Summary — Fascicle shoots proved to be an ideal plant material for micropropagation of the pine hybrid P brutia (Ten) x P halepensis (Mill). This could be possibly attributed to their morphological and physiological state. Induced fascicle shoots of 4-yr-old seedlings were used as explants. Their induction was achieved by spraying once with the new herbicide Arsenal (1 000 mg I -1 ). First, explants were elongated in vitro on LP medium and then transferred to the multiplication stage. Multiplication was accomplished by decapitating, quick-dipping in 0.22 mM BA and inoculating the explants on BIMI medium. On the induced first-generation shoots the same procedure was applied, in order to obtain second-generation shoots and then these were proceeded to the rooting and acclimatization stages. In particular, when microcuttings were pretreated with 2.46 μM IBA + 2.7 μM NAA + 0.65% agar w/v + 1.5% sucrose w/v for 7 d and then transferred to greenhouse conditions, a good root system was developed within an 8-12-week period. A large variation in rootability was noted between clones. The above method may be proved to be efficient for clones that exhibit high rooting ability.

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This multidisciplinary study is focused on the conservation and sustainable utilization of Lomelosia minoana (Dipsacaceae; subsp. minoana and subsp. asterusica) and Eryngium ternatum (Apiaceae), three local endemic plants of Crete (Greece) with economic interest. Using Geographical Information Systems and open-source geodatabases, detailed ecological profiles were compiled to illustrate the abiotic environmental conditions prevailing in their wild habitats. We examined for the first time temperature effects (10, 15, 20 and 25 °C) on seed germination and fertilization effects (INM, integrated nutrient management, and chemical fertilization compared to control) on growth parameters and nutrient content of leaves as well as their phenol content and antioxidant potential. L. minoana subsp. asterusica germinated better at 15 °C (61.25%), subsp. minoana at 10 and 15 °C (30% and 27.50%, respectively) while E. ternatum did not show significant differences. The seedling fertilization with INM resulted in 10–15-fold higher absorption of copper without toxicity compared with chemical fertilization and the control; INM was also superior to chemical fertilization in most of the macronutrients in leaves. The total phenol content and the antioxidant capacity of leaf extracts were positively affected by chemical fertilization in L. minoana subsp. minoana and E. ternatum. Both fertilization treatments almost equally affected the morphological and physiological characteristics of the examined taxa. In light of the above-mentioned and the research gaps bridged for the studied taxa, we re-evaluated and updated both the feasibility and the readiness timescale for their sustainable exploitation in economic sectors.

The suitability of conductivity measurement for monitoring growth in plant cell culture has been tested using suspended cells and genetically-transformed hairy roots of Atropa belladonna, and aggregated cells of Solanum aviculare. Other researchers have proposed that a constant ratio exists between increase in cell concentration (Ax) and decrease in medium conductivity (AC). In all cases studied in this work, Ax/AC was not constant over a wide range of cell densities tested in batch culture. With cell suspensions, Ax/AC decreased continuously during the growth phase from 3.4 to 2.5 g cm 1-1 mS-~. For the hairy roots, the ratio between Ax and AC varied by as much as 4-fold during growth. The relationship between conductivity and growth for S. aviculare aggregates was found to vary depending on inoculum density. No simple correlation between conductivity change and cell growth was apparent for the plant-cell systems studied.