scholarly journals Assessing plant performance in the Enviratron

Plant Methods ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yin Bao ◽  
Scott Zarecor ◽  
Dylan Shah ◽  
Taylor Tuel ◽  
Darwin A. Campbell ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Assessing the impact of the environment on plant performance requires growing plants under controlled environmental conditions. Plant phenotypes are a product of genotype × environment (G × E), and the Enviratron at Iowa State University is a facility for testing under controlled conditions the effects of the environment on plant growth and development. Crop plants (including maize) can be grown to maturity in the Enviratron, and the performance of plants under different environmental conditions can be monitored 24 h per day, 7 days per week throughout the growth cycle. Results The Enviratron is an array of custom-designed plant growth chambers that simulate different environmental conditions coupled with precise sensor-based phenotypic measurements carried out by a robotic rover. The rover has workflow instructions to periodically visit plants growing in the different chambers where it measures various growth and physiological parameters. The rover consists of an unmanned ground vehicle, an industrial robotic arm and an array of sensors including RGB, visible and near infrared (VNIR) hyperspectral, thermal, and time-of-flight (ToF) cameras, laser profilometer and pulse-amplitude modulated (PAM) fluorometer. The sensors are autonomously positioned for detecting leaves in the plant canopy, collecting various physiological measurements based on computer vision algorithms and planning motion via “eye-in-hand” movement control of the robotic arm. In particular, the automated leaf probing function that allows the precise placement of sensor probes on leaf surfaces presents a unique advantage of the Enviratron system over other types of plant phenotyping systems. Conclusions The Enviratron offers a new level of control over plant growth parameters and optimizes positioning and timing of sensor-based phenotypic measurements. Plant phenotypes in the Enviratron are measured in situ—in that the rover takes sensors to the plants rather than moving plants to the sensors.

Author(s):  
Narpinderjeet Kaur Dhillon ◽  
Rohit Kumar ◽  
Sukhjeet Kaur ◽  
Anupam Anupam ◽  
Asmita Srari

Mungbean is an economically as well as nutritionally enriched crop. Of the different soil borne pathogens attacking mungbean, root-knot nematode (Meloidogyne spp.) is an important pathogen affecting growth and production of mungbean. It is grown in summer as well as in kharif season. The germplasm of mungbean of two seasons’ viz., summer and kharif was screened to identify new sources of resistance against root knot nematode, M. incognita. In addition to screening; studies were also conducted on the impact of root knot nematode infestation in roots on nodulation character of mungbean and growth parameters. Of the sixty three genotypes evaluated in summer, seven were found to be moderately resistant. In kharif season, only three genotypes were found to be moderately resistant. M. incognita infestation was also observed to affect the plant growth parameters as well as nodulation on roots of mungbean genotypes. Comparatively, better plant growth and higher nodulation was observed in moderately resistant genotypes as compared to the susceptible ones. The ten identified moderately resistant genotypes from two seasons can be a useful source in breeding programmes for developing cultivars to manage root knot nematode.


2015 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-70 ◽  
Author(s):  
Youping Sun ◽  
Genhua Niu ◽  
Andrew K. Koeser ◽  
Guihong Bi ◽  
Victoria Anderson ◽  
...  

As the green industry is moving toward sustainability to meet the demands of society, the use of biocontainers as alternatives to petroleum-based plastic containers has drawn significant attention. Field trials of seven plantable biocontainers (coir, manure, peat, rice hull, soil wrap, straw, and wood fiber) were conducted in 2011 and 2012 at five locations in the United States to assess the influence of direct-plant biocontainers on plant growth and establishment and the rate of container decomposition in landscape. In 2011, container type did not affect the growth of any of the three species used in this study with an exception in one location. The three species were ‘Sunpatiens Compact Magenta’ new guinea impatiens (Impatiens ×hybrida), ‘Luscious Citrus’ lantana (Lantana camara), and ‘Senorita Rosalita’ cleome (Cleome ×hybrida). In 2012, the effect of container type on plant growth varied with location and species. Cleome, new guinea impatiens, and lantana plants grown in coir and straw containers were in general smaller than those in peat, plastic, rice hull, and wood fiber containers. After 3 to 4 months in the field, manure containers had on average the highest rate of decomposition at 88% for all five locations and two growing seasons. The levels of decomposition of other containers, straw, wood fiber, soil wrap, peat, coir, and rice hull were 47%, 46%, 42%, 38%, 25%, and 18%, respectively, in descending order. Plantable containers did not hinder plant establishment and posttransplant plant growth. The impact of container type on plant growth was smaller compared with that of location (climate). Similarly, the impact of plant species on pot decomposition was smaller compared with that of pot material.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (24) ◽  
pp. 13842
Author(s):  
Qurat-ul-Ain ◽  
Aisha Nazir ◽  
Sergio C. Capareda ◽  
Muhammad Shafiq ◽  
Firdaus-e-Bareen

Cotton gin trash, the by-product of the cotton ginning industry which is produced in large quantities every year, can be utilized as feedstock for deriving high quality organic materials such as biochar, compost and co-composted derivates for improvement of soils’ key physical, chemical and biological properties. This is the first report in which cotton gin trash was both thermally and biologically converted at the same time into biochar (BC), compost (C) and co-compost (Coc), and their effects on soil properties and on plant performance were examined. In order to find the optimum rate, the products were used as soil amendments in a greenhouse experiment at 2.5 t ha−1, 5 t ha−1and 10 t ha−1 rates. All of the amendments contributed in improving the soil properties and provided agronomic benefits to plants, however plants (radish var. Cherry belle) showed significantly (p < 0.05) better growth attributes and almost a 315% increase in biomass yield observed when co-composted biochar (10 t ha−1) was applied to the soil, thus suggesting its role in compensating fertilizer application. Amendments (2.5 and 5.0 t ha−1) considerably increased plant growth parameters; however, differences between 5 and 10 t ha−1 amendments were not so significant. As a result, replenishing soil with Coc (5 t ha−1) on a regular basis can promote plant growth and improve soil qualities over time.


Plants ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 88 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fermín Morales ◽  
María Ancín ◽  
Dorra Fakhet ◽  
Jon González-Torralba ◽  
Angie L. Gámez ◽  
...  

Increased periods of water shortage and higher temperatures, together with a reduction in nutrient availability, have been proposed as major factors that negatively impact plant development. Photosynthetic CO2 assimilation is the basis of crop production for animal and human food, and for this reason, it has been selected as a primary target for crop phenotyping/breeding studies. Within this context, knowledge of the mechanisms involved in the response and acclimation of photosynthetic CO2 assimilation to multiple changing environmental conditions (including nutrients, water availability, and rising temperature) is a matter of great concern for the understanding of plant behavior under stress conditions, and for the development of new strategies and tools for enhancing plant growth in the future. The current review aims to analyze, from a multi-perspective approach (ranging across breeding, gas exchange, genomics, etc.) the impact of changing environmental conditions on the performance of the photosynthetic apparatus and, consequently, plant growth.


2018 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
pp. 400 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rongli Shi ◽  
Astrid Junker ◽  
Christiane Seiler ◽  
Thomas Altmann

Root systems architecture (RSA) and size properties are essential determinants of plant performance and need to be assessed in high-throughput plant phenotyping platforms. Thus, we tested a concept that involves near-infrared (NIR) imaging of roots growing along surfaces of transparent culture vessels using special long pass filters to block their exposure to visible light. Two setups were used to monitor growth of Arabidopsis, rapeseed, barley and maize roots upon exposure to white light, filter-transmitted radiation or darkness: root growth direction was analysed (1) through short-term cultivation on agar plates, and (2) using soil-filled transparent pots to monitor long-term responses. White light-triggered phototropic responses were detected for Arabidopsis in setup 1, and for rapeseed, barley and maize roots in setups 1 and 2, whereas light effects could be avoided by use of the NIR filter thus confirming its suitability to mimic darkness. NIR image-derived ‘root volume’ values correlated well with root dry weight. The root system fractions visible at the different pot sides and in different zones revealed species- and genotype-dependent variation of spatial root distribution and other RSA traits. Following this validated concept, root imaging setups may be integrated into shoot phenotyping facilities in order to enable root system analysis in the context of whole-plant performance investigations.


2017 ◽  
Vol 88 (20) ◽  
pp. 2279-2291 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jimmy Zumba ◽  
James Rodgers ◽  
Matthew Indest

A key cotton fiber property is micronaire. Micronaire can impact the fiber’s quality, textile processing efficiency, and fabric dye consistency. Fiber micronaire is normally measured in a laboratory under tight standard temperature and relative humidity (RH) environmental conditions (21 ± 1℃, 65 ± 2% RH). Near infrared (NIR) measurements have been performed both inside and outside of the laboratory, but measurements outside the laboratory have at times demonstrated reduced predictive capability, possibly due to the lack of standard environmental conditions. A program was implemented to determine the impact of non-standard conditions of temperature T and relative humidity RH on NIR micronaire results for bench-top and portable NIR instruments. Non-standard T and RH resulted in varying fiber moisture, which impacted the NIR spectral response. The NIR micronaire results were impacted by the non-standard conditioning for all instruments, with the lower wavelength region (∼910–1680 nm) portable instrument impacted the most. The impacts and deviations were greater at high temperature/RH compared to low temperature/RH conditioning. These results provide a rationale for the deviations observed previously in NIR micronaire results for outside the laboratory micronaire measurements with portable NIR units.


Agronomy ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 1504 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessandra Moncada ◽  
Filippo Vetrano ◽  
Alessandro Esposito ◽  
Alessandro Miceli

Plant biostimulants are of interest as they can stimulate plant growth and increase resource utilization. There is still no information on the use of plant growth-promoters under variable nutritional conditions in the nursery and the effects on tomato seedling growth and plant performance after transplant. This study aimed to evaluate the suitability of gibberellic acid (GA3) or bacterial biostimulant treatments to enhance the growth and quality of greenhouse-grown tomato (Solanum lycopersicum ‘Marmande’) seedlings, fertigated with increasing nutrient rates and to assess the efficacy of these treatments on the early growth of tomato plants. During autumn 2019, tomato seedlings were inoculated with 1.5 g L−1 of TNC BactorrS13 (a commercial biostimulant containing 1.3 × 108 CFU g−1 of Bacillus spp.) or sprayed with 10−5 M GA3 and fertigated with a nutrient solution containing 0, 1, 2 and 4 g L−1 of NPK fertilizer (20-20-20) when they reached the 11th BBCH growth stage for tomato. Subsequently, the seedlings were evaluated in greenhouse cultivation for 60 days until at least the 61st BBCH growth stage (January 2020). The growth of the tomato seedlings increased curvilinearly in relation to the fertigation rates. The GA3-treated seedlings showed similar or even higher growth parameters than the control seedlings fed with 4 g L−1 of fertilizer but with half of the nutrients. The inoculation of the substrate with Bacillus spp. had negative effects in the absence of fertigation but determined a greater growth at the highest fertigation rate. The bacterial inoculum of seedlings had longer-term effects than the GA3 treatment during the plant growth, but these effects were noticeable mainly when the bacterial biostimulant was associated with the highest fertigation rate.


2010 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
pp. 40-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Kharel ◽  
L. P. Amgain

An experiment was conducted at Institute of Agriculture and Animal Science, Rampur, Chitwan, Nepal during March-July 2008 to explore the impact of ambient ozone on crop growth and yield. Mungbean cultivar "Pratikshya" was used as a test crop for the study. Mungbean plants were planted in 40 pots and 50% of the plants (i.e. plants in 20 pots) were treated with ethylenediurea (EDU) from 13 DAS to crop maturity at 10 days intervals. The ambient ozone level of the site was measured with passive samplers. The ozone level ranged from 29.3 to 39.1 ppb at the experimentation site during the cropping period. It was found that the ambient ozone at the site caused significant effects on plant growth and yield. The observed ambient ozone was found to reduce the growth parameters like plant height, per plant number of leaves, and number of branches by 10%, 27.74%, and 10.88%, respectively at 70 DAS while it reduced per plant number of seeds (13.17%), seed dry weights (19.67%), test weight (g/1000 seeds), (10.28%), total above-ground biomass (16.60%), harvest index (6.25%), and shelling percentage (5.07%) of controlled over EDU treated plants (ozone protected). The study clearly indicated that ambient ozone contributes to lower plant growth and crop yield.Key words: Ambient ozone; Ethylenediurea (EDU); Passive samplerThe Journal of AGRICULTURE AND ENVIRONMENT Vol. 11, 2010Page: 40-45Uploaded Date: 15 Septembre, 2010


1991 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 79-82
Author(s):  
Douglas F. Welsh ◽  
Jayne M. Zajicek ◽  
Calvin G. Lyons

Abstract Water-use and plant growth of Fraser photinia (Photinia × fraseri Dress) were studied under varying irrigation regimes during 2 different growing seasons, winter and summer. Rooted cuttings were transplanted into 7.57 1 (2 gal) plastic containers containing Metro-mix 500 and greenhouse-grown under 2 irrigation frequencies (3.5 or 7-day intervals) and 3 replacement amounts (100%, 75% or 50% replacement of actual water-use). Increased irrigation frequency significantly reduced plant growth parameters of winter-grown plants, including shoot growth, leaf number, leaf area and shot dry weight. Decreased irrigation amount significantly increased root dry weight. Significant differences were not detected in growth measurements of summer-grown plants suggesting differences between experiments are seasonal in nature. Frequent irrigation resulted in poor plant pelformance under winter growing conditions of lower evapotranspiration (ET); however under summer growing conditions, frequent irrigation did not significantly affect plant growth. Decreased irrigation frequency significantly increased total water-use for winter-grown plants due to increased plant performance. No significant differences in water-use due to frequency in summer-grown plants was found.


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