All viable seeds which have overcome dormancy (if any) either naturally or artifi­cially will readily germinate under suitable environmental conditions necessary for seed germination i.e., water, O2, temperature, and in some cases light. The seeds that just wait for suitable environmental conditions to germinate are said to be ‘quiescent’. In …

There are several factors that influence seed germination such as temperature, moisture, and seed dormancy. Temperature and moisture levels are fairly easy to explain but what is seed dormancy? All the viable seeds have the capacity to germinate if placed under suitable conditions necessary for germination. In certain plants, such …

In the case of some plants, even though they receive proper photoperiod, they do not flower. It means that apart from photoperiodism plants also require something for their subsequent flowering. But what is that? Not all plants flower when subjected to the correct photoperiod. The temperature has a profound effect …

If I say let’s become familiar with the Asteraceae family, probably it will not be so effective but if I say that let’s become familiar with the family of sunflower and dahlia flower it will be better to understand. As we do in the case of identifying a person’s family …

Mutations are tools to study the nature and functions of genes, as well as to generate raw materials for genetic improvements of crop plants. Many crop varieties with better quantitative, qualitative, and economic value have been developed using it. Recognizing the relevance of this technique in a country’s agricultural development, …

For any scientific studies, designing and evolving suitable methodology of an experiment in an institution or for an inquiry in the field, need very logical and systematic planning. The knowledge of how experiments come in use and in what way it is to be carried out is discussed below.   …

Like all other living beings plants have to exchange gaseous molecules. Animals have noses that help them to breathe in and breathe out to exchange gases. But what about plants? How do plants breathe in and breathe out? Well, plants have stomata or tiny pores on their epidermis that help …

Mutation is the sudden change in genetic markup of an organism. Inducing mutation in an organism is a very complex process. You need to be extra careful. One mistake and the organism is as good as dead.  Despite the danger of overdosing mutagens there is the fact that the mutation …

May be we all know that we are the part of a ecosystem. The term ecosystem may be short but it’s expanse is very wide from desert to polar region, pond to ocean, grassland to forest. All sorts of organisms do interact and mixes up in a ecosystem and the …

Mutation breeding or mutagenesis is one of many great inventions of the 20th century. Until 1927, people thought mutation only occurred naturally. But to their surprise, they discovered that humans could even induce mutation artificially. And now in the age of biotechnology almost every plant science lab uses recombinant DNA …