No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

Responses of tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) to chloride vary according to tobacco types, cultivars, and methods of fertilization, cultivation, and harvesting used. Until now, research has focused on types other than Oriental. In this work, the effect of chloride concentration (10 to 80 mg L −1 ) in irrigation water on growth and agronomic and chemical characteristics of Oriental tobacco was evaluated with a three-year (1999)(2000)(2001) outdoor pot experiment. Whether Oriental tobacco cultivars, aromatic and neutral, respond differently to chloride was also investigated. The results showed that the influence of chloride on growth-development and total cured leaves yield on Oriental tobacco was inconsistent and substantial only in neutral cultivars. The increased cured leaves yield in neutral cultivars with 50 mg Cl L −1 was attributed mainly to the increased size of leaves. Leaf chloride concentration increased linearly with the increase of chloride level in irrigation water, but the leaf chloride concentration and the rate of linear increase were highest in the upper leaves of the plant, and decreased gradually from the upper to the lower leaves. Generally, the optimum chloride level in irrigation water was found to be below 20 mg L −1 , whereas the 40 mg L −1 level was the critical upper threshold to avoid adverse effects on Oriental tobacco. The six cultivars showed different accumulation rates of chloride in leaves, and these rates were affected differently by the increased chloride in water. The changes in chemical characteristics examined concerning cured-leaf product quality were minor. The results indicate that one may choose among cultivars, either aromatic or neutral, in order to limit the adverse effects of irrigation with water containing increased chloride concentration.

SUMMARYWinter rapeseed was introduced into Greece a decade ago to provide oil for biodiesel. To identify agronomic traits affecting yield and quality, three hybrids and an inbred line were tested over two seasons (2005–2006 and 2006–2007) and four locations, in central and northern Greece, varying in pedo-climatic conditions. The large variations in seed yield, quality and agronomic traits were largely ascribed to location; in contrast, cultivar accounted for ⩽0·010 of the variation for many traits. Below 40°N, rapeseed is a risky crop; short season, high temperatures and low rainfall during reproductive growth diminished seed yield and oil content, increased oleic and erucic acid and minimized linolenic acid. A hybrid, Exact, with tall stature and large seeds was adaptive to such conditions. The most productive location had dense stands with tall plants bearing numerous pods on the main raceme. At the site with the coldest winter, plant density (PD) was lowest (ca. 30 plants/m2) but rapeseed compensated by producing large seeds, with high oil content and harvest index (HI). A biplot revealed that the hybrid Excalibur, outperforming the other cultivars for oil content in six out of eight trials, produced the highest and most stable oil yield. Combined data showed that seed yield and oil yield were positively correlated with PD, seed size and HI and negatively to the number of pods on branches and per plant. Large seeds had high seed oil content. Oleic acid was negatively correlated to linolenic acid concentration. High temperatures and low rainfall favoured oleic acid, which was positively associated with seed number per pod.