Bacteria help plants grow

Rhizosphere bacteria help plants tolerate abiotic stress.

Plant-growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) are associated with plant roots and augment plant productivity and immunity; however, recent work by several groups shows that PGPR also elicit so-called 'induced systemic tolerance' to salt and drought. As we discuss here, PGPR might also increase nutrient uptake from soils, thus reducing the need for fertilizers and preventing the accumulation of ni...

Sales principles to help grow lab revenues-Part I.

Can International Patent Protection Help a Developing Country Grow?

International patent protection was a key issue at the multilateral trade talks sponsored by the World Trade Organization in Cancun in September 2003. Indeed, since the organization was founded almost ten years ago, the international protection of intellectual property rights (IPR) has been a bone of contention between developing and industrialized countries.At that time, developing countries d...

Sales principles to help grow lab revenues--Part II.

In the May 2012 issue of Medical Laboratory Observer; I had the honor to provide readers with the first four of nine sales principles for field representatives who have the responsibility of selling laboratory services to physician offices, hospitals, and other healthcare organizations. Principle # 1 was "Strategy is the foundation." Principle # 2 was "Reps must first be sold themselves." Princ...

To grow or not to grow: a stressful decision for plants.

Progress in improving abiotic stress tolerance of crop plants using classic breeding and selection approaches has been slow. This has generally been blamed on the lack of reliable traits and phenotyping methods for stress tolerance. In crops, abiotic stress tolerance is most often measured in terms of yield-capacity under adverse weather conditions. "Yield" is a complex trait and is determined ...