Meteorology and Horticulture

Abstract

This article is the seventh in the series 'Taking Stock'N earlier article (Hogg 1964) has dealt with meteorology and agriculture.A The meteorological factors in horticulture are in some respects common to those in agriculture, but a grower is likely to be more conscious of them than a farmer, because of his intensive methods of production. Working on a smaller scale he is often able to modify his environment, reduce weather hazards and increase productivity. In the present article a number of topics have been selected to illustrate the range of problems in horticultural meteorology; if these have been mentioned in connection with agriculture, they are dealt with briefly here, with notes of any change of emphasis. IRRIGATIONThe principles of irrigation for outdoor horticultural crops are the same as for agriculture, and irrigation is well on the way to becoming an essential in many branches of competitive horticulture. Its use helps to obtain a rapid crop succession, thereby making maximum use of the land, and to encourage rapid growth, high quality, high yields and an even stand of crops; harvesting is often simplified if water can be applied a t the right time. A recent report (Anon. 1962) has shown that the yield of many crops may be increased by some 30-60 per cent; in monetary terms the increased value per acre may reach L300 for self-blanching celery, @50-160 for summer cauliflower and lettuce, and LIOO for dessert apples on shallow soil. As a result, fruit, vegetables, potatoes and peas justify irrigation with water a t the high price of 4s per 1,000 gallons.The main problem is to supply the water needed, and recently many farmers and growers have started to store winter rainfall on their land by constructing farm reservoirs, some of which have a capacity of I to 5 million gallons. Even using high-value land, the profit to be made from storing water may be many times the value of the crops which would otherwise have been grown there.In horticulture, as in agriculture, balance sheets may be used to determine the long-term water requirements for a crop or cropping sequence, but apart from bush and tree fruits, very few horticultural crops are in the ground for the whole growing season; adjustment must therefore be made for the shorter growing period. Also, because of differences in rooting depth, there is a wide variation in the permissible soil-moisture deficits, from about half inch for self-blanching celery to 3-5 inches for well-established fruit trees on good soils. As with agricultural crops, soil factors are as important as weather and Winter and Blackwall (1962) have quoted exceptional results of early potatoes which did not respond significantly to irrigation, although there was 234

Inhibition of Cell Proliferation and AP-1 Activity by Acrolein in Human A549 Lung Adenocarcinoma Cells Due to Thiol Imbalance and Covalent Modifications

“…It is a product of combustion and contributes to the toxicity of cigarette smoke where it is emitted at up to 230 µg per cigarette (1). Acrolein inhibits NADPH oxidase (2) as well as increases the expression of mucin gene transcripts (MUC5AC and MUC5B) which leads to excessive mucus secretion (3)(4)(5), a hallmark in the pathogenesis of several airway diseases including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (6), asthma, and cystic fibrosis (7).…”