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Intercropping of ornamental flowering plants like Lycoris radiata Herb. and Cuphea hookeriana Walp. with tea trees can enhance the visibility and esthetic appeal of tea gardens. However, there has been limited research of the impact of intercropping ornamental flowering plants with tea trees on the soil in tea gardens. During this study, our objective was to analyze the effects of intercropping systems on tea garden soil by examining the physicochemical properties of rhizosphere soil samples from tea gardens intercropped with L. radiata and C. hookeriana. We also performed rhizosphere microbial metagenomic sequencing to assess the microbial community structure. The results revealed significant improvements in soil physicochemical indicators, particularly pH. Although intercropping systems had minor impacts on bacterial diversity and abundance, they had more pronounced effects on the community structure of microorganisms at the phylum and genus levels. Furthermore, an analysis of microbial functions using Functional Annotation of Prokaryotic Taxa (FAPROTAX) revealed enrichment of carbon and nitrogen cycling pathways in the tea garden soil. Our findings indicated that intercropping practices have the potential to enhance the visual appeal of tea gardens while improving soil fertility and modulating the microbial community structure. These results contribute to our understanding of intercropping strategies and the implications of intercropping for tea tree growth and ecosystem functioning.
The regeneration frequency of okra (Abelmoschus esculentus) is greatly influenced by its genetic makeup and recalcitrant nature. Phenolic secretion, in particular, is a major problem in okra tissue culture. This study describes a reproducible, rapid, and more efficient in vitro regeneration method using cotyledonary node explants of okra. Explants were incubated on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium containing different concentrations and combinations of various plant growth regulators (PGRs) [benzyladenine (BA), thidiazuron (TDZ), and α-naphthylacetic acid (NAA)], and regeneration enhancers [silver nitrate (AgNO3) and Pluronic F-68]. Cut ends of cotyledonary node segments rapidly turned brown and cultures failed to establish. Antibrowning additives, such as activated charcoal (AC), ascorbic acid (AA), and AgNO3 at various concentrations in PGR-free MS basal medium were tested for their ability to control phenolic secretion from explants. Among these additives, 15 mg·L−1 AA was found to be optimal for controlling phenolic secretion, resulting in healthy explants and culture establishment. The highest number of shoots (a mean of 9.3 ± 0.9 shoots per cotyledonary node explant) was obtained on MS media containing 0.5 mg·L−1 NAA + 1 mg·L−1 TDZ + 0.1% Pluronic F-68. Individual shoots were elongated on MS medium + 1 mg·L−1 BA + 0.1 mg·L−1 gibberellic acid (GA3) (shoot length 5.3 ± 0.2 cm) and rooted on ½ MS medium + 1 mg·L−1 indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) and 200 mg·L−1 AC (5.3 ± 0.2 roots per shoot). Rooted plantlets were acclimatized in plastic pots inside a plant growth chamber at 25 ± 2 °C and 70% relative humidity, with an 80% survival rate. This optimized protocol can be used for producing transgenic plants of commercial okra cultivars through genetic transformation.
Scion wood of ‘Caddo’ and ‘Desirable’ pecan (Carya illinoinensis) was grafted onto the epicotyl of 1-month-old, open-pollinated ‘Shaoxing’ pecan seedlings for evaluation as a grafting technique to reduce the time to produce grafted trees. The results showed that seedlings grafted with “base scions” had higher survival than those grafted with “terminal scions” for both ‘Caddo’ and ‘Desirable’. Also, grafting with paraffinic tape could achieve greater success rate than that with medical tape. The most ideal time to perform this grafting was late April in Nanjing, China, when pecan seedlings were about 35 days old. This study demonstrated that the technique yielded successful epicotyl grafting of >70%, and it could thus be applied in practice.