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This study was conducted to investigate the effect of mycorrhizal inoculation and different amounts of sheep manure on the quantitative and qualitative yield of mung bean cultivars in Isfahan. Factors included inoculation with mycorrhizae in non-inoculation) and sheep manure at three levels of 0, 7.5 and 15 tons/ha and cultivars at 5 levels (Parto, Gohar, Sakhawat, Zarbakhsh and Mehr). The results showed that the cultivar effect was significant on all traits except the main effects of mycorrhiza and manure on all measured traits except seed nitrogen and seed potassium were significant. The results of the interaction effect showed that the highest amount of grain yield was observed in the treatment of 15 tons/ha of manure and mycorrhiza consumption at the rate of 947.4 kg/ha, and the lowest in the case of no manure consumption and nomycorrhiza consumption at the rate of 667.6 kg/ha was obtained. The results of the interaction effect showed that the highest yield of seed protein was observed in the treatment of 7.5 tons/ha of manure and 171.84 kg/ha, which was compared to the treatment of 7.5 tons/ha of manure and no use. Mycorrhiza showed an increase of about 44.5. In this experiment, Gohar cultivar showed a better reaction than other investigated cultivars. In this study, the use of 7.5 tons/ha of sheep manure in combination with mycorrhiza had the greatest effect on mung bean yield and protein. Finally, the results of this research showed that in order to produce high yield and quality of mung bean, it is possible to benefit from the combination of animal and biological fertilizers instead of chemical fertilizers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At the optimum temperature, which is the ideal range in which seeds germinate most efficiently, seed germination may be lower than expected under favorable conditions, and this is indicative of seed dormancy. Also, germination may be enhanced by additional and interacting factors, such as nitrate and light. However, little is known about the interplay between temperature, nitrate, and seed germination. Using seeds from 22 accessions of four Plantago species that occupy distinct pedoclimates, we applied a factorial experimental design to assess the relationship between exogenously applied nitrate (KNO3) and temperature on germination in a Petri dish experiment. The data explore the relationship between seed germination, temperatures, and seed- and maternal-source soil N content as either nitrite (NO2−), nitrate (NO3−), or ammonium (NH4+). The interpretation also considered the total N and C contents of seeds, and the soil of the maternal plant (of the test seed) sources. Significant interspecific effects of nitrate and temperature on seed germination were observed. The capacity of nitrate to enhance final germination may be diminished substantially at supra-optimum temperatures, e.g., P. lagopus germination at 15 °C was 7% lower than that seen for water-only treatment. In contrast, at sub-optimum and alternating temperatures, nitrate enhanced final germination differentially across the species tested. This suggests a shift to enhanced germination at lower temperatures in the presence of sufficient soil nitrate, facilitating seedling establishment earlier in the growing season. The seeds of some Plantago species showed increased germination as a function of nitrate and temperature, particularly those of P. lagopus. The findings indicate that species (and genotype) responses correlated with the prevailing temperature and rainfall patterns of the locality; such local adaptation would ensure that seed germination and establishment occur during a period when environmental conditions are optimal.

At the optimum temperature, which is the ideal range in which seeds germinate most efficiently, seed germination may be lower than expected under favorable conditions, and this is indicative of seed dormancy. Also, germination may be enhanced by additional and interacting factors, such as nitrate and light. However, little is known about the interplay between temperature, nitrate, and seed germination. Using seeds from 22 accessions of four Plantago species that occupy distinct pedoclimates, we applied a factorial experimental design to assess the relationship between exogenously applied nitrate (KNO3) and temperature on germination in a Petri dish experiment. The data explore the relationship between seed germination, temperatures, and seed- and maternal-source soil N content as either nitrite (NO2−), nitrate (NO3−), or ammonium (NH4+). The interpretation also considered the total N and C contents of seeds, and the soil of the maternal plant (of the test seed) sources. Significant interspecific effects of nitrate and temperature on seed germination were observed. The capacity of nitrate to enhance final germination may be diminished substantially at supra-optimum temperatures, e.g., P. lagopus germination at 15 °C was 7% lower than that seen for water-only treatment. In contrast, at sub-optimum and alternating temperatures, nitrate enhanced final germination differentially across the species tested. This suggests a shift to enhanced germination at lower temperatures in the presence of sufficient soil nitrate, facilitating seedling establishment earlier in the growing season. The seeds of some Plantago species showed increased germination as a function of nitrate and temperature, particularly those of P. lagopus. The findings indicate that species (and genotype) responses correlated with the prevailing temperature and rainfall patterns of the locality; such local adaptation would ensure that seed germination and establishment occur during a period when environmental conditions are optimal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to investigate the effect of planting densities and different amounts of nitrogen on leaf greenness index and leaf area index, seed yield and oil yield, irrigation water productivity and nitrogen use efficiency in sunflower, an experiment was conducted as a split plot in the form of randomized complete blocks design with three replications in the research farm of Agriculture Institute in Semnan province in the spring of 2019. Plant density in four levels (4, 6, 8 and 10 plants per m2) as a main plot and the amount of nitrogen levels (0. 50, 100, 150 and 200 kg urea ha-1) as sub plot was considered. Leaf greenness index, plant height, 100-seed weight, seed nitrogen content and seed oil content were significantly affected by the simple effect of planting density, which decreased with increasing density of the above traits. Also, the nitrogen levels significantly affected the studied traits, so that with increasing the amount of nitrogen consumption, from control (0 kg urea ha-1) to 200 kg urea ha-1, the leaf greenness index increased by 15.3%. The highest amount of plant height, 100-seed weight and grain nitrogen were obtained in the treatment of 150 kg urea ha-1 and 14.13, 9.07 and 24.3% more than no application, respectively. Mean comparing the results of water use efficiency showed that at a density of four plants per m2 and an increase in nitrogen levels, along with increasing height and leaf area index, water use efficiency also increased, but higher levels of density led to smaller plant yield, less plant biomass and water efficiency were reduced. The highest nitrogen use efficiency was obtained in the density of 8 plants per m2 and no application of nitrogen fertilizer. Finally, maximum grain yield (4016 kg.ha-1) and oil yield (1827 kg.ha-1) were obtained by consuming 150 kg urea per ha-1 and density of 8 plants per m2.

The valuable corn plant is affected by complications if faced with water deficit conditions, feeding the plant with potassium and zinc elements at the right time can be a useful solution in creating plant resistance. To scrutinize the effect of time of foliar application of potassium and zinc elements on grain yield and concentration of nutrients in maize seed (variety SC 704) under water deficit conditions, a split-split plot experiment was conducted in the form of a completely randomized block design with three repetitions during two crop years at Ahvaz Agricultural Research Station. Treatment of water deficit conditions in the form of irrigation cutting off in two stages of 12 leaves and beginning of tassel emergence with the control treatment was considered as the main plot and foliar application of potassium element in the growth stages (8 leaves, 8 + 12 leaves and without foliar application(control)) was considered as the sub-plot. Also, foliar application of zinc element in the growth stages (8 leaves, 8 + 12 leaves and without foliar application (control)) was regarded as the sub-sub plot. The highest values of yield (1073.8 gr.m-2) was obtained in optimal irrigation treatment with two stages of potassium and zinc foliar application. The highest concentrations of potassium (1.37%), zinc (37.59 mg.gr-1) and protein (15.23%) were accumulated in the seeds when the irrigation was cut off at the tassel stage along with two stages of potassium and zinc foliar application. Phosphorus (0.41%) with two stages of zinc foliar application increased significantly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Iran has been facing shortage of edible oil and a rapid growing population, and the country has to supplement the needs by importing. To investigate the effect of planting densities and different amounts of some traits of sunflower, an experiment was conducted as a split plot in the form of randomized complete blocks design with three replicates in the research farm of the Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Centre of Semnan province (Shahrood). Plant density in four levels (4, 6, 8 and 10 plant.m−2) as a main plot and the amount of nitrogen levels (0.50, 100, 150 and 200 kg N ha−1) as sub-plot were considered. Leaf greenness index, plant height, 100-seed weight, seed nitrogen content and seed oil content were significantly affected by the simple effect of planting density and decreased with increasing plan density. Also, the nitrogen levels significantly affected the studied traits, so that by increasing the amount of nitrogen application, from control to 200 kg N ha−1, the leaf greenness index increased by 15.3%. At a density of four plant.m−2 and an increase in nitrogen levels, water use efficiency increased along with an increase height and leaf area index, but higher levels of plant density led to smaller plant yield, less plant biomass and lower water efficiency. The highest nitrogen use efficiency was obtained at a density of 8 plant.m−2 and no application of nitrogen fertilizer. Finally, maximum seed yield (4016 kg.ha−1) and oil yield (1827 kg.ha−1) were obtained by applying 150 kg N ha−1 and density of 8 plants.m−2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This experiment has been performed to study the effect of seed sowing density and different amounts of nitrogen fertilizer application on the remobilization indices in wheat (Qaboos cultivar) in the field of Gonbad Kavous Agricultural and Natural Resources Research Station in two years (2018-19 and 2019-20) in three replications and as a split-plot in a randomized complete block design. The main plots include pure nitrogen at four levels, i.e., 0 (control), 46, 92, and 138 kg/ha of nitrogen from urea fertilizer source), and the subplots are planting density at six levels (150, 225, 300, 375, 450, and 525 seed/m2). The remobilization photosynthetic assimilate separately from leaves, main stem (without leaves), and seedless spike components are examined to study the process of photosynthetic material transfer to seed. Results show that there has been significant differences among planting density, nitrogen fertilizer, and interaction of planting density× fertilizer treatments in terms of grain nitrogen percentage and remobilization traits of wheat. The highest percentage of grain nitrogen (1.87%) has been obtained in the treatment of 138 kg/ha nitrogen and 450 seed/m2. In the first year, the highest remobilization from the plant is observed in the treatment of 92 kg/ha nitrogen and 375 seeds/m2 (0.528 gr/plant), and in the second year, in the control, the highest remobilization is observed in the planting density of 300 seeds/m2 (0.345 gr/plant), and then with increasing planting density, the remobilization from the plant is reduced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to investigate the role of ASN3-encoded asparagine synthetase (AS, EC 6.3.5.4) during vegetative growth, seed development and germination of Arabidopsis thaliana. Phenotypic analysis of knockout (asn3-1) and knockdown (asn3-2) T-DNA insertion mutants for the ASN3 gene (At5g10240) demonstrated wild-type contents of asparagine synthetase protein, chlorophyll and ammonium in green leaves at 35 days after sowing. In situ hybridization localized ASN3 mRNA to phloem companion cells of vasculature. Young siliques of the asn3-1 knockout line showed a decrease in asparagine but an increase in glutamate. The seeds of asn3-1 and asn3-2 displayed a wild-type nitrogen status expressed as total nitrogen content, indicating that the repression of ASN3 expression had only a limited effect on mature seeds. An analysis of amino acid labeling of seeds imbibed with (15N) ammonium for 24 h revealed that asn3-1 seeds contained 20% less total asparagine while 15N-labeled asparagine ((2-15N)asparagine, (4-15N)asparagine and (2,4-15N)asparagine) increased by 12% compared to wild-type seeds. The data indicate a fine regulation of asparagine synthesis and hydrolysis in Arabidopsis seeds.

Summary • Reproductive traits are key characteristics for predicting the response of communities and ecosystems to global change. • We used meta-analysis to integrate data on eight reproductive traits from 159 CO 2 enrichment papers that provided information on 79 species. • Across all species, CO 2 enrichment (500–800 µl l -1 ) resulted in more flowers (+19%), more fruits (+18%), more seeds (+16%), greater individual seed mass (+4%), greater total seed mass (+25%), and lower seed nitrogen concentration, (N) (-14%). Crops and undomesticated (wild) species did not differ in total mass response to elevated CO 2 (+31%), but crops allocated more mass to reproduction and produced more fruits (+28% vs +4%) and seeds (+21% vs +4%) than did wild species when grown at high CO 2 . Seed [N] was not affected by high CO 2 concentrations in legumes, but declined significantly in most nonlegumes. • Our results provide robust estimates of average plant reproductive responses to CO 2 enrichment and demonstrate important differences among individual taxa and among functional groups. In particular, crops were more responsive to elevated CO 2 than were wild species. These differences and the substantial decline in seed [N] in many species have broad implications for the functioning of future natural and agro-ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary • Senna obtusifolia (sicklepod) is a troublesome weed in many agronomic cropping systems in the southeastern USA with varying fertility regimes. This series of experiments was initiated to determine the impact of nutrient availability on reproductive output and maternal effects. • Experiments were conducted with plants growing in soil in growth chambers for 120 d. Offspring growth was evaluated in hydroponics. • Plants grown under higher nutrient conditions had greater reproductive biomass, number of seeds and total seed biomass. Individual seed mass distributions were slightly affected, with negative skewness decreased at higher nutrition. Seed germination rates were influenced primarily by seed size, as small seeds germinated faster than large seeds. The nitrogen content of seeds increased with increasing seed size and was higher in the high nutrition treatment. Seedlings arising from maternal plants grown under high nutrition grew more rapidly than did seedlings arising from maternal plants grown in a low nutrient regime. • The results suggest that S. obtusifolia reproduction and offspring competitiveness can be strongly influenced by the fertilization regimes used in different agronomic crops and rotations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Arabidopsis L-type Amino Acid Transporter-5 (LAT5; At3g19553) was recently studied for its role in developmental responses such as flowering and senescence, under an assumption that it is a polyamine uptake transporter (PUT5). The LATs in Arabidopsis have a wide range of substrates, including amino acids and polyamines. This report extensively studied the organ and tissue-specific expression of the LAT5/PUT5 and investigated its role in mediating amino acid transport. Organ-specific quantitative RT-PCR detected LAT5/PUT5 transcripts in all organs with a relatively higher abundance in the leaves. Tissue-specific expression analysis identified GUS activity in the phloem under the LAT5/PUT5 promoter. In silico analysis identified both amino acid transporter and antiporter domains conserved in the LAT5/PUT5 protein. The physiological role of the LAT5/PUT5 was studied through analyzing a mutant line, lat5-1, under various growth conditions. The mutant lat5-1 seedlings showed increased sensitivity to exogenous leucine in Murashige and Skoog growth medium. In soil, the lat5-1 showed reduced leaf growth and altered nitrogen content in the seeds. In planta radio-labelled leucine uptake studies showed increased accumulation of leucine in the lat5-1 plants compared to the wild type when treated in the dark prior to the isotopic feeding. These studies suggest that LAT5/PUT5 plays a role in mediating amino acid transport. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]