Pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo) production relies on insect-mediated pollination, which is provided by managed and wild pollinators. The goals of this study were to measure the visitation frequency, longevity and temporal activity patterns of pumpkin pollinators and to determine if local habitat management and landscape composition affected this pollination service. We used video surveillance to monit...

The study was undertaken to assess the effects of Ni mobilizing bacteria on the plant growth and the uptake of Ni by Brassica juncea and Brassica oxyrrhina. Among a collection of Ni resistant bacterial strains isolated from the non-rhizosphere and rhizosphere soils of Alyssum serpyllifolium and Astragalus incanus at a serpentine site in Bragança, north-east of Portugal, nine strains were select...

Forty-six bacterial cultures, including one culture collection strain, thirty from the rhizosphere of Alyssum murale and fifteen from Ni-rich soil, were tested for their ability to tolerate arsenate, cadmium, chromium, zinc, mercury, lead, cobalt, copper, and nickel in their growth medium. The resistance patterns, expressed as minimum inhibitory concentrations, for all cultures to the nine diff...

In this study, among a collection of Ni-resistant bacterial strains isolated from the rhizosphere of Alyssum serpyllifolium and Phleum phleoides grown on serpentine soil, five plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB) were selected based on their ability to utilize 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate (ACC) as the sole N source and promote seedling growth. All of the strains tested positive for indol...

Organic fertilizers became a better alternative to chemical in modern agricultural practices however, contamination of copper (Cu) from organic fertilizer is still major concern for the globe. Plant growth promoting (PGP) microorganisms showed their efficiency combat with this problem and thus Cu tolerant PGP endophytes roots Odontarrhena obovata (Alyssum obovatum) growing on smelter contaminat...