Research Article
Javad Fattahi Moghadam; Seyyedeh Elham Seyedghasemi; Kazem Najafi
Abstract
Introduction: According to a breeding program that was carried out in Citrus and Subtropical Fruits Research Center, Noushin (C. reticulata cv Clementine × C. sinensis cv. Salustiana) and Shahin (C. reticulata cv Clementine × C. sinensis cv. Hamlin) mandarins were released by using crossing method ...
Read More
Introduction: According to a breeding program that was carried out in Citrus and Subtropical Fruits Research Center, Noushin (C. reticulata cv Clementine × C. sinensis cv. Salustiana) and Shahin (C. reticulata cv Clementine × C. sinensis cv. Hamlin) mandarins were released by using crossing method in 20-year program. In general, mandarins do not have the ability of being kept in common or cold storage for long time compared to oranges. The main problem is the change of fruit taste during storage, therefore, it is an attracted subject for researchers. Furthermore, storage temperature plays an important role in the quality of the taste of mandarins. The new released mandarins, which hve not been yet studied completely for their storability, need to be evaluated. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate fruit physico-chemical and sensory characteristics of Noushin and Shahin varieties in common and cold storages for two years.
Materials and Methods: In this study, fruits of Noshin and Shahin mandarins were harvested at seasonal harvesting time and then placed in could storage (5 oC and 85% RH) and common storage (7-10 oC and 60-70 %RH) based on completely randomized design with three replications for 60 days every year. Fruits on days 0 (at harvesting time), 20, 40 and 60 of storage were sampled. Various physico-chemical and sensory characteristics were evaluated including iuice percentage, weight loss, peel color indices (L*, a*, b*, hue angle, chroma and CCI), total soluble solid (TSS), titratable acidity (TA), technological index (TI), skin disorder index (SDI), pH, electrical conductivity (EC), total phenolic, ascorbic acid, antioxidant capacity and sensory parameters during experiment. Statistical analysis of the data was performed using statistical software MSTAT-C. Analysis of variance combined in a randomized complete design (two years) with three replications for each variety.
Results and Discussion: The results showed that the amount of fruit weight loss and juice percentage did not show significant changes during storage. The ranges of weight loss in Noushin and Shahin varieties were 7-8% and 3.45-5.1%, respectively. Generally, peeling in Shahin was harder than Noushin but it gradually decreased until the end of storage. With the exception of citrus color index (CCI) in Noushin that was high at the beginning of storage, other color indices had no significant differences according to the type of variety and storage. Totally, TSS: TA ratio increased during storage depending on the type of storage, so that the ratio was higher (Noushin with 39.64 and Shahin with 13.34) in common storage than cold storage (Noushin with 31.04 and Shahin with 13.62) at the end of storage. Amount of electrical conductivity (EC) and technological index (TI) increased significantly in both varieties and storages. Shahin variety with 3.74 and 26.19% was so sensitive to rind disorder index and rind disorder percentage, respectively. Phenolic compounds in both varieties declined during both cold and common storages. The amount of reduction depends on the type of mandarin, with Shahin showing higher decline than Noushin variety. Besides, the content of ascorbic acid and antioxidant capacity in both peel and pulp showed a decreasing pattern with the passing of harvesting time during storage. According to sensory analysis, Noushin fruit can be stored in common storage for 20 days and in cold storage for 40 days. Moreover, results revealed that Shahin fruits did not have storability more than 40 days in common and cold storages.
Conclusion: Generally, Noushin variety was sensitive to low moisture of the storage and fruits lost extra moisture during storage. Since Noshin was an early ripening variety, TSS: TA ratio increased rapidly at the end of storage. Although Noushin had the lowest ascorbic acid content but its fruit antioxidant capacity was higher than shahin at the end of storage. On contrast, Shahin was a mid-ripening variety with higher ascorbic acid content. On the other hand, shahin peel was so sensitive to skin disorder index (SDI), therefor it should not be maintained in low moisture and temperature storage. Based on sensory analysis and physicochemical measurements, Noushin can be stored for 20 days and shahin for 40 days in common and cold storage. Finally, we found that Noushin and Shahin cannot be maintained in storage longer than other mandarins.
Research Article
Marjan Hosseini; Seyyed Morteza Zahedi; Mahdieh Karimi; Asghar Ebrahimzadeh
Abstract
Introduction: Mango (Mangifera indica) is a tropical fruit native to India whose global production in 2014 reached nearly 45 million tones. Mango is a commercially important fruit and improvement in its storage is of special importance. Mango is a Climacteric fruit whose ripening is done by exogenous ...
Read More
Introduction: Mango (Mangifera indica) is a tropical fruit native to India whose global production in 2014 reached nearly 45 million tones. Mango is a commercially important fruit and improvement in its storage is of special importance. Mango is a Climacteric fruit whose ripening is done by exogenous or endogenous ethylene. In plants, Polyamines such as spermine, spermidine, and putrescine contradict ethylene because of a common precursor (s-adenosyl methionine (SAM). During ripening, different qualitative and nutritional changes occur in the fruit, e. g. changes in color, tissue softening, accumulation of sugars and organic acids, and great changes in taste, flavor, aroma and plant biochemical materials. Fruit ripening is a complicated process, complementary to fruit development, and a start to its senescence. In general, senescence of a fruit is related to loss of membrane lipids, destabilization of membrane matrix, and lipid peroxidation. Recently, naturally active biological products are applied in a large amount for increasing the storage life and quality of the fruits and delaying their senescence.This study was carried out to investigate the effect of different concentrations of spermidine on the quality and vase life of a local mango variety of Minab.
Materials and Methods: Healthy fruits, uniform in size, shape, color, and degree of maturity were selected from a mango orchard in Minab and their original physical and chemical characteristics on the first day were measured after washing with water and drying. Statistical analysis of data was done by a general linear model (GLM) with SAS (version 9.1) and mean comparisons were performed using Duncan's multiple range test. Treatment solution in the rate of 0, 0.5, 1, and 2 mM spermidine (SIGMA) was made and its pH was set to 5 using NaOH. One liter of distilled water was used in the control treatment. The treated samples were immersed in solutions of different concentrations of spermidine just once for 30 minutes. During 24-days of shelf life, storage temperature was 15 °C and the relative humidity was 85 to 90 percent. Measurements were on the zero, 8th, 16th, and 24th days. Characteristics such as weight, firmness, flavor index, phenol, ascorbic acid, qualitative characteristics (PH, TA and TSS), and sensory evaluation were measured.
Results and Discussion: The results showed that physical and biochemical qualities in the control fruit were lower compared to the other treatments. The Polyamine treatment with spermidine, especially at the concentration of 2 mM, significantly maintained weight loss and reduction of vitamin C during storage of fruits. Spermidine treatments increased ascorbic acid and other organic acids in fruit juice and reduced pH. Increased acidity in spermidine treatments of these substances play an active role in coping with storage stress. Moreover, with reduction of tissue respiration, the consumption of organic acids decreased during storage. The results showed that increasing the concentration of spermidine leads to the least decrease in the phenol flesh. Firmness gradually decreased during storage and at the end of shelf life, there was significant difference between the treatments. It was found that treatments with 1 and 2 mM spermidine were the best. Furthermore, the effect of spermidine on the total soluble solid solutions in the flesh of mango fruit was not significant during storage. But skin color, taste, flavor, and aroma index were more favorable. Treatments that delay production of structural lipids led to the production of aromatic volatile substances, which produced a favorable aroma in fruits. It seems that increasing spermidine concentration plays an important role in mango fruit fragrance at the end of shelf-life. The 2 mM spermidine treatment led to the highest total content of phenol and showed the lowest pH in fruit juice.
Conclusions: Spermidine, that is naturally present in animals and plants in particular, belongs to the amine groups. The results indicated that spermidine maintains firmness and extends shelf life of mango fruits and has a significant and beneficial impact on the quality characteristics including weight, color, taste, aroma, and vitamin C during storage. It seems that spermidine of 2 mM concentration has tangible impact on mango fruits and it is recommended in mango store rooms. There is a competition in production of Ethylene and polyamides of spermine, spermidine, and putrescine in plants, due to their common precursor namely S-adenosyl methionine, yet they act oppositely in ripening and senescence processes. Application of polyamides had extraordinary effects on the quality of some fruits during storage.
Research Article
Javad Janpoor; Mohammad Farsi; Fatemeh Gholizade; Hamid Reza Pourianfar; Sharareh Rezaeian
Abstract
Introduction: King oyster mushroom (Pleurotus eryngii) belongs to Basidiomycota division, Agaricomycetes class and Pleurotaceae family. This mushroom generally grows on wood wastes of Apiaceae family. The Pleurotus eryngii is found in pastures, meadows, gardens and seldom in grassy forest clearings and ...
Read More
Introduction: King oyster mushroom (Pleurotus eryngii) belongs to Basidiomycota division, Agaricomycetes class and Pleurotaceae family. This mushroom generally grows on wood wastes of Apiaceae family. The Pleurotus eryngii is found in pastures, meadows, gardens and seldom in grassy forest clearings and hilly areas. The Pleurotus of the Umbellifers occupy an area in the Northern hemisphere between the 30 and 50º N. These species are mainly found in the subtropical regions of the Mediterranean, Central Europe, Russia, Ukraine, Central Asia and Iran. The P. eryngii sensulato is the only taxon within the genus, which grows in association with plants. P. eryngii has distinguishable characteristics such as coherent texture, unique form, favorable taste and high durability. Mushroom cultivation represents the only current economically viable biotechnology process for the conversion of waste plant residues from forests and agriculture. The species of these genera show much diversity in their adaptation the varying agro-climatic condition which makes more cultivated species than other mushrooms. Special ability of Pleurotus family is growing in lingocellulosic plant or agricultural wastes without needing to prepared compost and casing soil. Pleurotus is an efficient lignin- degrading mushroom and can grow and yield well on different types of lignocellulolosic materials. Type of substrates for mushroom growing depends on available plant or agricultural wastes. In Europe, wheat straw is used for mushroom growing; whereas in Asian South-East countries sawdust is more popular. Different materials for cultivating of P. eryngii have been suggested in different regions of the world; but a few studies have been done on suitability of various lignocellulosic affordable wastes for P. eryngii production in Iran. Therefore, the current study aims to evaluate effects of various locally available agro wastes on the growth characteristics of King oyster mushroom (P. eryngii).
Materials and Methods: Sawdust was utilized as the main substrate obtained from beech and populous trees (1:1). After being rinsed off in water and supplemented with calcium sulfate (3%) and calcium carbonate (3%), the substrate was filled in 20 × 40 cm polyethylene bags weighted to 800 grams. Sterilization was performed at 121 °C under pressure of 1.5 bars for two hours. A cultivated P. eryngii strain was then inoculated in the cooled material at a rate of 3% of dry/fresh substrate. The experiments were conducted based on a completely randomized design with five treatments and four replications, measuring mycelial growth (MG), number of fruiting bodies (NFB), mushroom weight, and biological efficiency (BE). AMG was measured in both test tubes and in petri plates in different pH levels (5.5, 7, and 8.5). Data were analyzed by JAMP 4.0, while graphs were drawn by Microsoft Excel 2007 and SigmaPlot 12.0 software.
Results and Discussion: The pH of 7 was found to be the best for obtaining maximal MG under all treatments after seven days. The highest amount of MG was obtained with substrate No. 1, while the least was observed in the culture of substrate No. 5. The substrates No. 1 and No. 5 generated the highest and lowest NFBs (p≤0.05). However, there was no significant difference (p≥0.05) in NFB between substrates No. 1 and 3 or between substrates No. 2, 4 and 5. The BE percentages obtained from experimental treatments No. 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 were 64.81, 49.74, 59.22, 28.72, and 19.8, respectively. The comparison of means of different growth characteristics revealed that there was no significant difference between substrates No. 1 and 3 or between substrates No. 4 and 5 (p≥0.05).
Conclusion: In this time, only two species (Agaricus bisporus and P. ostreatus) are producing in Iran, whereas at least 10 species of edible mushrooms are cultivating in the world. King oyster mushroom has low cost of production and distinguishable characteristics. Therefore, this mushroom can be use as alternative for button mushroom (A. bisporus). Many kind of agricultural wastes are in use for mushroom cultivation. Understanding the effects of substrate materials on mushroom production will be very valuable. The average number of fruits and biological efficiency of treatment No.1 showed significant difference with other treatments. Hence, the treatment No. 1 could be used for commercial production of King oyster mushrooms in Iran. Growth rate of P. eryngii was very diverse, in respect to the determinate values of the environmental factors. On the basis of the average growth rate of the strains, we could conclude what are the optimum ecological values of the species, though these conclusions did not always coincide with the optimum values of the certain strains. However, more research needs to be done to obtain regular and homogeneous supply of this mushroom.
Research Article
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".
Research Article
Maria Beihaghi; Abdolreza Bagheri; Seyyed Hassan Marashi; Mojtaba Sankian; Afsaneh sadat Farsad
Abstract
Introduction: Plant tissue culture is a collection of techniques used to maintain or grow plant cells, tissues or organs under sterile conditions on a nutrient culture medium of known composition and widely used to produce clones of a plant in a method known as micropropagation. Plant research often ...
Read More
Introduction: Plant tissue culture is a collection of techniques used to maintain or grow plant cells, tissues or organs under sterile conditions on a nutrient culture medium of known composition and widely used to produce clones of a plant in a method known as micropropagation. Plant research often involves growing new plants in a controlled environment. These may be plants that we have genetically altered in some way or may be plants of which we need many copies all exactly alike. These things can be accomplished through tissue culture of small tissue pieces from the plant of interest. These small pieces may come from a single mother plant or they may be the result of genetic transformation of single plant cells which are then encouraged to grow and to ultimately develop into a whole plant. Tissue culture techniques are often used for commercial production of plants as well as for plant research. Tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) is one of the most important model plants used in the physiologic, genetic and tissue culture studies. The manipulation of tobacco genetic structure requires an efficient technique of gene transferring and regeneration. Whereas, the tobacco plant is a very effective bioreactor in the production of recombinant proteins, in this research we optimized the best tissue culture system and also, genetic transformation process of this plant.
Materials and Methods: Our plant tissue culture protocols, Include helpful information for Murashige and Skoog media, plant growth regulators, plant growth hormones, plant transformation systems, and other products for plant tissue culture. For this purpose, different concentrations of sucrose and 4 combinations of growth regulators (BAP and NAA) on callus induction, direct shoot regeneration and rooting were examined in a factorial experiment based on completely randomized design with 3 replications. The sensitivity of tobacco explants to kanamycin was examined through the cultivation of them on the selective medium with different concentrations of antibiotic. For genetic transformation, agrobacterium tumifacious (GV3101) harboring plasmid pBI121 was used and the transgenic plants were confirmed by PCR analysis.
Results and Discussion: The results of variance analysis and the means comparison showed that the best medium for callus induction was M1 (0.1 mg/l NAA and 1 mg/l BAP) with 15 g/l sucrose in the leaf explants, while the most direct shoot regeneration rate was obtained on the M1 medium with 30 g/l sucrose concentration. High-frequency of rooting was also influenced by 0/1 mg/l NAA and 60 g/l sucrose. So, supplementing the medium with NAA and BAP at different concentrations facilitated induction of multiple shoots from explants. NAA was proved to be the best and the number of shoots increased with increase in the concentration up to (0.1 mg/l), and exceeding this concentration resulted in decline in percent response as well as number of shoots was recorded shoot regeneration. The concentration of BAP was further increased a linear increase in the number of shoots was observed up to an optimal level (1 mg/l). Beyond the optimal concentration (1 mg/l), a decrease in the response as well as number of shoots was recorded due to profuse basal callusing. The effect of cytokinins on multiple shoot regeneration, higher concentrations of NAA found to be inhibitory for shoot regeneration because of huge callusing which hampered the growth and development of new shoots. Also different concentrations of sucrose have a different effect on the shoots and callus. The concentration of sucrose had significant effect on direct shoot regeneration. The main effect of sucrose concentration, concentration of 30 grams per liter, compared with a concentration of 15 grams per liter had the highest direct shoot regeneration. Concentration of 50 mg/l kanamycin could completely prevent the regeneration of untransformed explants so was used in the selective culture medium. Subsequently, the presence of nptII gene (798 bp) in the transgenic plants was confirmed and the transformation efficiency obtained by using the agrobacterium-mediated transformation was more than 95%.
Conclusions In present research, an efficient in vitro regeneration protocol has been developed for tobacco, where different factors including the age of the explant and plant growth regulators were optimized for maximum propagation of tobacco. The results showed that regeneration and transformation method described here is highly efficient and fast for the introduction of any foreign gene directly in tobacco plant.
Research Article
Yaser Esmaeilian; Mohammad Behzad Amiri; Sadegh Askari Naeeni; Jalil Moradi Sadr; Farhad Heidari
Abstract
Introduction: In recent years, the effect of exogenous organic amendments on soil properties and plant growth characteristics has received renewed attention. Although the utilization of mineral fertilizers could be viewed as the best solution in terms of plant productivity, this approach is often inefficient ...
Read More
Introduction: In recent years, the effect of exogenous organic amendments on soil properties and plant growth characteristics has received renewed attention. Although the utilization of mineral fertilizers could be viewed as the best solution in terms of plant productivity, this approach is often inefficient in long-term in tropical ecosystems due to the limited ability of low-activity clay soils to retain nutrients. Intensive use of agrochemicals in agricultural systems is also known to have irreversible effects on soil and water resources. Vermicompost is currently being promoted to improve soil quality, reduce water and fertilizer needs and therefore increase the sustainability of agricultural practices in tropical countries. Vermicomposting is a process which stabilizes organic matter under aerobic and mesophilic conditions through the joint action of earthworms and microorganisms. The products of vermicomposting have been successfully used to suppress plant pests and diseases, as well as increase crop productivity. Cow manure is an excellent fertilizer containing nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and other nutrients. It also adds organic matter to the soil which may improve soil structure, aeration, soil moisture-holding capacity, and water infiltration. Biofertilizers are defined as preparations containing living cells or latent cells of efficient strains of microorganisms that help plants' nutrients uptake by their interactions in the rhizosphere when applied through seed or soil. They accelerate certain microbial processes in soil which augment the extent of availability of nutrients in a form easily assimilated by plants. Very often microorganisms are not as efficient in natural surroundings as one would expect them to be and therefore artificially multiplied cultures of efficient selected microorganisms play a vital role in accelerating the microbial processes in soil. Garlic (Allium sativum L.) is a very powerful medicinal plant that is often underestimated. Garlic is easy to grow and can be grown year-round in mild climates. Garlic cloves are used for consumption (raw and cooked) or for medicinal purposes. They have a pungent characteristic, spicy flavor that mellows and sweetens considerably with cooking.
Materials and Methods: In order to evaluate the effect of biofertilizers and organic and chemical fertilizers on yield and yield components of garlic (Allium sativum L.), a split plot experiment based on RCBD with three replications was conducted in 2015-2016 growing seasons, in Gonabad University, Iran. Main plot included different organic and chemical fertilizers (1- vermicompost, 2- cow manure, 3- chemical fertilizer and 4- control) and sub plot included plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (nitroxin, biophosphorous and control). In order to determine physic-chemical properties of soil, sampling was performed at the depth of 0 to 30 cm. Before cultivation, 7 and 30 t.ha-1 vermicompost and cow manure were added to the soil, respectively. Nutrient requirement of garlic for nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium from the chemical source was considered 40, 50 and 60 kg.ha-1. For application of biofertilizers, bulblets inoculated with plant growth promoting rhizobacteria for 15 minutes. Distance in and between rows was considered 10 and 20 cm, respectively. Weeds were controlled manually three times. At the end of the growing season, economic yield, biological yield, plant height, shoot dry weight, bulb diameter, bulblet weight per plant, bulblet volume per plant and bulblet number per plant were measured. Analysis of data variance was performed by using SAS software (Ver 9.1).
Results and Discussion: The results showed that simple effect of chemical fertilizer on bulb diameter was not significant but combined application of chemical fertilizer and biophosphorous increased bulb diameter as much as 18% compared to control. Combined application of nitroxin and cow manure increased bulblet weight per plant by 41% compared to single application of nitroxin. Biophosphorous plus vermicompost, cow manure and chemical fertilizer increased biological yield, respectively, by 25, 18 and 15% compared to single application of these fertilizers. The highest economic yield obtained in treatment of nitroxin plus cow manure. Organic and biological fertilizers are among the most significant resources for improvement of agricultural soil quality and increase in the yield of different medicinal plants. It has been reported that these ecological inputs provide favorable conditions for plant growth and development through improvement of physical, chemical and biological properties of the soil (10, 39), therefore, it can be concluded that improvement in most studied traits in the present study was due to the use of organic fertilizers. Fallahi et al. (22) reported the positive effects of organic and biological fertilizers on the improvement of quantitative and qualitative characteristics in chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla L.).
Conclusion: In general, the results of this research showed that combined use of organic and biological inputs can improve quantitative characteristics of plant, and thus decrease the environmental risks of chemical inpus.
Research Article
Saleh Mohammadi; Hamireza khazaie; Ahmad Nezami; Yahya Tajvar
Abstract
Introduction: Among citrus producing provinces in the country, Mazandaran province ranks first with 1.88 million tons yields. Orange is one of the horticulture crop which is sensitive to low temperature stress. Low temperature stress is one of the abiotic stresses that its negative effects is the disruption ...
Read More
Introduction: Among citrus producing provinces in the country, Mazandaran province ranks first with 1.88 million tons yields. Orange is one of the horticulture crop which is sensitive to low temperature stress. Low temperature stress is one of the abiotic stresses that its negative effects is the disruption of the electron transfer process through the thylacoid membrane. Actived oxygen radicals can be reacted with methyl unsaturated fatty acid groups and produce active fatty acid radicals. Very reactive formed radicals are capable of initiating lipid peroxidation chain reactions, which leads to the accumulation of free oxygen radicals that can lead to degradation of plant chlorophylls and membrane peroxidation and disruption of photosynthesis, accumulation of ROS, damage to cell membranes, destruction of plant pigments and nucleic acids. Plants can resist against low temperature stress by water saving and utilization of antioxidant system. The amount of free proline in many plants increases in response to environmental stresses such as cold and drought stress, and this physiological response can affect the resistance of the herbal substance under stress. Due to the diversity of citrus native genotypes in the country, the aim of this study was to determine the tolerance of native genotypes against low temperature stress in north of the country.
Materials and Methods: This experiment was conducted during the years 2015_2016 at the Citrus and Semi-Traditional Fruit Research Center in Ramsar with the aim of determining the low temperature tolerance of six native pseudo orange genotypes at 4 temperature levels (3, 0,- 3,- 6), compared to The test was carried out by Unsho and Sensitive Persian Lime (low temperature stress). Therefore, in this study, the vulnerability to low-stress conditions in controlled environmental conditions was compared with that of temperature treatments (3, 0, _3 and -6 degrees Celsius) in six genotypes of native pseudo-orange (number 1-6) sensitive cultivar (Persian lime) and resistant cultivars (Unsho) were investigated. This experiment was conducted as a factorial in a completely randomized design. The results of analysis of variance showed that temperature, genotype and interaction of these two treatments were significant in lipid peroxidation, proline, antioxidant capacity, ion leakage, hydroxylation, chlorophyll a and chlorophyll content. The temperature of the device began to decrease at a temperature of 6 ° C. The temperature of the device was 1 ° C / hour, after which the samples were kept at the specified temperatures for 3 hours and at the end of this period (3 Clock) sampling was performed to measure the traits. Accordingly, the leaf aquaculture was calculated by calculating the leaf area using a leaf surface gauge device. Ionic leakage measurements were also investigated using the method of the conversation and Meg Donald method. The presence of genotypes under cold stress led to an increase in malondialdehyde. In these conditions, due to increased oxidative activity, the accumulation of antioxidant compounds such as superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase and catalase increased. The data obtained from this research were based on factorial experiment in a completely randomized design with three replications of analysis of variance and then averages were compared by Tukey test at 5% level using SAS software.
Results: Orange is a low temperature stress sensitive horticultural plant. Therefore, in this study, the vulnerability to low temperature stress in controlled environment (3, 0, 3- and -6 degrees Celsius) in six native poderotal genotypes (No.1-6) sensitive cultivars (Persian Liam) and resistant cultivars (Unsho) were studied. This experiment was conducted as a factorial in a completely randomized design. The results of analysis of variance showed that temperature, genotype and interaction of these two treatments were significant in lipid peroxidation, proline, antioxidant capacity, ion leakage, hydroxylation, chlorophyll a and chlorophyll content. Meanwhile, soluble carbohydrate was only affected by the simple factor of genotype. No effects on chlorophyll b and carotenoid pigments were significant. The highest incidences (99.33%), ion leakage (91.63%) and lipid peroxidation reaction (with a mean of 3.33 μg / kg of fresh leaf weight) were recorded in sensitive lambspeed control at 6 °C. In contrast, the highest amount of proline (32.01 mg / g leaf weight) and antioxidant capacity (73.36%) was recorded in the control group at 3 °C. Among the native pseudo-orange genotypes, in this study, different reactions were also observed under low-temperature stress conditions. Accordingly, after the control of the bird, the native pseudo-orange genotype number one was better than the one under temperature decrease. However, in most of the studied orange genotypes, in most of the destructive traits, the native pseudo-orange genotype number 6 was in the same statistical position or close to the sensitive Peninsula. The presence of genotypes under cold stress led to an increase in malondialdehyde. In these conditions, due to increased oxidative activity, the accumulation of antioxidant compounds such as superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase and catalase increased.
Research Article
Rahmatollah Gholami; Mohammad Gerdakaneh; Hojahatollah Gholami
Abstract
Introduction: Olive (Olea europaea L.) is one of the drought tolerant ever green fruit trees. Olive is an economically important species of the Mediterranean area, so understanding the mechanisms by which olive plants face drought stress under environmental conditions is essential for the improvement ...
Read More
Introduction: Olive (Olea europaea L.) is one of the drought tolerant ever green fruit trees. Olive is an economically important species of the Mediterranean area, so understanding the mechanisms by which olive plants face drought stress under environmental conditions is essential for the improvement of olive yield and oil quality. Olive is one of the fruit trees which become important in the Iranian fruit industry at the near future. Mulch is an optimizing strategy under which crops are allowed to sustain some degree of water deficit and yield reduction. Increasing crop water-use efficiency (WUE) through water conservation in the soil is an important component of dry land farming. Mulching is among the water management practices for increasing WUE. Mulch is referred to as any material that is spread onto the surface of the soil for protection against solar radiation or evaporation. Different materials, such as wheat straw, rice straw, plastic film, grass, wood, and sand, are used as mulches.
Materials and Methods: This experiment was conducted to study the effect of irrigation interval and mulch on Pomological characteristics and yield of 11-years old Sevillana olive cultivar. A factorial experiment was carried out in Dallaho Olive Research Station at Sarepole located in Kermanshah province. Field experiment based on randomized complete block design with three replications and two factors (irrigation interval and mulch) were conducted in 2015. Each experiment unit consists of 4 trees and 108 trees were used. Irrigation treatments period for experiment were 3, 6 and 10 days interval and mulch treatments for experiment were polyethylene, organic materials and non-mulch (control). Geographical characters was longitude of 45˚, 51΄ E and latitude of 34˚, 30΄ N and the height of sea level 581m. The measured tree characteristics were: Fruit Weight, Pulp Fresh Weight, Pulp Dry Weight, Dry matter, Pulp/Pit ratio, Pit Length, Pit Diameter, Fruit Yield (kg/ tree) and Fruit Yield (kg/ hectare). Reproductive traits were determined by the methods of I.O.O.C.(2002). Collected data were analyzed using SAS program.
Results and Discussion: Obtained results showed that mulch and interval irrigation treatments had significant differences in Pomological traits so that mulch and 3 days interval irrigation treatments increased fruit weight, pulp fresh and dry weight, fruit moisture percent, fruit yield kg/ tree and kg/ hectare but fruit weight, pulp fresh and dry weight, fruit moisture percent and Fruit yield kg/ tree and kg/ hectare reduced by drought stress. Mulch application increased fruit weight, fruit length and diameter, pulp fresh and dry weight, fruit moisture percent and fruit yield. Mulch application improved Pomological characteristics such as fruit weight, pulp fresh and dry weight, fruit moisture percent, Fruit yield kg/ tree and kg/ hectare of olive Sevillana cultivar under drought stress and helped to save irrigation water in olive orchards. In the arid and semi arid as well as sub-tropical regions, water shortage is a normal phenomenon and seriously limits the agricultural potential. Therefore, under irrigation or rain-fed conditions, it is important for the available water to be used in the most efficient way. The proper irrigation interval can play a major role in increasing the water use efficiency and the productivity by applying the required amount of water when it is needed. On the other hand, the poor irrigation interval can lead to the development of crop water deficit and result in lower yield due to water and nutrient deficiency. Early in the season when plants are small, it is beneficial to encourage the roots to explore as much of the soil profile as possible. This maximizes nutrient uptake and stress tolerance later in the season. The effect of mulch on yield and its components have been reported in various studies. The effect of mulch on plant yield through changes in soil conditions that can change the soil temperature and soil moisture that influence on the growth and yield. The effect of mulch can be done through weed control, make favorable conditions of temperature and soil moisture, reduce leaching of nutrients and soil fertility, increase the efficiency of water use, increase availability of absorption of nutrients, increased root growth and control of diseases and pests.
Conclusion: According to the results of this research, it can be concluded that mulch and interval irrigation had a significant effect on reproductive characteristics. Using mulch improved Pomological characteristics of olive including fruit weight and yield per tree and hactar, fruit length and diameter, pulp fresh and dry weight, fruit moisture percent Under drought stress and helped to save irrigation water in olive orchards.
Research Article
Mohammad Mahmoodi Sourestani
Abstract
Introduction: Spearmint (Mentha spicata L.) is an aromatic plant belonging to the Lamiaceae family. The ground fresh biomass and dried leaves of the plant are used as spice and herbal tea, and cultivated commercially in the entire world. Spearmint oil also has economic importance and is used in perfumery, ...
Read More
Introduction: Spearmint (Mentha spicata L.) is an aromatic plant belonging to the Lamiaceae family. The ground fresh biomass and dried leaves of the plant are used as spice and herbal tea, and cultivated commercially in the entire world. Spearmint oil also has economic importance and is used in perfumery, confectionary and pharmaceutical preparations. Major components in cultivated spearmint oil are carvone, limonene, and 1,8-cineole. Essential oil compositions of aromatic plants depend on their genetic structure, the climatic factors and the agronomical practices as well as harvest and post-harvest managements. A climate with adequate and regular rainfall and good sunshine during its growing period ensures a good yield. Climatic condition is one of the most important factors influencing the growth and accumulation of active ingredients that its effect is concealed at the harvesting time of plants. In addition, harvest time (cut) and phonological stages can affect herbage yield and oil content and composition of perennial medicinal plants.
Materials and Methods: Plant materials were harvested from a farm in Safiabad city, Khuzestan province, Iran. Five samples from each ecotype of spearmint (Kashan and Shushtar) were collected during growth season at the beginning of flowering stage, from May to the end of November. Plants were hand-harvested by cutting the herbage at 5 cm above the soil. Then the plants were dried at room temperatures (approximately 40 °C). Spearmint essential oil was extracted via steam distillation using a Clevenger apparatus. The distillations were carried out on a sample size of 50 g of dry aerial parts with a distillation time of 180 min. The oil was dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate and was kept in a refrigerator until further analysis. The essential oil’s chemical composition was analyzed by GC and GC/MS.
Results and Discussion: The results showed that temperature and humidity conditions prevailing in the area at the time of harvest had significant effect on plant growth and ultimately leaf dry weight, oil content and composition. The highest leaf dry weight of the Kashan (250.67 g.m-2) and the Shushtar (290.23 g.m-2) were observed at the third and fifth harvest time, respectively. There was no significant difference between the first to fourth harvest times of the Kashan and the first, third, fourth and fifth harvest time of the Shushtar. The highest (3.33%) and the lowest (1.72%) amounts of essential oil of the Kashan ecotype were obtained from the third and the first cuts, respectively. The Shushtar ecotype had lower oil than the Kashan ecotype. The second harvest time of the Shushtar ecotype had the highest (2.53%) amount of essential oil and the lowest (1.36%) amount was observed at the first harvest time that had no significant difference with the third and fifth harvest times. The highest amount of oil yield of the Kashan (8.34 g.m-2) and the Shushtar (4.89 g.m-2) ecotypes was recorded at the third and the fourth cuts, respectively. It seems that plants during the second to the fourth harvests encouraged with hot stress and they produced more essential oil in response to high temperature. Limonene, cis-dihydrocarvone, carvone and caryophyllene were the main oil components at five harvest times. Both ecotypes were similar in regards of main oil components but the Shushtar had more oil composition than the Kashan. In the Kashan ecotype, limonene was at the lowest amount (12.22%) and reached to the maximum amount (20.55%) at the second harvest time. In contrast, cis-dihydrocarvone decreased from 4.95% to 2.34% at the second harvest time and finally the maximum amount (11.14%) was recorded at the fifth harvest time. Carvone content was 68.94% at the first harvest and after that increased to the highest level (74.21%) and finally decreased to the minimum level (65.15%) at the fifth harvest time. In the Shushtar, limonene increased from the first until the fourth harvest and ultimately declined in the last cut. The maximum amount of carvone (72/67%) was observed in the first harvest and then was relatively constant during the second to fourth harvests, and reached to the lowest level (56/58% ) at fifth harvest. The Kashan ecotype had more carvone than the Shushtar ecotype. The fluctuation of carvone and cis dihydrocarvone were in opposite of each other and it seems that lower temperatures in the fifth harvest caused to carvone convert to cis-dihydrocarvone. However, the amount of carvone was more than 50 % at all harvest times.
Conclusion: Although harvest times had a significant effect on the traits, both ecotypes showed a good oil content and yield at five cuts. Oil composition was also changed during different harvest times. Nevertheless, Carvone content was up to 50% at all harvest times and it seems that we can recommend harvesting of plants from May to the end of November.
Research Article
Kamran Ghasemi; Seied Mostafa Emadi; Yousef Ghasemi
Abstract
Introduction: Broccoli is one of the valuable vegetables among brassicas which has received great attention throughout the world and is cultivated both in soil and soilless culture. Currently, we face restriction in high quality of the soils and water resources as two essential inputs in agriculture. ...
Read More
Introduction: Broccoli is one of the valuable vegetables among brassicas which has received great attention throughout the world and is cultivated both in soil and soilless culture. Currently, we face restriction in high quality of the soils and water resources as two essential inputs in agriculture. Like other parts of the world, Iran is losing hundred hectares of its arable and fertile land annually due to salinity, alkalinity and waterlogging. One of the important strategies to overcome these adverse conditions is soilless culture systems. Among the different methods of soilless culture, substrate culture is more common and cheaper than others. Different kinds of organic and inorganic substances are used in soilless culture system, but the optimum mixture of growing medium is still a challenging issue. Physical and chemical characteristics of growing media can potentially affect the yield and product quality in direct and indirect ways. A good medium for soilless culture should have easy drainage, appropriate aeration, high water holding capacity and low price, as well as no weed seeds and pathogens. Therefore, this research was aimed to evaluate different prevalent growing media in broccoli soilless culture system.
Materials and Methods: This experiment was conducted as an outdoor soilless culture system in outdoor hydroponic site in Sari Agricultural Sciences and Natural Recourses University (SANRU). To begin with, broccoli seeds were sown in transplanting tray, and after five weeks, the developed transplants were cultivated in growing bags in a soilless system. In this work, different mixtures of culture media were evaluated for yield component and mineral elements of broccoli. Ten kinds of different media comprising of cocopeat, perlite, sand, sawdust, sand+sawdust, sand+vermicompost, cocopeat+perlite, cocopeat+LECA, cocopeat+ pumice, and cocopeat+perlite+ vermicompost were compared in completely randomized design with tree replications. At the end of the growing season, vegetative growth and yield components of broccoli were measured. The macro nutrients including nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (k), magnesium (Mg), calcium (Ca) and sulfur (S) were then analyzed in the harvested broccoli. Four important micro elements such as Iron (Fe), cooper (Cu), boron (B) and zinc (Zn) were measured as well. A statistical analysis was performed using analysis of variance in Statistical Analysis System (SAS) software (version 9.1) and means were compared using Duncan’s multiple range test at 0.05 and 0.01 probability levels.
Results and Discussion: According to the results, culture medium showed no significant effect on plant height, dry matter and the number of auxiliary heads, while it significantly affected diameter and weight of main head (p≤0.01). The highest head diameter was seen in sand+vermicompost mixture which had no significant difference from cocopeat, cocopeat+LECA, and prlite+cocopeat+vemicompost. The mixture of sand+vermicompost resulted in the heaviest broccoli heads that were significantly greater than all other growing media used in the experiment. Since vermicompost contains some mineral elements like calcium, magnesium and phosphorus and some growth stimulators as well, mixing this substrate with sand can create an appropriate and ideal culture for root growth and development. Pure perlite and sawdust media contributed to the lowest yield with no significant differences from each other. The macro and micro nutrients of broccoli head were not significantly affected by growing medium, except for nitrogen and zinc. The highest concentration of nitrogen in broccoli head was recorded for pure perlite and sawdust which was significantly more than other media. The highest zinc concentration in broccoli head was observed in Sawdust medium (p≤0.05). A significant negative correlation was observed between plant height and three main macro nutrients (N, P and K). The negative correlation between some macro nutrients and plant growth can be related to the excessive amount of these elements in nutrient solution. Positive and significant correlation was also seen among plant height, head diameter and head weight. In other word, the tallest plants could produce bigger and heavier head.
Conclusion: Based on the obtained results, it can be concluded that a mixture of organic and inorganic substances can be better than a single substance medium. On the other hand, our results showed that role of medium substances and composition is not as important as nutrient solution, so an appropriate nutrient solution with a proper rate can potentially provide all plant's needs regardless of media composition.
Research Article
Fariborz Alizadeh Zarmehri; Gholamhossein Davarynejad; Reza Khorasani; Seyyed Hossein Nemati; Peyman Keshavarz
Abstract
Introduction: Pear producers around the world are looking for faster return of capital and saving in labor costs, achieved well by high density orchard planting. Choosing a good combination of scion and rootstock is critical for production of fruit trees because the relationship between the rootstock ...
Read More
Introduction: Pear producers around the world are looking for faster return of capital and saving in labor costs, achieved well by high density orchard planting. Choosing a good combination of scion and rootstock is critical for production of fruit trees because the relationship between the rootstock and scion has a decisive effect on plant water relations, leaf gas exchange, plant size, flowering, fruit production, fruit quality and production efficiency. Nowadays in some regions, growers are using quince rootstock for pear orchard establishment. Using the quince rootstock alleviates many problems in pears orchard, but graft incompatibility between pear scion and the quince rootstock, and resistance to frost and alkaline soils are some problems restricting the use of this rootstock. In most pear-producing regions in Iran, pear seedling is used for pear propagation. Due to the problems of pear including overgrowth and late precocity (after 4 -5 years), this research evaluated the effects of pear clonal rootstock (Pyrodwarf, OHF and Quince c) on some growth characteristics in comparison to pear seedling (Pyrus communis).
Materials and Methods: This research was conducted during 3 years from 2014-2016 in Chenaran (36.6, 59.1) in northeast of Mashhad. Maximum and minimum temperatures were 40 and -22 ˚C, respectively, elevation 1176m and the average annual rainfall 240mm. The same tissue culture rootstocks from two cultivar Pyrodwarf and OHF with Quince rootstock and annual seedling from Dragazi pear were selected in August 2013 and T-budded with three commercial cultivars Spadona, Ntanz and Sebri. In the spring of 2014, after relieving frost danger, the trees were planted in field with row space 4×2m. In order to investigate dwarfing effect of rootstock on scion cultivar, some important vegetative factors that represent dwarfing effect of rootstock including trunk cross sectional area, height of tree, amount of lateral branch growth, tree growth rate during growth season, mean of growing buds on each lateral branch, and stem and leaf water potential were measured. This test was conducted in factorial based on randomized complete block design with 4 replications. Each plot was included one hybrid combination. MSTATC and Excel software were used for data analysis, and differences among means were compared by using LSD test.
Results and Discussion: Different rootstocks did not show any significant difference in terms of leaf water potential. Leaf water potential during the seasons had a constant time course about scion cultivar on all rootstock so while temperatures rise throughout the season it reduced the amount of leaf water potential. The effect of cultivar was significant on leaf water potential so that the highest water potential was related to Natanz and the least water potential was related to Serbi cultivar. The effect of rootstock and scion both on stem water potential was significant. Therefore the highest and lowest stem water potential was recorded for cultivars grafted onto the seedling and quince rootstock, respectively. In this study, a significant relationship was observed between minimum stem water potential (mid-day) and branch growth rate during the growing season. With reducing stem water potential as a result of temperature increase, the amount of branch growth reduced. The effect of both scion and rootstock on chlorophyll index was significant. In this investigation, all 4 rootstocks had different effects on chlorophyll index. The highest chlorophyll index was related to cultivar Natanz and the least was related to Spadona. Sebrie had medium chlorophyll index. Rootstock effect on vegetative growth of the scion was not significant but the effect of scion was significant at 5% level. Pear seedlings with vigorous growth had more long branches than other rootstocks. In the present research, seedling rootstock also induced higher growth of lateral branches. Furthermore, quince rootstock induced the least growth of lateral branch during 3 years of the investigation. In addition, quince rootstock had the minimum tree height and pear seedling had the maximum tree height. Internode length in dwarfing rootstock was less than seedling. Both scion and rootstock had significant effect on trunk sectional area so that at the end of three years, cultivars grafted on seedling rootstock had the highest trunk cross sectional area, and cultivars on quince rootstock had the lowest TCSA. Two vegetative pear rootstocks (Pyrodwarf and OHF) did not show significant difference from each other. Pyrodwarf and OHF rootstock showed good compatibility with Natanz and Spadona scions like seedling rootstock. On the other hand, the survival percentage on quince rootstock was really low.
Conclusion: This investigation showed that pear rootstock had less vegetative growth than seedling rootstock and induced dwarfing effect on scion growth during 3 years but quince rootstock had more dwarfing effect.
Research Article
Esmaeil Khaleghi; Norollah Moallemi
Abstract
Introduction: Iran is located in arid and semi-arid regions, so limitation of precipitation and poor distribution of rainfall with prolonged periods of heat and drought have caused harsh conditions for establishing plants. In general, previous researches have shown that water deficit or drought stress ...
Read More
Introduction: Iran is located in arid and semi-arid regions, so limitation of precipitation and poor distribution of rainfall with prolonged periods of heat and drought have caused harsh conditions for establishing plants. In general, previous researches have shown that water deficit or drought stress had destructive effects on morphological, physiological and biochemical parameters of plants. So that, researchers stated that the first reaction of plants to water stress was decline in growth. Growth parameters such as height, fresh and dry weight of root and stem and leaf area could decrease with increasing water stress. Therefore, use of methods for reducing water evaporation from soil, decreasing run-off and improving transport nutrients were considered in recent years. Superabsorbant polymers are one of the most important compounds in reducing negative effects of drought on plants.
Materials and Methods: This study was conducted to investigate the effect of five different levels of super AB A200 polymer (0, 1, 2, 3, 4 g/Kg of soil) and three levels of irrigation [100 as control, 65 and 30 percentage of plant evapotranspiration potential (ETcrop)] on morphological characteristics of two olive cultivars ‘Baghmaleki’ and ‘Dezphol’ as a factorial experiment based on randomized complete block design with three replications. In this experiment, ninety 18-month-old olive trees of ‘Baghmaleki’ and ‘Dezphol’ were kept for adaptation in greenhouse for one month.The plants were planted in ninety pots including 1/3 sand, 1/3 manure and 1/3 soil with superabsorbent polymer. Superabsorbent polymers (super AB A200) were prepared from Company Rahab Resin (Licensed by Iran Polymer and Petrochemical Institute). Then, the plants were irrigated with 100%, 65% and 30% ETcrop, every three days. Finally, morphological parameters such as root fresh weight, root dry weight, shoot fresh weight, shoot dry weight, height, leaf number, leaf Area and leaf area ratio were measured. Data analysis was performed using MSTATC software and mean comparison was done by Duncan's multiple range tests at 5 and 1% probability.
Results and Discussion: The results showed that interaction effect between irrigation and polymer affected shoot fresh weight, leaf fresh weight, shoot dry weight, leaf dry weight, height and leaf area ratio at p
Research Article
Jafar Nabati; Elahe Boroumand Rezazadeh; Mohammad Zare Mehrjerdi; Mohammad Kafi
Abstract
Introduction: Conventional seed programmes take more than 10 years and diseases during each round of field multiplication become increasingly common and especially those transmitted through seed tubers. In contrast, the production of large volume of propagation material in protected environments requires ...
Read More
Introduction: Conventional seed programmes take more than 10 years and diseases during each round of field multiplication become increasingly common and especially those transmitted through seed tubers. In contrast, the production of large volume of propagation material in protected environments requires only a few additional years of traditional seed multiplication in the field to produce the desired seed with an improved health status. This is useful especially in countries where there are no vector-free production areas for producing high quality potato seed tubers. In the last few decades, alternative seed production programmers have been developed in which the first multiplication steps are speeded up using in vitro plantlets, microtubers or minitubers. In the area of controlled environment agriculture (CEA), one of the most commonly discussed topics is lighting. The lighting system is generally the most expensive component of a controlled environment agriculture facility in terms of upfront costs as well as ongoing expenses (electricity use as well as replacement lamps). Naturally, advances in lighting technology are of great interest to the controlled environment agriculture community for these very reasons. Light emitting diodes (LEDs) are the most recent lighting technology to enter the controlled environment agriculture arena and have great potential to improve performance and reduce the overall cost of controlled environment lighting. Growth and morphogenetic effects of light (quality, intensity, and duration) and phytohormones are well documented, but their modes of action and mutual interactions are far from clear. One of the important questions is whether at least some of the morphogenetic effects of light are mediated by changes in phytohormone levels. This experiment was conducted in order to study the effect of different light sources on morphology and growth of potato plantlets under in-vitro conditions and their effect on minituber production in greenhouse to decrease energy consumption and production costs.
Materials and Methods: A factorial experiment was conducted based on completely randomized design with six replications under in-vitro conditions and four replications in greenhouse. Factors were consisted of cultivars (cv. Agria and Savalan) and light sources (LEDs emitting red, blue, white, combination of red and blue and also tubular fluorescent lamps as control). The experiment was carried out at the tissue culture laboratory of Yeka Seed Technology of Iran. Disease-free potato in vitro plantlets of Agria and Savalan cultivars were derived from the potato germplasm bank of Agricultural Biotechnology Research Institute of Iran. The plantlets were propagated using single-node cutting. Eight explants were cultured in sterilized culture vessels containing 30 ml of MS and pH was set to 5.8 before adding agar and autoclaving. Culture vessel were closed with polycarbonate caps and sealed with household plastic foil and were placed in a growth chamber at 24 °C and 16 h photoperiod for 4 weeks.
Results and Discussion: Results indicated that red spectrum caused an increase in plantlet height and Agria had a higher plantlet height under in-vitro conditions. Root length was higher in red-blue combination and no difference was observed between cultivars under in-vitro condition. The highest and lowest leaf area was obtained in white and red spectrum, respectively. Also, Savalan showed a higher leaf area in comparison with Agria. The lowest node number in plantlets was observed in red spectrum and the highest in white. The highest and lowest internode length was related to red and blue spectrum, respectively. Fluorescent light was resulted in the lowest plantlet fresh weight and no significant difference was observed among other treatments according to this parameter. Stem diameter and number of branches was not affected by different lights. Results of greenhouse study indicated that light conditions before transplanting of plantlets did not affected minituber number, while minituber weight was significantly affected by this factor and the lowest mean of this parameter was obtained in red spectrum compared to the other treatments.
Conclusion: Generally, results showed that less leaf area plantlet in vitro was also less leaf area in greenhouse (red light emitting diode). Leaf area is an important criteria for photosynthetic and biomass production. Therefore, in this experiment fresh and dry matter production was affected by this characteristics and red light showed the lowest dry matter production. LEDs could be considered as suitable light sources producing plantlets comparable with those grown under fluorescent light under in-vitro conditions along with saving energy and ultimately lower production cost.
Research Article
Gonai Baghdadi; Majid Azizi; Naser Sedaghat; Vahid Rowshan; Hossein Arouiee
Abstract
Introduction: The aim of medicinal plant storage is to preserve qualitative and quantitative properties of active substance. Carum copticum fruits (Zenyan in Persian) were used for its therapeutic effects. Seed storage condition after harvest till to extraction time is not suitable in our country and ...
Read More
Introduction: The aim of medicinal plant storage is to preserve qualitative and quantitative properties of active substance. Carum copticum fruits (Zenyan in Persian) were used for its therapeutic effects. Seed storage condition after harvest till to extraction time is not suitable in our country and the major part of seed quality deteriorates during the storage period. So, the loss of seed qualitative and quantitative characteristics will increase during unsuitable storage condition. Appropriate storage conditions and management preserve seed active substance, seed viability and vigor for long periods by reducing the rate of seed deterioration. Optimal seed storage can be achieved by modifying the environment around the seeds. Numerous storage systems have evolved over the years for post harvest preservation of crop seeds. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of various storage conditions and storage time on essential oil percentage and germination factors in C. copticum seeds during the storage period. The results of this research will be used for optimum storage of these seeds to better preserve their quality.
Materials and Methods: In order to investigate the effects of storage conditions (packaging materials and temperature) and storage time on quality of C. copticum stored seeds, a split-plot factorial arranged in a randomized complete block design with three replications is performed in Faculty of Agriculture at Ferdowsi University of Mashhad during 2013 and 2014.Tukey's range test was performed to determine the significant difference between treatments. The calculations were conducted by JMP 8 software. Temperature) at two levels: 20±3°C and 30±3°C( as main plots and packaging materials (at six levels: paper, polyethylene, aluminum foil under vacuum condition, Polyethylene-polyamide packages under vacuum condition, Polyethylene-polyamide packages with a gas composition of [98%N2 + 2%O2] and [90%N2 +10%O2] ) and storage periods (at four levels: 0, 3, 6 and 9 months) as sub plots were considered. Seed samples were taken randomly from each package at four times period. Essential oil percentage, seed weight, gas composition in packages with modified atmosphere and seed germination factors (seed germination percentage (SGP), germination rate (GR), mean germination time (MGT), and germination Index (GI)) were evaluated during this nine months Storage.
Results and Discussion: The highest weight loss was 2/43% in the paper bags stored at 30°C at the fourth to sixth months especially in the fifth month. Aluminum foil package under vacuum condition stored at 30°C had the lowest weight and minimum weight changes during nine months of storage, so it was the best packages compared to others. The results show that Polyethylene-polyamide packages and Aluminum foil packages under vacuum condition are almost impermeable to air and moisture. Increasing weight at 20°C may be due to accumulation of water vapor from the respiration during early period of storage. Seed germination test provides an indication about seedling vigor as well as performance of seed in the field. In most cases, performance relates to the ability of seeds to germinate and produce a seedling that will emerge from the soil and development into a healthy vigorous plant. Packages with different combinations of gas (2% and 10% oxygen) at 30°C,aluminum foil under vacuum condition and Polyethylene-polyamide packages with a gas composition of [98%N2 + 2%O2] at 20°C were packages with higher germination percentage after nine months storage. Based on this results, it appears that packaging materials and storage temperature did not show any significant difference on essential oil percentage and further changes in the amount of oil related to duration of storage. Kumar et al. (2013) showed that the essential oil content and composition were affected by harvest time and storage conditions. Kazaz et al. (2009) investigated the effect of different storage temperatures (0◦C and 3◦C) and durations (7, 14, 21 and 28 days) on oil yield and essential oil components of oil rose (Rosa damascena Mill.). Their results showed that the effect of storage temperatures on oil content were not significant whereas the effect of storage duration was significant and it was similar to our results.
Conclusion: Essential oil percentage as the most important property of Carum copticum and germination percentage decreased significantly with increasing of storage period. Finally, results show that Polyethylene-polyamide packages with a gas composition of [98%N2 + 2%O2] and [90%N2 +10%O2] in 9 months storage time and 30±3°C storage temperature preserve qualitative properties better than other conditions. Whereas, aluminum foil package under vacuum condition and 20±3°C storage temperature are recommended for 6 month storage time.
Research Article
Nasibeh Pourghasemian; Mehdi Naghizadeh; Rooholla Moradi; Mohammad Salari
Abstract
Introduction: Successful greenhouse and nursery production of plants is largely dependent on the chemical and physical properties of the growing substrate. An ideal potting substrate should be free of weeds and diseases, heavy enough to avoid frequent tipping over and yet light enough to facilitate handling ...
Read More
Introduction: Successful greenhouse and nursery production of plants is largely dependent on the chemical and physical properties of the growing substrate. An ideal potting substrate should be free of weeds and diseases, heavy enough to avoid frequent tipping over and yet light enough to facilitate handling and shipping. The substrate should also be well drained and yet retain sufficient water to reduce the frequency of watering. Other parameters to consider include cost, availability, consistency between batches and stability in the media over time. Greenhouse crops in general, have higher nutrient demands than field grown crops. Therefore, in order to optimize production it is essential to focus on the growing substrate and fertilization. The physical properties of the growing medium are important parameters for successful plant growth, as these are related to the ability to adequately store and supply air and water to plants. Humic acid is a principal component of humic substances, which are the major organic constituents of soil (humus), peat and coal. It is also a major organic constituent of many upland streams, dystrophic lakes, and ocean water. It is produced by biodegradation of dead organic matter. It is not a single acid, but it is a complex mixture of many different acids containing carboxyl and phenolate groups so that the mixture behaves functionally as a dibasic acid or occasionally as a tribasic acid. Humic acids can form complexes with ions that are commonly found in the environment creating humic colloids. Humic and fulvic acids (fulvic acids are humic acids with lower molecular weight and higher oxygen content than other humic acids) are commonly used as a soil supplement in agriculture. Humic Plus contains humic acid, fulvic acid, macro micro nutrients and proprietary constituents essential for plant growth. Organic matter soil amendments have been known by farmers to be beneficial to plant growth for longer than recorded history. However, the chemistry and function of the organic matter have been a subject of controversy since humans began their postulating about it in the 18th century. Selection of the proper media components is critical to the successful production of plants. So, the objective of this study was to assess the effect of humic acid foliar application and various substrate on quantitative and qualitative characteristics of tomato seedling.
Material and Methods: The experiment was conducted in a greenhouse at Bardsir Faculty of Agriculture , Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman in 2015, as a factorial arrangement based on completely randomized design with five replications. The experimental treatments were substrate in 7 levels (peat, coco-peat, leaf-soil, compost, vermi-compost, manure and clay soil), humic acid in two levels (foliar application and non- foliar application). After preparation of substrates, plastic boxes with 12 cm diameter and 10 cm height were chosen. After extracting gravity water, tomato (cv. Canyon) seeds were sown in pots. Rain irrigation was done daily. Foliar application of humic acid with concentration of 0.001 liter was performed from seedling emergence to transplanting every two days. The germinated seeds was daily counted and number and rate of seed emergence was estimated. Plant height, stem diameter, number of internodes, leaf area, shoot and root dry matter and chlorophyll contents were calculated at transplanting time of seedling.
Results and Discussion: The substrate treatment had a significant effect on rate and percent of germination, plant height, shoot dry matter, leaf area, number of internodes and, chlorophyll a and carotenoid contents. According to the results, the greatest and smallest rate and percent of germination was found in peat and manure treatments, respectively. Also the greatest shoot dry matter (1.17 g), leaf area (125.9 cm plant-1), number of internodes (6.19), plant height (13.51 cm) and chlorophyll a concentration (2.55 µg/ml) were observed for peat substrate. Manure and clay soil substrates showed the smallest of these measurements and carotenoid contents. It seems that physical characteristics of peat was better than other substrates. Plant height, shoot dry matter, leaf area, number of internodes, chlorophyll a and carotenoid contents showed a significant effect by humic acid application. Foliar application of humic acid significantly increased the mentioned traits.
Conclusion: The results illustrated that between substrates in this study, peat was the best for seedling production of tomato. Foliar application of humic acid had a positive effect in improving growth characteristics of tomato seedling.
Research Article
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. ...
Read More
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
