Growing vegetables
Fahimeh Yarmohammadi; Alireza Motallebiazar; Samaneh Kazemiani; Mina Amani
Abstract
AbstractIntroduction: Considering the sensitivity of potatoes to viruses, the production of virus-free plants through in vitro cultivation and their propagation leads to a reduction in costs and an increase in yield. One of the effective methods of reducing plant diseases and producing disease-free microtubers ...
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AbstractIntroduction: Considering the sensitivity of potatoes to viruses, the production of virus-free plants through in vitro cultivation and their propagation leads to a reduction in costs and an increase in yield. One of the effective methods of reducing plant diseases and producing disease-free microtubers is the use of in-vitro production methods. Considering the role and importance of macro elements and micro elements in the growth of microtubers, it is possible to change the composition of MS culture medium by changing the concentration of salts of macro elements and micro elements without disturbing the balance of elements. This experiment aims to investigate the effect of different concentrations of macro elements (2 Mac, Mac, ½ Mac) and micro elements (2 Mic, Mic, ½ Mic) of MS culture medium in combination with two concentrations of sucrose (80 and 160 g/liter) was performed on in vitro micronodulation of Agria potato.Materials and Methods: This experiment to investigate the effect of different concentrations of macro elements (2 Mac, Mac, ½ Mac) and micro elements (2Mic, Mic, ½ Mic) of MS culture medium in combination with two concentrations of sucrose (80 and 160 (g/liter) on in vitro microtuberation of Agria potato was carried out as a factorial experiment in the form of a completely randomized design with 3 replications in the plant tissue culture laboratory of the Department of Horticultural Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Tabriz. Lateral buds obtained from in-vitro shoots were used as explants and were cultured under sterile conditions on different culture mediums for the purpose of microtuberation, and the cultures were kept in continuous darkness and at a temperature of 18±2°C were kept in the growth room. During one month, Microtuber initiation rate and after two months, microtuber formation characteristics were measured.Results and Discussion: The results of the analysis of variance showed that the effect of the concentration of micro elements and the interaction effects of micro elements with different concentrations of sucrose and macro elements were significant only in the case of two traits, the percentage and the speed of microtuber initiation, while all microtuber traits productivity was significantly affected by the interaction of micro elements and macro elements. In all culture mediums with 8% sucrose, the initiation percentage of microtubers was 100% and the initiation rate was also maximum. However, the highest percentage of microtuber formation, weight, length, diameter and number of buds on microtuber was obtained in 2Mac culture medium with 16% sucrose. The results showed that the microtuber that had more weight and size had a higher percentage of dormancy and the buds on the microtuber were not able to germinate and produce microtuber during the stages of microtuber formation.Conclusions: In all traits related to microtubers, except for percentage and speed of microtubers initiation, the effects of micro elements, macro elements and sucrose elements were not significant, and this shows that the three investigated factors cannot independently improve microtubers formation is effective in Agria variety. In all traits of micronodulation, the interaction effect of low consumption elements with other two factors was not significant and this shows that the concentration of low consumption elements in Agria variety is not critical for micronodulation. In all culture mediums with 8 % sucrose, the initiation percentage of microtubers was 100 % and the initiation speed was also the maximum, but when double the concentration of macro elements and 16 % sucrose were used, the initiation percentage and the initiation speed of micro-glands in Agria variety showed a significant decrease. The percentage of micro tuber formation, weight, length, diameter and number of buds on the micro tuber in Agria cultivar were significantly affected by the mutual effect of the concentration of macro elements and sucrose, and the 2 Mac culture medium has 16 % sucrose in the first priority and the ½ culture medium Mac with 8 % sucrose in the second priority was better than the other treatments in terms of the investigated traits. In this research, it was found that the produced micro glands with greater weight and size had a higher percentage of dormancy and during the stages of micro glandogenesis, the buds on the microtubers were not able to germinate and produce micro tubers.
Medicinal Plants
Mina Amani; Saeideh Alizadeh Salteh; Mohsen Sabzi-Nojadeh; Mehdi Younessi Hamzekhanlu
Abstract
IntroductionMedicinal plants have long had a special place in the traditional agricultural system of Iran and the use of these plants as medicine to prevent and treat diseases has been considered by traditional medicine experts since ancient times. Medicinal plants with rich sources of secondary ...
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IntroductionMedicinal plants have long had a special place in the traditional agricultural system of Iran and the use of these plants as medicine to prevent and treat diseases has been considered by traditional medicine experts since ancient times. Medicinal plants with rich sources of secondary metabolites provide the basic active ingredients of many medicines. Although the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites is genetically controlled, but their construction is strongly influenced by environmental factors. One of the important climatic factors that affect the distribution of plants around the world and can cause morphological, physiological and biochemical changes in the plant is the lack of available water. Basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) seems to show little resistance to water stress. For this reason, there is a need for protective mechanisms for the basil plant against stress due to water shortage. Plants are able to reduce or eliminate the effects of water shortage stress by coexisting with a number of soil microorganisms. Coexistence relationship plant with T. harzianum fungi is one of the ways to reduce dehydration in plants. These mushrooms by altering some of the root properties and absorbing nutrients in the host plants, they reduce the destructive effects of water shortage stress. Observing the positive effect of these fungi in increasing the absorption of nutrients from the soil, improving plant water relations, increasing water use efficiency in plants and finally increasing plant resistance to water deficit stresses on the one hand and on the other hand. The existence of water crises in different countries has prompted researchers to further study this aspect of the symbiotic relationship between the host plant and Trichoderma harzianum. Materials and MethodsPresent study was performed to investigate the effect of T. harzianum on the antioxidant content of Ocimum basilicum under water deficit stress. It is also intended to evaluate the effects of an endophytic fungi namely T. harzianum on the shoot yield, photosynthetic pigments, content and yield of essential oil from O. basilicum under water deficit stress. All experiments were performed as the factorial based on completely randomized design blocks with three replications in greenhouse condition. The experimental factors were the different irrigation regimes including 100, 75, 50 and 25% of field capacity and two concentrations of the T. harzianum (106 and 109 CFU/ml). At the beginning of flowering, water deficit stress was applied at four levels of 25, 50, 75 and the control treatment (100 percent) of field capacity until three weeks later. The application of water stress was such that the pots were weighed daily and the moisture deficiency in each treatment was removed by watering the pots until reaching the desired treatment level. After applying the stress, sampling and measuring traits were done at the full flower stage. After the plants reach the full flowering period, various traits including plant height, number of leaves, fresh and dry weight yield of the plant (as the economic yield of basil) and fresh and dry weight yield of roots per square meter, chlorophyll a, b, total (T), carotenoid, colonization percentage, yield and essential oil content were measured in all the plants in the pots. Results and DiscussionIncreasing the level of water stress reduced the economic performance of basil (O. basilicum). Coexistence with Trichoderma reduced the destructive effects of dehydration on the plant. With the application of dehydration stress, the essential oil content increased in mild and moderate stresses, but the yield of essential oil did not differ significantly from the control and plant height, number of leaves and plant pigments decreased under dehydration stress. According to the experimental results, it can be said that Trichoderma with a population density of 106 (spores per ml of inoculum) had a better effect on most growth indices, while the effect Trichoderma with a population density of 109 (spores per milliliter of inoculum) on important traits such as shoot fresh weight yield (212.2 g), percentage (0.7%) and essential oil yield It was higher. According to the obtained results, it can be stated that inoculation of basil with Trichoderma increased the percentage and yield of essential oil in both water stress and non-stress conditions, and considering that in cultivation of plants the goal is to increase the effective substance. It is in these plants. ConclusionFinally, the results indicated that the use of Trichoderma mushroom in comparison with the control (without inoculation with the fungus) under water stress conditions has the ability to improve plant growth and leads to an increase in plant efficiency under water stress conditions.
Growing vegetables
Jaber Panahandeh; Mohammad Sedigh Zare far; Alireza Motallebi-Azar; Fariborz Zare Nahandi; Mina Amani
Abstract
IntroductionVarious methods of stress directly affected the growth and production yield of numerous plants. For example, environmental stress reduces the tomato manufacturing by the disrupting its natural metabolism, or, salinity stresses affect the it is growth and development from the germination stage ...
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IntroductionVarious methods of stress directly affected the growth and production yield of numerous plants. For example, environmental stress reduces the tomato manufacturing by the disrupting its natural metabolism, or, salinity stresses affect the it is growth and development from the germination stage to the fruit ripening stage. Salinity in tomatoes by stimulating the biosynthesis of growth regulators such as ethylene and abscisic acid leads to the acceleration of the aging of the leaves. Therefore, development of different methods to induce salinity stress tolerance in plants is necessary. Some approaches were studied to develop the salinity tolerant plants such as genetic breeding, environmental improvements and usage of phytohormones and signal molecules. Salicylic acid or orthohydroxybenzoic acid plays an important role in regulating the physiological and biochemical responses of plants to stress conditions, which improves the plant's resistance to adverse environmental conditions. For instance, salicylic acid is a facile and effective way to increase plant productivity under salt stress conditions. Considering the positive effects of salicylic acid in modulating the effects of salinity, this study was conducted with the aim of investigating the effects of salicylic acid’s usage in modulating the harmful effects of salinity on some vegetative, physiological, quantitative and qualitative characteristics of two tomato cultivars of Baneh local mass and Semi Dwarf line.Materials and MethodsTo investigate the effect of salicylic acid in modulating the effects of salinity stress in tomato, a factorial experiment was conducted in the form of a randomized complete block design, with 12 treatments, in 3 replications and with a total of 36 experimental units in the hydroponic greenhouse of the Department of Horticulture, Faculty of Agriculture, and university of Tabriz. The treatments included two levels of salicylic acid (0 and 1 mM) and salinity levels (0, 35 and 70 mM NaCl) on two tomato cultivars of Baneh and Semi Dwarf.Results and DiscussionThe results showed that in Baneh and Semi Dwarf cultivars, the increase in salinity levels caused a decrease in vegetative indices, meanwhile the treatment of salicylic acid along with salt stress increased same indices. Also, salt stress caused yield reduction in both Baneh and Semi Dwarf cultivars. By examining the qualitative indicators, it was observed that titratable acidity and vitamin C increased with salt stress and salicylic acid treatment in both cultivars. In terms of physiological indicators, the amount of proline increased at different salinity levels with salicylic acid treatment, but the amount of leaf chlorophyll index decreased with the increase of same condition.ConclusionThe results of testing the effect of salicylic acid and the effects of salinity stress on vegetative, quantitative, qualitative and physiological indicators in Baneh and Semi Dwarf tomatoes showed a remarkable difference in terms of significance. In terms of vegetative traits; Plant height, leaf area index, shoot wet in Baneh and Semi Dwarf cultivars decreased with increasing salinity levels of vegetative indices, but salicylic acid treatment along with salinity stress increased same indices. Indicators such as yield, fresh weight of fruit, and percentage of dry matter of fruit showed different responses to different levels of salinity and salicylic acid treatment. The fresh weight of fruit increased with the application of salicylic acid. Also, salt stress caused an increase in the percentage of dry matter of the fruit. But salt stress caused yield reduction in both Baneh and Semi Dwarf cultivars. In terms of quality indicators; the amount of titratable acidity and vitamin C increased with salt stress and salicylic acid treatment in both cultivars. In terms of physiological indicators, the level of proline increased across various salinity levels with salicylic acid treatment. However, the leaf chlorophyll index decreased with rising salinity levels, even in the presence of salicylic acid treatment. Overall, salinity stress caused a decrease in most analyzed traits in the Baneh and Semi Dwarf cultivars. Nevertheless, it led to improvements in certain quality traits. Additionally, salicylic acid treatment enhanced the mentioned indices in most of the examined traits in both cultivars. Therefore, considering the positive effects of salicylic acid treatment on Baneh and Semi Dwarf cultivars under salinity stress conditions, its use is recommended.
Medicinal Plants
Mina Amani; Mohsen Sabzi-Nojadeh; Saeideh Alizadeh Salteh; Mehdi Younessi Hamzekhanlu; Biukagha Farmani; Hossein Hatef Heris; Shiva Mohammadian; Sevda Piretarighat
Abstract
Introduction
Medicinal plants have long had a special role in the traditional agricultural system of Iran and the use of these plants as medicine to prevent and treat diseases has been considered by traditional medicine experts since ancient times. Medicinal plants with rich sources ...
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Introduction
Medicinal plants have long had a special role in the traditional agricultural system of Iran and the use of these plants as medicine to prevent and treat diseases has been considered by traditional medicine experts since ancient times. Medicinal plants with rich sources of secondary metabolites provide the basic active ingredients of many medicines. Although the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites is genetically controlled, but their construction is strongly influenced by environmental factors. One of the important climatic factors that affect the distribution of plants around the world and can cause morphological, physiological and biochemical changes in the plant is the lack of available water. Basil seems to show little resistance to water stress. For this reason, there is a need for protective mechanisms for the basil plant against stress due to water shortage. Plants are able to reduce or eliminate the effects of water shortage stress by coexisting with a number of soil microorganisms. Inoculation of the plants with Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) has been exploited as an applicable strategy for reducing detrimental effects of water deficit stress. Present study was performed to evaluate the effects of three AMF on some physiological responses of Ocimum basilicum under water deficit stress.
Materials and Methods
The pot experiments were conducted as factorial based on completely randomized design blocks with three replications. The experimental factors were three AMF namely Glomus etunicatum, Glomus mosseae and Glomus intraradices and various soil moisture including severe stress, moderate stress, mild stress. Water stress was applied from the beginning to the end of flowering stage. After flowering stage, plants were harvested and traits such as total phenols and flavonoids, antioxidant capacity (DPPH), malondialdehyde (MDA), catalase and peroxidase enzymes were measured. To analyze the data, first the test of data normality and uniformity of variance within the treatment was performed and confirmed. The mean of treatments was compared by Duncan test at the level of 5% probability. SAS software (Ver. 9.3) was used to analyze the data and Excel software was used to draw the graphs.
Results and Discussion
The results of analysis of variance of the effect of mycorrhiza fungus and soil moisture on the studied parameters show that the effect of different levels of soil moisture on all traits was significant. The results of analysis of variance also showed that the effect of mycorrhiza on phenol and total flavonoids, antioxidant activity, catalase and peroxidase and malondialdehyde was significant at the level of one percent probability. According to the results of analysis of variance, the interaction effect of mycorrhiza on soil moisture on antioxidant activity was significant at 5% probability level and on total phenols and flavonoids, malondialdehyde, catalase and peroxidase at 1% probability level. Results showed that AMFs improve activity of catalase and peroxidase, antioxidant capacity and total phenols which led to decrease malondialdehyde content. Antioxidants as physiologically active compounds play an important role in plant resistance to stress. Increased oxygen species due to dehydration stress are a warning sign for plants and increase the activity of antioxidant enzymes. The plant's defense system increases the production of antioxidant enzymes to neutralize toxic oxygen forms, and fungi improve the intensity of this increase, which may be due to the chemical structure of the metal isoenzymes copper, zinc, and manganese. Factors sent to make antioxidant enzymes also contain the elements zinc and calcium. Mycorrhizal fungi increase the absorption of nutrients by sending more hormonal factors and increasing the activity of enzymes, all of which can be effective in increasing the activity of antioxidant enzymes.
Conclusion
When plants are exposed to dehydration stress, reactive oxygen species in them increase. The expression of antioxidant genes and the activity of antioxidants to eliminate reactive oxygen species are increased and the antioxidant defense system is improved and the tolerance to dehydration stress in the plant is increased. Scientists believe that peroxidase is involved in metabolic processes such as hormone catabolism, defense against pathogens, phenol oxidation, binding to cell structural proteins and cell wall polysaccharides. Present study revealed that application of AMFs can be good strategy for reducing harmful effects of water deficit stress in plants. Research has also shown that impregnating seeds with mycorrhiza increases antioxidants and reduces the amount of reactive oxygen species, a characteristic of resistance induction that occurs by this antagonist.
Medicinal Plants
Saeideh Alizadeh Salteh; Mina Amani
Abstract
Introduction: Nowadays, due to the decrease in rainfall and groundwater level, the cultivation of crops with low water requirements should be given priority. Different regions of Iran, especially the region of East and West Azerbaijan, have faced a decrease in rainfall in recent years, compared to previous ...
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Introduction: Nowadays, due to the decrease in rainfall and groundwater level, the cultivation of crops with low water requirements should be given priority. Different regions of Iran, especially the region of East and West Azerbaijan, have faced a decrease in rainfall in recent years, compared to previous years. Saffron could have relatively stable production in these areas due to low water demand and suitable economic efficiency. Special properties of saffron such as low water requirement, irrigation in non-critical times, water requirement of other plants, possible operation of farms for several years after one planting, ease of transportation and storage of the product, possibility of high employment, possibility of cultivation in areas that lack industrial talents and limited agricultural water, having medicinal properties and also, suitable domestic and foreign sales market has made this plant for cultivation. On the other hand, saffron cultivation in the Iran could increase employment and non-oil exports.If we pay attention to its production and processing processes, it could provide a significant currency to the country. Today the cultivation of saffron is under development in areas such as Azerbaijan. On the other hand, due to the harmful effects of the using synthetic antioxidants in the food and pharmaceutical industries, special attention has been paid for using of natural antioxidants. Considering the importance of compounds in saffron quality and the effect of climatic conditions in different years on the amount of secondary metabolites and antioxidant properties of this valuable plant, the present experiment were evaluated the yield and quality of saffron and compared antioxidant activity of different parts of saffron during two cropping years.Materials and Methods: The effect of climate of Marand city of East Azarbaijan province in different years on quality and antioxidant characteristics of different parts of saffron was investigated in this region. So, the climatic factors governing this region during two consecutive years of 2014 and 2015 in terms of temperature, rainfall and humidity were studied using meteorological data. Saffron yield in the region were obtained by using a questionnaire from saffron producers in the region. Meanwhile, the amount of crocin, picocrocin and safranal and the antioxidant activity of different parts of saffron, including stigma, style, stamen and petals, were examined.Results and Discussion: The results showed that the Marand city was classified as semi-arid in accordance the amount of crocin metabolites in 2014 (maximum: 306 mg/g in the stigma), picocrocin in 2015 (102.15 mg/g in the stigma), and Safranal in 2015 (highest: 49.95 mg/g in saffron petals) and the antioxidant activity of saffron and saffron petals were the highest in 2014 (30.43% and 88.32%, respectively). The results showed that the quality of different parts of saffron varied in different years. Due to the quality of different parts of saffron in different years, different parts could be used for exploitation.Conclusion: The amount of active ingredients in the plant were not constant at all and varied according to the growth and climatic conditions and harvest time. Changes in the amount of active ingredients in the plant over consecutive years or even hours a day emphasized the importance of collecting the medicinal plant when the plant contained the maximum amount of active ingredient. The quality of saffron depended on the amount of crocin, picrocrocin and safranal compounds and antioxidant activity. These compounds varied in different organs of saffron (stigma, style, stamen and petals) and over consecutive years. Bonab of Marand region of East Azerbaijan is suitable for saffron cultivation due to the climate change. The quality of different saffron organs were different in consecutive years of multi-year cultivation. The highest amount of crocin in the first year of cultivation in the stigma and its antioxidant activity in the stigma and petals were the highest and in the following year the amount of picrocrocin in the stigma and safranal in the petals were the highest. Therefore, different metabolites could be harvested according to the need in the maximum number of years.
