The aim of the experiment was to compare the effect of LED and fluorescent lamps as sources of light on growth and development of sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) and lemon balm (Melissa officinalis L.). The experiment was conducted in growth chambers under controlled conditions. Plant response to the applied light sources was found to be varied. Basil plants produced greater fresh herbage mass as well as shoot height under Fl lamps. The employed sources of light did not have a significant effect on leaf area or photosynthesis rate in these plants. Light sources did not influence the growth rate of lemon balm plants, but these plants were characterised by a greater net photosynthesis value when grown under FL tubes as compared to LEDs. It can be concluded that the response of plants to the applied light is individual and depends on the species.

Secondary metabolites play an important role in plant protection mechanisms. Presented studies relate to the significant role of some phenolic compounds in health status of sweet pepper plants. Eight cultivars of sweet pepper (‘Barbórka’, ‘Caryca F₁’, ‘Mercedes’, ‘Ożarowska’, ‘Podstolina’, ‘Roberta F₁’, ‘Robertina’) were investigated in 2007–2009. Flavonoids and phenol acids content in leaves, stems, and roots of sweet pepper plants were analyzed. Flavonoids and phenol acids content was studied using isocratic HPLC method. Disease index of tested cultivars was evaluated in the field. The leaves, stems and roots of pepper were analyzed in the laboratory. The fungi most frequently isolated from pepper were Alternaria alternata, Fusarium spp., Botrytis cinerea, and Sclerotinia sclerotiorum. The highest content of flavonoids and phenol acids was in the leaves of pepper. Flavonoids content in plant parts was positively correlated with the intensity of colonization by pathogenic fungi. Sweet pepper cultivars ‘Caryca F₁’ and ‘Roberta F₁’ were characterised by low content flavonoids in the tested plant parts and they were colonized by the low number of pathogenic fungi. The cultivars most frequently colonized by pathogenic fungi such as ‘Barbórka’, ‘Podstolina’, ‘Robertina’, had a high content of flavonoids in the tested plant parts. There was no correlation between the content of phenol acids and health status of pepper cultivars.

Low positive temperature, has an inhibiting effect on growth, development and other physiological processes of cold-sensitive plants which include soybean. An experiment in Petri dishes investigated the effect of temperature: 28/28°C (control), 10/28°C, 28/10°C, and 10/10°C (imbibition/germination), on germination of seeds of 8 soybean cultivars. Another experiment, carried out using pot cultures, investigated the response of 2-week soybean plants of the same cultivars to a 6-day chilling period. The following temperatures were used: 25/20°C (control), 25/0°C, 10/0°C (day/night). Both experiments tested the response of 6 domestic soybean cultivars (‘Aldana’, ‘Jutro’, ‘Progres’, ‘Mazowia’, ‘Nawiko’, and ‘Augusta’) and 2 Canadian cultivars (‘OAC Vision’, ‘Dorothea’) to chilling. The obtained results showed that a temperature of 10°C used during germination (28/10°C), and even to a larger extent during imbibition and germination (10/10°C), clearly reduced the speed of germination, percentage of germinated seeds, and radicle length relative to the control, but it increased catalase activity in sprouts. A chilling temperature of 25/0°C and 10/0°C (day/night) significantly increased leaf electrolyte leakage, free proline content and catalase activity relative to the control, but it decreased the photosynthetic rate and total plant leaf area. Seeds and seedlings of cvs. ‘Jutro’ and ‘Nawiko’ were generally the least sensitive to chilling, while ‘Aldana’ and ‘Dorothea’ were the most sensitive.

Chrysanthemum mutants can be chimeras. The regeneration in vitro of adventitious shoots from ligulate florets can lead to the separation of chimera components, resulting in producing a new cultivar. There was determined the effect of various factors on the number and length of shoots regenerating in vitro from ligulate florets of Chrysanthemum × grandiflorum (Ramat.) Kitam. ‘Cool Time’. The ligulate florets were inoculated on the MS [1962] medium supplemented with cytokinin (0; 4.44; 8.88; 13.32; 22.20 µM∙dm^-3 BAP; 4.65; 23.23; 46.47; 69.70 µM∙dm^-3 KIN) and auxin (0; 0.54; 1.08; 1.61; 2.69 µM∙dm^-3 NAA). Most shoots regenerate when 8.88; 13.32 µM∙dm^-3 BAP or 69.70 µM∙dm^-3 KIN and 2.69 µ M∙dm^-3 NAA or 8.88 µM∙dm^-3 BAP and 1.61 µM∙dm^-3 NAA are supplemented. Adding 0.29; 1.44 or 2.89 µM∙dm^-3 GA₃ to the MS medium with 8.88 µM∙dm^-3 BAP and 2.69 µM∙dm^-3 NAA limits the shoot regeneration efficiency and does not stimulate their elongation. An increase in the shoot number and length is affected by the subculture of regenerating ligulate florets from the MS medium containing 8.88 µM∙dm^-3 BAP and 2.69 µ M∙dm^-3 NAA on the medium with 2.89 µM∙dm^-3 GA₃ and 2.69 µM∙dm^-3 NAA. There were found no differences in the number and length of shoots regenerating on ligulate florets inoculated on solid or in liquid MS medium with 8.88 µM∙dm^-3 BAP and 2.69 µ M∙dm^-3 NAA. The subculture of regenerating ligulate florets from the solid into liquid medium increases the number of regenerating shoots and stimulates their elongation growth, however these shoots are deformed.

There is an increasing interest in the commericalization of native fruits for food and medicinal extract utilization. This study was undertaken to determine the antioxidant and chemical properties of selected caucasian whortleberry from the native region of Northeastern Turkey. Caucasian whortleberry (Vaccinium arctostaphylos L.), a close relative to cultivated blueberries, were harvested from various sites of Black sea region of Turkey and were analyzed for their total phenolic (TP), anthocyanin (TA) contents, and their antioxidant capacity by FRAP and TEAC assays. Specific sugar and organic acid composition were also determined by the help of HPLC. ARC-1, and ARC-6 displayed the highest TP contents (5780 and 5754 µg GAE g^-1 fw). The TA values were spectrophotometrically estimated and they were varied between 74.7 (ARC-6) and 194.4 (ARC-4) µg del-3-glu g^-1 fresh weight basis. ARC-1 had the highest amount (19.5 and 23.4 µmol TE g^-1 fw) of antioxidant capacity for both TEAC and FRAP assays. Fructose and glucose were found to be predominant sugars in all genotypes analyzed. The concentrations of fructose and glucose were averaged at 45.1 and 41.2 g kg^-1 fw respectively. The organic acid distribution of berries was dominated by citric acid (mean of 9.85 g kg^-1 fw). These results may provide evidence that Caucasian whortleberry has strong antioxidant capacity. Also, results of this study may be used for utilization of selected genotypes in the breeding studies of close relative vaccinium plants.

In order to find a more efficient source of somaclones we performed a regeneration of adventitious shoots from two explant types, leaves and internodes, in eight chrysanthemum cultivars representing three groups consisted of original cultivars and their radiomutants. After the in vitro regeneration and growth, plants were transferred to the glasshouse and the phenotypes at anthesis were observed. Three new, attractive variants with changed inflorescence colours were obtained from two cultivars (‘Albugo’ and ‘Alchimist Tubular’) from leaf explants. The frequency of somaclones was 1.1% for ‘Albugo’ and 5.4% for ‘Alchimist Tubular’. The analysis of pigment content in ligulate florets revealed the presence of carotenoids in somaclones, while in control plants they were lacking. The genetic distinctiveness of new somaclones was corroborated with the estimation of the genetic similarity coefficients based on RAPD-PCR technique. Somaclones retained their phenotypes during subsequent vegetative propagations.

Coriander (Coriandrum sativum L.) is known as a herbal plant all over the world. The yield of coriander fruit is influenced by weather conditions, agronomic and genetic factors. This paper discusses the impact of the year of research and date of sowing and their mutual interactions on yield and yield components of coriander and on the content and chemical profile of essential oil in coriander fruit. It has been demonstrated that air temperature and precipitation during each season had a determining effect on coriander fruit yields and yield their component. The weather conditions in 2007 were most favourable for the growth and development of coriander, which then produced the highest fruit yield (1.54 toha^-1). The date of sowing did not differentiate yields of coriander. However, yields of coriander were determined by interaction of sowing date with years of research. In north-eastern Poland, a date of sowing which falls between April 10 and 20 seems to ensure best coriander yields (1.40 taha^-1). When coriander was sown later, the yield tended to be lower. Coriander yielding was positively correlated with the weight of fruit per plant. The content of essential oil in coriander fruits was distinctly different between the years of the experiment. The content of oil in coriander fruits was slightly raised by a later sowing date. The main component of coriander essential oil was linalool, which made up 65–67% of its chemical composition. The year of the experiment rather than the date of sowing differentiated the composition of coriander oil.

To optimize the protocol, the shoot tips of Chrysanthemum × grandiflorum (Ramat.) Kitam. radiomutants have been cryopreserved using the encapsulation-dehydration technique, following different approaches. In the experiment the influence of abscisic acid – ABA (0; 10; 20 and 30 µM), sucrose concentration (0.09; 0.25 and 0.5 M) and temperature (5ºC or 22ºC) during preculture were tested. Furthermore two dehydration methods, gradual and one-step, were considered. Since the best results were reported with 10 µM ABA + 0.09 M sucrose at room temperature and gradual dehydration, only this combination was selected for the next desiccation-adjustment step. From the time of air desiccation under laminar air-flow applied (0; 1; 2; 3; 4 and 5 hours), 3 hours provided the best results. Due to the growth inhibition on the hormone-free medium, the addition of plant growth regulators during that phase was also tested, confirming the need to apply cytokinins into the medium.

The cost and yield are two the most important criteria in agriculture by which optimization of environmental factors are needed to carry out. In the present study, we investigated the efficient lighting spectrum and elevated CO₂ concentration for cultivating healthier plants more rapidly. One of the aims of our study is to optimize LEDs light spectrum for healthier vegetable production in greenhouses and maximum economical benefits for growers. The impact of elevated carbon dioxide (CO₂) concentration on antioxidant and nutritional properties of green leaf ‘Multigreen 3’ and red leaf ‘Multired 4’ baby leaf lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.), grown under optimized light spectrum was investigated. CO₂ concentrations of 0.963 g · dm^-3and 1.938 g · dm^-3 were maintained in the growth chambers. Lettuce was grown under four wavelength (640, 455, 660 and 735 nm) light-emitting diode based (LED) illumination. Under 0.963 g · dm^-3 CO₂ conditions, ‘Multired 4’ lettuce represented higher antioxidant value due to higher ascorbic acid, anthocyanin, tocopherol contents and higher sucrose concentration, as compared to ‘Multigreen 3’ lettuce. Higher CO₂ concentration (1.938 g · dm^-3) had uneven effect on the quality of both baby leaf lettuce cultivars. Red leaf lettuce reacted to the higher CO₂ level by lowered tocopherol, ascorbic acid concentrations and significantly higher glucose contents in their leaves, when green leaf lettuce – contrarily – contained higher ascorbic acid and tocopherol concentrations under 1.938 g · dm^-3 of CO₂.

The study was undertaken to determine characterization of the fatty acid profile of pepper (Capsicum annuum L.), eggplant (Solanum melongena L.), radish (Raphanus sativus L.) and cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitata) seeds as well as relations between fatty acid profile and seed germination under temperature stress in controlled conditions. Germination tests were conducted using four replicates of 50 seeds from each species at low, optimum and high-temperatures (5, 10, 15, 20, 25 30, 35 and 40°C). Germination percentage of pepper, eggplant, radish and cabbage in last count ranged from 1.28 to 72.10, from 1.28 to 74.88, from 22.51 to 88.72 and from 1.28 to 74.94, respectively. Palmitic (C16:0), oleic (C18:1n-9) and linoleic (C18:2n-6), acids were sequentially the highest in concentration followed by stearic acid (C18:0) at less than 5% and miristic, palmitoleic, margaric, arachidic, erucic, behenic and nervonic acids at an even lower content (<1%) in pepper and eggplant. Erucic acid (C22:1n-9) was the principal fatty acid followed by oleic, linoleic, gadoleic and behenic acids and miristic, palmitic, palmitoleic, arachidonic and stearic acids at a lower content between <1% and 5% in radish and cabbage seeds. The simple correlation coefficients and stepwise multiple regression analysis showed that the low or high amount of fatty acids in tested species such as palmitic (C16:0), palmitoleic (C16:1n-7), margaric (C17:0), stearic (C18:0), oleic (C18:1n-9), linoleic (C18:2n-6), arachidic (C20:0), gadoleic (C20:1n-9), arachidonic (C20:4n-6), behenic (C22:0), MUFA, n-6 PUFA and total oil might play a major role in seed germination under low and high temperatures.

The physiological state of plant material is the crucial endogenous factor at the explant choice for plant regeneration. The phases of germination characterised by various, following each other biochemical and developmental processes can affect the organogenesis capability. This research examined the morphological and anatomical events during the early stages of organogenesis and plant regeneration in explants derived from seeds of Capsicum annuum L., cv. Bryza preincubated under high humidity conditions from 0 to 6 days and next cultured on MS medium without PGRs. The early stage of de novo shoot formation reminded leaf differentiation in planta. First the leaves began to differentiate as spherical and tongue shaped structures from epidermis and subjacent layers of the explants about the 7^th day of culture. In some cases nearly at the base of previously formed leaf and even on its petiole one or two leaves as well as shoot apex in their axils were induced thereby forming young shoot which underwent elongation and whole plant regeneration after 2 subculturing. More advanced developmentally structures of adventitious shoot were obtained while prolonging preculture duration. This was the favourable effect on the shoot differentiation, their elongation and plant regeneration as seed submitted preculture for 3, 4, 5 days however, seeds not treated with preculture revealed the best response as regard to shoot primordium formation at the earliest stage.

The main goal of the present study was to investigate the changes in viability potential and selected thermodynamic parameters of peppers seeds in aging during storage as well as the relationship between them. The water content and storage temperature of seeds were used for determining differential thermodynamic parameters: Gibbs free energy, entropy, and enthalpy. The experiments were carried out with aging pepper seeds stored in ambient (uncontrolled) conditions for 132 months. It was found that the viability potential deteriorated more rapidly after 4–5 years of storage. Thermodynamic parameters – differential enthalpy and entropy, and free energy decreased with decline of germination. Therefore these parameters can be used as means for better understanding of aging processes and this is of great importance for agricultural practice because it allows more detailed description and prediction of the deterioration of pepper seeds during long-term storage.

Aeroponics creates possibilities to cultivate plants without soil or substrate, obtaining the optimal yield, saving water and nutrient solutions and do not contaminate the environment. In a three year experiment was shown that the higher total and marketable yields of tomato cv. ‘Alboney F₁’ were in cultivation in rockwool with recirculating nutrient solution. Lower yields, however being in the same significance range, were in rockwool without recirculation of nutrient solution and aeroponic culture with A-1 and A-2 nutrient solutions, but the lowest in aeroponics with A-3 nutrient solution. The saving of nutrient solution in aeroponic culture, in relation to the cultivation in rockwool with non-recirculating system, was 58.1%, but comparing with recirculating system 18.8%. Plants grown in aeroponic culture with application of A-2 and A-3 nutrient solutions had higher contents of N, P and K in leaves than cultivated in rockwool with or no recirculation and in aeroponic with A-1 nutrient solution. All tested nutrient solutions (A-1, A-2 and A-3) in aeroponic culture caused the higher contents of Mg in leaves than in rockwool cultivation. The highest Ca leaves contents were in plants grown in rockwool with recirculationg nutrient solution and aeroponic culture with A-2 and A-3 nutrient solutions. Plants grown in rockwool without recirculation of nutrient solution shown the lowest Ca contents, however there was no symptoms of blossom end rot (BER) on fruits. The yield and macronutrient status of tomato in aeroponic culture with application of A-1 nutrient solution were similar to the plants grown in rockwool with non-recirculating standard nutrient solution A-2.

Garlic (Allium sativum L.) plants may be infected in the field by viruses of the genera Potyvirus, Carlavirus and Allexivirus. These viruses are transmitted by vegetative propagation and by vectors. Detection and identification of allexiviruses was carried out in 2011–2012. It was based on ELISA and RT-PCR assays. Samples of plant material were collected from 26 garlic production fields located in different regions of Poland. Garlic virus D, Garlic virus B and Garlic virus X were the most abundant viruses in all examined regions and were identified in 79%, 64% and 59% of all garlic samples, respectively. Garlic virus A and Garlic virus C were identified in all studied regions with low frequency. Garlic virus E was detected with 100% frequency in east-central Poland. None of the tested garlic samples were infected with Shallot virus X. Allexiviruses were always present in garlic plants in mixed infections.

Jujube (Ziziphus jujuba Mill.) fruit is an important medicinal plant in Turkey. Several characteristics of jujube fruit harvested at four maturation stages were evaluated. The maturation stages were classified by degree (%) of dark color formation on the fruit surface [Stage (S1), 1–10% (S2), 11–50% (S3), 51–100% (S4)]. Fruit weight, width, length, stone weight, flesh/stone ratio, total soluble solids (TSS), titratable acidity (TA), organic acids and specific sugars were determined. Total phenolic content (TPC) was measured along with antioxidant activity (AOC), determined by Ferric Reducing Ability of Plasma (FRAP) and Trolox Equivalent Antioxidant Capacity (TEAC). Results of the study showed that TSS increased from 12.8% to 18.3% from the S1 to the S4 fruit stage, respectively. The S3 had the highest TPC (6518 mg GAE·kg fw). The highest AOC were recovered from S2 (TEAC; 74.4 µmol TE·g fw, FRAP; 50.9 µmol TE·g fw), followed by S3 (TEAC; 63.6 µmol TE·g fw, FRAP; 37.6 µmol TE·g fw). The main organic acid was citric acid as determined by the HPLC method. Fructose content tended to be more stable than glucose or sucrose.

The application of modern biotechnology for mass propagation of rare and endangered species needs to develop a proper in vitro protocol. Here, a protocol was developed for high frequency in vitro multiplication of an endangered orchid, Orchis catasetum. Protocorms, as explants were cultured on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium fortified with different concentrations of N⁶-benzyladenine (BA), α-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) and indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) either individually or in combination. A combination of 0.5 mg·L BA and 0.5 mg·L NAA was found to be suitable for maximum protocorm-like bodies (PLBs) regeneration (20.40 × plantlet^-1). The largest number of root (7.16 × plantlet^-1) and leaf (10.10 × plantlet^-1), also the highest plant height (114.20 mm × plantlet^-1) and root length (193.40 mm × plantlet^-1) were obtained on MS medium supplemented with 0.5 mg·L BA a long with 0.5 mg · L NAA. Plantlets with well-developed leaves and roots were transplanted to pots filled with perlite, wood pieces, ionolite and mineral cartridge shell (1:1:1:1), also perlite individually and transferred to the greenhouse. Upon ex vitro transfer, 100% of plants survived.

Growth and yield of herbal plants are closely connected with meteorological conditions and agrotechnical procedures. We undertook studies on determining the effect of tarragon planting density upon fresh and dry herb yield, as well as the contents of nutritious and physiologically active substances: L-ascorbic acids, chlorophylls, carotenoids, tannins and flavonoids, as well as the contents, yield and chemical composition of essential oil. Significant effect of estragon planting density was demonstrated upon fresh and air-dry herb yield, grated herb yield and essential oil yield. Tarragon plants growing in higher density (40 × 40 cm) had higher yield of fresh, dry and de-stalked herb, as well as higher oil yield than the plants growing less densely (50 × 50 cm). The biological value of analyzed plant material was high and depended upon planting density to a really insignificant extent. Plants growing more densely had significantly higher concentration of carotenoids and significantly lower contents of essential oil compared to the remaining ones. The essential oil of Artemisia dracunculus L. was characterized by the presence of 46 compounds of the share >0.05% and 23 compounds occurring in trace amounts. The predominant compound in the examined tarragon oil was methyl eugenol, which occurred in larger quantity in the year 2012 (37.56%), than in 2011 (34.33%). Other main compounds were: elemicin, determined in the amount of 21.95 and 26.22%; sabinene, in the amount of 14.16 and 16.37%, as well as E-asarone, in the concentrations of 8.68 and 3.49% (respectively: in 2011 and 2012). A. dracunculus presented in the foregoing studies can be defined as a methyl eugenol-elemicin/sabinene chemotype (respectively: 36, 24 and 15%).