Comparative Study on the Structural and Moisture Characteristics of Leaf from the Plantlets of Three Types of Ornamental Lilium brownii

[ Objective] The study was to compare the structural and moisture characteristics of leaf from the plantlets of three types of omamental lily（ Lilium brownii）. [ Method ] The paraffin sections of leaves of tested lily varieties were prepared and then observed under microscope, and the stomatal characteristics and moisture characteristics of tested lily varieties were measured. I Resaltl All the three ornamental lily varieties show isobilateral leaf, single layer of epicuticula and lower epidermis, and no obvious differentiation of palisade tissue and spongy tissue; their stomata distribute in lower epidermis, and the guard cells are dumbbell-shaped; all of these matedais present high moisture. For the leaf sick- ness, midrib sickness and mesophyll tissue sickness, the order was determined to be oriental lily 〉 Lilium/ongiflorum 〉 Asian lily; of the three types of ornamental lily, Ulium Iongiflorum has the largest stomatai aperture and Asian lily has the smallest; focusing the water potential and moisture, the turn was Asian lily 〉 oriental lily 〉 Lilium Iong＇fflorum. [ Condusion] The study may facilitate the artificial regulation of the growth conditions of the plantlets of ornamental lily.

Effect of LaCl_3 on Resistance and Absorptive Capacity to Formaldehyde of Indoor Ornamental Plants under Formaldehyde Stress

[Objective] This study aimed to determine the effect of rare earth biological regulator LaCl3 on the absorptive capacity to formaldehyde of four indoor ornamental plants, and to screen out the plant whose absorptive capacity to formaldehyde can be increased most greatly by LaCl3. [Method] Effect of LaCl3 on absorptive capacity to formaldehyde of four indoor ornamental plants was studied through fumigating in laboratory. Simultaneously, the indoor ornamental plant, which could significantly en- hance the degradation capacity of formaldehyde, was screened out to study the physiological and biochemical mechanisms of formaldehyde resistance. [Result] The ability to absorb formaldehyde of four indoor ornamental plants was enhanced by dif- ferent ranges after spraying with LaCl3 at suitable concentrations. The ability to ab- sorb formaldehyde of Hedera nepalensis var. sinensis, Chlorophytum comosum, Scindapsus aureun and Sansevieria trifasciata increased by 15.16%, 4.72%, 19.75% and 7.68%, respectively. In the four indoor ornamental plants, the capacity of S. au- reun to absorb formaldehyde was greatly improved by spraying LaCl3. When S. au- reun was stressed by formaldehyde, its chlorophyll content decreased by 39.87%, membrane permeability, MDA accumulation and POD activity increased by 8.17%, 56.92%, and 11.32%, respectively. However, compared the pre-spraying group with the no-spraying group under formaldehyde stress, chlorophyll content of S. aureun reduced less, membrane permeability and MDA cumulative both increased less, but POD activity increased more. [Conclusion] The formaldehyde absorption capacity of S. aureun was mostly improved after LaCl3 was sprayed.

Seed Morphology and Seedling Variation of Four Ornamental Lupin Pedigrees

[Objective] This study was conducted to reveal seed characteristics, variation and their effects on seedling growth of ornamental lupins. [Method] The phenotypic characteristics and germination rate of the seeds of four excellent lupin pedigrees were measured, and then their correlations with seeding growth were analyzed. [Result] There were abundant variations among the four ornamental lupin pedigrees. Pink seeds had the largest volume and red seeds had the largest 1 000seed weight. The variation coefficients for the seed morphological traits among the four pedigrees ranged from 2.97% to 14.34%. Seed specific weight and 1 000-seed weight could be used as important indicators for selection in breeding because of their higher variability. Seed weight variation of ornamental lupin was mainly depen- dent on seed width variation. There was small variation in seed length. The seeds of the four ornamental lupin pedigrees started to germinate one day after sowing, and the germination period was 5 d. Germination rate coefficient and germination index of pink and red seeds were higher than those of blue seeds, but blue seeds had the largest germination rate. 1 000-seed weight shared significantly positive correlations with seed germination rate, germination potential and seedling retention rate. Round and large seeds had some advantages in germination. Full seeds had higher germination rate and speed, and seedling retention rate. There was a significant relationship between seed length-width ratio and the number of leaflets of seedlings. [Conclusion] The results provided references for the evaluation of seed phenotypic diversity and breeding research of ornamental lupins.

Polyploidy Induction of Pteroceltis tatarinowii Maxim.

[Objective] This study was conducted to obtain tetraploid Pteroceltis tatar# nowii Maxim. with excellent ornamental traits. [Method] The stem apex growing points of Pteroceltis tatarinowii Maxim. were treated with different concentrations of colchicine solution for different hours to figure out a proper method and obtain poly- ploids. [Result] The most effective induction was obtained by treatment with 0.6%- 0.8% colchicine for 72 h with 34.2% mutation rate. Flow cytometry and chromosome observation of the stem apex growing point of P. tatarinowii Maxim. proved that the tetraploid plants were successfully obtained with chromosome number 2n=4x=36. [Conclusion] The result not only fills the blank of polyploid breeding of P. tatarinowii, but also provides an effective way to broaden the methods of cultivation of fast- growing, high-quality, disease-resilience, new varieties of Pteroceltis.

Using GIS Technology to Evaluate Transportation of Ornamental Crops in Georgia

In the agricultural industry, the importance of transportation costs increases considerably as fuel and labor costs climb. Logistic cooperation is an important strategic alternative to reduce transportation costs and increase efficiencies. Georgia＇s ornamental industry is characterized by producers that share clients, routes and origins; however, each producer has an independent transportation system. This paper analyses a case study to determine if a transportation alliance, through a horizontal cooperation and routing junction among ornamental producers in Georgia, would reduce shipping costs, increase distribution efficiencies and reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Routing and cost analysis were conducted followed by a sensitivity analysis for each constraint. Results showed that with the use of the GIS ArcLogistics 9.3 software, transportation alliances in the ornamental industry are profitable in terms of transport efficiencies and internal and external costs. Total cost savings per shipping cycle ranged from 1.0% to 13.2%, miles driven savings ranged from 1.1% to 13.6%, total number of trucks required savings ranged from 2.5% to 10% and driving hours savings ranged from 1.0% to 18.4%. CO2 emission reductions were also achieved ranging from 1.2% to 8.4% per shipping cycle.

Determination of the Antioxidant, Phytochemical and Antibacterial Profiles of Flowers from Selected Ornamental Plants in Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines

With the increasing interest on natural products discovery, utilization of plant parts which are commonly disregarded is another breakthrough. This study sought to determine the secondary metabolites present, phenolic contents, radical scavenging activities and antibacterial properties of 10 selected ornamental flowers which were Adenium obesum, Allamanda cathartica, Bougainvillea glabra, Catharanthus roseus, Caesalpinia pulcherrima, Heliconia subulata, Ixora coccinea, Mussaenda philippica, Tecoma stans and Torenia fournieri, from Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines. The ethanolic crude extracts were subjected to thin layer chromatography （TLC） phytochemical screening. Total phenolics expressed as mg AAE/g sample were determined through Folin-Ciocalteu method. Radical scavenging activities were measured using DPPH assay. Antibacterial activities were assessed through TLC bioautography. To quantify bacterial susceptibility of C. pulcherrima, MIC and MBC were employed in the ethyl acetate sub-fraction. TLC showed different types of phenolics, alkaloids, essential oils and terpenes. T. fournieri showed the highest total phenolics with 155 mg AAE/g while H. subulatahad showed the lowest with 3.50 mg AAE/g. Measurement of IC59 showed that H. subulata had the highest antioxidant activity followed by T. fournieri with 303 ppm and 320 ppm, respectively. H. subulata having the least amount of total phenolics had greatest radical scavenging activity. This indicates that other than phenolics, other metabolites can pose great antioxidant activities. The antibacterial testing showed that M. philippica, 1. coccinea, 1-1. subulata, C. pulcherrima and A. cathartica were bioactive against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coll. MIC and MBC of C. pulcherrima ethyl acetate sub-fraction is within the range of 2.5-10 mg/mL.

The Performance of Continuous Rotifer （Brachionus Pficatilis） Culture System for Ornamental Fish Production

Rotifers are considered as one of the most important prey organisms in the culture of altricial fish larvae. However, high density rotifer culture is often problematic due to water quality problems which results in frequent crashes. In the present study, the performance of a small-scale, continuous system was evaluated for culturing rotifers, Brachionus plicatilis, using concentrated nonviable green algae, Nannochloropsis oculeataas feed in a 160 L tank for a period of 90 days. The system configuration was simple and major components consisted of a protein skimmer and a pure oxygen delivery system. Although egg ratio increased from 3% on day 1 to 21.8% and 39.3% on days 7 and 9, respectively, rotifer growth was slow at start up and resulted in fluctuations in total number of rotifers between days 19-41. Rotifer densities remained 〈 400 until day 51 but increased at higher rates reaching 900 individuals/mL on day 55, 1,620 on day 60 and 2,127 on day 70. Rotifer density reached a maximum of 2,188 individuals/mL on day 85. Once the rotifer density exceeded 1,500 individuals/mL （day 60）, periodical harvesting （a total of 16 harvest events） produced a total of 369,920,000 rotifers corresponding to a daily production of 12,330,667 individuals/day during the next 30 days until the experiment was terminated at day 90. As a result of periodic harvesting, water makeup and continuous protein skimming, total settleable solids and NH3-N levels remained low and ranged between 4-22 mL/L and 0.4-2.2 mg/L, respectively. The authors＇ findings indicated that this inexpensive culture system can be successfully used for small-scale marine or freshwater ornamental fish production. Further work is required to minimize lag period at start-up and increase the production potential and yield by better management of suspended solids.