Homalodisca coagulata is a highly polyphagous xylem feeder with distinct seasonal patterns in it's selection of host plants. These patterns were examined in relation to the amino acid content of the xylem for four common host species; Lagerstroemia indica, Baccharis halimifolia, Prunus persica, and Prunus salicina. Xylem fluid was collected from each host species at times when numbers of feeding leafhoppers were both low and high. In each case, concentrations of amino acids were greatest when numbers were high. Similarly, comparisons between host species at given times showed that concentrations of amino acids were positively correlated with host selection. In a second study, amino acids of xylem were manipulated by budding scions of a non-preferred host (P. persica) on rootstocks of preferred (P. salinica) and non-preferred (P. persica) hosts. Morphology and phenology of the budded trees were similar to that of the scion species yet the xylem composition of amino acids was primarily dependent on the rootstock. Concentrations of amino acids and the preference of leafhoppers were roughly two-fold greater for scions of the preferred than the non-preferred rootstock. In both studies, amides (glutamine plus asparagine) were the amino acids most highly correlated with host selection. These compounds are the predominant amino acids in xylem fluid, have high nitrogen to carbon ratios, and account for a high percentage of the caloric value in xylem fluid. Many of the less abundant amino acids were positively correlated with host preference, but the correlations were less consistent and correlation coefficients were generally lower.
U se of native plant species throughout the US is not new; 3 states had roadside planting programs in 1921 and such programs have been gaining momentum since President LB Johnson signed the Beautification Act of 1965. The earlier native plantings included wildflower gardens, meadows, and roadside rights-of-way (Aiken 1933; Bailey 1982; ODOT 1988), but native plantings are now becoming common in diverse settings like construction and reclamation sites, parks, golf course roughs, wildlife habitats, and seed production farms (Ahern and others 1992; Agnew and Hatterman-Valenti 1993; Kutka and Tinderholt 1996; Branhagen 1997; NIPC 1998). By definition, a native plant "occurs naturally in a particular region, state, ecosystem, and habitat without direct or indirect human actions" (Morse and others 1999). Therefore, native plants were in North America prior to European exploration and had adapted to survive in particular environments. "During the thousands of years when wildflowers were slowly increasing to cover large areas of the plains, these plants existed in the complete and utter absence of all European weeds" (Baldwin 1998). A principal factor to consider is soil disturbance asso-Wildflower plantings have become increasingly more apparent and important on a federal, state, and local level. Numerous research papers and theses have detailed results of various parts of this extensive subject. This review article highlights some of this previous research in an effort to consolidate and elucidate an integrated pattern of recommendations to establish modest-sized (for example, roadsides, meadows, parks, golf courses, gardens) wildflower plantings. Components include: 1) preplanting concerns; 2) planting and maintenance (for example, seed germination and density, seeding method, planting date, fertilization, cover crops, weed control, irrigation, reseeding, and suspending natural succession); 3) wildflower dividends; and 4) wildflower establishment recommendations.
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