Plant, Soil and Environment, 2013 (vol. 59), issue 5
The cell wall-bound phenolics as a biochemical indicator of soil drought resistance in winter triticaleOriginal Paper
T. Hura, K. Hura, A. Ostrowska, M. Grzesiak, K. Dziurka
Plant Soil Environ., 2013, 59(5):189-195 | DOI: 10.17221/665/2012-PSE 
The leaf dehydration was accompanied by the highest increase in the content of cell wall-bound phenolics (CPh) during heading (148.3% C; % of control) and in course of drought applied twice during propagation and flowering (130.5% C) of triticale. A statistically significant correlations were obtained only for CPh and parameters of leaf water status and chlorophyll fluorescence. An increase in the content of free phenolics (FPh) under drought conditions was only noticed during the flowering (111.4% C) of plants. Drought application exhibited most spectacular decrease in the ratio of FPh to CPh during propagation (48.5% C) and heading (58.8% C). It...
Effects of lanthanum on growth and accumulation in roots of rice seedlingsOriginal Paper
D. Liu, X. Wang, X. Zhang, Z. Gao
Plant Soil Environ., 2013, 59(5):196-200 | DOI: 10.17221/760/2012-PSE
Hormetic effects on the growth were found in the roots of rice (Oryza sativa L. cv. Shengdao 16) exposed to increasing concentrations of La3+ (0.05, 0.1, 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 mmol/L). The results indicated that La3+ promoted the growth of rice roots at 0.05 mmol/L, but inhibited the growth at 1.0 and 1.5 mmol/L La3+ after 13 days of exposure. Transmission electron microscope showed that La3+ was mainly deposited in the cell walls of the roots. In addition, the accumulation of K, Mg, Ca, Na, Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, and Mo in the roots was also affected with the exposure of different La3+ treatments....
Effects of tillage and weed management on the vertical distribution of microclimate and grain yield in a winter wheat fieldOriginal Paper
H. Han, T. Ning, Z. Li
Plant Soil Environ., 2013, 59(5):201-207 | DOI: 10.17221/766/2012-PSE
This paper presents results of a field study of the influence of tillage and weed on the vertical distribution of microclimate in the upper, middle, and deeper layers of a winter wheat population and grain yield during the 2008-2009 and 2009-2010 winter wheat growing seasons. The results showed that the microclimate of the winter wheat canopy was different among the upper, middle, and deeper layers. Illumination was higher in the upper layer of the canopy than in the middle and deeper layers; under no-tillage + weed-reserving, a greater difference was found among the 3 layers. In the upper layer, illumination was the highest and lowest under no-tillage...
Diversity of current weed vegetation on arable land in selected areas of the Czech RepublicOriginal Paper
M. Kolářová, L. Tyšer, J. Soukup
Plant Soil Environ., 2013, 59(5):208-213 | DOI: 10.17221/783/2012-PSE
This paper reports on the within-habitat (α) and on the between-habitat (β) diversity of weed vegetation on arable land in the Czech Republic, influenced by management systems, crops grown and altitude. A phytocoenological survey was conducted from 2006 to 2008 during a vegetation period using relevés that were 100 m2 in size, placed in the central part of fields. The species richness and the mean Sørensen dissimilarity were calculated. The statistically significant effects of the type of farming and altitude on species richness were recorded. The average species numbers in one relevé reached 9.17 and 21.17 in conventional...
Compost as growing media component for salt-sensitive plantsOriginal Paper
T.C.V. Do, H.W. Scherer
Plant Soil Environ., 2013, 59(5):214-220 | DOI: 10.17221/804/2012-PSE
Composting has been considerably recognized as a viable management method for solid organic wastes aimed at recycling of its end-product as a potting substrate for ornamental plants. Pelargonium and Salvia as salt-sensitive plants were grown in the mixture of compost (75, 50, 25% by volume) and additives (Hygromull, Cocofiber and SPS-standard soil type 73 with 70% peat and 30% clay). Since plants may suffer from a high salt content, thus in a further experiment compost was added as a partial substitute for peat. The results of the first pot experiment reveal that the large percentage of compost in the substrate had negative effects...
Root growth and survivorship in cow manure and compost amended soilsOriginal Paper
E. Baldi, M. Toselli
Plant Soil Environ., 2013, 59(5):221-226 | DOI: 10.17221/857/2012-PSE
The effect of the application of compost and cow manure on nectarine (Prunus persica L.) root growth and survivorship was investigated in a commercial orchard during the growing seasons 2003, 2004 and 2005. Our main objective was to determine whether compost affects root dynamics differently than cow manure. The experiment was a complete randomized block design with four replicates of two treatments: cow manure and compost applied at planting in 2001 at 10 t dry weight (DW)/ha and from 2004 at the rate of 5 t DW/ha. The compost fertilization represented a yearly rate of 120 kg N/ha, while cow manure was approximately 80 kg N/ha/year. Both...
Amelioration of salt affected soils in rice paddy system by application of organic and inorganic amendmentsOriginal Paper
M. Shaaban, M. Abid, R.A.I. Abou-Shanab
Plant Soil Environ., 2013, 59(5):227-233 | DOI: 10.17221/881/2012-PSE
Combined application of organic and inorganic amendments was known to play a significant role in improvement of soil properties. A field experiment was conducted to explore the effects of gypsum, farmyard manure and commercial humic acid application on the amelioration of salt affected (saline sodic) soil. During this study, soil pH, electrical conductivity, sodium adsorption ratio, responses of root length and rice paddy yield were examined. Application of gypsum with or without farm manure and commercial humic acid decreased soil pH (8.26%), electrical conductivity (from 6.35 dS/m to 2.65 dS/m) and sodium adsorption ratio (from 26.56 to 11.60), and...