Leaf Area, Fresh Weight and Dry Weight Prediction Models for Ornamental Plants Ficus benjamina (cv. Starlight)

Measurements of leaf growth indices namely leaf area, fresh weight and dry weight are of value in physiological studies and plant growth estimation. The use of prediction models to estimate leaf area, fresh weight and dry weight is simple, rapid and non-destructive. Several mathematical functions have been formulated for estimating leaf area, fresh weight and dry weight of various crops but almost there is no information for Ficus benjamina. This work was aimed to propose leaf area (LA), fresh weight (FW) and dry weight (DW) prediction models for Ficus benjamina (cv. Starlight) leafy ornamental pot plant using leaf length (L) and width (W). 1000 leaves were collected randomly from greenhouse grown plants and 700 of cuts were used for prediction models. LA was measured with a digital area meter (DELTA-T, Co. Durham, UK), related FW and DW also were weighted and leaf dimensions were determined by the ruler. For each studying growth index LA, FW and DW the predictive abilities of three regression equations (linear, polynomial and power) were compared with different independent variables for each equation. Leaf length × width provided a good estimation of leaf area and fresh weight of the leaves of Ficus benjamina. It was also concluded that leaves the dry weight of Ficus benjamina can be estimated or simulated as a power function of L×W or L+W with reasonable accuracy. Moreover, a reasonable relationship between leaf fresh weight and leaf area was found too

Integration of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi to Grape Vine (Vitis vinifera L.) in Nursery Stage

The Arbuscular Mycorrhizal (AM) association is being considered as the commonest Mycorrhizal type involved in grape community. Low population density of these useful fungi in vineyard soil suggests the need for manual inoculation of grapevine plantlets at the nursery stage. The influence of three commercial Arbuscular Mycorrhizal fungi strains (Glomus intraradious, G. mosseae, G. fasciculatus and a mixture of them) on growth and biochemical status of four grapevine varieties (Shahroodi, Asgari, Keshmeshi and Khalili) was investigated under greenhouse conditions. Rooted plantlets derived from hardwood cuttings were transplanted in pots containing leaf mold and sand (1:1) followed by inoculation with different fungal inoculums. Various physiological and biochemical parameters were measured at 30 days intervals. The percentage of root colonization was found to be slightly different amongst inoculated vines but it was found to be significantly different with non-inoculated, control plants. Most growth related parameters (vine length, shoot length and leaf area) were enhanced following Mycorrhization but root length and number of leaves were not significantly affected by any fungal intervention. Treated plants typically showed more obvious modifications in their biochemical status. The chlorophyll content (especially "b" and total), total root and shoot phenols were raised in treated plants. The chlorophyll "a" and total soluble sugars were not statistically different in inoculated and control plants. The overall results of the present study suggest that AM fungi can be manually applied, as an easy and economical approach during nursery production, to boost the physiological and biochemical status of the treated plants and production of high quality healthy plantlets

A silviculture-oriented spatio-temporal model for germination in Pinus pinea L. in the Spanish Northern Plateau based on a direct seeding experiment

Natural regeneration in Pinus pinea stands commonly fails throughout the Spanish Northern Plateau under current intensive regeneration treatments. As a result, extensive direct seeding is commonly conducted to guarantee regeneration occurrence. In a period of rationalization of the resources devoted to forest management, this kind of techniques may become unaffordable. Given that the climatic and stand factors driving germination remain unknown, tools are required to understand the process and temper the use of direct seeding. In this study, the spatio-temporal pattern of germination of P. pinea was modelled with those purposes. The resulting findings will allow us to (1) determine the main ecological variables involved in germination in the species and (2) infer adequate silvicultural alternatives. The modelling approach focuses on covariates which are readily available to forest managers. A two-step nonlinear mixed model was fitted to predict germination occurrence and abundance in P. pinea under varying climatic, environmental and stand conditions, based on a germination data set covering a 5-year period. The results obtained reveal that the process is primarily driven by climate variables. Favourable conditions for germination commonly occur in fall although the optimum window is often narrow and may not occur at all in some years. At spatial level, it would appear that germination is facilitated by high stand densities, suggesting that current felling intensity should be reduced. In accordance with other studies on P. pinea dispersal, it seems that denser stands during the regeneration period will reduce the present dependence on direct seeding

Space Charge at Nanoscale: Probing Injection and Dynamic Phenomena Under Dark/Light Configurations by Using KPFM and C-AFM

International audienc

CanDiD: A Framework for Linking Executive Function and Education

The close association between executive functions (EFs) and educational achievement has led to the idea that targeted EF training might facilitate learning and goal-directed behavior in the classroom. The evidence that training interventions have long-lasting and transferable effects is however decidedly mixed (Melby-Lervåg and Hulme, 2013; Simons et al., 2016). The goal of the current paper is to propose a new CanDiD framework for re-thinking EF and its links to education. Based on findings from basic EF research, the proposed CanDiD framework highlights dynamic and contextual influences on EF and emphasizes the importance of development and individual differences for understanding these effects. Implications for remedial interventions and curriculum design are discussed