Influence of soil fertilization, plant spacing, and coppicing on growth, stomatal conductance, abscisic acid, and camptothecin levels in Camptotheca acuminata seedlings

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

3-1-1999

Abstract

Changes in amount of the plant alkaloid, camptothecin (CPT), were investigated in field-grown Camptotheca acuminata seedlings in response to fertilization, variation in plant density, and coppicing. The relationship between CPT and growth, and abscisic acid (ABA) levels were also examined. Fertilization caused positive responses in growth of both the slow- and the fast-growing C. acuminata plants. It lowered stomatal conductance (g), reduced leaf CPT level in slow-growing but not fast-growing seedlings in mid-summer (July), and increased leaf ABA level in dense plantings in early fall (September). Shoots induced to develop as a result of coppicing were significantly higher in leaf CPT level than the original non-coppiced shoots. These results suggest that in the C. acuminata plantation management, coppicing should be employed to produce high concentrations of CPT, but that soil fertilization should be used cautiously so that greater growth is not achieved at the cost of lower CPT biosynthesis.

Publication Source (Journal or Book title)

Physiologia Plantarum

First Page

402

Last Page

408

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