Optimum culture conditions for high frequency plant regeneration from leaf explants of Kalanchoe daigremontiana Hamet &Perrier were established. Shoot regeneration was achieved from leaf explant cultures using MS medium supplemented with indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) and thidiazuron (TDZ) or benzyladenine (BA). Percent regeneration was influenced by plant growth regulators and source of explants. MS medium supplemented with TDZ (1.0 mg/l) and IAA (0.4 mg/l) was the most effective, providing shoot regeneration for 76.7 % of ex vitro leaf explants associated with a high number of shoots per explant (9.5 mean shoots per explant), whereas 100% shoot regeneration associated with 12.4 shoots per explant occurred from in vitro leaf explants on the same medium. Clusters of shoots were multiplied and elongated on MS medium containing several concentrations of BA. MS medium supplemented with 0.25 mg/l BA was proved as the most effective shoot elongation medium. Elongated shoots (2-3 cm) were rooted at 100% on half-strength MS medium. Rooted plantlets were then transferred to potting soil. Regenerated plants were established in the soil with 90% success.

The concerns on the crop damage by ultraviolet (UV) radiations is increasing owing to the decrease of their absorbing stratospheric ozone in the tropospheric. Cultivar differences on early growth of UV radiation among five Korean rice cultivars, four japonica types and one Tongil type (indica-japonica cross hybrid), were studied. Pot-seeded rice plants were grown under four different radiation conditions, i.e., visible radiation only, visible radiation with supplemented with high or low dose of UV-B (280~320 nm in wavelength) and UV-C (less than 280 nm in wavelength). The inhibitory degree on plant height, shoot and root weight and length of leaf blade and leaf sheath were determined at 40 days after seeding. UV-C showed the most severe inhibitory effect on the degree of biomass gain and leaf growth in most cultivars examined, followed by high UV-B and low UV-B. Among the cultivars used, the Kuemobyeo was the most sensitive cultivar and had not repair or showed resistance ability to continued irradiation of UV radiation. However, Janganbyeo and Jaekeon showed different responses that the elongation of leaf blades was promoted on 2nd and 3rd leaves and inhibited on 4th and 5th leaves but this inhibitory degree was reduced on 6 th and 7th leaves. Such tendency on leaf growth means that both cultivars had low sensitivity and most resistant ability to continued irradiation of UV radiation. While Tongil showed different response to enhanced UV radiation, ie., low UV-B promoted leaf growth but the inhibitory was severely increased by continued irradiation of high UV-B and UV-C, which means that Tongil had high threshold of UV radiation for response as an inhibitory light of plant growth. The results of this study indicate that the differences on sensitivity or resistant to the effects of UV radiation were existed among Korean rice cultivars

Aerenchyma development in rice (Oryza sativa L.) roots is quite important for adaptation to waterlogged or reduced soil conditions. Anatomical observations were carried out to clarify the development of schizogenous and lysigenous aerenchyma in elongating crown roots of rice. The crown roots of 3rd and 4th phytomer were taken from rice plants of the 8th leaf stage grown by hydroponic culture. The schizogenous intercellular spaces in the cortex of crown root tip were observed using a light microscope with semi ultra-thin sections and the lysigenous aerenchyma in mature tissue of crown root were observed using a cryo scanning electron microscope (cryo-SEM) with freezing fracture method. The schizogenous intercellular spaces in the root tip exist obviously in the middle portion of cortical cell layers close to the root-root cap junction, but not in root cap, stele and outer cell layers of cortex. The air spaces were formed at the junction of four neighbouring cells of inner cortex in the transverse sections, and between longitudinal cell layer connected along the root axis. Although many of those spaces were filled with liquid, some spaces seem to exist as air spaces. The lysigenous aerenchyma in the cortex, which hardly filled with liquid, emerged at 3-4 cm segment from the root tip and increased toward the basal region of root axis. The developing process of lysigenous aerenchyma was primarily separation of a radial row of cells caused by the shrinking and collapsing of cortical cells and then formation of septa along the radial cell rows by the fusion of cell wall with each other. These results suggest that the schizogenous and lysigenous aerenchyma playa role as a passage for the movement of oxygen into the root tip region where oxygen is required for respiration.