Flower initiation in mango (var: “Mallika”) commenced at 21.83 ± 1.58 days after bud development and staminate : hermaphrodite flower ratio was 1:0.29. In each flower, one fertile and four staminoids were present. Staminate and hermaphrodite flowers opened during 0730-1000 hrs. and 0800-1100 hrs. and in them anther dehiscence occurred at 27.1 ± 3.1 and 29.3 ± 4.8 min. after anthesis, respectively. Fruit set (no./panicle) was 2.90 ±1.27 in unbagged and zero in bagged inflorescence. Total longevity of each flower was 81.96 ± 2.14 hrs. Forty five insect species found foraging on the inflorescence belonged to Hymenoptera (60%), Diptera (24.44%), Hemiptera (6.67%), Coleoptera (4.44%) and Lepidoptera (4.44%). Shannon-Weiner Diversity Index (H) values ranged from 1.201-1.586 during different hours of the day, with peak ‘H’ values during 0900-1100 hrs. (1.597-1.619). Highest ‘H’ value (1.551) was recorded at >90 per cent flowering stage. Berger-Parker index (d) for dominance during 25, 50, 75 and >90 percent flowering was highest for E. obliquus (d=0.40, 0.40, 0.36 and 0.34). E. obliquus, Chrysomya sp., A. florea and A. cerana indica spent 11.83, 8.33, 5.29 and 3.76 sec. on each flower, respectively. All four species spent maximum foraging time during 1000-1100 hrs. E. obliquus, Chrysomya sp., A. florea and A. cerana indica visited 36.38, 42.93, 57.33 and 69.40 flowers /5 min., respectively. Maximum bee visitation was recorded at 0600-0700 hrs. and 1700-1800 hrs. Further, E. obliquus, Chrysomya sp., A. florea and A. cerana indica visited 13.03, 18.18, 27.84 and 31.78 flowers per inflorescence. Significant negative correlation (p=0.001) was observed between the number of flowers visited per inflorescence and time spent w.r.t. all the four species.

Arthropods are invertebrates that constitute over 90% of the animal kingdom, and their bio-ecology is closely linked with global functioning and survival. Arthropods play an important role in maintaining the health of ecosystems, provide livelihoods and nutrition to human communities, and are important indicators of environmental change. Yet the population trends of several arthropods species show them to be in decline. Arthropods constitute a dominant group with 1.2 million species influencing earth’s biodiversity. Among arthropods, insects are predominant, with ca. 1 million species and having evolved some 350 million years ago. Arthropods are closely associated with living and non-living entities alike, making the ecosystem services they provide crucially important. In order to be effective, plans for the conservation of arthropods and ecosystems should include a mixture of strategies like protecting key habitats and genomic studies to formulate relevant policies for in situ and ex situ conservation. This two-volume book focuses on capturing the essentials of arthropod inventories, biology, and conservation. Further, it seeks to identify the mechanisms by which arthropod populations can be sustained in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, and by means of which certain problematic species be managed without producing harmful environmental side-effects. This edited compilation includes chapters contributed by over 80 biologists on a wide range of topics embracing the diversity, distribution, utility and conservation of arthropods and select groups of insect taxa. More importantly, it describes in detail the mechanisms of sustaining arthropod ecosystems, services and populations. It addresses the contribution of modern biological tools such as molecular and genetic techniques regulating gene expression, as well as conventional, indigenous practices in arthropod conservation. The contributors reiterate the importance of documenting and understanding the biology of arthropods from a holistic perspective before addressing conservation issues at large. This book offers a valuable resource for all zoologists, entomologists, ecologists, conservation biologists, policy makers, teachers and students interested in the conservation of biological resources.

Fruit Breeding is an art and science demanding prolonged time, space and intrinsic qualities. Seed propagation leads to heterogeneity and asexual propagation of elite clones’ leads to newer and novel types. There are temperate, sub-tropical and tropical fruits differing in photo and thermo periodic requirements. There are also parthenocarpic and apomictic fruit trees demanding special breeding methods for improvement. Aroma, taste and flavor are unique to fruits unlike other horticultural crops like vegetables, spices, plantation crops and tubers. The book unravels history of fruit breeding, biodiversity, challenges approaches and prospects, apomixes, mutation breeding, role of insects in fruit production, molecular markers, statistical techniques, rootstock breeding, breeding of mango, citrus, banana, papaya, guava, sapota, jackfruit, sugarapple/sweetsop Indian jujube and jamun. The 20 s in the book authored by 15 scientists from six Research Institutes and Universities expose readers to a new world of fruit breeding, very seldom ventured by breeders.

Die Pflanzenzucht enthält Elemente individueller und kultureller Selektion - ein Prozeß, den die langerwartete zweite Auflage hinsichtlich sowohl einzelner Pflanzen als auch kompletter Populationen unter die Lupe nimmt. Im Zuge der Aktualisierung des Stoffes wurden neue Themen aufgenommen: moderne Gewebekulturtechniken, molekularbiologische Verfahren, Aspekte der Wechselwirkung zwischen natürlicher und menschlicher Selektion und zwischen Genotyp und Umwelt sowie eine Reihe von Techniken zur Ertragssteigerung in ungünstigen Anbaugebieten. (05/99)

The Himalaya, a global biodiversity hotspot, sustains about one-fifth of the humankind. Nestled within the north-western mountain ranges of the Himalaya, the Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) State harbours more than half of the biodiversity found in the Indian Himalaya. The wide expanse of State, spread across the subtropical Jammu, through the temperate Kashmir valley, to the cold arid Ladakh, is typical representative of the extensive elevational and topographical diversity encountered in the entire Himalaya. This book, the most comprehensive and updated synthesis ever made available on biodiversity of the J&K State, is a valuable addition to the biodiversity literature with global and regional relevance. The book, arranged into 7 parts, comprises of 42 chapters contributed by 87 researchers, each of whom is an expert in his/her own field of research. The precious baseline data contained in the book would form the foundation for assessing current status of knowledge about the bioresources, identify the knowledge gaps, and help prioritization of conservation strategies to steer the sustainable use of biodiversity in this Himalayan region. Given the breadth of topics covered under the banner of biodiversity in this book, it can surely serve as a model for documentation of biodiversity in other regions of the world. The book will be of immense value to all those who, directly or indirectly, have to deal with biodiversity, including students, teachers, researchers, naturalists, environmentalists, resource managers, planners, government agencies, NGOs and the general public at large.

As the discipline of pollination ecology moves from describing the extent of a pollinator crisis, to identifying what can be done about it, there is a need to share and highlight very practical measures that will support sustainable crop biotic pollination services. Identifying these practices will require a mix of farmer and natural historian knowledge and scientific research. In this publication, we will outline the practices that have been so far identified, and what experiences may contribute to sharing the effectiveness of these measures under different circumstances.

This book is a compilation of various chapters contributed by a group of leading researchers from different countries and covering up to date information based on published reports and personal experience of authors in the field of cytogenetics. Beginning with the introduction of chromosome, the subsequent chapters on organization of genetic material, karyotype evolution, structural and numerical variations in chromosomes, B-chromosomes and chromosomal aberrations provide an in-depth knowledge and easy understanding of the subject matter. A special feature of the book is the inclusion of a series of chapters on various types of chromosomal aberrations and their impact on breeding behaviour and crop improvement. The possible mechanism, their consequences and role in genetic analysis has been emphasized in these chapters. A few chapters have also been dedicated on various techniques routinely used in the laboratory by students and researchers. Each chapter ends with an extensive bibliography so that the students and researchers may find it relevant to consult more literature on the subject than a book of this size can offer. The book is intended to fulfill the needs of undergraduate and post graduate students of botany, zoology and agriculture besides, teachers and researchers engaged in the field of genetics, cytogenetics, and molecular genetics. In general the readers will find each chapter of the book informative and easy to understand.