White mulberry (Morus alba L.) originates from East Asia. To Europe it was introduced in the 16th century. From the second half of the 17th century until the end of II. World War mulberries were planted in Vipava valley for the purpose of sericulture. The aim of presented diploma thesis was to examine differences in the morphometric characteristics of leaves of different mulberry genotypes sampled in the Vipava Valley. We sampled the fifth to seventh leaf from the apex irrespective of the exposition. The leaf area, peduncle length, leaf length, leaf width, the right and the left width from the rachis, the length of the left basal vein and the length of the right basal vein. Pruning affects the size of the leaves and also the expression of heterophylly. Pearson correlation coefficient between pruning and measured parameters indicated a strong correlative relationship. The highest mean values of all measured parameters were analyzed for trees that were trimmed every year and the lowest mean value were determined for trees that remained uncut. Based on the results we can conclude that the pruning affects the size of the leaves as the tree strikes a balance between roots and canopy. By increasing the leaf surface area the tree provides itself a sufficient amount of photoassimilates for growth and development.
D.10 Educational activities
COBISS.SI-ID: 4231724Preserving the plant genetic resources of genus Morus is insufficient but undoubtedly vital for conservation of the world’s germ plasm for our successors. In the master’s thesis we documented and sampled old mulberry genotypes from Gorizia region, that were used as a silkworm’s feed in the past. Research was focused on old mulberry varieties from the Gorizia region in Slovenia which were assessed for their contents on crucial metabolites (proteins, phenolics and thiols) in leaves regarding their antioxidant and nutraceutical potentials. Total proteins were measured spectrophotometrically by following the procedure of Bradford, the total phenolic contents were determined using the Folin-Ciocalteu method. Thiols were marked with monobromobimane fluorescent dye and determined fluorometrically by HPLC. Total proteins in leaves of different mulberry genotypes ranged from 35 to 126 mg/g dry matter (DM), total phenolics reached 16 g gallic acid equivalent /100 g, glutathione varied from 705 to 2019 nmol/g DM and cysteine from 24 to 73 nmol/g DM. The presented metabolite screening showed that some of the evaluated genotypes had higher concentrations of glutathione and were superior in contents of proteins and phenolics when compared to the results of other authors and could be propagated as highly recommendable feed for silkworms, and other animals.
D.10 Educational activities
COBISS.SI-ID: 4165676The white mulberry (Morus alba L.) has throught the centuries become characteristic tree of former silk-producing areas due to its leaves were widely used as silkworm's feed. The black mulberry (Morus nigra L.) is quite rare in Slovenia althought the data of abundance and locations of trees are far from complete. Its dark coloured fruits can be easily confused with dark genotypes of white mulberry's fruits. Althought the tradition of sericulture in Slovenia is rich, it rapidly declined at the beginning of 20th of century when the artificial silk had predominated. However many mulberry trees were preserved in Slovenia and its neighbouring countries. Some of them are even hundreds of years old and their genotypes represent remarkable natural inheritance.
F.01 Acquisition of new practical knowledge, information and skills
COBISS.SI-ID: 4266284