The collared pika, Ochotona rufescens has been recorded as a serious pest in apple orchards in the uplands valley of Ziarat in Baluchistan. In the winter, when the natural vegetation is lacking, the pikas debark the apple tree trunks or branches resulting in the killing of the tree and reduced fruit production. In summer, damage to wheat, corn and potatoes is also very severe. It is estimated t...

BACKGROUND Radionuclides in the phosphate fertilizers belonging to (232)Th and (238)U and (40) K are the major contributors to the outdoor terrestrial natural radiation. These radionuclides are transferred from fertilizer to food through soil. MATERIALS AND METHODS Present work deals with the alpha activity in the different parts of the potato (Solanum Tuberosum) plants grown under controlled...

Effect of several parameters on inhibition of potato (Solanum tuberosum) invertase by its endogenous proteinaceous inhibitor was determined using homogeneous preparations of both proteins. The inhibitor and invertase formed an inactive complex with an observed association rate constant at pH 4.70 and 37 degrees C of 8.82 x 10(2) per molar per second and a dissociation rate constant of 3.3 x 10(...

The sulfated glycosaminoglycans, such as keratan sulfate and chitin sulfate having 3-hydroxy free N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminyl residues as constituents, reacted with wheat germ agglutinin and Solanum tuberosum agglutinin by sugar-specific interaction. The glycosaminoglycans showed different inhibitory activities to the hemagglutination reaction of these lectins and keratan sulfate and its modif...

Young, visually symptomless leaves from potato (Solanum tuberosum) plants infected with Verticillium dahliae exhibited reduced carbon assimilation rate, stomatal conductance, and intercellular CO(2), but no increase in dark respiration, no change in the relationship between carbon assimilation rate versus intercellular CO(2), and no change in light use efficiency when intercellular CO(2) was he...

Tuber-bearing potato species possess several genes that can be exploited to improve the genetic background of the cultivated potato Solanum tuberosum. Among them, S. bulbocastanum and S. commersonii are well known for their strong resistance to environmental stresses. However, scant information is available for these species in terms of genome organization, gene function, and regulatory network...

Land area devoted to organic agriculture has increased steadily over the last 20 years in the United States, and elsewhere around the world. A primary criticism of organic agriculture is lower yield compared to non-organic systems. Previous analyses documenting the yield deficiency in organic production have relied mostly on data generated under experimental conditions, but these studies do not...

Organic agriculture as well as good agricultural practices (GAPs) intrigues the concern of both consumers and producers of agricultural commodities. Bio-preparates of various rhizospheric microorganisms (RMOs) are potential sources of biological inputs supporting plant nutrition and health. The response of open-field potatoes to the application of RMO bio-preparates, the biofertilizer "Bioferti...

The potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) cultivar 'SpuntaG2' contains a single copy of the Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) cry1Ia1 gene and controls potato tuberworm (Phthorimaea operculella Zeller, Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae). Two potato cultivars and two breeding lines were crossed with SpuntaG2 creating four populations used to study cry1Ia1 segregation and efficacy. The cry1Ia1 gene segregated in each o...