Apple cultivar 'Royal Gala' was multiplied in vitro on starch-gelled MS media supplemented with 0.7 mg/l BAP, which provided intense proliferation of axillary shoots. In order to test the influence of gelling agents upon proliferation rate in this apple cultivar, modified MS media were used, supplemented with 0.7 mg/l BAP and five types gelling agents: fibrous agar, 6.8 g/l; Phytagel + starch, respectively 0.5 + 50 g/l; guar gum, 20 g/l; Psyllium husk, 15 g/l; Phytagel at 2.2 g/l. The highest proliferation rate, 13.44 ± 1.22 was obtained when the media was gelling with the mixture of Phytagel + starch. By using ex vitro rooting and acclimatization in floating perlite, the rooting percentages were between 99.45% and 93.92%, depending on the culture media used in the multiplication stage, from which the axillary shoots were harvested.

Micropropagation of Lycium barbarum cv. 'Ningxia N1' was achieved. The cultures were by initiated by axenical seed germination. The highest shoot proliferation was obtained on the MS media with 1.33 or 2.22 µM benzyl adenine, gelled with wheat starch as an agar alternative. The treatments with 2.22 µM benzyl adenine ensured proliferation rates superior to the ones with 1.33 μM benzyl adenine, but the latter provided longer and more robust shoots. Use of large microcuttings as an explant onto the multiplication media ensured higher in vitro explant survival, higher number of shoots regeneration and more vigorous plantlets. The microcuttings inserted vertically into the media yielded superior growth and multiplication as compared to the microcuttings placed horizontally. The non-rooted, elongated shoots from the treatment 1.33 μM benzyl adenine were either rooted in vitro on a hormone-free MS medium with starch or used for direct ex vitro rooting and acclimatization. The optimal number of microcuttings/vessel for in vitro rooting was 40 and the rooted plantlets were efficiently acclimatized ex vitro by three methods: float hydroculture in floating cell trays, floating perlite, and in Jiffy7 pellets.

The aim of the paper is to investigate if tourists' preferences toward visiting Bucegi Natural Park, Romania, have changed over time. The study seeks to elicit from the 'consumer', who is the tourist, useful information for management decisions. Tourists' preferences were analyzed using the choice experiments method within two studies. The park is presented as a set of several attributes with different states that tourists may be willing or not to experiences during their visit. The marginal willingness to pay is obtained for each attribute included in the choice set offered to respondents for evaluation. The set of attributes differ over the two studies to capture tourists' satisfaction over time in respond to management changes at the level of the park. The changes in behavior indicate that over the years people became more aware of the importance of sustainability of Bucegi Natural Park and also that the park administration has taken actions towards an optimal recreation use.

The apple rootstock varieties 'MM 106/4', 'MM 106/6', 'D 18', 'D 20', 'JTE-H' and 'MR 09/4' were multiplied in vitro on modified Murashige and Skoog media gelled with wheat starch (MSs) and supplemented with 0.7 mg/l BA, which provided intense axillary shoot proliferation. Among the studied genotypes, 'MR 09/4' had the highest multiplication rate (19.56), followed by 'D18' (15.36). The lowest multiplication rates were recorded in 'MM 106/6' (5.36) and in 'MM 106/4' (3.32). The use of the technique of direct ex vitro rooting and acclimatization in floating perlite provided rooting percentages of more than 90 %.