NEWS FROM
PHYSIOLOGIA PLANTARUM
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Published monthly on behalf of SPPS by Wiley-Blackwell.
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Shedding light in the canopy
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Since plants get most of their light from above, photosynthetic activity is highest in the upper part of the canopy. Applying light directly into the canopy might, accordingly, contribute to a more uniform photosynthetic profile and could potentially increase overall photosynthesis leading to higher yield of crops. This hypothesis has now been tested by Dutch researchers from Wageningen University in the Netherlands. They supplied cucumber plants grown in the greenhouse with 38% of their light from LEDs within the canopy and compared them with controls that got all the light from above. Light from within the canopy significantly increased photosynthesis in the lower leaf layers, however, this was not followed by a concomitant increase in overall biomass and fruit yield. This was apparently caused by a more stunted growth when less light came from above and because the LEDs seemingly caused the leaves to curl and thus reduced light interception.
Read full article free: Trouwborst et al (March 2010) Physiologia Plantarum 138: 289Ð300
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NEWS IN BRIEF
FROM OTHER JOURNALS
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Male olives have access to more females
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Source: Saumitou-Laprade et al (26 March 2010) Science 327: 1648-1650
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Lowering atmospheric with algae may contaminate ocean
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Source: Trick et al (15 March 2010) PNAS doi:10.1073/pnas.0910579107
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Benefit from the new Open Positions and Posted Meetings sections
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Open Positions are easy to share and a great place to improve your carrier. From www.spps.fi
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The two new sections on the SPPS homepage - Open Positions and Posted Meetings - is a great way to improve your carrier. It helps you find the most talented candidate, the most challenging job or the most inspiring conference to attend. It is our ambition, that the two new marketplaces will grow to be the preferred sites for plant scientists to interact and benefit from each other.
However, we need your help to meet our goals and make the new initiative succesfull, so you are strongly encouraged to post your open positions and any meetings you can recommend. It is easy to join the services (check out how) and it will cost you nothing but a few minutes to be within reach of the whole plant science community.
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