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‘Pinot noir’ grapevines were grown in a pot-in-pot system using a red-hill-soil where volumetric soil water content (θv) was carefully controlled. Four-year-old vines were supplied with one of two irrigation regimes (wet or dry) between véraison and fruit maturity and the experiment was repeated over 2 years. From véraison to harvest, vines in the wet treatment received irrigation whenever θv approached ≈15% maintaining leaf water potential (Ψleaf) above –1.0 MPa. Vines in the dry treatment received irrigation when θv approached 11% to 12% and experienced significant water stress (Ψleaf ≈–1.4 MPa) before water was re-supplied. Vines were destructively harvested at véraison and at fruit maturity to determine biomass and nutrient content in the current season’s above-ground tissues. Fruit yield, maturity indices, and must nutrient composition were measured at maturity. Irrigation did not influence vine growth in either year nor did it influence yield or fruit maturity indices. Irrigation also had no influence on leaf, whole cluster, or must mineral nutrient concentrations. Vine growth, yield, and nutrient status in leaves and musts varied by year. Vegetative growth was greater in 2007 than 2008, whereas yield and cluster weights were greater in 2008. Also in 2008, whole clusters obtained a greater proportion of dry matter and nutrients after véraison when differing irrigation treatments were imposed. Nonetheless, irrigation did not affect must chemical composition. These findings suggest that periodic post-véraison water deficits that are moderate to severe have little effect on berry nutrient and sugar accumulation in ‘Pinot noir’ cropped at typical levels for this variety.
Four cultivars of basil (Ocimum basilicum L. ‘Cinnamon’, ‘Siam Queen’, ‘Sweet Dani’, and ‘Red Rubin’) were inoculated or not with the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus (AMF), Rhizophagus (formerly Glomus) intraradices (Schenck & Smith) Walker & Schüßler and grown with a fertilizer containing either 64 mg·L−1 phosphorus (P) (low P) or 128 mg·L−1 P (high P) to assess whether 1) P availability and inoculation with AMF influences the phenolic composition of basil; and 2) treatment effects on phenolic composition are related to plant nutrient status. Growth, root colonization by AMF, anthocyanins, total phenolics, specific polyphenolics, and mineral nutrients were measured after 16 weeks of growth. Non-inoculated plants were not colonized by AMF. AMF colonization of inoculated plants was not influenced by P rate. Increased P rate and AMF inoculation increased biomass. Increased P rate enhanced (increased concentration and content) P and calcium (Ca) uptake and AMF inoculation enhanced nitrogen (N), potassium (K), sulfur (S), boron (B), iron (Fe), and zinc (Zn) uptake. Increased or decreased uptake (content) of other nutrients between P rates and AMF treatments were related to differences in biomass (e.g., similar or lower concentration). Treatment effects on phenolic accumulation were related to the effects of P rate and AMF on 1) plant growth; 2) nutrient uptake; and 3) other factors not directly related to measured differences in nutrient uptake or plant growth. Differences between treatments in rosmarinic acid, the predominant polyphenolic produced by all cultivars, were related to the effects of P rate and AMF on plant growth. Both increased P rate and AMF inoculation enhanced production (increased concentration and content) of chicoric acid and caffeic acid derivative. Increased P rate and inoculation with AMF differentially enhanced production of several other minor polyphenolics resulting in plants with different polyphenolic profiles. Results indicate that AMF inoculation may be an additional strategy for optimizing basil quality in terms of polyphenolic production and composition beyond benefits obtained from just altering plant nutrient status or selecting specific cultivars.
In recent years, there has been renewed interest in black raspberry (Rubus occidentalis L.) breeding. This has been spurred by an increase in black raspberry consumption resulting from studies that have shown them to be particularly high in anthocyanin content indicating high levels of antioxidants. Present cultivars are ill-adapted to the biotic and abiotic stresses of the Pacific northwestern United States, where the commercial black raspberry industry is centered, and fields must be replanted after three to five seasons. An incomplete partial diallel, consisting of 10 parents and 26 sibling families, was constructed for the study of variation and inheritance of phenological, vegetative, and fruit chemistry traits in black raspberry. Sibling families were established at the Oregon State University Lewis Brown Farm in Corvallis and were arranged as a randomized complete block design with four blocks of one to eight plants. Phenological development and vegetative measurements were recorded for each plant in 2005 and 2006. In addition, 25-berry samples of ripe fruit were collected from each plant. To study variation in fruit chemistry properties, including pH, titratable acidity, percent soluble solids, anthocyanin profiles, and total anthocyanins, additional samples of 25 ripe berries were collected from each plant and pooled by family within blocks. Although there were many striking similarities, strong trends in phenotype based on pedigree were observed for most traits indicating a strong genetic component. General combining ability (GCA) effects were significant and larger than specific combining ability effects for all traits, except for fruit size (mass). With the exception of fruit size, narrow-sense heritability estimates were generally moderate to high (0.30 to 0.91), indicating the potential for breeding progress within the population of plants studied. Despite these results, statistically significant and large GCA values were limited to just a few of the parents, indicating a lack of heritable genetic variation in much of the germplasm base and a need for greater diversity.
The total anthocyanin and total phenolic content of wild (samples from 4 populations) and cultivated (samples from 32 populations) Pacific Northwestern American Vaccinium species (V. membranaceum, V. ovalifolium, and V. deliciosum) were evaluated. The total monomeric anthocyanin content of all huckleberry samples analyzed ranged from 101 to 400 mg/100 g (expressed as cyanidin-3-glucoside), and the total phenolics varied from 367 to 1286 mg/100 g (expressed as gallic acid). Cluster analysis separated the samples into four different groups based on their anthocyanin and total phenolic content. Two groups had greater anthocyanin pigment and total phenolics; one consisted entirely of cultivated V. ovalifolium (LIG10, VAC485, VAC487, LIG33, LIG9, LIG2, and VAC349) and the other consisted of just cultivated V. membranaceum (LIG25). Significant variations in total anthocyanins, total phenolics, and the ratio of the total anthocyanins and total phenolics were observed among the different V. membranaceum, V. ovalifolium, and V. deliciosum populations cultivated in the Willamette Valley, Ore. The profile of the individual anthocyanins of the wild V. membranaceum, wild V. ovalifolium, and V. corymbosum `Rubel' were conducted by high-performance liquid chromatography. The chromatograms of V. membranaceum, V. ovalifolium, and `Rubel' were distinctly different in the amounts of delphinidin, cyanidin, and malvidin glycosides.
The plant factory to control growing system automatically is necessary to cultivate single-node cutting rose, which produce large numbers of uniform shoots per unit area in short cultivation. However, the recirculation of the nutrient solution in closed system leads to several problems. One of them is connected with the quality of nutrient solution and the supply of minerals. The uptake of specific nutrients depends on growth and development, or plant stage, which results in a shift in ionic ratio in the drainage water compared to the nutrient solution supplied. Consequently, the nutrient supply should be controlled to be equal to the demand of the plant to avoid disorder of nutrient solution, such as depletion or accumulation. Therefore this study was conducted to examine the effect of mineral nutritional control on nutrient uptake of single-node cutting rose `Red velvet' and `Vital' in a plant factory. The nutritional control of nutrient solution was conducted by five methods: the control of electrical conductivity (EC), N, P, and K elements (NPK), macro elements (M), macro and micro elements (MM) to target ranges in root zone, and the supplement of nutrient solution (S). In NPK, M, and MM control system, the input of nutrients was calculated as amounts of absorption by the plants compared to target values in root environment. The fertilizer supplement of N, P, and K was lower in EC control system than other control systems. In EC and S control system, the concentration of NO3 - -N and K in root zone exceed optimal range whereas P, Ca, and Mg decreased at the later stage of growth. The concentrations of each nutrient in root environment were kept at the target ranges in M and MM control system, which showed optimum yield and product quality.
Plant factory is a new plant production system that enables high quality, year-round, and planned production by controlling the environment. However, the recirculation of the nutrient solution leads to several problems because of unstable condition by nutrient uptake. The concentrations of nutrients in the recirculating solution should be kept at the required levels, since an optimum nutrition is determined by the specific concentrations of an element and mutual ratio to other nutrients in the root zone. Consequently, the nutrient solution is required adjustments based on regular analysis of the drain water and relationships among nutrient uptake, growth stage, and environmental factors for plant quality. This study was conducted to examine the effect of mineral nutritional control by five different methods on growth and photosynthesis of single-stemmed rose `Red velvet' and `Vital' in a plant factory. The nutritional control of nutrient solution was as following: the control of electrical conductivity (EC), N, P, and K elements (NPK), macro elements (M), macro and micro elements (MM) to target ranges in root environment, and the supplement of nutrient solution (S). The growth of single-node cutting rose `Vital' and `Red velvet' was higher in the M and MM than that of other control systems. Although M and MM system showed no significant difference, the photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance, and transpiration rate were higher than those with other systems. The maximal efficiency of photochemistry (Fv/Fm) was higher in the M and MM control system, which showed the highest root activity. These results could be attributable for modelling the mineral nutritional control system, which reduces the use of fertilizers and increases the productivity of single-stemmed rose.
A study was conducted to evaluate the effects of salinity on growth and nutrient uptake in basil (Ocimum basilicum L. ‘Siam Queen’). Plants were fertilized with a complete nutrient solution and exposed to no, low, or moderate levels of salinity using NaCl or CaCl2. The plants in control and moderate salinity treatments were also inoculated or not with the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus (AMF), Rhizophagus irregularis (Blaszk., Wubet, Renker, & Buscot) C. Walker & A. Schler., to determine whether AMF mitigate the effects of salinity stress. Electrical conductivity (EC) of leachate collected from salinity treatments reached levels ≥8 dS·m−1 but had no effect on plant growth in the first 41 days of treatment. However, by 75 days, plants exposed to low and moderate levels of NaCl and CaCl2 had 20% to 38% less dry weight (DW) than controls. Reductions in DW were similar between NaCl and CaCl2 and was greater in roots than in shoots. Both NaCl and CaCl2 salinity reduced stomatal conductance (g S) within 25 days, but hastened flowering by 2–3 days, and nearly doubled the DW of flowers at 75 days. Salinity from NaCl increased uptake of Na and reduced uptake of Ca, whereas CaCl2 salinity increased uptake of Ca and reduced uptake of Mg and Mn. Both salts also increased relative uptake of N, Cu, and Zn, and reduced relative uptake of S and Fe. In general, Na was concentrated in roots and excluded from shoots, whereas Cl was concentrated primarily in leaves. Both salts reduced root colonization by AMF. However, AMF increased g S by 10% with NaCl and 22% with CaCl2, and increased shoot DW by 22% and 43%, respectively. Other than Ca and Cl, AMF did not enhance nutrient uptake under NaCl or CaCl2 salinity. ‘Siam Queen’ basil was moderately tolerant to salinity, due at least in part to exclusion of Na from the shoots, and inoculation with AMF increased tolerance to both NaCl and CaCl2 salinity. Differences in basil tolerance to NaCl and CaCl2 indicate plants may have different mechanisms for dealing with salinity and sensitivity is not solely a function of EC. This highlights the importance of understanding the source of salinity in irrigation waters and soil for predicting damage.
Vigor and crop level management are important practices for premium wine grape production. The implications of crop thinning ‘Pinot noir’(Vitis vinifera L.) vines of varying vigor were investigated in the Willamette Valley of Oregon in 2011 to 2013 to better understand the relationship between canopy size and yield within the framework of a cool-climate, premium production wine grape vineyard. To manipulate vigor, a competitive grass cover crop (Festuca rubra L.) was grown in both (Grass), alternating (Alternate), or neither side of the flanking alleyways (Tilled). Vines within each vineyard floor treatment had two crop levels applied, including cluster thinning to one cluster per shoot (Half Crop) or no crop thinning (Full Crop). Grass treatment had reduced leaf area and leaf nitrogen (N) concentrations during all years compared with Tilled treatments. Leaf photosynthesis was also lower in Grass treatments despite more light in the canopy interior. Grass treatments had lower yield than Tilled treatments in 2 of 3 years and lower yeast assimilable nitrogen (YAN) concentrations in fruit every year. There was limited impact of floor treatments on total soluble solids (TSS) and pH. Reduced yields through cluster thinning had limited impact on vegetative growth but increased TSS and pH, in 2 of 3 years. There were few floor management by crop level interactions in any year. Grass effectively reduced vegetative growth to moderate vigor levels with cane weights between 20 and 40 g. Using a competitive grass cover crop may be an effective strategy to reduce excessive vine growth and require less labor in canopy management and crop thinning without compromising basic fruit ripeness, although YAN levels need to be monitored.