No description available.

No description available.

N-transfer from legume to grass when the two were intercropped in the field and the mechanisms of this transfer were studied. Studies involving either alfalfa-grasses or soybean-corn intercrops, were undertaken. Mycorrhizal and P-supplemented (to compensate for the lack of mycorrhizae) intercrops were compared. In these studies, the legume component of intercrops was labelled with $ sp{15}$N and any excess of the label was looked for in the associated grass plants. / There was no reversal of N transport at the legume-fungus interface. N-transfer from legume to grass must therefore, proceed via excretion of N by legume roots and subsequent uptake by grass roots. Soil microorganisms and proximity of plant root systems are important factors affecting N-transfer. Mycorrhizae enhance the transfer by increasing the absorptive efficiency of the receiver plants. / Mycorrhizal fungi enhance the competitiveness of the most mycotrophic component of the mixtures by either improving P uptake or the general nutrient balance of the plant. Mycorrhizal inoculation can decrease the level of P competition between corn and soybean by increasing the availability of P. / The observation that mycorrhizal plants differ in many regards from P-supplemented plants, emphasize the generally poor comprehension of the mycorrhizal symbiosis.

Significant phylogenetic codivergence between plant or animal hosts (H) and their symbionts or parasites (P) indicate the importance of their interactions on evolutionary time scales. However, valid and realistic methods to test for codivergence are not fully developed. One of the systems where possible codivergence has been of interest involves the large subfamily of temperate grasses (Pooideae) and their endophytic fungi (epichloae). Here we introduce the MRCALink (most-recent-common-ancestor link) method and use it to investigate the possibility of grass-epichloё codivergence. MRCALink applied to ultrametric H and P trees identifies all corresponding nodes for pairwise comparisons of MRCA ages. The result is compared to the space of random H and Ptree pairs estimated by a Monte Carlo method. Compared to tree reconciliation the method is less dependent on tree topologies (which often can be misleading), and it crucially improves on phylogeny-independent methods such as ParaFit or the Mantel test by eliminating an extreme (but previously unrecognized) distortion of node-pair sampling. Analysis of 26 grass species-epichloё species symbioses did not reject random association of H and P MRCA ages. However, when five obvious host jumps were removed the analysis significantly rejected random association and supported grass-endophyte codivergence. Interestingly, early cladogenesis events in the Pooideae corresponded to early cladogenesis events in epichloae, suggesting concomitant origins of this grass subfamily and its remarkable group of symbionts.

The aim of this study was to maximize good quality grass silage utilization either by supplying a source of rumen undegradable protein or by a reduction of the concentrate in the diet. A randomized incomplete block design was used to evaluate feed intake, milk production and health incidence occurring in fifty-nine Holstein dairy cow (11 primiparous) distributed randomly to receive three different diets between wk 4 and 24 of lactation. The diets were composed of grass silage (predominance of timothy) offered ad libitum supplemented either with a mixture of cereal grains (wheat:barley 50:50) at 100% of recommendations plus soybean meal (Trt 1), or fish meal (Trt 2), or with cereal grains at 75% of recommendations plus fish meal (Trt 3). The grass silage was harvested at an approximate chop length of 8--10 cm, averaged 37.1% DM and was stored in heap silos. / Finally, an economic evaluation of the treatments was done using milk income, feed cost, health cost, and net income. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

Typescript. / Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 1978. / Bibliography: leaves 198-212. / Microfiche. / xviii, 212 leaves ill. (some col.)

The concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere has increased by 35% since pre-industrial levels. Projections for the next 100 years indicate an increase to levels between 490 and 1260 parts per million by volume (ppm) of CO2, equating to a 75 % to 350 % increase in concentration since the year 1750. Associated with this increase in [CO2] will be a 1.4 to 5.8?? C increase in lower atmospheric temperature. While past research has attempted to address the effects of such climatic changes on individual plant responses, predictions of plant responses at the ecosystem level are still highly uncertain. Difficulties lie in the enormous variation of plant responses to climate change variables among and within species, and between and within environmental conditions. Past research assumed that plants using either the C3 or C4 metabolic pathways would respond differently but predictably to climate-change variables based on their metabolic pathway. Recent evidence has suggested however, that the added interactions of external environmental variables and species-specific sensitivities to climate change make it difficult to predict plant and ecosystem responses to climate change. To investigate the mechanisms behind responses of Australian grasses to climate change, 2 pot experiments was conducted using growth cabinets to compare the effect of elevated CO2 and water-limitation on the invasive C4 grassland plant, Eragrostis curvula (E. curvula), native Australian C3 grassland plant, Austrodanthonia racemosa (A. racemosa), and wheat species, Triticum aestivum (T. aestivum). The experiment was run at ambient levels of CO2 maintained at 390 ppm compared to elevated levels of 740 ppm. Imposed restrictions to water supply consisted of gradually drying the soil down to 30 % available soil water (ASW) followed by re-wetting to 50 % ASW. Well-watered conditions for the experiment consisted of gradually drying the soil down to 50 % ASW, followed by rewetting to 95 % ASW. Plants were grown in mixtures and monocultures, consisting of 9 plants equally spaced in a grid design. The three significant findings of the thesis were that: 1) the metabolic pathway (C3 versus C4) was not always an accurate predictor of biomass accumulation under elevated CO2 in the plants studied. Previous research suggested that CO2-stimulation of photosynthesis in C3 plants would lead to greater increases in biomass under elevated CO2 compared to C4 plants, though both C3 and C4 plants could benefit from any reduction in stomatal conductance under dry conditions at elevated CO2. The results from the experiments in this thesis showed a strongly significant biomass response to elevated CO2 in both dry and wet conditions for C4 grass E. curvula. The C3 grass A. racemosa in dry conditions, did not. It was speculated that without the CO2-induced water conservation effect, the C3 grass experienced photosynthetic down-regulation and this precluded a positive biomass response under elevated CO2. 2) the magnitude and direction of biomass response to elevated CO2 was dependant on factors such as resource-availability and the phenotypic variability of the plants species. 3) critical analysis of results from this thesis, combined with past research on plant responses under elevated CO2 showed a tendency for researchers to repeatedly test plants from the Poaceae family, or close relatives of the Poaceae family. As a result, when past data were corrected for this lack of independence, there was no relationship between the evolution of the C3 and C4 metabolic pathway and biomass response to elevated CO2. Instead, other factors (such as growth rate, plant height, leaf number, etc) were presented as being more important in determining biomass response. These observations were supported by results found in this thesis.

Thesis (M.S. - Renewable Natural Resources)--University of Arizona. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.Sc.)--York University, 2006. Graduate Programme in Biology. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 76-81). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&res_dat=xri:pqdiss&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:MR19648

Thesis (M. Agr. Sc.) -- Lincoln University, 2008. / Also available via the World Wide Web.