Observed changes in physicochemical and mechanical properties of spinach leaves due to excess nitrogen fertilization were significantly associated with greater postharvest leaf fragility and lower nutritional quality.

No abstract

Plant internal nutrient status is known to influence the kinetics of nutrient absorption, but little on this relationship has been reported for roses (Rosa spp. L.). The objectives of this experiment were to determine the influence of NO3, PO4, and K deprivation on plant tissue concentrations and relative growth rates and to quantify the influence of nutrient deprivation on absorption kinetic parameters. Rose plants growing in solution culture were deprived of N, P, or K for 0 to 20 days to establish differing tissue concentrations. Absorption kinetics were then determined based on the rate of NO3, PO4, or K depletion from solution over a range of concentrations. The data were fit to a modified Michaelis-Menten equation to account for the influence of internal nutrient status on absorption kinetics. Plants deprived of the nutrients for up to 20 d did not show significantly reduced root or plant fresh weight as compared with control plants. Plant tissue concentrations differed significantly by deprivation treatment and varied from 1.4% to 2.3% for N, 0.22% to 0.35% for P, and from 1.0% to 2.0% for K. Plants deprived of NO3, PO4, and K subsequently showed increased absorption rates. This was primarily expressed as an increased maximum absorption rate for NO3 and PO4. In contrast, K-deprived plants primarily exhibited an increased affinity (decreased Km) for K. The results demonstrate the plasticity of rose plants to grow and absorb nutrients under varying internal nutrient concentrations. This work quantifies the influence of rose plant nutritional status on the kinetics of NO3, PO4, and K absorption. The knowledge would be useful to improve models for providing decision support for fertilization based on plant growth rates and internal nutrient status.

No abstract

Temperature effects on the rate of flowering rose shoot development were previously modeled using a thermal units (heat units) approach. The current objective was to validate this model for three rose cultivars and to determine its suitability for use in rose production. Flowering shoots of `Cara Mia', `Royalty', and `Sonia' plants, grown in greenhouses at three temperature settings, were observed daily to determine when each of the following developmental events occurred: “harvest”, “bud break”, “unfolding of each leaf”, “visible flower bud”, and “shoot ready for harvest”. Each stage was defined to facilitate accurate, repeatable observations. Average hourly air temperatures were used in computing the accumulated thermal units (TU) required for shoots to develop from from one stage to the next. The base temperature (used in the TU computation) did not differ significantly among the cultivars; the value of 5.2C was used. Using these to predict the days on which the shoot was ready for harvest resulted in ±2 day accuracy for most shoots of `Royalty' and `Sonia' and ±2.5 days accuracy for most `Cara Mia' shoots. This indicates that this method is suitable for timing of rose crops and deciding on temperature set-points.