Thermosensitive textiles made from silver nanoparticle-filled brown cotton fibers.

Filling fibers with nanomaterials can create new functions or modify the existing properties. However, as nanocomposite formation for natural cellulosic fibers has been challenging, little information is available on how the embedded nanomaterials alter the properties of cellulosic fibers. Here we filled brown cotton fibers with silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) to examine their thermosensitive properties.

Identification of quantitative trait loci for tillering, root, and shoot biomass at the maximum tillering stage in rice.

Tillering and plant biomass are key determinants of rice crop productivity. Tillering at the vegetative stage is associated with weed competition, nutrient uptake, and methane emissions. However, little information is available on quantitative trait loci (QTLs) associated with tiller number (qTN), root biomass (qRB), and shoot biomass (qSB) at the active tillering stage which occurs approximately 6 weeks after planting.

Grain Inorganic Arsenic Content in Rice Managed Through Targeted Introgressions and Irrigation Management.

Arsenic (As) accumulation in rice grain is a significant public health concern. Inorganic As (iAs) is of particular concern because it has increased toxicity as compared to organic As. Irrigation management practices, such as alternate wetting and drying (AWD), as well as genotypic differences between cultivars, have been shown to influence As accumulation in rice grain.

Varying Atmospheric CO Mediates the Cold-Induced CBF-Dependent Signaling Pathway and Freezing Tolerance in Arabidopsis.

Changes in the stomatal aperture in response to CO levels allow plants to manage water usage, optimize CO uptake and adjust to environmental stimuli. The current study reports that sub-ambient CO up-regulated the low temperature induction of the C-repeat Binding Factor (CBF)-dependent cold signaling pathway in Arabidopsis () and the opposite occurred in response to supra-ambient CO. Accordingly, cold induction of various downstream cold-responsive genes was modified by CO treatments and expression changes were either partially or fully CBF-dependent.

Early growth phase and caffeine content response to recent and projected increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide in coffee (Coffea arabica and C. canephora).

While [CO] effects on growth and secondary chemistry are well characterized for annual plant species, little is known about perennials. Among perennials, production of Coffea arabica and C. canephora (robusta) have enormous economic importance worldwide.

Physiological and Metabolic Responses of Rice to Reduced Soil Moisture: Relationship of Water Stress Tolerance and Grain Production.

Access to adequate irrigation resources is critical for sustained agricultural production, and rice, a staple cereal grain for half of the world population, is one of the biggest users of irrigation. To reduce water use, several water saving irrigation systems have been developed for rice production, but a reliable system to evaluate cultivars for water stress tolerance is still lacking. Here, seven rice cultivars that have diverse yield potential under water stress were evaluated in a field study using four continuous irrigation regimes varying from saturation to wilting point.

Fluorescence hyperspectral imaging technique for foreign substance detection on fresh-cut lettuce.

Background: Non-destructive methods based on fluorescence hyperspectral imaging (HSI) techniques were developed to detect worms on fresh-cut lettuce. The optimal wavebands for detecting the worms were investigated using the one-way ANOVA and correlation analyses.

Results: The worm detection imaging algorithms, RSI-I , provided a prediction accuracy of 99.

Varying Response of the Concentration and Yield of Soybean Seed Mineral Elements, Carbohydrates, Organic Acids, Amino Acids, Protein, and Oil to Phosphorus Starvation and CO Enrichment.

A detailed investigation of the concentration (e.g., mg g seed) and total yield (e.

Soybean grown under elevated CO benefits more under low temperature than high temperature stress: Varying response of photosynthetic limitations, leaf metabolites, growth, and seed yield.

To evaluate the combined effect of temperature and CO on photosynthetic processes, leaf metabolites and growth, soybean was grown under a controlled environment at low (22/18°C, LT), optimum (28/24°C, OT) and high (36/32°C HT) temperatures under ambient (400μmolmol; aCO) or elevated (800μmolmol; eCO) CO concentrations during the reproductive stage. In general, the rate of photosynthesis (A), stomatal (g) and mesophyll (g) conductance, quantum yield of photosystem II, rates of maximum carboxylation (V), and electron transport (J) increased with temperature across CO levels. However, compared with OT, the percentage increases in these parameters at HT were lower than the observed decline at LT.

Combined effects of CO2 enrichment, diurnal light levels and water stress on foliar metabolites of potato plants grown in naturally sunlit controlled environment chambers.

Experiments were conducted in outdoor, naturally sunlit, soil-plant-atmosphere research (SPAR) chambers using plants grown in pots. Drought treatments were imposed on potato plants (Solanum tuberosum cv. Kennebec) beginning 10 days after tuber initiation.

Drought responses of foliar metabolites in three maize hybrids differing in water stress tolerance.

Maize (Zea mays L.) hybrids varying in drought tolerance were treated with water stress in controlled environments. Experiments were performed during vegetative growth and water was withheld for 19 days beginning 17 days after sowing.

Impact of carbon dioxide enrichment on the responses of maize leaf transcripts and metabolites to water stress.

Maize (Zea mays) was grown in indoor chambers with ambient (38 Pa) and elevated (70 Pa) CO(2) . Drought treatments were imposed 17 days after sowing by withholding nutrient solution. Decreases of soil water content, leaf water potential, net CO(2) assimilation and stomatal conductance as a result of drought were delayed approximately 2 days by CO(2) enrichment.

Timing of plant immune responses by a central circadian regulator.

The principal immune mechanism against biotrophic pathogens in plants is the resistance (R)-gene-mediated defence. It was proposed to share components with the broad-spectrum basal defence machinery. However, the underlying molecular mechanism is largely unknown.