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Pennsylvania bittercress (Cardamine pensylvanica) and other bittercress (Cardamine) species are among the most common and difficult-to-control weed species in container nurseries, and they have been vouched in most counties in Florida. Preemergence herbicides can provide control, but concerns over potential resistance development, environmental issues, and crop injury problems associated with herbicide use create the need for alternative weed control methods to be explored. Previous studies have shown the potential of mulch materials for controlling weeds in nurseries, but their use along with preemergence herbicides has not been extensively investigated. To compare the effects of different mulch materials and herbicides on Pennsylvania bittercress control, a full factorial designed greenhouse study was conducted. Three mulch treatments including no mulch, pine (Pinus sp.) bark, and rice (Oryza sativa) hulls were evaluated with three herbicide treatments, including water (i.e., no herbicide), isoxaben, and prodiamine applied at label rates. Twenty-five seeds of Pennsylvania bittercress were sown on the surface of each container and emergence (percent), coverage (square centimeters), seedhead number, and biomass (grams) were measured. The results showed that Pennsylvania bittercress in containers mulched with rice hulls had the lowest emergence throughout the experiment. For coverage, seedhead, and biomass parameters, Pennsylvania bittercress seeded in rice hulls treatments had significantly lower coverage, fewer seedheads, and lower biomass compared with those in nonmulched or pine bark treatments, regardless of herbicide treatment. With isoxaben and the water check, nonmulched treatments had the highest coverage/seedhead/biomass, whereas with prodiamine, Pennsylvania bittercress in pine bark mulched containers had the highest coverage/seedhead/biomass. In conclusion, applying rice hulls alone can provide better Pennsylvania bittercress control compared with isoxaben or prodiamine applied alone.

Pyrus betulaefolia is one of the most popular pear (Pyrus) rootstocks in China and other east Asian countries because of its good adaptability to versatile environments. However, the number of wild P. betulaefolia populations is decreasing because of habitat destruction and fragmentation. An urgent evaluation of P. betulaefolia genetic diversity and population structure is necessary to develop a conservation strategy for this important wild species. Thirteen simple sequence repeat loci were detected to infer the genetic composition of 18 P. betulaefolia populations in northern China. The average number of different alleles for each locus was 7.1. The number of effective alleles among loci ranged from 1.77 to 5.94. The overall mean values of expected and observed heterozygosity were 0.702 and 0.687, respectively. The Taihang Mountains, which run from northeast to southwest, acted as natural boundary in shaping the genetic diversity of P. betulaefolia in northern China. The distinct pattern, which was also observed in the distribution of chloroplast DNA (cpDNA) variation, appeared to be obscured by pollen-mediated gene flow in the distribution of nuclear microsatellite variation. Large populations with high allelic richness (e.g., populations BT, ZN, and QS) are considered suitable for in situ conservation because of the potential for adaptation to future environmental change. The smaller populations had mixed gene pools (e.g., populations GQ and XF) and should therefore also be considered for ex situ conservation. Preserving genetic diversity in seeds was proposed when field collections are fully characterized.

Big fruit size and nice red pigmentation combined with good flavor should be the major target for red-fleshed kiwifruit (Actinidia spp.) breeding programs. Genetic diversity and plant characteristics were evaluated on a set of kiwifruit accessions with predominantly red flesh to identify the superior individuals for further breeding or study of commercial application. The leading phenotypic characters varied widely among the accessions. Accession R reached average fruit weight ≈100 g, whereas it ranged from 43.15 to 84.71 g for the other accessions. Fruits of L and Q were flatter in shape than the others. The core volume accounted for fruit proportions ranging from 2.33% to 11.42%. ‘Chuhong’, ‘Honghua’, and K exhibited a round fruit apex, whereas most others showed a depressed apex. R, L, and Q had the highest a* values in the inner pericarp and also the most appealing visual coloration. Results revealed significantly higher soluble solid content (SSC), total sugar, and sugar/acid ratio in Q, R, and L. The 12 pairs of simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers were successfully used to characterize the genetic variability and confirm true-to-type identity for four accessions. However, the limited number of markers had no ability to discriminate among the other 11 accessions. Based on additional 28 SSRs, six of the indistinguishable accessions were confirmed to be genetically different, and three seemed to belong to the same clone vine. The results demonstrated that application of SSR data could improve the efficiency of identifying red-fleshed kiwifruit germplasm.

This study investigated the effects of different temperature treatments (18, 24, and 30 °C) on apex development in tropical cauliflower cultivars of varying maturity types. Two commercial cultivars, H-37 (early maturity) and H-80 (mid–late maturity), were used as the testing materials. ‘H-37’ reached the curd-initiation phase earlier than ‘H-80’ and showed superior growth during the curd’s initial development phase under all temperature treatments. Analysis of variance revealed significant effects regarding main temperature and cultivar as well as their interaction. ‘H-37’ at a temperature of 18 °C demonstrated the optimal transformation of apex development from the vegetative to reproductive stage. A temperature of 24 °C promoted the apex development of ‘H-37’ at the curd initial development phase. Gene expression analysis results indicated that the BoFLC2 expression of ‘H-37’ was significantly down-regulated than that of ‘H-80’ after curd initiation and advanced growth. A temperature 30 °C accelerated the ending of juvenile stage and forward to curd initiation in ‘H-80’ and declined with temperature decreased. Moreover, expression of the BoFLC2 transcript level of both tropical cauliflower cultivars nearly disappeared at the high temperature of 30 °C following curd initiation, suggesting that heat stress hinders curd formation. The results of this study also indicate that the number of leaves required to induce curd initiation is less than nine in tropical cauliflower at temperatures of 18 to 30 °C. In conclusion, under nonvernalized high temperatures, different cultivars of tropical cauliflower can initiate curd development but with a different pattern from those cultivars grown in temperate zones. This information may provide novel insights for cauliflower farmers or breeders in tropical regions.

Ginkgo biloba, a relict plant, has been popularized and planted in most areas of China for its leaves, timber, and fruits. In the present study, the dynamic changes in leaf color, leaf pigment content during the color change period, and photosynthetic characteristics in different growth periods were studied to explore the coloring mechanism and adaptability of five late-deciduous superior Beijing G. biloba cultivars (LD1–LD5). The results showed that the leaf color change of each superior cultivar was relatively stable, and the discoloration period of LD3 and LD5 was later than that of others. From September to November, the chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, and total chlorophyll content in all superior cultivars showed a downward trend, except in LD3, in which the pigment content was slightly higher in October than in September. Except in LD3 and LD4, the ratio of carotene content to total chlorophyll content in other cultivars slightly decreased in October. In May, the photosynthetic capacity of LD5 was stronger than that of other cultivars. The photosynthetic capacity of LD3 was strong in July and October. Our results imply that LD3 and LD5 are suitable for mixed planting with common G. biloba to increase the overall leaf color viewing period. Ginkgo biloba leaves turn yellow in autumn because of both a decrease in the chlorophyll content after leaf senescence and an increase in the Car content during leaf senescence. Although LD5 presented rapid seedling emergence, LD3 grew faster during the vigorous and late growth stages and is thus suitable for agricultural production.

The autotoxicity of root exudates and the change of rhizosphere soil microbes are two important factors that affect the quality and yield of Lanzhou lily (Lilium davidii var. unicolor). Phthalic acid (PA) is a major autotoxin of the root exudates in Lanzhou lily. In this study, we treated plants with different concentrations of PA from the Lanzhou lily root exudates and then analyzed the effects of autotoxins on fresh weight, shoot height, root length, and Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity in root. The diversity of soil fungi in Lanzhou lily soil was analyzed using MiSeq. The results showed that PA induced oxidative stress and oxidative damage of Lanzhou lily roots, improved the level of the membrane lipid peroxidation, reduced the content of antioxidant defense enzyme activity and the nonenzymatic antioxidant, and eventually inhibited the growth of the Lanzhou lily. We found that continuous cropping of Lanzhou lily resulted in an increase in fungal pathogens, such as Fusarium oxysporum in the soil, and reduced the size of plant-beneficial bacteria populations. The results in this study indicate that continuous cropping would damage the regular growth of Lanzhou lily.

Landrace tea populations are important recourses for germplasm conservation and selection of elite tea clone cultivars. To understand their genetic diversity and use them effectively for breeding, two traditional landrace tea populations, Beichuan Taizicha (BCTZ) and Nanjiang Dayecha (NJDY), localized to northern Sichuan, were evaluated for morphological characters, simple sequence repeat (SSR)–based DNA markers and the contents of biochemical components. A wide range of morphological variation and a moderately high level of DNA polymorphism were observed from both BCTZ and NJDY. NJDY had on average, bigger leaves, larger flowers, higher total catechins (TCs), and greater gene diversity (GD) than BCTZ. Interestingly, samples from BCTZ had a wide range in the ratio of galloylated catechins to nongalloylated catechins (G/NG) (1.83–8.12, cv = 48.8%), whereas samples from NJDY were more variable in total amino acid (TAA) content (25.3–50.8 mg·g⁻¹ dry weight) than those from BCTZ. We concluded that the two Camellia sinensis landrace populations are of great interest for both individual selection breeding and scientific studies.

In the early Spring of 2015 and 2016, weed infestation surveys were conducted in areas of cool-season turfgrass Festuca arundinacea Schreb. at 23 sites within Tianjin municipality in northern China. The weed community within turfgrass areas comprised 37 weed species belonging to 14 families. Perennial weeds accounted for 45.9% of the total community of weed species, whereas annual or biennial weeds accounted for 54.1%. Asteraceae was the dominant family (43.2%), and the percentage of broadleaved weeds was 94.6%. Statistical analyses of the weed dominance index (integrating weed relative height and relative coverage) and relative abundance (integrating weed relative density, frequency, and uniformity) showed that the 10 most common weed species during the early spring were Ixeris polycephala Cass., Taraxacum mongolicum Hand.-Mazz., Inula japonica Thunb., Hemistepta lyrata Bge., Trigonotis pedunclaris (Trev.) Benth., Calystegia hederacea Wall., Lepidium apetalum Willd., Plantago asiatica L., Cirsium segetum Bge., and Ixeris sonchifolia Hance. Ixeris polycephala Cass. and T. mongolicum Hand.-Mazz were the most dominant and harmful weed species. Partial correlation analysis (PACA) indicated that the deterioration rate (percentage of bare soil or coverage of plants other than turfgrass) of the turfgrass area was significantly and positively correlated with the total dominance index [(TDI), an index to evaluate the weed infestation severity)] and that the soil organic matter (SOM) and salinity factors were negatively correlated with the TDI. Factors such as soil nutrient conditions (the contents of N, P, and K and the total N), soil physical properties (density and clay content), soil moisture, soil temperature, and soil pH did not correlate significantly with the TDI. We conclude that the deterioration rate was the most important factor influencing weed infestation in the early spring and that SOM and soil salinity might also be important factors. The results of this study can help turfgrass researchers and managers identify the most harmful weed species and integrate management strategies in areas of cool-season turfgrass F. arundinacea Schreb. during early spring in the Tianjin region, China.