In vitro clonal propagation of Gardenia latifolia Ait.: a toy making woody tree

An efficient, in vitro clonal propagation protocol has been established for Gardenia latifolia Ait. using mature nodal explants on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium fortified with cytokinins (BA/Kn/2-iP) (1.0–5.0 mg l^?1) in combination with auxin IAA (0.5 mg l^?1). Maximum bud break (87 %) with shoot number (7.2 ± 0.26) observed on MS medium supplemented with BA (4.0 mg l^?1) and IAA (0.5 mg l^?1). Maximum number of shoots (30 ± 0.46) with shoot length of (0.9 ± 0.03 cm) observed on MS medium supplemented with BA (2.0 mg l^?1), Kn (2.0 mg l^?1) and IAA (0.5 mg l^?1). Further elongation of shoots (3.5 ± 0.06 cm) was achieved on MS medium supplemented with BA (1.0 mg l^?1) and IAA (0.1 mg l^?1). About 70 % of root induction occurred in half-strength MS medium supplemented with IBA (4.0 mg l^?1) in 4–6 weeks. Further elongation of roots with average length (9.0 cm) was achieved in culture bottles containing vermiculite and ¼ strength MS salts. After their partial hardening in these bottles for 30 days they were transferred to pots containing a mixture of soil and vermicompost (1:1) for acclimatization. The acclimatized plantlets were established in the field successfully with 85 % survival rate.     

Foliar traits of jasmine plants intercropped in coconut

Shade is one of the important limiting factors in intercropped agro-ecosystems. Objective of this work is to analyze the role of eight foliar traits of juvenile plants of five different species of Jasminum grown under coconut shade. The results reveal the shade tolerant J. pubescence to produce more number of nodes and longer shoots in all the three seasons studied. J. grandiflorum produced longer leaves and internodal distance than other species tested. Winter season shoots were longer with more number of nodes and longer internodal distances than rainy season. Results are discussed in relation to the adaptive behavior of plants to shade.     

Prevalence and incidence of the root-inhabiting fungi, Fusarium, Cylindrocarpon and Pythium, on container-grown Douglas-fir and spruce seedlings in British Columbia

Surveys were made at the end of the 1990 and 1991 growing seasons for root-inhabiting fungi in the genera Fusarium, Cylindrocarpon and Pythium from the roots of one year-old container-grown Douglas-fir and spruce seedlings grown under greenhouse conditions. In the 1990 survey of four nurseries, it was found that 61–97% of both Douglas-fir and spruce roots were colonized with Fusarium, Cylindrocarpon or Pythium. There were significantly (p0.05) more Douglas-fir roots than spruce roots colonized by Fusarium at all nurseries, however, there were significantly (p0.05) more spruce roots than Douglas-fir roots colonized by Cylindrocarpon and Pythium. Root colonization of Douglas-fir and spruce by the three fungal genera during 1991 varied from 0–82% at three nurseries, however, only at a south coastal nursery was there significantly (p0.05) more spruce than Douglas-fir roots colonized by Cylindrocarpon. Significantly more seedlings were infected in 1990 than in 1991. In 1991, there were few significant differences between Douglas-fir and spruce, in the percentage of seedlings with colonized roots and in the percentage of growth medium colonized by the fungi. However, there were significant differences between nurseries.     

Antibacterial activity of the essential oil from Aristolochia indica

The essential oil of Aristolochia indica, containing beta-caryophyllene and alpha-humulene as major constituents, was found to show a moderate antibacterial activity.     

Folklore medicinal plants of North Andaman Islands, India

The rural folk of North Andaman, India use the traditional medicine for their primary health care. Folklore medicinal uses of 72 interesting medicinal plant species along with botanical name, local name, family, habit, part used, disease for which the drug is administrated, mode of administration are presented. These 72 plant species which provide the crude drugs pertain to 67 genera and 43 families of Magnoliophyta from tropical rainforests. These plants used to cure 40 ailments. Most remedies were taken orally, accounting for 76% of medicinal use. Most of the remedies were reported to have been from trees (55.6%) and herb (22.2%) species. The most widely sought after plant parts in the preparation of remedies in the areas are the stem bark (33.8%) and root (23.9%).     

Dynamics of algal populations and acetylene-reducing activity in five rice soils inoculated with blue-green algae

Summary The dynamics of five inoculated strains of heterocystous blue-green algae (BGA) and indigenous algae were studied for 1 month in 1-m² microplots of five soils previously air-dried or oven-dried. The same soils were then dried and resubmerged for another 2 months to study the effect of controlling algal grazers with neem (Azardirachta indica) seeds on the revival and dynamics of indigenous and inoculated algae. During the month following inoculation, inoculated BGA multiplied to some extend in all soils but never dominated the total algal flora. They rarely dominated the indigeneous heterocystous BGA, and did so only when the growth of N₂-fixing BGA was poor or after the decline of blooms of indigenous strains. Once the soils were dried, two of the five inoculated strains did not reappear. During the 1st month following rewetting, the remaining inoculated strains again exhibited poor growth; however, after 2 months of submergence, inoculated Aulosira fertilissima developed an agronomically significant bloom in neem-treated plots of two soils. Correlations between acetylene-reducing activity and heterocystous BGA populations indicated a major contribution by indigenous BGA and a minor contribution by inoculated BGA to the N₂-fixing activity of the soils during the first experiment and the 1st month of the second experiment. The establishment of inoculated BGA exhibited clear differences among strains but was less affected by the nature of the soil and heat treatment. Neem application might have had a delayed positive effect on the late establishment of inoculated A. fertilissima and favored BGA growth and N₂ fixation by the total algal population.Visiting Scientist at IRRI     

An economic evaluation of alternative pix application strategies for cotton production using GOSSYM/COMAX

The plant growth regulator pix (mepiquat chloride) is used extensively throughout the USA cotton belt to control excessive plant growth and to enhance early crop maturity in cotton production. Economic returns from pix use can vary greatly across different production environments. This study evaluates the economic returns to dryland cotton obtained from 12 different pix application strategies under two different soil types (Bosket sandy loam and Dundee silty clay loam) and three different weather conditions (normal, cold-wet, and hot-dry) in the Mississippi delta using simulated output from the GOSSYM/COMAX cotton management system. The most profitable pix application strategies varied by soil type. Also, economic returns were larger when using different pix application strategies for different weather conditions as opposed to using one pix application strategy for all weather conditions.     

Rhizobacteria-Mediated Growth Promotion of Tomato Leads to Protection Against Cucumber mosaic virus

ABSTRACT We evaluated combinations of two strains of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) formulated with the carrier chitosan for the ability to induce growth promotion of tomato plants and resistance to infection by Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV). Each PGPR combination included GB03 (Bacillus subtilis) and one of the following PGPR strains: SE34 (B. pumilus), IN937a (B. amyloliquefaciens), IN937b (B. subtilis), INR7 (B. pumilus), or T4 (B. pumilus). The PGPR combinations formulated with chitosan are referred to as biopreparations. Tomato plants treated with each of the biopreparations appeared phenotypically and developmentally similar to nonbacterized control plants that were 10 days older (referred to as the older control). When plants were challenged with CMV, all plants in the biopreparation treatments and the older control treatment had significantly greater height, fresh weight, and flower and fruit numbers than that of plants in the CMV-inoculated same age control treatment. CMV disease severity ratings were significantly lower for biopreparation-treated and older control tomato plants than for that of same age control plants at 14 and 28 days postinoculation (dpi). CMV accumulation in young noninoculated leaves was significantly less for all biopreparation-treated plants and those in the older control than for the same age control plants at 14 dpi and for four of the five biopreparation treatments at 28 dpi. In those tomato plants shown to be infected, the amount of CMV in noninoculated leaves was significantly lower for three of the biopreparation treatments and the older control treatment at 14 dpi and biopreparation G/INR7 treatment at 28 dpi when compared with the control treatment. These data show that treatment of tomato plants with biopreparations results in significant enhancement of growth and protection against infection by CMV.