In the latest two decades, the interest received by plant proteases has been on the rise. Serine proteases (EC 3.4.21)-in particular those from cucurbits, cereals and trees-share indeed a number of biochemical and physiological features, that may prove useful toward understanding of several mechanisms at the subcellular level. This critical review focuses on the characterization of most plant s...

Biological control of plant diseases has gained acceptance in recent years. Bacillus subtilis UMAF6639 is an antagonistic strain specifically selected for the efficient control of the cucurbit powdery mildew fungus Podosphaera fusca, which is a major threat to cucurbits worldwide. The antagonistic activity relies on the production of the antifungal compounds iturin and fengycin. In a previous s...

HERE has been a small amount of published information on the genetics of the heterothallic ascomycete causing root and fruit rot of cucurbits. In these publications the fungus has been referred to as Hypomyces solani f. cucurbitae. However, according to DINGLEY (1961), this organism belong to the species Nectria haenzatococca and should be called N . haematococca var. cucurbitae. Genetic knowle...

Among the flowering plants, the members of cucurbitaceae are duly useful for human being that is agood source of vegetables and also a better resource for phytochemical compounds. The present study was aimed to induce the callus from in vitro grown seedling explants. The effect of BAP and NAA have been investigated, the combination of BAP and NAA results in the higher callus induction. The call...

The word “pumpkin” is derived from the Latin word pepo, which is a botanical term for fruit with a hard rind and fleshy interior. The commonly used scientific name for pumpkins is Cucurbita pepo. But some other cucurbits, such as Cucurbita moschata (e.g., ‘Dickenson’ and ‘Libby Select’, known as processing pumpkin) (Figure 1, B) and Cucurbita maxima, which are winter squash, are also known as p...