Herself’s Houston Garden

A new group of plant hormones that are critical to the branching of plants has been discovered.

. . . The growth and development of plants is largely controlled by plant hormones. Plants produce these chemicals themselves, thus controlling the growth and development of roots and stems, for example. A number of plant hormones, such as auxins, giberellins and cytokinins, were discovered by scientists decades ago. Now a new group of hormones has been found: The so-called strigolactones.

Previous research by institutes including Wageningen UR has shown that strigolactones plays a major part in the interaction between plants and their environment. As plants cannot move, they commonly use their own chemicals to control the environment as best as they can.

Strigolactones are of major importance to the interaction between plants and symbiotic fungi, for example. These fungi live in a symbiotic relationship with plants, lthat is mutually beneficial. They transport minerals from the soil to the plant, while the plant gives the fungi sugars ‘in return’.

Unfortunately, the strigolactones have also been “hijacked” by harmful organisms: They help seeds of parasitic plants to germinate when plant roots are in the vicinity. The seedlings of the parasite attach to the root of the plant and use the plant’s nutrients for their own growth and reproduction. Unlike the symbiotic fungi, however, they do not give anything in return. On the contrary, the parasitism often causes the host plant to die, eventually. . . . [ read more New Group of Plant Hormones Discovered]

Who knew? Recently gardening for insects to attract birds has been making the rounds in gardening circles. After all if you want to attract birds that eat insects, you need to offer them food, same as you do for your suet and seed eating birds.

It turns out that birds are also attracted to trees that show insect damage. So don’t be too quick to lop off those damaged limbs. Birds use the damage on the trees and increased levels of volatile organic compounds to locate the insect damaged trees.

An understanding of the evolution of potential signals from plants to the predators of their herbivores may provide exciting examples of co-evolution among multiple trophic levels. Understanding the mechanism behind the attraction of predators to plants is crucial to conclusions about co-evolution. For example, insectivorous birds are attracted to herbivore-damaged trees without seeing the herbivores or the defoliated parts, but it is not known whether birds use cues from herbivore-damaged plants with a specific adaptation of plants for this purpose. . . [ read more From Plants to Birds: Higher Avian Predation Rates in Trees Responding to Insect Herbivory]

If you’re a fan of habañero salsa or like to order Thai food spiced to five stars, you owe a lot to bugs, both the crawling kind and ones you can see only with a microscope. New research shows they are the ones responsible for the heat in chili peppers.

The spiciness is a defense mechanism that some peppers develop to suppress a microbial fungus that invades through punctures made in the outer skin by insects. The fungus, from a large genus called Fusarium, destroys the plant’s seeds before they can be eaten by birds and widely distributed.

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However, the researchers found that the pungency, or heat, in hot chilies acts as a unique defense mechanism. The pungency comes from capsaicinoids, the same chemicals that protect them from fungal attack by dramatically slowing microbial growth.

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[read more Bugs put the heat in chili peppers]

Another thing to remember if you want your peppers hot, is to go easy on the water. You want to keep the plant from wilting or being unhappy, but no more than that.

While the planet certainly does not lack in water, it does lack in fresh water in useful places. In time we will be desalinizes and piping water where ever we need it. In the meantime researchers are developing plants that can handle drier climates.

A part of the global food crisis is the inefficiency of current irrigation methods. More irrigated water evaporates than reaches the roots of crops, amounting to an enormous waste of water and energy.

Tel Aviv University researchers, however, are investigating a new solution that turns the problem upside-down, getting to the root of the issue. They are genetically modifying plants’ root systems to improve their ability to find the water essential to their survival. [ read more Genetically Modified Root Systems Result In Plants That Survive With Little Water]

On an up note, if global warming is really happening, the climate should get wetter as it gets warmer, perhaps negating the need for any of this. But why wait?