[en] Decomposition and nutrients release pattern of leaves, stems/vines and roots of leguminous plants (Pueraria phaseoloides and Centrosema brasilianum) and non-leguminous plants (Chromolaena odorata and Panicum maximum) were examined for a period of 98 days. The decomposition rate declined in the order R maximum> C. odorata > R phaseoloides > C. brasilianum. On the 98 day, between 63% and 71 % of stems/vines only had decomposed. The % mass of the remaining materials were in the order of C. odorata > R phaseoloides > C. brasilianum > R maximum and the decomposition rate was in the reverse order. The mass loss and decomposition rates of the parts of the plant species followed the initial N concentrations of the residues in the order of leaves > roots> stems/vines. The initial N contents in plant residues varied from 0.42 to 3.19 g/kg and P from 0.03 to 0.27 g/kg. The pattern of N remaining in the stems/vines of the species at 98 days after placements (DAP) was in the order R phaseoloides (49%) > C. odorata (42%) > C. brasilianum (41%) > R maximum (36%). The chemical composition of the residues shows that the leaves are richer in N and P than the roots and least in stems/vines in the order C. odorata > C. brasilianum > R phaseoloides > R maximum. A direct relationship was observed between the initial N contents of the residues and initial polyphenol contents (r = 0.72, P < 0.01), but no relationships with the P content of the residues. The data reported in this study shows that the decomposition patterns of above and below -ground residues of leguminous and non-leguminous plant species could have positive effect on nutrients requirement of crops. (author)

[en] Components of genetic variation for productive peduncles on main stem and branches in mungbean were estimated using triple test cross procedure. Treatments used for estimation of genetic variation for both traits exhibited highly significant differences which indicate the existence of considerable genetic variation among inbred lines, testers and developed recombinants. Epistatic effect showed significant role in the inheritance of both traits. Productive peduncles on main stem exhibited almost equal values for both i type, and j + l type non-allelic interaction whereas i type interactions value was more compared to j + l type interactions in productive peduncles on branches. This indicated that additive x additive type non-allelic interaction plays an important role in the inheritance of productive peduncles on branches. The complex inheritance of both traits can be exploited for improvement by delay in selection until the material is advanced through bulk procedure. (author)

[en] Twelve quality-trait of five commercial varieties of Basmati rice viz: Basmati 370, Basmati 385, Basmati 198, Basmati 6129 and Super Basmati, were determined according to standard methods. Under existing conditions, it is very difficult to assess overall quality of Basmati rice-varieties, because if a variety is superior in one quality trait, it is inferior in another quality trait, to some other Basmati rice variety, which creates confusion. In order to determine the overall quality-status, we have made an effort to quantify the various quality-traits. Each quality-trait has been allotted a score, in terms of its importance, and the overall status of each variety is computed. Based on our estimation, Super Basmati is of highest quality (98.21%), followed by Basmati 6129 (96.46%), Basmati 370 (95.59%), Basmati 385 (95.26%) and Basmati 198 (92.95%). (author)

[en] Tulip (Tulipa gesneriana L.) holds spectacular and colorful bright floral buds that are widely adorned like no other flower, across the globe. In cut flowers, persistent and prolonged display life is the matter of concern which decides quality index for florists and consumers. Endophytic bacteria, taken up by the plants when colonized, can act as sink for 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate (ACC), hence delay senescence. These bacteria, when used as suspension solution for cut flowers, increase the vase life manifolds which signify their application to commercial floriculture. Keeping in view, the exalted status and market value of cut tulips, an experiment was conducted to study the response of four bacterial strains viz. Burkholderia phytofirmans (PsJN), Caulobacter sp. (FA-13), Enterobacter sp. (MN-17) and Bacillus sp. (MN-54) along with control treatment (non-treated stems) in concentrated and diluted forms to estimate the postharvest longevity. 15 mL of suspension solution of bacterial culture was sprayed on each observational unit under controlled conditions in laboratory. In this experiment, (PsJN) in concentrated form, performed best and resulted in the longest vase life (11.2 d), delayed leaf yellowing (8.8 d), more water uptake (70.33 mL), less stem elongation (5.14 cm), more days to open flower bud (2.47 d), maximum flower diameter (50.79 mm) and . Whereas (MN-17) in concentrated form performed best in fresh and dry mass ratio and reduced stem bending. In conclusion, use of plant growth promoting bacteria (PGPB) is a useful tool in escalating vase life of cut tulips with improved floral attributes. (author)

[en] Brassica rapa is one of the important oilseed crops and commonly grown all over the world for multiple purposes. The present study was designed to study intra-specific quantitative characters among 253 B. rapa genotypes. The two years mean morphological data were recorded for all these characters under field condition. Significant variations were recorded among genotypes for days to flower initiation, days to 50% flowering completion, days to flowering completion, days to maturity, leaf length and width, plant height, primary branches plant/sup -1/, main raceme length, pod length, pod width, stem thickness, ,thousand seed weight, seed yield plant/sup -1/ and pod shattering (stage I-IV). Many elite lines such as Br-505, Br- 512, Br-536, Br-547, Br-560, Br-760, etc. had excellent morphogenic responses in both years. The present early flowering and maturity lines, pod shatter resistant and maximum yielding genotypes give unique opportunity to enhance the quality and production of this important crop. (author)

[en] Pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata Duchesne) bush mutant plants were characterized by short stems. The sensitivity of pumpkin bush mutant plants to exogenous hormones was identified in this study. Results revealed that internode elongation of bush mutant plants could respond to gibberellins (GA4+7 and GA3), but not to indole acetic acid (IAA) and brassinosteroids (BR); by contrast, the mutant phenotype of bush mutant plants could not be fully rescued by GA4+7 and GA3. The internode of bush mutant plants yielded a lower KS expression level than that of vine plants. Therefore, pumpkin bush mutant plants were designated as GA-related mutant plants eliciting a partial response to GAs; the action of IAA and BR might not be involved in the internode growth of pumpkin bush mutant plants, specifically Cucurbita moschata Duch. (author)

[en] Decomposition and nutrients release pattern of leaves, stems/vines and roots of leguminous plants (Pueraria phaseoloides and Centrosema brasilianum) and non-leguminous plants (Chromolaena odorata and Panicum maximum) were examined for a period of 98 days. The decomposition rate declined in the order P maximum> C. odorata> P. phaseoloides> C. brasilianum. On the 98 day, between 63% and 71% of stems/vines only had decomposed. The % mass of the remaining materials were in the order of C. odorata > P phaseoloides> C. brasilianum > P maximum and the decomposition rate was in the reverse order. The mass loss and decomposition rates of the parts of the plant species followed the initial N concentrations of the residues in the order of leaves > roots > stems/vines. The initial N contents in plant residues varied from 0.42 to 3.19 g/kg and P from 0.03 to 0.27 g/kg. The pattern of N remaining in the stems/vines of the species at 98 days after placements (DAP) was in the order P phaseoloides (49%) > C. odorata (42%) > C. brasilianum (41%) > P maximum (36%). The chemical composition of the residues shows that the leaves are richer in N and P than the roots and least in steins/vines in the order C odorata > C. brasihanum> P. phaseoloides > P maximum. A direct relationship was observed between the initial N contents of the residues and initial polyphenol contents (r = 0.72, Pc 0.01), but no relationships with the P content of the residues. The data reported in this study shows that the decomposition patterns of above and below - ground residues of leguminous and non-leguminous plant species could have positive effect on nutrients requirement of crops. (author)

[en] Photosynthesis during the grain filling period contributes about 60-100% of the final grain carbon content while the remainder is realized through remobilization of stored carbohydrate laid down before anthesis in stem and leaf sheath. Efficiency for translocation of photosynthates between source and sink is a critical determinant of grain filling. However, the source to sink relationship is known to change during the crop growth and also in response to biotic and abiotic stress. For higher economic yields, both the source and the sink efficiency are important and influence each other. We hypothesize that stem photoassimilate reserves can play a significant role in improving sink efficiency under condition of depleted source efficiency, i.e., during leaf senescence. Radiotracers and radiations have immense applications and in this paper we report a method of stem injection of ¹⁴C-sucrose to measure the contribution of stem reserves towards grain filling during induced leaf senescence in field grown wheat

[en] Shannon-Wiener index and Simpson's diversity index together with other metrics, e.g., richness, number of stems per species or species-specific density (N: S ratio), and kurtosis, were applied to characterize the woody plant diversity patterns of a subtropical broadleaved forest in south China. The aims of our study were to compare the efficacy and sensitivity to community diversity measures between Shannon-Wiener index and Simpson's diversity index. Tree census data from a 5-ha sample plot was partitioned into 3 datasets by diameter class to represent 3 distinct woody plant communities for the characterization of diversity across communities. The 5-ha sample plot of the forest had a total abundance of 23,301 tree stems = 1 cm DBH and a richness of 139 species. The majority of tree stems were seedlings (41.1%) and saplings (38.8%), whereas canopy trees only accounted for 20.1% of the total tree stems. Both Shannon-Wiener index and Simpson's diversity index decreased significantly in response to a decrease in the N: S ratio across the datasets, but Shannon-Wiener index was more sensitive to plot-based richness changes and had a higher efficacy in predicting changes in species richness. Our findings are contrary to the general belief that Shannon-Wiener index is an insensitive measure of the character of the N: S relationship and have demonstrated that it remains a good measure for species diversity in plant community studies for its sensitivity and efficacy. We also suggest that the kurtosis statistic can be used as a new diversity measure due to its sensitivity to diversity change. (author)

[en] The effects of elevated carbon dioxide concentration and two nutrient regimes on stem growth rate, annual ring structure and temporal variations in photosynthetic characteristics of seedlings of Japanese larch were evaluated. When compared with ambient carbon dioxide, elevated carbon dioxide reduced stem height and increased stem basal diameter, but had no significant effect on ring width or the number of tracheids per radial file. No obvious difference was observed in cell wall thickness or the relative area of cell wall between seedlings grown in ambient or elevated carbon dioxide. Net assimilation rate increased in the presence of elevated carbon dioxide, however, the increase in whole-crown photosynthetic rate was minimal due to the smaller needle area and acclimation of the photosynthetic characteristics of the needles to the growth in carbon dioxide concentration. Conclusion: elevated carbon dioxide concentration did not appear to significantly affect the capacity of stems of Japanese larch seedlings for carbon fixation for use in cell wall synthesis, although there was evidence of change in the temporal pattern of stem growth and stem thickening. 52 refs., 3 tabs., 4 figs