Lethal yellowing (LY), a disease caused by a phytoplasma, is the most devastating disease affecting coconut (Cocos nucifera) in Mexico. Thousands of coconut palm trees have died on the Yucatan peninsula while plantations in Central America and on the Pacific coast of Mexico are severely threatened. Polymerase chain reaction assays enable identification of incubating palm trees (stage 0+, phytoplasma detected but palm asymptomatic). With the development of LY, palm trees exhibit various visual symptoms such as premature nut fall (stage 1), inflorescence necrosis (stages 2 to 3), leaf chlorosis and senescence (stages 4 to 6), and finally palm death. However, physiological changes occur in the leaves and roots prior to onset of visual symptoms. Stomatal conductance, photosynthesis, and root respiration decreased in stages 0+ to 6. The number of active photosystem II (PSII) reaction centers decreased during stage 2, but maximum quantum use efficiency of PSII remained similar until stage 3 before declining. Sugar and starch concentrations in intermediate leaves (leaf 14) and upper leaves (leaf 4) increased from stage 0- (healthy) to stages 2 to 4, while root carbohydrate concentrations decreased rapidly from stage 0- to stage 0+ (incubating phytoplasma). Although photosynthetic rates and root carbohydrate concentrations decreased, leaf carbohydrate concentrations increased, suggesting inhibition of sugar transport in the phloem leading to stress in sink tissues and development of visual symptoms of LY.

The contribution of osmotic adjustment to grain yield in Sorghum bicolor (L.) subjected to water stress between anthesis and maturity was studied using six entries. Three of the entries (Goldrush, E57, and DK470) were selected for high osmotic adjustment and the other three (Texas 610SR, Texas 671, and SC 219-9-19-1) for low osmotic adjustment, and divided into early, intermediate and late maturity groups. Entries were either well watered, or subjected to a 50-day period of water shortage after anthesis following being well-watered prior to anthesis. Entries selected for high osmotic adjustment had mean values of osmotic adjustment at the end of the post-anthesis stress more than double those selected for low osmotic adjustment. The corresponding mean grain yield of entries with high osmotic adjustment were 24% higher than that of entries with low osmotic adjustment. The higher yield was due to both more and larger grains, and it was associated with higher harvest index and distribution index. At best, the difference in dry matter at maturity could explain only a few per cent of the difference in grain yield between entries with low and high osmotic adjustment. Water stress prior to anthesis (previous paper) reduced yield more than a post-anthesis stress of the same intensity. However, osmotic adjustment was equally effective in minimizing the reduction in grain yields in both stages. The use of osmotic adjustment as a selection trait in programs to improve the yield of grain sorghum is briefly discussed.

The contribution of osmotic adjustment to grain yield in Sorghum bicolor (L.) subjected to water stress before anthesis was studied using six entries. Three of the entries (Goldrush, E57, and DK470) were selected for high osmotic adjustment and the other three (Texas 6 1 OSR, Texas 67 1, and SC 219-9-1 9-1) for low osmotic adjustment, and divided into early, intermediate and late maturity groups. Entries were either well watered, or subjected to a 41-day period of water shortage prior to anthesis and well watered for the remainder of their growth. Entries selected for higher osmotic adjustment developed higher levels of osmotic adjustment during the pre-anthesis stress period than those selected for low osmotic adjustment in intermediate and late maturity groups, but not in the early group. However, the level of osmotic adjustment was not related to the maturity group, when water stress was imposed at the same developmental stage. Entries with high osmotic adjustment produced higher grain yields than those with low osmotic adjustment. The response varied from 15% for the mean of all maturity groups to 34% for the mean of intermediate and late groups, where there were significant differences in osmotic adjustment. The higher mean grain yield was due mainly to a larger grain number (19%). Even though entries with high osmotic adjustment bad a greater root length, soil water extraction and dry matter production during the pre-anthesis stress period, there was no significant difference in dry matter yield at physiological maturity between low and high osmotic adjustment groups. Consequently, the higher mean grain yield was related solely to a higher harvest index (27%), which was associated with a higher distribution index (25%) and a higher grain number (19%). A detailed analysis is given of the mechanisms by which osmotic adjustment contributed to grain yield in plants subjected to a pre-anthesis stress.

The use of Salvinia minima Baker for the removal of lead (Pb) and arsenic (As) from aqueous solutions was investigated. In a first approach, the effect of different concentrations of AsO₄^3– and Pb(II) on the growth and accumulation of these metals was studied. The plants tolerated concentrations of 20–40 μM Pb(II) and 200 μM of AsO₄^3–. Toxic effects occurred when 20 μM of Pb(II) and 100 μM AsO₄^3– were used. These effects included growth inhibition (decreased yield of biomass and frond area) as well as an altered frond (leaf‐like structure in ferns) appearance and tissue consistence. S. minima showed a high uptake of Pb (34 mg/g dry weight) compared to As (0.5 mg/g dry weight). The uptake of As was inhibited by phosphate. Additional kinetic studies revealed a two‐stage accumulation of both elements: a rapid first phase within the first 6–12 hours and a slow second phase up to the end of the 96‐hour experiment.

Morphological and physiological characteristics of micropropagated plants of Delphinium cv. Princess Caroline were studied. Leaves produced in vitro showed poor control of water loss which appears to result from restricted responses by stomata and not from poor cuticular development. Stomata of leaves produced in vitro were larger and more frequent than those produced during acclimatization. Despite the fact that stomata from isolated epidermis of leaves produced in vitro reduced their apertures when exposed to turgor-reducing treatments, they did not close fully. This, together with high stomatal frequencies might explain the poor control of water loss shown by intact leaves produced in culture when exposed to dry air. While leaves from acclimatized plants showed almost complete closure with ABA, low water potentials, darkness and CO₂, stomata from leaves produced in vitro reduced their apertures when exposed to those factors, but only to a limit. Therefore, stomata from leaves cultured in vitro seem to be partially functional, but some physiological or anatomical alteration prevents them from closing fully. Stomata from leaves produced in vitro were particularly insensitive to ABA which appears to be partly associated with the high cytokinin concentration in the culture medium. In the long-term, this stomatal insensitivity to ABA might contribute to plant losses when micropropagated plantlets are transferred to soil.