Investigation of plant growth and transpiration-induced matric suction under mixed grass-tree conditions

Although evapotranspiration-induced matric suction for single species has been widely studied, little is known about how mixed-species planting would affect the plant growth and induced matric suction. This study aims to explore the effects of grass-tree interaction on their growth and induced matric suction during evapotranspiration (ET) and rainfalls. Field monitoring was carried out to measure matric suction responses in compacted soil that was vegetated with (i) single tree species, Schefflera heptaphylla and (ii) mixed species of the trees and a grass species, Cynodon dactylon. In each condition, three tree spacings (120, 180 and 240 mm) were planted. When tree spacing increased from 120 to 240 mm, the peak tree root area index (RAI, for fine roots with diameterThe accepted manuscript in pdf format is listed with the files at the bottom of this page. The presentation of the authors' names and (or) special characters in the title of the manuscript may differ slightly between what is listed on this page and what is listed in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript; that in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript is what was submitted by the author

Effect of nitrogen fertilizations, with and without inhibitors, on cotton growth and fiber quality

Considering cotton, one of the most non environmentally friendly crops, new types of fertilizers, such as the urease inhibitor, are now being used for fertilization. Furthermore, the need of increasing the nutrient use efficiency which is an important contributor to yield has arisen. The objective of this study was to assess the impacts of four different urea combinations (Urea, Urea+NI+UI, Urea+NI, Urea+UI) on cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) yield and fiber traits. For this purpose, different inhibitors used on urea fertilizer such as nitrification inhibitor (NI), dicyandiamide (DCD), urease inhibitor (UI), N-(n-butyl) thiophosphoric triamide, and a combination of urease (UI) and nitrification inhibitor (NI) (double inhibitor). Additionally, Nitrogen indicators were also used to evaluate the efficiency of these combinations. Two field experiments were conducted in Agrinio and Copaida region, Central Greece during 2019. The total dry weight ranged from 13,027 to 14,481 kg ha-1 in Agrinio area and from 12,567 to 14,136 kg ha-1 in Copaida area. The highest seed cotton yield was recorded under Urea+NI+UI fertilization at 5,145 kg ha-1 application in Copaida area and 5,318 kg ha-1 application in Agrinio area. Also, the total plant nitrogen uptake (kg N ha-1) was affected by the inhibitors NI and UI. The range for Nitrogen Utilization Efficiency (NUtE) index was 9.27 to 23.06. Moreover, results indicated that NI and UI inhibitors have a marked effect on fiber quality such as strength (g Tex-1). In the Mediterranean region of Greece, the combined use of inhibitors UI and NI resulted in higher yield and finest fiber quality