Current Understanding of the Interplay between Phytohormones and Photosynthesis under Environmental Stress

Abiotic stress accounts for huge crop losses every year across the globe. In plants, the photosynthetic machinery gets severely damaged at various levels due to adverse environmental conditions. Moreover, the reactive oxygen species (ROS) generated as a result of stress further promote the photosynthetic damage by inhibiting the repair system of photosystem II. Earlier studies have suggested that phytohormones are not only required for plant growth and development, but they also play a pivotal role in regulating plants’ responses to different abiotic stress conditions. Although, phytohormones have been studied in great detail in the past, their influence on the photosynthetic machinery under abiotic stress has not been studied. One of the major factors that limits researchers fromelucidating the precise roles of phytohormones is the highly complex nature of hormonal crosstalk in plants. Another factor that needs to be elucidated is the method used for assessing photosynthetic damage in plants that are subjected to abiotic stress. Here, we review the current understanding on the role of phytohormones in the photosynthetic machinery under various abiotic stress conditions and discuss the potential areas for further research.     

不同钾水平对白菜产量和钾肥效率的影响

采用田间试验研究了不同钾水平对白菜产量、养分吸收量和钾肥利用效率的影响。结果表明,不同钾水平(K1、K2和K3)均能显著提高白菜产量,增产率为5.5%~12.8%;不同钾水平处理白菜全钾吸收量均显著提高,增幅为16.2%~30.3%;不同钾水平处理钾肥偏生产力、钾肥农学效率和钾肥利用率随施钾量的增加显著降低,均以K1处理最大,K2次之。本试验条件下,白菜产量、养分吸收量和钾肥利用效率均较优的处理为K2(300-90-150)处理。     

Fertilizer requirements for specified yield targets. I. Theoretical derivation of mathematical models for the computation of soil and fertilizer nutrient efficiencies

The conventional deduction procedure of computation of soil () and fertilizer () nutrient efficiencies for the amount of fertilizer required for specified yield targets does not make provision of the amount of soil nutrient derived by crops from the available pool of soil nutrients not accounted for in the amount extracted by a soil test procedure. The derivation of two mathematical models, viz., Tamil Nadu Agricultural University Model I [TNAU Model I] and Model II [TNAU Model II] is reported in this paper which aim at computing the soil () and fertilizer () nutrient efficiencies not accounted for by the conventional method.In the case of TNAU Model I, the relationship between the nutrient uptake (U) and the soil (S) and the fertilizer (F) nutrients was established by assuming a functional relationship of the type U =S +F such that 0 1 and 0 1. In TNAU Model II the same relationship was established as U =S +F + such that 0 1, 0 1 and > 0. The term in the latter model is a measure of the amount of soil nutrient the crop absorbs from a slowly available pool of nutrients not accounted for in the amounts extracted by the soil test procedure employed or applied through fertilizer.The field verification of these models is reported elsewhere.     

间作制度的土壤养分变化及生态、经济效益

间作是我国普遍使用的一种栽培制度,从土壤养分、生态效益和经济效益3个方面介绍间作的优势及一些不足,旨在为更好地合理安排间作提供参考与指导。     

超级稻超高产栽培施肥技术的研究与应用

根据超级稻超高产栽培的营养需求设计了一套营养套餐施肥技术方案.通过五年来的推广应用实践,证明这套施肥技术切实可行,肥效显著,能实现超级稻超高产的栽培目标.     

Investigation on the use of macro- and micro-nutrients to improve maize yield in South Western Nigeria

Investigation into the use of macro- and micro-nutrients to increase maize yield was conducted in both the glasshouse and in the field. The glasshouse studies involved ten soil series commonly cultivated to maize in South Western Nigeria, while the field studies were conducted on one soil at Ibadan.Dry matter yield increased above the control with a single application of N, P, K, Ca, Mg, Fe, Cu, Zn and Mn, suggesting that most of the soils in the South Western Nigeria require additions of each of these elements for increased maize production. The size of the response to each element varied from series to series. Soils which were high in organic matter (over 3%) required the lowest N dressings for optimum dry matter yield of maize.In the field studies, a fertilizer combination which included N, P, K, Mg and the micro nutrients Fe, Cu and Zn gave a higher relative yield than the single application of N, P, K, and a combination of NP, NK, Pk or NPK.In the South West Zone of Nigeria, there is no soil testing programme and fertilizers applied by farmers and researchers have not increased yields as expected. Average maize yield on farmers' field is less than 1000 kgha^–1 while on research stations it is 2500 kgha^–1. When compared with 7000 kgha^–1 in U.S.A., these yields are still very low.Different recommendations for the major plant nutrients have been made by many workers in the South West zone based on fertilizer trials [1, 5, 8, 13, 16].None of the recommendations have included the micronutrients and secondary nutrients and the objective of this project was to supply relevant information on this important aspect.     

Male Fertility under Environmental Stress: Do Polyamines Act as Pollen Tube Growth Protectants?

Although pollen structure and morphology evolved toward the optimization of stability and fertilization efficiency, its performance is affected by harsh environmental conditions, e.g., heat, cold, drought, pollutants, and other stressors. These phenomena are expected to increase in the coming years in relation to predicted environmental scenarios, contributing to a rapid increase in the interest of the scientific community in understanding the molecular and physiological responses implemented by male gametophyte to accomplish reproduction. Here, after a brief introduction summarizing the main events underlying pollen physiology with a focus on polyamine involvement in its development and germination, we review the main effects that environmental stresses can cause on pollen. We report the most relevant evidence in the literature underlying morphological, cytoskeletal, metabolic and signaling alterations involved in stress perception and response, focusing on the final stage of pollen life, i.e., from when it hydrates, to pollen tube growth and sperm cell transport, with these being the most sensitive to environmental changes. Finally, we hypothesize the molecular mechanisms through which polyamines, well-known molecules involved in plant development, stress response and adaptation, can exert a protective action against environmental stresses in pollen by decoding the essential steps and the intersection between polyamines and pollen tube growth mechanisms.