440 research outputs found
Sensitivity to salinity at the emergence and seedling stages of barnyardgrass (Echinochloa crus-galli), weedy rice (Oryza sativa), and rice with different tolerances to ALS-inhibiting herbicides
Effect of different water salinity levels on the germination of imazamox-resistant and sensitive weedy rice and cultivated rice
Weeds that have become resistant to herbicides may threaten rice production. Rice cultivation is mainly carried out in coastal and river delta areas that often suffer salinity problems. The aims of this study were to evaluate the effects of salinity upon germination and the root and shoot seedling growth of Italian weedy rice and cultivated rice (Oryza sativa), and to find a possible correlation between salinity and herbicide resistance. Seed germination tests were conducted in Petri dishes on four imazamox-sensitive and one resistant weedy rice populations and two rice varieties: Baldo (conventional) and CL80 (imidazolinone-resistant Clearfield® variety). Different salt concentrations were tested: 0, 50, 100, 150, 200, 250, 300, 350 and 400 mM NaCl. Germination percentage, germination speed, seedling root and shoot length were affected by increasing the salt concentration in all tested populations and varieties. The germination percentage was in general more affected in resistant weedy rice and CL80. In resistant weedy rice this was partially compensated by a faster germination up to 100 mM. In terms of seedling root and shoot length, CL80 and Baldo showed the highest tolerance to salt; resistant weedy rice was not able to produce seedling roots and shoots at concentrations > 300 mM
Signatures of Star-planet interactions
Planets interact with their host stars through gravity, radiation and
magnetic fields, and for those giant planets that orbit their stars within
10 stellar radii (0.1 AU for a sun-like star), star-planet
interactions (SPI) are observable with a wide variety of photometric,
spectroscopic and spectropolarimetric studies. At such close distances, the
planet orbits within the sub-alfv\'enic radius of the star in which the
transfer of energy and angular momentum between the two bodies is particularly
efficient. The magnetic interactions appear as enhanced stellar activity
modulated by the planet as it orbits the star rather than only by stellar
rotation. These SPI effects are informative for the study of the internal
dynamics and atmospheric evolution of exoplanets. The nature of magnetic SPI is
modeled to be strongly affected by both the stellar and planetary magnetic
fields, possibly influencing the magnetic activity of both, as well as
affecting the irradiation and even the migration of the planet and rotational
evolution of the star. As phase-resolved observational techniques are applied
to a large statistical sample of hot Jupiter systems, extensions to other
tightly orbiting stellar systems, such as smaller planets close to M dwarfs
become possible. In these systems, star-planet separations of tens of stellar
radii begin to coincide with the radiative habitable zone where planetary
magnetic fields are likely a necessary condition for surface habitability.Comment: Accepted for publication in the handbook of exoplanet
Winds of Planet Hosting Stars
The field of exoplanetary science is one of the most rapidly growing areas of
astrophysical research. As more planets are discovered around other stars, new
techniques have been developed that have allowed astronomers to begin to
characterise them. Two of the most important factors in understanding the
evolution of these planets, and potentially determining whether they are
habitable, are the behaviour of the winds of the host star and the way in which
they interact with the planet. The purpose of this project is to reconstruct
the magnetic fields of planet hosting stars from spectropolarimetric
observations, and to use these magnetic field maps to inform simulations of the
stellar winds in those systems using the Block Adaptive Tree Solar-wind Roe
Upwind Scheme (BATS-R-US) code. The BATS-R-US code was originally written to
investigate the behaviour of the Solar wind, and so has been altered to be used
in the context of other stellar systems. These simulations will give
information about the velocity, pressure and density of the wind outward from
the host star. They will also allow us to determine what influence the winds
will have on the space weather environment of the planet. This paper presents
the preliminary results of these simulations for the star Bo\"otis,
using a newly reconstructed magnetic field map based on previously published
observations. These simulations show interesting structures in the wind
velocity around the star, consistent with the complex topology of its magnetic
field.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures, accepted for publication in the peer-reviewed
proceedings of the 14th Australian Space Research Conference, held at the
University of South Australia, 29th September - 1st October 201
Stellar Coronal and Wind Models: Impact on Exoplanets
Surface magnetism is believed to be the main driver of coronal heating and
stellar wind acceleration. Coronae are believed to be formed by plasma confined
in closed magnetic coronal loops of the stars, with winds mainly originating in
open magnetic field line regions. In this Chapter, we review some basic
properties of stellar coronae and winds and present some existing models. In
the last part of this Chapter, we discuss the effects of coronal winds on
exoplanets.Comment: Chapter published in the "Handbook of Exoplanets", Editors in Chief:
Juan Antonio Belmonte and Hans Deeg, Section Editor: Nuccio Lanza. Springer
Reference Work
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