No abstract

Endophytes are the microbes residing internally in the host tissues without causing visible disease symptoms. They have found involved in a balanced interaction with the plants and providing benefits such as, growth enhancement and disease resistance. In this review we hypothesize that endophytes can be employed as a potential biocontrol agent, as biocontrol is becoming most suitable disease management strategy due to its health and environment conservational benefits. This aspect of endophytes should be consider, there are several investigations that have revealed and proved the role of endophytes as best biocontrol agent. Mutualistic interaction of endophytes involve different mechanisms, as it may trigger certain genes involved in induced systemic resistance (ISR) that may initiate defense mechanism against attack of pathogens or by formulating secondary metabolites and other chemical compounds that are directly toxic to the pathogens. There is a need to explore the endophytic interaction and its mechanism of causing disease resistance more precisely.

Ceratocystis manginecans is a destructive systemic fungus and a major cause of mango sudden decline. Heavy losses to the mango industry in Pakistan are due to this disease. This study was designed to evaluate the histological changes in mango seedlings inoculated with C. manginecans. The pathogenic fungus was inoculated to indigenous mango germplasm of Punjab, Azad Jammu and Kashmir. After one week of inoculation, plants started showing disease symptoms including gum exudation, wilting of leaves, discoloration of stem, and bark splitting. Discolored bark from diseased plants was peeled off and internal symptoms were studied and confirmed for C. manginecans infection. Diseased stems were transversely sliced and fixed in formaline acetic alcohol (FAA), double stained and examined under compound microscope. The epidermal tissues were found to be collapsed due to sclertization of xylem vessels, fungal hyphal growth, production of phenolics and tyloses. Deposition of phenolics and formation of tyloses in turns leads to the obstruction of water and minerals uptake, therefore, plants start wilting and then decline.

No abstract

The eggplant is a highly valuable horticultural crop grown all over the world and it is of substantial economic importance in Asia. However, its production is severely threatened by several soil-borne and foliar diseases, insect-pests, drought, heat, and frost damage. Therefore, efforts to transfer useful resistance genes into eggplant from their wild relatives is important. In the present study, interspecific and intraspecific hybridization was carried out, that included three cultivated genotypes of eggplant (Solanum melongena MEE, Solanum melongena MEP, Solanum melongena MEB) and one wild Solanum species (Solanum incanum INC). The F1 hybrids were made by inter and intraspecific hybridization. A total of 632 possible inter and intraspecific reciprocal crosses was performed where only three were successful. The minimum days to flowering were observed in parent MEP, and maximum plant height was measured in MEE×MEB. Maximum fruit length was observed in parent MEB. Furthermore, fruit diameter, leaf width, leaf length, and fruit yield per plant were found maximum in hybrid MEExINC. Our results suggest that these materials will be of great interest for the genetic improvement of eggplant; they may have a tremendous potential to increase tolerance to abiotic stresses, such as to drought and heat, as well as increased nutrient and herbal values. Findings of this study will be helpful for the human health, ultimately contributing to the development of a new generation of plants adapted to climate.