Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: L.J. Bordoloi Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Agricultural Chemistry and Soil Science, Nagaland University, Medziphema, India Author-Workplace-Name: Division of Natural Resource Management (Soil Science), ICAR Research Complex Author-Name: A.K. Singh Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Agricultural Chemistry and Soil Science, Nagaland University, Medziphema, India Author-Name: Manoj-Kumar Author-Workplace-Name: Division of Natural Resource Management (Soil Science), ICAR Research Complex Author-Name: Patiram Author-Workplace-Name: Division of Natural Resource Management (Soil Science), ICAR Research Complex Author-Name: S. Hazarika Author-Workplace-Name: Division of Natural Resource Management (Soil Science), ICAR Research Complex Title: Evaluation of nitrogen availability indices and their relationship with plant response on acidic soils of India Abstract: Plant's nitrogen (N) requirement that is not fulfilled by available N in soil has to be supplied externally through chemical fertilizers. A reliable estimate of soil N-supplying capacity (NSC) is therefore essential for efficient fertilizer use. In this study involving a pot experiment with twenty acidic soils varying widely in properties, we evaluated six chemical indices of soil N-availability viz. organic carbon (Corg), total N (Ntot), acid and alkaline-KMnO4 extractable-N, hot KCl extractable-N (KCl-N) and phosphate-borate buffer extractable-N (PBB-N), based on their strength of correlation with available-N values obtained through aerobic incubation (AI-N) and anaerobic incubation (ANI-N), and also with the dry matter yield (DMY), N percentage and plant (maize) N uptake (PNU). In general, the soils showed large variability in NSC as indicated by variability in PNU which ranged from 598 to 1026 mg/pot. Correlations of the N-availability indices with AI-N and ANI-N decreased in the order: PBB-N (r = 0.784** and 0.901**) > KCl-N (r = 0.773** and 0.743**) > acid KMnO4-N (r = 0.575** and 0.651**) ≥ Corg (r = 0.591** and 0.531**) ≥ alkaline KMnO4-N (r = 0.394** and 0.548**) > Ntot (r = 0.297** and 0.273*). Of all the indices evaluated, PBB-N showed the best correlations with plant parameters as well (r = 0.790** and 0.793** for DMY and PNU, respectively). Based on the highest correlations of PBB-N with biological indices as well as plant responses, we propose PBB-N as an appropriate index of N-availability in the acidic soils of India and other regions with similar soils. Keywords: biological incubation, chemical extraction, maize, N supply Journal: Plant, Soil and Environment Pages: 235-240 Volume: 59 Issue: 6 Year: 2013 DOI: 10.17221/675/2012-PSE File-URL: http://pse.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/675/2012-PSE.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/pse-201306-0001.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlpse:v:59:y:2013:i:6:id:675-2012-PSE Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: B. Wang Author-Workplace-Name: College of Resources and Environments, Southwest University, Chongqing, P.R. China Author-Name: H. Shen Author-Workplace-Name: College of Resources and Environments, Southwest University, Chongqing, P.R. China Author-Name: X. Yang Author-Workplace-Name: College of Life Science, Chongqing Normal University, Chongqing, P.R. China Author-Name: T. Guo Author-Workplace-Name: College of Resources and Environments, Southwest University, Chongqing, P.R. China Author-Name: B. Zhang Author-Workplace-Name: College of Resources and Environments, Southwest University, Chongqing, P.R. China Author-Name: W. Yan Author-Workplace-Name: College of Resources and Environments, Southwest University, Chongqing, P.R. China Title: Effects of chitinase-transgenic (McChit1) tobacco on the rhizospheric microflora and enzyme activities of the purple soil Abstract: In order to evaluate the bio-security of genetically modified (GM) plants in the purple soil, we carried out a pot experiment about rhizospheric microflora at different development stages of a chitinase-transgenic (McChit1) tobacco (T-Chit), a plasmid-transgenic tobacco (T-Vi), and a non-transgenic tobacco (Nt-X) that were grown in the same purple soil, and surveyed the growth of three tobaccos and the properties of soil (i.e. the dynamic changes of the cultivable rhizospheric bacteria and fungi, soil enzyme activity and pH). The results showed that, compared with Nt-X plant as a control, T-Chit and T-Vi at the stages of flowering and mature significantly decreased the number of cultivable rhizospheric bacteria, but at their stubble stage the bacteria number returned to the same levels. Moreover, there were no significant differences about the number of cultivable rhizospheric fungi and the ratio of fungi to bacteria (F/B) among three treatments. It was of interest that soil catalase activities of T-Chit and T-Vi were lower than that of Nt-X during the same period, and urease activities of T-Vi and T-Chit were also lower than that of Nt-X at the stages of budding and stubble. Protease activity and the biomass of tobacco, however, showed no significant difference. This indicated that 1-year-old transgenic tobacco plants (T-Vi and T-Chit) inhibited the catalase and urease activities of the purple soil. In conclusion, the results revealed that 1-year-old T-Chit and T-Vi plants were non-toxic to the colony-forming units of cultivable bacteria and fungi in the studied purple soil during tobacco growth. Keywords: GM tobacco, chitinase, soil ecosystem, soil microbe, enzymatic activity Journal: Plant, Soil and Environment Pages: 241-246 Volume: 59 Issue: 6 Year: 2013 DOI: 10.17221/704/2012-PSE File-URL: http://pse.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/704/2012-PSE.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/pse-201306-0002.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlpse:v:59:y:2013:i:6:id:704-2012-PSE Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: S.L. Liu Author-Workplace-Name: College of Resources and Environment, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou, P.R. China Author-Name: Z.H. Cao Author-Workplace-Name: Key Laboratory of Soil Environment and Pollution Remediation, State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, P.R. China Author-Name: H.E. Liu Author-Workplace-Name: College of Resources and Environment, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou, P.R. China Title: Effect of ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum L.) growth on degradation of phenanthrene and enzyme activity in soil Abstract: A 75-day pot experiment was carried out to study the effect of growth of ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum L.) on degradation rate of spiked phenanthrene (the concentration was 5, 50, 200 mg/kg) in soil. The results showed that ryegrass growth enhanced the degradation of phenanthrene spiked in the soil, thus making the content of extractable phenanthrene lower (P < 0.05) in the ryegrass planted pots than that of pots without ryegrass. In the treatments of 5, 50 and 200 mg/kg of phenanthrene, phenanthrene degradation rate reached 81.1, 90.4 and 85.0%, respectively, while in pots without ryegrass they were only 73.5, 86.2 and 67.6%, respectively, and ryegrass growth shorted phenanthrene half-life. Ryegrass growth enhanced activities of polyphenol oxidase, dehydrogenase and increased the content of microbiological biomass carbon, thus raised the degradation rate of phenanthrene in the soil. High concentration of phenanthrene inhibited soil biological activity, and in turn the effect of soil biology on phenanthrene degradation. Therefore, the findings disclose the biological and enzymological mechanisms of the plant enhancing phenanthrene degradation. It was also found that ryegrass is rather tolerant to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, but high phenanthrene concentration affected ryegrass growth. Keywords: polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, planted ryegrass, phytoremediation, degradation rate Journal: Plant, Soil and Environment Pages: 247-253 Volume: 59 Issue: 6 Year: 2013 DOI: 10.17221/69/2013-PSE File-URL: http://pse.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/69/2013-PSE.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/pse-201306-0003.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlpse:v:59:y:2013:i:6:id:69-2013-PSE Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: S. De Maria Author-Workplace-Name: School of Agricultural, Forest, Food and Environmental Sciences, University of Basilicata, Potenza, Italy Author-Name: M. Puschenreiter Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Forest and Soil Sciences, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria Author-Name: A.R. Rivelli Author-Workplace-Name: School of Agricultural, Forest, Food and Environmental Sciences, University of Basilicata, Potenza, Italy Title: Cadmium accumulation and physiological response of sunflower plants to Cd during the vegetative growing cycle Abstract: The effects of soil cadmium (Cd) contamination on Cd accumulation and distribution, growth and physiological responses of sunflower plants were investigated. Plants were subject to six levels of soil contamination (from 2.5 to 15 mg Cd kg/soil) with an untreated control, from the emergence of the cotyledon leaves until the harvest, when plants were at the flower bud stage. An overall increase of Cd concentration was found in all tissues of the plants (roots, stem, young, mature and old leaves) by increasing the Cd contamination in the soil. Regardless of treatments, Cd concentration in roots always exceeded those in the aboveground dry matter with a low translocation from roots to shoots. At early stage of growth, Cd concentration in plants was higher than at the flower bud stage. Soil Cd contamination did not affect plant growth, relative water content and gas exchange parameters. Negative and significant correlation was only found between Cd concentration in the young leaves and chlorophyll concentration at the end of vegetative growing stage. Roots and old leaves are the main metal sinks suggesting a defense or tolerance mechanism of the plants to avoid toxic levels in physiologically most active apical tissues. These results should be tested in open field to verify the suitability of sunflower in the area of phytotechnologies. Keywords: trace element, phytoremediation, Helianthus annuus L., physiological parameters, translocation factor, growth Journal: Plant, Soil and Environment Pages: 254-261 Volume: 59 Issue: 6 Year: 2013 DOI: 10.17221/788/2012-PSE File-URL: http://pse.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/788/2012-PSE.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/pse-201306-0004.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlpse:v:59:y:2013:i:6:id:788-2012-PSE Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: R.A. Sperotto Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Botany, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil Author-Workplace-Name: Biologial Sciences and Health Center, Graduate Program in Biotechnology (PPGBiotec), University Center UNIVATES, Lajeado, Brazil Author-Name: F.K. Ricachenevsky Author-Workplace-Name: Center for Biotechnology, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil Author-Name: V. A. de Waldow Author-Workplace-Name: Center for Biotechnology, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil Author-Name: A.L.H. Müller Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Chemistry, Federal University of Santa Maria, Santa Maria, Brazil Author-Name: V.L. Dressler Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Chemistry, Federal University of Santa Maria, Santa Maria, Brazil Author-Name: J.P. Fett Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Botany, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil Author-Workplace-Name: Center for Biotechnology, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil Title: Rice grain Fe, Mn and Zn accumulation: How important are flag leaves and seed number? Abstract: Flag leaves play an important role in synthesis and translocation of photoassimilates in the rice plant, affecting grain yield; similarly they were believed to be a major source of remobilized minerals for the seeds. At the same time, the seed's sink strength plays an important role in dry matter accumulation. To investigate the relative contribution of rice flag leaves and seed sink strength to seed mineral accumulation, field experiments were conducted to evaluate the effect of flag leaf or half-seed removal on seed Fe, Mn and Zn concentration and content. Flag leaf or 50% of the seeds were removed at anthesis. Seed Fe, Mn and Zn accumulation were not affected by flag leaf or second leaf removal. Plants with only half of the seeds showed higher Fe and Zn seed concentrations, but similar Mn concentrations. It is concluded that the flag leaf is not necessary for metal remobilization to the seeds and that seed sink strength and seed number have different roles in Fe/Zn and Mn seed concentrations. Keywords: anthesis, flag leaf, iron, manganese, seed sink strength, zinc Journal: Plant, Soil and Environment Pages: 262-266 Volume: 59 Issue: 6 Year: 2013 DOI: 10.17221/841/2012-PSE File-URL: http://pse.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/841/2012-PSE.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/pse-201306-0005.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlpse:v:59:y:2013:i:6:id:841-2012-PSE Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: M. Pavlovic Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Agriculture and Life Sciences, University of Maribor, Maribor, Slovenia Author-Name: V. Pavlovic Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Agriculture and Life Sciences, University of Maribor, Maribor, Slovenia Author-Name: C. Rozman Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Agriculture and Life Sciences, University of Maribor, Maribor, Slovenia Author-Name: A. Udovc Author-Workplace-Name: Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia Author-Name: D. Stajnko Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Agriculture and Life Sciences, University of Maribor, Maribor, Slovenia Author-Name: D. Wang Author-Workplace-Name: National Institute of Food and Fermentation Industries, Beijing, P.R. China Author-Name: M. Gavric Author-Workplace-Name: Telvent DMS LLC, Novi Sad, Serbia Author-Name: S. Srecec Author-Workplace-Name: College of Agriculture, Krizevci, Croatia Title: Market value assessment of hops by modeling of weather attributes Abstract: The effect of major weather factors on the quality of hops in Slovenia from 1994 to 2009 is analyzed and discussed. For this purpose, the three main varieties, namely Savinjski golding, Aurora and Bobek were merged into a model variety which we called Virtual. Through assessment of correlation coefficients, we tried to find specific times of the year when the weather conditions affect the alpha-acid content with a view toward prediction. The most significant time periods of weather that influenced the alpha-acid contents of hops during the growing season are identified as attributes of air temperatures calculated during the interval from the 24th to the 31st week (T2431; r = -0.92;P < 0.01), as attributes of rainfall and sunshine duration calculated during the interval from the 25th to the 29th week (R2529; r = 0.83; P < 0.01 and S2529, r = -0.76; P < 0.01), and as attributes of air humidity calculated during the interval from the 28th to the 33rd week (RH2833; r = 0.77; P < 0.01). Keywords: Humulus lupulus L., quality, alpha-acids, weather parameters, model, Slovenia Journal: Plant, Soil and Environment Pages: 267-272 Volume: 59 Issue: 6 Year: 2013 DOI: 10.17221/831/2012-PSE File-URL: http://pse.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/831/2012-PSE.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/pse-201306-0006.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlpse:v:59:y:2013:i:6:id:831-2012-PSE Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: R. Jupa Author-Workplace-Name: Masaryk University, Faculty of Science, Department of Experimental Biology, Brno, Czech Republic Author-Name: M. Baláž Author-Workplace-Name: Masaryk University, Faculty of Science, Department of Experimental Biology, Brno, Czech Republic Author-Name: P. Svoboda Author-Workplace-Name: Hop Research Institute, Žatec, Czech Republic Author-Name: V. Gloser Author-Workplace-Name: Masaryk University, Faculty of Science, Department of Experimental Biology, Brno, Czech Republic Title: Inherent variability in structural and functional traits of xylem among three hop varieties Abstract: Intervarietal differences in xylem structure could significantly affect water transport as well as vulnerability to cavitations and thus crop yield. Evaluation of crop varieties with respect to the specific traits can be thus helpful in breeding and agricultural practice. In the present study we compared basic anatomical traits (vessel length and diameter) as well as theoretical and measured hydraulic conductivities (K) of xylem in stems of three hop varieties (Agnus, Saaz hop - Osvald's clone 31, Vital). There were no statistically significant intervarietal differences in measured K (overall mean 1.68 × 10-6 m4/MPa/s), the ratio between K and theoretical conductivity (mean = 0.194), as well as vessel diameter and vessel length distributions. The only noticeable difference was in the distribution of vessels with the diameter ≥ 100 µm which differed in Vital compared to Agnus or Osvald's clone 31 (Kruskal-Wallis test, P < 0.001). Our results thus indicate highly conservative nature of xylem basic functional and anatomical characteristics in hop varieties studied. Keywords: Humulus lupulus, hydraulic conductivity, vessel diameter, vessel length Journal: Plant, Soil and Environment Pages: 273-279 Volume: 59 Issue: 6 Year: 2013 DOI: 10.17221/32/2013-PSE File-URL: http://pse.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/32/2013-PSE.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/pse-201306-0007.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlpse:v:59:y:2013:i:6:id:32-2013-PSE Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Z. Guo Author-Workplace-Name: Soiland Fertilizer Research Institute, Anhui Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hefei, Anhui, P.R. China Author-Workplace-Name: Key Laboratory of Nutrient Cycling and Resources Environment of AnHui Province, Author-Name: D.Z. Wang Author-Workplace-Name: Soiland Fertilizer Research Institute, Anhui Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hefei, Anhui, P.R. China Author-Workplace-Name: Key Laboratory of Nutrient Cycling and Resources Environment of AnHui Province, Title: Long-term effects of returning wheat straw to croplands on soil compaction and nutrient availability under conventional tillage Abstract: To investigate the effects of returning wheat straw to croplands on soil compaction and nutrient availability, this trial was designed: (1) planted crops without fertilization (NF); (2) natural land without human activities (CT); (3) applied mineral fertilizers in combination with 7500 kg/ha wheat straw (WS-NPK); (4) applied mineral fertilizers in combination with 3750 kg/ha wheat straw (1/2WS-NPK); and (5) applied mineral fertilizers alone (NPK). It is found that, compared with NPK, the soil bulk density in 1/2WS-NPK and WS-NPK both decreased by more than 10% in the 0 cm to 15 cm layer, and by 6.93% and 9.14% in the 15 cm to 20 cm, respectively. Furthermore, in contrast to NPK, the soil available nitrogen in the 0 cm to 25 cm layer in 1/2WS-NPK and WS-NPK were higher by 17.43% and 35.19%, and the soil available potassium were higher by 7.66% and 17.47%, respectively. For soil available phosphorus in the depth of 5 cm to 25 cm, it was higher by 18.51% in 1/2WS-NPK and by 56.97% in WS-NPK, respectively. Therefore, returning wheat straw to croplands effectively improves soil compaction and nutrients availability, and the improvement in soil nitrogen and phosphorus availability is closely related to the amount of wheat straw. Keywords: soil organic matter, soil bulk density, soil nitrogen, soil phosphorus, soil water content Journal: Plant, Soil and Environment Pages: 280-286 Volume: 59 Issue: 6 Year: 2013 DOI: 10.17221/846/2012-PSE File-URL: http://pse.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/846/2012-PSE.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/pse-201306-0008.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlpse:v:59:y:2013:i:6:id:846-2012-PSE