Plants exude a variety of substances through their surface especially of roots and germinating seeds. Some of these released compounds seem to have an inhibitory action against certain pathogens. Lipid transfer proteins (LTPs) are 9 kDa cysteine-rich cationic peptides and are thought to play a role in the protection of plants against microbial infections. The aim of this work was to isolate and...

Materials and Methods Varieties selected for the 2003 organic soybean variety trial included the following: IA3011, IA3021, IA3022, Pioneer 9305, Schillinger 240F.Y, and Schillinger 290F.HP. Plots measuring 20 × 40 feet were laid out in a completely randomized block design with four replications of each variety. Soybeans were planted at a depth of 2 inches on May 28, 2003, at a rate of 200,000 ...

The entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium anisopliae MA05-169 is a transformant strain that has been metabolically engineered to express dihydroxynaphthalene-melanin biosynthesis genes. In contrast to the wild type strain, the transformant displays a greater resistance to environmental stress and a higher virulence toward target insect host. However, the underlying mechanisms for these characteri...

The effect of some processing techniques (germination boiling and dehulling) on the soluble sugar contents and the emulsion property of processed flour were studied. Results show that germination significantly reduced the raffinose level from the third to the fifth day sprouting period (P<0.05). Boiling and dehulling also reduced the content of this flatus oligosaccharide (raffinose) but not to...

Swelling parameters were determined for 15 seed species; the swelling quotients were found to range from less than 1.1 (castorbean) to 2.8 (mungbean) and swelling coefficients ranged from 0.09 (castorbean) to 0.42 (cowpea). Swelling leads to a lowering of specific gravity of those seeds with high initial specific gravity, and an elevation of those with low initial specific gravity. The extent o...

Effects of salicylic acid (SA) on seed germination, seedling growth, flowering and biochemical activities were studied out in four cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) genotypes in control environments. The results revealed that both germination and seedling growth were negatively affected by 0.02%. SA application, however did not affect the size of full expanded buds, time of 50% flowering and date of f...

1. Plant – animal interactions, and in particular the processes of seed predation and dispersal, are crucial for tree regeneration and forest dynamics. A novel and striking case of interaction between a dung beetle ( Thorectes lusitanicus ) and two Quercus species ( Q. suber and Q. canariensis ) in forests of southern Spain is presented here. 2. During the autumn, T. lusitanicus beetles (endemi...