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In a two-year field experiment, sweet corn was intercropped with a perennial cover of white clover. The clover was suppressed after corn emergence by rototilling. The nitrogen exchange between the corn, clover, and soil was closely monitored. Soil sampling indicated the rate and amounts of mineralization of nitrogen from soil organic matter and clover. Fertilizer labelled with 15-N was used to assess contributions of nitrogen from the various sources.
Results from 1989 showed little nitrogen benefit to the corn from the clover. Content of 15-N in the corn indicated that non-fertilizer nitrogen uptake was similar in monocropped and intercropped corn treatments. Corn yields were correlated with the amount of nitrogen fertilizer applied.
In a two-year field experiment, sweet corn was intercropped with a perennial cover of white clover. The clover was suppressed after corn emergence by rototilling. The nitrogen exchange between the corn, clover, and soil was closely monitored. Soil sampling indicated the rate and amounts of mineralization of nitrogen from soil organic matter and clover. Fertilizer labelled with 15-N was used to assess contributions of nitrogen from the various sources.
Results from 1989 showed little nitrogen benefit to the corn from the clover. Content of 15-N in the corn indicated that non-fertilizer nitrogen uptake was similar in monocropped and intercropped corn treatments. Corn yields were correlated with the amount of nitrogen fertilizer applied.
Mature zygotic embryos dissected from ginseng (Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer) seeds were cultured on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium containing various concentrations of 2,4-D and kinetin. Somatic embryos were induced directly from cotyledonary tissue and from intervening callus. The frequency of somatic embryo induction was up to 55% of zygotic embryo explants. Upon transfer onto half-strength MS medium supplemented with 1 mg BA/liter and 1 mg GA3/liter, most somatic embryos developed into plantlets. More than 50% of the plantlets flowered after 4 weeks of culture, and some developed immature fruits in vitro. These results indicate that adulthood of ginseng root explants is not a prerequisite for flowering of plantlets regenerated through somatic embryogenesis. Chemical names used: (2,4 -dichlorophenoxy) acetic acid (2,4-D); N-(2-furanylmethyl) -1H-purin-6-amine(kinetin); N-(phenylmethyl) -1H-purin-6-amine (BA); gibberellic acid (GA3).
Pollen source is known to affect the fruit size and quality of 'Imperial' mandarin, but no study has determined the appropriate orchard design to maximize the beneficial effects of pollen source. We determined the parentage of seeds of 'Imperial' mandarin using the isozyme shikimate dehydrogenase to characterize pollen flow and the effect on fruit size in an orchard setting. Two blocks were examined: 1) a block near an 'Ellendale' pollinizer block; and 2) an isolated pure block planting. Fruit size and seed number were maximum at one and three rows from the pollinizer (P ≤ 0.05). Isozyme results were consistent with all seeds being the result of fertilization by the 'Ellendale' pollinizer. In the pure block planting, fruits in rows 5-11 inside the block were very small with no seeds. This indicates poor pollen flow resulting in a reduction in fruit quality for the pure block. These results emphasize the importance of pollinizers in orchard design, and bees in orchard management. They suggest that each row should be planted no more than three rows from the pollinizer to maximize the benefits of the pollen parent in self-incompatible cultivars such as 'Imperial'.
Lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) were transformed using microparticle bombardment with two different genes, alpha-glucuronidase (GUS) gene and Chinese cabbage Glutathione Reductase (GR) gene. The adventitious shoots of cotyledonary explant from 4-day-old seedlings were formed (46.7%) in MS basal media supplemented with 5.0 μm IAA and 1.0 μm 2ip. When 1100 psi helium pressure, 9 target distance, and coating with tungsten 10 microparticles were used and explants were treated with osmoticum-conditioning medium (0.6M sorbitol/mannitol), 4 h prior to and 16 h after bombardment, it was identified by GUS assay that these conditions were the most efficient for transformation of foreign genes into cotyledon tissue of lettuce with particle bombardment. PCR confirmed that the band observed in the transgenic plants were originated from T-DNA tranfer with strong hybridization. The genomic Southern analysis showed that the 1.5-kbp fragment was hybridized with radiolabeled 1.5-kbp GR probe. To know whether the expression of the GR gene can be stably maintained in the next generation, when T2 selfing seeds that were obtained from the transformed mother plants were sowed on MS medium supplemented with 200 μm kanamycin, 70% of seedlings were revealed resistance to kanamycin.
Secondary metabolite production by plant cell culture has been become of interest because of its commercial value in use. However, cultured plant cells usually yield lower levels of secondary metabolites than those of intact plants. In order to improve the anthocyanin productivity in hairy root culture of Daucus carota, fungal elicitors from 8 species of Fungi were examined. Through the studies of fungal elicitors in this work, it was turned out that fungal elicitors were very effective to improve the yield of anthocyanin. Despite of its low yield of anthocyanin, high density culture of hairy roots is achieved in fluidized-bed bioreactor, Anthocyanin production in fluidized-bed bioreactor with fungal elicitor treatment was increased greatly. We are currently researching more detailed aeration effects and scale-up in air-lift bioreactors. And these studies could provide important data to establish mass production system for secondary metabolites.
Abstract
Growth, respiration, and ethylene production patterns of ‘Crenshaw’ and ‘Persian’ cultivars of muskmelon (Cucumis melo L.) were similar to patterns previously established for cantaloupe (‘PMR 45’). From 3 weeks after anthesis the carotenoid content of the pulp of all 3 cultivars steadily increased from the low level characteristic of green tissue. Chlorophyll content decreased throughout the development of the fruits, but in the cantaloupe and ‘Crenshaw’ there was a final loss of chlorophyll during ripening.
Buffalograss [Buchloe dactyloides (Nutt.) Engelm.] has the potential for increased use as a turfgrass species due to its low maintenance and water conservation characteristics. This study was conducted to estimate diversity and relationships among naturally occurring buffalograss genotypes based on the nuclear genome, using sequence-related amplified polymorphism (SRAP) markers. The 56 genotypes studied represented five ploidy levels collected from diverse geographic locations in the North American Great Plains. In addition, blue grama [Bouteloua gracilis (H.B.K.) Lag. Ex Steud.] and perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) were included as outgroups. Twenty-five combinations of forward and reverse primers were used. Ninety-five intensively amplified markers were scored and used to infer diversity and relationships among the genotypes. All buffalograss genotypes were discriminated from each other with similarity values ranging from 0.70 to 0.95. Principal component analysis (PCA) suggested that the 56 genotypes could be reduced to 50 due to high similarity levels among some of the genotypes. The distance between buffalograsses, blue grama, and perennial ryegrass were consistent with current taxonomical distances. This research indicates that SRAP markers can be used to estimate genetic diversity and relationships among naturally occurring buffalograss genotypes.