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A low-pressure injection method for introducing chemical formulations into trees is presented. The apparatus consists of a plastic injector and a tube providing a pressure of 60 to 80 kPa, which is below the injurious level for the xylem. The efficiency of the method was determined by injecting PTS, a marker of apoplastic flux dye solutions, and rubidium chloride into young trees, main scaffolds, or tree trunks. The depth of the hole drilled) and the number of injections necessary to distribute the solutions was also determined. The injected solutions moved mainly upward through the older rings of the xylem, suggesting that uptake is directly controlled by the transpiration rate. A single injection was enough to distribute solutions in scaffolds with a diameter of 8 cm, but two injections were necessary for 17-cm-diameter trunks. According to the results, the injection method was effective in introducing chemicals into olive (Olea europaea L.) trees. The method is easy to use, safe and economical and does not involve special equipment. Chemical name used: trisodium, 3-hydroxi-5,8,10-pyrenetrisulfonate (PTS).
Change in B content of olive (Olea europaea L.) leaves during anthesis reveals the appearance of a potent B sink. This phenomenon was more marked in young leaves of bearing trees with a high degree of flowering than in nonbearing trees with a low degree of flowering. Applying B to the leaves at the time of anthesis increased the B concentrations in leaf blades, petioles, bark of the bearing shoot, and flowers and fruit 3 days after treatment. The results suggest that B is mobilized from young leaves during anthesis to supply the requirements of flowers and young fruit.
Chlorotic `Manzanillo' olive (Olea europaea L.) trees and `Maycrest' peach [Prunus persica (L.) Batsch] trees were injected with Fe solutions using an apparatus that consisted of a plastic injector and a pressurized latex tube containing the solution to be injected. Injections were made on various dates from Sept. 1987 to July 1988. All treatments increased chlorophyll content compared to that of the control. Ferrous sulfate was the most effective Fe compound in alleviating chlorosis; its effect lasted for two seasons in peach and for at least three seasons in olive. Also, ferrous sulfate increased vegetative growth and affected cropping the year following injections. Ferrous sulfate at 0.5% to 1% is recommended to reduce the risk of foliar burning. The injection method effectively introduced Fe compounds into olive and peach trees.
GA3 scaffold injections applied between May and November to nonbearing olive (Olea europea L.) trees inhibited flowering the following year, increased shoot width when applied in May, June, and July, and increased inflorescence length when applied in November and February. Fruit removal and seed destruction were effective in improving the return bloom in `Manzanillo' olives when done before endocarp sclerification. Depending on-the year, endocarp sclerification takes place 7 to 8 weeks after full bloom (AFB), usually about 1 July. Fruit removal had no effect on flowering when done after this time. Scaffold injection of paclobutrazol applied to bearing trees between May and September did not affect flowering the following year. The results of our research supports the hypothesis that olive flower induction occurs around the time of endocarp sclerification. Chemical names used: gibberellic acid (GA3), (2RS,3RS)-1-(4-chlorophenyl)-4-dimethyl-2-1,2-4-triazol-1-yl) pentan-3-ol(paclobutrazol).
Olive shoots were collected at monthly intervals during an off and an on year from nonirrigated, mature `Picual' olive trees fertilized or nonfertilized with nitrogen. Young and mature leaves and stems and flowers and fruit developed during the on year were removed separately from the shoots to determine N concentration and N content per organ. N concentration decreased in young leaves and stems in spring and summer, and increased during the autumn in both off and on years. N concentration in old leaves and stems remained almost constant during the off year, and drops from April to October during the on year. The new tissues accumulated N during the off year and mobilized it during the on year to support growth. Leaves stored larger amounts of N than stems, and fruit developed during the on year became the main sink for N of the bearing shoot. Although the adjacent, mature leaves may have supported part of the N demand from the fruit, nitrogen must also have been mobilized from other storage organs to support fruit growth. No differences between fertilizer treatments were observed in the allocation pattern of N, although N reserves increased in shoots of fertilized trees.
The influence of sodium and boron excess in the irrigation water on shoot growth and on the distribution of these elements within various leaf types was studied on rooted olive cuttings (Olea europaea L.). `Lechín de Granada' was more tolerant than `Manzanillo' to sodium excess, as indicated by greater shoot growth and lower accumulation of sodium, especially in the young leaves. `Picual' was more tolerant to boron than `Manzanillo', with less accumulation in adult leaves. The results suggest the avoidance of toxicity by an ionic exclusion mechanism that is more effective in some cultivars than others. Also, the results reveal cultivar differences in the tolerance of olive to sodium and boron excess in the culture medium.
The enzyme polyphenol oxidase (PPO) is nearly ubiquitous in Kingdom Plantae and catalyzes the oxidation of phenolic compounds into highly reactive quinones. Although the functional importance of PPO in plants remains uncertain, a putative antipathogen role for walnut (Juglans regia) PPO was posited as early as 1911. However, despite the rich diversity of phenolics present in walnut leaves and hulls, walnut PPO has been little studied since the early 1900s. We cloned a PPO-encoding gene from a walnut pistillate flower cDNA library and designated the gene jrPPO1. Genomic Southern analysis demonstrated that jrPPO1 is the sole PPO gene in walnut. Transgenic tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) plants expressing jrPPO1 display greater than 10-fold increases in leaf PPO activity compared with wild-type tobacco, demonstrating that jrPPO1 encodes a functional enzyme. The jrPPO1 protein is expressed primarily in the leaves, hulls, and flowers of walnut trees and is not regulated by wounding or methyl jasmonate. To examine whether walnut PPO could affect pathogen resistance, tobacco plants expressing jrPPO1 were challenged with Pseudomonas syringae pv. tabaci. Based on both symptom development and quantitative analyses of bacterial growth in planta, the PPO-expressing plants did not display increased resistance to this pathogen. Leaf extract browning assays indicated that tobacco leaves lack the endogenous phenolic substrates required for significant jrPPO1 activity and quinone production in planta.
The determination of nutrient removal from olive orchards could be of interest to estimate tree consumption and to provide information about the amount of nutrients to be applied when leaf analysis indicates the need for fertilization. In this work, nutrient removal from yield and pruning was determined from the control plots of two olive orchards located in different locations, in which two long-term experiments dealing with nitrogen fertilization were conducted. The trees from these plots received only potassium fertilizers during the 7 years of the experiments, because the previous season’s leaf analysis showed that the other nutrients were always above the threshold of sufficiency. Potassium was the most abundant element in the harvested fruits with an average of 4.42 g·kg−1 fresh fruit, which represents more than 50% of the mineral composition of the olive fruit, whereas calcium was the more abundant element in the pruning material with an average of 12.0 g·kg−1 and 6.87 g·kg−1, depending on the location, which represents more than 50% of the mineral composition of the pruning material. Nitrogen was the second more abundant element in both fruits (2.87 g·kg−1) and pruning material (6.87 and 5.40 g·kg−1, depending on the location), representing ≈35% of the mineral composition of both fruit and pruning material. The other nutrients were removed only in very small amounts. Expressed per hectare, the amounts of nutrients removed annually were: 57.9 kg·ha−1 per year calcium (Ca), 54.4 kg·ha−1 per year nitrogen (N), 45.5 kg·ha−1 per year potassium (K), 6.87 kg·ha−1 per year phosphorus (P), 3.79 kg·ha−1 per year magnesium (Mg), 0.12 kg·ha−1 per year copper (Cu), 0.11 kg·ha−1 per year boron (B), 0.08 kg·ha−1 per year manganese, and 0.05 kg·ha−1 per year zinc (Zn). These data show that olive trees remove small amounts of nutrients and, therefore, the need for fertilization is relatively low.
Cowpea [Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.] cultivars differ in their response to iron deficiency when grown on calcareous soils. This response is influenced by environmental factors such as soil pH, soil texture, presence of bicarbonates, and temperature. The objective of this study was to determine the genetic basis for resistance to iron deficiency in cowpea. Crosses of `Texas Pinkeye Purple Hull' (resistant) and `Pinkeye Purple Hull' (susceptible) were made in the greenhouse during Spring 1994, and F2 seeds were obtained in the summer. Reciprocal crosses were made in order to test for maternal effects. Seed of the parental, F1, and F2 generations were planted near Temple, Texas, during Fall 1994. The color (greenness) of 1031 F2 plants was measured using a chlorophyll meter (Minolta SPAD-502) 35 days after planting. Chi-square analysis showed a good fit to a 3:1 ratio of susceptible: resistant plants. These results suggest simple inheritance of the response to iron deficiency in cowpea. Similar segregation of the reciprocal crosses indicated absence of maternal inheritance.
Dry bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) cultivars differ in their response to iron deficiency when grown on calcareous soils. This response is influenced by environmental factors such as soil pH, soil texture, presence of bicarbonates, organic matter, and temperature. The objective of this study was to investigate the genetic basis for resistance to iron deficiency in beans. Crosses between nine resistant and three susceptible cultivars/lines were made in the greenhouse during Spring 1994, and F2 seeds from 12 different crosses were obtained in the summer. Seed of the parental and F2 generations were planted near Temple, Texas, during Fall 1994. The color (greenness) of 1482 F2 plants was measured using a chlorophyll meter (Minolta SPAD-502) 35 days after planting. Chi-square analysis showed a good fit to a 15:1 ratio of resistant: susceptible plants. The F2 segregation suggests that two dominant genes are involved in the response to iron deficiency in dry beans, and when either dominant gene is present, resistance is expressed to some degree.