Pomology
A. Goodarzi; M. Yadegari; S.A. Mousavi; S.H. Nourbakhsh
Abstract
IntroductionGrapes (Vitis vinifera L.) belong to a group of temperate fruits, which have high nutritional qualities, and many by-products are produced from different parts of their berries. The difference in quantity and quality properties of different cultivars is an opportunity to screen grapes based ...
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IntroductionGrapes (Vitis vinifera L.) belong to a group of temperate fruits, which have high nutritional qualities, and many by-products are produced from different parts of their berries. The difference in quantity and quality properties of different cultivars is an opportunity to screen grapes based on their desirable characteristics and nutritional value. The morphological and yield traits of grapes usually vary depending on the cultivar, vineyard climate, light, temperature, viticultural operations, nutrition, irrigation management, pests, disease control, pruning, training practices, and crop load. Since the study of the nutrients state can be a real criterion for evaluating the growth and yield of the plant, therefore, the present study was carried out to evaluate and compare the growth, yield and concentration of macro and micro nutrients elements in the leaves of 12 commercial varieties of grapes in the climatic conditions of Saman region located in Chaharmahal Bakhtiari province, Iran. Materials and Methods The present study was conducted with the aim of investigating the morphological and pomological characteristics of 12 grape varieties in the grape collection garden of Chaharmahal province and Bakhtiari of Saman region in the base of a randomized complete block design with three replications. Saman region is located at 32.19° latitude, 50.51° longitude and 2060 meters above sea level. The studied area is a temperate mountainous region with an average temperature of 12.8°C and an average annual rainfall of 243 mm. The absolute maximum and absolute minimum temperature in the investigated garden are 42 and -32°C, respectively. In this research, three-year-old plants of Bidaneh-Ghermez, Flame, Perlette, Kashmiri 1, Shahroudi, Yaghouti, Kashmiri 2, Nasrallah daei's Asgari, Rish baba, Siahe-Mahali, Asgari, Siahe-Hasnabad were studied. In the fruit ripening stage, morphological traits, fruit yield and the concentration of nutrients in the leaves of the studied cultivars were measured in two growing seasons of 1400-1401 and 1402-1401. Results and Discussion Having precise selection power among plants is necessary for breeding and production of new varieties, which depends on the identification of existing varieties and their diversity. In the present study most of the traits showed significant variations among the studied cultivars. The results revealed significant differences among the studied cultivars in terms of growth characteristics, including stem diameter, current season shoot length, number and spacing of internodes, and leaf surface area. Yield-related traits—such as cluster length, cluster width, cluster weight, berry length, and berry width—were also significantly influenced by the grape cultivar. The highest yield was observed in the Flame cultivar, producing 7.19 kg per plant. Based on the results, the evaluated grape cultivars were significantly differed from each other in terms of the concentration of macro and micro nutrient elements in the leaves. Correlation results showed that the leaf area, cluster characteristics, and the concentration of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, iron, manganese, zinc, and boron significantly and positively correlated with the grape yield. Cluster analysis classified the studied grape cultivars into three groups, which were in accordance with the results of principal components analysis. Based on the results of this research, the cultivars Perlette, Flame, Bidaneh-Ghermez, Siahe-Hasnabad and Rish baba were superior to other cultivars in terms of the evaluated traits, which can be investigated for further studies and breeding programs. The amount of copper in the leaves of grape cultivars in the first year was higher than in the second year, and Asgari Dai Nasrallah and Siah Mahali cultivars had the highest (7.60 mg.kg-1 in leaf fresh weight) and the lowest (4.28 mg.kg-1) respectively. Kg.leaf fresh weight-1) had copper content. The amount of manganese in the first year was more than the second year and the different grape cultivars were significantly different from each other. The highest amount of manganese was in Siahe-Hasnabad cultivars (95.92 mg.kg-1 in leaf fresh weight) and Philim (93.50 mg.kg-1 in leaf fresh weight) and the lowest amount in Kashmiri 2 variety (60.22 mg.kg-1/leaf fresh weight) was measured. In the present study, the amount of zinc element measured in the first year was higher than the second year and it varied between 84.80 and 25.05 mg.kg-1 in leaf fresh weight among different grape varieties. Fleim and Yaghuti cultivars had the highest and lowest amount of zinc element among the studied cultivars. Boron is one of the elements influencing the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of grapes, and the need for this element in grapes is more than other treasured fruit trees, and the presence of optimal amounts of boron is necessary for the formation of fruit and the growth and development of pods. Although the effect of the year on the boron content was not significant, its measured value was higher in the second year than in the first year. The highest (38.22 mg.kg-1 in leaf fresh weight) and the lowest (17.62 mg.kg-1 in leaf fresh weight) boron content were recorded in Pearlet and Kashmiri 2 cultivars, respectively. The recorded differences in the concentration of nutrients in the leaves of different grape cultivars can be attributed to several reasons: a) The ability to absorb nutrients may be different in the studied cultivars, so they act differently in the transfer and distribution of nutrients. b) Difference in the amount of active hormones in the root. c) Some nutrients are consumed in a larger amount by the roots, and as a result, the amount transferred to the branches and leaves decreases. The difference in the consumption of nutrients in the roots of different grape cultivars leads to the difference in the measured concentration of these elements in the leaves. ConclusionSignificant differences were found among the 12 grape cultivars in terms of morphological, nutrient elements and yield traits. These findings confirmed that growth and berry yield of grape can be affected mainly by the cultivar-based genetic background. The results of this study can be used as a guide for selecting appropriate cultivars for further breeding programs.
Pomology
S.A. Mousavi; M. Tatari
Abstract
IntroductionPeach×almond (GN) hybrid rootstocks have favorable characteristics such as ease of rooting, favorable growth vigour, resistance to nematodes, calcareous and dry soil (Babadaei et al., 2018). Currently, water deficiency caused by reduced rainfall is a major concern and a critical limitation ...
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IntroductionPeach×almond (GN) hybrid rootstocks have favorable characteristics such as ease of rooting, favorable growth vigour, resistance to nematodes, calcareous and dry soil (Babadaei et al., 2018). Currently, water deficiency caused by reduced rainfall is a major concern and a critical limitation for agricultural production (Hass et al., 2021). Under drought stress, plant cell membranes become more susceptible to electrolyte leakage. Membrane leakage is caused by uncontrolled free radicals and leads to lipid peroxidation (Cheng et al., 2018). Since tolerance to drought stress is the result of the interaction of morphological and physiological traits of plant, therefore, a combination of different traits that have a direct relationship with drought tolerance can be used as selection criteria to screen the ideal cultivar (Karimi et al., 2015). Materials and MethodsThis research carried out during the years 2020 and 2021 at the Chahartakhteh station affiliated to the Center for Research and Education of Agriculture and Natural Resources in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Province. The almond seedlings included Shahroud 6, 7, 8, 10, 12, 13 and 21, that all of them grafted on the GN rootstock, along with GN rootstock, subjected to different drought stress treatments in June for four months. Drought stress treatments included 70% of field capacity (control or no drought stress), 50% field capacity (mild stress), 30% field capacity (moderate stress) and 10% field capacity (severe stress). A counter determined the amount of irrigation in each treatment, and a Time-Domain Reflectometry (TDR) used to measure the soil moisture. Before the experiment, the physicochemical properties of the soil measured. The measured morphological traits included leaf area, percentage of leaf abscission, and shoot fresh and dry weight. These traits measured four months after subjecting to water stress. The evaluated physiological traits included electrolyte leakage (EL), relative leaf water content (RWC), leaf chlorophyll, proline and malondialdehyde (MDA). These traits also measured four months after subjecting to water stress. The experiment conducted in split plots based on a randomized complete block design in three replications and four seedlings in each experimental unit. The main plot included water drought treatments and the sub plot included almond cultivars. Data analysis carried out using SAS software version 9.2 and comparison of mean data conducted based on LSD test at a five percent probability level. Results and DiscussionAs the intensity of drought stress increased, the fresh and dry weight of shoot decreased in almond cultivars and GN rootstock. At soil humidity of 10% field capacity, Shahroud 8 showed higher amounts of shoot fresh weight (785 g). The lowest fresh and dry weight of the shoot and the highest leaf abscission were observed under severe drought stress (10% of the field capacity) in Shahroud 13. The increase in drought levels led to a decrease in the leaf area in the studied cultivars and rootstock of almond. Shahroud 8 had more chlorophyll content than other cultivars at the most severe stress level, and Shahroud 13 showed the lowest chlorophyll b content at 10% humidity of field capacity. A significant decrease in leaf chlorophyll concentration under drought stress has also been reported in previous research (Schlemmer et al., 2005; Gohari et al., 2023). A further decrease in chlorophyll could be due to a drastic decrease in RWC under severe stress conditions. According to Ranjbar et al. (2022), the amount of RWC decreased by 32 to 44% under stress conditions in the K13-40 grafted cultivar on the rootstock of bitter almond No. 32. In the current research, the biggest decrease in RWC was in Shahroud 13 with a decrease of 36.85%. The lowest decrease in RWC was also observed in the GN rootstock with a decrease of 20.94%. Shahroud 13 and GN rootstock showed the highest and lowest electrolyte leakage at the highest stress level, respectively. Karimi et al. (2013) also found a significant increase in EL in White, Mamai and Ferragnes cultivars due to the higher sensitivity of these cultivars to water loss. The most difference in MDA value was observed in Shahroud 13 with an increase of 186.35% and the lowest difference was found in Shahroud 10 with an increase of 84.58%. Shahroud 6 produced the highest content of proline under severe water stress. According to the results, Shahroud 13 and then Shahroud 6 were recognized as the most sensitive cultivars. Shahroud 8 and 12 were among the tolerant cultivars. Other cultivars were also between these two groups. ConclusionsShahroud 13 was recognized as the most sensitive cultivar with the lowest fresh and dry weight, RWC and the highest ion leakage and MDA at the most severe stress level. After that, Shahroud 6 had high sensitivity. Shahroud 8 was recognized as the most drought tolerant cultivar due to its lowest MDA content, the highest chlorophyll a and b and RWC in the most level of drought. After Shahroud 8, Shahroud 12 was including the tolerant cultivars. Tolerant cultivars can be used in future studies to evaluate the possibility of planting these cultivars in areas with water shortage problems.
Pomology
S.A. Mousavi; A. Vatankhah; A. Imani
Abstract
Introduction
Almond (Prunus dulcis L.) is one of the valuable nut trees that is cultivated in many temperate regions and Mediterranean climatic conditions for domestic consumption and export. Almond belongs to the genus Prunus, from the Rosaceae family. Identifying and introducing genotypes and cultivars ...
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Introduction
Almond (Prunus dulcis L.) is one of the valuable nut trees that is cultivated in many temperate regions and Mediterranean climatic conditions for domestic consumption and export. Almond belongs to the genus Prunus, from the Rosaceae family. Identifying and introducing genotypes and cultivars of late bloom is one of the most important goals of almond breeding programs. The correct choice of almond rootstock causes better management of the garden, compatibility with all types of soil and resistance to nematodes. Peach × almond hybrid has been the most widely used rootstock in both dry and irrigated conditions in the past years. Creating an orchard by selecting grafted genotypes on suitable rootstock for sustainable cultivation of almonds is particularly important. Cultivation of superior genotypes grafted on fruit trees has an effect on pomological characteristics, yield and quality of nuts. The requirement for the introduction and production of superior cultivars is an accurate selection between cultivars, which is possible through the identification of cultivars and their diversity. The purpose of this research is to investigate and evaluate the most important vegetative, phenological, quantitative, and qualitative characteristics of nuts and kernels in 36 promising cultivars and genotypes grafted onto GN15 rootstock, with the goal of identifying and introducing superior cultivars.
Materials and Methods
In this research, 36 promising almond cultivars and genotypes on GN15 rootstock were investigated in garden conditions in terms of various vegetative traits, nut and kernel characteristics in order to obtain suitable commercial cultivars. This research was conducted at the Badam research station in Saman region affiliated to the Center for Research and Education of Agriculture and Natural Resources of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province as a randomized complete block design with three replications. The cultivars and genotypes studied are presented in Table 1. Vegetative traits of tree height, canopy length, canopy width, and branch length were measured by meter in the garden, and rootstock diameter, scion diameter, and branch diameter were measured in the garden with calipers. In order to measure the nut and kernels, 100 fruits were harvested from each of the studied cultivars and genotypes at the time of fruit ripening, and their green shell was separated and dried. Measurement of traits such as length, width, diameter of nut and kernel was done by digital caliper and weight of nut and kernel was measured by digital scale with accuracy of 0.01. Coding of some traits was done based on almond descriptor (Gülcan, 1985) with some changes. The data obtained from the experiment were analyzed using SAS software (version 3.1.9). To compare the means, Duncan's multiple range test was used at the 5% probability level.
Table 1- Promising cultivars and genotypes examined in this study (based on the sent label of the scion)
Cultivar/genotype
Cultivar/genotype code
Cultivar/genotype
Cultivar/genotype code
TS-16
GA1
2-29 (D7)
GA 19
D
GA 2
100-1-1
GA 20
TS-21
GA 3
2-0-4
GA 21
TS-14
GA 4
3-1-4
GA 22
Aviz
GA 5
TS-18
GA 23
A8
GA 6
D2
GA 24
B8
GA 7
TS-30
GA 25
100-1-8-1
GA8
1306 (Tabriz genotype)
GA 26
2-3-2
GA 9
AH2 (Tabriz genotype)
GA 27
TS-11
GA 10
108 (Tabriz genotype)
GA28
( 1/16) 1-16
GA 11
Yalda
GA29
3-1-15
GA 12
Saba
GA 30
13-40
GA 13
Shamshiri (Shahrekord)
GA 31
TS1
GA 14
AY (Shahrekord)
GA 32
8-35
GA 15
Mamaei
GA 33
85
GA 16
AN2 (Shahrekord)
GA 34
35
GA 17
AN4 (Shahrekord)
GA 35
B6
GA 18
AN5 (Shahrekord)
GA 36
Results and Discussion
According to the results of analysis of variance (ANOVA), there was a statistically significant difference at the level of 1% between the attributes of tree height, canopy width, rootstock and scion diameter, branch length and diameter, and the ratio of tree height to canopy length. (P<0.01). The results of variance analysis show that there is a significant difference between the investigated nut and kernel traits in promising cultivars and genotypes grafted on GN (Table 5). These differences show the diversity in the investigated traits and it is possible to choose cultivars for different values of the same trait. Based on the average comparison results of the vegetative traits, the highest height in genotypes GA4, GA3, GA35, The highest canopy width was observed in genotypes GA5, GA17, GA3, and GA20, GA15, GA5, the highest diameter of rootstock and scion, and the highest length and diameter of one-year branches were observed in genotype GA18. The results of the comparison of the average nut and kernel characteristics show that there is a significant difference in the cultivars and genotypes investigated in this research. The results of the comparison of the average nut and kernel characteristics show that there is a significant difference in the cultivars and genotypes investigated in this research. Based on the obtained results, cultivars and genotypes of GA5, GA24, GA12, GA9 and GA1 showed relative superiority in terms of nut and kernel traits. The results of this research showed that the GA35 genotype grafted on the GN15 rootstock had the highest length, width and diameter of the nut, and the highest weight of nut and kernel. The kernel color light, the without shrinking the kernel and the highest percentage of kernel and the highest ratio of kernel weight to nut weight.
Conclusions
The results of this research showed that the examination of vegetative traits, nuts and kernels in the studied cultivars and genotypes could show the diversity between cultivars and genotypes. The results showed that the investigated cultivars and genotypes have significant differences in terms of all nut and kernel traits, which indicates the existence of diversity between the investigated cultivars and genotypes. This indicates that these cultivars and genotypes can be considered a valuable source of germplasm for breeding programs. Cultivars and genotypes with a higher kernel percentage had thinner shells, more patterns on the skin, and light to medium kernel color. Based on the results, the cultivars and genotypes GA5, GA24, GA12, GA9, and GA1 demonstrated relative superiority in terms of nut and kernel traits. The research also showed that the GA35 genotype grafted onto GN15 rootstock had the greatest nut length, width, and diameter, as well as the highest nut and kernel weight. Additionally, GA35 had light kernel color, no kernel shrinkage, the highest kernel percentage, and the highest kernel-to-nut weight ratio.
Pomology
E. Safavi; M. Yadegari; S. A. Mousavi; B. Haghighati
Abstract
Introduction Water shortage is very frequent in many countries, and, together with the rising demand for industry, growth of human population, climate change and specifically the trend towards irrigated agriculture, has led to widespread problems of water scarcity, especially in Middle East countries. ...
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Introduction Water shortage is very frequent in many countries, and, together with the rising demand for industry, growth of human population, climate change and specifically the trend towards irrigated agriculture, has led to widespread problems of water scarcity, especially in Middle East countries. This situation imposes the need to optimize water use in all human activities. Among the different productive uses of water, agriculture is by far the main water user in most water scarce regions and, consequently, any potential improvement in the use of the available water resources may play a significant role toward achieving a more sustainable use of water. Plant responses to water deprivation are usually monitored through selected morphological and physiological parameters which have been proven to be good indicators of drought in different studies. Some of the most important standards for evaluating plant genotypes under drought stress are measurements of morphological parameters such as height, leaf characters and root growth. Materials and Methods To compare the growth response of different almond cultivars to different levels of water stress, an experiment was conducted as a split plot in the base of randomized complete block design with three replications in the Agricultural and Natural Resources Research Center of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Province in two growing season 2019-2020 and 2020-2021. Different irrigation periods based on the percentage of usable soil moisture between filed capacity to wilting point, including 70% filed capacity (control or no stress), 50% filed capacity (mild stress), 30% filed capacity (medium stress) and 10% of field capacity (severe stress) were considered as the main factor of the experiment. The sub-factor included 14 commercial cultivars of almonds (Mamaei, Rabi, Saba, Araz, Eskandar, Aidin, Shahrood 6, 7, 8, 10, 12, 13 and 21 and GN vegetative rootstock), all of which were grafted on GN rootstock. In this study, uniformly grafted seedlings in terms of age, stem diameter and height were selected and planted. In the second year after planting the seedlings, in order to apply drought stress, tubes for hygrometer (TDR) were installed in each experimental plot and based on soil moisture content, irrigation cycle was determined for different treatments. Results and Discussion In both years, three months after applied water stress growth traits and nutrient concentrations in the leaves of treated seedlings were measured. Based on the results of analysis of variance, the morphological traits of almond seedlings were significantly affected by cultivar type and drought stress level. In all almond cultivars, the highest height was belonged to seedlings that were grown in non-stress conditions and with increasing the drought stress intensity, the height of almond seedlings was decreased. Under severe drought stress, GN and Mamaei cultivars had the highest (183.93 cm) and the lowest (94.60 cm) height, respectively. Seedling height in GN, Shahrood 12, Saba and Shahrood 10 cultivars showed the lowest decrement under severe drought stress. In all cultivars, drought stress caused a significant reduction in the length and width of the seedlings crown, and the greatest decreasing was recorded in severe drought stress (10% FC). Under severe drought stress, cultivar GN had the largest crown and cultivars Rabi, Shahrood 7 and Eskandar had the smallest crown. Increasing the drought stress intensity significantly reduced the branches growth of seeding in terms of number and length of sub-branches. As the intensity of drought stress increased, the length of sub-branches decreased however the number of intermediates in sub-branches increased. In non-stressed condition, the cultivar GN had the longest branch (55.95 cm), which was significantly higher than the other studied almond cultivars. The shortest branches were also observed in Saba (29.94 cm) and Eskandar (29.47 cm) cultivars. Increasing drought stress caused a significant reduction of leaf area in all studied cultivars and the highest decreasing was observed under severe drought stress. The GN (37.76 cm²) and Shahrood 10 (31.81 cm²) had the highest leaf area in non-stress and drought stress conditions. Under severe drought stress (10% FC) cultivar Shahrood 6 showed the lowest leaf area. The results of this study showed that increasing the intensity of dehydration significantly reduced the amount of nitrogen, phosphorus, manganese and zinc in the leaves of the studied cultivars of almonds, however, the amount of potassium and iron in stressed plants increased under drought stress. Based on the results of the present study, under severe drought stress the GN, Shahrood 8 and Shahrood 12 cultivars in terms of growth indices including seedling height, stem diameter, canopy growth, branch growth and concentration of macro and micro elements was superior compared with the other studied cultivars. Conclusion Based on the results of this study, drought stress significantly reduced growth indices and nutrient concentrations, although the reaction of almond cultivars to different levels of drought stress was different. In this study, among the studied almond cultivars GN, Shahrood 8 and Shahrood 12 cultivars in terms of growth characters including seedling height, stem diameter, canopy growth, branch growth and concentration of macro and micro elements showed higher tolerance to different level of drought stress. These cultivars less affected by the high intensities of dehydration. Therefore, GN, Shahrood 8 and Shahrood 12 cultivars can be used in future studies to evaluate the possibility of cultivating these cultivars in areas with water deficit.
