Impact of Asarum Essential Oils on Physiological and Biochemical Indicators of Two Agricultural Pests

[Objective]The paper was to study the effects of asarum essential oils on physiological and biochemical indices of two agricultural pests. [Method]Asarum essential oils were extracted by different methods,and their effects on physiological and biochemical indices related to the structure of body wall（ chitin and phenoloxidase）,the physiological and biochemical indices acting on the nervous system（ Acetylcholinesterase）,and the physiological and biochemical indices acting on the digestive system（ protease,amylase and lipase） of Ostrinia furnacalis and Mythimna seperata were studied. [Result]Asarum essential oils had no effect no chitin content of body wall under the experimental concentration,and had no inhibitory effect but activated effect on polyphenol oxidase activity. Asarum essential oils could act on the nervous system of insect,and had strong inhibitory effect against acetylcholinesterase activity of O. furnacalis larvae,with inhibition rates of 24. 86%- 38. 79%. Asarum essential oils showed a significant activated effect on pepsin activity in midgut,but the activated amplitude became smaller with the prolongation of treatment time. Asarum essential oils showed a significant inhibitory effect on activities of amylase and lipase,indicating that it could play an insecticidal effect by inhibiting activity of amylase and lipase,and it could act on digestive system of insect. [Conclusion]The study laid the foundation for further development of asarum as botanical pesticide.

Changes in Several Physiological and Biochemical Indices of Maize Seedling Roots Caused by Drought Stress

The changes in several physiological and biochemical indices of seedling roots of new maize variety Qingnong 8 were studied under the simulated drought condition with 18% PEG-6000 and water shortage. The results showed that under drought conditions, the contents of soluble protein and malonialdehy （MDA） and the activities of superoxide dismutase （SOD） and peroxidase （POD） in roots of maize seedlings significantly increased, and the increasing amplitude reduced after water shortage for 96 h. The re-watering treatment results after 48 h water shortage showed that the SOD and POD activities and the MDA content could recover to normal level, and the soluble protein content was lower than normal content. This study showed that the maize seedlings of Qingnong 8 suffered drought injury could grow normally after re-watering treatment.

Effects of 1-aminobenzotriazole on the growth and physiological characteristics of Tamarix chinensis cuttings under salt stress

vegetation restoration is a main ecological remediation technology for greening saline and alkaline soils.The objectives of this study were to determine the effect of1-aminobenzotriazole(ABT-1) on the growth and physiology of Tamarix chinensis under salt stress and to determine a suitable ABT-1 concentration and soil salinity(Sc) for propagating T.chihehsis-cuttings.Cuttings were soaked in water and ABT-1 solutions at three concentrations(50,100,and 200 mg L^(-1)) and propagated in pots containing four soil salinity levels,mild(0.3%),moderate(0.6%),and severe(0.9% and 1.2%),and compared with a control.The cuttings were measured to determine growth indices and physiological and biochemical indices(e.g.,chlorophyll content,superoxide dismutase activity,peroxidase activity,and malondialdehyde content).ABT-1 was effective in improving survival,growth,and physiological processes of cuttings under salt stress.However,there was a threshold effect when using ABT-1 to facilitate propagation under salt stress.ABT-1 effects were insignificant when applied at low concentrations(<100 mg L^(-1)).At a high concentration(> 100 mg L^(-1)),ABT-1 limited growth and physiological activities.Under a salt stress level(Sc ≤0.9%),ABT applied at a 100 mg L^(-1)concentration increased chlorophyll content and superoxide dismutase and peroxidase activities in the leaves and reduced malondialdehyde accumulation and membrane lipid peroxidation effects.As a result,ABT-1 enhanced the resistance of T.chinensis to salt stress.However,under high salt stress(>0.9%) and ABT-1 concentration(> 100 mg L^(-1)),the physiological regulatory ability of T.chinensis seedlings weakened.T.chinensis grew well at a salt stress ≤0.9% and ABT ≤100 mg L^(-1) and exhibited relatively high physiological regulatory ability and high salt adaptability.

Effects of elevated CO_2 concentration on growth and water usage of tomato seedlings under different ammonium/nitrate ratios

Increasing atmospheric CO2 concentration is generally expected to enhance photosynthesis and growth of agricultural C3 vegetable crops, and therefore results in an increase in crop yield. However, little is known about the combined effect of elevated CO2 and N species on plant growth and development. Two growth-chamber experiments were conducted to determine the effects of NH4^＋/NO3^- ratio and elevated CO2 concentration on the physiological development and water use of tomato seedlings. Tomato was grown for 45 d in containers with nutrient solutions varying in NH4^＋/NO3^- ratios and CO2 concentrations in growth chambers. Results showed that plant height, stem thickness, total dry weight, dry weight of the leaves, stems and roots, G value （total plant dry weight/seedling days）, chlorophyll content, photosynthetic rate, leaf-level and whole plant-level water use efficiency and cumulative water consumption of tomato seedlings were increased with increasing proportion of NO3- in nutrient solutions in the elevated CO2 treatment. Plant biomass, plant height, stem thickness and photosynthetic rate were 67%, 22%, 24% and 55% higher at elevated CO2 concentration than at ambient CO2 concentration, depending on the values of NH4^＋/NO3^- ratio. These results indicated that elevating CO2 concentration did not mitigate the adverse effects of 100% NH4^＋-N （in nutrient solution） on the tomato seedlings. At both CO2 levels, NH4^＋/NO3^- ratios of nutrient solutions strongly influenced almost every measure of plant performance, and nitrate-fed plants attained a greater biomass production, as compared to ammonium-fed plants. These phenomena seem to be related to the coordinated regulation of photosynthetic rate and cumulative water consumption of tomato seedlings.

Effects of Low-temperature and Herbicide on Membrane Stability, Antioxidant Capacity, and Product of Metabolism in Barley Seedlings

In order to investigate the physiological injury of barley caused by the low temperature after herbicides, tillering barley seedlings planted in plastic cups were pretreated in illumination incubator at 15℃ and 12 h-light per day for 7 days, and then subjected to herbicide treatment, prometryn （with the concentrations of 0, 0.15%, 0.30%, and 0.45%） or isoproturon （with the concentrations of 0, 0.30%, 0.60%, and 0.90%）, and the SOD activity, the CAT activity, the POD activity, the MDA content, proline content, soluble protein content, electrical conductivity, and the rate of O2 were determined and analyzed. The results showed that the low-temperature was the most important, and the treatment-time of low-temperature was another significant influencing factor on the physiological and biochemical indices of barley seedlings. However, all of the physiological and biochemical indices determined were not affected by the kinds of herbicides and herbicide concentrations, and the SOD was stable and should play the more prominent role on extracting of free radicals according to the stepwise regression and correlation. The herbicide concentrations should be increased in the future research for truly reflecting the effects of the herbicide concentration on the physiological and biochemical indices of barley seedlings.

Brassinosteroids Mediate Endogenous Phytohormone Metabolism to Alleviate High Temperature Injury at Panicle Initiation Stage in Rice

High temperatures cause physiological and biochemical changes and significantly affect young panicle development of rice(Oryza sativa L.).Brassinosteroids play important roles in enhancing crop stress resistance.In this study,we subjected rice cultivars Huanghuazhan(heat-resistant)and IR36(heat-sensitive)to high temperature(HT,40 oC)or normal temperature(NT,33 oC)for 7 d at the panicle initiation stage,in conjunction with application of 24-epibrassinolide[EBR,a synthetic brassinolide(BR)]or brassinazole(BRZ,a BR biosynthesis inhibitor)at the beginning of the treatments.HT exacerbated spikelet degeneration and inhibited young panicle growth,which were partially prevented by EBR application,while BRZ application aggravated the reduction in spikelet number.HT decreased the contents of BR,active cytokinins(aCTK),active gibberellins(aGA)and indole-3-acetic acid(IAA),but increased the content of abscisic acid(ABA)in young panicles.The activities of key enzymes involved in sucrose hydrolysis,glycolysis and the tricarboxylic acid cycle in young panicles were decreased with the change of endogenous hormone levels under HT.In addition,the contents of H2O2 and malondialdehyde(MDA)were increased and the activities of antioxidant enzymes were decreased in young panicles.Exogenous application of EBR induced the expression of phytohormone biosynthesis-related genes and down-regulated the expression of phytohormone catabolism-related genes to increase the contents of endogenous BR,aCTK,aGA and ABA,thus promoting the decomposition and utilization of sucrose in young panicles,enhancing the activities of superoxide dismutase,catalase and peroxidase,and reducing the accumulation of H2O2 and MDA in young panicles,whereas application of BRZ had the opposite physiological effects.These results showed that brassinosteroids mediate endogenous phytohormone metabolism to alleviate HT injury at the panicle initiation stage in rice.