Growing vegetables
Alale Rezvan; Seyyed Abdollah Eftekhari; Reza Salehi; Farideh Sedighi Dehkordi
Abstract
Introduction: Cherry tomatoes, all over the world, have become a popular product because of the favorable characteristics (a good source of vitamins A and C, soluble solids, flavor, low calorie and fruit formation at high temperature). Cultivar selection is one of the most important managerial decisions ...
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Introduction: Cherry tomatoes, all over the world, have become a popular product because of the favorable characteristics (a good source of vitamins A and C, soluble solids, flavor, low calorie and fruit formation at high temperature). Cultivar selection is one of the most important managerial decisions and, despite thousands of available varieties, it can be daunting task. Cultivars are different in attributes such as color, shape, size, taste, taste, growth, consumption, planting time, and resistance to pests and disease.Material and Methods: This study was carried out from the autumn of 2014 to spring of 2015, at the research greenhouses of the University of Shahid Chamran, Ahvaz, Iran. The study was performed in randomized complete block design with three replications. During the cultivation period and at the end of the experiment, the number of clusters in the plant, the number of fruits in the cluster, the number of fruits in the plant, the total function in the bush , the number of marketable and unmarketable fruits in plant, the harvest index, vitamin C and soluble solids were evaluated. In addition, nitrate content, nitrite, fruit lycopene and photosynthetic pigments (chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, chlorophyll a to b ratio, total chlorophyll, carotenoid and chlorophyll to carotenoid ratio) and the SPAD index were measured.Results and Discussion: According to the comparison of the means, there were the highest number of clusters in Baby Tom (16/44) and then in Belize (15/88), which were not statistically significant and the lowest number of clusters were observed in cultivar Sogno (12.77). The highest and lowest number of fruits in the cluster were found in the cultivars of Sogno and Belize (29.82 and 17.73), respectively. The highest number of fruits in the plant (295) were observed in Sogno and the Belize cultivar had the lowest number of fruits (193.56). The highest average of single fruit weight related to the Cherry Belle (11.13 g) and the lowest in Sogno (8 g) were observed. The lowest and the maximum percentage of the unmarketable fruits were obtained in Baby Tom (09/09 %) and Sogno (32 %), respectively. The maximum yield was observed in the Cherry Belle (2929 g) and then in Sogno (2482.4 g) and Baby Tom (2077.6 g) and the minimum yield (1637.7 g) in the Belize cultivar. The highest and lowest marketable yield were obtained in Belle (2928.6 g per plant) and Belize (1636.6 g per plant) cultivars, respectively. The maximum amount of soluble solids was observed in Baby Tom (4.86 °Brix), which had no statistically significant differences with the Belle and Sogno and the lowest soluble solids was found in Belize (3.15 °Brix). There were the highest and lowest vitamin C content in Cherry Belle (28.24 mg per 100 g FW) and Belize, respectively (23.1 mg in 100 g FW). According to the results, the maximum and lowest content of lycopene were observed in the Cherry Belle and Baby Tom, with an average of 32.411 and 19.402 mg/kg, respectively. The maximum content of nitrate in fruits was observed with 0.67 mg/gr DW in the fourth cluster and the lowest content of nitrate with 0.198 mg/gr DW in the tenth cluster. The highest indices of leaf SPAD were found in Belize (28.9) and lowest in Cherry Belle (16.32).Conclusion: The selection of high - yield or high - quality cultivars in a greenhouse culture is critical to the economic efficiency of this product. The difference in yield is mainly related to the genetic variation among varieties. Study of yield and yield components of four samples of tomato in the environment and similar culture showed that the Belle Cherry was the best result for yield, harvest index, and vitamin C, so this cultivar is recommended to grow in Ahvaz greenhouses.
Farzaneh Badakhshan; Farideh Sedighi Dehkordi; Seyyed Mohammad Hassan Mortazavi
Abstract
Introduction: Basil (Ocimum basilicum L.), is considered as one of the main edible crops of Lamiaceae family. In addition of consuming as a leafy vegetable, basil is known as a medicinal plant due to its aromatic and phytochemical compositions. The common edible basil has two main varieties i.e. Green ...
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Introduction: Basil (Ocimum basilicum L.), is considered as one of the main edible crops of Lamiaceae family. In addition of consuming as a leafy vegetable, basil is known as a medicinal plant due to its aromatic and phytochemical compositions. The common edible basil has two main varieties i.e. Green and Opal. Although the production of this plant is highly happened in open farms during hot seasons, recent changes in agricultural policies in terms of year-round production, using less water and increasing the yield and quality, have encouraged the production of basil under controlled environments such as hydroponic systems. The main criteria to proceed a successful hydroponic culture are selecting proper cultivar, planting density and nutrition management. Optimum plant density alleviates the competition between plants and as a consequence, sufficient light and nutrient can lead to higher quantity and quality. This study aimed to discover the impact of plant density on the quality and yield properties of two main varieties of basil under hydroponics system.
Material and Methods: The experiment was done at Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz during 2015-2016 growing season. A pot experiment was conducted based of Split-plot in time design with three replications. Cultivar (Green and Opal) and planting density (150, 200 and 250 plants per m2) were considered as the main and sub plot respectively. The plants were cut twice and different morphological and biochemical properties including number of leaves, leaf area, leafy parts yield, chlorophyll, carotenoids, soluble solid content, titrable acidity, total phenolic content, antioxidant capacity and essential oil content were analyzed.
Result and Discussion:The results showed that among applied treatments, the highest number of leaves (30.61), leaf area (26140 mm2) and stem fresh weight (3.28 g) were recorded for the var. Green with 150 p/m2 planting density at second cut. In contrast, this treatment had the lowest number of leaves (12.33) and leaf area (10810 mm2) at first cut. While maximum leaf fresh weight (5.84 g) was obtained for second cut of 150 p/m2 planting density, minimum leaf and stem fresh weight (3.09 and 2.01 g respectively) were found for second cut of 200 p/m2 planting density. Total fresh yield as an important criteria for a leafy vegetable was affected by both variety and planting density factors. The highest amount of yield (1427 g/m2) was recorded at second cut when plants were at 250 p/m2. In contrast, the plants of 150 p/m2 had the minimum yield at first cut (1020 g/m2). The chlorophyll content was higher in Opal variety surprisingly and the plants of 250 p/m2 and 150 p/m2 had around 2.09 mg/g chlorophyll at second cut. Similar findings were obtained for total phenolic content of leaves that was around 104.3 mg/Kg fresh weight for these treatments. Lowest levels of chlorophyll (1.29 mg/g FW) and total phenolic content (6.158 mg/kg) were seen in the leaves of var. Green when they were planted at 150 plant/m2 density. The data for total carotenoids content showed that the level of this pigments were affected by both parameters of variety and planting density. The leaves of var. Opal of 250 p/m2 density had the highest (6.252 mg/g fresh weight) carotenoids content. The highest (2.021 mmol Fe II/g FW) and lowest (0.69 mmol Fe II/g) amount of antioxidant capacity was recorded in Opal and Green varieties respectively, when they were at 150 plant/m2 density. The taste related parameters including total soluble solids, titrable acidity and essential oil content were not affected by planting density and variety. However, the level of acidity was increased by increasing plant density. On the other hand, a significant difference was seen in terms of TSS, acidity and essential oil between first and second cuts.
Conclusion: Overall and based on obtained data, it can be said that the var. Opal at 150 and 250 plants/m2 density showed the best results in terms of evaluated morphological and qualitative traits and can be recommended for hydroponics basil cultivation. Basil is harvest in 2-3 cuts and this experiment showed that for almost all vegetative parameters, the second cut had better results. The improved yield and quality at second cut could be attributed to the better establishment of roots and providing higher levels of nutrients.
