UNLABELLED PREMISE OF THE STUDY Effects of drought stress and media type interactions on growth of Pinus ponderosa var. scopulorum germinants were investigated. • METHODS AND RESULTS Soil properties and growth responses under drought were compared across four growth media types: two native soils (dolomitic limestone and granite), a soil-less industry standard conifer medium, and a custom-m...

We explored the use of exogenous nitric oxide (NO) on alleviating effects of UV-B light on winter wheat development. Triticum aestivum L. cv. Linyou 7287 seeds were irradiated with UV-B (10.08 kJ·m·d) (enhanced UV-B) and watered with either water or 100 μmol·L SNP solution. Plants were also watered with the SNP alone. The results showed that enhanced UV-B produced negative effects on seedling d...

A series of seed priming experiments were conducted to test the effects of different pretreatment methods to seed germination, seedling growth, and seed yield traits in maize (Zea mays L.). Results indicated that the seeds primed by gibberellins (GA), NaCl, and polyethylene glycol (PEG) reagents showed a higher imbibitions rate compared to those primed with water. The final germination percenta...

Initiatives to restore natural ecosystems have had little success in arid and hyperarid ecosystems. In this context, the natural seedling establishment is particularly affected by drought patterns and climatic variability. Likewise, the effect of plant provenance on forest restoration success remains unclear, although previous studies have concluded that some seed locations might be better able...

Ergosterol, a membrane sterol found in fungi but not in plants, was used to estimate live mycelial biomass in ectomycorrhizae. Loblolly pine (Pinus tueda L.) seeds were sown in April 1993 and grown with standard nursery culture practices. Correlations between total seedling ergosterol and visual assessment of mycorrhizal colonization were high during July and August but low as ectomycorrhizal d...

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 ...

Question: What is the effect of gap size on the seedling emergence, growth and survival of four common tree species in wooded pastures? Location: A pasture in the Jura mountains, Switzerland. Methods: Seeds were sown in a complete three-way factorial design with eight blocks in May 2003. Each block consisted of a competition treatment (four gap sizes including zero) and a mowing treatment (mown...

Open lichen woodlands (LWs) are degraded stands that lack the ability to regenerate naturally due to a succession of natural and/or anthropogenic disturbances. As they represent both interesting forest restoration and carbon sequestration opportunities, we tested disc scarification and planting of two sizes of containerized black spruce (Picea mariana Mill. (BSP)) seedlings for their afforestat...

We illustrate experimentally the importance of species-specificity in the soil-mediated interactions among plants inhabiting heterogeneous landscapes. Topsoils from nine microhabitats were used to experimentally grow Quercus ilex acorns in the laboratory. We recorded germination, emergence, acorn left and seedling performance (HGR, biomass and root allocation). Different topsoils had very contr...

In the present study, the effect of different plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) like Azospirillum brasilense and Pseudomonas fluorescens on growth parameters and the production of terpenoid indole alkaloids are investigated in two varieties ‘rosea’ and ‘alba’ of Catharanthus roseus. The production of IAA by the PGPR has taken as main criteria in the selection of PGPRs for the seed and...