Culture conditions for efficient induction of green plants from isolated microspores of barley
Subculture regime and carbohydrate concentration of the medium had a marked effect on the regeneration of green plantlets from mechanically isolated microspores of Hordeum vulgare L. cv. Kymppi. A sevenfold increase in the yield of green plants was obtained by shortening the suspension culture time of the developing proembryo mass from 4 to 3 weeks. A further twofold increase was obtained by increasing the maltose concentration of the microspore isolation medium and of the culture medium. Under optimal conditions, a mean of 169±97 green plants per spike were regenerated.
A comparison of barley isolated microspore and anther culture and the influence of cell culture density
Abstract Comparisons were made between the efficiency of barley plant regeneration from anther culture (AC) and isolated microspore culture (IMC) for the European winter cultivar `Igri' and the spring F1 Australian breeder's hybrid Amagi Nijo×WI2585. In both cases, IMC produced a higher number of green regenerant plantlets per anther than AC. For `Igri' there was a 100- to 200-fold improvement and for Amagi Nijo×WI2585 there was a five- to ninefold improvement of IMC over AC. To improve the consistency and reliability of the IMC method, we investigated several parameters, including maltose concentration, subculture protocol, microspore plating density and colony plating density. Subculturing during the liquid culture phase produced no significant improvement in the number of microspores developing into colonies. The optimal concentration of maltose in the liquid induction medium was found to be 90 g l–1. Both microspore plating density and colony plating density were found to influence plant regeneration. Microspores produced the highest numbers of colonies when plated at densities greater than 5×104 ml–1, and colonies produced optimal numbers of green plantlets when plated at 12.5–25 colonies/cm2.
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.