Frost Injury Research Articles

Toxicity of Smoke to Epiphytic Ice Nucleation-Active Bacteria

Wheat straw smoke aerosols and liquid smoke condensates reduced significantly both the viability and the ice-nucleating activity of Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae and Erwinia herbicola in vitro and on leaf surfaces in vivo. Highly significant reductions in numbers of bacterial ice nuclei on the surface of both corn and almond were observed after exposure to smoke aerosols. At -5 degrees C, frost injury to corn seedlings colonized by ice nucleation-active bacteria was reduced after exposure to smoke aerosols. Effects on -9 degrees C ice nuclei, although significant, were less than on ice nuclei active at -5 degrees C. These results suggest that smoke from wildfires or smudge pots may reduce plant frost susceptibility and sources of ice nuclei important in other natural processes under some conditions.

Frost Injury and Heterogeneous Ice Nucleation in Leaves of Tuber-Bearing Solanum Species

The heterogeneous ice nucleation characteristics and frost injury in supercooled leaves upon ice formation were studied in nonhardened and cold-hardened species and crosses of tuber-bearing Solanum. The ice nucleation activity of the leaves was low at temperatures just below 0 degrees C and further decreased as a result of cold acclimation. In the absence of supercooling, the nonhardened and cold-hardened leaves tolerated extracellular freezing between -3.5 degrees and -8.5 degrees C. However, if ice initiation in the supercooled leaves occurred at any temperature below -2.6 degrees C, the leaves were lethally injured.To prevent supercooling in these leaves, various nucleants were tested for their ice nucleating ability. One% aqueous suspensions of fluorophlogopite and acetoacetanilide were found to be effective in ice nucleation of the Solanum leaves above -1 degrees C. They had threshold temperatures of -0.7 degrees and -0.8 degrees C, respectively, for freezing in distilled H(2)O. Although freezing could be initiated in the Solanum leaves above -1 degrees C with both the nucleants, 1% aqueous fluorophlogopite suspension showed overall higher ice nucleation activity than acetoacetanilide and was nontoxic to the leaves. The cold-hardened leaves survived between -2.5 degrees and -6.5 degrees using 1% aqueous fluorophlogopite suspension as a nucleant. The killing temperatures in the cold-hardened leaves were similar to those determined using ice as a nucleant. However, in the nonhardened leaves, use of fluorophlogopite as a nucleant resulted in lethal injury at higher temperatures than those estimated using ice as a nucleant.

4375734 Protection of plants against frost injury using ice nucleation-inhibiting species-specific bacteriophages: Lloyd Kozloff, Russell C. Schnell, assigned to University Patents Inc

4375734 Protection of plants against frost injury using ice nucleation-inhibiting species-specific bacteriophages: Lloyd Kozloff, Russell C. Schnell, assigned to University Patents Inc

小豆の生育に関する研究 : 第6報 葉と莢の表面温度と初霜害について(年次講演会要旨)

小豆の生育に関する研究 : 第6報 葉と莢の表面温度と初霜害について(年次講演会要旨)

Frost Injury of Orchardgrass Cultivars under a Continuously Frozed State

Frost Injury of Orchardgrass Cultivars under a Continuously Frozed State

Biological Control of Frost Injury: Establishment and Effects of an Isolate ofErwinia herbicolaAntagonistic to Ice Nucleation Active Bacteria on Corn in the Field

Etude des possibilites d'utiliser l'antagonisme bacterien dans la protection du mais contre l'action du gel au champ

Methods of Preventing Frost Injury Caused by Epiphytic Ice-Nucleation-Active Bacteria

Methods of Preventing Frost Injury Caused by Epiphytic Ice-Nucleation-Active Bacteria

Relationship between Ice Nucleation Frequency of Bacteria and Frost Injury

Not every cell of a given bacterial isolate that has ice-nucleating properties can serve as an ice nucleus at any given time and temperature. The ratio between the number of ice nuclei and number of bacterial cells in a culture (i.e. nucleation frequency) was found to vary with incubation temperature, growth medium composition, culture age, and genotype. Optimal conditions for ice nucleus production in vitro included incubation of the bacterial cells at 20 to 24 degrees C on nutrient agar containing glycerol. The relationship between nucleation frequency and frost injury was examined by subjecting corn seedlings to -4 degrees C immediately after they were sprayed with bacterial suspensions with different nucleation frequencies and by following both ice nucleus concentration and bacterial population size on leaves of corn seedlings as a function of time after bacterial application. The amount of frost injury to growth chamber-grown corn seedlings at -4 degrees C was a function of the number of ice nuclei active at that temperature on the leaves. The number of ice nuclei, in turn, is the product of the nucleation frequency and population size of ice-nucleation-active bacteria present on the leaves.

Bacterial Ice Nucleation: A Factor in Frost Injury to Plants

Heterogeneous ice nuclei are necessary, and the common epiphytic ice nucleation active (INA) bacteria Pseudomonas syringae van Hall and Erwinia herbicola (Löhnis) Dye are sufficient to incite frost injury to sensitive plants at -5 degrees C. The ice nucleation activity of the bacteria occurs at the same temperatures at which frost injury to sensitive plants occurs in nature. Bacterial ice nucleation on leaves can be detected at about -2 degrees C, whereas the leaves themselves, i.e. without INA bacteria, contain nuclei active only at much lower temperatures. The temperature at which injury to plants occurs is predictable on the basis of the ice nucleation activity of leaf discs, which in turn depends on the number and ice nucleation activity of their resident bacteria. Bacterial isolates which are able to incite injury to corn at -5 degrees C are always active as ice nuclei at -5 degrees C. INA bacteria incited frost injury to all of the species of sensitive plants tested.

Low Temperature Growth in the Field of Trifolium repens Ecotypes from Northern Latitudes

(1) The low temperature growth of thirteen ecotypes and a cultivar of Trifolium repens was studied in the field at two altitudes. The results are compared with previously published data obtained in cold cabinets. (2) One ecotype originating from 700 m above sea-level in Britain exhibited exceptional growth at both field sites. The potential importance of this ecotype is discussed. (3) There is evidence that the ecotype partitions growth into shoot components in a different manner to that of the cultivar in autumn, a difference which subsequently affects spring growth. (4) Two ecotypes collected from low altitudes exhibited frost injury which influenced their spring growth at the upland site. (5) The poor performance of ecotypes originating from low altitudes when grown at altitude partly explained why only a few clinal relationships between low temperature growth and the winter temperature at the place of origin were indicated in these experiments. (6) A hypothesis is presented suggesting that flower production of lowlan4 types may adversely influence their potential growth in autumn. (7) From the limited number of plants tested, it appears that ecotypes of T. repens originating from lowland areas are not well adapted to the hill environment despite their ability to exhibit good growth at low temperatures in cold cabinets.

Ethephon Treatment of Tomato Transplants Improves Frost Tolerance1

Abstract (2-ChloroethyI)phosphonic acid (ethephon) spray on tomato transplants (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill) 12 days prior to pulling resulted in partial protection of the plants from frost injury after transplanting. Cultivars of tomato responded differently both to the degree of frost damage even if not treated with ethephon and to the level of protection by ethephon. ‘Heinz 1630’ was most tolerant to frost while ‘Ohio 7663’, ‘Hunts 304’, ‘Libby 7241’, and ‘Chico III’ were most susceptible. The transplants with thicker stems (>4.5 mm) generally had a better survival rate than thin-stemmed (<4.5 mm) transplants.

Variation in frost injury to white ash families in an Ontario plantation

White ash (Fraxinusamericana L.) seedlings from 36 localities in the United States and Canada planted in Ontario were injured by both late spring and early fall frost. The percentage of trees injured by spring frost varied significantly among families but was poorly correlated with their geographic origin. In general, level of injury increased with latitude between latitudes 35 and 45° and then decreased at the higher latitudes. Environmental conditions in the plantation and family differences in leaf flushing probably contributed to the variation and possibly obscured any clear pattern in foliar injury. Dieback of the main stem due to fall frost, however, was closely related to latitude of seed origins and to the percent of trees that were still growing at the time of the first killing frost. White ash seedlings of local or northern origin are recommended for planting in this area because they are least susceptible to frost injury.

Relation of the Environmental Conditions to the Frost Injury

In order to examine the effect of dew on the leaf surface on the freezing temperature T1 of plant juice, the experiments were conducted by using the radiative cooling apparatus. When a pair of the primary leaves of a soybean seedling spread fully, the seedling was set in the apparatus and then cooled down to a subzero temperature. The mean freezing temperature of wet leaves T1w was -4.4°C and was 0.8°C higher than that of dry leaves T1d as shown in Table 3. The difference in temperature was significant statistically.When one of a pair of leaves was dry and the other was wet, the wet leaf froze firstly and then the dry leaf froze within a few or longer seconds. The mean freezing temperature of the dry leaves T1dw was -3.9°C as shown in Table 4 and was 1.3°C higher than that of the dry leaves T1d (Table 3) as a result of ice inoculation by freezing of the wet leaf. The mean freezing temperature of the wet leaves T1ww was lower than T1dw as shown in Table 4. It is considered that this difference in freezing temperatures is due to the difference in evaporative cooling between the dry and the wet leaves under low humidity in the experimental cabinet.The multi-regression equation on the frost injury ratio I, the freezing temperature T1 and the minimum leaf temperature T3 after T1 (see Fig. 1) in the previous paper (Yamanaka et al. 1982) was modified by adding the present experimental data taken at the warmer experimental conditions than the former and the following equation was obtained.I=-8.21T1-17.40T3-34.26In analyzing the experimental results, it was found that the frost injury did not occur when the plants were held in the supercooling condition or when the droplets on the leaves froze but plant juice did not freeze or only a part of liquid outside cells froze.

Book Review: Cold and Frost Injuries

Book Review: Cold and Frost Injuries

Frost Injury of Tender Plants Increased by Pseudomonas syringae van Hall1

Abstract Pseudomonas syringae van Hall, an ice nucleation active (INA) bacterium, increased frost susceptibility of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) and soybean (Glycine max L.) when sprayed on leaves prior to low temperature stress. Tomato and soybean plants inoculated with INA bacteria were nucleated and frozen at −4° and −5°C respectively. Control plants that were free of INA bacteria supercooled and survived to −8°. A threshold INA bacterial concentration of about 4 × 105 cells/ml was necessary for ice nucleation. Ice nucleating active bacteria preconditioned at 2° showed a marked increase in efficiency of ice nucleation. Preconditioned INA bacteria had ice nucleation temperatures 5° higher than INA bacteria held at 21°.

Cold and frost injuries — Rewarming damage, biological, angiological and clinical aspects

Cold and frost injuries — Rewarming damage, biological, angiological and clinical aspects

Freezing injury in cold-acclimated and unhardened spinach leaves

Leaves from cold-acclimated and from unhardened spinach plants (Spinacia oleracea L.) were subjected to a freezing/thawing procedure in which varying minimum temperatures were reached. Subsequently, the chlorophyll fluorescence induction signal (Kautsky phenomenon) and the light-induced apparent absorbance changes at 535 nm (light-scattering changes indicative of the proton gradient, and absorbance changes induced by the membrane potential) of the leaves were studied to obtain information on the course and mechanism of frost damage to the photosynthetic apparatus. Membrane energization as indicated by these signals was related in a complex way to the inactivation of CO2 assimilation due to the progressing impact of freezing: In the absence of CO2, the maximum energization of the thylakoids was progressively decreased. According to altered fluorescence signals, the electron transport system was affected in parallel. In the presence of CO2, energization frequently appeared increased when the leaves had been partially damaged, i.e., when the CO2 assimilation rates were lowered. The results suggest that the primary frost injury in chloroplasts of intact leaves consists of an inhibition of the energy conserving photosynthetic processes and, in addition, of a partial inactivation of the carbon reduction cycle. The pattern of freezing injury was no different in frost-hardened and unhardened leaves.

The Effects of Frost Injuries on the Fermentative Quality, Nutritive Value and Harvest Loss of Corn Silages

The Effects of Frost Injuries on the Fermentative Quality, Nutritive Value and Harvest Loss of Corn Silages

Tonoplast stability as a critical factor in frost injury and hardening of spruce (Picea abiesL. Karst.) needles

Summary The effects of freezing and thawing of spruce needles on the amount and polypeptide pattern of borate-soluble and borate-insoluble, but SDS-soluble, needle protein were investigated. The loss of needle protein solubility for borate buffer occurring when needles are subjected to lethal freezing and thawing is due to the thawing, not the freezing, component of the low temperature treatment. The loss of needle protein borate-solubility elicited by exposure of the needles to conditions resulting in frost injury is similar to that observed upon mechanical disruption of needles in the absence of extraction buffer under non-freezing conditions. Exposure to concentrated aqueous needle extracts during the thawing of spruce needle protein in vitro resulted in a loss of needle protein solubility for borate buffer comparable to that occurring in vivo upon lethal freezing and thawing of the needles. Cold acclimation of the needles was not accompanied by pronounced alterations in the composition of borate-soluble needle protein. The results indicate that protein denaturation associated with frost injury to spruce needles is due to a loss of needle cell compartmentation and concomitant flooding of the cell interior with protein-toxic vacuolar substances. Functional stability of the tonoplast is suggested to be of central importance with respect to the frost hardiness of spruce needles.

Effect of winter herbage cover on survival and spring growth of tropical grasses in a temperate environment

Abstract Winter herbage covers were investigated as a means of protecting 5 tropical grasses from frost. Paspalum dilatatum, Pennisetum clandestinum, Cynodon dactylon, Digitaria scalarum and Setaria anceps were grown in small plots and overwintered under the following treatments: (1) tall stubble oftheir own herbage, (2) a short sward, (3) overdrilled lupin, and (4) overdrilled perennial ryegrass. During frosts grass stern-base mimimum temperatures under the heavy cover oftall stubble were 2°C warmer than under the short sward, but there were no significant differences in plant survival between the short sward and tall stubble. Stern-base temperatures were above O°C even during severe frosts in all treatments, but some plants died, especially in Setaria, even through meristems at soil level were not frozen. Chilling injury, as distinct from frost injury, may have killed them. Overdrilled lupin and ryegrass both failed to produce sufficient herbage by early winter from a 25 March sowing date to protect the...