Climate change poses a threat to sorghum production systems by shifting the onset of the rainy season to a later date, increasing the risk of crop failure during crop establishment. The effects of drought on sorghum during seedling establishment have not been determined. Coating seeds with a water absorbing substance offers a way to buffer the seed against insufficient moisture in the surroundi...

A pot culture experiment was conducted to study the effect of biomass power plant effluent on seed germination, seedling growth and chlorophyll content of green gram (variety LGG 460) have been estimated at different effluent concentrations and time intervals. The effluent is alkaline in nature (pH 8.5), odorless, and comprises of heavy metals such as Cr (0.071 mg l(-1)), Cu (0.014 mg l(-1)), M...

Intensive vegetation management alters seedling growth and development in southcm pine plantations. Adequate light, moisture. and nutrients stimulate seedling stem growth and crown development. Thus rapid stem growth could deplete nutrient and energy resources required for aggressive rcot growth. Early root system expansion within the available rooting zone is critical because structural root g...

This work evaluated the effect of seed size and morphology on the development and biomass of durum wheat seedlings. Three different seed-grading sizes selected by sieving were used in glasshouse experiments, and a set of three developmental and 23 biomass-related indices were measured on eight genotypes, at two moisture levels. The influence of seed size on seedling development was studied at h...

Artemisia monosperma is observed to be as one of the first species to dominate disturbed sand dunes in Saudi Arabia. Despite its importance as a sand stabilizer, it has no forage value. It is feared that this species may arrest the natural succession of vegetation. A series of controlled environment experiments was conducted to study the potential allelopathic effects of A. monosperma on germin...

Initial seedling recruitment is one of the most critical stages for plants in the Mediterranean basin. Moreover, wildfires and post-fire environmental conditions might deteriorate regeneration success, which can lead to problems for sustainable forest restoration and forest persistence. On this context, different seed origins and pine species may be better adapted to new environmental condition...

Carbonic anhydrase (CA; EC 4.2.1.1) catalyzes the interconversion of CO2 and HCO3(-) and is a major protein constituent of the C3 higher plant chloroplast where it is presumed to play a role in photosynthetic carbon assimilation. In this study, we have used both RNA antisense and gene knockout lines to specifically reduce the activity of the chloroplast betaCA1 polypeptide (At3g01500) in the mo...

The relative importance of facilitation and competition between pairwise plants across abiotic stress gradients as predicted by the stress-gradient hypothesis has been confirmed in arid and temperate ecosystems, but the hypothesis has rarely been tested in tropical systems, particularly across nutrient gradients. The current research examines the interactions between a pioneer shrub Rhodomyrtus...

Germination and early seedling growth are the most critical periods for plant establishment in saline-alkaline soil, the main factor limiting plant growth and production worldwide. To explore the physiological adaptive mechanisms of the two stages under saline and alkaline conditions, Leymus chinensis was tested by mixing two neutral salts (NaCl: Na2SO4) and two alkaline salts (NaHCO3: Na2CO3)....