During replication in its host plant, coconut foliar decay virus (CFDV) remains restricted to the phloem tissue. Previous in vivo studies on subgenomic CFDV DNA had provided evidence for the phloem specificity of the CFDV promoter. Here, new promoter constructs are described which are distinguished by the presence or absence of various cis-acting signals and which gave rise to a 16-fold higher ...

Moso bamboo, well known for its high growth rate, is being subjected to increasing amounts of nitrogen deposition. However, how anthropogenic management practices regulate the effects of N deposition on Moso bamboo stoichiometry remains poorly understood. We observed the effects of two years of simulated N deposition (30, 60 and 90 kg N ha(-1)yr(-1)) on the foliar stoichiometry of Moso bamboo p...

A major challenge confronting the scientific community is to understand both patterns of and controls over spatial and temporal variability of carbon exchange between boreal forest ecosystems and the atmosphere. An understanding of the sources of variability of carbon processes at fine scales and how these contribute to uncertainties in estimating carbon fluxes is relevant to representing these...

THE ENDEMIC HAWAIIAN GENUS Trematolobelia (Lobeliaceae, or Campanulaceae, subfamily Lobelioideae) was erected on the basis of its distinctive fruit. This fruit has a seed-dispersal mechanism unique in the family. Assertions have been made by some workers that holes in the fruit wall are the work of insects, and are not related to the dispersal mechanism. This contention has been adequately disp...

High temperature during May to July is a major hurdle for production of sorghum as fodder in Pakistan, ultimately resulting in a deficit with respect to the demand of meat and milk for increasing population. A field study was conducted to investigate the impact of exogenous application of natural plant growth-promoting substances on forage yield and quality of sorghum. Seed priming and foliar a...

Determining the foliar N: P ratio provides a tool for understanding nutrient limitation on plant production and consequently for the feeding patterns of herbivores. In order to understand the nutrient limitation at landscape scale, remote sensing techniques offer that opportunity. The objective of this study is to investigate the utility of in situ hyperspectral remote sensing to estimate folia...

BACKGROUND Zinc (Zn) biofortification through foliar Zn application is an attractive strategy to reduce human Zn deficiency. However, little is known about the biofortification efficiency and bioavailability of rice grain from different forms of foliar Zn fertilizers. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS Four different Zn forms were applied as a foliar treatment among three rice cultivars under fie...

Stable carbon isotope composition (δ (13)C) usually shows a negative relationship with precipitation at a large scale. We hypothesized that sampling method affects foliar δ (13)C and its response pattern to precipitation. We selected 11 sites along a precipitation gradient in Inner Mongolia and collected leaves of Leymus chinensis with five or six replications repeatedly in each site from 2009 ...

We studied relationships among branch hydraulic conductivity, xylem embolism, stomatal conductance (gs), foliar nitrogen (N) concentration and specific leaf area (SLA) of seven tree species growing at four temperate woodland sites spanning a 464-1350 mm rainfall gradient. Specifically, we examined the question: are gs and foliar N concentration coordinated with branch hydraulic conductivity and...

Foliar fertilization with nitrogen (N) is used to supplement soil N application in order to meet the high N requirements of crops (Oosterhuis and Weir, 2010). Urea is the most common foliar N source in cotton, due to its relatively low toxicity, quick absorption, and low cost (Maples and Baker, 1993; McConnell et al., 1998; Oosterhuis and Bondada, 2001). However, in the literature reports of yi...