The objective of the study was to assess the growth contributing characters of biofield treated bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria) and okra (Abelmoschus esculentus) seeds. The seeds of both crops were divided into two groups, one was kept aside and denoted as untreated, while the other group was subjected biofield energy treatment. The variabilities in growth contributing parameters were studie...

In Catharanthus roseus (L.) G. Don each tissue is known to produce a distinct spectrum of terpenoid indole alkaloids. Since the invaluable antineoplastic bisindole alkaloids are restricted to the aerial parts of the plant and do not occur in its underground tissues, identification of the structural and regulatory factors operating distinctly in the shoot/leaf of the plant will be a necessity fo...

salix integra thunb. is a shrub distributed in china along the huai river riparian zone, and plays an important role in water and soil conservation. s. integra shrub land is easily submerged during july to october due to the flooding of huai river. in order to characterize the physiological mechanisms of waterlogging tolerance of s. integra and to help rationally select waterlogging-tolerant sp...

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES The bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria) is popularly known as lauki, ghia or dudhi in India. Its consumption is advocated by traditional healers for controlling diabetes mellitus, hypertension, liver diseases, weight loss and other associated benefits. However, in last few years there have been reports of suspected toxicity due to consumption of its juice. This led to the...

The experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of natural fermentation on physiochemical and sensory properties of bitter gourd slices. Initially three varieties of bitter gourd Thinnaveli white [V1], Mathale green [V2] and Thumba karavila [V3] were taken. Preliminary investigation was carried out to select the best variety. Sensory analysis was conducted using 30 untrained panelists an...

The present work describes, for the first time, the changes that take place in the leaf apoplastic antioxidant defenses in response to NaCl stress in two pea (Pisum sativum) cultivars (cv Lincoln and cv Puget) showing different degrees of sensitivity to high NaCl concentrations. The results showed that only superoxide dismutase, and probably dehydroascorbate reductase (DHAR), were present in th...

New genetic and archaeological approaches have substantially improved our understanding of the transition to agriculture, a major turning point in human history that began 10,000-5,000 years ago with the independent domestication of plants and animals in eight world regions. In the Americas, however, understanding the initial domestication of New World species has long been complicated by the e...

One of the most tantalizing unresolved questions in plant hydraulics is: where does water evaporate within the leaf? While several studies have explored experimental routes to answer this question (e.g. Sheriff & Meidner 1974; Farquhar & Raschke 1978), none have been able to provide a clear answer. In this issue of Plant, Cell & Environment, Tom Buckley has presented a new mathematical model in...

A cDNA clone was isolated from a maize (Zea mays L. cv W64AxW183E) scutellum lambdagt11 library using maize leaf NADH:nitrate reductase Zmnr1 cDNA clone as a hybridization probe; it was designated Zmnr1S. Zmnr1S was shown to be an NADH:nitrate reductase clone by nucleotide sequencing and comparison of its deduced amino acid sequence to Zmnr1. Zmnr1S, which is 1.8 kilobases in length and contain...

5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA), a natural and environmentally friendly plant growth regulator, can improve plant tolerance to various environmental stresses. However, whether ALA can improve plant waterlogging tolerance is unknown. Here, we investigated the effects of ALA pretreatment on the waterlogging-induced damage of fig (Ficus carica Linn.) plants, which often suffer from waterlogging stress...