Plants have several defense mechanisms against abiotic and biotic stress. Leaf trichomes are uni-cellular or multi-cellular hairs that can be glandular or non-glandular and are believed to protect plants against herbivory and drought. Leaf trichomes production insome plants increases tolerance to drought. Radish leaves also develop trichomes that were seen under foldscope and were found…
Category: Nature
Things connected to observations in ecological context
Exploring the kitchen garden plants under Foldscope – pollen of radish
Radish, Raphanus sativus is a winter herbaceous annual of family Brassicaceae. The plant has a short hairy stem and a rosette of leaves. The season nearing an end some plants show whitish-pink flowers in corymbose racemes. Stamens bear yellow anthers with short filaments. The pollen isolated from anthers were seen under foldscope. They were oval –…
Workshop on Foldscope at Kendagora Adarsha Sikshayatan, Amlasole, Jhargram, West Bengal, India
Jhargram, located in the western part of West Bengal, is a well-known location for its wooded beauty and topology. In the afternoon of 2nd March and morning of 3rd March 2019, Department of Environmental Science, University of Calcutta organized a workshop, “Magnify your curiosity- Explore the Microcosmos with Foldscope” at Kendagora Adarsha Sikshayatan, Amlasole, Jhargram,…
Workshop on Water Quality Assessment by using Foldscope at Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology (IIEST), formerly Shibpur B.E. College, Howrah, West Bengal, India
Department of Environmental Science, University of Calcutta, organized a daylong workshop on Water Quality Assessment using Foldscope at Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology (IIEST), in “Teachers’ Orientation for National Children’s Science Congress, Howrah” on 19th September, 2018. 27 teachers from different schools of Howrah, West Bengal participated in this workshop. The workshop started…
Pollen observed under foldscope
Observed Pollen grain from a flower from my garden
Aphids on Brassica plant in Punjab fields seen through foldscope
Grey coloured powder was observed from a distance on Brassica stem in a field during one of our visits to Punjab fields. On moving closer, we could see a grey coat all over the stem When left for some time on a paper, all the aphids settled down as grey powder mass. The leaves showed…
“Foldscope in undergraduate education” workshop/training session at Palo Alto Duck Pound
Manu Prakash, few prakazoans and folks from Caltech Just a picture to get a sens of the ecosystem. Lucy Evans Baylands Nature Interpretive Center (The City of Palo Alto Probably a Dytiscidae because of the way it was swimming
Exploring galls formed by leaf miner on Brassica under foldscope
In the young leaves of the Mustard crop, irregular streaks were seen which showed attack by leaf miner. Sample taken from the area showed soft, juicy sap with irregular swollen areas and empty cells In a view the pest in side view could be spotted. On the attacked leaf the starting and end points of…
Fungi Everywhere – 7
Sample – 7 is of curd showing moldy growth. Curd left for 2 days outside the refrigerator showed moldy growth. Fixing a sample on a slide and observing through a foldscope revealed mycelium mat and Aspergillus spores with and without stain.
Demonstration-cum-Awareness Workshop: Utility of the Foldscope in Education and Research
On 22 February 2019, ICAR–National Bureau of Agricultural Insect Resources (ICAR–NBAIR), Bengaluru, and ICAR Research Complex for North Eastern Hill Region (ICAR RCNEHR), Umiam, jointly organised a workshop at the College of Horticulture, Bengaluru. There were 109 participants, a majority of whom were B.Sc. (Horticulture) students. They learnt about various aspects of the Foldscope, including...
View of the tail and antenna of Firebrat
College name: CMR National PU College (ITPL) Sample name: Firebrat Sample Collected from and date: From home on 5/3/19 Sample Observed at and date: CMR National PU College (ITPL) on 6/3/19 Students involved:Leelavathi, Lekhana Bharthi, Shilpa Shree The image below is of the tail of the insect firebrat which is a silverfish. Firebrat is an…
T.S of Coriander Root
College name: CMR National PU college,ITPL Sample name: Root of coriander Sample collected and Date: Home, 06-03-2019 Sample observed at and date: CMR National PU college,ITPL on 06-03-2019 Students involved: Bindu, Trisha, Rashmi, Sushmitha, Kruthika, Ankitha. The image below is transverse section of a root of coriander. Firstly, we dissected the transverse section of coriander…
LS of Coriander Flower
COLLEGE NAME : CMR National PU College ITPL SAMPLE NAME : LS of Coriander Flower SAMPLE COLLECTED FROM : Home on 05/03/2019 SAMPLE OBSERVED AT : CMR National PU College ITPL on 06/03/2019 STUDENTS INVOLVED : Kruthika , Bindu , Sushmitha , Ankitha , Thrisha , Rashmi Coriander flower is a very small ,white flower.The…
Aloe skin and thorn
COLLEGE NAME : CMR National PU College SAMPLE NAME : Aloe vera skin and thorn SAMPLE COLLECTED FROM : Aloe vera plant on 05/03/2019 SAMPLE OBSERVED AT : CMR National PU College on 06/03/2019 STUDENTS INVOLVED : Kruthika, Bindu, Sushmitha, Ankitha, Trisha, Rashmi When viewed from naked eye ,the aloe vera skin looks green colour…
Disease Identification using Foldscope – White rust of Crucifers seen on Mustard
Some disease symptoms were seen on Mustard plants in a field in Ropar during one our visits. Small, localized white patches were seen on both the surfaces of some leaves. On other leaves, presence of large powdery patches – especially towards the leaf tips, as if the smaller patches had coalesced to form large infected…
Early symptoms of powdery mildew on sunflower explored under foldscope @ GGDSD College
Young sunflower plants in the college Botanical garden were seen to show white powdery growth on upper surface of the leaves. Detailed study revealed the following symptoms: Appearance of white powdery mass on leaves Lower leaves heavily infected than upper ones Severely infected leaves turning yellow and later dried out The collected sample on analysis…
Identification of whiteflies through the Foldscope
Bemisia tabaci, the silver leaf whitefly, is a notorious vector of several plant viruses that cause enormous crop losses. [Image by: H.N. Roja; Specimen courtesy: Dr R. Sundararaj] Aleurocanthus mangiferae, commonly known as the mango blackfly, is a pest of mango. [Image by: H.N. Roja; Specimen courtesy: Dr R. Sundararaj] Aleurotrachelus trachoides, commonly called the...
Trichogramma evanescens under the Foldscope
Trichogramma evanescens is a parasitoid used to control several lepidopteran pests, including the Asian corn borer. [Image by: Ms H.N. Roja. Specimen courtesy: Dr Y. Lalitha]
Corainder leaf microflora from my kitchen garden under foldscope
Coriander plants growing in my garden developed yellow patches on leaves. Suspecting some disease attack, I fixed the sample on a slide and observed under the foldscope – some fiber-like structures and some cysts.
Pollen of white cherry @ Kansal Forest area
The area around the log hut of the Kansal forest is well maintained and showed beautiful landscaping. Clusters of racemes bearing pure white coloured flowers adorned the medium-sized Prunus (Family – Rosaceae) trees and were a part of landscape horticulture. The white cherry tree is of great ornamental value and is usually vegetatively propagated. The…
Powdery mildew on Tulsi under foldscope
White powder was seen on upper side of some tulsi leaves. Also the leaves showing powdery mass had turned reddish-brown in colour. The powdery mass when seen through foldscope showed large number of microscopic fungal spores – probably conidia. On the conidiophores, the point of attachment of conidia were clearly marked. Besides, the spores were…
Spirogyra from a pond @ Kansal Forest
As we walked towards the log hut, two small rain-fed lakes meant for fulfilling the water requirement of wild animals were seen in the Kansal forest. Besides, several small dams were seen flowing through the area These had algal blooms from where we collected samples. Later in the lab, a sample was drawn and gently…
Foldscoping Eucalyptus flowers @ Kansal forest
Trekking through the Kansal forest, we came across large Eucalyptus trees that belong to family Myrtaceae of angiosperms. Off-white flowers fallen from the trees were picked up for study. The floral buds were vase-shaped and had a cap that sheds off as the flowers bloom. Petals not marked, but large number of stamens could be…
Leg of Mango leaf hopper
The hind leg of leafhopper are modifies for jumping and are covered with hairs which are covered with hairs that facilitate the spreading of secretion over their bodies and act as a water repellent and carrier of pheromones.
Picture of Aphid taken by Foldscope
Aphid, member of the order Homoptera, is probably the most notorious pests in the world. An aphid feeds on plants by inserting its proboscis, stylet or straw like mouthpart into phloem or inner cells of plant. Upon insertion the aphid draws the plant’s juice or sap. This feeding activity will normally cause leaf and stem…
Wing of winged Aphid
Aphids are small sap sucking insects and members of the superfamily Aphidoideae. Common names include greenfly and black fly. A typical life cycle involves flightless female giving living birth to female nymphs without the involvement of male. Winged females may develop later in the season, allowing the insects colonies new plants.
Mango leaf hopper
Mango leafhopper belongs to the family Cicadellidae. This minute insects are feeder that sucks plant sap. Nymphs and adults are sucking phloem sap from the inflorescences and leaves of the host plants.