They were grown in 14 cm plastic pots containing soil mixture of peat:sand (1:1) and maintained in a controlled greenhouse conditions in a private nursery located on Alexandria-Cairo Desert Road. The soil was fertilized with 2 g l -1 Crystalon (19% N: 19% P: 19% K, Chema Industries, Egypt). The plants were maintained at natural light conditions and the temperature ranged between 15 and 28 ℃ . Plants were watered every two days with 2000 and 4000 ppm NaCl solution. The plants subjected to saline conditions (watered with 2000 and 4000 ppm NaCl solution) were treated with 7 ml/L weekly application of Seaweed extracts (SWE) (Ascophyllum nodosum, Stella Maris, Acadian Seaplants, Canada) as foliar spray until drop-off two weeks ahead of saline conditions. A foliar spray of 5-aminolevulinic acid (Sigma-Aldrich, Germany) at (3, 5 and 10 ppm) was applied weekly until drop-off to all plants during saline conditions and untreated plants were considered as controls. Experiments continued for 6 weeks in two consecutive seasons of 2016 and 2017 and the plants were distributed in three blocks and each treatment was represented by 5 replicates with a total number of 270 plants. The NaCl was added to the tank gradually and the electrical conductivity (EC) was measured using EC meter.

There were significant increases in branch length and number of branches per plant, fresh and the dry weight in Seaweed extracts (SWE) + 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) treated plants under saline irrigation conditions compared to control. These morphological improvements associated with several physiological changes in treated plants including increased accumulation of specific phenols (robinin, rutin, apigein, chlorogenic acid and caffeic acid) and increased antioxidant activities of leaf extracts. There were also increased the chlorophyll composition and the accumulation of sugars and proline. Improved transpiration and photosynthetic rates as well as stomatal conductance were also detected in treated plants. The expression of several genes responsible for water management, flavonoid accumulation and antioxidants accumulation was enhanced in SWE + ALA treated plants.

Under normal and saline irrigation conditions, there were changes in genes expression following SWE and ALA applications.The transcription levels of ANN1 and ANN2 increased significantly in SWE + ALA treatments compared to control under non-saline and saline conditions . However, transcription levels of MYB44 showed no significant variations among treatments. PIP1, P5CS1 and CHS relative expressions was higher in plants treated with SWE + ALA under normal and saline irrigation conditions . The transcription levels of the redox responsive genes of APX1 and GPX3 were significantly higher in SWE + ALA treated plants compared to control treatments . Increasing ALA amount from 3 to 10 ppm had no significant effects on APX1 transcription levels under non-saline conditions. In addition, the application of SWE or ALA only had no significant effects on GPX3 transcription levels under non-saline conditions.

The seeds were surface sterilized and then soaked for two hours and sown in soil mixture having 3 parts of garden soil, 1 part of sand and 1 part of manure. The experiment was carried out in earthen pots of uniform size each containing 5 Kg of the soil mixture. Before sowing, the soil was amended with K₂CrO₄ for Cr treatments (0 µM/Kg), and Na₂SeO₄ for Se treatments (0 µM/Kg), both alone and in combinations. The concentration used for Cr was 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50), while for Se, the most stimulatory concentrations as observed from preliminary studies were used. The pots were kept in natural environmental conditions and were watered regularly. The experiment was conducted in triplicates. The harvesting of the plants was done after 30 days of sowing and stored at -20 ℃ . Some harvested plants were also dried by keeping them in hot air oven for 24 h at 80 ℃.

Se application aided in improving plant growth, reducing the oxidative damage and strengthening the antioxidative defence system in plants raised in soils with binary combinations of Cr and Se. Photosynthesis, which is one of the vital physiological processes, was positively influenced with application of Se. It helped in minimising the toxicity of Cr and enhanced the contents of pigments. The efficiency of photosynthetic machinery was further strengthened by the increase of net photosynthetic rate, transpiration rate, stomatal conductance and intercellular CO₂ concentration, and hence indicated its importance in combating stress. The study also highlighted the role of Se in enhancing the contents of secondary metabolites which play an important role in heavy metal chelation, complex formation and ROS scavenging, thereby reducing the chances of Cr to cause physiological damage.

A significant modulation in gene expression was observed in B. juncea in response to Cr and Se. The gene responsible for H₂O₂ production is respiratory burst oxidase (RBO) which showed a significant upregulation in its expression by 3.63 folds in response to Cr treatment. Se at 2 µM/Kg in combination with 300 µM/Kg Cr caused decrease by 1.62 folds in the expression of RBO gene.An increase in expression was observed SOD, CAT and GST-1 by 2.75 folds, 2.82 folds and 2.03 folds respectively in response to Cr. However, Cr treatment resulted in a reduction of relative expression of POD and GR genes by 0.54 and 0.61 folds respectively in leaves of B. juncea plants. The combined treatment of Se and Cr aided in reducing Cr toxicity by increasing the expression of genes coding all these enzymes. Maximum increase in expression in case of CAT (4.68 folds), GR (2.08 folds) and GST-1 (2.98 folds) was observed at binary combination of 4 µM/Kg Se and 300 µM/Kg Cr. For SOD, 4.25 folds increase in gene expression was observed at 6 µM/Kg Se and 300 µM/Kg Cr. The expression of POD enhanced by 1.75 folds at the concentration of 2 µM/Kg Se and 300 µM/Kg Cr. The genes coding forcholrophyllase (CHLASE) chalcone synthase (CHS) and phenylalanine ammonialyase (PAL) showed enhanced expression of 2.47 folds, 1.79 folds and 2.07 folds respectively in the plants raised in Cr spiked soils. The co-application of Se and Cr helped in increasing the expression of CHS and PAL, while aided in reducing the expression of CHLASE. The concentration of 4 µM/Kg for Se proved to be most beneficial for enhancing the gene expression of PAL by 3.92 folds, while the same concentration caused a decline in the expression of CHALSE by 1.65 folds. However, for CHS expression, 6 µM/Kg Se caused an increase by 2.52 folds. Statistical analysis by one-way ANOVA and MLR supported the observations. The values of beta-regression coefficients for Se indicated the stress alleviating effects of Se for all the genes.

Earthen pots (12 in. diameter) were filled with five kg of soil per pot and arranged in a randomized block design (Kothari, 2004) with 5 pots for each treatment. 0 mM Cd(II) was added to the soil in form of anhydrous CdCl₂. The seeds of B. juncea var. RLC-1 (procured from Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, India) were surface sterilized with 0.5% (v/v) sodium hypochlorite. These were then soaked in different concentration of castasterone (CS) (0 nM) for 8 h before sowing. After seven days of germination, 0 mM citric acid (CA) was supplemented to the soil. The plants were harvested after 30 days of sowing, and fresh mature top leaves were analysed for biochemical, physiological and molecular studies.

Castasterone (CS) and Citric Acid (CA) treatments also improved the osmolyte contents of the leaves which enabled the plants to tide over Cd (II) stress. Beta regression and multiple linear regression analysis showed that CS treatment has more positive effect on shoot height, fresh weight and photosynthetic pigments and efficiency than the CA treatment. The most effective concentration enhancing Cd(II) stress tolerance in B. juncea plants was seed soaking treatment with 100 nM CS and soil application of 0.6 mM/kg CA soil.

The present study found that relative expression of CHLASE gene was significantly increased by 3.57 folds under Cd(II) toxicity. Seed pre-sowing treatment of 100 nM CS and soil citric acid application significantly lowered expression of CHLASE in 30 day old B. juncea leaves. MLR analysis also revealed positive effect of Cd(II) and negative effects of CA and CS treatments on fold change of CHLASE expression. Maximum reduction in CHLASE expression of 1.19 fold was observed with binary combination of CS (100 nM) and CA (0.6 mM/kg) in the leaves of Cd(II) stressed B. juncea.Expression of PSY and CHS genes was significantly enhanced by binary combination of CS and CA treatment by 2.85 fold and 5.15 fold, respectively. MLR analysis also revealed that CS, CA and Cd(II) treatments positively regressed on fold change of PSY and CHS expressions.

Irradiation and preparation of carrageenan: Solid material of k-carrageenan (Sigma-Aldrich, USA) was sealed in a glass tube with atmospheric air. The samples of carrageenan were irradiated in Co-60 Gamma Chamber, GC-5000 supplied by BRIT, Mumbai, India, at a dose rate of 2.4 kGy/h. The samples were irradiated to a total dose of 250 kGy. Different aqueous concentrations of IC were finally prepared as spray treatments using double distilled water. Experimental set up and growth analyses: Authentic seeds of fennel were procured from Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (CIMAP), Lucknow, India. The experiment was conducted in randomized block design in earthen pots (25 cm diameter × 25 cm height) in the naturally illuminated environmental conditions in the net house of the Department of Botany, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh (27° 53′ N latitude, 78° 51′ E longitude, and 187.45 m altitude). Different concentrations of gamma-irradiated carrageenan solution (40, 60, 80 and 100 mg/L) were applied. Each treatment was replicated four times and each replicate-pot contained two plants. Plants were sprayed three times with IC. The first spray was carried out at 40 days after sowing (DAS), while the second and third sprays were applied after one and two weeks, respectively. Control plants were sprayed with deionized water. Performance of the crop was assessed in terms of growth attributes, physiological and biochemical parameters, essential oil yield and main components of the oil. Growth, physiological and biochemical attributes were determined at flowering stage (70 DAS).

Among various concentrations, 80 mg/L of IC gave the best results regarding yield and main components of essential oil of fennel. As compared to the control, it maximally augmented the per-plant yield of essential oil (66.3%) and the contents of main constituents of essential oil, viz. anethole (86.0%) and fenchone (7.82%) at 150 days.

The experiment was carried out in 2013. Leaves of five raspberry cultivars ('Polana', 'Polka', 'Tulameen', 'Laszka' and 'Glen Ample') were collected at the time of cultivation. Three organic and neighborhood conventional farms were used for experimental purposes. From one cultivar (one field plot), 3-4 plants were chosen, which were analyzed separately. One sample consisted of 10 leaves. The farm was treated as a replication. [organic farm no. 1 Localization: akroczym(52° 26″ N 20° 36″ E), Type of Soil: sandy middle soil IVa and IVb category (15% floatable particles) pH 5.5, Kind of Fertilizer: cow manure, Dose of Fertilizers and Time of Given: 35 t/ha one year before raspberry planting, Plant Protection System: Grevit 200 SL; organic farm no. 2 Localization: Zaluski (52° 37″ N 20° 22″ E), Type of Soil: sandy middle soil, sandy-clay IV category (20% floatable particles), pH 5.5, Kind of Fertilizer:cow manure, Dose of Fertilizers and Time of Given: 30 t/ha one year before raspberry planting, Plant Protection System: no protection; organic farm no. 3 Localization: Radzanow(51° 33″ N 20° 51″ E), Type of Soil: sandy middle soil IVa and III category (10% floatable particles), pH 6.0, Kind of Fertilizer:sheep manure, green manure, Dose of Fertilizers and Time of Given: 10 t/ha and 15 t/ha one year before raspberry planting, Plant Protection System: Bioczos 33 SL, Grevit 200 SL; conventional farm no. 1 Localization: Czerwinsk nad Wisla (52° 23″ N 20° 20″ E), Type of Soil: sandy-loamy middle soil IV and III category (20% floatable particles), pH 5.5, Kind of Fertilizer: Hydrocomplex 12-11-18; Superba 8-11-36, Dose of Fertilizers and Time of Given: (200 kg/ha, 150 kg/ha) in autumn a year before raspberry planting; 3 doses in time of cultivation, Plant Protection System: Signum 33 WG, Miros 20 SP; conventional farm no. 2 Localization: Czerwinsk nad Wisla (52° 23″ N 20° 20″ E), Type of Soil: sandy-loamy middle soil IV and III category (25% floatable particles), pH 5.5, Kind of Fertilizer: amonium nitrate, polyphosphate, magnesium sulphate, Dose of Fertilizers and Time of Given: in autumn a year before raspberry planting; 3 doses in time of cultivation, Plant Protection System: Calypso 480 SC, Miros 20 SP, Zato 50 WG; conventional farm no. 3 Localization: Czerwinsk nad Wisla(52° 25″ N 20° 23″ E), Type of Soil: sandy-clay middle soil II and III category (20% floatable particles) pH 6.0, Kind of Fertilizer:Rosafert 5-12-24-3, Dose of Fertilizers and Time of Given: 250 kg/ha in autumn a year before raspberry planting; 4 doses in time of cultivation, Plant Protection System: Calypso 480 SC, Miros 20 SP, Zato 50 WG].

Compared with conventional raspberry leaves, organic raspberry leaves were characterized by a significantly higher content of dry matter, total polyphenols, total phenolic acids, chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, salicylic acid and quercetin-3-O-rutinoside; moreover, the organic leaves were characterized by higher antioxidant activity. Among examined cultivars, 'Polka' c. was characterized by the highest antioxidant status. However, raspberry leaves from conventional farms contained more total carotenoids, violaxanthin, alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, total chlorophyll and individual forms of chlorophylls: a and b.