Determination of ascorbic acid (AA) in garlic, green pepper and chestnut was performed by derivative spectrophotometry without using any pre-separation or background correction techniques. The method is based on the measurement of the distances between two extremum values (peak-to-peak amplitudes) in second and third order derivative spectra of the extracts. Ten percent trichloroacetic acid was...

Colored shading nets have been increasingly studied in semi-arid crop production systems, primarily because of their ability to reduce solar radiation with the attendant reductions air, plant, and soil temperatures. However, there is a paucity research concerning impact colored on various crops grown under environments, particularly sweet pepper ( Capsicum annum ) system. This study aimed inves...

The United States is one of few countries where the majority of bell peppers (Capsicum annuum L.) produced are green colored and grown on raised beds with mulch and drip irrigation. Outside the U.S., most peppers are grown in greenhouses and harvested as mature, colored peppers that receive a premium value at market. Florida bell pepper producers are in direct competition with Mexico, Israel, a...

Plants are sessile organisms, and their growth and development is detrimentally affected by environmental stresses such as drought and high salinity. Defense mechanisms are tightly regulated and complex processes, which respond to changing environmental conditions; however, the precise mechanisms that function under adverse conditions remain unclear. Here, we report the identification and funct...

The green lacewing, Chrysoperla carnea (Steph.) (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae), is a generalist predator in its larval stage of most species of soft bodied insect pests, especially aphids, whiteflies, thrips, coccids, and mealy bugs. This predator had been recorded in different regions in Saudi Arabia as indigenous species. The fitness of this indigenous predator for controlling the aphid, Aphis gos...

Phytophthora capsici is a pathogen on several economically important crops including pepper. The fungus attacks the roots, stems, leaves and fruit of the plant. Experiments were conducted to determine environmental conditions that may affect infection of pepper fruit by zoospores of P. capsici. Two techniques were used to inoculate the mature green pepper fruit. First, the blossom end of the fr...

Activity and expression of polygalacturonase (PG), a hydrolytic enzyme involved in ultrastructural changes in the pericarp of sweet pepper (Capsicum annaum), were investigated at different ripening stages of the pepper cultivars Mandi and Talanduo. Molecular cloning of CaPG was carried out by constructing a cDNA library from three stages of fruit ripening. Morphological determination, PG ...