In natural ecosystems, disease is not the rule, but a rare outcome in the spectrum of plant–microbe interaction, since plants have developed, during their evolutionary history, various defence strategies to face pathogens. Therefore, in this evolutionary arms race, plants have (co)evolved a complex set of defence mechanisms to counteract pathogen challenging and, in most cases, prevent infectio...

The effect of draining crop fields during the wheat season on the soil CH4 andN2O emissions during the rice season in this article. There were four treatments:traditional cultivation during the wheat season + cultivation without fertilizationduring the rice season (CK1 field), traditional cultivation during the wheat season +traditional cultivation during the rice season (CK2 field), draining t...

water productivity is a function of crop yield and management operation. determination of different yield levels through field experiments is difficult. therefore, applying simulation model is an approach which makes possible to assess water balance, simulate growth process and survey different scenarios. using the cropsyst crop growth model to analyze water productivity, as an indicator of wat...

Assessment of soil and vegetation properties is one of the main objectives of radar remote-sensing applications. The parameters of soil dielectric constant, crop height and extinction coefficient etc are very important for planning of earth resource utilization and the prediction of environmental changes. Although, a lot of work has been already done in this direction, no robust operational met...

Research related to crop domestication has been transformed by technologies and discoveries in the genome sciences as well as information-related sciences that are providing new tools for bioinformatics and systems' biology. Rapid progress in archaeobotany and ethnobotany are also contributing new knowledge to understanding crop domestication. This sense of rapid progress is encapsulated in thi...

Classical old-field succession studies focused on vegetation changes after the abandonment of annual croplands or on succession after the elimination of cultivated crops. Perennial-crop-mediated succession, where fields are initially covered by perennial crops, reveals alternative aspects of old-field succession theories. We tested the validity of classical theories of old-field succession for ...

Kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus L. ), a warm-season annual plant, has shown potential as an alternate source of fiber in the United States. Although preliminary research has indicated feasibility ofkenaf production in Virginia, production details are lacking. Field experiments were conducted during 1995 and 1996 to determine optimal row spacing and fertilizer needs, and to compare available kenaf cu...

Current plant phenotyping technologies to characterize agriculturally relevant traits have been primarily developed for use in laboratory and/or greenhouse conditions. In the case of root architectural traits, this limits phenotyping efforts, largely, to young plants grown in specialized containers and growth media. Hence, novel approaches are required to characterize mature root systems of old...