Adventitious shoot formation from leaf explants of Rhododendron
A protocol for high frequency adventitious shoot regeneration adventitious shoot regeneration from leaf explants of Rhododendron spp. has been developed. The highest percentage of regeneration and the greatest number of shoots were obtained when leaf explants were cultured on Anderson's medium containing 4.9 μM IBA and 73.8 μM 2iP. Genotypic variation was observed for adventitious shoot regeneration potential among the seven cultivars tested. Regeneration frequencies ranged from 0 to 96%. ‘Lodestar’ had the highest rate of regeneration after 3 months of culture with 96% shoot regeneration and an average of 14 shoots per explant. Regenerated shoots were rooted in soil in about 2 months. This protocol should be useful in applying gene transfer techniques to Rhododendron improvement.
In vitro propagation of Rhododendron wattii Cowan—a critically endangered and endemic plant from India
Rhododendron wattii Cowan is a rare and endangered plant found in northeast India. In an effort to boost specimen numbers, experiments of in vitro seed germination, shoot induction on different media supplemented with the cytokinin isopentenyladenine (2iP), and root induction with auxins α-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA), indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) and indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) in woody plant medium (WPM) were carried out. A maximum mean shoot number of 7.72 per explant were obtained from nodal explants cultured on WPM and 39.36 μM 2iP with a maximum mean shoot length of 2.30 cm per explant. Among the auxins investigated for root induction, IBA at 2.45 μM was found to produce the most and the longest roots, when compared to other treatments. However, WPM supplemented with 0.2% (w/v) activated charcoal also showed 100% root formation with shoots having broader leaves compared to auxin treatments. About 60% of in vitro rooted plantlets transferred from lab to greenhouse conditions survived. Sixty acclimatized plants were reintroduced in the vicinity of their natural habitat at Naga Heritage Village, Kisama, Nagaland, in May 2016 for ex situ conservation. Survival of the reintroduced plants was confirmed during the field visit conducted in November 2016.
AN INTRODUCTION T O THE SOILS OF THE SOUTH-EASTERN PORTION OF THE AUSTRALIAN ARID ZONE
Summary 
 
Seven soil regions, each of which is dominated by soils belonging to one or two great soil groups, are defined and mapped. The outstanding feature is the presence of a variety of soils with widely differing characteristics. The soils are deeper, have more profile differentiation and are finer-extured than those in most-arid regions and are frequently overlain by currently-forming deposits of wind-transported materials. Because the vegetative cover is better developed and there are only small areas of rocky hills and bare rock pediments, water erosion and deposition are not as prominent as in other arid areas.