SHORT HYPOCOTYL UNDER BLUE1 or HAIKU2 mixepression alters canola and Arabidopsis seed development.

Canola (Brassica napus) is a widely cultivated species and provides important resources of edible vegetable oil, biodiesel production and animal feed. Seed development in Arabidopsis and canola shares a similar path: an early proliferation of endosperm to form a large seed cavity, followed by a second phase in which the embryo grows to replace the endosperm. In Arabidopsis, the seed reaches almost its final volume before the enlargement of the embryo.

Aluminium-phosphorus interactions in plants growing on acid soils: does phosphorus always alleviate aluminium toxicity?

Aluminium (Al) toxicity and phosphorus (P) deficiency are considered to be the main constraints for crop production in acid soils, which are widely distributed in tropical and subtropical regions. Conventionally, P addition is regarded as capable of alleviating Al toxicity in plants. However, this field is still rife with unsubstantiated theories, especially for different plant species growing on acid soils.

[Effects of different fertilizations on the extractable concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in aged contaminated soil].

This study was conducted with amaranth as a representative leafy vegetable to elucidate the effects of application of different fertilizers such as inorganic nitrogen and organic fertilizers, which were widely used in agricultural production, on the extractable concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in aged contaminated soil under a greenhouse incubation experiment. The results show that the extractable concentrations of phenanthrene (Phe), fluoranthene (Flt) and benzo (b) fluoranthene (BbF) decrease significantly in organic fertilizer treatments than those in inorganic nitrogen fertilizer treatments (p < 0.05).

Phosphorus enhances Al resistance in Al-resistant Lespedeza bicolor but not in Al-sensitive L. cuneata under relatively high Al stress.

Background And Aims: Aluminium (Al) toxicity and phosphorus (P) deficiency often co-exist in acidic soils and limit crop production worldwide. Lespedeza bicolor is a leguminous forage species that grows very well in infertile, acidic soils. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of Al and P interactions on growth of Lespedeza and the distributions of Al and P in two different Al-resistant species, and to explore whether P can ameliorate the toxic effect of Al in the two species.