BACKGROUND Recent research on nanoparticles in a number of crops has evidenced for enhanced germination and seedling growth, physiological activities including photosynthetic activity and nitrogen metabolism, mRNA expression and protein level, and also positive changes in gene expression indicating their potential use in crop improvement. We used a medicinally rich vegetable crop, bitter melon,...

Maintenance of garlic (Allium sativum L.) genetic resources has had a long tradition in the Czech Republic. The collection was founded in 1951 and its current holder is the Crop Research Institute, Department of Vegetables and Special Crops in Olomouc. The collection consists of 613 genotypes. The oldest genotype was acquired in 1954. The collection has been evaluated according to the Descripto...

Growth parameters such as leaf area (LA), total dry mass (TDM) production, crop growth rate (CGR), relative growth rate (RGR), and net assimilation rate (NAR) were compared in six varieties of mungbean under subtropical condition (24°8' N 90°0' E) to identify limiting growth characters for the efficient application of physiology breeding for higher yields. Results revealed that a relatively sma...

Drought limits the agricultural production by preventing the crop plants from expressing their full genetic potential. Three mechanisms, namely drought escape, drought avoidance and drought tolerance are involved in drought resistance. Various morphological, physiological and biochemical characters confer drought resistance. Morphological and physiological characters show different types of inh...

Genetically modified (GM) crops with higher yields and better quality are currently being used in the feeds of livestock and fishes. Despite the advantages, there are concerns about GM-feeds including their effect on animal health, performance and safety of the consumers of animal products like milk, meat, egg and fish. Studies are conducted to assess the feeding efficiency of GM-crops in lives...

Maize (Zea mays) is a major food and animal feed worldwide and occupies a relevant place in the world economy and trade as an industrial grain crop. Currently more than 70% of maize production is used for food and feed; therefore, knowledge of genes involved in grain structure and chemical is important for improving the nutritional and food-making properties of maize. It is a good source of car...

Cryptic diversity within bumblebees (Bombus) has the potential to undermine crucial conservation efforts designed to reverse the observed decline in many bumblebee species worldwide. Central to such efforts is the ability to correctly recognise and diagnose species. The B. lucorum complex (Bombus lucorum, B. cryptarum and B. magnus) comprises one of the most abundant and important group of wild...

In the present study, bioaccumulation of REEs in Zea mays L. (corn plant) has been analyzed. The role of Rare Earth Element (REEs) in physiology and biochemistry of corn plant have been studied. Physiological characters like peroxidase (POD) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities, biochemical analysis of chlorophyll, carotenoids and phenol contents have also been carried out. The plant growt...