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The article highlights the possibilities of reducing negative effects of de-icing salts on street trees It mentions the entry of sodium chloride into the immediate vicinity of the tree damages the tree in a variety of ways, depending on the amount, exposure time and numerous other factors such as tree species, general water and nutrient supply.

The article informs that the topic of watering in the field of tree care has many facets, in addition to the preservation of the existing stock, new planting also plays a role. It mentions both require proper watering to minimize the risk factor of water shortage in the soil, and watering beyond the amount required for the tree not only poses a danger to the tree on cohesive soil, but also means unnecessary additional consumption of water as a resource, especially in dry seasons.

The article informs on the Osnabrück Tree Care Days 2022 on tree care. It mentions Katharina Weltecke explained how to approach the right location and assess the watering needs of trees, origin potential of native tree species in climate change, and the natural adaptation processes of trees, and the consequences of the drought.

Water deficit is a major factor limiting crop yield in rainfed areas. We hypothesized that under water deficit the decrease of photosynthetic production stimulates: carbohydrate remobilization from leaves, stems and roots to reproductive organs; and decreasing flowering intensity and pod development. The present work aims to study the effect of water deficit during bloom and grain pod-filling stages in two indeterminate soybean cultivar, Vtop and Nidera. The following physiological parameters were evaluated by means of daily CO2 assimilation rate (Ai), dynamic of carbohydrates in tissues, plant growth, grain yield and yield components. The study was conducted in a greenhouse with plants sown in tanks of 0.5 m3. Regardless of the phenological phase, water deficit reduced Ai, plant growth and number of pods and seeds per plant. The fact that grain yield was less affected by water deficit at bloom than at grain pod-filling stage was attributed to larger seeds found at bloom. In both treatments, a sharp reduction on carbohydrate content was found in leaves, stem and roots at the beginning of pod formation. The high amounts of carbohydrates remobilized for seed growth, along with the high values of Ai observed in well-watered plants, indicate that grain yield of soybeans is source rather than sink limited. On the other hand, in water deficit treatments, a new stimulus for carbohydrate storage was found in the leaves and stem at the beginning of grain maturity, suggesting that grain yield was limited by sink capacity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article informs on the guideline published by the German Hessischen Ministerium für Umwelt, Klimaschutz, Landwirtschaft und Verbraucherschutz, Minister Priska Hinz focusing on the development of the previous nature conservation goals and standards. It mentions the pillers to new rule include more habitat trees as a key to biodiversity, water retention for the forest of the future, and local conservation concepts and conservation code.

The article focuses on effort and investment in tree care and watering. It mentions the relation between water for trees and climate change, along with numerous watering campaigns in Germany for preventing city trees by drying up. It also mentions Baille-Maille-Allee in Himmelkron, which was planted again by the initiative of committed citizens.

Aquaporin (AQP) proteins serve important roles in regulating water movement across cellular membranes and affect plant responses to drought stress. The objective of this study was to characterize and examine functions of an AQP gene FaPIP2;1, isolated from a drought-tolerant perennial grass species tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea), for involvement in leaf dehydration status during water stress by overexpressing the gene in arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). FaPIP2;1 had characteristic transmembrane domains and Asn-Pro-Ala motifs and was similar to PIP2;1 in rice (Oryza sativa) and maize (Zea mays). Quantitative real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction analysis showed that FaPIP2;1 was upregulated during moderate water stress (hydroponic culture, osmotic potential (ΨS) at -0.47 and -0.78 MPa) and the transcript level decreased as ΨS further decreased. Transgenic arabidopsis plants overexpressing FaPIP2;1 showed greater number of leaves per plant and improved survival rate compared with the wild type (WT) during drought stress. Transgenic plants also maintained higher leaf relative water content (RWC), chlorophyll content (Chl), net photosynthetic rate (Pn), and lower leaf electrolyte leakage (EL) than the WT. However, there was no difference in root length between the transgenic and WT plants following drought stress. The results demonstrated that overexpressing FaPIP2;1 could improve plant tolerance to drought stress by enhancing leaf water status, Chl, and photosynthetic rate, as well as maintaining improved cellular membrane stability relative to the WT plants. FaPIP2;1 may be used as a candidate gene for genetic modification of perennial grasses to develop new drought-tolerant germplasm and cultivars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of 3 substrate humidity levels on the growth and yield of 2 sweet pepper hybrids, established under greenhouse conditions, was evaluated. The experiment was held in the industrial greenhouse of the Fabio Baudrit Moreno Experimental Research Station, in La Garita (Alajuela), and the materials evaluated were the hybrids Villaplants Americano (square yellow fruit, bell type) and FBM-9 (triangular red fruit type), both national origin genotypes. The first treatment was to supply water at container capacity (CC) to the plant, while the second and third ones were reducing 15 and 30%, respectively, of the plant original water supply. It was demonstrated that there is no effect due to the amount of water supply on the plant's growth, although it was observed that hydric-stressed plants were the first to begin the flowering and fruiting phase. In both hybrids, a reduction in the amount of first and second one amount quality fruit and an increasing of fruit rejected as the watering was limited. Blossom-end rot was the main rejection cause due to the water loss, associated with low calcium availability. The highest commercial yield was obtained with the Villaplants Americano hibryd (31,8 ton.ha-1), although without statistical difference between substrates at CC and CC-15%, despite a fruit quality reduction with the later treatment. The same was observed with the FBM-9 hybrid. With the CC-30% treatment, both commercial yield and fruit quality were affected, in both hybrids. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, vegetable growers on the central coast of California have come under increasing regulatory pressure to improve nutrient management and reduce nitrate losses to ground and surface waters. To achieve this goal, growers must understand the nutrient uptake and water use characteristics of their crops. For fresh market spinach (Spinacia oleracea), production methods and cultivars have greatly changed in the last 10-15 years, and as a result, few publications are available on nutrient uptake by modern spinach production methods. This study evaluated nutrient uptake and water use by spinach to provide strategies to better manage nitrogen (N) fertilizer and irrigation applications. In 2011, four fertilizer trials and a survey of 11 commercial fields of spinach grown on high-density plantings on 80-inch beds were conducted on the central coast of California. During the first 2 weeks of the crop cycle, N, phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) uptake was 7.0, 0.6, and 7.2 lb/acre, respectively. In the subsequent 2-3 weeks before harvest the N, P, and K uptake rate was linear and was 4.3, 0.6, and 7.8 lb/ acre per day, respectively. N uptake at harvest for the three columercial size categories baby, teenage, and bunch was 74, 91, and 120 lb/acre N, respectively. Of the N in aboveground biomass at harvest, 41% was left in the field following mechanical or hand harvest. Growers at 14 of 15 study sites applied on average 111% more N than was taken up in aboveground biomass at harvest. Results from four fertility trials showed that first crops of the season had low initial soil nitrate concentrations (≤10 ppm), and an at-planting fertilizer application was necessary for maximum yields. For fields following a previous crop (second- or third-cropped) with initial soil nitrate concentrations >20 ppm, at-planting and midseason fertilizer applications could be greatly reduced or eliminated without jeopardizing yield. Rooting depth and density evaluations at four sites showed that 95% of roots were located in the top 16 inches of soil at harvest. To mitigate environmentally negative N losses, the N use efficiency (NUE) can be increased by the use of soil testing done at two critical time points: at-planting and before the first midseason fertilizer application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two investigations were conducted to determine the morphological and physiological impacts of varying light and substrate water levels on Heuchera americana 'Dale's Strain' (american alumroot). Both investigations used a capacitance sensor automated irrigation system to maintain constant substrate volumetric water contents (ϑ = volume of water/volume of substrate). In the first study, the substrate was maintained at one of eight ϑ ranging from 0.15 to 0.50 L·L-1. Leaf area of plants grown at the highest ϑ was more than twice that of plants grown at the lowest ϑ. Shoot dry weight also responded positively to ϑ increasing from 0.15 to 0.35 L·L-1, but plants did not have greater dry weights when maintained at ϑ higher than 0.35 L·L-1. The second experiment assessed american alumroot's performance under four daily light integrals (DLIs) (7.5, 10.8, 14.9, and 21.8 mol·m-2·d-1) with ϑ maintained at 0.35 L·L-1. Increasing DLI from 7.5 to 21.8 mol·m-2·d-1 caused shoot dry weight, leaf area, maximum width, and leaf count to change quadratically. Dry weight and leaf area reached their maximum at 10.8 mol·m-2·d-1, whereas leaf count was greatest at 14.9 mol·m-2·d-1. Increasing DLI to 21.8 mol·m-2·d-1 negatively impacted leaf area and leaf count but did not lower shoot dry weight. Leaf area ratio and petiole length of the uppermost fully expanded leaf decreased with increasing DLI. Measures of leaf-level net photosynthesis, light response curves, and CO2 response curves indicated no physiological differences among plants grown under different water or light levels. In both studies, long-term, whole crop measures of water use efficiency based on shoot dry weight and water applied (WUEc) did not reflect the same water use trends as instantaneous, leaf-level measures of WUE based on leaf gas exchange (WUEl). WUEc decreased with increasing ϑ and DLI, whereas WUEl was not influenced by ϑ and increased with increasing DLI. WUEl is often used to provide insight as to how various abiotic and biotic factors influence how efficiently water is used to produce biomass. However, these findings demonstrate that there are limitations associated with making such extrapolations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article contains information about water usage for gardeners in Great Britain. The author reports that most gardeners either have too much rainwater or not enough. Advice is given on how to manage water use in gardens for both scenarios, keeping plants from drying out in drought weather or from being waterlogged in extended periods of rain. Tip sections include: assessing the water need, harvesting the rain, saving water, using grey water, improving drainage, and baskets and containers.

The article offers information on Day of the Tree to be held on April 25th under which the German Schutzgemeinschaft Deutscher Wald has asked all citizens to go to their favorite tree or the tree on the street and supply it with water. It mentions that forest conservationists are particularly saddened by the lack of activities because the forest has been doing very badly for two years, mainly because of the drought and the bark beetle. INSET: AUSWIRKUNGEN VON TROCKENSCHÄDEN.

In apple (Malus × domestica Borkh.),where sorbitol is a primary photosynthetic product that is translocated throughout the plant, accumulation of sorbitol in sink cells appears to require an active carrier-mediated membrane transport step. Recent progress in isolation and characterization of genes for sorbitol transporters in sour cherry (Prunus cerasus L.) and mannitol transporters in celery (Apium graveolens L.) suggested that similar transporters may be present in apple tissues. A defect in these transporters could also explain the occurrence of the fruit disorder water- core, characterized by the accumulation of fluids and sorbitol in the apoplasmic free space. Our objectives therefore included isolation and characterization of genes for sorbitol transporters in apple tissues and comparisons of expression of transporter genes, especially in various sink tissues including watercored and non-watercored fruit tissues. We have isolated and characterized two sorbitol transporter genes, MdSOT1 and MdSOT2. Sequence analyses indicated that these are members of the major facilitator transporter superfamily that gives rise to highly hydrophobic integral membrane proteins. Heterologous expression and measurement of sorbitol uptake in yeast indicated that these are specific and with high affinities for sorbitol, with KmS for sorbitol of 1.0 and 7.8 mM for MdSOT1 and MdSOT2, respec- tively. Sorbitol transporter expression was evident in all sink tissues tested with the exception of watercore-affected fruit tissues. Sorbitol accumulation in apple sink tissues thus involves an apoplasmic active membrane transport step and watercore results from a defect in that process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydrophilic polymers or hydrogels have shown potential to increase water retention of media and to reduce irrigation frequency. This property would be particularly useful in the production of fast growing species in which large amounts of water are needed. This study evaluated the effect of two acrylic-based hydrogels on water desorption curve and hydraulic conductivity of substrates and on plant growth. The duration of their effects was also investigated. Rooted cuttings of Surfinia (Petunia xhybrida 'Brilliant Pink') were transplanted into 30-cm pots containing one of three different substrates amended with one of two types of hydrogels, a commercial acrylic polymer, and a commercial acrylic-acrylamide copolymer, and grown for 9 weeks under well watered conditions and then imposed with a drought. Results indicated that both polymer types gave similar results. The substrates' physical properties (air-filled porosity, available water) at potting time were significantly affected by hydrogel addition, but differences vanished within 9 weeks of growth. Hydrogels had no significant effect on the point at which plant wilted and on the substrate's unsaturated hydraulic conductivity. Shoot dry weight was affected by substrate and hydrogel and was positively correlated to water content between container capacity and -10 kPa of water potential, or between container capacity and the soil water potential at plant turgor loss. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the Anytime pansiola hybrid plant series which combine the characteristics of pansies and Viola plant. It presents guidelines for producing the Anytime pansiola including using low concentration of phosphorus and fertilization, growing in moist and moderate water conditions and avoiding low light production situations. It states that plant regulators daminozide (B-Nine) and chlormequat are used for controlling stem elongation.

The article discusses various facts and fictions about summer gardening. It mentions that plants should be watered daily; grass clippings should be left on the lawn; and myth that watering in the evening particularly after a hot day causes excess evaporation, thereby raising humidity around the plants or lawn overnight which increases the risk of fungal problems and rots.

Reports that five years of drought has severely affected the cotton production of Boswell Co. in California. View that Boswell is been forced to begin retrenchment; Efforts made by the Boswell family to protect the water rights of lakes and rivers acquired over a considerable period of time; Information on a lawsuit faced by the company in 1982; Problems faced by the company when Governor Pete Wilson ordered that water shipments to California farms must end.

This article cites a study, conducted by researcher George Koch and his colleagues, which states that trees stop growing when their highest leaves start dying of thirst. A new study in statuesque redwoods finds that the trees stop growing when their highest leaves start dying of thirst. Water rises through a simple process, as water evaporates from leaves, tension within the trees pipes pulls water from the roots to replenish what's been lost. But after a certain height, the force of gravity becomes too much, and this flow peters out.

The article offers suggestions for caring for indoor plants. Topics discussed include positioning pots away from heaters, draughts and direct sun; not overwatering the plants; and gently wiping over leaves with a damp cloth or use a gentle hand shower to keep dust off. It also informs on treating occasional pests such as mealybug or scale with organic Eco-Neem or Eco-Oil.

The article offers insight to a research conducted for making evolutionary strategy for catching rain by Pandanus forsteri plant so its aerial roots get water without soil contact, and mentions that its leaves and roots help it passively harvest rainwater.

The article offers information on Rilée Leblanc, who is making his living taking care of cacti throughout Phoenix, Arizona. Topics discussed include Leblanc's introduction to cactus plants while growing up near a large cactus nursery in Thailand, his study of horticulture in college, and his belief that almost all cactus problems are related to water.

The article offers information on the simulation model called PALMSIM to quantify the potential yield palm oil to meet demands. It mentions that the model stimulates the yield by estimating solar radiation in high rainfall environments of Malaysia and Indonesia by estimating fresh fruit bunches (FFB). A study was conducted to analyze efficacy of the model which concludes that the model is efficient in selecting potential crop sites along with quantifying the effect of water stress on yield.

The article discusses the need for plants to have some tender care and pampering to withstand the heat during summer. Topics include the ideal temperature for survival of plants, the need to cover plants with a shade-net in the day time, and the more water required for house plant from April to June.

The article discusses the challenges faced by the almond industry in California. The sector faces bad rap as almonds are considered for being high in fat which led to industry-funded research efforts. Almond trees are attacked by alleged use of too much water. The initiatives of the Almond Board of California, a professional body which represents the almond sector, in addressing such challenges are also mentioned, such as funding research that shows the economic benefits of the sector.

The article presents the views of Jerry Hatfield of U.S Department of Agriculture and climatologist Harry Hillaker regarding the impact of wet springs on crops in terms of water storage capacity of soil, role of cover crops in regulating temperature and increase in soil organic matters.

The article provides insights for U.S. growers on assessing flood damage to soybeans. Water-logging, where only the roots are flooded, is said to be more common than complete submergence and can reduce yield 17-43% at the vegetative growth stage and 50-56% at the reproductive stage. Growers are advised to contact their crop insurance agent and discuss coverage before deciding to replant.

The article discusses the results of a global survey that found most trees live on the brink of death as a result of their inner water transportation systems. An in-depth discussion of research by plant physiologist Brendan Choat of the University of Western Sydney in Richmond, Australia, and colleagues, reported in the November 29, 2012 issue of the journal "Nature," on water transport in various tree species and the role of xylem tissue in water transport is presented.

The article reports that extreme high temperatures and less quantity of water may lead to destruction of plants.

The article discusses a study by X. Wang et al regarding the effects of ozone pollution, increased carbon levels, soil fertility and water availability on plants. By introducing these factors at different rates on plants, the researchers measured the relationship of the plant's root mass to total biomass to determine the degree of root mass fraction (RMF). Comparing various journals, they came up with 1,349 RMF results. They also found that decreased water and soil fertility increased the RMF, and that increased carbon levels had no effect on RMF.

The article discusses research which examined the contributions of environmental variables and liana and tree-and-shrub abundance to the species richness of lianas, trees and shrubs. It references a study by G.M.F. van der Heijden and O.L. Phillips which appeared in the "Journal of Biogeography." The study has found that water availability contributes to greater species richness of all woody plants such as lianas, trees and shrubs.

The article offers information on how to grow lettuce indoors. It states that a pinch of lettuce seed should be sprinkled in the soil in a large clay pot or a flat that can hold many plants and cover it with one-eighth inch of soil. It notes that the seeds must be watered lightly and place it on a bright windowsill.

The article features the plant Begonia boliviensis Bonfire. Based on the article, the plant has small but abundant red-orange flowers that look like they are ready to ignite. It is said that Bonfire is one of the few begonias that can take full sun. Bonfire grows in a mound or it can spread out, depending on whether it is pinched back or not. Bonfire do not tolerate overwatering.

The article discusses the effect of water shortage to the efficacy of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) in genetically modified (GM) cotton. It provides the observation and process done by the international team who made the study on the growth of Bt cotton plants. According to the author, the team assessed the plants for 30 days and 60 days with moderate water shortage. The conclusion of the study, which is that water deficit does not have an impact to the effectiveness of Bt in GM cotton, is also included.

The article looks at the importance of conserving water and provides reader tips. One reader suggests using cooking water to water the garden, another suggests utilizing excess water from the shower and sink, and a third suggests adding drought tolerant plants to the garden. Additional facts regarding water usage in the United States are provided.

The article discusses the result of the study conducted by researchers from the Forest Service's Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry and from the University of Hawaii at Hilo on the ecological condition of the lowland wet forests near the university in Hawaii. Researchers confirmed that the rate of water availability in lowland wet forest is affected with the presence of alien plants in the area. In response to the efforts of authorities to restore and conserve the endangered lowland wet forests in the region, researchers highlight the negative effects of these alien species in the rainforests area.