N. C. Sarkar

Phenology of woody species: a review

An attempt has been made to synthesize a brief account on research advances on various phases of phenology. Climate has positive impact on the timing of phenology; cold-air drainage may influence the start of leaf growth, however leaf phenology in tropical evergreen forests is not determined by the seasonality of precipitation. Climate warming in late winter and spring may enhance sensitivity of the growing season’s spatial response due to the relationship of beginning date to temperature. Elevated temperature strongly influences greater in C3 plants than in C4 plants but the disadvantages of warming may be considerably attenuated by elevated CO2, especially for C3 grasses. Species with high wood densities can able to store only limited quantities of water in their trunks; leaf fall in these species occurred during the dry season. Flowering phenology may be changing faster and precipitation may play a more important role in semi-arid grasslands than in humid-temperate systems. Peak flowering and fruiting are dependent on seasons for both endemic and non-endemic species. Population sensitivity to global warming might be stable for a given species, in spite of its possible local adaptation. It might be possible for ecologists to establish comprehensive networks for long-term monitoring of potential photosynthetic capacity from regional to global scales by linking satellite-based programme. Use of satellite-derived metrics,such as VARI, may be used for evaluating the spatial patterns and temporal dynamics of species composition across broad geographic regions.

Branching Pattern and Leaf Crown Architecture of Some Tree and Shrubs in Northeast Mexico

Branching pattern and crown architecture are the important component of plant growth and development of any plant species. The leaf area and photosynthesis efficiency mainly depended on the crown architecture. There are many models developed for estimation of yield of various plant products of different species in different environments. These models are used for virtual evaluation of a plant or tree species which would otherwise take decades together to know the potential of species or cultivars. Here, the research findings in this respect pertaining to the shrubs and tree species of the North East Mexico has been reviewed. The branching habit has been classified as monopodial, simpodial and pseudomonopodial, while the crown architecture as globose and irregular.

Preliminary Evaluation of Indigenous Ricebean Landraces under Red Lateritic Belt of West Bengal, India

A field experiment on ricebean was conducted at the Agricultural Farm of the Institute of Agriculture (Palli Siksha Bhavana), Visva-Bharati, Sriniketan, West Bengal, India during July to December, 2013 to study the performance of few indigenous landraces collected from Nagaland and Mizoram states of India. The indigenous landraces collected are rhudi, rhuka, rhuwho-1, rhuwho-2, rhusie, rhujo, champhal, kolasib. They showed wide variability both in growth habit and yield attributes. Wide variability of test weight mainly differed the seed yield of the crop. The highest yield was recorded in rhusie cultivar (21 q ha−1) which was significantly higher than the all other cultivars like rhudi, rhuka, rhuwho-1, rhuwho-2, rhujo, champhal, kolasib. Though the rhusie cultivar test weight is low, but it recorded highest yield because of early onset of reproductive growth with more number of pickings. Rhuwho-2 cultivar recorded the second highest yield (19 q ha−1) which was significantly higher than the other cultivars like rhudi, rhuka, rhuwho-1, rhujo, champhal, kolasib. Lowest yield was recorded in rhuwho-1 cultivars (1 q ha−1).

Bioresource and Stress Management

The growth and economy of a society is highly dependent on profitable utilization of bio-resource, plants and animals for livelihood and survival. This chapter discusses the efficient utilization of native plants, trees and other bio-resources as well as various abiotic stress factors affecting crop productivity under sustainable agriculture. Various innovative techniques, agrotechnology and organic fertilizers need to evolve for increasing productivity under sustainable agriculture. The reserve of organic carbon fixed in the soil by soil microorganisms is the long-term carbon that is released into the environment by increased burning of fossil fuels. It helps to limit the global changes that are continuously increasing due to rapid changes in the amounts of greenhouse gases. Certain tree species have the capacity to capture about 50 % of carbon, viz. Leucophyllum frutescens, Forestiera angustifolia, Bumelia celastrina and Acacia berlandieri which may be recommended for planting in highly contaminated areas to reduce pollution and carbon dioxide load in the atmosphere. This chapter urges the necessity for judicious utilization and conservation of native species and also the ethnic knowledge on plant uses inherited from generation to generation. Nature provides us a variety of goods and services, and for every moment of our life, we use the resources that it has provided. The air R.K. Maiti ( ) Facultad de Ciencias Forestales, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, Carr. No 85, km 145, NL 67700 Linares, Mexico e-mail: ratikanta.maiti@gmail.com A. Kumari Department of Crop Physiology, Agricultural College, Professor Jayashankar Telangana State Agricultural University, Polasa, Jagtial, Karimnagar 505 529, Telangana, India e-mail: arunasujanagcjgl@gmail.com encircling the earth enables us to breathe; the plants grown in the soil provide the food to eat, shelter to animals, vegetation and pastures. The energy provided by the sun, coal or fossil fuels are used for several purposes. In a similar manner, the water that falls to the ground in the form of rain is used for irrigation and to meet the various day-to-day needs. It is thus evident that we are dependent on nature to a large extent to meet all of our basic needs – air, food, water, shelter, energy, etc. The growth and economy of a society is highly dependent on profitable utilization of

Agrotechnology and Crop Diversification

As an aftermath of green revolution, agriculture today is facing multiple problems of shrinking cultivable area, declining water table, global climate change, loss of soil productivity, pollution of land and water resources at macro level and decline in factor productivity and soil fertility, development of herbicide resistance and pest resurgence, thus unsustainability in productivity and farm income at micro level. This chapter has highlighted the need for adoption of nonmonetary or low monetary inputs and sustainable practices such as optimum sowing window; crop geometry; demand-driven planting methods; crop diversification; water-saving micro-irrigation methods; use of nanoparticles for enhancing nutrient use efficiency; integrated nutrient, pest, disease and weed management options; and location-specific organic farming strategies to make agriculture a profitable enterprise.

Biodiversity in Leaf Chemistry (Pigments, Epicuticular Wax and LeafNutrients) in Woody Plant Species in North-eastern Mexico, a Synthesis

The leaves of trees and shrubs possess various chemical components such as leaf pigments, epicuticular wax and various macro and micronutrients. These components influence the growth, development and productivity and adaptation of the species to environments. The results of studies undertaken on the more than 30 woody species in North-eastern Mexico results reveal that there exist large variations in pigments (chlorophyll, carotenoids), epicuticular wax and macro and micro nutrients Several species have been selected with high values of the pigments, epicuticular wax and various macro and micronutrients. For example, species with high Chlorophyll a were: Ebenopsis ebano (1.755), Cercidium suveoleon (0.589), Amyrys texana (1.66), and those with high chlorophyll b were Ebenopsis ebano (0.398), Amyrys texana (1.66) and species with high Chlorophyll total (Chl a + b) were: Ebenopsis ebano (2.253), Leucaena leucocephala (1.687). Species with high carptenoids were: Berberis chococo (0.585), Diospyros palmeri (0.433. The species showing high epicuticular wax load are Forestiera angustifolia (702.04 μg/cm2), Diospyros texana (607.65 μg/cm2), Bernardia myricifolia (437.53 μg/cm2). There is a here is a need to conform the efficiency of these selected species for productivity and adaptation of the species to environment.

A Comparative Wood Anatomy of 15 Woody Species in North-eastern Mexico

A preliminary study has been undertaken on wood anatomy of 15 woody species in northeast mexico. There exists large variation among species in wood anatomical traits such as porosity, vessel diameter, its distribution, parenchyma, compactness of ground tissues and fibre cell characteristics. Most of the species are ring to semiring porous viz. Acacia amentacea, Acacia berlandieri, Acacia shaffneri, Acacia wrightii, and only few of them are diffuse porous viz. Diospyros palmeri, Diospyros texana. Fibre cell characteristics also showed large variations in morphology, size, lumen breadth and in compactness. Most of the species have narrow vessels, viz., Acacia berlandieri, Acacia shaffneri, Acacia wrightii, Helietta parviflora, and others, while Celtis laevigata and Caesalpinia mexicana possessed big sized vessels. Many of the species having narrow vessels are expected to protect the vessels against cavitation during drought and freezing as reported in the literature. Narrow vessels are adaptive traits in xeric habitats. All these wood anatomical traits could be utilized to distinguish species as well as quality determinations of species. The variation in hydraulic systems determine the capacity of water transport among species.