Medicinal Plants
Behrooz Rahimkhani; Mahboobeh Naseri; Ahmad Ahmadian; Masoud Alipanah
Abstract
Introduction:From the past, medicinal plants have been used as one of the most important resources for medicinal purposes. Even now, the use of medicinal plants is expanding in many developed. Salinity stress is one of the most important influencing factors in reducing plant growth. Salinity stress limits ...
Read More
Introduction:From the past, medicinal plants have been used as one of the most important resources for medicinal purposes. Even now, the use of medicinal plants is expanding in many developed. Salinity stress is one of the most important influencing factors in reducing plant growth. Salinity stress limits plant growth by reducing metabolic and physiological activities in the plant. One of the consequences of salinity stress in the plant is the production of abscisic acid in the plant. One of the methods that have been tested in recent years to reduce the effects of salinity stress in plants is the use of seaweed and its extract. According to the studies conducted in some plants, seaweed extract can cause the growth and expansion of the roots and help to increase the absorption of water and minerals through the roots. Also, based on the research conducted on some plants, the use of seaweed increases the amount of chlorophyll in the plant and accelerates the time of flowering and fruit formation in the plant. Echium amoenum is a perennial plant belonging to the family Borage is a valuable plant in terms of its medicinal properties is considered. in general environmental factors have a significant effect on flower production in these plants. Therefore, for the successful cultivation of medicinal plants, including in general environmental factors have a significant effect on flower production in these plants. Therefore, for the successful cultivation of medicinal plants, including Echium amoenum, providing optimal environmental conditions is a priority, providing optimal environmental conditions is a priority.Ascophyllum nodosum seaweed extract contains significant amounts of high-use mineral elements such as nitrogen, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and low-use mineral elements such as iron, copper, and manganese. Therefore, according to the current results, in this study, the effect of foliar spraying of algae extract was investigated. The morphological characteristics of Echium amoenum seedling under salt stress were investigatedMaterials and MethodsIn order to investigate the effects of foliar spraying of seaweed extract on borage flower seedlings under salinity stress conditions, a factorial experiment was conducted with two factors of seaweed and salinity stress with sodium chloride salt, in the form of a completely randomized design in the greenhouse. The seeds were purchased from Pakan Seed Company of Isfahan and soaked in normal water for 24 hours, and then they were transferred into small pots containing three parts of peat moss and one part of perlite. One week after transferring the seedlings to the main pots, foliar spraying with seaweed extract was done. Foliar-spraying was repeated once every two weeks and in total the seedlings were sprayed three times with seaweed extract. In this experiment, a concentration of 1500 ppm of seaweed extract and three levels of salinity (EC=1.6, 4, 8) were used.The seaweed extract used in this experiment belonged to Akadin Company. The type of seaweed from which the extract was prepared was Ascophyllum nodosum and it is a type of brown algae. One week after the first foliar application of seaweed extracts, the application of salinity stress began. In order to prevent shock in plants, salinity treatment was done gradually and in three stages. In order to prevent salt accumulation, washing with ordinary water was done once every two weeks. Results and DiscussionThe results showed that the use of seaweed extract can significantly protect plant growth under salinity stress. Seaweed extract increased the amount of proline and potassium in the leaves of the plant and thereby reduced the harmful effects of salinity stress on the borage plant. In addition, foliar spraying of borage plant with the use of seaweed extract increased the amount of chlorophyll in the plant, and in this way, by increasing the amount of photosynthesis in the plant; it helped the plant to grow better under salt stress conditions. The results of this research showed that the use of seaweed extract helps the plant to maintain its conditions against salt stress by increasing the amount of proline and absorbing potassium in the tissue. In addition, foliar spraying with seaweed extract preserves the structure of chlorophyll in the plant under salinity stress, and in this way, by increasing the photosynthetic efficiency, it helps the plant grow better under salt stress. According to the obtained results, it can be concluded that the use of seaweed can reduce the negative effects of salinity stress in the seedlings of Iranian borage. In addition, due to its low price and availability, it can be used as a suitable bio-fertilizer to protect plant growth under salinity stress conditions.
Growing vegetables
Saeed Mohammadzade; Morteza Goldani; Fatemeh Yaghobi; Mohammad Bannayan Aval
Abstract
IntroductionIncreasing the tolerance to drought and nitrogen stress in tomato cultivars is essential for the sustainable and environmentally friendly production of this product. Also, knowing the morpho-physiological, biochemical and molecular responses to drought and nitrogen stress is important for ...
Read More
IntroductionIncreasing the tolerance to drought and nitrogen stress in tomato cultivars is essential for the sustainable and environmentally friendly production of this product. Also, knowing the morpho-physiological, biochemical and molecular responses to drought and nitrogen stress is important for a comprehensive understanding of plant water tolerance mechanisms and nitrogen limitation conditions in higher plants. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of different levels of irrigation and nitrogen fertilizer on the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of tomatoes in different Cluster rows under greenhouse conditions. Materials and MethodsThe experiment was conducted at the research greenhouse of the Faculty of Agriculture, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, in two years, 2021-02 and 2022-03. The experiment was set up as split-plot layout based on randomized complete block design with three replications. Irrigation levels were considered as the main plot at three levels: 75% (I75), 100% (I100), and 125% (I125) of the crop water requirement. Nitrogen fertilizer was considered as the subplot at four levels: control (no nitrogen), 75 kg ha-1 (7.5 g m-²), 150 kg ha-1 (15 g m-²), and 225 kg ha-1 (22.5 g m-²) from urea as the nitrogen source. Tomato seeds (Newton cultivar) were sown in polyethylene seedling trays with a coco peat and perlite mixture as the substrate. The seedlings were transplanted to the main field at 15 cm height with 3-4 true leaves. In all stages of growth, consistent agricultural practices were applied, including weed control, pest and disease management. Fertilization for tomato plants was based on soil analysis. Initially, after transplanting the seedlings, a complete fertilizer with high phosphorus (NPK 10-52-10) was applied at a ratio of 1.5 kg per thousand plants. In the subsequent stages, complete fertilizers (NPK 20-20-20) and high-potassium fertilizers (NPK 20-20-36) were applied through irrigation. Throughout the plant's growth stages, to prevent potential deficiencies and harm to growth and fruit development, micronutrients were applied as foliar sprays. Results and Discussion The results for all three Clusters showed that although nitrate accumulation was higher in the first year compared to the second year, in both years, nitrate accumulation was higher at I75 and 225 kg ha-1 nitrogen compared to the other treatments. The highest nitrate accumulation in the sixth (6.12 mg.kg-1) and seventh (6.29 mg.kg-1) Clusters was observed in I75 and 225 kg ha-1 nitrogen treatment in the first year. In the eighth Cluster, contrary to the sixth and seventh Clusters, the highest nitrate accumulation was obtained in I100 and 225 kg/ha nitrogen (6.43 mg.kg-1) in the first year. Chlorophyll decreased with stress but increased with nitrogen levels. In all four Clusters, the highest chlorophyll a content was obtained in I100 and 225 kg ha-1 nitrogen, with values of 3.75, 3.70, 3.30, and 3.85 mg g-1 fresh weight, respectively. The highest fruit number per square meter was obtained in I125 and 225 kg ha-1 nitrogen treatment in the second year (260 fruits), although there was no significant difference compared to the first year. Furthermore, this treatment produced 11% more fruits than the highest fruit number at 100% moisture. The highest single fruit weight was obtained in I125 and 225 kg ha-1 nitrogen treatment in the first year of the experiment (254 g), although there was no significant difference compared to the second year. Additionally, this treatment showed no significant difference in fruit weight compared to the 225 kg ha-1 nitrogen and I100 treatment in the first year but was 11% higher in the second year. The highest yield (65.1 kg m-²) was obtained at I125 and 225 kg ha-1 nitrogen. However, in the control treatment without fertilizer, there was no significant difference in yield at I100 and I125. Furthermore, the highest water use efficiency was observed at I100, followed by I75. In all fertilizer treatments, I125 treatment had the lowest water use efficiency. The highest water use efficiency (285 kg m-³) was obtained at I100 and 225 kg ha-1 nitrogen. Conclusion In general, the results demonstrated that while excessive nitrogen fertilizer increased nitrate accumulation at different irrigation levels, the increased use of irrigation water reduced nitrate accumulation in tomato fruits while improved yield. Moreover, no significant difference in fruit yield was observed between I125 and I100, but optimum yield and favorable water use efficiency were obtained with less water consumption. Based on the results of this experiment, the recommended treatment under greenhouse conditions is irrigation at 100% of the FC and the use of 250 kg ha-1 nitrogen.
Medicinal Plants
Fatemeh Khosravi; Mohammad Ali Bahmanyar; Vahid Akbarpour
Abstract
Introduction
Humic acid as an organic matter, made during chemical processes in the soil leads to improved root growth and aerial part of the plant. It increases the penetration of elements in the plant and improves water permeability. Zinc is involved in the maintenance of root cell membranes, ...
Read More
Introduction
Humic acid as an organic matter, made during chemical processes in the soil leads to improved root growth and aerial part of the plant. It increases the penetration of elements in the plant and improves water permeability. Zinc is involved in the maintenance of root cell membranes, the activation of antioxidant enzymes, and the production of RNA and DNA. This study aimed to investigate the effect of applying humic acid and zinc sulfate on some morphological and phytochemical traits of Salvia officinalis L.
Materials and Methods
In this regard, this experiment was conducted as a factorial based in a completely randomized design with two factors (concentrations of 0, 1.5, 3 and 4.5 g/l humic acids and concentrations of 0, 3, 6 and 9 g/l zinc sulfate) in five replications in 2021. The studied traits included plant height, stem diameter, fresh weight, and dry weight, number of sub-branches, chlorophyll, carotenoids, phenols, flavonoids and essential oils. Seedlings of the same size and age as sage were grown under equal. The properties of the soil used in the laboratory were examined. Treatments were sprayed with humic acid 6% and zinc sulfate 34% in five steps, every two weeks.
Results and Discussion
Result showed that application of humic acid and zinc sulfate had no significant effect on plant height and only their simultaneous use had a significant effect on this trait and the highest plant height was observed for treatment of 1.5 g/l humic acid and 9 g/l zinc sulfate (66.50 cm). In stem diameter analysis, the use of humic acid (p≤0.01) and the application of zinc sulfate (p≤0.05) and the interaction of these two treatments(p≤0.05) affected the stem diameter. According to the results, the highest stem diameter was 8.69 mm, which occurred in the treatment of 4.5 g/l humic acid and 3 g/l zinc sulfate. Application of humic acid significantly (p ≤ 0.01) affected the fresh weight of the plant. Application of zinc sulfate also had a significant effect (p ≤ 0.05) on fresh weight. The effect of simultaneous use of humic acid and zinc sulfate on the fresh weight of this plant was significant at the level of 1% probability and the highest fresh weight was 87.26 g.plant-1, which achieved at a concentration of 4.5 g/l humic acid and 6 g/l zinc sulfate. Compared to the control plant, it has increased by 12.56 grams. The effect of humic acid on dry weight was significant at the level of 5% probability, while the effect of zinc sulfate application on this trait was not significant. The combined use of humic acid and zinc sulfate was significant at the 1% probability level. The maximum dry weight reached 29.73 grams per plant, achieved with a concentration of 4.5 grams per liter of humic acids and 3 grams per liter of zinc sulfate. Both humic acid and zinc sulfate exhibited a significant effect (at the one percent level) on the number of branches. Furthermore, the combined application of humic acid and zinc sulfate proved to be highly effective (p<0.01). The greatest number of sub-branches was observed at the 1.5 grams per liter level of humic acid. Humic acid had a substantial impact on chlorophyll a, b, total chlorophyll, and carotenoids (p≤ 0.01). Similarly, the application of zinc sulfate showed significant effects on chlorophyll a, b, and carotenoids (p≤ 0.01), as well as on total chlorophyll (p≤ 0.05). In the end, the simultaneous application of humic acid and zinc sulfate significantly influenced chlorophyll a, b, total chlorophyll, and carotenoids (p<0.01). The most significant effects on photosynthetic pigments (carotenoids, chlorophyll a, and total chlorophyll) were observed with concentrations of 4.5 grams/liter of humic acid and 6 grams/liter of zinc sulfate. The highest chlorophyll b content was obtained with the treatment of 3 grams/liter of humic acid and 6 grams/liter of zinc sulfate. The effect of humic acid and zinc sulfate application as well as their simultaneous use on the amount of phenols and flavonoids was significant at the level of 1% probability. The highest amount of phenol was 0.372 (mg gallic acid per gram of fresh tissue) which was obtained at a concentration of zero zinc sulfate and 3 g/l humic acid. The highest flavonoid content was 0.527 (mg quercin per gram of fresh tissue) which was observed in the treatment of 4.5 g/l humic acids. The use of humic acid had significant effect on the amount of essential oil. The percentage of essential oil reached the highest levels at the concentrations of 1.5 and 3 g/l humic acids.
Conclusion
Based on the results, the use of humic acid alone and in combination with zinc sulfate, had the greatest effect on most of the studied traits.
Ornamental plants
Maryam Hojatipour; Moazam Hassanpour Asil
Abstract
Introduction
Lilium flower is a perennial herbaceous flowering plant, belonging to the Liliaceae family. Position of lilies as the fourth best-seller cut flower in the world, as well as the increasing trend of demand for this flower in the global market, indicates the importance of improving the ...
Read More
Introduction
Lilium flower is a perennial herbaceous flowering plant, belonging to the Liliaceae family. Position of lilies as the fourth best-seller cut flower in the world, as well as the increasing trend of demand for this flower in the global market, indicates the importance of improving the quality and solving the sustainability issues of this flower. Gibberellins are one of the most important endogenous plant hormones involved in controlling plant dormancy. Gibberellin is a plant growth regulator that stimulates physiological responses in plants by affecting photosynthesis. Polyamines, including putrescine, spermidine, and spermine, are a group of plant growth regulators that have effects such as increasing cell division, biosynthesis of enzymes, regulating various developmental stages such as differentiation.
Materials and Methods
This study was performed to investigate the effect of gibberellic acid and putrescine on growth, flowering and vase life of Lilium cut flowers. Experiment was performed as factorial based on completely randomized design, included 16 treatments with 3 replications and 2 pots in each replication. The culture medium containing mold leaf soil, sand and perlite (1:1:1) and was prepared by disinfection with fungicide. The first treatment consisted of concentrations of 150, 300 and 450 mg/L gibberellic acid and onions were pre-treated by immersing for 24 hours. The second treatment consisted of concentrations of 0.5, 1 and 2 mM putrescine which was sprayed at the beginning of budding and continued every two weeks until the first bud flower coloring. Growth period conditions in green house were controlled. In this study, different parameters such as bud number, flowering stem length, fresh weight of cut flowers, relative fresh weight of cut flowers, water uptake of cut flowers, vase life, leaf chlorophylls a, b and total, petal carotenoid, percentage of petal cell membrane stability and total soluble solids of petals were examined.
Results and Discussion
The results showed that the application of gibberellic acid and putrescine improved the number of buds and increased cell membrane stability. Actually, gibberellic acid preserves the cell membrane by preventing the breakdown of proteins and increasing the pH, thus increasing the vase life. Also Putrescine protects cell membranes by removing free radicals. It is also known that gibberellic acid used at all levels in the experiment increased the height of the flower stem due to its role in cell division and elongation. Study of the flower stem water content and cut flower fresh weight, which are factors for longer vase life, showed that gibberellic acid increases the plant's ability to absorb water and increases these two traits. So that the highest cut flower fresh weight with 13 g difference compared to the control level belonged to the treatment level of 450 mg/L gibberellic acid. Also putrescine reduces plant water loss by increasing membrane permeability to calcium and increases the flower stem water content and cut flower fresh weight, which increases vase life. Also, gibberellic acid by creating water potential in the cell and putrescine by strengthening water relations and preventing blockage of water vessels increased the relative water uptake of cut flower. Thus, the greatest effect was observed on the third day post-harvest and the highest amount (2.47 ml. g-1 FW) on the third day belonged to the highest level of both treatments. Results also showed that all the levels of putrescine increased TSS due to its effect on the synthesis of sugars and carbohydrates in compared to control. The results showed that application of gibberellic acid and putrescine respectively at 300 mg/L and 2 mM, significantly increased the vase life compared to the control. The best vase life (15 days) occurred at 300 mg/L gibberellic acid and 2 mM putrescine. Although gibberellic acid increased growth and flowering of Lilium, but putrescine effectiveness on vase life of cut flower was more evident. The highest amount of leaf total chlorophyll (0.514 mg. g-1 FW) belonged to the treatment of 450 mg/L gibberellic acid and 2 mM putrescine and the lowest amount of leaf total chlorophyll (0.085 mg. g-1 FW) belonged to both treatments were at the control level. Also, in the study of petal carotenoid content, the highest amount belonged to the treatment of 450 mg/L gibberellic acid and 2 mM putrescine.
Conclusion
According to the results obtained from the present research, it can be concluded that use of gibberellic acid and putrescine had great effects on most of traits in compared to control treatment. The use of putrescine and gibberellic acid improves the flowering and vase life conditions by increasing water uptake and consequently increasing the relative fresh weight.
Zahra Falati; Mohammadreza Fattahi; Ali Ebady
Abstract
Introduction: Plums (Prunus spp.) as one of the most popular stone fruits, have low calories and high nutritional value. Over the past decades global production of European and Japanese plums reached from 6,110,870 tons in 1990 to 11,528,337 tons in 2013. In the same period plum production in Iran reached ...
Read More
Introduction: Plums (Prunus spp.) as one of the most popular stone fruits, have low calories and high nutritional value. Over the past decades global production of European and Japanese plums reached from 6,110,870 tons in 1990 to 11,528,337 tons in 2013. In the same period plum production in Iran reached from 118,936 tons to 305,262 tons. Great variety of plum fruits caused differences in chemical composition as well. Plum fruits are rich in bioactive compounds or biochemicals such as vitamins (A, C and E), anthocyanins and other phenolic compounds which have high antioxidant activity.
Materials and Methods: This research was done in a randomized complete block design with three replications in Horticultural Research Station at College of Agriculture and Natural Resources of Tehran University in 2013-2015. Fruit quality characteristics such as vitamin C content, color traits of the fruit skin and flesh, the content of carotenoids, anthocyanins, total phenolics and antioxidant capacity of 16 plum and prune cultivars and genotypes were evaluated.
Results and Discussion: Analysis of variance showed significant differences in terms of all measured factors. The highest L* index (brightness) of fruit skin was observed in 'Tanasgol" and "Compooti" and then in "Golden Drop" and "Shams" cultivars and the lowest level of that was measured in "Sugar" and "Gogeh Sabz" cultivars. "Black Star" and "Gogeh Germez" Showed the highest brightness of fruit flesh among examined cultivars and the lowest brightness of fruit flesh was investigated in "Sugar". A* color index of skin and flesh of fruit also showed significant differences among investigated cultivars and the highest level of that in "Ozarak" cultivar was observed. "Gogeh Sabz" and "Golden Drop" also had the lowest level of this index. "Gogeh Germez" had the highest of a*color index of fruit flesh and "Japanese" cultivar was in second place. The lowest level of this index was measured in "Ozarak" and "Shams" cultivars. "Tanasgol" and "Compooti" had the highest fruit skin b*color index among cultivars and "Santarsa", "Sugar," "Stanley" and "Bukhara" showed the lowest of that. "Black Star" and after that "Tanasgol" and "Dargazi" had the highest b*color index of fruit flesh. "Japanese" had also the lowest b* color index of fruit flesh. The intensity or color purity varied among cultivars and the highest of that was observed in "Tanasgol" and "Compooti" and then in "Ozarak". "Black Star" had the highest chroma of fruit skin and the highest fruit flesh color intensity. The lowest of this index in the fruit flesh was observed in "Santarosa", "Sugar" and "Japanese" cultivars. Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) content varied in investigate cultivars. "Gogeh Germez" and "Japanese" had the highest vitamin C content and "Stanley" was showed the lowest amount of vitamin C. "Golden Drop ","Santarosa" and "Compooti" showed the highest total carotenoid among examined cultivars and "Gogeh Germez" had the lowest total carotenoid. "Gogeh Germez" and "Compooti" had the highest and lowest amount of anthocyanin index respectively. The highest total phenol and antioxidant activity was measured in "Ozarak". The lowest total antioxidant capacity was in"Gogeh Sabz". The results showed that There was high correlation (r= 0.93) between antioxidant capacity and a* fruit skin color index. High correlation (r= 0.83) between phenol content and antioxidant capacity of fruits was also observed. Between a* color index of fruit skin and phenolic content was observed high correlation (r= 0.89). As well as between anthocyanin and phenolic content and between anthocyanin and a* fruit skin color index, respectively (r= 0.86) and (r= 0.59) high correlation was detected.
Conclusions: "Ozarak" in terms of antioxidant activity and total phenol component was superior. The highest amount of anthocyanin related to the "Gogeh Germez". "Golden Drop"," Santarosa" and "Compooti " had the highest total carotenoid and "Gogeh Germez" and "Japanese" had the highest vitamin C content among investigated cultivars. By identification of superior cultivars In terms of phytochemical compounds, these cultivars can be used in breeding programs to improve these nutritional quality of fruits. The results showed that the major phenolic compounds were gathered on the skin of plum fruits. Hence the "Ozarak" cultivar having the highest a*color index of fruit skin had the highest total phenol and antioxidant capacity among the investigated cultivars but "Gogeh Germez" by having the highest a*color index of fruit flesh and anthocyanins content higher than "Ozarak" cultivar, had low phenolic content and antioxidant capacity compared to the "Ozarak".
Ziba Bearanvand; Naser Alemzadeh Ansari; Musa Mosavi; Abbas Golpaigani
Abstract
In order to study, non-enzymatic antioxidants level of carotenoid and ascorbic acid in parsley leaves of twenty-one masses were compared between the first and second harvest. Also for evaluation of enzymatic-antioxidant activity, catalase and peroxidase activity in leaves of two twenty-one masses were ...
Read More
In order to study, non-enzymatic antioxidants level of carotenoid and ascorbic acid in parsley leaves of twenty-one masses were compared between the first and second harvest. Also for evaluation of enzymatic-antioxidant activity, catalase and peroxidase activity in leaves of two twenty-one masses were measured at the end of vegetative growth. In each replication, one gram of fresh mixed leaf tissue of all samples was selected to measure the above mentioned parameters based on standard methods. , The data were analyzed in a randomized complete block design by SAS software. Results showed that the highest and lowest levels of carotenoids in the first harvest were7.54 and 2.00 mg/100 g in Bushehr 149 and Lorestan 69 masses, respectively. The maximum and minimum levels of vitamin C in the first harvest were 0.733 and 0.039 mg/100g in Lorestan 153 and western Azarbaijan 51 masses, respectively. The highest and lowest peroxidase activity were found 3.25 and 0.11 micromole of hydrogen peroxide per minute in central mass 46 and control region (native Ahwazi) respectively. The highest and lowest catalase activity were related 0.645 and 0.006 micromole of hydrogen peroxide per minute to Eastern Azerbaijan 62 and Central 45. According to results of this study, Lorestan 153, Lorestan 69, and Hamadan 49 masses could be introduced as the best masses of antioxidant activity.
