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GA20-oxidase (GA20-ox) is a key enzyme involved in the biosynthesis of gibberellic acid (GA). To investigate its role in plant growth and development, we suppressed MdGA20-ox gene expression in apple (Malus domestica cv. Hanfu) plants by RNA interference (RNAi). After 20 weeks of growth in the greenhouse, significant phenotype differences were observed between transgenic lines and the nontransgenic control. Suppression of MdGA20-ox gene expression resulted in lower plant height, shorter internode length, and higher number of nodes compared with the nontransgenic control. The expression of MdGA20-ox in transgenic plants was significantly suppressed, and the active GA content in transgenic lines was lower than that in the nontransgenic control. These results demonstrated that the MdGA20-ox gene plays an important role in vegetative growth, and therefore it is possible to develop dwarfed or compact scion apple cultivars by MdGA20-ox gene silencing.
Cover crops between rows in orchards can improve the development of soil resources and increase agricultural productivity. However, there have been few reports of cover crops that can act as a “green manure” in apple orchards across arid and semiarid zones. This study investigated the effects of planting interrow vegetation on soil properties and apple tree performance during a 32-month experiment. There were six treatments: clean cultivation as a control; natural grass planting; planting with ryegrass; planting with alfalfa; planting with tall fescue; and planting with villous wild pea cover crops. The treatments primarily affected the 0- to 20-cm surface soil layer. Soil carbon, nitrogen, and enzyme levels initially decreased (during the first 12–24 months); then, they increased (24–32 months). The cover crops significantly increased nutrient contents (soluble organic carbon, microbial carbon and nitrogen, alkaline dissolved nitrogen, nitrate nitrogen, and ammonium nitrogen) in the 0- to 20-cm soil layer by more than 19.6% and increased the related enzyme activities by more than 25.2%. The alfalfa and wild pea alleys had a stronger effect on the soil environment than the control, natural grass, ryegrass, and tall fescue alley treatments; however, after 32 months, the alfalfa treatment inhibited fruit tree growth and development. This was unexpected because alfalfa seemed to have a positive effect on soil fertility characteristics. Under local ecological conditions, villous wild pea had the greatest effect on apple orchard productivity and significantly increased short branching by 15.9%, fruit weight per fruit by 12.6%, yield per plant by 8.6%, and soluble sugar content by 10.5% compared with clean cultivation. The correlation analysis showed that there were significant or highly significant positive correlations between fruit tree performance and soil carbon, nitrogen, and enzyme activity levels as the soil layer depth increased. Therefore, under local ecological conditions, cover crops have a greater effect on orchard surface soil fertility than on deeper soils, and intercropping with villous wild pea potentially produces the greatest improvement in apple orchard productivity.
Camellia chrysantha flowers are in great market demand as a result of their high ornamental and medicinal values. To induce early flowering in 4-year-old juvenile C. chrysantha seedlings, three levels of paclobutrazol (PBZ) concentration (100, 200, and 300 ppm) were applied to the roots. PBZ is a triazole-type cytochrome P450 inhibitor that was found successful in inducing flowering in juvenile C. chrysantha grafted plants in a prior report. The current study shows that all three PBZ concentrations were equally effective in induction of floral buds, resulting in an average of 20 floral buds per treated plant. In comparison, none of the untreated plants flowered. Although the induced flowers were smaller than the ones from mature trees, PBZ treatment did not affect C. chrysantha flowers’ medical values, because there was no significant change in the content of pharmacologically active compounds (polysaccharide, polyphenols, flavonoids, and saponins). None of the PBZ treatments had a negative effect on the current year’s growth in height and basal diameter, photosynthesis, and levels of water-soluble sugars and nutrients [phosphorus (P), nitrogen (N), potassium (K), and carbon (C)]. It is concluded that PBZ is an effective flowering inducer for juvenile C. chrysantha plants. It was also found that PBZ-treated plants experienced defoliation, and there existed a strong correlation between severity of defoliation and PBZ concentration. This might be attributed by the stress induced by PBZ, as demonstrated by the increased activities of some of the stress-related enzymes [ascorbate peroxidase (APX), catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and peroxidase (POD)], and the level of malondialdehyde (MAD). Considering that severe defoliation can cause stunted or malformed plants and reduce aesthetic value, 100 ppm is the optimal PBZ concentration for flowering induction in C. chrysantha seedlings.
Reproductive barriers exist in some water lily crosses that result in low seed set and low breeding efficiency. We investigated pollen morphology, pollen viability, microspore development, pistil receptivity, and embryo and endosperm development in six water lily crosses using paraffin section as well as light and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) techniques. The results indicated that the percentage of pollen with normal morphology ranged from 8.9% to 55.2%. The pollen viabilities of ‘Fen Zhuang’, ‘Bai Lu’, and ‘Hong Ying’ were 33.9%, 3.3%, and 20.7%, respectively. Stigmatic pollen germination peaked at 12 h after pollination and varied from 0.3 to 65.7 grains per stigma among the crosses. The production of embryos with normal morphology ranged from 0% to 43.6% at 5 days after pollination, from 0% to 31.4% at 15 days after pollination, and from 0% to 19.7% by 20 days after pollination. The seed sets of the six crosses were from 0% to 10.9%. Our results suggest that the low seed set in some crosses is the result of low pollen viability, low pistil receptivity, and embryo abortion.
Albino tea plants are mutants that grow albino young leaves owing to lack of chlorophylls under certain environmental conditions. There are two types of albino tea plants grown in production, i.e., light- and temperature-sensitive albino tea cultivars. The former grows albino leaves in yellow color under intensive sunlight conditions and the later grows albino leaves with white mesophyll and greenish vein as the environmental temperature is below 20 °C. Both albino teas attract great attention because of their high levels of amino acids and the “umami” taste. There have been many studies focusing on the temperature-sensitive albino tea plants, whereas little attention has been given to the light-sensitive albino tea cultivars. The characteristics of the albino tea cultivars and the mechanism underlying them were reviewed in the present article based on the published literatures, including chemical compositions, morphological characteristics, and molecular genetic mechanism.