Knot-related defects are the major cause of timber quality degradation, and diminishing this kind of defects is an important issue in forest management. For the purpose of clear-wood production, knot attributes and branch occlusion of Betula alnoides under natural pruning were investigated in a 14-year-old experimental plantation with five planting densities ranging from 500 to 3333 stems per h...

Grain sorghum grown in 38-cm rows (high density [HD]) or 76-cm rows (normal density [ND]) was treated as follows: steam-flaked (SF), high-moisture-harvested followed by rolling and ensiling (HM), or dry-rolled (DR). Resulting grains were evaluated using lambs in two 5 x 5 Latin square digestion trials. Treatment diets contained either SF-HD, SF-ND, HM-HD, HM-ND, or DR-ND grain sorghum in two tr...

Restoration of wet prairie in the central midwestern United States should include Prairie cordgrass (Spartina pectinata), but historic densities of this once dominant species are not easily achieved. Spartina pectinata was transplanted into a former agricultural field in three planting strategies: 20 small plugs, 4 medium-sized plugs, and a single large plug, with each treatment area totaling 0...

Pre-planting factors have been associated with the late-season severity of Stagonospora nodorum blotch (SNB), caused by the fungal pathogen Parastagonospora nodorum, in winter wheat (Triticum aestivum). The relative importance of these factors in the risk of SNB has not been determined and this knowledge can facilitate disease management decisions prior to planting of the wheat crop. In this st...

A mangrove plantation as a Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) project is expected as a sink of greenhouse gases, because of their large CO2 sequestration ability of high primary productivity. The method for estimating the amount of carbon stock after plantation was essential for a planning of a mangrove CDM project. However, there is often no information about tree planting year and planting reg...

Environmentally sound management of N in apple orchards requires that N supply meets demand. In 1997, newly planted apple trees (Malus domestica Borkh. var. Golden Delicious on M.9 rootstock) received daily applications of N for six weeks as Ca(15NO3)(2) through a drip irrigation system at a concentration of 112 mg l(-1) at 2-8, 5-11 or 8-14 weeks after planting. Irrigation water was applied ei...

This research was conducted in 2007 and 2008 cropping seasons in the experimental field of Shahid Salemi, Ahvaz, south west of Iran. In each year, the study consisted of a split split-plot experiment, using Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications. Four irrigation levels including irrigationoff at the 8 leaf, the 12 leaf and the tasseling stages and optimum irrigation wer...