Effect of planting density on plant growth and camptothecin content ofCamptotheca acuminata seedlings

Abstract

C. acuminata seedlings cultivated in greenhouse were transplanted into the fields with 5 designed planting densities (11, 16, 25, 44 and 100 plants·m⁻²) in May of 2004 and were harvested in the middle of September of 2004. The seedling growth indexes including plant height and crown width, biomass allocation, camptothecin (CPT) content and CPT yield of different organs (young leaf, old leaf, stem, and root) were studied. For the 5 selected planting densities, the plant biomass, height, crown width, and total leaf area ofC. acuminata seedlings all showed highest values at the planting density of 25 plants·m⁻². CPT content in young leaves was higher than that in other organs of seedlings and presented an obvious change with the variation of planting densities and with the highest value at density of 100 plants·m⁻², while for other organs no significant variation in CPT content was found with change of planting density. The accumulation of CPT was enhanced significantly at the planting density of 25 plants·m⁻². It is concluded that for the purpose to get raw materials with more CPT fromC. acuminata, the optimal planting density ofC. acuminata seedlings should be designed as 25 plants·m⁻².

Keywords

Camptotheca acuminata seedlings / Planting density / Biomass / Camptothecin / S789.2 / Q946.88 / A

References

[1] Cockerham S.T. Irrigation and planting density affect river red gum growth [J]. California Agriculture, 2004, 58(1): 40-43.

[2] Degenhardt D.F., Kondra Z.P. The influence of seeding date and seeding rate on seed yield and yield components of five genotypes ofBrassica napus [J]. Canadian Journal of Plant Science, 1981, 61: 175-183.

[3] Shenzuo Fang, Guangyou Li, Xxiangxiang Fu Biomass production and bark yield in the plantations ofPteroceltis tatarinowi. [J]. Biomass & Bioenergy, 2004, 26: 319-328.

[4] Hsiang Y.H., Hetizberg R., Hechts S. et al. Camptothecin induces protein-linked DNA breaks via mammalian DNA toposiomerase I [J]. Biological Chemistry, 1985, 260: 14873-14878.

[5] Leidi E.O., Rodriguez N.D.N., Fernadez M. et al. Factors affecting root and seed yield in ahipa (Pachyrhizus ahipa (Wedd.)Parodi), a multipurpose legume crop [J]. European Journal of Agronomy, 2004, 20: 395-403.

[6] Morrisson M.J., McVetty P.B.E., Scarth R. Effect of altering plant density on growth characteristics of summer rape [J]. Canadian Journal of Plant Science, 1990, 70: 139-149.

[7] Niels B., Jorgen N. Effects of thermoperiodicity and plant population density on stem and flower elongation, leaf development, and specific fresh weight in single stemmed rose (Rosa hybrida L.) plants [J]. Scientia Horticulturae, 2004, 100: 169-182.

[8] Potmesil M., Pinedo H. Camptothecins: New Anticancer Agents [M], 2000 Boca Raton: CRC Press 67-112.

[9] Rao R.C.N., Simmonds L.P., Azam-Ali S.N. et al. Population, growth, and water use of groundnut maintained on stored water. I. Root and shoot growth [J]. Experimental Agriculture, 1989, 25: 51-61.

[10] Qiyi Tang, Mingguang Feng DPS^© Data processing system for practical statistics [M], 2002 Beijing: Science Publishing House 120 200 (In Chinese)

[11] Wall M.E., Wani W.C. et al. Plant antitumor agent I. The isolation and structure of camptothecin, a novel alkaloidal leukemia and tumor inhibitor fromCamptotheca acuminata [J]. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 1966, 88: 3888-3890.

[12] Xiufeng Yan, Yang Wang, Tao Yu et al. Determination of Camptothecin in leaves ofCamptotheca acuminata Decne. by HPLC [J]. Journal of Instrumental Analysis, 2002, 21(2): 15-18. (In Chinese)

[13] Xiufeng Yan, Yang Wang, Tao Yu et al. Variation in camptothecin content inCamptotheca acuminata leaves [J]. Botanical Bulletin of Academia Sinaca, 2003, 44: 99-105.