Companion planting in gardening and agriculture is the planting of different crops in proximity for any of a number of different reasons, including weed suppression, pest control, pollination, providing habitat for beneficial insects, maximizing use of space, and to otherwise increase crop productivity. Companion planting is a form of polyculture.
Walnut trees are any species of tree in the plant genus Juglans, the type genus of the family Juglandaceae, the seeds of which are referred to as walnuts. All species are deciduous trees, 10–40 metres (33–131 ft) tall, with pinnate leaves 200–900 millimetres (7.9–35.4 in), with 5–25 leaflets; the shoots have chambered pith, a character shared with the wingnuts (Pterocarya), but not the hickories (Carya) in the same family.
In agriculture, cover crops are plants that are planted to cover the soil rather than for the purpose of being harvested. Cover crops manage soil erosion, soil fertility, soil quality, water, weeds, pests, diseases, biodiversity and wildlife in an agroecosystem—an ecological system managed and shaped by humans. Cover crops can increase microbial activity in the soil, which has a positive effect on nitrogen availability, nitrogen uptake in target crops, and crop yields. Cover crops may be an off-season crop planted after harvesting the cash crop. Cover crops are nurse crops in that they increase the survival of the main crop being harvested, and are often grown over the winter. In the United States, cover cropping may cost as much as $35 per acre.
Chemical ecology is the study of chemically mediated interactions between living organisms, and the effects of those interactions on the demography, behavior and ultimately evolution of the organisms involved. It is thus a vast and highly interdisciplinary field. Chemical ecologists seek to identify the specific molecules that function as signals mediating community or ecosystem processes and to understand the evolution of these signals. The substances that serve in such roles are typically small, readily-diffusible organic molecules, but can also include larger molecules and small peptides.
Allelopathy is a biological phenomenon by which an organism produces one or more biochemicals that influence the germination, growth, survival, and reproduction of other organisms. These biochemicals are known as allelochemicals and can have beneficial or detrimental effects on the target organisms and the community. Allelopathy is often used narrowly to describe chemically-mediated competition between plants; however, it is sometimes defined more broadly as chemically-mediated competition between any type of organisms. Allelochemicals are a subset of secondary metabolites, which are not directly required for metabolism of the allelopathic organism.
Juglans nigra, the eastern American black walnut, is a species of deciduous tree in the walnut family, Juglandaceae, native to North America. It grows mostly in riparian zones, from southern Ontario, west to southeast South Dakota, south to Georgia, northern Florida and southwest to central Texas. Wild trees in the upper Ottawa Valley may be an isolated native population or may have derived from planted trees.
Centaurea diffusa, also known as diffuse knapweed, white knapweed or tumble knapweed, is a member of the genus Centaurea in the family Asteraceae. This species is common throughout western North America but is not actually native to the North American continent, but to the eastern Mediterranean.
MCPA is a widely used phenoxy herbicide introduced in 1945. It selectively controls broad-leaf weeds in pasture and cereal crops. The mode of action of MCPA is as an auxin, which are growth hormones that naturally exist in plants.
Autotoxicity, meaning self-toxicity, is a biological phenomenon whereby a species inhibits growth or reproduction of other members of its species through the production of chemicals released into the environment. Like allelopathy, it is a type of interference competition but it is technically different: autotoxicity contributes to intraspecific competition, whereas allelopathic effects refer to interspecific competition. Furthermore, autotoxic effects are always inhibitory, whereas allelopathic effects are not necessarily inhibitory–they may stimulate other organisms.
Lawsone (2-hydroxy-1,4-naphthoquinone), also known as hennotannic acid, is a red-orange dye present in the leaves of the henna plant, for which it is named, as well as in the common walnut and water hyacinth. Humans have used henna extracts containing lawsone as hair and skin dyes for more than 5,000 years. Lawsone reacts chemically with the protein keratin in skin and hair via a Michael addition reaction, resulting in a strong permanent stain that lasts until the skin or hair is shed. Darker colored staining is due to more lawsone–keratin interactions occurring, which evidently break down as the concentration of lawsone decreases and the tattoo fades. Lawsone strongly absorbs UV light, and aqueous extracts can be effective sunless tanning agents and sunscreens. Lawsone is a 1,4-naphthoquinone derivative, an analog of hydroxyquinone containing one additional ring.
Juglans australis, the nogal criollo, is a species of plant in the Juglandaceae family. This large, fast-growing tree can grow to 20 m (66 ft) tall at elevations of 0.5—1.5 km in the Southern Andean Yungas, montane cloud forests on the eastern slopes of the Andes in Tucumán, Salta, and Jujuy provinces of Argentina and Tarija and Chuquisaca departments of Bolivia. It is threatened by habitat loss.
Juglans neotropica is a species of plant in the Juglandaceae family. It is found in Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. It is threatened by habitat loss. Common names include Colombian walnut, Ecuadorian walnut, Andean walnut, nogal, cedro negro, cedro nogal, and nogal Bogotano.
Juglans mandshurica, also known as monkey nuts, or tigernut, is a species of deciduous tree in the walnut family Juglandacea, native to the Eastern Asiatic Region. It grows to about 25 m.
Plumbagin or 5-hydroxy-2-methyl-1,4-naphthoquinone is an organic compound with the chemical formula C
11H
8O
3. It is regarded as a toxin and it is genotoxic and mutagenic.
A root barrier is an underground wall placed to block plant roots. This is often for the purpose of protecting structures or other plants, but root barriers are also used to preserve soil moisture.
A walnut is the edible seed of any tree of the genus Juglans, particularly the Persian or English walnut, Juglans regia. They are accessory fruit because the outer covering of the fruit is technically an involucre and thus not morphologically part of the carpel; this means it cannot be a drupe but is instead a drupe-like nut.
Leptospermone is a chemical compound produced by some members of the myrtle family (Myrtaceae), such as Callistemon citrinus, a shrub native to Australia, and Leptospermum scoparium (Manuka), a New Zealand tree from which it gets its name. Modification of this allelopathic chemical to produce mesotrione led to the commercialization of derivative compounds as HPPD inhibitor herbicides.
A mycorrhizal network is an underground network found in forests and other plant communities, created by the hyphae of mycorrhizal fungi joining with plant roots. This network connects individual plants together. Mycorrhizal relationships are most commonly mutualistic, with both partners benefiting, but can be commensal or parasitic, and a single partnership may change between any of the three types of symbiosis at different times.
Husk in botany is the outer shell or coating of a seed. In the United States, the term husk often refers to the leafy outer covering of an ear of maize (corn) as it grows on the plant. Literally, a husk or hull includes the protective outer covering of a seed, fruit, or vegetable.
Medicago rigidula, the Tifton burclover, is a species of annual herb in the family Fabaceae. They have a self-supporting growth form and compound, broad leaves. Individuals can grow to 0.50m tall. It is a secondary wild relative of the cultivated crop Barrel Clover, and a tertiary wild relative of cultivated Alfalfa.
