Photosynthetic rate is an indicator of vegetation performance as a carbon sequestration element on earth. At the same time, primary productivity is also function of photosynthetic rate and canopy cover. The photosynthetic capacity of an ecosystem is limited by the foliage pigment content due to the active participation of pigmentation in photon capture. Hence, the quantitative assessment of fol...

Application of agriculture residue especially in biochar form seems to be effective in the removal of contaminants such as nitrate pollution. The effectiveness of biochar produced from palm leaf residues (pyrolyzed at 600 ˚C) in the removal of nitrate from aqueous solution was studied at different pH. The pH value at the point of zero charges (pHpzc) and surface functional groups...

Leaf-litter assays have advanced understanding of decomposition processes in both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Some shortcomings inherent in the technique may be overcome through use of a cotton-strip assay. Key assumptions for using cotton strips as proxies for natural leaves are: 1) decomposition rates of the 2 materials are related, and 2) the materials decay in a similar way when exp...

• Five viticultural parameters have been proposed in the literature as particularly important for defining a balanced vine able to produce high quality grapes: 1) total leaf area/yield, 2) yield/pruning weight, 3) pruning weight/linear meter of canopy length, 4) total leaf area/linear meter of canopy length, and 5) leaf density (leaf layer number). For very high-quality production, 2 more varia...

Leaf surfaces are highly complex functional systems with well defined chemistry and structure dictating the barrier and transport properties of the leaf cuticle. It is a significant imaging challenge to analyse the very thin and often complex wax-like leaf cuticle morphology in their natural state. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and to a lesser extent Atomic force microscopy are techniques ...

To be effective, herbicides must enter the plant. This process can occur very quickly or very slowly, depending on the herbicide, formulation, plant, and environmental conditions. For foliar applied (postemergence) herbicides, penetration and uptake can occur through cracks in the leaf surface, stomatal cavities, or by diffusion through the cuticle. Other surface features of the leaf such as tr...