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—Daustinia montana (Convolvulaceae) is the only species of the genus, and is notable for its wide leaf variability. To understand whether this plasticity is correlated with the distribution of the species, linear morphometric and leaf contour analyses were performed. Specimens from herbaria were photographed, and pre-established linear measurements were made. A multivariate analysis was then performed to test the strength of associations among morphological characteristics, climatic variables, and distribution of the species. Elliptic Fourier analysis based on 20 harmonics was used to generate shape descriptors, resulting in nine main components. With elliptic Fourier descriptors, a grouping tree was created that suggests the existence of six morphotypes in D. montana. Moreover, clustering analysis revealed two large groups distinguished mainly by leaf width. The present findings indicate that the morphotypes are strongly related to latitude and that other characteristics such as the type of indumentum are related to climatic variables.

In North American wetlands, two cattail species -native Typha latifolia and exotic T. angustifolia- hybridize generating T. x glauca. Typha angustifolia and the hybrid spread invasively, negatively affecting wetlands. Due to high trait variability and hybridization, Typha species are difficult to identify morphologically. Building on previous work that relied on microsatellite markers to differentiate Typha species (including hybrids, parental backcrosses, and advanced-generation hybrids) in southern Canada and in the US upper Midwest and northeast, our goals were to 1) estimate relative frequencies of parental species in additional Midwestern cattail populations, and 2) quantify their hybridization. We also assessed level of agreement between morphological identification based on leaf width and gap between inflorescences and molecular identification. Using 6 microsatellites markers (4 used previously in other populations and 2 novel ones), we identified ~25% of the samples as native T. latifolia, while ~6% were exotic T. angustifolia. Furthermore, 19% of the samples were first-generation hybrids (T. x glauca) and 50% were advanced-generation hybrids, with backcrosses to native T. latifolia being almost twice as high as those to exotic T. angustifolia, rates that are much larger than previously reported. Agreement between morphological and molecular identification was lower than expected highlighting the fact that these morphological traits can be misleading when used alone in cattail identification. We caution that the seemingly asymmetric hybridization towards the native Typha latifolia could potentially lead to its extinction in the Midwest. Cattail management may thus require efforts to preserve the native cattail through seed banking and/or other approaches.

Authors. 2018. Morphometric characteristics of two seagrass species (Enhalus acoroides and Cymodocea rotundata) in four small islands in North Maluku, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 19: 2035-2043. Seagrass has an important ecological role as a protector of coastlines and small islands. It is known to be capable of forming phenotypic plasticity through morphometric variation as a response to its environmental conditions. This study aimed to determine the distribution and morphological differences between populations of two important seagrass species (Enhalus acoroides and Cymodocea rotundata) in the waters around four small islands in North Maluku. The study was conducted at two stations in each of Ternate Island and Maitara Islands, three stations at Tidore Island and one station at Hiri Island. A line transect method was used to collect seagrass samples. Morphometric characteristics included leaf sheath length, leaf length, leaf width, rhizome diameter, root length, root diameter, and internode length were measured. Discriminant analysis was performed to describe morphometric characteristics distinctive of the four islands. Leaf sheath length, leaf length, rhizome diameter, and root length of E. Acoroides differed significantly among the populations from the various islands except for leaf width. Meanwhile, leaf sheath length, leaf width, rhizome diameter, root length, and internode length differed significantly in C. rotundata among the populations from different islands except for leaf length.

Forty diverse genotypes of cluster bean [ Cyamopsis tetragonoloba (L.) Taub.] were assessed in a field experiment entitled performance study of cluster bean germplasms under Lucknow condition in Randomized Block Design with three replications. The experiment was conducted at the Horticulture Research Farm of the Department of Horticulture, Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University, Lucknow- 226025 (U.P.) during Rabi season of 2016. The performance studies of 40 diverse genotypes of cluster bean and considerable variation was recorded for all the characters. The observations were recorded on 19 characters viz ., plant height (cm), plant width (cm), leaf length, leaf width (cm), number of cluster, length of pod (cm), width of pods (cm), breath of pods (cm), number of pods, number of leaves, width of leaves, seed per pod, weight of plant without leaves (g), weight of green leaves (g), weight of dry leaves (g), leaf length/petiole ratio (cm), stem width, crude protein (%), ash (%) and dry matter (%).

Leaves are a significant component of the shoot system in grasses, functioning in light capture and photosynthesis. Leaf width, length, and angle are expressions of development that collectively define canopy architecture. Thus, the distinctive morphology of grass leaves is an interdependent readout of developmental patterning and growth along the proximal-distal, medial-lateral, and adaxial-abaxial axes. Here, we review the chronology of patterning and growth, namely along the proximal-distal axis, during maize leaf development. We underscore that patterning and growth occur simultaneously, making use of shared developmental gradients and molecular pathways.

Leaf expansion depends on both carbon and water availabilities. In cereals, most of experimental effort has focused on leaf elongation, with essentially hydraulic effects. We have tested if evaporative demand and light could have distinct effects on leaf elongation and widening, and if short term effects could translate into final leaf dimensions. For that, we have monitored leaf widening and elongation in a field experiment with temporary shading, and in a platform experiment with 15-min temporal resolution and contrasting evaporative demands. Leaf widening showed a strong (positive) sensitivity to whole-plant intercepted light and no response to evaporative demand. Leaf elongation was (negatively) sensitive to evaporative demand, without effect of intercepted light per se. We have successfully tested resulting equations to predict leaf length and width in an external dataset of 15 field and 6 platform experiments. These effects also applied to a panel of 251 maize hybrids. Leaf length and width presented quantitative trait loci (QTLs) whose allelic effects largely differed between both dimensions but were consistent in the field and the platform, with high QTLxEnvironment interaction. It is therefore worthwhile to identify the genetic and environmental controls of leaf width and leaf length for prediction of plant leaf area.

A study on the morphological variability and ecological differentiation among the species in the genus Daphne was carried out which included seven species from the Balkan Peninsula: Daphne mezereum, D. laureola, D. alpina, D. oleoides, D. malyana, D. cneorum and D. blagayana. In the Balkan Peninsula, the ranges of the species in this genus overlap, which does not occur anywhere else in Europe. Descriptive statistics were measured for 20 quantitative characters of the leves and stems. A comparative analysis of the morpho-anatomical adaptations of these species shows that: D. cneorum, D. malyana and D. oleoides belong to the adaptive type of xerophytes; D. alpina is a xeromesophyte; D. blagayana and D. laureola are mesoxerophytes; and D. mezereum is a mesophyte. Principal component analysis shows the largest contribution to the formation of the variability between the different species is made by characters that are related to leaf shape (leaf length, distance between the largest leaf width and the leaf top, largest width of the leaf, leaf surface area), followed by surface area of abaxial stomata, stem characters (stem cortex thickness and stem diameter) and leaf anatomy characters (thickness of the palisade tissue, thickness mesophyll, number of palisade layers). These features can use to discriminate among the seven studied species, suggesting that leaves and stems of Daphne can represent a source for taxonomically useful characters. Canonical discriminant analysis and the clustering method based on Mahalanobis distances shows that there is significant morphological differentiation among the species studied. The results show that various combinations of morphological and anatomical features contribute to the adaptive capacity of plants to different degrees. The morpho-anatomical features found in all seven species agree with previous infrageneric taxonomic classifications of this genus.

Non destructive estimation of leaf area is necessary for taking successive observations on the same leaf. Usually, a common method for developing leaf area estimation models was to execute regression analysis by taking leaf area as dependant variable and leaf parameters as independent variables. However, the regression analysis applicable only when there is a relation between dependent and independent variables. Therefore, the objective of this work was to develop an artificial neural network (ANN) model including leaf length and leaf width as inputs and to make comparison with regression models. Leaf area (LA) of Durain (Durio zibethinus) was estimated by ANN and regression models. Among the linear regression models (LRM), the equation LA = 0.888 (L*W) − 4.961 (R2 = 0.91, MSE = 5.17) was found to be the best fitting for durian. In ANN modelling best fitting results were obtained with two input nodes (leaf length and leaf width), one hidden layer, and one output layer (leaf area) as 2-1-1. Based on the values of root mean square error (RMSE), mean absolute error (MAE), mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) and coefficient determination (R2), ANN model was found to be more accurate both in terms of training (R2 = 0.96, RMSE = 3.77, MAE = 2.41 and MAPE = 7.77) and testing phases (R2 = 0.94, RMSE = 4.81, MAE = 2.91 and MAPE = 0.05) than the best fitting regression model. Hence ANN method may be used as an alternative or supportive model in the estimation of leaf area of durian.

Convenient and effective methods to determine seasonal changes in individual leaf area (LA) and leaf mass (LM) of plants are useful in research on plant physiology and forest ecology. However, practical methods for estimating LA and LM of elm (Ulmus japonica) leaves in different periods have rarely been reported. We collected sample elm leaves in June, July and September. Then, we developed allometric models relating LA, LM and leaf parameters, such as leaf length (L) and width (W) or the product of L and W (LW). Our objective was to find optimal allometric models for conveniently and effectively estimating LA and LM of elm leaves in different periods. LA and LM were significantly correlated with leaf parameters (P

The field experiment was conducted to evaluate the heritability, genetic variance, agro-morphological and yield characters of Sixteen Amaranthus genotypes. The seeds of the sixteen (16) genotypes of Amaranthus evaluated in this study were; NG/AA/MAY/09/027, NG/AA/03/11/010, NG/AO/11/08/042, NG/AO/11/08/039, NG/SA/DEC/07/0423, NG/SA/DEC/07/0412, NGB01667, NGB01601, NGB01283, NGB01271, NGB01276, NGB01259, NGB01644, NGB01234, NGB01613 and NGB01662. The results showed that there were variability performances in growth and yield characters of Amaranthus genotypes. NG/AA/MAY/09/027 and NG/AO/11/08/039 had the best growth characters while NG/AO/11/08/042 had best yield performance compared to other genotypes. The stem length recorded the best heritability estimate of 95.5% while weight of dry leaf, weight of fresh and dry inflorescent had least (47.7%). The plant height had a positive significant correlation with number of leaf (r = 0.53), leaf width (r = 0.57), number of branches (r = 0.56) but a strong positive correlation with stem length (r = 0.97), stem girth (r = 0.75), number of inflorescent (r = 0.68), inflorescent length (0.64) and inflorescent width (r = 0.72). Prin. 1 accounted for the highest variation in growth and yield characters with proportion of 0.3376 and eigen value of 4.7269, while Prin. 14 was the least with proportion of 0.0003 and eigen value of 0.0038. Therefore, there could be genetic improvement of NG/AA/MAY/09/027 and NG/AO/11/08/039 genotypes for further improvement of Amaranthus.

Морфологическое исследование листового аппарата плодовых культур проводится главным образом в связи с изучением фотосинтетической активности, при этом используется один из метрических индексов площадь листовой пластинки. В настоящее время накоплен опыт по применению методов, которые с разной степенью точности позволяют определить площадь листьев. В представленной работе мы впервые для культуры груши применили два метода оценки площади листовой поверхности: на основании пересчетного коэффициента и с помощью уравнений регрессии, связывающих площадь листа с его линейными размерами (длиной и шириной). Целью работы стало определение поправочного коэффициента и получение регрессионной модели для вычисления площади листа (без отделения от растения) у различных сортов груши с минимальной погрешностью. Проведена количественная оценка линейных параметров листовых пластинок у 10 генотипов груши разных сроков созревания: Pirus communis L. Бере Жиффар, Вега (ранне-летние); Вильямс, Черноморская Янтарная (летние); Бере Боск, Рассвет, гибрид 8520, Нарт; Pirus serotina Rehd. Кильчу и Чоо-чен-сок (осенне-зимние). Листья отбирали из средней части кроны для каждого сорта по 10 шт. в 3 повторностях. Данные по длине и ширине листовой пластинки применяли для определения переводного коэффициента и вычисления площади на основании методов вариационной статистики. При построении регрессионной модели в качестве независимых переменных использовали следующие параметры: длина (L), квадрат длины (L2), ширина (W), квадрат ширины (W2) и произведение длины и ширины (LW). В основе метода определения площади листа с помощью расчетного коэффициента лежит соответствие между формой исследуемого листа и геометрической фигурой, описывающей лист. Наиболее точным способом определения площади листьев груши был расчет по произведению длины и ширины листа S = 0,69½(LW). Эту формулу можно применять на протяжении длительного времени для быстрого и точного определения площади листьев груши и других плодовых культур с такой же формой листовой пластинки без их уничтожения. Оптимальная математическая модель определения площади листовой пластинки была получена посредством отбора переменной «произведение длины и ширины» при регрессионном анализе. Выведено линейное регрессионное уравнение Y = 0,922581 + 0,660898 ½ (LW), на основе которого в MS Excel 7.0 разработана программа расчета площади листьев как в совокупности, так и каждого листа в отдельности. Помимо площади, определили показатели величины листа, индекс формы листа, средние параметры по всей выборке, получили графическое отображение величин площади. Для практического использования выведенного уравнения разработана шкала определения площади листа, представляющая собой номограмму. При проведении от 50-100 измерений предлагается радиальная диаграмма специальная шкала, отградуированная в единицах площади относительно L и W. Предложенный способ позволяет, не удаляя листья, провести необходимые измерения в полевых условиях для получения исходных биометрических параметров и ускорить определение площади листьев (с минимальной погрешностью), в том числе непосредственно на растениях и в динамике. Применение компьютерной технологии способствует ускорению и упрощению подобных расчетов.

Artificial neural network (ANN) is applied for many subjects in agricultural science such as: crop yield and evapotranspiration prediction, soil parameters estimation, water demand forecasting, hydrological forecasting. Leaf area is one of parameters that is used to assess the plant vegetative growth. In this study, leaf areas of 61 plant species with different leaf shapes were estimated by ANNs and the effect of input data and pre-processing methods on ANNs performance was assessed. Results showed that the ANNs could provide good estimation of leaf area. ANNs input variable combination affected the ANNs performance to estimate the leaf area. With increase in number of hidden layers the epochs decreased and accuracy of the leaf area prediction and running speed increased. Results of test data set showed that MinMax pre-processing method resulted in more accurate prediction in comparison with the no pre-processed method and Norm STD method. The most conclusive result of this study is the application of ANNs for all of plant species, whereas, in application of other methods: specific equation should be prepared for each plant.

Allium cepa, an Amaryllidaceous member traditionally used as anti-thrombotic, anti-platelet, anti-asthmatic, anti-biotic, anti-carcinogenic and anti-blood clotting. It also improves sleep quality, circulation, skin and hair maintenance, hair growth stimulant, heart ailments, blood pressure, lowers cholesterol. Study was aimed at growth dynamics of Onion in two districts of Gilgit-Baltistan i.e. Hunza and Gilgit. Research revealed that mean leaf length (cm), width (cm) and area (cm2) of plant collected from Hunza were 14.88 cm, 0.43 cm and 9.0 cm2 respectively. In district Hunza leaf length grows 97.1 percent faster as compared to its growth in width and width increase is only 2.9% to the increase in leaf length. Similarly, plants collected from district Gilgit showed a mean values of leaf length, width and area as 25.05 cm, 0.59 cm and 10.1 cm2 respectively. Average growth of leaf length in Gilgit is 97.64 percent (%) faster than its growth in width which is only 2.35%. this shows that growth in district Gilgit is relatively higher (12.70%) than in Hunza. Roots arising from the bulb have an average length of 0.40 cm in Hunza as compared to 0.44 cm in Gilgit. This shows minute difference between the two and samples from Gilgit show around 10% long. Adventitious roots grow almost 97.3% slow as compared to its leaves above the ground. Mean weight of bulbs collected from district Hunza was 9.62g as compared to average 16.25g in Gilgit. Bulb growth in district Gilgit is almost 60% (59.2%) faster as compared to Hunza leading to bigger and heavier bulbs in Gilgit.? Mean values of Onion populations from both the districts show leaf length (19.97cm), leaf width (0.506cm), leaf area (9.55 cm2), root length (0.42) and weight (12.936).

The restoration of submerged plants is critical for the reconstruction of eutrophic lake ecosystems. The growth of submerged plants is influenced by many factors. For the first time in this study, the effects of silicate-mineral maifanite supplement on the growth, physiological and phytochemical process of Vallisneria spiralis (V. spiralis) were investigated by an outdoor PVC barrel experiment, to provide a technical reference for further applications in aquatic ecological restoration. The results show that the maifanite could significantly promote the growth of V. spiralis. Specifically, the biomass, height, number of leaves, leaf width, root length, and root activity of V. spiralis in the maifanite-supplemented group were better than those of the control (P 0.05). Moreover, the modified maifanite group performed better than the raw maifanite group (P 0.05). The photosynthetic pigment, root activity, and the malondialdehyde and peroxidase activity of the maifanite-treated V. spiralis were better than those of the control to some extent. It was found that maifanite contained abundant major and trace elements, which are required for the growth of V. spiralis. It is concluded that maifanite is beneficial to the growth of V. spiralis and can be further applied to the ecological restoration of eutrophic lakes.

In this research, seven different models to predict leaf area (LA) of loquat (Eriobotrya japonica Lindl) were tested and evaluated. This species was chosen due to the relevant importance of its fruit as an appreciated early summer product and of its leaves and flower as a source of additional income within the nutraceutical and functional food markets. The analysis (calibration and validation) was made using a large dataset (2190) of leaf width (W), leaf length (L), and single LA collected in ten common loquat cultivars. During the analysis, the results obtained using one- and two-regressor models were also evaluated to assess the need for fast measurements against different levels of accuracy achieved during the final estimate. The analysis permitted to finally select two different models: 1) a model based on a single measurement and quadratic relationship between the single LA and W (R2 = 0.894, root mean squared error [RMSE] = 12.98) and another model 2) based, instead, on two measurements (L and W), and on the linear relationship between single LA and the product of L &times, W (R2 = 0.980, RMSE = 5.61). Both models were finally validated with an independent dataset (cultivar &lsquo, Tanaka&rsquo, ) confirming the quality of fitting and accuracy already observed during the calibration phase. The analysis permitted to select two different models to be used according to the aims and accuracy required by the analysis. One, based on a single-regressor quadratic model and W (rather than L) as a proxy variable, is capable of obtaining a good quality of fitting of the single LA of loquat cultivars (R2 = 0.894, RMSE = 12.98), whereas, the other, a linear two-regressor (i.e., W and L) model, permitted to achieve the highest prediction (R2 = 0.980, RMSE = 5.61) of the observed variable, but double the time required for leaf measurement.

Genetic diversity of 46 landraces of Aus rice was studiedunder irrigated condition through Mahalanobis D2 statistics for grain yield and yield contributing characters. The genotypes were grouped into seven clusters. The highest inter-genotype distance was observed between the genotypes Lalgalong and Langrabeni and the lowest between Saita and Korchamuri respectively. The intra cluster distances were low for all the clusters ranging from 0.64 in cluster IV to 1.17 in cluster I. The highest inter cluster value was 11.45 (between cluster III and V) and the lowest was 4.36 (between cluster VI and VII). The highest cluster means for effective tiller number and grain yield per hill were obtained from cluster III. On the other hand, the highest leaf width and the highest spikelet fertility from cluster IV, tallest plant and the highest grain breadth from cluster VI, the highest 1000-grain weight from cluster V whereas the lowest mean value for days to 50% flowering and days to maturity were found in cluster VI.The genotypes from cluster III could be hybridized with the genotypes of other clusters for producing transgressivesegregants. Canonicalvectoranalysis revealed that days to 50% flowering and days to maturity were contributed maximum to the genetic divergence. Principal Coordinate Analysis (PCoA) revealed that the genotypes Begun bitchi, Rang mahal, Laxmijhota, Katar, Chiknal, Manikmendal, Baismugurwere found far away from the centroid of the cluster and can be selected as parents for further breeding programs.The results suggested thatLalgalong (acc. no. 1655) and Langrabeni (acc. no. 1645) can be crossed with the genotypes of cluster III and cluster VI to develop more promising as well as high yielding variety for Aus season.

This study was undertaken as part of a review of Ulmus L. for the forthcoming Flora of the Isle of Man. We have adopted molecular and morphological methods to reassess the identity of Ulmus on the Isle of Man and to explore the possibility that past records of English Elm, a single genotype cultivar called U. minor ‘Atinia’, were misidentifications. First, we utilised seven DNA microsatellite markers to test clone identity in a collection of 23 elms from across the Isle of Man. Sixteen samples were matched to a reference sample of Dutch Elm, U. × hollandica ‘Major’, and one sample was matched to a reference sample of English Elm. In parallel, we appraised a method employed to identify English Elm using a leaf shape metric, and found that leaf width divided by length values > 0.69 are indicative of this clone. Both molecular and morphological results in this study highlight that Dutch Elm has been misidentified as English Elm in the past, and that English Elm may in fact be a rare occurrence on the Island....

Artemisia annua L., a famous traditional Chinese medicine, has been used as an antimalarial herbal medicine for thousands of years. Artemisinin, main bioactive constituent of A. annua L., is the principal contributor to its pharmacological effects. Previous studies have shown that A. annua L. of different germplasm has different morphological characteristics, herb yield, and artemisinin content. We propose a hypothesis that the morphological characteristic of A. annua L. may contribute to breeding new cultivars with high yield and high artemisinin content. To test this hypothesis, 8 morphological characteristics (plant height, stem bottom diameter, crown diameter, distance of internode, the number of primary branches, primary branch angle, leaf length, and leaf width) of A. annua L. from 64 germplasm resources were studied. The correlations between morphological characteristics and herb yield, artemisinin content were studied by using partial least squares regression (PLSR) analysis, correlation analysis, and path analysis. The results indicated that: (1) the same characteristic of different germplasm resources varied greatly under the same cultivation and management condition; (2) both the artemisinin content and herb yield were positively correlated to plant height, stem bottom diameter, crown diameter, distance of internode, leaf width, and negatively correlated to the number of primary branches. Nevertheless, the coefficients of correlation are very low and vary between r = 0.25 to r = 0.46; (3) the strongest relations were found for plant height and stem bottom diameters. In conclusion, both plant height and stem bottom diameter had the most important positive influence on artemisinin content of the leaves and herb yield. The results of the present study can help to increase breeding efficiency for getting new A. annua L. cultivars with high herbal yield and high artemisinin content.

The increase of yield potential in new rice (Oryza sativa L.) varieties has been a major challenge for genetic improvement. The generation of mutants, followed by their characterization, constitutes a great possibility to isolate and select genes and genotypes that present agronomic traits of interest. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of chemical mutagen ethyl methane sulphonate (EMS) on agronomic traits in 340 M3 families of rice derived from BRS Querência cultivar. Seeds from each family and the original genotype BRS Querência were sown in the experimental field, and the characters main panicle length, main panicle weight, main panicle grain weight, flag leaf width and plant height were evaluated. Data were subjected to analysis of variance (p ≤ 0.05), and a comparison of means was carried out by Dunnett's test at 5% significance. The results show that there is genetic variability among the mutant families, suggesting that the mutagen EMS at 1.5% is effective for generating mutants for all assessed traits. Among the characters, plant height was the most affected by the mutagen, which provided an increase in the character. For the main panicle length character, seven families showed means above the control; for main panicle weight and grain weight, four and six mutant families were observed, respectively, with a superior performance in comparison to the control. ABSTRACT O incremento do potencial produtivo nas novas variedades de arroz (Oryza sativa L.) tem sido um dos principais desafios para o melhoramento genético. A geração de mutantes, seguida da sua caracterização, constitui-se em uma ótima possibilidade para isolar e selecionar genes e genótipos que apresentem caracteres agronômicos de interesse. Este trabalho teve como objetivo avaliar o efeito do mutagênico químico etilmetanossulfonato (EMS) sobre caracteres agronômicos em 340 famílias M3 de arroz, derivadas da cultivar BRS Querência. As sementes de cada família e da testemunha BRS Querência foram semeadas a campo e posteriormente avaliadas para os caracteres comprimento da panícula principal, peso da panícula principal, massa de grãos da panícula principal, largura da folha bandeira e estatura de planta. Os dados foram submetidos à análise de variância (p ≤ 0,05), e a comparação entre as médias foi realizada pelo teste de Dunnett a 5% de significância. Os resultados obtidos mostram que existe variabilidade genética entre as famílias mutantes de arroz e que a indução de mutação com EMS a 1,5% é eficiente na geração de mutantes de arroz para todos os caracteres avaliados. Dentre esses, a estatura das plantas foi a mais afetada pelo agente mutagênico, o qual proporcionou o incremento do caráter. Para o caráter comprimento da panícula principal, sete famílias obtiveram médias superiores à testemunha; já para os caracteres peso e massa de grãos da panícula principal, foram observadas quatro e seis famílias mutantes, respectivamente, com desempenho superior ao da testemunha.

Despite the areas restriction reserved for pearl millet cultivation in Hoggar region, there is an important diversity, which has occupied an essential place in the inhabitants’ diet. For a better knowledge of its biodiversity, seven sites were prospected during the plant maturation period. The morphological and cytological study was undertaken on the basis of the descriptors parameters of the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT). The most widely varied variables were the Height of the Plant (HP), Stem Diameter (ST), Panicle size; Length (PL), Width (PW) and Color (PC). While very low variation was noted in 3rd leave dimensions; Leaf Length (LL), Leaf Width (LW), Number of Nodes (NN) and Seed Form (SF). Therefore, local millet (MLH.epc, MLH.Z1) and some domesticated (MDH. Saf, MDH.S) appeared as the best groups, based on their panicle characters and seed nutritional quality. Agro-morphological changes detected in this study, show that the majority of millet domesticated (MDH. Saf. P, MDH. Sepl) are generally, classified in second place and used as fodder in the Hoggar region.

The sensitivity of stomatal behavior and patterning (i.e., distribution, density, size) to environmental stimuli, renders them crucial for defining the physiological performance of leaves. Thus, assessing long-term modifications in stomatal traits in conserved specimens arises as a valuable eco-physiological approach to predict how the rising trend of warmer, drier summers could affect plant fitness, particularly in mountain areas already experiencing climate aggravation and lacking the related monitoring schemes like Mediterranean high-mountains. Variations in foliar and stomatal traits were studied in conserved specimens of Senecio pyrenaicus subsp. carpetanus from Sierra de Guadarrama over the past 71 years. Our findings revealed decreasing trends in leaf width, stomatal size, and increasing tendency in stomatal density, all correlated with the recent 30-year climate exacerbation in these mountains. This evidenced a positive selection favoring traits that allow safeguarding plant performance under drier, hotter weather conditions. The significant relation between stomatal traits and climatic variables upholds the role of stomatal patterning in sensing environmental cues in this species, feasibly optimizing physiological responses involved in the growth&ndash, water loss trade-off. The transition to smaller, densely packed stomata observed in recent decades could indicate local-adaptive plasticity in this species, enhancing stomatal response, as coarser environmental conditions take place in Sierra de Guadarrama.

Made available in DSpace on 2018-11-26T15:46:07Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2017-01-01. Added 1 bitstream(s) on 2019-10-09T18:25:20Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 S0100-83582017000100286.pdf: 736860 bytes, checksum: a9e552d79f040a0cda8d110fd2663be7 (MD5) Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) Leaf length (L), leaf width (W), and leaf area (LA) were measured from 100 leaves aiming to determine a simple linear equation (Y=a*X) to predict the leaf area of Commelina diffusa, an important weed infesting annual and perennial crops in Brazil and worldwide. Results indicate the equation LA=0.7*LW reliably estimates the leaf area of C. diffusa, after correlating LA with LW, and then validating that equation by analyzing four new 25-leaf samples. Univ Estadual Paulista, Jaboticabal, SP, Brazil Univ Estado Santa Catarina, Lages, SC, Brazil Univ Estadual Paulista, Jaboticabal, SP, Brazil CNPq: 304855/2015-4

Twenty apple germplasm accessions from the Korean Genebank were successfully cryopreserved using two-step freezing to back up genetic resources maintained by field collections. This study examined the morphological and genetic stability of cryopreserved dormant apple buds that were stored in liquid nitrogen, and then rewarmed and regrown. Whole plants were regenerated directly from dormant buds through budding without an intermediary callus phase. The cryopreserved buds produced high levels of shoot formation (76.2-100%), similar to those of noncryopreserved buds (91.3-100%), with no observed differences between cryopreserved and noncryopreserved materials. Three of the twenty cryopreserved apple germplasm accessions were used to assess morphological and genetic stability. No differences in morphological characteristics including shoot length, leaf shape, leaf width/length ratio, and root length were observed between controls (fresh control and noncryopreserved) and cryopreserved plantlets. The genetic stability of regenerants (before and after cryopreservation) was investigated using inter simple sequence repeat (ISSR) markers. The ISSR markers produced 253 bands using four primers, ISSR 810, SSR 835, ISSR 864, and ISSR 899. These markers showed monomorphic banding patterns and revealed no polymorphism between the mother plant and regenerants before and after cryopreservation, suggesting that cryopreservation using two-step freezing does not affect the genetic stability of apple germplasm. These results show that two-step freezing cryopreservation is a practical method for long-term storage of apple germplasms.

'Norine' is a hybrid cultivar of basil, adapted to the Northeastern Brazil, which is derived from the cultivars 'Cinnamon' and 'Maria Bonita'. It has essential oil content of 2.91% and yield of 2.37 mL plant-1. The main chemical compounds of the essential oil are (E)-methyl cinnamate (41.93 %) and linalool (34.92 %). 'Norine' is characterized by presenting upright growth habit, rounded crown, mean height of 55 cm, mean crown diameter of 59 cm, mean leaf length of 8.4 cm, and mean leaf width of 4.5 cm

The present study brings out the effects of Pseudomonas fluorescens in secondary hardening of tissue cultured banana var.Poovan. Two concentrations (1% & 2%) of liquid medium grown Pseudomonas fluorescens (3×109 cells/ml) were used in borewell water and the growth performance of the banana plantlets was assessed. Seven different growth parameters were studiedviz. shoot weight, height and girth, leaf length, leaf width, no. of leaves and chlorophyll content. Best results were obtained in1%Pseudomonas fluorescens (T2) treatment with average of 10.79gm for weight, 10.25cm for height, 5.3 for no. of leaves, 1.3mmfor girth, 14.96cm for leaf length and 36.6 spad units of chlorophyll content per plantlet compared to treatment (T3) with 2%liquid Pseudomonas fluorescens.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/ijasbt.v3i1.11878 Int J Appl Sci Biotechnol, Vol. 3(1): 38-41

Interspecific crosses between rapeseed (Brassica napus L.) and chinese cabbage (B. campestris var. pekinensis Makino) and turnip (B. rapa L.) were made in order to examine the cross possibility and morphological phenotype of F1 hybrid. The growth of pollen tube of cross between rapeseed and chinese cabbage was more rapid than cross between rapeseed and turnip. Silique formation and seed setting in silique were relatively high in the cross between rapeseed and chinese cabbage. The percentage of silique set from interspecific cross between rapeseed and chinese cabbage was 90.6% and higher 23.3% than the percentage of silique from interspecific cross rapeseed and turnip. The average number of seed per silique obtained from the cross rapeseed and chinese cabbage, and rapeseed and turnip reached 15.5 and 11.6, respectively. The morphological phenotypes of F1 hybrid plants obtained from seeds in the cross between rapeseed and chinese cabbage resembled rapeseed mainly, but leaf length and leaf width were increased. The size, shape and lobation of leaves of F1 hybrid plants from interspecific cross between rapeseed and turnip were intermediated between their parent species, but color of leaves was dark-green.

Ten quantitative morphological characters were studied in 56 Morus alba L. trees representing three natural populations from the trans-Himalayan Ladakh region. The altitude of collection sites ranged from 2815 to 3177 m above the sea level (asl). Coefficient of variation (CV) showed high phenotypic variation in M. alba. Linear regression analysis revealed that leaf and fruit size decreases with an increase in altitude. High CV was observed for leaf length, leaf width, petiole length, leaf area, inter-nodal distance, number of nodes, bud length, fruit length, fruit width and fruit weight. Similarly, a high phenotypic plasticity index was observed for bud length, leaf length, leaf width, petiole length, leaf area, inter-nodal distance, number of nodes, fruit length, fruit width and fruit weight. For every 100 m increase in altitude, leaf length, leaf width and leaf area decreased by 1 cm, 0.8 cm and 16.6 cm2, respectively. Analysis of covariance showed a predominant altitudinal effect on the morphological characters in comparison to the population effect. A small change in the altitude caused significant change in the plant morphological characteristics. The present investigation represents to our knowledge the first study addressing phenotypic variation in mulberry along an altitudinal gradient.

Lotus corniculatus is a highly diverse legume with good adaptability to different soil and climatic conditions. The objective of this research was to estimate the phenotypic diversity of individual L. corniculatus plants growing under two different habitat types with different grazing management. The collection of plant material was conducted in four forested and four open grassland sites in northern Greece. Plants from open grassland had significantly lower leaf area, leaf perimeter, leaf length, leaf width and internode length compared to those from the forest. This morphological differentiation could be contributed to by differences in grazing intensity. Plants from open grasslands had significantly higher total phenols and condensed tannins, but lower crude protein content compared to those from the forest. Environmental factors in association with grazing management are the main contributors to the highly divergent concentrations of phenols, tannins and condensed tannins.

Pseudostems of bunching onion (Allium fistulosum L.) show wide variation in morphological traits and skin color. However, despite being one of the most important agronomic traits, molecular studies of bunching onion pseudostems remain limited. In this study, six morphological traits (plant height, leaf length, pseudostem length, leaf width, pseudostem width and number of leaf sheaths) along with pseudostem pigmentation indices were evaluated in two field trials using an F2:3 population derived from a single F1 cross between a white single pseudostem (non-tillering) and a red tillering bunching onion. Plant height was highly correlated with both leaf length and pseudostem length, but not the number of leaf sheaths. In contrast, the number of leaf sheaths was significantly negatively correlated with both leaf width and pseudostem width. A total of 27 QTLs for the six morphological traits were detected in 16 regions of 11 linkage groups, with a major QTL for the number of leaf sheaths repeatedly detected on Chr. 8. Meanwhile, two QTLs associated with pseudostem pigmentation were repeatedly detected on linkage groups Chr. 4a and Chr. 5a-2. The latter (qPig5a-2) was considered a major QTL, and its location estimated by marker genotyping of the F2 population around the qPig5a-2 region as being within a 7.6 cM interval.

A field experiment was conducted during the cropping season of 2007/2008E.C. on 20 accessions of Ethiopian potato /Oromo potato (Plectranthus edulis) collected from Western parts of Oromiay. The objectives were to evaluate the phenotypic variability of the accessions and identify heritability and genetic advance of the traits. All accessions grown in two row plots in randomized complete block design with three replications on two environments. 13 morphological characters were recorded. The collected data was subjected to ANOVA. The result showed most characters were significant (P < 0.05) on combined analysis. Individual location analysis also carried out and all characters except flower length and leaf width showed highly significance (P

Linaria semnanensis is described as a new species discovered in Semnan Province. This newly discovered species is compared with its closest relatives L. grandiflora and L. dalmatica. The new species is similar to L. grandiflora in bract size, stem height and seed form and differs in leaf width, capsule size, adaxial lip sinus of corolla, style length, the length of testa cell and ornamentation of the seed coat. L. semnanensis is similar to L. dalmatica in capsule size, seed shape and size and differs in corolla, spur, pedicel and calyx lobe size, stem height, length of adaxial lip sinus of corolla, distance between apex of adaxial lips of corolla, testa cells shape and ornamentation of the seed coat. Information about the species’ morphology, micromorphology, habitats and distribution is provided.

The effects of various sucrose concentrations as carbon source and natural additives in different media on plantlet growth of Phalaenopsis hybrid 'Pink' were studied. Plantlets were cultured on two media (Murashige and Skoog [MS] and Vacin and Went [VW]) supplemented with 0, 10, 20, 30 and 40 g L-1 sucrose either with 0, 10 and 20% (v/v) coconut water (CW) or carrot juice (CJ) as natural additives. After four months of culture, the combination of sucrose and CW supplemented with both media affected plantlet growth where most of the plantlets showed slow growth and survival frequency (0-80%) with increasing concentrations of CW in all sucrose concentrations. However, plantlet growth on both media containing only 20 g L-1 sucrose without CW was optimal in terms of root number, root length, leaf number, leaf length, leaf width, fresh weight, dry weight and plant height. The combination of sucrose and CJ supplemented with MS medium resulted in overall good plantlet growth with 100% survival frequency. The combination of sucrose (20 g L-1) and CJ (10%) supplemented with MS medium increased root length, leaf length, leaf width and plant height. Plantlet growth was also optimal in the combination of 20 g L-1 sucrose and 10% CJ supplemented with VW medium. The results of this study indicate that Phalaenopsis hybrid 'Pink' cultured on the combination of sucrose (20 g L-1) and CJ (10%) supplemented with either MS or VW media can be used for plantlet growth of this species.

Orchids (Chattleya sp) is popular plant which is favorted by peoples and has higt economic value. It’s price Rp. 562,000 / plant. Tissue culture technique is needed to produce this flower quicky than conventional technique. This study have aims to determine the effect of some medium concentration of organic sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas L) on growing Cattleya sp and for knowing the best of concentration on the growth of Chattleya sp. The method used was Completely Random Design (RAL) with four of factors, that is: 0 g / L, 75 g / L, 150 g / L, and 300 g / L. The results were analyzed with Anova test and Duncan test multiple ranger test at the level of 5%. Each treatment was repeated six times. Parameters were observed are the number of new shoots, long leaf, number of leaves, leaf width, long roots, and height of the plant for 5 weeks. Based on the results of analysis showed that the sweet potato extract on 150 g / L concentration give the best results in long root parameter, the concentration of 75 g / L gived the best results to long leaf parameter and concentration of 300 g / L gived the best effect against leaf width. Same concentrations of sweet potato did not give significantly effect to number of new shoots, plantlets height, and number of leaves.

Plant stoichiometry in relation to the structure and function of biological systems has been investigated at multiple scales. However, few studies have focused on the roles of stoichiometry for a given species. In this study, we determined leaf N and P stoichiometry, leaf shape and plant size in three Quercus acutissima common gardens with different climatic and site conditions. In the three common gardens, leaf N and P stoichiometry was significantly correlated with leaf shape and plant size, suggesting that leaf N and P stoichiometry affects the morphological performance of the leaves and stem. The scaling slopes of the relationships between leaf N and P stoichiometry and leaf shape ranged from |0.12| to |1.00|, while the slopes of the relationships between leaf N and P stoichiometry and plant size ranged from |0.95| to |2.66|. These results suggest that non-functional tissues (stem) are more susceptible to leaf nutrition than functional tissues (leaves), and leaf stoichiometry is more important in the construction of non-functional tissues (stem). Between the northernmost and southernmost common gardens, leaf N and leaf width (W), N:P and stem height (H), and N:P and stem diameter (D) showed significant covariations, which indicates that leaf N and W, N:P and plant size exhibit similar plastic responses to environmental change.

Summary Molecular genetic analyses revealed that the WUSCHEL‐related homeobox (WOX) gene superfamily regulates several programs in plant development. Many different mechanisms are reported to underlie these alterations. The WOX family member STENOFOLIA (STF) is involved in leaf expansion in the eudicot Medicago truncutula. Here, we report that when this gene was ectopically expressed in a locally adapted hard red winter wheat cultivar (Triticum aestivum), the transgenic plants showed not only widened leaves but also accelerated flowering and increased chlorophyll content. These desirable traits were stably inherited in the progeny plants. STF binds to wheat genes that have the (GA)n/(CT)n DNA cis element, regardless of sequences flanking the DNA repeats, suggesting a mechanism for its pleiotropic effects. However, the amino acids between position 91 and 262 in the STF protein that were found to bind with the (GA)n motif have no conserved domain with any other GAGA‐binding proteins in animals or plants. We also found that STF interacted with a variety of proteins in wheat in yeast 2 hybrid assays. We conclude that the eudicot STF gene binds to (GA)n/(CT)n DNA elements and can be used to regulate leaf width, flowering time and chlorophyll content in monocot wheat.

Exploring genes with impact on yield-related phenotypes is the preceding step to accomplishing crop improvements while facing a growing world population. A genome-wide association scan on leaf blade area (LA) in a worldwide spring barley collection (Hordeum vulgare L.), including 125 two- and 93 six-rowed accessions, identified a gene encoding the homeobox transcription factor, Six-rowed spike 1 (VRS1). VRS1 was previously described as a key domestication gene affecting spike development. Its mutation converts two-rowed (wild-type VRS1, only central fertile spikelets) into six-rowed spikes (mutant vrs1, fully developed fertile central and lateral spikelets). Phenotypic analyses of mutant and wild-type leaves revealed that mutants had an increased leaf width with more longitudinal veins. The observed significant increase of LA and leaf nitrogen (%) during pre-anthesis development in vrs1 mutants also implies a link between wider leaf and grain number, which was validated from the association of vrs1 locus with wider leaf and grain number. Histological and gene expression analyses indicated that VRS1 might influence the size of leaf primordia by affecting cell proliferation of leaf primordial cells. This finding was supported by the transcriptome analysis of mutant and wild-type leaf primordia where in the mutant transcriptional activation of genes related to cell proliferation was detectable. Here we show that VRS1 has an independent role on barley leaf development which might influence the grain number.

This study was carried out to determine the effects of seed storage methods and pre-treatments on seed germination, soil types and shading conditions on potted seedlings growth of S. sieboldiana var. pendula and S. sieboldiana for. xanthocarpa, endemic species in Korea. The seed germination rate of S. sieboldiana var. pendula was the highest at 48.6% when seeds were treated with stratification for 60 days and then soaked in 100 ppm GA 3 . And seed germination rate of S. sieboldiana for. xanthocarpa was the highest at 51.4% when seeds were pre-chilled for 30 days and then soaked in 100 ppm GA 3 . And potted seedlings of S. sieboldiana var. pendula showed the best quality under 50% shading in bedsoil with the growth characteristics of plant height (41 cm), number of leaves(8), leaf width (16 cm), leaf length (18 cm), root length (22 cm), fresh weight(aerial part/root part; 20/6.9 g) and dry weight(aerial part/root part; 4.5/2.0 g). And potted seedlings of S. sieboldiana for. xanthocarpa showed the best quality under non-shading in bedsoil with the growth characteristics of plant height (39 cm), number of leaves(10), leaf width (12 cm), leaf length (15 cm), root length (22 cm), fresh weight (aerial part/root part; 21/13 g) and dry weight (aerial part/root part; 4.2/2.2 g). Therefore, seeds treated with stratification or prechilling and then soaked in GA 3 were effective in germination of S. sieboldiana var. pendula and S. sieboldiana for. xanthocarpa, and potted seedlings should be cultivated in bedsoil under non or 50% shading condition.

In this research, 53 male fig (caprifig) accessions were analyzed for phenotypic diversity using 32 morphological variables. Significant phenotypic diversity was detected between male fig accessions based on morphological traits. Principal component analysis revealed that the first ten components explained 76.09 % of the total morphological variation, where petiole length, petiole thickness, leaf length, leaf width, fruit width, fruit shape, length of central lobe, number of lobes and leaf shape contributed most of the total variation. Simple correlation coefficient analysis showed the existence of significant positive and negative correlations among characteristics. The majority of significant correlation coefficients were found in the characteristics representing fruit sizes with leaf size. Unweighted pair-group method of arithmetic average cluster analysis identified two major clusters and several subclusters for studied accessions. According to the present results, accessions Caprifig 35, Caprifig 6, Caprifig 12, Caprifig 36, Caprifig 38, Caprifig 28, Caprifig 30, Caprifig 26 and Caprifig 18 with the highest Blastophaga number are suitable in this important trait to be used for caprification. Also, the conservation of the highly diverse native accessions of Iranian male figs is recommended.

When Xanthium lamina width is plotted versus leaf length during the entire period of growth, a straight line is obtained representing an allometric relationship with a regression correlation coefficient of 0.9973 a lamina width to length ratio of 0.502 ± 0.01 and chordate morphology. On the other hand, gibberellic acid treated plants yield a correlation coefficient of 0.9871 a lamina width to length ratio of 0.372 ± 0.0074 and lanceolate leaves. The fraction of leaf width to leaf length is a measure of lamina width reduction. Gibberellic acid alters the mechanism which controls the balance between the leaf length and the leaf width.

Populations of oak cork (Quercus suber L.) originated from different areas in Tunisia were analysed based on morphological characters to assess the overall degree of phenotypic variability, to detect similarities between the genotypes and to evaluate significant forest features. One-way ANOVA analysis shows a significant difference between oak cork populations and demonstrates that parameters measured on leaves show an important degree of variability and permit to discriminate oak cork individuals. Vegetative variables are leaf length, leaf width, petioles length, number of leaf veins, petioles width, spines number, leaf area, length nipples, diameter nipples, weight nipples, and height trees. Diameter trees were scored and subjected to multivariate analysis. Results showed a considerable diversity among local germoplasme of oak cork. Principal component analysis (PCA) revealed that the characters related to the length and width of the sheets and the nipples accounted for a large proportion of the observed variability. Cluster analysis showed a typically continuous phenotypic diversity among oak cork accessions, and little asso-ciations between accessions from same geographic origin. Also, some heterogeneity within accessions that received the same denomination was evidenced. The variability observed between different populations is attached to phenotypic characters which depend primarily on two factors, gene and environment.

The objective of the present study was to understand the relationship among leaf morphology, stomatal characteristics and water relations in triploids generated through anther culture and their counterpart diploid plant of C. clementina. Triploid plants possessed small and narrow leaves as compared to diploid plant as evident by less leaf length, leaf width and leaf area. By contrast, the leaf index was observed to be more in triploids than haploid ones. Flow cytometric analysis re-confirmed the ploidy levels of heterozygous plant Hd as diploid and the ploidy of Th1, Th2, Th3 and Th4 plants as triploids. A positive relation was found between ploidy level and stomatal guard cell length and width, whereas a negative relation was observed between the stomata density and ploidy level. The stomatal density was reported to be 6.2±0.2 stomata per µm2 in diploid plant, while stomatal density varied between 3.0 and 3.6 stomata per µm2 in triploids. Leaf relative water content (RWC) was slightly higher in triploids (90.8 to 93.1%) than diploid (89.5%). The leaf water loss was found to be marginally higher in diploid than in triploid plants. Our results show that increase in ploidy level from diploids to triploids caused an effect on leaf morphology and stomatal characteristics with probable consequences to water relations of leaves. This research will serve as an important basis for future work on complete analysis of both morphological and behavioural traits of the leaf stomata and transpiration rates in relation to diploid versus triploid plants.

The experiment was carried out to determine the effects of heat stress on some growth parameters like shoot height, leaf area, fresh weight, dry weight as well as the accumulation of chlorophylls in Carica papaya. Seedlings of C. papaya were exposed to prior heat stress at 40 °C. A group of plants was placed in a Gallenkamp oven for four hours; another group of plants was placed in the oven for eight hours while the third group of plants was placed in a dark cupboard for the period of eight hours. Sampling was carried out at weekly intervals starting from seven days after treatment. Plants were randomly picked from each of the three treatments. Three replicates were used for each parameter. The results obtained from the study showed that there was an increment in the shoot height, leaf area, fresh weight and dry weight from the beginning to the end of the experimental period. However, the accumulation of chlorophylls did not follow a particular pattern. The analysis of variance carried out on the data obtained showed that heat stress had a significant effect on the petiole length, shoot height, leaf length, leaf width, leaf area, fresh weight and dry weight. Heat stress, however, did not produce a significant effect on the accumulation of chlorophylls a and b and total chlorophyll.

Cololejeunea yelitzae, member of subgen. Incalejeunea is described from Venezuela, as new to science. It is characterised by the very variable leaf width from wide ovate to narrow lanceolate within the same plant, by the acute leaf apex and by its acute lanceolate lobule with a wide gap between the 1st and 2nd teeth. Gemmae abundantly develop on leaf surface and even on the perianth. It is widely distributed in the mountain areas from Costa Rica to Bolivia. With this new taxon the known number of Neotropical Cololejeunea species is raised to 71.