Young leaves of tropical forest trees experience far higher herbivory pressure than mature leaves of the same species. Selection on young leaves has led to diverse forms of defense chemical expression. Though most allelochemicals are secondary metabolites, allelochemic function for a primary metabolite remains a possibility. We recently observed this phenomenon in the young leaves of Inga umbel...

We determined effects of aerial sprays of the insect growth regulator pyriproxyfen on sweetpotato whitefly, Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) (B biotype), in Arizona cotton (Gossypium spp.) fields. We measured survival for males and females from a susceptible strain and a laboratory-selected resistant strain, as well as for hybrid female progeny from crosses between the strains. Insects were exposed d...

Net photosynthesis, dark respiration, chlorophyll and carbohydrate content, and leaf and shoot growth of deciduous peach [Prunus persica (L.) Batsch] saplings, grown in greenhouse conditions, were measured to assess changes in carbon balance during leaf development. The 6th, 12th, and 16th leaf node were measured from the first flush at the base through expansion to maturity (the first node bei...

Sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) is an herb that is used to add a distinct aroma and flavor to food. Volatile compounds emitted from fully expanded fresh leaves grown in drip-irrigated plots that were covered with six colors of mulch were compared. The colors reflected a range of photosynthetic photon flux, far-red, red, and blue light from the soil surface to developing leaves. Our objective ...