Gibberellic Acid (GA3) Applied to Flowering Heracleum sosnowskyi Decreases Seed Viability Even If Seed Development Is Not Inhibited

Sosnowsky’s hogweed (Heracleum sosnowskyi Manden.), an important invasive species in Eastern Europe, is a monocarpic perennial plant that propagates exclusively by seeds. Hence, interfering with seed viability could help control its spread. In the present study, we investigated the effect of exogenous GA3 (25, 100 and 150 mg/L) sprayed twice onto flowering H. sosnowskyi plants on the development of fruits (mericarps) and their ability to germinate under field conditions over the growing seasons of 2018 and 2019. Mericarps from plants sprayed with GA3 failed to develop normally. The width/length ratio of mericarps decreased by 23% to 25% after 150 mg/L GA3 application and their average weight decreased between 7% and 39% under all GA3 treatments. X-ray radiographs revealed that the internal structure was malformed, with many of the mericarps lacking well-developed seeds. Proportionally fewer well-developed mericarps were produced by GA3-treated plants than water-sprayed control plants in 2018. Seed germination assessed outdoors in seeds buried in the ground was also severely reduced (from 58% to 99% after 150 mg/L GA3 application). This indicates that exogenous GA3 sprays result in incomplete seed development and a consequent decrease in viability and germination. As the highest GA3 dose used resulted in significantly reduced propagation of Sosnowsky’s hogweed through seeds in the field, GA3 provides a promising approach to the control of the spread of this invasive weed species

Oilseed Rape: Biology, Use, Current Cultivation Issues and Agronomic Management

Oilseed rape is an economically crucial agricultural crop widely grown in many countries. It is an herbaceous plant which belongs to the Brassicaceae family and, according to the nature of vegetation, is present in spring and winter subspecies. Over the years, the area of oilseed rape increased due to its widespread use for producing technical and food oil, fuel and other market needs. Oilseed rape oil is one of the most widely used food oils on the globe. It is valued for its high content of unsaturated fatty acids and odorlessness. The yield of oilseed rape mainly depends on its genetic potential, agronomic management, and environmental conditions. Thus, oilseed rape growers worldwide meet not only common, but also climate zone-specific agronomic issues, e.g., various unfavourable abiotic and biotic factors characteristic to a particular climate zone. Thanks to the efforts of breeders, scientists, and chemical companies, the solutions to the big problems such as disease resistance, lodging, delayed harvest, weed, pest and pod shatter control, are already available and still under search aiming to reveal the full potential of the cultivars

Gibberellic Acid (GA3) Applied to Flowering Heracleum sosnowskyi Decreases Seed Viability Even If Seed Development Is Not Inhibited

Sosnowsky’s hogweed (Heracleum sosnowskyi Manden.), an important invasive species in Eastern Europe, is a monocarpic perennial plant that propagates exclusively by seeds. Hence, interfering with seed viability could help control its spread. In the present study, we investigated the effect of exogenous GA3 (25, 100 and 150 mg/L) sprayed twice onto flowering H. sosnowskyi plants on the development of fruits (mericarps) and their ability to germinate under field conditions over the growing seasons of 2018 and 2019. Mericarps from plants sprayed with GA3 failed to develop normally. The width/length ratio of mericarps decreased by 23% to 25% after 150 mg/L GA3 application and their average weight decreased between 7% and 39% under all GA3 treatments. X-ray radiographs revealed that the internal structure was malformed, with many of the mericarps lacking well-developed seeds. Proportionally fewer well-developed mericarps were produced by GA3-treated plants than water-sprayed control plants in 2018. Seed germination assessed outdoors in seeds buried in the ground was also severely reduced (from 58% to 99% after 150 mg/L GA3 application). This indicates that exogenous GA3 sprays result in incomplete seed development and a consequent decrease in viability and germination. As the highest GA3 dose used resulted in significantly reduced propagation of Sosnowsky’s hogweed through seeds in the field, GA3 provides a promising approach to the control of the spread of this invasive weed species

Heracleum sosnowskyi seed development under the effect of exogenous application of GA3

Numerous studies have demonstrated the impact of exogenous gibberellin on fleshy fruit formation, but the effect on dry fruits is not yet well known. To test the role of gibberellin (GA3) in dry fruit formation, we analysed the impact of exogenous GA3 on the invasive plant Sosnowsky’s hogweed (H. sosnowskyi Manden.) seed development and germination. Treatment of GA3 concentrations of 0.07 mM, 0.14 mM, 0.28 mM, 0.43 mM was applied to flowers at the early stage of development. Seeds were collected from treated satellite umbels. It was observed that GA3treatment did not have a significant effect on the size of H. sosnowskyi seeds, but caused various changes in their shape. The data on semi-thin longitudinal sections of H. sosnowskyi mericarps and SEM micrographs of embryos showed that the embryos in GA3 (0.43 mM) treated variants were at torpedo stage, while in control variants—mature embryos. The germination of seeds of each variant was estimated by burying them in the soil. Our studies indicated that GA3 application reduced the germination of H. sosnowskyi seed from 98.0% (control) to 16.5% (GA3 concentration 0.43 mM). It was assumed that exogenous application of GA3 had influence on the development of dry Sosnowsky’s hogweed seeds and could be used to inhibit the spread of this invasive plant

Probiotics enhance cereal yield and quality and modify agrochemical soil properties

The aim of this study was to determine the influence of microbial biostimulants on wheat and oat growth, grain yield, and grain quality and to evaluate the influence of these probiotics on some soil agrochemical traits in the open field. Active concentrations of ProbioHumus and NaturGel and their mixtures were selected under laboratory conditions using winter wheat as a reference plant. Probiotics had a biostimulating effect on the development of the underground and above-ground part of winter wheat when 2 µL/g was used for seed priming and 2 mL/100 mL for seedling spraying. Under field conditions, after treatment of soil (2 L/ha), wheat and oat seeds (2 L/t), and plants (2 L/ha) with ProbioHumus and NaturGel, it was found that the yield of the studied cereals increased, on average, by 0.50 t/ha to 1.09 t/ha. ProbioHumus promoted protein accumulation in the investigated cereal grains. The level of microelements in wheat and oat grains increased after treatment of plants with NaturGel. Probiotics improved soil agrochemical properties, such as total and nitrate nitrogen, total and available phosphorus, organic carbon, humic acid, and humus content. In conclusion, plant probiotics can be used as an ecological alternative for growing cereals and improving the agrochemical properties of the soil

Actinidia kolomikta pažastinių pumpurų ir ūglių vystymosi tyrimai

2000-2001 m.buvo atliekami Actinidia kolomikta ūglių vystymosi tyrimai.Moteriško klono F1 vegetacijos periodas skirtingais metais tęsiasi 179-191 dieną.2000 m.ūgliai augti pradėjo kovo pabaigoje,esant mažoms tiek teigiamų ( 103.3°C),tiek veiksmingų (15.0°C) temperatūrų sumoms. Labai intensyvus ūglių augimas ir žymūs pažastinių pumpurų viršūninės meristemos matmenų pokyčiai sutapo su generatyvinių užuomazgų formavimosi faze. Augalų vegetacija baigėsi rugsėjo pabaigoje, tačiau pažastiniai pumpurai vystėsi iki spalio pabaigosInvestigation on macro- and microphenological development of shoots in Actinidia kolomikta was carried out in 2000-2001.The growing season of the female clone F1 lasted for 179-191 days.The growth of shoots started at the end of March at very low sums of positive and effective temperatures: 103.3 and 15.0°C,respectively. Very intensive growth of shoots and microphenological processes in the axillary buds (shortening of the plastochron,changes of the apex height and width) coincided with the differentiation of generative primordia in the apical meristem. The growth period of plants finished at the end of September; howewer, the development in axillary buds stopped at the end of OctoberBotanikos institutas, [email protected] sodasLietuvos veterinarijos akademijos Veterinarijos institutas, [email protected] Didžiojo universiteta

Effect of biostimulants on cold resistance and productivity formation in winter rapeseed and winter wheat

The aim of the study was to investigate the effects of biostimulants on the resistance to freezing under laboratory-controlled cold conditions and on the growth, development, overwintering and productivity of winter rapeseed and winter wheat in natural field experiments. The effect of free amino acids, macroelements and microelements that contain biostimulants Ruter AA, Terra Sorb and Razormin was tested on cultivars of rapeseed, ‘Hornet H’, and winter wheat, ‘Skagen’ and ‘Kovas’, applying morphometrical methods. We found that biostimulants applied to rapeseed at BBCH 13–14 stage and to wheat at BBCH 14–15 stage under controlled cold stress conditions increased the freezing tolerance of seedlings. Biostimulants more actively increased the freezing resistance of rapeseed seedlings at –5°C compared to that of wheat seedlings. The temperature of –7°C was mortal to rape seedlings, while the resistance of wheat seedlings increased under the influence of the tested biostimulants compared to that of the control seedlings. In natural field experiments, these biostimulants produced a significant effect on plant growth in autumn, acclimation to the cold, plant overwintering, vegetation renewal and, due to this, formation of productivity elements. The effects of Razormin (200 mL/ha), Terra Sorb (2 L/ha) and Ruter AA (1 L/ha) were significantly higher on growth parameters of winter wheat compared to the productivity of winter rapeseed

Plant microbial biostimulants as a promising tool to enhance the productivity and quality of carrot root crops

The interest in studies focused on applying probiotic microorganisms is increasing due to sustainable agriculture development. In this research, we aimed to evaluate the impact of two commercial plant probiotics—ProbioHumus and NaturGel on carrot growth, yield, and quality in organic and nonorganic production systems. The research was carried out under laboratory and field conditions. Plants were treated with probiotics (2 L/ha) at the nine leaves stage. Biometrical measurements and chemical analyses were performed at a maturation stage. The average weight of carrot roots increased by 17 and 20 g in the test variant with ProbioHumus as compared to the control in the organic and nonorganic farms, respectively. Plant microbial biostimulants ProbioHumus and NaturGel had a positive effect on the quality of carrots from organic and nonorganic farms: applied in couple they promoted the accumulation of monosaccharides, ascorbic acid, carotenoids, phenols, and increased antioxidant activity. Quantitative nitrate analysis regardless of the biostimulant used revealed about twofold lower nitrate content of carrots from organic than nonorganic farms, and probiotics did not show a significant effect on nitrate accumulation. Finally, ProbioHumus and NaturGel were effective at low doses. The use of microbial biostimulants can be recommended as an element of cultivation for creating ecologically friendly technologie

Oilseed rape: biology, use, current cultivation issues and agronomic management

Oilseed rape is an economically crucial agricultural crop widely grown in many countries. It is an herbaceous plant which belongs to the Brassicaceae family and, according to the nature of vegetation, is present in spring and winter subspecies. Over the years, the area of oilseed rape increased due to its widespread use for producing technical and food oil, fuel and other market needs. Oilseed rape oil is one of the most widely used food oils on the globe. It is valued for its high content of unsaturated fatty acids and odorlessness. The yield of oilseed rape mainly depends on its genetic potential, agronomic management, and environmental conditions. Thus, oilseed rape growers worldwide meet not only common, but also climate zone-specific agronomic issues, e.g., various unfavourable abiotic and biotic factors characteristic to a particular climate zone. Thanks to the efforts of breeders, scientists, and chemical companies, the solutions to the big problems such as disease resistance, lodging, delayed harvest, weed, pest and pod shatter control, are already available and still under search aiming to reveal the full potential of the cultivars