culture was optimal at about 28C. Shoot extension stopped within 3 weeks and terminal buds formed on plants of all genotypes at 36C. In a second experiment, the influence of 34C root-zone temperature on development varied significantly among six genotypes. Formation of terminal buds at 34C was observed only on plants of cv. Morgan and cv. Red Sunset. The reduction in new dry matter at 34C compared to plants at 28C ranged from 21% for cv. Schlesinger to 69% for cv. Morgan. We conclude that genotypes of red maple differ in resistance to high root-zone temperature.
Morphological distinctions between sugar maples and black maples are not consistently evident, and molecular assessment of genetic diversity is lacking for these taxa. We examined restriction-site polymorphisms in the ndhA intron of the chloroplast DNA (cpDNA) in populations of sugar maples and black maples representing their zones of allopatry and sympatry in eastern North America. Restriction-site analysis of the ndhA intron after digestion with HinfI and Sau3AI yielded no polymorphisms. Restriction digestion of the ndhA intron with TaqI revealed two cpDNA haplotypes that were neither geographically localized nor taxon specific. Although testing additional accessions of sugar maples and black maples for cpDNA variation will further elucidate patterns of genetic variation, our initial results suggest that the taxa are either exchanging genes or share an ancestral cpDNA polymorphism.
Single-node cuttings of `Autumn Flame' and `Indian Summer' red maple (Acer rubrum L. and A. × freemanii E. Murray) were placed in subirrigated perlite that was kept at 29, 33, or 36 C at the cut ends for 3 weeks. Number and mass of roots and pigment quality and transpiration of leaves were greater for `Autumn Flame' than `Indian Summer' and decreased with increasing temperature for both cultivars. Rooting percentage at 29, 33, and 36 C was 75, 75, and 25 for `Autumn Flame' and 13, 13, and 0 for `Indian Summer'. Earlier work has shown > 90% of cuttings of both cultivars root at ≈ 22 C, and plants of `Autumn Flame' are more heat resistant than those of `Indian Summer'. Results of this experiment suggest the effect of heat on rooting of cuttings might be used to predict genotypic differences in heat resistance of whole plants.
Freeman maples (Acer × freemanii E. Murray) are marketed as stress-resistant alternatives to red maples (Acer rubrum L.), but few data from direct comparisons of these species are available. As a first step in comparing the stress resistance of red maple and Freeman maple, responses to drought were studied in Acer × freemanii `Autumn Fantasy', `Celebration', and `Marmo'. Plants grown from rooted cuttings were treated by withholding irrigation through four drought cycles of increasing severity that were separated by irrigation to container capacity. Drought reduced shoot dry mass, root dry mass, and height growth by 64%, 43%, and 79%, respectively, over all cultivars. Predawn leaf water potential was reduced by 1.16 MPa over all cultivars, and stomatal conductance data indicated water use was more conservative over all root-zone moisture contents after repeated cycles of drought. Specific mass of drought-stressed leaves increased by 25% for `Autumn Fantasy', and microscopy to determine leaf thickness and cellular anatomy is ongoing. `Autumn Fantasy' also had the lowest ratio of leaf surface area to xylem diameter, and `Autumn Fantasy' and `Celebration' had higher ratios of root to shoot mass than `Marmo'. Pressure-volume curve analysis revealed osmotic potential of drought-stressed plants at full turgor was 0.24 MPa more negative than controls, and droughted plants had a greater apoplastic water percentage than controls. Although osmotic adjustment during drought was similar among cultivars, differences in specific mass of leaves and in ratios of transpiring and conducting tissues suggest cultivars of Freeman maple vary in resistance to drought in the landscape.
Two root-zone temperatures (RZT) treatments, 21C and 34C were compared to evaluate their effects on growth and nutrient uptake for tomato (Lycopersicon esculatum Mill.), muskmelon (Cucumis melo L.), honey locust (Gleditsia triacanthos var. inermis Willd.), and geranium (Pelargonium hortorum L.H. Bailey). Plants were grown in a specialized hydroponic system with full strength Hoagland's No. 1 solution. RZT were initiated after a 7 day acclimation period and were held at the respective RZT continuously. Significant differences among the species were expected and noted for growth parameters of fresh wt., dry wt. of shoot and root, and elemental uptake. The 34C RZT, compared with 21C, reduced root length by 22, 51, and 57% for honey locust, tomato, and melon, respectively. P uptake rate dropped to 0 at 34C, as compared to 1.86 mg P/g root/day at 21C for melon. P uptake rate of the other crops was not affected by RZT.