Shoot development in Betula papyrifera. I. Short-shoot organogenesis

1983 ◽  
Vol 61 (12) ◽  
pp. 3049-3065 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alastair D. Macdonald ◽  
D. H. Mothersill

Buds and developing branches of Betula papyrifera were collected weekly from mature trees during three successive growing seasons. Material was prepared to show stages of bud inception, development, and flushing and female inflorescence inception. Short shoots develop from (i) proximal axillary buds on long shoots (ii) short-shoot terminal buds, or (iii) axillary buds on flowering short shoots. An axillary bud apex forms a terminal bud after bud burst. An axillary bud possesses one outer rudimentary leaf, but all other short-shoot buds have three outer rudimentary leaves. All short-shoot buds possess, in addition, one–three embryonic foliage leaves and, distally, three primordial rudimentary leaves which form the outermost appendages of the succeeding terminal bud. Rudimentary leaf stipules form the cataphylls. Foliage leaf primordia are initiated in May – early June and rudimentary leaves arise in late June – July. If a bud apex is initiated in year n, female inflorescence induction occurs in late June of year n + 1 or any succeeding year. An axillary bud develops on a short shoot as a consequence of flowering; it is initiated concurrently with inflorescence development and its development is completed during flowering and seed maturation. Short- and long-shoot buds can be distinguished, upon dissection, in mid-July when buds are forming. Hence, determination of potential long and short shoots occurs the year before bud burst.

1987 ◽  
Vol 65 (3) ◽  
pp. 466-475 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alastair D. Macdonald ◽  
D. H. Mothersill

Reproductive buds and developing inflorescences were collected weekly from mature trees during three successive growing seasons in northwestern Ontario. Material was prepared to show all stages of inflorescence and flower development and meiosis. Male inflorescence induction, involving the long-shoot bud apex and one or two proximal axillary apices, occurred in early May, before bud burst. Female induction involved the short-shoot bud apex and occurred in late June – early July. Both male and female partial inflorescences resembled a simple dichasium. The male flower consisted of usually two stamens and two or three tepals variably arranged. Meiosis occurred in late July – early August. Each female flower consisted of two stigmas, two connate tepals that were not noticeable at maturity, and a parietal placenta bearing two unitegmic ovules. Meiosis occurred in mid-June, after pollination in mid-May. It is concluded that developmental data do not help elucidate whether the inferior portion of the gynoecial wall is cauline or appendicular and whether the placenta is derived from axial or carpellary tissue. It is suggested that the trigger(s) evoking male and female inflorescence induction may be different and that the metabolic prerequisites for induction and early development would be supplied by winter-stored material for male development and by current metabolic processes for female development.


1984 ◽  
Vol 62 (3) ◽  
pp. 446-453 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Cartey Caesar ◽  
Alastair D. Macdonald

Postflush observations on shoots of Betula papyrifera Marsh. indicated that long and short shoots differ in a range of morphological characteristics. Long shoots developed from distal axillary buds and short shoots developed from proximal axillary buds on the previous year's long shoots. Consequently, the potential of a bud to develop into a long shoot decreased basipetally. Potential long-shoot buds had higher bud-relative growth rates, stem-relative growth rates, leaf-relative growth rates, and stem dry weights during the course of postflush growth. Changes in leaf thickness, expressed in terms of specific leaf area and specific leaf weight, indicated that long shoots temporarily had thinner leaves than did short shoots a few weeks after flushing. Net assimilate requirements in long shoots for late leaf and internodal expansion may explain these observations. Nearing maturity, long-shoot early leaves became thicker, possibly owing to greater shoot vigour and (or) higher photosynthetic efficiency. Consequently, mature long-shoot early leaves possessed larger and thicker laminae, longer petioles, more side nerve pairs, and tended to grow more in length than width than short-shoot leaves on shoots of comparable age. Leaves of older short shoots, 2–10 years old, attained a greater size and had longer petioles than those of 1-year-old short shoots. Stem elongation and the development and expression of leaves in long shoots seemed to have a correlative influence on the overall vigour of long shoots.


1983 ◽  
Vol 61 (12) ◽  
pp. 3066-3071 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Cartey Caesar ◽  
Alastair D. Macdonald

Short shoots of Betula papyrifera Marsh, may be vegetative or reproductive. The latter bear a female inflorescence. Early flushing and rapid growth of short-shoot buds depend on the age and position of the short shoot. Axillary short-shoot buds flush later than 2- to 4-year-old short-shoot terminal buds, which in turn flush later than 5- to 10-year-old shoots. Mean relative growth rate (RGR) of 5- to 10-year-old short-shoot buds is greater than that of younger short-shoot buds. It is suggested that older short-shoot buds are relatively autonomous and that the flushing long shoot exhibits an inhibitory influence on the proximal axillary buds and possibly on young short-shoot terminal buds. Reproductive short shoots differ from vegetative short shoots in that they have lower leaf area ratios and leaf RGR, higher specific leaf area, smaller leaf areas, and fewer side nerve pairs and they grow more in length than in width. These findings are related to reproductive cost. The developing inflorescences act as preferred "sinks" for resource allocation.


1984 ◽  
Vol 62 (8) ◽  
pp. 1708-1713 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Cartey Caesar ◽  
Alastair D. Macdonald

One-year-old vegetative and reproductive long shoots of Betula papyrifera Marsh, were collected from 40-year-old trees when leaves were fully expanded. Leaf areas were significantly reduced on shoots bearing developing male inflorescences; late leaves were affected most. Late leaves were thinner than early leaves on vegetative shoots and thinnest on reproductive shoots. The effect of developing male inflorescences was most pronounced on the specific leaf area of early leaves, suggesting that inflorescences are strong sinks for assimilates being exported by early leaves. Two-year-old vegetative and reproductive branches were collected just after bud burst to determine mean bud dry weight. These values were highest for buds on vegetative long shoots, lower for buds on reproductive long shoots, and lowest for buds on reproductive long shoots bearing female short-shoot buds. Formation of male inflorescences reduced the growth potential of buds. Female short-shoot buds on reproductive long shoots and pseudoterminal buds positioned below male inflorescences exhibited reduced growth potentials. Mean total early leaf areas measured 3 weeks after flushing showed similar trends. Thus, development and flowering of male inflorescences lowered the growth potential and vigour of axillary buds and reduced canopy expansion.


1979 ◽  
Vol 57 (7) ◽  
pp. 687-700 ◽  
Author(s):  
John N. Owens ◽  
Marje Molder

Vegetative terminal long shoot buds (TLSB) and short shoot buds (SSB) were studied throughout the annual growth cycle in several trees over several years. TLSB were not totally preformed. The dormant TLSB consisted of bud scales enclosing some basal leaves and both were borne on a broad receptacle. Centripetal to the basal leaves, a series of axial leaf primordia was borne on the flanks of the apex. After dormancy a second series of axial leaves was initiated above those initiated before dormancy. Basal and both series of axial leaves elongated during shoot elongation as the terminal apex again initiated axial leaves, bud scales, and then basal leaves. After shoot elongation the first series of axial leaves was initiated before the TLSB became dormant in October. No dimorphism occurred between predormancy and postdormancy axial leaves or axial and basal leaves. Axilliary buds were initiated in the TLSB about the time of flushing. All leaves did not bear axillary buds. All axillary buds rapidly initiated a series of bud scales and then entered a slower phase of bud-scale initiation and rapid apical enlargement. Leaf primordia then were initiated at the base of the apex and borne on the broad receptacle. Apices then differentiated into axillary long shoot buds (ALSB) or SSB. ALSB developed similarly to TLSB, whereas axillary SSB initiated leaf primordia at the base of the apex and all but the last primordia to be initiated were borne on the broad receptacle. Axillary SSB were preformed but ALSB were not completely preformed and both became dormant in mid-October. The apex of a short shoot lived for up to 8 to 10 years. In each successive year it passed through phases of bud-scale initiation and leaf initiation to form a dormant preformed SSB which flushed after overwintering. Annual short shoot elongation was about 1 mm. The LSB and SSB apices varied in shape and size during the year but apical zonation was similar in all apices. Larix vegetative bud development is compared with that found in other gymnosperms.


1984 ◽  
Vol 62 (4) ◽  
pp. 771-777 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. R. Powell ◽  
Kathleen J. Tosh ◽  
W. R. Remphrey

Trees of Larix laricina (Du Roi) K. Koch reaching the stage of first cone bearing tended to produce the majority of their seed cones, and many of their pollen cones, in lateral (axillary) positions along long shoots. In subsequent cone bearing, a greater proportion of the cones occurred in the typical (for the genus) position terminating short shoots. Some trees 2 to 4 m tall bore over 500 lateral seed cones. Lateral cones occurred on all kinds of long shoots, except sylleptic first-order shoots, produced in the 3-year-old portion of the crown. Lateral seed cones were borne on the morphogenically proximal halves of the long shoots and on all surfaces around the circumference of the shoots, but they were less frequent on upper surfaces than on other surfaces. Lateral pollen cones occurred in the proximal 10% of the lengths of the bearing shoots and were restricted to the undersurfaces or sides of the shoots. Lateral cone buds were distinctively larger and contained more bud scales than adjacent lateral short-shoot buds.


Experiments were recently reported showing that, in young seedlings of Pisum sativum , the complete inhibiting effect which the shoot exerts upon its axillary buds comes entirely or almost entirely from three or four of its developing leave acting together (6). A single developing leaf was found usually to inhibit only partially—that is to say, sufficiently to delay the growth of an axillary bud below it, but not to check it completely. The strength of this partial inhibiting effect was measured by the retardation of the outgrowth of the axillary buds of the first or lowest leaf, as compared with their growth in completely defoliated controls. Comparisons were further made of the inhibiting effects of single young leaves of equal sizes near the apex in seedlings of different ages and heights, and it was found that in very young short seedlings the inhibiting effect was very slight or inappreciable, although in seedlings of a height of about 30 mm. or more (but still possessing well filled cotyledons) the effect was strong.


1955 ◽  
Vol 6 (6) ◽  
pp. 823 ◽  
Author(s):  
AJ Antcliff ◽  
WJ Webster ◽  
P May

Pruning experiments are described in which the number of buds per vine was kept constant, and the number and length of canes was varied inversely. The position of the pruning cut affected per cent. bud burst at only the two terminal bud positions, and did not affect per cent. fruitful shoots a t any bud position. For any length of cane likely to be used in practice, per cent. bud burst in the most fruitful region would not be affected. For a constant pruning level there were no significant differences in yield when length of cane was varied from 11 to 18 buds, but in years of high fruitfulness yield was significantly depressed when the canes were 25 buds long. Apical dominance could also be demonstrated on vines with canes of variable length, and it was shown that the inhibiting agent did not move transversely.


2014 ◽  
Vol 51 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-70 ◽  
Author(s):  
Krystyna Kriesel ◽  
Sławomir Ciesielska

The investigations were performed on pine seedlings growing under 12, 16 and 20 hour photoperiods. In 4 succesive stages of seedling development i.e. after 2, 12, 18 and 30 weeks of culture morphological characters of the seedlings were measured and the levels of auxins-, gibberellins-, cytokininsand abscisic acid-like inhibitor were determined. The intensity of growth and development of juvenile leaves, needles and of the shoot was the lowest in plants growing under 12 hour photoperiod conditions. As the length of the photoperiod increased so did the intensity of these processes. Under the 12 hour photoperiod the development of scale leaves, axillary buds and the formation of the terminal bud started earliest. This process reached completion under the 12 hour photoperiod and the bud remained in a state of dormancy. Seedlings growing under the 12 hour photoperiod were characterized by a low level of stimulators, and at the same time by a high level of inhibitors. On the other hand in seedlings grown at 16 and 20 hour photoperiods the content of stimulators was higher and that of inhibitors lower. A high intensity of growth and development processes was correlated with a high level of stimulators while a high level of inhibitors was correlated with a low intensity of these processes.The obtained results suggest the participation of gibberellins and cytokinins in the processes of regulation of the initiation of scale leaves and axillary buds, and the participation of these hormones and of abscisic acid in the regulation of needle elongation.


2001 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 392-400
Author(s):  
K B Kouterick ◽  
J M Skelly ◽  
S P Pennypacker ◽  
R M Cox

The effects of simulated acidic fog and inoculation with Septoria betulae Pass. on foliar symptom development and foliar senescence of Betula papyrifera Marsh. and Betula cordifolia Regel seedlings were investigated in 1997 and 1998 under greenhouse conditions. An interactive role may exist between acidic fog events and S. betulae in causing birch foliar browning, a disease reported over the past decade to occur on mature trees growing adjacent to the Bay of Fundy, Canada. Seedlings received applications of simulated fog adjusted to pH 3.2, 4.2, and 5.6 or a no-fog treatment. Inoculation treatments at each fog pH level were accomplished through spray atomization with S. betulae conidial suspensions and by placing naturally infected birch leaves bearing pycnidia of the fungus on plastic nets suspended above seedlings in enclosed chambers. Percent symptomatic leaf area of seedlings inoculated with S. betulae was nearly double that recorded for non-inoculated seedlings. Foliar browning resembled symptoms observed on mature trees in the field. Foliar symptoms were observed on non-inoculated seedlings, with greater severities associated with seedlings exposed to the most acidic fog treatment. Leaf senescence was also greatest for spray-inoculated leaves that had been exposed to the pH 3.2 fog treatment. Pycnidial development was not influenced by the pH of the fog treatments but was greater in all fog treatments than in no-fog treatments. Although both acidic fog and S. betulae infection are able to cause symptoms independently, the data suggest that an interactive role may exist in causing birch foliar browning. However, to obtain the same severity of foliar browning as observed on natural forest-grown trees in the Bay of Fundy region, S. betulae must be present.


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