Influence of Fruit Tree Types and Arrangements on Yield, Quality and Economic Returns of Cotton of Intercropping System in Southern Xinjiang

[Objective] The aim was to provide a theoretical basis for stable and highly effective intercropping arrangements and scientific management measures by selecting apple, pear, peach, apricot, walnut, jujube and other fruit trees to study their influence on yield, fiber quality and economic returns of intercropped cotton in southern Xinjiang. [Method] Based on major cropping pattern in production, randomized block design was adopted to explore growth indicators, canopy micrometeorological indicators, yield and fiber quality in key growth stage. [Result] Shading has a significant effect on cotton canopy micro-environment and canopy diameter is proportional to shading effect. According to comparisons of the same tree type, the change of canopy micro-environment was as follows： under canopyouter canopymiddle points and peachpearapplewalnutjujube for comparisons among different tree types. Canopy diameter is directly proportional to the number of tree branch and boll weight reductions and shading is the main cause of yield reduction. The canopy expansion is the major cause of decline of light intensity, temperature and humidity of cotton canopy. [Conclusion] Fruit trees, which will promote cotton yield,quality and canopy-environment, are as follows： jujube walnut apple pear peach trees. In practice, trees, which are small in canopy or well trimmed, are popular in production, such as jujube trees, to improve cotton yield and fiber quality.

Patterns and drivers of plant sexual systems in the dry-hot valley region of southwestern China

Sexual systems play important roles in angiosperm evolution and exhibit substantial variations among different floras. Thus, studying their evolution in a whole flora is crucial for understanding the formation and maintenance of plant biodiversity and predicting its responses to environmental change. In this study, we determined the patterns of plant sexual systems and their associations with geographic elements and various life-history traits in dry-hot valley region of southwestern China, an extremely vulnerable ecosystem. Of the 3166 angiosperm species recorded in this area, 74.5% were hermaphroditic,13.5% were monoecious and 12% were dioecious, showing a high incidence of diclinous species. Diclinous species were strongly associated with tropical elements, whereas hermaphroditic species were strongly associated with temperate and cosmopolitan elements. We also found that hermaphroditism was strongly associated with showy floral displays, specialist entomophily, dry fruits and herbaceous plants.Dioecy was strongly associated with inconspicuous, pale-colored flowers, generalist entomophily, fleshy fruits, and woody plants, whereas monoecy was strongly associated with inconspicuous, pale-colored flowers, anemophily, dry fruits, and herbaceous plants. In addition, hermaphroditic species with generalist entomophily tended to flower in the dry season, whereas diclinous species with specialist entomophily tended to flower in the rainy season. However, independent of sexual systems, plants that produce dry fruits tended to flower in the rainy season and set fruits in the dry season, but the opposite pattern was found for fleshy fruit-producing plants. Our results suggest that in the dry-hot valleys, plant sexual systems are associated with geographic elements as well as various life-history traits that are sensitive to environmental change.

Study on Chilling Requirement of Different Fruit Branch of a Sweet Cherry Cultivar ‘Hongmanao'

With ＇Hongmanao＇, a sweet cherry cultivar from central Shanxi Province, as the experimental material, the chilling requirements of different types of fruit branches （including mixed fruit branch, long fruit branch, medium fruit branch, short fruit branch and blossom fruit branch） were studied by the 0-7.2 ℃ model in a solar greenhouse during 2012-2013. In the greenhouse, the fruit branches of ＇Hongmanao＇ were cultured in water in a thermostatic environment. The results showed that the chilling requirement of leaf buds of ＇Hongmanao＇ was lower than that of its flower buds; and the chilling requirements of the five types of fruit branches ranked as blossom fruit branch＇s〈short fruit branch＇s〈medium fruit branch＇s〈long fruit branch＇s〈mixed fruit branch＇s,

Patterns of plant sexual systems in subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forests in Ailao Mountains, SW China

Aims Sexual systems influence many components of the ecology and evolution of plant populations and have rarely been documented in subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forests(SEBLF).Here we report frequency distribution and ecological correlates of plant sexual systems in SEBLF at Ailao Mountains,and compare our results with that of tropical and cool temperate forests.Methods We examine the sexual systems of 703 species of woody angiosperms belonging to 103 families and 296 genera based on a comprehensive survey of SEBLF at Ailao Mountains Natural Reserve.Information of plant sexual systems and ecological traits were mainly based on published literatures and specimens as well as our field observations.The associations between plant sexual system and ecological traits were assessed with chi-square tests.Important findings Among these species,60.2%were hermaphroditic,15.8%were monoecious and 24.0%were dioecious.The percentage of dioecious sexual system among tree species(22.2%)in SEBLF was comparable to those of tropical tree floras,but much higher than those of temperate forests at North America.The percentage of monoecious sexual system among tree species(30.1%)in SEBLF was higher than that of tropical tree floras,but much lower than those of temperate forests at North America.Monoecy was significantly associated with the tree growth form and was relatively common in temperate genera.Dioecy was significantly associated with fleshy fruits and monoecy was significantly associated with dry fruit type in SEBLF.The high percentage of diclinous sexual systems(monoecy and dioecy)in SEBLF may be associated with the origin of the flora and the prevalence of relatively small inconspicuous flowers of the forests in the Oriental Region.