Differential roles of C-3 and C-6 phosphate monoesters in affecting potato starch properties

The effects of starch phosphate monoester content(SPC),namely C-3(C3P)and C-6 phosphate monoesters(C6P),on the starch properties were investigated using four potato starches with varied SPC/C3P/C6P and two nonphosphorylated maize starches with a similar range of amylose content(AC)as controls.The starch property results showed that a higher SPC is associated with lower turbidity,storage and loss modulus after storage,and water solubility,but higher swelling power(SP)and pasting viscosities.These findings suggested that SPC inhibited molecular rearrangement during storage and starch leaching during heating,and enhanced swelling and viscosities due to increased hydration and water uptake caused by the repulsion effect of phosphate groups and a less ordered crystalline structure.Increased SPC also resulted in lower resistant starch(RS)content in a native granular state but higher RS after retrogradation.Pearson correlations further indicated that SPC/C3P/C6P were positively correlated with peak(r^(2)=0.925,0.873 and 0.930,respectively),trough(r^(2)=0.994,0.968 and 0.988,respectively),and final viscosities(r^(2)=0.981,0.968 and 0.971,respectively).Notably,SPC,mainly C3P,exhibited a significantly positive correlation with SP(r^(2)=0.859)and setback viscosity(r^(2)=0.867),whereas SPC,mainly C6P,showed a weak positive correlation with RS after retrogradation(r^(2)=0.746).However,SPC had no significant correlations with water solubility,turbidity and rheology properties,which were more correlated with AC.These findings are helpful for the food industry to select potato starches with desired properties based on their contents of SPC,C3P,or C6P.

Estimation of Peanut Maturity Using Color Image Analysis

Peanuts pods grow underground and mature unevenly, resulting that choosing the correct time to harvest is more complicated than other crops. Pod maturity can be determined by blasting with a pressure washer to remove outer skin of the pod (exocarp) to expose the color of the middle layer (mesocarp). The mesocarp color changes with maturity from white to yellow, orange, brown and finally black. The sum of percentage from orange, brown, and black mesocarp (OBB) color and black color (BL) represents the kernels that are mature enough to harvest. The goal of this research is to identify methodologies to estimate OBB and BL of the pods using RGB images taken in the field and validate the proposed model using other pod images. The Mahalanobis distance classification method was used to process sets of images and calculate pod area (number of pixels) corresponding to two classes (mesocarp and background) with nine different color groups. The results showed a performance of 94% effectiveness for mesocarp using Mahalanobis distance classification. Statistical regression for OBB and BL was developed based on 315 images of peanut pods taken from the field. The R2 and root mean square error of predicted and actual OBB were 0.93 and 4.1%, respectively. The R2 and root mean square error of predicted and actual BL were 0.88 and 1.8%, respectively. The validation of OBB using other images provided reasonable estimation (R2 = 0.98 and RMSE = 2.73%). This study introduces a novel, cost-effective, and non-destructive method for estimating peanut maturity using RGB imagery and Mahalanobis distance classification in the field. This innovative approach addresses the limitations of traditional methods and offers a robust alternative for real-time maturity assessment.

The Impact of Nitrogen-Fixing Bacteria, Iron, and Zinc Foliar Application on Dry Land Yellow Mustard (Brassica juncea) Grain and Oil Production

The study, conducted at the Research Farm of the College of Agriculture, University of Tabriz in 2021, focused on the effects of various nitrogen-fixing bacterial isolates, biofertilizers containing nitrogen and phosphorus, as well as iron and zinc foliar applications on mustard growth under rainfed conditions. The results indicated that biofertilizers, whether used alone or in combination with chemical fertilizers, produced comparable grain and oil outputs compared to chemical fertilizers alone. Additionally, the application of iron and zinc through foliar spraying significantly enhanced both grain and oil production. These findings suggest that integrating nitrogen-fixing bacteria and biofertilizers could reduce reliance on chemical nitrogenous fertilizers, leading to decreased production expenses, improved product quality, and minimized environmental impact. This study highlights the potential for sustainable agricultural practices in dry land farming as a viable alternative to traditional chemical-intensive methods. Substituting chemical nitrogenous fertilizers with nitrogen-fixing bacteria or biofertilizers could result in cost savings in mustard grain and oil production while promoting environmental sustainability.

Diversity of endophytes across the soil-plant continuum for Atriplex spp. in arid environments

Endophytes are hypothesized to be transferred across the soil-plant continuum, suggesting both the transfers of endophytes from environment to plant and from plant to soil. To verify this hypothesis and to assess the role of locality, we evaluated the similarity of microbial communities commonly found both in soils and endophytic communities in three arid regions, i.e. the Jornada LTER （Long Term Ecological Research） site in New Mexico, USA, and the research station of Jordan University of Science and Technology （JUST） and Khanasd research station in Badia region of Jordan. Rhizosphere and non-rhizosphere soils, leaves and seeds of Atriplex spp. were sampled. Diversity and distribution of bacteria and fungi across the soil-plant continuums were assessed by tag-encoded FLX amplicon pyrosequencing and sequence alignment. Of the total bacterial OTUs （operational taxonomic units）, 0.17% in Khanasri research station, 0.16% in research station of JUST, and 0.42% in Jornada LTER site were commonly found across all the plant and soil compartments. The same was true for fungi in two regions, i.e. 1.56% in research station of JUST and 0.86% in Jornada LTER site. However, in Khanasri research station, 12.08% of total fungi OTUs were found in at least one soil compartment and one plant compartment. Putative Arthrobacter, Sporosarcina, Cladosporium and members of Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria were found across all the soil-plant continuums. Ascomycota, mainly including Didymellaceae, Pleosporaceae and Davidiellaceae were present across all the soil-plant continuums. Microbial communities in two regions of Jordan were similar to each other, but both of them were different from the Jornada LTER site of USA. SIMPER （similarity percentage） analysis of bacterial and fungal taxa for both soil and endophyte communities revealed that dissimilarities of two bacterial genera （Arthrobacter and Sporosarcina） and two fungal genera （Cladosporium and Alternaria） are very high, so they play key roles in the soil-plant continuums. A weighed Pearson correlation analysis for the specific bacterial OTUs in the soil-plant continuums only showed high similarity between the two regions of Jordan. However, fungal groups showed higher similarities among all regions. This research supports the hypothesis of continuity of certain bacterial and fungal communities across the soil-plant continuums, and also explores the influences of plant species and geographic specificity on diversity and distribution of bacteria and fungi.

Growth and Yield of Guar (Cyamopsis tetragonoloba L.) Genotypes under Different Planting Dates in the Semi-Arid Southern High Plains

Guar is a drought and salt tolerant summer annual legume, which could be a potential alternative crop in the semi-arid Southern High Plains. Increased use of guar gum in oil industries has increased the demand of guar globally. Planting date effects on stand establishment, physiological parameters, and yield formation of guar genotypes were investigated at the New Mexico State University’s Agricultural Science Center at Clovis, NM for two seasons (2014 and 2015). Four guar genotypes (HES 1123, Kinman, Lewis, and Matador) were tested under three planting dates (June 18, July 7, and July 22 in 2014;and June 18, July 6, and July 20 in 2015). Higher temperature and rainfall were recorded under mid-June planting than early-July and late-July plantings. Guar planted under mid-June had better stand establishment as shown by the higher number of plants m-2, better physiology as revealed by higher photosynthetic rate (Pn), transpiration rate (Tr), leaf area index (LAI), and SPAD values than early-July and late-July plantings. Guar planted under mid-June resulted in taller plants, and therefore, produced higher plant biomass than both of the July plantings. Yield attributing characteristics including clusters plant-1, pods plant-1, seeds plant-1, seed spod-1, 1000 seed weight, and harvest index (HI) were highest under mid-June planting followed by the early-July and late-July plantings, respectively. The mid-June planting increased seed yield by 26% and 55% over early-July and late-July (1399 vs. 1111 and 903 kg·ha-1) plantings, respectively in 2014;while the same increase in 2015 was 51% and 243% (1308 vs. 868 and 381 kg·ha-1), respectively. These results indicate that delaying planting beyond mid-June is detrimental to guar productivity. However, genotypes did not show any significant variation in their performance. Overall, warmer growing conditions and more precipitation under mid-June planting caused better growth and yield formation of guar genotypes.

Unveiling plant defense arsenal: metabolic strategies in Brassica oleracea during black rot disease

Alterations in plant metabolism play a key role in the complex plant-pathogen interactions.However,there is still a lack of knowledge about the connection between changes in primary and specialized metabolism and the plant defense against diseases that impact crops.Thus,we aim to study the metabolic reprograming in Brassica oleracea plants upon infection by Xanthomonas campestris pv.campestris(Xcc).To accomplish this,we utilized a combination of untargeted and targeted metabolomics,through UPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS and 1H-NMR,in two crop lines differing in resistance thatwere evaluated at two-and four-week intervals following inoculation(T1 and T2,respectively).Besides,to depict the physiological status of the plant during infection,enzymatic activities related to the carbohydrate pathway and oxidative stress were studied.Our results revealed different temporal dynamics in the responses of the susceptible vs.resistant crops lines.Resistant B.oleracea line suppresses carbohydrate metabolism contributing to limit nutrient supplies to the bacterium and prioritizes the induction of defensive compounds such as indolic glucosinolates,salicylic acid,phenylpropanoids and phytoalexins precursors at early infection stages.In contrast,the susceptible line invests in carbohydratemetabolism,including enzymatic activities related to the hexoses turnover,and activates defense signaling related to reactive oxygen species.Thus,each line triggers a different metabolic strategy that will affect how the plant overcomes the disease in terms of resistance and growth.This work provides first insights of a fine-tuned metabolic regulation during Xcc infection in B.oleracea that will contribute to develop new strategies for plant disease management.

Soybean Response to Weed Residues in the Soil

Soybean production systems that return plant residues to the soil surface are gaining in popularity. As these practices become more widespread, more crop and weed residues are being introduced into the upper soil profile. Greenhouse studies were conducted to determine the effects of varying concentrations of Palmer amaranth and pitted morningglory plant residues (aboveground portion of the plant) on soybean production. The study was arranged in a completely randomized experimental design with five treatments and five replications. Palmer amaranth and pitted morningglory residues were incorporated into soil at 20,000, 40,000, 80,000 and 160,000 ppm. Inert plastic residue at the same residue levels was included as a check. Soybean dry weight, leaf area and leaf tissue nutrient content were recorded during the study. A decrease in soybean dry weight and leaf area was observed as Palmer amaranth residue in the soil increased. Palmer amaranth residues of 160,000 ppm and 80,000 ppm in the soil significantly reduced soybean dry weight by 69% and 59%, respectively, and soybean leaf area by 60% and 57%, respectively. In contrast, pitted morningglory and inert plastic residues had no observable effect on soybean growth and development. This study demonstrated Palmer amaranth residues in the soil impacted early season soybean growth and development.

Organic Ligand,Competing Cation,and pH Effects on Dissolution of Zinc in Soils

A series of experiments were conducted to examine the interactive effects of an organic ligand,a competing cation, and pH on the dissolution of zinc (Zn) from three California soils,Maymen sandy loam,Merced clay,and Yolo clay loam.The concentrations of soluble Zn of the three soils were low in a background solution of Ca(NO3)2.Citric acid,a common organic ligand found in the rhizosphere,was effective in mobilizing Zn in these soils;its presence enhanced the concentration of Zn in soil solution by citrate forming a complex with Zn.The ability of Zn to form a complex with citric acid in the soil solution was dependent on the concentration of citric acid,pH,and the concentration of the competing cation Ca^(2+).The pH of the soil solution determined the extent of desorption of Zn in solid phase in the presence of citric acid.The amounts of Zn released from the solid phase were proportional to the concentration of citric acid and inversely proportional to the concentration of Ca(NO3)2 background solution,which supplied the competing cation Ca^(2+) for the formation of a complex with citrate.When the soil suspension was spiked with Zn,the adsorption of Zn by the soils was retarded by citric acid via the formation of the soluble Zn-citrate complex.The dissolution of Zn in the presence of citric acid was pH dependent in both adsorption and desorption processes.

Progresses in restoration of post-mining landscape in Africa

Mining alters the natural landscape and discharges large volumes of wastes that pose serious pollution hazards to the environment, to human health and to agriculture. As a result, the recent 2 decades have witnessed a global surge in research on post-mining landscape restoration, yielding a suite of techniques including physical, chemical, biological(also known as phytoremediation) and combinations. Despite the long history of mining in Africa, no systematic review has summarized advances in restoration research and practices after mining disturbance. Thus, the aim of this review was to document the state-of-knowledge and identify gaps in restoration of postmining landscape in Africa through literature review. We found that:(1) there has been substantial progress in identifying species suitable for phytoremediation;(2) few studies evaluated the feasibility of organic amendments to promote autochthonous colonization of mine wastelands or growth of planted species; and(3) restoration of limestone quarries in Kenya, sand mining tailings in South Africa,and gold mine wasteland in Ghana are successful cases of large-scale post-mining restoration practices in Africa.However, the pace of post-mining landscape restoration research and practice in Africa is sluggish compared to other parts of the global south. We recommend:(1)mainstreaming the restoration of mine wastelands in national research strategies and increased development planning to make the mining sector ‘‘Green'';(2) inventory of the number, area, and current status of abandoned mine lands;(3) expanding the pool of candidate species for phytostabilization;(4) further evaluating the phytostabilization potential of organic amendments, e.g., biochar;(5)assessing the impacts of mining on regional biodiversity.

Estimates on nitrogen uptake in the subsequent wheat by aboveground and root residue and rhizodeposition of using peanut labeled with^(15)N isotope on the North China Plain

Leguminous crops play a vital role in enhancing crop yield and improving soil fertility. Therefore, it can be used as an organic N source for improving soil fertility. The purpose of this study was to(i) quantify the amounts of N derived from rhizodeposition, root and above-ground biomass of peanut residue in comparison with wheat and(ii) estimate the effect of the residual N on the wheat-growing season in the subsequent year. The plants of peanut and wheat were stem fed with 15 N urea using the cotton-wick method at the Wuqiao Station of China Agricultural University in 2014. The experiment consisted of four residue-returning strategies in a randomized complete-block design:(i) no return of crop residue(CR0);(ii) return of above-ground biomass of peanut crop(CR1);(iii) return of peanut root biomass(CR2); and(iv) return of all residue of the whole peanut plant(CR3). The 31.5 and 21% of the labeled 15 N isotope were accumulated in the above-ground tissues(leaves and stems) of peanuts and wheat, respectively. N rhizodeposition of peanuts and wheat accounted for 14.91 and 3.61% of the BG15 N, respectively. The 15 N from the below-ground 15 N-labeled of peanuts were supplied 11.3, 5.9, 13.5, and 6.1% of in the CR0, CR1, CR2, and CR3 treatments, respectively. Peanut straw contributes a significant proportion of N to the soil through the decomposition of plant residues and N rhizodeposition. With the current production level on the NCP, it is estimated that peanut straw can potentially replace 104 500 tons of synthetic N fertilizer per year. The inclusion of peanut in rotation with cereal can significantly reduce the use of N fertilizer and enhance the system sustainability.

Application of the Nutrient Cycling Model NuCM to a Forest Monitoring Site Exposed to Acidic Precipitation in China

The nutrient cycling model NuCM is one of the most detailed models for simulating processes that influence nutrient cycling in forest ecosystems. A field study was conducted at Tieshanping, a Masson pine (Pinus massoniana Lamb.) forest site, in Chongqing, China, to monitor the impacts of acidic precipitation on nutrient cycling. NuCM simulations were compared with observed data from the study site. The model produced an approximate fit with the observed data. It simulated the mean annual soil solution concentrations in the two simulation years, whereas it sometimes failed to reproduce seasonal variation. Even though some of the parameters required by model running were measured in the field, some others were still highly uncertain and the uncertainties were analyzed. Some of the uncertain parameters necessary for model running should be measured and calibrated to produce a better fit between modeled results and field data.

Past,present and future of saline lakes:research for global sustainable development

The 12 th International Conference on Salt Lake Research was held in Langfang City,China from July 14 to 18,2014.Fifteen manuscripts of presentations have been retained for publication in this special issue.They are very diverse,covering the biology,physics,chemistry and geology of salt lakes,the history of hydrological research on the Dead Sea,the effects of socioeconomic and environmental policies by stakeholders on human populations,and the increasing salinization of freshwater lakes around the world.

Microbial community structure and nitrogenase gene diversity of sediment from a deep-sea hydrothermal vent field on the Southwest Indian Ridge

A sediment sample was collected from a deep-sea hydrothermal vent field located at a depth of 2 951 m on the Southwest Indian Ridge. Phylogenetic analyses were performed on the prokaryotic community using polymerase chain reaction（PCR） amplification of the 16 S rRNA and nifH genes. Within the Archaea, the dominant clones were from marine benthic group E（MBGE） and marine group I（MGI） belonging to the phyla Euryarchaeota and Thaumarchaeota, respectively. More than half of the bacterial clones belonged to the Proteobacteria, and most fell within the Gammaproteobacteria. No epsilonproteobacterial sequence was observed. Additional phyla were detected including the Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Planctomycetes, Acidobacteria, Nitrospirae, Chloroflexi, Chlorobi, Chlamydiae, Verrucomicrobia, and candidate divisions OD1, OP11, WS3 and TM6, confirming their existence in hydrothermal vent environments. The detection of nifH gene suggests that biological nitrogen fixation may occur in the hydrothermal vent field of the Southwest Indian Ridge. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that only Clusters I and III NifH were present. This is consistent with the phylogenetic analysis of the microbial 16 S rRNA genes, indicating that Bacteria play the main role in nitrogen fixation in this hydrothermal vent environment.

The Role of Cover Crops towards Sustainable Soil Health and Agriculture—A Review Paper

Cover crops are the plants which are grown to improve soil fertility, prevent soil erosion, enrichment and protection of soil, and enhance nutrient and water availability, and quality of soil. Cover crops provide several benefits to soils used for agriculture production. Cover crops are helpful in increasing and sustaining microbial biodiversity in soils. We summarized the effect of several cover crops in soil properties such as soil moisture content, soil microbial activities, soil carbon sequestration, nitrate leaching, soil water, and soil health. Selection of cover crops usually depends on the primary benefits which are provided by cover crops. Other factors may also include weather conditions, time of sowing, either legume or non-legume and timing and method of killing of a cover crop. In recent times, cover crops are also used for mitigating climate change, suppressing weeds in crops and increasing exchangeable nutrients such as Mg2+ and K+. Cover crops are also found to be economical in long-term experiment studies. Although some limitations always come with several benefits. Cover crops have some problems including the method of killing, host for pathogens, regeneration, and not immediate benefits of using them. Despite the few limitations, cover crops improve the overall health of the soil and provide a sustainable environment for the main crops.

Ethylene resistance in flowering ornamental plants – improvements and future perspectives

Various strategies of plant breeding have been attempted in order to improve the ethylene resistance of flowering ornamental plants. These approaches span from conventional techniques such as simple cross-pollination to new breeding techniques which modify the plants genetically such as precise genome-editing. The main strategies target the ethylene pathway directly;others focus on changing the ethylene pathway indirectly via pathways that are known to be antagonistic to the ethylene pathway, e.g. increasing cytokinin levels. Many of the known elements of the ethylene pathway have been addressed experimentally with the aim of modulating the overall response of the plant to ethylene. Elements of the ethylene pathway that appear particularly promising in this respect include ethylene receptors as ETR1, and transcription factors such as EIN3. Both direct and indirect approaches seem to be successful, nevertheless, although genetic transformation using recombinant DNA has the ability to save much time in the breeding process, they are not readily used by breeders yet. This is primarily due to legislative issues, economic issues, difficulties of implementing this technology in some ornamental plants, as well as how these techniques are publically perceived, particularly in Europe. Recently, newer and more precise genome-editing techniques have become available and they are already being implemented in some crops. New breeding techniques may help change the current situation and pave the way toward a legal and public acceptance if products of these technologies are indistinguishable from plants obtained by conventional techniques.

Supplementation of a lacto-fermented rapeseed-seaweed blend promotes gut microbial-and gut immune-modulation in weaner piglets

Background:The direct use of medical zinc oxide in feed will be abandoned after 2022 in Europe,leaving an urgent need for substitutes to prevent post-weaning disorders.Results:This study investigated the effect of using rapeseed-seaweed blend(rapeseed meal added two brown macroalgae species Ascophylum nodosum and Saccharina latissima)fermented by lactobacilli(FRS)as feed ingredients in piglet weaning.From d 28 of life to d 85,the piglets were fed one of three different feeding regimens(n=230 each)with inclusion of 0%,2.5% and 5% FRS.In this period,no significant difference of piglet performance was found among the three groups.From a subset of piglets(n=10 from each treatment),blood samples for hematology,biochemistry and immunoglobulin analysis,colon digesta for microbiome analysis,and jejunum and colon tissues for histopathological analyses were collected.The piglets fed with 2.5% FRS manifested alleviated intraepithelial and stromal lymphocytes infiltration in the gut,enhanced colon mucosa barrier relative to the 0% FRS group.The colon microbiota composition was determined using V3 and V1-V8 region 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing by Illumina NextSeq and Oxford Nanopore MinION,respectively.The two amplicon sequencing strategies showed high consistency between the detected bacteria.Both sequencing strategies indicated that inclusion of FRS reshaped the colon microbiome of weaned piglets with increased Shannon diversity.Prevotella stercorea was verified by both methods to be more abundant in the piglets supplied with FRS feed,and its abundance was positively correlated with colonic mucosa thickness but negatively correlated with blood concentrations of leucocytes and IgG.Conclusions:FRS supplementation relieved the gut lymphocyte infiltration of the weaned piglets,improved the colon mucosa barrier with altered microbiota composition.Increasing the dietary inclusion of FRS from 2.5% to 5% did not lead to further improvements.

Development of a Portable Electronic Sensor for Detection of the Kudzu Bug, <i>Megacopta cribraria</i>(Fabricius) (Hemiptera: Plataspidae)

The kudzu bug, Megacopta cribraria (Fabricius), recently became an invasive insect pest of soybean, Glycine max (L.) Merr. in the southeastern USA capable of reducing crop yield by as much as 60% if left untreated. To reduce these losses and minimize control costs, new methods for detecting kudzu bugs must be investigated in order to optimize control measures. One such method would be to detect volatiles released by kudzu bugs. An electronic portable device was developed to draw volatile organic compounds (VOCs) produced by kudzu bugs over carbon black-polymer composite sensors and measure the change in resistance for each sensor. Sensors made using polymers poly (bisphenol A carbonate) (p = 0.041), poly (styrene-co-allyl alcohol) (p = 0.017) and poly (vinylpyrrolidone) (p = 0.040) showed significant differences in resistance change for M. cribraria VOCs over the control. A logistic regression was 94.4% accurate based on the resistance changes from sensors made from polymers poly (4-vinylphenol), poly (styrene-co-allyl alcohol), and poly (vinylpyrrolidone) as features. These results indicate the capability of the device to detect kudzu bugs by detecting volatiles released by the insects.

Trend Analysis in Annual and Monthly Pan Evaporation and Pan Coefficient in the Context of Climate Change in Togo

Trend analysis was performed for the long-term measured pan evaporation and estimated pan coefficient for 4 meteorological stations during 1976-2011 in Togo. Measured pan evaporation was recorded at four meteorological stations in Togo for the global period of 1976 to 2011 at Lome, Tabligbo, Atakpame, and Sokode. ETo was estimated using the Penman-Monteith model. The Mann-Kendall test was used for trend analysis. The results showed that annual Epan varied from 1803 to 2081 mm at Lome, from 1294 to 1496 mm at Tabligbo, from 1605 to 1974 mm at Atakpame and from 1839 to 1990 mm at Sokode. It had significant increasing trend at Lome, Tabligbo, and Sokode and a negative trend at Atakpame. Monthly Epan varied from 137 to 197 mm at Lome, 89 to 149 mm at Tabligbo, 137 to 214 mm at Atakpame and from 137 to 190 mm at Sokode. At Lome, Kpan varied from 0.61 to 1.17 and averaged 0.81. At Tabligbo, Kpan varied from 0.59 to 0.98 and averaged 0.75. At Atakpame, Kpan varied from 0.5 to 2.0 and averaged 1.12. At Sokode, Kpan varied from 0.43 to 1.92 and averaged 0.98. Monthly mean Kpan is recommended for use in hydrological studies, irrigation scheduling and water management in Togo.

ABA-mediated regulation of leaf and root hydraulic conductance in tomato grown at elevated CO2 is associated with altered gene expression of aquaporins

Elevated CO_(2)concentration in the air(e[CO_(2)])decreases stomatal density(SD)and stomatal conductance(gs)where abscisic acid(ABA)may play a role,yet the underlying mechanism remains largely elusive.We investigated the effects of e[CO_(2)](800 ppm)on leaf gas exchange and water relations of two tomato(Solanum lycopersicum)genotypes,Ailsa Craig(WT)and its ABA-deficient mutant(flacca).Compared to plants grown at ambient CO_(2)(400 ppm),e[CO_(2)]stimulated photosynthetic rate in both genotypes,while depressed the gs only in WT.SD showed a similar response to e[CO_(2)]as gs,although the change was not significant.e[CO_(2)]increased leaf and xylem ABA concentrations and xylem sap pH,where the increases were larger in WT than in flacca.Although leaf water potential was unaffected by CO_(2)growth environment,e[CO_(2)]lowered osmotic potential,hence tended to increase turgor pressure particularly for WT.e[CO_(2)]reduced hydraulic conductance of leaf and root in WT but not in flacca,which was associated with downregulation of gene expression of aquaporins.It is concluded that ABA-mediated regulation of gs,SD,and gene expression of aquaporins coordinates the whole-plant hydraulics of tomato grown at different CO_(2)environments.

The Effect of High Day and Low Night Temperature on Pollen Production, Pollen Germination and Postharvest Quality of Tomatoes

Temperature integration where high day temperatures are compensated by lower night temperatures is one strategy that can be used to reduce energy consumption in greenhouses. Crop tolerance to temperature variation is a prerequisite for using such a strategy. Greenhouse experiments were conducted on tomatoes cvs, Capricia, Mecano and Cederico in order to investigate the effect of different day/night temperature regimes (24/17, 27/14 and 30/11℃) where the same mean temperature was maintained for the production and germination of pollen. In addition, fruit quality as determined by fruit firmness, dry matter content, soluble solids, titratable acids, and pH was examined at harvest and after seven and 14 days of storage. The 30/11℃ treatment significantly increased pollen production and germination compared to the 24/17℃ treatment, while the 27/14℃ treatment was generally in between the other two treatments. Fruits grown at the 27/14℃ treatment were significantly firmer, while fruits grown at 24/17℃ had higher dry matter content, soluble solids, and titratable acids compared to the other treatments. There were significant differences between cultivars with respect to firmness, dry matter, titratable acidity, and pH. The quality of the fruits changed during storage, but the storability of the tomatoes was not affected by preharvest temperature treatments. The overall conclusion was that the 27/14℃ treatment was superior to the other two temperature treatments with respect to the studied parameters.