Pomology
Seyed Asghar Mousavi; Akram Vatankhah; Ali Imani
Abstract
Introduction
Almond (Prunus dulcis L.) is one of the valuable nut trees that is cultivated in many temperate regions and Mediterranean climatic conditions for domestic consumption and export. Almond belongs to the genus Prunus, from the Rosaceae family. Identifying and introducing genotypes and cultivars ...
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Introduction
Almond (Prunus dulcis L.) is one of the valuable nut trees that is cultivated in many temperate regions and Mediterranean climatic conditions for domestic consumption and export. Almond belongs to the genus Prunus, from the Rosaceae family. Identifying and introducing genotypes and cultivars of late bloom is one of the most important goals of almond breeding programs. The correct choice of almond rootstock causes better management of the garden, compatibility with all types of soil and resistance to nematodes. Peach × almond hybrid has been the most widely used rootstock in both dry and irrigated conditions in the past years. Creating an orchard by selecting grafted genotypes on suitable rootstock for sustainable cultivation of almonds is particularly important. Cultivation of superior genotypes grafted on fruit trees has an effect on pomological characteristics, yield and quality of nuts. The requirement for the introduction and production of superior cultivars is an accurate selection between cultivars, which is possible through the identification of cultivars and their diversity. The purpose of this research is to investigate and evaluate the most important vegetative, phenological, quantitative and qualitative characteristics of nuts and kernels in 36 promising cultivars and genotypes grafted on GN15 rootstock, in order to introduce superior cultivars.
Materials and Methods:
In this research, 36 promising almond cultivars and genotypes on GN15 rootstock were investigated in garden conditions in terms of various vegetative traits, nut and kernel characteristics in order to obtain suitable commercial cultivars. This research was conducted at the Badam research station in Saman region affiliated to the Center for Research and Education of Agriculture and Natural Resources of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province as a randomized complete block design with three replications. Vegetative traits of tree height, canopy length, canopy width, and branch length were measured by meter in the garden, and rootstock diameter, scion diameter, and branch diameter were measured in the garden with calipers. In order to measure the nut and kernels, 100 fruits were harvested from each of the studied cultivars and genotypes at the time of fruit ripening, and their green shell was separated and dried. Measurement of traits such as length, width, diameter of nut and kernel was done by digital caliper and weight of nut and kernel was measured by digital scale with accuracy of 0.01. Coding of some traits was done based on almond descriptor (Gülcan, 1985) with some changes. The data obtained from the experiment were analyzed using SAS software (version 3.1.9). To compare the means, Duncan's multiple range test was used at the 5% probability level.
Results and Discussion
According to the results of analysis of variance (ANOVA), there was a statistically significant difference at the level of 1% between the attributes of tree height, canopy width, rootstock and scion diameter, branch length and diameter, and the ratio of tree height to canopy length. (P<0.01). The results of variance analysis show that there is a significant difference between the investigated nut and kernel traits in promising cultivars and genotypes grafted on GN (Table 5). These differences show the diversity in the investigated traits and it is possible to choose cultivars for different values of the same trait. Based on the average comparison results of the vegetative traits, the highest height in genotypes GA4, GA3, GA35, The highest canopy width was observed in genotypes GA5, GA17, GA3, and GA20, GA15, GA5, the highest diameter of rootstock and scion, and the highest length and diameter of one-year branches were observed in genotype GA18. The results of the comparison of the average nut and kernel characteristics show that there is a significant difference in the cultivars and genotypes investigated in this research. The results of the comparison of the average nut and kernel characteristics show that there is a significant difference in the cultivars and genotypes investigated in this research. Based on the obtained results, cultivars and genotypes of GA5, GA24, GA12, GA9 and GA1 showed relative superiority in terms of nut and kernel traits. The results of this research showed that the GA35 genotype grafted on the GN15 rootstock had the highest length, width and diameter of the nut, and the highest weight of nut and kernel. The kernel color light, the without shrinking the kernel and the highest percentage of kernel and the highest ratio of kernel weight to nut weight.
Conclusion
The results of this research showed that the examination of vegetative traits, nuts and kernels in the studied cultivars and genotypes could show the diversity between cultivars and genotypes. The results showed that the investigated cultivars and genotypes have significant differences in terms of all nut and kernel traits, which indicates the existence of diversity between the investigated cultivars and genotypes. This indicates that these cultivars and genotypes can be considered as a source of good germplasm for breeding programs. Cultivars and genotypes with higher percentage of kernels had thinner shell, more patterns on the skin, and light to medium kernel color. Based on the obtained results, cultivars and genotypes of GA5, GA24, GA12, GA9 and GA1 showed relative superiority in terms of nut and kernel traits. The results of this research showed that the GA35 genotype grafted on the GN15 rootstock had the highest length, width and diameter of the nut, and the highest weight of nut and kernel. The kernel color light, the without shrinking the kernel and the highest percentage of kernel and the highest ratio of kernel weight to nut weight.
Pomology
E. Safavi; M. Yadegari; S.A. Mousavi; B. Haghighati
Abstract
Introduction
Water shortage is very frequent in many countries, and, together with the rising demand for industry, growth of human population, climate change and specifically the trend towards irrigated agriculture, has led to widespread problems of water scarcity, especially in Middle East countries. ...
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Introduction
Water shortage is very frequent in many countries, and, together with the rising demand for industry, growth of human population, climate change and specifically the trend towards irrigated agriculture, has led to widespread problems of water scarcity, especially in Middle East countries. This situation imposes the need to optimize water use in all human activities. Among the different productive uses of water, agriculture is by far the main water user in most water scarce regions and, consequently, any potential improvement in the use of the available water resources may play a significant role toward achieving a more sustainable use of water. Plant responses to water deprivation are usually monitored through selected morphological and physiological parameters which have been proven to be good indicators of drought in different studies. Some of the most important standards for evaluating plant genotypes under drought stress are measurements of morphological parameters such as height, leaf characters and root growth.
Materials and Methods
To compare the growth response of different almond cultivars to different levels of water stress, an experiment was conducted as a split plot in the base of randomized complete block design with three replications in the Agricultural and Natural Resources Research Center of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Province in two growing season 2019-2020 and 2020-2021. Different irrigation periods based on the percentage of usable soil moisture between filed capacity to wilting point, including 70% filed capacity (control or no stress), 50% filed capacity (mild stress), 30% filed capacity (medium stress) and 10% of field capacity (severe stress) were considered as the main factor of the experiment. The sub-factor included 14 commercial cultivars of almonds (Mamaei, Rabi, Saba, Araz, Eskandar, Aidin, Shahrood 6, 7, 8, 10, 12, 13 and 21 and GN vegetative rootstock), all of which were grafted on GN rootstock. In this study, uniformly grafted seedlings in terms of age, stem diameter and height were selected and planted. In the second year after planting the seedlings, in order to apply drought stress, tubes for hygrometer (TDR) were installed in each experimental plot and based on soil moisture content, irrigation cycle was determined for different treatments.
Results and Discussion
In both years, three months after applied water stress growth traits and nutrient concentrations in the leaves of treated seedlings were measured. Based on the results of analysis of variance, the morphological traits of almond seedlings were significantly affected by cultivar type and drought stress level. In all almond cultivars, the highest height was belonged to seedlings that were grown in non-stress conditions and with increasing the drought stress intensity, the height of almond seedlings was decreased. Under severe drought stress, GN and Mamaei cultivars had the highest (183.93 cm) and the lowest (94.60 cm) height, respectively. Seedling height in GN, Shahrood 12, Saba and Shahrood 10 cultivars showed the lowest decrement under severe drought stress. In all cultivars, drought stress caused a significant reduction in the length and width of the seedlings crown, and the greatest decreasing was recorded in severe drought stress (10% FC). Under severe drought stress, cultivar GN had the largest crown and cultivars Rabi, Shahrood 7 and Eskandar had the smallest crown. Increasing the drought stress intensity significantly reduced the branches growth of seeding in terms of number and length of sub-branches. As the intensity of drought stress increased, the length of sub-branches decreased however the number of intermediates in sub-branches increased. In non-stressed condition, the cultivar GN had the longest branch (55.95 cm), which was significantly higher than the other studied almond cultivars. The shortest branches were also observed in Saba (29.94 cm) and Eskandar (29.47 cm) cultivars. Increasing drought stress caused a significant reduction of leaf area in all studied cultivars and the highest decreasing was observed under severe drought stress. The GN (37.76 cm²) and Shahrood 10 (31.81 cm²) had the highest leaf area in non-stress and drought stress conditions. Under severe drought stress (10% FC) cultivar Shahrood 6 showed the lowest leaf area. The results of this study showed that increasing the intensity of dehydration significantly reduced the amount of nitrogen, phosphorus, manganese and zinc in the leaves of the studied cultivars of almonds, however, the amount of potassium and iron in stressed plants increased under drought stress. Based on the results of the present study, under severe drought stress the GN, Shahrood 8 and Shahrood 12 cultivars in terms of growth indices including seedling height, stem diameter, canopy growth, branch growth and concentration of macro and micro elements was superior compared with the other studied cultivars.
Conclusion
Based on the results of this study, drought stress significantly reduced growth indices and nutrient concentrations, although the reaction of almond cultivars to different levels of drought stress was different. In this study, among the studied almond cultivars GN, Shahrood 8 and Shahrood 12 cultivars in terms of growth characters including seedling height, stem diameter, canopy growth, branch growth and concentration of macro and micro elements showed higher tolerance to different level of drought stress. These cultivars less affected by the high intensities of dehydration. Therefore, GN, Shahrood 8 and Shahrood 12 cultivars can be used in future studies to evaluate the possibility of cultivating these cultivars in areas with water deficit.
E. Ganji Moghadam; A, Ghahremani; S.Y. Seyed Masoumi Khayavi
Abstract
Introduction: Peach (Prunus persica L.) is one of the most essential fruit in Iran and the world. This fruit is suitable for both fresh markets and industrial producer and it is quite favorable by consumers. The efficiency of production is strongly influenced by the chosen peach cultivars. New cultivars ...
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Introduction: Peach (Prunus persica L.) is one of the most essential fruit in Iran and the world. This fruit is suitable for both fresh markets and industrial producer and it is quite favorable by consumers. The efficiency of production is strongly influenced by the chosen peach cultivars. New cultivars are constantly in development by breeders. However, all characteristics are required to be examined include their ecological adaptation ability, productivity, fruit quality, and market value before orchard establishment. Studying the new cultivars is practically essential for exact determination of morphological and phenological features of genotype which is important. However, there is limited information on the global evaluation of fruit quality in breeding progenies and their relationships with pomological traits. Furthermore, the cultivated peach area under Khorasan Razavi province is 1850 ha and the production of fruit is 11283 tons. Therefore, the selection of suitable cultivars for cultivation in the region is very important due to the high economic lifespan of peaches (20-30 years), which in some commercial orchards this period is reduced to 12-15 years. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the pomological and morphological traits of 14 peach genotypes and cultivars in Khorasan Razavi province climatic conditions to select cultivars or genotypes compatible with high quantitative and qualitative performance. Materials and Methods: This study was performed in two-years (2016-17 and 2017-18) experiments based on a complete randomized block design with three replications on 14 peach cultivars and genotypes in Golmakan Agricultural and Natural Resources Research Station on 4-years-old trees with density planting system at a spacing of 4 ×5 m. The type of applied irrigation was drip irrigation, with common fertilizer. Trees were trained to an open center system. The vegetative (tree height, trunk cross-section, the crown of the tree), phenological (first bloom, full bloom, end of flowering, flowering period, and harvest time) and reproductive (fruit weight, stone weight, fruit length, fruit width, fruit yield, total soluble solids, titratable acidity, flavor index, and pH) traits were evaluated. It is necessary to explain the soluble solids content by Refractometer (Model 7887, Osk Japan) in terms of percentage and acidity by titration with NaOH (0.1 N) based on predominant peach acid, malic acid. The ratio of soluble solids to acidity was obtained by dividing soluble solids by acidity. The pH of the fruit juice was measured with a portable pH meter at room temperature (23–18 °C). Data analysis was performed using SAS software (version 9.2) and means were compared using Duncan's multiple range test. Stepwise regression and cluster analysis (Ward method) was conducted by Minitab software (version 19). Simple correlation (Pearson) between traits from the mean of two-year data was performed using SAS statistical software (version 9.2), in which positive correlation with blue color and negative correlation with red color was determined, which increased the color intensity indicates an increase in the correlation coefficient. Results and Discussion: The results showed that year and genotype had significantly different effects on all studied traits. ‘Anjiri Maliki’ and ‘Shindabad Hastejoda’ were the earliest and the most late-flowering genotypes, respectively. Among the studied genotypes, ‘Shindabad-5’ and ‘Spring Time’ were the earliest fruiting genotypes, and ‘Meshkinshahr Paeeze’, ‘Kajil’, and ‘Anjiri Zafarani’ were the most late-fruiting genotypes. ‘Haj Kazem’ genotype had the highest tree height (236.18 cm), trunk cross-section (181.83 cm2), and tree crown volume (73.34 cm3), which compared to the control genotype (‘G.H. Hill’) showed 38.62%, 79.9%, and 55.7% increases, respectively. In the second year of the experiment, the characteristics of fruit weight, stone weight, fruit length, fruit width, and fruit yield increased by 41.72%, 43.45%, 16.61%, 16.40% and 81.99%, respectively, compared to the first year. The highest amount of single fruit weight (165.28 g) in ‘Fayette’ genotype, stone weight (7.04 g) and fruit length (65.05 mm) in ‘Shinabad Hastejoda’ genotype, fruit width (66.04 mm) in ‘Shandabad-5’, and fruit yield in ‘Fayette’ and ‘Paeeze Meshkinshahr’ genotypes (with an average of 21.78 and 21.33 kg, respectively) were obtained. ‘Anjiri Zafarani’ genotype had the highest content of soluble solids (16.95%), flavor index (48.38), and acidity (4.65), which compared to control genotype were increased 0.1%, 69.38% and 25.8%, respectively. Fruit yield had a positive and significant correlation with trunk cross-sectional traits, tree crown volume, fruit weight, stone weight, and fruit width. According to this study, the tree height, trunk cross-section, and fruit weight traits were entered into the regression model, respectively, and finally, the traits entered in the model justified 53.23% of the fruit yield changes. Conclusion: Generally, ‘Fayette’ and ‘Shindabad Hastejoda’ genotypes can be recommended as the best genotype for cultivation in the Khorasan Razavi region due to their high quantitative and qualitative yield.
Taimoor Javadi
Abstract
Introduction: Drought is a major environmental stress that affects agricultural systems and induces several physiological, biochemical and molecular responses in plants. Drought inhibits the plant photosynthesis causing changes of chlorophyll contents, damage the photosynthetic apparatus and decreases ...
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Introduction: Drought is a major environmental stress that affects agricultural systems and induces several physiological, biochemical and molecular responses in plants. Drought inhibits the plant photosynthesis causing changes of chlorophyll contents, damage the photosynthetic apparatus and decreases plant growth and development. Generally, the environmental stresses, especially drought stress, give rise to accumulation of soluble carbohydrates, proline and free amino acids as well as antioxidant compounds. Triazoles are the active ingredient of fungicides (propoconazole, penconazole, epixiconazole) and some growth regulators. The fungicidal properties of triazoles depend on inhibition of the C4-demethylase reactions in sterol biosynthesis of fungi. However, triazole-based fungicides induce a suite of morphological and physiological adaptations and allow plants to tolerate a broad range of environmental stresses including drought, herbicide treatment and elevated temperatures. The growth inhibitor paclobutrazol (PBZ) is a triazole and has been reported to protect plants against several environmental stresses, i.e. drought, low and high temperature. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of palobutrazol on vegetative, physiological and gas exchange characteristics of pear (Pyrus communis cv. ShahMive) under different irrigation regimes.
Materials and Methods: In March, 2011, 1-year-old pear (Pyrus communis cv. ShahMive) saplings 80±2 cm high were planted in 20-l plastic pots filled with loamy sand soil (8% clay, 15% silt, 77% Sand) in experimental greenhouse. Paclobutrazol was added to soil at the same time with sapling cultivation at rates of 0, 0.15 and 0.3 g active ingredient per pot. PBZ was diluted in 500 ml distilled water and solution applied to the soil at the base of the saplings on pots. The control saplings were treated with distilled water of equal volume. Vegetative (stem growth, stem diameter, leaf number, shoot dry weight, root dry weight and plant dry weight), physiological and biochemical (leaf relative water content (RWC), total soluble sugar(TSS), proline and membrane stability index (MSI)) and gas exchange (Photosynthetic rate, sub-stomatal CO2, stomata conductance (gs) and transpiration) characteristics were measured.
Results and Discussion: The results showed that paclobutrazol treatments had significant effect on growth parameters, except root dry weight. Paclobutrazol significantly reduced stem height and stem diameter increment, mean leaf area, shoot dry weight and whole plant dry weight. Root: shoot ratio was increased in paclobutrazol-treated saplings. No significant differences in any characteristic were found between 0.15 and 0.3 g active ingredient PBZ per pot for growth parameter. Waters stress decreased leaf relative water content (RWC), photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance and transpiration rate, membrane stability index and chlorophyll content and increased leaf proline content, total soluble sugar and sub-stomatal CO2. Significant interaction between PBZ and irrigation regimes was seen for RWC, proline and sub-stomatal CO2. PBZ-treated saplings had higher RWC than untreated ones. The effects of treatments on physiological and gas exchange traits were significant. RWC was high in all non-water-stressed (with or without paclobutrazol) treatments and decreased in water stressed treatments. It was higher in PBZ-treated than PBZ-untreated treatments in similar water stress condition. But there was not significant differences between 0.15 and 0.3 g PBZ in a given water stress condition. For example, RWC was 89.76 and 85.56 percent in -0.4 MPa water stress plus 0.15 and 0.3 gr PBZ treatments, respectively. The results showed that leaf proline content was increased under water stress condition. Leaf proline content of the PBZ-untreated sapling, subjected to water stress increased to 32.13 and 61.82 µmol.gr-1DW in -0.4 and -0.8 MPa water stress conditions, respectively. The PBZ-treated saplings accumulated less proline content than the PBZ-untreated ones. The highest proline concentration was founded in PBZ-untreated and -0.8 MPa water stress treatment. TSS was decreased in water stress treatments. TSS concentration was increased in water stress treatments. The highest TSS concentration was founded in PBZ-treated and untreated -0.8 MPa water stress treatments. PBZ- treated saplings had more TSS than untreated ones in -0.4 MPa treatments. Water stress was decreased leaf chlorophyll (a, b and total) content of saplings. PBZ-treated saplings had higher leaf chlorophyll content than PBZ-untreated ones in non-water stress treatments. The interaction of PBZ treatment and water stress moderated the negative effect of water stress on the chlorophyll b and total chlorophyll.
Conclusions: Generally, the results showed that PBZ allowed plants to tolerate water stress by morphological and physiological traits modification. On the other hand, paclobutrazol stimulated a more efficient stomatal regulation, which affected photosynthesis, but permitted significantly better levels of water status in treated plants.
M. Shoor; Z. Karimian; M. Goldani
Abstract
In one side the negative effects of increasing of concentration of carbon dioxide in the world, and in the other side, the positive effects of greenhouse enrichment by such gas is one of the most important reasons in researching of this gas on different plants. For assessment of the effects of carbon ...
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In one side the negative effects of increasing of concentration of carbon dioxide in the world, and in the other side, the positive effects of greenhouse enrichment by such gas is one of the most important reasons in researching of this gas on different plants. For assessment of the effects of carbon dioxide and light regimes in different genotypes of Pansy (viola tricolor) a factorial experiment based on completely randomized design with 3 replications and 18 treatments was conducted at the greenhouses of Ferdowsi University of Mashhad at 2009. The treatments are including; 2 concentrations of carbon dioxide (380 and 1000 µmol/mol), 3 light regimes (11000 and 14000 lux and sun light) and 3 cultivars (Yellow-Black, Bourdeaux, Sawyers-Black) of Pansy. The results of this experiment showed that among the 11 measured traits in the most treatments, the traits of length, width and the number of stomata and dry weight of shoot were significant. The concentration of 1000 µmol/mol carbon dioxide had less decreasing of stomata conductivity and dry weight than carbon dioxide 380 µmol/mol. Totally the effect of light regimes on the measured traits didn’t has any significantly difference with sun light. Among the cultivars, altogether Sawyers was more proper because of less stomata conductivity and probably decreasing of water consumption.
