David W. Fujino

Changes in ethylene production and 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid content of pollinated carnation flowers

Pollination of flowers of standard carnation (Dianthus caryophyllus L. cv. White Sim) with pollen from flowers of miniature carnations (D. caryophyllus L. cv. Exquisite) caused them to wilt irreversibly within 1 to 2 days. Pollination stimulated a sequential increase in ethylene production by stigmas, ovaries, receptacles, and petals of the flowers. The ACC content of the stigmas increased rapidly in the first few hours after pollination. The possibility that subsequent production of ethylene by other parts of the flower is stimulated by translocated ACC is discussed. Ethylene production and ACC content of other parts of the flower reached their maximum 24 h after pollination. The petal tissues contributed the bulk of the ethylene productionper flower thereafter. There appears to be a qualitative difference between the enzyme in the stigmas converting ACC to ethylene and that in other parts of the flower.

1-aminocyclopropane-l-carboxylic acid (ACC)—The transmitted stimulus in pollinated flowers?

Ethylene production and senescence of petals of pollinated carnation flowers were not prevented by removal of the ethylene produced by the gynoecium, suggesting that these events are a response to movement from the gynoecium of some stimulus other than ethylene gas. Application of 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) to the stigmas caused an initial increase in gynoecium and petal ethylene production similar to that reported for pollinated flowers. This response was not seen in flowers whose stigmas were treated with indoleacetic acid (IAA). When [2-14C]ACC was applied to the stigmas of carnation flowers, radioactive ethylene was produced both by the gynoecia and by the petals. The possibility that ACC, transported from the stigmas to the petals, is responsible for the postpollination changes in carnation flowers is discussed.

Ineffectiveness of ethylene biosynthetic and action inhibitors in phenotypically reverting theEpinastic mutant of Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum mill.)

Five-day-old, dark-grown seedlings of theEpinastic (Epi) tomato mutant (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) and its parent, cultivar VFN8, were used as a system for assessing the role of ethylene in theEpi phenotype. The distinguishing features ofEpi seedlings are an increase in hypocotyl diameter and reduced hypocotyl length. Treatment of VFN8 seedlings with 0.5 μl/liter ethylene closely mimicked theEpi phenotype. The rate of ethylene production by 5-day-old, dark-grownEpi seedlings was double that of VFN8 seedlings. Nevertheless, treatment ofEpi seedlings with inhibitors of ethylene biosynthesis (aminoethoxyvinylglycine or Co2+) or ethylene action (silver thiosulfate or norbornadiene) failed to normalize theEpi phenotype.Epi seedlings grown in sealed jars containing ethylene and CO2 adsorbants also expressed the characteristicEpi phenotype. The results indicate that the physiological lesion resulting from theEpi gene mutation is not simply an overproduction of ethylene.

Factors affecting the vase life of fronds of maidenhair fern

Abstract Cut fronds of maidenhair fern ( Adiantum raddianum ), which last only 3 days in DI water, were used as a model system to study factors affecting the vase life of cut greens. Solutions containing 25 mg 1 −1 Ag + increased vase life 5-fold. Other biocides (8-hydroxyquinoline citrate, a quaternary ammonium compound, or 8-hydroxyquinoline citrate + NaOCl) had little effect on vase life, while inhibitors of ethylene (C 2 H 4 ) production (Co 2+ , aminooxyacetic acid) increased vase life. Wound C 2 H 4 production by the cut ends of the stipes declined during the first 2 h after cutting. The hypothesis that this C 2 H 4 is the cause of the brief vase life of maidenhair fern is discussed.

IDENTIFICATION OF VASCULAR BLOCKAGES IN RACHIDES OF CUT MAIDENHAIR (ADIANTUM RADDIANUM) FRONDS

Fujino, D.W., Reid, M.S. and VanderMolen, G.E., 1983. Identification of vascular blockages in rachides of cut Maidenhair (Adiantum raddianum) fronds. Scientia Hortic., 21 : 381--388. Segments were excised from the base of rachides of Maidenhair fern that had been held in either deionized water (control) or 25 p.p.m. AgNO 3 for 2 days, and from freshly harvested fronds. Observation of transverse and longitudinal sections by light and electron microscopy indicated the presence of numerous vascular occlusions in the xylem of control fronds. These occlusions were not present in the xylem either of freshly cut fronds ol of fronds that had been maintained in a vase solution containing Ag +. The occluding material stained positively with ruthenium red, indicating a pectinaceous origin.

The development of a plant risk evaluation (PRE) tool for assessing the invasive potential of ornamental plants.

Weed Risk Assessment (WRA) methods for evaluating invasiveness in plants have evolved rapidly in the last two decades. Many WRA tools exist, but none were specifically designed to screen ornamental plants prior to being released into the environment. To be accepted as a tool to evaluate ornamental plants for the nursery industry, it is critical that a WRA tool accurately predicts non-invasiveness without falsely categorizing them as invasive. We developed a new Plant Risk Evaluation (PRE) tool for ornamental plants. The 19 questions in the final PRE tool were narrowed down from 56 original questions from existing WRA tools. We evaluated the 56 WRA questions by screening 21 known invasive and 14 known non-invasive ornamental plants. After statistically comparing the predictability of each question and the frequency the question could be answered for both invasive and non-invasive species, we eliminated questions that provided no predictive power, were irrelevant in our current model, or could not be answered reliably at a high enough percentage. We also combined many similar questions. The final 19 remaining PRE questions were further tested for accuracy using 56 additional known invasive plants and 36 known non-invasive ornamental species. The resulting evaluation demonstrated that when “needs further evaluation” classifications were not included, the accuracy of the model was 100% for both predicting invasiveness and non-invasiveness. When “needs further evaluation” classifications were included as either false positive or false negative, the model was still 93% accurate in predicting invasiveness and 97% accurate in predicting non-invasiveness, with an overall accuracy of 95%. We conclude that the PRE tool should not only provide growers with a method to accurately screen their current stock and potential new introductions, but also increase the probability of the tool being accepted for use by the industry as the basis for a nursery certification program.

HPLC methods for detection of uniconazole-P in soils and plant tissues

High-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) methods have been developed for the detection of uniconazole-P [(E)-1-(4-chlorophenyl)-4,4,-dimethyl-2-(1,2,4-triazol-1-yl)-1-penten-3-ol; XE-1019; the active ingredient in Prunit and Sumagic] in soil and plant tissue samples. Methanolic extracts of soil and plant samples were dried to the aqueous phase, the pH adjusted to 11, and partitioned against methylene chloride. The methylene chloride phases were washed with pH 11 water and then passed through C-18 solid phase extraction (SPE) columns. The soil extracts were then dried and the residues taken up in 1 ml acetonitrile of which 20 μl were injected directly onto a C-18 reverse phase analytical column for HPLC analysis. Plant tissue extracts were purified by partitioning and passing through a sequence of Florisil/C-18/Florisil SPE columns before HPLC analysis. Recovery of uniconazole-P was ∼70% from soils and ∼40% from plant tissues. Quantitative detection of 10 parts per billion (ppb) uniconazole-P in plant tissues and soil samples was feasible following these procedures. The soil cleanup procedures were also used to detect uniconazole-P in leachates collected from container-grown plants.