The quality of fruit targeted for human consumption is affected greatly by the methods used in processing. The objective of this study was to assess a method of treating cantaloupe melons to reduce the wound responses incurred by cutting while maintaining fruit quality. After being treated with an alternating magnetic field (AMF) at the strength of 2mT for 0, 5, 10, 15, 20, or 25 min, Cucumis m...

Effects of hormonal priming with abscisic acid (ABA), salicylic acid (SA), or ascorbic acid on wheat (Triticum aestivum cv. Auqab 2000) germination and seedling growth under normal (4 dS/ cm) and saline (15 dS/ cm) conditions were studied to determine their usefulness in increasing relative salt-tolerance. During germination test, most of treatments were effective in improving germination and s...

We studied the effects of liquid nitrogen storage of maize, common bean and soybean seeds on their germination, electrolyte leakage, levels of chlorophylls, phenolics, aldehydes, proteins and peroxidase activity. After storage for 28 days, seeds were retrieved from liquid nitrogen, some were set to germinate and others were analyzed biochemically. No phenotypic modifications were observed visua...

Phytotoxicity is a significant consideration in understanding the potential environmental impact of nanoparticles. Abundant experimental data have shown that multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) are toxic to plants, but the potential impacts of exposure remain unclear. The objective of the present study was to evaluate possible phytotoxicity of MWNTs at 0, 20, 200, 1000, and 2000 mg/L with red...

Abstraet--AAL-toxins and fumonisin B~ are phytotoxic to susceptible plants by inhibiting the enzyme ceramide synthase. Australifungin, which is structurally unrelated to these toxins, inhibits the same enzyme in the sphingolipid biosynthesis pathway of animals. In duckweed (Lemna pausicostata)cultures, 5 ~M australifungin caused accumulation of the sphingolipid precursors, phytospingosine and s...

The relationships of potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) tuber membrane permeability and membrane lipid composition to sugar accumulation were examined. Tubers from four potato cultivars were stored for 40 weeks at 3 degrees C and 9 degrees C. Rates of tuber membrane electrolyte leakage, total fatty acid composition, free fatty acid composition, and sugar content were measured throughout the storage ...

The changes in plant growth, transpiration rate, photosynthetic activity, plant pigments, electrolyte leakage, H2O2 content, lipid peroxidation, catalase activity and endogenous content of abscisic acid (ABA) were followed in the leaves of two wheat varieties (sakha 93 and 94) during drought stress and subsequent rehydration. Drought stress caused several inhibitory changes in the growth of bot...

Ultrastructural effects of AAL-toxin TA from Alternaria alternata on black nightshade (Solanum, nigrum L.) leaf discs and correlation with biochemical measures of toxicity. In black nightshade (Solanum nigrum L.) leaf discs floating in solutions of AAL-toxin TA (0.01-200 microM) under continuous light at 25 degrees C, electrolyte leakage, chlorophyll loss, autolysis, and photobleaching were obs...