Twig Length Research Articles

Study on Morphological Traits of Natural Populations of Vaccinium uliginosum at Different Altitudinal Gradients on Changbai Mountain

Vaccinium uliginosum (VU) is one of the most precious wild berry plants distributed in the Changbai Mountain region in northeast China. Eight key morphological traits of VU were analyzed to examine the variation among and within five natural populations at different altitudes, as well as their response to environmental factors. The study results showed an increasing trend of variation among populations with ascending altitudes, but the range variation within populations exhibited a decreasing trend. The diversity level among populations was found to be higher than that within populations, and the five populations of VU were classified into four groups. Except for leaf width and twig length, all other morphological traits demonstrated significant or extremely significant correlations. Generally, with increasing altitude, leaf length decreased, while plant height, clear bole height, and basal diameter decreased significantly, and similar trends were observed with moisture factors, while a significant positive correlation was found with temperature factors. Among them, the morphological traits of clear bole height and basal diameter exhibited the strongest correlation with environmental factor variations. Overall, these findings indicate extensive variation in the morphological traits of VU within and among populations at different altitudes, with clear responses to changes in environmental factors.

Twig selection on mountain birch Betula pubescens by winter‐feeding willow grouse Lagopus lagopus in a subarctic forest

In a subarctic forest at Kvaløya, northern Norway, willow grouse Lagopus lagopus fed at snow level by clipping bits of twigs from mountain birch Betula pubescens during winter. Birch has two types of twigs ending in a terminal bud: long twigs with a smooth bark, and short twigs with rings of thicker bark. The grouse selected ringed twigs above smooth twigs despite a surplus of smooth twigs in the forest. Ringed twigs had more bark cm−1 of twig length and a higher relative bark/wood ratio than smooth twigs. Smooth twigs had growth nodes that increased in diameter inwards from the tip. Because of the non‐linear relation between the area and the circumference of a circle, the bark/wood ratio decreased for each node. Although being able to clip much thicker twigs, 90% of smooth twigs clipped by grouse were ≤ 2 mm in diameter. It is concluded that willow grouse fed optimally on birch in winter by selecting twigs to minimize fibrous wood intake.

Leaf Longevity in a Timberline Tree Species Juniperus saltuaria in the Sergymla Mountains, Southeastern Tibet

Leaf longevity is an important adaptive strategy that allows plants to maximize photosynthetic carbon gain. Due to the difficulty of identifying overwintering bud scars and distinguishing the age sequence of twigs, leaf longevity is rarely studied in Cupressaceae species, which further limits our understanding of the leaf economic spectrum (LES) for these populations. Here, we investigated the leaf longevity, as well as mass-based leaf nitrogen concentration (Nmass), of Juniperus saltuaria at different canopy heights for both subalpine and alpine timberline forests in the Sergymla Mountains, southeastern Tibet. We found that the mean leaf longevity was 4.2±1.2 years, and overall it did not differ significantly between different elevations. Along the vertical profiles of juniper canopies, the leaf longevity did not reflect a linear trend. With increasing leaf longevity, Nmass showed declining trends. We further analyzed the relationship between leaf longevity and the corresponding length of green twigs, and found that the length of green twigs could only explain 1%–3% of the variation in leaf longevity, indicating that the length of green twigs is a poor predictor for the variation in leaf longevity. In summary, for the J. saltuaria species in timberline or nearby subalpine forests, the effects of elevation and canopy depths on leaf longevity are minor, and the leaf trait analysis is in accordance with the prediction of LES.

Allometric scaling relationships of Larix potaninii subsp. chinensis traits across topographical gradients

The variation of phenotypic traits with environmental gradient can reveal the plant adapting strategies and predict reactions to future climate changes. However, it remains elusive, especially for alpine timberline tree species. To quantify the variation and explore the patterns of twig, leaf, stoma traits, and determine the scaling relationships along the topographic gradients, 576 current-year branches of Larix potaninii ssp. chinensis were collected and scaling relationships were analyzed. The results showed that the twig, leaf and stoma traits varied nonlinearly along altitudinal gradients (2900–3500 m) in both sunny and shady slopes, with a reversal point at about 3250 m, at which the optimum growth of twig length (78.53 mm), twig cross-sectional area (3.35 mm2), internode length (13.14 mm), leaf length (19.30 mm), specific leaf area (0.01 mm2mg−1), stomatal length (47.05 µm) and density (160.20 mm−2). In addition, the values of leafing intensity, leaf number and stomatal density on sunny slope, 1.52 mm−3, 88.79 and 160.20 mm−2 respectively, were higher than that on shady slope. Moreover, the relationships between leaf-twig traits were significantly correlative, and the leaf area-twig cross-sectional area and leaf intensity-leaf area scaling relationships were allometric (slope ≠ 1 or slope ≠ −1) and showed common slope with different y-intercept across altitudes and slope aspects (P < 0.01). Overall, the scaling relationships of different traits across topographical gradients were governed by functional coordination. The twig-size-leaf-size always maintains the balance between geometric dimension and mass in a certain growth rate. The inverse proportion in leaf size and number revealed its maximizing limited resource use efficiency.

Evaluation of effect of biorational insecticides on horticultural indices of the pistachio trees infested with the pistachio psylla, Agonoscena pistaciae

Field experiments were conducted during 2016–2017 on pistachio trees (Pistacia vera L., Anacardiaceae) in Kashan pistachio orchards to assess the effects of some insecticides on horticultural characteristics of the pistachio trees infested with the pistachio psylla, Agonoscena pistaciae Burckhardt & Lauterer. This research was conducted in the ten-year-old pistachio orchards (Akbari variety) of Kashan, Iran. The treatments were included palizin®, pistagaurd ®, kaolin (Surround®) 5%, kaolin 10%, movento® (registered chemical insecticide to compare) and control. Spraying was carried out three times a year, with one-month interval (4th of July, August and September). The results showed that in 2016, the effect of treatment in terms of twig length was significant. In terms of number of healthy buds was not significant and in terms of number of lost buds was highly significant. The number of unhealthy flower buds was positively affected by application of kaolin, pistaguard and palizin in 2016. However, no significant effect was recorded in 2017 for all tested pesticides. Kaolin 5 or 10%, was the only pesticide with positive effect on yield traits. These results provide support the potential use of this technology as an alternative pest management tool against pistachio psylla.

Effects of growth stage and altitude on twig functional traits and biomass allocation of Rhododendron przewalskii in the headwater region of Minjiang River, China.

This study aimed at understanding the differences in traits of functional twigs and leaves of a typical alpine shrub species, Rhododendron przewalskii, at Kaka Mountain in the headwater region of Minjiang River. Leaf and twig traits were compared for shrubs at different growth stages (flower bud stage and flowering stage) and altitude (3600 m and 3800 m). The effects of spatial heterogeneity on their correlations and trade-offs were evaluated at leaf and twig levels, respectively. Our results showed that twig length was significantly longer at low altitude than high altitude for the shubs at the same growth stage. The number and mass of flowers at flowering stage were significantly higher at high altitude than those at low altitude. At the same altitude, twig mass, number of leaves, total leaf mass, total leaf area and total petiole mass were all significantly greater at the flower bud stage than those at the flowering stage, while the individual leaf mass and individual petiole mass at flower bud stage were significantly smaller than those at flowering stage. Compared with the flower bud stage, the proportion of leaf mass decreased by 13% at the flowering stage, while biomass proportion of twig significantly increased. At the flower bud stage, twig mass had a higher contribution to total twig mass. In contrast, the contribution of total leaf mass to total twig mass was higher at flowering stage. More biomass of leaf was allocated to individual leaf mass at flower bud stage. More biomass of leaf was allocated to individual petiole mass and individual leaf mass at flowering stage at low altitude and high altitude, respectively. At low altitude, allometric growth patterns presented between twig mass and total leaf area, total leaf mass. Similarly, individual petiole mass and individual leaf area had allometric growth. Our results indicated that the functional traits of twigs and leaves varied across both altitude and plant growth stage.

Organic Stimulant Uses In Natural Plant Production

This study focuses on the effects of a commercially available synthetic rooting preparation that includes chemicals of the auxin group with indolebutyric acid (IBA) and natural and organic origin biostimulant on rooting in cuttings, root and twig development. Cuttings of commercially available ornamental plant Trachelospermum jasminoides and potential ornamental plants from natural flora Hypericum calycinum and Hypericum androsaemum were used in the study. The cuttings were kept at a temperature of 24-26 oC and humidity of 80-85% in a greenhouse, perlite environment for 90 days. According to the variance analysis results, the application of biostimulants in T. jasminoides was more effective in cutting rooting rates (69%), whereas there was no difference between the applications in H. calycinum (100%) and H. androsaemum (86.67%) species. As for the number of roots, all applications were equally effective in T. jasminoides (3.86 pieces) and H. androsaemum (2.94 pieces), and biostimulant was the most effective in H. calycinum (8.20 pieces). Biostimulant application in total root length, average root length, main root length, total twig length, average twig length, wet root weight data were found to be at the same level or more effective than the other applications. As a result, this study has found that natural species in flora can be successfully produced by using organic origin biostimulants instead of synthetic preparations for landscape applications.

FENOLOGÍA Y RENDIMIENTO DE LAS VARIEDADES DE CHIA (Salvia hispánica L.) EN EL DISTRITO DE MONZÓN HUÁNUCO

The purpose of the research was to evaluate the phenology and yield of two varieties of chia introduced in the Monzón valley; For this, the Completely Randomized Blocks Design (DBCA) was used with 2 treatments and 5 repetitions, analyzing with the ANDEVA statistical technique and Duncan's test at 5% and 1% significance. The variables evaluated were: Number of branches per plant, length of branches per plant, weight of grains per experimental net area, days of emergence, flowering, fruiting and harvest. The treatments were: T1 (white variety) and T2 (black variety). In the vegetative phase the variables days of emergence, flowering, fruiting and harvest did not show statistical significance while in the reproductive phase the weight of grains per experimental network area and the length of twigs per plant showed statistical significance, significant in terms of yield. ; surpassing on average the black variety with 1 940.4 kg / ha and the white variety with 1 720.8 kg / ha. Key words: Phenological Stage, Production, Omega 3, Vitamins A and D, Vegetative Phase.

Ant Occupation of Twigs in the Leaf Litter of the Atlantic Forest: Influence of the Environment and External Twig Structure

Twig cavities are microhabitats that may be used by different ant species for nesting and colony expansion. However, ants do not colonize all twigs available in the leaf litter, pointing to the existence of environmental or twig-related filters. In this study, we analyzed which environmental and twig attributes affected twig occupation by ants. We surveyed seven plots in six Atlantic forest sites in southeastern Brazil. To characterize the environmental filters, we quantified canopy cover and leaf litter moisture and depth. At the twig level, we measured twig length and diameter and the area and circumference of all holes in each twig. Ant colonies occupied 13.42% of the 4,805 twigs surveyed, and we recorded a total of 52 twig-nesting ant species. Brachymyrmex admotus was the most frequent species. Ant species richness increased with canopy cover and leaf litter moisture and with the relative number of occupied twigs. In addition, we found that ant species richness increased with length and diameter of the twigs, and that twigs with smaller holes were more frequently occupied by ants, regardless of the availability of larger diameter holes. Our work demonstrates that both environmental characteristics and twig morphology can structure occupation of twigs by ants. In addition, we demonstrated that certain species show a preference for certain twig types. We highlight the importance of twigs for maintaining ant diversity and for colony expansion of arboreal species and species inhabiting the leaf litter.

Ідентифікація статі рослин актинідії гострої (Actinidia arguta (Siebold &amp; Zucc.) Planch. ex Miq.)

Актинідія – це дводомна культура, і для забезпечення високої продуктивності її насаджень на ділянках необхідно одночасно висаджувати чоловічі та жіночі рослини у співвідношенні 1 до 5–7. Сортові жіночі рослини для насаджень одержують лише способом вегетативного розмноження, тоді як чоловічі рослини-запилювачі можуть бути як вегетативного, так і насіннєвого походження. Численні дослідження свідчать, що саме сіянці краще пристосовуються до нових умов зростання, вирізняються вищою адаптивною здатністю, підвищеною стійкістю до негативних чинників навколишнього середовища порівняно з вегетативно розмноженими рослинами. За літературними даними, вихід рослин-запилювачів інколи сягає 90 %, а то й 100 % від загальної маси сіянців. Ефективні методи визначення статі сіянців актинідії до вступу їх у генеративну фазу розвитку (на 5–7-й рік після посіву) нині відсутні, тому питання пошуку критеріїв ранньої діагностики статі рослин актинідії й опрацювання методу її визначення є надзвичайно актуальним і має важливе теоретичне та практичне значення. На основі комплексного вивчення особливостей чоловічих і жіночих рослин Аctinidia arguta (Siebold &amp; Zucc.) Planch. ex Miq. колекції Національного ботанічного саду ім. М. М. Гришка НАН України запропоновано метод діагностики статі сіянців у прегенеративний період їх розвитку. В основу методу ідентифікації статі A.arguta, що пропонують, покладено оброблення рослинних зразків хімічним реагентом, подальший аналіз результатів реакції та встановлення статі рослини за забарвленням зразків. Точність визначення сягає 95 %, що вказує на високу ефективність і перспективність частого використання запропонованого експрес-методу визначення статі у прегенеративному періоді розвитку рослин. Застосування цього методу дає змогу визначити стать рослин уже в 2–3-річному віці.

Scaling relationships between twig size and leaf size of Pinus hwangshanensis along an altitudinal gradient in Wuyi Mountains, China.

To analyze the tradeoff relationship between twigs and leaves, the traits of Pinus hwang-shanensis including leaf area, leaf number, twig length and twig diameter were investigated in Wuyi Mountains along an altitudinal gradient. The results indicated that leaf number, twig length, twig diameter, leafing intensity and twig stem cross-sectional area of P. hwangshanensis increased gra-dually with the increasing altitude, while individual leaf area decreased gradually. Leafing intensity of P. hwangshanensis at different altitudes had significant negative relationships with leaf area. The cross-sectional area of P. hwangshanensis had significant positive relationship with total leaf area. Twig length and twig diameter of P. hwangshanensis correlated negatively with leafing intensity, but positively with leaf area, leaf number and total leaf area. To enhance the competitiveness and resource utilization efficiency, P. hwangshanensis at low altitude tended to have relatively few large leaves on short twigs, and those at high altitude tended to have a large number of small leaves on long twigs. Such tradeoff between twigs and leaves reflected the strategy of resource utilization and the balance of biomass allocation mechanism of P. hwangshanensis responding to the altitudinal change.

A lognormal distribution of the lengths of terminal twigs on self-similar branches of elm trees.

Lognormal distributions and self-similarity are characteristics associated with a wide range of biological systems. The sequential breakage model has established a link between lognormal distributions and self-similarity and has been used to explain species abundance distributions. To date, however, there has been no similar evidence in studies of multicellular organismal forms. We tested the hypotheses that the distribution of the lengths of terminal stems of Japanese elm trees (Ulmus davidiana), the end products of a self-similar branching process, approaches a lognormal distribution. We measured the length of the stem segments of three elm branches and obtained the following results: (i) each occurrence of branching caused variations or errors in the lengths of the child stems relative to their parent stems; (ii) the branches showed statistical self-similarity; the observed error distributions were similar at all scales within each branch and (iii) the multiplicative effect of these errors generated variations of the lengths of terminal twigs that were well approximated by a lognormal distribution, although some statistically significant deviations from strict lognormality were observed for one branch. Our results provide the first empirical evidence that statistical self-similarity of an organismal form generates a lognormal distribution of organ sizes.

Increased Precipitation and Nitrogen Alter Shrub Architecture in a Desert Shrubland: Implications for Primary Production.

Shrublands are one of the major types of ecosystems in the desert regions of northern China, which is expected to be substantially more sensitive to global environmental changes, such as widespread nitrogen enrichment and precipitation changes, than other ecosystem types. However, the interactive effects of nitrogen and precipitation on them remain poorly understood. We conducted a fully factorial field experiment simulating three levels of precipitation (ambient, +20%, +40%) and with two levels of nitrogen deposition (ambient, 60 kg N ha-1 yr-1) in a desert shrubland in the Mu Us Desert of northern China. We used plant architectural traits (plant cover, volume, twig size and number) as proxies to predict aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP) of the dominant shrub (Artemisia ordosica Krasch), and assessed the responses of plant productivity and architectural traits to water and nitrogen addition. We found significant differences in twig size and number of A. ordosica under water and nitrogen treatments but not in shrub cover/volume, which suggest that twig size and number of the shrub species were more sensitive to environmental changes. The productivity of the overall community was sensitive to increased precipitation and nitrogen, and shrubs played a more important role than herbaceous plants in driving productivity in this ecosystem. Precipitation- and nitrogen-induced increases in vegetation production were positively associated with increases in twig size and number of the dominant shrub. Water addition enhanced the twig length of A. ordosica, while nitrogen addition resulted in increased twig density (the number of twigs per square meter). Water and nitrogen interacted to affect twig length, but not twig number and shrub ANPP. The trade-off, defined as negative covariance between twig size and number, was likely the mechanism underlying the responses of twig length and shrub ANPP to water and nitrogen interactions. Our results highlight the sensitivity of twig size and number as indicators to estimate shrub production and the mechanism underpinning desert shrub ANPP response to global environmental changes.

Twig pre-harvest temperature significantly influences effective cryopreservation of Vaccinium dormant buds

Cryopreservation of temperate woody-plant material by dormant buds is less expensive than using shoot tips isolated from tissue cultured plants; however currently, dormant buds are used only for preservation of selected temperate tree and shrub species. Using dormant buds could be an efficient strategy for long-term preservation of blueberry (Vaccinium L.) genetic resources. In this study, viability of V. hybrid ‘Northsky’ (PI 554943) dormant buds was evaluated at 30 harvest dates over three consecutive fall/winter seasons to determine the optimal harvest time that promotes high post cryopreservation viability. Twigs with dormant buds were cut into 70 mm segments containing at least two nodes, desiccated, slowly cooled, stored in liquid nitrogen vapor and tested for post-cryopreservation regrowth. The highest regrowth of cryopreserved dormant buds was observed for buds harvested in mid-December and during the first half of January. Pearson's correlation coefficients were computed to evaluate the association between bud characteristics and viability at harvest date and logistic regression models were fit to test the ability of twig characteristics and temperatures to predict post cryopreservation bud viability. Post-cryopreservation viability was negatively correlated (p < 0.05) with average minimum, maximum and daily mean temperature preceding the bud harvest but was not correlated with the dormant bud initial and end moisture content, twig diameter, the number of dormant buds/cm of twig length and the number of days in desiccation. Regression tree analysis suggested post-cryopreservation viability to be between 52 and 80% for dormant buds harvested after a 10 day average maximum air temperature of <11.2 °C. Pre-harvest air temperature was a significant indicator of optimal dormant bud harvest time to produce adequate viability for long term preservation of blueberry genetic resources.

Effects of truncation intensity on the biomass allocation and physiological characteristics of Dendrocalamus latiflorus

The effects of three different truncation treatments, i.e., light, medium and heavy truncation treatments on biomass allocation, current-year twig indexes, and quantity of commodity lea-ves, net photosynthetic rate (Pn), transpiration rate (Tr), water use efficiency (WUE), and leaf water potential (LWP) values of Dendrocalamus latiflorus were studied, and the adaptation mechanisms and survival strategy of D. latiflorus under these silvicultural truncation treatments were discussed. Results showed that the biomass of D. latiflorus and its allocation rates were significantly affected by truncation treatments, compared with the untruncated control. Leaf to branch, leaf to stem, and branch to stem biomass ratios under all truncation treatments were significantly higher than under the untruncated control. The diameter, number, and length of current-year twigs, and the quantity of commodity leaves in light truncation and medium truncation treatments were markedly higher than in the control, and were increased by 43.0%, 53.3%, 29.8% and 39.5%, respectively, in medium truncation treatment compared with the control. After truncation treatments, the overall trend of the physiological characteristics of D. latiflorus, including Pn, Tr, WUE, LWP values, were displayed in the order of the peak stage > the telophase stage > the initial stage. The Pn, Tr and WUE values of D. latiflorus were significantly improved in the truncation treatments. The Pn va-lues were greatest in the medium truncation treatment followed by the light truncation treatment, heavy truncation treatment, and were the lowest in the control at the peak and telophase stages. At the peak and telophase stage the Pn values in the medium truncation treatment were 1.4 and 1.3 times as much as the control. The Tr values at the initial, peak and telophase stages were the greatest in the heavy truncation treatment, followed by the middle truncation treatment and the light truncation treatment, and were the lowest in the control. In this study, the medium truncation treatment showed a significant advantage in improving plant biomass allocation, quantity of commodity leaves, and other physiological indices, and could effectively improve the ability of moisture acquisition for D. latiflorus.

Apical dominance ratio as an indicator of the growth conditions favouring Abies alba natural regeneration under Mediterranean environment

As reported in several studies, the presence of Abies alba Mill (silver fir) has been declining throughout its natural range over a large part of mountainous belt in the Mediterranean area. In such a context, regeneration establishment depends mainly on the occurrence of a suitable combination of water and light availability. Thus, before planning any forest management practice, it is essential to investigate on the optimal microclimate conditions influencing the success of natural regeneration of silver fir. To this aim, changes in growth and photosynthesis together with C, N and O isotope compositions have been investigated on silver fir naturally recruited saplings, growing in mixed stands with Fagus sylvatica on Apennine mountains (southern Italy). The apical dominance ratio (ADR, ratio between apical shoot length and length of first whorl lateral twigs) has been used as an indicator for microclimate conditions in which saplings grow. Based on the range of ADR values (i.e. from 0.10 to 1.30), saplings were distributed in four classes. As expected, increases in height, root collar diameter and radial growth correspond to enhancing ADR values, gaining the optimal conditions in class IV. This latter also displayed the best performance in terms of maximum CO2 assimilation at saturating light (Amax) and water-use efficiency as assessed by carbon isotope discrimination analysis. Conversely, class I and II seem to display the highest performance in terms of CO2 respiration rate (Rd) and absolute water loss saving as assessed by the application of oxygen isotopes. We conclude that, in relatively mild Mediterranean areas, forest managers should promote silvicultural treatments favouring light conditions and migration of saplings towards class IV of ADR. This class represents the optimal microclimate for regeneration establishment of silver fir.

BIOECOLOGIA DE &lt;i&gt;Oncideres cervina&lt;/i&gt; (COLEOPTERA: CERAMBYCIDAE) EM CANELA-GUAICÁ (&lt;i&gt;Ocotea puberula&lt;/i&gt;: Lauraceae) NA REGIÃO CENTRAL DO RIO GRANDE DO SUL, BRASIL

http://dx.doi.org/10.5902/1980509818466O conhecimento da entomofauna dos ecossistemas florestais tem sua importância no que se refere aos danos provocados pelos seus diferentes segmentos. Estudou-se a bioecologia do serrador Oncideres cervina (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae), em Ocotea puberula (Lauraceae), na região central do estado do Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil. Em 49 galhos cortados foram analisados a frequência de corte, o diâmetro de galhos no corte e secções, comprimento de galhos, frequência de incisões de postura, emergência de adultos, tamanho do orifício de saída, comprimento e volume da galeria larval desta espécie. O período de corte de galhos se estende de fevereiro a março e esta espécie se enquadra como cortadora de galhos grossos. O número de incisões de postura é variável, porém, a maior concentração é encontrada nas secções de 20 a 40 cm a partir do corte, com valor médio de 11 incisões. Duzentos adultos emergiram de 27 galhos, com pico de emergência na primeira quinzena de dezembro. Para completar o seu desenvolvimento, esta espécie requer menor volume de madeira se comparada a outras espécies de serrador.

Ball sampling, a novel method to detect Adelges tsugae (Hemiptera: Adelgidae) in hemlock (Pinaceae)

AbstractDetection of the exotic hemlock woolly adelgid, Adelges tsugae Annand (Hemiptera: Adelgidae), in the crown of eastern hemlock, Tsuga canadensis (Linnaeus) Carrière (Pinaceae), relies mainly on two techniques: (1) sampling of branches from the lower half of the crown using pole pruners; and, (2) visual examinations of accessible foliage from the ground. As a result, infestations starting elsewhere than the lower crown may be missed because the upper crown is out of reach for both techniques. We developed a novel technique called ball sampling, and evaluated its sensitivity at detecting a range of A. tsugae ovisac densities as estimated by pole pruning branch tips of T. canadensis. We launched racquet balls covered with VELCRO® patches of hooks through branches and examined them for the presence of wool produced by A. tsugae. Ball sampling was as effective as pole pruning at detecting infestations in individual trees. If A. tsugae abundance on branches was ⩾0.1 per 10 cm of twig length, as estimated by branch-tip sampling, ball sampling always detected wool in 10 or fewer samples. This technique has the potential to improve detectability of A. tsugae infestations because it can effectively access foliage that is typically inaccessible to other ground-based detection tools.

Influence of lunar cycles on growth of Ashwagandha(Withania somnifera [L.] Dunal)

Introduction:Ayurvedic classics have advocated to collect the medicinal plants according to part used and seasons in order to get desired pharmacological action and therapeutic benefits. The logic behind this principle is being validated by recent researches.Aim:To analyze the influence of lunar cycles on growth of Ashwagandha in Shishira and Greeshma Ritu (winter and summer season).Materials and Methods:Fourteen small crops of Ashwagandha of average size 10 cm were collected on October 7, 2013, from institute campus and then replantation was done at Charaka Herbal Garden, Gujarat Ayurved University, Jamnagar in an area of 60 cm × 60 cm (l × b). No fertilizers or pesticides were used. The plants were watered daily and plants were uprooted as per lunar cycles for analysis. Eight samples were collected and observed during Shishira and Greeshma season on Pournima (full moon) and Amavasya (new moon) days. The measurements were taken thrice and average values were taken into consideration for study purpose. The variations in morphological characteristics such as length, breadth, weight, and number of roots and twigs were studied through statistical procedure of principle component analysis, which makes interpretation of all possible related variables.Results:Root weight (RW), pith diameter (PD) and internodal distance (ID) were found to be increased on full moon days as compared to new moon days. The maximum RW was observed during Greeshma Aashadha Pournima.Conclusion:The study has shown a definite influence of lunar cycles on the growth of the plant parts assessed by RW, PD, and ID that have found to be increased on full moon days as compared to new moon days.

Sustainable use and conservation of Vitex doniana Sweet: unlocking the propagation ability using stem cuttings

One of the major constraints for domesticating widely used wild tree resources by local communities is the lack of adequate propagation techniques. In the case of Vitex doniana , seed propagation has usually been reported difficult and vegetative regeneration is rarely explored. To understand how stem cutting size or hormone application affect the sprouting and early growth ability in that species we used two categories of cutting diameter (1cm<D1<2cm and 2cm<D2<4 cm) and three categories of cutting length (L1 = 30 cm, L2 = 50 cm, L3 = 70 cm) and hormone application as fixed factors in a split-split-plot design. A cohort of ten cuttings were used as experimental unit to measure cutting sprouting rates, the sprouting time, the number of new buds, the twig length and the number of leaves. Generalized models with poisson or binomial error distribution were used to test for deviance. To account for pseudoreplication due to repeated measures, we used generalized mixed effect models fit by maximum likelihood. Allometric analyses were performed to understand how the main factors affect the relationships between the twig length and the number of leaves. The results reveal that hormone effect on cutting sprouting was not obvious. However, cutting diameter and length significantly affect sprouting rates, the sprouting time, the number of new buds, the twig length, and the number of leaves produced. Stem cutting of 30 cm height and 2 to 4 cm diameter performed well (100% sprouting) compared to others. The relationships between the twig length and the number of leaves also changes with different cutting diameter and length. These findings offer new insights into the agroforestry promotion of Vitex doniana to reduce the pressure on wild tree population in Benin. Keyword: Domestication, Human pressure,Vegetative propagation, Vitex doniana.