Budburst Date Research Articles

FRENK ÜZÜMLERİNDE {Ribes nigrum LL. Ribes rubrum L.) ÇİÇEKLENMEYLE BÜNYESEL HORMANLAR ARASINDAKİ İLİŞKİLER

ozet Bu calisma, Erzurum sartlarinda Mulka, Rosenthais ve Silvergieter Frenkuzumu cesitlerine, tomurcuklarin tesekkul doneminden ciceklerin acilmasina kadar gecen devrede, bunyesel hormonlarin nasil bir degisim gosterdigini belirleyebilmek amaciyla yapilmistir. Tomurcuklardaki buyumeyi engelleyici maddeler yaz ortasinda nispeten yuksek bulunmus ve bunlarin etkilerinin Eylul ortasina dogru azaldigi ve Kasim, Ocak, hatta Subatta bile etkilerin yuksek oldugu belirlenmistir. Engelleyici maddelerde Aralik ayindan itibaren nispi bir azalma baslamis ve bunlarin etkinlikleri Nisan ayinda minimuma dusmustur. Buyumeyi uyartici maddelerin ise Mart ayindan itibaren etkili olmaya basladiklari saptanmistir. SUMMARY The Relation Between Blooming and. Endogenous Hormones in Currants (Ribes nigrum L., Ribes rubrum L.). This study was carried out to determine the changing of the endogenous hormones from bud formation to blooming period in Mulka, Rosenthals, and Silvegieter currant cvs. grown in Erzurum conditions. Bud samples were extracted with methanol, lsopropil alcohol: ammonia: water (8:1:1 v/v) was used as tank solution for. paper chromatography. Oat coleoptile test was used to determine the Rf value of growth inhibitors and promoters. The influence of growth inhibitors and promoters was changed month from according to the oat coleoptile test. The growth promoters were found in the sections of .Rf -0.1-0.1 and 0.7-U.9 It was observed that the most effective sections of Rf for growth inhibitors was between 0.3-0.5 values. The effect of growth inhibitors was high during mid-summer. But they declined from mid-summer to mid-September. However they began to increase again from mid-September to December. It was found that the effect of growth inhibitors was high even in January. But this effect declined steadily and it was the minimum in April. On the other hand the effect of growth promoters began to increase steadily from mid-March to on. The influence of growth inhibitors was less in Rosenthals and Silvegrieter than Mulka on 10 th of April which was the date of bud burst for previous cvs.

Validating satellite phenology through intensive ground observation and landscape scaling in a mixed seasonal forest

Phenology is a key component of monitoring terrestrial ecosystem variations in response to global climate change. Satellite-measured land surface phenology (LSP) has been widely used to assess large scale phenological patterns and processes. However, the accuracy of LSP is rarely validated with spatially compatible field data due to the significant spatiotemporal scale mismatch. In this study, we employ intensive field observations specifically designed to address this deficiency. High density/frequency spring phenological observations were collected in a mixed seasonal forest during 2008 and 2009. A landscape up-scaling approach was used to derive landscape phenology (LP) indices from plot-level observations in order to validate Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) based LSP. Results show that the MODIS Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) derived start of spring season (SOS) measure was able to predict LP full bud burst date with absolute errors less than two days. In addition, LSP derived SOS captured inter-annual variations and spatial differences that agreed with ground observations. Comparison of complete time series of LP and LSP revealed that fundamental differences exist between the two observation means, e.g., LP development had increased influence on LSP during the course of spring onset. Therefore, inferring continuous LP processes directly from LSP measures could be problematic. However, using LSP derived from techniques such as logistic curve modeling for extracting seasonal markers appears more promising. This study contributes to a more explicit understanding of the linkages between remotely sensed phenology and traditionally observed (ground-based) phenology.

Tracing growing degree‐day changes in the cuticle morphology of Betula nana leaves: a new micro‐phenological palaeo‐proxy

AbstractChanging growing‐season properties in the northern latitudes are among the most obvious consequences of ongoing global change. Available techniques including satellite monitoring and phenological observations enable the detection of changes over the last few decades to centuries, but the full range of natural variability is still difficult to capture. Here we introduce a new approach to reconstruct growing season properties, by studying imprints of prolonged growing season on epidermal cell growth in Betula nana. A high correlation between cell expansion determined in annually collected B. nana leaves and subfossil leaf fragments collected from recent peat sections in northern Scandinavia, and climatic indices such as budburst date, growing‐season degree‐days and May–September mean temperatures, enable the establishment of a new micro‐phenological proxy for growing season characteristics. The applicability of the epidermal cell undulation index (UI) is tested by comparison with historical instrumental records of growing‐season degree‐days for the last 200 a. The results demonstrate the potential of the new leaf‐morphology‐based technique to reconstruct and quantify past changes in growing degree‐days beyond instrumental data series. Applied to abundant B. nana leaf remains from peat and lake sediments, the UI may enable a reconstruction of growing degree‐days throughout the Holocene and other parts of the late Quaternary. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

A model of full bloom starting date of some white Vitis vinifera L. varieties grown in Helvecia

Grapevine bloom happens between end of May and the middle of June in Hungary. However, climate change in the past decades and the occurring weather anomalies can modi fy this date to a diverse degree. Among the weather factors, the bloom starting dates of grapevine depend mostly on temperature and relative humidity of air. There can be significant differences between North American and East Asian grapevine varieties, and of course, the early and late ripening varieties. ln this approach we investigated the starting dates of bloom between 2000 and 2004 for grapevine varieties grown in Helvecia, as well as the effectiveness of a temperature sum model. The model is based on the widely accepted cumulated heat sum concept, and the optimization was made for the least standard deviation in days as well as on the least average absolute deviation in days and on the least maximum deviation in days. The model is connected directly to a similar model for the budburst date of the same plantings (Hlaszny & ladanyi, 2009). We set the optimum lower base temperature to I 0.45 °C and the upper base temperature to 26 °C. The absolute values of the differences between the observations and the model estimations move between one and six days with an average of 1.81 days

Genetic diversity increases regional variation in phenological dates in response to climate change

AbstractClimate change is inducing changes in the phenological timings of organisms. Genetic diversity could influence phenological responses to climate change, but empirical evidence is very limited. We estimated the regional variation across Japan in flowering and leaf budburst dates of plants based on a dataset of phenological timings from 1953 to 2005. The observed plants' genetic diversities varied according to human cultivation. The within‐species variations of phenological response to temperature as well as regional variations were less in the plant populations with lower genetic diversity. Thus, genetic diversity influences the variation in phenological responses of plant populations. Under increased temperatures, low variation in phenological responses may allow drastic changes in the phenology of plant populations with synchronized phenological timings. Our findings indicate that we should pay attention to maintaining genetic diversity of populations to alleviate changes in phenology due to future climate change.

Growth, phenology, and cold hardiness of 32 Douglas-fir full-sib families

Thirty-two full-sib families of coastal Douglas-fir ( Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco var. menziesii) with a range of predicted breeding values were monitored for growth rate, phenology, and cold hardiness over 2 years on two sites to investigate if other traits are being selected when family selection is based on height. Significant differences among families existed in most phenological, growth, and cold-hardiness traits. On average, taller families burst bud later but did not have significantly different growth rates or length of growing period than other families. We found no significant correlations between family date of bud burst and cold hardiness in late spring or between duration of shoot growth or height and autumn freezing damage. Family differences in freezing tolerance were greatest in September and October. In these months, family current-year leaf nitrogen was positively correlated with cold hardiness. Families that were most hardy in the autumn were not the most hardy families in spring. We conclude that, for the studied breeding series, selection based on height does not have a significant impact on cold hardiness. We found no consistent relationships between phenological, growth, or cold-hardiness parameters and final height that could explain family ranking by height. Relationships between grandparent elevation and dates of bud burst and cold hardiness were observed.

Genetic and environmental variation in spring and autumn phenology of biomass willows (Salix spp.): effects on shoot growth and nitrogen economy

Six commercial willow (Salix spp.) varieties were examined to investigate the effects of genotype and environment on spring and autumn phenology and the relationships between phenology, shoot growth and leaf nitrogen (N) retranslocation. The willows were field-grown under different irrigation and fertilization in central Sweden. Two independent data sets of bud-burst, leaf unfolding duration, growth cessation and the timing of leaf abscission were assessed, and the biomass and leaf N data from the end of the first cutting cycle were used. Specific hypotheses were that (1) spring phenology has a greater effect on the shoot biomass production than autumn phenology; (2) later bud-burst is associated with more rapid leaf unfolding; (3) the timing of leaf abscission has a greater effect on the shoot biomass production than height growth cessation; and (4) later leaf fall is associated with poorer leaf N retranslocation. Bud-burst date varied by 19 and 39 days in the 2 years and leaf unfolding duration varied by 13 and 38 days. Growth cessation varied by 2.5 weeks and completion of leaf abscission (> 90% of leaves shed) by more than 3 weeks between the genotypes and treatments. Bud-burst date was inversely correlated with leaf unfolding duration (R(2) = 0.96). Significant effects of the duration of leafy period (bud-burst to leaf abscission) and bud-burst date on shoot growth were found. Delayed growth cessation and leaf abscission were generally associated with a greater biomass production, but especially the relationship between growth cessation and biomass was weak. The results show that the timing of bud-burst and leaf abscission is more important for willow biomass production than growth cessation. Delayed leaf abscission has a negative effect on leaf N retranslocation and increases the N losses. The results have implications for the breeding of perennial energy crops.

Summer water stress and shade alter bud size and budburst date in three mediterranean Quercus species

Current environmental conditions are known to affect plant growth, morphology, phenology, and therefore, plant performance. However, effects of the previous-year environmental conditions can also affect plant structure by altering bud growth, and proportion and date of budburst. Here, we analysed the effects of previous-year water stress and shade on bud size, percentage, and date of budburst in seedlings of three co-occurring Iberian Quercus species in two independent experiments. Responses of apical, lateral, and basal buds were checked during an annual cycle. In the first experiment, seedlings of two evergreens (Q. coccifera L., Q. ilex subsp. ballota (Desf.) Samp.) and a deciduous-marcescent tree (Q. faginea Lam.) were grown under two levels of summer watering. In the second experiment, seedlings were grown under three light intensities. Soluble sugars and starch in shoots and roots were measured before budburst. Summer drought increased bud size of all species and advanced budburst of Q. ilex and Q. coccifera. Moderate and/or intense shade tended to reduce bud size and delay budburst in all species. These responses seem related to changes in the date of bud formation rather than to the amount of carbon reserves, which were reduced both by drought and shade. Treatments affected percentage of budburst in lateral buds, which was reduced by shade and water stress, probably leading to narrower crowns. These results show that previous-year environmental conditions are relevant for plant phenology and structure. The different responses in budburst date between the deciduous and the evergreens might alter their competition relationships at seedling stage.

Influence of heterogeneous landscapes on computed green-up dates based on daily AVHRR NDVI observations

The main objective of the current paper is to evaluate and explain differences between computed green-up dates of vegetated land surface derived from satellite observations and budburst dates from ground observational networks. Landscapes dominated by deciduous broad-leaved trees in Germany are analysed. While ground observations generally record the onset of bud break, remote sensing refers to a detectable change of surface reflectance, which accounts for the unfolding of the majority of the leaves. The satellite detects, even in a homogeneous stand, two signals: the green-up of the understorey and, shortly after, the green-up of the canopy (overstorey). Results of comparisons indicate an earlier, although not consistently, satellite-derived green-up than bud break derived from ground observations. We hypothesise that this is due to heterogeneous ground cover and a detection of the greening of non-tree vegetation by the satellite. This hypothesis is tested by analysing the difference between satellite-derived green-up dates ( d GU) and budburst observed on the ground ( d BB) in function of the proportion of non-deciduous-forest ( ndf) land use types in satellite scenes. The satellite data (a daily 1-km resolution AVHRR product) are analysed with progressively more restricted selection criteria regarding the land surface elements. The two sets of observations are compared using Gaussian Mixture Models to evaluate the statistical properties of the probability density functions ( pdf) as produced by the two sets rather than comparisons of geographically coincident data. It is shown that a heterogeneous vegetation cover is likely to be the main factor determining the difference between the computed green-up date and date of budburst of the dominating tree species.

Avoidance by early flushing: a new perspective on Dutch elm disease research

European elms (Ulmus glabra Huds., Ulmus laevis Pall. and Ulmus minor Mill.) have been severely damaged and are still endangered by an alien hypervirulent pathogen, Ophiostoma ulmi s. l., agent of the Dutch elm disease (DED). Consequently, several ex situ clone collections have been established throughout Europe for elm breeding and conservation. In this paper we summarise the studies carried out within the EU project RESGEN CT96-78, which launched the EU-coordinated evaluation of these collections. Our aim was to analyse the variation in timing of bud burst and to acquire basic knowledge on the environmental control of this adaptive trait in European elms, under the hypothesis that DED susceptibility is related to spring phenology. The variation in the bud burst date of European elms among collections and years was explained by a phenological model assuming that the thermal time required for bud burst decreases exponentially with increasing chilling during winter down to a level where chilling requirement is fully met. According to the fitted curves, European elms have low dormancy and short chilling requirement for dormancy release. Although no simulation was performed, on the basis of the model applied we can hypothesise that under climate warming elms would flush earlier in most of Europe. The bud burst date was directly related to latitude and elevation in U. minor. The order of bud burst of clones from different origins was stable among years. The observed geographic trends were largely determined by differences in chilling requirements that increased with latitude and elevation. Susceptibility to DED varied greatly within U. minor and was directly correlated with geographic origin and bud burst date, southern and early flushing clones showing the least symptoms. Our results suggest that early flushing represents a mechanism of disease avoidance owing to asynchrony between host’s susceptible period and time of natural infection by DED vectors (Scolytus). This escape mechanism, combined with true resistance and avoidance owing to unattractiveness for the vector’s feeding, might be exploited for breeding DED-resistant clones of indigenous species.

Modeling the effects of winter environment on dormancy release of Douglas-fir

Most temperate woody plants have a winter chilling requirement to prevent budburst during mid-winter periods of warm weather. The date of spring budburst is dependent on both chilling and forcing; modeling this date is an important part of predicting potential effects of global warming on trees. There is no clear evidence from the literature that the curves of chilling or forcing effectiveness differ by species so we combined our data and published information to develop new curves on the effectiveness of temperature for chilling and forcing. The new curves predict effectiveness over a wide range of temperatures and we suggest both functions may be operating at the same time. We present experimental data from 13 winter environments for 5 genotypes of Douglas-fir ( Pseudotsuga menziesii var. menziesii) and use them to test various assumptions of starting and stopping dates for accumulating chilling and forcing units and the relationship between budburst and the accumulation of chilling and forcing units. Chilling started too early to be effective in one treatment but the other 12 environments resulted in budburst from many combinations of chilling and forcing. Previous reports have suggested benefits or cancellations of effects from alternating day/night or periodic temperatures. Our simple models do not include these effects but nevertheless were effective in predicting relationships between chilling and forcing for treatments with a wide range of conditions. Overall, the date of budburst changed only slightly (+1 to −11 days) across a wide range of treatments in our colder test environment (Olympia, WA, USA) but was substantially later (+29 days) in the warmest treatment in our warmer environment (Corvallis, OR, USA). An analysis of historical climate data for both environments predicted a wide range in date to budburst could result from the same mean temperature due to the relative weightings of specific temperatures in the chilling and forcing functions. In the absence of improved understanding of the basic physiological mechanisms involved in dormancy induction and release, we suggest that simple, universal functions be considered for modeling the effectiveness of temperature for chilling and forcing. Future research should be designed to determine the exact shape of the curves; data are particularly lacking at the temperature extremes. We discuss the implications of our data and proposed functions for predicting effects of climate change. Both suggest that the trend toward earlier budburst will be reversed if winter temperatures rise substantially.

신고 배의 개화기 결정에 미치는 온도영향의 정량화

Most deciduous trees in temperate zone are dormant during the winter to overcome cold and dry environment. Dormancy of deciduous fruit trees is usually separated into a period of rest by physiological conditions and a period of quiescence by unfavorable environmental conditions. Inconsistent and fewer budburst in pear orchards has been reported recently in South Korea and Japan and the insufficient chilling due to warmer winters is suspected to play a role. An accurate prediction of the flowering time under the climate change scenarios may be critical to the planning of adaptation strategy for the pear industry in the future. However, existing methods for the prediction of budburst depend on the spring temperature, neglecting potential effects of warmer winters on the rest release and subsequent budburst. We adapted a dormancy clock model which uses daily temperature data to calculate the thermal time for simulating winter phenology of deciduous trees and tested the feasibility of this model in predicting budburst and flowering of Niitaka pear, one of the favorite cultivars in Korea. In order to derive the model parameter values suitable for Niitaka, the mean time for the rest release was estimated by observing budburst of field collected twigs in a controlled environment. The thermal time (in chill-days) was calculated and accumulated by a predefined temperature range from fall harvest until the chilling requirement (maximum accumulated chill-days in a negative number) is met. The chilling requirement is then offset by anti-chill days (in positive numbers) until the accumulated chill-days become null, which is assumed to be the budburst date. Calculations were repeated with arbitrary threshold temperatures from to (at an interval of 0.1), and a set of threshold temperature and chilling requirement was selected when the estimated budburst date coincides with the field observation. A heating requirement (in accumulation of anti-chill days since budburst) for flowering was also determined from an experiment based on historical observations. The dormancy clock model optimized with the selected parameter values was used to predict flowering of Niitaka pear grown in Suwon for the recent 9 years. The predicted dates for full bloom were within the range of the observed dates with 1.9 days of root mean square error.

Performance of several models for predicting budburst date of grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.)

The budburst stage is a key phenological stage for grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.), with large site and cultivar variability. The objective of the present work was to provide a reliable agro-meteorological model for simulating grapevine budburst occurrence all over France. The study was conducted using data from ten cultivars of grapevine (Cabernet Sauvignon, Chasselas, Chardonnay, Grenache, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Riesling, Sauvignon, Syrah, Ugni Blanc) and five locations (Bordeaux, Colmar, Angers, Montpellier, Epernay). First, we tested two commonly used models that do not take into account dormancy: growing degree days with a base temperature of 10 degrees C (GDD(10)), and Riou's model (RIOU). The errors of predictions of these models ranged between 9 and 21 days. Second, a new model (BRIN) was studied relying on well-known formalisms for orchard trees and taking into account the dormancy period. The BRIN model showed better performance in predicting budburst date than previous grapevine models. Analysis of the components of BRIN formalisms (calculation of dormancy, use of hourly temperatures, base temperature) explained the better performances obtained with the BRIN model. Base temperature was the main driver, while dormancy period was not significant in simulating budburst date. For each cultivar, we provide the parameter estimates that showed the best performance for both the BRIN model and the GDD model with a base temperature of 5 degrees C.

Differential and interactive effects of temperature and photoperiod on budburst and carbon reserves in two co‐occurring Mediterranean oaks

Effects of temperature and photoperiod and their interactions on budburst and on the use of carbon reserves were examined in two Mediterranean oaks differing in wood anatomy and leaf habit. Seedlings of Quercus ilex subsp. ballota (evergreen and diffuse-porous wood) and Q. faginea (semi-deciduous and ring-porous wood) were grown under two temperatures (12 and 19 degrees C) and two photoperiods (10 and 16 h) in a factorial experiment. In the 16 h photoperiod at 19 degrees C, photosynthesis was suppressed in half of the seedlings by covering leaves with aluminium foil. The concentration of soluble sugars, starch and lipids in leaves, stems and roots was assessed before and after budburst. Under the 12 degrees C treatment (mean current temperature in early spring in the Iberian Peninsula), budburst in Q. faginea occurred earlier than in Q. ilex. Higher temperature promoted earlier budburst in both species, mostly under the 16 h photoperiod. This response was less pronounced in Q. faginea because its budburst was also controlled by photoperiod, and because this species needs to construct a new ring of xylem before budburst to supply its growth demands. Therefore, dates of budburst of the two species became closer to each other in the warmer treatment, which might alter competitive relations between the species with changing climate. While Q. ilex relied on carbon reserves for budburst, Q. faginea relied on both carbon reserves and current photoassimilates. The different responses of the two Quercus species to temperature and photoperiod related more to xylem structure than to the source of carbon used for budburst.

Influence of spring phenology on seasonal and annual carbon balance in two contrasting New England forests

Spring phenology is thought to exert a major influence on the carbon (C) balance of temperate and boreal ecosystems. We investigated this hypothesis using four spring onset phenological indicators in conjunction with surface-atmosphere CO(2) exchange data from the conifer-dominated Howland Forest and deciduous-dominated Harvard Forest AmeriFlux sites. All phenological measures, including CO(2) source-sink transition dates, could be well predicted on the basis of a simple two-parameter spring warming model, indicating good potential for improving the representation of phenological transitions and their dynamic responsiveness to climate variability in land surface models. The date at which canopy-scale photosynthetic capacity reached a threshold value of 12 micromol m(-2) s(-1) was better correlated with spring and annual flux integrals than were either deciduous or coniferous bud burst dates. For all phenological indicators, earlier spring onset consistently, but not always significantly, resulted in higher gross primary productivity (GPP) and ecosystem respiration (RE) for both seasonal (spring months, April-June) and annual flux integrals. The increase in RE was less than that in GPP; depending on the phenological indicator used, a one-day advance in spring onset increased springtime net ecosystem productivity (NEP) by 2-4 g C m(-2) day(-1). In general, we could not detect significant differences between the two forest types in response to earlier spring, although the response to earlier spring was generally more pronounced for Harvard Forest than for Howland Forest, suggesting that future climate warming may favor deciduous species over coniferous species, at least in this region. The effect of earlier spring tended to be about twice as large when annual rather than springtime flux integrals were considered. This result is suggestive of both immediate and lagged effects of earlier spring onset on ecosystem C cycling, perhaps as a result of accelerated N cycling rates and cascading effects on N uptake, foliar N concentrations and photosynthetic capacity.

STUDIES ON THE EFFECT OF SOME DORMANCY BREAKING AGENTS ON BUD BEHAVIOUR AND YIELD OF LE-CONTE PEARS

This investigation was carried out during the seasons of 2006 and 2007 to study the effect of some dormancy - breaking chemicals on bud constituents, bud break, flower fire blight infections, fruit set and yield of Le Conte pear trees. The data revealed that, spraying Le-Conte pear trees at 1st February with Dormex at 1% + mineral oil at 3% was effective for hastening the date of bud burst, enhanced the bud burst percentage and gave pronounced effect on bud constituents, flower fire blight infections, fruit set and yield. Furthermore, spraying Le-Conte pear trees with mixture of Dormex at 1% and mineral oil at 3% is an economic treatment than the use of hydrogen cyanamide alone at 4% as recommended which is rather expensive under the Egyptian conditions.

Climate change and unequal phenological changes across four trophic levels: constraints or adaptations?

1. Climate change has been shown to affect the phenology of many organisms, but interestingly these shifts are often unequal across trophic levels, causing a mismatch between the phenology of organisms and their food. 2. We consider two alternative hypotheses: consumers are constrained to adjust sufficiently to the lower trophic level, or prey species react more strongly than their predators to reduce predation. We discuss both hypotheses with our analyses of changes in phenology across four trophic levels: tree budburst, peak biomass of herbivorous caterpillars, breeding phenology of four insectivorous bird species and an avian predator. 3. In our long-term study, we show that between 1988 and 2005, budburst advanced (not significantly) with 0.17 d yr(-1), while between 1985 and 2005 both caterpillars (0.75 d year(-1)) and the hatching date of the passerine species (range for four species: 0.36-0.50 d year(-1)) have advanced, whereas raptor hatching dates showed no trend. 4. The caterpillar peak date was closely correlated with budburst date, as were the passerine hatching dates with the peak caterpillar biomass date. In all these cases, however, the slopes were significantly less than unity, showing that the response of the consumers is weaker than that of their food. This was also true for the avian predator, for which hatching dates were not correlated with the peak availability of fledgling passerines. As a result, the match between food demand and availability deteriorated over time for both the passerines and the avian predators. 5. These results could equally well be explained by consumers' insufficient responses as a consequence of constraints in adapting to climate change, or by them trying to escape predation from a higher trophic level, or both. Selection on phenology could thus be both from matches of phenology with higher and lower levels, and quantifying these can shed new light on why some organisms do adjust their phenology to climate change, while others do not.

EFFECT OF SPRAYING OF THOMPSON SEEDLESS GRAPEVINES WITH HYDROGEN CYANAMIDE ON BUD BEHAVIOUR

Dormex at 0, 2, 3 and 5% was sprayed on 1 or 7 or 14 January during two seasons 2006 and 2007 on 15 years old Thompson Seedless grapevines, planted at 2 X 2 meter in a loamy clay soil on three dates. The results of the two experimental seasons indicated that, the response of Thompson Seedless grapevines to (Dormex) treatments varied according to the concentration and spraying date. Budburst percentage generally increased from the basal to distal of bud location. The percentages of budburst, time budbreak and the vegetative growth were markedly increased respectively compared to control. There beneficial results concerning an advancement in date of bud burst, an increase in the percentage of buds developed to vegetative growth and appearance of flowering. The best results were obtained by 5% hydrogen cyanamide applied on the first of January in both season.

Genetic variation in seasonal growth patterns in radiata pine in Galicia (northern Spain)

Shoot elongation patterns in 2 and 3-year-old Pinus radiata seedlings were monitored twice a month during 2003 and once a month during 2004 in three progeny tests in northern Spain. Fifty-eight half-sib families were studied. Several annual growth parameters were measured in each seedling: initiation, termination and duration of height growth and number of new buds formed each year. Total height, internode length and frost resistance were also measured in each seedling. The variation in these traits among families and sites was studied, as well as the effects of environmental parameters (temperature and rainfall) on growth phenology patterns. The extent to which bud phenology is genetically controlled and related to growth traits was examined. Families differed significantly in total summer shoot growth and number of summer flushes (lammas growth). The number of cycles produced per year ranged from one to four. Monocyclic families grew throughout the year, whereas polycyclic families grew episodically, depending on rainfall. Heritabilities within sites were moderate and very similar between years and sites for the dates of bud burst and the number of new buds formed. Bud burst was positively genetically correlated with seedling height. Thus, selection for greater growth is expected to delay bud burst. The number of new buds formed each year was negatively correlated with height and internode length, which means that monocyclic families were taller with longer internodes than polycyclic families. Thus, selection for faster stem growth in young progeny tests is expected to increase the length of internodes in the next generation, to reduce the number of flushes per year and to delay the bud burst date, thereby avoiding late spring frost damage.

Hatching Asynchrony and Brood Reduction in Blue TitsCyanistes caeruleusMay be a Plastic Response to Local OakQuercus roburBud Burst and Caterpillar Emergence

Blue Tits exhibit extreme variation in clutch size and hatching asynchrony, which is the focus of this study. This paper reports an in-depth study of breeding Blue Tits showing that variation in Blue Tit hatching asynchrony can be explained by a number of phenological variables including particularly, date of bud burst in the local oak tree, which signals caterpillar emergence (34%), also date of first egg (14%) and female weight (8%). Hatching asynchrony explained 9% of the variation in brood mortality in this southern English population. Early incubation relative to clutch completion (incubation asynchrony) in Blue Tits explained 85% of the variation in hatching asynchrony, differs between years and advanced hatching in early and fledging in late laid eggs. Consequently, because fledging is usually synchronous, hatching asynchrony shortens the total time spent in the nest and explained 28% of the variation in nesting time from clutch completion to fledging. I present experimental evidence that brood reduction resulting from hatching asynchrony may be particularly adaptive towards the end of the breeding season, with 91% of the variation in the productivity of asynchronously-hatched broods being explained by, and increased with, date of hatching. About one fifth of birds delayed daytime incubation until after clutch completion, probably in wait for caterpillars to appear. Although the delay period was variable and extended total nesting time it always resulted in synchronous hatching. I propose that Blue Tits may have evolved plastic responses to environmental cues such as oak bud burst, which causes them to incubate at the optimum time to ensure maximum fledging success and chick fitness.