Tree Nitrogen Status and Leaf Canopy Position Influence Postharvest Nitrogen Accumulation and Efflux from Pear Leaves

`Cornice' pear trees (Pyrus communis L.) were fertilized with ammonium nitrate depleted in “N in Spring 1987 and 1988. In Aug., Oct., and Nov. 1988, midleaves on current season shoots were sampled at three positions from the periphery to the center of the canopy. Total N/cm' of leaf area remained almost constant through October, even though percent N concentration declined as specific leaf weight (SLW) increased. Furthermore, there was no substantial net change in either labeled or unlabeled N in either treatment until senescence began in October. Peripheral leaves contained higher levels of both reserve and newly acquired N than did less-exposed leaves. Despite large differences in N/cm2 for October samples, by November leaves from both high (HN) and low N (LN) trees exported similar percentages of their total N. The average N export to storage tissues irrespective of tree N status was 71%, 61%, and 52% for peripheral, medium, and interior leaves, respectively. The export of N was influenced more by the leaf position in the plant canopy than the nutritional status of the tree.EEA Alto ValleFil: Sanchez, Enrique Eduardo. Oregon State University. Department of Horticulture; Estados Unidos. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Alto Valle; ArgentinaFil: Righetti, Timothy L. Oregon State University. Department of Horticulture; Estados Unido

Management of Nitrogen and Calcium in Pear Trees for Enhancement of Fruit Resistance to Postharvest Decay

Management of pear (Pyrus communis L.) trees for low N and high Ca content in the fruit reduced the severity of postharvest fungal decay. Application of N fertilizer 3 weeks before harvest supplied N for tree reserves and for flowers the following spring without increasing fruit N. Calcium chloride sprays during the growing season increased fruit Ca content. Nitrogen and Ca management appear to be additive factors in decay reduction. Fruit density and position in the tree canopy influenced their response to N fertilization. Nitrogen: Ca ratios were lower in fruit from the east quadrant and bottom third of trees and from the distal portion of branches. High fruit density was associated with low N: Ca ratios. Nutritional manipulations appear to be compatible with other methods of postharvest decay control.EEA Alto ValleFil: Sugar, David. Oregon State University. Southern Oregon Experiment Station; Estados UnidosFil: Righetti, Timothy L. Oregon State University. Department of Horticulture; Estados UnidosFil: Sanchez, Enrique Eduardo. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Alto Valle; ArgentinaFil: Khemira, Habib. Oregon State University. Department of Horticulture; Estados Unido

Response of Highbush Blueberry to Nitrogen Fertilizer During Field Establishment, I: Accumulation and Allocation of Fertilizer Nitrogen and Biomass

The effects of nitrogen (N) fertilizer application on plant growth, N uptake, and biomass and N allocation in highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum L. 'Bluecrop') were determined during the first 2 years of field establishment. Plants were either grown without N fertilizer after planting (0N) or were fertilized with 50, 100, or 150 kg.ha⁻¹ of N (50N, 100N, 150N, respectively) per year using ¹⁵N-depleted ammonium sulfate the first year (2002) and non-labeled ammonium sulfate the second year (2003) and were destructively harvested on 11 dates from Mar. 2002 to Jan. 2004. Application of 50N produced the most growth and yield among the N fertilizer treatments, whereas application of 100N and 150N reduced total plant dry weight (DW) and relative uptake of N fertilizer and resulted in 17% to 55% plant mortality. By the end of the first growing season in Oct. 2002, plants fertilized with 50N, 100N, and 150N recovered 17%, 10%, and 3% of the total N applied, respectively. The top-to-root DW ratio was 1.2, 1.6, 2.1, and 1.5 for the 0N, 50N, 100N, and 150N treatments, respectively. By Feb. 2003, 0N plants gained 1.6 g/plant of N from soil and pre-plant N sources, whereas fertilized plants accumulated only 0.9 g/plant of N from these sources and took up an average of 1.4 g/plant of N from the fertilizer. In Year 2, total N and dry matter increased from harvest to dormancy in 0N plants but decreased in N-fertilized plants. Plants grown with 0N also allocated less biomass to leaves and fruit than fertilized plants and therefore lost less DW and N during leaf abscission, pruning, and fruit harvest. Consequently, by Jan. 2004, there was little difference in DW between 0N and 50N treatments; however, as a result of lower N concentrations, 0N plants accumulated only 3.6 g/plant (9.6 kg-ha⁻¹) of N, whereas plants fertilized with 50N accumulated 6.4 g/plant (17.8 kg.ha⁻¹), 20% of which came from ¹⁵N fertilizer applied in 2002. Although fertilizer N applied in 2002 was diluted by non-labeled N applications the next year, total N derived from the fertilizer (NDFF) almost doubled during the second season, before post-harvest losses brought it back to the starting point.Keywords: Dry matter, Nitrogen partitioning, Plant, Actinidia Deliciosa vines, Reserve N, (15)Nitrogen, Rabbiteye blueberry, Soil N, Soil, Fate, Growth, [superscript 15]N, Nitrogen removal, Vaccinium corymbosum, Ammonium, Translocation, Nitrogen use efficiency, Yield, Fertilization, Culture, Ericacea

Effect of Postharvest Soil and Foliar Application of Boron Fertilizer on the Partitioning of Boron in Apple Trees

This study was carried out on mature `Delicious' apple trees (Malus domestica Borkh.) on EM 9 rootstock. Labeled B (99.63 Atom % 10B) was applied as boric acid. Treatments were postharvest foliar B at 375 mg·L–1, postharvest foliar B (375 mg·L–1) plus urea (2.5% wt/vol), and a soil application at the same per-tree rate as the foliar treatments (16 g boric acid/tree). Postharvest foliar B applied with or without urea was efficiently transported from the leaves into storage tissues for the next year's growth. However, soil-applied B remained mostly in the roots while very little was translocated to the above-ground portions of the tree at full bloom. When urea was added to a foliar B spray, the amount of B in the roots and flower clusters increased at full bloom. Although increasing the efficiency of foliar B applications may not be necessary, combining urea and B into a single application is recommended when growers want to apply both N and B. Shoot leaves from all treatments collected late in the season (midsummer) had similar B concentrations, even though treatments altered the amount of added B that was present in different tree tissues early in the season.EEA Alto ValleFil: Sanchez, Enrique Eduardo. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Alto Valle; ArgentinaFil: Righetti, Timothy L. Oregon State University. Department of Horticulture; Estados Unido

Effect of Postharvest Soil and Foliar Application of Boron Fertilizer on the Partitioning of Boron in Apple Trees

This study was carried out on mature `Delicious' apple trees (Malus domestica Borkh.) on EM 9 rootstock. Labeled B (99.63 Atom % 10B) was applied as boric acid. Treatments were postharvest foliar B at 375 mg·L–1, postharvest foliar B (375 mg·L–1) plus urea (2.5% wt/vol), and a soil application at the same per-tree rate as the foliar treatments (16 g boric acid/tree). Postharvest foliar B applied with or without urea was efficiently transported from the leaves into storage tissues for the next year's growth. However, soil-applied B remained mostly in the roots while very little was translocated to the above-ground portions of the tree at full bloom. When urea was added to a foliar B spray, the amount of B in the roots and flower clusters increased at full bloom. Although increasing the efficiency of foliar B applications may not be necessary, combining urea and B into a single application is recommended when growers want to apply both N and B. Shoot leaves from all treatments collected late in the season (midsummer) had similar B concentrations, even though treatments altered the amount of added B that was present in different tree tissues early in the season.EEA Alto ValleFil: Sanchez, Enrique Eduardo. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Alto Valle; ArgentinaFil: Righetti, Timothy L. Oregon State University. Department of Horticulture; Estados Unido

Geochemistry and Multiomics Data Differentiate Streams in Pennsylvania Based on Unconventional Oil and Gas Activity

Unconventional oil and gas (UOG) extraction is increasing exponentially around the world, as new technological advances have provided cost-effective methods to extract hard-to-reach hydrocarbons. While UOG has increased the energy output of some countries, past research indicates potential impacts in nearby stream ecosystems as measured by geochemical and microbial markers. Here, we utilized a robust data set that combines 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing (DNA), metatranscriptomics (RNA), geochemistry, and trace element analyses to establish the impact of UOG activity in 21 sites in northern Pennsylvania. These data were also used to design predictive machine learning models to determine the UOG impact on streams. We identified multiple biomarkers of UOG activity and contributors of antimicrobial resistance within the order . Furthermore, we identified expressed antimicrobial resistance genes, land coverage, geochemistry, and specific microbes as strong predictors of UOG status. Of the predictive models constructed ( = 30), 15 had accuracies higher than expected by chance and area under the curve values above 0.70. The supervised random forest models with the highest accuracy were constructed with 16S rRNA gene profiles, metatranscriptomics active microbial composition, metatranscriptomics active antimicrobial resistance genes, land coverage, and geochemistry ( = 23). The models identified the most important features within those data sets for classifying UOG status. These findings identified specific shifts in gene presence and expression, as well as geochemical measures, that can be used to build robust models to identify impacts of UOG development. The environmental implications of unconventional oil and gas extraction are only recently starting to be systematically recorded. Our research shows the utility of microbial communities paired with geochemical markers to build strong predictive random forest models of unconventional oil and gas activity and the identification of key biomarkers. Microbial communities, their transcribed genes, and key biomarkers can be used as sentinels of environmental changes. Slight changes in microbial function and composition can be detected before chemical markers of contamination. Potential contamination, specifically from biocides, is especially concerning due to its potential to promote antibiotic resistance in the environment. Additionally, as microbial communities facilitate the bulk of nutrient cycling in the environment, small changes may have long-term repercussions. Supervised random forest models can be used to identify changes in those communities, greatly enhance our understanding of what such impacts entail, and inform environmental management decisions