Postharvest physiology
Mahroo Sadat Motaghayer; Majid Azizi; Ali Tehranifar
Abstract
Introduction: Gerbera (Gerbera jamesonii Bolus, Asteraceae) commonly known as Transvaal Daisy, is one of the ten most popular and important commercial cut flowers. Gerbera is a perennial, tropical, herbaceous plant with colorful and attractive flowers that are widely used as a decorative garden plant ...
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Introduction: Gerbera (Gerbera jamesonii Bolus, Asteraceae) commonly known as Transvaal Daisy, is one of the ten most popular and important commercial cut flowers. Gerbera is a perennial, tropical, herbaceous plant with colorful and attractive flowers that are widely used as a decorative garden plant or cut flowers. The most important problem of the gerbera cut flowers is short vase life. The end of vase life of cut gerbera flowers is often due to bending of the scape. The aim of this study was to screen the effects of nanosilver and salicylic acid as pulse treatment and sucrose and thyme, clove and peppermint essential oils as permanent treatment on vase life and some physiological and biochemical traits of gerbera ‘Rosalin’ cut flowers.Materials and Methods: This study was conducted as a factorial experiment based on completely randomized design with three replications. The first factor was pulse treatments using nanosilver (NS) 5 and 10 mg/L (Nanocid Company, Iran), salicylic acid (SA) 50 and 100 mg/L (Merck Company) and distilled water as control, and the second factor was permanent treatments applying distilled water, sucrose 4% (Merck Company), peppermint (100 mg/L), thyme (100 mg/L) and clove (300 mg/L) essential oils (EO) (Zardband Company, Iran). Pulse treatments were applied for 24 h. Treated stems were then stood into vases containing permanent treatments. Vase solutions were freshly prepared at the beginning of the experiment and not renewed during of the study. The measured traits were: flower vase life, flower water content (WC), relative fresh weight (RFW), water loss (WL), water uptake (WU), total soluble solid (TSS), superoxide dismutase (SOD) enzyme activity and malondialdehyde (MDA) amount (Biovision Colorimetric Assay Kit, USA). The experiment was conducted in the laboratory at 20-22°C, 40-50% RH, and 15 µmol/m2s light intensity (cool white florescent tubes) under a daily light period of 12 hours. The obtained data were analyzed using MSTAT-C program and mean comparison was done using LSD range test.Results and Discussion: The results showed that NS 10 mg/L with thyme EO 100 mg/L (14.25 days) and NS 10 mg/L followed by peppermint EO 100 mg/L (14 days) had the best effect on longevity and maintaining the water content of gerbera cv. ‘Rosalin’ cut flower, compare to other treatments. Flower WC was high (about 90%) except in 4% sucrose permanent treatment flowers which had negative effect and decreased more rapidly during the vase life period. Despite of antimicrobial preservative application, RFW, WU, WL and TSS generally had a decreasing trend during the experiment. However, it was observed that flowers treated by NS 10 mg/L (0.86 g/g) and thyme (0.77 g/g) and peppermint (0.72 g/g) EOs had the most RFW on the eighth day of experiment, but 4% sucrose (0.59 g/g) permanent treatment reduced RFW during cut flower vase life. The highest WU was respectively observed in SA 100 mg/L (67.28 g), NS 5 (61.31 g) and 10 mg/L (60.35 g) on the second day. According to the results of this research, pulsing by NS 5 and 10 mg/L and SA 100 mg/L resulted in the the most WL on day two (64.24, 57.85 and 64.95 g respectively). TSS of the cut flowers decreased with time, however reduction rates were delayed in SA and NS treated flowers. On the eighth day of experiment, long-term treatment showed the most effect on TSS amount. Flowers treated by NS 10 mg/L followed by 4% sucrose and peppermint EO treatment had the highest TSS amount, respectively 3.50 and 3.17 Bx. As the time passed, the activities of SOD enzyme increased, however, treated flowers showed significantly higher SOD activity compared to the control. Especially NS 10 mg/L pulse treatment, followed by thyme and peppermint EOs, indicated by the highest amounts (241.43% and 233.94%) of SOD activity on seveth day of the experiment. During the experiment, MDA increased in the flowers, so that the highest amount of MDA was detected in control (67.30%) on the seventh day and the lowest was produced in NS 10 mg/L treated flowers followed by thyme (14.88%) and peppermint (19.44%) EOs. Due to the fact that these treatments had the best effects on flower vase life, these results are logical.Conclusions: Based on the results of this study, new antimicrobial agents such as NS, thyme and peppermint EOs had a positive effect on flower vase life, WC, RFW and WU and reduced the rate of WL and TSS reduction in flowers. It might be due to this fact that these are very effective antimicrobial agents, inhibited the microbial growth and prevented bacterial plugging in conducting tissues. NS particles enter to cell, tissue and organs, so they can inhibit the respiration and electron transfer system and material transfer in microbial cell membrane. The application of natural phenolic compound like EOs reduced the accumulation of MDA and enhanced SOD enzyme activity. Therefore, due to the undesirable results of chemical preservative on human and environmental health, EOs can be very good substitutes for preserving cut flowers postharvest life.
Ornamental plants
Toktam Oraee; Mahmood Shoor; Ali Tehranifar; Seyyed Hossein Nemati; Atiyeh Oraee
Abstract
Introduction Climate change predictions indicate that drought and extreme heatwaves will become more frequent and extreme in many regions. Drought is the main abiotic stress that severely reduces plant yield across the globe. Thus, this may have negative consequences for the agricultural soils, ...
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Introduction Climate change predictions indicate that drought and extreme heatwaves will become more frequent and extreme in many regions. Drought is the main abiotic stress that severely reduces plant yield across the globe. Thus, this may have negative consequences for the agricultural soils, as it limits the availability of water and nutrients to soil microorganisms and plants that develop on these soils. To cope with this situation, the use of organic amendments is the best option. Recent studies have shown that the application of organic fertilizers can affect soil moisture and thus, mitigate the negative effect of climate change on that parameter. Organic amendments increase soil organic matter content thus improving soil physical, chemical, and biological properties, and therefore, can confer drought resistance to soils. The application of organic residues has been presented as a great strategy against soil degradation in semiarid environments. However, the interactions between organic amendments and drought in hollyhock plants are not fully known. Here, we evaluate whether the organic amendment influences the physiological traits of hollyhocks and soil properties under drought conditions. Materials and Methods The experiment was conducted in the research field at Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran. The experiment consisted of three factors (cultivars, organic amendments, and drought) with organic amendments and drought having four and three levels, respectively. Drought treatments were controlled by a TDR at 80, 60, and 40% FC. The three sources of organic amendments were used cow manure, rice hull and wheat straw. Seeds were planted in cocopeat, perlite, and peat mixture trays in the greenhouse with an average temperature of 20 °C and under a photoperiod of 14 hours of light and 10 hours of darkness with a light intensity of 400 μmol-1 m2. In the 5-6 leaf stage, seedlings were transferred in pots (18 cm high and 8 cm in diameter) containing field soil. The plants were transferred to the field with four different substrates (field soil, field soil + manure, field soil + rice hull, and field soil + wheat straw) and were exposed to drought stress for one month during the flowering stage. This analysis examined both the physical and chemical properties of the soil, including changes in the macroelements nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. Results and Discussion Soil nitrogen changes were significantly affected by the interactions of ecotype with drought, ecotype with the medium, and drought stress with medium. The highest nitrogen changes were recorded in Mashhad ecotype under 80% FC. Nitrogen content in amended soil had an increasing trend during the experiment, but the amount of nitrogen had a decreasing trend in soil. In all media under stress, the amount of soil phosphorus was increased and the highest amount of phosphorus was observed in soil + manure at all irrigation regimes. The highest amount of potassium in both ecotypes was observed in soil + manure. The amount of potassium in amended soils under stress significantly increased, but in all organic amendments with increasing drought stress from 80 to 40% FC, the potassium content decreased. In both ecotypes, soil salinity was increased in all culture media. Han et al. (2016) stated that the amount of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium in the amended soil was higher than the substrates containing chemical fertilizer. The medium EC was alkaline at the end of the experiment and the salinity of the culture medium increased compared to the control. This study revealed a negative correlation between electrolyte leakage and dry weight in hollyhock plants. Furthermore, all measured physiological and growth parameters were significantly affected by the treatments. Notably, the Mashhad ecotype grown in soil supplemented with animal manure at 80% field capacity (FC) exhibited the highest levels of physiological traits (SPAD and relative water content) and growth index (dry weight).The application of manure + soil by providing macro elements reduces the negative effects of drought stress. Conclusion The type of crops grown in arid and semi-arid regions should be reconsidered. Also, some plants with high water requirements should be replaced with plants with low and unexpected water requirements. Because hollyhocks are low-expected plants that grow well in drought areas, so they can be considered as suitable species for cultivation in low-input systems and can tolerate drought situations by 40% FC in amended soil.
Ornamental plants
Nahid Zomorrodi; Mahmood Shoor; Ali Tehranifar; Morteza Goldani
Abstract
Introduction Since the beginning of the industrial revolution, the indiscriminate consumption of fossil fuels has led to a dramatic increase in the concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide. Over the past few decades, the concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide has increased from 280 to 370 ...
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Introduction Since the beginning of the industrial revolution, the indiscriminate consumption of fossil fuels has led to a dramatic increase in the concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide. Over the past few decades, the concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide has increased from 280 to 370 ppm and is expected to increase by about 1.8 ppm each year. Carbon dioxide, such as light, appropriate temperature, water and nutrients, is one of the essential nutrients needed by plants, which is currently less than required by plants. In general, plants need to absorb water from the soil and carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and use it in photosynthesis, which This is done by absorbing carbon dioxide through the through the pores. In general, stomatal properties have a major influence on the response of plants to carbon dioxide treatment. Leaf morphology, including stomatal density, may have a significant effect on the response of plants to carbon dioxide. There seems to be a great deal of variation among plant species in terms of how stomata density changes with increasing CO2 concentration. The opening and closing of the stomata through carbon dioxide absorption, regulates the amount of water wasted when adverse environmental conditions. In fact, increasing carbon dioxide in plants reduces stomatal conductance and transpiration, increases water use efficiency, photosynthesis rate and higher light utilization efficiency. Materials and Methods This study was conducted as a split plot experiment based on a completely randomized design with three replications in the research greenhouse of Ferdowsi University of Mashhad. Treatments included three concentrations of carbon dioxide (380 ppm as control, 700 and 1050 ppm) as the main plot and two species of ornamental ficus (Benjamin and Elastic) as sub plots. At first, cuttings were rooted in boxes containing washed sand infused with carbendazim for 8 weeks. After rooting, the cuttings were transferred to culture media containing appropriate soil mixture and exposed to different concentrations of carbon dioxide for 16 weeks. Were affected. Mean daily temperature of 25 and mean night temperature of 18 °C and 65% humidity were considered equal for all treatments. Then, after the treatments, Stomatal traits were measured. Results and Conclusion The results showed that high concentrations of carbon dioxide can affect the anatomical traits of Ficus ornamental species. In this study, the results obtained from the analysis of variance of the studied traits showed that the effect of different concentrations of carbon dioxide was not significant only for the stomatal index, but for other traits studied in this study. The main effect of carbon dioxide concentration was significant at 1% probability level.The results showed that the traits of stomata diameter in plant species and different concentrations of carbon dioxide were significant at 5 and 1% probability levels, respectively. Also with increasing the concentration of carbon dioxide the diameter of the stomatal decreased so that the highest stomatal diameter was related to the concentration of 380 ppm and the lowest to the concentration of 1050 ppm. In fact, increasing the concentration of carbon dioxide from the level of 380 to 1050 ppm led to a decrease of 19.91 percent in the diameter of the stomatal. Increasing the concentration of carbon dioxide in the environment of plants, initially increases the slope of the concentration of carbon dioxide between the surrounding air and the chamber under their stomata, and then more carbon dioxide through the pores leads to a decrease in the slope due to the abundance of carbon dioxide in the chamber below the stomata, This action reduces the diameter of the stomatal. As the concentration of carbon dioxide increased the stomatal cell density and stomatal area. Among the high concentrations of carbon dioxide the concentration of 700 ppm affected most of the traits, including stomatal diameter, stomatal area, epidermal cell density, stomach length and stomach width. though there was no significant difference between high concentrations of carbon dioxide (700 and 1050 ppm). According to the results of this study, it seems that anatomical traits are influenced by environmental factors and are not recognized as a hereditary factor. Among the species, the elastica species showed the most reaction to carbon dioxideal. Conclusion In general, clarifying the stomatal response to carbon dioxide concentration is important for understanding the stomatal physiology and gas exchange between vegetation and the In general, stomatal properties have a major influence on the response of plants to carbon dioxide treatment. Carbon dioxide at appropriate concentrations can increase growth and also affect the stomach properties to allow the plant to adapt to environmental conditions.
Ornamental plants
Rasul AbaszadehFaruji; Mahmood Shoor; Ali Tehranifar; Bahram Abedy
Abstract
Introduction Unbalanced and frequent use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides results in the degradation of soil physicochemical properties, loss of soil-born organisms, reduction of quality of produced crops and reduction of yield plant. Nowadays, due to environmental considerations of chemical ...
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Introduction Unbalanced and frequent use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides results in the degradation of soil physicochemical properties, loss of soil-born organisms, reduction of quality of produced crops and reduction of yield plant. Nowadays, due to environmental considerations of chemical fertilizers, use of organic acids for quantitative and qualitative improvement of crops has been increased. Humic materials are natural organic compounds that contain 50 to 90% of organic matters of peat, wood coal and rotten material, as well as non-living organic matters of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Humic compounds indirectly increase soil fertility by providing micro- and macro-elements for root, improving soil structure, increasing medium permeability to water and air, increasing soil microbial population and beneficial microorganisms, increasing cation exchange capacity and the ability to buffer pH of medium or nutrient solution, and providing some special substances for plant roots such as nucleic acids and acetamides.Materials and Methods In order to investigate the influence of humic and fulvic acids on some growth characteristics in ornamental plant of Scindapsus spp., an experiment was conducted based on a completely randomized design with three replications at greenhouse in Ferdowsi University of Mashhad during 2014-2015. The first factor was humic acid in four levels of 0, 0.2, 0.5, 1 g/l, and the second factor was fulvic acid in four levels of 0, 0.2, 0.5, 1 g/l. Cuttings were taken from the plant in late March. Two weeks after transferring the rooted cuttings to pot, the treatments were applied on plants via fertigation. The traits measured in the experiment included plant height, mean number of nodes, internode length, leaf number, leaf length, leaf width, leaf area, root length, root fresh weight, leaf fresh weight, shoot fresh weight, aerial organ fresh weight, root volume, aerial organ volume, root dry weight, leaf dry weight, shoot dry weight, aerial organ dry weight, fresh and dry weights ratios of aerial organ to fresh weight. Statistical analysis of data was performed by 8-JMP software. LSD test was used to compare the means of the data.Results and Discussion Based on the results obtained, the combined use of humic acid and fulvic acid had a significant effect on height, fresh and dry weights of leaf, shoot, aerial organ and root, number of node and leaf and volume of aerial organ, fresh and dry weights of root, length and volume of root and the ratio of fresh and dry weights of aerial organ to root. Thus, combined use of humic acid and fulvic acid caused an increase in all the measured traits compared to the control treatment. Furthermore, an increase was observed in the length, width, and area of leaf, and internode length as the result of application of humic substances when compared to the control treatment. Organic fertilizers increase plant growth by improving soil conditions and increasing availability of plant to nutrients. Humic compounds cause changes in the specific distribution of cytokinins, polyamines and ATP by affecting the activity of root H+-ATPase and the distribution of root nitrate in the stem, thus affecting the growth of the plant stem. Humic materials increase plant growth by using different mechanisms such as hormonal effects, direct effect on plant cell metabolism, increase of cell division, chelating power and nutrient uptake, increase of soil ventilation and enhancement of plant photosynthesis by increasing Rubisco enzyme activity. Increasing nitrogen uptake leads to the increase in the growth of shoots and aerial organs. It also increases the number of branches in plants and increases the production of dry matter by increasing the production of photosynthetic materials.Conclusion In general, according to the results of this experiment, it can be concluded that application of humic substances (humic acid and fulvic acid) together, improved the growth characteristics of the plant and led to the better growth of the plant; therefore, these materials can be a good alternative to plant growth-stimulating chemical fertilizers.
Pomology
Seyyedeh Fatemeh Motevalian; Bahram Abedy; Yahya Selahvarzi; Ali Tehranifar
Abstract
Introduction Major problems of pomegranate production, which is common in almost all of the world's pomegranate growing areas, especially in warm and dry regions, is the splitting of fruit, which is the most damaging to gardeners after pomegranate fruit moth. On the other hand, different studies ...
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Introduction Major problems of pomegranate production, which is common in almost all of the world's pomegranate growing areas, especially in warm and dry regions, is the splitting of fruit, which is the most damaging to gardeners after pomegranate fruit moth. On the other hand, different studies indicate that girdling affects the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of different fruit trees. In the gird, the trunk skin must be completely removed so that the upper to lower skin relationship is completely cut off. The raw material that is absorbed by the root and rising through the xylem is transformed into a sap in the leaf, and in the return path through the phloem, it hits the barrier and accumulated above the wound site. Due to this process, sugar and plant hormones and starch reach the upper part of the wound girdling in trees for various purposes, such as raising the percentage of fruition of the plant, increasing size and increasing the quality and accelerating the fruition is done.Material and Methods An experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of girdling time on quantitative and qualitative properties of two red peel sweet and tart varieties in the Mahdi Shahr city, Semnan province. The girdling was taken at three full bloom days, two months after full bloom and four months after full bloom. To do a girdling, a double-edged knife was plunged into the trunk, and the ring-like cutting was done around the trunk. So that the layer of bark was cut from the trunk with a diameter of less than 2 to 3 mm continuously and separated from the trunk completely, so that the relationship between the top and the bottom was cut off. To evaluate qualitative and quantitative traits, 3 fruits were selected from the northern, southern and middle parts of each tree and transferred to the laboratory for measuring morphological and physiological traits. Physiochemical traits including pH, titratable acidity content, total soluble solids and morphological traits including weight, volume, average weight of 100 aryls and percentage of fruit juice, Ariel seed weight percentage, and split percentage were investigated.Results and Discussion The results indicated that girdling at full bloom and two months after full bloom significantly reduced the percentage of fruit blooming in both cultivars compared to the control (non-girdling) treatment. Also, among the studied cultivars, percentage of splitting in red peel was higher than that of sour-sweet. In addition, girdling at full bloom and four months after bloom was able to increase weight, volume, and average weight of 100 aryls. Among two studied cultivars, sour-sweet showed higher soluble solids content and titratable acid percentage than red peel. It can be stated that photosynthetic materials in the crown of the tree are blocked by conducting a loop on the branch of the plant and prevent the transfer of these materials to the root. This allows the carbohydrates from photosynthesis to be transferred to fruits that are growing. As a result, the fruit grows more and subsequently increases its weight, volume, and number of aryls. In addition, the growth of root is reduced as a result of girdling and water, mineral salts, as well as growth regulators to the canopy and terminal meristem of the plant are slowed down, thereby significantly decreasing vegetative growth to be seen in the tree. Subsequently, with decreasing vegetative growth in the tree, the carbohydrate which is produced in the leaves is allocated to the growing fruits. This also increases the weight and volume of fruit in the tree. Since the girdling treatments are associated with meiosis (in full blooming stage) and in the stage of the growing of fruits cells (4 months after full bloom), it can be justified to enhancement of the weight and reduction of splitting percentage in the fruits of trees which is girdled. The main reason for this difference is the tension entered into the girdled trees at the interval between the application of the treatment and the wound healing.Conclusion According to the results of this study, it was found that the process of girdling results in weight and volume enhancement of the fruit. In addition, the quantitative and qualitative traits investigated in the experiment were different in the two cultivars of red peel sweet and sour-sweet. In addition, girdling was effective on the pomegranate splitting, which is one of the important issues in the plantation of this fruit. However, the timing of the girdling at the full bloom and the four months after full blooming had the greatest effect on reduction of the severity of this complication.
Ornamental plants
Elham Saeedipooya; Ali Tehranifar; Ali Gazanchian; Fatemeh Kazemi; Mahmood Shoor
Abstract
Introduction
Turfgrasses, as one of the important components of urban landscapes, have played a vital role in this regard. However, the main problems of turfgrass development are the cost of turfgrass seeds, maintenance costs such as moving, as well as the high water requirement in arid and semi-arid ...
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Introduction
Turfgrasses, as one of the important components of urban landscapes, have played a vital role in this regard. However, the main problems of turfgrass development are the cost of turfgrass seeds, maintenance costs such as moving, as well as the high water requirement in arid and semi-arid regions. Thus, the reduction of lawn culture in the landscape is one of the decision has taken in parks and green spaces organization of Tehran, Isfahan and even Mashhad. For over ten years, researchers have been looking for alternatives to conventional grass lawns to reduce the high cost of maintenance especially irrigation cost in urban landscapes. According to many researches, one of the potential ground cover alternatives that might be used instead of turfgrass is White Clover. Clover (Trifolium spp.) from Fabaceae family is a genus of about 300 species.
Materials and Methods
The aim of this experiment was to compare three common turfgrasses with two clover varieties as turf replacement to reduce landscape maintenance cost specially moving cost. So, some growth and qualitative factors of clover lawn: Trifolium repens var. Calway and Trifolium repens var. Pipolina (micro clover) and three turfgrasses of Festuca arundinacea L. and Lolium perenne L. and commercial sport turf mixture (from NAk-Nederland Ltd.) were compared together. This research was conducted in randomized complete block design with three replications in the research field of the Department of Horticultural Science and Landscape Engineering‚ Faculty of Agricultural‚ Ferdowsi University of Mashhad‚ Mashhad‚ Iran, during 2016 and 2017. The site (59º 38′ E and 36º 16 ′ N; elevation 989 m) is located in an arid and semi- arid region with mean annual rainfall 233.8 mm and long term averages of maximum and minimum temperature are 22.5 ºC and 9.3 ºC‚ respectively. Turfgrass plots were established by directly sowing the seeds in April, 2016. The planting rate of the seedling considering their pure live seeds (PLS) were 45 g.m-2 for Lolium perenne, 34 g.m-2 for Festuca arundinacea, 6.5 g.m-2 for Trifolium repens, 5.5 g.m-2 for micro clover and 39 g.m-2 for commercial mixture of sport turf. The plots were 1 m2 (1m×1m) in size and were prepared after plowing and leveling the soil. The seeds were hand sown and covered with a thin layer of leaf compost and sand.
Results and Discussion
According to the results in the first evaluation of emergence percentage, Lolium perenne had the highest emergence percentage. After 36 days from culture, all plants had 92-98 % coverage which did not have any significant difference among grasses with clover lawns. In terms of density, uniformity and weed density, there was no significant difference between the studied plants. In the other hands, white clover showed the best quality after clipping in both years. At the point of growth index, which have done in this experiment by measuring height and dry weight of clipping, grass lawns had the higher growth index in compered to clover lawn in both years. Festuca arundinacea and Lolium perenne had the highest growth index and white and micro clover had the lowest growth. Also, with air warming, Festuca arundinacea became dominated plant in height and clipping dry weight. In July, Festuca arundinacea produced the highest clipping dry weight by 40 gr.m-2, Lolium perenne (19.52), commercial sport turf (15.68), white clover (6.24) and micro clover (0.36) gr.m-2.
Conclusion
One of the problems of landscape is reduction of maintenance costs such as mowing. So, the low growth of white and micro clover is a positive factor in reduction of the moving costs than turfgrasses. Also, the coverage and proper density of clover lawns are similar to grass lawns and did not have a significant difference with them. The character of low growth can be effective in reduction of irrigation costs in white and micro clover, which requires more research and examination in future. This is a positive point in the white clover and micro clover that do not need to move or cut every months. Almost, clover moving is recommended for removing their flower. Therefore, it is recommended to use white and micro clover as a replacement with less maintenance costs in landscape. Finally, the results of cultivation of grass and clover as monoculture in this study can be used to produce clover-grass mixtures suitable for the climate of our country (arid and semi-arid regions), instead of importing turf mixtures from European countries.
Ornamental plants
Toktam Oraee; Mahmood Shoor; Ali Tehranifar; Seyyed Hossein Nemati
Abstract
Introduction: The Hollyhock (Alcea rosea) is a summer flowering biennial plant that is native to China and belongs to the Malvaceae family. It is one of the most valuable ornamental plants, whose 36 species are cultivated in Iran. It is an increasing garden escape, especially in urban areas, and is usually ...
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Introduction: The Hollyhock (Alcea rosea) is a summer flowering biennial plant that is native to China and belongs to the Malvaceae family. It is one of the most valuable ornamental plants, whose 36 species are cultivated in Iran. It is an increasing garden escape, especially in urban areas, and is usually found at foot of walls, in ruderal areas, and in cracks of pavements and old walls. Also, it is sometimes seen on riverbanks (for instance on dikes of the river Maas), dumps or road- and railway banks. Alcea rosea has been used as an herbal plant in folk medicine for treatment of different diseases such as common cold and cough. This plant is antiphlogistic, astringent, demulcent, diuretic and expectorant. Drought is the most significant environmental stress in agriculture worldwide, and improving yield under drought is a major goal of plant breeding. Seed germination and early seedling growth are potentially the most critical stages for water stress. When subjected to drought stress, plant metabolism is interrupted or inhibited by increasing reactive oxygen species (ROS) and lipid peroxidation, resulting in reduced germination, weaker root and shoot growth and even mortality. Plants have evolved oxygen-scavenging systems consisting of non-enzyme antioxidant metabolites, such as proline and various antioxidant enzymes including superoxide dismutase, peroxidase and catalase.Materials and Methods: In order to examine the effect of drought stress on germination indexes, various antioxidant enzyme changes and non-enzyme antioxidant metabolites in Alcea rosea, an experiment was conducted in complete randomized design with three replications. The drought stress treatment was conducted in five levels with osmotic pressures 0, -2, -4, -6, and -8 bar and with using PEG (Poly Ethylene Glycol 6000) on two ecotypes of Alcea rosea (ecotype 1= Mashhad and ecotype 2= Tehran). The seeds are at first sterilized with hypo chloride sodium for two minutes and then washed superficially three times with distilled water. 25 seeds were transferred to a glass petri dish with 10 cm diameter, and for the duration of the experiment, 5 ml solution with different levels was added to each petri dish. After 14 days at 25±1 ºC temperature, the number of geminated seeds in each day was counted and recorded. In the first part of the experiment, after the end of the germination period, the following growth parameters were measured: germination percentage, germination rate, root and shoot length, and the fresh weight of seedling. In the second part, the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD) and catalase (CAT), malondialdehyde content, lipid peroxidation in terms of malondialdehyde (MDA) content, and proline index were measured.Results and Discussion: The ecotype, drought treatments and their interaction had significant effects on growth parameters (germination percentage, germination rate, radicle and plumule length, and seedling fresh weight), as well as physiological and biochemical parameters (SOD, POD, CAT, MDA and proline). The highest germination parameters were recorded at Mashhad ecotype. Germination percentage and germination rate were severely affected by drought. Maximum percentage of germination (36) was recorded at control group followed by 32.1 at -2 bar and -4 bar PEG treatments in ecotype 1. Germination percentage in two ecotypes further declined to 33% at -8 bar compared to the control treatment. In both ecotypes, plants had the highest germination rate in control media (zero osmotic potential) but germination rate decreased significantly by decreasing water potential. Germination rate of control seeds of ecotype 1 was 11.7, while that of ecotype 2 was 8. 3. Germination rate in two ecotypes further declined to 56% and 38 %, at -8 bar compared to the control treatment, respectively. Ecotype 2 displayed a significant reduction in radicle and plumule length compared to the ecotype 1. Generally, the radicle and plumule length decreased significantly in relation to the drought stress caused by PEG. Ecotype 2 in -8 bar PEG treatment had the highest (41 and 32%) decrease in radicle and plumule length compared to the control temperature. In two ecotypes (Mashhad and Tehran) of Alcea rosea, increasing PEG concentrations resulted in a decrease in fresh and dry weights. Water absorption is the first germination stage. Due to the probable resistance of the ecotype one, water absorption rate is higher, and as a result, the percentage and rate of germination have increased. Ecotype 1 exhibited higher leaf SOD activities in response to -2 bar compared to -8 bar, but the SOD activities in ecotype 2 showed a general increase trend with increases in the PEG concentration. Drought stress resulted in lower antioxidant enzyme activities (POD) in leaves of both ecotypes compared to that observed at the control treatment, but the activity of CAT increased with the increase of drought stress. In both ecotypes, exposure to -8 bar resulted in significantly higher leaf MDA activities. Plants exhibited higher proline in response to -8 bar treatment compared to the control. By increasing the PEG concentration from control to -8 bar, proline content increased about 90 percent. In this experiment, drought stress reduced the rate and germination percentage and delayed subsequent plant deployment. When plants are subjected to drought stress, their metabolism is interrupted or inhibited by increasing reactive oxygen species (ROS) and lipid peroxidation, resulting in reduced germination, weaker root and shoot growth and even mortality. The recent experiment showed that the activity of two superoxide dismutase and peroxidase enzymes decreased with increasing drought stress, and the activity of the catalase enzyme increased; this is in agreement with the results reported by other studies. On one hand, the increase in the activity of the catalase enzyme indicates that it is perhaps the most important enzyme involved under drought condition, which increased over the course of 14 days. On the other hand, limiting the activity of enzymes and increasing the amount of proline showed that increasing the resistance to drought stress in the plant depends on the accumulation of contaminating substances such as proline.Conclusion: Due to the higher resistance of the ecotype 1 and increase in water absorption, the percentage and rate of germination were increased. If water absorption is disturbed by the seed, the germination activity is slowly applied and the later growth of the roots will decrease the germination rate. Therefore, it seems that Mashhad ecotype with increase of catalase and proline has the highest drought tolerance compared to the other ecotype at germination stage. There was a significant correlation between germination percentage with SOD and POD.
Akram Amiri; Mahmood Shoor; Mina Taghizadeh; Seyyed Hossein Nemati; Ali Tehranifar
Abstract
Introduction: The genus of African violet is the most common genus known among the plants of Gesneriaceae family. This genus has beautiful leaves and flowers that are zygomorph. African violet (Saintpaulia ionantha) is a famous ornamental plant due to its various colors and shapes that an excellent model ...
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Introduction: The genus of African violet is the most common genus known among the plants of Gesneriaceae family. This genus has beautiful leaves and flowers that are zygomorph. African violet (Saintpaulia ionantha) is a famous ornamental plant due to its various colors and shapes that an excellent model system for in vitro regeneration studies because of its tissue culture amenability.Besides the importance of this plant in plant production industry and increasing need for new plant varieties with desired traits, more studies for creating African violet with new features by increasing the ploidy level under the in vitro conditions were not done until now. Polyploidy is a widespread phenomenon in the evolution of flowering plant and a key in plant speciation and diversification. Polyploid plants have been used in plant breeding programs for developing superior varieties and restoring the fertility of interspecific or intergeneric hybrids. Polyploidy in ornamental crops were successfully obtained under in vitro conditions. The chemical colchicine can be used as the most effective substance to obtain polyploid plants. In vitropolyploidization has number of advantages such as treatment of more plants with less material, control of test conditions, lower toxicity of chemicals and high success rate. This study with the aim of polyploid induction was carried out by different concentrations of colchicine at various periods under in vitro conditions.Materials and Methods: The best treatment for the shoot regeneration and proliferation was MS medium with 2 mg/l BA after optimizing the tissue culture process. The study performed as follows: plantlets grown under in vitro in proliferation stage were treated with colchicine. The experiment was carried out in a 2-factorial manner based on a completely randomized design and factors were colchicine concentration at 0.02, 0.05, 0.1% and treatment duration for 18, 24, 48 hours. Evaluated characters of regenerated plants were as follows: plantlets survival percentage (the first month, the second month and the third month), morphological traits (include leaf number, petiole length, leaf length, leaf width, petiole diameter, leaf thickness and variation in form, vein, tip and margins leaf), reproductive traits (flower diameter (mm), number of petal, number of flower in inflorescence, height of inflorescence (mm)), microscopic epidermal cells in samples of diploid and tetraploid and ploidy levels. Assessment of flow cytometery was also used for all of the treated plants with colchicine and some diploid control plants and were expressed in the form of the percentage of diploid, mixoploid and tetraploid plants of African violet.Results and Discussion: Results indicated that tetraploidy induction successfully was changed different morphological and cytological characteristics. Plantlets of treated with 0.02% colchicine in all three times only survived after three months, and with increasing treatment time, plantlets survival percentage was reduced. Thus 0.02% colchicine treatment for 24 hour found effective in inducing in vitro culture polyploidy of African violet. Comparison of the leaves of tetraploid with diploid plants indicated that the leaves of tetraploid plants in length and width were bigger than the diploid ones. The selected tetraploid plants showed a more compact shape than the control plants. Other results revealed that the treated plants with colchicine showed delayed growth. The assessment of microscopic indicated that the epidermal cells of tetraploid were larger than diploid. The results of flow cytometery evaluation showed that with increasing duration of colchicine, the number of diploid plants reduced and were added to mixoploid and tetraploid plants. Most plants were mixoploid.Conclusion: The results of this study showed that the diploid and tetraploid plants indicated significant differences in term of morphological traits like leaf number, petiole length, leaf length, leaf width, petiole diameter, leaf thickness and variation in form, vein, tip and margins leaf, reproductive traits like flower diameter, number of petal, number of flower in inflorescence and also size of epidermal cells and flow cytometery evaluation. These differences can be suitable criterion for separating diploid and polyploid plants from each other. Generally, the combination of tissue culture methods and tetraploidy induction can be used as a rapid strategy for achieving new forms and properties of regenerates in vitro on African violet.
Atiyeh Oraee; Ali Tehranifar; Ahmad Nezami; Mahmood Shoor
Abstract
Introduction: Climate change is expected to have impacts on ecosystems worldwide. During the last 50 years, the greatest warming trends have been observed in winter months and significant increases in both the occurrence and duration of winter warming have already been reported. In general, predicted ...
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Introduction: Climate change is expected to have impacts on ecosystems worldwide. During the last 50 years, the greatest warming trends have been observed in winter months and significant increases in both the occurrence and duration of winter warming have already been reported. In general, predicted future climate change scenarios will result in less than optimal cold acclimation conditions, leading to decreases in freezing tolerance and predisposition of plants to winter injury. Nonetheless, it is not clear whether water stress induced during cold hardening is of high importance in inducing freezing tolerance in plants or it is an integral part of typical cold hardening process. Since rapid and effective assessment of plant cold tolerance is important for researchers and also field trials have no regular process and have high error, different kinds of artificial freeze tests such as survival percentage test and regrowth after imposing stress have been developed.
Materials and Methods: In order to evaluate the effect of drought stress on plant freezing tolerance of viola, a factorial experiment was conducted based on completely randomized design with three replications in faculty of Agriculture, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad. Experimental factors include three water treatments (80% FC, 60 % FC and 40% FC) and 10 temperature levels (Control, from zero to -24 with 3 °C intervals). Pansy seeds sown in a nursery in the summer of 2015 and after reaching the five-leaf stage in the fall plants were transferred to the pots. After the potted plants spend cold acclimation in nature conditions, plants were subjected to water stress including control (80% FC), 60% and 40% FC for two weeks. After drought stress, whole plants were sampled for freezing tolerance assessment and they were transferred to the freezer thermos-gradient. After applying the stress, electrolyte leakage, lethal temperature 50 according to the electrolyte leakage percentage (LT50el) were measured. One months later, survival percentage, lethal temperature 50% of plant according to the survival percentage (LT50su), leaf area, number of flower and bud, dry weight (dry weight of vegetative, reproductive, root and total) and reduced dry matter temperature 50 (RDMT50) were evaluated.
Results and Discussion: Electrolyte leakage percentage (EL %) and survival (%) were significantly (p ≤ 0.01) affected by irrigation treatments in the freezing conditions. By lowering the temperature from 20 to -24 °C, the EL% significantly increased in three irrigation treatments and it increased in 80% FC compared to 60% (by 16%) at -24°C. plants under 60% FC treatment exhibited higher baseline freezing tolerance (LT50 of −18.4 °C) compared to 80% FC (LT50 of −11.8 °C).Treated plants (except 80% FC) were able to tolerate lowering the temperature to -21°C. Lowering the temperature to -24°C caused the total mortality. According to the LT50su index, 60% FC treatment was less than compared to other treatments. Leaf area significantly increased by 16%, respectively, when plants were under water deficit (60% FC) compared to 80% FC at 0 °C. The maximum number of flower were seen in 60% FC at – 3 °C and the maximum number of bud were observed at 0 °C. The results showed that dry weight was significantly (p ≤ 0.01) increased by drought stress in the freezing conditions. Plants under 60% FC at 0 °C had the highest increase (55, 62 and 64%, respectively) dry weight of vegetative, reproductive and total growth, respectively compared to control. By lowering the temperature to -18 °C in 80% FC vegetative, reproductive and root growth decreased (36, 38 and 42%, respectively) compared to control plants. RDMT50 significantly affected by drought stress. There were significantly correlation between EL with LT50el and RDMT50 (r =0.25* and r = 0.72**, respectively). In total, plants under 60% FC showed highest freezing tolerance compared to the other treatments.
Conclusions: In the current study, we found that the greatest gain in freezing tolerance was associated with cold and that the effect of drought stress on freezing tolerance varied with temperature. Drought stress resulted in an improvement in freezing tolerance of viola (lower LT50). Among the different parameters evaluated, 60% FC treatment at 0 °C most consistently induced increases in survival percentage, reproductive and vegetative growth which suggested a synergistic effect between drought exposure and low temperature. Higher dry weight of viola plants may contribute to better plant overwintering capacity. In addition, future research should explore the effect of repeated mild drought events on freezing tolerance of acclimated plants, by using strategies such as wilt-based irrigation scheduling, partial root zone drying, and deficit irrigation.
Seyyedeh Mahdiyeh Kharrazi; Ali Tehranifar; Ahmad Sharifi
Abstract
Introduction: Success in tissue culture technique, especially in bulbous plants, depends on the microbial contamination control during in vitro culture. Applying different treatments, such as heat treatment and usage of fungicides, can control the microbial contamination and consequently increase the ...
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Introduction: Success in tissue culture technique, especially in bulbous plants, depends on the microbial contamination control during in vitro culture. Applying different treatments, such as heat treatment and usage of fungicides, can control the microbial contamination and consequently increase the percentage of explant survival.
Materials and Methods: This study aimed to investigate the effect of heat treatment and fungicide on reducing the contamination during in vitro culture of narcissus. So, an experiment was done as a factorial experiment in a completely randomized design with two factors, including benomyl concentration in the medium (1 and 2 g/l) and heat treatments (two levels, with and without heat treatment), with 10 replications. In order to sterilizing the plant materials, damaged and infected scales were removed firstly and then bulbs were washed for 30 minutes with running tab water and a few drops of dishwashing liquid. For applying heat treatment, bulbs were divided into two groups. In the first group, heat treatment was not applied and in the second group heat treatment 54 °C was applied for one hour using water bath. After this step, bulbs surface were sterilized by dipping in 70% ethanol for one minute and rinsed with sterile distilled water, followed by immersing in 1.5% sodium hypochlorite solution for 30 min. After sterilization with sodium hypochlorite solution, bulbs were washed three times with sterile distilled water under laminar air flow hood. After sterilization step, bulbs were cut into 32 twin scales explants and cultured in MS medium supplemented with 1 mg/l BA and 0.2 mg/l NAA + benomyl (1 or 2 g/l). After 30 days, the response of explants (number of produced bulbs, percentage of explant survival, percentage of bacterial contamination, percentage of fungal contamination, percentage of browning) was evaluated. Data preparation was done in the Excel program and data analysis was done using JMP-8 software. Mean comparison of the treatments was done by LSD test and finally the charts were drawn using the Excel program.
Results and Discussion: The results showed that increasing the concentration of benomyl in the medium and applying heat treatment had negative effect on regeneration potential of explants, so that the maximum regeneration mean were observed when heat treatment was not applied for explants and medium contains 1 g/l benomyl. Using the heat treatment and application of 2 g/l benomyl in the medium leads to the lowest regeneration amount. On the other hand, evaluating the browning percentage of explants showed that the effect of treatments was significant in this trait. Applying the heat treatment and using 2 g/l benomyl in the medium had severe effect on the increasing of explant browning and the maximum mean was observed in this treatment. But reducing the benomyl concentration in the medium and none application of heat treatment caused the lowest amount of explant browning. Contamination percentage that includes bacterial and fungal contamination is an important parameter in this study. Explants that cultured in the medium containing 1 g/l benomyl and applying heat treatment showed the highest contamination percentage, which contains 21% fungal and 14% bacterial contamination. The lowest percentage of contamination was observed when heat treatment applied and medium contains 2 g/l benomyl. However, this treatment caused the highest percentage of explant browning that lead to reduction of explants regeneration potential. Researches showed that the use of fungicides can help to control tissue culture contamination and according to previous studies, benomyl is the most effective treatment against fungal infection. As benomyl is considered as a systemic fungicide, so it is useful to eliminate the internal fungus. On the other hand, there are some reports about the positive effect of heat treatment on the control of tissue culture contamination. As regards this investigations were done in 1914 to 1997 and then stopped, so it seems that application of this treatment had no sufficient efficiency for contamination control during in vitro condition.
Conclusion: Therefore, by considering the browning, regeneration and contamination percentage, non-application of heat treatment and usage of 1g/l benomyl fungicide in the medium for in vitro culture of Narcissus twin scales explants is recommended.
Zahra Karimian; Ali Tehranifar; Mohammad Bannayan Aval; Majid Azizi; Fatemeh Kazemi
Abstract
Introduction: Considering population growth and urbanization development, one of the main requirements of the urban society is to create appropriate life condition for dwellers. The microclimate is considered as one of the factors that affect the activity of people in the environment and in terms of ...
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Introduction: Considering population growth and urbanization development, one of the main requirements of the urban society is to create appropriate life condition for dwellers. The microclimate is considered as one of the factors that affect the activity of people in the environment and in terms of tourist and recreational industry, it is considered as an important source of economic. Many climatic parameters such as temperature, relative humidity, radiation and wind speed can affect the quality of people's recreational activities. So far, many studies have been conducted in the world about the positive effects of vegetation specially trees in the urban landscape on the optimizing of microclimate and human thermal comfort. The cooling mechanism of trees and clouds in an area mainly by directly shading the ground surface and indirectly by supplying humidity are similar. Thus, perhaps it be possible to calculate the changes in temperature and relative humidity based on cloud categories and impute it to tree canopy and vegetation size. The purpose of the present study was to answer followed questions, 1) does the use of single tree produce a sensible difference in temperature and humidity relative to open space? 2) Does the acacia tree as an indicator for a broad-leaved species compare to the pine tree as an indicator for the needle species in terms of the microclimatic variation of around themselves act differently? 3) Do the microclimatic elements (Temperature and relative humidity) under the canopies are comparable to various cloudiness conditions?
Materials and Methods: The experiments were conducted at Ferdowsi University of Mashhad. The climate data under two species of false acacia (Robinia pseudoacacia) and pine trees (Pinus eldarica) and open space were received from Mashhad weather station over a period of 19 years, recorded and analyzed. In the comparison of the effects of vegetation and cloudy conditions on the temperature and relative humidity an assumption was proposed that has been mentioned in the following. The differences between the means of temperature and relative humidity obtained under SKC (Sky Clear) cloudiness conditions and in open space; under SCT (Scattered Sky) conditions and pine trees; and under BKN (Broken Sky) conditions and false acacia tree must be equal or these differences must be statistically not significant. In addition to the effect of tree canopy, the effects of days and hours on the temperature and humidity were investigated. To analysis and also mean comparison, SPSS 16 software was used.
Results and Discussion: The results showed that the temperature (decreasing) and relative humidity (increasing) were significantly different among various cloudiness conditions during 19 years. The results also indicated that between the temperatures recorded under the canopy of pine and false acacia trees, and also among of recorded relative humidity in two trees specious with corresponding outdoor spaces there were significant differences. Also, there were no significant differences among the temperature of the clear sky and the partly cloudy with that of the mostly cloudy sky. Further, clear sky and mostly cloudy sky showed significant differences in terms of relative humidity. Mostly cloudy sky and the partly cloudy sky compared with pine and false acacia trees were about 4.6 and 4.5oC cooler, respectively. The cloud covers, also could enhance the more level of relative humidity in the environment in comparison with single tree canopy, so that were caused a wetter environment equal to16.6 and 8.4 percent, respectively. The results also showed that temperature and relative humidity created by the shade from false acacia and pine trees are not comparable with the same climatic factors created by partly cloudy and mostly cloudy skies. In the present study, false acacia as a broad-leaved tree compared with pine tree and also open space could cool the environment about 0.65 degree C more that is in line with previous studies that showed the microclimatic impact of vegetation depend on crown and leaf size. Temperature and relative humidity in vegetation (trees) and cloudy condition are not comparable with microclimate and their impact on the environment is not the same. The cloud covers, also could enhance the more level of relative humidity in the environment in comparison with single tree canopy, so that were caused a wetter environment equal to16.6 and 8.4 percent, respectively.
Conclusion: This finding showed that climatic effects of cloud covers had no similarity compared with two studied trees species. It may also indicate that green space and greenery should not also be ignored in areas where cloudy skies are mostly present throughout the year.
Rasul AbaszadehFaruji; Mahmood Shoor; Ali Tehranifar; Bahram Abedy; Nasim Safari
Abstract
Introduction: Ornamental plants play a vital role in meeting the mental and spiritual needs of peoplethat considered significance from commercial point of view as well. Optimal production of agricultural products requires suitable soil and adequate and absorbable nutrients for plant. Organic materials ...
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Introduction: Ornamental plants play a vital role in meeting the mental and spiritual needs of peoplethat considered significance from commercial point of view as well. Optimal production of agricultural products requires suitable soil and adequate and absorbable nutrients for plant. Organic materials are important because ofimproving soil physical properties and soil fertility. Soil fertility depends on the content oforganic matter as well as the quality, quantity and dynamics of these materials insoil. Organic acids are an important source of organic matter. One of the most abundant forms of organic matter in nature is humic compounds which can be found in all soil and water environment. They play an important role in cation exchange, nutrients release, phosphorus buffering capacity and metal and toxic organic molecules maintenance.
Materials and Methods: In order to evaluate the effect of humic substances on morphological characteristics of geranium, thisexperiment was conducted in research greenhouse of Ferdowsi University of Mashhad during the years 2014 and 2015. The experiment was carried out as factorial based on completely randomized design with two factors and three replications. The first factor hadfour levels of humic acid (0, 0.2, 0.5 and 1 g/l), and the second hadfour levels of fulvic acid (0, 0.2, 0.5 and 1 g/ml). Treatment was usedalong with irrigation. Morphological characteristics included the number of leaves, number of nodes, number of branches, plant height, root length, leaf area, fresh weight of shoot, fresh weight of leaf, fresh weight of root, dry weight of shoot, dry weight of leaf, dry weight of root, volume of shoots, volume of root, fresh weight of shoot were measured at the end of the experiment. Statistical analysis of the results was performed by using Jmp-8 software. Charts were drawn using Excel 2010 and difference among treatments means were compared with LSD test.
Results and Discussion: The results of means comparison showed that combined use of humic acid and fulvic acid hadpositive effects on growth traits such as height, internode length, root length, fresh weight of shoot, fresh weight of root, fresh weight of leaf, dry weight of shoot, dry weight of leaf, volume of shoot, volume of root and leaf area. Research had shown that the application of humic fertilizers increased nitrogen content in shoots of the plant. It wasreported that nitrogen compounds existed in humic acid are important factors affecting the growth of plants. Humic acid also increasedshoot growth by increasing the uptake of nitrogen, calcium, phosphorus, potassium, manganese, zinc, iron and copper as well as hormone-like properties. It wasalso found that humic acid enhancedplant growth by increasing the activity of the RuBisCO enzyme and the subsequent increase in photosynthetic activity. Furthermore, humic acid reduced the pH of alkaline soils and causedthe nitrogen to be absorbed to a greater extent. The use of humic substances increased the leaf area and thus photosynthesis, therefore leading to the production of more dry matter in plants. Humic fertilizers also had a significant effect on root growth. Researchers had suggested that the presence of oxygen groups in humic acid increased lateral root growth. Although humic acid increased the growth of both root and shoot, its effectiveness on the root system wasmore evident.
Conclusions: This experiment was conducted with the aims of evaluating the effect of humic organic fertilizers, reducing the harmful effects of chemical fertilizers and improving the quality of plant growth in geranium. According to the results obtained from the present research, it can be concluded that combined application of humic acid and fulvic acid had greater effects on the majority of traits compared to the sole application of aforementioned compounds.
Mahin Nikoo; Mahmood Shoor; Ali Tehranifar; Elham Saeedi Pooya
Abstract
Introduction: One of the climate change sign is variation in greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is the most important greenhouse gas that is released into the atmosphere by humans. It is expected that addition of carbon dioxide could effect the energy balance and global climate. ...
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Introduction: One of the climate change sign is variation in greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is the most important greenhouse gas that is released into the atmosphere by humans. It is expected that addition of carbon dioxide could effect the energy balance and global climate. Climate change is effective on agricultural productions. It is clear that different plants have different responses to Co2 variation. These responses are consisting of yield, growth characteristic and variation in root/shoot ratio of plants. On the other hand, using growing media are expanding for plants because of their advantages such as plants nutrient control, reducing the incidence of diseases and pests and increasing the quantity and quality rather than soil cultivation. Properties of various materials as substrates influence directly or indirectly on plant growth and crop production., Hydroponic method can be considered as one of the important methods to optimize water use in agriculture, especially in many countries are located in arid and semi-arid regions that have water crisis. Lisianthus is one of the most beautiful flowers with folded petals in white, blue and purple. I-ts scientific name is Eustoma grandiflorum from the family of Gentianaceae and native to North America. It has variety of annual, biennial or short-lived perennial. The aim of this study was to explore the effect of Co2 enrichment on growth response of aboveground and belowground of Eustoma grandiflorum under increasing of Co2 greenhouse gases in hydroponic culture.
Materials and Methods: The experiment was done as a split-plot based on completely randomized experimental design with three replications at greenhouse of Ferdowsi University of Mashhad. The treatments were consists of three concentrations of carbon dioxide (380 as controls, 750 and 1050 ppm) as main plots and two cultivars Yodel white and GCREC-blue as subplots. Some characteristic such as plant height, internode length, root volume, root area, root and shoot dry weight were measured. Data were analyzed by JMP software Version 8 using analysis of variance (ANOVA) and significant differences between means were determined by using LSD test at P < 0.05.
Results and Discussion: The results of analysis of variance indicated that the effect of Co2 treatment was significant (p
Zahra Shabani; Bahram Abedi; Ebrahim Gangi Moghadam; Ali Tehranifar
Abstract
Introduction: This study was conducted aimed to consider the effects of culture medium and the concentration of growth regulators on proliferation, rooting and the acclimatization of Myrobalan29C. This study was performed as a factorial experiment in a completely randomized design (CRD) with four replications ...
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Introduction: This study was conducted aimed to consider the effects of culture medium and the concentration of growth regulators on proliferation, rooting and the acclimatization of Myrobalan29C. This study was performed as a factorial experiment in a completely randomized design (CRD) with four replications where each plot contained five explants. Given the role of trees rootstock of growth rate vegetative in the early maturity٫ yield and disease resistance will be suitable rootstock that has an important role in program garden management. In total rootstock of fruit trees have be propagation sexual and asexual methods, however٫ given that in sexual reproduction the resulting dispersion characteristics and the resulting seedlings changed by genetics, it is tried for decades to asexual propagation methods in specially tissue culture methods healthy rootstock for mass propagation and used the development of orchards. Seedling rootstock Myrobalan had been used in the past. The rootstock can be positive features cited the ease of access, to be cheap, good yields after maturity. In study, the effects of NAA and BAP on proliferation of Gisala5 rootstock showed the most shoot treated in mediacontaining 1mg/l BAP. Investigated Chinese plum in vitro micropropagation showed that 1/2 MS media had the highest percentage rooting, and acclimatization rooted plantlets to greenhouse conditions was using the system miss successfully. Due to the importance and essential to achieve an efficient protocol for the mass propagation of Myrobalan 29C in Iran, this study was conducted with the main purpose of evaluating the most suitable media culture and plant growth regulators in micropropagation of Myrobalan 29C.
Material and methods: The explants were collected from shoots of Myrobalan 29C rootstock maintained in the experimental greenhouse of Khorasan Razavi Agricultural and Natural Resources Research Centre (of Mashhad, Iran), on June 25, 2013. The explants were washed by water and dishwashing liquid to removed surface contamination. Then they were divided to some parts containing one bud and were sterilized with ethanol 70% 1 min and sodium hypochlorite 10% at 10 min. Proliferation was performed in two kind of culture medium (MS and DKW) that supplemented with plant growth regulators BAP (0, 1, 2, 3, 4 mg l-1). The rootstocks of in this step, after subculture three (21 days between each subculture), the numbers, the length and quality of the shoots (explants strong growth, with no signs of vitrification, necrosis of leaf are yellowing terminal meristem), b– less than 15% have the symptoms of vitrification, necrosis of leaf are yellowing terminal meristem, and c– explant weak, 15-30% have the symptoms of vitrification, necrosis of leaf are yellowing Terminal meristem) were measured. This stage was carried with four replications and each replicates with five samples. Two culture media (MS and DKW) were used for rooting, which supplemented with indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) at four levels (0, 1, 2, 3 mg l-1). This stage was carried with four replications and each replicates with three samples. After being rooted explants, the best cultured media and combination of rooting growth regulators number and root length, leaf number and stem length and quality of explants were recorded. Acclimatization used in substrate including Coco Peat - Perlite 3:0/5 V, Coco Peat 100%V٫ Coco Peat - Perlite 0.5:3V, Perlite100%V and Coco Peat - Perlite1:1V).
Results and Discussions: Results showed that the 10% sodium hypochlorite for 10 min, with 4% decay was the best treatment for sterilization. The results showed that the proliferation average was 6/16 in MS medium with 2 mgl-1 BAP and the most percent of rooting and root length were about 100% and 2/51 cm in MS medium with 2mgl-1 of IBA, respectively. The acclimatization of plantlets to greenhouse conditions was successful. The highest rate of plantlets survival (about 70%) was obtained from substrate Cocopit and Prlit (1; 1 V). In the present study, explants year compared annual explant least contamination had enjoyed. It seems that the young explants, smooth the surface of the skin, having the least amount of crack depend on the type of surface depressions explants and the crack and lower depressions the surface explants increase surface contact area disinfectants and also improve its impact. In this study found that the type of medium a significant impacted on the health of plants and so the proliferation of explants was successful. Usually root production in plants under the influence of synthesis, metabolism, and transport is auxin signaling pathways. Therefore acclimatization directly affected the rooting of plants that had high quality and the best rate of induction.
Conclusions: The results of this research showed that we can duplicate Myrobalan29c rootstock by in vitro method. According in this research, MS media including BAP and IBA plant growth regulators are the most suitable for micro propagation.
Mehdi Aran; Bahram Abedi; Ali Tehranifar; Mehdi Parsa
Abstract
Introduction: Most plants have developed morphological and physiological mechanisms which allow them to cope with drought stress. Almost all the studies conducted on grapevines (Vitisvinifera L.) responses to drought conditions have focused on physiological responses such as stomatal reactions, photosynthesis ...
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Introduction: Most plants have developed morphological and physiological mechanisms which allow them to cope with drought stress. Almost all the studies conducted on grapevines (Vitisvinifera L.) responses to drought conditions have focused on physiological responses such as stomatal reactions, photosynthesis and osmotic adjustment, and biochemical responses like carbohydrates and proline. According to these studies, physiological and biochemical responses of grapevines to water stress are quite variable. This variability could be related to cultivar, time of the year, previous water stress level, intensity of stress, and environmental conditions. Osmotic adjustment in terms of compatible solutes accumulation has been considered as an important physiological adaptation for plant to resist drought, which facilitates the extraction of water from dry soils and maintenance of cell turgor, gas exchange and growth in very dry environments. Acting as compatible solutes as well as antioxidants, a significant rise in proline amount was observed in grapevine leaves under water stress conditions, suggesting that this amino acid has a protective role against the formation of excessive reactive oxygen species (ROS). Plants, in order to overcome oxidative stress, have developed enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidant defense mechanisms against scavenge ROS.
Materials and Methods: This research was conducted to assess the effect of different levels of irrigation on some characteristics of three cultivars of grapevine (Yaghooti, Bidanesefid and Askari), as a factorial based on a randomized complete block design in two years with four replications. The experiment started in June 21, 2014 and 2015. Water treatments were applied in four levels including: control plant (100% FC), moderate stress (60% FC), severe stress (30% FC) and rewatering treatment after severe stress treatment. Increase height, leaf number, stem diameter, leaf fresh and dry weight, stem dry weight, chlorophyll index,RWC, electrolyte leakage, soluble sugar, antioxidant activity, phenolic compound and proline were measured at the end of the experiment. JMP8 software was used to test the significant differences among the treatments and the interactions. When there were significant differences, means were separated by Tukey HSD test at the probability level p
Seyyedeh Mahdiyeh Kharrazi; Ali Tehranifar; Seyyed Hossein Nemati; Abdolreza Bagheri
Abstract
Introduction: Amaryllis is grown as pot outdoor plant and cut flower. Generally, this ornamental plant propagates by seed, suckers and scale cutting. Propagating by seed is not commercial and often used to produce new varieties. On the other hand, number of bulblets per mother bulb is very low under ...
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Introduction: Amaryllis is grown as pot outdoor plant and cut flower. Generally, this ornamental plant propagates by seed, suckers and scale cutting. Propagating by seed is not commercial and often used to produce new varieties. On the other hand, number of bulblets per mother bulb is very low under normal condition. Besides each bulb produces only 2 or 3 bulblets in a growing season and they become mature and produce flower stalk after 2 to 3 years. In some cases bulbs have no capacity to produce bulblet. Therefore, one of the strategies for shortening the growth period of the plant is to improve the traditional methods of plant propagations.
Materials and Methods: This study was done as a factorial experiment in a completely randomized design with 7 replications to evaluate the effects of medium and position of twin scales in mother bulbs on propagation of bulblets, in order to increase the rate of propagation of this ornamental plant. To measure wet and dry weight of explants, 3 replicates were used. For propagation, bulbs were cut radially into 12 equal pieces, so that each pieces were contained a part of the basal plate. To evaluate the effects of position of twin scales in mother bulbs, pieces were divided as twin scales and classified in 5 groups, so that the outermost twin scales was grouped in class 1 and the innermost twin scales was grouped in class 5. After that, the scale cuttings were dipped in 0.1 % carbendazim solution for 25 minutes and then surface water were dried using sterilized tissue paper. Media that used in this study were sand, perlite, vermiculite, Peat moss and cocopeat. For removing possible contamination from the media, all media were autoclaved for 30 minutes at 121 °C. Then twin scales cuttings were cultured in vented transparent plastic containers that filled with different media and were kept in a growth chamber at 25 °C and 16 hours lighting.Number of produced bulblet, bulblet diameter, root number, root length, fresh and dry weight of plants and browning rate of scales were recorded at the end of the experiment.
Results and Discussion: The results showed that medium and twin scale position in the mother bulb had a significant effect on the quality produced bulblet. The highest fresh weight of bulblet (1.58 g), bulblet dry weight (0.21 g) and the maximum diameter of the produced bulblet (1.5 cm) were obtained in the outermost twin scales and peat moss medium. Analysis of variance showed that the effect of culture medium on the number and length of produced leaf was significant (p
Amirhassan Hosseini; Ali Tehranifar; Leila Samiei; Mahmood Shoor; Farshid Memariani
Abstract
Introduction: Allium is one of the greatest genera in Amarylidaceae family with more than 900 species distributed in northern hemisphere from temperate region to tropical and subtropical areas. There are more than 135 Allium species in Iran, many of which have the ornamental potential and can be exploited ...
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Introduction: Allium is one of the greatest genera in Amarylidaceae family with more than 900 species distributed in northern hemisphere from temperate region to tropical and subtropical areas. There are more than 135 Allium species in Iran, many of which have the ornamental potential and can be exploited in floriculture industry. Northeast of Iran with more than 35 species especially in Razavi and North Khorassan provinces is regarded as one of the main centers of diversity of Alliums. The species of Allium have the great potential to be used either as cut flower and potted plant or as outdoor plant in urban landscape. There are indeed a rich germplasm of Allium in Iran with diverse characteristics of flower colour, size and form. For the utilization of the wild species, it is necessary to identify and fully assess their main morphological and phenotypic characteristics as the initial step. Morphological markers are one of the commonly used tools which are applied in phenotypic evaluation, taxonomic classification and collection management of plant species. The aim of present study was to evaluate morphological traits and genetic diversity of some of the native Allium species of Razavi khorassan in Iran.
Materials and Methods: In this study the Allium species were collected from diverse regions of Khorassan, Iran and were cultured as a collection in Research Center for Plant Sciences (RCPS) of Ferdowsi University of Mashhad in a completely randomized block design. Following the establishment of the Allium species, 29 qualitative and 13 quantitative traits were recorded during the growing season in two successive years. Analysis of variance and comparison of all traits were performed using JMP8 software and simple correlation and factor analysis was calculated using SPSS software. Principal component analysis as well as maximum variance was also performed on the collected data.
Results and Discussion: The results exhibited that the species and genotypes were significantly different in their morphological characteristics. Some of the traits like scape length, leaf colour, flower diameter and length and width of perianth were more diverse among the species and consequently were considered as the most discriminating traits whereas some qualitative traits like perianth segment form, ovary form and perianth tip form remain uniform amongst the species. There are number of studies indicating the existence of high genetic diversity in phenotypic characteristics of some species of Allium like garlic, onion and shallot .The traits having the higher coefficient of variance bring the opportunity for the wider range of selection. Correlation analysis revealed the significant correlations among some of the studied traits. High positive correlation observed among leaf length with scape length, scape diameter with perianth length, leaf width with scape diameter and scape diameter with flower diameter. In garlic, similar positive correlation was reported on leaf length and width with scape length. Considering the quantitative traits, various parameters like environmental conditions are also effective in correlation between traits along with the corresponding genetic controlling. Factor analysis is used to identify the most important factors involving in discriminating among the species and genotypes. Based on the results, the 42 morphological characters were classified into five main factors which could justify 91.62% of total variance. Characters like inflorescence diameter, scape diameter, flower form, pedicel length, filament length and ovary and style length were placed in the first factor and expressed 30.03% of the variation. The second factor that could explain 24.9% of variation was included scape form and length, leaf length and pedicel colour. The selected discriminating traits of this study were similar to the ones of Allium roseum which had been earlier introduced by Zammuri et al (2009). The first two factors explained the highest amount of diversity while the 3rd to fifth factors could define 16.10%, 12.265% and 9.19% of variance, respectively. Traits like scape length, leaf form and colour and inflorescence diameter are amongst the main factors for the selection of ornamental plants.
Conclusion: In overall, substantial valuable information obtained for some of the native species of Alliums of Iran for the first time. This information can help in selection of desired species for specific landscape designing however characterization of the native germplasm can also be a very beneficial task in future breeding program as well as the conservation strategies for preserving the endangered species.
Zahra Karimian; Ali Tehranifar; Mohammad Bannayan Aval; Majid Azizi; Fatemeh Kazemi
Abstract
Introduction: With regard to two adverse climatic phenomena of urban heat islands and global warming that has been leading to increase temperature in many cities in the world, providing human thermal comfort especially in large cities with hot and dry climates, during the hottest periods of the year ...
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Introduction: With regard to two adverse climatic phenomena of urban heat islands and global warming that has been leading to increase temperature in many cities in the world, providing human thermal comfort especially in large cities with hot and dry climates, during the hottest periods of the year is crucial. Mainly vegetation with three methods: shading, evapotranspiration and wind breaking can affect micro-climate. The aim of this study was to asses and simulate the impact of existing and proposed vegetation on the human thermal comfort and micro climate changes in some residential areas of Mashhad during the hottest periods of the year by using a modeling and computer simulation approach.
Materials and Methods: This research was performed in the Ghasemabad residential area, Andisheh and Hesabi blocks, and in the hottest period of the year 2012 in Mashhad. Recorded data in the residential sites along with observed data from Mashhad weather station that included temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and direction. Soil data (soil temperature and humidity, soil\ type), plant data (plant type, plant height, leaf area index) and building data (inner temperature in the building, height and area buildings) as input data were used in the ENVI-met model. Both two sites, Andishe and Hesabi residential blocks, with vegetation (different trees and bushes plants, for example Acacia, ash, sycamore, mulberry, chinaberry, barberry, boxwood and Cotoneaster that all of them are tolerant and semi-tolerant to drought) about 20% were simulated. Regarding the area of simulating, 3 receptors were considered in per sites. Simulation was commenced from 6 AM and continued until 18 pm, but just data of 11-15 hours were analysed (the hours of peak traffic).
Results and Discussion: Analysis of outputs data revealed that the temperature of two residential sites in all three receptors during the study were almost the same. In general, the maximum temperature difference between receptors was obtained at 13 hour. The trend of relative humidity changes was very similar in both residential sites. In these two sites the most differences in the relative humidity was obtained at 12 oclock.. In addition, the trend of Predicted Mean Vote (PMV) in Andisheh residential block showed that these changes in central and south-west part of the site were similar. The simulation with vegetation in the sites, also, showed that the trend of temperature and relative humidity changes were similar. The trends of temperature changes in residential site, Hesabi, in the defined receptors were very similar. So that temperature increased from 12 oclock to 15. While the trend of relative humidity changes was quite the reverse. This study results showed that the difference in temperature, relative humidity and PMV between measured and simulated data were minimal in both residential sites. Moreover, the data comparison of PMV indicated that in both residential sites, despite of simulation with vegetation, the human thermal comfort did not improve, so that these sites were in the range of extreme heat stress. There are several reasons to justify this issue, such as the percentage and the type of vegetation, factors related to the topography and geography of area, building distribution and density, type and color of the building materials and surfaces, etc. However, in this part of the study, other factors were constant, except vegetation. It seems that with increase of percentage and the ratio of vegetation, changes in temperature, relative humidity and other micro-climate factors, are created, but sometimes for the reasons stated, the temperature during the hottest period of the year is too high so that increase in vegetation will have little impact on outdoor thermal comfort. It might be the simulated area on these sites as well as the type and the ratio of the selected species to reduce the temperature and increase the relative humidity have been not adequately represent all conditions which be able to improve thermal comfort.
Conclusions: In this study eventually we can conclude that in the simulated sites with about 20 percent vegetation cover,, despite the slight decrease and increase in temperature and relative humidity, respectively compared with the real sites, the thermal comfort range was similar. It is advisable in the future studies to simulate the green area in shape of the vertical and horizontal, changes in species composition in green area like trees, shrubs, and cover plants and also the test of different combinations of type and percentage of vegetation.
Seyedeh Zeinab Attari; Mahmood Shoor; Mahmoud Ghorbanzadeh Neghab; Ali Tehranifar; Saeid Malekzadeh Shafaroudi
Abstract
Introduction: Some of Iris species are growing in different parts of the Iran as wild species. Iris species have important medicinal and horticultural properties. Understanding of the genetic variation within and between populations is essential for the establishment of effective and efficient methods ...
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Introduction: Some of Iris species are growing in different parts of the Iran as wild species. Iris species have important medicinal and horticultural properties. Understanding of the genetic variation within and between populations is essential for the establishment of effective and efficient methods for conservation of the plants. Genetic variation studies are fundamental for the management and conservation of this species. The use of molecular markers is a powerful tool in the genetic study of populations. The use of DNA marker, such as AFLP, SSR, RAPD and ISSR represents an alternative method in detection of polymorphism. ISSRs are highly variable, require less investment in time, money and labor than other methods. ISSR can generate higher percentages of polymorphic loci than other PCR methods. These can serve as an efficient tool for phylogenetic studies. ISSRs had reported that used in studies of cultivated species to produce genetic linkage maps and to determine the relatedness of lines of agriculturally important species. ISSR analysis involves the PCR amplification of regions between adjacent, inversely oriented microsatellites, using a single simple sequence repeat (SSR) motifs (dinucleotide, trinucleotide, tetranucleotide or penta nucleotides). Therefore, little is known about the genetic variability of the Iranian Iris ssp .The objectives of this study were to evaluate genetic diversity among genotypes using ISSR markers and the degree of polymorphism generated from ISSR technique as a pre-requisite for their applicability to population genetics studies in Iris ssp.
Materials and Methods: To evaluate genetic variations in some wild Iris genotypes, Iris kopetdaghensis ،Iris songarica and Iris fosteriana were collected from some parts of Khorasan province. Genomic DNA was extracted from young leaves following the cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) procedure. Extracted DNA concentration was quantified by using the spectrophotometer and qualified using agarose gel electrophoresis. A total of 16 primers were initially screened against two plants selected from different regions and finally six primers for final analysis was selected based on consistent (CA)8G ،(CT)8RG ،(TC)8C ،(TG)8G ، (AC)8YG and (AG)8YT, strong amplification products, production of polymorph, reproducible fragments between replicate Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). The ISSR amplification reactions contained 30-50 ηg of genomic DNA, 2.5 μL 1 × buffer, 2 mM MgCl2, 200 μM of each dNTP (Fermentas), 10 μM primers and 0.2 U Taq DNA polymerase (Fermentas), with the final volume adjusted to 25μL with H2O bidest. ISSR reaction products were separated on 1.5% horizontal agarose gels, in TBE buffer and visualized under ultraviolet light after staining in 0.5μg/mL ethidium bromide. Digital photo was taken with gel documentation system. The 100 bp DNA ladder plus molecular weight marker was used to compare the molecular weight of amplified products. Amplified products were scored for the presence (1) or absence (0) of bands and binary matrices were assembled for the ISSR markers. The binary matrices were subjected to statistical analyses using NTSYS-pc software version 2.02.
Results and Discussion: Six ISSR primers produced 126 bands across the 16 genotypes, of which 119 were polymorphic. The number of amplified fragments varied from 16 [primer (CA)8G)] to 24 [primer (TC)8C and (AC)8YG)] across the genotypes. The average polymorphic bands per primer were 19.4. The percentage of polymorphism for primers ranged from 76 to 100, with an average of 94.4.The amplified bands genotypes related to a species the same banding pattern was observed but there was lower similarity between the species. Our data indicated that ISSR technology can detect considerable polymorphisms (76.4 %) in our genotypes, suggesting that it will be useful in characterization and fingerprinting of Iris germplasm. The results of this study also provide fundamental evidence demonstrate that ISSR marker is a simple, informative, reproducible and suitable approach to evaluation of molecular diversity and phylogenetic relationships in Iris spp. The highest genetic similarity was between species Iris kopetdaghensis and Iris fosteriana. This study revealed a significant variation especially between Iris kopetdaghensis and Iris songarica.
Conclusions: The results of cluster analysis showed that molecular markers able to identify the species and genotypes within a species from each other. Results of this study showed that the use of molecular markers in breeding programs, especially fingerprinting is useful for lily. ISSR molecular markers have proved to be an efficient tool for studying genetic diversity and management of lily germplasm. . Also the result showed these genotypes have high genetic diversity, and the success in Iris breeding programs use to recommend Iranian local Iris.
Maryam Jabbarzadeh; َAli Tehranifar; Jafar Amiri; Bahram Abedy
Abstract
Introduction: Salinity is one of the most important environmental factors that regulates plant growth and development, and limits plant production. Researchers have shown that some plant growth regulators such as nitric oxide improve the plants resistance to environmental stresses such as heat, cold, ...
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Introduction: Salinity is one of the most important environmental factors that regulates plant growth and development, and limits plant production. Researchers have shown that some plant growth regulators such as nitric oxide improve the plants resistance to environmental stresses such as heat, cold, drought and salinity. Sodium nitroprusside (SNP) commonly has been used as nitric oxide (NO) donor in plants. NO is a diffusible gaseous free radical. Low concentrations of NO inhibit the production of reactive oxygen species and protect plants against ROS damages. The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of SNP as NO donor on salt tolerance of Calendula officinalis and its effects on some morphological, physiological and biochemical characteristics of this plant.
Materials and Methods: In this study, the effects of salinity (0, 25, 50, 75 and 100 mM) and sodium nitroprusside (0.0, 0.25, 0.50 and 0.75 mM) on morphological and physiological characteristics of Calendula officinalis L. were investigated. Total leaf area and number of leaves were determined in the end of the experiment. Electrolyte leakage was used to asses’ membrane permeability. This procedure was based on Lutts et al.,1995. Soluble sugars were extracted and estimated by the method of Irigoyen et al., 1992. Chlorophyll a, b and carotenoid content were calculated from the absorbance of extract at 653, 666 and 470 nm using the formula of Dere et al., 1998. Proline was extracted by the method of Bates et al., 1973. DPPH radical- scavenging activity of sample was performed as described previously of Cleep et al., 2012. The SAS software was used for the analysis of variance (ANOVA), comparisons with P
Seyyed Majid Zargarian; Ali Tehranifar; Seyyed Hossein Nemati; Bahram Syavashpor
Abstract
Introduction: In order to improve physical and mental human healthy, development of the urban area landscape is necessary. Water deficit is one of the most important problems in arid and semi- arid regions. Water deficit causes to reduce growth of different plants parts, including roots, aerial parts, ...
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Introduction: In order to improve physical and mental human healthy, development of the urban area landscape is necessary. Water deficit is one of the most important problems in arid and semi- arid regions. Water deficit causes to reduce growth of different plants parts, including roots, aerial parts, leaf area, height, dry weight, proteins, amino acids and chlorophyll. Using drought tolerance plantsisone solution. Moreover, one physiological method to decrease the hazardous effects of environmental stresses on plants is to applyplant growth regulators such as salicylic acid (SA). SA is one of the plant phenolic compounds in low amounts (mg/g wet weight or lower).
This hormone can perform an important role in resistance to stresses. Asteraceae is one of the biggest plant families with over 20,000 species which is distributed worldwide in moderate and tropical regions. A lot of border flowers of this family are widely used in landscaping. Toselect drought tolerance flowers and application of materials that reducing stress effects, this experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of salicylic acid on some morphological and physiological characteristics of five border flowers of this family.
Materials and Methods: The field experiment was conducted as split plot on randomized complete blocks design with four replications in which factors included two levels of water deficit (50, 100% FC) as main plot and two levels of SA (0, 1mmol/L-1) as sub plot in the horticulturedepartment of faculty of Agriculture atFerdowsi University of Mashhad. In this investigation five border flowers (Ageratum houstonianum‘Blue Danube’, Tagetserecta ‘Discovery Yellow’, Tagetspatula‘Hero Harmony’, Zinnia elegans ‘Lilliput rose’andCallistephuschinensis ‘Milady Mix’ ) of Asteraceae family were chosen for study. The soil mixture was analyzed before starting the test. According to the result of physicochemical analysis of the soil, it had loamy texture (52% sand, 30% silt and 18% clay) with 7.04 pH and 3.6 ds/m electrical conductivity (EC) and total N (0.175mg/kg), P (142.7 mg/kg) and K (142.3mg/kg) were reported, too. Investigated characteristics were height of the plants, leaf area,flower number,root dry weight, flower dry weight, aerial parts dry weight,chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, ,total chlorophyll,carotenoide,stomata conductance,relative water content (RWC) and electrolyte leakage. Tomeasureleaf area and stomata conductance, leaf area meter and prometer were used, respectively. In addition, electrolyte leakage, RWC, chlorophyll and carotenoide were evaluated by Sairamet al., Smart and Bingham, Arnon and Rangan methods, respectively. Minitab 16 software was used for data analysis and LSD test (p≤ 5%) for mean comparison was applied.
Results and Discussion: The results of this study showed that all characteristics of examined flowers decreased underwater deficit treatment (50% FC). SA had different effect on flowers properties. Although SA had not significant effect on flower number, it improved the percentage of characteristicssuch asflower dry weight, chlorophyll a, stomata conductance and RWC of Ageratum houstonianum; root dry weight, carotenoid andstomata conductance of Zinnia elegans; carotenoid of Tagetserecta; flower number, flower dry weight, carotenoid and stomata conductance of Tagetspatula; root dry weight, flower dry weight, aerial parts dry weight andstomata conductance of Callistephuschinensis. Moreover, SA had significant effect on the considered characteristics of the other studied flowers. Interaction effect of these two factors had different effects on all of the examined characteristics of five flowers. The highest amounts of the investigated characteristics mostly obtained from water deficit with SA application treatment. Under water deficit, SA could influence leaf area and electrolyte leakage of all examined flowers and aerial parts dry weight of all flowers except Callistephuschinensis. Among the studied flowersTagetserectaand Zinnia elegans showed the highest and Callistephuschinensisdisplayed the lowest response to SA application under water deficit. Underwater deficit conditions SA probably cause to improve nutritious elements that can increase plant growth. Different effects of SA on morphological and physiological properties may be due to the plant species and environmental conditions that can influence on morphophysiologic process variously.
Conclusions: The results of this studyindicated that SA resulted in the improvement of themost of morphological and physiological properties. However different results obtained,due to the variation in morphological and physiological characteristics of flowers.
Ali Akbar Shokouhian; Gholamhossein Davarynejad; Ali Tehranifar; Ali Imani; Ali Rasoulzadeh
Abstract
Introduction: One of the microbiological preparations used for this study was Effective Microorganisms (EM), being a commercial mixture of photosynthesizing bacteria, Actinomycetes, lactic acid bacteria, yeasts and fermenting fungi. The microbiological composition of the EM concentrateincludesStreptomyces ...
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Introduction: One of the microbiological preparations used for this study was Effective Microorganisms (EM), being a commercial mixture of photosynthesizing bacteria, Actinomycetes, lactic acid bacteria, yeasts and fermenting fungi. The microbiological composition of the EM concentrateincludesStreptomyces albus, Propioni bacterium freudenreichil, Streptococcus lactis, Aspergillus oryzae, Mucor hiemalis, Saccharomycescerevisiae and Candida utilis. Moreover, EM also contains an unspecified amount of Lactobacillus sp. Rhodo pseudomonas sp. and Streptomyces griseus. Effective Microorganisms have a positive effect on the decomposition of organic matter, limiting putrefaction, increasing nitrogen content in the root medium of plants, phosphorus, improving soil fertility and as a result contributing to the growth and development of the root systems of plants.
Selection of almond vegetative rootstocks for water stress tolerance is important for almond crop production in arid and semi-arid regions. The study of the eco-morphological characteristics that determine the success of a rootstock in a particular environment is a powerful tool for both agricultural management and breeding purposes. The aim of this work was to select the new rootstocks for water shortage tolerance, impact of water stress as well as Effective Microorganism (EM) on morphological characteristics of almond rootstocks.
Materials and Methods: In order to select the new rootstocks for water shortage tolerance, impact of water stress as well as EMonmorphologicalcharacteristics of almondrootstocks were studiedin thedepartment ofHorticulture, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, in 2011-2012. The experiment was carried out with four replications in a completely random blockdesign to study the effects of two concentrations of EM (0 and 1%), three irrigation levels (normal irrigation 100%-control-and irrigation after depletion of 33 and 66% of available water), and four almond rootstocks including GF677 and selected natural hybrid of peach × almond (H1and H2), and almond vegetative rootstock (local control).In this study,EMtreatments for 60 days before stress treatments were applied so that in each irrigation, EM solution to a concentration of one percent was given to half of the experiment pots. Other pots were irrigated equally with normal water. Stress levels were applied from July as follow: full irrigation, watering after unloading 33% and 66% soil moisture availability. In order to evaluate the performance, seedling survival, plant growth, number of leaves, leaf area, root fresh and dry weight and leaves and root length were measured.
Results and Discussion: Analysis of variance showed that between rootstock levels across all treatments were significantly differences at 0.01 level of probability. Comparison of means showed that the highest fresh and dry weight and leaf are awere observed forGF677and H1.Rootstockannualgrowth rate was also different. Most of the growth was related to the H1 Rootstocks. Thes urvival ratewas significantly different from the Rootstocks ofGF677,andH1showedthe highestpercentage of survival. The degree of adaptation to drought in varieties of almonds is different. The results showed that changes ingrowthparametersinGF677and H1were observed less often than other rootstocks. Because of strong roots,GF677and H1continue to attract more minerals under stress conditions.
Analysis of variance showed that the between irrigation levels for all treatments were significantly different at 0.01 level of probability. Comparison of means showed that among the study traits, the highest amount was obtained from complete irrigation, while irrigationat66 percenthad the least amount. Water stress may directly affect photosyn thesis, through leaf photochemicalprocessorindirectly,byclosing stomata, reducingleaf area and growth.
The results showed that the levels of(EM) on the leaf surface, leaf number, annual growth, root dry weight and volume were significantly different (p
Gholamhossein Davarynejad; Ali Akbar Shokouhian; Ali Tehranifar
Abstract
Introduction: Potential almond rootstock and thus main genetic sources for the breeding of its new rootstocks are almond itself, peach and plum, and these species cross-breeds Almond is a source of resistance to limestone and to drought because of its roots, which reach deep layers of soil; it is also ...
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Introduction: Potential almond rootstock and thus main genetic sources for the breeding of its new rootstocks are almond itself, peach and plum, and these species cross-breeds Almond is a source of resistance to limestone and to drought because of its roots, which reach deep layers of soil; it is also more resistant than peach to Na and Bo. Asexual or vegetative propagation is a hereditable characteristic and this paper is a review of sources available on this character for almond rootstock breeding. The bibliographic reference regarding this species, vegetative propagation is very poor. Stem cutting is considered the most simple and economical method of propagation. It is important, particularly in horticulture for mass production of improved material within a short time and to perpetuate the characteristics of the parent plant.
Materials and Methods: In this study the effects of different concentrations of indole-3- butyric acid (IBA) and medium type on rooting of hardwood stem cuttings of two rootstocks natural hybrids of almond × peach and the clone of G.F.677(as control) was investigated in plastic greenhouse with bottom heat, In this research 4 levels of IBA (0.3000,6000 and 9000 mg/l) and three levels of bed (perlait, cocopeat and, mixtures of 2 perlite + 1cocopeat) on rooting of hardwood cuttings of two almond × peach natural hybrids and control was used in a split plot based on a randomized complete blocks design with three replications. Hardwood cuttings were prepared in Department of Horticultural Sciences of Ferdowsi University of Mashhad at January 2011. The basal one inch of cuttings was treated with IBA solution for five seconds at 3000, 6000 and 9000 ppm. the following components were determined, the rooting percentage of cuttings, number of root, length of roots, roots fresh and dry weight and volume of roots
Results and Discussion: Results showed that effects of different concentrations of IBA, on the rooting percentage of cuttings were significantly different at the %1 level compare with control. In this case were observed the highest of rooting percentage (40.9) at concentration of 3000(mg/l) and the lowest percentage (12.7) in control. The observations showed that treating almond hardwood cuttings with 3000 ppm IBA gave the highest significant rooting percentage compared with other treatments. Furthermore, results of many investigations indicated that, IBA increased rooting percentage, number of roots/cutting, length and fresh weight of roots. Also on the trait there were significantly differences in the %1 level between the growing Medias. Rooting percentage of cuttings expanded by bed of perlait. Results showed that effects of different rootstocks on the rooting percentage of cuttings were significantly different at the %1 level. In this trait observed the highest of rooting percentage at G.F.677 and there was no significant difference between the two other rootstocks.Treated with control rootstock with IBA at 3000 mg/l and Perlait resulted in the highest rooting percentage ،the maximum number of roots and root length. In the traits rooting percentage, number of roots and root length was interactions between, concentrations × bed × rootstocks significantly different at the %1 level. The result was better than Gf677× 3000 ppm of IBA × perlite bed. Also effect of treatments concentrations on root volume was significant at the %5 level. Highest root volume obtained in a concentration of 3000 mg/l of IBA.
Conclusion: From our preliminary results, it could be inferred that there is a correlation between types of rootstock, concentrations of IBA and media in rooting ability of hardwood cuttings rootstocks of almond × peach. In this study, the desired result was obtained from the interaction between treatments concentration of 3000 mg per liter of IBA in perlite media and GF677 rootstock.
Azadeh Mousavi Bazaz; Ali Tehranifar; Mohammad Kafi; Ali Gazanchian; Mahmood Shoor
Abstract
Introduction: Worldwide, more than one-third of irrigated land is salinized, and in many regions, fresh water shortage has resulted in restrictions on the use of potable water for landscape irrigation. On the other hand, rapidly expanding population growth is occurring in many arid regions, where soil ...
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Introduction: Worldwide, more than one-third of irrigated land is salinized, and in many regions, fresh water shortage has resulted in restrictions on the use of potable water for landscape irrigation. On the other hand, rapidly expanding population growth is occurring in many arid regions, where soil and water salinity are problems and there are increased demands on limited fresh water resources (9). In the turf grass industry, with the increased use of saline and non-potable water, the development of turf grass landscapes in arid and seashore regions where saline soil is common, and with the use of salt for deicing roadways, the need for salinity tolerant turf grasses is very important (16).Seed germination and early seedling growth is usually the most critical stage in plant establishment, and determining successful crop production (23). Tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schrub.) is an important perennial cool-season grass in temperate regions and it is widely used for both forage and turf purposes (25). There is no study on the evaluation of salinity on tall fescue native populations in Iran. The major objective of this study is to determine the relative salt tolerance and growth response of native populations of tall fescue to salinity in germination stage.
Materials and Methods: In this experiment, seeds of some native populations of tall fescue (TF) (F. arundinacea Schreb) including: Semirom, Mashhad, Sanandaj, Sanajan, Yasuj, Yazd Abad, Daran, Kamyaran, Gandoman, Borujen, Nasir Abad, Alborz and commercial TF (C. TF) seeds were used. Four replicates of 25 seeds were germinated on filter papers with 5 ml of NaCl concentrations placed in 9 cm Petri dishes. NaCl concentrations included: 0, 45, 90 and 135 milimolar. The Petri dishes were transferred to germinator at 23°C.Germinated seeds were counted on the3rd, 5th, 8th, 11th and 14th days. Germination was considered to have occurred when the root length was 2 mm long. The seedling with short, thick, and spiral formed hypocotyls and stunted primary root were considered as abnormally germinated. Then, the total germination percentage, germination rate, root length and shoot length were calculated on Day 15. The vigor index was calculated as VI= (RL+SL)×GP, where for the VI, RL is the root length, SL is the shoot length and GP is the germination percentage. Root length and shoot length were measured manually with a ruler. The experimental design was a completely randomized design with 4 replications and 25 seed per replicate. The data were statistically analyzed by JMP 8.0. The difference between the means was compared using LSD values (P < 0.01).
Results and Discussion: The results indicated that the increase of salinity level leads to a significant decrease in germination percentage, germination rate, length of shoot, root and vigor index in all genotypes. Also, interaction of salinity and genotype was significant for germination percentage, germination rate, and vigor index. The highest germination percentage was related to Mashhad population at 45 milimolar, and Daran population at 90 and 135 milimolar. Also, the lowest germination percentage was related to Kamyaran population at 45 and 90 milimolar and Commercial tall fescue at 135 milimolar. Mashhad population at 135 milimolar, Daran population at 90 and 135 milimolar had the highest germination rates. The lowest germination rate was recorded at 45, 90 and 135 milimolar in Commercial tall fescue, Kamyaran and Sanandaj populations, respectively. The highest root length was seen in Commercial tall fescue at 90 and 135 milimolar, and Mashhad population at 45 milimolar. For shoot length factor, Mashhad population, Commercial tall fescue and Mashhad population had the highest lengths at 135, 90 and 45 milimolar, respectively. The highest vigor index was related to Mashhad, Daran and Mashhad populations, at 45, 90 and 135 milimolar, respectively. NaCl has an inhibitory effect on seedgermination and its effect on germination showed time course dependence for absorption of Na and Cl by thehypocotyls (28).Increasing salinity levels caused delays in seedlingemergence as a result of reducing cell division and plant growth metabolism (28). The negative effect of salinity on seed germination and early growth could be due to the toxic effects of NaCl on seeds, or to the osmotic effect, that prevents the seeds from imbibitions (21).
Conclusion: Major grasses mentioned above could tolerate 45 milimolar salinity without noticeable changes in germination traits. Mashhad and Brujen populations were least affected by 135 Mm Nacl at germination rate and percentage. Also, Daran and Mashhad populations were least affected by different salinity levels in all germination factors compared to other populations and could be suggested as salt-tolerant genotypes at germination stage.
Rohollah Ameri; Majid Azizi; Ali Tehranifar; Vahid Rowshan
Abstract
In order to study the effect of natural antitranspirant compound and water stress on growth, development and essential oil content of Ocimumbasilicum a factorial experiment based on completely randomized design with three replicates was conducted. 3 levels of water stress (500 as control, 375 and 250 ...
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In order to study the effect of natural antitranspirant compound and water stress on growth, development and essential oil content of Ocimumbasilicum a factorial experiment based on completely randomized design with three replicates was conducted. 3 levels of water stress (500 as control, 375 and 250 ml/day) and 3 antitranspirant compound (chitosan, plantago mucilage and psyllium mucilage) in 3 levels of 0.5, 1 and 1.5% (m/v) and applied during the plant growth. Photosynthesis, transpiration, stomatal conductance, stomatal chamber CO2, leaf temperature, fresh and dry weight of herb, essential oil percentage and content were measured. The results showed that water stress and antitranspirant application had a significant effect on all measured traits (P≤0.05 and P≤0.01). The highest values of these traits were observed in control for water stress treatment and different levels of antitranspirant compounds. Transpiration levels from leaf were significantly decreased by antitranspirant compounds application. Chitosan (1 and 1.5%) decreased transpiration by 200% over control. Photosynthesis was also increased up to 30% by chitosan treatment (0.5 and 1) in comparison to control.Also, antitranspirant compounds increasing dry matter yield in water stress condition but reducing essential oil % and yield in comparison with control. In general, according to the result of this experiment, antitranspirant compounds with natural origin are safe, biodegradable, easy available, low cost and alternatives which can be used in substitution with common chemical types.
