BACKGROUND Faba bean is an important starch-based protein crop produced worldwide. Soil acidity and aluminium toxicity are major abiotic stresses affecting its production, so in regions where soil acidity is a problem, there is a gap between the potential and actual productivity of the crop. Hence, we set out to evaluate acidity and aluminium tolerance in a range of faba bean germplasm using so...

Organic vegetable production has specific research and innovation requirements which are not shared by other parts of the food and farming sector. A pot experiment was conducted to investigate the interactive effects of few permitted organic inputs such as arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, biochar, and different ratios of peat:worm casting on tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) growth, mycorrhizal dep...

This experiment was designed to characterize the effects of size and concentration of an Iranian clinoptilolite zeolite on the growth ofFicus benjamina (starlight) in peat base media. Ficus benjamina was stock rooted and grown in a peat consisting perlite (2: 1 v/v) (P: Pe), zeolite (10, 20, 30 and 40 v/v %, two sizes 0.5-3 mm and 3-8 mm) instead of peat in P: Pe (2: 1 v/v) media. Ficus benjami...

The effects of cerium and lanthanum on the vegetative and reproductive growth of Arabidopsis thaliana were investigated. Addition of cerium (III) nitrate (0.5-50μM) and/or lanthanum nitrate (0.5-50μM) to the culture medium and the potting mix showed varied results. Pot trials were done with uniform conditions for light, water and temperature. Factors examined include root length, height, number...

A case-control study was performed in South Australia to determine if L. longbeachae infection was associated with recent handling of commercial potting mix and to examine possible modes of transmission. Twenty-five laboratory-confirmed cases and 75 matched controls were enrolled between April 1997 and March 1999. Information on underlying illness, smoking, gardening exposures and behaviours wa...

this experiment was designed to characterize the effects of size and concentration of an iranian clinoptilolite zeolite on the growth officus benjamina (starlight) in peat base media. ficus benjamina was stock rooted and grown in a peat consisting perlite (2: 1 v/v) (p: pe), zeolite (10, 20, 30 and 40 v/v %, two sizes 0.5-3 mm and 3-8 mm) instead of peat in p: pe (2: 1 v/v) media. ficus benjami...

Vermicomposts, produced commercially from food wastes, were substituted at a range of different concentrations into a soil-less commercial bedding plant container medium, Metro-Mix 360 (MM360), to evaluate their effects on the growth and yields of peppers in the greenhouse. Six-week-old peppers (Capsicum annum L. var. California) were transplanted into 100%, 80%, 60%, 40%, 20% or 10% MM360 subs...