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This paper describes the resluts of experiments conducted to know the mechanism of enrichment of nitrogen in Populus deltoides .
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Research Interests:
Attempts at isolation and culture of mesophyll protoplasts of tree species has revealed problems of low yields (1,2) coupled with poor digestibility which has necessitated lengthy exposure times to enzymes. There have also been problems... more
Attempts at isolation and culture of mesophyll protoplasts of tree species has revealed problems of low yields (1,2) coupled with poor digestibility which has necessitated lengthy exposure times to enzymes. There have also been problems of leaf leachates (3). Only recently, a case of successful mesophyll protoplast culture has been reported (4). Some researchers have overcome these problems by isolating protoplasts from callus cultures derived from mature trees (5,6) and have reported the complete protoplast systems utilizing such tissues for Santalum and Ulmus respectively. It has now been possible to induce embryogenic cell suspension of Populus ciliata. The somatic embryos produced by this cell suspension developed into complete plants which have been transferred to field conditions (7,8). This study was undertaken to determine the suitability of totipotent cell suspensions for isolation and culture of protoplasts.
Research Interests: Biology and Protoplast
Random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers were used to assess genetic diversity and varietal relationships in eight sugarcane varieties popularly cultivated in Punjab. Young leaves from spindles of at least five clones of each of... more
Random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers were used to assess genetic diversity and varietal relationships in eight sugarcane varieties popularly cultivated in Punjab. Young leaves from spindles of at least five clones of each of the eight cultivars were used for DNA extraction using CTAB method. A total of 23 RAPD primers were used for amplification, three of which did not produce any bands. Two broad clusters were evident in the dendrogram for sugarcane cultivars of Punjab. The results give an indication to make conscious efforts to diversify parental genetic base of sugarcane to ensure high genetic variability among varieties being considered for breeding in the state.
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Steviol glycosides are highly sweet diterpene glycosides found in the Paragyan shrub, Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni. Steviol glycosides, mainly stevioside and rebaudioside, principal components of Stevia rebaudiana leaf, has become well known... more
Steviol glycosides are highly sweet diterpene glycosides found in the Paragyan shrub, Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni. Steviol glycosides, mainly stevioside and rebaudioside, principal components of Stevia rebaudiana leaf, has become well known for their sweetness and are used as non-caloric sweeteners in several countries due to their nutritional and pharmacological benefits. Hence, craving for sweetness led man to discover several forms of alternative sweeteners. In this study, different polar and non-polar solvents were used for extracting glycosides from stevia leaves and the components isolated through column chromatography were characterized as steviolmonoside, stevioside and rebaudioside B on the basis of spectral (IR and 1H-NMR data), physical and chemical characteristics.
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In vitro clonal propagation of Polyalthia longifolia var. pendula was carried out using nodal segments from mature trees as explant. Bavistin (1.0%) for 30 min and Mercuric chloride (0.1%) for 1 min resulted in maximum survivability.... more
In vitro clonal propagation of Polyalthia longifolia var. pendula was carried out using nodal segments from mature trees as explant. Bavistin (1.0%) for 30 min and Mercuric chloride (0.1%) for 1 min resulted in maximum survivability. Highest bud break (89.67%) and maximum mean numbers of shoot buds (6.33) were observed on MS + BAP (1.0 mg/l) + IBA (0.5 mg/l) and MS + BAP (3.0 mg/l) + NAA (0.5 mg/l) media respectively. Mean bud size was found maximum (24.6 mm) on ½ MS + IBA (100 mg/l) + 0.25 per cent activated charcoal medium. Maximum survivability (65.33%) and maximum bud break (90.33%) was observed in months of April-May. Alow response (2.5%) to rooting was shown in ½ MS + IBA (1.5 mg/l) medium where a single root, measuring 1.5 cm in length was formed in 150 days after culturing.
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Research Interests:
The apple industry is undergoing change throughout the world. The old established cultivars like Delicious are giving way to new compact spur types that hold the advantage of producing more fruit of better quality per unit land area per... more
The apple industry is undergoing change throughout the world. The old established cultivars like Delicious are giving way to new compact spur types that hold the advantage of producing more fruit of better quality per unit land area per unit time in high density planting systems (1). Breeding programs also are producing new cultivars which are more attractive, high yielding, insect and pest resistant, and are of better storage quality (2 — 7). Such cultivars, however, are available in limited quantity and it is just not possible to multiply trees at a faster rate, since most of scion cultivars are difficult to root from shoot cuttings. The alternative method of producing shoots on root cuttings has also proved quite unsuitable (8). In nursery, apple scion cultivars are propagated by budding or grafting onto seedlings from seeds or vegetatively propagated root stocks which themselves are raised by stooling or layering; a process that usually takes three years.
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Research Interests:
Hypocotyl-derived somatic embryos of Indian mustard (Brassica juncea cv. RLM 198) were cultured on MS media containing 10% PEG and 2, 10 or 20% sucrose, with 2% sucrose without PEG as a control. The cultures were kept in continuous light... more
Hypocotyl-derived somatic embryos of Indian mustard (Brassica juncea cv. RLM 198) were cultured on MS media containing 10% PEG and 2, 10 or 20% sucrose, with 2% sucrose without PEG as a control. The cultures were kept in continuous light or a 16/8 h light/dark regime at ...
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Research Interests:
A widespread leaf deformity disease of mentha (mint), accompanied by whiteflies, the vectors of begomoviruses, was observed in Punjab in the last few years. The presence of begomovirus was indicated by DNA dot-blot analysis using the... more
A widespread leaf deformity disease of mentha (mint), accompanied by whiteflies, the vectors of begomoviruses, was observed in Punjab in the last few years. The presence of begomovirus was indicated by DNA dot-blot analysis using the conserved coat protein and replication-associated protein genes of another begomovirus, Sri Lankan cassava mosaic virus (SLCMV). A DNA fragment (2.0 kb), representing a partial genomic DNA of a begomovirus, amplified from the symptomatic mentha leaves was used to design end-primers and further amplify an additional 0.9 kb fragment, representing the remaining portion of the resident viral DNA. The two sequences, assembled together (2.7 kb), showed that they represented the complete sequence of an isolate of Tomato leaf curl Karnataka virus (ToLCKV) DNA. Using universal betasatellite primers, a 1.4 kb fragment was amplified from the same sample. This cloned DNA fragment showed complete sequence identity with the previously reported Cotton leaf curl Multan...