Germination and Growth of Potamogeton pectinatus (L.) at Different Water Depths in Lake Nainital,Uttar Pradesh,India

Data on germination of tubers and subsequent growth of young plants of Potamogeton pectinatus were recorded at different depths of the water column in Lake Nainital. The depth of euphotic zone is about 5 m. Tubers were placed at 1, 2.5, 5.0, 7.5 and 10 m water depth in brass net bags. A highly significant negative correlation was found between depth on one hand and germination percentage of tubers, length of shoots and number of leaves on the other hand. Germination of tubers was positively related to pH, dissolved oxygen and temperature of water.     

Effect of Non-removal of the Macrophytic Biomass on the Characteristics of Water and Plant Community in Lake Naini Tal,U.P., India

In the most productive macrophytes stand lying within the littoral zone of Lake Naini Tal (a Kumaun Himalayan Lake, located 1937 m above sea level) the macrophytic biomass was removed at the time of peak biomass one year, but not during the next. The effect of non-removal of the macrophytes was apparent in the physical and chemical parameters of the water, viz: thermal stratification, pH, dissolved oxygen, calcium and nitrogen content. The removal of macrophytes increased the plant diversity. Seasonal patterns of ash, calcium and nitrogen content in plant tissues were different for the two years of study.     

High activity xylanase from Aspergillus sydowii MG49 during growth on jute stalk lignocellulose

Aspergillus sydowil MG49 produced 33.0 U mg^-1 of extracellular xylanase activity when grown in liquid state fermeniation (LSF) with 1% ground jute stalk as the sole carbon source compared to 56.0 U mg^-1 when pure xylan was used. Optimum time-course and pH for maximum enzyme production were 144 h and 4.0 respectively. The culture filtrate was devoid of any cellulase and β-xylosidase activity. The xylanase exhibited optimum activity at 60°C and pH 5.5. Partially-fermented jute stalk could be recycled at least twice for xylanase production, exhibiting 25.8 and 17.4 U mg^-1 activity in two later consecutive cycles respectively.