Plant Growth Analysis Research Articles

The Role of Indigenous Mycorrhizae of Corn Plants in Various Soil Types in Gunung Kidul, Indonesia

Indigenous Vesicular-Arbuscular Mycorrhizae (VAM) are natural mycorrhizae from specific areas that have good environmental adaptability. This study, conducted from January to November 2020 at the Faculty of Agriculture, Universitas Gadjah Mada, aimed to isolate the vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus so that it can be used as information on the type and role of VAM on Gunung Kidul soil. The research was arranged in a Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with three factors. The first factor was soil type from Gunung Kidul Regency (Inceptisol, Mollisol, and Alfisol), the second factor was sterilization (sterilized soil and unsterilized soil), and the third factor was corn variety (local and hybrid). Analysis of soil and plant growth was performed by using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and Tukey's Honestly Significant Difference (Tukey's HSD) Test. Genetic detection of root infecting VAM was performed by using Terminal Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (T-RFLP) method with FAM AML1-AML2 labeled primers. The VAM detected in the roots of hybrid variety included Acaulospora sp., Gigaspora sp., and Septoglomus sp., and those in the roots of local variety were Acaulospora sp., Gigaspora sp., and Funelisformis sp. The results showed that the role of VAM could be seen through unsterilized soil so that there was no VAM elimination in the soil. Unsterilized soil showed the best results of root infection, leaf fresh and dry weight, leaf phosphor (P) content, and leaf P uptake. Meanwhile, Alfisol showed the best result of root infection, fresh weight, dry weight, leaf P content, and leaf P uptake. The treatment of plant varieties showed that the varieties did not significantly affect the root infection, fresh weight, dry weight, leaf P content, and leaf P uptake.

Application of Silica Nutrients Improves Plant Growth and Biomass Production of Paddy under Saline Conditions

<p>Salinity makes disorder to plant physiological causes decreasing in biomass production. Applying silica nutrients is expected to increase paddy (<em>Oryza sativa</em> L.) tolerance to salinity. The study aims to examine the effects of the application of silica nutrients under saline conditions regarding plant growth analysis and its correlation to paddy biomass production. The research was arranged in a factorial completely randomized design with two factors. The first factor was NaCl concentrations consisting of four levels, including non-saline, 4 dS m<sup>-1</sup>, 8 dS m<sup>-1</sup> and 12 dS m<sup>-1</sup>. The second factor was silica doses per kg soil with three levels including 300 mg, 450 mg and 600 mg. The treatments were repeated three times. The result showed that the NaCl concentration affected root shoot ratio at harvest. Silica dosage affected leaf area index 8 weeks after planting (WAP), root shoot ration at harvest and net assimilation rate. Interaction of NaCl concentration and silica dose affected root shoot ratio in 8 WAP and at harvest. Plant growth analysis illustrated on leaf area index, plant growth rate and root shoot ratio correlated positively with biomass production. However, the harvest index and net assimilation rate showed negative correlations to biomass production. The application of silica nutrients had the potential to improve paddy growth and yield under saline conditions.</p>

Comparing the Genetic Parameters of Three Rice Varieties on Suboptimal Land Using the SRI Method

The conversion of fertile land into industrial areas and construction development has contributed to the decline of rice production in Indonesia. Therefore, it is necessary to expand the rice fields to the sub-optimal land, i.e. lands with high levels of Fe and Al and low soil pH. One of the solutions that can potentially solve the problem is choosing varieties of rice that can adapt to the suboptimal land environment; the rice varieties can be obtained by estimating rice genetic parameters and selecting the optimal planting methods. One method that can potentially improve rice yield is “System of Rice Intensification”, or SRI method. Our study was conducted in the rice fields on suboptimal land at Pasar Ambacang, Kuranji District, Padang, Sumatra, from December 2019 to April 2020. The aims of the experiment are to determine the genetic parameters and responses of the three rice varieties to suboptimal land using the SRI method. A complete randomized design with four replications was used to set up the experiment using three varieties of rice, i.e. “Batang Piaman”, “Bujang Marantau”, and “IPB3S”. Based on the plant growth measurement and analysis of the genetic parameters, we found that the plant growth characters, particularly height and panicles length, had high heritability and genetic progression values.

Phosphate Solubilizing Rhizobacteria of Rice: Analysis of Plant Growth Promoting Activity and Environmental Stress Tolerance

Phosphate Solubilizing Rhizobacteria of Rice: Analysis of Plant Growth Promoting Activity and Environmental Stress Tolerance

Identification and Analysis of Plant Growth Promoting Bacteria in LEAF Community Garden Soil

In today’s largely populated modern world, crop yield is becoming increasingly important. To increase crop yield, new modern technologies for farming are continuously being innovated. The aim of this study is the identification of Plant Growth Promoting Bacteria (PGPBs) and their properties. In order to conduct the experiment, soil samples were collected from the community garden LEAF (Local Ecology and Agriculture Fremont). These samples were grown in Luria Bertani agar plates, and the two bacterial strains that grew from them were analyzed to determine the species of the bacteria. Using a DNA extraction kit, DNA was extracted from the bacteria and then amplified versions were sent to RF Biotech for DNA sequencing. The DNA sequences were then used to determine that the two bacterial species in question are Bacillus cereus and Morganella morganii. Afterwards, multiple assays were used to measure the efficiency of each bacterial species to absorb various substances that would be helpful for plant growth. The aim of this research is to better understand which bacterial strains are beneficial for plants, and which are harmful. Through having greater zones of inhibition, the bacterial species M. morganii proved to be more efficient in the siderophore and phosphate solubilization assays. In contrast, the bacterial species B. cereus proved to be more efficient in the cellulase and amylase production assays. These results will assist LEAF in enriching their soil in order to increase their crop yields by creating an increase in concentration of advantageous bacteria and decrease that of detrimental bacteria.

Innovative UAV LiDAR Generated Point-Cloud Processing Algorithm in Python for Unsupervised Detection and Analysis of Agricultural Field-Plots

The estimation of plant growth is a challenging but key issue that may help us to understand crop vs. environment interactions. To perform precise and high-throughput analysis of plant growth in field conditions, remote sensing using LiDAR and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) has been developed, in addition to other approaches. Although there are software tools for the processing of LiDAR data in general, there are no specialized tools for the automatic extraction of experimental field blocks with crops that represent specific “points of interest”. Our tool aims to detect precisely individual field plots, small experimental plots (in our case 10 m2) which in agricultural research represent the treatment of a single plant or one genotype in a breeding trial. Cutting out points belonging to the specific field plots allows the user to measure automatically their growth characteristics, such as plant height or plot biomass. For this purpose, new method of edge detection was combined with Fourier transformation to find individual field plots. In our case study with winter wheat, two UAV flight levels (20 and 40 m above ground) and two canopy surface modelling methods (raw points and B-spline) were tested. At a flight level of 20 m, our algorithm reached a 0.78 to 0.79 correlation with LiDAR measurement with manual validation (RMSE = 0.19) for both methods. The algorithm, in the Python 3 programming language, is designed as open-source and is freely available publicly, including the latest updates.

Analysis of Plant Growth and Yield in Varieties of Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) Grafted onto Different Eggplant Rootstocks

This study aimed to examine plant growth of tomato grafted onto different eggplant rootstocks. We applied a randomized block design comprising twelve treatments with three replicates. Three varieties of tomato—Cervo, Karina, and Timoty—and three rootstocks—Gelatik, EG203 line, and Solanum torvum—were selected for this study. Nongrafted tomato plants of the same varieties were used as controls. The variables recorded were the number of branches, the diameter of scions and rootstocks, root length, and root dry weight at 4, 6, 8, and 10 weeks after planting (WAT) and relative growth rate, specific leaf area, and net assimilation rate at 4, 8, and 12 WAT. Grafted tomato plants demonstrated better growth than controls. There was a significant relationship between yield, plant growth parameters, and photosynthetic organs, expressed by higher production, greater scion diameter, longer roots, and increased relative growth rate, leaf area ratio, and net assimilation rate of grafted plants, compared to the controls.

Isolation and Identification of Indole Acetic Acid (IAA) Producing Bacteria from Organic Soil: Investigating Its Efficacy on Plant Growth

Indole acetic acid (IAA) production is a major property of rhizosphere bacteria that stimulates and facilitates plant growth. The present work deals with the isolation, characterization, and identification of indole acetic acid-producing bacteria from the rhizospheric soil. Out of four organisms isolated from serial dilution, Sample-2 confirmed thick bands of IAA production by TLC analysis. 16s rRNA analysis showed the isolated organism was found to be Pseudomonas fluorescence with a similarity of 88%. The isolated organism treat plants showed increased shoot and root length in plant growth analysis. In conclusion, the isolated IAA-producing bacteria can be used as efficient biofertilizer inoculants to promote plant growth.

Compensatory growth mechanisms in lettuce plants after partial defoliation

Leaf area loss is a frequent problem in crops, and it can be caused by biotic or abiotic factors. Reduced leaf area can produce alterations in plants, affecting their metabolism, growth, and yield. The leaf area in lettuce plants (Lactuca sativa L.) is often affected by herbivores such as slugs. The effects of partial defoliation on the growth of lettuce plants were evaluated under greenhouse conditions in Tunja, Colombia. Some plants had half of their leaves removed, while others were left intact as a control. The variables normally used in the basic analysis of plant growth were evaluated. There was nonsignificant difference between the two treatments; however, lettuce plants showed a remarkable ability to reduce the negative effect caused by partial defoliation, and they managed to maintain a balance in the root to shoot ratio, leaf area ratio, specific leaf area, leaf weight ratio, DM partitioning, and harvestable DM. Partial defoliation decreased the absolute growth rate by 17.8% and the relative growth rate by 13.8%. Additionally, the chlorophyll content index and the number of leaves increased by 16.0% and 15.4%, respectively, in plants subjected to partial defoliation compared with the control plants. These results indicate the regeneration capacity of the plants after partial defoliation.

Characterizing the oligogenic architecture of plant growth phenotypes informs genomic selection approaches in a common wheat population

BackgroundGenetic variation in growth over the course of the season is a major source of grain yield variation in wheat, and for this reason variants controlling heading date and plant height are among the best-characterized in wheat genetics. While the major variants for these traits have been cloned, the importance of these variants in contributing to genetic variation for plant growth over time is not fully understood. Here we develop a biparental population segregating for major variants for both plant height and flowering time to characterize the genetic architecture of the traits and identify additional novel QTL.ResultsWe find that additive genetic variation for both traits is almost entirely associated with major and moderate-effect QTL, including four novel heading date QTL and four novel plant height QTL. FT2 and Vrn-A3 are proposed as candidate genes underlying QTL on chromosomes 3A and 7A, while Rht8 is mapped to chromosome 2D. These mapped QTL also underlie genetic variation in a longitudinal analysis of plant growth over time. The oligogenic architecture of these traits is further demonstrated by the superior trait prediction accuracy of QTL-based prediction models compared to polygenic genomic selection models.ConclusionsIn a population constructed from two modern wheat cultivars adapted to the southeast U.S., almost all additive genetic variation in plant growth traits is associated with known major variants or novel moderate-effect QTL. Major transgressive segregation was observed in this population despite the similar plant height and heading date characters of the parental lines. This segregation is being driven primarily by a small number of mapped QTL, instead of by many small-effect, undetected QTL. As most breeding populations in the southeast U.S. segregate for known QTL for these traits, genetic variation in plant height and heading date in these populations likely emerges from similar combinations of major and moderate effect QTL. We can make more accurate and cost-effective prediction models by targeted genotyping of key SNPs.

Exploring biofertilizer potential of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria candidates from different plant ecosystems

Abstract. Agustiyani D, Dewi TK, Laili N, Nditasari A, Antonius S. 2021. Exploring biofertilizer potential of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria candidates from different plant ecosystems. Biodiversitas 22: 2691-2698. Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) have been widely used as inoculants to increase the growth of crops. This study aims to evaluate the effective PGPR strains according to their capability in various plant growth-promoting activities in vitro. Ten rhizosphere soil samples were obtained from several plant ecosystems in Bangkinang, Kampar, Sumatra Island, Indonesia. A total of 42 bacteria were isolated and tested for three plant growth–promoting activities i.e., phosphate solubilization, indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) production, and N fixation. Out of 42 isolates, 26 were positive for phosphate solubilization, 11 were positive for IAA production, and five were positive for N fixation. The qualitative and quantitative analysis of plant growth–promoting activities revealed that the highest phosphate solubilizing isolate was PK.4.2 (SI 4.33); the highest IAA-producing isolate was I.4.2 (73.1 ppm); while the highest N-fixing ability was NFB.1.1. According to the seed bioassay results, the shoot and root length of bok choy (Brassica rapa) seedlings were significantly enhanced with the PGPR isolates treatment. The highest shoot length (2.53 cm) was observed among seeds treated with I.4.2 isolate, followed by PK.6.1 (2.45 cm) and I.5.3 (2.07 cm). The NFB.1.1 isolate promoted the longest root length (6.4 cm), although this was similar with I.5.3 isolate (6.11 cm). Two isolates that showed significant plant growth–promoting activities were analyzed using 16S rDNA sequences. The two isolates had a close evolutionary relationship with genus Sinomonas strain Cw 108 (I.4.2) and Arthrobacter (I.5.3.).

Whole genome sequence insight of two plant growth-promoting bacteria (B. subtilis BS87 and B. megaterium BM89) isolated and characterized from sugarcane rhizosphere depicting better crop yield potentiality

Since sugarcane is a ratoon crop, genome analysis of plant growth-promoting bacteria that exist in its soil rhizosphere, can provide opportunity to better understand their characteristics and use of such bacteria in turn, may especially improve perennial crop productivity. In the present study, genome of two bacterial strains, one each of B. megaterium (BM89) and B. subtilis (BS87), isolated and reported earlier (Chandra et al., 2018), were sequenced and characterized. Though both strains have demonstrated plant growth promoting properties and enhanced in-vitro plant growth responses, functional annotation and analysis of genes indicated superiority of BS87 as it possessed more plant growth promotion attributable genes over BM89. Apart from some common genes, trehalose metabolism, glycine betaine production, peroxidases, super oxide dismutase, cold shock proteins and phenazine production associated genes were selectively identified in BS87 genome indicating better plant growth performances and survival potential under harsh environmental conditions. Genes for chitinase, d-cysteine desulfhydrase and γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), as found in BM89, propose its selective utilization in defense and bio-control measures. Concomitant with better settlings’ growth, scanning electron micrographs indicated these isolated and characterized bacteria exhibiting healthy colonization within root of sugarcane crop. Kegg pathways’ assignment also revealed added pathways namely carbohydrate and amino acid metabolism attached to B. subtilis strain BS87, a preferable candidate for bio-fertilizer and its utilization to promote growth of both plant and ratoon crops of sugarcane usually experiencing harsh environmental conditions.

Optimization of indole-3-acetic acid using response surface methodology and its effect on vegetative growth of chickpea

This study investigates the optimization of various environmental and nutritional factors for the best indole acetic acid (IAA) producing isolate using Box-Behnken Design (BBD) with Response Surface Method (RSM) and examines its effects on early plant growth parameters of Cicer arietinum (chickpea). Firstly, the screening of putative Bacillus isolates based on IAA producing capability and analysis of other plant growth promoting attributes was carried out. The highest IAA producing isolate MRN16 was selected to optimize IAA production based on the BBD and a total of 86 sets of experiments were finalized. The incubation temperature of 35 °C, pH of 7.0, incubation time of 8 days, 1.0 g/L tryptophan, 20 g/L starch, 0.5 g/L KNO3, were found the optimal conditions for the maximum IAA production. The extracted or purified IAA was examined by thin layer chromatography (TLC), showed a red colored spot with an 0.75 Rf value. IAA was determined using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and peak was observed at 6.66 min retention time, comparable with the standard IAA. The greenhouse assay confirmed that MRN16 was a significant isolate for enhancing chickpea vegetative growth parameters such as root/shoot length and weight (fresh/dry). Finally, isolate MRN16 was identified as Bacillus altitudinis using 16S rRNA sequencing. The present research establishes successful use of RSM, as an easy and useful tool to determine the optimized parameters for maximum IAA production in bacteria and further the utilization of bacteria to upsurge the plant growth.

Plant growth analysis describing the soybean plants response on dryland field to seed co-inoculation

ABSTRACT: Plant growth analysis can be used for soybean plants evaluation to identify morphologic changes caused by soil microbes after seed inoculation. The objective was to measure changes of inoculated soybean plants grown under regular field Brazilian production conditions. The experiment was carried out to compare 5 inoculation treatments: T1 (Bradyrhizobium japonicum and B. diazoefficiens), T2 (T1 and Azospirillum brasilense), T3 (T1 and Trichoderma asperellum), T4 (T1 and T. virens, and Bacillus amyloliquefaciens) and T5 (T1 and Penicillum bilaiae). Leaf area, shoot and root dry matter were measured at vegetative and reproductive growth stages. Results of this study validate the contribution of plant growth analysis of soybeans plants for identifying their responses promoted by the combined inoculation of their seeds with selected microbes. Also, the microbial effects on plant growth vary not only between microbes but also between parts of the plants and through the plant development stages. The introduction of different microbes in soybean rhizosphere combined with Bradyrhizobium sp. strains can contribute to increase crop dry matter productivity during its growing cycle.

High Throughput Analyses of Ascorbate-turnover Enzyme Activities in Rice (Oryza sativa L.) Seedlings

Ascorbate (Vitamin C) fulfills various functions in plant photosynthesis and abiotic stress tolerance. The four key enzymes involved in the ascorbate-turnover pathway are ascorbate peroxidase, ascorbate oxidase, monodehydroascorbate reductase, and dehydroascorbate reductase. Several reports have shown the pivotal roles of these enzymes in plant development and stress tolerance. Therefore, reliable and rapid assay protocols are required for researchers to investigate their enzymatic activities during plant development and stress responses. Previously published methods for analyzing these enzymatic activities rely on cuvette spectrophotometers, which can only handle one sample per test, leading to a prolonged investigation. In this protocol, we employed a 96-well microplate reader to analyze at least eight samples with two technical replicates simultaneously. We analyzed two rice (Oryza sativa L.) genotypes with distinct ascorbate oxidase and dehydroascorbate reductase activities to demonstrate the assay process, including plant growth, sample preparation, reaction setup, and data analysis. Our protocol provides a high throughput method for investigating ascorbate turnover-related enzymatic activities in plants.

An online learning module for plant growth analysis using high‐throughput phenotyping data

An online learning module for plant growth analysis using high‐throughput phenotyping data

Nonlinear growth dynamics of date palms responding to environmental parameters

Scientific analysis of plant growth helps in improving the efficiency of cultivation practices through optimization of their environmental conditions. The ultimate aim of this research was to derive an optimal policy for better growth of date palms by considering its dynamical response to environmental parameters such as solar radiation, soil moisture, and temperature. Field experiments were conducted at an irrigation scheme located in the Jordan Rift Valley. A drip irrigation system is installed to water ten trees of date palms either with fresh or saline water depending on the soil matric potential. The circumference of the trunk of a tree was measured using a dendrometer at 30 mins interval and recorded in a data logger. Environmental parameters including the soil matric potential, solar radiation, and soil temperature were also logged every 30 mins. This study focused on determining a nonlinear model representing the growth dynamics of the date palm tree responding to those environmental parameters. The linear regression was applied to estimate the kernel coefficients of discrete Volterra series modeling the time series. The non-linearity of the model is expected to explain diurnal shrinkage and swelling of the tree trunk under different environmental conditions.

ROOT ASSOCIATED BACTERIAL ENDOPHYTES FROM POACEAE PLANTS: IDENTIFICATION, CHARACTERIZATION AND PLANT GROWTH PROMOTION

Diazotrophic endophytic bacteria contribute to the plant growth using various plant growth promoting traits as well as by inducing the plant defence mechanism upon pathogen attack. Aim of the present study was to isolate true diazotrophic endophytic bacteria from the total diazotrophic bacterial community of wheat and pearl-millet plants. Further, these isolates were evaluated for their potential of plant growth promotion by in vitro and in vivo experiments. We isolated total three diazotrophic endophytic bacteria based on their growth after repetitive subculturing on nitrogen free medium. Molecular characterization of all three isolates showed affiliation to the genera Agrobacterium, Pseudomonas and Brevundimonas. In vitro analysis of plant growth promoting traits showed positive result for indole acetic acid (IAA) production, cellulase and protease activity. The IAA production is found between the ranges of 98 to 113 µg ml-1. All the endophytic bacterial isolates showed the PCR amplification of NifH gene and ammonia production. Diazotrophic endophytic bacterial isolates (PR1, JB3 and JB6) were tested for their capacity to promote the plant growth using pot experiment. All the diazotrophic endophytic bacteria differ in their plant growth promotion ability as analyzed by various plant growth parameter compared to the untreated control plants. In Pot experiment, PR1 and JB6 showed a significant difference in dry weight of root, whereas JB3 and JB6 showed the significant differences in shoot length and total nitrogen content (p≤0.05) compared to the untreated plants.

Интенсивность формирования травостоя на имитационных моделях пастбищ различного сезона использования

Abstract. The purpose of the research is to substantiate the relationship between the parameter of the greatest growth of plants with a specific rate of grazing of animals on pasture. It is necessary to solve problems with the intensity of animal grazing, and also to establish, according to the data, a statistical relationship between the parameters of the logistic equation that describes the average statistical growth of plants on natural pastures. Research methods. The experiments were carried out at the research sites of the lysimetric complex of the FSC of Agroecology RAS with various soil substrates (Kumskiy sand, Bazhiganskiy sand, chernozem-like sandy loam substrate). Sowing mixtures of multicomponent herbs of the Stavropol selection was performed for further analysis of plant growth and development, taking into account the different season of use. Results. The article presents the equation of the course of growth of the grass stand for the growing season, which proves that even after the removal of part of the phytomass, the plant growth law is preserved according to the principle of the sigmoid curve. The maximum plant height after simulating phytomass etching was recorded on a lysimeter No. 6 and averaged: with phytomass removal of ⅓ – 121 cm, ½ – 97 cm, ⅔ – 61 cm. The smallest average plant height was noted on lysimeter No. 13 – 64 cm. The highest height on this lysimeter was 110 cm with ⅓ removal. The average growth at the end of the growing season of plants for all simulation models was distributed as follows: with the withdrawal of 33 % – 73 %; 50 % – 53 %; 67 % – 31 %. The experiments showed that it is not recommended to remove more than ⅓ of the plant phytomass. The main role is played by the rate of phytomass removal (grazing rate) for the stable restoration of the grass stand of degraded pastures, and it is also necessary to take into account the vegetative period of the plant. Scientific novelty. The relationship between plant growth parameters has been established. It allows you to predict the characteristics of further growth, improve the natural degraded grass stands, establish the sequence of grazing in different areas in accordance with the species composition of plants.

Growth of canola hybrids resistant and sensitive to herbicides

Plant growth analysis is useful for determining adequate management practices and exploring the maximum yield potential of cultivars or hybrids. Canola hybrids with resistance to herbicides have been studied and registered for Brazilian conditions, as they improve weed management in canola crops. This study evaluated the growth of canola hybrids resistant to triazine or imidazolinone herbicides compared to a sensitive hybrid. The experiment was conducted using a completely randomized design, with four replications, in a bifactorial scheme using three hybrids and six sampling times. The canola hybrids used were Hyola 571CL (resistant to imidazolinones), Hyola 555TT (resistant to triazines), and Hyola 61 (sensitive to both herbicides). Height, leaf area, and dry matter of roots, leaves, stems, and shoots of the plants were evaluated at 14, 28, 42, 56, 70, and 119 days after emergence (DAE). The physiological indices absolute growth rate, leaf area ratio, specific leaf area, and net assimilation rate were calculated, and yield indices evaluated. Compared to Hyola 61, the Hyola 555TT hybrid showed lower values of leaf dry matter at 70 DAE, absolute growth rate up to 56 DAE, and net assimilation rate at 14 and 28 DAE, and a higher leaf area ratio at 56 DAE, whereas the hybrid Hyola 571CL presented lower leaf area and lower leaf dry matter at 70 DAE. At flowering, compared to Hyola 61, the hybrid Hyola 571CL presents lower leaf area, and the hybrids Hyola 555TT and Hyola 571CL have lower leaf dry matter accumulation. Differences in the growth of canola hybrids Hyola 555TT, Hyola 571CL and Hyola 61 do not cause differences in their grain yield.