Postharvest physiology
mina bahrami; Mehdi Jahani; mohmmad Hossein Aminifard
Abstract
Introduction
Long term storage of pomegranate fruit is compromised by pathogens that cause postharvest rots and decay. Pomegranatesare predisposed to attack from various pathogens at pre- and/or postharvest stage, which has a significant impact on fruit quality and storage life. These pathogens ...
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Introduction
Long term storage of pomegranate fruit is compromised by pathogens that cause postharvest rots and decay. Pomegranatesare predisposed to attack from various pathogens at pre- and/or postharvest stage, which has a significant impact on fruit quality and storage life. These pathogens often cause damage to the tissues, thereby making the fruit unsaleable. A significant portion of pomegranate pre- and postharvest losses is attributed to dis-eases associated with various bacterial and fungal species. The use of plant essential oils is considered as a new idea in reducing post-harvest waste and increasing the storage life of horticultural products and controlling fungal contamination in developed agriculture. This study was conducted with the aim of determining the antifungal effect of some herbal essential oils in different concentrations on pomegranate fruit to prevent the growth of Penicillium fungus in vitro and in vivo.
Materials and Methods
In order to investigate the effect of the essential oils of some medicinal plants on the fungus Penicilliumsp. in pomegranate fruit in in vivo and in vitro conditions, a factorial experiment was conducted in the form of a completely randomized design with three replications at the Faculty of Agriculture of Birjand University in 2022. The first factor included the type of essential oil: Ginger, Zenian, Tarragon and Cardamom essential oils, and the second factor included the concentration of essential oil at five levels (0, 200, 400, 600, and 800 microliters.liter-1).The index measured in in vitro conditions was the radial growth of the fungus. The indicators measured in vivo conditions include appearance of the fruit, TSS, pH, total acidity (meq.g-1), total phenol (mg galic acid.100 g-1 FW), antioxidant (%), antocyanin (mg.g-1) and tissue firmness. Finally, the experimental data were statistically analyzed using SAS program and comparison of means was performed by LSD test at 5% probability level.
Results and Discussion
The results showed that the increase in the concentration of essential oils also increases their antifungal activity, so the highest inhibition rate was observed in Ginger essential oil and the lowest in Cardamom essential oil on the growth of the fungus colony. The strongest antifungal activity was observed with the essential oils of ginger, zedoary (Zenian), tarragon, and cardamom, in that order. Notably, no fungal growth was detected in samples treated with ginger essential oil throughout the entire sampling period. These results indicate that the tested essential oils effectively inhibited fungal colony growth and demonstrated significant antifungal potential.In in vivo conditions, the best fruit appearance was obtained in pomegranates impregnated with Zenian and Ginger essential oils, and the least was observed in Cardamom essential oil. Ginger essential oil had the highest amount of soluble solids. The highest pH value of fruit juice was obtained from Ginger essential oil and the lowest pH value was obtained from Tarragon and Cardamom essential oils. The fruits treated with Tarragon essential oil had the highest total acidity. The fruits treated with Ginger essential oil had the highest amount of total phenol. The statistical comparison of the averages showed that the highest percentage of antioxidants was observed in the Ginger essential oil treatment and the lowest antioxidant percentage was found in the Tarragon essential oil treatment. The results showed that the infected fruits treated with Zenian essential oil with a concentration of 800 microliters.liter-1 had the highest antioxidant. The results of the comparison of the averages related to the effect of the type of essential oil show that Cardamom and Ginger essential oils had the highest and lowest anthocyanin content, respectively. In this experiment, Ginger essential oil had the highest hardness of the fruit texture and the lowest index was obtained from the essential oil of Zenian.
Conclusions
In general, the results of this research showed that essential oils have antifungal properties in the control of fungal disease after harvest; in-vitro tests showed that Cardamom essential oil had a very low fungicidal effect and in the control of Penicillium sp. Ginger essential oil had the most fungicidal effect. Antifungal properties increased with increasing the concentration of essential oil, but the antifungal property of Ginger essential oil was 100% in 400-800 concentrations used. Under natural conditions, Ginger and Zenian essential oil has good antifungal activity against Penicilliumsp.Considering the biodegradability and low toxicity of plant essential oils, the use of Ginger and Zenian essential oil is recommended to increase the shelf life of food products and can be used as disease controllers in agriculture.
Growing vegetables
M. H. Aminifard; S. Nadafan; H. Bayat; M. Jahani
Abstract
IntroductionThe annual herb Trigonella foenum-graecum L. (Fabaceae) is cultivated worldwide as a semi-arid crop. It is commonly known as Fenugreek and used as both a spice and medicinal plant. Fenugreek is used to treat many ailments due to the presence of various bioactive compounds, like apigenin, ...
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IntroductionThe annual herb Trigonella foenum-graecum L. (Fabaceae) is cultivated worldwide as a semi-arid crop. It is commonly known as Fenugreek and used as both a spice and medicinal plant. Fenugreek is used to treat many ailments due to the presence of various bioactive compounds, like apigenin, luteolin, orientin, quercetin, vitexin, isovitexin, saponins, amino acids, phenols, alkaloids, etc. Combining chemical and organic fertilizers offers a sustainable approach to nutrient management. This integrated strategy enhances the effectiveness of chemical fertilizers, fosters improved soil health, and minimizes nutrient loss from the system.Chicken manure is one of the types of animal manure and a source of organic matter to strengthen all types of soil. In addition to having nutrients, it is one of the cheap fertilizers compared to common fertilizers in the production of crops, and it is richer in nitrogen than other animal fertilizers. Potassium is a critical element for plant growth and development, playing a vital physiological role in plant health and resilience against biotic and abiotic stresses. Materials and MethodsTo investigate the effect of chicken manure and potassium sulfate on yield and biochemical traits of the fenugreek medicinal plant, factorial research was conducted in the form of randomized complete block design in three replications in the crop year 2021-2022. Experimental treatments included chicken manure at three levels (0, 1000, and 2000 kg.ha-1) and potassium sulfate at four levels (0, 1.5, 3, and 5 per thousand). To determine the seed yield after full ripening, the seeds were collected from one plant in each plot, weighed, and recorded. Arnon's method was used to measure the pigments in the leaves at the full flowering stage of the plant. To measure the amount of total phenolic compounds in the leaf using the Folin Cicalto method, antioxidant using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) method, total sugar using anthrone method, total flavonoid using aluminum chloride reagent method was used in the full flowering stage of the plant. Results and DiscussionThis experiment revealed that chicken manure significantly boosted crop yield and improved most biochemical traits, with the exception of sugar and antioxidant content.The amount of antioxidant activity decreased with increasing levels of chicken manure and soluble sugar was not affected by this manure. Treatment of 2000 kg.h-1 chicken manure has the highest phenol with 10.793 mg.g-1 dry weight, flavonoid with 4.475 mg.g-1 dry weight, Chlorophyll a with 2.591 mg.g-1 of fresh weight, Chlorophyll b with 3.055 mg.g-1 of fresh weight, and seed yield with 1185.8 kg.h-1. Regarding the impact of Soluptas on biochemical traits, all except phenol and antioxidant content peaked at a concentration of three parts per thousand. Notably, these peak levels were statistically indistinguishable from those observed at five parts per thousand.Treatment of 5 per thousand Soluptas also increased 28% seed yield, 13% soluble sugar, 20% phenol, 31% flavonoid, and 97% chlorophyll b. In the interaction effect in the treatment, it was observed that the highest amount of the two fertilizers had the highest amount of yield and biochemical traits, except for the antioxidant, whose activity level decreased with the increase of fertilizer levels. The results showed that the highest amount of soluble sugar in fenugreek leaves was related to the level of no chicken fertilization with Soluptas 5 per thousand at the rate of 21.53 mg.g-1 dry weight. The highest levels of both treatments (2000 kg.h-1 of chicken manure and Soluptas 5 per thousand) caused an increase in grain yield (1396 kg.h-1), phenol (12.86 mg.g-1 DW), and chlorophyll b (3.62 mg.g-1 FW) compared to no fertilization (control level). The highest amount of chlorophyll a was related to the interaction of 2000 kg.h-1of chicken manure and Soluptas 3 per thousand at the rate of 3.11 mg.g-1 of fresh weight. ConclusionOverall, chicken manure exhibited the strongest positive influence on the greatest number of traits among the single treatments. When considering the combined effects, a combination of 2000 parts per thousand chicken manure and 5 parts per thousand Soluptas appears to be optimal for enhancing the fenugreek plant's properties.
Growing vegetables
M.H. Aminifard; M. Askarian; M. Jahani; M. Khayyat
Abstract
Introduction
Basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) is an annual and herbaceous plant of the family of Lamiaceae. It is used as an antispasmodic, appetizer, carminative, diuretic, lactation aid, and sedative in traditional medicine. In general, basil is rich in phenols and flavonoids. Organic and chemical ...
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Introduction
Basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) is an annual and herbaceous plant of the family of Lamiaceae. It is used as an antispasmodic, appetizer, carminative, diuretic, lactation aid, and sedative in traditional medicine. In general, basil is rich in phenols and flavonoids. Organic and chemical fertilizers are necessary for each other and both types of fertilizers are needed to create favorable conditions to improve biochemical traits. Overuse of chemical fertilizers has caused several problems in agriculture including changes in the soil structure, contamination of underground waters, and heavy metal toxicity. Agricultural scientists suggest replacing chemical fertilizers with organic products to reduce negative effects on environment and soil properties. In recent years, neglecting the importance of organic matters to improve soil fertility has led to an increase in chemical fertilizer use in Iran. Organic matters due to their positive effects on soil are identified as one of the important pillars of soil productivity. However, more than 60 percent of agricultural soils in Iran contain less than one percent of organic matter. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate the influence of vermicompost and copper sulfate on biochemical parameters and the antioxidant activity of basil.
Materials and Methods
To investigate the effect of vermicompost and copper sulfate on the biochemical characteristics of Basil's medicinal plant, a factorial experiment was conducted based on randomized complete block design with a field experiment at the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Birjand. The factors included vermicompost in three levels (0, 5, and 10 t.ha-1) and copper sulfate in three levels (0, 3, and 6 per thousand) with three replications. After applying the treatments and after the plants entered the flowering stage, ten plants from each plot were randomly selected taking into account the marginal effects and then samples of the developed leaves of 10 plants were randomly prepared and the biochemical traits of basil were measured. Measured traits included photosynthetic pigments, antioxidants, phenols, anthocyanins, flavonoids, total sugar, and biological function. Statistical analysis of data was performed using SAS statistical software.
Results and Discussion
The results of the mean comparison showed that vermicompost had a significant effect on chlorophyll content, antioxidant activity, anthocyanin, flavonoids, sugar, and biological function of basil so that the highest amount of flavonoids (3.26 mg.g-1) with the application of 10 t.ha-1 of vermicompost and the lowest Its amount (2.65 mg.g-1) was obtained from the control. Treatment of 10 t.ha-1 of vermicompost increased plant sugar by 37.05% compared to the control. Copper sulfate also affected chlorophyll a and total, antioxidant activity, phenol, anthocyanin content, sugar, and biological function, so that the highest activity of phenol and sugar (15.29 and 12.99 mg.g-1, respectively) of the treatment of 3 per thousand Copper sulfate and its lowest levels (10.98 and 9.19 mg.g-1, respectively) were obtained from the control. The results of interactions also showed the highest levels of chlorophyll a (1.62 mg.g-1), chlorophyll b (2.57 mg.g-1), total chlorophyll (4.19 mg.g-1), antioxidant activity (92.57%), and anthocyanins (3.03 mg.g-1) was obtained by applying 10 tons per hectare of vermicompost and 3 per thousand of copper sulfate. Furthermore, the highest increase in biological function (20968.3 kg.ha-1) with the application of 5 t.ha-1 of vermicompost and 6 per thousand copper and the lowest (16596.7 kg.ha-1) was related to the control.
Conclusion
In general, the results indicated a positive effect of vermicompost and copper sulfate on Basil's biochemical characteristics. Therefore, vermicompost (10 t.ha-1) of and copper sulfate (3 per thousand) treatments can be suggested as a suitable treatment. From the present study, it can be concluded that the combined application of organic fertilizers with chemical fertilizers has a useful and effective role in improving photosynthetic pigments, antioxidants, anthocyanins, and the biological function of basil. In the discussion of basil production as a medicinal and vegetable plant, the best results in terms of crop production were related to the combined treatments of organic and chemical fertilizers, because these treatments have increased the production relative to organic treatments alone.
