Nitrate reductase (NO₃R) activity, nitrite reductase (NO₂R) activity and NADH₂ dependent glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) activity were followed in extracts from excised pea roots incubated under aseptic conditions for 9 and 24 h in nitrate containing nutrient medium to which IAA was added in concentrations promoting lateral root formation (1 × 10^-5; 3 × 10^-5; 5 × 10^-5 M) and kinetin in concentrations which reduce lateral root formation (0.1; 1; 5 mg 1^-1, that is 4.65 × 10^-7;4.65 × 10^-6 and 2.3 × 10^-5 M). NO₃R activity was not influenced by IAA, NO₂R activity was slightly depressed by IAA after 24 h incubation and GDH activity was slightly increased after 24 h incubation in the presence of IAA. Kinetin decreased NO₃R activity significantly both after 9 h and 24 h incubation, slightly increased NO₂R activity after 9 h incubation but slightly decreased it after 24 h incubation, and did not affect GDH activity after 24 h incubation. However, when applied together with IAA, kinetin abolished the promoting effect of IAA on GDH activity. IAA neither reversed nor accentuated the effect of kinetin on NO₂R activity. Nevertheless the depressing effect of kinetin on NO₃R activity was emphasized by the presence of IAA after 9 h incubation. The results obtained indicate that reduced nitrate assimilation due to the depression of nitrate reductase activity caused by kinetin probably contributes to the negative growth effect of kinetin in pea root segments grown in nitrate medium.

The root surface determined microscopically amounts only to ten per cent of the surface assayed with methylene blue. This difference is assumed to correspond to the sorption surface of cell wall interfibrillar capillaries. The volume of these capillaries amounts to 0.1 per cent of the total volume of the organ only, but their surface far exceeds the external root surface. It is suggested that the interfibrillar capillaries of the epidermis cell walls constitute the main elements of the root sorption surface.

No influence of IAA on the endogenous estrogen content in bean plants was stated. At the same time kinetin was found to increase and abscisic acid to decrease the amounts of estrogens.

To study the effect of high altitude cosmic radiation the seed material of 15 species ofAcanthaceae was subjected to 3 types of exposures in balloon flights at an altitude of 30 900 to 38 100 metres. Germination behaviour was recorded and cytological studies were made. In the material subjected to one exposure, no detectable cytological or morphological change could be recorded. Material subjected to two exposures showed a 1 1/2 to 2 fold increase in cellular dimensions. A fragmented chromosome was observed inRostellularia procumbens. Flowering inJusticia betonica was advanced by 3 weeks. Among the species subjected to 3 exposures, two species showed diminution in height, and entered into flowering earlier than the controls. A study of germination behaviour showed, in general, that the decrease in germination percentage was directly proportional to the amount of radiation. The results indicate that the treatment with cosmic radiation may be helpful in reducing the period between sowing and harvesting. Therefore, if similar experiments be conducted on crop plants, they might yiled interesting and important results from the agricultural point of view.

The transpiration rate of detached leaves exposed in the atmosphere saturated with water vapour increased after a certain time. This time as well as the shape of the transpiration curves varied according to the duration of the exposure of the leaves in the humid atmosphere.

Highly active NAD-MDH (E.C.1.1.1.37) and low activity of NADP-MDH (E.C.1.1.1.40) were found inVicia faba roots. The NAD-MDH activity is associated with 6 to 12 isoenzymes. The number of isoenzymes is dependent on the extraction (use of Triton X-100etc.) and detection procudures (presence of KCN, phenazine methosulphate). The meristematic zone does not contain one isoenzyme (X) which is present in the other two zones. The meristematic zone, elongation zone and zone with the beginning differentiation differ in their activity of individual isoenzymes.

The constant values of water potential gradient accompanying various levels of water flow rate were found in kale leaf tissue segments. This constancy might indicate the decrease of resistance to water flow as flow rate increased and this decrease of resistance was confirmed.

The stem pith discs of kale and tobacco were cultured on simple sugar-mineral media. The dry weight of the expiants rose almost linearly for 20 days and was doubled in 10 to 12 days. Neither protein accumulation nor the increase in cell number are responsible for this relatively high increase in dry weight of discs. The accumulation of sugars or polysaccharides is thought to be the cause of this increase.

The effect of CCC and GA₃ on the growth and development of spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivated under predominantly red (500-700 nm) or blue (400-500 nm) light was investigated. Red light enhanced the development of wheat during the exponential phase of growth. This effect presumably implicated the promotion of gibberellin synthesis under red light. The strong inhibitory action of CCC under red light (the inhibition was lower under blue light) might be interpreted in a similar way. The growth became more intensive under blue light after caring and was accompanied by increased susceptibility to giberellic acid treatment.

The presence of native cytokinins was studied in growing apices of apple-tree annual shoots. During June the presence of two compounds showing cytokinin activity in biotest was observed and their R_F value was determined in three chromatographic systems.

Germination ofPinus banksiana seeds is controlled by the photoreversible phytochrome reaction. The seeds, even unimbibed, are sensitive to red light. At 660 nm, the energy required to promote germination to the same order of magnitude is much higher for unimbibed seeds than for the imbibed ones. In both cases it is possible to reverse the effect of a single red light irradiation by applying far red light (730 nm).

The interaction of GA and IAA in apical dominance was investigated in an experiment in which first of all an IAA paste was applied to the cut areas formed by the decapitation of epicotyl apices of pea seedlings, followed after one week by the application of a 0.25 % GA paste. The latter treatment was able to overcome the growth inhibition of cotylary buds induced by a 0.03 % IAA paste, but not that caused by 0.06 and 0.12 % IAA pastes.
The correlative function of a root in the renewal of the apical dominance can, to some extent, be directly simulated by exogenous gibberellin, as has been demonstrated in the experiment with decapitated pea seedlings deprived of one cotyledon, on which the growing axillary of the amputated cotyledon was decapitated. In this case the axillary of the remaining cotyledon grows in the plants where the root has been left, but in those deprived of the root, there appears a serial of the amputated cotyledon (Dostál, Biol. Plant. 9 : 330, 1967). When GA was supplied to the plants treated in this way, the coty lary of the remaining cotyledon grew even in the plants deprived of the root.

Whole seeds, excised embryos, and excised endosperm ofSantalum album were aseptically cultured with a view to studying seed germination in isolation from the host species, and to establishing callus cultures from both embryo and endosperm for comparative studies et their morphogenesis. Seed germination and seedling formation occurred normally only on modified White's medium supplemented with casein hydrolysate or coconut milk, or with both substances. Neither the excised embryo nor the endosperm grew on any of the culture media tested. However in about 17 per cent seed cultures on White's medium supplemented with 2,4-D, kinetin, and yeast extract, the endosperm degenerated, whereas the embryo callused and subsequently differentiated into innumerable embryoids; eventually the embryoids developed into normal plantlets. Callusing of the endosperm occurred also in seed cultures on four media supplemented variously with 2,4-D, kinetin, and yeast extract. Although the endosperm tissue grew through several passages no organ fornation was observed.

The effect of nutrient solutions with certain essential elements lacking, on oxidation reduction potential (RP) of the first leaf was examined in two cultivars of barley seedlings NO₃^- and K⁺ decreasedRP considerably, PO₄^3- did not. The effect of NO₃^- and K⁺ was dependent. on the illuminance. Under glasshouse conditions, the increased level of NO₃^- and K⁺ did not cause any change ofRP. In field conditions, the increased supply of nitrogen fertilizers resulted in a lowerRP in leaves at ear emergence and a higher yield. The use ofRP measurement in leaves for the estimation of the effect of mineral nutrition on plants is discussed.

Changes in the percentage of seed germination, the growth and respiration rate of the seedlings were observed at 15-day intervals from the stage of the full germination capacity of rice (Oryza saliva L.) seeds till they became non-viable. At the beginning, the respiration rate changed but little, but afterwards, with the approach of non-viability, the rate declined sharply. A positive correlation of respiration with a decrease in the germination percentage and the length of seedlings and a negative correlation with days of storage were also established. A strong correlation existed between catalase and peroxidase activity with respiration, indicating that the activity of these enzymes can be used as an indicator of metabolism, and therefore can be considered as part of the respiratory mechanism of rice seedlings.

The production of ethylene in the leaves ofSalix viminalis L. increased gradually from May till October. The emanation from the leaves, the main constituent of which was ethylene, inhibited the extension growth and the formation of the dry matter of rye seedlings more or less equally during the whole growing season. This indicates that the effect of ethylene on the growth is not, to any great extent, dependent on its concentration.

Ethylene production and respiration rate of an early cultivar of apples, Letní průsvitné žluté, is significantly increased after the application of the lowest tested concentration of CCC (0.1% in lanolin). These effects, calculated from the amount of released ethylene and carbon dioxide, were observed during the whole period of ripening. The production of ethylene is slightly inhibited by the higher concentrations of CCC while the respiration rate is not significantly affected.
The rate of the ethylene production of the early cultivar of apples is decreased 4.4 to 9.7 fold by 0.1% CCC as compared with the winter cultivar Jonathan. Although these ratios rise gradually during the ripening of fruits treated with other higher concentrations of CCC, the total amount of ethylene produced by the winter cultivar Jonathan is 1.5 fold higher than that of the early one.

Structural proteins of both chlorophyll - deficient mutants, extracted with a phosphate buffer solution pH 8,3, using Triton X-100 as detergent, exhibit, in comparison with normal plants, a faint cathodic fraction giving positive staining for lipoproteins and containing chlorophyll. No differences in soluble proteins were found between the mutants and control plants. The pattern of the individual protein fractions differs according to the method employed.

Using immunochemical methods the authors investigated the evolutionary taxonomic distribution of the reserve seed protein "phaseolin" in cultivars ofPhaseolus vulgaris, in a series of species ofPhaseolus, and in representatives of some additional genera ofViciaceae.
"Phaseolin" is typical of the seed ofPhaseolus vulgaris L.: it was detected in all 658 investigated cultivars - and also in species related toPhaseolus vulgaris L.(Ph. vulgaris L. ssp.aborigineus Burk.,Ph. polyanthus Green,Ph. dumosus Macf.,Ph. coccineus L., and in an undescribed species from the group ofPh. vulgaris L. -Ph. coccineus L.). A protein immunochemically somewhat similar to "phaseolin" occurs inPh. acufifolius A. Gray. In all other taxa"phaseolin" is absent.

The author of this paper has attempted to clarify some problems concerning the nomenclature of Golgi apparatus and Golgi zone. The actual aim of this paper is to summarize - while using the more safe nomenclature-the existing knowledge about the functional relations between nucleus and cytoplasm arising from the study of the juxtanuclear zone by electron microscopy. Some observations lead to the assumption that the juxtanuclear zone is the place where cell components are formed or transformed. Considering its temporary character in proliferating cells and taking into account the connections with endoplasmic reticulum and the presence of pores, the nuclear membrane remains apparently a barrier restraining the spontaneous movement of substances and of cell components respectively between cytoplasm and karyoplasm that can be seen e.g. in the grouping of cytoplasmic formations in the juxtanuclear zone. In plant cells, within the zone mentioned agglomerations of different cell formations have been found, either the Golgi apparatus or mitochondria, secretion granules, lipid inclusions, vacuoles or plastids. Such a gathering of cytoplasmic material has been observed especially in young embryonic cells or in cells with retarded or stopped metabolism. The older and/or intensively active cells would then absolve an expansion of the cytoplasmic material into the whole cell. Similar formative mechanisms, now available for study during some ontogenic phases or at definite functional states only, could be effective even in the course of phylogenesis. From this point of view some of the formations described could be regarded as a kind of atavisms.

The content and distribution of nitrogen substances in wheat, pumpkin and pea seedlings in complete (NS) or deficient ( - Ca²⁺ or - K⁺) nutrient solutions were studied with the aim of establishing whether impairments in the synthesis of nitrogen substances in vegetative tissues due to the deficiencies may be compensated for by storage nitrogenous substances. Pumpkin and pea seedlings were found to accumulate nitrogen mainly from depots of the seed stores. Both the accumulation and the synthesis of nitrogen substances were inhibited by the cation deficiencies, especially by that of calcium. Concomitant morphological deformations were probably the direct cause of the impairments in the mobilization and hence also in the utilization of the substances. With wheat, on the other hand, no morphological changes resulted from the deficiences and nitrogen was accumulated intensively even from the cultivation solution. Still, the rate of the synthesis of the nitrogenous substances was significantly reduced. Under the conditions of calcium or potassium deficiency in the outer nutrient solution the possibility or utilizing the ions from the storage tissues according to the requirements of the plant appeared to be decisive. The extent of the disproportion of the two factors was the original cause of the early morphological changes which, in their turn, impaired the natural circulation of substancs inside the organism, including the substances containing nitrogen.

The shoot apex or fruitlets of Jonathan apple trees grafted on M IX rootstock and grown in pots in a greenhouse were exposed to¹⁴CO₂ in an assimilation chamber. The translocation of¹⁴C-labelled assimilates from treated organs to other parts of the plant was studied.
It was found that a very small amount of¹⁴C-labelled compounds was translocated from the shoot apex and very young fruitlets to the shoot stem. Preliminary chromatographic studies show that the chemical composition of the labelled substances detected below assimilation chamber differs profoundly from that of those remaining in the supplied leaves. The results support the view that there exists a translocation of some substances, possibly regulators from the sink to the donor.

Antonovka seedlings were obtained from the embryos soaked in abscisic acid (ABA) alone, gibberellin A₄₊₇, benzyladenine or the mixtures of these regulators. The inhibitory effect of ABA on the growth of the seedlings was of temporary duration. The height of the 12 week-old seedlings was dependent only on the degree of seed after-ripening and not on the ABA treatment.
The growth stimulators studied were unable to overcome the inhibitory effect of ABA observed in the early stages of seedling growth. The growth stimulators did not substitute, for cold treatment of apple seeds which is the only treatment so far known to overcome the dwarf conditions of the seedlings obtained from non-after-ripened embryos. ABA greatly suppressed the early stages of apple seedling growth (up to 6 weeks) during which they resembled physiological dwarfs.
The highest concentrations of ABA (2.0 μg ml^-1) greatly modified the root system of the seedlings, and produced a larger percentage of seedlings with unbranched roots.

Isozyme patterns and specific activity of ribonuclease (ribonucleate pyridinenucleotido-2'-transferase, E. C. 2.7.7.16) were followed in the extracts of segments from three growth zones of the root and in extracts of young and senescent leaves ofVicia faba L. Electrophoreograms of extracts from all three investigated root zones were identical, in the electrophoreograms of extracts from senescent leaves however one new ribonuclease occurred which could not be detected in the electrophoreograms of extracts from young leaves. Extracts from senescent leaves had higher specific activity of ribonuclease than extracts from young leaves. Extracts from the enlargement zone of the root and those from the maturation zone had a three times higher specific activity of RNase than extracts from the division zone.

The character of endogenous regulators in walnut buds was followed by means of bioassays in the course of vegetation. It was ascertained that a rise in the level of gibberellin-like substances precedes the sprouting of buds. The origination of new buds in the axil of young leaves is accompanied by a fall in the level of auxins, by a low gibberellin content and by the presence of inhibitors. In this situation the primordia of staminate catkins are diferentiated in the basal buds. The vegetative buds which are formed in the axils of further leaves, stop developing because of the accumulating inhibitors. Towards the close of vegetation the primordia of pistillate flowers originate in terminal buds and their differentiation is accompanied by a substantial rise in the level of auxin-like substances, while some of the inhibitors keep asserting themselves. On the basis of these findings we have tested the possibility of affecting the differentiation of staminate primordia and of vegetative buds by the exogenous application of selected regulators. Spraying young leaves with IAA and MH solutions will increase the number of vegetative buds in the twigs. A later spray of other twigs by TIBA and GA₃ solutions will increase the number of staminate buds.

The light regime effect on the growth rate variability of clones of one chlorococcal alga strain growing on the surface of a solid medium was studied from the point of view of the clone selections manifesting the desired grade of this complex character. Several combinations of light regimes used for the cultivation of coenobia treated by UV-light and untreated control on two types of solid media proved the significance of manifestation degree changes of this character due to the given light conditions. The sizes of the alga colonies after a certain growth time on the surface of solid medium were evaluated statistically and the values obtained indicated the degree of growth rate manifested by the clones of a given population. The x and s_x values of their growth rate variability were considered as the indicators facilitating the choice of selec-tion type and screening level. This paper is a partial contribution to the solution of the problems concerning the primary selection of alga clones on the surface of solid media.