Leaf spot disease of rough lemon and brown spot disease of tangerines caused by distinct pathotypes of Alternaria alternata, and postharvest fruit black rot disease caused by A. citri, are the three major fungal diseases of citrus. The pathogenicity and specificity for the pathogens of Alternaria leaf spot and brown spot diseases are associated with the production of different host-specific tox...

The objective of this study was to investigate in vitro effect of Malva sylvestris leaf extract (at 0, 25, 50 and 100 µL/30 mL of medium) on sheep ruminal cellulolytic and total viable bacteria growth, protozoa populations, methane production, neutral detergent fiber degradability (NDFD) and fermentation efficiency of oat hay. The addition of Malva sylvestris leaf extract at 25, 50 and 100 µL l...

We proposed the hydraulic limitation hypothesis (HLH) as a mechanism to explain universal patterns in tree height, and tree and stand biomass growth: height growth slows down as trees grow taller, maximum height is lower for trees of the same species on resource-poor sites and annual wood production declines after canopy closure for even-aged forests. Our review of 51 studies that measured one ...

Red leaf color is an attractive trait of Malus families, including crabapple (Malus spp.); however, little is known about the molecular mechanisms that regulate the coloration. Dihydroflavonols are intermediates in the production of both colored anthocyanins and colorless flavonols, and this current study focused on the gene expression balance involved in the relative accumulation of these comp...

Effects of water stress on ethylene evolution from excised leaf segments and intact plants of wheat (Triticum aestivum L. cv Katepwa) were studied. Excised leaf segments of 8 day or 6 week old plants were dried until they lost 8% of their fresh weight (water potential about -2.3 megapascals). These and nondried control leaf segments (water potential about -1.0 megapascal) were sealed in glass t...

Different concentrations and combinations of hormones were used in MS medium to observe callus induction and then plant regeneration using leaf as explant. The rate of callus formation varied in different treatments used. The highest amount of callus (80.67%) was produced on MS medium containing 3.0 mg/l NAA from leaf after 20 days. The highest fresh weight of callus was obtained from 2.0 mg/l ...

Stevioside is a natural sweetener from Stevia leaf, which is 300 times sweeter than sugar. It helps to reduce blood sugar levels dramatically and thus can be of benefit to diabetic people. Tissue culture is a very potential modern technology that can be used in large-scale disease-free stevia production throughout the year. We successfully produced stevia plant through in vitro culture for iden...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Monoecious plants have the capacity to allocate resources separately to male and female functions more easily than hermaphrodites. This can be advantageous against environmental stresses such as leaf herbivory. However, studies showing effects of herbivory on male and female functions and on the interaction with the plant's pollinators are limited, particularly in tropical p...

Changes in land use may lead to increased soil nutrient levels in many ecosystems (e.g. due to intensification of agricultural fertilizer use). Plant species differ widely in their response to differences in soil nutrients, and for savannas it is uncertain how this nutrient enrichment will affect plant community dynamics. We set up a large controlled short-term experiment in a semi-arid savanna...

The adaptive significance of leaf longevity has been established in relation to restrictive nutrients that can be retranslocated within the plant. However, the effect of deficiencies in 'non-mobile' nutrients on leaf lifespan and photosynthetic carbon gain is uncertain. Calcium is frequently given as an example of an essential nutrient with low phloem mobility that may alter the leaf senescence...