Desert rose

Abstract: Over the past decade the desert rose received fame in the flower market due to its striking and sculptural forms; however, the commercial production of these species is quite recent and little is known about its crop management, including substrates recommendation. The objectives of this study were to investigate the effect of different substrates on desert rose seed germination and production of its seedlings. Experiment I: freshly harvested seeds of desert rose were sown in different substrates e.g. sand, coconut fiber, semi-composted pine bark, sand + coconut fiber, semi-composted pine bark + sand and coconut fiber + semicomposted pine bark. These substrates were evaluated to study the emergence percentage of seeds, initial growth of seedlings and seedling emergence speed index (ESI). Experiment II: desert rose from the experiment I were transferred to plastic pots filled with the same substrates as in experiment I. The pH and electrical conductivity (EC) of the substrates were noted every 30 days while the growth parameters of seedlings were recorded after 240 days. Results from experiment I showed higher germination rate and seedling growth in substrates containing semi-composted pine bark. Similarly, in experiment II, better quality seedlings were observed in substrates containing semi-composted pine bark. Thus, for desert rose seed germination and seedling growth, it is recommended to use substrates containing semi-composted pine bark.

Abstract: Particle-induced x-ray emission (PIXE) and Rutherford backscattering spectromatery (RBS) were used to analyse desert rose geological samples. Samples from the rose core and from the rose peripherals were studied. All samples were found to contain C, N, O, Na, Mg, Si, S, Cl, K, Ca, Ti, Mn, Fe and Sr. Core samples were found to contain more silicon than peripheral samples. The extra silicon in the rose core may suggest a mechanism for the formation of the rose through crystal growth on a seed of silicon.

Abstract: Desert rose (Adenium obesum (Forssk.) Roem. & Schult), a member of the family Apocynaceae, is characterized by fleshy stems and leaves and colorful flowers. This exotic ornamental, originally from southeast Africa, is propagated vegetatively and is a perennial in warm climates. Virus-like foliar symptoms, including chlorotic ring and line patterns, were observed in the fall of 2004 on one of five stock plants being maintained in a greenhouse in Fort Pierce, FL. Inclusion body morphology suggested the presence of a Tospovirus in the symptomatic plant, and Tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) was specifically identified in this plant using a commercially available double antibody sandwich-enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (DAS-ELISA; Agdia, Elkhart, IN). TSWV was not detected in symptomless desert rose plants nor was Impatiens necrotic spot virus detected in any of the plants using DAS-ELISA. Graft transmission of TSWV to other desert rose plants was successful. Sequence analysis of a nucleocapsid (N) protein gene fragment amplified by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) with primers TSWV723 and TSWV722 (1) from total RNA of the symptomatic plant confirmed the diagnosis. Nucleotide and deduced amino acid sequences of a 579-bp region of the RT-PCR product were 95 to 99% and 95 to 100% identical, respectively, to TSWV N-gene sequences in GenBank. No product was amplified from symptomless plants. Since these 3-year-old plants were grown on-site from seed and only expressed symptoms 2 months following damage to the greenhouse by hurricanes Frances and Jeanne, it is likely that viruliferous thrips were introduced from local vegetable or ornamental production areas during or following the storms. To our knowledge, this is the first report of TSWV infection of desert rose in Florida, although TSWV was observed in this plant in Europe approximately 10 years ago (3,4). Because of the wide distribution of TSWV in the United States, the increasing popularity of desert rose, and the recent identification of Cucumber mosaic virus in this host (2), attention to sanitation and insect vector management is merited during desert rose propagation and production. References: (1) S. Adkins and E. N. Rosskopf. Plant Dis. 86:1310, 2002. (2) C. A. Baker et al. Plant Dis. 87:1007, 2003. (3) J. Mertelik et al. Acta Hortic. 432:368, 1996. (4) J. Th. J. Verhoeven and J. W. Roenhorst. Acta Hortic. 377:175, 1994.

Abstract: Desert roses are gypsum crystals that consist of intersecting disks. We determine their geometrical structure using computer assisted tomography. By mapping the geometrical structure onto a graph, the topology of the desert rose is analyzed and compared to a model based on diffusion limited aggregation. By comparing the topology, we find that the model gets a number of the features of the real desert rose right, whereas others do not fit so well.