Changes in biogeochemical cycles and the climate system due to human activities are expected to change the quantity and quality of plant litter inputs to soils. How changing quality of fresh organic matter (FOM) might influence the priming effect (PE) on soil organic matter (SOM) mineralization is still under debate. Here we determined the PE induced by two (13)C-labeled FOMs with contrasting n...

Tagetes, a genus of flowering marigolds in the family Asteraceae (Compositeae), is reported to be a medicinal plant with hypotensive, spasmolytic, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and antifungal properties. Tagetes minuta characteristically contains high concentrations of essential oils, flavonoids, polyphenols, and polysaccharides that interfere with DNA, causing erroneous or no PCR products....

Many vegetable crops of Brassica rapa are characterized by their typical types of leaf curvature. Leaf curvature in the right direction and to the proper degree is important for the yield and quality of green vegetable products, when cultivated under stress conditions. Recent research has unveiled some of the roles of miRNAs in Brassica crops such as how they regulate the timing of leafy head i...

This paper describes computer vision techniques for early-season measurement of vine canopy parameters; leaf count, leaf area and shoot count. Accurate and highresolution estimation of these key vineyard performance components are important for effective precision management. We use a high-resolution stereo camera with strobe lighting mounted on a ground-vehicle that captures high-quality proxi...

Increasing the duration of leaf photosynthesis during grain filling using slow-senescing functional stay-green phenotypes is a possible route for increasing grain yields in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). However, delayed senescence may negatively affect nutrient remobilisation and hence reduce grain protein concentrations and grain quality. A novel NAC1-type transcription factor (hereafter TaNAC...

Phenotypic plasticity in response to environmental variation occurs at all levels of organization and across temporal scales within plants. However, the magnitude and functional significance of plasticity is largely unexplored in perennial species. We measured the plasticity of leaf- and shoot-level physiological, morphological and developmental traits in nursery-grown Populus deltoides Bartr. ...