scholarly journals Effect of Aqueous Neem Leaf Extracts in Controlling Fusarium Wilt, Soil Physicochemical Properties and Growth Performance of Banana (Musa spp.)

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (22) ◽  
pp. 12335
Author(s):  
Ung Yi ◽  
Sakimin Siti Zaharah ◽  
Siti Izera Ismail ◽  
Mohamed Hanafi Musa

Neem leaf extracts (NLEs) have frequently been used to inhibit plant diseases and for the development of bio-fertilizer, leading to the commercial exploitation of this tree. However, previous studies have indicated contradictory outcomes when NLE was used as an antifungal disease treatment and bio-fertilizer applied through the soil on several crops, including banana. Therefore, the present investigation was undertaken to examine the physicochemical properties of soil, the growth performance of crops, and the severity of diseases caused by Fusarium oxysporum (Foc) on Cavendish bananas treated with aqueous NLE. Banana plants associated with the fungus were significantly affected by high disease severity and symptoms index (external leaves and internal rhizome), a high infection percentage of Fusarium wilt (%), dropping off of leaves as well as rotting of the root. Meanwhile, it was observed that the application of extract significantly improved the crop height, stem diameter, root size and distribution (root surface area, root diameter, and root volume), root–shoot ratio, as well as the soil physicochemical properties (CEC, N, p, K, Ca, and Mg), which enhanced resistance to Fusarium wilt diseases. We conclude that the application of NLE solution promotes better growth of Cavendish banana plants, soil physicochemical properties, and resistance to Fusarium wilt infection.

2013 ◽  
Vol 726-731 ◽  
pp. 81-84
Author(s):  
Wu Xing Huang ◽  
Cong Ren ◽  
Jing Qing Gao

Two Rumex japonicus populations, one from copper (Cu) mine and the other from uncontaminated site, were studied for root morphology and biomass under Cu stress. Main root length and number of tips of the two populations were both significantly inhibited by Cu treatments. However, those of metallicolous population (MP) were higher than non-metallicolous population (NMP) under Cu stress. Cu treatments significantly inhibited root surface area in NMP while MP showed little difference from control. Cu treatments inhibited average root diameter and root/shoot ratio in NMP, but those in MP were significantly higher than control. Cu treatments significantly inhibited shoot biomass and root biomass in NMP. These results suggested that more assimilates allocated to root and the average root diameter increased under Cu stress to form a greater and stronger root might be partly reasons why R. japonicus can colonize the Cu enriched soils.


HortScience ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 52 (12) ◽  
pp. 1759-1764
Author(s):  
Maria A. Macias-Leon ◽  
Daniel I. Leskovar

Onions (Allium cepa L.) are easily outcompeted by weeds because of slow germination and relative growth rates. Therefore, high percentage of seed germination and root vigor are important traits to improve field performance. The effects of exogenous plant growth regulators (PGRs), 2-chloroethylphosphonic acid (ethephon, Eth), indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), trans-zeatin (tZ), and 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) were evaluated on the germination and root growth of ‘Don Victor’ (yellow) and ‘Lambada’ (red) onion seedlings. Seeds were soaked for 10 hours in hormonal solutions and water (hydro-priming). Seed germination improved with Eth (30 and 100 μm), Eth (100 μm) + IAA (10 μm), and IAA (3 μm) treatments. Root surface area (RSA) increased in response to Eth at 30 and 100 μm, Eth + IAA, and 3 μm IAA. Root length (RL) and root diameter (RD) were enhanced by 1 μm tZ and 100 μm ACC. Eth reduced RL and RD, whereas IAA showed no effects. A subsequent experiment evaluated synergistic effects of different PGRs. Treatment of seeds with ACC (250 μm) + tZ (0.5 μm) and ACC (250 μm) + tZ (0.5 μm) + Eth (20 μm) enhanced RL and RD. RSA was unaffected by ACC + tZ + Eth. The results suggest that exogenous PGRs could be useful to enhance germination, RL, and RSA of onion seedlings.


2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (5) ◽  
pp. 629-636 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew B. Bertucci ◽  
David H. Suchoff ◽  
Katherine M. Jennings ◽  
David W. Monks ◽  
Christopher C. Gunter ◽  
...  

Grafting of watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) is an established production practice that provides resistance to soilborne diseases or tolerance to abiotic stresses. Watermelon may be grafted on several cucurbit species (interspecific grafting); however, little research exists to describe root systems of these diverse rootstocks. A greenhouse study was conducted to compare root system morphology of nine commercially available cucurbit rootstocks, representing four species: pumpkin (Cucurbita maxima), squash (Cucurbita pepo), bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria), and an interspecific hybrid squash (C. maxima × C. moschata). Rootstocks were grafted with a triploid watermelon scion (‘Exclamation’), and root systems were compared with nongrafted (NG) and self-grafted (SG) ‘Exclamation’. Plants were harvested destructively at 1, 2, and 3 weeks after transplant (WAT), and data were collected on scion dry weight, total root length (TRL), average root diameter, root surface area, root:shoot dry-weight ratio, root diameter class proportions, and specific root length. For all response variables, the main effect of rootstock and rootstock species was significant (P < 0.05). The main effect of harvest was significant (P < 0.05) for all response variables, with the exception of TRL proportion in diameter class 2. ‘Ferro’ rootstock produced the largest TRL and root surface area, with observed values 122% and 120% greater than the smallest root system (‘Exclamation’ SG), respectively. Among rootstock species, pumpkin produced the largest TRL and root surface area, with observed values 100% and 82% greater than those of watermelon, respectively. These results demonstrate that substantial differences exist during the initial 3 WAT in root system morphology of rootstocks and rootstock species available for watermelon grafting and that morphologic differences of root systems can be characterized using image analysis.


Plant Methods ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu Liu ◽  
Ji Qian ◽  
Xin Yang ◽  
Bao Di ◽  
Juan Zhou

Abstract Background Traditional measurements of apple seedling roots often rely on manual measurements and existing root scanners on the market. Manual measurement requires a lot of labor and time, and subjective reasons may cause the uncertainty of data; root scanners have limited scanning size and expensive. In case of fruit roots, coverage and occlusion issues will occur, resulting in inaccurate results, but our research solved this problem. Results The background plate was selected according to the color of the seedling roots; the image of the roots of the collected apple seedlings was preprocessed with Vision Development Module by combining image and Labview. The root surface area, average root diameter, root length and root volume of apple seedlings were measured by combining root characteristic parameters algorithm. In order to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method, a set of measurement system for root morphology of apple seedlings was designed, and the measurement result was compared with the Canadian root system WinRHIZO 2016 (Canada). With application of SPSS v22.0 analysis, the significance P > 0.01 indicated that the difference was not significant. The relative error of surface area was less than 0.5%. The relative error of the average diameter and length of the root system was less than 0.1%, and the relative error of the root volume was less than 0.2%. Conclusions It not only proved that the root surface area, average root diameter, root length and root volume of apple seedlings could be accurately measured by the method described herein, which was handy in operation, but also reduced the cost by 80–90% compared with the conventional scanner.


2020 ◽  
Vol 48 (3) ◽  
pp. 1637-1648
Author(s):  
Yujie YANG ◽  
Wenjie LI ◽  
Xinru HE ◽  
Die HU ◽  
Yongjun FEI

Experiments were conducted on 1-year Phoebe chekiangensis seedlings treated by different concentration (0, 300, 600, 900, 1200 mg/L) of Pb (NO3)2. Sixty days later, determination was implemented on seedling growth, physiological and photosynthetic parameters. The results showed that the lower concentration treated could promote the growth of the seedlings. But with the increase of concentration of lead, P. chekiangensis seedling height increment, ground diameter growth, whole biomass, total root surface area, root volume, total root length and root activity decreased, while root-shoot ratio present a rising trend. With the increase of concentration of Pb(NO3)2 solution, the membrane permeability and MDA content of P. chekiangensis seedlings showed a trend of rise after the first reduce; the protein content and chlorophyll content presented a trend of decrease after the first increase; while the POD, SOD and CAT activity increased firstly but decreased afterwards; the net photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance, intercellular CO2 concentration, transpiration rate were all increase at first then decrease, which indicated that protection enzyme activity and membrane was damaged thus the growth of P. chekiangensis seedlings was inhibited.


1991 ◽  
Vol 69 (3) ◽  
pp. 671-676 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Manjunath ◽  
M. Habte

Greenhouse and growth chamber investigations were undertaken using selected Leucaena and Sesbania species to determine the extent to which root morphological characteristics and rhizosphere acid production could explain differences in mycorrhizal dependency of host plants. Compared with the moderately to very highly mycorrhizal-dependent Leucaena species, the marginally to moderately dependent Sesbania species were characterized by higher root mass, higher root density, higher root surface area, higher root length, smaller root diameter, higher percentage of root hair incidence, higher shoot to root ratio, and higher total P uptake. The two groups of species were not consistently different from each other with respect to mycorrhizal colonization level, root hair diameter, root hair length, P uptake per unit root surface area, and acid production in agar media. A stepwise regression model in which mycorrhizal dependency (MD) was used as the dependent variable and root characteristics as independent variables suggested that root mass, root hair length, root diameter, root density, and root hair incidence were important determinants of MD, with root mass accounting for 65.5% of the variability. The results suggest that differences in the mycorrhizal dependency of host species can be largely predicted from root characteristics data. Key words: Brassica, Leucaena, Sesbania, P uptake, root hair, root mass.


Author(s):  
Ömer Sarı

The study was carried out to determine the root architectural characteristics of the one-year saplings of two species of boxwood (Buxus sempervirens L. and Buxus balearica Lam.), which are endangered and natural plants of Turkey, in the greenhouse environment using the WinRhizo root analysis program and scanner. Total root length (cm), root surface area (cm2), root volume (cm3), average root diameter (mm), number of tips, number of forks and number of root crossings were determined in the study. According to the results of the study, the increase in temperature and decrease in humidity values in the second year of both species were effective on the root architectural features. As a result of this effect, the second year root length (3810 cm), number of root tips (2299), number of forks (7007) and number of root crossings (696) increased, root diameter (1.4 mm), root surface area (2158 cm2) and root volume (8 cm3) decreased. As a result, it has been concluded that species can make changes in their root parameters to adapt to different conditions and their adaptability is high. In general, the best results in root architectural parameters were obtained from Buxus balearica on the basis of species.


HortScience ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 55 (8) ◽  
pp. 1272-1279
Author(s):  
Dennis N. Katuuramu ◽  
W. Patrick Wechter ◽  
Marcellus L. Washington ◽  
Matthew Horry ◽  
Matthew A. Cutulle ◽  
...  

Root traits are an important component for productive plant performance. Roots offer immediate absorptive surfaces for water and nutrient acquisition and are thus critical to crop growth and response to biotic and abiotic stresses. In addition, roots can provide the first line of defense against soilborne pathogens. Watermelon crop performance is often challenged by inclement weather and environmental factors. A resilient root system can support the watermelon crop’s performance across a diverse range of production conditions. In this study, 335 four-day-old watermelon (Citrullus spp.) seedlings were evaluated for total root length, average root diameter, total root surface area, and total root volume. Total root length varied from 8.78 to 181 cm (20.6-fold variation), total surface area varied from 2 to 35.5 cm2, and average root diameter and total root volume had an 8- and 29.5-fold variation, respectively. Genotypes PI 195927 (Citrullus colocynthis) and PI 674448 (Citrullus amarus) had the largest total root length values. Accessions PI 674448 and PI 494817 (C. amarus) had the largest total root surface area means. Watermelon cultivars (Citrullus lanatus) had a relatively smaller root system and significantly fewer fibrous roots when compared with the roots of the other Citrullus spp. Positive genetic correlations were identified among total root length, total root surface area, and total root volume. This genetic information will be useful in future breeding efforts to select for multiple root architecture traits in watermelon. Germplasm identified in this study that exhibit superior root traits can be used as parental choices to improve watermelon for root traits.


HortScience ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 40 (5) ◽  
pp. 1539-1542 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey S. Beasley ◽  
Bruce E. Branham ◽  
Loretta M. Ortiz-Ribbing

Trinexapac-ethyl (TE) [4-(cyclopropyl-a-hydroxy-methylene)-3,5-dioxocyclohexanecarboxylic acid ethyl ester] effects on turfgrass root architecture are not known. It has been postulated that PGR application could cause photoassimilate that is normally used for shoot growth to be funneled to root growth. This study evaluated the effects of a single TE application on kentucky bluegrass (KBG) root and shoot growth for seven weeks. Individual KBG plants were grown in a hydroponic system and harvested weekly. At each harvest, tiller height, tiller number, and color ratings were recorded. Estimates of total root length (TRL), root surface area (SA), and average root diameter were measured using the WinRhizo system. Trinexapac-ethyl reduced plant height for 4 weeks followed by a period of postinhibition growth enhancement. Trinexapac-ethyl increased tiller number over the course of the study and slightly enhanced plant color. Trinexapac-ethyl reduced TRL and SA 48% and 46% at 1 week after treatment (WAT) followed by an accelerated growth rate 1 to 4 WAT. Trinexapac-ethyl had no effect on root diameter. On a tiller basis, TE initially reduced TRL and SA 30% and 31%, respectively. Total root length per tiller and root surface area per tiller were reduced by TE treatment, but by 7 WAT, those differences were no longer significant. Initial reductions in TRL and SA per tiller may reduce tiller competitiveness for water and nutrients. Based on data for TRL and SA per tiller, shoot and root growth must be considered in total to fully understand TE effects on plant growth. Field research is needed to corroborate results from hydroponic-studies and examine the effect of various TE rates and multiple applications on turfgrass root and shoot growth.


HortScience ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 51 (5) ◽  
pp. 567-572 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Leskovar ◽  
Yahia Othman

Effective nutrition and irrigation are important nursery strategies to produce high-quality seedlings able to withstand heat and drought stress in the field. The objectives of this study were 2-fold, first to identify the influence of two nitrogen (N) levels (75 and 150 mg·L−1) and two fertigation (FR) methods, overhead (OH) and flotation (FL) of artichoke (Cynara cardunculus cv. Green Globe Improved) transplants on root/shoot growth and leaf physiology during the nursery period. A repeated greenhouse experiment was conducted and morphophysiological measurements were determined at 4 and 7 weeks after seeding (WAS). The second objective was to determine the impact of the nursery treatments (FR method and N level) on the subsequent crop growth and yield under three field irrigation methods [surface drip, subsurface drip, and overhead-linear system (OH-L)]. Field measurements were conducted at 50 and 150 days after field transplanting (DAT) during Fall–Winter 2015. Transplants fertilized with 75 mg·L−1 N (low N) had improved root components as compared to those with 150 mg·L−1 N (high N), especially at 4 WAS. The low N transplants had higher root surface area, root length, root branching, thinner root diameter, and less shoot area than the high N transplants. Wilting for low N transplants was 13.5% less than that for high N at 5 DAT, with a total yield similar or slightly higher than those of high N. Although growth of OH and FL transplants was statistically similar at transplanting, those irrigated with OH (greenhouse) had a 10% higher yield than FL irrigated transplants, regardless of the field irrigation method evaluated. Overall, low N level (75 mg·L−1 N) applied with OH irrigation in the nursery positively improved the transplant root system and transplant quality of artichoke seedlings.


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