COLLEGE STATION - Dr. Leo Lombardini has gone underground to get the most top secret information in his field.
Lombardini is watching roots grow in his experimental orchards, and it is sort of nuts - he's a pecan researcher.
His study is part of a national specialty crop research project funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Lombardini, a Texas AgriLife Research horticultural scientist, will focus on pecans while researchers at other universities focus on almonds, pistachios and walnuts. The overall goal is to discover ways to produce a higher quality, more nutritious nut in the most efficient, sustainable way.
"There have been very little root research efforts," said Lombardini who is teamed on the project with Dr. Astrid Volder, Texas A&M University assistant professor of horticultural sciences. "And there has been nothing that looks directly at the root. As far as we know, this is the first research to look at roots in the real setting."
To do that, Lombardini bored a hole at a 45-degree angle about 20 inches from the trunk of 20 trees in a 400-tree orchard planted in February. Each hole was fitted with a six-foot clear plastic tube into which a camera will be inserted at various times in the growing year.
"Pecan trees are planted bare root, that is with not much root system," Lombardini said. "The camera turns to capture a panoramic-type view. So we will be able to watch as these roots grow and see how they respond to various conditions over time."
A pecan tree spends its first five or six years growing into a mature tree capable of producing nuts. Spring is typically a period of growth for the trees, but it is not currently known whether first-year roots grow much in the first few months of planting. Lombardini hopes the initial shots from the camera in June will give an indication of first-year root growth.
"If we can see when various roots of a tree die or what happens to roots in
'/>"/>
| Contact: Kathleen Phillips ka-phillips@tamu.edu 979-845-2872 Texas A&M AgriLife Communications Source:Eurekalert |
Related biology news :
1. Getting down to cancer basics
2. Getting into hot water
3. Many middle-aged and older Americans not getting adequate nutrition
4. Getting warmer? Prehistoric climate can help forecast future changes
5. Getting to the root of the matter
6. Getting better with a little help from our micro friends
7. Getting wise to the influenza virus tricks
8. The sea ice is getting thinner
9. AIBS recognizes diversity in the biological sciences
10. Exhibition showcases the art of science
11. Human role in Indonesian polluting forest fires -- Guido van der Werf in Nature Geoscience
 |
| Copyright © 2003-2012 Bio-Medicine. All rights reserved. ABOUT | CONTACT US | DISCLAIMER | PRIVACY POLICY | TERMS AND CONDITIONS |  |