http://www.biology-blog.com/blogs/plant-science-blog.html Plant science blog from biology-blog.com, the place for information. Thu, 04 Aug 2011 14:22:50 GMT en-us http://www.biology-blog.com/images/blogs/plant-science-blog.jpg http://www.biology-blog.com/blogs/plant-science-blog.html 99 107 http://www.biology-blog.com/blogs/permalinks/8-2011/effects-of-rising-carbon-dioxide-on-rangelands.html http://www.biology-blog.com/blogs/permalinks/8-2011/effects-of-rising-carbon-dioxide-on-rangelands.html Thu, 04 Aug 2011 14:22:50 GMT Rising carbon dioxide (CO2) levels can reverse the drying effects of predicted higher temperatures on semi-arid rangelands, as per a research studypublished recently in the scientific journal Nature by a team of U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and university scientists. Warmer temperatures increase water loss to the atmosphere, leading to drier soils. In contrast, higher CO2 levels cause leaf stomatal pores to partly close, lessening the amount of water vapor that escapes and the amount of water plants draw from soil. This newly released study finds that CO2 does more to counterbalance warming-induced water loss than previously expected. In fact, simulations of levels of warming and CO2 predicted for later this century demonstrated no net change in soil water, and actually increased levels of plant growth for warm-season grasses........ ]]> http://www.biology-blog.com/blogs/permalinks/7-2011/cool-season-grasses-more-profitable.html http://www.biology-blog.com/blogs/permalinks/7-2011/cool-season-grasses-more-profitable.html Thu, 04 Aug 2011 14:22:50 GMT Access to swine effluent or waste water can help a producer grow more grass. But a Texas AgriLife Researcher says the grass is "greener" economically if it is a cool-season rather than a warm-season variety. Dr. Seong Park, AgriLife Research economist in Vernon, said while the warm-season grasses appear to have a greater growth boost with swine effluent application, the cool-season grasses have marketing advantages that make it a more viable economic option for producers in the Oklahoma Panhandle and Southern Plains........ ]]> http://www.biology-blog.com/blogs/permalinks/6-2011/new-not-so-sweet-potato-resists-pests-and-disease.html http://www.biology-blog.com/blogs/permalinks/6-2011/new-not-so-sweet-potato-resists-pests-and-disease.html Thu, 04 Aug 2011 14:22:50 GMT Researchers from Clemson University and the USDA Agricultural Research Service have developed a new variety of not-so-sweet potato, called Liberty. Known as a boniato, or tropical sweet potato, Liberty has a dark red skin and light yellow, dry flesh with a bland flavor. Boniato potatoes originated in the tropical Americas and are grown in south Florida in the United States. They can be served fried, mashed or in soup........ ]]> http://www.biology-blog.com/blogs/permalinks/4-2011/sun-and-shad-in-tree-canopies.html http://www.biology-blog.com/blogs/permalinks/4-2011/sun-and-shad-in-tree-canopies.html Thu, 04 Aug 2011 14:22:50 GMT 'Outer' tree canopy leaves influence the sunlight reaching inner canopy leaves by changing their shape, says a newly released study. The shape and physiology of leaves within the tree canopy is not constant, and can vary depending on their position within the tree crown. This phenomenon is expected to have important consequences for how trees cope with stress and use resources........ ]]> http://www.biology-blog.com/blogs/permalinks/3-2011/stranglers-of-the-tropics.html http://www.biology-blog.com/blogs/permalinks/3-2011/stranglers-of-the-tropics.html Thu, 04 Aug 2011 14:22:50 GMT Kudzu, the plant scourge of the U.S. Southeast. The long tendrils of this woody vine, or liana, are on the move north with a warming climate. But kudzu appears to be no match for the lianas of the tropics, researchers have found. Data from sites in eight studies show that lianas are overgrowing trees in every instance........ ]]> http://www.biology-blog.com/blogs/permalinks/3-2011/pollen-also-appears-outside-flowering-season.html http://www.biology-blog.com/blogs/permalinks/3-2011/pollen-also-appears-outside-flowering-season.html Thu, 04 Aug 2011 14:22:50 GMT "There is of course a very close relationship between the moment at which pollen is released by plants and the data gathered by the traps used to measure these grains, but this is not always the case", Rafael Tormo, a botanist from the University of Extremadura and co-author of the paper, tells SINC........ ]]> http://www.biology-blog.com/blogs/permalinks/3-2011/optimizing-yield-and-fruit-size-of-figs.html http://www.biology-blog.com/blogs/permalinks/3-2011/optimizing-yield-and-fruit-size-of-figs.html Thu, 04 Aug 2011 14:22:50 GMT The common fig is a subtropical, deciduous fruit tree grown in most Mediterranean-type climates. Eventhough some think that figs appears to be the oldest cultivated fruit species on earth, global expansion of fig crops has been hindered by the narrow research base pertaining to production practices and the limited number of fig cultivars currently available. Recently, three black figs were established in the Mediterranean-type climate of Western Cape Province of South Africa to provide fruit for fresh markets throughout South Africa and Europe........ ]]> http://www.biology-blog.com/blogs/permalinks/3-2011/multimedia-in-nursery-management.html http://www.biology-blog.com/blogs/permalinks/3-2011/multimedia-in-nursery-management.html Thu, 04 Aug 2011 14:22:50 GMT Students at land-grant universities are a major source of educated, highly qualified employees for the U.S. nursery industry. To prepare future employees for work in "green" occupations, land-grant institutions have traditionally offered classes in nursery management and production, but availability of qualified faculty, integration of departments, and cutbacks in horticulture programs have contributed to a reduction in the number of nursery management and production (NMP) courses being offered........ ]]> http://www.biology-blog.com/blogs/permalinks/3-2011/dairy-farmer-finds-unusual-forage-grass.html http://www.biology-blog.com/blogs/permalinks/3-2011/dairy-farmer-finds-unusual-forage-grass.html Thu, 04 Aug 2011 14:22:50 GMT A U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) grass breeder has rediscovered a forage grass that seems just right for today's intensive rotational grazing. A farmer's report of an unusual forage grass led Michael Casler, an Agricultural Research Service (ARS) geneticist at the agency's U.S. Dairy Forage Research Center in Madison, Wis., to identify the grass as meadow fescue. Meadow fescue has been long forgotten, eventhough it was popular after being introduced about 50 to 60 years before tall fescue........ ]]> http://www.biology-blog.com/blogs/permalinks/2-2011/vines-overtaking-the-american-tropics.html http://www.biology-blog.com/blogs/permalinks/2-2011/vines-overtaking-the-american-tropics.html Thu, 04 Aug 2011 14:22:50 GMT Sleeping Beauty's kingdom was overgrown by vines when she fell into a deep sleep. Scientists at the Smithsonian in Panama and the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee received more than a million dollars from the U.S. National Science Foundation to discover why real vines are overtaking the American tropics. Data from eight sites show that vines are overgrowing trees in all cases........ ]]> http://www.biology-blog.com/blogs/permalinks/2-2011/new-findings-in-indias-bt-cotton-controversy.html http://www.biology-blog.com/blogs/permalinks/2-2011/new-findings-in-indias-bt-cotton-controversy.html Thu, 04 Aug 2011 14:22:50 GMT Crop yields from India's first genetically modified crop may have been overemphasized, as modest rises in crop yields may come at the expense of sustainable farm management, says a newly released study by a Washington University in St. Louis anthropologist. The study, by Glenn Stone, PhD, professor of anthropology in Arts and Sciences, appears in the recent issue of the journal World Development........ ]]> http://www.biology-blog.com/blogs/permalinks/2-2011/phosphorus-too-much-or-too-little.html http://www.biology-blog.com/blogs/permalinks/2-2011/phosphorus-too-much-or-too-little.html Thu, 04 Aug 2011 14:22:50 GMT Fertilizer is rarely an inspiration for an art show, but this week at Arizona State University (ASU), sustainability, fertilizer and phosphorus scarcity will provide fuel for creative vision. The art show, a juried exhibition with works by artists from Phoenix, Chicago, Portland and Houston, was created in partnership with researchers engaged in the Sustainable Phosphorus Summit, to take place Feb. 3-5, 2011, at ASU........ ]]> http://www.biology-blog.com/blogs/permalinks/2-2011/cotton-from-caterpillars-appetite.html http://www.biology-blog.com/blogs/permalinks/2-2011/cotton-from-caterpillars-appetite.html Thu, 04 Aug 2011 14:22:50 GMT The furry-looking insects start their development smaller than the head of a pin, but the caterpillars soon develop an appetite for cotton as big as the crop. To demonstrate the insects' destructive power, Clemson University entomologist Jeremy Greene planted two cotton varieties - one genetically modified to provide protection from caterpillars, one not - in a demonstration field at the Edisto Research and Education Center........ ]]> http://www.biology-blog.com/blogs/permalinks/2-2011/home-and-away-are-invasive-plant.html http://www.biology-blog.com/blogs/permalinks/2-2011/home-and-away-are-invasive-plant.html Thu, 04 Aug 2011 14:22:50 GMT Invasive plant species are a serious environmental, economic and social problem worldwide. Their abundance can lead to lost native biodiversity and ecosystem functions, such as nutrient cycling. Despite substantial research, however, little is known about why some species dominate new habitats over native plants that technically should have the advantage........ ]]> http://www.biology-blog.com/blogs/permalinks/1-2011/kalanchoe-fedtschenkoi.html http://www.biology-blog.com/blogs/permalinks/1-2011/kalanchoe-fedtschenkoi.html Thu, 04 Aug 2011 14:22:50 GMT Another entry from Claire today. She ......... ]]> http://www.biology-blog.com/blogs/permalinks/1-2011/call-for-regulation-of-rare-plant-sales.html http://www.biology-blog.com/blogs/permalinks/1-2011/call-for-regulation-of-rare-plant-sales.html Fri, 28 Jan 2011 13:09:33 GMT eople are increasingly obtaining endangered or threatened plants, often illegally, and moving them outside their native range, as per an article in the journal Nature by Patrick Shirey and Gary Lamberti in the department of biological sciences at the University of Notre Dame. As per their research last year, nearly 10 percent of the 753 plants listed as threatened and endangered under the US Endangered Species Act are being sold � or, at least, advertised � online. A number of buyers are horticulturalists who want flowers for their gardens. But increasingly, anecdotal evidence suggests that online shoppers include individuals and citizen groups involved in 'assisted colonization' projects. Here, species or genetic subtypes at risk of extinction are moved to non-native environments in which they might thrive � in the face of climate change, for instance........ ]]> http://www.biology-blog.com/blogs/permalinks/1-2011/wheat-resistance-genes-failing.html http://www.biology-blog.com/blogs/permalinks/1-2011/wheat-resistance-genes-failing.html Fri, 28 Jan 2011 13:09:33 GMT A number of of the genes that allow wheat to ward off Hessian flies are no longer effective in the southeastern United States, and care should be taken to ensure that resistance genes that so far haven't been utilized in commercial wheat lines are used prudently, as per U.S. Department of Agriculture and Purdue University scientists........ ]]> http://www.biology-blog.com/blogs/permalinks/1-2011/how-isolated-are-mountain-top-plant-populations.html http://www.biology-blog.com/blogs/permalinks/1-2011/how-isolated-are-mountain-top-plant-populations.html Fri, 28 Jan 2011 13:09:33 GMT Do mountain tops act as sky islands for species that live at high elevations? Are plant populations on these mountain tops isolated from one another because the valleys between them act as barriers, or can pollinators act as bridges allowing genes to flow among distant populations? Dr. Andrea Kramer and his colleagues from the Chicago Botanic Garden and the University of Illinois at Chicago were interested in pursuing these questions, especially for a genus of plants, Penstemon (Plantaginaceae), endemic to the Great Basin region of the Western United States. They published their findings in the recent issue of the American Journal of Botany (http://www.amjbot.org/cgi/content/full/98/1/109)........ ]]> http://www.biology-blog.com/blogs/permalinks/1-2011/new-software-quantifies-leaf-venation-networks.html http://www.biology-blog.com/blogs/permalinks/1-2011/new-software-quantifies-leaf-venation-networks.html Fri, 28 Jan 2011 13:09:33 GMT Plant biologists are facing pressure to quantify the response of plants to changing environments and to breed plants that can respond to such changes. One method of monitoring the response of plants to different environments is by studying their vein network patterns. These networks impact whole plant photosynthesis and the mechanical properties of leaves, and vary between species that have evolved or have been bred under different environmental conditions........ ]]> http://www.biology-blog.com/blogs/permalinks/1-2011/heavy-metals-and-pesticides-threaten.html http://www.biology-blog.com/blogs/permalinks/1-2011/heavy-metals-and-pesticides-threaten.html Fri, 28 Jan 2011 13:09:33 GMT The Estero de Domingo Rubio wetland, located near the Marismas del Odiel Natural Area in the Huelva estuary, is regionally, nationally and internationally protected thanks to its ecological value. However, its tributary rivers and the R�a de Huelva estuary pump manmade pollutants into it, which could affect its water quality and ecosystem........ ]]>