Search

Under dryland conditions of the Texas High Plains, increased tiller production in grain sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) during early vegetative growth stages depletes stored soil water and potentially leads to severe water stress during the reproductive and grain-filling stages. The objective of this study was to understand how altered plant geometry and density affect light capture and determine tiller production in dryland grain sorghum clumps compared with uniformly spaced plants. Our data suggest that clump-planting geometry produced fewer tillers because of perception of lower red:far-red (R:FR) light ratio. In the Texas High Plains, planting sorghum seeds ≤2.5 cm apart in clumps of four plants seems to be a viable option to minimize tiller production, conserve water, and reduce plant water stress during later growth stages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nothapodytes nimmoniana is a medicinally important tree species that occur in the Western Ghats, a megadiversity hotspot in southern India. Inner stem bark of the tree contains an important anti-cancer alkaloid, camptothecin for which the natural population of the tree is heavily harvested. In this paper, we report the isolation and characterization of eight polymorphic microsatellite loci using enrichment hybridization protocol. Analysis of 36 individuals representing two populations revealed three to 12 alleles per locus. Observed heterozygosity ranged from 0.21 to 0.94 for the two populations. None of the loci tested showed linkage disequilibrium. These markers are invaluable for evaluating the genetic structure and assessing the genetic impacts of harvesting of N. nimmoniana in the Western Ghats to formulate strategies for conservation of the species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The global economy of the international trade of herbal products has been increasing by 15% annually, with the raw material for most herbal products being sourced from South and Southeast Asian countries. In India, of the 8000 species of medicinal plants harvested from the wild, approximately 960 are in the active trade. With increasing international trade in herbal medicinal products, there is also increasing concern about the widespread adulteration and species admixtures in the raw herbal trade. The adverse consequences of such species adulteration on the health and safety of consumers have only recently begun to be recognised and documented. We provide a comprehensive review of the nature and magnitude of species adulteration in the raw herbal trade, and identify the underlying drivers that might lead to such adulteration. We also discuss the possible biological and chemical equivalence of species that are used as adulterants and substitutes, and the consequences thereof to consumer health and safety, and propose a framework for the development of a herbal trade authentication service that can help regulate the herbal trade market.