Grey to black moldy growth was seen in red bell peppers obtained from market. Histo-pathological studies performed using a foldscope revealed : Profusely branched, septate mycelium Several pale-brown conidia observed on the tips of conidiophores Each conidium was multicellular and elliptical in shape On consulting the literature, the fungus was found to be Alternaria solani…
Tag: #sd@foldscopechandigarh
Foldscope as a teaching and learning aid @ GGDSD, Chandigarh
After Foldscope awareness workshops, now the students @GGDSD, Chandigarh are using Foldscope in their routine practicals. One such practical on anatomical study on Coralloid root of Cycas was performed by students using Foldscope. Cycas is a common ornamental Gymnosperm of great importance. It forms normal geotropic roots as well as symbiotic, apo-geotropic coralloid roots. Students…
Outreach programme for Foldscope use at School of Nagaland, India
An outreach programme for foldscope use was organised at 4th NAP Higher Secondary School Alichen, Mokokchung, Nagaland, India. Secondary and Higher Secondary students participated in the programme along with the Principal and the Vice-Principal of the school. Assembling of the foldscope was demonstrated and a series of slides were prepared with the help of the…
Moldy growth on button mushrooms
A rotten mushroom in a pack of healthy button mushrooms seen under a foldscope showed moldy growth. This post is open to read and review on The Winnower.
Blessed Green Backdrop of Punjab Fields
A drive was planned near the tricity to various Punjab fields during the monsoon yesterday. It was found most fields turned into pools of water to support the kharif paddy crop in the month of Savan (mid July to mid August). We have collected samples from the fields and foldscope it. In Microflora of fields…
Foldscopy of water hyacinth growing in my village in Punjab
Water hyacinth is a common nuisance of the ponds in my village. It is a fast growing, free floating, aquatic plant, invading entire ponds and pools of the village. The leaves have spongy and bulbous stalks which float above the surface of water. An erect stalk supporting a single spike of 8-10 attractive flowers having…
Foldscopy from a village in Punjab
I would like to share reports of foldscopy from my native place Landran in Punjab (India). Learning foldscopy at a workshop held at GGDSD College, I tried to explore flora and fauna of my village. Landran is a village located in SAS Nagar (Mohali) Tehsil of Mohali district, Punjab. It is about 45 Kms from…
Blue mold on rotting coconut
I bought a green coconut for relishing its water, but landed up throwing in dustbin as blue mold had grown on its top.The coconut had rotten either in storage or due to prevailing rainy weather. Took a cello tape and fixed the mold on a slide to observe it under a foldscope. I could see…
Portulaca leaf under foldscope
Portulaca is a succulent pot herb with fleshy stem and opposite arrangement of leaves. Out of curiosity I observed a leaf of Portulaca plant growing in my house under foldscope and was amazed to see the structural configuration. An epidermal peel revealed the stomatal arrangement to be of Paracytic type. In this type…
Compound pollen grains of Gum arabic tree (Babool)
Its my privilege to explore nature using foldscope, which otherwise would have gone unnoticed by me. Babool (Acacia nilotica) is a medium-sized tree cultivated along the roadsides in Punjab. It is a multi-purpose tree with branches having a tendency to droop downwards. Presence of spines and pinnately compound leaves are characteristic of Acacia family. …
Observed Remusatia vivipara colocasia leaf under foldscope
Observed a thin section of Colocasia leaf under foldscope at GGDSD college,chandigarh. Stomata and guard cells were observed.
Observation of fat droplets in milk
Observed a commercial sample of milk at GGDSD COLLEGE, Chandigarh with varied fat content of 6%,4.5% and 1.5%.Variations in the aggregation of fat droplets was observed such that milk with highest fat content i. e 6% showed highest degree of aggregation of fat droplets followed by milk with fat content of 4.5% and least degree…
Black mould on Onion
Mouldy growth was seen in onion on peeling out the dry outer covering. On viewing through the foldscope the fungus was found to be black mould. Presence of sporangium on the sporangiophore/ conidiophore was clearly marked. Though, onion is known to possess insecticidal, antibacterial and antifungal properties which are attributed to its sulphur containing compounds….
Observed homemade curd under foldscope
Observed homemade curd under foldscope at GGDSD COLLEGE chandigarh. Sample from curd was kept in open (without refrigerator) for 2 days and gram stained . A mixture of cocci and bacilli was observed. Aawe
Observation of milk under foldscope
Observed milk under foldscope at GGDSD College, chandigarh. Milk sample was fermented overnight and then observed by gram staining. A mixture of cocci and few bacilli were observed.
Variation in different varieties of Portulaca
In our college garden variously colored Portulacas are blooming. I was fascinated by the various colours and types and observed their behaviour closely. They are a typical case of Photoperiodism (day length). Commonly called as the Time Flower (Dopahar Khidi in Punjabi), as the flower opens and closes at specific times of the day. Portulacas…
Moss in my garde
I located some moss plants growing in a shady corner of my garden. On foldscoping, I could make out these were moss protonema (i.e. juvenile moss plants). On germination spores of mosses form green filamentous leafy structures that usually lak midrib. These are called Primary protonema. These then give way to slightly big leafy structures called…
A succulent houseplant- Pepromia under foldscope
There is an evergreen, succulent plant – Pepromia growing in a pot in my courtyard. I observed safranin stained transverse sections of the stem to observe its vascular bundles arranged in a ring under the foldscope. Epidermal peel of the leaf revealed irregular cells with presence of secondary metabolites and some aqueous sap filled cells….
Diseased mango leaf
I spotted a fallen diseased mango leaf under the mango tree growing in my neighborhood. On performing foldscopy it was seen there were brown coloured necrotic patches, with yellowing of leaves around. On teasing the small brown spots, reddish circular spores of an unknown pathogen were seen. This post is open to read and…
Fungal growth on sheath of corn cob
I had gone for roasted corn cob (called Bhutta in my native language), when I landed on this foldscope adventure. Corn cobs are a delicacy in monsoons, however, before the vendor could roast it on charcoal fire, I noticed black moldy growth on the outer layer of the corn husk. Surprisingly, another fungal disease…
Introducing Foldscope as an Educational Tool @ GGDSD College, Chandigarh
Seeing the interest of the students and the eagerness to view through Foldscope, we have taken an initiative to introduce Foldscope as a study tool. The 2nd year Botany graduates have collection of wild flora and preparation of Herbarium files mandatory in their curriculum laid out by Panjab University, Chandigarh. The students are being encouraged…
Spores in resurrection plant – Selaginella
In vacations I was able to collect a resurrection plant – Selaginella belonging to the group Pteridophytes from Dehradun (India). Selaginella is commonly known as ‘spike moss’ or ‘club moss’. Mostly the species prefer moist and shady places, but a few species are also found growing in xerophytic conditions on rocks and are sold under the…
Peculiar characters observed in flower of Thorn apple (Datura)
Thorn apple – one of the poisonous flowering plant in nightshade family was seen growing along the banks of Ghaggar river in Panchkula district of Haryana (India). It commonly grows as a weed in waste lands along roadside and railway lines. It has trumpet shaped flowers and a spiny capsular fruit with numerous seeds. The…
Moldy growth on Dairy Products
Milk cream left out in open inadvertently during rainy season showed a moldy growth. When seen under a foldscope, a network of aseptate hyphae could be figured. Some sporangiophores bearing sporangia were seen. Trying to go for its identification it was a black mold with white cottony hyphae. The sporangiophores were spherical in shape and…
Flower of Adam’s Needle
Botanically known as Yucca, is a plant of ethnobotanic importance. Its stiff and sword-shaped leaves have pointed tips The bell-shaped flowers hang loosely in clusters giving it the name – Christmas bells. It is a plant cultivated in rocky gardens and xeriscapes, but otherwise found abundantly in dry wastelands. In my beautiful city Chandigarh (India),…
Moldy growth – In my room wall
A dampened wall due to seepage from rainwater drain pipe was noticed in my room wall and prompted by the post on ‘Air borne fungi’, I mounted the same on a slide to observe under a foldscope. I was surprised to see fungal hyphae and some unidentified cyst- like structure. However, I could not identify…
Sticky pollen in Duranta
Foldscope unfolded sticky pollen in another plant – Duranta erecta commonly called Damyanti. Duranta erecta is a common shrub cultivated in gardens as a fence is an invasive species. It bears small blue to purple somewhat tubular flowers hanging out in terminal clusters. I split open a flower to separate stamens and carpel. The petals…
Hidden wonders through foldscope
Referring to my earlier post on ‘Kitchen garden through Foldscope’, I am excited as well as shocked to share the presence of bug or mite which I viewed in the hairy style of bean flower. The stamens and pistil are present within the closed petals – Keel (Carina) and I took them out after giving…
Endosperm cells from mature Coconut
This time I took a mature coconut. I took a chip of its fleshy endosperm using a simple blade and saw totally different type of cells under the foldscope. In green coconut (in my previous post), the cells were large in size and polygonal in shape, whereas in mature coconut they seemed to be somewhat…