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Romanian Journal of Biology - Plant Biology ROMANIAN ACADEMY |
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Volume 56, No. 1, 2011
1. Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing to the Convention on Biological Diversity – Scientific considerations for Romania pp. 3 - 9 MARIA-MIHAELA ANTOFIE Romania capacity building needs in the access to genetic resources domain are analyzed in this article. As asignatory Party to the Convention on Biological Diversity, since 1994, our country agreed in 2010 at the 10th Conference of the Parties to adopt the decision regarding the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing to the Convention on Biological Diversity. This Protocol is a successful result of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention, after six years of negotiations at international level and after the adoption in 2002 of the non-legally binding Bonn Guidelines. Through this assessment we recommend that Romania should get involved in the process of capacity building analysis and development for being able to appropriately respond as a signatory Party to the Convention to all requirements imposed at the international level to all Parties through this Protocol. 2. Genetic variability and correlation for yield and fruit quality characters of bhendi pp. 11 - 15 R. PACHIYAPPAN, K. SARAVANAN Bhendi (Abelmoschus esculentus) is a most common vegetable crop cultivated for its tender, nutritive fruits. It is well adopted suitable for cultivation all round the year for providing continuous income to the farmer. An experiment was conducted to study the genetic variability and correlation in bhendi, involving 40 genotypes for eight important economic characters, namely days to first flowering, plant height, number of branches per plant, number of fruiting nodes, fruit length, fruit girth, fruit weight, fruit yield per plant. High PCV and GCV were observed for the traits fruit girth, fruit weight, fruit yield per plant. Majority of the traits were recorded high heritability. For fruit weight and fruit yield per plant, high heritability coupled with high genetic advance as per cent of mean were observed. The results indicated the inverse relationship between fruit weight and fruit yield per plant. Fruit yield per plant was positively and significantly correlated with fruit girth, fruit length, number of fruiting nodes, number of branches per plant and plant height, whereas, fruit yield per plant had negative and significant correlation with days to first flowering. 3. Karyotype analysis in some species of Allium section Allium (Alliaceae) pp. 17 - 27 MATIN MIRYEGANEH, ALI MOVAFEGHI In the current investigation, karyotypes and chromosome characteristics of several species of Allium belonging to section Allium are presented. Plants were collected with their bulbs mostly from the east Azerbaijan province of Iran and cultivated in water. The root tips were rinsed and pretreated by alpha-monobromonaphthalene prior to fixation by Carnoy’s fixative and staining with Feulgen/Schiff reagent. Chromosomes characteristics were determined using photographs complemented by statistical analyses. On the basis of our observations, all chromosome results available for the section Allium were based on x = 8 and x = 7. Although satellite chromosomes were frequently seen in other sections of the genus such as Melanocrommyum, they were rarely evident in section Allium. The chromosomes were mainly metacentric, submetacentric and rarely acrocentric and differed somewhat in length. Telocentric chromosomes, which were occasionally found in other sections of the genus, did not appear in this section. Accordingly, although the general karyotype pattern in the genus Allium is relatively uniform, karyotypes of the section are usually readily identified by their distinctive chromosome features. 4. An assessment of high yielding M3 mutants of green gram (Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek) pp. 29 - 36 M.R. WANI, S. KHAN, M. I. KOZGAR An experiment was conducted to evaluate the extent of genetic variability for quantitative traits in M3 mutants of green gram following mutagenesis with EMS, HZ and SA. A considerable increase in mean values for fertile branches per plant, pods per plant and total plant yield (g) was noticed among the isolated mutant lines in M3 generation. Estimates of genotypic coefficient of variation, heritability and genetic advance for yield and yield components were also recorded to be higher in the treated population. Increase in mean values coupled with an increase in genetic variability for yield contributing traits of these mutants suggest further possibilities of selecting more promising lines with high yield potential. Positive and significant correlations among various character pairs of the mutants were observed. The protein content showed a negative correlation with plant yield, indicating the independent genetic control of protein content and the seed yield. 5. Response of temperature and pH on the growth and biochemical changes in Spirulina platensis pp. 37 - 42 K.V. AJAYAN, M. SELVARAJU The effect of temperature and pH on growth pattern and biochemical composition of Spirulina platensis was studied under controlled conditions. The chemical constituents were analyzed in terms of lipid, protein, carbohydrate and photosynthetic pigments. The combination of 32 oC and pH 10.0 supports the biomass and biochemicals respectively. The effect of pH was modulated by temperature and vice versa during biomass production. 6. Study of chemical constituents of citrus plantation soils and citrus plant materials under severe decline (dieback) at the Nigeria Institute of Horticultural Research (NIHORT) pp. 43 - 55 I.O. EZEIBEKWE The study of the chemical constituents (analysis) of the soil and Citrus plant materials at the Citrus orchards of the National Institute of Horticultural Research, Mbato, Okigwe in Imo state, Nigeria showed that mineral nutrients (calcium, sodium, nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, copper and zinc) were present at low proportions (0.003 mg/100 g–4.75 mg/100 g) in both the dry season and wet season soil samples when compared with standard permissible limits of mineral elements. Iron was high (1.01–1.23 mg/100 g). Analyzed citrus plant parts also showed that nutrients were at low levels (0.10 mg/100 g–5.58 mg/100 g) when compared with minimum standard requirements. The mineral status of the rhizosphere of diseased fruits compared to that of seemingly unaffected plants and the soil from the unplanted portion of the orchard showed low levels. The soil was strongly acidic pH 94.00–5.58) with low Cation Exchange Capacity (0.06–4.51) indicating very low exchangeable bases and poor in nutrients. 7. Preliminary phytochemical and pharmacognostical studies of Moringa oleifera roots pp. 57 - 64 M. PANCHAL, K. MURTI, M. SHAH Micromorphological characters for Moringa oleifera roots are not reported. Moringa oleifera Lam (synonym: Moringa pterygosperma Gaertner) belongs to an onogeneric family of shrubs and trees, Moringaceae, and is considered to have its origin in Agra and Oudh, in the northwest region of India, south of the Himalayan Mountains. Although the name “Shigon” for M. oleifera is mentioned in the “Shushruta Sanhita” which was written in the beginning of the first century A.D., there is evidence that the cultivation of this tree in India dates back many thousands of years. It is characterized by the presence of a thick walled cork, several layered regularly arranged. Epidermis is thin walled and single layered, cortex and hypodermis are distinct, fibers and vessels are lignified, medullar rays are thick walled and lignified. Centre is occupied by the pith which is thin walled and has parenchymatous cells. Phytochemical investigation of root shows total ash (7.5 % w/w), acid insoluble ash (2.5 % w/w), and water soluble ash (5.0 % w/w). Loss on drying is (0.9078 % w/w). Alcohol soluble extractive value (17.6% w/w), water soluble extractive value (16.8 % w/w), Rf value of TLC is 0.63, pH is 7.21 ± 0.01. The alcoholic and aqueous extracts obtained from the plant are 8.7 % w/w and 9.2 % w/w. In alcoholic extract and in aqueous extract, alkaloids and essential oils are present in major amount. Other constituents including resins, amines, glycosides, phenolic compounds and gums and mucilage were present, and saponins, alkaloids, phytosterols, fixed oils, fats, proteins, amino acids, volatile oils were absent. 8. Estimation of essential and trace elements in the medicinal plant Tribulus terrestris by ICP-OES and flame photometric techniques pp. 65 - 75 R. SELVARAJU, G. THIRUPPATHI, R.G. RAMAN, D. DHAKSHANAMOORTHY The selected essential and trace elements like Ca, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Na and Zn in the tissues (leaf, flower and fruit) of medicinal plants were determined by using Inductive Coupled Plasma -Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES) and Flame Photometry (FP) techniques. The concentrations of elements were correlated with the soil where plant was growing. The result shows that the tissues of Tribulus terrestris plants are the best sources of nutrient element. The elemental statuses in flowers are higher than other tissues of the plant studied.
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