We have quantified vegetable growers' exposure to fungal bioaerosol components including (1→3)-β-d-glucan (β-glucan), total fungal spores, and culturable fungal units. Furthermore, we have evaluated factors that might affect vegetable growers' exposure to fungal bioaerosols and airborne dust. Investigated environments included greenhouses producing cucumbers and tomatoes, open fields producing ...

1-Aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) level, ACC synthase activity, and ethylene production in cucumbers (Cucumis sativus L.) remain low while the fruit are held at a temperature which causes chilling injury (2.5 degrees C) and increase rapidly only upon transfer to warmer temperatures. The increase in ACC synthase activity during the warming period is inhibited by cycloheximide but not c...

Oligogalacturonic acid (OGA) affects plant growth and development in an antagonistic manner to that of the auxin indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), the mechanism by which remains to be determined. This study describes the relationship between IAA and OGA activity in intact cucumber (Cucumis sativus) seedlings. Both OGA and IAA induced rapid and transient extracellular alkalinization; however, the char...

Trichomes are specialized epidermal cells located in aerial parts of plants that function in plant defense against biotic and abiotic stresses. The simple unicellular trichomes of Arabidopsis serve as an excellent model to study the molecular mechanism of cell differentiation and pattern formation in plants. Loss-of-function mutations in Arabidopsis thaliana have suggested that the core genes G...

A comparative study on the effect of chemical fertilizers and bio-fertilizers was done on growth and biochemical parameters in cucumber plant (Cucumis sativus L.). An experiment was conducted in randomized completely blocks design (RCBD) with four replicates. The treatment were (T1= control, T2= bio-fertilizer, T3= chemical and T4= combination treatment (biofertilizer and 1⁄2 chemical)) at Agri...

BACKGROUND Sweet melons, Cucumis melo, are a widely grown and highly prized crop. While melons were familiar in antiquity, they were grown mostly for use of the young fruits, which are similar in appearance and taste to cucumbers, C. sativus. The time and place of emergence of sweet melons is obscure, but they are generally thought to have reached Europe from the east near the end of the 15th c...

Five-day-old etiolated cucumber (Cucumis sativus L. var. Alpha Green) cotyledons produced more chlorophyll over a 4-hour illumination period after a prolonged exposure (12 to 72 hours) in the dark to ethylene concentrations ranging from 0.1 to 10 mul/l. Intact seedlings and excised cotyledons responded in the same way to this treatment. This effect does not involve a shortening of the lag phase...

The variation of antioxidant activity and total phenolic content of some plants commonly used as home remedies were screened on the basis of air drying time of (short term and long term air) the dried plant Ocimum sanctum (leaf), Cucumis sativus (Seed), and ethanolic extracts of Capsicum frutescens (Seed) and Coriandrum sativum (Seed). Antioxidant activities and total phenolic content values we...

Root-knot nematodes (Meloidogyne spp) are destructive agricultural pests that reduce the productivity of cultivated vegetables worldwide, especially when vegetables are cropped continuously in greenhouses. Cucumbers (Cucumis sativus L.), in particular, suffer extensive damage due to root-knot nematodes, and only a few wild species are known to be resistant. Grafting of cultivated plants to root...

Human urine obtained from separating toilets was tested as a fertiliser for cultivation of outdoor cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) in a Nordic climate. The urine used contained high amounts of nitrogen with some phosphorus and potassium, but numbers of enteric microorganisms were low even though urine had not been preserved before sampling. The cucumber yield after urine fertilisation was similar...