Impact of the orientation of seed placement and depth of its sowing on germination: A review

Seed orientation and its impacts on germination and seedling establishment mainly depend on the type of germination (hypogeal (or) epigeal), seed size and shape. Higher germination per cent is noticed when seeds are sown in the horizontal position. Planting seeds in a downward position can lead to a variety of physiological, chemical and morphological changes in seedlings. Consequences are usually manifested as noticeable modifications in their development. Vigorous seeds have strong, resilient seedlings due to their well-balanced metabolism and coordinated subcellular activity, making them well-suited for tough environments. Proper plumule and radicle growth require additional hormones and energy to ensure seedling survival. Four necessary factors must be considered while deciding the sowing depth viz., soil moisture, optimum soil temperature, soil aeration and atmospheric humidity required for seed germination, emergence and seedling growth. Variations are observed in germination behaviour and seedling growth for different sowing depths. The necessary factors are very much important for efficient nursery seedlings production. This review looks at the effects of seed depth and orientation on the germination and growth of important agricultural, horticultural and silvicultural crops

Effect of ageing on in vitro true seed and in vivo drupe germination and its dormancy mechanism in teak (Tectona grandis Linn.f)

The germination percentage of teak seed is generally very poor due to its higher percentage of empty seed and poor seed viability. The viable seeds exhibit protracted germination behaviour due to their inherent seed dormancy and other physiochemical characteristics. Hence establishing a teak nursery for largescale plantation activities is a challenging task. This study was undertaken to study the effect of ageing on in vitro true seed and in vivo drupe germination and its dormancy mechanism in teak. Fresh, one-year and two-year stored drupes were used to represent different levels of ageing. Under in vivo conditions, poor drupe germination was observed in fresh drupes (3%) and germination percentage was increased when the drupes were subjected to ageing for one year (17%) or two years (32%). When true seeds separated from fresh drupes and germinated under in vitro conditions, enhanced germination (58.3%) was observed. Biochemical analysis showed that indole-3- acetic acid, indole butyric acid, abscisic acid and coumarin are not present in fresh, one year and two-year-old true seeds. The gibberellic acid was increased with an increase in ageing, but the GA3 did not influence the germination percent under in vitro conditions. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) image of fresh teak true seed showed that embryo tip was shrivelled, whereas one and two-year-old true seed embryo tip bulged; this was confirmed that one and two-year-old true seed embryos were matured and satisfied the after-ripening requirement. Nursery studies revealed that one and two-year-old drupes recorded the highest germination compared to fresh drupes.                

Melting and solidification of pure metals by a phase-field model

In this paper, we study melting and solidification for metallurgical processes related with phase transitions of pure metals, which during the solid phase show an evident ductility. So, the transition is between a viscous fluid and a viscoplastic state. In this work these particular phenomena can be well described by a phase field fractional model, whose evolution has to satisfy a Ginzburg- Landau equation. Then, we prove the compatibility with the Thermodynamic Laws. Hence, for metallurgical phase transitions, we have considered a similar model by a new fractional derivative and compared the behavior of the first with this second model. Finally, a generalization to finite deformation for the same models is presented in the last section

SDS-PAGE urinary protein profile of commensal rat.

<p>The estrous cyclic and ovariectomized urinary proteins were separated by 12% SDS-PAGE and the Lane- M contains 7 µL of Bangalore Genei protein molecular markers, (PE) Proestrus, (E) Estrus, (ME) Metestrus, (DE) Diestrus, (OVX) Ovariectomized, each lane contains 30 µg protein.</p

Intensity (band area) of 14.5 kDa protein around estrous cycle and Ovariectomized animal.

<p>The intensity of the protein band was compared with estrous phases and ovariectomized animal. The protein intensity significantly high during estrus (E) and metestrus (ME) compared to proestrus (PE), diestrus (DE) and ovariectomized (OVX) using Fisher’s least significant difference post-hoc comparisons (*p<0.05). Values are mean ± SE from six gels (<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0071357#pone.0071357.s002" target="_blank">Figure S2</a>).</p

MALDI-mass spectrum and Sequence coverage of 14.5 kDa band.

<p>(a) 14.5 kDa protein band was undergone for in-gel tryptic digestion and the spectra was collected form MALDI-MS. Number in the mass spectrum gives precise m/z (M+H) values for detected peptide ion signals. (b) Single letter coded protein sequence was obtained for 14.5 kDa from mascot search. The matched 69% sequence coverage was highlighted in underlined red colour.</p

Vaginal cytology as observed in commensal rat at different phases of estrous cycle.

<p>The observed estrous cycle phases are (A) Proestrus, (B) Estrus, (C) Metestrus, (D) Diestrus. Nucleated epithelial (circle), cornified epithelial (arrow), leucocytes (Square) were identified in vaginal smear.</p

Secondary structure of EULP.

<p>Secondary structure of 14.5 kDa protein was analyzed by SOPMA tool. The total sequence length was 132 and the sequence contains extended strand (Ee), alpha helix (Hh), random coil (Cc) and beta turn (Tt).</p