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🌱 Plant Embryogenesis: Stages of Development 🌱

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🌱 Plant Embryogenesis: Stages of Development 🌱

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After fertilization, the zygote divides into two: the apical cell and the basal cell.

The apical cell eventually divides and differentiates into three regions of the embryo proper, which are the cotyledons, hypocotyl, and parts of root. The division of the apical cell occurring here is usually referred to as the globular stage as it grows spherically. On the other hand, the basal cell eventually forms the rest of the root portion of the embryo. During the development of the apical region, the zygote undergoes through the heart stage to form the cotyledons (in dicots) then followed by the elongation of the hypocotyl that forms the distinct torpedo stage. Notably, the suspensor degenerates during the torpedo stage.

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"Know More About La Trinidad Benguet, the Vegetable Capital of the Philippines" 🥗

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"Know More About La Trinidad Benguet, the Vegetable Capital of the Philippines" 🥗

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Welcome to the Vegetable Capital of the Philippines, La Trinidad Benguet! ✨ This Salad Bowl of the Philippines is located in the southern region of the Cordillera Administrative Region. Its picturesque and scenic mountain view is not all that it’s got. It is also known for its fertile land that is home to the many fruits and vegetables including strawberries, cabbage, carrots and sweet potatoes, that are even marketed in the National Capital Region. Its cold temperature ranging from 16.9 °C during November to March and 25.5°C during the months of April-October allows an optimum temperature and weather conditions for the growth of some of our most loved crops!

Department of Tourism. (2016). It’s More Fun in the Philippines! - Benguet. Retrieved from https://philippines.travel/destinations/benguet

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Vegetable plantation

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1. White Rice (Oryza sativa)

2. Corn (Zea mays)

3. Strawberry (Fragaria ananassa)

4. Rambutan (Nephelium lappaceum)

5. Lanzones (Lansium domesticum)

6. Gabi (Colocasia esculenta)

7. Sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas)

8. Cabbage (Brassica rapa)

9. Carrot (Daucus carota)

10. Guava (Psidium guajava)

In truth, there are so many plants that the Philippines is able to grow. However, out of all of these, we have chosen 10 crop plants that can be grown in our area--many of them are even exotic! The value of storing the seeds of these crops lies in that they are a popular food source of Filipinos and that they are plants whose variants are always a subject of interest for agricultural development.

Though, we have chosen these 10 plants, they are not the only ones you can choose from. How about reading this article to learn of the wild fruits that can be found in the Cordillera?

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ABSTRACT

Objective

To conduct a survey on the common name/s, traditional uses and cultural importance of the edible wild fruits in different municipalities of Benguet, Cordillera administrative region.

Methods

Interviews using questionnaires with barangay leaders and indigenous people were conducted with 176 key informants from June 2011 to July 2013.

Results

A total of 36 fruit species were found in different municipalities of Benguet. These fruit species belong to 27 genera and 20 families. Among the 13 municipalities of Benguet, Kibungan has the highest number of species. There are many uses of wild fruits which ranged from food (snack/dessert/table food), forage (especially for birds, monkeys and wild animals such as cloud rat and grass eaters), offertory, processed/preserved (as jam, jellies, candies, juice and wine), condiment or ingredient (for cooking), source of dye or ink, decoration (to garnish food) and as medicine to common ailments or health problems. Based on the inventory and calculated cultural importance index, Garcinia binucao (balokok) belonging to Clusiaceae is the most abundant fruit, hence it is the commonly used fruit for various purposes such as food, forage, processing/preservation and condiment/ingredient; Vaccinium myrtoides (ayusip) for offerings and as source of dye/ink; Saurauia elegans (uyok) for decoration, and, Antidesma bunius (bugnay) for medicine.

Conclusions

Benguet province in the Cordillera region provides a diversity of edible wild fruits. The data gathered from the study signifies that collection, processing and utilization of edible wild fruits are still part of the daily activities of the people in Benguet.

View Abstract

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Ethno-botanical survey of edible wild fruits in Benguet, Cordillera administrative region, the Philippines

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To conduct a survey on the common name/s, traditional uses and cultural importance of the edible wild fruits in different municipalities of Benguet, Cordillera administrative region. Interviews using questionnaires with barangay leaders and indigenous people were conducted with 176 key informants from June 2011 to July 2013.

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Plant Embryogenesis: Monocots Forever Alone 💔

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Plant Embryogenesis: Monocots Forever Alone 💔

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In embryogenesis, monocots and dicots essentially go through the same stages of development except that monocots do not have a heart stage. Remember that monocots only have one cotyledon.

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"Philippine Seed Banks: How are Efforts Being Made?" 

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"Philippine Seed Banks: How are Efforts Being Made?" 

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Philippine seed banks as of the moment are not as vast and well-established across the country (Vernooy et al., 2015). Chronicles of community seed banks across the different plantations in northern Luzon including La Trinidad Benguet and other parts of southern Philippines such as CARAGA region are currently in the works yet are still to be united under the forefronts of the Department of Agriculture (Vernooy, 2012).  Start-ups of rural community seed banks across the Phlippine farmlands are being established under the leadership of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) such as CONSERVE PH in partnership with Rural Advancement Foundation International (RAFI) (Ashraf et al., 2010).

The Philippine is a biodiversity hotspot with one of the highest species richness not only in terms of animals but of plants as well (Gaither & Rocha, 2013). We are known for our high species endemism and richness which are prone to the effects of climate change and other natural forces (Suarez & Sajise, 2010).  With this, there is a greater call for the Philippine Department of Agriculture and Department of Environment and Natural Resources to spearhead a more expanded and unified seed bank in the Philippines to combine the efforts of the different community-based seed banks to reach the common goal of achieving a systemic national seed storage.

Ashraf, N., Karlan, D., & Yin, W. (2010). Female empowerment: Impact of a commitment savings product in the Philippines. World development, 38(3), 333-344.

Gaither, M. R., & Rocha, L. A. (2013). Origins of species richness in the Indo‐Malay‐Philippine biodiversity hotspot: Evidence for the centre of overlap hypothesis. Journal of biogeography, 40(9), 1638-1648.

Suarez, R. K., & Sajise, P. E. (2010). Deforestation, swidden agriculture and Philippine biodiversity. Philippine Science Letters, 3(1), 91-99.

Vernooy, R., Shrestha, P., & Sthapit, B.. (2015). Community seed banks: Origins, evolution and prospects. Routledge.

Vernooy, R. (2012). In the hands of many: a review of community gene/seed banks around the world. Community Seed Banks in Nepal: Past, Present, Future, 3-15.

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"Frontiers in Understanding Development and Embryogenesis"

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"Frontiers in Understanding Development and Embryogenesis"

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"Seed Banks as the Important Life Vaults of the Future" 

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"Seed Banks as the Important Life Vaults of the Future" 

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Forces such as climate change, illegal logging, predation, fire, possibility of wars, and continuous changes in global geographical conditions add up to the influential factors that threaten plant propagation and diversity in different locations across the globe (Thompson, 2008). These myriad of impending pressures on the conditions of the forests and ecosystems place a greater significance on our need to have seed banks to one day possibly provide a bridge to address threats in food security and plant genetic diversity.

The earth’s future vegetation and floral life depends on our capability to safeguard these living treasures against extinction should there be a direct or indirect threat like fire, wars, or climate change that may affect the germination of food crops and plant survival, especially those that are vulnerable to the impending loom of  extinction (Sklogund, 1992). Storing seeds in seed banks for future generations allows faster vegetation recovery should there be pest or pathogenic infestations that may possibly wipe out an entire plant species. Seed banks likewise act as a preventive precaution against the possible threat of plant extinction as stored seeds can once again be germinated once natural disasters such as fire or flood, and man-made disasters such as wars eradicate plant life in the Philippines or anywhere in the world. Without us knowing, seed banks may act as important life vaults that may save us in the future.

Skoglund, J. (1992). The role of seed banks in vegetation dynamics and restoration of dry tropical ecosystems. Journal of Vegetation Science, 3(3), 357–360. https://doi.org/10.2307/3235760

Thompson, K. (2008). Seeds and Seed Banks. New Phytologist, 106, 23–34. doi:10.1111/j.1469-8137.1987.tb04680.x