Search Results
mistakes in data handling in publications, but how hard it was to get them fixed. Although there are many reasons why a statistical analysis may or may not be appropriate, only those most applicable to horticulture will be discussed below. We examined
A series of experiments on ethylene-insensitive (EI) petunia plants (Petunia ×hybrida Hort. Vilm.-Andr.) generated in two genetic backgrounds were conducted to determine the involvement of ethylene in horticultural performance. Experiments examined various aspects of horticultural performance: days to flower, flower senescence after pollination and without pollination, fruit set and ripening, and adventitious root formation on vegetative stem cuttings. The development of EI plants was altered in several ways. Time from seed sowing to first flower anthesis was decreased by a week for EI plants grown at 26/21 °C. Flower senescence in nonpollinated and self-pollinated flowers was delayed in all EI plants compared to wild-type plants. Fruit set percentage on EI plants was slightly lower than on wild-type plants and fruit ripening on EI plants was delayed by up to 7 days. EI plants produced fewer commercially acceptable rooted cuttings than wild-type plants. There was a basic difference in the horticultural performance of the two EI lines examined due to a difference in the genetic backgrounds used to generate the lines. EI plants displayed better horticultural performance when grown with day/night temperatures of 26/21 °C than 30/24 °C. These results suggest that tissue-specific ethylene insensitivity as well as careful consideration of the genetic background used in transformation procedures and growth conditions of etr1-1 plants will be required to produce commercially viable transgenic floriculture crops. EI petunias provide an ideal model system for studying the role of ethylene in regulating various aspects of plant reproduction.
Cytokinins have been shown to delay the onset of leaf senescence. The focus of this project was to produce transgenic petunia (Petunia ×hybrida) plants that over-produced endogenous cytokinins in a senescence specific manner. This was achieved by transforming plants with the IPT (isopentenyl transferase) gene driven by the senescence-associated transcriptional promoter, PSAG12. Two independent transgenic events produced T1 and T2 generation seedling lines that demonstrated the desired nonsenescent phenotype in progeny trials. These lines were used to evaluate the horticultural performance of PSAG12-IPT petunia plants in terms of delayed senescence, rooting of vegetative cuttings, lateral branch growth, flower number, floral timing, and fruit set. Although both lines displayed a delayed senescence phenotype the two PSAG12-IPT transgenic lines differed from each other in regard to other horticultural traits. In addition to delayed leaf senescence, line I-1-7 also demonstrated a decrease in adventitious rooting and an increased number of branches during plant production. Line I-3-18 also demonstrated a delayed leaf senescence phenotype; however, plants of this line were not greatly altered in any other horticultural performance traits in comparison to wild-type `V26'. IPT transcript was detected in young fully expanded leaves of both lines, although mRNA levels were higher in I-1-7 plants. A greater than 50-fold increase in IPT transcript abundance was detected in leaves of transgenic plants following drought stress. These results demonstrate that it is possible to use PSAG12-IPT to produce transgenic plants with delayed leaf senescence but differences in plant morphology between transgenic lines exist, which may alter horticultural performance characteristics.
Abstract
Experimental results from horticultural field trials are obscured by the effect of systematic variation. This variation is directly related to the position of the plot in the field and is referred to as a fertility gradient(s). Trend analysis eliminates the effect of fertility gradients by fitting a polynomial regression equation (response surface model) to the systematic variability in the experimental units. Two cultivar trials of potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) conducted to compare results from trend analysis with that using the standard design analysis indicated that fertility gradients existed in the fields and were of a form that could be adequately fitted by a response surface model. A 3-dimensional plot of the response surface model indicated that the fertility gradients formed a very complex surface which could not be eliminated by experimental design. Of the 3 experimental designs used, the Latin square was the most efficient while the completely random was the least efficient. Trend analysis resulted in a large gain in relative efficiency over the standard analyses of completely random and randomized block designs. It also resulted in a substantial gain over that of a Latin square design. Adjusting the means using a response surface model in trend analysis also improved treatment estimates. Tests of significance using adjusted means were more precise and easier to interpret. Trend analysis proved to be the most efficient way to analyze the data, regardless of the experimental design used.
Short-term fumigation with 1% methanol in air was carried out to investigate effects on the photosynthetic apparatus of horticultural species characterized by leaves with different stomatal distribution. Methanol decreased the photosynthetic capacity of all species. The hypostomatous cherry (Prunus avium L.) was the most sensitive species. Between the two amphistomatous species, the effect was smaller in pepper (Capsicum annuum L. var. annuum) than in melon (Cucumis melo L.). A 4-minute fumigation caused a stronger inhibition of photosynthesis than a 90-second fumigation. The time course of the inhibition of the photosynthetic electron transport following a methanol fumigation of cherry leaves suggests that methanol starts inhibiting photosynthesis and photorespiration after ≈60 seconds and that the effect is complete after 180 seconds. This inhibition is not permanent, however, since gas-exchange properties recovered within 24 hours. Methanol vapor effects were greatest when leaves were fumigated on the surfaces with stomata. However, fumigation with methanol does not affect stomatal conductance. Therefore, inhibition of photosynthesis following methanol fumigation can be attributed to a temporary inhibition of biochemical reactions.
`Wisconsin 38' tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) leaf discs were transformed with the disarmed Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain EHA101 carrying the rolC gene from A. rhizogenes (Oono et al., 1987) and NPT II and GUS genes. Shoots that regenerated on kanamycin-containing medium were confirmed as transgenic through GUS assays, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), Southern blot analyses, and transmission of the foreign genes through the sexual cycle. Transgenic plants were as short as half the height of control plants; were earlier flowering by up to 35 days; and had smaller leaves, shorter internodes, smaller seed capsules, fewer seeds, smaller flowers, and reduced pollen viability. The number of seed capsules, leaf number, and specific root length were similar between transgenic and control plants. Transgenic clones varied in the expression of the rolC-induced growth alterations as did the first generation of seedlings from these clones. Such differences suggested the potential for selecting for different levels of expression. Transformation with the rolC gene presents a potentially useful method of genetically modifying horticultural crops, particularly for flowering date, height, and leaf and flower size. Chemical names used: neomycin phosphotransferase (NPTII), β-glucuronidase (GUS).
1 Associate Professor, Dept. of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture. 2 Associate Professor, Dept. of Agricultural Economics. Journal Article no. J-5970 of the Agr. Expt. Sta., Oklahoma State Univ., Stillwater. Funded in part by Grant no. SR88
Lupinus havardii Wats. (Big Bend bluebonnet) has received considerable attention as a new specialty cut flower crop. We studied the consequences of Ca fertigation on growth, water use, and mineral nutrient uptake of L. havardii (`Texas Sapphire') for 88 days in a greenhouse. Four Ca concentrations were included (as CaCl2) in the fertigation solution at concentrations of 0, 2.5, 5.0, or 10.0 mm. Calcium supply did not affect the number of racemes produced per plant or total dry matter accumulation per plant. However, root dry matter accumulation, root: shoot ratio, net root mineral nutrient accumulation (milligrams P, K, Ca, Mg, and Fe per plant; micrograms Mn, B, and Cu per plant), and the preferential allocation of mineral nutrients to roots were influenced quadratically by CaCl2 supply, increasing up to 5.0 mm CaCl2 and then decreasing at 10.0 mm CaCl2. Lack of root sink response by plants exposed to 10.0 mm CaCl2 was associated with lowest daily rate of pot evapotranspiration, probably resulting from osmotic or Cl toxicity stress. Increased root sink strength for dry matter and mineral nutrients in response to CaCl2 supply up to 5.0 mm Ca is consistent with calcicole-like behavior and the native distribution of L. havardii on xeric, calcareous soils, where root growth and expansion favoring water and mineral nutrient acquisition may be of significant adaptive value for survival. The Carelated increase in root growth was reflected in up to a 5% to 20% increase in fertilizer P and K recovery per plant. Results indicate that Ca fertilization may be an effective horticultural strategy in greenhouse production of L. havardii, particularly for matching the natural edaphic habitat of the species and thus increasing efficiency of water and mineral nutrient management.
Knowledge of genetic differences among commonly cultivated cacao clones, as well as the type of gene action involved for disease resistance, yield, quality, and horticultural traits, are essential for cacao breeders to select parental clones efficiently and effectively. This information is also critical for quantitative geneticists in designing and improving quantitative trait loci (QTL) localization strategies using breeding populations, whether they involve analysis of multiple populations crossed to one common parent or association genetic analysis. The objectives of this research were to 1) verify the genetic identity of parental cacao clones used to produce hybrids for field evaluation at the Centro Agrónomico Tropical de Investigación y Enzeñanza (CATIE), Turrialba, Costa Rica, using molecular marker analysis, and 2) estimate general and specific combining ability (GCA and SCA) of the parental clones for resistance to frosty pod (Moniliophthora roreri Cif. and Par.) and black pod [Phytophthora palmivora (Butl.) Butl.] diseases, total number of pods, vigor (as measured by trunk diameter), and measures of maturity (months to first flowering and pod production). Misidentification of cacao clones was found at three levels. Molecular marker analysis revealed that six parental clones differed in identity to supposedly identical accessions from other germplasm collections. Trees of the parental clone UF 273 consisted of two clearly different genotypes, resulting in two types of progeny, requiring separate designation for correct statistical analysis. Out-crossed progeny, presumably from foreign pollen, and selfed progeny were also found. Two of the traits measured, percent healthy pods and percent pods with frosty pod, showed predominantly additive gene action, while the traits total number of pods and trunk diameter, demonstrated regulation by both additive and nonadditive gene action. Number of months to first flowering and first fruit both showed evidence of predominant regulation by nonadditive gene effects. Crosses of two parental clones, UF 712 and UF 273 Type I, were identified as potential candidates for QTL analysis as breeding populations, given their favorable GCA estimates for frosty pod resistance and total pod production, respectively.
most recently developed World Vegetable Center (WorldVeg) lines and progenitors of cultivars for distribution in sub-Saharan Africa which have been included in this study. In this study, the effect of genotype was observed on horticultural performance