Book review

Jana Pospíšilová, V. Segeťa, J. Krekule, Danuše Hodáňová, J. Čatský, Libuše Pavlová, M. Sosna, Ingrid Tichá, A. Kotyk

Biologia plantarum 21:314-320, 1979 | DOI: 10.1007/BF02902217

Effect of soil salinity on grain filling and grain development in barley

K. S. Gill

Biologia plantarum 21:241-244, 1979 | DOI: 10.1007/BF02902204

Experiments were conducted with five barley cultivars with the aim of ascertaining the effect of salt stress on grain filling, grain development and bioohemical composition of developing grains. Reduced grain yield under salt stress was found to be due to reduced efficiency per day to fill the grains and consequent more effective days and also due to disturbed starch-sugar balance.

Comparative utilization of inorganic and organic compounds as sole nitrogen sources by the submergent duckweed,Lemna trisulca L.

R. W. Holst, J. H. Yopp

Biologia plantarum 21:245-252, 1979 | DOI: 10.1007/BF02902205

The capability of the submergentLemna trisulca L. to utilize various inorganic and organic sources of nitrogen was studied using both non-axenic and axenic cultures. When doubling time for frond production was measured, the nitrogen sources in order of effectiveness were urea, aspartic acid, nitrate, glutamic acid, arginine, ammonium and casein hydrolysate. Nitrite supported a relatively rapid growth rate after an initial lag of 7 days. Other parameters of growth such as fresh or dry weight per frond or ohlorophyll content did not oorrelate well with rate of frond production. Casein hydrolysate and urea were found to elicit a morphology different...

Induction of polyploidy and C-tumours after treatingAllium cepa root tips with the herbicide "Treflan"

A. Kabarity, A. Nahas

Biologia plantarum 21:253-258, 1979 | DOI: 10.1007/BF02902206

Treflan has the ability to induce polyploidy inAllium cepa root tips. The frequency of polyploidy was reduced after allowing the roots to recover, which indicates that the process of polyploidy is a reversible one, if we apply Treflan for a short time (4 h). As soon as the chemioal is removed from the cells, they go on with their normal way in division. It was found that the concentration 350 × 10^-5 ml Treflan per 100 ml water is an effective concentration in producing polyploidy in the roots ofAllium cepa.Treflan induced C-tumours in root tips ofAllium cepa. Two types of enlargement were noticed, complete swelling...

Changes in some plant-water relation parameters of some oil producing plants over a range of salinity stresses

A. M. Ahmed, M. M. Heikal, M. A. Shaddad

Biologia plantarum 21:259-265, 1979 | DOI: 10.1007/BF02902207

When cultivated in culture solutions salinized with different concentrations (0 to 100 meq I^-1), of either NaCl or Na₂SO₄, the oil producing castor bean, flax and sunflower plants exhibited significant changes in their water relationship parameters (stomatal frequency, rate of transpiration and water content). Although the trend of these changes was nearly the same, their magnitudes depended on the plant treated as well as on the type and level of the salinizing agent. In this respect the values of the stomatal frequency and the rates of transpiration increased significantly with the rise of salinization up to the level...

Stomatal activity within the crowns of tall deciduous trees under forest conditions

P. Eliáš

Biologia plantarum 21:266-274, 1979 | DOI: 10.1007/BF02902208

The variation in stomatal activity within the crowns ofAcer campestre, Carpinus betulus andQuercus cerris was measured by vapour exchange porometer on several summer days in an oak-hornbeam forest, in SW Slovakia, Czechoslovakia. Variation resulted from crown position in the forest stand and from leaf position within the canopy. The highest stomatal conductance was in sunlit sun leaves in the upper part of the canopy. Stomatal conductance decreased with increasing depth in the canopy. The steepest decrease was in the upper canopy, in the intermediate zone between fully sunlit and fully shaded leaves, and was caused by the decline in leaf...

Occurrence of beet western yellows virus in sugar beet in Czechoslovakia

J. Pálak

Biologia plantarum 21:275-279, 1979 | DOI: 10.1007/BF02902209

The beet western yellows virus (BWYV) was identified in sugar beet plants with leaf yellowing symptoms. When transmitted toSinapis alba L. the virus isolate caused severe symptoms of yellowing and violetting of the interveinal leaf tissue of this plant. By aphidsMyzus persicae (Sulz.) the virus isolate was transmitted toLactuca sativa L.,Raphanus sativus L. var.radicula Pers.,Baphanus sativus L. ssp.sativus L. ap., and toBrassica oleracea L. var.gemmifera DC. InLactuca sativa plants the virus induces a yellowing along with thickenning and brittleness of leaves and with mild dwarfing...

Effect of EMS, MES and MMS on the chromosomal behaviour ofLens esculenta during microsporogenesis

S. A. Chaghtai, Z. Hasan

Biologia plantarum 21:280-283, 1979 | DOI: 10.1007/BF02902210

Progenies were raised from seeds ofLens esculenta L., cultivar JLS-3 treated with 0.03%, 0.09%, 0.16% and 0.26% (by volume) aqueous solutions of EMS, MES and MMS. Meiotic ohromosomes were studied from anthersmears. Ring and chain configurations of chromosomes were found more abundant with higher doses of mutagens particularly those of EMS. Chromosome bridges and multinucleolate nuclei were also frequently seen.

A contribution to the standardization of methods for the preparation of seed proteins ofAllium cepa L.

Eva Klozová, Věra Hadačová, Věea Turková

Biologia plantarum 21:284-290, 1979 | DOI: 10.1007/BF02902211

The study of certain conditions for the extraction of seed proteins ofAllium cepa revealed that the best extractibility of proteins is obtained by the use of a buffered physiological solution at 20 °C in comparison with TRIS-glycine buffer at 5 °C. Using potassium phosphate buffer with 0.01 M mercaptoethanol and 0.4 M NaCl, an amount of proteins by up to 25 per cent higher passes into solution as compared with the physiological solution, but these extracts are unsuitable for the electrophoretic separation in polyacrylamide gels. The defatting of the seed meal under low temperature did not affect the qualitative composition of the protein complex...

Increasing low-temperature resistance of soybean,Glycine max (L.) merr., by exposure of seeds to water saturated atmosphere

J. S. Knypl, Krystyna M. Janas

Biologia plantarum 21:291-297, 1979 | DOI: 10.1007/BF02902212

Hydration level of seeds determines vigour of soybean,Glycine max (L.) Merr. The seeds should contain at least 20% of moisture for a good performance at low temperatures. This hydration level can be reached by pre-sowing exposure of seeds in water saturated atmosphere (WSA). The exposure decreases both visible symptoms of chilling injury and leaching electrolytes during imbibition, and increases both germination and growth of seedlings at 10 to 12 °C. It is concluded that the cell membrane integrity is re-established in a course of the WSA exposure.

Czech and scandinavian isolates resembling dandelion yellow mosaic virus

J. Brčák

Biologia plantarum 21:298-301, 1979 | DOI: 10.1007/BF02902213

Virus isolates resembling the dandelion yellow mosaic virus (synonym: lettuce necrosis virus) were obtained from dandelion plants in twenty five localities of Bohemia and also of Norway, Sweden and Finland. All isolates were sap transmissible merely to lettuce, but some of them also toChenopodium quinoa; other test plants could not be infected. Attempted serological and biological identification of the isolates with some viruses presumed to be able to infect spontaneously dandelion plants have failed.

Study of CO₂ exchange processes, resistances to carbon dioxide and chlorophyll content during leaf ontogenesis in poplar

R. Cettlemans, I. Impens

Biologia plantarum 21:302-306, 1979 | DOI: 10.1007/BF02902214

Net photosynthetic (P_N) and dark respiration (R_D) rate, stomatal (rs') and internal (ri') resistances to carbon dioxide were measured by gas exchange methods on leaves of different ages, expressed in leaf plastochron index units (LPI) for a fast growing poplar cultivar Unal 2. Although the optimal leaf age differs slightly for the different gas exchange parameters, leaf ontogeny is reflected in the same way in these different parameters. MaximalP_N and minimalrs' and ri' values were found at LPI between 6 and 10. Chlorophyll concentrations were lowest at LPI lower than 10 although an...

Relationships between nitrate level, nitrate reductase activity and anaerobic nitrite production inPisum sativum leaf tissue

V. Škrdleta, Alena Gaudinová, Marie Němcová

Biologia plantarum 21:307-310, 1979 | DOI: 10.1007/BF02902215

Anaerobic nitrite production (thein vivo NO₃-R activity) in an incubation medium lacking exogenous nitrate but containing 0.5%n-propanol and 0.1% Triton X-100 showed higher correlation (y - ax^b) with the level of endogenous nitrate inPisum sativum L. leaves than thein vitro nitrate reductase activity. Thein vivo NO₃-R activity correlated well with thein vitro activity up to the 50 ppm NO₃-N level of endogenous nitrate. The ratioin vivo: in vitro activity slightly decreased with increasing level of endogenous nitrate in leaf tissue.

The correlative effect of the stem apex on the level of endogenous gibberellins inBryophyllum crenatum leaves

J. Šebánek, K. Slabý

Biologia plantarum 21:311-314, 1979 | DOI: 10.1007/BF02902216

Following a one-side transverse incision made into the middle stem part ofBryophyllum crenatum below one of the two opposite leaves, the leaf is exposed to an enhanced effect of correlatively inhibitory substances passing out of the apical part of the stem. Within 28 days this results in a formation of adventitious roots above the incision. The flow of correlatively inhibiting substances interrupted by the incision induces, as early as within 24 h, a decrease in the level of endogenous gibberellins in the leaf above the inoision.