Drought, a period of abnormally dry weather, results in soil-water deficit and subsequently plant-water deficit. The lack ofwater in the environment constitutes a stresswhen it induces an injury in the plant. Water deficit in the plant disrupts many cellular and whole plant functions, having a negative impact on plant growth and reproduction. Crop yields are reduced by 69% on average when plant...

A study to evaluate the fungitoxic and phytotoxic effects of extracts of V. amaygdalina, B. pinnatus, O. gratissimum and E. globules on the fungal pathogens inducing wilting on cowpea grown in Ago-Iwoye, South Western Nigeria. The extracts of all the botanicals used reduced Disease Infection Rate (DIR) in treated plants. Sclerotium rolfsii sacc induced wilting of between 4 and 12% on cowpea see...

Botanical insecticides are increasingly attracting research attention as they offer novel modes of action that may provide effective control of pests that have already developed resistance to conventional insecticides. They potentially offer cost-effective pest control to smallholder farmers in developing countries if highly active extracts can be prepared simply from readily available plants. ...

Automated collection of large scale plant phenotype datasets using high throughput imaging systems has the potential to alleviate current bottlenecks in data-driven plant breeding and crop improvement. In this study, we demonstrate the characterization of temporal dynamics of plant growth and water use, and leaf water content of two maize genotypes under two different water treatments. RGB (Red...

Efficient water resource management in relation to water use and crop yields is premised on the knowledge of plant resistance to water flow. However, such studies are limited and for most crops, the within plant resistance to water flow remains largely unknown. In this study, within plant resistance to water transport (hydraulic conductance) was monitored in tomato (Lycopersicum esculuntum) and...

The lifespan of fast-cycling roots is a critical parameter determining a large flux of plant carbon into soil through root turnover and is a biological feature regulating the capacity of a plant to capture soil water and nutrients via root-age-related physiological processes. While the importance of root lifespan to whole-plant and ecosystem processes is increasingly recognized, robust descript...

Nutrients in a pasture system cycle through soil organisms, pasture plants, and grazing livestock. Appropriate management can enhance the nutrient cycle, increase productivity, and reduce costs. Two practical indicators of soil health are the number of earthworms and the percentage of organic matter in the soil. A diversity of pasture plants growing on healthy soils use sunlight and the nutrien...