High germinability of seeds and establishment of young seedlings in rice (Oryza sativa L.) are necessary for direct seeding in paddy fi elds. We investigated whether germinability and seedling growth were promoted by treatment of rice seeds (cv. Hitomebore) with hydrogen peroxide solution (H2O2) during the imbibition for 24 h. H2O2 treatment with 50 mM H2O2 promoted seed germination, and seedli...

During early seedling development, the shoot apical meristem is protected from damage as the seedling emerges from soil by the formation of apical hook. Hook formation requires differential growth across the epidermis below the meristem in the hypocotyl. The plant hormones ethylene and auxin play key roles during apical hook development by controlling differential growth. We provide genetic and...

Computer motion analysis was tested as an ultra-sensitive imaging technique to detect minute displacement of corn seedling growth. The motion analysis software displayed motion in vector form, i.e. as both magnitude and direction of seedling elongation. The system was able to detect increments of growth in a non-intrusive, non-contact fashion as minuscule as 5 microns.

Tree radial growth and seedling establishment of Nothofagus pumilio at alpine treeline near 408 S latitude in Chile and Argentina show timeand site-dependent relationships to interannual-and decadal-scale climate variation. Six treelines were sampled at two spatial scales corresponding to regional and local climates. A shift in climate from cool–wet to warm–dry conditions facilitated comparison...

A doubled haploid (DH) population of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) generated from salinity tolerant genotype CM72 and salinity sensitive variety Gairdner was studied for salinity stress tolerance at germination, seedling emergence and first leaf full expansion growth stages. Germination study was conducted with deionized water, 150 mM and 300 mM NaCl treatments. Seedling stage salinity tolerance ...

Ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungal mycelia are the main organs for nutrient uptake in many woody plants, and often connect seedlings to mature trees. While it is known that resources are shared among connected plants via common mycorrhizal networks (CMNs), the net effects of CMNs on seedling performance in the field are almost unknown. CMNs of individual ECM fungal species were produced in an early s...

In plants and other eukaryotes, long-chain acyl-CoAs are assumed to be imported into peroxisomes for beta-oxidation by an ATP binding cassette (ABC) transporter. However, two genes in Arabidopsis thaliana, LACS6 and LACS7, encode peroxisomal long-chain acyl-CoA synthetase (LACS) isozymes. To investigate the biochemical and biological roles of peroxisomal LACS, we identified T-DNA knockout mutan...

Seed coat permeability was examined using a model that tested the effects of soaking tomato (Solanum lycopersicon) seeds in combination with carbon-based nanomaterials (CBNMs) and ultrasonic irradiation (US). Penetration of seed coats to the embryo by CBNMs, as well as CBNMs effects on seed germination and seedling growth, was examined. Two CBNMs, C60(OH)20 (fullerol) and multiwalled nanotubes ...

1 Plant invasions constitute a large biological problem and screening protocols are needed to assess the invasive potential of species considered for introduction. However, insufficient information is available on species characteristics associated with successful establishment outside their native range. 2 We tested experimentally whether seed and seedling emergence characteristics and early g...