Search

Medicinal plants are important sources of medical and many other pharmaceutical goods. The conventional propagation scheme is the main means of proliferation and takes a long period for proliferation because of poor germination and also low clonal uniformity. Rapid shoot multiplication of Gundelia tournefontii was attained from meristems on Murashige and Skoog (MS) basal medium containing 6-Benzyladenine (BAP) or kinetin, with the adding of 30 g/L sucrose. The highest number of new microshoots per explant (9.2) was attained on MS medium enhanced with BAP and 0.05 mg/L IBA. After 13 to 14 days microhoots start rooted on MS medium enhanced either Indole-3-butyric acid (IBA), Indole -3-acetic acid (IAA), or Naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) with the addition of 30 g/L sucrose. Using 100 to 300 ppm Gibbreline GA3 resulted in an increase germination percentage when soaking with GA3 for 12 hours. Gamma radiation had a significant effect on the growth of the in vitro explants. Gamma radiation had a significant effect on the germination percentage G. tournefontii seeds. The in vitro propagation plant of G. tournefontii plants could be used for the marketable clonal propagation of this important species or for future studies

Greenhouse shading may have a time-dependent effect on fruitproduction, water and nutrient uptake in plants. A plastic house experiment wasconducted in Jordan Valley, Jordan to discover the impact of four shadingtreatments on cucumber “189 Cultivar” growth and yield production. Thesetreatments were Green Shadow 1 (GS1), Whitewash (Calcium Carbonate), Mudand Control (no shading).Results showed that permeability was reduced by using GS1 or whitewash asshading materials. The GS1 treatment produced the highest vegetative growth,while whitewash produced the highest fruit yield. However, using GS1 improvedfruit freshness and dry weight and maintained fruit quality. Also, as the lightintensity increased, fruit freshness and dry weight increased; while the controltreatment delayed flowering, decreased the production period and increased themite infestation. Therefore, there is a need for shading the plastic houses in thisarea of Jordan during summer months.

An experiment was carried out under plastic house conditions to compare the effect of four fermented organic matter sources (cattle, poultry and sheep manure in addition to 1:1:1 mixture of the three organic matter sources) in which 4 kg organic matter m(-2) were used, with that of the conventional agriculture (chemical fertilizers) treatments on Marvello red pepper fruit quality, by using a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with four replicates. Pepper fruits characteristics cultivated in soil supplemented with manure were generally better than those from plants grown in soil only. Addition of animal manure increased bell pepper fruit content of soluble solids, ascorbic acid, total phenols, crude fibre and intensity of red color as compare with conventional agriculture that produced fruits with higher titratable acidity, water content, lycopene and bigger fruit size. In most cases of animal manure treatments, best results were obtained by the sheep manure treatment that produced the highest TSS, while the worst results were obtained by the poultry manure treatment that produced the smallest fruit and lowest fruit lycopene content.

A greenhouse experiment was carried out during the 2004/2005 season at Abu-Ghannam\'s farm in Kreimeh in the northern Jordan Valley-Jordan, to study the effects of fermented organic matter (made from sheep manure and annual weeds) used at four rates of 1.5, 3.0, 4.5, and 6.0 kg/m 2 in comparison to conventional system (chemical fertilizers and pesticides) on growth, flowering and yield of the strawberry cultivar Honor. A randomized complete block design (RCBD) with four replicates was adopted. The highest vegetative growth (leaves/plant, leaf area, plant fresh and dry weight) was found in the conventional treatment, while the highest root/canopy ratio was obtained by the 4.5 kg /m 2 treatment. Organic matter advanced flowering date, while the conventional treatment delayed it. Runner production was not significantly affected by the type of treatment. The conventional treatment produced the highest fruit weight, total yield per replicate, and total yield per plant. Keywords : Strawberry; Fragaria X ananassa, vegetative growth, flowering; yield; organic, conventional Journal of Agriculture, Science & Technology Vol. 9 (1) 2007: pp. 3-14