Diapause in the Boll Weevil, Anthonontus grandis Boheman, As Related to Fruiting Activity in the Cotton Plant

Studies in Arkansas show that boll weevil diapause is related to changes in fruiting activity of the cotton plant. Generally, when larval development took place while fruiting levels were increasing or being held at a high level, diapause in resulting adults was low (0-20%). Diapause was approximately 20-50% when larval development coincided with decreasing fruiting levels, and was 50-100% as true cut-out approached. Regrowth cotton generally lowered diapause incidence and as fruiting levels decreased, diapause increased. Therefore, the boll weevil not only responds to short photoperiods that are characteristic during the fall in the temperate zone, but also may respond throughout the season to changes in fruiting activity of the cotton plant

Characterization of serine proteinase expression in agaricus bisporus and coprinopsis cinerea by using green fluorescent protein and the A. bisporus SPR1 Promoter

The Agaricus bisporus serine proteinase 1 (SPR1) appears to be significant in both mycelial nutrition and senescence of the fruiting body. We report on the construction of an SPR promoter::green fluorescent protein (GFP) fusion cassette, pGreen_hph1_SPR_GFP, for the investigation of temporal and developmental expression of SPR1 in homobasidiomycetes and to determine how expression is linked to physiological and environmental stimuli. Monitoring of A. bisporus pGreen_hph1_SPR_GFP transformants on media rich in ammonia or containing different nitrogen sources demonstrated that SPR1 is produced in response to available nitrogen. In A. bisporus fruiting bodies, GFP activity was localized to the stipe of postharvest senescing sporophores. pGreen_hph1_SPR_GFP was also transformed into the model basidiomycete Coprinopsis cinerea. Endogenous C. cinerea proteinase activity was profiled during liquid culture and fruiting body development. Maximum activity was observed in the mature cap, while activity dropped during autolysis. Analysis of the C. cinerea genome revealed seven genes showing significant homology to the A. bisporus SPR1 and SPR2 genes. These genes contain the aspartic acid, histidine, and serine residues common to serine proteinases. Analysis of the promoter regions revealed at least one CreA and several AreA regulatory motifs in all sequences. Fruiting was induced in C. cinerea dikaryons, and fluorescence was determined in different developmental stages. GFP expression was observed throughout the life cycle, demonstrating that serine proteinase can be active in all stages of C. cinerea fruiting body development. Serine proteinase expression (GFP fluorescence) was most concentrated during development of young tissue, which may be indicative of high protein turnover during cell differentiatio

Adventitious shoot propagation and cultural inputs in nursery production of a primocane-fruiting blackberry selection

Studies were conducted from January to October 2005 to determine the effect of root-cutting length on adventitious shoot yield and the management practices necessary to produce nurseryquality primocane-fruiting blackberry plants. The first portion of the study measured the average number of shoots produced from 7.6 cm- and 15.2 cm-long root cuttings of APF-44 blackberry—a primocane-fruiting genotype from the University of Arkansas breeding program. Cuttings were forced in a shallow bin containing a soilless potting medium. The average number of shoots per root cutting from 7.6 cm- and 15.2 cm- long root cuttings averaged 1.6 and 2.7 shoots per root cutting, respectively. Rooting percentage for collected shoots was nearly 100% regardless of root-cutting length source. A qualitative comparison of shoots from the two roots lengths was similar. The latter part of the study included various treatments on the rooted shoots that might affect the productivity and quality of the final product intended for nursery sales in early fall. With the aim of producing a flowering/fruiting shrub by late September, three treatments were applied: pot dimension, fertilizer rate, and shoot tipping. Fertilizer rate had the greatest impact of all treatments with the higher rate producing larger and more attractive plants. Above-normal summer/fall temperatures may explain lack of fruiting on APF-44 blackberries, but the dimension and size of some plants provided a portion of the intended aesthetic

Studies on Barbula tenuirostris Brid. [replaces Barbula consanguinea (Thwaites & Mitt.) A. Jaeger sensu A. Eddy]

Twelve taxa are proposed as new synonyms of Barbula tenuirostris Brid. Two nomina nuda also belong here. Barbula tenuirostris is compared with the most closely related taxa in Asia. Barbula anceps Cardot is Barbula arcuata Griff. A lectotype is selected for Barbula scleromitra Besch

Production of hybrid seeds by intraspecific crossing in yam Dioscorea alata L

Manual crosses were carried out over two successive years on Dioscorea alata for the production of hybrid seeds between five females and seven males' parents with contrasting characteristics. A total of 22951 flowers were manually pollinated in both years (14145 in 2016 and 8806 in 2017) in 33 parental combinations. The ploidy levels of the parents were determined by flow cytometry. The crossed parents were all diploids except the female OA49 which was triploid. In both years the fruiting and seed rates were comparable (25.06% and 22.82%; 30.05% and 30.18%). A significant variation in fruiting rates was observed between the different parental combinations. Analysis of variance have shown that there is both a male effect on the fruit setting. The lowest rates were observed in combinations involving male clones 23 and Ma01 (2.04% and 2.77%) and the highest rates involved males TDa00/00128 and TDa00/00095 (48.25% and 33.91%). The triploid female OA49 is sterile. Females TDa01/00003, TDa01/00018, TDa99/00240 and TDa01/00295 gave comparable fruiting rates which are respectively (37.87%, 29.38%, 24.70% and 20.92%). For seeds production, there is no male and female effect. The fruiting rate according to the time slot depends on each male variety involved. For some males, the fruiting rate is influenced by the time slot of pollination while for others, there is no time slot effect on the fruiting rate

Studies on Barbula flavicans D.G. Long and related taxa

Barbula flavicans D.G. Long replaces Barbula consanguinea (Thwaites & Mitt.) A. Jaeger sensu Eddy. This is a variable species. The types of several mainly Asian taxa were studied. Fifteen taxa are proposed as new synonyms of Barbula flavicans. Barbula (?) anceps Cardot is Barbula arcuata Griff

Training and Pruning Fruit Trees

PDF pages: 2

Species richness, abundance and phenology of fungal fruit bodies over 21 years in a Swiss forest plot

Fungal fruit bodies were surveyed on a plot area of 1500 m2 from 1975¿99 (excluding 1980¿83) in the fungal reserve La Chaneaz in western Switzerland. Fruit bodies were identified and counted on a weekly basis. Species richness and abundances varied strongly between years. More than 400 species were encountered. Many species were transient; particularly rich years showed species occurring for only one year. This indicates that the number of species will substantially increase if the survey is continued. Within years, the species richness, abundances and periods of fruiting were tightly correlated. The abundance data of species within a year seemed symmetrically distributed over their fruiting period. The relation between species richness and abundances within years was studied by fitting species-abundance plots, known from numerical ecology. The surface area under the curves was taken as a parameter for ecological/fungal diversity. Productivity was correlated with the precipitation from June until October. The time of fruit body appearance was correlated with the temperatures in July and August. As groups, mycorrhizal and saprotrophic species behaved similarly over the years. The productivity of species was compared with their distribution in The Netherlands indicating a correlation between the level of local abundance and the geographic range of specie