Filed under: Linked Articles
This article explored two types of orchid species that do not offer rewards to visiting pollinators. Serapias vomeracea were studied due to thier "deceptive strategy" or having its sepals, petals, and lateral lobes form small tubes appearing to look like a spot where visiting insects could rest. Three types of pollination were studied with results of the percentage of fruit sets being analyzed. Overall, the experimentors of this study concluded that there is a positive correlation between fruit set and the "pollinator visitations" of Serapias vomeracea.
http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1442-1984.2005.00121.x
Filed under: Linked Articles
This article, published in the March 206 edition of Plant, Cell, and Environment, examined the theory that improvements in photosynthesis could increase crop yields. Photosynthesis was chosen as the variable to manipulate because other involved properties, efficiency of light capture, conversion of absorbed light into biomass, and proportion of biomass partitioned into grain were constant properties. The original thought was that improving leaf photosynthesis would not increase crop yields. However, contrasting results were found after running the experiment. Six different modifications on the leaves for “photosynthetic efficiency” were examined with an end result of a possible increase of up to 50%. Overall, it appears from this article and the experiment run that improving photosynthetic abilities does increase crop yields.
http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1365-3040.2005.01493.x
Filed under: Uncategorized
The lecture entitled “Space…the final frontier…for root phototropism” by John K. Kiss was very interesting and insightful on the development of the study of tropism. I personally knew nothing of this type of movement before the lecture and was suprised to discover that roots and stems were drawn to/repelled by different types of light in growth. The upcoming experiments with red light appear as if they will advance the knowledge on this topic greatly since it seems to be a newer realization of both root and stem (+) responses to red light. Phototropins, seemingly, unique only to plants are extremely interesting to myself seems it has no connection to anything that humans undergo during growth stages. The upcoming experiments on the STS-121 will provide a large amount of substantial detail to this phenomenon. In total, I think it’s amazing that this project will be on the next shuttle launch and that the equiptment is now so high tech as to be able to remove, add, and replicate gravity to experiment tropism in all different combinations of light and gravity. Overall, a very interesting and exciting lecture. I look forward to reading the analysis of the shuttle experiments.
Filed under: Uncategorized
-N,-innoculatn:::-N, +innoculant:::+N, – Innoculant:::: +N, +Innoculant
height 3.1 9.2 5.6 9.5
# leaves 5 pairs 11 pairs 7pairs 11 pairs
height 5.5
# leaves 8 pairs
(-,-) bent, weak stem, tiny leaves, not fully open to light, light green color
(-,+) 2 tendrils, 1 tendril
(+,-) dark green color, leaves crinkely but not due to vien pattern
(+,+) start of three tendrils @ ends, leaves withered @ base (lilke all other plants)
Filed under: Uncategorized
-N,-innoculatn:::-N, +innoculant:::+N, – Innoculant:::: +N, +Innoculant
height 3.1 5.7 4.8 6.6
# leaves 3 7 5 10
height, 4.0
# leaves 5
(-,-) virtually no growht, crooked stem, weak in stature, small leafe surface
(-,+) hieght growth but no more leaves, leaves turned up at angles toward the light, straight stem. venation in leafe doesn’t give them texture
(+,-) crooked stem, small in stature, same height growth, leaves held tight to stem
(+,+) three more leaf pairs, rise of a tendril, leaves more open to light
Filed under: Uncategorized
14 Days::: -N,-innoculatn:::-N, +innoculant:::+N, – Innoculant:::: +N, +Innoculant
height 3.1cm 5.2 4.4 4.9
# leaves 3 7 5 7
height 3.5
# leaves 5
(-,-) very little, few leaves small in size
(-,+) open leaves to recieve light, thing stalk/stem
(+,-) leave pairs closed, and held in tight to stalk, shrieved
(+,+) leaves are large, open, crinkely
