Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: M. Zouhar Author-Workplace-Name: Facultyof Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Czech Republic Author-Name: M. Marek Author-Workplace-Name: Facultyof Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Czech Republic Author-Name: O. Douda Author-Workplace-Name: Nematological Laboratory, Plant Medicine Division, Research Institut of Crop Production, Czech Republic Author-Name: J. Mazáková Author-Workplace-Name: Facultyof Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Czech Republic Author-Name: P. Ryšánek Author-Workplace-Name: Facultyof Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Czech Republic Title: Conversion of sequence-characterized amplified region (SCAR) bands into high-throughput DNA markers based on RAPD technique for detection of the stem nematode Ditylenchus dipsaci in crucial plant hosts Abstract: Ditylenchus dipsaci, the stem nematode, is a migratory endoparasite of over 500 species of angiosperms. The main method of D. dipsaci control is crop rotation, but the presence of morphologically indistinguishable host races with different host preferences makes rotation generally ineffective. Therefore, a sensitive, rapid, reliable, as well as cost effective technique is needed for identification of D. dipsaci in biological samples. This study describes the development of species-specific pairs of PCR oligonucleotides for detection and identification of the D. dipsaci stem nematode in various plant hosts. Designed DIT-2 primer pair specifically amplified a fragment of 325 bp, while DIT-5 primer pair always produced a fragment of 245 bp in all D. dipsaci isolates. Two developed SCAR primer pairs were further tested using template DNA extracted from a collection of twelve healthy plant hosts; no amplification was however observed. The developed PCR protocol has proved to be quite sensitive and able to specifically detect D. dipsaci in artificially infested plant tissues. Keywords: Ditylenchus dipsaci, stem nematodes, quarantine organism, SCAR, diagnostics, detection, specific PCR, RAPD Journal: Plant, Soil and Environment Pages: 97-104 Volume: 53 Issue: 3 Year: 2007 DOI: 10.17221/2226-PSE File-URL: http://pse.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/2226-PSE.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/pse-200703-0001.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlpse:v:53:y:2007:i:3:id:2226-PSE Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: D.M. Gimplinger Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Applied Plant Sciences and Plant Biotechnology, University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria Author-Name: G. Dobos Author-Workplace-Name: Institute for Applied Botany, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Austria Author-Name: R. Schönlechner Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Food Sciences and Technology, University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria Author-Name: H.-P. Kaul Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Applied Plant Sciences and Plant Biotechnology, University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria Title: Yield and quality of grain amaranth (Amaranthus sp.) in Eastern Austria Abstract: The introduction of a new crop requires adapted genotypes as well as optimum crop management practices. This study was conducted to determine the optimum crop density of adapted grain amaranth genotypes in the Pannonian region of Eastern Austria. The genotypes Neuer Typ (A. hypochondriacus), Mittlerer Typ (A. hypochondriacus) and Amar (A. cruentus) were established at plant densities of 8, 17 and 35 plants/m2 in 2002 and 2003. Average hand-harvested yields ranged from 2200 to 3000 kg/ha without significant genotypic differences. Genotypes differed in thousand seed weight (0.55-1.04 g), time from sowing to harvest (97-130 days), grain water content at harvest (24-38%), microbial infestation of air-dried grain (0.2-118.6 cfu × 106/g), germination (29-79%) and grain composition. Grain contents fell within the following ranges: crude protein 15.2-18.6%, crude fat 5.4-8.6%, crude fibre 3.5-4.2%, ash 2.7-3.2%, and carbohydrates 66.7-72.7%. High grain water contents involved stronger microbial infestation and reduced germination. Crop density affected neither grain yield nor grain quality. Keywords: Amaranthus, genotype, plant density, grain yield, water content, thousand seed weight, chemical composition, microbial infestation, germination Journal: Plant, Soil and Environment Pages: 105-112 Volume: 53 Issue: 3 Year: 2007 DOI: 10.17221/2224-PSE File-URL: http://pse.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/2224-PSE.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/pse-200703-0002.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlpse:v:53:y:2007:i:3:id:2224-PSE Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: A.Z. Ren Author-Workplace-Name: College of Life Science, Nankai University, Tianjin, PR China Author-Name: Y.B. Gao Author-Workplace-Name: College of Life Science, Nankai University, Tianjin, PR China Author-Name: F. Zhou Author-Workplace-Name: College of Life Science, Nankai University, Tianjin, PR China Title: Response of Neotyphodium lolii-infected perennial ryegrass to phosphorus deficiency Abstract: It has been demonstrated that endophyte-infected (EI) ryegrass performed better in response to N deficiency than its endophyte-free (EF) counterpart. When P is considered, there is a lack of related information. In this study, Lolium perenne L. infected with Neotyphodium lolii was employed to establish EI and EF populations. Soil-grown EI and EF ryegrass were tested for their responses to P deficiency. The results showed that the endophyte infection improved the adaptability of ryegrass to P deficiency. When P was limited, EI roots were significantly longer (EI, 398.8; EF, 323.4 m/pot) and heavier (EI, 30.58; EF, 23.20 g/pot) than EF roots; the root: shoot ratio of EI plants was greater than that of EF plants (P < 0.05). The content of total phenolics and organic acids was significantly greater for EI roots than for EF roots at low P supply; the concentration of both, however, was not improved by the endophyte infection. This suggested that it was the higher root dry weight (DW) that contributed to the higher content of total phenolics and organic acids for EI plants, and the endophyte infection might have negligible effects on chemical modification of perennial ryegrass. Endophyte infection did not increase P uptake rate but did significantly improve P use efficiency of ryegrass in response to P deficiency (EI, 0.734; EF, 0.622 g DW/mg P). Keywords: endophyte, phosphorus deficiency, total phenolics, organic acids, acid phosphatase activity, Lolium perenne L Journal: Plant, Soil and Environment Pages: 113-119 Volume: 53 Issue: 3 Year: 2007 DOI: 10.17221/2225-PSE File-URL: http://pse.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/2225-PSE.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/pse-200703-0003.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlpse:v:53:y:2007:i:3:id:2225-PSE Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: E. Yildirim Author-Workplace-Name: Ispir Hamza Polat Vocational Training School, Atatürk University, Erzurum, Turkey Author-Name: I. Guvenc Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Agriculture, Atatürk University, Erzurum, Turkey Author-Name: M. Turan Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Agriculture, Atatürk University, Erzurum, Turkey Author-Name: A. Karatas Author-Workplace-Name: Ispir Hamza Polat Vocational Training School, Atatürk University, Erzurum, Turkey Title: Effect of foliar urea application on quality, growth, mineral uptake and yield of broccoli (Brassica oleracea L., var. italica) Abstract: The objective of this study was to determine the effect of foliar urea applications on quality, growth, mineral content and yield of broccoli under field conditions in 2003, 2004 and 2005. Broccoli cultivars AG 3317 and AG 3324 were treated with foliar urea applications at different concentrations (0.0, 0.4, 0.8 and 1.0%). Foliar applications of urea, especially 0.8 and 1.0% resulted in larger heads, weightier heads and plants as well as higher plants. Conversely, the greatest head and leaf dry matter contents were obtained with no fertilizer-nitrogen application. SPAD chlorophyll readings that were measured in the third year increased with elevated urea concentrations. In regard to the nutrient content, it can be interfered that soil nitrogen fertilization and foliar urea applications increased the content of almost all nutrients in leaves and heads of both broccoli cultivars in three experiment years. Generally, the greatest values were obtained from 1.0% urea application for both cultivars. It results from the study that for optimum yields 0.61 and 0.96% concentrations of urea sprays could be successfully used to obtain better growth and yield in broccoli cultivars AG 3317 and AG 3324, respectively. Keywords: broccoli, fertilization, foliar application, mineral uptake, urea, yield Journal: Plant, Soil and Environment Pages: 120-128 Volume: 53 Issue: 3 Year: 2007 DOI: 10.17221/2227-PSE File-URL: http://pse.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/2227-PSE.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/pse-200703-0004.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlpse:v:53:y:2007:i:3:id:2227-PSE Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: A.M.A. Al-Hakimi Author-Workplace-Name: Biology Department, Faculty of Science, Taiz University, Taiz, Yemen Title: Modification of cadmium toxicity in pea seedlings by kinetin Abstract: The effect of foliar application of kinetin on the growth and some physiological processes of pea plants growing in soil supplemented with 25 or 50µM Cd were studied. Cadmium treatment inhibited the growth rate, chlorophyll (Chl) content, net photosynthesis (PN), content of soluble sugars and free amino acids of either shoots or roots. The application of kinetin (kin) enhanced the growth rate, Chl content, PN, soluble sugars and free amino acids content of shoots and roots; dark respiration rate (RD), contents of soluble protein and proline were increased by cadmium treatment. The addition of kinetin to Cd-stressed plant reduced RD, soluble protein and proline content. Considerable variations in the content of Na+, K+, Ca2+ and Mg2+ were induced by Cd-treatments. Foliar application of kinetin exhibited a favorable effect on the accumulation of some ions and antagonized or ameliorated the inhibitory effect of Cd stress on some others. Keywords: growth, chlorophyll, net photosynthesis, dark respiration, cadmium, pea, kinetin Journal: Plant, Soil and Environment Pages: 129-135 Volume: 53 Issue: 3 Year: 2007 DOI: 10.17221/2228-PSE File-URL: http://pse.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/2228-PSE.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/pse-200703-0005.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlpse:v:53:y:2007:i:3:id:2228-PSE Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: W. Wadas Author-Workplace-Name: University of Podlasie, Siedlce, Poland Author-Name: E. Kosterna Author-Workplace-Name: University of Podlasie, Siedlce, Poland Title: Effect of perforated foil and polypropylene fibre covers on development of early potato cultivars Abstract: The effect of perforated polyethylene foil and polypropylene fibre cover on the development of the early potato cultivars Aksamitka and Cykada was investigated. The use of the covers resulted in an increase in the soil temperature at the depth of 100 mm on average by 2.2°C at 8 a.m. and by 4.0°C at 2 p.m. in the year with warm spring and by 1.5°C and 3.2°C in the year with cold spring, respectively. A higher increase in the soil temperature, on average by 1-2°C, was caused by the use of the perforated foil than by the use of the polypropylene fibre. The increase in the soil temperature as a result of covering forced the plant emergence on average by 5 days and shortened the period from planting to tuber setting by 5 days in comparison with the cultivation with no plant covering. The higher favourable effect of covering was obtained in the year with the lowest air and soil temperatures in May. The use of the covers at that time forced the plant emergence and shortened the period from planting to tuber setting on average by 6 days. A higher soil temperature increase was observed under the perforated foil than under the polypropylene fibre, which resulted in an earlier occurrence of the successive plant development phases, on average by 1-2 days. Keywords: early potato, perforated polyethylene foil, polypropylene fibre, soil temperature, plant development Journal: Plant, Soil and Environment Pages: 136-141 Volume: 53 Issue: 3 Year: 2007 DOI: 10.17221/2223-PSE File-URL: http://pse.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/2223-PSE.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/pse-200703-0006.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlpse:v:53:y:2007:i:3:id:2223-PSE