Context: Preliminary screening has been undertaken by woody species of Tamaulipan thornscrub for wood density and its utilization northeastern Mexico for different purposes and to find possible relationship of density with wood fibre characteristics. This technique can be used in the selection of species with high wood density for possible utility. Aims: It is to determine the variability in wood density and in fiber cell morphology and its length and among wood species of the Tamaulipan thornscrub, northeastern Mexico. Methods: Wood density and wood fibres are characterized in these woody species following standard methodology. Results: The results reveal large variability in wood density and in fibre cell morphology h. The species have been classified on the basis of wood density and its fibber cell morphology and has been recommended for their possible utilization for different purposes. Conclusions: Species desirable for strong furniture making, paper pulp, soft furniture, fence etc. can be selected on the basis of fibre length to breadth ratios as strong fibres for furniture and fibre cells with broad lumen and thin cell wall use for fabrication of paper pulp and other utilities.

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A field experiment in split plot design was conducted during the rabi season of 2001-02 and 2002-03 at Potato Research and Seed Multiplication Farm, Anandapur,West Midnapore,West Bengal to study the effect of dates of transplanting and spacing on yield attributing character, productivity and economics of potato cultivation through true potato seed (TPS) technology. The highest number of tubers per plant was recorded in early transplanted (December 3) crop, while, crop spacing did not produce any significant differences in recording tuber number per plant. Early established crop also produced significantly higher tuber weight per plant as compared to intermediate (December 11) and late (December 19) transplanted crops and widely spaced (60 x 15 cm) crop recorded higher weight of tuber per plant as compared to the narrowly spaced crop. Early transplanting and wider spacing also showed its superiority in respect of recording harvest index of potato. As such, early transplanted and densely planted crops produced significantly higher yield of seedling tuber, marketable tuber and total tuber than their counterparts. Though cost of production of early transplanted and closely spaced crop was higher, but net profit and return per rupee investment was also higher in those cases

An analysis of macro and micronutrients among 44 species of medicinal plants utilized traditionally to control diabetes and other diseases in Nuevo Leon, Mexico carried out at the experimental station of Facultad de Ciencias Forestales, Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon, located in the municipality of Linares showed a large variability in the contents of macro and micronutrients and protein. K exhibited a wide range of variability among the selected medicinal plants 5.47−163.35 (mg g-1 dw), Mg from 0.1−8.64 (mg g-1 dw), P varied from 0.18−5.79 (mg g-1 dw), C from 25.54−51.66%, N from 1.36−6.25%, C/N from 5.34−31.05% and with respect to micronutrients Cu ranged from 4.17−33.88 (µg g-1 dw), Fe from 98.28−3977.55 (µg g-1 dw), Zn from 9.49−266.31 (µg g-1 dw). It is assessed that some species contain high amount of nutrients (macro and micronutrients thereby confirming their efficacy to combat various diseases and provide an opportunity to scientists working on medicinal plants to select the species with high nutrient contents. Medicinal plants, variability, macro and micronutrients, nutraceuticals

Branching pattern and crown architecture are the important component of plant growth and development of any plant species. The leaf area and photosynthesis efficiency mainly depended on the crown architecture. There are many models developed for estimation of yield of various plant products of different species in different environments. These models are used for virtual evaluation of a plant or tree species which would otherwise take decades together to know the potential of species or cultivars. Here, the research findings in this respect pertaining to the shrubs and tree species of the North East Mexico has been reviewed. The branching habit has been classified as monopodial, simpodial and pseudomonopodial, while the crown architecture as globose and irregular.