The widely accepted models describing the emergence of domesticated grain crops from their wild type ancestors are mostly based upon selection (conscious or unconscious) of major features related either to seed dispersal (nonbrittle ear, indehiscent pod) or free germination (nondormant seeds, soft seed coat). Based on the breeding systems (self-pollination) and dominance relations between the a...

When cultivated and wild plants hybridize, hybrids often show intermediate phenotypic traits relative to their parents, which makes them unfit in natural environments. However, maternal genetic effects may affect the outcome of hybridization by controlling expression earliest life history traits. Here, using wild, reciprocal crop–wild sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) hybrids, we evaluated on em...

The Diagnosis and Recommendation Integrated System (DRIS) is an alternative tool for the evaluation of nutritional status and fertilizer recommendation of several crops. However, as this methodology implies the establishment of norms or standards, without which one cannot infer about the nutritional status of a crop, in Portugal this tool has little application. The aim of this study was to est...

Most agronomic models estimate canopy light interception using the Beer-Lambert law. This method only accounts for leaf area index (LAI) and leaf angle distribution (LAD) without considering the crop’s structural heterogeneity in space, or soil-leaf or leaf-leaf radiative scattering. These factors have been extensively studied during the past ten years e.g; (Luquet et al. 1998; Nouvellon et al....

Asian countries strongly depend on rice production for food security. The major rice-growing season (June to October) is highly exposed to the risk of tropical storm related damage. Unbiased and transparent approaches to assess the risk of rice crop damage are essential to support mitigation and disaster response strategies in the region. This study describes and demonstrates a method for rapid...

Various biological amendments, including commercial biocontrol agents, microbial inoculants, mycorrhizae, and an aerobic compost tea (ACT), were evaluated, alone and in conjunction with different crop rotations, for their efficacy in introducing beneficial microorganisms, affecting soil microbial community characteristics (SMCC), and reducing soilborne diseases of potato in greenhouse and field...

Cereal grain germination is central for plant early development, and efficient germination has a major role in crop propagation and malting. Endosperm starch is the prime energy reserve in germination and seedling establishment. In this study, it was hypothesized that optimized starch granule structure, and not only the endosperm starch content per se, is important for germination and seedling ...