Graduation date: 1992

The theory that fruit abscission may be the result of a reduction in metabolites available to the young fruit was addressed by this study. Shade cloth or terbacil, a photosynthetic inhibitor, were applied to limbs and whole trees to examine the influence of treatment and time of application on fruit nonstructural carbohydrates and abscission. 'Stayman' apple limbs shaded with 92% shade material from 5-15, 10-20, 15-25, 20-30, and 25-35 days after full bloom (April 22) had lower fruit retention than unshaded controls on 11 June. On 18 June, fruit diameter was greater on limbs shaded between 5-25 days after full bloom (DAFB) than on unshaded limbs. At 15, 20, 25, and 30 DAFB, fruit from limbs shaded for 10 days had lower total nonstructural carbohydrates (TNC), total sugars, and reducing sugars (% dry wt) than fruit from limbs shaded for 0 or 5 days. Terbacil (3-tert-butyl-5-chloro-6-methyluracil) was applied at 0, 50, 100, and 200 ppm to whole nine-year-old 'Redchief Delicious' apple trees at 15 DAFB. Terbacil markedly inhibited Pn; recovery occurred by 9 and 26 DAA for the 50 and 100 ppm rates, respectively. Phytotoxicity prevented the determination of Pn in the 200 ppm treated trees. Fruit dry weight, TNC, total sugars, and reducing sugars (% dry wt and mg/fruit) declined with increasing rates of terbacil. Total fruit abscission was observed 12 DAA for the 100 and 200 ppm treatments, while the 0 and 50 ppm applications retained 4.6 and 1.4 fruit per cm² limb cross sectional area (LCSA) at 35 DAA, respectively. Compared to the control, 50 ppm terbacil decreased fruit number and weight at harvest, but increased fruit weight. Terbacil at 75 ppm and 92% shade material were applied to whole, 3-year-old 'Redchief Delicious' trees at 18, 23, and 28 DAFB. Generally, fruit dry weight, total sugars, and reducing sugars were lowered by both shade and terbacil treatments. In most cases, fruit from shaded trees were lower in dry weight and measured nonstructural carbohydrates than fruit from terbacil-treated trees after 5 or 10 days of treatment. Shading for 5 or 10 days resulted in total fruit drop. Terbacil at 75 ppm resulted in 0.8 as opposed to 2.9 fruit per cm² LCSA on the controls at 54 DAFB. / M.S.

The theory that fruit abscission may be the result of a reduction in metabolites available to the young fruit was addressed by this study. Shade cloth or terbacil, a photosynthetic inhibitor, were applied to limbs and whole trees to examine the influence of treatment and time of application on fruit nonstructural carbohydrates and abscission. 'Stayman' apple limbs shaded with 92% shade material from 5-15, 10-20, 15-25, 20-30, and 25-35 days after full bloom (April 22) had lower fruit retention than unshaded controls on 11 June. On 18 June, fruit diameter was greater on limbs shaded between 5-25 days after full bloom (DAFB) than on unshaded limbs. At 15, 20, 25, and 30 DAFB, fruit from limbs shaded for 10 days had lower total nonstructural carbohydrates (TNC), total sugars, and reducing sugars (% dry wt) than fruit from limbs shaded for 0 or 5 days. Terbacil (3-tert-butyl-5-chloro-6-methyluracil) was applied at 0, 50, 100, and 200 ppm to whole nine-year-old 'Redchief Delicious' apple trees at 15 DAFB. Terbacil markedly inhibited Pn; recovery occurred by 9 and 26 DAA for the 50 and 100 ppm rates, respectively. Phytotoxicity prevented the determination of Pn in the 200 ppm treated trees. Fruit dry weight, TNC, total sugars, and reducing sugars (% dry wt and mg/fruit) declined with increasing rates of terbacil. Total fruit abscission was observed 12 DAA for the 100 and 200 ppm treatments, while the 0 and 50 ppm applications retained 4.6 and 1.4 fruit per cm² limb cross sectional area (LCSA) at 35 DAA, respectively. Compared to the control, 50 ppm terbacil decreased fruit number and weight at harvest, but increased fruit weight. Terbacil at 75 ppm and 92% shade material were applied to whole, 3-year-old 'Redchief Delicious' trees at 18, 23, and 28 DAFB. Generally, fruit dry weight, total sugars, and reducing sugars were lowered by both shade and terbacil treatments. In most cases, fruit from shaded trees were lower in dry weight and measured nonstructural carbohydrates than fruit from terbacil-treated trees after 5 or 10 days of treatment. Shading for 5 or 10 days resulted in total fruit drop. Terbacil at 75 ppm resulted in 0.8 as opposed to 2.9 fruit per cm² LCSA on the controls at 54 DAFB. / M.S.

Thesis (MScAgric (Horticulture))--University of Stellenbosch, 2007. / The production of high quality fruit that meet international standards is of vital importance to the South African fruit industry. Detrimental climatic conditions are forcing producers to examine alternate production methods. In this study the effect of protective netting on apple tree (Malus domestica) physiology, microclimate and fruit quality was investigated to determine the potential of apple production under netting in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. The influence of 20% black shade netting on the photosynthetically photon flux density, leaf and fruit surface as well as air temperature was measured on four blush apple cultivars over a two year period in the Koue Bokkeveld area, in the Western Cape, South Africa. Measurements were also taken on leaf gas exchange, including net CO2 assimilation rate under ambient and saturating CO2 conditions, stomatal conductance, and transpiration rate. A decrease in light conditions of 22 - 31% was measured under black netting thus reducing the amount of light available to the plant significantly. Leaves under the netting were cooler by 1.7 – 3.9°C on a milder day (11 January 2005) and by 4.3 – 6.2°C on a hot day (28 February 2005) than control leaves. Fruit surface temperature under the netting was cooler by 0.7 - 2.9°C on milder days, and by 4.0 - 5.3°C on a hot day (28 February 2005) than control fruit. Significant increases in CO2 assimilation, stomatal conductance and transpiration were found under the netting. Netted treatments also showed a lower leaf vapour pressure deficit and tended to be less water stressed having higher leaf water potential than the control treatments. Differences in leaf nitrogen were not significant between treatments except for ‘Cripps’ Pink’ where non netted treatments had higher leaf nitrogen levels than the netted treatments during the 2004 season. Heat tolerance and the ability to recover after exposure to different temperatures for different lengths of time, was evaluated for the same four blush apple cultivars grown under protective netting. The results showed that fruit taken from the netted treatments had a higher incidence of injury based on chlorophyll fluorescence measurements, and did not recover well at temperatures higher than 45°C. The higher tolerance of the non-netted fruit at 45°C could be due to better acclimation to high light and heat levels than the fruit from the netted treatment. Fruit quality of ‘Royal Gala’, ‘Fuji’, Cripps’ Pink’ and ‘Braeburn’ was evaluated for netted and non-netted treatments as well as between five different crop loads as sun-treatments. It was found that cultivars reacted differently to the altered microclimate under the netting. Significant interaction between net and crop load treatments was found for fruit mass of ‘Royal Gala’ and ‘Fuji’. Fruit mass declined more rapidly with increased crop load under nets than in the open. The net treatment reduced sunburn significantly in all the cultivars except ‘Cripps’ Pink’. Ground colour was found to be positively influenced by netting on ‘Braeburn’ and during 2005 on ‘Royal Gala’. Blush colour was reduced under the netting for ‘Braeburn’ and ‘Fuji’ and unaffected for ‘Royal Gala’ and ‘Cripps’ Pink’. Fruit firmness, total soluble solids and titratable acidity, were reduced under nets for most of the cultivars. Netting thus seems to have a positive effect in reducing sunburn damage but a varying effect on other fruit quality parameters, which seem to be cultivar specific. The influence of black protective netting on vegetative growth was determined by measuring total prunings and trunk circumference. Reproductive bud development analysis was also done. An increase was found in summer prunings for ‘Fuji’ and ‘Cripps’ Pink’ which was most likely due to the topping of the trees to prevent them from growing into the netting. Seasonal trunk growth was affected significantly for ‘Braeburn’ with a higher percentage recorded under the netting. Reproductive bud development was higher for the netted treatments and on trees with lower crop loads. Photosynthetic photon flux density was reduced significantly in a ‘Granny Smith’ orchard at harvest by black, blue and grey type netting. Sunburn was significantly reduced under the black and blue netting. Fruit mass was higher under the netted treatments during the second season of measurements. Firmness and total soluble solids were lower under the netting. Blush colour was found to be significantly lower under the black netting. Seed viability, ground colour, titratable acidity, starch breakdown, stem end russet and the occurrence of Fusicladium pyrorum damage was unaffected by the netting.

Orientador: Ciro Antonio Rosolem / Banca: Marcelo de Almeida Silva / Banca: Fábio Rafael Echer / Banca: Ederaldo José Chiavegato / Banca: Julio Cesar Bogiani / Resumo: A limitação de luz reduz a produtividade do algodoeiro (Gossypium hirsutum L.). Não há, porém, indicações do efeito de doses de N sobre plantas nessa condição. O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar o desempenho agronômico da cultura do algodoeiro em função da adubação nitrogenada sob restrição luminosa. Quatro experimentos de campo foram conduzidos para avaliar a produtividade, os componentes de produção, a distribuição de capulhos e a qualidade da fibra durante os anos de 2016 e 2017 no Brasil: Primavera do Leste/MT (I); Itapeva/SP, em áreas não irrigada (II) e irrigada (III); e Chapadão do Sul/MS (IV). Nos experimentos III e IV, estudou-se também a precocidade das plantas a partir da distribuição da produção de capulhos segundo a escala fenológica. Em todos os experimentos, sombreamento foi imposto no início do florescimento, mantendo-se uma tela de cor preta (42% de redução de radiação global) sobre as plantas por um período entre 16 e 25 dias dependendo do experimento; e foram realizadas duas adubações de N em cobertura, uma durante a fase dos primeiros botões florais e outra no início do florescimento. Nos experimentos I, II e III, testaram-se as doses de N em cobertura de 0, 60, 120 e 180 kg ha-1 em combinação com presença ou ausência de sombreamento, em delineamento de blocos ao acaso em esquema fatorial 2 x 4. No experimento IV, os cultivares FM 983 GLT (de ciclo tardio) e EB 1405 GLT (de ciclo precoce) foram testados nas doses de N em cobertura de 0, 80 e 160 kg ha-1... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: Light limitation decreases cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) yield. However, there are no reports of N fertilization effects on cotton plants under these conditions. The objective of this work was to evaluate the agronomic performance of the cotton crop as a function of N rates under light restriction. Four experiments were conducted in Brazil in 2016 and 2017 seasons: Primavera do Leste/MT (I); Itapeva/SP, in non-irrigated (II) and irrigated (III) areas; and Chapadão do Sul/MS (IV). In experiments III and IV, crop earliness was also studied from boll distribution data according to the phenological scale. In all experiments, shading was imposed at the early flowering phase by placing a black shade fabric (42% reduction in global radiation) on plant‟s canopy for a period ranging from 16 to 25 days, depending on the experiment; and two topdressing N applications were made, the first at early squaring and the second at early flowering. In experiments I, II and III, N rates of 0, 60, 120 and 180 kg ha-1 in combination with or without shading were tested in complete randomized blocks arranged in a 2 x 4 factorial scheme. In experiment IV, the cultivars FM 983 GLT (late-cycle) and EB 1405 GLT (early-cycle) were subjected to N topdressing rates of 0, 80 and 160 kg N ha-1, with or without shading, in complete randomized blocks arranged in a 2 x 3 x 2 factorial scheme. Shading decreased lint yield by 10.1 and 11.6% in experiments I and IV, as a result of the reduction in boll number at the lower third of the plant by 24.0 and 31.8%, respectively. In experiment II, shading had no effects on lint yield and boll distribution. In experiment III, the plants were highly responsive to N, and the shade treatment reduced the number of bolls at the lower fruiting branches by 18.6%, but the respective effect in reducing lint yield was only verified at 0 kg N ha-1, by 10.0%. Shading affected the average boll weight only ... / Doutor

Land use practices and exposure to low impact disturbances associated with an urban environment can alter forest structure and function. Past and ongoing research in Forest Park, a large urban forest in Portland, Oregon, suggests that mature mixed Douglas-fir (Psuedotsuga meziesii)-hardwood stands in the more urban end of the park lack a shade-tolerant conifer understory composed of the late successional conifer tree species, such western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla) and western red-cedar (Thuja plicata). 5-year plot remeasurement data that characterizes productivity and mortality patterns did not show a strong relationship to urban proximity. Plot productivity was generally consistent with values taken from studies of other similarly aged (~100 years old) Douglas-fir /Western Hemlock stands. Mortality was highest in rural plots, and was driven by large windthrow events to canopy trees. Soil organic matter, soil pH, and depth of organic horizon indicated a legacy of soil impact in urban areas most impacted by past intensive logging. The urban mature plot had higher mean soil pH at site (5.87, se: ±0.06) compared to a rural mature, and old growth reference sites located within the park. Although surface organic and A layer soil horizon depth was thinnest at the urban mature site, soil organic matter was not found to be significantly different across sites. Light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data showed that old-growth plots and plots in the middle section of the park had the highest degree of canopy structure as measured by Rumple and standard deviation of point elevation. Measures of stand height showed OG plots and urban plots to have the tallest trees. Rural plots showed a high degree of variability in all LiDAR metrics, showing a wider range of stand height and complexity than urban and middle plots. These results suggest that past land-use and urban proximity affect plot level productivity, soil quality, and above-ground canopy structure in Forest Park. These results clarify how the lack of late-successional tree species might be most linked to differing histories of intensive logging activity within the park. Reduced old-growth legacy features (remnant seed trees, coarse woody debris) in plots with a clear history of aggressive clear-cuts has led to a reduction in regeneration of western hemlock and western red-cedar in the understory.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-03-26T13:55:25Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 texto completo.pdf: 2542048 bytes, checksum: 3cd501c8888bc3e0615e6d266c9926f1 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-07-16 / Studies on the grazing of forage in full sun enabled management to set goals for input and output of animals in rotational stocking, but there is no information available in the literature for interruption of regrowth in silvopastoral systems. In the face of no related to the management of grazing forage in silvopastoral systems studies, we proposed this experiment in order to determine goals of pre-grazing based on the interception of photosynthetically active radiation in Brachiaria decumbens in a silvopastoral system and monoculture for define strategies for grazing management in rotational stocking method. The experiment was conducted at the Federal University of Viçosa in an area belonging to the Department of Animal Science, Viçosa, Minas Gerais, during the period October 2013 to March 2014. The treatments consisted of four combinations of grazing frequencies based on the interception of photosynthetically active radiation (85, 90, 95 and 100%) and two production systems (monoculture and silvopastoral) in a factorial arrangement 4x2. Experimental design used was randomized complete block design with two blocks and two replicates per block. The variables height, number of cycles and range grazing, light interception by the canopy, leaf area index, mass removal and accumulation of forage and morphological components in the pre and post- grazing tiller density were evaluated provided pre-grazing. The pre-grazing heights were higher in all the targets studied in a silvopastoral system. Treatments of 90% IL showed greater number of grazing cycles and lower range of grazing compared to 95% of IL and 100% in monoculture and silvopastoral system treatments. The greater accumulation of total dry matter (16.698,8 kg ha-1 DM) was observed in 95% target of IL monoculture, as observed for the accumulation of leaf blades. Silvopastoral system in the greater accumulation of total dry matter was observed in 95% target IL (12.482,6 kg ha-1 DM). The monoculture showed higher accumulation of leaf blades in relation to silvopastoral system. The accumulation of leaf blades was lower in the 100% IL in both systems due to the increased participation of stems of forage mass treatments. In treating 100% greater increase in IL senescent forage on targets of 90% and 95% IL occurred. The monoculture showed more senescent forage that the silvopastoral system. The goals of 90 and 95% IL enabled greater tiller density than the target of 100% of IL. However, the management goals did not influence tiller density in a silvopastoral system. Monoculture provided higher tiller density than the silvopastoral system. Due to the high accumulation of total dry matter, leaf blades and greater efficiency attributed to greater removal of grazing forage pastures of Brachiaria grass should be grazed at 95% of IL in a silvopastoral system (height 40 cm) and monoculture (height 20 cm) in pre-grazing on the method of blending intermittently during the growth of the grass. / Estudos sobre manejo do pastejo das forrageiras em pleno sol possibilitaram definir metas para entrada e saída dos animais, em lotação intermitente, mas ainda não há informações disponíveis na literatura para interrupção da rebrotação em sistemas silvipastoris. Em face de não haver estudos relacionados ao manejo de forrageiras sob pastejo em sistemas silvipastoris, foi proposto este experimento com objetivo de determinar metas de pré-pastejo com base na interceptação da radiação fotossinteticamente ativa em pastos de Brachiaria decumbens em sistema silvipastoril e monocultivo, para definir estratégias de manejo do pastejo no método de lotação intermitente. O experimento foi conduzido na Universidade Federal de Viçosa em uma área pertencente ao Departamento de Zootecnia, Viçosa, Minas Gerais, durante o período de outubro de 2013 a março de 2014. Os tratamentos foram constituídos combinações entre quatro frequências de pastejos com base na interceptação da radiação fotossinteticamente ativa (85, 90, 95 e 100%) e dois sistemas de produção (monocultivo e silvipastoril), constituindo um arranjo fatorial 4x2. Foi utilizado delineamento experimental em blocos completos ao acaso, com dois blocos e duas repetições por bloco. Foram avaliadas as variáveis altura, número de ciclos e intervalo de pastejos, interceptação de luz pelo dossel forrageiro, índice de área da folhagem, massa, remoção e acúmulo de forragem e componentes morfológicos nas condições de pré e pós-pastejo, densidade populacional de perfilhos na condição de pré-pastejo. As alturas pré- pastejo foram maiores em todas as metas estudadas em sistema silvipastoril. Os tratamentos de 90% de IL apresentaram maior número de ciclos de pastejo e menor intervalo de pastejos em relação aos tratamentos de 95% de IL e 100% em monocultivo e sistema silvipastoril. O maior acúmulo de matéria seca total (16.698,8 kg ha-1 MS) foi observado na meta de 95% de IL em monocultivo, assim como observado para o acúmulo de lâminas foliares. No sistema silvipastoril o maior acúmulo de matéria seca total foi observado na meta de 95% de IL (12.482,6 kg ha-1 MS). O monocultivo apresentou maior acúmulo de lâminas foliares em relação ao sistema silvipastoril. O acúmulo de lâminas foliares foi menor nos tratamentos de 100% de IL em ambos sistemas em virtude da maior participação de colmos na massa de forragem. No tratamento de 100% de IL ocorreu maior incremento de forragem senescente em relação às metas de 90% e 95% de IL. O monocultivo apresentou maior quantidade de forragem senescente que o sistema silvipastoril. As metas de 90 e 95% de IL possibilitaram maior densidade populacional de perfilhos que na meta de 100% de IL. Contudo, as metas de manejo não influenciaram a densidade populacional de perfilhos no sistema silvipastoril. O monocultivo proporcionou maior densidade populacional de perfilhos que o sistema silvipastoril. Em função dos elevados acúmulos de matéria seca total, lâminas foliares e maior eficiência de pastejo atribuída a maior remoção de forragem, os pastos de capim-braquiária devem ser manejados com 95% de IL em sistema silvipastoril (altura de 40 cm) e em monocultivo (altura de 20 cm) em pré- pastejo no método de lotação intermitente durante o período de crescimento da forrageira.