Adventitious rooting in shoot cuttings of Azadirachta indica and Pongamia pinnata

Adventitious rooting in shoot cuttings of neem (Azadirachta indica) and karanj (Pongamia pinnata) was investigated in different seasons. The influence of auxins and B-vitamins (neem only) was evaluated. Maximum rhizogenesis coincided with the emergence of new sprouts i.e. February (neem) and March (karanj). Considering both rooting percentage and root biomass, IBA was the most effective auxin tested. Compared to auxin free controls, IBA (1000 ppm in neem and 800 ppm in karanj) significantly increased adventitious rooting percentage (80 to 100 % respectively), the numbers of roots and root biomass for both species. In neem, B-vitamin treatment yielded 40–50% rooting for cuttings. This was significantly greater than rooting for controls but equivalent to IAA treatments. In neem, some of the cuttings treated with 2000–3000 ppm IBA had well developed root systems without any sprouts. In karanj, all auxin treatments promoted sprouting. The level of total soluble sugars in the rooting zone of neem and karanj was higher in non-rooted than rooted cuttings.     

A methylflavan with free radical scavenging properties from Pancratium littorale

The isolation of 7,4'-dihydroxy-8-methylflavan (1) from the dichloromethane extract of Pancratium littorale stem was guided by an assay for free radical scavenging activity towards the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazyl radical (DPPH). The structure of 1 was established by spectrometric methods including UV, EI mass spectrometry, 1H and 13C-NMR. The free radical scavenging properties of 1 were quantified in solution using spectrophotometry.     

用亚铁水泥板制作竹混凝土复合柱的试验论证

本文介绍了用4根牡竹制作的并用亚铁水泥板做连接轴向载荷的一种结构形式-柱子——的初试论证。在结构试验中,柱高1.4 m,上部、中部和底部用亚铁水泥板连接起来。用万能试验机进行了非轴压力试验,以研究其性能。本文还报道了最大承载和失败模式。这是一种成本效益较高的竹柱设计方法,可以以最少的资源和半熟练工进行大量生产。笔者建议,用"BSMCRETE"来命名这种竹混凝土复合材料。     

Landscaping and performance of some aesthetic plant species in hot, arid conditions of India

Establishment of ornamental and aesthetic plants in hot, arid conditions of India is difficult due to the prevailing climatic, edaphic and biotic factors. Effect of turfgrass on the growth of ornamental plants in hot arid conditions has not been studied so far anywhere in the world. A study was conducted on the campus of Arid Forest Research Institute, Jodhpur, India to assess the performance of a few ornamental plant species in combination with turfgrass and without turfgrass with respect to different soil tilling intervals. Growth of plants was better with turfgrass than without turfgrass. We suggest adopting a soil tilling interval of 30 days to achieve optimum growth of ornamental plant species in terms of height and crown diameter. Our results can help reduce labor costs and achieving better landscapes in fewer days in hot urban conditions of Indian sub continent.     

Anti-diabetic potential of ursolic acid stearoyl glucoside: a new triterpenic gycosidic ester from Lantana camara

A new stearoyl glucoside of ursolic acid, urs-12-en-3β-ol-28-oic acid 3β-d-glucopyranosyl-4′-octadecanoate and other compounds were isolated from the leaves of Lantana camara L. The structure of this new glycoside was elucidated and established by standard spectroscopic methods. In streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats it showed significant reduction in blood glucose level.     

Antibacterial activity of Terminalia pallida

The methanol extract of the dried fruit powder of Terminalia pallida was evaluated for antimicrobial activity. The methanol extract showed a broad spectrum of antibacterial activity.     

Plant Regeneration from in vitro Cultured Anthers of Black Mustard (Brassica nigra Koch)

Anthers of Brassica nigra, excised from fresh as well as cold-pretreated (3 days at 3 ± 2°C) buds cultivated on modified B₅ medium (Gamborg et al. 1968) containing sucrose level varying from 2 % to 10 %, along with 1O^?6M BAP (benzylaminopurine) and 9 × 10^?6M 2,4-D (2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid), developed calli and/or embryos. The latter response was observed only in anthers reared on media containing 6 % or higher levels of sucrose. On media containing two or four per cent sucrose, the anthers produced calli, exclusively. The growth of embryos was inhibited or else they started callusing if left on the media containing higher levels of sucrose. However, on transfer to MS medium (Murashige and Skoog 1962), containing 2 % sucrose, embryos started callusing and subsequently a few secondary embryos differentiated. Such embryos were sub-cultured on MS + 5 × 10^?6M BAP + 2 % sucrose, wherein numerous shoots developed from embryos. The shoots were rooted by transferring to a medium containing 5 × 10^?6M NAA (naphthalene acetic acid). Within two months of culture, some of these plants started flowering in vitro.     

Morphology, Cytology and Fertility of Avena sativa L. ×A. magna Murph. et Terrell Amphiploids

The genotypes of Avena sativa were crossed to A. magna Murph. et Terrell, from the sterile pentapliod F₁ amphiploids were successfully developed after colchicine treatment. The C₁ plants were observed for their morphology, cytology and fertility. These plants were characterized by longer and broader glumes, swollen pedicel attachment, pubescent lemmas, bold seeds and persistent spikelets. Other characters, viz., final plant height, rachis length, peduncle length and spikelets per panicle were intermediate. All plants hail the chromosome number 2n = 70 or close to. 7C. Due to stickiness of chromosomes, meiosis of only two decaploid plants could be studied in detail. The average chromosome Association was 1.3 I + 28.56 II + 1.4 III + 1.77 IV + 0.07 VI and 0.13 I + 28.7 II + 0.14 III + 2.09 IV + 0.59 VI; but in some cells up to 35 bivalents were observed. Seed set as well as pollen fertility and size exhibited great variation.     

Effect of Gluconacetobacter diazotrophicus and Trichoderma viride on soil health, yield and N-economy of sugarcane cultivation under subtropical climatic conditions of India

Intensive cropping and exhaustive nature of sugarcane–wheat–rice cropping system in the Indo-Gangetic Plains of South Asia have led to the depletion of soil organic carbon content and inherent soil fertility resulting in a serious threat to the sustainability of these production systems. Bioagents like Gluconacetobacter diazotrophicus and Trichoderma viride have great potential to restore soil fertility and promote sugarcane growth. Field experiments, therefore, have been conducted to study the integrated effect of bioagents (G. diazotrophicus and T. viride), Farm Yard Manure (FYM) and fertilizer N on sugarcane rhizosphere, crop yield and N economy for two crop cycles during 2004–2006 and 2005–2007 crop seasons at Lucknow, in the middle Indo-Gangetic plain region. Both bioagents could survive and colonize sugarcane rhizosphere and FYM improved their colonization. Enhanced soil microbial population and microbial carbon (SMC) and nitrogen (SMN) with increasing N level were probably due to more available N in the soil. FYM/bioagents amendment further enhanced the microbial carbon. The uniform increase in the fraction of SMC and SMN of total organic carbon indicated that immobilization/mineralization was being maintained in the soil where enhanced microbial biomass might act later as a source of nutrients.Bioagents ammended FYM enhanced the uptake of N, P and K in sugarcane at all the levels of fertilizer N. It was mainly due to the enhanced nutrient availability in the rhizospheric soil as the soil organic C and available N, P and K content increased with the application of bioagents/FYM. A saving of 76.3 kg N ha⁻¹ was envisaged by the use of G. diazotrophicus inoculated FYM with marginal (2.4 t ha⁻¹) decline in the cane yield. Application of T. viride enriched FYM, however, brought economy in the use of fertilizer N by 45.2 kg ha⁻¹ and also increased the yield by 6.1 t ha⁻¹compared to the control treatment. Overall, strategic planning in terms of an integrated application of these bioagents/manures with fertilizer N will not only sustain soil fertility but will also benefit farmers in terms of reducing their dependence and expenditure on chemical fertilizers.     

Estimation of phenotypic divergence in a collection of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Capsicum</Emphasis> species for yield-related traits

Phenotypic divergence among the 24 accessions belonging to a collection of six species of Capsicum from different geoclimatic regions available in field gene bank of CIMAP, Lucknow, India, was quantified by multivariate analysis for 12 quantitative and qualitative traits. Based on their values, all 24 accessions were grouped into six clusters such that the genetic stocks within cluster had smaller D ² values among themselves than those belonging to different clusters. The accessions of Capsicum annuum were distributed in different clusters in morphotyping representing different species, suggesting that taxonomic characteristics are not always related to agronomic traits. No parallelism/association was found between geographical and phenotypic diversity. Accessions 15 and 23 (clusters V and VI, respectively) had distinct identity. The three characteristics that played the greatest role in differentiation were fruit diameter, number of fruits per plant, and leaf diameter, which can be utilized as conventional/morphological markers for the improvement of chilli yield and obtaining good segregants in chilli breeding programs.