Salinity and heavy metals affect the growth and development of higher plants and also their productivity. In the present study, Cauliflower (Brassica oleracea var botrytis) seeds were allowed to germinate and grow in the absence (control) and presence of different concentrations (50, 100, 250, 500, 750 and 1000 μM) of NaCl, CdCl2, HgCl2 and ZnCl2. Seed germination and growth parameters of seedl...

The biofortification of lentil (Lens culinaris Medikus.) has the potential to provide adequate daily selenium (Se) to human diets. The objectives of this study were to (1) determine how low-dose Se fertilizer application at germination affects seedling biomass, antioxidant activity, and Se uptake of 26 cultivated lentil genotypes; and (2) quantify the seed Se concentration of 191 lentil wild ac...

Enhanced ultraviolet radiation (UV) and elevated tropospheric ozone (O3) may individually cause reductions in the growth and productivity of important agricultural crops. However, research regarding their combined effects on important agricultural crops is still scarce, especially on changes in secondary metabolites and endogenous hormones, which are important protective substances and signal c...

The effect of species richness and spatial aggregation on the stability of community productivity in response to drought perturbation was investigated with experimental plant communities. Communities comprising all singleand three-species combinations of the ruderal species, Capsella bursa-pastoris, Tripleurospermum inodorum, Poa annua, and Stellaria media, were established in glasshouse. Habit...

In this paper, we analyze the factors that influence the productivity of maize among smallholder farmers, given that unfavourable output and input market conditions throughout the 1990s have compelled smallholder farmers into unsustainable agricultural intensification. We use farm-household survey data in order to compare the productivity of smallholder maize production under integrated (ISFM) ...

In an attempt to go beyond the so called "smart" subsidies, Nigeria has embarked on a potentially innovative mobile phone-based input subsidy program that provides fertilizer and improved seed subsidies through electronic vouchers. In this article, we examined the productivity and welfare effects of the program using household-level data from rural Nigeria. The article employed instrumental var...

A research was conducted in Southern Italy to study the changes in seed yield, oil content andfatty acids composition, in response to irrigation at different stages of growing season (at sowing,Dry; from sowing to beginning of flowering, S-BF; from visible bud to 75% flowering, VB-FF;from beginning of flowering to seed ripening, BF-M; from sowing to seed ripening, Full), in astandard sunflower ...

The use of intra-varietal crossing is an important element to increase seed yield and improve a variety. aim the research was identify influence different options pollination sweet pepper on productivity other quantitative traits.
 It has been established, that re-pollination within variety in relation self-pollination causes reduction offspring period before fruit ripening by 3–7 days. Fo...