In an attempt to replicate the findings of Smith et al., seeds of Raphanus sativus L. (radish), Sinapsis alba L. (mustard), and Hordeum vulgare L. (barley) were grown for between 9 and 21 days in continuous electromagnetic fields (EMFs) at "ion-cyclotron resonance" conditions for stimulation of Ca(2+) (B(H) = 78.3 mu T, B(HAC) = 40 mu T peak-peak at 60 Hz, B(V) = 0). On harvesting, radish showe...

Background: The composition of the planting beds and its microorganisms has a very important role on the establishment, growth and phytochemical performance of medicinal plants. Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the effect of different planting beds and inoculation of mycorrhizal fungus on the changes of stevioside, rebaudioside, and morpho-physiological traits of stevia. Meth...

The effects of salt stress and auxin on germination factors of three wheat cultivars viz. Sepahan, c-84-8, and c-83-1 were studied under controlled conditions. Germination was assessed using three replicates of 25 seeds in a factorial lay out in Completely Randomized Design (CRD) testing combinations of three levels of salinity (0, 4, and 8 dSm-1 NaCl) and three levels of auxin (0, 0.5, and 1 p...

To probe variation in Al sensitivity of two co-occurring pine species, seedlings from six full-sib families of loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) and slash pine (Pinus elliottii Engelm.) were grown in solution culture containing 4.4 mM (high-Al) or 0.01 mM (low-Al) AlCl(3) at pH 4 for 58 days. On average, both pine species had 41% less total dry weight in the high-Al treatment than in the low-Al tr...

Active polyamine metabolism occurs in Glycine max (L.) seeds during development. Most (>/=97%) of putrescine (Put), spermidine (Spd), spermine (Spm), and cadaverine (Cad) are present as free forms in the growing embryo. In the cotyledon or embryonic axis, Put decreases to a nearly undetectable level, while Spd level sharply increases as seed dry weight accumulation progresses. Spm level in the ...

This study shows that enhancement of soil fertility along with the yield of chickpea due to nodulation by the Rhizobium is possible to some extent. Data on plant height (cm) at maturity, primary branches/plant, days to flower, pods/plant, pod dry weight/plant (g), seeds/pod, seed dry weight/pod (g), 50 seeds weight (g), nodules/plant, fresh weight of nodules/plant and dry weight of nodules/plan...

The kinetics of the production of fumonisin B1 (FB1) by Fusarium moniliforme MRC 826 in corn cultures was investigated as a function of fungal growth at various incubation temperatures. The growth rate of F. moniliforme, as measured by ergosterol concentration, was higher at 25 degrees C than at 20 degrees C, reaching a stationary phase after 4 to 6 weeks in both cases. FB1 production commenced...

Antibiotics in the environment are a potential threat to environmental ecosystems as well as human health and safety. Antibiotics are designed to have a biological effect at low doses, and the low levels detected in the environment have turned focus on the need for more research on environmental occurrence and fate, to assess the risk and requirement for future regulation. This article describe...