Vegetative and Leaf Anatomical Traits for Taxonomic Delimitation of Salacia L. In Sri Lanka

Salacia comprises 200 species throughout the tropical countries. In Sri Lanka, five species of this genus S. chinensis, S. diandra, S. oblonga, S. reticulata and S. acuminatissima are recorded that are considered as the synonyms under S. diandra by Wadhwa in 1996 during the revision of genus. These species are very much similar in vegetative morphology and their flowering is irregular and rare. Due to these reasons, their proper identification and determination are difficult and identification of new combinations of taxonomic characters is necessary. A multivariate analysis was conducted for 98 distinct populations using 20 vegetative and 43 leaf anatomical characters including PCA, PCO, CA, SIMPER and correlation analysis. The results support the recognition of four phenetic groups, which corresponds to species S. chinensis, S. reticulata, S. oblonga and S. diandra. S. acuminatissima that was recognized by Kostermans (1992) was not supported by the analysis and formed a cluster together with S. diandra with no support as a separate cluster. The study failed to recognize any distinct vegetative characters to define these taxa but propose a combination of vegetative or leaf anatomical characters and also highlights the necessity of molecular data to supplement the vegetative and leaf anatomical data to resolve the ambiguity between the S. acuminatissima and S. diandra. Bangladesh J. Plant Taxon. 28(2): 429-439, 2021 (December)

Water Footprint for Garlic under Irrigation Levels and Agrispon Application

Field experiment was conducted in Giza, Egypt, during two growing seasons of 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 on garlic crop, with the objective of investigating the effect of different irrigation levels (60, 80 and 100 % of water requirements and their combination with the foliar spraying applications of agrispon (with 0.5 and 1.0 ml/ liter) on growth and yield. The results indicated that increased irrigation level up to 100% led to increased vegetative characters of garlic and that the lowest growth and productivity was obtained by 60% irrigation level. When considering spray application of agrispon; with 1.0 ml/L increased growth and productivity followed by 0.5 ml/L; while control treatment gave the lowest productivity during the both seasons. Interaction effect between irrigation level and agrispon treatments indicated that 100% irrigation level combined with 1.0 ml/L spray application of agrispon gave the highest garlic productivity followed by 100% irrigation level combined with 0.5 ml/L spray application. The chemical analysis showed that the highest NPK was obtained by 100% irrigation level combined with 1.0 ml/L agrispon application during the both seasons. Regarding water footprint, the highest irrigation water footprint was obtained by 80% irrigation level followed by 60% irrigation level, while the lowest footprint was obtained by 100% irrigation level due to high garlic productivity under 100% irrigation level. The estimate water footprint for garlic was 525 m3/ton. The blue water footprint for garlic was 422 m3/ton about 80% form total water footprint, while gray water percentage about 20% with value of 103 m3/ton.

Comparative Morphology and Taxonomic Study of Chlorophytum sabiense And Two Other Species in the Genus Chlorophytum Ker-Gawl

Chlorophytum sabiense Omok. (a newly identified species in the family Asparagaceae) is unique, having multiple styles emerging from fused ovaries. This specialized character may be overlooked in conjuring up archetype for the genus Chlorophytum, since the genus is characterized by single and simple style. Comparative morphology and taxonomic study of Chlorophytum sabiense and two other species in the genus (Chlorophytum macrophyllum and C. stenopetalum) was carried out to appraise level of relatedness of Chlorophytum. sabiense and these existing members. Distribution of the three species is sympatric in the North Central part of Nigeria. Chlorophytum sabiense may be confused with either of the two species because of the attributes they have in common. Samples collected were raised in a garden and closely observed for duration of three years. Data collected from morphological studies were analyzed statistically. The three species show similarity in most of the vegetative characters studied, however Chlorophytum sabiense is distinguished from the two others having; multiple styles, smaller fruit size and shorter length of pistil relative to the stamen. Exceptional characteristics exhibited by Chlorophytum sabiense makes it stand out among species in the genus, while its close resemblance with its allies accounts for reason why it had escaped recognition for a long time.

The Influence of Groundwater Desalination by Modified Active Carbon/Bentonite on Its Application in Agriculture

It cannot be denied the importance of groundwater (Gw) as a source for irrigation. It is considered the only source of water in some locations such as newly reclaimed lands. However, the groundwater quality could be affected by salinity or heavy metals because of human activities or natural reasons. Thence, groundwater desalination comes to above as a part of the solution. In this study, the modified active carbon by inorganic iron polymer (Fex(OH)y) (Fe-AC) and bentonite (Ben) were used in groundwater desalination. The treatment process of 2 liters of groundwater was carried out by using a fixed-bed column where the flow rate was 120 mL/hour for each 20 grams sorbent. The results showed that the EC value of groundwater (2.54 dS/m) was reduced to 1.12 dS/m for treated groundwater (TGw) by Fe-AC/Ben mixture. Furthermore, the effect of irrigation by Gw and TGw was tested on the Faba bean and soil properties. The vegetative characters were significantly affected by irrigation by saline Gw while plant characters were much better after irrigation with TGw as well as soil chemical properties. Accordingly, the desalination of groundwater by Fe-AC/Ben mixture considers an effective and economic method that can be applied to reduce groundwater salinity and its impact on soil and crop.

Leaf epidermal micromorphology in Aspidistra (Asparagaceae): diversity and taxonomic significance

Micromorphological characters of leaf epidermis were investigated in 69 species of Aspidistra using scanning electron microscopy. Sculpture of epidermis varies from smooth to verrucose and rugose in the genus. The abaxial epidermis of some species bears papillae, whereas the adaxial surface uniformly lacks the papillae. Sculpture type of epidermis and density of papillae are generally found to be stable characters at a species level. The infraspecific variation of epidermis sculpture, where present, ranges from smooth to verrucose or from verrucose to rugose. Micromorphological characters of leaf epidermis are shown to have potential taxonomic significance in Aspidistra; in combination with the type of shoot structure, they allow to subdivide the species into 13 groups. The groups are largely incongruent with floral morphological traits. An identification key to the studied species of Aspidistra based on vegetative characters (gross leaf and shoot morphology and characters of leaf epidermis) is presented.

Penampilan Vegetatif Tiga Genotipe Kedelai Berbiji Besar Pada Kondisi Stres Genangan

ABSTRACTThis study aims to determine the vegetative appearance of three genotypes of large-seeded soybean under puddle stress. The Experimental method was used and the plastic buckets as the experimental units were arranged using a Split Plot Design. The main plot was the stress factor (S) consisting of normal conditions (S0) and puddle stress (S1), and the subplot was the genotype factor (G) consisting of G1 (KH1), G2 (Argomulyo), and G2 (Grobogan). Each genotype was repeated four times. The observed variables were plant height, number of leaves, leaf area, number of productive branches, specific leaf weight, root/shoot dry weight ratio. The results showed that there were significantly differences in the appearance of the vegetative characters of the three genotypes of large seeded soybean under puddle stress conditions, especially on plant height, leaf area, plant dry weight, and shoot dry weight. Under puddle stress conditions, KH1 showed the highest of the plant height, root dry weight, and shoot dry weight. Argomulyo showed the highest of the leaf area, while Grobogan did not show as a tolerant variety under puddle stress conditions.

Salvia gomezpompae (Lamiaceae), a new species from Veracruz, Mexico

Background: During a prospecting revision of Salvia collections at IEB, MEXU and XAL herbaria for Flora of Veracruz, undetermined specimens, or misidentified either as S. nana or S. prunelloides, not referable to any known species were identified. Hypotheses: The morphological characters of these specimens match with those of Salvia subg. Calosphace sect. Farinaceae and support them as an undescribed species. Taxon: Lamiaceae, Salvia sp. nov. Study site: Central portion of the state of Veracruz. Methods: Botanical explorations were conducted in the two general areas in which the putative new species has been recorded, new specimens were collected and prepared according to standard procedures. A thorough morphological examination was applied, and the hypothesis was tested contrasting the evidence against specialized taxonomic literature and specimens of the most similar species. Results: Salvia sp. nov. is vegetatively almost identical to S. nana but lacks the diagnostic floral characters defining the group to which this species belongs, sect. Uliginosae. Floral characters rather match those of sect. Farinaceae, to which is assigned; between the species of this section, it is most similar to S. oblongifolia but clearly differs by vegetative characters (petiole length, absence of axillary leaves, leaf shape, size, pubescence and texture, as well as by having thickened veins). Conclusions: Morphological and comparative examination contrasting with the species of Salvia justifies the recognition of a new Salvia species, which is here named as Salvia gomezpompae and properly described.

Analysis of Genetic Variability and Agronomic Performance of Indian Lettuce (Lactuca Indica Linn.)

Lactuca indica is a undomesticated medicinal crop in the Asteraceae family. Present study was carried out to identify elite genotype for cultivation and breeding improvement of lettuce. Data was recorded for 19 morphological and developmental traits across 38 accessions (Acc). In addition to this, the morphological cluster was compared with the simple sequence repeat (SSR) marker. The genotypic mean square variance was significant for all characters. The higher extent of genotypic and phenotypic coefficient of variation obtained for basal branch, leaf blade width, and node number. The broad-sense heritability (H2B) ranged from 45.85% (seed length) to 98.59% (node number), whereas genetic advance as a percentage of the mean (GAM%) ranged from 9.33 to 191. Vegetative characters such as node number, plant hight, basal branch were conjugated with high H2B and high GAM% indicating additive gene effect and selection of these traits based on phenotypic observation is effective for better gain. Reproductive traits, including bolting duration, flowering duration, and seed weight were linked with high H2B, and moderate GAM% trevealing that these traits are amenable to genetic improvement, these traits also showed a significant positive correlation. Acc 55 and 8 showed the best performance for the majority of the attributes could be good material for further research and breeding. In the Wards’ phylogenetic tree of morphological traits, accessions were clustered based on their phenotypic characters rather than the geographic origin. Morphological characteristics showed no or very week corelation with the SSR genotyped data.

Distinguishing between Epipactis leptochila (Narrow-lipped Helleborine), Epipactis helleborine (Broad-leaved Helleborine) and their putative hybrid, Epipactis x stephensonii at the Warburg reserve, Oxfordshire

A drought in May 2020 curtailed snail damage to a population of Epipactis leptochila (Godfrey) Godfrey (Narrow-lipped Helleborine) such that in July there were 33 flowering plants in an area well known for this species at the Warburg nature reserve in Oxfordshire (v.c.23). Despite growing in a heavily-shaded area under beech, the typical habitat of E. leptochila, some of these plants were actually E. helleborine L. (Crantz) (Broad-leaved Helleborine) based on recognized distinguishing characteristics. We took morphological measurements (19 floral characters and 10 vegetative characters) for all the flowering plants present and were able to confirm by statistical analysis our initial species identifications. We were able also to discriminate between the species reasonably accurately using leaf characters alone, such as leaf colour, leaf length to width ratios and the angle of turn of the bottom three leaves. Using the outcomes from this analysis we were able to make predictions about the identity of most of the 82 non-flowering plants present. There were 4 plants that defied clear initial allocation to one or the other species and were suspected to be the hybrid E. x stephensonii Godfrey. Statistical analysis confirmed that these plants were indeed distinguishable from either parent, and most characters were intermediate to some degree between the two. The morphology of these putative hybrids is described pending molecular confirmation of their identity.