Mirleau-Thebaud V^1,2, JD Scheiner¹, J Dayde¹

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany, Vol.80, pp. 203-210, 2011, DOI:10.32604/phyton.2011.80.203

Abstract Plant yield and oil content determine sunflower production. Those plant production determinants depend in turn on the plant–environment interaction. In the South West of France, there have been recent advances in soil tillage. To date, 35% of the soil surface dedicated to sunflower is cropped under a reduced tillage system. Major constraints to sunflower cropping are water stress and cryptogamic diseases. The second most important sunflower disease in the South West of France is premature ripening caused by Phoma macdonaldii. Aims of this work were to: 1) understand how these factors influence sunflower yield, and 2) More >

M.M. GOTELLI*, B.G. GALATI, D. MEDAN

BIOCELL, Vol.34, No.3, pp. 133-138, 2010, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2010.34.133

Abstract This is the first report of the ultrastructure of the stigma and style during and after anthesis in Helianthus annuus L. using light and transmission electron microscopy. The stigma is bifid with unicellular papillae. There is no secretion of lipids, carbohydrates or proteins at anthesis. The style is semisolid in the upper portion, closer to the stigma, and becomes solid below. Ultrastructural changes on cells of the stigma and the style are described. The transmitting tissue of the ovule is first evident 40 minutes after pollination and persists during the first stages of embryogenesis. Only one More >

Franchini¹ MC, LF Hernández², LI Lindström³

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany, Vol.79, pp. 153-161, 2010, DOI:10.32604/phyton.2010.79.153

Abstract Wax in the sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) pericarp is an important morphological feature that interferes with oil quality and varies with crop management and environmental conditions. We studied the effect of a moderate water deficit (MWD) generated from early to late anthesis on quantitative development of the cuticle, and qualitative and quantitative development of the cuticular waxes (CW) of the pericarp in two hybrids grown under field conditions. The experiment was repeated during two consecutive seasons (Exp-I and Exp-II). At harvest maturity (HM), plants grown under a MWD showed higher CW content (31 to 47%) and… More >

Hernández LF

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany, Vol.79, pp. 109-115, 2010, DOI:10.32604/phyton.2010.79.109

Abstract The relationships between (1) leaf biomass and morphology (lamina area and petiole and lamina inclination), (2) petiole’s mechanical and structural properties, and (3) the vertical light gradient inside the crop’s canopy were studied in field grown sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) plants, maintained at optimum soil water and mineral levels. At flowering, incident photosynthetic active radiation (PAR) was measured at the top of the canopy and on individual leaves using a quantum sensor. The fraction of direct incident radiation which passed through the canopy reaching each individual leaf was then calculated. Individual petiole and lamina inclination angles (ia_Petiole… More >