A rich and diverse palynoassemblage recovered from the Churanthi River section (26°53' 59.3" N, 88°34' 17.2" E), Darjeeling foothills Eastern Himalaya, has yielded 87 species assigned to 69 genera. The palynoassemblage is rich in angiosperm taxa (45.63%) followed by gymnosperms (0.45%), pteridophytes (18.49%) and fungal remains (23.88%). Based on their nearest living relatives, a wet evergreen to semi-evergreen forest under a humid tropical to sub-tropical environment during the Mio-Pliocene age has been suggested. A lot of angiosperms such as Palaeosantalaceaepites, Araliaceoipollenites, Malvacearampollis, Zonocostites, Neocouperipollis, Dicolpopollis, Palmidites, Palmaepollenites, isolated salt glands of mangrove plant leaves (Heliospermopsis) and Mediaverrunites type of fungal spores, along with ichnofossils like Planolites, Palaeophycus, Skolithos, Rosselia, Ophiomorpha and Teichichnus associated with rippled mudstone-siltstone suggest an environment strongly influenced by brackish water. Primary sedimentary structures in the associated strata indicate strong wave agitation common in shallow marine setting. Some high elevation components (5.14%) such as Alnipollenites, cf. Corylus (Betulaceae), Juglanspollenites, Engelhardtioipollenites (Juglandaceae), Quercoides, Cupuliferoidaepollenites, Lithocarpus, Castanopsis (Fagaceae), Abietineaepollenites (Pinaceae) represent hinterland vegetation possibly transported to the prograding deltaic coastline by the rivers. Reworked palynotaxa (Striatopodocarpites sp., Striatites sp., Faunipollenites sp., Circumstriatites sp., Crescentipollenites sp., Cuneatisporites sp., Parasaccites sp., Scheuringipollenites sp., Rhizomaspora sp., Marsupipollenites sp., Lophotriletes sp.) of Permian age have also been recorded in the palynoassemblage (11.55%) indicating the abundance of Permian Gondwana strata in the source area.

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Pollen analytical data of meconia from worker bee larvae of Apis cerana Fabr. collected in the summer (June, 2008) from West Bengal, India (22.35°N, 88.44°E) are presented. Following the community ordination method, the pollen analytical data were used to determine the preference of pollen feeding by the worker bees to the larvae destined to be worker of Apis cerana, which could be recognized as a new protocol in order to ascertain the probable larval food spectrum. Meconium samples were collected from 9 different sites having box hives. Microscopic analysis yields pollen grains of 10 different taxa viz., Carica papaya L. (Caricaceae), Borassus flabellifer L., Cocos nucifera L. (Arecaceae), Psidium guajava L., Eucalyptus sp., Syzygium sp., (Myrtaceae), Punica granatum L. (Punicaceae), Litchi chinensis Sonn. (Sapindaceae), Ziziphus sp. (Rhamnaceae) and Dalbergia sissoo Roxb. ex DC. (Papilionaceae). The community ordination method reveals that the most preferred pollen taxa are of Carica papaya, Borassus flabellifer and Psidium guajava although they were not recovered in significant frequency. The present result may be an useful information

Dust and soot samples collected from air filters of motor cars and motor boats from three localities, namely Darjeeling, Murshidabad and the Sundarbans, West Bengal, India, each with its own characteristic vegetation type, were analysed for pollen and spore content to investigate their potentials as palynological traps. Pollen grains from high altitude vegetation (Alnus nepalensis, Ilex sp., Pinus sp., Primula sp., Rhododendron sp., Pteris sp., Asplenium sp., Duabanga sp.) were recovered from cars driven through Darjeeling to Kalimpong while pollen grains of mesophytic plants (Mangifera indica, Cocos nucifera, Borassus flabellifer, Parthenium hysterophorus, Azadirachta indica, Lantana camara) and mangroves (Sonneratia apetala, Avicennia sp., Acanthus ilicifolius, Bruguiera sp., Rhizophora mucronata, Heritiera fomes, Phoenix paludosa, Nypa fruticans) were recovered from the vehicles in the Murshidabad district and motor boats in the Indian Sundarbans respectively. Principal Components Analysis (PCA) revealed that pollen spectra from different vegetation zones form distinct groups, while dust/soot samples from areas of similar vegetation zone form a single group while Correspondence Analysis (CA) demonstrates that the dust/soot samples from a distinct vegetation zone and the recovered palynotaxa from these dust/soot samples from a single group. Palynoassemblage analysis, together with PCA and CA data, suggests that dust and soot from air filters of motor vehicle engines may be a reliable trap for palynomorphs, which may help to trace the localities through which vehicles in question have travelled.

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Secondary xylary characters of wood are useful to identify a wood up to its generic or specific level and thus may prove or disprove the alibi of the retailers i.e., a wood is genuine or not. In the present study, 26 wood samples were collected from the local markets of Baruipur, Sealdah and Garia in Kolkata, West Bengal. Among them, 8 were sold as ‘Sandal wood’ (Santalum album), 4 as ‘Red Sanders’ (Pterocarpus santalinus) and 14 as ‘Sal wood’ (Shorea robusta). Results indicate that xylotomical features of most of the collected ‘sandal wood’ and ‘red sander’ samples did not match with the reference Santalum album and Pterocarpus santalinus samples whereas most of the collected ‘Sal wood’ samples from furniture shops matched with the reference samples of Shorea robusta. Present study successfully indicates that xylotomical investigations of commercial wood may establish the authenticity of wood of commerce.

Rhizospheric soil sample was collected from different regions of Nanded district. Total ten species i.e. two species from each region were selected for the further studies. Species were identified as fluorescent pseudomonas based on morphological and biochemical activities such as grams nature, oxidase, fluorescent pigment, arginine hydrolysis. These species were studied for their plant growth promoting activities like IAA production, phosphate solubilization, cellulase production, protease production. All the isolates were positive for protease production and phosphate solubilization. Nine isolates were positive for IAA production. Five isolates were positive for cellulase production. All the isolates were able to inhibit the growth of plant pathogenic fungi such as Aspergillus, Fusarium oxysporum, Alternaria. The study of whole cell protein profile was done for showing relationship among the isolated strains by UPGMA cluster analysis. Similarly index suggested the isolates were distinguished into four clusters representing different area or region.