Effects of age and stand density of mother tree on seed germination, seedling biomass allocation, and seedling growth of Pinus thunbergii were studied. The results showed that age of mother tree did not have significant influences on seed germination, but it was significant on seedling biomass allocation and growth. Seedlings from the minimum and maximum age of mother tree had higher leaf mass ...

Plant growth responses to resources may be an important mechanism that influences species' distributions, coexistence, and community structure. Irradiance is considered the most important resource for seedling growth in the understory of wet tropical forests, but multiple soil nutrients and species have yet to be examined simultaneously with irradiance under field conditions. To identify potent...

Eleven salt tolerant bacteria isolated from different sources (soil, plants) and their transformed strains were used to study their influence on Triticum aestivum var. Inqlab-91 growth under salt (100 mM NaCl) stress. Salt stress caused reduction in germination (19.4%), seedling growth (46%) and fresh weight (39%) in non-inoculated plants. In general, both wild and transformed strains stimulate...

After more than 50 years of research and selective breeding, blight-resistant American chestnut (Castanea dentata) trees will soon be available for planting into the species’ pre-blight range. Increased understanding of the regeneration requirements of pure American chestnut (C. dentata [Marsh.] Borkh.) will increase the success of future efforts to establish blight-resistant chestnut. We quant...

Seedling establishment is a critical phase in pasture management. Knowledge of the seedling development of new forages is necessary to develop management practices and recommend species mixtures for pasture seedings. We compared seedling growth and development of prairiegrass (Bromus willdenowii Kunth = B. catharticus Vahl), grazing bromegrass (B. stamineus Desv.), and orchardgrass (Dactylis gl...

in order to study the interaction allelopathic effects of wheat, barley and wild mustard on seed germination and seedling growth, this investigation was conducted in 2009 in two separate experiments. allelopathic effect of four aqueous extracts (0, 2.5, 5 and 10%) of wild mustard on wheat and barley germination was evaluated in the first experiment, based on two randomized completely designs (r...

Loblolly pine seedlings were grown in 1 x 5 inch biodegradable plastic tubes for 10, 12, and 14 weeks at densities of 42, 84, 126, and 168 per square foot. Seedling density and age significantly affected seedling development at time of outplant ing, and densi ty became more important as greenhouse growing t imes increased. Al l morphological characteristics measured when seedlings were planted-...

Many studies have focused on the ecology of seed dimorphism, the production of two seed types by a single plant. Morphology and seed size are usually correlated, but how morphology affects germination percentage and seedling growth is poorly understood. Here we explicitly separate these effects for nine populations of the dimorphic species Tragopogon pratensis subsp. pratensis. Larger seeds yie...

Gregarious flowering of bamboo species impacts ecosystem properties and conservation, but documentation of these periodic events is difficult. Here, we compare the characteristics of flowering sites and un-flowered patches of an arrow bamboo (Fargesia qinlingensis) in the Qinling Mountains, China, over a 5-year period (2003-2007) after a mast flowering event (2003). We examined flowering culm a...

BACKGROUND The responses of plant seeds and seedlings to changing atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition and precipitation regimes determine plant population dynamics and community composition under global change. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS In a temperate steppe in northern China, seeds of P. tanacetifolia were collected from a field-based experiment with N addition and increased precipitati...