Influence of microarthropod abundance and climatic factors on weight loss and mineral nutrient contents of Eucalyptus leaf litter during decomposition

Summary Densities of the different taxa of microarthropods per gram of litter in litter bags varied widely from the rainy to the dry season. Collembola and Acarina constituted more than 86% of the total microarthropods, and occurred in significantly greater numbers in the coarse-mesh bags than the fine-mesh bags. There were no fauna in the litter of suspended bags. The average weight loss was greater in the coarse-mesh bags (50.4%) than in the fine-mesh bags (44.5%), and the suspended bags (7.4%). Similarly, the concentrations of N and Ca were greater in the litter of coarse-mesh bags compared to that of the fine-mesh bags. In contrast, the concentrations of P and K were comparatively lower in coarse-mesh bags. The mass loss of litter showed a negative linear correlation with the total Collembola and with litter temperature. The N concentrations in the litter in both the mesh bags showed negative correlations with the abundance of total Collembola, and with that of Lepidocyrtus sp. and Sminthuridae, and rainfall. The N concentration in the litter in the coarse-mesh bags was positively correlated with the total number of arthropods but, surprisingly, was negatively correlated with the total number of Acarina. The concentration of Ca showed negative correlations with rainfall and litter moisture only. The P concentration showed positive correlations with total Collembola, with Lepidocyrtus sp. and Sminthuridae in both the mesh bags, with rainfall in the fine-mesh bags, and with total microarthropods in the coarse-mesh bags.     

In vitro shoot multiplication and plant regeneration in four Capsicum species using thidiazuron

A procedure of in vitro plant propagation using shoot meristem explants (∼0.5 cm) has been developed for Capsicum annuum cv CA960, C. baccatum, C. frutescens and C. praetermissum on Murashige and Skoog [Murashige, T., Skoog, F., 1962. A revised medium for rapid growth and bioassays with tobacco tissue cultures. Plant Physiol. 15, 473–497] medium containing various cytokinins. Among various concentrations of cytokinins tested; adenine (Ad), N⁶-benzyladenine (BA), kinetin (Kn), zeatin and thidiazuron (TDZ) individually. TDZ regenerated maximum number (4.2–22.4) of shoots in all the Capsicum species tested. Multiple shoot elongation occurred upon transfer to BA (0.22 μM l⁻¹) + IAA (0.48 μM l⁻¹). Rooting of regenerated shoots was achieved on medium supplemented with 5.71 μM l⁻¹ indole-acetic acid (IAA). Rooting was observed in 72–94% of shoots obtained from TDZ-containing regeneration medium followed by elongation treatment in contrast to 8–22% of shoots without elongation treatment. Plantlets obtained from TDZ-containing media were normal diploid (2n = 24) and could readily be established in the soil under green house conditions with a survival frequency of 68–84%. Regenerated plants were developed into morphologically normal, fertile plants and able to set viable seeds.