Stock Influence on Growth, Morphological and Biochemical Leaf Parameters Prunus domestica L.

Vegetation growth peculiarities and morphological and physical-biochemical features of Prunus domestica L. Utro and Yaichnaya Sinyaya varieties leaves grafted on different growing strength rootstocks were studied. Low-growing clonal rootstocks 140–1 and Novinka decreased the trees growing strength on 15–20% in comparison with strong-growing stocks; medium-growing rootstocks OPA-15-2 and OP-23-23 reduced it on 10%. The longest growing activity and the largest sprouts length was stated on these rootstocks as well, i.e. 1.3–1.4 times more than on other ones. Stable sprouts average length decrease was registered on grafted stocks 140–1 and Novinka. Leaf surface index value on the trees grafted on clonal rootstocks OPA-15-2 and OP-23-23 was on 40% higher than on control, i.e. 4.3 leaves m2/crown projection area m2. Optimal values of total increment, sprouts average length, leaves area and the largest part of physiological-biochemical parameters were stated at medium-growing clonal rootstocks OPA-15-2 and OP-23-23 use. Plum leaves blades were hypostomatic; numerous stomata were located on the abaxial (bottom) side of leaves. Stomata were located in interveinal space irregularly. Stomata length size varied from 14.6 μm (Utro/seedlings) to 22.1 μm (Yaichnaya Sinyaya/OP-23-23). The rootstock has influence on the process of photosynthesis, antioxidant activity, accumulation of minerals and metabolic answerin the leaves.

Morphological and anatomical features of winter rye leaves development

Differences of rye varieties in the length of lamina and sheath 1 - 6 from spike of the lamina and leaf sheath, width and area of the lamina were shown. The highest values of the studied leaf parameters were peculiar to the alien varieties of winter rye. It was found that foreign varieties were characterized by a smaller proportion of the plate area of the three upper leaves and a larger proportion for the 4th and 5th leaves (in % of the total leaf plate area). A characteristic feature of the laminae of the upper two leaves of winter rye is the absence of trichomes, instead of them there are spines 12 µm long, which are located above the conductive bundles on the adaxial side of the lamina. Stomata were located on both sides of the leaf, but there were more of them on the adaxial side of the lamina, where they were arranged in one or two rows on the flanks of the conductive bundles. Strong sclerification of conductive bundles was noted. In the most developed conducting bundles, sclerenchyma fibers were observed on both sides of the leaf lamina. The presence of stomata at the leaf sheath on both adaxial and abaxial sides is revealed. It was shown that the contribution of each leaf of upper and middle phytomeres to the total leaf area of winter rye varieties under study is different, which is important to consider when assessing their importance in the photosynthetic potential of plants.

Morphologic variability of the Acer campestre L. populations in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Morphologic variability from 25 populations of Acer campestre L. in Bosnia and Herzegovina was analyzed. Morphometric structure of variability and between-population variability was performed based on 10 fruit-parameter characteristics and 19 leaf-parameter characteristics using multivariate statistical analysis. Results confirmed the separation of three submediterranean populations as a group in relation to other tested populations, from which the Banja Luka population is different. Measured leaf parameters were confirmed as a predominant carrier of the morphologic separation between populations. In other Acer species populations within A. monspessulanum and A. intermedium species are separated mainly by fruit and much less by leaf parameters. The southernmost submediterranean populations from Trebinje, Ljubuški, and Mostar regions have smaller leaf areas, which consequently places them within the same morphologic group; their variability is in tight connection with eco-geo-graphical factors, where the ecological distance is a much better predictor of morphological variability compared to geographical distance. The air temperature had the biggest influence on morphological variability regarding the highest in-between correlation. Achieved results may serve for the continuation of the research in other areas of Acer campestre to determine the interactive effect of ecological, geographical, climatic, and migrational factors on their morphologic population plasticity.

​Influence of Nutrient Sources on Chlorophyll Content and other Leaf Parameters of Banana Musa (AAB) Nendran

Background: Chlorophyll is a green molecule found in plant cells that aids photosynthesis. It absorbs sunlight and converts the energy into carbohydrates using CO2 and water as a starting point. Chlorophyll ‘a’ and chlorophyll ‘b’ are the two forms of chlorophyll found in plants and each serves as a photoreceptor in photosynthesis, assuming higher electron transport, thus improving photochemical capacity. Methods: The present study was conducted at Banana Research Station, Kannara, Kerala Agricultural University, Thrissur, Kerala during 2017-2018 to elucidate the response of banana Musa (AAB) ‘Nendran’ in terms of growth, yield and quality to nutrient sources.Variation in leaf parameters, phyllochron and chlorophyll content in leaf tissue of banana raised with different nutrient sources was analysed. The amount of chlorophyll present in the leaves, is an indication of photosynthetic efficiency. Result: Highest Leaf Area Index (2.34) were recorded in T4 (integrated use of organic manures with biofertilzers practised). Highest amount of chlorophyll ‘a’ (1.20 mg), chlorophyll ‘b’ (1.62 mg), total chlorophyll (2.82 mg) and lowest phyllochron (7.33) were obtained in T8 (Fertigation with organic sources FYM @29 kg, lime @0.5 kg and wood ash @4 kg as basal; fertigation once in four days with 14 kg FYM till one month after bunch emergence+ in situ green manuring) which was followed T3 (POP recommendation of KAU with organic manures FYM @15kg + lime @0.5 kg as basal + Poultry manure @ 14 kg/plant + Wood ash @4kg/plant applied in two splits i.e. one as basal and one 3 MAP + in situ green manuring) at 150 days after planting. The results indicated that the manuring Nendran banana with organic manures had advantage over chemical fertilizers in term of chlorophyll production and increase in photosynthetic efficiency.

Impact of Camera Viewing Angle for Estimating Leaf Parameters of Wheat Plants from 3D Point Clouds

Estimation of plant canopy using low-altitude imagery can help monitor the normal growth status of crops and is highly beneficial for various digital farming applications such as precision crop protection. However, extracting 3D canopy information from raw images requires studying the effect of sensor viewing angle by taking into accounts the limitations of the mobile platform routes inside the field. The main objective of this research was to estimate wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) leaf parameters, including leaf length and width, from the 3D model representation of the plants. For this purpose, experiments with different camera viewing angles were conducted to find the optimum setup of a mono-camera system that would result in the best 3D point clouds. The angle-control analytical study was conducted on a four-row wheat plot with a row spacing of 0.17 m and with two seeding densities and growth stages as factors. Nadir and six oblique view image datasets were acquired from the plot with 88% overlapping and were then reconstructed to point clouds using Structure from Motion (SfM) and Multi-View Stereo (MVS) methods. Point clouds were first categorized into three classes as wheat canopy, soil background, and experimental plot. The wheat canopy class was then used to extract leaf parameters, which were then compared with those values from manual measurements. The comparison between results showed that (i) multiple-view dataset provided the best estimation for leaf length and leaf width, (ii) among the single-view dataset, canopy, and leaf parameters were best modeled with angles vertically at −45° and horizontally at 0° (VA −45, HA 0), while (iii) in nadir view, fewer underlying 3D points were obtained with a missing leaf rate of 70%. It was concluded that oblique imagery is a promising approach to effectively estimate wheat canopy 3D representation with SfM-MVS using a single camera platform for crop monitoring. This study contributes to the improvement of the proximal sensing platform for crop health assessment.

Hyperspectral Detection and Monitoring of Salt Stress in Pomegranate Cultivars

Advancements in the ability to detect plant responses to salinity are mandatory to improve crop yield, quality, and management practices. The present study shows the capability of hyperspectral reflectance (400–2400 nm) to rapidly and non-destructively detect and monitor the responses of two pomegranate cultivars (Parfianka, P, and Wonderful, W) under salt treatment (i.e., 200 mL of 100 mM NaCl solution every day) for 35 days. Analyzing spectral signatures from asymptomatic leaves, the two cultivars, as well as salinity conditions were discriminated. Furthermore, using a partial least squares regression approach, we constructed predictive models to concomitantly estimate (goodness-of-fit model, R2: 0.61–0.79; percentage of the root mean square error over the data range, %RMSE: 9–14) from spectra of various physiological leaf parameters commonly investigated in plant/salinity studies. The analyses of spectral signatures enabled the early detection of salt stress (i.e., from 14 days from the beginning of treatment, FBT), even in the absence of visible symptoms, but they did not allow the identification of the different degrees of salt tolerance between cultivars; this cultivar-specific tolerance to salt was instead reported by analyzing variations of leaf parameters estimated from spectra (W was less tolerant than P), which, in turn, allowed the detection of salt stress only at later times of analysis (i.e., slightly from 21 day FBT and, evidently, at the end of treatment). The proposed approach could be used in precision agriculture, high-throughput plant phenotyping, and smart nursery management to enhance crop quality and yield.

Prediction of Leaf Area by A Non-destructive Method of Platanus Orientalis Tree

Platanus orientalis L. is one of the most popular cultivated forest trees in In Kurdistan Region of Iraq. The leaf area is considered as an important parameter in the majority of physiological studies including plant growth. The simplicity of making measurements, quickness, and non-destructivity of the plants are some of the merit uses of the leaf area in such purposes. The aim of the current research was to develop and validate an equation to predict the individual leaf area (LA) of Platanus orientalis L. The parameters used in this study included leaf length (L) and width (W) as well as some combinations of these variables of plane tree leave. The SPSS software package was used to develop seven different regression equations along with many measures of precision for testing the performance of the developed equations in predicting the response variable. At the beginning, a scatter diagram was done using the leaf area as dependent variable and each of the leaf parameters as independent variables. The purpose of such a diagram was to figure out the type of relationship between studied variables in order to determine the most appropriate transformed forms of both response variable and explanatory variables. 20 trees were randomly chosen from Erbil City. Out of seven regression equations developed the equation LA= 20.912199+0.408927*(L*W) was finally selected because of being the most appropriate one among the other different equations.

Spear leaf in determining the harvest timing of peach palm heart

ABSTRACT The harvest timing of peach palm stems for heart-of-palm production is mainly defined by the height and diameter of the stem. Spear leaf parameters could be used in the field to obtain a higher heart-of-palm yield. The aim of this study is to verify if the length and opening of the spear leaf are related to the peach palm heart production. Three harvests were carried out in Campinas (SP), over a period of one year. Before harvest the plants were measured: main stem circumference, height, number of tillers and leaves, length and degree of spear leaf opening. After stem harvest, heart-of-palm production was evaluated. Regardless of the harvest date, the length of the first-rate heart-of-palm was longer when the spear leaf was open. Total mass production of heart-of-palm as a function of spear leaf opening is variable and dependent on weather conditions. When there was a difference in total mass production, this was higher when spear leaf was open. There was no correlation between spear leaf length and total heart-of-palm production. Although there may be an increase in the number of stalks, this had not resulted in a significant effect in terms of mass. The insertion of the spear leaf openness criterion in the determination of the harvest timing may not be worthwhile, since the payment to the producer occurs on the total mass of first-rate heart-of-palm, which may not be higher due to the degree of spear leaf opening.

Contentof chlorophylls in the leaves of plants of the genus of Canna L. in conditions of Kryvyi Rih

The content and dynamics of chlorophylls a and b of the photosynthetic organ (leaf) of representatives of the genus Canna L. were studied at different phases of plant growth and development: at the beginning of the growing season, in the generative phase, at the end of the growing season under conditions of Kryvyi Rih. A high content of chlorophylls in the leaves of most of the studied canna varieties was noted, compared with the species (with the exception of C. indica). A common trend for canna plants was an increase in the total number of chlorophylls in generative phase. Varieties of canna Capter, Vesolyye notki, Richard Wallis, which have litle leaf parameters, were characterized by a low total content of photopigments during the growing season and chlorophyll b in the generative phase, which indicates a significant sensitivity of plants to arid conditions in the region. Plants of the Fauervogel, Rosenkranzen and Krymskiye Zori varieties (with large leaf blades) were characterized by a high concentration of green pigments during the growing season, and chlorophyll b in the generative phase, this feature in the functioning of the photosynthetic apparatus is consistent with a high assessment of the level of adaptation of these plants in drought conditions. Therefore, indicators of the state of the assimilation apparatus of plants of the genus Canna L. can be used to determine their level of fitness for moisture deficiency during introduction studies.