Investigation was carried out on the significance of seed size on morphological traits in seedlings of Buchholzia eoriaeea Engler, a medicinal plant in Southwestern Nigeria. Three size classes-large （seeds 〉 40 g）,...Investigation was carried out on the significance of seed size on morphological traits in seedlings of Buchholzia eoriaeea Engler, a medicinal plant in Southwestern Nigeria. Three size classes-large （seeds 〉 40 g）, medium （seeds between 25 and 40 g） and small （seed 〈 25 g） were used. Ninety uniformly growing seedlings from each size class were assessed for shoot height, number of leaves, collar diameter, leaf area and biomass production for six months. Seed size showed significant effect on height growth, collar diameter and number of leaves （P 〈 0.05）. Seedlings from large seed size class had the best height and collar diameter （45.3 cm, 8.7 mm）. Seeds of large and medium seed size classes had overall means of 15.6 and 15.5 leaves/seedling respectively. Leaf dry weight, stem dry weight and root biomass in seedlings from the three seed size classes were significantly different at P 〈 0.05 with the highest mean values for leaf dry weight, stem dry weight and root biomass recorded by seedlings from the large seed size class. The results showed that seed size has great influence on seedling growth when they are young. With availability of sufficient nutrient and light, effect of seed size on seedling growth and development could disappear as seedlings attain maturity.展开更多
A pot experiment was performed to determine the effects of arbuscular mycorrhizM fungi （AMF） communities on soil properties and the growth of cucumber seedlings in a degraded soil that had been used for continuous c...A pot experiment was performed to determine the effects of arbuscular mycorrhizM fungi （AMF） communities on soil properties and the growth of cucumber seedlings in a degraded soil that had been used for continuous cucumber monoculture in a greenhouse for 15 years. In the experiment, AMF communities （created by combining various AMF species that were found to be dominant in natural farm soil） were inoculated into the degraded soil, and then the soil was planted with cucumber. Inoculation with AMF communities did not affect soil pH but increased soil aggregate stability and decreased the concentrations of salt ions and electrical conductivity （EC） in the soil. Inoculation with AMF communities increased the numbers of culturable bacteria and actinomycetes but reduced the number of fungi. AMF communities increased plant growth, soluble sugar content, chlorophyll content, and root activity compared to non-mycorrhizal or a single AMF species treatments. Improvements of soil quality and plant growth were greatest with the following two communities： Glomus etunicatum ＋ G. mosseae ＋ Gigaspora margarita ＋ Acaulospora lacunosa and G. aggregatum ＋ G. etunicatum ＋ G. mosseae ＋ G. versiforme ＋ G. margarita ＋ A. lacunosa. The results suggested that certain AMF communities could substantially improve the quality of degraded soil.展开更多
文摘Investigation was carried out on the significance of seed size on morphological traits in seedlings of Buchholzia eoriaeea Engler, a medicinal plant in Southwestern Nigeria. Three size classes-large （seeds 〉 40 g）, medium （seeds between 25 and 40 g） and small （seed 〈 25 g） were used. Ninety uniformly growing seedlings from each size class were assessed for shoot height, number of leaves, collar diameter, leaf area and biomass production for six months. Seed size showed significant effect on height growth, collar diameter and number of leaves （P 〈 0.05）. Seedlings from large seed size class had the best height and collar diameter （45.3 cm, 8.7 mm）. Seeds of large and medium seed size classes had overall means of 15.6 and 15.5 leaves/seedling respectively. Leaf dry weight, stem dry weight and root biomass in seedlings from the three seed size classes were significantly different at P 〈 0.05 with the highest mean values for leaf dry weight, stem dry weight and root biomass recorded by seedlings from the large seed size class. The results showed that seed size has great influence on seedling growth when they are young. With availability of sufficient nutrient and light, effect of seed size on seedling growth and development could disappear as seedlings attain maturity.
基金Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 30871737)the 2010 Open Foundation of State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture,Institute of Soil Science,Chinese Academy of Sciences(No. Y052010038)
文摘A pot experiment was performed to determine the effects of arbuscular mycorrhizM fungi （AMF） communities on soil properties and the growth of cucumber seedlings in a degraded soil that had been used for continuous cucumber monoculture in a greenhouse for 15 years. In the experiment, AMF communities （created by combining various AMF species that were found to be dominant in natural farm soil） were inoculated into the degraded soil, and then the soil was planted with cucumber. Inoculation with AMF communities did not affect soil pH but increased soil aggregate stability and decreased the concentrations of salt ions and electrical conductivity （EC） in the soil. Inoculation with AMF communities increased the numbers of culturable bacteria and actinomycetes but reduced the number of fungi. AMF communities increased plant growth, soluble sugar content, chlorophyll content, and root activity compared to non-mycorrhizal or a single AMF species treatments. Improvements of soil quality and plant growth were greatest with the following two communities： Glomus etunicatum ＋ G. mosseae ＋ Gigaspora margarita ＋ Acaulospora lacunosa and G. aggregatum ＋ G. etunicatum ＋ G. mosseae ＋ G. versiforme ＋ G. margarita ＋ A. lacunosa. The results suggested that certain AMF communities could substantially improve the quality of degraded soil.
