Twenty six accessions of grain Amaranth (Amaranthus hypochondriacus L.) were evaluated for salient biochemical and quantitative traits particularly reference to chlorophyll a and b, total chlorophyll, phenol content, leaf moisture, leaf protein content, test weight and yield plant. Genetic divergence and association among these traits were analysed. Chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, total chlorophy...

Statistical and radiative-transfer physically based studies have previously demonstrated the relationship between leaf water content and leaf-level reflectance in the near-infrared spectral region. The successful scaling up of such methods to the canopy level requires modeling the effect of canopy structure and viewing geometry on reflectance bands and optical indices used for estimation of wat...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Plasticity in structural and functional traits related to water balance may determine plant performance and survival in ecosystems characterized by water limitation or high levels of rainfall variability, particularly in perennial herbaceous species with long generation cycles. This paper addresses whether and the extent to which several such seasonal to long-term traits res...

Black willow ( Salix nigra ) uses periodic flood events for dispersal of vegetative propagules, subjecting them to periods of soaking before their deposition along the streambank. It was hypothesized that this life history trait results in optimal conditions for willow growth and survival. To test this hypothesis, a greenhouse experiment was conducted using 1.2-m-long black willow cuttings (pos...

Genotypic variations in leaf gas exchange and yield were analysed in five upland-adapted and three lowland rice cultivars subjected to a differential soil moisture gradient, varying from well-watered to severely water-stressed conditions. A reduction in the amount of water applied resulted in a significant decrease in leaf gas exchange and, subsequently, in above-ground dry mass and grain yield...

Two new remotely sensed leaf area index (LAI) and surface soil moisture (SSM) satellite-derived products are compared with two sets of simulations of the ORganizing Carbon and Hydrology In Dynamic EcosystEms (ORCHIDEE) and Interactions between Soil, Biosphere and Atmosphere, CO2-reactive (ISBA-A-gs) land surface models. We analyse the interannual variability over the period 1991– 2008. The leaf...

ABSTRACT Severe Cercospora leaf spots epidemics in sugar beet during the late 1980s and early 1990s in southern Germany prompted us to initiate investigations on the epidemiology of the causal agent, Cercospora beticola. The data set involved 69 field trials (1993 to 2003) focusing on factors affecting the epidemic onset of this disease. Observations were made at weekly intervals, recording the...

The process of hardening for drought resistance results in many changes in the vegetative organs of plants. PRINGSHEIM (7) has noted that pumpkin seedlings, grown under conditions of insufficient moisture, had an increased osmotic pressure in the cells and a higher resistance to drought than check plants grown in a moist soil and humid atmosphere. Since then a number of investigations have been...

  In a three-year (2004-2006), field experiment, we aimed to study changes in leaf physiological traits (leaf water potential-Ψleaf, leaf water content-LWC, carbon isotope discrimination-Δ, specific leaf area-SLA, chlorophyll content as assessed by SPAD and modified SPAD-MSPAD) and elemental composition (K, Na, Ca, Mg, K/Na, Ca/Mg, total leaf salinity-TLS) of sugar beets (cv. Rizor) grown unde...

residues on the soil surface to retard soil erosion, insulate the soil, and conserve soil moisture. This residue consists of leaves, leaf sheaths, ear husks, and stalks of corn that decompose very slowly on the soil surface. The relationship of surface residue to corn diseases can be divided into two categories: (1) a source of inoculum of disease-causing organisms, and (2) environment modifica...