Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: P. Paľove-Balang Author-Workplace-Name: Institute of Botany, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovak Republic Author-Name: A. Kisová Author-Workplace-Name: Institute of Botany, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovak Republic Author-Name: J. Pavlovkin Author-Workplace-Name: Institute of Botany, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovak Republic Author-Name: I. Mistrík Author-Workplace-Name: Institute of Botany, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovak Republic Title: Effect of manganese on cadmium toxicity in maize seedlings Abstract: The interaction of manganese with cadmium (Cd) toxicity was studied on maize plants grown in hydroponics. Manganese supplied as MnSO4clearly alleviated the toxic effect of cadmium on the root growth of maize seedlings. The magnitude of alleviation was dose dependant and total abolition of 10µM Cd toxicity on root growth was observed at Mn/Cd ratio of 20:1. The 12 h pre-treatment with 10μM Cd was generally toxic for nitrate uptake and reduction (both determined in Cd-free media). The beneficial effect of 100μM Mn on this toxicity was confirmed for the low-affinity nitrate uptake system, but on the other hand, Mn alone seems to be slightly toxic for high affinity nitrate uptake system and on the nitrate reductase activity. Keywords: cadmium, manganese, membrane potential, nitrate uptake, nitrate reduction, maize roots Journal: Plant, Soil and Environment Pages: 143-149 Volume: 52 Issue: 4 Year: 2006 DOI: 10.17221/3358-PSE File-URL: http://pse.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/3358-PSE.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/pse-200604-0001.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlpse:v:52:y:2006:i:4:id:3358-PSE Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: X. Liu Author-Workplace-Name: Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Harbin, PR China Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Plant, Soil and Insect Sciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, USA Author-Name: S.J. Herbert Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Plant, Soil and Insect Sciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, USA Author-Name: A.M. Hashemi Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Plant, Soil and Insect Sciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, USA Author-Name: G.V. Litchfield Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Plant, Soil and Insect Sciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, USA Author-Name: Q. Zhang Author-Workplace-Name: Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Harbin, PR China Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Plant, Soil and Insect Sciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, USA Author-Name: A.R. Barzegar Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Plant, Soil and Insect Sciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, USA Title: Yield and yield components responses of old and new soybean cultivars to source-sink manipulation under light enrichment Abstract: Limited information is available regarding the source-sink alterations on soybean yield under whole plant light enriched conditions. The differential responses of yield components for two old and two new cultivars were investigated. The yield sensitivity of the old cultivars to the changes in source strength and light enriched conditions was much greater than that of the two new cultivars. The yield of the new cultivars was more likely sink-limited, and source-limited for the old cultivars. The increased yield by light enrichment was in part due to an increased branch contribution. Pod number per plant was more responsive than seed number per pod. The reduction in pod number by source-sink manipulation was more severe in the old cultivars. Light enrichment increased pod number in the two old cultivars but not in the two new cultivars. Seed size was responsive to changes in the source-sink ratio and changes in the environment. Both pod number or seed size may be increased or decreased if environmental conditions for seed filling are altered. Keywords: soybean, yield and yield components, source-sink alterations, light enrichment Journal: Plant, Soil and Environment Pages: 150-158 Volume: 52 Issue: 4 Year: 2006 DOI: 10.17221/3359-PSE File-URL: http://pse.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/3359-PSE.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/pse-200604-0002.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlpse:v:52:y:2006:i:4:id:3359-PSE Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: H. Fišerová Author-Workplace-Name: Mendel University of Agriculture and Forestry in Brno, Czech Republic Author-Name: J. Šebánek Author-Workplace-Name: Mendel University of Agriculture and Forestry in Brno, Czech Republic Author-Name: J. Hradilík Author-Workplace-Name: Mendel University of Agriculture and Forestry in Brno, Czech Republic Author-Name: P. Doležel Author-Workplace-Name: Mendel University of Agriculture and Forestry in Brno, Czech Republic Author-Name: H. Vítková Author-Workplace-Name: Mendel University of Agriculture and Forestry in Brno, Czech Republic Title: Role of cytokinins in growth correlations between roots and stems in pea (Pisum sativum L.) seedlings Abstract: Pea seeds were swollen in solutions with different concentrations of cytokinin benzyladenine (BA). As compared with controls, a low concentration of BA (0.05 mg/l) did not affect the growth of stems and roots of twelve-day-old seedlings but concentrations of 0.20-4.00 mg/l showed an inhibiting effect; this inhibition was proportional to the concentration of BA. In controls the ratio between the lengths of stems and roots was equal to 1.14, while in seedlings influenced by BA in concentration of 0.20 mg/l its value was significantly lowered to 0.91. Also in six-day-old pea seedlings cultivated under in vitro conditions, BA concentrations of 0.70 and 3.30 mg/l inhibited the growth of roots and epicotyls and significantly increased the production of ethylene (by 150 and 330%, respectively). Three hours after the amputation of the root of five-day-old pea seedlings the level of cytokinin trans-zeatin increased in the apical part of the stem. Within the interval of 48 hours after the amputation of the root the concentration of this plant hormone gradually decreased again. The initial increase in the zeatin level in the stem indicates that the absence of the root induces a reduction of growth-inhibiting effects of roots, which negatively influences the zeatin level in the stem apex at the beginning of germination. Keywords: benzyladenin, trans-zeatin, ethylene Journal: Plant, Soil and Environment Pages: 159-163 Volume: 52 Issue: 4 Year: 2006 DOI: 10.17221/3360-PSE File-URL: http://pse.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/3360-PSE.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/pse-200604-0003.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlpse:v:52:y:2006:i:4:id:3360-PSE Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: M. Vanaja Author-Workplace-Name: Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture, Santhoshnagar, Hyderdabad, India Author-Name: P. Vagheera Author-Workplace-Name: Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture, Santhoshnagar, Hyderdabad, India Author-Name: P. Ratnakumar Author-Workplace-Name: Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture, Santhoshnagar, Hyderdabad, India Author-Name: N. Jyothi Lakshmi Author-Workplace-Name: Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture, Santhoshnagar, Hyderdabad, India Author-Name: P. Raghuram Reddy Author-Workplace-Name: Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture, Santhoshnagar, Hyderdabad, India Author-Name: S.K. Yadav Author-Workplace-Name: Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture, Santhoshnagar, Hyderdabad, India Author-Name: M. Maheswari Author-Workplace-Name: Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture, Santhoshnagar, Hyderdabad, India Author-Name: B. Venkateswarlu Author-Workplace-Name: Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture, Santhoshnagar, Hyderdabad, India Title: Evaluation of certain rainfed food and oil seed crops for their response to elevated CO2 at vegetative stage Abstract: A study was conducted with two important rainfed food crops viz., sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench.) and blackgram (Vigna mungo L. Happer) and two oil seed crops viz., sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) and groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) under two conditions viz., elevated CO2 (600 ppm) and ambient CO2 (365 ppm) in open top chambers (OTCs). The observations were recorded at the vegetative stage at 7, 14, 21 and 30 days after sowing (DAS). The results showed significant differences between crops, conditions and time intervals, as well as the single and double order interactions for all the characters studied viz., total dry weight, stem dry weight, root dry weight, leaf dry weight, shoot length, root length and leaf area. Total dry weight and its components viz., stem dry weight, root dry weight and leaf dry weight along with leaf area showed a significant increase under enhanced CO2 conditions. Among the four crops studied the overall results showed the highest response to elevated CO2 by blackgram while the lowest response by sorghum. Keywords: elevated carbon dioxide, food crops, oilseeds, total biomass, root/shoot ratio Journal: Plant, Soil and Environment Pages: 164-170 Volume: 52 Issue: 4 Year: 2006 DOI: 10.17221/3361-PSE File-URL: http://pse.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/3361-PSE.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/pse-200604-0004.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlpse:v:52:y:2006:i:4:id:3361-PSE Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: W.M. Bhutta Author-Workplace-Name: Centre of Advanced Study in Applied Genetics and Saline Agriculture, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan Author-Name: M. Ibrahim Author-Workplace-Name: Institute of Soil and Environmental Sciences, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan Author-Name: Tahira Author-Workplace-Name: Pakistan Agriculture Research Council, Islamabad, Pakistan Title: Association analysis of some morphological traits of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) under field stress conditions Abstract: An association between yield components and their direct and indirect influence on the grain yield of wheat were investigated. 24 breeding lines were tested in a randomized complete block experiment design with three replications. According to the results the phenotypic correlation among the traits and their path coefficient were estimated. Positive significant correlation coefficients were obtained for association between survival rate treatment I (0.35*) and III (0.34*), leaf venation (0.51*), stomatal frequency (0.39*), osmotic pressure (0.30*), flag leaf area (0.85*), number of tillers per plant (0.70*) with grain yield per plant at both phenotypic and genotypic levels. A negatively significant correlation between hygrophilic colloids (-0.15*) and epidermal cell size (-0.22*) with grain yield per plant was obtained at phenotypic and genotypic levels. Path coefficients were also computed to estimate the contribution of character to the yield. Path coefficient analysis revealed that flag leaf area (1.34), root/shoot ratio (0.51) and survival rate II (0.56) had the highest positive direct effects on grain yield, while hygrophilic colloids (-0.24) and osmotic pressure (-0.07) had a negative direct effect on grain yield. The results thus obtained suggested that flag leaf area is an important component of yield and hence needs a special attention in selection strategies. Keywords: wheat, drought resistance, yield, Pakistan Journal: Plant, Soil and Environment Pages: 171-177 Volume: 52 Issue: 4 Year: 2006 DOI: 10.17221/3362-PSE File-URL: http://pse.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/3362-PSE.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/pse-200604-0005.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlpse:v:52:y:2006:i:4:id:3362-PSE Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: X. Liu Author-Workplace-Name: Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Harbin, PR China Author-Name: S.J. Herbert Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Plant, Soil and Insect Sciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, USA Author-Name: K. Baath Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Plant, Soil and Insect Sciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, USA Author-Name: A.M. Hashemi Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Plant, Soil and Insect Sciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, USA Title: Soybean (Glycine max) seed growth characteristics in response to light enrichment and shading Abstract: Seeds are the primary sinks for photosynthates during reproductive growth. Variation in light intercepted during and after seed initiation has been found a major environmental determinant of soybean [Glycine max(L.) Merrill] seed size. We investigated the influence of light enrichment and shading on seed growth rate, effective filling, cotyledon cell number, cell volume and endogenousABA concentrations of cotyledons/testas during seed filling of soybean. Evans, an indeterminate Group 0 soybean, was subjected to light reduction and enrichment treatments from the beginning of pod formation until final harvest for two years inMassachusetts. Higher rates of seed growth, greater seed dry weight, and higher cotyledon cell number were all observed with light enrichment. There was a reduction in seed growth rate and cotyledon cell number, along with a significant lowering of endogenousABA levels in testa and cotyledon with shade. The level ofABAin cotyledon during seed development was significantly correlated with seed growth rates only under shade treatments. Both the growth rates and seed filling duration were influenced by variation in light interception by the soybean canopy. The effects of varying light treatment on seed size, within one genotype, were most likely due to the differences in seed growth rate and cotyledon cell number. Keywords: soybean, seed size, growth rate, cotyledon cell number, ABA, light enrichment Journal: Plant, Soil and Environment Pages: 178-185 Volume: 52 Issue: 4 Year: 2006 DOI: 10.17221/3363-PSE File-URL: http://pse.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/3363-PSE.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/pse-200604-0006.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlpse:v:52:y:2006:i:4:id:3363-PSE Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: P. Valentovič Author-Workplace-Name: Institute of Botany, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovak Republic Author-Name: M. Luxová Author-Workplace-Name: Institute of Botany, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovak Republic Author-Name: L. Kolarovič Author-Workplace-Name: Institute of Botany, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovak Republic Author-Name: O. Gašparíková Author-Workplace-Name: Institute of Botany, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovak Republic Title: Effect of osmotic stress on compatible solutes content, membrane stability and water relationsin two maize cultivars Abstract: The effect of osmotic stress on oxidative injury, compatible solutes content and water relations was investigated in two maize cultivars (Zea mays L. cv. Ankora - drought-sensitive and cv. Nova - drought-tolerant). Relative water content in leaves of both cultivars decreased after drought treatment, leaf water loss of sensitive cv. Ankora was higher than that of cv. Nova. The 24 h water stress induced by 0.3M sorbitol (-1.4 MPa) resulted in a damage of cell membranes. Lipid peroxidation rose in all studied organs of cv. Ankora and electrolyte leakage in roots of cv. Ankora was much higher than in cv. Nova. Similarly, proline content increased significantly in all studied organs of cv. Ankora. Content of soluble sugars increased in all studied organs of both cultivars, but the mesocotyl of cv. Nova accumulated the highest amount of sugars. The electrolyte leakage was the highest in the roots of both cultivars. Osmotic stress had deep influence predominantly on the roots of both cultivars. It is apparent that stress impact on the drought-sensitive cv. Ankora was deeper than on the drought-tolerant cv. Nova. Keywords: drought, RWC, electrolyte leakage, lipid peroxidation, proline, sugars Journal: Plant, Soil and Environment Pages: 186-191 Volume: 52 Issue: 4 Year: 2006 DOI: 10.17221/3364-PSE File-URL: http://pse.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/3364-PSE.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/pse-200604-0007.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlpse:v:52:y:2006:i:4:id:3364-PSE