Seed germination of Laghu panchamula, a group of five root drugs used in the Ayurvedic system of medicine, was studied through nursery and petri dish techniques. Desmodium gangeticum, Pseudarthria viscida, Solanum melongena var. insanum, Solanum violaceum and Tribulus terrestris, which constitute the group of Laghu panchamula, showed germination percentages ranging from 61.3 to 87.6 under nursery conditions without presoaking with water and 61.3 to 88.7 under nursery conditions with presoaking with water for 16 hours whereas in petri dish with absorbent cotton the germination percentage was only 20.3 to 41.7. The study showed that Laghu panchamula group of medicinal plants can be effectively propagated by seeds under nursery conditions and presoaking with water did not improve germination percentage considerably. Early germination was also observed in the nursery methods.

The endemic plants of the Western Ghats of Peninsular India are facing severe threat of endangerment due to various reasons. Concomitantly, many of these plants especially the trees are lacking any kind of propagation and multiplication strategies and are under brink of depletion even without keeping an alternate genetic stock. Hence, as part of the study on the rescue and restoration of endemic and RET plants of the Western Ghats, four economically important endemic trees such as Calophyllum calaba Linn., Gluta travancorica Bedd., Hopea parviflora Bedd. and Poeciloneuron indicum Bedd. were investigated for their clonal rooting ability along with other species. The ring air layering on the lateral branches of the young stands of 3-5 year old was achieved with 40-60% success for the first time on IBA application at 1000 ppm during the months of August - September. The success of air layering can be extended as a low cost and viable propagation method for multiplication and subsequent restoration, which in turn ensure the availability of materials for utilization without affecting natural population in the long run.

Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) consist of variety of useful products such as bark, fruits, seeds, leaves, gums and resins, tannins, dyes, roots etc. These resources are renewable if sustainably managed. Quantitative inventory of NTFP resources will in aid formulating sustainable NTFP management practices. Inventory of NTFP resources in the tropics is relatively new and has received little formal study. In this paper, we outline the methodology for inventorying NTFP resources highlighting various nested elements involved in the multi-resource NTFP inventory, possible sampling procedures, methods for the estimation of density and diversity measures and quantification of useful products. The details of the software ‘InventNTFP’ developed for carrying out inventory analysis are also presented. The software handles large number of species simultaneously and takes into consideration different aspects of inventory and reduces time greatly in carrying out analysis and generating results. It produces density and diversity measures and extrapolates availability of useful products from various species following non-destructive approach. Although the software is originally conceived for the analysis of NTFP inventory, it may be found useful in other areas involving fixed area plot based surveys for working out various density and diversity measures. Such application domain includes inventory of selected floral and faunal groups.

Leaves of Semecarpus kathalekanensis were subjected for soxhlet extraction by using solvents petroleum ether, butanol, methanol and distilled water. The crude plant extracts were evaluated for their ovicidal activity against Teak defoliator, Hyblaea puera in laboratory bioassays at 5% and 10% concentrations. Among the different extracts petroleum ether and ethanol extracts showed maximum egg hatch inhibition of 78.75% and 89.16% respectively, at 10% concentration level, which were significantly superior over rest of the treatments. The percentage of egg hatch inhibition increased significantly with the increase in concentration of extracts tested. The ethanol extract at 5% recorded 72.78% egg hatch inhibition, which is significantly higher than other extracts at that concentration level. Among the tested plant extracts, ethanol extract exhibited highest ovicidal action followed by petroleum ether extract.

An exploratory survey conducted in Pykara, Mudumalai, Naduvattam and Ooty Reserve Forests of Nilgiris District, Tamil Nadu led to the collection of several interesting and important plants. Out of these, 39 wild edible fruit plants are represented here.

Present investigation was conducted at NBPGR, Regional Station, Bhowali, Niglat, District Nainital, Uttaranchal in which Lavandula angustifolia Mill. Syn. L. officinalis Chaix Syn. L. vera DC. planted at the distance of 25 x 25 cm in five treatments viz; Farm Yard Manure (FYM) @ 200 q/ha, Leaf Yard Manure (LYM) @ 200 q/ha, NPK (@ 100 kg/ha N:80 kg/ha P:40 kg/ha. P) and Ash @ 50 q/ha during 2004-05. The results indicated that LYM treatment in Lavender IC273870 was the best for spike yield and essential oil yield per ha. The essential oil content was the highest in IC273870. The major compound were identified by GC and high amount of linalool (31.90%) was found in IC273870 against linalool (29.98%) in IC212822 of Lavender whereas, linalyl acetate did not vary significantly between the two cultivars/accessions. Geraniol (2.20%) was also high in IC273870 accession.

Essential oil production from Wild Marigold (Tagetes minuta L.) crop in selected locations of Himachal Pradesh has become a popular practice for gaining additional income and employment in farm sector. The study presents economics of essential oil production having components of cultivation and oil distillation in Himachal Pradesh, being practiced by the local farmers. Cost of cultivation for the average herbage yield of 200 qs was worked out to be Rs. 42,497/ha/crop season. Cost of oil production and net returns were determined as Rs. 1,175.28/kg oil and Rs. 41,236/ha/season, respectively. T. minuta oil production was not only techno-economically feasible but also a remunerative venture with a benefit-cost ratio (BCR) of 1.70, payback period of 4.24 years (8.48 seasons), break even production at 31 kg oil and rate of return on total capital at 15.78 % as found out from the study.

Baghpat District comprises of six blocks (Chaprauli, Baraut, Binoli, Baghpat, Pilana and Khekra) of three Tehsil (Baraut, Baghpat and Khekra). In the present paper 35 exotic medicinal angiospermic plant species belonging to 24 families and 34 genera are described. 4.16% flora is exotic medicinal plant species in Baghpat District. 34.3 % (12 out of 35 species) exotic medicinal plants came from America alone.

Present communication describes 30 angiospermic weeds of crop-fields commonly consumed as vegetables by the people of Nalbari District (undivided) in Assam. Due to lack of any information regarding edible weeds in the crop-fields of undivided Nalbari District, an extensive survey for a period of two years was conducted both in Rabi and Kharif seasons. To cite information regarding the edible weeds of the crop-fields, their botanical names along with respective families, vernacular names, localities, mode of consumption and utilities as food have been mentioned. The utilization of these undesired but useful weeds can make the fields free from weeds. Moreover, the crop-field weeds may play an important role as source of additional income to the farmers. These weeds having nutritional values provide promising scope of utilizing them as normal or scarcity or famine foods too. So, comprehensive investigations should be carried out on the nutritional status of these plants.

The paper gives an account of 8 species belonging to 6 genera of the family Fabaceae which are new additions to the flora of Gorakhpur District.

The present study aimed to know the impact of using elevated CO2 concentration on the seedling growth of Pongamia pinnata and Jatropa curcas. Seedling growth and quality parameters of both the species were significantly influenced by their exposure to elevated CO2 concentration. In Pongamia pinnata, the per cent increase in collar diameter, leaf area and total biomass due to elevated CO2 with organic matter over control was 68.1, 59.64 and 82.7 respectively. The corresponding increase in these parameters was 47.54, 53.45 and 271.0 per cent in Jatropa curcas. This study clearly indicated the increased plant growth parameters of Pongamia pinnata and Jatropa curcas due to the elevated CO2 concentration.

The study documents the commercial NTFPs, collected and marketed by the tribals in Shivgarh town of Ratlam District (M.P.). These tribals collecting a total of 33 products as commercial NTFPs which are sold in the open weekly tribal market by the tribal people. Buyers come from within and around the town. Women constitute over 90% of the traders in these markets.