Momordica charantia is often called bitter melon, bitter gourd or bitter squash because its fruit has a bitter taste. The fruit has been widely used as vegetable and herbal medicine. Alpha-eleostearic acid is the major fatty acid in the seeds, but little is known about its biosynthesis. As an initial step towards understanding the biochemical mechanism of fatty acid accumulation in bitter melon...

This study was performed to determine the effect of ultrasound treatment on seed germination, seedling emergence and mean germination times in seeds watermelon, melon, leek, pepper, carrot, tomato aubergine. Seeds treated with 40 kHz over 30 minutes (US), hydroprimed (HP) dry controls (C) were tested. US-treated had 85% percentages compared 82 78% for HP C seeds, respectively. Corresponding val...

Washing conditions that included a soak or brush scrub were evaluated for removal of Salmonella from the surface of smooth (honeydew) or complex (cantaloupe) melon rinds. Melon rinds were spot-inoculated onto a 2.5 cm2 area of rind (squares) with approximately 6.0 log(10) CFU/square of an avirulent nalidixic acid-resistant strain of Salmonella typhimurium. Melons were washed by immersion in 150...

We report a noble optical sensing method to diagnose seed abnormalities using optical coherence tomography (OCT). Melon seeds infected with Cucumber green mottle mosaic virus (CGMMV) were scanned by OCT. The cross-sectional sensed area of the abnormal seeds showed an additional subsurface layer under the surface which is not found in normal seeds. The presence of CGMMV in the sample was examine...

Efficient water resource management in relation to water use and crop yields is premised on the knowledge of plant resistance to water flow. However, such studies are limited and for most crops, the within plant resistance to water flow remains largely unknown. In this study, within plant resistance to water transport (hydraulic conductance) was monitored in tomato (Lycopersicum esculuntum) and...