Archive for the ‘science’ tag
Plant rhododendrons to protect from bugs
Plants emit compounds to both attract and repel insects. Plants planted near rhododendrons can absorb and emit chemicals given off by rhododendrons to protect themselves from insects.
Scandinavian Scientists have discovered that a species of tree defends itself from herbivore attack by using chemicals emitted by neighbouring plants. The study, published today in New Phytologist, reveals how a species of birch tree adsorbs chemical compounds from neighbouring marsh tea plants, Rhondodendron tomentosum, in a unique ‘defence by neighbour strategy.’
The team from Finland, led by Prof. Jarmo Holopainen from the University of Eastern Finland, were conducting studies into emissions of forest and peat land plants when they discovered previously unreported compounds for mountain birch from their foliage emissions. The compounds were emitted by a species of rhododendron growing nearby.
“It is well known that many plant species start to emit chemical compounds after damage by herbivores,” said the co-author Dr. Sari Himanen, from Agrifood Research Finland. “In an earlier study we accessed the compounds emitted from mountain birch following Moth feeding damage and we found that some of the trees growing next to Rhondodendron tomentosum also emitted residual amounts of the compounds ledene, ledol and palustrol. This resulted in the idea to experimentally test whether these sticky semivolatiles could actually protect neighbouring birch trees from the attention of attacking herbivores such as feeding moths. Based on experimentation in the field, in a natural habitat and in the laboratory, we discovered that a novel, potentially also ecologically meaningful effect for neighbour-emitted foliage-adsorbed semi-volatiles might take place in a boreal environment.”
Plant emissions can have several roles, including the attraction or deterrence of herbivores. Some cause an indirect defence by attracting a herbivorous natural enemy, but it is extraordinary for one plant to benefit directly from another plant’s emissions.
Read more Plants discover the benefits of good neighbors in strategy against herbivores
Phosphate poor soils increase hairy roots
Plants grown in soils low in phosphates grow hairy roots in the search for nutrients. Now scientists have discovered the gene that turns on hairy roots and hope to use it to develop food crops that will grow in poor soils or with less fertilizer.
When crops such as barley and wheat are grown on soils containing small amounts of phosphate it is known that those plants with long hairs on their roots give higher yields than those with short hairs. Similarly, long-haired beans grown on the nutrient-poor tropical soils of Central America do much better than short haired varieties.
Root hairs burrow into the soil like tiny ‘mining machines’ releasing acids and other scouring chemicals that crack open rocky minerals releasing valuable nutrients, such as iron and phosphate, that are necessary for plant growth.
Now, for the first time, scientists have found the mechanism that controls the growth of these specialised nutrient-excavating cells. They discovered that a master regulatory gene called RSL4 acts like a switch; hair cells grow when the gene is turned on and growth stops when it is off. read more
More information:
A basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor controls cell growth and size in root hairs
Discovery of nutrient mining machine in plants
Plant Patents
Plant patents were first granted in 1930. The plant must be distinctly different than other varieties and can be invented or discovered. No asexual reproduction is allowed ( from cuttings, cloning etc ). You can sell the seeds, plant, plant parts. Patent length is 20 years.
In 1970 Plant Variety patents were granted to sexually reproducing new, distinct, stable plant varieties. Plant seed is now covered by patent. Patent length is 20 years, 25 for trees and vines. You can plant seeds from the plant or sell them if you decide not to use them.
In 1985 Utility patents were extended to plants. Seeds may not be saved, cleaned, planted or sold. Patented varieties must be sold using the variety name.
1994 The Plant Variety Act was amended. Seed can not be sold with out permission of patent holder.
Sounds reasonable. The problem lies with nature not recognizing property lines. If your garden is contaminated with patented pollen or seed, derivatives of those plants are not owned by you but by the patent holder.
If you don’t want to hand over your garden, your neighbor’s garden and your neighbor’s neighbor’s garden to the patent police you might want to avoid purchasing plants with patents.
To protect their patents many patented plants are now genetically modified to commit suicide. These plants will not reproduce. Sounds like a reasonable idea until you consider what might happen when that pollen mixes with wild pollen. How many plant varieties might become extinct?
You might have noticed plants for sale labeled “patented” or “trademarked” at your local nursery or garden center. Why would the nursery industry patent or trademark plant varieties?
“Plant patents or trademarks develop an incentive for creative design and innovation by plant breeders and the horticulture industry,” explained James Altland, nursery crops specialist at Oregon State University’s North Willamette Research and Extension Center in Aurora.
The nursery and greenhouse industries have long struggled with the issue of appropriate pricing for their products, said Altland. Patenting or trademarking gives plant varieties more value in the consumer marketplace. Consumers will pay more for a product they perceive as premium.
“In the hope of financial payback, plant breeders, ranging from scientists and professional nursery people to the backyard orchardist, try again and again to breed that perfect plant,” he said. “I think patents are one of the cornerstones of capitalism. Without patent protection, there would probably be much less innovation in our economy in general, and certainly many fewer new introductions in horticulture. ( read more What does it mean when nursery plants are patented or trademarked? )
Like so much patent law of late, the problem is not with the concept of patents but with the recent extension of the patent laws that make us all criminals.
Refuse to buy patented plants from your nursery. Tell them, thanks but no thanks, suicidal plants are a crime against nature.
Tell your nursery you don’t want Monsanto suing your neighbors like they’ve been suing farmers.
Buy F1 varieties, no patents allowed, and your local wildlife will thank you.
More information:
Plant Patents
Plant patent
US Plant patent effect on other nations
Monsanto Practices Scrutinized
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